Session 114

It is decidedly afternoon by the time the party - now on just the lone helicopter with Looker, Di, and whoever is flying this thing - reaches Elysium Valley.
The angry ghost sea is gone, exposing the actual valley - including many abandoned structures dotted along the valley wall, apparently built as the sea rose to stay just above it. Many are being inspected, decontaminated (spiritually and physically), and repaired (the rising sea having jostled things around, where it did not simply rip a building from its foundations).
Linnea: "Whoa…kinda cool, actually. I hope they can salvage enough of this."
The bottom of the valley does indeed seem to be a large series of graveyards - now thoroughly covered in wards, to seal up what leakage there was.
The party's helicopter sets down on a helipad jutting out near the top, just below where the sea was last time.
There is much hustle and bustle, the decontamination teams being coordinated by a young lady in a white-and-red shrine maiden outfit, who looks over the valley from a perch roughly halfway between the helipad and the pokemon center.
An assistant whispers to the lady and points to the party. The lady scowls, but soon turns her attention back to her work.
Linnea: "…Oh boy."
Linnea: "Why do I get the feeling we're not quite welcome back here?"
Sam Spade: "If she's the new gym leader, that's probably why. Every other town we left, the gym leader was still alive, if only because Petro Swamp was run by a puppet of the person who didn't survive."
Sam Spade: "But here I'm not so sure."
Esme: "Not really our fault, that."
Esme: "Probably still blaming us, though."
Sam Spade: "To be fair, so am I."
Looker: "You know this town better than I do. Where should we look for that master ball ingredient?"
Esme double checks the plans. What exactly /is/ this 'spiritual component' they're here to get?
A spiritual reflector, apparently refined from ghosts who incompletely pass on - thus, from material most often found in graveyards.
Esme: "…Ah."
Esme: "Looks like we're going to have to talk to her about it."
Linnea: "Who has the most, uh, goodwill here?"
Sam Spade: "I have absolutely no idea."
Looker: "Well, someone has to ask. You say we should ask her?"
Sam Spade: "But I think Esme can ask the best. Let's go!"
Sam Spade proceeds towards the woman.
The woman looks up, wearing a hard expression.
Sam Spade: "Hi. Is there anything we can do to help?"
Lady: "Huh. Not unless you can clean this whole valley."
Sam Spade: "Not so far as I know."
Lady: "You made all this work for me, and you would not be back if you did not want something more."
Sam looks a little worried for a moment. She hesitates, then asks, "Can…you tell us what happened after we got flushed away?"
Esme: "…Work?"
Linnea: "I mean, we're here to do our work on our own."
The lady looks at Esme. "Yes. Work. I had an easy life, 'training' by daily meditations to prepare to be the next gym leader, while Jules handled the ghost sea."
Esme: "…"
Esme: "Ya'll were gonna die."
The lady shrugs. "Death is a part of nature. We all die sooner or later. But now I have to coordinate everyone cleaning up! 'Gem June, we're out of brooms.' 'Gem June, when is the next shift on?' Uggh!"
Gem June: "Even Nurse Joy can't help much. Something about being confined to bed to get enough rest now that no one's falling into the sea any more."
Gem June then looks to Sam. "What do you think happened? With the ghost sea gone, we all swept in to recover what we could and finish sealing up the graveyards. Since then we've been slowly cleaning everything up, to make sure the valley's safe to move back in to."
Gem June: "Now I have a question for you." She glares. "Where. Is. My. Father?!?"
Sam Spade: "If he was under the lake, then I was really, really hoping you knew."
Gem June: "We haven't found a trace of him or his gym. We thought he got swept out with you."
Esme: "No, we escaped through a tunnel. He was in the bubble when it collapsed."
Gem June: "Uggh. Great, just great. So now I'm a gym leader without any badges to give out. He had the only copies with him; no one here even knows what they looked like, and I'd need an exact copy to unlock his account so I can buy more supplies for everyone."
