Team Rocket: How the Muk are They Still Alive?

[Arcran]

Originally Posted by Esprit15

"Well supposedly Ditto can breed with anything, and Ethan has one."

"Oh? Well, if Ethan has one maybe we could get you an Egg."

Originally Posted by Eshkigal

Gerald shakes his head, holding his hands up.
"Armor's free, except perhaps for cost of materials. Need you three protected as fast as possible, and I can't make much with 400 poke, though more skorupi will do in a pinch. Will need 8 corpses to make boosters to align the armor properly, though. Egg trade is separate. Vengeance. Please...bastard took everything he could think of-literally, everything he could think of. Made it so losing an arm by having it ground to a stump wasn't even one of the top ten worst things done. Will hunt down and catch anything you request if nothing I have is desirable. Just help me, please. Doesn't have to be now, can wait until Lavender where you can choose, but...please?"
He tries to keep the memories back this time as he talks, but some snippets get through.

"It's not a matter of not wanting to," she says, wincing at the memories. "It's a matter of simply being unable too. If Romeo can breed one, then it's fine."

Originally Posted by Esprit15

"I might know another Breeder in Lavender if you don't want Romeo to breed them."

"I'm fine with Romeo doing it-" Jessica says, only to be cut short (again) by Taylor.

"We'll let your friend in Lavender handle it."

"What's your problem? Romeo can do it just as easily here!"

"I don't have a problem. I just think her friend would do a better job."

[Esprit15]

"...you don't have to hide that you don't like him. I know you don't. He's a great breeder. The one in Lavender is about the same skill as him, and you didn't even know that until I told you."

[Eshkigal]

He nods to Taylor and Jessica, giving a shy grin.
"Thanks. And, erm...sorry? Think that's what I want. Sorry about the memories."
He pulls out a measuring tape and some schematics, crumpled and folded. He smooths them out.
"Next up, mind if I study your teams while Sparky gets measurements? The structure of mon give such insight. Arm's actually partially based off a hitmonchan's, for example."
Meanwhile, Sparky pulls herself onto Arte and begins skittering about, attaching webbing to portions of her body and going around until she hits the strand, her tiny leg claws cutting the webbing as it overlaps with barely any difficulty.

[Arcran]

Originally Posted by Esprit15

"...you don't have to hide that you don't like him. I know you don't. He's a great breeder. The one in Lavender is about the same skill as him, and you didn't even know that until I told you."

"Yeah, I don't like him. He started dating Jessica then threw her away like a piece of trash."

"Now that's not true! I overreacted a little; we weren't even actually dating!"

"Oh, you thought you were, and that's all that matters. I can read your mind, remember? What whatever, it's your Pokemon."

Jessica looks at Taylor in shock for a moment before turning back to you. "I'll try to get Romeo to breed it," she says with an apologetic glance back at Taylor. "Sooner you get an egg, the sooner it hatches."

Originally Posted by Eshkigal

He nods to Taylor and Jessica, giving a shy grin.
"Thanks. And, erm...sorry? Think that's what I want. Sorry about the memories."
He pulls out a measuring tape and some schematics, crumpled and folded. He smooths them out.
"Next up, mind if I study your teams while Sparky gets measurements? The structure of mon give such insight. Arm's actually partially based off a hitmonchan's, for example."
Meanwhile, Sparky pulls herself onto Arte and begins skittering about, attaching webbing to portions of her body and going around until she hits the strand, her tiny leg claws cutting the webbing as it overlaps with barely any difficulty.

Gerald manages to get new scans of Baltoy, Litwick, Kadabra, Espeon, and Misdreavus.

"We'll still pay you for the armor; least we can do," Jessica says.

[Esprit15]

"Taylor, I get why you're angry with him, but please let Jessica make her own choice. It's not like she'd start dating him again or anything. Hopefully." She tries to laugh, but realizes the joke is terrible and quickly focuses on just making Sparky's job of getting measurements easier.

