Towards the more crowded side of the beach, where food stalls and shops stood for all to enjoy, there was a large, empty area, in the middle of it a strange device of blinking lights playing a loud tune. It was bound to call to anyone’s attention:
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COME ONE, COME ALL, FIND OUT WHO’S THE STRONGEST OF THEM ALL
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Vic watched for a while as people had their pokémon face off against each other, attacking the machine with their strongest moves only to be granted a score that was supposed to represent their power (but that actually usually didn’t really make much sense at all). A crowd began to gather, and some even placed bets; laughter breaking out among them when the machine mocked those who received the lowest score possible.
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Naturally, the pinkette wanted to have his pokémon try it too!
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He stepped forward, waiting for someone else to join the challenge...


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+ Laurence Anderson | WITH FITTING MUSIC
[BREAK]1 Move per pokémon, 1 pokémon per post, highest total wins
[BREAK]1 = MAN, YOU SUCK!
[BREAK]2 to 50 = git gud
[BREAK]51 to 99 = meh
[BREAK]100 = NICE!
[BREAK]First move is yours ♡

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It’s all Vic’s own fault. He knows this.
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He knows that, for some reason, Flynn would rather he wasn’t there.
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He knows that, even though he may feel this way, it’s probably guilt caused by Vic’s own reactions that push his former friend to be nice and amicable. This comes as no surprise either. After all, Flynn has always been a good person.
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But, it does hurt. And it especially hurts because no matter how aware he is of the fact that the other may not want him to be there, he still can’t help but feel happy to be talking to someone he once cared about. Someone he still cares about. Someone he has missed all these years...
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If only he could bring himself not to care.
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”Ah… Don’t worry, it’s nothing I can’t handle.” Is this a response to the question, or to the situation? It could be both, but it’s also a lie, of course. One said to put Flynn at ease. Because Vic himself has never been good at burdening other people with his feelings, and this is also something that has gotten worse over the years.
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As asked, he sits down by the desk, then allowing himself a second to take a breath. ”I… mmm… I guess you probably already heard about the whole poacher situation that happened just out of town? I was there helping out when they showed up.” About this, he’s surprisingly calm, for as a Ranger it’s not the first time Vic has had to report a situation like that, and it won't be the last.




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+ kris flynn-edwards

Proving herself to be almost as if the MVP of this race so far, the little Bagon’s Zen Headbutt against the Primarina had been quite effective.
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Maybe persistence was truly how one won a sack race, maybe all that was needed to be done was to relentlessly and mercilessly attack the opponent until they could no longer continue or chose to give up. Maybe, the fates were just cruel, the consequences of every action as if being left up to a dice...
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Except for one, because Pez should have known exactly what would happen the moment his rage simmered down. He stumbled, shaking his head, waves of confusion suddenly hitting him and making everything spin. He growled, trying to fight it, and of course that in his confusion he got even more upset. This time hitting the nearby Spiritomb with FIRE PUNCH.
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Meanwhile, the Hydreidon refused to let go of the Runeringus. CRUNCH hitting it while her jaws were as if locked on the pokemon.
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And the Bagon? Well, since she was learning that this had worked so far, she once again used ZEN HEADBUTT on the Primarina.

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+ siobhan burke |
[break]Dragonite: FIRE PUNCH @ Spiritomb (Causes BURN)
[break]Hydreigon: CRUNCH @ Runeringus
[break]Bagon: ZEN HEADBUTT @ Primarina
[break]✔ Endeavor: Sustain Confusion

