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  1. - Top - End - #211
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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Earlier, on the Road

    Quote Originally Posted by essCee View Post
    "Oh! I'm so sorry..." Pinklady is silent again a moment. "She sounds really great and capable, to have been fighting them for so long... I'm sure we'll make sure she's all fine!"
    Buck had pressed his head into Less's right shoulder and let out a comforting rumble. "Yes." The older man took a moment to recover. "Yes. Every day she was out there I was so worried, but prouder than I can express." Less shakes his head. "But enough about my troubles. I'm sure there are happier subjects we could speak of?"

    ----------------
    Less and Pinklady, at the Outcrop


    Quote Originally Posted by essCee View Post
    "Do you figure any of your team could fling it really far? Breaking it might get attention too quickly, but if you can get it far from here, it might waste some time! And get it off the truck, of course."
    Less shook his head. "Getting it away is a good idea, but I have no idea how to accomplish it. I think the system is internal? Frankly, I'm helpless with electronic engineering." Less stops, and hands half the PD and the Super Potion to Pinklady. "I imagine you can put these to better use than our friends here."

    Everything Less said came out a little strained. He was leaning against the jeep, letting the metal support a great deal of his weight while he focused on trying to keep Connie on his shoulder without falling to the ground. "Connie then", Less says to the Flying type. "I can't promise to be the same as your old trainer, but would you like to accompany me? I intend to fight against Bandra for as long as I am able. I would value your aid, and do what I can to help you find the people you want revenge on." Less punctuated his words by holding out an empty Pokeball, button first, to Connie.

  2. - Top - End - #212
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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Quote Originally Posted by Feathersnow View Post
    "That makes sense. But, if I were Team Bandra, and I wanted to spy, I'd either be someone completely harmless looking or loudly talk about how much I want to fight Team Bandra..." He gestures to the two of them sitting there.
    "Hey, I haven't been talking about fighting Team Bandra!" Flotsam says, raising her voice, which ironically sounded a lot like loudly talking about how much she wanted to fight Team Bandra.

    "Oh.. uh, wait... you mean..?" She started to blush.

    "Do I look harmless? Well I'm only, like, eleven, or twelve, or.. something..." she mumbles. "Not that it's a bad thing?"
    Avatar by linklele!

  3. - Top - End - #213
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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Ruby34 View Post
    Earlier, on the Road



    Buck had pressed his head into Less's right shoulder and let out a comforting rumble. "Yes." The older man took a moment to recover. "Yes. Every day she was out there I was so worried, but prouder than I can express." Less shakes his head. "But enough about my troubles. I'm sure there are happier subjects we could speak of?"
    Pinklady nods. "Sure! Liiiike... how about Unova! I know you said it's been a real long while since you've-" Pinklady is interrupted by herself stumbling and falling onto her butt, having neglected to look behind herself, so rapt had she been in their recent conversation. "Unf."

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Ruby34 View Post
    Less and Pinklady, at the Outcrop




    Less shook his head. "Getting it away is a good idea, but I have no idea how to accomplish it. I think the system is internal? Frankly, I'm helpless with electronic engineering." Less stops, and hands half the PD and the Super Potion to Pinklady. "I imagine you can put these to better use than our friends here."
    "I'm afraid I'm as helpless as you are... I thought the GPS was built into the mirror because of the buttons. If that isn't it, I guess trying to break the GPS is our best bet..."
    She gladly receives the potions and money. "Oh, yeah! Crime never pays." She asserts as she pockets the Bandra folks' cash and item.

  4. - Top - End - #214
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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Quote Originally Posted by WindStruck View Post
    "Hey, I haven't been talking about fighting Team Bandra!" Flotsam says, raising her voice, which ironically sounded a lot like loudly talking about how much she wanted to fight Team Bandra.

    "Oh.. uh, wait... you mean..?" She started to blush.

    "Do I look harmless? Well I'm only, like, eleven, or twelve, or.. something..." she mumbles. "Not that it's a bad thing?"
    "No offense! Everyone starts somewhere!" Akio tries to be reassuring but he is bad at hiding that he is amused.

    "Anyway, you're a Pokémon trainer and having a team if Pokémon is the great equalizer! You'll grow into your power soon enough!"
    GNU Terry Pratchett
    Survived Total War: Mandate of Heaven as The Witch-Doctors
    Thrived in Empire! 7 as the Sakura-Jin

  5. - Top - End - #215
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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Less and Pinklady, Road

    Quote Originally Posted by essCee View Post
    Pinklady nods. "Sure! Liiiike... how about Unova! I know you said it's been a real long while since you've-" Pinklady is interrupted by herself stumbling and falling onto her butt, having neglected to look behind herself, so rapt had she been in their recent conversation. "Unf."
    "Are you alright?" Less asked, moving over to Pinklady and offering a hand to the rambunctious young woman, which makes it extremely apparent that the cane in Less's right hand is just for show, as his steps are sure and steady despite the cane never touching the ground and he jogs up.
    ----------------
    Less and Pinklady, Outcrop

    Quote Originally Posted by essCee View Post
    "I'm afraid I'm as helpless as you are... I thought the GPS was built into the mirror because of the buttons. If that isn't it, I guess trying to break the GPS is our best bet..."
    She gladly receives the potions and money. "Oh, yeah! Crime never pays." She asserts as she pockets the Bandra folks' cash and item.
    After getting a response from Connie, Less pocked the other half of the cash, and inadvertently pocketed the coupon along with the money. "I suppose it's time to call Ranger Wain. He may have an idea on how to disable the GPS." Less mused, before picking up his Pokedex and the note in his pocket.

    "Jon," Less stated the Ranger picked up the call " It's Less. We found some Bandra up where we fought the Murkrow. They're disabled now, but we've run into a problem getting them back to town. It looks like their jeep has some kind of GPS tracker, and we don't know how to disable it."
    Last edited by Lord Ruby34; 2023-02-20 at 01:24 PM.

  6. - Top - End - #216
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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Quote Originally Posted by Feathersnow View Post
    "No offense! Everyone starts somewhere!" Akio tries to be reassuring but he is bad at hiding that he is amused.

    "Anyway, you're a Pokémon trainer and having a team if Pokémon is the great equalizer! You'll grow into your power soon enough!"
    Flotsam begins to laugh giggle. "Haha, that's right, I guess! Even if I am harmless, Rascal sure isn't! Or any of you others for that matter." She beams at her Pokémon proudly.

    "..but really... I don't think it's like we go around trying to pick fights. I think we'd rather not have to fight anything."
    Avatar by linklele!

  7. - Top - End - #217
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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Less and Pinklady (at the outcrop):

    ((+600 PD (4,100 PD total), +Expired Hair Salon Coupon for Less, +600 PD (4,100 PD total), +1 Super Potion (3 total) Pinklady))

    You successfully load the goons into the jeep; luckily neither of them is particularly heavy by human standards.

    Leapsy floats away into the sky, circles the area a few times, then floats back down several moments later. She gets Pinklady’s attention and then points: closer examination in that direction reveals the Ariados, lying in the grass quite unconscious.

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Ruby34 View Post
    "I can't promise to be the same as your old trainer, but would you like to accompany me? I intend to fight against Bandra for as long as I am able. I would value your aid, and do what I can to help you find the people you want revenge on."
    Connie eyes the ball with interest, then hops over to the Jeep where the two Murkrow are squabbling over what appears to be the keys. She squawks at them a bit in Pokéspeak; the two immediately straighten up. The two smaller birds salute with their wings and Connie nods, apparently satisfied. Then she hops back to Less, “We’re going to shake things up, Morgan. Like old times.” and pushes the button with her beak. The ball engulfs her immediately and dings the capture without a struggle. ((-1 Pokéball for Less, 2 remaining.))

    Spoiler: Connie’s Stats (spoiler alert, they haven’t changed)
    Show

    Pokémon: Honchkrow (Connie)
    Type: Dark/Flying
    Ability: Super Luck
    Gender: Female
    Level: 36
    Held Item: NONE
    Stats--
    HP: 129
    Attack: 106
    Def: 53
    Sp. Attack: 91 +15
    Sp. Def: 53
    Speed: 67 +15
    Moves:
    Snarl (SM)
    Swift (tutor)
    Twister (tutor)
    Nasty Plot
    Swagger
    Wing Attack


    ((I don’t know if I need to clarify this but just in case: if you want to reallocate her existing EVs you’re going to need to feed her the appropriate Berries first.))

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Ruby34 View Post
    "Jon," Less stated the Ranger picked up the call " It's Less. We found some Bandra up where we fought the Murkrow. They're disabled now, but we've run into a problem getting them back to town. It looks like their jeep has some kind of GPS tracker, and we don't know how to disable it."
    Already? You’re very efficient. I’ve got to finish my sweep here, but I’ll be there as soon as I can.

    ((Some time later: ))

    Leapsy spots the Ranger first, then Buck barks and takes a protective stance in front of Less until he recognizes the newcomer.

    Ranger Wain waves. “Good work! Now what was it about a GPS?”

    In the jeep, one of the goons starts to groan. “One minute,” and he produces handcuffs and cuffs both goons to the jeep.

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

    Flotsam and Akio:

    Quote Originally Posted by WindStruck View Post
    "Hey, I haven't been talking about fighting Team Bandra!"
    Flotsam does, indeed, get a few side-eyes from a couple patrons, but they return their attention to their food in short order.
    Spoiler: Adventures in Helnith
    Show

  8. - Top - End - #218
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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Ruby34 View Post
    Less and Pinklady, Road



    "Are you alright?" Less asked, moving over to Pinklady and offering a hand to the rambunctious young woman, which makes it extremely apparent that the cane in Less's right hand is just for show, as his steps are sure and steady despite the cane never touching the ground and he jogs up.
    Pinklady laughs at her stumble and accepts Less's help getting back up. "All fine, thank you! It's a bit tricky sometimes, being somewhere other than the forest I've spent almost all my time." This time, she just walks alongside Less rather than walk backwards as before. I should ask about the cane... or should I not?

    Quote Originally Posted by Kareeah_Indaga View Post

    Leapsy floats away into the sky, circles the area a few times, then floats back down several moments later. She gets Pinklady’s attention and then points: closer examination in that direction reveals the Ariados, lying in the grass quite unconscious.
    "Good work, Leapsy! There it is!" Pinklady passes on Leapsy's indication to Less and starts briskly walking over to the spider Pokemon.

    Quote Originally Posted by Kareeah_Indaga View Post
    ((Some time later: ))

    Leapsy spots the Ranger first, then Buck barks and takes a protective stance in front of Less until he recognizes the newcomer.

    Ranger Wain waves. “Good work! Now what was it about a GPS?”

    In the jeep, one of the goons starts to groan. “One minute,” and he produces handcuffs and cuffs both goons to the jeep.
    Pinklady waves back and lets Less explain the finding.

  9. - Top - End - #219
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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Pinklady and Less, Road

    Quote Originally Posted by essCee View Post
    Pinklady laughs at her stumble and accepts Less's help getting back up. "All fine, thank you! It's a bit tricky sometimes, being somewhere other than the forest I've spent almost all my time."

