[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Dies Irae]

"Which... basically means... we need to find her before... say... Larry. As to avoiding hurting said Ponyta, fair enough, I guess.  After all, I'd be more than a bit upset if someone kicked Winston."

He goes over his mental notes. Preparation wise, he was mostly ready except for food. The lack of healing items was annoying, but with cash being in short supply, he'd have to make do with what was on hand.

"I'm pretty much ready to go if you need to get this done fast, though if you don't mind, I'd like to pick up some supplies from the store before we leave - canned goods and the like. Could grab a sandwich from a shop somewhere and meet you at the gate."

[Dragonstrike]

"Sure, go right on ahead. I'll make sure to give you a call when everyone else is ready to go. Wonder what's taking them so long though...hmmm...."

As Nathan wonders where everyone else is, Moran scuttles out from under the table, followed soon after by the curious Ralts. Nathan sighs. "Okay, Ralts, I can see you want to be friends with Moran, but just give him a little space for now, alright? The poor bug has been through a lot lately, I'm sure."

The reminder that paras are part bug type stops Ralts for a moment. He gives the request some thought, and then backs off, returning to Nathan's side.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

"Well... Good that you're showing some realisation towards your actions. At least." She accepted the hand he offered. "As long as you don't do stuff like this again..." She gave him a slight smile, which presumably meant something like 'I'll forgive you. This one thing. For now. Wouldn't be good to hold grudges, at least...'

As Ventus left, she quickly followed, after making sure that nothing of their stuff is left behind and the room is in a tidy state. Cottonee placed itself on top of her head. Again. " ...You like this place up there, don't you?"

She carefully (not to wake anyone who still might be sleeping in any other of the rooms) walked across the hall, passed the door to the room appearantly Vincent stayed - it was locked, so either he's still sleeping, or already down in the lounge area? ...Probably the latter. - , then following the stairs down to the main floor of the Pokemon Center. Almost immediatly she spotted Vincent and Nathan already awake and seemingly ready to set out, which gave her spirits an unexpectedly high boost. Even it lasted just for a moment. They're waiting... Things should be fine... Hopefully no arguments and grudges because of yesterdays events.

After returning the room keys to Joy and thanking her for lending a warm place to stay the night, she approached the others. Speaking in the usual soft tone. Maybe there was some sort of excitment dwelling in it. "Good morning... Hope you had pleant dreams this night." After a short break, she added " I've brought Ventus as well.". After another, shorter break "Thanks a lot for lending us a Ponyta." Like if a simple thank-you would be enough to repay the aid he and his mother provided. However, what else was there to show some appreciation... Currently, nothing. On the other hand, she took the effort to take care of his Ralts while he was away for a conversation with Ventus, so it should be alright.


(PLAYER'S NOTE: She has not yet realised Vincent's new companion under the table. If she does, she'll probably be startled because that came unexpected. But after all, she enjoys Grass-Types. Saying they're all somehow connected with nature and associated with its force to destroy life+civilisation and calmness of a flowery meadow at dusk in one go... In short, they're versatile like barely any other thing. So it will be fine.)

[Lord Windos]

"Well, I can certainly try, can I not? I'll try my best not to deliberately cause you any distress, at the very least. I still owe you for all the trouble you went through for my sake, so I'll try my best to be of assitence!" With that said, he lead the way to the Center's lobby hopping to meet everyone there. While on the way, he stopped at the cafeteria and up a few simple bowls of oatmeal, a small shaker of brown sugar, and various plate with sliced fruit on them.

While his exhausted induced rest restored some of his vigor, he was still famished from not eating anything yesterday, so he wants to get a good meal to restore the rest of it. That, and he wanted to make sure the rest of the party got the most important meal of the day as well! After that small stop, they arrived at lobby, only to find that Nathan and Vincent were already there. Larry was nowhere to found, though. 'Were could have that somewhat reckless trainer have gotten to this time? I just hope he has not gotten himself in a bind again, literal or not...' Ventus thought to himself, sighing. He has confidence the boy could be a great trainer; its just that his approach towards it leaves a lot to be desired in his eyes. Ah, to be young and reckless...

