Butts time

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You stand on Wailord for a moment, just thinking. You spend almost all of your time being around everyone that you never get many moments of silence anymore. Not that you miss them that much, it’s just that they stand out now. You’re more aware of them.

You see Jane riding her Nidoqueen, going in a different direction. You guess it knows Surf. She just sort of left without saying anything, which really isn’t like her at all. Maybe she just has a lot to think about, too.

You glance over at your friends and pokemon on top of Wailord. Hana is fishing off the side, Abigail is taking advantage of Gardevoir’s communication skills to chat with her Vivillon, and Laki is laying on her back.

You feel like doing so much right now. You guess you’ll have a lot of time on your journey over the waves since the island is pretty far. You'll have a chance to train your pokemon for sure with lots of other time to spare, unless you spend all of time focusing on something else.

Jane is almost out of view. She glances over in your direction though, and offers a subtle one-handed wave. She looks sad, or at least with very little energy.

>Return the gesture
>Yell out a playful rival sounding challenge for next time you meet. Get her energized!
>Call her and try to talk out what’s bothering her
>Something else

I'm ready! Maybe I'll be able to see an entire thread through this time.

>>2320207
>Call her and try to talk out what’s bothering her

Let's do the risky thing. Her talk with Kat probably knocked her down in ways she isn't used to.

>>2320207
>Call her and try to talk out what’s bothering her

>>2320207
>Return the gesture

>>2320207
>Return the gesture
We wished for inner peace, let’s let her find it.

Then

>Call home

>>2320207
>>Call her and try to talk out what’s bothering her
Can't have her moping about, after all.

Anyways, how are you doing tonight, Gobble?

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Not sure what else to do besides try to help out with head-on efforts, you decide to sit cross-legged and call Jane on your pokedex.

It’s hard to see exactly what’s going on with her from this distance. She looks confused at first, then she rummages through her bag. Then she turns back to look at you on Wailord.

You point to your pokedex, beckoning her to answer and confirming that it’s you.

“What’s wrong?” She asks, keeping it audio-only.

“Nothing. I just wanted to call in and see if you were okay. I thought we could just chat about our feelings and-”

The call suddenly ends.

You sigh. You guess that was asking too much. Or maybe you really are just being annoying. You hope not. Are you, though? No. no. That was reasonable.

Your pokedex rings. You glance at it and see it’s Jane. Your eyes shoot back to Jane in the distance, and somehow, even from here, you swear you can tell she’s giving you the stink-eye.

You gleefully answer it, then calm yourself a little to pretend that you’re not excited. “Hello?”

You hear the sound of a sigh, then she talks. “We got disconnected somehow.” She doesn’t sound very convincing, but you let it go. “I didn’t want you to think I was blowing you off. If you want to talk, talk.”

“Really? Okay! Yeah! Well, uhm, I wanted to check in on you. It seemed like whatever you and Kat talked about really bugged you.”

There’s another long silence on the line. “I suppose it did. Herb, can I ask a question?”

“Sure!”

“Am I...” she coughs. “Are...my problems... with people... primarily my own fault?”

>YES! Jeez you’re hard to get along with! So glad you finally understand that!
>Well, sort of
>”Yes.”
>You don’t know about her life. You can’t say
>Other people don’t really make an effort to get to know her. She's just different
>Yes but it's not so bad. Abigail gets in lots of fights too
>Something else

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>>2320219
[Well! At least, not stressed anyway. And you?]

>>2320290
>”Yes

>>2320290
>Some are. I think only you can know what proportion that is.

>>2320290
>You don’t know about her life. You can’t say.
>She's been trying, and that's good.

>>2320290
>”Kind of? I'm not that great at talking to people. I'm just honest while being constructive. Seems to work for the most part."

>>2320290
>>Something else
Let's try and attack this in a roundabout way.

Ask her if we can answer the question by asking her a few questions, and giving our answers to the same questions.

When she's meeting someone for the first time, what does she already assume about that person? We probably assume that a person means well, that they're living life and are probably important to someone. In essence, we think people are good by default, though by either outside events or weaknesses in character they find themselves doing or enjoying bad things.

I think she assumes differently, that people are something to be guarded around, that they are a threat until proven otherwise. It's hard to *not* have problems with people when you start from that mindset.

Jane has grown on me. Maybe on Herb in general. I think she can have closer relationships with people, she just needs to examine her approach, make adjustments, and find what works. She's good at critical analysis like that. It's just a matter of knowing all the avenues she can approach the problem.

>>2320290
>You're a very abrasive person Jane. So while there are things other people can do.... Yes it is primarily your own fault. Arceus's sakes you thought I was trying to play mind games when I was being myself!

>>2320290
>>”...Yes...”

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You cough too now. “Well, I don’t really know your life...” you begin.

“It’s not as bad as others.” She says. “I’ve...I’ve come to see a new perspective about what makes things excusable or not. I think. Just...please be honest, and pretend you’re not jealous of my trainer abilities.”

That’s making it a little easier. “Well, then, yes. Yes. Some are. You’re a very abrasive person, Jane. You thought I was playing weird mind games when we first met and just haven’t been easy to get along with at all. BUT! But, you’re really trying. I’ve noticed it, and so has everyone else I’m sure. It’ll take time, but I’m sure you’ll be able to win people over.”

There’s another long silence. You double check the pokedex just to make sure the call is still connected. It is.

“Herb. I think you’re my best friend. I think you’re my only friend.”

“Oh! Thanks!” You blurt out. You smack yourself on the forehead right after because you hated how your voice cracked. You were taken by surprise! There's a vulnerability in her voice.

“What would you consider me?”

Well, that's a good question. There's no shortage of times you've felt like she was unfair to you. And while your heart strings are really pulling right now for her, can you consider her attitude and actions towards you as the same level of friendship as everyone else? You wouldn't just tell her what you think she wants to hear just because you're rooting for her and feel sorry for her, would you? How do you measure friendship? What about best-friendship?

You dig deep and try to think of an honest answer about how you view your relationship with Jane.

>You’re my best friend too
>Your rival and wellwisher
>You don’t like labels or rankings, but she’s important to you
>You’re -one of- my best friends, just like Polu and Keira and Val!
>Joke. She’s a future harem member, just like Abigail
>Something else

>>2320335
>>2320290
Basically this anon's idea.
>>2320294
Doing great, thanks for asking! A little stressed atm but not stressed-stressed.

>>2320385
>You're one of my freinds, I wouldn't say best because I don't know you well, but I do consider you a friend.

>>2320385
>You don’t like labels or rankings, but she’s important to you
>Your rival

>>2320385
>“Herb. I think you’re my best friend. I think you’re my only friend.”
HNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNGH
>Something else
Future harem member.

>>2320385
>You don’t like labels or rankings, but she’s important to you

>>2320385
>You’re my friend.
>I don’t think I’m your only friend.

>>2320389
>Dont know you well
I think we know more about her and have spent more time with her than half the group

>>2320385
>You don’t like labels or rankings, but she’s important to you

>>2320385
>>2320404
Seconding.

>>2320404
>>2320385
I'll vote for this.

>>2320385
>You don’t like labels or rankings, but she’s important to you

Labeling some friends as better than others seems to me like it cheapens the friendships. But that'd be a personal opinion, and not one that's objectively right or wrong.

Part of getting close to people is learning what makes them different from others and seeing if you accept the differences you see.

We'll support her as best she can. It'd be a little hard to forgive ourselves if we ever think we could have helped her find happiness and we failed. It'd mean we failed as a friend, and with the number of friends we try to keep that's not a small thing to be concerned about.

>>2320404
>>2320385
I'll back this too. At the very least she has family, right? She seems close to her grandfather, and that's *not* irrelevant. It's another starting point if she wants to look at her relationships critically.

>>2320425
I was thinking more along the lines of, like, Keira. And maybe hinting that now she can move forwards with Laki, even if it feels like just a rivalry right now. Can't say I know she's interacted much with the others.

>>2320385
>You’re my best friend too
Laki and hana are girlfriends.
Keira is.. Sad I don't want to think about that.
Aby is a charity case.
And Valerie and Polu are forgotten.

>>2320385
>>Your rival
>>You don’t like labels or rankings, but she’s important to you

She's a lot of things, but the one that comes most to mind is that she's Herb's rival. Not in a bad way, but she tests him in a way the others don't. I don't know about in character motivations all to well but I know I certainly look forward to the two fighting more than the random encounters and gym fights.

