[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Ayyyyeeee, Shiva's very enraptured by the sight of Tropius getting along so well with the Primal/Delta version of himself, she goes 'awwwww!~' and chuckles delightfully. "Look at that, Nathan! Isn't that adorable? ^o^ Your Tropius looks so...spikey and offensive and mighty, but yet it gives itself so kind and protectively to him." Nevertheless, escpecially due to Primal/Delta Tropius' 'dangerous' look, Shiva's prefering to keep a respectful distance to her, she's relieved however that she doesn't sense a disobediant and unruly nature from her.


Still with all her Grass Types surrounding her, the natural fae enthusiast listens with attention to Primal Lurantis' words; and the more They speak the more serious the expression in Shiva's face becomes. It is becoming more and more clear, they WILL venture down into the Skull Ruins, and they will do so SOON. There's no denying it, she should have known from the start, it is ALL pointing towards this ominous place, all threads come together there - still it is a bit hard to swallow for the natural fae enthusiast though. Yet she knows it must be done, she can't show fear and weakness now; not in front of this precious orchid mantis, not when she has just given a pledge, not when she has grown so much since having set foot in Chreshire. Cottonee, presumably having picked up her sweet Master's change in emotions, floofs up to become a huge cotton hat for Tropius - her message is clear, the fluffball has little fear as long as she and Master believe in themselves and continue to strive to be a hero.

Quickly Shiva has drawn her starry hardcover-notebook and pages to where she has noted down the Layers of the Skull Ruins to edit it with Primal Lurantis' words. "Yes, we are aware of the four artifacts - 'A helm to outrace the wind, a hauberk to protect and empower, a sword to pierce any defense, and a shield to weather any attack' -", Shiva reads aloud, "'Waterly depths where sun shines not' sounds like these aquatic caverns rumored to be found below the Modern Ruins. I thank thee a lot for this advice, noble guardian of the grove, but please allow me to issue a question towards you - Once we have gathered all these artifacts, once we have made it to find them all and retrive them - w-what shall we do with them? How shall we know how to 'use' them, how are we supposed to be aware about how to awake their power and ask them for their aid? Collecting them is one task, but...?"

Her words cut off then and a insecurity strikes her again visibly and noticably as Shiva threathens to fall into self-doubt over being given such a responsibility.

[Iron]

"That I do not know. The lore suggests the artifacts will lend their power to ordinary actions, increasing their effectiveness in certain situations."

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Oh... It's understandable that Shiva's feeling a bit.... Aaahh, how shall she call it?! 'Deflated? Disenchanted?? Disappointed even??? It's a strange mixture of all of that actually as she quietly nods to Primal Lurantis. "I see.... I thanks thee a lot for your honest answer. I will.... I will just trust in us knowing when time is ripe, alright?" These last words are more adressed to herself than to anyone, and soon a faint smile comes to her face as all her current Pokemon out encourage her silently by their sole presence, this is the right attitude.

[Dragonstrike]

Ayyyyeeee, Shiva's very enraptured by the sight of Tropius getting along so well with the Primal/Delta version of himself, she goes 'awwwww!~' and chuckles delightfully. "Look at that, Nathan! Isn't that adorable? ^o^ Your Tropius looks so...spikey and offensive and mighty, but yet it gives itself so kind and protectively to him." Nevertheless, escpecially due to Primal/Delta Tropius' 'dangerous' look, Shiva's prefering to keep a respectful distance to her, she's relieved however that she doesn't sense a disobediant and unruly nature from her.

"...yeah, it's nice to see our pokemon getting along."

It's 100% a bittersweet thing for Nathan to say in this instance, though.

[Mikaruge108]

Aside from making the pledge, Spira spends the bulk of the time here in silent contemplation, Azazsga, however, is immensly enjoying himself here, but Spira's keeping an eye on him, just in case the ghostly nature of the Pumpkaboo decides to show itself.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Oh! Shiva has one more question towards Primal Lurantis: "You have spoken about a 'kingly Pokemon' needed to get past the guardians and wards of the doman of The King, oh glorious guardian of this meadow - what more can you tell us about this, and what if we... lack such a Pokemon on our side?" :o

[Lord Windos]

As the meeting between the Pink 'n Powerful Plant and him + group was winding to a close, Terra was silently contemplating what had been discussed thus far, head down and arms crossed. The Millennium Comet was coming, and with it Deoxys. Soon, he and his friends would have to delve deep into the accursed Skull Ruins to gather the Four Lost Treasure/Arms to defeat the extraterrestrial threat, facing constant peril, adversity. If they failed at any point, Cheshire would suffer under the Invader's tenacious and arcane whims until its fathomless curiosity was sated or someone/thing/group else rose up to defeat it.

It was daunting quest, to put it mildly. All that pressure to succeed, against and through such unimaginably difficult and unbelievably daunting, with the fate of the entire region and everyone in it at some of the highest stakes conceivable........even a stoic, mountain of a man such as himself found it all to be a bit much. Why, out of everyone else was his friend put up to that instead of more experienced Trainers like the Elite Four? He knew without a Shadow Sneak of a doubt Nathan, Shiva, Heart, and Spira were extraordinary people able of rising to any occasion if they put their all into in, including saving Cheshire, but was it fair or right for them to shoulder such a burden?

