Dr.Gunsforhands
The first time one of Claire's students told her about the dark hour, it was easy to dismiss it all as a side effect. A weird dream, resulting from overexposure to chemical stimulants and grief for a sick friend. She told Fletcher to stop testing the new drug patches and to stay in bed through the night until the symptoms abated.

But the symptoms never abated. Fletcher's magnemite pal continued to appear by his side every night, and outside he could see pokémon attacking the frozen city. He found another student in the dorms, Finn, fighting off a zubat that flew in the window with help from a fire-breathing fennekin. The two of them met a cop on the street who could corroborate the story as well. Roland's own counselor had prescribed sick leave for him, to no avail, obviously.

For her part, Professor Claire did some research using her own sources. She noticed that the team's experiences weren't the only ones, and that the Dark Hour was connected to the recent surge in White-out syndrome. This knowledge meant that they might now be able to find a cure, or better yet, to stop the monsters at their source.

Seeing as most modern technology refuses to function when the world is frozen, Claire had to develop some... specialized instruments to advance her research:

 Dark Tape Recorder  - A held item, meant for Fletcher's magnemite, Charles. When equipped to an electric-type pokémon, it records ambient sounds and speech during the dark hour. Can be played back normally during the day. Finn can probably find a way to upgrade it.
 Dark Biomonitor  - Must be implanted into a human volunteer.  (That volunteer is Finn.)  Records physiological responses during the Dark Hour.
 Pokéball  - Looks like a toy or talisman. Said to catch pokémon in stories.  (Purchased with starting funds. Fletcher isn't sure where Claire got the ones she gave to him. Monty and Finn got theirs as good luck charms from Lizz and Xena, respectively.) 
 Paper Notebooks and Pencils  - Everyone has these. They still work fine!

From there, it was trivial to figure out that the monsters were descending from Mount Moon. Using her contacts and resources, Professor Claire reached out to the local forestry researchers and obtained permission to set up a base camp.

Which brings us to Monty.

Monty, you have spent your day setting up a camp at the base of Mount Moon for a party of people you have not yet met. On paper, the equipment you were given is meant for medicinal research, collecting and testing herbs and berries unique to the area. Off paper, your forestry program has recently had their palms greased by a mysterious patron, inducing them to send you up here despite the numerous safety warnings and barriers recently put up by the local authorities.

One person you know, who is always up for flaunting authority, is Charlie. Her band happens to be playing a thing in Cerulean City this weekend, and so she quickly volunteered to tag along, seizing the rare opportunity to hang out. After hiking and climbing together, you found that the camp took longer to set up than expected, even between the two of you. There is a big gizmo that looks like a generator but doesn't work, and one of the tents looks like it's supposed to be for emergency trauma surgery or something? Anyway, it's getting late, and there's a storm moving in. While your instructions said to leave the site before midnight, you'll be much better off if you stay right here until morning.

"Good," says Charlie, sitting on the operating table. "I would have suggested it anyway. I want to get a load of this ~mysterious research party~." She holds up her hands and wiggles her fingers for spooky effect. "Don't worry, I came prepared."

She hops down, reaches for her pack, and produces a pair of glass bottles labeled  Adult Soda.  That's literally the brand name. She passes you your favorite flavor and expertly pops the cap off of her own. The hiss of the shaken booze mixes with the sound of the wind picking up outside.

The rest of the party, after a logistical hangup at the train station, are finally arriving to inspect the camp. Covering your heads from drizzling rain, you see it some fifty meters away as you walk over a grassy hill near the closed mountain pass. Three big tents, around a pit for a campfire. It's not a moment to soon, either. Before you can register that someone else is there, a familiar wave of cold and stillness washes over you.

The wind stops.

You've never seen the mountain this close during the dark hour before. From here, you can watch as crystalline rooms and spires immediately grow into place on the rock face, sparking with otherworldly energy. In the tent, Monty watches Charlie freeze in place, bathed in unnatural shadow, then suddenly light up as a flattened red silhouette with a floating heart at its center.

In place of the silenced wind and rain, the air overhead fills with the chitters and chirps of flying pokémon overhead as they pour out for their nightly raids. The group from Saffron City knows you only have a moment before you're spotted and some of them come your way. When you look again, a little Zorua is already sniffing around outside the medical tent.

What do you do?
MCerberus
 Monty 

Monty really shouldn't be drinking. Really really shouldn't be. Due to this being in the wild and a 'professional' exercise there would be massive consequences. However, Monty has been on not caring mode for a long while, everyone's panicking, and even his aunt is being weirder than normal. So, you know, screw it. Besides, this is nothing-proof and if rumors are true it means the Fuchsia wardens would get along with him.

"Just make sure to hide the bottles. Looks like we have a friend from Botany coming up and they only jam the largest, most prestigious sticks up their rears."

It's going to be a bad night though, so he's glad the others are here and they can start using generator resources for the heater. Then all he has to do is make sure they don't feed th- what is going on. Everything's wrong. It's... not right. no. Did Charlie spike the drinks? Why isn't she talking what is-

The little black fox from that line of plushies is outside. For some reason it calms Monty; it gets his mind back to the situation. The animals are going crazy. sudden change in the wind and rain. It's not normal for a weather front but it cannot CANNOT be good.

He instinctively tries to pick up the foxling, drawn to it before yelling down to the new arrivals. "Up here! GET TO SHELTER"
Harbringer
Finn is, in the most unfortunately literal sense, not a happy camper. He's been clumsily trudging through the woods, following the others as they head to their destination, occasionally checking his phone for reception, silently mourning as the bars fully drop to nothing and he starts feeling well and truly useless.
Well, not fully useless, as at least he'd thought to bring a proper flashlight, as walking through the forest at night would probably have been a problem without the rain. Occasionally checking his watch as they move, he's rather glad they make it to the camp before the Dark Hour hits.

Of course, Dark Hour hitting still brings with it a whole slew of problems, not least which is  apparently  someone else at their campsite also being awake for it. Hoping that it's actually one of the folks they were meant to meet here, Finn rushes in closer to the camp, trying his best to stick under the tree line and, hopefully, out of immediate sight of the bats he knew were about to pour in. Fiddling with the runic circle pendant connecting him to Emrys, he summons the fennec fox near the tent that the stranger just exited.  "Hey! Introductions will have to wait, things are about to start getting a lot more intense in a moment. Keep your eyes on the sky. Emrys, let's go, head on swivel!" 

The Fennekin yips once, eyes on the sky, intently gazing into the darkness, a slight heat haze beginning to build around him.
ProgressPaladin
As Fletcher pulls up his hoody, the thought pops into his mind. Why today, of all days. It’s rainy, cold, and dark. At least someone thought to bring a flashlight. He follows along, walking to the campsite, and then the dark hour hits. He immediately summons Charles, and tries to connect emotionally with him. Fletcher projects thoughts of alertness, and tells charles to strike anything in the air down.

(Sorry if this is not very good. This is my first time role playing through PBP, so I’m still getting used to it.)
Kareeah_Indaga
Cursing creatively at the delay, Roland strapped his flashlight into place as he ran. The little aquatic creature that had attached itself to him – more-or-less literally – appeared clinging to his belt where his gun would have been if he hadn’t turned that in along with most of his equipment from the force when he went on psychiatric leave. He felt out of his depth in the woods away from the streets he usually patrolled, but people needed him to be here, so here he was!

There was a heart glowing in the camp – Roland frowned, he’d thought there wasn’t supposed to be anyone still here. As a result he  almost  called out the bogey sniffing around the tent, but Excidium (as he’d taken to calling his little creature) jabbed him sharply in the hip with a head spine, distracting him long enough for the bogey’s human partner to go running for it which, in turn, prompted Roland to realize his mistake.

“ Circle the camp, we’ve got an open heart here and they’re going to lose it in a minute if the bogeys get in! ” Roland barked in his best rally-the-masses voice.

 
 Spoiler: OoC 
Since we get our Trainer bonuses, I’m going to go with Attack and Defense for Athlete. I believe that’s +1 Combat Stage to both, with the added effects of +2 Bonus on Accuracy Checks to hit with Combat Maneuvers and 5 Damage Reduction when intercepting attacks from Training Regime.

I’m also looking at Orders Roland can bark out. My default action would be to drop Excidium off by the about-to-be civilian casualty and bind Brace For Impact on him, with the intention of layering on Sentinel Stance when the bogeys get in range for that to be useful,  however  I have Leadership, so if someone else would rather be the one to babysit the bait, let me know.

If I’m doing any of this wrong, also let me know!
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
The little plushie-looking kit squeaks when it's picked up, but once Monty has him in his arms, Zero clings to his shoulder like he doesn't want to be put back down.

The camp is arranged such that the tents just about meet at their front corners, giving the site a clear front and back. Attracted to the group's shouting and movement, a quartet of small flying pokémon descend from the sky to follow you toward the camp's front side. There are two of the same kind of Zubat you've seen before, followed by two egg-shaped bird-types, whatever they're called. You have just enough time to beat them to the tent entrances and prepare to fight!

Even as you run to the camp, though, a pair of fluttering yellow bug-type monsters zip out of the woods and between the tents to harass the newly-united Monty and Zero. Zero yelps at their appearance and looks to Monty for direction. Did these cutiefly follow him here?

Before you even have a chance to decide whether to put him down, the bugs make the decision for you, zig-zagging through the air as they buffet Zero with sparkly wind. The first knocks the little guy out of your grip, causing the second attack to mercifully blow between you and miss.

 
 Spoiler: INITIATIVE! (also game mechanics) 
Welcome to the world of pokésona! These monsters sure do like to fight each other, huh?

Each round, your team will choose and roll for your actions all at once, in no particular order. As soon as I make a GM post, it's your turn until every player has posted!

Some enemies are faster than you! This includes enemies who are tied with your fastest party member for speed. When that happens, their attacks happen before your turn. In this case, they attacked   Zero  , and one of them hit for 27 Fairy-type damage. This damage doesn't account for defense, weakness or resistance, so... be sure to do that when adjusting your hit points. (In this case, it's super-effective! Sorry, Zero!)

Some enemies are slower than you! As long as at least one party member is  faster  than an enemy, that enemy will TELEGRAPH what they're going to do after your turn. If you are faster than that enemy, you might be able to BEAT THEM TO THE PUNCH, preventing them from taking their intended action. There are any number of tactical ways to make this happen, but the simplest is to knock them out with damage! (If you can't beat the enemy to the punch, it will take its action before it becomes affected by your attack. This means that sometimes you and an enemy can knock each other out in the same turn. This is fine.)

Any questions? Ask in the OOC thread or in Discord!

Speed Order:

Cutiefly 1: 15 (Fairy Wind vs.   Zero  : 27 Fairy damage)
Cutiefly 2: 15 (Fairy Wind vs.   Zero  : MISS)
  Monty  : 15
  Fletcher  : 13
  Zero  : 12
  Charles  : 12
Zubat 1: 11 (Telegraphing Supersonic vs.   Emrys  )
Zubat 2: 11 (Telegraphing Supersonic vs.   Charles  )
  Finn  : 10
  Emrys  : 10
  Roland  : 10
  Excidium  : 9
Hoothoot 1: 5 (Telegraphing Tackle vs.   Excidium  )
Hoothoot 2: 3 (Telegraphing Hypnosis vs.   Charles  )
 
Harbringer
Finn remains remarkably calm when the Pokémon descent on the camp, a look of focus falling over his face. Fiddling with his flashlight for a moment, he tightens the beam of light, before focusing it on one of the insects that had hit Zero.  "Emrys, go for the bug. Burn it down." 

Emrys, for his part, idly glances at one of the Zubat for a moment, as he notices its about to attack. Not too concerned, he sends a swift wave of portentous energy at it, before focusing his full attention on the bug that had hit Zero. A moment later, the campsite is briefly lit up as a small, but remarkably bright mote of flame is flying towards the Cutfiefly, connecting with the insect in a brief flash. Emrys uses the flash of distraction to position himself, trying his best to get some more space.


 
 Spoiler: Mechanics 
 Finn  - 67/67 HP - AP: 5/6
 Emrys  - 41/41 HP - 0 Momentum

Finn uses Focused Training on Emrys as an Action. Finn uses Duelist on Cutiefly 1 as a Swift Action, Cutiefly is Tagged.
Emrys uses Omen on Zubat 1 as a Swift Action. Its Accuracy is lowered by 2.
Emrys uses Ember on Cutiefly 1! Ember hits! Ember deals 35 Special Fire Type Damage before Special Defense or Weaknesses. Emrys gains 1 Momentum!

End of Round, Emrys will gain 1 Momentum.
 
ProgressPaladin
As the monsters descend, Fletcher remains focused on Charles, opening up a connection in his spirit. He tells Charles “Strike that thing out of the sky!”

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Fletcher uses Channeler as a swift action, and then Spirit surge as a standard. Charles uses Thundershock on the Zubat targeting Charles. To Hit:  (1d20+1)[ 13 ]  Damge  (2d6+31)[ 36 ] x1.5
 
MCerberus
  Monty  
Monty - 70/70 hp
Zero - 13/44 hp

Being attacked by flying things from fairy tales, Monty still hasn't collected his thoughts. There's a tiny cute being taking shelter in his arms. His best friend is- are those things after her?

The only thing that makes him snap-to is when the kit jumps in front of some kind of energy going towards the pair. Shock seems to instantly fade as Monty decides he needs to take action. Then everything in his perception stops moving. His heart starts beating and a voice begins to speak to him, at once from somewhere on the wind but also inside his own mind.

 Is this all you are? Will you let the world die for your sloth?
You've accepted the pain given to you, doing nothing in return. Being rolled over.
I can help you stop them from hurting everything you love.
find your wrath.
Find your truth.
Repeat after me. 

I am thou...

Monty suddenly snaps into action, his stance changed. A wave of dark energy radiates from him. The newly awakened trainer points at the flying foes.

 "Zero! You know no mercy!" 
 
 Spoiler: Actions 

Monty - Standard action to apply Inspired Training to zero, giving +1 evasion, +2 save. Cheerleader grants Excited.
Zero - move to attack cutiefly 2
[roll0] vs AC2
[roll1]

Zero will take any potential pack hunt attacks as presented vs AC5 for 1 tick
 
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland dropped off his partner by the civilian’s silhouette – the little creature wasn’t terribly mobile on land, so it was best he start off where he needed to be – with the instructions to, “ See if you can wash those things out of the area, Excidium, and brace yourself for anything! ”

Excidium wriggled his way into position in the midst of the attacking foes and unleashed a spray of bubbles.

 
 Spoiler: OoC 

Roland: 70/70
Excidium: 44/44

Roland is binding 2 AP for Brace for Impact on Excidium, 4 remaining.

Excidium uses Bubble on Hoothoot 1 and both Cutiefly. Rolls in the Dice Thread.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Finn's Fennekin blasts one bug out of the air in one shot while Zero jumps and lands a good scratch on the other. Excidia the Horsea bounces up next to them, then turns to face his feathered pursuer. He catches the Hoothoot and the remaining Cutiefly in a blast of bubbles. The owl catches itself on one taloned foot, while the bug is sent hurdling unconscious into the unlit fire pit with a *splat*.

The Hoothoot looks back up at Excidium, hops from foot to foot a couple of times, then rushes forward and tackles the horsea, sending him tumbling into the tent with the frozen Charlie.  (Tackle deals 31 Normal Phys damage before defense effects, and pushes Excidia a bit.) 

On the other side of the fire pit, Charles follows Fletcher's pointing finger and zaps one of the zubats with sparks from its antenna. As the bat goes down, its friend swoops near Emrys, but the little fox hears it coming and handily evades the supersonic chittering.  (MISS) 

Nearby, the slower and puffier-looking of the two Hoothoot lands, sits still, and stares at Charles eerily until Charles happens to turn and look into its eyes. It's two big, round, hypnotic eyes against one, and the floating robot starts to feel drowsy. It turns out that's a thing that can happen to robots!  (Hypnosis puts Charles to sleep.) 
 
 Spoiler 
I'll list out some positions based on what I've noticed, guessing that people stay near-ish to their pokémon

In the green medical tent:  Charlie ,   Excidium  
Just outside the tent: KO'd cutiefly 1,   Zero  ,   Monty  ,  Hoothoot 1,  Roland  
Fire Pit-adjacent: Zubat 1,   Emrys  ,   Finn  , KO'd cutiefly 2 and zubat 2,   Fletcher  
A bit further away than that: Hoothoot 2,   Charles  

Next round, start! All of the enemies that are faster than you are KO'd.

Speed Order:

  Monty  : 15
  Fletcher  : 13
  Zero  : 12
  Charles  : 12
Zubat 1: 11 (Telegraphing Leech Life vs.   Emrys  )
  Finn  : 10
  Emrys  : 10
  Roland  : 10
  Excidium  : 9
Hoothoot 1: 5 (Telegraphing Tackle vs.   Zero  )
Hoothoot 2: 3 (Telegraphing Tackle vs.   Emrys  )
 
Harbringer
Finn lets out a surprised half laugh when Emrys swats the Cutiefly out of the sky in a single shot, breaking his focus enough to notice the foresty person drop a surprisingly brutal line for a newcomer. Grinning, he glances over to Monty for a moment.  "Oh, this'll be fun"  The moment of distraction comes and leaves quickly though, as he snaps his attention to the all too familiar sight of a Zubat, beam of light soon enveloping (unbeknownst to the sightless bat).  "These things are getting tiresome. Emrys, you know what to do." 

Emrys, ears still ringing somewhat from the Zubat's sonic assault, fires another mote of bright fire, hitting the bat square in the body. He tries to keep some distance between himself and the bat, but is wary of straying too far from the camp.

 
 Spoiler: Mechanics 
Finn - 67/67 HP - 5/6 AP
Emrys - 41/41 HP - 2 Momentum

Finn uses Duelist as a swift action against Zubat 1. Zubat 1 is now Tagged.
Finn uses Focused Training on Emrys as a Standard Action.

Emrys has 2 Momentum. Emrys has +1 Accuracy and +1 Evasion against his Tagged opponent.
Emrys uses Ember against Zubat 1! AC2: 6; 33 Special Fire Type Damage! Emrys gains 1 Momentum on a hit.
Emrys moves a couple of meters away from the Zubat.

At the end of the Round, Emrys gains 1 Momentum.
 
ProgressPaladin
“Oh crap!” When Charles falls out of the sky, Fletcher runs over, to check if he’s ok. Fletcher starts shaking him. “Wake up buddy! Now’s not the time!”

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Charles save: (1d20)[ 7 ]  I shake Charles awake.
 
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland charged the red-eyed…thing…calling to his partner, “ Target whatever you can reach, Excidium, but don’t leave the civilian’s side! Keep them protected! ”

 
 Spoiler: OoC 

Roland: 70/70 (4/6 AP)
Excidium: 20/44

Roland is going to Slam Hoothoot 1.

I’m not sure of the distances involved, so:
if it’s still up, Excidium uses Bubble on Hoothoot 1.
If it’s not then  if  he can hit a bogey without getting out of intercept range of Charlie, he will do that.
If there are no bogeys he can hit without leaving Charlie unprotected he will activate Brace for Impact as a Standard Action.

Yell if I'm doing anything I shouldn't be!
 
MCerberus
  Monty  
Monty - 70/70 hp
Zero - 13/44 hp

With the attacking flies down and another going into the camp, Monty doesn't have time to really gain a full appreciation of the tide of battle. Instead, he's still half-angry and half-in the zone. Answers can come later.
 
