Mission Report: Team Nova #003

Members: Team.Nova: Hemlock (level 11), Néon (level 11), Gambit (level 10). Team Stamp Squad: Razor (level 10).

Missions: Bounty: Beedrill & Dottler muggers

As Steenee leads the team into this massive ruined city, the last remnants of an ancient civilization which has been dead so long that no one even knows what they called themselves, they hear the sounds of the nature which has begun taking the stone over. Kecleon scamper about the trees with Archen as Tangela meander along the stony tile floors.

Right after entering the Dungeon, Hemlock is immediately distracted by carvings on the wall. Hemlock enrages a group of Pokémon and swiftly gets KO’d. Instead of taking the stairs like sensible mons, the team collectively decides to jump down THE HOLE following Gambit.

Landing in a Tera-Electric Nosepass’s home, the group manages to ignore the singing long enough to not get annihilated by the Nosepass, and instead manage to talk it down before it tump-tump-tumps away.

Investigating the singing, the Team finds a statue of a Zarude. Poking even closer, suddenly…! The walls of the ruins around Team Nova reassemble themselves. Roots recede, crumbled reliefs recompose themselves. Dust becomes bone, bone becomes flesh, flesh springs back to life. Team Nova has found themselves in Carew City… without Razor.

The tune they hear becomes notes on an ocarina, ever-so-slightly different. Looking back at the statue of Zarude, it’s brand-new, freshly-painted. Hemlock accidentally causes a scene simply by existing, and a guard is brought over to inform the Team that all newcomers to the city must visit the Basileus.

The Basileus appears shocked that these children have names. In Carew City, you must either arrive with a name, or marry or bear children within the city’s walls to earn one. When pressured as to how the team arrived to Carew, Hemlock begins to answer, only to be interrupted by Aemilia the Rookidee, informing everyone including Team Nova that Team Nova came in with the traveling carts, unconscious.

Mestor Wormwood offers to house Team Nova for the night, curious to learn more about these travellers. His wife, Betula, speaks of their child, Phantump while she prepares dinner. Hemlock wows the Trevenants by offering them some Honey in return for their food. Team Nova gradually puzzles together that they’ve travelled through time; the only question now is by how much, so Hemlock asks for the date.

As it turns out, they have travelled six thousand years into the past. They have landed on the ninth day of Palkuary in 832 ISC.

Being unable to hide their surprise at this information, Mestor Wormwood asks a very pointed question; from when did these children come? Wormwood asks Team Nova to listen to a now-widely-known story about one of Isshu’s founding rulers. A good story. A good king. Then, he asks one more question. Does Team Nova believe all kings are good?

Hemlock answers that kings are still Pokémon. Gambit agrees, and shares that many parts of modern Isshu consider no king a better situation than a bad king.

Mestor Wormwood requests that Team Nova aids him in overthrowing the pretender on the throne and restoring the rightful dynasty. After some deliberation, mostly about whether this would count as murder or not, Team Nova agrees to rescue the Sebaste at minimum, and see what they could do to overthrow the Basileus.

As Mestor Wormwood calls in his co-conspirators, the plans are laid out. In the Basileus’s storerooms are ancient weapons, stones of crystallized blood. Unfortunately, the storerooms are strange and enchanted in a way that makes them never the same. Almost dungeon-esque. Fortunately, dungeons are Team Nova’s specialty. Aemilia offers to join them.

Before the revolutionaries move, Phantump comes forward. She and her partner, Applin, wish to have their names in case things go awry, and they are forgotten by the Blue Antlers of Life. Lacking a proper minister, Néon is called to officiate the wedding, as one who is touched by a legend. As gifts, Applin is given a Syrupy Apple by his now wife and evolves; and Phantump a bronze bangle to hang on her branches. Dipplin is then named Ladon by his wife, and Ladon names her Libanos in turn.

Moving swiftly, Team Nova and Aemilia move towards breaking into the storerooms, dodging Carnivine guards. Using a charge of its Shiny Surge, Néon learns Flamethrower to deal with a Carnivine that spotted us; combined with Hemlock’s Twineedle and Gambit’s Fury Cutter, the guard is dispatched before it’s a problem. Aemilia snatches a strange smiling golden idol and tosses it into Hemlock’s bag, which activates a rolling boulder trap. Hemlock is separated from the rest.

Hemlock escapes into a room to the south, the boulder knocking out the five guards in said room. Taking the chance to loot the storerooms, Hemlock finds an Odd Stone that looks rather like a Mega Stone. Turning to the east, it reconvenes with its team.

