DANNY HALL

greyson watches his friends pokemon take off in a dead sprint and smiles himself. he he had similar issues with z, and knew full well that sometimes there just wasn't any hope. not that it was a bad thing. his eyes automatically went up in search of the steel titan, but failed to spot him. luckily, rae stuck close to greyson's side, her mane carrying scattered flowers from an earlier play-date with ellie.

his hands comfortably in his pockets, greyson chuckled. "cadet connors has a nice ring to it," he said contemplatively, tilting his head upwards. "but no, greyson is fine. i'm as low on the totem pole as you can possibly be." he slipped a hand out and booped rae's horn, giving her a smile. "you interested in joining?" he asked, not bothering to look at danny.

DANNY HALL

greyson thinks over his statement. the top? was that even something he wanted? the closer he got to the top, the more dangerous it became. slateport was just the tip of the iceberg in all of this. and if that was just the beginning? he shuddered thinking how bad it could possibly get.

if danny knew how much greyson doubted himself. how much he struggled. his envy would all buy evaporate. if anything, he envied danny. his life was free. decisions his own. he answered to no one. how nice that would be.

despite the hint of a joke in his tone, greyson felt something more to it. he watches danny's face, searching for something that he doesn't even know. "do you want too?" greyson pauses, letting it sink in. "what brings you back, really, dan?"

DANNY HALL

greyson knew danny. he could tell that he wasn't telling the full truth. hiding something. but he also knew that pressing could scare the man off. greyson's brow furrowed in concern, and questioning, but released his tense muscles with a sigh.

"me? man, i can barely tell the difference between my ass and my elbow." he takes his free hand and rubs his forehead. "just a few weeks ago i had to be pretty much rescued from a cavern because i didn't bring enough water. a few weeks before that, nearly had my leg bitten right off just two routes from here." greyson gave danny a look. it was... apologetic in a way?

"i told a friend of mine something similar and she told me that we're all pretty alike. each of us just fumbling our way through the dark in search of the light switch." he placed his on hand on his friends arm. "we just do the best we can with what we're given."

DANNY HALL

greyson sees danny hiding a pain, but isn't sure how to broach the subject. instead, he lets the mood pass and gives his friend an encouraging nod of his head.

"you've a long way to go," he chuckles "i'm confident you'll get there. but when i'm champion, don't expect me to take it easy on you." his head turns in the direction of the earlier arcanine.

"besides, i think you'll get your first chance. let's see what you got."

something was coming.

DANNY HALL

danny’s boasting is cut-short. luckily. greyson didn’t want to beat him in a battle so quickly after returning. his confidence was shaky enough as is.

“don’t worry,” greyson says, a smirk coiling across his lips. “it’s already covered.”

a shrill METAL SOUND overshadows even the explosive SONIC BOOM, shaking free leaves from trees, and scattering a flock of starly from their homes. a shadow, quick as the snapping jaw of a dreadnaw, bursts from the canopy of a nearby tree. it’s razor sharp talon’s glinting in the sunlight, but soon, was drowned out in an ethereal cobalt as the BRAVE BIRD wrapped around z like a reapers cloak.

the collision threw dust up in a circle around the two pokemon, greyson not even bothering to shield his eyes. when it clears, he tosses a capture device at the downed grotle.

"like i said." his eyes landing once more on danny. behind them, a friendly challenge is issued. 

"it's covered."

DANNY HALL

greyson barks a laugh in danny's direction. z's over-aggressive style of combat had it's uses. like now. though, if greyson were being honest with himself, he felt bad for the grass-type pokemon. it was a casualty in their war of pride.

"that was impressive," he compliments, "but let's see if you can go two for two." greyson nudges his head to two more pokemon emerging from the nearby brush, likely drawn to the explosive noises.

another challenge set.

with a whistle, he summons the massive corviknight away from the battlefield. instead, he summons another. coiling around itself like a striking viper, the thirty-foot long steelix shakes the earth with her landing. the ground cracks beneath her tremendous size and weight.

"you're up chlo!" he points an index finger at the approaching electabuzz. to it's credit, despite the impossible size difference, doesn't back down. the steelix moves, the resulting tremors reminding greyson of a train going through a station without stopping.

unbeknownst to the electric-pokemon, sharpened blade-like stones form beneath the crust, shooting up and outwards towards chlo's opponent. the STONE EDGE stops the approaching electabuzz's advance, it's massive arms raised in an x formation in front of himself. it does little to defend against a tail backed nearly by a thousand pounds of weight, catching the edge of the steelix's SLAM outright. the resulting blow knocks it back and it tumbles over itself a handful of times before stopping. it lie still, breathing, but still.

again, greyson tosses a pokeball and chlo roars in triumph. meanwhile, a small build of of electricity builds through her muscles, the massive pokemon unaware of it's impending status condition.


notes + capture attempt on elctabuzz! thanks for the mod!