“Eris! Eris! It’s okay, it’s over…” Whispered Andrea to the mortified girl in an attempt to snap her out of her funk. She barely resisted the urge to hug the poor teen, fearing that it might exacerbate her anxiety.

The flames of war had given away to the colorful pyrotechnics of the Festival of Masks. A timid child in a green tunic and a teal-colored mask nudged the taller woman as if requesting upsies from her.

Recognizing the silent figure as the masked ogre that lived within the simulation, Andrea played along. “Hello, little one. You wanna see the fireworks? Hold still…” She said, elevating the ‘child’ to her shoulders.



The show reached its climax, the likenesses of several Pokémon illuminating the night sky. Watching from its higher vantage point, the disguised ogre crooned happily, very nearly blowing its cover.

“Pon~!”

After the show was over, Andrea gently set the ‘child’ back down. “Would you like to hang out with us some more?” She offered with a smile, before turning towards Eris. “There’s tons of stuff to do here! We can try anything except the food. It’s not edible. Trust me, I’ve tried.”

Meanwhile, Chomper bided his time on the side, ready to swoop in and defend his trainer at a moment’s notice, for he knew what was coming. They both knew. That was what made repeat interactions with the ogre so bittersweet.

Eris Halla

☉

The Elite Four member’s response was immediate and firm. Andrea wondered if the League’s priorities had changed due to recent events. The corrupted droughts that sporadically appeared over Fallarbor, painting the rustic town in shades of gray, served as a reminder of the land deity’s rampage and what had been lost in the aftermath…

Hoenn’s ever-shifting agenda hardly even gave its people time to grieve, a new threat already rearing its ugly head in the form of that mysterious chain. Navy did not have any scientific insight, but he did possess a detective’s gut.

“Poisoned crystals… That sounds an awful lot like the Ultra Sea. Last time I checked, there’s a bunch of poisoned crystals around Eternatusesese’s heart.” The minor Gym Leader observed. “You think it and the chain might be connected?”

Navy //mission thread

☉

The dragon enthusiast half-listened to her friend’s words, and half-gawked at the awesome exhibits that greeted them en route to the young historian’s office. The books in her grasp, however light, felt heavy with the weight of knowledge.

“Most myths hold some truth, don’t they? Some might even be based on real events that got twisted over time as the story was passed around by word of mouth.” The self-proclaimed scientist casually postulated. “Why not start with the most popular version, the legend of Arceus? Sinnoh is Hisui-adjacent, right?”

Tacking the word adjacent onto anything instantly made one sound more intellectual. That and fixing one’s glasses, which Andrea proceeded to also do.

Yuina Higashi //sygna drip

☉

The flamboyant cosplayer chuckled back at Kallistatus’ wholesome display of affection. She’d never thought Unown could be this cute, yet here they were. It reaffirmed the old saying: There were no evil Pokémon, only evil trainers.

As of yet, neither of them had met a certain dog, monkey, and bird that would disprove that statement.

The Visionary asserted that, even though Andrea was no avatar, she too had a role to play in the fight against the DRK Triad. She’d already been unwittingly involved in their affairs many times. “Don’t worry, I won’t get hurt. The only ones getting hurt will be them for trying to mess with our region!”

The woman’s last request gave her pause. “I… I’ll try, but only if they’re not being mean or acting super suspicious!” Keeping such a promise would not be so easy, since the majority of Rockets fit that description, as her future confrontation with Elisabeth Fiorelli would prove.

“Can I suggest something?” The draconic maiden added, meekly. “If we wanna de-escalate the conflict, why not get a bunch of people from both sides in one room and have them just talk their differences out?”

Alas, the only way some of those people would ever agree to be in the same room as their mortal enemies would be if they were put there against their will. That would make that room feel more like a prison; a penitentiary.

Naomi Sato //mission thread

☉

A bead of sweat appeared over Andrea's head. Uh oh... Had she unwittingly broken the rules by using her Sygna Suit? That would be even more damning than Josh bringing an injured Pokémon to the battle. Thankfully, the green-haired Gym Leader approved it.

"Chomper, are you OK?" The draconic cosplayer WORRIEDLY cried out as her partner was struck with a super-effective Fighting-type move. Even with her shield still up and the small bit of healing applied by her suit, her Hydreigon was on its last leg. Verte was not faring much better.

"We're so close! Just hold on a bit longer!" The girl's words of encouragement were topped off by a simple command. "Fly!"

As the pseudo-legendary dragon took off to the skies, Andrea shook her teammate lightly. "This is our last chance! Tell Verte to go for another Boomburst while Chomper's out of range!"

Chomper would not stay out of range forever. He would wait until after the Flygon had attacked, before descending upon Lam's Togekiss with an aerial strike--the second part of using the move Fly.

lam logan, Josh Devlin //traditional 4v4 doubles

☉

Andrea's eyes widened in turn behind her own glasses. "Oops! M-my bad! I should've told you about the subject of my research before I came here so that you had more time to prepare." She said in an apologetic tone.

Why yes, she did just refer to her insane, nonsensical theories as 'research' because she still saw herself as something of a scientist.

A crowded exhibit was not the best place to have this intellectual discussion, but luckily Yuina had her own office. The eccentric cosplayer nodded. "Sounds good, let's go there! Want me to help you with these books?" She kindly offered.

Yuina Higashi //sygna drip

☉

The aluminum dragon bursted, and in doing so, dished out any damage it had just taken back at Andrea's Aggron.

The flamboyant cosplayer was visibly alarmed. "Uh oh..." That move got more dangerous the longer a match went on. They needed to finish this quickly. In other words, they needed to hit the opponent super effectively.

"Give 'em an Earthquake!" She exclaimed, and soon, the entire arena shook from Barron's mighty stomps.

Gwyar Wledig //traditional 1v1

☉

Siphoning just enough to restore its health, the Buzzwole looked newly revitalized. A short-lived victory, for the opponent's retaliative maneuver caught the chronic leg day skipper off guard, causing them to fall flat on the ring canvas.

"Get up, Buzz-Buzz! I know you can!" Andrea cried out supportively from ringside.

Groggily standing back up, the Ultra Beast corrected its posture, before extending a well-articulated hand forward, Taunting Hitmonchan with a 'come at me' gesture.



"Kokoro, take the hit and hit 'em back with a Drain Punch!" The dragon tamer ordered her Kommo-o next, who met Chesnaught's thorny thrust with a lifeforce-stealing punch of their own.

noah faber //2v2, doubles

☉

Andrea immediately covered her ears. She knew how sound moves worked, she did not need to be told twice. "When he stops yelling, give him a Head Smash!"

Barron staggered backwards from the Duraludon's loud screeching, but retained his footing. Moving much faster than a Steel/Rock type had any right to, he attempted to ram the opponent with his Rock Head.

Gwyar Wledig //traditional 1v1

☉

"I'm good too, and so is Jalapeño!" The onesie-clad woman beamed, watching fondly as her Fuecoco waddled up to Yuina's pet fox, its own beady eyes empty and devoid of thoughts. New friend?

The dragon fanatic decided to cut straight to the chase. "Here's the thing: I heard this theory that long, long, looooong ago humans and Pokémon used to be the same species, but I couldn't find any sources that actually prove it. If there's some degree of truth there, I wanna find out at what point in history our species diverged." She explained. "So, let's start from the beginning--the very beginning!"

Ah yes, the creation myth. In the beginning, there was nothing. Then, there was an egg. Not to be confused with the egg she was currently trying to hatch.

Yuina Higashi //sygna drip

☉