[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Iron]

Spoiler

After putting the pokeball and the potions, Heart decided to walk for a while. It seems he couldn't get much information about Almanac, so a idea came to him. He decides to go to the library and get some ancient information. Perhaps anything about ancient history and about what might be inside the Skull Ruins or about anything that king Saminarok. 

Action: Go to the library and get information and books about King Saminarok, the Skull Ruins, and anything about the Ancient history about the city.

There's a whole room of books about that stuff. 

"The Depths of the Skull Ruins, by Fossil Maniac Occi"

There are layers upon layers of ancient construction in the Skull Ruins, much of it predating Sarimanok. This historian believes that to go as deep as it's possible to go, one must explore not the city's center of commerce, but the fathomless dungeons of Sarimanok's castle.

We know of the seemingly endless Barrow Downs, haunted with ghost Pokemon (and possibly even by ghosts!), where lay the valiant dead of the revolution. 

We know of the weird subterranean halls, akin to the Ruins of Alph in Johto, where strange hieroglyphs sometimes appear. Despite needing a permit from the League to enter.

We know waters run beneath these layers, where oh-so-very few have dared to explore.

We suspect more masonry and artifacts could be discovered below our radar's reach if we could but find the paths.




"Stepping Stones: A Collaborative History of Stair City"

Stair City can't truly be considered ancient, for it's less than a millennium old. There was a small villa here before the first masonry was erected. However, the stairs carved into the mountains are from civilizations preceding anatomically modern humans. We know almost nothing about them.

From the beginning of the new Pokemon League, Stair City served as a capital of innovation and excitement. Crime is kept low despite the large population, for Team Rocket and its ilk never made much ground here. The class struggle takes its place, from the old "robber barons" and "bandit kings" to today's technovariety of upper crust. Always the working class of Stair City have both admired and simultaneously clashed with the heiresses and self-made landowners. 



"Inside the Skull of Sarimanok the Great"

A complex figure to be sure, Sarimanok. Surely Creshire was never wealthier than under his rule. Pokemon were stronger. Inventions came more rapidly. Much of the current League technology owes its origins to items invented by King Sarimanok and his unique Pokemon. 

Yet there are many today that spit at the very sound of his name. King Sarimanok came to believe the ends justified the means. As one might expect, this lead to glorious ends, at the cost of the citizens he came to see as resources. 

Even when his power was at its peak, Sarimanok was revered in song, story, and poll. It is said he never made one man sad unless it made two men happy. 

Personally? I think the source of King Sarimanok's power was leverage. Or the multiplication of force. This lend to nigh-endless resources for the man, and we benefit from that philosophy today. When was the last time your Pokemon was infused with bounteous healing energy, all for free? 

What benefits do the Trading Machines offer, even to providing us with unique species not seen before Sarimanok's time? Granted, some species such as Alakazam and Steelix can appear in the wild, but what of Scizor and Electivire? They would not exist without the trading machine.
Even more interesting are species such as Politoed, who were never seen in the wild until Sarimanok's reign, and are now almost plentiful.

Though seemingly all-powerful, Sarimanok voluntarily crafted a functioning parliamentary democracy, and even sometimes did what the Prime Minister said.

"Huh. That Sarimanok must be a great ruler in his time. Consider that ancient times, he must be great. Hmm, if I recall well, three thousand years ago, there was the great pokemon war, who many pokemon die in Kalos. I must know if Sarimanok reigh was before, during of after that era. Perhaps I should take a look the lineage of Sarimanok to see if he have descendants or something. That way I can find someone to undestand what is truly inside that ruins. And perhaps theres might a old map from that ancient times, to compare with actual, and look that small villa. I have a feel there might secrets behind that villa, I just dont know why. And I might begin to search something about the Pokemon League history, so have references from the present time."

Sarimanok is actually pretty recent, around 700 years. (The comparison on Earth would be to Viking times).
He was the last reigning king in a line of royal blood lasting five thousand years, going way back to the earliest anatomically modern humans in Creshire! As an island region, it was settled later than some regions. Those settlers also found aboriginal groups, whose ancestors can occasionally be found.