    "You get used to it eventually." Less smiles, "Perhaps slightly faster when looking at the road ahead." Less put enough wry humor in the words to make it clear that they were not intended as a rebuke.
    ----------------
    Pinklady and Less, Outcrop


    Less takes a few moments while the group waits for Ranger Wain to trek over the Ariados and recall it into it's Pokeball before storing it in his pack with the others.

    Quote Originally Posted by Kareeah_Indaga View Post
    Connie eyes the ball with interest, then hops over to the Jeep where the two Murkrow are squabbling over what appears to be the keys. She squawks at them a bit in Pokéspeak; the two immediately straighten up. The two smaller birds salute with their wings and Connie nods, apparently satisfied. Then she hops back to Less, “We’re going to shake things up, Morgan. Like old times.” and pushes the button with her beak. The ball engulfs her immediately and dings the capture without a struggle. ((-1 Pokéball for Less, 2 remaining.))
    Less puzzled a bit at the quote. This was definitively the first one time that his pop culture knowledge, gained from thirty years of teaching, had failed him. Still, he took the meaning, if not the source. He debated sending Connie right back out, but decided that she could probably use some time to acclimate to her Pokeball. After that he grabbed the keys from the squabbling birds and gave them a piece of Beach Glass to replace their stolen shiny.

    Quote Originally Posted by Kareeah_Indaga View Post
    Already? You’re very efficient. I’ve got to finish my sweep here, but I’ll be there as soon as I can.

    "They were already here when we arrived. Honestly, they were easier to take down that easier of us expected. They weren't paying attention to their surroundings."
    Less snorted. His opinion on the two goons professionalism was perfectly clear from the sound alone.

    Quote Originally Posted by Kareeah_Indaga View Post
    Leapsy spots the Ranger first, then Buck barks and takes a protective stance in front of Less until he recognizes the newcomer.

    Ranger Wain waves. “Good work! Now what was it about a GPS?”

    In the jeep, one of the goons starts to groan. “One minute,” and he produces handcuffs and cuffs both goons to the jeep.

    "It looks like there's some kind of integrated GPS dohickey. I haven't the foggiest on how to disable the darned thing, but a Bandra jeep could be useful if we can take the darned thing without bringing down some kind of goon swarm wherever we try to park the thing,"
    Less said. "I don't think Nurse Joy would appreciate that much," he added.

    "Do you have any ideas other than breaking random bits of the computer system until it shuts off?"

    Spoiler: Connie
    Show

    It looks like Connie has an EV left to allocate. Can I put it in speed?
    Last edited by Lord Ruby34; 2023-02-21 at 10:22 AM. Reason: Missed a line of text

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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Ruby34 View Post
    Pinklady and Less, Road




    "You get used to it eventually." Less smiles, "Perhaps slightly faster when looking at the road ahead." Less put enough wry humor in the words to make it clear that they were not intended as a rebuke.
    "You might be onto something!" Pinklady grins. "Speaking of the road..." She recalls Leapsy into her Pokeball. "Don't want her tired for when we set up for watch! Now, what was I saying before my upset..."

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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Pinklady and Less, Road

    Quote Originally Posted by essCee View Post
    "You might be onto something!" Pinklady grins. "Speaking of the road..." She recalls Leapsy into her Pokeball. "Don't want her tired for when we set up for watch! Now, what was I saying before my upset..."
    "I think you were about to ask about Unova. I imagine our experience there were rather different. I only visited the Pinwheel forest once, in my youth."

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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Ruby34 View Post
    Pinklady and Less, Road



    "I think you were about to ask about Unova. I imagine our experience there were rather different. I only visited the Pinwheel forest once, in my youth."
    "Oh, yeah! I guess it is pretty far from... I think you mentioned Driftveil was where you mostly lived? I think that's just about as far as you can get from Pinwheel... I know I've never been there! Do you remember what it was like?"

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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Pinklady and Less, on the Road

    Quote Originally Posted by essCee View Post
    "Oh, yeah! I guess it is pretty far from... I think you mentioned Driftveil was where you mostly lived? I think that's just about as far as you can get from Pinwheel... I know I've never been there! Do you remember what it was like?"
    "Busy, most days. My parents both worked in the city itself. I remember that it was always bustling. There were always ships coming in and leaving, loading and unloading. It was cheerful, if that makes sense." Less's voiced sounded far away. "The city never slept, there was always someone selling something, or calling out. It would be too much for me now, I think, but it wasn't a bad place to grow up. I was certainly never bored." Less smiled. "How about you? What was the Pinwheel forest like?"

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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Less and Pinklady (at the outcrop):

    (Phone call):
    The Murkrow look briefly irritated at Less’ theft of the keys, then pleased at the replacement, and then go back to squabbling – this time over the glass instead. (+Bandra Jeep Keys, -1 Beach Glass, 3 remaining)

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Ruby34 View Post

    "They were already here when we arrived. Honestly, they were easier to take down that easier of us expected. They weren't paying attention to their surroundings."
    Take the easy win,” the Ranger replies in his drawl, “they never happen as often as you want them to! Anyway, I’ll see you soon.” And with that the Ranger hangs up.

    (After Wain arrives):

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Ruby34 View Post
    "Do you have any ideas other than breaking random bits of the computer system until it shuts off?"
    “Hmm,” the Ranger examines it. “This looks like an add-on. It should be possible to just pop – it – right – off –” The rear-view mirror comes off in the Ranger’s hands; there’s adhesive on the windshield where it used to be. “There. Technically it isn’t street-legal without the mirror, but I doubt anyone will give any trouble over that, all things considered.” The Ranger’s tone turns serious. “Now, you mentioned human remains earlier? Since I’m here anyway, I should take a look.”

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Ruby34 View Post
    Spoiler: Connie
    Show

    It looks like Connie has an EV left to allocate. Can I put it in speed?
    Spoiler: Connie
    Show

    That’s from the level-up she got after being purified, and absolutely you may.

    Pokemon: Honchkrow (Connie)
    Type: Dark/Flying
    Ability: Super Luck
    Gender: Female
    Level: 36
    Held Item: NONE
    Stats--
    HP: 129
    Attack: 106
    Def: 53
    Sp. Attack: 91 +15
    Sp. Def: 53
    Speed: 67 +16
    Moves:
    Snarl (SM)
    Swift (tutor)
    Twister (tutor)
    Nasty Plot
    Swagger
    Wing Attack
    Spoiler: Adventures in Helnith
    Show

  15. - Top - End - #225
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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Less and Pinklady (at the outcrop)

    "That was easier than I thought." Less internally cringed. He had assumed that it was wired in. Mechanical things needed wires, right? Getting old, Less. The skull should be over here. Less escorted the Ranger to the detritus around the nest. "Where she we bring these two anyway? And their Pokemon? I figure we can let them stew for a night before we ask them too many questions. Give them some time to think things over."
    Last edited by Lord Ruby34; 2023-03-08 at 11:13 AM. Reason: Typos

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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Ruby34 View Post
    Pinklady and Less, on the Road

    "Busy, most days. My parents both worked in the city itself. I remember that it was always bustling. There were always ships coming in and leaving, loading and unloading. It was cheerful, if that makes sense." Less's voiced sounded far away. "The city never slept, there was always someone selling something, or calling out. It would be too much for me now, I think, but it wasn't a bad place to grow up. I was certainly never bored." Less smiled. "How about you? What was the Pinwheel forest like?"
    "Well... most of the time, it was pretty much the opposite of that! Not silent, of course, but the wild Pokemon weren't nearly as noisy as a city like that. It was pretty comfy, especially after getting to know the whole forest and its inhabitants by heart... and there was always something interesting going on, if you knew where to look! It sometimes was a bit lonely, though, even with Pokemon company." She looks down at her Pokeballs. "Which is part of why I took the occasional trip to Castelia! Even if it was kind of overwhelming." She lightly laughs. "If you've been to Pinhwheel, I've sure you've been to Castelia, at least on the way there. Pretty crazy place, right?"

  17. - Top - End - #227
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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Less and Pinklady, n the Road

    Quote Originally Posted by essCee View Post
    "Well... most of the time, it was pretty much the opposite of that! Not silent, of course, but the wild Pokemon weren't nearly as noisy as a city like that. It was pretty comfy, especially after getting to know the whole forest and its inhabitants by heart... and there was always something interesting going on, if you knew where to look! It sometimes was a bit lonely, though, even with Pokemon company." She looks down at her Pokeballs. "Which is part of why I took the occasional trip to Castelia! Even if it was kind of overwhelming." She lightly laughs. "If you've been to Pinhwheel, I've sure you've been to Castelia, at least on the way there. Pretty crazy place, right?"
    Less smiled, "That sounds a lot like Dewdrop Forest, back before the region started dying off. I took Emilia, and my students, there often. There's a great deal of natural beauty to be found in these forests." Less laughed alongside Pinklady. "It certainly is at that. I had thought Veilstone was vibrant, but Castelia put it to shame. I remember going there as a boy, I couldn't believe how many people there were, or how the buildings reached so far into the sky."

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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Less and Pinklady (at the outcrop, after Wain arrives):

    The Ranger disconnects the power on the device before he speaks. “There we go. Good thing that jeep is an older model; some of the newer ones have the GPS as standard, and then you’d need a mechanic instead of a Pokémon Ranger.”

    The Ranger examines the skull and bones with his Styler. “I think I can safely say whoever this is didn’t die here. Except for the skull most of these bones aren’t human; these pieces are Rhyhorn plates, that leg bone looks like it came from a Twiggin, those thin bones are what’s left of a Taillow wing…most of this was scavenged. Typical for Murkrow; they’re one of the few species to be doing really well with the war going on and everything else dying off.” He pulls out an evidence bag and puts on gloves, then carefully puts the skull in the former. “I’ll take the skull to Skybreak for DNA testing; if we can figure out who it used to be we can at least contact any family.” He pushes the button on the Styler. “Viola, let the Base know I’m going to be a little longer getting up to Hillsbreak; I’ve got human remains I need to drop off at Skybreak on my way up.”

    Will do. I’ll let Skybreak know you’re coming too.

    “Thank you!” To the both of you he says, “Time to get going I think. Anything else you need to do here? It’s getting dark.”

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Ruby34 View Post
    "Where she we bring these two anyway? And their Pokemon? I figure we can let them stew for a night before we ask them too many questions. Give them some time to think things over."
    “I can drop them off with the police when I stop by Skybreak. They’ll probably be held at the station there until morning.”

    Spoiler: Less
    Show
    Since Bandra Officer Darrin killed off most of them, Skybreak City is the only settlement in Helnith to still have an active police presence.
    Spoiler: Adventures in Helnith
    Show

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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Less and Pinklady (at the outcrop, after Wain arrives):

    Quote Originally Posted by Kareeah_Indaga View Post

    “I can drop them off with the police when I stop by Skybreak. They’ll probably be held at the station there until morning.”

