[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Dragonstrike]

Nathan's still rather quiet and sullen as...nobody comes to the agreed meeting spot...oh...well, that doesn't help matters much...now he's feeling particularly left out...well, it was almost certainly partly his fault, but...*sigh*...welp, guess he could do a little walking and thinking in the meantime...try and shake off that exhaustion from the training...(second encounter slot is doing a whole lot of nothin' since everyone else is busy elsewhere)

And the effects of that walk carry over to encounter slot three.  He's still quiet when everyone finally returns, but he's not quite as icily moody as before, what with Kirlia's various attempts at cheering him up, though he still doesn't feel like talking with Ventus.  It'll also be much harder for Ventus to notice Nathan's feeling a little tired now since he had some time to recompose himself.  

But he's still not paying too much attention to what's going on around him, so he doesn't notice that there's a backpack just sitting in the middle of the road for some reason...causing him to trip over it!

"Ow...what the...wait, where'd everyone go?  And what the heck did I just trip over?"

Kirlia's pretty quick to help him get back up and point out the very, very obvious backpack right in the middle of the pathway.

"Oh...guess someone dropped that or something...wonder what's inside..."

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

The empath's heart finally calmed down when the little one accepted his offer. Slowly, so as to not startle them, Ventus enveloped them into a soft hug, overjoyed that everything worked out without violence or conflict, in the end. "Thank you, little one. Thank you for trusting me. I promise I will never betray it, and stake my life for yours. Now, I can't keep calling you Wobbuffet or little one, since you are now a part of my family. Each and every member has a name, and you shall be no exception. Hmm...how about Abaddon? Its a little on the nose, but you do have the power to remove those that oppose you, and you are quite the powerful threat as well! What do you think, my child?" the researcher said, paying no mind to his friend for the time being. If they want to talk with them about something, they would have to get their attention directly, rather than waiting of soliciting it politely.

When Ven finsihed acquirering his new Team member with a hug, he'll find Shiva whiping off some last tears. There is...no way she'll loose it now, not now, in a moment where the desire to be strong was peaking. Although, even without empathic skills, she picked up that this suffocating sadness and loneliness coming from the direction of both Ven and Wobbuffet were lowering out, until it was absent. Ah... Felt way better... She was enjoying the aftermaths of Lucky Chant greatly. Felt a little... like a subliminal therapy session? Eh...

This whole negaitivity has been soothed, so she made it to very carefully and coyly approach Ven. Braixen was still by her side, but the basswood stick hidden away in its tail. There was no need to fight. That blue Pokemon here was no enemy at all.

She extended one hand to either touch Ven on the shoulder, or - what was going on that she had such a bold idea? - stroke over his cheek with the back of her hand, both to express appreciation. However, it didn't come to either since she stopped mid-movement, uncertain about how he'd react. Plus, being closer to both, she got the feeling that they're emotionally uprilled. A little, at least. But enough that she decided to rather not ask into direction of his lost family now by aiming to ask how his brother handled his Abra, so instead...

Her voice was lower than usual, afraid that it might break some fragile and just formed bonds. "Hehe... I'm, eh, sure you'll take good care of your new frien...family member. I just...know... Well, I trsut you on this, I mean... Anyway, congrats."

*cough* "It's... Psychic Type, if I'm not mistaken... That reminds me on something... You know, remember how you told me that meditating soothes your mind? You did that the whole time while I was there reading in the journal of Project you-know-what, it was a little awestruck to watch. I...can see you're emotionally uprilled, don't lie to me by telling me you're not or hiding it behind an adorable smile, so... Would you, eh, be down to teach some of these methods to some of my own Psychic Types? Additionally, to me? You know that depression-issues, I don't want to suffer an episode that soon again; and if, I'd need a way to calm myself down... Maybe teaching the mechanics will soothe your mindset as well? It...doesn't have to be the whole thing, I doubt meditation is learned by a single lesson, maybe some milder method or autogenetic training sounds better?"

She then awaited his reply. She was also avoiding his gaze until he assures things are fine and he's down to teach things in his current state.


Mechanics:
Let's see... This will be a Training Session for Helios, Braixen and Kyuu. The latter will learn Confusion for 9XP during it, while Helios might be interested in how to learn to soothe his mind. He also has that Silverly Spoon to help focus. The Psychic Powers are all connected to the mind and spirit. after all! In return, Ventus is free to ask for teaching Nasty Plot to Raphael in return.

[Lord Windos]

Her voice was lower than usual, afraid that it might break some fragile and just formed bonds. "Hehe... I'm, eh, sure you'll take good care of your new frien...family member. I just...know... Well, I trsut you on this, I mean... Anyway, congrats."

*cough* "It's... Psychic Type, if I'm not mistaken... That reminds me on something... You know, remember how you told me that meditating soothes your mind? You did that the whole time while I was there reading in the journal of Project you-know-what, it was a little awestruck to watch. I...can see you're emotionally uprilled, don't lie to me by telling me you're not or hiding it behind an adorable smile, so... Would you, eh, be down to teach some of these methods to some of my own Psychic Types? Additionally, to me? You know that depression-issues, I don't want to suffer an episode that soon again; and if, I'd need a way to calm myself down... Maybe teaching the mechanics will soothe your as well? It...doesn't have to be the whole thing, I doubt meditation is learned by a single lesson, maybe some milder method or autogenetic training sounds better?"

