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She appears, a lot stricter than she assumed at first. Someone her age, talking the way she did, felt wrong. But in a world torn apart by war, even those too young to know pain must take up arms. But that wasn't a world she, or any girl her age, should ever have to know.[break][break]

"Thank you," she does just that, coming in.[break][break]

The arena is about as worn down as she assumed it might have been after Navy left, but her lack of care was mirrored to Genny. Neither her place, nor her desire to talk about it. Instead, when the woman speaks of why now, expecting to challenge her earlier, and Navy's recommendation, she smiles.[break][break]

"I wanted to. Melody Miro is the reason I even decided to go for the Gym Challenge. Sheriff Navidson even wanted me to go Elite Four. But... the war kept me away." That's not completely true, but it is mostly. One loss against Josh Devlin, and then the world going to war made it hard to really process gyms. Fun too. The resort trip with Yuina Higashi, DESIREE BLOOMS, Elise Calcifet, Andrea Vaneau, Shalin Nariya felt like it was so, so long ago with everything. She'd barely kept in contact with them as of late.[break][break]

But if she didn't rest now... and make the progress that Councilwoman freya morningstar had told her to make, that she had pushed her towards, she would likely fulfill the vision. The mistaken dream.[break][break]

"I always wanted to be a Champion too, ever since I was a little girl." she beams towards her.

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Councilwoman Morningstar leans forward, and repeats what Paxton already told Genny before. Gods can bleed. He killed one, after all. But its in her way to refute her words, that really has Genny stop. She listens, because if she doesn't, she'll strain that relationship. She looks up to Freya so much already, that she can't help but try and internalize.[break][break]

Until, Freya agrees with ollie morales. For a moment, she's about to say something, but when she opens her mouth, nothing comes out. Paxton. Ollie. Her nurse. They needed her to rest. They were right, of course. She needed a break. But instead of just saying rest, Freya adds something else. That progress can still be made. That there is a path forward.[break][break]

That's something she needed to hear, and it was so glaringly obvious.[break][break]

She can still make progress moving forward. She can talk to Bulu. She can talk to people. But that clashes with the Shield of Hoenn. The woman from the vision on the ship. That clashes with the Hero of Hoenn's mindset. It's going against the woman screaming in her head, echoing in every way. She had to follow her. To become like her, to save Hoenn. Resting was letting Hoenn burn.[break][break]

She grabs the ball for Tapu Bulu, and looks at her reflection. Her hazel eyes are haunting, for the first time to herself. Genny was afraid of the woman who looked back.[break][break]

"Councilwoman Morningstar," she starts quieter, prying herself from the reflection, as she turns the ball. "Where would you start?" Genny wasn't alone. Maybe... asking the right questions, would solve how to get through to Bulu.

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Nurse Katharina's touch isn't the most gentle, and it causes some pain, but she has an air of professionalism ass he fixes her up. Even her gameplan, to see what kind of physical therapy she needed, potential changes to her diet plan for recovery. Genny doesn't like recovery. This part always felt so... long.[break][break]

Of course, this was the part that Lucky loved. Because to Lucky, this meant Genny was going to get better! Nurse Kat was going to make Genny all better, and happy! That was what he wanted too, and when he was offered a means to join them, he barks, and hops on his front legs, making squeaks on his hind-wheels.[break][break]

With a nod, Genny looks down. "Okay. Got it. Arm exercises." Simple enough. She still had proper strength in them, she thought. She moves to flex her arm. It seemed to be fine, no difference. It wasn't like walking. "Now you, Lucky."[break][break]

Lucky rolled over. That wasn't too helpful, but he was cute. She smiles sheepishly. For the first time, she actually giggles, even if incredibly quiet.[break][break]

"I don't think rolling over was what she had in mind."

