[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Dragonstrike]

It's raining again today. Nurse Joy in Cress City has a pink towel slung over her shoulder as you come to the lobby for breakfast, and so does her Chansey.

And it's that very same Nurse Joy in Cress that Nathan pays a visit first thing in the morning.  He needs to check up on Starmie (another job well done for Nathan's currently strongest water type!), Snivy (and semi apologize for getting him involved in so many battles without him actually winning any.  But hey, he did his part, and he did it well, so there's that! And things can only get better from here, right?)...

...and especially Delta? Tropius.  He definitely needs to check on her and see how she's doing and reacting to things now that she's conscious.  Considering how big she is, he probably has to do this in the Center's training room at the very least...

So yeah. Nathan's grabbing a few things (including breakfast), heading to the training room, and letting Delta? Tropius out of her pokeball to see what kind of personality she has and run through introductions!



Oh, and if anyone else in the group happens to see Nathan in the lobby as he's preparing for this, he definitely doesn't seem to be paying special attention to the towels. Just kinda looks at them, acknowledges they're there without seeming to find it strange at all, and continues going about his business.

[Iron]

It's raining again today. Nurse Joy in Cress City has a pink towel slung over her shoulder as you come to the lobby for breakfast, and so does her Chansey.

And it's that very same Nurse Joy in Cress that Nathan pays a visit first thing in the morning.  He needs to check up on Starmie (another job well done for Nathan's currently strongest water type!), Snivy (and semi apologize for getting him involved in so many battles without him actually winning any.  But hey, he did his part, and he did it well, so there's that!  And things can only get better from here, right?)...

...and especially Delta? Tropius.  He definitely needs to check on her and see how she's doing and reacting to things now that she's conscious.  Considering how big she is, he probably has to do this in the Center's training room at the very least...

So yeah.  Nathan's grabbing a few things (including breakfast), heading to the training room, and letting Delta? Tropius out of her pokeball to see what kind of personality she has and run through introductions!



Oh, and if anyone else in the group happens to see Nathan in the lobby as he's preparing for this, he definitely doesn't seem to be paying special attention to the towels.  Just kinda looks at them, acknowledges they're there without seeming to find it strange at all, and continues going about his business.

Snivy is a Pokemon who knows his duty and doesn't complain about doing it!
Starmie is inscrutable as always. Both Pokemon are fine according to Nurse Joy. They're ready for battles.

Delta? Tropius is conscious. She is a confusing mix of a young Pokemon in an adult Pokemon body, yet she retains the most fundamental instincts an adult of her species would have. When Nathan releases her, it takes her a moment to react to him. She treats him as a potential predator despite the size disparity. She turns her back to him and curls her tail around her, presenting all her defensive plates to Nathan. Her dorsal plates start spinning slowly, kicking up enough breeze to move dust around the room. Her mouth makes a foreboding, almost cowlike, lowing sound. 

If she gets angry, it looks like she will thrash about quite indiscriminately.

[Dragonstrike]

Snivy is a Pokemon who knows his duty and doesn't complain about doing it!
Starmie is inscrutable as always. Both Pokemon are fine according to Nurse Joy. They're ready for battles.

Delta? Tropius is conscious. She is a confusing mix of a young Pokemon in an adult Pokemon body, yet she retains the most fundamental instincts an adult of her species would have. When Nathan releases her, it takes her a moment to react to him. She treats him as a potential predator despite the size disparity. She turns her back to him and curls her tail around her, presenting all her defensive plates to Nathan. Her dorsal plates start spinning slowly, kicking up enough breeze to move dust around the room. Her mouth makes a foreboding, almost cowlike, lowing sound. 

If she gets angry, it looks like she will thrash about quite indiscriminately.

Good good good.

Now then, time to deal with the new team member...

Nathan keeps a respectful distance.  "Easy there, girl.  Not here to harm you.  Here to say hi.  Here, you must be hungry.  Got ya a little something."

Nathan carefully slides a plate of various fruits over to the sauropod, then backs off again. Considering Tropius started growing fruits on their necks because they consumed the foodstuffs so much, it's a reasonable assumption that this variant of the species might enjoy fruit too...hopefully.

