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View Full Version : Adventures in Helnith Part 2: Of Shadowed Paths and Spectral Evidence



Kareeah_Indaga
2024-04-17, 07:32 PM
Notes for players:

Standard on this forum is to make a new thread every 50 pages.
Houserules are listed in the OoC thread.
((Comments in double parenthesis like this are OoC.)) If your entire post is OoC please use the OoC thread instead.

Original Threads:
RPG (previous) (http://heroescommunity.com/viewthread.php3?TID=25439)
OoC (previous) (http://heroescommunity.com/viewthread.php3?TID=25422)

Previous Thread:
Assault on the Town of Ash (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?652729-Adventures-in-Helnith-Assault-on-the-Town-of-Ash-(RPG)&p=25669124)

Current Threads:
OoC (current) (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?652728-Adventures-in-Helnith-Assault-on-the-Town-of-Ash-(OoC)&p=25669122)
Dice Rolls (current) (https://forums.giantitp.com/showthread.php?478104-Adventures-in-Helnith-%96-Dice-Rolls&p=20408724)
Character Stats (current) (https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1BdtlsnE2RgLf2WhcLkUDtOGlZsZ1B4irKFaui0Klt7A/edit?usp=sharing)

Pinklady:

The Mawile’s trainer calls off from the side: “I told you you should have gone for Thunderbolt instead!”

“Yeah, yeah…” the trainer in red grumbles before calling for Dragon Pulse.

Croaky uses Rain Dance!
It begins to rain!

Ryskimara uses Dragon Pulse!
Croaky is hit for 35 damage!

(Rain Dance in effect, 4 rounds remaining.)

Croaky: 42/77

Ryskimara: 77/77

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

Mark and Mina:


"I'm going to try catching one of these, too. Do you want one?"

Mina shook her head ‘no.’ “I’m good.” She didn’t have much affinity for Grass types. She ordered Pidgey and Houndoom to pick off the weaker members of the mob with Gust and Ember respectively.

Jessia uses Bite!
It’s super effective!
Dendrolog 7 is hit for 48 damage!

Houndoom uses Ember!
It’s super effective!
Dendrolog 2 is hit for 112 damage!
Dendrolog 2 faints!

Pidgey uses Gust!
It’s super effective!
Dendrolog 1 is hit for 59 damage!
Dendrolog 1 faints!

Marick uses Rock Slide!
Dendrolog 3 is hit for 73 damage!
Dendrolog 3 faints!
Dendrolog 4 is hit for 60 damage!
Dendrolog 5 is hit for 66 damage!
Dendrolog 5 faints!
Dendrolog 8 is hit for 66 damage!
Dendrolog 8 faints!

Dendrolog 7 uses Ritual Dance!

The remaining Grass Pokémon abruptly fell into perfect sync and attacked.

It’s super effective!
Jessia is hit for 44 damage!

Dendrolog 6 uses Ritual Dance!
It’s super effective!
Jessia is hit for 75 damage!
Jessia faints!

Dendrolog 4 uses Ritual Dance!
It’s not very effective…
Houndoom is hit for 23 damage!

As the fight raged, Mark and Mina were able to note the lights in the distance were scrambling to and fro like an ant nest that had been kicked over, and were starting to trickle away.

(Sunny Day in effect.)

Marick: 100/100
Jessia: 0/115

Pidgey: 76/76
Houndoom: 77/100

Dendrolog 1: 0/51
Dendrolog 2: 0/54
Dendrolog 3: 0/56
Dendrolog 4: 2/62
Dendrolog 5: 0/59
Dendrolog 6: 64/64
Dendrolog 7: 22/70
Dendrolog 8: 0/59

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

Less:

The library is quite busy, with many students coming in to do classwork out of the baking heat. But you find the section you’re looking for without too much trouble, and it isn’t even crawling with students, unlike some of the other sections.


Current Week -6 - Outside Stardust City, near Quibir and Steltag Prison (two in one day), North of Ternai
Current Week -5 - West of Coastmarch, near Jikero, Slashpeak Cave
Current Week -4 - Battle Festival Village and south of Siltis (two in one day), Tidepath
Current Week -3 - Keida, Wingtip Island and south end of Shatterhigh Mountains (two in one day)
Current Week -2 - On the coast south of Greshil, Northern Coast west of Scallop Cave, Rieva
Current Week -1 - near Shadowbeach, Southeast of Plainshaven


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

Akio:

You make it to Skybreak without notable incident, the only Pokémon you see being too far off to bother you. The line into Skybreak isn’t bad either; this late in the day more people are leaving than going in, and the heat seems to have made the remainder think twice about standing in the sun.

The library is a good bit busier, being full of students getting their research or classwork done in the air conditioning.

Are you looking for something specific on the subject or just general information?

Gnomes2169
2024-04-17, 10:47 PM
What the HECK had THAT been?! Recalling Jessia, with a mumbled apology for his poor ghost type, Mark pulled out another great ball and told Mina, "Alright, then, I'm just going for the big one." Figuring that Pidgey and Houndoom could handle the remaining two, Mark threw his ball at Dendrolog 7.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-04-18, 06:26 PM
Mark and Mina:

Mark throws a Great Ball! ((-1 Great Ball, 1 remaining.))

Shake…shake…shake…DING!
Dendrolog was caught!


Type: Grass/Ghost
Ability: Deadwood - Powers up Grass and Ghost moves by 50%
Gender: Male
Level: 23
Held Item: Mental Herb
Stats--
HP: 70
Attack: 42
Def: 46
Sp. Attack: 44
Sp. Def: 46
Speed: 32
Moves:
Ingrain
Leech Seed
Razor Leaf
Worry Seed
Ritual Dance*
Branch Lash*


Would you like to give a nickname to Dendrolog?

The Pokédex has a little more info:


Type: Ghost (Physical)
Power: 60 (but see text)
Accuracy: 100%
PP: 15 (max 24)

If another Pokémon uses Ritual Dance after the user, that Pokémon will act immediately after the user (ignoring Speed) and the Power of the subsequent user’s attack will double to 120.

((Basically it’s Round, but Ghost type and Physical.))



Type: Grass (Physical)
Power: 70
Accuracy: 100%
PP: 10 (max 15)

Power doubled vs. foes in the air (via Flying type, Levitate, etc…)


Pidgey and Houndoom make short work of the remaining two, and the barrier of greenery collapses. The lights in the distance have largely disappeared into the underbrush.


(Sunny Day in effect.)

Marick: 100/100
Jessia: 0/115

Pidgey: 76/76
Houndoom: 77/100

Dendrolog 1: 0/51
Dendrolog 2: 0/54
Dendrolog 3: 0/56
Dendrolog 4: 0/62
Dendrolog 5: 0/59
Dendrolog 6: 0/64
Dendrolog 7: 22/70 - caught!
Dendrolog 8: 0/59

Feathersnow
2024-04-18, 10:10 PM
Akio goes up to the help desk. "Hello, could you help me find any books about other dimensions? I need to help a friend's daughter with her project." Not a lie! Honor intact! "Just general background, so I know how to start"

Gnomes2169
2024-04-18, 11:59 PM
Yes! And now Mark finally had something effective against water types, and it seemed like it was a physical attacker? Or at least its current moveset fit that. He'd have to check the pokedex for all of its moveset, evolution and other information. And that ghost move... he pulled it up on his pokedex and asked Mina, "Have you ever seen something like this before? It's like, a ghost version of Round... wonder if Jessia can learn it." If she could, then he had a nice little combo on his team. He'd also have to check if Ritual Dance was a Dendrolog exclusive move. "Anyway, let's get those berries that Na- er, Xatu found!" He caught himself this time, Xatu, he's trying to learn.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-04-20, 08:27 AM
Akio:

“Of course young man,” the librarian taps something onto the keyboard of the nearest computer, bringing up a list of books. “Any dimension in particular?”


Journey into the Unown: A Study of the Symbol Pokémon
Reversal (includes notes from famed researcher Newton Graceland!)
Twin Temples: The Shines of Light and Shadow
Observations on Effects of the Spectral Dimension
Silph Co Dimensional Travel Postmortem


“We also have some newspaper clippings about the incident at Alamos town, but those aren’t very detailed. I can still direct you to them if you like.”

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

Mark and Mina:

“I don’t think so…I mean, I don’t think I’ve seen that attack before now,” Mina added as she realized her initial response was a little ambiguous. Come to that, Mina didn’t think she’d seen Round…she pulled out her Pokédex for some quick reading of her own.


"Anyway, let's get those berries that Na- er, Xatu found!"

<Better.>

Mina’s mouth twitched. “Yes, let’s.”

Xatu lead them to the spot where the lights had been. A large tree had fallen at some point in the not-to-distant past forming a sizable clearing, and a mass of sticks and fallen leaves had been woven up against its trunk - Xatu fluttered over to peer inside. A few plants scattered around the clearing looked like something had made a hasty effort to uproot them - leaves missing or shredded - and by these Mina found a red leaf with a powerful smell ((+1 Power Herb for Mina)) and Mark discovered a Revival Herb with a Dendrolog-foot-shaped footprint on it and dirt still on the roots ((+1 Revival Herb for Mark)). In three spots the underbrush had been coaxed away from patches of loamy soil, but most whatever had grown there had also been knocked over and raided: Mina noted the remains of a yellow viney plant she didn’t recognize but was distracted from investigating by something round and wait that was -

“Mark, come look!” Mina called, excited.

It was bright green. It was a little battered. But it was definitely a Lum Berry.

Gnomes2169
2024-04-20, 08:47 AM
Mark had been looking under the fallen tree to see if there was anything of interest when Mina called out, and he bustled on over to check what she'd found. Not recognizing it, because he still wasn't a berry expert, he pulled out his pokedex and checked his berry app to figure out what it did... and his eyes grew wide. "We need as many of these as we can possibly get. And we need to make sure they aren't eaten before they get harvested." Blanket status curing?! What the heck, that was so good! "Put that in one of your planters next... or maybe we should pool money together to buy more portable planters for me, Pinklady, Akio or Less? I don't know. We're just never going to have enough of those."

The revival herb went into his bag, of course. It might be bitter and make his pokemon grumpy, but it was a revive when they needed it.

Feathersnow
2024-04-20, 11:04 AM
"Err... The Spectral Dimension. I'd like thar book and to look at the newspapers, please."

This was going well. Hopefully no one from Bandra was monitoring this.

Lord Ruby34
2024-04-21, 05:54 PM
Five weeks ago. Less furrowed his brow and inspected the newspapers. The mostly likely rifts were probably the one near Jikero, or West of Coastmarch. Depending on exactly how Emilia's mission had gone, either made sense as potential entry points. Which meant that his little girl had spent over a month in that darkened place. Just being there apparently could have an effect on mood and emotional control.

Maybe Emilia could have made her way to friendly territory? Supposedly one of the Lord Pokemon was friendly . . . or she could have been captured by one of the others. Five weeks was a long time to be worn down . . . but if the Bandra officer had been well enough to write messages, then all hope was far from lost. But that still left Less a massive logistical problem. In five weeks, Emilia could have managed to find herself pretty much anywhere in the spectral realm.

Nothing to do for it but press on. Less left the library, searching for a copy of the current week's paper. That shouldn't be too hard to find.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-04-21, 06:34 PM
Mark and Mina:

Mark’s examination of the tree reveals little of note except that the leaf mass appears hollow on the inside, the floor of it well-trampled with small prints the Pokédex identifies as coming from Dendroclops - Dendrolog’s pre-evolved form - and a few leaves and small bits of eggshell.


"We need as many of these as we can possibly get. And we need to make sure they aren't eaten before they get harvested."

Mina had to double-check what she had in her Planters and how long each took to grow before she replied. “My Kelpsy plant should be harvestable by tomorrow morning, have you got anything in yours ready before then?” She frowned. “If we had more than one we could risk one in those plots we found by the road, but without a backup I don’t think we should.” Worst case scenario they couldn’t safely grow more until tomorrow though…that wasn’t bad, all things considered. It wasn’t like the Time Flutes, they had Pokemon Centers and other healing Berries to cover most of their status effect problems…


"Put that in one of your planters next... or maybe we should pool money together to buy more portable planters for me, Pinklady, Akio or Less? I don't know. We're just never going to have enough of those."

“The others can probably buy their own Planters, we’ve all had a few day jobs at this point.” Privately Mina felt if they didn’t care enough to buy the Planters themselves they probably didn’t care enough to keep track of growing and watering the Berries either.

Oh well, they’d either jump on the free healing item bandwagon or they wouldn’t.

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

Akio:

The librarian helps you retrieve Observations on Effects of the Spectral Dimension and the newspapers, pointing out the relevant headlines in the process. The librarian also gives the warning that non-students are not allowed to take any materials out of the library.

DARK FIGURE THREATENS TRAINERS
MASS HALLUCINATIONS AT ALAMOS TOWN
MYSTERIOUS FOG ENGULFS TOWN
BATTLE OF THE GODS!


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

Less:

You find a newspaper stand selling the day’s paper; it’s 100 PD for the current day’s edition, but you know from previous visits the newspaper usually gives away the previous day’s edition for free.

essCee
2024-04-22, 12:17 AM
Pinklady:

The Mawile’s trainer calls off from the side: “I told you you should have gone for Thunderbolt instead!”

“Yeah, yeah…” the trainer in red grumbles before calling for Dragon Pulse.

Croaky uses Rain Dance!
It begins to rain!

Ryskimara uses Dragon Pulse!
Croaky is hit for 35 damage!

(Rain Dance in effect, 4 rounds remaining.)

Croaky: 42/77

Ryskimara: 77/77


Pinklady frowned as her opponent's Pokémon didn't stick to fire and water as she had hoped. "Croaky, get them with a Bubblebeam!" She instructed, although unsure she'll even get the chance to use it, given the presence of Thunderbolt her previous opponent mentioned.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-04-22, 07:28 AM
Pinklady:

Either you misunderstood the boy with the Mawile or something else is going on, because your opponent doesn’t call for a Thunderbolt this round either.

Croaky uses Bubble Beam!
Ryskimara is hit for 15 damage!

Oddly, the Rain Dance doesn’t seem to be helping at all. A quick scan with the Pokédex yields more information:

Does not take additional damage from attacks boosted by weather conditions.

Ryskimara uses Dragon Pulse!
Croaky is hit for 38 damage!


(Rain Dance in effect, 3 rounds remaining.)

Croaky: 4/77

Ryskimara: 62/77

Gnomes2169
2024-04-22, 08:40 AM
Mina had to double-check what she had in her Planters and how long each took to grow before she replied. “My Kelpsy plant should be harvestable by tomorrow morning, have you got anything in yours ready before then?” She frowned. “If we had more than one we could risk one in those plots we found by the road, but without a backup I don’t think we should.”

Mark nodded along with the second part of what she said, obviously agreeing with that since he'd brought up the planters thing. He also checked his berries quick so that he could give her an answer. "I just planted them yesterday, and I'm pretty sure they don't grow as fast as Oran berries, but let me see here..." He should also probably water them soon anyway. And also try to clear off Fisher's shadowing, so he could rain-dance and water things that way... But later. If the planters were dry, he could always ask his Corphish for a bit of water too.


“The others can probably buy their own Planters, we’ve all had a few day jobs at this point.”

"Yeah, that's fair... Speaking of, though, I definitely need to get to that breeder and back to Skybreak today. Maybe if we get there fast enough I'll be able to buy another planter before lockdown and stuff?" If Xatu could teleport him, he wouldn't be crunched for time at all. "I know you'll be looking around in town for any hints about Riolu's trainer you can, and I'm not asking for you to drop that or anything," Heck, he had volunteered to help, "but if I could bum a ride back before dinner, I should have time to get all that done and still be able to help you out once I pick up the samples. Um. Thanks for being the team taxi while 'Sail is out of commission, by the way. You too, Xatu. Sorry I keep calling you Natu. It must be... annoying..." He honestly wished it wasn't necessary, since that would mean his psychic type wasn't drowning in pain meds right now, but he was still grateful for the assistance.

Lord Ruby34
2024-04-22, 08:20 PM
Less asked after the previous day's paper, and made a mental note to actually come here and buy the paper the day they left for the spectral dimension. As long a forecast as they could muster might be life or death.

After a moment of uncertain hesitation, Less headed back to the main part of the university to go ask after his delivery task. They would need money for supplies, both for Pokemon and themselves. No Pokemon Centers to bum a free lunch from in the Spectral dimension.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-04-24, 08:59 AM
Mark and Mina:

Mark could see that his Berries did, in fact, need water.


Grepa growing taller
Pomeg growing taller
Qualot growing taller




"Yeah, that's fair... Speaking of, though, I definitely need to get to that breeder and back to Skybreak today. Maybe if we get there fast enough I'll be able to buy another planter before lockdown and stuff?" If Xatu could teleport him, he wouldn't be crunched for time at all. "I know you'll be looking around in town for any hints about Riolu's trainer you can, and I'm not asking for you to drop that or anything," Heck, he had volunteered to help, "but if I could bum a ride back before dinner, I should have time to get all that done and still be able to help you out once I pick up the samples. Um. Thanks for being the team taxi while 'Sail is out of commission, by the way. You too, Xatu. Sorry I keep calling you Natu. It must be... annoying..."

Xatu’s response sounded noncommittal. Mina’s was a little easier to understand.

“Okay, okay, we can stop looking for Berries and just hurry off to Hillsbreak then.” They’d already found something, after all. “After we fill the patch by the road.”

Xatu flew back over to Mina and settled on her shoulder. She reached up and scritched under his beak.


The sense he was giving off was grim.

What’s wrong?

<They moved their nest site here. This is bad.>

Bad, how?

<I told you this was their medicine patch?>

Yes, and you told me you and your family raided it sometimes and it wasn’t a huge deal. Mina had got the impression it had fallen somewhere between a serious prank - about on par with toilet papering someone’s house - and coming over to borrow a hammer. An annoyance the nocturnal Grass types put up with because the Natu were neighbors, and if it got to be too much the the Dendrologs would complain and then the Natu would give them their empty eggshells or help knock down fruit to make up for it, and then all was well.

<They don’t usually grow their hatchlings on top of their medicine patches.> Accompanying this was an image of baby Pokémon gleefully running amuck, flinging mud, scribbling on the walls… <Something must have happened.>

But the Bandra base here was destroyed, I saw the crater the last time I was here! Mina protested…but the wheels in her head kept turning and it occurred to her how odd it was for the Grass types to have ripped up all their own plants before they fled.

<Something is going on.>

I guess we just keep our eyes open, she thought back, discontented.


“All set here?” she asked aloud.

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

Less:

You grab yourself a copy of the previous day’s newspaper ((+Newspaper (Day 28))). A quick glance at the appropriate page shows you the rift schedule for the next week.

Tomorrow - Moontear 2 AM
4 days from now - Southeast of Ternai, 1 PM
6 days from now - North of Coastmarch, 9 AM

Enroute a couple teenagers give you mysteriously dirty looks before crossing the street to avoid you, but otherwise you make it back to the University without incident. While not completely deserted, the receptionist’s desk is much less busy now and you are able to reach the front of the line after fifteen minutes or so.

“Hello, can I help you?”

essCee
2024-04-24, 11:11 AM
Pinklady:

Either you misunderstood the boy with the Mawile or something else is going on, because your opponent doesn’t call for a Thunderbolt this round either.

Croaky uses Bubble Beam!
Ryskimara is hit for 15 damage!

Oddly, the Rain Dance doesn’t seem to be helping at all. A quick scan with the Pokédex yields more information:

Does not take additional damage from attacks boosted by weather conditions.

Ryskimara uses Dragon Pulse!
Croaky is hit for 38 damage!


(Rain Dance in effect, 3 rounds remaining.)

Croaky: 4/77

Ryskimara: 62/77

"Aw... alright, I concede!" Pinklady says, recognizing there's no way this could continue besides Croaky getting finished off. "Thank you for the battles! We've definitely got a lot of training and learning to do..." Pinklady said as she looked as Tress's Pokéball.

Gnomes2169
2024-04-24, 11:13 AM
He would handle that watering while Mina was replanting her berry plots. "I'm good to go!" He didn't have a native pokemon chattering about bad omens in his head, so he seemed pretty relaxed over-all. He caught two new pokemon today, it was a lovely day outside (despite the heat) and they have a new top-tier berry!

Surely that meant the day was looking up for them.

Lord Ruby34
2024-04-24, 04:07 PM
Are the dates in the paper the rift schedule from yesterday, or did you already subtract one day from each of rift appearances before giving me the information?

Of those three Ternai would be the easiest to get to, but the rift near Coastmarch was closest to where they likely needed to go . . . but also a few days later, when hours could be precious. All three were in enemy territory as well, which was another part of the thorny puzzle. They couldn't afford the resources expenditure that fighting through Bandra grunts would require, not if they were going to actually enter the spectral realm. A problem to pose to the whole group later . . . though Less had to wonder if taking Mark and Mina with him was a good idea . . . they were both so young, and this mission would be incredibly dangerous. On the other hand, bringing them would certainly increase the odds of success. Less shock his head, it was another dilemma to ponder.

As Less walked, he took some notice of the young men's reaction, and tried to figure out if the distasteful glaces were aimed at Buck or himself? Less tried to wrack his brain, did either of the teens look familiar?

-----------
After reaching the front of the line, Less responded. "I believe so. I agreed to deliver some materials to Tidepath. Where should I report to find the items I'm supposed to deliver?"

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-04-26, 09:49 AM
Pinklady:

The boy in red calls off his Pokémon and pumps a fist victoriously. The girl with the agate earrings rolls her eyes and the boy with the hematite bracelet makes a loud, deliberate cough prompting the boy in red to look sheepish before he comes over to shake your hand. “Great battle!” (Hematite bracelet nods and gives him a thumbs up.) “And don’t sweat it, my friends and I climb Trainer Hill a lot! You should try it, if you haven’t already!”

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

Mark and Mina:

Putting the Lum Berry into Mark’s inventory and adding the new wild plots to Mina’s for now.

Mina planted Sitrus Berries in each spot and watered them throughly while Mark tended to his Planters.


