[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Oh, Shiva felt uncommonly well upon waking up in the morning. All the treatment and care must have done wonders to her... At least it felt like they did. It's a nice suprise to wake up with you companion Pokemon all cuddled up to you... Most of them. Azurill prefered to sleep nestled in the top hat, Helios didn't care much where he's get his rest. Sleeping most of the day anyway. But Master was a good person - She let him sleep, and didn't forced him to stay awake and do stuff. She also promised to help him growing stronger for the sake of beating up more showoffs...

Upon taking a view out of the window of her treehouse was...amazing, bluntly put. In the morning sun, the tops of trees just looked even warmer. Hmm... Fire magic.

After all was wrapped and packed up - not forgetting the souvenir towel of course - she payed the reception another visit to thank for the pleasant stay, and wished them farewell for now.

No problems alongside the way to Wineberry, Ventus seemed way better as well, barely any hint on him being sashed by a Scyther yesterday were visible.  Upon meeting up with the others again, she couldn't help to remember his comment yesterday... Nope, she wasn't 'trying to charm him'. Silent chuckles followed. Nathan asked her what was so funny once Kirlia drew his attention to this, and she replied with a simple. "Nothing. I just enjoyed my stay there in the treehouse."


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Ugh... So many... Bug-Types in town... However... They didn't seem to be any harm. The people...seemed to get along with them? Interesting.... And... my, was this a Genesect that the statue displayed? Why do they have it here... It's a legenday Bug-Type, but still... Oh, home.

Seeing that Ventus approached the statue and payed his respect to her, Shiva joined and did just the same. However...what did he mean by his words? How weird... She followed him while he was walking around town, looking for proper words to ask him about his connection to Genesect.

Also keeping an eye open if there was any library in town.

[Lord Windos]

Seeing that Ventus approached the statue and payed his respect to her, Shiva joined and did just the same. However...what did he mean by his words? How weird... She followed him while he was walking around town, looking for proper words to ask him about his connection to Genesect.

Also keeping an eye open if there was any library in town.

Noticing that Shiva was following after him, and detecting a strong sense of curiosity from her, he turned his head toward her. "Hmm, something is troubling you, my comrade? If you have anything you wish to discuss, feel free to ask. I always welcome question of any kind!" Ventus said, smiling radiantly at the young lass. He did enjoy his conversations with her, and always left them in a better mood than before!

Wandering around the town some more, he happened upon a man with a sickly looking Shelmet, so he decided to inquire about it. As it turns out, his poor insect was stricken with some ailment, and was offering $600 to anyone who was willing to transport it to the docter south of town. Seeing the condition the Pokémon was in, the researcher immedianlty accepted the offer, as he didn't desire the bug's condition growing even worse.

'I would have helped even without the offer for compensation, but I need every little bit of money. Hopefully, this Shelmet recovers, once it gets the care it needs,' he thought, beginning his treck to the doctor out in the woods! On his way out of town, he found another person willing to pay him for a errand, this time capturing a Wurmple for them. $200 and keeping any of the remaining Pokeballs sounded like a fantastic deal, so he happily took that job as well. If luck favored him, he could catch one on the way to and from the doctor!

Order: Do Shelmet task, and Wurmple one if possible (I'll edit this post, if necessary). Also, have a friendly conversation with Shiva. I have to leave some jobs for everyone else too!

[Dragonstrike]

That night, Nathan dreams.  He dreams of weezing explosions, scyther slashes, combee swarms, metal men shaping the earth...fights with Ventus, Larry and Vincent disappearing, Shiva refusing to tell him something important...and a pair of red eyes, the left one scarred, staring at him from the darkness...

It's not a pleasant dream.  It preys on his worries, feeds on them, makes them even worse than the actual experiences...

He wakes up suddenly in the night in a cold sweat and finds it difficult to go back to sleep.  Kirlia wakes soon after, and looks worried.  "I'm fine, Kirlia.  Just a bad dream, that's all..."  Kirlia can very much tell he's not fine, though.  He hugs Nathan to try and comfort him.