She then awaited his reply. She was also avoiding his gaze until he assures things are fine and he's down to teach things in his current state.

Capturing Abaddon proved more complicated than he first thought when they forced their way out of their Pokeball and ran away to a cave, frightened off by the strange phenomina (to them). He let out a worried sigh, before they carefully made their way over to the little one's hiding spot, and tried to soothe their fears. 'Oh dear....I should have expected a adverse reaction from them, since their parent were taken away suddenly by the technology. Hopefully this does not cause our familial bond to fracture, but I think I can still salvage this situation. The fact that they have Telepathy will make it much easier to communicate their fears with them, even at the cost of its more useful ability, Shadow Tag. Oh well, its not like I have a pressing need for a Pokémon that can trap other beings...at least not right now,' Ventus thought, as they tried and succeeded in coaxing the little destroyer out of their hidy hole, and properly demonstrate and explained what a Pokeball is and does. They seemed fascinated by the transformation from they can discern, which is an immense relief to the researcher; keeping them outside their ball all the time could have been problematic...

He was quick to notice that Abaddon was quick to always hide that black tail of his, and while as a researcher he knew this was typical behavior of the species, they were never the less intensly curious about the fact. "Abaddon, I hope this doesn't bother you by asking this, but why are you hiding your tail exactly? Its not like someone will try to sever or attack it, so I'm rather intrigued by this, truth be told," the empath said, before they were interrupted by Shiva getting his attention. Somewhat startled by the intrusion (And a little regreatful for forgetting about them in the situation), Ven pivoted on his feet and turned to face her as she described what she desired from him, his typical smile twinged when she called him out on his slight faced- ' She is getting far better at reading me than the average person ' - , and the empath turned the thought over in his head for a moment, before giving her a slight nod. "I would be more than happy to teach you proper meditation technique, my dear friend. You are not the first in this party that have requested this from me, as Nathan and Kirlia wanted advice on how to achieve peace of mind as well, but I always welcome new adherents to this practice! As I told him, it takes years of dedication and personal refinement to become a true master of the art, but I can certainly start you on the basics, and let you work from their," he said, before holding a hand out to her to forstall any cheering on their part.

"...In exchange, though, I have a request for you Shiva: I want my Raphael to be tutored in the move Nasty Plot. I know you have dabbled in the Move Tutor field, and that you had plenty of time to pick up the move technique from your Plusle and Minun, so how about you help my dear archangel out learning the move, while I teach you and your Pokémon Meditation? Do we have an accord, my friend?"

Order: Host a meditation/training session for Shiva and her selected Pokémon, while she Tutors Raphael in the move Nasty Plot. Tick for tack, am I right?

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

It felt like the bond between nerdy Fairy-Enthusiast and oddball of Sociologist was physically tangible as Shiva took his offered open hand. Don't know why, but her heart barely ever lies to her.

"Sure thing, I'll teach your Togekiss... wait a moment." Her formerly delighted expression lowered out to a somehat darker one. At least she made it to face him now. "W-why Nasty Plot? That's a rather dark move. Okay, actually chaotic and playful evil, but still dark. Why would you want to teach that to such a cheery Pokemon like Raphael?"

(She'll stll teach it, just is curious why.)

[Lord Windos]

"Sure thing, I'll teach your Togekiss... wait a moment." Her formerly delighted expression lowered out to a somehat darker one. At least she made it to face him now. "W-why Nasty Plot? That's a rather dark move. Okay, actually chaotic and playful evil, but still dark. Why would you want to teach that to such a cheery Pokemon like Raphael?"

Ventus expression took on a more severe look as he tilted his head downward, looking pensive to the young lass. "....The world is a dangerous place, Shiva, and Cheshire is no different from the rest of it, and we all need the means to defend ourselves efficiently and effectively. Nasty Plot may be a fiendish move for my dear Raphael, but they need the power it provides to survive the upcoming challenges the group will inevitably face. Gym Leaders, Scimitars, Almaniac, the Skull Ruins, and the multitiude of powerful, viscous Pokémon and unknown threats that can spell our doom if everyone is not prepared. While its chaff at my sensibilities, Raphael needs the power of Nasty Plot to defend themselves and us to their fullest ability. That is why I want them to learn the move from you...."

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Hehehehehe... Hell. The world's - no, Chreshire's - surely dangrous if it was able to inflict lethal wounds to one of her Electric rodents as well as completely mess up Shiva's mind in several ways. Speaking of the mind... Only now she picked up that Ventus seemed to act normally around her for a while now. Oh, wonder what happened? Not long ago he was overly shy around her, and yesterday he even called her 'a cute witch'... Well that was flattering, but...on and out like a light?

But he was not wrong in his reasoning, surely not. Alright then.

"Ven. Look at me."

