glitch sighed as he began his own search for his gemstone. he had sent twizzler out on the search but instead he had brought back this weird limestone. though as something unique it was pretty good. no limestone was formed from the same sort of creatures in every place it was formed. the limestone made here would be completely different from the limestone formed in another cave. so he couldn't really get mad at the zweilous for it. so instead of thinking about how he was still doing hard work he began to think about how he was pretty sure that Zac Ramsay himself was the biggest gem in the place. next to him of course. he had it all. abs. arms. a great head of hair. plus he was tall and probably super strong.

thinking about a wet t-shirt contest involving zac and zac alone made this entire thing easier. a white shirt soaked by cold water. that was how you got the good outline after all. with cold water. that let you see everything through the shirt. especially with the natural lights in here. rippling lights that would glance off his glistening torso. absolutely perfect. so distracted by thinking about it he almost missed the glimmering yellow gem that was about to be washed into the water. the natural light that he had imagined shimmering across zac's chest made the gem glimmer nicely. wiping it off on a dry spot on his jacket he was absolutely sure this would be the best thing he could find here.

yfoHQVzc + 25

- natural lights prompt
- Cast Away your Inhibitions: Thirst over a contestant/judge

- glitch found a bright yellow gem, found metal from the sunken ship, twizzler gathered limestone as the something unique 3/3 acquired

Chosen Prompt 1

100ft Freefall

Weighted Boons:

• Cast away your inhibitions
• Rocky Route
• Rainbow Route

Oscar could barely make heads or tails of this map Zac gave him. To be honest Oscar was a tad distracted, when Zac came close it was extremely hard for Oscar to refrain from frothing at the mouth. I mean let's be real, Zac was a hunk of man if ever one existed. How was he supposed to focus on this half-ruined map when he couldn't shake the fantasy of climbing Mr. Ramsay like a tree and--

A drop of water landed on Oscar's head, cooling his jets so to speak. The red streaks on his face faded, all of the blood in his body working to pump that brain into action! Wrath and Nostra followed from the air, hovering and flapping as Oscar tried to follow the map. They kept their eyes peeled for anything unique that could be used for the badge, thought all they could see so far was endless pillars of limestone.

Oscar was worried he was about to be lost in this damn cave forever, when he turned a corner and encountered an unexpected finding. His black boot did not find solid ground as he stepped forward, and his body rapidly began to follow it downward. Oscar didn't even have time to yelp before Nostra swooped over and pushed him back with his head. Oscar stumbled back, falling on his behind as he looked upon what could have been his grave.

It was a hole, not just any hole but a giant hole. Oscar gingerly looked over the edge, and with his naked eye could barely see the bottom. He shivered, looking to Nostra. "Thanks for that. You're my favorite crobat." Nostra blushed, his purple skin temporarily glowing bright pink. Oscar nodded toward the hole, "Now go down there and see if you can find anything." Nostra's blushed cheeks immediately reverted, sighing heavily as he was put to work. Ignoring the amused buzzing of Wrath, Nostra dove into the hole.

He fell for a much shorter time than he expected, the hole appeared deeper than it was. Had to be no more than a hundred feet or so, not a length to scoff at but for a flying type it was cake. Nostra's superior eyesight quickly adjusted to the growing darkness, and he was easily able to spot the bottom and thus could slow himself before splatting into it. Though as far as hole bottoms go this was surely the strangest one he had seen.

Piled up on the cave floor were rocks, hundreds of broken cave bones that had been smashed to bits. Nostra flapped a bit to slow his descent, before gently landing on the top of the pile. He looked up, noticing that the ceiling high above the hole seemed damaged. Must have been a cave in at some point, still kinda weird though.

Nostra began to search through the sea of gray, looking for something interesting to bring back to his master. Mostly shale stone, bit of dolomite here and there. He considered bringing the dolomite to his master, but he was fairly certain crystals didn't qualify. He continued digging, using his wings like pickaxes.

