Hearing that Melody was about to go full Bullet Hell on Rocket was enough to get Hideo to get behind her, his Aggron herding his Pokemon back as well. His "Ralts" wiggled out of his grasp, perching itself on top of Hideo's head to get a proper view of the action.

Its attention was especially peaked by Cobalion's participation, almost floating off Hideo's head to get a closer look - only to get held down by the boy. His Aggron ensured none of them would get hurt by the debris that flew around.

The silence that followed was enough to convince Hideo they'd won. "To be fair, not like we could've expected that big a response from Rocket," Hideo said, recalling his Zoroark and Meowscarada, leaving his Aggron out for safety in case there were even more Rockets lying about. "And you would've been too tired for the second wave."

It waa best to ration your strength carefully; that was why he hadn't used all his Pokemon at the same time.

Or let Uxie go all-out.

"'sides, it was a pretty spectacular finish!" Not one he could fully witness, but it sounded like an impressive end. "Even got to listen to you sing again~"

Melody Miro

MP Total: 210
+10 (post)

"Maybe I'll take you up on that offer sometime!" Hideo exclaimed. "If I get the time, I could pop in every now and then!...though I'll let you know ahead of time, at least." Another place he'd be splitting his time at, but at least he wasn't getting told that he had to stay overnight.

He already had one person making him stay at his house overnight.

And how could he say no to dinner? "'Course I'll stick around for dinner! Been a while since I got to eat dinner with other people." Most meals were just with his Pokemon. He'd occasionally share breakfast with Melody Miro when she was awake, but that was it.

Thinking about it…had he shared dinner with anyone since he'd left home? Two years now, and he'd made his own dinner, or bought them. He could still recall the dinners he had at home, made by his mother or his father - or even one of his siblings when his parents were out - and all the little conversations they had mid-meal. He couldn't talk with his Pokemon like he did with his family.

Hideo slumped slightly on the couch, head perched on his hands, the smile on his face fading somewhat. He wouldn't mind doing that again - eating with a family. Even if it weren't his own family.

He didn't even think about snagging more cookies, Uxie taking a chance to get some more for itself.

Eris Halla

"Congratulations on finding your way through this ordeal."

Josh's exit from the dream would be as abrupt as it started, sitting just as he'd been when he first went under, once more within the treehouse. The Dream Mist the two Musharna had let out was being filtered away by a Galarian Weezing, reality becoming clear once more. A small *thump* could be heard as Hideo closed the book, a smile on his face.

"Now that you're back to reality: You did a good job, Josh! It's easy to get lost in a place where the rules of our world don't apply, but you were able to persevere and reclaim your name - and I think the answer you gave The Queen was a good one!"

Hideo lifted the book up, a Hatterene taking it and placing it aside.

"Now then: do you have any questions about your journey? Was there anything you would've done differently if given the chance?"

Doom and gloom over an impending disaster Hideo knew next to nothing about and lacked the means to affect (hardly the first one) was quickly buried under the prospect of finding a completely new Pokemon. He was much more interested in hearing Eris explain just what it was - very much like Pokemon in Hoenn, yet different in some ways. "So are they solid like real Pokemon?" Hideo asked, hand reaching into his pocket for a spare Pokeball, "'cause I doubt they'd get a term for them if they were just misty fakes."

Even as Eris gently pulled him away, Hideo was intent on learning more about this Paradox Pokemon, Pokeball in hand. But he realized something was about the happen the moment he felt Uxie's tails cover his ears, just managing to hear the Scatterbang through his impromptu earmuffs.

The Paradox Pokemon's squealing could be heard as well - which made it easy for Hideo to guess where to throw his ball. Hideo chucked it at the "Jigglypuff", hoping to catch it while it was still recovering, only for the tail on its head to smack the ball aside, breaking it against a cave wall.

"Tougher than a normal Jigglypuff," Hideo noted, "and definitely solid!" The "Jigglypuff" glared angrily at Eris, its attention then shifting to the crackling Luxray.

It charged forth, aiming a Body Slam right for Eris's Pokemon.

Eris Halla

+10 (ic post)

Hideo frowned as Eris asked him if he were ready for what was to come. "Well…I'm not really sure how to prepare for something like that?" He could barely come up with anything when the Meteor was coming down; how could he prepare for a looming catastrophe that could be anything? "Guess I'd make sure my family was safe first."

Whether or not they'd appreciate him showing up, after running away for two years. "What's the Catastrophe supposed to be anyways?"

Before he got an answer, he got a hand on his wrist - and a floating pixie brushing its tails along his hair. With Eris and Uxie close, they must've spotted something coming towards them.