Sarimanok left several bastard children of both genders. Also a prince who was actually sent to Unova at birth as part of a hostage situation. 
His most famous bastard was named Vigil, who ended up fighting for the League during the revolution. He lived in the northern mountains and trained Fire types. 

The villa would have been on the south end of Stair City, but no one knows precisely where. May or may not be within city limits.

[Iron]

"Yes, she's in her office. You can buzz her secretary at that desk over there. But you'll get your head bit off if it's not something important!"

"Thanks.  I'll keep that in mind."

Not that he needed to be reminded about Dagny's legendary temper...

Welp, time to try and talk with Dagny about those vines.

You press the intercom button. 

"This is Shirley, how may I help you?"

[Dragonstrike]

You press the intercom button. 

"This is Shirley, how may I help you?"

"I'm looking for Dagny.  Need to talk to her about the situation with the vines.  I have some information she might be interested in hearing."

[Iron]

Little 4x4 Round 5

"Sure! And don't be too confident in your psychic cat. Makuhita is full of surprises!"

Fake Out
5 dice, -2 actions
(4)(4)(1)
Evade: (4)(3) No luck for Kyuu.
(5) Kyuu takes 1 dmg and flinches. 5/6hp.

Makuhita rolls forward and comes up with arm outstretched, knocking the cat over and pinning him forcefully to the floor.

Force Palm
(4)(1)
(5)(3) No damage
Paralyze: (6)(3)(3) Espurr is paralyzed!

"How do you like that? Esparalyzed."

Confusion 3
Down to just one dice with paralysis.
(2) Miss! Makuhita easily rolls aside. He seems very rolypoly.

Little 4x4 Round 6

Confusion 1
8 dice, -2 actions, -2 par
(4)(3)(4)(3)
Surprise: (6)

Makuhita is so small and so rolypoly that attacks have a chance to miss him entirely!

Confusion chance: (3)

Tackle
(2)(2)(3) Makuhita's roll rolls right past Espurr, who is conserving as much movement as possible.
"Surprised? Yeah, sometimes his rolling speed can make him miss attacks, but it also makes him much harder to hit!"

Confusion 2
(5)(4)(2)
Surprise: (5)
(4)(1)(4) Makuhita takes 3 dmg! 2/5hp -2 pain
Chance: (6) Makuhita is confused!

Tackle - not enough dice. Makuhita accidentally rolls into a small circular pool of the fountain, where he fits perfectly! You can hear him burbling in the water.

Little 4x4 Round 7

Confusion, holding back!
(3)(2)(2)(6)
Surprise: Ehh, he's stuck.
(4)(1)(1) It's still enough to take him out of the fight! Your opponent withdraws Makuhita quickly before he can inhale water.

"That was really fun! Did you know that in Little Cup battles you're limited to just three moves per round? Thought you deserved to know that, since you won."

You collect your money and your XP! 13Xp to distribute among your Pokemon, and 7 for Shiva.

[Iron]

You press the intercom button. 

"This is Shirley, how may I help you?"

"I'm looking for Dagny.  Need to talk to her about the situation with the vines.  I have some information she might be interested in hearing."

"She's very busy, but she requested that anyone who seemed like they might have a solution be sent in. I need to evaluate your credentials - tell me who you are? And how you know what you know?"

A little camera lights up on the desk, and you're put into a video chat with Shirley. She's very plain, but has done a TON of work on her hair, building it up into a blonde beehive. Her desk looks awesome, covered in controls and screens.

[Dragonstrike]

"She's very busy, but she requested that anyone who seemed like they might have a solution be sent in. I need to evaluate your credentials - tell me who you are? And how you know what you know?"

A little camera lights up on the desk, and you're put into a video chat with Shirley. She's very plain, but has done a TON of work on her hair, building it up into a blonde beehive. Her desk looks awesome, covered in controls and screens.

Nathan holds up his trainer card for Shirley to examine if needed.  "The name's Nathan Warren.  I've been traveling around the region for about a month. Kirlia here has had a few worrying visions involving these vines and the Skull Ruins, and I've been trying to figure out what they mean.  I found something...interesting just before the vines started growing."

