[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Dragonstrike]

"Ah, the Purify Chamber. That is a potentially neutral PC application. I can definitely add this to my list of projects!" He's excited. "I know just who to contact...well, you can't have too many apps!"

"But hold up. Celebi? Celebi healed your Solosis? That might explain the lurches...did you interact with one of my Time Capsules after meeting Celebi? Could you be part of a stable time loop? ...or going through an unstable one?... or maybe even part of a glitch in reality? What all interactions with Celebi did you have?"

"...weeeeeellll...I'm thinking that might be related, yes...thanks for helping, by the way.  Definitely go talk to Dagny about the Purify Chamber thing.  But try to keep it quiet.  We don't need the Scimitars...and possibly Almanac...catching on that we're working on this.  Don't need them trying to forcibly stop the project like Cipher tried to do with the Purify Chamber and Agate Village's Relic Stone.  And we don't need the public panicking, either..."

"...*ahem*...so, to answer the question about the time loop...I do think Solosis is part of one, yes.  After Celebi restored her, I did get to use a really, really, really advanced Time Capsule that Celebi had presumably helped set up..and...well, the Delta Slowking that was operating it...kinda performed a one-way trade that also simultaneously changed Solosis's OT to...mine.  You'd never know she used to belong to a Scimitar if I didn't say anything about it.  I guess you could say it...changed the past, maybe?  But only very, very slightly, if at all...I don't think it's related to the lurches we've been experiencing ever since we left Mt. Sentry, though...for one, Shiva, me, Heart, Ventus, Valder...we've all been experiencing these lurches after our trip through Mt. Sentry.  But...it's not just us.  Terra, the big guy out there...he wasn't with us in Mt. Sentry.  At all.  Never met Celebi.  And yet he experienced a lurch along with the rest of us this morning.  Everybody else in the room at the time besides our group?  They didn't feel a thing from what I could tell.  But us?  We saw...a really old timey looking Pokemon Center nurse standing at the counter for the briefest moment.  Pokemon Center looked the same, but...I have a feeling this might be connecting us to...maybe a few hundred years back?  Maybe around Sarimanok's time at most.  It's just a guess and a hunch, but...I highly doubt any of this is a coincidence, what with all the trouble concerning the Skull Ruins lately..."

"...as for our interactions with Celebi...I know that Heart, Shiva, and me all received a gift directly from her.  I'm not sure if Valder did or didn't...I know 100% that Ventus did not, though.  He was...too paranoid about it.  And Celebi apparently couldn't even speak with him, so...I'm not really sure why it's just us six...at least, I think it's just us...experiencing this.  There's no consistency in any of the reasons I can think of that might explain why it's happening, other than those of us experiencing it had been or currently are traveling together as a group."

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

"The Time Capsule started more as a proof of concept. Remember, you aren't just sending information across time, you're trading it using the same principle as a Trading Machine. Old as the hills, the Trading Machine technology. Perhaps that concept is built into the fabric of Creshire. Trading across time gave us access to Pokemon to research from first three years ago, then ten, and soon a hundred! And don't forget, the time loops that turn out to be stable can enable new technology."

"I don't know what is causing these lurch glitches. No clue! Never seen them before. BUT I have a way to study it, and to help you out of a jam if you get into one."

Phew, all was well concerning Shiva's subtle fear that she'd offend Bill or similar by asking for more insight concerning the practical aspect of this curious Time Capsule. So it's not 'sending things across time', it's 'trading time'... Her response to this was a rather quizzical expression as she struggles to imagine this graphically in her mind, but she now feels like understanding things a little better. "Thank you for explaining, Bill. Yes, now that you're saying it, it does sound like a useful thing... New technology is barely ever a bad thing."

Though when he open up that he's having no idea what may be causing these lurch glitches, Shiva suddenly grows incredibly meek, shrinks a little into her seat and lowers her head to stare into the surface of the soda which's glass she's now holding with mildly trembling hands. Something concerning this must be ailing her, biting her, she's asking herself whether it'd be okay to share this one thing towards the famous Pokemaniac - Listening to her inner voice, all quietly a low 'Yes.' echoes back to her after moment of tense and meaningful silence.

You sure? I mean-
My dear, if you cannot trust THE Bill with that, you can't trust anyone.
You're right on that, but...
What are you afraid of? Now, he is even offering his help. If you're keeping this secret, you might hinder getting behind this weird phenomena.
...Alright.
You're a good girl.

