[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Dragonstrike]

"*Blinks at the mention of their dig, as they suddenly remember it now with an excited smile on their face* Ah yes, your own excavation of that Wall! Tell me, did you uncover anything interesting, Nathan? (...) Not to be a bother, but would you mind returning the Pickaxe to me, now that you are done with it? "

Nathan sets Ralts on Swiftfire and walks over to Ventus to hand over the pickaxe, then promptly heads back to pick Ralts up again.  Ralts definitely doesn't want to go anywhere near that Durant right now.

"I'll show you what I found later when we've found a place to rest.  Thanks for loaning me the pickaxe.  Now then, let's get going again..."

*flashback end*

[Lord Windos]

Haunter swaps Held Items for one of the vials and, speedily, phases up into the ceiling. He comes back on the Tailwind and hands over a half-vial of the goo, apparently all he was able to acquire.

"Thank you for your prompt aid and discersion, Haunter," Ventus replied to them with a smile, before slipping on a pair of latex gloves he kept in his satchel and gingerly took the half vial of green goo, and gave it an introspective and analytical look to determine what it could possible be (Would this be A Insight + Survival/Knowledge + Nature/Medice Roll, Iron?) before he passed it off to Shiva if it was safe/useful. He was NOT about to give something potentially deadily to his girlfriend , Reshirim forbid it!

Afterwards, he was ready to move on and away from the Grimer, unless that goo turned out to be REALLY valuable/good. In which case, a change of orders might be necessary.....

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

For now, she let Ventus investigate that goo to heart's content while she kept a shyly interested look at it herself. As soon as he has finished however, she'll politely ask to see it herself along the way, for safety she'll accept the vile wearing the poison-resistant gloves she got from the Almanac when she still had that Skrelp.


Means, if Ven's not able to determine what this goo is/might be/isn't sure, I'd like to give it a try!

[Iron]

Haunter swaps Held Items for one of the vials and, speedily, phases up into the ceiling. He comes back on the Tailwind and hands over a half-vial of the goo, apparently all he was able to acquire.

Now we're getting somewhere.  And the Grimer are still doing their own thing and ignoring them, too.  Just to make sure, though...

"Did you see anything potentially hostile up there, Haunter?  Or was it just a little bit of goo?"

Haunter shakes his head. He was alone.

*rolls*

No one in the party is able to identify this goo. It's not viscous, it barely has a color, Mr. Finder has never smelled it before. It doesn't smell like acid or poison or anything dangerous. 

When you go on, it takes a while before you find a place wide enough to set up the Repel-infused tent. The two inviting spots nearby are either on the 'steps' of a big stairstep-shaped stone formation you will have to descend eventually, or a kilometer before it in a sudden widened space in the tunnel.

[Dragonstrike]

Regardless of where camp is set up, Nathan has Ditto Transform into Gustav the Clawitzer (Ditto can see what it's Transforming into, so no roll required. Nathan also packs away the Unpolished Sablenite) once it is.  Between Ralts, Gustav, and Ditto, that's another 5-8 Heal Pulses that can be spread around the party (4-6 of them being Mega Launcher boosted) before turning in for the night.  Who needs the healing the most, and who needs the least?  We need to figure out how to divide this up. (None of Nathan's pokemon have taken any damage, so he's fine)

- When camp is set up, Nathan also excitedly shows everyone that's willing to listen the fossils he dug up.  

Fossil Talk

"I don't think anyone's really dug up any fossils down here because of how dangerous it is.  The Museum in Cress has listings of where they've found every kind of known fossil pokemon before, but none of them listed the depths of Mt. Sentry's tunnels.  Around the base of the mountains, at the tips of the peaks, in the swamps, on the shores and underwater, in Borealis Road and the easy to reach parts of Mt. Molten...no deep underground locations.  There were also pictures of all of them and their evolved forms!  I'm getting off track, though...anyways, here's what I found.  Seemed to me that this probably got washed in here by the underground rivers at one point...some of them do lead to the oceans, I believe."




"This one's a Claw Fossil. Can potentially be revived into an Anorith or Armaldo.  They're incredibly common here in Creshire, so really, the only unusual thing about it is I didn't find it in the Botanville Shale, where most of them have been found previously.  It's fortunate I managed to get it out without damaging it.  Same with...this one."

