Group RP Pokemon: Evolution Quest (IC thread)

The first thing Blacky noticed upon entering the basement was the skeletal dragon. Looked menacing at the first glance, though closer inspection revealed a rather... mismatched expression from the way it was presented. I mean, did this particular dragon seem to be... pained? Either way, the group would not fight this dragon tonight.

The next thing the Umbreon saw was a newly hypnotised Morpeko scurrying off to the side. That has to be Estella, Blacky thought. As much as he wanted to snap her back to reality, however, he knew better than to do exactly that -- the Hypnosis needed to go first. And who did this in the first place? A yellow Mismagius -- the one Chief Ampharos and his right-hand Mawile had warned the group about (off-screen in Blacky's case).

"Golden Eye of the Dragon," the Umbreon started, his blue rings glowing in anticipation under his black cloak. He knew that this Mismagius was referring to Xuehua as Jingye (thanks to him overhearing Atelier's rant back in their temporary base), though it probably would be a bad move to let anyone know via his mannerism. "Pray tell, what was your plan for Jingye before she fled?" he asked, still looking at his fellow shiny squarely.

 

Xuehua remained quiet at Atelier's insistence. However, she did shoot Blacky a look. She didn't remember telling him that.

"Ahaha! You didn't tell them, did you, Jingye?" The Golden Eye of the Dragon let her cruel laugh reverberate with the room's hollowed bones, letting the sting of her cackle add further insult to the ancient legend Aine now recognized. "You speak of my dear protegé? She was to stand by my side, to serve as a harbinger of Shadowblight's flourishing future. Of course, with a mind so foolish as to turn down the offer, it was only a matter of time before she was worth only as a sacrifice to our draconic patron."

"Enough of your drivel, witch!" yelled Xuehua. "Where are you hiding the Shadow Dragon Tyrant, anyway?!"

"Oh, dear. Your observation skills have rotted away since we've last spoken. But that's no surprise, really, given that you lot never found Madam Helge's spies, or Gregus's Void Shadows. Really, Jingye. You couldn't recognize power if it was towering over you."

She gestured upwards, towards the head of the skeleton. Two pairs of gleaming red eyes glared down, one pair from each socket of the skull, and dark energy began to coalesce in its jaws.

"O Eternatus, messenger of the cosmic abyss! Hear the cry of your oracle Magius, and strike down these interlopers!"

(Combat has still not begun yet, but you are free to attack the skull with no rolls. If your characters don't feel great about striking down an agonized dead creature, Xuehua will probably do it instead.)

 

"Figured," the Umbreon muttered under his breath. There was a slight moment of clarity right there, though everyone in the room would be mistaken if they thought Blacky would feel betrayed or something. Instead, deep down he wanted to applaud Jingye for making the right call by shaking herself off from the evils of Spikeford despite being under the headmistress's direct tutelage (or so Blacky thought) and ultimately running for her life. The move alone took a lot of guts, for Arceus's sake!

Still, Blacky gave Jingye Xuehua a (hopefully) reassuring smile -- the "I'm with you, buddy" smile -- while the Golden Eye was too busy with her spiel. Though given the Glaceon's rightfully furious reaction, it probably couldn't reach her at this point. Plus, the way the Golden Eye -- now named Magius -- beseeched (what she believed was) Eternatus reminded Blacky of that one time when Mawile of the Expedition Society had told the group (again, off-screen) that the Spikeford people seemed to believe that Eternatus and the Shadow Dragon were one and the same. The memory spurred him to direct his gaze at the skeleton and steel his resolve as he nocked an arrow on the sol-oriented Archangels' Bow.

"Forgive me, Lord Eternatus, but the evil binding you needs to go!"

That said, the lunar warrior shot an arrow at the skeleton simply because it was way out of his sword's reach.

 

Atelier needed a moment to take in the amount of details before him. First, Estella was present. Second, the Mismagius. Third, this skeletal dragon was here taunting Xuehua in particular. He could sense that Xuehua's past was being exposed more and more, and worse still - he shuddered - was that Xuehua was more than a sacrifice if that was true. Instead, was she actually on the path to become the new leader of the Shadowblight school? If she was on that path, then how much more was she that close to falling to the dark side?

Clearly, Xuehua had rejected that path, given she had a clear intention to be on the warpath against the Dragon Kings instead. Even then, Atelier was worried that Xuehua might lose it already.

"What's wrong?" a voice said in Atelier's mind. "Strike down that beast. You know you must do it to save your friends."

Where did that voice come from? Atelier looked around but saw nothing. Only Brynhildr was in his hand, waiting to be used. The page was opened to Sappy Seed.

