[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[Iron]

With Flinch hax you could make it pretty unlikely that anyone would take a sting. Do you want to share your idea anyway?

[Dragonstrike]

With Flinch hax you could make it pretty unlikely that anyone would take a sting. Do you want to share your idea anyway?

Mizu and the yet to be nicknamed Dratini Nathan hatched (who are both in the party currently) could take the stings without too much negative consequence if I understand what it does correctly and somebody HAS to take a sting.  They're young and Dragons are typically long lived.  On top of that, rapidly aging them may also accelerate their evolution greatly since they evolve in a matter of weeks. Bonus points since the Dragons evolving could potentially save them a little exp due to learning Twister for 0 exp after they've evolved (and Kyogre help these Lumineon if they end up on the receiving end of a Dragonair's PDed Twister). Bonus bonus points for Shed Skin helping the Dragons to rapidly rid themselves of any other lingering effects caused by the Poison or the Confusion.

Nathan wouldn't purposely put them in harm's way just for the sake of evolving them more quickly, but it's something that's been at the back of my mind since learning about the aging factor of the poison. If we can avoid fighting the Lumineon again while still progressing, Nathan would prefer to do that.

[Iron]

Haha I love the idea of accelerating their evolution with a sting, that's clever as hell.

Both Dratini let themselves out of their Pokeballs, seeing it is time to fight the Lumineon again. They intercede just as Nathan is about to take two stings, and fall to the ocean floor, lying still.

As Nathan swims to their side, they begin shedding their skin, much to his relief. They shed and shed and shed, going through weeks of growth in a matter of moments. This does indeed heal their Poison, and in fact, they begin glowing! When the light of evolution fades, Nathan has two intertwined Dragonair, one pink and one blue.

You make short work of bringing the Lumineon to 1hp now, which you're welcome to write up if you wish, and capture them all. You all gaze about, wondering if time is going to reset, but it doesn't!

Kingdra is extremely eager to move on now, and has stopped acting so scared.

[Dragonstrike]

After determining exactly what they're up against with Juliet's help, Nathan thanks her for the assistance despite the unideal conditions and recalls her.  "...well, this has certainly been an interesting experience.  I have one more idea, everyone, but we need to fight those fish again!  Don't KO them, and start throwing pokeballs as soon as we bring them low!"

Kingdra hesitates for a moment.  Fighting them didn't work before.

Nathan gives Kingdra a pat on the back.  "I said we'll get through this, and we will.  Just..."

The Dratini both summoning themselves cuts Nathan off mid sentence.  He looks at both of their eyes carefully.  Mizu nods, and Nathan sighs.

"...alright.  Trust them, Kingdra.  It seems like they want to fight.  You can take a break.  If you can just focus on maintaining DIVE for me so I can focus on the battle, that would be wonderful."

Nathan lifts the Sword as the two Dratini start to swim in circles around him and Kingdra.  The two small, serpentine dragons are in favorable terrain.  They may not be strong, but they're confident.  Nathan brought them along for training, and train is what they shall do!  Mizu wants to evolve as fast as possible, and this is a perfect opportunity to grow.  Conversely, the male Dratini knows that if he's to survive, he needs to be able to defend himself.  The fate of his species rests on him, and he will fight for a better future, no matter what may oppose him.

The series of events that follow happen almost too rapidly to track.  Nathan can't properly power up the Dratinis' attacks with the Sword, so they employ every trick they can to try and gain an edge over the Lumineon.  They use Alloy to protect themselves from harm, but then they're suddenly little else but pink and blue blurs as they rapidly strike at individual Lumineon over and over, only to just as quickly be circling Nathan and Kingdra in a defensive formation again.  Mizu attempts to whittle down low health Lumineon with Dragon Rage, while the male Dratini further protects everyone with a veil of Mist.

However, such a slow assault was doomed to leave openings, and the crafty Lumineon are evasive little buggers.  The sheer number of opponents is overwhelming, and mistakes are made as a result of being worn down by two difficult battles back to back.

