[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

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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.

"Indeed it is," Ventus simply replies, gazing upon his gigantic and fluffy purchase with an air of sastifaction and delight, before he released all his Pokémon on hand to bear witness to the scrumptious treat as well! When they (Raphael, Apsis, Michael, Lucifer, Haneal, and Abaddon) fully materialized and got a whiff/sight of all the mouthwatering and tasty Swirlix, the empath gestured with both hands towards it with a pleased smile on his face.

"My family, I've purchased this confectionary treat for all of you to enjoy, and to commemorate our brother's Abaddon and Michael's dazzling victory against Dagney! But that's not the only reason I bought this, my dear family. No, this is for all the hard and often arduous work you have undertaken on my behalf, for the sweet and beautiful moments we have shared on this long journey of our together, and as an offering for all of us to do far greater in the future. Enjoy......"

After he said this and witnessed the reactions of his Pokémon (All yours, Iron!), he turned to address Kirlia almost Baby Doll Eyes level stare at him and let out a fond chuckle, before reaching down to rub their head.

"Go right ahead, Kirlia. You certainly deserve it too, so enjoy it to your heart's content. On that note......" he said, trailing off as he looked over to Nathan's direction and gave him an inviting look, before gesturing at the Pokeball on their belt/wear he stores them and at the sugary Swirlix.

"Feel free to release your own Pokémon to take part of this celebration , Nathan, and grab some yourself if you want. As you can clearly see there is more than enough to go around, so don't feel reticent to accept my offer."

Regardless of their answer, Ventus eventually comes over to the boy's side and away from his Pokémon, watching as they dine on sweets until they couldn't any longer.

".........This, Nathan, is why I became a Pokémon Researcher. To explore, understand, and experience the bonds and social interactions of Pokémon. Its truly humbling and wieghty to know that so many beings both care and depend on me for everything , to be so utterly responsible for them and all their needs......but its heartwarming moments like these that remind me why I choose to happily undertake such burdens. Don't you agree?"

".......What's on your mind too, if I may be so rude to ask as well. You wished to speak with me about last night, so why not now?"

He said that last comment after a brief period of silence, with an abrupt casualness that could turn heads. Looks like he's in a good enough mood now to get start on THAT conversation.

[Dragonstrike]

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.

"Remember, I'd like that to stay intact and frozen, Pulse.  Alright?  I'll trust you won't get up to TOO much mischief with them, but I do want to use those later if it proves necessary."

[Iron]

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).

Heart finds some amaaazing trailmix ingredients: dark fancy chocolate, exotic nuts, dried fruit and Berries. 

He buys fancy brioche bread for sammiches, along with fresh greens like kale and bright purple lettuce, fine ground mustard, slices of fish or lab-grown meat. Cheese slices in a couple flavors. Rich creamy peanut butter or hazelnut butter, sweet jam from any fruit desired. 

Blood oranges imported from other regions or bananas grown on Tropius. Power bars. Mild organic energy drinks in glass bottles. 

Cheese in string form or wedge form for snacking.

And brown paper sacks to pack it all in!

[Iron]

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.

"Remember, I'd like that to stay intact and frozen, Pulse.  Alright?  I'll trust you won't get up to TOO much mischief with them, but I do want to use those later if it proves necessary."

Pulse shrugs, as if it is beyond his control.

The owner comes over. "Uh, can you recall that Rotom? It makes me nervous around the blenders...the fridges...the mixers...the extruders... the baking ovens... Yeah, thanks."

The outdoor table you find is plenty far enough from the shop that you can have him out.

[Iron]

Raphael, as a fairy, is delighted to grasp a thread of spun sugar and unspin it in a big streamer through the air! Lucifer follows, gobbling it up. Haneal chews it like cud - it gets burnt all crispy and chewy in his mouth. Michael isn't as into it, but he eats a little as a treat. Apsis is confused, for this isn't prey! But one bite gets her into the spirit of the thing. Abaddon is still young, so he eats a lot of that candy, and gets a sticky mess alllll over his body. Also hides a little in his tail to replace the Oran berry he was carrying before the gym battle.

Kirlia, with a cautious glance at Nathan, very politely takes a reasonable amount of the candy and eats it as politely as he knows how.

[Dragonstrike]

"Could be worse, sir. My Porygon-Z could be out too. I'll keep the visit brief for everyone's peace of mind."

Seeing a refrigerator shrug is..interesting. Definitely not something you see every day...

"I'll be checking on that ice cream every so often, Pulse, so do try to make sure it stays usable."

Probably not much more that needs to be said here. Let's cross our fingers and hope that ice cream stays frozen!

---------------------------------

Nathan brings out Forthright, Yule, and Swiftfire. Well, Porygon-Z and Pulse as well, though how much those two might be interested in sweets is up in the air.

"If Ventus is fine with it, Kirlia, go ahead and take as much as he allows you to. Make sure to share with Forthright, though, and try to make sure she doesn't overdo it (Fun Fact: Castform are in the Fairy and Amorphous egg groups. Ralts line is just Amorphous, weirdly). Swiftfire, Yule, Porygon-Z, Pulse, you can all have some too if ya like."

