kyle raises the sword in front of him, holding it parallel of his body.

it's supposed to be a defensive stance that uses the large size of the sword to block attacks, but he lunges at it, following up the blow that gwyar's gauntlet had thrown at the pokemon.

steel blocks the pokemon's maw until embers pour out on what little opening had been left. kyle lets go before heat transfers to his hands and kicks the weapon alongside the houndoom.

"shit," he spits in frustration. "that was a cute dog."

the weight of the sword, alongside the force behind the kick, leaves the pokemon on the ground.

he supposed melody's reaction is normal and what he should have felt about the loss of important tools under his repertoire. the fear he felt that day, with his connection with his smeargle from his sygna suit, brought a different reaction out.

"it's kind of exciting that something else from beyond took notice, right?" he continues to cover up the graffiti with a layer of paint. "also relief that if a third party is involved, that means the other side doesn't have access to those as well."

kyle's contribution to future large-scale missions would change alongside his role on the story after the utility that his smeargle brings is diminished. still, he doesn't get bothered by the change.

"i'm undecided yet on how to replace their pallet," he answers her. "i might map out every place of interest on hoenn and decide a moveset that helps with each setting, maybe."

the seas, mountains, the sky, ultra space-- hoenn doesn't have a shortage of settings for the big boss fights, but even the idea fails in his head.

his paintbrush stops for a bit after a single stroke.

"i could gear it with the best moves for battle, but that wouldn't be fun in practice, i think."

he supposed his own mind works differently than others since his first thought was to try and dissuade it from interacting with the tournament rather than the possibility of others doing the opposite.

"they say they all want to be at least involved with the course of history," he replies, paraphrasing an answer he was given before. "hoenn's the hot spot of all weird happenings after all."

he finds himself taking a picture, even though it probably already had other pictures of it with higher quality cameras in the internet.

"i guess that's why they call hoenn the origin point."

he comes back with fertilizer, alongside other things they need for their small garden. the question that welcomes him back is answered without consulting his own thoughts.

"i only know gracidea since its meaning is, like, gratitude, and it already shares the first few letters with it."

they were popular around this palentines last year as well, when kyle got most of his information about the flowers. other plants do not get as much attention as it did, besides the crystalbloom, which was an outlier for obvious reasons.

"are you quizzing me or were you looking for help?"

it wasn't that cian was difficult to read, but more like kyle unable to guess the situation based on the current setting.

he could tease her about how easy she changes within an encounter. it wouldn't be difficult to see how the councilman got to her if her aggression wasn't misplaced.

still, he stops himself from making a comment about it. doing so undoes everything. instead, a solemn smile takes place at the same time as his solace in the current situation.

"the way you talk to me right now-- you should try that with him." casual. cordial. lighthearted.

kyle makes himself comfortable in his seat, eyes watching the butterfree rather than her.

"you understand the difference in your own demeanor if someone was to talk to you with distrust or not, yes? he already made up his mind so it won't stop him from pursuing you, but it makes him less agitated, easier to predict."

his stance on the seat gets more casual in the midst of the underboss. legs spread, head leaning to an arm propped up against the chair's armrests, and a pleasant expression usually reserved for friends showcased.

"groudon's influence already makes him a wildcard. you could be in the blast zone if someone he trusts unexpectedly triggers an unwanted reaction from him."

she has the option to make the situation better or worse, and kyle knows both options are arguably good for someone like her. any doubt she has about herself needs to be cast away if it was to work.

"have you ever heard of the corrupt-a-wish game?" he asks.

a person makes a wish, and the next person is supposed to add caveats that turn the wish to something horrific. it's a common theme to many stories, and something he hopes elisabeth knows so he doesn't need to explain further.

"you aren't wrong, but what i'm saying is that he technically doesn't lie when he promises something. it just happens that he has a skewed perspective on how things needed to be done."

kyle straightens his back.

"if there's no way to anticipate this, then it's best to just accept that he will go above and beyond. the unpredictable becomes predictable this way."

"any more questions on how to handle him?"

there was an option to fuss about how things work, and how the world building of hideo's story was so expansive that every detail wasn't left unsatisfactory, but immersion was a priority if one was to find enjoyment in their trip.

his commander speaks from the transponder. the smile on his expression cements itself as first impressions have not failed him. the promise of the experience he wanted to live presents itself.

