More riddles. Was it really wise to come here? Those riddles during the Tiered Tea Room had already been annoying, after all. Figuring them out was fun sometimes, but she had disliked the overly specific requirements to beat opponents there, all the things allowed or not allowed. These riddles seemed much better. At the very least, they were about figuring something out that had actual application. Like coming here, today, on top of her super-sized Jellicent.

And now the young woman clad in comfortable walking shirt and skirt had to figure out just which of the four whirlpools to get into. The riddle offered in the sand was awfully unhelpful with that. Violet softly sighed to herself, thinking, much like the others who had not started to talk things out yet. But that would soon start, so she just used that moment of calm, still. Only someone did talk, now that she thought of it. Something very, very faint, but definitely there.[break][break]
‘You are always welcome home’, someone said – and she had to raise a brow. It was something she’d never heard said out loud, just read in an E-Mail, addressed to an account that she had not accessed in ages. One Mail phrased like that amidst a sea of more urging questions and orders. Something she hadn’t quite forgotten.
[break][break]
Yet, someone kept saying that. Which meant that something massively screwed up was happening here. The voice seemed to come from out of the sea, so it was unlikely that there was someone present who knew her secret. But rather, that was some Pokemon doing weird things. She could just tell. Or rather, she wanted to believe that. “Well, last time it was a Horsea, today it is a Skrelp. That probably means something, right?” She addressed those around her, just in case. After all, it was fine to ask for help. “Otherwise I see two going clock-wise, two counter. My Jellicent has Whirlpool, but it probably won’t be as easy as using that.”
[break][break]

+ Hears odd voice, thinks, asks around just in case, has Whirlpool available[break][break]

Jellicent (xxl) FEMALE - CURSED BODY[break] - whirlpool / shadow ball / night shade / hydro pump / strength sap[break][break]
Zarude MALE - LEAF GUARD[break] Jungle Healing, Power Whip, Bind, Hammer Arm, Scary Face, Growth[break][break]
Eevee (s) MALE - ANTICIPATION[break] LAST RESORT,COPYCAT,COVET,SWIFT,WISH, Springtide Storm

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The NOIVERN grooms itself with tongue and claw, as its trainer regards the riddle inscribed on the golden shore in front of him. Remiel Calcifet taps his pointed chin in thought as he slowly rereads the text once more. A gentle beach breeze blows short bangs of black across his forehead.

"A skelp..." He quietly mutters. It was a word he'd heard before. In the dialect found at the CROWN TUNDRA, it typically referred to a slap of some sort... or a squall.

The time to test his theory, however, would have to wait for now. Instead, the royal shifts his attention to the four WHIRLPOOLS in front of him. He doesn't stare at either for too long, trusting that the warning he'd read wasn't simply there to rhyme. When he hears what sounds like voices beneath the water, however, he does listen intently:

"TRUE NOBILITY... LIES IN BEING SUPERIOR... TO THE FORMER SELF..."

Hues of cobalt widen at the sound of it. Instinctively, he looks about to see if anyone else had heard the same. But of course they hadn't. It was all in his head... right? Surely, the whirlpools held some sort of power...

How else could they draw from such a cherished, and private, memory in his mind?

Sensing his disquiet through means of TELEPATHY, GUAVAFANG pauses from her grooming to crawl to Remiel's side and push her snout into his hand. It proves to be enough to gently ease him out of his stupor before petting her white mane. Meanwhile, the phrase repeats itself over the sound of crashing waves...

---

📝 TL;DR

♔ Remiel Calcifet arrives with his SHINY NOIVERN, GUAVAFANG
♔ Remiel listens carefully and hears the following phrase: "TRUE NOBILITY LIES IN BEING SUPERIOR TO THE FORMER SELF"

CYBERCHASE + GUAVAFANG

☉

Andrea hadn't figured out what the correct day was herself, but a bunch of people on social media threads were saying that it was Sunday, so she kinda followed the flow. Riddles were not her strongest suit, the Tiered Tea Room challenges being an exception due to being more like puzzles where all the clues had been laid out for them.

Speaking of riddles, there was a new one etched into the sandbar. It involved the four whirlpools up ahead. Supposedly only one of them holding the answers that they sought. Which whirlpool was the right one? Would they have to take a leap of faith?

"What's a skelp?" Not familiar with Galarian slang, Andrea quickly browsed the web on her Rotom Phone. "It's a slap, heavy rainfall or a metal tube... That's even more confusing!" She sighed dejectedly. Her trusty Hydreigon that was by her side looked equally confused.

It was then that she heard a faint voice.

"I'll call you Chomper... Let's be best friends forever..."

She didn't know if the voice was genuine or if it was all in her head, but for some reason hearing those words filled her with nostalgia and comfort. Smiling, she gave her Hydreigon a warm hug.

Still, there was the matter of the riddle to address. The dragon-cosplaying girl turned to the other trainers that were present. "I think taking a nosedive means that we'll have to jump into one of those whirlpools. And discarding our skelp probably means that we'll have to avoid... slapping them? Hmmm, maybe it's telling us not to fight it, like it's easier to stay afloat when you're calm and let your body go." She speculated, not completely sure whether she was on the right track.

