[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

Nathan blinks a few times.  "...ten?  You found ten?!  Oh my Arceus...that's...wow...I don't know exactly how much Shiny Dwebble Shells might sell for off the top of my head, but...wow...but that can't be a coincidence...now I'm wondering what happened to their inhabitants..."  (Terra's free to chip in about how much he thinks they might sell for if you think he can estimate that, Windos!)

Once Nathan's processed that, he shakes his head to clear those thoughts before they go somewhere that's not very useful.  "...not that they're using them now, I suppose.  Finders keepers, I guess.  Just hope the Dwebble that were using the shells are okay...oh yeah, uh, Dwebble are basically crab pokemon, like Corphish.  They live in deserts and caves instead of in the water, though.  Wear rocks for shells.  Just in case you were wondering."



As for Terra's question...

"...first of all, you're not dumb, Terra.  Maybe a little slow compared to everyone else, yes, but not dumb.  So stop calling yourself that, alright?  It's not good for your self-confidence to be demeaning to yourself.  You know why I think you're not dumb?  Because you want to learn.  Learning...is good.  Great, even.  And just because you don't understand a topic yourself...well, that doesn't mean you won't get it if you keep trying to learn it. 

(…)

"...anyways, I guess I'm getting a little off track...the point is, if you keep learning, you learn from your mistakes, and you keep that drive and passion going, you can...eventually...overcome your shortcomings to some notable degree.  That's what I believe.  Alright?"
  


"...*ahem*...yeah, I'm, uh, pretty good with pokemon...lived around them most of my life.  Spent a lot of time around the young Ponyta back at the ranch in my younger days, and I've read some general tips on how to care for most pokemon in general.  There certainly wasn't any shortage of accidental burns when I was trying to copy what my mom was doing, that's for sure...hehe...Angie here, though...well, you could say I have a bit of affinity for Dragons and Dragon-like pokemon as well...though I didn't really know that until very, very recently...snakes and serpents aren't really too different from most Dragons, if you think about it.  They're actually more closely related than you might think."  Nathan winks at Angie.  She probably doesn't fully understand what Nathan's hinting at yet, but she will in time if Nathan's right about her...and he definitely thinks he is!  He's not sure all Dunsparce can evolve into Dunseraph, but he has a good feeling that Angie can.

(…)

"...anyways, yeah, I can teach you a little about raising pokemon.  The general concepts are the same regardless of what kind of pokemon you're raising, after all.  Did you want to ask a few questions now, or save it for a little later?"



(BTW, Nathan's kinda momentarily forgotten about the Stealth Rock TMs.  Terra asking Nathan about why he was rooting around in the berry bushes for so long would definitely jog his memory, though!)

Terra nonchalantly nods back to the clever trainer, seemingly unphased by their incredulousness at his pirate's plunder of a find, before they abruptly stopped and began stroking their beard as he pondered the couple of questions unintentionally? posed by them.

"Hm....did not see any blood or.....signs of struggle damage on shells, so think the Dwebble they came from are alright.  Value on Shells, though....hm. Good size and shape, Pokemon Product, are Shiny, can probably be re-used by Dwebble or other Pokémon, minimal damage *Mumble Mumble* …Hm, estimate whole sale cost on all shells to be roughly $24000-$32000 based on being Rare Pokemon Products in good condition, so value would be $12000-$16000 if average person sold them, or $1200-$1600 per shell. *Beat, then shrugs* That is what I think. Never have run across or sold Dwebble sale before, so I am just guessing at their price."

Not sure if Nathan's had a first hand demonstration of the monk's hidden mercantile sense, but whatever the case they've got a prime example of it now!

(…)

At first, Terra looked taken aback by what the boy declared on his behalf, for they not only denied he was an almost complete cretin, but clearly stated/implied that if he kept trying to learn, he could be smart like him. Such a concept was almost inconceivable for the rugged wanderer, as a lifetime of being put down and/or overlooked for his intelligence by almost everyone had lead him to believe he was an idiot incapable of being knowledgeable about anything but his select fields of expertise. As a result, it made Nathan's challenging remarks more shocking, unbelievable, and bold than they should be, causing quite a stir within the normally stoic man.

