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Greyson Connors.

[break][break] a member of hoenn's elite, jayden had faced the other time and time again. once, under the ruse of a civilian trying to steal beneath mt. pyre's crumbling sands. then, a simple trainer against fallarbor's own.

[break][break] the first, a tie. the second, a win. and now?

[break][break] "Greyson Connors," his voice echoes against the walls of the cave as he steps forward, as the rest of the squadron hesitates in advancement. "don't you think you're a bit lost?"

[break][break] behind him, the cheshire grin of his gengar appears. first, just the smile, then the rest eyes, before the body of the ghost-type sweeps into view.

[break][break] "you should fall back. just like you let your gym fall."

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Greyson Connors

[break] + CLASH [1/3]

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"i truly do not understand you rocket types."
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he pads closer to the center, aligning himself directly in the middle of the portal. it's low humming can be felt in the sole of his shoes.
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"you show up here in your masks, throw out your witty little one-liner, we go back and forth for a little, you struggle, force me to appeal to my morals by attacking civilians, then you flee. it's like clockwork." greyson sighs, smacking his lips for the show.
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"you'll forgive me if i skip ahead then, right?"
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the ILLUSION of lurantis fades into smoke, a barreling figure of black and red taking her place. the figure - a zoroark - raises a CLAW OF SHADOW...
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then that too fades in an ILLUSION.
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from the ceiling, a coalesced pillar of darkness descends. the NIGHT DAZE seeks out the gengar with all the prejudice of a nuclear missile. at it's center, claws dug into the rock, scarlett snickers.

[attr="class","notes"]jayden cross [break] [break]

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[break]
50 for participation [break]
20 for IC post [break]

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ignoring him, huh?

[break][break] jayden blinks, staring ahead. it's not like he expected any less. although there were many leaguers who's thoughts were as empty as their virtue, he knew the likes of Greyson Connors to not be so foolish. even if connors thought this was the first time they were meeting, jayden had met him enough times to know that the former gym leader was more clever than most.

[break][break] "why change what isn't broken?"

[break][break] his lips turn into a scowl.

[break][break] "unlike your league system."

[break][break] the pitch-black shockwave lurches forward like a missile honing in on it's target, but collides against a dark crimson beam. the whorl of energy that results has the gengar pushed back, grimacing, but quickly retaliating as a haunting PERISH SONG echoes through the air.

[break][break] darting forward behind his gengar, the admin sprints forward.

[break][break] he uses the swirling pink mist from the cave's fissure to hide him, before he flashes into view. his hands wrap around the hilt of a sword, directly onto the other.

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Greyson Connors

[break] + CLASH [1/3]

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PERISH SONG gave this battle a countdown. it was an ability that lacked real imagination, but he expected nothing less of a member of TEAM ROCKET.
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ripping her claws free from the rock, zoroark descends on the ghost with a wry smile. the gengar, regardless of whether it knew it not, had set her free so-to-speak. now she didn't need to hold back. as she drops, she TORMENTS him with mocking laughter.
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from the mist, a glint of silver catches greyson's eyes. they widen, and he steps back instinctively. if he hadn't trained with MATIAS SILPH 's virizion he'd probably be dead right now.
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but he wasn't unscathed.
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blood spills from his fingers, trailing from the line etched into the skin of his wrist. his teeth clench more in irritation, than pain.
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a flash of light, muted from behind the lip of his sleeve, and he has a sword of his own. the aegislash fits comfortably in his grip, and so too does the shield in his injured arm. from the exposed skin of his sword wielding arm, black 'flowers' begin to pour out, and over him (FLOWER SHIELD).
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despite being a practiced maneuver, it still takes precious seconds to complete. seconds he uses to SHADOW SNEAK behind the rocket executive.
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in the same pink mist jayden cross used to ambush greyson, the silhouette of a black, armored figure appraises jayden. from it, two burning orbs of bright violet pierce the veil; the gaze of an apex hunter.[break] [break]

and he descends on his prey.

[attr="class","notes"]jayden cross [break] [break]

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[break]
50 for participation [break]
30 for IC post [break]

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shadow sneak was a move that jayden was painfully familiar with. even if he had not been a kanto executive at one point, a soldier that burned in fire that was kanto's regime, he was a ghost-type trainer who had spent countless hours fighting hand-to-hand combat with his own ghost types.

[break][break] dark violet eyes burn against his own amatharine, and the rocket admin is quick to defend himself. the duoblade's steel clashes against the aegislash's own. colorless light ripples between them as they clash in battle, metal against metal.

[break][break] a SPRINGTIDE STORM explodes in a tornado of air between them.

