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"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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POSTED ON Feb 1, 2023 18:45:51 GMT

MATIAS SILPH had charged Josh with obtaining Cian's WEATHER BADGE before he could return to the offices of the Elite Four for another interview. Supposedly this was due to the ease other trainers had with the fairly new Gym Leader, yet Josh struggled with this one. He was now armed with the knowledge of how Cian fought: he preferred to hide in a sandstorm and utilize the element of surprise. Two could play at that game, though!

While Josh didn't have many Rock, Ground, or Steel-type Pokémon that were also extremely fast, he had just enough to issue Cian a challenge with. This would be the first real battle challenge he had trusted Meteos, his Aerodactyl, with. Alphamax was no stranger to battle, and the ancient Rock-type looked just as ready to go. He would remove Meteos' saddle and storing the flying Pokémon's riding gear on top of the facility's coat rack. He had already thought to remove the Garchomp's prior to the trip from Mauville to Rustboro. Once that was taken care of, he would wait for Cian's reception to guide him to the main arena, ready for his rematch.

CIAN MAHER

ooc: Terastallization is okay by me to use for this Gym battle!

{WC: 192}
{PC: 1}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Meteos Aerodactyl Good
Alphamax Garchomp Good

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noodles

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rustboro

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TAG WITH @cian

POSTED ON Feb 6, 2023 5:44:50 GMT

[attr="class","cian"]

[attr="class","top"]

[attr="class","icon"]

josh will soon be met with the possibly damning realization that cian does not always rely on his SANDSTORM team. in fact, one of the biggest lessons he tries to teach in his gym and challenges is how to adapt.[break][break]

how well will josh adapt today?[break][break]

"hey, josh! welcome back to the weather gym! hope this change doesn't catch you too off guard!"[break][break]

from the two pokeballs thrown up into the air, a goldeen and a froakie appear, landing on the battlefield ready to fight.[break][break]

a small castform floats over cian's head, drawing applause from the crowd as it summons a RAIN DANCE.[break][break]

"you may begin whenever!"

[break][break]

[attr="class","bottom"]Josh Devlin[break]
goldeen (f) swift swim - waterfall, soak, megahorn, aqua ring, supersonic, water pulse

ribbit (m) protean - double team, hydro pump, smokescreen, substitute, lick, smack down

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raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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POSTED ON Feb 7, 2023 19:26:25 GMT

Rustboro's Gym was called the Weather Gym for a reason, not the Sandstorm Gym. He had come prepared with a pair of Pokémon capable of fighting in just about any weather condition. Heavy winds, blazing sun, hail...even the torrential downpour the Gym's Castform had called upon. Meteos didn't look too thrilled about having to fly in the rain, but Josh had a plan for that, too. Rain wasn't ideal for Alphamax to fly in. It took several attempts for the Garchomp's bio-engines to start, but he was able to get in the air.

"Meteos, start with a THUNDER FANG! Run interference for Alphamax!" Josh cried from the word go. "Alphamax, keep your distance and SWORDS DANCE through the sky! You gotta keep your distance from those ice attacks!" Part of training the Aerodactyl for war was truly mastering how to use his serrated maw. Through several nanomachine injections at a Pokémon Center, he was able to infuse the Aerodactyl's top outer row of fangs with cold mist, the bottom outer row with blazing heat, and the inner rows with voltage that could clip him from the sky if he wasn't careful with it. The crackling, screeching Aerodactyl did as asked, running interference for Alphamax while he got up to speed. Suddenly, the rock-type dove at the Froakie, sparks flying from his inner rows of teeth and out of his mouth, looking to snatch the small Pokémon in his jaw and flood him with a high voltage current.

CIAN MAHER

{WC: 251}
{PC: 2}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Meteos Aerodactyl Good
Alphamax Garchomp Good

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noodles

triple h

he/him

twenty-seven

september 14th

rustboro

bisexual

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688 height

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TAG WITH @cian

POSTED ON Feb 9, 2023 8:25:09 GMT

[attr="class","cian"]

[attr="class","top"]

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it's a good tactic josh starts with to keep froakie occupied while the real threat in the garchomp gets to spend the round boosting its attack up. for the most part, it works, but froakie is quick to DOUBLE TEAM, the real one evading the electric maws of aerodactyl.[break][break]

having a wide distance to cover, goldeen lets loose a SUPERSONIC at the garchomp while it makes its way over, swimming above the ground before dipping into the body of water that courses along the battlefield.[break][break]

"keep hiding, ribbit!"

