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Boron lets out a electronic grunt of acknowledgement towards Mint as he dashes off, beady red eyes trained straight ahead as it waits for whatever is to come out of that clock tower. It wouldn't have to wait long as a group of rusty Magearna and Volcanions open the doors, carrying bits and pieces of other models of their kind out and dumping them on the ground. A passing glance is thrown at the Iron Treads as one Magearna stops to scan it over, Boron's LED eyes narrowing to a pin prick as it stares the mechanical princess down in turn. But it seems to pass muster as the robot turns back around to follow its squadron, Mint and Xenon emerging from hiding soon after.
[break][break]
"I could've taken them." The scientist responds as she climbs out of the pile of broken robots, it would seem that at some point she literally dug into the metal mound to better hide herself. She glances up at the unmoving clock hands as they enter inside, vaguely noting that the time was 12:15 when the apparatus halted its movement.
[break][break]
Inside the tower is about what can be expected from such a place, a mess of ticking gears and swinging pendulums, broken down robots and steam hissing from cracked pipes that have been running for far too long. Xenon's eyes scan over everything she can reach as she grabs a rolling ladder and swings it around to the back wall, attention focusing on one point in particular. "Hey hold this steady for me." She doesn't wait to see if Mint complies as she takes a step up on the ladder, climbing up towards some point only she could see while simultaneously shrugging off her backpack and flipping it open. "Would you say, half an hour is a good amount of time to spend studying this place?"

mint frost

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"My my, how brazen you all are. I don't think I ever gave you permission to befoul my the birthplace of my future." A shadow falls upon two fleeing League officers as Sulfur crashes into their Pokemon, a snap of Xenon's fingers is the signal for Chlorine and Phosphorus to cut down the intruders with dual Sacred Swords, their bodies crash down onto the ground unceremoniously and stain the plains with crimson life.
[break][break]
There were many things Xenon wanted from the Great Chasm and Area Zero further down below. She wanted to find the path to the future she dreamed of, she wanted to catch more Paradox Pokemon for herself, she especially wanted to fully document this new area and settle it as a new base for Team Rocket.
[break][break]
More than any of those things though, she wanted to make sure that the birthplace of the future would remain "pure." So to see these League vermin swarming into the newly opened world with their old world morality and judgemental eyes, it infuriated her to no end. So as the self proclaimed head of research into the Great Chasm and Area Zero, it of course fell to her to lead the charge against the old world government alongside the symbols of the future she espoused, heading into battle with these robotic Swords of Justice and demolishing every single research base that flew the colors of the League.
[break][break]
And of course she would bring the oh so accomplished Beast Zeppelin with her to witness her deeds, perhaps even get in on the action himself if she tired herself out at the pace she was going. Already she was on her third encampment demolished in less than a day, a wry grin on her face even as her eyes burned with silent fury at the indignity of it all. [break][break]
ir|bkhFW

Shred

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The ultramodernist lets a hum of understanding loose as Mint corrects her, covering up a smile as she turns away and muffles a giggle. "Right, right, you're a streamer. That's fun, streaming all our little acts of domestic terrorism and general villainy, makes for good propaganda." Someone needed to recruit new talent for their war in the end, and it certainly wasn't going to be her. So she'd play along with this whole streaming bit while they had their adventure, at least until it got obnoxious.
[break][break]
"Feel free to give me a funny name in the voice over if you want~ Oh, but make sure to only get my good side, I gotta look nice and ultramodern for the world." She comments as they ride her Iron Treads to their destination, an old worn out clock tower standing tall in the middle of this Mechanical Kingdom. "Well if it's not moving, it's probably because it's broken in some way right?" A simple answer to a simple quandary, if a clock isn't moving, it's because it's missing a gear in there somewhere. Xenon's hand grasps at the backpack slung over her shoulder, a few metal bits and bobs she had brought along scraping up against one another and clanking lightly as she gets ready to go in and start her investigation.
[break][break]
But then something shifts in the atmosphere, maybe it's their arrival that prompts it, but something inside the clock tower wakes up and starts making noise. "Only way to learn is by doing, only way to win is by learning, only way to begin is by beginning." She mutters quickly as she darts off to the side, heading straight for a pile of inactive robotic pokemon and scooting behind it to try and get some cover for whatever might come next.

