[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

"Glass is often staticky, and this flute is no exception. Perhaps it is a sign of a hidden power to the object. Hopefully I can find a buyer. What else can I do for you?"

Hidden Power to the object... Shiva couldn't help but to both think of that 'natural strength' resting within everyone and connecting everything, and of the move that unleashes a Pokemon's hidden power in a similar manner - it amused and fascinated her. Oh, and now that her dear fluffball was outside of her Pokeball already, she'd receive soft strokes through her fluff as Shiva pulled her closer to her in her arms.

The mentioning of what else the Fortune Hunter could do for her brought her and her mind back to the current planet before it could drift away like leaves in a breeze. "Oh, eh whatelse... Hehe. Well, I feel in need for some help or advice concerning some particular artifacts (two, to be specific), and whoelse should I ask... " Once having spoken that out, Shiva spend around half a minute watching the paved ground of the Route in both a silent smile and quiet embarrasment, before eventually "Wait a moment, I'll show you..." and retriving that prepared piece of wood painted with the symbol of Giratina's shrine that was supposed to be a Cleanse Tag one day. "You know, as you mentioned the Skull Ruins... I'm pretty sure me and the group will head down there one day or the other. I'm scared of that... but it must be done.... Therefor, I wanted to sensitize myself for Ghosts and Ghost Type Pokemon to some degree, by dealing with a Litwick I caught, training a Poochyena I caught to bite pesky Ghost Types away shall them come too close, and looking into Cleanse Tags to ward them off from me. There are two needed steps to make this piece of wood into one. I already did one of them, painting the symbol of a shrine here in Chreshire on it - the next one is supposed to fill this piece of wood with life. To do so, I need the true name of a Pokemon spirit - I know there are various ways to find one, including being...well, let's say 'contained' in old valuable artifacts. Detectable by those with honed senses if touching the object in question."

"I'm constantly on the look-out for small treasures and neat things and one day I want to find something just as precious as the Flute, or more shards, but so far I had no luck on either. Therefore, do you have any ideas what to keep an eye open for to complete my Cleanse Tag, have you already stumbeld over something like this when searching for treasures?"

How Sid called the Fortune Hunter's taste for artifacts 'EXCELLENT' Shiva does not specifically speak out, but after hearing that advice from him she put some good portion of hope into her help.

[Iron]

"Oi, yes. Old Pokemon spirits abound. Any stone from a bygone era could contain one. Any artifact of power is almost certain to contain a link to one. You have to be careful with stones, though, because it could turn out to be a Spiritomb!! Pokemon gravestones are safe to use. And any stone with runes on it could be telling you the name of a more powerful Pokemon spirit. The weaker ones, which are all around us at all times, have never been memorialized, but it's possible to learn their names if you know how to do it, which I don't. There's a Medium in Cress City, though, and even Tanuki (the gym leader) is said to sometimes receive communications from spirits. Libraries, too, can contain them. Telperion has a huge spiritualism section."

"This old backpack probably contains a hundred Pokemon spirits and I don't even know it. I even have a few that I know to contain some sort of spirit."

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

Nathan shrugs.

"...probably not what you're expecting to hear, but...some meats, actually.  Seafood's not so bad, really...I don't particularly like...indulging in it on a...regular basis, but..."

...

"...yeah, I'm just...weird like that...you...don't really have to say it...I've heard it before...numerous times..."

...

"...kinda hard to find a good seafood place in this region anyways...and I'm no good at fishing, let alone cooking..."

Kirlia, at least, is rather surprised.  No, INCREDIBLY surprised is a better description.  Guess he didn't know Nathan as well as he thought...
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Well, even if Nathan's not really impressed by the sweets, he IS impressed by the sculptures made from them.

"...heh.  Tanuki would be ALL over this kind of sweets shop..."

...

...he's got no idea what to do in here.  Let alone what to get.

"...I'll, uh...let you decide, Ventus..."

Nathan hands Ventus some cash.

...except it's probably more than he was expecting to get.

$2000?!

Oh my.

Before Ventus comments, Nathan just shrugs.

"...my mom and I have been scraping by on what we can for years.  I've still got some spending cash for medical supplies.  It's no big deal...really, it's not.  Just take it."

What the heck caused this?  Hmmm...

Kirlia's quite stumped, that's for sure...

