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POSTED ON Oct 9, 2024 1:23:16 GMT

The world was frozen.

There was nothing more to Route 104 than an eternal plain of ice that expanded into infinity. Statues of ice lined the side of the road where people had attempted to hide from the Dynamaxed colossus that marched towards Rustboro. There was no meaning to its march. No justification to its programming. There was simply an order to march, and thus march it did.

Howard Slayte marched too.

They were just more bodies. More people that he had killed on accident. It was hard to truly aim a Max Move with the precision that it required. One strike was enough to level a mountain or destroy a city, and even constraining it down to a route had been remarkably difficult.

Yet he had garnered quite the view from atop the mountain of bodies.

Those were his thoughts as he sat upon Regice's shoulder, marching forward. Until a man came into view, right in the middle of the route. A frozen tumbleweed danced past, and the admin's helmet flickered.

"Move." Howard and Regice waited, a red heart pulsing through the golem's Clear Body. "Or freeze."

The figure did not move.

Montgomery James

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An observer of eons cannot feel the warmth of another.

POSTED ON Oct 10, 2024 6:12:54 GMT

[attr="class","monty"]The hunt was still on the continuum.

When Montgomery had heard of the destruction of dewford, he had begun to formulate a plan to find the culprit and bring said individual into custody. For "justice."

That's what he's craved, isn't it? Justice.

Something he had never been brought to for his crimes. Was the deputy a hypocrite for wanting to take revenge on this Rocket and their regice?

He refused to dwell long on the thought, instead reflecting on Navy's words. "Don't kill any Rockets if you can."

At his side, his gun felt heavy.

After months of failure in tracking down the regice, information regarding destruction along route 104 came across his desk. Montgomery had been out the door and wandering the icy trail in a matter of minutes.

He threw Pipsqueak from her Poke ball, which glowed in brilliance with her in all her glory, his wrist twisting as the ball spun rapidly and beamed her out.

Grass crunched under his boots, the air frigid despite the late summer's heat. And, ahead, its bulking figure towered above the ground, pulsing red.

But on top of it...

Was Montgomery's ultimate failure.

"howard slayte."

[attr="class","montytag"]howard slayte
10 MP use a starmobile, shadow, illumina or toxic chain pokemon in your thread
50 MP involve the pokeballs of your pokemon in a meaningful way (e.g. type of pokeball described to reflect the pokemon or character, damaging them, seizing them).
50 MP describe your character's pokeball throwing style.
50 MP reference (tag) another character that is not in your thread in a meaningful way
10 MP per IC post in your Skirmish thread
total: 170 MP

[googlefont="Nunito"][googlefont="Quattrocento"][newclass=.monty] width:370px;background-color:#232323;padding:45px;text-align:justify;font-size:13px;line-height:16px;letter-spacing:.5px; margin: 0 auto; font-family:nunito, sans-serif; border-radius: 5px 5px 0px 0px; [/newclass][newclass=.monty b] color: #d4a53c; font-size: 13px; letter-spacing: 1px; font-weight: 700; [/newclass][newclass=.monty i] color: #f8c249; [/newclass][newclass=.monty u] text-decoration: none; font: bold 10px Quattrocento Sans; letter-spacing: 3px; color: #f8c249; text-transform: uppercase; [/newclass][newclass=.montytag a] text-transform:uppercase!important;font:800 15px Poppins!important; [/newclass][newclass=.montytag] padding: 15px 44px 15px 45px; background-color: #2b2b2b; margin: 0 auto; margin-top: 0px; margin-top: -30px; width: 369px; text-align: right; border-bottom: solid 1px #232323; border-left: solid 1px #232323; border-right: solid 1px #232323; border-radius: 0px 0px 5px 5px; [/newclass]

♀ (Illumina) - Illuminate | Iron Head, Roost, Wing Attack, Steel Wing, Return, Moissanite Beam, Body Press | Dragon/Fighting/Steel/Water Tera

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Admin Fox

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POSTED ON Oct 10, 2024 6:26:36 GMT

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There was a moment of shock. A moment where the admin was in his early twenties, broke and afraid of the world and the fact that he was getting left behind. Yet what surprised Howard was that the deputy had recognized him despite his helmet and armor. Had Navy blabbed?