I could easily see that being one of Herb's reasons to keep training and pushing himself.

>>2320435
True. Keira would probably call her a friend, and as weird as she may seem on the outside she's not a terrible judge of character.

She'd have at least two other friends then. A good amount for some people, but more than enough to learn from if she's interested in introspection.

>>2320385
>>2320454(you)
>>2320458
Will support this too. She's a... Yeah she's a friend in Herb's eyes, if only because he's willing to see the good past all the crap.

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You think for a moment. The sound of the waves and distance on the massive pokemon almost entirely drowns out the sound from Abigail laughing at something. It gives you a

“You’re very important to me.”

“...as a friend?” You don’t think you’ve ever heard such a feminine or hostility-free tone from her.

“Of course! I don’t really like rankings or labels or anything, I mean, I’m not even sure what Hana and Laki are supposed to be called, but I know what’s important to me. You’re very important to me.” You repeat for emphasis.

You expect another moment of silence, but instead there’s some muttering on the other side of the line. You don’t quite catch it all, but generally it sounds like she’s debating with herself if you’re just trying to make her vulnerable or not. She concludes that you aren’t, and tries to hide a sniffle. “You...are someone I occasionally feel, plays a significant part of my...” she takes a moment to breath. “You’re my best friend.” She repeats as well. This time though, it doesn’t carry that heartbreaking quality as before.

“I don’t think I’m your only one.” You say cheerfully.

“What do you mean?” She asks. “h-Hey! Hitmonlee we talked about touching...okay. One hug.” She relents. There’s another pause. “Alright! Alright! But-Hey! HEY! HANDS!”

The call abruptly ends. You consider calling her back, but when you get a single text saying “Thanks. I still won’t go easy on our next rematch.” You decide to leave it be for now.

You think about what to do next. You have plenty of time, but you also know that your adventure has been anything but uneventful. Who knows what will happen between now and when you get to your destination?

>Call home. Mom’s not likely to be home at this hour, but your brother and dad are
>Call Polu
>Go massage Laki
>Start training now, before your bad luck strikes
>Fish with Hana
>Chat with Abigail
>Look for wild pokemon swimming or flying around
>Something else

>>2320495
>>Call Polu

Gobble, Mom is the one at home I want to talk to the most though!

>>2320495
>>Call home. Mom’s not likely to be home at this hour, but your brother and dad are
>Call Polu

>>2320495
>Call home. Mom’s not likely to be home at this hour, but your brother and dad are
>Call Polu

>>2320495
>>Call Polu
We did kinda get shade for not calling Val often enough. Let's try not to repeat that mistake with other friends!

>>2320495
>Call home. Mom’s not likely to be home at this hour, but your brother and dad are
>Call Polu

>>2320495
>Ask Laki and Hana if they consider jane a friend.
If they do text poor Jane they're her friends too.

>Go massage Laki

>>2320495
>>Call Polu

Is it wrong that I’m rooting for Hitmon to win the Janebowl?

>>2320553
Yes. Shame, anon.

>>2320553
Yeah that's messed up.

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You suppose you have some calls to make. That time with Hana’s guardians really got to you. You haven’t called mom in forever! And what’s dad up to? Is your little brother doing okay?

Okay. You’ll call home, then call Polu.

You ring home up and it’s your little brother that answers. “Herb!” He screams. “DAD! IT’S HERB! MOM! HERB!”

“Oh, mom’s home?” You light up.

“What does that mean? Are you avoiding me?” Mom teases. She must have just picked up.

“The poor boy’s probably being picked on enough.” Dad says.

“Yes. Your...two girlfriends.” Mom coughs. “That’s very progressive.” Her tone is restrained. She quickly brightens up though. “They did seem like nice girls though.”

“They are!” You say. You answer a bunch of questions about your journey, describing things in very broad, vague strokes because otherwise you feel you wouldn’t be able to go over it all in a single call. It really has been eventful, hasn’t it?

It turns out mom is working from home. She isn’t sure what happened, but it sounds like someone high up decided she was an employee that deserved a few extra perks and could be trusted to handle most, but not all, days from her desk.

“I don’t know how I feel about it, to be honest.” Mom says. “I thought I’d be in trouble, not rewarded. And I don’t know about losing touch with people at work.” She starts to giggle for some reason.

“But there are perks to working at home.” Dad’s voice says. It sounds like it’s coming from your mom’s phone though.

“Honey! Stop!” Your mom giggles.

“Do you have any advice for me when I start my journey?” Your brother asks. Your parents seem to scuffle apart, remembering he’s home. Jeez, dad.

Huh. Advice for your brother. Well, he’s a lot like you, in terms of being generally a little shy and not liking confrontation. Then again, is that really you anymore? Do you know enough to pass advice off to him? Is it best to just pretend you know so he’s confident in you? Maybe you do have a lot of wisdom but you’re just lacking the confidence to take charge and dispense it.

“Herb?” He asks again

Right. Advice. You know how he looks up to you. Whatever you tell him will stick.

>Never say ‘no’ to anything on your journey
>Study hard! Pokemon battling is complicated
>Forget studying pokemon. Try to figure out girls before you go adventuring
>You have no idea. But you’re sure he’ll be fine if he believes in himself
>Wild pokemon can be dangerous and she should always be careful
>Wait wait wait. Mom, why would you be in trouble at work?
>Subtly ask about the money situation at home
>Something else

>>2320604
>Be careful, but have fun too.

>Wait wait wait. Mom, why would you be in trouble at work?

>>2320604
>>Wait wait wait. Mom, why would you be in trouble at work?
>Bro, be ready to approach things with an open mind..... and sometimes a quick fist.

>>2320604
>>Something else
Make friends and stick with them as you go along. The journey is more fun when you have people to share it with.

Also, frying pans make great weapons. He can ask the others about it later.

>Wait wait wait. Mom, why would you be in trouble at work?

>>2320604
>Wait wait wait. Mom, why would you be in trouble at work?
>You have no idea. But you’re sure he’ll be fine if he believes in himself
>and she should
Brother..or.. sister?

>>2320627
She's genderfluid, apparently.

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>>2320627
[Oops. Brother.]

>>2320604
>Wait wait wait. Mom, why would you be in trouble at work?
>Something else
Nothing specific, just thoughts you've had about your journey.

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“Well, if I had to distill it down, I’d say you should always be careful, but approach everything with an open mind and try to make as many friends as possible. That’s the most fun.”

“Oh.” You hear your brother say. You know how he is with socializing. It’s not like he never does it, he’s just a little shy with strangers. “Are your pokemon your friends too?”

“Of course!” You say, looking over at Dice swimming alongside Wailord. Belladonna and Sorbet are playing what looks like tag, using a sleeping Mace as an obstacle. They both leap on top of him and kick off, making him roll over onto his side. He looks annoyed and then goes back to sleep. Gobble runs in to join them and trips over Mace too. Looking like he won’t be able to catch the smaller pokemon easily, he gives up and decides to go back and put Mace back to his normal position. “Making friends with people and pokemon isn’t that different.”

“Okay!” His voice is so cheerful. He makes being an older brother so easy.

But there’s something else you want to go back to. “Mom, what did you mean about getting in trouble?”

“Oh that? Well, it’s really a boring story. I just ended up with what I thought were some strange errors in resource allocation.” Your mom tells you a story that meanders quite a bit, which is normal for her. She eventually gets to the main point of the story, which is that when she brought up the irregularities to her boss she felt like her concerns weren’t taken seriously and she went over his head to Jacob, who took her concerns seriously and rewarded her with a bonus and some perks.

“Well that’s great!” You say.

“I guess it is.” You mom relaxes. “And don’t think I forgot about you. I set aside some of the bonus for you. I’ll send it by PC the next time you’re at one of the more modern Pokemon centers.” She says with a heavy hint in her voice.

Oh right! The money you lent her!

“Your sister says hi, by the way.”

“She has a new boyfriend.” Dad says. “She’s been going out almost every day. You might see her if you go to Huka or Terichi. She’s been there non-stop.”

Cool! You’ll have to meet him. You chat for a bit more about this or that and the call starts to slow down.

>Ask about something else
>Alright, bye! See you later! (call Polu)
>Something else

>>2320793
So is polu or max banging our sister? And if it's Max how do we kill him without the frying pan?

