"RAWR! Let's goooo!" Andrea roared triumphantly. Once the cage door had been opened, she rushed into the arena in order to give her Buzzwole a big darn hug. "I'm so proud of you, Buzz-Buzz!"

The insectoid bodybuilder flexed its beefy biceps with pride. The strange humming noise coming off its proboscis was an attempt at emulating human laughter. Its boisterous celebration lasted as long as the crowd's thunderous applause did.

"Thank you for the tough battle!" The young PokéManiac approached Noah with a huge grin plastered over her face. Winning a badge was always reason to smile. "Hope to see you at my Gym one of these days! We make sandwiches!"

noah faber //2v2, doubles

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"Oh no!" The opponent had been saving that blast until the right opportunity arose. Unable to guard against it, Andrea's Aggron was struck squarely in the gut, keeling over in pain.

"Y-you're hurt badly! Stop the battle!" The young woman cried out, essentially admitting defeat. She didn't want to push the poor Pokémon to their limits, especially after what had happened to Josh Devlin's Flygon in their match against lam logan.

"It's okay, Barron... You did your best. I'm proud of you." She consoled her injured Steel-type. Andrea would be lying if she said she wasn't even a little upset about losing, but they couldn't win all the time.

Gwyar Wledig //traditional 1v1

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An Aggron charging at its foes was often likened to a freight train, but they were also surprisingly good at building actual trains. Barron's strong muscles were essential in making sure the Fire types could do their job quickly and efficiently.

With the strength of twenty beefy construction workers, the bipedal rhinoceros covered head to toe in Steel armor gathered metal plates, beams, and other heavy materials from the storehouse, eventually placing them unto the assembly line.

While toiling around, he saw a Hisuian Growlithe rolling over and getting belly rubs from some of the workers. The Aggron huffed and resumed his work, definitely not jealous of the red puppy.

//pokejob post

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Spheres of influence. Did Andrea even have those? "I guess I do know some pretty popular people..." Other Gym Leaders and even Elite Four members. That was a decent starting point. She nodded. "I'll talk to them and see what they think!"

There wasn't a single person in Hoenn who actually liked the DRK Triad, so convincing them to band together against a common enemy should be possible. Such a brittle alliance, though, based only on convenience and self-preservation, was doomed to fail...

"Of course we're friends!" The dragon-hooded girl said without hesitation. "Isaac Merlo trusts you. Plus, you love Pokémon, and that alone makes me trust you!" Indeed, the only people Andrea considered enemies were those who crossed that line.

Naomi Sato //mission thread

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The name Sora did evoke the feeling of soaring through the sky with nary a care in the world, freed from the shackles of gravity.

Speaking of soaring, their impromptu aerial race was on. Andrea flapped her artificial wings with fervor, but try as she might, she could not contest an actual Flying Pokémon. She was easily out-sped by the Braviary.

The Sygna Suited girl arrived at the finishing line several seconds later, panting heavily from the exercise. Despite having lost, she looked elated. “Hah… hah… Looks like you caught another new friend. Congrats!”

Just then, an owl landed on top of her head. “Oh… Hello, little one. Are you hungry?” Andrea offered some spare berries to the Dartrix, who nibbled on them with eagerness. “Wow, you REALLY were hungry!”

After its hunger had been sated, the Dartrix remained by the costumed human’s side, seemingly tamed. “Looks like I also made a friend!” The girl remarked, readying a Pokéball.

beckett carlson //attempting to catch dartrix

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‘Noble Pokémon’ was more of a hereditary title, not unlike human nobility. As for Yuina’s uncanny memorization ability, it was a result of her being passionate about the subject.

“I see, I see. I’m only this passionate about Pokémon because I practically grew up around them ever since I was a baby.” Andrea mused, fondly reminiscing of playing with the various critters (big and small) that occupied her family’s ranch.

“What about you?” She then asked, giving her fellow girlie an inquisitive look. “What made you fall in love with Hisui?” Everyone’s brainrot had to originate from somewhere, after all.

Yuina Higashi //sygna drip

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As it turned out, there was a simple explanation: Colonialism. Learning of Hisui's native tribes that predated the Jubilife villagers was enlightening. Another piece in the puzzle that was the history of their long coexistence.

"Noble Pokémon... Those sound important. And each of them had its own warden? That sounds a bit like the avatars of today, doesn't it?" Andrea observed, wondering if legendaries choosing humans to represent them was perhaps a direct continuation of that ancient custom.

Noticing how Yuina had not touched that old book since they began talking about Hisui, the minor Gym Leader cocked an eyebrow. "You know all of this by heart? Wow, you must be really good at your job!" She remarked.

Yuina Higashi //sygna drip

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Andrea pondered the historian’s exposition, all the while inspecting the curious ball set onto the table. An enclosed village of people who lived in fear of Pokémon… It sounded absurd by today’s standards. “Wow… Those sure were different times, huh?”

However, something did not add up. “Wait, what about the Draconid people? They’re WAY older than Hisuians and they were the first humans to tame Dragon-type Pokémon. And then there’s Pokémon like Cyclizar. There’s apparently evidence that humans have ridden on its back as far back as 10,000 years ago!”

A new mystery had manifested. What was the source of the Hisuian people’s prejudice when their species had made first contact long before Jubilife was built? Could an unknown event have caused them to become estranged?

Yuina Higashi //sygna drip

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