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[attr="class","skullbody"]Perhaps tug of war did resonate with a region, quite literally, feeling the tug of war at any given moment. There was certainly plenty of catharsis as, for once in their lives, their constant, Sisyphean pull against the inevitable actually lead to the world moving.[break][break]

By now, Isaac had gone from scrawny to surprisingly strong. With his feet set, his stance wide, and a determined glint in his eye, he was able to keep pace against larger, stronger opposition. Actually pulling them back was a pain and a half, but so long as he kept on the defensive, he was sure he could wear them down.[break][break]

At least, of course, until a familiar voice in the crowd stole his attention.[break][break]

"Oh, hey, Jojo-" A moment of lapsed attention was all it took. A strong tug from the other guy sent Isaac stumbling over the line. Ah well. Couldn't win 'em all. The two exchanged a quick fistbump, and then Isaac made his way over to catch the woman of the hour.[break][break]

Between the new styles and the confidence with which she held herself, Isaac almost missed her at first. It seemed she was carving out a new era for herself and looking damn good doing it.[break][break]

"Hell of a show you're putting on," Isaac said, nodding over to the Literally Everything that she'd gotten set up here on Mossdeep. To think two more of these were happening in other cities right now was crazy. "Hope you're getting the chance to kick back, relax, and enjoy it all."[break][break]

If not? Well, what better excuse to take a break than being spirited away by an old friend?

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[attr="class","skullbody"]"Psh. I think you earned a little overboard." Before Joyland, Johanna had been a nervous wreck who hid behind a blank, featureless mask. To see her literally become the face of an effort to brighten Hoenn's dour-ass year was an incredible transformation. "And I think Hoenn did, too. Hardest year I've ever lived through."[break][break]

How had the twenty that he'd spent in an apocalyptic wasteland been less painful than one year of seeing home's true face?[break][break]

Johanna was worried about Isaac's success, but he simply waved it off. Instead, he considered her current predicament. Right now, she was leading others to a treasure that she couldn't possess. It reminded Isaac of the days when he was more directly running the Blackwing Bazaar.[break][break]

A mischievous smirk spread across Isaac's face as an idea sparked to mind.[break][break]

"You're right. You should be sorry," Isaac said, finding it hard to hide his smile behind the mock outrage. "And that means as a hostess, clearly you have to make it up to me, right?"[break][break]

"Guess that means you've got no choice but to hit the snack tents with me."[break][break]

Got her. Isaac had bullshitted up a reason for Johanna to put her worries aside for a moment and enjoy herself. Now she could drift away on a raft of plausible deniability and spend some time basking in the joy she shared with the universe.

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]"Will you, now?"[break][break]

Damnit, Jojo wasn't actually supposed to pay for it! His little routine was supposed to be a framing device for her to duck her responsibilities for an hour, not to throw gifts at him! Yet in their little game of kindness, she'd leveraged his own idea into a powerful counter. Such talent![break][break]

"Ah, hell. How could I say no to that?" Isaac said, a grateful smile spreading past his initial surprise. "Thanks a ton, Jojo."[break][break]

Soon, the snack stands and food trucks would be in sight. It was an impressive variety, but also not much of a surprise. Legendaries weren't the only things being dragged to Hoenn from every region. How people decided moving here was a good idea, Isaac would never understand. Street food from around the globe made it hard to find.[break][break]

"So, you're the expert here. What're your faves?" Isaac asked, for most certainly no ulterior motives or hidden reasons whatsoever. It wasn't like he'd sneak off and buy Johanna any of her favorites or anything like that. Nope. No sirree.

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[attr="class","skullbody"]Carnivals were all about Big and Bold, and that clearly extended to their food choices. How anyone could pound down an entire plate of chili cheese fries and get on a ride was beyond Isaac. Clearly, Jojo had the blood of carnies running through her veins.[break][break]

In her hunger came opportunity. The time it took to ready a plate of chili cheese fries would be more than enough time to enact some mischief. "I like the way you think," Isaac said, slipping his hands into his pockets. "Tauros rodeo, right? Lead the way!"[break][break]

As Jojo took point, Isaac would use his wrist to subtly roll a Pokeball off of his belt. At the same time, he palmed his phone onto the ground behind him.[break][break]

While they were waiting for their fries, Ex Machina the Rotom would be on a secret mission.[break][break]

With access to Isaac's phone, and therefore his saved credit card info, it would be trivially easy for him to zip over to the nearest popcorn stand and order up a bucket in one of Joyland's premium flavors. If anything, the hardest part would be carrying it afterwards, the Rotom straining as he carried a bucket bigger than he was through the air.[break][break]

Nevertheless, it was a successful mission. As Isaac saw the speck of orange on the horizon, he quickly turned to the Tauros pen with shock-widened eyes. "Oh, shit. Is the Tauros doing tricks?" he asked, hoping to get Jojo to look for the briefest of seconds.[break][break]

When she turned back, Isaac would be holding the bucket towards her with a cheeky smirk on his face. "Surprise!"

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[attr="class","skullbody"]Isaac could only offer a cheeky grin in response. "You said you'd buy whatever I wanted from here," he said, briefly nodding over to the fry stand they stood before. "Which, hell yeah to that."[break][break]

"But you never said I couldn't get you something too."[break][break]

Ever the conniving rules lawyer, that Isaac was. Nevertheless, he was satisfied with this little show of mischief, and wouldn't try any other funny business once the fries were ready.[break][break]

Sure enough, Jojo was right. They were delicious. Something about fair food just hit Right at a time and place like this. Messy, sure. But fuck it. So was life in Hoenn.[break][break]

"So," Isaac asked, looking towards the carnival's mark on Mossdeep's skyline. The fact that all of this popped up in a day and would be gone in a week was staggering. "Once we're done eating, what should we hit up?"

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[attr="class","skullbody"]A drop tower? Excellent. Isaac knew the rides at Joyland were some quality stuff, and if Jojo herself was vouching for this one it had to be a winner.[break][break]

"You're on," Isaac said, a confident grin on his face. So what if they were pounding down a heavy plate full of chili fries? Isaac had already faced down tragedies, terrors, atrocities, and outright chaos. What was a little bit of gravity compared to all that?[break][break]

When the fries were done and they were well on their way, Isaac realized that mistakes might have been made. It was even taller than he expected, towering over even the Mossdeep Space Center. Already, he could see people stepping up to the tower, reconsider their choices, and scamper away to smaller, quieter rides.[break][break]

Not Isaac. He recorded a slow, dramatic pan up the tower on his phone, making sure to capture just how far up it stretched. "Started from the bottom," he captioned, excited to see how the view down below looked from the other end of the drop tower.[break][break]

Of course he'd record that part too! With the help of his Rotom, who needed gravity?

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