>Ask about something else
Tell dad you saw his Heracross.

>>2320793
>>Alright, bye! See you later! (call Polu)

>>2320805
>>2320797
Didn’t we say earlier that’s a bad idea?

>>2320847
No idea. I don't usually read whatever it is other people say.

>>2320850
I mean, that’s what Abigail recommended and Herb seemed to agree.

>>2320860
Then I didn't pay attention at all. Because that doesn't make sense to me.

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“Why did he ignore you?” You ask your mom.

“Oh. Well, between you and me I’m starting to suspect someone either messed up or tried to embezzle something.” She thinks. “Maybe...maybe I should check in with Jacob and see what’s going on.”

“Honey, let it go.” Dad says.

“Oh yeah, dad. There’s one thing I wanted to talk to you about.”

Dad has mom and your brother get off the call. You don’t think that’s necessary, but you don’t stop him either.

“You’re wondering how to seal the deal with the girls, aren’t you? It’s okay son. First, don’t panic-”

“Dad! No! It’s about Heracross.”

You explain to him about the Heracross and grave, and how with Keira’s help, Heracross was able to go to the other side.

“I can’t believe it.” He says. “This whole time...”

He asks a lot of questions about where and when it happened, how Heracross acted, and if everything is still there. By the end of it, he declares that he’s going to go visit the grave.

“I know he’s gone now but it still feels right.” He says. “Babe, I’m going out for awhile.”

The call comes to a pause as your parents start talking. You can’t hear all of it but she doesn’t seem to want him to go but eventually relents because since she’s working from home she can look after your brother.

“Herb, I have to go.” Your mom says. “Lunch time soon. Oh, you’re eating okay, aren’t you?”

“Yes mom.” You smile. You understand her concern about feeding everyone now more than ever, and already go over what you’ll prepare for the group in your head.
After the call ends, you dial Polu.

“Hello?”

“Polu! It’s me! Herb!”

“Who?” Wait, his voice doesn’t sound familiar at all. This isn’t Polu.

“Sorry. I think I called the wrong person.”

“Wait, wait. You’re looking for the kid with the hair, right? He sold me this pokedex.”

What? Why would he do that? “Does he have a new one? Is he okay? Why didn’t he tell me? Is he still adventuring?”

“Look. Sorry. I have no idea. He sold it pretty cheap though. He seemed eager to get rid of it. I was a little paranoid about it but this thing works fine.”

>Call Valerie, Jane, and Keira and ask them to have Polu call you if they run into him
>Hana, Laki, Abigail, we’re taking a detour
>Polu would be in touch if he were in trouble. You’ll see him eventually. Don’t worry
>Ask the man on the phone some questions (write-in)
>Something else

>>2320901
>>Call Valerie, Jane, and Keira and ask them to have Polu call you if they run into him

>>2320901
>Text your friends about Polu, bring it up with your girls and Abby.

>>2320901
This
>>2320915

>>2320901
>Text your friends about Polu, bring it up with your girls and Abby.

>>2320901
>Ask how long ago was this
>Text your friends about Polu, bring it up with your girls and Abby.

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“How long ago did he sell it?”

“Just yesterday.” He says. “Seemed like a nice kid.”

You thank the voice on the other end of the phone and text all your friends. If anyone figures out what’s going on with Polu, they’ll let you know.

You decide to go tell the girls and Abigail about Polu too. Hana is already running over. “Herb! Herb have you heard from Polu recently? Val just texted me.”

Wow. They text more than you realized. “Yeah.” You explain that you’re the one that contacted Valerie. She seems to already know that and is typing furiously with her thumbs before you even finish the sentence.

“So, who is this guy?” Abigail asks.

“Oh right. You haven’t met him, have you?” You tell her. “He’s an awesome guy. You’d really like him. He gets along with everyone and he’s got this cool bandana!”

“Hana and I don’t need to be jealous, do we?” Laki jokes.

“So what are we going to do?” Hana asks. “Should we

“Aren’t you guys overreacting? People sell pokedex’s and junk all the time.” Abigail folds her arms. “It’s not that big a deal."

“Yeah. We call it a copper-market.” Laki says. “You know, because of the stolen copper and redheaded people selling it and other stolen stuff...” Laki’s sentence trails off as Abigail gives her a nasty look.

Abigail suddenly turns cheerful. “I’m just messing with you. That’s totally true and not even offensive. I’ve run booths myself.”

(continued)

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>>2321063
>“So what are we going to do?” Hana asks. “Should we go looking for him?"
[Sorry. Here's a butt]

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>>2321063
“I don’t mind postponing the visit to my parents.” Laki says. “You know, for a day, week, year, couple decades. It’s all fine.” She half-jokes. “But I agree with this one here. Polu’s a big boy and not an idiot. He’d let us know if he were in trouble. I’d be a lot more worried if it were you instead of him.” Laki leans on your shoulder. She makes you feel a little small, sometimes. It’s less that she’s that much taller than you and more that she just seems to have so much more presence and confidence.

Hana leans down and scratches Mace. it doesn’t seem as effective without the vibrations. “I guess so. Plus we don’t really know where to start. If it’s only been a day since he sold it and we haven’t heard anything, we probably shouldn’t panic. Plus crime on the islands is really low. I had to remind Robin of that a lot.”

Laki and Abigail exchange a look. Gardevoir takes on a smug facial expression. “Recorded crime is low.” Abigail says. “But yeah, literally nothing about this sounds suspicious to me.”

You feel a little guilty about suddenly worrying about your things near Abigail. You let that feeling go quickly, though. “I guess you guys are right.” You hope you hear from him soon, though.

What Hana said reminded you though. You meant to bring up what she told Robin about her relatives. You take her aside and explain that Robin sounded like she might check in about them.

“Oh crap!” Hana says. “Okay. Here’s the plan. I’ll get a different pokedex and pretend to be them and call Robin first. If it’s audio only and I get someone else to talk then that’ll work, right?”

“You want to fake it?”

“What choice do I have? I’m not going to ask my aunt and uncle! They hated my parents. They stole a bunch of the inheritance!” Hana sighs. “Okay. Well, the pokedex thing is a tricky plan. Oh! What if I ask Laki’s parents?”

“No way!” Laki protests. “Even if they agreed to that, which they wouldn’t, ever, Kat and Robin would figure out out eventually. You can’t just keep all our parental figures from meeting each other. I’m not planning on letting my man go anytime soon.” Laki grabs you arm and yanks you in posessively. You feel pretty tingly hearing that.

“Well I need to do something!’ Hana panics. "I can't let them know I lied! What if they want to end my journey?"

>Advise her to come clean. Robin and Kat will understand
>With some makeup and Hana’s knowledge of camera tricks, maybe we can fake a call
>Tell her to forget about it. They might not even check in
>Stay out of it. She'll calm down and figure it out. She's smart
>Something else

>>2321087
>Advise her to come clean. Robin and Kat will understand.

>Waiting will just make it harder, and they just saw how well you’re doing.

>Chances are Claire already knows and is giving you a chance to let Kat and Robin know.

>Your choice though.

>>2321087
Yeah>>2321090

>>2321090
this

>>2321087
>Advise her to come clean. Robin and Kat will understand
>And ask Robin if she can roll back that arm update, because you know, she lost the you know what, if Hana can't say it you will.

>Advise her to come clean. Robin and Kat will understand
With >>2321090 as well, especially the Clair part.

Honestly, though, none of us are really staying at home during our journey, and it's not like Kat and Robin did either while they were journeying. No, the real problem is going to be in hiding it from them in the first place, and there's nothing to do about that other than throw ourselves onto the sword and patch her back up afterward.

>>2321099
If we ask to roll back the arm update, mention that Mace enjoyed it since Hana is the only one who can give the Roggenrola equivalent of behind-the-ear scratches. It's completely true!

>>2321116
>>2321087
Damn. Forgot to link.

My impression was that vibrating was bad for the arm, physically.

We can buy her a vibe with the money mom’s wiring is. Or just bone her.

Should we check out Kontote on the way to Akenaki? It’s Polu’s home island, and the detour will give us a chance to ask Laki about her family, what they’ll expect of us, and how not to embarrass her.

Plus I’ve been curious about the normal temple since the start of this quest and our time flower (which we never did show to anyone in the grass temple or to Jeneane) would let us prove what really happened, if only to ourself at minimum.

