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| Thread Review (Newest First) |
| Posted by skinstealer - 07-29-2026, 10:08 AM |
| throw a dunsparce in there. name, rosabelle, pronouns, whatever works, backstory, something cutes. |
| Posted by knux400 - 07-29-2026, 10:04 AM |
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Well, fiddlesticks. Rugose here. I'm writing this from inside the hospital wing of the Unova Exploration Guild. I'm perfectly alright, just a little bit scorched. The doctors are insisting I stay in bed and rest for a bit, though, so I've got some time to write an entry while I'm here. The next floor was back outside again- a bit of a relief, to be honest with you. I get a bit sickly if I'm away from the sun too long... Also it's just plain annoying to have to carry a crank flashlight around everywhere. I like to be able to see what I'm doing! The climate was much warmer and much drier than before- in fact, there was hardly any grass at all, just reddish-brown dust all over the place. The wind was intense, and it was kicking up sand and dust all over the place. It made it hard to see, and it really started to dig into my skin over time. The Phantoms here were primarily Rock- and Ground-types, which I was thankful for, because I really did not want to be in that storm for any longer than I had to. One apple each and they went down pretty quickly. But... the "follower" Phantoms showed up again. The Bayleef had evolved again into a Meganium, the Tympole evolved into a Seismitoad, and a Gardevoir had joined their group. The Meganium and the Seismitoad were no issue, and I'd dealt with the Noctowl enough to know how to handle it, but the Gardevoir caught me very, very off guard. Did you know those things can learn Mystical Fire? I didn't! As you may have guessed, I do not handle fire that well! I've been torched enough times to know to protect my face and chest, but I still lost most of the leaves on my back, and my arms and legs were charred. As soon as that blast hit me, I turned tail and bolted for the door. I may be stubborn, but I know when I'm beaten. There are a few things in this world that I just do not have any way of dealing with, and a fireball the size of a beanbag chair is one of them. Sure, if I had known about it beforehand, I might have been able to dodge out of the way, but there's only so much you can do against something like that. Thankfully, the accounts I'd heard from some of the braver townsfolk were true- the Phantoms don't seem to act aggressively if you're travelling upwards from the bottom of the well, rather than downwards from the top. They did notice me, but they sort of just stood there, perfectly still aside from their heads and eyes turning to track me. It's very unsettling. Frankly, I think I preferred it when they were trying to kill me. I hauled myself back up to the top of the well and immediately radioed for help once I was outside. I probably should have mentioned this sooner, but the Well seems to completely block any form of communication with the outside world once you're inside. Cell phones, radios, nothing I had on me was getting any kind of a signal. Dangerous stuff. This place is a lot more dangerous than I gave it credit for. I think I was lucky to get as far as I did, and even luckier to make it out alive. Everyone I talked to in the nearby town warned me not to go in, and some even told stories of friends and loved ones who disappeared down there. I took it all seriously, of course, but as a seasoned explorer, I was much better prepared than any of them were. This place has taken many lives, and no one seems to have any idea why it exists, who created it, or what's at the bottom. Anyway, I'm thinking of bringing someone else along when I head back in. I've already made some phone calls to the Guild, and there's a few people interested in joining me. OOC NOTE: FOR THIS UPDATE ONLY, YOU MAY SUGGEST ONE (1) POKEMON TO ACCOMPANY RUGOSE ON HER NEXT TRIP. POKEMON MUST BE IN BASE FORM (NO EVOLUTION POSSIBLE) AND NON-LEGENDARY. NAMES, PRONOUNS, AND BACKSTORY ARE OPTIONAL- YOU CAN ADD AS MUCH AS YOU LIKE! |
| Posted by knux400 - 07-24-2026, 10:36 PM |
