[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Dragonstrike]

Spoiler

Glad to see that Gallade's enjoying himself in his duties, then! He gets a respecting/respectful nod from the herculean man, before he continues his given tasks in Stair.

Terra doesn't mind the crowd's commentary or opinion about Anubi's playful (and refreshing!) antics, simply watching the young jackal having a blast with arms crossed and a smile on his face. Considering how.....stifling the Shelter felt and the youthful and bold spirit of his newest partner, he could more than allow them to indulge and thoroughly enjoy their freedom, before he started to knuckle down on them/their Disobedience later.

Plus, Anubi splashing around the Fountain was just plain adorable, so how could he deny that from them?

Lovely's natural magnetic, charming looks and contribution to the waterworks yet again draw an adoring crowd, which never failed to warm his heart with love and pride for them as he looked upon his aquatic serpent. After spending years as a lowly Feebas, yet working so hard to become as strong and beautiful as possible in that time, it was immensely gratifying for the rugged wanderer to see their hard wrought dreams fulfilled at long last, and realized in such a magnificent way to boot!

Judging by how much the marvelous fish was enjoying himself and calmly luxuriating in the Fountain with all eyes on him, Lapis Lazuli thoughts lined up with their master's exactly on this matter!

Eventually after taking the photo and keeping a copy for himself (if possible), he decides its time to depart for Cress to finish up the rest of what he planned to do this day. He gave a quick, gruff sound call to Anubi : "Time to go, Anubi. Dry off, and come." , while giving a nod and incline of his towards L.L.L. before returning them. If the aural doggie doesn't immediately come out, he'll just be returned to their Pokeball all soggy. He then walks up to Gallade, and nods his head at them, holding out his hand stoically.

"Take me back to Cress City by the Pokémon Center, please. I'll....text Nathan to come pick you up when we get there, okay?"

Presumably they comply, and in an instant Terra and co are back in the rustic former capital of the Cheshire region. He brings out and fiddles with his Pokedex with a slightly less constrained expression than last time, before he manages to send off a short message to the boy:

"Back in Cress with my Rilou and Gallade. Come pick him up soon, or when you can. We'll be in the Pokémon Center's Training Room."

That done, the simple monk marches straight into the Center and makes a beeline for the most likely empty Training Room (Given the culture ban on battling, it likely doesn't see much use). He selects a clear, open space for what he has in mind, before summoning his blue bomber right in front of him. What they see upon fully materializing was the ominous, serious visage of his master, arms hanging by their sides as they stared imposingly and almost forebodingly at him. 


Oh dear....this is a new side of his master, and he wasn't quite sure if he liked what he was seeing...

Terra said and did nothing for several minutes, letting Anubi figgit and react as he may to him staring them down, until he spoke up, his tone respectful but gruff.

"You are strong, Anubi. Very strong. Knowing almost all your Moves, fierce and spirited, and have a great love for battles. But. You are undisciplined, and your eagerness can be more bad than good in fight if not handled right. Need to be trained to use your Strength right. Need to learn how to fight honorably, just, and with cool head. Not recklessly, rashly, or.....disrespectfully."

Pausing for a moment to let what he sank in and to gauge their reaction, before shaking his head and continuing.

"Won't listen to me, though. Not always, and not without.....proving myself to you. So we will fight. I will earn your respect, and you will learn my ways."

He then squares off against the aural doggie, getting into a martial stance as he wait for them to do the same!

Orders: Enjoy his time at the Fountain, take a photo for the scrapbook, and then head back to Cress for The Test of Mettle against Rilou! Time to duke it out, and see if Terra can't impress Anubi with his FIGHTING SPIRIT!!!

Gallade steadfastly and quietly watches the scene at the fountain, too.  When Terra's ready to go, he simply nods, takes Terra's hand, and...

*blip*

--------

Gallade's still carefully eyeing Riolu with crossed arms during the Test of Mettle.  There's likely a chance he might step in if Terra gets in a bit of a bind against Riolu.  He doesn't think Terra will be in any trouble, but it pays to be cautious.

And he's also semi-interested in seeing how Riolu fights.  The Riolu line does bear more than a few similar capabilities to Gallade as a species, after all...similar Abilities, talents for reading emotions and actions that they can use to their advantage in battle...

--------
Terra gets a response back after the Test of Mettle is finished.

On my way.

(Might have to flash back to this depending on how the ToM goes.  The end result is that Nathan picks up Gallade for the fight with Rampardos no matter what, though!)

You head down to the deepest part of the basement, past many storage rooms. You unlock the "Employees Only" section with the key you are given. Then it's down another hallway to a big steel door with a huge bar across it. You can hear chains rattling, you can hear immense roaring, and you can hear steel being pounded. The door even has a few tiny dents in it. 

Through the peephole, you can see Rampardos with giant chains around one foot, hastily put in place. It looks like the roaring and rampaging he's doing right now is just out of habit, he doesn't even look roused or like he's exerting himself. Probably hasn't sensed Nathan.

Rampardos: (4) + 4 Dex + 5 Survival = 13
Snivy: (2) + 10* = 12
Starmie: (1) + 9 = 10

(Note: Unlike Quiver Dance, Coil doesn't increase Dex, so Snivy's initiative is actually 11, unfortunately.  Increasing Accuracy by 1 is almost as good as +1 Dex, though.  But not quite.)

That'll change as soon as Nathan opens that door, probably.  Unless he can do this really quietly and quickly.

Well, it's worth a shot, right?  Rampardos doesn't know they're here yet, so it's time to try an ambush if opening the door doesn't ruin it immediately.

If an Ambush is possible...

Stealth Check!
Dice Pool: 6* Dex + 3 Survival + 2 Stealth = 11 D6!

Alert Check for Rampardos
Dice Pool: ? Insight + 5 Survival + ? Alert

Should the Ambush succeed, Snivy will use a Giga Drain, and Starmie will use a Hydro Pump

Round 1 Orders

Snivy

Giga Drain x4!
Accuracy: 6* + 3 + 3 + 1 Coil - 4/5/6/7 = 9/8/7/6 D6
Damage: 3 Power + 5* Strength + STAB + 1 Magic Beans + SE = 10 D6 Base + 1 Damage!
Effect: Restores HP equal to half the damage dealt
Note: Overgrow grants it additional dice if Snivy is Pained!



Starmie

Hydro Pump 1
Accuracy: 12 Base - 4 Actions - 2 Acc = 6 D6
Damage: 5 Pow + 4 Str + STAB + 1 MW + SE = 11 D6 Base + 1 Damage!

Bubble Beam 2, 3, and 4
Accuracy: 12 Base - 5/6/7 Actions = 7/6/5 D6
Damage: 3 + 4 + STAB + 1 MW + SE = 9 D6 Base + 1 Damage!
Effect: -1 Dex (1)


In addition, Nathan is ready to recall his pokemon in an instant if they faint or they've accumulated at least half their max HP in Lethal damage (should it turn out Rampardos has a Lethal move of some kind). And if Rampardos attacks him, he's ready to evade! [12 D6 base pool and 3 actions total for Nathan for that evasion, for the record]

Active Buffs
Snivy: +1 Strength, Defense, and Accuracy
Starmie: +1 Defense
Lucky Chant: No bonus crit dice for Rampardos, and no double (1) penalties for Nathan's party!

It's time to rock and rumble!