>>2321087
Kinda bummed we finally reach out to polu and he just sold his dex. Did anyone else keep in touch with him? Did we ever have missed calls from him? Something's fishy.

>>2321147
upset that we invited everyone except him to the grass temple thing?

>>2321178
I thought he wasn't comfortable with temples though? Otherwise I would have tried to invite him along.

>>2321184
ah, that's true m8

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“I think you should just tell them.” You say, putting a hand on her slender shoulder. “They’ll understand. They were young once.”

“Dude they were never young.” Hana says. “They’re really amazing people but I don’t think they’ve ever dealt with what it’s like to be a teenager. I mean, have you seen their lives? They went from kids to champions or nobility or elite four or running a business or writing books! They ooze responsibility. Especially Kat. She’s crazy thorough about safety and she even keeps anti-psychic stuff in her bag all the time.” Hana is breathing really heavily, working herself up. “She’s ready for anything! I can’t even remember to wear matching socks!”

Oh. That’s what that’s about. You thought it had to do with her legs or something. It works though, the mismatched socks are cute and not that noticeable.

“Calm. Down.” Laki says. “Haven’t you ever been in trouble before?”

“Not really! They’ve walked in on me...uh...well they weren’t mad.” Hana looks down. “What am I going to do? What if they’re even more disappointed in me?”

“Even more?” You ask.

“Huh?” Hana says. “I just mean that Robin will be upset. I lied to her.”

“Waiting will just make it harder.” You tell her. You understand how she feels. You hate lying to people. “And maybe they already know. I mean, with Clair and all.”

“Yeah that must be really weird.” Abigail says. “Hanging with a psychic all day. What if she overhears weird thoughts?”

“Well at first you try not to think of anything dirty, but then your mind gets filled with intrusive thoughts and every time you make eye contact with her you wonder if she’s listening and judging you or if her low cut top is trying to encourage it or...” Hana shakes her head. “Off topic. Do you really think I should come clean?”

You nod. “It’s your choice, but that’s what I would do.”

“I guess.” Hana fidgets. “Laki, you’ve got to do something for me though.”

“What?”

“If they do want to end my journey and take me back, you can just adopt me. A clergy member could officiate it. We could call Keira.”

Laki rolls her eyes. “Yeah. Sure. If they don’t want you to continue, I’ll adopt you.”

You watch as Hana goes off to make the call. She looks nervous, but Abigail and Laki think she’s overreacting.

“Would you really adopt her?” Abigail says.

“That would be too weird.” Laki answers back. “And never going to have to happen. Hana’s crazy. Those women were way more down to earth than she thinks.”

You all watch as Hana talks to her pokedex. After a bit of time and what seems like some emotional moments, she turns back and gives you a thumbs up. Looks like she’s not going to be recalled any time soon.

Even though Laki and Abigail were sure about that, you feel a huge sense of relief. Her panic was infectious.

(continued)

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>>2321196
You’ve still got a lot of time on your ride. Abigail is playing with some pokemon, acting surprisingly unsarcastically. Laki keeps her eye on Hana for a bit longer before taking in some sun and reading. Your pokemon either play with Abigail, other pokemon, or nap. Hana’s rod is still set up and ready to fish.

>Give Laki a massage
>Wait until her call is done and give Hana a massage
>Train your pokemon
>Call someone else
>Hang with Abigail and Gardevoir
>You can’t let it go. Let’s detour to search for Polu
>Read and study
>Something else

>>2321199
>Give Laki a massage
Use what we learned on Robin

>>2321199
>>Give Laki a massage

>Tell her you need her help practicing aura massage

>Talk about her family. What are they like? What will they expect from you? What's the name of her and Hana's relationship anyways?

>Does she want to take a detour and check out Kontote first? It's kind of on the way and if you find Polu's family you can at least drop a message off with them.

>>2321199
>>Give Laki a massage
with added aura

>>2321199
Let's lead off with "Can you do me a favor and let me practice massage on you?"

I really like that line is all.

>>2321199
>>Give Laki a massage

>>2321196
“Dude they were never young.” Hana says. “They’re really amazing people but I don’t think they’ve ever dealt with what it’s like to be a teenager. I mean, have you seen their lives? They went from kids to champions or nobility or elite four or running a business or writing books! They ooze responsibility. Especially Kat. She’s crazy thorough about safety and she even keeps anti-psychic stuff in her bag all the time.” Hana is breathing really heavily, working herself up. “She’s ready for anything! I can’t even remember to wear matching socks!”

>Insert my sides image here.

Someone point Hana to the archive for evidence to the contrary.

>>2321199
>Give Laki a massage

>>2321240
I'm sure Hana's being pointed out some stuff by the girls themselves right now.

Mismatched socks are cute though, good taste Herb.

>>2321199
>Give Laki a massage

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You decide to give Laki some long overdue attention.

“Laki?”

“What’s up, Soft Hands?”

"Can you do me a favor and let me practice massage on you?"

She grins. “Alright, but since you’re just practicing, it doesn’t count towards all the massages you owe me.”

You’re about to object to that when she undoes her top and lays down. You guess there are worse things than having to do this more. “Are you okay if it’s an aura massage?”

“Yeah. Sure.” She says, wiggling a little. Oh jeez those hips. “My shoulders are killing me.”

You straddle over her and start working her shoulders. Laki really was tense! She’s relaxing more now though. You always liked how responsive she was to this. It builds confidence and makes it a lot easier for you.

“So, what can you tell me about your parents?”

“Nervous, huh?” She smirks. “Good. That means you’re serious about us. My dad is a construction worker. Carpentry. Strong man. Likes to read. Mom is...well let me put it this way; you’re going to assume that somehow she’s not my real mom.”

“How come?”

“She’s tiny, dainty, and knows more about make-up than you and Valerie combined.”

That’s quite the claim! “Great! I can’t wait to meet them!”

Laki tenses a little, but that just helps you ferret out her sore spots. “Aww-ha yeah that’s the spot.” She moans. “I don’t know about that. Dad can be intense. Mom too, in her own way. They’re going to grill you pretty hard.”

“Oh.”

“This is the part where you say I’m worth any grilling.” Laki hints.

“I thought that went without saying.” You say genuinely.

“Right answer.” She says, melting under your handiwork. “Anything you say right now is a right answer, though.”

“Oh yeah! What do you call you and Hana?”

“Sal-mates.” She says. “Like Salazzle. And yeah, I know. The genders are reversed. It works better in Loanan.”

Huh. That’s neat.

“I feel like I should do something for her. I feel bad about not getting her anything for her birthday.”

“She didn’t say anything. I don’t think she’s offended.” You work Laki’s legs.

“Nah. She wouldn’t be. Still.” She sighs. “I’m not complaining, but isn’t there an aura part to this massage? Or do you only do that sort of thing for old ladies like Robin?” She teases.

“Robin didn’t look that old at all.” You say. Somehow, a mental picture of your dad telling you to shut up enters your mind. Laki becomes a bit more tense.


>Just keep it a regular massage, finish up, and move on to the next thing
>Try to manipulate her aura the same way you did to Robin. Get lewd
>Just try to clean her aura up a bit. Help her find some more clarity
>See about trying to unlock her potential
>Try experimenting with other stuff, like taking a small amount of energy
>Something else

Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>2321267
>Try to manipulate her aura the same way you did to Robin. Get lewd
Rolling to turn her into a quivering mess

>>2321267
>>try to clean her aura up a bit. Help her find some more clarity

then

>Try experimenting with other stuff, like taking a small amount of energy

and afterwards:

>Mention potential unlocking. And how it works, apparently, like mega-evolution.

Don't you mean like Salandit, Gobble? They're the ones who are in the harem, as well as being not-girls.

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>>2321276
[Oops! Yes indeed!]

>>2321267
>>Just try to clean her aura up a bit. Help her find some more clarity
>Try to manipulate her aura the same way you did to Robin. Get lewd

>>2321267
>>Just try to clean her aura up a bit. Help her find some more clarity
maybe throw a little lewd in there too, but not too much we're in public

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[Roll roll roll!]

>>2321267
>Try to manipulate her aura the same way you did to Robin. Get lewd

Rolled 72 (1d100)

>>2321285
Do we get to use the crystal on this?

What does it do, mechanically?

>>2321267
>Just try to clean her aura up a bit. Help her find some more clarity

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>>2321287
[Sure! It makes everything requiring aura focus a bit easier, lowering the DC for roles.]