"Zero, run them down!" 
The little kit follows after the Hoothoot nearly looking like just a black blur in the night before striking at it from behind. With another ally coming to attack, Zero also has opportunity to works his fangs.

 
 Spoiler: Actions 

  Pursuit  - (1d20)[ 7 ]  vs AC2   Damage  - (2d6+19)[ 25 ] 

If Roland hits, Pack Hunt triggers
  Pack Hunt  - (1d20)[ 20 ]  vs AC5 Damage = 1 tick
 
ProgressPaladin
Charles, as he wakes up, pinpoints where the attack came from, and, feeling angry, fires a bolt at that Hoothoot, hopefully knocking it out of the sky!
 
 Spoiler: Rolls 
To Hit:  (1d20+1)[ 5 ]  Damage:  (2d6+31)[ 35 ] X1.5
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
The group by the tent goes for an all-out-attack on their hoothoot. The blow-by-blow details are a bit of a mess: Roland shoulder-checks Monty by accident while he and Zero are doing their pincer attack, leaving Roland without enough momentum for a good hit, and then they all have to jump backwards to not get caught in a bubblesplosion afterwards, but the end result is still good. Hoothoot One is reduced to a pile of suds and feathers.

Hoothoot Two is somehow having a better time, despite Charles' efforts. It reflexively hunkers down and fluffs up its feathers to resist the electric attack. Feathers now brimming with smoke and static, it then resumes charging at Emrys to avenge its fallen ally.

By now, the zubat that was attacking Emrys has already gone down in flames. Emrys was a second too late to avoid its sucking bite, but it's easy enough for the fire-type to shake off. The sudden owl-tackle hits a bit harder, if only for not being specifically weak against the Fennekin.  (21 Phys Bug and 20 Phys Normal damage, respectively. Tackle also pushes Emrys around a little, but that's mostly good for you.) 
 
 Spoiler: One More Round 
Everyone who has a Pokéball knows at least some legends of what they're supposed to do. Will any of you try using one, I wonder?

In the green medical tent:  Charlie 
Just outside the tent:   Zero  ,   Monty  ,   Excidium  ,   Roland  
Fire Pit-adjacent:   Finn  ,   Fletcher  
A bit further away than that: Hoothoot 2,   Charles  ,   Emrys  

Speed Order:

  Monty  : 15
  Fletcher  : 13
  Zero  : 12
  Charles  : 12
  Finn  : 10
  Emrys  : 10
  Roland  : 10
  Excidium  : 9
Hoothoot 2: 3 (Telegraphing Tackle vs.   Emrys   again)
 
ProgressPaladin
Dang, should have caught that Zubat! But I will throw a poke ball at it.
AC 6 [roll0]
ProgressPaladin
AC 6  (1d20)[ 2 ]  Capture Rate  (1d100-6)[ -4 ] 
Harbringer
Emrys digs his claws into the ground and skids to a halt after the Hoothoot's attack, growling slightly. Finn, without missing a beat, moves his focus from the Zubat to the owl.  "Almost done here, Emrys. Let's end this."  His voice is steady, most of Finn's initial excitement replaced by focus.

Emrys lets loose one more spark of flame, hitting the orbular bird square in the body.

 
 Spoiler: Mechanics 
 Finn  - 67/67 HP - 5/6 AP
 Emrys  - 23/41 HP - 4 Momentum

Finn uses Duelist on the Hoothoot as a Swift Action.
Finn uses Focused Training as a Standard Action.

Emrys uses Ember! AC2: 18, DB6: 36 Special Fire Type Damage. It was not a natural roll of 18, so it doesn't Burn the target. Emrys gains 1 Momentum.

Emrys gains 1 Momentum at the end of the Round.
 
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland indicated for Excidium to keep his position protecting the civilian and prepared to hit the remaining bogey again if it was still moving by the time the rest of the group was done with it.

 
 Spoiler: OoC 

Roland: 70/70 (4/6 AP)
Excidium: 20/44

Roland is going to Slam Hoothoot 2 if it’s still up, assuming it’s still a threat and no one waves him off. Excidium will Brace For Impact again.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Fletcher decides to try throwing one of the metallic balls his professor gave him, but having never thrown one before, he predictably misses the mark. The hoothoot jumps and glances at the ball long enough for Emrys to seize the distraction and finish it off with one more ember attack. Once it's down, it and all the other fallen enemies vanish, each with a flash of colored light and a muffled *pop*.

 Cut the battle! 

The four of you and your pokémon are now alone in the still and silent camp. You can make out a few shadows of distant monsters far overhead, but none of them seem interested in coming to bother you.

The camp is comprised of three tents arranged around the unlit fire pit. On inspection, you can see extension cords between them and strings of lights hung up along their entrances and inside of them, but of course those aren't working right now.

The tent on your right is bright red, and inside of it is a short folding table surrounded by cots and blankets.

In addition to Silhouette Heart Ghost Charlie and the operating table, the green medical tent in the middle has a stretcher, crutches, a big chest full of supplies and tools for trauma treatment, and a cooler shut with a combination lock.

The cramped blue tent on the left has three workbenches with drawers of tools and various electronics. There are unlit monitors, a microscope, an oscilloscope, a dot matrix printer for some reason, and in the very back of the tent, a large contraption vaguely resembling an old generator. It has some dials and meters, but no apparent fuel intake nor any guide to its use besides the rote instructions that told Monty how to plug everything in. To Fletcher and Roland, this isn't surprising. Professor Claire seems pretty big on keeping details secret. You'll have to actively examine it to figure it out.

As you explore, Emrys occasionally twitches his ears and looks up at a ridge near the mountain pass.

Also Monty might be entitled to some kind of explanation?

What do you do?
MCerberus
  Monty  

Well for one, there's a lot of fading adrenaline, stress, and alcohol coming together combined with... something... that happened to him in the last two minutes or so. That means, shortly, the first thing done is emptying his stomach. While not pretty, the rest of the group can take some solace in that recycled "lemon-lime hurricane" doesn't create an immediately awful smell.

For the short-term, Monty's not thinking about all the craziness going on around him, but rather on getting some water down from out of his pack. Considering everything, it's a safe assumption he's going to freak out some more once the he notices the world not returning to normal.

Zero, meanwhile, his licking his fur clean, runs across some remaining sparkles on his coat, and makes a displeased face.
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland paused to scoop up Excidium so the aquatic creature could cling to his belt again before trotting over to Monty. “ You all right son? I admit I wasn’t expecting anyone else to be here, but you held up well. This your first Dark Hour? ”
ProgressPaladin
Fletcher Immediately rushes over to Zero and applies a potion.  Is anyone else hurt?  he asks worriedly. He also examines the medical supplies and cooler, looking for anything useful.
MCerberus
  Monty  

When Roland approaches Monty, Zero snaps to attention and moves between the two. With all the sudden happenings, the little guy isn't sure where everything stands and is trying to act ferocious. The meek little squeak he gives out doesn't help, but if Fletcher doesn't try and move too fast, Zero won't turn down any help.

Monty himself sort of half-hears the words and starts getting a grip on things. His mind clearing up he asks,  "What are you talking about?"  his eyes move over to the tent where Charlie is and he tenses up.  "What's going the f-" . Then Monty remembers what happened immediately when things got weird. Unless stopped he's liable to bolt over to the tent.
Harbringer
Finn, seeing that Roland has approached the newbie, takes a look around the camp, after taking a moment to ensure Emrys isn't too hurt. He notes the padlocked box in the medicine tent, but quickly moves on to the next tent, not too keen to stay with the ghostly women, letting Fletcher do his thing. "Let's see what we've got access to first. Did the Prof tell you any codes or anything?" . "Let's see what we've got access to first. Did the Prof tell you any codes or anything?" 

Not really waiting for an answer, he moves on to the next tent, though he notes what has Emrys worried first.  "We'll take a closer look over there in a moment, let's catch our breath first and take stock of the camp." 

Entering the blue tent, Finn visibly brightens. Even if there's entirely too much physics and engineering type equipment packed in there, it's still a clear sign of proper civilization. He immediately moves over to the generator to try and get the gear working.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Edu: Technology to fiddle with the generator: 13
 
Kareeah_Indaga
At Zero’s display Roland holds up both hands to show they’re empty and he’s unarmed. (From his belt, Excidium squeaks something that  might  be a scolding.) “ Whoa there, little friend, I’m not going to hurt your partner, see? ”


 
 Originally Posted by MCerberus 
  "What are you talking about?"  his eyes move over to the tent where Charlie is and he tenses up.  "What's going the f-" . 
 

“ Maybe I should start with the basics, ” Roland suggested, figuring that a more normal start to the conversation might help calm the younger man down. “ My name is Roland Harcourt, Saffron City police. This is my partner Excidium. ” The little Horsea piped something that sounded like a greeting. “ You are currently experiencing a Dark Hour, a split second of time that, for some of us, stretches out for about an hour and strange things happen. You aren’t crazy, you aren’t hallucinating. Assuming nothing else shows up like those things we just fought, your friend in the tent will be fine and will be back to normal once the Dark Hour ends. I will warn you that having experienced the Dark Hour once you’re likely to experience it every night going forward. Now with that out of the way, are you hurt? What is your name? ”
Dr.Gunsforhands
The big, unlocked chest in the green tent has packaged sponges and gauze and stitches and whatnot. If Fletcher wanted, he could probably assemble five first aid kits from the contents and still have the reusable examination tools left over, but having it all organized in one place is pretty convenient. The big padlock on the cooler is kind of strange on examination. It's a 3-digit code, but instead of numbers, the wheels have what look like fifteen old slot machine symbols.

 
 Spoiler: Symbols 
Coins
Double Cherries
Double Peppers
Dragonfruit
Ghost Pepper
Fluffy Dandelion
Rock Candy
Ice Cream Cone
Lucky 7 (Styled like a lightning bolt)
Lucky 7 (Styled in a starburst)
Letter R
Beedrill
Diglett
Poliwag
Eye (Styled like a pokéball)
 


In the blue tent, Finn recognizes some pads and inductors set into the top of the mystery generator. They match up with the design of the dark tape recorder that Fletcher's magnemite has. Perhaps it's also meant to interact with a pokémon? Other than that, it sure does look like the thing is meant to provide power to the lights and equipment in here.

As you explore, you begin to hear what Emrys keeps looking at. It's an occasional muffled crashing sound, coming from inside the mountain.
MCerberus
  Monty  

Zero still looks a little tense but his stance softens just a little bit. The tiny fox looks around for a moment before squeaking another " Zor ".
  What do you want?  

For his part, the delay from talking has got Monty outside of only reacting giving him time to think. There's still a sense of dread and wanting to make sure everything is actually alright but it gives him breathing room.

 "I'm Renault, from the forestry program. They had me set up this camp and- wait does this have something to do with the zombies?" 
An inelegant way to describe people effected by whiteout. It's a terrible thought though, the botanists may have actually gotten him killed by sending Monty up here.
 "And why did a stuffed animal make a deal with me to fight fictional critters?" 
Harbringer
  "... so if that leads here, and if I'm reading these dials right, and judging by the wiring and material over here... hook up the memory killer and hope for the best?"   Finn mutters under his breath as he works to figure out the machine. He looks over the rest of the equipment in the room.   "And that'll presumably power all this guff, letting us... run tests? Not like there's  anything else  actually running for me to connect to, so my options are gonna be a bit limited."   He considers the generator again, judging the size.   "... might need more Pokémon to power it though..."  

Thinking this over, Finn exits the tent again, catching the tail end of Roland's words and Renault's introduction. Kneeling next to Emrys and handing him some small snacks and water to recuperate some energy. As he does this, he somewhat flippantly responds to Renault.  "Yeah, welcome to the world of Pokémon. All myths and stories are true, magical creatures roam the earth between the ticks of a clock, and whatever they're doing to people robs them of their personality."  He pats Emrys on the head, tone turning a bit more serious and contemplative,  "My computer stopped working, Emrys showed up, one of those blue bats showed up, I panicked, tried to figure out what the hell was going on, and... had an understanding,  He stands up and faces Renault and Roland properly.  "A small understanding about myself, and Emrys, and our place in things and how those places overlapped. We've worked together pretty well, I think. Not quite a deal, similar enough, perhaps?  He shrugs,  "Guess it'll have been different for Cursor or you, though,"  - He gestures to the medical tent, where Fletcher is still busy, and Roland in turn -  "if yours is so different from mine. Personalized experiences and all."  He grins wryly, before noting the continued twitching of Emrys' ears.  "Oh, right, something's out over there... something's making a ruckus up in the mountains." 
 
 Spoiler: Mechanics 
Using an Enriched Water on Emrys, healing him for 20 HP
 
Kareeah_Indaga
  I said stop it, you’re being silly. We’re trying to help,   Excidium repeated to the Zorua.


 
 Originally Posted by Harbringer 
  "My computer stopped working, Emrys showed up, one of those blue bats showed up, I panicked, tried to figure out what the hell was going on, and... had an understanding,  He stands up and faces Renault and Roland properly.  "A small understanding about myself, and Emrys, and our place in things and how those places overlapped. We've worked together pretty well, I think. Not quite a deal, similar enough, perhaps?  
 

Finn had covered things pretty well, so Roland just nodded.

“ Me and Excidium had it about the same way. A pair of the bats had chased me into an alley, and I’d tried to grab my gun and brought up Excidium instead, ” Roland replied, smiling fondly at the memory. It had been the first time he’d been out of the house at midnight after the ‘hallucinations’ started, not long after he’d started therapy. His fiancée’s condition and other recent events had had him too wound up to sleep, so he’d gone for a run…and then the Dark Hour hit, and the bats attacked, and he’d forgotten he didn’t have his gun on him. He’d probably looked quite ridiculous: ‘Freeze, Saffron City Police!’ and then bubbles everywhere…


 
 Originally Posted by Harbringer 
  "Oh, right, something's out over there... something's making a ruckus up in the mountains."  
 

“ What kind of ruckus? ” Roland asked. ‘People partying’ was unlikely out here, especially right now…
Harbringer
Finn shrugs as he looks over to the mountain.  "Not too sure, Emrys seems to have mostly picked up on it, but there's this crashing that gets pretty obvious once you've picked up on it. Like there's something thrashing arou..."  he trails of in thought, looking from the mountain ridge to the sky above them, where he can still spot the occasional bat flying by.  "Something thrashing around a cave. Shaking up the place. Agitating the locals."  His gaze snaps back to Roland.  "Wanna bet that whatever is thrashing around in there is the reason the Zubat are trekking so far from the mountain back to town? Cause they don't really seem like they'd normally fly out this far."  His voice quickens as he thinks out loud, and he seems ready to head out towards the ridge at any moment.
MCerberus
  Monty  

Monty listens to the explanations and stories but can't really hear them. He's a bit shell-shocked from all of this and everything doesn't seem to be adding up. Time freezes and it makes the mountain glow. Someone tried to throw what looked like the charm his aunt gave him at one of those things.

Zero is having a better time of it. Having been assuaged, he'll allow everyone to talk and do what they need to do. Being the curious sort, with Fletcher may end up with his hand licked if they get too close.
Kareeah_Indaga
 
 Originally Posted by Harbringer 
 Finn shrugs as he looks over to the mountain.  "Not too sure, Emrys seems to have mostly picked up on it, but there's this crashing that gets pretty obvious once you've picked up on it. Like there's something thrashing arou..."  he trails of in thought, looking from the mountain ridge to the sky above them, where he can still spot the occasional bat flying by.  "Something thrashing around a cave. Shaking up the place. Agitating the locals."  His gaze snaps back to Roland.  "Wanna bet that whatever is thrashing around in there is the reason the Zubat are trekking so far from the mountain back to town? Cause they don't really seem like they'd normally fly out this far."  His voice quickens as he thinks out loud, and he seems ready to head out towards the ridge at any moment. 
 

“ Might be. Or they could be out of…prey…close to home. ” Roland frowned, considering. “ If we didn’t have an open heart here I’d say we should check it out. ”
Harbringer
Finn stares at Roland in disbelief for a few moments.  "You're kidding, right? We can't just...  not  investigate the only bloody clue we've had just because there's a single person  slightly  in danger!  There's  thousands  of people in Saffron that are in just as much danger, that we're not currently actively protecting, so why is this single person right here enough to fully stop us from doing anything? We went here to figure out what is causing all this, and we're not going to learn anything just twiddling our thumbs in this camp. We have a something new and abnormal happening, right where all the Zubat are coming from, we have to go look! It's the entire reason we took a trip out to this Uxie forsaken stretch of the woods!" 

He breaths heavily for a few moments, gathering his wits,  "I get that we have to try to keep people safe, but, just, like..."  He trails off before stomping over to the medical tent. With some effort, he zips the entrance to the tent closed, not quite clocking that Fletcher is still working inside.  "There! No Pokémon access! She'll be as safe as anyone. Probably safer, since we're out here drawing all the attention anyway." 
MCerberus
  Monty  

When the tench is zipped up, Monty reflexively stands up still on-edge and his brain not having processed the rest of the group.  "What's the other guy..."  he trails off. Zero, meanwhile is sniffing around the tent flap before beginning to dig a little. Looks like the kit is going to pop in and say hi. For some reason Monty is okay with this.

His thinking then tries to sort itself into something he does know.  "It would be Cerulean. Or Pewter. If they don't need good trails,"  flying things a terrible thought.  "They're both closer." 
Kareeah_Indaga
 
 Originally Posted by Harbringer 
  "There! No Pokémon access! She'll be as safe as anyone. Probably safer, since we're out here drawing all the attention anyway."  
 

“ I don’t like it. ” You didn’t stop being responsible for people just because they weren’t the only ones you were responsible for. “ But you’re right we don’t really have a lot of options. ” Roland reflected that he needed to get used to not being able to call for backup in situations like these.
Harbringer
Finn is quiet for a beat, before giving a nod, most of his anger having burned out.  "Right. None of this is optimal. We do what we can."  He glances over at Renault, vaguely hoping that he could come to grips with things at a slightly faster pace.  "There's probably a good number headed there as well, yeah, but there's definitely still enough getting to Saffron to cause trouble." 

That said, he turns back to the mountain ridge that the noise is coming from, ready to leave, seemingly honed in on the mystery source of the sounds.
Dr.Gunsforhands
When Finn looks up at the ridge, he sees a few rocks tumbling down the cliff face from above. Then a couple more. Then, with a series of five escalating crashes, the stone cracks and bursts open with a cloud of dust and rubble. It's hard to see through the dust before it settles, but you can all make out the crested head of a massive monster. Its pale, glowing eyes shine through the dust before it retreats into the hole it just made.

 
 Spoiler: Perception/Knowledge/Survival rolls 
Roll the better of Perception and Pokemon Education, DC 7: 
 Spoiler 
Yep, that was an Onix alright. As it retreated, you notice another glowy thing taking its place. It looks like a little guy.
 


Better of Perception or Survival, DC 9:
 
 Spoiler 
Another Zubat was thrown out when the rock burst open. Looks like it landed in a tree. If you go to the ridge directly, it might attack you from behind, but if you go get it now it might still be disoriented.
 


Survival/Pokemon Edu, DC 11:
 
 Spoiler 
Two of the rocks that were ejected from the new tunnel looked like they were alive. They curled into balls and tumbled down to the bottom the ridge. You'll probably run into them if you try going over there.
 