This wasn't the first time he's heard such rhetoric, however. His family and the few friends he made back home also expressed similar faith in his intellectual capacity, so hearing the boy's words should only had validated what had been said. Right?

...Well, its not so simple, unfortunately. Due to aforementioned lifetime of discrimination against his intelligence and his relative isolation in both child and adulthood, such cruel notions had become ingrained in his consciousness, to the point he genuinely believed and accepted he was 'dumb' . Any sort of smart thinking on his part he usually attributed to his parent's teaching (if it were commerce/common upbringing Knowledge related), extrapolated from the wisdom/experience he gained throughout his time exploring/living in the wilds, or the smattering of information he worked hard at memorizing learning from various source, and not his own capacity for Knowledge.

As a result, the mountain of a man had inadvertidly formed a strong, self reinforcing notion that he was just a big, stupid guy only good at and for a certain for areas. Anytime someone said something to contradict that and insisted, he often believed they were only flattering/pitying him, or were just didn't know how idiotic he 'was', so he usually just convincingly agreed to avoid causing a fuss, his words having no real faith backing them. Up until now that worked perfectly, so...

"....*Smiles* Alright. I understand Nathan. Will take your advice, and work on being smarter for now on. Souds hard....but not impossible with your help."

...that is exactly what he did. He felt uncomfortable not being truthful to his friend, but he believe it was the right thing to do in order to spare their feelings and make them happy. Lying is bad, but not universally so, and the simple monk held that this was the case when it came to the matter of his smarts, so he felt justified for doing so to Nathan. Its all for the greater good, right...?

Of course, if Gallade is out and with Nathan, they could easily call Tarous shit on their lip service, but they'd also be able to discern the emotions/deep seated feelings that motivated him to lie to them. Continuing to bluntly convince them otherwise could work.....but it could also cause him to put down barriers and/or avoid the issue/them until sufficient time has passed if not handled carefully.

So, the question now was thus: Would Nathan call him out, or just leave things safely be?

(Oh yeah, I know all about how Low INT Not Equal Idiot, which I believe I've demonstrated in Terra amply enough. Problem is, my chara firmly believes otherwise, and has such low confidence/belief in that aspect of himself that convincing him otherwise will be a trail indeed. Heck, he just accepts and works around that he's 'dumb' without much negativity and matter of factly, so him never believing he'll truly get smart despite the contrary and have him contribute his learning to others/raw experience is not a problem. At least, not unless its made into one. Choice is up to you, mate! I'm happy to develop my character either way, really!)

Moving on from that (for now...), Terra looked intrigued at the glimpse the clever trainer gave him into their life, nodding and filing all said into his long term memory the best he can. Angie, meanwhile, was mostly perplexed by what they said, particularly the playful wink given to her. She knew their was significance to their words, but she couldn't quite recognize exactly what it was. How frustrating....oh well. She'll get the meaning in due time - she just has to be patience enough for it to come to her, or, bar that, learn. EXPerience is what makes a Pokémon grow, after all, so the inverse must be true as well!

He did inject once during their exposition on their background, however: "Uh....what does 'affinity' mean? Sorry for asking, but not sure about what you are telling me about it...." The seraph let out her own questioning *Zzzzzsssss?* as well, showing that she didn't understand the definition of it too. Shared ignorance on complex words must run in the family, eh?

As for accepting his entreaty for Pokechildcare and aid, he gave them a genuinely heartfelt smile, and bowed his head in gratitude.

"Thank you very much, my friend. *Thinks about it* …Later. Need time to.....think more and understand what Shiva told me, so I can remember it well. Maybe tonight, or tomorrow?"

*Thoughtful pause*

"Ah...almost forgot. What happened? *Points to where they came from* With you, and that Berry Bush? Was not......focusing on it, but saw you were excited and happy after......looking in it. *Beat* Did you find something good? Or something interesting?"