You're an Orrean native that went to university out of region due to the largess of your grandfather. Grandpa had made his money on mining, but in his old age he'd become a bit of a laughing stock, claiming that Orre's pokemon were still there. But they'd gone underground after the area was devastated by a cataclysm in ancient days.
He'd tell tales about having encountered pokemon in different caverns and caves, places where light was provided by massive Sunstones or heated by Fire Stone deposits. And he kept a token that he claimed had been gifted from a pokemon that he had run across down there, and healed at his own expense.
When you were in university, you studied under the geology program, and the token that your grandfather had been gifted had been passed on to you as a good luck charm outside of the barren wastes of Orre, and so that you never forgot your roots.
Unfortunately after two years of study, you received the news you'd always been dreading. The news of your grandfather's death hit you hard, but the old man had finally gone to reunite with the love of his life. And he'd left you his plot of land and the house on it. Along with the mine shaft that he carved out himself. And now, after reading up on the strange cavern biomes found under Sinnoh, you can't help but wonder, how fanciful were those tales of your grandfather's?
Maybe you could prove him right. And in the process perhaps even figure out some way to bring pokemon back to the surface of Orre. But there are rumors of a sinister organization skulking in the underworld, and of powerful but strangely bloodthirsty pokemon entering the Coliseum circuits.
Your search for the truth of your grandfather's tales could unearth far more than you ever expected. But with courage, luck, and a heap of treasure to finance your venture, perhaps you can bring a little light into the darkness?
You wiped the dust from your sunglasses as you disembarked from the jeep. Orre was as it had always been. A blasted barren waste with only a bare handful of oases allowing for survival outside of the coastal areas. There they could use desalination to provide potable water, and the occasional passing oceanic water type meant that there tended to be a bit more organization there thanks to more trainers. Orre was a place where strength was everything after all...
Your hand reached up to touch the pendant around your throat, the small chunk of rock suspended in a smooth protective coating of epoxy resin to protect it from the elements. You'd honestly not thought that you'd ever come back here. Back to the homestead that your grandfather had literally carved out for himself and your grandmother.
Your grandfather had been a miner, and a very successful one. While Orre wasn't known for its pokemon, the land still had some treasures hidden away; far down below. Your grandfather had hewn rock and clay to claw those treasures out and bring them to the surface. Evolution stones, gems, fossils, unique materials that could be used by other regions to create battle items. He'd built that into a solid financial business... well, he'd handed it all over to Grandma, who'd been the actual person with money sense.
It was still so hard to believe that he was gone now. The last time you'd seen him was when he was handing you the plane ticket to go to Unova to study at the university there. He'd been adamant that you not stay just to watch him rust away. After Grandma had died a lot of his zest for life had died with him. And then his old Excadrill had passed. Grandpa had been alone, checked on periodically by a small group of local vigilantes that were the next best thing to the law in this corner of Orre.
You'd flourished in the university, finding a passion for mineralogy and paleontology. You'd be the first to admit that you often wondered what kind of fossils were hidden beneath Orre even beyond the occasional Root fossil that Grandpa had brought up and sold off. What kind of place had Orre been in the distant past? Those questions are what drove you even as your Grandfather's letters became more and more sporadic.
Eventually, they stopped. And then you received a letter from one of the few legal firms in the region. Grandpa was dead, passed in his sleep according to the doctor's report. He'd left his property to you, but with you still in college the estate would be managed by your Grandfather's attorney. Given that the area didn't have much to it beyond your Grandfather's home that had been partially carved out of the hill behind it. The mine shaft that he'd used as his entryway to the underground was on the same plot of land, protected by a heavy combination lock. One that now only you knew the combination for.
Your program was how you'd met the sponsor of this little jaunt. Professor Saguaro was a bulky man whose frame was mostly muscle. He apparently had emigrated from Paldea, but had family still there teaching at their vaunted Academy. The man had also been the one to recognize Grandpa's "lucky charm" for what it was, a fossil! Specifically a:
[ ][Fossil]Fossilized Seed
Hoppip - Can keep the air fresh in the caves by metabolizing the carbon dioxide that you're breathing out and using Sunny Day to provide light. Able to fit through very tight spaces.
[ ][Fossil]Fossilized Finger Bone
Timburr - Tunnels dug by Timburr are reinforced and have a much lower chance of collapse in case of an explosion or some other major disturbance.
[ ][Fossil]Fossilized Tooth
Whismur - Can use Screech against walls to perform the equivalent of an ultrasound scan and determine in general if there's anything in there. Higher chance to find items while digging.
[ ][Fossil]Polished Amber
Tympole - Can provide clean water, rinse off finds, and break rocks with subsonic vibrations. Never need to worry about running out of water, can ID some items without needing to take them to the surface.
The professor had some contacts with Silph Co and a few other companies that had been advancing the bounds of revivification, and with the promise that the fossil would be preserved to ensure that your Grandfather's charm would still be with you; you had allowed it to be revived. Which was how you'd gotten your first partner.
One thing that you and the professor shared was an interest in Orre. You in its ancient past, while he was interested in how exactly it had withered away into the wastes that now covered the region today. And more specifically, why no pokemon at all seemed to live there!? It was during a class debate on this that you ended up sharing one of your Grandpa's favorite tales.