 
Harbringer
Finn takes in the scene at the mountain ridge, eyes tracking movements at high pace.   Onix, little guy, Geodudes, Zubat.   He tracks the trajectory of the Zubat, and seeing it land half dazed in the trees, starts heading toward it, wanting to take it out before it can regain its bearings. Emrys runs a few paces ahead of him. He calls back to the rest, not too concerned on if they're following him or not.  "Giant rock snake in the mountain, called an Onix, with some little guy I can't really identify. Two stone dudes at the base of the cliffs, look like rocks, called Geodude. One of those bats was thrown out into the trees, I wanna make sure it's not a problem before we head out there." 
Kareeah_Indaga
Excidium squeaked out something Roland had learned through association was a request for water, to the Saffron officer broke out the water bottle he’d brought.

 
 Spoiler: OoC 
-1 Enriched Water, 0 remaining, Excidium’s HP now at 40.
 


While he drank, Roland helped point out any of the creatures the rest of the group didn’t immediately see before following Finn with Excidium.  Finn  was someone Roland was responsible for too!
MCerberus
  Monty  

Inside the tent, Zero sniffs around and takes a little sniff at Fletcher before poking at the new person with his paw to get his attention. Regardless of Fletcher's response, Zero zooms out of the tent through the small gap he dug.

Back outside, the fox nudges the water Monty was attempting to open, getting the desired response of Monty opening it so Zero can have a drink.
When Finn decides to go out, it at least registers in Monty's brain something that he should be doing.

 "Have you ever been out here in the dark? You trip on something out alone and nobody's coming for you." 
There's the implicit offer in that the Monty will go along, at the very least to figure out what these things do or are when not trying to murder everyone

 
 Spoiler: OOC 

forum ate the post recreating it from the last save
Water used on Zero bringing him to 33hp
 
ProgressPaladin
As Fletcher walks out of the tent, he sees that those rocks are moving, and looks to the others for guidance. “What might we do?” He also responds to Finn, saying “They might also be Sandshrew, right?
Dr.Gunsforhands
Finn, Roland,  maybe  Monty, and their pokémon take off for the spot where the zubat crash-landed. Due West form here, it's about the same distance from camp as the Northwest ridge, and far enough from the ridge as to still be clear from dust and rocky debris. When you get there, it doesn't take long to find the zubat; it's not as though there's any other movement around.

In one of the tall pine trees, about eight meters up, you see a tree branch shaking. The dizzy and confused zubat is climbing back and forth on it, trying to get its bearings. The question becomes: how are you going to get up there?


Meanwhile, from the clearing of the camp, the rest of the team has a better view of the ridge as the dust settles. A second glance convinces Fletcher that both of the living rocks are geodudes - even curled up and semi-disguised, they don't have the smooth texture of the usual sandshrew depictions. The little guy at the top of the ridge is harder to identify, at least from this distance. It looks like it has little glowing things in its hands, and is focused on shining them on the tunnel entrance for some reason.
ProgressPaladin
(I got 11 on both perceptions, do I still see the Onix?)
I will go over with the others and have Charles fly up to the Zubat, and have it use Thundershock.
Dr.Gunsforhands
The Onix has retreated back into the tunnel and is no longer visible.

When Fletcher elects to tag along with the group going after the zubat, he loses sight of the ridge altogether; where the camp is in a clearing that has line of sight, the trees in most of the area will block your view.

Charles dutifully floats up the one shaking tree and zaps the zubat. As seems to be the norm, it is knocked out in one shot, barring anyone's actions to the contrary.  (In this case, the enemy was weak enough that it's not worth rolling for a whole combat over.) 

Now what?
Harbringer
Finn had been considering how to reach the Zubat in the tree, taking into account how far Emrys could project his fire when a sudden bolt of lightning breaks his concentration. He turns back to the others as the Zubat falls from the tree, looking slightly baffled.  "Why did you  all  follow me? I had thi- Oh never mind."  He vaguely waves his arms to dismiss the thought.  "Let's just get to that ridge and see what's going on there." 
Kareeah_Indaga
 
 Originally Posted by Harbringer 
  "Why did you  all  follow me? I had thi- Oh never mind."  He vaguely waves his arms to dismiss the thought.  "Let's just get to that ridge and see what's going on there."  
 

“ We talked about this. No one runs off alone during the Dark Hour if it can be avoided, ” Roland reminded. “ We can’t exactly radio for help if something goes wrong. But I agree we should clear the area. ”
Dr.Gunsforhands
With the party all together, the team could navigate easily enough to the ridge with Monty's skills; it would only take as long as it took to get here, that is to say, a few minutes. Or, you could backtrack to the camp first and then take the obvious path.

 
 Spoiler: Rolls? 
Here is where you would roll stealth if you want to sneak up on the geodudes.

Here is also where you roll survival to possibly find/create an advantage over them using the terrain.

...or any other action or skill check you think might be relevant!

If you backtrack, you'll guarantee that nothing snuck into your camp while your backs were turned, but it also means taking longer to get to the ridge.
 
MCerberus
  Monty  

Monty begins scanning the area around the area where the two boulders the others are saying are those things and begins doing an inventory. Escape routes, ways to go in, pathways up safely, and if there is any way they can get the things surrounded. After the first fight it looks like it's easy to get hurt so having everyone together should end it quick, right?

More importantly they need to do it without running afoul of the rain that had come through. Safety first.

 
 Spoiler 
looking for paths up that are the safest and wanting to find flanking opportunities
  Survival  - (5d6)[ 19 ] 
 
ProgressPaladin
Fletcher will step up to the group.  “Hey, may I try something? During the dark hour I’ve been able to connect with these Pokémon on an emotional level. I wanted to ask if I might be able to establish a connection with yours. May I?”  Fletcher looks up at Charles. He tells him to go ahead, but be careful. Charles would be able to sense that he is scared.
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Charles has the dead silent capability, so I don’t know if that would help with this situation. His stealth is  (3d6)[ 6 ] . Fletcher, if the rest of the group says yes, would channel their Pokémon.
 
Kareeah_Indaga
 
 Spoiler: OoC 
Terrible Stealth and Survival rolls in the dice thread if they become relevant. City boy Roland is going to be a big liability here I’m afraid!
 


Roland exchanged a look with Excidium and then shrugged when the latter trilled. “ Excidium doesn’t mind, and it would be safer than trying it on one of the bogeys. ”
Harbringer
Finn glances over to Emrys for confirmation, then shrugs after a moment of silent communication.  "Sure thing, no harm to it. Can we get going now, we're wasting non-daylight." 
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
9 Stealth for Finn, in case it becomes relevant.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
First, the good news:

Using his forestry know-how, Monty determines that there is at least one reasonable spot from which the team could climb up the ridge without going directly through the geodudes. To do so would likely be a good way to flank them, too. They are sitting at the bottom of a steep incline themselves, and if you're a swift climber or can be stealthy about it, you could climb halfway up and position your pokémon to shoot at them from above.

Which brings us to the bad news, because oh dear was Roland ever not stealthy about it. Not that it's really his fault; two other pieces of rubble settled in the bushes next to him, and were about the right size to have been the enemies, so of course he had some reaction.

However he reacts, the real enemies take notice, and cry out as they move to attack. Even the little guy at the top of the ridge stops what it's doing and comes to look. It's still too high up to join the fight just yet, but you can see it a little better than before - it's a teal alien-looking thing with a big head. Finn recognizes it from a list of so-called psychic types that he saw in Saffron City once.

The geodudes are the bigger threat for now, though.

 
 Spoiler: Initiative and Stuff 
    (20 ft. up) 
 Ridge Top 
 
  (Roll athletics to climb up this way!) 
 Little Guy 
 
  (10 ft. up) Ridge Mid W 
 Ridge Mid E 
 
  (Roll athletics to climb up this way!) 
 ( empty ) 
 
  Ridge Base W 
 Ridge Base E 
 
  (There is rubble here to hide behind, but it's also diff terrain) 
 Geodude 1, Geodude 2 
 
  Woods W (Cover) 
 Woods E (Oops no cover) 
 
    Zero  ,   Monty  ,   Fletcher  ,   Charles   
   Excidium  ,   Roland  ,   Emrys  ,   Finn   
 
  

Speed Order:

  Monty  : 15
  Fletcher  : 13
  Zero  : 12
  Charles  : 12
Geodude 2: 10 (Telegraphing a self-buff)
  Finn  : 10
  Emrys  : 10
  Roland  : 10
  Excidium  : 9
Geodude 1: 1 (Telegraphing Tackle vs. Roland)
Little Guy: 1 (???)
 
ProgressPaladin
Fletcher, seeing the Geodudes notice them, protects Charles from the ground types as best as he can, and commands Charles to fly up, staying out of melee range, and Supersonic. Immediately, two beam of disorienting light fly out of Charles magnets, hitting the Geodude.
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Charles gains 8 DR from sage, and Superonics Geodude two. If a hit, confusion, if a miss, -2 on accuracy.  (1d20+1)[ 6 ]  VS AC 6
 
MCerberus
  Monty  

Well, it seems that the rocks are smarter than the look, but that doesn't say much. Due to being a bit on-edge means that Monty's the first person on his feet when they start stir.

 "Zero, the one that's attacking,"  he commands and is met with an affirmative  'Zor' 
Zero rushes towards Geodude 1 hoping to catch it by surprise while Monty starts making his way towards the cliff. At least he can get a better view from up there and make sure there are no more surprises

 
 Spoiler 
Moving to the rubble and will start climbing next turn probably.
Zero attacks Geodude 1
  Pursuit  - (1d20)[ 15 ]  vs AC2   Damage  - (2d6+19)[ 28 ]  vs defense
Since he's in melee range potential pack hunt attack for 1 tick if any melee attack htis geodude 1   Pack Hunt  - (1d20)[ 19 ]  vs AC5
 
Harbringer
Finn surveys the scene, briefly noting and cataloguing the little guy at the top of the cliff, before shifting his full focus on one of the Geodude, the beam of light of his flashlight catching the living rock. Lamenting the clear elemental disadvantage at play, he raises his hand to indicate for Emrys to attack -

 The world turns black, and everything fades away.

Finn is there but not there, his body gone but all its pieces there.
He knows this world , where he understands his own place to be, and he knows where the place of his partner is, where these places meet.

He knows the many constituent parts making him, the endless parts contained within a finite being, he hears the blood rushing through his ears... 

He returns to the world, no time having passed in the no-time.  "Emrys, get close to it,"  he says quietly, pressure building. Emrys darts over to the Geodude, pressure building still, until

The dam breaks. A wave of energy unleashes from Emrys, seemingly without element, and crashes into the Geodude. Finn feels  something  leaving and returning to him, all at once, and he is not quite sure if what just happened came from him, or from Emrys, or from both, or if that distinction makes any difference.

 
 Spoiler: Mechanics 
Finn - 67/67 HP - 3/6 AP
Emrys - 41/41 HP - 0 Momentum

Finn uses Duelist on Geodude 2 as a Swift Action. Geodude 2 is now Tagged.
Finn uses Focused Training on Emrys as a Standard Action.

Emrys moves up to Geodude 2 and uses Hidden Power! Emrys landed a Critical Hit! Emrys deals 46 Special Water Type Damage!

Emrys gains 1 Momentum when hitting the Geodude.

Emrys gains 1 Momentum at the end of the round.
 
Kareeah_Indaga
Excidium wriggled towards the Geodude with determination, aiming to blast at least one of them with Bubble. Roland reacted to the rock monster attacking him by trying to reflexively slam it back. Key word:  trying .

 
 Spoiler: OoC 

Roland: 70/70 (6/6 AP)
Excidium: 40/44

Excidium will Bubble as many of the Geodude as he can without getting any allies caught in the blast. Roland will Slam Geodude 1. Rolls in the Dice thread.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
The rock monsters float into the air, pound their fists into their hands and move to fight fearlessly, but Finn and Excidium came with the perfect tools to deal with them. Emrys' hidden power blows the quicker one away, and the slower one is quickly surrounded and bubbled away to nothing. It seems these beings of earth and rock really are weak to water!

The little guy at the top of the ridge sees the whole thing and is apparently smart enough to know when to retreat. It hops into the tunnel from whence it came.

 
 Spoiler 
We are still in combat time, for now. What do?

    (blocked) 
 Tunnel - Entrance 
 
  (wall) 
 Little Guy 
 
  (20 ft. up) 
 Ridge Top 
 
  (Roll athletics to climb up this way!) 
 (You can just walk this way but it's diff. terrain) 
 
  (10 ft. up) Ridge Mid W 
 Ridge Mid E 
 
  (Roll athletics to climb up this way!) 
   Charles   
 
  Ridge Base W 
 Ridge Base E 
 
    Finn  ,   Monty  ,   Fletcher   
   Zero  ,   Roland  ,   Excidium  ,   Emrys   
 
  Woods W 
 Woods E 
 
  

Speed Order:

  Monty  : 15
  Fletcher  : 13
  Zero  : 12
  Charles  : 12
  Finn  : 10
  Emrys  : 10
  Roland  : 10
  Excidium  : 9
Little Guy: 1 (???)
 
Harbringer
Finn, still recovering from whatever had just happened to him, spots the little guy heading back into the cave and narrows his eyes in focus. He and Emrys start sprinting up the mountain, taking the more reliable path up.

 
 Spoiler: Mechanics 
Finn 67/67 HP - 3/6 AP
Emrys - 41/41 HP - 2 Momentum

Finn takes a Standard Action to Sprint and moves as far up the east side of the ridge as he can.
Emrys takes a Standard Action to Sprint and moves as far up the east side of the ridge as he can.

Emrys gains 1 Momentum at the end of the Round.
 
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland snatches up Excidium before sprinting after the green thing, privately glad he’d worn Running Shoes, shouting, “  Stop right there!  ” at it in his most Commanding voice.

 
 Spoiler: OoC 

Roland: 70/70 (6/6 AP)
Excidium: 40/44

Athletics and Command rolls in the Dice thread.
 
MCerberus
  Monty  

The last of the monsters seems to have thought better of the situation, but none of them are going to get more information with just the rocks knocked out.  "Zero don't let it get away!"  He orders. His tone, and nearly the tenor of Monty's voice seems to have changed from his current state. Maybe it's just that he stopped panicking.

Unable to move faster than the bounding Zorua, Monty instead focuses on getting up the cliff.
Zero, not being able to get at the mystery figure instead stops short and starts alerting, a very serious sound squeak-bark.

 
 Spoiler 
Climbing up as far as he can, Zero isn't going to try and sprint in blindly right now
  Athletics  - (4d6)[ 17 ] 
 
ProgressPaladin
Sprinting, Fletcher is silently urging Charles up the cliff. Nothing in medical school prepared him for this, but they couldn’t get left behind. How was the new guys doing better than him?  “Come on! We got to catch up!”  Charles is flying along as fast as he can.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
They're both sprinting
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Charles is the first to get a good look into the tunnel, with Zero not far behind and the athletic Monty pulling himself up just ahead of the people using the longer walking path. The opening is a bit over two meters wide and three meters tall. More of the same crystal that grew from the mountain has been laid at the entrance, unfinished but vaguely shaped like a doorstep. Beyond it, the tunnel opens up to a cavernous chamber, about 20 meters on a side, complete with an arrangement of stalactites on the high ceiling. At the far end of the chamber, a finished crystalline staircase curves upward and East, climbing up into the mountain. On the stairs, two more little pokémon are jumping to attention. Monty probably recognizes their species. Igglybuff and pichu are at least as popular as zorua as plushies go. The pichu is quick on its feet and skips down the stairs to its approaching green friend. The igglybuff just stands and watches.

When it hears Zero barking, the little guy makes some eerie whistles and and blips as it dashes for the stairs.

 
 Spoiler: Intuition 
 DC 8: 
 Spoiler 
The big snake thing isn't visible. Where could it have gone?
 


DC 11: 
 Spoiler 
It probably hasn't gone far. This feels like a trap.
 


DC 13:  
 Spoiler 
The Elgyem looks over its shoulder like it's anticipating something that's going to happen to you.
 

 

 
 Spoiler: Pokemon Education 
DC 8:  
 Spoiler 
The pichu and igglybuff were sitting around playing patty-cake until the Elgyem rushed in.
 


DC 13:  
 Spoiler 
Onix, along with other powerful rock monsters, are said to have laid traps to strike their enemies as they enter battle.
 


DC 17:  
 Spoiler 
Some are also said to be able to dig through lock without leaving any trace of their passing.
 

 

 
 Spoiler: Survival / Perception 
DC 9:  
 Spoiler 
The stalactites above you seem pretty safe. They're not going to break off and fall on you or anything.
 


DC 16:  
 Spoiler 
The Elgyem looked at a couple of discolored rough spots on the floor that don't match up with where the stalactites should be dripping. It avoided stepping on them. Is there something up with those spots?
 


DC 18:  
 Spoiler 
There are two more of those spots right in front of the stairs.
 

 

 
 Spoiler: Occult Education 
DC 8:  
 Spoiler 
The volutes at the bottom of the crystal stairs are topped with spheres about as big as your head. Each of the two has a greenish internal glow that shines through a thin pokeball shape etched in its surface.
 


DC 12:  
 Spoiler 
Once you enter, you see a couple more spheres on posts, flanking the tunnel entrance on the inside. They're similar, but have more of their surface layer etched off, allowing moon shapes to shine through - one crescent and one half.
 


DC 14:  
 Spoiler 
You can conclude that the two spheres on the stairs represent new moons.
 

 

 
 Spoiler: Battle Stuff 
NOW Zero should be in a position to use pursuit on the Elgyem.

    Location - Mt. Moon 
 Tokens 
 
  Tower - Crystal Stairs 
 Igglybuff 
 
  Tower - Foyer 
 Little Guy, Pichu 
 
  Tower - Entrance 
   Monty  ,   Zero  ,   Charles   
 
  Ridge - Ledge 
   Roland  ,   Excidium  ,   Emrys  ,   Finn  ,   Fletcher   
 
  

Speed Order:

Pichu: 15 (Dashed down the stairs)
  Monty  : 15
  Fletcher  : 13
  Zero  : 12
  Charles  : 12
  Finn  : 10
  Emrys  : 10
  Roland  : 10
  Excidium  : 9
Little Guy: 1 (Dashing toward the stairs)
Igglybuff: 1 (Watching and waiting)
 
Kareeah_Indaga
“ Hold it, where’s that rock snake thing? It might be trying to ambush us. Did anyone see where it went? ”

 
 Spoiler: OoC 

Roland: 70/70 (6/6 AP)
Excidium: 40/44

Rolls in the Dice thread. Also note in the OoC thread. 💻💀🪦
 
Harbringer
Finn struggles to catch his breath as he makes it to the base of the tower.  "The Onix... can dig... undetected... traps... don't rush in." 

Taking a moment to properly breathe, he rights himself.  "I don't think any of these guys are looking for trouble." 
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Finn - 67/67 HP - 3/6 AP
Emrys - 41/41 HP - 3 Momentum

Finn and Emrys are Sprinting up again.

Emrys gains 1 Momentum at the end of the Round
 
MCerberus
  Monty  

While initially Monty is ready to keep the fight going without rest, Finn's comment brings him back more towards normal. The things, if they're modeled off something maybe there's a connection and those aren't exactly the most vicious things in the world. There's a small intrusive thought telling him not to care, but it fades.

Meanwhile, something's not right. Still tense, Zero's eyes are darting around and Monty's got a bad feeling.
 "The floor isn't natural. Keep an eye on the floor." 

Since the group is largely moving to try detente, Monty simply moves forward to regroup with Zero. The kit himself is beginning to circle around making sure the babies don't try and run off.
ProgressPaladin
 ”The floor is definitely unsafe. The rock snake is probably trying to ambush us. But, I want to test something out.  He picks up a poke ball, and throws it at the Elygem.

