The sun was beating down heavily upon the sleek sandy dunes of the Ultra Desert.

Gerald had reached the top of one of the many sandy mountains and was now peering down using a binocular. He was searching for someone, a peculiar woman that fate seemed to constantly put in his path.

But he did not see Xenon Antheil anywhere. What he did see was a Caravan traveling in the distance, pulled by huge bulky figures. For a moment he considered approaching them, ask for directions or if they had seen this woman. But he decided against it, it could be a trap. The vivid memory of his last trip here still haunted him.

With a sigh he lowered his Binocular. With his golden desert colored wrapped cloak blowing in the wind revealing the combat gear beneath. He turned to his Pokemon companion, a hulking huge Tropius and spoke. “Guess we’ll be here for some time. Let me know if you want to go back to your Pokeball, okay?”



Prompt Cleared: 15: Do not approach the Caravans
LOCATION: Ultra Desert

[attr="class","blboxbl"]

It's strange how fate can pull together two disparate souls in such a manner. Maybe it was odd for Gerald to expect to find Xenon here, it was a whole other world after all, to expect to find one singular person in such a vast and lonely desert was a little odd if you think about it. It's like expecting to pluck out a needle in a haystack immediately upon sticking your hand in, trying to find a specific grain of sand in a desert if you wanted a more apt metaphor. Just "expecting" to find her... it was truly strange behavior from someone who was otherwise so rational and level headed in all other matters.
[break][break]
So why is it then that fate would deliver unto him just this one flight of fancy?
[break][break]
It's distant, one could mistake it for the whistling wind rushing by his ears. But it's getting louder. There's a tone to it, a familiar tone that made absolutely no sense being here in this exact situation at this exact time. It's coming from behind, from the direction of the caravans he was just looking at? It's getting louder still. The sound of a woman screaming, screaming with joy as she does something absurd and ridiculous as always.
[break][break]
Yes, closer inspection through that handy little eyeglass of his would reveal Xenon, riding atop a raging Hippowdown, a raging Hippowdon that was rapidly approaching his location as it bucked and snarled trying to get the crazy human off of it. A crazy human that was whooping and cheering as she slashes at its leathery skin with a razor sharp metal claw. "LETS FUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!" The Ultramodernist screams as she tightly grips onto the hippo's back with one hand, her other quite busy cutting up whatever it could reach and enraging the Pokemon even further as it runs straight for Gerald and his Tropius. It would seem the death of her partner on the last expedition didn't have all to much bearing on her demeanor, if anything it's like it never even happened at all.
[break][break]
And just as the sand leaking from its back begins to whip up into a Sandstorm, that wild woman pushes off of the Hippowdon's back and flips through the air, a shining light erupting from her belt and forming into a gleaming silver Metagross throwing a raging Ice Punch right into its snout. An instant KO coinciding with her stylishly landing in front of Gerald with a victory sign held up over her eyes. "Woo! What's up gloomy, I know you were looking for me!" She did not in fact know that, she just assumed it because she automatically assumed herself to be the most important person in the area at any given time.
[break][break]

+Gerald Kaiser

The job description for going here had been vague indeed. He hadn’t been able to determine from it whether he was here to reign Xenon in or just make sure she was still alive. But as his ears caught the sound of a distant whistle and his eyes the sight of a veritable sandstorm approaching with the women on its back, he figured it was a combination of both.

Gerald and Tropius were both about to take a battle ready stance as the Hippowdown approached. Closer and closer it got, seemingly intent on taking them down. But then, just as it was about to get them Xenon made a little show of taking it down.

Gerald sighed. He hated to admit that what she just did was pretty cool. But applause were meant to be given when it was earned and so he gave his best golf clap, before responding to her.

“You did? Then I presume you also know why I am looking for you?”




