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6'1" height

"With great speed comes great responsibility."

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POSTED ON Jul 12, 2024 0:51:56 GMT

After his skirmish with Elisabeth Fiorelli outside Mauville that fateful evening, Josh's confidence in Swift, and himself, was growing. While he was not formally part of AQUA, his status as Champion gave Josh access to some resources the AQUA Initiative had at their disposal. One was the many legendary Pokémon the League had in custody, as well as the training grounds many of its Avatars used to hone the strengths their Patrons bestowed upon them. While Josh was no Avatar, he had an equally weighty responsibility: by the time the war kicked in, he needed to figure out why Swift could barely hold his own in battle. He thought about his past battles that pushed him over the limit and secured him victories. His victory over Callan Young in Lilycove, his victory in the Prismatic Penitentiary, and his win over Elisabeth Fiorelli all had one thing in common: controlled anger. His arm injury and the death of Dashie, his Galarian Rapidash, had drawn out new powers his Raikou never would have regained otherwise.

Was this what he needed to do? Embrace the thundercat's savagery? It was a terrifying prospect. A prospect that had once gotten him into trouble. The last time he lost control of himself amidst anger, he had nearly taken Eris Halla ' life. As long as he could keep his rage under control, even one of Rocket's Avatars would not be able to defeat him. If he ever lost control again... the League would likely never forgive him. It was a tightrope he needed support to be able to cross without stumbling.

For even Champions had their struggles.

"Thanks for meeting with me, Councilwoman," Josh greeted PENELOPE LIVY from across the League's closed arena used for the Champion Assessment, sitting on the Ashen Raikou's back as he waved toward her. "I've made a fair bit of progress with him, but he still hasn't mastered the moves I want him to be able to use. And I want to just... understand Swift. Truly be as one when the war kicks in. kyle lopez didn't pass his Raikou down to me without a reason. I want to make him proud... wherever he's at."

He still didn't think Kyle was dead. He and his Patron had to be out there. Somewhere.

PENELOPE LIVY

{PC: 1}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Swift Raikou Good

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played by

Captain

Penny, the coveted

She/her

September 25

Petalburg

heterosexual

HBIC Director

Council

I'll leave you

RUINED

5'6" height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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PENELOPE LIVY

POSTED ON Jul 12, 2024 7:49:00 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","angel"]

[attr="class","headerh"]

[attr="class","inner"]

[attr="class","sidebar"]

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[attr="class","pkmnteam"]

[attr="class","chartag"]Josh Devlin

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Frankly, Penelope didn't have time for this.
[break][break]
War was brewing, and given the state of the region, every additional second spent participating in this trivial battle was another second robbed from more important matters. Like preparation, aid, and whatever else fills the docket for the day. But after hearing of his victory over Fiorelli, something sparked.
[break][break]
Hovering near the jaw of the arena, the councilwoman approached her side of the field with a light smile and returned the champion's polite greeting. Behind her, Chi-yu swam silently around her shoulder. Staring blankly, no thoughts in sight.
[break][break]
"No problem," She glanced down at the beast beside her, more a child than a parent. It took a lot more than one might expect to pull this battle together. "It takes time honing your skill. Not even Kyle became top champ in day."
[break][break]

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[googlefont=Roboto|Montserrat|Roboto+Mono|Poppins|Abril+Fatface]

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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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POSTED ON Jul 13, 2024 6:41:45 GMT

Josh slid down from Swift's back, giving the Raikou's face an affectionate cuddle before facing the Coveted. "It took me almost two years to complete the Champion Assessment," Josh replied, growing ENVIOUS of the redhead's mobility. It gave him dangerous thoughts of rushing his rehab faster than his doctors suggested, just to be able to get strong enough to race the thundercat sooner.

He could not be the most effective soldier he could without access to the weapon he was known for best: hair-raising speed.

"And I've found that out the hard way with Swift. He can't even use Extreme Speed yet - his strongest move." His strongest move was actually Thunder, but in the hands of a speed demon like Josh, Extreme Speed may have been a more destructive attack.

As Swift purred loudly toward Chi-Yu in a vain effort to intimidate the ruinous legendary, Josh asked her, "Do you think Kyle is still alive somewhere? I have a hard time believing he truly died."

