(PTA) Defiance of the Forgotten: Knights of Hoenn

[IrnBruAddict]

Group

Seeing the group at least making an effort to get along, even if none of them did yet, Tate smiles. 'Much better. Behave yourselves and I'll give you all lollipops later.' He tilts his head, "Actually, that's a lie, I ate them all waiting on you, sorry. Never mind. On to the questions!'

Tate burst up from his chair, pacing across the room as he went through all the questions in his head. '"Abnormal group to use for infiltration, wouldn't you say?" Nope, not really. The fact that you're well known means it's easier, especially after what we have planned. No one will think you're anything but Team Rocket after this. "Um... a-are you sure it's a good idea for us to do it?" Of course I'm not sure. I'm a psychic, not a fortune teller, hehe. Still, I give you guys an above average chance if you actually use your skills well and think on your feet. "I mean... what happens if they find out?" Well you'll have this lovely gentlemen to watch over you, and we have several extraction plans, as well as the help of one of the most powerful Gym Leaders in all of Johto should you ever need back-up. "Can I have that back now?" As my sister would say, you can get your toy back at the end as long as you behave yourself. Well she would say that if she taught young children, not be the principal. "Why us?" Well two of you asked that, so it must be double important, huh? Truth be told, Zoe is the key. Since they want her company, they'll act reckless if they think they can control her. The rest of you were selected from skilled trainers who we could arrange to arrive at this time. Both Catherine and Alys are skilled, having won boxing tournaments and competitions before today, and we could get them here in the tournament in time for the plan. And all of you have strong national ties and Anti-Rocket leanings. And that of course leaves out our friend here who most of you are quick to point out. Kline is in charge of keeping you all safe, and he's proven himself in the past. We want to give him this opportunity to make a new name for himself. That name being Kline Machali no doubt, haha! And last but not least, "wouldn't you have people trained for this kind of thing?" Well in fact the League does. And of course, the League also has Team Rocket agents in their midst. So Rocket already knows any League spies they'll send. But you guys won't be League, this will be a Hoenn operation, and the number of people who know about it is strictly limited. Only 7 people outside this room know what's truly going on here tonight, and what we'll do tomorrow.'

Tate does a little spin and waves his arms open. 'Does that satisfy you now? Are there any other questions you'd like to ask before I explain the plan to you? Just note, you are free to refuse the plan of course. It's your right to do that. Unfortunately I'll have to mind wipe you of this meeting, but otherwise you'll remember this as a very exciting little trip out to the palace.'

Sayuri

The Princess waits to make sure that Willow knew she was supposed to be fighting. 'Sure she'll be okay?'

Spoiler

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tie so the player goes first

[Esprit15]

And they called her a little chaotic. "Okay, you've made your pitch, and have me interested. What do you need us to do?" A way to keep her company. Very easy to get behind that, and very hard to find a reason to not go through with this.

[IrnBruAddict]

Tate teleported behind Zoe, laying his hand on her head and ruffling her hair.

'Oh, you'll personally like it. You do something big, and something that will get attention. But don't worry, it's dead easy. You just kill the Princess.' Tate teleported in front of the group and made jazz hand motions.

[BluesEclipse]

Alys pales entirely at Tate's comment. "K-Kill the princess?" she cries, stepping back from the powerful psychic, hand reflexively going towards Morgan's ball. "How can you expect us to do something like that? You're asking us to murder her!" Her voice trembles, but she continues, "And just so you can get a spy the League won't expect? That's... that's..." Finding herself at a loss for words, she shakes her head, fighting back her fear - knowing that if it did come down to a battle, she wouldn't stand a chance against Tate, with or without his Pokemon. "Why would you expect any of us to go along with that?"

[Esprit15]

"Tauros-****. No way. How is that not going to leave us on the wanted list of everyone in Hoenn? And why the Void is one of our own leaders, our champion no less, proposing it? I'm all for following orders, but these ones need some reason behind them. I hate the bitch, but that doesn't mean I want her dead." Just that I wouldn't feel as bad about it. Doesn't mean I want to be the one to do it, either.

[MesiDoomstalker]

Kline ignores Catherine with a humph, and tilts his head quizzically at his supposed job. He was about to inquire why he was qualified when the plan was revealed. At first he agreed with the others, it sounded preposterous and insane. But that's likely why it would work. I know a thing or two about killing. Killing a high profile target is not an easy job, but it will garner a lot of attention to everyone involved. And since the people proposing it are those with vested interest in the target's safety, I have severe doubts any real killing will go on.