Esme: "Oh! He shot some at us with a cannon before it went down."
Sam Spade pulls out her pokedex, flips the back open, and shows it to June.
Gem June's scowl fades. She peers closely, then pulls out her own pokedex and takes several pictures.
Gem June: "Huh, so not the actual redwood."
Once done, Gem June puts her pokedex away. "Okay. You have saved me some work. Now, what did you want?"
Sam Spade: "We…need to make a Master Ball in case Ten is crazier than we think."
Sam Spade: "We need something for it here."
Esme: "Spiritual reflector!"
Gem June: "Ah. It is true, we used to be the source for those in Amoda. But…" She gestures around. "I do not think you will find much industry here right now, that is not focused on our immediate needs."
Esme: "Hrm."
Gem June: "Though I hear there is another graveyard now, less troubled. I can give you the recipe to make a reflector, from what you may find there." She again brings forth her pokedex, and taps away. The party's pokedexes beep with an incoming file.
Esme: "Well, between the three of us, we have a bit of occult knowled-Oh, great!"
Sam Spade: "Dojoholm, I assume?"
The recipe seems a bit arcane, though Linnea, Esme, and Sam can puzzle it out to varying degrees.
[OOC] WC GM: Though let it be said, one degree is, "Let Esme do it."
[OOC] Sam Spade: Let's be honest, Sam doesn't even need to know how to open the file to get that far. And since she's not going to be able to get any farther…
Linnea: "Hm…I fear this is more Esme's wheelhouse than my own, but the directions are clear enough."
Linnea: "Still, I'll be glad to help in any way that I can."
Esme: "Moral support still counts as support. We should be good."
Linnea: "Morale support can be developed into something, just look at Sam."
Sam Spade gives both Esme and Linnea two big thumbs-up! Then she sticks her tongue out at Linnea.
The ingredient descriptions seem clear to Linnea - in theoretical abstract, if there was a place to obtain them. Sam recognizes some of the ingredients as looking like what seemed at the time to be decorative flourishes in the graveyard outside Dojoholm.
Linnea: "I've seen these as decorations before… how strange."
Esme: "Well if the only thing that'll help here is time, let's get this ghost stuff out of the way."
[OOC] WC GM: Doing anything else here? If not, Petro Swamp or Dojoholm next?
[OOC] Esme: Dojoooo
[OOC] WC GM: Dojoholm it is.
Some hours later, the sun is setting as Dojoholm crests the horizon. The helicopter has been mildly chasing the sun, but Amoda is not wide enough to span multiple time zones.
Pillar Field lies just to the south, quiet as ever, save for a glint. Looking close - sure enough, there is Monica getting ready to pacify the graveyard again with her giant sword, Haley and Diablo standing a short distance behind her.
Linnea: "Huh. Adventures, is it?"
Esme: "Oh good, she's got help this time."
Sam Spade: "Yeah."
Looker peers down. "I recognize Diablo. Who's that with him? His wife and…son?"
Linnea: "… Why am I getting a bad feeling?"
Sam Spade: "Daughter."
Looker: "Oh! Sorry, from up here…" He peers. "Huh, I can see it. Ah, I'm sure she's of the age where she's telling herself they'll come in any day now."
Sam Spade: "That's Haley, who just became gym leader of Sandbar Harbor, and their daughter Monica, who, uh, works in the pokemart."
Looker taps on a data pad. "Daughter of two gym leaders? She'll be something some day, no doubt. What's she doing with that sword, and how is she able to lift it? It seems almost her own weight."
Sam Spade just winks at Looker
Looker: "…alright, but is it safe to land nearby? This is the graveyard you were looking for, right?"
Esme: "It'll be fine, we made it out of there mostly alive the first time we came through, and that was awhile ago."
Sam Spade: "The sun's still up, so the ghosts won't be getting surly for a bit. You have time to drop us off and then head into town."
Looker: "Let's, ah, land near town. You go to the graveyard and I'll, ah, secure us some lodgings in town for the night."
