"I suppose your right.", Thomas told her, taking a seat on the couch. Bunni would huddle up close to Thomas, joining Shayla in comforting him.

He'd let it go for now, but quietly resolved to search for answers later.

"Commissioner, I suppose you heard about what happened in Castelia, right?", he'd finally ask her.

The true reason for his brief departure from the Region. Revenge for Joey Kim.

---

tags: dahlia goode
notes: tl;dr

Thomas was shocked about the crystal-filled cave emerging near his property. Primarily, he was worried about it encroaching on his Underground Biomes, and any potential threats living within attacking the Pokemon living peacefully. He also saw the potential to explore the cave, to see if there was anything he could use in his crusade.

He remembered the explorer he met, while living incognito as Daisuke Hayashi. Shalin Nariya had made quite a name for herself since. So what better way to formally meet her, and to see what she was truly capable of, than to invite her to explore this mysterious cavern?

Thomas waited at the entrance to the cave. Accompanying him was his faithful Ceruledge, Mordred.

---

tags: Shalin Nariya
notes: tl;dr

Thomas rolled his eyes at her dismissal. If she wanted to disregard good advice, then that was her problem.

The tremors immediately prompted the Agent to grab at the first two Pokeballs he could get his hands on, his Flygon and his Hydreigon.

"Kalameet, cover Agent Shylock! Kiryu, on me!", Thomas ordered the two dragons.

The Hydreigon would hover near where the woman was, whether it was to bat off oncoming threats, or to catch her, should she fall. Meanwhile, the Flygon would stick close to his master, lenses descending over his eyes as he waited for the oncoming threats.

---

tags: Yujin Ha
notes: tl;dr

An unassuming ship in the distance would approach a luxurious yacht. The ship would stop, before ten pirates would descend upon the yacht, all of them on the backs of their Sharpedo. The Dark-type Pokemon would close in on the yacht with frightful speed, the men on board readying themselves to board the yacht.

Meanwhile, the ship they came in on would be receiving a guest of their own. A Clawitzer would emerge from the depths, aiming its massive pincer towards the hull of the ship.

On board the ship, the Clawitzer's master waited in the shadows. The hunter of hunters patiently awaited his prey.

---

tags: Elise Calcifet
notes: tl;dr

A Heracross would approach the duo, getting into a fighting stance. The Scizor, noticing this first, got into stance as well. Thomas would turn to face the two, noting that the Heracross' more rounded, heart-shaped tip of her horn denoted that her gender to him.

The Heracross lead off with a Fury Attack on the armored bug. Despite how strong her attack was, it bounced off the hulking Scizor's steely exoskeleton. In retaliation, he would unleash a Bullet Punch, batting her back several feet.

The Heracross, landing on her feet, would attempt to retaliate by tackling the Scizor. Though the attack sent him skidding back, it failed to knock him down. Ripper would take on a Double Hit stance, getting ready for what was to come next.

The Heracross would then attempt to Throat Chop the Scizor, who stepped back out of range of the attack, before lunging in for an even stronger Bullet Punch. The Heracross would be knocked into a tree, slumping over.

As she was in her dazed state, Thomas tossed a Pokeball towards the Heracross, hoping for a capture.

---

tags: Vanilla Kingsley
notes: Cap attempt on Heracross

The Pokemon that got close would allow the student to pet them. Jeryn and Billy in particular seemed to eat it up the most. Penumbra also found himself quickly warming up to the student, rubbing against him, and allowing him to knead his paw. That wasn't to say that Miss Bliss and Chione didn't enjoy the attention. They would gladly allow the young man to show them his affection.

"Penumbra is the only one of the group that came to me already fully evolved. I found him suffering from the effects of Toxic on Route 120, nearly four years ago. I gave him some quick treatment, before capturing him to get some more thorough treatment here.", he'd explain to the student.

"As for the others, Miss Bliss, Billy, and Jeryn all evolved during different cuddle sessions.", he'd admit to Elliot. "Miss Bliss evolved while she was cuddling me, and some of the Audino. Jeryn evolved during my last days in Unova, I was feeding her berries, and snuggling up to her, when she just evolved. Billy evolved when I joined in on him and one of my Audino cuddling.", he'd recall, smiling as he thought about it. The three would let out adorable giggles.

"Cobalt here evolved after a hard earned victory against a vicious Ursaring terrorizing the area. He went from a badly injured Riolu I found along the Jagged Pass, to a badass warrior after a month of training.", he'd continue. The Lucario would briefly pump his paw at the memory of the victory.

"Gene here hasn't decided on what he wants to be yet. Otherwise, he would've evolved into an Espeon, Umbreon, or Sylveon a while ago.", Thomas told Elliot with a chuckle. The Eevee licked Thomas' cheek affectionately.

"Chione here is also very close to evolving. If you'd like to stick around, I'd be happy to let you observe, and take notes.", he'd offer, knowing that Snom evolved through Friendship as well.

---

tags: @elliot
notes: tl;dr

"Let's just say that two years ago, I sparked controversy back home. It involved alcohol, and throwing away everything in rage.", he would tell the woman.

There was a lot more to the story than that. About how his resignation was planned from the start. About how Uncle Patrice was in on it, and his disownment was all a part of the plan. How he was a lot more in control than he seemed that night, or on the livestream that followed the news of Sootopolis being taken over by Rocket.

"Not one of my proudest moments, that's for sure.", he'd admit.