[Aneurin]

Sayuri

Sayuri smiles with more confidence than she feels, and tries not to cringe as Willow cheerfully waddles towards - or, at least, in the direction of - the Nidorina. Not that she seems interested in it.

"She's just used to Ali goin' first and showin' her who to fight. She'll figure it out. I hope,"

Sayuri eyes Willow's progress.... yes, that should be close enough. Teddy shuffles behind Sayuri in anticipation of what's about to happen - after all, he might get wet if he keeps watching.

"Willow! Look out, there's a Spinarak on you!"

"Psy? Psyy! Pssssyyyyyy!" Willow yells, suddenly horror struck at the prospect of a bug on her. Spinning on the spot she lets out blast after blast of water in a desperate attempt to get rid of it.

"...I work with what I've got, okay?" Sayuri adds, defensively as she looks at Maxine.

Spoiler: OOC

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Willow Shifts up to 4m towards the Nidorina and uses Water Pulse.

(1d20)[7] vs. 2

(2d8+23)[31] Burst 3, No Target, Confuses on a 17+ during Accuracy Check - Special, Water

[MichaelGoldclaw]

Catherine's eyes shoot up "Wh..Wh-" she starts to ask, but then There has to be an explanation. what, that wierd waiter/spy/assassin whatever guy. that explanation "Wait, is he right? Do you mean we make it look like we kill her or are we actually doing it?" she asks. "If it's the former, okay, it's reasonable. Later, you can go piss off. There is always a better way."

[Esprit15]

"You don't even know what the goal is. If the goal is 'Dead princess,' not a lot of better ways than kill her. But why?" Kline had a point. If it was a cover up, then by all means, it was a good idea. "...which princess. Doom-and-gloom or the normal one?"

[IrnBruAddict]

The Group

The Rocket Grunt giggled. 'There are three of 'em toots. The Normal one, the Emo one, and the Scary one. And your target is the emo one. No offence, but no one would believe you guys could kill Maxine, she's too scary.'

'Would you guys mind not calling Maxine the "scary one"? I'm standing right here" interjects an annoyed looking Birch.

Tate starts to clap his hands. 'Kline has it all figured out. Right now, we have a security threat on the Royal Family, most specifically the eldest of the 3, Crown Princess Maxine. But if we increase security it would alert the fact we have a mole in enemy camp. And by "killing" the young Princess Elizabeth, we can move her somewhere safe out of harm's way. Why spend time and manpower trying to kill a person who the whole world saw die. In fact, that part was her idea. But you have to admit, there is no way the League would ever consider killing a Princess just to get a spy in Rocket, which is why they won't suspect you. And it even means you won't be asked to "prove your loyalty" by killing someone for Team Rocket, since you just did that.'

The man in the lab coat, Professor Birch, steps forward. 'We plan on escorting the Princess to the Orange Islands, where she can be kept safe. The whole charade of the assassination will also throw off the real plot of assassinating Crown Princess Maxine, meaning that whoever it is, they will either back off, not wanting to risk themselves, or they'll rush instead, and make them more likely to slip up. We plant our own mole while smoking out theirs. Of course, we will also evacuate your families to the Orange Islands for their safety until this is over. Of course this is all simply part of the set up. We bring out both an offence and a defence. Tomorrow night, we will tell you the real plan for when you've infiltrated Team Rocket.'

Tate rests his hand on Birch's shoulder, and for once speaks deadly serious. 'Look, there is a lot I need to tell you. But I need you to trust me and play along. If I really meant Elizabeth or any Royal member harm, I wouldn't have brought Maxine's boyfriend here now, would I? If you don't want to trust what I'm saying, Steven Stone can verify our plan. Right now, things look confusing, I know. But trust me, there is more to worry about than just Team Rocket. This isn't some plot just to get a spy in Rocket, or a silly little rebellion against the League. There is a bigger picture going on. We need you to trust us. Please?'

Sayuri

The Nido slides back, absorbing the hit then shaking it off. 'Don't worry, I've heard Golduck's are much more coordinated than their pre-evolution. Plus even if she is a bit silly, she can still hit.' Maxine smiles. 'Nini, use Aerial Ace!' The Nidorina jumped in the air, and dove horn first at Willow, landing a hit and causing 30 p flying damage to the Psyduck.

