[Meta thread] Iron's PokeRole Adventure: The Skull Ruins

[Lord Windos]

Might need some input myself on which pokemon to bring.  Party I've been considering:

- Gallade (mandatory, obviously)
- Calam (dark type, potentially plot relevant, basically mandatory)
- Charizard (the definitive 'dragon', beloved by nobles.  Also has decent type coverage, including Shadow Claw and Dragon Claw)
- Undecided
- Undecided
- Undecided

Possible Filler

- Dedenne: super small but super duper strong.  May be able to boost electronics' capabilities/cause them to malfunction
- Emolga: Sure he doesn't have any particularly strong STABs right now, but he did say he would help Nathan with finding Marco.  Plus, if he gets enough exp, he can get devastatingly strong STABs in Acrobatics and/or Electro Ball.  He already knows the super useful Encore and Nuzzle, too.
- Ditto: having another potential Heal Pulse user...or just any super flexible pokemon...is always nice.
- Solomon: Another candidate that might be a 'kingly' pokemon.  Has more HP than almost the other pokemon on this list, too.  If Ghosts are a huge concern, some cash could be spent to teach him Foul Play if someone were to chip in and help Nathan with affording that.  Powerful Brines can help end a fight quickly
- Princess: She's a fully fledged queen now.  Maybe that royal authority can count as 'kingly'?  Small movepool at the moment, but she has easy access to Pursuit if she needs a Dark move to use and Fury Cutter for a 'stronger' STAB than Bug Bite and Fell Stinger.  Also has Destiny Bond as a trump card.
- Snivy: Another pokemon that agreed to help Nathan with some Ruins related stuff, this time relating to the dangers that may be related to the vines (such as Claydol).  Much like Charizard, the Snivy line was also somewhat popular with nobles due to some of their draconic traits (even though Snivy and co aren't in the Dragon egg group).
- Porygon-Z: Normal type, has Foul Play, is super strong, additional diverse buffing options...just great all around
- Grid: another of Nathan's strongest and most versatile pokemon.  Can easily be support or offense.  He's almost always a consideration on any serious team of Nathan's.
- Ray: With a little bit of work, he could provide support with Reflect and/or Light Screen.
- Mizu: also has more HP than almost all of the pokemon on the list.  Has some decent moves to use to back that bulk up.  Can learn some powerful Dragon STABs if she saves up enough exp.  Dratini line was also beloved by nobles.

Ones with Spread Moves: Charizard, Porygon-Z, Grid, Ray if he learns Razor Leaf, Mizu if she learns Twister
Ones with AOE Moves:  Charizard, Ray, Snivy, Dedenne

Regard your 'filler' choices, here are some brief thoughts on some them (Will elaborate more later) :

- I'd say bring Dedenne,as having it's super offense power house and cannmess with electronics, which the Scims ( Who will no doubt be making thier own trip to the fell place) use in abundance.
- Ditto, otwo as having a Force multiplier is always good, no matter how chotic it can be.
- Snivey maybe, for their heartiness and potential to wrangle the Vines and help stomp on Claydols/ Other Ground/Rock types.

[Iron]

Hmm... I wonder, could Spira possibly craft Black Sludge out of the decayed snax (or could they be used as a proxy for Black Sludge)
also, as for Spira's team in the Ruins, definitely bringing Luna along so I can evolve her into Drifblim.
-Luna (mainly to evolve, some Ghost/Flying type coverage)
-Toya (varied type coverage, depending on restrictions {i.e. not being able to use it indoors} of Ghost World travel, a quick method to escape, if necessary. Access to HM Rock Smash/Flash)
-Hida (AoE Fire-type/Rock-Type coverage, access to splash damage)
-Noire (Ghost-type coverage, access to HM Flash)
-Nubi (Varied moveset, HM Flash)
now for the 6th slot, potential candidates:

Spoiler

Neura (Fanged Yanma)
Pros:
-varied type coverage
-Foresight
-boosted accuracy thanks to Compound Eyes
Cons:
-0 Loyalty vs 1 Disobedience
-4x weakness to Rock-type moves

Mero (Linkite)
Pros:
-Cursed Body
-Mean Look
-Curse
Cons:
-2 Disobedience vs 0 Loyalty
-Small current movepool

D-Lotad
Pros:
-Steel/Ghost moves (Astonish, Gyro Ball, Mirror Shot, Gear Grind)
Cons:
-Current movepool is small

