Shore hunting, yet again [Shore]

A few hours after the conclusion of his battle with Issac, Ridley was pacing along the now-familar stretch of beach that he patrolled to hunt wilds. Beside him, Grianos and Olena was plodding and floating along idly. Grianos was somewhat irritable - naturally, given that it had the attitude of a sloth - at being out so late at night. Olena, in stark comparison, was active and playful, clearly enjoying the darkness. Ridley himself also enjoyed the tranquil night. The sound of the waves scraping against the various sand, shell and shoal amalgamation that comprised the shore (pardon the illteration) calmed him. He did, however, enjoy the quiet the most. The daytime, even on a relatively deserted stretch of sand, was full of various noises, from human and Natrelmon alike, and it interfered with his thinking and reasoning more than he would admit.

Ridley's thoughts turned to rumours, legends, tales and myths. Growing up in Armkfish, there was a notable lack of such things, unlike in some of the larger cities. Most of the rumours tended to focus around Water Natrelmon, given the location of the city as a port town. You could learn a myriad of fact and fiction about a Sea Tyrant or a Kelqua, for example, but nothing about an Olve. There was, however, one prominent Natrelmon that had a special place in the heart of every fisherman. That was Genbu. The mythical Water/Earth hadn't been seen in over a decade, if you discounted the inevitable supposed sightings that people claimed. Ridley had only heard of it, Suzaku, the phoenix, and Seiryu, the dragon. Nothing of the supposed other, which he had heard was supposedly called Byakko.

He didn't expect to ever see any of them in his lifetime. A common theory was that the legendaries had died, if not for a widely-believed sighting of Suzaku a few years back, although it had never been conclusively recorded. Apart from that and some minor supposed appearances of Seiryu over the mountains near Relin, there had been nothing. It made Ridley surprisingly sad. He had originally wanted to capture Suzaku, like most people (it was common knowledge that it was the most familar legendary) but Genbu, being only second to Byakko (which, Ridley recalled, he had never heard rumours of its appearance) in terms of mystery, held the most attraction for him now. If only he could see the legendary beast with his own eyes, to prove that it was indeed real and not dead...

Rolling, yo.

The member 'Archfeared' has done the following action : Dice

'Percentile' : 23, 73, 72, 9

Special reroll event!

The member 'Archfeared' has done the following action : Dice

'Percentile' : 56, 28

Ocalia and Hemkiet rolled for. Rolling to decide levels and gender for each. First percentile is Ocalia, second is Hemkiet.

The member 'Archfeared' has done the following action : Dice

#1 'Percentile' : 66, 45

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

#2 'Percentile' : 65, 10

Ignore the above post, situation clarified. Natrelmon is Ocalia, level 1, male and passed upon.

Just then, even as Ridley pondered the riddle wrapped in an enigma wrapped in a mystery that was the four Legendary Natrelmon of Nerta, a red cat slunk into view in front. It yowled loudly, evidently having been woken recently or stayed up unusually late. Ridley froze, as did his Grianos and his Olena. It was an Ocalia, a pure-Fire type that was relatively common around these parts, in the daytime at least. As if in response to his thought - which was impossible, but amusing to consider - the Ocalia breathed an ember using its Innate Ability at some nearby grass, setting it alight and apparently creating more heat and light. Ridley briefly considered catching it, but it seemed relatively weak and he felt guilty from seperating it from its litter, which was probably sleeping in a sheltered location nearby.

So, he made no move to capture it, and his Natrelmon were smart enough to let the natural enemy - any wild was an enemy, or at least a challenger to fight - pass on unmolested. The Ocalia did so, slinking off over the sand dune and out of sight. As it left, Olena hissed curiously (or as curious as a hiss can be) as if asking why Ridley had let this one go, when every other Natrelmon encountered had been fought and successfully captured. "I let it go because it is weak, and not particularly versatile in regards to typing. These are two of the main factors, along with rarity - it is relatively common - in Natrelmon value. It has little to no value." Ridley murmured, half to himself and half in response to Olena.

Truthfully, it was also because it was fast becoming unfeasible to attempt to capture every Natrelmon he encountered. The last one, Zeruo, which he had traded for Grianos, had required three Relics to capture, the first two breaking easily. Perhaps it was because he had never actually battled a wild Natrelmon before attempting a capture, and had instead relied on the comparative weakness of the Natrelmon and the strength of the Relic to do the work. It had worked for the most part before the last Natrelmon, at least. Now, the entire sum of money he had with him - N6000 - had been reduced to a paltry N100, spent on primarily Relics and Natrelmon (buying the Goll off of Eien and the experience drugs for Olena).

He didn't consider selling any of the unused Natrelmon, however. Ridley was against selling Natrelmon in principle. Of course, he had done so before, and would likely do so again given the oppertunity to make a profit form it. He merely preferred to trade Natrelmon for other Natrelmon, as opposed to money - mainly because money was transient, as it was worthless by itself, and by its nature must be given away in order for it to be valuable. Moreover, many of the goods, such as Relics, potions and pills, were also extremely transient, and would be gone when a Natrelmon would remain instead, for as long as the Trainer or longer.

But as interesting as his philiosopical musings were, they were useless in the present situation. He had not encountered a Relic since seeing Ocalia. Sighing, Ridley broke into a slow job, his muscles protesting at the effort after the day of comparative relaxation. Ridley ignored it, knowing that they would settle into the steady rhythm of pounding the sand dunes. And he was right, the cramps soon fading into the work of propelling Ridley's lean body up and down the dunes. Behind him, Grianos dived in and out of the dunes with evident glee, finally within its element. The sand was easier than hard-packed earth to manipulate, but more stable than mud. It was the perfect substance to manipulate if you wished to navigate through it.

Thoughtfully, Ridley watched the technique in action. Although Grianos probably did not realise it, it was actually quite a versatile move. He studied the diving movements carefully, noting how smoothly the sand parted as Grianos entered it and how easily it opened once it exited. He shivered as he realised how insanely powerful a Wone, the gargantuan semi-mythical sandworm would be in the earth if it was truly ten times as proficient at tunneling, let alone the sand. He resolved then and there never to battle a Wone unless he had the backing of a legendary against him. Some Natrelmon were truly frightening.

The member 'Archfeared' has done the following action : Dice

'Percentile' : 13, 21, 69, 26