"Come on, Shouko, this way..."

Floating off with her usual distant tone of voice, Saki - or, in this case, Yakumo Ichimori - walked on ahead, loosely holding her arms out to her sides. Instead of ordinary casual clothes, today she wore a loose, short white kimono with a triangular deep blue hem, over a plain black dress to keep her modest. She - they - had brought a few accessories, just in case something happened, but that wasn't in their plans for now. Today was just going to be a fun adventure with her new friend. A terribly risky adventure, no doubt, but Shouko didn't really need to know that. She'd be fine, Yakumo was sure of it. Adventures had to involve risk, didn't they? Starting with high risk endeavour like this one would best prepare Shouko for the rest of her journeys.

It was quite early in the day still, letting the two girls wander through Granite Cave without much more danger than usual. Just a couple of ordinary civilians, going exploring as trainers were oft to.

Yakumo suddenly stopped. Something wasn't right. This rift wasn't supposed to be here, at least not from what little information she'd been privy to. Then again, she'd wanted to try and show Shouko something like this anyway! It was quite serendipitous, which filled her with a rare form of excitement. There wasn't even anyone to stop her from doing more than simply showing...

She reached out behind herself with sudden, uncharacteristic swiftness, but was still gentle as she grabbed Shouko by the wrist. "Come on, let's hurry! Quick, before something happens!" With a breeze-like laugh, Yakumo ran forwards, leaping into the rift whether Shouko pried herself free or let herself be dragged along.

---

Interdream 1
Participation: +50 MP
Post: +10 MP
(Total: 190 MP)

"Your sins?" The girl tilts her head. Are those eyes of hers filled with confusion? Does she not understand? Or is that doubt and disbelief, rejecting the truth of your words? "Do you really believe you've done anything wrong? That can't be true, can it?" Her tone of voice doesn't make it any clearer.

With Sakura's arrival, she frowns and bites her lip. This time disappointment and sorrow are clear on her face, with no room for alternate interpretations. After sighing and lowering her head, her mouth twists into a nasty, vulgar smile. False life wells up from within to animate her expression, puppetting her body in a fashion that's almost nostalgic. Seems whatever this is copied that habit, too.

"Well, now you're speaking my language! Yes, yes, let's make all the possibilities in the world together." A sinister chuckle instead of a cutesy giggle, this time. She reaches for one of the Pokeballs on her waist - only two of them, unlike before - but her choice is obvious from the voice she's using, even before she makes it.

At least, it should have been. The beast that emerges lacks the pristine beige fur it - or its genuine counterpart - once possessed, instead a disheveled greying mess with eyes red like blood. You can tell it's already wounded and tired. If this duo has indeed crawled out of hell, it must have been a quite a harrowing journey. All for the sake of seeing you again, or so she's claiming.

Or if the trainer is instead an angel of death in disguise, what accompanies her can only be the grim reaper.

"I'm not the only one to come back, as you can see. But now that all of us are here, let's have some fun like we used to, eh? Maybe that'll knock the truth back into you."

The girl holds her arms out with her palms facing upwards, waiting patiently for you to begin. Hoping you'll prove something by attacking first. Her newly-evolved Pokemon, however, struggles to contain itself, impatiently dragging and stomping its foot against the ground.

---

Clash 1
Post: +10 MP
(Total: 130 MP)

Electroball was far from the only distraction in this region of the Ultra Deep Sea. The arriving trainers and their Legendary Pokemon had immediately devolved into - or rather, resumed - combat, but it seems they hadn't noticed that they were not alone.

Not that they could be blamed in the slightest. Nobody would have noticed a bunch of lowly grunts cowering behind rock formations, not when they had a life-or-death battle to concentrate on. None of them were eager to go up against monsters like those. Unfortunately for said grunts, Saki did not have any such distractions. She wasn't their leader, being a lowly grunt herself, but damn if she couldn't step up.

"Come on, pull yourselves together! The bosses would have your heads if they saw this. We can at least buy him some time!"

Saki couldn't identify Rayquaza, but it was obvious how strong it was. It and Killian were far enough beyond her that she couldn't even tell how their fight was going or how much damage they were doing. Even so, she stepped out without fear. Her head was wrapped in a white ninja-style hood, and her eyes covered by orange glasses, respectively matching and clashing with her loose white-and-blue kimono. The grunts behind her forced themselves to follow suit, driven instead by fear of their superiors. Saki led with her Annihilape, and the others sent out a variety of more common Pokemon, some not even fully evolved.