As Desiree dealt with the Spinda, Thomas would spot a Malamar floating in. If she got close enough, she would attempt to Wrap her tendrils around one of them, before inducing Hypnosis to enthrall them.

Realizing how dangerous the species were, Thomas quickly tossed Ripper's Pokeball towards the Malamar, into melee range.

The hulking Scizor, upon being deployed near the Malamar, would lunge at the squid monster, his pincer opening up to deliver a devastating Bug Bite. The Malamar attempted in vain to Constrict the Alpha Pokemon with her tendrils, only for the pincer to violently clamp down on her body. The attack caused the Malamar to let out a disturbing shriek of pain, before quickly losing consciousness.

Thomas walked over, seeing that the Malamar was still breathing.

"Good work, Ripper.", Thomas told the Scizor, before tapping the unconscious Malamar with a Pokeball.

Thomas would turn back to Desiree. As he thought about her name, he realized that hers seemed familiar to him. Though he wasn't quite in tune with the music scene, he had heard her name.

"Your name is familiar, too.", he'd admit to her.

---

tags: DESIREE BLOOMS
notes: Cap attempt on Malamar

"Kazimir, what the fuck are you doing!?", Thomas berated the Emerald Knight. "If you're going to support Necrozma, at least attack the other one!", Thomas continued.

Alas, Necrozma was allowed to win the bout between them. It seemed that avenging this world's Andraste was not in the cards. As it absorbed the Eternatus' energy, and began to charge up for one grand attack, Thomas got ready to face it. Defiant, even in the face of imminent death. If he was going to die, he would die roaring and fighting.

That was, until Zaican, in all of its glory, emerged to cut down the prismatic beast with a Behemoth Blade. It was not only a satisfying sight to the Kalosian, but a breathtaking one. It didn't stop the injured 'black knight' from escaping with the weakened Eternatus into an Ultra Wormhole. Thomas would attempt to fly after the creature, Kalameet firing Dark Pulses at it.

It was all for nothing, as the Necrozma escaped with its prey in tow. Exhaustion brought the duo back to the lands below. The cheers of the saved people caused the aged man to smile faintly, slumping over on the back of his dragon. Thomas stared up at the sky, watching as the stars told the story of the aftermath.

The giant Celesteela and Guzzlord were all too familiar to the Kalosian. Though he was protecting Verdanturf from Silas' final offensive at the time, he had read up on the events that transpired at Mossdeep.

As the world began to fade, Thomas shut his eyes, giving into what would happen next.

Memories of the years he spent training with paxton concordas, the conversations with Alexei Ivanov, and the confrontation with Selena Desmarais all began to fade, like a dream.

Thomas stirred awake in front of the Ancient Tomb. He was back in the tactical gear he donned for the battle. There were no signs of Chien-Pao or Ting-Lu. He would spot Zaican and Zamazenta, in their 'weakened' forms in the distance, before they scattered into the Region.

Thomas hardly reacted to the rain as it poured down on him and Kalameet. He would feel something in his hand. Opening his clenched hand, he would spot a familiar necklace. One that Andraste Breathnach owned.

Thomas flew off on his Hydreigon quietly, heading back home to Verdanturf Town.

---

tags: Kazimir Wynter paxton concordas Alexei Ivanov Selena Desmarais
notes: Thomas chastises Kazimir for protecting Necrozma
Thomas is disappointed that Necrozma won, gets ready for a last stand
Thomas watches in awe as Zaican strikes down Necrozma
Thomas doesn't resist the change of realities
Thomas wakes up on the back of Kalameet
Thomas notices he still has the necklace belonging to Andraste
Thomas looks up to spot Zaican
Thomas flies back home on Hydreigon quietly

The Kalosian watched as the teenager dealt with a Spiritomb. When the specter tackled her from behind, Thomas almost intervened. But seeing as she was fine, and her Cinderace managed to handle the situation just fine, he stayed back.

An Anorith peeked out from the grass, but quickly retreated.

---

tags: Vanilla Kingsley
notes: Skip

Once the woman gets her light in, the Ceruledge stood back up. He would look at his master, clearly annoyed with such a frivolous request. Thomas didn't seem to be too bothered. He knew that blade-wielder would quickly get over it.

"You're welcome.", Thomas told her.

"Born and raised in Kalos, actually. Though after my tenth birthday, I started to slowly travel the world.", he'd reveal to her.

Thomas watched as she dealt with the Greninja with her Doublade. He was impressed with how well trained the haunted pair of swords operated. No doubt her bodyguard.

"Nice to meet you, Desiree. I'm Thomas Benoit.", he'd finally introduce himself. "I appreciate the offer, but I shouldn't.", he'd politely decline.

A Braviary, Honing his Claws, swooped down to attack the group with a Crush Claw. Mordred quickly stepped in, Bulking Up while allowing the attack to harmlessly grab at him. Thanks to his Ghost-typing, the claws phased through him.

The Fire-type glowered upward at the bird, who squawked in disbelief. He would Leer at the Ceruledge, before attempting to smash down on him with a Superpowered strike. Again, the attack did nothing to the Ghost-type.

A single Bitter Blade was all it took to strike down the Braviary, and allow Thomas to toss a Pokeball at it.

"Still a waste of your time, Mordred?", Thomas called out to the Ceruledge teasingly. The black knight huffed a bit.

---

tags: DESIREE BLOOMS
notes: Cap attempt on Braviary