[Game Thread] Pokerole: Mount Coronet Mystery

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

If Kee wants the evolution stone he traded for those items back, then he can also have that back, as Milotic is feeling generous.

Well, Kee does want that nice Dawn Stone back indeed - only to present it to Milotic again the very moment he has it back in his hands. With a dear and charming smile he tells her that "Wouldn't it quite the waste to leave this sparkly Stone b'hind down the lake ya've been callin' yar home?~ Oh yes it WOULD, just like it'd be a waste to NOT let a beautiful and generous lady of a sea-serpent 'n of YOUR caliber have it. Please take it, keep it, just because."

(Mechanically, that means Milotic can keep the Dawn Stone as a Held Item. It has no effect but it's kinda pretty. Can of course be switched by an Item that'll bring her an advantage in-battle if desired.)


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Oh, and he would certainly be suprised by the sudden glow of that Explorer Badge, he's quick to take it off to hold it in his open hand and so is Octavia to sniff and paw it with massive curiosity. The next thing that he's going to remember is that they're all reunited with Lucas/Ran/Scizor...and another person that he has never seen before. A timid and female person with a precious Espeon on top of that. Hoo boi!~

He just CAN'T help but to nudge Ran and tell him with the MOST SARCASTIC smile he can bring up: "...It doesn't happen too often that ya end up picking up women, now does it?~ Well, that's a nice taste ya have, that's for sure." ..... "Just jokin' aroun', dontcha take it seriously!ヾ(´ ▽ ` ) "

Octavia, out with and right beside Kee again from the moment they began to leave Milotic's lake, gives a friendly wave of 'hellooo!~' wth one of her ribbons to Rui and then one to her Espeon as well. She eyes the later quite curiously, seemingly rather happy to meet a fellow Eeveelution. And then one that evolves in a comparable way thst she does, awww !~♡ Does Rui's Espeon notice, do they react in a specific way?

Kee has stopped wondering and overthinking just WHAT the issue at Mt.Coronet is CAPABLE of doing, causing or abducting, so he just...accepts anything that Lucas tells about how they found a freaking Tyrantrum, then Rui, then Shadow Gyarados. He does have a rather puzzled look on his face as he mentioned the latter. "WaiwaitWAIT JUST A MOMENT Lucas, what was that 'bout those...Shadow Gyarados? Never heard of that, care to quick-explain to me what that means for those Gyarados 'n what makes 'em different from a standard Gyarados?"

Oh, and Karen being so brave and generous to hand over dear Milotic to Rui makes Kee give her (Karen) a warm and praising hug, he just COULDN'T hold back if she's acting so adorable and dear. Octavia smiles at her in a way that clearly means that the lovely faeveelution is proud and enraptured by the young lady with those beautifuly different-colored eyes.


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Now onwards!~ Kee musters both what's right and left the path aka down the cliff they're following right now as well as that dark shadowy sky surrounding Mt.Coronet, then shrugs and keeps on following the path alongside the others. Deep down he's tense and excited - but not that much as he is well aware that WHATEVER'S ahead means nothing BUT serious business, so he opts to stay cool and focused without being super-serious or all-business like Lucas is.

Oh yes, and he's up for splitting up the same way they already did on the first floor for the sake of convenience and finding those stairs faster - well, or not just the same way as Ran wishes for Karen and Lucas to switch groups. Octavia's a bit sad by that, but Kee's totally fine with that.

Kee actually too wished to just follow the path and not leave it, but since Ran already wishes to do that, he's for turning right and following where the right cliff leads them - once they made it to said cliff, that is.

The easiest AND most safe way to do that would be flying over - but Kee's two birds are too small and weak to carry him, and he wouldn't want to put them through such a stress either. BUT, lucky for him, he has a big old and gentle dragon with him, so he gently asks Lucas if he could have Orpheus learn Fly for the sake to transporting him and Kogeki over to the right cliff. "That's the most safe way to get there, wouldn't ya agree? Ya see, I'd rather NOT take any risks in THIS instance."

Oh, while he's on it... Maybe having Aya learn Surf would come in handful too, even if she'd never going to act like a Lapras-ripoff as in carrying a human across water. Her way to use Surf would just work differently, like she surfs ahead and creates a dry path behind herself that the human then can take?

(...) Note: If anyone has any Rainbow TMs, would anyone be opposed to everyone's Pokemon learning them automatically (with the exception of Highly Disobedient Pokemon without high Loyalty, like Sekmet and most of his latest Catches)?