[Iron]

"Oh, a Kirlia trainer? Interesting."

Shirley seems to respect you more than the Pokemon you hold - just the opposite of the Rangers, who only cared that you had a Kirlia. They each ascribe agency in different ways.

"Come on back."

A door lights up, then slides open.

You walk (or ride) down a hallway to the office of Dagny, a room covered not in steel but in corkboard. Blueprints and specs are pinned all over the walls.

Dagny sits behind one desk, a twin of Shirley's. There's another desk in the room, too, but you can't see the surface because it's covered in tools and papers.

"Hello, Nathan. I am Dagny."

Dagny sits hunched over her desk. She's wearing a gray cloak, which hides her hunched body. Her face is stern but beautiful in a harsh, aquiline way. Her hair is light and cut fairly short. Her desk makes an odd crackling and buzzing sound.

"Shirley tells me you have information on the threat of the vines. Please state your information succinctly and thoroughly. I'm recording this conversation, so there is no need to slow down. You may assume I have access to any information that is common knowledge, or publicly available in any way."

[Spiritmon]

Sarimanok is actually pretty recent, around 700 years. (The comparison on Earth would be to Viking times).
He was the last reigning king in a line of royal blood lasting five thousand years, going way back to the earliest anatomically modern humans in Creshire! As an island region, it was settled later than some regions. Those settlers also found aboriginal groups, whose ancestors can occasionally be found.

Sarimanok left several bastard children of both genders. Also a prince who was actually sent to Unova at birth as part of a hostage situation. 
His most famous bastard was named Vigil, who ended up fighting for the League during the revolution. He lived in the northern mountains and trained Fire types. 

The villa would have been on the south end of Stair City, but no one knows precisely where. May or may not be within city limits.

Heart was interest in the last line. "Wait? Revolution?" Heart was caugh off guard about that last part. "So, the Pokemon League have his dirty things after all." Then he begin to search for other topics: The prince who was sent to Unova, about what end he have, and about that hostage thing. That bastard child Vigil, about everytime Heart can find, and about that revolution in the Pokemon League. And the mountain he go to train Fire Types and if still exists.

[Iron]

The Pokemon League violently overthrew King Sarimanok, and that was the end of the monarchy in Creshire. That's when the Skull Ruins was created from the destruction of his palace. That's when Stair City was built, and when the Pokemon League became the rulers of Creshire.

This library doesn't say what became of the prince in Unova. Unova was brewing for naval war with Creshire in response to a minor technological revolution introduced by Sarimanok. (It doesn't say what technology it was). Sarimanok successfully negotiated peace before the war even began. To seal the bargain, a very important hostage was sent from Opelucid City, and Sarimanok sent his own son in return. Trivia: That hostage from Opelucid was a cousin of Gym Leader Drayden.

It is thought that Vigil had residences in Mt. Molten and in what is now Forb City. Bearing a trove of stolen palace supplies, Vigil fled to the Trientalis Caldera and trained there, absorbing so much firepower that the volcano became extinct. Today it is grassed over, and the Pokemon League has its headquarters there. It's also where the Championships are held.

So the mountain still exists, although it is changed. Mt. Molten is still active to this day, and Nathan actually lived at the base of it his whole life.

[Dragonstrike]

Dagny sits behind one desk, a twin of Shirley's. There's another desk in the room, too, but you can't see the surface because it's covered in tools and papers.

"Hello, Nathan. I am Dagny."

Dagny sits hunched over her desk. She's wearing a gray cloak, which hides her hunched body. Her face is stern but beautiful in a harsh, aquiline way. Her hair is light and cut fairly short. Her desk makes an odd crackling and buzzing sound.

"Shirley tells me you have information on the threat of the vines. Please state your information succinctly and thoroughly. I'm recording this conversation, so there is no need to slow down. You may assume I have access to any information that is common knowledge, or publicly available in any way."

And there she is.  Dagny.  The former warrior turned leader of Creshire.  Well, one of two leaders.  

"Pleasure to finally meet you in person, Dagny.  I'd recommend being...careful with this information.  I informed the Rangers that dealt with the Tangrowth that my party KOed yesterday, but I'm here to make sure you know as well, since you're heading this defense and this information is rather important.