After mistaking a breccia rock for a gem, Nostra became slightly discouraged. This looked like a bunch of nothing, just random ass rocks. His fury grew, and Nostra began to frantically dig in a rage. Suddenly there was a flash of white. Nostra froze, carefully examining what he had just dug up. Something was shining within a rock, at first he had thought it was white but no it had to be blue--no no green. With every shift of his head the color of the stone would change. How very mysterious, perhaps even unique. He grabbed the rock with his wings and pulled. It came out easily enough, but caused the rocks beneath it to give way.

Nostra watched the rocks fall, revealing what seemed to be some sort of tunnel. He made a mental note of this, wedging the rock in his mouth so that he could return to his master. Nostra flew back through the hole, emerging with a flourish before landing at Oscar's feet. Oscar chuckled when the bat returned, "About time, what'd ya get?" Nostra revealed the stone in his mouth, and Oscar (reluctantly) pried it out for a closer look. He wasn't exactly an expert on gems, but he was nearly absolutely certain that this was a raw opal. Oscar chuckled, petting Nostra on the head for a job well done.

Oscar was prepared to leave, but as he turned Nostra would chitter and point down the hole. Oscar looked down, being able to faintly make out the tunnel Nostra had revealed. He bit his lip, the possibility for further finds being too good to ignore. It looked a tad small though, and as he looked to his two champions he realized with a heavy heart that they would have to go down without him.

cyUbYb2q

Largest roll +75
Obtained the gem: Opal

now came the part that for some reason he wasn't really looking forward to. explaining himself through this entire process and trying to figure out what to say that could possibly win over the judges hearts enough that he'll win. he wanted to win. which was strange because coming into this he had sort of been doing it as a joke. but now the drive and urge to beat the rest of the competitors had taken over and he wanted nothing more than to lord it over them that he had won his first try ever.

walking up to the now destroyed judges table he set his components on the table, avoiding the soggy paperwork that seemed to be strewn all over the place thanks to one of the contestants. he liked the yellow gem the most really and hoped that he'd be able to keep it even if he didn't win. hell, he'd probably keep it anyways even if they said he couldn't. taking a deep breath he decided it was time to start. "my unique component is the limestone that twizzler found... sure you can find limestone in a lot of caves but this limestone could have only been made here. no matter where you go no other limestone is going to be exactly like this one. no other limestone will be made up of the same components because they're unique to this cave. anything that died or lived here would have only died or lived in this cavern meaning those individual creatures that made up this rock will never be found anywhere else. pokemon like them will, but only those specific ones will have their remains here."

it was a little bit sappy bug zac seemed like a guy who would like sappy. and maybe the other judges would too. it was hard to tell really. "i think i used it to the fullest i could and tried to use it in a unique way." especially since everyone had just used the stalagmites on the ceiling or freeze out the rest of the competitors with ice. he didn't know that everyone and their mom was going to bring ice types into a cave like this. otherwise he wouldn't have brought twizzler. "i learned that there's a lot more to caves than just rock walls. they hide all sorts of things in them and when you change one part of it you change a lot of it... to be honest we probably wrecked a lot of pokemon's houses with all that ice and stuff." and with the flood. but he was sure they would bounce back. "we need to be careful with what we do to nature." it was a reluctant revelation internally at least.

"i did have fun! and i came here to have fun don't get me wrong but i'm surprised by how much fun i had... and that i learned something new about myself and places like this." and maybe about what he wanted to do in the future. all he could do was hope that his answers and finds were good enough.

- explaining his finds

- glitch found a bright yellow gem, found metal from the sunken ship, twizzler gathered limestone as the something unique 3/3 acquired

Chosen Prompt 2

Draconic Defender

Weighted Boons:

• Chu-e on that
• He typed typily

As Oscar watched his companions descend into the pit, he couldn't help but feel a bit worried. After all, he wouldn't be able to keep an eye on them as they traveled through the tunnel. Ideally he would have been able to go with them, but alas his poor pokemon would not be able to carry his weight all the way down. Although, Oscar was more worried about being carried upward if he were being honest. A lollipop hung loosely from his mouth, barely acknowledging the treat beyond the occasional lick. His focus was locked onto the tunnel, waiting patiently for his pokemon to return.

