Nyeh

What's up, Isaac Merlo.

"Figured." The surgeon said wryly, snickering as the other man preened. "Gonna start thinkin' ya were rotting even before getting killed at his rate."

Was this what people meant by detoxing the body? Maybe he would go on a diet too, sheesh.

He glanced over at the two Legendaries in the room, squinting. Was this the work of Tapu Lele, Suicune, or a combined effort?

"Haaah." He sighed, ruffling his own hair madly before dropping his chin onto his palm, brow furrowing pensively.

"... This is a first for me." He said, eyes narrowed.

He had tested this back in Galar— but the dream galarians weren't exactly normal people, so he couldn't fully rely on those tests. He lacked any modern tools for medical study, either.

"My own procedure might be greater than I thought, if we can repeat, uh..." He mused, gesturing vaguely at Chad Thundercock over here. "These sort of results."

But enough about him.

"I'll contact ya with the results on your bloodwork once it's done." He let the other know, glancing up at the ceiling musingly as he leaned back on his chair. "I don't think ya need to stay any longer— you're fit as a fiddle as far as I can tell."

He turned his gaze over to Suicune.

"What'cha gonna do now?" He asked the former blonde. "If ya were screwed before as a mere traitor, yer triple screwed now as a survivor avatar traitor."

He smirked.

"God, I wish I could be there when Cillian Quinn gets the news." It probably wouldn't be as funny as he hoped, but still... to be a fly on the wall for that report.

---

Feel free to timeskip to Isaac waking up, Wanderer!

INVASIVE SPECIES

A dual wild thread with Yuina Higashi

"No need to sound smug about it." He said, snickering.

He really should get his boots on the field more often. He was out here getting caught off guard by foreign exports and clowned on by cadets newbies!

Given what Yuina needed, it seemed like an appropriate time to launch into his sales pitch for the pokedex— but things got real down and self-reflection-ey real quick.

He reached over and flicked her forehead.

"Oi, eyes on me, not the ground." He instructed, holding out the pokedex to her. He then grinned. "We'll figure ya out eventually, count on it. Best to focus in the here and now in the meanwhile, no?"

He stepped closer to her, rounding around her so that they could look at the pokedex screen together.

"A pokedex is a pokemon encyclopedia." He informed her, gently reaching to hold her hand, trying to coax her into pointing the device at a Lairon in the distance.

Suddenly, the red device came alive, a mechanized, feminine voice speaking up.

Lairon, the Iron Armor Pokémon. Lairon feeds on iron contained in rocks and water. It makes its nest on mountains where iron ore is buried. As a result, the Pokémon often clashes with humans mining the iron ore.

Typing, known moves, average height and weight, egg groups, and many other miscellaneous informations were also shown on the screen proper.

"With this, ya should be good trying to figure out yer match ups." He said, before grinning. "Pretty handy, huh? Though this one's a pretty old model. I got it when I was 10."

Newer models were rotom operated and didn't require conscious action from their trainers to quickly offer the needed info... those required having a rotom, though.

"Ya can hold onto it 'till ya can get a better one, though. If ya want."

SWEETHEART SALE 2024

I'm not late, you're late.

BOUQUETS:

Send a special someone a bouquet delivered by Leavanny, signed or anonymous!

[break][break]
ORDER DETAILS: A fancy bouquet of White Chrysanthemums, peach roses, berries and... a crystal bloom? Woah! These seem to have been picked from a garden lovingly tended by wild life.[break][break] TO: Yuina Higashi[break][break] CARD: "To a very special, lovely gal. Let's hang out whenever you're free, cadet. My treat! ♥"

PERFUMES:

Send a special someone a custom floral perfume delivered by Florges, signed or anonymous!

[break][break]
ORDER DETAILS: This seems like a very expensive perfume for young men... Nice.[break][break] TO: Arashi Akiyama[break][break] CARD: "How're you doing, man? Hope everything's alright. Let's catch up sometime! Happy palentine~ "

PERFUMES:

Send a special someone a custom floral perfume delivered by Florges, signed or anonymous!

[break][break]
ORDER DETAILS: It's not quite clear what brand this is... but it does not smell good.[break][break] TO: Kouji Matsubara[break][break] CARD: "If you're gonna be an asshole, you may as well smell like one too. Happy palentine~"

TEAS & DESSERTS:

Send a special someone a bespoke box of sweets delivered by Stufful, signed or anonymous!

[break][break]
ORDER DETAILS: A heart shaped box of chocolates... that opens to a collection of strangely shaped, yet delicious confections.
![break][break] TO: Yuina Higashi[break][break] CARD: "Ya didn't think it would be just flowers, did ya? Happy Palentines~♥."[break][break]

TEAS & DESSERTS:

Send a special someone a bespoke box of sweets delivered by Stufful, signed or anonymous!

