[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Spiritmon]

After buying the respective items Heart finally summon Percival and Koa out of his Pokeballs. "Okay guys, you too have be doing a hard job for quite a time and I think you too deserve a good reward. "Then Heart show the TM Protect and the TM False Swipe. "For you Percival, a extra protection for ya, Protect! I know you learn by natural ways, but with this you can learn other neat move then Protect when necessary. And you Koa, False Swipe when it hits will always leave the target with a lot of low life with only one attack (1 HP). This will help a lot both in Pokemon battles and to capture pokemons. How it sounds to you two?"

Action: Just a question, the TM is one use only or I can use it to teach more then one pokemon? If is more them one pokemon begin to teach that moves in Koa and Aron!

[Lord Windos]

Director North comes in and chuckles at your predicament. He leaves and returns with a brush. "Pyroar prefers to be brushed anywhere that's not near his neck, belly, or tail. The outer parts of his mane are OK. He's actually due for a trim soon because long hair makes him itchy. This is a great way to spend your first day back - should be pretty relaxing unless you upset him!"

Ventus  accepts the brush with an easy going smile and begins combing the fur along the lion's midsection in long sweeping motions, keeping in mind North's advice as he did so and simultaneously replying to them without missing a beat. "The advice and assistance is much appreciated, Director! Sadly I know hardly anything about hair care management, or I would offer to do that myself while I'm grooming Pyroar. I want to make sure he knows that he's deeply appreciated by everyone here, so I would be glad to spend the day with him! Its certainly beats hiking through fetid swamps and dangerous mountains, no matter how rowdy this wonderful cat here gets. Isn't that right, Pyroar?"

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Such sudden eagerness almost startled Shiva and caused her to flinch, but actually she was rather delighted that he definitely wanted that Beartic from her. Doesn't matter whether he was either younger or at the same age like she was anymore!~

"Well, if you are so sure about it... Guess what, you can have him then. HOWEVER!!! Not before a little trial, as I'm actually interested in seeing how you handle your own Pokemon in a short battle. Let's see... how about these two here, Braixen and Marill in a Double? Not much, maybe two or three actual Rounds (Read: until someone's Pokemon reaches less than half its HP), no wager on this one. Does that sound agreeable?~"

"Oh, and advice and that sweet TM are very fine in return, thank you!"

[Iron]

After buying the respective items Heart finally summon Percival and Koa out of his Pokeballs. "Okay guys, you too have be doing a hard job for quite a time and I think you too deserve a good reward. "Then Heart show the TM Protect and the TM False Swipe. "For you Percival, a extra protection for ya, Protect! I know you learn by natural ways, but with this you can learn other neat move then Protect when necessary. And you Koa, False Swipe when it hits will always leave the target with a lot of low life with only one attack (1 HP). This will help a lot both in Pokemon battles and to capture pokemons. How it sounds to you two?"

Action: Just a question, the TM is one use only or I can use it to teach more then one pokemon? If is more them one pokemon begin to teach that moves in Koa and Aron!

Aron is interested in Protect for sure. He likes his higher level moves.

Koa isn't really enthused about False Swipe, but he's obedient enough now to use it when instructed. He'd rather slaughter enemies wholesale.

[Spiritmon]

With confirmation of his Pokemon Heart then go in the store and ask the person in the store to help teach Aron Protect and Koa False Swipe.

[Iron]

"No problem, sir. If you want to do it here, you can use our machine."

Your Pokemon learn the moves!

[Dragonstrike]

*roll* Solomon gestures to continue.

Deep breaths...iiiinnnnn...ooouuuut...

Journey to the Ends of the Earth

"...okay...so...the day the vines started growing, Kirlia had a vision...of a vine sprouting in the Skull Ruins...and according to Mesprit's message, there were only two ways to stop it...either Kirlia had to change and free Mesprit, or...we had to journey to the 'ends of the earth'...

"...when the vines were approaching Stair City...the group and I ran into some of the tangrowth that were guiding them...and one of the crown wearing claydol that was directing those tangrowth...we fought them off, but...things were getting bad, fast.  I...went to Dagny to talk about the issue.  She was the first one I told about Mesprit...I still don't want to say exactly where I saw it, though...it's well protected but...it can't move...it's stuck there until Kirlia frees it...anyways..."

"...she offered to help, do a little research of her own...and she turned up two stories.  One about three pokemon worthy of speaking to the Lake Trio, and one about the 'ends of the earth'.  Mesprit's worthy pokemon was...a ralts.  That's one of the clues that helped me figure out part of what Mesprit wanted us to do...for what it's worth, Uxie chose an Oranguru, and Azelf chose...an Aegislash.  I'm...a little concerned for Azelf's safety too, but...I don't think there's much we can do for it, right now, wherever it is..."

"...back on track, the other story was about an old man living in a cave at the 'ends of the earth'.  Wise, powerful...Sarimanok once helped him seal away a huge pokemon that was near his cave...it...wasn't a lot to go on...but Shiva...she found some folklore from the Hog Potato Swamp that mentioned the earth and sky...two things also mentioned in Mesprit's message...one of the 'ends' was probably there..."