Her allies flung a couple of attacks at Ollie's Lanturn, to try and avoid antagonising the mythical beast they stood before. Saki herself had different plans, and her partner was on the same page, letting out a loud, monstrous growl to catch Rayquaza's attention. The Rage Monkey Pokemon then alternated between shadow boxing and flexing, trying to keep hold of that caught attention with a boisterous and egregious display of Swagger.

---

Clash 2
Participation: +50 MP
Post: +10 MP
(Total: 120 MP)

"Pitch black and pure white are the same, don't you know?"

A familiarly cheerful giggle echoes throughout the waterless depths. An ethereal sound, so light and directionless that it seems to come from the spirit world.

It doesn't, of course, but perhaps the girl behind it does. Floating above you, the long white sleeves of her kimono splay out in the space of the Ultra Deep Sea, as if they were the wings she'd lost long ago. While only darkness lies beneath, a dim light remains up above, cloaking her in a halo as if she were an angel. Although you know full well that this girl is anything but.

"I finally, finally found you. How long has it been? It feels like lifetime after lifetime. The calendar says just a few weeks, but each and every day felt like decades."

She laughs again, her arms held out to the side as if to slow her descent. Her hair floats upwards to match the sight, giving you a rare look at her right eye, and giving her the chance to meet your gaze with her entire focus.

"While I perished and revived countless times, what did you do with yourself, hm?"

---

The hoard of monsters continued to rage below, literal sparks and more flying as they engaged in brutal combat. Were they trying to crown a new alpha, or just sparring amongst themselves? Saki had no idea, but it was fun to watch, from safety like this. They were so focused on each other, none of them even noticed her. Then again, with all of them engaged in combat, none could spare the time to look up at the sky, save for those too exhausted to do anything about it.

"Oh, now that one looks like a prize, and weak too..." Crouching down, she pat the Metagross she was riding and pointed at the ground below. By adjusting the power of Magnet Rise, the pair swooped down like a bird of prey. The trainer took out a Pokeball, preparing to throw whilst talking to herself. "And what's this? By Arceus, it's Stone Cold Saki Shitachi with a steel spider!"

She sailed past, the wind whipping her hair as she glanced back over her shoulder at the results of her float-by catching. It looked like a success, but she hadn't thought about the consequences of her actions, not today. Now the problem was retrieving the ball. It had already been lost among the fighting monsters, and she'd had to pull away to avoid getting caught in it all. Well, she'd be able to find it once they all cleared out. If she was lucky, someone else wouldn't get to it first.

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From beneath her hair, the girl greeted Bea with a calm, warm smile. Her breathing was so slow and peaceful, in contrast to Shouko's previous gasping and panting, that it was almost like she wasn't breathing at all. Reaching upwards, gently and slowly, she brushed the tips of her fingers against the other trainer's pokemon, stroking in very delicate soft little touches. Her stoic approach belied her joyful nature, a tiny spark in her eye as she pet and played with the Chingling. The first sound she made since arriving was a quiet dainty giggle.

Her gaze drifted over to Shouko herself, continuing to absentmindedly caress Bea. She finally spoke, with an ethereally soft whisper, her words slow and her tone serene. "You shouldn't fall asleep in strange places such as this. Unless being taken by the spirits is what you wish for, Miss Trainer?" A quiet, composed chuckle filled the pause in her speech. "I couldn't blame you for having such a desire... and your choice of pokemon makes me think that may be so."

She glanced back at Bea with a mischievous glint in her eye. As slowly as ever, she brought her hand to her mouth and held her index finger over her lips, a silent gesture that requested silence in turn. A wink accompanied it, yet with but one eye visible, that gesture was lost. Leaning in carefully, the quiet girl pursed her lips, closed her eyes, then blew sharp, cold air into Shouko's ear.