Prompt Cleared: 15: Do not approach the Caravans
LOCATION: Ultra Desert

[attr="class","blboxbl"]

The applause is fully sarcastic, but Xenon doesn't give even the slightest of fucks as she bows in an over exaggerated manner, drinking up the praise like the absolute attention whore she is (or at least pretends to be.) "You, are obviously here for two reasons! The first is to bask in my glory and do your best to learn from me in any way you can, since I'm such an absolute badass. Reason two, is to confirm the new artifact I found and reported to home base and make sure I'm not bullshitting them like I did when I reported the ancient laser cannon I found in the dessert. And reason three that you're finding out RIGHT NOW!"
[break][break]
She spins and points out to the horizon, past the retreating caravans and towards a distant dust cloud. "Is that I've found us a bonafide battleground between the locals, and I don't mean humans. They're all long dead, as you'll see when we get to our destination. Now quit shitting around and hop to it, we've got a warzone to observe!" Chromium lumbers over with a metallic rumble of curiosity, leaning an arm down for Xenon to scamper up, ending her journey right on top of the massive Metagross as it begins to float up and to the direction Xenon had pointed out.
[break][break]
They take a fairly wide berth around the caravans, because to be perfectly honest Xenon trusted the locals here about as much as she trusted any kind of ancient civilization, which was to say not at all. But it doesn't take all too long for Gerald to be able to see exactly what the ultramodernist was talking about as they pass by the corpses of freshly dead Pheromosa and Buzzwole lying on the desert sands, the shadows of circling Mandibuzz swinging over them as they wait for the two foreigners to vacate the feeding grounds so they can have their lunch. Xenon ignores the carnage like it's just another featureless plain, her attention is turned to dusty city ruins and the sounds of raging combat coming from within.
[break][break]
And she was not kidding when she called this a warzone, at least a dozen Pheromosas and Buzzwoles each find themselves beating each other senseless as they fight for control of the ruined city, for whatever reason Xenon really couldn't care less about. She suspected it had something to do with the very interesting relic she had found while skulking around the city, but that would imply that these alien creatures had some kind of higher intelligence beyond the animal IQ that most (non psychic) Pokemon shared. And if that was the case... well, she'd cross that bridge when she got there. "So basically the plan is we're waiting for them to kill each other off, maybe snag a few for ourselves, then I'll show you exactly what I found. And trust me, this is some good fucking shit, something like this is something Rocket is gonna want to keep a tight eye on."
[break][break]

+Gerald Kaiser

Something about Xenon gave Gerald Theater-kid-vibes. Not that it mattered much to him. Through all grandiose speech-spectacles Gerald managed to deduce a few things. One; He was probably meant to, as she said, confirm a new artifact found by her, and two there was a battlefield nearby, which was neat.

But to respond to all of that, Gerald would simply give a nod. By now he had figured that the only voice Xenon cared enough to hear was her own.

Xenon took to the air, ever in a hurry, and Gerald followed. He quickly jumped onto the back of Tropius, before the banana-saur raised itself into the air with the beating of its powerful palm wings.

Tropius felt itself surprisingly energetic as it flew. Perhaps it was the sun that allowed it to fly with ease? But those were idle thoughts for later. The Tropius focused on bringing Gerald to the designated area.

As the sight of the battlefield came into view, Gerald used his binoculars to gaze upon the destruction the clash between Buzzwole and Pheramosa had wrought



Prompt Cleared:
LOCATION: Ultra Desert

[attr="class","blboxbl"]

The conflict is interesting in its own right, the way the bugs do battle is reminiscent of a play that's been acted out over and over. They're very clearly locked in a stalemate, for each Buzzswole that falls, a Pheromosa too drops as the numbers even out, the way things are going it seems like nothing will be resolved and they'll both withdraw to tend to their dead and wounded. A slender white fashionista is thrown into a building, through the building even as the wall crumbles and the east side of the skyscraper collapses under its own weight. The offending muscleman is swarmed by three of the fallen's sisters, a thousand kicks puncturing its tough hide and reducing it to a twitching carcass. So the dance goes again and again.
[break][break]
"You can see it happening too right? They're reaching the equilibrium soon, after another few minutes of this they're going to run away to their nests and get ready for it all again the next day." A tired old pattern repeating again and again, a city locked in stasis, forever the battleground of a pointless war without end.
[break][break]
"Let's break the cycle." And just like that she's diving into the fray herself, releasing her Iron Jugulis over the bugs and leaping onto its back from her Metagross. "Alright, lets fucking turn the tide like some namby pampy hero type shit!" The Iron Jugulis roars as it blasts forth a Hurricane from its thrusters, tearing through the Buzzwole army just as the Pheromosas are inching back for a retreat, breathing new life into the conflict as a new actor takes the stage. This is what it means to be an Ultramodernist, truly.
[break][break]

+Gerald Kaiser

Gerald felt an odd curiosity tumbling within his stomach as he gazed upon the field of battle. It felt as if he had gazed upon such sights before, yet with stark differences which he couldn’t quite pin down.