Sitrus 1: Planted Day 29, Noon, no Mulch
Sitrus 2: Planted Day 29, Noon, no Mulch
Sitrus 3: Planted Day 29, Noon, no Mulch
Sitrus 4: Planted Day 29, Noon, no Mulch


Once she was done she called back Pidgey and called out to Xatu, “Can you take us to the north edge of the forest at least? By the road?” Xatu squawked an affirmative so Mina waved Mark over to grab his hand and then in a literal flash they were on the far edge of Dewdrop forest.

It was an uneventful (if very hot) walk from there, and around 3:30 PM they arrived in Hillsbreak.


Hillsbreak added to the Town Map tab.

Points of interest -
Purple rectangle: Daycare
Pale yellow rectangle: Breakfast restaurant
Aqua rectangle: Town Hall (the circle underneath it is a well)
Brown rectangle: Gallows
White square: Pokémon Center
Gray square: Mart
Star: Damaged Salerdia statue
Dull green rectangle: Gym
Fuchsia rectangle: Junk shop
Bright green rectangle: Ranger Base
Numbered blue squares are houses.


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

Less:


Already subtracted the day. If it makes things clearer, today is Day 29, so:
Day 30 - Moontear rift
Day 33 - Ternai rift
Day 35 - Coastmarch rift

Hope that helps!


You’re not 100% positive, but one of them has purple streaks in the hair you think you might have seen in passing when the Move Tutor had you forcibly removed from his presence.

(At the receptionist’s desk: )

“Let’s see…” There is a brief pause while the receptionist presumably looks something up. Then she frowns. “We don’t have any deliveries to Tidepath. We have a delivery from Tidepath. Are you Less?”

Gnomes2169
2024-04-27, 09:11 AM
((Outside Hillsbreak))
Mark took Mina's hand with his non-robotic arm, and then they were off! He made sure that he and Mina drank one of his waters (they'd had one person working with them collapse because of heat stroke just a few weeks ago, he did NOT need Mina or himself recovering in the center because they didn't stay hydrated), and he kept the bottle to refill later at a sink or cooler. It should get less searingly hot as the day went on, but it was always going to be good to have some bottled water on hand as summer started really rolling around.

Once they reached town, Mark wiped off his forehead and sighed. "Ah, air conditioning, my love. Soon we shall reunite." Looking at Mina he said, "I'm going to pick up the samples from the daycare right off the bat to get it out of the way, and I was planning to ask them if they had a hand in making Riolu's egg or if they met with the aura guardian while I'm there. Is there somewhere you wanted to meet up when I'm done, or do you want me to, like... go door to door between the homes to see if anyone knows something about Riolu's trainer?"

((Hillsbreak Daycare))
Regardless of how Mina answered his question, he was going here first! Looking for a reception desk, or at least someone who was obviously part of the staff, Mark pushed his hair out of his face and approached with a friendly smile and a wave. "Hey there, my name's Mark and I'm here to collect some samples for Skybreak university. Where should I go for those?"

Lord Ruby34
2024-04-27, 09:45 AM
Got it. That means the Moontear rift is happening tonight, effectively? (2:00 a.m. tomorrow).

Less scowled, not at the teenagers, though they probably wouldn't realize that. This had been exactly what he worried about. He needed to wring a public apology out of the old man. Reputation mattered, and the Move Tutor had intentionally damaged his.

-----

"Yes. My apologies. This is the first time I've signed up for a task like this, I may have misunderstood." Less replied, sounding contrite. "Where am I supposed to pick the supplies up from?" Come to think of it, Less realized, he couldn't remember actually seeing the description of the task. The others had just told him about it.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-04-28, 08:30 AM
Mark and Mina:

-1 Fresh Water Mark, 1 remaining.


"I'm going to pick up the samples from the daycare right off the bat to get it out of the way, and I was planning to ask them if they had a hand in making Riolu's egg or if they met with the aura guardian while I'm there. Is there somewhere you wanted to meet up when I'm done, or do you want me to, like... go door to door between the homes to see if anyone knows something about Riolu's trainer?"

“No, just meet me at the Center when you’re done and Xatu and I will get you back to Skybreak. If Nurse Joy doesn’t know about the Aura trainer I doubt there are many other people who would’ve met her, but if it comes down to it I can check around town myself.”

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

Mark:

The person running the Daycare looks to be in his mid-to-late teens with black hair and beady brown eyes. At the moment he’s wearing the typical green smock commonly worn by breeders; its pockets are well-stuffed with tools and Pokémon toys. He also looks somewhat tense.

“You’re from Uh-Oh?” He glances at your prosthetic in a puzzled sort of way before continuing. “I have it in the back, give me a second.”

He disappears through a door and you can hear rummaging noises, giving you time to look around. Like most of the buildings in Helnith it’s a little on the old and battered side, with the usual wear and tear - scrape marks on the floor, dents and scratches in the walls. Additionally it seems that at some point in the past someone - more like multiple someones - went and scribbled graffiti all over the walls, and then someone else did their best to scrub most of it off. There are a couple awards for breeding handing up too, but the glass protecting them is cracked and the frames are damaged. Another door leads out back, where you can see grass and hear Pokémon playing.

The breeder returns, carrying a foam block that’s been taped securely shut and plastered with the biohazard stickers that are becoming familiar. “Here you are; make sure it stays cold.” He’s still looking you over with a vaguely puzzled expression, but says nothing further.

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

Less:


Correct.


“You’ll want the Grand Docks; it should have been brought in by the KS Warlock.”

Gnomes2169
2024-04-28, 10:29 AM
Mark and Mina:

“No, just meet me at the Center when you’re done and Xatu and I will get you back to Skybreak. If Nurse Joy doesn’t know about the Aura trainer I doubt there are many other people who would’ve met her, but if it comes down to it I can check around town myself.”

Mark saluted her in a tired way and said, "Aye, aye, boss! See you soon." Then he made his way over to the daycare...


“You’re from Uh-Oh?” He glances at your prosthetic in a puzzled sort of way before continuing. “I have it in the back, give me a second.”

...

The breeder returns, carrying a foam block that’s been taped securely shut and plastered with the biohazard stickers that are becoming familiar. “Here you are; make sure it stays cold.” He’s still looking you over with a vaguely puzzled expression, but says nothing further.

Mark wiggled the fingers of his arm at the daycare staffer and nodded along with what the boy said. He took the chance to look around and... this place had seen better days. Maybe it had taken some damage in that attack he'd heard about? Mark needed to check out a newspaper or something to get the details about that. The signs of vandalism are somewhat distressing, but seemed to be old and faded, so... maybe the daycare had just been abandoned or run-down for a while too?

But anyway, his package soon arrived and Mark would take that and tuck it carefully into his bag. He nodded at the instructions and said, "I have a friend ready to teleport me back, so it shouldn't have the chance to get warm. But I did have a question for you..." Putting his bag back on, he explained, "So my friend recently caught a young Riolu, a few weeks old at most, and we're pretty sure that his trainer was an aura guardian that was last seen here at around that time. I was wondering if you guys helped her with the egg, and if so, if she mentioned anything about her trip to Snakestone Cavern to you?" It was a shot in the dark, but any information could be helpful here...

Lord Ruby34
2024-04-28, 12:11 PM
"The Warlock." Less replied, in confirmation. "Thank you, I'll head over to Tidepath, I suppose."

Shortly thereafter, Less exited the building, headed towards the edge of town, Buck walking in step. "Ready to stretch your legs, old friend?" Less asked his Arcanine. The dog in question answered with an affirmative ruff, as he and Less headed toward the exit. It was probably best to go get the supplies first, rather than attempt to detour to the battle tower. Besides, he did want to stop by the geology club. Mark was right about at least one thing, any attempt to teach his Pokemon new moves on his own was likely going to take a long time, time he might not actually have. Best to try and pick up a few more heart scales. His Pokemon would need every edge that they could get.

Once the pair managed to exit Skybreak, Less hopped on Buck's back, and they headed towards Tidepath, by way of Ceris Town, hoping to make good time.

essCee
2024-04-29, 11:56 AM
Pinklady:

The boy in red calls off his Pokémon and pumps a fist victoriously. The girl with the agate earrings rolls her eyes and the boy with the hematite bracelet makes a loud, deliberate cough prompting the boy in red to look sheepish before he comes over to shake your hand. “Great battle!” (Hematite bracelet nods and gives him a thumbs up.) “And don’t sweat it, my friends and I climb Trainer Hill a lot! You should try it, if you haven’t already!”


After recalling croaky, Pinklady giggles at the boy in red's embarrassed enthusiasm, then shakes his hand when he offers. "I've battled there a bit! I always seem to lose after getting one win, though... but I'll get good enough to lose after getting two wins!" She giggles at her own humour. "Are you all on your way there right now?"

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-04-30, 10:21 AM
Mark:


"So my friend recently caught a young Riolu, a few weeks old at most, and we're pretty sure that his trainer was an aura guardian that was last seen here at around that time. I was wondering if you guys helped her with the egg, and if so, if she mentioned anything about her trip to Snakestone Cavern to you?"

“You mean Aroika? Blue outfit with a fancy crest on it? She came in a few days after we kicked out Lionel, looking for supplies. But no, I had nothing to do with her eggs. I wish I had! But the way she talked about it her people are very protective of their Lucario bloodline. You’re sure the baby was hers?”

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

Less:

The trip is mostly uneventful, but en route you notice a trainer off to the side of the road - tall, sunglasses, white scarf - doing…something involving putting stakes in the ground. His Pokémon, all well-groomed specimens, are off to the side wearing what appear at a glance to be oddly shaped matching hats.

Let me know if you’re stopping to investigate, otherwise we’ll move on.

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

Pinklady:

The boy with the hematite bracelet speaks up. “We’re on our way back. Chelsey” he indicates the girl with the agate earrings “wanted a chance at some of the Pokémon up in the mountains and Feo thought we could test out some of our strategies and help out some of his other friends at the same time.”

Lord Ruby34
2024-04-30, 06:05 PM
I am absolutely down for whatever this is.

Less and Buck slowed to a stop as they approached the man, Less's face a picture of bafflement. "Not to interrupt," Less said, interrupting, "but I can't help but find myself curious about what you're doing."

Gnomes2169
2024-04-30, 11:34 PM
“You mean Aroika? Blue outfit with a fancy crest on it? She came in a few days after we kicked out Lionel, looking for supplies. But no, I had nothing to do with her eggs. I wish I had! But the way she talked about it her people are very protective of their Lucario bloodline. You’re sure the baby was hers?"

Well, they probably had a name for the aura guardian before, but Mark hadn't known it before now... better late than never! "He's been pretty sensitive talking about it," Especially when you were being terribly insensitive when talking about it, Mark, you unintentional buffoon, "but she was the only Lucario trainer we know of around Ternai, which is where Mina found the little guy, and he definiely had a trainer at some point. Do you know what kind of supplies she was looking for? And is there anything weird or special about the mountains north of Ternai?" Maybe she'd been looking for something up there, and that would be the best place to start looking if Riolu couldn't tell them where to go.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-01, 09:03 PM
Less:

As you approach, the scene becomes a little clearer. The ‘hats’ are books with cups of water on top that the Pokémon have perched carefully on their heads; they aren’t attached, with the result that the Pokémon move very little and very cautiously. Up close, you can see their hides practically gleam with health, tough and beautiful at once.


"Not to interrupt," Less said, interrupting, "but I can't help but find myself curious about what you're doing."

The trainer looks up from his current task (setting more cups of water to balance precariously on top of each stake); except for the scarf his clothes are dark and striking colors that complement his eyes and complexion both, and appear to be tailored to him.

He glances at you once the cup of water is placed and replies dismissively, “Merely training. Nothing to concern yourself with.” Just like the cup, each syllable is carefully placed, and just like the Pokémon, carefully polished.

He picks through his pack (you can see Planters hanging off it, with Berries growing inside) to retrieve another cup and begins the process again once he’s filled it to the brim with water. He continues like this until each stake has a cup on it, then gestures to one of his Pokémon - a Delcatty.

The cat Pokémon very carefully gets to its feet and begins weaving back and forth between stakes at its trainer’s direction. The Normal type manages to balance the book-cup combo well enough you can tell this isn’t the first time it’s tried this particular exercise. And now that they’re in use, you can see that the spacing between the stakes is just tight enough to make it tricky for the feline to pass between and turn for the next pass without spilling the water on its head or one of the stakes.

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

Mark:


"He's been pretty sensitive talking about it," Especially when you were being terribly insensitive when talking about it, Mark, you unintentional buffoon, "but she was the only Lucario trainer we know of around Ternai, which is where Mina found the little guy, and he definiely had a trainer at some point. Do you know what kind of supplies she was looking for?"

“Just baby Pokémon things - food mostly, some blankets. Baby soap. She wasn’t very impressed with my selection. Top breeder in Helnith notwithstanding, we’d only recently taken the town back, so that might have been on me. I offered her use of my facilities for the eggs if she needed them but she wasn’t interested, kept going on about tainted auras in town disrupting their development,” he replies with a frown. “And you should have seen the look her Lucario gave me! Scandalized, I tell you.”


"And is there anything weird or special about the mountains north of Ternai?"

“I know there are some fairly extensive caves there. But really I think she was just looking for solitude. I got the impression she was planning to be out in the wilds for a while.”

Gnomes2169
2024-05-02, 10:23 AM
“Just baby Pokémon things - food mostly, some blankets. Baby soap. She wasn’t very impressed with my selection. Top breeder in Helnith notwithstanding, we’d only recently taken the town back, so that might have been on me. I offered her use of my facilities for the eggs if she needed them but she wasn’t interested, kept going on about tainted auras in town disrupting their development,” he replies with a frown. “And you should have seen the look her Lucario gave me! Scandalized, I tell you.”

“I know there are some fairly extensive caves there. But really I think she was just looking for solitude. I got the impression she was planning to be out in the wilds for a while.”

Well that tells them that she was, in fact, preparing for or raising a baby pokemon, and that she was actually meaning to go to Snakestone cavern, but... "Huh, not much more than we already guessed. Dang. A small part of me was hoping we could get lucky and that she'd told you her entire itinerary but..." Wiggling his robotic fingers again, Mark sighed, "Luck isn't exactly my friend. Ah well, thanks for telling me what you knew anyway. I'll get out of your haaaaaai- Oh wait!" Mark's mind had clicked together two things and he asked, "Were there any baby supplies that she requested that weren't standard? Since Mina's raising the little guy right now, I want to make sure we have everything she'll need." Eyes widening, he quickly added, "And did any of it have a distinct smell to it? I have an Umbreon and we have a friend with an Arcanine, so we might be able to follow her trail if some of the food or soap was... pungent."

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-02, 11:28 AM
Mark:

“She’d wanted a premium brand of Fighting-type specific Pokéchow, but I didn’t have any of that on hand at the time. I ordered some afterwards but she - wait, Mina?” the breeder interrupts himself. “Black hair, kind of pale? She’s your friend with the Riolu? Here,” The breeder has a distinct air of ‘ha! I thought so!’ as he digs behind the counter. A moment later he tosses a handful of small bags over the counter to you; they have a Machamp on the front and a little paw stamp that reads ‘For Babies!’ on it. “Here; it’s on the house. I still owe her for helping get my dad out of the Spectral Dimension.

As for a distinct smell…I was low on the baby soap too, I don’t remember which she bought but the only scents I had left at the time were Pine and Sandalwood.” The breeder takes two bottles off a shelf and puts them next to the baby food. “Was there anything else?”


6 Premium Fighting-type Baby Pokéchow
Baby Pokémon Anti-Flea and Tick Shampoo (Pine)
Baby Pokémon Anti-Flea and Tick Shampoo (Sandalwood)

Lord Ruby34
2024-05-02, 09:16 PM
After a moment of watching, Less asked "You're training your Pokemon for a contest, aren't you? The coordination and balance is quite impressive."

essCee
2024-05-02, 10:08 PM
Pinklady:

The boy with the hematite bracelet speaks up. “We’re on our way back. Chelsey” he indicates the girl with the agate earrings “wanted a chance at some of the Pokémon up in the mountains and Feo thought we could test out some of our strategies and help out some of his other friends at the same time.”

"Sounds like a pretty successful trip, then! I'll not keep you from finishing your return any longer. Good luck at Trainer Hill!" Pinklady looks over at Whirlywhirly to check if she'll need to give him a wake-up petting.

Gnomes2169
2024-05-03, 02:28 AM
“She’d wanted a premium brand of Fighting-type specific Pokéchow, but I didn’t have any of that on hand at the time. I ordered some afterwards but she - wait, Mina?” the breeder interrupts himself. “Black hair, kind of pale? She’s your friend with the Riolu? Here,” The breeder has a distinct air of ‘ha! I thought so!’ as he digs behind the counter. A moment later he tosses a handful of small bags over the counter to you; they have a Machamp on the front and a little paw stamp that reads ‘For Babies!’ on it. “Here; it’s on the house. I still owe her for helping get my dad out of the Spectral Dimension.

As for a distinct smell…I was low on the baby soap too, I don’t remember which she bought but the only scents I had left at the time were Pine and Sandalwood.” The breeder takes two bottles off a shelf and puts them next to the baby food. “Was there anything else?”

"Yeah, Mina. She's- Oh. Oh!" As the breeder got all of those supplies out, Mark blinked a few times and picked up the bags, putting the soap bottles on top. "You've done plenty, thank you! I'll make sure Mina gets these, and send her your regards. Thank you!" Picking up the bags, Mark glanced between them and the breeder and promised, "I have an egg in an incubator right now, if I need help raising whatever hatches from it I'll be sure to bring them here! Now let me get out of your hair for real..."

With all of that done, Mark made his way to the Pokemon Center, loaded down with all of his goodies... oh. Hey. Now that they had soap so he could give his pokemon a proper bath! Which is a thing... he was not going to say... out loud... near any contest trainers................ again. They should also probably try to track down Aroika first, so that their tracking pokemon wouldn't get confused by the smells from the washed pokemon on their teams. But here he was, getting ahead of himself again. He had to meet up with Mina first!

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-05, 11:41 AM
Less:

He glances over at you but doesn’t otherwise give you much notice. “Yes, thank you.” His tone of voice has the sort of vague politeness that suggests that he gets complements like that a lot, and stopped being moved by them long ago. “Ambrosia, pick up the pace. Hold your head higher…” A little water sloshes over the side of the cup. “Keep steady!”

His Delcatty is going through another pass before he addresses you again. “Did you need something?”

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

Pinklady:

“Thanks!” The three trainers bid you goodbye and continue on their way.

Whirlywhirly mostly seems bored waiting around, but is otherwise alert. Croaky’s earlier rain seems to have taken the edge off the heat, or perhaps it’s just getting late enough in the day that it’s starting to subside on its own, because by the time you reach the Pokémon Center the temperatures have dipped down to bearable. It’s about 7:30 PM, and judging by the map there are another couple miles to go before you reach the Shrine of Light.

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

Mark and Mina:

“Stop by again or let me know later if you want me to take a look!” The breeder calls after you as you make your way out with your spoils.

The main square is only sparsely populated, the gallows at its center casting a progressively longer shadow as the afternoon wears on. You find Mina sitting in the lobby of the Pokémon Center; she waves you over when she sees you.

“Nurse Joy says our Aura master was through here a while ago, but she hasn’t been back here since then,” she says without preamble. “Did you learn anything at the Daycare?”

Gnomes2169
2024-05-06, 07:44 AM
The main square is only sparsely populated, the gallows at its center casting a progressively longer shadow as the afternoon wears on. You find Mina sitting in the lobby of the Pokémon Center; she waves you over when she sees you.

“Nurse Joy says our Aura master was through here a while ago, but she hasn’t been back here since then,” she says without preamble. “Did you learn anything at the Daycare?”

Mark did his best to continue not thinking about the gallows because... hoooooooo, boy, that went dark places. He does his best to affix a Marky grin when he spots Mina, though, and makes his way over with a bag held high. "I bring information, baby food and soap!" He exclaimed, with the most false bravado he could. "Sooooo he didn't help hatch your Riolu, the aura guardian seemed to be insulted that he tried actually, but she did buy some supplies from him! One of those two soaps in there. Maybe Riolu can tell us which one she washed him with, and we can have your Houndoom, my Umbreon or Less's Arcanine track her with that. He also chipped in some baby food, as thanks for when you saved his dad from the Spectral dimension."

With that, he hands her the bags and carefully rummages through his bag. "Also got the samples. Need to make sure they stay chilled, but it's pretty cold right now, so I should have time to- aha!" Pulling out the empty (and lightly crumpled) water bottle and holding it aloft, he picks his bag back up and says, "Gonna refill this quick, if you wanted to get Riolu out and ask him if either soap smells familiar. Should be good to go back to Skybreak after that."

essCee
2024-05-06, 09:49 AM
Pinklady:

“Thanks!” The three trainers bid you goodbye and continue on their way.

Whirlywhirly mostly seems bored waiting around, but is otherwise alert. Croaky’s earlier rain seems to have taken the edge off the heat, or perhaps it’s just getting late enough in the day that it’s starting to subside on its own, because by the time you reach the Pokémon Center the temperatures have dipped down to bearable. It’s about 7:30 PM, and judging by the map there are another couple miles to go before you reach the Shrine of Light.


"Whew! What do you say we take a quick rest, Whirly?" Pinklady asks as they reach the Pokémon Center. Whichever way Whirlywhirly's feedback goes, Pinklady realises the cart wouldn't be great to obstruct the interior of the Center with and follows up with, "Oh! I'll need to quickly hand off the hurt to the nurse, would you like to come with or stay out here?" She offers Whirlywhirly's Pokéball so that he can make his choice more clear.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-06, 12:29 PM
Mark and Mina:


"I bring information, baby food and soap!" He exclaimed, with the most false bravado he could. "Sooooo he didn't help hatch your Riolu, the aura guardian seemed to be insulted that he tried actually, but she did buy some supplies from him! One of those two soaps in there. Maybe Riolu can tell us which one she washed him with, and we can have your Houndoom, my Umbreon or Less's Arcanine track her with that. He also chipped in some baby food, as thanks for when you saved his dad from the Spectral dimension."

“Soap?” Mina asked, briefly confused until Mark explained. “Oh, yes.”

She should probably check in with Spencer while she was in the area. Make sure everything was doing okay locally.

But in the mean time she called out Riolu.