Because according to your grandfather? The pokemon were still there, but had retreated underground in the face of some kind of horrific cataclysm. Your Grandfather often shared his stories of hidden enclaves of pokemon that he had stumbled across; massive caves heated and lit by ponds of magma brought closer to the surface from the volcanic areas to the north. Lush jungles lit by masses of Sunstone so large that not even a fully-grown Machamp would be able to lift them, even if they could reach where they were embedded in the cavern roofs. Flooded caverns with mysteriously glowing shapes whose ethereal light outlined darting forms beneath the waves. Every single one of them; home to various species of pokemon. He'd even received his lucky charm early on in his career after helping one of them!
Most people laughed them off as stories that your Grandfather had concocted while only having himself and Excadrill down in the meandering mine shaft that they had dug out themselves going from seam to seam. You'd even started to roll your eyes after you became a teen. But now... now you know about the Sinnoh Underground, and the biomes scattered throughout it that contain thousands of pokemon; including many not considered native to SInnoh! The prevailing theory is that Sinnoh has been slowly cooling over the centuries and many pokemon have retreated underground to live. A theory that dovetailed nicely with your Grandpa's stories.
Of course, when you had shared this with your peers, there'd been general laughter, and one person had loudly said "Everyone knows that there's no pokemon in Orre!" Before your professor's stern voice had cut through the noise.
"Yes, just like everyone 'knows' that Tyranitar are vicious beasts that can't be reasoned with." The student that had spoken up slumped a bit in his seat; his family pokemon was an old Tyranitar that had belonged to his father when he'd taken a shot at the Championship and was widely known to be very gentle. The Professor's expression wasn't mad, but disappointed, which was probably worse.
"Someday I would love to meet this person 'Everyone'; they seem to know so much, and all of it is wrong. The fact of the matter," Professor Saguaro took on a lecturing tone, "Is that while it is improbable that such a situation exists in Orre, it is not impossible. We know that because there's an active example in Sinnoh that is highly documented." The professor had had an odd gleam in his eye as the class ended. It was getting on towards Break, and he'd asked you to meet him in his office after class.
It turned out that Professor Saguaro had been very interested in the stories you'd shared, and was speaking with the Dean about the possibility of sponsoring an expedition to Orre to investigate them. But before the Dean would sign off on a full-blown expedition, no matter how small, she'd wanted at least some kind of proof more recent than your newly revived mon.
Which is why you and he had come out here on a trip during Spring Break. You'd had plenty of it last year and frankly some of the antics the other students got up to were a bit much even for someone that had grown up in Orre. So you'd been more than happy to accompany the Professor back to your Grandparent's old homestead. Which... now belonged to you. It didn't feel quite real honestly.
You reached down and patted the second pokeball at your waist. The Professor had remarked that there was no way to know what you'd find down there, so he had gifted you a pokemon, to keep! Even if this little investigation proved to be nothing more than a visit to the old homestead for the sake of memories, he had said that you could keep the other pokemon because it would be useful in your chosen profession. He'd given you a...
[ ][Modern Mon]
Allows for faster processing of computer systems, allows for the operation of specialized scanners underground. Maps route as you go and loads it to pokegear.
[ ][Modern Mon]
Can provide light no matter the circumstances, can be used as a pillow. Allows extended digs without specialized gear.
[ ][Modern Mon]
Can carry saddlebags and smash rocks. doubles number of items that can be carried. Can carry MC if injured.
[ ][Modern Mon]
Superb sense of smell allows it to track trace scents of mon, plants, water, etc. Can keep you cool in hot biomes.
Pulling yourself out of your memories, you went over and unlocked the gate that you and the Professor had stopped the vehicle in front of. A heavy duty reinforced chain link fence with the posts driven deep and secured in the bedrock by Mulch, your Grandpa's Excadrill. Inside the fence line the doors and shutters that had been secured on the homestead still appeared intact. Even if there hadn't been any worry about thieves or squatters, there were still the intermittent sandstorms that blew across Orre's badlands. The executor of your Grandpa's will had sent you the keys to the locks, and while the Professor pulled the Jeep inside the fenceline, you opened up the door offset into the hillside from the main house.
Inside was a squat orange machine with cables coming off of it leading towards the main house area. Opening the compartment on the top, you removed the clear chunk of crystal, examining the light greenish tinge that still remained. Then, pocketing it you moved over to a locked cabinet and using another key, opened it. You winced when you saw that there was only a single Thunder Stone left out of the store that Grandpa had stocked up over the decades of digging.
It was one of the secrets to his success over the years really. Grandma had had a friend that was apparently some kind of inventor, and he'd come up with some interesting ways to make the home that she and Grandpa shared with his Excadrill and her Purugly all the more comfortable. Using Elemental Stones to provide power, heat water, and even somehow extract water type energy to fill a small reservoir had all been things you'd been surprised to find were not commonly found used in other cities and even regions.
Whoever Grandma's friend was had apparently been a mechanical genius, though when you had mentioned that in one of your early letters back home the response had been... odd. Grandpa had asked you to not look into her friend. He had vanished decades ago, and the machines that she had were basically the last bit of legacy that he had left behind. You decided that it wasn't something to poke at. A lot of people came to Orre in the older days because they wanted to vanish from sight. If your Grandma had been one of them, well that was her business.
Moving over to the main door and closing the shed door behind you, you nodded as you unlocked it, stepping inside. The air was a little stale, but that was to be expected with the house having been closed up. You could already hear the familiar sound of the ventilation system kicking into gear. It was certainly much cooler in here than outside, but the AC would also be kicking in soon enough as well.
Checking on the water reservoir and the water heater yielded two more expended elemental crystals, tinged blue and orange respectively. Like the generator they only had a single Elemental stone left.
