"hey, i was thinking of stopping by to see the hives tomorrow, is that cool? okay, yeah. i can bring takeout or something as well. alright, awesome, see you then." with the click of his phone, he ends the call with willow atkins, and turns up to see someone had entered. someone he recognized.

"boruta maher," he calls out, eyes scanning the clipboard just to be sure, "knew i recognized the name. any relation to cian?" he'd lost the battle against cian's minor gym, but, that had been all in good fun. "welcome, anyways. you ready to kick this off?"

boruta maher

fortunately for bo’s ego, greyson was too far away to catch any details of his call. he likely would have attempted to tune it out, anyways.

CIAN MAHER ’s name brought up never surprised him. not only was his little brother now in the minor league, but he had always been a very notable athlete. bo had fallen into the jock category himself growing up, and his battling prowess had shined from a young age—but he’d perhaps most often been known to rustboro as ’the maher twins’ big brother’. they had been the track superstars, whereas his own talents had been better displayed outside of academics.

after school, he had mostly just disappeared. only recently had he begun to really make a name for himself.

”hey, man. yeah, actually, that’s my little brother.”

he might’ve asked how he knew him, but greyson seemed to be ready to kick things off. maybe the gym ran on a tight schedule. that was fine.

”hell yeah. let’s do it.”

Greyson Connors

☉

"he's a hell of a fighter," greyson says with a grin as he tucks the clipboard beneath his arm, "runs in the family i suppose." with a full docket, he appreciates boruta's commitment to getting started. the door on the other side of the room opens, and the gym-leader wishes the challenger luck.

he would witness this challenge from far different perspective than boruta's own.

stepping through boruta is greeted with a gentle breeze, one that smells like salt-water and summer. boruta's challenge was unlike those before him; both for a spin on creativity, and to ensure a proper challenge in the case of word-of-mouth rumors spreading too far.

looking about the man would find himself judge on the edge of the city, overlooking it from a-top a hill. its no bustling city-center, but filled with arches, waterways, and ports that resemble the architecture of old. above, the sun sits high and eager, letting boruta know there's still plenty of light in the day.

there's a heavy sense of peace about the air. it's infectious and calling to free-spirited hearts. perhaps maybe even to boruta's own.

then, as if a curtain had been pulled, a massive black and grey thundercloud forms over the silent town. it's far to quick to be natural, and before his very eyes, a massive typhoon begins to swirl and spin in the ocean outside. a shadow swims up and through it, using it to rise naturally into the air with minimal effort, despite the powerful tornado like strength.

a powerful, echoing cry...

...a figure explodes outwards from the twister.

LUGIA, GUARDIAN OF THE SEAS appears before the town and its people. its full majesty leaves many in awe, and it's PRESSURE settles onto everything like weighted blanket. it's warm, comforting, an—

the PRESSURE begins to increase more and more. standing becomes a pain for even boruta maher, forcing him to one knee, and should he not steel himself, to another. many of those visible begin to physically bow in the God's presence. a side-effect? or intended?

its powerful roar follows, willing its power into the sea around it. more TWISTERS rise, THUNDER bellows and a heavy RAIN FALL begins to descend. the PRESSURE recedes as LUGIA STRIKES a nearby boat.

all hell breaks loose soon after.

but, above it all, clear as the dawning sun, THREE FLARES appear.

YELLOW. RED. BLUE.

boruta maher

The GUARDIAN OF THE SEAS rises from the ocean depths and begins to unleash an attack on a quiet, sea-faring port city. The weather worsens from its presence, and natural disasters begin to fall onto the city one-by-one.

You stand in a unique position to assist where capable. Should you choose.

DECIDE YOUR NEXT COURSE OF ACTION.

bo smiled, ”yeah, maybe so.”

he nodded thanks, and stepped into the room, awestruck as he looked around. this wasn’t like any gym he’d been in before, that was for sure. he looked over the city, with its old charm. it was a beautiful day in simulation world—until it wasn’t, very suddenly.

”oh shit. here we go.”

the storm appeared almost out of nowhere, and then, the PRESSURE of some unseen force pushed him to the ground. lugia burst from a tornado of water shortly after, which explained things. wowzers.

”that’s pretty cool.” and surprisingly realistic.

once able to move from his kneeling, it was go time. the first out of their pokeballs were aurorus and drednaw.

”drednaw, dig a hole and fill it with water.”

drednaw dug with its face horn and used LIQUIDATION.