*when he does* "The world's horrible. Like, it messed up my mental state quite badly and took your family. Speaking of the Almanac, it also almost killed Nathan's closest companion. There are dream worlds and daydreaming and everything, a holy land, but in the end reality comes and slaps you in the face without mercy. Or, a Nidoking comes and breaks your arm out of a whim before you could react, just because it dislikes you trying to soothe it and keep it from harming your wife and daughter. Welll... to hell with that. I, uhm, surely will teach your Togekiss such a nasty move, I already did that to Minun under Plusle's guidance. However, I am sorry for that, but I don't have my dear Electric rodents with me... However, I'll do what I can... Uhm... Alright?" Insert a slight smile here, she's really taking efforts to make both herself and Ventus feel at least a little better.


Tutoring Session:

Raphael already knew this fairlylike young female, so he was all eager to learn a new move teached by her. Well, before, he heard WHAT MOVE it will be. Raphael flinched away a little at the thought. (Insert Ventus soothing him? He's Master, not me.)

"My, Raphael, no worries... Nasty Plot IS a Dark Type move, but it's not dangerous. You will not turn evil. You will not loose that enjoyable cheer and blessing you bring to those you like, just because you know how to plot against the enemy. Please, just, uhm, listen to my explanation and guidance, alright? If you're REALLY against it, just let us know and we'll stop right away, alright?" She turned a little closer to the archangel, her next words only audible to him, but not his Master. "Besides, thank you for battling there on the cruise for me... You did arouse quite a crowd to watch that battle of mine, hehe... "

"Besides, want some dried berries before we start tutoring?" Shiva offered a handful of them to the archangel, both as a physical thank-you and to subliminally lure him into the thought of learning a Dark type move.

"Ah, alright then... Listen to me, please. Okay, eh, Nasty Plot... As far as I know and experienced from my Electric rodents knowing this move and using it frequenly, it's not much more than actual plotting against your foe - imagine how you bring 'em down. Imagine how you Air Slash them because they dared harm your loved ones. Savour that pleasant thought and allow yourself to look forward to pester your opponent with slashed air... If you're doing it right, you should feel encouraged and energized by that, which will have a clear effect on your powers. Please try to do that for me. If you're having problems, please let us know."


----------------
Tutoring Session Nasty Plot to Ventus's Togekiss, No. 1 out of ???, Tutoring Roll: 3 Insight + 3 Knowledge + 2 Move Tutoring = 7 D6, 10 sucesses needed for learning the move to usage. No autosucess because I don't have Plusle nor Minun with me currently that could help teaching. No XP granted during a Tutoring Session.

[Iron]

Nasty Plot Tutoring

(3)(3)(4)(6)(6)(4)(3) - 4 successes! Pretty good. This first tutoring session mostly gets Raphael used to the idea. Next session he can focus on executing it properly.

[Lord Windos]

"Ven. Look at me."

*when he does* "The world's horrible. Like, it messed up my mental state quite badly and took your family. Speaking of the Almanac, it also almost killed Nathan's closest companion. There are dream worlds and daydreaming and everything, a holy land, but in the end reality comes and slaps you in the face without mercy. Or, a Nidoking comes and breaks your arm out of a whim before you could react, just because it dislikes you trying to soothe it and keep it from harming your wife and daughter. Welll... to hell with that. I, uhm, surely will teach your Togekiss such a nasty move, I already did that to Minun under Plusle's guidance. However, I am sorry for that, but I don't have my dear Electric rodents with me... However, I'll do what I can... Uhm... Alright?" Insert a slight smile here, she's really taking efforts to make both herself and Ventus feel at least a little better.

Ventus head jolted at that wicked serious tone Shiva employed on him, causing them to look into their eyes as they desired. Listening to her impassioned speech, he was worried that she was going to over rile herself by bringing all those festering issues directly to their minds, but she was remarkably strong until the end, when they timidly asked for their help once more. It took him a moment to process it all, before they gave her a genuine, caring smile, before they ruffled their head at their boldness. "Alright, my passonate friend. The world may be a harsh, cruel, and unforgiving at times, but I have always been able to endure against its negative side. With my friend and family by my side, however....nothing seems so uncertain anymore. We will get throught, alright Shiva?" he said, before he walked over to her summoned Pokémon seeking his meditation teaching, before launching into the beginning. Since learning the practical and intitial steps were practically the same for everyone, his lesson was not to different from the one he gave Nathan back at the aquarium. (Insert Link Here)

Order: Psychic Training session for all of Shiva's Pokémon, while she trained mine! Let us sharpen our minds, DM!

[Iron]

Shiva's Pokemon are curious about working under a different trainer. They all earn 1Xp as you'd expect.

Braixen is up for a training roll.

Ventus' Insight 4 + Fight 2 + Empathy 0
(6)(2)(6)(4)(5)(2) - 4 bonus XP, as Braixen quickly soars ahead of the other students under Ventus' tutelage.

[Iron]

Shiva's initiative: (6) + 5 = 11
Cherubi's initiative: (3) + 1 Dex + 3 survival = 7