“Yeah, I figured that out when I was challenging them myself,” she replied with a laugh. There was a surprising amount of paperwork involved with those, incidentally, but she knew about that ahead of time now, so it was mostly fine in her opinion. And in this case, that would be fine as well. Just as long as she got to fight those annoying customers at least it would be much, much more cathartic than her old job.
[break][break]
Though something did feel weird. Usually, she would have not joined another’s gym without at least fighting them to see who was the stronger to begin with. And they had never actually faced off against one another. Yet, somehow she felt as if she knew that they were at least evenly matched and did not have to worry about that. [break][break]
Odd, all that. “But yeah, it would all be fine. I mean, I am the one who always told everyone I wanted to be a gym leader, so I can’t exactly balk at the work they do, now can I? Sounds like a win-win situation to me one way or the other.”

[break][break]

+ Johanna Joy

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Now, this was the awkward part. Megan had knew that this would happen. Johanna was…not a simple person. Far from that for sure. But complicated did not mean unpredictable. Sure, Johanna was someone capable of surprising her – from suddenly turning out to be the one behind a masked Rocket to turning that around and becoming a gym leader in what felt to be record time – but at her core, this was one who always wanted to help. Not just Megan but also others, of course. It was as admirable as it sometimes was irritating when it got her embroiled in the lasted Hoenn weirdness.
[break][break]
But then again, that only mattered because she was always there, too, didn’t it? Megan, too, as she took her time to properly reply, noticed the proceedings at the Magikarp game. Certainly, these sorts of affairs were fun. Yet, more than most people, Megan was aware that she was only seeing that from the outside, from the perspective of someone who only once in a while visited a place like this for fun. And how different that was from having to man that booth all evening. It might be nice to watch kids’ eyes light up, but it would be frustrating when the drunk dudes came about.
[break][break]
No thanks. “No offense, of course, but that kind of feels too much like retail for me. And no way I am ever going back to that world.” She laughed once more, but this time it was probably more apparent she was brushing off some at least annoying memories. “Still though,” she started more soberly, “I would not mind, like, well…..ugh. Let me rewind that.” She harrumphed, briefly but strongly. “I was kind of wondering if you would need some help with your gym, you know?”

[break][break]

+ Johanna Joy

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Well, she said it herself. That meant Megan was immediately vindicated and right. Simple as that. Not that it was hard to tell. Jo was always so…. High strung about things. Yes, Megan was aware that it would be hypocritical for her to complain about things like that, too. She had more than enough experience in that regard, certainly. But that was why she could relate. To that feeling of having to prove something, of having to do something because you could do it and it is worthwhile to do. It was one of the reasons why she had aspired to become a gym leader.
[break][break]
Had. Possibly. For now, she simply decided that being right was good enough, so she gave a bit of a cat-like grin. “Always, always,” she replied and snagged a handful of popcorn to snack on it. Then, she released her Poochyena and shared a bit of it with the little one. She had planned to bring that one out later one way or another – and she just knew he would smell it on her and complain otherwise. “Anyway, I myself am feeling that I have been taking too long a break. Granted, the last possibly world-ending skirmish isn’t that long ago – kind of feels way longer each time I think about it though – but I mean, like, I probably should get some stable working again, too. Kind of feel like a vagabond right now since everyone else has found something, you know. And yes, yes, I know. Sudden shift extraordinaire. Don’t worry though, that’s the only serious thing on my mind right now!”

[break][break]

+ Johanna Joy nomming carnival treat

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Carnivals, local festivals, sometimes just any kind of concert – for years, they had been the bane of her existence. Well, one of those. There had been quite a few. But, working in a Pokemart, she had dreaded those times in particular. For one, because they were always loud and others had fun while she had to work. But the customers, oh the customers had been the worst part of it. Those kinds of scenarios always got the loud and the inebriated to go shopping in the dead of night or something. Getting hit on by some dude with bad breath had been the highlight of those days, not the low point.[break][break]