*Insert potential image of the elephant sized Toenail Fossil here*

"I have no idea what species this large Toenail Fossil might be from.  I CAN say that it's not one of the known Fossil pokemon, though.  It might be of a Primal, or maybe it'll be something more like the Delta Sunkern they have in the Museum, and turn out to be a normal species with a Rock typing when revived. The potential possibilities are so exciting! It could be a new species or sub-species! If only i could figure out what species it is, though...bound to find out when it's revived, though..." (that last bit is mostly Nathan muttering to himself)

- Also, whenever the 'picnic' is done to try and appease Durant, Nathan will offer one jar of Honey to Durant to start with.

- And finally, if we think we need to set up a watch just in case, Nathan will offer to take first watch. He's used to long(er) nights, so the exhaustion won't bother him too much if it he has to take action, and Calam and Ralts are particularly good at assisting in keeping an eye out for danger. Plus, he didn't like the look of that goo combined with the clattering Heart heard earlier...

[Spiritmon]

Spoiler

Regardless of where camp is set up, Nathan has Ditto Transform into Gustav the Clawitzer (Ditto can see what it's Transforming into, so no roll required.  Nathan also packs away the Unpolished Sablenite) once it is.  Between Ralts, Gustav, and Ditto, that's another 5-8 Heal Pulses that can be spread around the party (4-6 of them being Mega Launcher boosted) before turning in for the night.  Who needs the healing the most, and who needs the least?  We need to figure out how to divide this up.  (None of Nathan's pokemon have taken any damage, so he's fine)

- When camp is set up, Nathan also excitedly shows everyone that's willing to listen the fossils he dug up.  

Fossil Talk

"I don't think anyone's really dug up any fossils down here because of how dangerous it is.  The Museum in Cress has listings of where they've found every kind of known fossil pokemon before, but none of them listed the depths of Mt. Sentry's tunnels.  Around the base of the mountains, at the tips of the peaks, in the swamps, on the shores and underwater, in Borealis Road and the easy to reach parts of Mt. Molten...no deep underground locations.  There were also pictures of all of them and their evolved forms!  I'm getting off track, though...anyways, here's what I found.  Seemed to me that this probably got washed in here by the underground rivers at one point...some of them do lead to the oceans, I believe."




"This one's a Claw Fossil.  They're incredibly common here in Creshire, so really, the only unusual thing about it is I didn't find it in the Botanvlle Shale, where most of them have been found previously.  It's fortunate I managed to get it out without damaging it.  Same with...this one."

*Insert potential image of the elephant sized Toenail Fossil here*

"I have no idea what species this large Toenail Fossil might be from.  I CAN say that it's not one of the known Fossil pokemon, though.  It might be of a Primal, or maybe it'll be something more like the Delta Sunkern they have in the Museum, and turn out to be a normal species with a Rock typing when revived.  The potential possibilities are so exciting!  It could be a new species or sub-species!  If only i could figure out what species it is, though...bound to find out when it's revived, though..."  (that last bit is mostly Nathan muttering to himself)

- Also, whenever the 'picnic' is done to try and appease Durant, Nathan will offer one jar of Honey to Durant to start with.

- And finally, if we think we need to set up a watch just in case, Nathan will offer to take first watch.  He's used to long(er) nights, so the exhaustion won't bother him too much if it he has to take action, and Calam and Ralts are particularly good at assisting in keeping an eye out for danger.  Plus, he didn't like the look of that goo combined with the clattering Heart heard earlier...

Heart heard that and share a bit with his information about his wounded pokemons. "Well...Gustav its still wounded after the battle against a overgrown Cruster using Rock Wrecker (but he hold the Lethal Damage) so he still very much wounded (4/8 HP) and Koa dont have too much serious damage (5/7) because he was poison by those Gligars but I already take care of the poison. Except Gustav, my other pokemon have good/stable health."

[Dragonstrike]

I stated it in the meta thread, but I'll also state it again here: Nathan feels the 'steps' are probably going to be a better place to set up camp for the night.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

No one in the party is able to identify this goo. It's not viscous, it barely has a color, Mr. Finder has never smelled it before. It doesn't smell like acid or poison or anything dangerous.

Now that was interesting, this gooey stuff was not like anything Shiva has seen so far, practically it could be anything - the only thing she could do was confirming that it wasn't anything potentially dangerous as she turned the viale in her hand around for a little, still protected by the poison-resistant gloves. Eventually, she gently hands it back to Ventus with that thoughtful look, she hesitated a little before she calmly spoke out to him what she was thinking. "Here. Thanks for letting me take a look, Ven!~ Uhm... Listen - do you want to keep a hold of this vial with the goo for a while, dear? It's your empty bottle of a Potion, after all. Though when we're back in Cress City and there's time, can you loan it to me then if we haven't found out more about it by then? There's a place in that town where Herbologists and everything reside, maybe I can someone there who can help identifying what this weird substance is." (Note: The Violet Tent)

Onward they went then, luckily without arising these Grimer's attention. Throwing a glance over her shoulder to them after they've passed, Shiva couldn't help but to wonder how 'positive' this found goo might be, it seemed like these Grimer haven't seen this stuff so far either. Humm... Was this a good sign?


