[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

(@Lord Windos, I don't think Shiva is seriously endangered to suffer Bipolar II Disorder, although I agree that the mood swing is a little extreme. The happenings on the Cruise did not 'cure' her, but they unlocked the door to recovery and will in the long run boost her self-esteem. ^^)


Braixen did not fully understand why this young man - he knew him and saw him as a friend of Master - flinched away, and was a tad bit hurt by the reaction. Some soothing words from Shiva and the explanation that this young man has...issues with magical things in general and not with Baixen itself eased that, Braxen understood why he was kindly ordered to not rush things with this person. Shiva was sure both would get used to one another over time, just as she got used to Apsis.

As Ven apologized for his reaction, she took one of his hands in both of hers, looked him deep in the eyes and gave him a 'I'm sorry'-smile. "There is...no need to forgive things, should have known that you'd react like this or similar. But please don't openly avoid or hate my dear fox, he doesn't deserve this... By the time we know one another, you know could have noticed that I'm capable to handle magic and magical creatures including Fairies rather well. I won't engage in any shady rituals or something else that may harm others unless there would be an urgent and inavoidable need for it, I'm more fond of natural magic, white witchcraft and herbology, so...please just trust me on this, alright?"

Only now Shva picked up that it was borderline miraculous how well she and Ventus got along and how they managed to form a friendship over the time here in Chreshire, given their opposite view on magic and mysteries. There was no need to change any of this view for the other, it was more a thing of acceptance and peaceful co-existance.

She was also greatly enjoying the smell that the incense Ven was smoking was giving out, although she doubted that using them this way was that healthy. But she's not here to hold moral lessons. Still in the hug, and flattered that he returned it timidly, she said "That smell...it's lavender, is it? Good for soothing one's nerves, good choice of yours... They're also associated with attraction and allure. Somehow, I enjoy this herb." She said that casually like she was talking about the weather outside, without having any ulterior motives, before she let go of the snuggle.
As he mentioned medication though...  Damn, he knew his business. "Eh... Well, only Vitamin D and St. John's Wort since I don't feel a need for chemical treatment... I don't have a prescription for it either... And even if I believe I'm getting better, I should...continue...taking one or maximum two of these meds daily, right...?" Shiva would have no problem with that, actually, but she'll have to develop some routine first.

As for the voice message, she was a little startled as Ven mentioned it. "Oh, um, nope, I must have missed any messages on cell. I was rather occupied there on the cruise, must have slipped my mind... I'm sorry for that." Her slightly ashamed feels were brushed off rather quickly as she heard that they were left the Gym with victory in their hands, though! "How wonderful to hear, congratulation!~ Bet you know that Ghost-Types have some nasty tricks on tehir side, so a victory against them is quite worth a thing."

Hmm? He wanted...to show her something? Wonder what... ... ... Oh. OH. This was weird... yet very entertaining. Although despite Ven's explananation she didn't quite understand what has caused Apsis to get along with Nathan that well that fast - peace offering to ensure battling together without objecting was comprehensible, the ponderousness of it was not - and got the feeling that Nathan himself might not be that fond of what happened between him and the Arbok, she didn't wanted to kill off that joy Ventus had here, so she jumped into his delighted mood and friendly chuckles.

"Speaking of the devil... Where is Nathan? And Valder? With you? Because...you know, actually... I'd be down to leave Corsage as soon as possible, including within this day. But I'd understand if you people are too exhausted from the Gym Battle and would prefer to sleep over here in the Center and leave city tomorrow all fresh..."

[Iron]

Nylon, there's no time for another battle this evening if you want to do the training session with your other two Pokemon.

If you do that, though, give them both 1XP!

[Dragonstrike]

Yup, she'd laughed...ugh...

Nathan tries to make himself even smaller, still beet red from the embarrassment. He would have tried to slip out of the room before she noticed him, but the giant snake on his lap wasn't helping matters at all in that area either...

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

(She only laughed because Ventus laughed and she didn't wanted to hurt his feelings! Neither does she want to hurt Nathan's feelings or embarrass him. In fact, she finds this whole thing a little questionable, but is hiding that very well away from Ventus' empathy.)

[Iron]

Day 20 begins. Take your heartbeat XP.

