[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Dragonstrike]

"Well, the Gym Leader himself trained us, a man by the name of 'Daniel', he had us call him 'Mister', the steps of training were in order; Familiarizing ourselves with Ghost Pokemon, their habits and habitat, then after several written tests was the next step, we had to catch a Ghost-type Pokemon to use for the training, I ended up getting a female Banette at Stark Mountain, had to borrow a Drifblim from the Gym leader to get there, though. The final test was free battles between the candidates, but I didn't get that far, because of a slight accident involving the Drifblim and my Banette, I had a falling out with the gym. Besides, some of the other trainers there had gone completely bonkers, as  they didn't have everything it takes to fully master using Ghost-types. Most people that aren't strong-willed enough are driven crazy by the influence that Ghost Pokemon have." When Spira hears 'Super Contest' he raises an eyebrow, "Super Contests? Never heard of those." ((Imma say they weren't widely practiced in Sinnoh for another 30 years after Spira left Sinnoh.))

*Flashback!*

"Ah yeah, right...1925...probably weren't many female Gym Leaders back then...or in most important and/or prestigious positions...hmmm...hm?  Accident?  What do you mean by..."

Nathan looks confused by that for a moment, until what Spira means exactly dawns on him.  Spira said that Banette was female, the event involved the Leader's Drifblim too, and Spira didn't have a Banette when they met him, so...

"...oh.  You mean that kind of 'accident'...so, uh...what happened to that Banette, then?"

As for Spira's comment on Ghost trainers going bonkers, Nathan just sighs.  "...well, given that we have the Skull Ruins, a place infested with all kinds of nasty Ghosts that are almost all seemingly trying to lead astray and/or kill all who enter the place...I could see that being a problem, yeah...techniques for training them have probably come a long way in the last 90 years, though...and I don't think Fantina, the current Hearthome Gym Leader, is the kind of person who would let her gym trainers go crazy from trying to train her favorite type..."

Nathan shakes his head in slight exasperation and shrugs his shoulders.  "...but what do I know, eh?  Ghosts aren't a very popular type in this region, after all.  Most Creshireans just try to avoid them altogether.  Chuckles, the current Corsage Gym Leader, is one of the very few trainers in this region who specializes in using the type.  The port town is a lot more solemn these days than it was almost 100 years ago.  Didn't help that it was being plagued by unnatural nightmares, either..."  And that comment would probably strike Spira as rather odd and ominous, given that there's one pokemon he can immediately think of with an ability like that...

Nathan quickly moves on to the next topic, chatty as usual, but Spira can always ask questions about stuff Nathan has said.

"Oh yeah, Contests.  Almost forgot that they weren't around in 1925...just to give ya a basic rundown of what Pokemon Contests are, they're essentially a form of pokemon competition where the main goal is for your pokemon to look their best rather than to KO the entire opposing team.  It was invented in the 50s in Hoenn, and eventually spread to Sinnoh, where they added the 'Super' to the title because they did their own personal spin on some of the rules.  The competition's spread to the Tohjo area recently as well thanks to some really dedicated trainers.  We don't have Pokemon Contests here in this region, unfortunately.  To be perfectly honest, I'd love to try it one day, though, just to experience what it's like.  Some trainers dedicate their entire careers to earning Contest Ribbons instead of Gym Badges."