[Eshkigal]

"...Not touching the Romeo conversation with a ten foot pole. Thanks for the scans. If you insist on paying, again, skorupi corpses are as good if not better than cash. Can make things from dead steel types. And thanks for the scans, should be able to glean something out of them."
Sparky takes a few minutes, and it is ticklish work, but she soon has everything needed and cuts the threads. Gerald measures them and jots down notes. Images of a plated dress begin coming up. Joltik silk and kevlar should do...
"Next? Armor tier, elemental type, and preferred appearances, please."

[Esprit15]

Steel for now, add in some Ghost later on. Oh, and if you need design ideas, ask Mark if you could take a look at the amps. There was a box of them somewhere. Artemis quickly makes her way back after scanning the team into Romeo's dex. "Well Taylor holds a grudge against you, but Jessica might ask you to breed her Litwick later and trade the egg with one from Kubota."

[Arcran]

Originally Posted by Esprit15

"Taylor, I get why you're angry with him, but please let Jessica make her own choice. It's not like she'd start dating him again or anything. Hopefully." She tries to laugh, but realizes the joke is terrible and quickly focuses on just making Sparky's job of getting measurements easier.

Jessica laughs at your joke, but it's an awkward laugh. Taylor rolls her eyes.

I'm just looking out for her. You might have fallen for him, but she's not screwing up like that, her mind voice surprisingly full of malice.

Originally Posted by Eshkigal

"...Not touching the Romeo conversation with a ten foot pole. Thanks for the scans. If you insist on paying, again, skorupi corpses are as good if not better than cash. Can make things from dead steel types. And thanks for the scans, should be able to glean something out of them."
Sparky takes a few minutes, and it is ticklish work, but she soon has everything needed and cuts the threads. Gerald measures them and jots down notes. Images of a plated dress begin coming up. Joltik silk and kevlar should do...
"Next? Armor tier, elemental type, and preferred appearances, please."

"Alright. We'll kill some for you when they come back," Taylor says, seeming pretty pissed off right now.

"I'll take some medium. Ground if you have the stuff for it," Taylor says.

"Light. Gotta keep moving. How about Psychic/Steel? Can you do that?"

[Eshkigal]

"Need more scans to study dual type nature enough to get that, but we have the skorupi for the steel boosters needed and parts of the armor. Also, inorganic booster parts, so maybe when we hit Lavender, unless...either of you know what goes into these amplifiers? However, we need more Amarid for the medium one, roughly...3 grand worth, from previous purchase. Can make light armor now and upgrade it later, though. Skorupi aren't useful for ground armor, sadly. Should be able to complete one suit a day though, roughly."

[IrnBruAddict]

'Okay' Romeo removes his pikachu friend from his head. 'Now, how to pass the rest of the time? Ah, I know!'

Romeo takes out Fairy, Luna and Elly. Then, he spends the next half hour, trying to teach them how to dance. If they were going to look in on the contest hall, he'd need to get in a bit of practice. If the Machop seemed to look interested, he'd pair him up with Luna. He instructs Luna how to ballroom dance (benefiting from her humanoid shape), tells Fairy to try some break dancing (making the most of her natural Pikachu agility) and teaches Elly some basic line dancing steps (the only thing he could think of for a 4 legged pokemon). He corrects their mistakes, and instructs them on how to improve.

[Arcran]

Originally Posted by Eshkigal

"Need more scans to study dual type nature enough to get that, but we have the skorupi for the steel boosters needed and parts of the armor. Also, inorganic booster parts, so maybe when we hit Lavender, unless...either of you know what goes into these amplifiers? However, we need more Amarid for the medium one, roughly...3 grand worth, from previous purchase. Can make light armor now and upgrade it later, though. Skorupi aren't useful for ground armor, sadly. Should be able to complete one suit a day though, roughly."

"Well, we'll be there in a day or two. We'll try to buy you some more Amarid if you don't have enough time, alright?" Taylor says. "Get Jessica's done before mine; she needs it more," Taylor says. "We might be able to buy some of the Amps for Psychic gear; hear that those work as Type Boosters."

Originally Posted by IrnBruAddict

'Okay' Romeo removes his pikachu friend from his head. 'Now, how to pass the rest of the time? Ah, I know!'

