[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Iron]

"Of course! Miltank, use Heal Bell!"

[Dies Irae]

Mechanics:
Not really motivated to risk the current resource level on Pokeballs. They're too iffy to go in without multiples honestly.
And since I'm not going out on the originally intended capture spree, no sense punching wild critters in the face either.
So. Pokemon training, focused on... well... Evasion, I guess.

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"No sense going out again until we're ready." Vincent glances down at his assembled team of Pokemon as he climbs out of the RV. "That last trainer battle was a bit of an eye opener."

"Moran, Sieg. Both of you took some punishment out there, so we're going to work on evading hits again. No sense going out half-cocked like we did last time so we're going to work on our evasion training again. On the plus side, lets see if we can get some group fighting cohesion done as well. If we're going to be working together, we might as well train for it as well."

He unpacks a set of beanbags from his backpack, placing it down gently to avoid jostling the egg he had taken to carrying around with him.

"I'll make it up to you guys later. First training, then dinner and a grooming session. How about that?"

[Iron]

"If anyone wants to train with us, I was gonna train Barrierd while Belle drives for a bit."

Tramp runs around in the RVs kitchen, blowing bubbles from a bubble wand.

"Barrierd! Double Slap!" Pop! Pop! Pop!

[Iron]

Iceclimber Round 3

It's down to just Vanillite and Ekans...no, Nincada...no, Oshawott! Larry frantically pages through his Pokedex, looking at type matchups.

"Vanillite, now that Ponyta is out of the way, try Icicle Spear! Try to pen him in if you can't hit him! This is your specialty, you got this!"

Icicle Spear
Accuracy: 6 dice, -3 for successive actions = 3/2/1 dice
(6)(4)(2) one hit
(2)(1) one miss
(6) and another hit

Dmg: 3 dice, -1 dice vitality, -1 point resist
(1)(1) Oh.
(5)(2) Also no damage. Oshawott was the right choice, thanks blessed Pokedex.

Two spears glance off Oshawott's scalchop, and the other lands right in front of him. He almost crashes into it, but instead uses it as a launching point for his next Tackle.

Tackle
(6)(2) hit
(4)(1) Vanillite takes 1 damage and has 3hp left.

Iceclimber Round 4

"Complete the cage."

Icicle Spear
Accuracy pyramid:
(6)(6)(6), this character would have 18 strength
(1)(2)
(1)

Dmg:
(4)(2) Oshawott shrugs off another attack, but now he is penned in on three sides by icicles. He decides to sliding tackle through them: any leftover damage will carry on to Vanillite.

Tackle
Acc: (4)(4) hit
(4)(5) Oshawott crashes through the icicles embedded in the ground and smashes into Vanillite, too. Vanillite has 2hp left and is at -1 pain. Oshawott, of course, feels no pain.

Iceclimber Round 5

"Try to be more precise, Vanillite! We need solid hits!" Just two actions this time.

Icicles

Accuracy: 6 dice, -1 pain, -2 actions = 3 dice and 2 dice
(5)(1)(5)
(5)(1)

Dmg:
(4)(4)
(5)(3)
Oshawott takes just one damage

Tackle
(3)(1) miss. Oshawott is breathing heavily, not used to long combats, but he is mostly whole.

Iceclimber Round 6

"If you win this battle, Vanillite, I'll teach you another attack!"

Icicle Spear
Acc:
(4)(5)(6)
(6)(1)

Dmg:
(1)(1)
(4)(5)

Oshawott now has 2 hp

Tackle
(6)(5)
(2)(4) Vanillite takes 1 damage

Iceclimber Round 7 a new record, I think

"One last shot, Vanillite!"

(4)(1)(3)
"Well, two last shots, I mean."
(4)(1)

All four of these damage dice have to be successes or Oshawott will win!

(4)(5)
(5)(3) SO CLOSE!

Oshawott takes 1 damage and Vanillite is withdrawn before Oshawott can finish it off.

"I won't risk you fainting, Vanillite. Larry, you're the winner. Here's 150$ for you and 150$ for Nathan. I've also got a pair of warm gloves for each of you; what color would you like?"

AAACHOOOOOOOOOO!!! The tree where Cubchoo was sitting is suddenly bereft of leaves. A huge pile of them lies beneath the tree now, glowing a frosty blue.

"Oh?" Kierkegaard brushes off the leaves, revealing that most of the huge mound is white fur. "Can it be? You're a Beartic now! You've evolved! Oh, Cubchoo Cubchoo Cubchoo! Now we can tame Mt. Sentry in style!"

He turns to Larry. "Thank you for the training. As you can see, it paid off for Cubchoo! Please tell your friend I said thank you. See you on the slopes? C'mon Beartic!"