    Spoiler: Less
    Show
    Since Bandra Officer Darrin killed off most of them, Skybreak City is the only settlement in Helnith to still have an active police presence.
    "Pinklady, was there anything you wanted to ask the Ranger? For my part, I'm wondering if we can stop by and talk to these two in the morning. There's a few questions I want to ask before the bureaucrats make talking to them difficult."

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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Ruby34 View Post
    Less and Pinklady, n the Road



    Less smiled, "That sounds a lot like Dewdrop Forest, back before the region started dying off. I took Emilia, and my students, there often. There's a great deal of natural beauty to be found in these forests." Less laughed alongside Pinklady. "It certainly is at that. I had thought Veilstone was vibrant, but Castelia put it to shame. I remember going there as a boy, I couldn't believe how many people there were, or how the buildings reached so far into the sky."
    "A city to amaze even city-dwellers... wow! Maybe I should check out Veilstone someday, see if it's a bit less overwhelming. Do you have any plans to visit your hometown again someday?"

    Quote Originally Posted by Kareeah_Indaga View Post
    Less and Pinklady (at the outcrop, after Wain arrives):

    “Thank you!” To the both of you he says, “Time to get going I think. Anything else you need to do here? It’s getting dark.”
    Pinklady shakes her head. "Besides what Lester said, I think we're all done here!"

    Spoiler: Name note
    Show

    I noticed that Less introduced himself to Pinklady earlier as Lester and in her presence only referred to himself as Less when calling Wain, so Pinklady thinks it's a nickname reserved for friends. Just gotta make sure the shortening doesn't come up during their road convo

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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Quote Originally Posted by essCee View Post
    "A city to amaze even city-dwellers... wow! Maybe I should check out Veilstone someday, see if it's a bit less overwhelming. Do you have any plans to visit your hometown again someday?"
    "After the war is over, perhaps. I still have family over there, and news has been hard to come by. I would like to know how my brother is doing, at least. Do you have any siblings back home?"

    Quote Originally Posted by essCee View Post
    Pinklady shakes her head. "Besides what Lester said, I think we're all done here!"
    Less nodded towards the ranger, and addressed the young woman. "Feel free to call me Less, Pinklady."

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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Ruby34 View Post
    "After the war is over, perhaps. I still have family over there, and news has been hard to come by. I would like to know how my brother is doing, at least. Do you have any siblings back home?"
    "You've gotta show me around Driftveil sometime, then! I'd love to check out a city not as crazy as Castelia, especially with a guide!" She grins. "And, siblings? Not to my knowledge. Is it really like having a close friend you can depend on anytime?"

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Ruby34 View Post
    Less nodded towards the ranger, and addressed the young woman. "Feel free to call me Less, Pinklady."
    She nods. "Will do, Less!"

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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Less and Pinklady (at the outcrop):

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Ruby34 View Post
    "For my part, I'm wondering if we can stop by and talk to these two in the morning. There's a few questions I want to ask before the bureaucrats make talking to them difficult."
    “I can let the Skybreak police know to expect you, but so you’re warned: Skybreak has a curfew in place, and no one is allowed out on the streets between 8 PM and 6 AM without special permission. And there’s a security checkpoint to get into the city; there’s usually a long line to get in. Get there early.”
    Spoiler: Adventures in Helnith
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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Less and Pinklady, Walking

    Quote Originally Posted by essCee View Post
    "You've gotta show me around Driftveil sometime, then! I'd love to check out a city not as crazy as Castelia, especially with a guide!" She grins. "And, siblings? Not to my knowledge. Is it really like having a close friend you can depend on anytime?"
    "Ha!" Less let out a laugh. "You're right about always being there, but we argued more often than not. For most of our childhood Norris thought I was a meathead who was wasting his life, and I thought he was too afraid to do anything with his." Less smiled, "but that doesn't mean we weren't close."


    At the Outcrop
    Quote Originally Posted by Kareeah_Indaga View Post
    Less and Pinklady (at the outcrop):
    “I can let the Skybreak police know to expect you, but so you’re warned: Skybreak has a curfew in place, and no one is allowed out on the streets between 8 PM and 6 AM without special permission. And there’s a security checkpoint to get into the city; there’s usually a long line to get in. Get there early.”

    Less nodded. "I can do that." With that Less helped the Ranger get the criminals onto his own vehicle and got the jeep ready. Less recalled all his Pokemon but Buck, offered a ride to Pinklady, and then let the large fire-type race alongside the vehicle as Less drove it back to the Pokemon Center.

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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Ruby34 View Post
    Less and Pinklady, Walking



    "Ha!" Less let out a laugh. "You're right about always being there, but we argued more often than not. For most of our childhood Norris thought I was a meathead who was wasting his life, and I thought he was too afraid to do anything with his." Less smiled, "but that doesn't mean we weren't close."
    Pinklady looks thoughtful for a moment, then says, "I guess that makes sense! I hope I can have somebody like that some day, it sounds great in an unusual way."

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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Quote Originally Posted by essCee View Post
    Pinklady looks thoughtful for a moment, then says, "I guess that makes sense! I hope I can have somebody like that some day, it sounds great in an unusual way."

    "It's certainly something special. The trust is liberating, in some ways. It's good to know that it's still there no matter how far away we are."
    Less smiled. "I haven't seen him in nearly fifteen years now, though before the war we were able to call every few months."

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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Ruby34 View Post

    "It's certainly something special. The trust is liberating, in some ways. It's good to know that it's still there no matter how far away we are."
    Less smiled. "I haven't seen him in nearly fifteen years now, though before the war we were able to call every few months."
    "That's wonderful to hear! The trust, I mean, not so much the time since you last spoke." Pinklady smiles back. "Thank you for explaining it!"

    She doesn't say anything to continue the conversation, at least not immediately.

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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Quote Originally Posted by essCee View Post
    "That's wonderful to hear! The trust, I mean, not so much the time since you last spoke." Pinklady smiles back. "Thank you for explaining it!"

    She doesn't say anything to continue the conversation, at least not immediately.
    Less smiled, and let the conversation fall into companionable silence, punctuated only by their footfalls and the footfalls of the Pokemon walking next to him.

    As the two trainers near the outcrop, Less began to ask "Pinklady, that has to have an interesting etymo--" before the appearance of the Bandra goons cuts him off.

    Spoiler: essCee
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    I'm good calling that a successful conversation if you are?

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    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Mina (earlier):

    Mina probably should have died right there.

    But luckily Natu noticed the danger and Teleported them both about fifteen feet out of the way, squawking indignantly and fluttering wildly on his perch on her shoulder. He rotated to face their attacker and yelled in Pokéspeak loud enough to hurt Mina’s nearest eardrum, while Mina herself fumbled for her belt and called out all her Pokémon at once…

    …forgetting that Houndoom was still Shadowed and dangerous! She was really regretting having Matt save his Flute right now!

    Lights flickered on and it was then that she realized she was definitely in the wrong place, because this was a Pokémon Gym. The creature that had attacked looked a little like Oodramer, but nearly twelve feet long, with defined fins and scales instead of being liquid goop, and with three pairs of eyes instead of one, which blinked in succession so at least one set was always open and gazing in her direction.

    Gigazemeka: 321/321

    Its trainer looked nearly as bizarre. She was tall, thin but boney rather than graceful, and dressed in a yellow coat of strange make that nevertheless suited her perfectly. Over the top half of her face she wore a Phantom of the Opera style mask that Mina thought might be meant to resemble some kind of fox Pokémon, and she had lengthy red hair.

    Of course, Mina was still having trouble registering anything except ‘she almost killed me’ and ‘she’s not wearing a Bandra uniform.’

    The trainer – the Gym Leader? – was a little more mentally coherent. “Oh, you’re one of those children running around troubling Bandra.” She signaled to her Gigazemeka to stand down.

    Mina recalled her Pokémon – or tried to.

    Houndoom had gotten his bearings enough to dodge the recall beam and charged for the scaly monstrosity, chomping down with a Bite – which did nothing, so whatever else it was it was still a Spectral type.

    Mina, not at all confident that a solid hit from that monster wouldn’t kill him, frantically tried again, keeping her voice as steady as she could. “Houndoom, come back.Return, return!

    The opposing Pokémon shifted slightly in its trainer’s direction and the latter gave a faint nod. A spark of spectral energy arched from the Gigazemeka to her Houndoom and Mina felt her stomach drop when the latter started to glow faintly. ((Shadow Gauge +1%, total 71%)) But it wasn’t even strong enough to be called an attack, given how powerful the Pokédex said the creature was. And Houndoom didn’t fall over dead or unconscious; instead, to Mina’s shock, Houndoom...sat down.

    Mina wasn’t taking chances and recalled him before his unexpected good behavior wore off.

    “Now you can tell me what you’re doing here, Mina, sneaking in through the side door.” And the Gigazemeka’s trainer sounded cold enough Mina was wondering if she was about to regret recalling all her Pokémon, because if that thing decided to blast her there wasn’t a lot Mina could do about it.

    However, there wasn’t actually any good reason for her not to answer truthfully, so she did. “It was unlocked. I was looking for a repair shop.” And she had the repair form to prove it, too!

    The saffron-clad trainer’s icy façade cracked, just a little, and Mina heard her irritably mutter the words “Darien” and “another liaison.”

    Mina went on the verbal offensive. “Okay, my turn. Who are you and how do you know who I am?” Seriously, how did everyone seem to recognize their group? Though Mina didn’t recall the last time a stranger had known her name before…that was worrying.

    “My name is Cassilda and I lead this Gym, as for how I know you, I keep track of trainers with Spectral types, and I can count on one hand the number of trainers in Helnith who have an Oodramer. Most of them are part of my Gym.” A smattering of people in toned-down, less ornate versions of what the redhead was wearing started trickling in. “I don’t actually have time to deal with you right now. Gabrielle,” one of the newcomers (with a mask resembling some kind of cat Pokémon) perked up “take this ‘Hero of Helnith’ out of my battle ring. Answer whatever questions she has, boot her out, I don’t care, just keep her out of my hair.”

    Mina followed her guide out of the battle arena. Gabrielle proved to be not very chatty. As Mina herself was feeling very wrong-footed after accidentally breaking in and almost getting killed, this was not helping her feel reassured. But Mina felt like she had to at least try to make conversation. She asked awkwardly, “So I take it this is a Spectral type Gym?

    “Yes.”

    You get a lot of challengers?

    “No.”

    There was a long, awkward pause, their footsteps echoing down the hall. Mina’s footsteps squeaked more, thanks to the rain.

    Mina tried again. “How did your boss do that, with my Houndoom?

    “Spectral energy.”

    This wasn’t helping. Luckily, inspiration had just struck. “Were you assigned to escort me to educate me or to educate you?” If nothing else Mina figured that was going to be an offensive enough question to shake the other girl out of her stoicism.

    It did seem to take Gabrielle aback a bit. “…what?”

