Peace, Truth, and the Unown IC

[Vrock_Summoner]

Mayu administers the antidote carefully, then leaves a bite-sized bit of food she’d pocketed from breakfast just in front of the Hoppip’s mouth. Then she stands back up and folds her net back up. ”She’ll be fine now. The poison would’ve been dangerous, but the injuries will pretty much be gone by tomorrow. So, want to call it a day, or try your luck on those Bellsprout over there? They’ll be a lot more combative than these Hoppip, though they should still be pretty easy to handle.”

[Syless]

Oh no! Poor little cutie. But Mayu said it will be fine, so... I guess I should trust her? She knows what she's doing, I think. "I'm glad! And... hm. Let's try it! Bellsprout's kinda silly-looking, though. I probably won't use it... is that mean?" I mean, I'm obviously keeping Lisia and Madame Fuzzy and... I need a good name for this Hoppip. Anyway I'm keeping them around, so...

[Vrock_Summoner]

Mayu smiles and shakes her head. ”Nothing mean about that at all! Helps fill out the Pokédex either way. Truth be told, I was hoping to get a male and a female here... Since both of the ones I caught are male, I’m probably going to give one of them away at some point after I’ve trained it some.” She starts moving towards the Bellsprout, then brightens up.”An’ hey, if Bellsprout isn’t cute enough for ya, Caterpie is alright! And I hear they evolve into Butterfree later. Those’re so cute they get put on all the nature calendars an’ stuff!” She recalls Mavi and switches to Aelier for the next group.

[Elfbird]

Spoiler: Mayu & Elenia

Show

After the challenging chase with the Hoppip, you swiftly and violently clean up the Bellsprout and Caterpie nearby, any remaining ones vanishing into the woods. On the way back to the clearing, you see directly in front of you an easily-accessible entrance to a dark, mysterious cave!

Spoiler: Bellsprout (Elenia)

Show

Level: 5 (40 EXP)
gender: Male
Nature: Rash
Ability: gluttony

Moves:
Vine Whip

Spoiler: Red Caterpie (Mayu)

Show

Level: 4 (30 EXP)
gender: male
Nature: Serious
Ability: Shield Dust

Moves:
Tackle**
String Shot

Shiny: Skill Background
+Combat, Intimidate
-Stealth, Survival


**IT'S NOT A TYPO THIS TIME

Also, 34 PEXP for each of you!

Spoiler: Evan

Show

"You put up a mighty good fight there, sonny! Come back and give this old man and his fish a workout sometime, eh? Here, let me give you this to celebrate your achievement. Might make a tree of you yet! Eeeeheheheheheheh~"

The Magic Carpenter places his defeated Pokemon in the water, then returns to his work with a fresh Magikarp. They seem quite happy being used as tree-felling implements... inasmuch as they show any expression in those blank, glassy eyes and slack mouths.

Spoiler: Loot & EXP

Show

2 TEXP
50 PEXP
300p
HM01 Cut
Everstone

[Volthawk]

Evan accepts the rewards with a "Thank you.", still not sure what to think about his experience. It was tough, and utterly confusing, but he felt quite proud of his success, and particularly of Trapinch, who walked by his side wounded but looking rather happy with himself.

When he rejoins the girls, Trapinch is guzzling down some soda, the bottle held in his jaw as he walks, and Evan is examining his rewards. He certainly wasn't expecting to get this stuff when he accepted the challenge, and waves to the girls with the HM in hand. "Hey! How did the catching expedition go? I just had the oddest battle of my Trainer career."

[Syless]

I wave excitedly and show off my two new Pokemon to Evan, holding my Hoppip and my Bellsprout shambling alongside me. "Look what I caught! This one is Bud-" I hold up my Hoppip. "And this is Sir Sprout! Alsoalso we found a cave! Wanna explore it?"

[Volthawk]

Evan smiles as he sees his sister successful and in high spirits. "Great! Keep in mind they're not going to be the best in the gym - Grass types are pretty disadvantaged against Flying types." He considers the cave, looking over at Trapinch, before nodding. "Sure! There should be new Pokemon in there."

[Elfbird]

Walking into the Dark Cave, you find that it very much lives up to its namesake. Your flashlights struggle to cut the darkness, and without them you can't even see your hand in front of your face. Various sounds and echoes reach your ears; the clicking of pebbles, dripping water, soft fluttering...
The smell of damp rock and decay is striking at first, if you've never been in a large cave, though your noses quickly grow accustomed.

Spoiler: Stuff!

