[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Iron]

You'll figure it out eventually

[Dragonstrike]

(Just before Nathan returns to the RV to comment on the psychic eggs)

As Nathan concludes his conversation with the hiker, he feels Ralts tug on his hand and the feelings of jealously and loneliness. As Nathan turns around to look int he direction Ralts is indicating, he sees... (@Iron insert stealth check for Ventus here)

[Lord Windos]

As he watching Nathan conclude his conversation, he notices Ralts alerting his trainer about something. 'Oh no, I forgot about the other empath in the party! I better make myself scare!' Ventus worriedly though, trying to get away unseen now!

(Roll for Stealth my DM!)

[Iron]

Nathan's Insight: 2 +1 for psychic pokemon

(6)(3) +1 = 2 successes

Ventus has 2Dex + 3 survival:

(1)(4)(1)(1)(6) - 1 success. Ventus was doing a really good job, but unfortunately stepped on a twig at the exact moment Nathan looked up.

Nathan sees Ventus, but not until he has already spoken.

(Iron loves rolling dice)

[Dragonstrike]

(still before returning to the RV)

Nathan's eyes narrow when he sees Ventus was eavesdropping. He knows exactly why he was too. Empath that he is, Ventus obviously figured something was off. Well, now he knew partially why. "Happy now, Ventus?" His tone is flat, and his words are sharp and to the point. Nathan's not pleased with this. "Hmph. I won't raise a fuss right now though. We have bigger problems to worry about. We'll talk about this later. In private. I have a few questions for you, ya know. I'm sure you have some too, now." Nathan then turns around and starts walking back to the RV.

(fast forward to the RV)
Nathan's doing his best to mask his disappointment in Ventus right now. He's waiting on a response from the rest of the group before deciding what to do about the path to Ginger Town.

[Lord Windos]

"...Well, it looks like I got my hand caught in the cookie jar, so to speak. *Sigh* Say what you will about my spying, but I wouldn't have to do it in the first place if you didn't keep hiding stuff from me. How am I supposed to help not only you, but the rest of the group if I'm keeped out of the loop?" Ventus says, looking resigned at the expect emotional response from the young trainer. People didn't like it when they other butt in on their business, or so he heard.

"I know things are...tense between us due to my earlier actions, but how can I make things better between us if you never give me the time of day? If we are going to journey together, we at least have to be able to talk. I'm...I'm sorry Nathan," Ventus says, looking sad and tired at the same time. The Flowers incident has been taking it toll on him too, it appears. He watches Nathan walk away to the RV, before slowly trudging after him. No need to royally anger him more by being in his personal space, really. He sat down in the van, awaiting the rest of the group's decision. 'I just desperately hope that Vince is ok,' Ventus though, just keeping his head down for the time being.

[Dragonstrike]

While Nathan does feel some slight satisfaction from catching Ventus unawares, he's determined to put those emotions to the side for the time being. Can't afford to have them get in the way of this important decision, after all.

Nathan gives Ventus a stern look. "Ventus? Your thoughts on the situation? Can't have you looking like that right now. Important decisions to be made. Deal with it later." The implication that Ventus should do the same right now is all too obvious. Ralts, while still a little nervous around Ventus, felt the genuine sorrow in his apology earlier. The little pokemon, while somewhat indecisive on whether to do it at first, goes up to him and hugs his leg. Nathan raises an eyebrow at the display, but doesn't comment.

[Lord Windos]

Looking a bit shocked at Ralts hugging his leg, he couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips. "Oh dear, don't you know better than to mess with Steel types like me? Especially after the fright I gave you and your trainer for both of your...interest in those flowers? Well... if you forgive me, perhaps I didn't completely botch it up with you," Ventus wearily says, a small smile appearing on his face as he read Ralts forgival.

Patting him on the head, he pulled out a Pokeball, and released Raphael. Blinking, he looked around, before spotting Ralts right by their master's side. Raphael was confused, looking uncertainly between Ralts and his master. Last time they check, his master and Ralts master were on bad terms, so is it ok to play with him? Noticing Togepi's slight distress, he reached down and rubbed his little spikes, silently conveying that it was fine to have fun. Instantly its face brightened up, and they immedianlty went over to chatter at Ralts.