”nice. now, aurorus, FREEZE it.”

soon, there was a thick block of ice which bo lifted from the ground and set at the edge of the hill. returning his pokémon for now, and then pushed off, gripping the sides as best he could to toboggan down the steepest part of the slope. once it began to level out and his ice block slowed, he jumped up to continue on foot.

pokémon appeared out of their pokeballs around him, one after another. everyone needed their exercise. once they’d made it to the water’s edge, he pointed.

”that’s our target, guys! watch out for the boat!”

attacks launched. HYPER BEAM from aurorus, ROCK THROW from golem.

”thwack, bring the sun back out!”

the monkey looked towards the sky, and began drumming up a SUNNY DAY.

Greyson Connors

☉

greyson wasn't sure what surprises him the most. that boruta had macgyvered a make shift ice-sleigh and raced down the hill towards a cataclysmic disaster, or that he'd jumped straight into it, eager to protect civilians in even a simulation like this.
[break][break]
both were good marks in his book.
[break][break]
with the threat here momentarily dispersed, boruta races off to the RED FLARE. on his way there, he passes by fleeing, screaming men and women, and the beginnings of the great storm above taking its toll on the city proper. the SUNNY DAY brings forth a small reprieve, a break in the clouds that offers hope, but it falls flat beneath the will of the Sea Guardian.
[break][break]
it does prove one thing however, that should boruta wish, he could control the weather in a SMALL, LOCALIZED AREA.
[break][break]
arriving at his destination, bo arrives to nearly waist deep waters, with even more surges of water being pulled from the ocean. plywood and debris are but a few of the dozens of materials that float by. most unnerving is the silence.; no screams, no shouts of terror, nor is anyone pleading for help.
[break][break]
then, before boruta's very eyes, three fins break the water's surface and converge in his direction. around the challenger, the water begins to surge even more rapidly than before, as a WHIRLPOOL works to keep him tracked inside.

[attr="class","notes"]boruta maher[break][break]

kT2peFqh

[break][break]

surrounded by unknown, but clearly threatening water-type pokemon, your time seems numbered. even worse, a WHIRLPOOL keeps you trapped in place, clearly designed to keep you still long enough to hunt, or maybe even to drown you. you recognize the need to escape, but can you?[break][break]

---

[break][break]

ROLL 3 TIMES.

[break][break]
to succeed in boruta maher's attempt to escape the whirlpool, you must roll higher than the roll above. no matter the number, its rolls are capped at 60. any number below the cap can be treated as the number presented.
[break][break]
you may choose NOT to roll 3 times, instead opting for either one, or two dice. in doing so you will gain INSPIRATION equal to the combined roll (with no max) of the unused dice. this inspiration/combined sum can be used to add onto a future roll, and you may only have one iteration of it at a time.
[break][break]
you must DECLARE YOUR INTENT before you roll. (e.g. "i wish to roll 2 dice.") do this through the discord server, or a DM. any left over dice will be rolled in the post after your next.[break][break]failing these rolls will not mean an instant loss of your challenge, but rather added difficulty.

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

bo ran for the red flare that had caught his eye in the distance. a whistle summoned lycanroc to follow, and thwackey was slung onto his shoulders. a pokéball withdrew the drednaw on his way past.

”handle it!” he called to the golem, aurorus, and cradily left behind. their assault on lugia continued. golem’s ROCK THROW attempted to pull more parts of the simulation up from the ground and hurl it towards the deity. cradily’s ANCIENT POWER glowed and burst, sparkling across the ice that blew upward with aurorus’s FREEZE DRY.

screams of men and women passed by boruta, thwackey, and lycanroc, as lugia’s storm wreaked havoc from above and behind them. they drew closer to their destination, and it became quieter, except for the sound of the water that rushed towards them. he was soon waist-deep, struggling to avoid the debris which cracked into him. drednaw was released again, and pulled himself onto its back, along with lycanroc. thwackey held on tighter to his shoulders as all eyes locked onto the approaching fins.

”lycanroc, be ready to guard. drednaw, ROCK TOMB.” as they swirled closer, bo hoped they would be quick enough to both immobilize their opponent, and dodge whatever rock formation they might form to trap their mystery foe.

