"fire types ..." lorelei echoed, practically mesmerized by the idea. it seemed almost too perfect of an opportunity for the houndoom-obsessed trainer. [break]
"i'm unsure," she thought out loud for a moment - looking down at her long-time companion in the form of her black and red houndoom. the blood red dog wagged her frayed tail, letting her owner know that it was okay to let her go forward into such a dangerous situation. she was ready, why wasn't lorelei?[break]
perhaps from a spot of newfound fear of loss given her advancement in her connection with @romanl , she faltered. this was enough for another houndoom to come pouncing out of its pokeball alongside a little houndour that followed its lead. together, the two brimstone dogs combined forces to go for the large buzzwole itself. lorelei's head whipped around quickly as to tell her pokemon to stop but it was too late. the two of them surged forward in an enlarged fire blast - putting both of their maws close to one another to enhance each other's attack.[break]
fortunately, that was enough to take the buzzwole down - having already sustained damage beforehand from its battle with pheromosa.[break]
with a thankful sigh, lorelei knelt down to scoop up her dogs into her arms and glared at each one of them individually. they had much to learn still, it seemed. regardless, she was thankful for the chance to throw a pokeball at the felled ultra beast - a resounding hum and click showing it to be part of her new collection.[break]
"let's head home," she suggested strongly to the rest of the group.

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Shalin Nariya @gwylim

by means of oppressive force, a means of traversing the sandy land was made possible. perhaps the goggles weren't necessary after all, though lorelei figured she'd hold onto them for now. if someone needed them, they'd be handed over.[break]
"what is that?" she asked out loud, curiosity making her voice rise in a questioning tone as the group made their way out of the tunnel. a calmer scene awaited them - two large bugs sitting cross-legged as if meditating. it seemed to be the eye before the storm as the two ultra beasts rose to their feet and slowly approached one another. despite their hatred for the other, they seemed to have some kind of understanding. the gladiator pokemon nodded at one another before exchanging fists and kicks of legs. pheromosa fought like a kickboxer while buzzwole threw heavy rocks and punched with its various arms.[break]
"it seems the bigger one is winning," lorelei observed out loud, donning the goggles momentarily to be able to see this amidst the shifting landscape. buzzwole was indeed besting the pheromosa it fought and was getting ready to land a final blow, not caring about those who watched the battle as if it had been waiting a long time for this.[break]

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Shalin Nariya @gwylim

"it's not like you to take initiative like this." truly, lorelei wasn't good at the idea of 'not looking a gift horse in the mouth.' she spoke what came to mind in times of shock like this, her objective observation perhaps seeming like a sideways comment. attempting to quickly remedy the situation, she almost pouted. "work and team building can be intertwined ..." almost like a kid kicking a small pebble around, she gave a small push of her foot in the car and looked down at it - almost as if disappointed by her own failure to understand basic social norms. not everyone wanted to work 90 hour work weeks. not everyone was her and that was okay. it couldn't always be her way or the highway, though ... really, it could be if she so wanted it. roman was special to her and so she had no choice but to give up liberty of choice for the even exchange of mystique and fun he could bring to their relationship. [break]
after all, his lack of disappointment and distaste was almost like a smile on his face - bringing one to lorelei's own. even if it was just for a moment in secret.[break]
"i'm starting to think you look good in blue," the mogul chimed in upon seeing goobly and roman still inseparable, almost laughing if it wasn't literally physically impossible for her to do so out of joy. things had changed quickly in their combined life, but there was still a long way for someone like her to learn how to let loose and just enjoy an arguably normal day. normal for her was two pots of black coffee and last minute flights across the continent for business to meet with misogynistic clients.[break]
"also i'm starting to think mother is looking more domestic by the day." indeed, the houndoom was. sensing the judgement from her trainer, she recoiled and almost started growling and shaking to seem intimidating but lorelei held a hand out to stop her before anything started. if she was going to allow such a scene to play out, it was unfair to not allow her long-time pokemon partner the same privilege. [break]
"i think they suit each other." [break]
as quickly as this was said, lorelei's neck snapped at an incredible speed to look away from the fire dog duo and towards roman once more. "excuse me?" his instructions were clear, but lorelei was no chef. all her food was made by others or handed to her by deliverymen. such was the life of someone with too much money on their hands and no enjoyment when it came to eating. either dishes were for nutrition or skipped entirely in favor of working and too much coffee suppressing her appetite. it was only the constant chansey healing infusions that kept her as strong as she was.[break]
"smoliv ..." lorelei trailed off, trying to find the last ingredient listed - the olive oil. by some grace of god, she had managed to get everything in line. stew was indeed an easy enough dish, but the last thing she had managed to cook without difficulty was an egg with toast. already fretting on whether she had to find a smoliv to crush to make the olive oil, she didn't quite understand the fact that the oil was already in the container until she turned it upside down and saw it pouring out. feeling like a caveman with this surface level knowledge, lorelei almost ran a hand along her face when she decided to have patience and started following the basic instructions.[break]
-- then a large hand fell upon her own, shocking her out of her focus.[break]
by reflex, lorelei slapped roman's hand away.[break]
it wasn't an act of malice or distrust. it was a reflex brought on by one too many touchy clients and years of being in an abusive relationship with a man who had tried to kill her. roman's touches were always rough and hard which made it easy to decipher his own pulls and tugs at her from anything that would trigger such memories, but this was different.[break]
this was too alike to what she had come to hate.[break]
"oh, apologies." their robotic way of apologizing was familiar to lorelei. it felt normal to her, although weird to any outside witness. embarrassed by her action, she reached out a hand to him and smoothly went to remedy the situation. the knife was held aloft, allowing him access to her wrist to help her understand what he wanted through demonstration. "you have permission." her gaze was on his own, commanding as she was used to but the meaning was much gentler - a suggestion as opposed to a demand. it was an olive branch held out by someone who barely understood olive oil's purpose.
[break]

