[Game Thread] Lord Windos’ PokeRole Adventure 2: The Wild Lands

[Dragonstrike]

Spoiler

The guide can't bring herself to look at you. 

"....Yes. The Wild Lands.....they....."

You could see them bite their lip so hard it bled.

"Nn! They...they are not a place one should go unprepared. It has...Rules. Rules that must be followed. Or....or...."

A defeated air hung about her as she hung her head, shame and guilt clouding what little you could see of her face.

"You'll lose. Greatly. Me....I broke one. 'When the Stars Turn Red: Do Not Stand. Bow, Neal, Go Beneath the Sacred Land. Beware, Those That Do Not: Starlight's Judgment Must be Withstand.' I...I couldn't resist staring at them. Was Blinded. Burning. Until my sister....shielded me...and...."

She falls silent.

Then, she takes a deep breath, and lets it out. Slowly. Then turns around and bows to you, looking chagrined and remorseful.

"I'm...sorry about that. The Wild Lands...I'm not the greatest one to talk about them. The Lepia have more Insight on them - each Tribe Knows a couple of Rules. Their are also Guides, but they are few and their demands are great, odd, precise, or arbitrary. That's...that's all I can say without....reacting like that again."

Yikes.

Goodra does his part in comforting the dear, reaching up to give them a worried smile and a pat on the head, to which earnt him a giggle and soft smile in turn. Good ol' Goodra - the Cure to Woes of all kinds.

They appreciate the Segway into a different topic altogether, trying their hardest to regain their former pep (and succeeding somewhat, thanks in no small part to Goodra) as she gave a brief-ish overview of the Safari Zone.

"Oh, yes, yes, the Safari Zone! Hmm....its rather dangerous compared to other ones in different Regions, but if you hire the right good Safari Guide or bring excellent Partners and read up on the local 'Patterns' and 'Shifts'   you should be fine! You absolutely need to do your research and be prepared - individual Safaris last at least 3 Days, no exceptions. Typically a 'Hunt' or 'Expedition' consists of 2-3 'Goers' and 1-2 'Guides' . You're expected to help your fellow Safari goers and your Guide on their hunts too, and abandoning them could lead to you being banned from the Zone, if not face legal action depending on what you agreed on. You do what the Guide says, unless it puts you in unnecessary harm or risk. Or you get one of the wilder Guides that wants to make the Hunts a 'true experience to hook ya '. You get 15 Safari Balls and a bag of Basic Bait, at least - what else you get to help depends on what your Guide offers or what you can bargain for from the staff. On the plus you're allowed to bring in your own Weapons and Tools to hunt your quarry, and to my knowledge you can also rent Pokemon that are trained to aid in general or specific hunts! You also can take Bounties, Requests, or Challenges on offer to reap even more rewards! They also host weekly 'scrims' for fresh catches, and a monthly competitions for battles, specific hunts, and more! Finally, you can also sign up to become a Guide too for great discounts and other benefits, though you're required to 'prove' you're both competent enough to be one and 'committed enough' to it. 

"If you're interested their isa company that has a Pokemon that can FLY - yes, that FLY - you to there and back, though the waiting times are long and trips are pricey. Still worth it if you don't want to risk or bother with a long journey on foot!"

The Ferrothron costs only $7500 Poke; though after a specific 'Heroes' Discount it is brought down to $6250 - it's quite Disobedient and unruly, it's unTrained (though plenty Tough!), and the Survival Center basically wants to get rid of it ASAP by selling it cheaply as they can to cover its costs + the fees owed to the Bounty Hunter that caught + still make a decent enough profit. Compared to the +$10k minimum for similar and generally inferior iron durrans in other Regions....it's a bargain! 

"*Rubs back of head* Sorry we can't go any lower, but we all have to put bread on the table and keep the lights on here! Our Conkeldurrs would appreciate the break from having to fix their cell and keep the durran from getting too unruly or understimulated, so if you can promise they'll have a good home you can take'em!"

You can take the book on the Calamities (she's confused as to WHY it's there, but is fine with you Snatching it up), but the Guide says that copy of the Guide Book is someone else here. The Survival Center does sell the newest print for only $500 Poke, however!