It was possible, but the sheriff knew that their fates were intertwined, and that risking the admin's capture by anyone other than himself was a foolish venture, lest he end up like bryan delarosa , rotting in a cell somewhere.

"Montgomery." Of course the teacher would recognize their student, even if they were a failure. That was the connection between a teacher and the student whose path they shaped. "I thought you were dead."

It would've been easier if he had been.

Thousands of men like Montgomery James had found themselves deep in their cups only to end up with a few extra holes in the back of their skull by an envious colleague or old threat. Howard hadn't thought about him for years, but now that he was here, in front of the admin...

His heart sparked with rage.

"You haven't moved."

Montgomery James

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POSTED ON Oct 10, 2024 6:45:44 GMT

howard slayte likes this

[attr="class","monty"]"Yuh and everybody else." He was sure that if he set foot in unova, there would be a swarm of Rockets descending upon him like a hive of combee protecting their queen.

And, deep down, maybe even Montgomery wished he was dead.

But, there stood Howard, atop of the frozen bastard that destroyed his home. Given he had been chosen by this Pokemon it appeared, he must have become stronger in the six years that passed since he'd last seen him.

arceus, what did he do?

Rising guilt built a knot of nausea in his throat, and yet he still held his ground. Perhaps, if he had the chance, he could bring him down. Howard could start over. Montgomery could take him in.

Again.

"Ya don't have ta do this, Howard. Just listen to me for a sec, will ya?" He held his hands up as some sort of peace offering, while Pipsqueak's metallic claws scratched into the ice below like she was itching to fight.

[attr="class","montytag"]howard slayte
50 MP have your character reflect on why they're fighting/reflect on their loyalties
10 MP per IC post in your Skirmish thread
total: 230 MP

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Admin Fox

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POSTED ON Oct 10, 2024 6:53:49 GMT

From beneath the helmet, a magenta eye fell upon the Illumina Skarmory. It was similar to the one that Howard had found by his hospital window after Navy had retreated into his fae garden to consult with spirits and tales of yesterday.

A reminder of what could have been if the admin hadn't turned Dewford into a frozen crater.

"I'm listening."

He sat on the golem's shoulder, hardly flinching from the cold. A mechanical form couldn't feel warmth or heat, anymore. All Howard had to experience was a crippling freeze, and even that bit gently upon stone flesh.

"Go. Elucidate me."

Montgomery James

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An observer of eons cannot feel the warmth of another.

POSTED ON Oct 10, 2024 7:09:15 GMT

ameena abadi likes this

[attr="class","monty"]He was surprised that he gave him the opportunity to speak rather than initiate battle. Had he been in Howard's position, Montgomery would not have hesitated to draw his weapon and fire.

Like the time he was training him in the unovan desert, exploding his claydol to prove a point.

"I made mistakes. I'll be the first to admit it. And..."

With a hard swallow, he tipped his head down. "I'm sorry, Howard. I failed you."

Peering back at the admin atop the giant, a look of determination crossed his face. "But it don't have to be like this. Stop the rampage. Come down 'n have another chance."

It was ironic, how he goaded him to join team Rocket. And now, Montgomery was pleading for him to leave.

[attr="class","montytag"]howard slayte
50 MP have your character recall a past thread or event that they have participated in or not (link the thread)
10 MP per IC post in your Skirmish thread
total: 290 MP

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Admin Fox

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POSTED ON Oct 10, 2024 7:28:03 GMT

Eris Halla and ameena abadi like this

"You're sorry?"

His expression was a mystery behind the expressionless helmet. Howard processed the information for several moments, before inclining his head. This was who his journey had started with? This man? The one who had influenced everything? Without Montgomery, there would be no Admin Fox.

And he was sorry?

"Fuck you, Montgomery. Fuck you. You get to disappear for years and then come back and take responsibility for your actions now that they actually matter? I looked for you in the records when I joined Rocket, and I couldn't find shit. I thought you died. I was fine with that, because it seemed like a realistic end for someone like you."