Clamperl
Pros:
-Buff moves (Iron Defense, Shell Smash) Would using those two moves as a combo be a good idea; basically using Iron Defense to cancel out the debuff of Shell Smash.
-Trapping moves (Clamp/Whirlpool)
-No (current) disobedience
-Refresh for status ailment healing and Endure for shielding
Cons:
-Pretty much listed its whole moveset


Beedrill
Pros:
-Focus Energy/Rage for high crit/boosted Strength combo
-Entry Hazard (Toxic Spikes)
-Pursuit/Assurance
-Rock Smash HM
-Swarm to boost Bug moves (1 currently)
Cons:
-2 Disobedience vs 1 Loyalty
-Rock-type weakness

If you get to 5 Chemistry I'll let you craft Black Sludge out of things.

[Iron]

This portion where you're going wasn't ever known to be attacked by the vines. That was mostly on the far side of the mountain. Of course, if you journey far enough or if the vines spread underground, you might encounter them.

[Spiritmon]

[quote pid='61636' dateline='1556761617']

Spoiler

SpiritmonIndeed there is tons of options to use. Dark and Normal could maximize our chances to fight ghosts. So a basic idea for my team would be more or less like this:

- Honedge
- Atlas
- Viktor
- Gustav
- D-Onix/Honckrow/Gargryph
- Rose/Heracross

Well...this make the choice less difficult but I still in conflict about the choice. Any ideas too PhantomUnderYourDesk, Dragonstrike and Mikaruge108?

Spoiler

I would definitely highly recommend bringing Honedge, for a few reasons.
a) Ghost type
b) Might be able to fill the 'kingly pokemon' requirement
c) If evolved with a Dusk Stone, it immediately learns Wide Guard.  And because it gained 2 Loyalty in that battle with Spira and has less Disobedience than a typical Honedge, it should be obedient after evolving.

Gustav is basically a necessity thanks to Mega Launcher Heal Pulses.

Atlas and Viktor are both solid choices due to being Ghosts, and bringing Atlas here might help reveal clues about its evolution.

Honchkrow is a strong pick if he's obedient.  Same with D-Onix, but to a lesser degree since it isn't as large as a fully grown standard Onix (yet?).  Gargryph isn't as strong combat wise (particularly since Sandstorms can harm the group just as much as they help Rock types), but is particularly useful for healing human characters.

I'd probably bring Rose over Heracross, if only because Blaze and the innate Charcoal buff plus Black Belt makes her an absolute powerhouse and one of Heart's most powerful pokemon.

[/quote]

I think you right. Rose its indeed way more powerfull than Heracross. Not to mentioned a vast ammount of powerfull moves such as Close Combat, Blast Burn, along with others. 

Honckrow is obedient now after the battle against Spira if I recall. D-Onix still a good choice for be a bulky Pokemon (not bulky as a fully grow Onix, but still good). And If Heart interaction with D-Onix work, Terra and Heart can finally fully evolve D-Onix to his final form as a Metal Serpent.

Then here my party choices for this adventure:

- Honedge
- Viktor
- Atlas
- Gustav
- Honckrow/D-Onix (D-Steelix?)
- Rose

All it depends its how things will go between Heart and Onix.

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

After Spira sets up his party, he goes through his stuff in his bag, pulling out a worn-out book, his textbook from his days as a Gym trainer; "A Concise Look at Ghost Pokemon, 4th Edition" and leafs through it coming across a black-and-white/sepia-tone picture that he had left in the book to keep it safe

Spoiler

He smiles at the picture, puts it, and the worn-out book, back into his bag then finishes up getting ready for the trip into the Skull ruins.

Awwww. She's so beautiful and dear, I instantly like her!~ +2 mourning what unfortunately happened to her.

[Lord Windos]

Bit busy right now, so you mates can progress the plot without my input for awhile . Terra doesn't have much to add sbeyond hshowing his own solidarityy and cautious determination into heading down the Skull Ruins, and he'd just head to bed much the same way.

Spirit, remember that Onix can evolve without a Steel Coat with Terra's help. Also, I suggest Heart swig by Howl's Gym to Evolve Honedhe, either by exposure to the Dudk Stones embedded in the place or trading for a Dusk Stone. They're Loyal enough for the Evo to be handled nicely, so just do it mate!

[Spiritmon]

Bit busy right now, so you mates can progress the plot without my input for awhile . Terra doesn't have much to add sbeyond hshowing his own solidarityy and cautious determination into heading down the Skull Ruins, and he'd just head to bed much the same way.