    I mean, is this mono-word answer thing you trying to get me to go away, or do you do this all the time and your boss is trying to get you to socialize?

    “Strong emotion is discouraged, it is dangerous around Spectral energies.”

    Oh. So she wasn’t just doing it to be rude. “So it’s a training thing.

    “Yes.” Gabrielle opened a side door and gestured for Mina to enter. The room was empty of people except for the two of them, there were mats on most of the flat surfaces and training dummies in a variety of configurations – four legs, serpentine, a padded block that could have stood in for any Pokémon as long as it was ground-bound and around knee height, a block with sticks sticking out of it suspended from the ceiling…one that looked like a human…

    Mina told herself that while ominous, the group had sent their Pokémon after Bandra Grunts and not just their Pokémon themselves, so she shouldn’t worry about it.

    It wasn’t working.

    You know, I’ve been to the Spectral Dimension and it isn’t actually that bad.” And as Mina said that, a memory stirred; the battle with Pyrath, Oodramer using Vortex on one of the Tyrasin…

    …which had then started to glow, and fight against its compatriots…

    …can all Pokémon do that thing with the Spectral energy to Shadow Pokémon?

    “Only to weaker Pokémon.”

    Drat, and Houndoom was a little stronger than Oodramer at the moment. She’d have to fix that later and find someplace private to test it – private and secure.

    What else can you tell me about it?

    There was another long pause. Mina thought, somewhat uncharitably, that it was because Gabrielle was trying to boil her reply down to as few words as possible.

    Then Gabrielle called out a Pokémon Mina had never seen before; it had a tail like a shark’s, and a helmeted head with whiskers like a catfish. Her Pokédex informed her it was a Water/Spectral type. Estuar.

    “Call out your Houndoom.”

    Mina wanted to ask ‘are you sure’ but the other girl had seen him Shadowed, and Mina had seen what the Gigazemeka had done, so she called him out and asked instead: “Wow, where did you catch that?

    Gabrielle nodded to her Pokémon to do its thing. ((+1% Shadow Gauge for Houndoom, 72% total)) “Stardust City.”

    Mina winced. Of course it would be in Bandra territory. A Pokémon that was super-effective against most Grunt Pokémon and immune to Shadowing couldn’t possibly be somewhere she or the others could catch it.

    But Gabrielle seemed to be unbending ever-so-slightly, because she added, “Coastal waters. Use a Good Rod.” The masked girl fished something out of her costume and handed it to Mina. “Put this on your Pokémon.”

    Mina recognized the item as a Sacred Talisman like the one Matt had used. Mina brightened. “I’ve seen one of those before, but the trainer who had it never said where he got it.

    “Dig more.”

    Something else to put on the ever-growing list of things she needed to do. Mina sighed internally, and switched the Shell Bell Houndoom was already wearing with the Sacred Talisman. He was eerily still.

    “You have Cologne?”

    Now it was Mina’s turn to answer in mono-syllables. “Yes.

    “Show me.”

    Mina had the sudden, irrational fear that this was all an elaborate ruse to rob her, but she took out the Warm Scent and showed it to the masked girl.

    She might have been imagining it, and it was difficult to tell with the mask, but Mina thought she might have seen the slightest hint of approval in the other girl’s expression.

    “Now battle. Nine rounds.”

    Mina called for Houndoom to use Odor Sleuth, and had a brief moment of panic when he almost immediately went pitch black and the Pokédex started blaring:

    "WARNING! WARNING! Shadow Pokémon detected! Shadow Rage imminent."

    Even behind the mask, Mina could tell Gabrielle was losing her composure. This was not reassuring. The masked girl had already called for Brine; Mina called out Oodramer and Sandshrew, directing the former to Bubblebeam Houndoom and the latter to use Sand Tomb. Natu chattered from her shoulder but stayed where he was.

    Houndoom did something and both Water moves evaporated before they could hit him, and danced with terrifying grace out of the Sand Tomb’s path. ((Attack missed!))

    ((Houndoom 111/111 (Shadowed: 72%, Rage Gauge: 95%)

    Oodramer: 88/88
    Sandshrew: 76/76

    Estuar: 128/128))

    “Brine!”“Again!

    Then Houndoom howled at the ceiling and Mina felt a chill radiate from him.

    Houndoom uses Shadow Down!
    Defense of all allied Pokémon falls sharply!

    But the next volley of attacks hit:

    Estuar uses Brine!
    It’s super effective!
    Houndoom is hit for 52 damage!

    Oodramer uses Bubblebeam!
    Critical hit!
    It’s super effective!
    Houndoom is hit for 66 damage!
    Houndoom faints!

    Sandshrew aborted her Sand Tomb and looked at Mina quizzically. Mina smiled and gave both her Pokémon head rubs. She did not recall them, not trusting Houndoom to stay unconscious.

    Did you know that was going to happen?” Mina asked, a tad more sharply than she had intended.

    But the other girl looked a little shaken and it was hard to stay mad at her. “No. Use the Cologne.”

    Mina felt like she should argue, but there really wasn’t a good reason not to; Houndoom was as safe to be around as he was going to get until he was de-Shadowed. So she cracked open the Cologne and gently massaged it into his fur.

    Her hands came away black – was that soot or from the Shadowing? – but his Shadow Gauge was much lower afterwards. ((-1 Warm Scent, 0 remaining, Shadow Gauge: 27%))

    Mina carefully removed the Sacred Talisman from Houndoom. She thought she knew what the answer would be but she had to ask… “May I keep this?

    “No. Come back tomorrow.”

    That was more than fair, and Mina nodded. “Maybe we should have put the Cologne on, first,” Mina suggested.

    “No.”

    That had been a surprisingly forceful ‘no’. “…why not?

    “Lower Gauge – more likely to Rage.”

    Oh.” Oh no. They’d been doing it backwards this whole time! Not that it had come up much thanks to Matt’s Flute but – this was definitely something she needed to make the rest of the group aware of, once they met back up.

    Mina realized she was running short on time, so soon after she recalled all her Pokémon and excused herself to track down the repair shop. She found herself impatiently tapping her foot while the man behind the counter took it and handed Mina the replacement part itself. ((-1 Replacement Part Order Form, +1 Berry Crusher Part))

    Once she’d finished with that Mina headed to the Pokémon Center, as it had occurred to her she ought to retrieve the book she was researching. She swapped out Houndoom for Serranix, then took the book back from the latter, giving the nervous Dark type a (very careful) pat before recalling her – the Center was very busy.

    Between her unfamiliarity with the City, the side trips and the rain, Mina was actually a few minutes late when she finally made it to the Department Store to rendezvous with the Ranger Union contact.

    I’m sorry I’m late I—” …and then realized it was someone she recognized! “Mindy!” Mina hadn’t seen her since the Battle Festival.

    “Mina!” Mindy waved, and the motion caused her cloak to send a spray of water droplets over the Department Store floor. “There you are. You dyed your hair!”

    The look on the young Ranger’s face had a sort of forced look Mina interpreted as trying not to say, ‘dyed it badly.’

    Oops, I keep forgetting to wash that out. But never mind that,” Mina ploughed on, “How have you been?

    “Busy! But from what Wain told me you have been too, so I won’t complain that you haven’t called me for a rematch yet.” Mina reached for her Pokéballs and opened her mouth to offer to do just that when Mindy cut her off with “I’m kidding! Oh and he said to give you these.” And with that Mindy handed her a number of Berries.

    ((+3 Nilla Berries))

    Mina looked them over and brightened as she recognized them, then stowed them safely in her pack. “Thank you! I owe you both. Anything I can help with in return?

    Mindy just shook her head ‘no.’ “Just give Bandra another walloping next time you see them. Was there anything else you needed?”

    Lum Berries?” Mina asked, daring to hope.

    Mindy’s face fell. “Not me and I don’t think anyone else in our Base have any to spare, either; they get a lot of traction.”

    And hopes dashed. “Drat.

    “Have you checked around, because they have a farmer’s market here,” Mindy gestured and, now that it had been pointed out, Mina could see stalls in that direction. “and you can usually find Berries there.”

    Mina, embarrassed, had to confess she had not. “I got turned around on the way here, I will definitely check that out.” The idea of just straight up buying what she’d spent ages traipsing through wilderness to find and raise felt enticing but Mina quashed that feeling; there was no sense in getting her hopes up just yet.

    Also she was broke, or nearly so.

    “Oh, check it out then. The good ones are usually gone by lunch time, but it’s early enough now you might have some luck, and with the rain a lot of shoppers will be staying home.”

    Mina nodded. “Will do. Is it always this bad?

    “Yes, Bandra disrupts the supply lines on a regular basis, so a lot of people buy up the supplies they can as soon as they’re available.”

    No I mean the rain.” Mina was well aware of the supply chain issues; they had caused enough difficulty for finding Revives. “Elder Saha said it was usually sunny here, but this is at least the second big storm since I got here.

    “Funny story that. The storms actually started being a regular thing…two, three years ago now? It was after Salerdia vanished, I remember that much…anyway, for a while there they were happening like clockwork: once a week, the same day every week, even about the same time of day on that day.”

    Mina frowned. “That can’t be natural.

    Mindy shrugged. “Nobody’s sure, but it sure didn’t seem like it at the time. But then they started happening more erratically, so maybe it was just coincidence. We still don’t get them very often, though, so most people just stay inside.”

    I wish I could do that,” Mina said sincerely, “but I’m on a time crunch. I’ve be tempted to just have Natu Teleport me from place to place, but the gate guards specifically said not to do that.

    “No, and the security patrols here have Pokémon that would keep you from doing that anyway. Things with Shadow Tag, Arena Trap, Mean Look, and so on.”

    Is that what they’re doing?” That explained the oddball collection of Pokémon. “I do have one other thing to ask though,” the Johto trainer dug around in her pack until she extracted the book. “Any idea what this is, or what it’s for?

    Mindy took the book for a moment and looked it over, testing the straps. As with everyone else who had tried, the straps just seemed to slide back into place.

    It’s done that for everyone,” Mina told her.

    Mindy was looking thoughtful. “It looks familiar, like I’ve seen it before. I know I’ve seen some of these marks, maybe in the Ranger Base? Some old report? I can’t remember, but I’ll call you if I find anything. In the meantime, maybe ask at the University; they have a big library on the far end of the park. If you don’t find anything there, check the museum or see if one of the professors knows what it could be.”

    Mina took back the book and put it away. “Thanks, I will! You’re sure you don’t want that rematch first, though?

    “I’m sure, too much to do today! Don’t be a stranger Mina!”

    Mindy took her leave and Mina put the book back into her pack. Then she eyed the rainy outdoors through the glass entrance of the Department Store. Lightning flashed.

    I think I’ll just give the rain a little more time to move out… Plus she needed to check out that farmer’s market, and since she was doing that she might as well check out the rest of the shops too…

    Her thoughts were interrupted briefly as her Pokédex started to ring.

    The ‘dex caller ID said it was Matt so Mina picked up. “Hello?