Show

For laziness I'm not going to gradiate lighting, but assume any lighted areas are dim and unlighted ones are, at the very least, too dark to be *certain* of what you might be seeing in the gloom.

Deploy as you like within the lighted area in the lower-left, around the escape zone.

Your flashlights have two settings: you can get either a Cone 2 or Line 5 of light. You can change the setting as a free action at the start of your turn.
After you move/act, choose which direction you're pointing the beam during NPC phase.
Areas that remain black when they should be lit are walls and boulders.
If you get attacked, or trip on something, from an unlit side, you'll be told where it came from - whether or not it's still there when you go to look properly...

This is a bit of a contrivance to make fog of war meaningful, but reckon that scanning the beam, or moving it quickly, is too fast for you to notice any more than flickering shadows and silhouettes. Particularly with the natural camouflage of cave Pokemon, it takes a bit of focus to even be sure of what you're seeing.

This is an experiment, so specifics can be massaged as we go.

You probably won't die.

[Syless]

Okay, dark caves are spookier than I thought. But I can handle this. Right? Right? Um... what's over there?

Spoiler

Show

Using my flashlight in a vertical line from my deployment position.

[Volthawk]

Having no flashlight, Evan remains where he is while Trapinch fearlessly walks into the darkness as Elenia lights his way.

Spoiler

Show

Evan stays in B20 and uses Training on Trapinch.

Trapinch moves to C 16 and readies Bulldoze against any adjacent wild Pokemon.

[Vrock_Summoner]

Mayu calls out Aelier and keeps him perched on her shoulder. She forms a Channel with him and gazes out in the direction of the flashlight’s light.

Okay, Aelier... You’re the one who can see right now. So you be my eyes, and I’ll rely on you.

Mayu strides forward into the darkness, moving fast enough that she can’t track with the flashlight. She allows Aelier’s eyes to pierce the ambient light and trusts in him to alert her when a Pokemon comes into range.

Spoiler: “Advance!”

Show

Mayu will continue forward up to seven spaces directly into the cave if she doesn’t come bump into anything, focusing her flashlight in front of her. Aelier can see everywhere that the ambient light from the flashlight turns from Total Blindness into Blindness due to Keen Eye.

[Elfbird]

Mayu finds a high ledge, stopping just short of running into it!
It looks easy enough to drop down from, but a lot of work to climb up since you can't reach the top.

Aelier shakes off a sonic attack from somewhere to your right, his keen eyes easily marking the Zubat hidden in the near-darkness.

Trapinch identifies a nest of geodude and attacks! The geodude curl up into defensive balls. The Teddiursa revealed by the attack begins to glow iridescent green... then lets out a frightful roar and tears into Trapinch's carapace with its enormous claws!

Spoiler: Actions!

Show

Zubat used Supersonic! Miss!
Alier has -2 Accuracy until the end of his next turn!

geodude 1-3 used Defense Curl! +10 DR, -4 Accuracy!

Teddiursa used Dragon Claw! 40 raw damage to Trapinch!
Teddiursa's unique Ability triggered! -1 Defense CS to Trapinch!

Next round!

[Volthawk]

Injured yet again but still not down, Trapinch retaliates, calling up a cloud of sand that he sends at the Teddiursa, forming a whirling vortex of sand.

Spoiler

Show

Trapinch uses Sand Tomb, hitting with 15, dealing 32 raw damage and putting Teddiursa into a Vortex.

[Elfbird]

After some heart-pounding turns of events and an unbearably sweet encounter, you all manage to reconvene outside the cave - a safe distance from the cave - and catch your breath for a few minutes before continuing toward Violet City.

A few Trainers pass you on the road, but seeing your condition either give you a wide berth or offer small medical supplies in sympathy.

It's nearing dusk when you arrive in Violet City proper. There's a PokeCenter just inside the gate; beyond it you can see both the Pokemon gym and Sprout Tower rising high above the skyline, the latter swaying alarmingly in the breeze. You're told there's a PokeMart on the far side of town, should you need any supplies. Other than that, the small city ("small", though easily ten times the size of Cherrygrove) is mostly composed of residences and miscellaneous small businesses.

What will you do?

Spoiler: EXP & Loot

Show

2 TEXP
26 PEXP
Remember to record your new species - after ownership is settled - as Dex EXP!

Elenia got a Honey!

The party was given:
2 Potions
3 Bandages
1 Revival Herb

Spoiler: Capture Data

Show

Spoiler: Scary Teddiursa (Mayu)

Show

Lv. 4 (30 EXP)
Female
Type: Normal/Dragon
Nature: Desperate
Unique Ability: Armor-Shred

[Connection - Dragon Claw. On a successful hit, Dragon Claw reduces the target's Defense by 1 Combat Stage.]