Spirit, remember that Onix can evolve without a Steel Coat with Terra's help. Also, I suggest Heart swig by Howl's Gym to Evolve Honedhe, either by exposure to the Dudk Stones embedded in the place or trading for a Dusk Stone. They're Loyal enough for the Evo to be handled nicely, so just do it mate!

I know. It's just having a moment with Onix to try raise his Loyalty a little more, since Steelix by nature are unholy disobedient, and I don't want to take a dangerous disobedience pokPoke go with us without protection.

Also, awesome suggestion about Honedge! Gonna go there right away!

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

Might need some input myself on which pokemon to bring.  Party I've been considering:

- Gallade (mandatory, obviously)
- Calam (dark type, potentially plot relevant, basically mandatory)
- Charizard (the definitive 'dragon', beloved by nobles.  Also has decent type coverage, including Shadow Claw and Dragon Claw)
- Undecided
- Undecided
- Undecided

Possible Filler

- Dedenne: super small but super duper strong.  May be able to boost electronics' capabilities/cause them to malfunction
- Emolga: Sure he doesn't have any particularly strong STABs right now, but he did say he would help Nathan with finding Marco.  Plus, if he gets enough exp, he can get devastatingly strong STABs in Acrobatics and/or Electro Ball.  He already knows the super useful Encore and Nuzzle, too.
- Ditto: having another potential Heal Pulse user...or just any super flexible pokemon...is always nice.
- Solomon: Another candidate that might be a 'kingly' pokemon.  Has more HP than almost the other pokemon on this list, too.  If Ghosts are a huge concern, some cash could be spent to teach him Foul Play if someone were to chip in and help Nathan with affording that.  Powerful Brines can help end a fight quickly
- Princess: She's a fully fledged queen now.  Maybe that royal authority can count as 'kingly'?  Small movepool at the moment, but she has easy access to Pursuit if she needs a Dark move to use and Fury Cutter for a 'stronger' STAB than Bug Bite and Fell Stinger.  Also has Destiny Bond as a trump card.
- Snivy: Another pokemon that agreed to help Nathan with some Ruins related stuff, this time relating to the dangers that may be related to the vines (such as Claydol).  Much like Charizard, the Snivy line was also somewhat popular with nobles due to some of their draconic traits (even though Snivy and co aren't in the Dragon egg group).
- Porygon-Z: Normal type, has Foul Play, is super strong, additional diverse buffing options...just great all around
- Grid: another of Nathan's strongest and most versatile pokemon.  Can easily be support or offense.  He's almost always a consideration on any serious team of Nathan's.
- Ray: With a little bit of work, he could provide support with Reflect and/or Light Screen.
- Mizu: also has more HP than almost all of the pokemon on the list.  Has some decent moves to use to back that bulk up.  Can learn some powerful Dragon STABs if she saves up enough exp.  Dratini line was also beloved by nobles.

Ones with Spread Moves: Charizard, Porygon-Z, Grid, Ray if he learns Razor Leaf, Mizu if she learns Twister
Ones with AOE Moves:  Charizard, Ray, Snivy, Dedenne

Alright, I have free time now to do as I please, so let me give a more thoroughly critique on the 'Filler' options (skipping over the ones I've already covered)!

Emolga: Good points on them having crazy good support Moves and attacks, but as a Flying type he'd suffer the worst of Rock types down under, and against with Claydol/Baltoy/the other Grounds their powerful Electric Attacks would be null and void. Acrobatics could aleviate some of those issues, but you'd need them to run no Items or consumables in order to get the maximum power out of it, which could prove a bit cumbersome in the heat of battle/getting ambushed. Between them and Dedenne, I say you leave this 'mon behind. The former has ways to benefits outside its Electric type, and a Fairy could do well against any Dark and Dragon 'mons lurking in the Skull Ruins depths...

Solomon: On one hand, he's a smart cookie that could potentially help the group solve puzzles or interpret lore in the Skull Ruings, and he's no slouch in battle. On the other hand, he's a Psychic type , and Nathan already has one on his team by default, so doubling down on them might not be the best, even if he could get Foul Play to counter the malicious spirits haunting the plays (Though it do jack diddly against Darks, but Nathan has Gallade to cover that front). If you want to take him, I'll have Terra cover the cost, on the condition you tell him about the Tuba. you caught. If you do that, then he can help Nathan trade it away for additional profit, since he has a contact that would by such an big, unruly beast, and get the money he invested in Solomon back to use on other things to benefit the group.

