"Well..." There wasn't much she could tell him about Kyogre, since that story had technically not ended yet due to the quirks of fluid time. "It was strong. Very strong. None of our attacks seemed to hurt it, and every one of its attacks was powerful enough to knock out a fully evolved Pokémon."

One fight they could talk about was the one that happened right then and there, as a wild Bagon leaped out of the tall grass, firing an ember at Andrea's Aggron. The armored rhinoceros winced in pain. Fire moves were such an annoyance.

"Hit it with a Heavy Slam!" Obeying the order issued by his trainer, the Steel-type smacked the Bagon with his large, Heavy Metal bum, making the tiny dragon see stars. Oof, that must have hurt.

"Nice work, Barron!" The young cosplayer said, throwing one of her spare Pokéballs at the woozy creature.

MATIAS SILPH //attempting to catch bagon

☉

“He sure was!” The girl cheerfully nodded at his question. “It was so cool, you needed to be there to see it! Lord Rayquaza was like ‘WROAAAR SUBMIT’ and Kyogre was like ‘NEVEEER’!” She recounted the events from her unique perspective, complete with her own interpretation of what the two legendaries’ voices sounded like.

Their convo was once again interrupted by the appearance of a wild Mawile. The yokai tried to trick the humans with its tears of falsehood, but Andrea knew better than to trust that large, toothy grin. “Nice try! Jalapeño, use Fire Blast!”

Her Fuecoco spewed a flaming kanji out of its mouth. While not as powerful as the likes of Charizard, it singed the misguiding Steel-type just enough for the eccentric trainer to feel safe throwing a Pokéball at it. “Here goes something!”

MATIAS SILPH //attempting to catch mawile

☉

"How do you know what Lord Rayquaza's role is? Maybe his job isn't to hurt Kyogre, but to make sure Kyogre doesn't hurt itself or others." Andrea got unusually defensive. Nobody dissed the great noodle on her watch. Not even an avatar as mighty as him.

A wild Flapple swooped down from the sky, setting its sights on Andrea's Fuecoco as easy prey. "Barron, Protect Jalapeño!" The girl ordered her Aggron, who manifested a protective barrier between them and the gluttonous wyrm. Climbing on top of the Iron Armor Pokémon's head, Jalapeño unleashed a Springtide Storm, engulfing the enemy in a tornado of cherry blossom petals.

"It's super effective!" The flamboyany cosplayer jovially exclaimed, before hurling a spare Pokéball at the hurt critter.

MATIAS SILPH //attempting to catch flapple

☉

Whoa, more wyrms! Had they stumbled into an Applin nest by any chance? Matias dealt with the Hydrapple, while Andrea set her sights on the Appletun. "Jalapeño, hit it with another Springtide Storm!"

Even after withdrawing into its pie-shaped, soft shell, the springtime blessing was too much for the poor Dragon-type to bear, allowing Andrea to throw a ball at it while it was weakened.

Despite the constant distractions, she couldn't ignore what the Elite Four member had just said. "Who are you to judge? Isn't it also Groudon's job to subdue Kyogre?" The young PokémManiac pointed out.

Little did she know...

MATIAS SILPH //attempting to catch appletun

☉

Andrea Vaneau furrowed her brow. "How can you be so sure? They could just be--" Her argument was cut short by a violent tremor, as a massive Onix burst out of the ground, sporting a fresh layer of mud on its rugged, serpentine frame.

"Barron, use your Iron Head!" The eccentric girl commanded her Aggron, who rammed headfirst into the giant rock snake, sending it tumbling down with a resounding thud. A Pokéball was then hurled its way with a calculated throw.

MATIAS SILPH //attempting to catch onix

☉