    Quote Originally Posted by gorman View Post
    "Hey Mina, would you have time to come to Rieva to the pokemon center and inform some new...freedom fighters...about Bandra and other things they might inquire about?"
    Mina was wondering if she should be suspicious, had they given Matt the code word? She stalled for time as she thought back. “Sure, I can stop by tomorrow if you like. Maybe later today, depending on how things go, but no promises there. But what are they asking that you can’t manage yourself?” No, thinking back, she couldn’t remember giving him the word. And she’d only seen him a few hours ago, could he really have gotten into trouble in so short of time?

    Who am I kidding? Of course he could.

    But there was some conversation in the background, and then Mina heard more clearly:

    Quote Originally Posted by Lord Ruby34 View Post
    "I had questions about the nature of shadowed Pokemon. An unfortunate gap in my education. That said, I am not opposed to discussing other, perhaps more delicate subjects, at some point in the future."
    ’Delicate subjects’? Put that way, it sounded like that strange man was propositioning her, and it was a good thing this wasn’t a video call or the people on the other side would see the weirded-out look she was giving her Pokédex.

    She told herself she was probably imagining it and focused on the actual question that had been asked.

    Shadow Pokémon? Well it’s kind of a temporary—

    The explanation Mina tried to give was drowned out by a great loud roar on the other end followed by the sounds of many people talking at once. Was that excitement, or terror? Mina couldn’t tell. “Matt? Matt what’s going on?” She was pretty sure no one could hear her. There weren’t a lot of screams or sounds of Pokémon attacks though, that was probably a good sign? “Matt, I can’t hear anything, call me back once things have calmed down on your end!

    She hung up, and waited a few moments for Matt to call back before it occurred to her she wasn’t going to be able to do anything useful from the next city over anyway, and she should use the limited time she had to do something useful. She wandered over to check out the farmer’s market, hoping they had something useful in stock. A lot of what was available were tropical fruits of varying types, but with a bit of searching Mina found the Berry section:

    Spoiler: Berry Selection
    Show

    Razz: 20 PD (20 available)
    Bluk: 20 PD (20 available)
    Nanab: 20 PD (20 available)
    Wepear: 20 PD (20 available)
    Pinap: 20 PD (20 available)
    Cornn: 55 PD (20 available)
    Magost: 55 PD (20 available)
    Rabuta: 55 PD (20 available)
    Nomel: 55 PD (20 available)
    Spelon: 95 PD (30 available)
    Pamtre: 95 PD (30 available)
    Watmel: 95 PD (30 available)
    Durin: 95 PD (30 available)
    Belue: 95 PD (30 available)
    Figy: 60 PD (3 available)
    Mago: 60 PD (3 available)
    Pepi: 70 PD (2 available)
    Noini: 70 PD (1 available)
    Pomeg: 85 PD (1 available)
    Grepa: 85 PD (3 available)
    Rawst: 80 PD (3 available)
    Tareen: 100 PD (1 available)
    Occa: 400 PD (2 available)
    Yache: 400 PD (2 available)
    Haban: 400 PD (2 available)


    Most of what were available were the Berries with no useful effects, which Mina supposed made sense; those tended to produce more Berries per plant. But Mina wasn’t sure she needed any of those right now, except for completion’s sake, and she was too broke for that presently.

    Sadly, she didn’t see any Lum Berries, nor much in the way of healing Berries at all. That also made sense, but it was still unfortunate.

    She had to check her Pokédex to figure out what ‘Pepi’ and ‘Noini’ Berries were, and once she did she immediately wanted all of both. She didn’t have a Haban Berry yet…ouch, that was expensive. Fortunately they didn’t have any Dragon types so she could skip that for—oh wait, Mark’s Chevalin. And the Yache she only had one of and the Occa she knew they were going to need more of…she needed a side job, or several. Maybe she should look into bounty hunting like Ranger Wain had suggested, since they kept poking their collective noses into Bandra’s business anyway. She didn’t have any Mago Berries…all right, which of these had the fastest growth periods? Those would be easiest to grow more of…could she sell some of the Berries she already had?…she didn’t really have vast quantities of anything they could spare right now.

    Ultimately, she walked away with 1 Haban Berry, 2 Yache Berries ((3 total)), 2 Occa Berries ((4 total including the one in the Wild Plot)), 1 Tareen Berry, 1 Grepa Berry ((2 total)), 1 Pomeg Berry ((5 total)), 1 Noini Berry, 2 Pepi Berries, 1 Mago Berry, and 10 PD remaining.

    Staring at Berries for so long had reminded Mina to check her Planter Berries, and on inspection the Kelpsy was looking a bit dry ((Kelpsy in bloom)). She thought about hunting down the bathroom to use the sink, then realized there was quite a bit of free water falling from the sky right now, so she just popped out of the Department Store for a moment, took the top off the planter and held it out in the rain until it was nicely soaked.

    Mina checked out the rest of the floor after that, but she didn’t have enough money for something from one of the treat stalls or restaurants, and was perfectly capable of making her own Poffin so the Poffin House wasn’t very useful for her. (Also, wow, that was very expensive for something she could make for herself for free!...maybe she could sell Poffin instead?)

    Squashing her growing concern over her finances, Mina decided to check out the rest of the Department Store in the hopes that the rain would have moved on by the time she was done window shopping. There was a helpful sign by the stairs:

    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

    Wait…Information and Food Court.

    Feeling a burst of inspiration Mina went over to the information desk and asked if any of the shops had any jobs that needed doing. She then needed to clarify (after the information desk jockey tried to hand her a number of job application forms) that she was looking for odd jobs, as she wasn’t going to be in town for long. She was told no, but that the local college was paying for help for one-off research projects since the Ranger Union was understaffed, and to try there. Mina thanked the man and climbed the stairs to the next floor, feeling slightly better about her money situation.

    That lasted until she hit the Pokéball section.

    Spoiler: Pokéball Selection
    Show

    Pokéball – 200 PD – Standard ball, normal catch rate
    Great Ball – 600 PD – Improved catch rate over the standard Pokéball
    Ultra Ball – 1200 PD – LIMITED STOCK! Limit 2 per customer – Improved catch rate over the Great Ball
    Net Ball – 1000 PD – LIMITED STOCK! Limit 1 per customer – Works better on Water or Bug Pokémon
    Nest Ball – 1000 PD – Works better on lower-level Pokémon
    Timer Ball – 1000 PD – Works better the longer the battle has been going on
    Luxury Ball – 1000 PD – Normal catch rate, doubles the rate at which Friendship increases
    Dive Ball – 1000 PD – Works better while underwater
    Dusk Ball – 1000 PD – Works better at night or in dark conditions
    Heal Ball – 300 PD – LIMITED STOCK! Limit 3 per customer – Normal catch rate, fully restores HP, PP, and status of the captured Pokémon ((DM note: Not stat damage or Shadowing))
    Quick Ball – 1000 PD – Works best if used the first turn of battle
    Glitter Ball – 600 PD – Normal catch rate, increases Contest stats
    Glamour Ball – 1200 PD – Great Ball catch rate, increases Contest stats
    Gleam Ball – 600 PD – Normal catch rate, increases the chance any Pokémon offspring will be Shiny
    Venom Ball – 1000 PD – Works better on Poison types or Pokémon that have been Poisoned
    Scorch Ball – 1000 PD – LIMITED STOCK! Limit 1 per customer – Works better on Fire types or Pokémon that have been Burned
    Jolt Ball – 1000 PD – Works better on Electric types or Pokémon that have been Paralyzed
    Spectral Ball – 2000 PD – LIMITED STOCK! Limit 2 per customer – Works better on Spectral types, or Pokémon that have been Shadowed, and Pokémon with a major status effect ((EX: Burn, Paralyze, Sleep…))
    Storm Ball – 1000 PD – Works better when weather conditions are in effect
    Creep Ball – 1000 PD – Works better on slow Pokémon (Base Speed 40 or lower)) and Pokémon that are trapped
    Facet Ball – 1000 PD – Works better on Pokémon that evolve with any kind of Evolutionary Stone ((DM note: barring the Bandra-made Link stone))
    Vacuum Ball – 1000 PD – Works better on Pokémon that are light weight


    Even with the obvious gaps in stock, empty shelves and ‘Limit X per customer’ signs, this place still had a wider variety of Pokéball variants than anywhere else she’d seen in Helnith. She wanted to try a Storm Ball…she remembered her father talking about them over dinner…but while she could (she had realized, while putting her new Berries away) sell that Star Piece and Stardust she was carrying around, she’d held onto them this long for emergencies, and ‘she wanted more Pokéballs to catch Pokémon with’ was not an emergency.

    So feeling frustrated, Mina climbed the stairs to the next floor.

    The third floor was, as expected, dominated by exercise equipment, Potions (Revives of all kinds were, as expected, out of stock) and other healing items, and of course vitamins.

    Spoiler: Vitamin Selection
    Show

    HP Up: 9800 PD - Increases HP by 1 (max +10 per Pokémon)
    Protein: 9800 PD - Increases Attack by 1 (max +10 per Pokémon)
    Iron: 9800 PD - Increases Defense by 1 (max +10 per Pokémon)
    Calcium: 9800 PD - Increases Special Attack by 1 (max +10 per Pokémon)
    Zinc: 9800 PD - Increases Special Defense by 1 (max +10 per Pokémon)
    Carbos: 9800 PD - Increases Speed by 1 (max +10 per Pokémon)
    PP Up: OUT OF STOCK!
    PP Max: OUT OF STOCK!


    She stood in front of them and examined them reflectively; she remembered feeling those vitamin prices were highway robbery the first time she’d seen them at the Battle Festival, and she still felt that way – with the added bonus that now she knew Trainer Hill gave them out for much cheaper.

    She shook herself out of her contemplation of the vitamins when something else caught her eye: those straps in that conformation looked familiar.

    Spoiler: Power Item Selection
    Show

    Macho Brace: 39200 PD – Held Item. Lowers the user’s Speed, increases user’s choice of stat gain (max +20 per Pokémon)
    Power Bracer: 39200 PD – Held Item. Lowers the user’s Speed, increases user’s Attack stat gain (max +20 per Pokémon)
    Power Lens: 39200 PD – Held Item. Lowers the user’s Speed, increases user’s Special Attack stat gain (max +20 per Pokémon)
    Power Anklet: 39200 PD – Held Item. Lowers the user’s Speed, increases user’s Speed stat gain (max +20 per Pokémon)
    Power Belt: 39200 PD – Held Item. Lowers the user’s Speed, increases user’s Defense stat gain (max +20 per Pokémon)
    Power Band: 39200 PD – Held Item. Lowers the user’s Speed, increases user’s Special Defense stat gain (max +20 per Pokémon)
    Power Weight: 39200 PD – Held Item. Lowers the user’s Speed, increases user’s HP stat gain (max +20 per Pokémon)


    Wait a minute… Mina dug through her pack to be sure. But it was; the thing she’d collected while they were tracking down the stolen Poochyena was a slightly different (Mina guessed older) model, but that was the only real difference.

