Eyes narrow when the opponent enters the field. A familiar face, one she honestly wasn’t expecting to see. The crowd roars in recognition. Rowan Wrynn’s ascent partially came at the cost of Lex’s downfall. At least, that’s how she saw it. He’d be bleeding out in the Cave of Origin if it wasn’t for her Gardevoir. His name bore merit and success while hers bore shame. He reminded her of careless mistakes, Killian Decker’s disapproval, and the difficulty it had all brought her. Part of that was why she was here, in this infernal place, instead of challenging herself among the Gym Leaders. Despite it all being her own damned fault, Rowan played a role in it. In conclusion, she hated him, if only for the memories and the lasting pain the sight of him brought back.

Darkrai’s poison lingered bitterly on her tongue. Something dark mimicked adrenaline and started to pump through her veins. The NIGHTMARE had shown her how soft she had become. Too selfless. That’s not how you survived in a world like this.

Lex doesn’t respond to Rowan Wrynn’s greeting. She turns her gaze towards the Greninja that materializes. Fuck. This was already a losing battle. She had seen the Greninja in action, it is powerful and possesses more than one water-type move if she remembers correctly. Apollo was out of practice, out of shape, and sorely overpowered by his opponent.

It doesn’t matter, they came for a challenge and here it is.

“Are you?” she grins with feigned confidence. Lex doesn’t wait for a response, “Begin,” a curt order accompanies a pointed finger towards the Greninja. The strategy doesn’t change – yet. Apollo would need all the speed he could muster to keep on par with the Greninja.

Apollo clicks his beak threatening before he tenses, summoning the fire burning deep. A subtle movement engulfs him in flames. The heat fuels his body, a set of blue eyes burn through the flames. A push from powerful legs surges him forward into a FLAME CHARGE as long strides quickly close the gap between him and his opponent.

Rowan Wrynn
Apollo uses FLAME CHARGE +1 speed
+1 Speed Boost

Taking with Cillian Quinn

His words hide a lingering threat. Just her eyes turn to assess the implication. She can’t read it in his features, but the tone holds all she needs to know. Lex hasn’t forgotten Walsh’s declaration when he distributed the Shadow Pokemon, that’s precisely why she sought Gavin’s guidance. That had to count for something, right?

Still, a threat – hidden or straight forward – wasn’t something Lex took lightly. Her eyes divert back to beast’s pokeball before it clicks to the belt on her hips. She confirms her understanding with a subtle shake of her head, “No, I wouldn’t,”

Although disappointed in her performance today, she meets Gavin’s gaze, “Thank you for taking the time to meet with me,” genuine gratitude rests behind amber eyes. They break away after the small nod as she turns to leave this infernal submarine.

Notes: Cillian Quinn

Slateport. Lex hadn’t visited the city in a while. What use to be familiar streets seemed cold and distant now. The salty, humid air was replaced with the dry heat of Lavaridge – her new home with Killian Decker. Still, being back was cathartic.

Quiet steps followed a familiar path deep into the city’s outskirts. Entering the right warehouse with the right credentials, a bouncer would escort you to an elevator. Down. Deep under the warehouse the Underground Battle scene was strong in a city like this. Bloody. Messy. Unnecessarily violent. There were few rules.

Lex had been here once when she promised Cillian Quinn she would hone her skills. That was a promise she didn’t keep, and it showed in the careless mistakes that plagued her recently.

She had no choice but to turn to this violent place. Capture resulted in recognition. League sanctioned battles and gym challenges were out of the question now. All Lex was left with was a place that played by no rules. Appropriate, perhaps. Where Rocket was heading there were no rules.

Reluctantly, she enters her name into the system along with her pokemon of choice – Apollo the Blaziken. The entry fee is steep, but she has no choice in the matter.

A few rounds of bloodshed later, she finds herself entering the ring, her own thoughts are drowned out by the excited roar of the crowd. While Lex’s aesthetic was no doubt appealing, they had come to see one thing: blood. The thunderous roar grows when the Blaziken is released – a bold choice with so many possible weaknesses.

Both trainer and pokemon stay silent as they watch the opposite side of the arena, curious as to who the facility chose to be their opponent.

@open

Lex’s head snapped towards the soft voice of Rowan Wrynn although her gaze glanced over the grunt and focused instead on the Underboss. The sight Cillian Quinn immediately makes her posture straighten; a more reasonable demeanor breaks through the wild fury (although it is definitely still there).

