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"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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POSTED ON Dec 11, 2023 21:43:50 GMT

The Z-Move, as well-timed as it was, failed to bring down the singing Pokémon. While Raikiri had the upper hand for the moment, that would not last long. The psychic-type hummed an ancient lullaby that had real power behind it, its sound waves grating for the Zeraora's weary mind.

Having expended such a large burst of energy into what the Gym Leader expected to be the final move of the battle, the RELIC SONG made the foe's weary eyelids too heavy to keep open. The thundercat passed out a second time, Josh gasping as the Meloetta's appearance shifted. The foe was now much swifter than before, more of a dancer than a singer. It still wasn't outrunning Raikiri under normal conditions. This whole match had been far from normal.

Josh cupped his hands and screamed in the Zeraora's direction. It was no use; the electric-type was too tired to move. He was not out of the battle by any stretch; he just had to find a way to wake his ace Pokémon before Melody and her Meloetta could deliver the coup-de-grace!

Melody Miro

{WC: 182}
{PC: 16}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Raikiri Zeraora Sleep
Bladestorm Skarmory KO
Snacker Sharpedo Poor
Verte Flygon KO
Nitro Gogoat** KO

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Pilo

Melly

she/her

July 9

Lilycove

Straight

Idol

Elite 4

5'6 height

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POSTED ON Dec 14, 2023 3:06:57 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","Melodypog3"]

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[attr="class","Melodypog3-1"]

[attr="class","Melodypog3-title"]
MORE HUMAN[break]THAN HUMAN

MORE HUMAN[break]THAN HUMAN

[attr="class","Melodypog3-tagged"]
Josh Devlin

[attr="class","Melodypog3-subtitle"]
If it’s war that you want then you got it. If it’s pain well I brought what you need.

[attr="class","Melodypog3-pkmn"]

[attr="class","Melodypog3-post"]

[attr="class","Melodypog3-icon"]

"I warned you to have more defensive options!" she chides him slightly, he should have been prepared for status effects or moves he couldn't dodge. The z-move put her in quite the pinch but she had some breathing room now thanks to relic song and serene grace's effects. [break][break]

"Meloetta, restore your health with your enhanced drain punch!" she says as now Meloetta's typing changed to normal/fighting. She rushes forward, hopping elegantly and swiftly over to the sleeping foe and delivered a series of jabs as she back flips over him, each tiny jab restoring a portion of her health as her wounds vanish and rakiri's vitality is removed.

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Notes

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raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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POSTED ON Dec 15, 2023 5:45:31 GMT

Melody Miro likes this

"Enhanced" was the word that tipped the Gym Leader off. Was Meloetta both a psychic-type and a fighting-type? Had he the knowledge of the mythical dancer's typing just moments ago, he could easily have clinched the match. Now, he was in a bind again. His Zeraora was out cold, a flurry of DRAIN PUNCHES headed the feline's way. The first failed to arouse his ace Pokémon. "Raikiri!" he cried as a second volley struck. "Raikiri!!" he shouted all the louder. Still no response. "RAIKIRI!!!" the desperate Gym Leader screamed, willing to do almost anything to snap the electric-type out of his trance.

Suddenly, the Zeraora's red eyes popped open in the middle of the fighting-type's backflip. Invigorated by his trainer's tenacity, a second wind blew through the weary Pokémon. With a heroic thrust of the feline's powerful legs, the electric-type soared underneath Meloetta, BOUNCING toward her and aiming to smash her into the ceiling.

Melody Miro

{WC: 182}
{PC: 17}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Raikiri Zeraora Poor
Bladestorm Skarmory KO
Snacker Sharpedo Poor
Verte Flygon KO
Nitro Gogoat** KO

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played by

Pilo

Melly

she/her

July 9

Lilycove

Straight

Idol

Elite 4

5'6 height

hoenn

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TAG WITH @melody

POSTED ON Dec 18, 2023 2:41:24 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","Melodypog3"]

[attr="class","Melodypog3-big-img"]

[attr="class","Melodypog3-1"]

[attr="class","Melodypog3-title"]
MORE HUMAN[break]THAN HUMAN

MORE HUMAN[break]THAN HUMAN

[attr="class","Melodypog3-tagged"]
Josh Devlin

[attr="class","Melodypog3-subtitle"]
If it’s war that you want then you got it. If it’s pain well I brought what you need.

[attr="class","Melodypog3-pkmn"]

[attr="class","Melodypog3-post"]

[attr="class","Melodypog3-icon"]

In a surprise twist of fate, Josh's calling out to Zeraora works and stirs the Pokémon from slumber. The repeated sleeps probably weakening it's effects on the Pokémon. Meloetta's routine is then interrupted as she's sent flying sky high into the roof. [break][break]

She's stuck for a few moments as suddenly...she's out cold. [break][break]

As she peels off of the roof Melody recalls her into the pokeball before she hits the floor to avoid the extra damage "Congratulations Josh!" she says clapping her hands "I admit defeat! You beat me this time even if you didn't really include a lot of defensive moves." [break][break]

However that happy expression quicky turns into a frown "However there's one small hiccup. I don't really think you took my advice from last time...and the others MIGGGHTTTT not be happy since I think Greyson Connors told you something similar. BUT." [break][break]

"I have an idea. What do you think of a part 2 to your challenge, something to really put all your doubters to rest about your skills and character?"

