Camp Winstrate was a bit out of the way for Chu-e's taste. Thankfully, today was a good day and he managed to make it out there on his own, with only minimal fussing from his pokemon. Prince had been sticking to his side like glue ever since the Genesect incident, raw and irritable. Chu-e would find it endearing if not for how annoying it could be. Even if he was practically glass it didn't mean he liked being treated as such.

When he approached the gates, ready to meet the mystery Gym leader, he perked up at seeing a familiar face loitering around the front gate. Chu-e didn't try and hide his presence from the other; while his love of mischief was great and trying to sneak up and scare John Sullivan would have been fun, he was too pleased to seeing the other. He really hadn't been doing well mentally since the attack on the sub.

"Doug!" Speeding up, while Chu-e couldn't really run anymore, he did the closest thing he could to get up to the booth faster. "Do you work here?"

"Hells’ bells!" Said Doug as he jolted awake, his straw hat falling to his lap as his swivel chair tilted back dangerously and its wheels left the floor for a whole second, before he lurched forward, the seat slapping back down to Earth with a sound thwack.

The youth held his chest in surprise for a moment, a bit flushed... before he reached for the straw hat on his lap, setting it back atop his head and turning an annoyed look towards the person responsible for jolting him.

It melted away into surprise, then cheerfulness rather quickly.

"Oh! Hello Ki!" Doug said cheerfully as he leaned forward atop the windowsill, his arms crossing underneath him as he leaned atop them, a grin on his lips. "Sure do! I told ya I was a soldier, right? No? Oh. Well I am! Been for nearly a year now!"

He gestured behind him with his thumb.

"Our company was assigned this place after the whole Gym shebang got sorted out. It's as old as it looks, but we've been workin' hard to clean it up a bit! Sorry ya had to catch me on m'break!"

Stepping outside the booth, the youth pulled a walkie talkie hanging from his belt, stretching his arms above his head and letting every vertebrae in his back audibly pop before speaking onto the machine.

"Challenger's here!" He said cheerily into the walkie-talkie, before turning around to face Chu-e Choi. "Follow me! I'll get'cha to the battlefield. Unless ya wanna try finding it yerself, get a self-tour o' the place; that's fine, too."

The chain fence swung open a moment later.

"That aside... ya okay, Ki? Ya look a bit under the weather." He asked, his brow furrowing slightly.

The grin on Chu-e's face was unmistakable. After the few times they had met, Chu-e really did enjoy John Sullivan's company. Barely waiting for Doug to exit his post, the older man was trying to pull the boy into a hug. "A solider? That's so dangerous! They better be treating you right around here." Even if there was a bit of a worrywart tone it was mostly masked by the joking nature of the statement. All things considered, Doug would most likely be just fine. Yet, he still figured he was allowed to wish well for the other. The coming times would be hard.

At the offer to let him look around on his own, Chu-e shook his head as he stepped towards the open gate. He paused to wait on Doug. "The tour sounds good. I'd just find a way to get lost. Accidentally unionize all the Growlithe. Best to keep me on a tight leash." The soft laugh and smile on his face only seemed a little strained as he glanced away, unable to meet the other's eye's at his question on his health. "I'm okay! Just getting used to the warmer sunshine. It takes kind of a toll on me."

He offered his arm to Doug to lead the way. If the other took it, Chu-e might lean on him a bit more than needed, steps a bit heavy as they looked around.

The youth laughed softly as he was pulled into a hug, wrapping his arms around the smaller man firmly.

"I can assure ya they are treating me just right." He said said with a wink and a chuckle, following along as Ki moved towards the gate, standing besides him.

"Let's not do that, then. They already forced us to alot half the budget to Growlithe-only Spam Cans, don't even wanna see what they manage with yer help." Doug replied with a laugh.

He would have made an off-colour joke about the leash, but the older folks tended to get a bit nervous when he did that kind of thing. It didn't stop Doug from offering his arm when the older man asked for it, letting him lean against him with a measure of practiced ease.

"That so?" The youth asked, curious. He had been under the impression Ki was something of a farmer's son like himself- not to mention Kantonian; people rather used to sunny weather.