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Rugose here! Today's room is a cave! I had wondered if the rumors about the biome variation were exaggerated, but it seems like the Well is capable of simulating more than just different kinds of grassy fields. It's dark and moist in here, with little patches of fungus growing in various places. There's almost no natural light- I had to get my flashlight out of my bag just to see in there! The Phantoms here are the type of Pokemon you'd expect to see in a cave- lots of Rock-types, plus a Swoobat, a Parasect, and a big ol' Diggersby at the end. More on that guy later. It was a nice change of pace having pretty much everything in here have a natural weakness to my attacks. I haven't had much of a chance to use Apple Acid yet, but it's my main form of ranged attack and probably the best move in my arsenal- unless, of course, you're fighting a constant stream of Bug-, Flying-, and Grass-types. But in the middle of a cave, with a bunch of rocks? It was practically open season! One apple right on the noggin and all the big, tough bouldery types went down quicker than you could come up with a joke about apples and doctors that I've probably heard a million times before. Some of them seemed to have the Sturdy ability, which allowed them to hang on a tiny bit longer, but at that point you could knock them over just by looking at them funny. No trouble at all. What did give me a bit of trouble was the Diggersby who seemed to be the alpha in this room. They got a lucky Body Slam in right out of the gate, and I just couldn't move at all while they continued to pummel me! Now, don't get me wrong, I'm a pretty tough customer, but there's only so much damage you can take while your entire body is convulsing and you're essentially defenseless. That was far closer of a shave than I generally prefer to have. Eventually, though, I was able to throw them off of me long enough to pelt them with a couple of apples, and that did the trick. My back is still a bit sore from where they landed on me... I think I'll grow myself an extra Oran today for the pain. It shouldn't be an issue going forward, though! It was just a lucky shot, happens to the best of us. As long as I keep my eyes open, nothing like that should get the best of me! ~Rugose 
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| Posted by knux400 - 07-19-2026, 03:23 AM |
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Rugose here! Another day, another floor- although this one got pretty rough, if I'm being honest. The grass here comes up to my knees, and it's chock-full of Bug- and Poison-types jumping out at me from all directions. Bug-types I can handle due to being half Flying-Type, but Poison-Types are a sore spot for me. The very first Phantom I came across managed to hit me with another Sand Attack, so that was inconvenient until I got that out of my eyes. After that, I made the mistake of backhanding a Nidorino- and sure enough, some of those nasty little spikes broke off and embedded themselves in my arm, poisoning me. I got a lucky break later on, though, since this one Tangela just kept trying to use Stun Spore on me, seemingly ignorant to the fact that it doesn't work at all. That gave me a lot of time to use Growth, though, which kept me going for the rest of the fight- or it would have, if it didn't mysteriously vanish immediately after pummeling the Tangela into the ground. I hadn't mentioned it until now, but Growth is a technique mostly used by Grass-type pokemon that involves taking in sunlight (or some other source of energy) and converting it into extra body mass. This has the practical effect of temporarily increasing the user's size, as well as making their physical and special attacks more powerful. I'd been using this technique every now and again for previous floors, but this was the first time I had a moment to "max out my stats", as they would say in the competitive battling circuit. Really, it's just an arbitrary limit most move registries set to prevent serious injury, both for the person using the move and the person receiving it. If someone used Swords Dance over and over all day long, they'd end up either hurting themselves or obliterating anyone they tried to attack afterwards- so the rule is usually that you can't raise your stats any higher than six stages each. I have no idea how they determine which moves raise which stats, or what a "stage" even is, but I'm sure there's a really detailed article about it somewhere. Point is, I can only use Growth six times before it becomes dangerous. Anyway, after burying the Tangela face-first in the ground, a sort of cool breeze blew across the room and immediately removed the effects of the Growth, leaving me to finish up the rest of the room whilst also dealing with poison. These little breezes had been happening before, but I hadn't paid much attention to them- I sort of just assumed it was part of the weird pseudoweather down here. Having seen it reverse the effects of Growth, though, makes me think it's some variation of Haze that's being generated by the room itself. It doesn't seem to come from any specific Pokemon, and it occurs at regular intervals, roughly once every two minutes or so. This made dealing with the remaining inhabitants of the room a real chore, but luckily nothing else proved to be too much of a problem. These rooms are definitely getting tougher, but don't count me out yet! After a good night's sleep and some Pecha and Sitrus berries, I'll be ready for whatever else this place can throw at me! ~Rugose
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| Posted by knux400 - 07-12-2026, 04:26 AM |
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Rugose here! This room is a bit more lush than the previous one, still pretty flat and open but the grass is a lot healthier- and taller! It's a tad bit more humid, which I am deeply enjoying, and the Pokemon here seem to be leaning more towards Bug- and Grass-types. There's a lot of small flying things swarming around, which can get a bit overwhelming to deal with if you're not careful! Make no mistake, though, dear reader- I am being very careful. It seems like as long as someone remains in the room, new phantoms are prevented from appearing. I would poke my head into the room upstairs and verify this for myself, but I'm not exactly eager to fight the same bunch of goons twice in a row if I can avoid it. Speaking of goons, I've been studying the behavior of the Phantoms more closely, and I think I was mistaken in my initial assessment. That's okay- admitting when you've made a mistake is a crucial part of the scientific process! If everyone went around doubling down on the first conclusion they made just because they didn't want to be wrong, we'd know a lot less about the world than we do now. I mean, could you imagine if medicinal Tynamo were still a thing? Anyway- I think I'm seeing two distinct types of Phantoms- the "local" Phantoms, who seem to match the biome of the room, and the "follower" Phantoms, who just sort of pop up every now and again, and maintain the same form consistently regardless of what room they're in. The local Phantoms don't seem to coordinate much with one another, and will usually defer to the authority of a larger or more powerful Phantom- the alpha, if you will. Anywhere between ten to fifteen of these will be inhabiting every room. The follower Phantoms are a lot more interesting. I mentioned seeing a Chikorita and Hoothoot duo in my first journal, and remarked that they must have been the leaders for that room. I don't think they were. There was an alpha Phantom for that room, too, separate from the follower Phantoms. There doesn't seem to be any actual conflict between the two groups, but they don't associate much with one another, either. I only mention this because the Chikorita and Hoothoot appeared again- or rather, the Hoothoot appeared again. The Chikorita had apparently evolved into a Bayleef, and the two of them picked up a Tympole somewhere along the way. Again, this group felt much more intelligent, and seemed to act independently of the local Phantoms. The Hoothoot in particular gave me a bit of trouble due to its natural type advantage against me, and the group seemed to be aware of this fact and attempted to use it to their advantage. Hoothoot was the main attacker, with Bayleef and Tympole acting more in a support role until I grabbed the blasted bird by the feet and slammed it into the ground. The fight was basically over at that point. It definitely seems like the follower Phantoms are a unique and separate entity from the local Phantoms. Maybe I should give them a new name that reflects their role better... "The Watchers"? I don't know, I was never that good at poetry or evocative writing or anything like that. Curious to see what the next room holds, though! ~Rugose
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| Posted by knux400 - 07-09-2026, 07:14 AM |
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Howdy! Rugose again. I know you probably figured that out already, but I like introducing myself. It's the best part of any conversation, I always say. The environment in the second room seems to be a bit flatter than the first, and without all those cobblestone roads and buildings in the distance. The grass is a bit more yellowy than before, which makes me think there's less rainfall here. Well, technically there's no rainfall here, since the time of day is frozen at either mid-morning or mid-afternoon, but you know what I mean. The temperature is a few degrees warmer due to the lack of moisture, and it's interesting how the air itself seems to not want to cross from one room to the next. You can literally stand in the stairwell and feel the dividing line between the two rooms. It's bizarre. Again, there were roughly a dozen Phantoms in this room. This time it was mostly Normal-types, with a handful of Flying- and