"Hnghh... how do you open this thing?" Andrea struggled to pry a Hisuian Pokéball open. She had recently acquired that priceless piece of history from an antique store, but not even the elderly owner knew how it had gotten there. It was as if it had just appeared one day.

After much trial and error, the archaic ball finally popped open, unleashing a Goodra. Except it was no ordinary Goodra; it too had undergone a mutation that made it resemble its Hisuian ancestors. Its tail had curled up and hardened into a tough shell, granting it the Steel typing.

"What do you think of this shrine, Slushie? Does it unlock any memories from your past life?" The draconic trainer inquisitively asked, observing her Goodra as it tentatively approached the old Draconid temple, its large shell bobbing to and fro.

The Shell Bunker Pokémon did not seem to have any recollection of this place--past lives' or otherwise--but being here filled it with inexplicable joy, making the snail-like dragon bounce up and down. Could this place's vibes remind Slushie of home, whatever 'home' might mean in this context?

//H!Goodra forgets Water Pulse and learns Draco Meteor

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After a six hour-long flight, the two Hoennians had officially entered Sinnoh's airspace. As their plane approached Veilstone International Airport, Andrea fastened her seatbelt, bracing herself for a hopefully smooth landing.

The young woman was dressed normally for once, wearing a tight-fitting sweater and a pair of jeans. Security hadn't allowed her to board the plane in her iconic onesie, because they thought she might be hiding drugs or explosives in there. She didn't intend to stay in human clothes for the entire vacation, of course. Her Pokémon costumes were safely stored inside her luggage, along with her toothbrush and a change of underwear. All the essentials, in other words.

While the plane slowly shed attitude, Josh engaged his fellow Gym Leader in some small talk, asking her if she'd ever been to Sinnoh. "Me? This is the first time I've ever been outside Hoenn!" The girl replied with a giggle. "It took me a long time to decide which dragons to bring too, but I knew from the start I was gonna bring Chomper. I'd never make this trip without him."

His second question gave her pause. "Hmmm, something special..." Andrea hummed in deep thought. "I guess, while we're there, we could visit Spear Pillar. And after that... I dunno. Maybe go sightseeing? Try some of the local dishes? Just hang out in the hotel? I'm fine with anything as long as we do it together!" She said with a warm smile.

This was supposed to be a vacation, after all. No more fretting about Team Rocket, or the war, or the future of their region. For the duration of their stay here, they could simply focus on having a good time.

Josh Devlin //mission thread

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Andrea and her ace, Chomper, were on their way to their next tournament match, when the skies above Lilycove City darkened abruptly. "That's strange. Today's forecast didn't say anything about rain." The dragon-costumed girl mused, while her partner angrily hissed at the looming thunderclouds.

Finally, a worthy opponent! Our battle will be legendary!

Without warning, the green-scaled Hydreigon made a beeline for one of the tallest skyscrapers in town, forcing his trainer to run after him. "Chomper, where are you going?! Wait up!"

A few minutes later, Andrea had made it to the rooftop, panting like crazy. "Hah... Hah... Warn me next time before you go off on your own..." She mumbled, while catching her breath. Chomper had landed on the rooftop as well, his reptilian gaze alternating between the much larger dragon present and whatever was hiding within the tempest.

It was then that the draconic trainer heard a familiar voice calling out to her. "Prince Calcifet? What are you and Zekrom doing here? What show?" The girl asked in clear confusion. "Chomper ran off because he sensed a powerful opponent, and I followed him all the way here." She explained.

Remiel Calcifet //sygna drip

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The heroines in this retelling of history picked their respective weapons--Andrea the sword, and Yuina the shield. A pair of canid Pokémon came to life from stone, absorbing the sword and the shield in order to ascend to their regal forms.

"They look just like the dogs from that one dating game!" The dragon-costumed woman observed, reminiscing about dahlia goode's route and all the prophetic imagery included in it. Once again, Rondez-View of Luv had predicted the future. How did they keep doing that? That was a question for another day.

"Let's help them out! Simba, use Ice Beam!" The young PokéManiac ordered. Her shiny Nidoking roared, firing a beam of ice towards the soaring Eternatus. The attack was intercepted by a Gigantamaxed Flapple, who took the hit in the legendary dragon's stead. "They're protecting it?!" Muttered the cosplayer in shock.

Yuina Higashi

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In this storm, flying Pokémon were a liability. If they were going to be constricted to the ground, they might as well resort to using Ground-types. "Donna, I choose you!" Andrea sent out her next battler, an impressive Rhyperior. "Use Rock Blast on those hands!"

