So, this was her actual opposition, eh? From the corner of her eye, Megan spotted something moving through the storm. Of course, there was. This wouldn’t be an actual gym battle without any Pokemon battles. Hence, it wasn’t too much of a surprise that something would come after them. Though she had expected there to be a ground type hiding in the dunes, not a flier. It must have had been just as difficult for that one to fly through the storm as it was for her dragon.
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Then again, her Pokemon had to fly steadily, to an extent, to ensure that it did not lose either of its living cargo. Which was difficult when the enemy conjured up fierce winds to go after them. Fortunately, Hydreigon was more than accustomed to carrying its trainer – and it had already set its tactics in that regard in stone. Bucking up as quickly as it could without making it dangerous for the riders, the dragon took the brunt of the force of winds, one head focused entirely on keeping themselves afloat even as they were shaken, while one craned back to keep the Poochyena out of way of the attack, while the third weathered an attack.[break][break]
And then decided to retaliate in kind, opening their mouths and releasing a Hyper voice directed in a cone in front of them, where the other Pokemon seemed to be. In this kind of weather it was difficult to aim for certain without said Keen Eyes.
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Megan, in the meantime, just held onto herself, hoping not to fall. That would be bad. Especially since that sand was illusionary, so if she fell, she would fall hard.

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Ironically, Megan had done absolutely no research on the other, not had she made any connection with a joy family. Those sorts of things just did not cross her mind. It felt rather pointless to stress much about them, so she simply didn’t, instead letting the other party choose what they wanted to share and what not. To her, Jo was just Jo, her last name being somewhat irrelevant, other than puns.
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After all, that was the most important thing, wasn’t it? “I haven’t been in years, that much I can say. Or, one could say, that this is quite a Joyous occasion,” she added, laughing, before offering her hand to the other once more. “Speaking of though, it is getting a bit chilly. Let’s have a Pokemon carry the plants for us and head somewhere warmer. I mean….if you want that, of course.” There was a hint of uncertainty in her voice, and she once more rubbed the back of her neck.
“It has been quite a while for me, period. So, I am a little rusty. But I feel like some more talking and stuff if you don’t mind. You staying somewhere nearby?”

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Oh, a sand storm. That would be the difficulties they mentioned on the itinerary. Well, if there had been one, of course. Still though, this did not come as a surprise. And neither was that going to be natural. Well, it was all an illusion of sorts anyway, but this clearly was an intentional obstacle placed in their way.

They would have to overcome it, then. “Pick up Poochyena,” she told her Hydreigon, while mounting it herself. “Retreat a little, upwards and backwards. Lucario, towards that sand storm, see if it is a Pokemon and engage. We will see what really is coming for us that way, if something is coming after all.

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“Ah, it’s fine. Trust me, I have developed quite a thick skin in that regard. Loads of people ranting to retail employees, especially around Christmas,” she noted, shrugging and with a light sigh. Honestly, she kind of doubted that whatever the other’s issues were could even compare. Plus, given how she had encouraged Jo, it was somewhat evident that she was interested in knowing what was up with that anyway.
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Hence, she listened, arms still crossed behind her back in a relaxed fashion. Really, while she was taking this seriously, she was not stressed out by any of it. Maybe that truly was a kind of Zen she had achieved with time. But that had only come after breaking down, something that Jo seemingly had been spared of, if her explanations were anything to go by. “Crushing expectations, I see. That must be quite difficult. My parents never had much in that regard for me, so I at least skipped that. Though, if they had pushed me more to apply myself, maybe I wouldn’t have ended up in the situation I did back then,” she noted, briefly reminiscing herself.
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But she did not dwell too much on the past. Instead, she turned back towards Jo with a smile on her lips. “Though, if you ask me, you are a mighty fine woman anyway. Expectations like those can’t ever be met anyway. Life is about achieving happiness for yourself. Your parents will eventually learn to be happy you are happy instead of being all unachievable and stuff. And if they don’t, then they just want you unhappy, which isn’t good, right?”
She angles her head briefly, thinking again, but then she got something on her mind that seemed neat enough. “I mean, this, here tonight does nothing to meet those expectations, doesn’t it? But it probably feels pretty nice, right? Well, it does to me. Been ages since I had a nice date like this.”