"Alright, alright."  He hugs Kirlia back.  It doesn't entirely calm him, but it helps.  "Kirlia, do you think this journey is a good idea?  There's just been so much...pain, I guess.  Like very little has gone right so far..."

Kirlia lets go and stares at him.  Intently.  He knows a lot has gone wrong, yes.  But what he does right now...

Nathan feels Kirlia's joy.  Joy at triumphing over the scimitar.  Joy for winning the glass badge.  Joy for all the new friends they've made, human and pokemon.  Kirlia almost couldn't be happier, right now.  Almost.

"Yeah, I guess you're right...there have been a lot of good things that have happened too.  It's just that...I'm worried about how the rest of the journey will go...heh...well, I guess Dad never said the life of a trainer was easy, though..."  Kirlia nods.  This wasn't going to be easy.  They had each other, though, and they'd find a way to muddle through somehow.  "Yeah, right again.  No reason to seriously worry while we have friends...alright, we should get some more sleep.  Thanks for reminding me of what we have."

His sleep still isn't perfect, but it's better than before.  Kirlia makes sure Nathan's resting well before he goes to sleep himself.

The next morning, Nathan wakes up to find Ventus up and about, waiting for him to wake up.  They take down the tent, meet up with Shiva, and head to Wineberry.  Nathan say much during that time, as he's mulling things over.  He seems especially quiet after Shiva rejoins them.

Wineberry Town: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_os7Y-4Xz_4

Upon reaching the town, Nathan's just as awed by the sight as Ventus is.  In fact..."Hang on.  Why is there a statue of Genesect here?  That's one of the last things I would have expected to see in Creshire..." He's also rather curious about Ventus's connection to the legendary pokemon of Unova, but he's more puzzled by why there's a statue of a one-of-a-kind pokemon that's unlikely to have visited this region. The statue would have to have been a somewhat recent addition...had Genesect visited Creshire recently? It is true that nobody knew its current whereabouts after the project was terminated...Nathan couldn't think of any other explanation for the statue's existence. It's not like it was the kind of story that Creshire's people would have cared about if Genesect had stayed in Unova...

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Oh... right. He was an empath, he most likey has picked up that curoisity coming from her. Well, nothing bad about this. In fact, it brought her a smile from him, an honest one: One that looked fairy good on him. And it saved her the weird situation to ask him about his views on Genesect out of the blue. Plus, she still hasn't gotten the chance to ask from where exactly in Unova he originates.

One came to one, sho she stumbled over the man with the Shelmet alongside him. Oh... Shelmet... Another Pokemon from her homeregion! Does this mean there are Karrablast here as well?

... Now to think about... All this Bugs reminded her on the Gym Leader of her hometown: Burgh. Sometimes, when he was holding an exhibition of his art in the local museum of art, Shiva was visiting those alongside her mother. According to her, this Bug-Nerd had a weird, yet very interesting and unique way to paint things - there's always more in his pictures that catches the eye on the first glance. And they always look like put his heart into them.

Getting lost in thought and memories into that direction, Shiva almost missed Ventus picking up the Shemet, discussing a few things with the owner and turning to the woods visible at the other side of town...

She quickly caught up on him. "Wait there! Maybe you shouldn't wander off with a sick Pokemon alone..."


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Mechanics:
If possible, I join Ventus on that Shelmet-Sidequest. Not interested in the money in the first place, but rather paying the woods a visit. I can hang out in a library later, looking for information about proper professional raising of a Psychic Type and finding out more about that Fire-magic connected to Fireweed Forest.

[Iron]

Odd jobs list:

Help chop firewood (need a chopping Pokemon or a Str of 3 wielding an axe): $200
Haul firewood (need a big strong Pokemon or a Str of 3): $200
Go catch me a Wurmple in provided Pokeballs: $200, and you keep any leftover of the 3 Pokeballs
Carry my sick Shelmet to the specialty doctor in the wilderness south of town: $600

Can I do multiple odd jobs, or just one? I can easily do Hauling firewood with Apsis, catching a wurmple should not be too difficult (Unless its that *Wurmple, which might cause shenanigans), and Shelmet transportation could be a challenge, but Ventus could do it!

