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[attr="class","skullbody"]Johanna's style may have taken a tone-down, but that hairstyle of hers was ridiculously distinctive. Isaac had the right person, alright. He smiled as she approached, shooting a quick wave her way. "Nah, you're good," he said. "Lot worse places to be waiting around than a beach town."[break][break]

Sure, every other town in Hoenn was a beach town. But, still, the beach was nice. Sue him.[break][break]

"Johanna, right?" he asked. Sure, he read the dossier, but not introducing himself properly would've just been rude! "Nice to finally meet you. I'm Isaac. Would've told you my name earlier, but, well. Y'know." It was hard to give Johanna something that had already been taken from him![break][break]

And what had been taken from her, in turn? Isaac was able to keep up a brave face while trying to reassure others, but it was a different story on the inside. Before the events that unfolded in Cyberspace, Isaac was pretty content to keep to the sidelines. He'd drift through Rocket, just like he drifted through life.[break][break]

Then some asshole scientist decided to play god with his brain. That made things personal.[break][break]

Isaac didn't realize how lost he was without his spark until it had been torn from his very soul. Now it was back, and Isaac would be damned if he let anything bad happen to it again. No longer would it gather cobwebs in the dusty corners of his brain. No longer was he going to let his spite simmer uselessly under the surface. No. There was an inferno inside of him, lighting the way for others. If anyone tried to snuff it out again, then let them be consumed.[break][break]

"So, how about we do this a little differently?" Isaac said. "Any old Rocket could just tell you to start doing stuff. But this is your training. So why don't you tell me what you're looking to get out of this, and then we can work together to come up with something? Figure nobody knows what you need better than you do, after all."[break][break]

An ironic offer, considering.

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[attr="class","skullbody"]Now it was Isaac's time to wave some worries off. "It's fine," he said, knowing full well how many different things a simple statement like "stronger" could mean. "I mean, one way or another, isn't that what brings us all here?"[break][break]

Before Rocket lit the spark back inside him, Isaac wouldn't have considered himself strong. Not as a trainer, but not as a person, either. In fact, he would've just given a shrug before matter-of-factly calling himself weak. By the time he went to Cyberspace, he still wouldn't have considered himself as such.[break][break]

Then, under the harsh, blaring lights of oblivion, he learned how true weakness felt. And he vowed never again.[break][break]

"I just need you to tell me something before we get started, then," Isaac said, easing himself out of his reverie. "What does strength mean to you? And don't worry, I'm not sitting on some secret answer that you gotta agree with Or Else. I just know everyone defines it a little bit differently."[break][break]

Aha. Mega Evolution. That was something more tangible to work with. Giving the chance for Johanna to mull over his question, Isaac fished into his backpack and produced a bracelet of ancient stone. It was too clunky to just walk around town wearing, but he always kept it on hand for situations like this.[break][break]

"Still working on Z-Power, but I know a thing or two about Mega Evolution," Isaac said. Casually, he lobbed a Pokeball out in front of him. Out came Isaac's beloved Aggron, Kiryu, wearing a collar made from similar stone. Set in the front of the collar was a stone of shimmering silver. "Kiryu here's my only Pokemon capable of using it. At least, right this moment. But it takes all of a trainer's willpower and focus to harness it, so you're only really going to have one Pokemon using it anyway."

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]Maybe Johanna found her words cliche. But for Isaac, that was exactly what he was looking for. "See? There you go," he said. "You've got your goal and you've got your motivation. Once you've got that what and why, you're actually most of the way there. Then we just gotta work together to find the how."[break][break]

Over on the "battlefield", Kiryu was gingerly nibbling away at the Sitrus Berry that Kevin had given her. Delicious! She bellowed in gratitude after taking her taste, then went back to finishing the rest. The two were getting along swimmingly, a sight that left a smile on Isaac's face. It was always nice to see another Rocket who treated their Pokemon with such kindness and dignity.[break][break]

Between that and her goals, she seemed like a kind soul overall. Yes. Isaac could work with this.[break][break]

He stepped away from the group, waiting until he was a safe distance away from both Johanna and the Pokemon alike. Then he spread his arms wide, as if to leave himself defenseless. "C'mon, Kiryu!" Isaac called, looking towards the Aggron with a daring grin on his face. "Hit with me your best shot!"[break][break]

Needless to say, a Pokemon as gentle and loyal as Kiryu wasn't about to do that with such minimal prompting. She did a double take, looking at her human as if he'd sprouted a dozen extra heads. "Johanna's trying to find the strength to protect her friends, right?" Isaac asked. "Well, far as I can tell, there's only one way to test that out, right? So c'mon! No holding back on me, okay?"[break][break]

Somehow, Kiryu should've expected her human would pull a stunt like this. But the logic checked out. She pawed the ground with her feet, let out a challenging bellow, and then rushed towards Isaac full speed ahead. Would her Iron Head make contact with his very-much-not-iron ribs? Or would Johanna be up to the task of keeping him safe?