Rolled 10 (1d100)

>>2321285

Rolled 94 (1d100)

>>2321287
Am late and distracted. Hi Gobble.

>>2321295
Put the paramedics on standby, I think we might be in for a shattered pelvis.

>>2321294
Well, not rolling again anytime soon.

On the subject of birthday gifts for Hana, I'd say ask her moms about a set of prosthetics that would let her swim again.

>>2321293
Does that include an expanded crit range?

Also, there’s an idea for a birthday gift if you want Laki. Dress Herb up in that robe he kept and have a “girl’s night”.

>>2321299
It’s the internal move-assist system that’s the limiting factor though.

(Realistically though a decent sized inner tube would keep her afloat. She should really be wearing one while at sea if a life jacket doesn’t quite cut it.)

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>>2321307
>>2321295
[Yeah that's a crit]

>>2321317
Herb is a good boy

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>>2321317
Hot damn that’s a nice crystal.

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“Excuse me?” Laki asks. You think you’re in trouble, but she relaxes again under the care of your hands. “You’re lucky you’re good at this, Soft Hands.”

You spend some wordless time just massaging her and cleaning up her aura. There’s a lot of little sticky bits here and that that you sort of see. Well, not quite see, but sense. It’s hard to explain. You guess it helps that you’re using that crystal Jeanine gave you.

Cleaning an aura is a strange thing. You have no idea what any of these different coloured bits are, but you know they’re out of order. There’s a harmony and sorting that everything needs. A place for all these stray feelings. It’s like every conflicting thought or unsettled emotional moment lays out a stain or shadow or impression of some sort. They eventually clean themselves up if left on their own, but things can get clogged if there’s too much of a mess.

After a good while though, you feel like you’ve really made a difference. Laki’s aura seems spotless compared to before. Her body feels more relaxed and her general demeanor seems calmer.

“Mind if I try something?”

“Go ahead.” She mumbles into her arms, smiling.

“It might get...intimate.”

“I already said yes.” She says contently.

You find yourself recreating what you did with Robin, except intentionally this time. Laki’s aura is different of course, but knowing her and just being on a good roll, you’re able to sort of sense the general rivers and flows of different energies. With just a small but precise gesture, you’re able to open the flow a bit.

Oh jeez, that went open way easier. Ah! Of course it did. Laki’s way more relaxed and open to that sort of thing with you, so it only makes sense that this would be so easy.

“What, uh, what did you do?” Laki starts to breath heavily.

“I just redirected a flow of energy that was already there.” You say. You think that’s accurate. It’s your understanding of it, anyway.

“Yeah huh.” She’s squirming a bit, rubbing her legs together. “Did you notice we’re in the flat, open ocean?”

“Oh yeah. Sorry.” You start to feel a little guilty Abigail is way on the other side of Wailord, and because he curves a little, Laki is hidden as long as she’s laying flat.

Laki’s breathing is very sharp now. “Soft Hands...” She sounds so helpless. So pleading. “Fix it.”

You panic. “Umm, I’m not sure how. Maybe if I concentrate my aura I can-”

“Not what I meant.” Her hand grabs your collar and yanks you down. Holy heck she’s strong!

[That’s it for tonight, everyone. We’ll be going tomorrow!]

>>2321333
Pfft. Poor Gardevoir.

Goodnight!

It’s good to see Herb progressing in his training like this, and that he doesn’t have to rip out bits of his soul to do something productive. Hopefully he’ll keep on this path and will take up those other skill trees too, like human potential unlocking and self-healing.

Might want to practice aura-taking with Gobbo or Wailord first though, since they have the most to spare.

I can see future-Herb as able to just straight-up eat people’s negative emotions.

>>2321343
Also, does this count as a threesome with Wailord?

>>2321333
Thanks for running!

>>2321333
Night Gobble.

>>2321333
Thanks for running gobble

>>2321333
Thanks for running Gobble!

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>>2321343
>>2321349
>>2321361
>>2321383
>>2321409
[Thanks! Have a lewdbin! https://pastebin.com/48LEWs3t
We'll have a thread in an hour-ish]

>>2323532
>That final sentence
Oh jeezus, I don't think Herb could survive that.

>>2323532
Yes. YES!

We actually fucked someone into passing out.

>>2323532
I hope we didn't make Wailord too uncomfortable getting all our... auras on his back.

WOO!

>>2323532
>Hana

Oh. Oh god.

What is Hana going to be like when she can't control her power level anymore?

I'm suddenly very worried for Herb.

Butt time!
>Line 33 - You barely touching her!
Should be "You're"

>Line 37 - Laki’s reacting is almost scary
Should be "reaction"

>Line 53 - This time though, your head
Should probably have a comma before "though"

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>>2323714
[Thanks!]

>>2323532
Great bin, Gobble. Can't wait till we practice aura massage on Hana. We should do something like a spa day for the girls.

>>2323740
A butt of best girl! Today is now worth it!

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http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/qstarchive.html?tags=Pokemon%20Island%20Adventure%20Quest
https://twitter.com/GobbleQM
Character info pastebin in progress: http://pastebin.com/iB0tb7rz
Dice odds for best of 3: http://pastebin.com/994WTT3g

General rules:

There is a 10 minute voting period after each post. Non-contradictory votes will be combined as best as possible.

Write-ins for all votes are always welcome and encouraged. They may not all make it into the post or be altered to fit in, but I'll do my best to at least try to address the spirit of the write-in.

Very important or contentious votes may be redone in a stricter voting system as circumstances warrant.

Combat mechanics involve three rolls of 1d100, taking the best, and using the base accuracy and crit ranges of the the PTU system, roughly, but the 'turn order' will be more like the anime, where sometimes you can do a few moves in a row or be hit by a combo of moves yourself, all depending on circumstances. Stronger moves tend to take more time and have more cooldown than weaker moves and also may leave you open to an interrupt, so beware of that timing. Speed is more important for closing ground, intercepting, and other things and doesn't necessarily mean going first.

Pokemon and trainers are unique, and may have certain specializations, skills, or other things that the video-game mechanics might not allow. Some examples: That kung fu Bellsprout in the anime, that crystal Onix, or a Roggenrolla that can fly. Herb's perception skills, pokemon knowledge, context clues in general, and other things will hopefully come into play to avoid completely unfair, unforeseeable bullshit, but expect more bullshit from more advanced trainers.

Call me out on a mistake and receive a suggestive picture, mostly likely a butt.

Pokemon:
Gobble (Munchlax)
Mace (Roggenrola)
Belladonna (Roserade)
Dice (Croconaw)
Sorbet (Vulpix)

Location: Between Tabo and Akaneki via Wailord

>>2323776
I think we owe Gardevoir an apology.

>>2323792
I mean, she might have liked it tbqh.

>>2323802
That's beside the point.

>>2323802
Yeah. In all honesty, we shouldn't be mindfucking our poke-pals.

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You stretch, feeling the ocean breeze and listening to the waves gently crash against Wailord. You decide to go to the front and check in on how he’s doing, leaving Laki, who still has a small twitch, to rest.

“How are you doing?” You try to crawl as close to his face as possible.

He makes a delighted an cheerful noise. It reverberates through his whole body.

“Awesome, buddy.” You pat him on the head. You have no idea if he can even feel that.

You still have a long time before you arrive.

You glance over the water and see a small boat.

“Oh! Oh!” Abigail shoots up. “Fisherman! Pull up to them!” She taps Wailord on the head. “That way!”

“What’s going on?” Hana comes over.

“I want to buy some fish.” Abigail says, as if the answer is obvious.

Oddly enough, the fishermen don’t freak out at all as the massive Wailord gently pulls alongside. Abigail gives some money to her Vivilon, who delivers it to the fishermen, who in turn give the Flying pokemon some fish to bring back.

“Hey! What kind of ripoff deal is this!” Abigail complains. “We ought to have Wailord here scoop up the entire fishery here!”

The lead fisherman yells back at her. The two get locked in a furious debate over the value of those particular fish. You and Hana and the other fisherman all exchange a look that communicates how none of you want to get involved in that.

“Hey, either of you two got water pokemon? Want to battle?” One of the fisherman says, leaning over the side. You see a Seaking pop out of the water next to the boat. “We’re out here all day or until we fill our hold, and we’re not going to fill our hold.”