Multiple is fine!

[Iron]

There's a small, cozy library. It mostly has books for entertainment. It also has a hardcopy of the Pokedex.

[Lord Windos]

PhantomUnderYourDesk

Getting lost in thought and memories into that direction, Shiva almost missed Ventus picking up the Shemet, discussing a few things with the owner and turning to the woods visible at the other side of town...

She quickly caught up on him. "Wait there! Maybe you shouldn't wander off with a sick Pokemon alone..."

Seeing Shiva catch up with him, Ventus gave her another one of his winning smiles, and beckoned her to his side. "I certainly would appreciate the company, my friend! While I am certain that the woods will pose little threat to me, having someone to hike out with comforts me greatly. Perhaps we can spend the time chatting away, while we get this poor Shelmet the treatment he deserves?" the researcher replied, making his way out of town and to the southern part of Fireweed Forest. The whole place set him a bit on edge, for obvious reasons, but he couldn't help be feel something strange out there. Something almost...magical.

He didn't like that sensation at all

Before he left the town proper however, Ventus remember that they left Nathan all alone, and quickly got his old phone out of his pocket and sent him a voice message. *Beep* "Nathan, I'm sorry I left on you on such short notice, but the sights around town distracted me some. I did find some lucrative work, however, and I will be out in the southern part of Fireweed until further notice. Shiva is with me at the moment, so worry not about my safety! I'll give you a call when I return, and we can meet up at the statue. " *Click*

[Dragonstrike]

Nathan hadn't even noticed Ventus and Shiva had left. He'd been too busy wondering about why there was a Genesect statue of all things. The beeping of his pokedex snaps him out of that concentration, though. He pulls it out, wondering what the message is about...

*Beep* "Nathan, I'm sorry I left on you on such short notice, but the sights around town distracted me some. I did find some lucrative work, however, and I will be out in the southern part of Fireweed until further notice. Shiva is with me at the moment, so worry not about my safety! I'll give you a call when I return, and we can meet up at the statue. " *Click*

Nathan was a little worried for Ventus's safety out there, but he guessed he'd be okay as long as he didn't encounter any Scyther...or Pinsir...or angry Heracross...or any other big bugs, for that matter. Shiva being there was also nice to know, but he wasn't really sure about her ability to fight...he hadn't seen her battle a whole lot so far, but she didn't really seem like much of a battler yet from what he could glean...hopefully the giant snake would be enough to keep the two of them safe and see them both back to the Genesect statue...

That reminded him. Ventus knew something about Genesect. More than most would. Nathan had only known the little bit he did only because he'd found some vague pokedex entries somebody had anonymously registered several years ago, and Ventus had gone into...amazing detail on the subject, all things considered. Based on when the pokedex entry was registered (soon after Team Plasma's first attempt at conquering Unova failed), and Ventus's confirmation on who cancelled the Genesect project, Nathan reckoned that the project was carried out just before Unova started seeing Team Plasma's demonstrations 7 years ago...this statue was definitely somewhat recent. Genesect didn't even exist until that project had been concluded. He'd have to inquire with Ventus about why he knew those details later...maybe he'd also have an idea as to why the mythical pokemon would be in Creshire...

Nathan pulls out his journal, and scribbles some notes on Genesect. Once done, he sets out to ask around town about the statue. Somebody here must know when the statue was built and why. You don't just have a statue of a partially artificial mythical pokemon in the center of town for no reason.

[Iron]

Nathan meets up with the Chief Ranger, Lumin, of the Fireweed Forest. Lumin gives him a historical tour even though that's not what he asked for. "Treehouses...fire and psychic types...learning to live with bug types...It....quaint...plus...amazing...you think so?...oh yes...it...stunning...love it! Founded where a Flareon...napping...so cute...tourism industry...log cabins...herbs and hikes...Oops! You wanted to hear about the Genesect statue?"