mint frost

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"Don't be so pessimistic you ass. The grunts at base camp know we went up here, after a day or so they'll realize something is up and send us help." Her head was swimming as she observes the cave system they were trapped in, holding an arm to her aching ribs as she plants her other arm on the ground and slowly pushes herself into a kneeling position. Standing might be a bit much for her right now, but kneeling was fine enough.
[break][break]
"What a fucking find though. It makes... you... wonder..." Xenon trails off as she stares deeper into the cave, faint pulsing lights illuminating the darkness as the ground rumbles quietly underneath. She had thought that was just the natural movements of the volcano before, but there was something deeper in there that was forcing her to reevaluate that position.
[break][break]
"Hey. You brought your Pokemon with you right?" The ultramodernist fumbles for her belt and grabs Rhodium's Pokeball, her eyes dart around at the cramped cave system and she curses as she slides a hand over to Arsenic instead. There was a fog building along the floor of the cave, which was weird enough so deep underground. But what was really worrying was the slight tinge of pink she could see further inside. The ground shakes again, it's now that both can recognize this for what it was, so evenly paced as the rumbling grows stronger.
[break][break]
They were footfalls.
[break][break]
A glint of light from the Tera Crystals reflects off of a smooth green metal carapace, one leg falls in front of the other as the mechanical beast stalks the caves underneath Mt. Chimney. She had seen reports of this Paradox Pokemon from others, but this would be her first encounter with one herself as it emerges from the darkness and scans over them. Iron Thorns.

Shred

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"Riiiiight. Right right right, he did use my equipment." Booking him for a weekend would be solid marketing, after that she just needed to find something else new and exciting. A rotating roster of celebrity DJs like him? No, don't just stick to DJs, always something more just out of sight, keep looking, don't get complacent with one good idea. Stagnation and failure were synonymous no matter what industry you were looking at, whether that's running a business, training Pokemon, or mass acts of domestic terrorism.
[break][break]
"I'll owe you one then. If I remember. And if it's interesting enough to me." Such a promise from such a woman was next to worthless, but the act of giving such a thing at all was what held value. Not ten minutes prior Xenon had thought Howard was a worthless fossil, a weakling who only dragged the organization down. And now she had a high enough opinion to at least offer him a favor, even if it was so off handed and distracted that there was zero chance she'd ever actually deliver on it.
[break][break]
How often was she at the club? A good question. "Ahhhhh, I was there opening night. Some other nights I'm there, but for the most part I'm in the back trying to figure out..." She motions at all the financial paperwork once again, her countenance darkening for a second before she refocuses on the topic at hand. "Some people might remember me as Xenon, but it was crowded enough that it wouldn't be too much of a problem to put together a new identity for running the club." Inventing a random woman just to run the club was hardly a concern, even if she didn't grasp all the legal paperwork that went into establishing a new identity, she didn't need to worry so much about that for a newly established club in Lilycove. Plus there was new immigrants coming into Hoenn all the time, it was easy to slip through the cracks if anyone official ever asked.

howard slayte

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Xenon's eyes flicker over to Camellia, one of the grunts who had chosen to accompany her on this first voyage into the new world. Rockets have been executed for saying less than what she had, it wasn't too long ago that Xenon herself had been in such a position. But she wasn't like most Executives, she rather enjoyed when someone challenged her worldviews, it made things exciting.
[break][break]
"Of course I believe it. Why would I say something I didn't believe in, that's stupid." The Ultramodernist smirks at Camellia and decides to move up closer to her, the girl now surrounded on all sides by robotic Swords of Justice and Xenon at the head. But still they continue walking through Area Zero, documenting the new land while they talk.
[break][break]
"I'm sure you might have heard a little bit about my reputation as that crazy girl obsessed with the future, might have even seen me in action during one of those after battle reviews the other higher ups seem so obsessed with. But truly, my goals within Rocket are nothing but benevolent. I want to see a future that's truly ultramodern in every aspect, unbound by past governments and the archaic morality that people hold. I want to see a world where everyone can succeed if they're willing to put in the work." A very decidedly un-Rocket thing to say, on its surface completely benevolent and even charitable to others.
[break][break]
"What about you? What do you believe in, what gets you out of bed in the morning and working with a terrorist group that's internationally wanted?"

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"My my, you're quite the greedy hare aren't you? Eating up all these stories and still wanting for more." The girl giggles as she sits cross legged before the king, seemingly in a much better mood compared to the last time she held court. "But alright then, another story it is then. Today we'll tell a tale of the future to come, the age of darkness." She reaches into her coat and pulls out a sealed bottle of soda, popping the cap off of the glass bottle and raising a toast to the greedy king and his hunger for all the stories in the world.
[break][break]
"Don't tell anyone I said this but... the old fashioned bottles aren't half bad." She whispers conspiratorially to the king of the past, taking a quick sip before clearing her throat to begin.