Taking a deep breath and pulling Cottonee closer to herself, she eventually faces Bill directly and speaks with a serious yet lower tone. "Well, I don't know either. But... There's one thing concerning the 'why' that could matter, so if it's alright..." She beckons Bill closer to her in order to whisper it to him to make sure that ONLY HE hears what she's telling. "You see, have you ever heard about the lore of Celebi leaving an Egg behind it brought from the future when appearing? I found such an Egg... When I was turning it around, the first lurch appeared and one of your Time Capsules suffered a malfunction. It's so weird... But it's true, and... Do you think that this..." She sighs heavily, looks away as she blames herself being part of the cause of this lurch glitch.

He taps a big-faced wristwatch on his warm. It opens up like a Pokedex, displaying some coiled wires and boxy devices next to a small computer screen.

"This device is a very experimental portable Time Capsule. It's forward-compatible up to the day it's installed. If you are caught up in another lurch, you can send me a message and I will manually go into the PC system and make a trade with you. Take these too - it's a stack of Pokemon Mail designed to play nice with the PC. Remember, I can only trade things that were known in the past, but still I could send you a Pokemon holding a map that people back then would already have access to, or I could send you a more powerful Pokemon from your collection if it had already been discovered in Creshire at that time. I can't send you any new Delta species or mutants, for example. Oh, and I could send medical supplies if you get in trouble. Also, sending information forward in time is always safe. The worst that can happen is a self-pruning time loop, which would be as if it'd never happened."

"Now, these portable Time Capsules are very experimental, like I said. I want you to think carefully before agreeing to wear one. We should discuss everything we can before making a decision. But I do have enough for each of you."

'What cool and curious little device.'

That was Shiva's initiate thougth as Bill shows them his experimental portable Time Capsule. She watches and listens with great fascination what he's telling about it, once he is done she asks whether she can have it for a moment to investigate it a little closer by herself. Before definitely agreeing, she'd like to have a decent impression of this device!

"So that means..." she speaks up after having given the 'wristwatch' back to him, "...it would serve the purpose of an emergency alarm in case we get stuck in one of these lurch glitches, as well as a method to stay in contact with you where- and whenever we end up, am I getting this right? That'd be most fortune... Also to send you as much information as possible in case we experience another of these lurch glitches? If, ehm, they only last for a few seconds though, it'd be very hard to safely determine what time we're seeing images of."

"Ah, some more things... Do you think it'd be safe to openly wear this device as what it's supposed to be concealed as - a wristwatch? I, ehm, wouldn't want people getting suspicious or start asking questions. Does it need any energy in the means of batteries, electricity or similar, how safe would you say is it from loosing the contact to you?"

[Lord Windos]

(…)

When Terra opens his mouth to critique the workout, Chansey holds up a finger to her lips. Bill comes over with a mouthful of candy and says "Mmf, Mrachoke isf undergoing a spfefic rrootine. Hasf to be the fame eagh fime. Gif him fife mrinutesf." Then you can have a turn!

*Flashback/Interlude!*


Unphazed by the lack of manners on display by Bill, the rugged wander tilted his head at the man, a tangible air of curiosity and innocence surrounding him.

"Why? Improving Machoke's technique and routine should not be a bad thing....I think. Right? Or am I not understanding something....?"

Regardless of the researcher's response, Terra agrees to within hold any advice/aid at their/Chansy's behest (he do stupid things, but he's anything but disrespectful!), and simply waits for his/his partners turn on the punch bag. Its been awhile since he or Shiranui really had practiced with proper gym equipment, and it be great exercise/introduction to Fighting for Anubi/Angie (respectively), so he CAN wait for them all to have go!

(It should be noted that Terra's not really paying attention to Bill's Explanations, as he has other stuff to be focused on and its a bit too much for him to easily comprehend. My chara's the muscle and protection of the group, not the brains, so I'm perfectly fine if he's left out of the loop here!)

[Spiritmon]

"Well, of course I would help. But the neutrality of the PC system comes first, so it couldn't come from that end."

"It might not have to, given that Orre's Professor Krane found a mechanical solution to Orre's problem.  It just might require getting in contact with the right people who know what kind of tech is required to solve the issue."

Another pause.

"...so, I've got a pokemon I'd like you to meet, Bill."

Out comes Solosis, who immediately skittishly hides behind Nathan.

"...this is Solosis.  She...was one of the pokemon victim to having her independent will shut down.  If it weren't for Celebi's help, she'd still be little more than a slave to the one who originally caught her...or she'd have been lost to the dangers of the depths of Mt. Sentry like some of the others of her evolution line..."

...he shakes his head to clear those thoughts.