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Dying is easy. Living, is harder.[break][break]

The worst of it, is that she cannot deny what Paxton is saying. She's not confident enough to respect Bulu, or dahlia goode. It's more than one loss, but it doesn't change his point. They succeeded, bittersweet as it may be. But to die a martyr, to save Hoenn and fall? It only reinforced her thoughts.[break][break]

'But it isn't a mistake.'[break][break]

His disappointment is perhaps the thing that hurts the most. Paxton's disappointment hurt, stinging harder than any bee. She stays quiet the entire time, and she listens. She whimpers, and listens intently, as Lucky lays down on her leg now, trying to cheer her up. He could tell she was going through it.[break][break]

Project Sapphire is mentioned, she perks up. It waws good for her. The idea of being able to understand Bulu, or any legendary for that matter. To train with Dynamax and Terastalization more, for mentorship, and mental health pushes. She internalizes it. Because in a way, it's a means to get her stronger, but working alongside ollie morales and annalise henderson, that would be wonderful.[break][break]

To gain strength, to assist Sheriff @navy, she needed to take advantage of everything, and get to it fast to take on Rocket.[break][break]

His last push, his last motion is firm. For her to seek help, and take time off. "Mm," she responds in another whimper. She can't get help, if she's dead. She can't be taught, if she's dead.[break][break]

"I'll think about it... sorry to-... sorry." she pulls herself onto her crutches. She can't look him in the eyes. Lucky gets up, and whines.[break][break]

'It's... not a mistake... right?'

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He thought he could be a hero. She sympathizes with that. But what she can't was that he himself killed. She was built different, but she knew that this was the road she was on. She knew, at the end of the road, she would burn. In a way, it was peaceful. To die a hero, to save Hoenn. She wanted to make sure no one else had to die.[break][break]

But getting off this path? To let others fall, while she lives a comfy life? The job isn't done until the war is over. She can't smile with her friends. The Girlygang. She can't live happily with Isaac Merlo, if she's always worried that the war will take them away.[break][break]

"You can count on me, Sheriff."[break][break]

Her gaze sits on Navy, and she smiles. "I told you before. The path to strength is the one I intend to walk. If I back down, more people die. If I can save even one, it's worth it." She seems confident in it. That this path was the way forward. At least right now, she had to.[break][break]

But... fear over the League? What did that entail, she wondered.[break][break]

"I'll get stronger, and be on the field. I'll do all I can."

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His hand is heavy... perhaps heavier than it ever felt. His words are sweet, filled with warmth, but she feels colder with each one. She wants to fire back, but instead, it just leaves her with what she knew.[break][break]

Ollie was sweet, and he wouldn't let her burn for Hoenn. In a way, that was the worst thing he could be. No argument like how she snapped at paxton concordas, instead it's met with open arms, a call to relax, and to hold fast. It's met with a hand in hers. The tears start coming, and they don't stop coming. She looks towards the window.[break][break]

You can't save anyone without saving yourself first.[break][break]

A crack in the dream. The vision she saw. The Martyr Genevieve Cromwell burns in that firey wasteland of Hoenn, where Rocket falls, and the League finally wins. She shakes it off.[break][break]

"But if I wait... and someone else dies," How much was one life worth, really? More than anything. "I will never forgive myself. I can't just... sit here, doing nothing. Ollie. Please, I can get better," she pleads, but the whimper in her tone already accepted what Ollie is likely to ask. She doesn't believe it.[break][break]

Because Paxton was right.

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Pain is coursing through her entire body at the moment of collision. Something broke. It's like agony, pushing into her body, and no matter how much she shakes, she feels it difficult to rise. But she HAS to rise. She HAS to get up. She HAS to bury this Rocket in the ground.[break][break]

Even at the cost of everything.[break][break]

The wild look in her eyes, as she pulls herself to her feet, and stares with fire in her gaze, ready to fire lasers, as her nose scrunches up in fury.[break][break]

Shale does her best, but the poison courses through the shadowy Aerodactyl, unable to stop the Turtonator's SMOG. She may be hurt, but she has just the fix. Shale forces her jaws open, and digs it into the Turtonator as best she can, with a SHADOW LEECH, attempting to open a wound that won't clot properly, and heal from the blood.[break][break]

Titan doesn't have the same means of protection. Not immediately. The OUTRAGE is met with his HEAD SMASH, and as Titan skids back into the dirt, he cries out with a ROCK TOMB, intending to bury the Gouging Fire back, as Genny walks limply past the giant turtle.[break][break]

She grabs at her side, wincing. "I'm giving you one chance. Let her go and back down." Was she really in a position to make demands.[break][break]

"You won't get another."

