Sweet Lady Lioness

From one Silph to the next— hello, Delilah Silph!

Hoo boy, she was a busy bee. Maybe it ran in the family; he had certainly never witnessed a moment were FERNANDO SILPH hadn't been busy.

Unless the water-tank dunking counted. He was pretty sure even that was part of his councilman duties, though...

Was MATIAS SILPH busy all the time too? He honestly couldn't see it...

Speaking of her brothers, though—

"Not entirely right." He said simply.

He took a moment to lean back on his chair and stare at the night sky, hands gathering behind his neck to pillow his head as he crossed a leg over the other.

"Avatars of Rayquaza, Kyogre and Groudon are at risk of primal intoxication after prolongued exposure." He explained. "This is because the source of their patron's power is primal energy. The same doesn't apply to other avatars. So far anyway."

He pursed his lips.

"I'm not educated enough in primal radiation and its effects to make any definitive statements— Not sure I would even call it an educated guess, were I to venture it."

Uxie could only speak so much on such a topic. And whatever Eva Morales had passed onto him back in Galar, treatment was not amongst it.

"But... I should look into it more thoroughly, now that you've asked." He said, brow furrowing. "We should be certain on all fronts on this matter."

He would have to pay Eva Morales and illeana reyes another visit.

One Last Hope

Ft. Aubre McKenna-Settentrione

He listened in silence, nodding as she spoke.

"Naw, being terrified of this is fine, too." He said simply, leaning back against the bench, hands moving behind his neck. "'What if it doesn't work? What if it does? Then what'? What ifs can be terrifying."

He turned his gaze to the sky, hands pillowing his head as he crossed a leg over the other.

"Have you thought about it?" He asked suddenly. "What you'd do, if you ever got rid of the pain?"

---

TL;DR: Nice to meet you, Ms. McKenna.

Safe

Yuina Higashi

He was out like a light, and yet.

The couch shifted beneath him, and his eyes snapped open. Immediately.

"Hn?" He hummed, sitting more upright as he reflexively began to stretch, arms reaching for the ceiling as his humming turned into the low rumbles of a groan-yawn.

His body creaked slightly, pops generated by bad sleeping posture, before he settled back besides Yuina, leaning into her warmth lazily, cheek to her neck as he finished his yawn against her clavicle and shoulder, warm breath blowing on the fabric of her top.

"Hngh... What did I miss?" He asked, drowsy eyes fleeting over her, over the book in hand, and then lingering on bruises and cuts. "What'cha readin?"

---

TL;DR:

Rewriting History

With Yuina Higashi

He reached over to flick her forehead, solidly enough for the slap of bone on bone to reach their ears.

"Supposed to, shumosed to. The only one who can determine such things is yerself." He said, shaking off the throbbing on his middle finger. Skulls were hard. "Ya weren't supposed to be there?"

He smirked smugly.

"Well, why not?" The Socratic method could be annoying to those on the receiving end, but it could certainly prove a point.

At her own question though, he simply shrugged.

"Eh. Sometimes." He said, shaking his head. "I think about it, on ocassion. A lot less than I used to."

He tipped his head back.

"S'all about perspective, I guess." He said. "Back when I thought my life sucked, I fantasized about it a lot more."

---

TL;DR:

LESSER MEGALOPOLIS: JY

Ft. Yuina Higashi

"Ominous." He said blandly as he landed onto the room below in a spiderman crouch, the air displaced blowing against his lady's ankles.

Earlier it had sounded like she was telling him a horror story. Only the bestest places could turn factual reports into horror pieces, clearly.

He did not wield any weapons as he rose to his feet, his hand reaching out to pet his Orthworm as it did wheelies around Yuina's leg, just as happy to see her as she was him.

His eyes traveled around the room slowly.

As one might've expected from a room in a tall ass building directly below the rooftop, it looked important.

There was a big desk on one end, facing away from long, tall window panes.

Minimalist furniture decorated the office of a clearly important person.

But there was nobody there. No one like the teacher Yuina described, at any rate.

It didn't surprise him— the rich and powerful had surely made it out of the hell hole the city had become.

"I really don't know what scientists expect to find in this place." He muttered, shaking his head as he looked around, scratching at his cheek before shrugging his shoulders.

"Should we make camp here?" He suggested, a teasing smile on his lip as he marched to one of the boxy couches around and dropped onto it. "Certainly could do worse."

They needed to still vet the whole place before committing, but... with teleport, it wouldn't be too difficult to get back here, should they ever need it.

---

TL;DR:33 repair the elevator or find some way to get to floors 5-10. in these floors, encounter various rooms and corridors with flickering lights, laboratories, and ultra beast egg nurseries guarded by mad megalopolans.

Strong

ft. Lucia Aldrete

"You don't have to take responsibility for their actions, Lucy." He said, holding her. "Could've, would've. It wasn't up to you."

Her whines were painful to hear. There wasn't a reason for the suffering she was forced to endure. Shitty parents and the unfortunate reality of existing in Hoenn had brought her circumstances together.

"Don't say it, then." He said soothingly, rubbing her hair gently. "I'll say it for you, as many times as it takes."

Until it got through her stubborn little head.

"It's not your fault."

Friends and school and just normality... she had certainly come to the worst place on earth looking for it.

"It's not your fault..."