Romeo takes out Fairy, Luna and Elly. Then, he spends the next half hour, trying to teach them how to dance. If they were going to look in on the contest hall, he'd need to get in a bit of practice. If the Machop seemed to look interested, he'd pair him up with Luna. He instructs Luna how to ballroom dance (benefiting from her humanoid shape), tells Fairy to try some break dancing (making the most of her natural Pikachu agility) and teaches Elly some basic line dancing steps (the only thing he could think of for a 4 legged pokemon). He corrects their mistakes, and instructs them on how to improve.

By the end of the short session Elly could dance a little without tripping, Luna and the Machop made a cute couple and Fairy was actually pretty good at dancing.

"Having fun back there?" the driver says, looking back.

The kid is entertained by the dancing. He keeps himself occupied with the Growlithe as well. You did a good job distracting him.

Ethan

As the part is being pulled, Mjolnir slams into the ground, hard. It tries to pull itself up, but it's fruitless. The cart shudders as the Beldum holds it back.

"Hurry it up up there!" the wagon driver behind you shouts. "What happened!"

[Arcran]

Originally Posted by Eshkigal

"Need more scans to study dual type nature enough to get that, but we have the skorupi for the steel boosters needed and parts of the armor. Also, inorganic booster parts, so maybe when we hit Lavender, unless...either of you know what goes into these amplifiers? However, we need more Amarid for the medium one, roughly...3 grand worth, from previous purchase. Can make light armor now and upgrade it later, though. Skorupi aren't useful for ground armor, sadly. Should be able to complete one suit a day though, roughly."

"Well, we'll be there in a day or two. We'll try to buy you some more Amarid if you don't have enough time, alright?" Taylor says. "Get Jessica's done before mine; she needs it more," Taylor says. "We might be able to buy some of the Amps for Psychic gear; hear that those work as Type Boosters."

Originally Posted by IrnBruAddict

'Okay' Romeo removes his pikachu friend from his head. 'Now, how to pass the rest of the time? Ah, I know!'

Romeo takes out Fairy, Luna and Elly. Then, he spends the next half hour, trying to teach them how to dance. If they were going to look in on the contest hall, he'd need to get in a bit of practice. If the Machop seemed to look interested, he'd pair him up with Luna. He instructs Luna how to ballroom dance (benefiting from her humanoid shape), tells Fairy to try some break dancing (making the most of her natural Pikachu agility) and teaches Elly some basic line dancing steps (the only thing he could think of for a 4 legged pokemon). He corrects their mistakes, and instructs them on how to improve.

By the end of the short session Elly could dance a little without tripping, Luna and the Machop made a cute couple and Fairy was actually pretty good at dancing.

"Having fun back there?" the driver says, looking back.

The kid is entertained by the dancing. He keeps himself occupied with the Growlithe as well. You did a good job distracting him.

Ethan

As the part is being pulled, Mjolnir slams into the ground, hard. It tries to pull itself up, but it's fruitless. The cart shudders as the Beldum holds it back.

"Hurry it up up there!" the wagon driver behind you shouts. "What happened!"

[Esprit15]

Glad you were able to keep him entertained. I'd have Muked it up probably. She leans up against the chair and falls asleep. Need to be ready to act as a guard later. When the carts come to a halt, she stirs a bit, but until there is yelling, nothing to worry about, right?

[Eshkigal]

"Thanks. Will do my best to get it all done for you on the road. And...well, thanks for helping me. It's nice having people willing to help."
He jots down notes as the measurements come in. Each person is dismissed, in order of Artemis, Taylor, and last of all, Jessica.
"Um...you never asked for what you wanted in turn from me for the egg, Jessica."
And then the cart rocks.
"The muk?"
He primes the pistol he was lent, sticking his head out.
"What's happening?"

[MesiDoomstalker]

Ethan springs up as the Beldum falls. What the muk?! Quartz. Sim. Try to help Mjolnir up. Artemis, Jessica, Taylor can you help too? Beldum are heavy. Ethan leaps over the cart's front, past the driver to his Beldum's side. Don't worry buddy, I'm here to help. Are you hurt?

As Ethan and his pokemon try to help the poor steel type, he scans Mjolnir and the surroudnings for the cause, as well as digging through his own pokemon knowledge.

Spoiler

(1d20+2)[17] Preception to find a source of the problem, if any
(1d20+4)[12] Int to see if its... something he may have read about at some point. Its an Int check, thats what they are.