[Lord Windos]

Terra greeted the new day like he was usually want to do in civilization: at the crack of dawn, reluctantly drawing himself away from the comfy covers of his comfy bed with a few mumbles as he awoke. No matter how ingrained and normally nice it was for him to rise early in the morn (bar pulling late nighters), he could never really get used to the almost blissful feeling of sleeping in actual bed after all his years of roughing it, nor rid himself the urge to just luxuriate in it....

Never the less he resisted the temptations and siren call of sleeping in (a cardinal sin in the eyes of the marital man), getting up and changing into a fresh shirt and went down to the cafeteria to fetch some breakfast for himself and his partners: bowls of gussied up oatmeal for himself, Shiranui, and plenty of fruit juice between them all! The sumo westler was of course enjoying his meal with his paradoxically characteristic calm gusto, shoveling several helping of the goopy porrage down his throat with quiet enthusiasm. Breakfast was the most important meal of the day, and for a big guy like him he needed PLENTY of it to keep himself fit and in fighting form, hahahaha (Nom nom nom nom)! The blue bomber's reaction to his meal is entirely his own (Iron, little help here!), but I imagine he'd at least give it a try if he hasn't had it before hand.

During the meal, the herculean man also took the time to check on the Egg he was carrying, bringing it out from wherever he was carrying it to carefully and methodically give it a once over/feel for how it was doing, using both eyes and hands to do so. While Pokémon rearing was something he was adept in after all these years with his partners, this was his first time taking care of such delicate , fragile life, so he wanted to be extra sure he was doing a good job, and NOT unintentionally bungling it to no doubt a fatal end...

Once breakfast was finished for the three fighters, Terra gave the aural jackal a pat on their head and small smile, then spoke to them briefly before returning them:

"Hope you had good breakfast, Anubi. I am going to put you in PC for a bit to......train my other Pokémon now, but promise we will train together today some time. Okay? *Nods and smiles* See you later."

He then went to his PC to switch his party to the following line up: Shiranui, Lapis Lazuli, Melly, Genie, Duskull (Oh, he'll be named soon enough!) and his Dunsparse Egg [Updated the Character Sheet as well!], and promptly exited the Center in slow walk that smoothly transitioned into a jog as he journeyed far away from Cress, and into the abundant wilds that surrounded Cheshire's former capital city to...train and further bond/bond his lightning wolf, Fairy Princess, and his new spooky ghost .


 In most scenarios, he wouldn't travel so far from the group he was safeguard without giving prior warning, and certainly not because of his rigorous fitness sessions for him and his own. However, this particular regimen he was about to engage in with his trio of partners was one he wanted to keep private and/or secretive as possible from everyone, especially the group and ESPECIALLY Nathan.

After all, going hunting for Wild Pokémon to train, feed, and share good times with your partners was hardly something to be shared with any but the most accepting/tolerant company. His wanderings through this region made known to him that the average Cheshirian didn't look kindly on that bloody practice, and his chat with the clever trainer last night only reinforced that notion. He already kept the fact he hunted for his more carnivorous allies to himself out of preference/mild worry of creating a bad image for himself for it back home (I imagine Hoens are 'okay' with the practice, but most citizens would be squeamish about it, and most likely mildly terrified of a man like Terra openly engaging/toting it.), but now he had more reason than ever it hush hush!

When he was certain he was far enough away from Cress and into the wilds to absolutely minimize the chance of being caught, Terra stopped and let out a *Huff* of light exertion, then looked/found a wide enough place to summon both Genie and Melly. The later was quick to start eagerly aquant herself with the new surrounding by sniffing every odd/even little thing, while the later semi-lazily hovered in place, eyeing the scenery with a deceptively laziness.

That is, until their master/cohort pipped up, gaining their full and undivided attention.

"Genie, Melly. Today, we are going on a Big Hunt."