And what about him? Out of everyone else in the group, he was the least unique, special, and capable out of them all. Sure, he was a good fighter and Survivalist, had some talent with money and could Perform/stand with the best of them, and had recently come into his own as an chef (hard for him to believe as that was), but that was about it. Nathan was a genius historian with a distinguished history behind him, Shiva was (despite her flaws) a top class breeder and the most loving and empathetic woman he'd ever meet that could befriend any Pokemon if she barely tried, Heart was an esteemed collector and highly competent in his own rights with a unique, adventurous, and noble past of his own, and Spira.....well, he was at least a good breeder and a former Gym Acoylate

Not that he begrudged or lamented his seemingly low station. He was a simple man that took care of his partners and was the bodyguard and protector of his friends, and he was just fine and happy with that. It's just that he couldn't quite understand how could measure or to such great people, or hope to compare with them. He was simply not special and important at all, unlike them.

Maybe that was his self confidence talking, or lack thereof. He still had a vague grasp on the concept, despite his friend's help on the matter.

Never the less, despite his own precieved inadequacy, he'd stand by and up for his friend, no matter what. Such was his duty, responsibility, and honor, and he would not fail them. Ever.

Still.....he felt a need. A desire. To get stronger, to become better, and prove to himself and everyone that he could handle the dangers to come.

Which was why Terra looked back up to Primal Lurantis with a solemn and serious expression, and outstretched an arm to point at the ancient creature.

"Lurantis.....I would like to challenge you. To a Fight, with my Pokemon. Want to see.....if I can do well. Against you.....and other Pokemon like you. See.....if I can perform my duty for my friends, in future."

......Well now. This is an interesting development....

[Iron]

Oh! Shiva has one more question towards Primal Lurantis: "You have spoken about a 'kingly Pokemon' needed to get past the guardians and wards of the doman of The King, oh glorious guardian of this meadow - what more can you tell us about this, and what if we... lack such a Pokemon on our side?" :o

"I do not know the details, only the lore. If you do not have such a Pokemon, why, I suppose you will need to get one to come along with you. The lore says a kingly Pokemon is needed to enter many of the layers."

[Iron]

"No mortal has bested me, and certainly no Man. I will allow you to try. Let us move behind the grove where there is more room."

Totem Lurantis doesn't care about rules, so you can do whatever you want in this battle, and set whatever limits on Lurantis you like (for example, 1hp = fainting). The one thing it can't do is turn off its Plot Devices and become a mortal, statted Pokemon.

[Lord Windos]

"No mortal has bested me, and certainly no Man. I will allow you to try. Let us move behind the grove where there is more room."

Totem Lurantis doesn't care about rules, so you can do whatever you want in this battle,  and set whatever limits on Lurantis you like (for example, 1hp = fainting). The one thing it can't do is turn off its Plot Devices and become a mortal, statted Pokemon.

Terra doesn't mind if his Pokemon are Fainted, wants to use 5 Pokemon (Dunny's a bit too worn out for battle), and asks for Primal Lurantis to show him no mercy and make no allowances. He wants a proper Fight against the ancient being at its full power, as he needs to both prove himself and see exactly the sort of power his more 'unique' enemies he will have. They certainly wouldn't be pulling their punches if he and his groups came to blows and fight fair, so why should he impose restrictions on their power?

The mountain of a man follows after the bug plant being to the battlefield, and motions for Shiranui to come forward while also summoning Anubi to face off against them! If possible, he'd also swap Anubi's Lucky Egg for the Protectorizer he recently obtained (enhances Fighting moves, if I recall), but if not, oh well! Both are likely eager to prove their Strength against such a tough and seemingly insurmountable foe, but I'd say the sumo wrestler would be more pessimistic but still quite jolly about their prospects, while the aural jackal is just eager to test out its new Evo's might against a worthy opponent!

When the match begins, he issues his orders quickly and calmly, letting none of inner thoughts colour his expression/words.

"Shiranui, Fake Out, then hit Lurantis HARD as possible with ROCK SMASH. Anubi, Nasty Plot, then try Blaze Kick. If it If that works, keep using it. If not, switch to ROCK SMASH. Lurantis is strong, so do not hold back."

Orders: Since I don't want to drag things out for TOO long, I'll cut to the chase here: Shiranui is going to use Fake Out to see if its possible to actually Flinch Primal Lurantis/get some Damage in, then go straight for the big guns with 4 ROCK SMASHES, as anything less than that is likely going to do squat to a Plot Deviced Pokemon. Meanwhile, Anubi's going to buff himself with Nasty Plot, then try Blaze Kick to see if SE Damage has an impact on the Pink 'n Powerful Plant. If it actually does significant Damage (I'll let you be the judge of that), he'll keep using it three more times; otherwise its straight to ROCK SMASHING for him three times! If either of Terra's Pokemon's HP drops bellow 1/2 Max, they get a Super Potion. That is it!

Moves:

Shiranui: 5 Actions - Fake Out (Normally *9D6 Damage, but....), ROCK SMASH X4 (Normally 13*D6 Damage, but....)
*: Guts should be active, as per usual.
Anubi: 5 Actions - Nasty Plot, Non-Lethal Blaze Kick X4 or Non-Lethal Blaze Kick (- 1 Accuracy, *10D6 or 8D6 + 1 Damage, *Burn 2 [2]* and High Crit, but....) and ROCK SMASH X3 (Same as Shira's if Buff goes off).
Dice Pools: Brawl (12D6), Intimidate (12D6)