Rolls:  (1d20)[ 18 ]   (1d100-6)[ 71 ] 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Hearing Monty's wariness, Zero gives the center of the floor - and so the two weird spots flanking it - a wide berth. The running Finn and Emrys come a few meters short of stepping on the spots themselves when Fletcher hurls a ball between them.

It's a great throw! It strikes the elgyem on its oversized noggin, and the pichu jumps away as its friend dissolves into shadows, just as the other defeated enemies have done. Except this time, the ball hangs in the air and opens up, glowing a   burgundy red   as it sucks in the shadows like a silent vacuum.

With the elgyem consumed, the ball snaps shut and drops to the floor. For a few seconds, its glow flickers erratically and it bounces around, until it breaks open again. The elgyem re-materializes, looks around to reorient itself, and quickly resumes its run for the stairs.

"Pichu!" The yellow pipsqueak jumps up and down, smiling. It must think that looked like fun? The igglybuff on the stairs rolls its eyes.

Just then, a familiar rumbling sound fills the room, and then a deafening crash, as the monster from before bursts from the center of the ceiling and drops right in front of Finn and Emrys, sending the pichu tumbling backwards out of its way. The huge onix rears up and looms over the rest of the room. Its head practically scrapes the high ceiling.

Before anyone can react, the monster's eyes flash and start glowing the same eerie white you saw earlier. It makes a low roaring sound, and a hail of rocks crash from the ceiling on top of Emrys, pinning him to the ground.  (Rock Tomb hits! 24 Phys Rock damage incoming, and -1 Speed CS.) 

Meanwhile, the pichu picks itself up, shakes itself off, and excitedly waves to Zero when it notices that the zorua has already run past the boss monster's entrance mark.  (Play nice hits! -1 Attack CS.) 
 
 Spoiler: Battle Stuff 
    Location - Mt. Moon 
 Tokens 
 
  Tower - Crystal Stairs 
 Igglybuff  (slowly descending the stairs to trade places with elgyem) 
 Little Guy  Elgyem  (Still a couple meters short of the stairs)  
 
  Tower - Foyer 
 Pichu -  -   Zero    (off to the side) 
 Glowing  Onix
 floor spots (center) 
  Emrys  ,   Finn   
 
  Tower - Entrance 
   Monty  ,   Charles  ,   Fletcher 
  Roland  ,   Excidium    
 
  

Speed Order:

 Glowing  Onix (Used Rock Tomb on Emrys)
Pichu: 15 (Used Play Nice on Zero)
  Monty  : 15
  Fletcher  : 13
  Zero  : 12
  Charles  : 12
  Finn  : 10
  Roland  : 10
  Emrys  : 10 - 1
  Excidium  : 9
Little Guy: 1 (Telegraphing ESCAPE - Dashing toward the stairs)
Igglybuff: 1 (Telegraphing Charm on Zero. It'll hit if Zero's in range.)
 
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland shone his flashlight around the cavern briefly to check for more bogeys - not neglecting the hole the Onix had dropped out of - and then at the floor, to help the group stay on safe footing.

“ Finn, that tail is going to smack right into Emrys if he’s not careful! Watch his back! ”

Excidium, meanwhile, focused on the big rock snake. If it got closer or he could hit it without getting too close to the iffy section of the floor, it was getting Bubbled  so hard! 
 
 Spoiler: OoC 

Roland uses Sentinel Stance on Finn. Bubble roll in the Dice thread.
 
Harbringer
Finn and Emrys were both moving faster than they'd been counting on, and they struggle to come to a halt, shooting well past the relative safety of 'Behind Roland' and into the line of fire... or rocks, as the case may be. Finn winces when the ground explodes and the sky comes falling down, and curses when Emrys is partially buried under rubble, pained cries ringing out in the cave. Suddenly painfully aware of how fragile (and useless) he is on the battlefield, he feels his focus spread out, mind racing a mile a minute. He breaths in relief when Emrys - slowly, painfully - digs his way out of the rubble and, somewhat unsteadily, stands to face the titanic Onix, but is very aware how fragile the Fennekin is, how little resources he has. Staring up at the Onix, his attention is caught by the brief flash of red as the Elgyem is sucked in and subsequently breaks free from the ball Fletcher had thrown.  Right. Pokéballs. To catch them...  He fumbles one-handedly with his bag, retrieving one of the metallic charms Xena had gifted him some time ago. It somehow feels more solid here, more real.  Real enough perhaps...  He tosses the ball at the alien that has just broken free, a clumsy throw that nonetheless strikes true, enveloping the psychic in red light.  Options, when things go wrong. 

His other hand, still holding his flashlight, finds the Onix, almost subconsciously, and Emrys steadies himself more. Once more a heat haze grows around the fox, and he releases a mote of flame at the Onix. The fire will be of limited effect against the rocks and sand comprising the titan's body, but that's better than coming closer to it.

This done, the hacker and the fennec fox start backing up, away from the stone snake, hoping it will be enough. Finn positions himself between the Onix and Emrys, knowing he will do what must be done, that even with options this will be the best one.

 
 Spoiler: Mechanics 
Finn - 67/67 HP - 3/6 AP
Emrys - 17/41 HP  - 4 Momentum

Finn uses Duelist as a Swift Action on the Onix. Onix is Tagged.
Finn uses a Basic Ball as a Standard Action, targeting Elgyem! AC6: 18, Capture Check of 94, with  a natural 100 on the die.

Emrys uses Ember on the Onix! AC2: 10; DB6: 38 Special Fire Type damage. Emrys gains 1 Momentum

Finn and Emrys both move back away from the Onix, sticking within 1 meter of each other, Finn between Emrys and the Onix.

Emrys gains 1 Momentum at the end of the Round.
 
MCerberus
  Monty  

It seems the monsters don't want to talk after all. It shouldn't be surprising but this one is much much bigger. As much as it would be nice to get at the Pichu or intercept the Igglybuff it's apparent they need to take down the rock snake.

 "Zero, everyone is relying on you, keep that thing back!" 

Despite the Pichu cursing him and its ally doing the same, Zero begins running around the uneven ground in order to flank the Onix. The Zorua then begins rushing at the gaps between the rocks trying to get in a low blow.

 
 Spoiler 
Inspired training as a standard on Zero.
Zero's at 33/40
-1 Attack
+1 evasion
+2 saves
Attempting to find an attack angle that doesn't block bubbles or step on the floor patches
  Pursuit  - (1d20)[ 19 ]  vs AC2
  Damage  - (2d8+18)[ 24 ]  dark vs defense
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Monty hurls a pokéball at the monster, only for it to return to him with a loud *ping*, deflected by some kind of thin, glassy, invisible force. Then when Zero strikes, everyone can see the field briefly flash and shatter into insubstantial shards before vanishing. The eerie light in the onix's eyes goes out like a breaking light bulb, but otherwise it looks unharmed - if anything, it looks like it's moving faster.  (Ball deflected! Triggered Weak Armor on the Onix. Also the glowing seems to have stopped for now.) 

Finn seizes the last chance to bring down the escaping little guy, and manages to hit it again! His pokéball glows with  green  energy and slurps up the elgyem. It stays closed this time - looks like you all finally wore it out. The igglybuff slowly steps up and taps its little foot on the ball. The pichu cheers again and waves to Finn.  (Igglybuff is distracted and doesn't get in range to hit Zero. Pichu is using Charm on Finn. It hits, for whatever it's worth! -2 attack stages!) 

Emrys extricates himself from the rubble and lights up the onix with surprising success! Excidium can't quite get to the onix without risking the weird rocks, and so spends these few seconds getting into position.

In the meantime, Fletcher quietly encourages his magnemite to bombard the boss with sonic waves before that weird boss field comes back online. It's Charles' last supersonic charge for a little while, but it works! The onix winces and closes its darkened eyes, then slams its head once against the hard floor before deciding to burrow back into the ceiling instead. You can hear it rumbling around up there, getting ready for another surprise strike.  (It hurts itself in its confusion, then starts using Dig.) 
 
 Spoiler: Battle Stuff 
    Location - Mt. Moon

In the Ceiling! 
 Tokens

 Confused  Onix 
 
  Tower - Crystal Stairs 
 Igglybuff,  Pokéball  
 
  Tower - Foyer 
 Pichu -  -   Zero  
 floor spots (center)  -   Excidium   (off to the side) 
  Emrys  ,   Charles  ,   Finn   
 
  Tower - Entrance 
   Monty  ,   Fletcher  
  Roland   
 
  

Speed Order:

 Confused  Onix: 15+3 (Telegraphing a dig attack from above!)
Pichu: 15 (Used Charm on Finn for some reason)
  Monty  : 15
  Fletcher  : 13
  Zero  : 12
  Charles  : 12
  Finn  : 10
  Roland  : 10
  Emrys  : 10-1
  Excidium  : 9
Little Guy: 1 (CAUGHT!)
Igglybuff: 1 (Telegraphing Charm on Zero again.)
 
MCerberus
  Monty  

Seeing what those charms turned into, Monty decides to take one of the ones his aunt gave them (oh that's going to be a conversation) and throws it at the rock snake. He's not sure about what it does, but the other creature isn't currently attacking them, so it's something.

Before seeing the results, he points at the Igglybuff causing annoyance and Zero rushes in on the attack.

 
 Spoiler 

  Pursuit  - (1d20)[ 20 ]  vs AC2
  Damage  - (2d6+18)[ 23 ]  vs physical
 
Harbringer
Finn smiles slightly when the Pokéball stays shut, pushing back that tingling sense of connection and understanding for the moment to stay in the fight. Right at that moment, however, his object of focus  dives into the earth , shaking his concentration and feel for the battlefield... which is only exacerbated by the Pichu... cheering him on? Brought out of his groove and thoroughly confused (though, luckily, not likely to hurt himself), Finn just looks at the Pichu in bafflement.

Emrys manages to interpret Finn's bafflement in an intention of aggression, and the Fennekin fires off another mote of flame, this time at the electric rat; his flow in combat is smooth enough that he barely has to bother aiming.

Seeing the fire strike snaps Finn back to the fight, and he quickly backs away from the entrance, hoping to dodge wherever the rock snake might emerge, Emrys close on his heels.

 
 Spoiler: Mechanics 
 Finn  - 67/67 HP - 3/6 AP
 Emrys  - 17/41 HP - 6 Momentum

Finn uses Expend Momentum as an Action, using 2 of Emrys' Momentum to make him roll a 11 on his Attack Roll for Ember
Finn Shifts out of the Foyer and towards the Entrance, keeping some distance between himself and the others

Emrys uses Ember on Pichu! AC2: 11, DB6:  (2d6+28)[ 31 ]  Special Fire Type Damage
Emrys Shifts out of the Foyer and towards the Entrance, keeping some distance between himself and the others.


Emrys and Finn stick within 1 meter of each other

At the end of the Round, Emrys gains 1 Momentum (Total of 5 Momentum)
 
ProgressPaladin
 ”If we can’t do anything to the onbix, let’s help the others! Use Thunderwave on that Pichu!”  Meanwhile, Fletcher channels energy into Exidium, powering up his attacks.
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Thunderwave auto hits, so Pichu’s paralyzed. Exidum gains +4 special attack.
 
Kareeah_Indaga
Finn was right in the middle of things with the Pokémon attacks flying, but until the rock snake reappeared Roland couldn’t do much to help. So he just shouted “  Brace for impact!  ”

Meanwhile Excidium got ready to Bubble the Onix once it got into range.

 
 Spoiler: OoC 

Roland binds Brace for Impact on Finn. Bubble roll in the Dice thread.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Monty's ball plonks against a stalactite as the team shuffles around to prepare for onix's attack. The pichu is walking up to play with Emrys, but Charles zaps it before it can wave or say anything, stunning it for a second and giving everyone a chance to react. Emrys seizes the opportunity and fries the rodent in one shot. It stumbles around for a second, its eyes swirling, before it collapses and vanishes.

As Zero charges at the igglybuff, he unwittingly leaps over another discolored patch of floor; it was hard to see from the door, and everyone had other things to focus on since then. The floor patch shoots up a small, sharp rock and pokes Zero right in his little paw. The floor then returns to normal. At least you know what those spots do, now - and you can all see at least one more such spot right in front of the stairs.  (Stealth rock triggers, giving Zero a tick of damage.) 

The stealth rock stings a bit, but it's not enough to deter Zero's pursuit. The igglybuff is squishy, but either it's tougher than it looks or it specifically resists whatever Zero is doing. It smiles and seems to take the attack as just play. In return, it reaches out its little hand and ruffles the fluff on Zero's neck like it's playing with a puppy.  Charmed! -2 Attack stages! 

At last, Roland's and Excidium's patience pay off, sort of. The rock snake bursts from the ceiling again, directly above the source of its supersonic torment. It smashes poor Charles into the ground as it lands.  (Dig hits Charles! 28 Ground Phys damage. Also some confusion damage to the onix.) 

Nonetheless, the horsea is ready for it, and is close enough to the target to bubble the giant monster without hitting anyone else; Charles is ironically shielded by the big snake that clobbered him. The bubble really does the trick, too! The onix roars and collapses as bits of rock fly off of it.

But it doesn't disappear. After a second, its eyes suddenly open again. The eerie glow returns to them as it bolts back upright.

 
 Spoiler: Battle Stuff 
    Location - Mt. Moon 
 Tokens 
 
  Tower - Crystal Stairs 
 Igglybuff,   Zero  ,  Pokéball 
 - - Floor Spot  
 
  Tower - Foyer 
  floor spots 
 Pichu ,   Charles  ,  Glowing  Onix,   Excidium   
 
  Tower - Entrance 
   Monty  ,   Fletcher  
  Roland  ,   Emrys  ,   Finn   
 
  

Speed Order:

 Glowing  Onix: 15 (Dig Completed, up for round two)
  Monty  : 15
  Fletcher  : 13
  Zero  : 12
  Charles  : 12
  Finn  : 10
  Roland  : 10
  Emrys  : 10-1
  Excidium  : 9
 Pichu: 15/2 = 7.5 (Telegraphing Charm on Emrys) 
Little Guy: 1 (CAUGHT!)
Igglybuff: 1 (Telegraphing Play Nice on Zero.)
 
Harbringer
Finn nods slightly as Emrys demolishes yet another enemy, acknowledging the Fennekin's work that he had somewhat called for, (at some point that would stop being quite so surprising, surely?), but he quickly snaps back to it when the Onix re-emerges. Quickly falling back in the swing of things, Finn wastes little time, focusing his flashlight back on the stone snake and indicating for Emrys to attack.

As the Fennekin sends off another jet of flame, Finn looks over to Roland, giving him a quick thumbs up.  "I'll be fine, Protocol, it's the memory killer I'd be worried about."  He gestures to Charles.

 
 Spoiler: Mechanics 
 Finn  - 67/67 HP - 3/6 AP
 Emrys  - 14/41 HP - 5 Momentum

Finn uses Focused Training on Emrys as a Standard Action.

Emrys uses Ember on Onix! AC2: 9; 36 Special Fire Type damage. Emrys gains 1 Momentum (6 total Momentum)
 
MCerberus
  Monty  

The rock traps and the continued annoyance of the small pokemon are starting to make Zero mad. Unfortunately for the little guy who is little, the effects turns his responding bark into even more of an adorable squeak. It doesn't stop Zero from attempting to go for the eyes of the Igglybuff, scratching at it so that the curses stop.

"Just keep hitting it until it stays down and dies!" Monty yells at the others, before moving towards where Zero is locked in combat. He tries to avoid those patches, which seem to be the kind of rocks sometimes known as "ankle-breakers". The charm didn't work last time but there was something weird going on with the Onix; maybe it will work against the Igglybuff.

 
 Spoiler 
  Scratch  - (1d20)[ 6 ]  vs AC2
  Damage  - (1d8+8)[ 11 ] 

Zero - 29hp
+2 saves
+1 evasion
-3 attack
 
ProgressPaladin
As Charles’s armor gleams to block most of the attack, he looks visibly worried. So does Fletcher, as he says, “Look alive buddy, I need you to stay with me! Return!” 
Kareeah_Indaga
 
 Spoiler: OoC 
I love the nickname, Harbringer!
 


Roland nodded to Finn, then making a split-second decision dashed for the rock snake’s head, intending to grab on and hopefully interfere with its vision or otherwise distract it enough to keep it where it could be hit.

Excidium, meanwhile, gleefully fired bubbles at the rock snake again.

 
 Spoiler: OoC 

Roland: 70/70 (4/6 AP)
Excidium: 40/44

Roland Grapples the Onix, Excidium uses Bubble on it.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Charles, having barely endured the assault, complies with Fletcher's command and vanishes away with a little red dash effect. Emrys hits the onix with another bead of flame to get its attention. Before it can retaliate, Roland charges in, jumps on its back and wraps his arms around its rocky midsection.

As if by reflex, the onix flops over and wraps around Roland in turn. Roland can feel the monster's strange glassy coating as it presses in on him...  (The Onix also knows bind. Roland loses a tick of hit points.) 

...but his plan already accounted for that. Excidium gets another clear opening and overwhelms the onix with another bubble! The coating, its glowing eyes, and the stone segments that make up its body all seem to shatter apart at once as the boss disintegrates into dust and shards and shadows.

Likewise, the rock traps in the ground fizzle away in a puff of smoke, including the last one by the stairs. On that side of the room, the igglybuff is starting to get worn out by Zero's increasingly squeaky antics. It it rubs the latest scratch on its little cheek, huffs indignantly, and hops up one step as it clears its throat.  (-1 more combat stage, and it looks like it's going to try a more serious performance.) 
 
 Spoiler: Battle Stuff 
    Location - Mt. Moon 
 Tokens 
 
  Tower - Crystal Stairs 
 Igglybuff,   Zero  ,  Pokéball  
 
  Tower - Foyer 
   Monty  ,   Roland  ,   Excidium   
 
  Tower - Entrance 
   Fletcher  ,   Emrys  ,   Finn   
 
  

Speed Order:

Onix:  DEFEATED! 
  Monty  : 15
  Fletcher  : 13
  Zero  : 12
  Charles  : 12
  Finn  : 10
  Roland  : 10
  Emrys  : 10-1
  Excidium  : 9
Little Guy: 1 (CAUGHT!)
Igglybuff: 1 (Telegraphing Sing)
 
MCerberus
  Monty  

With the other problem taken care of, Monty prepares the charm to try and end the battle before the Igglybuff can do whatever it's big plan is. It's already seemingly taken the edge off Zero, and he can't quite make out what that plan is.

He throws the ball at the puffball and then commands Zero,  "If it doesn't stop, finish it." 
Though at this point Zero may have difficulty with this.

 
 Spoiler 
  Throw  - (1d20)[ 16 ]  vs AC6
  Capture  - (1d100-6)[ 55 ] 

Scratch if the capture fails
  Scratch  - (1d20)[ 8 ]  vs AC2
  damage  - (1d8+12)[ 14 ] 
 
Harbringer
Finn sighs in relief when the Onix breaks apart into dust and sand, and quickly shifts his focus on the single remaining enemy. Catching Renault's order to Zero, Finn figures it applies to the whole group,  "If the Igglybuff breaks out vaporize it, Emrys. Let's not waste any more time." 
 
