[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Iron]

Mesprit nods. You feel an emotion like waving wheat and cool breezes from the west - it must have landed somewhere in the Teazel Valley region. From these emotions, you don't think it hit any population centers. The real danger is not the comet, but what it contains.

"...thank goodness it hasn't caused any large scale trouble yet.  Now it's our job to make sure it doesn't at all."

Nathan thinks for a moment, wondering if he should say what he's thinking...then asks a possibly bold question.

"...Mesprit, would you be willing to fight alongside us?  This is your home as much as anyone else's, after all."

Mesprit will be there. Determination.

[Iron]

When you summon the flames of Moltres, the panel in the floor glows... but then fades. You've got the wrong Legendary.

There is some powerful treasure that's open to your Earthsense, when you spend an Encounter looking for it. It's buried deep beneath the rubble and sediment, so you're forced to spend most of that time digging it out.

When you're done, you have uncovered a massive mural that might have come right out of a story told in your tribe. It depicts Arceus wreaking righteous Judgment against what appears to be a group of Sarimanok's foes. Written all around are inscriptions in Elder Unown, a chant honoring the legendary Pokemon who hold the world together. Each starts off general, but gets more and more specific with smaller and smaller writing. As the writing improves in clarity and poetry, the scene in the mural becomes more vibrant, until the scenes pop with color and flock with Legendary Pokemon. At the center of each spiraling description of a Legendary Pokemon, the text gets so close together it can't even be read. It thickly covers little rectangular tablets loosely set into the mural, each of a different color.

As you scan them, words leap into your consciousness and you enter a sort of trance. You hear "Arceus" and "Moltres" and "battle" and "honor." The little plates vibrate in place as you step forward, a little hypnotized.

[Dragonstrike]

Mesprit will be there. Determination.

Perfect.  Nathan gives Mesprit a small bow in thanks.  "It'll be an honor to fight alongside you, Mesprit.  Let's do our best."

Nathan pauses.

"...there is ONE thing you should probably be aware of, though.  Two of the Four are being wielded by Scimitars.  The one wearing the Helm, Kelda...she's not a bad person as far as I can tell, but...I'm not sure if she knows what she's going to do after this mess is all over.  I think I've given her some food for thought, though..."

He shakes his head and moves on.

"...I'm honestly more worried about the one wearing the Hauberk, though.  Cosh.  One of the Scimitars with some measure of authority in the group...and the one primarily responsible for so much of the trouble we've had to deal with.  While he wants to defeat Deoxys just as much as everyone else...Gallade and I don't trust him beyond that.  After everything that's happened, I don't think I'll be able to let him walk away in good conscience.  He needs to be put behind bars eventually.  Unlike some of the other Scimitars, I'm not confident he's helping purely out of the goodness of his own heart."

While this shouldn't affect anything immediately due to the urgency of the situation, it's still concerning enough that it could affect things later...

[Mikaruge108]

The way Spira spends the next encounter in the ruins won't be searching for more treasures. Instead, he'll try to see if he can "get in tune with" the innate spiritual energy of the Ruins.

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

Heart look at Terra gesture in give him the Frozen Roar...He look hesitant for a second, but then he touch the item. "I wanted power to myself Terra. And doing that I almost lost a friend precious to me...I accept this gift with honor my friend Terra, but under one condition....that you share this item with me. We can exchange who hold the item day by day. I stay with this item for day, and it stay with you in the other day. Power is not meant to belong to one person, but to be share with others."

With that said Heart said. "Along in this journey, I learned more and more how to use Earthpower...perhaps in this throne room, might have something who can help understand with my Earthpower link, or maybe something who can help increase the power of my own flames and understand more about my Fire Blessing. If there something we ArcHearts can be proud is that we not give up."

Heart then close his eyes. He holds the Incubator with Moltres Egg inside. A few flames was around him. He will let the Earthpower guide him.

Insigh+Alert+Earthpower to let Heart knowledge guide him @Iron. Heart will let his instincts and learning of Earthpower guide his path to the item who might help him. Be with help have greater power of his flames or his Earthpower.

The rugged wanderer looked faintly surprised when his fellow collector presented his generous counter offer (And a bit confused about what he was referring to in part - he completely missed the sour interplay between him and Nathan, after all), but soon enough his smile returned in greater force as he nodded back to them, offering a hand to shake on that.

"Wise words, my friend. Deal. May we use this.....magic cone thingy well and responsibly, and learn its secrets together."

Conversation over, simple as that! Unless Heart has anything else he'd like to bring up (Like gifting the Manetricite, if you're still adamant on doing that, or bringing up future plans with him), that is! 

Since everyone else is now doing/done an Encounter, I'll have Terra do one himself too, unless his Looting/Fleeing already constitutes as one. If not, here's what I wish to do with him: go outside the fortress and have Angie start digging around the place, and also have Solomon + Arete out to help determine locations of interest that might yield interesting/useful Items so that Terra can direct Angie to Dig there. An easy to do activity that has a fairly moderate chance of yielding something(s) good, and it would allow him to conveniently rush over to Heart and snap him out of his trance (if need be) + obtain the Arceas Mural for him via his Heavy Ball (If possible), so let's go with that!