Ventus, listening to Shiva greet the guys, set the tray down on the table they were sitting at, and took a bowl of oatmeal for himself. He put a generous amount of brown sugar on oatmeal, and added some sliced apple to it before mixing it together. "Salutation, my friends! As you can see, I brought plenty of food for us to re-energize ourselves for the day, so help yourself. I certainly will," he said, before he began to dig in to his meal. Taking a few bites, he sighed in pleasure as his taste buds were filled with the wholesome food stuff. 'Ah, delicious~ I wish they had some goosen berries to go with it, but apple are nice too.'

While polishing off his first bowl, he took another from the tray and fixed it the same way, before he started to consume it as well. He did this process a third and fourth time before stopping and patting his stomach in contentment. "Ahhh....now that was a fine meal. Now that I tended to my needs, and we are all present here - beside Larry -, I'd like to discuss something with the party. Well, after you two share with us what you were discussing; whatever you were talking about appears to be quite interesting to hear," Ventus spoke, before he turned to face Nathan, looking apologetically at him.

"Oh, and I'd like to say that I'm sorry for passing out on you, Nathan. I pushed myself past my usually boundaries, but that no excuse for me to burden you like that! I'd promised I would help you, and doing that seem rather counter productive to that goal, does it not? Please, let me repay your kindness however you see fit." After he finished speaking with him, Ventus sudden started to look around the table, tilting his head in perplexment. While he the group's usual emotions, there was something new here. Something skittish and anxious, but also curious as well. Ventus glanced around everywhere in the vincinity, before he look straight down at the table.

'Hmm, so this is where these new emotions feel the strongest. Now where is the source...ah!' He pondered, before his eyes lit up. Bending over in his seat, he went under the table and, a few moment and some quiet whispering later, came out from under there with a bowl wearing Paras in his arms. While it looked rather nervous to be around everyone present, especially Winston, judging from the stare it was giving the dog, it looked strangely relaxed in Ventus' arms. Well, as he said to Nathan, he did do a lot of research work involving Pokémon, so perhaps that is the reason why?

"Well, who is this little shroom's owner? I know Larry didn't have the time to catch one, and Nathan was with me the whole time yesterday afternoon... so he must be yours Vince. He's a fine specimen, If I say so myself. While I have no doubt that you are capable raising this one, I'd be more than happy to help you take care of him! I don't know too much about the Paras line itself, but I know plenty of stuff on Grass and Bug Pokémon care," Ven said, gently petting the Paras' head while it was nibbling at a piece of fruit he'd given it from the tray. It appeared comfortable enough in his lap, so might as well give it a treat or two to make it feel more at home with the group.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

(Hm, I thought according to Iron we're allowed to skip food managment...? Whatever, @Lord Windos, am I allowed to assume our two charas stop by at the cafeteria before meeting up with Vince and Nathan? Should be fine, shouldn't it...?)

- Interlude -

Shiva has barely seen anyone with such an appetite. And that in the mornings. Well, okay, none of them has eaten anything last night - Fool! He couldn't, he was unconscious... You could just go downstairs to gather some dinner! - but nevertheless. It was adorable to watch though, so she was fine with just sitting there, watching him and the surroundings. Weather seems to be alright, too... No rain, at least. Seemingly Ventus felt much better. He regained spirits. Besides, a coffee was enough for her, preferably black with not too much sugar, she wasn't very fond of eating much in the mornings. In one or two hours, maybe. Probably. Seems like some Pokemon Centers still roast coffee beans by themselves, maybe that was more common in the countryside. Or they import some of Alola's special Pokebeans.

Still, she wondered what he meant by 'trying his best to be of assistence'... Does that mean he want to repay her taking care of him after passing out to an unopportune time? How does he imagine this to look like... Maybe, this way, she will get the change to ask him a few things that she couldn't help but to wonder about. ... God. Shiva, please stop overthinking and worrying. Just for now.

Before they two left cafeteria in direction to the lounge area of the Pokemon Center, hopefully meeting the other party members there, she packed a few things from there into bagpack. Provisions for the journey to come. Mostly fruit, they're relatively durable. She still hoped to run across a few berry trees that hold ripe berries, after all, some of them are edible for humans as well. And might even come with healing effects. And water, in light plastic bottles. Mallorn said they'll have to cross a river on Route 1 - she can't remember that river's name, sadly - but drinking the water of a wild river wasn't always the best idea. Hopefully they'll be able to catch a good Water-Type soon, it would serve as a reliable source of drinkable water. Marill sure are adorable, personally, especially shiny ones... Oh, and a sandwich. Or two. Who knows when she'll run across such a neat arrangement of food again... ... ... How about another one?