"...Shiva, Heart, me, and two others were exploring Mt. Sentry's deeper parts when we encountered the willless Solosis and Reuinclus.  An organization known as Scimitars was using them to scout the caves and tail us.  It's...far, far to similar to what I've read about Shadow Pokemon...but it also means it's similar enough that similar solutions exist.  Legendary Pokemon with powers over emotions, willpower, and memories can all restore the willless pokemon to their original state.  And I hope that something similar to Professor Krane's Purify Chamber might be able to work as well.  I don't really understand how that machine works, to be honest, I just know that it does."

Another pause.

"...part of the reason I wanted to pay you a visit was to ask if you'd be willing to help with potentially developing a mechanical solution for this issue.  I've already informed Tanuki about what happened, so the League's aware of what's going on.  She figured that maybe you might be able to help, and recommended that I get you to go speak with Dagny in Stair City about this if you're willing to help.  If you and Dagny could also get in touch with someone in Orre who knows a little about developing a solution to this problem...well, that'd probably make things even easier in theory."

"So, in short...can I actually ask for your help with this very, very real problem?"

"Ah, the Purify Chamber. That is a potentially neutral PC application. I can definitely add this to my list of projects!" He's excited. "I know just who to contact...well, you can't have too many apps!"

"But hold up. Celebi? Celebi healed your Solosis? That might explain the lurches...did you interact with one of my Time Capsules after meeting Celebi? Could you be part of a stable time loop? ...or going through an unstable one?... or maybe even part of a glitch in reality? What all interactions with Celebi did you have?"

"Well, my interaction was a connection with a ancestor of mine called Ark, a knight woman from three thousand years ago, more or less in the time from the Kalos War. I also somehow was in some place who have pieces from many places I visit in my travels. Maybe Celebi let me have a connection with my ancestor using time travel? Not in body but maybe in mind? Honestly I don't know."

[Iron]

"Oh, a Celebi Egg! There are myths of reality glitches involving the Forest Protector's Egg and Time Capsules or other Trading Machine technology."

Sensing Shiva is upset: "But don't feel badly! Where Celebi is involved, nothing is done by accident. If you touching the Egg caused the glitches, it was inevitable that you would always touch the Egg and cause the glitches. If you hadn't, that time loop just wouldn't have existed! Some would even say it's a gift from Celebi."

To Bill, myth and science are closely related when it comes to Pokemon.

"You can handle my copy of the device but don't strap it on! Whether you're in danger or not, this will provide me an excellent opportunity to study human time travel! Has it happened before? Yes. Has a scientist been along? Well, depends on what rumors you believe. I've never heard of an engineer being along though!!"

"The device is powered by your movement, just like almost all meteoric superconductor technology. I have no idea how reliable it will be, unfortunately. Any Pokemon transferred should be safe, though, because that part is just like a normal Time Capsule. If you can find a PC wherever you end up, that will help my PC lock you down. If you end up in the future, remember to be very cautious with what information and Pokemon you send back."

[Iron]

To Terra: "Improving Machoke's technique would introduce new variables into the experiment. Imagine you want to know whether your Hariyama could hit harder after eating bananas for breakfast. You might have him do a punch on a day he ate bananas, and a day he didn't eat bananas, and see which was harder. Now imagine on the day he ate bananas, someone came along and taught him a technique for hitting harder! You'd never know if it was the bananas or the advice. Right?"

[Iron]

"Well, of course I would help. But the neutrality of the PC system comes first, so it couldn't come from that end."

"It might not have to, given that Orre's Professor Krane found a mechanical solution to Orre's problem.  It just might require getting in contact with the right people who know what kind of tech is required to solve the issue."

Another pause.

"...so, I've got a pokemon I'd like you to meet, Bill."

Out comes Solosis, who immediately skittishly hides behind Nathan.

"...this is Solosis.  She...was one of the pokemon victim to having her independent will shut down.  If it weren't for Celebi's help, she'd still be little more than a slave to the one who originally caught her...or she'd have been lost to the dangers of the depths of Mt. Sentry like some of the others of her evolution line..."

...he shakes his head to clear those thoughts.

"...Shiva, Heart, me, and two others were exploring Mt. Sentry's deeper parts when we encountered the willless Solosis and Reuinclus.  An organization known as Scimitars was using them to scout the caves and tail us.  It's...far, far to similar to what I've read about Shadow Pokemon...but it also means it's similar enough that similar solutions exist.  Legendary Pokemon with powers over emotions, willpower, and memories can all restore the willless pokemon to their original state.  And I hope that something similar to Professor Krane's Purify Chamber might be able to work as well.  I don't really understand how that machine works, to be honest, I just know that it does."

Another pause.