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“You know, I once read that quote in a book ‘without other people, how do you know what kind of face you are making?’ Seems kind of appropriate to this since we got no mirror here to judge how the flowers work,” she replied, laughing, while letting her eyes wander eastwards, onto the sea. “But I am not just saying that to sound smart or anything. Just think that sometimes, you just need others to see your behaviour reflected, really. And it can help to just talk about things with others, rather than just think about them by oneself.”
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Adding that, she shrugged once more. Honestly, she was mostly just saying things that came to mind. But at least she was being honest about it. By now, she had even mastered the art of thinking about what she said after the fact at least, and add or subtract accordingly. “Which doesn’t mean I want to force you to tell me more about your upbringin’, obviously. Just kind of sounded like you might want to elaborate a little. Not if it brings you down, of course. But I figure, well, we’re already at a point where I think all can be said without necessarily dragging things down, you know?” She rubbed the back of her neck again, a bit awkward. “I am rambling again, aren’t I? What I want to say is that I’d be willing to listen if you have something you want to say, really.”

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Well, whatever she had achieved here, it seemed positive. Johanna was not a woman of many words in this specific case, which was a little odd, but also possibly betrayed the importance of what was said. After all, she too had gotten a little bit more quiet and concise talking about this. Sometimes, that was just necessary.
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For the moment though, Johanna went to work, essentially replicating what she did. Megan reached up to half check on the flower, without actually touching it. Would not want to break it haphazardly, after all. “Thanks,” she simply noted, feeling the slight weight upon her hair but obviously without actually seeing what was going on just yet. Though, incidentally, she was more interested in what the other said in response than how this looked on her.
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Of course, she was, she could not see herself. All she could see was how the other saw her. Hence, Jo was the mirror, in this sense, her reaction gauging her own success, so to speak. “Ah, no need to apologize. I’m kind of bad at this sort of stuff myself. Years of fake politeness can do that to a gal. Even being honest can be a bit of a difficult dance, can’t it?” She added a brief smile. “But why would you think that? I mean, I barely know you, but you seem to be a good and nice person all throughout. Not sure what worst I could even think of you, really.”

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“Huh?” The response briefly confused her, and she did not hide that as well. However, that only lasted but a moment until she had sorted herself out somewhat. The tone of voice used by Johanna had briefly confounded her, but not that she had, she could not help but scratch the back of her neck in some genuine embarrassment. “I just – no. I am sorry. See, I am not the easiest person to get along with. Well, usually I am, but when I am around others for longer, I tend to get ahead of myself in some regards. I didn’t mean to patronize you,” she eventually replied, trying to put it into the right words.
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Then, she bowed to the other. But not deep enough to show some kind of Jothoian bow of apologetic nature or anything like that. Instead, she just presented her hair to the other. “I guess it wouldn’t hurt to give it a try if you say it’s fine. Heavens, I say “I” a lot, don’t I? Ugh. Anyway, not like you could see how it looks in the end without trying anyway, just like I couldn’t. So, how about you put in a petal and we will just see where that leads, alright?” Megan had resolved to at least try to communicate better, back then. And this was just part of the effort, really, even if it was a little embarrassing.

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Yeah, Megan tended to wear her heart on her sleeve, in more ways than one. She’d bitten her tongue for years, bottling up her regrets and grievances until they unloaded in a very, very unhealthy way. Hence, it was simply for the best to just go about and say what you meant. Sure, sometimes it was still better to just say nothing, but she stopped trying too hard on that front. If nothing else, she wanted to be honest towards the other. Especially this one, tonight. Being dishonest today would just be the worst. That was the one thing you did not do on a date.
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Hence, she instead watched the girl with interest. Once Jo was done though, Megan reached out – slowly, to not cause any flinching or the like – in order to touch that flower and pulled it a little to the side. After all, Jo did not have a mirror available for this. “There, that is better,” she noted, with a smile, hand lingering hovering near the other’s head for maybe a moment longer than necessary.[break][break]
However, then she had to laugh at the other. “Hah. I doubt it. I’m not really a flower kind of gal when it comes to hair, unlike you. I mean I like headbands and all, but with glasses and that, I think it just gets too busy with a flower on top of it all.” Again, she laughed, a little self-depreciatingly, but she was being fairly honest here regardless.
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“You really think it would suit me, though?”

