[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

NOTE: This conversation takes place at the evening of Day 5.
Current Theme: There's no reason to be afraid of me.
@Dragonstrike

Shiva carefully listened to Nathan's response, yet was she a little disappointed upon hearing that he was as innocent about the symbol's meaning as she was. She was hoping that he knew something about it, maybe spotted it somewhere before, but apperantly this hope was false. Well, either the symbol will fade away into memory, or she'll make it a side note to look out for more information...

Why was she so eager to find out more about this strange symbol, he may ask?
... Curiosity. A fascination for the meaning behind it; the mechanic, the mystery.

"...Then it's for sure. I should have caught that Murkrow, shouldn't I...?" At that point, she was staring out of the window into the distance.

Scimitars... That's unusual... "Manipulate the Earth... I'd bet they use Pokemon for that. You'd need some strong power to have the physics of nature obey you, after all..." ... "But at the same time, made of metal... Ah, I cannot give you my thoughts on the matter. See, it were you, Ventus and Larry who were fighting the Wizard, practically speaking, not me..."

Moving on to the next question. Keeping things neutral. "Cottonee, dear one, to me."

As the fluffball heard her caretaker's voice, she looked up from resting on the windowsill after feeding herself well enough on the provided food, and floated over to place herself in her caretaker's lap, cuddling up to her and the Snivy Plushie alike. Oh, how the small Pokemon was enjoying her presence meanwhile... White fluff, black cloathing, green plush. Plusle and Minun meanwhile were curious about a Ralts, since they never saw such a creature in the wild.

"Next up... Deyo flowers. You know, Nathan, I was with Ventus as we encountered the flowers. He...clearly showed his dislike towards them. If it wasn't him, I would have taken three of the flowers with me, and had them standing in a vase right here on the table, next to you." ... "After all, I was fascinated by them... They were lovely... Maybe they could be used for something positive? But, they were causing so many trouble, didn't they... Lil' Cottonee was all thrilled by them as well."

"You went back to find out more about them... So, what did you find out? I'm interested in knowing, but please note that I don't want to have anything to do with the flowers practically. Theory is more than enough here."

"By the way, want one of these cookies? They're from the Festival and edible for people and Pokemon alike, and there's nothing wrong with eating sweets in the evening if you brush teeth before actually go to bed."


(If Nathan is curious about her reasons for following Ventus when it came to the flowers although she now showes interest in them, feel free to ask.)

[Dragonstrike]

Shiva

"Yeah, let me update you on those." Nathan recants everything concerning the flowers which he has told Ventus. "Ventus is...reluctant to interact with them, but he shouldn't freak out over them as badly as he did initially. I talked with him about that, so we hopefully won't have further tension. Why the interest now, though, if he'd convinced you to stay away from them before?"

Zamboni
"Yes, concerning that...not to interrupt, but I have another theory as to why Drowzee was there. There were a LOT of combee in that hive. And the only alert ones in the walls were the ones near the queen. My guess is that Vespiqueen essentially recruited Drowzee to help manage the hive, seeing as she wasn't missing nor under hypnosis. I've never heard of that many combee gathering in a single place before. I'm a little worried about those combee in the walls, to be honest..." He stops there, waiting for a reaction.

Ventus
"Hmmm...I'm not sure if that's a good idea. I mean, the small combee is expecting to be traveling with her, and I'm not sure if anyone besides a bug collector would take them both...you sure you don't want to hang on to her for awhile? If not, you should ask her what she wants to do, I think. Or I could take her, I guess. I wouldn't really mind, to be honest, and the bees would get to be together more frequently."

[Lord Windos]

At the Trading Post:

Sighing a little bit to himself, he decided that an explanation was in order. He didn't want another case of miscommunication ruining the fragile peace between them. "I honestly think that the Combee are not worth the trouble. The small one you have, while certainly spry, looks like it can't take to many hits. My feelings towards the Princess are...complicated. Her mother...well, you certainly must felt my ire towards her. Suffice to say, I don't care for that type of...authority, so I rather not have her near or around me when she evolves in due time. Add to it that Combee don't learn any particularly good moves besides Big Buzz, and the choice seems rather obvious," he calmy explained, listing out his concerns with having the female honeybee in their party.

