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Any joy at her success against bryan delarosa is short-lived.[break][break]
There’s no time to celebrate here, especially when the beast they’re defending falls with a mighty thud. Luka’s indignant shout is lost over the chaos that follows, and her attempt to run towards the legendary dog and try to heal it is dashed before it even begins.[break][break]
She wakes up with her face smushed into cotton-soft fur. Both herself and her Whimsicott are snuggled up in a snowbank, and though the grass type seems none too happy about the frigid cold, she’s mercifully unharmed. Luka staggers to her feet and pulls Marshmallow up with her, carrying the oversized sheep as best she can while trudging through the snow.[break][break]
The teleportation has her feeling disoriented and dizzy, but slowly her surroundings swim into focus. She’s not exactly sure where they are, but something reminds her of the crown tundra Remiel Calcifet had told her about long ago, back when times had been simpler and they’d visited Galar together.[break][break]
But now is hardly the time for a trip down memory lane. Careful to try and avoid any rockets, she finally manages to reconvene with John Sullivan and their rag-tag group of league members. She tries to smile at them all through chattering teeth, but her expression quickly falls as fighting breaks out, almost immediately.[break][break]
They’ve just been transported to a strange part of the world— or, knowing Hoenn, a different dimension or universe entirely. And still, all they can do is fight! They could be working out a way to navigate this place together, but bad blood trickles between them instead. Disappointment sinks fangs into her as she clicks her tongue and shakes her head, fighting the frustration that rises bitterly in her stomach. All she can do is watch as MATIAS SILPH and his Groudon wreak havoc on the Rockets that have gathered near some strange totem, and she knows that even though she hates it, it’s probably for the best that they be forced away from the statue.[break][break]
Like Eva Morales, she feels uncomfortable not rushing to the aid of Genevieve Cromwell and all others who might need help. But chatter over the radio and her own observations make it clear that at least for now, everyone is doing as well as they can. The league is clearly outnumbered her, and they need to assist their strangest members as best they can. Luka spots the ball of energy forming in a Dragapult’s throat, aimed directly at MATIAS SILPH’ Groudon. She nods to Marshmallow, and the Whimsicott is just as quick to react as before.[break][break]
With prankster once again active, the fluffy grass type trills out a sweet tune; a grasswhistle meant to quell the ghostly dragon quickly, before it can do any harm.[break][break]
Luka’s fingers lace together, hoping that her assistance can fell their foe in time. And as if to answer her prayers, her backpack shakes. Trembles. Tiny fingers wiggle as malevolent energy spills into the air, sucking up the luck of others to assist Luka instead.[break]

---

[break]
- has a sygna suit on (not active!)[break]
- whimsicott’s prankster activates to use grasswhistle on fern delaney’s dragapult[break]
- shadow luck activates to steal the roll of BARNABY FINCH - roll is now 96!

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Luka might not be very smart, but at least she knows how to follow orders.[break][break]
It’s usually better to let others do the thinking for her anyways. She acknowledges John Sullivan and turns all her attention towards the dog— support is what she knows best, after all.[break][break]
She’s prepared to throw up some protection or offer healing, but their opponents have other plans. ”Heal block that Zamazenta!” she hears someone shouting, ”Don’t let it receive any aid!”[break][break]
Well that won’t do at all! Quickly, and thinking faster than she ever has in her life, Luka throws out a Love Ball to release the Whimsicott inside. She doesn’t know if the pair of them can act fast enough, but in order to protect this giant dog, they have to try.[break][break]
Her little sheep’s prankster ability comes in especially handy, allowing her to move far more swiftly that she normally might. The taunt that follows is aimed directly for the Sylvally that is targeting Zamazenta, preventing it from doing anything that might interfere with the League’s plans.[break][break]
The avalanche that descends upon them is another matter entirely, but there’s nothing she can do about that. All she can do is hope that her allies have her covered, and that her sygna suit can help mitigate most of the damage.[break]

---

[break]
- short post bc my computer is broke and im trapped on mobile![break]
- has a sygna suit on (not active!)[break]
- whimsicott activates prankster to move first and uses taunt on bryan delarosa’s sylvally