[attr="class","Melodypog3-bot-1"]

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raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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POSTED ON Dec 18, 2023 17:48:28 GMT

MATIAS SILPH likes this

Josh had come a long way since their last encounter. He fell to his knees as the Elite Four withdrew her mythical partner. He had passed... barely. If he could barely defeat the one he wasn't worried about, then what was stopping MATIAS SILPH from completely overwhelming him a second time? She did have a point, though. Even the IRON DEFENSE was primarily offensive in nature, serving the dual purpose of making Bladestorm's already durable body nearly impenetrable by direct attacks as well as increasing its density to make his BODY PRESS hit harder. "That wound up being really close! I think I could have closed it out a bit sooner had I been able to figure out Meloetta was both a fighting-type and a psychic-type, like Medicham are. When I pulled the trigger on Raikiri's Hypersonic Plasma Charge and she was standing, I thought it was over."

Josh did need to work more defensive options into his roster, though. Even temporary defenses such as PROTECT would be extraordinarily helpful against foes tough enough to withstand his blitzkrieg. "Bounce was intended to be a defense as well. Most of my defenses are set up against Ground-type Pokémon and attacks, which just never came up in the battle. That much I learned from being a Gym Leader." Perhaps his defenses were too... targeted?

"What would that be?" Josh asked, curious and a little breathless. "All the Pokémon I registered for the challenge are exhausted. I'm all ears, though."

Melody Miro

{WC: 248}
{PC: 18}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Raikiri Zeraora Poor
Bladestorm Skarmory KO
Snacker Sharpedo Poor
Verte Flygon KO
Nitro Gogoat** KO

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played by

Pilo

Melly

she/her

July 9

Lilycove

Straight

Idol

Elite 4

5'6 height

hoenn

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3,226 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @melody

POSTED ON Dec 18, 2023 20:20:18 GMT

Genevieve Cromwell likes this

[nospaces]

[attr="class","Melodypog3"]

[attr="class","Melodypog3-big-img"]

[attr="class","Melodypog3-1"]

[attr="class","Melodypog3-title"]
MORE HUMAN[break]THAN HUMAN

MORE HUMAN[break]THAN HUMAN

[attr="class","Melodypog3-tagged"]
Josh Devlin

[attr="class","Melodypog3-subtitle"]
If it’s war that you want then you got it. If it’s pain well I brought what you need.

[attr="class","Melodypog3-pkmn"]

[attr="class","Melodypog3-post"]

[attr="class","Melodypog3-icon"]

"No no. No battle needed." she clarifies. [break][break]

"I see and hear ya about it those moves but that doesn't matter. You still won against me so it's not like I can hold it against you." she also adds.[break][break]

"I want you to go and support someone else in their journey. As vague as it sounds. As an elite 4 trainer we don't really get told what to do, but we still have duties." she says as she clarifies her reasons why. "For example, I go out and go scout talent for the gym circuit. People like Caleb Harcourt , Genevieve Cromwell I told them to start it myself after seeing their potential." [break][break]

"I want you to go help someone in a meaningful way, support them on their journey, push them to be more, help them with a problem." she explains [break][break]

"I don't want the central focus to become you, I want the rest of the world to see how you can help others besides just saving them from a natural disaster, for that we'd just have more police, firemen, EMTS. " [break][break]

"Think you can handle it? You can continue your Elite 4 challenge as normal but I want you to bring me back a beautiful story. Take your time with this. Oh, ranger duties and gym challengers don't count for this. Help someone through a problem."

[attr="class","Melodypog3-bot-1"]

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Notes

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played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

awards

5,986 posts

DOLLARS

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TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Dec 19, 2023 6:27:46 GMT

mila alexopoulos, Melody Miro, and 1 more like this

So it was less a battle and more a test of character. That was one Josh could work with. Melody's test of character involved a duty the Elite Four often were given but had no set way to execute. If the Elite Four's duties were freeform and largely without structure, then perhaps others capable of setting more abstract goals would be a better fit. "The more I think about it, Melody... when you put it that way, I don't know how well I could handle being in your position. Even if the Council were to select me for the empty seat... that level of freedom has to be overwhelming. I want to serve Hoenn on a greater level, but I think Gym Leader... might be what my true calling is. I'll have to think about it more. I'm sure there are--" he cut himself off. That was one of his biggest problems that could have prevented him from looking good in the Council's eyes.

His self-destructive humility.

He never wanted to take credit for anything he did. He never wanted to acknowledge his own accomplishments. His childhood dogma had drilled into him so deep the idea of pride being a grave sin that he downplayed his own successes, brushing them off onto others while absorbing the faults and pains of those around him. Humility was a virtuous trait to possess, but was also a deadly mental poison in overabundance.

"Fancy you mention that," Josh replied. "That's the reason I've continued challenging new Gyms as they pop up, especially the ones in the Minor League. Have you watched DESIREE BLOOMS much? She looks really promising. I'm about to head to her Gym and see what it's all about."

Josh nodded at the mention of being a support figure. "I'm already working with Yuina Higashi and Elise Calcifet . Oh, and howard slayte , too. I'm sure you will hear of their success stories in the coming months. I'll let them speak for themselves. I'm sure you'll hear from them well before I'm eligible for the title of Champion."

With that, the Gym Leader recalled his Pokémon, shook Melody's hand if she allowed it, and prepared to leave the chamber. "With how much we work together, I'm sure I'll have all kinds of stories to share with you. Hopefully we can get some more time with each other soon!"

Melody Miro

{WC: 391}
{PC: 19}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Raikiri Zeraora Poor
Bladestorm Skarmory KO
Snacker Sharpedo Poor
Verte Flygon KO
Nitro Gogoat** KO

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played by

Pilo

Melly

she/her

July 9

Lilycove

Straight

Idol

Elite 4

5'6 height

hoenn

awards

3,226 posts

DOLLARS

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TAG WITH @melody