Nathan was indeed correct in his assumption, for his reveal of enjoying meat of all things caused Ventus gloom and doom mood to disapate somewhat as he perked up at the news. Considering that the vast majority of Cheshirians subsited on a vegetarian diet due to cultural reasons (something which mildly annoyed Ventus whenever he craved meat himself), the boy's bloody tastes were quite a surprise indeed!

"My my, that's rather unexpected......but I don't find such tastes abnormal in the slightest. Well, at least from my perspective. Whether or not you are aware of it, Unovians like myself are not adverse to eating meats of all kinds unlike Cheshire, so I find it somewhat heartening that you enjoy such fair as well," he said, before tapping his chin as his thoughts lead him elsewhere on the topic. "What types of meats that are eaten vary depending on the location, but Castelia has some of the best seafood in the world, and in my home city of Opelucid its tradition to eat wild Pokémon such Pidoves, Lillipups, and Patrats in honor and reveration of the Dragons we tend and worship. Its nice to dine on it on occasion, but given Cheshire's views towards all Pokémon, that's a luxerary that will have to be denied. Unless you don't mind such things too, that is?"

....

"If you are looking for quality seafood, I do know a play in Corsage that serves it in more than sufficiently high quality, though it costs a moderate amount of Poke to reserve a table. Shiva and I went their once before we left, and it was a truly memorable experience..... I also am a decent angular, and know how to prepare and cook fish myself, so if you crave some yourself you can always ask me to make some for you."

Ven was also keen to pick up on Kirlia's startlement over their master's food preferences, causing them to raise an eyebrow in puzzlement and....bemusement? He'd expect those two to have shared EVERYTHING with each other by this point, given the how severe their bond was after all the years they spent together, but even they have secrets they keep from each other.......

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For the second time today the sociologist is left stunned by the normally taciturn boy, as he's left blinking by the large lump sum of $2000 Poke that has been pressed into their hands. His first reactions was to give it right back to them, as he was the one that was supposed to treat them to some sweets, not the other ways around......until he noticed that it wasn't just a spur of the moment decision.

'Nathan......he feels that he owes me something. Is that guilt and a sense of responsibility I detect as well, and......some form of yearning? Odd.......very odd. Hmm....given how firmly he feels about this and his typical stubbornness, I have no choice but to accept this unexpected gift from him. That, and he does owe me a debt for Solomon, so this is a fitting repayment of it....'

He mulls this over for a minute or two.....before slowly nodding his head and putting it where he keeps the rest of his Poke. Solomon debt mostly repaid!

".....Very well, Nathan, if you insist. Hmm......Kirlia, is there anything you see that catches your eye? Since your master has so generously donated more than sufficient funds to cover even the most pricey of purchases, its only fair to cater to your tastes if I can."

[Dragonstrike]

Spoiler

Nathan was indeed correct in his assumption, for his reveal of enjoying meat of all things caused Ventus gloom and doom mood to disapate somewhat as he perked up at the news. Considering that the vast majority of Cheshirians subsited on a vegetarian diet due to cultural reasons (something which mildly annoyed Ventus whenever he craved meat himself), the boy's bloody tastes were quite a surprise indeed!

"My my, that's rather unexpected......but I don't find such tastes abnormal in the slightest. Well, at least from my perspective. Whether or not you are aware of it, Unovians like myself are not adverse to eating meats of all kinds unlike Cheshire, so I find it somewhat heartening that you enjoy such fair as well," he said, before tapping his chin as his thoughts lead him elsewhere on the topic. "What types of meats that are eaten vary depending on the location, but Castelia has some of the best seafood in the world, and in my home city of Opelucid its tradition to eat wild Pokémon such Pidoves, Lillipups, and Patrats in honor and reveration of the Dragons we tend and worship. Its nice to dine on it on occasion, but given Cheshire's views towards all Pokémon, that's a luxerary that will have to be denied. Unless you don't mind such things too, that is?"

....

"If you are looking for quality seafood, I do know a play in Corsage that serves it in more than sufficiently high quality, though it costs a moderate amount of Poke to reserve a table. Shiva and I went their once before we left, and it was a truly memorable experience..... I also am a decent angular, and know how to prepare and cook fish myself, so if you crave some yourself you can always ask me to make some for you."