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The creature moves so quickly that for a moment Luka thinks she just might die again. But either luck or perseverance or sheer will, she manages to hold on.[break][break]The wind tangles through her hair as the pair of them ride, Luka struggling to maintain her balance upon their broad back all the while. She tightens her grip on the reins and grits her teeth, holding on for dear life— or whatever’s left of it.[break][break]
But as they continue to careen across the mountain, terror slowly gives way to something else: exhilaration. After her initial panic subsides Luka manages to squint out at the scenery as it blurs past her, a rush of deep forest greens and eerie, spectral blues. It’s unearthly and hauntingly beautiful all at once.[break][break]
Though she maintains her grip on the reins, her attention manages to focus back to the horse themselves. Is this a test of some kind? Are they taking her somewhere? The longer the ride stretches out the more Luka becomes convinced that this means something, and she’s determined to see it through until the end.[break][break]

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This time, she greets the phantom with a hesitant familiarity, like she might with a new acquaintance. They’re definitely waiting for her atop the mountain, and Luka has a feeling that whatever they want with her may soon be revealed.[break][break]
She approaches with a timid smile and a hand outstretched, just like before. But this time, the horse rears up and before she has a chance to react, they kick her so hard that it separates her soul from her body.[break][break]
But Luka doesn’t feel anything. When she rises, she’s just surprised that it doesn’t hurt. And she almost brushes it off, until she notices Helios charging about the mountaintop beside her.[break][break]
He seems furious, distressed and frightened all at once. But his visage is slightly distorted and he moves slowly, as if underwater. Luka takes a step forwards and reaches out, and it’s only then that she notices her own body laying at her feet.[break][break]
Well. She had long suspected Hoenn might be the death of her, but she hadn’t imagined it like this. At first, panic settles in— she feels dizzy and nauseous and if she had a stomach, she might have been sick. Her head reels and she staggers backwards, right into the horse that watches her silently. A wisp of spectral energy appears in their mouth, and at first Luka just stares at it blankly. But realization dawns slowly, right alongside her mounting horror.[break][break]
”You want me to…?”[break][break]
She glances hesitantly between the reins and the horse, and though their eyes remain closed she gets the feeling that they’re watching her intently. Luka swallows nervously and nods, taking hold of the offered wisp.[break][break]
Unlike with their mane, her hands close firmly around it. It’s cool to the touch and she can feel it pulse slightly under her palms, like a heartbeat. Carefully, and with a distinct lack of finesse, Luka attempts to climb onto the horse’s back. She’s short and ungainly, but after a few attempts she feels something help to hoist her up, like ghostly hands pulling up her collar. Carefully, she settles astride the specter’s back and takes a deep breath.[break][break]
Suddenly, without preamble, the horse takes off at a full gallop. Luka shrieks her surprise and clings tightly to the reins, held on (for now) by nothing but pure instinct and adrenaline.[break][break]

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There’s a stowaway in their midst this time.[break][break]
Ever since the masquerade ball, Luka had noticed a Shedinja hovering around during her weekly visits to the memorials around Mt Pyre. It hadn’t taken long for her to realize that it was Remiel Calcifet’s ghostly bug that was following her around, though she has no idea why.[break][break]
At first she assumed it was a threat or some kind of warning. That it was his way of keeping an eye on her, ensuring she stayed quiet about everything he had revealed that night. But as time wore on she began to see the insect as less of a threat, just another ghost of the relationship that never stops haunting her.[break][break]
Luka can feel Hezekiah behind her as she ascends Mt Pyre this time, a silent presence that lingers unseen over her shoulder. She shakes off the chill that crawls up her spine whenever he’s near and continues to climb, eager to see if her mysterious horse is waiting for her again.[break][break]
They are, but something seems different. Off, in a way she can’t place from afar. It’s only when she approaches that Luka notices the eerie glow of a spirit, one whose trailing form and cerulean hue remind her of the will-o-wisps in fairy tales.[break][break]
”Is this…bothering you?” she asks, receiving a snort and stamp of a hoof in reply. It’s all the confirmation she needs, but Luka doesn’t know the first thing about exorcising a spirit. How does one banish the intangible?[break][break]
However, Hezekiah surprises her. The Shedinja had always been a silent, stoic presence around her. But now he moves with a deliberate slowness, flying towards the horse and their parasite. There’s a moment’s pause before he turns his back on them, and Luka watches with eyes wide as spectral energy seems to try and suck the soul in.[break][break]
But the spirit thrashes in protest, curling tendrils of mystical energy further into the horse’s wisps. They bray in protest and try to bolt, but seem trapped in place as the spirit takes root. Hezekiah moves even closer then, and a haunting wail echoes atop Mt Pyre as the crack on his back widens with a sound almost like tearing paper.[break][break]
With a painful slowness the spirit is dragged inside, but stubborn wisps remain entangled with the horse like roots that refuse to leave the soil. Luka tries to get closer and see if she can compel them away herself, but before she can reach out and touch them Helios intervenes. His trainer’s daughter is a selfless idiot, and he throws himself into the fray instead, lest she get hurt.[break][break]
Flames lick the edges of his wrists, but his usual flurry of punches and kicks have no effect here. The avian snarls in frustration and instead releases a vacuum wave to dislodge the spirit entirely.[break][break]
Another shriek rings out atop the mountain, loud and plaintive as the soul is sucked inside Hezekiah’s body. Luka clamps her hands over her ears and watches with horror as the spirit twists and unfurls, leaving the afterimage of a face contorted in pain in its wake, like the lingering flash of a camera bulb.[break][break]
Just as abruptly as it began, the scream is cut off and silence reigns on the mountaintop. And just as before, the horse is gone.