Nope, Kee hasn't any of those rainbow-colored TMs, 'just' a regular one of Flamethrower and Leaf Blade. The only Pokemon of his he'd be interested in learning Return via dear Karen's rainbowy disk is Octavia - she's the one closest and dearest to the colorful musician, so it's only logical that she's able to put this move in the best use among Kee's other Pokemon.

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

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(...)

He just CAN'T help but to nudge Ran and tell him with the MOST SARCASTIC smile he can bring up: "...It doesn't happen too often that ya end up picking up women, now does it?~ Well, that's a nice taste ya have, that's for sure." ..... "Just jokin' aroun', dontcha take it seriously!ヾ(´ ▽ ` ) "

Octavia, out with and right beside Kee again from the moment they began to leave Milotic's lake, gives a friendly wave of 'hellooo!~' wth one of her ribbons to Rui and then one to her Espeon as well. She eyes the later quite curiously, seemingly rather happy to meet a fellow Eeveelution. And then one that evolves in a comparable way thst she does, awww !~♡ Does Rui's Espeon notice, do they react in a specific way?

(...)

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*Small Flashback!*

That playful accusation causes the bristly blacksmith's face to flush Tomato Berry red and his expression to turn absolutely mortified as he started to stutter his objection.

"W-WHAT! H-Hang now, it a-ain't what is seems like....!"

After they quickly reveal their comment was just a jest, Ran managed to calm down after staring at the colorful musician for a bit, before his expression turned soured and more embarrassed, and then turned and stomped on ahead and away from them in a huff. Diam, having witness the whole spectacle, clutched her stomach and let out a series of her characteristic fiendish cackles, inordinately pleased with the joke Kee pulled on her partner, before giving them a wide grin and a thumbs up to show her appreciation and scampering off after Ran. Oh oh oh, how delightful that punkish lad could be! Very much unlike that spoil sport stifling Sylveon he has! Good, good, he's all the more fun funthat way, wee hee hee!

Paula, meanwhile, stuck around for a bit and to gaze at Octavia in a sort of admiring way as they tried to introduce themselves to Rui and Espeon, then turned to waddle after her master. Such a strong Fairy type, full of love and affection for their caretaker and Trainer...hopefully her relationship with her own master will become just as strong as theirs'....

*Small Flashback End!*

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

AhahahahahaHA, Kee just can't otherwise but to snort and chuckle to himself, the old and grumpy blacksmith's reaction was almost TOO good, seeing him so enbarassed was truely and thoroughly PRICELESS in EVERY way possible. Hopefully whatever's the path ahead will take his mind off things and distract him well enough that he won't be mad anymore when either of them finds the stairs.

Oh, and Diam receives a gentle pat on her head, a sly wink (･ω<)☆ and a glance that UNMISTAKABLY tells that she shall better get going and follow her master before he overheats out of embarassment and/or anger.

And for Rui herself... "Of course it's NOT, Ran's the very last one to so that - he's a good guy b'hind that grumpiness of his, ya can b'lieve in that."

[Spiritmon]

Spoiler

Once the encounter with Milotic is resolved, the badge that Scizor gave Kee begins to glow brighter!  Seems like Randolph and company found the stairs to the next floor!

...though it's at this moment that Kee realizes that Scizor didn't explain how the badge works.  Uuuuhhhh...pick it up and focus on it?  Squeeze it?  Touch the circle in the middle?  There has to be some way to trigger this damn thing to take them to the next floor...

Nothing Kee seems to do looks like it works, but the badge eventually starts glowing brighter all on its own!  It gets brighter and brighter and brighter...until it's almost too bright to see anything, and a beam of light Teleports Team K and the newly befriended Milotic to the next floor!

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Meanwhile...



Randolph's group has just ascended the stairs, and at the top, they see that they're no longer in the caves of Mt. Coronet.  Now they're on the sometimes frozen, sometimes lush and green slopes of Mt. Coronet's exterior.  Lucas seems surprised.  "...huh...that didn't take as long as I was expecting...I thought we still had another half day's worth of travel to go in the caves before we reached the snow covered peaks...not that I'm going to complain about this going more quickly than I thought it would."

Suddenly, a beam of light manifests in front of Randolph's group!  And when it disappears, Karen, Kogeki, and Kee are standing there!  "...huh.  So that's how the Explorer Badge works...cool."  Karen looks around curiously, shivers a little, but then asks, "So...based on the snow, I assume we're at the upper levels of the mountain now?"