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[attr="class","skullbody"]Yes! Good! What little hesitation showed had been replaced by focus and conviction. "Perfect," Isaac said, watching as Kevin collided with Kiryu. They locked up like sumo wrestlers, the element of surprise giving Kevin an early edge in pushing Kiryu back.[break][break]

"You were probably shocked, huh?" Isaac asked, watching Johanna and her reactioms even more than the actual fight. "Good. Strength isn't forgetting how to feel. Nobody's meant for that, and it never ends well. No, real strength's the ability to face those feelings and do what you gotta do anyway. You can't have courage if you don't know fear, y'know?"[break][break]

Their weights were closely matched, though Kevin still had more on his side. It meant the Heavy Slam wasn't as rough to weather as it could've been. Nevertheless, Kiryu wasn't used to being outsized, and whenever she tried pushing back she found herself on the back foot.[break][break]

"Remember what Zev taught me," Isaac said, this time turning his attention Kiryu's way. "Turn it around, just like that!"[break][break]

The Aggron nodded. Instead of fighting Kevin's weight, instead she rolled with it. She leaned back, twisted her arms, and raised her hip as best as she could. If she succeeded, she'd try to basically hip toss the Snorlax, driving her weight into him in a ppwerful Body Press.

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[attr="class","skullbody"]"Oi! Not true, I-" Isaac started, but he knew when he was beaten. He averted his eyes, a slight blush peeking out from beneath his mask. "Okay, fine. Teenage Mutant Ninja Squirtles. That Rattata knew his shit, okay?"[break][break]

Ah well. What's it matter? Wisdom's wisdom, far as Isaac was concerned. Who was gonna raise a stink about it? The wisdom police?[break][break]

Besides, with how both Johanna and Kiryu were fired up by his words, Isaac's wisdom clearly resonated. Isaac pumped a fist victoriously as Kiryu's hip toss worked. A hip toss sucked in the best of times. A hip toss that lead to someone as heavy, bulky, and armored as Kiryu falling onto her victim? Yeah, that wasn't fun![break][break]

Despite this, Kevin was quick on the jaw. He rolled with Kiryu's momentum as well, rolling away with enough speed to avoid being smooshed. Kiryu caught herself best she could, not wanting to end up prone on the ground after her missed technique. While she succeeded, this left her wide open, an opportunity that Kevin took with vigor.[break][break]

There were many techniques that Kiryu could just take on the chin. A Hammer Arm was not one of them. Her head rang like a bell as Kevin's fist smashed down onto her helmet. A lesser Aggron might have just been smashed to bits by such a hefty blow, but Kiryu was built different. She glared from beneath a creaked-open eye, a low, proud rumble coming from her throat.[break][break]

That was when she felt a sudden warmth splash across her body. She wasn't alone on this battlefield anymore. Charles, Isaac's Galarian Rapidash and living walk-in clinic, had just hit the battlefield in style, and the resulting Heal Pulse did wonders for getting her back onto her feet.[break][break]

As she rose, a brilliant white gleam began to overtake her body. Her Metal Burst grew stronger as she took more damage, and Kevin had just put her through a lot of pain. Kevin would have mere seconds before a blinding light erupted from Kiryu, hurtling towards him with every bit of force that his Hammer Arm had output.[break][break]

In but a moment, the battle had gone from fair to not. Isaac was very interested in seeing how Johanna would respond to that.

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[attr="class","skullbody"]Ha! Her foe was dazed! Kiryu rumbled triumphantly, rearing back for a little bit of momentum. All it would take was one more Body Press to seal the d-[break][break]

Mushroom.[break][break]

Kiryu blinked in surprise, then found her body going rigid. She had been Astonished at just the right moment, turning her attempted charge on Kevin into a harmless skid past him. "Nicely done," Isaac said, a grin of approval on his face. Sometimes, a little move on the right place meant more than any powerhouse. This, too, was one of the many ways im which strength could vary.[break][break]

Of course, that didn't mean they'd just give the Shiinotic free reign. Charles began concentrating power at the tip of his horn, a vivid ball of pink flame hovering just above it. The Mystical Fire grew bigger and brighter by the moment, casting an eerie glow on Charles' pristine white fur.[break][break]

He waited for Kiryu to buck back, attempting to dislodge the mushroom from her head with rapid motions and hefty sweeps of her arms. Only then, when the Shiinotic was a sitting duck, would Charles finally launch the orb of flame towards it.

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