 Spoiler: Mechanics 
Finn - 67/67 HP - 3/6 AP
Emrys - 17/41 HP - 6 Momentum

Finn uses Expend Momentum as a Standard Action, using 2 Momentum to make Emrys roll an 11 on his Attack Roll for Ember. (Emrys has 4 Momentum)

Emrys uses Ember on Igglybuf! AC2: 14; 39 Special Fire Type Damage

At the end of the round, Emrys gains 1 Momentum (5 Total)
 
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland could feel the oddly slick stone body closing around him, but he had the monster’s attention and it wasn’t trying to tunnel out of reach, so he counted it as a win.

He was starting to feel bruises from the Onix’s attempts to crush him when it dissolved around him. He had just enough warning to land somewhat gracefully, if covered in dirt.

Figuring the others had the rest of the fight handled (and feeling weirdly uneasy with dogpiling on the creature that…hadn’t seemed to do much during the fight, but the only Pokemon that hadn’t been hostile up to now had been their partners, so it was probably a ruse…right?) Roland scooped up Excidium and scanned the room with his flashlight, looking for hidden foes, and jogging over to retrieve the ball Finn had thrown for the purpose of returning it to him. Roland had  questions  about that…

 
 Spoiler: OoC 

Roland: 63/70 (4/6 AP)
Excidium: 40/44
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Monty's ball-shaped apricorn charm hits it target, and the igglybuff is captured with a flash of  purple  energy. The charm then bounces down two crystal steps and comes to a rest next to the other ball.

CUT THE BATTLE!

As the dust settles on the chamber-turned-battlefield, Roland notices a peculiar item sitting on the ground next to him, where the onix used to be. It's a small, card-shaped object, made of that same glassy material - clear, but framed with glowing green and decorated with runes in some alien language. All you can easily recognize is the number 28.

 
 Spoiler: Occult Ed DC 10 / Tech Ed DC 10 / General Ed DC 15 / Pokemon Ed DC 13 
It's a TM! The Alphan runes spell out, "DIG."
 


Now what?
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland retrieved both balls and returned them to their throwers, then the beam of his flashlight landed on the card where the Onix had been.

“ What’s this? ” he wondered aloud.

Roland peered closely at it, not touching it yet, then waved the others over for a look - this was not in his area of expertise at all, maybe one of them would have an idea what it was.
Harbringer
Finn lowers his flashlight when the Igglybuff stays in the ball, feeling the tension and hyperfocus of combat leaving his body. Quickly jogging over to grab the charm he'd used to catch the Elgyem, he feels a spark of connection, and is almost drawn back into that state of understanding once more. However, he's distracted out of it when Roland calls out, and he moves to join him, putting the ball away for the moment.

Sidling up next to Roland, Finn kneels down to take a closer look at what he'd found, examining the card and the writing on it.  "It's a... TM, I believe. They can be used to teach Pokémon moves. This one can teach Dig... like what the Onix did..." 
ProgressPaladin
As Fletcher releases Charles back out, in the corner of his eye he sees the disk. He recalls hearing about one of these things in a textbook on occult medicine that he looked at studying treatments from specific vegetation.

 “This is a TM. It will allow certain Pokémon to learn dig, a bit like the Onix. I don’t think any of us can learn it  

(Do we get XP from this?)
MCerberus
  Monty  

Monty looks over the charm still not quite grasping how it was supposed to work, but it seems like the theme of the day. While the others are talking over the TM, he goes over and sees what became of the one that didn't work. Zero sniffs it for a moment before going around to investigate the rest of the battlefield.

 "So what happens to the monsters,"  he asks.  "After they get hit with these things?" 
ProgressPaladin
 “They go inside, I think.” 
Harbringer
Finn glances over to Fletcher in bafflement at his answer, before turning to Renault.  "Supposedly, it tames the Pokémon caught, makes them more willing to listen to you, like our partners."  He gestures vaguely towards Emrys and Zero, before taking the ball containing the Elgyem out of his pocket.  "Not entirely sure how to get them out though..."  He fiddles with the ball for a few moments, before releasing the Pokémon contained within.
Kareeah_Indaga
“ So what you’re telling me is, this isn’t going to explode if I pick it up. ” Roland replied, doing so. “ Does anyone want it? ”

 
 Spoiler: OoC 
I think the only party Pokemon that can learn it presently is Zero.
 
MCerberus
  Monty  

Monty takes a look over at the small weird guy being released and reformed and tries to think if that would actually be safe. Zero, meanwhile seems curious about the TM, getting closer as much as feasible to investigate.
Dr.Gunsforhands
In Fairness, Fletcher isn't  wrong  about the pokémon going inside the balls. After just a little bit of fiddling, Finn's pokéball pops open and the elgyem rematerializes. It tenses up looks around as though it's expecting to be attacked. Its little eyes and gem-fingers flicker before it seems to realize that the fight is over. It turns and looks up at Finn, then hangs its head, defeated.

Zero can pick up the glassy TM card. Nothing stops him, and it doesn't blow up or anything. Between the legends and the combined explanations of Fletcher and Finn, you sort out that these devices need to be activated by a monster's trainer while touching the pokémon that wants to learn the move.

 
 Spoiler: Active Investigation 
Feel free to ask questions and make rolls that you think make sense to help you answer them.

Obvious exits are the crystal stairs up and the way you came in.

It's always a bit of a crapshoot as to how long the Dark Hour lasts for you all, but you can probably guess a warning sign or two that will happen first.
 
MCerberus
  Monty  

Zero grabs the TM in his mouth before prancing over to Monty. After butting his head against Monty's leg for attention, Monty bends down to see what Zero had collected. Taking this opportunity, the Zorua nudges it towards Monty's hand, causing something in the mechanism to click. Still a little unsure about what exactly that thing does, Monty turns his attention towards the newly captured alien-looking thing.

He isn't exactly the scariest person around, but that role can be handled by the cop. Instead, it may be better to calm the small thing down. Zero seems to understand human language well enough, and so do the others.

 "So hey little one, I know more than anything everything is really confusing right now. We don't want anything to get worse, so can you answer any questions the others have?I think I have something of a treat in my pack if everything goes well." 
 
 Spoiler 
Zero learned Dig!
  Charm  - (4d6)[ 16 ] 
 
Harbringer
Finn is visibly uncomfortable with the defeated demeanour of the Elgyem, never having been the best with dealing with emotions, and he's quite relieved when Renault starts talking to the alien first. Still, he's still the Pokémon's trainer, so he really  should  say something here...  "Listen, I know the situation isn't great, but the alternative would've been you ending up reduced to dust. " Realizing this isn't exactly a  comforting  thing to say, Finn winces slightly before continuing.  "Consider it a chance to keep going for a bit longer, if nothing else. I'm not sure how much Pokémon care about these things, but we're trying to help out people, do some good. You can help with that. We really don't know anything about why the Pokémon wild during the Dark Hour do what they do, and I figure you have a better idea of that than we do.  Help us out, please, share what you can." 

Finn falls silent, trying not to think too hard on how rambling and incoherent all that had been, all too aware the psychic type would probably be able to gleam some of his thoughts. Instead he tries to focus on their mission, on the concept, the feeling of understanding - all the while trying to stave off that familiar sense of  understanding  for the moment, wanting slightly more agreement from the Elgyem first.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Finn is quite bad at emotions. Command roll to get information out of the Elgyem: 8
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
The power of the TM rapidly flickers with unreadable blobs and symbols as its power transfers to Zero. Then, the device goes blank.  Monty loses the TM and gains one Glassy Tablet. It doesn't do anything, but it might be useful for crafting or research. 

It could just be the monster's alien mindset, but Finn's words don't seem to reach it. Its eyes instead follow Monty's hand to his pack when he mentions a treat.
MCerberus
  Monty  

Add the weird lights and runes to the pile of questions for some time later. Zero seems to be fine, Monty thinks, as the little kit is back to sniffing around the area. In the mean time it seems like he has the weird guy's attention and it seems to be cooperating. He gets a peanut butter chocolate bar out of his pack, unwraps part of it, and hands it over.

 "So what do we even ask it?" 
Harbringer
Finn deflates a bit when the Elgyem -  his  Elgyem, theoretically - fully ignores him and instead focuses on the promise of food, but he tries his best to stay on task. Seeing that Renault seems to be having at least some success in getting the creature to listen, Finn tries his best to bolster his resolve.  "I don't know, either we go big and ask why the Pokémon do what they do with the Sleepers, then  maybe  get some answers, but he might as well not know why beyond.... instinct or something. Or we go small and ask what's upstairs here, what this place here. Bit more discrete, probably easier to get answers for. Baby steps and all that guff."  As he talks, his minds starts whirring, considering the topic of communication. Finn is used to talking (for a given value of that word) to things that don't think like him (for a given value of thinking). It's about precision, and conveying his meaning in ways the receiver can understand.

Perhaps he should be less worried about  shielding  his thoughts, and try to send his message through a medium that the Elgyem, a Psychic type, would be more suited to process.

Of course, that's a lot easier said than done, and it's not like Finn had any real experience in this kind of thing, no matter how much he had listened to Xena talk about astral projection and manifestation and prayer (which, depending on interpretation, this  might  count as? Religion was weird), actually performing anything like that was hardly the same. He tries his best to open his mind, trying to emulate the feeling of connection between him and Emrys without directly calling on that (if nothing else, cause an explosion of elemental water seemed counterproductive right now), trying to, through pure force of will, communicate a feeling of understanding and curiosity to the Elgyem, a want to know him, and understand his home.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Just in case this is a stupid idea, Pokémon Education, what do I happen to know of this species? Edu: Pokémon: 11
Thinking *real hard* at the telepath always works, right? Focus: 24
 
Kareeah_Indaga
Not seeing any need to intervene directly just yet, Roland just did his best to loom intimidatingly in the background to make sure the creature didn’t try to do a runner or anything else problematic.

 
 Spoiler: OoC 
Intimidate = 12
 
ProgressPaladin
Fletcher, seeing that Finn is struggling, will ask him if Fletcher can establish a  bond with this elygem. If I can I will establish this bond, and then try focusing thoughts of calm to this elygem.  “You’re fine, everything will be ok. We are here to help.” 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Elgyem are famously connected with the idea of aliens from outer space, and are occasionally depicted alongside a crashed flying saucer of unearthly material. Modern satellites have discredited the idea of space monsters, but the artifact in the depictions could have had some other purpose. They're relatively social, and have a tendency to mimic human behaviors and mannerisms.

The little guy happily takes the candy bar and takes a bite, then freezes when it senses the intense focus from its new trainer. It glances at Finn and tries to follow his gaze without making eye contact with Scary Roland.

Fletcher's channeling, should it happen, gets some poké-emotional feedback. The Elgyem is trying to figure out what Finn wants it to do.

After a few beats of time, it looks up at Finn and tries offering him the rest of the candy bar. Literally sharing what it can.
Harbringer
Finn vaguely gestures for Fletcher to do as he wants, not responding with words. He thinks he feels some sort of message being passed... maybe, but he has to switch gears when the Elgyem offers him some of the candy Renault had given him.

  Ah. Sharing. That tracks  

He smiles softly, gently pushing the candy back to the Elgyem.  "That's quite alright, thank you. You eat that. I'm just wondering if there's anything up the stairs here that we need to be careful about?" 

He quickly glances over to where the Elgyem - he really needs to figure something out to call him - is pointedly not looking, and sees Roland  looming .  "Yo, Protocol, at ease. He's not gonna do a runner, no need to keep up the bad cop vibes." 
Dr.Gunsforhands
The Elgyem looks at the crystal staircase. From what Fletcher can tell, it's not worried, but it doesn't want to influence Finn's decision either. It's more interested in seeing what the trainers think once they're up there.

It keeps its gaze leveled on the stairs as it slowly resumes eating its peanut butter bar.
Kareeah_Indaga
 
 Originally Posted by Harbringer 
  "Yo, Protocol, at ease. He's not gonna do a runner, no need to keep up the bad cop vibes."  
 

Roland relaxed his stance. “ 10-4 son. ”
MCerberus
 Monty 

Since the others seem to be interrogating the little guy by partially staring real hard, Monty takes a moment to just zone out. He fiddles with the remnant of the TM for a bit before his brain drifts to the hope that this is all just a weird trick and Charlie laced the drinks.

Again.

Zero just paws at the cave floor, seeming pleased with himself.
Harbringer
Finn nods in understanding.  "Right, fair enough. Going in blind. Emrys has taken a beating, so I think it's best if you take point for now..." 
 Darkness. Hitting suddenly even with the constant draw, perception moves from reality to the metaphysical, the now almost familiar state of understanding.

Finn knows his own self, where he stands and what his borders are. He knows where Emrys is, sees where the two places overlap. A third position has emerged, still tentative from freshness, violence, and an alien nature.

Shapes don't quite align, movement doesn't go along proper vectors, thoughts don't follow one another as they would for Finn.

Still, Finn is used to talking with strange intelligence, interpreting vague and cryptic signals. He knows how to handle strangeness.

He understands. 
 "... Hex. You're up for the moment, Hex,"  he says, naming his newest companion. Doing his best to shake of his experience, he straightens up, looking up the stairs before turning back to the group.

 "Well... the Pokéball do seem to be doing what they're supposed to do. Renault, you wanna check in with the puffball you caught before we move in?" 
MCerberus
  Monty  
 
"Oh, right,"  Monty responds being snapped back to reality. The Igglybuff pops out and takes a quick look around. After a moment it makes a gesture at Zero, who responds by growling.
 
"So, what did you want to see about it?" 
 "Iggly" 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Igglybuff huffs performatively, but doesn't seem meaningfully opposed to joining the team. It and Hex lead the way up the steps. The wide staircase leads into a dark path with a low ceiling, its walls a combination of natural stone and faintly-glowing crystal formations. It gradually twists to the right before opening up to a chamber at the next level up.

At the top of the steps is another chamber, maybe 15 meters on a side, shorter and squarer then the one you left. Before you can approach to look further, Hex stops in front of you, grabs Igglybuff's little shoulder, and raises one of its gem-fingers to mime a  shush  pose. It points to the far left corner of the chamber, where another Elgyem is gesturing to the edge of a half-finished crystal wall as more crystals slowly grow into place. It looks like it's magically building up the crystal, somehow.

The wall on the right also seems partially built of crystal, and leads down a crystalline corridor in the far right corner, decorated with more of the round glowing sconces that act as light sources. You can see at least one large, closed door on the right side as well - stone, with crystal filigree and no visible hinges.

 
 Spoiler 
You can roll stealth to try and sneak up on it, or roll any other knowledge or observation checks you desire as you ask questions.
 
MCerberus
  Monty  

Low ceiling. Either they reached the end of this cave or it's where two chambers have formed. The door makes the latter likely. Considering the others' expressed ability to navigate without immediately stumbling into danger, Monty decides to take the lead.

 "I'm going to take a look, we don't want to rush into another trap. Zero, eyes up." 
  "Zor,"   Zero affirms.

With Zero eyes and snout attempting to detect threats, Monty makes his way forward to the door. If there isn't anything unexpected beyond what seems to be the normal in this place, he'll sloooooooooooowly attempt to open the door and see what's behind it.

 
 Spoiler 

  Monty Stealth  - (3d6)[ 13 ] 
  Zero stealth  - (4d6+1)[ 19 ] 
  Zero perception  - (3d6)[ 12 ] 
 
Harbringer
Finn attention is drawn unwaveringly to the wild Elgyem doing... something to the walls to... grow them? Build them? Vaguely aware that Renault and Zero are quietly moving through the room, he mostly focuses on the crystal wall, trying to figure out what's going on with it.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Pokémon Education (to know more about Elgyem): 7
Occult Education (to figure out what's up with the crystal walls): 12
 
Kareeah_Indaga
Not being a Pokémon expert, Roland just tried to intuit whether this was the sort of room where nefarious things happened, for example if this was a likely place to stash guards or alarms, or the crystal-building was something they needed to stop immediately or just the Pokémon equivalent of building a house.

 
 Spoiler: OoC 
Intuition Roll = 10
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Roland can intuit that the chamber you're currently looking at isn't used for much of anything except as a landing for the stairs. At least, not yet. The room is still under construction, it seems. The routes branching off of it are more stylized with crystals and doors, so it looks like they're building out and downward from some place further in.

Finn is reminded of a story about a hive mind of Unown that conjured a crystal palace to grant a child's wish. Elgyem aren't the same thing as Unown, but they are also psychic, so... maybe they can also have that occult ability sometimes? But whose wish are they granting, in that case?

Monty can sidle over to the door while the wild Elgyem's back is turned on the other side of the room. He can see a black hemisphere set into it, about 30cm in diameter, that looks like a model of a new moon. It looks like the door is supposed to rotate around its center, but it is sealed and heavy, unable to be moved by hand.

From this new position closer to the corridor, Zero can make out the sound of another small creature, snoozing in a dark corner at the end of the hall some 30 meters away. The right side of that hall seems to have a few more doors like this one. Alas, this stone door is blocking out all sound on the other side of it, assuming there is any.
MCerberus
  Monty  

Monty tries out what the deal is with the the door for a bit before Zero snaps him back to reality with a low growl.  The kit is glaring down the hallway, indicating a threat. Not really able to make any progress on the door, he makes his way back to the group to see what they want to do.

He speaks, still keeping his voice down.  "There's at least one more thing out there. The door has an indent on it but don't know its deal. More doors too." 
Kareeah_Indaga
“ I think we need to assume there are more bogeys behind the doors, ” Roland opined. “ How are we going to get farther without raising the alarm? ”
ProgressPaladin
Fletcher will stay back, waiting for the group to have consensus.
MCerberus
  Monty  

Monty takes a moment to think it over. Well not too long of a moment.  "Only one was paying attention we can take it out immediately and have more breathing room."  Zero nods before looking like he's ready to pounce.
Kareeah_Indaga
“ 10-4. Finn, seeing anything the rest of us need to know about first? ” Roland asked quietly. “ Otherwise let’s go for it. ”
Harbringer
Finn shakes his head, though he looks uncertain.  "Nothing immediately relevant. The Elgyem's probably being controlled, or at least commanded, by something else. There's some myths about Unown making structures similar to the crystal walls, and they were acting on behalf of some kid. Don't think that'll matter right now though." 
MCerberus
  Monty  

While the group was discussing options, Zero had already decided there was an agreement and that he should get the ball rolling. Sneaking over to the isolated Elgyem, the fox keeps to the shadows. Once close enough, Zero lunges at the unwary monster.

 
 Spoiler 

if necessary   Stealth  - (4d6+1)[ 11 ] 
  Pursuit  - (1d20)[ 1 ]  vs AC2
  Damage  - (2d6+19)[ 26 ]  physical dark
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Zero finds its opportunity as the psychic monster is tending to the other side of its crystal construction. Just as Zero dashes in for the kill, though, a large chunk of crystal happens to pop into existence right in his path. The little fox slaps into the newly-formed wall face first. At least he didn't hit any of the pointy parts!

The wild Elgyem stares through the now-cracked crystal, seems to slowly realize what just hit it from the other side, then jumps in surprise. Its reaction is similar to its cousin's: it turns and runs, heading for a small passage in the chamber's back-left corner. Zero can see a dim light coming from whatever room is back there. The crystal wall the Elgyem was building hasn't quite reached the back of the chamber yet, so anyone can go around it to pursue.
Harbringer
 "Don't let it get away! We don't know what help it might find,"  Finn calls out, trying his best to hone his focus on the wild Elgyem. Hex, doing his best to react, tries to get a psychic grip on the Pokémon, but his grasp slips off of it. He goes in pursuit, floating after it.

