with increased defenses when poisoned, kyle takes his milotic out for better results when dealing with the weezing.

dealing with the volatile pokemon was tedious work, and to make sure they don't explode, they either have to hit it with one good strike or put it to sleep.

"hypnosis."

kyle goes for the more peaceful approach with his milotic, putting these pokemon to sleep before they can detonate themselves.

• use a move that inflicts sleep (first 10 will receive 2 mochi instead of 1).

it was expected, and it was why he never bothered to take more of their time to argue about it any longer.

kyle lets her pass. a gentle smile is offered, alongside a slight bow, as farewell.

"a letter would be fine too," he shouts, tone teasing in nature, as he watches her run off. "he will be broken, and he won't be the same, but he will still be there."

she will fail, as she always does. her similarities with the volatile were never explicit, and one that knows the other will find themselves strangely familiar with their inner workings.

there had always was a nostalgic feel when he interacted with her, galar or not.

"you can't run away forever, florist."

he told his piece. he made his declaration and suggested an ending that will keep her grounded. it wasn't much, but it was the best he could offer as a parting gift for one of the main characters.

kyle keeps his solgaleo in his ball, not needing him for the male lead of the story. his solution was unsavory, but the last resort is present should the first respondents fail.

there will be a happy ending.

when elisabeth crumbles under her own conscience, kyle brings stability with his words.

"i want a conclusive ending to this arc."

it was all an elaborate story where each main character know their role and how the story ends. from an outsider like kyle, the tragic ending was more than predictable. it was only a matter of how much both sides want to destroy themselves.

it was never them hurting the other party.

"it doesn't matter whether that ending is a formal separation based on your side of the war, or an invitation to betray the world with each other. i just don't think it's nice for both of you to end it this way."

his tone doesn't befit the mood. oddly calm, there's a sense of warmth with the way he words his statement. he's not talking to the woman who chose to deliberately hurt matias, but to a special person of his friend's account.

"give him closure. he won't accept you running away as an actual answer." solgaleo is recalled, cancelling the effects of his cosmic power. "i know you need it for a peace of mind."

there were already respondents beyond their pass of the mountain. kyle, too, has received the alert. the silhouette of rayquaza can be seen from anywhere in the volcano's foot.

should death come, kyle can come in at any moment. otherwise, he already has found ample conclusions from various events in hoenn's history that support the action he was willing to take.

"i'm asking because we both know it won't happen." his death.

it's what people call canon events, except it will be kyle that will force it to happen.

"your hands are tied-" by her own volition. "-so i know you can't do anything to him right now."

the appeal to her sympathy is shallow. he states it more as a fact than anything else. she can't hide the difference in disposition between their regular encounters and this.

"i want to know what you'll do after."

it checks out, he supposed.

"nothing we can do about it, i suppose." his shoulders give way to a shrug.

a master of illusion-- that's what walsh's moniker was according to the veterans from kanto. the extent of darkrai's abilities were still a mystery, but the horror of nightmares have already been made aware to them through the dream mists.

or perhaps it was just an oversaturation of primal energy that causes matias to react similar to kyogre.

"are you ending it completely?" he asks, pursuing a topic completely divergent from the last. "meeting up with him, that is."

he knows matias will forgive her. the question is how elisabeth would act going forward.

"rocket only has parts of the blue orb, as far as i know," he prefaces.

it was intel that came from the previous kyogre avatar and defectors from the organization. at some point, kyle is certain both sides are aware that the line between the secrets shared behind their walls is slowly thinning with each event.

"the shard," he answers finally. "i just want to know where you got it."

matias wasn't the type to question anything. he is blind to objects of his affection, owing to his reckless nature. kyle wouldn't get an answer from him.

he looks at her like an acquaintance would, calm and casual as if repercussions of being friendly with an underboss were uncared for.

"your answer might help him," he vaguely adds.

he chuckles. "funny how that was my defense at the resurfaced island."

he could tease her more about it, but both of them don't have time as a commodity.

"but don't worry. i won't hold you too long."

she knows his priorities. he has told her that matias ranks higher than his job, his allegiance. history has proven that loyalty is one of kyle's only strong suits as a person.