His answer to Eris's question would be short and sweet, perfectly encapsulating all the knowledge he had on the subject, with no room for ambiguity or misinterpretation.

"What's a Paradox Pokemon?"

The answer would quite literally come to him as he heard the distinctive hopping sound of a Jigglypuff approaching. The others would probably notice this Jigglypuff looked off, a tail protruding from its forehead, tiny fangs exposed on its mouth. Even its eye color was off, a stark yellow.

The "Jigglypuff" stopped in front of the group, looking over the two kids. It let out a small "Puriiiii?" as its eyes settled on Uxie and Mesprit.

"That is a Jigglypuff, right?" Hideo asked. "They don't make that noise. 'Least, none that I've heard before."

Eris Halla

+10 (ic post)

Hideo giggled slightly. He already knew Uxie was above them, observing everything, but Mesprit doing the same, playing around with whatever they were finding up there. "I'm sure Uxie'd stop 'em if there was any risk to that," Hideo reassured her. "Even if Uxie can be unpredictable when helping us, I'm sure they'd stop Mesprit if it might actually get hurt."

Or worse. He wouldn't want what happened to Chu-e Choi to happen to anyone else.

"Not sure if I'd call what I got a bad luck streak," he protested. "This is just one of the few times I didn't get to prepare for what was coming. I'm sure I'd find a way out eventually if I had to."

That was more of a way of assuaging his own fear of being lost in a place he was unfamiliar with. A feeling that was, admittedly, pushing down by the information Eris shared with him afterwards.

"...shit, that Dream Mist stuff is here too?" It was hard to ignore the dread running through his heart. "Every time I run into that stuff, it's been bad. And it's even worse here?"

Maybe having Uxie around would help him recognize what was real and what wasn't. But even those times he knew stuff was fake, didn't stop it from hurting him.

A strange cry could be heard up above. It was a Pokemon's cry, but seemed off slightly. "Was that a Jigglypuff?" Hideo asked. "Think it's someone's Pokemon? This doesn't seem like a place a wild Jigglypuff would want to be in." If it were even a real Jigglypuff - though didn't they have to be in the Mist before it started messing with them?

Eris Halla

+10 (ic post)

"Maybe." It was true that MATIAS SILPH might've just been playing nice with him. "I did get to talk to him once, a little bit after I lost my Ariados. He tried to comfort me, but…well, he was a bit clumsy about it. But it seemed like he really did try." It had made being told Matias tried to kill Eris all the rougher - and why he still wanted to confirm if it were really true. "He said he was eager to battle me when I finally got all eight badges, but now they changed the Champion stuff in Hoenn so I got no idea if I'd even battle him now."

Did he even want to do it anymore? He hadn't put much effort in trying to get that eighth badge for some time now.

"If you are gonna try and look into him? Be careful. If he's as willing to kill as Eris said, you don't wanna put yourself at risk. I'm still trying to find a way to-"

A rumble through the cave stopped that thought, and Hideo could hear the sound of Uxie popping up beside him. He could hear his Zoroark land near him as well, just as Uxie sent a message to both boy's minds.

EARTHQUAKE

"Crap," Hideo muttered, "One of them must've panicked and done something dumb." The distinctive sound of rocks cracking above them was hard to miss, and it was only a matter of time until some began to fall. Hideo's Zoroark grabbed him, pulling him out of the way of the giant rock that fell between him and Aaron.

Good news, he was unhurt. Bad news, Hideo found there wasn't any way around it. "Aaron, can you hear me?!" Hideo shouted, "Unless you got something that can teleport you, I don't think we can get around this one!" The option of having one of his Pokemon break the rocks was there, but who knew when more rocks were going to fall?

Aaron Toral

"Jeez, these must be some really important supplies if they'll send this many people!"

Uxie had managed to knock out a decent number of them, but there were more Pokemon coming - and that Terastalization drew attention to Hideo's team. Several attacks were flying their way, and Hideo scooped up his "Ralts", desperate to keep its true form a secret. His Dragapult flew in the way of the attacks, keeping Hideo and Uxie safe.

The Dragapult hit the ground with a *thud*, knocked out by the assault. Hideo recalled her into her Pokeball, taking out a different Pokeball and letting out the Aggron within. The Mega Bracelet around Hideo's wrist glowed bright, the Aggron glowing as well as it Mega Evolved, now larger (and spikier) than before.

A resounding Flash Cannon fired from the Mega Aggron's mouth, one-hit-KO'ing one of the Rocket's fresh Pokemon.