"Yes... Do it!"

"You have to be kidding me..." Atelier muttered. "Can you keep it quiet? I need to think."

He fired the attack anyway.

 

The crackling of frost interrupted Magius's chanting, the Golden Eye looking upwards to where the skull was starting to freeze over with an icy wind. Vines from Brynhildr wrapped around the skull shortly after, followed up by a burst of light from Blacky's arrow shot. With last few echoing cracks, the skull shattered into fragments, then dust, then into the very air, leaving the headless skeleton behind. Had anyone held any compassion for the remains of Eternatus, they may have flinched.

Magius only let out a grunt as the dust fell around her. "Well then. If you insist on skipping the formalities... Gregus! Helge!"

From the remains of the skull descended first a Dragalge. She looked over the party with narrowed eyes. "Eevee... Jingye... Umbreon and Sylveon. Just as my little Skrelp told me. We really thought there would be more of you."

"Tsk." On the far left, a Cofagrigus appeared, bursting out of the remains of the bony dust. "It's better this way. Less talking or snoring. Students work harder in a silent environment."

Miss Magius commanded silence from him simply by raising one ghastly sleeve. Together, the three Pokémon entered a defensive formation - Miss Magius floating a little higher, a little further behind the other two.

"Everything aside, I must thank you three." Her eyes began to glow again, her golden robes flowing behind her with an ominous, unseen wind. "Jingye, you should be happy, too."

"You will not be our only fresh sacrifice."

(Suggested Music

(Combat has begun. Past rules for the Shadowblight arc apply - respond within three posts with your character's actions, and if you are using a move, state it clearly in that post.)
(All Eeveelutions are at 5 health. I would recommend taking down Helge and Gregus first.)

 

So that's how it came to be. This particular pair of master and student poised to be each other's executioners. At least that was the impression Blacky got -- and he was on the student's side. Also, "fresh sacrifices"? There had to be one side to be those sacrifices and it was Blacky's job, along with his fellow Eeveelutions, to make sure that it would be the master's side who got sacrificed.

For starters, the Umbreon drew out his Sword of Light Auras and aimed at Gregus the Cofagrigus for his first strike.

Turn 1 actions

In no particular order:

• Aine: Scan/Libra
• Blacky: sword attack (sol) on Gregus
• Atelier: ...
• Xuehua: ...

 

Atelier stepped back after feeling the recoil from Brynhildr's attack. He wasn't expecting more enemy reinforcements to arrive. Wait, these looked like the teachers that Mochi had mentioned earlier.

"You're insane," he said to Miss Magius. "Also, there's nothing we've done for you." He noted Miss Magius used Xuehua's actual name - as if it were a taunt.

"Oh come on, you need to do better than that. Kill! Kill them all! I want their SOULS... You want to survive, right? Then do it."

Atelier raised an eye at the unusual request. Just how do you collect souls? Also, was this his conscience speaking or something else? The voice sounded girly, in a sense. It sounded like it was coming from Brynhildr itself. Even so, he could feel an unnatural energy coursing in his bones as he generated a Night Daze at Miss Magius. In his mind, he could hear giggling as if the voice was pleased with Atelier' s actions.

 

Spoiler: Initiative!

Blacky
Magius
Xuehua
Gregus
Aine
Atelier
Helge
Magius

The sword was the first attack to let swing, and his aim from the dragon held true. Blacky's shining blade hit Gregus in his... chest?... and knocked him backwards (15). Before he could celebrate the first hit, though, he was similarly thrown away with a flurry of Power Gems from Magius's outstretched sleeve, sending the crystals like bullets into him (15). His trajectory sent him past Xuehua, snapping her entirely out of the Ice Beam she was charging up. And on the battlefield, every moment of hesitation meant an opportunity for an opponent - which manifested as a spectral Hex shocking her past the barrier. (1 for Xuehua, 13 for Gregus (no disadvantage, given then 1.))

Aine, on the other hand, took a moment to scan her enemies with her magic. The attacks bought her some time to get a good look on the Cofagrigus. The shadowy aura emanating from him was the same as she'd seen with those Void Shadows all around in Rennach's fight. Coupled with his ghostly, Shadow-y disposition, it was clear he was their master. But Blacky's hit had rung true on him, and he seemed weaker, likely more used to commanding his slimes than fighting upfront. It looked like two more hits would be enough to down him.

The Dragalge, despite her more threatening Poison type, seemed similarly weak - Aine herself could remember downing that Skrelp crowd, probably her minions, with an arrow earlier. Before she could get a read on Magius, however, she had to duck away from a sudden Poison Tail jabbing out the ground, narrowly missing her. (9 for Aine, 5 for Helge). All she could tell was that the Golden Eye wasn't lying about her power. She was stronger than the other two, at least, but if she didn't have them to hide behind...