“No, it was in the training facilities,” where it almost squashed her like a bug, “I had to crawl here through another set of vents after it collapsed the ones we were in,” Foolish. She flexed her right hand, the sharp pain of the laceration making her twitch, “I’m blocking the vents here with ELECTROWEBS so it can’t some this way. One less place to look, ya know?” Although, she was unsure if a set of measly Electrowebs would stop the thing.

Cillian Quinn & Rowan Wrynn

How did she get here?

The question had been seared into her mind since she woke up outside the Cave with Razz Kingsman staring at her. Her memories were a bit fuzzy on the details, but clear enough to recognize her mistakes: She wasn’t strong enough and she put the well-being of others before her own. Foolish. Killian Decker was probably furious.

Lex has had a day to stew in her self-loathing, sporting a sexy pair of bright orange coveralls with Sootopolis D.O.C. stamped on the back while she awaited transfer for her trial. Razz Kingsman was coming back to help escort her. What a treat. Apparently, they didn’t do bail when you weren’t registered as a citizen of Hoenn. Lex skipped that step to avoid prying eyes when she stowed away to the region. They didn’t know her name, and she wanted to keep it that way. But the longer she sat in here, the more likely they were going to be to trace her back to Johto and draw unwanted attention to her whereabouts.

Lex was starting to get anxious. The opportunity to escape hadn’t presented itself yet, but it would soon. It had to.

A sigh drew her back to lean against the wall beside her cot. She absentmindedly picked at the peeling paint on the wall of her jail cell, deep in thought.

Killian Decker and Razz Kingsman

Prison Break Mission

#FreeLex
Taking with Killian Decker and Razz Kingsman

His tone reminds her of the tough love you’d get from an overbearing father. It’s unwelcome, but true nonetheless. So, Lex literally sucks it up with a sharp inhale and presses forward after the Dusknoir with Gavin close behind her.

There’s a subtle desire to prove herself to the underboss. But how could she make up for something like this? He had already witnessed her doubt and inexperience. She couldn’t erase that.

Dusknoir leads them towards the North Wing. Just short of it they come upon Smoke the Gengar. He floats above the Gardevoir, his face distorted into a sinister and numbing MEAN LOOK. The ghost has trapped her in the hallway, the pressure of the Mean Look holding her place.

She is none too happy about it. Her arms raise to grip the Gengar in PSYCHIC power before Lex’s voice cuts through the air in commanding authority, “STOP!” The Gardevoir’s pokeball is already in her extended hand, “Return,” A curt and clear command. Whether the Gardevoir hesitates out of compliance or frustration is left to be deliberated. The Shadow Pokemon is absorbed by the beam of light and returns to her pokeball.

The tension in Lex’s shoulders leaves with a slow exhale. The Gengar melts into her shadow and the Dusknoir returns to its capsule, “That may be enough excitement for one day,” the pokeballs return to her waist with a click, “Perhaps I should take some time to train with her on my own,”

Notes: Cillian Quinn

The chemistry between these two was palpable. Lex suddenly felt like an unwelcome third wheel to their reunion. What a coincidence that of all the people in Hoenn that was after the same thing it would be this Dross woman. Lex remained silently obedient, securing the woman for Lulu to question as she pleased.

Even as the tentacles snapped past her head grab Lulu’s arms, she remained in place, only a small flinch at the rush of the appendages. The Dark Void was something entirely different. The sinister energy flashed out of the corner of her eye. The sheer pressure the god’s energy was enough to drive Lex away. He fingers uncurled from Skyler’s hair while she stepped back. It was clear Lulu didn’t need her help.

Lulu’s frustration grew, manifesting as a loud smack as she slapped Skyler across the face. Lex flinched, her eyes locking on to Lulu in surprise.

---

Within the silent dark of the shadows, the Kecleon’s nervousness called to her like a beacon. It was close. A shimmering aura swelled around the Gardevoir. She reached into the part of her left behind after the transformation. The DAZZLING GLEAM penetrated the darkness, erasing it entirely until she found a clear path towards her prey. The energy burst from her like a rocket, aiming to drive the Kecleon out of her realm and back into the sight of the humans that hunted it.

notes: skyler dross & Lulu Flint

tl;dr: Lex happily let’s Lulu take over the Skyler situation. She lets go of Skyler’s hair, forced away by the tentacles, dark void, and aura sphere being too close. The Gardevoir finds the Kecleon, and tried to blast it out of the void with DAZZLING GLEAM.

