Gunner felt the slightest relief as jack wainwright dragged himself to his feet. Rising with him, Gunner clapped Jack on the shoulder. "We'll get through this," he promised, though his expression was grim. Determined. [break][break]

At least the wave of robotic Pokémon appeared to slow, with so many of their number lying incapacitated or injured in the snow. Gunner caught sight of his Salamence returning. When Bruin alighted nearby, the agent ran over to check for injuries. [break][break]

The sudden sound of shattering glass tore his attention away from his Pokémon. Gunner whirled around wildly to see what had happened, only to gasp as none other than Palkia stepped out of a spatial rift next to illeana reyes. [break][break]

Trepidation filled him at first, replaced quickly by a soaring hope as Palkia engaged the White Kyurem in battle. Gunner flashed Illeana an incredulous smile—only for it to falter as the defector Isaac Merlo landed next to her with his Dragonite. [break][break]

"Don't take any unnecessary risks," PENELOPE LIVY had said in Gunner's ear over the comms. He imagined she'd berate him if he commanded his Salamence to bite off Isaac's head, too. [break][break]

So he turned away from the pair in Palkia's shadow. [break][break]

"Bruin, fly up and help with Kyurem," the agent commanded. His Salamence shot back into the air to blast the enormous, white dragon with FLAMETHROWER.

TAGS – to sow dragon's teeth (left)[break]
NOTES[break]
– Tries to bolster jack wainwright. Smiles at illeana reyes when Palkia appears, only for his smile to turn sour at the sight of Isaac Merlo helping her. Chooses to ignore it and orders his Salamence to attack Kyurem.[break]
– Salamence uses FLAMETHROWER on Kyurem.

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Gunner's mouth pressed into a flat line at the stranger's answer. The more the other man spoke, the deeper Gunner's brow furrowed. Was the man insane? He had just threatened Gunner with a shotgun and grenade. [break][break]

Still, the agent did not fear for his life. Laudine's eyes were pinned on Mr. Shotgun, ready to act in her trainer's defense. [break][break]

"You mean Team Rocket?" Gunner asked, moving toward the body on the floor but continuing to face the stranger. He knew better than to expose his back. "Who were you before you died?" [break][break]

As he spoke, he removed a pair of latex gloves from another pocket and put them on. Hopefully, Mr. Shotgun hadn't tampered with the crime scene. [break][break]

"Did they kill you, back then?"

TAGS – povel kowalski[break]
NOTES – mission

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The earth shook and split apart as ollie morales's Tyrantrum joined Gunner's Salamence in attempting to close parts of the chasm. Groups of the strange, robotic Pokémon fell into the smaller cracks or lost their footing and collapsed. [break][break]

Still, the swarm pressed on. Unfortunately, with Bruin so far away, and with both the blizzard and battle drowning out his voice, Gunner could not call the dragon back to his side. Instead, he retreated behind the defense of jack wainwright's Stonjourner. [break][break]

Only then did Gunner notice that the Ranger was on the ground, slumped against his Pokémon's leg. [break][break]

"Jack, are you okay?" Gunner called out, crouching next to the other man. Alarm shot through him at the look of sheer panic on Jack's face. "Hey, Jack? Jack, snap out of it!" [break][break]

Without warning, one of the mechanical Pokémon—a large, brown one—crashed into the snow nearby, startling Gunner. He whirled around, ready to defend himself and his new acquaintance, but saw at once that the Pokémon was injured. [break][break]

Reflexively, he tossed an empty Pokéball at it. Much to his surprise, the Pokémon glowed with energy and vanished into the capsule. [break][break]

TAGS – to sow dragon's teeth (left)[break]
NOTES[break]
– Tries to help jack wainwright snap out of his panic attack. Catches an Iron Boulder.

