[attr="class","char-words"]clarity comes to greyson and his team — an odd sentiment, considering the SANDSTORM that was whipping up even more fiercely by the second. from within' that raging sea of beige, the light of a MEGA EVOLUTION is a beacon, and a threat.
[break][break]
the blastoise, nearly double his original height, is a looming shadow in the storm. he hovers over greyson, absorbing the impact of the ROCK SLIDE onto his thick-shell, barely even grunting beneath the projectiles.
[break][break]
while the perpetrator of the attack was difficult to see, aiono didn't need his exact location, only a general reference. cannons train in that direction, covering a large swathe of it (even mint frost wouldn't be safe, if he wasn't careful). all at once, stone-shattering HYDRO PUMPS release.
[break][break]
the heal from luka chêne 's sylveon is a welcomed reprieve, but the exhaustion of today's events — all of them, not just this bout — was weighing heavily on the blastoise. his breath came ragged, eyes narrowing.
[break][break]
"SEALS?" he yells over the cacophony of sounds. "WHAT ABOUT THEM?" clearly, he hadn't heard.

[break]

[attr="class","char-notes"]

notes

[attr="class","char-words"]"no, matias, you keep away from her." his glare is as frigid as a blizzard. "in-fact, do everyone a favor and just disappear. you'll find that not many will seek you out."
[Break][break]
he was serious, but the words were, at the most basic level, designed to cut and shred the man further. his primary concern was annalise henderson.
[Break][break]
"if i find out you've approached her again, league rules be damned - i will find you, and there will be nothing you can do to stop me."
[break]

[attr="class","char-notes"]

notes

[attr="class","char-words"]MEGA EVOLUTION consumes the battlefield in a supernova of light.
[Break][break]
the newly empowered scizor reaches out a jagged appendage, and a great suction follows the maws opening. the VACUUM WAVE wraps the smaller pokemom in bubble of condensed air, aiming to slow, if not entirely stop, the speeding crimson bullet. greyson himself isn't a fool, either; a roll to his left shifts into somersault.
[Break][break]
satisfied, the armored pokemom turns to THEO BECKETT, eyes narrowing. in a flutter of insectoid wings, she races after the underboss, sawed hand coiled back.

[attr="class","char-notes"]

notes

[attr="class","char-words"]the combination of geomancy and the aromatic mist are enough to veil the retreating rocket beast, his literal hand tucked between his legs.
[break][break]
the pidgeot hovers over the field for a few seconds longer, before her massive form loops back to the ground level. the brilliant plumage that accomponied her mega-evolution sways lazily in the dying winds of her hurricane.
[break][break]
exhaustion settles into greyson's bones, and the agony that accompanied his broken arm becomes more and more apparent as the adrenaline of their battle begins to tapers off. he falls to one knee, left arm hanging limply at his side, the other gripping the hilt of his blade so tightly that it left his hand trembling.
[break][break]
"fuck." his words start off as a whisper, but as the frustration of this entire day mounts, greyson's voice begins to take on a more strained, tantrum-like tone. "fuck. fuck. fuck. FUCK." the last of it is said with such force and anger, that it lingers as a haunting echo for several seconds.
[break][break]
eventually, even that fight is taken out of him. greyson falls back onto his ass, then to his back, breathing raggedly. his eyes lift to the sky above, watching as traces of bryan delarosa's z-move begin to dissolve.
[break][break]
"we were so fucking close." whether he's talking to noah faber, to himself, or to no-one at all, is entirely unclear. "so fucking close." frustrated tears threaten the corner of his eyes, and he wipes them away with his one good arm.
[break][break]
"next time i see him." the vow he makes his binding, and if he wasn't mistaken, not one-way. greyson's eyes close, too exhausted to care about their current predicament. already he could feel the release that awaited him with just a thought.
[break][break]
"get.. us back.. ace..."
[break][break]
then, pushed to the brink from a day of non-stop combat, and too mentally incoherent to fight the encroaching pain of his limb, greyson slips into the void of unconsciousness.