>Sure!
>Nah. Do some training after Abigail and the lead Fisherman come to an agreement, though
>Nah. Go meditate. Clear your head
>Nah. Do some studying
>No, but ask for fishing tips
>Something else

>>2323792
I think gard owes us one

I'd be up for apologizing, Gardevoir's a special case, gotta be careful with just how empathetic she is.

>>2323822
>>Nah. Do some training after Abigail and the lead Fisherman come to an agreement, though

GIT SWOLE time

>>2323822
>>Sure!
Dice could use the experience

>>2323833
Supporting

Gib swole.
Been neglecting it and both gfs can kill us atm . Surprised lakis leg twitch didn't snap our neck

>>2323822
>Nah. Do some training after Abigail and the lead Fisherman come to an agreement, though

Tbh we're heavily neglecting all forms of training atm. What better place to pick up slack than tabo

>>2323822
>No, but ask for fishing tips

I’m still sated from battling the champs.

>>2323822
>>Sure!
Send out Dice.

>>2323833
Actually, this. Train our body AND our Pokemon.
>>2323822

>>2323822
>>Sure!

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“I’m good. Thanks.” you say. Truth be told, you’d rather get some training done before any more battles. You feel like you’ve been a bit slack on that front.

“Me too.” Hana says. “I’m not much of a battler.”

You glance at her for a moment. You thought she was a fantastic battler back at the electric gym. You wonder if she’s doing alright.

Almost as if to answer your question though, she shoots you a smile and goes back to fishing.

“Hey! Girl! What are you doing, fishing in our spot?”

She shoots up. “I-I’m sorry! I’m not much of a fisher either and I don’t know the rules. H-how far should I be? Is-”

“Relax, kiddo. We’re just giving you a hard time. You catch anything here you’ll prove you’re a better fisher than us.” They laugh. “You can fish anywhere you want, assuming it’s a haul no bigger than this boat.”

Hana relaxes, looking a little embarrassed, but relieved.

As the haggling wraps up, Abigail gleefully looks over her much bigger group of fish. She pulls out a small knife and cutting board.

Before you can ask if you’re expected to cook those (you don’t mind. You’re excited at the idea) you see Gobble waddle over to help. Abigail acts a little guarded around the food at first, but he quickly proves his willpower and skill, winning her over.

You look out at your other pokemon. Gobble probably won’t take long, so you can train him if you want.

>Train your own body
>Train all your pokemon
>Train a specific pokemon the whole time to help give them a big boost
>Train yourself and your pokemon. Work out for everyone!
>Something else

>>2323822
>Sure!

>>2323823
After the shitstorm over just theoretically getting a Ralts, no.

>>2323944
>Train yourself and your pokemon. Work out for everyone!

>>2323944
>Train yourself and your pokemon. Work out for everyone!
Let's get Physical!

>>2323944
>Train yourself and your pokemon. Work out for everyone!


OOH RAH!

>>2323944
>Train yourself and your pokemon. Work out for everyone!

Also as an aside, hope you're having a good night so far Gobble!

>>2323946
I'm still annoyed at Gard precisely because it means probably no Ralts. A male Ralts facing the Gardevoir/Gallade decision parallels well with Herb's own issues.

>>2323944
>>Train yourself and your pokemon. Work out for everyone!

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“Hey everyone!” You yell out to your pokemon to get their attention. “Ready to train?”

Gobble shoots up. Belladonna too. Mace wakes up and takes a bit longer walking over. Dice, not sure what’s happening, playfully flops over. Sorbet gets infected by the mood a little, but also seems a little on edge from all the energy everyone is putting out. She looks puffy but excited.

“Okay group! First, a warmup!” You announce. You do some jumping jacks, figuring all of your pokemon can follow along and get at least something out of that. Watching the uneven jumping abilities and speed and height from everyone though, it becomes clear you’re going to have to do individual, custom exercises for them.

You guess you’ll start with Mace. He’s cheating a little on his jumping jacks, using his energy to lift off. He doesn’t seem to consider it cheating, though. You guess it is exercise still.

Now, what sort of special workout will you do with him?

>Work on one of his stats
>Master his energy control even further
>Teach him a new move
>Nothing specific, just overall training that helps him a little in all areas
>Something else

>>2324002
>Teach him a new move
>Sandstorm

We’re almost 70 threads in and I would like Mace to get use out of his ability please.

>>2324002
Yeah sandstorm sounds good
>Teach him a new move

>>2324002
>>2324011
Supporting!

>>2324002
>>Teach him a new move
Sandstorm

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“Well now, let’s see.” You say to Mace. “Want to learn a new move?”

He looks up at you. It seems he does.

You flip though your pokedex, looking at moves. It looks like you’ve got a lot of choices. “Hey! Here’s one. Sandstorm.”

He shoots up, eager. Alright!

“Okay, so it says here you summon the Sandstorm and it helps boost your own Special Defense. That’s neat. Now, how do we learn it?”

You run through some ideas and exercises. With this one, you stretch your arms out wide and pretend to summon a big sandstorm yourself. It feels a little silly, but you’re still in a good mood. Plus after what you and Laki did, you don’t think anything else will ever be that embarrassing again anyway.

Woo! You’re working up a sweat. But the motion seems to help Mace with moving sand in but hurricane type movement.

“Hey! Hey!” Abigail yells. “Move that back. I’ve got fish here!”

“Sorry!” you say, rushing over to the other end of Wailord. Luckily you didn’t get any sand in there, but you understand why she was worried.

Mace easily learns the move in a short time. You take a breather, patting him on the back. “Not bad, Mace! I’m really impressed!”

He looks pretty proud and worked up. He can be full of energy and act like a younger pokemon if the right mood hits him. He leaps away, doing a fun little kick in the air.

Your eyes fall to your next pokemon, Belladonna. You haven’t gotten too much of an idea how much stronger she is now. She leaps up into your arms and cuddles your chest.

“You’re not trying to get out of training by being cute, are you?” You boop her nose. Well, where her nose would be. She giggles.

>Train a specific stat
>Teach her a new move
>Work on her ability to drain and heal even further. Maybe it can extend to other moves
>Just general exercise. See what she learns on her own.
>Something else

>>2324102
>>Work on her ability to drain and heal even further. Maybe it can extend to other moves
She must master the non lewd SUCC

>>2324102
>>Work on her ability to drain and heal even further. Maybe it can extend to other moves

>>2324102
>>Teach her a new move
>Weatherball
or
>Magical Leaf
or
>Laser Focus

Her new form only gets her a few new moves. There's plenty of Roselia ones to learn later though. Weatherball will give her a great advantage in grass type mirrors, but I'd be down for Magical leaf too, since it's boosted by her new ability and can't miss.

Oh, and if we combine it with Laser Focus, it'd crit every time.

>>2324102
>Work on her ability to drain and heal even further. Maybe it can extend to other moves

>>2324120
>tfw our daughter is a plnatcubus

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[Roll!]

Rolled 1 (1d100)

>>2324153
Praise Fug

Rolled 93 (1d100)

>>2324153
Lets go

Fug has forsaken me.

Rolled 40 (1d100)

>>2324153
Oh God!

>>2324157
well thats not good

Well, love to stick around but I've got things to do.

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>>2324180
[Have fun!]

>>2324157
[It happens!]

>>2323962
[Thanks! I am! I hope you are too!]

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>>2324157
Whoops, looks like you accidentally praised the dark fug, not the protector.

We havn't tried this in a while.

Gobble is kill?

>>2324323
You, fool! Why you evoke that scared pack yet again?

>>2324185
>And then Bella drained herb

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“Hey Bella! Let’s try working on that special talent of yours.”

She looks up, a little confused. Hana glances over too.

“You know, sucking.”

Hana coughs.

“Sucking up nutrients and health in battle, from the soil, you seemed really good at it before. I bet if you really train that, you can even extend that to other moves!”

She looks up, as if to ask if that’s really true.

“Well, I don’t know for sure, but let's find out, okay?”

She gleefully jumps up and down. You pick her up and use her as a dumbell before you really get started, just to joke around some more. She laughs but you actually do struggle. She’s much heavier now.

Okay, you set her down. “Let’s try a simple excercise first before we get too deep into it. Here.” You pull out a small berry. “Try to drain the nutrients from this.”

She sits in your lap and concentrates. Her face scrunches up and she struggles hard, trying to drain everything out of the berry. But the berry looks unchanged.