 
 Spoiler: mechanics 
 Finn  - 67/67 HP - 3/6 AP
 Hex  - 47/75 HP - 0 Momentum

Finn uses Duelist on the Elgyem as a Swift Action, Elgyem is now Tagged.
Finn uses Focused Training on Hex as a Standard Action. Hex is now Focused (+1 Accuracy, +2 to Skill Checks).

Hex uses Telekinetic to try a Trip Maneuver on the Elgyem. AC6: 3, misses.

Hex gains 1 Momentum at the end of the turn
 
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland’s police reflexes took over, his subconscious screaming ‘ suspect is fleeing the scene! ’ and he bolted after the Elgyem, trying to bring it down. Excidium leveled a Leer at it.

 
 Spoiler: OoC 

Roland: 63/70 (6/6 AP)
Excidium: 40/44

Roland attempting a Slam on the Elgyem, Excidium is using Leer on it.
 
ProgressPaladin
Fletcher tells Charles to stay back, and hit it with a Thunderwave. As electricity crackles around him, Charles lets out the pulse, paralyzing the Elygem mid-glide. Fletcher then throws a Pokeball at it.
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
To Hit: (1d20)[ 20 ]  To Capture: (1d100-6)[ 66 ] 
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
What Zero's missed attack cracked, Roland's missed attack smashes. Excidium leers disapprovingly, but it proves fortuitous, as the extra gap in the wall gives Fletcher and Charles a perfect angle to follow up. The Elgyem stumbles in its retreat as the thunderwave strikes, and Fletcher's ball scores a perfect hit, capturing the monster with no further fuss.

 
 Spoiler: Elgyem Get! 
Level: 10
Nature: Mild
Ability: Telepathy
Moves: Confusion, Growl, Heal Block
Stat Points: +10 HP, +10 S. Atk.

Inherited Moves (Just to have them on the sheet): Barrier, Magic Coat, Nasty Plot, Wonder Room
 


As you go to pick up the ball, you see the corridor it was running toward, which seems to be unoccupied by any monsters. It's more finely constructed than the first chamber, about 8 meters on a side with square corners and the same glowing lines as the doors. On the left side is a small platform, stepping up to a big diagram on the left wall with four movable dials. In the back of the room is what looks like a big stone treasure chest with four vaguely lock-shaped protrusions on its front.

What do you investigate next?
MCerberus
  Monty  

Zero slowly falls down from the newly-formed crystal obstacle with a squeaking noise and then starts growling at the pokeball containing his newly-found enemy. Small cute things that are not himself have been bothering him lately. After a bit Zero comes to his senses and then sniffs around towards where the additional enemies could be coming from.

Meanwhile, Monty notices the chest.
 "Alright, so I think it was trying to head for this thing." 
Harbringer
Finn winces slightly as Ronald smashes into the crystal. Walking over to him once the Elgyem is caught, he offers him a hand to get up.  "You alright there? That looked painful." 

After helping him up, Finn follows Renault into the second chamber, quickly honing in on the mural on the left side of the room. He approaches it to take a closer look, careful not to touch anything.
Kareeah_Indaga
“ I think I’m all right, ” Roland replied, accepting Finn’s hand up. He tagged along to look at the mural, after making a quick scan of the corners and ceiling to make sure nothing was hiding in them.
MCerberus
  Monty  

With everyone else okay and looking at the mirror, Monty goes closer to the chest. He's not too concerned with the artwork considering that all of this shouldn't make sense. Zero tags along as Monty begins inspecting the chest itself to get a closer look. Are the locks actually locks? Can they be busted?
Dr.Gunsforhands
Monty's investigation finds no means of manipulating the locks directly, and since they're made of stone, breaking them would be a pretty big ask. He does find that their mechanism seems connected to the glowy filigree that lines the doors and walls, and that it in turn connects to the diagram and its dials.

The dials on the wall are a good 30cm in diameter each, laid out in a square. The top two are flanking an etch-a-sketch-looking picture of stairs and the bottom two flanking a picture of a doorway. All four of the dials have the same moon symbols on them, each with eight phases. They're all set to the full moon position right now.
Harbringer
Finn considers the dials for a few moments, frowning slightly in thought.  Doors and stairs... the symbols on the door? And probably those sphere thingies next to the stairs... not sure what those were though. The door would be new moons...  His frown darkens slightly as a highly frustrating thought occurs to him.  "Oh for Uxie's sake..."  he mutters under his breath as he reaches out and tries to spin all four dials to be pointed to the new moon symbols.  I swear, if not even the spooky supernatural dungeon creators can come up with a better password... 
ProgressPaladin
Fletcher watches this happen, and wishes he came up with that idea.
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland kept an eye on the surroundings as Finn fiddled with the dials, especially the filigree, trying to see if any particular dial seemed linked to any area in particular - especially back the way they’d come.
MCerberus
  Monty  

With a plan on opening the locks going on, there's nothing Monty can do but wait. He isn't going to let his guard down in the meantime. The last pokemon was trying to flee here so who knows what it was trying to accomplish. To help the sentry duty, Zero jumps up on Monty's shoulder to find a perch.
Dr.Gunsforhands
As Finn starts turning the dials, the team can hear a deep hum like wind resonating with a flagpole, then the sound of the big stone doors sliding around out in the corridor.

A quick glance out of this room lets you get a look at the closest such door just as it finishes flipping completely around its middle. Its filigree glows as it moves, then goes dark when it closes once again. It's now showing the more brighty-lit full moon that was on its opposite side.

Before you can get to the corner to get a look at the other doors - Zero saw a total of four of them earlier - you hear a confused, "Pika?" as the snoozing monster at the end of the hall wakes up.

Anyone closely monitoring the chest in the puzzle room notices that its circuit-like filigree lights up a little as Finn turns the dials, but in the end this combination doesn't seem to be the one that opens it.
MCerberus
  Monty  

With the sleeping Pikachu stirring, Monty thinks quickly and remembers back to when he tried to talk to the things out before before combat broke out. This time they have one alone and it doesn't seem like any danger in trying again. Still, he mutters under his breath to Zero,  "If it tries to bolt-" 
  Zor   is affirmed back.

Monty attempts to come forward with body language not looking too intimidating.  "Hey there little one, can we have a talk?" 
 
 Spoiler 
face powers activate!
  Charm  - (4d6)[ 14 ] 
 
Harbringer
Although Finn's fingers are itching to just  keep trying  to find the right solution, he's well aware the folly in brute-forcing a problem like this,  especially  if there's seemingly multiple things affected by it. Better to find out what and how is affected by the dials first, then solve the puzzle.

Plus, there's the distinct possibility of incoming violence, with the sleeping Pokémon stirring after the rather loud environmental changes his experiments had wrought. Though it seems Renault is doing his best to mitigate said violence. Finn keeps his distance, knowing full well his own ineptitude in diplomacy, though he keeps a careful eye out for any shifts in mood, and motions for Hex to stick near and be ready for action.
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland just readies himself to bolt after the thing if it tries to run.
Dr.Gunsforhands
"Pikaaa..." The pikachu's angry little button eyes dart from Monty to Zero and back indecisively. It makes a growling noise and raises its hackles as though getting ready for a fight, but it doesn't make a move yet.
ProgressPaladin
 “Woah, calm down. It’s all ok. We won’t hurt you.”  Fletcher tries to open a bond with the little buddy, and projects feelings of calm.  “Will you come with me?  Fletcher holds out a pole all, inviting the Pikachu to join him.
Dr.Gunsforhands
Fletcher's psychic empathy calms down the pikachu somewhat. In turn, Fletcher can feel its indignation at being asked such a thing. The pikachu turns up its nose with a, "hmph!" Then, it points to Charles as the magnemite floats near Fletcher's shoulder. "Chu! Pi pi pika pi pikachu!"

It's hard to do a proper negotiation with a pokémon, but its emotions and challenging tone seem to indicate that it wants to fight a little bit before it helps you.
ProgressPaladin
 ”Oh? You wanted a challenge? Well I’m happy to give one! Go, Alabaster!”  Fletcher sends out Alabaster’s Pokeball, and as the quite lopsided Pokemon comes out, Fletcher strengthens the connection between the two, and commands it to send waves of psychic energy at the Pikachu.
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Fletcher uses Spirit Boost, Strengthening Special Attack by 4. Alabaster uses confusion rolling a  (1d20)[ 19 ]  to hit and  (2d6+35)[ 43 ] . It confuses on 19+.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
"Piiii-"

The pikachu is quick to react and surrounds itself with sparks, but it's too busy showing off to get a hit in before Alabaster charges up their psychic attack. The pikachu reels and stumbles backwards with dizzy swirling eyes. "Kaaaa... chuuuu..."

Before it can recover its bearings, it bumbles back down the corridor and runs into the wall on the left with a *ching!* sound, which you all quickly understand is  not  the sound of bonking into a stone wall.

When you follow to get a better look, you see the pikachu leaning against a chain link fence blocking off a passage, directly across from the last stone moon-door. It has some pieces of paper stuck to the other side, like those little charms they use to ward off evil spirits. It will take some dexterity to pull them off and examine them from this side, though, and some active perception to peek past them to see what's behind it.

As you decide whether to investigate or finish the fight with the pikachu, Fletcher notices it shrug off its confusion. It follows your gaze and huffs again. Fletcher can sense that the fence is a source of annoyance for the little creature.
MCerberus
  Monty  

The electricity comes in fast and it leaves Monty little time to get out of the line of fire. It seems that there's really no avoiding the fight. All these things only calm down when you beat them down.  "A little warning,"  he mumbles and receives an annoyed huff from Zero in agreement.

As for the tags, Monty doesn't think he can get at them. He isn't really versed in that kind of delicate work, but they're on a team sent by herbalism. For all the ego they are good at some things at least and the snipping hands should be able to get at them when things have calmed down.

Zero meanwhile looks slightly angry at the thing and goes in for a better sniff/look.

 
 Spoiler 
Zero perception  (4d6)[ 13 ] 
 
Harbringer
Finn had been startled into inaction at the sudden turn to violence, regardless of his past experiences in the Dark Hour.   Right, right. Violence before all else. Even if things seem amicable, Pokémon still seem to want to fight, if only to... prove something or another.  

Once he regains his wits, the fight had moved deeper into the tunnels. He quickly follows the others, motioning for Hex to stay on his tail, and stops suddenly, stunned at the incongruous  chain link fence  set up in the middle of this magic crystal cave. Noticing the Pikachu's behaviour, he quickly spots its source of frustration.   Seems like someone is messing around with warding tags...  
 "Hex, can you see that tag over there? You know what it is? Could you grab with your... mind? All telekinetically like?"  Finn asks.

 
 Spoiler: Mechanics 
Finn uses Focused Training on Hex for a +2 bonus to Skill Checks, forgoes his own Perception check.
Hex rolls a 17 Perception check to look into the hall.
Hex rolls a 15 Focus to grab the tag with telekinesis if possible.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
The tags are a bit resistant to telekinetic manipulation, but Hex manages to pull a few of them off of the fence nonetheless, making it easier to see into the dark room beyond. It looks like a smaller version of the entrance chamber from when you first entered the mountain, but the already-dim light sources are covered by blankets. The far side leads into a small, dark tunnel, and another set of crystal stairs on the left leads up to another floor.

Hex pulls a couple of the tags back through the chain links of the fence. Anyone can tell that they're cleanse tags, but someone knowledgeable in occult might find something interesting in their details.

The fencing stretches up past the top of the entryway - the chamber is higher on the other side - and seems to have been stuck into the rock with pitons to prevent small monsters like this pikachu from squeezing around it. Not to say it's impossible, necessarily. It would just take a lot of force to dislodge the attachments, or a particularly slippery method of movement to squeeze through despite them.
Harbringer
Finn gingerly grabs the tag from where it's floating in mid air, quickly moving to study it.  "Thanks, Hex,"  he says, already sounding distracted.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Edu: Occult: 10
 
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland spoke in an undertone, so as not to interrupt Finn’s concentration. “ If Finn doesn’t figure this out, do we want to try breaking past the fence? I’m not sure if we should, seeing as someone obviously put some work into blocking out the bogies here, but it’s an option. ”
Dr.Gunsforhands
The tags have a watermark beneath the hand-drawn characters of their occult wards. It's a faint picture of a long, segmented dragon pokemon - namely Rayquaza - flying in a circle. Looks like a religious symbol. Whoever made these had special stationery for the purpose, it seems.

In addition to their usual occult functions, you think these tags were supposed to be arranged on the fence in a particular pattern to repel pokemon more generally. Removing these seems to have disrupted that arrangement somewhat. Pokemon should have an easier time interacting with the fence now, for whatever that's worth.
MCerberus
  Monty  

Monty takes a look at the removed tag from a bit away. While not immediately identifiable it looks uncannily like something he may have seen somewhere but can't quite recall. While the battle goes on, Zero wants to take a look at the weakened barrier.

The little kit sniffs at the border and tests it to try and see if he can pass it or grab another one of the tags.


 
 Spoiler 

  Zero Acrobatics  - (3d6+1)[ 13 ] 
if those wards are tied to a type or something similar would zero's typing help?
 
Harbringer
Finn frowns slightly at the symbology on the tag.  "The Lord of the Open Sky?"  he mutters to himself, considering the implications. Most of the crystalline structure was easily categorized as Dark Hour nonsense, and even the distinctly out of place chainlink fence and tag ward could be explained away. But the clear religious markings of a deity that was A, not popular in Kanto, and B, not exactly connected to mountains and caves, strongly suggested something different was going on here. Glancing past the fence into the darkened hallway, Finn is filled with a sense of unease as he realises that not only are they not the only ones still active during the Dark Hour, but they might very well not be the only ones in this cave.

 "Cursor, either catch the rat or knock it out. Either way, hurry up. **** might've gotten complicated."  He glances over at the battle, ready to intervene should something unexpected happen, either from the Pikachu itself, or from something arriving to investigate the noise.
Kareeah_Indaga
“ What did you figure out? ” asked Roland, who was not privy to the narrative text.
Harbringer
Finn looks between Roland, the unresponsive Fletcher, and the Pikachu a couple of times, before sighing. Taking out one of the magically functional Pokéballs, he gently tosses it to Roland.  "Throw this at the rat with an intention to catch. We should all have backup, really." 
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland caught the ball and considered it briefly before doing as instructed. He didn’t understand how these things worked, but he wasn’t going to question that they did!

…except when the ball went sailing past the little yellow quadruped without hitting it.

Roland facepalmed, then trotted over to retrieve the borrowed Pokéball and try again.

 
 Spoiler: OoC 
The doc says if the ball misses it usually lands without breaking. If Roland needs to react to, say, the Pikachu taking offense at the capture attempt, let me know and I’ll have him react to that instead, otherwise Roland’s just going to go get the ball and try again.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
The pikachu was watching the team pick apart the wall of tags, and is snapped out of its reverie when the ball whizzes past.

"Pi?!" It watches the ball smack into the wall at the end of the corridor, looks up at Roland, then adopts a look of what you assume is determination. It jumps to all fours and tries to dash past the team, toward the chamber you all came from. It looks like it's going for the puzzle room.

 
 Spoiler 
Roland and one other PC character of your choice each get an opportunity attack as it runs by.
 
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland, taken by surprise, managed to trip over the little yellow creature as it bolted without inconveniencing it in the least. Berating himself - this was definitely not one of his better days - he got back to his feet to chase after it.
MCerberus
  Monty  

When the Pikachu starts running to escape, Monty and Zero both see it. No command needs to be given, as they're both thinking the same thing.  We gave it it's chance.  Zero lunges at it immediately, with the frustration of the talking and the previous faceplant, going for the throat.

 
 Spoiler 

  Pursuit  - (1d20)[ 17 ]  vs AC2
  Boosted Damage  - (2d8+19)[ 27 ]  +5 movement speed
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Zero's signature move strikes true, and the already-damaged pikachu gets pounded into the stone floor with a squeak and a splat.

When it poofs into smoke, you hear a tiny clattering behind it. As the dust clears, you see a key sitting in the pikachu's place. It's the comically old-fashioned kind, heavy with square teeth.
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland scooped up the key. “ Are we all set here? ” Roland asked, looking Finn’s way but directing the question more generally.
Harbringer
Finn lets some of the tension in his shoulders drop, nodding at Roland's question.  "Yeah. So... yeah, first things first, I don't think we're the only ones in this place. At least, we're not the first ones here."  He motions for the group to follow him back to the room with the dials, where he turns to them and holds up the tag.  "This is a warding tag, usually referred to as a Cleanse Tag. They're common in spiritual practices, used to ward off spirits. Supposedly, they're specifically used to interfere the with the abilities of Ghost type Pokémon. Normally, I'd say those two are the same thing, but.."  He gestures vaguely with his free hand, indicating 'all this'.  "Either way, this tag seems to have been altered, enhanced some way, and it's fully keeping out all Pokémon."  He rubs a hand over his face, trying to organize his thoughts.  "That's... already super sus, I'm gonna be honest. Even just the that fence is setting off some major bells. This whole place looks like it's ripped straight from some fantasy novel, and then there's suddenly this modern gate in the way? Just that...  maybe  it could be created by... whatever force is creating this place, but the ward of not just regular tags, but modified tags? Tags all marked with the sigil of the Lord of Clear Skies?"  - he waves the tag around, before holding it still for the rest to properly see -  "Of Rayquaza? He's not even the most popular weather deity in this area! No, too many coincidences. There's someone else mucking about this place, active during the Dark Hour. And it seems like they have connections to the League." 

Finn sighs, looking unsure.  "Which... I'm not sure how to feel about. Gut feeling tells me not to trust whoever's behind it, but well..."  he gestures to Renault,  "Not like we've had any real reason to  not  trust folks active during the Dark Hour, but... something's not sitting right..."  he sighs again,  "Might just be my distrust of large organizations though." 
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland took a close look at the tag, memorizing the details. “ Might it help to make contact? I know a good coffee shop, I can leave a note telling whoever it is to reach out there. During daylight hours. ” On paper it was neutral a meeting place, in practice it was a favorite haunt for several other members of the force which  should  encourage their unknown tag maker to remain cordial.
Dr.Gunsforhands
As you discuss your next plan of action, you hear a single, distant  *gong*  like that of a large bell. Then, a low rumble, and a rising sound of panicked squeaks behind the four stone doors. The cavern's glowing fixtures start to flicker, and you can feel the ground beneath your feet start to shake.

At least one of you gets the feeling that the Dark Hour is ending soon.
MCerberus
  Monty  

With Monty's complete ignorance at how time works here, the passage of time doesn't really mean anything. All the tags though, he charm his aunt gave him. This is all has some art style similarities between the old artifacts his aunt keeps. This is all starting to run together in ways Monty can't comprehend. But, he mulls over things as Zero tries to chomp down on where the pikachu used to be before huffing. There is something appealing about being able to cut through the BS while here.

 "Listen, as far as I'm concerned we were set up by herbalism. If this is your first time, they don't really care about people they need something from."  That's a bad thought, that they may have sent them to possibly die.  "But when this all over we can talk about it until daybreak. Call it ranger's orders, you don't leave camp when it's this dangerous" 
Harbringer
Finn is ripped from his mild spiralling at the sudden gong sound and rumbling ground.  "Speaking of camp, the Dark Hour's almost up, and something tells me we don't wanna be in here when it's over. Let's get out of here. We can figure out who to contact how outside."  Finn makes for the exit.
Kareeah_Indaga
“ 10-4, we’ll talk back at camp. ” Also, they should probably check on the civilian, not that there was much they could  do  about it if she’d gotten her heart stolen while they were otherwise occupied…

Roland made sure Excidium was secure and headed for the exit too.
MCerberus
  Monty  

With the group wanting to head back, Monty follows along. He picks up Zero along the way since the little fox legs would probably need help. When Charlie is offhandedly mentioned in an awful way, he nervously starts scratching Zero's cheek. For his part, Zero doesn't mind this.
Dr.Gunsforhands
As you make your way back down the crystal stairwell, the rumbling of the stone and the flickering of the light sources seem to follow you. More worryingly yet, you start hearing cries of monsters ahead of you as well.