The reaction from the two girls was immediate: the living blitzkrieg tail started wagging almost uncontrollably as she stared up at her master with nearly unbridled and surprising (to most that meet her) savage excitement, while the impish dragoness adopted a razor sharp and downright bloodthirsty grin that foretold of her less than flattering sentiments.

Melly's Thoughts: Yesyesyesyes, A BIG HUNT! Its been AGES since she's had THAT type of fun! She can't wait to wet her fangs with the blood of some nice, juicy prey, before she fries them to a crisp and digs right in! Yum yum!

Genie's Thoughts: Hahahahahaha….at last, at long last the time has come to once again to play the most dangerous and deadily of games. Oh, how she will enjoy stalking her quarry, using all her guile and cunning to flush them out and make them fear for their lives as she slowly closes in on them. Then, she'll let them think they escaped her after they exhausted their poor selves.....until she appears and seizes them, watching as she crushes their last hopes with a playful, satisfied, and hungry smile. Fun, fun, fun. Teheheheha~

"....With a new Pokémon of mine."

Terra's next sentence caused both his fem fatales to halt their revelry as he plunks off the aforementioned newest addition Pokeball and tosses it out, his Duskull materializing seconds later. Waiting for them to acclimate to their new surroundings for one moment, the rugged wanderer than got the spooky Ghost attention by bring his hands together with a loud *SMACK!* He then stared at them, looking every bit the part of the hard chiseled, intimidating mountain of a man most assumed he be, as he introduced himself to them.

"Duskull, my name is Terra. Terra Sanaa Ismat. I am your master now. We will work together to grow stronger from now on. No matter what. Understand?"

He then turned towards his other two partner that were out and about, and introduced the 'dread' specter to them.

"Duskull, this is Genie and Melly. Genie, Melly, this is Duskull. He is our new partner. *Stares at Duskull* Treat them well, they treat you well. Treat them badly…"

The simple monk trailed off as he calmly let his own Pokémon's responses punctuate that statement. 

Melly for her part looked cautiously overjoyed at having a new partner to play with, looking at them from conveniently far distance with the pure friendliness that none the less carried the quiet promise of something....less than delightful if the spooky spirit tried to take advantage of it. At least, for them. Genie, meanwhile, simply gave them a bemused smile and cordially waved at him....Dark energy briefly trailing off her claws and a few specks of Dragon fire escaping her lips. A subtle message, but clear in its meaning.

…

"....Hm, now that you meet them, its time to work and train with them. You will be hunting Wild Pokémon with us. Use your Ghost powers and abilities to find and scare Pokémon into the open. *Looks at his fairer gendered partners* Melly, Genie, work with Duskull. Use good senses (Smell for Melly, Hearing for Genie, sight for both) to help find prey and corner it with him. *Nods to himself* I will distract them.....lower guard for you all to take.....advantage of. Each Pokémon caught means more for us to share.....and more for you us to eat. *Pans his vision on all his Pokémon, before it rests on Duskull* Understand?"

"*Waits for their responses* Then let the Big Hunt begin."

With that said, the simple monk and his partners, new and old, started to search for prey in their own distinct ways....

Orders: Have Terra introduce himself and Genie + Melly to Duskull in the sort of way to impress on them NOT to cause trouble, before having Training/Hunting Session for all the aforementioned Pokémon! They'll each use their respective Moves and natural talents together in order to both hone their skills, get some good live/serious practice in, and bring as many Wild Pokémon as possible to the dinner table! Its also a good way to bond with them all (with Duskull being the main Pokemon Terra's trying to earn their respect/Loyalty/acceptance), as sharing/participating in a hunt AND eating with predatory Pokémon is a good way to ingrain yourself in their good will! Terra will help with the.....processing of the leftover dead Pokémon into meaty that can be stored later as meals/snacks for Melly, Genie, and himself.

Ven might be gone, but the hunts are still on!

[Spiritmon]

Spoiler

It is now Day 67.

Happy Towel Day, everyone! The Hitmonchan's Guide to Creshire has this to say about Towel Day:

Towel Day is a holiday I invented to celebrate that after-training glow, where you have trained hard and it's time to relax in the shower or a sauna! Get rid of that well-earned sweat.