"Also got the samples. Need to make sure they stay chilled, but it's pretty cold right now, so I should have time to- aha!" Pulling out the empty (and lightly crumpled) water bottle and holding it aloft, he picks his bag back up and says, "Gonna refill this quick, if you wanted to get Riolu out and ask him if either soap smells familiar. Should be good to go back to Skybreak after that."

“All right then.” Mina opened both soap bottles while Mark took off for water. “Okay sweetie, a man in town said your human bought one of these soaps, do either of these smell familiar?”

The little Fighting type had perked up, but somewhat nervously at the mention of his previous trainer, and then he looked suspicious.

“We’re going to try and find your human for you. I need to know which smell she was using so we can find her,” Mina repeated gently. “Here.” She squirted a little of both soaps out onto her wrists for him to sniff.

He looked suspicious a moment longer but finally investigated the soap. By the time Mark reappeared the baby Pokémon was barking excitedly at the Sandalwood.

“I think this is it,” Mina informed Mark, showing him the label before giving him back the soap bottles. “Are you all set now?”


Mark:
-6 Premium Fighting-type Baby Pokéchow
-Empty Bottle
+Water

Mina:
+6 Premium Fighting-type Baby Pokéchow


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

Pinklady:

Whirlywhirly indicates the Pokéball.

Lord Ruby34
2024-05-06, 07:48 PM
"Possibly." Less responded. "I couldn't help but notice that your Pokemon seem to have the good health I associate with Poffin. A friend of mine has an interest in making poffins of her own. I was wondering if you had any wisdom you could share about what she was looking for, the 'recipe for disaster', I believe it's called."

Gnomes2169
2024-05-07, 12:09 AM
By the time Mark reappeared the baby Pokémon was barking excitedly at the Sandalwood.

“I think this is it,” Mina informed Mark, showing him the label before giving him back the soap bottles. “Are you all set now?”

Mark took back the Pine, but left the Sandalwood with Mina. "You should keep that to make sure you have it on hand, since you're the lead for this search party. Plus, we should both probably pamper and wash our teams after we find Aroika. Anyway." Bag on his back, he holds out his hand for her and says, "Ready to go!"

essCee
2024-05-07, 02:01 AM
Pinklady:

Whirlywhirly indicates the Pokéball.

Pinklady acknowledges by withdrawing Whirlywhirly to his Pokéball. "You've definitely earned it!" She tells him, then sends out Blast Bolt. "Blast Bolt, I'll need you to keep an eye on the cart! Just make some noise if anyone tries messing with it, please!" (Assuming no dissent from Blast Bolt.) Satisfied with the cart's safety, Pinklady heads inside to hand off her injured and wearied Pokémons' Pokéballs to the nurse.

Feathersnow
2024-05-07, 07:09 PM
Akio texts the group. **I'm at the library doing basic research about... you know where. I gave a cover story in case there are Spies.**

With that, he continues reading the primer on the spectral realm....

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-08, 08:02 PM
Less:

“She’s just starting out? Curse Ailesha and her Poffin classes. Tell your friend to learn to walk before she tries to run.”

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

Mark:

“All right then,” Mina replies, putting the soap in her pack. “Little one, you and I will be right back, but for now: return! Xatu, take us to Skybreak.”


Mark:
- Baby Pokémon Anti-Flea and Tick Shampoo (Sandalwood)

Mina:
+ Baby Pokémon Anti-Flea and Tick Shampoo (Sandalwood)


Mina bids you goodbye before Teleporting off again. The line into the city is nearly nonexistent, but then, it’s only a couple hours until curfew.

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

Pinklady:

Blast Bolt settles down by the wagon to glare at anyone who approaches - that being no one (at least that you can see) outside at present.

Indoors is a different story; a pair of trainers have stationed themselves by the windows, keeping watch, perhaps not surprising this close to Bandra territory…a fact the nurse reminds you of as she heals your Pokémon and returns them to you.

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

Akio:

The book is very old but informative, if somewhat dense. While it doesn’t use all the modern terminology, it does make note of a ‘critical mass’ that Pokémon reach upon absorbing a certain amount of energy (the book’s exact wording is inconsistent, it mostly waffles between ‘spectral’ and ‘ethereal’) after which they undergo severe and violent personality changes while switching colors to splotchy black and purple - obviously Shadowing.

It notes that at least one early documented case had been mistaken for some kind of shiny variation or similar genetic mutation, and it was theorized that it was accompanied by genes for excessive aggression or caused by some hormonal imbalance…until it was discovered that removing the Pokémon from Helnith caused the color change to vanish. But the personality changes didn’t immediately disappear with the new color scheme, instead eventually fading much later. As a result, very early treatment mostly consisted of removing the Pokémon from the region until the side effects wore off, until the connection to spectral energy was discovered.

Strides were made in reproducing the ethereal energy aggression phenomenon artificially but were steeped in controversy for both the obvious safety and ethical reasons but also for scientific ones - mainly concern that the artificially created energy wasn’t a perfect match for the naturally occurring kind, and that any results found using it would be inherently flawed. In time, however, it did become an important cornerstone for testing various treatments as well as mechanical methods for detecting the accumulation of ethereal energy on a Pokémon.

The book also mentions moving ’hot spots’ in the dimension that seem to generate spectral energy in addition to the attacks of some of the native creatures and speculates that these were some sort of extradimentional weather or possibly buildup from Pokémon attacks that clumped together to create pockets of the stuff (‘more testing needed’). As no one outside of the book has mentioned anything of the sort, it is unclear what it is referring to. There is also no mention at all of Shadow Rages as far as you can tell.

It concludes that further study on the subject will be heavily curtailed until the next greater dimensional convergence occurs in ten years, and the accompanying rash of smaller rifts.

Gnomes2169
2024-05-09, 12:58 AM
Mark waves Mina goodbye and turned to talk to the checkpoint guards and explain he had a package to run to the university (at least, if they ask what's in the Styrofoam package wrapped in caution signs). Once he'd managed to get through, he demonstrates that all shoes are running shoes by booking it to the university as fast as his feet can take him. He has time to get there, get to the department store, and then walk back out, but... well, he wants to make sure he doesn't get trapped in here during curfew.

He's getting his steps in today! Take that, Tattersail! With her smug judging and everything... "See? I don't need to teleport everywhere... grumble, mumble... not getting fat..."

Lord Ruby34
2024-05-09, 10:31 AM
"Unfortunately," Less replied, wrly, "she's not one for patience, and times being what they are, time itself seems to grow shorter by the day."

Less paused. I thought had just occurred to him, should he be asking this man to a Pokemon battle? That was the custom when two trainers met in the road, was it not?

"In Pokemon contests, is there a usually battle round?" Less asked, probing.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-09, 02:56 PM
Mark:

The gate guards make you wait a few moments while they double-check with the university, but eventually wave you through.

You make it to the university with time to spare, despite the amount of traffic in and around the building picking up - mostly students trailing over to the Department Store, but it seems to be a popular time for the general population to check out the museum too as you see more than one adult with a Silph Co Badge in the vicinity - and hand in your samples. ((+4,000 PD, 4,025 PD total))

The Department Store is even busier - lots of people trying to squeeze in their shopping after work and before curfew, some of the farmer’s market stalls packing up, and a handful of police grabbing a bite to eat at the food court, and that’s just what you can see on the ground floor.


Floor 1 – Information and Food Court
Floor 2 – Trainer Goods
Floor 3 – Health and Fitness
Floor 4 – Furniture and Kitchenware
Floor 5 – Jewelry and Geology
Floor 6 – Electronics
Floor 7 – Rooftop Lounge




He's getting his steps in today! Take that, Tattersail! With her smug judging and everything... "See? I don't need to teleport everywhere... grumble, mumble... not getting fat..."

Tattersail is both close enough and conscious enough now to send sleepy amusement your way.

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

Less:


"Unfortunately," Less replied, wrly, "she's not one for patience, and times being what they are, time itself seems to grow shorter by the day."

“Then she won’t make it as a Coordinator,” he replies, directing his Delcatty to sit back down and calling up the next in line to practice (a Dewgong). “A true Coordinator turns their Pokémon into a living work of art. It isn’t something everyone can do, it takes talent and time. Without those, even the rarest Berries turn to charcoal and the most graceful of Pokémon fall on their faces.”


"In Pokemon contests, is there a usually battle round?" Less asked, probing.

“Yes, but she shouldn’t expect that to carry her through; the Appeals round is first, to sift out the chaff.”

Gnomes2169
2024-05-10, 09:25 AM
The Department Store is even busier - lots of people trying to squeeze in their shopping after work and before curfew, some of the farmer’s market stalls packing up, and a handful of police grabbing a bite to eat at the food court, and that’s just what you can see on the ground floor.

For a moment, Mark was tempted to run over to the farmer's market to see if they had any more Lum berries, but it was late in the day. He didn't have the most time, and any berries like that were probably long sold. He should grab something from the food court once he had his gardening supplies, though. It had been too long since he'd eaten...

Portable berry pot first, though! But he was absolutely not using the stairs. He'd done a lot of running on his way here, getting up to the fourth floor on his own two feet sounded miserable. Making his way to the elevator, panting and waving to anyone else waving in line, Mark rode up to the 4th floor, purchased another pot and 4 bags of Boost mulch. He considered getting more, but held back for now. He could buy more later and wanted to get some takeout, so he saved some money for that. (Should be 2,000pd over-all, if my napkin math is correct)

Riding the elevator back down, Mark went to the food court and got himself some fried rice, spicy orange chicken and egg rolls (Let's say 1,200 pd for mall food :smalltongue: ). He waved to the officers if they glanced his way, but didn't spend time eating in the mall. He needed to get out of the city, after all, and he couldn't just run now that he had a bag full of food to balance! So he clearly had to walk out.

... Yes that was just an excuse. He's tired from the earlier run. Maybe Tattersail had a point. Shut up. The slower pace did give him the chance to text Mina, though. "It's raining riches! Got everything, will be outside the southern city gates. Whenever you finish up with your stuff, Sunshine, come pick me up. I'll save you an eggroll!" And probably some of the chicken and rice too, but he didn't think to send that.

If Mina didn't come to pick him up right away, Mark would spend his time waiting training up his Carvanha and eating half of his mall food. The dark fish was half-way to level 29 already, should be easy enough to train to level 30 before going to bed (though the second level was probably going to be finished at the Reiva pokemon center,) and getting this water type evolved tonight was going to be such a nice boon if Mark went to fight that surfer tomorrow. He would also spend a bit of time with Fisher to burn off that loch ness pokemon's shadowing, and plant the Lum berry with some Boost mulch, which he watered immediately, of course, along with any of his other berries that might need it.


Tattersail is both close enough and conscious enough now to send sleepy amusement your way.

Mark sent back a vision of a cartoony scribbled version of himself sticking his tongue out at her... he should actually draw that some time. Some dorky pictures would be nice to draw. He was going to be busy training pokemon for the rest of the day, though...

Lord Ruby34
2024-05-10, 11:06 AM
“Then she won’t make it as a Coordinator,” he replies, directing his Delcatty to sit back down and calling up the next in line to practice (a Dewgong). “A true Coordinator turns their Pokémon into a living work of art. It isn’t something everyone can do, it takes talent and time. Without those, even the rarest Berries turn to charcoal and the most graceful of Pokémon fall on their faces.”

"I think Coordinator is more of a post war sort of plan," Less drawled. Maybe for both of them. It sounded like a peaceful sort of retirement, provided that he manged to make it through. A nice dream, at least. "But any tidbit might help to making it there."
Not that Less was hopeful. The man was certainly full of himself, or at least his pride in his Pokemon was reflecting a more arrogant sheen than he had intended to cast.



“Yes, but she shouldn’t expect that to carry her through; the Appeals round is first, to sift out the chaff.”

"Well," Less replied, "In that case, would you care for a Pokemon battle right here? My friend can't be here, but I might learn something in her stead. Three Pokemon apiece, perhaps?" He hadn't been able to really take Connie out yesterday. They needed more practice working together, and a low stakes battle like this might be an excellent place to get some.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-11, 05:55 PM
Mark:

Yes, your napkin math checks out.

So that’s 825 PD remaining after the food.

You get a response once you’re outside the city and planting the Lum Berry.


Grepa in bloom
Pomeg in bloom
Qualot in bloom

Lum planted Day 29, 5:30 PM, Boost Mulch (3 Boost Mulch remaining)


Mina sent you a message!
Outlook is stormy. Might be a while.

Carvanha has leveled up and curfew has officially begun inside the city by the time Mina texts again. It’s also started to cool down.


Pokémon: Carvanha
Type: Water/Dark
Ability: Rough Skin
Gender: Male
Level: 29
Held Item: Power Weight
Stats--
HP: 74 [red]+4[/COLOR]
Attack: 66
Def: 25
Sp. Attack: 51
Sp. Def: 25
Speed: 51 +24
Moves:
Focus Energy
Scary Face
Ice Fang
Screech
Swagger
Assurance

No new moves.


Mina sent you a message!
On my way.

She reappears not long afterwards with her Xatu. “Houndoom and I checked around town, no trace of the soap; she must not have used it before she left,” she says without preamble.

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

Less:


"I think Coordinator is more of a post war sort of plan," Less drawled. Maybe for both of them. It sounded like a peaceful sort of retirement, provided that he manged to make it through. A nice dream, at least. "But any tidbit might help to making it there."

“Unless she’s mixing up four-flavor Poffin, tell her not to burn up any Blenders like the last pair that went through town. She can learn the basics anywhere, and there isn’t much point in me wasting time on someone with no actual talent.” He looks briefly considering. “Though if she is making four flavor Poffin, then show me - I might have advice to give or Berries to trade in the interest of fostering someone with actual skill. But I’m not taking your word for it.”



"Well," Less replied, "In that case, would you care for a Pokemon battle right here? My friend can't be here, but I might learn something in her stead. Three Pokemon apiece, perhaps?"

“Not paying attention to a word I said. Typical trainer. Fine, what’s your wager?”

Gnomes2169
2024-05-12, 07:06 AM
Mina sent you a message!
On my way.

She reappears not long afterwards with her Xatu. “Houndoom and I checked around town, no trace of the soap; she must not have used it before she left,” she says without preamble.

Mark recalled his Carvana and waved to Mina when she appeared. As she talked about her frustrations, he nodded along and said, "Makes sense, she'd probably wait until she was actually in the mountains and her pokemon had gotten a bit dirty from the trek before washing them." Holding out the bag of takeout with his robo arm for her he asked, "Did you eat yet? Got the promised egg roll and some rice and chicken if you wanted them." He was still hungry, but had planned to pick up some snacks at the Center anyway and Mina... seemed to forget about food when she was focused. Which he kinda assumed she had been.

After her response he added, "And I think everyone else had plans for tonight with their jobs, so it's just the two of us. Um..." Clearing his throat and scratching at the back of his head, he asked, "Was there anything you wanted to do? You know, like... special training with our pokemon or watching a show or poffin crafting or something?" Smooth. So smooth.

Lord Ruby34
2024-05-12, 07:56 AM
“Unless she’s mixing up four-flavor Poffin, tell her not to burn up any Blenders like the last pair that went through town. She can learn the basics anywhere, and there isn’t much point in me wasting time on someone with no actual talent.” He looks briefly considering. “Though if she is making four flavor Poffin, then show me - I might have advice to give or Berries to trade in the interest of fostering someone with actual skill. But I’m not taking your word for it.”

Less nodded along, though he couldn't imagine Mina setting fire to a blender. The girl might be young but she was clearly too competent for that. . . . The man he was talking to though, well, bad manners didn't always belay a lack of talent. "Could I get your name and information then, so that my friend can reach out? My name is Lester Douglass."




“Not paying attention to a word I said. Typical trainer. Fine, what’s your wager?”

Less decided to ignore the muttered comment. He had been paying attention, but that didn't mean Less didn't have an agenda of his own here. Besides, the man had been rude. Less didn't really feel the need to take his preferences into too much account. "2500 PD? Or I would be willing to wager against some of your finer quality poffins, or rare poffin berries."

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-12, 05:01 PM
Mark and Mina:


Holding out the bag of takeout with his robo arm for her he asked, "Did you eat yet? Got the promised egg roll and some rice and chicken if you wanted them."

Mina’s stomach answered for her, rumbling audibly. “Oh, yes please!” she replied gratefully, accepting the food.


"Was there anything you wanted to do? You know, like... special training with our pokemon or watching a show or poffin crafting or something?"

“Well, I was going to go back to Hillsbreak and ask around about our Aura Master some more,” Mina replied, clueless as to Mark’s intentions. “But we can do some Poffin practice if you want.”

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

Less:


"Could I get your name and information then, so that my friend can reach out? My name is Lester Douglass."

The Coordinator sighs, but flips you a business card. Apparently, his name is Miles Foxxe. ((Added to Less’ contacts.))


"2500 PD? Or I would be willing to wager against some of your finer quality poffins, or rare poffin berries."

“I highly doubt you have any Berries I would want and don’t already have. But if you want to make the wager interesting…I’ll put up any three Berries of mine, your choice, and in return you put up that Egg I can see poking out of your pack.

Otherwise, 2500 PD is fine.”

Gnomes2169
2024-05-12, 06:17 PM
Mina’s stomach answered for her, rumbling audibly. “Oh, yes please!” she replied gratefully, accepting the food.

He raised an eyebrow, glancing at her belly before looking back at her face, and suggested, "Maybe we should stop in the pokemon center to get a bit more food. You know. Get a full meal. Add some cheese and crackers to that. Or an apple."


“Well, I was going to go back to Hillsbreak and ask around about our Aura Master some more,” Mina replied, clueless as to Mark’s intentions. “But we can do some Poffin practice if you want.”

He blinked. She was busy. Of course she was busy! She was Mina, and she was doing important things and important stuff, Mark, you dummy. "Oh! Oh right. Um, I should let you do that instead. And I need to get my Carvanha evolved and stuff evolved so I can goooo see about fighting that one guy tomorrow. Yeah." He glanced at the ground for a moment and cleared his throat again, before looking up and flashing her another Marky grin. "We can get to that other stuff later, so don't worry about it right now, haha. Let's just get to Reiva and I'll let you get back to it!"

Lord Ruby34
2024-05-12, 08:19 PM
“I highly doubt you have any Berries I would want and don’t already have. But if you want to make the wager interesting…I’ll put up any three Berries of mine, your choice, and in return you put up that Egg I can see poking out of your pack.

Otherwise, 2500 PD is fine.”

"Let me make a call first." Less replied. The egg . . . that was a wager that gave him a moment's pause. The man was braying donkey, but he didn't seem malicious. In fact, he even seemed like he might be able to care for the egg better than Less would be able to in the immediate future. But he wasn't willing to risk it for nothing.

If given a moment, Less will dial Mina, and ask "I've met a coordinator here, who might be able to get some of the berries that you needed, for a price. What berries would be the most helpful?" Less asked, without preamble.


((OOC:If Mina is able to give Less a list, and the man has Mina's top three choices, Less will agree to the wager.))

essCee
2024-05-13, 10:22 AM
Pinklady:

Blast Bolt settles down by the wagon to glare at anyone who approaches - that being no one (at least that you can see) outside at present.

Indoors is a different story; a pair of trainers have stationed themselves by the windows, keeping watch, perhaps not surprising this close to Bandra territory…a fact the nurse reminds you of as she heals your Pokémon and returns them to you.


"Thank you for the warning, I'll watch my back!" Pinklady answers to the nurse's warning. With her Pokémon healed, she heads back out and sends out Whirlywhirly once again. "Want to take a bit of time to relax or get going again?" She asks as she attends to both Whirlywhirly and Blast Bolt with petting and attention.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-13, 08:13 PM
Mark and Mina:


He raised an eyebrow, glancing at her belly before looking back at her face, and suggested, "Maybe we should stop in the pokemon center to get a bit more food. You know. Get a full meal. Add some cheese and crackers to that. Or an apple."

“No objections here!” Now that she could smell food, Mina realized she was starving, and her Pokémon probably were too.


"Oh! Oh right. Um, I should let you do that instead. And I need to get my Carvanha evolved and stuff evolved so I can goooo see about fighting that one guy tomorrow. Yeah." He glanced at the ground for a moment and cleared his throat again, before looking up and flashing her another Marky grin. "We can get to that other stuff later, so don't worry about it right now, haha. Let's just get to Reiva and I'll let you get back to it!"

“All right. Don’t forget we’ve got that job with the plaster tomorrow too,” Mina reminded. “But dinner first!”

With that she made a beeline for the Pokémon Center and more importantly its kitchen, which was surprisingly empty - or maybe Mina was just surprised since she was so hungry herself.

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

Less:


This is just after the wild Pokemon battles on Mark and Mina’s end.




If given a moment, Less will dial Mina, and ask "I've met a coordinator here, who might be able to get some of the berries that you needed, for a price. What berries would be the most helpful?" Less asked, without preamble.

You can hear the faint sounds of leaves rustling and insects in the background as Mina picks up.

“Apicot and Ganlon, like I said yesterday,” Mina replies. “Was that all you needed?”

I’ll post your list of options in the OoC thread, but the short answer is that Miles has Apicot but not Ganlon.

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

Pinklady:

Blast Bolt seems alert but Whirlywhirly yawns. Based on your previous trip, it’s going to be another hour of travel if you decide to push on to the Shrine, give or take. On the other hand it’s currently 7:30 PM; nearly night.

Gnomes2169
2024-05-13, 11:40 PM
“All right. Don’t forget we’ve got that job with the plaster tomorrow too,” Mina reminded. “But dinner first!”

With that she made a beeline for the Pokémon Center and more importantly its kitchen, which was surprisingly empty - or maybe Mina was just surprised since she was so hungry herself.

"Yup. Beach in the morning, along with trying to talk to Sesh. Plaster in afternoon to evening. Meeting with spectral gym leader," And getting trapped in spooky city, "around dinner. Free time: When I die." Mark confirmed, and he already sounded tired. "And yes, food right nooooow..."

He walked into the kitchen a little bit behind Mina, and sent mental greetings to Tattersail. If she was awake enough to smug at him while he was in the city, then she could probably feel him- wait. Oh no. She'd probably witnessed his failed flirting. Oh no his snooping psychic type was never going to let him live this down.