[break][break]
ORDER DETAILS: A cool, made to order box with the recipient's name etched along the surface in braille. It contains home-made cinnamon buns. It's overflowing with brotherly love![break][break] TO: Hideo Kino[break][break] CARD: "I love ya, little guy. Sorry I don't spend as much time with ya anymore. Happy palentine."[break][break]

TEAS & DESSERTS:

Send a special someone a bespoke box of sweets delivered by Stufful, signed or anonymous!

[break][break]
ORDER DETAILS: A cute, adorned tin box with the recipient's name wrapped around its surface in a pretty, red ribbon. It contains countless home made cinnamon cookies! It's overflowing with brotherly love![break][break] TO: Eris Halla[break][break] CARD: "I love ya, squirt. Sorry if I make it hard to tell sometimes. Happy palentine."[break][break]

TEAS & DESSERTS:

Send a special someone a bespoke box of sweets delivered by Stufful, signed or anonymous!

[break][break]
ORDER DETAILS: A expensive looking box of... Macarons? Nice.
![break][break] TO: Aaron Toral[break][break] CARD: "Hey, Champ in the making! Been a while since we spoke— don't be a stranger, yeah? Happy Palentine!"[break][break]

TEAS & DESSERTS:

Send a special someone a bespoke box of sweets delivered by Stufful, signed or anonymous!

[break][break]
ORDER DETAILS: It's a box with a plate of... fancy donuts inside. How does one find fancy donuts?
![break][break] TO: Isaac Merlo[break][break] CARD: "Thanks for everything ya do, man. Take care of yourself and don't get yourself killed again. Happy Palentines."[break][break]

TEAS & DESSERTS:

Send a special someone a bespoke box of sweets delivered by Stufful, signed or anonymous!

[break][break]
ORDER DETAILS: A box with cute, tiny cakes inside.
![break][break] TO: Michael Navidson[break][break] CARD: "Just a little thank you for taking care of Eris! Happy Palentines."[break][break]

TEAS & DESSERTS:

Send a special someone a bespoke box of sweets delivered by Stufful, signed or anonymous!

[break][break]
ORDER DETAILS: It's a pokkenger cake, what else?
![break][break] TO: Kazimir Wynter[break][break] CARD: "It's caaake tiiime! Happy Palentines day!"[break][break]

TO: Yuina Higashi
FROM: John Sullivan

ER: HOENN EDITION

FT. Andrea Vaneau

Yeah, that makes sense. "Figures." He chuckled.

He was glad she didn't seem too hung up about her suit.

"Yeah, sorry about that; the stabs made a mess of it, and surgery really didn't help." He said, scratching at his cheek sheepishly. "If it makes you feel any better, though, cutting through it helped me prevent any scarring."

Hopefully that made the sacrifice seem worthwhile. Speaking of the stabbing, though...

"Eh, my work is both thorough and quick, but still, it would be good to keep you around for a day at least for monitoring." He said, before gathering his hands together thoughtfully. "But... let's put that to the side for now."

He considered his words carefully. Andrea didn't look too upset or traumatized by what happened, but for all he knew, she was just putting a strong front. Best to handle things with tact, lest he prove Isaac Merlo's comments on his bedside manners accurate.

"Andrea, could you... tell me about what happened?"

---

TL;DR:

DAGM20

With Cadet Yuina Higashi

"Haaah... I can see why ya feel that way.." He sighed, dragging his hand through his hair.

But they couldn't' be sure if getting into the mess that was Hoenn's frontline would help out with her memories at all.

It was a much more proactive approach, though.

And apparently, it had already given some results.

He paid rapt attention to her, enthralled by her story... but event then.

"What? Where?" He asked her blankly, for once stepping into her shoes.

Because now he didn't know what she was talking about.

It sounded vaguely familiar— as in, so vaguely it could've literally been anything he had heard before. Given the context, though...

"... Ya thinking ya got caught in a time displacement?"

GC EXCURSION B

With Yuina Higashi

The medic's eyebrows rose at her quick response, impressed. She had truly grown a lot in but a few months.

Yet, his smile only widened, mischievous intent dancing behind his eyes.

There was still room to grow more.

"And this is why you're still a cadet." He said cheekily as he rounded around 'Centos'— bringing his hand atop the mech-sword's hips before suddenly hoisting himself. "Giddy up!"

In a sudden move, he leap frogged onto the mech's back directly behind Yuina, his chest pressing against her back.

"Leaving it up to me? Haven't ya heard of my exploits?" He asked, warm breath blowing against her neck. "That's just asking for trouble."

Playing around as much as they were, the two had almost completely missed the very particular footprints that had been tattooed unto the soil nearby— hopefully, their pokemon would find it for them, so very occupied as they were.

---

TL;DR:
We ride.

