Ned paced around the beach by himself for a long time. The sun began to sink. Eventually his stroll took him to the remnants of what appeared to be an industrial drum. A couple of grimer were living in the broken shell. He pinched his nose and backed away. Once he was out of smell's reach, he checked his phone once more. If he would make the call, now was likely his last chance.[break]
[break]
Ned sighed. All this time he should have been training, but instead he had managed to drink himself halfway across the world and back. For all his righteous anger, he did little more than drown it in a bottle, and people were beginning to notice.[break]
[break]
Reluctantly, he dialed his friend.[break]
[break]
"Hey, yeah. It's me. I'm in... kind of a jam. Do you think you could help me out?"[break]
[break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

With Wilson returned to his pokéball, Ned walked along the narrow path around the sandy bend and across a shallow pool to the next island. He reckoned that he must have been somewhere in the watery stretch between Mossdeep and Sootopolis. He hastened his pace as he noticed a speeding boat in the distance. Jogging as well as he could on the soft sand, he hustled to the shore's edge with his arms waving in the air. The vessel paid him no mind, and continued on its path until it disappeared from view behind a rocky outcropping. Ned growled in frustration.[break]
[break]
He sat in the sand and thought for a while. His phone battery was low, but it had at least a few hours of juice left. There was someone he could call for help, his friend the gym leader.[break]
[break]
But for him to see me like this...[break]
[break]
He could not say he had a choice.[break]
[break]
Reluctantly, he pulled himself to his feet. Staring at his screen, he was heading for higher ground to try for a better signal when he nearly tripped and fell on something partially buried in the sand. He had thought for a moment that it was a discarded engine from a motorboat, but as it stirred and rose from the ground, he recognized it immediately to be revavroom. He reached to his belt.[break]
[break]
Sahara materialized from her pokéball and invoked her ability, and the air swirled with sandy debris. Their steel-type foe was unmoved, but Ned cared not. He commanded a fire fang attack, and his tyranitar rushed forth with jaws alight with flame while the wild revavroom returned with a barrage of noxious sludge. Sahara grabbed hold, and a dense cloud of dust and embers enveloped the two pokémon as they thrashed and wrestled.[break]
[break]
"Earthquake!"[break]
[break]
Their mechanical foe screeched and spewed toxic materials in all directions as the very ground beneath its feet became a mad beast. Plumes of sand spewed upwards, and the revavroom relented and collapsed into the loose ground. The dust settled, and Sahara stood the victor.[break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Ned paced the beach for a long time, looking out towards the water and waiting for someone to pass by who might be able to help him. Quiet, lonely moments like these were never good for him. As his thoughts wandered, he began to sink deeper into his mind, and the dark memories resurfaced. This was no good - he knew. But there was nothing around to distract him. The flashbacks came, and he became angry. With clenched teeth and a dry throat, he jumped onto a smooth rock and roared his frustration out towards the heavens.[break]
[break]
As his raspy voice calmed, the rock shifted beneath him, and Ned nearly lost his balance as he stumbled back. It opened up to reveal a disgruntled clamperl, which swiftly leaped into the air and grabbed hold of his wrist with a clamp. Ned cried out in pain as he desperately tried to shake the creature loose.[break]
[break]
"GET OFF ME! GET OFFFFF MEEEEEE!" he screamed as he swung the creature full force against a rock.[break]
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Finally, it came loose and fell to the sand below. Ned ducked to avoid a water gun attack. He reached for one of his poke balls and called out his ferrothorn.[break]
[break]
"Power whip!"[break]
[break]
Wilson reeled back a thick green vine and delivered a strike to the clam pokemon with such force that it was sent flying through the air and into the sea with a splash. Ned brushed his long hair away from his face with his fingers, recalled his pokemon, and continued down the beach. The tide was becoming lower, and with it a sandy pathway began to appear around one of the rocky bends.[break]
[break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Ned awoke in a life raft on a sandy shore cradled between rocky rises. The sky was bright and clear, and sunlight glinted on the gentle waves of the sea. He sat up rubbed his eyes groggily. His drunken antics on the S.S. Emeria the night before had nearly gotten him thrown overboard. To the best of his recollection, he managed to make his escape on one of the emergency vessels with a bottle of bourbon. He must have passed out somewhere on the open water. Now his bottle was empty, his mouth was dry, and his head was throbbing. Ned could not say which region he was in, but a sinking feeling in his gut told him he had found his way back to Hoenn. He pulled himself to his feet and surveyed the beach to find nothing around but sand and rocks, and it occurred to him that he had no way back to the mainland.[break]
[break]
"Damn it I'm thirsty," he said to himself. "People die like this, don't they?"[break][break]