    And I’ve had this thing for how long?! She could have used it on Magikarp! She could have used it on several of her Pokémon! Argh! And here she’d been thinking the thing was something illegal or, at best, unethical to use, but it was just expensive exercise equipment!

    Mina restrained the urge to bang her head against a wall, telling herself she apparently she couldn’t afford to spare the brain cells. Then she toyed with the idea of selling the device, but no, no, she had time before the attack to train with it, and while it wouldn’t be the huge, fast boost good Poffin would give, every bit would help.

    Also if she changed her mind after selling it, buying a replacement would be prohibitively expensive. Yikes. Who could pay those prices?!!

    It took almost the entire fourth floor for Mina to calm herself. That floor, thankfully, was largely dominated by things she didn’t care about, given that she didn’t have an apartment any more to put furniture in. Some of the Pokédolls were cute, but completely unnecessary for the next few days, and while she did see some portable Berry Blenders, the Contest Hall in Ceris had them covered there, with the added bonus they were larger than anything on display. Maybe if at some point she found herself with oodles of disposable cash, she’d consider them, but not right now…

    Spoiler: Portable Berry Blender Selection
    Show

    1-Berry Blender – 10000 PD
    2-Berry Blender – 20000 PD


    And then she found the gardening section.

    Here, at last, she had found out where Ailesha had gotten all those Planters she’d handed out during the Poffin class, and other gardening goodies besides:

    Spoiler: Gardening Supply Selection
    Show

    Berry Planter (portable): 1200 PD - Portable Berry plot, comes with soil. Built for hanging off backpacks, belts etc. Max carrying capacity for normal travel is 6.
    Pruning Shears: 8000 PD - Use on Berry plants during the 'growing taller' or 'in bloom' stage to increase yield by 20%. Only works once per plant.
    Scarecrow: 20,000 PD - Keeps Pokémon from eating planted Berries.
    Water Bulb: 5000 PD - Fill once, apply to Planter, planted Berry will be watered for the remainder of its growth time.
    Watering Can: 800 PD – For watering plants. Comes in a variety of Pokémon shapes.
    Growth Mulch: 200 PD - Speeds the growth of Berries. Dries the soil faster. Single use.
    Damp Mulch: 200 PD - Holds moisture in the soil longer. Slows the growth of Berries. Single use.
    Stable Mulch: 200 PD - Helps Berry plants hold their Berries for longer. Single use.
    Gooey Mulch: 200 PD - Encourages fallen Berries to take root. Single use.
    Boost Mulch*: 200 PD - Boosts the number of Berries the plant produces. Single use.


    Shockingly, the Planters seemed a reasonable price, but Mina reflected cynically that there probably wasn’t much demand for such things in the middle of a city which was sufficiently locked down to make entering and leaving it difficult. Mina also mentally kicked herself for not going through the store before spending all her money on Berries, but the Planters at least were cheap enough she could come back once she earned more money. Maybe get some Mulch too.

    On floor five Mina mostly skipped past the jewelry – she liked shiny trinkets as much as the next girl, but that was going to be way out of her price range, and not useful for stopping Bandra. But there was a section for Evolutionary Stones and another for power-boosting Gems, and another, plainer section that had been taken over by the Geology Club filled with lots of miscellaneous things that had been dug out of the ground. No Time Flutes for sale, and there was an empty spot in the display labeled ‘Sacred Talisman’ so Mina assumed they were out of those too, but as she was still broke that didn’t bother her much.

    At length she made it to the sixth floor. Mina skipped past the TVs and other human-centric electronics in favor of the wall of SMs:

    Spoiler: SM Selection
    Show

    SM 16 – Natural Gift – 2,000 PD
    SM 19 – Weather Ball – 3,000 PD
    SM 23 – Hail – 2,000 PD
    SM 24 – Fog Maze* – 2,000 PD
    SM 29 – Ice Beam – 3,000 PD
    SM 30 – Flamethrower – 3,000 PD
    SM 35 – Taunt – 1,500 PD
    SM 36 – Mimic – 3,000 PD
    SM 37 – U-Turn – 3,000 PD
    SM 40 – Brick Break – 3,000 PD
    SM 41 – Earthquake – 7,500 PD
    SM 50 – Giga Impact – 7,500 PD
    SM 51 – Hyper Beam – 7,500 PD
    SM 57 – Psychic – 3,000 PD
    SM 60 – Protect – 2,000 PD
    SM 63 – Double Team – 2,000 PD
    SM 70 – Dream Eater – 3,000 PD
    SM 72 – Night Terror* – 5,000 PD
    SM 75 – Explosion – 7,500 PD
    SM 80 – Thief – 2,000 PD
    SM 83 – Sun Lamp* – 2,000 PD
    SM 89 – Chomp* – 3,000 PD

    Fog Maze – weather move. Makes it foggy for 5 rounds.
    Night Terror – Ghost type, Special damage, does recoil to the user and they have to be asleep to use it.
    Sun Lamp – Fire, Special damage, x2 damage during Sunny Weather. Pokémon with Chlorophyll are immune to damage, and receive the Speed boost they would get from Sunny weather for one round afterwards if it was not already applied (if it's not Sunny weather, in other words).
    Chomp – Dragon, Physical damage, 10% chance to lower the target's Defense by one level.


    Even these were a scantier selection than she would have expected in a non-warzone, but they had Earthquake! And if she’d had U-Turn on Natu during that last climb of Trainer Hill, she’d have had a lot fewer problems!

    Okay, find out what that book is about, then make money and come back!

    The seventh floor appeared to be blocked off, but as Mina’s feet were getting sore and her soaked-through shoes were feeling increasingly unpleasant with each step (and she wasn’t even done walking for the day!) she figured that was just as well. She treated herself for putting up with her soggy footwear for this long by taking the elevator back to the ground floor.

    Mina was now out of Department Store to explore, and it was (of course) still raining. She sighed and recalled Natu (no reason for him to keep getting soaked too) then plunged out into the wet, navigating between overhangs and other sheltered spots en route to the library.

    At least the lightning had passed.

    (Library: )

    The library was dark when she arrived; the librarian at the front desk warned her that the power wasn’t expected to be back on for several hours. The whole building felt oppressive, but Mina wrote it off as an effect of the rain and general quiet.

    Most of the library was empty of people, but in the section Mina had been directed to a hooded figure was bent over a table, reading in the watery light of the nearby window. They had their nose buried so deep in the cowl of their cloak Mina couldn’t even see their eyes, and they’d apparently been here a while as the garment was dry. A short stack of science magazines (Mina saw genetics and Pokémon research featured in large font on the covers; someone must be studying for their science class) were half-obscured by a large book (‘Major Artifacts of Oblivia’), and there was a stack of similar tomes next to it. She hoped none of those was a book she was going to need; he (or she? Between the loose clothes and the poor lighting Mina couldn’t tell) looked very absorbed.

    Mina did her best not to disturb him as she scanned the shelves, or rather tried to scan them as it was too dark to read anything. After a frustrated moment she pulled out her Pokédex and used the screen as an impromptu flashlight to read the bindings on the books.

    The bookworm jerked up like a spooked Rattata at the sudden light, and a moment later an electronic voice came from about the vicinity of his waist.

    You are not a student.

    Mina gave him a confused look that said ‘yeah, and?’ The librarian had told her that wasn’t a problem, she just couldn’t take any books with her. “No, I’m not,” she agreed aloud, after she realized it was dark enough the bookworm probably couldn’t see her face.

    Mina turned her back on him only with trepidation; she got the feeling she was being subjected to some intense scrutiny, but the bookworm didn’t actually say anything so she went back to reading titles.

    She realized as she searched that she had no idea what her book was called (assuming it had a name in the first place), but even if she didn’t find anything about it specifically, she might find something else useful, so she was a little liberal in what she took off the shelf.

    ‘Interpreting the Fossil Record’, ‘Pictures and Potshards: A Beginner’s Guide to Excavation ‘ - that could be useful now that I have a Mining Kit, pity I’ve got a deadline - ‘Legends of Helnith’ – that one came off the shelf - ‘Life in Fragments’ ‘A History of the Cult of Salerdia’ ‘Alph to Teba: A Study of the Unown’ - Mina grabbed that one too; the first copy of the book they’d found had been in the Ruins of Teba, maybe there was something in there, even if it was just a footnote - ‘Art and Architecture of Ancient Helnith’ - and separate volumes for Kanto, Johto, Hoenn…and several more regions besides, some of which were quite far away - ‘Literature of the Ancient World’ - that came off the shelf too - ‘Planning You First Dig’ - Wow there’s a lot of archeology books here,” Mina remarked to herself.

    Of course.

    Mina nearly jumped out of her skin; she’d gotten so absorbed in looking at titles she’d forgotten the bookworm was there.

    The bookworm in question continued as if she hadn’t reacted. “This city is one of the foremost repositories of archeological knowledge in the world. Why did you come here, h-” the electronic voice cut into static for a moment and the bookworm shot the box on his waist a sharp look “–Why are you here, if that is not your purpose?

    I’m just looking for something more specific,” Mina replied, slightly intimidated. And on reflection she decided those were enough books to start with; hopefully when the power came back on she could make a more focused search. She picked a spot on the opposite side of the table from the bookworm - hopefully out of his way - and sat down to research.

    Still using her Pokédex for light, Mina cracked open ‘Literature of the Ancient World’ and was quickly disappointed. It turned out to be about ancient writing styles - cuneiform, hieroglyphics, cave paintings, and some of the ways ancient peoples stored their writings rather than the nice encyclopedia of artifact-books she’d hoped for.

    Well that was a waste of time,” she grumbled aloud. The bookworm was staring at her (she thought; the light was behind him, at the very least he was facing in her direction). “Sorry, I’ll try to shut up.

    ‘Alph to Teba’ was similarly unhelpful; most of the rubbings and pictures she’d seen in person by this point, and the bit about mysterious radio broadcasts had been included in the tour of more than one field trip when she was younger. The most she found was a blurb about the Unown tiles they’d been finding - ‘used by ancient peoples to call upon the powers of the Pokémon’ - but that she’d known about from that note Mark had shown her. Nothing about her book at all, though it had admittedly been a reach.

    ‘Legends of Helnith’ was a bit more interesting.

    In the First Days
    Man was at the Mercy of the Creatures of the Earth, Sky, and Sea
    And Lived in Fear
    For the Creatures of the Earth, Sky, and Sea knew Malice1
    And in their Malice birthed Destruction
    That Man could not stand against
    The Original One saw the Plight of Man and had Pity
    He declared that the Malice of the Creatures should be locked away
    That they would no longer harm Man out of Desire but only Necessity
    The Original One called upon the King Who Moves the Lands
    But the King said, ‘I cannot do this, for I am tired from moving the Lands’
    The Original One called upon the Dragon of the Sky
    But the Dragon said, ‘I cannot do this, for I must Watch
    That the Seas do not flood their Boundaries
    Nor the Lands overtake the Seas
    But remain in Balance’
    And on and on it went
    Until the Original One came to the Incarnation of Change
    And the Incarnation of Change said, ‘I will do this
    I am young and strong
    I will be the Ever-Shifting Lock
    Upon the cage of Malice
    Let All look upon me and know that I will not fail’
    And then his Sibling was born
    Who knew nothing of Malice
    And she was called Salerdia

    1 Some translations, ‘evil’, ‘fury’, ‘rage’


    Mina skimmed past the next few pages; she’d heard the story of Salerdia’s egg washing up on a secluded beach and Salerdia making a paradise-on-earth during the Battle Festival and didn’t really need it repeated.