Sam Spade: "That'll work."
With that, the helicopter descends and lands, right between Pillar Field and Dojoholm.
Looker hops out, Di still on his head, and heads for town. Nobody walks with him, but somehow the pilot seat is empty.
The sun has completely set. A few ghosts have appeared in Pillar Field, just enough for Monica to begin sparring with.
[OOC] Linnea: Just Monica?
Diablo and Haley are looking on, chatting with each other.
Esme waves as the party approaches.
Diablo completely fails to notice until Haley looks behind them, sees the party, and nudges him.
Linnea: "That's a dangerous level of obliviousness…"
Diablo: "I was focused upon the fight. My daughter is growing up to be a fine and dutiful fighter…even if she is not inheriting *my* methods."
Sam Spade: "That's fine though, right?"
Haley smirks. "He wants a son. We have been…discussing it."
Haley: "Now that Amoda is safe…r, thanks to you."
Diablo: "Indeed. You are welcome to compete in further tournaments, trainers! Though I shouldn't give you a badge again."
Haley: "*Dear.*" She grabs Diablo's arm firmly and whispers in his ear.
Diablo: "Really? Oh REALLY?" He bows a bit. "Representatives of Team Jaeger, I bid you a fond welcome to humble Dojoholm!"
Esme blinks.
Sam Spade snickers.
Linnea crosses her arms. "And my family wanted to arrange my marriage. Family doesn't always get what family wants."
Esme: "Oh right. This is Linnea! She wasn't with us, our first time through."
Linnea: "Sup? Nice t'meetcha."
Diablo extends a hand to shake. "Ah, yes. The unhittable ghost gueriila of Fort Blaston. I have heard your legends."
Linnea shakes the offered hand with vigor. "The one and only. Interesting to see how far word has gotten."
Diablo: "I even dabbled at making a style based on them. I…am not built for dancing like a ninja, unfortunately."
Diablo: "Though I suspect the legends were filtered, having passed through Rustle Fields to reach my ears."
Diablo: "So. What brings the legend herself to our fair town?"
Linnea: "Components for a Master Ball, if you can believe it."
Esme: "Ghost bits."
Diablo: "Master ball? I have heard of such a thing, but…" )
Monica: "HYAAAAAAAAAI!" With a grand whirlwind slash, Monica bats away all the ghosts around her. She catches her breath for a moment, then hops - not even stepping - over to the party. "You mean spiritual reflectors? Hi! Sorry I'm a little busy right now, but that should buy us a few minutes."
Esme: "Mmhm!"
Monica: "For all you've done, it's on the house." She digs out a key and hands it to Diablo. "I've got one under the counter - this is powerful stuff without many uses."
Monica: "I'd offer to chat, but I've got this now, then to bed, and in the morning I'm taking Joy on a date!"
Haley blinks. "You mean Nurse Joy? You have a girlfriend already?"
Monica: "YES, mom, I'm dating. She's nice, you'll like her."
Haley crosses her arms. "Dating a Nurse Joy can be trouble. They get married to their jobs."
Monica: "Whoops look at the time back to work!" Monica hops back among the pillars, poking her sword at the still-recovering ghosts.
Diablo: "Let us, ah, tend to that thing she asked me to do. I am certain Haley would prefer to stay here, to keep an eye on our daughter."
Haley is half-scowling, but raises an eyebrow. "Yes, why don't you go do that?"
Diablo backs away, toward the pokemart.
Esme: "Heh."
Linnea: "Wha-cha."
Diablo fumbles with the key, but opens the store. He ushers the party in, then when all are inside closes the door and exhales. "I know there are forms of combat I have yet to master, and that was one of them. You are at least apprentices in those forms. Please, I beg of you as a complete unbelted novice, what should I do when that happens?"
Linnea grins and turns to Sam.
Sam Spade: "Apologize for your mistake. Repeatedly, and profusely. Perhaps."
Diablo: "And if I have not made a mistake?"