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"Nariya Expeditions..." he repeated the name under his breath, doing his best to commit it to memory. Indeed, Hoenn seemed to have much to offer, and Ned would be damned to let its secrets escape him. He did not travel all the way from Kanto for nothing, after all. Perhaps he would benefit from its services.
[break]
[break]
He could not hide the apprehension in his face as the girl offered him a ride on her skuntank. He tried to think of a polite way to decline as a sting of pain surged from his wound. He groaned. "Yeah, actually. I think I could use a ride. Fallarbor, that's the next town, right?"
[break]
[break]
Ned detached a pokéball from the magnetic strip at his belt, expanded it, and encapsulated his metagross. Gingerly, he approached the girl's skuntank, and winced painfully as she extended a hand and helped him onto the creature's back.
[break]
[break]
"Thanks again, by the way. Kindness doesn't often come from strangers these days."
[break]
[break]

Shalin Nariya

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Ned's hair whipped back in the rushing air as his garchomp propelled him to the finish line. His dragon slowed to a trot, and he began to catch his breath. The rush of adrenaline had tensed his entire body, and put his mind in something of a daze. It took a good moment to register with him that he had come in third place. Gobi knelt down as Ned stepped off.
[break]
[break]
"Thanks, Josh." He rubbed his neck. "I'll be alright. Wasn't our first time. I've been practicing a lot, away from the population centers. I'm a classic sort of trainer, I suppose you can say."
[break]
[break]
He looked over the contestants, many of them clearly displeased to have lost to such a beast as a garchomp. But Ned did not think himself so advantaged. After all, two of the Paldean mounts had managed to outdo him. But nonetheless, it was not his concern. He had come to practice, not to compete, and now he was sure that even in the heat of combat, he and his dragon would excel.
[break]
[break]
"You were excellent, Gobi." Ned returned his garchomp to his pokéball.
[break]
[break]
He turned back to Josh. "Once again, can't thank you enough," he said, shaking the gym leader's hand. "Next time, I'll be here for your badge. But for now, I think I need a nap. Another race like that and I'll get whiplash."
[break]
[break]
Ned could feel his mood souring as he exited through the front double doors of the gym. Team Rocket was becoming stronger by the day, and while trainers like Josh and his racers were still perfectly capable of organizing fun and games, it was only a distraction. And if the threat continued to grow, then perhaps the people of Hoenn would not even have that.
[break]
[break]

Josh Devlin

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Ned studied Shalin's tera orb. Though he had never seen one before, something seemed strangely familiar about it, as if it shared something in common with the key stones and Z-rings that he had seen when he was traveling in the Kanto region. Certainly, they all shared a similar function - joining the trainer's energy with his pokémon's in order to accomplish a greater power.
[break]
[break]
He looked over towards Cobalt as it continued to examine the scattered shards of crystal. Key stones had come from Kalos, or so the old legends claimed. Z-moves were commonly known to have originated in Alola, and Dynamax Bands were supposedly only useful at certain sites in the Galar region. But this terastal phenomenon, in contrast, appeared to have fallen from the stars in an event that may very well have devastated the entire planet if not for the heroic actions of the Pokémon League. As Shalin invoked the phenomenon again, Ned felt a strange apprehension. Who were we to harness such power that we hardly understood? What consequences awaited us in our relentless pursuit of greater glory? As what point was Ned no better than his enemies?
[break]
[break]
He shook his head. "Never," he assured himself. He was a man of love, not violence. He who protects peace must be stronger than those who aim to disturb it, and that meant seizing power wherever it presented itself.
[break]
[break]
"Thank you for showing me," he replied. "I don't believe I got your name."
[break]
[break]

Shalin Nariya

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Ned clicked his tongue in frustration as another competitor passed him. The results of the race mattered not to him, but to so plainly see his garchomp outperformed left a bitter taste in his mouth. He was here to practice, and so far all that he could tell was that he and his pokémon had quite a bit of work ahead of them.
[break]
[break]
"Come on, Gobi! Not much further!"
[break]
[break]
Beyond the brief underpass laid another uphill turn divided into two lanes, apparently designed in such a way that it would be very easy for a pokémon of Gobi's approximate stature to stumble and fall. Ned bit his lip - he would need to be cautious. Winning was not on the table, but he would be damned to let him embarass himself anymore than he already had. He surveyed the remaining track, and devised a plan.
[break]
[break]
Ned called to his partner as they began to ascend the final slope. "Careful now! Steady!"
[break]
[break]
Gobi lowered his head cautiously as he trotted up the way. They had no chance of passing the other racers like this, but at this point Ned's only focus was keeping balance.
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[break]
They rounded the top, and found themselves faced down with the final stretch. Ned smirked.
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"Alright, this is it! Dragon rush!"
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[break]
Gobi cried out, and Ned's skin raised with goosebumps as draconic energy surged through his garchomp's body. He held on for dear life, nearly flung from his partner's back as the beast launched itself down the final stretch with all of its predatory might. Fast and nimble as the cyclizars had proven to be, they paled in comparison with the ferocity of a garchomp.
[break]
[break]