Nostra and Wrath wiggled hurriedly through the tunnel. Wrath took on the lead, swinging her thorax back and forth to inch her way deeper into the cave. Nostra was close behind, using his wings to crawl after his companion. The two of them knew not where this would lead, but they were confident they could conquer any challenge. After all, this was their home biome. 

The deeper the tunnel went, the deeper the darkness grew. It became so dark that Wrath and Nostra's attuned eyesight struggled to see what was in front of them. Thus every once in a while Nostra would let out a cry, using echolocation to make sure no danger was approaching. Eventually his cry was met with--well nothing. He chittered, a warning to Wrath that something was amiss ahead. The two cautiously continued, crawling ever forward until--

WHOOP, they slipped. The two tumbled down a surprise slide made of limestone, twirling and tumbling toward a bright opening. The duo ended up flying into a bright room together, rolling clumsily to a stop in front of a large rock. Nostra was the first to regain his bearings, looking upward to find that their new location was lit by hundreds of glowing crystals. When wrath noticed the ceiling, her greatest weakness kicked in. She stared longingly at the beautiful lights, flying upward to get a closer look. Not nearly as amused, Nostra turned his attention to the rock.

It was enormous, and very oddly shaped. The color was interesting too, being some sort of grayish blue. It was a very unique looking fixture, perhaps unique enough for the master's badge! Nostra decided to strike the rock, hoping to get a chunk off to take to Oscar. However when he hit the rock's surface it felt, unfamiliar. His wing bounced back harshly, sending chills up and down his compact body. That was surely strange, but even stranger yet was when the rock began to move.

Nostra launched himself backward, flapping rigidly as he watched the rock shift. It was around the time that a spiked head with glowing red eyes was revealed that Nostra began to realize that this was likely not a rock. The mystery creature rose to its full glory, and Nostra gazed with horror as it roared viciously. It may have been old and discolored, but there was no doubt that this was a salamence.

Nostra chittered upward to get Wrath's attention, but alas she was too busy admiring the crystals. As Nostra turned back to the salamence, he was met with an Iron Tail coming right for him. The tail was faster than Nostra's reaction time, and he found himself sailing precariously through the air and into the far wall. Face first.

Nostra coughed as he peeled himself off the wall, the stale taste of limestone overtaking his senses. He spat out the stones caught in his teeth and flew back into the fray. The salamence turned to meet him, his roar echoing horridly across the room. Nostra narrowed his eyes, unwavering in his determination. When in range he would twirl like a windmill, sending circular air blades quickly swirling toward his opponent (Air Cutter). The blades hit the salamence head on, and yet seemed to do next to nothing as it charged upward. Energy enveloped its body, delivering a psychic powered strike into Nostra's center (Zen Headbutt).

Nostra was thrown upward, slamming into the ceiling with tremendously effective force. The dazed bat batted his eyes, trying desperately to remain conscious. Nostra's body remained wedged between a set of crystals, a few of them falling swiftly to the ground due to the impact. As the crystals landed, the salamence seemed to recoil, stepping backward in a sort of bizarre panic. The crystals surrounding him felt cold, uncomfortably cold. It was then that something clicked in his head. These crystals were made of ice! No wonder Wrath seemed especially enamored with them. Speaking of, Nostra looked to his side and found the daft moth still admiring the ceiling, seemingly unaware of her companion's presence. Nostra rolled his eyes, wiggling forcefully to pry himself from out of the crystals. As he popped out, he felt himself using all of his effort just to stay afloat. As Nostra blinked he soon noticed that the Salamence was looking right at him. Because of course it was.

The salamence flapped fiercely, rapidly ascending to meet Nostra in battle once more. Nostra acted with haste, slamming his wings into the ceiling with venomous flare (Cross Poison). A huge chunk of crystal dislodged from the ceiling, falling upon the ascending dragon. Realizing what was about to occur, the dragon frantically tried to turn out of the way to avoid being crushed. However it was too late, the ice chunk smashed into its lower body and slammed the mighty beast into the floor. Its impact caused the entire room to shudder, sending even more crystals hurdling toward the ground. The already trapped dragon was further buried by a cascade of ice, further cementing its doom.

