[attr="class","skullimg"]

[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]Isaac was never much of a coffee guy, if he was being honest. Everyone always said the bean water was an acquired taste, but why bother with that when you could just drink something you liked? If he wanted to indulge in stockholm syndrome, he'd just go to Zev Harcourt's place.[break][break]

Still, "cafe" often meant "pretty tasty sandwich and pastry place," and that checked off two of the major boxes on Isaac's food pyramid. Why not indulge a little? Besides, his team had worked up quite an appetite after their latest training session. Wyrm the Appletun placidly perused the pie platters from his perch on Isaac's shoulders, while Alfred the Sinistea made sure Carmen the Fuecoco and Megalon the Heracross didn't go apeshit on the sweet and savory sampler platters.[break][break]

It was an eclectic batch, but they were far from the only trainer and Pokemon batch in the cafe. A familiar shock of orange hair stuck out from the surrounding area, and Isaac peeked over he noticed it was good ol' Genevieve. She looked deep in focus. Was this another one of her research projects in motion? No, no. This was less science focus and more stress focus. Dating an engineer made it all too obvious to Isaac which was which.[break][break]

Maybe he'd check in. Approaching her table with a bag of pastries in hand and his team at his heels, Isaac put his free hand on the back of an empty chair to show his entrance. "Hey there, Gen. This seat taken?" he asked, tone light and breezy.

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Isaac Merlo [break][break]

NOTES

- Outfit[break]
- Genny accepts Isaac's company! Serenity the Eevee waves to the Pokemon![break]
- The Aron is responding to Isaac, less so to Genny or Serenity.[break]

MADE BY GUNSMILE

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]Genevieve was eager to have Isaac join her for the day. Perhaps . . . too eager? Eh, nah. It was probably just her being a ray of sunshine. The girl had that hapless cheerfulness to her, where everything could go wrong and she'd still face life with an eager smile. Good times, bad times, even neutral times, she seemed like she gave them all her 100%.[break][break]

She wasn't the only one to take a turn for the sunny. As Isaac sat down, he noticed the Pokemon sitting by her side. It was an Aron. And, as if reacting to his mere presence, it started crawling across the table.[break][break]

Isaac felt his heartbeat accelerate. Surely it was a coincidence. Any old person sitting down would've probably gotten the Aron's attention. Maybe it was just friendly around strangers, or excited by novelty. Maybe it just wanted the food he had in his bag. Yeah. Yeah, all of that was probably it. Nice, easy, rational explanations.[break][break]

He couldn't let himself entertain the idea of being shown sudden, unconditional love from a member of Kiryu's species.[break][break]

Isaac's Pokemon, oblivious to his raging internal dilemma, simply greeted Serenity back. Megalon waved excitedly, Alfred having to snatch the bag he was carrying to prevent its contents from spilling everywhere. Carmen rasped cheerfully, a spitting image of the Fuecoco that Genevieve had previously studied. Wyrm sleepily craned an eye up, peering at the Eevee and smiling, before letting its eye droop back down over its snout.[break][break]

"Crazy's been in season lately," Isaac mused, shooting Genevieve a tired smile. "Feels like it's easier to list off the people whose lives aren't going nuts lately. But, hey. As far as crazy lives go, mine hasn't been half bad. What's been so crazy on your end?"[break][break]

Perhaps the Aron that was toddling across the table was an example. Most of their bodies were surrounded by a hard shell, but the helmet and the body had two discrete sets of plating. Isaac reached for the space between the two platings, giving the Aron's rocky body a gentle scratch.[break][break]

"New Pokemon being shy on you, eh? Trust me, I've been there," Isaac commiserated.

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Isaac Merlo [break][break]

NOTES

- Outfit[break]
- Genny almost pulls the Aron back. Decides against it.[break]
- She's breaking down from the events of her Expedition. Her makeup is running a little.[break]
-- Isaac can probably relate.
--- She talks about how she got the Aron.

MADE BY GUNSMILE

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]The glimmer in the Aron's eye was indescribable. Isaac felt like he was being lowered under a microscope. Why here? Why now? Why like this? The more he met its gaze, the more he could feel familiarity in those eyes. Kiryu may have been far more grown, in age and stage alike, but nothing changed those placid blue eyes.[break][break]

He had hoped to find her in the Border. Even when he hadn't, he still returned to leave fresh flowers by her grave.[break][break]

Such a pity it was that his grief was no longer his own. Genevieve mentioned another expedition gone wrong, a body snatching similar to kepler brueshaber's yet oh so different. A giant jellyfish. Nihilego, the bearer of shadows. Isaac shuddered as he remembered the pain Cillian Quinn had described to him, and the agony of a loved one having to endure its machinations.[break][break]

At least all ended well on that slip between realities. Genevieve spoke. And then she cried. And then she sobbed into her hands, explaining that the Darmanitan she had raised from youth was no longer with her. Isaac's heart sank. She was such a sweetheart, and life had put her through horrendous pain twice in a single night.[break][break]

