From the semi-pro racer's nosy fans to security officers, it seemed as if the universe was conspiring to ruin this outing for them. Although the arcade's no Pokémon policy was reasonable, Andrea felt like she was the one being wronged. She would not have had to put people in danger had they respected her personal space.

"No, you can't have Jalapeño! He's my son!" The Sygna Suited girl manically declared, wrapping her arms around the Fire starter like an overprotective mother. Onlookers began to suspect that a grown ass woman who wore a Fuecoco onesie and treated a Pokémon like her own child might have had a few screws loose.

"Look, I'll put him into his Pokéball right now, and I promise to keep him there. Just don't take him away from me, please!" The eccentric trainer suggested a compromise, though really, she was just begging the other woman at this point for some leeway.

Josh Devlin //sygna drip

☉

Oh dear, that was a lot of blood. Not enough to send Josh to the hospital for the twentieth time this week, but certainly enough to make one worry that his face might get permanently scarred. With any luck, the wounds would only be surface level.

"Are we sure that was even the same Suicune though?" Andrea pointed out as her friend began petting the large tiger. She remembered hearing Isaac Merlo say that his patron had come from another world, but the same could very well be the case with this Raikou. "Maybe we should take this one to kyle lopez. He would know where it actually came from."

Imagine knocking on the Top Champion's door and presenting him with a live legendary beast. The idea almost sounded absurd when she said it out loud. Yet that was their situation; some people found stray cats, they had found a stray god!

Josh Devlin //mission thread

☉

"Oh, so whenever it hatches, whatever comes out is gonna be a surprise!" The Hydreigon cosplayer remarked, turning her back to the Chandelure so that its warm flame could dry up her Sygna Suit's wings as well.

When asked if she had ever hatched an egg herself, Andrea rubbed her chin, thinking. "Well, my parents are Breeders, so I've seen plenty of eggs hatching. As for eggs I've hatched myself, there was this hatchery two years ago where you could leave your Pokémon to mate, and their kids would get all sorts of wacky traits, like Pokérus or the Illumina state." She explained.

Remiel Calcifet //sygna drip

☉

Andrea's eyebrows rose. "An avatar? Of Necrozma? From Rocket?" From what she had heard about the light-themed legendary that may or may not have been an Ultra Beast, it was not a being to be trifled with. Being in the hands of a Rocket member who had no qualms about mauling innocent bystanders was bad news.

"I don't think there was a reason for him to attack me." The young PokéManiac replied to the doctor's next inquiry. "All I did was try to calm those Drampa down... unless the Drampa going berserk was part of his plan or something. What if he was trying to draw out someone else?" She theorized, the fact she may have just been in the wrong place at the wrong time making her even more glad she had survived.

The information that her attacker was an avatar inevitably made the nerdy girl circle back to the previous topic. "So the reason he looked like an alien was probably because of Necrozma... Do you think that's true for all avatars? By bonding with a legendary Pokémon, do you think they stop being completely human and become something else?"

Surely Doug had no first-hand experience with that sort of thing. No siree, he was just an ordinary guy.

John Sullivan //mission thread

☉

Using the sandstorm as a cover, in combination with its own smoke ninjutsu, a wild Froakie ambushed the draconic cosplayer. It licked her face with its long tongue, eliciting a discomforted cry from the girl. "Eeew! I'm not a lollipop!"

Sandy grabbed that flexible tongue before it could get retracted into the perpetrator's mouth, then proceeded to swing the poor frog around like a flail. Once the Water starter was sufficiently dizzy, Andrea hurled a Safari Ball at it.

That Froakie may never be as strong as CIAN MAHER's Ribbit-san, but with enough training they could one day reach the level of Navy's Hattori.

//attempting to catch froakie

☉

Calling Chomper back into his ball, Andrea followed the Galarian prince into the break room, where she was able to dry herself by a Chandelure's ghostly, blue flame. It was so efficient she didn't even need to dry her clothes separately.