Hence, during her journeys, she had for the most part dodged these kinds of occasions. Maybe watch fireworks from afar or something like that was enough for her. Only this time, that was not an option. Not when a certain someone close to her did the only thing worse – to organize and work hard to make a festival, only to completely miss it themselves.
[break][break]
That just would not do. Heck, when she had found the other, that one had been working herself. In a better position than Megan ever had had, comparatively, but working still, obviously tired, obviously hungry knowing her – which was vindicated now judging by how quickly Johanna had made a beeline to the pop-corn – it just would not do. And besides, forcing someone else to go out and play was a lot easier, ironically, when you were already forcing yourself.[break][break]
Hence, once the food was taken care of, Megan simply grabbed her, um, let’s go with complicated and started moving along, the other in tow. “Now. I have a few things on my agenda, but I guess you got to catch a bit of a break first. So I figured first we go to one of those Pokemon games, so you can eat that in peace and we can have our little friends stretch their legs. After that I am going to go after you yourself mh-m. That sound just about alright to you?” Not that she would take anything short of a truly insistent no as a deterrent.

[break][break]

+ Johanna Joy

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Ironically, said death had the opposite effect on Megan in that regard, in a way. “Sometimes, failing is the end,” she muttered, not even in really in response but rather half to herself, as she was reminded of her own failure to help back then. If they had not been given a second chance by, well, chance, then that failure truly would have been an end. In a way, that had only made her more scared of messing up when it came to the big stuff.
[break][break]
Though learned she had, at least. Unlike Blastoise and Lucario, who were still warily eyeing one another. Those two, ironically, created distance between them out of a common denominator – they were protecting their trainers, after all.
“But I am always glad about your help. I usually don’t ask for that and don’t like it too much when I need it, but you’re the genuine sort. That helps me with that.” It was probably quite introspective of her, too. Having spent so long being the one to offer up superficial help had left marks on her own perspectives, so it was actually an accomplishment already that she was willing to try and forge proper bonds.

[break][break]

+ Johanna Joy

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“..you too.”
[break][break]
Heh. Why did she say that? Who? And what, exactly? Megan blinked, trying to figure out what had happened. Seemed like they had only entered this weird place a moment ago, but whatever had been happening had stopped. She could feel that. And she could feel that something had happened. It was just impossible to tell what, exactly. Just an ill-defined, weird feeling she could not place.
[break][break]
Confused, she too was confused and looked for a certain someone, only for that person to suddenly fling herself at her. Weird, not too long ago, it felt, she had been wary of being assaulted by someone. But now she just kind of felt at ease. That meant it was easy for the other’s sudden attack to land. Not that she minded.
[break][break]
Oddly enough, she had never outright hugged Jo like this before, outside that one time. But this felt familiar all the same. It felt good. She felt good, in general. Not just healthy but…content. A feeling she had not felt in a long time, to her knowledge. But in that moment, it simply felt natural. Hence, she put her arm around Jo’s neck, patted her head and pulling it in against her neck. “You too, Jo. You too.”
[break][break]
Meg still had no idea what she was even trying to say. It just felt right. At least she now knew who she was to say it to.

[break][break]

+ confusion, hug, less confusion

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Maybe it would have been better to continue to think of these people as nothing but figments of imagination. As Megan watched, she realized that back then, she had dismissed them in part as a protective mechanism. Having known that they were here to achieve heroism and therefore would have to encounter adversity, something among these lines was, in a way, inevitable. Not that she could have ever verbalized that or anything like that. But she had had a reason.
[break][break]
One that she understood better now as she watched a man die that she had build homes with, another that they had built it for. Megan tried to disassociate from that in a way. Thinking this the final battle, there was a feeling of possibly returning home soon anyway. Yet, it still stung.
[break][break]
In contrast, she felt nothing about decimating the enemy army. Years of facing all but faceless goons had desensitized her to that notion. That was the enemy to be defeated, so defeated it was. Plus, she had no time to truly think about that. Her other protective mechanism had been to all but focus on one person and protect that at all costs. That was why she had chosen protect. One person, she felt she could save. All were impossible. Everyone knew that. But one, that seemed doable.
[break][break]
Hence, she went further in with Johanna even as the battle around them switched from a fight of giants to a more manageable size. Yet, Megan found herself confounded by the two legendaries fighting above. Both seemed wrong on at least some level. Having no preference, she simply waited. Jo, as always was more decisive. Though this time, Megan felt it was more justified here. Either way, once she saw the Annihilate, she knew what to do. “Hyper Beam on that Necrozma as well. Best to focus on one to maybe bring it down,” she ordered her Hydreigon, hoping that it would even make a difference this time. If nothing else, its attention could not exclusively fall on Jo this time. Megan once more prepared herself to Protect, that old memory of someone being all but disintegrated coming back to mind freshly.

