[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

I'm gonna summarize most of this since there's a lot of info to go through.

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First things first, Nathan would hand back Terra's Super Rod when he gets to the lobby.  "There ya go.  Line held up well, as expected of a Super Rod."

Presumably, Terra is also probably going to ask about what Nathan caught, if anything.  "...some kind of...eel-like fish pokemon.  Big, apparently toothless jaws.  Seems rather unruly.  Not sure if I'll have the time to train it, to be honest...Pokedex called it a Tubareel.  Water/Dark type.  Almost as big as a Gyarados.  Princess showed up with a small swarm of Combee, though, so we actually managed to beat it before it could do much of anything.  And she finally evolved afterwards, too!  I can't be more proud of how far she's come, to be honest.  Everything she's experienced has finally paid off, and I'm sure she'll put it to good use and be a ruler that her subjects will want to follow willingly."  By the end of all of that, Nathan's smiling, mostly because of how good of a job he thinks Princess did.  And given that Terra's probably read what Ventus had to say about Princess's mother, that's probably a really good sign.





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Nathan would likely spearhead the group meeting that would almost certainly follow soon afterwards.  To really summarize:

- he'd mention that Dagny had sent the permits, and that everyone should check their email if they haven't already (Nathan might have needed to mention something to Dagny about Spira at an earlier point, but it's probably safe to assume that Spira gets access via a permit somehow)

- reminder that they're officially visiting the Ruins to look for clues about what happened to Nathan's dad and where he might have gone.  Nathan's remains hopeful that Marco is still alive.  And it's also at this point that Nathan would mention the exact area of the ruins where Marco was last seen.  "That Ruin Maniac I talked to three years ago said that my dad was attacked just above an area known as the Kadabra Chambers.  It's apparently home to both the usual Skull Ruins occupants as well as many dangerous Psychic types , including Unown that typically spell out the word KADABRA.  It's infamous for being the last place that many an adventurer were last seen.  Nobody in existing records has ever returned from them, so nobody can say with any certainty what exactly is down there.  It's one of the most dangerous areas accessible from the upper layers of the Ruins.  They say time runs strangely in that place, that ancient artifacts can be found there, that it's possible to make deals with evil and mystical powers there...what is known for certain is that the ceiling is crumbling, and that the 'easy' way to enter them is a long, long fall.  My dad had Skarmory with him as he almost always does, so I don't think that would have been any trouble for him, though.  We've got Telekinesis users and Flying types that we can ride, so getting down there shouldn't be too much trouble for us either I expect.  We need to be prepared for anything, though.  Both there and when we explore other parts of the Ruins...Ghosts aren't the only pokemon that call the Skull Ruins home, after all..."  Nathan doesn't think he has to mention the other reason they're going to the Ruins again.  The Millennium Comet's presence is a big enough reminder as is.

- Everyone coordinates their team compositions, which we've done in the meta thread already, so no need to repeat all of that here.  For one reason or another, Nathan mentions that he's willing to lend out some of his more obedient pokemon if it could be potentially useful for the group as a whole.  (I'll PM you the exact information on Solomon and Ditto @Lord Windos and @Mikaruge108).  Once that's all sorted out, either Nathan or Spira (or maybe a combination of both, since Spira wouldn't necessarily know that Creshirean Honedge evolve with Dusk Stones but has used this technique himself) probably mentions to Heart that it could be possible to use the Dusk Stones in Howl's Gym to evolve Honedge into Doublade.

- It might also be at this point that Terra teaches the rest of his pokemon FLASH, I guess?  This might be the last chance to do so before we enter the Ruins proper.

Of course, if there are any further questions or comments on any of this IC, feel free to mention those.  I'm mostly just posting an outline of how I think it would go so we can get this out of the way quickly. 

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And at this point, we're mostly just waiting on Heart to finish his Gym Battle.  Possibly also seeing what might be offered in exchange for Tubareel.

The rugged wanderer accepts his Super Rod back with a slight smile, his eyes twinkling with quiet delight and curiosity as he stowed it in one of his many pocket......somehow.

"Thank you, Nathan. Catch anything good?"

