Credit where credit's due, Silverio was a go-getter. She appreciated his willingness to try a power spot. They were a little freaky and unpredictable. There were quite a few Rangers visiting them, herself included, so it wasn't like the League was desperate for ore. Still, he was demonstrating great qualities.

She danced from foot to foot as he appeared. "Ready to go in? As long as you stick close, I can help you if you feel any dizziness." She wasn't sure how to prepare him for the hallucinations that plagued visitors deep in the spot.

there was a fine line between a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and that of which can be considered one-of-a-kind. in the case of power spots right here in hoenn? suffice to say that they could be classifed as both. if they'd turn out to be anything similar to what he had experienced in his previous life as a trainer, that is to say in terms of phenomena among the seemingly supernatural, then one could assume that silverio may get a quicker feel for the nature of these spots than some others.

but it'd be unwise to jump to any form of conclusion straight out of the gates. upon arrival to the proposed meeting place with the girl who was bold enough to invite him here, he thought back on transpirings that led him here. his nerves and willpower were sure to be tested - among many other aspects of life. to say the least, journeying through this unparalleled structure in one piece was all that mattered. both he and robin, that is.

"i'm ready." answered the man, with goosebumps swarming his otherwise peerless skin. "here goes...something..." first time for everything, yes? but if were not to be cautious in his approach, this time may also be the last.

[attr="class","itemcolitems"]

[attr="class","itemcoltextbox"]

She clapped him on the shoulder. It was only a little awkward given she was five inches shorter. "That's the spirit!" In the face of his questionable enthusiasm, hers grew. She marched them down into the place of sprawling, forking paths. "Left is the luckier path," she recited. On most of her power spot descensions, she had chosen left and been correct.

"Also, between your Infernape and Ceruledge I have to ask, do you have a thing for flaming pokemon?" It was cool and all, but it could be a little destructive. Yet, the power spot they were diving into was going to give them both lots of room for destructive maneuvers. If she was being honest, she was excited to see what kind of trouble they could scrounge up in here since it wouldn't impact any civilians.

a fork in the road, right off the bat.

"left it is then." already, the pair of rangers were faced with a decision, one that would be quickly made by the girl on his behalf, and to which he would not object to. after all, learning the ways of this ongoing phenomenon? suppose that was to be added to the list of things he would have to try and understand. what fate awaits those who dared to challenge these depths every so often? whatever the case, one could only wish that they would live on to tell the tales. regardless of the context of these matters, silv mentally pushed him to keep his eyes forward.

but when faced with a daunting question, albeit a valid one, his mind snapped back into reality. or in this case, a realm akin to that of reality. "not necessarily." he began, with steps drawn in the intended direction. "long story short, i was a competitive pokémon trainer, once upon a time. infernape has helped me through countless battles back in those days..."

suppose that a brief trip down memory lane was needed to put silverio's mind and body at ease, if only for the moment. "when i decided to venture out here to hoenn from my home in paldea, ceruledge - who was at one point, a baby charcadet until recently - was a parting gift from my father. he's been with me ever since. their combined destructive power aside, they are some of my most trusted companions."

okay, so maybe the story wasn't short enough, as if that truly mattered any..."i guess...to answer your question, you could say that i've got a thing for strong fighting spirits; somehow i could sense that these two pokémon of mine have them. i could say the same about you and your quagsire too, actually."

[attr="class","itemcolitems"]

[attr="class","itemcoltextbox"]

Competitive, huh? "The gym leaders here in Hoenn mean business. I do hope you'll call me up whenever you challenge one, though. I would love to see it. Um, assuming you wanna use that competitive experience." Some people wanted their past in the past, and she was trying to get better about accepting that.

"Yeah, Quag can be a real demon. Also, very silly. I wish he'd stop putting things in his mouth." She groaned at the thought of it. Thankfully, her Flutter Mane had far more discipline. "I tend to attract some real silly pokemon," she confessed, "but I've lucked out with loyal ones, too." Sinistea came to mind. That was her ace pokemon, no doubt.

And speaking of, a half-skeletal Lucario stumbled towards them, miraculously alive. "Here's the freaky stuff I was talking about. It's just a hallucination, but uh, the tera stuff down here can make it physical." Flutter Mane knew the drill and launched mystical fire at the Lucario who met it with his own thunder fang, consuming the fire with minor burns.

"you'd really wanna watch that? well in any case, if the gym challenge here is anything like the one took i part in back home, then...yeah, i'd be up for it. maybe one day when the whole region isn't under some form of duress..."

he had to admit that hoenn's gym challenge was something that he had always considered participating in, mainly for the purpose of gaining some valuable learning experience. upon having cleared such a challenge in paldea, silverio felt that he had come out of as not only a stronger competitor, but a stronger person overall. he could only hope that the aforementioned opportunity, should it ever come to pass, would be much of the same in terms of the experience quality.

robin wasn't the only one who seemed to attract some of the more unusual pokémon, like that shiny stunfisk that silv ended up tripping over and ultimately capturing.

alas, the path through reminiscence would be cut short by the arrival of..."that's...?" were his eyes playing a trick on him? what was that about things being made real? before he'd have any time to assess the situation, robin and her fluttering partner dove into action. "give them a hand, will ya!?" he commanded his flaming primate.

infernape rushed forward to intercept the lucario with a fierce mach punch, only to be met in kind; a meteor mash from the lucario clashed with the monkey's fist, then the half-skeleton sought to engage in further close combat with the animal. a nifty form of acrobatics from infernape, however, was used to shake up those old bones. hopefully.

[attr="class","itemcolitems"]

[attr="class","itemcoltextbox"]

"Most def," she responded. "There's always something to learn from battle." Plus, with his prior experience, she wondered if he fought in a way that Hoennites tended not to. She had noticed that Alolan fighters tended to use the environment more, which was something she had adopted into her own style.

His Infernape didn't do anything by halves. She took a cautious step back as they exchanged punches. The Infernape's closing move pushed the Lucario back far enough that it faded into the smoke. "Nice! We shouldn't have to see that guy again. The illusions here tend to be short-lived." She rubbed at her temple. "It's at about this time, though, that the overwhelming energy of the place starts to wear on you. We should grab a few rocks and leave."

The ore here was great for dynamax or whatever, but it also made it super difficult to see at times. She wanted to head out before the dizziness actually made her vom. "But I'm glad you brought such a fighter. Sometimes, we have to face a dynamaxed pokemon when we get this far. Can't be too careful."

the battle was won, but perhaps at the cost of the rangers' sanity. and soon enough, a hard pounding plagued the man's head. this must have been that apparent side effect that the girl had spoke of - stay in this strange place too long, and he may end up never leaving due to a collapse. with one set of fingers kneading an edges of his dome, silv would follow in procuring some of the precious materials that the spots were rumored to house. "short-lived...but with a long-lasting after-effect, it feels like..."

"dynamax, huh...?" suppose that was a concept to venture into at a later date. regardless, he was definitely going to need some downtime after all this.

"you've got some pretty solid fighters too, but yeah, i'm with you. let's just pick up what we need and go." as for what it was that he needed out of this ordeal, it was hard to say. perhaps after at least a few more trips, should he ever consider returning here that is, some things may present themselves a tad more clear. but for now, he was grateful to have seen another day, and on top of that, another unforgettable experience that was solemnly worth writing home about.

"thanks...for today..." that so-called hallucination might have done a number on his head already. time to break out!