In the physical world, Mark's left eye started twitching and his face unknowingly took on a look of horror for a moment before he snapped out of it and tried valiantly to smooth his expression over. He didn't want Mina asking him what was up, and besides, he might be stressing over nothing! Tattersail might have been put back into a drug sleep, or might have been distracted by... an interesting ceiling tile! There was hope!

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-14, 07:48 AM
Mark and Mina:

Tattersail is, indeed, awake, and you can tell that while she’s much better she’s not quite 100% yet.

<Never mind your clumsy attempts to attract your mate, when am I getting out of here?> The thought is accompanied by twinges in the vicinity of where she was injured, boredom, and general crabbiness.

Meanwhile, in the physical world, Mina notices Mark’s expression and hers turns concerned. “Everything okay?”

Gnomes2169
2024-05-14, 08:23 AM
Mate... mate?! They weren't even dating! Mark sat down and covered his face with his hands, blushing horribly, and groans. <Nurse Joy said you're safe to come back to me in the morning. Which is super impressive, if you were a human you'd still be out for a few more weeks with injuries like the ones you had. So be patient!>

Out loud he tells Mina, "Tattersail is awake and snooping on my thoughts and teasing me about things again... Oh. Yeah. 'Sail, Mina is connected with her Xatu now." He said it out loud so that Mina was in the loop. His head popped up suddenly, blush barely faded, but a spark of excitement in his eyes. " Ooooo, actually, that's something else we can experiment with. Maybe see what weird stuff we can do if our psychic types do a meeting of the minds? Maybe we could telepathically communicate with each other! Or... maybe they'll just be able to coordinate their attacks or teleport better or something. I don't know. But we should figure it out!" They needed to experiment... For SCIENCE!

... He could probably look up what happened when two psychically attuned trainers had their pokemon seance. Actually, he should just... "Actually, let me see if anyone else did it on the internet and make sure its safe..." And he pulled out his pokedex to do just that.

Lord Ruby34
2024-05-14, 04:58 PM
"That's it," Less replied, his voice friendly. "Some of these names fall right out of my ears. I'll have to get a journal from my house when we go. Thank you, Mina."

And LordRuby was locked to his phone for a few days, so that didn't help!"

With that, Less negotiated for two Apicot berries and a Lum berry. That last one was particularly important. Curing any possible status condition was a powerful boon, and one that Mina and her planters could take full advantage of! Less, of course, was blissfully ignorant of the berries that Mark and Mina would soon find.

Finally, after looking over Mile's Pokemon, Less swapped out Princess's Niptur berry for a Magost berry and indicated that he was ready to begin.

((OOC: If you need Less's lead before we start, it'll be Connie.))

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-16, 05:43 PM
Mark and Mina:


<Nurse Joy said you're safe to come back to me in the morning. Which is super impressive, if you were a human you'd still be out for a few more weeks with injuries like the ones you had. So be patient!>

Mark gets a definite sense of sulking from Tattersail. <Don’t forget you promised me pampering when I get out!>


Out loud he tells Mina, "Tattersail is awake and snooping on my thoughts and teasing me about things again... Oh. Yeah. 'Sail, Mina is connected with her Xatu now." He said it out loud so that Mina was in the loop. His head popped up suddenly, blush barely faded, but a spark of excitement in his eyes. " Ooooo, actually, that's something else we can experiment with. Maybe see what weird stuff we can do if our psychic types do a meeting of the minds? Maybe we could telepathically communicate with each other!"

Mina, who had been largely unaware of Mark’s plans in that direction prior to this and who valued her privacy enough to have gone on a tirade against one of her own Pokémon for violating it, merely looked very, very taken aback, and it was Tattersail who replied:

<Us being able to talk to you humans like civilized creatures doesn’t make either of you telepaths. The best we could do is for you to tell me what you want to pass on and for me to tell her. And right now, I would have to pass it on through the bird.> You get a mental image of Mina’s Xatu accompanying the last. ((She’d need a Special Attack of at least 200 to be able to talk to Mina directly.))


"Or... maybe they'll just be able to coordinate their attacks or teleport better or something. I don't know. But we should figure it out!" They needed to experiment... For SCIENCE!

<We could combine our powers somewhat,> Tattersail agrees, and Mark can tell that by ‘we’ Tattersail means her and the aforementioned bird.



... He could probably look up what happened when two psychically attuned trainers had their pokemon seance. Actually, he should just... "Actually, let me see if anyone else did it on the internet and make sure its safe..." And he pulled out his pokedex to do just that.

Mark’s initial internet search results are mostly fanfiction from some of the more popular book and TV series that include psychic powers, with a smattering of advertisements for the Saffron City Gym and similar establishments offering training to human psychics. Results that are even slightly relevant are buried and don’t seem to mention direct trainer-to-trainer communication.

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

Less:

Miles accepts the stakes and goes off to prepare his Pokémon - which mostly consists of him removing the cup-and-book ‘hats’ and recalling them to make space for the battle. As you send out Connie, he sends out his Swablu.

(Sunny Day in effect.)

Connie: 129/129

Swablu: 119/119

Lord Ruby34
2024-05-16, 09:23 PM
"Let's stretch those wings!" Less called out as he sent Connie forward. That Pokemon could probably sing . . . but there wasn't much Less could do about that, other than try to find out if Connie was faster. "Connie, nasty plot!" Less called out.

Gnomes2169
2024-05-17, 12:38 AM
Mark gets a definite sense of sulking from Tattersail. <Don’t forget you promised me pampering when I get out!>

<And you will be! We don't have any poffin right now, but I have some nice shampoos and I think there was a massage parlor in the mall?> If not, he could buy her snacks there anyway when he went there tomorrow. <And we'll be going to a beach in the morning, if you wanted to kick back and relax, or go swimming, or show off by making some sand sculptures with your awesome telepathic powers. You know. Show us puny humans how it's done.> Yes, he was playing to her ego, but Tattersail was rather smug about her awesome mind powers, so he felt it was a safe gamble.


Mina, who had been largely unaware of Mark’s plans in that direction prior to this and who valued her privacy enough to have gone on a tirade against one of her own Pokémon for violating it, merely looked very, very taken aback...

Mark’s initial internet search results are mostly fanfiction from some of the more popular book and TV series that include psychic powers, with a smattering of advertisements for the Saffron City Gym and similar establishments offering training to human psychics. Results that are even slightly relevant are buried and don’t seem to mention direct trainer-to-trainer communication.

Mark had been looking at his pokedex, so he didn't catch the look on Mina's face as he scrolled and listened to his gardevoir. The excitement on his face dies after a minute and he sighed, setting his pokedex down and looking up at the ceiling. "Well, looks like I got excited over nothing. I'll never become Magic Markers, the anime protagonist I was born to be." A shame, really. He had the tragic backstory and everything to go with it, but he had no psychic powers, no hidden aura abilities, no skill at martial arts... heck, he wasn't even in school anymore, so even a moe protagonist role was beyond him! "Just regular, boring Markers forever. Sigh. But 'Sail and Xatu could work together to do more stuff than either could alone, though they didn't really need a psychic connection with either of us to do that... and we can still communicate with each other through them, so that will be useful."

essCee
2024-05-17, 12:03 PM
Pinklady:

Blast Bolt seems alert but Whirlywhirly yawns. Based on your previous trip, it’s going to be another hour of travel if you decide to push on to the Shrine, give or take. On the other hand it’s currently 7:30 PM; nearly night.

Acknowledging Whirlywhirly's yawn, Pinklady thinks on the choices for a minute, then says, "Yeah, I guess we can stop for the night! We should take shifts watching out." Pinklady walks over to position herself to rest against the cart. "Blast Bolt, if you don't mind first shift, just wake me up when you start to get tired!"

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-17, 08:06 PM
Less:

Connie does in fact appear to be faster than the Coordinator’s Flying type.

Connie uses Nasty Plot!
Connie’s Special Attack rises sharply!

Connie also appears to be about to eat a super effective attack.

Swablu uses Dazzling Gleam!
It’s super effective!
Connie is hit for 82 damage!
Connie uses her held Sitrus Berry to restore 38 HP!

The attack lands solidly, undercut by a regular ticking sound in. After a moment you realize it’s coming from the Swablu.


(Sunny Day in effect.)

Connie: 85/129 (Special Attack up 2 levels)

Swablu: 119/119

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

Mark and Mina:


<And you will be! We don't have any poffin right now, but I have some nice shampoos and I think there was a massage parlor in the mall?> If not, he could buy her snacks there anyway when he went there tomorrow. <And we'll be going to a beach in the morning, if you wanted to kick back and relax, or go swimming, or show off by making some sand sculptures with your awesome telepathic powers. You know. Show us puny humans how it's done.>

<Moving things is telekinesis. Telepathy is mind reading and mental speech, like we’re doing right now,> Tattersail corrects, but she seems mollified.


The excitement on his face dies after a minute and he sighed, setting his pokedex down and looking up at the ceiling. "Well, looks like I got excited over nothing. I'll never become Magic Markers, the anime protagonist I was born to be." A shame, really. He had the tragic backstory and everything to go with it, but he had no psychic powers, no hidden aura abilities, no skill at martial arts... heck, he wasn't even in school anymore, so even a moe protagonist role was beyond him! "Just regular, boring Markers forever. Sigh."

“Don’t sell yourself short, you’re still in a war zone trying to save the world,” Mina reminds.


"But 'Sail and Xatu could work together to do more stuff than either could alone, though they didn't really need a psychic connection with either of us to do that... and we can still communicate with each other through them, so that will be useful."

Mina just nods in understanding, not really having anything to add to that. “But in the mean time, what are we doing for food?” She was already pulling out dishes for the Pokéchow.

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

Pinklady:

You awake groggily only to realize it’s only about 11 PM and quite dark. You can hear noises nearby, and Blast Bolt is growling.

At least one of the trainers standing watch inside must still be up, or else someone replaced them, because a flashlight beam shines out the window and drifts until it falls on a spiky purple ‘B.’ The Grunt wearing the letter swears and starts fumbling at his belt for his Pokéballs, and a moment later the night is full of the lights of Pokéballs disgorging their occupants.

Graveler A: 89/89
Graveler B: 123/123
Machoke A: 103/103

Lord Ruby34
2024-05-18, 12:37 AM
A fairy type move! What terrible luck. Still, Connie wasn't out of this yet. If she could land a snarl, that could cut the damage enough to let her take another hit and take out this Swablu, even with that metronome ticking up the damage. Less silently thanked Mina for the Sitrus berry, without that this match up would have been near impossible. "Connie, let's give that Swablu a taste of it's own medicine back. Snarl!"


Lets hope my napkin math was right that this next attack can't KO Connie if she lands a snarl first . . .

Gnomes2169
2024-05-18, 06:22 AM
“Don’t sell yourself short, you’re still in a war zone trying to save the world,” Mina reminds.

"Pssssssh, that's everyone's pokemon adventure." At least, if you went by the games. "And I could be doing it in a mecha. Magic Markers' Mecha Madness... Fan favorite story arc..." He sighed wistfully at his own daydreaming silliness, standing up so he could help shuffle through the center's shelves.


Mina just nods in understanding, not really having anything to add to that. “But in the mean time, what are we doing for food?” She was already pulling out dishes for the Pokéchow.

"Well, you've got the rest of that takeout, then we've got..." He pulled out a box of assorted crackers, a bag of cereal, a loaf of bread and a peanut butter jar. Most of that gets put back. "... General pokemon center food in here. Check if there's cheese and fruit in the fridge, sliced apples and a cracker platter would probably be good? Unless you wanted some PB&J's."

essCee
2024-05-18, 02:17 PM
Pinklady:

You awake groggily only to realize it’s only about 11 PM and quite dark. You can hear noises nearby, and Blast Bolt is growling.

At least one of the trainers standing watch inside must still be up, or else someone replaced them, because a flashlight beam shines out the window and drifts until it falls on a spiky purple ‘B.’ The Grunt wearing the letter swears and starts fumbling at his belt for his Pokéballs, and a moment later the night is full of the lights of Pokéballs disgorging their occupants.

Graveler A: 89/89
Graveler B: 123/123
Machoke A: 103/103

"Hnff... good work, Blast Bolt!" Pinklady says, still waking up. She withdraws Blast Bolt, all too aware of how devastating the Graveler could be for him, and sends out Leapsy and Croaky.
"Leapsy, Sleep Powder that -" she indicates Graveler B, Graveler. Croaky..." Pinklady pauses a moment as she fights back a yawn, "...Bubblebeam the other one."

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-18, 06:57 PM
Less:

Connie uses Snarl!
Swablu is hit for 81 damage!
Swablu’s Special Attack falls!

Swablu uses Dazzling Gleam!
It’s super effective!
Connie is hit for 57 damage!


(Sunny Day in effect.)

Connie: 28/129 (Special Attack up 2 levels)

Swablu: 38/119 (Special Attack down 1 level)

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

Mark and Mina:


"Pssssssh, that's everyone's pokemon adventure." At least, if you went by the games. "And I could be doing it in a mecha. Magic Markers' Mecha Madness... Fan favorite story arc..." He sighed wistfully at his own daydreaming silliness, standing up so he could help shuffle through the center's shelves.

Mina paused in her search of the shelves to pat his shoulder in a conciliatory sort of way. “There’s still time.”


"Well, you've got the rest of that takeout, then we've got..." He pulled out a box of assorted crackers, a bag of cereal, a loaf of bread and a peanut butter jar. Most of that gets put back. "... General pokemon center food in here. Check if there's cheese and fruit in the fridge, sliced apples and a cracker platter would probably be good? Unless you wanted some PB&J's."

“…I’ll check the fridge for fruit.” As far as Mina was concerned, peanut butter was palatable in exactly one item, and it wasn’t sandwiches. She went over to the fridge to look inside. “They have cheese” which Mina extracted “I don’t see any apples. How do you feel about pineapple? Or mangos?” Lots of tropical fruit. Not so much temperate fruit. Given their location, Mina couldn’t say she was surprised.

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

Pinklady:

You get your Pokémon ready for battle, in the process drawing attention to yourself and the cart. Now that the fighting has broken out you can see that there is at least one other group of Grunts, but the trainers keeping watch have already moved to hold those off, leaving the current set to you.

Leapsy uses Sleep Powder!
Graveler B sleeps!

Croaky uses Bubblebeam!
It’s super effective!
Graveler A is hit for 98 damage!
Graveler A held on with 1 HP due to Sturdy!
Graveler A’s Speed falls!
Graveler A uses its held Chahal Berry to restore 20 HP!

Machoke A uses Leer!
Defense of all allied Pokémon falls!

Graveler B wakes up! ((😕))
Graveler B uses Defense Curl!

Graveler A uses Rollout!
It’s super effective!
Leapsy is hit for 70 damage!


Leapsy: 5/75 (Defense down 1 level)
Croaky: 77/77 (Defense down 1 level)

Graveler A: 21/89 (Speed down 1 level)
Graveler B: 123/123 (Defense up 1 level, Defense Curl)
Machoke A: 103/103

Lord Ruby34
2024-05-18, 09:52 PM
There! "Good hit Connie! Finish it off with a Swift!"

Gnomes2169
2024-05-19, 09:41 AM
Mina paused in her search of the shelves to pat his shoulder in a conciliatory sort of way. “There’s still time.”

He sniffed slightly, pouted, and then said, "Yeah. Yeah, there's time. Bandra's developing all kinds of stupid stuff... surely they have a doom mecha for us to steal." They didn't, but a boy could dream.


“They have cheese” which Mina extracted “I don’t see any apples. How do you feel about pineapple? Or mangos?” Lots of tropical fruit. Not so much temperate fruit. Given their location, Mina couldn’t say she was surprised.

Mark sighed as he put away the peanut butter, one day he'd eat it again, but hey, they still had fruit! "Hmmmm... I like pineapple, but the mango will probably go better with the takeout." Orange chicken, even the spicy stuff Mark had gotten, had plenty of sour flavors, so the tang of the mango would complement that while the sweet-sour of pineapple would just blend in a bit. He got out a platter to set up the crackers on, and also a cutting board for the mango to get sliced upon. "I already ate a bit, so toss me things to cut up and you get started. I'll join you in a sec."

essCee
2024-05-20, 12:06 PM
Pinklady:

You get your Pokémon ready for battle, in the process drawing attention to yourself and the cart. Now that the fighting has broken out you can see that there is at least one other group of Grunts, but the trainers keeping watch have already moved to hold those off, leaving the current set to you.

Leapsy uses Sleep Powder!
Graveler B sleeps!

Croaky uses Bubblebeam!
It’s super effective!
Graveler A is hit for 98 damage!
Graveler A held on with 1 HP due to Sturdy!
Graveler A’s Speed falls!
Graveler A uses its held Chahal Berry to restore 20 HP!

Machoke A uses Leer!
Defense of all allied Pokémon falls!

Graveler B wakes up! ((😕))
Graveler B uses Defense Curl!

Graveler A uses Rollout!
It’s super effective!
Leapsy is hit for 70 damage!


Leapsy: 5/75 (Defense down 1 level)
Croaky: 77/77 (Defense down 1 level)

Graveler A: 21/89 (Speed down 1 level)
Graveler B: 123/123 (Defense up 1 level, Defense Curl)
Machoke A: 103/103

"Good work, keep it up! Same thing, same targets, both of you!" If both Graveler could be disabled, it would be safe - or at least safer - to bring out some of her stronger team members, she considered.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-21, 03:08 PM
Less:

Connie uses Swift!
Swablu is hit for 65 damage!
Swablu faints!

Miles recalls the Flying type and sends out his Dewgong.


(Sunny Day in effect.)

Connie: 28/129 (Special Attack up 2 levels)

Swablu: 0/119
Dewgong: 134/134

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

Mark and Mina:

Mina considered the fruits and finally shrugged before grabbing both. “Let’s do both, and the Pokémon can have whatever we don’t finish,” she suggested.

Once she’d gotten Mark set with fruit she started measuring out Pokéchow for both their teams, making sure Riolu got his fancy Fighting-type baby food. ((-1 Premium Fighting-type Baby Pokéchow, 5 remaining)) Then she took Mark’s advice and sat down to eat.

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

Pinklady:

Leapsy uses Sleep Powder!
Attack missed!

Croaky uses Bubblebeam!
It’s super effective!
Graveler A is hit for 99 damage!
Graveler A faints!

Machoke uses Low Kick!
Croaky is hit for 40 damage!

Graveler B uses Rollout!
It’s super effective!
Leapsy is hit for 174 damage!
Leapsy faints!

The KO’d Graveler is recalled and replaced with a Wispaferyn.


Leapsy: 0/75
Croaky: 37/77 (Defense down 1 level)

Graveler A: 0/89
Graveler B: 123/123 (Defense up 1 level, Defense Curl)
Machoke A: 103/103
Wispaferyn A: 96/96

Lord Ruby34
2024-05-21, 03:53 PM
"Good job, Connie," Less said, "That's enough for now." No sense running right into an ice shard. Less signaled that he was intending to take his league sanctioned switch, and sent out Princess before calling for a Natural Gift.

((OOC: if the league sanctioned switch isn't an option, Less will instead switch into Buck, and then call for a Fire Fang.))

Gnomes2169
2024-05-22, 01:00 AM
Mina considered the fruits and finally shrugged before grabbing both. “Let’s do both, and the Pokémon can have whatever we don’t finish,” she suggested.

"Alright, that sounds fair-" Wait. That was a whole pineapple. Mark squinted at it, and pulled out his pokedex to look up how to cut that up. The core was inedible... right? He washed and cut up the mango nice and quick and put it out on the table, then looked up pineapple preparation so he could slice up that as well. He was definitely going to need to clean up his prosthetic tonight, because there simply isn't any way to cut a pineapple without getting sprayed at least a little bit with the juice.

Still, preparation wasn't too hard over-all, so he'd put a bowl out in short order, toss out the skin, top, bottom and core, and then wash his hands to keep his prosthetic from getting terminally sticky with dried out pineapple juice. Once all of that was done, he finally sliced up some cheese and brought over the cracker platter. He began cycling in his pokemon for feeding, though he'd need to make sure Fisher was fully deshadowed before really getting that big guy out there, and munched at a long cracker with both cheese and a mango slice on it. "Sooooo Mina, when you're not fighting a war and saving the world, what do you like to do for fun?"

essCee
2024-05-22, 12:35 PM
Pinklady:

Leapsy uses Sleep Powder!
Attack missed!

Croaky uses Bubblebeam!
It’s super effective!
Graveler A is hit for 99 damage!
Graveler A faints!

Machoke uses Low Kick!
Croaky is hit for 40 damage!

Graveler B uses Rollout!
It’s super effective!
Leapsy is hit for 174 damage!
Leapsy faints!

The KO’d Graveler is recalled and replaced with a Wispaferyn.


Leapsy: 0/75
Croaky: 37/77 (Defense down 1 level)

Graveler A: 0/89
Graveler B: 123/123 (Defense up 1 level, Defense Curl)
Machoke A: 103/103
Wispaferyn A: 96/96

"Sorry, Leapsy!" Pinklady recalls Leapsy and sends out Blast Bolt. "Alright, Blast Bolt and Croaky, both of you hit the Graveler - Superpower and Bubblebeam!" That Wispaferyn is bad news, but that Graveler is even more immediately dangerous...

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-22, 08:36 PM
Less:

Yes, you can switch.

Unfortunately Princess’ speed works against her and the Dewgong (Miles called it ‘Nautilus’) gets off the first strike.

Dewgong uses Signal Beam!
It’s super effective!
Princess is hit for 90 damage!

Princess is blown backwards, feet leaving furrows in the ground, and staggers once the attack is over. But she’s still standing afterwards, albeit barely, and her battle lust works in her favor as she manages to get off an attack of her own.

Princess uses Natural Gift!
It’s super effective!
Dewgong is hit for 46 damage!


(Sunny Day in effect.)

Connie: 28/129 (recalled)
Princess: 2/92

Swablu: 0/119
Dewgong: 88/134

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

Mark and Mina:

“Video games, lots of reading -” Actually she’d been doing lots of reading during the war, albeit of a more serious nature, so that hadn’t really changed “- the occasional movie. How about you?”

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

Pinklady:

Wispaferyn A uses Silver Wind!
Croaky is hit for 43 damage!
Croaky faints!

