drawn by the smell of barbecue, noah arrives leading a parade of falinks. they march in stunning precision and make neat pairs of footprints in the sand.

but such art is transient. typhoon winds scatter their shape away.

"heyo!" noah shouts. he stops, getting close enough to see the patties dripping fat. the falinks swerve around him as a curved wall. "kyle should be coming soon... have we ever met, man? i'm noah."

perhaps, there is enough time to fit a battle. hopefully kyle lopez isn't trapped in the swirling confines of a nap.

"the best way to get to know each other though is through battling, don't you think?"

angelo vestri

☉

"sure!" noah wrinkles his nose. the palate pleas for patties. "but just so ya know. we're both going to be winners because that extra patty isn't going to the champ."

the falinks arrange themselves as their trainer mentions kyle lopez. despite their inability to fly, the disadvantage only serves to harden their determination.

"alright! let's get this started!" noah casts his hand out as his falinks hop around like mario characters. "NO RETREAT!"

his pokemon form an arrow-like defensive formation, feet kicking up sand as they march in place.

angelo vestri

☉

"pillar formation! PROTECT!" noah shouts. winds whip across the shore, casting beads of sand on sharp ribbons.

with meticulous and precise speed, the falinks stack on top of each other. the head falinsk, the brass, crowns the top. its larger shape and dominant crest is evident at this angle.

the FLAMETHROWER surges for them— but a protective barrier deflects the fire.

"now jump for a HEADBUTT!" noah orders. he snaps his head toward angelo with a small laugh. "careful you don't burn the burgers yourself!"

as the whole pillar leaps, each falinks boosts the other up. it's like a wave running through a caterpillar's segmented colours— with the leader being tossed toward the noivern with the cumulative momentum.

it rotates in the air, HEADBUTT incoming.

angelo vestri

☉

the HURRICANE scatters the falinks from their pillar. a gale blows away the brass and briefly, there is a moment of weakness. on the shore, noah's pokemon land like golden golf balls in an alolan bunker.

"move back into a phalanx!" he cries— a term he had learned after the acquisition of this particular species. perhaps, noah should read more books.

noah retorts quick. "kinda reconsidering whether i should eat your cooking now, angelo!"

his falinks move toward their leader, pulled by the gravity of leadership. as they speed-march, their small feet draw trails in the sand.

angelo vestri

☉

the DOUBLE TEAM is an intimidating phalanx of its own. in the sky, the noivern seem countless. wings beat together in haunting unison.

still, the falinks below carry on dutifully. led by a sense of loyalty and unfaltering determination written in their blood, they problem solve quickly.

"like a soccer!" noah says to his pokemon.

the smaller units line up behind the brass. as one moves in front of the leader, it hops before being HEADBUTT toward a NOIVERN or its iMAGE. the FIVE TROOPERS are launched at various NOIVERN— but whether they hit true or not is yet to be determined.

"do you mean kyle?" noah jests.

thankfully, noah knows little of the nightmare that is gulpin green egg sandwiches. what the fuck chef captain skyler dross.

angelo vestri

☉

"naw he's not bad! when he burns the eggs, it's because i'm bugging him."

caught in the gales both dragon made and nature spawned, the falinks follow invisible curls before falling back to the beach. the brass PROTECTS— but when alone, such defense can only go so much.

sand flies from its small feet as it skids across the beach. as the force dissipates, the brass topples backwards to create circular snow angel.

the crash landings the falinks take begin to wear them down. one falinks does not stir, exhausted from the battle.

noah calls out, "scatter— then get ready to do it again!" running across the beach, they divide themselves to attempt to avoid any other incoming attacks before they come together as five. the missing unit in their lineup is readily apparent in the uneven shape.

judging for safety, he quickly runs to the fainted unit and scoops it up in his arms.

angelo vestri

☉

the DRAGON PULSE scatters sand into circular blades. grit whips around from points of impact, cycling around blades of eroded stone, driftwood, and bone.

"then we'll have to finish this in five!" noah says. "CLOSE COMBAT!"

his falinks leap onto a nearby palm. in coordinated leaps and rotations, they smack one unit after the next and as they travel across the air toward the NOIVERN, they CLOSE COMBAT to get near.

noah thinks it's good training. despite the odds.

angelo vestri

☉