- Jumping on now - 

Shiva could not help but to feel impressed at Ventus handling that Paras. She didn't even realised it was there in the first place... Plus, she thought that the Paras-line, in contrary to several other 'sunnier' Grass-Types, weren't fond of being touched, stroked or in direct affectionate contact with humans at all... Did Ventus had experience with the handle and bonding of Pokemon? On the other hand, doing so is likely to bring up some troubles (or rather, injuries) sooner or later... Though, that only made her feel slightly more liking towards him, maybe she'll even get to expand and develope her personal experience in the care of Pokemon with his help, especially one's own and not just those that were given to take care of temporarly...

Cottonee, seemingly a little worried because that thing's part Bug-Type, fixated its gaze on the little creature, as if it was trying to say something like 'Don't come near me or my Master'.


(PLAYER'S NOTE: I know she hasn't yet bonded per se with dear Cottonee yet, apart from having it outside its Pokeball and stroking through its fluffy parts occasionally. But let me assume it holds some sort of general liking towards her because of the things I just mentioned. Iron, should be alright as well, shouldn't it...?)

[Dies Irae]

Purchasing:
4 days worth of canned goods. Spending $60.

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Having left the Pokemon Center shortly after Nathan promised to call him when the others turned up, Vincent slowly wanders down the main street of Trillium Town, just taking his time to savor the moment, Winston trotting along at his feet. 

He'd considered letting Moran wander as well, but his better judgement had been to ball the bug before he left - while it hadn't shown signs of aggressiveness, there were just too many potential incidents that could arise letting a newly caught 'Mon unaccustomed to human contact wander around in the open among a large number people. Still, he'd taken care to carefully store away Moran's red food dish before leaving the Pokemon Center - the bug had latched onto it almost talismanically since he'd let it out of the ball and he knew he'd end up feeling terrible if the Pokemon's new toy got lost or broken.

Trillium was generally considered too small to play host to a proper Pokemart, especially given the aggressiveness that Professor Mallorn pitched his business to the locals. Still, any collection of ranches, houses and dwellings would have a general store catering to Human consumption, if nothing else. Stopping to take a look at a local grocer, he ponders the viability of the stacks of fresh fruits and vegetables, before settling on a dusty looking stack of Canned Basculin in Brine, Slowpoke Tail Jerky and hard tack.

Spending the next few minutes attempting to haggle the price down before giving up at the owner's stubborn refusal to budge and paying the listed sticker price, he loads the spoils of his impromptu shopping trip into one of his overladen backpack's side pouches and plods towards the town gate where he waits for the rest of the expedition.

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(Hm, I thought according to Iron we're allowed to skip food managment...?

Huh. Guess I missed the memo. 

If we're not tracking food resources, I'm cashing that out and going to go do some frivolous spending.

[Dragonstrike]

"Ah, there you are. You know, Ventus, you should really follow your own advice. I've got something of yours, by the way. Picked it up after that mankey ruckus yesterday." Nathan slides the prism over to Ventus, taking care not to damage it. Nathan then turns to Shiva to address the first of the things to discuss with her on his list.

"Shiva, I want to thank you for watching Ralts yesterday. I know it probably wasn't easy, but I'm very glad you let him out of his pokeball. Which, um...I seemed to have forgotten yesterday in all the excitement...do you happen to have it still?" He looks just a tiny bit embarrassed at having to mention that, and looks a little awkward too.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

(Couldn't help but to chuckle on first things of the list to discuss.)


How cute. Was that a slight blush he tried hard to hide...?

Of course she would look after dear Ralts, why should it be forced to stay inside its ball if all are allowed to enjoy some free time with the other party's Pokemon after they've been healed and there was time to do so anyway? Plus, she's used to watch over Pokemon that aren't her own... well, a little.

"Sure thing. Lil' one was quite concerned and worried though, maybe it felt that you're upset or in danger out there. In fact, it took a little effort to prevent it from freaking out."

She needed a few moment to think about what he meant after all, what it is that he seemingly has forgotten and should in her care...

Ah! Of course...

  "You mean this one?"