[Dragonstrike]

Nathan watches the battle as it proceeds. Did Larry seriously just almost send out a shiny Nincada against an ice type? And that Oshawott was using nothing but tackle the entire time as well...if he'd captured that Nincada before the battle, then the Oshawott could have maybe had at least known Water Gun at some point in the battle...Nathan's faith in Larry's abilities as a trainer diminishes further. It seems the stories were wrong after all. Trainer for a year or not, that kid was still almost a complete novice. How he managed to pull off winning that battle and all the ones before were a complete mystery to Nathan.

He walks over when it's over to collect his prize, leaving Ralts to watch Swiftfire. When he reaches the ice climber, he says, "Thanks for the battle. I might be disappointed in my performance as well as my pokemon's, but I can't deny that you are a very good trainer. That cubchoo of yours..." Nathan looks over at 'Cubchoo.' "Er, Beartic, was something we definitely weren't prepared for. Oh, and I'll take some green gloves if you have some on you."

Nathan doesn't say a word to Larry other than, "Nice Nincada you got there. Take good care of it." He walks back to Swiftfire and Ralts, still sullen and angry.

[Iron]

The RV races along, adding extra difficulty to the training session going on inside. From the outside, trainers and recreationists see a giant vehicle with soap bubbles streaming out of the windows, playing battle soundtracks at top volume. And don't forget the cow on the roof.

A bystander would also see a Geodude slowly trucking along far in the RV's wake.

But inside the vehicle, the mood is a bit black. 

Cottonee is fascinated with the bubbles, for they are iridescent and mysterious. But she finds the soap means she can't properly drink the water they are made of.

Ventus discovers that Miltank mostly eats berries and never drinks her own milk (maybe in an emergency?). She prefers to nurture others and considers you all her little calfs.

Larry dozes off to the rocking motion of the RV, and dreams of being chased by...wolf Pokemon? Something that comes in the darkness, with flashes of purple light.

Ponyta is able to make a full recovery. You think she must have KO'd herself a few times during her time in the wild. She seems determined to train harder than ever, which for her just means running really fast all the time.

Vincent's Pokemon are happy to train, but sometimes Sieg has to give a warning call when the RV forgets them in the chaos and moves on while they are training.

The travelers rumble along, coming to an area where the road travels along a short embankment of limestone shards, debris netting, and the occasional wooden steps down to a narrow muddy beach on the Great River Greenbriar. The mud bubbles with air in occasional spots, and many old blue shell shards lay scattered here and there. Oshawott even finds one of the pointy harpoons of Cloyster and parades about with it.

Bits of this shoreline have caved in from the recent Pokemon unrest. Travelers have taken it upon themselves to widen the road to allow easily driving past the cave ins. A lot of the trainers you pass are too weary to fight. The fire in their eyes is dim.


Encounters Central Route 01 - part 2


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

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

3. Name: Amateur Juggler Marioso
Cap: 1
Bid start: 1
Challenge: Easy
Notes: Not a battle, but a juggling contest! "You can keep whatever Pokeballs I drop! That will be incentive for me to try my hardest." Three rounds of opposed Dexterity rolls. If you win a round, subtract his successes from yours and that's how many Pokeballs you get. "But if I don't drop any during a routine, you have to tell 5 people to come see my show at the Spring Festival! Per routine!"

4. Name: Valuable Item
Cap: 1
Bid start: 1
Notes: Too many careless trainers on this route.

5. Name: Valuable Item*
Cap: 1
Bid start: 2

6. Name: Hoppip swarm
Cap: 3 (6)
Bid start: 1
Notes: A group of Hoppip drift right over the RV and come down to tickle Ventus and Miltank. There are 3 Pokemon.

A. Training session
B. Berry hunting
C. Goldeen, Pidgey, and Rattata hunting




There aren't enough encounters for everyone to do two, so you need to work this out properly. Make sure you say which is your first choice, which is round 1 and which is round 2, and if you need to bid XP.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

She almost forgot about those... Nope, she didn't! Hoppip! And three on top of that! Get them, quickly, before the wind may take them away again!

"Ven! Don't please chase them away!"

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Mechanics:
Hoppip. Because what else. I'm not up to battle them unless they attack on their own, rather just 'encounter' them. Cottonee might be fascinated by them as well. Also bring up Shelder, not caring which one.

