Lost temple - part three

[indigo_league]

Today is the day. After a month of search, exploring, and okay, maybe one or two people nearly getting eaten by giant crabs, all the pieces of the puzzle have finally been collected and it is time to see what lays inside the sanctuary.

The Legendary Seekers, wanting everybody to be able to attend this momentous occasion, don't immediately put the stone slab together. Instead, a notification goes out to everybody -- those who helped solve the riddles, those who explored the temple, and even those that haven't been a part of this at all -- announcing that on September 2nd, the door will be opened and humanity's greatest treasure will be revealed.

***

On September 2nd, the temple is buzzing with excitement, and the Legendary Seekers seem ready to burst into excited tears with each piece of the puzzle they fit into place.

(There is also an older man there filming everything on an old-fashioned video camera. Pay no attention to him.)

Finally, Legendary Seeker Jackson holds aloft the final piece of the puzzle, allowing a hush to fall over the gathered crowd before he very formally places it and completes the puzzle.

Finally, the text that had been hidden for so long becomes fully visible.

The home of the seafaring to rest and recover
From the shifting tides and stormy seas
Joined by its children, a family of drifters
Round and round, spiraling down into the depths
Its nest hidden from view, kept safe by our key

And behind them, with a shudder that reverberates through the whole temple, the large door that has thus far barred entrance to the inner sanctuary slowly starts to slide open, allowing all gathered their first glimpse at what is inside.





The inside of the sanctuary has been entirely made of pale, white stone, and it actually contains very little. No grand treasures or heaps of coins. Instead, the furnishings are minimal (some benches, a small stone pool for water, and jars and pots that must have once contained various plants. The biggest, most eye-catching feature of the sanctuary stands in the middle of it.

Hewn from the same white-pale stone the temple is made from, stands a cradle. Pale branches, as those from a coral, have been woven together to partially cover the cradle with a canopy and inside of it, on a pale pillow sits a pokemon egg.

It's not like any egg you've ever seen before though. All eggs here in Victory Road are the same -- a soft off-white colour with green spots. This egg though is bright blue -- the blue of a bright and calm ocean. The colour is not entirely solid either, but instead constantly shifts ever so faintly, as if it was in fact made of water. A red gem is visible within the blue. The egg occasionally seems to shiver and jump slightly, all signs that whatever might be inside this very strange egg is very close to hatching.

But before anyone can step forward and examine the egg more closely --


"Halt! We'll be taking that."

Suddenly there is a flurry of movement and sound as several black-robed, hooded figures teleport into the sanctuary. Their hoods are drawn deeply over their faces, making it impossible to see who these people are, but the back of their robes are emblazed with a symbol that some might recognise. Each has a pokemon at their side, but in all cases, the eyes of the pokemon are strangely glazed, staring ahead without any emotion.

One of the strange, robed individuals steps forward slightly, raising one hand.


"We claim this egg as a tribute to our Master. Though you are nonbelievers, we have no quarrel with you. However, if you try to stop us, we will unleash our might upon you!"


So, what will you do? Will you step back and allow these strange individuals to claim this egg for their own or will you stand and fight?

Comments

CHALLENGER INFO

[indigo_league]

In order to obtain the good ending for this final stage of the Lost Temple event, the gathered characters will have to defeat the mysterious robed figures (henceforth known as The Cult).

The Cult Members will come in three different trainer classes, and each class will need to be defeated a certain number of times. As all the battles are happening simultaneously, please think carefully about which trainer class you are challenging as you can only battle once.

One thing to note about the pokemon used by the Cult Members is that each pokemon has a very glazed, emotionless expression until they are sent to battle, at which point they seem to be possessed by a terrible rage. They will still take orders from their various trainers, but this really doesn't seem to be a natural state. They also seem to be stronger than average, so don't get caught off guard!

Please remember to include links to the roster entries for the pokemon you are using to help us while we verify battle victories. You don't have to get incredibly taking-on-the-Elite-Four levels of detailed with your strategies, but do let us know how your characters will be tackling these opponents.

***

Cult Follower	Cult Acolyte	Cult Priest
Onix (lvl 37) Passimian (lvl 37) Butterfree (lvl 40)	Durant (lvl 47) Azumarill (lvl 47) Claydol (lvl 50)	Wigglytuff (lvl 57) Absol (lvl 57) Magneton (lvl 60)
Individuals to be defeated 8	Individuals to be defeated 6	Individuals to be defeated 4

<B>Name:</b> <B>Team:</b> <B>Strategy:</b>

CULT FOLLOWER

[indigo_league]

[didyoulosethis]

Name: Byleth Eisner
Team: Ammo, Knife Dog, and Cramorant.
Strategy: Byleth's been busy doing gym battle prep and a little sprucing up around the house while their friends were off exploring, but now they're here for the final push to the finish! They have zero patience for these mysterious individuals, too, so it's time to pull out all the stops and start by literally tossing Ammo into that Onix (thanks, Dimitri). At this point Ammo knows what to do - pummel away with Close Combat, Thrash, and Fury Swipes until either he faints or runs out of opponents to slap around. Ammo's going to be aided by Knife Dog, who's packing Swords Dance, Focus Energy and breaking out some strategically-placed Night Slashes and Sucker Punches either while Ammo is distracting the enemy or after Ammo's down for the count.

Cramorant's also here, and while he will follow some of Byleth's directions, he's probably mostly going to be Stockpiling, Spitting Up, and spewing Water Guns with reckless abandon, which...well, he's fairly strong, but those attacks will likely have varying levels of effectiveness and accuracy. At least he's passionate?

Byleth's mostly going to be issuing direct orders to Knife Dog; Cramorant and Ammo are on duty for unleashing damage at their own respective discretions, for better or for worse.

[scourgingstars]

Name: Ardyn Lucis Caelum
Team: Frostbearer the Snorunt, Ereshkigal the Misdreavus, and Kirin the Galarian Rapidash.
Strategy:
While Ardyn did bring a full team, he'd rather clown on someone in a '''fair''' fight. He'll start with Frostbearer against Onix, taking advantage of the weakness to Ice and opening with Leer to lower defense and Icy Wind to slow it down (more) before trying to simply overpower it with Avalance and Ice Fang. If that fails or if Onix faints, regardless he'll switch to Ereshkigal next, attempting to stall either Onix or Passimian out with Confuse Ray and drain their PP with Spite. If things get a little dicey, he will have her use Perish Song and--if he can manage a turn for it--Grudge to delete their PP. Win or lose, third he'll send out Kirin; looking to debilitate with Tail Whip and Confusion while Rapidash speeds itself up with Agility and if necessary, using Heal Pulse before countering with either Psybeam if not confused or Dazzling Gleam if Confusion worked.

…and upon consideration of everyone else being utterly feral, if he wins he’s absolutely holding the poor cultist at Rapidashpoint and checking their pockets.

[necrodentia]

Name: Rainer Michelle
Team: Patches the Pachirisu (99), Buzz the Rotom (86), Petticoat the Jellicent (48), Dusky the Dusclops (79), Hot Wings the Talonflame (71), and Whirlybug the Omastar (75)
Strategy:
When Rainer is going about her daily business, she has 1-3 of her Pokemon with her at all times. Dusky the Dusclops, her beloved starter and amateur cameraman; Buzz the Rotom, who so helpfully powers her wheelchair to help her get around; and Patches the Pachirisu, who is the perfect size for a cuddly Lap Friend™. So, when shit hits the fan and the Cult Follower that Rainer is up against throws down and sends out a raging rock snake…? Rainer thinks quickly and sends out the highest level of the three (Patches) to face him. None of Patches’ attacks seem to work, though, because Onix is immune to Electric type moves. Rainer panics, and in seeing her panic, Buzz takes it upon themselves to come to their trainer’s aid and swaps out with a weary looking Patches. Problem with that is, Buzz is also Electric type, and thus ineffective against Onix.

With two Pokemon down, Rainer knows she needs to start thinking smarter, not harder! She considers what she knows about Rock types. What are they weak against that she’s got in her arsenal…? That’s right, Water! (Why rock would be weak against water is beyond her, but that’s neither here nor there.) She sends out the modest-natured Petticoat from her ball, who seems innocent enough, bobbing along as she is wont to do, but then she unleashes a barrage of Water Spout attacks that completely devastate the Onix.

Great! One down, two to go! Passimian is up next, and Rainer decides she’s not going to make the same mistake she made last time. Out comes Petticoat, and in goes Dusky.

Wait! you’re saying. Dusky is a Ghost type! Passimian doesn’t have any weaknesses to Ghost type moves! Ah yes, but Dusky also has a Psychic type move, Future Sight, which Passimian does have a weakness against. His job now done, Dusky bows out, to be replaced with Hot Wings, who spams Aerial Ace and Brave Bird, until the combination of the Flying type moves and Dusky’s Future Sight is enough to make the cultist’s Passimian faint. Well done, Dusky and Hot Wings!

Lastly, up comes Butterfree, who Rainer knows is extra weak to Rock type moves. Unluckily for this butterfly, Rainer picked up a new Rock/Water type pokemon in this very temple just last month, who knows a bunch of Rock type moves! Out goes Whirlybug! After Rainer takes a moment to laugh at how Whirlybug— who is named “bug” but isn’t a Bug type— is now up against an actual Bug, the Omastar begins its attack! Through a combination of Rock Blasts and Ancient Power, Whirlybug is easily able to defeat the cultist’s Butterfree, leaving Rainer to stand victorious over the cult follower’s fallen team!

Er… Sit victorious, anyway.

ALMOST FORGOT--! Staying true to D&D form, Once the cultist's pokemon has been defeated, she has Dusky tackle the cult follower to the ground and Rainer begins to loot the body rifle through its pockets looking for evidence!

[cyan_maid]

Name: Jane Crocker
Team: Madeline, August, and Dinah (all lv 100)
Strategy: Hey, Jane's not about this? After getting stuck in the deep reaches of this temple out of her own mistakes and yet finally being able to see what the fuss is all about, you're gonna just yoink this egg? No?? Screw you!!

So it's with an incredible amount of prejudice and fury that she sends Madeline the Primarina out against her Cultist's Onix. As much as Surf would be an ideal move to spam, it might flood this chamber? So it's Sing, Sparkling Aria, Encore if the Onix uses a move that won't do much to hurt the flow of battle, Bubble Beam, Aqua Jet, keep Singing to keep this thing asleep as much as possible if possible. It's entered some kind of enraged state, after all - can it even be soothed into sleep by a move? We're gonna try!

Passimian gets August the Delphox. He lays down Will-o-Wisp for the burns, Future Sight to blindside it, Calm Mind to boost his attacks, then Psybeam, Psyshock, Psychic until this guy is down. He might be tuning into Jane's frustration a bit more than he ought to, and if he gets interrupted or a particularly nasty blow finds its mark he will let out a Mystical Fire at his opponent like a mini-tantrum. He mad.

Butterfree gets to meet Dinah in the Denny's parking lot for an ass kicking in battle, and she's Mega Evolving right out the gate. Simple Beam first and foremost to take out whatever ability Butterfree has. If she can get close, all three of her elemental punching moves - Fire, Ice, and Thunder Punch - have a 2x effectiveness against Butterfree, and thus she will alternate between the three. If she can't get close, she's going to Shadow Ball and Dazzling Gleam this thing into wearing out and drifting closer.

in which I wanted to take on a priest but I took too long

[songstressedout]

Name: Yuzu Hiiragi
Team: Here!
Strategy:

Oh... these poor novices... Yuzu has a full team of level 100 Pokemon so there's probably less of a strategy necessary here, especially since Yuzu will be particularly ruthless concerning cult-members and their potentially-brainwashed Pokemon, but regardless...

Diva (Yuzu's Tsareena) will get to take on the Onix, who has a 4x weakness to Grass. A few Trop Kicks should do the trick, and Diva is mobile enough to avoid whatever Onix tries to throw at her.

Solo (Yuzu's Staraptor) will take their Passimian. Brave Bird and Aerial Ace for dealing damage while also remaining firmly out of reach in the air, with Double Team ready as well. Even if there's the miniscule chance that Solo can't handle this Passimian, Yuzu has Aria (Sylveon), Soprano (Altaria), and Mozart (Gallade) on standby.