Blast Bolt uses Superpower!
It’s super effective!
Graveler B is hit for 81 damage!
Blast Bolt’s Attack falls!
Blast Bolt’s Defense falls!

Machoke uses Leer!
Blast Bolt’s Defense falls!

Graveler B uses Rollout!
Attack missed due to target KO!


Leapsy: 0/75
Croaky: 0/77
Blast Bolt: 102/102 (Attack down 1 level, Defense down 2 levels)

Graveler A: 0/89
Graveler B: 42/123 (Defense up 1 level, Defense Curl)
Machoke A: 103/103
Wispaferyn A: 96/96

Lord Ruby34
2024-05-22, 10:08 PM
Those poffin boosts were serious, and Miles had managed a lot of move tutoring. This Dewgong almost certainly had a super effective move for every member of Less's team. . . . He could use a potion here, but they hadn't really talked about item usage, and once Less opened that door Miles might have more in his bag of tricks than Less did. Maybe he could trick the man instead, and that started by figuring out what he was thinking. Dewgong learned encore as a Seel, didn't it? Maybe Less could bait Miles into trying to encore Princess and set up? "Princess, protect!"


Got it! Also, this Dewgong is tough! I think that's about as hard as anyone on Less's team can hit it at the moment. Oof.

Also, some conditionals, if you'll have them.

If Miles uses a water type move, then Less will use Princess's next turn to use a super potion on Connie anyway.
If Miles uses Ice Shard or Signal Beam, Less will switch to Buck. If Buck gets hit with a non-critcal hit with either of those two moves upon switching in or Nautilus uses Encore on the turn Buck comes in, then Less will order a Fire Fang. If anything else happens, then I'll take the next turn as normal.
If Miles uses any other moves, then I'll take the next go as normal.

Gnomes2169
2024-05-23, 06:13 AM
“Video games, lots of reading -” Actually she’d been doing lots of reading during the war, albeit of a more serious nature, so that hadn’t really changed “- the occasional movie. How about you?”

"Drawing, of course," Which he'd told her about last time the question had come up, but this time it was being answered much less awkwardly, "but also some gaming, mostly on handhelds," look, pokemon games are still fun, and Mark had been traveling too much to really justify a desktop or console dedicated to gaming, "reading some fantasy or sci-fi books, movies, karaoke if Jason or Blake could find a place... sometimes a prank."

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-24, 02:38 PM
Less:

Yes, Tough and Beautiful. 😉

Princess uses Protect!

Dewgong uses Signal Beam!
Princess is protecting herself!

You recall Princess!
You send out Buck!

Nautilus seems a little intimidated, but it makes no difference to the attack streaking at Buck.

Dewgong uses Signal Beam!
It’s not very effective…
Buck is hit for 14 damage!

Buck recovers 6 HP from held Leftovers!

Miles recalls Nautilus as you call for Fire Fang, replacing it with his Angerazm. An odd choice, until you remember that time Emilia got excited about the species because—

Buck uses Fire Fang!
Angerazm’s Photobarrier prevents damage during sunlight!

—it has an Ability that protects it from fire.


During a Sunny Day, this Pokémon cannot be Burned or Frozen and is unaffected by Fire and Ice attacks.

Buck recovers 6 HP from held Leftovers!


(Sunny Day in effect.)

Connie: 28/129 (recalled)
Princess: 2/92 (recalled)
Buck: 104/106

Swablu: 0/119
Dewgong: 88/134 (recalled)
Angerazm: 138/138 (Intimidated)

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

Mark and Mina:

Mina had so many questions - which books, what kind of movies, what kind of games, any memorable pranks - but stuck with one since this was a conversation over a meal and not an interrogation. “So that wasn’t your first karaoke experience then? Where did you sing before?”

Lord Ruby34
2024-05-24, 03:40 PM
I'm going to have to get hands on some high quality poffins. Those boosts really matter!

Also, does the Angerazm have any moves that Less should know about that would be particularly dangerous to Buck?

That had gone . . . acceptably. Notably Miles hadn't kept Nautilous in to fight Buck. That was unexpected. But these Pokemon weren't that fast, so maybe . . . "Buck, go ahead and bite!" Less also kept his ears sharp for Miles's commands.


If Buck out-speeds the Angerazm and causes it to flinch continue using bite until the statement is no longer true.

Gnomes2169
2024-05-24, 05:48 PM
Mina had so many questions - which books, what kind of movies, what kind of games, any memorable pranks - but stuck with one since this was a conversation over a meal and not an interrogation. “So that wasn’t your first karaoke experience then? Where did you sing before?”

Dang, he'd been certain she would ask about the pranks. Oh well, he could save that for later. "Yeah, I wrote that song we sang in Jason's notebook, my art book now, after the second time the guys dragged me out to do so. As punishment for my prank, he forced me to join him every time after. I've discovered that there are karaoke bars in pretty much every region, or at least in Johto, Kanto and Hoenn, and I think we were going to find one here before..." Mark shifted in his chair and decided to just repress that. "Most cities seem to have one, too! And if it existed, Jason's lucario dragged us to it. That pokemon loved growling and barking along to those emo or gothy metal songs. He told us they spoke to his tortured soul." To emphasize those last words, Mark closed his eyes and clenched a fist in front of him.

"So, what kind of movies do you like?"

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-24, 09:54 PM
Less:

Buck uses Bite!
Critical hit!
Angerazm is hit for 42 damage!

Buck connects solidly but the Grass type doesn’t flinch, instead its leafy body begins to swell.

Angerazm uses Growth!
Angerazm’s Attack rises sharply!
Angerazm’s Special Attack rises sharply!

Buck recovers 2 HP from held Leftovers!


(Sunny Day in effect.)

Connie: 28/129 (recalled)
Princess: 2/92 (recalled)
Buck: 106/106

Swablu: 0/119
Dewgong: 88/134 (recalled)
Angerazm: 96/138 (Intimidated, Attack up 2 levels, Special Attack up 2 levels)

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

Mark and Mina:


Dang, he'd been certain she would ask about the pranks. Oh well, he could save that for later. "Yeah, I wrote that song we sang in Jason's notebook, my art book now, after the second time the guys dragged me out to do so. As punishment for my prank, he forced me to join him every time after.”

“That must have been some prank! What did you do?”


"I've discovered that there are karaoke bars in pretty much every region, or at least in Johto, Kanto and Hoenn, and I think we were going to find one here before..." Mark shifted in his chair and decided to just repress that. "Most cities seem to have one, too!"

“I guess I need to get out more, that time in Ceris is the first time I’ve been to one of those,” Mina remarked.


"And if it existed, Jason's lucario dragged us to it. That pokemon loved growling and barking along to those emo or gothy metal songs. He told us they spoke to his tortured soul."

Mina just looked faintly amused, but addressed Riolu who was currently digging into his fancy Pokéchow. “I don’t suppose you’re going to want to go singing karaoke too? I’m sure we could talk your trainer into going once we find her.”

The little Fighting type just sniffed, and Mark got the distinct impression the baby considered karaoke singing to be beneath his dignity. Mina’s impression was considerably less distinct, but she got the message anyway.

Xatu added privately to Mina, <He’s still a hatchling trying too hard to be grown up. He’ll grow out of it.>


"So, what kind of movies do you like?"

“Oh,” Mina thought back. “I like variety. I think it’s mostly been action movies lately, some mystery, some comedy. I keep trying to find a horror movie I like but they never seem to click” and now that she’d lived in an actual war zone she doubted they every would “and I’ve never been into romances at all. And I usually avoid anything that looks like it’s just going to be a gorefest full of swearing or whatever; I can put up with it if it’s in a movie that’s good, but I don’t really consider it a selling point.”

Lord Ruby34
2024-05-25, 12:02 AM
"Good hit Buck!" Less cheered. Despite his enthusiasm that plant creature was looking dangerous . . . but that was probably Buck's best hit . . . but maybe a small boost probably wasn't enough for Miles to feel entirely comfortable with his grass-type's ability to actually make significant headway against Buck. Would he go for another Growth? Either way, he had to deal with those boosts before they became overpowering. "Buck, roar!" Less ordered.


I think Buck should be back to full from the leftovers, right?

Conditional: If Buck doesn't take a hit for more than 40 damage, Bite.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-25, 07:59 AM
Less:

Thanks, fixed!

Buck temporarily gives up his advantage in speed to take a deep breath and brace himself for his Roar, giving the Grass type the first hit.

Angerazm uses Energy Ball!
It’s not very effective…
Buck is hit for 61 damage!

Buck uses Roar!

The Angerazm bounces back to its Pokéball, and Nautilus is sent back out.

Buck recovers 6 HP from held Leftovers!


(Sunny Day in effect.)

Connie: 28/129 (recalled)
Princess: 2/92 (recalled)
Buck: 51/106

Swablu: 0/119
Dewgong: 88/134 (Intimidated)
Angerazm: 96/138 (recalled)

Gnomes2169
2024-05-25, 08:49 AM
“That must have been some prank! What did you do?”

"Oh, Jason just hated that song, said it was way too cheesy and romantic, so he thought making me sing it was a punishment for permanently inflicting it upon his journal. Joke's on him, I love that song." Cheesy love songs are great. Especially when they're aware of what they are. "And now it's tradition that I sing it first at Karaoke."


“I guess I need to get out more, that time in Ceris is the first time I’ve been to one of those,” Mina remarked.

"Well, they're called Karaoke bars because they're bars, just with rooms in back that have microphones and prompters and stuff that you can rent out and sing with friends for a while. So if you don't go out to drink often..." He shrugged. "I mostly had soda and sang when we went, and it's a friends thing. I definitely wouldn't have gone by myself." He'd also been well under the legal drinking age the first few times and was only allowed in as long as he stayed to the karaoke rooms. (... Though Zelgius and Alan had snuck him a few sips of alcohol from time to time. Soldiers are terrible role models/ psuedo-adopted family...)


The little Fighting type just sniffed, and Mark got the distinct impression the baby considered karaoke singing to be beneath his dignity. Mina’s impression was considerably less distinct, but she got the message anyway.

Mark chuckled a bit before reassuring the riolu, "Don't worry, little guy. Eli was the biggest dork I knew, and I'm including myself in that list. He wore headphones to listen to that edgy music most of the time, and sometimes a pair of shades too, because he was 'too cool' for the rest of us. No one is expecting you to follow in his footsteps just because you share a species." The little aura pokemon could probably sense a bit of Mark's amusement, and hints of the loss that reminiscing brought him. That dork of a lucario had been almost as much of a friend to him as his trainer, so he missed the fighting/steel type... and worried about what had happened to him.


“Oh. I like variety. I think it’s mostly been action movies lately, some mystery, some comedy. I keep trying to find a horror movie I like but they never seem to click, and I’ve never been into romances at all. And I usually avoid anything that looks like it’s just going to be a gorefest full of swearing or whatever; I can put up with it if it’s in a movie that’s good, but I don’t really consider it a selling point.”

"Hmph! You've clearly never seen a good rom-com." Sleepless in Saffron* was a classic, though he was maybe a bit of a softy for true, well-done romances. Who didn't like Cinema Heaven**? "But fair on the horror and splat flicks. Not really a fan of pointless ultraviolence myself. But would something like Anything, Anywhere, Every When*** be a movie you enjoy...?"

*Sleepless in Seattle

**Cinema Paradiso

***Yes, I'm saying that Everything, Everywhere, All At Once has a different name in this part of the multiverse. And yes, I'm enjoying spoofing movie names. Thanks for asking. :smalltongue:

Lord Ruby34
2024-05-25, 09:49 AM
Less winced. Mile's Pokemon were just too much stronger than his own. Those poffin boosts were making a huge difference, and Buck wasn't able to take advantage of the Sun to hurt that Grass type. In fact, the weather was even working against him for the most part. He needed to get Connie to make a few attacks . . . alright, that would have to be the plan. "Buck, bite! Less commanded. He needed to generate an advantage to press, but he couldn't risk having Miles just switch back into his grass type and nullifying Buck's hit.


If Miles switches, then switch to Connie, and call for U-turn into Princess.
If Miles doesn't switch, and Buck out speeds and flinches the Dewgong, then Bite again, unless Miles called for Brine. In that case, protect.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-26, 08:12 AM
Mark and Mina:


"Oh, Jason just hated that song, said it was way too cheesy and romantic, so he thought making me sing it was a punishment for permanently inflicting it upon his journal. Joke's on him, I love that song." Cheesy love songs are great. Especially when they're aware of what they are. "And now it's tradition that I sing it first at Karaoke."

Mina, who’d been expecting something a little more involved for the prank, made a conversational noise while privately deciding that Jason had overreacted.


"Well, they're called Karaoke bars because they're bars, just with rooms in back that have microphones and prompters and stuff that you can rent out and sing with friends for a while. So if you don't go out to drink often..."

“I really don’t,” Mina agreed to the last. Quincey was the social butterfly, and with her hometown being on the small side that meant nearly everyone who wanted to hang out did it with him - it wasn’t cool to hang out with your friend’s younger sister, apparently. Add to that she didn’t really like the taste of alcohol and turned out to have a low tolerance for it, and she’d had no reason to hang out in bars much.

Apparently, she’d been missing out.


"Don't worry, little guy. Eli was the biggest dork I knew, and I'm including myself in that list. He wore headphones to listen to that edgy music most of the time, and sometimes a pair of shades too, because he was 'too cool' for the rest of us. No one is expecting you to follow in his footsteps just because you share a species." The little aura pokemon could probably sense a bit of Mark's amusement, and hints of the loss that reminiscing brought him. That dork of a lucario had been almost as much of a friend to him as his trainer, so he missed the fighting/steel type... and worried about what had happened to him.

The little Fighting type seemed reassured by this. Mark got the uneasy sense that he suspected such frivolous display would reflect badly on his lineage.

Xatu paused his own meal to reach over and preen the baby in a reassuring manner.


"Hmph! You've clearly never seen a good rom-com." Sleepless in Saffron* was a classic, though he was maybe a bit of a softy for true, well-done romances. Who didn't like Cinema Heaven**? "But fair on the horror and splat flicks. Not really a fan of pointless ultraviolence myself. But would something like Anything, Anywhere, Every When*** be a movie you enjoy...?"


“I guess not,” Mina agreed. “Anything, Anywhere, Every When was okay, I just liked Sky Flight* better. Multiverse and time travel stuff have never been my cup of tea either…unless it’s just being used as an excuse for dinosaurs,” she amended.

*Top Gun, except instead of enemy pilots the protagonists are trying to fly past a heavily fictionalized version of Rayquaza to rescue some scientists at the Sky Pillar.

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

Less:

Buck uses Bite!
Dewgong is hit for 21 damage!
Dewgong flinches! ((Lucky you. 😈))

Buck recovers 6 HP from held Leftovers!

Buck uses Bite!
Dewgong is hit for 20 damage!

Dewgong uses Water Pulse!
It’s super effective!
Buck is hit for 42 damage!

Buck recovers 6 HP from held Leftovers!


(Sunny Day in effect.)

Connie: 28/129 (recalled)
Princess: 2/92 (recalled)
Buck: 21/106

Swablu: 0/119
Dewgong: 47/134 (Intimidated)
Angerazm: 96/138 (recalled)

Gnomes2169
2024-05-26, 10:00 AM
Mina, who’d been expecting something a little more involved for the prank, made a conversational noise while privately deciding that Jason had overreacted.

While not the most conversationally gifted of people, something still nagged at Mark about her response and he added, "Um... I'm also pretty sure that Uncle Max told him and the twins to look out for me, and taking me to sing with them was how they... you know. So 'punishing' me for my prank was just an excuse." And he was sure of that because Blake had explicitly told him that at some point, which had led to its own series of drama that he didn't want to admit to right now. Still... "I didn't mind, to be honest. Didn't have many friends at school, and stepmom and siblings didn't really know what to do with me." It was hard being the shy, artsy kid with no dad sometimes.


The little Fighting type seemed reassured by this. Mark got the uneasy sense that he suspected such frivolous display would reflect badly on his lineage.

He tries sending a bit of mental reassurance that they would do their best to avoid that, and mentally kicks himself for how he'd acted last night again. This little riolu wasn't Elijah, and, no matter how much he missed that pokemon, he shouldn't try holding the baby to those standards or expectations. He especially shouldn't try taking over the little guy's training or ownership... his baggage would not let that situation end well.

So a bit of Mark's guilt colors that reassurance. He'd said sorry about that already, right? He should probably say it again. But not right now, in the middle of an unrelated and over-all quite pleasant conver- "Sorry about last night again, Riolu. I was... out of line." Or you could do that, my idiot son.


“I guess not,” Mina agreed. “Anything, Anywhere, Every When was okay, I just liked Sky Flight* better. Multiverse and time travel stuff have never been my cup of tea either…unless it’s just being used as an excuse for dinosaurs,” she amended.

He squinted a bit at her judgement of multiverse movies, -though to be fair, he only liked them when they actually used the concept right, and superhero movies these days (where the trope was most common) absolutely missed that mark,- but when he spoke again he said, "Okay, yeah, that's fair, dinosaurs are awesome. Paleolithic Park 1*? Absolute classic. No notes. Their clever mix of animatronics and fossil pokemon still holds up to this day. MILES better than the CGI in the recent reboots."


*Top Gun, except instead of enemy pilots the protagonists are trying to fly past a heavily fictionalized version of Rayquaza to rescue some scientists at the Sky Pillar.

G L O R I O U S :smallbiggrin: Also, still got dibs on Rayquaza. :smalltongue:

*Jurassic Park, of course, with Kabutops (with extra foot-talons and shark fins on their backs) as the raptors. (And the Paleolithic World movies just use a CGI Gigantimax Lapras with fin-swords as their Mosasaurus, which is another reason why this universe's version of the movies are just bad.)

essCee
2024-05-26, 10:08 AM
Pinklady:

Wispaferyn A uses Silver Wind!
Croaky is hit for 43 damage!
Croaky faints!

Blast Bolt uses Superpower!
It’s super effective!
Graveler B is hit for 81 damage!
Blast Bolt’s Attack falls!
Blast Bolt’s Defense falls!

Machoke uses Leer!
Blast Bolt’s Defense falls!

Graveler B uses Rollout!
Attack missed due to target KO!


Leapsy: 0/75
Croaky: 0/77
Blast Bolt: 102/102 (Attack down 1 level, Defense down 2 levels)

Graveler A: 0/89
Graveler B: 42/123 (Defense up 1 level, Defense Curl)
Machoke A: 103/103
Wispaferyn A: 96/96

Not good... Go, Sport! Fake Out the Wispaferyn! And Blast Bolt, finish off the Graveler with another Superpower!"

Lord Ruby34
2024-05-26, 11:52 AM
Less frowned. This was going badly . . . but he wasn't completely done yet. "Good hits Buck! Block the next one, protect!"


If Nautilous stays in and Buck blocks an attack:
- Bite, hoping for a flinch.
- If we get the flinch, follow up with a Fire Fang, unless the bite was also a critical hit, then follow up with a bite instead.
- If Buck KO's the Dewgong without going down (by some miracle), then take a free switch to Connie and U-Turn into Princess.
- If that works and Connie Obeys, and Princess goes down, switch back into Connie and hit it with a Wing Attack.

If Nautilus switches out during this protect, switch to Connie.
-If the Angerazm used Growth, then U-Turn into Princess.
-If Princess goes down, switch back into Connie.
Let's not do that one, that plan only worked 40 HP ago.

If Buck does not get the flinch on his Bite and goes down, and Nautilous knows Ice shard or Less can't tell,
Switch into Princess, use a super potion on Connie.
If Princess goes down, switch into Connie and see how things stand.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-28, 07:21 PM
Mark and Mina:


While not the most conversationally gifted of people, something still nagged at Mark about her response and he added, "Um... I'm also pretty sure that Uncle Max told him and the twins to look out for me, and taking me to sing with them was how they... you know. So 'punishing' me for my prank was just an excuse." And he was sure of that because Blake had explicitly told him that at some point, which had led to its own series of drama that he didn't want to admit to right now. Still... "I didn't mind, to be honest. Didn't have many friends at school, and stepmom and siblings didn't really know what to do with me." It was hard being the shy, artsy kid with no dad sometimes.

“Oh. Well, it sounds like you had fun with it at least,” Mina replied, not sure what else she could say without stepping on what she perceived to be conversational landmines - Mark’s mention of a stepmom opened up all kinds of potential past trauma… “Maybe when we’re done saving the world we can go on a world tour of karaoke bars.”


He tries sending a bit of mental reassurance that they would do their best to avoid that, and mentally kicks himself for how he'd acted last night again. This little riolu wasn't Elijah, and, no matter how much he missed that pokemon, he shouldn't try holding the baby to those standards or expectations. He especially shouldn't try taking over the little guy's training or ownership... his baggage would not let that situation end well.

So a bit of Mark's guilt colors that reassurance. He'd said sorry about that already, right? He should probably say it again. But not right now, in the middle of an unrelated and over-all quite pleasant conver- "Sorry about last night again, Riolu. I was... out of line." Or you could do that, my idiot son.

Riolu looked up from his food, ears flat and nodules raised, and gave Mark a scrutinizing look - Mark could tell the little Fighting type was trying to tell if he was being lied to.

After a moment he barked and relaxed a bit before returning to his food, and Mark got the sense that he was forgiven - contingent on never doing that again.


He squinted a bit at her judgement of multiverse movies, -though to be fair, he only liked them when they actually used the concept right, and superhero movies these days (where the trope was most common) absolutely missed that mark,- but when he spoke again he said, "Okay, yeah, that's fair, dinosaurs are awesome. Paleolithic Park 1*? Absolute classic. No notes. Their clever mix of animatronics and fossil pokemon still holds up to this day. MILES better than the CGI in the recent reboots."

“Oh absolutely, and the plot was better too - much more believable. You will never get me to believe that a bunch of critters fleeing in terror from a super monster will drop everything just to munch on some random bystanders, but some scientists making something they can’t control and it blows up in their faces? Absolutely plausible. I’m honestly kind of surprised it hasn’t happened already.”

And I will reiterate that I have dibs on Mewtwo. 😉 I will also take this opportunity to note that his existence, and by extension that of his creation, is not widely known; Mina’s comment is intended to be some in-universe irony.

