[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

The moment Shiva releases Dizzy, Calam bursts out of his Ultra Ball!  He gives the young Absol a rather drawn out, interested stare.  It's difficult to tell what he's thinking and feeling, other than he's definitely got a vested interest in Dizzy.

And he's going to be sticking close to the young one.  Ralts is really happy to see the young Absol again, too.

Nathan raises an eyebrow.  Hey, isn't that...?

"...well, when did he get to join the party?  I thought the Day Care was only looking at raising a rare pokemon, not giving him to you.  And who is he replacing?"

Spoiler

More very careful and respectful pets for 'her' young Absol. If Calam allows, he gets a few as well. Somehow Shiva is intrigued by how different their both's fur feels, Dizzy's is clearly more soft in touch.

"Hmm? Oh, ehm... Well, I wrote the Daycare this morning - told ya I've got stuff to do b'fore departing! - due to the Vaporeon I've left there to obtain an Egg containing an Eevee, and Golda sent both to me alongside this lil' one. He belongs to a secret League Autority but got entrusted to me for this trip for reasons I cannot tell - that means that he doesn't replace any of my Team members AND that I have to ask all of you to keep silent about him. He has his task that he got trained to fulfill - Please, if the word gets spread about him, I don't know what may happen, but I rather not unecessarily decrease his chances of succeeding. League said you all may know about him, however, so I'll keep him outside as long as we're down here, it's safe for him and he doesn't show a desire to be withdrawn."

(...)

Since Shiva asked the Infiltrator to stick close to her and Calam sticks close to him, she'll now have two Absol nearby, means that she and Ventus (who mentioned sticking very close to her) will likely be the first to realize when the Absol sense danger coming?

As stated previously, Ven was pleasantly surprised by addition of the young Absol in Shiva's party, and while he never saw it himself like Nathan he could easily deduce that this was the very same Infiltration Pokemon that the Daycare had bred/trained. Of course this left him a bit confused as to why the young disaster foreseer was with the group instead of on assignment, but his fae fancy indirectly (a directly a short while later) answered his question by all but stating they were here to assist into their expedition into Mt. Sentry due to the likely incursion of Scimitars and....other matters. This nearly caused the empath to scowl in distaste and irritation (similar to his blessed friend's cold animosity), as dealing with both those blighted archmages and the League Authority closely monitoring their actions was NOT what he called 'ideal', but he managed to suppress it beneath a neutral smile.

'Given those wicked wizards and the League's shared interest in finding Anthenum for their own purposes, its not unexpected they send an agent to better 'ensure' the odds of our success. I wish the formor to all die in a fire and the later to keep their noses out of our business, but alas that will not likely to happen for quite some time, bar any....drastic changes....'

With that sour thought in mind, Ven refocused on the upcomming expedition into Mt. Sentry, releasing Lucifer with a flick of his wrist and greeting them with a friendly/brotherly smile, before quietly ordering them to scout ahead with both Calam and Dizzy. The treasure seeker let out a small delighted screech at the chance to stretch their wings AND socialize with his old buddy and a smaller version of them (twice the friends now, *Scree!*), before the launched themselves off the ground to first go over to interact with the Absol (Reactions, Iron?) and starting on his given task!

Spoiler

(...)

"I...I mean, from my side we can get going!" To express that, she silently takes Ven's hand in a silent request to stick close to her. Only he will probably notice that deep inside her, she's scared but does a very fine job to hide it. As for the rope, Mr. Finder can have that one Shiva keeps, it's 5meter long - I hope that'll be enough.

(...)

Noticing how nervous Shiva was about their upcomming trip and the dangers associated with it, Ven gave her a tendering, caring smile and brought her close in a half hug, before letting go and grasping one of her hands and giving it a comforting squeeze. He'll be there for her, as promised so long ago,,,,,

Spoiler

Mr. Finder hobbles over to the proper entrance to Mt. Sentry. "Let us begin!" He tosses a Pokeball, and a Slurpuff appears. Tongue hanging out, it goes waddling along the path at high speed. Mr. Finder stays hot on its heels, sometimes sniffing the air himself.

"Ah, where would we be without Pokemon?" he says. "If there's anything with a nose to rival my own, it's Slurpuff! Slurpuff says we'll have to continue down the main route for a bit, then drop into some sort of tunnel."

Indeed, you walk for about two hours without meeting any Pokemon at all, other than shy Zubat, having cleared this path just a few days ago. You're still feeling fresh when you come to a little side tunnel, half-blocked by a scree of slate. It looks like it slopes downward into darkness, though even Slurpuff doesn't quite fit inside at the moment.

Geodude floats forward, ready to dig. Any other preparations? Last chance for any important flashbacks!

Not wanting to feel left out of clearing the way forward (or have the others think he wasn't willing to contribute), Ventus summons Michael and orders them to start chipping away at the rocky blockade with Mach Punches! "Michael, an obsticle stands before all of us and impedes our journey, so we must remove it to continue onwards. Help loosen and chip away at the rock with Mach Punch to help the diggers in their efforts, and smash through it if and when you are able! Show them your martial strength, my brother!"