Beyond the mists of Corsage Port, you can see the weather is excellent for traveling.

Ventus senses tension in all the group's Pokemon - they are eager to be off and running. As he begins his day, all the Pokemon he encounters exhibit a similar abundance of energy.

Kirlia ignores the other Pokemon's feelings, choosing instead to focus on Nathan, who last night experienced an abundance of emotions that did not go undetected by the Emotion Pokemon. Kirlia ignored even Shiva's rollercoaster of feelings, for the most part, which as a Ralts would have been of much more concern.

Encounters on the urban-wildland interface

1. Name: Snubbull
Cap: 1 (2)
Bid start: 1
Challenge: Easy
Notes: Seems to be on the trail of...

2. Name: Wobbuffet*
Cap: 1 (2)
Bid start: 2
Challenge: Potentially tough
Notes: From the tracks, this creature is visiting the nests of various Pokemon, many of them in cliffside caves or scraggly trees, including Pidgey and:

3. Name: Exeggcute
Cap: 1 (2)
Bid start: 1
Challenge: Very easy

4. Name: Slowpoke
Cap: 1 (2)
Bid start: 1
Challenge: Very easy
Notes: Sunbathing near a rocky pool/waterspring on the roadside

Most of the travelers you see are headed away from Corsage at the moment.

[Iron]

Oh yes, forgot something:

While you are all in the Pokemon Center still, a video call comes in for you. It's Professor Mallorn!

"How are you doing, trainers? Good work on catching a few rare Pokemon and reporting on them to me. Corsage Port? I need to get down there sometime myself. But it's just business stuff, nothing journeyman trainers would be interested in doing. Anything else to report?"

"Well, I have something to ask of you, boss. Something was stolen from me, possibly by my business rivals, the Almanac. It's called a Neverstone - it uses shards from all the evolutionary stones at once, as well as Everstone, metamorphosed into a single glittering item. Prohibitively expensive to make right now, but someday it will be cheap. Can you guess what it does? It doesn't just prevent evolution, but reverses it! You can see how it might be useful at times. Uses the same energy as any evolutionary stone. Anyway, I want you to keep an eye out for it in your adventure. You'll know it when you see it. If you see any of those Almanac scientists, tell them I'm onto them!! I can make another, but I really just don't want them to have it!! I heard they were working on their own version of the same concept. Jerks."

[Lord Windos]

Ventus gave her a rather incredulous at Shiva's remark, before he quickly shook his head to dispel it before both of them go the wrong idea. "My friend, I don't hate young Braixen for their....natural talents, they just greatly unnerved me after my own harrowing day. Give me some time to calm down, and aquiant myself with them, and I will get over my instinctual reservation. As for your own affinity with the magical and fae...it worries me, truth be told. You have an extraordinary connection and bond with natural magics and powers, but I fear that very same thing will consume you if one fell thing happens, or if I'm not around to caution such an interest and safeguard you from its dangers. I would prefer if you had nothing to do with spellcraft and the like...but I know that would be like you asking me to forgo my University teaching. They are integeral to us. I have come to accept that part of your, Shiva, after all that you have done for me, for all the time we have shared, good and bad. After all the things we have experienced together, in such a short amount of time no less, I never want to be without your friendship, despite my reservations. You may be a witch, somewhat, but your my cute witch, and I can find peace with that fact," he says, gently caressing the small hands clasped around his. They may be opposites on the spectrum of magical view, but that doesn't mean they still can't be friends...

When she correctly guess and complimented his incense, he couldn't help but gently smile and take stick out of his mouth, exhauling the smoke above both of their head. Wiping it off, he handed it to Braixen, know that the species enjoy spices and pleasant ouders like he does, before he began speaking about her discovery. "Good sense of smell you have their! My incense are made of Lavender, Liliac, and just a hint of Sage and Rosemary. Helps me regain my calm after stressful events, and can ward off vile magics and fell spirits in a pinch if I preform the right incantation or exorcisim chant. I despise most forms of magic, but some branches of it have...practical application that I can not and should not ignore. 'Know thy enemy, so that what he does can not surprise you, and you know exactly what to do in order to counter them...' Though my incense....romantic applications are greatly overstated. They have never helped me earn a date before, though one of my prior boyfriends did enjoy them as much as I did at time.....anyway!" Ventus said, quickly trying rush the conversation before Shiva start asking question about his past relationships. That was NOT a subject he was comfortable opening about, least of all to someone that.....might be intereset in them. Even if only subliminally so....brrr.

