A self-made wind whipped at their already rather wild hair as the descended together into the Great Chasm carved into the Silent Icelands. Eva gripped the Altaria tightly and steered the dragon closer to Andrea and Chomper so she could appreciate the story Andrea enthusiastically told.

Eva smiled, thankful that she found it more exhilarating than terrifying. Lucky, neither of them were hurt terribly in the showdown, “Wow! Sounds like you two made quite the team,” She couldn’t help but grin, pushing Altaria into a little bit more of a dive as they angled towards a cavern Eva had highlighted on their maps.

She pointed towards a dark scar in the wall at the other side of the cavern. She was working off of the most recent reports that indicated a few sightings of the Walking Wake at the mouth of that particular cave.

---

Andrea Vaneau

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Total: 51

"Down there!" Andrea gently patted Chomper's sides, guiding him down the suspicious cavern. Upon landing, the dragon rider dismounted her Hydreigon, and inspected the dark scar in the wall.

"You think it might be hiding in here?" She asked, ever curious. "By the way, is it true that Walking Wake looks like Suicune?"

[player]https://file.garden/ZXZrnWMYuz15frfJ/HOENN%20MUSIC/MysteriousCry2.mp3[/player]

Suddenly, a strange cry echoed from within the cave. "Whoa, did you hear that? That sounded like a Paradox Pokémon alright!"

Eva Morales

☉

Eva slid off the back of the Altaria to join Andrea in inspecting the cavern. She anxiously bounced on the balls of the feet as she speculated what might be hidden in the darkness. She’d been anxious to meet a Waking Wake again after the events of the last AQUA meeting. She’d been furious when the group elected to kill the creature rather than just contain it, thinking it may have been the last of its species. Now, it seems there were more. What a relief!

“Uhhh, yeah, it kind of does,” she decided when Andrea compared it to Suicune, “A very primal version but yeah, there are definitely similarities.”

The sharp cry of a Paradox Pokemon used to send a shiver down her spine. Now, it was just becoming the ‘norm’ of venturing into the Chasm and Area Zero, “Yeah, did kinda sound like one. I’m sure we’ll run into all manner of dangerous creatures down here,” that seemed to be the consensus on the reports she studied prior.

---

Andrea Vaneau

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Total: 105

"A primal version of Suicune..." The young PokéManiac pondered aloud. "So it's like those paradoxes that look like ancestors of Pokémon that we know, like Roaring Moon looking like an ancient Salamence. But that... doesn't make sense. According to legend, the beasts of Johto were created a hundred years ago by Ho-oh."

150 years, to be exact. If Josh Devlin were here, he definitely would have corrected her.

"I guess there's only one way to find out if that's really true. Let's go, everyone!" Andrea exclaimed, delving deeper into the cave in search of the ancestral Suicune whose existence defied history itself.

Eva Morales

☉

“Very astute observation, Andrea,” Eva praised with a small smile. It was a question that she had posed to herself several times before formulating a hypothesis.

Eva returned the Altaria for the time being, choosing to bring out pokemon more suitable for cave exploration until another clearing presented itself. She released a Manectric gifted to her by Josh Devlin over the holidays. The electric type’s spark bounced off the walls, partially illuminating their way.

“Have you ever considered that the Beasts of Johto were made in the image of these ancient pokemon?” Andrea had to have heard of the others - the Raikou and the Entei look-alikes, “They are older, after all. Much older,” or so she thinks, she needs the samples to confirm that. It wouldn’t be the first instance of pokemon going extinct. She had proven that in her research of the Hisuian pokemon.

---

Andrea Vaneau

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Total: 158

Into the cave they went, Eva using her gifted Manectric to light up the cave. In doing so, she angered the beast that called this place its home. Out of the shadows, a mighty stream of water was shot out towards the group. Andrea activated her Sygna Suit almost instinctively.

"TRAINER MOVE: SPECIAL SHIELD!!"

The water crashed against her manifested barrier with a sizzling noise, producing a cloud of steam. "It's hot?! That's not a Hydro Pump! That's a Hydro... Steam! Scientists get dibs on naming the stuff they discover, right?" The eccentric trainer mused, cracking a smile at the League professor.

Chomper was taking this battle a tad more seriously, shooting a rain of Draco Meteors against their obscured foe. Most of the meteorites missed their target, causing widespread damage to the area.

Eva Morales

☉

A hazy fog blurred their vision as it rose through the cave from the HYDRO STEAM. Andrea’s quick thinking with her SYGNA SUIT saved them from burning under the heat of the boiling water. In fact, the air not seemed muggy and hot. Beads of sweat immediately clung to her brow. Golden light flashed as the Manectric mega evolved and that light cast a clear picture of their assailant.

“A Walking Wake,” she muttered, relief and urgency surging through her core. So the rumors were true, there were more of them. Eva was happy to see it for herself though the guilt still remained.

Taima LEERed through the darkness then lit the cave up once again with a SHOCK WAVE that crashed into the Walking Wake, sending the dragon stumbling back. The cry of another Paradox Pokemon barked from the darkness, echoing off the cave walls before being drowned out by the roar of the Walking Wake.

