"that's what we are," he interjects Greyson Connors's comment about being a hero. "remember galar?"

watching Michael Navidson run off on his own was the reason he signed him up for this. he's someone who's willing to run off and die for him, so kyle can stay back and work from the sidelines.

"i'll get you back up if you die, soldier!" he cheers from a distance. "don't get torn to pieces, alright?"

despite being called by his surname, he heeds the call of the man ready to meet his maker. it's his last wish on earth, and it's not like kyle wouldn't prefer staying with dahlia goode all the way to the back instead.

kyle releases his smeargle. like what most people expect, sketch follows soon after. kyle checks his pokedex app from his phone to reflect properties of hydro steam, an unrecognized move by then.

"well, suicune cannot learn this move," he observes aloud as the local legendary johto beast expert. it would've appeared had it been. "but isn't this one of the pokemon that appeared on that game?" he asks dahlia goode as he makes idle conversation with the commissioner.

before he forgets, he turns to a member of the elite four.

"oh yeah, don't get the sun up," he tells MATIAS SILPH. "it's just a hunch, but some paradox pokemon do get stronger with them."

tl;dr

• cheers on suicidal navy
• hangs out with dahlia at the back
• calls out smeargle to sketch
• checks sketched move on his pokedex
• reminds matias not to set the sun up in case he brings groudon

he picks up his smeargle and lets it rest on his shoulders. he probably could run faster than the pokemon anyways.

the bag felt light. it wasn't filled, but there was no time to fill it up anyways. kyle cuts his losses and prioritizes safety over material gain over this trip. unlike the previous skirmish around ultra deep sea, fights were entirely preventable.

"at least we're on the same page." the number of hoenn residents that would rather fight to the death made his head hurt. "lead the way. we'll cover our backs."

he lets yuina go first, with him trailing behind. another mist ball provides visual cover for them against the beasts of the interdream mist, but would it be enough?

the message given to him by his mightyena does lend itself to further prove a point that was already made by multiple visitors. there was no need to chase after it, but kyle takes an article of clothing regardless and places it in a ziplock to keep the smell.

he's sure MATIAS SILPH would like it as a gift.

as much as kyle would give it as a gag, he'd rather not waste precious resource to fuel his friend's delusions. instead, he takes one with said friend's smell: a previously used ankle monitor, one that hung low enough to absorb the smell of the barefooted elite four.

"let's see if they really are as friendly as they seem, m'kay?"

he lets the mightyena take a whiff, who holds off a gag, and looks around for anything similar that to it. in the mean time, the ankle monitor returns to its own ziplock.

magic bounce or synchronize. either way, the espeon was the best shield for the attack.

kyle pulls the mightyena by its tail before it lunges forward. unfortunately, the espeon wasn't a large enough wall to block all the spores and the rest flies past the psychic-type.

"oh, right, this isn't a game."

the stun spore locks up kyle's joints as he freezes in place. his pokemon remains with its trainer, circling the champion while keeping an eye on the brute bonnet.

"a paradox pokemon. that's what they call all the weird pokemon from the mist," he answers despite the situation. "it looks like an amoonguss, but it doesn't necessarily share its typing."

he would act, but he's uncertain on how zev reacts to the situation. while he thinks of the best solution with the dilemma he's currently in, time becomes a concept he forgets to get conscious about.

as they get out, signs of ultra beasts getting attracted to the ring appear from a distance.

although matias has taken care of the hoard, there was no telling how resilient they are, or if they have backup. the easiest option shows presents itself from the elite four's lips.

"portal," kyle decides as silhouettes of ultra beasts get closer.

with his free hand, he takes a pokeball out and releases his solgaleo. it opens up a wormhole for them to enter, giving them a convenient exit before they get sandwiched by the zombie megalopolans and the ultra beasts.

"after you."

no CIAN MAHER and no Michael Navidson meant that there's no one else willing to take the spotlight in their half.

he supposed that Vanilla Kingsley might take up the challenge, but kyle starts to worry about her doing such if she's one of the challengers Michael Navidson talks about a lot. it was more worrisome if she happens to misinterpret whatever ideology that gym leader preaches.