Still, as the battle raged on he pondered if they ought to help one side or the other. Gaining the acceptance of either could prove valuable if they were to continue their travels in these parts.

He allowed Xenon to take the lead letting her swoop in and decide which of them they should help.

It seemed Xenon was inclined to help the Pheramosa.

Gerald felt equally as inclined as he gazed upon a group of Buzzwole circling a weakened and wounded Pheramosa lying upon the ground rising its arms to the heavens for succor.

Gerald did two things in quick succession, he released his Iron Moth and gestured for it to follow his lead, before giving a verbal command to Tropius. “Swoop over that group.”

Tropiues dived down swooping over the group letting Gerald jump off and land in front of the Pheramosa in an almost heroic fashion. The very theatrics of this little display brought the Buzzwole into a confused halt.

With a smile on his face, and a bright smile on his lips he extended a hand to the Pheramosa and said. “Don't worry! You are safe now, for I am here!” And as the words left his mouth he realized just how cheesy that sounded.

Weakly the Pheramosa gently placed its long feminine fingers in his hand accepting the rescue.

By now the Buzzwole was approaching, having realized they ought to take out this newcomer.

But Pheramosa saw what her assailants did not. She saw the mechanical wings of her guardian angel spread from its back menacingly before raining holy fire down upon the Buzzwole group in a FIERY DANCE of destruction. The sight was beautiful and convincing, and Pheramosa would only later come to learn that the wings it saw belonged to the Iron Moth in the air, and the sight itself had only been a trick of the angle.



Prompt Cleared:
- Help the Pheramosa against the Buzzwole.
- Help/Recruit/Capture a Pheramosa
LOCATION: Ultra Desert

[attr="class","blboxbl"]

Gerald is very lucky that Xenon can't hear that cheesy ass line over the sound of a brutal Hurricane tearing through the group of bugs, cause otherwise she probably would have ruthlessly mocked him for saying something that dumb and cheesy. As things are he would just have to berate himself with how cheesy and dumb that was, maybe make a little mental simulacrum of Xenon making fun of him if that completes the experience.
[break][break]
Speaking of Xenon tearing through the Buzzwoles, god damn she is just absolutely killing it right now. Quite literally. Streams of plasma hot flame roar from the Iron Jugulis's mouth as the muscular insects try to circle around to get a good angle on this new intruder to their war, only to be scorched as triplet heads cover every angle and blast away anything that crosses the invisible boundary separating Xenon from the rest of the world. The Pheromosas let loose a shrill rallying cry as they regain their morale and start pushing against the Buzzwole for more territory, all the bodybuilders can do is retreat in the face of the overwhelming tide from Xenon and Gerald.
[break][break]
There's a few more pushes and pulls that happen as the two battle it out on the side of fashionistas and beauty bugs, a particularly hard assault even sees them losing ground for a few minutes as some kind of Alpha Buzzwole makes its debut to crush the new faces that would disrupt their delicate cycle, but a concerted assault from the two trainers would put even that monstrosity down into the dirt as Xenon seems to perfectly sync up with Gerald's attack plans, an improbable ability to adapt at the drop of the hat no matter how strange or unorthodox the style may be. It probably helped that she had taught him just a little bit about how she fought under ideal circumstances, so he might be able to predict some of what she does.
[break][break]
But this is Xenon we're talking about in the end, if any one descriptor could be given to her it would have to be "Unpredictable."
[break][break]
And so the day is saved, thanks to... Team Rocket? The Ultramodernist frowns as she ponders on the paradox that this fight had become, but only for a moment before she throws the contradiction out the window and bounds up on top of the hill of bodies she had made from the attacking Buzzwole. "VICTORY! IS OURS! ANY WHO MIGHT WISH TO JOIN ME IN MY QUEST FOR THE FUTURE, STEP FORWARDS NOW AND CLAIM YOUR DESTINY!" It's unclear just how much the alien beasts can understand of the intruders to their realm, but at least one of the bugs can see the light of hope shining above Xenon as she holds up her Pokeball high, the bruised and bloodied creature stepping forwards out of the crowd with chittering curiosity. The mad scientist's grin splits open wider as she lightly tosses the Pokeball underhand to the Pheromosa, a new pact forged and a new partner obtained.
[break][break]

+Gerald Kaiser

Cheesy heroic one-liners aside, the Buzzwoles fell quickly. Gerald’s Iron Moth burned through the seasoned Buzzwole warriors as if they were nothing but civilians caught in the crossfire. It meticulously avoided raining the same fate down upon the Pheramosa.