But damn it, he would oblige. Soon as they were out of this damnable prison, he would...

daybreak

With freya morningstar

"Don't even know where she is." He said dryly, tipping his hat at the councilwoman and grinning. "Have some faith, love. No nurse Lele's today."

Not on his behalf, at any rate.

Turning his gaze towards Lyunne, he nodded at the dragon, before opening the double doors and standing aside.

"After ya, big guy." He said, gesturing inside before turning a winking face to Freya. "We'll be gone for a couple hours."

Just letting her know. She was free to take a seat at nearby bench... or go get a coffee, whatever helped her with her nerves.

---

TL;DR:

Strong

ft. Lucia Aldrete

The revelations came— but he did not rebuke her for it.

And it turned out, time could, indeed, rewind.

"It. Is. Not. Your fault." He intoned firmly once again, fighting back against her self loathing firmly.

The revelations of her careless words had seemingly washed over him without effect.

His grip on her shoulders was firm, but not uncomfortable as he made her look at him.

"Lucia— listen to me." He said, softly peering into those regretful, doe eyes. "You are not to blame for what your parents did. No matter what anyone else says, you're not. You're not responsible."

He would shout this from the rooftops, again and again. Against all the insane, rotten adults in the world that insisted on holding children accountable for the crimes forced upon them by other rotten adults.

He hugged Lucia, arms firm around her.

"It's not your fault." He echoed. "It's not."

APPLICATION

CHARACTERS: Lucia Aldrete, John Sullivan

THREAD: Strong.

WHY IS THIS THREAD IMPORTANT: Doug and Lucia run into one another during the conjoined dream. After realizing Doug can't get her out either, Lucia breaks down believing she's been trapped in the PP due to her perceived crimes of helping her parents with their rocket work. Doug, who has taken Lucia under his wing as his mentee, fights back vehemently against this perception Lucia has of both herself and her sins, as he's incredibly empathetic for the young, seeing himself in a lot of them due to the way war and rocket tore his own childhood to pieces.

IS RELATION KNOWN: Naw.

WHO IS THE UNRELIABLE NARRATOR: Lucia Aldrete.

HARVESTING

be sure to visit the pretty petal flower shop near rustboro!

2X salacs to John Sullivan.

PURCHASING

welcome to the poké mart!

2X salacs (50 PD) for june 30th

REDEEMING

Thank you for your service, colonel.

TOTAL

do come again!

100 PD

PRISMATIC PENITENTIARY

It's Over. It is done.

As is customary of Hoenn, it ends with what feels to him like abrupt anti-climax. For a moment, he's afraid they've murdered yet another person, yet another pokemon.

It is not Cyllora who dies, however— it is Velmos.

The Ever Rot is punted away, right across the horizon. Like a cartoon, never to be seen again.

As if.

Someone should go make sure the thing is...

Dead? No... Contained...?

He doesn't have the energy to do it himself, though. Isn't willing to tell others to try, either.

There are more important matters.

"Yuina..." He intones as he stumbles to his feet, feeling a familiar pressure assert itself above his head as Tapu Lele descends, settling her weight unto him.

He looks around, finding Yuina Higashi and Celebi once again.

And then he hears Lucia Aldrete's voice.

Her cries.

"Lucy...?" He mutters, spinning about, eyes swiveling before finding his fledging student. Out of everyone that didn't deserve this mess, she did not deserve it the most. "Lucy."

He goes to her— stumbling at first, before finding the strength to march, every tear spilled by the child hammering away at exhaustion and finding the will beneath.

"Lucy." He said once again as he stood before the girl, kneeling in front of her before gently wrapping his arms around her, cradling her in his arms before rising, picking her up. "You can cry now, Lucy. It's okay, no one will punish you for it..."

He turned back to look at Yuina, giving her his most tired, genuine smile as they were enveloped by Palkia's power.

"We're going home."

---

TL;DR:

One Last Hope

Ft. Aubre McKenna-Settentrione

Doug does not interrupt her as she begins to psyche herself out, brow twisting slightly in concern as he watched her.

They weren't close enough for him to do much, he simply raised his hands, walking closer to her.

"Slow, deep breaths, Aubre." He intoned gently after Alastor had grabbed her hand, trusting the bond between them. "Ya ain't no fool. Bein' afraid is completely fine."

He would not pressure her into a surgery room if she had doubts still. If she wasn't sure.

"Would ya like to sit down?" He asked, turning his gaze to a nearby bench.

Maybe they didn't need to just talk about the procedure— perhaps they needed to address her feelings on the matter first.

---

TL;DR: Nice to meet you, Ms. McKenna.

daybreak

With freya morningstar

"I guess? You always seemed pretty personable to me." He said, winking over his shoulder. "Still. Could I bother ya with patching that up when ya can? I much prefer when my friends are all getting along."

Hard as it was for leaguers to go 5 minutes without crossing one another.

Luckily for them both, Yuina Higashi was not, technically, a leaguer.

Doug smiled brightly at the sudden praise, a light dusting of blush crossing his cheeks.

"Right? She's great. She's really strong, even if she doesn't think so." He said as they reached a pair of double doors. He stopped before them, his palms pressing against them.

His smile slowly slid off, his brow twisting slightly.

"Yeah. I'm looking after her." He said, tone oddly serious.

Yes, he very much knew she was being hunted.

He had introduced the ninjas that had attempted it before him to the fucking soil.

"You ready?" He asked suddenly, gaze facing the doors. "Surgery room is up ahead."

---

TL;DR: