[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Iron]

No Deyo flowers here. Perhaps they need sunlight to grow. Other than that, it is just like their environment.



Shiva's Mightyena and all the various copies of Dizzy really enjoy this cavern. The darkness is perfect for them. They can fade right into it and not even the direct beam of a flashlight uncovers them.

And that's why Shiva doesn't see the Liepard until she's close enough to step on its tail! It's already pivoting to attack Yena.

4 Dex + 3 Survival + 4 Stealth
(3)(3)(3)(5)(2)(5) (6)(2)(6)(5)(2) = 5 success
(1)(5)(6)(2)(2)(5) (2)(2) = 3 success. It's an Ambush.

As the elegant Pokemon strikes with its paws, you see the true size of this creature. It's the size of an Arcanine, and its fur is especially dark and luxurious.

Fake Out
4 Dex + 3 Fight + 2
(5)(4)(1)(6)(3)(2) (5)(5)(5) Critical hit
3 Str + 2 power +2 crit -4 vit = 3d6
(3)(1)(5) Mightyena takes 1 dmg and flinches.

Liepard cuffs Mightyena and turns his head. It looks almost playful though - certainly aggressive, and from such a large Pokemon, but probably not exactly hostile.

[Iron]

Kirlia doesn't pick up the Shedinja, but Calam and Ditto both point their noses at a hummock of grass where the blades are bent into a sort of giant basket shape. When discovered, Shedinja rises up out of the hummock, the blades parting to allow it passage. It just hovers there before Nathan and the disaster Pokemon.

[Iron]

Spoiler

"Well I always want to ask you something: How you three have meet? You know: You, Shiva, Ventus. Did you always been link to each other like that? How you all meet?"

Nathan shrugs.  "Just all met back at Mallorn's lab in Trillium.  He had various things for each of the five of us that met there that day...permits, job offers, information, a job for those working for him...things kinda just started from there."

It is now Day 61.
Encounters are never resolved until everyone's had a chance to say which they want. Valder is an exception by his own request - he just hops in if he happens to come online.

Still no sign of any bugs pursuing you! Slurpuff doesn't even smell any nearby.

As discussed, you use your new Rock Smash access to take a shortcut, which leads you downhill. You come to a very strange cavern. The walls glow with a somewhat familiar meteoric sheen! Nathan can identify it as Meteoric Superconductor at once. The geology of this place suggest it has sunk from far far far far above, and become filled in. Broad muddy grooves in the wall, marking the area's path, have metamorphized into stone. The floor is extremely tough granite, flecked with MS.

The air is very heavy. Your movements, too, are feeling sluggish in the weird atmosphere. You can expect to become tired after 2 Encounters, instead of the usual 3.

That's still not the strangest thing about that cavern. There's grass growing, in complete absence of light. It's the Long Grass which presents occasional patches aboveground in Creshire, the scent of which always attracts Pokemon like a Sweet Scent. It's growing up from a crazy web of cracks in the granite, where mud has seeped through, and it swathes the entire floor except for a thin strip near the walls. The brush absorbs your light.

Kirlia narrows his eyes at it, as if thinking about something in his... past?
Gothitelle, by contrast, seems very comfortable.
Slowking is merely curious. But all the Psychic and Dark types feel a little weird here.

Lots of Pokemon rustle in the grass.

Mt. Sentry Long Grass Biome Encounters Part 1

1. Name: Liepard*
Challenge: Easy
Cap: 1 (2)
Bid start: 1

2. Name: Shedinja*
Challenge: ?
Cap: 1 (2)
Bid start: 1

3. Name: Beldum
Challenge: Extremely easy
Cap: 1 (2)
Bid start: 1
Notes: no XP

4. Name: Nuzleaf
Challenge: extremely easy
Cap: 1 (2)
Bid start: 1
Notes: no XP

5. Name: Unown E
Challenge: ?
Cap: 1 (2)
Bid start: 1
Note: Modern style

6. Name: Wynaut
Challenge: Extremely easy
Cap: 1 (2)
Bid start: 1
Notes: No XP

7. Name: Valuable item
Cap: 1
Bid start: 2

Flashback!

"I understand. Well, I gonna sleep now. After today we need to rest. Gonna go now. Good night Nathan and rest well."

Flashback end!

A new day have begin. After the events of past night, Heart recover very well. No bugs and no angry Legendary pokemon. Heart them look in the direction and see a Beldum! "Neat! With another Beldum along with the one I will hatch...hohoho future Metang here we go!"

After seeing that, he see the little one lurking around. Heart careful aproach and see the little Beldum. "Hello there little one. Sorry to bother you. Can I talk with you for a bit?"

Beldum just rotates in the air, somewhat helplessly. Its single eye remains fixed on Heart. Every now and then it floats lower to the ground and bounces slowly off of it. It gives the impression of floating in space like you've seen astronauts do in videos.