The ebb and flow of the battle continued for a moment until the Boss-Wole of the Buzzwole decided to deal with the problem. By then Gerald left behind the Pheramosa he had saved, to deal with the new problem.

Gerald took vanguard, sending not only Iron Moth but Tropius into the fray against the new enemy. Tropius’s powerful blades of AIR SLASH’es combined with the destructive FIERY DANCE of the Iron Moth paved the way for Xenon Antheil’s perfectly synched attacks.

Even Gerald found himself surprised at how well they worked together.

Luckily any such thoughts were pushed aside as Gerald watched Xenon make her grand gestures atop the corpses of their fallen enemies. He couldn’t help but chuckle mildly at the display. But it seemed a singular Pheramosa decided to join Xenon.

And as Gerald turned to get a move on he found a Pheramosa on her hands and knees, prostrating itself in front of him. It’s chittering reminiscent of prayer.

Mildly confused, and a little bit scared of the sudden devotion Gerald brought forth a Pokéball. It was pretty clear what the Pheramosa wanted. He gently threw the ball at the Ultra Beast, and watched it be properly caught.

With that done, he would return his attention to Xenon, pondering just how long she would bask in the glory of their victory.



Prompt Cleared:
- Properly capture the Pheramosa
LOCATION: Ultra Desert

[attr="class","blboxbl"]

Once the Pheromosa is captured Xenon doesn't have much reason to stick around, she's had her fun for the day, played the good guy for a few minutes, seen what it's like to "help others just for the sake of helping." Honestly, pretty overrated all things considered, wouldn't consider doing it again willingly. Until she did consider it. But that's then and this is now.
[break][break]
The scientist hops down from her little corpse pile and waltz over to Gerald, having noticed him catch his own little buggy and clapping him on the shoulder as she passes by. "Alright now that that lameness is out of the way, time to go grab that thing we're actually here for. Check it, I led the fight over here so we wouldn't have to spend an hour walking around." Xenon walks up to the side of a massive pile of rubble with an air of casual ease about her, lifting her right leg up and planting her foot on the side of a large boulder. With a little bit of strain she starts to push, until momentum finally takes over and the great piece of concrete tumbles away to reveal a surprisingly sculpted entrance into the building that this rubble used to be, steel walls still holding up even after god knows how long. "Alright inside, you're gonna freak the fuck out over this."
[break][break]
As she walks into the dark corridor, old and unused lights flicker to life weakly overhead, barely illuminating the passage as she sticks her hands in her pockets and whistles an offbeat tune, echoing in the abandoned hall as they venture further and further in. And then finally they hit a door, or something that used to be a door, now it's something closer to a melted puddle of slag courtesy of Xenon. Doesn't stop her from stepping right over the threshold and into a room filled with... corpses. Dozens and dozens of human corpses, or something resembling a human anyways, it's difficult to tell from the state of mummification they're in after all this time. Each and every one of them preserved within a display case lining the walls, all leading to an opulent hourglass lined with precious crystals and jewels, easily the size of a building at the very end of it all. The sand within upon closer inspection is pure gold, the glass itself some kind of clear diamond. The "sand" slowly trickles down to the bottom of the glass, about halfway to finished from a brief inspection, for how long this thing had been running is anyone's guess.
[break][break]
Well, anyone but Xenon. She knew exactly how this thing worked. "So if you'll look to your left, you'll notice a neat little stack of documents I've collected around here that kind of suggests how this thing works, and to your right you'll see a control panel I've managed to bang together into somewhat functional operation. Go ahead and check it all out, it's some neat stuff if you ignore all the boring parts about the past civilization and other dumb shit like that."
[break][break]

+Gerald Kaiser

While he didn’t consider their heroics lame, he did feel a bit weird about it. So he didn’t mind when Xenon pushed them onward toward their actual goal.

And so he followed along as the good little sheeple Xenon was sure to consider him to be. She even warned him of what they were going to see inside. But that didn’t even make him hesitate. He moved inside, past the entrance and into the dark corridor.