---

Andrea Vaneau

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Total: 206

"People weren't lying. It really DOES look like Suicune!" Exclaimed Andrea once the fog had cleared up and the Walking Wake was revealed to them in all its scaled glory--resembling an extinct reptile more than it did a feline. "Get 'em, Chomper!"

The shiny Hydreigon struck the prehistoric aberration with a brutal Outrage, but he was quickly overwhelmed by the enemy's own draconic fury, which knocked the three-headed drake backwards. "Oh no, it's too powerful!"

Stumbling backwards from Taima's attack, the Walking Wake shook the electricity off its flowing, purple mane, before locking eyes with the Mega Manectric. With a fearsome roar, it rushed towards them with the ferocity of an apex predator of the past, but then...

A wall of flames stopped the aquatic velociraptor in its tracks, as yet another mysterious creature appeared; one that was much bulkier, stood on four legs, and was covered in brown fur.

"Entei?! Wait, no..." While it indeed bore an uncanny resemblance to the legendary beast in kyle lopez's possession, there were slight differences. The most notable deviation from its present-day counterpart was a huge, golden crest adorning its head.

"It's another Paradox Pokémon!" The dragon fanatic surmised, putting two and two together. "But what would be its name? Burning Blaze? Fiery Flare? Flamy Forehead?"

The two paradoxes engaged in a violent territorial dispute, treating the humans in the vicinity as insignificant.

Eva Morales

☉

The Manectric’s eyes flashed with defiance, back arching and front half dipping into a ready stance as the primal Suicune rushed to counter. Instead, the darkness was burned away by the bright fire of another. The heat forced the Manectric back with startled yelp and all eyes turned to the Raging Fury.

“Oh my!” Eva’s eyes grew wide, “A Raging Fury!”

She hadn’t had the opportunity to see one in person yet. aaron faust had told her about one he fought off with CIAN MAHER. Come to think of it, this was about where he pointed on the map if she thought real hard about it.

Eva slowly backed up to stand beside Andrea with taking her eyes off the vicious battle, “Should we uh . . . let this play out?”

---

Andrea Vaneau

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Total: 343

Eva's scientific name for it didn't sound much catchier. Then again, few things could beat the name Flamy Forehead.

As the two paradoxical beasts traded fierce blows, Andrea decided against the professor's word of advice to assist one of them. With the effect of her shield wearing off, the draconic cosplayer decided to deactivate her Sygna Suit and tap into the potential of Z-Power instead. "Chomper, give Walking Wake a taste of your Z-Move! VENGEFUL HYDRA!!"

Her signature, shiny Hydreigon manifested six extra heads made of raw draconic spirit, before biting down on the crystal-crested raptor with all nine of his hungry jaws, each bite being more ruthless than the last. At the same time, the prehistoric Entei lookalike rammed headfirst into its sibling with its flame-coated, giant antlers.

Eva Morales

☉

Eva was surprised, a little confused, to see Andrea so bluntly take side in this battle of the paradox pokemon. Eva could only assume she felt some sort of kinship to the Entei-like specimen since she chose to attack the Walking Wake.

The professor took a step back to watch the scene unfold. Her critical gaze always studying what it could. She studied the way the Gouging Fire moved, how the Walking Wake countered. The z-move of the Hydregion she had never seen before. Eva had no intention of taking sides, but Andrea sort of forced her hand.

“Follow that up with Shock Wave, Taima!”

She sent the Mega Manectric back into the fray. The hound bolted forward, crackling with pale sparks of electricity across its thick fur. A numbing SHOCK WAVE blasted forward towards the Walking Wake seeking to incapacitate it.

---

Andrea Vaneau

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Total: 512

Realizing that it was massively outnumbered, Walking Wake let out one last Hydro Steam to show its defiance. By the time the fog had cleared out, the long-haired dinosaur was nowhere to be seen, having left naught but a fresh set of footprints behind.

“Whoa, we actually won!” Andrea exclaimed, both she and Chomper panting in exhaustion. Granted, they had only bested one ultra-powerful Paradox Pokémon; the Entei lookalike remained.

Turning around, the quadruped, hairy behemoth finally acknowledged the humans, menacingly lurching towards the dragon-costumed woman, and… gently rubbed its snout against her as if to say thanks, making a sound that was a mix between a purr and a reptilian growl.

“Teehee~ You’re welcome!” The girl giggled, reaching out to pet the beast’s face plate. It felt warm and hard to the touch, almost like a piece of armor. Turning back to Eva, she smiled widely. “Looks like we’ve made a new friend!”

Eva Morales

☉

A low growl rumbled through the Mega Manectric’s throat as the Walking Wake disappeared into the fog of its Hydro Steam. She remained vigilant until the Gouging Fire expressed its gratitude to Andrea and took on a more friendly demeanor. Both Eva and the Manectric glanced at each other then the paradox pokemon then back at each. Eva gave a little shrug in acceptance and the Manectric yielded, transitioning back into her normal form with a wagging tail.

“Good girl, Taima,” Eva praised, scratching the canine aggressively under her chin, “Yeah, looks like it!” Eva hadn’t really had the chance to appreciate how massive the pokemon was until now. She looked it up and down in awe, shaking her head in disbelief, “Wow, just . . . wow,” she swallowed, already fighting the urge to collect samples to study later.

---

Andrea Vaneau

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Total: 679