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It's nice. At first. The man would give her a chance to orient herself, and understand where she is, to get her bearings with Cheeto, and get out of here. The aimless path leads on, but even in its glow, there was something... empty. Each step further and further. But from what? The girl couldn't pinpoint what.[break][break]

She couldn't pinpoint what it was until after it was far too late.[break][break]

When they reached the precipice of the grand Fae Kingdom, the girl looks upon the plains, the villages, the large castle. And the more she looks, the bigger her smile gets. How beautiful... when she takes a moment to step forward, she hears him chuckle. She was only a visitor though, and as nice as his offer is, she wanted more than anything to leave.[break][break]

But as they watch him dissipate into butterflies, she grabs to her own waist, her stomach, and feels... still so empty.[break][break]

Another creature approaches her, and as she steps forward to look them over, a hand outstretched to them, it speaks. It speaks in contempt for the man of butterflies, the fae. And when he goes to ask if she still had her name, she opens her mouth.[break][break]

"My name is ___."[break][break]

Her eyes widen with fear. She was Nobody. To the butterflies that moved to the castle, she realized what was taken from her. It was her name. That was her emptiness. Her teeth grit, her hazel eyes burn. "He took it from me."[break][break]

"How do I get it back?" the girl asks, her eyes never leaving the kingdom.

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Thing was, even as Josh spoke the way he did, Genny was certain of it. She turns away from the Gym Leader, eyes on the course before them, and responds in kind.[break][break]

"There's no if this time. Only when."[break][break]

By time they reach the line, the banner monitor was at the ready, and with the coming of that galloping Raikou, Genevieve stares ahead. She takes a breath in, eyes closed, petting Zag on the head.[break][break]

3.[break][break]

2.[break][break]

1...[break][break]

GO!!![break][break]

The first thirty seconds are intense, a straightaway, and Genny has to learn to adjust as quickly as possible. Zagreus had no chill, one-hundred percent maximum to no end. With Uzi, she had control, but here, in these straightaways, Genny felt the wind pushing through her hair, as the blazing trailblaze moved forth. The good news, is Zag's reaction speed, sliding on the track constantly from the friction, as he races towards the middle of the track.[break][break]

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She pulls herself to her feet. No matter how much pain she feels, no matter how much exhaustion, she must persevere to see the tomorrow she sets. There can be no burning, there can be no throwing herself to die painfully. Flashes of her continue to burn her mind, attempting to emblazen her inferno, but she calms it. Her heart was fire, but she would hold it.[break][break]

The stage was set. He once again flipped the table. In his words, she wondered how much his heart was in them. When ice and dirt are sent into the air, from the massive explosion, she lets the adrenaline pump into her heart. The field is set in red, the wild flee, and the admin stands against her.[break][break]

Regirock enters the fray.[break][break]

Every wound burns, every pain stings, but she stands tall. She has the biggest smile on her lips.[break][break]

"You're right," she proclaims back, Bulu standing like the colossus behind her. She stands as the smallest five foot one girl, when faced with a duo of colossi, and yet he has her stand tall. They stand not as one toppling the other, but as equals here.[break][break]

"A pure heart alone... cannot change the world," she repeats back to him. Bulu, in moments, summons the the forest of trees around them, a MAX OVERGROWTH, the field of flowers growing rapidly amidst the dirt and ice, even as it falls to try to strike Genny, Bulu protects her, a hoof to shield her of all the world.[break][break]