Unfortunately, Nostra wasn't spared from the falling ice. A large chunk smashed into him, slamming him into the ground with great force. In his delirium, Nostra would try to look upon his chaotic surroundings. His eyes eventually rested upon a glowing object laying right in front of him. Upon further examination, it appeared to be a Drgon Scale. He clasped the scale with his wing, and then fell unconscious. The crystal-fall subsided, the last thing to fall from the ceiling being Wrath herself. She landed gracefully next to her downed companion, her obsession subsiding enough to realize he was there.

Wrath hurried to his side, poking him gingerly with her wing. He was still breathing, but he was knocked out cold. Wrath looked back up to the ceiling, cursing the crystals for their fantastical hypnotic allure. Yet as she gazed upward, she found something--troubling. Enough crystals had fallen to reveal the surface beneath, and what lay upon that surface was something Wrath had never seen before.

09ZeDN9u

Biggest roll +50
Obtained Unique Object: Dragon Scale

··

Chosen Prompt 3

Behind the Stone Door

Weighted Boons:

• Peekachu
• Lights Out
• The Numbers Mason

Last time we left our heroes, they had just escaped the terrible clutches of an angry salamence! More accurately, Nostra fought the draconic mencace while Wrath was hypnotized by the glowing ice crystals on the ceiling. Those same crystals were knocked down to defeat the dragon, but they also revealed something very troubling to the now aware Wrath. With Nostra knocked out cold from the battle, it would be up to Wrath to solve this mystery.

A lot of things went through Wrath's head as she gazed up what the crystals had been hiding. Mostly confusion, she was having trouble comprehending what this even was. What she was seeing was a flat stone surface with a huge circle in its center. The circle was covered in bizarre symbols, and mist seemed to be emitting from its edges. In its center was a hole in the shape of a dragon's mouth, which also leaked blue mist.

Wrath was oddly good at basic puzzles; her master tested his team with brain teasers often, and she was one of the few that could finish them without help. She had no idea how to read the symbols (well she didn't know how to read at all), but she could infer that this circular oddity was blocking another part of the cave. The only question was, how was she to get past it?

Wrath used her wings to drag Nostra further away from the crystal pile that was once a salamence. She nearly missed the dragon scale he had tucked into his wing, as he was unable to retain his grip while being dragged. She gingerly used her wings to tuck the sleeping crobat into his wings so that he would stay warm, finishing off by tucking in the dragon scale as well. When she believed that Nostra would be comfortable, she would fly up to the ceiling. 

Wrath felt immediately overwhelmed as she attached herself to the circle. There was just--a lot to take in. She decided it would be best to break it up into parts, beginning at the circle's perimeter. She put her sensitive feather-like antennae over the mist, swaying them back and forth to get a more intimate read on the mysterious phenomenon. To her surprise the mist was cold--like extraordinarily cold. Was this how the ice crystals formed? The perimeter was clearly part of an opening, just wide enough o let mist slip through. So that would mean--

She wiggled her way across the symbols, noting that every row was divided by etched in lines but not seeking to scrutinize that just yet. She came upon the dragon mouth, which was a lot bigger up close. She put her antennae over that mist, and once more she felt an incredible chill. She pondered for a moment, examining the stone dragon head carefully. It was actually wide enough to put her head through, but only that much. Sticking her head in as far as it could go, she would find herself encased in darkness. This would do little to stop her investigation, as she wiggled her antennae to examine the 'throat' of the dragon. 