[Iron]

As for Ventus, he's digging through the grass looking for a Pokemon he might want to learn more about or capture. Instead, he finds a great big hunk of Meteoric Superconductor - actually the remnants of a meteorite! It's the size of his head and quite smooth after years of underground erosion. The reddish, slightly holographic stone has distinct grain wherever it has been worn away.


From the museum exhibit, the party can estimate this is enough MS for 40 Pokeballs, so it's worth $4000 as a raw material. To a museum or geologist or whatever it might be worth more like $6500. They aren't super rare, but rare enough!

[Dragonstrike]

Kirlia doesn't pick up the Shedinja, but Calam and Ditto both point their noses at a hummock of grass where the blades are bent into a sort of giant basket shape. When discovered, Shedinja rises up out of the hummock, the blades parting to allow it passage. It just hovers there before Nathan and the disaster Pokemon.

Here comes some more surprised blinking from Nathan!

"...what's another Shedinja doing down here?"

Nathan has to think for a moment about that...and then he remembers that Nincada have a tendency to live deep, deep underground...though they usually surface when they're about to evolve.  Maybe it's not super duper unusual...

So...it's a Shedinja.  Rather unnerving for Kirlia since it barely has any readable emotions, if any.  If it's just hovering there, not making any aggressive actions...

...well, Nathan just kinda stares back at it for a moment.  Obviously, that's a staring contest he loses because Shedinja don't have any eyes in the traditional sense...

"...huh...I take it you've been down here ever since splitting of from a Ninjask?"

[Iron]

Kirlia doesn't pick up the Shedinja, but Calam and Ditto both point their noses at a hummock of grass where the blades are bent into a sort of giant basket shape. When discovered, Shedinja rises up out of the hummock, the blades parting to allow it passage. It just hovers there before Nathan and the disaster Pokemon.

Here comes some more surprised blinking from Nathan!

"...what's another Shedinja doing down here?"

Nathan has to think for a moment about that...and then he remembers that Nincada have a tendency to live deep, deep underground...though they usually surface when they're about to evolve.  Maybe it's not super duper unusual...

So...it's a Shedinja.  Rather unnerving for Kirlia since it barely has any readable emotions, if any.  If it's just hovering there, not making any aggressive actions...

...well, Nathan just kinda stares back at it for a moment.  Obviously, that's a staring contest he loses because Shedinja don't have any eyes in the traditional sense...

"...huh...I take it you've been down here ever since splitting of from a Ninjask?"

Kirlia doesn't really react to it still. He's a lot more interested in the MS and the Long Grass.

Shedinja starts glowing purple and floats a few inches closer to Nathan.

[Dragonstrike]

Kirlia doesn't really react to it still. He's a lot more interested in the MS and the Long Grass.

Shedinja starts glowing purple and floats a few inches closer to Nathan.

Fair enough.

That's...spooky.  And not what Nathan would have expected of a Shedinja.  How do Calam and/or Absol Ditto react to that, though?  That will probably affect Nathan's reaction...

[Iron]

Kirlia doesn't really react to it still. He's a lot more interested in the MS and the Long Grass.

Shedinja starts glowing purple and floats a few inches closer to Nathan.

Fair enough.

That's...spooky.  And not what Nathan would have expected of a Shedinja.  How do Calam and/or Absol Ditto react to that, though?  That will probably affect Nathan's reaction...

They're backing up and looking at Nathan for his reaction. They don't seem freaked out, but they're certainly treating it with caution. Not too different from how they'd react to any threatening wild Pokemon.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Whoops. Guess taking that one step closer to the rustling of the Grass was a VERY BAD choice, and Shiva flinching away herself right away as she felt stepping onto something did prevented anything at all. Now, she was starring into the purely white eyes of Unova's answer to a Persian: Liepard! Not just any exemplar though, this one was almost as big as Shiva herself, and the even MORE magnificient fur of it caught her for a moment. What a precious one, what a masterpiece of a catlike Pokemon... Too bad that they're known for their stubborn and malicious nature, making it rather hard to keep them as a pet.

How it managed to cuff her Mightyena when she didn't even saw her butterwolfly in this cloaking silence Shiva didn't know, but she suspected the cat's senses and adaptability to the darkness. A low growl was all she heard from Yena.

Shiva just STARED at this monster of a feline, refusing to give in to it. Nope, she remained calm, the tranquility in this caverns surely played a role in this. "There, Liepard... Do forgive me for my carelessness.You know, I've came from faaaaaaar away, from a place where the sky turns as dark as this cavern every few hours, sometimes small glowing dots decorate it. It's almost....as much of a precious sight as your fur. Where I am originating from, your species is praised and and often seen in Contests where Pokemon show off their beauty and skill. Say, would you enjoy being applauded to by an audience? ......I would."

"Ah, and that dog you attacked belongs to me. He's a Dark Type, just like you - maybe you'd be up to....well, show me your skills in a competition?"

