and so, a champion rises.[break][break]

they find themselves in a once-familiar place; an oppressive place that reeks of death and decay and everything alexander had once fought against. it is comforting, in a way, to be met with the same things even after all this time.[break][break]

no words need to be exchanged. alexander had been summoned for a reason, and though he hopes otherwise, hopes that he could simply walk away and return to the life he once knew and lived, he knows his existence is dependent on that very reason.[break][break]

but even if he could walk away, with FERNANDO SILPH's life on the line, a person he considers his greatest rival, would he?[break][break]

no. alexander's righteousness has and always will be his downfall.[break][break]

"he's here?"[break][break]

here, being somewhere in sootopolis, a place alexander had grown familiar with during his tenure as its gym leader. it's how he knows just how complex the city can be. navigating it will prove tricky.[break][break]

"okay. we'll find him," he says as though there's a need to reassure the legendary. "stay close to me."[break][break]

and with that, they begin their search, slinking into the shadows of sootopolis.

[attr="class","ooc"]FERNANDO SILPH[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-tapu-fini"]

nina didn’t take the cheap shot, immediately throwing a hand up to halt the attack of her pokemon as her trainer communicated with ghostly presences unseen. since that first mission with Alexandra Briarwood , she had become more familiar with the phantom realm—or at least with what she’d seen of the beast’s interactions with it. [break][break]

“what’s wrong?”[break][break]

with only a vague, far-off answer, lex was soon dragging her off through the darkness of sootopolis. it was horrific. it wreaked of death. despite the glow of crystablooms, the shadows seemed especially oppressive. it looked frighteningly similar to a couple of doomsday movies she could rattle off the top of her head.[break][break]

still, what could be seen in front of them was clear enough. being fascinated with both water and fairy types as she was, nina had familiarized herself with what she could find on the legendary. [break][break]

”tapu fini,” she identified, eyes wide with awe. surely it wasn’t causing all of this... that wouldn’t make any sense. so what was it doing here? [break][break]

’aren’t you dead?’ prompted by lex’s strange words, her attention shifted to the man beside the legendary, who was not FERNANDO SILPH . it took her a moment, before she recognized the former champion’s face.[break][break]

brows high at the realization, nina quietly returned the shuppet who had followed her there, and replaced it with something she figured was more appropriate. a lumbering dhelmise, four meters high, soon swayed in the air in front of her. another ghost, still relevant to her training for the day.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]tldr: [break]
* arrives, releases dhelmise in preparation for battle[break]
ALEXANDER STONE Alexandra Briarwood FERNANDO SILPH [break]


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

much to his surprise, the people of sootopolis are not as keen on helping him as they might have once been. or at least he draws the conclusion from the two civilians he talks to, both of whom shrugged him off almost immediately.[break][break]

this is their city now, they said. you should leave before it's too late.[break][break]

it seems as though they will have to face whatever threats may come their way on their own. just alexander and tapu fini; a pairing that actually makes a lot of sense.[break][break]

in another life, maybe.[break][break]

threats appear — two unfamiliar faces for lex's rise in rocket had come after his time.[break][break]

"i'm afraid i can't do that yet."[break][break]

his posture, despite the stand-off, remains relaxed and poised.[break][break]

"but i promise i'll leave as soon as i've done what i need to do. so, please, let's avoid a fight."[break][break]

slowly, a MISTY TERRAIN bleeds from tapu fini.

[attr="class","ooc"]tldr[break]
- tries to talk his way out of a fight[break]
FERNANDO SILPH Alexandra Briarwood nina larson[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-tapu-fini"]

nina cast looks between the two. she was certainly familiar with the man’s face, having lived in hoenn her whole life, and had an eye glued to magazines and powerful figures. he was dead. she knew that, yet somehow, here he was. a ghost, now among others.[break][break]
she held back still, and her dhelmise did the same, its training lacking the same special defenses as the jellyfish next to it. it was a hardy anchor, and a ghost at that. how much more could it need? [break][break]
they waited for the action they knew was coming. while nina was unaware of the previous incident with tapu fini, lex seemed familiar with it, and she also seemed to mean business. the opportunity to battle this legendary in particular was exciting, if not a little terrifying considering the circumstances. as seconds passed, the look in nina’s eye settled into one of confidence, readiness.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]tldr: [break]
* still waiting[break]
ALEXANDER STONE Alexandra Briarwood FERNANDO SILPH [break]


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

ACID ARMOR solidifies, lessening their chances of avoiding a fight, it seems. but alexander is persistent — foolish, some may say, but persistent nonetheless.[break][break]

"i did not have a choice."[break][break]

his gaze shifts a little to gauge their surroundings, finding alternatives in the briefest of moments he's allowed.[break][break]

"please. no one has to get hurt."[break][break]

tapu fini has grown impatient. it cannot tolerate banter, at least not while its chosen continues to be in danger.[break][break]

their negotiation comes to an abrupt end as tapu fini lets loose a tide of SURF.

[attr="class","ooc"]tldr[break]
- tapu fini uses SURF[break]
FERNANDO SILPH Alexandra Briarwood nina larson[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-tapu-fini"]

her eyes continued to pass between lex and the undead alexander stone. he came in peace, but still, this was their territory. tapu fini, as fascinating as it was, was an enemy. the deity acted of its own accord, making it clear that it felt the same. [break][break]

”dhelmise, ANCHOR SHOT!”[break][break]

though the SURF was powerful, the dhelmise weathered it well. following nina’s command, its massive anchor was careening through the water, in hopes to smash into the tapu’s shell and wrap its chain around to trap it there. [break][break]

nina watched on, anxious to see how her grass-type would fair. she was playing her ace first.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]ALEXANDER STONE Alexandra Briarwood FERNANDO SILPH [break]


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

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

SLUDGE BOMB sizzles, looking to corrode flesh as it arcs across the air like an aerial torpedo. toxic blobs splatter against tapu fini, damaging as it continues to maneuver left and right.[break][break]

it does enough to avoid the ANCHOR SHOT, understanding getting hit by it would've put them in a very tricky spot.[break][break]

"we need to go!"[break][break]

turning, alexander ducks into one of the many alleyways of sootopolis and starts running down the flights of stairs.[break][break]

tapu fini's MISTY TERRAIN continues to spread, CURSING all those within who had attacked it as it turns to follow alexander.

[attr="class","ooc"]tldr[break]
- tapu fini is hit by SLUDGE BOMB[break]
- tapu fini avoids ANCHOR SHOT[break]
- alexander runs[break]
- tapu fini follows[break]
FERNANDO SILPH Alexandra Briarwood nina larson[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-tapu-fini"]

the water still running into storm drains disappeared beneath the billowing fog of Alexandra Briarwood ’s shadow gardevoir, and the much less familiar MISTY TERRAIN. its effects were a mystery. she did her best to focus ahead. now wasn’t the time to ask questions.[break][break]

even over the commotion, she heard puddles as she trailed after the beast and their target.[break][break]

”dhelmise!” she shouted. the anchor was reeling back in its chain, which dragged along the road as its metal groaned towards their opponents. ”WHIRLPOOL!”[break][break]

water rose from the streets and swirled towards tapu fini.

[attr="class","ooc"]TLDR:[break]
- nina runs after lex and alexander[break]
- dhelmise uses WHIRLPOOL on tapu fini[break][break]
ALEXANDER STONE Alexandra Briarwood FERNANDO SILPH [break]


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

[attr="class","milkcredit"] [attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

despite having lived in sootopolis for a good amount of time, alexander had not familiarized himself with the many alleyways and flights of stairs of sootopolis. after a while, they all seem to look the same.[break][break]

so where can he go exactly? nowhere besides the wall he's slammed into by the sudden PSYCHIC from the gardevoir.[break][break]

"...!"[break][break]

with the wind knocked out of him, he struggles to find ground.[break][break]

tapu fini, on the other hand, fares better against the dhelmise. WHIRLPOOL may wrap around it but the water bends to its will, shifting the tides (literally) as a SURF heads back dhelmise and nina's way.[break][break]

a few moments later and tapu fini is MOONBLASTING gardevoir.

[attr="class","ooc"]tldr[break]
- alexander is pinned against the wall with PSYCHIC[break]
- tapu fini uses SURF on DHELMISE & NINA[break]
- tapu fini uses MOONBLAST on S!GARDEVOIR[break]
FERNANDO SILPH Alexandra Briarwood nina larson[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-tapu-fini"]