Her own segway into their medication she was taking was perfect for him to take about instead, then! "Well, as long as you are careful not to overdose of those vitamin supplements and don't take too much of that herb, you should be able to make a full recovery from the....sadness I caused you. If you feel that you are having or are about to have a depressive episode again, though....please come get me. I may be a sociologist, but I do have some experience in the field of therapy, and I can help you get through whatever ails you. Granted, that experience comes mostly from Pokémon, but people and them are more alike mentally than most would think. At least, similar enough that we can reason and bond with them like any other of our respective species. Quite fascinating, don't you think," the researcher says, his eyes sparkling as he briefly dipped back into his primary subject of interest. Cheshire has been a wealth of information and data for his studies, though he could do without all the blasted magic that is plaguing him and co...

He politely nodded to her comment, not minding the slight kerfuffle on her part (Nathan has been known to miss some of his calls, after all...), and just ruffled her hair when she congradulated him on his victory. 'I didn't quite enjoy it as much as they might think, but I am glad to have that match over and done with. I love Ghost types, but by Reshirim I don't enjoy when they turn their powers against me...' the empath thought, before showing her the pictures. He knew that she was only laughing because he was, but she did find the interesting and enjoyable, so their is that, he supposed! Shiva's question concern their ETD , though, caused him to put it his camera away and ponder her question. "Nathan is over their at our table, trying his best not to be noticed after I showed those pictures of his. By the way, remind me to go find his mother once we reach his home time, so that I can share these with her. She'll get a laugh out of them, I am certain of it, hahahaha! Moving on, Valder is still with Corsage proper , but he should be arriving soon enough, so let us not worry about him for now. I would love to leave this dreary town ASAP, but we should first discuss our future plans with Nathan and what we are going to do in Winesberry in the near future. Sooner or later, we have to deal with them..."

After discussing things with the group (We can always Flashback or dicuss our plans in the Meta Thread!) , they all went to bed/left town, and where resuming their quest soon enough. Ventus picked up on the energy that raidiated throughout the group, and the Pokémon that inhabited this stretch of semi-wilderness. One particular source of curious/hunting feelings caused him to turn his head in that direction, and he spotted what looked to be a Wobbuffet! Only this one seemed...off for some reason. Getting his friend attention, he quickly told them: "I want to investigate this Pokémon further, so I will approach it and examine what appears to be strange about it. You are free to join me, of course, but I just wanted to let you know before I ran off."

Order: Want to observe/challenge that Wobbuffet with Raphael, Iron! I like the concept of that Pokémon quite a lot, and having one on my team until I find something better would be nice indeed!

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Just the usual habits on the end of the day: Dinner, shower, Pokemon feeding aaand checking that message Ventus seemingly send to her earlier. Indeed, the time he send it, she was there on deck of the cruise mid-battle, checking cell was the very last thing on her mind back then.

She was delighted as the group decided to leave Corsage the next morning! It'll bring her closer to Ginger Town. Right, from the card in Guidebook she knew that if they'd want to head to the next city - most likely Stair City - they have to stop by in Ginger Town. Splendid~ This shall be the place to take on the exam for the Breeder's Lisence. And another thing. (That only Gamemaster knows of, so far) She also looked forward to pay the Daycare a visit and see how the Absol is doing.

That voice message from Professor Mallorn has been noted as well. A Neverstone sounds like a...weird thing, Shiva didn't quite get what he meant by a the reversing of an evolution could be useful sometimes. Never she would want to devolve her dear Braixen! Maybe - most likely - he meant the fact that Pokemon that evolve via a stone barely learn new moves upon evolving. There were also shards included, which caught her interest GREATLY. Internally, she cursed the Almanac for their crime.