Extra Capability: glow

Moves:
Leer
Lick
Dragon Claw
Moonlight

Movelist Changes:
22 - Dragon Rage
36 - Dragon Dance (Ursaring 38)
50 - Outrage (Ursaring 58)

Spoiler: Sweet Teddiursa (Elenia)

Show

Lv. 4 (30 EXP)
Male
Nature: Hasty
Ability: Pickup
Extra Capability: Darkvision

Moves:
Leer
Lick
Scratch

Starts with boosted Loyalty!

Spoiler: geodude 1 (Elenia -> Evan)

Show

Lv. 8 (70 EXP)
Male
Nature: Sassy
Ability: Levitate

Moves:
Defense Curl
Tackle
Mud Sport
Rock Polish

Spoiler: geodude 3 (Mayu)

Show

Lv. 8 (70 EXP)
Female
Nature: Naive
Ability: Levitate

Moves:
Defense Curl
Tackle
Mud Sport
Rock Polish

[Volthawk]

For someone who just got clawed by a draconic bear, Evan's in fairly high spirits as they travel onwards to Violet City. While it might hurt a ton, he was expecting something like this to happen sooner or later, and it was better that it happened to him rather than the other two. Besides, he can't look too fragile or down in front of the others.

Trapinch's state was a little more concerning - between both battles, he'll need a little more rest than usual. Still, at least Trapinch's temperament means he'll probably not be too resentful for them. Instead, his Pidgey stays out of his ball, accompanying him on the journey.

When they arrive in the city, Evan turns to the others. "I don't know about you two, but Trapinch and I need some rest before anything else."

[Syless]

It's really relieving to see Evan safe. I would've felt terrible if anything happened to him, it's my responsibility to look after him just like he does for me. I just keep an eye on him as we go on to Violet City, just in case he pushes himself too badly. Thankfully he doesn't collapse or anything, it would've been hard for me and Mayu to carry him. At least everyone on the way is nice!

I name my new teddy-buddy Yuuta. I'm not sure where I got the idea from, but it suits him! He seems so sad, I want him to know we'll be friends. Even if Mayu's is scary. I hope she doesn't let it out too often.

"Yeah, rest sounds good... today was scary. But I made a lot of new friends! Once they're all better you can meet them all!"

[Vrock_Summoner]

On the way back, Mayu is at first very concerned about Evan, but his efforts at being positive work quickly and Mayu is put at ease. She quickly turns to other pressing matters - namely, doting on her egg in a basket. She’s not sure if the growing baby will recognize it - she’s not even sure what stage of development it’s at - but she attempts to Channel it and emote feelings of caring and comfort for the little one all the same.

Mayu listens attentively to the others when they reach town. ”Right, rest is very important!” Mayu pipes up cheerfully. “Let’s take a break tonight, and then you two can spend the sunlight hours tomorrow in the next route since Elenia wants a fluffy... Er, Flaaffy-in-training. I’ve got something else I need to spend the day doing, but try not to use up all your energy by nightfall!” She grins.

[Elfbird]

You do, in fact, get a wonderful night's sleep at the PokeCenter, after running Evan and Trapinch through the medical machines a few times. The next morning the twins and Mayu part ways following your morning routine.

Spoiler: Elenia & Evan

Show

Almost immediately upon leaving the city behind, you're greeted by... a strange sight, to say the least. Specifically, this part of Rt.32 is flooded with Mareep, ambling about apparently aimlessly and checking out their surroundings. The only other human in sight is a middle-aged man in a white lab coat, who's rubbing his head and making gestures to the two Magnemite on the far side of the field. He lights up when he notices you two.

"Hey there, trainers! Your timing couldn't be better! My name's Albert; I'm a scientist trying to run an experiment. But I can't get enough power! These Mareep showed up mysteriously, but I'm at my wits' end trying to herd them together! Can you help me, please?"

Assuming you agree, he'll point out the important features. You can talk with him more as you work.

1. The Steel Mareep is acting as a kind of conduit and amplifier for the rest of the flock's electrical energy. If enough Mareep can be clustered tightly around it, the discharge should provide the energy he needs. His machine will pick it up from anywhere in this area.

2. His Magnemite can issue electrical pulses that attract the Mareep, but can't keep it up constantly (EOT).

3. The Mareep seem indifferent toward humans, but are known to run from ground-type Pokemon. (They will move directly away from the nearest ground-type each round. Trainers and obstacles will block their movement.)