Well, that was stuff he had extrapolated from Ki's admittedly vague words. There was plenty of room for being wrong.

Doug reached up and plucked his own strawhat, before setting it atop the other man's head.

"It ain't much, but hopefully it helps!" He said, grinning.

The plaid and checkered patterns Chryssa had sewn into the straw somehow fit Ki even better than they did Doug.

For a moment, the thought of her, and the way the other man leaned against him made him wonder... but he shrugged it off shortly after.

No point in assuming.

Still, he did his best to make the trip short and sweet.

The sound of synchronized boots hitting the ground filled the air as a platoon of jogging soldiers was seen making rounds around the base in the distance. Greenery surrounded the camp both in and outside, and plethoras of bug type pokemon could be seen out in the open.

Some hung onto the walls, others perched themselves on the trees and rooftops; a few simply flew about freely.

Soon enough, they could see what appeared to be a battlefield in the distance- a war-like battlefield.

Dug up Trenches. Stacks of Sandbags as cover. Even dug low stone cabins, often featured in old wars. The whole thing had the air of a century old battlefield, which naturally was because it was. Camp Winstrate was that old. As a gym arena however, the antiquated battlefield could serve a worthwhile purpose.

A figure awaited there, her arms folded behind her back, a cape draped over her shoulders flapping dramatically in the wind.

---

TAG: Chu-e Choi

"Yeah!" Chu-e was more than happy to explain when asked. He had learned a long time ago that as long as he kept it vague, it wasn't like people could track down his family or anything like that. Plus, sharing a few bits of his past made him nostalgic in a nice way. At the end of the day, he did miss his family.

"Born and raised in Sinnoh, till I was about fifteen. It doesn't get too warm there, even in summer. The area I lived in was more livestock ranches than proper farms; only real hardy stuff could survive if it was in the ground." Which would answer a few of John Sullivan's questions, maybe. Chu-e was a farmer's son, just less growing and more herding. Not to say his family didn't grow what they could, they never had a lot of money, but it was mostly root vegetables in the cold soil.

A small laugh leaves him when the hat is placed on his head, reminiscing forgotten. Chu-e takes in the sights and sounds- but can't help but tense up a bit. There was a reason he hadn't been so eager to play in the war game advertised as the non-traditional. War tended to fuck you up, even if he hadn't exactly been playing on the good side. His grip would tighten, just a bit, before he forced himself to calm back down.

He almost didn't notice the young woman. Leaning closer to Doug, and lowering his voice, he eyed her a bit. "Is that the Gym Leader?" Was whispered, conspiratorial.

Doug mirrored Ki, eyes glinting mischievously as he leaned in closer as well.

For her part, the woman looked amused.

"Nope." Doug whispered back, gently untangling himself from Ki to make his way across to her, who immediately rolled her eyes.

Figures.

"Guess I'm not needed, then." She said dryly while taking off the cap atop her head, watching the approaching youth roll his shoulders as warm up.

As he came within arm's reach, he snatched the cap, grinning at her.

"Sorry again, Sergeant." He said, to which the woman simply rolled her eyes, smirking.

"How much longer do you plan to continue pulling this stunt?" She said as she reached up for the lapel of the 'cape' -which as it turned out, was actually just a really long jacket- and swung it off her shoulders- and around Doug's.

Doug smirked right back, putting on the Cap he had snatched off her.

"As long as it continues being cool." He said, to which he laughed, taking a step back and away from the battlefield.

Cape flapping dramatically in the wind, the young man's smirk vanished, gazing sharply over his shoulder at the challenger on the other end of the battlefield.

"Challenger Ki Ji-hoon. I didn't introduce myself properly before, so allow me to correct that!" He said, before drawing two net balls from his belt.

"I am Captain Douglas Sullivan, Commander of Camp Winstrate- and Gym Leader of Mauville City!" He said, before launching both netballs high in the air.



A Kabutops and a Arnaldo landed upon the field, both Fossil pokemon's snapping their gazes towards the challenger.

