eyes trace the scene playing out against the wall. the birth of a diety was always something that piqued ones interest, and especially moltres, in this case. considering his connection to the woman who was part of it. he hoped she was okay.
[break][break]
with a grimace, he turns back to the climb. bringing out riley, his boltund, he watches the YAWN begin to take hold. his lips quirk into a smile.
[break][break]
"okay riley! let's give everyone the zoomies!" she responds in kind, releasing an ELECTRIC TERRAIN, ensuring NO ONE on the field would succumb to the effects of his yawn.

[attr="class","ooc"]boruta maher | Eva Morales | MATIAS SILPH [break]


[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-boltund"]

they entered the next room, and he found himself looking for the words this time, engraved on the walls or on the floor. here, instead, there were etchings of fire pokémon. his eye lingered on heatran, the one he was most familiar with.

yawn? shit, he didn’t have much this time, either. his kangaskhan tended to be difficult to put to sleep, though it was certainly possible. deciding to take a chance anyways, he released the pokémon. he was on a good team. surely, someone had something to handle this for all of them.

of course, it was Greyson Connors .

bo sat back this time, patting the baby kangaskhan’s head. ”guess i didn’t need you guys, after all. next time.”

Greyson Connors MATIAS SILPH Eva Morales

☉

interesting.[break][break]

if anything, matias would've thought it'd be groudon who'd emerge from the depths of mount chimney. is that where moltres is, then?[break][break]

"focus up!"[break][break]

a quick swaperoo brings his hypno into the fray. even without the ELECTRIC TERRAIN, the psychic-type suffers from INSOMNIA. maybe it needs some relaxing asmr to help it sleep?

[attr="class","ooc"]Eva Morales Greyson Connors boruta maher[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-hypno"]

Temptest disappears back into her pokeball as they are out of this particular room. Completing another challenge means moving on to another floor. Eva is anxious to inspect the next room’s inscription.

Much to her disappointment, there is none. Her brows furrow, but soon relax as she spots the various fire-type paintings. Her memories drift back to Mt. Chimney, and their encounter with Groundon. She quickly glances towards Matias and Greyson to judge their reactions. She can tell Matias, at least, has similar thoughts.

Oh right, a challenge!

Eva’s the last the crack open a pokeball. The Electrivire lumbers forward to joint the others. The Yawn strikes, and his senses dull. The ELECTRIC TERRAIN cracks to life, snapping at his yellow fur. Combined with his VITAL SPIRIT, the electric-type remains awake.

---

MATIAS SILPH & Greyson Connors & boruta maher

and they're through![break][break]

"good job, team."[break][break]

onto the next.[break][break]

the blond man that greets them is familiar, and it's only now that matias starts to put the pieces together. fleur tea atelier is likely run by the same people as the ones who organized the cook-off a few months ago.[break][break]

the same people who likely distributed the unown report.[break][break]

"you look awfully familiar."[break][break]

he casts a knowing glance at Eva Morales but does nothing beyond that. he focuses on the items ahead of them and chooses the PROTECTIVE PADS.

[attr="class","ooc"]Eva Morales Greyson Connors boruta maher[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-machamp"]

greyson pats the boltund's head, giving her an electricfying scratch behind her ear. "good girl, now get some rest," he says, letting the dog disappear back into her ball. with that, he stands and approaches the cart, giving the man a short look. "ah, thanks for these. perhaps less commentary next time?" the snide remark hadn't gone unnoticed, and a tinge of irritation flares.
[break][break]
moving off, he joins the others.
[break][break]
"i think it gets harder from here, huh?"

[attr="class","ooc"]boruta maher | Eva Morales | MATIAS SILPH [break]

I TAKE THE PROTECTIVE PADD
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-boltund"]

With another challenge behind them, it’s finally time for a break! With a heavy sigh, Eva returns the Electrivire, “Yes, great work, team!” she echoes Matias as they enter the next room.

Her head tilts curiously as the man enters. She recognizes him, just as Matias does. She returns her partner’s look equally, frowning at the stranger’s feigned ignorance.

“Oh? More goodies?” Eva follows Matias over to the cart. After careful consideration, she trades her previous item for some PROTECTIVE PADS. They seem the most useful out of the others.

“I imagine it does!” she agrees with Greyson, “But we got this,” she shoots him a playful wink, fully confident in their abilities.

---

MATIAS SILPH & Greyson Connors & boruta maher

kangaskhan and her baby were returned to their shared pokéball. 

he’d never met the man with the cart, but he did find him a tad rude. his head tilted to one side with a smirk. they’d make it to the top, no problem.

walking over, he took the FOCUS SASH. ”thanks, man.” his grin wasn’t overly friendly, but had enough kill-them-with-kindness to appease his mother, arceus rest her soul.

he went to join his team again. would the rounds get harder from here? probably, but they'd make it through, easy. 

”yeah, no problem.” his tone was light. he knew he hadn't carried himself entirely, but this was a collector's game. still, it made him realize there were things he might not be prepared for. in a world with evolving new phenomena, maybe it was time to move past rock-types and expand his arsenal.

if, of course, they made it out alive. 

Greyson Connors MATIAS SILPH Eva Morales

☉

greyson already knows who to call on for this challenge. his steelix, chlo, makes a reappearance, her eyes narrowing in defiance. "take this one on the chin and show 'em you're a badass, chlo." she roars, taking the brunt of the OKHO attack, but remains standing, STURDY as a pillar.
[break][break]
greyson finally addresses the donphan in the room.
[break][break]
"any idea what the poems mean, anyone?"

[attr="class","ooc"]boruta maher | Eva Morales | MATIAS SILPH [break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-boltund"]

they move to the fifth floor, and it's here that his magnemite floats into existence, swapped in to tank the freezing SHEER COLD with its STURDY body.[break][break]

naturally, it survives the hit.[break][break]

"great job, small one."[break][break]

the magnemite, not Greyson Connors.[break][break]

taking a moment to read the inscription around the room, matias hums in thought, shaking his head.[break][break]

"i think it might be referring to the sinnoh legends."

[attr="class","ooc"]Eva Morales Greyson Connors boruta maher[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-magnemite"]

he had the focus sash, and that would be enough to keep him in the game regardless of who he chose. still, this was a good excuse to let golem do some showing off.

”mt. coronet is just a big pile of rocks!” not that it was bad thing. ”we can take the cold, too!”

like its teammates, golem weathered the SHEER COLD with its STURDY stone build.

”good job, golem!”

Greyson Connors was bringing up the poems, then. it was weird, wasn’t it? not just eccentric decor. he did not want to further acknowledge his own suspicions.

”yeah, i don’t know.”

he looked back to the black belt trainer, briefly thinking to ask considering mt. coronet's location, but then deciding to turn to Eva Morales , instead. surely, she would have some kind of insightful answer.

”what do you think, doc?”

Greyson Connors MATIAS SILPH Eva Morales

☉