“Come on Bella! You can do it!” You cheer her on. “Give it your all!”

She struggles again. You lose your concentration. You must be more out of shape than you thought.

“Keep trying, Bella.” You say, feeling faint. Jeez, you’re sweating. Maybe you...you need a rest. The last thing you see before blacking out is Bella looking up at you with concern then panic.

Then darkness.

“Herb?” Something wet and watery splashes around your face.

“Gah? Huh?”

“Are you okay?” You see the girls standing over you. “How many fingers am I holding up?”

“Um, four.”

Hana leans down and hugs you from behind, squeezing you a little too tightly.

“Let him breath.” Laki says.

“Right.” Hana releases you. You gasp, visually assuring her it’s okay.

“What happened?” You glance up at the sky. How long has it been?

“Well, from what we can gather, Bella drained you dry.” Laki says. “She’s been taking it pretty hard.”

You look over and Bella sitting on the edge, watching the ocean. She turns and sees you’re awake and starts to run over, but she stops herself and turns away again.

Oh jeez. That look on her face.

“Can you move?” Laki helps you up.

“Yeah.” Woo. “I’m tired, but fine.”

Laki gives you a playful, knowing look, and pats you on the back.

>Go comfort her
>Ask Laki to reassure Bella
>Continue training pokemon. Push yourself to demonstrate that you’re fine and she doesn’t need to feel guilty
>Give her space and get some rest
>Something else

>>2324373
>>Ask Laki to reassure Bella
this looks like a job for mommy

>>2324373
>>Go comfort her
>>Ask Laki to reassure Bella
Let's do it together, if we just let Laki comfort her she might think Herb is afraid and Bella should never feel such pain as believing her Papa is afraid of her.

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>>2324323
[Sorry. Sorry. My bad. Have a risky butt.]

>>2324373
Backing
>>2324393

>>2324373
>>Go comfort her
>>Ask Laki to reassure Bella

>>2324393
>>2324373
Backing this, but have Laki bring her over to us instead. It wouldn't be good if we walked over there only to stumble off of Wailord.

>>2324373
>Go comfort her
>Ask Laki to reassure Bella

>>2324373
>>Go comfort her
>>Ask Laki to reassure Bella
Double hug

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“We should comfort her.” You say to Laki.

“I tried earlier.” She says. “Are you sure you’re up for it? You don’t need to push yourself.”

You look at Bella and then back to Laki. “Yes I do.”

She looks uneasy, but understanding. “Yeah. I get it. Hey Bella! Come here for a minute.”

Bella hesitates.

“You’re not in trouble. Please?” You ask.

She slowly gets up and heads over. It’s only after she moves that you see Dice was there with her. She has to get her leg back from him. Good Dice!

“Hey Bella.” You say. “How are you feeling?”

She looks down. Laki approaches to pick her up and tickle her, but Belladonna shrinks away.

“It’s okay, Bella. Accidents happen. Right, Soft Hands?”

Bella still looks guilty. She slowly approaches you and asks a question. You’re assuming she’s asking if you’re okay. You’re sitting down and haven’t had a chance to check a mirror, but other than feeling tired you’re fine. "Yup!"

>No harm, no foul. Nobody is to blame. Let’s try it again, Bella. Restore that confidence
>It’s all your fault. Apologize for pushing her to do something experimental. She has nothing to feel bad about
>Praise her ability to drain. Just because it happened to you doesn’t make it not impressive
>Get up and demonstrate how fine you are
>Something else

>>2324540
>>No harm, no foul. Nobody is to blame. Let’s try it again, Bella. Restore that confidence

>>2324540
>Hug smol girl

>>2324540
>>No harm, no foul. Nobody is to blame. Let’s try it again, Bella. Restore that confidence
>Praise her ability to drain. Just because it happened to you doesn’t make it not impressive
>Get up and demonstrate you're fine by hugging her.

>>2324540
>>Praise her ability to drain. Just because it happened to you doesn’t make it not impressive

>>2324551
>>Hug smol girl

>>2324540
>No harm, no foul. Nobody is to blame. Let’s try it again, Bella. Restore that confidence
Seconding
>>2324551

>>2324540
>Something else
>Praise her ability to drain. Just because it happened to you doesn’t make it not impressive

Lead in by saying that it's right to be upset over this. This is what we always worried would happen at some point - that she'd get carried away and hurt someone, and she'd beat herself up over it while whoever she upset might be unwilling to forgive her quickly. We expected it to be part of a prank, not a training session, though. And that helps, I guess - we know it wasn't intentional, and we're never going to hold this against her.

Good job on the draining, though. Seriously, we're pretty beat! It'll go better next time, alright?

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[Roll again!]

>>2324540
>>Praise her ability to drain. Just because it happened to you doesn’t make it not impressive
>No harm, no foul. Nobody is to blame. Let’s try it again, Bella. Restore that confidence

Rolled 5 (1d100)

>>2324582
For butts and glory!

Rolled 27 (1d100)

>>2324582

Rolled 45 (1d100)

>>2324582

>>2324588
>>2324587
>>2324586
>Herb to weak to hug his little girl
Never lucky didn't hurt herb, it crippled his daughter

Rolled 22 (1d100)

>>2324582
To see what could have been.

I fell asleep and when I woke up the next post was Herb blacking out and waking back up.

Now might be a good time to practice taking aura, since Herb's so drained.

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“Hey. Bella, it’s alright. No harm, no foul.” You push yourself up. “You’re pretty strong, we just need to keep training. What do you say?”

She looks unsure. You walk over then lean down to hug her.

“Looking spy, Soft Hands.” Laki throws in.

You pick up your sweet, sweet Belladonna. She still looks worried at first, but with your hug, she finally starts to believe again.

“There,” you set her down. “Now, where’s that berry?”

Laki tosses it over. “Right here!”

“Okay, now Bella, I want...” Uh oh. “I want you to focus...” You shake your head. “Can drain this berry again.”

She ignores your little dizzy spell and looks at the berry, but looks very uncertain about it.

“It’s alright, Bella.” Laki helps. “I’m here too if anything goes wrong. But it won’t!” She quickly adds.

Bella looks at you and the berry in you hand. Sensing she’s worried about accidentally getting you again, you set it down on Wailord in front of her, gesturing for her to give it a go.

She stands over it, take a breath, and tries again.

Wailord makes a sudden noise. Bella quickly leaps back and pulls her arms in, worried she’s pointing deadly weapons. She looks up sadly.

Laki rushes over to Wailord’s face, taking Gardevoir. Belladonna follows her and so do you. Woo, you’re drained.

“So he’s just hungry and wanted to tell us?” Laki says.

Gardevoir nods.

“See Bella, no worries!” Laki smiles. But Belladonna still looks scared.

“Want to try training again?”

Belladonna shakes her head. She’s done for the day. You desperately want to say or do something to fix it, but you can’t think of anything.

Bella wanders off, clearly looking to be alone. She does give you a look over her shoulder though. You can read it like a book. She doesn’t want you to worry.

You sigh.

“We’ll try again another time.” Laki pats you on the back.

You look over to your other pokemon. If you’re going to keep training, you suppose Dice would be next.


>Nah. Rest until you arrive on land.
>Hop to it, Dice! Time to train you!
>Come on Dice, let’s work out together
>Go after Bella. You know you can cheer her up if you just keep trying
>Something else

>>2324678
>Hop to it, Dice! Time to train you!

>>2324678
>>Go after Bella. You know you can cheer her up if you just keep trying
>>Something else

>Bring Gobble over to Bella. You'll both try draining him so he can train his HP. He can use a sitrus berry and recyle.

>>2324678
>Nah. Rest until you arrive on land.
We're having a dizzy spell talking.

>>2324678
>>Something else
Are we well enough to work on aura training at this point? If we fail, it'll probably be because we fall asleep, and that works out in our favor anyway.

>>2324678
Yeah, I'll change this>>2324689 to this >>2324694 since maybe we should start when we've got our head together.

>>2324678
>>Hop to it, Dice! Time to train you!

>>2324678
>>Hop to it, Dice! Time to train you!

>>2324678
>Hop to it, Dice! Time to train you!
I think it'd be useful to just work on general stamina or defense right now. Doesn't seem like it'd be terribly intensive on Herb while he works on-
>>2324697
-It'd work for the both of them well.