"Yup, that's right.  We're getting close to Spear Pillar.  We seem to be making good time.  We keep this up, and we might be able to be there by tomorrow."

Karen's eyes light up once Lucas confirms that they've reached upper Mt. Coronet.  "Really?  Yeeeessss!!!"  She seems super excited for some reason.

Then she sees the new person that Randolph's group picked up earlier.  "...so, who's your new friend?"

Rui waves timidly.  "...uh, yeah, hi.  I'm Rui...apparently..."  Espeon's pacing around Rui's legs, surveying the area with keen eyes.

"We picked her up on the previous floor.  Ooh boy, do we have a story for you guys.  You'll want to hear this."

Lucas proceeds to explain to Team K what happened, from the Tyrantrum to finding Rui and Espeon to the Shadow Gyarados.  Karen looks a little spooked by all of that, but she puts on a brave face, smiles, and excitedly tells everyone what they found on the previous floor.  This happens to launch a rather long string of comments from her as she tries her best to lighten the mood, even if only a little.

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Karen's Lightheartedness: Pond Friend Area (Remastered by TGH) - Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Red/Blue Rescue Team

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"Well, we found some cool stuff too!  There was so much water on that floor, and we even encountered a talking Milotic!  Kogeki even convinced them to help us!"

"A talking Milotic?  Well, that's certainly something."

"You said that Rui doesn't have any pokemon with her, though?"

"...er...yeah, I don't...aside from Espeon here.  They've been a huge comfort.  We've been lost in these tunnels for ages, and then I got attacked by those Shadow Gyarados..."

Karen looks thoughtful for a moment, then smiles at Rui.  "Maybe Milotic will be able to help you more than they can help me, then.  If you don't have any pokemon of your own...well, then how are you going to defend yourself?  And even if you only have a few, a Milotic is worth, like, three pokemon on its own, right?  You should totally hang on to them!  I'm sure they'll get along great with you!"

"...uh...I guess?  This sounds like a powerful pokemon, though, are you sure you..."  "Go on, take them!  They said they don't mind helping out!  I have plenty of pokemon to ask for help, so it's no big deal!"  "...uh...okay...sure..."  "Just make sure you say hi to them later, alright?"  "...yeah...got it..."

Karen gives Milotic's pokeball to Rui.

Well, Karen certainly seems perky, doesn't she?  Rui can barely seem to get a word in!

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"...so, do you want...Brigid?...back, Randolph?  That was her name, right?"

"Oh, right!  I have something for you too, Randolph!  Milotic had a bunch of treasure, and she let us take some it because it might help us!"

Karen hands Randolph some items, one of which is a Mega Stone that Randolph doesn't recognize right away:
 

...and the others being a Soothe Bell and a (standard) TM for Swagger!


"Milotic picked out that Mega Stone out for you.  I'm not sure why, but I guess she had a gut feeling that it might be useful?  Swagger also seemed like a cool move for one of your pokemon, and I know you have a lot of pokemon you're still bonding with, so maybe this Soothe Bell will help!"

Karen also excitedly shows off one of the items she grabbed for herself: a Rainbow Colored TM for the move Return. (which is strange to see at first since mass produced TMs are generally only one color based on their type)


"Oh, and she also says that these rainbow colored TMs can be used as many times as you want, similar to an HM!  Pretty cool, right?  And I also got a TM for Drill Run for my Nidoqueen.  I think she's going to like it!"

Lucas speaks up at this point, trying to get everyone refocused on the situation at hand.

"...*ahem*...alright, well, I think that's enough story sharing for now, so how about we get going?  Looks like there's only one path currently, so this should be a straightforward decision."

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Mt. Coronet 2F

The Shadowed Mountain: Mt. Coronet Remix by GlitchxCity - Pokemon Diamond/Pearl/Platinum

*pulls card out of hat*



The first room of this floor is steeped in cliffsides and covered in snow.  Except instead of the cliffs going up this time, they're going down.  A long, long ways down.  Nobody can even see the bottom, as a thick layer of white mist obscures whatever lays below.  By contrast, dark black clouds obscure the skies above Mt. Coronet, and what looks like a rain made of shadows pours down from them.  Espeon hisses at those clouds, intimately familiar with the effects of this Shadow Sky.  The mountain is eerily quiet right now...