The professor's loud sigh of relief echoed off of the wood-paneled flooring that Grandpa had imported so he would never have to hear Grandma complaining about the cold stone floor ever again, and you smirked a little. Paldea was pretty warm, but it had nothing on Orre. Heading back to the foyer, you nodded to the big man.
"The generator and the other utilities are working, but if we want to keep them operating we're going to either have to bring some evolution stones with us, or we're going to have to find them delving. Each stone lasts anywhere from a month to two months depending on the density of the energy they contain. Grandpa went through pretty much the entire stock before he passed, so that's a priority."
Saguero striked his bearded chin. "A good point, but we're not going to be here for more than a week. It would be better to focus on finding a specimen to bring back to the Dean as definitive proof. Either a living pokemon, or a non-standard fossil. While we don't have the equipment for a mobile revivification lab, I do have this." He pulled a small white and blue tablet from his pocket. "It's a Genetic Assay Machine that can be used to determine how much viable genetic material is still left in a fossil. Latest release from The Battle Company. Technically still in testing really." He smiled toothily. "They've also been making some real strides in the fields of reintegrated genetic revivification, so you can use multiple fossils that don't have a full DNA strand together to create a chimeric clone. So far as they can tell, no drawbacks, and even an evidenced case of them being born knowing unusual moves in some instances."
With the discussion of your objectives, you decide now's the time to check out the door to the Shaft. The Professor follows along as you move to another door built into the hillside, one with another simple lock. Unlocking it, you turn on the LED light, thankful that it actually comes on. Not having to replace burned out lights was a godsend this far out from civilization. The revealed room was large and rough, dominated by the massive reinforced steel door at the other end with a large, almost oversized really, combination lock set into the metal. There was also a section of the wall divided into cubbies for different types of elemental stones given the small symbols carved over each cubby.
Opposite that, was the Shrine. Your grandpa had venerated it as being a source of good luck, saying that it had been here well before he had built the home that he and your grandma had shared. It was an odd looking thing, a stack of off-center circular stones stacked up on one another and with a hole punched down through the middle. You smiled a little wistfully at the small bundle of dried herbs that sat as Grandpa's final offering to it in the small bowl-like depression in front of the slab of stone it was carved from.
With a wry grin, the Professor turns his back as you approach the door. Which means he doesn't see you begin turning the dial in random directions to cover the sound of you pressing some of the raised numbers in a specific sequence, feeling a small click as each one depressed for a moment. Finally, you pressed the center of the dial itself, finishing the sequence, and ending the charade. Your grandfather had always gotten a laugh out of the lock, and the thought that someone could potentially waste months before figuring out the actual secret of the lock. He had always had a weird sense of humor...
With a heavy ka-chunk sound, the lock disengaged. The door itself opened smoothly as you pulled on the handles. The pneumatics built into it made what would have needed a Machamp to open easy to move for an old man. The professor clapped a hand on your shoulder. "Alright then, so to reiterate the plan, I'm going to stay topside so that I and Slag can make sure that no one tries to steal our jeep or investigate the open house."
You nod; while it would have been nice to have the Professor with you; with only the two of you and your pokemon here someone had to stay topside and hold down the fort. You check your gear. Shovel, pick, hammer, canteen, camera-equipped pokegear, food and of course your headlamp and backup flashlight. Even with a pokemon that could provide light you always had at least two backups.
Right now you're carrying enough food with you to do a two-day dive. Of course that would require you to rough it pretty hard. You didn't have the funds to pay for overnight gear suitable for the underground. Yet.
So, you're about ready to plunge into the depths. What should you focus on first?
[ ][Focus] Finding elemental stones to power the home. Even though the stones that you just placed should last for about a month, you want to have a good supply on hand.
[ ][Focus] Finding other "aberrant" fossils like the one that your Grandpa had given you. While it's not as good as having a living capture, even having the ability to clone ancient pokemon outside of the standard category of "fossil" pokemon would be something that the Dean would certainly be willing to fund an expedition for. Though it might mean your funding wouldn't be as high as it would be if you found a
[ ][Focus] Try to find and capture a living specimen from underground. To make it absolutely clear that it's not just a fluke the Professor has asked you to try and find one of those biomes that your Grandpa had mentioned in order to bring back a mon that "shouldn't" be able to be found underground or at least not outside of biomes that aren't currently known to be present in Orre. Photographic evidence will work in lieu of a capture as well.
The professor gives you a thumbs up. "Good luck, -!"
Oh yeah. What's your name anyway?
[ ][Name]
And what do you look like?
[ ][Look]A
[ ][Look]B
[ ][Look]C
[ ][Look]D
You have 4 AP. You can attempt to either Explore an excavated tunnel, looking for a specific type of treasure, (Here it'll be whatever you decide to focus on, later you can make choices on what to spend each AP on looking for); attempting to find new passages, or attempting to open up collapsed passages. Some passages will not be able to be cleared without improved equipment.
Your available actions are:
[ ]Check a wall for buried treasures.
[ ]Try to track down a trace of living pokemon.
[ ]Try to open up a small cleft that you can feel air moving through. Goes South?
[ ]Update hand-drawn map. (Removed if Porygon picked) [ ]Lay out bait and try to bring in pokemon to you
You will need to use berries or other specialized baits. Currently not available.
[ ]Follow an open shaft to the (North, South, East, West)
Pick a cardinal direction. When you get deeper you will also need to choose if you are going up or down. Currently only North and East are available. There is no shaft leading South, though there is a cleft, and the passage West has collapsed.
[ ]Try to clear collapsed passage to the West. Will take multiple AP. Add "x1" etc for how many AP are being applied.
