[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Dragonstrike]

Giving him another glance after having copied the last move from screen, Shiva gave Kirlia a...weird expression. Half suprised over the slightly harsh reaction, half playful over how adorable a angered Kirlia looked like. "Well, do excuse me that I'm busy with my stuff! Didn't know you and Nathan would show up here, and I wanted to head upstairs right away..." *closing the journal, packing it away and logging of from PC* "Alright, alright, I'm coming then..."

She followed Nathan's winking and Kirlia's lead to the table he resided, looking somewhat amused and delighted despite being intercepted. Must be the aftermaths of seeing Xiani again as well as having just bought another charm for her growing collection. "Greetings, Nathan! Didn't expected to see you here, thought you'll be more than busy with your cousin. So, did you found him and what's wrong that you need me at all?~ I wanted to head upstairs into dorm right away, but then Kirlia happened."

No nonsense from Nathan right now. He's far from being in the mood for anything else. "I'll be seeing plenty of Kory for the next few days, trust me.  Besides, I said I'd meet you here after I found him, remember?  Frankly, I'm surprised I got here before both you and Ventus did.  Anyways...Kirlia 'happened' because I need to inform you about what I'm doing for the next few days.  I just got off the phone with Ventus telling him about it, because he's apparently out of town on some sort of errand for Belle and Tramp.  He's picking all sorts of spectacular times to wander off, that's for sure...*sigh*..."

Welp, better just get it over with...not like her reaction could be too much different from Ventus's...

"...I'm participating in the Running, and my cousin's going to be helping me prep for it...there, now you know too.  Blegh.  Even just saying it leaves a bad taste in my mouth..."

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

"Oh... Right, eh, sorry, that must have slipped my mind while I was there speaking with a Healer and Herbalist and buying wonderfully crafted lucky charms... Do forgive me on this." That was meant totally honest, especially the last part. Usually that does not happen, but she kinda got distracted...

"Oh, you got a call from Ven? Nice to hear that!~ Haven't checked my cell yet whether he contacted me as well. He'll come back eventually from wandering off, he's a grown and resitant man unless you trigger him. He'll be fine, and he has his Pokemon with him." Hearing that Tramp and Belle are INDEED indeed into town thrilled her to bits though, which was displayed by a delighted smile! She just needs to pay them a visit as well at some point.

His next decleration however... Well, it was like he hit a switch that turned on the serious side in her, and quickly her smile faded. It took her a little to get the words he was saying there and as soon as her mind marked them as 'true, he indeed said he'll participate', she gave Nathan a concerned and somewhat confused look while adjusting her glasses to make sure that these words came indeed from Nathan. That Nathan that formerly... "...well, alright then... Just as I did with Ven, while I'm not very fond with any of you people participating, I have to respect the decision. Just...do tell me, what has caused you to change your mind? Thought you are strictly against The Running, find it overly dangerous, and mentioned that only reckless Trainer join the Pokemon... Wait. There is nothing you need to proof us, alright? Or did your cousin talked you into joining him?"

[Lord Windos]

"I've got a lot of time to kill right now since I'm sitting around at the Center waiting for...oh, there she is.  Shiva just walked into the lobby...well, that's one less thing to worry about..."

Nathan's tone suddenly turns rather moody after that relieved sounding one.  "Ugh...as much as I dislike the event, I'm participating.  Not like I have much of a choice in the matter...my cousin's going to be helping me prepare for it...blegh..."

And then his tone becomes just a little...darker.  "Look, don't take joining the event lightly.  Particularly this year.  The authorities are the least of your concerns if you're running with the pokemon."

The empath cringed a bit in both surprise and aghast at hearing Nathan's sudden participation in the Running, clearly unprepared to hear THOSE words coming out of their mouths, consider how vehemently despised the event. He also become rather concerned about the dour tone the boy's word took at the end of that exchange, and the ominious feeling they were sensing in them was off putting as well. 'This is an...unexpected development, to say the least. Nate is joining the Running this year despite his own personal feelings on the matter, and whatever the reason is for this change has left him even more sour about the whole affair. Just WHAT is he leaving out of the conversation?' Ventus thought, before he let out a small sigh and pinched his nose at how this alters his planned course of action, before he made up his mind on the matter.