Ven was also keen to pick up on Kirlia's startlement over their master's food preferences, causing them to raise an eyebrow in puzzlement and....bemusement? He'd expect those two to have shared EVERYTHING with each other by this point, given the how severe their bond was after all the years they spent together, but even they have secrets they keep from each other.......

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For the second time today the sociologist is left stunned by the normally taciturn boy, as he's left blinking by the large lump sum of $2000 Poke that has been pressed into their hands. His first reactions was to give it right back to them, as he was the one that was supposed to treat them to some sweets, not the other ways around......until he noticed that it wasn't just a spur of the moment decision.

'Nathan......he feels that he owes me something. Is that guilt and a sense of responsibility I detect as well, and......some form of yearning? Odd.......very odd. Hmm....given how firmly he feels about this and his typical stubbornness, I have no choice but to accept this unexpected gift from him. That, and he does owe me a debt for Solomon, so this is a fitting repayment of it....'

He mulls this over for a minute or two.....before slowly nodding his head and putting it where he keeps the rest of his Poke. Solomon debt mostly repaid!

".....Very well, Nathan, if you insist. Hmm......Kirlia, is there anything you see that catches your eye? Since your master has so generously donated more than sufficient funds to cover even the most pricey of purchases, its only fair to cater to your tastes if I can."

(a little over one year of knowing Kirlia to be exact, thank you very much.  Known fact OOC since the start of the campaign!)

"...they're totally abnormal here...got it from my dad, and I have no idea where he got it from.  He'd put some magikarp meat in his lasagnas on occasion.  At least, that's what he always said it was...nobody will really miss a magikarp, even here.  There's always more.  Always.  And few take the time to really give them the care needed to evolve them."

...Nathan shudders at the thought of eating Lillipup of all things...and Pidove as well, considering he owns a Shiny Unfezant.  Patrat...eeeehhhh....why would anyone want to eat a RAT of all things?

...

"...I'll stick to seafood..."

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Kirlia shrugs.  He likes sweets, but there's a LOT to choose from.  Hmmm...

 He's eyeing the Rapidash, Magikarp...ooh, ice cream!

Kirlia running over to that fridge catches Nathan's attention pretty quickly too.  "...oh, are those Casteliacones?  I've...never actually seen one before...they're actually kinda restorative, right?  Shame they melt so quickly..."

(Cue Ventus with the suggestion of using Nathan's resident refrigerator?  Ventus does know Nathan has a Frost Rotom after that little incident with Dagny, after all...)

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

(a little over one year of knowing Kirlia to be exact, thank you very much.  Known fact OOC since the start of the campaign!)

"...they're totally abnormal here...got it from my dad, and I have no idea where he got it from.  He'd put some magikarp meat in his lasagnas on occasion.  At least, that's what he always said it was...nobody will really miss a magikarp, even here.  There's always more.  Always.  And few take the time to really give them the care needed to evolve them."

...Nathan shudders at the thought of eating Lillipup of all things...and Pidove as well, considering he owns a Shiny Unfezant.  Patrat...eeeehhhh....why would anyone want to eat a RAT of all things?

...

"...I'll stick to seafood..."

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Kirlia shrugs.  He likes sweets, but there's a LOT to choose from.  Hmmm...

 He's eyeing the Rapidash, Magikarp...ooh, ice cream!

Kirlia running over to that fridge catches Nathan's attention pretty quickly too.  "...oh, are those Casteliacones?  I've...never actually seen one before...they're actually kinda restorative, right?  Shame they melt so quickly..."

(Cue Ventus with the suggestion of using Nathan's resident refrigerator?  Ventus does know Nathan has a Frost Rotom after that little incident with Dagny, after all...)

(Not my job to keep track of that mate, but duly noted!)

Ven grows ever more intrigued as he gets a rare glimpse into Nathan's old life, and the news that Magikarp were fair game in terms of food greatly pleased him, to the point he was faintly smiling at the prospect at fishing up some for supper....

"Interesting..... Magikarp are quite delectable fried or used in fish stews, and I know how to prepare such meals easily, so I suppose I won't be found wanting of sating my cravings for wild Pokémon after all! I could also slaughter Pidgies and other types of Pokémon and prepare such meals in private, but again I don't want to ruffle any feathers if I can avoid it. Magikarp will suffice perfectly well!"

At the boys disguisted and uncomfortable reaction at the mention of his culture's customs the researcher frowned a tiny bit, before shrugging it off and accepting it as is.

