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6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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POSTED ON Mar 30, 2024 17:15:55 GMT

Josh gazed down toward the distant Rustboro City from Meteor Falls' west entrance. Nestled between two rows of smaller peaks, the rough terrain surrounding him would keep him in sight. It was one of the few places in Hoenn that Josh felt comfortable his secret wouldn't be exposed. It was a secret that had to be kept from Rocket. The Sootopolis raid was coming: that's when the Gym Leader and Champion was planning on using Swift for the first time. Even so, he had to get ready. He had waited for the first overcast day; this was something that couldn't be done when the sun was out.

Unpinning the RAINBOW FEATHER from his shirt, he held it like one would a writing utensil. Ashes fell from it as he took a stroke downward from head level to chest level, then three more: two diagonals and a horizontal making the shape of a lightning bolt. The floating ashes glowed a brilliant yellow, the Champion backing away from them. A massive lightning bolt struck right atop them, making him flinch.

From the bolt materialized a monochrome Beast, his thundercloud black as night. Josh rest his hand on top of the regal thundercat's black crown, Swift crouching to let him aboard. The Raikou purred powerfully when his rider grabbed the outer two tufts of his thundercloud, the excited Leader holding them like reins. "Alright, Swift... it's time. Let's ride!"

Isaac Merlo

{PC: 1}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Swift Raikou Good

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Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

I've got a, I've got a

Pocket fulla sunshine

949 height

Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

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Isaac Merlo

POSTED ON Apr 8, 2024 13:46:31 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","isaac2"]

[attr="class","isaactopimage"]

[attr="class","textbox"]Lightning strikes on a cloudless day? Huh.[break][break]

There was some manner of sensory adjustment that came from living in a world of magic and monsters. It was something Isaac had never quite appreciated until he'd joined the amnestry program and seen it up close. When courtship displays could coat the world in ice, and turf wars could get small fires breaking out, you stopped getting caught off guard by the little surprises.[break][break]

Yet with that desensitization came knowledge. Isaac wasn't book smart, but even he knew that Pokemon attacks tended not to strike downward. That meant it couldn't have been some pissed-off Manectric spooking a flock of Tailow away from its range. No, no. This was something else. Something strange.[break][break]

Hoenn had a hell of a track record with strange.[break][break]

"Think that's enough for ollie morales to get the picture," Isaac said as he snapped one last picture of the Rpute 115 cliffside. The nice thing about having the speed of the north wind was that he could check for oddities in record time. Today's job had been seeing if the Solrock and Lunatone ranges were disrupted by Kyurem's landing. Judging by all the psychic craters, and the telltale streaks of orange and yellow dust, the girls were fighting again.[break][break]

Isaac had done his part. Now he could dive headfirst into another Hoenn mystery as a treat. He kipped up to his feet, taking one step, two steps, then three. One minute, he had been Isaac Merlo, proud member of the amnesty program. The next, he was the northern wind itself. Only a rush of cold air heralded his approach as he flew off in search of the mysterious lightning bolt.

[attr="class","oocbox"]
TAG — Josh Devlin [break]
NOTES — notes go here

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played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Apr 9, 2024 1:33:06 GMT

With a kick of his heels to Swift's sides, Beast and rider were off. A trail of sparks gushed from beneath the ashen Raikou's feet, Josh's body shaking from the powerful acceleration, the wind pushing against him and trying fiercely to force him out of his seat. The tiger's flexing back bounced him up and down mercilessly, his core muscles rippling from the strength needed to keep his balance. With a backward tug on the thundercloud, Josh commanded Swift to level off his speed. Though it was far from as fast as the Beast could go, the highlands were still flying by in a blur. "Yeehaw!" The Champion whooped as his legendary mount sped up the rising terrain.

When the terrain plateaued, Josh noticed a dramatic temperature drop; with the winds being on a speeding mount generated, frostbite was a real threat. He pulled back on the black thundercloud, Swift quickly killing his speed and dramatically rearing higher than a terrified horse. Even when they were still, the cold, blustery wind did not cease. Josh's eyes shifted, his heart starting to thump.

Had someone spotted him?

