[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Dragonstrike]

It is now Day 75, early early morning. Too early to tell what the weather will do for sure, but the weathermen say it might storm.

Welp, guess I need to decide on a team then.  Let's see here...

Spoiler

- Gallade and Calam are a given for obvious reasons
- Porygon-Z is coming along to help mess with electronics if necessary
- Charizard is coming because he's a very strong Fire type
- Grid's coming to help with debuffing enemies and because he's amazingly versatile
- Ditto because it's versatile

Nathan also sends a text to Shiva, Heart, and Spira saying which pokemon he's bringing so they can plan accordingly.  (with an added note for Spira concerning Porygon-Z's Type and basic capabilities)  On a more lighthearted note, now everyone except Terra also knows that Charmeleon's evolved (though not necessarily when and why).  Hooray, I guess?

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The young trainer also does a few things before heading to the trading card shack to meet with everyone.

- First of all, Nathan has to have a chat with Charizard and Grid while in the privacy of his room in the Pokemon Center.  Starting with how yesterday's Gym Battle went!  With a smile on his face, he's happy to show them the Staurolite Badge and say, "We did it, guys.  We beat Angela.  Couldn't have done it without ya both.  Charizard, thanks for doing the bulk of the work.  You did an absolutely spectacular job.  Grid, ya might have been taken out early, but all that damage you dealt helped secure our victory nonetheless.  Calam was able to come in and simply clean up all the weakened foes you two left for him with Iron Tail.  I couldn't be prouder of how the both of you performed."

The smile soon turns to a frown however.  He also needs to tell them about what happened afterwards.  "...however...while you both were unconscious, it seems Keni Morgusi and my Uncle...they were kidnapped.  Their homes...they were destroyed completely by a purposeful Earthquake..."  He tightens a fist, enclosing the badge inside.  "...those damn Scimitars seem to have taken them to their base in the Almanac Labs on the Cress Cliffs.  The place is a veritable fortress."  The fist loosens slightly, the hand drops, and he looks Charizard and Grid in the eyes.  "...we can get in, though.  Calam knows how we can get in undetected.  So our mission today is to save Keni and my Uncle, while they might still be in the building.  Get in, get out.  If we can save them, we might be able to nail Almanac for collusion with the Scimitars.  Particularly if I can find a place to leave some little electronic gifts for them from Dagny.  Gallade's been itching for a little revenge on the people who put him through so much pain, Calam's been training his entire life for this...to say this is quite possibly one of the most important events in their lives and mine is an understatement...and that's why I'm asking for your help.  I can count on your aid, to help me show those insensitive criminals what it means to value individuals as more than tools, right?"  Given that the both of them have 4 Loyalty, they shouldn't have any issues with the request, but Nathan wanted to ask for good measure.

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- Second, he's decided on who to use the TM for Return on!  The lucky recipient is...

Spoiler

Porygon-Z!  It isn't anywhere near learning Tri Attack yet, but this Return will be just as strong since Porygon-Z currently has 3 Happiness!  (I probably would have taught Zippy Return instead, but Combee can't learn any moves via TM in the games, so he's incompatible with the move through normal means  )

Plus, I do feel kinda bad for (somewhat unintentionally) neglecting Porygon-Z a little ever since the incident with Dagny and her Delta Porygon (the only time we saw it after that was when it learned Electroweb), so teaching Porygon-Z a strong STAB move after the useful Electroweb is also a kinda half apology, I guess.

Nathan would also tell Porygon-Z about what happened with Keni and his Uncle (to keep things brief, I won't type that out), and ask for it to help rescue them, with a lot of special emphasis on how much technology Almanac probably has that could be messed with (more opportunity to apply some things that Pulse might have shown Porygon-Z, or to try some new tricks to show Pulse later.  And Nathan will definitely make sure to spend a little more time with the both of them after all of this!).  It's kinda important to ask in this case in particular because a pokemon with only 2 Loyalty, according to the book, '...won't help you in Life-or-Death situations'.

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Third: Nathan needs to talk to Ditto.  If he's going to bring the amorphous pink pokemon along, it'll have to know why.  To keep things brief again, Nathan tells Ditto what's happened and asks for its help with the infiltration since its skills could mean a world of difference in a tight spot.  He knows it's still asking a lot of Ditto and that he still hasn't (naturally) earned any of Ditto's Loyalty and not much of Ditto's Happiness, but...he's very, very thankful that Ditto helped out in Mt. Sentry and the volcano despite that, and he can't express that enough.  He doesn't think he'll ever be able to fully repay Ditto for how it saved them all in Seikamater's Lair.

Oh, and I suppose I should also say what Ditto's randomly Transformed into today (and thus what form it's in while Nathan's talking with it), shouldn't I?  It's...

Spoiler

Yup, it's a Flygon again.

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Fourth, he also needs to buy some items, and would have probably done so last night. He gets: 2 Super Potions for $1400. He's got lots of healing items on hand already, but having some stronger ones is never a bad idea.

TLDR; Update Grid, Charizard, and Porygon-Z on what happened, ask for their help with the infiltration/rescue for good measure, also ask for Ditto's help (because it's extra important to do so with a pokemon with 0-1 Loyalty), and finally use that Return TM!

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When Nathan's ready, he's waiting at/near the trading card shack, as agreed on.  Gallade and Calam are both ready to go as well, and Nathan also has his own Water Scimitar Robes packed in case they're needed.