[Arcran]

Originally Posted by Esprit15

Glad you were able to keep him entertained. I'd have Muked it up probably. She leans up against the chair and falls asleep. Need to be ready to act as a guard later. When the carts come to a halt, she stirs a bit, but until there is yelling, nothing to worry about, right?

The carts don't come to a stop until later that night when you break to make camp.

Spoiler

Guess your stuck until the others catch up.

Originally Posted by Eshkigal

"Thanks. Will do my best to get it all done for you on the road. And...well, thanks for helping me. It's nice having people willing to help."
He jots down notes as the measurements come in. Each person is dismissed, in order of Artemis, Taylor, and last of all, Jessica.
"Um...you never asked for what you wanted in turn from me for the egg, Jessica."
And then the cart rocks.
"The muk?"
He primes the pistol he was lent, sticking his head out.
"What's happening?"

You see Ethan cursing at the Beldum, Jessica and Taylor jogging over to try to pull it off the ground.

Originally Posted by MesiDoomstalker

Ethan springs up as the Beldum falls. What the muk?! Quartz. Sim. Try to help Mjolnir up. Artemis, Jessica, Taylor can you help too? Beldum are heavy. Ethan leaps over the cart's front, past the driver to his Beldum's side. Don't worry buddy, I'm here to help. Are you hurt?

As Ethan and his pokemon try to help the poor steel type, he scans Mjolnir and the surroudnings for the cause, as well as digging through his own pokemon knowledge.

Spoiler

[roll0] Preception to find a source of the problem, if any
[roll1] Int to see if its... something he may have read about at some point. Its an Int check, thats what they are.

The Beldum blinks NO.

Despite the combined efforts of Quartz, Sim, and the Psychics, they can't pry Mjolnir off the ground. If they dig the dirt out from under, he just slams further down.

You can remember from your research after catching Mjolnir that as they get closer to evolving they create heavy magnetic fields to attract enough metal to create the new body. If Mjolnir has reached this step then he will rapidly increase in size and weight for the next week before the final changes of evolution begin. He'll need to spend at least a few hours a day like this. If a sudden evolution was to occur the field would become much more powerful, pulling all the metal up at once, but that may be harmful to Beldum, resulting in their inborn method of slowly collecting the metal needed.

You think with a strong enough reverse charge you may be able to pry him free. Either that or returning him; either could work.

[hustlertwo]

Spelunker, huh? Sounds too much like work, shinies or no shinies. If I'm going into a deep, wet hole I'd rather be leaving something in than taking something out. Get it?

Paul chortles as they arrive at the camp. Once there he volunteers for the first watch again, unless something else happens first.

[MesiDoomstalker]

I wonder...... Ethan dashes back into the cart and grabs the most intact Steelupi corpse he could find. He gently places the corpse near the prone Beldum, hoping his hunch works.

[Eshkigal]

"...Ethan, what are you doing?"

[Arcran]

Originally Posted by hustlertwo

Spelunker, huh? Sounds too much like work, shinies or no shinies. If I'm going into a deep, wet hole I'd rather be leaving something in than taking something out. Get it?

Paul chortles as they arrive at the camp. Once there he volunteers for the first watch again, unless something else happens first.

After a couple of hours you manage to find a suitable camp site. Mark starts getting everybody to unload, getting things ready and setting up basic defenses.

Originally Posted by MesiDoomstalker

I wonder...... Ethan dashes back into the cart and grabs the most intact Steelupi corpse he could find. He gently places the corpse near the prone Beldum, hoping his hunch works.

The Skorupi corpse is instantly stripped of all metal, leaving an oozing, chunky piece or organic material. The new metal wraps around the Beldum, widening his growing body. With no small amount of effort you manage to finally pry him off the ground, his body floating.

YES.
NO.
YES.
NO.

It blinks the messages out rapidly, alternating between the two.

Spoiler

Once Ethan is done you all can set up camp and such.

[Eshkigal]

Gerald's eyes go wide as he heads to the farthest back portion of the cart.
"Muking steel types getting more and more creative about ways to screw people!"
(1d20+4)[23]-int check to understand full ramifications and what to expect.

