[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Dragonstrike]

Heart notices Nathan was quite serious then decided to try dissolve a little that dense atmosphere. "Hey, dont make that face. We are inside a big city with many trainers fighting against that vines. I know they can handle very well against that situation. For now we must focus in our currently mission." Then he smash his punch each other to show his determination. "Besides, we have four powerful trainers here: A Fairy Dragon Slayer. A Gentleman Trainer. A Ghost Trainer. A Rude Trainer. And a Comedian. I not quite powerfull, but I do my best, hehe. Where we go first?"

Nathan gives Heart a rather annoyed stare.  "You're not helping your case any with comments like that, you know."

And then it's back to business.  "A ways across the mountains, a long trip across the plains and past Chicory Lake, a short ways through the swamp in the southeast, and then we'll be at Arrowroot Village.  It's going to be a long trek, even mounted."

[Iron]

THOOM THOOM THOOM THOOM.

Metagross' big flat feet stick to the surface of the Great Divide. Soon the mounted party is dashing along at record breaking speed. The landscape is almost a blur. Sometimes it rotates or spins as the Metagross pay no attention to the laws of gravity. Much of the journey is spent sideways or even, rarely, upside down. With such blatant disregard for the terrain, the Metagross eat the miles away. Rain clouds follow you for the first half of the journey, causing mudslides and a thin layer of dirt over everything. This bothers the Metagross but doesn't slow them. Even being knee deep in mud can't slow them. They just take more implacable steps until they are free.

Enough aggressive Pokemon to make any heart quail. Enough elevation changes to make the climb impossible. Enough miles to take your party two days on foot. But with Metagross, you are undisturbed and speedy. At an awesome 30mph along the rugged terrain, you reach the shorter end of the Great Divide in 2 hours.

This puts you several miles west of the Fireweed Forest - you can see it on the horizon. Right now you are in a lush land of small trees, many tiny streams of blue water flowing from Greenbriar to Chicory, and lots of wildflower plains.

Lake Chicory is due south of you. From this perspective, it looks endless, since it goes over the horizon. On Ponyta, you could be there in another four hours through this brush. You know that somewhere around here is an old overgrown track - if you can find that, the journey is not even three hours on horseback. (Ponyta can canter comfortably at almost 10 miles per hour in brush).

A beeline to the swamp will take you east of Lake Chicory - that way looks like it's more wildflowers than anything. It's a long journey, but there may be times you can gallop, and there's plenty for Ponyta to eat. The road to Arrowroot is on the south side of the big Lake. If you don't reach that, you will have to go through dozens of miles of swamp and nature preserve to reach Arrowroot. Ponyta will not help much in this case.

[Spiritmon]

"WHOOOHOOO! THIS IS AWESOME! BEST DAY EVER!" Heart shout enjoying the super sonic speed the Metagross is going. He really enjoying. "Just a quick question: That village is called "Arrowroot Village". Why is called that? The locals was especialize in making arrows or something?"

[Dragonstrike]

"Just a quick question: That village is called "Arrowroot Village". Why is called that? The locals was especialize in making arrows or something?"

Nathan explains it to the whole group on the way out of Stair.

"Not quite.  It's named after a starchy root they harvest from the swamp's shallow waters.  It's useful for treating poisons, edible if prepared a certain way...and the locals also say it's got a certain...magical element to it as well.  It's a VERY important part of their culture and history."  Nathan makes sure to emphasize that last part specifically for Ventus (not maliciously or anything, though)

Along the way, Nathan steers his and Valders' Metagross a little ways away from everyone else's to address some stuff. (PM incoming, @Nylon).  They're still in sight though, and the noise of the metagross oughta make it difficult for anyone to eavesdrop. Nathan's directed Metagross back to the group after a short discussion.

Upon reaching the tail end of the Great Divide...

Nathan turns to look at everyone else from atop the metagross he's on. "Well, that's one half of the trip done.  Anyone want to ride on something other than a Metagross now?  There's supposed to be some trails around here that the Ponyta and Yule would do well on."