KtcgUSND

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”Oh! Good thinking, Pez!”
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Vic was sure that the Dragonite would act as if he didn’t care for his praise, but he gave it nevertheless when seeing the ball paralyze the Riolu, effectively leaving it unable to strike back against them. Then again, it probably wasn’t that great of an idea to praise Pez for constantly punching things as his solution for everything, but surely there’s no way that would come back to bite him later…
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Alas, that’s another story for another time. Since here, at this dodgeball game, sadly our dear Pez was about to be left unable to punch anything for some time.
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The Orbeetle’s Hypnosis fell on their team as if a curse, taking what seemed like a mere 0.5 seconds for the Dragonite to fall unconscious and plummet down to the ground. Vic himself hadn’t even gotten a chance to get up after catching that last ball, and it took incredible effort for him to fight the grogginess enough to look around him and assess the situation. Pez was down. So was his Arcanine. Most of the team had already been hit. Where was his Dragapult when Vic needed him?
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He couldn’t see him, but his gaze did fall on one pokémon who had been there all along, providing helpful and reliable support (just nothing shocking enough to be mentioned in these posts, since we’re building a narrative here). The one pokémon that wasn’t actually a member of his team, but that his dear friend had insisted he should take with him to the tournament. One who, perhaps by choice or perhaps by luck, seemed to have been far back enough in the arena to have avoided the effects of Hypnosis. This pokémon was, of course, no other than leo del río ‘s trusty Bouffalant. Arceus, bless that buffalo.
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”Fudges,” he called to the pokémon’s attention, mustering just enough strength to throw the ball straight up in the air. ”Hit it with Giga Impact.”
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At this point, the game was lost, but at least they could go out with a bang, no? Make this memorable!
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Well... a BANG it sure was.


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jayden cross | VIC LOSES
[break] + Have your pokemon use a move that requires recharging
[break] Had to make it end DRAMATICALLY
[break]

Capture the flag was the name of the game, and although Vic didn’t really know his teammate this time around, he was as excited as one could be as he stood at the arena. Hell yeah! This was going to be awesome! He really liked battles, don’t get him wrong, but there was just something different and fun about being able to "fight" side-by-side with his pokémon.
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”Hmm… Best defense is a good offense? How does that sound?” Vic smirked. He had never been the type of guy to play it defensive, after all, since he was way too impatient for things of that sort. His pokémon though… well, the Altaria that he soon called to his side would have probably preferred to take things easy all the time, but he sure could do attacking if he was asked to attack.
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”I’m Vic, by the way!”


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+ MATIAS SILPH | First move is yours hehe
[break]✔ Endeavor: Participate in a tag battle

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Not a single cloud disturbed the skies up above, a dome of perfect azure reigning over them as Vic stood on the beach by the side of his Dragonite. The pokémon looked bored, as if it hated standing still like this, and honestly, the man of bubblegum-coloured hair couldn’t really blame him, as he himself was admittedly quite inpatient when it came to this sort of thing.
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The difference, however, was that Pez had a tendency to react extremely poorly when he ran out of patience.
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That was going to be a problem, wasn’t it?
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Perhaps foreshadowing to the inevitable horrors that awaited them?
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The thought loomed in the back of Vic’s mind, but ever the optimist, he ignored it, smiling at the Dragonite. ”You excited, bud? This is gonna be fun!” In turn, the dragon huffed, as if he thought fun was beneath a pokémon who was as cool and awesome as he so clearly was.
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They were here for a sky race, because of course the Dragonite wanted to race, and of course his trainer had happily complied, thinking it would be fun to give it a try!


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+ Amor Rose | Dragonite brooooos

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Runeringus could slam along all it wanted, but what it didn’t know was that it wasn’t easy to get Skor to let go once she decided to bite down on something. In fact, she persisted with using CRUNCH, all three of her heads clinging to the ghost and shaking as if attempting to rip off something. Honestly… sometimes even Vic thought she was a bit scary, but he still really loved her.
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The Bagon, on the other hand, fell back, once again victim to a powerful Shadow Ball. But, she was a persistent little girl, and soon enough she was shaking it off and heading straight for the Primarina once again. This time with ZEN HEADBUTT.
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And as for this same pokémon’s attempts to distract the OUTRAGED Dragonite with her attacks, this too didn’t work, since apparently stubbornness was the name of the game on this round, and out of all of Vic’s pokémon Pez had to be the most stubborn there was. He continued attacking the Spiritomb with as much rage as before, but the pink-haired man watching at the sidelines knew well that that couldn’t last for long. He was going to run out of steam soon, and things weren’t going to be too great the moment that happened...