POSTDORMITUM SIGN-UPS

ULTRA DEEP SEA SKIRMISH

CHARACTER: Saki Shitachi [break]FACTION: ROCKET[break]PARTICIPATING IN BATTLES?: N[break]DO YOU WANT A BATTLE LARGER THAN A 1v1?: N(/A)[break]PREFERRED PARTNERS?: N/A[break]PREFERRED OPPONENTS?: N/A[break]POKEMON TEAM (6 MAX):
Annihilape; Inner Focus; Rage Fist/Cross Chop/Swagger/Focus Energy/Pursuit/Mud-Slap
Metagross; Clear Body; Meteor Mash/Psychic/Magnet Rise/Hammer Arm/Agility/Iron Defense
[break]NOTES/COMMENTS: It's my first time, so be gentle (when scolding me if I do something incorrectly)[break]

The rain slammed violently down into the ground, into the wooden bridge beneath her feet, and even into her pale white skin. The wind was equally barbaric, sending her hair flying wildly, such that it tangled up and obscured her face. With the dark, cloudy sky overhead, nobody could be blamed if they mistook her for a horrible ghost-type pokemon.

Her outfit was so drenched she may as well have been submerged. With the river raging just below her, she was almost tempted to fall. It would have been no more cold, and no less pleasant, than standing in the rain like this. Swimming had never been her strong suit, though. And she imagined all sorts of water-types were no doubt salivating beneath its surface. Did pokemon that lived underwater salivate? The girl on the bridge had no idea.

And yes, indeed, she was leisurely dancing. She had been resting in peace before the storm struck, yet the horrific weather was what renewed her with energy and vigor, returning to her the light of life.

Yet she was not the only life present on this dismal day. Her eyes opened halfway with a warm little smile, watching from a distance as the young trainer - old for a trainer, but young for a person - scrambled for sanctuary. She stood, watching, silent. The wind relentlessly buffeted her far-too-lightly-dressed outfit, her hair flying everywhere as if it were possessed. Still, she watched.

The oppressive rain and constant thunder failed to completely obfuscate the lightning-fast stomping that approached the Weather Institute, as heavy footsteps frantically tore into the earth itself.

The door opened but a few seconds after Shouko entered, in time with the crackle of lightning, the turning of its handle silenced by the roaring thunder and howling wind.

The dripping of water onto tile was much quieter than the rain outside.

Even her footsteps had an unnatural quiet to them, as she walked softly and slowly.

Instead of looming over Shouko, that young girl on the bridge calmly smoothed her skirt beneath herself, and lightly sat down by the other trainer's side. With the patience of someone not of this world, she watched over Shouko in utter silence, her messy and tangled hair hanging down such that only one eye could be seen from within.

Party:
Gender: Female
Ability: Inner Focus
Moves:
-Rage Fist
-Cross Chop
-Swagger
-Focus Energy
-Pursuit
-Mud-Slap
Gender: None
Ability: Clear Body
Moves:
-Meteor Mash
-Psychic
-Magnet Rise
-Hammer Arm
-Agility
-Iron Defense
Iroha
Gender: None
Ability: Quark Drive
-Close Combat
-Spirit Break
-Hypnosis
-Double Team
-Future Sight
-Wide Guard
Gender: male or female
Ability: Rock Head
Moves:
-Crunch
-Taunt
-Sweet Scent
-Iron Head
-Fairy Wind
-Seismic Toss
Gender: male or female
Ability: Blaze
Moves:
-Double Kick
-Scary Face
-Fire Fang
-Swagger
-Roar
-

Inventory:
4x Pokeball

1x Lotad Pail
1x Tamato Berry (Planted)
3x Grepa Berry (Planted)

1x Kasib Berry (usable)
1x Occa Berry (usable)

1x Extra Move Slot
1x Extra Move Slot (only usable on Marisa or Touka)
4x Level Tutor
3x TM/TR
3x Egg Tutor

2x Silvally Memory (Type of Choice)
2x Shard (Color of Choice)
1x Sparkling Dust
2x Mega Shard

3x Gachapon Tickets
1x Premium Gachapon Ticket

1x TATTERED INSTRUCTION MANUAL 'ᖶꪶꪶᘿ ᖴꪶᒪᒪ ᖇᘿꪶᓰꪶᘿ ᗩ
1x DYNAMAX DISCOUNT COUPON - will grant a 25% discount for a DYNAMAX BAND when the dynamaxing is released