[Lord Windos]

Back to business then, guess the inevitable time to depart has come...

Shiva still feels uneasy by all that cold emotionless Steel in the Gym, even more the deeper they went to pick up 'their' exemplars of Metagross. There's one thing she has to admit after listening to what Vambrace had to tell/explain, that was that these seem to be very well trained. Not obediant in battle, but no way she'd even think of trying it out! (Unless there's an emergency that is)

"No questions, thanks a lot for providing them to us at all..." She doesn't feel like train flying/riding them though, as now that they've waited until noon she felt like they delayed departure long enough. Instead, she softly yet determined entagled one of her arms around one of Ven's, as he already explained experience with these particular Pokemon. Nothing wrong about getting a hold on someone who knows their business, and there's enough room for two people on one Metagross anyway! (Unless someone strongly objects)

*Flashback!*

Peace, quiet, and some alone time by the Gym was a great boon for Ventus, as it allowed him some time to thoroughly plan/account for various factors that could impact the group's flight towards Arrowroot, and let him firmly set his priorities for the mission itself. 'Travel to Arrowroot Village in as an expedient manner as possible, minimize conflict with Nathan so as not to waster time and/or cause meltdowns in the party, ensure that Shiva, Heart, and especially the boy are well protected and provided for on the journey, and subdue/eliminate all threats towards our group, preferably in a way that avoids Nathan moralizing or Outraging. I don't savor the fact that I have to provide so much assitence to that foolish bastard of a child, but he and Kirlia are critical to obliterating those slithering Vines that are infesting the Skull Ruins and save Cheshire. Just focus on the mission, and bite your tougne for the time being, no matter how much of a bloody Kyurem damn nitwit he acts like or is,'  the researcher thought to himself, before firmly nodding his head in conviction to his ....well, convictions. Right now, solving this crisis superseded any bad blood between them and the young trainer, and he quite frankly doesn't want to waste any more thought or attention to them than what is required!

Eventually after what seemed to be an eternity, the rest of the group had finally arrived to pick up their Metagross mounts and depart towards the rustic village in the marsh, and he silently joined them with nary a word or gesture of announcement. He proceeded to the holding/prep area, listened/memorized the instructions given to the group by the living supercomputer's while tunning out Nathan and Heart's somewhat comedic back and forth (though their was a slight smile on his face when Heart labeled Nathan as 'The Rude Person'; 'A fitting moniker indeed for the boy!'). He was the second to learn how to properly orient himself on his Steel stead, as while he did not have the boy's experience as a rancher to guide in riding a Pokemon, his knowledge, personal experience, and empathy gave his quite the edge in learning to ride them indeed! When his dearest, mystical friend entwined herself with him gave them that hopeful/nervous/eager? look of hers, the sociologist gave her a small smile and fondly rubbed her hair in a comforting manner to reassure her that no matter what happens on this journey of their , so long as he is by her side he will safeguard her with all his might!

*Flashback Ends!*

Despite detecting no malicous feelings from Nathan when he spoke of the village's namesake, Ventus couldn't help but become a little more irritated at them, as he was well aware of the plants medicinal/nutritional properties thanks to his mother educating them on the subject during his pseudo apprenticeship under her (Before things went to straight to hell...) and for besmirching it by labeling it 'magical'; the thought send a shiver of disgust through his frame. Still, he remembered his priorities and refrained from reacting in anyway towards them for the timebeing, besides responding to his question by saying: "I have been in no discomfort while ridding on Metagross all this time, and I imagine that will likely not change anytime soon, so I will abstain from riding on a Ponyta. Let's just proceed to Arrowroot rapidly as possible, for the sooner we are thier, the sooner we can investigate and verify if the Prophecy was alluding to the village!