[break][break] meanwhile, the TORMENT cuts the gengar, cutting off his mournful melody. as jayden continues his clash with the fallarbor's former leader, something glitters by the rocket's ear. it's his mega-earring. it gleams bright, hidden beneath the mix of interdream smoke and the clash of sword against steel, just as the gengar MEGAEVOLVES.

[break][break] in it's yawning mouth blusters a fierce blast of ICY WIND.

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Greyson Connors

[break] + CLASH [1/3]

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[attr="class","body"] clever.

[break][break] the armor flies away like shrapnel, blasted back by the attack. but the pieces slide back together like puzzle pieces, the power of his opponent's flower shield proving more effective than he originally thought.

[break][break] but jayden had tricks up his own sleeve as well.

[break][break] fangs bared, violet eyes gleam beneath his mask.

[break][break] a disservice?

[break][break] "and we can't have that, lieutenant."

[break][break] clang!

[break][break] but the two blades clash again, as the hilt of jayden's own blade clashes with the other in a SOLAR BLADE of his own. clang, clang, clang. the two engage in a fierce power struggle; the minute one advances, the other does too.

[break][break] the rocket admin has tricks under his sleeve - he whistles sharp, signaling that of gleaming red eyes. suddenly, he lifts the hilt of his blade as his ninetales' SHADOW FIRE encases it. then he brings it down onto the other with unrelenting force.

[break][break] behind him, his mega gengar's releases a poisonous deluge of SLUDGE WAVE.

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Greyson Connors

[break] + CLASH [1/3]

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[attr="class","body"] CLANG!

[break][break] the sound of metal revebrates through the cave as the flaming sword makes connection with the aegislash's shield. bits of armor fall away as jayden pushes down with unrelenting force, violet eyes full of HATRED for the lieutenant and everything that the league stands for.

[break][break] the heat of the attack encases the both of them, overwhelming in it's intensity.

[break][break] but then Greyson Connors fights back.

[break][break] a shimmer of SAFEGUARD from his ninetales protects him from destruction as jayden leaps backwards. the storm blasts him back, slicing the armor on his chest, a surge of pain rising up to greet him as he fumbles back from the blow. blinking, he realizes the glow of his duoblade's WIDE GUARD protects him with a thin barrier too, as well as the other pokemon from the other's explosive blow.

[break][break] behind Greyson Connors, however, the other half of his duoblade materializes. the ground shakes with the power of a ROCK SLIDE, stalagmites crashing down with frightening intensity to pierce him through.

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Greyson Connors

[break] + CLASH [1/3]

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[attr="class","body"] with one opponent felled comes another. before the power of his mega evolution can fade, vritra is quick to leap to the defense of it's trainer. a PHANTOM FORCE warps him in front of jayden just as the cannons hit, a vicious ICY WIND wrapping around the crash of the blastoise's g-max move.

[break][break] at the same time, jayden's own blade slips into a SHADOW SNEAK, disappearing the trainer into shadow just as his pokemon takes the hit for him. ice crack-crack-cracks until the g-cannodade blasts the gengar against a wall, the power of his evolution dissipating as he returns to it's original form.

[break][break] empowered with hot, dry heat with the power of her DROUGHT ability, krsnik opens her maw to attack the blastoise with a blast of SOLAR BEAM.

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Greyson Connors

[break] + CLASH [1/3] [break]
+ gengar faints thanks to blastoise; doublade helps jayden get away with SHADOW SNEAK; ninetales uses SOLAR BEAM (powered by sunny day/drought)
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[attr="class","body"] the blastoise's TORRENT collides with the DROUGHT ability already present in the air, both competing for dominance. cannons aim themselves at krsnik. one, he dodges. the other collides into his jaw, sending him sprawling backwards with a cry of pain.

[break][break] sharply, jayden whistles. krsnik jumps back to his feet and darts forward. cannons still aim at him, jets of water crashing against the cavern floor. SAFEGUARD empowering him in a barrier of defense, the shadow ninetales darts forward and deftly dodges each of the geysers — one crashes behind him and leaves a permanent hole in the rock.

[break][break] jayden resurfaces in the corporal world as well, shadows clinging to his form like they're meant to be there. violet eyes burn as he glares at Greyson Connors.

[break][break] "fall back, lieutenant connors. the league is meant to fall. let it."

[break][break] he fiercely grips the hilt of both blades, their blood-red sashes tying around his wrists. energy surges around him as they afford him the energy of an AERIAL ACE, sprinting forward with blinding accuracy, and thrusts his swords into the back of the blastoise's iron shell with a destructive SOLAR BLADE.

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Greyson Connors

[break] + CLASH [1/3] [break]
+ ninetales is hit with one of the HYDRO CANNONS, dodges the rest; jayden and his doublade use a AERIAL ACE + SOLAR BLADE combo at blastoise
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