As it turned out, the Blissey was a natural-born fighter too, masterfully Mimicking the Earthquake to strike the prone legendary in unison. Look at them go!

Jalapeño started cheering for the duo to prevail with all of his heart. A brilliant aura enveloped his small body, transferring some of his overflowing energy to his allies.

"You heard him, Finn, let's finish this!" Boosted by the Fuecoco's Helping Hand, Andrea's Garchomp pushed through the Magma Storm defiantly, and stomped the ground with his mighty feet, causing another Earthquake much more powerful than the last.

Hopefully the cave wouldn't collapse in the process...

MATIAS SILPH //mission

☉

more than used to the heat, matias simply watches the MAGMA STORM spill out across the cavern, heat radiating all the way towards them. to be safe, matias waves his hand, conjuring a WALL OF EARTH that rises in front of them.[break][break]

when the MAGMA STORM passes, the wall drops, allowing them the perfect view of the EARTHQUAKE slamming into the heatran. it lets out a deafening roar, and having taken substantial damage, it sinks back down into the lava, defeated.[break][break]

blissey hops left and right, clapping.[break][break]

"well, that was a quick battle."

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau[break]

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

Watching Heatran retreat, Andrea's lips curved into a big smile. "Woohoo! We did it! I'm proud of you, Finn!" She cheered happily, her victorious Garchomp flashing a fanged grin at her in response, before slumping on the ground in exhaustion. It truly had been an intense battle, however quick it may have been.

The dragon-hooded girl turned to Matias and bowed her head. "Thanks, Mr. Matias! We couldn't have done it without you... and Blissey of course!"

Though, she could have sworn she saw the Elite Four member manipulating the earth earlier. Had he sent out a Rock or Ground Pokémon without her noticing? Maybe the volcanic fumes were starting to affect her. "Shall we head out?" She suggested.

MATIAS SILPH //mission

☉

"oh, i didn't do much. that was all you and your garchomp."[break][break]

it may sound as though he's being modest but he genuinely believes his contribution didn't matter much. even without him and his blissey, andrea would've been able to take down the heatran. it just would've taken her longer.[break][break]

"sure. but before that, i just have one question."[break][break]

it's one he had forgotten to ask her earlier.[break][break]

"why did you decide to train with heatran today?"

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau[break]

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

While ruminating on her answer, Andrea walked over to her Garchomp, spraying some Burn Heal over his wounds. It stung just a tiny bit, but the dragon allowed the human to proceed, showing a remarkable degree of trust.

"You're the one who told me to take on all the Gyms." The young PokéManiac eventually replied. "I thought why restrict myself? The legendary Pokémon that are under the League's care are kinda like Gym leaders themselves! One can learn a lot from battling them, and I hope Heatran grew a little stronger from our battle too." She said, wistfully gazing at the pool of lava.

MATIAS SILPH //mission

☉

"that's true. and yeah! i'm sure it learned a thing or two about how bad of an idea it is to engage in close combat. it should've kept its distance, forced garchomp back."[break][break]

he watches the interaction between her and her dragon, impressed by the way it seems to show her an immense level of trust. not every trainer is capable of that.[break][break]

which leads into his next question.[break][break]

"have you ever thought about becoming a gym leader yourself?"

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau[break]

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

The dragon fanatic nodded at the man's followup question. "I have, actually! At first I figured that being a Gym leader would distract me from my goal of becoming a Pokémon, but I could always apply for the minor league. I wanna help rookie trainers, but I don't wanna be tied down." She stated, having had plenty of time to think about her options since Callan Young had first pitched the idea to her.

There was a second, less obvious reason she wanted to apply for the minor league, namely her subconscious distrust for the League as an organization. That was something even Andrea herself wasn't fully aware of, but the seeds of doubt had already been planted.

Healed of his burns, Finn rose from the ground and stretched his clawed appendages. The Garchomp turned towards Matias' Blissey, letting a low, guttural growl as thanks for assisting in the battle.

MATIAS SILPH //mission

☉

"nice. yeah, the minor league would be a good step for you."[break][break]

jumping straight to the major league might be a mistake considering her youth and inexperience, though he has seen younger people in positions of power, so who is he to judge?[break][break]

in response to the garchomp's growl, blissey simply raises both of its arms up for nub-ups.[break][break]

"let me know if you decide to go for it and i'll put a word in with kyle lopez."

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau[break]

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

The Garchomp returned Blissey's wholesome gesture, flashing an accidentally terrifying smile full of jagged teeth.

Andrea liked Matias' suggestion. She'd met the Top Champion once before, so perhaps she could get his approval more easily, especially if the Elite Four member vouched for her. "I will! Thanks for everything!" The young PokéManiac said, smiling brightly.

What a swell guy that Matias Silph was!

MATIAS SILPH //mission

☉

the terrifying smile is shrugged off as blissey is used to worse. some of matias' pokemon can be really frightening at times. look at groudon for example! a terrifying smile, no doubt.[break][break]

"no worries! have a safe trip down."[break][break]

for him, he stays at the peak of mount chimney, both to rest and also to check in on the heatran, making sure that it's okay and not too injured after their battle.

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau[break]

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