She was surprised by what she felt, a large set of funnels that lead up to twisting tubes connected to--pullies? Some sort of rope based device. She popped her head out of the mouth, contemplating what this could mean. Well this was clearly a door, most likely created by humans for a purpose she couldn't very much comprehend at the moment. Likely dragon worshipers or tamers, though why they would make their den in the ceiling of one of Hoenn's coldest caves was beyond her. The dragon itself was the key to opening this 'door', but what was the method?  Perhaps fire, or a dragon type attack? Hmmm those were obvious answers, but every time she thought on these options she was brought back to how cold it was on the other side.

In the end she concluded that she would just have to experiment. She had few options of ways to try opening it, and her only other option was dragging Nostra all the way back to master--which understandably wasn't very appealing. The funnels likely sent something through the tubes, which created a force strong enough to pull the ropes inside to--well she wasn't sure beyond that. Given that the door was upside down, the only thing she felt might work was--

FWOOOOSH

Wrath had leapt off and swung her wings as hard as she could toward the dragon mouth. A point-blank Icy Wind was forced down its throat, and the reaction was almost immediate. Wrath heard some sort of mechanism churn from behind the door. One by one segments of the door slid backwards, rolling away into an unseen space. With each subtracted segment, the mist would grow thicker and fill the room with an unearthly chill. To be honest Wrath found it quite comfortable, but she doubt Nostra would last long if it continued on this way. Without further delay, Wrath flew into the hole that had taken the door's place.

As Wrath ascended upward, she was met with a wide tunnel that led into complete darkness. She was unafraid, rising into the shadows until she was completely blind. That last thing she could see was the very end of the tunnel, leading up into what felt like a very spacious room. Wrath floated stilly, listening around her for some sort of clue of what lay dormant in this room. She heard--snoring? Very hollow snoring, as if whatever was sleeping was wearing some sort of copper helmet. She also heard a series of plops upon the stone ground. It was a familiar plop, like a very small marble hitting a solid object. It had to be Hail! It was so cold in this room, that the normal water droppings from the ceiling had turned into hail. Wrath took advantage of this, illuminating the room with an Aurora Veil that swirled around her body. Suddenly she could see everything, though she almost wish she couldn't. 

The room wasn't nearly as large as she had thought, being about half the size of the previous rooms. There were dragon statues all over, covered in frost or encased in ice. Through the center of the room was an incredibly ugly abstract statue surrounded by golden treasure. Ah ha! So this must have been the den for the salamence, built by dragon worshipers to give him a comfortable home in an otherwise inhospitable environment.  It must have been locked out by whatever made it so cold in here, but what could it be? Never mind that, Wrath shifted her focus squarely onto the gold surrounding the statue.

Daintily she floated toward the hoard, overcome by its beautiful shining denizens. Any one of these trinkets would be perfect for her master, though she felt that she should pick something more solid so that it was easier to melt down. She settled upon a golden ring-like crown that sat upon the statue's--head? Whatever, she grabbed it with her mouth and pulled it off. Wrath reeled with delight, overjoyed that her master now had everything he needed to make a badge!

And then the statue stirred.

It made a harsh snorting sound as it began to float upward, heaving as it awoke from its long slumber. Wrath's heart sank, she had lost track of the snoring. She looked to the rising statue, eyes quivering with fear of the unknown. The massive figure turned, revealing a horrid face with a gaping jaw and bloodshot eyes. The creature roared at Wrath, who spared no time trying to escape.



As she flew down the tunnel, she heard the beast flying close behind. It probably would have caught her if it weren't so busy slamming against the walls in its rage. She heard it begin to charge an attack, and popped out of the tunnel just in time to dodge its Ice Beam. The creature pushed itself out of the tunnel, chomping wildly as it chased the frantic moth. She heard its grotesque jaws chomping over and over, getting ever closer as she flutter about the crystal room in circles. She became certain that it was about to eat her whole--but then it went silent. Wrath stopped in her tracks, daring to check behind her to see what the beast was preparing. However, what she found was far more optimistic.

Nostra had awoken, and ambushed the creature by wrapping himself around its behind. The beast should have been able to buck him off, but it was too late--Nostra's teeth had sunken deep within its skull. The creature let out a chilling tinny scream, frozen in horror as Nostra Leeched its Life away. What little color that remained on the creature faded, and it would soon fall to the ground with a terrible clang. Nostra let go, having had his fill of this being's life force. Wrath thought it would get back up, but the being remained still.