Sensing that he should elaborate on some of Nathan's points, he presses on with his explanation. "I'm looking for some Bug types myself, preferably Bug/Steel or something equally useful. Scyther and Durant are some first choices of mine, but I'm willing to consider other options. As for asking her permission...we are not exactly close. Besides taking care of her one time, there is nothing I've done to foster positivity, so trading her away to someone that will appreciate far more for what she is will not weight so heavily on the mind. That was the plan for Apsis, before we grew attached to one another," Ventus said, finishing up his rationalization. Perhaps he is being slightly difficult, but he honestly dislikes the idea of a Vespiqueen being around him. That parasitic wasp gave him more than ample reason to avoid their species at all costs.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

"Yeah, let me update you on those."  Nathan recants everything concerning the flowers which he has told Ventus.  "Ventus is...reluctant to interact with them, but he shouldn't freak out over them as badly as he did initially.  I talked with him about that, so we hopefully won't have further tension.  Why the interest now, though, if he'd convinced you to stay away from them before?"

... Interesting question.

"Oh, as I said, curiosity. They seemed elusive, something valuable, a little magical? So why not look deeper into those? Maybe you picked up by now that I have an interest in such precious things. But seeing his strong reaction towards these flowers, I decided it may be better to listen to him and avoid the flowers, instead of folllowing my own trail to find out more about them. Ven's intelligent, and a good person, and I had a feeling he doesn't react so strongly without a reason to do so. I understood that he only wished to protect us. Lil' Cottonee, no flowers for you, sadly. But we're better without them, right?"

"So, be careful with the medicine you made out of them. Probably needless to say, you should know by your own... Never know what they're up to unless you directly tried..."

Last concern. He doesn't want any cookies, maybe he's more eager to finally leave here.

"Good news. You remember that egg Professor Mallorn entrusted Vincent? Well... " At this point, she drew the portable incubator holding the egg from under the table, and placed it onto it, right next to him. "Here it is. The Daycare owners had it for some reason, but they asked me if I cannot take care of it, since this is appearanty his wish. I think it is... He wrote something on the shell using a sharpie, but I cannot read it. His handwritting is...horrible to me."

She awaited his reaction and thoughts now, expressing a slight smile.

[Iron]

Zamboni isn't sure what's going on with that Drowzee. He's happy to engage you in conversation about it though. He thinks maybe the crown Drowzee was wearing may have been a strange version of a King's Rock.

For the female Combee, remember that the male Combee does not want to be separated from her - this will drastically impact his happiness and loyalty.
Your offers: Squirtle, Pidgeot, Jynx

[Dragonstrike]

Shiva

When Shiva brings out the egg, Nathan experiences a load of emotions all at once. Relief, worry, happiness, confusion...he's not entirely sure what he should be feeling right now. This means that Vincent must be okay to some degree, though. It means he made it to a Center, at the very least. There must have been a good reason for sending them the egg, though...

"Here, let me see if I can read what he wrote..." Nathan gives it a good stare. "...hatch...Quickbeam...Telperion Uni...the writing's all smudged. That's all I can make out. Didn't Mallorn ask Vincent to show someone what hatches from the egg, though? The daycare people might have been able to read that before it got smudged." (yes, they did. I checked that). Nathan looks at the egg for a little longer. "So, are you planning on carrying that around? It'll take longer to hatch if you do. It'd be a little faster if I held on to it, since I have Swiftfire." The question is phrased logically. There's also a hint of personal want, but it's mostly logical.

Ralts has stopped playing with plusle and minun now, and is also looking towatds the egg, mirroring many of the emotions Nathan has been feeling.

Ventus
Nathan sighs. "Okay, I can see where you're coming from. While I can understand that, though, I still don't think the combee we have wish to be seperated. You saw how they acted like they were old friends, right? I wouldn't want to forcefully seperate them because nobody wants the runt of the litter.