"To each their own, Nathan. So long as you respect my taste and do not shame me for them, I do the same unto you."

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Ventus raises an eyebrow at Nathan's somewhat rueful comment about the pseudo Casteliacones, as if he recalled correctly he DID own a Rotom Freeze......

"Indeed they are, and since you so happen to have Rotom in its Freeze form to keep them refrigerated, I'd be more than happy to buy you two a couple of them for later use."

He then looks around the bakery himself for something that catches his eye.....until it rested on the great big edible Swirlix .

"As for myself, I believe that Swirlix will do nicely to sate me and my whole family's sweet tooth, as well as everyone if they wish to indulge themselves as well. Given its size, their is more than enough for the whole group and their Pokémon to have a portion. What do you think?"

Order: Presuming that Nathan agree to both requests (And that the Ice Cream can be safely kept in Rotom), purchase two Casteliacones and the Swirlix for $900 Poke Total! If Ice Cream can't be kept in Rotom, retroactively prevent Ventus from making that part of the purchase. I'll let Nathan/Dragonstrike guide Ventus along to the next portion of their 'bonding' time. Time for sweets guys!

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

"Oi, yes. Old Pokemon spirits abound. Any stone from a bygone era could contain one. Any artifact of power is almost certain to contain a link to one. You have to be careful with stones, though, because it could turn out to be a Spiritomb!! Pokemon gravestones are safe to use. And any stone with runes on it could be telling you the name of a more powerful Pokemon spirit. The weaker ones, which are all around us at all times, have never been memorialized, but it's possible to learn their names if you know how to do it, which I don't. There's a Medium in Cress City, though, and even Tanuki (the gym leader) is said to sometimes receive communications from spirits. Libraries, too, can contain them. Telperion has a huge spiritualism section."

"This old backpack probably contains a hundred Pokemon spirits and I don't even know it. I even have a few that I know to contain some sort of spirit."

'Any stones from a bygone era'? Oh... That very likely doen't include that stone Shiva snatched from the eremits in the Tusk's cave, the one she asking in the Department Store whether it could be turned into a Heat Rock, the one Nightshade is happily holding. Simply the thought of a Spiritomb emerging from a stone she'd unknowingly and innocently pick up, but the first time she'd hear some weird voices from it she'd probably go and sink that stone at the deepest spot of Greenbriar River at the first given opportunity to securely get rid of it and prevent any other from causing mischief with it.

For quite a while after the Fortune Hunter has said her part on this, Shiva replies nothing (but it's obvious that she has gotten the message) - she's pondering and weighing her opportunities silently in her mind, all while stroking her dear fluffball in her arms. It seems like Lilith is indeed behaving herself and waits patiently for her now Master to finish.
- Gravestones are an opportunity.
- Learning the name of a smaller Pokemon Spirit constantly all around (Eeek!) is not really an opportunity as Shiva would desire a 'stronger' one for her Cleanse Tag.
- There's a Medium in Cress City! Must visit. Tanuki Shiva already knows a bit from Little Cup, she's silently looking forward to actually meet her.
- A huge spritual section in Telperion University's library... Sounds like a place she could spend days at without getting bored.
- The Fortune Hunter herself owns artifacts that contain a Pokemon Spirit? Now that's cool... But that'd be too easy.
Hmm, so far Shiva wasn't quite sure what the best choice would be, she'll keep them all open for now.

Finally she found her voice back eventually. "T...Thank you for that insight! I'll remember it and see what I can do." Then, her whole expression and body language lighted up greatly, as the small word 'runes' reminded her something - and immediately she's back at being that fascinated young faelike Trainer with the rapid mood swings if triggered. She's looking up to the Fortune Hunter in expectation once again. "R-Runes... Learning their names... That reminds me on something! Please do tell me, have you ever stumbled over a big, dark black stone carved with strange symbols on your search for treasure? (She deliberatley doesn't mention them as being a 'Relic Stone' on purpose) I'm on the look-out for such a thing, but according to records there is none of these in Chreshire - don't care, just because there aren't records doesn't mean there isn't, far away regions could hold Pokemon we don't even know of yet and aren't recorded either. I have reasons to believe it is a key to a secret place and could be under or in Mt. Sentry, will look into in Cress City for more information. 'Strange symbols'... My, how could I've been so blind 'til now?! " She facepalms for short. "A-anyway... Runes. I WANTED to get into the art of drawing runes as an oracle to answer personal questions, but then I had to deal and get along with a journey to this region... You have any idea how I could catch up on that, is that a thing here in the region?"