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+ siobhan burke |
[break]Dragonite: OUTRAGE @ Spiritomb
[break]Hydreigon: CRUNCH @ Runeringus
[break]Bagon: ZEN HEADBUTT @ Primarina (causes FLINCH)
[break]✔ Endeavor: Inflict Flinch

eP79HSYW

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

”Ha! Thanks, his name is Nougat. Your Houndoom’s pretty cool too!”
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Reaching up to pet his fluffy canine companion, Vic smiled, the Arcanine in turn wagging his tail happily in response to the gesture. Nougat had been Vic’s pokémon since he was ten years old, and as much as he adored battling, he was probably the most calm and obedient pokémon in his team – that is, of course, aside from his Dragapult. He just stood there, ever a good dog, a completely different story from the Dragonite flying above them all...
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”Nice to meet ya, Maverick. I’m Vic!”
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First of all, Pez didn’t see what the need was for all this chit chat, and when the Talonflame appeared in the skies before him, he just looked at her, huffing as if to imply he was unimpressed. He matched her Tailwind with a display of aerial acrobatics of his own in the form of a DRAGON DANCE, and although the Steel Wing came fast and hit his side before he could completely avoid it, he took the opportunity granted by the close distance between to quickly swing his whole body around and aim an AQUA TAIL at the fire bird.




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+ maverick noah ryder
[break]Pez is hit! He uses Dragon Dance & Aqua Tail
[break]Move hits if 50 or higher, misses if lower
[break]Adding total of hits determines winner
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cbPQLHkp

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

”Damn! I don’t think I could have stopped that, nice one!” Vic exclaimed when seeing his friend intercept Nougat’s Reversal-powered ball. Honestly, it looked really painful, and he almost wanted to ask if the other was alright after having stopped it with his bare hands and all. But… He looked fine, right? Well, he actually looked kind of annoyed, though that could have easily just been him trying to focus on the match or something along those lines. What did people call that? Resting bitch face or something?
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The Weavile prepared to attack, throwing the ball just as it let out this horrible high-pitch sound that caused Vic to stumble and wince. It was bound to temporarily incapacitate some of his pokémon, which was a problem, considering how so many of them were such huge, easy targets. So, in a split second, he made the instinctive decision to jump for the ball despite the pain, catching it and rolling on the sand to a safe landing. ”Close one!”
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And before he could even get up, his pokémon were already readying an attack, because of course Pez was starting to get bored of all of this, and he eagerly punched an electricity-charged ball straight towards the other team. THUNDER PUNCH!


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+ jayden cross | 3 FAINTED
[break]

’Get 20% OFF your next order at Dodrio’s Pizza with the following code!’
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Nice! Great deal! But, also... Fuck that! That’s what he had bothered checking his phone for?! With a sigh, Vic put the device back in his pocket, just in time for one of the Precipice Blades to explode only a few metres away. ”Arceus!” Nope! Arceus wasn’t here… But Moltres sure was!...And it was getting hit by one of those same explosions, its rider beginning to fall.
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Oh! Even at a distance, he recognized Stormy Silph from all that merch at the tournament. Wasn’t she one of the Elite Four or something? She would be fine, right? He didn’t know her, but she seemed like she would, and if Moltres and her were besties, surely the legendary would grab her or something, right?!
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The bigger problem was the sudden Archeops-nado coming their way, Vic initially being too preoccupied with looking at the damn birds to notice how much things had changed around them. Reacting fast, a pokéball was thrown in the air, Dragapult soon floating above the Dragonite. ”Try to slow the Archeops down! Make a path!” He instructed, and the Dragapult did as asked, intercepting the Archeops ahead with Phantom Force and following that up with Dragon Darts.
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He needed his Dragonite to focus on flying, so Dragapult would handle the attacking.
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”Let’s speed this up, Pez! We gotta get up there!” Making use of both the path created by the other dragon and the persisting Tailwind, the Dragonite dashed forwards and up the mountain, throwing electrified punches at any bird that got in his way and heading for the strange sun up above. It looked like that thing was making everything around them all wonky, so dealing with it was probably smart...
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Plus, one guy was going up there alone, and to Vic, that just didn’t seem right! Rangers were supposed to help people, so how could he let this guy go all ‘let’s punch the sun’ or whatever all on his own? Nah, he was going to get some back-up!



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+ TL;DR:
[break]+ Vic sees Stormy Silph get hit by an explosion but TRUSTS that she got this 'cause she's a PRO
[break]+ He gets his Dragapult to deal with the Archeops with Phantom Force and Dragon Darts, so his Dragonite can focus on flying (Dragonite still Thunder Punches some Archeops 'cause that's just how he is)
[break]+ He sees Amor Rose heading for the sun and decides to go help because he's a good ranger boy who helps people, and that sun looks like it's messing things up real bad
[break]+ Sorry this was a long tl;dr
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BtjyxAo6

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