Howard hated this tournament, he hated Thundurus, and he hated his life.

In that order.

Bringing Serizawa was a mistake. Howard would've done much better if he had brought Shirley, his Aerodactyl. Even Atlas would be a remarkably better choice, given the automaton's willingness to listen to commands. He figured that bringing Serizawa would bring him and the Larvitar closer together, but all it had gotten Howard was a cracked rib and severe trauma.

Alas.

"Illeana?" Howard's eye blinked in surprise. "Illeana Reyes> The geneticist? Aw, man... this sucks!"

Howard crossed his arms, deep in thought, before sulking.

"I wish I had brought my anthropology textbook from college for you to sign. Darn it! Your work is groundbreaking..." Howard stopped sulking relatively quickly. Much like Lilycove's fluctuating weather, the archaeologist bounced from emotion to emotion. "Let's have a nice, clean fight. Eh, Serizawa?"

The Larvitar roared in agreement.

---

illeana reyes
3/3 (NO MECHANIC)

"Oh thank Arceus... That's one signature down. You and freya morningstar are super polite about signatures. Someone threw a book at me when I asked." Howard let out a sigh, clearly relieved as Serizawa went off to maul a poor innocent creature. Hopefully nobody judged Howard's Larvitar for beating up a Head Scientist's Eevee in broad daylight.

Would that kill his chance of getting a signature?

"Serizawa, get in close and use Stone Ed-"

Instead, Howard's body shuddered as the ground tremored from Serizawa's Earthquake. He let out a heavy sigh as the Larvitar continued his rampage. The archaeologist at least had the shame to look embarrassed as his Pokémon ignored his orders. Man, couldn't Serizawa pretend to listen to him for a little bit?

"I'm so sorry. He doesn't..." Howard winced as a Shadow Ball struck the Larvitar. "...listen. Ever."

---

illeana reyes
3/3 (no mechanic)
JYpZalXu

"People aren't very nice, and I have a very punchable face. Trust me, I'm used to it."

Compared to getting a Larvitar kicked into your ribs, getting a book thrown at you wasn't particularly painful. Especially that book was written on the evolutionary track of Ursalunas by a certain professor at Slateport University. Especially if that book had recently been targeted for criticism by a Dr. Howard Slayte and his academic paper on the Bloodmoon Beast.

Good times.

The Eevee dynamaxed. Bad times. A resounding 'piiii' echoed in Howard's ears.

"I'm gonna kill aaron faust ." Howard muttered as he looked up at the colossal Pika- Eevee. Between Pikachus, a giant Regice, and Eternatus, Dynamax was growing less and less appealing.

Serizawa was slapped away, but held on with his stubby arms. When Howard peered closer, it became clear that Serizawa was holding on with a Crunch, biting deep into the Eevee's paw.

---

illeana reyes
2/3 (no mechanic)
sShhBDVI

"Thank you!" Howard said cheerfully. "Can I get that in the signature?"

If she knew that he helped Declan Walsh sign his paychecks, he suspected that the Head Scientist would punt him off a cliff, only to wait around for the snap when he hit the bottom. Admittedly, the author of that book deserved it. After fighting Megalopolans, flying a spaceship, and catching an otherworldly bear in an otherworldly Pokeball, Howard could write whatever the hell he wanted.

'Piii...' ollie morales 's Pikachu rang out in his ears. Howard's eye twitched.

Shaking off Serizawa and then bombarding him with Swift worked very well. The Larvitar bounced between strikes, getting juggled with remarkable accuracy.

"Huh. Kinda looks like Meteno from up there." Howard peered at the Larvitar. As the Larvitar continued to get juggled, Howard rubbed his eye. "Arceus above... JUST USE HYPER BEAM!"

For once, the Serizawa listened. A brief spark appeared in the sky, before turning into a massive beam aiming for the very fluffy Eevee.

---

illeana reyes
2/3 (no mechanic)
MIPvXUs3

Right.

Howard Slayte was a good upstanding citizen whose biggest crime was being strongarmed into working for terrorists. Admittedly, that was pretty bad. People had come back from worse though, right? He wasn't that bad of a person. If he was, he'd take sadistic glee in cutting Admin Delaney's paycheck by 5% when he sent him a mediocre forgery.

He hadn't, but it had been pretty funny.

While the Eevee recovered, Serizawa fell to the ground with the theatrics of Meteno closing in on Hoenn. Unlike the genuine article, there wasn't some divine intervention. There was simply the distant echo of 'LARVITAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR!' and a thud as he hit the ground.

"Ouch." Howard winced.

As he crawled to his feet, Serizawa let out a defiant yell as the paw blotted out the sun. As it closed in, Serizawa channeled his inner strength, attempting to intercept the strike with a Thrash.

---

illeana reyes
1/3 (no mechanic)
q3h1vMbv

This fight was close. If Howard was sitting down, he'd be on the edge of his seat. He was on the edge of exhaustion, but that didn't really count.

Howard wasn't Rocket's best fighter. He wasn't even a particularly good trainer. He used book knowledge and studying to tame Pokémon, but actual combat was difficult. Serizawa was a strong Larvitar, but Howard hadn't trained him. He surrounded himself with competence, and sometimes that competence shined through him.

The fact that Serizawa was bravely charging into battle made Howard wish he was half as brave as the little monster.

"They're keeping their distance! Serizawa, use Hyper Beam! Crush them with brute force!"

Another Hyper Beam emerged from Serizawa's maw. An orb of destruction. Howard was, again, surprised that his Larvitar had actually listened. Maybe this would be it. If this Hyper Beam didn't blast through Illeana's Shadow Ball, it'd be over.

His signature depended on it.

---

illeana reyes
1/3
9E0Ivg4q

"I lost...?" Howard blinked. "Huh."

That wasn't surprising. Dynamax was a remarkable phenomenon, yet Serizawa had lost to it all the same. The Larvitar had lost on his order. Howard had told him to use Hyper Beam, and Serizawa had listened. By listening, Serizawa had lost. Why had the gremlin decided to listen to him at the end?

"...Serizawa?" Howard crossed the arena and picked up the Larvitar. He held the beast for a second, before sighing in defeat. The Larvitar disappeared in a flash as he returned to his Pokeball.

He needed more practice.

"Thanks for the battle, Illeana. I'll be sure to visit you once the tournament is over." He let out a wave and smiled. "Watch out for thunderbolts! I heard that Thundurus destroyed a hotdog stand earlier."

As he turned to exit, Howard wiped his face.

---

illeana reyes
0/3