DWtiqVdT

CULL THE HERD

With Eris Halla.

Was he?

It felt like a taunt to his irritable, now offput self, but he wasn't that immature.

His temper couldn't override what he knew about Eris.

"... Not sure." He said after a moment, his hand moving to hover over his chest. Even before his palm laid, he could hear his heart thrumming in his ear, as if he had ran a marathon just a moment prior.

And getting louder and louder... he released a shuddery breath.

"I... You... Y-ya might be right." He finally muttered, brow furrowing deeply, before he suddenly held out his hand to Eris. "For real— let's get the hell outta here."

The cavern's walls felt a little too claustrophobic now.

---

TL;DR:

xzenqdho

GEOLOGICAL SURVEY

With freya morningstar

"Seems like none of you do." He laughed.

If there was one thing nobody could accuse Hoenn's leadership of, it was of staying behind their desk and letting others risk their lives in their place.

That aside—

"Nope." He said bluntly, crouching besides the cute little drone to pat it yet again. "Despite what my diploma says, I didn't actually finish highschool."

He cheated to get his Highschool Equivalency Diploma, too. Not that she needed to know that.

"If it ain't military or medical science, then it might as well be rocket science."

Seemed like they were just gonna have to pray whatever it was doing, it was doing it right.

---

TL;DR:

2H6TMggm

HELLDIVERS

EXCURSION: GC A with Thomas Benoit

For his part, Doug was always happy to spend some time with a mentor— but even a bar would've been preferable to the massive hole in the ground left by the ice dinosaur.

"Does AQUA member stand for freelancer?" He grumbled, posture less than appropriate as he marched behind Thomas, arms swinging like bundles of lead. "Why am I getting deployed in scouting missions?"

Probably not a good idea to complain to dahlia goode about having his time wasted, though.

"I had promised to do a shift at Dewford General... Gonna have to be a night shift." He grunted, dragging his hand down his face.

Goodbye, sleep and rest. He hardly knew ye.

---

TL;DR:Hi mentor. Let me complain for a bit.

azgSWcyo

CULL THE HERD

With Eris Halla.

Maybe Homer Simpson had parenting all figured out after all.

Doug's jaw tensed at the question, the movement of his adam's apple foretelling the chewing out that was to come.

But it just died in his throat before ever coming out, his shoulders rising and his hands gesticulating as if he were rehearsing his words, stopping himself each time from saying a less than perfect version of his message.

In the end though, his shoulders sagged, his eyes rolled, and his arms fell to his sides as he clicked his tongue.

"No. Not unless you want them to." He grunted, crossing his arms over his chest, looking both tired and frustrated.

Unlike Eris, Doug hadn't seen the footprints before. And seeing them did little for miffed self.

Mysterious, unidentified pokemon and legendary pokemon were often one and the same in Hoenn.

A deep, unsettling sense of discomfort rose in the pit of the young medic's gut, his lip curling south. The longer he stared, the more gnawing the discomfort became. He could feel goosebumps rising along his skin...

Slowly, he reached into his bag for his a recorder.

"We shouldn't stick around here." He said suddenly, frowning. "This area registered abnormal levels of Dream activity."

---

TL;DR:
-"Why even bother" thought a moody doug.

6CpSDc7o

GC EXCURSION B

With Yuina Higashi

"You wish, cadet." He said with a click of his tongue, reaching up to tip his ha— Oh right, he didn't wear those as often anymore...

Western Movie omniscient narrator voice
The day of Hitoshi Inoue's reckoning... was yet to come.

With his hand left grasping for empty air, the youth pursed his lips and frowned at nothing in particular.

"... Well, s'long as your pokemon listen when you point them at something, we should be fine." He said, hand dropping back to his side as he gave her a side glance...

Before blinking up at the big boy she had brought out, craning his head back slightly.

"Uh. Nice catch." He said, scratching at his cheek. At her question, he blinked her way, before grinning. "Yeah, sure."

His smile curled slightly, gaining a cheeky edge.

"Don't cuddle up too close though, we're working'ere."

---

TL;DR:
We ride.

MuX8Njdy

St. Jude

With illeana reyes

"The energy levels are— Uuuhwaaahhh...— they're low, doc." He said between yawns with a hand over his mouth, using the petering amount of fuel he had left in the tank to make a crack. "Let's hear what the analyzers think, though."

Unfortunately, boundless energy wasn't in his powerset— It was in MATIAS SILPH', the lucky bastard.

Sitting down to get his syringed, the surgeon wasn't too affronted by the tools of the trade on the platter, well acquainted with each and every one of them by now.

Not to mention syringes started looking almost cute after being stabbed enough times.

"Sure am, Doc. Hit me up." He said, extending out his arm. "How's life with Palkia anyway? S'they a chatty one?"

---

TL;DR:
Making small talk while getting needle'd.