Towel Day is celebrated on May 25 of every year. So far, it seems like it will take off. It's been three years since it was invented (now several decades in 2017) and people are starting to carry their towels with them everywhere they go! It's a great way to identify other fans of the Hitmonchan's Guide! And a towel is a very useful item....




It's raining again today. Nurse Joy in Cress City has a pink towel slung over her shoulder as you come to the lobby for breakfast, and so does her Chansey.

Heart awake very soon today. He gonna go to Stair City to make some important things: Find a temporary job, get some items since they going to travel soon and finish his battle against Tanuki. But he first get some things done.

He summon Koa and greet the smol dragon. "Good morning Koa! Today you and I gonna go to a special training session. We soon gonna return to Cress City for you to settle things with Cottonnee. With your ability we have work you might have your chance to face that Fairy, but don't let that drop you guard down!" Heart change Koa Razor Claw for the Training Claw. "We gonna work in your Claws today to make them more sharp then before. Claws so sharp that even your dragon moves will hit dragons!"

Together, Heart and Koa go outside to train with his claws but not before he sent the Silk Scarf he have promised to Shiva. He also bring Caesar and Netune the Mudkip for training too. They soon find themselves in the Vapor Falls. "Okay guys. You too gonna train very hard today. In the last Training Netune we have work in your Ground side. Today we gonna work in your Water Side. Today training you gonna train hard in your swim abilities to increase your stamina in the battlefield and to also work in using the water element to increase your own water moves. This rain weather will also help you within that boost. Today lesson is use the weather to your own advantage."

"Caesar. If you want to become a powerful Nidoking, you first must be a strong Nidorino. Our goal is make your Horn be strong as a Drill (since Nidoking is know as the "Drill" Pokemon according to the Pokedex). We gonna also train your poison abilities to you learn summon powerful Poison Jabs. Sheer strength and Poison conection gonna be the training session of today! Let's go guys!"

Mechanics: Training session in the Rain Weather with Netune, Koa and Caesar. Don't forget the effect of training Claw who help Pokemon with Claws like Koa!

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Gothitelle doesn't know - she only knows precisely what the stars tell her. Neither she nor Cottonee have any complaints about it, though, and Cottonee is definitely eager to evolve after watching every other starter evolve twice!

Your intuition feels good about this plan, but you aren't sure if it's because of Cottonee's welfare or for all humanity's.


It's in adorable land form.

The Pokemon Food is good for herbivores and omnivores, and obligate carnivores will eat it and gain the benefits, but they can't subsist off of it. These are rare though, so most Pokemon will be all about this all natural deluxe food.

"The Potpourri is all dried up. It comes in a camphorwood bowl, which also smells nice. The bowl can be reused, so it has a lid. You're welcome to take things out of it."
If you dried the other petals, that would be one way to make a match. Or maybe attempt a Nature roll to revive the Earthpowerful petal.

"It'll be three days from the time I put your order form in the mail."

Humm... Seeing her dearest Pokemon so eager was adorable for Shiva, so eventually she did receive her portion of strokes while making herself a home in her Master's lap. "You will evolve to the whimsical ram on day, you.... I promise you that. When though, I don't quite know. Lilith - thank you. I think thanks to you we should be able to do something about that meteor - Please, keep me - us - updated about anything important the stars tell."

She sighs, heavily, doesn't even care to make it impercible. This threat obviously worries her, and she feels responsible to inform the other about it so that THEY can do something. 'Four somethings or someones'... Alright then. Oh, how she's looking forward (not) to having to convince the others that heading into direction Teazel Valley and Elanor from Cress might be the better choice than Arrowroot Village...



"Three days is just fine, I'll eagerly await receiving the order then. Send Soor my thanks as well please!" (Whoops, I already added the Food and Landform-Shaymin Plushdoll to Inventory, but I can make a papernote about it technically only being there on Day 69.)

Huh, Shiva's not quite sure what a Luxi eats and whether hers would like that All Natural Food. She's a dragon - but also a fairy, still rather curious but also confusing! One's the vicious hunter while the other would kill for sweets and fruit. In the end, especially since she definitely wishes for a package, she just decides to give it a try, if Chi doesn't enjoy it she could always feed it to a different Pokemon of hers.