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Next morning, she woke up not only with hair even more messy - which was nothing new - and that happy emotional daze from yesterday gone. Should have known, but it was enjoyable as long as it lasted... She feared that she'll have problems to get out of bed and do things, but to her own suprise, she managed it on her own this morning. Yesterday was an eventful day, full of things she found pleasure in... on top of that, the first evolution within her own Pokemon. Bet that somewhere in Castelia City, her parents would be proud if they heard.

Before she went down to the Lobby though, she remembered a thing, speaking of yesterday... meds.

Come on, my dear, it's just a plant and vitamins.
I know...
There is no need to be ashamed about relying on these pills.
I knooooow. Well, actually I do, but nevertheless...
Take those meds and down the Lobby with you!!!
... okay, okay! :C

After meeting up with the others down in the Lobby, having coffee and switching Plusle and Minun for Azurill and Helios in her party, they all together left Corsage. See you hopefully not that soon, enjoyable but mildly creepy port town...

Weather was wonderful for traveling, and Braixen was delighted to walk the Route alongside his Master. He was secure on foot, looks like he rather quickly got used to walk only on his hind legs.

After taking on the Route for a little, Shiva picked up there were many Pidgey around. It must be mating and breeding season to them... This reminded her on the little Fletchling she acquired earlier, and raised her curiosity. She wanted to investigate these Pidgey! Seeing that Ventus was about to leave into the woods because he spotted a Wobbuffet - one that she wasn't able to spot just yet - she quickly called out for him. "Ven! Wait for me... please... Uhm, mind if I join? There are quite a lot Pidgey here, and I wanted to take a closer look at them. But I cannot see that Wobbuffet you mentioned."

This only raised her curiosity though - Wobbuffet are EXTREMELY rare in Unova. Only Wynaut are found occassionaly on one particular Route, and Shiva has never seen one in the wild so far.

[Lord Windos]

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After taking on the Route for a little, Shiva picked up there were many Pidgey around. It must be mating and breeding seasion to them... This reminded her on the little Fletchling she acquired earlier, and raised her curiosity. She wanted to investigate these Pidgey! Seeing that Ventus was about to leave into the woods because he spotted a Wobbuffet - one that she wasn't able to spot just yet - she quickly called out for him. "Ven! Wait for me... please... Uhm, mind if I join? There are quite a lot Pidgey here, and I wanted to take a closer look at them. But I cannot see that Wobbuffet you mentioned."
.

"Why certainly, my dear friend! I said anyone could join me, so the more company the merrier! As for where it is, I only was able to spot the elusive creature because I detected it with my empathy, so stick close and I'll lead the way to our quarry. Hopefully it will be an interesting specimen, since something about it give me a...off feeling. What it is will remain unknown to me until I obtain a closer look at them, so let's make haste in finding it, before it gets away!" Ventus replied, quickly picking up on Shiva's eagerness and curiosity, and more than happy to indulge them. She still was not back to her chipper self completely, despite the medication and the good times they have had, but eventually all will be well with them. 'At least, I desperately hope so. I don't want her subcomming to despair, and end up like.....no don't think that. I will NEVER let that happen again! I stake my life on it...'

[Dragonstrike]

Did he just hear that correctly?  Ventus was going to show his mom those pictures too?

Oh dear...no no no no no no....plz no...that was almost as bad as him showing Shiva...Aspis was keeping him seated here on purpose, wasn't she?

Ugh...

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The first task for the day was feeding Orthros.  While Nathan still didn't feel confident the dog would follow his orders, he wasn't going to neglect him.

Second was determining which pokemon he was going to take into the forest on their way back to Wineberry.  He decided to swap out Porygon2 and Starmie for the Combee duo.  They'd been cooped up in the PC all day yesterday, so it was time they got to rejoin everyone.

He's rather quiet on the way out of town.  Ventus had done an excellent job of humiliating him if that's what he'd been aiming to do...he was finding it difficult to focus on much else...he hadn't even been as angry as everyone had expected when Mallorn had mentioned Almanac had stolen something from him!  Oh dear...Kirlia seems way more concerned than usual, as well...

And so, it's of very little surprise that he eventually ends up a short distance away from the main body of the group, doing what he usually does when he needs to try and regain his focus: training.  Kirlia, Swiftfire, and Grid along with him.  The combee are off gathering honey again as well.