She herself doesn't really have a preference about the place for camping, so she's fine with the one the others prefered and will do what's possible for her set up the tent and stuff. Given how she's still not good at such things and building up a tent within this mountain instead of outside in the fields was more difficult, it wasn't...that much she could do to help....

When everything was finalized and set up, it was about time to have some dinner! Or, eat something, regardless what time of the day it was, but from her biorythm Shiva could tell that it was late. Tropius was the first Pokemon that was sent out once she has prepared food for her dear Pokemon, this time in a smaller portion as they had to rationalize their resources (though it was enough that none will have to stay hungry), and...the state her grassy sauropode has not increased at all despite some rest within his comfy Pokeball. Sadly petting over his forehead, she sighed a little hoping that food will heal some of his pain, but just one moment later something caught her attention from the corner of her eye - it was Nathan's Ditto who transformed into Heart's Clawitzer! Immediately, she remembered something pleasantly and gently called for Nathan to come to her and Tropius. "Nathan, if I may ask you something... Do you think your Now-Clawitzer could shoot a Heal Pulse on dear Tropius here? All these Spinda lately took quite a tool on him. .... You will? Oh, thank you! You'll feel a little better in an instant, Tropius."

Once that has been taken care of and Tropius thankfully flapped his leaf-like wings, they all digged into their offered food. If that big Durant will approach Shiva or her Pokemon due to all the food, she will not scare it away but very carefully and friendlyly place a few dried berries, a chunk of the fruit her Tropius grows and some roasted nuts near it to enjoy, but that's about all. Seeing how her Master was also somewhat tired from all that walking, Azumarill perked up and came to Shiva to give her a deliggghhhhted hug in the means of comforting her, topping this by performing his magic trick where she summoned a 50$-coin from behind her ear. Azu received a few appreciating pets for this stunt.

She was also curious to listen what Nathan had to share about a fossil he found, especially over that toenail-one! Well, an elephant-like Pokemon barely anyone was familiar with she knows and likes as it's described as friendly and a Grass Type in her books, but it was no prehistoric one. "Once you've revived that one fossil, Nathan, will you show us what it has become, please?"

A little later, she also finds some time and muse to play a little with Dizzy - despite everything, he's still a young Pokemon! - she'd let him fetch and chew on a big feather originating from a Noctowl's wing she has left from crafting a new dreamcatcher, if the Absol is up to it, that is. To her suprise, Mr. Finder and his Slurpuff were not sitting/residing far from her, to be specific they were almost next to her. Shiva doesn't mind at all and is even somewhat intrigued, the fairydog can have a last chunk of her Tropius' fruit. "So, ehm.... Mr. Finder, if you allow me a question - what kind of cards are the ones you're using, and how do they work or help you? And...can you already roughly estimate how long it'll take us to reach the source of the black stone we gave you for the scent?"

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

Regardless of where camp is set up, Nathan has Ditto Transform into Gustav the Clawitzer (Ditto can see what it's Transforming into, so no roll required.  Nathan also packs away the Unpolished Sablenite) once it is.  Between Ralts, Gustav, and Ditto, that's another 5-8 Heal Pulses that can be spread around the party (4-6 of them being Mega Launcher boosted) before turning in for the night.  Who needs the healing the most, and who needs the least?  We need to figure out how to divide this up.  (None of Nathan's pokemon have taken any damage, so he's fine)

- When camp is set up, Nathan also excitedly shows everyone that's willing to listen the fossils he dug up.  

Fossil Talk

"I don't think anyone's really dug up any fossils down here because of how dangerous it is.  The Museum in Cress has listings of where they've found every kind of known fossil pokemon before, but none of them listed the depths of Mt. Sentry's tunnels.  Around the base of the mountains, at the tips of the peaks, in the swamps, on the shores and underwater, in Borealis Road and the easy to reach parts of Mt. Molten...no deep underground locations.  There were also pictures of all of them and their evolved forms!  I'm getting off track, though...anyways, here's what I found.  Seemed to me that this probably got washed in here by the underground rivers at one point...some of them do lead to the oceans, I believe."