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

It is now Day 61.
Encounters are never resolved until everyone's had a chance to say which they want. Valder is an exception by his own request - he just hops in if he happens to come online.

Still no sign of any bugs pursuing you! Slurpuff doesn't even smell any nearby.

As discussed, you use your new Rock Smash access to take a shortcut, which leads you downhill. You come to a very strange cavern. The walls glow with a somewhat familiar meteoric sheen! Nathan can identify it as Meteoric Superconductor at once. The geology of this place suggest it has sunk from far far far far above, and become filled in. Broad muddy grooves in the wall, marking the area's path, have metamorphized into stone. The floor is extremely tough granite, flecked with MS.

The air is very heavy. Your movements, too, are feeling sluggish in the weird atmosphere. You can expect to become tired after 2 Encounters, instead of the usual 3.

That's still not the strangest thing about that cavern. There's grass growing, in complete absence of light. It's the Long Grass which presents occasional patches aboveground in Creshire, the scent of which always attracts Pokemon like a Sweet Scent. It's growing up from a crazy web of cracks in the granite, where mud has seeped through, and it swathes the entire floor except for a thin strip near the walls. The brush absorbs your light.

Kirlia narrows his eyes at it, as if thinking about something in his... past?
Gothitelle, by contrast, seems very comfortable.
Slowking is merely curious. But all the Psychic and Dark types feel a little weird here.

Lots of Pokemon rustle in the grass.

Mt. Sentry Long Grass Biome Encounters Part 1

7. Name: Valuable item
Cap: 1
Bid start: 2

*In the Morning!*

In an rare and what would be unusual case, were it not for yesterday's........frantic rush of 'excitement' for everyone, Ventus awoke far later than everyone else, groggly rubbing his eyes as he slipped out from Apsis coils with practiced ease, before waking her up to begin both their days. After a long night's sleep.......well, the researcher still felt rather awful, as his head felt like it was filled with cotton, his limbs filled with lead, and his emotions.......well, they were in a better place than they were throughout yesterday, but he still felt they were.....quite out of sorts that needed his constant care and attention to keep from going everywhere and fraying at the ends.

'No doubt this all because of that *&$! of a Queen Siekamater......I hope she's feeling as terribly as she made us all feel, the bleeding harlot,' the sociologist thought to himself after access his own condition during his morning routine, feeling drained and surely because of that whole ordeal, but in the end he let out a low, heavy *Sigh* and shook his head, patting the side of his slithering sister (Who was currently sticking to his side like glue after sensing how....bad he felt) and leaning into her for some comfort, before he firmed himself up exited the tent with her, ready to pack up camp and continue their journey. Pray to Reshirim that nothing 'interesting' happens this day, or they forbid they have another run in with the Queen and her servents.....

(Ven completely missed the Tandor Bug Explaination, since I didn't want to react to it! Sorry!)

*In the MSC Cavern!*

Typically, the exhaustion inducing and heavy air of their current local would put the researcher on edge, but given he already felt wearied before entering the place it didn't faze him whatsoever, allowing him to fully appreciate the almost ......surreal sight of cavern being flush with Long Grass and heavy imprenated with MSC, giving the place an otherworldly vibe similar but quite unlike that to the Sentry Fern's Domain. There, he felt constantly on guard and watched by some omnipresent, unknowable entity, but here he feels.........a certain measure of peace and tranquilty as he breathed in the air and tentatively stretch a little of his empathy out to get a 'feel' for the place.

'Ah.......this is exactly what we all need: a place where we can unwind and let our guard down, after our harrowing treck and confrontation through......her Kingdom. Never have I been closer to death than I had in her presence, save for my early weeks spent with Silverfish and Ghetsis going into one of his infamous rages.......' Ventus though to himself as he surveyed the area with a tired but placid expression, watching the Long Grass rustle and twitch with an detatched air of curiosity. Seeing so much in such an unusual place reminded him of what his........mother taught him about it, namely that so long as the soil and conditions were right this plant could grow anywhere in almost any condition. Weird, but fascinating none the less.

After scoping after his surrounding for a bit, he decided that a peaceful stroll through the Long Grass was in order, both to investigate it for Pokémon and to simply see what he finds. He figures after his eventful day yesterday he'd take it slow and easy today, and recover his physical and mental strength instead of overly taxing himself......

......before he did that, though, he went over to Shiva and kindly requested that he would like to have Lilith's private company for awhile to discuss some things with her. Presumably she agree, and so he thanks her with an closed eased and sweet smile, before he went off to join the fortune teller in her travels, knowing that it be better for him to follow after her than the other way around given his experience with the breed....

*Some time after he find the MSC Meteorite.....*

The discovery of such a large chuck of a valuable resource certainly did wonders to lighten up Ven's mood, but he still felt quite........moody despite that, causing him to *Sigh* and turn to Lilith to beckon her over.

"Lilith? Might I have a moment of your time? I believe I am.....ready to speak with you now, with your permission of course...."