"I could go for some hot chocolate right now." The dragon maiden replied when asked what kind of beverage she wanted from the vending machine. The atmosphere was already cozy enough, but a sip of liquid cocoa could make it even cozier.

Noticing the egg strapped to the royal's chest like a baby carrier, the girl cocked an eyebrow. "An egg? What's gonna hatch from it?"

Remiel Calcifet //sygna drip

☉

Upon seeing the Flygon's wings vibrate, Andrea covered her ears. Having spent enough time around Shalin Nariya, she knew exactly what was coming up next. The powerful sound attack did a number on the enemy team, but also on Chomper. Just then, Sora's Wish from earlier bestowed its blessings on the Hydreigon, healing him back to full health.

"That Altaria is the bigger threat." Andrea squinted her eyes at the birdlike dragon as it charged up some kind of big move. Luckily, they had a big move of their own. "This is our chance! Chomper, use your Z-Move! VENGEFUL HYDRA!!"

Her ace was enveloped in a bluish purple aura--his draconic spirit made manifest. That arcane energy solidified into the form of six new heads to complement his existing three. With his total of nine heads, the Brutal Pokémon bore down on a prone Mallow, indiscriminately attacking every body part his many jaws could sink their teeth into.

"If you thought Mallow was safe because she's Fairy type, think again!" The draconic cosplayer boasted with a prideful grin. She could only hope that her tag partner would have the firepower to match her offense.

lam logan, Josh Devlin //traditional 4v4 doubles

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The older Silph's words made her flinch, almost mirroring what had been said by his deepfake in the Rondez-View of Luv game. Did he know about her hesitancy when it came to confronting the crime syndicate?

"Fighting Team Rocket is not the same as attacking an innocent Pokémon just because you think it's fun." The dragon-costumed woman retorted. "I'll always stand up for the rights of Pokémon no matter who I have to fight!"

Hopefully that answer would satisfy him for now. With Regirock drawing further away from them, and the scientists on the back having finished researching for the day, their work too was done.

"We should get going. Guess I'll... see you around?" Andrea awkwardly asked, knowing that the last exchange had soured the mood and created more cracks in their already shaky friendship.

MATIAS SILPH

☉

What was that sound? It sounded like... crying. Trudging her way out of the sandstorm, Andrea located the wailing crybaby; a tiny Toxel that seemed to have been separated from its nest.

"You poor thing. Come here." Her maternal instincts awakened, the young woman embraced the purple infant, gently rubbing its back. "Shh shh... It's OK. You're safe now." She softly whispered.

The Toxel tearfully looked back at the kind human, sniffling, before leaning its head against her chest, its sobbing gradually dying down.

Setting the baby Pokémon back down, the dragon maiden fished her costume's pockets for another Safari Ball. "Wanna join my team? You could be Jalapeño's little brother!"

Having warmed up to her, the infantile reptile nodded enthusiastically, allowing the eccentric trainer to capture it with no resistance.

//attempting to catch toxel

☉

As she was pushed around by an ever increasing crowd, the young cosplayer grew increasingly irritated, until she could take it no more. “I said DON’T PUSH!!” She yelled in ANGER, unwittingly activating her Sygna Suit.

Like a modern day Moses, her Fuecoco parted the sea of people, who quickly shoved to the side in order to avoid getting scorched by the tiny crocodile’s Fire Blast. With the path cleared up, Andrea was able to reunite with her friend who was now in shorts.

By the time she’d caught up to Josh, the Hoenn celebrity was already surrounded by adoring fans and people who recognized him. “Wow, I guess you’re pretty popular around these parts!” She mused while shuffling close to him.

A finger was crudely pointed towards the strangely-dressed woman. “Who’s that, Devlin?”

“I knew a guy that cute couldn’t be single!” One of the Gym Leader’s fangirls lamented.

“Huh?” Andrea blinked in confusion, her brain making error noises. Those people seemed to have gotten the wrong idea about them, but she was too stunned to correct them.

Josh Devlin //sygna drip

☉