Wrath sighed with relief, fluttering to Nostra to embrace him with her wings. Nostra did not look happy to receive affection, but he would be lying if he said that he wasn't glad to confirm his companion's safety. Carrying their prizes, the two flew back up the slide to return to their master.

9A2btrQZ

Biggest roll +75
Metal Obtained: Gold crown

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Oscar nearly fainted as his pokemon returned, seemingly unharmed. They flew up the pit to meet him, and he immediately embraced them both. "Holy shit I was so fucking worried." Nostra wiggled out from his master's grasp, embarrassed by the display. He quickly delivered his contribution, spitting out the dragon scale into Oscar's hand. Oscar smiled, "Oh yeah, that'll do it."

Wrath reveled in the hug for a while longer before displaying her own prize, the golden crown. Oscar took the crown and marveled at it, "Holy fuck where'd you get this?" Wrath just shrugged, having no way to explain her adventure. Oscar examined all three of his objects together, chuckling to himself as he imagined its appearance, "This badge is gonna be bad ass."

On the walk back Oscar thought over Zac's questions. He knew his answers had to be good, so he put all of his focus into their structure. Before he knew it though, he would look up and be back with the others. Oscar gulped, worried about his chances. His pokemon must have seen his worry, as they both perched themselves on his shoulders, their best way to reassure him. Oscar smiled, even if they didn't win he was glad he got to experience this. Without further delay, he approached the judge's table and turned in his components.

Oscar cleared his throat, standing up straight as he began his answers. "Before I start, I just want to say that this was a hell of an adventure. I had no idea what to expect going into this contest, but it was a truly extraordinary experience and I thank you for allowing me to participate. For the first question, I present my unique component." Oscar pointed with his hand to the dragon scale, "This find was insane, you would never expect to find something like this in an icy cave. But one of the many things I've learned today is that caves are not as predictable as one might think. Caves are as alive as any other biome, constantly changing its form and environment to match the pokemon that reside within it. This dragon came to Hoenn's coldest cave and adapted to make this place a home, just like every other cave dweller. This scale represents the spirit of adaptation, of a pokemon's tenacity to survive in a seemingly inhospitable biome."

Oscar took a breath, chuckling to himself as he refocused. "Forgive me for going out of order, but I accidentally started my answer to the third question so I might as well continue it. I learned that caves aren't as simple as they appear. They're a versatile survival space, being able to take many forms to suit the pokemon that live within it. Even if the pokemon is ill suited for cave life, the very structure of a cave act as the building blocks for that pokemon to grow and overcome the initial challenge."

Oscar held out his arms, bringing attention to the pokemon on his shoulders. "This brings me back to the second question. I have full confidence that my pokemon have used this biome to its fullest potential. Crobats have spent years using caves as their homes, adapting over countless generations to fully master its aspects and resources. Frosmoths may not commonly make their nests in caves, I have seen numerous members of the species survive effortlessly using only what the cave provides. With born-in instincts to survive in this very environment, these two were destined to use the biome to its fullest."

Oscar closed his eyes, lifting his head to take in a deep breath before answering the final question. "As for whether or not I had fun--yeah it was pretty great. I mean my heart was pounding the entire time and I am pretty sure I ruined this suit with sweat but yeah this was fucking fun. I think my favorite thing was watching how everyone used the biome to their advantage, it reminded me to never underestimate the creativity of a trainer. As for these two, they can answer for themselves." Wrath nodded eagerly, while Nostra hesitated. He thought over his harrowing experiences, before eventually shrugging and nodding as well. It beat training anyway.

Oscar bowed his head slightly, "I thank you for your time and consideration, and look forward to hearing what you decide." With that Oscar turned to mingle amongst his fellow contestants.

Components Delivered:
Gem: Opal
Metal: Crown
Unique Object: Dragon Scale

Final Score: 459