The Flickering lights caught his attention for a moment but not long after his attention moved back to his surroundings. Only when the mummified corpses appeared did he flinch. No more than a twitch and a blink though, as he somehow managed to keep somewhat composed.

With Xenon there he wasn’t allowed much time to consider the mummies presence. Instead it seemed she WANTED him to focus on the hourglass-object. Golden sand trickling down. It was almost hypnotic.

Gerald didn’t allow his mind to be captured so easily, especially not when Xenon had plenty of things to say. He did as she suggested, leisurely moving over to the papers and began to flick through them, reading as quickly as his attention span allowed, but definitely skimming the texts rather than taking it in properly.

Still, as his eyes moved a question formed in his mind. One he accidentally asked without giving its repercussions much thought.

“I know History and such is boring. But you seem to actively hate anything from the past. Why is that?”



Prompt Cleared:
LOCATION: Ultra Desert

[attr="class","blboxbl"]

Ah, she was in such a good mood too. She had found something really cool that would get her a lot of attention in Rocket, she got a super Ultramodern Pokemon from another dimension, she got to kill a lot of other Ultramodern Pokemon from other dimensions. And the Gerald had to go and ask a question like that.
[break][break]
The temperature in the room drops a degree as Xenon considers pulling out her sword and just chopping his head off right then and there. But then he'd get blood all over her neat and tidy technical documents, which was no bueno. So for the first time in quite a long time, Xenon decides to open up a little about her personal philosophy. A proper lecture on what the past and future meant, not just the mad rambles of a woman who obviously didn't take anything seriously.
[break][break]
Xenon looks at Gerald and takes him very, very seriously.
[break][break]
"Let's put it like this. The past and everything that has ever happened in history... has already happened. This might seem obvious, but really consider what that means. Nothing new is ever going to happen in the past. It's a frozen picture. Sure, some of that picture might be obscured to you because you don't know about it, but why should I care? Knowing about the past won't change anything about it. It's stagnant. There's nothing to be learned. And to cling onto the past is to cling to that stagnation, its resisting change. And I just can't stand it." She walks around to face Gerald face to face and takes off her glasses, tossing them to the side with a flick of her wrist and locking eyes with him. The madness is still there, but its steeled now, sharpened to a razor's edge and wielded as a weapon of pure logic. It's zealotry is what it is, the dogma of the future and the glory contained therein.
[break][break]
"Change is a good thing, I think too many people are scared of change in our world. They want peaceful lives, they want the same thing every day, they want to cling to their past like it's a safety blanket. It's boring beyond compare, people like that are the people I hate the most in this world. People who cling onto their traditions thinking it'll keep them safe, who force their traditions onto others that way they can stay in their little safety bubble they call reality without it ever being challenged. People who deny the future. The future is a beautiful thing, a blinding light that's always shifting and changing, you never know what the future holds for you. Everyone can pursue their own version of the future, and as those futures clash and grind against one another, it paints the most vibrant palette one could ever see, and it happens every day. How someone could see that beautiful canvas of conflict and want to splash over it with the same boring tone as yesterday, I can just never understand it. And I don't want to. So I hate the past, I hate history, I hate everything that happened yesterday and the day before that and every other day before even that. I refuse to be the same person I was yesterday, I'll keep changing and growing and molding myself into something new every day, and one day I'll find myself in such a beautiful future that I might just be satisfied dying in it. And then I want everyone to forget who I was and instead keep chasing after their futures and dreams."
[break][break]

+Gerald Kaiser

Had Gerald foreseen a lecture coming from such a simple and innocent question, then he would have never asked the question in the first place.

She faced him, glasses off, for a short moment it felt like she was uncomfortable close. But perhaps that was simply a sensation brought upon him by the madness she so readily displayed, its steel edge razor sharp and cutting.

“I see…” a hesitated response born of an inability to think of something smarter. Wanting to divert the eerie focus she placed upon him, and incapable of continued reading he decided to try and divert the mad-woman’s mind onto the grand machine that she had found.

“So. Mind if I see it in action?” Gerald gestured towards the machine hoping the request would be sufficient.

Needless to say his skimming of the documents had taught him little else that this place was inhibited only by Ultra Beasts (A fact he didn’t need dusty documents to figure out)




Prompt Cleared:
- Prompt 30 (Documents)
LOCATION: Ultra Desert