"Oh, it's beautiful." Howard said as sand dunes slipped by at a remarkable speed. He loved deserts, even if this one happened to be alien and fundamentally inhospitable. All deserts were the latter, so why complain? At least this one was interesting.

Stakataka were notoriously slow—Howard could outpace one at a leisurely pace—but they were so versatile that that exchange in speed was hardly noteworthy. It wasn't like Howard was fighting with the alien, much. It was much better as a house.

Or, in this case, a floating platform propped up by Magnet Rise. The Ultra Beast skimmed across the desert like a hoverbike, eyes looking in multiple directions for threats. Fortunately, there was only sand.

"Not a bad way to travel, eh?" Howard pointed at his colleague, sitting on the same platform. Oscar Clayton was a legend within Team Rocket, even if he had stepped away from the organization for a long time. Ironically, Amor Rose had wanted to get into contact with him regarding a project. Maybe this would be a good place to start.

"Seriously, it's criminal how useful these things are. They make good bases, good walls, good tools. You're limited to your imagination with one of these bad boys. Eh?"

---

oscar clayton
PROMPT: Utilize an Ultra Beast in an advantageous way.

Howard had no way of knowing this, but he was taunting Oscar by describing the perks of owning a stakataka. He had the opportunity to catch one of his own within the Ultra Plant, but an aggressive Xurkitree got in the way and was caught instead. It was doubly painful because Oscar had already owned a Xurkitree by that point, now he had two alien Christmas trees that did not get along. Oh well, life and lemons or whatever.

Oscar removed his sunglasses, grinning to hide the deep agonizing pain within his heart. "It's a fuckin' wonder. I bet with a few of these you could make some crazy shit." Oscar got over his regret quickly. It helped that he was excited to be here, on an archeological adventure with Rocket's newest Admin: howard slayte. Oscar had heard a lot about him since getting back to Hoenn, and the former treasure hunter was overjoyed to dig through alien ruins with what could be a new endearing friend.

Plus if the rumors were true this would be Oscar's chance to catch some particularly evasive bug pokemon.

For now though, they crossed the desert in style. Oscar pulled out some binoculars from out of his bag, raising them to get a better look at the passing ruins. Most of them were too submerged to make out any detail, but the alien architecture still fascinated Oscar.

They began passing by a sea of dunes, their surfaces shifting with the desert winds. Thanks to his binoculars, Oscar could see what seemed to be an Orthworm bursting in and out of the sands far into the distance. Oscar chuckled and pushed the binoculars toward Howard. "Hey look at this! It's like a giant Orthworm swimming through the sand or somethin'."

It was only amusing because it was so far away. Hopefully it stayed that way.

"Right? If you caught enough of these bad boys, you could probably create an entire mobile base. Think of the applications for research. " Howard said excitedly. He had been discussing this in an argument with a few academically inclined Team Rocket members. Stakataka were obscenely valuable for rapid mobilization of bases. Howard only had one right now, but who knew what the future held?

Maybe if he caught enough, he could simply stop paying rent and live as a homeless Stakataka wanderer. That was the life.

"Seriously? Lemme see." Howard took the binoculars and whistled. Oscar was right, those things were massive. Way larger than an ordinary Orthworm. What caused them to grow this large?

Whether through the tremors caused in the sand or by the Orthworm itself, the dunes began to shift. The Stakataka moved to adjust, but ended up hitting a dune and sending the duo flying. Howard screamed as he flew through the air. Stakataka blocks flew in different directions, leaving him and Oscar in a heap as blocks littered the sand.

"What the fuuuuuu-" The sand began to shift as the Orthworm grew closer. Howard groaned as the individual blocks of his Ultra Beast reassembled. "Oscar!"

---

oscar clayton

While Howard looked at the Orthworm, Oscar thought aloud about his 'mobile base' idea. "That would be metal as fuck! I wonder, how many would that take? Also if I recall correctly, each block is its own organism. If they mixed up and shit, do they like--know? Can the other blocks tell if others don't belong? If they do are they treated just like the blocks they replaced or like--do the original blocks shun them? This is why this has to happen Howard, we need an--"

Oscar should have payed more attention, perhaps he could have prevented the Stakataka's collision with the dune. Oscar let out a shock gasp as he was flung toward the sand, rolling like a rag doll before landing in a heap face down. After allowing himself a moment of pained laying, he would gracefully lift himself to his feet and begin dusting himself off. Sand was now everywhere, and while Oscar did his best to hide it he now felt maximum discomfort. "Fuckin' sand man..."