Ditto for Giovanni being the boss of Team Rocket, although that’s less of a tangent from the dinosaur movie discussion.

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

Pinklady:

Sport uses Fake Out!
Wispaferyn A is hit for 12 damage!

Wispaferyn A flinches!

Blast Bolt uses Superpower!
It’s super effective!

Unfortunately Blast Bolt is winded from his previous attack, in addition to the Poffin-boosted Grunt Pokémon having curled protectively around itself, so the damage this time is substantially less robust:

Graveler B is hit for 34 damage!
Blast Bolt’s Attack falls!
Blast Bolt’s Defense falls!

Machoke uses Low Kick!
Blast Bolt is hit for 79 damage!

Graveler B uses Rollout!
Blast Bolt is hit for 100 damage!
Blast Bolt faints!

In the distance you can hear the sentries fighting the other patrol and someone shouting— “What are you doing? This is no time to play nice! Send them out, send them all out—!”


Leapsy: 0/75
Croaky: 0/77
Blast Bolt: 0/102
Sport: 63/63

Graveler A: 0/89
Graveler B: 8/123 (Defense up 1 level, Defense Curl)
Machoke A: 103/103
Wispaferyn A: 84/96

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

Less:

Buck uses Protect!
Buck is protecting himself!

Dewgong uses Water Pulse!
Buck is protecting himself!

Buck recovers 6 HP from held Leftovers!

Buck uses Bite!
Dewgong is hit for 21 damage!

Dewgong uses Water Pulse!
It’s super effective!
Buck is hit for 44 damage!
Buck faints!

Your Fire type goes down, but you’re able to finish a comprehensive scan of Nautilus in the mean time.


Pokémon: Dewgong (Nautilus)
Type: Water/Ice
Ability: Thick Fat
Gender: Female
Level: 29
Held Item: Expert Belt
Stats--
HP: 100 +34
Attack: 54
Def: 60 +17
Sp. Attack: 54 +24 +17
Sp. Def: 69
Speed: 54 +4
Moves:
Aqua Ring
Ice Shard
Signal Beam
Icy Wind
Rain Dance (SM)
Water Pulse (tutor)


Miles, noticing, says in a polished yet scathing tone of voice, “I suppose since you’ll be walking to the next town you need the crutch.” He doesn’t seem interested in using his League-sanctioned switch.

And since you’ve got the whole stat block and move list for Nautilus now, I’m going to ask you to confirm your action for the next round before I execute it.


(Sunny Day in effect.)

Connie: 28/129 (recalled)
Princess: 2/92 (recalled)
Buck: 0/106

Swablu: 0/119
Dewgong: 26/134
Angerazm: 96/138 (recalled)

Lord Ruby34
2024-05-28, 08:32 PM
Less winced as Buck went down, and was then bathed in a gentle red light. It wasn't exactly surprising with the type disadvantage . . . but Less couldn't help but think that if he's been able to use the move tutor, then he and Buck could have won this fight. Still, Less rapped his cane gently against the ground at the mention of the word crutch. "You wouldn't happen to be poking fun at an old man and his walking stick, would you?" Less asked, his voice good natured despite his internal annoyance.

"Though I think you've given me a rather through lesson in the power of Poffin today, your Pokemon are clearly better prepared for this fight than mine are." Less continued. "So I suppose I might need a crutch to give you a challenge . . . I think you just about have me as it stands. Are you willing to spot an old man a single item use to make the match a little closer?" Less asked, his voice turning upwards as he asked the question. After all, the worst Miles could say was no.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-28, 09:00 PM
Less:


"You wouldn't happen to be poking fun at an old man and his walking stick, would you?" Less asked, his voice good natured despite his internal annoyance.

Miles doesn’t deign to answer this.



"Though I think you've given me a rather through lesson in the power of Poffin today, your Pokemon are clearly better prepared for this fight than mine are." Less continued. "So I suppose I might need a crutch to give you a challenge . . . I think you just about have me as it stands. Are you willing to spot an old man a single item use to make the match a little closer?"

Miles casts his eyes skyward, perhaps a little more dramatically than strictly necessary. “You really are helpless. Fine, one item.”

Lord Ruby34
2024-05-28, 10:52 PM
Miles casts his eyes skyward, perhaps a little more dramatically than strictly necessary. “You really are helpless. Fine, one item.”

"You're a charitable soul." Less replied, honestly relieved. His path to victory without that free item use had been looking mighty slim. It would have involved having Princess take a shot right to the chin while Less fed Connie a potion, getting lucky enough to confuse Mile's grass type, and having Miles not use an item of his own. That might have been a tall order, and one that Less was all to happy to avoid having to try. Instead, Less took the granted reprieve to give Connie a Super Potion before sending her out. Hopefully Nautilous hadn't been lining up an attack . . . at least not too well aimed of one.


"Alright Connie, I'm counting on you to bring this one home. Wing attack!" Less ordered.


Above order is if Miles doesn't take his free switch. If he wants it, Less will call for U-turn instead.

If he keeps Nautilus out:
If Connie gets critcally hit by an ice shard before attacking and is KO'd: Concede
If Connie obeys and KO's Nautilus with a Wing attack, stay in, then use U-Turn into Princess. (If she disobeys but still KO's, stop for RP reasons.)
If Princess is KO'd by an attack from Angerzm, then send Connie back in and call for another Wing Attack.
If at any point in that chain it becomes apparent what the Angerzm's held item is, ignore all future conditionals and stop.

If Miles takes his free switch:
U-Turn into Princess (as stated above)
If Princess is KO'd by an attack from Angerzm, then send Connie back out and call for another Wing attack.

Logic:
Ice Shard should hit Connie for up to 47 damage (STAB, super effective, expert belt, but low base power and attack), assuming my math i+s correct. Any hit from Connie KO's Nautilus. Wing attack + any other attack should KO Angerzm, based on Buck's damage to the grass type being just a smidge higher than his damage to Nautilus I'm assuming that Angerzm's defense is 1 point lower that Nautilus.

Which means Less is praying to dodge the critical hit Ice Shard here.

Miles might also do something unexpected . . . but we'll see.

Gnomes2169
2024-05-29, 04:20 AM
“Oh. Well, it sounds like you had fun with it at least,” Mina replied, not sure what else she could say without stepping on what she perceived to be conversational landmines - Mark’s mention of a stepmom opened up all kinds of potential past trauma… “Maybe when we’re done saving the world we can go on a world tour of karaoke bars.”

There were other things that Mark would have wanted to talk about, surely, but something here stuck out in his mind, even if the gears weren't clicking yet, and that was taking up the backup brain computational space while Mark talked. For example, he could have talked about how Mike Brighton's novel compared to the movies, and how the originals were so much more faithful to the spirit even if the specific events were wildly altered (like the Clever Girl scene never happening.)

However, what he ended up saying was, "Oh, yeah, it's a good way to spend the evening, just sitting around in a room, talking through the day, being dorks..." Then he blinked three times as something that was almost certainly accidental clicked and asked, "Wait like... go to these bars? Together? Just the two of us...?" He'd managed to get his earlier bout of blushing under control, but some pink returns. Eyes locked on the table (specifically the mostly empty cheese and crackers platter), Mark stammered, "I mean... that is... I wouldn't... Um... T-that would be, er, fine! Yeah. Sounds fun."


Ditto for Giovanni being the boss of Team Rocket, although that’s less of a tangent from the dinosaur movie discussion.

Sounds good! Will keep that in mind going on in the future.

essCee
2024-05-29, 12:14 PM
Pinklady:

Sport uses Fake Out!
Wispaferyn A is hit for 12 damage!

Wispaferyn A flinches!

Blast Bolt uses Superpower!
It’s super effective!

Unfortunately Blast Bolt is winded from his previous attack, in addition to the Poffin-boosted Grunt Pokémon having curled protectively around itself, so the damage this time is substantially less robust:

Graveler B is hit for 34 damage!
Blast Bolt’s Attack falls!
Blast Bolt’s Defense falls!

Machoke uses Low Kick!
Blast Bolt is hit for 79 damage!

Graveler B uses Rollout!
Blast Bolt is hit for 100 damage!
Blast Bolt faints!

In the distance you can hear the sentries fighting the other patrol and someone shouting— “What are you doing? This is no time to play nice! Send them out, send them all out—!”


Leapsy: 0/75
Croaky: 0/77
Blast Bolt: 0/102
Sport: 63/63

Graveler A: 0/89
Graveler B: 8/123 (Defense up 1 level, Defense Curl)
Machoke A: 103/103
Wispaferyn A: 84/96

Pinklady has to hold herself back from crying out in frustration. She was so sure this was going to turn things around...
She hesitates on who to send out next - still stuck on thinking she shouldn't send out her whole team - but realises she doesn't really have any other option when she hears the shout.

"Go! Whirlywhirly and Tress! Whirlywhirly, Rollout on the Wispaferyn! Sport, finish off the Graveler with a Drain Punch! Tress, try to put all our opponents to sleep with Sing!"

If only I knew that second Superpower wasn't going to be enough... Pinklady thought unhappily, all too aware of how devastating that Graveler was.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-30, 06:06 PM
Less:


-1 Super Potion, 1 remaining, Connie was restored to 78 HP.

…and it didn’t matter in the least. I’m sorry, the dice were not merciful.

Connie spreads her wings wide and prepares to pounce…but Nautilus puts on a burst of speed. For a moment you can see the Ice type’s horn gleaming in the sun before it slams into Connie.

Dewgong uses Ice Shard!
It’s super effective!
Critical hit! ((😢))
Connie is hit for 82 damage!
Connie faints!

Her wings fold and she falls from the sky, unconscious.


(Sunny Day in effect.)

Connie: 0/129
Princess: 2/92 (recalled)
Buck: 0/106

Swablu: 0/119
Dewgong: 26/134
Angerazm: 96/138 (recalled)

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

Mark and Mina:



However, what he ended up saying was, "Oh, yeah, it's a good way to spend the evening, just sitting around in a room, talking through the day, being dorks..." Then he blinked three times as something that was almost certainly accidental clicked and asked, "Wait like... go to these bars? Together? Just the two of us...?" He'd managed to get his earlier bout of blushing under control, but some pink returns. Eyes locked on the table (specifically the mostly empty cheese and crackers platter), Mark stammered, "I mean... that is... I wouldn't... Um... T-that would be, er, fine! Yeah. Sounds fun."

“I mean, if you want to ask the others to come too we can,” Mina replied, misconstruing the direction of Mark’s end of the conversation.

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

Pinklady:

There is a burst of lights from Pokéballs opening; the sentries seem to be having some excitement of their own.

Whirlywhirly uses Rollout!
It’s super effective!
Wispaferyn A is hit for 64 damage!
Wispaferyn A uses held Chahal Berry to restore 20 HP!

Unfortunately the blow isn’t quite enough to take the Wispaferyn down, and the Bug type sends glittering wind right at Tress.

Wispaferyn A uses Silver Wind!
It’s super effective!
Tress is hit for 233 damage! ((That double weakness hurts.))

The little Dark type goes tumbling backwards and slams into the outer wall of the Pokémon Center.

Tress faints!

Sport uses Drain Punch!
It’s super effective!
Graveler B is hit for 22 damage!
Graveler B faints!

Not being injured, the Fighting type doesn’t get any advantage from the ‘drain’ portion of the attack, but the Graveler goes down regardless.

Machoke A uses Leer!
Defense of all allied Pokémon falls!

You feel an urgent tug on your clothes; one of the Chansey has waddled out of Pokémon Center and is holding up an empty tray - the kind the Center uses to run Pokémon through the healing machine.

Meanwhile, the Grunt with the Graveler sends out a replacement.

Machoke B was sent out!


Leapsy: 0/75
Croaky: 0/77
Blast Bolt: 0/102
Sport: 63/63 (Defense down 1 level)
Whirlywhirly: 90/90 (Defense down 1 level)
Tress: 0/62

Graveler A: 0/89
Graveler B: 0/123
Machoke A: 103/103
Machoke B: 103/103
Wispaferyn A: 40/96

Gnomes2169
2024-05-30, 10:05 PM
“I mean, if you want to ask the others to come too we can,” Mina replied, misconstruing the direction of Mark’s end of the conversation.

"I-" Mark started to say, before pausing and squinting at Mina. Okay, was he getting mixed signals or...? Maybe some clarification would be good here. "I mean, those karaoke rooms do have enough room for five or six people, so I guess they could join us if they wanted, but, um..." Tapping his fingers together in front of him while trying to think about how to phrase this, Mark asked, "Okay, did you bring it up because you had fun with the last time, or because you wanted to spend more time with me, or both, or...?" That wasn't too subtle, right?

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-05-31, 10:51 AM
Mark and Mina:

“Last time was fun,” Mina replied, somewhat blankly - they were spending time together right now, after all - while Xatu snickered inside her head. Then, “What’s your problem?” sharply in the Psychic type’s direction.

<Nothing!> he replied a little too innocently, before fluttering up to give the sliced fruit an acquisitive eye. <Is that for me?>

essCee
2024-05-31, 12:00 PM
Pinklady quickly recalls Tress. "I'm sorry..." she says to her Pokéball. This wasn't fair to Tress, she had - no, not now. Pinklady pushed that line of thought out of mind for now. "Good work, Whirlywhirly, keep at it, finish off the Wisp' with another Rollout! Sport, Drain Punch the new Machoke!"

Pinklady almost fails to notice the tug on her clothes, but feels relief wash over her as she turns to look at the tugger. "Great timing, thank you!" She unlatches her exhausted Pokémons' Pokéballs and puts them on the spots on the tray.

Lord Ruby34
2024-05-31, 03:46 PM
Dice are dice. I knew there was a chance of Nautilus nailing Connie with a crit there. :smallfrown:

Less's shoulder slump in defeat . . . he had been so sure that his strategy was going to work, but there wasn't a way around that Dewgong's perfect accuracy there.
"I concede, no need to continue further." Less announced as he recalled Connie and approached Miles. "That was a well fought match, though I won't deny I wish it had a different result." Less said, while pulling Matt's egg down off his shoulder. Maybe this would be for the best. He was headed into the Spectral dimension soon. That was a terrible place for an egg.

"Promise to keep an eye on the little one, will you? An acquaintance of mine, now passed, saved it out in the wild. I have no idea what kind of Pokemon might hatch from it." Less kept his voice from breaking. He hadn't really thought he could lose this fight . . . not really. There was always a risk, but he had been so confident. If he couldn't win a fight against a local trainer how was he supposed to stand against a Bandra officer, or rescue his daughter, if he couldn't even keep hold of one egg.

Gnomes2169
2024-06-01, 07:27 AM
Mark and Mina:

“Last time was fun,” Mina replied, somewhat blankly - they were spending time together right now, after all - while Xatu snickered inside her head. Then, “What’s your problem?” sharply in the Psychic type’s direction.

Well, ow. That was a way to shoot him down, not even taking the 'both' option and instead going with the 'nah, I just like singing' one. But he managed to control his face and say, "Alright. Fair. And using the bar rooms comes with the added benefit of not needing to sing in front of a crowd, so it's more relaxing... So that should be fun too." Just pretend he didn't say aaaanything else...

Her snapping at Xatu sends a thread of panic down his spine, because the pokemon seemed to be far more observant about his flailing attempts to flirt, and he s q u i n t s at that bird. Telepathically, he calls to Tattersail, <'Sail, remind Xatu that only good birds get fruit.> He might have to find something soft to throw at the psychic owl. Soft but weighty... maybe a chair pillow or something...

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-06-04, 04:54 PM
Pinklady:

The Chansey waddles back inside with your KO’d Pokémon as fast as her feet can take her.

Whirlywhirly uses Rollout!
It’s super effective!
Wispaferyn A is hit for 121 damage!
Wispaferyn A faints!

Sport uses Drain Punch!
Machoke B is hit for 33 damage!

Machoke A uses Low Kick!
Critical hit!
It’s not very effective…
Whirlywhirly is hit for 43 damage!

Machoke B uses Submission!
Sport is hit for 65 damage!
Sport faints!
Machoke B takes 16 damage due to recoil!

Another Wispaferyn comes out to replace the one that had fallen, but the sentries have finished off their Grunt patrol and you can see them coming in the light from the Pokémon Center lobby. Inside the Center you can faintly hear the ding-ding-ding-a-ling! of the healing machine…and a split second later there’s a loud noise from behind the Pokemon Center and the lights in the Center all go dark at once.

The Machoke guard the Wispaferyn while the latter spits out a great deal of smoke and the Grunts flee into the night, but from the jeers that echo back to you you can tell they accomplished what they came to do.

One of the sentries swears before asking aloud, “Everyone okay?”

Leapsy: 0/75
Croaky: 0/77
Blast Bolt: 0/102
Sport: 0/63
Whirlywhirly: 47/90 (Defense down 1 level)
Tress: 0/62

Graveler A: 0/89
Graveler B: 0/123
Machoke A: 103/103 - fled!
Machoke B: 54/103 - fled!
Wispaferyn A: 0/96
Wispaferyn B: 96/96 - fled!


Tress and Sport both level up.

Pokemon: Cosmas (Tress)
Type: Dark/Spectral
Ability: Magic Guard
Gender: Female
Level: 21
Held Item: NONE
Stats--
HP: 54 +10
Attack: 36 +5
Def: 28
Sp. Attack: 34
Sp. Def: 32
Speed: 36
Moves:
Sing
Bash*
Pursuit
Flash
Faint Attack
Haze

(No new attacks.)

Pokemon: Hitmonchan (Sport)
Type: Fighting
Ability: Iron Fist
Gender: Male
Level: 24
Held Item: NONE
Stats--
HP: 65
Attack: 62 +6
Def: 50 +12
Sp. Attack: 29
Sp. Def: 65
Speed: 48
Moves:
Tackle
Helping Hand
Fake Out
Foresight (tutor)
Feint
Drain Punch

(No new attacks.)

Also, note that Tress now has a concussion.


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

Less:

-Mystery Egg 2 (estimated hatch time: Day 33)



Less's shoulder slump in defeat . . . he had been so sure that his strategy was going to work, but there wasn't a way around that Dewgong's perfect accuracy there.
"I concede, no need to continue further." Less announced as he recalled Connie and approached Miles. "That was a well fought match, though I won't deny I wish it had a different result." Less said, while pulling Matt's egg down off his shoulder. Maybe this would be for the best. He was headed into the Spectral dimension soon. That was a terrible place for an egg.

Miles takes the egg with all the care one could wish, even removing his scarf to wrap around it as padding.


"Promise to keep an eye on the little one, will you? An acquaintance of mine, now passed, saved it out in the wild. I have no idea what kind of Pokemon might hatch from it."

The Coordinator looks briefly scandalized. “Of course!” He packs it away securely, and as he does you can hear him whispering to the egg that he’s going to turn it into the most beautiful creature in all Helnith before he returns his attention to you. He seems to have unbent slightly after his win. “I meant what I said about the Poffin. If your friend can manage a four-flavor recipe I may have advice to give or supplies I can spare. You have my number, of course.”

He excuses himself and goes off to put away his obstacle course, presumably done training for the time being.

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

Mark and Mina:


"Alright. Fair. And using the bar rooms comes with the added benefit of not needing to sing in front of a crowd, so it's more relaxing... So that should be fun too." Just pretend he didn't say aaaanything else...

“Sounds good,” Mina agrees, still apparently clueless. “Should we be hitting all the bars in Helnith first, do you think, or check out some other region? Though I guess we should see if there’s anything left of Helnith after this before we try to plan that far ahead…”


Her snapping at Xatu sends a thread of panic down his spine, because the pokemon seemed to be far more observant about his flailing attempts to flirt, and he s q u i n t s at that bird. Telepathically, he calls to Tattersail, <'Sail, remind Xatu that only good birds get fruit.> He might have to find something soft to throw at the psychic owl. Soft but weighty... maybe a chair pillow or something...

Tattersail obliges, and Mina’s Xatu immediately contrives to look innocent.

Lord Ruby34
2024-06-04, 05:41 PM
Less nodded in approval at Miles' handling of the egg. The man would certainly take care of the hatchling, in his own weirdly narcissistic way, but still. There were worse fates than being pampered.

"Thank you. And I'll put you in contact with my friend. Probably sometime tomorrow." Less paused a moment. "Thank you." Not everyone would be willing to treat the egg with so much care . . . perhaps he had judge Miles a little too harshly.

As Miles finished off his preparations, Less asked one last question before turning and continuing his journey to Ceris. "Is there anywhere I should stop to learn more about mixing poffin?"

Gnomes2169
2024-06-04, 07:10 PM
“Sounds good,” Mina agrees, still apparently clueless. “Should we be hitting all the bars in Helnith first, do you think, or check out some other region? Though I guess we should see if there’s anything left of Helnith after this before we try to plan that far ahead…”

Was... she taunting him, or did she actually not know? How could she not know? It was so incredibly obvious! "Mina, I have a crush on you and I know it's super obvious, but I have no idea if you're interested in me so I've been afraid to ask, and inviting me out to bars sounds like you're asking me out on... a... date..." Wait, that had been an out loud thought. Not an inner one. Oh no. OH NO. "That... that wasn't... um... I-I... um..." Oh yes, the blush is back. Far worse than before. Poor boy may explode at this rate. He's also apparently forgotten how to blink.


Tattersail obliges, and Mina’s Xatu immediately contrives to look innocent.

Fortunately for Xatu's fruity desires, Mark.exe has suffered a fatal crash and is in no condition to stop the bird from taking what sweet and sour fruit treats he desires, regardless of how innocent said sentient feather duster is pretending to be.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-06-05, 07:19 PM
Less:

“Practice at the Blenders in any Contest Hall. Try not to set them on fire.” Miles yanks up another stake. “Elder Rashel in Ceris sometimes takes students under her wing as well.”

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

Mark and Mina:


Was... she taunting him, or did she actually not know? How could she not know? It was so incredibly obvious! "Mina, I have a crush on you and I know it's super obvious, but I have no idea if you're interested in me so I've been afraid to ask, and inviting me out to bars sounds like you're asking me out on... a... date..."

“Wait, what?”

Judging by the 404 File Not Found expression on Mina’s face, this was, in fact, news to her.