[break][break]

[attr="class","bottom"]Josh Devlin[break]
goldeen (f) swift swim - waterfall, soak, megahorn, aqua ring, supersonic, water pulse

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played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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POSTED ON Feb 9, 2023 17:27:05 GMT

Josh scoffed at the use of DOUBLE TEAM, particularly after knowing Cian had seen just how much of a speed demon his challenger was. He had ridden many Pokémon while they used the blistering fast move that fooled Pokémon that weren't trained in the art of incredible speed. That very experience let him and his team identify the real Double Team user from the fakes with astonishing accuracy. It was far from perfect, but against him, it was generally good for evading only one attack. "STONE EDGE, Meteos!" Josh commanded. Meteos hurled himself toward the Froakie like a living missile, using the sharp edges of his body like a blade, looking to slice right across the slippery foe.

When struck by the SUPERSONIC wave, Alphamax turned hardover, looking like he was going to crash from the unexpected sonic burst disrupting his hearing. Catching his senses mid-dive, it looked like the dragon was about to recover and soar back above the skies, when Josh saw an opportunity to take advantage of the downward momentum. "Alphamax, use BULLDOZE! Slam that Goldeen out of the water!" Rather than angle upward, the Garchomp continued full nose down, slamming into the court's surface with great power. Not even the tough dragon could fully resist the force of an impact like that, but it would beach the Goldeen if all went according to plan. Plus, if the Froakie was nearby, he may have been caught in the Ground-type crossfire, too.

CIAN MAHER

{WC: 246}
{PC: 3}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Meteos Aerodactyl Good
Alphamax Garchomp Confuse

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POSTED ON Feb 11, 2023 8:24:51 GMT

[attr="class","cian"]

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it's a good thing froakie's DOUBLE TEAM focuses on creating clones of itself as opposed to increasing its speed. it leaps out of the way of the STONE EDGE, tumbling into a roll along the ground before it rights itself. the moment it does, it fires a HYDRO PUMP at the aerodactyl.[break][break]

even with goldeen's SWIFT SWIM, it is hit by the BULLDOZE, knocked back but definitely not out yet. it recovers, returning a WATER PULSE from afar as it continues to close the distance.[break][break]

"go, go, go!"

[break][break]

[attr="class","bottom"]Josh Devlin[break]
goldeen (f) swift swim - waterfall, soak, megahorn, aqua ring, supersonic, water pulse

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played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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POSTED ON Feb 12, 2023 22:30:49 GMT

One advantage small Pokémon had over large ones was their size made them just as slippery as Josh's squad was. On top of that, Aerodactyl were blistering fast, but far from nimble. Meteos couldn't seem to land a single blow on that Froakie, no matter how hard he tried! As awkward of an attack as HYDRO PUMP was to use, from close range, there was no dodging that. Josh didn't want to have to play his trump card so early in the fight, but there was no way he was staying aloft any other way.

The challenger hurled his TERA ORB toward the Aerodactyl, a pyramid of mist-laden crystals deflecting the HYDRO PUMP away. With a loud cry, Meteos shattered the crystal enclosure, his body covered in a layer of ice that grew more jagged as the rainstorm raged on. "Now, Meteos! Counterattack!" Swooping back toward the nimble water-type at high speed, the prehistoric aerial predator opened his maw laced not with sharp shards of ice, but sparks of electricity as he attempted to scoop Cian's Pokémon up into his the open jaws of his THUNDER FANG.

Though Alphamax's blow was severe, the force of the reckless crash left the dragon breathless and delirious, wide open for a follow-up blow. Goldeen's WATER PULSE passed over the land shark's scales, pushing him back and giving the small Pokémon plenty of room to recover.

Meteos has TERASTALLIZED into the ICE-type.

