Sequoia Session 20-5

[17:29:25 ][castfromhp] It's some amount of time (you decide!) after the hilarious clusterfuck of a wet t-shirt contest that our gang found themselves drunkenly entering. The beach is still lively, though it seems the contest was a -bit- too much for some, who've packed their bags and left as quickly as possible - or have simply gone out for a swim seeking to get as far as possible from the contest site.
[17:29:58 ][castfromhp] George has recruited a couple of them to be members of his pirate crew and has appropriated a keg from Anders.
[17:30:42 ][castfromhp] As for Sven, you can find him back at the tent, fiddling with some sort of device with a tube.
[17:32:11 ]* CritSenpai (castfromhp@Rizon-6349BC74.hsd1.il.comcast.net) has joined #SleeplessInSequoia
[17:35:00 ]* Adrienne had more or less wandered around the beach, up until now. "Yo," she said to Sven. "What're you fooling with?"
[17:37:39 ][castfromhp] "Oh this?" He holds up a bag with a funky straw attached, which seems to have a valve on it. "It's called a...SCUDA. Self-Contained Underwater Drinking Apparatus. Not the name I would have chosen."
[17:39:52 ]* Adrienne points at it, then looks torn between laughing at how absurd it was, and just soberly accepting that Sven would do something like this. Instead, she opts to be diplomatic. "For drinking coffee underwater. What a great idea."
[17:41:54 ][castfromhp] Sven nods sagely. "I went and ordered one immediately once Sue brought up the idea to go diving."
[17:42:26 ][castfromhp] "Did you enjoy your...contest? I heard from onlookers I was wise to have missed it. They left in quite a hurry."
[17:45:38 ]* Adrienne sighs. "It was alright, and a new experience that I'll never repeat again, but I really could've done without seeing Lucian pantsless."
[17:49:55 ][castfromhp] "I doubt you're alone in that opinion." Sven stops messing with his SCUDA for the time being and picks up his thermos for a sip of coffee. "How was Sue? Still trashed? She'll be furious if I go diving without her, but she'll be just as mad if no one goes diving at all." He sighs. "Sometimes, you just can't win."
[17:55:34 ]* Adrienne shrugs. "Dunno, last I saw she was still trashed. Night's probably not a good time for diving, but you know, morning shouldn't be bad."
[17:59:10 ][castfromhp] "Oh, you're not hitting the road in the morning?" Sven takes another sip and looks thoughtful. "Maybe you and your friends can help me with something then."
[18:03:24 ]* Adrienne makes the universal thumb-pinky wibbly sign for 'eeeeh'. "We probably are leaving in the morning, but we're making really good time, so it might not be a huge deal. I'll ask the others. What's this something?"
[18:06:52 ][castfromhp] "Sue wanted to organize a scavenger hunt slash hide and seek game with Water-Type Pokemon when we went diving. Sadly, the water specialist among us flaked out along with uh...everyone else. And it'd hardly be any fun with just two of us anyway, especially since one of us would have had to set up the entire thing."
[18:08:29 ][castfromhp] "If I could borrow some aquatic Pokemon from you and your friends early tomorrow morning, I may still have time to set something up."
[18:11:21 ]* Adrienne thinks, and then mentally tallies the aquatic Pokemon among her team. "I'm pretty sure the team can donate six total, if everyone else is up for it."
[18:13:28 ][castfromhp] "Excellent. And you will all participate, of course?" Sven takes a large gulp of coffee, shaking it afterwards to confirm it's empty, then sets the thermos behind him.
[18:14:06 ][castfromhp] "You should all act very excited too. Sue will be all huffy about it, but she would appreciate it deep down inside. I think. Maybe."
[18:15:34 ]* Adrienne shrugs. "I dunno. Participating's all up to them."
[18:17:33 ][castfromhp] "Tell them that there may be...prizes." Sven says, not very impressively. He shrugs.
[18:18:43 ][castfromhp] "What are you and your friends on the road for this time anyway?"
[18:20:52 ]* Adrienne crosses her arms. "We're going to Blackwillow for a conference between Professors where we're going to present the insanity that me and the other three ran headfirst into. We'll also try and swing by the Blackpine Reserve."
[18:20:58 ][Adrienne] "Er. Greypine."
[18:21:24 ]* Adrienne ignores the very lackluster mention of prizes.
[18:22:44 ][castfromhp] Sven reaches behind him for his thermos and takes a sip. "Funny, Sue mentioned something similar. I didn't ask into the details though."
[18:23:52 ][Adrienne] "That's interesting. Wanna share some of that coffee?"
