elijah's hands were already full. literally (with a stack of ceramic planters). maybe metaphorically too—at least, he pretends. pretends that there is an overgrowth of duty and errand so thick and unruly in his day to day life so that others' business can be denied.[break][break]

but the woman and her cyndaquil express such desperation that eyes are drawn to his humble stall. elijah grumbles, his stiff lip unmoving.[break][break]

he sets his planters down and calls for his TANGROWTH to wrap the stall in makeshift walls of vine: privacy for the lady and her raspy rat.[break][break]

"what did you do?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]

nabi park

[break][break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-tangrowth"]

the man wasn't wrong. after all, elijah too, was alone, shedding metal frame and skid in favor of traversing the battlefield by his lonesome.[break][break]

as kyle departs, his dhelmise creaks and shudders. its cry is like bursting air pockets trapped beneath a capsized tanker.[break][break]

guess he wasn't alone. elijah seeks dry land immediately, wishing to connect back with solid earth.

[attr="class","ooc"]

kyle lopez

[break][break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-dhelmise"]

"truce?"[break][break]

to speak the word is to fill his mouth with poison—but elijah dares not swallow. out of his element and out of his league, the apothecary lets disdain dribble down his jaw.[break][break]

"fine." elijah's dhelmise stirs, kelp wrapping back around its metal. "y'know, a high priority target like you shouldn't be alone. that's how you get killed."[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]

kyle lopez

[break][break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-dhelmise"]

the dhelmise resists against the CRUNCH, its steering wheel spinning at frantic speeds, handles blurring into a single whisk. as kelp wraps around the eelektross, elijah gets back on his feet. the ice beneath him dips slightly. causes his feet to shuffle and shift like veluza scales.[break][break]

”you got to be kidding.” the apothecary grimaces as the mist delivers an abominable delibird.[break][break]

his dhelmise separates from the eelektross as HYDRO PUMPS fly. elijah leaps back into the water too, reuniting with his dhelmise. another ANCHOR SHOT slams into the IRON BUNDLE, forcing its head to spring out of its body like a jack-in-the-box. after a pause, the iron bundle snaps back. there is nary a scratch seen on the paradox as it repositions its “bag”.[break][break]

”this is above my paygrade.” elijah says to kyle. ”deal with it.”

[attr="class","ooc"]

kyle lopez

[break][break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-dhelmise"]

elijah descends into the water again after his breath. did he just see the champion? he’d rather discard the thought. tuck it away in a chest and forget it in some dusty, cobweb-choked attic.[break][break]

but the eelektross is an overloaded paintbrush. when it plunges into the sea, its GASTRO ACID diffuses its horrid pigment like a crawling tendrils. bubbles burst from elijah’s lips. he pats his dhelmise’s side, and the anchor hurls him out once again. elijah lands on the ice bridge, sputtering as the skin on his fingertips redden from the cold.[break][break]

he spits saltwater as he stares at the trainer before him.[break][break]

”just my fucking luck.”

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]

kyle lopez

[break][break]
elijah leaves the sea and ands on the bridge; his dhelmise still remains in the water.[break][break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-dhelmise"]

thanks to that pesky reporter, Sierra Benoit, elijah had to abandon the helicopter. the pilot had voiced concerns over the deployment of his tangrowth. who knew heavy vines tugging on the landing skid would have caused damage to the aircraft? he supposes the reporter isn't really to blame.[break][break]

but he blames her regardless for forcing his hand.[break][break]

elijah is no swimmer, but the sea affords him stealth. with his dhelmise, he's able to traverse across the oceanbed quickly. ANCHOR SHOTS allow him and his pokemon to grapple through the waters like a swinging passimian until he needs to breach for air.[break][break]

but he sees ice. the vague shape of paws bracing against a cold, crystalline pane.[break][break]

when elijah breaches the sea's surface, his dhelmise does too with an ANCHOR SHOT aimed for the pokemon and its trainer.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]

kyle lopez

[break][break]
dhelmise uses anchor shot on the ice bridge.[break][break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-dhelmise"]

a hearty snort is expelled from elijah's snout. he smiles jagged, not out of joy but out of incredulity.[break][break]

"hah. guess we can agree on something." elijah says. "until hoenn implodes, we're stuck working with each other."[break][break]

his parasect shuffles its legs. shakes its bulbous fungal hump. a SPORE sends several onlooking GOLBAT to sleep.[break][break]

"just promise me you won't off me before i see the world end. i want to be there when it happens."

