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[attr="class","itemcolname"]league - ultra deep sea

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[attr="class","itemcoltexttit"]STAGE: CONDEMNING

[attr="class","itemcoltext"]Eventually, the Eternatus core expels enough energy to cause the designated trainers experience extreme distress and fright. At first, they may point out things, Pokemon, or people that do not exist; however, over time, their hallucinations begin to manifest into reality.[break][break]

The Poison Tera Crystals glow bright as all manner of terrible things appear, drawn from the conscious of those affected by the Eternatus core. Eventually, these manifested figures will expire, disintegrating into nothing but residual Dynamax Energy.

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Gunner had to accept that Lam was telling the truth. Perhaps he, like Gunner, had found employment with the League; that was the only reasonable explanation for a young man traumatized by the Ultra Deep Sea to return.[break][break]

"Yeah. I can count on him for these kinds of things," Gunner said of his Stonjourner. Lamorak stood motionless as the attacks came, keeping up his defenses so the humans could complete their work.[break][break]

Turning back to the mining machines, Gunner focused on scooping up as many minerals as possible. In the back of his mind, he hoped all their efforts were worth it. After all, the Ultra Deep Sea's dangers went far beyond the physical into the psychological.[break][break]

"Are you holding up okay?" Gunner asked Lam after a while. He glanced sidelong at the other man, trying to gauge his physical and mental state.[break][break]

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The radiation became too much to bear. Clamping down on the urge to vomit, Gunner grabbed what he could from the extraction machines and called for his Iron Valiant.[break][break]

What he carried in his hands was not even three-fourths of what he and Illeana had mined, but they couldn't stay any longer. And they could return, perhaps with a bigger team.[break][break]

"I can teleport us back to the rift," he told Illeana as he exchanged his Pokémon for another. His Alakazam emerged in a flash of light. "Merlin, get us out of here!"[break][break]

The air hummed with psychic power as the Pokémon prepared to depart.[break][break]

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"Sure, of course," Gunner replied as he walked briskly beside Navy. He'd been ready to leave Dewford when the call came to the sheriff's office, and Gunner's natural instinct to help overrode every other option.[break][break]

Of course, kidnappings by Pokémon were not unheard of. Several species preyed on humans if left untamed. Navy seemed convinced this incident was related to recent events, however.[break][break]

"Who called, by the way? Did they happen to see what had kidnapped her?" Gunner asked. When they'd tried asking the parents, they'd gotten no response — just shakes of their heads as the couple continued to sob.

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Gunner waited outside the gates of the Magnificent Funtasia set up in Rustboro City, scanning the crowd. He hadn't been surprised one bit when mila alexopoulos asked him to go with her, and now he looked for her among the arrivals.[break][break]

Two months had passed since the Battle of the Ancient Tomb — and since Gunner and Mila had reunited as lovers. At first, their relationship had been nice, even good. But then she'd screamed at him for having an AmiGo account (despite having one herself) and they'd stopped speaking for a solid week.[break][break]

And now they were checking out the carnival together.[break][break]

Some things never changed.[break][break]

"Mila, over here!" Gunner shouted as soon as he spotted her. He waved a hand, hoping to grab her attention.

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[attr="class","itemcolname"]league - ultra deep sea

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[attr="class","itemcoltexttit"]STAGE: CONTROLLING

[attr="class","itemcoltext"]The mental anguish rises to unbearable levels. As the Eternatus core whirs, the fleshy walls begin to swarm with pink eye-like shapes. Still, through these translucent barriers, you catch a glimpse of a nearby planet. One that looks suspiciously like the one you all live in—except that a large portion of it seems covered in land.[break][break]

You must escape with your gathered material. Your ally or allies may be incapacitated by the paranoia settling in their psyches, or perhaps, the eldritch mutations beginning to metamorphose their body or bodies.[break][break]

Depending on how much your characters have mined, you may need to lessen your extracted load to ensure successful escape from this wretched place. After all, the horrors that reside here may make chase.

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It was not Gunner's first time seeing an abomination rise from the depths of the chamber to attack them. His Stonjourner joined Derek's Steelix, attacking the strange creature with HEAVY SLAM.[break][break]

Gunner grimaced. The attacks were enough to disperse the amalgamated Pokémon, but the fact it had even assumed a physical form unnerved him. He wasn't well-versed enough in the energies of the area to understand what was causing such a phenomenon, and he didn't like it.[break][break]

The agent checked the mining equipment. The receptacles were almost packed full with Tera crystals and other unfamiliar gems. "I think this is enough. Let's get out of here," he said to Derek.[break][break]

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Gunner accepted the paper slipped to him from across the table. Summer had drawn a simple rose with the name 'Fiorelli' underneath. Only one woman in the HBIC database had such a unique surname — Elisabeth Fiorelli, known Team Rocket underboss.[break][break]

Summer continued to speak. The agent crumpled the paper in his hand and resumed gazing at the book in front of him.[break][break]

Cade Atreides was a well-known mercenary. The HBIC employed people like him sometimes to assist their field operatives with off-the-record work, but Gunner had never worked alongside one before.[break][break]

He did not wonder how Summer knew Cade. Though it surprised Gunner to hear her mention the man by name, the use of CEOs to hire mercenaries as private security was very common. Still, even if she trusted him, the HBIC would have to dig into Cade to ensure he was the right person for the job.[break][break]

As for Callan Young, Gunner was less concerned about the rock star's involvement. Rich people did whatever they thought was best for their own interests. If Summer wanted to put her faith in him, then that was her risk to take.[break][break]

"All right," the agent said, shifting in his chair as he turned the page of his book. "Make your preparations with Mr. Young. In the meantime, continue your day-to-day life as normal, as CEO of Lion Heart Trading Company."[break][break]

He raised his gaze again.[break][break]

"We will update you with the plan as needed, but keep in mind we might withhold information from you in order to make the plan more believable."[break][break]

He closed his book.[break][break]

"Do you have any questions, Miss Corleone?"

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