Princess: I don't see a problem with bringing her along, as she would provide ample support in many ways, but the lack of Move to start off with means she'll be a bit of a lead weight until you get however many Encounters it takes to pump her up with XP for/tutor her Moves. That, and their's her crippling weakness to Rocks, which if you bring Charizard along creates a glaring weakness that BEGS to be exploited. I say if you want her along, then either leave Charizard beehind, or bring along another Pokemon that can cover for both the queen and king that doesn't introduce more dire weaknesses.

Porygon Z: Don't really have anything much to comment with him, as he's just great all around and can stand up to the main threats of the Skull Ruin (Well, not the Legend, perhaps) without issue. Plus, if the Scims show up and bring tech, he can hack it for information/disable it possible, so that's another benefit worthy of consideration for the trip!

Grid: While he suffers from that pesky Rock weakness, his sheer versitility and POWER can more than compensate for it in my eyes, and his Bug type and Fury Cutter would do well against the collective of Claydols, Tangrowth, and those insidious and awful Vines. Spider Web could also be used to trap nasty foes like the Scims or some ancient terror so that they can be taken care of with less issues, and having spider silk as a material to play around with is not a bad thing at all. He could even be brough alone with Dedenne, since he wouldn't suffer Ground problems and overlaps well with what she can do! If you bring Princess along, though, then drop him or Charizard to balance things out more.

Ray: Hmm.....those Screens are awfully appeal, and has a great typing that would do well against the terrors of the Ruins, but he's also completely unEvolved and 'unfinished' (So to speak), which is not necessarily something we can afford to work on with all Pokemon considering the sheer danger of our next dungeon. It may be for the best to leave him behind and bring a Pokemon that already more or less fully fleshed out and/or stronger, as they could pull their weight harder and can handle higher threat levels than an 'untested' one.

Mizu: Can't really go wrong with more Dragon and bulky Pokemon, though considering that their my favorite type(s) I may be biased here. I say she's good to bring along, if you have space for her and the group doesn't doesn't bring too many other Fairy/Ice/Dragon weak Pokemon.

That's pretty much all I have to say! With that done, I think Nathan's three addtional Pokemon should be Ditto, Dedenne, and Snivy/Grid/Porygon Z (Depends on what the others pick as their team). If you're willing to drop Charizard, slot Princess over him, or bring along an extra anti Rock/Electric Pokemon to compensate for both (Like Snivy), and leave Grid out entirely. My opinion may not be the best, though, so take it with salt and careful consideration mate.

[Lord Windos]

Considering everyone else has put up a list of Pokemon their's thinking of bringing along + Extras, I might as well do so myself too! Here's mine WIP Party for the Skull Ruins Dungeon Dive:

Dunny: He's a Ghost type, and a native of the accursed place, so bringing him along to deal with the horrors there and for general guidance seems like a logical thing to do. Plus, it might help him Evolve, which would only make him more useful, and having a Pokemon that can phase through matter is just utility to have on hand.
Oinari: Yeah, she's a runt with few Moves right now, but what she had now can do a good enough job to buy time for her to learn more, and having a smart and Insightful Dark type on hand that can also use Illusions sounds like a good thing to me.
Angie: Big Snek that can easily learn recovery, can Dig through the place if need be, have an extra Flinching Bite, can be a quick mount/Digger with Agility + Salac Berry, and her status as an almost Legendary Dragon herself. Need I go on?
Anubi: Super strong Pokemon that has Aura Sense for scouting/searching/threat detection, and can potentially learn Heal Pulse to reduce the strain on Healing Items/Gustav/Gallade/Ditto. They also have Foresight, which means the Ghosts can't hide behind their Immunities against him or the other Fighting/Normal types the party brings, and if he doesn't have the the chance to use it he still has Metal Claw (A STR + 4 Attack, due to STAB and Terra's Steel Blessing) and Blaze Kick as potent tools of destruction!
Michael: With the rest of the team covering his own weaknesses quite well, this mushroom can operate almost without woe with one of them by his side, which means Spore Support is free to be happily and liberally applied as needed! The fact that he doesn't need to be healed ever due to Poison Heal and his plethora of additional Healing Moves is pretty sweet too, and more ROCK SMASHERS on hand is never a bad thing!