"if any of you want to attempt a rescue, now's the time, i think," he tells everyone else, trying to create any semblance of order in the chaos that happened. "we can't waste too much time if we want to save the civvies too."

he looks down the hole, but finds nothing but darkness.

"i doubt they'll need help though. they got competent people down there."

kyle scratches the back of his head as the realization that it'll be up to them to actually do the job instead hits him. although they won't be fighting for their lives, but they'll be fighting for other's, not to mention they're the ones with a time limit.

he takes a quick survey of their half of the team. suicune appears in a puff of smoke next to El Sunderland, someone he recognizes despite not having met him before. raikou comes with Yuina Higashi, simply by virtue of elimination. emmett brookes was a ranger and would be safe on their own and Vanilla Kingsley, although a competent trainer by others' account, felt like someone who would rush in if kyle gave them the power to.

"feel free to use them however you want," he tells the two, waiting for everyone to settle in from the split. "you guys have them for the rest of the mission."



tl;dr

• reminds everyone they have a job to do
• and that those people will probably be fine
• summons sacred ash!suicune for el and sacred ash!raikou for yuina

controlled disaster this, scare tactics that. kyle doesn't fully agree, but he doesn't find the words to convey his point naturally in a formal setting like this meeting. like a quiet kid in the classroom, he sits on the thought until he manages to form a coherent statement to present it, only for it to come late.

the collapse pulls everyone down. the urge to teleport out was strong, but noticing the crystals jut out of its walls was enough to deter the champion from being impulsive. cosmic power ends as kyle gets wary of the environment, holding onto his solgaleo during the fall.

"how about we just give the residents an ultimatum instead of a warning," kyle pipes up amid the chaos. "transparency is simple, and simplicity is the easiest choice."

in an ethereal manner, the solgaleo descends down with its trainer on its back like an asteroid gently getting pulled by a planet's pull. as kyle recalls the pokemon, a roar sounds from above.

he whistles back, and then turns to Michael Navidson.

"good timing." a thud announces the entrance of entei, bringing with him a satchel on its mouth. kyle takes the receptacle and buries his hand inside. "i always forget to bring this to you."

kyle produces an envelope from the bag, and in it was a contract for aqua, with navy's legal name already printed on the paper.

"read the terms and conditions. in the case you do skip anything, we'll have dear melody over here recite them for you." there's a pause, and he finds a connection between the quick aversion from the close friend in favor of someone else. "oh... you're the poor husband who got forgotten..."

he did remember Melody Miro mentioning about her love from a previous life. trying to evade a quip from the elite four, he turns to another member of the group.

"it's one of those terastral tunnels the commissioner mentioned," he answers Callan Young. "it's similar to the one we came out from at route 120, after the zacian zamazenta fiasco, if you guys explored that area before. apparently, the ground underneath is filled with dream mist so it's definitely a hazard zone. oh, try terastalizing your pokemon too. they can do it without a tera orb around these parts. very fun."

other secrets of the area was unexplored by the champion, feeling like he already uncovered the basics of it with Zev Harcourt.

tl;dr

• lands safely with solgaleo
• tries to suggest something while falling
• forgets about the meeting when he sees navy
• recalls solgaleo
• entei leaps down the hole to deliver kyle a bag
• recruits navy
• answers callan with things he knows about the tunnels

kyle was basically an expert on all things related to the slateport beach, and his pokemon were no different. it was natural for them to perform work related either public safety or sanitation.

pyukumuku chucking was no different. his poochyena has chucked a good number of rockets to the ocean before, which includes, but not limited to, rocks, frisbees, balls, pokeballs, beach towels, children's toys and a lot more.

the trick with pyukumuku wasn't to gently toss them to the shoreline. that would simply push them back to the beach the next day when the tides bring them back. it was to push them with great force to the furthest part of the ocean one can muster.

the poochyena was a master of it. an exaggerated tackle brings one far from their beached position. a lot of those more and they'll be cleaning the beach and making it safe for both the visitors and the pokemon themselves.