No way would Shiva want to dry the five petals of a Gracidea she collected, but she finds herself staring at that Potpourri depicted on the catalogue's page with mixed feelings. On the other hand, what's 250$ and whereelse would she get such a nice Item.... "Guess what", she adresses the clerk, "Please add 1 of that Gracidea Petal Potpourri to my order. Buying a Shaymin Doll while abstaining from anything Gracidea-related is like.... Like if you'd make pizza but miss out the cheese, it's just not right. Yes, that'll be all." *handing of Breeder's Lisence in order to get her name and ID on the order* "Thank you then, have a fine day!"
EDIT: As disussed in MetaThread, the order contains 1 Delta Incense.

With all that done, Shiva eventually heads back to the Center of Corsage Port, picks up Helios and after a last glance over her shoulder as she turns her back to this port city, she gets back to Cress City via teleportting travel. She's pretty exhausted but delighted that she made it to get everything done today that she wanted to and immediately turns in for the night.


(Post for the next Day is in writing!)

[Iron]

Snivy is a Pokemon who knows his duty and doesn't complain about doing it!
Starmie is inscrutable as always. Both Pokemon are fine according to Nurse Joy. They're ready for battles.

Delta? Tropius is conscious. She is a confusing mix of a young Pokemon in an adult Pokemon body, yet she retains the most fundamental instincts an adult of her species would have. When Nathan releases her, it takes her a moment to react to him. She treats him as a potential predator despite the size disparity. She turns her back to him and curls her tail around her, presenting all her defensive plates to Nathan. Her dorsal plates start spinning slowly, kicking up enough breeze to move dust around the room. Her mouth makes a foreboding, almost cowlike, lowing sound. 

If she gets angry, it looks like she will thrash about quite indiscriminately.

Good good good.

Now then, time to deal with the new team member...

Nathan keeps a respectful distance.  "Easy there, girl.  Not here to harm you.  Here to say hi.  Here, you must be hungry.  Got ya a little something."

Nathan carefully slides a plate of various fruits over to the sauropod, then backs off again.  Considering Tropius started growing fruits on their necks because they consumed the foodstuffs so much, it's a reasonable assumption that this variant of the species might enjoy fruit too...hopefully.

You nailed it. When Nathan has slowly backed off - something a predator wouldn't often do - Tropius immediately scarfs down all the fruits, skins and cores and pits and all. She keeps sniffing the plate, hoping for more.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Onward to Day 67! Will contain a flashback.


This night, even despite her exhaustion and the bed being so fluffy and comfortable, Shiva did not sleep well. She remembers sleeping in rather fast, but the sleep was restless and filled with dreams of stars, constellations and her trying to brush them out of her hair while Lilith kept on weaving them in, all under a huge single Eye observing everything and everyone.

Small paws stumbling across the bed and partly over her eventually woke her up way too early, as she opened her eyes he found Vaporeon having taken a seat beside her head, she was mustering her Master with an expression of ^o^ and wagged her tail upon seeing Shiva FINALLY being up. Chuckling a bit over that, she stroked her waterly Eeveelutions cheek. "Now, good morning to you as well - What's wrong that you woke me...so early again....." Spectral was a late riser.

It was the fact that it was raining again and Vaporeon LONGED to get outdoors and play in the rain, soak it up and become semi-translucent when jumping from puddle to puddle, to her it took Master way too long to get dressed and stuff, humpf!

Happy Towel Day, everyone! The Hitmonchan's Guide to Creshire has this to say about Towel Day:

Towel Day is a holiday I invented to celebrate that after-training glow, where you have trained hard and it's time to relax in the shower or a sauna! Get rid of that well-earned sweat.

Towel Day is celebrated on May 25 of every year. So far, it seems like it will take off. It's been three years since it was invented (now several decades in 2017) and people are starting to carry their towels with them everywhere they go! It's a great way to identify other fans of the Hitmonchan's Guide! And a towel is a very useful item....