[18:26:41 ][castfromhp] Sven brightens up immediately. "Certainly! I brought a large jug of cold brew with me." He hops to his feet and starts digging around in his stuff, producing a large container of coffee and some disposable cups.
[18:28:07 ]* Adrienne looks at the disposable cups. "... Were you hoping to be able to share?"
[18:28:52 ][castfromhp] Sven makes shifty-eyes but doesn't answer you, instead pouring out a cup and offering it to you.
[18:31:48 ]* Adrienne takes that as a "yes" from Sven, along with taking it as "hello, my name is Sven and I regularly carry around disposable cups to share my hipster coffee with other people."
[18:31:48 ]* Adrienne takes a sip after her thoughts.
[18:32:09 ][Adrienne] "I've never had cold brew before."
[18:33:07 ][castfromhp] It's...really good coffee! This GM wishes he knew how to describe that, but the taste is very rich and complex and has notes of spices and other things that make for very good coffee.
[18:34:39 ][castfromhp] "I thought it fitting as a farewell letter to summer." Sven takes another sip.
[18:34:45 ]* Adrienne completely understands the GM not knowing to describe coffee. "It's pretty good," she says after a few sips.
[18:35:02 ][Adrienne] "Hey, wanna kill time with some battling?"
[18:36:34 ][castfromhp] Sven nods along, as if to say "yes, and?" He then looks slightly disappointed as you change the topic away from his magnificent coffee so quickly. "Sure. They do have arenas set up around here."
[18:38:22 ]* Adrienne continues taking sips and starts walking. "Did you make this?"
[18:38:47 ][Adrienne] "Also, two on two fine with you?"
[18:41:00 ][castfromhp] "Of course I brewed it myself, though it was my dad who came up with this particular blend. And yes, two Pokemon each is fine." Sven gets up too and starts heading towards the arenas.
[18:44:32 ]* Adrienne rounds up her Pokemon on the way to an arena. "Ever think about making brewing spicy coffee?"
[18:44:39 ][Adrienne] -making*
[18:47:32 ][castfromhp] "My family's coffee shop does serve a few varieties like that, either with ginger or simply red pepper for heat." Sven shrugs as he rummages in a bag for his Poke Balls. "Not my favorite, but it beats dumping a bag of sugar into the coffee at least."
[18:51:23 ]* Adrienne passes balls from hand to hand, thinking about which Pokemon to choose. "Wagers are common, aren't they? Wanna make one? No cash, though."
[18:52:14 ][castfromhp] "Would it surprise you if I said I'm not fond of the practice?" Sven says, sipping his drink with a shrug. "Up to you though."
[18:54:47 ]* Adrienne releases Arthur as her first Pokemon. "Nah, I'll pass. So what's the bet that soured you on wagers?"
[18:57:32 ][castfromhp] He shrugs. "Not one bet in particular, but...the others in my dueling club got in a lot of trouble back in school when we'd have battles with wagers. We won most of our bouts against others not in our circle, and you can imagine the resentment that formented..." He releases Sumatra, his Noctowl.
[18:58:36 ][castfromhp] Sumatra's Initiative is 12! Sven's speed is irrelevant because Orders have Priority anyway!
[18:59:01 ][Adrienne] Arthur's Initiative is 15!
[18:59:22 ]* Adrienne has 17 Initiative, but as you said, Orders have Priority.
[18:59:57 ][Adrienne] "Huh, dueling club. Never got into that when I was in school."
[19:01:29 ][castfromhp] Go ahead and take your turn! any Orders I use I'll just apply on Sven's Pokemon's turn.
[19:02:37 ]* Adrienne applies Focused Training on Arthur and has him open the fight with a Fury Swipes!
[19:02:37 ][Adrienne] 1d20+2 vs AC 5
[19:02:37 ][CritSenpai] vs AC 5: 11 [1d20=9]
[19:02:46 ][Adrienne] If it hits,
[19:02:46 ][Adrienne] 1d8
[19:02:47 ][CritSenpai] 1d8: 3 [1d8=3]
[19:03:21 ][castfromhp] hits!
[19:03:37 ][Adrienne] 2d8+10+21
[19:03:37 ][CritSenpai] 2d8+10+21: 39 [2d8=2,6]
[19:04:09 ][Adrienne] Arthur takes the initiative and runs up to Sumatra, releasing a flurry of attacks!
[19:04:53 ][castfromhp] Sumatra is not overly shaken by the blow. "Counter with perfect precision, Sumatra." Sven says, sipping. Plainly Perfect! The owl shoots a barrage of stars at Arthur!
