The psychic fangs will have him done for in two hits. He reacts as quickly as he can.

"Baneful bunker!"

The call given couldn't be acted upon, not immediately. She tried to use her baneful bunker but that dino was too quick. The attack causes her to screech, but she's putting down her BANEFUL BUNKER just after the attack.

One more bite like that and she's gone. Sam knows it, and he knows that with that knowledge, he's already lost the battle. It was now just a waiting game-- but he refused to give up. Perhaps the poisoned dinosaur would be easier to deal with...

Sénon Game

The toxapex could hear the fit the tyrunt was throwing, and that STOMPING TANTRUM caused the toxapex to open up. She tried her best to retaliate, but as she conjured some bubbles for a LIQUIDATION she ended up fizzling out, barely getting the water out of her maul before her limbs all fell limp.

The final whistle blew and Sam returned his toxapex.

Sénon was announced the winner and Sam kept his distance only because of the tyrunt pitching a fit. It wasn't that Sam felt bad for the damage done, it was a battle and these things happen.

But damn was that thing loud.

"Does he need an antidote? I have an extra..."

Not like there wasn't a pokémon center tent nearby that they could go and heal their pokémon at, which was Sam's plan.

TOXAPEX has FAINTED!
Sénon Game is the WINNER!

"A few months now."

The answer is given as he looks over the tyrunt one last time. The trainer has said that it'll be fine, so Sam leaves it at that and focuses instead on the conversation at hand.

"I've taken over Mt. Pyre as the groundskeeper."

In truth, he owned the property that was Mt. Pyre's Memorial Grounds-- it was just quite a mouthful. He oversaw the graves, took care of the lands, made sure the dead weren't dug up by wild pokémon.

"And you?"

Sénon Game

Sam's usually ridged and unreadable features softened. He relaxed his shoulders and rolled them forward a bit. Invested, with a small tinge of remorse for the fallen.

"I'm sorry for your losses."

In a way, he had been raised to say those words. But he did, in fact, mean them. There were plenty of those from Kanto and Johto alike that knew Sam because of him and his mother running the Pokémon Tower in Lavender Town.

Sénon was no different, and Sam was very good at remembering faces and the pokémon attached to them.

"I've heard it's been quite an interesting year, and a more devastating one the year prior."

Sénon Game

"I didn't leave Lavender Town."

Sam didn't like the way it sounded, 'leaving' Lavender Town.

"The man who owned and took care of Mt. Pyre was becoming too old to deal with the influx of work that was coming to Mt. Pyre. He wasn't quite young enough to get the place back to its former glory, and funding to Mt. Pyre is stand alone. It isn't influenced by League, Rocket, or otherwise. Whoever owns it, those funds are what fuels it."

He never thought he'd be explaining this situation to anybody. Oh well.

"My mother and I used to request his help and resources when things were bad in Kanto. Because of that, we have a longstanding relationship with the man, me specifically as I did the majority of the traveling when it came to the Pokémon Tower."

He had been dubbed The Ferryman for a reason.

"When Mr. Dom Pey decided he wanted to retire and step down, he reached out to me, and asked if I was interested in taking something like Mt. Pyre under my wing. I agreed. It was high time I had something to call my own."

Sénon Game

"And what brought you to Hoenn originally? Chasing down Rocket?"

Sam decided then that the spotlight needed turned. Chasing Rocket down was ninety percent of the reason most came from Kanto or Johto these days.

Best way to avoid war was to try and move forward from previous wars. But both sides were making that impossible. Even this battle tournament, Sam knew well that it was a way for both sides to gauge what up and coming trainers were assets or threats.

The endorsements would likely be out the wahzoo after this.

Sénon Game

It wasn't Sam's place to say whether or not somebody should or shouldn't seek revenge. Why? Because typically Sam wasn't emotionally invested enough in anything to actually do something as passionate as revenge.

"I'm glad you were at least able to,"

Then the dino fainted, and Sam turned to look at it. When Sénon didn't say anything further, he just looked back to Sénon and finished his thought.

"Make it out alive. I know a lot of those who were fighting more directly were at risk."

Sénon Game