Melody Miro

MP Total: 200
+10 (post)
+10 (mega)
+10 (ko opponent Pokemon)
+50 (own pokemon ko'd)

A chill ran down Hideo's spine as the man named the exact girl he'd vaguely mentioned, his mouth opening slightly. No way was that some random guess - this guy must've known Eris Halla pretty well. It didn't indicate if he was Rocket or not; a (responsible) Rocket would no doubt want to keep one of their younger members safe, but he knew John Sullivan would be having the same reaction if he knew Hideo (or even Eris) were here.

Hideo could hear the concern in the man's voice as he ran through an exact description of her - even down to her key Pokemon.

He had to answer fast.

"W-well, she didn't have a Luxray with her." Which was true - she hadn't let her Luxray out when they first met in these caves. "At least, I didn't hear a Luxray. It was kinda dark where we were, and my vision isn't all that great-" An understatement, but telling the guy he was outright blind probably would've gotten them attached to his hip until they got out, "-so I didn't get a good look at what she was wearing."

"...there wasn't anyone following us, though. I know that much. Nobody was going after us to hurt us. My Lycanroc would've noticed if they were." That much, he could be completely honest about.

There was the risk the man might try interrogating him further about Eris - or maybe if Aaron. Better to get out as soon as he could. "So, uh, can I go now? I really want to get out of here."

Isaac Merlo

"Guess a way to treat that poison quickly would be nice," Hideo said, "'cause I don't think a regular Antidote would work on it." He had no intention of risking himself with aiding that research. He'd leave it to people better-equipped to deal with giant, floating jellyfish in a giant, mysterious cave.

Escaping the Nihilego wouldn't be hard - courtesy of Colton's Bronzong's Block. The tire trail his other Pokemon had left made it easy to know where to go, Hideo's Meowscarada helping Hideo follow as well. She didn't even need prompting to do it - she was well-aware her trainer needed help with this kind of stuff, especially in a rush.

"So, uh, was that really a car Pokemon you had go on ahead? Sounded like it had a motor or something like that. Is it just a Rotom we're following the tracks of?" Rotom was the only Pokemon he knew of that could truly become mechanical - if only by possessing machines.

He didn't know much about Paldean Pokemon, other than the few he had caught - like the one guiding him at this moment.

Colton Boothroyd

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Hideo could consider himself fortunate that the man didn't push him further to assist. He did want to make sure his friends were safe, but there was only so much he could do with what he had.

It sounded like the heavier bird would be the one escorting him. Maybe a bit tougher than the other birds, but still manageable. He was even given a method for getting the bird away from him - just act like he was in trouble and needed help, then dash away the moment it flew away. He could even arrange one of his own Pokemon to play the part of the "threat".

Hideo nodded towards the offer. "That works for me. If any trouble comes up, Hal there can get you."

There was just the last bit - the man asking about the others he'd encountered. The boy took a moment to consider just what was safe sharing.

"I…didn't get their names." Everything else he'd said about them were half-truths at best, but that was the first complete lie he gave the man. Not that he was unfamiliar with using them, but those could be tougher to use, and gave less room to maneuver if they were uncovered. "We didn't get to stick together for long."

"But I do know one of them was a boy and one was a girl. Both around my age." A small truth to divert from the lie - one that didn't give much information on who either of them actually were. "They both had some tough Pokemon of their own, so they should be able to handle themselves for a while."

That last bit was, in part, to assuage his own concern for them - Aaron and Eris were tough. They could handle themselves…

Right?

Isaac Merlo

Step by step, Hideo followed Eris along. He was confident she knew her way around here better than he did - and he trusted her to not be leading him into some kind of trap. Why would she, after letting herself get hurt just to help get them away from Rocket in the first place?

He was also trying to keep an eye on her (metaphorically speaking), listening for if her condition was getting any worse. He wasn't too familiar with medicine, but a horn in the shoulder was never good. Asking her would've been a futile endeavor obstructed with denial.

Would he know what to do if she did collapse right in front of him from the injury? He didn't know. Maybe Uxie would help him, but the pixie seemed more preoccupied floating around the cave, observing the floating minerals and distortions through closed eyes.

The silence was broken by Eris, Hideo's attention shifting. "With how big this place sounds, I'd be surprised if we run into someone by accident again for a long time," he said, grinning. "'Specially with you guiding us." Though Eris did surprise him with what she knew and who she was working with, he was confident she was an excellent adventurer.

That part about him not walking into dangerous areas got him to snort. "You'd be surprised where I've been…but falling in here wasn't really planned. A portal just popped up on me out of nowhere, and next thing I know, I'm in this cave." One couldn't say Hoenn was a boring region. "Wasn't long 'til I ran into some Rockets…and I think you know how it goes from there."

Eris Halla

+10 (ic post)
+50 (thread participation)