Your opening pokemon and the pokemon you acquire over the course of this quest will give access to new options past the opening sequence, as will new or upgraded gear.
Please vote by plan for spending your AP. Everything else is freeform votes. There will be a one-hour moratorium.
AN: Okay so I've only seen something like this once and they were a live-writing quest. I'm not going to be using any complicated maps, perhaps at best using an overland pic of the Orre region combined with my limited Paint skills to denote the general locations of different biomes as you find them in relation to the surface.
The reason that there aren't any female trainer options is that frankly I'm not comfortable writing as a female for a prolonged period of time. I can do female characters but not as the main perspective. I simply don't know how women think well enough to portray them right.
I'll have a page dedicated to mechanics, though the pokemon battles are going to generally be narrative when they occur. I'll be using a d100 with modifiers for searches. I'm adapting an AP system for actions while underground, with the ability to gain more AP through the purchase of better gear, or other methods to gain them. Some AP may be tied to having certain equipment.
For captured and revived pokemon, Roll to determine nature and gender first. 1d25 for natures, 1d100 for gender 1-50 female 51-100 male. Adjusted as needed for certain species of pokemon like Combee and Salandit.
For abilities, roll 1d100. 1-45 = 1st ability, 46-90 = 2nd ability, 91-100 for Hidden ability. Otherwise there is a 50% chance of either ability.
Mushroom Jungle - A cavern with a series of Sunstones attached to the roof, emulating a day/night cycle. The outer edges are home to Mushroom pokemon that feed on decayed plant matter. Seems to play host to the mostly Grass type pokemon as observed so far.
Affiliation: Unovan Archeology and Paleontology Department
Native Region: Orre
GEAR
P★DA: A somewhat cobbled-together Personal Digital Assistant. has a variety of functions and can be further upgraded with the correct program chips.
Map function
Email service
Pokeball Readout link system
Activity Alarm - Can monitor sensors placed down for activity from pokemon. (Requires a signal relay network to function underground)
Inventory listing
Basic Shovel - A basic shovel for digging through clay and dirt. No special bonuses.
Tempered Hammer - A hammer with a harder head. (Adds +10 to all rolls involving opening geodes or breaking through obstructions.)
Tempered Pick - A Pick with a harder head. (Adds +10 to all rolls involving delicate excavation work like removing fossils or evolution stones.)
Camerupt Water Pack - Doubles the amount of water you can carry, extending the distance you can go on delves before needing to turn back. Can be refilled in areas with clean water sources.
Sturdy Pack - Doubles amount of food and supplies that can be carried. Has room for 15 pieces of loot. Can be restocked with food in caverns with edible food sources.
Rope - 50 meters of hemp rope
Basic Sounder - Reveals how many AP a tunnel collapse will take.
Current Funds: 1,000
Fossil Collection (Fossils you intend to Revive and not Sell)
Dome Fossil = Kabuto
Aberrant fossil: Snout Fossil = Cyndaquil
TEAM
Sex: Female
Nature: Lonely
Ability: Chlorophyll
Level: 10
Known Moves:
Sunny Day
Splash
Tackle
Tail Whip
Absorb
Fairy Wind
Poison Powder
Sleep Powder
Stun Spore
Special Abilities:
Subterranean Sunshine: Hoppip knows Sunny Day and can use it to provide light no matter where you are.
Breath of Fresh Air: Hoppip can use their natural ability to Photosynthesize in conjunction with Sunny Day (or any equivalent source of "daylight") to provide fresh air.
Suneater: Hoppip can subsist wholly off of photosynthesis if need be; though they do still need water and like to snack on berries.
The result of submitting your grandfather's lucky charm for revival. So far Hoppip seems perfectly fine with you, though she tends to be something of a loner; keeping to herself rather than interacting with others. You were rather surprised to see that she was "born" knowing Sunny Day, a move that so far as you were aware of, could only be learned by the application of a TM. You wonder if other Orrean fossils might have similar surprises in store.
Sex: Genderless
Nature: Calm
Ability: Download
Level: 10
Known Moves:
Convesion
Tackle
Recycle
Magnet Rise
Special Abilities:
Mon in the Machine: Porygon is able to enter and enhance the capabilities of nearly any piece of electronics so long as they have a CPU. Gives a +15 bonus to all scanners. May increase with evolution.
3D Memory: Porygon's spatial memory is prodigious and they are automatically recording and downloading a 3D map of the area you're traversing to your P★DA.
Nullivore: Porygon doesn't need to eat food or drink water.
Porygon had been gifted to you by Prof. Saguaro from the Unova Archeology department as an "early graduation present". The computer-generated pokemon has a calm, almost soothing presence, and while they started out a bit stilted and mechanical, they're already starting to react with more emotion when interacting with Hoppip and yourself. Keeps a constant uplink with your P★DA to continuously update the map of the Underground as you go.
Sex: Female
Nature: Rash
Ability: Steadfast - When forced to flinch, Scyther's body produces a burst of adrenaline further boosting her speed.
Level: 10
Held Item: Black Augerite
Known Moves:
Leer
Quick Attack
Fury Cutter
False Swipe
Night Slash
Nick's first capture in the Orrean Underground, Scyther was what he needed to secure the funding to really launch the expedition in earnest. She's a bold, impatient pokemon who is still filled with the flames of youth. For better and worse.
Special Abilities:
Like A Ninja: Scyther are incredible fast and stealthy, when making a sneak attack or attempting to avoid notice, add +30 to the roll.