Finally, Schubert the Garchomp will handle the Butterfree. A single flamethrower should do the trick, similarly to how it did the trick during her battle with Bugsy.

Re: CULT FOLLOWER

[questioneverything]

Name: Romelle
Team: Bewear, Pachirisu, Rapidash (Galarian), Wooper, Oricorio (Sensu), Lycanroc (Midnight)
Strategy: After the riddle, Romelle didn't have the boldness to head into the a mysterious temple and get lost with the risk of drowning, so she stayed above water and tried to figure out the last riddle on the various pieces people were bringing out by being nosey and looking over the Seekers' shoulders whenever they let her (or forgot she was there).

However, she really doesn't like bullies, and these cultists trying to take the egg are acting a LOT like Team Rocket thieves. So, she's heading in!

Some of her Pokes are pretty strong, and she really does need to get more badges... Tiramisu, formerly part of Hunk's team, has chosen to stay with her, but doesn't always listen. Still, she gives it a try.

She uses Bewear and Wooper against the Onix, Galarian Rapidash and Tiramisu the Midnight Lycanroc against Passimian, and then Pachirisu and Sensu Oricorio against the Butterfree.

[logical_lioness]

Name: Hermione Granger
Team: Cyto (80), Pepon (61), Majestic (55), Nimbus (60)
Strategy: Hermione isn't taking any chances - she's not a trainer by trade, so she's going for power and type advantage. Luckily 4 of the 6 pokemon on her she's been taking into the temple in the last couple visits are a decent match up against whoever these guys are.

Majestic and Pepon are tag teaming the Onix, Majestic determined to show she's not just a pretty face. She's closer to his size than most other pokemon, but she's a lot faster and more graceful. She starts out with Coil before promptly Wrapping her self around the Onix, making it look like they're in some kind of strange pokemon dance and firing off Hydro Pumps and Water Pulses at point blank range. If he manages to throw her off, she'll use a Life Dew and keep firing at the Onix from a distance.

Pepon is backing up Majestic, annoying the Onix by hovering out of range of it's tail and head while shooting Bullet Seeds and Razor Leafs into it's face when he gets a clear shot. If the Onix manages to get out of Majestic's Wrap, he'll be firing off Leech Seeds to pin it down where possible. When he gets a chance, he'll bring out the big guns with a Giga Drain.

Cyto is taking on the Passimian with his usual calmness, starting off with a Heal Block and following up with a number of Psychic and Psyshock hits to hopefully finish off the suffering monkey quickly. He's also using Reflect to reduce the damage of any physical attacks that might reach him in the air.

There's going to be an air battle between Nimbus and the Butterfree, and Nimbus will be throwing out combinations of Fly, Peck and Pluck to wear the Butterfree down while at the same time employing Safeguard to avoid those pesky spore effects.

[paladinlost]

Name: Cecil Harvey
Team: Rosie the Clefable, Flare the Arcanine, Leviathan the Milotic
Strategy: Against Onix, Cecil sends out Leviathan. Now, due to the numerous people present and the current battleground, using Surf would be a rather terrible idea... which still leaves her with eight Water-type attack moves to exploit that double weakness. And as it happens, she only learned Dive recently, so why not try it out in battle?

Against Passimian, he sends out Rosie. She can exploit its Psychic weakness with Psychic, its Fairy weakness with Moonblast or Play Rough, and its Flying weakness with Bounce. She's rather displeased by the interruption; thus, as Moonblast is both a special move and has STAB, it's the one she favors today.

Against Butterfree, he sends out Flare, who starts with Double Team to help avoid those nasty powder moves. He then follows up with Sunny Day, which boosts the Flamethrower that comes after.

CULT FOLLOWERS DEFEATED

[indigo_league]

CULT ACOLYTE

[indigo_league]

CULT PRIEST

[indigo_league]

GOOD ENDING

[indigo_league]

One by one, as they are defeated, the cult members flee, clutching onto their fallen pokemon and teleporting away. The last who remains is the priest who had spoken before, who turns to point dramatically at those who had battled, though the gesture would probably be more impressive if he wasn't also warily on the lookout for any more flung rats.

