[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Iron]

Insight + Knowledge + Craft/Lore + 1 for Dragon Dance:
(4)(6)(5)(2)(3)(1)(4) You build a pretty good representation, if a crude one. It's solid enough that it won't ever fall down from normal usage, but it also has a crumbly, ancient look to it. Your construction is about head high, so humans can go inside by crawling, and they find a nice hollow space in there, like a clubhouse.

The Shelter doesn't have any meteors.

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

(...)

"No need to give me such a look, Ven, it's actually not such a dumb idea. As a spectator of the Gym Battle you'll not only have the possibility to bring silent support, but also get a different viewpoint from the one the attendant of the battle does and see how Dagny's Pokemon behave, maybe what weaknesses they have... Can I hand you Plusle and Minun again to make sure they can cheer as a replacement for me, please?"

The empath briefly looked somewhat surprised by Shiva's almost completely unreserved agreement with his plan of action, especially given that in her current state of fragality/threat a prolonged absence from his dearest's side could prove disasterous. In short order that was replaced by a soothing, grateful smile, as if it never left his expression in the first place. "I'm heartened we are of like mind on this, my dear. I'll be certain to observe and analysis any and all details of the battle to their minutia , so that everyone  in our group can benefit from the Insight I uncover with my introspective investigations! Forewarned is forearmed, as they say! (...) You can! Let us head over to the PC, so that we conduct this exchange post haste!"

Order: Put Haziel and Ao Guang in the PC, and accept Plusle and Minun in his care for the time being. Nathan needs all the support he can get, and what better way than a couple of helping hands from the electrifying mice?

[Dragonstrike]

Spoiler

*Start Lobby Scene*

During the 'earnest' conversation between his dearest Shiva and Nathan, Ventus had remained almost completely still and silent, bearing an expression that was almostly painfully neutral as watch them both converse. Kirlia's brief glance, however, nearly caused the researcher to flitch again as he was reminded of that....that.....sight, but this time he was prepared for such things and managed to keep visibly calm, even if the emotions he was broadcasting were....not. Instead of dwelling on that, though, he was focused mainly on the young scholar, who yet again was alluding to knowing sensitive topcis and then doing his best subvert any line of inquiry along those lines, choosing to rehash and regurgitate information he's more or less already told them about. Still, discussion of Relic Stone and the Time Traveler Celebi was an fascinating subject for the Pokémon researcher for a variety of reasons, and hearing a little more of the far flung land of Orre and its esoteric nature was always a boon.

Eventually, however, Ven decided to intervene into the conversation once it became apparent that it was beginning to make a turn towards the passive aggressive, stepping forward to place a hand on Shiva's shoulder and giving her a pacifying smile. "That's enough, dear. We can agree to disagree on the subject of the Relic Stone and Celebi's presence , so please don't work yourself up over it. We'll find out if their is indeed a artifact similar to the one in Agate Village, and perhaps we'll learn more of the Time Traveler's Legends in Cheshire as time goes on, so don't fret..."

"....In fact, Nathan, what else do you know on them? You've said a little about them, but if you posses more specific lore or history surrounding it and their involvement in Cheshire's history, I would certainly be interested in hearing it!" he said, turning towards the boy in question with a curious and interested look.....but their were also traces of other feelings as well. It would have been hard for even a naturally empathetic Pokémon such as Kirlia to pick those out, but it could definitely detect unease and reservation within the sociologist. Strange.....

After Nathan had/hadn't told Ventus what else he knew of the elusive green Mythic, Ventus bowed his head in thanks, and then changed the topic to something else entirely. "My thanks, Nathan. While I'm by no means a historian or lore keeper, I'm always interested in learning more about the egnimatic Legendary and Mythical Pokémon that exist in this world. Perhaps by learning more about them, we could forge powerful relationships based on understanding and trust, and pave the way for a brighter future for Pokémon and Humankind alike...... (...) Hmm......if you are going to challenge Dagney first thing in the morning, I can accompany you to watch your match after I visit the Department Store with Shiva. Sitting in would educate me on the Steel Wonder's strategy and part of her Pokémon selection, and to see how far you have progressed yourself since our last Gym Challenge."

The researcher glances over at his fae friend and shoots her an apologetic look for 'ditching' her , but hopefully she'll understand why he choose to attend Nathan's Gym match. The young scholar needs someone to show interest and support in his endevours, and any chance to prepare for his own confrontation against Dagney is something not to be passed up!