Scyther-hands: While Scyther are adept at using their limbs to pinch and "hold" items, they're incapable of fine manipulation.
Thousand-layer blade: As Scyther age their blades acrue more and more layers of chitin, allowing their blades to achieve a finer and finer cutting edge. The older the Scyther the more power they have behind their attacks and the stronger the material they can cut.
The Homestead: The home that your grandfather carved out with his own two hands, and a lot of help from his Excadrill. Has a generator, a water supply, and a water heater. Each of them requires a Thunder, Water and Fire stone respectively to run them. Current status:
Generator: Fresh Thunderstone, 26 days of charge left
Water Reservoir: Fresh Water Stone, 26 days of charge left
Water Heater: Fresh Fire Stone, 26 days of charge left.
The Homestead has basic amenities for cooking and can house up to three people comfortably along with a small number of pokemon. Large-size pokemon like Onix are unable to fit inside. The Homestead has two bedrooms, two bathrooms, and a single full kitchen, along with a ventilation system and HVAC system. There is no satellite uplink for a TV, radio or internet. There are no computers, tvs or radios in the Homestead. It has basic furnishings for two beds and a pull-out couch along with the dining room table and four chairs.
Medical Lab: An array of sensors and scanners that can be used to scan pokemon outside their pokeballs for analysis of their physical characteristics, any abnormalities or unique features are able to be more easily identified. Includes a genetic assay machine to decode a pokemon's ancestry. Adds +20 to rolls for studying pokemon.
Medical Tent: Place to get healed if injured. Cannot handle major injuries, those will require extended bed rest. Can be upgraded to handle larger mon and more extensive injuries.
Field Lab - Can analyze finds in order to determine their value and composition. Can be upgraded with a micro-revival machine, expanded analysis and simulation processors.
Berry Garden - Can plant and grow berries. Can be upgraded with a mulcher, composter and irrigation systems.
Old Shrine: A Shrine that your grandfather venerated and insisted was a source of good luck. It consists of a small series of off-center stone circles stacked one on top of the other.
Purpose: ???
[X][Plan] Southbound and Down
-[x] Try to open up a small cleft that you can feel air moving through. Goes South?
-[x] Check a wall for buried treasures. Twice/2AP
-[x] Try to track down a trace of living pokemon.
After some thought; you had decided to check out that hole to the south. You'd released Hoppip and Porygon, the digital pokemon immediately scanning the area and adding it to your map with a soft ding. Hoppip let out a little chirp, looking up at you expectantly.
"Okay girl, what I need you to do is squeeze through that hole right there, and set off Sunny Day to see how big it is on the other side. Then you can come right back and I'll start opening up the wall.
Hoppip gives a nod of her entire body, rocking back and forth before she moved to the hole and began to squeeze herself through. As she does, you ponder something. Naming pokemon is something that some trainers do, feeling that it increases their bond with their teams by making them feel unique and special. Should you do the same?
[ ][Hoppip Nickname]She doesn't need a name.
[ ][Hoppip Nickname]Write-in
[ ][Porygon Nickname]They don't need a name
[ ][Porygon Nickname]Write-in
Eventually you're knocked out of your musings by the shine of light through the hole. You'd been pretty surprised to learn that Hoppip had been "born" knowing Sunny Day. While the Hoppip line could learn it, normally it required a TM rather than being naturally learned by the species. Furthermore it wasn't a move that could be inherited from parents, a so-called "Egg Move".
Porygon on the other hand, hadn't had anything in particular that stood out about them in terms of moves. You had pondered the logistics of acquiring an Up-Grade to allow them to evolve. But they were expensive and Silph guarded their supply rather jealously. You'd heard about them being offered as prizes at some of the Colosseum bouts, or as prizes that you could receive by redeeming tickets from facing the Gauntlet; the hundred-trainer battle gauntlet that was the core draw of the Colosseum. And the core of their power in the region, having a hundred constantly progressing trainers made for one hell of a deterrent against attack by most bandit gangs.
As Hoppip squeezed back through the hole and shook off a bit of rock dust, she jumped up and down excitedly. You smiled, picking her up and allowing her to nestle in the crook of your neck as you unlimbered your pick. Balling her would probably have been safer, but she enjoyed watching new things. Porygon held back, observing the opening as you worked on it, beeping occasionally. Eventually you got a face full of sunlight as the fading Sunny Day orbs became visible. With a few more choice hits with your pick and smashing some of the outcroppings to pieces with your hammer, you had a serviceable, if rough, passage headed South. Hoppip chirped; while Porygon gave a short burst of interested beeps.
You have opened a passage to the South.
You'd decided that you were going to focus on trying to find signs of living pokemon down here, the small number of pokeballs in a satchel at your waist in easy access. It didn't matter if it was just a single Magikarp in a small cave pond, it would have still made it worthwhile. Unfortunately as you follow the tunnel, all you find are a few small caves that make a decent place to eat something to keep up your strength and take some gulps of precious water.
Eventually though as you're passing through your last tunnel set before you're going to be forced back due to not having any equipment for sleeping underground (at the very least a sleeping bag because even with the surface being a desert it was cold sleeping on bare stone!). You had enough food and water to make it back without worry so long as nothing bad happened.
Sighing, you sat down on a rise in the stone, playing your flashlight over the walls. While having Hoppip able to use Sunny Day was great, using a directed beam of light could help find hints of things...like that metallic sparkle in the wall. Getting up and moving closer, you had Hoppip use Sunny Day once again. Another reason not to constantly use it was because it could cause Move Fatigue from using a move too much over the course of an extended period of time.
