[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Dragonstrike]

Spoiler

"....*Shakes head* That is your perspective, Nathan. Not mine. Cosh did by us and Cheshire great good, and proved himself honest and faithful. *Frowns sternly* Worthy of.....second chance and much more.  Will keep alliance with Cosh, and honor help he gave to us. Gave my word to him. Did not break it, so I will not too. Simple as that."

Terra's frown deepens as he hears his best friend's next all too satisfied retort, both from slight consternation and disappointment in them.

".....Having revenge on Cosh won't fulfill you. Won't fix.....wrongs of his now or past. Won't make you or your family's life better *Shakes head* Can't. Only....leaves you hollow, bitter, hateful, and uncaring. From him, of him.....and others like him."

He then gives the boy a solemn, yet plaintive look. 

"Let it go, Nathan. Be better man you are. Not for his shake, but yours. Don't.....want you to become like him, or.....Ventus. Please."

"I can't let him go in good conscience, Terra.  And I'm not seeking revenge for revenge's sake like you seem to think.  I'm not going to argue this with you right now, though.  I shouldn't have to."

That's all Nathan needs to say on the topic right now.  Terra's not very likely to be able to change Nathan's mind on this, and Nathan is also rather disappointed in Terra.

[Lord Windos]

"I can't let him go in good conscience, Terra.  And I'm not seeking revenge for revenge's sake like you seem to think.  I'm not going to argue this with you right now, though.  I shouldn't have to."

That's all Nathan needs to say on the topic right now.  Terra's not very likely to be able to change Nathan's mind on this, and Nathan is also rather disappointed in Terra.

"....So be it. Do what you feel must be done.....and so will I. That is all."

And so too is Terra finished trying to convince his best friend to relent, his expression turning more serious as he takes a step back and motions to Melly and Pixie with a jerk of his head, both of whom smoothly and grimly stalk forward to fully bar the way to Cosh to them and anyone else that would pursue them. He tried to convince the boy to be merciful, but since that failed, then he's left with no other choice but to resist their designs the best he could. With force, should that be necessary.

In the event of outright battle they'd probably outright lay waste to him and his own with The Sword and/or through sheer numbers and then go after the master archmage regardless, but still his stands against them. Futile it might be, Terra would still the correct and right thing to do by upholding his word and do good by Cosh for the good they did.

Even if it means sacrificing a friendship he holds dear.

[Spiritmon]

"Hmm. One act of good can't complete redeem someone. Not after what he done with brainwashed inocent Pokemon...and have kipnap other people...however...it can't be denied he did his part in this battle. Without him, we would never have win Deoxys."

"He deserves a second chance...with the condition of he and the Scimitars free all the Pokemon they slave, and give up in their evil doings. To begin again and restart. And never do evil ever again. That's what I think."

"We not going to fight among us." Heart look to Cosh. "Can I have your word you will not brainwash Pokemon again, or do evil things like you Scimitars be doing? Deoxys is destroyed, so there is no reason for you to exist."

[Iron]

When you tell Cosh to transfer the Mean Look, he appears panicked. "I... I already did! It's still on what's left of Deoxys!"

Marco speaks up. "It's a surprise of Meowstic. Affects a chain of users. All my Pokemon have surprises for dealing with each of the four artifacts... though I wasn't aware of the Frozen Roar at the time."

"Look, Nathan, Terra. I've been away three years. I haven't been a father in all that time. And Nathan, you've been doing a wonderful job of accepting the responsibility of an adult, but maybe it's time for the adults to step up and do their job. You and Terra preserve your friendship. This capture was performed by me, and I'll take care of it as I see fit. You two can head off and never need know what went down here. Corporal Wake, a moment of your time?"

[Iron]

As for XP, it's hard to award an amount that's fitting for what you've accomplished. Bo sends word that you are welcome to challenge the Elite Four at any time, regardless of how many badges you have, and you may FLY to bypass Victory Road at your option.

The haul for this encounter is 80XP, divided evenly among any Pokemon that participated. Human heroes get 60 instead of 40. The roleplay during this portion was awesome. I saw great contributions from everyone, even those who felt mechanically hamstrung. Like Heart standing guard over those who needed it most, and Terra's willingness to sacrifice himself. And Luna saving the day at the last second. And then there were those who could have just swung sword and board, but instead made their actions emotional and relevant. Showed us what your characters thought about as they answered the call.


In a few days we'll have a discussion about how to prepare for the E4 for those who want to do that.

[Spiritmon]

(There was Heart words about the whole Scimitars free their Pokemons....but I think it doesnt matter to this moment so....)

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

When you tell Cosh to transfer the Mean Look, he appears panicked. "I... I already did! It's still on what's left of Deoxys!"

Marco speaks up. "It's a surprise of Meowstic. Affects a chain of users. All my Pokemon have surprises for dealing with each of the four artifacts... though I wasn't aware of the Frozen Roar at the time."

"Look, Nathan, Terra. I've been away three years. I haven't been a father in all that time. And Nathan, you've been doing a wonderful job of accepting the responsibility of an adult, but maybe it's time for the adults to step up and do their job. You and Terra preserve your friendship. This capture was performed by me, and I'll take care of it as I see fit. You two can head off and never need know what went down here. Corporal Wake, a moment of your time?"

Terra resolutely shakes his head at Marco, his expression still grimly determined.

"No. I will not abandon Cosh. If you want to capture him, you will have to go through me. And since Meowstic is stopping him from escaping....."

Just as he was about to fully dedicate himself to opposing his best friend's day, a non-violent solution suddenly came to him in a unexpect Eureka! moment! The sagely monk abruptly cuts himself off and rushes over to Cosh's side, leaving his partners to delay/block Marco and Nathan from closely following him, and as soon as he is within reach of them he pulls out the Eye Plate he got from that bug knight and shoves it in their hands/onto their person!

"Cosh, hold this, and FLY away! Grants power to ignore trapping Moves and Abilities! Go now, quickly! Before Marco, Nathan, and the League can stop you!!"

(Yeap, still have The Eye Plate, and yes, Terra is going to give it to Cosh so he can escape. If necessary, he'll even throw it to them if Nathan, Marco, or one of their Pokemon stops them. Terra's dead serious about upholding his promise/word to his Scimitar partner, even if it earns him the ire of everyone else!)

[Dragonstrike]

(...and do we get a chance to contest that at all, @Iron? Or is something going to happen to prevent it?)

[Lord Windos]

(I'm sorta expecting resistance myself, tbh. I'll have Terra do everything in his power to forestall such, but I'm kinda confused why nobody has tried to stop my character by now.)

[Iron]

Well, that kinda forestalls Marco's plan to do something about it, but we can consider it combat time still if you'd like to react.