//hears her significant phrase
//thinks about the riddle
//shares her thoughts with others

☉

curious, all the more. [break][break]

especially when her shoes touch on the golden sand. her eyes narrow, and she squints slightly at the beating sun from above. it's way too hot for this. although they do catch the writing on the sand, and she's first to crouch down, taking a better look at the letters transcribed with the newest riddle. although.. she'll assume that it's a riddle in reference to recent events - events that she'd only heard of, and she can only imagine that she wasn't present for all of them.[break][break]

there's a small group already forming, with the intention to speak about the riddle. she should listen to it - her BLISSEY thinks so as well, trying to poke and prod at her trainer. when it doesn't work, she uses MINIMIZE to shrink herself to sit on a woman's shoulder. she's lost in thought, then narrows her eyes at the water, to put the whirlpools in her peripherals. she knows better than to disobey the words so conveniently written on the sand. [break][break]

".. should i just throw sarco in there?" her greninja, who she can already feel shaking in her pokeball at the suggestion. the poor thing. [break][break]

what catches her attention are the whispers she hears, faint from the water, and she lifts herself up only to walk closer to the shore, but not close enough to the water to get a better listen. and there, she hears the faint whisper get louder, until it bursts at her, like a scream (like a cry that's all too familiar), in a voice she hasn't heard in so long (in a mother's voice), screeching: [break][break]

"THIS PAIN WILL NEVER HEAL... NOT WITH YOU HERE".

[break]

and she cringes, and jolts, immediately stepping away from the waters.

---

𓆙 marisol arrives with CURSOLA, BLISSEY and GRENINJA
[break]𓆙 BLISSEY used MINIMIZE and sits on mari's shoulder
[break]𓆙 debates on using her GRENINJA as fodder. she doesn't.
[break]𓆙 mari hears the phrase "THIS PAIN WILL NEVER HEAL NOT WITH YOU HERE". she cringes.

cyberchase conundrum

☉

He felt a bit more at ease knowing he wasn’t alone.[break][break]

Hues of an amber brilliance lingered upon the rippling tides for an indefinite period of time as he listened to the others voice their thoughts aloud. As his own drake soared circles above head before landing by his side, the man, himself, absentmindedly narrowed his eyes as a hum escaped his lips, and as his gaze eventually fell upon the whirlpools lingering and swirling afar.[break][break]

After some debate, he glanced towards the others present, initially intending to speak a word of his own before a voice—his own, oddly enough—caught his attention.[break][break]

”Whether through the dark of eventide or the light of dawn, the only way is forward.”[break][break]

A thought publicized as part of his company creed, yet also a thought all too personal and private in the form of his own motivations and core beliefs. Self made and tenacious; two of many qualities he had always striven to become, and two of many qualities he had always felt he’d achieved by sole virtue of of the motto, altogether.[break][break]

The only way was forward.[break]
He hadn’t intended to let the situation at hand be the first exception.[break][break]

”I think she’s on the right track. Might be a bit of a, ‘leap of faith,’ sort of thing,” he mused with an idle, uncharacteristically flat and pensive tone, nodding at Andrea Vaneau . He glanced towards the Noivern by his flank, giving him a quick whistle and a nod in wordless questioning; an inquiry that he’d found a response from in the form of a growl in affirmation as the beast shifted in front of him.[break][break]

Leo stepped forward and secured himself upon the dragon’s back, holding on as the selfsame dragon flapped his wings to lift the both of them into the air with a gust.[break][break]

”If you really wanna stretch it, they might lead to different places depending on the direction the current goes. Stretch it another way, and they might have weird time stuff happening if you think about that other riddle,” he went on, briefly glancing at the others. ”All theoretical spitballing, though, so…it might just be better to take a closer look before we go diving~.”[break][break]

And with that being said, he reached down to tap the Noivern’s head, prompting him to begin flying, cautiously, towards the whirlpools from above.[break][break]

---

[break]

TL;DR

• arrives with his noivern and listens to the others' thoughts
• hears himself saying his own company and life motto basically oop
• agrees with Andrea Vaneau
• flies atop his noivern to do some recon; tries to see more about the whirlpools from above

@cc[break]
notes

☉

Ah, well, that was a pleasant surprise. Having a cute redhead approach her always was. Moreso when that person was someone whom she had found intellectually in what little time they had spent together back during the speed dating event. However, despite her face lighting up a gentle smile of her own, it was slightly diminished due to the inherent surprise of this event. It was a pleasant one, but it could only be a surprise because the other had not gotten back to her about that.
[break][break]
It wasn’t exactly something she was mad about or anything, but she was going to keep it in mind, regardless. And possibly put some emphasis on that whilst she did. Yet, she would remain amicable, naturally. “It has been. Too long, if you ask me,” she hence replied, trusting that the other would pick up on the notion, but not necessarily be offended by it. That was just her opinion, after all. “Though I had hoped to come across someone intrigued by secrets when we talked. Especially when they are of as great a scale as this one. People from all walks of life have found their way here, which is quite interesting in and of itself, wouldn’t you agree?”
It did include both the con-girl and the detective, to boot. But she was also somewhat certain to have seen some rather important people, league and rocket alike. Certainly, recent events had likely led to a heightened interest in these kinds of events, if nothing else.
[break][break]
“At least we have numbers at our side. With this many people, a riddle like this should be resolved either way. But whatever lies beneath the waves, that will be the true test if you ask me. I’m glad to have you around either way, Elaine.”
[break][break]

+ mostly just catching up with Elaine Highland

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