Her Xatu, meanwhile, took one look at Mark, one at Mina, then looked perfectly unconcerned and downed a piece of pineapple. Then grabbed a piece of mango in his beak and fluttered down to Riolu to make sure the hatchling was getting enough to eat, the latter having temporarily forsaken his food in favor of watching both humans with mild confusion.

Mark isn’t the only one who can make things awkward, MWAHAHA! 😁

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

Akio:

Going through the newspaper articles, they appear to be about a very public battle between Dialga and Palkia at a town over in Sinnoh, with a Darkrai mixed in for extra fun. According to the reports there were some weird reactions between the three Legendaries’ powers leading to ghostlike phantoms throughout the town and half the city temporarily dissolving. Nothing about Shadowing or the Spectral Dimension though.

Looking up, you realize it’s about 6 PM. You only have a couple more hours before curfew.

Lord Ruby34
2024-06-05, 08:16 PM
"I'll look her up, I suppose I'm headed that way anyway." Less replied, thoughtfully. With that, he thanked Miles for his advice and started walking towards Ceris.

Gnomes2169
2024-06-06, 02:13 AM
“Wait, what?”

Judging by the 404 File Not Found expression on Mina’s face, this was, in fact, news to her.

Her confusion provokes an automated response from Mark, who blinks twice, reboots through the horror that he actually said it out loud, and his mind starts firing off to try to piece together a response. Still trying to figure out what she was questioning, and thinking she meant the last part, he said, "I mean, the whole 'inviting people to a karaoke bar' thing is still inviting me to a bar, so that's, like, one of the most classic places to invite a date, just like the movies." Which is what he'd actually been planning to use before now. "So that's what I meant by... or... wait..."

Sitting up straight, his eyes wide with shock, and blush still scarlet on his face, Mark asked, "YOU DIDN'T KNOW?! How? I thought how I felt about you was- Less figured it out in like, five minutes!" To be fair, Mark had given the old man a clue by asking how to invite a girl out on a date the moment Mina had left them alone. Pressing the fingers of his robotic hand on his forehead and looking down, Mark said, "Oh sweet Arceus, I thought you already knew..."

Feathersnow
2024-06-06, 09:15 AM
Akio:

Going through the newspaper articles, they appear to be about a very public battle between Dialga and Palkia at a town over in Sinnoh, with a Darkrai mixed in for extra fun. According to the reports there were some weird reactions between the three Legendaries’ powers leading to ghostlike phantoms throughout the town and half the city temporarily dissolving. Nothing about Shadowing or the Spectral Dimension though.

Looking up, you realize it’s about 6 PM. You only have a couple more hours before curfew.

With a few hours of daylight, Akio realizes training is necessary for the mission ahead!


Akio decides to give Akechi and Ronin some training by having Ronin take Akechi's form and have them spar.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-06-10, 06:17 PM
Less:

What would have been a short ride on Buck is considerably stretched out on foot in the scorching afternoon heat, but nevertheless you make it to Ceris without further incident, about 2:30 PM.

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

Mark and Mina:


"I mean, the whole 'inviting people to a karaoke bar' thing is still inviting me to a bar, so that's, like, one of the most classic places to invite a date, just like the movies."

Mina’s understanding had been that one went to bars to pick up dates, but then, she had never previously dated herself. The stigma of being Quincy’s Younger Sister had been too strong. “Does no one go to bars just to go to bars?” She didn’t see how planning a karaoke tour immediately translated to ’date.’


"YOU DIDN'T KNOW?! How? I thought how I felt about you was- Less figured it out in like, five minutes!"

“People have been trying to kill us! We’re in the middle of a war zone! There have been more important things to figure out!” The words were already out of her mouth when it occurred to Mina that maybe that wasn’t the best thing to say, or at least the best way to phrase it.

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

Akio:

How long are you training, who is getting the level up, and where are you training because I guarantee if you have your Pokémon start sparring in the library stacks someone is going to mind?

Lord Ruby34
2024-06-10, 07:17 PM
The first thing Less does, hot and harried as he is, is to head to the Pokemon Center to get his team healed. He had felt very vulnerable on the road without Buck's comforting presence next to him. And his back was hurting. He wasn't as young as he used to be and a walk like that had him standing sorely by the end.

The second thing Less did was send Buck, Connie, and Princess out the moment he got outside. "Good fight everyone. I know that didn't go the way we wanted, but that was a solid learning experience. I wanted to thank all of you for trusting me and for battling with me so diligently, even in the face of long odds. We nearly had them, and we'll get them back the next time we run into him, I promise."


Petition for a split timeline for Less? I think I'm at the back of the pack as far as rounding out the day goes.

Less will finish the conversation with his Pokemon before continuing on. His next objective was to figure out when the route to Tidepath was going to be traversable. If the answer is not for at least a few hours, Less will go try to find Elder Rashel.

Gnomes2169
2024-06-11, 01:31 AM
“Does no one go to bars just to go to bars?” She didn’t see how planning a karaoke tour immediately translated to ’date.’

Still looking at the ground, Mark slowly twirled his organic hand in the air while saying, "I mean, yeah. I went with my buddies and everything, and none of them were dating." His hand stopped moving, and his eyes squinted a bit. "Actually, maybe Jason and Blake were... sweet baby mew, they were even room mates." Both of his hands pressed fingers against his forehead. Those two had been dating! How had he missed... Okay, actually, he knew how he'd missed it, sometimes he could be extremely oblivious.

Blinking a few times and shaking his head as some (in hindsight quite obvious) things about two of his military buddies clicked into place, he continued, "But anyway, um, yeah. You can just go and hang out at a bar with friends, so if it had just been an invitation to one I wouldn't have really questioned it... er, at least, out loud." Having a crush on people made you see signals that were unintentional, after all. "But... you also kinda invited me on a world-sweeping vacation to visit all of the bars. Which is, um, why I figured I should get some clarification on what you intended, there."


“People have been trying to kill us! We’re in the middle of a war zone! There have been more important things to figure out!”

Fortunately, Mark doesn't seem to be insulted by that last line... partially because he didn't immediately take it in the most negative way (he was too busy mentally calling himself an idiot, stupid, idiot boy), and partially because there was a not so insubstantial part of him that agreed. Not dying takes priority. Closing his eyes in a wince and nodding along, he says, "Okay, yup, that's fair, that makes sense. That's, in fact, completely reasonable. It also means I just confessed it to you for no reason and aaaaaaaaa..." Both of his hands covered his face again as that soft yell reached a pitch that can only be heard by dog pokemon and some species of birds.

After taking a breath and letting out a little whimper, Mark asked, "There's zero chance we're going to be able to pretend that I said nothing, is there?" Because the answer to that is obvious, he finally sits up, puts his hands in his lap and faces her so he can say, "Okay. So. Mina. I like you, I think you're cool, I wouldn't mind going out on a date with you sometime if you wanted? Um. If we ever have any time we aren't running around on fire, at least."

Feathersnow
2024-06-11, 10:45 AM
Akio goes out near the Pokémon Center and starts training Akechi until dark...

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-06-11, 09:14 PM
Less:

Sure, we can do a time split.



The second thing Less did was send Buck, Connie, and Princess out the moment he got outside. "Good fight everyone. I know that didn't go the way we wanted, but that was a solid learning experience. I wanted to thank all of you for trusting me and for battling with me so diligently, even in the face of long odds. We nearly had them, and we'll get them back the next time we run into him, I promise."

Princess seems sulky, claws clacking. Buck looks disappointed as he lays down with his ears back and whines. Connie just fluffs herself up briefly, harder to read.


Less will finish the conversation with his Pokemon before continuing on. His next objective was to figure out when the route to Tidepath was going to be traversable. If the answer is not for at least a few hours, Less will go try to find Elder Rashel.

Unfortunately for your travel plans, you appear to be right in the middle of the tide cycle - meaning the water is too high to cross on foot, but too low for the various ferries for hire that usually make themselves available at the high tide. Low tide will occur around 6:30 PM, so you have a few hours yet before you can safely cross.

Asking around town, you are informed that Elder Rashel is at the Contest Hall - asking around the Contest Hall, you are eventually directed to a dressing room that looks like the end result of microwaving a well-stuffed Fashion Case. Bits of ribbon hang from the walls and ceiling, streaks of dye are painted liberally over the mirror and countertop, and there is glitter everywhere - though that at least just seems to be the natural state of glitter.

An older woman in the blue robes of an Elder is sorting through the mess, tutting to herself. Most of it is going into a garbage bag, but a few items, still obviously intact or sealed up, are set aside. Her wrinkles and grey hair don’t hide the fact that she’d been a great beauty when she was younger, and on second glance, the outfit isn’t quite typical for Elder attire; the robes are fancifully embroidered and the gold medallion around her neck is brightly polished.

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

Mark and Mina:


"But anyway, um, yeah. You can just go and hang out at a bar with friends, so if it had just been an invitation to one I wouldn't have really questioned it... er, at least, out loud." Having a crush on people made you see signals that were unintentional, after all. "But... you also kinda invited me on a world-sweeping vacation to visit all of the bars. Which is, um, why I figured I should get some clarification on what you intended, there."

“I figured we’d be entitled to a victory lap once the war was over,” Mina replied, at once annoyed and flattered. Annoyed, because she’d been misinterpreted quite badly, and flattered because…well. This was the first time someone had shown interest in her like that. Serious interest, anyway.



After taking a breath and letting out a little whimper, Mark asked, "There's zero chance we're going to be able to pretend that I said nothing, is there?"

The Pokémon, for their parts, were watching all of this with avid interest.


"Okay. So. Mina. I like you, I think you're cool, I wouldn't mind going out on a date with you sometime if you wanted? Um. If we ever have any time we aren't running around on fire, at least."

“I…sure. Yeah.” Mina floundered. “When we have time.”

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

Akio:

+2 hours of training towards the next level; Akechi needs 1 more to level up.

You get a few hours of training in, but just before 8 PM a trainer you don’t know hurries out to you.

“What are you doing? It’s almost curfew! Get in the Center before you get arrested!”

A quick glance at the map and your own previous experience crossing town tells you he’s right, or at least you aren’t going to make it to one of the exits in time to get out. It seems you’re stuck in the city for the night.

Gnomes2169
2024-06-11, 11:48 PM
“I…sure. Yeah.” Mina floundered. “When we have time.”

Mark's ears register what she says, and he blinks. "Wait, you said yes?" There's a moment of buffering, and his brain catches up to his mouth and ears. Both of his hands lift above his head as he happily exclaims, "You said yes! Okay. Okay, okay, okay." He almost asked if she was sure, but even Mark knew that would be a dumb idea. "I'll see what I can come up with... movies are good for a first date, right?" Yes, he's asking her because he assumes she has more experience.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-06-12, 05:34 AM
Mark and Mina:

“I’m sure a movie will be fine,” Mina agreed, feeling awkward.

Gnomes2169
2024-06-12, 09:49 AM
Feeling a bit awkward himself, mostly because he hadn't actually planned to get this far, Mark nervously tapped his fingers on the table before pulling out his pokedex and musing, "What movies are even... oh wait!" Seeing the time, he sets the 'dex down. "You still wanted to do things tonight after you finished eating! And I wanted to get some training in. We can... look into all of that later. Um... maybe tomorrow, during the plasters job if we have downtime?" Yeah. Yeah he could overthink and stress out about this a whole bunch between now and then.

Lord Ruby34
2024-06-12, 11:01 AM
((Pokemon))

Less takes a moment to sit down next to his pokemon and offer them a few conciliatory pets. A younger trainer might give an impassioned speech about getting stronger, but that wasn't Less. "You all did very well. Princess, you stood up to that Signal Beam with determination and fortitude. Buck, you held your own against a water type and a fire immune Pokemon for longer than anyone had any right to expect. And Connie, you withstood multiple hits from a fairy move from that Swablu and took it down without breaking a sweat. You all have a great deal to be proud of. I know that I'm proud of all of you."

---------------------------------------------
((Elder))

Less knocked politely on the open door and called out "Elder Rashel?". Buck barked a polite greeting of his own. "My name is Less Douglass. I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Less tilted his voice into a question at the end.

((If not interrupting))

"A coordinator named Miles told me you were the woman to see when it comes to Poffin. I was hoping for a few pointers."

essCee
2024-06-13, 11:26 AM
Pinklady:

The Chansey waddles back inside with your KO’d Pokémon as fast as her feet can take her.

Another Wispaferyn comes out to replace the one that had fallen, but the sentries have finished off their Grunt patrol and you can see them coming in the light from the Pokémon Center lobby. Inside the Center you can faintly hear the ding-ding-ding-a-ling! of the healing machine…and a split second later there’s a loud noise from behind the Pokemon Center and the lights in the Center all go dark at once.

The Machoke guard the Wispaferyn while the latter spits out a great deal of smoke and the Grunts flee into the night, but from the jeers that echo back to you you can tell they accomplished what they came to do.

One of the sentries swears before asking aloud, “Everyone okay?”


Pinklady withdraws the knocked-out Sport. With the immediate action over, now she breathes a bit shakily. The entire situation was so quick and made her feel so incompetent at battling. Taking a deep breath so her shaky breathing wouldn't affect her call back, she responds, "We're alright!" Though it quickly occurred to her... Sport wasn't alright, and now the Center was out of commission. Pinklady takes one more deep breath, tells Whirlywhirly, shakily despite her attempts at calming herself, "Guard.... please guard the cart a moment, I'll go get the others.", and heads into the Center to get the rest of her team back from the Chansey.



Tress and Sport both level up.

Pokemon: Cosmas (Tress)
Type: Dark/Spectral
Ability: Magic Guard
Gender: Female
Level: 21
Held Item: NONE
Stats--
HP: 54 +10
Attack: 36 +5
Def: 28
Sp. Attack: 34
Sp. Def: 32
Speed: 36
Moves:
Sing
Bash*
Pursuit
Flash
Faint Attack
Haze

(No new attacks.)

Pokemon: Hitmonchan (Sport)
Type: Fighting
Ability: Iron Fist
Gender: Male
Level: 24
Held Item: NONE
Stats--
HP: 65
Attack: 62 +6
Def: 50 +12
Sp. Attack: 29
Sp. Def: 65
Speed: 48
Moves:
Tackle
Helping Hand
Fake Out
Foresight (tutor)
Feint
Drain Punch

(No new attacks.)

Also, note that Tress now has a concussion.



Making sure I understand since I neglected this before - now I assign one more EV to each? IF so, +1 HP to Tress and +1 Def to Sport, please.
Also, wrt Tress's concussion, will Pinklady immediately know upon retrieving her Pokéball, such as through her 'dex telling her about it, or will it only become known to her next time she sends her out?

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-06-13, 08:48 PM
Mark and Mina:

“Sure. Sure, let’s do that,” Mina agreed, then checked to see if the Pokémon were done eating.

All set here?

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

Less:

((Pokémon: ))

"You all did very well. Princess, you stood up to that Signal Beam with determination and fortitude. Buck, you held your own against a water type and a fire immune Pokemon for longer than anyone had any right to expect. And Connie, you withstood multiple hits from a fairy move from that Swablu and took it down without breaking a sweat. You all have a great deal to be proud of. I know that I'm proud of all of you."

Princess clacks her claws loudly, looking smug. Buck perks up a little and his tail wags. Connie’s fluffing starts to look more like puffing and she preens herself.

((Contest Hall: ))

Less knocked politely on the open door and called out "Elder Rashel?". Buck barked a polite greeting of his own. "My name is Less Douglass. I hope I'm not interrupting anything?" Less tilted his voice into a question at the end.

“Nothing that can’t wait.” The Elder puts down the trash bag and dusts her hands off. “What was it you needed?”


"A coordinator named Miles told me you were the woman to see when it comes to Poffin. I was hoping for a few pointers."

“You’ve met Miles, hmm? I admit I’m surprised he spoke with you; he has very little patience for non-Coordinators. But yes, I can get you started with Poffin. What did you want to know?”

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

Pinklady:

Yes, your Pokédex will let you know.

Stat updates:

Pokemon: Cosmas (Tress)
Type: Dark/Spectral
Ability: Magic Guard
Gender: Female
Level: 21
Held Item: NONE
Stats--
HP: 54 +11
Attack: 36 +5
Def: 28
Sp. Attack: 34
Sp. Def: 32
Speed: 36
Moves:
Sing
Bash*
Pursuit
Flash
Faint Attack
Haze

Pokemon: Hitmonchan (Sport)
Type: Fighting
Ability: Iron Fist
Gender: Male
Level: 24
Held Item: NONE
Stats--
HP: 65
Attack: 62 +6
Def: 50 +13
Sp. Attack: 29
Sp. Def: 65
Speed: 48
Moves:
Tackle
Helping Hand
Fake Out
Foresight (tutor)
Feint
Drain Punch

As usual yell if anything looks off!


Whirlywhirly stands guard over the cart while you retrieve the rest of your team; the Chansey keeps trying to convey that something is wrong until you check your Pokédex and notice the concussion.

The Center lobby quickly becomes chaotic. While there are only a handful of people including the nurse, the Chansey that had your Pokémon has been joined by a few more which are treating the Pokémon that were conscious but injured with Softboiled eggs in the light of flashlights and phones, making it much more crowded. Apparently one of the other trainer’s Pokémon was seriously injured as well and his voice is rising as the nurse explains to him that no, he’s going to have to take it to Rieva or Ceris, because she can’t treat it until the damage to the Center is repaired and that’s going to be a few days at least. The most she can offer is a bed for the night.

Lord Ruby34
2024-06-13, 10:27 PM
((Pokemon))

Less smiled. He was proud of his team, and it was good to see them take heart at his words. Those Poffin boosts had made Mile's team stronger, even if his Pokemon had been a little lower level. "We'll meet Miles and his Pokemon again, I'm sure. And when we do, we'll have some new tricks up our sleeve." Less paused for a moment, soaking in the heat of the sun. Suddenly, he had an idea. "Say, Buck, are you up for trying something now?"


Is the Sunny Day still in effect?
Also, you mentioned earlier that you would let Buck relearn Morning Sun. Do you mind if I try something here?

---------------------------------------------------------------------
((Elder))

"I appreciate that, Elder." Less replied. "I haven't had a chance to make any poffin myself, though I've been told it's somewhat like cooking. A friend of mine has a strong interest, and I wanted some experience trying before I helped her mix. I don't want to ruin her hard work because I don't know what I'm doing."

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-06-14, 07:27 AM
Less:

((Pokémon: ))

Buck barks eagerly in response.

Yes, it’s still sunny for you.

You can try yes. Generally speaking, you can always try. Whether or not you will succeed is another matter...

((Contest Hall: ))

“Perfectly understandable. The best advice I can give is to practice in the Hall Blenders with one Berry at a time until you can manage not to burn or spill the batter. Worry about flavors clashing unfavorably after you have the basics down. And don’t start blending with Berries you can’t afford to do without, you never know if you’ll find them again.”

Gnomes2169
2024-06-14, 10:28 AM
“Sure. Sure, let’s do that,” Mina agreed, then checked to see if the Pokémon were done eating.

"Alright. Excellent. We'll figure out what we want to see on our date tomorrow." Yes, that thing, for sure. Munching the last of his crackers and cheese quick, he made sure his pokemon were done eating (except for Fisher, who he'd be feeding outside so he could also de-shadow the water type while training his Carvanha), helped clean things up and bid her a good night. The smallest hint of a blush was going to be on his face until he went to bed...

Yeah, that should about wrap up the scene. :smalltongue:

Once he was left all alone again, Mark went through his step-by-step plan:
1) Train Carvanha until the fish evolved.
2) De-shadow Fisher (which, if it isn't interrupted, shouldn't really be that dangerous? The meter is relatively low, so the plan would be to use Corphish as Fisher's opponent, and have Fisher use Mist and Rain Dance until he's de-shadowed or until he rages... but if he rages, he should be low enough in his shadow meter to pop out after just 1-2 rounds, and Corphish and Sharpedo (if necessary) should be able to stand up to that with pretty minimal risk)
3) Take a gosh danged shower, with the mechanical arm in this time since he needed to wash it but it just didn't have time to give it a proper deep cleaning. It was water resistant, as long as he took off the panels and dried the corrosion-resistant metal alloy that made up the joints before bed, it wouldn't get all rusty or short-circuit on him.
4) Sleep. Because it would be late, and he needed to get up nice and early in order to go to that beach.

All throughout this grand plan of his, Mark would be flipping from giddy joy to dread as the fact that, yes, he had asked Mina out and she had said yes, in her own Mina way, continued to sink in. Could he have done it better? Oh undoubtedly, but she'd still said yes! Which was fantastic, but also terrifying because he knew he was going to mess this up somehow. But until then, he had a date!

essCee
2024-06-14, 01:51 PM
Pinklady:
Whirlywhirly stands guard over the cart while you retrieve the rest of your team; the Chansey keeps trying to convey that something is wrong until you check your Pokédex and notice the concussion.

The Center lobby quickly becomes chaotic. While there are only a handful of people including the nurse, the Chansey that had your Pokémon has been joined by a few more which are treating the Pokémon that were conscious but injured with Softboiled eggs in the light of flashlights and phones, making it much more crowded. Apparently one of the other trainer’s Pokémon was seriously injured as well and his voice is rising as the nurse explains to him that no, he’s going to have to take it to Rieva or Ceris, because she can’t treat it until the damage to the Center is repaired and that’s going to be a few days at least. The most she can offer is a bed for the night.

Pinklady thanks the Chansey and, after heeding her indications, checks her 'dex... and nearly reels from its feedback.

She quickly begins making her way out of the center and back to Whirlywhirly and the cart as the place gets crowded. Before she exits, she overhears enough to understand that Rieva or Ceris are her go-to stops after this matter with the supplies is concluded.

Once outside, Pinklady sits down, shudderingly sighs, and sends out Tress.

"I'm sorry, Tress. I shouldn't have brought you out for the battle, I should have known better. You trusted me, and... I hope you can trust me enough to know I'm going to get you better as soon as this business is finished. I'm sorry."

Lord Ruby34
2024-06-14, 06:30 PM
((Pokemon))

As Less lead his team to a particularly sunny spot on the grass, and old poem came to him unbidden. "May the warm summer sun, shine kindly here, warm southern wind, blow softly here . . ." the first verse of Warm Summer Sun fell unbidden from his lips. That was the spirit, Less supposed, of what he wanted to try.