Under the light of the false sun, you smiled as you made out the buttery yellow flecks in the stone. Taking out your pick, you began to carefully begin digging around the area, your smile getting wider and wider as you encountered more of that wonderful color. After almost an hour, you're able to pull out the plug of metal with stone clinging to the extremities. Going off the weight and the mass, this was a Big Nugget! A massive find in terms of finances, even if it wasn't something that you could exactly bring back to the Dean as incentive to fund a real expedition. But thanks to Prof. Saguaro's contacts, you were certain that you'd be able to find a buyer for the maximum market price.
You found a Big Nugget. Added $30,000 to finances.
You'd continued casting along the wall trying to find more pockets of gold, but all that turned up was some worthless pyrite. Eventually you had returned to the surface; finding that the Professor had spent his time cleaning up the place, while Titan, his Aggron, snoozed outside; enjoying the scouring sand like most pokemon would a gentle breeze. The wind had kicked up and a real haboob was in the offing. Thankfully the seals on the windows and doors were still good, and no dust or sand got in. Titan would also be a good deterrent to anyone that may come investigating the sudden reactivation of the generator.
As you settled down at the old kitchen table, reflexively taking "your" seat, the Professor smiled as he dished up a bowl of chili. "Find anything good?" He doles out a serving for himself while you prepare some pokechow for Hoppip. While technically Porygon didn't need to eat; they were apparently able to "consume" food by running an electrical current through it, absorbing the calories and granting the return flow of electricity "flavor" for their enjoyment.
So you put a couple of dried Oran berries in a stone bowl, and set them down in front of the mon to "eat". Thankfully the process didn't create any kind of acrid burning smell, but afterwards all that was left was a fine white ash; even the seeds reduced to powder.
Turning your attention back to the Professor, you rummage in your pack before setting the hefty chunk of ore down on the table. "Well, I did a field test with Poison Powder, no discoloration on the metal after application. So, I'd say that I've got a pretty solid find here." You sigh a little then. "But no signs of living mon down there. Or even some fossils."
Saguaro nods, spooning up his chili and smacking his lips at the taste. "We still have a week, Nick; plenty of time when you're more actively looking for them than for new finds in the tunnel walls. As it stands this find of yours means that we can offset some of the budget for the Dean in order to make her more likely to find the expedition. Or supplement the budget if we're able to get it."
[ ][Nugget]Use the Nugget to subsidize part of the budget for an expansion. (More likely for the Dean to release funds even if you come up with minimal results)
[ ][Nugget]Use the Nugget to supplement the expedition. (Adds the Big Nugget's worth to the expedition funds before they set out to buy more things)
After coming to a decision, you idly take a bite of the chili... and immediately begin scrabbling for the shelf-stable milk you'd brought with you. You'd forgotten how much the Professor liked spice!!! The man himself was laughing loudly as you chugged the milk to quench the fire in your throat. "Hahahaha! Just like my little brother! He always had more of a sweet tooth. Not a lot of tolerance for heat."
You gasp as you come up for air. "Tolerance for heat?! I'm pretty sure that even an Emboar would have had trouble with that level of spice!" That just got more laughter, as you went and found that the Prof. had doctored both his and your bowls with some Tomato Spice Hot Sauce. The rest of the chili was actually edible, especially after adding some shredded cheese to further smooth out the bite. You went to sleep that night cursing the Professor's enjoyment of spice and pranks.
The next morning you're feeling decidedly less hostile. Sleeping in your old room had been a combination of bitter and sweet as childhood memories clashed with the reality of Grandpa and Grandma both being gone. But with the new day came new opportunities as your Grandpa used to say.
You have 5 AP. You can attempt to either Explore an excavated tunnel, looking for a specific type of treasure, (Here it'll be whatever you decide to focus on, later you can make choices on what to spend each AP on looking for); attempting to find new passages, or attempting to open up collapsed passages. Some passages will not be able to be cleared without improved equipment.
AN: You get one extra AP because I kind of hosed you on the AP costs last turn. Picking a direction to go does not and will not cost an AP going forward.
Your available actions are:
[ ]Follow an open shaft to the (North, South, East)
Pick a cardinal direction. When you get deeper you will also need to choose if you are going up or down. Currently North, South and East are available. The passage West has collapsed. Picking a direction does not cost AP.
[ ]Check a wall for buried treasures.
[ ]Try to track down a trace of living pokemon. [ ]Lay out bait and try to bring in pokemon to you
You will need to use berries or other specialized baits. Currently not available.
[ ]Try to clear collapsed passage to the West. Will take multiple AP. Add "x1" etc for how many AP are being applied. With better gear you'll be able to assess how much AP a blockage will take to remove.
Please vote by plan for spending your AP. Everything else is freeform votes. There will be a one-hour moratorium.
AN: Yeah, unfortunately bad rolls are bad. But at the least you got a fairly significant chunk of change to bolster the main expedition? Also, I've updated the character page with the team, including the moves your mon know and their current levels.
[X][Plan] North-West Clear
-[x] Follow an open shaft to the North.(down)
-[x] Try to track down a trace of living pokemon.
-[x] Check a wall for buried treasures.
-[x] Try to clear collapsed passage to the West. X3
The next day you'd been ready and raring to go. The chili from last night seems to have given you a bit of extra pep in your step (not that you'll admit that to the Prof.) so as soon as you've refilled your canteen and restocked your pack with food you set out.
