The Rotomdex glanced at the two other kids present, a nervous look on its digital face as the two warned it about its presence; Eris Halla 's was on regards to the ones responsible for this, even detailing the consequence of her last attempt to look too close, while Andy Blackadder 's was layered with a hint of a personal threat.

The Rotomdex tilted up and down - the best it could do to nod.

Hideo wasn't much more confident, a bead of sweat dripping along his back. "So I'm gonna be cursed now?" he muttered. "Well, I guess there are worse things to get cursed with." A small attempt to inject some levity in a situation he knew he was way over his depth in.

And ooh boy, was this some heavy shit to have to hear. "An entire region?" Hideo parroted, a sweat bead building on his forehead. And Hoenn wasn't even going to be the first: Galar would be struck first.

"So you're saying something's coming, and the only reason we know is because of those warnings you got..." Hideo put a hand to his chin, trying to comprehend everything he was hearing. "But if they're warning us, why do they curse us to forget the warnings? What are they trying to do?"

There had to be a reason why they were suppressing their own warnings. If they were even the ones suppressing them in the first place.

"And if we can't trust anyone with that kind of power, does that mean we should find a way to destroy it?" That one seemed more along the lines of Andy's paranoia, but it wasn't unfounded; the power to destroy regions was not something the belonged in the wrong hands.

There weren't even right hands to put it in...

Eris Halla , Andy Blackadder

That sudden shouting did not help ease Hideo, the boy taking a step back at Andy's outburst. Andy being Galarian had fallen into the back of Hideo's mind, but this pulled it right to the forefront.

"I...I didn't even know I got dragged into this until now." Just the necklace out of nowhere and that was it. "They didn't even give me a warning. Now I find out two regions are gonna get blown up if we don't stop...this 'Darkest Day' thing?"

He spoke again, his voice wavering. "Why'd the lake trio pull me into this too? I just wanted to do gym challenges and be the Champion. I didn't ask for this."

He could feel himself start getting worked up, hia face reddening as the frustration built. Were it just Andy here, he wouldn't try to restrain himself.

But Eris was here too. And she sounded just as scared as he felt.

He couldn't make things worse. He had to be strong.

Hideo took a deep breath in, his hands together in front of his face. If he wanted to be Champion, he'd have to be ready to deal with this kind of threat. If he just shied away from it the moment it felt too difficult, he'd never be worthy.

After taking a moment, he spoke again. "I think...I think we gotta find out more about this. Eris said other people had this kind of stuff, so there's gotta be more people who have it too. We just have to find them and learn what they know; maybe someone knows what we're dealing with, or when exactly it's coming. Then maybe all this will make some sense and we can know what to prepare for."

It was clear they didn't have nearly enough information between the three of them.

Eris Halla , Andy Blackadder

At the very least, Hideo managed to get Andy to focus on learning more, instead of the frustration of the unknown. And he could even sympathize with the annoyance of a lack of agency - a feeling he knew all too well - nodding once Andy mentioned it.

Though this case would be to save regions, not limit someone and let their talents go to waste.

"If I knew anyone else connected to this," Hideo said, "I'd help, but you guys are the first ones I've talked to about this. I wouldn't even know where to start with who might know stuff." Frustrating, but then again, he only recently got involved.

The details Eris provides don’t make him feel any more confident about being involved in this. “It’s strong enough to take down Yveltal?...” Hideo mused; he didn’t know much about that one, apart from it being associated with death and destruction. And for something like that to get killed…

And who was the purple-haired person she mentioned? Not that he knew anyone with purple hair (or any color for that matter), but it definitely narrowed things down.

“At least Azelf really is on our side,” he said. It was probably the only upside he could find in this mess, though they probably wouldn’t be warning people if they weren’t. “But something huge is coming for Galar, then Hoenn.”

But what it was, and when it would arrive, was still unknown.

Let alone what they’d need to take it down.

Hideo put his shaky hands in his jacket pocket.  "We gotta find what anyone else knows about this.  That guy, Locke Jamison, may be a good start, but we'll probably need a lot more people."

Eris Halla , Andy Blackadder

OMINOUS OMENS

A TRIAL BETWEEN THREE

WHEN THE MEETING CONCLUDES and the children depart, Hideo Kino’s rotom will faint. it suffers from a fit of electrical spasm, wriggling about much to its trainer’s confusion. with his memories of this meeting gatekept by the UNUSUAL CHARM there’s no proper reason for the pokemon uncharacteristic behavior.

thankfully, with proper rest the pokemon will recover. when it comes to, the pokemon seems perfectly healthy if not slightly dazed. however, attempts to review the footage of their meeting comes out heavily distorted. no matter what technology or expertise they employ, the video remains the same.

[attr="class","spiral"]

Eris Halla Hideo Kino