[break][break]

+ Being late, Meg reminisces and scares, follows Johanna Joy in her choice to ait Eternatus, Hyper Beam on Necrozma, trying to Protect from retaliation 83EbpJOo

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Megan had to chuckle. “You make it sound so easy,” she started, only to then trail off for a bit and stretch. “Thing is, I like doing what I am doing right now. Travelling, getting stronger, better. Meeting people I grow fond of. Those sorts of things. When I started this journey, I kind of only saw it as a means to an end, a chore on my path to becoming an awesome gym leader. But somewhere along the way….I kind of started doing it because I liked doing it, you know?”
[break][break]
Naturally, she knew that this was not sustainable. Yes, she could probably live on the loam for quite a while, but she had to start to look into the future at some point. Settling down was inevitable. But since she had wasted so many years not moving, the thought of stopping was simply kind scary. “Plus, once I actually go all in, what do I do if I fail?”

[break][break]

+ ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

War. That kind of felt different from anything before. It was a bit difficult to describe, of course. But this was much unlike the last times she had gotten roped into things like this. Even on that mountain encounter in the fog she had just been asked to help protect a point from some potential attack, but there had been only like, thirty, forty people involved? And, more importantly, they had not marched towards it in such a depressing line. Honestly, how did soldiers do that? It was so different to do this instead of seeking to just defend your home. It was the same in effect, yes, especially given the strategical situation. At least that she had heard.
[break][break]
Honestly, Megan did not know. But everyone else had been convinced that this was what was necessary in order to both fulfill the prophecy and, on a more basic level, to just stay alive. Playing contrarian in a situation like that would do no one any good, so she did not even remotely try. If everyone was fighting, she simply would be too. Because that was necessary to protect everyone.
[break][break]
Yet, Megan was not someone who treated everyone equally, of course. That was why she was sticking close to Johanna, ready to shield the other with her Protect shield if need be. The others marching alongside them towards the Intelleon too, of course but, again, she was definitely playing favourites. While others held speeches or needed those to inspire them, Megan just needed to squeeze a certain someone’s hand in order to focus as they neared the battlefield.
[break][break]
And a few decades ago, a sight like that would have seen her heart sink. But by now, she was so used to seeing armies of poisonous Pokemon in a way that it did not truly register all that much. Those simply were enemies they needed to defeat. Hence, she mentally steeled herself for just that before ordering her Hydreigon into battle. It had been the obvious choice. When she thought of gigantic threat on her side, she thought Hydreigon. Hence, she ordered it into battle right away while staying behind herself, ready to use Protect on the squishy humans. “Strafe the army, create an opening with Max Darkness.” The Gigantic Intelleon certainly would pose a problem, but they needed to create a way for their more melee-oriented fighters to get close. Hence, she was going to help with that. It was about as well as she understood battlefield tactics, at least.

[break][break]

+ joins the battle more solemnly, prepares to use her protect to shield from retaliation, orders Max!Hydreigon to Max Darkness the hordes of Darkness Io9y_Atq (using salac from the garden, if i forget to harvest by deadline someone remind me, its so hot)

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Odd, how a life could be completely set astray, yet not feel too far off what it should be. For all she knew, that was the reality they were forced to live. After ten years, she had mostly given up any hope of simply returning. Even if there was a valiant end to this story, then, at least in her mind, the time spent here would still be spent. As someone who had already been keenly aware of the meaning of ‘lost time’ before any of this had happened, Megan eventually managed to shake her melancholy. Waiting for this to end would likely just mean wasting even more time. Something she could ill afford. They were doing better, certainly, even pushing back the ooze in some places. But the hands of time could not be pushed back. Their partners showed that. At least some of them. They aged. Some seemed to near the end of their lives, even.
[break][break]
Humans would eventually follow. It was a law of nature. It took a while, but she did understand eventually. Saw the world with fuller eyes of sorts. Eventually, even noticing what was right in front of her. Still took Jo to ask, of course, but at that point, it was mostly her own uncertainty as to whether the other woman felt the same way, really. Ironically, it was due to the length of time spent together as was that Megan had grown hesitant in that regard.
[break][break]
Ultimately though, things worked out. For the first time since arriving in this desolate Galar did she end up feeling, pun intended, joy.[break][break]
But Megan would not be Megan if that did not come without at least some drawback. She had only ended up in this place due to her desire to not lose Jo again in the first place. At the very least she grew ready to acknowledge that. But that desire only festered further with time. After all, now that she had found someone to center her life around like this, she could not just let go. She held onto it. Wanted to protect it.
[break][break]
Jo mustered up her team more again, but Megan poured even more collective effort into it all. Continuing both her own training and that of her mons, she eventually shifted from helping in construction – which was needed less the more stable everything became – and instead focused on becoming a guard, joining the defenses more often and preparing for that darkest day they had been foretold. When Jo took on students, Megan decided to help with that, being even more unforgiving than the other, but knowing precisely why. The time would come when they would properly have to end this historical reenactment. Even if there was no return home at the end. That end would come, and she put her all into ensuring that they would overcome it.