One day the world shall change. It will be a glorious world in the future surely, but the road to such a world will be fraught with hardship. The world as we know it will fall apart in order for the new world to be born, and in between what was and what will be, there lies an Age of Darkness that humanity must overcome.
[break][break]
It will be the great war between the past and the future, the dying embers of the old order clinging to whatever scraps of fuel it can to try and burn away that beautiful future. The lights in the sky will die and this war will be fought in the shadows of the old world, brother will turn against brother, son against father, lovers' hearts torn apart as everyone fights to decide what the future will look like. And it'll be scary for everyone, but necessary all the same.
[break][break]
It's only once the lights are shattered and nobody can see that we can properly build the future we deserve, when nobody can see the paths we all followed that we can properly trailblaze a new one. The Age of Darkness will be bloody, we'll stumble, fall, break our bones, cry out in terror. But all these things are necessary for change to come. The tree of liberty can only bloom once watered by the blood of the past.

[break][break]
The girl finishes her soda and tosses the bottle to the side, the king's invisible hand catches the fragile glass in midair and he scowls at the young storyteller. "Nice catch, knew you had it in ya~ Well, catch ya on the flip side!" And with that the girl once more gets up and walks home.

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Xenon never particularly liked expectations. When people expected something of her, it was usually because of something she had done before that they wanted to see done again. It always bothered her, being held up to some kind of standard based on the past, she didn't like those kinds of chains that bound people.
[break][break]
But there was another way of looking at expectations that the Ultramodernist found somewhat more bearable. To look at somewhat and hope that they could surpass themselves, to trust that someone could face what comes in the future and meet every obstacle without faltering. That kind of expectation wasn't so bad in her opinion.
[break][break]
What she asked of Naomi Sato just that, a trust in the newly crowned Avatar's ability to demonstrate her abilities. Here, in the seat of the Unown's power where her own strength should be at its greatest, in this simulated reality where the world can change at the drop of a hat, Xenon trusted that Naomi could meet this challenge in her own unique way.
[break][break]
And just as Xenon expected greater of Naomi, she was sure that Naomi expected greater of her as the pure moonlight lands upon the ancient stone and whips the spirits within into a frenzy.
[break][break]
"500 years... 500 years... 500 years..."
[break][break]
Xenon scoffs at the ancient ghost as she releases her Malamar into the grove and crosses her arms. "The only five hundred years I care about is five hundred years into the future. Get back in the grave where you belong." A tentacle wreathed in darkness slashes the ghost in two as it reaches out to bind their destinies together, but this girl's fate isn't meant to be tied down in dark tombs and rotting graves. "Good job with the moon trick. Feel like you're getting the hang of that Avatarship?"

Naomi Sato

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"Constantly. Chien-Pao left a real scar on me." She clenches her artificial hand tightly, a pang of cold bites the point where her shoulder meets her prosthetic, some scars would always remain no matter how she denied the past.
[break][break]
Xenon snaps out of her reverie as Howard forcefully grabs her, pointing to the sky and speaking his truth of what enemies plagued Rocket, the foe that he hated so. The ultramodernist could relate, she had seen the strength of that thing in the dream of Galar so long ago, fought its armies on a battlefield much like this one.
[break][break]
Yet even with the hate in his heart for that black beast, he instead picks up the shield to weather its blows. A regal beast emerges from the stone and howls its defiance to the sky, merging with the ancient shield and assuming its true form in a flash of golden light. It cannot speak, but the way it looks at Xenon and Howard, they could clearly understand its invitation as it turns back to the battlefield and charges onward, a smile creeps up on the scientist's face as she plucks up a Pokeball and releases Boron onto the field. "Well, it would be pretty rude to say no to such an invitation to battle~" Two magnetic handholds are slapped onto the Iron Tread's side as Xenon grabs on, hanging from the steel tank's body as it rolls on after the Zamazenta.
[break][break]
And so the battle rages on, the Shield of the People bounding into action to protect its people, Xenon and Howard following in its wake and slaying every Dynamaxed Pokemon they came across. The battle was surely one of legend, something that would be written of in fables and fairy tales. But alas, this too was naught more than a digital dream, one they would have to wake up from as they quickly approached their final stage.

howard slayte

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