"Something in the Skull Ruins has been disturbed by something.  Some sort of ancient power.  And now that it's awake, it's going to attempt to cover the whole region in vines.  With the help of those Tangrowth, which I expect are effectively near limitless in number, it might even manage it.  I don't know what this power is exactly, but there are apparently key figures related to it that I'm referring to as 'manikin kings.'  One of which I believe my party encountered yesterday just before we arrived in Stair City.  We were attacked by Tangrowth, but they were being lead by a Claydol.  Wearing a crown.  The Claydol attempted to steal my Kirlia's item by ordering the Tangrowth to use Knock Off and the vines to drag it away, towards the Ruins.  His item is a rare and powerful Clamperl Pearl that can boost the power of Psychic attacks.  I believe Claydol's interest in it might relate to its status as a 'king,' as the ancient kings, particularly Sarimanok, were interested in amassing both power and wealth, and the Pearl falls under both categories effortlessly.

"So, as for fighting these vines...beating the Tangrowth is only a way to delay the inevitable.  If we want to make a dent in the vines' advance, we need to stop the things commanding those Tangrowth.  The manikin kings, and whatever might be leading or manipulating them from the depths of the Ruins.  Unfortunately, it doesn't seem like that's going to be easy...the Claydol Teleported away when the Tangrowth it was commanding were defeated, and the Ruins are mostly inaccessible currently from what I've seen.  During the battle, Claydol was keeping its distance, pelting us with rocks and psychic attacks while giving orders from atop a cliff where only long range attacks would even have a chance of hitting it.

"As for how I know all this...it's rather sensitive information...I pieced some of it together after seeing a few of Kirlia's visions, but most of it came from...a different source.  I don't think it's information you'd want getting out, and it's certainly not common knowledge...you might want to consider turning the recording off...or at least limiting what others hear of this recording."

He pauses there. He summons Calam, pulls out his journal, and continues once Dagny's decided whether to turn the recording off.

Spoiler

"Dagny, this is Calam.  I met him at the Running almost a week ago, and that meeting was recorded on video from what my mom told me.  He was rather keen on showing me something at the time.  You know the stories behind his species, I'm sure.  Well, that Run was filled with Absol, and Calam here lead the charge, looking for me and Kirlia specifically.  We followed him, and he lead us to something rather...disturbing.  The Legendary pokemon Mesprit, sleeping behind an impenetrable barrier of psychic energy in a hidden cavern, with a message written in Unown lettering meant to be shown to me and Kirlia also being located in that very same cavern.  I have it written down in my journal right...here (he points to the first part of the message).  This message is where I got the term 'manikin kings' from, and it warns of both the vines and a 'disaster of stone.'  Three days after reading the message, Kirlia had a vision of a vine sprouting in the Skull Ruins.  That occurred just before the vines were first noticed covering the Ruins, from what I've been told, so those vines seem to grow incredibly quickly when they're both unimpeded and aided by Tangrowth.

"Anyways...the first part of the message mentions only a 'sharer of unselfish love' can stop the manikin kings for good.  And what puzzled me more was the second part of the message, which I've written down here (he turns to the last page of the journal)...it suggests that 'sharer' is my Kirlia.  I'm trying to work out what needs to be done to wake up Mesprit and stop these vines, but it's been...difficult.  The message is a bit vague...I looked a little into the Lake Trio's history here to try and find out if Uxie and Azelf might be in similar conditions, but Uxie apparently left the region right after Sarimanok was dethroned, and Azelf was headed to the east of Chicory Lake in some sort of rush before it disappeared for unknown reasons.  Mesprit, when it was last seen, was described as looking physically tired, which seems to indicate it's been sleeping in that hidden location for a long time...

"I've not told anyone else this information so far.  Creshire seems to be in deep, deep water if the might of Legendary pokemon is going to be required to stop this madness for good...but I think targeting the commanders when possible should slow the vines' advance more significantly than just KOing the Tangrowth."

Nathan pauses again.  That was probably a lot for even Dagny to take in...