"Well, we commissioned it from a strange group of travelers about three years ago! They were hiking cross country from the little villages around Chicory Lake. They said they came from another time, another space! Hearing their talk, I thought, 'Unova?' but they denied it. Said they were travelers beyond the mystic veil. Well, I started to dismiss them, but it turned out they were interested in Bug Pokemon! Hey, that's an easy way to become fast friends around here! They told me of a legendary Bug type - who'd have thought such a thing existed! Usually they're Psychic, Fire, Flying, that kind of thing. I think the old King had a Psychic, didn't he?"

"Anyway, hearing about what a majestic...useful...loyal...it...stunning...kindly...indestructible...great hunter...what a great Pokemon this Bug-type legend was, we all agreed to chip in and build the statue as our mascot! They did all the work. Dug up half the town, it seemed like, but I'm sure you'll agree it looks GREAT! They walked back and forth between their Chicory village so many times that they almost wore a path. Long overgrown now, of course, because we never use it beyond the bounds of the Fireweed. For a while, that big wedge of cheese on its back was a different color, I think it was red, but they told us this orange one was best. Look what it can do!"

He stands at a certain spot on the plinth, and the Genesect's eyes light up in electrical wrath.

Far away, Ventus gets a shiver, as if someone walked over his grave.

The eyes blink a few times, and the marble statue moves its arms up and down a few times.

"Cool, huh? Motion sensor! Here, I'll take your picture with it!"

[Dragonstrike]

Nathan meets up with the Chief Ranger, Lumin, of the Fireweed Forest. Lumin gives him a historical tour even though that's not what he asked for. "Treehouses...fire and psychic types...learning to live with bug types...It....quaint...plus...amazing...you think so?...oh yes...it...stunning...love it! Founded where a Flareon...napping...so cute...tourism industry...log cabins...herbs and hikes...Oops! You wanted to hear about the Genesect statue?"

"Well, we commissioned it from a strange group of travelers about three years ago! They were hiking cross country from the little villages around Chicory Lake. They said they came from another time, another space! Hearing their talk, I thought, 'Unova?' but they denied it. Said they were travelers beyond the mystic veil. Well, I started to dismiss them, but it turned out they were interested in Bug Pokemon! Hey, that's an easy way to become fast friends around here! They told me of a legendary Bug type - who'd have thought such a thing existed! Usually they're Psychic, Fire, Flying, that kind of thing. I think the old King had a Psychic, didn't he?"

"Anyway, hearing about what a majestic...useful...loyal...it...stunning...kindly...indestructible...great hunter...what a great Pokemon this Bug-type legend was, we all agreed to chip in and build the statue as our mascot! They did all the work. Dug up half the town, it seemed like, but I'm sure you'll agree it looks GREAT! They walked back and forth between their Chicory village so many times that they almost wore a path. Long overgrown now, of course, because we never use it beyond the bounds of the Fireweed. For a while, that big wedge of cheese on its back was a different color, I think it was red, but they told us this orange one was best. Look what it can do!"

He stands at a certain spot on the plinth, and the Genesect's eyes light up in electrical wrath.

Far away, Ventus gets a shiver, as if someone walked over his grave.

The eyes blink a few times, and the marble statue moves its arms up and down a few times.

"Cool, huh? Motion sensor! Here, I'll take your picture with it!"

"Uh, sure, I guess...that statue certainly is impressive, I'll give them that..."  He gets his picture taken with the statue and Kirlia, not really able to get a word in to say no to it.  "So, what were those travelers like?  What were they wearing and how were they speaking and such, I mean.  They came from a village near Chicory Lake, you said? Seems strange to me, is all, and I'm actually curious about that story. And also out of curiosity, what other color wedges do you have for that statue?"

His curiosity and passion for history has been ignited.  Time to get to work on figuring out this mystery!