"how about a trade? let's talk. once i get what i want, then you're free to go."

"let's go poochy squad!"

all of his pokemon terastalizes. many of them have changed for the cause, and kyle is ready to weaponize them at all costs.

each of them start firing off their stellar tera blasts, keeping the environment clean from these pests.

goodbye big grafaiai...

• have your pokemon TERASTALLIZE. (first 8 will receive 2 mochi instead of 1).

on an obscure part of mt. chimney, kyle manages to take a guess of her escape route based on convenience and practicality. if an emergency does come, the longest way becomes a shortcut to avoid confrontation.

experience with the force gives kyle the information of how an escapee would think in a panic, and experience with the volatile hints him of the florist's action.

"congrats," he interrupts her escape.

kyle shows himself to the florist, blocking her path with his solgaleo. its presence alone already tells that there will be no influences from gods present in their bubble.

"you don't look pleased with the ending though." weird.

the switch between offensive and supportive roles between each pokemon earns a raised eyebrow from kyle, noticing similarities between it and his own style.

he supposed he should be annoyed since it was his job to mirror his opponent, but he was the examiner in this. he can't get too caught up with frivolities.

"your setting your hopes up if you think this isn't good enough," he answers instead, "i'm not exactly a better fighter than the elite four in these formal, ruled settings, you know."

his expertise lie more on the field, where he was nothing but an individual lost in an army of soldiers all fighting for the same cause.

the tag team manages to get the lycanroc. though it can defend against the frontal attack, the backstab causes the pokemon damage. it's enough for the lycanroc to trigger the condition for counter.

it spins as they drop from midair in an attempt to grapple the greninja on their descent. the strength of the hold would be equivalent to the pent up damage.

the lucario awaits from the ground, running to intercept the landing. force palm readies itself to target the greninja, trusting its aura sense to differentiate it in the midst of the smokescreen.

"if only we don't have the smokescreen out," he teases navy, "then i could order my pokemon too."

his shoulders give way to a shrug.

"it just... happened, i guess."

it's an actual answer, one that even kyle has no reason to give out.

he never pondered on it since it just seemed natural that they were going to end up together. noah pushed for it to happen, and kyle gave it a try. it's the most vanilla love story ever to grace hoenn.

"i-i-it's just, um... dude! you're literally asking the video game nerd about love!"

he grows red, jabbing navy lightly on the shoulder for pushing him to this direction. he covers the lower half of his face with his hand, muffling his next words with embarrassment.

"...he took me on a cliched date once, and i liked it."

and kyle wasn't a person who gets impressed by the overused tropes easily.

"there's nothing special!" he tries to argue back. "don't make it look like a big deal, dude!"

in a way, it is. he rarely does take the initiative to make something explosive, which is what he was planning in order to finish the encounter quick.

"besides, if this is a big finish-"

his manectric lunges forward with quick attack, surprise causing the koraidon to flinch after it has been battered by a three-versus-one. the next moment wasn't available either, for the second koraidon has tripped it from its legs with a breaking swipe.

"-then it just means your standards have gotten worse."

drenched in rain and lit up by the electric terrain, the mega manectric pins down the koraidon in a series of movements that leave it unable to fight back. in that one moment of opportunity, electricity discharges, filling the room with blinding sparks.

"don't you want a nice, intimate moment with the one you catch? maybe get a nice background story for how you met rather than just going "i like this one"?"

not that he can judge. he doesn't have that much of a standard as any other person out there either.



as kyle was about to issue a move, the earthquake rocks the ground. the manectric appears concerned, and kyle is worried that he might have chosen the wrong pokemon for the job.

he's not sure why the paradox entei seemed startled as well though.

"thunder wave!" he shouts, breaking free from his worries.

his manectric paralyzes the pokemon from afar, breathing a sigh of relief when the pokemon doesn't appear to be a ground-type because of the earthquake.

"so it's like a turtonator?" he utters blankly after all has transpired. "i missed the guy. i should use him for future missions or something."

as of right now, most of his pokemon were available to be rented out by his fellow officers at slateport as long as it's for work purposes. he wonders if his turtonator is having fun.