"This one's a Claw Fossil.  Can potentially be revived into an Anorith or Armaldo.  They're incredibly common here in Creshire, so really, the only unusual thing about it is I didn't find it in the Botanville Shale, where most of them have been found previously.  It's fortunate I managed to get it out without damaging it.  Same with...this one."

*Insert potential image of the elephant sized Toenail Fossil here*

"I have no idea what species this large Toenail Fossil might be from.  I CAN say that it's not one of the known Fossil pokemon, though.  It might be of a Primal, or maybe it'll be something more like the Delta Sunkern they have in the Museum, and turn out to be a normal species with a Rock typing when revived.  The potential possibilities are so exciting!  It could be a new species or sub-species!  If only i could figure out what species it is, though...bound to find out when it's revived, though..."  (that last bit is mostly Nathan muttering to himself)

- Also, whenever the 'picnic' is done to try and appease Durant, Nathan will offer one jar of Honey to Durant to start with.

- And finally, if we think we need to set up a watch just in case, Nathan will offer to take first watch.  He's used to long(er) nights, so the exhaustion won't bother him too much if it he has to take action, and Calam and Ralts are particularly good at assisting in keeping an eye out for danger.  Plus, he didn't like the look of that goo combined with the clattering Heart heard earlier...

I stated it in the meta thread, but I'll also state it again here: Nathan feels the 'steps' are probably going to be a better place to set up camp for the night.

(Since I don't care either way but don't want to possible delays, Ventus will side with Nathan's decision of the camping site, as its a better defensible position if they were going to be ambushed.)

Setting up camp was a more encumbered affair in the depths of Mt. Sentry for Ventus, as finding large, flat open space to place the tent was difficult with how rough and uneven their chosen campsite was, and driving in the stacks required his brother Michael's aid in pounding them through the solid rock. Cooking was would have proved to be an even more ornous challenge were it not for the fact that most of the rations packed didn't necessitate fire/heat, though if necessary he could create a makeshift cooktop with large flat stones and Swiftfire's/Rose's help in heating them. Finally, with them in being in near complete darkness save for the lights they have brought was going to prove disorienting as time went on, and the lack of sunlight would misalign his own ciridian cycle.

Overall, one could accurately say that the empath held a moderate amount of disdain for underground camping, but never the less he pushed those discomforts from his mind and focused on setting camp. This wasn't his first time exploring inside a mountain or some dark crypt in the course of his often hair raising career, so while unpleasant and a tad gratting, he could suffer these conditions well in silence. Should other group member had difficulty copping with the change in environment, however, the researcher would not hesistate to lend a helping hand, a sympathetic smile, and open ear to their plights. If they were giong to find Anthenum, they would do so by aiding each other in whatever way they could, after all!
(IE: If any character has a reason to not cope well with being stuck underground for prolonged periods of time, either Ventus will come and help, or they can come and ask him for help/advice!)

When camp was fully set up for the 'night' and Nathan offered Ralts and Ditto Gustav Healing Pulses to quickly patch up any severe/minor damage that couldn't be fully healed through a good night's rest, Ventus ignored it entirely as setted himself on a smooth boulder and took some of his own rations (A couple of dense energy/protein bars) to much off. While he was at it he also took out a paper plate to set aside some blueberries for Raphael and a couple of apples for Lucifer to munch on after a long's day of scouting/hard work, to which they relished with a gusto. Unlike most everyone else, he had managed to avoid any sort of combat entirely throughout the first leg of their journey, so the boy's healing services were entirely unecessary for him.

Eventually Nathan hurriedly gathered everyone to eagerly display what he had uncovered from his Wall Excavations, and was momentarily astonished by the fact they unearthed Fossils, but that quickly faded away as he thought aloud more about/reviewed his own Knowledge on the subject.

"Hmm.....Yes, but if you ponder it for a moment finding Fossil in Mt. Setry's depths isn't all to shocking of a revelation, at least to myself. Fossils are typically found in geological formations and beneath countless layers of sediment that has been deposited and built up throughout the eons, so discovering a few here is entirely within reason. Especially if this area was once part of a ancient seabed or marshland that has been transformed into this mountain over the ages. Of course those fossils could have been deposited by underground rivers as you said, so this theory may or may not be entirely accurate here in Cheshire."

The Claw Fossil they first showed off was interesting but not exactly thrilling, as like the boy said the prehistoric species was commonly found and later revived/studied by Pokemon Researchers such as himself. It was one of his favorite Fossil Pokemon besides Aerodactyl and the Tyrunt line, though, so the Fossil had that much going for it! The Toenail Fossil, on the other hand, immediately kindled the sparks of rampent curiosity and excitement when he was faced with a hitherunknown and new discovery, as had never seen a Fossil like this documented before! Something about it was.....famalier to him, though. Hmm....maybe he could......

