Academics were finnicky creatures. They loved to argue and argue over whose theory was correct, and whose knowledge was right. Yet, when the chips were down, they all cooperated in an attempt to protect what they had. Howard was one of the first to bolt, and bolt he did. Nonetheless, that didn't stop him from grabbing what notebooks, charts, and maps that he could as the island collapsed around them.

Knowledge was important. Maybe even moreso than his own life.

The island shook, and rocks started raining down. Okay, maybe it wasn't that important. Knowledge could be recovered. Howards could not.

"Lulu!" Howard cried as he disappeared behind several rocks. After several seconds, the rocks were shattered apart by an Armaldo. Celpho let out a ferocious roar, and continued to tear through the obstacles as Howard rushed through. Several rocks mysteriously melted, and some rocks shattered with force beyond Celpho's considerable strength.

Good thing the Armaldo had a Helping Hand.

"A pleasure, Lulu. When I said I'd look into the Paradox Phenomenon, this wasn't what I meant." Howard stammered as he clutched the various surviving notes to his chest. He had worked on hard on a lot of the notes. "Some of this is the information we used to breach the island. We can't let the League get it. It's our work. Come on!"

---

Lulu Flint
Points:
+50 (mission start)
+10 (post)

Oh yes, they would run. The bigger question was could they run somewhere safe before Howard and Lulu were lanced by League skirmishers, mauled by some Paradox Pokemon, or attacked by some other asinine people. Howard was frankly sick of fighting Gym Leaders, and his luck had to run out sometime.

Sticking his tongue out at the Poipole looping around, Howard followed Lulu, almost to slam into her when the Tyranitar prepared another Hyper Beam.

"Celpho!" Howard shouted and pointed towards the Tyranitar. Celpho lumbered towards the Tyranitar, but not quickly. Not nearly fast enough. By the time the fossil got to the Tyranitar, Howard and Lulu would be pink smears on the ground. At least if that happened, Lulu could get some sleep.

"Change of plans! Block it!" Howard shouted. The Armaldo lunged into action, getting in front of Lulu and Howard and Protecting them from further harm. The Hyper Beam fired, and it glanced off Celpho's armor and Protect, hitting the mountain.

Now, the Tyranitar was tired. They had a chance!

---

Lulu Flint
Points:
+50 (mission start)
+20 (posts)
+10 (assist another character and/or their Pokémon)

Wonderful. Howard had signed a contract with an alien. After fighting a moving building and getting his Probopass charged by enough power to keep Sootopolis running for a week, Howard wasn't even surprised anymore. He was going with the flow, and the flow was sending him and Lulu careening off a cliff into the distance.

As Howard's Armaldo reflected the shot, it stood proud as it issued a challenge against the Tyranitar. Lumbering forward, it prepared to square off with the beast, but as it prepared to strike, a Dragon Pulse blasted the beast into submission, while the Armaldo crushed its armor with a Crush Claw. The beast fell, defeated. Armaldo disappeared into its ball with a roar.

"Yeah, I fly." Howard answered Lulu's question with a nod. Josh Devlin would be so proud of him, if the Gym Leader wasn't getting defeated by speed bumps. "We both take one? League won't know which of us to shoot down, that way."

In a flash of light, Shirley and Atlas appeared. The Aerodactyl let out a ferocious roar, while the Shiny Golurk stood still, awaiting orders. "They'll run defense while we're in the sky."

---

Lulu Flint
Points:
+50 (mission start)
+30 (posts)
+10 assist another character and/or their Pokémon

"Wonderful! I was hoping to get a sample!" Howard shouted over the wind. He could've taken Aerodactyl, but he was adverse to it. Shirley was essentially Howard's trademark, and he had run into an unfortunate number of old colleagues today. He didn't want any of them to recognize him off his Aerodactyl alone. Plus, he didn't want to be encumber here while fighting. Aerodactyls worked harder to fly than other airborne Pokémon.

Besides, he suspected he'd need Shirley's strength to help thrash that Roaring Moon. They were being attacked from all sides, after all.

His Golurk erupted into the sky as its thrusters revealed themselves. The automaton detected an assault on its king and lord, and immediately went to intercept.

DECISION: Throw hands! An Ice Punch slammed into the Roaring Moon with enough force that Howard could feel it through the air. It shook his bones and muscles and eye. Despite being his most recent addition, Atlas was one of Howard's strongest Pokémon.

Not strong enough to dispatch the Roaring Moon alone, however. After spiraling towards the ground, it came flying towards them with a vengeance. Howard swore in an old language under his breath.

"Lulu! If we don't shake thing quickly, we'll never make it to our own airspace! Help me thrash it!" Howard shouted as Shirley flew towards the Roaring Moon, teeth gleaming brightly as they prepared to maul at the Paradox Pokémon.

---

Lulu Flint

"Lulu!" Howard shouted as the Flamethrower grazed her notebook. It was a close call for his colleague, but they weren't out of the blue yet. "I wish it was easier to digitize these records in the field. Damnable warfront."

Team Rocket's resident technophobe complaining about having to carry around paper notes? The sky must've been falling. Howard had to admit, it was far more convenient to carry around flash drives than several notebooks. It made him and Lulu slow, vulnerable, and obvious targets. They couldn't throw out Pokemon as easily, and adjusting in the air was obnoxious as well.

Luckily, Shirley, Atlas, and Penrose were doing well against the Roaring Moon. With a strong Stone Edge from Shirley, the Roaring Moon let out a horrific scream as it began to glide down and crash into the mountainside.

"Yes!" Howard pumped a fist, before turning forward and cursing. Lulu must've left the lab door open when she left Sootopolis, because there were dozens of Scream Tails floating through the air in front of them. The Roaring Moon must've attracted then. The beasts puffed up with air.

Then they screamed. Howard instinctively covered his ears. The noise was like smashing a drum with a sledgehammer, it rang and rang and rang, echoing across the island.

---

Lulu Flint
Points:
+50 (mission start)
+50 (posts)
+10 (assist)
+10 (paradox spawn)

Lulu didn't need to tell him twice. Hell, she didn't even have to tell Howard once. As soon as the pink bastards appeared over the horizon, Howard was lunging for the Noivern. It was almost impressive how quickly he moved.

"UP! GO!" Howard shouted as the Noivern flapped its wings, elevating them from the sky as the Scream Tails screeched after them. Several began to puff up with air and follow them into the sky, but Atlas wasn't having any of it. The titan fell onto the battlefield with a massive thud, and began its assault. Scream Tails were grabbed and popped like balloons within its massive hands.

Shirley aided as well, fangs gleaming as she danced amongst the pink fields. Even though their fight was noble, two Pokémon wasn't enough to change the tide. Soon, they'd be overwhelmed, and Lulu and Howard would get to fight Scream Tails on both land and in the sky. Something that was only slightly less preferable than being locked in a lab with one.

"Can't believe I'm doing this again..." Howard muttered. Michael Navidson had given him the motivation he needed to use this power, but continued use of it wasn't good for him or Shirley. Nonetheless, their safety needed to be guaranteed. Howard ripped the patch off his eye, and a Key Stone gleamed in his socket.

"MEGA EVOLVE!" Howard shouted as light billowed from his eye and from Shirley as she Mega Evolved into a Mega Aerodactyl. With even more power and ferocity, she and Atlas pushed the Scream Tails back.

"Let's hustle! Fly!"

---

Lulu Flint
Points:
+50 (mission start)
+300 (mission failure)
+100 (mission thread complete)
+60 (posts)
+10 (assist)
+10 (I fucking hate scream tails)
+10 (mega evolve)
TOTAL: 540