He clenched a fist.

"And yet..." He stared at the Skarmory and remembered his three months in Galar, training under the strongest heroes of a generation. "...you get to stand on that side. You left. You left and you washed your hands of everything, just like everyone else. Not me, though! I get promoted and have to shoulder the moral weight of annihilation while you get to live a new life. But it doesn't matter anymore. This war has grown beyond Team Rocket and the Pokémon League."

Yes, there was a war. Howard would fight in that war because if he didn't, he would die. If he followed Montgomery, he would die. He couldn't disappear into the night like many Rocket defectors. He simply had to shoulder that weight alone while people left Rocket and left him behind.

He missed when Eris Halla considered him a part of her family.

"The salvation of the world. That's all I'm here for. I'm just a cog with no future." Dynergy began to coalesse in Regice's divine heart, and glowed bright with flashes of the skeletal dragon reflecting in icy facets. "And you're a remnant of an era that has long since vanished—a time where Team Rocket's struggle had no meaning."

ameena abadi could bury another person next to her mother.

"You chose to be the worst version of yourself." A flash of red. "And you can't help me. Nobody can."

A Max Wyrmwind blotted out the sky as it descended downward.

Montgomery James

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An observer of eons cannot feel the warmth of another.

POSTED ON Oct 10, 2024 7:58:23 GMT

[attr="class","monty"]Howard had always been stubborn. Even dragging him into team Rocket was pulling an arcanine to water. And yet, Montgomery had succeeded in that.

There was a small glimmer of hope that he could succeed in changing him.

Howard's words were poison, freezing his blood as if the chill in the air invaded his body. He stomped on Montgomery's apology like he was stamping out a cigarette. Innocent grad-student Howard was replaced with someone he didn't recognize.

It was his fault. He did this. No one else was to blame.

He wished he had put that bullet between his eyes years ago.

"Slayte. There's always a choice. Please think a sec about this!" Montgomery insisted. "Rocket don't need ya. Do you know who does?" His hand indicated to the frosty land. "All these people — these people who just wanna live in peace."

But Hoenn would never know peace. Not with the likes of Rocket or the League around. Self-doubt gnawed into his bones, threatening to consume him. In the eyes of Howard, Montgomery would never be more than the Rocket who turned his life upside down.

He was the villain in this story.

"Yer a person! Not a machine! Howard, think a little! Ya have potential far beyond what Rocket can give you!" Montgomery plead. That's what he'd said six years ago. Just in a different way.

There was no more debate, no more convincing. regice attacked. And Pipsqueak only had mere seconds to prepare an attack back. Her blue glowed subtly beneath the crystallization of gray across her body, steel tera energy pouring from her as the attack collapsed into them.

Purple swirled around him, as Montgomery shielded his eyes and felt his body being sucked into the vortex. Ice met his back as he was throw onto the ground.

Above him, Pipsqueak took flight. Her wings formed into something akin to a blade, steel wings coming to slash at the dynamaxed giant's legs.

[attr="class","montytag"]howard slayte
10 MP terastallize your own pokemon in your thread
50 MP have an antagonistic exchange of dialogue between your character and another writer's character or NPC
50 MP showcase your own character's weakness(es) meaningfully
50 MP have your character be injured by another's pokemon directly or indirectly
50 MP have your character self-doubt or cast doubt on another's confidence/allegiances/beliefs, etc
10 MP per IC post in your Skirmish thread
total: 510 MP

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Admin Fox

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POSTED ON Oct 14, 2024 7:58:27 GMT

"I am human."

Steel wings rushed towards the frozen colossus's building-sized legs, though it was akin to spitting on it. Thick layers of Dynergy padded the golem's defenses, turning wings as sharp as swords into nothing more than padded sticks. In response to the attack, Regice raised a skyscraper-sized hand, and a finger that glowed with the intensity of a star created a red orb of Dynergy.

It was a Max Wyrmwind in the same way that a tsunami was a Surf.

"Everything I do, I do for the sake of our species. There is no freedom for me. not anymore. I destroyed Dewford. I failed to save Petalburg. Those are my sins, and I'll have to shoulder them for the rest of my life." The admin's eye glowed red as circuitry in his neck sparked. "Because I am human."