Sure enough, no sooner do you reach the bottom than you run into a pair of little monsters. One is the same kind of cutiefly as before. One is a round green thing, smaller than a basketball, with a little beak and wings. Anyone with Novice or better Pokemon Education can identify it as a Natu.

Both pokemon call out in surprise and seem to panic. Behind them, a slew of other species you recognize are reaching the cave entrance, seemingly as eager to get into the mountain as you are to get out.

You can't help but notice one of the zubats flying particularly clumsily. It bonks into a stalactite and drops a shiny object, which clatters onto the ground. A hoothoot lands and considers picking it back up. It's hard to see as the light sources start to flicker.

 
 Spoiler: Perception! (Feel free to make other checks to ask questions about what's going on) 
Say each one you notice in the OOC thread and I'll mark them on the map.

 
 Spoiler: Perception 8 
Two rattattas are each carrying one of the shiny objects in their mouths as well. The objects seem to be glowing different colors.
 

 
 Spoiler: Perception 10 
The object on the ground is a light blue heart-shaped... thing. It looks like it's made of glass, it moves like it's a bag of fluid, but it's lighter and more durable than either of those things.
 

 
 Spoiler: Perception 12 
The ekans has a bulge in its belly, suggesting that it swallowed something about the size of these heart things.
 

 

 
 Spoiler: Map of Zones 

    (Side of Crystal Steps) 
 The Entire Party 
 (Side of Crystal Steps) 
 
  - 
 Natu, Cutiefly 
 - 
 
  Zubat x2 (one injured) 
 Blue Gem, Hoothoot 
 Hoothoot x1 
 
  Rattatta x2, Zubat x2 
 Combee x2 
 Rattatta x2, Hoothoot x2 
 
  (Wall by Exit) 
 Ekans, Oddish 
 (Wall by Exit) 
 
   
 Outside! 
  
 
  
 


The cutiefly flits to one side and tries to blow Roland off of the stairs. The natu lands on the railing and starts leering at Fletcher, trying to intimidate him into getting out of the way.

It's starting to get pretty crowded in here! You'll need to act quickly!

 
 Spoiler: Initiative! 
Speeds:

15: Ekans (Just got here)
15: Cutiefly (Fairy Wind on Roland, or Excidium if the seahorse opts to defend his trainer. Hits for 26 Fairy damage.)
15:   Monty  
13:  Fletcher 
12:   Zero  
12:  Charles 
11:   Excidium  
10:   Roland  
10:   Finn  
10:   Emrys  
10: Natu (telegraphing Leer on Fletcher, or on Charles if it intercedes)
10: Combee x2 (just vibing, no thoughts, heads empty)
9: Rattatas x4 (just moving)
8: Zubats x4 (just moving)
7: Hoothoots x4 (telegraphing grabbing the gem and moving to the stairs)
3: Oddish (just moving)
 
MCerberus
  Monty  

Before either of them could react or take stock of the situation, another one of the flying things that hurt Zero before attacks the group. On immediate inspection, not all of them are hostile but right before them at least some are. Monty lets the foxling jump down before pointing at the round one with wings. "No talking, no mercy. Show them what mistake they just made."

This being a happy thought to the Zorua, Zero is happy to oblige, darting at the Natu before it can really get its plots going.

 
 Spoiler 

Monty uses the action to give inspired training to Zero
  Pursuit  - (1d20)[ 11 ]  vs AC2
  Damage  - (2d6+19)[ 26 ]  Dark vs defense
Zero gains Excited - can consume for +5 damage reduction against incoming attack
Zero gains Inspired Training - +1 evasion roll, +2 saves
 
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland was knocked sideways by the attack, Excidium dropping to the ground (fortunately unharmed). But in the process he saw out-of-place reflective glows in the wavering lights…

“ Two of those purple things with the buck teeth are carrying something! ” he called out.

He regained his balance and tried to slam the white and yellow thing that had attacked him, and called for Excidium to attack the red-eyed bogey by the dropped gem. Whatever it was, they probably didn’t want the bogies to have it…

 
 Spoiler: OoC 

I didn’t see anything in Herald of Pride or Elemental Connection that says it turns you into a Dragon type, so I don’t think Roland takes super effective damage from that. Let me know if I’m wrong.

Roland: 42/70 (6/6 AP)
Excidium: 40/44

Rolls in the Dice thread.
 
Harbringer
Finn starts as the group suddenly halts, before a notices the small horde of Pokémon seemingly trying to return to the cave. While the group of opponents is quite overwhelming, there's still clear and direct threats in front of them, and Finn quickly focuses his attention on the Cutiefly, ordering Hex to attack it. The Elgyem obliges, eventually, and sends a wave of psychic energy at the bug.

 "Copy that." 
 
 Spoiler: Mechanics 
Finn - 67/67 HP  - 3/6 AP
Hex - 47/47 HP - 0 Momentum.

Finn uses Duelist as a Swift Action, Tagging the Cutiefly.
Finn uses Focused Training as a Standard Action on Hex.

Hex uses Confusion on the Cutiefly! AC2: 18, DB7: 37 Special Psychic Type Damage. Hex gains 1 Momentum

End of Turn: Hex gains 1 Momentum.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Zero jumps up and pounces hard on the Natu. The little bird is squished pretty badly against the hard crystal railing, but somehow, the attack isn't enough to break its concentration. This only makes its silent leer that much more unnerving. Fletcher and Charles are both weirded out and mentally distracted.  (Leer is a cone 2 anyway, so it hits both of them for -1 stage in Defense.) 

When it's tossed ahead, Excidium rushes forward to get a good shot and blasts the Hoothoot as it picks up its precious shiny. An excellent shot, in fact - a downright flashy display of bubble-blasting if ever there was one. The bird poofs out of existence and its heart-shaped object again clatters on the ground. The other hoots hoot look at each other and decide to leave the shiny alone. They take a long way around to the stairs, giving Excidium a wide berth as they prepare to shove their way up the stairs.

The Ekans is more confident in itself. It slithers forward and rears up to look down at the little blue whatsit, daring Excidium to lay his puckery little mouth on the prize.  (It gets just close enough for Intimidate to affect Excidium's Attack.) 

The other monsters creep forward, not quick enough to really react to what you're all doing but ready to attack if you don't get out of their way. The Rattatas with prizes in their mouths look like they can't attack effectively while they're holding them, though; they're trying to stay away from any trouble. The Oddish walks under the two three-faced bug things, who seem excited to see it and start following it around.

Behind all of that, a couple of yellow fluffy/spiny things appear in the exit. They quickly look at Excidium causing trouble and seem excited to fight the little seahorse.  (Anyone with Novice or better Pokemon Education knows they're Joltiks.) 

Roland takes a wide swing at the cutiefly. It dodges away, then dodges right into Roland's shoulder, then darts around erratically before turning into smoke and vanishing. When Roland glances at his 6, he sees Hex staring forward with his glowing bead-eyes and Finn still pointing where the cutiefly used to be.

Hopefully you're ready to keep these cool moves up, because the monster horde is still coming through!

 
 Spoiler: Map of Zones 

    (Side of Crystal Steps) 
 Most of the Party 
 Natu, Hoothoot x1 
 
  Zubat x2 
   Excidium   
 Hoothoot x2 
 
  Rattatta x2, Zubat x2 
 Blue Gem, Ekans 
 Rattatta(w/Gems) x2 
 
   
 Combee x2, Oddish 
  
 
  (Wall by Exit) 
 Joltik x2 
 (Wall by Exit) 
 
   
 Outside! 
  
 
  
 

 
 Spoiler: Initiative! 
Speeds:

15: Ekans: Intimidates Excidium! -1 Attack stage.
15:   Monty  
13:  Fletcher 
12:   Zero  
12:  Charles 
11:   Excidium  
10:   Roland  
10:   Finn  
10: Natu (telegraphing Peck on Zero)
10: Combee x2 (Telegraphing Sweet Scent on random targets near the Oddish)
10: Joltik x2 (telegraphing Thunder Wave and Spider Web on Excidium)
9: Rattatas x2 (Telegraphing Tackle on Zero and Excidium)
9: Rattattas w/Gems x2 (just trying to slip past and get to the stairs)
8: Zubats x4 (Telegraphing Leeck Life on Zero, Charles, and Hex - IF they're still on the stairs)
7: Hoothoots x3 (telegraphing Tackle on Zero, Charles, and Hex - IF they're still on the stairs)
3: Oddish (Telegraphing Absorb on Excidium)
1:   Hex  
 
MCerberus
  Monty  
 "Zero, finish it!"  Monty commands, which is replied by a "roar" (really a squeak) in reply. Zero lunges again at the little hopping bird. Hopefully that's going to be enough to take it out, since this is getting a little busy.

 "This is getting a little crowded we can't clear them all out" 
 
 Spoiler 

  attack  - (1d20)[ 18 ]  vs AC2
  damage  - (2d6+19)[ 28 ]  dark vs defense
 
Harbringer
Finn, seeing the myriad of attacks aimed in Hex's direction, and knowing the alien won't react in time, decides to take matters into his own hands, literally so, and bodily grabs Hex and starts running down the stairs, hopefully moving them out of the direct line of fire. The Elgyem, once it has recovered from his sudden relocation, fires a wave of psychic energy at the Ekans.

 "Let's get moving then!" 
 
 Spoiler: Mechanics 
Finn - 67/67 HP - 3/6 AP
Hex - 47/47 HP - 2 Momentum.

Finn is picking up and moving Hex down the stairs.
Hex is using Confusion on the Ekans. AC2: 14; DB7: 39 Special Psychic Type Damage.

Hex gains 1 Momentum at the end of the turn.
 
Kareeah_Indaga
Seeing his partner was drawing a worrying amount of attention, Roland called out, “ Excidium, go for the round things! ” That should get his partner out of range, for the moment, but it left the dropped trinket unattended. Roland dashed down to scoop it up, and if they survived the next few minutes that should put them in a good position to corner the purple things and put them down next.

 
 Spoiler: OoC 

Roland dashing to grab the Gem by the Ekans, Excidium attacking the two Hoothoot in the square above the Rattatas with Gems. Could we get labels for the rows and columns so it’s easier to specify where we’re going?

Roland: 42/70 (6/6 AP)
Excidium: 40/44

Rolls in the Dice thread.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Zero easily finishes off the Natu on the railing as it tries to back away. When he hops off the East side of the stairs, he is met by one of the belligerent Ratatta and tackled into the wall. (25 incoming normal-phys damage!)

As this happens, the swarm of Zubat flutter threateningly up to Monty and Fletcher, but seem too preoccupied with getting up the stairs to bother attacking. What do the investigators do about this?

Meanwhile, Roland and Finn pass the Zubats and charge down the stairs. Excidium bounces out of their way, toward the East, getting a little more distance from the Oddish and shooting up at the hoots hoot. Blasting bubbles buffet both birds, but... they manage to stay aloft! That is, until:

*ZAP!*

Fletcher commands Charles to finish the Hoothoot off. One goes down to a thundershock, and the little robot moves to block the other and take it out next turn. The aerial fight can take place in the background and is largely a foregone conclusion, as the bird's counterattack dings off of the Magnemite's steel body. (Don't worry about it.)

On the ground, the other of the fighting Ratattas tackles the Horsea. (25 incoming normal-phys damage! Again!)

At the center of the stage, Roland gets surrounded as he dives for the blue heart-shaped object on the ground. The Oddish passes him on his left, hoping to dogpile on his trusty Excidium. But, before he can react to that, the Ekans slips in front to challenge him for the shiny item. It hisses and makes to bite him, but:

*SHHH-ding!*

The Ekans convulses, collapses, and explodes. Behind Roland, Finn is holding Hex in both arms, seemingly wielding the monster like a weaponized toddler.

Just ahead, the excited flying bug-type monsters scatter some sweet-smelling dust on the Joltik, which blink their little eyes and try to shake it off. Having lost sight of their original target, the Joltik then skitter around Roland's right and get ready to gang up on the Elgyem from the West. From the East, the other two ratattas come running up to Finn. Now that you're this close, they're clearly carrying more glowing objects in their mouths. They seem unwilling to fight and just try to make a break for the stairs. They're pretty slippery, too! It seems these monsters have some kind of special ability that makes them hard to pin down. You'll have to make a proper attack if you want to stop them. Or use Zero's special pursuit move. Either way.

When Roland looks down again, there are two of the heart-shaped objects on the ground now, one pale blue and one red. He can scoop them both up pretty quickly if he wants. Then again, both of the Combee are now looking at him...

 
 Spoiler: Map of Zones 

    (Wall W) 
 (Exit: Stairs Up) 
 (Wall E) 
 
   
   Monty  ,  Fletcher , Zubat x4 
 Rattatta x2,   Zero   
 
   
   Finn  ,   Hex  , Ratatta (w/heart) x2 
   Excidium  ,  Charles , Hoothoot x1 
 
  Joltik x2 
 Blue Heart, Red Heart,   Roland   
 Oddish 
 
   
 Combee x2 
  
 
  (Outer Wall W) 
 (Exit: Opens outside) 
 (Outer Wall E) 
 
  Outside! 
 
  
 

 
 Spoiler: Initiative! 
Speeds:

15:   Monty  
13:  Fletcher 
12:   Zero  
12:  Charles 
11:   Excidium  
10:   Roland  
10:   Finn  
 10: Natu 
10: Joltik x2 (-2 Evasion. Telegraphing Thunder Wave and Spider Web on Hex and Finn)
10: Combee x2 (Telegraphing Gust on Roland)
9: Rattatas x2 (Telegraphing Tackle on Zero and Excidium)
9: Rattattas w/Gems x2 (Escaping up the stairs)
8: Zubats x4 (Escaping up the stairs)
7: Hoothoot x1 (Telegraphing another ill-advised tackle on Charles)
3: Oddish (Telegraphing Absorb on Excidium)
1:   Hex  
 
MCerberus
  Monty  

In its excited state, Zero is able to roll with the punch slightly but still yips out in pain. This causes Monty to make a snap decision. This is getting too crowded and they're being attacked from directions they aren't aware of. The others seem to want to fight but... honestly he doesn't know much of their survival instinct. Mostly though, Zero can't take another hit.
 
"WE CAN'T STAY HERE!"  Monty shouts as he runs over to scoop up the little kit. The little guy has been the only one to answer him straight lately so it may be his turn to get hurt to make sure they make it out.

Trying to map out a route fast to avoid as many claws and teeth as possible, he begins running towards the exit.

 
 Spoiler 
Zero consumes the buff to reduce the damage of the attack. Since grabbing a gem isn't conductive to starting to run just making his way to the exit
 
Kareeah_Indaga
“ Excidium, cover our six! ”

His police instincts screaming ‘get the evidence!’ Roland snatched up the nearby crystals - maybe one of the more mystically-inclined of the group could learn something from them. When he straightened up he noticed the fuzzy yellow things preparing to ambush Finn and his new partner, but they were out of reach - being short on ranged options Roland pulled out the ball and threw it at one of them.

 
 Spoiler: OoC 

Thank you for the labels!

Roland: 42/70 (6/6 AP)
Excidium: 22/44

Rolls in the Dice thread.
 
Harbringer
Finn curses under his breath as he sees the bright yellow spiders aiming for him and Hex. Knowing the Elgyem wouldn't react in time, and fearing the slowdown if the bugs were to hit, he quickly releases the still injured Emrys behind them, ordering the Fennekin to attack the Joltik Roland had missed, while he threw a Pokéball of his own at the other one.
A flash of heat emits from Emrys as he sends an ember of fire flying at the Joltik.

 
 Spoiler: Mechanics 

Finn - 67/67 HP - 3/6 AP
Hex - 47/47 HP - 2 Momentum.
Emrys - 17/45 HP - 0 Momentum.

Finn uses his Shift Action to release Emrys near the Joltik.
Finn uses his Standard Action to try to catch one of the Joltik. AC6: 18, -2 Capture roll.

Emrys uses Ember on the other Joltik. AC2: 5, 35 Special Fire Type Damage
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
As the team scrambles to get toward the exit, the enemy monsters scramble to fly and climb up the rumbling stairs. Looking back, you see the crystal steps beginning to crack and pulse with light and darkness, as do the moon-shaped sconces above the exit.

Roland hurls one of his mysterious monster-catching tokens, but juggling it with the heart-shaped objects he's picking up made the throw too obvious. The little bug jumps out of the way, and the ball bounces and rolls behind it.

Finn drops his Elgyem, and it dematerializes just as that Joltik's wave of lightning would hit. In Hex's place, Emrys reappears and blasts the Joltik. It disappears in a golden fireball. At the same time, Finn throws another little artifact, strikes the other Joltik, and catches it in a  green  flash before it can throw the sticky web it was conjuring.

In the back corner, Excidium conjures another bubble blast and hits the two gem-bearing rats. It's not enough to knock them out, but it's close, enough so that both of them stumble and drop their prizes as they make one last break for it. They nearly trip Fletcher as they get underfoot, but otherwise are no longer an issue.

Fletcher defensively flails his arms and legs to ward off the swarming animals as he gets away from the disappearing stairs, nearly stepping on the newly-dropped hearts on the floor. Once Charles finishes off the last fighting Hoothoot, Fletcher beckons the magnet monster to his shoulder, picks the objects up from the floor and nods to Monty in agreement. They'll be right behind all of you.

Monty scoops his new, trusted fox friend out of the way as one of the remaining rats jumps at him. (It would have hit Zero, but it misses Monty! Lucky!)

As Excidium happily surveys the destruction his bubbles have wrought, the other rat and the plant monster take him from both sides. (22 incoming Grass Special damage from the Oddish, and 25 incoming Normal damage from the flanking Rattata)

Roland feels a strange sense of exhaustion as his pokemon is clobbered and dematerializes, but has no time to think about it before the flying bugs take their shots. He dodges one gust of supernatural wind and is buffeted by the other. (One misses, one does 20 Special Flying)

As you assess your next move, it looks like the two last Rattata have made their point and are turning to run away now. The Oddish and the Combee, on the other hand, both have their sights set on Roland. Their vacant eyes take on a predatory glint, like they can sense that he's defenseless.

 
 Spoiler: Map of Zones 

    (Wall W) 
 (Exit: Stairs Up) 
 (Wall E) 
 
   
  
 Rattatta x1,   Zero  ,   Monty   
 
   
   Finn  ,  Charles ,  Fletcher  
 Rattatta x1,    Excidium    
 
    Emrys   
   Roland   
 Oddish 
 
   
 Combee x2 
  
 
  (Outer Wall W) 
 (Exit: Opens outside) 
 (Outer Wall E) 
 
  Outside! 
 