4. Because of their ambient electrical energy, clustering the Mareep in certain patterns is likely to yield a variety of shocking results. Including the Steel Mareep in a pattern will amplify the effect's range or power. Diagonals count.
Rings: attract or repel Magnemite
Boxes: temporarily impossible to approach
Lines: powerful lightning bolt toward one or both ends
Crosses: powerful discharge in a vertical burst

5. Mareep who wander out of the escape zones can wander back in after some time has passed.

"What's my experiment, you ask? Oh, of course - silly me! I'm trying to revive ancient Pokemon from fossilized DNA! If you ever find a Pokemon fossil, bring it to my lab at the Ruins of Alph and I'll revive it for you, free of charge!"

[Encounter Start!]
go ahead deploy in the dotted box near the scientist. The Mareep aren't aggressive; the turn-based element is to control movement.

[Vrock_Summoner]

For the first part of her Super Excellent Amazing Solo Adventure Day, Mayu calls Mom back home and regales her with her experiences up to now. They end up taking longer than Mayu expected, but doesn’t it always with phone calls?

When that finally wraps up, she dials another number from back home - this time Professor Elm. She’s excited to show off how many captures she’s already performed!

[Vrock_Summoner]

Mayu has a phonecall with Professor Elm wherein she brags about her team, gets some tips on egg-raising, and has a panic attack about the event with the Pidgeys and Bug-types.

Then she goes to the Sprout Tower to find Gastly and help them set up to prank the heckle freckle out of Evan and Elenia, but gets bamboozled instead, as a Bellsprout trainer inside challenges her, only to turn out to be possessed by a Gastly after Mayu defeats him! Mayu herself gets possessed, allowing the Gastly to have fun on the town, resulting in Mayu coming back to consciousness caught in the middle of an improv play with Hal. Far from perturbed, Mayu plays along, resulting in a dramatic experience that the townsfolk will remember fondly for at least the next couple of days. She also helps him distribute PokeMart coupons to the audience, and one recipient gives Mayu a strange, tiny teardrop gem in turn.

Then Mayu returned to the Sprout Tower, set on once again meeting Gastly, and this time manages to persuade them into her original scheme - setting up a haunted house experience for her friends tonight! She ran out while they busied themselves with frantic preparations.

Lastly, Mayu went to visit Faulkner for spiritual guidance, whereupon he spotted and called out all her BS and was possibly flying by the seat of his pants on the philosophy part in between bouts of oddball comedy, but managed to impart some significant lessons on Mayu anyway. She got to ride a Pidgeot back down to ground level and receive omens that she was being personally watched by one of the gods, leaving Mayu absolutely ecstatic.

She has since run directly to her room to draw the events of her day with extreme fervor until the siblings get back.

[Elfbird]

The twins limp back into the PokeCenter that afternoon, where it takes just a couple hours to get Elenia and Lisia back to perfect health. Mayu will probably be excited to hear about their day, tell them about hers, and invite them to tonight's plans...!

Spoiler: Twins' Loot!

Show

1,000p each
1 TEXP
21 PEXP

Spoiler: Trade: Magnemite (Evan)

Show

Nickname: Ohm
Lv. 15 (220 EXP)
No gender
Nature: Careful
Ability: Magnet Pull

Trade Effect:
Ohm gains a bonus 1/10th of all PEXP Evan earns while Ohm is in his party. (For example, if you earn 200 PEXP, Ohm gets a bonus 20 PEXP)
If Ohm's level exceeds Evan's [(#badges*10)+10], Ohm will only follow orders in combat with a successful Command check. The DC is twice the level difference (currently DC 10)

Moves:
Tackle
Supersonic
Thunder Shock
Sonic Boom
Thunder Wave
Flash (TM)

Spoiler: Steel Mareep (Elenia)

Show

Lv. 15 (220 EXP)
Female
Nature: Relaxed
Ability: Thunder Boost

Moves:
Tackle
Reflect
Thunder Wave
Thunder Shock
Charge
Iron Tail

Ability List (does not change with evolution):
Basic 1: Static
Basic 2: Thunder Boost
Advanced 1: Rough Skin
Advanced 2: Sequence
High: Lightning Rod

[Volthawk]

Evan spent the journey back keeping watch, alert for danger while his Geodude helped the paralysed Elenia back. During her rest, he properly introduced her to the steel Mareep, getting it to follow her instead of him (after all, she wanted a Mareep and he now had Ohm). As far as the Magnemite went, he spent the rest of the time trying to work with it and understand it, making some success in getting it to understand Evan's style and training, although it still chose to ignore his instructions sometimes.