PENELOPE LIVY

{PC: 2}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Swift Raikou Good

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played by

Captain

Penny, the coveted

She/her

September 25

Petalburg

heterosexual

HBIC Director

Council

I'll leave you

RUINED

5'6" height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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PENELOPE LIVY

POSTED ON Jul 18, 2024 8:36:04 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","angel"]

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[attr="class","sidebar"]

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[attr="class","chartag"]Josh Devlin

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"Who knows."
[break][break]

She'd seen stranger things than walking corpses.
[break][break]

"I find theorizing a waste of time, though. He was a man, not a god. No matter how high we fly, we will all fall one day. His time just came sooner than we all expected."
[break][break]

The same could be said for herself, however, that was a level of self-aware she'd rather pocket for another day with another audience. For now, her focus was on observation. To dissect and learn.
[break][break]

Chi-yu didn't react to the Raikou's efforts. Its expression remained blank, apathetic. With liquid-black eyes staring out into the world, offering no more than a reflection of what it saw. Look closer and anyone would see themself under a new image.
[break][break]

"I'd prefer if we narrowed in on you." A bright shine swept across her eyes. "Like why its taken you two years to complete the champion assessment? And why this battle might change anything?"
[break][break]

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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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7,249 posts

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TAG WITH @joshdevlin

POSTED ON Jul 21, 2024 0:44:39 GMT

As expected, intimidation did not cause the god of envy to flinch. One did not become a god without steadfastness. Swift stared into the Chi-Yu's eyes for several seconds, electricity surging down his legs. Once the bolts discharged through his paws, the Beast picked up tremendous speed, electrical spheres forming on his crown and at the tips of his fangs.

In the meantime, Josh was fighting his own battle with the Councilwoman, this one a battle of words and of wits. She seemed to be calling the legitimacy of Josh's Champion Ranking into question. "I will admit, my Champion Assessment was not the cleanest affair. Every step of the way is a story in and of itself. Where should I even start? The interview portion or the Elite Test?"

For there were problems Josh had suffered through in both. Problems he had overcome to make himself not just a Champion in title, but a Champion in character.

"Though I do want to preface that the purpose of this battle has nothing to do with the Champion Assessment. The purpose of this battle is to help get Swift ready for the war. I may be no Avatar, but I am still Raikou's bearer. And I must bear Raikou to the best of my ability if we are to be victorious in the war."

Mirroring Josh's resolve, Swift pulled a sharp about face, letting the four incredibly fast electrical projectiles fly at the fiery fish.

PENELOPE LIVY

{PC: 3}

NAME SPECIES STATUS
Swift Raikou Good

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played by

Captain

Penny, the coveted

She/her

September 25

Petalburg

heterosexual

HBIC Director

Council

I'll leave you

RUINED

5'6" height

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

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2,913 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @penelope

PENELOPE LIVY

POSTED ON Aug 18, 2024 10:43:47 GMT

[nospaces]

[attr="class","angel"]

[attr="class","headerh"]

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[attr="class","sidebar"]

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[attr="class","chartag"]Josh Devlin

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Why this one, Elisabeth Fiorelli, she thought to herself, the question caught behind scorching ire. You're given all the tools of the world, and you still lose. Pathetic.
[Break][break]
Staring up at the gym leader, the coveted narrowed her eyes, her head tilting ever so slightly to the right. Her stature beckoned offense by his words. As though mere admittance to his weakness was worthy of imprisonment.
[Break][break]
Quietly, she replied, her words suspended in imposed intensity.
[Break][break]
"And that's where you're wrong, Devlin."
[Break][break]
Because battling her wouldn't provide that answer. She was adept at best, barely managing her own survival at every twist of Hoenn's history.
[Break][break]
"The purpose of this battle - and reason I agreed to it in the first place - is to discover what you lacked back then, and what you're still lacking now."
[Break][break]
And how, even in this state, you managed the impossible.
[Break][break]
"Don't you ever wonder why you weren't called when Kyle was discovered missing in action? Why we preferred a vacancy over your promotion? Why its taken you this long to unlock Raikou's full potential when Kyle had no issue. Not even in the beginning did he struggle like this."
[Break][break]
Intent licked her words. No matter how hard he resisted the temptation, she'd plunge it down his throat. Make him contemplate self-inflicted anxieties stirred on by the same harrowing foundational sentiment: I'm not good enough.
[Break][break]
After some pause, she delivered the final blow.
[Break][break]
"Do you ever consider that maybe Kyle only let you win? I mean, if you can't do this alone, how could you have ever beaten him."
[break][break]

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[attr="class","mcredits"][attr="class","fas fa-cookie-bite"]

penelope can manifest and intensify feelings of ENVY in others by being near or deploying a HYPNOTIC STARE, able to cause the effected to negatively project onto others, stir feelings of doubt and envy, etc. this power lessens the further her proximity from her targer. (REQ: RPER PERMISSION)

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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

7,249 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @joshdevlin