The bipedal rhinoceros extended its large, stony arms, aiming at Hoopa's floating limbs and firing a salvo of rock projectiles from the holes in its palms.

//donna (rhyperior) uses rock blast on hoopa's hands
//failed rolls: 1/3

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Flying Pikachu? If such a thing even existed, it would open brand new horizons for Pokémon fans worldwide.

Meanwhile, Ollie's non-flying Pikachu kept zapping Chomper with one Electric move after another. Annoyed and fuelded by RAGE, the pseudo-legendary dragon's three heads reached out to Crunch at the pesky little rat.

ollie morales

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"Maybe we're just not cut out for Vital Battles. Everyone's gonna tire themselves out eventually." Andrea mused, while kneeling next to a still woozy Chomper. "I think we both might've reached our limit." The girl affectionately petted the Hydreigon's dark mane.

The mention of their planned vacation to Sinnoh got the young woman's face to brighten with joy. "Looking forward to that! See you around, Josh!"

Josh Devlin //gg

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People had pivoted to attacking Hoopa. While Kyurem was a threat to the entire region, it was only thanks to the mischievous genie’s meddling that it had encroached upon their world.

Even more mythical and legendary Pokémon were added into the mix. It was a raid-style battle of epic proportions, but with every single attack, the Hoennians got one step closer to victory.

“Huggles, see if you can break through the mist with a Hurricane!” Andrea instructed her Dragonite, who flapped its small wings, generating a roaring tornado that tore through the raging blizzard.

Sadly, the forces of winter prevailed, freezing the Dragon-type solid. “Huggles, not you too!” The costumed trainer cried out in horror, realizing that three of her Pokémon had now been claimed by the permafrost.

//huggles (dragonite) tries to use hurricane on hoopa, but is frozen solid
//failed rolls: 3/3

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Out of all Dragon-types, the Duraludon line looked the least like actual dragons. Heck, they hardly looked like reptiles. Some conspiracy theorists believed them to have been created in a lab somewhere. Nonetheless, those walking hunks of metal possessed enough draconic spirit in them to rival pseudo-legendaries.

Andrea's Archaludon (affectionately nicknamed Archie) lumbered behind her, its heavy feet leaving square footprints on the ground. "Here we are!" The dragon-costumed girl said, admiring the old Draconid shrine from a distance. "What do you think, Archie? Beautiful, isn't it?"

Inspired by the abundance of draconic spirit in the area, the Alloy Pokémon let out a booming, excited roar. Its Dragon Cheer roused the many Dratini and Bagon frequenting this place. If that did not prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was a Dragon-type, nothing else would.

//Archaludon forgets Outrage and learns Draco Meteor

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Josh had a lot of things going on in his head. Andrea genuinely wanted to help him, but this was a discussion that needed to happen some other time. The simulation would not wait for them to sort out their personal issues before thrusting them directly into the next nightmarish scenario. In fact, it already had.

War was a special kind of hell. Everything was on fire. Men were being dragged out of their homes and shot down. Husbands were taken from their wives. Fathers were taken from their children. What had those people done to deserve such cruel treatment? Their only sin was being in the way of Team Rocket's unquenchable thirst for conquest.

"Nobody has to get hurt if you just surrender!" Spat one of the Rocket grunts.

"People are already being hurt! Just leave!" Andrea spat back. Her loyal Hydreigon continued to fend off droves of Poison and Dark-types, but even it was overwhelmed by the enemy's sheer numbers. "There's too many of them! Josh, I need your help!" The young woman urgently cried out.

Josh Devlin

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"Well..." There wasn't much she could tell him about Kyogre, since that story had technically not ended yet due to the quirks of fluid time. "It was strong. Very strong. None of our attacks seemed to hurt it, and every one of its attacks was powerful enough to knock out a fully evolved Pokémon."

One fight they could talk about was the one that happened right then and there, as a wild Bagon leaped out of the tall grass, firing an ember at Andrea's Aggron. The armored rhinoceros winced in pain. Fire moves were such an annoyance.

"Hit it with a Heavy Slam!" Obeying the order issued by his trainer, the Steel-type smacked the Bagon with his large, Heavy Metal bum, making the tiny dragon see stars. Oof, that must have hurt.

"Nice work, Barron!" The young cosplayer said, throwing one of her spare Pokéballs at the woozy creature.

MATIAS SILPH //attempting to catch bagon

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