"To be honest, I'm not sure what to do with the small combee either. Other than he needs to stick with the princess. He won't be able to do a whole lot of any note otherwise. Only a collector of some kind would probably take both combee in because of their rarity. If we keep them with us, I won't have to worry about that guilt and they can scout places where they might like to settle if they eventually leave our teams. We'll also get loads of honey from them while we're on the road, which is a plus.

"Anyways, I guess the short of it is...I'm concerned about the small combee's well being. He was happy to leave the hive, but he and the princess looked inseperable. Plus, it's hard to start a hive with only one bee...I'd just feel a lot better about them if they both stuck with us, ya know? I don't want the small one to lose his only lifelong friend because of a life of being bullied and ignored just because he's small. Every life is worth something, right? And most of his is with the princess he's known for who knows how long, I feel."

[Lord Windos]

At the Trading Post:

Ventus, after hearing out Nathan rational of keeping the two together for each other's sake, let out a tired sigh of concession. Tilting his head down, he deliberated for a minute or two, before facing the young trainer again. He looked a bit grumpy, as if what he was about to say chaff at his sensibilities, but he makes his counter offer to the boy none of the less.

"...I'm willing to make a compromise with you on this, Nathan. I'll put up a trading notice/offer for two Combee here: A female Combee and her unique male entourage, along with our contanct info. If by the time the festival ends and someone is willing to take the pair off our hands, then that will be the end of that. The two will go off a the happy collector, and we decide how to divvy up the bounty. If its money, 50/50 split should be fair, but if its a rare Pokémon, I'm willing to let you have first pick at it. However, If no one comes to us about the Combee, then we will retain ownership until we find a suitable home for them. Does that sound fair to you?" He said, in a patient sort of voice.

He understands and even sympatheses with the honeybees- after all, he know all to well what its like being alone-, but he still hopes that if there is a chance to get rid of them, he'll take it. Call him callous, but he doesn't want to deal a Combee Hive again; not when he was so close to causing an international incident. Regicide is rarely looked on favorably, unless the monarch is a tyrant or horrendously incompetent.

[Iron]

Zamboni smiles and thanks you again for your help with the hive. "Combee are actually pretty rare around here. We've never had a hive north of the Divide as far as I knew. I did get the hive all mapped out, if you can fill in this detail, and that detail there. Thanks. Perfect. I wonder if the hive was some kind of psychic echo of some other place. The Drowzee points toward such a theory, but your theory about Drowzee being hired help is possible too. I will have to ask some questions of some smarter people than myself. Oh, and I have never ever heard of such a mass of Combee walls. That's the strangest part of all of this. Usually Combee only form a wall in response to a specific, inbound threat. But this was premeditated, on a huge scale. Very weird."

Trading post
(3)
The trainers all rescind their offers, and no new offers are forthcoming on the pair. Seems fewer people want a trade with such a restriction, almost a burden.

[Dragonstrike]

Trade Offer Situation

"Fair enough, I suppose. Let's put it up and see."

When they check back later, all the trades are gone. "Well, I was afraid that would happen...guess we're hanging on to them for awhile. Just gotta keep in mind what the bees want to do, I guess. Ventus...I know this is hard. Ralts and I can feel the...discontent from you. You're not doing this alone, though. Just remember that, okay?"

Drowzee Discussion
"The only reasons I think that theory is plausible is because Vespiqueen seemed fine, the combee that leave the hive are real, and the only Combee that seemed to be under Drowzee's influence were the ones in the walls. The honey in that box is probably there so Drowzee doesn't have to leave the room to find food. Though I can't believe that's its only food source..."

[Iron]

"Drowzee is quite omnivorous, but as I'm sure you know, it can also sustain itself on psychic energy...such as that found in dreams. I asked at the Pokemon center, and no one reported any unusual dreaming circumstances that match Drowzee's pattern. Usually Drowzee's victims report a feeling of loss, as if a good dream's gone missing. Or tortured dreams replacing their good dreams suddenly. Drowzee especially loves children's dreams, and the adults around here know to keep an ear out for such complaints from their sprogs."