Isaac Merlo

{PC: 2}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Swift Raikou Good

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played by

Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

I've got a, I've got a

Pocket fulla sunshine

949 height

Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

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Isaac Merlo

POSTED ON Apr 15, 2024 13:51:22 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","isaac2"]

[attr="class","topimage"]

[attr="class","textbox"]That definitely wasn't something you saw every day.[break][break]

It looked like a Raikou, that was for sure. But unless Isaac was mistaken, Raikou tended to be a lot more yellow than that. In fact, this Raikou was painted entirely in shades of grey. Its body was ephemeral, almost ashlike, albeit more than sturdy enough to carry a rider on top.[break][break]

To think, the mad lad actually did it.[break][break]

Josh looked around like a man haunted. Isaac couldn't blame him. Between the invisible sensation of being watched and the sudden temperature drop, Isaac may as well have been a ghost. A fitting power, he ruefully thought, for a man who had died at least three times.[break][break]

"Easy, easy. It's just me." Josh would hear Isaac before he saw him, voice carried along the same breeze that brought him here. Then, in one last swirl, they dissipated to let Isaac take form. He shot his friend a grin and a wave, as if this was the most normal meeting in the world. "Good to see ya, man."[break][break]

"Looks like you've had a hell of a week, huh?"

[attr="class","oocbox"]
TAG — Josh Devlin [break]
NOTES — notes go here

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played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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6,015 posts

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TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Apr 16, 2024 4:38:42 GMT

The Liberator's soothing voice was news far better than he could have expected. He exhaled, seeing the water vapor of his breath as he was still recovering from Swift's charge. Just because he now could wield a Raikou himself didn't make being in his thundercloud saddle any easier! He had a long ways to go before he could effectively fight with Swift in combat, and he didn't know how long he had before the League mobilized its war plans against Sootopolis, either.

"...Isaac?"

He was aware from League reporting exactly what Suicune's Avatar could do, but seeing the young man do so in the flesh was still startling. Excited to see one of his best friends for the first time in well over a year, the Champion slid down from the ashen Raikou's back and embraced the redeemed Rocket if he allowed it.

"Isaac! It's been so long since I've heard from you! What happened?" There would be a lot of catching up for both of them to do. While Josh was no Avatar, both of them had been blessed by legendary Pokémon in their own ways. Isaac by the Beast of Winds, and Josh by the Great One.

After Isaac shared his story, Josh would share his, too. "You have no idea. And I wish I was happier about it, too," his mood whiplashed as the Great One's disappearance, and kyle lopez 's death, came to the forefront of his mind. Even Swift looked ready to break into tears, a reflection of the emotions of the Knight of Thunder. "Now it all makes sense. You heard about what happened to Kyle, right?"

Isaac Merlo

{PC: 3}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Swift Raikou Good

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played by

Wanderer

The Liberator

he/him/his

April 10

Lavaridge Town

Figuring it Out

Penitent

Renegade

I've got a, I've got a

Pocket fulla sunshine

949 height

Turned on my friends and brought them pain. I have no right to show I can change. But I gotta try!

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Isaac Merlo

POSTED ON May 3, 2024 13:43:39 GMT

Michael Navidson likes this

[nospaces]

[attr="class","isaac2"]

[attr="class","topimage"]

[attr="class","textbox"]"Ah c'mon. You say it like you've seen a ghost." Much as Isaac cheekily joked while returning the hug, it was true in a sense. The Isaac that had been when they last met was dead. What remained had been brought back from the edge, time and time again. Yet somehow, this ghost of days past was more than he'd ever been before. "Better question is what didn't happen. But long story short, I made it out by the skin of my teeth."[break][break]

He still didn't feel right lionizing his escape. He'd committed one last act of selfish love for Caleb Harcourt. A part of him felt like a real hero would've thrown open the whole damn prison system. Another part of him felt like if he had, jayden cross, Zev Harcourt, and jayden cross would have slaughtered them all to a man.[break][break]

Did that mean he'd made the right choice? Or did it mean his efforts weren't enough? It didn't matter; those he'd failed found their faces in the wall of souls either way.[break][break]

That said, he wasn't the only lost spirit to walk the region these days. Everyone in AQUA had been updated when it happened, but Isaac still found himself in disbelief at what Josh had to say. "Hear it? I feel it." The wind raged restlessly inside of him. He hadn't seen Suicune since the day the news broke, but he could sense how they stormed across the region. Was it grief? Rage? A desperate search for answers?[break][break]

Whatever it was, it kept Isaac up at night. And not just because of how Suicune felt.[break][break]

"I . . . owe him. A lot." Kyle had offered Isaac a fast track to a more respected life. He'd given him the chance to prove himself on the stage of Hoenn's best and brightest. For those alive, Isaac knew he owed him. It was a cruel irony. Kyle had been killed before he and Michael Navidson even had the chance to join the champion in tipping the scales. "Never even got the chance to know him that well, and he still had my back. So now I'm gonna have his from the other side."[break][break]

"I know you two were a lot closer than that. You been okay?"

[attr="class","oocbox"]
TAG — Josh Devlin [break]
NOTES — notes go here

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played by

raikourider

Master of Faster

He/Him

December 12

Goldenrod, Johto

Straight

Mauville Gym Leader

Champion

6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

awards

6,015 posts

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part of

TAG WITH @joshdevlin