Dark-types sprinkled in. A Zigzagoon caught me by surprise as I stepped into the room and managed to land a Sand Attack right in my face. Of course it got in my eyes, and I had to take down the whole group while squinting and trying to rub the dirt away. It was clumsy work, and I took quite a few more licks than I should have, but eventually they all learned their lesson. There was a particularly annoying Fearow that almost had me worried for a bit, the leaves on my back are practically shredded thanks to the beak on that little rascal. Enough complaining, though! No behavioral differences in the Phantoms that I can spot, apart from them seemingly being a bit higher level than the last bunch. There was a slightly larger Poochyena that seemed to act as the alpha of that room, but no displays of intelligence and coordination like the Chikorita and Hoothoot I saw before. I also found a HP Up on the ground amidst an unidentifiable pile of bones. Gruesome, but sadly not uncommon in my line of work. I sat next to them as I bandaged my wounds and swallowed a few Sitrus seeds. I've been told I have a lethal amount of enthusiasm for this job, and that I should be more careful. It's a tough thing to internalize, especially when the world is just so interesting, but seeing things like this serve as a reminder not to get too carried away. If nothing else, there's no one to carry these notes back up to the surface. If I want the world to see my work, I'd better make it out of here alive. ...That was a bit of a downer to end things on today, wasn't it? Sorry! The next one will be better, promise. ~Rugose
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| Posted by knux400 - 07-08-2026, 08:57 AM |
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My name is Rugose. Hopefully, you're reading this in a little informational pamphlet you were given before attending my daytime talk show about how I became the richest and most famous explorer ever following my groundbreaking research into a local anomaly called the Well, but it's just as likely you found this notebook on the ground somewhere right next to my rotting corpse. Either way, hi! Glad to have an audience. In case you need catching up on who I am and what I'm doing down here, I'm Rugose. I'm a Tropius, I go by she/her pronouns, I'm 58 but I barely look a day over 40, I like long walks on the beach, yadda yadda yadda. More importantly, I'm a long-standing and hopefully well-respected member of the Unova Exploration Guild. We go where no one else has gone yet and make maps and such so everyone else can do their jobs easier, and stay away from any dangerous places. Glamorous! Except we've pretty much covered the entire continent, so there's not a lot for us to really do anymore. Aside from a few really dangerous places that no one wants to stick their nose in, we've basically seen all there is to see around here, and as a result, our funding has been severely cut and most of our staff has had to find other jobs or go into early retirement. I was offered a pretty generous retirement package myself, given my services, but I'm not really fond of the idea of growing old in a rocking chair watching daytime television. So instead, I'm diving headfirst into one of those aforementioned really dangerous places that no one wants to stick their nose in! Now that might sound crazy to you, dear reader, but in all honesty, I'm pretty much perfect for the job. I can grow my own berries on my body as long as I have sun, water, and seeds- so with a little time to rest, I can heal pretty much any injury entirely on my own, with hardly any need for medical supplies. I've kept entire expedition parties alive and fed for weeks, even after a particularly accident-prone colleague of mine tripped and dropped all our rations off the side of a cliff. I've packed plenty of water, as well as a reusable bottle with a Suicune™ filter in it, so if I happen to come across a lake while I'm down here, I can refill my supply. I've got a belt lined with pouches full of berry seeds, so I have access to every kind of berry one can think of, and while I'm not one of those fancy professional combat types, I can certainly hold my own in a scuffle! The place I'm heading into is called the Well. It's earned a reputation amongst the locals for being extremely dangerous, and for people who enter it generally not leaving it again. There's only vague accounts of what's actually in there- at least, until I'm through with it. At the top of the Well is a 50-foot disc in the middle of the ground with some ancient-looking carvings on it. There's symbols all along the edge in some unknown language, and a depiction of a dragon-looking thing caught in