Then, with a flick of his wrist, the Captain produced a gleaming, colorful badge, holding it up between index and middle finger for Ki to see. His trophy- if he earned it.

"The first move is yours, challenger. Let us begin!"

---

TAG: Chu-e Choi

There is a moment where it's clear that Chu-e does not follow, mouth open in a small 'o' as he watches what happens. When John Sullivan tosses his pokeballs, properly 'introduces' himself, his eyes light up and a delighted gasp leaves him. Doug is being serious, and while not taking the younger man any less seriously as a an opponent because of this, he instead has a dumb grin of pride.

"Doug! You little sneak! Oh gosh, congratulations! A Gym Leader!" He claps his hands, even giving a small wave to the two pokemon as they show up on the field. He was, if nothing, happy about this. Would be happy about it win or lose. Two pokeballs of his own are plucked from his pocket and tossed in the air, both Love Balls releasing his own pokemon. Much like Chu-e, it's a little dramatic, his Galarian Rapidash standing proud and his Azumarill standing tall on her back, both of them posed as if about to go to war.

"I love a good battle! Ladies, we have the first go!" Instead of issuing verbal commands, Chu-e snapped his fingers twice and winked.

Galla, the Rapidash, whinnied and shook her mane before launching herself forward. Her entire body shimmered, an Agility boosting her speed as she charged for the Kabutops. Slinging herself to the side, she skidded to a halt, kicking up dust as she did so. Bloo, who had still been on the horse's back, cried out and launched herself with the momentum of the move. She twirled in the air a bit, shifting so her tail would hit first, the blue appendage glowing blue as an Aqua tail was hurled at the Kabutops.

"Save the congrats for after the battle, Ki!" Doug said with a grin, tugging at his gloves before winking. "Actually, do go on; it's quite nice."

The challenger soon took the offered first move- with his own unique spin, of course. That made... three trad-challengers so far trying some form of code to keep their orders to themselves.

Well, that was fine; Doug was trying a few things today as well.

"Awright gentlemen, like we practiced!" He said, clapping his hands cheerfully before pumping hand hand in the air. "Battle routine, set!"

What? It wasn't like FERNANDO SILPH had trademarked it or anything!

Arceus, he hoped not. He couldn't take that lawsuit.

As practiced, the two pokemon moved at the same time. Th Kabutops shifted its heel along the soil as the Rapidash charged across the field, and the ground trembled and cracked in response, fissures spreading over the ground before a barrier of sharp stone suddenly burst forth around it, the spikes surging like a wave into the Rapidash's path.

But even if it managed to stop it in its tracks, the Azumarill would already be sailing through the air, aqua tail at the ready.

Which was were the Armaldo came in. One of the many rock spikes spread over the soil shot out suddenly, blasting off into the air towards the flying Azumarill to intercept its trajectory.

---

-Kabutops used Stone Edge.
-Armaldo used Rock Blast.

TAG: Chu-e Choi

Okay, the battle was on. Time to stop with the idle chatter and concentrate. Chu-e let out an appraising hum at the retaliation.

The Aqua Tail connected with the Rock Blast, which resulted in a pulse of concentrated water from the tail and the crumbling of the stone. It had hurt Bloo, it had been a direct hit after all, but the Azumarill went with the flow of the attack. She used the combined force to try and push off again, or at least change her trajectory a bit, changing her attack over to a Slam midair, which she hoped to land on the Armaldo.

Galla, too, was not one to be dissuaded by a few stones. Instead of trying to avoid the shards of earth that speared towards her, the horse took off towards it. She picked up speed faster thanks to her earlier Agility, hooves clopping and gathering a yellow-brown energy around them. This same energy glowed off her horn. Head down, she charged through the rock rubble. It scraped her a bit even with her High Horsepower in use, but she, too, had been trained for endurance like Bloo had. She didn't stop at just trying to counter the attack, though, following through to try and hit the Kabutops like a truck.

John Sullivan

"Gang up." Ordered Cpt. Douglas.

As the Azumarill sailed through the air towards the Kabutops, the pokemon's knees bent and its posture lowered as if preparing to intercept its slam...