Less's voice was still wistful as he continued. "All right Buck, start by closing your eyes. Feel the heat of the sun on your back, on your fur. Feel it in your bones, the warmth from above." Less kept his voice slow as he went, almost trancelike. "And take that heat, and transition it into a memory. Remember the first summers of our boyhood, when I was a lad and you were a pup, fresh from the egg. Remember the energy of those first summer days. Can you feel how it warmed you, cradled you, an lit a fire in your bones? It's that energy I want you to focus on, that years gone sun. Can you feel the memory?"


I appreciate that. As long as I've got a chance!

Not done with this, but I want to see how Buck's responding before continuing.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
((Contest Hall))

"I'll do that." Less replied . . . "though I find myself somewhat short on berry's I don't need. I suppose I could try with this Durin berry . . . are there people you would recommend practicing with?"

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-06-15, 11:57 AM
Mark:

Mina cleans up her share of the mess and bids you good night before heading out.

It’s about 9:30 PM when your Carvanha starts to glow:


+2 HP from Power Weight applied, +6 total.

Pokemon: Sharpedo
Type: Water/Dark
Ability: Rough Skin
Gender: Male
Level: 30
Held Item: Power Weight
Stats--
HP: 91 +6
Attack: 86
Def: 38
Sp. Attack: 71
Sp. Def: 38
Speed: 71 +25
Moves: AT SIX, DROP ONE!
Focus Energy
Scary Face
Ice Fang
Screech
Swagger
Assurance
Slash


Fisher is cleared of the faint Shadowing without a hitch and you finally get your shower. Once all is said and done it’s 11:30 PM by the time you turn in…

…only to be awakened again after about an hour and a half by increasingly distressed cheeping noises coming from your pack.

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

Pinklady:

Tress looks very woozy on being sent out. She tries to nod, but being concussed with a body that’s mostly head she staggers sideways instead.

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

Less:

((Pokémon: ))

Buck, mostly puzzled judging by his body language, barks once, tail wagging hesitantly.

((Contest Hall: ))




"I'll do that." Less replied . . . "though I find myself somewhat short on berry's I don't need."

“I can help you with that,” the Elder replies, before digging through the pockets of her robes. “Ah, yes. Here you are,” and she hands you a variety of Berries, mostly of the Poffin varieties.


+3 Razz
+3 Bluk
+3 Nanab
+3 Wepear
+3 Pinap (4 total)
+2 Oran




". . . are there people you would recommend practicing with?"

“You should try it by yourself to start with. As a beginner you won’t know which mistakes are yours and which belong to your mixing partners if you’re mixing in a group, and most of your first attempts are going to be lackluster anyway - not worth making extra,” she replies sternly. “But once you’ve mastered the basics, just ask around - some Coordinators are very protective of their recipes, but some are just starting out, and will be happy to help stir once they know you aren’t going to burn the batter.”

Lord Ruby34
2024-06-15, 01:12 PM
"Good." Less replied, before explaining. "I'm going to try to guide you through a memory exercise, like we'd do with the kids at school sometimes." Less paused for just a moment. "Focus on that sun, from when you were young. Breathe, and remember what it was like to play underneath it, when you could feel it's energy coursing through you. Remember that feeling, and feel this sun." Less stopped for just a moment to run a comforting hand through Buck's greying mane.

"Remember when my parents took us on vacation to Lacunesa Town. It was a day like today, hot, and fierce. We were supposed to stay with my parents on the guided hike, but we slipped away, to have our own adventure. Do you remember the creek there? We were playing on the elevated edge, and I slipped. I started to fall, but you came with me, you broke my fall and made sure I didn't get hurt. But you did, remember. You had bruises and scrapes all over . . . but the sun was shining bright. You took one look up at me, and you took in the sun, and the damage was gone as if it was never there."

Less continued petting his friend through the story. "I want you to try to remember that feeling. Feel this sun like you felt it so many years ago . . . feel it flow through you. Can you feel it energize you, trying to wash away the old hurts, the your aching bones and all the hurt that's built up over the decades. Can you feel it?"

-----------------------------------------------------------
((Contest Hall))

Less thanked the elder for the berries.

"Alone at first. I can try that. Thank you, both for the berries and your time. I appreciate it." After that, Less made polite goodbyes and went to go find a solo blender to practice.

Gnomes2169
2024-06-16, 06:24 AM
+2 HP from Power Weight applied, +6 total.

Pokemon: Sharpedo
Type: Water/Dark
Ability: Rough Skin
Gender: Male
Level: 30
Held Item: Power Weight
Stats--
HP: 91 +6
Attack: 86
Def: 38
Sp. Attack: 71
Sp. Def: 38
Speed: 71 +25
Moves: AT SIX, DROP ONE!
Focus Energy
Scary Face
Ice Fang
Screech
Swagger
Assurance
Slash


Fisher is cleared of the faint Shadowing without a hitch and you finally get your shower. Once all is said and done it’s 11:30 PM by the time you turn in…

…only to be awakened again after about an hour and a half by increasingly distressed cheeping noises coming from your pack.

We'll be dropping Focus Energy, and taking off the Power Weight for now. Probably going to start handing that around with other pokemon soon here. We'll also swap future EV's on the sharpedo to Attack, because Xatu is right and power is important, even if speed is also important. :smalltongue:

Bleary-eyed and groaning, Mark fumbled about for his glasses and his phone so he could investigate this sound. What had... oh wait, the egg! It had been close to hatching, right? Standing up to turn on the room light, he dug around one-handed to get out the incubator (he'd pulled the mechanical arm out for the night, as he usually did) so he could rescue the poor baby and get it some attention... and probably some food, too.

essCee
2024-06-17, 01:55 PM
Pinklady:

Tress looks very woozy on being sent out. She tries to nod, but being concussed with a body that’s mostly head she staggers sideways instead.


"I'm sorry..." Pinklady says again before withdrawing Tress again, sure that being in the ball would be more comfortable for her. She also withdraws Whirlywhirly after almost absentmindedly assigning him watch. He and the rest of her team had done enough effort for the night; now Pinklady endeavored to stay awake, at least for a few hours, to watch over the cart.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-06-17, 03:49 PM
Less:

((Pokémon: ))


"Focus on that sun, from when you were young. Breathe, and remember what it was like to play underneath it, when you could feel it's energy coursing through you. Remember that feeling, and feel this sun."

Buck takes a deep breath, but still seems more confused than anything.


"Remember when my parents took us on vacation to Lacunesa Town. It was a day like today, hot, and fierce. We were supposed to stay with my parents on the guided hike, but we slipped away, to have our own adventure. Do you remember the creek there? We were playing on the elevated edge, and I slipped. I started to fall, but you came with me, you broke my fall and made sure I didn't get hurt. But you did, remember. You had bruises and scrapes all over . . . but the sun was shining bright. You took one look up at me, and you took in the sun, and the damage was gone as if it was never there."

Buck barks once in agreement. Apparently he remembers.


"I want you to try to remember that feeling. Feel this sun like you felt it so many years ago . . . feel it flow through you. Can you feel it energize you, trying to wash away the old hurts, the your aching bones and all the hurt that's built up over the decades. Can you feel it?"

Buck makes a guttural noise and takes the ‘play with me!’ pose, but there’s a certain questioning look to his eyes and posture that tells you he knows that’s not what you’re after.

It occurs to you this isn’t going to be something you’re likely to manage in an afternoon - if it were that easy, everyone would do it and there would be no point for Trainer Hill to have a dedicated Move Tutor.

((Contest Hall: ))



"Alone at first. I can try that. Thank you, both for the berries and your time. I appreciate it." After that, Less made polite goodbyes and went to go find a solo blender to practice.

You find a Blender without issue; apparently cooking Poffin isn’t a popular activity right now.

For each Berry you mix into Poffin, you are required to guess 1 flavor of the resulting Poffin, starting with the highest flavor and going to the lowest, in order.

So 1 Berry means you need to guess the highest flavor. 2 Berries means you need the highest and second highest. Etc.

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

Mark:

The baby has mostly managed to break through the shell, but is trapped by both the incubator and your pack.

Once freed from both of those, the hatchling wriggles loose. Its body is long and pale, with a pair of metal protrusions coming out of its shoulders. It has a blunt snout and a tail, the latter of which has a spray of something hairlike along the bottom edge like an elongated broom - even newly hatched and covered in egg goop the hairs look slightly transparent. It wobbles slightly on all four legs until it gets its balance, cheeping uncertainly.

The Pokédex says she’s an Opdra.

Pokémon: Opdra (Opdra)
Type: Normal/Dragon
Ability: Phase - 20% chance Physical moves have no effect
Gender: Female
Level: 5
Held Item: NONE
Stats--
HP: 21
Attack: 12
Def: 9
Sp. Attack: 13
Sp. Def: 11
Speed: 11
Moves:
Pound
Tail Whip
Dragonbreath (Egg Move)

-Mystery Egg 1. Also, remember that you do need to actually catch it if you intend to keep it.


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

Pinklady:

There is just enough suspicious movement out in the dark to make you glad you kept watch, but you manage to make it to sunrise without further incident.

Gnomes2169
2024-06-17, 06:53 PM
Wait, that wasn't a bird. With the peeping, Mark had thought it was a bird! Instead, he ended up holding a baby dragon in his lap, and he let the little pokemon sniff at his hand to get used to his scent before petting along the top of her head. "Hello there, little one. Welcome to the world." He said in a still-bleary voice. It was too late for him to be totally awake right now. "Let's go get you something to eat, yeah?"

Which is how Mark wound up sitting on the kitchen floor after midnight, one-armed and shirtless, setting out different foods in front of the hatchling to see what she favored, while going through the pokedex entries on Opdra to see what her known moveset, evolutions, etc were. That ability was freaking ridiculous, though. Would she be able to walk through walls and stuff when she grew up? Was she one of those pokemon that started with one type and then changed to another as they leveled up, like some cuebone in Alola? Sleepy Mark needed to know.

The little derg is getting kept, and she gets my last GLAMOUR BALL! Gotta make the drgs sparkly.:smallbiggrin:

Lord Ruby34
2024-06-17, 06:58 PM
Buck makes a guttural noise and takes the ‘play with me!’ pose, but there’s a certain questioning look to his eyes and posture that tells you he knows that’s not what you’re after.

It occurs to you this isn’t going to be something you’re likely to manage in an afternoon - if it were that easy, everyone would do it and there would be no point for Trainer Hill to have a dedicated Move Tutor.

Less felt a brief surge of frustration before stamping it down. He had been teaching his whole life. If the move tutor could figure this out, so could he. It wasn't Buck he was frustrated at after all. There had to be a trick to teaching Pokemon this way.

After a calming breath, Less said. "Let's try focusing on the sunlight for another half an hour or so, Buck? If we focus for that long, we can spend twice as long playing. I think I see a promising stick just over there. How does that sound?"



((Contest Hall: ))

You find a Blender without issue; apparently cooking Poffin isn’t a popular activity right now.


After a moment, Less put a Bluk and a Nanab berry in the blender. Both of those fruits were sweet, so hopefully they'd make some kind of reasonable poffin together.



Highest
1. Sweet
2. Dry
3. Bitter
4. Spicy
5. Sour

2nd Highest
1. Dry
2. Bitter
3. Sweet.
4. Spicy
5. Sour

3rd Highest
1. Bitter
2. Dry
3. Sweet
4. Spicy
5. Sour

4th Highest
1. Spicy
2. Sour
3. Bitter
4. Dry
5. Sweet

5th Highest
1. Sour
2. Spicy
3. Bitter
4. Dry
5. Sweet

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


Realizing I'm still way behind, may I motion for a tri-part timeline? If agreeable below.

As low tide neared, Less headed out on Buck's back and started to make his way toward Tidepath.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-06-19, 05:12 PM
Mark:

-1 Glamour Ball, 0 remaining.

Also I need to know who you’re switching her for if you’re keeping her out, because otherwise she gets whisked off to Box Storage.

The Pokédex says she’ll evolve into Wierdra at level 35 and Fieberdra at level 65. It doesn’t look like she’s going to change type when she evolves, remaining Normal/Dragon throughout her evolutionary line. The ‘dex also has a rundown of her expected moves:


A rare Pokémon from the Helnith region, the hairs on its tail are used to make fiber optic cables of unusual strength and durability.

Start - Pound
Start - Tail Whip
6 - Charge
9 - Twister
12 - Thunder Fang
15 - Thunder Wave
17 - Endeavor
21 - Spark
26 - Dragon Tail
31 - Dragonbreath
36 - Vanish*
38 - Discharge
42 - Signal Beam
47 - Power Up*
53 - Prism Beam*
56 - Dragon Rush
60 - Trick Room
66 - Zap Cannon


She seems interested in the food but while she does nibble at some of your offerings she mostly seems to view it as potentially interesting new toys. She also seems to greatly enjoy the head rubs, squeezing her eyes shut and bumping her head against your hand.

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

Less:

((Pokémon: ))

Buck’s tail wags excitedly and then he obediently stands ramrod straight to stare at a particularly bright patch of ground.

The rest of the half hour goes about as well, except that Princess starts clacking her claws at the halfway mark out of boredom and Connie buries her beak in her wing to take a nap. You’re not sure at this point if you’re making progress or not.

Playtime goes much better and you can tell that Buck at least considers the time to have been well spent.

((Contest Hall: ))

You throw in your selected Berries and get to work. After a few minutes of blending, the Blender produces a pair of pinkish Poffin with specks of green throughout. They aren’t the most perfect Poffin you’ve ever seen, but not bad for a first attempt either.


Berry combo leads to a result that is tied for Sweet and Bitter, so:

Highest - Bonus
2nd Highest - No Bonus
3rd Highest - No Bonus
4th Highest - Bonus
5th Highest - Bonus

-1 Bluk (2 remaining)
-1 Nanab (2 remaining)

+2 Poffin (+8 Sweet, +8 Bitter, +18 Feel)

((Low Tide: ))

By the time low tide rolls around, the worst of the day’s heat has passed. En route you pass a small stream of people going north as you head south, mostly with swimsuits and beach towels - it seems a number of them decided to spend the scorching day by the water as much as possible - but no one bothers you beyond a cheerful wave or two and you make it to Tidepath without incident, at about 7 PM.

http://i608.photobucket.com/albums/tt162/MichelleW_Portfolio/Gaming%20Materials/Kareeah_Indaga_Tidepath_Map.png

Points of interest:

Big white rectangles – Grand Docks (commercial boats)
Smaller white rectangles – Little Docks (personal boats)
The big gray rectangles are warehouses
Lighter gray square - Mart
White square - Pokémon Center
Dark blue square - Dive Shop
Gold rectangle - Cruise Charter
Green L-shape - Pokémon Fan Club
Orange square - Garden Shop
Lighter blue boxes 1-4 are businesses.
Smaller blue boxes 1-6 are houses, most notably the Berry Master’s house at 5.
Purple rectangle is the City Hall
Circle - fountain.
Pink square - (New) Geology Club Headquarters
Light green rectangle - Harbor Master’s house/office
Big circle - Lighthouse
Yellow rectangle - Bar (the ‘Singing Dewgong’)
Bright green rectangle - Ranger Union
Purple T-shape - (Human) School.

Lord Ruby34
2024-06-19, 06:45 PM
Less lets playtime go on a little longer than promised, and makes sure to include Connie and Princess at first, and then Dancer and Hero. Poor Leo gets left in his ball, his skin too sensitive for the sweltering heat.

((End Scene))
----------------------------------------------------------------
((Contest Hall))

Less harumphed down at the resulting Poffin. It was fine . . . but it hadn't been excellent, so Less immediately felt like he failed. The old teacher shook that foolish thought out of his head, and tried again, this time using a Pinap and an Oran Berry


Highest
1. Spicy
2. Dry
3. Sour
4. Bitter
5. Sweet

2nd Highest
1. Dry
2. Spicy
3. Sour
4. Bitter
5. Sweet

3rd Highest
1. Sour
2. Spicy
3. Sweet
4. Bitter
5. Dry

4th Highest
1. Bitter
2. Sweet
3. Sour
4. Spicy
5. Dry

5th Highest
1. Sweet
2. Bitter
3. Sour
4. Spicy
5. Dry

--------------------
((Tidepath))

Less absentmindedly returns the waves as he heads into town. First thing was first though, work. Less headed over to the Grand Docks to look for the Warlock.


Where are the 8 gyms in Helnith supposed to be located? And what is the "normal" order?

Gnomes2169
2024-06-19, 09:25 PM
-1 Glamour Ball, 0 remaining.

Also I need to know who you’re switching her for if you’re keeping her out, because otherwise she gets whisked off to Box Storage.

The Pokédex says she’ll evolve into Wierdra at level 35 and Fieberdra at level 65. It doesn’t look like she’s going to change type when she evolves, remaining Normal/Dragon throughout her evolutionary line. The ‘dex also has a rundown of her expected moves:


A rare Pokémon from the Helnith region, the hairs on its tail are used to make fiber optic cables of unusual strength and durability.

Start - Pound
Start - Tail Whip
6 - Charge
9 - Twister
12 - Thunder Fang
15 - Thunder Wave
17 - Endeavor
21 - Spark
26 - Dragon Tail
31 - Dragonbreath
36 - Vanish*
38 - Discharge
42 - Signal Beam
47 - Power Up*
53 - Prism Beam*
56 - Dragon Rush
60 - Trick Room
66 - Zap Cannon


She seems interested in the food but while she does nibble at some of your offerings she mostly seems to view it as potentially interesting new toys. She also seems to greatly enjoy the head rubs, squeezing her eyes shut and bumping her head against your hand.

I'll put Jessia into storage for now. Might try to get in some training in the morning if I can't find the surfer bro, we'll see how that goes.

Wow, that was a lot of electric moves on her move list, but not that many normal ones. He'd have to check SM's, see if she could get Hyper Beam or something since most of those moves look like they were skewing special attack. He also had to look up Vanish, Power Up and Prism Beam, since he didn't recognize those moves. Still though... this little dragon was going to require a lot of training, like that dark dragon over in Kalos with all the extra heads. She'd probably be worth it, though.

Once she was fully done eating, Mark gave her a few more chin rubs, followed by full-body scritches, and then finally recalled her so that he could go back to bed. Three new pokemon today! Er... in the same 24 hour period. Close enough. And he was going to get Tattersail back in the morning. Things were finally looking up for him.

essCee
2024-06-20, 04:16 PM
Pinklady:

There is just enough suspicious movement out in the dark to make you glad you kept watch, but you manage to make it to sunrise without further incident.

With little hesitation, Pinklady gets up and stretches as the day breaks. The night watch had given her plenty of time - first to dwell, then to think on, and then to become resolute from her recent failures. This wasn't her first major failure in properly taking care of those who trusted in her - just the first time in awhile. There was no room here to grow complacent; it was simply time to do better.
"Ready, Whirlywhirly?" She asks after sending him out and grabbing the harness, ready to put it back on him.

Kareeah_Indaga
2024-06-21, 05:52 AM
Less:

((Contest Hall: ))

Your second batch comes out better, as perfectly cooked as one could wish, but this time red with blue flecks.


Highest - Bonus
2nd Highest - Bonus
3rd Highest - Bonus
4th Highest - Bonus
5th Highest - Bonus

-1 Oran, 1 remaining
-1 Pinap, 3 remaining

+2 Poffin (+8 Spicy, +8 Dry, +18 Feel)


((Tidepath: ))

As I mentioned before, there are more than eight Gyms, League challengers are just required to get Badges from that many. They’re marked on the region map, you can see the icon in the map key. And there isn’t a ‘normal’ order.

You find the KS Warlock after some wandering around the Grand Docks, but as late as it is the docks are largely abandoned; the ship in question has the gangway pulled up and is mostly dark.

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

Mark:

The baby seems to enjoy the extra attention before being recalled.

The rest of the night passes without incident and you wake up around 8 AM.

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

Pinklady:

Whirlywhirly’s mouthparts clack together, a gesture you recognize from long association as a demand for food, before you can put the harness on him.

Gnomes2169
2024-06-21, 08:19 AM
Mark woke up and... today was the daaaaay! Dressing and getting his arm back in, just clicking the now-dry plates back into place, Mark made his way to the front desk so he could finally pick up Tattersail! After he has his sassy psychic type he'll be able to pick up some coffee and worry about teleporting as close to the beach as he can. Let's see if he can find that surfer bro with Surf...

Lord Ruby34
2024-06-21, 11:41 AM
((Contest Hall))

Less looked down at the Poffins he had made. Well cooked . . . but totally useless. In order to achieve his actual aim, they would need Poffins that had approximately five times as much flavor as they did feel, reduced to two and a half times as much flavor if they had a collection of all the relevant pins. Even to get the maximum boost to two stats, like Miles had, they would need a poffin that had twice as much flavor as feel.

These two berry poffins actually had less flavor than feel all the way around, which made them not fit for consumption, despite the longing in Buck's eyes as he looked at them. "No, These are bad for you," Less replied to the silent plea.

Less looked over the berries the elder had given him with disappointment. These berries weren't going to do at all, which shouldn't have been a surprise, as none of them were mentioned in the recipes that he had found on the internet. Besides, they had been given to him to help practice, probably because they weren't very useful for serious poffin making. He hadn't even proven that he could avoid burning batter at that point.

Less gave a scan around the hall, looking to see if activity had picked up.


What time is it?
----------------------------------------------------
((Docks))

I saw the key, but they're a little small on the map. I was having a hard time making it out.

In other news, I'm officially getting my first pair of glasses this weekend, so there's that.

Less frowned at the dark ship. It looked like he'd have to come back in the morning. Less headed over the the Pokemon Center. It was time for food and mingling, though he had plans to fish later.

essCee
2024-06-21, 05:43 PM
Pinklady:

Whirlywhirly’s mouthparts clack together, a gesture you recognize from long association as a demand for food, before you can put the harness on him.

"Oh! Right, of course!" Pinklady laughs a bit, suddenly realising that she was hungry, too. "One moment!" She says as she quickly heads into the Pokémon Center. She takes a moment to assess the place's condition before she proceeds to ask about the food situation. After all, she thought, the power situation was definitely bad, and at least she and the longtime members of her team knew how to forage. Although... even that alternative, she recalled, wasn't as reliable here as back home.