[OOC] WC GM: Presumably Esme or someone is looking for the reflector during this conversation?
Sam Spade: "They will never admit that."
Esme is digging under the counter as instructed, avoiding the weird talk about…talking.
Linnea: "At that point it becomes about damage mitigation."
It is not hard to find the reflector. Second shelf from the bottom, all the way on the right - a little dust on it, but this is the components of it. Several minutes' work and it should be in shape for its intended use.
Esme: "One down!"
Diablo: "I see. So it is a defensive art? Buying time for something else to come along? And that was what Monica was doing, evading further harm?"
[OOC] WC GM: +1 trainer level for getting the first master ball ingredient
Sam Spade: "A little bit, perhaps."
Diablo: "Thank you. I will meditate on this, and observe my wife's and my daughter's further interactions in that light." He opens the door, gesturing for the party to leave.
Diablo: "Jaeger representatives though you are, you are still trainers. The pokemon center remains open to you, should you wish to stay the night."
Sam Spade: "Thank you. I think Looker might be securing something for us, though."
Diablo: "Looker…" He frowns, then widens his eyes. "Looker, of the International Police? He is HERE?!?"
Sam Spade: "Well, yeah. He took us here."
Sam Spade: "He recognized you, though not Haley or Monica…"
Diablo: "He would have me on file. I must…umm. If you would kindly please exit so I can lock up, I must speak with him. For his safety."
Esme: "Huh."
Linnea: "…Okay."
Sam Spade: "Of course!"
Once the party is out, Diablo does indeed lock up then hurry off.
Diablo: "Tonight of all nights. I should have known…"
A few minutes later, there are muffled explosions and a flash from the direction Diablo went.
Esme: "Should we…look into that?"
Linnea: "Probably. With a name like Diablo…"
Linnea hurries thataway.
There are two perfectly parallel tracks of fire on the ground, slowly dying out, with no sign of Diablo or Looker.
Esme: "What came through here?"
Linnea: "Can someone with better tech skills scan these tracks, maybe?"
Linnea kneels down and glances at the tracks unaided. Maybe pokemon knowlege will help?
[OOC] Linnea: Pokemon Education?
[OOC] WC GM: You can try, but this looks more technological than pokemon.
Linnea rolled up 4d6: 10 (5 1 1 3)
This was no pokemon that did this, though it looks a little like someone was teleporting a vehicle while it was in motion.
Linnea: "Someone warped a vehicle out while it was still moving. Not a pokemon…"
Esme: "…Huh."
Esme: "Wonder where they were going."
Linnea: "I don't like this."
Linnea starts following the tracks.
The tracks simply end, where the teleport presumably happened. Good thing, too: several more meters and they would have run into the side of the pokemon center.
Esme looks around. It's late, so there probably wasn't anyone else around, but maybe there's some other hint about.
Nurse Joy notice Esme, from the pokemon center's desk, and walks out. "Hey! There you are. It's getting late; I was worried. Your friend said to prepare rooms for you, though we couldn't accommodate him since he isn't a trainer. Diablo came to find him, and said they had somewhere to be."
Linnea pauses a minute, trying to sense if there was some kind of psychic residue which would provide clues.
Nurse Joy: "I, ah, *think* that's what he said, though he pronounced it funny - like 'somewhen'."
Sam Spade: "…Some*when*?"
The residue Linnea picks up is weird but present. Similar to a teleport but not a teleport, and definitely artificial.
Nurse Joy nods. "That's what it sounded like."
Linnea: "… This is… different from a normal magical teleport."
Linnea shakes her head, and walks inside the center. "This is real weird, guys. It's like they teleported but didn't teleport."
Linnea: "I'm getting a chill going through the possibilities…"
Esme: "Yeah I have some ideas… but I'd rather not think too hard about it."
Esme: "Let's just take up the offer on the lodging."
Linnea: "Too true… I've been thinking too hard this entire journey."
Sam Spade: "Yeah…"

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