Just sitting back and watching...yeah, it's kinda relaxing...

...then Ventus brings up the text Nathan had sent earlier...

...

"...it's nothing that can't wait..."

...weird...not wanting to talk about something he brought up is...abnormal for sure...

...particularly since that reluctance isn't because of any secretive thoughts and feelings, considering this is a public, outdoor location.

Definitely should be ringing some weirdness warning bells for Ventus.

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

Just sitting back and watching...yeah, it's kinda relaxing...

...then Ventus brings up the text Nathan had sent earlier...

...

"...it's nothing that can't wait..."

...weird...not wanting to talk about something he brought up is...abnormal for sure...

...particularly since that reluctance isn't because of any secretive thoughts and feelings, considering this is a public, outdoor location.

Definitely should be ringing some weirdness warning bells for Ventus.

That remark caused Ven's eyebrows to shoot straight up to his hairline, as Nathan NEVER is idle with his own requests, or reserved in his own judgements/decisions, regardless or indeed (as often is in the case) in spite of what anyone else thinks of it. He placed an hand on the boy's shoulder, forcing them to turn around and meet his.....concerned? Baffled? ...expectant gaze. "What happened last night is troubling you in some fashion, isn't it," Ventus says, in a tone of voice that removes the questioning nature of his words. "It does no good for you to keep this in, unless you want to start bottling up your feelings again and travel that path once more. So talk to me, please. Despite our many difference and past strife, I'm still here for you if need be, Nathan."

[Dragonstrike]

Spoiler

That remark caused Ven's eyebrows to shoot straight up to his hairline, as Nathan NEVER is idle with his own requests, or reserved in his own judgements/decisions, regardless or indeed (as often is in the case) in spite of what anyone else thinks of it. He placed an hand on the boy's shoulder, forcing them to turn around and meet his.....concerned? Baffled? ...expectant gaze. "What happened last night is troubling you in some fashion, isn't it," Ventus says, in a tone of voice that removes the questioning nature of his words. "It does no good for you to keep this in, unless you want to start bottling up your feelings again and travel that path once more. So talk to me, please. Despite our many difference and past strife, I'm still here for you if need be, Nathan."

Nathan sighs, goes back to looking upon the happy scene...

"...you have enough problems to worry about already...one more of mine is probably one too many..."

...

"...they're only gone forever if you've both given up on each other, you know..."

...

"...I'm sure wherever my dad is, he's trying to come back...I have to keep believing that, even if I can't do anything to find him myself...and no matter how much I wish I could do something...anything...to simply see him again..."

...

"...maybe your friend is out there, looking for you...I could believe that, since you were the only one able to hold them back..."

Well then...

[Iron]

Ventus and Nathan can each choose one Pokemon to give +1 Happiness.

This cannot bring a Pokemon's Happiness to 5, however, since that is something special.

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

Nathan sighs, goes back to looking upon the happy scene...

"...you have enough problems to worry about already...one more of mine is probably one too many..."

...

"...they're only gone forever if you've both given up on each other, you know..."

...

"...I'm sure wherever my dad is, he's trying to come back...I have to keep believing that, even if I can't do anything to find him myself...and no matter how much I wish I could do something...anything...to simply see him again..."

...

"...maybe your friend is out there, looking for you...I could believe that, since you were the only one able to hold them back..."

Well then...

(Then Hanael will get that point of Happiness, since compared to everyone else she certainly has more need of it [She's at 2 Now]!)

"Nonsense. If I am able to persist despite my own burdens weighing heavily upon me and still enjoy life with a smile, your woes will hardly be the straw that breaks the proverbial Camrupt's back. *Sigh* Nathan......"

...

...

...Ventus looks away and stares off into the distance, resisting the urge to take out a incense and lite it up to soothe his frayed and worried nerves. Doing such a thing would contradict what he just said moments ago, and give the boy more reason to keep Clampearling up.



...

"In the past, when testing wasn't being conducted and nothing was being recorded, I used to play with Silverfish. Games like hide or seek, racing around and climbing over objects, and occasionally riding on top it and play fighting invisible foes. Simple stuff, really."

...

"Sometime, though, I just kept it company, and told it stories of the world outside the testing and containment area its housed in. Of the natural beauty of Unova, like the hazardous and convoluted Twist Mountain, of the scorching heat and shifting sands of the desert, and the sun baked Ruins that lay within, or human made wonders such at the Skyarrow Bridge and Nacrene Museum."

...

"I did this so they would know that life wasn't just its isolated existence at that far flung research facility, but a vibrant thing full of infinite possibilities that one, maybe it could have been a part of...."

...

"Such was the way of things between us and more, until that fateful day we were separated. Now, we are gone from each other's lives."

...

".......Its hard for me to have faith in many things. My life has taught me the follies of blind belief and unchecked optimism, as you well know."

...

"Perhaps their is hope of our reunion. But is it worth the pain and sorrow that will come if such an occasion never comes to pass? Or worse?"

...

".......I just don't know anymore, Nathan. I just don't know."
'I'm just so goddamn tired of everything going wrong.'
. . .