noah already knows who she is. although persephone does not strike his fancy, her sterling presence is not to be misjudged. the elite four had been appointed for good reason, after all.

time and time again, they've saved hoenn from destruction— and as such, it makes sense to shy away from the public eye to recuperate. it is what he wants kyle lopez to do, perhaps out of selfish longing.


"oh yeah! hey!" noah's eyes are drawn to the sirfetch'd, its incessant leek like an insatiable birdy toy. "uhhh— we met and almost died right after because of an alien clown."

he rolls one of his shoulders.

"are you here for a gym challenge? 'cause i thought you were like, more of a book-wurmple." noah chuckles. "name the format, dude! and i'll save your breloom from fainting before the match even begins."

persephone amavi

persephone tries to let the corners of her lips curl upward but she knows it probably looks humourless. something about beast's the murderous rampage through slateport had sapped her ability for this sort of thing.

noah's read on her is accurate because the visit served two functions; this is part training exercise because she fears further erosion to any aptitude for structured battle, and secondly, it was curiosity in kyle's... protégé? specific details elude her, but she knows he spends enough time at the gym that surely noah has something to show for it.

"i tend to be," she admits, though this time when she smiles it does look significantly more genuine. she turns to gesture to the two pokemon behind her prompting the sirfetch'd to halt mid-swing, looking like a deerling caught in the headlights at the sudden attention.

"i'm sure she appreciates that. two versus two, doubles, with this pair." persephone pauses for a moment and then, because she wasn't raised in a barn, adds, "be sure to go easy on us. please, thank you."

noah faber

when persephone smiles the second time, noah brightens in turn. it's not as if he is a diviner of honesty. but his his expressive mirror simply glows in consequence, the adrenaline of an imminent challenge pushing his own smile to the corners of his cheeks as the proposition is solidified relicanth hard.

"go easy on you?" noah is already mid-way opening the chain-link door to the ring. "aren't you one of the elite four? this should be a walk in the poochy park." he grins still, summoning a hitmonchan and hariyama into the ring.

they beat their fists together. glove and mitten slap together like a judge's bells.

"you want first move?" noah asks. "remember, i'm trying to teach kids how to deal with close quarters combat. hits to the face are alloooowed." he stops, curious— but perhaps, already knowing the answer. "ever been in a schoolyard fight?"

persephone amavi

she follows noah to the ring, pausing to glance back at her two pokemon as they follow. at least the sirfetch'd looks excited - if the flashing eyes and the speed of his waddle is anything to judge by. the duo shortly join noah's pokemon.

"hmm... maybe i'm out of practice. unlike kyle, i don't get many challengers. i'm better at hiding," persephone says lightly and her mouth piques at the corners as though smiling at a private joke.

"close quarters? i'm glad - too many televised matches devolve into dragapults throwing their progeny at each other." she turns her attention back to her own pokemon to issue directions.

"hey fetch, why don't we give the big guy a good FIRST IMPRESSION? and bre, keep up, ok?" persephone calls out, and takes a moment to watch the pair spring into action before replying to noah's question. taking a moment to strike an impressive pose, the sirfetch'd hurtles at the hariyama at a surprising speed, attempting to strike down with his weaponised leek to leave a FIRST IMPRESSION. the breloom is at his heels, leaping over the smaller pokemon like a kangaskhan, two fists ready in a MACH PUNCH.

"i was in one once. i lost."

noah faber

noah sticks his tongue out at the thought of dreepy dragapult badminton— but without all the fun of neon-streaked shirts and flowy loose shorts. as the battle begins, the caged ring's lights seem to focus on their pokemon. they cast showy spotlights which paint the chainlinks in partial outlines of white light.

"but did you ever get revenge?" noah slips in. his pokemon are practiced enough to be spared a moment of non-instruction.

as the leek strikes across the hariyama, its stout body toughens. dense muscle flexes underneath its rotund shape, and although the blow is hefty— the hariyama retaliates with a spin of WHIRLWIND.

his hitmonchan darts from its position, leaping to attempt and match the breloom's MACH PUNCH with its own flurry of BULLET PUNCHES— hitting thunderous fist against fist.

"RAPID SPIN," noah directs his hitmonchan.

should the hitmonchan prove successful in deflecting the blows— it would follow up with a RAPID SPIN to create space. the cage fencing rattles with metal links.

persephone amavi

persephone watches the initiating attacks play out but turns to noah with a quirk of her brow when he speaks.

"yeah, i was a bratty kid that would re-challenge people until i won. do you have kids like that coming in from the academy?"

persephone's attention is snapped back to the fight and she watches hitmonchan closely to see if the breloom's EFFECT SPORE triggers following that string of punches.

"bear it," she calls out quickly and continues watching through narrowed eyes until the timing seems right. as hitmonchan would RAPID SPIN away, perse issues the next command.

"COUNTER."

as the hitmonchan darts away, the breloom follows in tandem. though now battered, it's prepared to COUNTER with a speed and strength reminiscent of the hits it took just now.

with her attention focused on the breloom, sirfetch'd is left to his own devices. successfully knocked away by the hariyama, the pokemon staggers for a second but recovers his poise with a SWORDS DANCE - as though his pride will not allow him to look less-than-competent for even a moment.

brandishing the leek, the sirfetch'd hops forward with a LEAF BLADE, this time intending to pierce rather than slash.

noah faber

as spores spray with every point of contact, noah looks pleasantly surprised. however, his bright-eyed alarm dulls into one of satisfied expectance. after all, someone who had survived mossdeep's invasion and subsequently held the elite four position was no fool.

the hitmonchan is poisoned. its limbs are less taut, but maintain their disciplined pose: arms tight together, fists at the ready. the COUNTER returns, and the hitmonchan takes several hits.

"oh man, there's too many." noah laughs, his eyes still focused on the battle at hand. "fong," he calls his hariyama, "KNOCK OFF on the leek!" without missing a beat, he orders his hitmonchan, "STONE EDGE on both!"

the hariyama attempts to side-step the sirfetch'd's attack. one big hand dives toward the weapon should it be successful. as his hitmonchan leaps backwards, it beats its gloved fists together. stones materialize from the ring and underneath and surge upward in front of noah's pokemon. the rocks slam against the cage's ceiling. dust from the stoney crumbs descends upon the match as if they are in a tomb.

"but you can tell which ones actually studied and which ones don't. like, they don't learn from their mistakes, man." noah sighs. "must be nice," he looks to persephone, "to be like, giga brained."

persephone amavi

the leek is successfully knocked out of the sirfetch’d’s wings, prompting it to squawk and scramble across the ring for it in a less-than-dignified manner. perhaps that distraction is what causes the pokemon to falter, allowing the STONE EDGE to rise up and pierce at its body.

nearer to the hitmonchan, the breloom is struck by the STONE EDGE as well, though it is ostensibly less hurt than the sirfetch’d, if only because it manages to bounce on the rocks awkwardly with its thick, kangaroo-like legs. it bounds to the side of the arena as though to catch its breath and await orders.

"wait, read its movements." the intention is two-fold - she wants to stall to let the poison seep further into the hitmonchan’s veins as much as she wants the breloom’s next attack to really count. the breloom stills and focuses on the opponent with MIND READER, already plotting out where to dart to next.

the sirfetch’d snatches its leek up angrily and rounds on the hariyama again, bird feet slapping against the floor with loud displeasure. "switch targets, LEAF BLADE." take out the weakened one first, and hopefully it won’t be able to protect itself from damage from two sources.

persephone turns her head slowly to regard noah with an expression that verges on amused disbelief. "maybe," she ventures carefully. "i don’t know. i don’t know any people like that."

noah faber