War was coming. So had Navy warned her prior to her abduction, and even during her absence, Andrea's well-trained dragons had kept a vigilant eye over her hometown's borders for any signs of an invader.

Her body was still recovering from the countless abuses sustained in that hellish penitentiary, but there was hardly time to rest. She needed to fulfill her promise to Naomi Sato to de-escalate the faction conflict. As a civilian, her voice could never reach the Elite Four or the Council, but there was someone who would listen. He always was a good listener.

It was time to reach out to Rocket's underboss in that burner phone he had given her all those months ago.

"I wanna talk about what happened recently... and what's gonna happen. Meet me at the Fallarbor Gym."

And so, the draconic cosplayer waited at the rendezvous point with her loyal Hydreigon on standby.

THEO BECKETT //mission thread

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Okay, so her friend was being a bit of a drama queen, but Andrea did not mind. Helping him with his problem distracted her from having to deal with her own. "Calm down, you're not gonna die. We just need to dry you out."

Her Slither Wing was summoned out of its ball. "Stand in front of Mothman while he uses Sunny Day." Soon, the bright warm day turned even brighter and warmer. As the temperature rose to tropical levels, the gargantuan moth flapped its great wings, blowing hot air in Chiyu's direction.

And the foliage above them rustled some more.

bai chiyu //sygna drip

☉

The friend in question was sitting under a tree, pensively looking at her Rotom Phone for an update from her (non-romantic) date. No new messages. What was taking them so long?

Nearby, a Boltund was playing fetch with its trainer. She wished she could partake in their merriment, but recent events had robbed her of joy. How could she be joyful when tormented by night terrors that forced her to relive her trauma?

An eccentric Fuecoco Sygna Suit hid the girl’s physical scars, but her mental scars ran much deeper. She needed desperately to meet up with a friendly face that reminded her of happier times.

Her melancholy musings were interrupted by the Boltund… well, bolting. A cat-eared stranger was knocked into the fountain. The young PokéManiac rushed to their aid, only to realize they were no stranger at all. “Chi-Chi?!”

Against all odds, the sight of the androgynous youth brought her smile back.

“Grab my hand, easy does it!” The onesie-clad woman said, while helping Chiyu get back on his unwieldy shoes. “You didn’t hurt anything, did you?” She asked in a concerned tone.

Meanwhile, a pair of glowing eyes observed the two costumed humans from within the foliage, movement causing the leaves to rustle ever so slightly.

“Pon…”

bai chiyu //sygna drip

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The draconic cosplayer nodded excitedly at Beckett's stuttering assessment. "You should! Sygna Suits are tons of fun! Very expensive though..." How she had managed to afford one whilst being basically unemployed was anyone's guess.

The yapping of a wild Zweilous interrupted them. Andrea's Hydreigon growled menacingly at his lower-evolved form, but the girl raised a hand to stop him. "Wait, Chomper. Let's let someone else handle it for a change." She said, sending out a small, adorable Fuecoco.

"Jalapeño, it's time to Terastallize! Awaken the power of the Dragon type!" The woman hurled a glowing orb at the baby crocodile, causing a brilliant transformation to occur; atop the Fuecoco's head, a crystal crown shaped like a red-winged wyvern manifested.

"Jalapeño, use Tera Blast!" The trainer of dragons ordered. The ensuing beam of color-coded Terastal energy was super effective, weakening the opposing Zweilous just enough to make capture possible.

beckett carlson //attempting to catch zweilous

☉

Andrea nodded. “Yeah, let’s go!”

The simulation shifted, but they were not safe from Eternatus’ presence just yet. The heroes found themselves in ancient Galar during the war of the giants. A choice was presented: Sword or Shield.

“Attacking is better than defending.” The dragon-maiden reasoned, choosing the blade. At the same time, her Cyclizar was switched out in favor of a Tyranitar, whose Sand Stream ability engulfed the tumultuous battlefield in a roaring storm of sand.

“Sandy, use Stone Edge!” At its trainer’s orders, the bipedal lizard summoned large, rocky spikes from the ground, poking the feet of Dynamaxed Pokémon.

ollie morales

☉

The dragon enthusiast smirked at Ollie's comment about Gia's speed. "You should've seen her at the Mauville Gym! She took the competition by storm!" Running away from an exploding volcano was not that different from winning a race. They both involved the act of running.

The two trainers sought shelter inside the cave, which just happened to house an irradiated piece of Eternatus. Even such a small fraction of the alien god was able to induce paranoia simply by looking at it. How on Earth had the League's members not gone mad yet after so many extractions in the Ultra Sea?

"It's just a simulation. It's not real... It's just a simulation. It's not real..." Andrea repeated that familiar mantra to herself in an attempt to preserve her sanity for the few seconds this part of the simulation would last.

ollie morales

☉

The incident. It sounded like she was referring to Route 119, where those alien cannibals had last been sighted along with the Toxic Chain that had plagued Hoenn's wildlife very recently. This was the first time Andrea was hearing that Hisuians had been involved, though.

"Hisuian Pokémon used to be anomalies pulled out of those same distortions, but thanks to the efforts of Breeders around the region, they've become part of our beautiful ecosystem. So, in a way, they ARE part of Hoenn!" The young PokéManiac observed. She vividly remembered her shock when her Goodra had suddenly grown a hard-as-Steel shell. Times had changed since then.

"I hope you continue to discover new and amazing things about their history!" The Fuecoco enjoyer added with a genuine smile. "I'm gonna keep looking for ways to further my own research too. You've given me a lot to think about. Thank you so much!"

Yuina Higashi //sygna drip

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"That wasn't smart at all!" Andrea chided the silver-haired youth whose recklessness bordered on suicidal. "You can't fight a Pokémon on your own! Not without a Sygna Suit, at least."

With the Golbat no longer being a menace, the duo were allowed to explore the ruins in peace. "Wow, the architecture's really something else! Look at this statue..." Wait a minute, that was no statue. It was a Shedinja!

The living carcass threw sand in the girl's eyes, but luckily, her glasses protected her. "Watch me! THIS is how you fight a Pokémon!" The draconic cosplayer bared her unusually sharp fangs.

With a human-made Crunch, the undead critter was knocked unconscious. Maybe. Since Shedinja couldn't emote, it was hard to actually tell. Regardless, a Pokéball was thrown its way.

beckett carlson //attempting to catch shedinja

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