Rui nervously looks over the side.  "...that's a long fall...stay close, Espeon."  Which Espeon was doing anyways, but he acknowledges the order regardless.

Lucas is almost all business right now, focusing intently on the goal.  He keeps glancing up at where the mountain's peak is located way above the clouds.

As a stark contrast to Rui and Lucas, Karen has quite a spring in her step still.  She's still careful to not fall off the side of a cliff, of course, but she's incredibly eager and energetic now, and that doesn't seem like it's going to change soon.  Not even the Shadow Sky seems to be bothering her.

There are three paths out of this room, and all of them look like dangerous fall hazards.  The path straight across would have once been easy to traverse, but has collapsed due to an avalanche, so there's a large gap in the otherwise straight path.  There are also two other cliffs to the left and right that lead to other parts of the mountain's exterior, but reaching them likely requires a pokemon that's able to fly or is really good at jumping.  Or maybe you can think of some other creative way to get across!  There are a handful of snow covered trees dotted around the frigid terrain on all sides as well.  Which is weird, because this area's supposed to be above the tree line...

Who's going where?  Is the group splitting up to speed up the search again, and if so, is it going to be the same groups or different ones?

A Note concerning Rui: She may not be a pokemon trainer, and isn't really confident enough to try fielding more than one pokemon at a time currently, but the three pokemon accompanying her (Wes's Espeon, Explorer Scizor, and Telepathic Milotic) can basically all act independently without the need for orders from a trainer.  Rui and those three pokemon all count as a single character for the purposes of encounter caps.

Another Note: Both Rui and Lucas have powerful rosters of pokemon, so it may be beneficial to put them in separate groups if the party splits up on this floor.

In addition, if you wish to make any changes to your party of pokemon (which includes learning new moves from items that the group has in their possession), this would be a good time to do so.  Even in a Mystery Dungeon, Bebe's PC Science laughs in the face of time and space!

[Spiritmon]

With Rans suggestion about how the split of the group should be, Kogeki has a little objection, but decided to in part agree with the strategy. ''I need to object a bit with your suggestion Master Rans. I made a promise to Milotic I would protect her during this journey. I put my own honor and word as a ninja of Tsukinami. A oath of a Tsukinami, is something we cant simple broke."

"However...Rookie despite not have very much experience, have powerful Pokemon allies." Kogeki look to Rui. "Rookie. Could you please summon Milotic for a sec?"

With Rui (proably) summon Milotic, Kogeki had a talk. "Milotic, forgive me. I made a oath to protect you in this journey...however, I believe this person..." Kogeki show Randolph. "...Is also someone more than capable in guard you. That girl Rui dont have experience in battle, but Kee and Rans is strong enough." Kogeki than approach the dwarf person and give him something in his hand. "Here...take this." Kogeki than hand over a Max Potion. "...Use this in case anything happen. I trusting in you to keep the Rookie and Milotic safety. I putting my own honor and word as a Nami ninja...and I don't accept a no as answer in this case."

And thats is that. He simple give this Max Potion to Rans. He return to Kee side and said. "Ready to Fly. To certain danger and a certain semi death. Or close to it."

[Dragonstrike]

"I've Encountered two other of those scaled beauties before, but I never one that could speak. Does it have Telepathy, like Sally does?"

"Yeah, actually.  How'd you guess?"

"That is a nice find you got there, Karen. *Looks at her* Reckon you'd be willing to share it with the rest of us? Having Return on all the Pokemon that can use it right would be great, as ya can never have enough powerful Moves at your disposal in my humble opinion...."

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The only Pokemon of his he'd be interested in learning Return via dear Karen's rainbowy disk is Octavia - she's the one closest and dearest to the colorful musician, so it's only logical that she's able to put this move in the best use among Kee's other Pokemon.

"Sure!  Knock yourself out!  Er...not literally, though."

Karen also takes this opportunity to teach her own pokemon Return and other moves as well when applicable.

He'd then take the opportunity to give her the Soothe Bell he just recently recieved from Karen, stringing it onto a bit of cord he had and making it into simple necklace for her to wear.

"There. If things get to be overwhelming for ya, just listen to the chime of that bell, alright? Should calm your nerves and help ya focus. Maybe you could even use it to the tune of your singing, with a little practice. What do ya think, Paula?"

Paula really likes the Soothe Bell!  She likes the ringing sound it makes, and it harmonizes very well with her voice as she sings a few practice notes.  It definitely seems to help her stay calm.