Two of the Lumineon slip past the Dratini and head straight for Nathan and Kingdra, blindsiding them.  They notice, but too late.

Nathan raises the Sword again, prepared once more to defend himself with force and cut these Lumineon down and drive them away.  Kingdra's startled and begins to panic, seemingly ready to start blasting things indiscriminately because the defensive line failed to protect him.

The Dratini are faster, though, thanks to their Extreme Speed.  They intercept as soon as the poisonous barbs are fired.

...and their last moments as Dratini play out as Iron described.  And as they twine together, now evolved into majestic Dragonair, they hiss in unison at the Lumineon.  These fish just made a big, big mistake.  Nobody attacks their trainer, handler, and friend so viciously and gets away with it unscathed.

The two Dragonair untwine, and then begins swimming literal circles around the Lumineon instead of Nathan and Kingdra this time.  Not just one of them, either.  ALL of them.  

The Dragons' 13 foot long bodies begin generating water currents as they swim through the ocean.  In mere moments, all 12 Lumineon become trapped in a swirling vortex of water created by the duo's newly learned Twister attacks.

And once the water stops swirling and returns to its normal state, all 12 Lumineon can be seen to have been battered and bruised by the force of the currents.  All of them look like they're barely conscious, and none of them look like they're in any kind of condition to retaliate to such a strong combination of moves immediately.

The Lumineon are all at 1 HP and Flinched!

"EVERYONE, NOW!"

Nathan throws two pokeballs.  Catching the first Lumineon worked.  If they can just get the rest of them away from here, away from each other, and do so without fainting any of them...

*click*

*click*

Success!  Two caught!  Nathan wastes no time in throwing two more pokeballs, trying to catch the Lumineon off guard before they can react and drag this out for another Round of combat!

*click*

*click*

The water settles as the four Lumineon that Nathan threw pokeballs at are captured.  Nathan wastes no time in sending those four time bending fish to his PC.  Ideally, Terra and Heart should have captured four each as well. Nathan will look at his Lumineon more carefully later. If this subspecies hasn't ever been captured before, then this could be a huge discovery! He'll have to talk to Terra a little bit later about what exactly happened to him, though...

And with that, the battle should be concluded.  Nathan sheathes the Sword and wipes his brow after that fight.  "...phew...see, told ya you could trust them, Kingdra."  He smiles as the two Dragons swim together happily.  This is a huge step forward for their growth and goals.

And after that display of courage, Nathan has an idea.  He calls the Dragonair over so he can thank them properly.

"I appreciate you both putting yourselves on the line like that without me asking you to.  More than you know.  That situation could have gotten a lot worse if you hadn't.  Mizu, I'm happy to see you got what you wanted from it.  Very happy.  This is only the first step in your growth, though.  We still have a lot of training to do if you want to become as strong as you can."

Nathan turns to the blue male Dragonair.  "And you, my friend and charge...that was very brave.  I didn't want to risk you unnecessarily, but you put yourself before others regardless, and I think that's very admirable.  So, I think I finally know what to call you.  Yuki.  It means bravery, and I think it truly embodies who you are after that little show of yours.  Do you agree?"

The male Dragonair ponders that name for a moment.  Yuki...Yuki...yes, he quite likes the sound of that.  He swims in circles happily around Mizu, who giggles happily.  Nathan smiles again.

"Yuki it is then.  Just try not to get into danger unnecessarily, okay? I don't want to fail Arcanine because you were being reckless.  Alright then, Yuki and Mizu, let's get going.  We have an HM to find and teach to our friends."

Kingdra watches the exchange thoughtfully.  Those Dragons saved Nathan without a second thought.  And not just Nathan.  Kingdra would have surely been the next target if those Lumineon had managed to subdue Nathan.  Why did those Dragons not hesitate? Surely they knew such actions would cost them dearly...

"Hey, Kingdra, ya still with us?  Let's go!  Can't find that HM without your help, after all!"