[break]

[attr="class","char-notes"]

notes

[attr="class","char-words"]dusk descends, and as his comrades sleep, greyson explores the outer-edge of the perimeter. at his side, the small patter of the umbreon's steps barely disturbs the sand. her presence is a comfort greyson found he'd missed. since the death of her mate at the darkest day, umbreon had been inconsolable. now, after considerable time and effort, she was beginning to feel like her old self once more.
[break][break]
"what is that?" he ponders aloud, his eyes catching the faintest hint of movements in the dim light. the umbreon stops at his heels, almond eyes narrowing in suspicion.
[break][break]
she gapes in shock at what stands before her.
[break][break]
an espeon, it's body made of sand that's easily carried off in small trickles by the wind, stands before them. it was a spitting image of rose, to the point where even greyson was fooled — even if only for a moment.
[break][break]
"umbra—" his words are cut off as the umbreon takes a tentative step forward, not realizing that more figures are rising from the sand behind the sand!espeon. by the time she cuts her gaze up, it's too late — a MUD SHOT takes her squarely in the chest, sending her tumbling.
[break][break]
"WAKE UP." he roars to the sleeping men behind him, already back-peddling to the center of camp. behind him, the umbreon stirs, a MOONLIGHT washing the campground in a radiant white light.[break][break]

the night was going to be long.[break]

[attr="class","char-notes"]

notes

[attr="class","char-words"]"go fuck yourself." he spits back, venom coating his words. his eyes widen at the incoming AERIAL ACE, but even more so as the rocket executive charges his blastoise.
[break][break]
his hand reaches out, guiding the comfey on his wrist. a wall of FLOWERS erect themselves in-front of the water-type. it might not have been enough to stop the SOLAR-BLADE, but greyson doesn't need to wait long to find out.
[break][break]
ZAP CANNONS fire from the other-side, shredding the wall as bursts of electrical come barreling through. they're erratic enough to not be woefully concentrated onto jayden cross, but that doesn't mean he's safe.
[break][break]
but, neither is greyson.
[break][break]
he raises his shield, and lowers his center of gravity to take the AERIAL ACE head-on. it collides with the steel and dissipates in some areas, but others curve around the disk and carry onto their target.
[break][break]
one scores a hit on his forehead, oozing blood down the left side of his face. the other half into the top of his thigh, ripping the fabric and gouging a razor-sharp line into his flesh.
[break][break]
he cries out in pain, but suppresses it to nothing more than a whimper; he didn't want to give the other man the sense of victory. slowly, painfully, he pushes himself to his feet. the blade in his grip begins to shine a brilliant white, before an inky black shadowy substance layers over it. the result is something akin to a yin & yang like visual, both colors harmoniously fusing and working with one another.
[break][break]
the combined SACRED SWORD + SHADOW STORM turns greyson into a beacon of pulsing black, and white light.
[break][break]
the former gym leader looks at his enemy, and resolution firms itself into his gut.
[break][break]
"let's end this."[break]

[attr="class","char-notes"]

notes

[attr="class","char-words"]greyson turns abashedly, keeping his attention trained on the hoodie. while it soaks up a portion, it's clear that it's not going to be enough.
[break][break]
"i do," he answers, cheeks hot as he avoids her gaze. greyson fumbles for a moment before he grabs a ball, and releases the woobat.
[break][break]
"help us out here dear."
[break][break]
it bobs happily, a PSYCHIC energy suffusing the strange liquid. woobat initially flinches, but is able to take a significant chunk of it in his grip. suddenly, however, it cries out. the PSYCHIC blinks out, dropping its payload on the cave floor in-front of the creature, and falls to the ground.
[break][break]
greyson watches in horror as the bat spasms for a few seconds, then lies still. greyson points the crimson beam at the creature, to recall it, but it dissipates upon contact.
[break][break]
the truth of it comes to him instantly, but he places a hand on the creature to confirm. numbly, he looks up.
[break][break]
"she's dead."