[Dragonstrike]

As the RV grinds to a halt (yes, grinds. The brakes on that thing are NOISY!), Nathan, Ralts, and Swiftfire exit it quickly (the first ones out and about once again). He didn't say a word to anyone while they were in the loud, chaotic, sweltering hot van (cuz Swiftfire was out of her pokeball so Nathan could keep an eye on her). The MooMoo Milk did wonders for any injuries Swiftfire had taken from that cubchoo's claws, but it had done nothing to help heal her (or Nathan's) pride. Before wandering off to train, Nathan spots something shiny on the ground...something REALLY shiny. While he can see the hoppip above the van bothering Ventus, he figures Vincent will take care of it if it becomes a problem. And probably Shiva. Those Plusle and Minun she was carrying around on her shoulders now looked REALLY energetic, after all. And he still couldn't quite place his finger on it, but there was definitely something off about Ralts when Ventus was around...next time he had a chance to talk with Ventus, he knew exactly what he was going to ask him...

(Taking the Valuable Item*, and then going off to train Nathan and all three of his pokemon. He needs some time alone to get his thoughts together and they all definitely need the practice after that last battle.)

[Lord Windos]

"O-oo-h m-my! I-I d-didn't exp-p-pect th-th-is! Ahahahahahahahaha!" In an unexpected, but no less amusing, turn of events, Ventus and Milktank were currently being assaulted by a flurry of Hoppip! He was chuckling at their probing, both because of the curious looks they had in their eyes, and the fact that they were tickling him senselessly. Just as he was about to gently wave them away, Shiva called to him, pleading for him not to, so he decided to stay his hand. Giving one lass carass to Miltank, he hopped down from the van, and found himself in front of the young lass.

"Ha ha, well, I recall seeing you watch them with interest while I was battling that Poliwag, so I'll leave you to them. Up you go!" With that being said, Ventus deftly picked Shiva up by the waist and gently hoisted her up to the roof of the van. While some might call his action a bit too intrusive, he clearly felt that she wanted to meet those drifting Pokémon, so why not lend a hand in that effort? Panning his vision around his surroundings, he saw Nathan was well on his way from the group, hunting for something rather sparkling in the distance. Judging from the lingering sullenness and the stinging pride he detected, it appears that he was still in quite a foul mood from his recent loss.

'While I would like the chance to reconnect with him and soothe his stress, I know that would only make things worse for the both of us. Not only does he distrust me greatly, but from what I can gather, he's the type that wants to solve all his problem himself. Not a healthy attitude to carry, but best leave him to his own devices for now. Like Shiva said, its best to give him some time,' he though, before looking for something to occupy his interests for a bit. Just his luck, he spotted something else glimming in the distance; perhaps another treasure left in the wild. He also spotted what look to be a Shelder by a shallow pond. He couldn't tell from where he was at, but something seemed...off about it.

Plan already formed in his mind, he set out to retrieve the lost item in the wild, and to investigate the strange Shellder!


Mechanics:

Going after the other valuable item, and seeing what is up with that other *Shellder. While I'm not interest in catching for myself, it might be something that could be traded for a profit. Or could be good battle practice. I'm fine with either!

[Dies Irae]

Mechanics:
Since I'm currently out of Pokeballs anyway and Ventus and Nathan are doing the item finding, I'm going to go take a look at the Juggler as a first encounter.
2nd action is dependent on the first. 

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There's not really a lot of space to train in a moving RV, all things considered, and since the owners would probably raise a scene if he put a fist through the wall or Winston set it on fire, he's spent much of the trip just bonding with his 'Mons.

Though he's only known the small bird for a few hours, he's come to notice that somehow, Sieg is perpetually hungry. He's not quite sure where the little bird finds the space to pack it, but the Pidgey seems to instinctively gravitate towards food sources and is overly friendly around anyone it thinks it can scab a meal off. Given the state of the trailer, that's a lot of people.

Moran on the other hand is a study in contrast. The Paras is still aloof, skittish and not all that tame, but seems to be beginning to adjust to captivity somewhat. The little mushroom Pokemon seems content to bustle around it's own business, ducking back under it's appropriated food bowl helmet every time a stranger approaches. However, it occasionally scuttles over to Vincent of it's own accord and parks itself at his feet, wary of contact but seemingly content to hang around on the floor near it's trainer.

Winston is currently a ball of pent up energy. Despite the excitement of a myriad smorgasbord of smells aboard the RV, hanging around aboard the vehicle doesn't particularly do anything for him. For the most part, the puppy seems content to wait with it's trainer, though it nags constantly, looking for opportunities and excuses to get outside and go for a walk.

Finally, as the RV trundles to a halt, Winston finally sees the opportunity and bolts for the door.

"Alright, little guys." Vincent stretches, trying to restore circulation to his feet. "Yes, Winston. The door is that way. I know."

He glances down at the dog tugging persistently at his pant leg. "Yes, we're going. Come on Sieg, Moran. A bit of exercise can't hurt."

Stepping out of the RV, the scent of a waterfront assaults his nose as sunlight streams down. Noting a juggler in the distance, he steps off, partially from interest, partially just to give himself a mental target to walk towards across the mud flats.