CIAN MAHER

{WC: 235}
{PC: 5}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Meteos Aerodactyl Fair
Alphamax Garchomp Confuse

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noodles

triple h

he/him

twenty-seven

september 14th

rustboro

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POSTED ON Feb 13, 2023 4:47:56 GMT

[attr="class","cian"]

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urgency floods at the sight of the TERA ORB. with the froakie's HYDRO PUMP merely glancing off the aerodactyl's hardened exeterior, cian knows he has to adapt quickly.[break][break]

"ribbit! change types!"[break][break]

somehow, the froakie manages a SUBSTITUTE just in time. the THUNDER FANG sinks into the clone, tearing through it completely as the real froakie leaps back and away.[break][break]

with enough time to recover, goldeen's SWIFT SWIM activates as it closes the distance to slam into the garchomp with the power of a WATERFALL.

[break][break]

[attr="class","bottom"]Josh Devlin[break]
goldeen (f) swift swim - waterfall, soak, megahorn, aqua ring, supersonic, water pulse

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raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

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POSTED ON Feb 13, 2023 7:31:03 GMT

Was Josh's assessment wrong again? Was the real threat in the battle the Goldeen and not the Froakie? How could he have left Cian back him into a corner twice in a row? Maybe MATIAS SILPH was right. Maybe Josh really didn't have what it took to be a Champion. If he couldn't prepare for such simple tricks, how could he defeat Hoenn's finest four, arguably some of the strongest trainers in the world? Those four could be at the very least dark horses to win at the World Championship. If he wanted to be a Champion, he had to fight like one.

He wasn't going to make this mistake a second time.

"Change of plans, Meteos!" Josh shouted with a scowl as the roaring water rushed through the dragon, knocking him off balance and leaving his bio-thrusters sputtering. "Fly through the Goldeen's waterfall with your ICE FANG open! Freeze it in place!" The now ice-laden Aerodactyl, now unafraid of water, screeched and flew toward the leaping fish, not aiming directly for it, but for the trail of water around it, looking to freeze the Pokémon in midair. Provided this was successful, Alphamax would, with great effort, fly up to the frozen wave of water. Laying the sharp end of one of his fins against part of the ice above his foe, he would slam the flat of his second fin into the first, DRAGON HAMMERing the first into the immobilized Goldeen and shattering the frozen water.

Meteos has TERASTALLIZED into the ICE-type.

CIAN MAHER

{WC: 247}
{PC: 6}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Meteos Aerodactyl Fair
Alphamax Garchomp Poor

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played by

noodles

triple h

he/him

twenty-seven

september 14th

rustboro

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TAG WITH @cian

POSTED ON Feb 14, 2023 15:55:41 GMT

[attr="class","cian"]

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"ganging up, huh? not a bad tactic!"[break][break]

the telltale signs are there as garchomp refuses to pursue the froakie and chooses to redirect over to the goldeen instead.[break][break]

the ICE FANG freezes, ice forming all the way until it traps goldeen in place. though it wiggles, it does not free itself in time for the DRAGON HAMMER to collide.[break][break]

goldeen faints.[break][break]

"shit!"[break][break]

but froakie is allowed the opportunity to send a HYDRO PUMP right into garchomp's back.

[break][break]

[attr="class","bottom"]Josh Devlin[break]
goldeen (f) swift swim - waterfall, soak, megahorn, aqua ring, supersonic, water pulse

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played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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POSTED ON Feb 15, 2023 6:57:25 GMT

While Josh had turned the corner in his battle, it was far from over. It took great effort to take just the Goldeen down, and the focus on the flying fish left Alphamax open to a point-blank HYDRO PUMP. The Garchomp's contaminated flight surfaces left him unable to remain airborne, leading to a crash in the channel surrounding the court's edge. This was a crash the dragon was not recovering from.

Josh recalled the ground-type and shifted his focus toward the simplified battle. It was the powerful Aerodactyl, Meteos, up against the nimble Froakie, Ribbit. While the prehistoric Pokémon was mighty, the imprecise nature of all of his attacks was his weakness. It was a weakness of his on the track, too, which is why the Aerodactyl was seldom used for racing challenges.