"Have it your way, but know that this is not the end! Our Master will rise and your foolish opposition will be punished. You will regret what you did here today."

And then he too teleports away, leaving the sanctuary once again free of strange robed figures.

Congratulations, you've won this round.

***

Before anycelebrations can break out, however, a high, anguished cry comes from one of the Legendary Seekers:

"The Egg is gone!"

It is true -- the cradle is empty, not a sign of the strange egg that had rested there before. Could the cult have taken it anyway? Was the dramatic defeat and last words merely a distraction so someone could sneak in and grab the egg? Where have they gone? They could be halfway across Kanto by now using those teleport moves!!

"Uhm, actually--"

It's not entirely clear who says it, but a pointed finger directs everybody's attention to where a certain trainer stands, his arms wrapped protectively (?) around the egg, looking a little surprised to suddenly have everybody's eyes on him. A hero surely! Someone willing to protect the strange egg even with their own body!

Because that is absolutely what is happening here, right?

In any case, there is no room for anyone to speak, nor for any motives to be questioned, not when the egg held securely in Doppio's arms suddenly starts to vibrate wildly, its previously blue shell suddenly glowing bright, bright enough that it is hard to look at directly until it disappears just as suddenly as it started, and where the egg was sitting just now, a small blue pokemon sits in Doppio's arms instead, blinking its large eyes rather adorably at the gathered crowd.

Wind gusts through their sanctuary, carrying with it the salty scent of the ocean and those haunting odd sounds from the spires above. As well as one other thing --

"Phi!"

Coming not from the small Phione held in Doppio's arms but instead from the entrance of the temple, where everyone can now see another strange blue pokemon, looking rather tired but also very happy. The small spheres at the end of its antenna glow and everybody can hear its voice as Manaphy speaks.

"Thank you for protecting my egg."

AMA - Ask Manaphy Anything.

[indigo_league]

After such a long journey and being newly united with its child, Manaphy is not in a hurry to leave. It is more than happy to remain at the temple and recover its strength, which presents everyone with a rather unique opportunity:

Ask Manaphy Anything!

(frozen comment) Note

[indigo_league]

Feel free to use this thread to ask Manaphy any questions.

From an OOC perspective, we do ask you to please keep in mind that this is not meant to lead to long conversations with Manaphy. There are lots of people who would like to ask questions and just one little sea creature. Please be mindful.

Secondly, Manaphy will not be answering every question. There are some things it simply doesn't know or has no interest in. Your question may be skipped over if it does not relate closely enough to this particular plot or things that would be within Manaphy's knowledge.

[strings_theory]

You know what, this is fine. There's only One Question.

"So. Why in the ten hundred hells did you leave your child here? What's special about this place?" Or that's two questions, but details.

[nastyboy]

Dimitri could probably ask a lot of questions, but, frankly... He suspects plenty of other people will have things to ask, like Jolyne, or Claude.

So Dimitri just comes up with his Kalos Punk leather jacket folded over one arm, Gremlin the Rattata holding up an offering of a couple of pearls, Hafren the Alolan Marowak by his feet, and Gabby the Miltank toddling forward with a canteen in her hooves. The rest of his Pokemon stand behind him a short distance away.

"Greetings, Lady Manaphy. I understand it is difficult to raise a child, and terrifying when they are in danger. I do not have much, with this encounter being unexpected... But would you and yours accept what we can humbly offer? We would not want them to be cold, and hungry."

And what Dimitri and his Pokemon have to offer is the 2 pearls they smacked off a giant Kingler (Gremlin insists they're toys), Dimitri's leather jacket to wrap around as a makeshift blanket, and Gabby's milk in a canteen. For growing Pokemon!

Hafren has nothing, but she will do a small dance, for good luck upon the newborn.

[scourgingstars]

"You're what passes for a deity around here? I expected one to be a bit bigger rather than some kind of flan--ow!"

That bit at the end was the Galarian Rapidash next to him stepping hard on Ardyn's foot.

[rollstoseduce]

Jaskier is watching (and recording!) everything from atop his Altaria, tears appearing on the corner of his eyes when the baby hatches and Manaphy tells Jolyne its story. Oh, how heartwarming. This will make for a wonderful song later. Speaking of...

