[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Iron]

*ring ring*
*ring ring*

"Oh! Nathan! Hey! I've been trying to reach you. Where have you been? The vines stopped growing, but they didn't go anywhere. I was deep in the Ruins when this happened, looking for Claydol. There are more than one down there, you know, all with crowns. I took some hits, but when the vines stopped growing, the city's defenders were all able to mobilize on my location!"

[Dragonstrike]

*ring ring*
*ring ring*

"Oh! Nathan! Hey! I've been trying to reach you. Where have you been? The vines stopped growing, but they didn't go anywhere. I was deep in the Ruins when this happened, looking for Claydol. There are more than one down there, you know, all with crowns. I took some hits, but when the vines stopped growing, the city's defenders were all able to mobilize on my location!"

"Funny.  Been trying to reach ya for the past 6 days myself.  Was in the middle of nowhere...on the opposite side of Creshire.  It's...a long story.  Wasn't any cell service at either End of the Earth, unsurprisingly. So, uh...yeah, the battle's won, but the war's far from over...needed to update ya on the situation ASAP.  Can we meet up at your office?  We just got back to Stair City this morning.  Be a good opportunity to return the Metagross you lent us, too."

[Iron]

"Come by anytime. Bring your group. We can speak more securely in the gym than anywhere else. I'll be in all day. Goodbye."

[Dragonstrike]

*click*

...and Heart's already left...as has Shiva...great...

Welp, that leaves Ventus and Valder to inform...

"Dagny wants us to meet her at her office in the gym sometime today.  I need to update her on what's going on.  And we have to return the Metagross at some point as well."

Nathan cuddles with Castform a bit more.  The little cloud's still a bit shy about interacting with anyone besides Nathan.  She's only a day or two old still, after all.

[Iron]

Kyuu seems to have a headache. He is not really in the mood for food, preferring to be alone wherever he can find the most quiet. When Shiva goes too close, she feels a touch of his pain.

At the GPC, Nurse Joy informs Shiva that there are more rooms available than usual, and they haven't had to assign roommates lately.

"Dagny has accepted one gym battle since the vines stopped growing. Presumably, she will accept more!"

[Iron]

Castform is SUPER cuddly with his new mom. She goes partially transparent whenever anyone else approaches.

She makes partial transformations to match his mood often, though she hasn't learned to actually change the weather yet.

[Dragonstrike]

Castform is SUPER cuddly with his new mom. He goes partially transparent whenever anyone else approaches.

He makes partial transformations to match his mood often, though he hasn't learned to actually change the weather yet.

(Note: I do want this Castform to specifically be female, Iron.  Just cuz!  And yeah, an artificial pokemon that actually has a gender...weird, isn't it?)

Something that makes Nathan rather happy.  Though he'd have to get Castform used to Kirlia too...well, all in due time.  Kirlia didn't seem to mind too much right now.  Newborns always need a lot of attention, obviously.

Sun, Rain, Hail...even Sand, if they could find a TM for it, since Castform don't typically learn how to manipulate that particular weather on their own...weather really is a powerful thing...he figured he could make good use of at least two of those weathers himself...the trick was going to be teaching the moves, though...

Well, they'd get there.  And Nathan was certain this little cloud would perform spectacularly once given the proper attention and training.  That probably wasn't going to be today, though.  At least she seems to be enjoying just relaxing in the cloud-like Primal Altaria Down...

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Weird... Very weird, indeed. Before, Kyuu openly came to her for pets, but now he's avoiding them. That pain she felt... She doesn't know why, but she has absolutely no good feeling about this. Something's wrong - whether it was something about the closure to the Skull Ruins again or a strong pressence coming from there, or the fact that some days ago he was close to Orthros... Well, one thing was for sure, and that was that she's leaving Kyuu alone - but outside of his Pokeball if he doesn't protest on this - and keeps watch over this.

She doesn't really do anything there at the Lobby of GPC, now with the roomkeys to dorm, but is fine to just observe things and people within there, practically waiting for the others. She HAS plans for the day, but she won't follow them until meeting up at the Gym. (Will work at the Shelter start tomorrow then, I assume?) Once she spotted that mural at the noth side, she'll be kinda amused and fascinated by it.

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

You arrive back in Stair City, having Gliscor and your own Pokemon fend off most of the attacking Pokemon without issue. Each of the attackers was quite strong, but they came one at a time and you were able to do 11v1 battles from atop the Metagross and simply demolish them.

A light dusting of snow greeted you each morning. With judicious use of Tailwind on the Metagross, you were able to cut the journey from 9 days to 6. This effort exhausts Lucifer, so he just spends most of his time sleeping after using the move.

The morning you come within sight of the Skull Ruins, the blue egg carried by Nathan hatches!! That's about a day earlier than expected. The weather is calm with blue skies as you have entered the more moderate part of the Divide. Castform is born to perfectly neutral weather. Happiness 2, Loyalty 3, Disobedience 0, Tackle, Forecast.

You can all have 6 heartbeat XP, which includes the few battles you ran into along the journey to get here. Normally you would not get heartbeat XP from days where no RP-ing occurred.

