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

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Spoiler: New Thread Bookkeeping

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Notes for players:

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

Original Threads:
RPG (previous)
OoC (previous)

Previous Thread:
Assault on the Town of Ash

Current Threads:
OoC (current)
Dice Rolls (current)
Character Stats (current)

Pinklady:

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

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

Croaky uses Rain Dance!
It begins to rain!

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

(Rain Dance in effect, 4 rounds remaining.)

Croaky: 42/77

Ryskimara: 77/77

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Mark and Mina:

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

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

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

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

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

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

Dendrolog 7 uses Ritual Dance!

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

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

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

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

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

(Sunny Day in effect.)

Marick: 100/100
Jessia: 0/115

Pidgey: 76/76
Houndoom: 77/100

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

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Less:

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

Spoiler: Rift schedule for the last six weeks

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

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Akio:

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

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

Spoiler: OoC

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

[Gnomes2169]

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

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Mark and Mina:

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

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

Spoiler: Dendrolog

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

Would you like to give a nickname to Dendrolog?

The Pokédex has a little more info:

Spoiler: Ritual Dance

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

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

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

Spoiler: Branch Lash

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

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

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


(Sunny Day in effect.)

Marick: 100/100
Jessia: 0/115

Pidgey: 76/76
Houndoom: 77/100

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

[Feathersnow]

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

[Gnomes2169]

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

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Akio:

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

Spoiler: Book List

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

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

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

Mark and Mina:

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

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

<Better.>

Mina’s mouth twitched. “Yes, let’s.”

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

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

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

[Gnomes2169]

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

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

[Feathersnow]

"Err... The Spectral Dimension. I'd like thar book and to look at the newspapers, please."

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

[Lord Ruby34]

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

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

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

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Mark and Mina:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Akio:

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

Spoiler: Relevant Headlines

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

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Less:

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

[essCee]

Pinklady:

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

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

Croaky uses Rain Dance!
It begins to rain!

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

(Rain Dance in effect, 4 rounds remaining.)

Croaky: 42/77

Ryskimara: 77/77

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

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Pinklady:

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

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

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

Spoiler: Ability: Stability

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

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


(Rain Dance in effect, 3 rounds remaining.)

Croaky: 4/77

Ryskimara: 62/77

[Gnomes2169]

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

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

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

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

[Lord Ruby34]

Less asked after the previous day's paper, and made a mental note to actually come here and buy the paper the day they left for the spectral dimension. As long a forecast as they could muster might be life or death.

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

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Mark and Mina:

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

Spoiler: Mark’s Planter Berries

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Grepa growing taller
Pomeg growing taller
Qualot growing taller

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

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

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

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

Spoiler: Mina

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The sense he was giving off was grim.

What’s wrong?

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

Bad, how?

<I told you this was their medicine patch?>

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

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

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

<Something is going on.>

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

“All set here?” she asked aloud.

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Less:

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

Spoiler: Rift Schedule

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

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

“Hello, can I help you?”

[essCee]

Pinklady:

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

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

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

Spoiler: Ability: Stability

Show

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

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


(Rain Dance in effect, 3 rounds remaining.)

Croaky: 4/77

Ryskimara: 62/77

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

[Gnomes2169]

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

Surely that meant the day was looking up for them.

[Lord Ruby34]

Spoiler: Newspaper Question

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Are the dates in the paper the rift schedule from yesterday, or did you already subtract one day from each of rift appearances before giving me the information?

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

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

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

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Pinklady:

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

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Mark and Mina:

Spoiler: OoC

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

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

Spoiler: Wild Plots #5-8

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

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

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

Spoiler: Hillsbreak

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Hillsbreak added to the Town Map tab.

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

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Less:

Spoiler: OoC

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

Hope that helps!

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

(At the receptionist’s desk: )

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

[Gnomes2169]

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

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

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

[Lord Ruby34]

Spoiler: OOC

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Got it. That means the Moontear rift is happening tonight, effectively? (2:00 a.m. tomorrow).

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

-----

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

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Mark and Mina:

Spoiler: OoC

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-1 Fresh Water Mark, 1 remaining.

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

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

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Mark:

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

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

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

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

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Less:

Spoiler: OoC

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Correct.

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

[Gnomes2169]

Mark and Mina:

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

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

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

...

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

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

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

[Lord Ruby34]

"The Warlock." Less replied, in confirmation. "Thank you, I'll head over to Tidepath, I suppose."

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

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

[essCee]

Pinklady:

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

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

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Mark:

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

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

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

Less:

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

Spoiler: OoC

Show

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

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

Pinklady:

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

[Lord Ruby34]

Spoiler: OOC

Show

I am absolutely down for whatever this is.

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

[Gnomes2169]

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

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

[Kareeah_Indaga]

Less:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Mark:

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

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

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

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