[19:04:57 ][castfromhp] 1d20 swift crit check
[19:04:57 ][CritSenpai] swift crit check: 20 [1d20=20]
[19:05:46 ][castfromhp] 2d8+10+26+20+5
[19:05:46 ][CritSenpai] 2d8+10+26+20+5: 75 [2d8=7,7]
[19:06:45 ][Adrienne] Arthur bearly remains standing!
[19:08:26 ]* Adrienne winces a little, that looked like it hurt. "Let's count that as one down," she says to Sven, recalling Arthur. She has a good idea of who to send, though!
[19:08:26 ][Adrienne] Out comes Layla! (Initiative 5)
[19:10:39 ][castfromhp] Sumatra floats around the Mawile, sizing it up, then swoops in to make an Uproarious HOOT in her ear.
[19:10:43 ][castfromhp] 1d20 uproar
[19:10:43 ][CritSenpai] uproar: 14 [1d20=14]
[19:11:12 ][castfromhp] 47 damage and I've been forgetting focused training but WHATEVS
[19:11:41 ][castfromhp] Tinted Lens, btw!
[19:14:17 ][Adrienne] Damage noted! Layla unleashes an Ice Fang against Sumatra!
[19:14:17 ][Adrienne] 1d20+2 vs 3
[19:14:18 ][CritSenpai] vs 3: 12 [1d20=10]
[19:14:26 ][castfromhp] hits!
[19:14:55 ][Adrienne] 2d10+10+21 Physical Ice damage
[19:14:55 ][Adrienne] Layla weathers the attack pretty well, and retaliates with a frosty bite from her huge maw!
[19:14:55 ][CritSenpai] Physical Ice damage: 48 [2d10=8,9]
[19:16:07 ][castfromhp] Sumatra hoots in protest as Layla bites into him. He flutters up away afterwards, sways a bit, then falls over, Fainted!
[19:17:11 ]* Adrienne gives Layla a thumbs up.
[19:18:04 ][castfromhp] Next, Sven sends out a strange little rodent Pokemon with a bush growing around its neck!
[19:18:16 ][castfromhp] https://www.dropbox.com/s/rcypqjq0gdj9jd5/Musevo2.png?dl=0
[19:19:03 ][Adrienne] "... What's that Pokemon?"
[19:19:04 ][castfromhp] "Ah, Steel-Types. Of course. I guess we'll have to brute force this one, Kopi." Sven sips his coffee. Speed 25!
[19:19:46 ][castfromhp] "A Musbushel. The species is instrumental in producing one of my family's more famous coffee brews. ...it's best I explain to you after we finish our battle, I think."
[19:20:10 ][Adrienne] "Gotcha." Layla is Init 5!
[19:20:30 ][castfromhp] Plainly Perfect applied!
[19:20:49 ][castfromhp] Kopi shrinks down, becoming tiny! Minimize!
[19:22:30 ][Adrienne] "Try a Fire Fang and make it scary, Layla!"
[19:22:30 ][Adrienne] Layla uses Intimidate on the Musbushel as she advances, this time with a flaming bite!
[19:22:30 ][Adrienne] 1d20+2 vs AC3+4+?
[19:22:30 ][CritSenpai] vs AC3+4+?: 20 [1d20=18]
[19:22:46 ][castfromhp] Hits!
[19:23:00 ][Adrienne] 2d10+10+21 Phys Fire damage
[19:23:00 ][CritSenpai] Phys Fire damage: 46 [2d10=6,9]
[19:23:34 ][castfromhp] Kopi looks pretty hurt by that!
[19:24:35 ][castfromhp] "This took a rather quick bad turn for me." Sven says, sipping calmly. "Impressively taught Mawile you have there. Did you tutor it yourself or hire someone? Kopi, focus, you've only got one shot now." Focused Training!
[19:24:47 ][castfromhp] The civet-like Pokemon lunges at Layla!
[19:24:51 ][castfromhp] 1d20+2 facade ac 2
[19:24:51 ][CritSenpai] facade ac 2: 21 [1d20=19]
[19:24:58 ]* Doxy (Doxy@Rizon-7BB8BBE6.dhcp.stls.mo.charter.com) has joined #SleeplessInSequoia
[19:25:18 ][castfromhp] New Normal! 92 damage!
[19:27:20 ][Adrienne] Whomp! As sturdy as Layla is, she can't deal with that kind of damage having taken a hefty hit earlier! Layla faints!
[19:27:43 ]* Adrienne looks kinda disappointed. "I asked Percy for help," she tells Sven.
[19:29:02 ][Adrienne] "Good job, by the way."
[19:29:13 ][castfromhp] "Oh really? He's rather good for such a young tutor then. And you are as well, as the Trainer."
