Andrea had not been to the Safari Zone in a hot minute, thus she expected the variety of wildlife to be drastically different since her last visit. Eager to catch some new friends, the eccentric trainer hurled one of her Pokéballs into the air. "Sandy, I choose you! *cough* *cough*"

She immediately remembered why she usually refrained from using Sandy, as the Tyranitar's Sand Stream ability quickly turned this Safari Zone into a Sandfari Zone.

Brilliant pun, I know.

//safari balls: 4

☉

It was him. But was it? What would Raikou be randomly doing in the depths of Area Zero? Then Andrea remembered something she had learned after several trips to the Ultra Sea; Tera Crystals, like Interdream Mist, had the power to manifest people's greatest fears as well as their innermost desires.

Josh's jubilance was so great that his friend decided to set her suspicions aside for the time being. Maybe this really was Raikou and not some kind of twisted, sadistic illusion. Illusions could not bleed, after all. Could they?

"You heard him! Chomper, Mecha-Chomper, Meatloaf, Savage! Help Raikou out! RAWR~!" The Sygna Suited girl let out an echoing Dragon Cheer, inspiring her draconic swarm to plunge headfirst into the danger-filled, electrified zone, and begin picking off the remaining paradoxes with an onslaught of Dragon-type moves.

Josh Devlin //mission thread

☉

Andrea rubbed her chin, contemplating their options. "Hmmm, I dunno. Gimme some time to think and I'll give you a call, okay?"

⠥⠝ ⠥⠝ ⠥⠝

Heavy footsteps echoed across the cavern, accompanied by strange, heavily synthesized noises. A moving pile of rocks lumbered towards the duo, the dots lining up its 'face' flashing in various configurations.

⠃⠕⠝⠚⠕⠥⠗

"Is that... Regirock?!" The draconic cosplayer blurted out in shock. She had only heard rumors about the stone golem, but never seen it up close.

⠎⠑⠁⠗⠉⠓⠊⠝⠛ ⠎⠑⠁⠗⠉⠓⠊⠝⠛

The Rock Peak Pokémon paid them no mind, sidestepping Andrea's Aggron, before continuing on its merry way as if looking for something.

MATIAS SILPH

☉

"I kinda like this riding position. It lets you see things from the Pokémon's perspective." Remarked Andrea while laying on Terratron's back, holding onto the Iron Boulder's large horns. "You just need some kinda harness to make sure you don't fall off, and then you're good to go!"

Of course, a harness was not a luxury they could afford at the present time, so her only option as the mass-produced legendary started moving was to hold on for dear life. Powered up by the Electric Terrain, the robotic facsimile of one of the Swords of Justice, sped through the makeshift course with a Wild Charge, rocking the poor trainer that laid on its back.

"I-i-i-it's g-g-g-going s-s-s-so f-f-f-faaaaaaast!!"

[player]https://file.garden/ZXZrnWMYuz15frfJ/HOENN%20MUSIC/MysteriousCry2.mp3[/player]

Their impromptu race was interrupted by the echoing of a mysterious cry. "Whoa, stop! I said STOP!" Andrea forced her mechanical steed to a halt by pulling at its horns. After catching her breath, she rolled off its back, and inspected the area around them. "Did you hear that, Josh? It almost sounded... like Kora!"

While inspecting, the young PokéManiac found some peculiar footprints on the ground that looked rather fresh. "Huh. These don't look like Raikiri's feet. Could they be..." Her voice trailed off, not wanting to make that conjecture out loud for fear of being wrong. After all, they had yet to find conclusive evidence that Koraidon actually existed.

Josh Devlin //sygna drip

☉

"Ditto. Ultra Desert felt like an adventure every single time! Ultra Sea can be fun too when it's not trying to mess with your head. Seeing all those alien worlds feels like a dream! And Lesser Megalopolis... OK that one was more like a nightmare, but the thrill of exploration was still there."

Wasn't this nice? As soon as they'd found a subject they were both passionate about, she could freely nerd out without being her nervous, awkward self around the intimidating Elite Four member. All that talk about the wilds had given her an idea; a misguided, ill-informed idea, but an idea nonetheless.

"Say, how about we explore the wilds together someday?"

MATIAS SILPH

☉

Andrea racked her brain, trying to remember if she'd ever seen the Black Crystal Man before. "Nope, I don't think I have..." She replied with a dejected sigh. "Pretty sure I would remember it if I had."

She still was not sure what to classify the creature as, since it had looked far too humanoid to be a Pokémon, yet too uncanny to be a modified human.

"Is it possible that humans and Pokémon aren't the only lifeforms in the multiverse?" The eccentric girl went history channel mode. "What if other species exist that we couldn't even imagine? And I don't just mean Megalopolans and Ultra Beasts."

John Sullivan //mission thread

☉

"When you describe it like that, it actually kinda sounds like it'd be a fun place to explore!" Andrea mused, her mind racing with the limitless possibilities of traversing a realm where the stringent laws of their world did not apply.

"I guess it wouldn't be that different from going through a rift. Have you ever been to the Ultra Wilds, M-Matias?" She asked the Groudon avatar, stopping herself from calling him 'mister' at the last second.

MATIAS SILPH

☉

Into the cave they went, Eva using her gifted Manectric to light up the cave. In doing so, she angered the beast that called this place its home. Out of the shadows, a mighty stream of water was shot out towards the group. Andrea activated her Sygna Suit almost instinctively.

"TRAINER MOVE: SPECIAL SHIELD!!"

The water crashed against her manifested barrier with a sizzling noise, producing a cloud of steam. "It's hot?! That's not a Hydro Pump! That's a Hydro... Steam! Scientists get dibs on naming the stuff they discover, right?" The eccentric trainer mused, cracking a smile at the League professor.

Chomper was taking this battle a tad more seriously, shooting a rain of Draco Meteors against their obscured foe. Most of the meteorites missed their target, causing widespread damage to the area.

Eva Morales

☉