"....In that case, I'm going to participate in this year's stampede of Pokémon as well. If one of my friends is going out there in that Thrashing avenue of Rampaging Pokémon, then I can't in good conscious let them do it without offering my support/assitence. Besides that, I have a suspcious that whatever prompted you to make this contrary decision of yours, it must have absolutely critical and of utmost significance to you on a personal level. Your tone of voice and skirting around the actual reason for your participation is indication enough of that. Tell me, what is it that is so important in the Running that it practically forced you to join it against your will?"

[Dragonstrike]

His next decleration however... Well, it was like he hit a switch that turned on the serious side in her, and quickly her smile faded. It took her a little to get the words he was saying there and as soon as her mind marked them as 'true, he indeed said he'll participate', she gave Nathan a concerned and somewhat confused look while adjusting her glasses to make sure that these words came indeed from Nathan. That Nathan that formerly... "...well, alright then... Just as I did with Ven, while I'm not very fond with any of you people participating, I have to respect the decision. Just...do tell me, what has caused you to change your mind? Thought you are strictly against The Running, find it overly dangerous, and mentioned that only reckless Trainer join the Pokemon... Wait. There is nothing you need to proof us, alright? Or did your cousin talked you into joining him?"

He shakes his head.  "I'm joining on my own terms.  Sort of.  I all but have to participate, much to my distaste.  I'd rather not, but nothing seems to be going my way recently...besides, I can probably keep a better eye on Ventus and my cousin if I'm out there myself.  Got a bad feeling something bad's gonna happen this year, and I hope to be able to do something to mitigate it..."

"....In that case, I'm going to participate in this year's stampede of Pokémon as well. If one of my friends is going out there in that Thrashing avenue of Rampaging Pokémon, then I can't in good conscious let them do it without offering my support/assitence. Besides that, I have a suspcious that whatever prompted you to make this contrary decision of yours, it must have absolutely critical and of utmost significance to you on a personal level. Your tone of voice and skirting around the actual reason for your participation is indication enough of that. Tell me, what is it that is so important in the Running that it practically forced you to join it against your will?"

He sighs, then makes sure there's nobody eavesdropping on his phone call before quietly continuing.  "Don't tell ANYONE what I'm about to tell you.  I mean it.  Nobody.  You breathe a word of this to anyone, and you'll cause a panic and ruin everything.

"There's a very, very, very specific pokemon that I'm almost certain is going to be showing up in this year's run.  One that Kirlia and I have business with.  And also one that bodes very, very badly for this year's event, since everything seems to go terribly wrong when the species shows up.  An Absol.  This one has a scarred left eye, and my best shot of getting to it is during the run.  If you're going to participate, you should know that runs involving an Absol are usually much, much more dangerous than usual.  The last time one showed up was 20 years ago, and things didn't end well for most of the runners that year.  The Absol itself was bad enough, but there were a lot of rare and unusual pokemon that were much more ornery than usual that year as well.  Well, and the Tauros.  You can probably imagine what happened with those.

"And before you ask why I have business with a very specific Absol, that's a short story for another time.  Kory is going to be helping me prepare for and during the event.  Ick...I REALLY wish I didn't have to participate, but it seems fate's decided otherwise..."

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

He shakes his head.  "I'm joining on my own terms.  Sort of.  I all but have to participate, much to my distaste.  I'd rather not, but nothing seems to be going my way recently...besides, I can probably keep a better eye on Ventus and my cousin if I'm out there myself.  Got a bad feeling something bad's gonna happen this year, and I hope to be able to do something to mitigate it..."

"Wait a moment... *cough* Ventus does participate in the end? O-Kay... Was it that what he told you durning call? Well, that came unexpected since he made his reasons why he WILL NOT participate clear... Well, nevermind, I'll ask him personally again about why he changed his mind again. He doesn't do that without a reason."

