“It’s not just about power.” The drunken girl explained. “Those masks are very important to Pon. She was sad when they got destroyed, so I’m gonna rebuild them.”

When questioned about the ogre’s favorite sandwich, Andrea pondered. “Hmm, not sure. She likes meat. She reeeeally likes meat. Maybe because she’s an Oni.” She said.

Lulu Flint

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Aqua’s outburst was unexpected. Andrea was unsure how to best handle the situation without agitating them further. “I… I didn’t make you do anything.” Was all she could muster as a response.

A clawed hand gently grabbed the furious teen’s shoulder. It was Missy. Sensing their frustration, the Kangaskhan gave them a nurturing look and nodded, as if telling them that it was okay to accept someone else’s kindness.

“It’s true that I should hate Rocket, but I don’t. Not all of them.” Andrea began to speak again. “So what if you’re a wanted criminal? That doesn’t make you evil. I’ve seen true evil. It’s greedy and cares nothing about others, whether it’s people or Pokémon. I think that you do care. No-one who doesn’t care goes to such lengths to protect something.”

“Slooooooooow.” Bronson the Slowking gave a sagely nod.

“Now that we got that out of the way, I should tell you that you actually passed!” The eccentric woman declared, spreading her arms far and wide. “I never said that the challenge was about making the perfect sandwich. Nobody’s perfect. It was about testing the bond between you and your Pokémon. Being able to work together even on the most mundane task means that you truly are a team! A family even!”

Aqua Kennedy //non-traditional

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The Minor Gym Leader inspected the sandwich from all angles, measuring its length, and noting its ingredients. When she was finally ready to pass on her verdict, she appeared pensive. “Sorry, but it doesn’t look great. The composition is messy, and frankly, adding cheese threw the whole thing off. I’d give this sandwich a grade of 46 out of 100.”

Was that even a passing grade? Had Aqua failed the challenge? Not quite. “But I’ll let you be the final judge!” The woman added with a wide grin. “The last part of the challenge involves eating the sandwich that you just made. Your Pokémon have to eat it too! They helped you all the way through, so it’s only fair that you share it with them.” She explained.

Aqua Kennedy //non-traditional

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Incinerating the earth? What a great idea! Pon joined Doug’s offensive, summoning a fiery plume that briefly resembled her misplaced Hearthflame Mask. Their combined assault rendered the ground before them a smoking, brimstone tapestry.

“Did we get all of them?” Andrea just assumed that they had. Nothing could have survived that. She would reap the consequences of her hubris in due time. “Phew… That was scary, but I’m glad it’s over!”

Wasn’t she supposed to be mad at someone? Oh, right. The dragon fanatic turned back to Howard, furrowing her brow at him. “Do you believe me now? Those statues are too dangerous to just let them hang around!”

howard slayte //GHOST STORY I

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Andrea tilted her head curiously at the girl’s question. “Azelf? They helped us escape from that awful prison. What about them?” She asked in turn.

The answer came in the form of the blue-headed lake sprite dropping its illusory guise and appearing at the violet-haired teen’s side. “Whoa! Hi there, Azelf!”

A rather casual way to greet one of the earliest beings in the history of the universe. Between Josh Devlin’s Raikou and Elise Calcifet’s Calyrex, she’d gotten used to her friends getting legendary Pokémon of their own.

“I reckon this little guy joined you for a reason.” Andrea remarked. “Have you met Eris Halla and Hideo Kino by any chance?” She added. Depending on the answer, she might have had to spill the beans.

Cassandra Kubrick //mission thread

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Yuina wouldn’t need to shout twice. Andrea promptly mounted her robotic dragon again, and Flew off the sinking island. The entire world twisted and turned, sucking everything in with the gravitational pull of a black hole, while the girlies were spat out like a bad breakfast.

Landing back in the familiar Route 113, it took a few seconds for the young PokéManiac to recover her bearings. “W-we… we’re back!” She jovially exclaimed, before turning questioningly to her historian friend. “Did you record any useful data on your gizmo?”

Meanwhile, the rift that had taken them to that place they should have never gone to had disappeared as if it had never been there in the first place.

Yuina Higashi

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“I met my first partner as a baby too. They grow up so fast, don’t they?” Andrea smiled wistfully, being reminded of Chomper. Her irreplaceable friend might have perished in the war, but no-one could ever take those precious memories away. Not even Team Rocket.

When Clump accidentally spilled sauce on its trainer, the woman’s amethyst eyes widened. “Oh my gosh, I’m so sorry! I didn’t think to give you an apron!” She quickly apologized, while trying to wipe Aqua’s clothes clean with a napkin. “Anyway, you’re down to your last ingredient, so make it count!” The eccentric Gym Leader added with a warm smile.

Aqua Kennedy //non-traditional

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“Look out!” In a selfless attempt to push Howard out of harm’s way, Andrea tackled him with the equivalent force of a Unovan footballer. Unless stopped, Doug would continue careening in the air, eventually crashing against Pon’s conjured tree.

Okidogi snickered and swung his magenta scarf like a merry-go-round, sending droplets of sludge flying everywhere. While the humans and their partners were still licking their wounds, the dastardly doggo made his escape.

“See? He got away! AGAIN!” In her frustration, Andrea blamed the one-eyed archeologist. “He’s gonna find someone else to torture now, and he will continue to do that unless we beat them for good!”

Something stirred. It was Howard’s prized collection. The residue from Okidogi’s attack caused tiny Toxic Chains to grow on the statues, animating their rigid bodies like marionette strings. Lifeless golems carrying out the never-rot’s will, they hurled themselves at the group.

howard slayte //GHOST STORY I

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Gigaton Ball. Slowly, Andrea’s singular brain cell assembled the puzzle pieces. Among the Pokéballs smashed up by their captors as a form of psychological torture, there was one that looked different from the others.

So he was the one who had begged for his partner to be spared.

“Have you forgotten what they did to you, Howard? What they did to us?” The young woman protested back, irritation growing in her features. “They deserve to die and be forgotten! If you preserve these statues, you’re not helping future generations, you’re only helping them!”

Their clash of ideals was interrupted by the timely arrival of Okidogi; not their warden, but a warden nonetheless. The canine retainer’s taunting angered Ogerpon, who hissed and snarled behind her Teal Mask.

“Grrrrr! Pon!”

Andrea scowled, her brow creasing into a million folds. “You’re not funny! That’s not even the Wellspring Mask, it’s just a regular mask that you painted over!” He called his bluff (not that it was that hard to tell in the first place), then issued an order. “Pon, don’t let him escape again! Frenzy Plant!”

“POOOOON!!”

Thick, giant roots erupted from the muddy soil, attempting to entangle the muscular mutt and keep him tethered to the ground.

howard slayte //GHOST STORY I

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