*Flashback during Trip Through The Divide!*

The return journey back to Stair was a one of mostly silence, reflection, and contemplation for Ventus .....well, in between warding off various dangerous Pokémon and making sure his little devil was in good health after frequent + demanding use of Tailwind. Truth be told, the researcher was greatly relieved that the city had been spared from those Vines despite the......dubious source of aid,  as that was one less source of pressure and grave concern off his mind, and he didn't have to stomach the thought of the city/Cheshire falling or his....alternative plans to deal with it. What took its place, unfortunately, was what that wretched old thing said to him about his 'Path' and 'Choices' the.....connection he implied to that equally blast Voice, and the though of Nathan and Heart learning the 'practice' of Earthpower in earnest.

'No matter what that old man says on the topic, Earthpower is just magic by another name, or a force so similar to it that it matters just about the same. Humanity should well leave alone such forbidden and dangerous power, lest it corrupt and destroy them like so many other arcane things have done. If Nathan or Heart choose to indulge their unchecked curiosity despite the dangers, they may do WIHTOUT involving me or Shiva, and suffer the fell consequences of their actions......' was one of the thoughts that often repeated itself as his mind drifted back to his 'confrontation' with the eremit, before he shook his head to push it aside once more and tried to reluctantly and resigndelly accept the choices of his companions, for good or (much more likely) for ill. They made their bed in the soil, and now they must lie in it if that is what they foolishly wish..... He just hopes this will be the end to that group's meddling influence, and that the only nefarious things he will have to deal with where Almanac, Scimitars, and Nathan's poor choice in Orthros......

During this time Ventus' thoughts also casted themselves towards his fire camel Hanael, which he had been deliberately not thinking about until this point to avoid endlessly fretting and worrying over whether or not they were fine, and the thought of how to further improve his family's battle prowess. The former just caused him to grimace a bit every time he thought of her wellbeing, as well as mutter a few prayers to Reshirim for them to be safe and sound, with one the more commonly repeated ones being : 'Oh Reshirim, I humbly ask of you that my sister Hanael has been protected from permenant harm, and that she has only grown stronger for her struggles against those Vines....'

As for the matter of fortifying and increasing his family's strength, he cast his thoughts back on his journey thus far, pondering on the various methods he had employed thus far towards those ends.....until he recalled Shiva tutoring Raphael in learning Nasty Plot (Which neither of them really had the chance to employ, regretfully). Her talent, knowledge, and experience in Breeding has afforded her the ability to easily Tutor her Pokémon in various moves, and her regular instructing and care has been most effective/beneficial as well. Hmm.....perhaps I can ask her for advice on how I could do the same with my Pokémon at a later date, once we have a chance to evaluate the situation in Stair and being debrief by Dagney for our part in ending the crisis. Oh, and I need to fully reclaim possession of my Egg too, as no doubt its nearing a critical point in its development!' the empath thought to himself, glancing at he dearest and most blessed friend as he done so, before redirecting his focus on sorting himself out and keeping vigilant watch for potential threats. They'll be time enough to get those things done, but for now....no.

Castformed hatching from the Egg startled Ventus somewhat from his pensive state, and he gave Nathan a congradulatory smile despite the.....tension between the two of them. A Pokémon hatching and bonding with you is both a great accomplishment and momentuous occasion, after all, so he could let things go between them for just that moment.

Lilith was mostly content with riding along in her master's lap and take in the sights while occasionally lending her aid in battle and demanding some attention/treats. The Great Divide was a bit to frigid for her tastes personally, but she couldn't deny the amazing sights and views afforded by the normally imposing mountain range, nor the opportunity to prove her strength every against the monsters that live in it!

*Flashback End*

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

*click*

...and Heart's already left...as has Shiva...great...

Welp, that leaves Ventus and Valder to inform...

"Dagny wants us to meet her at her office in the gym sometime today.  I need to update her on what's going on.  And we have to return the Metagross at some point as well."

Nathan cuddles with Castform a bit more.  The little cloud's still a bit shy about interacting with anyone besides Nathan.  She's only a day or two old still, after all.

The partial destruction and the scant fatalities of Stair hardly phased Ventus at all when he saw it (His expression did grow more dour and serious as he took in the devestation), nor the fact that its inhabitant worked post haste to reclaim and commence restoration their city.  The researcher was used to such tragedy and misfortune from the many pitfalls he's been pushed or leaped into in his life, after all, so it shouldn't come as a surprise to those that knew him that he choose to let the people handle the recovery on their own for the most part, instead of going out to volunteer like Heart. If their was any PAYING jobs that involved Stair's reconstruction, however, he would be more than glad to help. He was a generous and kind man, but at the end of the day working for free hardly did anything to provide for himself or his friend/family, so he only did charity when he could afford to do so..... (IE: As Ven goes out to explore the city, he'll be looking for paying jobs along those lines and similar, Iron)

Instead, he stuck close to Nathan for the time being, as while he was FAR from comfortable or happy with their choices past and recent, he knew that he was going to get in contact with The Steel Wonder ASAP, and wanted to be aware of any information exchange between them equally fast. When they told them that Dagney wish to meet them poste haste, Ventus nodded his head in response and calmly replied with: "Affirmative, Nathan. I have no other plans today besides exchanging some of my Pokémon at the Center and checking how the Shelter has weathered the Vine's assault, but the former can be conducted at the Gym and the latter can be put on hold until later, so I'm ready to meet her whenever you are. .......Hopefully Dagney will have positive news concerning my sisiter Hanael too, as I.....dread to think any misfortune has.....befallen her."