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]

Anahel Sune

mission[break][break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-parasect"]

by the time the helicopter is relinquished of the tangrowth's weight, elijah can already see sierra has widened the gap to an irrecoverable distance.[break][break]

mud smothers the windshield. gravity collects surplus sludge, forcing it off the aircraft's nose as if it were bleeding.[break][break]

the goomy sticks its tongue out, and elijah's lips flatten. his eldegoss twirls back to rest on his shoulder, its small smile a stark contrast to its trainer's stoney face.[break][break]

"fuck journalists."
[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]

Sierra Benoit

TANGROWTH is RECALLED.[break]
ELDEGOSS attempts another COTTON SPORE.[break][break]

elijah's face wrinkles, puckers up like he had taken a chomp out of a sour meowscarada jawbreaker. not his job. not really, that is. he's her senior, so such division of labour is natural. expected.[break][break]

"it's horrible." after a high-five, his parasect scutters across more cavern stone to scout. "these terawhatsits came out of no where. it's an omen."[break][break]

krrk! he faces away from the crystal's glow and damns the earth with a loogie.[break][break]

"if i were you, i'd leave hoenn if i could." elijah says. "transfer to tha kantonian branch—if they let your cocky ass. this region's running out of time i'd say."

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]

Anahel Sune

mission[break][break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-parasect"]

the truth. whatever truth sierra has captured in her little sd card, elijah deems illegible and flyblown. no matter the scene captured by her camera, the biased lens is manipulation enough.[break][break]

"why leave it on a cliffhanger?" elijah spits, motioning for the pilot to pursue. "come back and finish it."[break][break]

however, the helicopter is weighted by wriggling vines. their initial acceleration is a clunky lurch, forcing elijah to recall the tangrowth with gritted teeth.[break][break]

his ELDEGOSS attempts another COTTON SPORE, delivering wispy puffs onto a billowing wind.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]

Sierra Benoit

TANGROWTH is RECALLED.[break]
ELDEGOSS attempts another COTTON SPORE.[break][break]

the rock crashes onto the crystal, forcing shimmer to skate across its smooth surfaces. like a winter moon kissing lake verity's rippling lip.[break][break]

a small shard is scraped from the tera crystal's shape. in spite of its size, its luster is remarkable resplendent. the sample is one step closer to the truth.[break][break]

a truth that elijah is wary of what it may reveal.[break][break]

his parasect clasps the sparkling fragment carefully before extending it to the kirlia.[break][break]

"rocket all you hoped for and more?" elijah asks. "smashing rocks with an old man?"

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]

Anahel Sune

mission[break][break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-parasect"]

the roar is three-pronged: a tyrannous clamor crowned by three dragon maws. from the hydreigon, the eldegoss is carried by the gust of recoil. however, it resists the call of its capsule while sierra continues to capture footage.[break][break]

"you're a reporter?" elijah spits. "then this isn't your fight."[break][break]

his finger taps on another pokeball. a tangrowth uncoils itself, several vines latching onto the helicopter skid. though the aircraft is weighed down, elijah sees no other choice in order to even the odds.[break][break]

"i'll make sure this isn't your big break. tangrowth, POWER WHIP!"[break][break]

as elijah's eldegoss continues to muster its courage against the hydreigon, a long extending whip swerves toward sierra's camera.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]

Sierra Benoit

ELDEGOSS is ROARED; CAN'T ATTACK.[break]
TANGROWTH is sent out; POWER WHIP tries to strike the CAMERA.[break]

grumbles grind out of elijah's lips as rain begins to fall. on the helicopter's metal shell, raindrops rattle tinny notes. but such orchestrations of nature fade behind the cacophony of war.[break][break]

no nuance can exist therein.[break][break]

as sierra and her hydreigon rise, a warning LEAF TORNADO blows toward them. elijah's ELDEGOSS stares them down with the color of dead leaves.[break][break]

"come any closer and we'll send you right back to earth. even better, we'll put you six feet under." elijah shouts.

[break][break]

[attr="class","ooc"]

Sierra Benoit

ELDEGOSS fires a warning LEAF TORNADO.[break][break]