Oscar looked up as Howard yelled out his name, his stomach nearly launching out of his asshole as he saw the Orthworm change course--toward them. Damn thing must have felt them when the Stakataka hit the sand! Oscar frantically looked around, and when he realized that the Stakataka was not going to fully pull itself together in time he would clap his hands together and look to Howard. "Run."

Oscar launched into a sprint down the dune, the ground rumbling as the Orthworm came closer. As he ran he spotted a partially submerged obelisk nearby, slanted just enough for someone to run up toward its tip. Oscar pointed toward the structure, "Run toward the convenient obelisk ramp!"

howard slayte

Prompt
02 involve gigantic orthworms who attempt to hunt you using tremorsense.

In another world, Oscar and Howard could've theorized, discussed, and contemplated the complexities of Stakataka engineering. Stakataka engineering was a field that would've enamored several graduate architect majors. Howard was none of those, but he did enjoy the idea of not paying rent on a house.

Alas, it was not meant to be.

"I'm running! I'm running!" Howard said as he scrambled to his feet. He hated sand for numerous reasons, but running through it was one of them. It sifted easily, left impressions as he ran, and got into his boots. That was to say, it got everywhere. How unfortunate.

Oscar was right. Orthworms did hunt by tremorsense, as Howard had learned while wandering Unova's Desert Resort. Running towards the obelisk was the right move.

"I'm coming!" Howard shouted as he slid down the dune, which was destabilizing. Several Stakataka blocks tumbled down with him. "Float away! Magnet Rise!" Howard shouted at them, which they did.

Alongside Oscar, Howard leapt towards the obelisk, feeling smooth stone beneath his feet. "Hide by it. Pronto!"

---

oscar clayton

The duo ran up the obelisk, the Orthworm getting closer every second. Howard yelled out for Oscar to hide, and he did not have to be told twice to do so. Part way up the obelisk, Oscar found a circular opening big enough to fit himself and Howard if he so chose. He slid into it, huddling himself up as the Orthworm burst from the sand once more. Oscar watched as the massive titan sailed over the obelisk, its body briefly shading the entire structure from the sun. Eventually its full body landed back into the sand, causing the obelisk to quake.

Oscar half expected the tilted structure to fall over, but it stood firm against the sand's vibrations. Oscar peeked out, just in time to see the tail end of the Orthworm submerge itself within the dunes. Moments later the Orthworm would burst out again, much further away. Believing it would continue in that direction, Oscar turned away and let out a sigh of relief. "Fuuuuuck...fuck."

Oscar pinched the bridge of his nose, allowing himself only a few seconds of frustration. There was no further time for lamentations though, so he quickly stood up and climbed out of the circular hole to form a plan. He raised a gloved hand to his chin, rubbing it as he considered what path to take.

"Alright, as far as I can tell, we have two main options. We can wait for your Stakataka to reform and find us, or we can sit tight until the Orthworm is far enough away and start walking. What do you think?"

Prompt
07 involve the discovery of ancient obelisks that possess holes for missing seals.

howard slayte

"It shouldn't take that long." Howard's head poked out of the obelisk's indentation, cowboy hat slightly askew. He watched the Orthworm sail away, and whistled, impressed by its size. That thing had to be almost 200 meters long! Maybe they could capture one, and ride it to victory.

"Option three: we do both." Howard clapped Oscar on the shoulder. "Let me teach you a trick."

Orthworm could detect vibrations for kilometers when they were normally sized. Who knew how far this one could extend. It could be halfway across the desert, Oscar could drop a glove, and it would likely come crawling back to ruin their lives. Howard suspected there wasn't much food to subsist a beast of that size, and Oscar Clayton with a side of Howard Slayte was likely the most gourmet treat in the entire desert.

"There's a lot of things causing tremors in this world. If they noticed everything, they'd be practically blind. Even the wind blowing sand would get their attention, but they choose to ignore it." Howard waggled a gloved finger at Oscar, then pointed into the distance. There, a strange pyramid could be seen.

"Let's head there to recover. Could be trapped, but what can we do? We'll die of heatstroke before my Stakataka reassembles. It knows where we are. Watch what I do."

Howard stepped out onto the sand, making wide, sweeping motions as he did so. The walk was slow, and looked ridiculous. Yet the Orthworm didn't come back. It continued leaping away. "Mirror how the sand moves in the wind. We call it sandwalking."

After a moment, Howard had made it several meters.