[19:29:31 ][castfromhp] "Thanks." Sven sips his coffee, then stoops down to give Kopi a bellyrub.
[19:30:30 ]* Adrienne pats the unconscious Layla on the head and recalls her into the ball. "So, Musbushels."
[19:31:54 ][castfromhp] "Right, I was going to explain about the coffee, wasn't I?" He sips again before continuing. "Musburry and their evolved form, Musbushel are well known hoarders and growers of berries, but there's also a variety which greatly prefers to eat coffee beans."
[19:32:56 ][castfromhp] "It can't digest them completely, however, so the beans undergo a fermentation process as they go through the Pokemon's digestive track. Those fermented beans picked from their droppings make for an excellent coffee."
[19:34:24 ]* Adrienne adjusts her glasses, then stares at Sven.
[19:34:47 ][castfromhp] Sven stares back in silence, sipping his drink.
[19:37:25 ]* Adrienne finally decides with a loud "ugh" what her response is. She downs the rest of the drink. "Do you tell anyone at all about this poop coffee?"
[19:38:20 ][castfromhp] "Anyway, uh good battle." Sven awkwardly gulps his coffee. "People make special orders of it, actually. It's not exactly a blend we can produce en masse."
[19:38:38 ][castfromhp] "Not without running afoul of all sorts of Pokemon raising ethics, at least."
[19:40:45 ][Adrienne] "I'd imagine. How much for an order of it? I could use some for the road."
[19:43:13 ][castfromhp] "It's about 70,000 per pound." Sven says slowly.
[19:45:42 ]* Adrienne raises an eyebrow. "Maybe I should get a Musbushel, then."
[19:46:48 ]* Cable (~a@Rizon-7FF688C8.dhcp.stls.mo.charter.com) has joined #SleeplessInSequoia
[19:48:01 ][castfromhp] "Part of what makes the coffee so good is the Pokemon know how to choose the very best coffee cherries to eat. So you still need a very good crop to ensure a quality product." Sven sips at his drink. "They're not native to this region, but I can ask my family which breeder they get ours from."
[19:50:14 ][Adrienne] "... Yeah, at this point that just sounds like a pain in the neck."
[19:50:20 ][Adrienne] "No offense."
[19:51:32 ][castfromhp] Sven puffs up a bit. "It's alright. It's not everyone who is up to the task of bringing high quality coffee to the world."
[19:53:51 ][Adrienne] "You know," Adrienne replies blandly. "I was worrying about the sun, but I have shade now. Thanks, Sven's Huge Ego."
[19:54:41 ][castfromhp] Sven's not quite sure how to reply, so he settles for a "You're welcome."
[19:55:39 ][Adrienne] "Pleasure to pay compliments where it's due."
[19:58:40 ][Adrienne] "I'll definitely swing by Dahlia when my job takes me there, by the way. Anywhere there besides the Wailing Whimsur you wanna recommend?"
[20:01:00 ][castfromhp] "The Xenial Xatu is an excellent bar to visit. On most days, I go in and the bartender offers me the perfect drink for my mood without my saying a word."
[20:01:57 ]* Doxy has quit (Ping timeout: 240 seconds)
[20:02:18 ][castfromhp] "There's also a rather mysterious vibe about the place. I've never quite figured it out myself. I'm not exactly up to snooping around where I shouldn't be, but I hear rumors ranging from saying it's a front for organized crime to it being a government project studying psychic phenomena in a controlled and innocuous setting."
[20:05:52 ][Adrienne] "A bar, huh? I'll give it a shot."
[20:06:19 ][Adrienne] "I'll probably pass on the snooping, though."
[20:07:45 ][castfromhp] "I figured. Try to hit town as a festival is happening. There's no shortage of great art to be seen and heard in the city."
[20:09:36 ][Adrienne] "I'll try, but no guarantees."
[20:10:39 ][castfromhp] "Excellent." He smiles. It's starting to get dark now, and he pulls out his phone. "Well, if I'm going to organize a scavenger hunt for tomorrow, I'm going to have to start putting together worthwhile things to...scavenge. Will you and your friends be up early so I can pick up your Pokemon?"
[20:11:36 ]* Adrienne nods. "Yeah, we typically wake up early. Seeya later, then."
[20:12:42 ][castfromhp] "It was nice chatting and battling. Let me refill your coffee before I get to work." Sven goes back to the tent and forces more coffee on you before heading off to do Sven things!
[20:13:29 ]* Adrienne takes a swig and wanders off towards the healing machines once Sven's gone. Then she's off to wander around and do stuff! Hooray free time.