Before you go though, you release your pokemon. "So, I've got a question. Are you two okay with me giving you nicknames?" Hoppip practically cheered, bounding up and down. You chuckle. "Well that's one yes. How about you?" Porygon considered the question, before giving a single short nod. You smile, scooping up Hoppip before she tires herself out from all the cheering.
"Okay then. So for you little lady, since you've been my sun underground, I wanted to do something connected to the sun. How does Sunny sound?" Hoppip considers, then shakes her head (her whole body really) in the negative. "Okay that's a no for Sunny..." You try a couple of variants before moving on. Eventually though you get a positive response from "Solaris". Not what you'd have expected from the little Grass type, but if she likes it. And she seems fine with you calling her "Sol" for short.
Porygon turns out to be much easier. When you suggest "Ping" because of the sound he makes, along with it being a term for a computer contacting another computer. Ping seems satisfied with the name, his "feet" wiggling as he closes his eyes into an upside down "U" shape denoting their happiness. You'd smiled at their antics even as Sol had cheered for her teammate. With that determined, you'd faced down the four-way inter
You decide today that you'll head to the North first, to see if there's anything to be found there. You find yourself moving through areas that feature more glassy obsidian and other volcanic stones. Which makes sense, the Northwest area of Orre is known for the volcanoes that belch out ash and smoke even now. And the deeper down you go, the more volcanic activity remnants you find. It's not until you're hitting another area of shale that you see an oddly smoothed rock protruding from the layers.
You have Ping and Solaris wait while you begin chipping away carefully. Shale is incredible brittle along the horizontal plane, so you're able to use the tip of your pick to flake away the surrounding stone until you finally are able to pry your prize free from the wall. Flipping it over, you gave a nod of satisfaction seeing the fossilized remnants of grasping legs tucked under the smooth shell.
Gained Dome Fossil - Can be put up for auction for a variable amount, or sold directly to a lab for a guaranteed $10,000.
It was as you were hitting the endpoint for your travels that day that you finally got your first break in looking for living pokemon. You'd entered a cave to find a section of the wall had collapsed, recently. Mixed in with the debris were small leaves, dried out but still flexible. And at the edges of the collapsed area you'd found a few flecks of bright orange crystal. A Sunstone deposit, which was notable because with one singular exception the only mon that had any kind of use for those particular evolution stones were all grass types.
You'd been heading steadily downward today, so you had Ping mark that route as one for further investigation before you'd doggedly stuck to your plan and returned back to the main junction. You could have pushed forward, but risking going too far and running out of food and water was far too much of a danger. Like the Professor had said, you had a week to find something. Rushing recklessly would just get someone hurt, either you or your pokemon and neither was acceptable.
Finding yourself back at the junction you pull out your hammer, pick and shovel and practically attack the cave-in. Clay, stone and scree are all moved out of the way with finesse. No wasted movements as you move the blockage. You get some unexpected and wholly welcomed assistance from Titan as the Aggron assists in removing the loose debris from the tunnel keeping it from getting too cramped.
It's as you're breaking down a small shale boulder with the dark indicators of carrying trace amounts of oil and tar, that you make your second find of the day. You note a stark discoloration poking out of the stone. Setting your hammer aside you get your pick and begin to carefully remove more of the sediment. Eventually you uncover an odd skull with a long, tapered snout. It's small, only a bit bigger than your two fists together, and unfortunately appears to have been separated from the rest of the skeleton at some point so all that you had to go off of is the admittedly unique-looking skull for identification. You carefully stow it in your pack and get back to work; you're about a third of the way through.
As you approach the finish line, your shovel unearths something very odd from the loose rubble you were moving. It looked almost like the shell of a Minior, but not quite. Gently prying it loose, you found that it was a sphere of rock. One that wasn't nearly as heavy as it should have been given its size if it was solid all the way through...
Carefully using the tip of your pick to create a small line of cracks in the stone, you followed that up with some taps from a chisel and small mallet. You grinned as the sphere split perfectly in half. Carefully turning it so that the seam was horizontal in case there was fluid inside (though you hadn't heard any sloshing it was still possible, and then lifted the top half.
Pinkish spikes glinted in the light of Sol's Sunny Day, perfectly geometrically arranged. And while there wasn't fluid, you saw that there were small bits of grit stuck to some of the crystal spikes. Interesting, apparently a geode had formed around some stardust, and turned the sand into crystals. Not entirely unique but certainly worth a bit more than the average pocket of the meteoric sand usually went for. Using a bit of duct tape to hold the halves together, you stored it in your pack and set about finishing the last of the clearing job.
At the end of it you were tired, filthy and sweaty. You'd gone to the showers immediately and spent a good half-hour allowing the warm water to soothe your sore muscles. Emerging feeling at least somewhat human again, you took your pack to the kitchen, where the Prof. was once again working on dinner. Curry from the smell of it this time, and you could see a small secondary pot off to the side, the steam wafting from it carried the pungent smell of peppers and spice.
"So how'd everything go today?" The Professor looked up from where he was dishing up rice. You gave a smile and placed your pack on the table, letting it thump solidly. "Ah, it went well then?" You nod.
"Found evidence of Grass types to the North, looks like there was a small seam of Sunstones that they excavated. The leaves were brown but they hadn't dried out yet; so it was relatively fresh. I'll probably follow up with that tomorrow. But I was hitting the limits of my trip for the day so I turned back. But not before finding this." You pull out the Dome fossil and set it down.
The professor lets out a whistle, examining it carefully, before going and retrieving the gene-reader pad. After attaching small probes to the fossil, he activated it. There was a brief humming and then a short beep followed by a pleasant-sounding ding sound. The Prof. smiled toothily. "Looks like you got a solid one. 98.7% viable genetic strand. Well within revival tolerances." You nod, before reaching into the bag again and pulling out the oddly shaped skull, dyed black from its surroundings for millennia.