    And when the Ever-Shifting Lock
    Saw what his Sibling had wrought
    He cried,
    ‘Where are my Praises?
    Where my lauds, my extolls?
    Do not my deeds exceed hers?
    Did I not chain Malice?’
    And the Two fought
    And there was again Destruction

    After some Time
    Both Siblings
    Came onto the Battlefield
    But Aidrelas saw his Sister was not alone
    His Sibling cried,
    ‘Yield, Brother,
    Or you shall be unbound!
    See those Arrayed against you
    The Song Who Tames the Sea
    Sings for your Defeat
    The Dragons of the Eons
    Roar for you to stand down
    Even Man has forsaken you for me
    Who Watches over them, and not you
    All can see that you
    Have Failed2
    And my deeds are the Greater!’
    And Aidrelas declared this to be true
    And quit the Field
    Swearing he would return with Allies of his own
    And he was called the Incarnation of Malice forthwith

    But the Song Who Tames the Sea
    And the Dragons of the Eons
    Said to Salerdia,
    ‘This war is your doing, not Ours
    And not His
    You are the Key that opens
    The Ever-Shifting Lock
    And releases Malice into the World
    Your Brother is embittered
    Because of your Pride, your Hubris
    You must Mend this,
    It cannot be Us’
    And the Incarnation of Growth scoffed
    And did not hear them
    And so it remains to this Day

    2Some translations, ‘are Beaten’ ‘are Outmatched’


    The next section seemed to be about ‘the Ruffians from Beyond the Sea’ but a quick perusal told Mina that wasn’t what she’d come here for.

    At last Mina looked up and realized it was nearly 12:30 PM and it had been hours since she’d eaten, as her stomach was now loudly reminding her. The bookworm was still there, his nose back in one of the many tomes beside him, but Mina got the impression he was still watching her anyway.

    Feeling like she should say something, she said, “I’m going to go get something to eat. Do you want anything?” He’d come off as a hostile earlier, but then, the creepy electronic voice didn’t do tone at all, so maybe she was reading too much into it. Mina was inclined to give him the benefit of the doubt, at any rate, since she'd been so quick to judge Gabrielle earlier, and it wouldn’t be any trouble to sneak something over from the Pokémon Center kitchen.

    But he must have been deep in his book after all, or perhaps just ignoring her, because he didn’t respond.

    Okay, see you in a bit then.
    Spoiler: Adventures in Helnith
    Show

  30. - Top - End - #240
    Ogre in the Playground
    Join Date
    Jun 2014

    Default Re: Adventures in Helnith: Assault on the Town of Ash (RPG)

    Mina (con't; one quick trip to the Pokémon Center later):

    When Mina got back from her food break he was gone.

    On the bright side, the lights were on, but when she went to check the computer systems were still booting up and there was already a line of people waiting to use them.

    Feeling oddly hurt by the abandonment of her study buddy and frustrated that she apparently wasn’t going to get anything else useful done anytime soon, Mina distracted herself by checking her Pokédex; it was getting to be time to meet with Ei and she wasn’t anywhere near done here yet. She was mildly surprised to see a message from Ranger Wain: it let her know that Matt had been very helpful but he was still chasing after a Shadow Pokémon. So she sent a text off to Mark passing that information on, and then letting him know she wasn’t going to make it to the meeting with the flute maker either.

    And then she eyed the rain outside. Much as she liked being somewhere dry, she was on a time limit.

    And she’d been getting tired of poring over books anyway. Mina decided to save more reading for tomorrow, and check out the college instead.

    Not wanting to get wet any more than she already was, once Mina found the main campus building she took the nearest entrance she could find, and started looking for the museum, or wherever she was supposed to pick up the jobs that man at the Department Store had mentioned.

    She was pretty sure the wing she had entered wasn’t either. Just in case Mina peered in a few doors, expecting classrooms or maybe a lecture hall, but the first room she looked into had a number of people in lab coats messing with a large machine mostly composed of spinning metal blocks. As she watched, a rocky Pokémon with a truly massive red nose stepped onto the platform underneath it. A second later, it took on the familiar glow of evolution, and when that faded it had shot up in height and its nose was even bigger than before. The people in lab coats got excited and started taking notes and messing with the machinery.

    The other rooms appeared to be similar, in that they were obviously for science rather than lecturing. A few were dark and unoccupied, but Mina had already poked her nose in where it wasn’t welcome enough today that she didn’t try to investigate further.

    Finally the hallway she was in bent off to the right and came to an intersection. And here was a map of the place on the wall (with the fire exits labeled); Mina could see there appeared to be two major wings off the main building. She’d come from the science wing; there was signage indicating the museum wing was in front of her and the central branch (consisting, as far as she could tell, mostly of classrooms and offices) was off to her right.

    Mina almost plunged immediately into the museum but then she remembered the (paying!) research projects the man at the Department Store info desk had told her about, and decided to go right and locate the front desk first to inquire about those first. She ended up finding the front desk and the jobs at the same time: there was an enormous bulletin board by the main entrance, and it was covered in advertisements for clubs, buy and sell notices for dorm furniture, and, yes, several neat little sign-up sheets, mostly with the official-looking letterhead of the University of Helnith at the top.

    Mina made note of several of these, questioning the receptionist about what she should expect in general and asking for more details about some of the odder ones. (Bird droppings, really?) Some of them were around town, some were repeatable (though Mina didn’t really have eight hours to catalog dusty artifacts today), and some it looked like she would need to grab some of her friends if she wanted to get paid for them.

    She signed up for three of them – one for collecting rainwater around town, one for installing cameras in Murkrow nests, and a third that was also to collect water but this time from the river south of Ceris (which was close enough to Bandra territory that Mina wasn’t surprised it was still unclaimed) – and made note of several more that looked easy if someone in the group needed money or she had more time to burn later.

    There were also a number of similar notices from the Geology Club, although they seemed to be dealing mostly with items not money – someone was looking to trade a full set of Relic Coins ((Gold, Silver, Copper)) for “rare overseas fossils!”, another was offering Max Revives for a fossil, there were at least a dozen looking to swap Unown Tiles for different Unown Tiles, but there was one that seemed to stand out:

    Looking for Trainer with Dive to retrieve lost cargo – Offering common or uncommon Evolutionary stone of your choice for one day of searching with a bonus for successful retrieval. Inquire at Department Store or Geology Club Headquarters in Tidepath.

    Pity she didn’t have a Pokémon with Dive, she could always sell the Stone if no one needed it. Maybe she could get it tutored onto Gyarados? But the time listed was a full day, which Mina definitely didn’t have time for even if she’d had a Pokémon with Dive. Too bad.

    Satisfied she’d gotten enough to keep herself busy and maybe earn enough for an SM later, Mina got the equipment she’d need for her chosen tasks from the front desk – specimen jars for the rainwater collection and the river water sampling (and Mina made the receptionist put different colors of tape on each, so she wouldn’t get them confused) and cheap little wireless webcams for the Murkrow nests.

    The receptionist had told her she was supposed to measure and collect the rain water after it had stopped, which it (still) hadn’t yet, and Mina couldn’t Teleport out with the patrols around town nor was she willing to climb up to Murkrow nests in the rain, so she took the opportunity to go through the museum.

    She just glanced at most of the cases as she passed them: a big display of minerals and common artifacts, a hand-sized feather that split at the tip in a case by itself, a very old looking crown, a collection of jade statuettes of various Pokémon, an anchor and a bunch of old wooden beams and old metal tools that took up an entire section of wall - and there was the book!

    It was on a pedestal by itself, and the case surrounding it was a little dusty. The book itself was, if not identical to the one currently stored in her pack, at least a very close match, complete with blank clay medallions and leather straps binding it shut. Mina leaned closer to read the informational plaque:

    TOME OF INTERSECTING LIFE

    Known more commonly as the ‘Book of Lines’, the original copies of this tome date back to the first conflicts between Aidrelas and Salerdia. Tradition holds that to protect the secrets inside, the Council of Elders of the time made a pact with Salerdia and other unnamed powers that no human would be able to open the tome without the consent of the Legendary Pokémon.

    The disks on the front are native Helnith clay, similar to other artifacts found in the region. Several of the symbols on its cover have been found in ancient ruins as far away as Oblivia, but the tome has proven impervious to all modern technological attempts to access its pages and no record of its contents exists.

    Well that’s…helpful I guess. At least she had a few things she could cross-reference at the library now. Including a name!

    Mina considered heading over to the library again right away, but figured it was probably packed with students now that finally – finally – the rain had stopped. She was going to have to come back to Skybreak anyway to do the river water task; maybe tomorrow.

    Mina also wasn’t entirely sure she trusted the clear sky to stay that way at this point, but after a quick detour to the bathroom to water her Petaya plant ((Petaya in bloom)), harvest the Kelpsy Berries ((+5 Kelpsy Berries)), and replace the latter with a Grepa Berry (and of course watering that too), it was still not raining. ((Grepa Berry planted, initial watering, Day 26: 4:30 PM))

    So it was time to make some money!

    Mina’s first order of business was gathering the rain measurements. There were four gauges around town; one by the library, one by the Silph Co. regional headquarters (Mina paused outside, wondering if she should give her parents a call, then thought better of it) one by the Pokémon Center and one by the Hall of Elders (a weirdly oppressive place, despite being enormous; Mina was reminded of the library). She made note of the measurements, made sure the caps on the specimen jars were tight, and returned both to the college for her first payday of 2,000 PD ((2010 PD total)).

    Heartened by this easy success, Mina headed to the nearest Murkrow nest to place cameras.

    There were three nests around the city she was supposed to add cameras to; the receptionist had given her instructions on how to reach them, since some of them were on top of buildings or otherwise out of sight of the ground.

    The first nest was on one of the many office buildings in the city, and required Mina to climb several flights of stairs – the nest itself was located on a windowsill just off a landing. There was a Murkrow on the nest, and just like every other Pokémon she’d seen in the city, it seemed nervous and twitchy. Mina took a step forward and stopped when the bird fluffed up and cawed threateningly.

    Hey there, don’t mind me,” she told them, “I’m just setting up this webcam…” She tried to show it to the Dark type to show that it was harmless, but the bird Pokémon wasn’t having it: it took off and flew at Mina’s head, and it was then that she saw it had an egg.

    Well, drat. Mina couldn’t exactly blame the bird for trying to protect their egg, but it did make this job harder than it needed to be.