Lex hesitated, unsure of why she was sharing any of this in the first place. Lulu wasn’t her friend. She was a superior she was only delivering meteorite fragments to. The scientist didn’t seem like the kind of person that wanted to hear any of this. Still, she asked Lex to dig deeper.

“What it would make me think of myself,” she admitted, knowing that the pokemon itself wasn’t the root of the fear. Lex had always been squeamish when it came to violence and intentional suffering. It made her recoil and want to run. Even the forced violence when she was under Kaito’s thumb was somewhat avoidable, “This wasn’t meant to be a therapy session,” she laughed nervously, “Sorry for bringing it up,” her had waved as if to dismiss the conversation entirely, “Do you need anything else from me, Ms. Flint?”

Lulu Flint

The feeling of Killian’s hand tore her attention away from Lulu. A furious glare was drawn to his vice grip when he finally acknowledged her presence in the room, only to just chastise her. He dug deep, using Kaito as an excuse for his actions. He even went as far as to defend Lulu. In Lex’s mind it didn’t matter. With power came responsibility. She should have said no. Lex didn’t know how any of this shit worked but she knew enough to reasonably assume Killian shouldn’t have been the first subject.

‘I need you to just shut up and be here,’ Really? Did he really need her? The depths of his dead glare said otherwise. Lex searched his eyes for a moment as Lulu started talking. She couldn’t find him. Killian wasn’t there. His gaze was eerily similar to that of the Shadow Gardevoir’s: apathetic, empty, corrupted, poisoned. Darkrai and Lulu had stolen him from her. That, she could never forgive.

Lex had missed half of Lulu’s lecture during her own assessment of Killian – or whatever remained of him, “I haven’t forgotten where I am, Flint” she spat the surname back at Lulu in a similarly cold manner, “I never doubted I was surrounded by monsters,” She was right to point out their relationship was a risk. Lex had already left him once because of it and she promised to never do it again.

Just her eyes turned towards Lulu when she threatened her. Lex returned the threat with a challenging glare, her own promise she meant to keep if Lulu ever considered experimenting on Killian again, “I’m not afraid of you and your monster,” a foolish sentiment, no doubt. Death didn’t scare her. It had loomed over her shoulder long enough to be considered ‘normal’.

What she did fear was losing Killian. A part of her felt like she just did at the hands of Darkrai’s torment. She’d do anything for Killian but standing aside while he intentionally suffered is where she drew the line.

He asked her to stay. Shut up and stay, to be exact. But he didn’t need her. His apathy and coldness towards her spoke volumes. Lex found herself feeling as empty as Killian’s vacant stare. It made one thing very clear – she was not welcome here. Maybe he needed time to wake up.

Lex was in no state to give Killian what he needed right now. Staying would fuel the fire already burning, especially with Lulu around. A sharp movement ripped her hand out of his grip as she moved towards the door. There was hesitation when she touched the handle. The tension in her shoulders dissolved into defeat. She wouldn’t let Lulu see, but the eyes that looked back towards Killian glistened with the threat of tears, “I’ll be back when she’s not here,” Lex promised. She’d pray to every deity she could think of that she would return to find some semblance of the man she loved, not just his shell.

The door snapped shut behind her like thunder and the anger that held her together unraveled, releasing whatever barrier held back the tears.

Killian Decker & Lulu Flint

A small smirk accompanied the soft laugh at Chu-e’s joke. That’s probably all Lex was good for too, but Chu-e was prettier of course. He didn’t seem like the kind of man who had a resting bitch face like hers. The scar certainly didn’t help her cause.

Lex was disappointed to hear Chu-e didn’t know much about the Gardevoir. It made her realized she actually didn’t know much about him except for the fact he was an Underboss. Lex just assumed he had been around for a while to hold such a position. The mention of an ‘absence’ didn’t go unnoticed. It wasn’t her place to pry although curiosity strummed a certain chord in her mind.

“So far so good,” her shoulders shrugged, “I don’t’ quite like the sub but I keep myself busy top-side,” Correction, she hated the sub and couldn’t wait for Rocket to finally have a headquarters on dry land or some sort of base that wasn’t constantly roaming the depths, “And how are you, Mr. Choi?” she smiled, throwing the question back at him.

Chu-e Choi