EXPLORE

EXCURSION

WHERE GWYAR FALLS TO HIS KNEE, fernando refuses to budge. he stills. frozen. as he did when Elisabeth Fiorelli had tried to corrupt in his own MISTY TERRAIN. inaction had proven to be his strongest weapon. able to steel the mind to prevent his body from crumbling.

“perhaps.”

his nose wrinkles when he gives himself back control to move his body.

“hard to tell.”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Gwyar Wledig

06rZx0NN

LUMINOUS

SLEEPLESS IN SLATEPORT

“THAT SUPERSTITIONS AND TRADITIONS ARE FAR FROM PRACTICAL,” he challenges. something that would always press her to succumb to his mindset. and, when she could refute him, she would do so in a way that made him cave.

a way no one else could.

“yet we still celebrate them. reverence and all.”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Elisabeth Fiorelli

EXURSION C

EXCURSION

THE ATTACK ISN’T MEANT TO HARM. he’s analyzed enough of these under Eva Morales’s tutelage to know they’re immune to electricity. but that doesn’t mean the attack doesn’t attract their attention. the sheer blast and smoldering smoke afterwards is more than enough to avert their gaze.

the PROBOPASS’ many appendages begin to float in circular pattern as it exerts an increase GRAVITY over the area. standard immobilization. but before it dampen their speed, a HYPER BEAM illuminates the sky.

“tch.”

no matter.

if they cannot divert and dissuade then they will demolish.

“on me,” he commands, releasing his preferred land mount: HEATRAN.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
howard slayte

EXURSION C

EXCURSION

“BATTLE ROUTINE SET!”

the gym leader’s voice brings hope to the caravan. for who in hoenn does not recognize the silph’s trademark phrase. it calls from the distance, in the opposite direction of the IRON TREAD herd.

“execute!”

several ZAP CANNONs erupt in unison. the MAGNETON’s float in front of him in a defensive line, crackling as their MAGNET PULL exert their force. his PROBOPASS sits up front, forming a triangular formation commonly utilized in his gym.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
howard slayte

LUMINOUS

SLEEPLESS IN SLATEPORT

“NO,” he says before taking a long, purposeful sip. “i’m year of the monkey.”

“but the year matters little. it becomes a self fulfilling prophecy. children born during year of the dragon are given more resources. how could they not become more successful in comparison?”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Elisabeth Fiorelli

LUMINOUS

SLEEPLESS IN SLATEPORT

THE UNDERLYING MEANING IS LOST AGAINST THE UNKNOWING. what should opened an awkward, open ended conversation, bounces off the surface with little more understanding than the circumstance of their encounter. how fitting.

“the year of the dragon is an especially heralded year. like the pokemon they are based on, parents assume their dragons will be ambitious and excel in whatever field they hold.”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Elisabeth Fiorelli

EXPLORE

EXCURSION

FERNANDO IS UNFAZED BY THE SIGHT. nor does he mind the pokemon in question. while his knowledge of the pokemon is far from intimate, he knows the pokemon well enough to know it is not only found here, in AREA ZERO. these pokemon, no matter how problematic, are just that. pokemon.

“we can go the other way,” he suggest, uninterested in causing needless conflict.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Gwyar Wledig

zGbxD_04

LUMINOUS

SLEEPLESS IN SLATEPORT

“THE YEAR BEGINS ANEW,” he starts, steam wafting a thinly veiled barrier between them. her features become muddled behind it, slipping between the heated smoke.

“it is a time we pay outstanding debts and bring out gifts for those we care about.”

he finally takes his seat.

“when we visit our parents to pay our respects.”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Elisabeth Fiorelli

EXPLORE

EXCURSION

THEIR OBJECTIVE IS SIMPLE: map out an area for analysis. the new area, dubbed AREA ZERO, is too big to scan at large. smaller, more intimate retrievals are required in order to understand the biodiversity and its geology. deep beneath hoenn’s surface, even some technology has prove to fizzle out.

“clear.”

so far, the area seems simple. safe. for the land proves more fertile than the SILENT ICELANDS that proceed it. in fact. it prove too illustrious. as if it should be teeming with life.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Gwyar Wledig

hFt0_e9j

EXPLORE

EXCURSION

“INDEED.”

a handshake stifles what humility fernando can spare at the other’s words. for verbal foreplay can only circle around so many times before the edging gets in the way of their priorities. after all, these grounds are unexplored and therefore dangerous. prepare for the worst and expect the unexpected.

“we shall.”

hoenn’s staple, a SALAMENCE, careens its elongated neck over the chasm’s edge. while not as reckless nor as sharp as freya morningstar, fernando’s chance at dragon riding is swift and without restraint. the pokemon takes a few steps before plunging into the open sky, descending in a nosedive to expedite their surveying.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Gwyar Wledig

Ki4n4Hqv

WHAT PRIDE HATH WROUGHT

mission

BLOOD SPLATTERS ALL OVER ITS KILL. sharp teeth tear through supple flesh. the pokemon’s skin may seem smooth but it folds like jelly when sliced by teeth and claws alike. a PSYCHIC power tries to push the aggressor away but the barrier cannot seem to form. so, the pokemon relies on its secondary escape method.

the constant outrage and thrashing puts the pokemon within its physical sphere. like a defensive white cell, the mewtwo congeals, looking to swallow the garchomp whole with its Z-MOVE, RETURN TO BABEL.

mewtwo absorbs the dna of a weakened pokemon. this move ignores basic typing, abilities, and moves.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Michael Navidson

LUMINOUS

SLEEPLESS IN SLATEPORT

“I—”

he starts but never finishes the thought. how many things had he wanted to tell her? to confess in the twilight of regrets dreams and wistful memories? stories he had whispered to Eva Morales under the secrecy of sleep keeps his moral poverty at bay.

he had this chance, once before. when a lift of his finger could reawaken the eternal slept. but self restraint let her rest, peacefully. available, but at arm’s length under the full understanding that to call for her would do irreparable damage to his psyche.

something he had ironed and folded a million time, in her name.

“the year of dragon is one that ushers in great prosperity.”

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Elisabeth Fiorelli

LUMINOUS

SLEEPLESS IN SLATEPORT

“HM.”

another pauses creates a mental timer for the boiling water. a coarse hiss escapes when he pours, eventually settling into a pair of porcelain cups. jasmine pouches float at first but they sink by the time he sets them down. a single eye watches the murky earthen tones pool as the water becomes increasingly unclear.

“…”

he stands at the other end of the table. joining her but not quite sitting.

[attr="class","spiralpee"]
Elisabeth Fiorelli