    Mina called out Oodramer; Murkrow were Dark types, and while the receptionist hadn’t actually said Mina shouldn’t hurt the birds she was trying to set up the cameras for, she kind of took it as a given. “Keep it distracted Oodramer! Try not to hurt it!

    Hopefully the Murkrow would stick to Dark type attacks…Mina hastily started setting up the webcam, trying to keep one eye and ear on the battle at the same time.

    That was Astonish – not a Dark move but Mina would take it under the circumstances – that was Wing Attack and Mina winced ((16 damage to Oodramer)) – that was Pursuit and did nothing…

    And done!Oodramer, good job, return!” Mina called back her Pokémon (another Pursuit, which still did nothing, thank you Spectral immunity to Dark moves!) and sprinted for the door. The Murkrow got close enough she could feel it brush past her vest, but she made it.

    Mina considered her next move as she went back down the stairs and detoured to the Pokémon Center. The webcams were intended to be attached to something solid at an angle to view the nest, but she suspected as long as they had a good view of the nests no one would care if it was actually attached to anything. She could have Natu Teleport the webcam to the next nest…except these were Dark types and Mina didn’t want him to end up with broken bones again. Maybe Pidgey could help…

    The next nest was in a tree in the park, and as it transpired there wasn’t anything nearby she could attach the camera to anyway, unless she wanted to try climbing the tree – and the nearest branches were out of reach and still wet and probably slippery as a result, so she did not. She could see the nest though…

    She called out Pidgey and Natu, got the camera ready and then handed it to Natu. “Pidgey, I need you to distract that Murkrow. Natu, once he’s gotten it to chase him, Teleport this into the nest.

    Both birds nodded and got into position.

    It probably would have worked, if there had only been one Murkrow.

    But a second bird – Mina assumed the mate of the one currently sitting on the nest – swooped out of the branches to chase after Pidgey instead with Pursuit ((30 damage)), so there was a (now even more angry and defensive) Dark type still on the nest itself when Natu warped up to it.

    He had the good sense to drop the camera in and Teleported back before the nest-sitter could respond, leaving Mina to once again flee from angry birds.

    At length Mina collected her Pokémon and traipsed over to the Pokémon Center again. Pidgey had taken a solid hit and the only reason Natu had escaped unscathed was because he’d taken the other bird by surprise.

    The final nest was on top of the newspaper building, and Mina wished she had some time to look around but it was getting late and she needed to be out of the city by curfew. She saw two birds were guarding this nest too and had resigned herself to letting her poor Pokémon get beat up yet again when she noticed a bit of tinsel was hanging from the nest. That was right; Murkrow liked shiny things. Pity she couldn’t paint the webcam silver and get the Murkrow to take the camera up themselves…Wait a minute…

    Mina dug through her pack to see if she had anything appropriate in the Accessory category.

    No shiny dyes…but I do have some Glitter!

    It was blue Glitter; Mina hoped Murkrow didn’t have any color preferences and glued some to the webcam everywhere but the lens. Then she turned it on and was pleased to see it didn’t seem to be taking any harm from the Glitter.

    Mina watched out of the corner of her eye until she was sure the Murkrow were paying attention, then made sure to flash the webcam as best she could in the fading evening light, trying to show off how sparkly and shiny it was. Once she was sure they were watching she set it down in a nice, visible spot and walked away…to behind what she thought might be the building’s air conditioner, where she hid and kept watch.

    Five minutes, six…then one of the birds swooped down to grab the webcam and carried it back to the nest. Success!

    Mina made her way back to the college to pick up her next paycheck, feeling pleased with herself. ((+7,000 PD, 9,010 PD total)) She had enough for Earthquake! Or U-Turn. She frowned. But not both, and I should probably get some more Planters so we’ll have enough Berries for Poffin before the attack. Mina thought the chances of finding useful planting equipment during their next mission was high; unfortunately she needed it before the next mission.

    She considered her options. At most, she could fit four more portable planters onto her pack, but each was about the price of an Ultra Ball. If she wanted U-Turn and Earthquake both on top of that…even if she sold her emergency Stardust and Star Piece she would still be short.

    She wasn’t really keen on coming back tomorrow and having to go through all the hassle of security again, but it looked like she was going to need to…and she would have had to anyway, she reminded herself, since she needed to leave and come back to get that river water sample (which would conveniently also pay for Earthquake).

    Feeling simultaneously annoyed and relieved, Mina made her way back to the Department Store to pick up U-Turn and four portable Planters ((-7,800, +SM 37 U-Turn, +4 Planters, 1210 PD remaining)). She dithered a bit over the Mulch, but ultimately decided to skip it for now; the Berries they needed more of the most would be too slow to produce even with a boost from Mulch, so she might as well save the remainder of her cash.

    Mina was debating what to put in her new Planters when Mark called. And, surprisingly, his face appeared on the screen. “Oh hey, I didn’t realize these things had video.Must have been a software update??? I didn’t even realize these things had cameras!Hi Mark, what do you need?

    Quote Originally Posted by Gnomes2169 View Post
    "Yeah, they have a camera and everything, kinda makes them better for calls than my phone when I don't need to look pokemon up. And I was just calling to check how things were going and to report in on what I've found out... I take it you've been running outside a lot, huh?"
    Yeah, I should have looked for an umbrella at the Department Store here, but I got distracted.” The SM selection had been a great distraction. She should probably change into some dry clothes when she got out of town though… “But how are things on your end?

    Quote Originally Posted by Gnomes2169 View Post
    "Going well enough. Talked to the flute maker, and I think that I have a plan for how we're taking out Quibir's poffin production... but I want to talk to Wain about a few things before making anything certain." Picking up his pokedex so that he could shift in his chair without leaving her view, he'd ask, "How goes your research? You know. Besides stormy."
    I might have a lead on that book. The college here has a museum on campus and they have another copy of it there, plus a huge library.” Mina wondered if she should mention her study buddy, or the nervous Pokémon in town, or that it looked like they were going to need to track down a Legendary Pokémon to get the book open…some of that should probably be told to everyone; she’d save it for when they all got back together. “They also have a…job board, I guess; I made a list of some of the things they had posted, and most of them are pretty straightforward, so if you or anyone else needs some extra spending money let me know and I’ll send it on.

    But enough about me; did you learn anything useful from the flutemaker?


    Quote Originally Posted by Gnomes2169 View Post
    "Huh. I'm perpetually broke. I should look at that board."
    I’ll send you the list then. Fair warning, if you want one of the jobs you need to sign up at the college campus; it was near the entrance of the main building. Some of them are a regular thing, some of them you have to do at a particular time.

    Also, they have security here to protect against Bandra Teleporting in, but that means we can’t just warp in and out whenever we want either.


    Quote Originally Posted by Gnomes2169 View Post
    "The flute maker told us about the town. There's no pokemon center, it's close-ish to the regional safari zone, there aren't many woods or forests in the area, but it's a bit rocky. It's also close enough to that volcano on the coast that they have a steady source of volcanic ash, which is why she liked living there among other things. They don't have a power plant of their own, so if we can cut them off from the plant in Piez that should pretty much shut them down... if we can handle their backup generators in the contest hall and the mart, at least."
    Sounds good,” Mina replied. “And even if we can’t take out the generators, at least the Grunts we fight won’t be able to run over and heal their Pokémon mid-battle.

    Quote Originally Posted by Gnomes2169 View Post
    "The houses are also pretty well fireproofed, on account of the volcano. Oh, and she gave us a LOT of soot sacks, so we could pick up ash for her craft. Ash that's... constantly falling... on account of the active volcano."
    That sounds…good?” Mina responded uncertainly. She had the impression that Mark was realizing something, but couldn’t tell what it was just based on the context he’d given her.

    Quote Originally Posted by Gnomes2169 View Post
    "I'm not certain that I trust her fully. I know it may have just been her personality, but she was... well, she doesn't like Bandra for sure, but she was flighty about them burning down her shop, and they might still have something she cares about to blackmail her with she didn't want to talk about...I'm probably just being paranoid. But anyway, I implied that we might be looking to come at Quibir from the Safari zone in the east. Just in case. I think our best bet is to surf from Tidepath to the western shoreline anyway."
    Mina hadn’t gotten the impression Ei was untrustworthy, just crazy, but she’d only met the woman once and she wasn’t the one with an emotion-sensing Psychic type, so maybe she just wasn’t being paranoid enough.She was an interesting personality, that’s for sure. But good plan.” ” Mina glanced at a clock and swore internally; she was going to have to cut this short or she’d be spending the night in Skybreak. “Anything else I should know that can’t wait? I need to get out before curfew, or I’m going to be stuck here until tomorrow.

    Quote Originally Posted by Gnomes2169 View Post
    "That should be all on my end for now. I'll call Wain and see what he has to say, and then go talk to those people Matt found. If I see you again tonight, I'll update you on how all that junk goes too. Uh…See you later then!"
    Later!

    Mina started making her way to the nearest exit to the city at the fastest walk she could manage and broke out into a run as the clock ticked closer to 8 PM. She just barely made it out; the road outside the city was lonely without the street lights and people walking by.

    But now that she wasn’t in imminent danger of being trapped in the city, Mina took a moment to type up the job list and hit ‘send’.

    And then she called out Natu and went on a Teleport spree to harvest, water, and replant her Berries.

    ((Occa sprouted
    Shuca sprouted
    Qualot in bloom
    + 5 Niptir Berries, Ebet planted in Wild Patch #4, Day 26 8 PM

    Salac Berry planted in Planter, Day 26 8 PM
    Liechi Berry planted in Planter, Day 26 8 PM
    Ekon Berry planted in Planter, Day 26 8 PM
    Nilla Berry planted in Planter, Day 26 8 PM))

    There were signs of Pokémon moving in on the plants, and Mina swore to herself. They couldn’t afford to lose their Poffin boosts to wild Pokémon, much as Mina knew the wild Pokémon had to be having it rough with everything dying off. But she was out of Repel, and she needed to get to the group meeting; she was just going to have to keep the harder to replace Berries in her new Planters and hope for the best until she could manage some counter-measures.

    (And maybe, once they were ready for this next mission, she could put in some of the Poffin-only Berries for the Pokémon. But one thing at a time.)

    After she finished she saw that she’d gotten a response text from Mark:

    Mark sent you a message!

    Makes sense the chairs one got washed out. I'm guessing these jobs are per-person? Most of them seem easy. Except that spectral dimension one, holy wow that's crazy. The chairs ones should be easily doable, I'll see if any of the new people are interested in helping.


    She didn’t see their code word, but there also didn’t seem to be anything to say beyond maybe a thumbs up emoji or some other form of positive acknowledgement, and she could do that in person: it was meet-up time.

    Finally, Mina arrived at the Pokémon Center. She changed into some dry clothes and found an out-of-the-way corner to go over her Berry math while she waited for everyone else to arrive; there had to be some way to squeeze more or better Poffin out of their limited time and resources...
    Spoiler: Adventures in Helnith
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