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Gunner's consternation grew as more and more Paradox Pokémon swarmed up from the earth's glittering wound, unrelenting and ferocious. [break][break]

"So theoretically, those Tera crystals could keep spawning these Pokémon indefinitely?" he asked illeana reyes. "We need to stop them at the source, then." [break][break]

He shot a quick glance in PENELOPE LIVY's direction in case she had any objections. But Gunner's hands were already moving, returning his Iron Valiant to a Pokéball and releasing his Salamence from a second one. [break][break]

"Bruin, head close to the fissure there," the agent ordered, pointing past the charging horde, "and use EARTHQUAKE." [break][break]

With great flaps of his wings, the Salamence rose into the air. He flew with a rocket toward his destination, dodging attacks as they hurtled toward him. Near the deep-reaching abyss, he smashed into the ground with all his strength. [break][break]

TAGS – to sow dragon's teeth (left)[break]
NOTES[break]
– Wonders if the strange Paradox Pokemon will spawn indefinitely due to being conjured by Interdream Mist.[break]
– Swaps Iron Valiant for Salamence; Salamance uses EARTHQUAKE on the Terastal fissure.

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The HEAL PULSE from annalise henderson's Altaria sank into Gunner's body, easing the pain of his bruises and closing any superficial cuts. His ribs were probably still cracked, but at least he could move without wincing. [break][break]

"I'm okay," he said, to both Annalise and PENELOPE LIVY as the councilwoman drew near. Turning once more to Annalise, he gave her a grateful smile, which froze upon seeing the silent reproach in her eyes as she gazed at Penelope. [break][break]

Gunner managed to blurt out a mumbled, "Thank you," before extricating himself from that tense exchange. He was almost thankful for the distraction of battle as Kyurem's FUSION FLARE heralded the emergence of more foes. [break][break]

"Kahadin, link up your shield with Stonjourner's!" the agent shouted over the howl of blizzard winds as jack wainwright's Stonjourner put up a protective barrier. His Iron Valiant obeyed, extending the WIDE GUARD around them with one of its own. [break][break]

In the distance, Gunner caught sight of something unexpected: Amhar flying across the battlefield to return to his side. As the dragon drew near, he saw a horrible burn on the Hydreigon's flank. [break][break]

"Good job out there," Gunner said before recalling Amhar into his Pokéball. [break][break]

TAGS – to sow dragon's teeth (left)[break]
NOTES[break]
– Tells annalise henderson and PENELOPE LIVY that he's fine, and sees the reproach on Annalise's face. Gunner breaks away to focus on the battle.[break]
– Iron Valiant uses WIDE GUARD.[break]
– Recalls his Hydreigon into a Pokeball.

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As HEALING MIST spread across Gunner's prone form, he raised himself up onto his elbows. His whole body ached. In fact, judging from the shooting pain in the right side of his chest, he'd probably cracked a rib or two. [break][break]

At least illeana reyes's mist numbed it somewhat. Wiping snow off his face, he shot her a grateful smile before turning to find PENELOPE LIVY unharmed. He sighed with relief, even as the adrenaline in his veins prevented him from releasing the tension in his body. [break][break]

Finally, Gunner noticed ollie morales sprawled in the snow beside him. Gritting his teeth against the pain, the agent hauled himself to his feet, dragging the Head Ranger up with him. [break][break]

"You okay, Morales?" Gunner yelled over the noise of battle and the howl of blizzard winds. [break][break]

TAGS – to sow dragon's teeth (left)[break]
NOTES[break]
– Probably has a cracked rib, but gets healed a little thanks to illeana reyes and shoots her a grateful smile. Checks that PENELOPE LIVY is unharmed and helps ollie morales to his feet.[break]
– Frozen Pokémon: Hydreigon

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TAGS – Navy paxton concordas[break]
NOTES – mission

The darkness was oppressive. Gunner was not a claustrophobic person by nature, but even there, with a thousand eyes staring directly at him and Yuina, he felt surrounded. Pinned on all sides. Still, he strode forward. [break][break]

Until something unseen grabbed him and slammed him into what felt like a stone wall. Groaning from the impact, he felt aches bloom in his back—they felt so real, for a simulation. "You okay, Yuina?" he called out. [break][break]