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

Something that Shiva also wished for was paying Sneasel another visit - the chance that he found more nice stuff in the meantime feels low however, doesn't it? What shall we do with that at best, maybe ruling that Shiva did buy the Black Apricorn right away for easiness' sake?

I'm ok with retconning that just to move things along faster, if you like.

Okay. Then that's -1 Gold Nugget worth 5.000$ and -1.000$ in pure coins for Shiva and -1 Black Apricorn for Huge Sneasel. Shiva investigates the Apricorn carefully before packing it away. "Pleasure making business with you, I'll make sure to put this Apricon into good use!~" The request to look out for more nice stuff still remains, maybe, at some point, likely not in-game/on-screen, natural fae enthusiast and dark icy feline will meet once more.

It's edited in charasheet. Also added +50$ for caught Klefki.

Despite turning the whole area upside down in the wake of the Frozen Roar, Shiva doesn't find any Key Stones. It's likely Sarimanok would have kept these on his person - only the very highest ranking court members were allowed to wear them, and he jealously guarded their power.

You do find an ancient device for teaching TMs, which is of much historical interest.

(There are lots of awesome TM pictures in the card game. In Sarimanok's time, each Technical Machine was unstandardized and different. Obviously they didn't have CDs.)

(Oh you're right! I like those Miracle Spheres most.)

Awww, damnit. ヾ(`ヘ´)ﾉﾞ Shiva's been so positive that her search for a Keystone would have turned out successful! Nevermind, her frustration doesn't last long at all, especially not since she came across some other nice and unique things to take along.

This ancient TM catches her interest quite nicely for example because it is looking so unique, extraordinaire and on top of that it is preserved rather well, Shiva feels like if handled very carefully it'd function alright. It takes her a little to make out what this device actually is though since she only knows TMs as CDs or floppy disks. Humm.... Not thinking for too long, Shiva brings this ancient TM-thingy to Nathan/@Dragonstrike, and shows it to him in a nonchalant manner (after he's back from the Mesprit Card). "Hey Nathan, look what I've found in the meantime! Have you ever read about such devices? I think this is a Technical Machine from a time before they were turned into disks holding data..." She investigates it curiously. "It looks so weird, and so OLD. But look how nicely preserved it is! Do you know whether there are any historians or history students at Telperion Uni who could learn some things from this device?"

She hesitates a little before continuing with another question/request/whatever-it-may-be-called, paws the ground a little, avoids his and Gallade's gaze and overly appears a little timid and insecure. " ......I didn't find a Keystone around here... (  ╥ω╥ ) I think they are so worthy that King Sarimanok always kept them on himself and still does, like burial objects for pharaos in anchient Egypt. So I was wondering... Where is his body? Is it known what happened after he passed away, where was he brought to rest?" She takes a defensive stance if there's a weird look or similar, and Gallade can confirm that Shiva's totally honest on the following: "Oh nonono, I'm just wondering, you know! By no means I want to...disturb his rest, that'd be gross and weird and everything but nice, no."

A deep breath and some moments of silence later Shiva caught herself again, and this time she even faces Nathan directly, determination flaring up in her eyes behind the glasses. "So, ehm... May I hope for your aid in receiving a Keystone from the League then? ....Please? You live here in this region, so you know their ways.... Nothing much, just putting in a good word for me or similar, that'd be nice and cool of you. It doesn't cost you anything either! You can, maybe, repay me for that Megastone for Gallade that way if you like." *cue for small friendly smile* (Outta-chara, I think I'd like to return that Nevermelt-Ice Primal Espeon's currently holding eventually and solely - you said somewhere that you don't have that many cool Held Items compared to the others of the group, so it feels wrong to me to keep it. Help Shiva getting a Keystone from Creshire's League to make Whimsicott's desire to megaevolve true, and we're good again!~ Does that sound okay and agreeable?)

You find a crystalized Charizard tooth, the fossilized imprint of a Sarimanok battle flag, and some metallic decorations that could be attached to the Shield (or anything else) to customize it however you like. You also find an interesting ancient weapon that uses magnetism to propel an iron ball - inaccurate, but ranged and a bit more powerful than a standard human Strike.

Oi, crystalized Charizard Tooth! This sounds like a nice token to represent Shiva's dragonslayer-traits, as Charizard at least looks like a dragon and all that. It makes a nice charm to keep.

Shiva would totally add a few of the metallic decorations onto the Shield because she's a creative mind and I like customization. Once more she wonders what will happen with the Shield or rather all Artifacts once Deoxys is - hopefully and at best - defeated.

