[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Dragonstrike]

Spoiler

"...Ah. Hm...I will have to think more about this before I decide. Learn more about them, too. Don't like.....underhandedness - Is that the right word? - but having a clever, smart, and.....capable Pokémon still sounds good. Would get along well with Genie too........I think. *Shakes his head* Will think it over. *Smiles* Thank you for the info."

(…)

"*Nods* Won't bother her then. Don't want to scare her, or make her too nervous. *Smiles* Glad she has made good friend with you."

(…)

"Oh.  ……Oh."

The rugged wanderer expression lit up in comprehension.....before it dropped like a peddle in a pond as he realized just what was bothering Nathan. He looked off to the side and rubbed the back of his head, appearing distinctly uncomfortable .

"....I know. Ven.....warned about it all. Greatly. Of how ….the place, the Ghosts.....*Face scrunched up* 'are the most wretched, vile, and CURSED things I have had the poor fortune to encounter in existence, conceivable and BEYOND.' Also told me NEVER go there......'without the full support of everyone in the group and with all the preparation you can afford, unless you have the direst need to go their ASAP, or you have a death wish most earnest and sincere.' "

*Shakes his head*

"Wouldn't have gone there......but I had to. Heart.....told me he needed to go to Ruins. Wanted to get a Natu for Teleporting around Cheshire. *Sighs* Bad idea. Tried to tell him that, but he.....insisted. So I decided to go with him. To do my job and protect him....and make sure he stayed safe as a friend."

He grimaces as memories of their trek into the dead and accursed flooded back, of the nebulous, insidious, and foul things even HE felt, and of the dangers they Encountered....

"...We were attacked by lots of Ghosts. Four Duskulls, one holding a gold mask.....and one strange Dusclops that pretended to help us. Lovely and...Gustav took care of small Ghosts, but he Fainted due to Destiny bond. Big crawfish hurt Duskull badly, before me and Genie scared them off. Battle was not hard.....but it felt...…*Twitches* dangerous. Now I understand why Ven warned me......greatly."

*Beat*

"....Took.....opportunity to catch on of the Duskull, and Heart was able to catch a Natu later. We got back to Cress safely.....but the Ghosts were always watching. Watching....."

Saying that, Terra went silent, head tilted downwards as he looked.....unnerved and troubled by his own recounting. Strong and tough as he is, the Skull Ruins were intimidating and harrowing for him still. That's some bad mojo right there....

"...few who have ventured into the depths of the Ruins come back sane, they say...if at all.  The place has been haunted with all sorts of powerful Ghosts since the Last King, Sarimanok, was overthrown by the League...truly, it's a place to be feared...you were only on the surface, right?  Tust me, it'll get far, far worse the deeper down you go..."

...

"...not that all Ghosts are like those vile mockeries of Sableye that haunt Captain Bridge...some trainers even successfully tame Ruins Ghosts...but in general, the entire region is generally wary of the type...with good reason...Ventus didn't even see the true horrors that place has to offer..."

...Nathan's heard way, way too many horror stories concerning the Skull Ruins to ever not take the place seriously.

Topic change time!  "...golden mask?  That Ghost was likely a Yamask, then.  Said to be a pokemon created from the soul of a person who's passed on, the mask they carry an effigy of what they looked like in life...very rare...and rather...capable at crippling opponents with ease..."

...Nathan sits on the ground.  Despite it still raining, Nathan seems to have forgotten about that for the most part.

"...Gallade could feel you tense up whenever I mention Sableye, by the way.  I don't mean to pry...just...I find that a little odd...very...specific..."

He's half expecting a response, half not.  Is it very tactful to just straight up mention something like that?  Not really.  But usually, if someone's that straightforward about something like that, there's a reason for it, right?