Cotton the Altaria is sent back to her Pokéball after Jaskier releases Dittany, his Lapras, who should make for a more fitting ride when approaching an entity of the sea. After securing his camera around Lapra's neck, he retrieves his ukulele in order to sing and play a little lullaby for the newborn baby.

"Your Serene Highness!" He exclaims when they finally make it to Manaphy, offering a bow with enough flourish to fit in the most extra of courts. Lapras bends her neck as a sign of respect as well. "You honor us with your presence and your tale! Many a question I could ask of you, but I shall start from the beginning, if you don't mind such a simplistic request. These Legendaries that watch over this realm are often compared to deities, but how true is that for you? Are you all-knowing to reply to all our questions, or is that exclusive to Arceus the Creator?"

[epitaffio]

A lengthy prelude could be dedicated to the emotional journey Doppio underwent from the moment he decided to grab the egg, to the moment people noticed him, to when it hatched, to now. It could even go into the subsequent, slightly panicked phone call, with apologies on one side and reassurances on the other and instructions and extremely professional sendoffs.

But there are a lot of people here, and Manaphy is very busy and so are the mods. It must all simply be acknowledged in summary.

The part that matters, most fundamentally, is that when Doppio makes his approach... he must take extra care to remind himself that the whole point of coming here was to further the Boss's goals. The cuteness of these mythical Pokémon is purely secondary, as is the fact that they are safe for now.

But it's still nice.

"Um... I'm glad you two are okay. You're not gonna stay here much longer, are you? It could be pretty bad if those guys come back."

And the answer to that is obvious, so he moves on to his real question:

"So... Where are you gonna go?"

[necrodentia]

Rainer doesn't want a very long audience with Manaphy. She understands that the Pokemon probably just wants to get her newborn baby and get out of here. But she can't help but introduce herself, rolling up and offering a little seated curtsy.

"Manaphy, it's nice to Mana-see you!" She pauses, reconsidering her phrasing. "Mana-meet you? Meet-aphy? Is that anything?"

She's wasting too much time workshopping this!! Moving on!

"All puns aside, it's really nice of you to linger here and answer our questions for a bit. I guess I was wondering, do you know any of the other Legendary Pokemon? Do you guys ever get together to like, compare notes or anything?"

Legendaries have been described to her as this world's version of gods, so she can only sort of work off of what she knows.

[islandshore]

Always interesting to see a legendary Pokemon, but this one's... so small. Riku folds his arms, contemplating a question. It's not every day you get to see one of these guys face to face, after all.

Then something hits him.

"Say... if you 'are' the sea, then tell me... Have any of the other regions ever wound up with off-world people like us, or is this exclusively a Johto thing? Not sure if you guys have a secret 'Legendary Pokemon Club,' but I've seen some of you guys from around the world- Kyogre and Groudon, Arceus, the Golems... It's just kinda weird how everything ends up tying back to here and Kanto."

But there's gotta be a reason, right? And something so tied to the ocean might have a better clue, at least.

[bestswordmaster]

Felix stands back and lets everyone else harass the Legendary, at first. He has nothing to say to it - or so he thought.

But once Rainer asks about whether it knows the other Legendaries, something occurs to him and he moves to approach it, setting a hand on one hip.

"So you do know the other gods. Where can I find Arceus? And if not Arceus, who else has influence over which of us come to this world and when, and when we leave it?"

He just wants to talk.

[vrdantwind]

Claude studies Manaphy for a long moment, thinking it over, before stepping forward.

"There's something I'd like to ask. I don't know how much you know of Arceus or its motives, but...I'm assuming that it's responsible for people from other worlds being pulled here. Do you happen to know why it brings us here? Or why it then sometimes sends us back home?

"I mean...I get that sending us back home eventually has its own logic, and that it's probably just putting us back where we belong. Even when we belong. So my question about going home is less why it sends us home, and more about whether there's any rhyme or reason to when it happens. Someone important to us got sent home recently, without any warning, and...I'd like to know if it's just at a whim, or whether there's some actual purpose being served."