"Well now, that's certainly not something you see everyday. May I?" You nod, handing him the skull. He spends several minutes examining it minutely before gently setting it down. "Well congratulations, you appear to have found the skull of an ancient Cyndaquil." You rocked back on your heels, a find like that was incredibly rare! And it also indicated that at one point Cyndaquil had apparently been native to Orre.
"Now then, let's see..." Logging and then clearing the results from the gene-reader, the professor proceeded to attach the probes to the new fossil. After another scan taking about a minute, the device once again let out a beep and a cheerful "ding". The Professor whistled. "By the Four Treasures! 98% viable genetic strand! You could clone a perfectly healthy pokemon from this!"
You consider that carefully even as you pull out the last find. Compared to the first two it's almost something of a letdown, but the interesting formations of crystals inside the geode, especially made from Stardust, means that it'll be at least worth a bit more than the standard pockets of the stuff are worth to artisans.
Items added to the Inventory:
Dome Fossil: Can be put up for auction for a variable amount (Base $8,000), or sold directly to a lab for a guaranteed $10,000. Or keep for revival.
Aberrant fossil: 98 - Starter, 3 Fire type. Snout Fossil = Cyndaquil: Can be kept for later revival, or sold to a research laboratory for $25,000. May also put it up for auction due to its rarity, baseline price would be $15,000 at a minimum; maximum is luck-based.
Stardust geode: worth $2,500 a geode formed during a meteorite impact, the interior is filled with crystallized spikes of Stardust.
The question of course is, what to do with the items you found. Aside from the geode of course. That was getting sold, no question, and added to the war chest for the expedition funds.
[ ][Dome Fossil]Keep it
[ ][Dome Fossil]Sell it to a lab.
[ ][Dome Fossil]Auction it
[ ][Snout Fossil]Keep it
[ ][Snout Fossil]Sell it to a lab.
[ ][Snout Fossil]Auction it
Dinner that night was good, the lead you'd found buoying your spirits as much as the lovely curry fueled your body. You spent that night in a dreamless sleep, and woke refreshed in the morning. Today is the day. You just know it.
---
You have 3 Free AP. You can attempt to either Explore an excavated tunnel, looking for a specific type of treasure, (Here it'll be whatever you decide to focus on, later you can make choices on what to spend each AP on looking for); attempting to find new passages, or attempting to open up collapsed passages. Some passages will not be able to be cleared without improved equipment.
1 AP locked in for following the hints of living pokemon further North.
Your available actions are:
[ ]Follow an open shaft to the (North, South, East, West)
Pick a cardinal direction. When you get deeper you will also need to choose if you are going up or down. North, South East and West are all available. Picking a direction does not cost AP.
[ ]Check a wall for buried treasures.
[ ]Try to track down a trace of living pokemon.
[X]Try to track down a trace of living pokemon.
-[X]Going North and Down [ ]Lay out bait and try to bring in pokemon to you
You will need to use berries or other specialized baits. Currently not available. [ ]Try to clear a collapsed passage.
Add "x1" etc for how many AP are being applied. With better gear you'll be able to assess how much AP a blockage will take to remove. Not available.
Your opening pokemon and the pokemon you acquire over the course of this quest will give access to new options past the opening sequence, as will new or upgraded gear. Currently not available.
Please vote by plan for spending your AP. Everything else is freeform votes.
So, important information for the quest going forward. Once the opening segment is complete, the time scale is going to expand a bit, as will the AP bank to reflect this. So rather than daily delves, you'd be going through a full week of delves and also have more options for things to do topside as well. And each AP will be worth three rolls related to the chosen action rather than a single roll. This is to keep things from becoming a grind for yourselves and me. And as you find specific locations underground you can use them as new starting points for your expeditions. So for example:
6 AP
[Q]Plan Settling In
-[Q]Help get the Berry Fields set up - 0/250
-[Q]Create a general holding area for captured mon to be studied - 0/400 x3
-[Q]Explore underground starting from:
--[Q]The Lava Fieldes
---[Q]Search for pokemon to capture
-[Q]Pick a location to start from and a direction to go to explore.
--[Q]The Lava Fields
--[Q]South and Down
---[Q]check walls for treasure along the way.
And at the end of each turn there will be rolls to determine if any special actions are available, such as a traveling merchant showing up. There will also be end-of turn actions such as buying new upgrades for the Base Camp, or receiving back pokemon from fossils you sent out (or that you special ordered for a specific purpose around the Base Camp). This is when you'd vote for new tech upgrades to be pursued and can elect what to fund with your finds. Some options will require specific materials such as elemental stones, gems, or other treasure items. For example, powering up a scanner that checks for items buried in the walls would require at least one Thunderstone, but if you wanted to make a more specialized scanner to look for a specific item like fossils then you'd need something like a Rare Bone to act as a way to "tune" the scanner.
[X][Plan] Follow the Sun(stones)!
-[x] Follow an open shaft to the North. (Down)
-[x] Try to track down a trace of living pokemon x2.
--[x]Going North and Down
-[x] Check a wall for buried treasures.
-[x] Try to clear a collapsed passage.
[X][Plan] Exploring
-[X]Try to track down a trace of living pokemon.
--[x]Going North and Down
-[x] Check a wall for buried treasures.
-[x] Follow an open shaft to the (South)
--[X]Try to track down a trace of living pokemon.