" Afterwards, your free to follow me to the Shelter, if you wish and truly have nothing pressing that needs to be attended to for the rest of the day. The Pokémon there will certainly appreciate a friendly, compassionate Pokémon lover like yourself, and you could help temper some of the more unruly creature Disobedience. I know Pyroar would be happy with more human company and attention, and Charmeleon could learn a thing or two about the power of Pokémon and Human bonds from you!"

Order: Ven's going to use his first Encounter slot to attend Nathan's Gym Match, after he goes to the Department Store to search for any sales, and books on how to craft clothing/items from Snake Skin and Folk/Natural Medicine Recipies to expand his knowledge in those subjects. Hey, if he has the resources and knowledge, he should put them into practice, yes?

Kirlia gives Ventus another glance.  This one slightly worried.  His attention goes back to Nathan just as quickly, but Ventus could probably tell that Kirlia's informed Nathan about the...unease and reservation.

*sniff*

"...Celebi...uuuhhh...let me think here for a moment...hmmmm...it's...really obscure.  Not really well known.  Hang on, let me pull out my notes on it..."

Nathan pulls out his journal, flips through the pages...

The Time Traveler's Tale


...and heads right to an ENTIRE section of his journal dedicated exclusively to Celebi itself.

He'd been taking a few notes on the side here and there in his spare time.  For personal reasons.

"...okay, so...there's obviously the usual myths about it.  Time travel, Protector and Voice of the Forest...before I say too much more, yes, Celebi is definitely capable of all of the stuff that seems crazy impossible.  All of Creshire's legends are confirmed to be able to do that.  We might have a lot of the less powerful, minor legends as far as the rest of the world is concerned, but they pack just as much of a punch as the bigger ones.  Which is why almost all of Creshire classifies Celebi and the other Mythicals as full blown Legendaries.  Ask anyone in the region what they know of Mythicals, and they'll usually respond with 'what's a mythical?  We only have Legendaries here.'  No, I'm not kidding.  I was quite...surprised when I first learned about that distinction the rest of the world makes, to be honest..."

"Anyways...there are a few things I can say haven't been confirmed about Celebi, first of all.  Familiar with the lore of Celebi leaving behind an egg whenever it returns from the future?  Nobody's ever found one.  Celebi egg or no, it's never been confirmed to have happened.  Celebi's never made any of the forests around Creshire more lush.  It's never resurrected anyone to our knowledge.  It's never been spotted at ANY of its shrines in Creshire.

"And here's the important part, and why we know so little about it: Celebi didn't ally itself with either Sarimanok nor the League.  We do know that Celebi seems to prefer pokemon allies over human, and that it can show up literally anywhere in the region it chooses, the Hog Potato Swamp and cities included, though it seems to prefer the Earthstar and Fireweed Forests.  If spotted and pursued though, it often just flees into the tall grass and vanishes without a trace.  Not even burning the grass reveals where it went.  It can communicate with humans using its psychic abilities, but it's rare for it to do so."

"Sarimanok was aware of Celebi in some manner, though.  There are pictographs of it in the Ruins, but they're...strange.  Distorted.  Mixed up.  Nobody can make heads or tails of what they're supposed to mean."

"As far as its abilities go...yup, it can travel through time.  Even manipulate it to an extent.  Then there's its power to open a pokemon's heart...we have Orre to thank for the discovery of that ability of its...lots of time stuff.  Probably can do more stuff as well that's based around its typing, but the legends all talk about its time manipulation almost exclusively."

*sniff*

"I really do pity anyone who comes here thinking they can catch the Legendaries we're known for.  If they don't want to travel with someone, they won't.  Catching them is impossible if they don't allow it.  That's everything I've found out about Celebi in my research on it so far."

*sniff*

Nathan blows his nose.  While he's doing so, Ventus and Shiva might notice that there's a rather...large section of one of the pages dedicated to Orre's Relic Stone.  It takes up an entire page, and has a really well drawn illustration of the pillar itself.

And then the journal's shut before anything more can be gleaned from it.

Once that's done, Nathan quietly listens to the ongoing conversation between Ventus and Shiva, processing things...

A Charmeleon and Pyroar at the shelter...Nathan thinks a little...

He still has that Nugget from Dagny...maybe he could...

...

...he would only be able to take one, though...and only if they wished to go...

...

...wait, since when did the shelter have a Charmeleon?  Hmmm...

"...thanks.  Both of you.  For the support, I mean...*ahem*...there's a Charmeleon at the shelter?  And you think he or that Pyroar might like being around me?"