[Dragonstrike]

Despite detecting no malicous feelings from Nathan when he spoke of the village's namesake, Ventus couldn't help but become a little more irritated at them, as he was well aware of the plants medicinal/nutritional properties thanks to his mother educating them on the subject during his pseudo apprenticeship under her (Before things went to straight to hell...) and for besmirching it by labeling it 'magical'; the thought send a shiver of disgust through his frame. Still, he remembered his priorities and refrained from reacting in anyway towards them for the timebeing, besides responding to his question by saying: "I have been in no discomfort while ridding on Metagross all this time, and I imagine that will likely not change anytime soon, so I will abstain from riding on a Ponyta. Let's just proceed to Arrowroot rapidly as possible, for the sooner we are thier, the sooner we can investigate and verify if the Prophecy was alluding to the village!

(Well, I doubt Ventus cares, but Nathan did specify that it was the Arrowroot locals who refer to it as magical.  He never said anything about his own opinion on the matter.  Just keep that in mind for later.)

Nathan shakes his head.  "No, it's not alluding to the village.  Something I forgot to mention earlier is that Dagny's research turned up an old story about the 'ends of the earth.'  It's apparently the location of a cave where an old, wise man lives.  One with a great deal of power.  Enough to help Sarimanok seal away a pokemon as large as a city that was causing trouble near the old man's home.  Unfortunately, that doesn't get us anywhere with finding the 'beginning of the land'...maybe the villagers will know more..."

Quite frankly, Nathan was eager to get away from these mountains.  He was done with seeing Tyranitar, Aggron, Golem, Machamp, Ursaring, etc. and trying to avoid them.  He didn't have any of his strongest pokemon with him right now besides Kirlia.  All of the ones he had were here for a reason, of course, but man, did he feel a bit more vulnerable, even with the metagross around...it wasn't hard to tell Ventus was...not in the best mood.  And Nathan's not sure why...he wasn't going to ask, though.  He'd smoothed his side of things a best as he could, and this...incredibly strong, pent up aggression Kirlia was notifying him about from his pokeball...

...yeah, now he saw why Kirlia was reluctant to try getting along with Ventus...this was making Nathan rather nervous as well...

He wasn't going to crumble now, though.  No.  Too much was at stake right here.  He couldn't afford to collapse under the pressure.  It doesn't make any of the pressure go away though, obviously...

"Two options if we want to get to Arrowroot from here.  We can travel in a straight line there, through the swamp, or we can head directly south of the lake after circling around it to get on the main route that leads there from Botanville.  Obviously, fire horses aren't going to get along with swampland very well no matter what orders I give them, and the metagross might just sink into the mud there, so it'd be rather rough, on foot travel through the swamp if went straight there, even if it might be faster.  Finding trails that lead to the lake from here and from the lake to Route 10 would be far more comfortable, and we might actually be able to stay mounted while traveling through the swamp if we're on the route.  I don't know about you, but I'm not keen on trying to trek through another swamp on foot.  Once was more than enough."

[Spiritmon]

"Well, I still stick with the Metagross. A big move frotress is something comfortable in my opinion. A Pokémon big as a city....honestly I cant imagined such Pokémon. Perhaps a few legendaries: Kyogre, Groudon, and a few others but they only exist in Hoen so problably no. Lets see If I can find something to help find a better path..." Heart then begin to search any signal to find any clue about a better path, even land in earth and dismount Metagross for a second.

(Roll dice to find clue about better path to avoid swamp?)

[Dragonstrike]

"Well, I still stick with the Metagross. A big move frotress is something comfortable in my opinion. A Pokémon big as a city....honestly I cant imagined such Pokémon. Perhaps a few legendaries: Kyogre, Groudon, and a few others but they only exist in Hoen so problably no. Lets see If I can find something to help find a better path..." Heart then begin to search any signal to find any clue about a better path, even land in earth and dismount Metagross for a second.

Another shake of Nathan's head.  "Well, those Legendaries ARE rather large when they're at their most powerful according to the eyewitness reports I've read, but they're still not the size of, say, Sootopolis City.  How would the both of them fit in that crater if the two of them were twice the size of the city when together?  Anything larger than a Wailord is rather...unusual."