When Elenia’s recovery is over, he goes to find Mayu and get everyone together. "So how was your day, Mayu? Ours was…interesting, but we got some new Pokemon out of it and a good amount of cash so I'd say it went well."

[Syless]

Oof... what happened? The last thing I remember was... oh. Right. Electricity is bad when you're right next to it, isn't it? Whoops. At least Evan was there to protect me... "Thank you..." Once Evan explains what happened after my collapse, I run over and hug him. "My very own Mareep! Thank you!" There's a bit of a charged (get it) spring in my step as I go with him to meet up with Mayu. "I got a Mareep! Also got horribly electrocuted, but I'm okay now, so it's no big deal!"

[Vrock_Summoner]

”I had a fantastic day! I did an improv play with Hal to help him give out coupons for the PokeMart, talked to some old friends, and even met and got to have a conversation with Faulkner! He was... different than I expected, but I got a lot out of it, and he let me ride his Pidgeot Zephyr around and it was so much fun and I-“ Mayu slows down and catches her breath. “Anyway, I’d say my day was pretty good. And I’m glad yours were so productive, even if painful.” She gives Elenia an especially concerned look. “You even got electrocuted... That must have hurt a lot. Are you still feeling pain? I was really looking forward to bringing you along for tonight’s outing, but if you need to rest more...”

[Syless]

I just bounce up and down a little. "I'm fine! It was kinda fun, really, though I was a little stiff for a while. What's this about an outing? Can I show off Pris there? She's cute, but less cuddly than other Mareep, she's kind of cold. And really chill! Get it?"

[Volthawk]

Evan smiles as he listens to the others. “Yeah, the Center did a good job taking care of her once we got her back. So you met Faulkner, huh? Interesting. I'm looking forward to when I get the chance to take him on.” When the conversation turns to the new Pokemon, he nods. “Yeah, it's an interesting one. Turns out it likes my cooking, so we didn't even need to fight it. As for me, I didn't catch anything but I was lent a Magnemite by the guy we were helping. It's strong, but it doesn't always listen to me.” He thinks for a few more moments before chuckling. “Oh yeah, and if we find some fossils we can have them brought to life by him, so keep an eye out for any.”

[Vrock_Summoner]

Mayu chuckles a bit. ”I don’t think fossils are usually just lying around, but I’ll keep my eyes peeled!” She gives a big grin to Elenia. “And you’re sure welcome to bring your new friend along, though there probably ain’t gonna be many to show ‘er off too where we’re goin’. There’s a place here that’s a lot more special when ya go to it at night...” She points towards the swaying tower in the distance, only somewhat visible in the growing darkness. “I say, as a way to strengthen our resolve as trainers, let’s go have a test o’ courage in the Sprout Tower tonight! Since we’ll prob’ly have to go in some dark an’ scary places goin’ forward, it’d be good to build up some resistance before we’re gettin’ too far along, right? Not like anythin’s prob’ly gonna happen, neither. Assuming the rumors are...” She clears her throat. “At any rate, y’all’ll come along with me, right? Please?”

[Syless]

Um. Swaying tower. Test of courage. Dark and spooky. Is Mayu... why are you doing this, Mayu? I can't let her think I'm weak! I'm brave! I'm tough! Yes. Yes. "Of course! Ha ha ha! I can handle any test of courage! Let's go now! Right now! Right? Let's."

[Volthawk]

Evan grins, his smile widening when Elenia responds. She was funny when it came to this sort of thing, but Mayu was right - it was definitely something his sister could learn to deal with better. As for himself, he felt pretty confident in himself - after going through his last experience in a dark cave without too much fear, this shouldn't be much worse - at the least, it should be less painful. “Yeah, I'm up for that. Sounds like it could be fun.”

[Elfbird]

You head out in the evening, after the sun has sunk below the tree line but before its light has left the sky. Clouds building on the horizon remind of the coming storm, but for now the air is still and waiting.

Sprout Tower is open, as ever. There's no signs of humans or Pokemon in the first floor; just the soft, perpetual creaking of the swaying central pillar and a dark wooden room. You can shut the door behind you or not; someone would probably need to close it before tonight's storm anyway. There's no light sources besides what comes in through the door.

What will you do to kick off your night-long 'test of courage'?

Spoiler: Perception DC 16; DC 12 for Mayu

Show

You think you see the wall wink at you. If you go to investigate, it's a perfectly ordinary wall. Y'know, aside from the winking.