He clenched a hand carved from stone. He never looked more like a machine, divinely created for the sole purpose of salvation. Yet he was human. Even if his brain was placed in a jar, even if he was nothing more than a limbless cripple, his will would exist.

Thus, he was something more than the golem he commanded.

"When this war is over, the peace this region will know will be glorious. Even if I die, I will kill the enemy that matters."

He pointed up at the malignant star.

"ETERNATUS!" The admin roared. "MANKIND"S ENEMY!"

He looked down at the deputy, his eye narrowed with hate for the man who had started him down this path of destruction, preservation, and self-loathing.

"And if I die in the end, good riddance."

The star of Dynergy fell towards the deputy, a Max Wyrmwind unlike any other.

Montgomery James

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An observer of eons cannot feel the warmth of another.

POSTED ON Oct 14, 2024 22:55:34 GMT

[attr="class","monty"]He expected Howard to change. It'd been five years since they had last seen one another, before he blew up his home and left everything to ash in driftveil. But it wasn't just personality.

Howard, physically, had changed. His appearance, his demeanor, it was different from the coward he'd begun training in Unova. He'd trained him to rid him of his weaknesses.

This man was not weak. His insanity made him stronger.

"Howard-"

And yet, Montgomery wasn't able to convey the words he wished he could. The gears that were slowly beginning to slow down and squeal with effort cracked.

Failure. FailURE. FAILURE.

The wave of dynergy hit him like a hurricane, wiping him away from the ground. Asphalt scraped his skin, nicking cuts deep and shallow into his skin. It took him a moment to regain the breath that had been knocked from his lungs.

Even Pipsqueak struggled in the air, blown back several hundred feet from the force. She returned to Montgomery before charging the attack back at regice. It was a desperate attempt to break down more of the barriers that it held.

"Don't do this!"

[attr="class","montytag"]howard slayte
50 MP have your character directly or indirectly spotlight another writer's character's strengths
50 MP have your character learn something from the other character
50 MP include a motif or recurring symbol of some kind in your thread
10 MP per IC post in your Skirmish thread
total: 670 MP

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Admin Fox

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POSTED ON Oct 15, 2024 7:58:32 GMT

There was a brief stint of satisfaction as Montgomery and his Illumina Skarmory were blown away. For all of his bragging in the deserts of Unova, that wasn't a trick that the gangster had taught him. How did you teach someone to fight against an explosion the size of a building?

How was a deputy supposed to dodge the weight of a star?

"MONTGOMERY!" The admin roared as Regice slid backwards, forcing the deputy and Pipsqueak to chase the titan down Route 104. Every step spread the gap further and further, before Howard was comfortable with the distance. "This is beyond you, now! The nineteen people that died in Dewford? That was me! The thousands of people who died in Petalburg? THAT WAS ME!"

A Max Hailstorm descended from the heavens. A great white orb of glacial ice descended towards the earth.

"Don't you understand, Montgomery? I'm a bigger villain than you ever were!" The admin disappeared in a flash of white as the orb cracked, releasing a snowstorm on the battlefield. "There's nothing left to save, so let's fight for my future! Just know that you can't match me, deputy!"

The storm expanded, engulfing the golem, admin, and deputy.

"Die."

Montgomery James
BLIZZARD/AVALANCE = MAX HAILSTORM

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An observer of eons cannot feel the warmth of another.

POSTED ON Oct 15, 2024 21:20:02 GMT

howard slayte likes this

[attr="class","monty"]Montgomery looked upon the heavens. Ice grew in the atmosphere, collecting water and freezing until it was simply too heavy to remain above ground. A single thought flickered in his mind.

ameena abadi.

With haste, he sent out his rotom phone. "Send her a message. Tell her that..."

...

If Ameena texted him back, Montgomery didn't respond. Instead, he prayed to some god above that she'd be okay if he died.

Releasing runerigus, a crafty shield encompassed the deputy and his Pokemon. It minimized damage, but they weren't immune to it, given the sheer size and force of the max hailstorm.