[break]
ENDURANCE[break]
DmV55oM6
[break]
[break]
Josh Devlin

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

"Zen headbutt! Again!"
[break]
[break]
A ball of brilliant orange light formed above the wild zangoose as it began to gather energy in preparation for a focus blast attack, and Cobalt sailed through the air. Body impued with psychic energy, Ned's metagross struck its foe with such force that shattered the crystallic mass that had enveloped its body. The fighting-type energy dissipated, and the pokémon was defeated.
[break]
[break]
Ned winced in pain again as the girl approached him, and energetically introduced herself. He reached under his clothed and felt at the wound, this time pulling back a few bloodied fingers.
[break]
[break]
"I'm Ned Clark," he replied.
[break]
[break]
Cobalt began to scan the surrounding area, curiously examining the scattered remnant shards of terastal crystal.
[break]
[break]
Ned continued. "Yeah, thanks for jumping in there. The, uh... crystal show really caught me off-guard. I've been looking to figure out how to do the same myself."
[break]
[break]

Shalin Nariya

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

They touched down harder than anticipated, and Ned realized that he had been holding his breath since before the jump.
[break]
[break]
"That's it, Gobi!"
[break]
[break]
Gliding through the air certainly gave Ned a decent boost of speed, but the momentum from that alone was simply not enough. There were five racers ahead now, and the course was much too narrow for his garchomp pass, even if he could manage the speed. Strangely, Josh and his cyclizar had fallen back by quite a bit, much to Ned's surprise. Perhaps his mount was the least experienced. It would certainly fit Josh's nature to choose the runt of the litter, and train it to its potential. Truly, Ned admired his selflessness.
[break]
[break]
The course's incline rose once more, and Gobi was losing momentum.
[break]
[break]
"Come on! You can do it!"
[break]
[break]
They entered the tunnel, and Ned squinted as he looked ahead to discern a pair of sharp turns ahead. His garchomp staggered a bit, but managed to handle.
[break]
[break]

SELECTION: ENDURANCE[break]
[break]

[break]
REACTION[break]
hDwl2vhr
[break]
[break]
ENDURANCE[break]

[break]
[break]
Josh Devlin

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

The display flashed "GO!" and with that, the racers were off. Ned quickly realized that he had dramatically underestimated the competition. The cyclizars turned out to be much faster than he imagined. It was better this way, he thought. Gobi could use some motivation.
[break]
[break]
A few of the other racers began to surpass Ned as his garchomp began to slow at the first U-turn.
[break]
[break]
"No, no!" he called out to his pokémon. "Don't slow down!"
[break]
[break]
Gobi growled in response, heightening his pace once more. They were heading up a slope now, and Ned could tell that his partner was giving it his all.
[break]
[break]
"Much better, buddy! Let's show these beasts of Paldea what you can do!"
[break]
[break]
Other racers continued to gain advantage as Ned reached the top of the incline. The cyclizars were much better practiced, and many of them seemed to outmatch Gobi in raw speed alone. But Ned's garchomp had one advantage: flight. It may not have been very sportsmanlike, but Ned was there to practice for the real world - not to waste time in some silly competition.
[break]
[break]
"Now Gobi!"
[break]
[break]
Ned's heartrate increased as they jumped from the ledge. They gained some air, then began to sail downward as the trainer directed his dragon to descend. The rushing air whipped Ned's hair back while his guts went into freefall. Frivolous as it may have been, he could see why all these trainers were so dedicated to the sport.
[break]
[break]

ROLL 1: 5YC0Db6k[break]
ROLL 2: [break]
[break]
[break]
Josh Devlin

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

As the newcomer joined in, Ned winced from a sharp pain in his abdomen. The zangoose had broken the skin.
[break]
[break]
"Little bastard," he said under his breath.
[break]
[break]
Ned watched in awe as the girl invoked the terastal phenomenon on her own pokémon. He had never actually seen a trainer use the ability before. But as the pyroar entered the fray, it quickly found itself overwhelmed by the foe.
[break]
[break]
"Cobalt!" Ned called out, holding his hand to his wound. "Zen headbutt!"
[break]
[break]
As the zangoose was distracted with its new opponent, Cobalt focused its psychic energy and flung itself forth. The wild pokémon was flung from its feet as Ned's metagross made contact, rolled for at least two dozen feet, but quickly found its footing. Though badly battered, the beast still had some fight left in it.
[break]
[break]

Shalin Nariya

[attr="class","pokeclass"]