[MichaelGoldclaw]

Catherine had a lot on her shoulders. She was just a normal trainer and now she was being asked to do some infiltration. Not to mention, for a while, her reputation will be tarnished, but afterwards, it should be good. A normal person would back away, but Catherine had something inside her. A desire to do good and this is good. Was she hesitant, sure, but in the end, she is a good girl. "Count me in. I don't even need pay. I am just doing what I should." she says, trying to sound heroic by ripping off typical movie dialogue. She was honest about doing it, and even the last part, but she wanted her pay, if there was one.

[Esprit15]

"Hm," Zoe says. The plan on paper made sense. But that was the problem with paper plans: always looks simple. It's hard to imagine all the variables that could come up later. "I'm all for love of Arceus and country, really. Still, you're asking a large risk of us. The chance to prevent a buyout of Moranai Company certainly helps offset that, somewhat. I'm not so much worried about compensation, as I'm sure we'll get there when we get there. I'm curious how certain you are in your plan." Classes on risk assessment were coming back to mind. The payoff should only be evaluated if the amount of risk is comfortable enough, and the possible losses endurable. Life will likely be on the line. How likely? "How are we getting in? How do we fake it? How much information do we have to go off of?"

[Aneurin]

Sayuri

She winces as the Nidorina lands the blow, and Willow goes bouncing across the floor of the arena.

"Hard to imagine anything less coordinated, really," she says, as she starts rummaging in her camera bag. "Willow! Proceed backwards to the left, jump down, spin forwards-clockwise and do pink!"

"Psy?" Willow stares soulfully at the Nidorina with her glowing blue eyes. It's such a terrible burden having an owner who spouts such nonsense. In fact, it gives her quite a headache - really, you should feel it!

Spoiler: Actions

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Backs up 4m, or, at least, moves 4m away from the Nidorina and uses Confusion!

(1d20)[11] vs. 2
(2d8+19)[22] Range 10, Confuses on a 19+ during AC, Psychic, Special


Can't find them in the rulebook, but just to check; are Injuries a thing in PTA, or do they just feature in PTU?

[BluesEclipse]

Alys relaxes slightly, and says, "So... it's all just a trick, then..." She sighs in relief, before frowning, realizing just how serious this situation actually is. This was supposed to be fun... get to participate in the tournament, and get a once-in-a-lifetime chance to meet the Princess... She looks at Tate, still somewhat nervous, and says, "Why... why me, specifically? I didn't even technically win last year - I was just runner up, and got to come here on a technicality. I don't have any special skills - no psychic powers, I'm not a trained fighter or some kind of mercenary..." She motions towards the other three as she speaks, before continuing, "What... what is it about me that made you pick me for this? What can I really do here?"

[MesiDoomstalker]

Kline sighs heavily. So its my job to keep everyone else alive? Doesn't that require them to actually listen to me? Somehow I doubt that'll happen.

[IrnBruAddict]

Group

Tate laughs. 'Kline, is spending time with 3 lovely ladies that bad? I'm sure they'll listen to you when they trust you.' He rustles Catherine's hair. 'Good girl. We'll back you as much as we can, but right now the best we can do is give you a little gift. Birch has a special little something for you guys, but it won't be ready till tomorrow.'

He moves over to Alys, and places both his hands on her shoulders in a comforting manner. 'Alys. You don't need any special powers or skills. You aren't like these three, true. But more than anyone, I know you can keep your head. When things get darkest, they'll need someone to keep the peace. Someone that can put faith in them, and they can put faith in you. You'll all be tempted with what Rocket could offer you. They could make Catherine so much stronger than she is now. They can offer Kline an escape from the past. And they will tempt Zoe with her company. But they have no hold over you. There is nothing they could ever offer you to betray who you are. You need to be the moral compass, the peace keeper between these guys, the heart of the team. I have faith in you.'

The Rocket Grunt approaches Zoe. 'Anything to do with the infiltration is best answered tomorrow night, after things go down. Needless to say, as far as Rocket knows, I've recruited a team for this operation. You guys will be that team. I'll vouch for you, but honestly, with all the video evidence of the "assassination", you guys will get in fine. As for how the assassination will go down,' he pulls out a gun, 'this will be hooked up to a blood pack that the Princess will be wearing. Any of you point it at her, and a laser will set off the device and explode it. Then we have an explosion that will take out the balcony. The only people who will be on the balcony will be the Princess and her bodyguards who will be going away with her. The explosion will cover up the lack of a body. Lastly, the Princess and Steven will evacuate the public and attempt to take you down.' The Grunt grins. 'Steven will let out that Legendary pokemon of his. Under all that chaos, I'll sneak in and evacuate you guys, and we'll meet up with Birch tomorrow night. Then Tate can really brief us on what's really going on.'