the center of a whirlwind. Or maybe it's causing the whirlwind? Don't ask me, cultural archaeology isn't really my field. I just find the stuff, it's someone else's job to analyze it under a microscope all day long. Anyway, on one edge of the disc is a small staircase- well, small for a Pokemon my size, anyway- leading down into a circular room the same size as and directly beneath the disc itself. And boy, is it weird! No one's ever seen anything like it. As respectable scientists, we don't like to use the word "magic" very often. But there's really no other explanation for why the room looks and acts the way it does. In every direction- including up- a vast landscape is visible, one that's noticeably different from the actual landscape the disc is placed in. It's a sort of gentle plains, with old-looking cobblestone roads stretching off in various directions towards equally old-looking buildings. No idea what they are or what's in them, though, as the physical space one can actually walk in is still limited to the actual size of the room. The walls and ceiling are faintly visible while allowing a perfect view of the landscape beyond, and almost resemble some kind of crystal in their transparent state. There's a nice breeze coming from either the south or the north- I have no way of knowing since the sun in this room doesn't move and doesn't seem to correspond to the location of the actual sun outside, and I can't tell if it's rising or setting- and the grass beneath my feet is clean and healthy. There's a staircase directly opposite the one leading to the top of the disc, and that one leads down into another room identical to the previous one, and another staircase on the opposite side of that room. According to the locals, these rooms just keep going down, each stacked on top of the previous one, deeper and deeper underground. Each one supposedly has a different environment inside, too- although I've only properly explored the first room as I write this. No one knows exactly how deep the Well goes, and I intend to be the first to find out- or at least gather a good amount of information about it! Of course, if it were as easy as just walking down a bunch of stairs, someone would have done it already, and this place definitely wouldn't be considered dangerous. These rooms are inhabited by creatures the locals call "phantoms". Again, a bit whimsical for my taste, but the name seems accurate! These creatures tend to resemble Pokemon, but will attack anyone who approaches them and don't seem to respond to any form of communication. They also don't seem to be alive- at least, not in the traditional sense- as they'll sort of dissipate into a smoky substance when knocked unconscious. They come back when you're not looking, too! If you go down into the room below the disc, beat up the phantoms inside, leave the room, and then come back again, a new phantom will show up. Usually it's a different species of Pokemon than the previous one, but not always. It's unclear whether it's the same handful of phantoms spontaneously regenerating themselves when no one is looking, or a fresh batch that got spawned in, but there's always a new one in there if you leave and come back. They also don't seem to pay any attention to you if you enter a room from the bottom going up- almost as if they want you to leave. Spooky. The first room had about a dozen Phantoms in it, mostly Flying- and Bug-type Pokemon. I think there was a shiny Shroomish in there, too. Interesting that Phantoms seem to have color variation the same way real Pokemon do. Anyway, all the Phantoms were fairly small, so they all went down pretty easily after a good smack or two. Some of the bites they left on me were pretty painful, though. I've got some leaves covering my wounds, and there's a Sitrus berry ripening on my neck as I write, so I'll be right as rain in a half hour or so. One pair of Phantoms in particular stood out to me as being a bit different than the others- a Chikorita and a Hoothoot. They seemed more coordinated, and when I'd wounded the Chikorita, the Hoothoot flew in to defend it. Of course, it only took one well-placed backhand to smack that silly bird out of the sky, but the teamwork the two of them had was interesting. I'd initially assumed that these creatures were incapable of understanding speech, but if they're intelligent enough to coordinate their attacks...? Why do they want to keep us out of here so badly? What are they protecting? Only time, hard work, and a little elbow grease will tell! ~Rugose OOC NOTE: THIS IS A NON-INTERACTIVE THREAD. PLEASE KEEP ANY QUESTIONS OR COMMENTS TO #HD|FORUM TIME IN MATRIX, OR #FORUMS UNDER THE MORBZONE CATEGORY IN DISCORD. THANK YOU! |