"Draw it over before this ice melts!" Josh cried. "Meteos, STONE EDGE!" This would be his best opportunity: he could use the frozen wave to his advantage by attempting to use it to restrict the Froakie's movement. They were running out of time, though; the water-type foe's attacks were accurate, and a Pokémon with clumsy flight would have a hard time evading.

Meteos has TERASTALLIZED into the ICE-type.

CIAN MAHER

{WC: 197}
{PC: 7}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Meteos Aerodactyl Fair
Alphamax Garchomp KO

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played by

noodles

triple h

he/him

twenty-seven

september 14th

rustboro

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688 height

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TAG WITH @cian

POSTED ON Feb 16, 2023 8:32:01 GMT

[attr="class","cian"]

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"one vee one time!"[break][break]

cian calls out over the roar of the crowd, clearly enjoying himself as he takes in their cheers. this has been a good battle so far. he hopes it continues to end on a good note.[break][break]

"let's give it our all, ribbit!"[break][break]

pillars of STONE EDGE burst out of the ground, looking to slam into froakie. though it leaps left and right, it does take a few stray hits, but it still is able to send out another wave of HYDRO PUMP at the aerodactyl.

[break][break]

[attr="class","bottom"]Josh Devlin[break]
ribbit (m) protean - double team, hydro pump, smokescreen, substitute, lick, smack down

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raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

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Champion

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POSTED ON Feb 18, 2023 0:52:07 GMT

At last, Ribbit was starting to show signs of tiring. While the small water-type had effortlessly dodged chomp after chomp, Stone Edge after Stone Edge, it was clear that the small Pokémon's agility wasn't unbeatable. It would just be a matter of the Froakie lasting long enough to wear the ice-covered Meteos down. This battle was a close one; much closer than the last battle Josh had with Cian. Unlike in their previous match, which felt like the Rustboro Leader was ahead from wire to wire, the back-and-forth in this one was electrifying to watch.

As the HYDRO PUMP surged toward the ice-laden Aerodactyl, Josh called out for a retaliatory THUNDER FANG. "Swerve around it, Meteos!" the cornered Gym Leader cried in desperation. The Terastallized Pokémon shrieked as he opened wide his jaws glowing yellow and white. Before the diving predator could get anywhere close, the powerful water blast socked him squarely in the face, electricity jumping across the HYDRO PUMP attack itself. All Ribbit had to do was release the attack before the electricity got to it, and Cian would have impressively defeated a Hoenn Gym Leader on two consecutive challenges.

As the terastal crystal around Meteos shattered like glass, the Pokémon's exhausted, rain-battered body could handle no more. With a loud crash, the flying-type crashed into the center of the battle court, Josh falling to his knees as his trainer's platform opened up. "How could I lose AGAIN?!" the drenched, frustrated trainer wailed, recalling his Aerodactyl. "I LET YOU DOWN, METEOS! I'M SORRY!!"

CIAN MAHER

{WC: 258}
{PC: 8}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Meteos Aerodactyl KO
Alphamax Garchomp KO

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played by

noodles

triple h

he/him

twenty-seven

september 14th

rustboro

bisexual

rustboro gym leader

champion (hoenn & vct)

688 height

now come together, come apart

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TAG WITH @cian

POSTED ON Feb 21, 2023 14:54:50 GMT

[attr="class","cian"]

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unfortunately for young ribbit the froakie, exhaustion overcomes it, and as the electricity from the THUNDER FANG surges along the torrent of HYDRO PUMP, it is too slow to release the attack.[break][break]

it is zapped unconscious, falling to the ground before the aerodactyl does. no judge is needed to declare a clear winner.[break][break]

"holy moly."[break][break]

the crowd goes wild.[break][break]

"you did it, josh! well done!"[break][break]

he crosses the battlefield, not minding getting soaked as in the rain before he offers josh THE WEATHER BADGE.[break][break]

"i think you've earned this."

[break][break]

[attr="class","bottom"]Josh Devlin[break]
ribbit (m) protean - double team, hydro pump, smokescreen, substitute, lick, smack down

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played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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7,164 posts

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