Ah, Meteor Falls, home to many rare Dragon-types. Case in point, a pair of Hydreigon were flying in circles around one another. Was there some significance to their ritual, or were they simply two siblings playing? The world of Pokémon was filled with many intriguing mysteries.

Wait a minute, one of them looked kinda different... That wasn't a Pokémon, that was a female human dressed up like a Hydreigon--a human who, against everything that was taught in schools, could actually Fly.

"Wheeee! I think I've finally gotten the hang of this, Chomper!" The strange cosplayer jovially exclaimed, while playfully circling her real three-headed dragon. "This is so much fun! It feels like I'm totally free! I can do whatever I want!"

Indeed, Meteor Falls was home to many rare Dragon-types, but never a Dragon-type human.

Draco Prowler //mission thread

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Andrea Vaneau furrowed her brow. "How can you be so sure? They could just be--" Her argument was cut short by a violent tremor, as a massive Onix burst out of the ground, sporting a fresh layer of mud on its rugged, serpentine frame.

"Barron, use your Iron Head!" The eccentric girl commanded her Aggron, who rammed headfirst into the giant rock snake, sending it tumbling down with a resounding thud. A Pokéball was then hurled its way with a calculated throw.

MATIAS SILPH //attempting to catch onix

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"Lord Rayquaza-!" Cried Andrea, feeling utterly helpless. They could hardly protect themselves from Kyogre's wrath, and now their scaly, slithery friend had paid the price for their incompetence, being struck by a super effective attack meant for them.

The two titans resumed their epic clash underwater, where Chomper could not reach them. "We can still help... I know we can! Go, Whiskers!" The draconic trainer sent her shiny Gyarados out--one of her few aquatic Pokémon. "They can't have gone that far! Go after them!"

The red-scaled serpent plunged into the depths with a huge Splash, following the trail of sea foam left by Rayquaza's speedy descent. Once a struggling Kyogre had entered her line of sight, Whiskers swung her entire body like a hammer... a Dragon Hammer to be precise.

Eva Morales //mission thread

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The Visionary was allowed to pet the baby Rhyhorn, who was quite receptive to affection. Naturally, the baby's parents kept a close eye on her. If the woman tried anything funny, their parental wrath would even rival an avatar's powers.

Andrea smiled at the interaction, but her smile waned when a particular group was mentioned. "Not just heard of them... I've met them too." More than once, in fact. The eccentric girl started recounting each encounter with the nefarious, interdimensional cabal.

"In the Tiered Tea Room, we met a white-haired lady, who showed us a weird Pokémon. It looked kinda like Thundurus, except pink and girly." She exposited.

"Then, in The Cloud, we met a scientist with crazy hair called... Malaria? Macarena? Macadamia? Anyway, he said that, although he was a member of the triad, he wanted to help us... by trying to kill us." She continued.

"I'm pretty sure it was Holo who summoned Kyurem after we stopped Meteno, though she was dressed like a ninja for some reason." She went on.

But wait, there was more. "Oh, and just earlier this week, Father Winter appeared in my room while I was sleeping, which was weird and creepy. He told me to change the course of history, and then sent me into an alternate timeline."

Naomi Sato //mission thread

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Though they only got a brief taste of it, the ethereal world was truly something else. It was like an inverse-colored mirror image of their mortal realm, with the namesake spires of Spear Pillar pointing in the wrong direction.

Up was down, and down was up. How did gravity even work in this place? Andrea felt dizzy just thinking about it, let alone experiencing it first hand. When they re-emerged in the material world, it was at an entirely different location. What a handy mode of transportation!

Soon, Chomper and Huggles descended from the clouds, having just barely caught up with the two trainers. The young cosplayer took a moment to catch her breath, feeling like she could pass out at any moment. "Hah... hah... I think that's enough for today. Let's get back to the hotel."

In her over-eagerness to go dragon-riding with Josh, she had underestimated how tired she truly was from their flight, but now the effects of jet-lag were finally settling in. If she went completely loose, she risked becoming bedridden for the rest of their vacation.

Josh Devlin //mission thread

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Whoa, more wyrms! Had they stumbled into an Applin nest by any chance? Matias dealt with the Hydrapple, while Andrea set her sights on the Appletun. "Jalapeño, hit it with another Springtide Storm!"

Even after withdrawing into its pie-shaped, soft shell, the springtime blessing was too much for the poor Dragon-type to bear, allowing Andrea to throw a ball at it while it was weakened.

Despite the constant distractions, she couldn't ignore what the Elite Four member had just said. "Who are you to judge? Isn't it also Groudon's job to subdue Kyogre?" The young PokémManiac pointed out.

Little did she know...