Quiet, somewhat hesitant...but also slightly curious.

[Spiritmon]

Spoiler

Insight + Knowledge + Craft/Lore + 1 for Dragon Dance:
(4)(6)(5)(2)(3)(1)(4) You build a pretty good representation, if a crude one. It's solid enough that it won't ever fall down from normal usage, but it also has a crumbly, ancient look to it. Your construction is about head high, so humans can go inside by crawling, and they find a nice hollow space in there, like a clubhouse.

The Shelter doesn't have any meteors.

"Whoosh! That give some hard work. Director! The build is ready!" Tell Heart. "I did my best to look like the Ancient Ruins based in the picture I could see." Heart was cleaning his hands after the hand work. "I coudnt find meteors to make Lunatone and Solrock feel like home, but I think they will dont mind. Can you bring them to see what they think about this build sir?"

[Iron]

Baltoy goes spinning into that hollow bit. You can hear his happy twirls echoing perfectly in the good acoustics in there.

Lunatone and Solrock go take up opposite positions on two of the towers. It's pretty hard to figure out what they're thinking, but they have the slightest aura of satisfaction.

"I think it's a hit," says Director North. "I think."

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Huh? What does Nathan classify as 'minor, less powerfull Legend'? To Shiva, a legendary Pokemon was a legendary Pokemon, regardless of how small or less strong it seemed if compared with the bigger ones like Rayquaza or Lugia.The fact that there are no 'Mythical Pokemon' known within this region also caused her to highly wonder and increased the thought she had just a few moments ago: Chreshire was different in so many aspects to what she may have expected, that it's 1. no wonder she has never heard of this region so far before the idea of journeying has been brought to her by her parents and 2. she can call herself quite lucky that in the end it was indeed this weird yet in various aspects miraculous region that she ended up visiting. Thank you, home. <3

Hmm, but she'll keep that quirk in mind shall she ever seek out people or libraries for more information on what are considered 'Mythical Pokemon'.

"Thank you for all that information, Nathan. I'll make sure to make my own notes about your input later on... But yes, I am well aware of the lore of sweet Celebi leaving an egg behind when it returns from the future. In fact, this egg is some sort of the Holy Grail among professional Breeders, and there are some people who dedicate their whole life researching and searching for exactly that. Weird... But nevertheless, even if it's not comfirmed to have ever happened, I like that thought... And even if it's never been known to have made a forest around Creshire more lush before, I know there are reports of Illex Forest in Johto being suprisingly green even during dry summers, and keeping the trees there keep their leaves way longer than other forests there do.... But, anyway, this is Johto and here is Chreshire. Different matter. But if there are pictographs about it in the Ruins, it's known to prefer Pokemon allies over humans - hehe, naturally it'd do, that cute lil' one - and it appearantly appears once ever decade... Then it must linger somewhere in this region. It just doesn't show itself to us as it seems, and maybe we should indeed leave it alone... Doesn't change my desire to see the shrine depicted to it though. Just curious, and I'm feeling like I'll enjoy visiting a sacred place again~"


Indeed, Shiva also DID catch a glimpse on....'that' while Nathan blows his nose. She's waiting until he's finished and until there's not much more to say, before.... "Nathan... Would you let me take a look at that illustration of Orre's Relic Stone there, please?" She's saying this in completely soft tone, not demanding or anything, she just desires to actually SEE it... Does it match with the description of a dark black stone carved with strange symbols?

[Dragonstrike]

Indeed, Shiva also DID catch a glimpse on....that while Nathan blows his nose. She's waiting until he's finished and until there's not much more to say, before.... "Nathan... Would you let me take a look at that illustration of Orre's Relic Stone there, please?" She's saying this in completely soft tone, not demanding or anything, she just desires to actually SEE it... Does it match with the description of a dark black stone carved with strange symbols?

"...uh...sure...I guess..."

Nathan carefully opens the journal to the page with the illustration on it once more.

He flips the journal around so Shiva can see the illustration right side up...

...but he covers half of the page with his hand and arm, obscuring his notes from easy view, and leaving the illustration uncovered.  (Are Shiva and Ventus going to try and read what some of his notes say anyways?  If so, I'd like an Insight + Alert roll from those who do try to peek to see how much they spot.)

Here is about what the illustration looks like (minus the text box):
   

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

Kirlia gives Ventus another glance.  This one slightly worried.  His attention goes back to Nathan just as quickly, but Ventus could probably tell that Kirlia's informed Nathan about the...unease and reservation.

