[attr="class","icon"]

james isn't usually very social, too, but probably for a different reason than em. still, he appreciates the effort em has made in their friendship so far. he only hopes he can put the same amount in return.[break][break]

this is a start, he supposes.[break][break]

"i know it's weeks after the new year but do you have any resolutions?"[break][break]

despite toasting, he's yet to drink his sidecar.[break][break]

"any you've given up on already?"[break][break]

he chuckles, asking it mostly as a joke.

[attr="class","bottom"]emerson whitlock[break]

[attr="class","icon"]

"so far, yes! but i just got here so i haven't really done much."[break][break]

he hasn't done anything, really, besides reading a text.[break][break]

"i was waiting for a friend but they canceled. which makes what i'm about to ask next sound worse than it should but i can't take it back now, so..."[break][break]

with a chuckle, he asks:[break][break]

"do you wanna walk around with me?"

[attr="class","bottom"]Abigail Mikhaylov[break]

[attr="class","icon"]

"oh uh school's school, i guess. it's fine! but work's been crazy."[break][break]

as they begin their walk, their first encounters appear not too long after that. he pulls out his pokedex, letting it scan the heliolisk since he's more than familiar with the duraludon.[break][break]

"aw, the duraludon's cute."[break][break]

he smiles at the interaction between them, then watches the heliolisk run away.[break][break]

looking back over at rory, he asks:[break][break]

"are you looking for a job?"

[attr="class","bottom"]Rory Faust[break]
elec/steel[break]
skipping![break]

[attr="class","icon"]

"there's just no way..."[break][break]

he looks down at his phone, reading the text sent to him from Rory Faust that tells him she can't make it out to the festival tonight because she's busy. he gets it, naturally, because he's busy pretty much all the time.[break][break]

but what is he going to do now?[break][break]

he's bumped into and pulled away from his thoughts for now.[break][break]

"oh! sorry!"[break][break]

he looks up from his phone and his expression stills almost instantly.[break][break]

he blinks.[break][break]

"he—hey, abi! i uh, wow! what a surprise."

[attr="class","bottom"]Abigail Mikhaylov[break]

"sure, sure! it's simple, really."[break][break]

not really. it's simple in theory but tricky in practice. he scoops meat and places it in the middle, ready to be folded. he wets the tip of his fingertips and starts shaping it together into a gyoza, curves and grooves and all.[break][break]

"like that! now you try."[break][break]

he stops to watch so he can give helpful feedback.[break][break]

"oh yeah. it takes me back to when things were simpler, you know? when all i had to worry about was what shirt i was gonna wear to school to impress people."

[attr="class","ooc"]emerson whitlock[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-elgyem color-shiny"]

[attr="class","icon"]

"nah! give yourself a little more credit than that, em. you're great."[break][break]

his words are as genuine as the smile that so easily forms when in the company of good friends.[break][break]

"but if this drink sucks then it's on you."[break][break]

he laughs before waving down the bartender to order them their drinks. two sidecars. it does not take long before their drinks return.[break][break]

holding up his glass, he raises it towards em.[break][break]

"thanks for coming out, man. cheers."

[attr="class","bottom"]emerson whitlock[break]

[attr="class","icon"]

the two scientists move in sync. where Rory Faust heads over to the entrance to utilize the LINKING CORD, james moves to where he assumes the generator to be, and after a quick scan of the equipment, he confirms that the machine before him is in fact the generator.[break][break]

with a grunt, he pulls off sections of it to expose its wiring. with enough of it now susceptible, he calls out to the zygarde.[break][break]

"zygarde! over here!"[break][break]

the ground-type barks, leaping to take a stray THUNDER from the XURKITREE. with electricity coursing through it, it leaps and slams into the generator. the impact isn't what jumpstarts it but the THUNDER is enough.[break][break]

the generator rumbles, shaking as it comes back to life. the lights above them flick on as the rest of the machinery starts up.[break][break]

"nice!"[break][break]

22 find a way to bring power to a deactivated power station, but any instruments or machinery within will fail to work yet.

[attr="class","bottom"]FERNANDO SILPH Katherine Fairburne Rory Faust[break]

[attr="class","icon"]

their hesitancy is expected. he reflects the same as well even if he tries his best not to. the thought of being chased by a xurkitree only to be pinned down and attacked is terrifyingly not pleasant. but he fears they may have no other choice.[break][break]

he hands the LINKING CORD to Rory Faust.[break][break]

"and to do that we first need power."[break][break]

it seems their debate is for nothing in the end as another XURKITREE floats overhead, still and quiet until it's very quickly not.[break][break]

"above us! shit—zygarde this way!"[break][break]

they have to make it to the generator.[break][break]

zygarde fires a DRAGON PULSE, hoping to draw the XURKITREE towards it.[break][break]

19 engage/encounter roaming or eerily still xurkitree that may be pivotal as a narrative obstacle or tool (e.g. powering things up).

[attr="class","bottom"]FERNANDO SILPH Katherine Fairburne Rory Faust[break]

[attr="class","icon"]

"i think i'll try the same, then."[break][break]

he glances over the cocktail menu with relative indifference mostly because he's unfamiliar with the majority of them. it's nice that they list the ingredients of each drink but he still has no idea what the drink would taste like.[break][break]

"i don't usually drink much. this is actually my first time out in months."[break][break]

chuckling, he closes the menu and gives em a bump on his shoulder.[break][break]

"so i'll leave it in your hands."

[attr="class","bottom"]emerson whitlock[break]

"nah, it's fine!"[break][break]

while he could've definitely picked an easier dish to make, he chooses gyoza partly because it had been what em had originally ordered but also because he wants to flex his cooking skills. plus, it's been a while since he made gyoza, so he needs the practice.[break][break]

at em's question about whether to salt the water, he nods.[break][break]

"yes yes yes."[break][break]

and he smiles.[break][break]

"no worries! teamwork makes the dream work and all that, right?"[break][break]

then, he moves a bit to allow em some space should he want to join. with the meat filling ready, the next step is to form them into gyoza.[break][break]

"do you wanna try folding them?"

[attr="class","ooc"]emerson whitlock[break]

[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-elgyem color-shiny"]

[attr="class","icon"]

part of him wants her, too. it's the part that has clung on for as long as it could. but in the end, his pursuit of knowledge will always trump all else, and it's for that reason that he doesn't chase after her as she walks away from him.[break][break]

as she leaves him.[break][break]

when the doors shut and he's left to his own once again, he does nothing at first. just stands still, processing, before inevitably going back to work. the scattered papers need sorting, after all.

[attr="class","bottom"]Abigail Mikhaylov[break]

[attr="class","icon"]

james is no engineer. it's why he had asked Rory Faust to accompany them along this time. but as he stares up at the ELECTRICAL STORM and also at the EERILY STILL XURKITREE that looms in the distance ahead, he's struck with an idea.[break][break]

"holy shit. i have an idea on how to power up the station."[break][break]

he claps his hands together, then quickly looks at Rory Faust because she had asked a question.[break][break]

"sorry! yeah we didn't see much last time. we made it into one of the power stations before being chased away by a gargantuan electric pokemon."[break][break]

he's talking about a REGIELEKI. he looks around for it briefly, feeling small amounts of relief when he sees nothing.[break][break]

so, his idea:[break][break]

"if we can lure the xurkitree to one of the power stations and have it attack, maybe that, combined with the storm above will be enough to jumpstart the station."[break][break]

he pauses.[break][break]

"how plausible does that sound, rory?"

[attr="class","bottom"]FERNANDO SILPH Katherine Fairburne Rory Faust[break]