[break][break]

+ gets better and more focussed after getting together with Jo, aids in the training and does her utmost to prepare for the battle she feels will come [roll]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

That was…all she could ask for, right? On multiple levels, really. More could not be expected anyway in this situation. And really….this should be enough, right? Megan was not a greedy person. And she could tell that the offer was genuine. It felt warm, in a way, the kind of warmth she had not felt since moving out of home back in the day. It reminded her of a warm autumn breeze for some reason…
[break][break]
She found herself blushing and scratching the back of her head again. “Thank you. I mean it. But look at me, being such a wreck and everything.” In her usual way, she tried to laugh it all off. Did not quite work this time, though. It was rare for someone to put up with her at her lowest. Even rarer for someone to genuinely care about her.
She exhaled deeply. “I kind of feel like I am imposing on you in a way. Yes, I know I am not. But if there is anything I can do for you in return, please tell me.”

[break][break]

+ ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

At first, she did not want to know their names. Those villagers, she just considered them random bystanders brought there so that the heroes had someone to save. Existences without any real meaning, as far as she was concerned as she waited every day to be transported back.[break][break]

Only that never came. Still, she continued to think that it would, getting inwardly more frightened and depressed as every day passed without salvation. Did not show it though. Not at all, really. Instead, she focused on helping rebuilding with a smile, only eventually opening up to Johanna Joy when the other offered to help her. It certainly took some prodding, but at the very least the two of them managed to sort some things out, which in turn helped Megan come to terms with her situation.[break][break]

From there on, she decided to learn those names, to try and do their best. Life was not so bad when shared with someone one cherished, though she always longed to return. Which was why she joined those that ventured beyond the walls between assaults, scouting out what they could of the region, though she made it a point to try and stay safe at least. Alongside Johanna, she learned how to fight from Gywar and carpentry from one of the villagers. Simply helping everyone get well through the winter and being able to repair things, to mend things, that was what she enjoyed. Jo was the one who healed the living. That was not something Meg was good at, but she could take care of that which was not living.[break][break]

That and protecting the living, of course. She and her Pokemon helped fend of the poisonous Pokemon – and, eventually, a Necromaza. That truly was a terrifying fight, one she was very glad to be over eventually. Sadly, many were lost, but fortunately, she and Jo at least survived, so she had a shoulder to lean on in these times. From the blackened steel she had herself fashioned a shield that allowed her to use protect – for that was the role she considered herself to grow into there. Joy might have become synonymous with healing, but Megan did not need Whitmore to become synonymous with anything. She just wanted to protect what she held dear.

[break][break]

+ Struggles with ...everything... but gets better thanks to Jo, moves in with her, scouts a bit, learns self defense, learns carpentry and helps with that. Also gets a shield made that lets her use Protect

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“Huh?” That question just kind of confounded her in the moment. She had expected a few possible questions here, even quite a few rather difficult ones. But instead of delving further into what she did not really want to talk about, Jo instead asked about something that no one had ever cared much about. ‘What can I do for you?’ was a question that Megan had asked maybe a thousand times over the years. But not only had she never meant it this way, she herself had not been asked that, ever.
[break][break]
It took a good few dozen seconds for her to remotely come to grips with it. “I…I don’t quite want to acknowledge the possibility of being stuck here for much longer, if I am being honest,” she replied first, as if she still needed a bit more time to figure the other part out. Looking down, there was a bit to work through until she could actually offer the honesty that Jo deserved.
“I…I guess I don’t need anything too fancy. Just stay with me, alright? I probably should just take you up on the other and move in here…”

[break][break]

+ ooc notes

[attr="class","pokeclass"]