The Warrior could be opposed by every person alive, but his sword would not find its sheath again until Eternatus was dead. It didn't matter what stood in his way. That fight would not be denied to one destined to slay Eternatus, just as his fight with Howard was fated.

It was not writ in divine prophecy, brought forth by Kyurem, but in blood. It had been proclaimed, thus it would be. One will kill the other, and one did not need to look far to see that one vastly outmatched the other. Michael Navidson would win their battle, and Howard Slayte's dream would be consigned to the trash heap.

Maybe that was why he put his faith in Naomi Sato. Even if he fell, his dream would become hers. It made life marginally more bearable.

"Hush, now. Don't cry, Nomi." His voice is soft, even as it wheezes in an attempt to eek out a modicum of life. "Tears will just blind you. Cry when it's over, not before."

It's a paradoxical statement. Emotions made her human. Her dream made her human. The final two words that fell from her lips made her something more.

A traitor.

A liar.

A hero.

"You..." He shivered slightly, his eye growing wide at her proclamation. Then he let out a wheezing laugh. "How treasonous, though I can't deny you. Very well. Let's make that Hoenn. Together. When was the last time you watched the sunrise on a region not at war?"

He closed his eye. Team Rocket was a blazing inferno. When the ashes settled, something would rise anew. Yet the fire would not be needed beyond the initial stage.

"I'd love to see that sunrise again. Wouldn't you?"

---

Naomi Sato

They were told to savor the fine food and drink, likely stolen from some illustrious grocery store where tipping the cashier was expected and everything was organic. It was highly likely that the food was cursed and that the drink was tainted with the blood of innocents.

Granted, that came with the risk when it happened to be free.

"Incredible." A man dressed in a fine suit said as he plucked at a plate with numerous types of bread. The outfit fit well, if not for the Big Bubba's Bargain Bin bag that had been shamelessly placed over his head to hide his identity. Two eye holes had been cut out for sight, even though only one was needed. "Haunted bread? Delicious."

If only the carbs were as transient as the ghosts who had offered it. Alas.

When Chu-e Choi 's voice rang out through the main hall, Howard let out a small 'eep!' and ducked under the table, which Absinthe Blackwood would get the dubious honor to witness. Good thing that bag guy wasn't her boss, otherwise it'd be living proof that Team Rocket had scraped the bottom of the barrel.

As Chu-e passed by, Howard poked his head out from under the table to ensure that the former underboss had meandered on in his attempts for courtship.

"Shhhhh!" He told the chemist, before plucking a glass of wine from a passing Haunter.

---

MASK
HOWARD EATA THE BREAD
HE HIDE FROM CHU-E
HE CONTINUE EATA THE BREAD
HE DRINKA DA WINE

"Because you are proof that the Pokémon Rangers were never meant to be soldiers." His cape flapped in the wind as Bulu disappeared. He waited for it to emerge, but it never did. He snorted in derision, before looking towards Genny and her Marowak. "You were meant to be saviors."

The Avalanche splits in half, saving Genny from the fate of her Legendary Pokémon.

He raised an eyebrow, impressed at Skulley's display. Not too shabby, all things considered. For an ordinary Pokemon, that was a remarkable feat. If all normal Pokemon could fight back with such ferocity, the League and Rocket wouldn't have needed to indulge in the poisoned chalice that legends often bubbled forth from.

"Do you remember Pokémon Rangers from before the war? Were you even in Hoenn before this war started? Half of the region consists of foreigners now, throwing their lot in with forces beyond their comprehension." It wasn't gloating, nor was it bleating. He was simply... talking. If Howard liked to do one thing, it was speak. His fighting prowess was mediocre, but his lips could blab for days. "Your sole purpose was to save Pokémon. Now, you have to fight people like me. Genevieve Cromwell, your purpose is to kill my Pokémon. That is the fate ollie morales has consigned you to."

The frozen titan roared in the distance. The wind frozen, similar to the icy kiss of the north wind that Isaac Merlo often traveled by. He wondered what the Liberator had to say about this.

