Andrea's nose scrunched up. "What's that stench?" Lost in the sandstorm, a wild Koffing bumped into her. "Ow! Hello there. Aren't you a cute little guy?" The eccentric trainer cooed, arms extended for a hug.

The purple ball emitting noxious gases stared back at her with its unflinching, eternally happy expression, before its round body began lighting up.

"Oh no!" The girl's amethyst eyes widened. "D-don't blow up! Crud... Safari Ball, go!" She panickedly used one of the camo-patterned balls, hoping that it would stop the Koffing from self-destructing in front of her face.

//attempting to catch koffing

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“Right, Maldacena. That guy.” The dragon-hooded girl nodded. Between that and the white-haired lady’s group, Hexadecimal, the DRK Triad really needed to pick up easier names.

The Rocket scientist had some intel of her own to share regarding Nisa Holo’s capture and subsequent escape. “I see. You were in Meteno too? Sorry if Chomper’s Draco Meteor gave you trouble…” Said Andrea apologetically.

That time she had ordered her Hydreigon to carpet bomb a bunch of Rockets was not one of her proudest moments. Even she was not immune to the League’s propaganda painting Team Rocket as the ultimate evil.

At the Visionary’s next question, the girl visibly hesitated. “Uhm… Nothing important. It’s just an alternate timeline, so who cares, right?” She murmured back, while awkwardly rubbing her forearm.

Naomi Sato //mission thread

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Rocks fell, Andrea almost died. What was that Bombirdier doing? Storks were supposed to deliver babies, not death from above!

A cautionary Stone Edge from Sandy was enough to scare the feathered menace away.

//skipping

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The young woman's eyes widened like a pair of satellite dishes. "It's ten already?! I've gotta shower, and brush my teeth, then brush Jalapeño's teeth, and then eat breakfast! Waaaaaah!!" She frantically cried out, already unzipping her costume by the time she went inside the bathroom and slammed the door behind her.

Normally, Andrea was not the type to fret over punctuality, but in this case, she really wanted to get all the morning tasks out of the way as soon as possible, so that she and her fellow Gym Leader could enjoy the rest of their day out together. Some might even call it a date. Those kinds of people were wrong.

The Round One arcade certainly lived up to its reputation, being so large that it could almost qualify as a JRPG dungeon. Josh went off to try his comfy and easy to wear shorts, leaving the cosplaying aficionado to brace the jungle of sweaty gamers all on her own.

"Josh! Jooooosh!! Where are you going? Don't leave me here!" The eccentric trainer yelled, but her voice was drowned out by the 8-bit sounds of various arcade machines, laser blasters going off, and techno music blaring from the speakers.

Many more people swarmed in through the main entrance, shoving Andrea further into the crowd. "Hey, don't push! I'm waiting for my friend! He's changing into his shooooorts!!" The girl wailed, before getting lost in a viscous sea of bodies.

Josh Devlin //sygna drip

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Everyone had their limits. Even a powerhouse like Andrea was reaching hers. "Are they... all gone?" She asked mid-panting, feeling as if her legs were about to give out at any moment. How could she feel so spent when her dragons had done all the hard work? Infinity Energy, it turned out, was a double-edged sword.

Once all the wild paradoxes had run away, Josh frantically tried to nurse Raikou back to health by recharging the Electric-type tiger. The young PokéManiac hurriedly approached them, gasping in shock and horror upon realizing the extent of the beast's injuries.

"This is bad! My Pokémon don't know any healing moves! Unless... Mecha-Chomper, use your Charge Beam!" At her behest, the Iron Jugulis shot a steady stream of electricity out of its middle mouth. Rather than hurting the big cat, it slowly restored its dwindling energy reserves.

Would their act of kindness be enough to save Raikou from the brink of death? The eccentric trainer had a backup plan, but it required some cooperation from the beast itself. "Hey, Raikou, can you try absorbing power from the Electric Terrain too?" She gently asked. "It might make you feel better."

Josh Devlin //mission thread

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Through the raging sandstorm, the young cosplayer was barely able to make out a Psychic attack headed their way. "Sandy, look out!"