The eyes closed in. Unown, he realized. [break][break]

And then their voices invaded his mind, a flood of discordant, incomplete sounds. He clutched at his head with both hands, tearing himself away from the wall. With stumbling steps, he ran. [break][break]

TAGS – Yuina Higashi[break]
NOTES – the rks simulation

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[attr="class","itemcolname"]unown event

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[attr="class","itemcoltexttit"]UNOWN 1-A

[attr="class","itemcoltext"]The further you delve into the darkness, the more you lose sensation of yourself. There is no light save for what appears to be bright white blinking sclera emerging all around you. Suddenly, the darkness begins to engulf you.[break][break]

Before you know it, you're slammed against the dusty stone walls. Unown emerge from the stone slate as blinking glyphs. Voices flood your mind: "de▉▉rt for our sake. you must w▉lk with us but lea▉e us. we r▉fu▉e the ou▉▉ide w▉rld."[break][break]

"What do you mean?" Gunner asked, brow furrowing. He gestured around them. "Yours has taken up all the space." [break][break]

Except there was a blank spot in a corner of the magnificent teahouse, as if the RKS machine was waiting for him to provide his own addition. [break][break]

It was too late, however; Navy walked through the door, causing Gunner's eyes to widen with surprise. What was he doing there? The agent hadn't seen the gym leader in the building at all when he'd come to run the test. [break][break]

Only when Navy began to critique the girl's manifested gym did Gunner realize the other man was probably part of the simulation itself. [break][break]

For the first time, Gunner took a look around with suspicion. How did the machine know about Navy? How did it know how to replicate him—from his appearance to his speech and mannerisms? [break][break]

Only the girl's voice, cold and demanding, shook the agent from his thoughts. He eyed her Sinistcha for a moment, trying to get a sense of whether they really needed to battle or not, then opened a Pokéball of his own. His Zoroark emerged in a flash of light. [break][break]

"Fine. I won't hold back just because you're a kid," he said. "And my name isn't 'you'. It's Gunner."

TAGS – Hyakkaryōran Tsubaki[break]
NOTES – rks simulation

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Gunner waited with professional patience as the stranger took his wallet to read his ID. The other man seemed to accept the reality of his situation, though he looked no less paranoid or fearful. Even after he restored the pin to the grenade, he still held the shotgun with a look that suggested he would bolt at any moment. [break][break]

Gunner collected his wallet, his movements slow so as not to spook the other man. [break][break]

"Do you have a name, Mr. Shotgun?" he asked, attempting to alleviate the tension with some humor. His delivery was drier than he'd have liked, though. "And what exactly were you doing here, if you're not with Team Rocket?" [break][break]

Because there was no way the stranger was a member of that crime organization with how vehemently he'd accused Gunner of being one.

TAGS – povel kowalski[break]
NOTES – mission

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Gunner nodded at illeana reyes when she checked in with those closest to him. "We're hanging in there," he assured her. [break][break]

Moments later, Gwyar Wledig ran past; the two men exchanged a nod before Gunner turned his attention back to the looming shape of Kyurem. [break][break]

Without warning, a golden ring appeared before the man and a massive fist materialized through it. Assuming it was aimed at PENELOPE LIVY, he leaped to take the blow instead. "Watch out, Miss Livy!" [break][break]

Pain bloomed through his whole body as Hoopa's fist connected, bruising flesh and bone alike. The force of the punch sent Gunner flying into the snow. [break][break]

Kahadin returned, a blazing bullet. But it was not alone. Galloping alongside the Paradox Pokémon was a Keldeo, lending a HELPING HAND as the Iron Valiant attacked Hoopa's fist with NIGHT SLASH. [break][break]

TAGS – to sow dragon's teeth (left)[break]
NOTES[break]
– Gunner gets Hoopa punched as he tries to protect PENELOPE LIVY.[break]
– Iron Valiant uses NIGHT SLASH on Hoopa with assistance from Keldeo's HELPING HAND[break]
– Frozen Pokémon: Hydreigon

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