It's raining again today. Nurse Joy in Cress City has a pink towel slung over her shoulder as you come to the lobby for breakfast, and so does her Chansey.

Shiva would probably know this due to her own copy of the Guidebook and having bookmarked pages that are important for her, the one(s) describing the local holiday belongs to these important ones. So in the end she not only heads downstairs to the Lobby pursuing her eager Vaporeon but also that white gift-towel from the Resort near Fireweed Forest over her shoulders! It soaks up remaining moist from her hair caught there due to showering. ^^

Yena and Raphael are picked up from Nurse Joy, all healed up. With that done and a fresh coffee from the Cafeteria, Shiva looks around in the Lobby, searching for something or someone - Terra's the only one who's present from the look of it.


So, small flashback, @Lord Windos.

She approaches him carefully, gesturing to Vaporeon to please stick by her side and stop giving her that "I WANT TO GO OUTSIDE!"-look, they'll make their way into the rain in a little.

Having arrived at his table, Shiva does gift that man of a mountain a cautious but honest and dear smile. "Well, good morning. Good to see you up already, Terra... Shiranui... Ah, and Riolu! Hello, lil' one!~ Behaving well now that you've been adopted and will journey with a human?" Vaporeon musters that aura-doggie curiously, tries to get a good look on him without getting too close. 'You're blue as well... Are you a Water Type like me?'

Clenching her mug a little harder than usually however, Shiva does bring her attention back to Terra; sporting a somewhat serious expression and overly giving the impression of being nervous. She even looks around once or twice as if being in worry over something. "Terra... May I, eh, take a seat? I, uhm, need to let you know about something, since the others aren't present however I'll contact them via cell or Dex."

She'll also offer checking his Dunsparce Egg with the Egg Checker on her Almanac for gestation process and such, given how he's so accepting she's having no qualms about displaying owning one of these 'PokeDexes'. I guess from the portofoli Terra knows already that she's the daughter of a Professional Breeder and strives to become one herself? If he doesn't, she tells him and lets him know that he can always come to her concerning the caring of Eggs and related things.


- To save time, I'll progress then if it's alright. -

Vaporeon is OVERJOYED to be outside in the rain, finally! She indeed jumps from puddle to puddle, stretching out to soak up the rain and chasing her own tail; and there was a picture of a Vaporeon doing exactly that in the manga that I've been sure I had on my main tumblr-blog but I can't find it now to show. :C

Anyway, Shiva does make her way to Tanuki's Gym - due to the weather she's probably indoors, is she?

[Dragonstrike]

You nailed it. When Nathan has slowly backed off - something a predator wouldn't often do - Tropius immediately scarfs down all the fruits, skins and cores and pits and all. She keeps sniffing the plate, hoping for more.

Yup, another plate of fruit is slid on over.  And another.  And another.  Tropius are big, hungry critters, after all, so Nathan came prepared!  He definitely wants to make a good first impression.

[Iron]

Anubi eats some of the oatmeal, enough to get his calories for the morning, then he carefully spreads the rest all over himself and the table.

The Big Hunt

Duskull is very surly and resentful. Whenever he appears before Terra, he thinks it might be Round 2, time for another battle. Terra's Pokemon have to show off their Dark moves right away to keep him in line. It's even a challenge to keep him in line long enough to explain they are going on a hunt.

Since it's illegal to hurt Furret in this part of the region, that's something Terra would instruct his Pokemon not to hunt. Most Furret are too clever to be rounded up using prey-driving tactics, and Duskull doesn't have any moves capable of hurting Furret.

Manectric and Genie take up their positions. Manectric often enters a serious, wolf mode when hunting, a contrast to his marshmallowy personality when in civilization. He does so now. Genie begins laying traps.

Duskull pans his eye around, sensing only little Pokemon souls. He flushes out a scared Rattata, barely enough food for one meal for one Pokemon. He can't even attack this Rattata.

Then he senses something off to the south. He fades halfway, into stealth mode, and points in that direction, asking Terra's permission to go flush it out.