"Nathan, not to impose upon you, but may I have that Toenail Fossil for a moment? I'm not a Fossil Pokemon Expert or Paleontologist by any means, but as my Knowledge in research and general experience with Pokemon in general could aid me in uncovering this Fossil's identity, or at least give us a hint to it. That, and seeing it.....I have an inlking I could figure it out, if only I could closely inspect it...."

Assuming they allow him to handle it, the researcher gave it a through and scrutinizing analysis that took several minutes, during which time his experssion shifted back and forth from fascination, puzzled, knowing, and startled. 'Toenail looks to be from a large herbivore, and by its size and wieght this one didn't possess flying capabilities. It almost like....wait a moment. Is this.....?,' Ventus though, as his ponderings were halted by a sudden realization that almost completely baffled him, but at the same time his instincts and logic didn't feel as if they were steering him wrong.

Slowly looking up from the Toenail Fossil, Ven had a surprised yet strangely captivated expression as he addressed everyone with the results of his finding, though his gaze was focused on Nathan as he did so.

"......If my Insights are unmistaken, I believe what you have found here is an earlier ancestor of the Tropius species, Nathan. If you look closely, it bears a strikingly strong resemblance to the nail's on Shiva's Tropius *Motions to the creature if its still out*, thought by the size and design its ancestor was far larger and didn't possess the ability to Fly like its modern decedent. A rather thrilling discovery if I do say so myself, for it offers an unprecedented evidence of the natural evolution of the species over time, and holds the potential to tell much about how the Tropius species has functioned throughout its existence! A magnificent discovery overall, Nathan!"

He was rather reluctant to give the Fossil back to Nathan once all was said and done with it, as he excitidly wanted to pour over it more in details, but he did so anyway with a slightly forlorn but resigned expression. He was NOT a thief, and he was NOT going to claim something of this level of significance from his 'friend' (in the most loosest sense of the word), so back it goes.....

(...)

After everyone had settled down for the night, it was time to resume persuading the Overgrown Durant (Who was presumably still following after him) to join the team! Seeing as he didn't have any fancy foods like the rest of his group members ('Note to self: Obtain more Luxurary Items to lure Pokemon.....), he simply content himself to pulling a paper plate out of his satchel and pilling it with A few apples and handfulls of blueberries and offered it to the ironclad insect, along with the offering of Honey of Nathan, more fruit/nuts from Shiva, and Gormet Fruit Jam from Heart. 

"Here you go, Durant, so feel free to dig in! There's plenty more avaliable if you are still hungry, so don't be shy now!"

(...)

The sociologist had no qualms about Nathan taking first watch for the night, and swiftly volunteered for the second shift, as he too was inured to the weariness that long nights of vigilence/Alertness by this point in his life. That, and he still had plenty of energy to burn after a day of relatively light activity for him (discounting the trecking), so he was ready and willing to stand his watch!

[Dragonstrike]

- Alright, so one Mega Launcher Heal Pulse for Tropius from Ditto.  Let's make it two for him if the first one doesn't restore his HP to 6 or higher.  Shiva's Furret can also have a Mega Launcher Heal Pulse from Ditto. (2-3 uses for Ditto)

- Ralts will use Heal Pulse once on Theo (technically three total uses today so far).  If he can get a fourth one out, he'll use it on Dizzy.

Heal Pulse
Accuracy: 11 D6 (no need to rush this, after all)
Effect: Basic Heal (+2 when Mega Launcher boosted.  3 D6 for Theo/Dizzy, 7 D6 for Tropius/Furret)

That should be all the most necessary Heal Pulse usage that needs to be done, I believe.

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On the topic of uncomfortableness underground, it's probably definitely starting to get a little chilly.  Nathan's got that sweater Ventus gave him awhile ago on, and he's trying to stay close to Swiftfire whenever he can.  Brrrr...

He doesn't complain, though.  But he is starting to shiver every so often if he's not near Swiftfire.

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An ancestor to Tropius?

...

...and larger, too...but also flightless...

"...so you think this might be a...Primal Tropius's toenail?  That'd be...wow...considering how the revivification process works, though, it'd probably end up being a Delta Primal Tropius if it wasn't originally a Rock type..."

If it DOES turn out to be a Primal Tropius of some kind, Nathan wonders how Shiva's Tropius might react to meeting it...