Team Nova and Aemilia find a pink crystal, later identified as a Fairium Z-crystal. Going down the stairs, they run into three guards which spot them. Failing to lie their way out of a fight, Gambit pulls out a Plane Seed, which throws one of the guards into the Doom Dimension. The other guards run away terrified.

Team Nova and Aemilia locate their prize; a box of five Mega Stones. Pinsirite, Venusaurite, Heracronite, Beedrillite, and Dragonitite Z. In the process of grabbing an Escape Orb, the Mega Stone Box gets wibbled, and the Beedrillite rolls through a crack in the wall, lost forever.

Meanwhile, in the present…

Razor is steppies. Razor is looking for Team Nova, but instead runs into a Beedrill, with a pretty rock that looks like it. A wish comes true, and the bee becomes bigger. Razor, too, decides to be bigger, pulling out a purple rock glowing with red energy.

Meanwhile, in the past…

As it turns out, Escape Orbs are calibrated geographically. They do not inherently have time travel abilities. The team emerges on a ridge that one day will turn into a guild. But right now there’s only one thing here. A ghost-type Tera crystal with… someone inside?

We’d recognize that one-eyed face anywhere. Dusknoir is in a Tera crystal. He’s mentioned being entombed in one before, but never that it was this long ago. Gambit uses sucker punch and manages to free his head. He tells the team that he got here after fighting Regigigas (the team is from like 2 weeks after that happened) and this is apparently just a thing he does to recover by riding a time fissure in THE LABYRINTH which removes him from the time stream if two of them were to be in the same time. Or something like that. With the conversation over the crystal starts forming around his head again.

While Dusknoir’s not looking, Néon asks Gambit to carve “NOVA RULEZZZ” into a rock and heads off to Carew at night. We enter trough a side entrance and share the Mega Stones with the group of conspirators. Despina the Heracross and Kostas the Pinsir take theirs, and the group heads out towards the palace. Swift and quiet.

We enter without issues and face the Basileus and his guards, Libanos and Ladon splitting off. Mestor Wormwood calls out Fictusilva, and Despina and Kostas Mega Evolve. Strategos Brutus, commanded by the Basileus, mega evolves as well.

BOSS BATTLE! Hemlocks tries to use a Warp Wand at Brutus, but a mysterious power prevents it from working! The Basileus takes notice and in turn holds up a scepter with an Emera from Celebi, and fires it at Wormwood who gets frozen in time! Neon tries to Shiny Surge, but Victini cannot hear them! While Néon starts cursing out Victini; Kostas faints from a Sunny Day-powered Weather Ball, which enrages Despina and lets her take out over half Brutus HP with Pin Missile. After some time, Victini FINALLY answers, and offers Néon to use their Shiny Surge in tandem with another’s to restore a life unfairly stolen; which Néon, too angry to care and out of options, accepts. Then promptly eelslaps Brutus for not being affected by its Thunder Wave.

Kostas, who got revived earlier, lands the final blow. The Basileus applauds us, then 40-50 guards surrounds the group. Too many to take on. And with his scepters, he revives Brutus. Basileus vult.

A voice echoes. Everyone freezes and turn to stare towards a small, young eevee atop the stairs. It’s Matidia, the rightful Basilinna, restored to life by Ladon and Néon. The guards, including Brutus, bow before her. She orders Brutus to send Fictusilva to the pits, and finally leaps onto her throne. We did it.

From now on, team Nova are heroes in Carew. She restores Wormwood to normal. And it’s times for goodbyes. After deliberation, Aemilia, Ladon and Libanos decide they want to follow the team to the future. Aemilia to join us, and the newlyweds for their honeymoon since they can come back using a Time Shard. Wormwood borrows the scepter from Matidia, and we are sent back thousands of years into the future.

When the group returns, Tanglewood Grove is… Gone. Instead turned into, Tanglewood District? By our actions in the past, Carew was prevented from falling to ruins and still remains to our days.

From the crowd, Wormwood, Betula, and a certain big Gible welcome us back. She was found by a scouting team in the Mystery Dungeon within the old city ruins. Wormwood tells us about the new Basilinna, also named Matidia, and how Brutus is still alive protecting the throne. Libanos and Ladon decide to stay behind to catch up.

We haven’t slept in over 24 hours without seeing morning and all five of us get back to the guild using the Explorer Badge.

Tags:

#tanglegroveruins #carewcity #teamnova #missionreport