Also, he'd want to ask Lucas to teach Paula Surf and Waterfall, Beethoven + Scarmory Fly, and Rock Climb and Strength to Zorn, as he finally realizes the champ probably has those HMs on him and would want to teach a few of his Pokemon them so he could get around the Mystery Dungeon easier.

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The easiest AND most safe way to do that would be flying over - but Kee's two birds are too small and weak to carry him, and he wouldn't want to put them through such a stress either. BUT, lucky for him, he has a big old and gentle dragon with him, so he gently asks Lucas if he could have Orpheus learn Fly for the sake to transporting him and Kogeki over to the right cliff. "That's the most safe way to get there, wouldn't ya agree? Ya see, I'd rather NOT take any risks in THIS instance."

Oh, while he's on it... Maybe having Aya learn Surf would come in handful too, even if she'd never going to act like a Lapras-ripoff as in carrying a human across water. Her way to use Surf would just work differently, like she surfs ahead and creates a dry path behind herself that the human then can take?

Funnily enough, Lucas seems to forget that he has those on his person.  "Hm?  Oh yeah, my HMs!  Sorry I didn't bring those up sooner.  Not much need to use them when my pokemon know them already.  Anyways...yeah, if you have pokemon you want to teach those moves to, go right on ahead!"

Lucas has the standard HMs for Cut, Fly, Surf, Strength, Defog, Rock Smash, Waterfall, and Rock Climb.

Parting the waters sounds like a cool idea for an alternative Surfing technique, and sounds like something Aya would totally do with her singing voice.  However, such a technique might be impractical for long distances and deeper water.

Well, Kee does want that nice Dawn Stone back indeed - only to present it to Milotic again the very moment he has it back in his hands. With a dear and charming smile he tells her that "Wouldn't it quite the waste to leave this sparkly Stone b'hind down the lake ya've been callin' yar home?~ Oh yes it WOULD, just like it'd be a waste to NOT let a beautiful and generous lady of a sea-serpent 'n of YOUR caliber have it. Please take it, keep it, just because."

(Mechanically, that means Milotic can keep the Dawn Stone as a Held Item. It has no effect but it's kinda pretty. Can of course be switched by an Item that'll bring her an advantage in-battle if desired.)

Milotic chuckles.  Well, that's very generous of you.  Thank you.  I shall keep it as a memento of our meeting should we ever part ways.

Octavia, out with and right beside Kee again from the moment they began to leave Milotic's lake, gives a friendly wave of 'hellooo!~' wth one of her ribbons to Rui and then one to her Espeon as well. She eyes the later quite curiously, seemingly rather happy to meet a fellow Eeveelution. And then one that evolves in a comparable way thst she does, awww !~♡ Does Rui's Espeon notice, do they react in a specific way?

Wes's Espeon gives Octavia a polite nod, as they can certainly respect a fellow Eeveelution and their owner, but he doesn't seem to be very interested in socializing right now.  He's obviously very disciplined and focused on his current task of protecting Rui.

Kee has stopped wondering and overthinking just WHAT the issue at Mt.Coronet is CAPABLE of doing, causing or abducting, so he just...accepts anything that Lucas tells about how they found a freaking Tyrantrum, then Rui, then Shadow Gyarados. He does have a rather puzzled look on his face as he mentioned the latter. "WaiwaitWAIT JUST A MOMENT Lucas, what was that 'bout those...Shadow Gyarados? Never heard of that, care to quick-explain to me what that means for those Gyarados 'n what makes 'em different from a standard Gyarados?"

Lucas frowns as he briefly explains.  "It means trouble, that's what.  According to Espeon, Shadow Pokemon are near emotionless, and thus rather...merciless when it comes to battles.  If they get out of control, they don't care what they might be attacking.  Pokemon, landmarks, humans...nothing is safe from their destructive tendencies.  I'm afraid this is a bit out of my own wheelhouse too, and Espeon's the closest thing we have to an expert on dealing with them.  The moral of the story is: be very, very careful if you see the pokemon suddenly become surrounded in a shadowy, black aura.  Those Shadow type moves were even able to do a number on my pokemon, believe it or not.  They didn't seem to care what type my pokemon were, and seemed to be super effective every time.  If we can beat them in battle, though, that seems to purify them, saving them from the darkness."