'Put it this way Zoe. If we can't find a way to stop Rocket and the League from going up against each other, there won't be a Moranai company for you to worry about, 'cos there won't be much of Hoenn left. This is the best plan we have, it has to work.'

Sayuri

Spoiler

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Injuries are a PTU thing.

The Nidorina takes a knee as it suffers the psychic assault, but then stands back up. It wouldn't go down yet.

'Unconventional, but powerful. I wish more people fought like you. However, I'm not just going to let you win because I find Willow funny, I got my own pride to defend. Nini, use Double Kick!' The Nidorina closed the distance, and delivered to swift kicks, causing 29 p fighting damage.

[Esprit15]

"Fair enough. That gets the rest of my support.

And don't worry, I'll still pick the region over the company. Companies can be rebuilt, after all. Regions are harder to rebuild." It was more than a little scary to consider, but there were things that were more important. Still, nobody could deny that the dilemma would be tempting. Of course it won't be so easy as 'Red button for company, blue button for region.'

"So, with all of this, where does that leave us tonight?"

[MichaelGoldclaw]

"Same with me and strength. There is a phrase I like: 'Right makes might.' They can't tempt me with strength because they can't tempt me with justice." Catherine was true on this. She would love to be strong, yes, but she loves doing what's right more. Of course, her typical day wasn't save the Princess from the Salamance, but when it came down to it, she was less like a Hitmonchan and more like a Lucario. It's perhaps why she is so close to hers. They both have that love of fighting and a stronger love of justice.

[Esprit15]

Zoe twitches, biting her tongue at the boxer mixing up sayings. She'd correct her were it not for Tate not seeming to take kindly to bickering, no matter how annoying. This was going to be a long job.

[BluesEclipse]

Alys doesn't respond to Tate's words right away - instead thinking on them, and thinking about herself. They picked me... because they think I'm somehow incorruptible? Because they believe that I can keep everyone on the right path? But... Closing her eyes as she considers this, she realizes that he might have a point at least about Rocket not being able to tempt her. Money is something I can get from battling or from contest... if I even was that worried about it. Power is never really something I even wanted... and I've never really cared about being famous, either. Yeah... I got into battling and into contests because of what Mom and Dad wanted me to do - but I stick with it because it's fun. And it's not like they can sway me with Pokemon, either - the ones I have, I have because I care about them. Because they're my friends. Sighing, she then focuses on the next point of this. But how am I supposed to keep them on the right track? Can I really stand up to people like this when it comes down to something important...?

After several moments, she opens her eyes, and looks at the others. The psychic, Zoe... the mercenary, Kline... and the boxer, Catherine... all of them are trained, confident fighters - and they all seem willing to jump right into this. And that... That's the difference, Alys realizes suddenly, the thing that sets us apart. That confidence they have... Rocket could play on that, as much as anything. And when it comes down to it... when they're put into a situation where they can't succeed, regardless of their skills... The thoughts come to her unbidden, racing through her mind as she comes to the understanding of what she can bring to this team, when they''re put into that situation, they'll need someone they can turn to who can help. Not necessarily someone to help them make the right choice, but just to see that there is a choice...

Anyone observing her carefully would be able to note the exact moment she realizes this - the moment that the hesitance vanishes from her eyes, replaced by a quiet resolve. She turns to Tate, and nods, saying, "Alright... I understand. I'll do what I can to make this work... just please, protect Princess Elizabeth. And my - and all of our - families."

[Aneurin]

Sayuri

Willow rocks with the blow... and keeps on going. Sayuri winces as the psyduck hits the floor.

"I... think she's had enough. There's somewhere I can get her healed up here, right?" she adds, with a note of worry in her voice as she recalls Willow. This was a bad idea after all. Kind of late to back out now, though. "And Ali, it's your- uh"

"Fetch! Fetch!" Ali squawks, outraged at the defeat of her co-conspirator she storms into the arena waving her leek without actually waiting for Sayuri's command. That Nidorina's going down!