She is weak. She has been weak. Strength standing alone is not strong.[break][break]

"The League is... not enough. Our war is from dissatisfaction. Rocket has the means for change, and will do... what is necessary to get there," she says, and takes a step forward, as the mushroom-trees spawn and surround the area, threatening towards Regirock, without striking, without attacking them. The scientist (Lulu Flint) she fought on Dewford wanted to learn and understand what the League barred her from. Hitoshi Inoue wanted the falling of Rocket, so that maybe he didn't have to kill anymore. Even the traitors who sat amongst their own ranks, like Caleb Harcourt and Isaac Merlo, found that dream unsatisfactory and walked.[break][break]

"But Rocket's ambition is wrong, and will... bleed this world just like my dream wanted: one side... burnt to the ground and pulled into the other." The trees surrounding start exploding into autumn leaves, surrounding them both in a whirlwind of the season.[break][break]

"Tomorrow only comes... when today's war ends. For every Rocket that is willing, I will... rise to be the next Champion to meet you. And to each that I must defeat," she takes another step forward, ready to meet the challenge. To step up to every god, knowing that they can falter and fall. To step to every Avatar, knowing they are human. To every Admin, knowing they can lose. To every Beast, knowing they can come back.[break][break]

"I WILL NOT LOSE!" The autumn trees burst, beginning to attack both colossi.

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It may break it, but it will allow her to work through it. "That's good enough for me." She's confident that, if nothing else, she will push through it. She will persevere, all the same, and create her own path forward.[break][break]

When the Rotomdex speaks, all she can do is grimace, and smile sheepishly. She had the same issue, and though there was a technicality they both protested against the relenting push down to not work, they were still reprimanded: Hideo by his Rotom, and Genny by her superior. It was nice, knowing it wasn't just her.[break][break]

The doors open up, leading to a room with a pair of Musharna. A Gym Trainer would read the story in Hideo's place, allowing the young Gym Leader to rest. She smiles, and as per Hideo's instruction, she sits herself down upon the couch, moving to lay down on it as Cheeto does the same, moving to lay on Genny's lap. She takes a breath in, as the Trainer with the book began to speak. Genny, closing her eyes, focused in.[break][break]

"Under... sto-"[break][break]

The darkness of slumber takes her...[break][break]

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Now open your eyes.[break][break]

The world around her was mystical in nature, a forest alone, the sky dark and featureless, with a forest spread by the sun. The glow of it pierces the trees, through branches and woods, and all she can do is look about for a moment. The trainer continues, a narration that surrounds her like a whisper on the wind.[break][break]

To escape, Genny would need to find a way out. She nods, taking everything in. It's felt as though she'd been lost for awhile, no ending to these woods. She could feel the struggle, but before long she sees...[break][break]

"Hideo...?"[break][break]

She approaches him, the fairy wings upon his back large, keying her in that perhaps this was not him. But she quickly presses closer, as he speaks, having watched her. She tells him of the kingdom, a place to rest. She can't help but smile, and responds in kind when he asks for her name.[break][break]

"Genevieve Cromwell."

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She knew. Most of the time, she knew she wasn't going to get through to them. Every time she laid down her arms, she was taken advantage of. Each Rocket, in some way, left her for dead. She was broken, beaten, thrown to the side. No matter how much she gave to them, they fought back with a knife, and waited to plunge it in. But just as many who are loss, there are those who can yet be saved. Like him. The Rocket takes his mask off, and Genny sees him, one eyed. Just like Isaac Merlo, back then.[break][break]

To tell him it wasn't going to be like the thousand dead men would deny the devastation of war, deny those who cannot get out. Just like before, he couldn't get out. But even so, seeing his face, she knew. Just like Hitoshi Inoue. Just like Izzy. They're people.[break][break]