  
 

 
 Spoiler: Initiative! 
Speeds:

15:   Monty  
13:  Fletcher  (Picked up dropped hearts)
12:   Zero  
12:  Charles  (Finished off the bird)
11:   Excidium  
10:   Roland  
10:   Finn  
10:   Emrys  
10:  Joltik x2  (Caught and exploded!)
10: Combee x2 (One Telegraphs Gust on Roland, the other is going to steal something if he goes down this turn)
9: Rattatas x2 (Telegraphing an escape)
9:  Rattattas x2  (Dropped the gems and ran!)
8:  Zubats x4  (Ran away!)
7:  Hoothoot x1  (Smells like burnt feathers)
3: Oddish (Telegraphing Absorb on Roland)
 
MCerberus
  Monty  

Someone should really tell Monty that Zero would be safer stored in one of the devices. He's still kinda new at this, but luck seems to be favoring him so far, not having been hurt by anything so far. Things are getting worse and worse, so there's really only hoping that his luck continues as the only way out seems to be straight through the monsters. He's... moderately tough right?

Not yelling any more observations, Monty makes a break for the exit.

 
 Spoiler 

Well here goes nothing, dashing for the exit but it doesn't look like there's a path through that doesn't cause opportunity attacks
 
Harbringer
Finn grins as the two Joltik are taken out of the combat, quickly moving over to Emrys to collect his own Pokéball and Roland's stray one.  "Got your six, Protocol. Clearing a path."  Spotting the various Pokémon gunning for Roland, Finn quickly focuses his beam of light on the more aggressive looking Combee and orders Emrys to fire at it. The Fennekin quickly obliges, a ripple of heat coming off him as another burst of fire is sent forward, directly impacting the Combee.


 
 Spoiler: Mechanics 
Finn - 67/67 HP - 3/6 AP
Emrys - 17/45 HP - 1 Momentum.

Finn moves over to the same space as Emrys.
Finn uses a Standard Action to pick up the two Pokéball.
Finn uses a Swift Action to use Duelist on the Combee actively attacking. Combee is now Tagged.

Emrys uses Ember on Combee! AC2: 12, DB6: 31 Special Fire Type Damage! Emrys gains 1 Momentum.

End of Turn, Emrys gains 1 Momentum.
 
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland staggered as Excidium vanished into smoke, gasping a bit as he reflexively went for a radio he didn’t have and that wouldn’t have worked if he did to report an officer down.

But he’d been in bad situations before so the impulse only lasted a heartbeat. He switched his focus to what he needed to do, namely: get out of the line of fire!

He retreated to the west wall, hopefully out of range of the bogies for now.


 
 Originally Posted by Harbringer 
  "Got your six, Protocol. Clearing a path."  
 

“ Thanks son, ” Roland replied, then caught sight of Monty trying to get out of the corner he was stuck in - “ Renault, watch your three o’clock! ”

 
 Spoiler: OoC 

Roland moves West, which should get him out of damaging range of everything targeting him and uses Sentinel Stance on Monty, granting Monty 10 DR when intercepting attacks for an ally (I’m assuming Zero counts) until the end of Roland’s next turn. Hope that gets you to the exit safely MCerberus!

Roland: 27/70 (6/6 AP)
 Excidium: 0/44 
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Roland runs away from the vegetoid Oddish, and holds the attention of the attacking Combee long enough for Emrys to blast it to bee smithereens. The other Combee isn't shy about joining Oddish in pursuit, giving Monty and Fletcher enough breathing room to break East and run for the exit.

The rats run past Monty and Zero in the opposite direction and start their ascent, just in time for the crystal stairs to start breaking apart with a series of loud  crack s and a whine like a capacitor ready to burst.

The Oddish stops in its tracks when it hears this, and looks horrified at the state of the stairs. It jumps up and down to get the Combee's attention, but the bug is still too focused on Roland. The Oddish turns to run for the stairs itself, and releases a sweet-smelling scent so overpowering you can notice it despite everything else going on.

As Monty and Fletcher reach the exit, they notice two more moon-themed crystal sconces set above it, which crack and burst just as the stairs are doing. You might get some shards on you, but it doesn't really hurt. You just need to get out before heavier rocks start falling.

Anyone trained in survival can look over their shoulder and notice that the North end of the room is not safe to stand in. Its imminent collapse doesn't feel natural, exactly - almost like it's collapsing in reverse. To wrap your head around it beyond that, you'd be either guessing or rolling Occult.

 
 Spoiler: Map of Zones 

    (Wall W) 
 (Exit: Stairs - Breaking!) 
 (Wall E) 
 
  X 
 X 
 X 
 
   
  
  
 
    Roland  ,   Emrys  ,   Finn   
 Oddish, Combee 
  
 
   
   Zero  ,   Monty  ,  Charles ,  Fletcher  
  
 
  (Outer Wall W) 
 (Exit: Opens outside) 
 (Outer Wall E) 
 
  Outside! 
 
  
 

 
 Spoiler: Initiative! 
Speeds:

15:   Monty  
13:  Fletcher  (Joining Monty in running outside)
12:   Zero  
12:  Charles 
11:   Excidium  
10:   Roland  
10:   Finn  
10:   Emrys  
10: Combee (Telegraphing Gust on Roland)
3: Oddish (Telegraphing Sweet Scent)
 
Harbringer
Finn's focus doesn't break as the room seems to collapse around him, merely shifting to the next Combee.  "Time to squash the last bugs, Emrys, keep up the rhythm."  Order given, Finn starts making his way to the exit, somehow managing to keep the beam of light on the Combee as he runs.

Emrys yips, sending out a pinpoint accurate mote of superheated flame, easily hitting the Combee. He then quickly follows after Finn.

 
 Spoiler: Mechanics 
Finn - 67/67 HP - 3/6 AP
Emrys - 17/45 HP - 3 Momentum.

Finn uses Duelist on the last Combee as a Swift Action. Combee is now Tagged.
Finn uses Expend Momentum on Emrys as a Standard Action. Emrys loses 2 Momentum and his next d20 roll is automatically an 11.
Finn uses his Shift Action to move to the exit.

Emrys uses Ember on Combe! AC2: 12; 38 Special Fire Type Damage. Emrys gains 1 Momentum.
Emrys uses his Shift Action to move to the exit.

Emrys gains 1 Momentum at the end of the round.
 
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland headed for the exit with Finn, doing his best to stay out of the line of fire.

 
 Spoiler: OoC 

Roland: 27/70 (6/6 AP)
 Excidium: 0/44 
 
MCerberus
  Monty  

Without much else to say, Monty continues running for the exit. Seemingly safe from the attackers, Zero turns back to stick his tongue out at any mons remaining.
Dr.Gunsforhands
Once Emris cooks the last bug, the team runs out of the cavern's singular exit.

The crystals that the elgyem was making around the entrance vanish into thin air around you. Under your feet, the debris from the entrance's initial creation disintegrates into shadows and reforms on the mountain's face behind you, as though it had never exploded. Above you, the silhouettes of some straggling flying pokemon vanish in a few flashes of bright silver-green light from the mountain above.

As you run or slide down the 20-foot slope, Fletcher quickly thinks to remove Charles' recording device, just in time for your own pokemon to vanish as well, as is usual for the end of the Dark Hour. The strange heart-shaped objects you've picked up solidify into ordinary-looking glass decorations.

It's still the middle of the night. Your phones and watches start working again, reporting a time of 12:01.

What do?
Harbringer
Finn struggles to make his way down the slope, arms flailing as he half walks, half slides down the slick with rain and mud hillside. Once down, he leans heavily on his knees to catch his breath.  "That was it for the Dark Hour tonight. Everyone alright?"  He glances over to Renault,  "Let's head back to camp, make sure your friend's okay and come up with an excuse to why you're suddenly gone." 
 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Could I get the stats for the Joltik I caught? Before we forget.
 
Kareeah_Indaga
“ I’m fine, son. ” Roland checked the hearts and discovered they were still there, just transformed. “ Someone should take a look at these back at camp. ”

 
 Spoiler: OoC 
I’m trying to figure out how broken up Roland should be. Have any of our partners gotten poofed before? Should I consider Excidium to be dead?
 
MCerberus
  Monty  

Everything going on just still doesn't make any sense. Where did everything go- Zero, crystals, what about Charlie? The idea of making it back to camp is at least a piece of normalcy to take ahold of. They don't know if even the terrain is the same and if distances match up, but the generator should show them the general direction they should go. It was running so they should hear its hum being discordant with the rain before they see it at least.

 "Alright... let's be careful. There's mud and snarls on the way back." 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Even with the storm suddenly turned back on, the team makes it back to the camp without much trouble. Keeping up with Monty is probably the biggest obstacle. Roland's pokemon hasn't been poofed during the dark hour before, but he knows Fletcher's has. After a couple days of worrying, his robo-buddy came back during the next dark hour, good as new.

When you arrive at camp, Monty goes straight for the medical tent, its flap blowing in the wind and its cooler humming in the corner. He sees Charlie, standing still, staring into space. The bottle in her hand drips a little, held sideways like she's not been paying attention. She slowly looks up at you, her expression frozen and numb.

When the rest of the group catches up, Charlie finally blinks. She murmurs for a second, like someone being roused from a nap, then suddenly lights up again. "Oh! Hey! The secret researchers are here!" She sets down her drink and looks the group up and down. Her look turns skeptical when she notices Roland. "And... also a cop. Are you here to shoo us off so you can do your secret research?"

 
 Spoiler: Joltik and OOC stuff 


Did I forget the Joltik stats?? Okay, here are the Joltik stats:

 
 Spoiler: Joltik! 
Level 5 Joltik, Female, Docile nature
Moves:
Leech Life
Spider Web
String Shot
Thunder Wave

Stats:
Base	Added	Total
5	3		8
5	3		8
5	2		7
6	2		8
5	2		7
7	3		10

Inherited Moves			
Level 20	Disable	Level 30	Pursuit
Level 40	Pin Missile	Level 50	Cross Poison
 


As for Charlie's situation, you can roll whatever you can justify applying to try to evaluate her condition.
 


Fletcher noticed Charlie's weird stare when he first arrived, and doesn't want to just write it off as a coincidence. Unfortunately, he doesn't know how to bring it up without sounding weird. "Excuse me," he says as he clears the soda bottle off of the operating table, "would it be okay if I examined you for a minute? I'm Fletcher, by the way."

"No??" Charlie does not look less skeptical. She glances at Fletcher, then finally at Monty, and notices her friend's expression. She grabs his wrist and pulls him aside, hoping to get him away from whatever the problem is. "Monty, are you okay? What's going on?"
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland, feeling drained from losing Excidium and now without the adrenaline of an open combat zone to make up for it, just sighed. “ Ma’am, you shouldn’t be here, it’s not safe. ” Being near the back of the pack he hadn’t noticed the weirdness, but with a civilian present he was loathe to talk about Dark Hour hijinks.

Instead he turned to Fletcher and Monty. “ If you don’t mind keeping an eye on her, I’ll go see if the rest of the research team is on the way. ”
Harbringer
Finn does catch Charlie's momentary slack-jawed expression, and he studies her for a moment when she starts moving again. Seemed like...  something  had returned to her, kept her form going all... gray. He's ripped from his musings by Charlie  immediately  clocking Roland as a cop, snorting in amusement.  "Don't mind Protocol too much, he's off duty. Just ignore him if he gets pushy, it's what I do. I'm Finn, tech support."  He smiles a bit sardonically, giving a quick wave in greeting.  "And Renault, before you trot off... I'm guessing you have some questions yourself? Might be easier to explain stuff if you have a better grasp on what's happening."  He looks between Monty and Charlie, trying to gauge both of their reactions to plan what he's gonna say.

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
Occult to figure out what's up with Charlie: 16
 
MCerberus
  Monty  

The relief of being safe only lasts a moment as the group starts wanting to seemingly interrogate Charlie. That reminds him that all of this is not only messed up, but secret, and the two of them shouldn't be there. This gets him immediately stressing about what they can or can't say and if he won't sound like a madman. In all of this he's completely oblivious to what should be the apparent problem in front of them.

What comes out is sort of a blurted out stream of thought.

 "There's these things on the mountain- and they- all of this is insane... It's whiteout, and they didn't tell anyone what's going on!" 

So he may not be in the right headspace. Maybe he can intuit if there's anything off with Charlie's reactions

 
 Spoiler: OOC 
  Intuition  - (2d6)[ 7 ] 
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Finn notices what Fletcher noticed, and goes on to connect it with something else. The heart-shaped thingies that those wild pokemon dropped looked a lot like the hearts that float inside of people when they're frozen for the Dark Hour. If that is what they are, and hearts are being stolen from people, the classic solution is to go on a quest to retrieve them, right?

From Monty's perspective, it was like Charlie had left the proverbial building, only to come back a few seconds later with no memory of what happened in-between. She assumes that she must have zoned out for a minute, if only because some things moved around and these new guys showed up, but as far as she can tell you're the one who's suddenly having a breakdown.

"Dangerous? Whiteout?" She glances toward the tent flap. More rain continues to blow in. Monty isn't talking about the weather. "So... oh. What? What?!"

Charlie makes a face that Monty has seen before. It's the face she makes when she hears about some grave injustice that most people can't or won't do anything about. Just as she turns to pursue Roland and press him about it, though, she seems to just... give up. Her face falls into the blank expression, and she just holds still, one foot already out in the rain.

Finn notices that, too. Looks like substitute hearts don't do the job - she needs one of the ones Roland has. Fletcher looks to you with wide eyes, having noticed and realized the same thing. He calls out, shouting over the wind. "Protocol! I mean Roland! Can you please come back for a second? We have a hypothesis we need to test!"
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland, already tired from the earlier fights and getting increasingly wet outside, sighed and turned to make his way back. “ What do you need? ”
MCerberus
  Monty  

Monty takes a step back after blurting that out. He's starting to feel a bit queasy about this whole situation, if it's all his fault for letting this stuff happen. He doesn't know exactly what those things did when they suspended Charlie in time... or whatever that is. Maybe they're all just tired from this weird place. Wanting for everything to just be over he takes a seat and just hopes everyone else will figure it out.
Harbringer
Finn shares a brief nod with Fletcher, turning to Roland when he returns.  "The stones you picked up before the Hour was up, the heart shaped ones. I think... we need them. To test. They might be the key."  He holds out his hand, beckoning for Roland to hand them over.  "She went back to being all gray when you left with them." 
Kareeah_Indaga
“ Gray? ” Roland glanced over at Charlie, puzzled. “ She looks fine. ” And he’d  seen  White-Out Syndrome before: every time he visited his fiancée in the hospital, in addition to a few calls before he’d gone on medical leave - neighbors who had reached out because such-and-such hadn’t come out of the house in weeks, or so-and-so’s infant had been crying for hours because the parents were staring aimlessly out into space, mentally gone. With the heart thefts taking place at night, most of the victims they found in their beds, but a man a few rooms down from his fiancée had been at a late party and zonked out while going down stairs, ending up with several broken bones.

But Roland handed the heart stones over anyway; he wasn’t mystically inclined, he didn’t know what to do with them other than keep the bogies from getting them anyway. ((- Blue Heart, - Red Heart))
Harbringer
Finn quickly takes the gems from Roland, silently deliberating for a moment before handing the red one over to Charlie.  "Feel any connection with this?" 
Dr.Gunsforhands
When Roland returns, Charlie blinks and wakes up from her stupor again. This time, she at least seems to notice that something happened to her, though she's not quite processed what.

"Connection? Not really," she says, though she takes the red heart off of Finn's hands anyway. She suddenly remembers that she's supposed to be angry and furrows her eyebrows accordingly. "Why? What did you do?"
Harbringer
Finn is glad that Charlie does in fact seem to get more present when Roland returns with the gems, though he's a bit disappointed that she doesn't seem to feel anything from the gem he had handed her.  "We? Nothing. Well... nothing bad. Retrieved your... let's call it your soul, for simplicity sake. One moment, I'll explain more once I'm certain you've got the right heart." 

Before anyone can respond, Finn scurries out into the rain, blue heart still in hand, trying his best to put some distance between himself and Charlie, waiting under what little cover the treetops gave him for half a minute once he feels he has gotten away enough, before rushing back.  "Any changes? Or did I give her the right gem first try?"  He looks between the others expectantly, disposition slightly manic at the potential discovery.
Kareeah_Indaga
Roland watched Finn’s antics and Charlie’s reactions with the seriousness the subject deserved. He had had suspicions about the stones of course - as far as he knew, the bogey Pokémon hadn’t been grabbing anything  else  during the Dark Hour, what else would they be bringing back with them? But he wasn’t mystically inclined and knew he probably wouldn’t notice any interference they were pulling on the occult side, and on the physical level it wasn’t impossible that they’d been, say…stealing the fuel out of peoples’ cars, and it had just gone unnoticed under the widespread outbreak of White-Out Syndrome.

Mostly, he’d figured if the stones were important enough for the Pokémon attacking the human population to bring back, it was important enough for him to stop them from bringing them back.

So he kept an eye on Charlie, and cast the other around for a pen or marker - something that would mark skin - and if she faded out like Finn seemed to expect her to he’d scribble on her somewhere she would see before Finn got back. Roland hoped it might lend some credence to the bad news.

 
 Spoiler: OoC 
I know we have pencils but I don’t see that working very well on skin. If Roland can’t find a suitable writing utensil he’ll reach outside the tent for a little mud and smear it on her.
 
Dr.Gunsforhands
Roland's scrounging in the med tent finds a clipboard with an inventory of materials and a pencil, which isn't quite what he's looking for. Before he can keep looking, Fletcher stops him. "I think it's okay, Pro... Roland. See?" Indeed, Charlie doesn't have any more adverse reactions to Finn running off. "Before, she just turned a little pale and suddenly stopped moving. It really was just like White Out, except for the part where she woke up again."

"Why do I have Whiteout?! I was fine ten minutes ago!" She casts a glance over at her frazzled friend. She takes an agitated breath. "What about Monty? Is he okay? Where's his," she waves the red glass bauble in her hand, "soul?"
Kareeah_Indaga
“ Where it’s supposed to be ma’am, ” Roland responded absently, browsing the inventory list since there didn’t seem to be any need to do anything else just yet. “ This is why you weren’t supposed to be here. ”

 
 Spoiler: OoC 
Any damage to the tent from the bogey Pokémon that stole her heart in the first place breaking in?
 
Harbringer
Finn catches the tail end of the conversation in the tent as he rushes back, and grins triumphantly as he gets back, glad to see his hypothesis confirmed.  "Alright, wicked, keep that safe and  don't lose it, "  he tells Charlie,  "I've no idea how we could put that back  inside  of you, but until then keep it on you at all times. Not entirely sure that you  couldn't  keep it on you, mind, but still, make sure."  He glances over to the heart still in his hand, as if only now remembering he has it.  "We should probably be storing these somewhere secure so they don't get damaged or something. Cursor, any padded boxes or something here we can drop these in?"  He hands the heart over to Fletcher.

He glances over to Monty, shrugging slightly.  "Renault's had a bit of a shock, is all. First time awake during the Dark Hour can take its toll, I guess... Speaking of! Explanations! Mind, we don't really know all too much ourselves, the Why and How of it all is still very much a mystery, but... we at least know a little of the  What ."  He pauses, mostly to see if Monty is actually aware enough to be listening.
MCerberus
  Monty  

Toll is a light way to put it. There's something more to it, like dehydration but somehow not just his body. It's like when he stayed up for days after...
Monty's mind touches a hot stove and goes back to cling on something he knows, after a bit of trying to collect whatever it can in a dead-eyed stare. Clearly running off of adrenaline after throwing up is going to have some effect.

He still owes Charlie some kind of explanation, but what is important and what he can make sense of have some disconnect. Not thinking straight, the best Monty can do is,  "It's all a setup"  (the thought that the people setting up all these investigations are hiding something.  "They're hiding something"  (the university sending him here wanted it quiet and is part of a larger organization).