[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

Instead of Nathan seeming down about being admonished for putting himself down, Nathan just chuckles at the irony of the situation.  "...well, look at you, nailing me for the exact same thing I said you shouldn't do...heh..."  Gallade's chuckling as well.  It doesn't seem as bad when you're able to laugh about it together, right?


Once Nathan and Gallade stop chuckling, he makes one more comment.  "...I'm not really the professional artist type, and that's fine by me.  I'm not trying to put my own work down, though I guess I could have worded that a bit better...drawing is more of a hobby for me than a passion, let's just say that.  History, though...oh, the wonders of history...you wouldn't believe some of the things I could tell you about the past...well, maybe you would, actually, given what we all just experienced...what's important is what we learn from it, though.  I'm getting off track though.  You're right, Terra.  I shouldn't directly compare my art to Keni's.  It's kinda hard to compare most art to his work, after all, given that he's dedicated his whole life to it..."

--------------------------

Now then, on to teaching ROCK SMASH to various pokemon!

Teaching ROCK SMASH to Shiranui, Basteele, Anubi, and Genie should be a fairly straightforward affair.  Gallade's a bit more stoic and distant than usual while Basteele's out (though he does his best to hide any outward reactions), but he's definitely more than happy to see the two Fighting types learn the move.  He thinks they're trustworthy enough.  And Genie...well, let's just say Nathan partially hopes teaching her the HM helps act as an apology for what transpired in the introductory battle...

As far as Yogi the Medicham goes...well, Gallade tenses up immediately, ready in case the Medicham decides to cause any trouble.  Nathan eyes Yogi a little warily the entire time, but provided Yogi is willing to keep the move a secret and has no problems with learning the move from Nathan (nor causes any trouble), that'll probably be fairly straightforward too.  Given that Terra trusts that Yogi will use ROCK SMASH responsibly, Nathan will do so with few complaints despite his own (or rather, Gallade's) biases.  Gallade won't object either simply to be polite about it, but mostly because he doesn't want to be the one who starts any kind of fight here.  That'd be rather rude of him if he did.

As for Angie...well...Nathan coughs, then says, "...so, uh, about Angie...I kinda took the liberty of already teaching her the move ahead of time...ya know, when ya borrowed Gallade to go to Stair and loaned her to me so we could talk...*ahem*...figured that'd be a good time to do it, considering nobody else was around at the time..."  Nathan doesn't outright say it, but he definitely already trusted that Terra would use the HM responsibly at that point, and Nathan also likes Angie, so...(if ya need me to, @Iron, I can forward the PMs involving that part of the private scene as evidence to ya)

Spoiler

Yogi maneuvers so that he's second in line to receive the HM. Seems to think he might need it. He puts a hand on Nathan's shoulder, and on Terra's shoulder, trying to indicate that he will use this move only responsibly.

No need to show me the PM as this isn't really a problem that's mechanical in nature. I like what Nathan's done here though. Nathan and Terra both gain 4XP.

*Flashback!*

Hearing the boy laugh at his stern suggestion momentarily threw Terra for a loop, his face scrunched up in pure confusion at their reaction - 'Did I  say something funny? Don't think so, but....Nathan is laughing, so.....?' - but when they responded back to him he is left blinking in even more surprise again, stunned. Then, after a minute passed, a wide smile stretched across the sagely monk's face, and he slowly began to chuckle himself, breaking his stoic facade.

"Heh......You are right. Did not think I was doing that, but I am. Heh..."

When they made their second comment, the mountain of a man mostly nods along without comment, smile still playing out across his face, but as they speak of History his expression perks up and he smile grow a bit wider.

"Right, and true. Would like to learn more about History from you, though. Trips to past......made me more interested about it. Like......King Sammy's time, and about Legends. Hm.....need to make time for sword lesson from Gallade too, but that can come later."

After the young intellectual said he was right, though, he again looked taken aback, before he was smiling again as he reached over to pat their head.

"Glad you......see my perspective, and understanding. Thank you, Nathan."

~~~

Since you left most of my Pokemon's reactions blank, I'll take that as clear to do them myself!

Shiranui and Anubi: They're pretty much thrilled and absolutely tickled pink at learning ROCK SMASH, with the sumo wrestler feeling gratified after FINALLY learning the legendary Move since he first saw it being used on his old ironclad insect partner, and the aural jackal simply overjoyed at getting access to such a POWERFUL technique! Of course he was firmly told not to use it unless given explicit permission for it, which dampened his enthusiasm a bit, but if they was the price he had to pay, then he'll grit his teeth and bear it!

Genie: Similarly, the dragonfly princess was excited to learn the HM, but judging by the fae gleam in her eyes and the smirk she was sporting as she flexed her claws, her ideas around the stone shattering Move was hardly innocent. Oh, the things she can do and the mischief she can get up to with this, te he he he..... She didn't hold anything against Nathan for their battle (A Fight is a Fight, no matter how tricky it gets!), but if she was still made, learning ROCK SMASH was a fitting apology! Terra didn't notice his desert djin's behavior, but Gallade would!

Basteele: The bold bombshell was less overtly enthused about acquiring ROCK SMASH than her peers, only thumping a couple time on the floor as she got PUMPED, before settling down. Unlike the others, she had actually been on the receiving end of the Legendary Move, and boy did that leave an impression on her, in every sense of the word! Add in the fact that her Typing leaves her leave inclined towards Fighting Moves, and overall she's much more subdued and respectful in learning the HM.

However, she almost instantly picked up on the psychic knight's stoic and slightly chilly mood towards her once she gets a good look at them, and fixes them with a stern look and hopped closer, clearly broadcasting the message 'What, you got a problem with me?' In or out of battle, she was direct, blunt, and entirely unsubtle with her interactions, so was getting straight to the bottom of this pronto!

Yogi: You already brought up their reaction, but I'll mention Terra has complete confidence and faith that they will use the HM justly, so he needed no reassurance from them. Still, he appreciated it none the less!

(...)

Needless to say, Terra is shocked again, as the revelation his friend had that much faith in him to teach his daughter ROCK SMASH prior to him asking was stunning, to say the least. Did they....really have that much confidence in him? Shouldn't have been that much of a surprise, as the both of them had supported each other greatly ever since they've meet each other, but when you're given an direct example of how much they trusted you......

It took him about a minute for him to absorb everything, but when he did a brilliant smile broke out across his face, and before Nathan knew it he was in the middle of an hug. Which, considering how uncomfortable he was with that sort of thing, was saying how strongly he felt about his friend's earlier gesture.

"Thank you very much. You are a great, great friend....."