He just CAN'T help but to nudge Ran and tell him with the MOST SARCASTIC smile he can bring up: "...It doesn't happen too often that ya end up picking up women, now does it?~ Well, that's a nice taste ya have, that's for sure." ..... "Just jokin' aroun', dontcha take it seriously!ヾ(´ ▽ ` ) "

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That playful accusation causes the bristly blacksmith's face to flush Tomato Berry red and his expression to turn absolutely mortified as he started to stutter his objection.

"W-WHAT! H-Hang now, it a-ain't what is seems like....!"

After they quickly reveal their comment was just a jest, Ran managed to calm down after staring at the colorful musician for a bit, before his expression turned soured and more embarrassed, and then turned and stomped on ahead and away from them in a huff.

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And for Rui herself... "Of course it's NOT, Ran's the very last one to so that - he's a good guy b'hind that grumpiness of his, ya can b'lieve in that."

Rui also seems to be rather flustered and embarassed too, however.

"Wh-wha...why would you say something like that?!  Honestly!  Hmph!"

She follows after Randolph in a huff, but not before stopping to try and remember why she would react so strongly to a comment like that...which she obviously can't do, so she just sighs and continues on her way, Espeon dutifully trailing behind her.

Diam shrugs and follows after Randolph and Rui, not understanding what Rui's issue with the teasing is.

With the new member of the group, Kogeki take a few seconds with looking at her, and then reconize a bit. He release a sigh of disapointing. "...You not her. *Sigh* Well...welcome to the group I suppose. Nice to meet ya Rookie." Kogeki though in call her carrot head, but he imagine it would be rude. "Well, one more person to take care of I suppose. Stay close to us, and try not get yourself killed. We gonna face a big bad evil. We gonna find a way to take you home."

Rui seems to be slightly annoyed by Kogeki's comment.  Despite how timid she's seemed up until now, Rui apparently has quite the defiant attitude.

"...and what's that supposed to mean?  'You're not her?'  What, who were you expecting me to be?  Because if you have an idea of who I am, I'd love to hear it!"

Karen walks over and puts a hand on Rui's shoulder, trying to play peacemaker.  "Hey, let's not shout at each other, okay?"

Rui sighs and tries to relax.  "...I'm sorry.  I'm...just on edge right now.  I don't know where I am or who I'm supposed to be...it's stressful.  Thank you for your help.  Both of you.  And everyone else of course.  Again, I don't know what I'd have done if you all hadn't come along."

"Heya. We have little, so I make it quick. We are close to our goal. I expect everyone to do your best in final battle." Kogeki look fall upon to both Nagi and Nami. "I know you two dont get along very at each other, being natural enemies and all that. But the next best might the most difficult we ever face. So just this once, in case I need to put you both in the same battlefield, try to obey my orders. The flow of the battlefield might depend of the cooperation of your two."


"I also have something nice to you Nami to help increase your mood." Then Kogeki show to her feather Pokemon the Dramsamasite. "I did promise we would eventually find your own Mega Stone did not? We still need to work in our bond, but at least now Susanoo its not anymore the only Pokemon who can Mega Evolve."

"And about you Aspido. Here TM-Earthquake. You been lacking in strong STAB moves so I grab this one."

Nami is veeeeerrrry interested in that Mega Stone.  And Kogeki went out of his way to get that just for her?  That's a gift she can certainly appreciate!  +1 Happiness and Loyalty for Nami.

And with both Nagi and Nami finally reaching Loyalty scores greater than or equal to their disobedience, and both of them hearing about all the bad things that have been happening recently, they begrudgingly agree to a truce.  There's bigger problems than their rivalry right now.

Aspido doesn't have as profound of a reaction as the Ghostly duo, but he does like learning a new attack, and quite the powerful one at that!  Now to figure out how to best use it without causing the whole mountain to collapse on everyone...(an exaggeration, obviously, but it shouldn't have to be said that this move should be used with caution)

"Rookie. Could you please summon Milotic for a sec?"

With Rui summon Milotic, Kogeki had a talk. "Milotic, forgive me. I made a oath to protect you in this journey...however, I believe this person..." Kogeki show Randolph. "...Is also someone more than capable in guard you. That girl Rui dont have experience in battle, but Kee and Rans is strong enough."

Milotic is very polite and respectful.  There's no need to apologize.  I'm more than capable of taking care of myself if necessary. Continue to do your best to fight this evil and forge a path to the top of this mountain, and you'll be keeping your promise, I can assure you of that.  And in turn, I shall also try to protect those I am traveling with as best as I can.