*sniff*

"...Celebi...uuuhhh...let me think here for a moment...hmmmm...it's...really obscure.  Not really well known.  Hang on, let me pull out my notes on it..."

Nathan pulls out his journal, flips through the pages...

The Time Traveler's Tale


...and heads right to an ENTIRE section of his journal dedicated exclusively to Celebi itself.

He'd been taking a few notes on the side here and there in his spare time.  For personal reasons.

"...okay, so...there's obviously the usual myths about it.  Time travel, Protector and Voice of the Forest...before I say too much more, yes, Celebi is definitely capable of all of the stuff that seems crazy impossible.  All of Creshire's legends are confirmed to be able to do that.  We might have a lot of the less powerful, minor legends as far as the rest of the world is concerned, but they pack just as much of a punch as the bigger ones.  Which is why almost all of Creshire classifies Celebi and the other Mythicals as full blown Legendaries.  Ask anyone in the region what they know of Mythicals, and they'll usually respond with 'what's a mythical?  We only have Legendaries here.'  No, I'm not kidding.  I was quite...surprised when I first learned about that distinction the rest of the world makes, to be honest..."

"Anyways...there are a few things I can say haven't been confirmed about Celebi, first of all.  Familiar with the lore of Celebi leaving behind an egg whenever it returns from the future?  Nobody's ever found one.  Celebi egg or no, it's never been confirmed to have happened.  Celebi's never made any of the forests around Creshire more lush.  It's never resurrected anyone to our knowledge.  It's never been spotted at ANY of its shrines in Creshire.

"And here's the important part, and why we know so little about it: Celebi didn't ally itself with neither Sarimanok nor the League.  We do know that Celebi seems to prefer pokemon allies over human, and that it can show up literally anywhere in the region it chooses, the Hog Potato Swamp and cities included, though it seems to prefer the Earthstar and Fireweed Forests.  If spotted and pursued though, it often just flees into the tall grass and vanishes without a trace.  Not even burning the grass reveals where it went.  It can communicate with humans using its psychic abilities, but it's rare for it to do so."

"Sarimanok was aware of Celebi in some manner, though.  There are pictographs of it in the Ruins, but they're...strange.  Distorted.  Mixed up.  Nobody can make heads or tails of what they're supposed to mean."

"As far as its abilities go...yup, it can travel through time.  Even manipulate it to an extent.  Then there's its power to open a pokemon's heart...we have Orre to thank for the discovery of that ability of its...lots of time stuff.  Probably can do more stuff as well that's based around its typing, but the legends all talk about its time manipulation almost exclusively."

*sniff*

"I really do pity anyone who comes here thinking they can catch the Legendaries we're known for.  If they don't want to travel with someone, they won't.  Catching them is impossible if they don't allow it.  That's everything I've found out about Celebi in my research on it so far."

*sniff*

Nathan blows his nose.  While he's doing so, Ventus and Shiva might notice that there's a rather...large section of one of the pages dedicated to Orre's Relic Stone.  It takes up an entire page, and has a really well drawn illustration of the pillar itself.

And then the journal's shut before anything more can be gleaned from it.

Once that's done, Nathan quietly listens to the ongoing conversation between Ventus and Shiva, processing things...

A Charmeleon and Pyroar at the shelter...Nathan thinks a little...

He still has that Nugget from Dagny...maybe he could...

...

...he would only be able to take one, though...and only if they wished to go...

...

...wait, since when did the shelter have a Charmeleon?  Hmmm...

"...thanks.  Both of you.  For the support, I mean...*ahem*...there's a Charmeleon at the shelter?  And you think he or that Pyroar might like being around me?"

Quiet, somewhat hesitant...but also slightly curious.

Ventus does indeed catch Kirlia acting furitively, but does nothing about it for the moment, as his attention was squarely focused on their master as they began to divulge what they know of the ever elusive Time Traveler Celebi. He was mostly silent throughout the young scholar's lecture, he did pipe in with his own comments from time to time, either to ask for clarification or voice his own interest in certain pieces of information they brought up.

"Intriguing... The distinction between Legend and Mythical is more of a classification thing to help sort the myriad powerful beings into more easily catagorizable and researchable sources, but it also signifies the power difference between the two group. I find it most fascinating and odd that the Legendaries here are so distinguished, powerful, and present in this region in contrast to the rest of the world, but I digress. Please, continue on."

(...)