Ancient ranged weapon, cool! I've got a few questions about that one, if I may: Especially the 'ranged' part catches me - does that mean that Shiva could use it in a Wild Pokemon Battle without bringing herself into the battlefield/into range of the foe? Does it already include the Iron Ball or does she have to use the one she still has? I assume said Iron Ball can be retrived after usage, quite like an arrow shot with a bow (which she also has but hasn't put into use yet)? And, finally, it does not cause lethal wounds, does it? Shiva wouldn't want that.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


There are two further things I'd like to adress/handle before both me and Shiva will be ready to return to Cress City with the card:

- First, giving Shiva +1 point in Survival Skill for 32XP, maxing it out to 5 that way. Now her Init Bonus will be 9 on default, the highest I was going for. Having come this far in one piece means she has made it through the creepy and dangerous Skull Ruins without any massive wounds or losses and totally reasons this level-up, she's feeling rather glad and even a bit proud that she has done so, she wasn't sure whether she'd make it in the first place. The Shield was a big help in this achievement.

I like to think that Shiva's Survial Skill is more about overcoming hardships and making it through tough situations and less about the classic surviving in the wild.


- Second, plucking smol Ratsy from the pocket of her Ranger's cloak and gently holding him in her cupped hand. "Hey, lil' one!~" She'd greet the black artistic rat, "You're doing fine, everything's okay with you? ^_^" Then, her face darkens a little, becomes serious all suddenly. "Listen closely please... We're about to get back to the surface, and I do feel what we'll find there won't be that pleasant unfortunately. The final showdown against the threat from the sky's coming closer and closer... Said 'threat' is of Psychic Type is what the books tell is true, and you as a Dark Type should be fine... ACTUALLY. I've got a bad feeling your Typing won't save you, dear one, and I wish to keep you safe. So... is it okay with you to stay inside the card-" Shiva shows him the Shiny Sylveon Card, "For a while for safety reasons? Once the coast's clear again, I'll come and pick you up so that we're united again and can travel together."

"There...is also the option of me resgistering you to this Conditional Ball, look -" She shows him one of the grey and black Conditional Balls from Almanac, "- that way you will be sent to my PC for the time being, if there is one place where you'll be safe 100%ly, then it's there. I'll release you from the Ball again so that we can travel together unrestrained once we've dealt with the situation."

She looks at him with a waiting and inquirering expression. "Tell me then, which option do you prefer?"

[Spiritmon]

Spoiler

The rugged wanderer looked faintly surprised when his fellow collector presented his generous counter offer (And a bit confused about what he was referring to in part - he completely missed the sour interplay between him and Nathan, after all), but soon enough his smile returned in greater force as he nodded back to them, offering a hand to shake on that.

"Wise words, my friend. Deal. May we use this.....magic cone thingy well and responsibly, and learn its secrets together."

Conversation over, simple as that! Unless Heart has anything else he'd like to bring up (Like gifting the Manetricite, if you're still adamant on doing that, or bringing up future plans with him), that is! 

Since everyone else is now doing/done an Encounter, I'll have Terra do one himself too, unless his Looting/Fleeing already constitutes as one. If not, here's what I wish to do with him: go outside the fortress and have Angie start digging around the place, and also have Solomon + Arete out to help determine locations of interest that might yield interesting/useful Items so that Terra can direct Angie to Dig there. An easy to do activity that has a fairly moderate chance of yielding something(s) good, and it would allow him to conveniently rush over to Heart and snap him out of his trance (if need be) + obtain the Arceas Mural for him via his Heavy Ball (If possible), so let's go with that!

[Iron]

Mesprit will be there. Determination.

Perfect.  Nathan gives Mesprit a small bow in thanks.  "It'll be an honor to fight alongside you, Mesprit.  Let's do our best."

Nathan pauses.

"...there is ONE thing you should probably be aware of, though.  Two of the Four are being wielded by Scimitars.  The one wearing the Helm, Kelda...she's not a bad person as far as I can tell, but...I'm not sure if she knows what she's going to do after this mess is all over.  I think I've given her some food for thought, though..."

He shakes his head and moves on.

"...I'm honestly more worried about the one wearing the Hauberk, though.  Cosh.  One of the Scimitars with some measure of authority in the group...and the one primarily responsible for so much of the trouble we've had to deal with.  While he wants to defeat Deoxys just as much as everyone else...Gallade and I don't trust him beyond that.  After everything that's happened, I don't think I'll be able to let him walk away in good conscience.  He needs to be put behind bars eventually.  Unlike some of the other Scimitars, I'm not confident he's helping purely out of the goodness of his own heart."

While this shouldn't affect anything immediately due to the urgency of the situation, it's still concerning enough that it could affect things later...

Mesprit gives a nod of thanks for that warning. It begins flying west.

[Iron]

The way Spira spends the next encounter in the ruins won't be searching for more treasures. Instead, he'll try to see if he can "get in tune with" the innate spiritual energy of the Ruins.

Do you have a goal in mind for what that would do?

I think Spira would definitely find plenty of spirits here to connect with. The connection to the Ghost World is unusually thin here.

[Iron]

The ranged weapon still requires you to be on the battlefield, but it wouldn't trigger Static or Rocky Helmet or whatever.
You do find a couple rusty iron balls around. They are smaller than the held item, about the size of a gumball.
It would probably cause lethal wounds more often than not, but it depends who you use it on. It won't be lethal against an armored foe.

Ratsy will prefer going to Sylveon's lovely flower field.