[Dragonstrike]

Randolph, Karen, and Rui Fly across the gap in the path, discovering that this path intersects with another series of steep slopes and drops.  Dark and Flying type pokemon can be seen lurking in the shadows and branches of the trees that are scattered throughout the area.

   

L: (6)(1)(4)
D: (6)(1)(1)(2)

At one point, Amethyst pops out of her pokeball of her own volition, staring off into the distance with her eyes aglow, seemingly seeing something that the rest of the party cannot yet.  However, she seems to quickly lose track of whatever it is, so she elects to stick close to Randolph for now.

Catherine and Paula, meanwhile, are apparently having a conversation.  They even start giggling for a short time.  It seems they're getting along so far.  But once Catherine notices all the Dark types hanging around, she can't help but shudder...

1. Absol
Difficulty: Moderate
Cap: 2
Note: Something seems...off about this Absol.  It's staring at the party from the path on the right, not moving.  Its eyes are an icy blue color.  This may or may not be an omen of things to come...

2. Shadow Mandibuzz
Difficulty: Hard
Cap: 2
Note: Staring hungrily at the party from a nearby tree, waiting for something to happen. Rui's able to identify that it's a Shadow Pokemon before anyone takes the encounter.

3. Xatu
Difficulty: Hard
Cap: 2
Note: Looking over one the sudden drops, staring up at the dark clouds in the sky.

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

"Yeah, actually.  How'd you guess?"

"That is a nice find you got there, Karen. *Looks at her* Reckon you'd be willing to share it with the rest of us? Having Return on all the Pokemon that can use it right would be great, as ya can never have enough powerful Moves at your disposal in my humble opinion...."

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The only Pokemon of his he'd be interested in learning Return via dear Karen's rainbowy disk is Octavia - she's the one closest and dearest to the colorful musician, so it's only logical that she's able to put this move in the best use among Kee's other Pokemon.

"Sure!  Knock yourself out!  Er...not literally, though."

Karen also takes this opportunity to teach her own pokemon Return and other moves as well when applicable.

He'd then take the opportunity to give her the Soothe Bell he just recently recieved from Karen, stringing it onto a bit of cord he had and making it into simple necklace for her to wear.

"There. If things get to be overwhelming for ya, just listen to the chime of that bell, alright? Should calm your nerves and help ya focus. Maybe you could even use it to the tune of your singing, with a little practice. What do ya think, Paula?"

Paula really likes the Soothe Bell!  She likes the ringing sound it makes, and it harmonizes very well with her voice as she sings a few practice notes.  It definitely seems to help her stay calm.

(...)

*Mini- Flashback!*

Ran shrugs at in a matter of fact way to the wee lass, and explains the reasoning behind his guess the best he could.

"Past experience, mostly learnt from texts and word of mouth on the subject, but also from our recent dealings with the Pixies, and my past with Sally. Though rare as a bag of gold Nuggets, non-Legendary Pokemon capable of direction communication with us humans do exist and have been recorded in history. Most common way they do so is by either by Telepathy or some form of empathy, but Pokemon actually capable verbally speaking our language and using it to communicate have been reported to exist too, seldom in number as they are. Lucarios and powerful or experienced enough Psychic, Ghost, and Dark Types are the most common examples of the former category, and Slowkings are the most common for the later. Technically you could also include Chatots in the 'Verbal Communication' category, but most of them are only capable of parroting back things they've already heard at 'appropriate' times to get their ideas across unless they're trained otherwise. *Snorts* Milotics are an aquatic species of Pokemon, so they don't have the proper vocal cords for intense or prolonged vocalization, so I figured they would be using Telepathy to 'speak' with you. "

Wow, what a mouthful! But quite informative! Ran's flexing that high Knowledge of his, yes!

(...)

"*Gives Karen a Deadpan Look* Usually I don't go having my partners test their Moves out on me, so rest assure that won't be happening intentionally."

In short Order, everyone of Ran's Pokemon but Sekhemt, Excadrill, Tyrantrum, and Gyarados have learned Return! Let the power of friendship be with them, so they can use it to pummel their foes into submission!

(...)

"*Chuckles* Glad ya like it. If things get a bit too much for ya even with the Bell, I'll be there to help you. Now, let's get going before I turn blue as you from this bleeding cold...."