One short recount by the boy later, and Terra's face was one of marked surprise, eyebrows hiked up all the way to his hairline and his lips pressed tightly in a thin line. Oinari herself mirrored his reaction much more expressively, eyes wide and her mouth parted in a small 'o' , but that more due to her leader's reaction to the story rather than the contents itself. After all, she had no clue what any of those Pokemon were, or the deeper significance of this ' Princess' ' Evolution, but if they were impressive enough to get a reaction out of the stern and stoic man, then by golly gee it deserved a similar response from her!

It took the mountain of a man minute to slowly chew over the details and all connect them to their deeper meanings, but when he did his expression suddenly broke out into a wide smile as he clasped the scholarly trainer on his left shoulder and gave an quick proud nod of his head.

"Excellent. Knew you would reel in a good Pokemon, but....not expect one so large. Hm.....Tubareel.....also sounds like Pokemon I saw on fishing job, but......different. Maybe different variant of it? *Grin slowly turns wry* Looks like my story came true for you too. Made your own Wailord of a catch, heh heh. "

The trickster kitsune giggled along with him, paw briefly covering her mouth as she did so......before she hastily places its back on his shoulder to prevent her from laughing herself off with a slightly harried look. A pratfall would have been even more funny, but not hers! Definitely not hers!

"Heh heh.....Will make a great partner someday, with time and care. If you think it is too....unruly, or can not make it Loyal and Happy, though......I know someone who would buy them at fair price. A Shieldmaiden named Brazen.  Sold many giant Water Pokemon I caught in Safari Zone through her to her boss, so think she would be interested in Tubareel too."

He then moves on to talk about the queen bee herself, his smile still bright and excited as he did so.

"Glad to hear about Princess' Evolution too. Very glad. Ven and I worried she would turn out like her.....mom, but.......happy that was not what happened. I believe she'll be a great and......benevolent ruler, with all you taught her, and how you raised her. Not like her mom, or.......them.*Grip on shoulder tightens* Be proud, Nathan. You deserve to be."

Needless to say, Terra shares his friend's feeling on Princess's growth into a magnificent Vespiqueen. So much so, in fact....

"*Curious look* Would like to meet Princess someday. See her rule myself, and.....speak with her. Have a.....lesson I want to teach her. One that I think will help her, now and in the future."

Huh......interesting.

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With the above scene progressed, time to move on to Terra's own summerized responses to the following group meeting!

- Terra already obtained his Items/Permit earlier, as that was one of the first things he noticed/checked on after going to his PC. He thanks Nathan for the reminder, though.

- Seeing as the sagely monk was around in the past when Kadabra's Chamber was being discussed/Nathan probably filled him in about it more in detail later on in private , he just nods along to the young intellectual words, expression now solemn.

"Yes. Bringing Angie along with me, so we should all be able to fly on her into them......carefully. Oinari *Motions to her, to which she perks up and waves at everyone in response* coming too, to fight off and protect us from Skull Ruin's Ghosts and Psychics. Her Illusion power could help protect us from tricks and......sorcery of the place too. ...I think. *Frowns* Don't know who else to take, though. Hard to choose which partner is best for journey. *Looks at everyone* Help?"

- *Insert the whole group collaborating and coordinating their team's here!* He's particularly surprised he's given the honor of being Solomon's holder (as I don't think Terra would ask for them in specific, but offer to take a Pokemon of Nathan's if it helps them out), but he quickly snaps out of it and promises he'll take good care of them. From Ven's notes he knows they're not entirely Obedient, but since they're a smart and polite enough cookie he's certain that he can work out a deal between them, Nathan, and himself.

- Yeap, its as Dragonstrike says: Terra turns his attention over to Shiva, and with a slight incline of his head formally requests her to teach the rest of his Pokemon FLASH. Due to reasons he was not able to get them all taught by Nathan the day prior, so he wishes to rectify that issue post haste, if they allow him too. I'll leave the details as to how this takes place to Phantom/Shiva!

With that, I think everything is more or less accounted for, besides Heart's battle. It's waiting time now, until we can at long last depart to the Skull Ruins, that dread, dead place...