Kingdra snaps out of that train of thought when Nathan speaks up.  The human's right.  They're here for a reason, and he still has to fulfill his end of the bargain they agreed upon.  There'll be time to ponder what just happened and why later.

Off we go to continue the search for the DIVE HM!  We're so close now...I think...

[Spiritmon]

Heart look at Nathan, and nod his head in acceptance. He summon Lancelot the Aegislash. "Lancelot! Grant me strength! Sacred Sword!"

Lancelot eye shiny with, while the blade itself grew in power, on deep red crimson power. The shield itself was attached to Heart help.

He stop right beside Nathan and tell him, kinda chuckled. "Heh, guess between the both of us, I get a cooler sword. Mine is bigger than yours."

Koa also release himself from his Pokeball, and look at Heart, along with Chespin. "Koa. Chespin." He nod his head. "I see. Those Lumineon can speed time. You might able to finally evolve."

Heart raise his Sacred Sword, while Chespin prepare Woodhammer and Koa his Dragon Claw. "Let's go!"

He show a battle cry, and then they help Nathan in his plan. Chespin was hammering any Lumineon who try to escape. Koa also had no mercy and attack the Lumineon along with Dratini, showing them the potential of a Dragon! 

Heart was also nasty and strong. Using his holy unholy weapon he show all the skilled and grace of a member of a knight. Two Lumineon try to attack Heart by behind, but both Chespin and Koa attack them before they launch the stings.

Heart was furious, and Lancelot became a blade of shadows, and like a flash, Heart appear in the front of those enemies. "Shadow Sneak!" With attacks, he leaves those two with 1 HP.

Heart then throw 2 Pokeball and 2 Great Balls and capture 4 of the Lumineon.

[Iron]

As the Pokeballs click shut, they became frosted over with ice, cold enough to feel painful in bare hands. It still looks like they will work, though.

Your Kingdra leads you through a maze of pillars and seaweed, seemingly some ancient ruins of the FTS. Each pillar is frosted with ice, ages old, layered like stalagmites from eons of freezing and melting. Pipes like the ones in Mt Sentry poke out occasionally, but they are stopped up with ice and completely nonfunctioning and corroded. You're seeing plenty of those spiral symbols, but they seem inactive and you don't see any more of the Lumineon near you.

You pass through one last arch, into the labyrinth of an underwater cave honeycombed with small chimneys to the surface. There, half-buried in the sand, is the tough glass cylinder and metal straps of an HM! This one has a Klein-bottle effect, where the glass continually flows into a topological hole at the top of the cylinder and reforms as the sides. All the water inside looks very pure despite the murky nature of the cave, filtered by the physics-bending technology of the Old Ones.

[Lord Windos]

Terra's involvement in the whole Time Loop Trap post Envenomation was......blurry, to put it mildly. Getting Poisoned by a exotic, borderline supernatural and downright crippling toxin by taking a proverbial bullet for a friend didn't do very much good for his physical and mental health, and the subsequent screwing around with the local space-time continium only compounded the issues it caused. Combined with having relatively little time to actually recover from his afflication and being forced to act quickly on the Lore Master's plan to permenantly deal with the Lumineon and  witnessing/almost witnessing a disasterous clash of Wills between Sari and Nathan in between that all.....yeah, the more sagely monk is quite out of sorts on all levels from these recent events. Poor guy...

Case in point, during the group's second go at the school of chronologically challenging fishies, he mostly hung back and let Sari vent her deep seated reservations in a variety of ways without much more input that 'Don't kill any of them, need them for later' , clutching his head and panting heavily as he focused the best he could on the fight with one hand and the other resting on Gemini the Deoxys' Ball (just in case). When the time came for the group to Capture them all, he just threw 4 Pokeballs at the Lumineon that were his shiny sloth's main targets of her ire while the monarch herself exerted whatever influence she had to force the Capture and subjectcation of those damnable pests, and thankfully every single one of them were sucked up. His were sent straight to his PC ASAP , where they would later be transfered to his fledgling lab to see if their esoteric 'Abilities' could be put to good use in his research and improvement of Genescets, Deoxys, and Bug Pokemon in general. 