"However... As said, I have to respect you people's decisions just as you have to respect that I won't participate and prefer to watch the event on broadcast from the Center or the Daycare if worst comes to worst." At his comment to expect something bad happening, she moved a little closer to him, making sure that the next words are only audible for Nathan. "And you have that bad feeling because...? Like, you fear that a special Pokemon might emerge from the mountains to cause trouble? I know only one that would match to that." Her tone was not scolding, not a bit, rather...friendly, with a hint of worry and still wondering what has caused him to change his mind that drastically that he does something on free will what he normally would never. She knows Nathan enough by now to know that he wouldn't do so without a very good reason.

In fact, it's the same Pokemon that the Daycare bred and is currently training for the mission, but Nathan does of course not know that. Shiva on the other hand, hadn't much problems to count one and one together. Mountains... An overall bad feeling... desaster...

[Lord Windos]

The researcher's eyebrows practically jetted up at Nathan's intial paranoid remark ('Isn't it my job to be the overly caution one of the group, not him?'), and his expression slowly morphed from startled, extremely anxious and worried, perplexed beyond belief,  before it finally it settled into a pained and calm façade. Their was silence for several moments, as Ventus gathered his thoughts together on how to appropreitely respond the emotion shelling that the boy rained down upon him, before he spoke in a serious yet personable town of voice.

"...I expect to hear the full story over your connection with this unique Absol, but for now I will bide my time for that moment. That being said...the Absol species are not harbingers of doom and despair, but merely herald its arrival to all those that will head them. Unfortunately, most people 'blamed the messenger' , and drove the species into seclusion and/or near extinction in the region around the world. If the Disaster Pokémon is participating in this Running as you believe they will...then it means something unbetold has or will happen during the course of the event, and everyone, regardless of their knowledge on this species, will start rioting in panic about this if the news gets out. Especially since they have president for the need to be fearful, if the last time it appeared correlated to horridly tempered Pokémon making a mess of things.. Oh dear..."

Silence reigned for a moment, before the sociologist find the words to continue, speaking in a weary, resigned sort of way now. "...Which means that it falls to us to sort out this situation, before it can possibly escalate out of total control, just like what we invariably did in Corsage. *Sigh* We already have enough on our plate regarding Those That Are Most Vile, but now we have to deal with crisis on top of crises as well? I knew this journey of ours was going to be memoriable, but to this extent and fashion. I'm a researcher, Nate, not some hero that saves days. I'm far, FAR from that, with the things I've done. Still, I can't turn a blind eye to this event and let people suffer because I don't want to endanger myself in this future disaster. If I can help people and make their lives better, no matter which way, how, or at what cost, I must do it. They don't deserve to suffer for things outside their control, so we must try to assure that does not come to pass. You can count on my support in the Running, my friend. Together with Kory and our Pokémon, we should get things under control, should they make the motion to go out of it."

[Dragonstrike]

Ventus:

"The problem isn't with Absol itself, it's with everyone's expectations, and there's nothing we can do about that.  And I have no idea if the Absol about to appear means well or has it out for me and Kirlia.  But either way, kindly stay out of it once I get to the feline.  This is between it, me, and Kirlia, got it?  I've only told you and Kory about it because you're directly involved in the run and I can't afford to miss this chance."

Shiva:

"Ventus merely told me he was on the fence about deciding to join, though he decided he'd run the instant I told him I was running."  He frowns at Shiva's next observation.

Nathan starts talking very quietly and indicates Shiva should do the same.  "And you think that pokemon is...?"

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Nathan starts talking very quietly and indicates Shiva should do the same.  "And you think that pokemon is...?"