And then it dashed out of its way in a flurry of motion, coated in a wave of water, its form sailing through the air as it dashed off a ramp at high speed.

As the Rapidash charged it, the Armaldo plantd its feet forth before spreading open the 'wing' plates of its back. It was not a pokemon that had ever flown in its existence, however.

Water began to pour out in waves as it leaned its weight forward, sliding over the soil newly wettened soil to meet the Rapidash's charge.

Armaldo on a crash course- and Kabutops on an interception trajectory. High speed. Both on Rapidash.

"Think fast, Challenger."

---

-Kabutops used Aqua Jet.
-Armaldo used Brine.

TAG: Chu-e Choi

In some other dimension, the writer of this post realized they were an idiot. Gym challenges were supposed to go FAST. This was the SECOND time they had dropped the fucking ball on this. Like, with all the HST stuff happening, they had maybe overlooked this or something. Dumb-ass.

Anyway, in this dimension, with Chu-e and this battle.

The High Horsepower and Agility amped up Rapidash was not to be scared off by something like some peasant attacks. Didn't these two know who she was? She was Galla, the fairest of all the horses Chu-e kept, her mane flowing even lovelier than Sugar Shimmer's. Lowering her head, her horn glinted in the light, sharp and as well taken care of as it was deadly. Just for the extra oomph, it glowed with a psychic energy, extending it and turning it as sharp as a blade.

Bloo, meanwhile, made a frustrated noise when her attack uselessly hit the ground. However, this left her at a unique advantage. Both the Armaldo and the Kabutops, aiming for Galla, now had their back to her since she had effectively sailed over-top of them. After a sharp whistle from Chu-e, the Azumarill would let out a war cry to psyche herself up before she charged at the Armaldo, aiming to slam into it from behind.

Chu-e laughed from the sidelines, suddenly. Fitting both of his fingers in his mouth, he let out a volley of sharp and high-pitched whistles- which, it John Sullivan knew army shorthand, he would recognize as a 'Watch out!' signal.

But 'Watch Out' for what?

---

- G!Rapidash continues High Horsepower since it didn't connect
- G!Rapidash uses Psycho Cut
- Both attacks on whoever hits her first (my guess Kabutops from the speed)
- Bloo uses Super Power on Armaldo

[/div[Everything's fine in the other dimension, the preternatural powers that be that manipulate John Douglas Sullivan's consciousness didn't mind the wait much.

Moving on- The mare could call herself whatever she wanted, she was still getting spit-roasted.

The Kabutops' water covered form lurched upwards as it and the horse nearly crashed, summersaulting over the trampling mare to try and stick the landing atop her back with its hard, chitinous buttocks. Now the riding could truly begin.

Cpt. Douglas didn't offer much of a reaction to the sharp whistle, staring ahead blankly before bringing his own fingers to his mouth, releasing a sharp whistle of his own.

In Response, the Kabutops attempted to seize the mare's My Little pony-ass locks of hair with its claws, to no avail, simply clipping them, before it reared up with both arms and brought them down onto the other pokemon's ass, trying to make her rear back.

The Armaldo was the one to crash against the trampling horse, its claws gleaming like polished steel as it held them in front of itself, the torrential brine coming in waves behind it as well as it muscle attempting to grind her to a stop in tandem with the Kabutops.

When the Azumarill came crashing into it from behind moments later, it hurt tremendously- but on the other hand, it probably kinda helped the efforts as well.

---

-Kabutops used Aqua Jet.
-Armaldo used Metal Claw + Brine.
-Armaldo was hurt.

TAG: Chu-e Choi

Another laugh from Chu-e and he gives a light clap.

This whole thing is a mess and it's pretty damned funny.

Galla was having a less fun time. She was finding herself to be the cream-filling in a less than ideal threesome. In the end, her rearing up was inevitable. She shakes on her hind-legs, trying to gain balance, before she tries to slam back down on the Armaldo with a Stomp.

Bloo, having crashed against the Armaldo, was now trying to make this threesome a spicy foursome. Since she was still close, she attempted to Play Rough with the Armaldo, trying to slam fairy-infused fists on the Armaldo where she could.

John Sullivan