If they weren't Captured and the whole group had to go through another disorienting, harrowing, and frankly frustrating loop, Terra would've have just unleashed his Legendary clone to go cosmic disaster on the whole school of venomous lionfish, consequences be damned. When all else fails, brute forcing a solution usually has a better chance than none of clearing things up, if you follow.

After that....well, the next thing the worn and rugged wanderer clearly remembers is arriving into the undersea/island chamber and spotting what was unmistakably was an HM - DIVE, most likely, given the intel and the location it was found in. Terra, still not doing too well from the whole Lumineon Ordeal but now well enough to do more than grunt out short commands and be dragged along by Sari while copping with his extreme sudden onset aging, just gave the near Mythical relic a long suffering look before looking over to Nathan, Heart, and anyone else that joined them with a fatigued and questioning frown.

"We....have....found what we were looking for. For better and worse. Who....wants to take....and hold onto it?"

If no one offers, he be the one to claim it with a rather sullen and grim expression. In that moment, everyone could tell the steely brawler had a grude of his own against the HM, for all the grief he and the group went through to get it. Heck, that was apparent regardless, but more so in that instance than any other current one.

[Spiritmon]

Heart was worry about Terra. "Brother!" He rush in his direction, even trying to act as a pillar to help his friend if needed. "You still under effect of the poison...good Lord." Heart was trying to think on a solution.

"We will figure out a solution...Maybe..." A idea spark in his mind. "I have a idea. The Hauberk. It can swap bad or luck conditions from one person to another. If we use it with the Helmet and Moltres power, we can take out that aging process of yours to...I don't know, something else. A leaf, a stone, maybe one of the Lumineon...Anything..."

Heart then whisper. "I...I refuse loose anyone else...I refuse to let you die Terra..."

About who should carry the HM DIVE, Heart spoke. "I think...Either Nathan or you Terra should carry the HM. You pretty much solve this difficult puzzle." Heart do notice Terra grudge against the HM, but he didn't say anything...He also don't have a desire in carry the HM with him. Not after everything they went though.

[Dragonstrike]

Nathan puts a hand on Heart's shoulder to try and calm him down.  "Time's a difficult thing to reverse, Heart.  We'll think of something.  Just try to calm down for now."

Then he swims over to the HM with Kingdra to pick up the canister.

"I'll take it.  I'm the one who insisted we get it.  I'll bear the responsibility."

Yuki and Mizu pop out of their pokeballs and swim around Nathan excitedly once he retrieves the ancient technology.  No words need be exchanged.  He knows they're excited to learn the new, very powerful move.

However, they're not ready yet.  Nathan holds up a hand.  "Hold on now.  You'll have to evolve first before you can learn this move.  We'll get you both there eventually, though.  That'll just take some time and a lot of training, alright?  And then you'll be able to learn so much more, too!"

Both Dragonair nod excitedly.  They may have aged rapidly, but they're definitely still young at heart.  And definitely still young for members of their species.  They have a long, long life ahead of them still...

With that out of the way, it's time to address the Donphan in the room: the matter of teaching the move to Terra and Hearts' pokemon.  "Any pokemon you two have on hand that can learn DIVE?  I know Sari can.  It should make getting back to our starting point much easier.  As much as I want to explore these FTS ruins more, I'm not properly equipped for it right now if we were to run into more trouble.  We should come back later to look at them more closely."

[Spiritmon]

Heart release a dry chuckle. "Haha, Time...yeah. Time was always against me. Dialga might have a dark sense of humor for reminding me that." Heart grab his amulet, seeing the symbol of family: The Creation Trio along with Arceus himself.

He was about to throw away his amulet, but he control himself. No need to burn his flames while holding Terra. He just put the amulet back to where it was. "At the moment Nathan, the only Netune, my Swampert, can learn."