Those are the ones that have a semi-definite spot so far, so the rest of the Pokemon I present are still being considered for various reasons:

Spoiler

Lapis Lazuli: Another bulky Pokemon with Recovery, Spread Attacks, and has already been proven to be effective against Skull Ruin Ghosts! He would also cover Terra's current team's weakness to Fire types, which consider that Chandelure existence would be good to have around. Problem is that having another giant Pokemon could be problematic to field underground, and his water/moisture requirement would require careful management. Angie can sorta get around her size issues with Dig, but the only thing that Lapis could do to bypass that is maybe Coil up extra tightly, or Wrap himself around something, both of which restrict his mobility greatly.
Shiranui: He's bulky too, and having a Guts powered Knock Off is no joke, which coupled with his Fight STABs, Bullet Punch and Brine would make taking out anything rather trival with him. That, and Belly Drum in conjuction with a Sitrus Berry or Heal Pulse support would just make him a right MONSTER against anything but a Legend (And maybe not even them, as 10 STR Total is pretty much right up there with them in terms of raw POWER) It would triple down on Fighting types, though, and he's not too verstile beyond being a great big wall and beat stick.
Basteele: Having Hazards that could guard our groups campsites and more ways to deal with Vines/Psychic/Dark types would be nice, and they're always Zap Cannon and Explosion as powerful last resorts. She'd compound my team's current weakness to Fire, however, and their may not always be a good time/place for her to actually use her Hazards to the fullest.
Edmundi the Bastiodon: Wide Guard/Protect + Swagger & Metal Sound support is rocking (Pun intended), as well as Sandstorm if the group coordinates/accounts for it properly (Forthright would certainly benefit from a setter of it besides herself, and Gargyph would just become automatically more tanky without setup). He also has Iron Defense for additional protection, Ancient Power for a safe Rock Move that could have interesting effects in the Ruins, and Head Smash with/without Life Orb is just devastating. Finally, he can easily be a pack mule for the group, carrying all their stuff, themselves, or other things if need be. Quad weakness to Ground types along side Anubi makes their inclusion a bit of a risk, though, as we definitely know they'll be Claydols floating around and being royal pains in the arse.
Genie: Having the capcity to just FISSURE a problem away or open up passages deeper down is potentially useful (or harmful), she's another Pokemon that can act as a mount (Though not without first being vetted by her), and with Shiva's help she could learn Tailwind to act as team support for everyone (Angie could too, if Iron would give his okay for that, but seeing as he hasn't yet, it won't be factored into her usefulness now). She'd also take care of any Ground and Fire types rather handily, and she has Toxic too, so that's nice!
Posei: Water Absorb with Gustav and/or Solomon around means he gets free heals too, he has powerful Spread and AoE Moves, Swagger support like Edmundi to act as either a Buff or Debuff, Belly Drum for just straight up Buff to himself, and Hyponsis for more Sleep hax. He also has the dreaded Perish Song, which in conjuction with Grid's Spider Web means that entire swarms of Pokemon/foes can just be auto defeated, if the time to do so can be stalled out.
Seismitoad: Has Aqua Ring to heal himself (Eventually), and Shadow Claw + Bubble allows him to take on Ghosts and swarms alike with minimum issue. He's also generally just a well rounded 'mon due to his + 1 STR, INS, and HP Surprises, and Water/Ground is a typing that only fears Grass (Which is a potential problem, granted), so he can last for awhile. He doesn't have a large movepool, though, so what he can do will be fairly limited to just fighting or puzzle solving.
Pixie: She's pretty much a veritable swiss army knife of a 'Mon like many of Nathan's Pokemon (Grid, Gallade, and Calam spring immediately to mind) and the rest of Terra's Steels, with plenty of varied Offense in the form of Crunch, Sucker Punch, Play Rough, Super Fang etc. and utility like Taunt, Growl/Intimidate, Fake Tears, and Snatch. She's also tonka tough too, as Intimidate + Iron Defense + Growl = a Pokemon with an effective 10 Defense against her current targets, which is so mighty of a Defense that even a Legendary might have a little bit more trouble smashing through it. The only reason she isn't on Terra's team by default is that Anubi also fulfills much the same roles as she does too, and I'm not sure if I want to double or even triple down of Steels (If Edmundi gets the vote to come along) and invite Ground times to have a fun time with Terra's firma.....

So, what do you think mates? How's Terra's team looking, which Pokemon should be added to it, and what changes should be made?

[Spiritmon]

You know people, I been thinking: We could use Angie and D-ONIX to dig below the Skull Ruins, making a underground path, so that way we could avoid some undesirable encounters with Ghosts, and safe our strength against Scimitars and Almanacs in our path to deeps of the Skull Ruins. What you all think of that idea people?