"Vaguely. The bulk of my knowledge concerning Legendary and Mythical come from the ones 'Native' or 'Most widely known' in my region, but I have researched a little into Celebi origins and powers. What you say conflicts with some of the accounts I've read, given the Time Traveler's extreme obscurity and elusiveness, I wouldn't discount that what's been said is more myth than truth."

(...)

"That fits with what their so far thought of its secluded nature, as does its preference for Pokémon company, but I haven't heard of any Celebi willing visiting human cities. Usually Celebi's power and affinity for nature shines more strongly in the scant historical sources than its powers over time, but that seems to be the reverse case in Cheshire. The Old King's interest in them is not surprising, but it is disconcerting. Hmm...."

Once the boy wrapped up his lecture, Ventus looked ponderously up towards the air while stepling his fingers together in a sort of meditative/though processing gesture, until he turns his gaze back towards Nathan and gives them a respectful nod of his head, and uttered his thanks as previously stated. However, their was one more thing he added, almost as if in an afterthought: "If you desire, I could tell you more about what I know of my region's views and lore concering its Legendary Pokémon sometime in the future. Its the least I can do for informing what you know about Celebi, so don't feel shy in asking me."

When he caught a glimpse of what was unmistakenly the Relic Stone of Orre , the empath suspicion and apprehension sharply spike, though unlike his new found.......feelings towards the boy he kept this well hidden from the prying senses of Kirlia or Shiva. There was no doubt about in Ventus' mind: they definitely  aware of certain and more.....concealed aspects of the desert's region's recent tragedies. The only question remains if he is aware of the existence of Shadow Pokémon......and all the unfortunately implications thereof.

'No matter how much I loathe initiating a confrontation over anything with him given his willful stubbornness and aggressively defensive nature, I have to know to what extent his knowledge goes regarding Orre and its crises. If he knows of Shadow Pokémon and their designs......then I must uncover all I can and that is possible. Information on those unfortunate and tragic creatures are scarce and well hidden for great reason, so if he's somehow aware.....I have to wonder how, why, and what....'

Thankfully the young trainer's next statement distract the empath's thoughts from growing anymore dire, and he pauses to reflect on how to answer it...before he just shrugs.

"I can not say how either Pyroar and Charmeleon will react or feel about you potentially becoming their master until I see you interact with each of them.  I can say that the loin will very much appreciate your company, but will most definitely react poorly if he's forced to interact with any Pokémon, while Charmeleon's is insolent and defiant, and has been said by the Director to be close in evolving into its even more aggressive evolution. The choice in which one you want to add to your team, if any, is up to you and which responsibilities you are willing to undertake."

Ventus then nods his head, and gestures towards the entrance/exit to the Center.

"Now with everything said, shall we all get going to complete our respective tasks for the day? I wish to accompany Shiva to the Department Store and do a bit of searching myself, but I'll be swift to attend your Gym Match once that errand is completed!"

[Lord Windos]

(Are Shiva and Ventus going to try and read what some of his notes say anyways?  If so, I'd like an Insight + Alert roll from those who do try to peek to see how much they spot.)

(If Nathan's going to reveal it, then Ven's curiosity and suspiciousness will naturally lead to him trying to uncover everything without having to interrogate them about it. Which is akin to pulling Garchomp teeth to my character: Painful, dangerous, and not something anyone in their right mind would do unless they HAD to do. )

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Hmmm, that Relic Stone from Orre looked a little different fromw hat Shiva may expected from that description she received, but the sight nevertheless somewhat awed her. Quite beautiful, to be honest. On that illustration, these strange carvings were barely visible, but they reminded Shiva on something she already saw somewhere... Ah, but that'll have to wait until tomorrow, no time for that today. Oh, Lilith might also enjoy joining her on that little trip.

Curiosity got the better of her, so she indeed attempted to catch a glimpse of the notes Nathan kept covered, secretly of course so that he doesn't notice and ends up closing off. (Means, I'd be actually down for that Insight+Alert Roll, please. 4 dice.)

When Ventus spoke about how he could tell more about his region's Legendaries and their Lore, Shiva unknowingly for Nathan+Pokemon nudged him under the table, strong enough that he notices. The look she gave him if he'd look over to her rather clearly said 'Hey, you're not the only Unovian and just because I'm not as talkactive or as open as you are, does not mean I don't know anything about that or could add! :C I'm just enjoying our Mythical Pokemon more than our Legendaries, so I read more about them.'

"Oh....But yeah, let us depart in direction of Department Store then, Ven..."