As they travel, Gerald works on the first armor, treating i the materials to make them truly kevlar, and making the first layer of the plated dress (that is to say, the inner, unarmored portion)

[Arcran]

Originally Posted by Eshkigal

Gerald's eyes go wide as he heads to the farthest back portion of the cart.
"Muking steel types getting more and more creative about ways to screw people!"
[roll0]-int check to understand full ramifications and what to expect.

As they travel, Gerald works on the first armor, treating i the materials to make them truly kevlar, and making the first layer of the plated dress (that is to say, the inner, unarmored portion)

You learn everything Ethan knows; how it will pull metal from the ground to prep for evolution and build its new body. You also remember from your time in the Steelix Tails that the Beldum pulled just about any piece of nearby metal that wasn't strapped down; while it pulled that one chick's hairpin through her eye, the Pokeballs on people's belts were perfectly OK. Most of the metal came from a literal stream of metal from the ground, completely obscuring the Beldum before it became a badass.

[Eshkigal]

"Aw muk...NO METAL DECORATIONS, PEOPLE!"
He begins tying his implant solidly against his side, hoping to strap it down enough that it wouldn't tear the motor out if a sudden evolution occurred.
"Strap any important metal down! Seen this before, and while pokeballs are fine on their belts, loose metal like hairpins can be dragged with enough force to pierce a human skull!"

[MesiDoomstalker]

Ethan lets out a small sigh. We don't have time to do this right now. Mjolnir, lets get going ok? I'll help you when we are not in constant mortal danger.

[Arcran]

YES.

Mjolnir gets back into his harness and the wagon begins to move again.

Spoiler

Mjolnir is one step closer to evolution! DEF +1, SPDEF +1.

*Spongebob Announcer Voice*
Five Hours Later

You eventually find an area that will for for the night; a small raised plateau that will easily fit the surviving members. Mark starts delegating people towards jobs; merchants to get some food going and get some supplies easily accessible, Taylor to start raising earthen walls, and even the two kids to start placing some torches around the site for lighting. He looks at you guys, unsure what to say.

"Help wherever you think best. One of you," he says, waving at Gerald and Ethan, "Should probably watch their radar."

[Esprit15]

Artemis grumbles as the wagons come to a halt and slowly wakes up. "Bleh, guess I have first watch tonight..." Artemis helps set up tents and other shelter, still clearly not fully awake.

[Eshkigal]

"Can take first two watches on that duty. Halfway done with Arte's armor. Want to get it to final touches before sleep."
Gerald gets up and stretches, ensuring the bindings on his arm are tight. Near him, a strange armor of kevlar and chainmail (one above the other) is taking form. A little way away, the steel booster laid in two parts, incorporated into a breastplate.
"Ethan, you can feed Mjolnir more. Can spare 11 skorupi corpses for this, as last time I saw a beldum evolve, I was in a city."

[IrnBruAddict]

Romeo continues to keep the little kid company. While he is there, he decides to have Puck and Luna try some contact sparing, not using moves. Not that he expected Puck to be able to beat Luna in a melee battle, but it would improve the little fellows dodging ability.

'Hey, how about I tell you a story.' He couldn't tell him most of his stories, but he had a few funny, child friendly ones. 'There was the time old man Fuji was chewing us out after we fell asleep our religious studies. So we snuck over to his house one night and painted a giant Jigglypuff mural on his wall. When he found out, he made all 5 of us dress in Hello Skitty clothing for the next week. It was worse than any beating he could have gave us. Then, just when I thought it was over, my sister told me she thought I looked cute in it, and so my mother forced me to wear it for ANOTHER week on top of that! We learned a valuable lesson that day, kind old men are the worst perple to piss off.'

[MesiDoomstalker]

Thanks Gerald. I'll try it. Ethan sets out a small clearing a bit away from the others. He lets Mjolnir get situated in any way he needs to, before bringing several (5) Steelupi corpses. Are you ready buddy? When Mjolnir signals he is ready, Ethan gives him a corspe, one at a time, studying carefully to the whole processs.

[hustlertwo]

Paul, with little else to do, merely takes whatever watch he is needed, with Frondly, Willy and Zippo at the ready in case of trouble.