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Naturally, all that internal anguish went wholly unnoticed by Megan, who just gave the other a smile, waiting for her to pick. However, it was apparently her turn in that. Now, she could have insisted on the other doing that herself, but that would be rude. Instead, she turned back towards the flowers, tilting her head briefly, resting it in her hand momentarily in thought. Honestly, picking one was difficult since she really had no preference. Either was fine for her, really, but she had to single one out.
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But how? She pondered, pondered, before deciding. If they were all the same to her, then naturally the best course of action was simply to pick the most convenient, wasn’t it? Truth be told, she did not want to destroy this display or anything like that. Hence, she settled for the smallest specimen, the one that looked like it would be the least work to separate from the ground. Momentarily, she called out her Gligar and had it do some gardening for them. A cut here, a bit of digging there and it had managed to isolate the plant quite nicely. “I don’t really have anything to transport it though, do you?” Noting that, she briefly crouched down again and had Gligar clip off a blooming petal to the side. “Though I guess they won’t need all of that. Want this one as an accessory for your hair? Probably would fit.”

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“I mean, maybe? Not like it matters too much. We won’t exactly gain a lot of clout to our name withing the next few days anyway,” she replied, shrugging. Sure, it was her goal to make a name of herself and become someone who would be known by many. But Megan knew that she certainly was not quite there yet. Just a trainer with a few badges to her name in a region full of war and weird events transpiring all around. Clearly, she was not going to win notoriety in a day or two.
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Hence, if those scientists wanted more, well, then they just would not get it. Not that they should need more. They were scientists, after all. In her expert opinion, they should want to investigate this anyhow. That was kind of their job, after all.
Rising up again, Megan briefly patted down her skirts, before stemming one hand to her side. “I say we give it to them and they can either take it or leave it. Can’t exactly ask much more of us. This is already enough done for scientific advancement during a date, wouldn’t you agree, Jojo?” Naturally, she was increasingly nonchalant about all that, having grown reasonably comfortable in the presence of the other.

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“I tend to make sense a lot of the time,” she joked, clearly enjoying herself freely, while still investigating the flowers. Johanna tried to touch the flowers ahead of her, so she refrained for the time being, letting the other have her moment for the time being. Instead, Megan simply watched the other, feeling glad to see her in an inquisitive mind instead of an anxious one. Sure, she was being careful about all this. But she still did it anyhow and that was what counted, certainly.
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Though there was also the question poised. “Hmm, I mean I reckon some researcher probably already took a look at it. But maybe we can carefully clip a petal or so and bring it to a lab? I am fairly certain there are multiple in the region, so she should not too difficult to find.” Megan briefly rubbed her chin, given that she had run into some important people by chance. As long as they did not involve any of those accursed Sylphs, it should be reasonable to assume that they might find some aid in that regard.

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“Still not sure if I would really classify them as flowers to begin with,” she noted, seemingly a bit distracted. This was a sight to behold, after all. She hadn’t really seen anything like that before, despite having been all over the region by this point. Well, she had seen strange lights before. And that thought just kept festering in her mind. “Though they are something that popped up recently, right? And they look like they did not just sprout up yesterday.” Of course they didn’t. They had been around for long enough for Johanna to hear of them and set up this meeting. Yet, these plants still seemed older, somehow.
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Then again, maybe she just wanted to think that due to recent developments. That was definitely a possibility she couldn’t just ignored. Still, Meg briefly crouched down, letting go of the other in the process to not make for an awkward angle, and leaned in close on some flowers, taking a bit of a whiff. “Maybe they are older, actually. I mean, we have seen those space-time distortions, right? What if they just ended up here, left behind when times crossed over. A bit of a freak occurrence, completely random, yet with an remarkable result like this. Would make sense, right?”

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“That’s good to hear,” she replied courtly. That was the principal truth, after all. Though it was probably not the best course of action to just state that and move on, even though she tended to work that way most of the time. That girl had experienced something that seemed to have been traumatic to her. Just because it hadn’t impacted her as much didn’t mean it was important. Megan could be emphatic. If she tried and cared to, that was.
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Hence, she gave a soft sigh as they closed in on the place with the flowers. “I was a bit worried. It seemed to have shaken you quite a bit back then. Guess that’s why I made haste when you suggested this meeting. Seemed like a good sign or something.” Regarding the girl being outward, instead of retreating. It was not exactly the same experience, but due to what she had gone through in the past, Megan could relate a little. “But I guess the fear itself is warranted. But what’s important is to better oneself to be able to handle it, if it happens again. I mean, it’s not like you were completely hopeless back then either. Probably would have been fine without me there still. Just gotta, you know, be in the right set of mind to handle what life throws at you, right? Fear isn’t bad. Letting it keep you from doing what you wanna do or have to do, that’s bad.”

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