---

oscar clayton

Oscar watched Howard stride away like a cowboy with a burning crotch, and honestly he was pretty impressed by this impromptu technique. "This is why you're an admin Howard. You're a big idea man and I love it!" Even if he was skeptical, it was not like they had any other options. It was either 'sand walk' or die. Oscar delicately began mimicking Howard's motions, the two sliding their way across the sands.

Their journey was a harsh one. The pyramid was a lot further than it appeared, and the Ultra Desert sun was unrelenting. Oscar huffed as he continued to slide, wiping his brow of sweat every couple of minutes. "See, the megalopolans won't stop bitching about not having a sun. Then what the fuck is this huh?" Oscar reached into his backpack, pulling out a water bottle and gulping down a sip of water. He hated having to conserve, this damn heat was driving him up a wall. Alola's humidity had nothing on the pure, exhausting intensity of this sun.

Luckily it was not an impossible distance, and the two would slowly but surely inch closer and closer toward the massive pyramid.

Prompt
04 involve the thirst or the sweltering heat as an obstacle.

howard slayte

"Shucks, you're gonna make me blush." Howard tipped his hat slightly as they traversed the sand. He would've blushed, but the heat had made his face red a while ago, even with his hat giving him a modicum of shade. It was a good thing that Howard hadn't brought his Team Rocket uniform, otherwise he would've died of heatstroke a while ago.

"I'm just an admin because I'm good behind a desk. I vastly prefer it out here in this hellhole, though." Howard said drily. "Maybe the Megalopolans should all move here."

A terrible idea, given the Ultra Desert's lack of resources for sustaining a large population. It had an excess of light, but Howard suspected that even the Megalopolans lacked the ability to modify an entire dimension's ecosystem. Any terraforming efforts would be met with antagonism from the Orthworm population.

Never thought he'd think those words.

Nonetheless, watching the Megalopolans die of heatstroke would be hilarious to watch. Howard had little love for the alien invaders, after what had happened on Route 119. Lots of screaming. Lots of Toxic Chains. Lots of bears.

"Shit." Howard stopped, waiting for Oscar to catch up. He peered at the pyramid with his only functional eye. Was it wavering? Howard let out a low curse as he realized what was going on. Several treks through the desert made it clear what this was. "It's a mirage."

Despite that, he kept sandwalking towards it, almost obsessively. Had he realized something?

---

oscar clayton
PROMPT: encounter a mirage in the desert.

Oscar tilted his head, freezing as Howard noted the true nature of the pyramid. After a moment of watching the wavering structure, Oscar slowly shook his head. "What? No no it can't be, we witnessed the same mirage? I was so sure though..." Yet as the pointed structure continued to waver Oscar could not deny that something was off. Had the desert truly fooled them so easily?

Fake or not, Howard continued onward. Oscar flinched when he realized that Howard was getting further and further away, and he would carefully try to 'Sand Jog' to catch up. "Whoa hang on Howard! You're sliding towrad--nothing?" Oscar again froze as the 'pyramid' became clearer. It seemed more like a flat pointed object stuck in the sand, like the wing of a giant plane.

And below it...

Oscar's eyes widened. "Oh please don't let that be a mirage!" Oscar slid forward, once again trying to catch up to Howard while also containing his own excitement.

howard slayte

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What Oscar saw was, indeed, not a mirage.

"It's an oasis, Oscar! I knew it!" Howard cackled maniacally, through a mixture of heatstroke and euphoria. Ultra Desert had a way of squeezing every drop of water out of it, but this oasis... It was spectacular! Thick trees and brush surrounded the tranquil pool of water.

Paradise.

"C'mon. Let's freshen up, take stock, and return home. We can come back later." Howard ignored the strange wing in favor of the oasis itself. The water could be dangerous—alien water often was—but that was what purifiers were for, no? Besides, little lived in this environment. The water would likely be fine.

Wading into the water, Howard let out a sigh of relief. "Perfect. Splendid!" Looking at the oasis made Howard's gears turn. Maybe this was an opportunity. What was the first thing an organization did after discovering a rare resource? They claimed it.

Oscar was supposedly an engineering savant. Or at least, he had been able to capture Zapdos long ago by building a power plant, according to Amor Rose.


Oscar, I think we're looking at a future base of operations. Let's get back!" Howard said as he waded out of the water. After waiting for a while, Howard's Stakataka lumbered towards them, and Howard tipped his cap to Oscar.

Their ride was here.

---

oscar clayton
PROMPT: discover a potential location to build a base (like an oasis)



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