[Nylon]

Valder follows. they're on the same metagross so it went smoothly. (PM sent back, @Dragonstrike)

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

'Fairy Dragon Slayer'... How melodic that rang in Shiva's mind. She was entirerly unsure whether she could be called a... well... 'powerful Trainer' at all? What was it that would make one 'powerful'? And what does this phrase mean at all? Meaningful questions, but just as she dwelled a VERY subtle appreciation for being called like that by Heart while coyly looking away to the metallic floor, her inner voice told her to not think about that kind of stuff now -
Won't help you nor anyone in the current situation.
Probably right...
- right before Ven raised her spirit up and unrooted it by reassuring that he's near her.


+++++++


Nothing too spectacular happened to/for her along the way, and she rather quickly got used to riding/traveling by Metagross - their fast paze overtrumped the one she expected, which was both amazing and handy, as well as just a tad bit unsettling. Though by keeping a close grip and secure seat it was actually relatively easy to handle and way less uncomfortable than Nathan foreshadowed, even if a rare part of this journey was spent upside down. Quite a boon that she already knew how to ride Pokemon and it was a little relieving to be confirmed that the main mechanics of riding a suitable Pokemon are indeed the same in the case of this Steely Super-Computer. Shiva mostly spend the journey watching through the book containing the native Music from the swamp folk, especially rereading the 'Skirl of the South Wind' she copied from a book in Department Store. She never been the best to find hidden meanings in folklore, but she got the strong feeling there was more between the lines. (If Ventus next to her shows interest/asks here, she'd show him what she's reading there.)

It was also bemusing to see Heart was enjoying the ride at the top of his voice. His Inner child that he mentioned shines through, indeed... Shiva was wondering where it came from that he can be s 'free' and just speak out what he thinks. This may be helpful in some ways, but she wished he'd stop to put Nathan on edge with this. Oh, she also was very interested in one of these arrowroots as Nathan mentioned them (but didn't show obvious signs of this on the outside), especially since just before she read about them on her own in Guidebook. Mentally, she was already pondering how to get some of these roots into her hands. "Eh... Suprisingly maybe, I'm actually fine on this Metagross - once being used to it, it's way more comfortable than I thought. And the sights are very pretty! Please keep the Ponyta and Yule for later, okay?"

Speaking of Steel, Cottonee has been outside of her Pokeball and held close in her Master's lap after having traveled for about an hour/as soon as Shiva felt safe enough on a Metagross to dare keeping an own own dear Pokemon out. Mostly for her own comfort, partly for Cottonee's sake. Just like she does, her Pokemon would have to get used to cold Steel at some point. "Now, dear one... This isn't just any Steel Type we're traveling on now for reasons. This one has four connected brains!  Amazing, huh? This makes this Pokemon very analytic, may may even say 'cold'. Concerning feelings, I mean." (I won't elaborate this into a Training Session just yet though, so - ) Cottonee wasn't paying that much attention to this actually, as she trusted Master greatly and was way more fond of the wildflower plains to observe. Couldn't help but to cast a non-threathening Fairy Wind to show her appreciation, before cuddling up closer to Master!



+++++++


Relatively soon, it seemed like there where two paths to choose. Shiva still was not feeling tired of traveling via Metagross. Shiva actually did not consider too long which path she'd prefer and was determined in her opinion. "Hmm... I'd actually be all down to make that beeline to the swamp to reach the village. Something drags me to the swamp... 'Your breath is the Southern Wind', they sang. 'A sleepy hunter watching the sky'. The ends of the earth hosting South Wind, they believe... *These words are more repeated for herself, but audible for others if they'd pay attention* Oh, and these wildflowers are rather pretty!" ... "And we became way...stronger since we had issues with a swamp the last time, didn't we?", she added as Nathan displayed having enough of swamps. "The Metagross probably won't have too much of an issue carrying us through mud. Or would you?", she adressed the one she was moulted on with Ven, giving it a careful stroke over its blue-grey steel-head.