Quote Originally Posted by DayBreak View Post
[ I'm not sure what else to do from here, but I'm going to interview Korak the Nidoking, and just in case, I'll have Lyric go into Diplomacy mode should the need arise. ]

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Lyric spent the entire afternoon after delivering Ralon's body just recovering at Benni's farmstead, trying to process everything. Ralon mentioned that Exonull was particularly aggravated, and they just knew that it had something to do with the stunt they pulled getting the encrypted stake. They were just glad his family didn't have to see that.

Having heard that one of the Macabre Mantra pieces was found in Korak's house, they figured they'd pay him a visit tonight to see if they can't get any info off of him. They hoped that this would be a little easier with the evolutionary line that they shared.
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"Excuse me mister, mind if I speak with you a moment? I've heard you teach archeology at Beachwood University and was wondering if you've heard of any interesting discoveries, or possibly even had them yourself."

They wouldn't normally admit this, but in their Ampharos incarnation, back when they were a Flaafy, they were a bit of a bookworm, spending entire days reading whatever had caught their fancy. Of course, they seldom had good grades on account of their fixations almost never being on what they were studying at the time. Still, they felt they'd be able to get more information by relating their previous self's interests to those of the Nidoking. Plus, getting information was probably just mildly important, so it was worth giving up a bit of their self-imposed "cool and calm 'mon" image for this particular incarnation.
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"I may not look it, but I've actually been quite fascinated by ancient history. I feel there's a lot we can learn from cultures gone by! Plus, it never hurts to learn more about Pokémon that came before us, and I believe that the more we know about them and how they lived, the more we can improve life for everyone in the present and future."

... Even though they meant what they said about everything else, the part about their interests was slightly stretching the truth. They only had in interest in it when it was their active fixation, and that stuff changed like the weather.
When the night arrives, you head down to Korak’s house, nestled among the several Shoreside Houses by the shore. It’s a bit chilly tonight as you take the long walk from Benni farmstead, but you keep focused and hope to learn something useful from Korak himself.

When you arrive, you knock on the door and he opens it to see you. He’s a bit surprised to have a visitor he wasn’t expecting, but he welcomes your arrival regardless.

“Excuse me mister,” you begin, “mind if I speak with you a moment? I’ve heard you teach archeology at Beachwood University and was wondering if you’ve heard of any interesting discoveries or even had them yourself.”

#31 Korak the Nidoking has become Compliant.

“Hello there!” he greets you. “You’re close, I actually teach architecture at the university, but archeology is something I study on the side and when possible, I try to incorporate that into studies of modern floorplan design and drafting when it comes to my lectures about today’s architecture. There’s a surprisingly valuable wealth of knowledge and understanding that can be gained from learning and analyzing what Pokémon did in ancient history when it comes to building design. If these design techniques were understood then, we can use them to understand hem today. For example…”

You can sense he’s quite passionate about the subject manner and continues to discuss it as he invites you inside. He gives some examples from ancient history, the way old amphitheaters were designed and how that knowledge is used today. And he also covers areas where there were faulty designs and why those practices are no longer used. The whole time, it seems he automatically assumes you already have a vast knowledge about these kinds of things.

“I may not look it, but I’ve actually been quite fascinated by ancient history,” you tell Korak. “I feel there’s a lot we can learn from cultures gone by! Plus, it never hurts to learn more about Pokémon that came before us, and I believe that the more we know about them and how they lived, the more we can improve life for everyone in the present and future.”

“Splendid!” he grins. “I wish a lot of my students felt the same way as you do! I can’t tell you how many of them assume old designs and ancient structural engineering practices are no longer relevant. The nerve! I’ve pointed this out plenty of times to them and still, a number of them continue to fail my exams because of these assumptions they make. How can they even begin to work on buildings of the future if they can’t understand the buildings of the past!? It just baffles me. They would do well to study harder, I’m sure.”

“I’ve studied quite a share of history in my time and I feel if one wants to prepare for the future, they need to learn what happened in the past, because as we know, the past has this tendency to repeat itself,” he tells you. “And it repeats because Pokémon fall into the same societal traps and misunderstandings! It’s a tragic lack of education that causes these things. To me, ignorance is a malaise and that spreads to others that don’t know either!”

It seems he likes to talk about these things quite a bit, but you’ve noticed the conversation hasn’t gone anywhere near toward what you’re hoping to learn about regarding the Stalkers. So when things settled down and you’ve given him the chance to spill his aspiration for history and archeology, you ask him about some of the more recent things going on around town. The odd weather, and the subject of the Stalkers.

“Yes, I think just about every Pokémon living here in Seabourne has had at least some kind of encounter with them,” he tells you. “Well, maybe not directly, but in some indirect capacity at least. I don’t know what they’re up to, however. I dare say I’m not well-versed into these kinds of things. The psychology of killers is just something I’d rather not touch, and while psychological warfare and things of such nature appear quite often in history, I don’t believe what we’re dealing with here falls within those same fields, if you know what I mean, of course.”

“The only thing I’ve noted as of late is one of the murals at city hall,” Korak explains. “Someone recently vandalized it and stole the bronze medallion that was there. if there’s anything I despise, it’s vandalism. It’s truly deplorable. I’ve seen what vandalism can do and all throughout time and history, it is a menace.”

“Well, it is getting rather late,” Korak tells you. “Thank you for a delightful conversation and I wish you good night.”

He then heads off to sleep and you decide to make your way back toward Benni’s farmstead. All the while, it still feels as though the night has gotten a bit colder.

Lyric Winterheart the Nidorina (M: Poison)
Health: 17/20 | Sanity: 20/20 | Purity: 11/20 | Dodge Rate: 30%
Perk: Diplomacy
Reincarnation Forms: Brionne, Mega Ampharos, Hisuian Goodra, Latios, Amaura
EQUIPMENT:
  • Defense Armor: <Empty>
  • Jewelry: <Empty>