The lass face tightens at the news, her eyes hardening like a Diamond Storm Diance.

"I see. I'll be sure to pass the word up and out. We got connections to a lot of place and people - if the police are too overworked right now to catch those bastards, we'll do our part in picking up the slack. Promise."

Seddi writes that rule down.  "Your cautionary tale is noted.  'Preciate what little you could tell me, and 'pologies for bringin' up some bad memories."

As for the Ferrothorn...SOLD!  Is it the best use of his money right now?  Maybe not in the short term, but that certain someone is going to love this opportunity to raise a pokemon not found in Paldea.  "Pleasure doin' business with ya.  Hopefully I'll be able to do more with ya in the near future.  Can't be goin' out into those wilds unprepared, after all."

Yeah, Seddi would buy a copy of that guidebook for 500.  Sounds useful!  He'll flip through that later.

And in response to the lass's commitment to catchin' the bastards that assaulted Oz, Seddi will offer a little more info, courtesy of what Oz and Akamu have told him about the situation so far.  "Well, if you're gonna look out for 'em, let me tell ya what I know so ya know what you're gettin' into.  Best I can gather, it's a group goin' by the name Breakneck Boys.  Sounded like it started small and relatively harmless, but it's escalatin' alarmingly quickly.  It's basically operatin' like a gang at this point.  Torture, extortion, attempted murder...you name it, they'll probably be doin' it if they haven't already.  They've got weapons, and I hear the upper ranks are rather tough trainers to boot.  Watch yourself if you're gonna try and bring some of 'em in."

Spoiler

Ceruledge angrily huffed at your rationale, clearly disagreeing. You may have provoked her, but that old coot should've controlled herself better! To act like she did in front of your more established Partners at that? Arrogance. Pure arrogance, and it was infuriating. She did relent to you in the end, but that more because she didn't wish to argue rather than true agreement. That's your Blade of Malice for you: she holds a Grudge like no one ever could. 

Velzuna, on the other fin, is entirely fine with things, giving you a nod and a wide toothy grin. He doesn't really get why the old sea otter was like that, but if you said it was okay that was that. Everyone has their Rough Skin points - all one has to do is get past it and smooth things over in time, like what you've done with him and everyone else.

Leaves meets your stare with that evergreen calmness, but otherwise doesn't answer any of your lurking suspicions or unanswered questions. From what you could tell, such was due to....reluctance, more or less.

====

Everyone deciding to put behind the salty otter's near CUTING response, you all prepare for the Group Training Session.

Ceruledge goes over to Akamu and leads him off to the side and begins going through some beginner drills on how to hold and wield a blade; Lani joins in, intrigued in learning a new style of Fight that could synergize with her own sharp, metallic scales. Velzuna does his own thing, attacking a nearby training dummy with controlled, practiced slices and quick bites! 

Goodra and Ecclessia end up doing something akin to sumo wrestling, using their own immense weight and bounciness to throw each other around! The later seemed to be taking it as a serious challenge, while the former clearly was enjoying it more for the fun. Nalu joined in too, his innate Regeneration and ever-cheerful attitude allowing him to try and give as good as he got while being rebounded all over the place!

Rabsca was trying to tutor Sand Crawler in proper Ambush techniques and analyzing battle patterns to exploit weaknesses, but the poor Paradox seemed more confused than anything else. Kayla, surprisingly, joined in, calmly chewing a twig as she mulled it all over.

Iron Leaves simply meditates, crossing their legs and sitting on the floor as they carefully control their Terrain and honed their mental energies; Seddi too could join her, if he needs to clear his own head.

Training Rolls!

Blade Work - Ceruledge, Akamu, and Lani! + Velzuna off to the side!
Roll: DEX (5+3/2 = 4) + Fight (4+3/2 = 2) + Brawl for Ceruledge and Lani, Weapons for Akamu (3+3/2 = 3 , 0) + 1 (Eagerness) - 2 (First Time) = 8D6 Dice for Ceruledge and Lani, 5D6 Dice for Akamu
(2)(5)(2)(5)(5)(1)(3)(5) 
(6)(6)(5)(4)(2)

Everyone gains 4 XP (1/2 for Ceruledge and Lani) ! Akamu also manages to pick up 1 Point into Weapons, due to competent work on his tutors part and an excellent first session from him! Swinging that Katana around almost seemed too easy, as if he just knew where to guide it....