Speaking of which, where was she? Atelier's Night Daze fired blindly, with nothing but Brynhildr's dark magic guiding it... and it struck true, the attack singing Miss Magius's hat (14). She rounded on him, a Mystical Fire already blazing around her sleeves, but as she noticed the tome, the attack stopped (4). A dark grin fell upon her face. "A fellow practitioner of the dark arts, I see. Jingye was a disappointment, but... you? You may have some worth yet."

One could say Xuehua looked about ready to murder someone - more so than she had so far, which was saying a lot. And the bright glow of her Ice Staff told the rest of the team that wasn't going to be an empty threat.

@122 Generation @SAF @WavePearl

(Current HP:
Blacky - 4, Xuehua - 4, Aine - 5, Atelier - 5
Gregus - 2, Helge - 3, Magius - ?)
(Rearranged Atelier and Helge's attacks for narrative flow.)

 

"Huh?!" Atelier replied, while also more shocked that the flames were recalled at the sight of the tome.

"Yes... You never know, it may be worth your while. How about you join their side for a change? As she said, you may have some worth yet. Even more than the Glaceon. You know... you know how to practice the dark arts already..."

"Um... What are you?" Atelier muttered. He shook his head. He had come so far, so why change sides all of a sudden? Between defeating oppression and high taxes, was there any value in joining the other side? What if there was? He opened the tome to find another page and opted to use Power Whip next. These moves seemed immensely powerful.

"I'm just your conscience. Come on, just do as I say."

 

Well... ouch. That flurry of Power Gem hit so hard that it sent Blacky flying with his cloak getting somewhat singed. "Thanks for that, Magius!" the Umbreon hollered at his assailant as soon as he pulled himself together, then made another strike on her Cofagrigus underling right afterwards.

Judging from the way she talked, it was clear that the Golden Eye loved to taunt her enemies. To hopefully rile them up like what Elio's sacrilegious comments had done to that Alolan Decidueye from before. But the real question is, would anyone actually dare to rile Magius up like she did Xuehua and (maybe) Atelier?

Turn 2 actions

In the roll initiative order:

• Blacky: sword attack (sol) on Gregus
• Xuehua: ...
• Aine: ...
• Atelier: Power Whip on <Gregus/Helge/Magius>

 

@SAF @WavePearl @122 Generation
(Multi-hit moves are delayed to the end of turn, as per prior ruling. No mechanic but it's consistent.)

Blacky's second swing nearly hit, but before he could quite land, a wave of Void Shadows grew from the ground, engulfing the Cofagrigus and pulling him under the attack (9).

The Umbreon then had to duck beneath another projectile shot by Miss Magius that seemed to go his way. On second inspection, though, the Shadow Ball wouldn't have hurt him as much as it did Xuehua, the attack shattering against her head (12). She kept her focus, though, gathering icy power on her staff.

Before he could take in anything else, though, a cold jab from Aine's magical barrier alerted him to an attack coming from behind. He brought his sword up just in time to clash with a Shadow Claw, the Cofagrigus's eyes glaring up at him from the dark aura the attack came from (9).

Aine's words just made Xuehua give her a glare, as if she'd just made a joke in poor taste. But the two of them stood steadfast, charging their own attacks. Meanwhile, Atelier sent out Brynhildr's Power Whip. This one hit Magius harder, knocking her to the floor (18).

"A good example, but you're out of line." She scowled, grabbed the magical vine before it could dissipate, and yanked Brynhildr towards her - Atelier falling over as he clutched onto it. He found himself stumbling right into the line of the Dragalge, and with a command of Magius snapping her fingers, she fired a Water Pulse that hit the Eevee just as he came to a stop (11). As Helge took care of the Eevee, Miss Magius herself flung the vine into the air, shaping the dark magic into Magical Leaves that shot down at Aine, striking her repeatedly (15).

In response, the last two Eeveelutions let their attacks fly. First Aine's light burst forth. Magius and Helge shifted into the darkness, the attack flying past them, but Gregus recoiled as the move struck him, hissing at the Sylveon as he prepared for revenge (10 - barely passed, so it's just one hit).

Then Xuehua slammed her staff into the floor. A rumble began to build up around the room, then a horrific cracking noise as the ceiling turned to ice in a powerful Blizzard (20).

Layer after layer of snow and ice formed, smashing down over and over into the Cofagrigus, burying him beneath snow and ice. The Mismagius and Dragalge were similarly buffeted with magic, the enhanced frost sending them crashing onto the floor. Even the skeleton of Eternatus cracked underneath the pressure, several frozen pieces crashing down on top of the teachers, backed only by Xuehua's screams of utter fury.

