footage from mossdeep plays on repeat. the spectacle of Bailey Cooper escaping death by a hair's breadth lays down the foundation of the unfolding tragedy. the camera feeds dies in a fit of static, panning to another view which displays several blocks of ruination, the city streets evaporated by the pokemon's terrifying HYPER BEAM. the damage laid bare onto the streets of mossdeep transcend what is possible; it reeks of a terror that rivals the monster of the desert ruin. but there is a stark difference between regirock and these mysterious pokemon—regirock was alone.

hoenn faces a threat unheard of. no amount of historical references reveal any basis as to what these things are. even silph co.'s state of the art simulations are unable to assess any way to defend against such terrors. not when evidence points to the intensity of the attack, using what was left of the rubble as a reference point to calculate an estimate of the attack's magnitude.

fernando yells in a frantic command for the league to assemble. the second battalion is ready to shortie, even moreso knowing that persephone amavi is stranded somewhere in the midst of all the chaos. however, fernando never has the chance to deploy. a series of secondary alarms halt his march as the blares warn of a two-pronged attack; team rocket is mobilizing in the west.

tch.

how troublesome.

reason and foresight drive him to divert his attention. no one can fault him for the emergence of an otherworldly invader. much less so when they exhibit a power that rivals the hyperbolic myths of legends. coupled with the fact that kim cole-essam and freya morningstar are already on site in mossdeep, there's little reason for fernando to disregard the incursion in verdanturf. their hands are tied and he has no choice in the matter.

handling team rocket is the most suitable course of action—this time for good.

slateport is unoccupiable.

boris is in league protective custody.

Desmond Kelley and dominic sinclair are in position to turn.

@leia has long defected.

evelyn silph has returned.

hundreds of hours are discarded as fernando scraps his plan. with the ultra beast threat at their doorstep there's no longer a need for rocket. winning a war on two fronts is neigh impossible and with an unknown in the equations, there's no room for nuisances. he's allowed SILAS BLACKWELL free rampage for far too long. his tyrannical rule will end how it started—usurped.

to kill rocket is a temptation that stays close, something he can reach and seize but never does. rocket's lifespan is intentional, used as both a divisor and stepping stone for one man's ambition. there cannot be heroes without villains and the greater the conflicts the more pressing the need. but now fernando has everything he needs.

well, not quite.

alone, fernando plasters jirachi's tag against his forearm. a mild glue binds it to his skin; a parting gift from a man who wishes for nothing more than an end to the monster he helped create. it's a promise that fernando never intended to keep but fate has forced him to play into dominic sinclair 's hand. how ironic.

"evelyn silph ."

---

[break]

SOLAR BEAM becomes a signal flare that encompasses a skirmish between combatants. with overwhelming numbers and the element of surprise, rocket overtakes verdanturf with ease. attacks are thrown out recklessly but always as the aggressor, always directed in one direction. the only attack that goes against the grain shows the dying light of the resistance. that's where fernando lands—that's where the rest of the league avoids. kyle lopez makes his escape.

salamence keeps a distance and lands well behind the cover of kyle's MIST. fernando immediately disembarks, noting the static that comes from the ELECTRIC TERRAIN. entering the fray always leads with observation. he can piece one and one together and tosses out three pokeballs. two for the standard opening and the last one as a counter play.

"battle routine set."

a shrill giggle echoes, TAUNTING, threatening. GRAVITY weighs down the MIST and without it, silas has full view of the approaching land slide.

"execute."

DRACO METEOR.

DRACO METEOR.

ROCK BLAST.

the attack sets up two purposes; the first to blot out silas' peripheral vision while fernando lays down the foundation of his opening play. the second is to assault everything on the field and keep them busy with having to address a heavy, wide scale attack.

an opening play only happens once—there's no better chance to capitalize and fernando doubles down.

unable to see silas' reaction, fernando starts to circle around, pokeball in hand as he keeps an eye for any unexpected retaliations.

salamence, mimikyu, and rhydon maintain their positions straight ahead of silas, the source of the attacks. by the time one of the DRACO METEORS land, mimikyu is no where to be seen.


MIMIKYU uses TAUNT!
PORYGON2 uses GRAVITY!
SALAMENCE uses DRACO METEOR!
MIMIKYU uses COPYCAT—DRACO METEOR!
RHYDON uses ROCK BLAST!
MIMIKYU uses SHADOW SNEAK!

TAUNT will be in effect next post (0/5)!
GRAVITY will be in effect next post (0/5)!