Dragon Ball Sumo, with Spikey Friend!
STR (2+*10 / 3 = 4) + Fight (3 + *9 / 3 = 4) + Brawl (1 + 0 + *9/3 = 3) = 11D6 Dice!
(2)(3)(1)(5)(5) (2)(4)(1)(2)(2) (3)

Everyone gains 2 XP! Not a lot of progress to be made, but at least Goodra and Nalu had plenty of fun. Less so for Ecclessia, who thinks that was a massive waste of time, hmpt!

Getting Bit by the Education Bug!
INS (4 + 2 + *2 / 2 = 4) + Knowledge (2 + 2 + *1 / 2 = 2) + Alert (3 + 2 + *5 / 2 = 5) - 4 (Learning Hard!) = 7D6 Dice
(6)(3)(2) (2)(6)(1)(5)

Everyone gains 3 XP! Sand Crawler looks like he sorta gets it, while Kayla continued to look thoughtful. Rabsca seems happy to reach their students, even if only a little.

Meditation - Leaves and (perhaps) Seddi
INS (*8 + 3 / 3 = 4) + Survival (*5 + 2 / 3 = 2) + Nature (*6 + 2 / *1 = 8) - 5 (Not Fully in Sync) = 9D6 Dice
(4)(6)(1) (3)(4)(6) (5)(5)(1)

You and leaves gain 3XP, after XP Modifiers and Rounding Up. Sitting there with Leaves in total silence and serenity, you get an inkling of what Kusanagi might've felt from Her - That ever Verdant Spirit of your Sword, Calm, Logical, and Dedicated as ever....with just a hint of righteousness lurking deep within. What your Partner sees in you....well, it had her smiling slightly, letting out a pleasant hum that help soothe your nerves. 

All in all, a decent training experience for everyone!

(That's it for Training! RP the scene out if you wish, and wrap things up however you want!)

It has been a long while since Seddi last thought a training session had been particularly productive for him and Ceruledge.  Meditating with Leaves while Ceruledge was instructing a new student of the blade though?  Well, maybe it felt effective because it was different.  It's been a long time since they trained with anyone new.

It was nice.

Though while Seddi is trying to not let what Kusanagi said get to him...that righteousness that he can feel deep within Leaves is definitely something that will linger even if he tries to not think about it.

He may not know everything about her yet, but he has no doubt that he'll learn eventually.

Spoiler

(18 Exp on Lani are spent to Increase her Brawl specialty)

He would bow to Ceruledge before thanking them, He had fun and learned something, what else could one want.

Next it was time for introductions, strolling over to Seddi.

''Thank ya for your time, from the looks of it they (mostly) had fun, I sure did. Now that you've seen what they can do its time for formalities.''

''You've seen her plenty before but this scaly lady is Lani, she's always ready to throw down and hone her battling skills. Her agressive fighting style was instrumental in defeating the camp of BBs yesterday and I'm very proud of her so far.''

having a little chuckle he would continue, ''My biggest worry with her is my backpack being too small for her when she evolves.''


''Next up is my little bundle of joy and spines. Nalu is the master of both inflicting deadly statuses and cheering up the mood whenever needed. You'll also see him out of his ball a lot, the advantage of being rather small huh.''


''Mudsdale are of big importance in my family, Kayla here is no exception. She's incredibly durable, always dependable and really chill. Probably my best bet for Wilds transport that doesn't include machinery, though I'd be happier with those vehicles for their speed alone.''


''Last up is my newest catch, Ecclesia, the black and yellow beauty right from the deep waters of the alolan sea. She's proficient with curses and can tough out a lot (monkey madness flashback). Have a go, guess *what* she is, I sure had trouble telling when reeling her in.''
[spoiler]