He took the chance during the calm to attack again. iron head charged and rammed into the legs of the regice, whereas stealth rocks shot through the ground to impale at the dynamax barriers.

On the ground, abandoned, the rotom phone displayed one message.

"I love you."

SPOILER: Click to show

[attr="class","montytag"]howard slayte | artist
25 MP include a theme song or visual involving your character meaningfully in your post
25 MP break at least three dynergy segments in your thread
50 MP have your character "hit rock bottom" (their lowest point)
50 MP have your character become inspired or consoled by another writer's character
50 MP have your character make a regrettable decision or make a sacrifice
10 MP per IC post in your Skirmish thread
total: 880 MP

♂ - Wandering Spirit | Astonish, Crafty Shield, Power Split, Guard Split, Earthquake, Stealth Rock

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Admin Fox

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POSTED ON Oct 16, 2024 4:35:39 GMT

Barriers shattered. The amount was lost in the storm, but Dynergy that had crystallized into barriers rained down from the heavens onto Montgomery. Dynergy distorted the senses and gnawed at the mind, bringing demons from the past to life in the present.

Montgomery James had a lot of demons.

The words flickered on the screen as the deputy's perception was assaulted and his mind was besieged by poison extracted from divinity and preserved in eternal ice.

I LOVE YOU.

I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU. I HATE YOU.

The words finally ended on the intended sentence as one emotion won out.

I LOVE YOU.

"Goodbye."

The Max Hailstorm struck the Crafty Shield, and there was a precise moment where it held. Then the full weight of Dewford's destroyer crashed down on the Runegrius and the shield began to fail. It wasn't a shield formed from Necrozma's metal, wielded by a Galarian hero.

It just belonged to a normal Pokemon.

So it broke.

And everything froze.

Montgomery James

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An observer of eons cannot feel the warmth of another.

POSTED ON Oct 16, 2024 18:59:04 GMT

[attr="class","monty"]The earth froze. Not a creature stirred beneath the ice, seeping away the warmth of anything living in the vicinity. runerigus's crafty shield appeared a frozen bubble, indicating where Montgomery and his Pokemon had been.

The bubble shattered into icy crystals as snowflakes began to drip like tears from god in the sky.

runerigus vanished back into his Poke ball, effectively knocked out from the amount of sheer pressure he took from regice's attack. But, like a phoenix...

Montgomery and Pipsqueak glowed. The illumina skarmory's illuminate seemed to burn brighter than it had been, fascinating blue taking over the area. Frost creeped across metal feathers, and the single tear that had fallen from the deputy's cheek froze.

He was still alive. After all, his stubbornness was one of his best features.

From the distance, a grim neigh echoed in the frozen terrain. spectrier appeared beside its trainer, a whimsical tail billowing behind it. Although his bones protested...

Montgomery climbed upon his steed, reaching for his pistol and clicking a round into place.

"Don't make me do this."

"Don't kill any Rockets," Navy had instructed him. And while he respected his determination...

howard slayte was a threat to Hoenn and himself. He had to be put down.

Charging across the ice, spectrier took after the enormous brick of ice, boosting its speed with incredible agility Pipsqueak flew not far behind, more determined to bring the regice and its owner down.

hex. return. Until Montgomery aimed above-

BANG.

[attr="class","montytag"]howard slayte

SPOILER: Click to show

25 MP have your pokemon be inflicted with a status condition by an opposing pokemon
50 MP use a legendary, mythical, ultra beast, paradox pokemon in a way that reflects your character or highlights another character
50 MP for getting your Pokemon knocked out in your skirmish thread
50 MP showcase your own character's strength(s) meaningfully
50 MP have your character learn to respect another character in some way
50 MP have your character's Pokemon symbolize or represent in some way, the condition of your character
50 MP showcase a meaningful moment between your character and their Pokemon
10 MP per IC post in your Skirmish thread

total: 1215 MP

✨ ○ - Grim Neigh | Nasty Plot, Double Edge, Shadow Ball, Hex, Agility, Take Down

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Admin Fox

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The future will tempt you, the present will indulge you, but the past will shackle you.

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