"to find out why the stars in the sky are going dark, sir!"

he gets in character, mostly for fun. there was no point playing the non-traditional route of the gym if they weren't going to play along, after all.

the objective resonates with him more, given its nature to discover a truth rather than expand his horizons. if he was to immerse himself, he supposed it just made more sense for him pry more from the universe rather than spearhead a foundation of a society.

he scratches the back of his head.

"that's why i haven't went yet," he confesses as he throws his hand back to his lap. "i don't think i have any better story to tell compared to the ones people have already told."

he wasn't a good story teller, nor did he have the colorful backstory to pull stories from. most of his excitement came from right after rocket had attempted to take over the region, and kyle was certain anything he could tell from those, someone else already had.

the option to retell stories from video games and novels came to mind, but he feels like he'd skip a lot of the important plot points if he did.

"do you think he'll appreciate if i take a case report and recite it to him? i need to think of a good one if i do."

an unnatural comfort is offered with kyle's empathetic half-smile. there were times when one can only cope with a forced expression of hope, and had kyle been in josh's position, it probably would be one of those instances.

"condolences." kyle dips his head. "that isn't something anything that i say can ease."

the loss of something, or someone, important wasn't a new theme for kyle, and it wouldn't be stopping for a good while either.

to say he's ambivalent about death wouldn't be a lie. with sloth comes apathy, and his connection with ho-oh renders most of his opinions about it null. there is irony in his opinion about needless losses.

"-but i brought these."

kyle hands over pokeballs to the gym leader, its surface scorched and blackened with flames.

subconsciously, the need to take josh out of his rut manifests. perhaps it's the very idea of his visit that conjures it, or perhaps it just naturally comes from his inability to handle awkward situations and the need to get rid of it.

"upholding the creed of the league to help those in need," he answers with a deadpan tone as a blatant excuse. "one of the neighborhood kids wanted to catch their own first pokemon, and, well, offered to help out."

he takes a look back. it's clear that she already ran away, startled by her own social anxiety with meeting a stranger. she had his mightyena with her, at least.

eyes go back to eris. "does this dandori guy like, uh, summoning circles?"

curiosity takes hold more than the need for familiarity with her for him to be too casual.

he's not sure what to make of the symbols she has been carving to the ground, he stares at it longer, wondering if he knows of it. he might be looking at it from a different angle, but part of him wasn't invested enough to wrack his brain for an answer.

"you overthink things," he answers bluntly.

that's the plain answer she gets after kyle goes through dives in logic to reach to that conclusion without openly discussing his own reasons first.

"you try to find a deeper reasoning for his actions even when your own observations point to him following simple logic."

he sits back to his chair, lazily slumping against it as he faces the underboss for a continuation of their talk.

"i think it's best for you to take him at face value," he concludes. "you'll hurt yourself trying to reason with the unreasonable. it's good for the league, i suppose, but it's pretty bad for the person who has to handle the aftermath."

if elisabeth overcomplicates things, it is matias who would attempt to smooth it over.

if matias smooths it over, it is the league that has to met out appropriate punishment for that behavior.

if the league has made things difficult for matias, it is kyle that has to soothe him to prevent another outburst.

"the person is me, by the way. i just need to get that out of the way in case you question my motives for this interaction again."

it shouldn't be surprising that tera shards would be an object of someone's attention.

"i feel you. the big ones do have a tendency to make things problematic."

a red flag.

the smaller shards, on the other hand, don't seem to be that dangerous. he supposed it depends on the concentration in the area, with bigger clusters such as the one here in the chasm being more reactive to people's presence.

"well, let me know if there's trouble, alright?"

around these parts, he supposed it was always nice to introduce himself to every person he comes across even if he doesn't plan on sticking long, especially since illusions weren't unheard of. he'd rather not be confused as one.

"ho-oh powers," he puts it bluntly. "wouldn't be the strangest thing you see around here."

as he brings the boat back to the shore, the assurance from eddie's statement manages to ease him down. the boat slows down, and alongside it, the motor quiets a bit for a more proper reply.

"you're here on hoenn for the experience, right?"

people usually come to hoenn either as a desperate escape or an adventure, and of the latter, even the unassuming can bring the biggest surprises with the palette of colorful personalities that the region attracts.

he reaches back, eyes off the road, as he attempts to scratch the growlithe one more time behind the ears.