He tried to speak, but his own grief tore at his throat. He hadn't raised Kiryu from her youth. She belonged to a man he refused to call father, long before he was even born. She'd known him since he was a baby. To lose her Darmanitan was like if Isaac had died while Kiryu was helpless to intervene.[break][break]

In that moment, Isaac understood why Kiryu made her choice. But that didn't make it hurt any less.[break][break]

"I get it," Isaac finally admitted, voice small. "I've been there. It was months ago, got more closure than I ever thought, and it still doesn't feel real. I . . . sometimes, I don't think it ever will."[break][break]

"But maybe that's okay. Maybe we're not meant to "me strong" and push it all away. It's okay to hurt. It speaks volumes to how much you love him." He dared not use the past tense. Even when a loved one died, that love lived on. "I know you made his life special, beyond compare. And I don't have a doubt in my mind that he was proud to be yours."[break][break]

Hypocrite that he was, he tried to fight the hitching in his own voice. He had to be strong. He had to be her rock. His time for grieving could come later, because hers was still raw and painful beyond belief.[break][break]

"It was good of you to save that Aron," Isaac finally said, a soft smile on his face. "Maybe she's still a little shell-shocked? The Icelands are still so new and so dangerous. It's a big adjustment for a lot of Pokemon." Clearly, that was it. And his own presence, even as he gently scratched and fussed over the Aron, didn't play a role. It was some big coincidence, that's all.

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Isaac Merlo[break][break]

NOTES

- Outfit[break]
- Tries to be strong; she cannot. She lets it out once Isaac speaks.[break]
-- Aron is moving towards Isaac.[break]
--- Genny finishes crying, and is about to ask him a request.

MADE BY GUNSMILE

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]Seeing Genny cry like this was agonizing. And yet, Isaac could only imagine how much worse it felt for her to bottle it up inside.[break][break]

Isaac was glad that she was a better, stronger person than he was. When Kiryu died, something broke inside of Isaac. He stood there in stunned disbelief, even as a sniper trained his gun on him. He ran in a desperate escape from a fight that he and Ash had somehow won. He prepared to scale Mt. Pyre's peak on a suicide charge, half to hurt the League how he hurt him and half to die by her side.[break][break]

Yet here Genny was, all iron until she was all tears. He wished that he could be as strong as her. He approached her, calmly and gently, to hug her as she worked her tears out. Grief, while personal in the end, was always such a heavy burden. Sometimes, all someone needed was to have that burden shared as they processed it. He didn't dare interrupt her thoughts with words. Instead, he simply let her remember, let her feel, let her be.[break][break]

He remembered seeing Kiryu for the first time. A rock type among a ground specialist's ranks, she was always the odd one out. Maybe that was why Isaac was drawn to her. Or maybe it was because she was huge, and shiny, and badass. Like a knight and a dragon from a bedtime story, rolled into one.[break][break]

He remembered her flustered attempts at keeping his rambunctious ass out of trouble. He remembered falls and scrapes, flights and frights, all sorts of chaos he kicked up in his wake. And somehow, they always laughed.[break][break]

He remembered how worried she was the one time she couldn't be there for him, when he and El Sunderland snuck out to catch a Pokemon on their own and the worst happened. He remembered promising he'd never worry her like that again, and he hated how it became a lie.[break][break]

He remembered how, when he ran away from home, she chose to run away with him. He wished he could have given her a better life than a teenage runaway burnout's tagalong. And yet, they had so many precious moments together, didn't they?[break][break]

He remembered the triumphs and the trials. The smiles and the tears. The clouds and their silver linings.[break][break]

He remembered her last moments; those rasping breaths he still heard in his nightmares, the placid smile on her face as he buried her, and how even her spirit refused to leave his side.[break][break]

He wasn't alone in his comfort. Megalon threw his arms around them, perhaps a bit too jovially even if his heart was in the right place. Wyrm waddled up and nestled her head against Genny's hand, with Carmen waddling up to clumsily faceplant into her in turn. Alfred refilled her drink, free of charge.[break][break]

When Genny was ready to part, and he returned to his seat, he was startled to find that the Aron had snatched it on him. She really was drawn to him, wasn't she? It was strange. It was worrying. Isaac was terrified that this one, too, would only end up hurt, lost, disappointed.[break][break]

Kiryu never was disappointed, though. Not for a moment. Not even when he deserved it.[break][break]

Genny's suggestion confirmed what Isaac feared. Her words hit him like a ton of bricks. While placid on the outside, on the inside he felt like he was drowning. "I . . ." he stammered, looking from his team, to Genny, to the Aron, to the window, to the wall, to his reflection in his tea, to everything and nothing all at once.[break][break]

Finally, his gaze settled on the Aron. "What do you think, buddy? Would you like that?"

