PMD: Seventeen Plates DT 2

My post is nearly complete. I'm bringing back an NPC introduced by Buggie in one of her first posts ever. Hope you don't mind. If you do object, let me know. The NPC isn't essential really, I just thought it would make a nice cameo.

Ooh! The caravan is back! How exciting.

@Robusto funny. I too was thinking about a mask.
Intimidating mask, huh? Can do!

Ohhhh, the caravan with the Flygon, right? Neat!

;3 bear hug

^ Yes, Twinkiel will do this more often.

Alek post is up, introducing the first psyche battle. And how is it going to work? You all decide whether the character in question made a good attempt to convert their opponent, then give your opinion as such here. If enough people think the attempt was a success, the opponent is converted. But if enough people think it was a failure, the character dies. And don't let emotional attachments get in the way. Be ruthless here, and take into account the difficulty and the characters themselves.
And all future psyche battle will be graded this way.

And I'll be waiting until tomorrow to put up my Zulu post. I'll give you people time to read this one before I put up another one. (And also, Guardian flashback posts will be more infrequent form here on out. I'm going to draw his plot out. Why? Because I have evil.)

That psyche battle made me think of Julius Caesar for some reason. Maybe because they were arguing about life and death with hypothetical situations.

Either way, this seems to be a battle of logos vs. pathos. And unless Alek were to add a bit of emotional manipulation into his argument, Gallade's stubborn streak probably won't loosen.

I'm not a fan of death. I would really prefer if the Gallade didn't die. But I don't think Alek's argument is enough to convince someone so furious. Especially since that someone seems to have very few arguments and won't listen to reason.

(Also, my wish to have Flurry fight Alek still stands. Or Arthur. Arthur would be cool too.)

...Despite me wanting Avellon to die (and eventually enjoy the division that may cause), I think he might able to back out from this. Not necessarily stop hating on apprentices, be he just fought one who completely contradicts his vision of them. I'd say it really depends on how much he wants to think about this.
...darn, I'm actually unsure about this.

. . . Welp, after some inner debate with myself, I decided to go with the safe ending. Dude seem to fight for his friends, and Alek did mention that those wouldn't last long if this idiot creates the growing division he's about to create.

I don't mind the Fatality ending either, though.

By the way I totally want Twnikiel to fight Arthur or Alek too at some point. 'twas definitely one of the first things I desired since their first appearances.

Ok, so we have one failure and one success. Come on everyone else and vote.

We still need @Verser, @15253, @AstralHunter, @TheSilverFox, and @Charizard821 to vote. But if a majority is gained, then i'll go ahead with writing the appropriate post.

Hmmm...the first psyche battle? How interesting. I must read the post as soon as I can. I haven't had time to read, or even see it, until now because of the fact that I've been quite busy and I haven't had the time to go onto my computer until now.

So....my decision may either kill or save a character? How fascinating. I'll edit my post and state my thoughts when I'm finished reading (which shouldn't take a long time. I can read at a very fast pace and still understand everything I'm reading clearly. I think I get that from my reading-obsessed brother. XD)


Edit: My decision? A success. It's obvious that Avellon is driven by the anger produced because of the fact that his friends are either wounded or, in Birk's case, dead. He hates all apprentices with a passion after Alek beat him and his friends. Despite that, it appears that he is fighting for those that he respects, and he doesn't want them hurt or killed. After all, that is the entire reason Avellon is fighting Alek - as payback for Alek's hurting his friends. However, Alek makes it clear that if the Gallade kills him, the apprentices and their masters will turn on each other. The army will be split in two, there will be fighting and death, and Gallade's friends will be caught right in the middle of it. Despite the fact that Avellon appears to deny that fact, he is hesitating. His power is diminishing, and the anger that was fueling him previously is now dissipating. He understands, whether or not he'll actually admit it, that what Alek says will probably come true. He doesn't want his friends to die because of him, and that his quenching his anger. There is no doubt in my mind that this is a success - Alek made it clear the consequences of this fight and how it could hurt everyone they love. Avellon's anger is dying, and it is only a matter of time before he admits it and ends the battle.

All in all, this psyche battle is a success. I say the Gallade should live.

@TheSilverFox Or it's just a family threat. It's usually that.
Genetics FTW.
Welcome back! aaaaaaaand I'll try my best to restrain myself, because I really wanna just kill the enemies
But I won't. Not fun enough. And I kinda like Alek and Sully, dunno about you.

@Verser, if you insist on taking a Lucario, then I suppose the only person who can object is @Robusto, but do you really want your character to be the third Lucario in this series of storybooks? Obviously, Lucario is one of my, as well as @Charizard821's, favourite Pokémon, but I think even we shall be tired of that particular evolutionary line by the time this SB is finished.

Robusto, my favourite video game moment would be when I defeated Ciara Sydanus in... (guess) ... that's right, Kingdoms of Amalur: Reckoning. All of the main and side quest bosses were too easy to beat, and their battles were over too quickly. However, her battle took me ages to finish. Sure, I defeated her on my first try, but the tactics required to have done so made it my best boss fight ever. (That, and the music was outstanding. I suspect the creators knew she would be tough, since she is the only non-main quest boss who has her own battle theme!)

Fliley isn't a thing yet, Char. Remember, they aren't in a romantic relationship. (But I am delighted you have caught up!)

@Tortwag, I loved Twinkiel's post. (I think I grinned through its entirety...) Especially the hug and how the Seviper knew it was coming. (Although, Mewtwo apologises to Gabriel? Wow, I did not expect that, so you can be sure Gabriel will be flabbargasted.)

@Robusto, I just read your post, and I must say, I am impressed. I really liked the battle. My vote can be found enspoilered below.

Spoiler

I have encountered Avellon's archetype often enough in literature and drama to know that actually, he has a 50% chance to either rebel or surrender. What Tortwag and @TheSilverFox said is true, Alek has made decent points. In fact, any rational person would realise that Alek and Avellon are at a crossroads. But that's precisely the problem: any rational person would come to that realisation.

There is something called the "Trust Game". It's quite simple, and it only requires two participants - one person, Person A, is given a hundred units of currency, and then they are told to share that money with the other person, Person B. Person A can share as much of the money as they want to, so it can be anything from half, to nothing. However, Person B needs to decide whether to accept the deal. If they do, both get the allotted money, but if they disagree neither do.

The game operates on the principle that any rational person will accept the deal, no matter the amount of money they get, since they don't have anything to lose. However, humans are not always rational beings, so the possibility of Person B rejecting the offer (in essense, cutting of their nose to spite their face) motivates Person A to be fair.

The reason I explained it like this is to emphasise that everyone is not rational. By all accounts, the logical conclusion is that Avellon will surrender. Unfortunately, if you are completely honest with yourself, you will realise that while you would stand down, Avellon's actions have shown that he will not. He will probably accuse Alek of murdering his friend, after which he will make a last attempt to try and kill Alek, thereby forcing Alek to kill him.

I would have preferred to avoid the inevitable bloodshed that will follow, but I also think the story was always heading in this direction. I may very well be wrong, and hey, I even hope I am. After all, I am an optimist. But I am not blinded by hope.

I did not expect the first Psyche battle to be between two RCCs, but I think it serves as a good tutorial. I am eager to see the result.

....are their mega evos in the prequel.

Sorry rob, I haven't read your post yet :p, lemme read it then ill vote