After a moment of sweet silence, Helge raised her head, and floated back into a battle stance. Then Magius whirled up after her. With a wave or two of her sleeves, a pulse of dark magic passed through the room, both the remnants of the Blizzard and Aine's spellsong dissipating with it. She didn't say a word, but by the crackling of shadowy energy around her robes, it was clear she was becoming more focused on the fight.

(Defensive magic on both sides has been disabled for the rest of the battle.)

(The next round may end early. Initiative will be shuffled once combat resumes. I recommend removing Helge from the fight - her turn is later and you could cut off combat before she moves.)
(Current HP: )
Blacky - 4, Xuehua - 3, Aine - 4, Atelier - 4
Magius - 4, Helge - 2
Gregus - Downed

 

After being thrown about and blasted with a Water Pulse, Atelier found himself struggling to get on his feet. Once he had done so, he carefully picked up Brynhildr with him.

"OW! Aren't you supposed to be a tactician? You should take revenge. It's the only way. Why don't you take revenge?"

"Wha... 'revenge'? In a way, you're right. We're retaliating either way," Atelier answered. He flipped to another page to unleash Fiery Wrath on the Dragalge. But what Atelier didn't know was that the move's power was actually being channeled by his level of rage, and it didn't seem like it did a lot.

"Idiot! You're supposed to be angry!" the voice berated his mind. "If you won't be angry, I'll do it for you!"

As if he was acting beyond his will, Atelier found himself channeling rage in his blood just so that the attack would work.

 

"I- I'm okay, milady," Blacky responded to Aine, though he was more worried about their non-shiny teammates. Jingye Xuehua was already riled up as seen from her all-out Blizzard, and now Magius was trying to convince Atelier to use his talent (?) on dark magic. Plus, the tome Atelier was using just felt... off. It was as if the dang book was collaborating with Magius to drag him to the dark side.

Well, Aine's order or no, Blacky just knew he needed to take the underlings down before dealing with the head honcho. In this case, he yanked Brynhildr off Atelier and used it to beat the living daylights out of Helge as the only non-ghost assailant (or defender depending on your POV) in the room. I mean, sure, it was among the least dignified ways to use a book, but he digressed.

(Fun fact: Blacky's action on this turn was inspired by how seers and scholars use their books for their basic attacks in Final Fantasy Tactics A2: by whacking the thing on a target.)

Turn 3 actions

In the roll initiative order:

• Blacky: whacks Brynhildr (nature-earth/shadow/luna/spirit?) on Helge
• Xuehua: ...
• Aine: ... (suggested priority target: Helge if Aine attacks, Xuehua if Aine heals)
• Atelier: Fiery Wrath on Helge (only if either Blacky fails to do his action or Atelier manages to reclaim the tome; the latter will need a plan B otherwise)

 

Atelier was already halfway through his strange spell when Blacky yanked Brynhildr away. The embers of the Fiery Wrath spell hadn't quite manifested, but they seemed effective enough, and although the attack was undignified, it got the job done, Helge reeling backwards (16).

Magius came to the aid of her ally by manifesting a Mystical Fire that scorched the swordsmon in return (15), but was unable to protect her ally from Xuehua's Ice Shard (18), the attack slamming Helge into the ground. The Dragalge didn't get back up.

As Aine took a moment to heal Xuehua (10), the party regrouped near the fallen skeleton. Helge had been taken care of now, but Magius...

"Fools. Never take your eyes off the enemy."

Her disembodied voice rang out from within the group. The next think she knew, Xuehua was lifted into the air, whirled away from her teammates, yelling at an unseen foe's Phantom Force. Magius reappared, one sleeve holding Xuehua in a floating headlock. "Remember, Jingye. The Golden Eye sees all!"

Miss Magius looked back down on the Eeveelutions below her, and dark magic began to coalesce in her free sleeve. "Now. Surrender, and I will allow you to leave. Strike, and Jingye's blood will be on your hands."


(A new initiative has been rolled for the battle onwards.)
(For the next turn, a missed attack will be blocked using Xuehua's body, and a missed heal will be absorbed by Magius.
Hitting Magius with an attack above 15 will free Xuehua immediately, and if she is hit by any attack at all, Xuehua will wrangle her way out on her turn.
If Magius is still holding Xuehua by the end of the turn, she will throw Xuehua down for 2 damage.)

(HP:
Blacky - 3, Xuehua - 4, Aine - 4, Atelier - 4
Magius - 4
Gregus, Helge - Downed)