AUHUVTOx

Greyson Connors

☉

the ROCK TOMB encloses around all three predators. each one is given their own individual coffin of dirt, and debris, stopping their advance as quickly as it arrived. it grants boruta a reprieve, a few moments to ORGANIZE HIMSELF and PREPARE for what comes next.
[break][break]
then, suddenly, and violently, two of three tombs begin to violently shake. it sends ripples of harsh water out in waves, churning the water around them ravenously. a flash of black energy, a NIGHT SLASH, cuts one rock to pebbles, while the other explodes outwards, it's prisoner breaking through with a AQUA JET.
[break][break]
both creatures, now clearly visible as SHARPEDO, show signs of EXTREME ANGER, with the second bleeding from minor scrapes on its cobalt hide. as one, they converge on boruta once more, this time with renewed vigor and speed.

[attr="class","notes"]boruta maher

[break][break]

due to your quick thinking, you're given an extra round to put a stop to these sharks. use it wisely.

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

rock tomb fell over all three mystery fish with great success. Bo wasted no time on this minor victory, though. he didn’t trust that this was over.

”alright! let’s give ‘em some distance!”

The drednaw powered against the current. Thwackey jumped down to the back of its shell, pulling sticks out of the leaves on its head, and then doing its best to paddle with them from the edge. Unfortunately, they cut through the water, much less effective than drednaw’s water-suited strength.

As expected, a couple of the sharks burst from the rocky holds and were immediately on the attack again. as drednaw continued to speed away, the rest took aim.

”get ‘em, thwack.”

Raising up from the edge of the water, thwackey held the sticks high and thwacked them together. A storm of RAZOR LEAF blew out of nowhere towards their pursuers, while lycanroc protected them from the AQUA JET with a QUICK GUARD.

Greyson Connors

☉

as the bladed edges of a RAZOR LEAF cut their teeth on the two shark's rough hides, they both AQUA JET through debris and garbage alike, only to meet the QUICK GUARD in a painful thud. they land in a rather unimpressive splash, quickly retreating in search of easier prey.
[break][break]
then the VIBRATION on the waters surface becomes more noticeable. if boruta is perceptive enough he could trace it back to the one, final ROCK TOMB.
[break][break]
the vibrations increase, and with it, the deafening sound of something beating against the inside of the rock. it stills, silence taking over for one, all-consuming second.
[break][break]
then it explodes outwardly.
[break][break]
a MEGA-EVOLVED sharpedo, easily twice the size of its two brethren, bursts free from its prison. its massive maw widens, exposing dozens of gleaming sharp teeth, as a HYDRO PUMP aims directly for the boruta maher and his two pokemon.

[attr="class","notes"]boruta maher

[break][break]

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

they knew better than to celebrate the suddenly quiet waters. despite all alertness, the HYDRO PUMP came too quickly to do much. bo’s first reflex was to throw thwackey into the air. the monkey somersaulted over the rush of water—but bo and his lycanroc were blown off and left behind.

thwackey’s skillful ACROBATICS would hopefully land a cheeky hit on the sharpedo’s nose before springing off again and back onto the drednaw’s back. it drifted around their foe, briefly spinning a sharp RAZOR SHELL across its hide, before attempting to loop back towards their overboard partners.

meanwhile, treading in open water, bo quickly grabbed onto his wolf. ”STEALTH ROCK!” jagged stones from the earth below would float up around the sharpedo, creating a painful obstacle course for it to navigate if it wanted to reach them.

Greyson Connors

☉

pain was an obstacle for many — but not this predator. its rough hide was marred by scars, missing scales, and entire chunks of flesh missing. it was no stranger to pain, and so, it pushes through.
[break][break]
passing through STEALTH ROCKS was a bloodied affair, and soon, the water is dyed in trails of crimson. it gives solace to boruta maher and his team that they'd injured the creature, but it also has one glaring downside — camouflage.
[break][break]
the shadow disappears beneath the water, that is, until a vicious CRUNCH wraps itself around drednaw's enlarged arm. with all of its strength, it begins to pull the two pokemon down beneath the waves.

[attr="class","notes"]boruta maher

[attr="class","wizzcredit"]☉

sharpedo were mean sons of bitches. he’d been around the ocean, and he’d seen sharpedo week on tv. he’d seen the scars of ships barely making it back to port. he was a ranger, but it didn’t take all that much to know his ass was in trouble.

or at least, it would have been, had this not all been a simulation.

bo watched as drednaw was pulled under. thwackey, however, didn’t hang on, quick to abandon the fight that would ensue between the two water types in the bloody depths.

as the sharpedo dragged it down, stones cut through the water, glowing and circling before smashing inward to trap the mega in another rock tomb.

meanwhile, bo decided to return thwackey. he pulled lycanroc along as he swam backwards, eyes on the water. couldn’t see shit.

”be ready, girl,” he told his dog.

Greyson Connors

☉