MATIAS SILPH //attempting to catch appletun

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"Idealistic? That doesn't sound like a bad thing." Neither was being destructive, as long as one used their destructiveness for good. Andrea was not quite sure which legendary to root for there. Perhaps both of them were right, and both of them were wrong.

Things were not as black and white as they seemed to be. The advice given to her by THEO BECKETT almost two years ago was more relevant than ever before.

"He wanted to replace Arceus, huh?" At the end of the day, they were two gods fighting over their overblown egos instead of trying to reach a compromise. One a purveyor of justice, the other a ruffian. Sound familiar?

Chomper reeled back from Thundurus' attack, ready to retaliate, only to be stopped by his own trainer. "Chomper, withdraw!" The girl ordered, frowning. "This fight is pointless and stupid... The only thing at stake here is their pride."

Remiel Calcifet //sygna drip

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"I AM taking this seriously!" Claimed the woman dressed up like a Hydreigon. "Have you considered that I'm trying my best to stay positive and not think about all the horrible stuff that's happened? Maybe it's because this is, like, the TWENTIETH time I've been to an alternate dimension that I'm not freaking out as much, but I still want both of us to make it out of this alive!"

Whew, looked like Andrea had quite a bit to get out of her system too. Now that they both had a level head, they could focus on the issue at hand, namely how to get out. "Hmmmm, good question. This oughta lead somewhere, right? And being down here sure beats being on the surface with all those cannibals."

She was about to eat those words. True to her suspicions, those tunnels were not man-made. In order to escape the cannibals prowling the streets, they had unwittingly entered the den of an even more voracious creature...

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Golly, what an obnoxious cry. A giant enemy crab emerged from the shadows, attempting to swallow everything in its path into its massive, wide open maw filled with rows upon rows of jagged teeth.

Andrea winced in pain, while covering her ears. "Is that an Ultra Beast?! Why is it so loud?!" She sent out her trusty Hydreigon to do battle with the alien monstrosity, but the thing devoured Chomper's Draco Meteors as if they were rock candy. "What the... It can eat attacks?!" The girl exclaimed in abject shock.

Shred

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Slowly but quite surely, the anesthesia did its work. Andrea's eyelids felt heavy, being put into a controlled state of pseudo-sleep, while a frantic team of surgeons tried to mend her skewered body.

The last thing she remembered hearing were Chomper's growls of protest at being sanitized against his will.

Several hours later, Andrea was recuperating after her successful operation, a half-empty blood bag hanging over her bed. The young woman wore a loosely-fitting hospital gown, a fresh set of bandages faintly visible underneath it. With her hand that was free to move, she gently stroked Chomper's black mane. The shiny Hydreigon was sitting at his trainer's bedside with his three heads resting on her blanket-covered lap.

"You saved my life, you know. If you hadn't brought me to these people, I could've... Thank you. Thank you so much..." The bedridden girl whispered, leaning down and giving each of the dragon's foreheads a soft kiss. "I love you, Chomper... I promise not to tell anyone that you cried." She cheekily added.

Her Hydreigon grunted in vehement denial. He definitely, most assuredly had not cried. That was slander. Crying was for wusses.

John Sullivan //mission thread

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"Woah!" Exclaimed Andrea in awe. The Mauville Gym Leader made the most out of the power of Terastallization. Her though? She prefered the retro, borderline primal vibes of Mega Evolution over an unknown god's blessings. "Sora, Protect yourself, and show them your true form!"

With a protective barrier, her Salamence shielded itself against the Altaria's powerful attack, before being encased in a cocoon of spiraling energies, coming back out in its Mega Evolved form rightfully dubbed 'the blood-soaked crescent'.

"Now the real battle's about to begin!" The trainer of dragons smiled cockily, while hiding her Mega Ring underneath her eccentric costume.

lam logan, Josh Devlin //traditional 4v4 doubles
//mega duration: 1/3

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The League's insistence on winning the Dynamax race against the opposing faction had caused the demand for Dynergy-infused Tera Crystals to skyrocket, which in turn led to even more expeditions in the Ultra Deep Sea where that resource could be mined seemingly ad infinitum.

Andrea's reason for once again venturing into that perilous, alien realm was different. She wanted to learn more about the eldritch monstrosity that slept within that pocket dimension, and if possible, ensure that it stayed there. Hoenn could not afford another Kyurem incident.

With her Sygna Suit, her ace Chomper, and her girlygang friend in tow, the young PokéManiac waded through the pseudo-underwater space as if swimming. Soon, they approached the Eternatus Core, which beckoned them with its mysterious, maddening allure.

"As soon as you get close, it's gonna try to mess with your head. But, if we go together, then it won't know which of us to hit with its psychic powers." The dragon-costumed woman mused, extending a hand towards her ally. "So, are you ready, Luka?"

luka chêne

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