The wave of psionic energy bounced off the bipedal lizard's armored frame, doing no damage thanks to its Dark typing. The Tyranitar's Payback knocked their aggressor right in front of Andrea's feet.

"M-monkey?!" The girl muttered in shock, the sight of the downed Oranguru unlocking a core memory from two years ago. Without thinking, she dropped a Safari Ball onto the groggy simian's head.

//attempting to catch oranguru

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"Now that you mention it, I did feel like I was tied to it in a way." Andrea mused, glancing back at her Iron Boulder. Part of her wondered how a machine with no brain could even have psychic powers. Could futuristic Paradox Pokémon be more sentient than people gave them credit for?

That was a mystery for another day, as was the search for Kora. Mildly shaken by the shoulder pat, the dragon enthusiast nodded at Josh's suggestion involving his very own racing grounds. "Sounds like a plan! If we can bring out their potential as Ride Pokémon, maybe people will be convinced that they shouldn't fear them!"

In the back of her mind, though, she knew that was wishful thinking. As long as the 'origin point' remained unresolved, their world would always look at those paradoxes as abominations that should not exist.

Josh Devlin //sygna drip

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Andrea was ushered in to the arena, where she was introduced to the Verdanturf Gym's main gimmick; a no-holds-barred steel cage match.

In case the wrestling theme had not made it obvious enough, this Gym would focus on Fighting types and close-quarters combat. Her main party had a glaring weakness to Fighting, so for this challenge, the dragon fanatic had brought a different team. And just to be thematic, she introduced them as a ring announcer would.

"Introducing first, from the Alola region, weighing in at 172.4 pounds, KOKORO!!"

A shiny Kommo-o entered the enclosed ring, rattling its gold and pink scales.

"And her partner, from parts unknown, weighing in at 735.5 pounds, BUZZ-BUZZ!!"

A Buzzwole appeared alongside the dragoness, striking a dynamic pose with its arms outstretched to the side.

Their opponents had yet to make their entrance, but one thing was certain; with a tag team like that, this was gonna be a bona fide slobberknocker!

noah faber //2v2, doubles

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Although their numbers were thinning, the remaining paradoxes kept ruthlessly attacking Johto's deity of thunder. It was as if they had collectively determined that Raikou did not belong in this world. But why? What was it about the legendary beast's presence that could incite such animosity?

Whatever it was, Andrea would not stand for this blatant bullying. "Leave Raikou alone!" The Sygna Suited trainer yelled with RAGE, powering up her already roused dragons.

Chomper violently Crunched down on a poor Flutter Mane, while Mecha-Chomper trapped a nearby Iron Valiant in a powerful Hurricane. Another Flutter Mane was Jaw Locked by Savage the Roaring Moon, while Meatloaf attempted to burn one of the Scream Tails with a Temper Flare.

Josh Devlin //mission thread

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"*cough* Sandy! *cough* Tone it down!"

As the sandstorm kept raging, Andrea kept coughing up sand. Her eyes were thankfully protected by the glasses she wore, but all that dust and debris in the air made it hard to see what was in front of her, sadly missing the shiny Yamper that brushed past her.

//skipping

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"Josh!" The Sygna Suited girl cried out, before Flying down to where the Mauville Gym Leader and his steed had fallen. "Are you alright? Did you break anything?"

While waiting for her reckless friend to recuperate, the dragon maniac took a moment to survey the familiar area. She could no longer hear the mysterious cry. Whatever it was that had made those footprints, they seemed to have lost track of it.

"This is my fault. I shouldn't have suggested that we race." Andrea said, bowing apologetically.

She was suddenly overcome by an otherworldly sense of dread that caused her face to go pale. "I-I think we should head back home... We can mark this area and come back tomorrow."

Josh Devlin //sygna drip

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At the mention of attacking, the Aggron looked back at its trainer, eagerly awaiting the order.

A bewildred expression was plastered over the young woman's face. "N-no, no attacking! Barron, stay!" She blurted out, before frowning at the Elite Four member for even suggesting such a thing. "Why would we do that? It's just minding its own business!"

MATIAS SILPH

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