[Dragonstrike]

"Yes, that dusty old thing. Going to need that if I'm going to be a trainer, after all. Very important. In more ways than one..." Nathan takes the pokeball from Shiva when she offers it to him. "Thank you. Now then, there's three other things I want to discuss with you, Shiva. You get to join in on two of them as well, Ventus, if you so desire. The first is the matter of your job in Ginger Town. As I said yesterday, I'm more than willing to help you with that. As you probably figured out by now, I'm the son of a ponyta rancher, so I know a few things about taking care of pokemon. Starting a pokemon day care is difficulty work. All sorts of odds and ends need to be taken care of before they can be opened. If you'll have me, I'd be more than happy to help out with whatever needs doing there."

Ralts peeks over the edge of the table from the empty chair where Vincent had been sitting, already looking smug before Nathan even says the next part. Nathan catches sight of this from the corner of his eye though. "Ralts, there's no need to brag about that...*sigh*...oh well. The second topic is the training we'd planned. I gave it a quick go last night just to see if Ralts would learn it sooner rather than later, and the little guy learned Confusion in almost no time flat. So my original goal for training today is accomplished. I won't say no to more though, and I'm sure all three of our pokemon would appreciate it.

"The third and final topic is one I just discussed with Vincent, and will need to inform Larry about as well. There's a ponyta who's escaped from the ranch somewhere outside town, and my main goal for today is to find and capture her. This ponyta has caused my mom and me grief for several weeks, escaping from the ranch enclosure and wandering outside of town looking for trouble. She doesn't seem to be content with staying on the ranch, so my mom has given me permission to capture her and take her with me on this journey. I'd like some help tracking her down. In the event that we do find her, there's two things we have to keep in mind. One: she's a trouble maker who gets bored easily. If she thinks it will be fun, she'll likely attack you. Two: I don't want any harm to come to her. Period. Even if she attacks you. I can calm her down when I get to her since I've done this many times before, and I don't need a disobedient, trouble making ponyta to deal with. She's probably on Route 01 somewhere, considering we've never found her wandering towards the forests and mountains, but she could be causing a lot of trouble there. New trainers don't know how to handle an out of control ponyta typically, and this one knows it."

Having said what he needed to, Nathan waits for a response. Ralts is still smiling smugly from Vincent's chair.

[Lord Windos]

"Oh! My prism! You really didn't have to, but I thank you for retrieving it for me!" Ventus said to Nathan, taking the prism offer and placing it right in front of him. He had totally forgotten about it in the middle of that frantic rush, but he's happy to have it back. "This little things is quite dear to me, you know? The only reason I threw it at all was to distract the Mankey a bit, but that hardly worked now, didn't it? The prism is one of the last gifts I got from my brother when I visited him before......." Ventus wasn't smiling anymore. He looked deeply troubled, with a haunted look lurking in his eyes.

".....Before he committed suicide. He was not the most stable of individuals after some....events happened in our live, and our father died. He helped take of the family in that time, but his our anguish and hatred form a schism between him and us, causing him to leave. Even with all the bad blood between us, I still desired to help him, but he refused. Now I'll never have that chance, now will I." Ventus looked downcast as he finished his recollection, staring dfo own forlornly at the prism. Not the happiest memories associated with that piece of quarts, that was for certain.

On top of that, Ventus was worried about how sudden Vince left their group this morning after he'd re-balled his Paras. He doesn't why they would leave without saying a word why, but it could be because he was handling his Paras without permission? That must be it; now he has gone off and alienated all his friend in some way, shape, and form.... He's not having a very good morning at all now.

That being said, he stil managed to muster a small smile on his face after he'd opted to listen Nathan's small speech earlier. "Well, If your both willing and experienced enough to help set up a Daycare, then my help wouldn't hurt things in the slightest. While I haven't discussed it with you, Shiva, I took some basic Breeder classes in college, as well as a full years course of Pokémon Handling. If anything, I'm a wealth of knowledge to tap, and I'd be delighted to answer any inquires you have on the subject." Ventus then faced Nathan, looking a bit more cheerful now that he spoken to the young lass for a bit. "As for the Ponyta, I'm willing to help you out however you see fit. I did say I wanted to help you in anyway possible, and I of course owe you for yesterday's kerfuffle, so consider me at your disposal."