Chuckling a little more at Raphael's renewed happiness, he looked back to Nathan once more, looking a bit less gloom and doomy. "I agree, Nathan. Now is not the place to wallow in my misery; I've done enough of that in my life already as it is. You asked for my thoughts on the situation? Put simply, we need to avoid the swamp. I've already warned you previously about how hard Psychic types are to handle, so image dealing with whatever is causing the Psychic Surge. None of us needs that kind of danger in our lives right now," Ventus calmy stated, giving his opinion on the matter. A longer trip on the road doesn't seem so bad compared to the swamp that screams, 'Come here, little children....'

Briefly looking at Ralts, he gave a slight tilt of his head to Nathan. "You've been with Ralts for awhile, judging by the strength of the bond between you. I wonder why you have not given a name to him yet, though. Or asked him for his, for that matter. Unless your the type that doesn't bother with such things, I suppose."

[Dragonstrike]

Looking a bit shocked at Ralts hugging his leg, he couldn't help the chuckle that escaped his lips. "Oh dear, don't you know better than to mess with Steel types like me? Especially after the fright I gave you and your trainer for both of your...interest in those flowers? Well... if you forgive me, perhaps I didn't completely botch it up with you," Ventus wearily says, a small smile appearing on his face as he read Ralts forgival.

Patting him on the head, he pulled out a Pokeball, and released Raphael. Blinking, he looked around, before spotting Ralts right by their master's side. Raphael was confused, looking uncertainly between Ralts and his master. Last time they check, his master and Ralts master were on bad terms, so is it ok to play with him? Noticing Togepi's slight distress, he reached down and rubbed his little spikes, silently conveying that it was fine to have fun. Instantly its face brightened up, and they immedianlty went over to chatter at Ralts.

Chuckling a little more at Raphael's renewed happiness, he looked back to Nathan once more, looking a bit less gloom and doomy. "I agree, Nathan. Now is not the place to wallow in my misery; I've done enough of that in my life already as it is. You asked for my thoughts on the situation? Put simply, we need to avoid the swamp. I've already warned you previously about how hard Psychic types are to handle, so image dealing with whatever is causing the Psychic Surge. None of us needs that kind of danger in our lives right now," Ventus calmy stated, giving his opinion on the matter. A longer trip on the road doesn't seem so bad compared to the swamp that screams, 'Come here, little children....'

Briefly looking at Ralts, he gave a slight tilt of his head to Nathan. "You've been with Ralts for awhile, judging by the strength of the bond between you. I wonder why you have not given a name to him yet, though. Or asked him for his, for that matter. Unless your the type that doesn't bother with such things, I suppose."

"You don't even know the half of it.  And nah, never really saw the point of nicknames for the most part, at least when it comes to rather rare pokemon.  Swiftfire's unique enough to get some special treatment in that area though.  Enough about that, though.  Between two large poison snakes and a fire horse, we may be able to handle a few exeggcute or an exeggutor.  This would be a group effort if anything.  I'm not suggesting anyone does this alone if we do it.  That'd be ridiculous.  We have 4 trainers here though, 3 with a type advantage against grass types, as well as a reliable source for quick healing.  I think we should at least give it a try.  Ralts might even be able to help us get in and out of there safely, even."

[Lord Windos]

"Fair enough opinion to have, comrade. Well, I like giving nicknames to my Pokémon. Each and everyone of them is like family to me, and I want to make sure they know it as well. What better way to show how much I love them, other than taking care of them, of course," Ventus said, looking adoringly at his Togepi as he speaks about his 'family'. They are practically the only ones he's got...no, best not think about that now. His face twitch for a split second at the abruptly cut line of though; something painful perhaps?

"Hmm, you are right about our advantages, but you forgot about the environment the Exeggcute and Exeggutors are in. Its a humid, wet, and swampy nightmare. If Swiftfire or Winston goes out there, I expect them to have a hard time burning those Plants types. As for the Ekans, Exeggutor line is Psychic as well, so there are fair odds on whether Apsis will KO them first, or it gets a migraine for its trouble. Working together would mitigate a lot of those problems, but it wouldn't entirely eliminate them either. If we are going through there, we would have to be work together well. I'm not sure if either of us are ready for that at this point," Ventus calmy elaborated, giving his view on the matter. Still quite worried about things, he didn't let it show, keeping a serene façade in front of Nathan.