"Uh, if you're plannin' on switchin', you might want to do it before she stops showin' off," Sayuri says, a touch warily, as the little farfetch'd gives her leek a particularly fancy twirl.

Spoiler: OOC

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Once again, SPD 10.

It didn't make a difference to that last fight, but are you applying weakness and resistance to the damage you post or do I need to work that out?

[IrnBruAddict]

Sayuri

Spoiler

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Nope, I just give the damage as I roll it. Things like (Special) Defence or Weakness/Resistance is up to you guys to deal with, and I assume you all are honest with it. Any modifiers is up to you guys to deal with, I'll only ever just give base rolls.

'There is a healing machine not far from here. We can use it when we're done.'

The Princess chooses not to switch. 'I want to see what your bird can do before I switch.'

The Group

Tate claps his hands. 'Glad to see you are all so positive. All you need to decide now is which of you will be doing the dirty. Other than that, you guys can head off to bed or back to the party.'

[Esprit15]

"Well most of us are good options. I would suggest Kline, since it is his job anyways. As much as I would like to knock the girl around, it would look too suspect for the rest of us, while a hired assassin doing it would be almost textbook."

[MesiDoomstalker]

It was my job. I've been trying to put it behind me for years. Kline looked away from the others, glancing up just once to see Zoe's reaction. He doubted she knew what happened that night.

[Esprit15]

"Whelp," Zoe says with a light slap on the assassin's back, "myself, Catherine and Alys would look really odd publically 'killing' her. Would be hard to sell it to the public. I can't because a Psychic could trace me. Alys probably couldn't hurt a fly. And Catherine...

Hey, Catherine. How about we see how much might being right gives you and have you take her out. Kline is getting cold feet, I think." She gives a smile to the assassin, clearly unaware of whatever he was thinking right now.

Like Void did she want to be the one to have to fake a kill. In a fit of anger? Sure, she could kill someone by accident even. But intentionally faking it? That makes her a bit more squeamish.

[MichaelGoldclaw]

"If I'm your only choice, I'll do it, but if there is an option, I'd rather someone else do it. I couldn't look like I wanted to kill her. I'd be too suspicious. But our lord Archeus willing, I could do it."

[BluesEclipse]

Alys frowns for a moment, saying, "I... I wouldn't be able to do it, myself. Princess Elizabeth is a good person... I don't think I could bring myself to pull the trigger, even knowing it wouldn't hurt her..." Alys sighs, before continuing, "Are you sure you'll be able to do it, Catherine? I understand that you're not the most comfortable with it... I don't think any of us are that comfortable with this..."

[MichaelGoldclaw]

"I could do it, yes, but I'm not sure if I'd be convincing. And not only do we have to sell it to the cameras, but the the Team Rocket members later. I'm not sure if I could do that."

[IrnBruAddict]

Tate just waves you off dismissively. 'You guys have to decide this for yourselves. Whoeve you pick, come to "Liza's" room tomorrow morning, and I'll give you the weapon. And it goes without saying, none of you seen either of us,' he motions at himself and the Rocket Grunt, 'so as far as anyone is concerned, you all just came here to talk to Birch. Now I think it's time we made our leave for tonight.' He puts his hand on the shoulder of the Rocket Grunt.

'Good luck,' says the Grunt, and the two teleport away.

[Aneurin]

Sayuri

She eyes Ali warily, as the little farfetch'd continues to strut up and down. Which is pretty odd, really - normally Ali wouldn't bother to show off like this. Barelling into the fight, leek flailing and quacking at the top of her voice is more her style.

"Well-" Sayuri starts, before Ali flings her leek across the ring at the Nidorina. There's a moment of stunned silence, before, with a full-volume bellow of 'Farfetch!' Ali hurtles after it, flailing wildly at the nidorina as she passes it, snatches up her weapon, and turns to smack the Nidorina over the head with it.

"-apparently she can surprise me," Sayuri finishes, in a dazed tone. Why had she thought this was a good idea again?

Spoiler: OOC

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Oops! Missed the last update, sorry.

Fury Attack!

(1d20)[18] vs. 4
(1d6+21)[23] Normal, Physical, disregard any rolls after the miss.

(1d20)[3] vs. 4
(1d6+3)[5]

(1d20)[11] vs. 4
(1d6+3)[8]

(1d20)[13] vs. 4
(1d6+3)[5]

(1d20)[12] vs. 4
(1d6+3)[7]

EDIT: Naturally, the second attack in the set misses while all the rest hit