>Hop to it, Dice! Time to train you!
If it becomes a problem later we can talk to Bella about it I can see it sticking with her ( if she did that to anyone else it wouldn't be that much of a problem but she did it to herb which has sacred her) for a bit but it's not a major concern.

>>2323532
I like to see her try and get us back, we didn't even do anything but give her oral ain't no way she can do anything that will make us go into a frenzied state like her.

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“Come on Dice! Let’s train you!” You shout to him. You do feel bad about Belladonna, but you have a strong sense of duty to the others as well. You just announced before that you’d be training them, and don’t want them to get the idea you’ll go back on your word.

Dice keeps his chin against Wailord and pushes himself over with his legs. His playful and strange way of doing things always cheers you up, even if you don’t always get it.

“How are you feeling?” You say, scratching under his chin. It’s the first time you’ve tried that, but he seems to like it. “Good, huh?”

He gently bites your hand. At the same time, he looks like he wants you to keep scratching.

“I’ll need my hand.”

He doesn’t let go. You just pull him in and scratch with the other. He lets go and bites that one. This little game helps your mood a lot, even if you still feel that nagging exhaustion with each movement.

“So, what are we going to work on?” You ask him, trying to think of what training would work best. You also wonder if you can integrate some aura training here too.

>Teach him a move
>Work on some stats
>General training. Just keep him active and strong
>Try to borrow some aura energy from him
>Something else

>>2324766
>>Try to borrow some aura energy from him

>>2324766
>>Work on some stats
Work on his Stamina and Defense
>>General training. Just keep him active and strong

>>2324766
>>Something else
I dunno. Dice is weird and does weird things. Lets see if we can move his aura around and have him move it back. Train his aura control like that.

>>2324766
>>Work on some stats
>>General training. Just keep him active and strong

It'd probably be better to save more aura training until we're done with everyone, still have Gobble and Sorbet to train after all!

>>2324781
Why? We would be taking aura from Dice not giving it to him.

>>2324766
>>Try to borrow some aura energy from him

>>2324787
I'm saying to not try and drain Dice and do stuff when we've finished training the others.

>>2324766
>>Teach him a move
Dragon dance guys

>>2324796
Wonder if he could do dragon dance While doing his weird drunken master walking around... So like.. we can train him to do double team and dragon dance either at the same time?

Or like both while doing his weird movement to make him hard to hit while doing it?

>>2324793
Are you saying to train them all and then try the aura drain? Your earlier comment can be taken multiple ways.

>>2324798
That's pretty much what I was thinking, then maybe when he's in killer mode in the rain dragon dance sharply raises one of the stats

>>2324766
I'll back this

>>2324796
>Teach him a move
>Dragon dance guys

>>2324766
>Teach him a move
>Dragon dance

>>2324766
>Work on some stats
Is evasion a stat we can train? I think Dice would be great at evasion.

I'm probably too late, but I had to leave before I could post this to take care of an emergency diaper change.

>>2324833
It's okay anon, one day you will no longer need them!

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“Let’s buff you up.” You say, patting him on the back. He looks excited at this idea. You aren’t sure if that’s because he wants to get stronger or he just wants to play.

He stumbles backwards and into the water.

“Dice!” You reach for him. He’s just gone for a moment, before nipping you in the rear. He swam around. “Hey! You’re just full of energy today.”

He rolls over. You aren’t sure if he wants to have his belly rubbed or not. A small sense of guilt nags at you because you don’t know. You haven’t had much bonding time with him lately, have you?

But he seems happy. You push that feeling away and focus on the bonding opportunity right in front of you. What stat do you want to focus on and give a big boost to?

It’s a tricky question. He seems pretty rounded, although he does seem to lean towards being a bulky attacker. Still, you’ve learned enough to know that each pokemon is unique, and he doesn’t have to be limited to that.

>Train his Speed, he could use it
>Train his Attack, he could always bite harder
>Train his Special Attack. He’ll have some surprises if you train that up
>Train his Defense. He’s probably best off as a close-range scrapper
>Train his Special Defense. He’ll need to close the distance against ranged attackers and getting hit doing it is inevitable
>Work on evasion and with his strange movements. You’ll get the least progress, but it could win the day at some point.

Also:
>Teach him Dragon Dance as well, even if that will take up some extra time
>Focus on the stat only. Don’t muddle the training

>>2324837
>>Train his Attack, he could always bite harder
>Teach him Dragon Dance as well, even if that will take up some extra time

Can we teach Dice to use Dragon Dance while latched on to an opponent as some sort of... death roll?

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>>2324846
[Sure! It's tricky but it's possible]

>>2324837
>Work on evasion and with his strange movements. You’ll get the least progress, but it could win the day at some point.
>Teach him Dragon Dance as well, even if that will take up some extra time

Work that mobility! If we can disguise Dragon Dance while evading then it'll give us a nice hidden edge.

>>2324837
>>Train his Attack, he could always bite harder
>Teach him Dragon Dance as well, even if that will take up some extra time

>>2324837
>Work on evasion and with his strange movements. You’ll get the least progress, but it could win the day at some point.
>Teach him Dragon Dance as well, even if that will take up some extra time

Balls to the wall, I mean what are the chances we crit fail twice

>>2324837
>Work on evasion and with his strange movements. You’ll get the least progress, but it could win the day at some point.
>Teach him Dragon Dance as well, even if that will take up some extra time

>>2324846
>>2324837
>Death roll dragon dance

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[Let's roll!]

Rolled 31 (1d100)

>>2324872
not 1!

Rolled 71 (1d100)

>>2324872

Rolled 91 (1d100)

>>2324872
Crit fail he bites off our leg and we sing into the ocean

>>2324837
>Train his Attack, he could always bite harder
>Teach him Dragon Dance as well, even if that will take up some extra time

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>>2324882
Good job

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>>2324882
[And here I was already thinking up what to do for a critical failure]

>>2324882
what song would be best?

>>2324910
I'd be partial to Yellow Submarine, seeing as how we'd be heading under the sea.

As I type that, I realize Under The Sea works too.

>>2324892
Looks like I won't be able to finish again. Night, Gobble! Good night, everyone else!

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“I want to try something different, and maybe a little overly ambitious.” You tell him. “Are you feeling lucky?”

You aren’t, of course, but you figure your bad luck quota is done for the day. That makes sense, right?

He leaps onto Wailord and gets ready to train.

You explain what you want to do. You’re going to have him work on his evasion, while at the same time pulling off Dragon Dance.

“That’s uh, pretty ambitious.” Hana says. You had realized she was behind you.

“Do you think it’s too much?”

Hana looks uncertain, but she shakes it off. “I believe in you. And Dice. You’ll do great!” She smiles. “Water pokemon can do anything.”

Wailord seems to have heard that, because he lets out a pleased bellow.

Both of those testimonials inspire Dice. He looks up at you determined and focused.

You run him through some exercises to build up to the main action. First is just a simple run and flip. You’ve got to get that first action down before moving onto the next. He’s able to master it easily, so you keep going. His odd movements and unintuitive shifting of his weight make evasion easy, but Dragon Dance surprisingly hard. You ask Mace for some help with this, firing off very weak bursts of energy to give Dice something new and different to dodge instead of his imagination.

“You’re doing great!” You tell him. He only gets knocked off his feet a few times from Mace. His movements are almost cartoonish at some points. He’s like a water balloon, the way he just suddenly has his weight one way or the other.

But there’s something about the dance that you observe. Something that seems so blindingly obvious now as you watch the strange way he approaches it and compare it to the little video on your pokedex of different pokemon using it. Differently shaped pokemon using different limbs to fill in the steps makes no sense. Where does the power boost come from?

It’s all in his head. The movements are just a mental crutch, tricking his brain into tricking his body into being that much stronger and faster. A way to summon up the energy by a ritual that symbolizes growing stronger as a dragon.

At the end of it, Dice doesn’t quite master improving his evasion ability and Dragon Dance to the point where you’re sure he’ll be able to use it in combat reliably, but his progress is still remarkable. What’s more though, you feel like you’ve learned something that might be useful for training or understanding your aura in the future.

[That’s it for tonight. We’ll be running Tuesday! I'll be lurking as always and try to answer any questions. Sorry about the slow pacing.]

>>2324929
Thanks for running gobble, that end was perfect.

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>>2324921
>>2324931
[Thanks! Sleep tight! You guys are the best!]