A wild Hakamo-o lurked nearby, but did not attack the duo. It knew better than to mess with the Intimidating Salamence. The sight of those magnificent scales reminded Andrea of Poggers, the Hakamo-o gifted to her by CIAN MAHER during the last Hoenntide.

Hoenn was full of wonderful people like Cian, yet it also reeked of hatred, reeked of grudges. Reeked of evil. Good men paid the price. Good Pokémon too…

//skipping

☉

Lulu’s answer surprised the young PokéManiac. “Stun batons? That doesn’t sound very technological. Besides, aren’t human weapons kinda useless when Pokémon exist?”

Then again, Megalopolans did not have any Pokémon barring the occasional Poipole. No wonder they needed an entire clone army in order to reclaim their city.

The Rocket scientist looked for a breaker panel, and the wisest of Slowking was kind enough to point at it. “That looks like a panel alright! Good job, Bronson!”

“Sloooooooooow.”

With the panel found, Andrea turned to the older woman. “How can I help you? Want me to put the thingamajig into the whatchamacallit?” She asked, awaiting instructions.

Lulu Flint

☉

“We’ve made it…” Andrea sighed with wistful nostalgia. That grotto deep within Meteor Falls was filled with memories that were now bittersweet.

“Remember this place, Meatloaf? This is where we found your Mega Stone. And it’s where Chomper learned Draco Meteor.”

Her Salamence let out a guttural growl of acknowledgment.

A sparkling tear trickled down the girl’s cheek. “Chomper… I miss you…”

//using dragon type incense

☉

The girl’s amethyst eyes widened in anticipation, but in the end, there was no spatter of rain to accompany the overcast skies. A god that could not control the weather might as well have not been a god at all.

“It’s okay, Swift. You tried your best, that’s what’s important.” Andrea reached out to pet the Raikou’s face plate, if allowed. The fact it was even able to do that much meant the power was there, it just hadn’t been fully realized yet.

From a tower covered in ash to one covered in gold, their trip down memory lane continued. “The Border, huh? Is it true that you can see the souls of the dead there?” Andrea recalled hearing it from Laurence Anderson once. “If so, we might even be able to meet Ho-oh, and they could answer all of your questions about Swift.”

Josh Devlin //mission thread

☉

Andrea had just stormed out of Councilman Silph’s office, when her Rotom Phone buzzed. It was a message from the girlygang. They, too, were worried about those posters.

She did not have all the answers, but she could at least tell her friends what little she knew:

its fake. just got yelled at by FERNANDO SILPH for thinking it was real. im not crazy, right? the posters looked pretty official to me! what else were we supposed to think?

Later, they would try to chalk this up to a simple editorial mistake, but Andrea could feel it in her gut that something far more insidious was going on.

Almost as if the misleading title and subsequent gaslighting had been very intentional.

Genevieve Cromwell, DESIREE BLOOMS, Yuina Higashi, Elise Calcifet, marilee beaufort, luka chêne, Shalin Nariya

☉

When the gathered townsfolk perceived Ogerpon, the mask-less ogre flinched, quickly cowering behind its caretaker.

“Who’s that Pokémon?”
“I’ve never seen anything like it!”
“It looks cute!”

“P-poni?”

The Oni was taken aback. These people did not hate her. They did not throw rocks at her or try to chase her out of town. Times sure had changed.

“See? I told you there are humans out there who love you!” Andrea smiled warmly, reaching down to pat the top of Ogerpon’s head.

The quartet eventually stopped just outside the Burned Tower, whereupon Josh indulged in some solemn introspection.

“This is also where Raikou was born, isn’t it?” Reborn technically, but semantics were irrelevant. “What do you think, Swift?” Andrea asked the ashen beast. “Does this place feel familiar to you? Do the vibes here make you wanna awaken any latent, godlike abilities?”

Josh Devlin //mission thread

☉

“He’s not that fast. I think Swift’s just slower right now.” The Iron Boulder’s owner remarked, not bothering to mince her words. Normally, the god of speed should not get outsped by a bulky hunk of metal, but Swift had yet to attain that status.

The intrepid explorers made it to the next floor of the mysterious dungeon. Noticing the black clouds hanging above them, Andrea tilted her head in confusion. “That’s strange. I thought thunderstorms could only happen outdoors.”

Abnormal weather phenomena aside, they needed some sort of plan to overcome this obstacle. “What if you used a Pokémon with the Lightning Rod ability to draw all of the electricity away?” The young PokéManiac proposed.

Josh Devlin //mission thread

☉