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@romanl

lorelei watched as gwylim made work of the djinn pokemon and gave his command. a plan was a plan and this one wasn't too far from worthwhile to listen to. nodding at the idea, she worked with shalin to mix the leaf into some water. while it wasn't necessarily a narcotic or means of subduing a legendary, it had been rumored to uplift curses. was this legendary truly a curse, though? if anything, it would be a blessing to be able to take it back to reality with them as one of their entourage. of course, that would be impossible. these lands were unforgiving and didn't care about those within it - much like a god looking down at them and spitting in their face at any attempt to further their gains.[break]
kneeling down to shalin as she poured her portion of the king's leaf down the large pokemon's gullet, she offered her the fraction of the leaf she had been assigned. "for you, ms. nariya." this was said with professional respect. lorelei wasn't smiling or frowning - jaded as she offered the mythical item. "i have no real use for it and it is unfair for you to have your portion for something you didn't incur upon us." it was only fair to give up her portion of the leaf, given she had put them in this situation without truly meaning to. nodding a 'please, take it' in a silent manner, she helped shalin to her feet if she'd allow it and looked towards the hooded figures with a bit of a squint.[break]
the figures were turning translucent, as if the gimmick had worked. perhaps they were returning to present time, given how their images were fading away while the trio remained fully opaque. [break]

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Shalin Nariya @gwylim

loved ones were mixed into the fight - or rather, ones she should have loved. perhaps the desert understood that she had important figured in her life, but it didn't comprehend that people she once sought validation from are not the same as those she had come to have deep and positive feelings for. her father was one of the taller figures in the shapes meant for her, his jaw dislocating by the very sandy sinew that snapped off the head of her grainy mother. the mother figure flailed as if in actual pain, arms splayed out and looking for her head - grasping at nothing. fitting.[break]
"they seem ignorant." lorelei said flatly, not convinced they were of any danger despite gwylim's warning. "things meant to stir up negative emotions or memories are only strong if we allow them to be. physically, they should amount to nothing." with this, her vaporeon was pulled out of its pokeball and lorelei held her arm out for shalin and gwylim to not approach. she didn't need any harm to come to them, should anything happen. [break]
"i'll take responsibility. for now, hydro pump."[break]
the vaporeon had to ground itself before obeying, its feet digging into the sand beneath to give it leverage as it unleashed arguably one of the strongest water moves known to the land. the sand gave way to the powerful attack, multiple figures getting washed away by the powerful stream from the water eeveelution. there were still a few figures left, but they didn't seem to quite care. if anything, they seemed pleased.[break]
with a sharp 'click', the sundial turned. it seems their side had come to win, with the elimination of the others struggling against them.[break]
before them, landorus incarnate glared down at the trio of trainers. or so it seemed for a moment.[break]
as if unimportant, the legendary figure simply leaned its large head over them - narrowing its eyes at what seemed to be a glyphic summary of a ritualistic means to summon said legendary. a small group of about eight hooded figures quivered and dropped to their knees in a circle for the large paw that came down to smash the glyph to pieces, signaling the end of the ritual and the end of any subsequent attempts to summon it.[break]
it seemed the three adventurers were stuck in a scene of the past that may have been pivotal in shaping the desert. it seemed the ultra desert wasn't so 'ultra' at this point, its edges being able to be seen off in the horizon whereas just moments ago it would go for multiple miles more. pinching the bridge of her nose, lorelei understood that this may not have been the best play.[break]
"perhaps we should run before we're next," she remarks flatly, gesturing to the group of hooded figures who seemed to be the target of landorus's rage for the time being.

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Shalin Nariya @gwylim

again, the unbearable heat called to lorelei. this time, however, there was a wind to her back that kept pushing her forward - promising great riches for her trouble. the blue ditto on her shoulder sighed, obviously tired of this place already. its trainer couldn't blame it, seeing as the land was riddled with all the indiana jones traits ... the bad ones.[break]
"hm." that was a never good start when it came from lorelei, her gaze narrowing as she peered at the outline of something in the whirling sands that forewarned them of a possible storm. "what exactly is that? am i seeing that correctly?" different sand people were huddled over a large dial in the middle of the desert - seemingly trying to turn it this or that way, but each failing to overpower the others of the group so it was at a standstill. it seemed to be an important relic of sorts, by the way these strange creatures were fighting over it. anyone with two brain cells to rub together could tell that much.[break]
"what say you, team? should we approach?"

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Shalin Nariya @gwylim

shiny poliwraths had an unfortunate color. nonetheless, lorelei attempted to catch one of the rocky balboa-esque pokemon.[break]

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@ swarm

the interdream dimension was something worth exploring. whether it was for team rocket or the league's benefit was of no interest to lorelei who had little connection to either, though bearing the title of a rocket 'member'. fritz was a ranger, so perhaps his loyalties would be tested with this mission. it wasn't like lorelei expected his actions to make her question him, but the interdream dimension might give her a bit of insight on this recruit.[break]
"fritz." calling someone by their first name was reserved for allies only - for underlings she could trust with at least a miniscule amount of work. she called this into the void of the rift of shifting images and shapes, hoping for something to echo her curiosity.[break]

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@fritz