"...the vines were starting to get over Stair City's walls, though.  The claydol were piling rocks from the surrounding area on top of the ancient stone from ye old days that the vines couldn't easily grow over...we...had to move quickly...do something about these vines...Dagny called me, asked me to bring anyone else who was involved...and she lent us some of her Metagross to get across the Divide quickly, reach Arrowroot Village as fast as possible...it took us four days to get there...I...actually found a very special friend on the way there, but I can introduce him afterwards if you want to meet him..."

"...we trekked across the plains, through the swamp, Swiftfire evolved, I caught a Ditto (it's not very happy with me, but I didn't want it to be subjected to a life of nothing but breeding, so I did what I had to...)...and...I didn't know what to do from there.  After talking with one of the locals...we were in the wrong place.  The 'end' we needed to visit was...at the opposite end of the Great Divide.  And we were three to four days out from the Divide itself, plus another day or two from the western end of the mountain range...Stair City would have been...almost completely covered in vines by that point...Kirlia had another vision, one depicting what was happening in the city at the time...it scared me..."

"...Shiva, though...she...she'd dug up some lore concerning the Southern Wind...something about an incarnation of it able to Fly those who summon it northwards, away from the swamp...she...she spent a day preparing for it...if it didn't work, I was prepared to...just walk, really...it, worked, but...I didn't really contribute much...just suggested Kirlia act as a substitute for Braixen in using Lucky Chant to aid the ritual because she couldn't use her fox for some reason..."

"...and to my amazement...it worked...I couldn't believe it, but...I have some proof right here...this fluff that Forthright's sitting in?  It's...Primal Altaria Down.  Something the wind gave us if we were carrying eggs...and then she carried us towards where we needed to go, as far as she could take us...she landed us in the Divide, near Stair City, and the Tailwind she'd summoned...carried us the rest of the way to the western end of it the same night on the backs of the Metagross..."

"...time was running out, but...I felt that...knew that the tusk shaped peak at the very end of the mountain range was where we had to go.  It had to be, or...Stair City would be..."

...

"...the climb up the Tusk wasn't easy, but the combee I'd brought with me (I can show them to ya too afterwards if you like.  They're a sweet couple) found a safe path up...though we were sideways the entire time...and then some pokemon attacked.  All part ground type, even though a Kabutops and a Beartic shouldn't be...I...didn't end up contributing much to that battle either...but we got past them..."

"...and found a cave.  It was...filled with clay.  And fossils.  No food or anything, but there was an old man with skin the same color as the clay he was shaping through some...process involving making a lot of noise and not actually touching the clay...it's...hard to describe..."

"...after some talking with him, though...I think he's some sort of physical manifestation of the earth itself.  A representative of nature.  He has some sort of connection to some sort of golem in the ruins that seems to be involved in one of Sarimanok's schemes...we...convinced him to sever that connection, reducing the fertility of the soil around the Skull Ruins to almost nothing, leaving the vines with nothing to fuel their near endless growth...and in return, he asked all of us except Ventus to...spread the word that the Earthpower, a natural energy that connects every living thing and is most evident in pokemon, is alive and well...to protect nature...stuff like that..."

"...he...talked a little about how humans can use Earthpower as well, when I asked.  Knowing it's there and deepening that connection...it helps when bonding with pokemon...someone who's connected enough can remove curses like Forest's Curse...and even deeper connected ones could make healing circles with the right resources...like the ones I've read Mediums in the Kanto region use..."

"...we...saved Stair City...but I wasn't fast nor skilled enough to save everyone..."

Nathan goes quiet.  It's...a lot to say at once.  And if Marta hadn't picked it up by now, Nathan's somewhat shattered self-confidence should definitely be really evident now.

[Spiritmon]

Spoiler

"No problem, sir. If you want to do it here, you can use our machine."

Your Pokemon learn the moves!

With that done Heart was quite satisfied with the effects. "Well, I think its time to test the new moves shall we? Lets find someone to battle."

Action: Find someone to battle. The Pokemon Heart is currently carring is Axew, Aron, Tynamo, Monferno, Mudkip and Phantump. A Pokemon battle with 500 Pokedollar in the bill please. Single battle. 3x3.

[Iron]

"Very well."

Sid sends out Sudowoodo and Beedrill! Beedrill comes flying in through the window at high speed, while Sudowoodo comes out of a Pokeball.


Beedrill: (6) + 8 = 14
Marill: (6) + 5 = 11
Sudowoodo: (2) + 6 Dex + 2 Survival = 10
Braixen: (4) + 5 = 9

[Iron]

"Oh, Nathan. So much on your shoulders, so soon after leaving home. It's hard to believe...but it must be true. Maybe you'd like to spend a week at home, relaxing and recuperating? Telling me all your unbelievable tales and making me proud, introducing your new teammates? I want to know more about this orange man. How can it be that someone becomes the physical manifestation of the earth?"