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Having said her bit, Luka settles back as @oliie speaks again and the other rangers discuss the Wilds. She doesn’t have much of her own to add to this conversation, but once again hangs back and feverishly takes her own notes. However, she does catch the small acknowledgement from Rowan Wrynn, and offers him a smile and a little wave in return.[break][break]

A rocket…a defector, but still. She can’t help but be reminded of Remiel Calcifet and his betrayal and the ache it’s continued to leave behind. The ghost of a frown settles on her lips but she wills it away just as quickly. She doesn’t want Rowan to get the wrong idea— her ire isn’t with him.[break][break]

Though a moment later he speaks the Calcifet name aloud and for a moment Luka thinks he’s managed to somehow will her ex into existence. She freezes, the grip on her pencil tightening, but quickly realizes he’s talking to Elise Calcifet instead. That’s better, though not by much, and Luka sighs as she sinks back into her chair and starts writing again.[break][break]

Some of the information is very relevant to Project Sapphire, some less so. Luka considers bringing up her own encounters with Cresselia and the lunar wing she owns, but ultimately decides against it. It no longer seems relevant to the conversation, and most of her leads have already dried up. Besides- and perhaps it’s silly- she doesn’t want to seem like a try-hard. It feels mighty self-important to stake some kind of claim over a legendary.[break][break]

However, Oliver Shrakes and paxton concordas’s discussion has her sitting right back up in her chair again. The descriptions they give are vague, but strike a chord with her.[break][break]

”Was it like…tall and purple?” she asks, sitting up a little straighter. ”And saying some oddly cryptic stuff?”[break][break]

So much has happened since then that she’d almost forgotten. But although she struggles to remember every detail the broad strokes are still there. ”I met them once too, I think. In shoal…cave? They were looking for, erm…a-a Titan, I think they said. But I have no idea what that means.”

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The first time the horse had appeared, Luka chalked it up to yet another random, mysterious encounter. In Hoenn, such things happened so often that while unexpected, she truly hadn’t thought much of it.[break][break]
The second time she was more surprised, for it seemed such an odd coincidence to meet the same enigmatic Pokemon twice.[break][break]
But by their third meeting, she’s become convinced that the spectre is seeking her out. The thick fog is now familiar as she climbs the mountaintop, swirling around the horse’s disembodied hooves as they wait for her. [break][break]
What they might want with her, she has no idea. There’s certainly nothing she has to offer that they couldn’t get from anyone else. But for whatever reason they’ve come to Mt. Pyre three times now and Luka feels compelled to keep coming back until she can figure out why.[break][break]
She approaches with the same reverent caution as before, though she feels far more at ease as the phantom steps closer. From this distance she can fully admire their glossy coat, the regal way they carry themselves, the way their mane undulates as though caught in an unseen wind.[break][break]
But she can also see the knots and tangles that keep their curls from falling freely. She hadn’t noticed it before, but from the way the horse tosses their head and snorts, it seems as though it’s bothering them.[break][break]
This time, the horse doesn’t immediately vanish when she tries to touch them. It feels like progress until her fingers slip through their mane like smoke, unable to make purchase. Luka purses her lips and lowers her hand to her side, which prompts a discontented whinny. Her half-hearted attempt clearly isn’t good enough.[break][break]
After much hemming and hawing and trying to thread her fingers through something she can’t touch, Luka realizes that if she can’t do it, perhaps another ghost can.[break][break]
Her Zorua yips once when he’s released, the sound muffled by fog that almost reaches the tips of his ears. But he seems to understand when Luka requests a shadow claw from him. She picks him up so he can more easily reach the horse’s mane, and his little claws make short work of the tangles that mar it.[break][break]
The horse disappears soon after, as always. But Luka has a feeling that if she returns tomorrow, they’ll be here once again.

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