(Particularly, Shiva 'only' wants to learn how to read runes to know what that Relic Stone would say and because it feels in-chara for her to learn it, but it being helpful to find a Pokemon Spirit is greatly appreciated!)

[Dragonstrike]

Spoiler

Ventus raises an eyebrow at Nathan's somewhat rueful comment about the pseudo Casteliacones, as if he recalled correctly he DID own a Rotom Freeze......

"Indeed they are, and since you so happen to have Rotom in its Freeze form to keep them refrigerated, I'd be more than happy to buy you two a couple of them for later use."

He then looks around the bakery himself for something that catches his eye.....until it rested on the great big edible Swirlix .

"As for myself, I believe that Swirlix will do nicely to sate me and my whole family's sweet tooth, as well as everyone if they wish to indulge themselves as well. Given its size, their is more than enough for the whole group and their Pokémon to have a portion. What do you think?"

Order: Presuming that Nathan agree to both requests (And that the Ice Cream can be safely kept in Rotom), purchase two Casteliacones and the Swirlix for $900 Poke Total! If Ice Cream can't be kept in Rotom, retroactively prevent Ventus from making that part of the purchase. I'll let Nathan/Dragonstrike guide Ventus along to the next portion of their 'bonding' time. Time for sweets guys!

"...well, you're not wrong about that...the next question though is if it will be willing to act as some Cold Storage...well, so long as the icecream doesn't melt, I guess it could Trick them away as a bit of a joke mid-battle if it wanted..."

Well, only one way to find out if Pulse the Rotom doesn't mind storing some ice cream is to ask it, right?  Out it comes!  Good thing Nathan had it on hand, right?

"Pulse, would you be willing to keep ahold of some of this ice cream until further notice and make sure it doesn't melt?  It's apparently rather restorative, but...it has to be kept cold until it's used.  If nothing else, it could also make some good fodder for Trick in a pinch, right?  I just need it to stay whole and unmelted, that's all."

Maybe that'd be enough incentive?

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Well, a good ol' outdoor table oughta be a nice place to continue this scene, right?

That giant cotton candy Swirlix Ventus purchased is HUGE.

"...that's...a lot of sugar..."

Kirlia's already reaching for it to try and grab just a TINY bit...

"...Kirlia, you should ask first, you know."

Kirlia sheepishly retreats...then gives Ventus a rather pleading look.

Yup, he definitely wants a sweet, sweet snack.

[Iron]

Fairy Pokemon are often predisposed to LOVE sugar, even in large quantities!

Rotom accepts the ice cream, at least for now. He still has 3 Disobedience, so who knows what the fate of that ice cream will be. He should be able to keep it cold indefinitely if he so chooses.

For Trick or Fling or whatever purposes, League rules would only let him hold one Casteliacone at a time. In practice he can hold half a dozen easily.

[Spiritmon]

Heart when heading to the pokemart he stops for a second and thinks a little better. "Hmm everyone is busy with other things to attend to. And Shiva might not feel in the mood to dinner too...but that doesnt mean I cant make some food. Perhaps make food for the journey should be a better choice. To avoid the disaster in the forest before. Okay, lets do that then!"

Action: Buy ingredients (in good quality, spending 600 pokedollars to flesh ingredients and good ingredients).

[Iron]

"I've found some small dark stones covered in symbols. Even found one in Mt Sentry. Had a scientist look at it. Turned out to be the result of a freak electromagnetic accident, where the minerals inside melted and deformed at high speed, molecules twisting through the dimensions at a high energy orbit or something like that."

Something like this, if Shiva looks it up in her Encyclopedias.

"I don't really understand that kind of physics stuff. But what I do understand is runes! I have a book on them. It includes runes from the Scavengers, from Sarimanok's time, and even before that. It includes modern runes, which are mostly aesthetic or Pokemon-related. Like the Unown. It doesn't include Elder runes, unfortunately, since no one knows how to read those today. It, along with the Flute, are things I try to sell at my booth when I have it set up. Oi, I could sell you one of those dark chunks of stone too. Friend price of $300 for the stone. It's only about the size of yer eye. It has two complete runes and two truncated ones."