"Let's try and find an empty stretch of beach." Adrian gestured further up the shoreline, away from the noisy brats running and screaming towards the waves or the coolest looking pokemon and its trainer. As they padded through the sand, Adrian feeling the warmth of the grit between his sandals, he turned to Priam and asked curiously.

"Have we met before? Feel like I've seen your type at a club..." Eh, it's probably nothing. He met all sorts frequenting night clubs across Slateport; there was like to be a dozen folks who could pull off the same look, more or less.

Once they were relatively alone, Adrian brandished a pokeball and unleashed a Toxicroak full of ANTICIPATION for the upcoming match.

---

priam conrad

"What the fuck?" It took him a moment to consider it, and suddenly Yveltal was at the fore, screaming at Adrian across their presence. It was all he could do to stay standing, a cold sweat forming on his brow as the beast relentlessly called for blood. Blood that it could not take for itself. So why should I?

A fair question, or so he alone felt. Yveltal went quiet.

Toxicroak stared at him uneasily as Adrian assessed the Braviary, seeing it for the bastard that it was and calculating. Well, I doubt I win this now. "I'unno about you, but this seems like cheating to me. Ah well." Scratching at the nape of his neck, he considered how to proceed. "Poison Jab." The toad reluctantly lurched forward, anticipating it was about to get its shit rocked.

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priam conrad

The hardened edge stubs Toxicroak's stinger, causing discomfort.

"No, you're right..." Battling while carrying on a conversation wasn't what he'd had in mind, but he supposed that's just how it went sometimes. The Braviary ahead of him was packing heat, and he'd be lying if he said he wasn't the least bit curious. But the fact its aura resembles the taint of Yveltal boded ill, especially in light of Yveltal's contempt for its mere existence. There must've been good reason.

Did he really want to get in between all that, though?

"Go ahead. Shoot." He'd meant for Priam to ask his questions, but Toxicroak fired off a TOXIC wad of gunk towards the Braviary, though once again he'd doubt its chances. "And tell me your name, while you're at it. Fair's fair, right?"

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priam conrad

Okay, so it was Gavin. Who hasn't he talked about me with?

Steel Wing once again bashed Toxicroak around, shoring up Braviary's defenses above necessary levels, though Adrian was less concerned about that than the cryptic manner in which Priam relayed his questions. I'm not sure I understand his question. In the background of their conversation Toxicroak held its palms towards Braviary, invoking VENOSHOCK in the target, which was liable to piss it off.

"It had a vested interest in that tree. I dunno why." Adrian rolled his shoulders with a shrug. Maybe it was strange for someone to let a pokemon boss them around, but with his patron, it felt more or less synonymous with survival. At least until he found a bigger stick. "Is that what you wanted to know?"

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priam conrad

Adrian wears a pained expression to see the scope of the attack.

"Well... Can't say I was expecting that." Against all likelihood Toxicroak was prepared to keep fighting, only its limbs were hampered by calcified minerals from the blast. It had to exert itself striking them full-force to keep going, lest it be weighed down and its stingers sealed off. It took a bit for Adrian to come to and give an honest answer.

"...Oblivion Wing."

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priam conrad

Toxicroak was left to its devices while Adrian pressed for answers.

"How did you ever even accomplish that...?"

It was unnatural, but the closer he looked, he recognized the signs of SHADOWFICATION present in the bird's aura; it just presented itself more as a facsimile of Yveltal's own, much in the same way his and Thomas' aura reflected their patron's. "I thought the Megalopolans created shadow pokemon..."

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priam conrad