The way he talks about declan walsh has Genny sharply inhale. The man who sits at the top. The leader of Rocket, paranoid about defectors, and breaking those who disobey. He talks in echo with Hitoshi, to protect the region, she has to get through him. The god sits at the top of the mountain, she's climbing in no condition to climb. But the order is the same. It's always been the same.[break][break]

To free him, she has to win. Both now and then. He tells her to make her dream reality. That dream that has lingered over her, like a puppeteer holding her strings. She feels the shadow over her, Genevieve Cromwell stares down at her, almost maliciously waiting for her to burn. She hasn't been doing it the right way, and she's nearly died countless times. She's allowed herself to burn, to let the dream take her to the edge, as per the vision she saw that day. Her dream was a mistake. The premise wasn't wrong, but the end result was. Her extended hand balls into a fist.[break][break]

She tries to clear her mind. That reality cannot exist. Within the ice and snow from the colossus in front of her, she must forge the path ahead.[break][break]

"Thank you," she claims, and takes a step forward. She's not breaking the vision, nay, the delusion before her. But he broke the mirror.[break][break]

"When this war is done," she says so confidently "I hope you and I can be friends."[break][break]

She closes her eyes, and places that fist over her chest. For every good Rocket, there are ten who wish her harm. Skulley is dead. She cannot help her now, but Skulley gave her the means to brave the storm.[break][break]

She cannot let it be for nothing. She inhales, and as loud as she can, she cries out.[break][break]

"BULU!"[break][break]

The field of flowers spawns once more, breaking free from the winds of winter to dream once more of spring. To reset herself. And with the bull's triumphant return, he bursts free with the roar from below, the moo sounding out. In a moment, she returns him, Pokeball in hand.[break][break]

And she activates the Dynamax Bracelet. With Dynergy, Bulu's ball expands in her hands.[break][break]

She smiles at Howard, and drops the massive ball, the massive island spirit matching the colossus, the snarl ready to roll as he beats his hooves together in giant form, the shockwave of it blowing ice and petals in the air around the titans before them. Her vision blurs, but she still sees him. The one eye that looks into both of her own.[break][break]

Her legs wobble, and she takes a knee from her depleting energy. 'Keep going.' She closes her eyes.[break][break]

She has to live to see spring again. She has to live, to see them again. Her friends. Her Girlygang. Her loved ones. "WIN!" she yells to the heavens. The bull snarls, enjoying her decision. One hit to end this? That's the lazy way. In a moment, to combat their type disadvantage, upon the eclipsed sun from clouds, the stars begin to fall within a MAX STARFALL, barraging towards the colossus and the Rocket.

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No. Genny wasn't ready. She still had a road ahead of her, as she stares at the colossus, her eyes forward. Her body is in shambles, Skulley is gone. Until Genny wakes up from the dream, she will not make it. The machinery will kill. Team Rocket will kill. They will take. That is what ollie morales and paxton concordas meant by taking a break. This is what freya morningstar meant. This war will take, and take, and take.[break][break]

But communication was what Rangers did. They saved, they didn't slave away training for war. Perhaps it is wrong that Ollie had no choice but to make them soldiers. There's no reason why she can't try. As she is now, she cannot save all of them.[break][break]

Just one.[break][break]

The man's voice is real. The Rocket's voice calls out to her, a question in a tired voice. Had she ever been afraid of her own shadow. When she turns her head down to face her own, she sees how much it had grown. The soldier Genevieve Cromwell, stands tall with the flag in hand. She stands, burning to protect all of Hoenn, to protect the world from devastation. The title of the Shield of Hoenn, to become that, isn't her.[break][break]

Her dream is wrong. The shadow she casts is frightening. Freya's words come to mind.[break][break]

... the most important thing you can remember is...[break][break]

"You don't have to face them alone." She keeps her hand outstretched to him. He can strike now. He can take her down, and nothing will change. But if they don't take the step, to realize, to understand one another, this war will go on for longer.[break][break]

This is what a Ranger does.[break][break]

They save the people. They all breathe the same air, see the same sky. They are not soldiers, they are people.

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