"...part of the reason I wanted to pay you a visit was to ask if you'd be willing to help with potentially developing a mechanical solution for this issue.  I've already informed Tanuki about what happened, so the League's aware of what's going on.  She figured that maybe you might be able to help, and recommended that I get you to go speak with Dagny in Stair City about this if you're willing to help.  If you and Dagny could also get in touch with someone in Orre who knows a little about developing a solution to this problem...well, that'd probably make things even easier in theory."

"So, in short...can I actually ask for your help with this very, very real problem?"

"Ah, the Purify Chamber. That is a potentially neutral PC application. I can definitely add this to my list of projects!" He's excited. "I know just who to contact...well, you can't have too many apps!"

"But hold up. Celebi? Celebi healed your Solosis? That might explain the lurches...did you interact with one of my Time Capsules after meeting Celebi? Could you be part of a stable time loop? ...or going through an unstable one?... or maybe even part of a glitch in reality? What all interactions with Celebi did you have?"

"Well, my interaction was a connection with a ancestor of mine called Ark, a knight woman from three thousand years ago, more or less in the time from the Kalos War. I also somehow was in some place who have pieces from many places I visit in my travels. Maybe Celebi let me have a connection with my ancestor using time travel? Not in body but maybe in mind? Honestly I don't know."

Like Dragonstrike said, Heart doesn't actually hear the bit about Solosis and Purify Chambers. BUT he does hear the part about Celebi leading to glitches, because Bill asked Shiva about that. So what Heart says here is still fine.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

"Oh, a Celebi Egg! There are myths of reality glitches involving the Forest Protector's Egg and Time Capsules or other Trading Machine technology."

Sensing Shiva is upset: "But don't feel badly! Where Celebi is involved, nothing is done by accident. If you touching the Egg caused the glitches, it was inevitable that you would always touch the Egg and cause the glitches. If you hadn't, that time loop just wouldn't have existed! Some would even say it's a gift from Celebi."

........Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee !!

Within Shiva, something let out a long cry that echoed through her mind as things neatly fell into place, as what she was theorizing all the time got all casually confirmed by Bill. 

So it's indeed true that she has contributed quite a big part to the occurance of these lurch glitches, bad tongues would even say that she has CAUSED them unknowingly? That hit her hard, and she clenched the glass of soda even more firmly. Cottonee cuddled up a little closer to her as soon as she realized that Master, now hanging her head and concealing her face with her hands in shame and self-blame, is not doing well with that sensation....

...She looks up though as soon as Bill himself offers some calming words, explains that this event is pre-determined and all but random as, as he says, 'Nothing is done by accident where Celebi is involved'. This almost hits her just as hard though now in a positive way - it's all happening due to the fairylike Mythical Pokemon, could she even have a good reason for them all experiencing these lurch glitches? Shiva's gut feeling does tell her that she indeed has, which adds to her eventually starting to feel better. Still needs a little time to disgest this all. "Alright", she eventually weakly but not upset anymore speaks up, "If... it's meant to happen, then there's nothing that could be changed about it. Thank you...for your kind words."

"You can handle my copy of the device but don't strap it on! Whether you're in danger or not, this will provide me an excellent opportunity to study human time travel! Has it happened before? Yes. Has a scientist been along? Well, depends on what rumors you believe. I've never heard of an engineer being along though!!"

"The device is powered by your movement, just like almost all meteoric superconductor technology. I have no idea how reliable it will be, unfortunately. Any Pokemon transferred should be safe, though, because that part is just like a normal Time Capsule. If you can find a PC wherever you end up, that will help my PC lock you down. If you end up in the future, remember to be very cautious with what information and Pokemon you send back."

Shiva does not strap it on, that was never her intention - she simply would like to get a close look at this precious and unique device, turn it a little in her hands to see how it feels and in general getting a little more familiar with this portable Time Capsule.

Bill's further explanations cause her to lean more and more into agreeing on this, especially how being send via this device doesn't have any negative impact on a Pokemon AND it does not to be recharged or similar as moving around already does the job.

After some minutes of quiet rethinking of things and considering the advantages and disadvantages, all that she says to Bill is: "If that's the case - I'd be more than happy to wear one of your experiemental portable Time Capsules, especially if it's helping you studying the act of timetraveling. Though, ehm... What if we would, say, end up in a time where PCs didn't exist yet? Would be still be able to stay in contact to your...guess?"

This won't really change Shiva's mind, but it's something she'd be worried about.

[Iron]

"Oh, a Celebi Egg! There are myths of reality glitches involving the Forest Protector's Egg and Time Capsules or other Trading Machine technology."

Sensing Shiva is upset: "But don't feel badly! Where Celebi is involved, nothing is done by accident. If you touching the Egg caused the glitches, it was inevitable that you would always touch the Egg and cause the glitches. If you hadn't, that time loop just wouldn't have existed! Some would even say it's a gift from Celebi."

........Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee !!

Within Shiva, something let out a long cry that echoed through her mind as things neatly fell into place, as what she was theorizing all the time got all casually confirmed by Bill. 

So it's indeed true that she has contributed quite a big part to the occurance of these lurch glitches, bad tongues would even say that she has CAUSED them unknowingly? That hit her hard, and she clenched the glass of soda even more firmly. Cottonee cuddled up a little closer to her as soon as she realized that Master, now hanging her head and concealing her face with her hands in shame and self-blame, is not doing well with that sensation....

...She looks up though as soon as Bill himself offers some calming words, explains that this event is pre-determined and all but random as, as he says, 'Nothing is done by accident where Celebi is involved'. This almost hits her just as hard though now in a positive way - it's all happening due to the fairylike Mythical Pokemon, could she even have a good reason for them all experiencing these lurch glitches? Shiva's gut feeling does tell her that she indeed has, which adds to her eventually starting to feel better. Still needs a little time to disgest this all. "Alright", she eventually weakly but not upset anymore speaks up, "If... it's meant to happen, then there's nothing that could be changed about it. Thank you...for your kind words."

"You can handle my copy of the device but don't strap it on! Whether you're in danger or not, this will provide me an excellent opportunity to study human time travel! Has it happened before? Yes. Has a scientist been along? Well, depends on what rumors you believe. I've never heard of an engineer being along though!!"

"The device is powered by your movement, just like almost all meteoric superconductor technology. I have no idea how reliable it will be, unfortunately. Any Pokemon transferred should be safe, though, because that part is just like a normal Time Capsule. If you can find a PC wherever you end up, that will help my PC lock you down. If you end up in the future, remember to be very cautious with what information and Pokemon you send back."

Shiva does not strap it on, that was never her intention - she simply would like to get a close look at this precious and unique device, turn it a little in her hands to see how it feels and in general getting a little more familiar with this portable Time Capsule.

Bill's further explanations cause her to lean more and more into agreeing on this, especially how being send via this device doesn't have any negative impact on a Pokemon AND it does not to be recharged or similar as moving around already does the job.

After some minutes of quiet rethinking of things and considering the advantages and disadvantages, all that she says to Bill is: "If that's the case - I'd be more than happy to wear one of your experiemental portable Time Capsules, especially if it's helping you studying the act of timetraveling. Though, ehm... What if we would, say, end up in a time where PCs didn't exist yet? Would be still be able to stay in contact to your...guess?"

This won't really change Shiva's mind, but it's something she'd be worried about.

"I don't know. The normal Time Capsules can only trade back to a time when Time Capsule PC systems have begun development. So quite possibly not. But in this case, you're bringing one back with you. There's no way to know how that will alter things. And of course it's entirely possible you are not truly traveling in time when you lurch."

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

To Terra: "Improving Machoke's technique would introduce new variables into the experiment. Imagine you want to know whether your Hariyama could hit harder after eating bananas for breakfast. You might have him do a punch on a day he ate bananas, and a day he didn't eat bananas, and see which was harder. Now imagine on the day he ate bananas, someone came along and taught him a technique for hitting harder! You'd never know if it was the bananas or the advice. Right?"

The rugged wanderer blankly stares at Bill for a minute after they gave the layman's explanation for basic experimental procedures, as their mind furiously churned and whirled to comprehend what they said, until it clicked for him and the glow of understanding illuminated his features.

"Ah. Teaching Machoke to hit better would make it harder to find out...….why they punch so hard? Or finding.....true source of their Strength? Is that right?  *Shakes head* Sounds......complicated. Never thought training and helping a Pokémon get stronger would ever be a bad thing. Or not....wanted. Very....hard to believe."

After saying that, Terra clutched his head with one hand and started message his temples, letting out a grunt as his expression twisted in slight pain.

"Ugh.....thinking about it give me a headache. *Shakes head again with a grimace, before giving Bill a smile* Thank you for.....explaining, though. Now I know not to...….mess with experiments, or ask for...….permission first. Won't cause trouble for you or Chansey now. Okay?"

If Bill doesn't have anything more to add after responding to what's Terra has said, then I guess we're done with the two speaking with each other, and all that's left is Terra + Shiranui/Anubi/Angie getting some time on the punching bad! 


It should be noted that whenever the researcher speaks technobabble/sciency stuff my chara. will look either blank faced or adorably confused/uncomprehending at first, even when its dumbed down. My chara. is pretty much an enlightened idiot at this point in time even with Nathan's help, so most complex things still go over his head like a Staraptor!