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[break]

Isaac Merlo[break][break]

NOTES

- Outfit[break]
- More crying.[break]
-- Genny gives Isaac a choice. Return the Aron, or take the ball.[break]
--- The Aron pushes into Isaac's leg. She is home already.

MADE BY GUNSMILE

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]Those big, pleading eyes. The gentle head plop. The comfortable nestle. As much as Isaac had been dreading this, he couldn't find a single word to say in argument. It didn't feel real. It didn't feel right. And yet, here he was, "no" dying in his throat every time he tried to say it.[break][break]

Besides. Kiryu wouldn't want him to turn down a Pokemon in need.[break][break]

Softly, cautiously, Isaac gave the gap between the Aron's armors a scratch. And then he smiled down at her, reaching with his other hand to accept her Pokeball. "Welcome to the team, Neo," Isaac said, voice as fragile as glass and radiant as sunlight. "I just know everyone's gonna love to meet you."[break][break]

He turned to Genevieve, the girl apologizing for any memories she stirred up. "Hey, c'mon. None of that. It's not your fault," he gently chided. "It's just . . . funny, y'know? Not, like. Ha ha funny. But, like, one of those big cosmic coincidences."[break][break]

"Mine was an Aggron."

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Isaac Merlo[break][break]

NOTES

- Outfit[break]
- She finds strength in this moment, to be able to talk and smile.[break]
- Genny asks Isaac to talk about Kiryu.[break]

MADE BY GUNSMILE

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]Isaac blinked in surprise at the request. He opened his mouth, only to close it when he realized his thoughts were a jumbled, discordant mass that refused to come out. After a few tries, he just flopped back into his chair and laughed wearily. "Where do I even start?" Isaac asked. "I . . . she . . . Arceus, there's no Pokemon in the world like her."[break][break]

"For a giant monster made of rock and steel, standing seven foot at the shoulder, there was never a gentler soul," Isaac started. "I mean, shit. I'm pretty sure she legit held me as a baby way back when."[break][break]

Well, that required explanation! "She was my dad's Pokemon first, though she was more of a household Pokemon than one he took on journeys. That meant I saw her a lot growing up. You could almost call her my nanny." Ruefully, Isaac realized that she did a better job caring for him than his father ever had.[break][break]

"That didn't mean she wasn't a force to be reckoned with, though. The second me or my little sibling were in trouble, hoo boy. Hell hath no fury." He remembered the last time he'd gotten too close to a wild Pokemon, and Kiryu charged from out of literal nowhere to flip it away with a single swing of her head. "She was a protector. Strong, but not brutal. And even after catching and training more Pokemon than I can count, she's always been the superstar of my team."[break][break]

"If I'm being honest, I wish I could be more like her."[break][break]

He let the the regret pass, washing over him like rain on a strong, dark stone. "Things at home were . . . never great, you know? I always figured I'd just. Disappear one day. Get away from there and maybe find my own destiny. But it wasn't a journey I was gonna make alone. Because who else but Kiryu stopped me at the door before I could go?"[break][break]

"It wasn't so she could stop me. It was so she could come with me. And I'm always gonna be thankful for that." Isaac's voice choked up a little at that last part, and tears stung at the corners of his eyes. He held the Aron in his lap that slightest bit closer, feeling the refreshing cool of its metal shell against his arms.[break][break]

"She was more of the leader of my team than I'd ever be. She was my rock whenever I needed one most. She was the inspiration I always set out to meet. Always kind, always supportive, always loyal . . . I was hoping one day, I'd have kids of my own that could meet her, y'know? Have her form a bond as strong as steel with them, just like she did for me."[break][break]

"That can't happen now. But I'm not going to let that ever stop me from carrying her memory forward."[break][break]

After all, it was as unbreakable as the steel that made up her body and heart alike.

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[break]

Isaac Merlo[break][break]

NOTES

- Outfit, MUSE[break]
- It's been a full 46 days since I've written her. Wow, she is wonderful.[break]
- Standing, crying, happy that they were alive at one point. I love this girl.[break]

MADE BY GUNSMILE

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]"Thank you."[break][break]

There were no ifs. There were no ands. There were no buts. How could there be in the face of such pure, unconditional kindness? Even if Genny only knew him distantly, and even if Isaac couldn't fully believe in himself, she had all the faith in the world in him. Maybe that was enough.[break][break]

Her thoughts were grim and grey, yet had a warmth to them that no blind postivity ever could. "Their lives gave them meaning, too," he said, more to restate it for himself than for Genevieve. "But their deaths passed that meaning onto us, because we stayed behind to carry it further than they ever could alone."[break][break]

Neo was uncannily similar to Kiryu. However, the true successor to her will may have been Isaac himself.[break][break]

"So stand proud and tall on those two legs, okay, Genny? Show the world what the ones you love, the ones who love you, have given you. Just like how you showed me today."[break][break]

Maybe, just maybe, their smiles would bring back her own.

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