*Mini-Flashback End!*

[Dragonstrike]

Meanwhile, Kogeki, Lucas, and Kee discover that the path on the right is actually just a single pillar standing amidst a series of disjointed cliffs!  The paths definitely look like they might be interconnecting with each other.  Fortunately, with access to Fly, everyone's able to get across safely, but that could have proven to be a rather...troublesome obstacle.  A single tree stands on the cliffs to the east.

   

This area seems to be populated mainly by Flying types.

1. Staravia*
Difficulty: Moderate
Cap: 2
Note: Looks like it's aggressively pecking at something on the ground on the cliffs to the south.

2. Braviary
Difficulty: Tough
Cap: 2
Note: Flying overhead, obviously looking for prey.  Definitely looks aggressive, but can be avoided for now.

3. Quetzoral
Difficulty: Hard
Cap: 2
Note: Roosting in the only tree present here.

[Lord Windos]

Spoiler

Randolph, Karen, and Rui Fly across the gap in the path, discovering that this path intersects with another series of steep slopes and drops.  Dark and Flying type pokemon can be seen lurking in the shadows and branches of the trees that are scattered throughout the area.



L: (6)(1)(4)
D: (6)(1)(1)(2)

At one point, Amethyst pops out of her pokeball of her own volition, staring off into the distance with her eyes aglow, seemingly seeing something that the rest of the party cannot yet.  However, she seems to quickly lose track of whatever it is, so she elects to stick close to Randolph for now.


Catherine and Paula, meanwhile, are apparently having a conversation.  They even start giggling for a short time.  It seems they're getting along so far.  But once Catherine notices all the Dark types hanging around, she can't help but shudder...

1. Absol
Note: Something seems...off about this Absol.  It's staring at the party from the path on the right, not moving.  Its eyes are an icy blue color.  This may or may not be an omen of things to come...
Difficulty: Moderate
Cap: 2

2. Shadow Mandibuzz
Difficulty: Hard
Cap: 2
Note: Staring hungrily at the party from a nearby tree, waiting for something to happen.  Rui's able to identify that it's a Shadow Pokemon before anyone takes the encounter.

3. Xatu
Difficulty: Hard
Cap: 2
Note: Looking over one the sudden drops, staring up at the dark clouds in the sky.

Considering that Amethyst isn't in Ran's default Party for the Floor, I'll say that event possible because Ran would want to try again at to use her talent to help steer the group through the Dungeon, figuring that maybe on this Floor her prophetic powers wouldn't be muddled, and so bring them in his party for a bit to use her later. Unless she has the capability to escape from Ran's PC via his Com - Link to it, which would be quite something....

Regardless, the midget miner would be taken off guard by her spontaneous self-release, but let out a relieved *Sigh* when she didn't end up going off to chase down whatever twinged her doom sense. The last thing he wanted to deal with was his Pokemon going rouge in the middle of a Mystery Dungeon, as that probably spelled all sorts of interesting trouble.

On a much happier note, he's glad to see his vocal duet getting along swell, as he was hoping they would. Maybe he could convince Paula to give a performance to Catherine later, as that would help fulfill his promise towards the gelid gall and build the former's confidence if she can impress them.

Catherine's sharp drop in mood clued him in that something ain't right in the room, and indeed that was the case as it had more than a few ominous looking critters that seemed poised to make their lives more exciting, all of which had him frowning. The blue Absol eyeing up his mini - group in particular catches his own doom - filled fancy, as if it was interested in them it probably meant something eventful was in store for them, but then there was that Mandibuzz, which Rui helpfully pointed out was a Shadow Pokemon, leering at the group and looking about ready to prey on any weakness it could spot. 

He spent a couple of minutes deliberating on what he should do, before he turned to look at Amethyst and Karen, gesturing to them before pointing to the BE Absol.

"Lass, you mind if ya investigate that Absol for us? It seems to have taken an keen interest in us, and I'd like to know the what and why behind it. Amethyst, can you go with her and listen to her Orders the best you can, if she does meet up with your kind? If you accompany her, you two might be able to get more out of it than if she were alone, and I'd feel a lot better about her dealing with one of your kind with you by her side to moderate things. I'd do it myself......*Jerks Thumb At Shadow Mandibuzz* ....but I want to deal with that buzzard first 'fore it can get any ideas about swooping down on us, or just going plain berserk."

*Looks at Karen and Amethyst*

"That sound amendable to ya, ladies?"

(If it does, then Ran will take the Shadow Mandibuzz Encounter with Paula and Catherine! If not, I suppose he'll go investigate that BE Absol instead, if no one else wants to.)