Of course she follows and lowers her voice even more. "Oh, come on, no need to beat about the bush. ...Absol, right? That's indeed bad... Well, not the species itself, I know very well that they usually act with good intentions and emerge from the mountains to warm people of disaster they sensed. People just misunderstand them and see them as the bringer of bad luck and trouble. In that case... Well, I doubt they come because they can, there must be a reason." ... "I don't know if I can help you in any way, but if I can, let me know, alright? Doesn't have to be now, feel free to think about it. I'll be at the Daycare for most of the day tomorrow, but we surely can talk after Professor Mallorn left or around the same time as today, okay?"

(No need to tell Shiva about the special Absol, confirming that they are indeed connected to the bad feeling of Nathan is absolutely sufficient.)

[Lord Windos]

Ventus:

"The problem isn't with Absol itself, it's with everyone's expectations, and there's nothing we can do about that.  And I have no idea if the Absol about to appear means well or has it out for me and Kirlia.  But either way, kindly stay out of it once I get to the feline.  This is between it, me, and Kirlia, got it?  I've only told you and Kory about it because you're directly involved in the run and I can't afford to miss this chance."

"*Sigh* I will not, Nathan. Despise my overprotectiveness if you want, but I have a distinct feeling that whatever business is between you and the Disaster Pokémon is going to lead to...well, disasterous consequence for the both of you. I will come assist you as I see fit, and nothing you say or do will dissuade me from this decision of mine. If you wish to catch the harbinger for yourself, I will happily let you and keep others from doing so if necessary, but I will not allow to you face it alone if I think that will put you at extreme risk. Have a good night, my friend," Ventus said, before abruptly closing the phone and pocketing it, and motions to his Pokémon to began leading him back to Ginger Town. He knows that he's going to utterly INFURIATE the boy with his refusal to comply with their request, but the empath will be damned to Kyurem's Icy Domain if he's going to let them endanger their life that without him being around to offer aid, if needed. Well, he'll have plenty of time to steel himself for Nate's inevitable angry outburst towards him tomorrow....

[Dragonstrike]

Of course she follows and lowers her voice even more. "Oh, come on, no need to beat about the bush. ...Absol, right? That's indeed bad... Well, not the species itself, I know very well that they usually act with good intentions and emerge from the mountains to warm people of disaster they sensed. People just misunderstand them and see them as the bringer of bad luck and trouble. In that case... Well, I doubt they come because they can, there must be a reason." ... "I don't know if I can help you in any way, but if I can, let me know, alright? Doesn't have to be now, feel free to think about it. I'll be at the Daycare for most of the day tomorrow, but we surely can talk after Professor Mallorn left or around the same time as today, okay?"

Nathan has an incredibly serious look on his face now. "There is EVERY need to beat around the bush, Shiva.  The last time an Absol showed up at the Running, it was chaos because of how paranoid Ginger Town is about the species, and the felines don't always mean well, either.  I'm not taking any chances if the vision Kirlia had comes to pass during the run like I fear it will.  I just hope my luck is a bit better during the event than it's been lately..."

(Hint hint. I guess?  Time to mention the thing we discussed via PM I guess, Phantom?)

"*Sigh* I will not, Nathan. Despise my overprotectiveness if you want, but I have a distinct feeling that whatever business is between you and the Disaster Pokémon is going to lead to...well, disasterous consequence for the both of you. I will come assist you as I see fit, and nothing you say or do will dissuade me from this decision of mine. If you wish to catch the harbinger for yourself, I will happily let you and keep others from doing so if necessary, but I will not allow to you face it alone if I think that will put you at extreme risk. Have a good night, my friend," Ventus said, before abruptly closing the phone and pocketing it, and motions to his Pokémon to began leading him back to Ginger Town. He knows that he's going to utterly INFURIATE the boy with his refusal to comply with their request, but the empath will be damned to Kyurem's Icy Domain if he's going to let them endanger their life that without him being around to offer aid, if needed. Well, he'll have plenty of time to steel himself for Nate's inevitable angry outburst towards him tomorrow....

Yup, Nathan's pretty mad at that.  He just stares at his pokedex in disbelief for a moment...bah...he'd deal with Ventus later...he still has to tell Shiva what's going on...well, only a little bit since she's not actually participating in the run herself...she'd get the full story later...