[break]

[attr="class","char-notes"]

notes

[attr="class","char-words"]"mm." her question poses a dilemma.
[Break][break]
"i'm not sure it's entirely dangerous to touch. but-" he approaches, forefinger and thumb gripping his chin in thought, "-if it's anything like that aethery mist, then it can attack the mind."
[Break][break]
the viscosity of the invasive substance was closer to oil.
[Break][break]
"i think it could he more potent. instead of attacking the kind gradually, it'd likely happen all at once."
[Break][break]
he looks up at the woman.
[Break][break]
"that's speculation, mind you, but there might be a way to counter act the effects. do you have a psychic-type?"




[break]

[attr="class","char-notes"]

notes

[attr="class","char-words"]the rapid-fired solarbeam lands on the exposed back of the blastoise. the grass-type technique is super-effective, cracks and fissures opening in the turtles shell. his screams of pain shake the cavern.
[Break][break]
like the deck of a warship, the cannons train themseleves onto the ninetales. they glow a faint blue, and so too does the exposed flesh beneath the shell.
[Break][break]
TORRENT activates, empower water-type moves.
[Break][break]
HYDRO PUMP fires from each gun, staggered so as not to fire all at once, each designed to cover an area near, or directly on the ninetales.
[Break][break]
menawhile, in the realm of inky black, greyson ascends back into the corporeal world, sword and shield ready.[break]

[attr="class","char-notes"]

notes

[attr="class","char-words"]"it's easy to play the victim, isn't it?" greyson says in dismissal. "all for the glory, right?"
[Break][break]
the taunt distracts scizor enough to make the preceding thunder unavoidable. electricity crackles over her crimson armor, but evolution had settled the weakness of her predecessor.
[Break][break]
still under the smaller pokemon's effects, it disappears in a blur of speed. greyson's eyes struggle to follow the steel-type, but the explosion of wind that follows her bullet punch was telling enough to her actions.
[Break][break]
"can you focus the ghost?" he asks of Gunner Graves, hoping that his salemence was free of the taunt.

[attr="class","char-notes"]

notes

[attr="class","char-words"]despite the validity of his explanations, greyson still felt like the villain here.
[Break][break]
with Ashley Shepard standing down, so too does he. Mega evolution tapers off while the duo watch the impromptu ceremony.
[Break][break]
only when satisfied the other man wasn't playing some trick, and tossing a silent prayer to the dead, he moves to leave.
[Break][break]
his ear piece buzzes to life, concern and question pinging to his safety. greyson clicks the device.
[Break][break]
"connors - nothing to report. moving to zone echo."

[break]

[attr="class","char-notes"]

notes

[attr="class","char-words"]of course greyson didn't blame her; he was equally interested in this strange creature.
[Break][break]
"be careful," he warns, tensing at her approach. he wasn't the only either, either; jester noticeably lowered herself to the earth, ready to leap into a fight instantly.[break][break]

she nearly did, when the electric terrain blanketed the ground in an ocean of crackling gold.[break][break]

"looks.. kind of like a tyranitar, doesn't it?"




[break]

[attr="class","char-notes"]

notes

[attr="class","char-words"]greyson nods absorbing the information in a somber silence.
[Break][break]
"I've mastered a... 'pocket' support specialty. by focusing on a glass-cannon style with specific pokemon, i'm able to offset the risk of a dedicated comfey to support them."
[Break][break]
but, he needed to work on other pokemon, other strategies.
[Break][break]
"i'll be doing my best not to do that today, though. i need to work on other areas. so, i will be leveraging some of my lesser used pokemon."
[Break][break]
he holds a hand out in the direction of the camerupt, emphasizing his point.
[break]

[attr="class","char-notes"]

notes