"Doesn't it make you..." He raised a fist, where a Dynamax Band was built into his Sygna Suit. It glowed with Dynergy, a malignant star that cut through the whiteout that surrounded them. He grunted in pain as it sapped a smidge of Eternatus's power from his own body.

"WANT TO FUCKING LAUGH!?"

Above, Regice grew to the size of a mountain. With an arm the size of a highway, it flung a lance of glacial ice towards Genevieve. Max Hailstorms blotted out the sun.

---

Genevieve Cromwell
+40 (Post)
+10 (Weather/Terrain)
+50 past thread
+50 tag a character
+50 respect another character
+50 (cast shade on Genny's loyalties)
+50 (dynamax)

As Melody's Marowak crashed against the frozen giant, it found itself halted by a magenta barrier of pure Dynergy. Slowly, a latticework of cracks formed through the barrier, before a segment shattered and rained whispers of Eternatus's leavings across the battlefield.

"Tsk. I told you, I'm not strong. Even if you're just a member of the Elite Four playing as the matriarch of the League. You'll never be Dahlia, and you'll never be Kyle. Luckily, I don't have to compete with you." He snapped his fingers at the massive giant. "It does."

Its seven dots ignited with red energy as it let out a sound. It wasn't a biological cry. It sounded more like a glacier the size of a mountain crashing down into the ocean. It drowned the route in its roar, before firing off a Max Thunder towards the Marowak.

A lance of lightning split the sky as it descended.

"If you don't tell me what you did to Regidrago, this world is fucked, Melody!" He shouted over the dirge of thunder. "I'm attempting to prevent ruin!"

---

Melody Miro

Elisabeth Fiorelli's fate was spreading. Good. Even if the accounts of her death were greatly overexaggerated, letting the League know that Elisabeth was mortal and fallible was a good thing. It made her more human, in spite of the fact that she had returned from the great beyond.

Perception was the greatest armor one could cover themselves in.

"I'm sorry. I know you two must've been close." Howard shrugged, his visor gleaming. Behind him, one of the grunts slouched slightly, before being elbowed back into position by a colleague. He found her claim of change ridiculous. The only way that Penelope Livy could change that would please Howard was one that left her six feet under. "Know that she died with dignity."

A lie, but nothing Elisabeth did was dignified. She put on a front, just like everyone in Team Rocket. Yet that hadn't stopped her from folding under the weight of a metric ton of rock.

"As for me, Team Rocket values results. I delivered. She did not. I suspect that if I had failed in Petalburg, my head would be on a spike for all to see."

Not that this woman would recognize him. He hardly recognized himself anymore, when he looked in the mirror.

"Not that it matters, though. Every single member of Team Rocket is replaceable. We are a machine of interchangeable parts." He spun an empty Pokeball on the table, before watching it slowly roll to a stop by Penelope's hand. "Care to gander on why I killed her? It involves you, actually."

---

PENELOPE LIVY
+10 (post)
+50 (recall a thread)
+50 (describe le Pokeball)

The hospital was a wreck, forgotten and casually dusted over by Team Rocket once the city was securely theirs. It had been a surgical strike, meant to kill moral and show the utterly merciless nature that Team Rocket had often bleated of but rarely displayed.

It was meant to harm. There was no other reason to destroy a civilian target.

If Kyle had made it, he would've found that large swaths of the hospital were missing. Massive chunks of rebar and concrete were swept away and deposited in an unknown location. Yet that doesn't matter, because Kyle Lopez does not make it to Petalburg. He was stealthy, but even the sneakiest detective only had to often hide from two eyes, as Navy knew.

Crumble, unfortunately, had eight.

Which is why, through the trees and brush and craters and every other snag and hiccup between Oldale and Petalburg, the Top Champion detective is met with a Claydol. Immediately, its eyes glow red and a loud siren began to blare out.

'WEEEEEEE OOOOOOOOOOOOO WEEEEEEEEEEEE OOOOOOOOOOOOO!'

---

kyle lopez
+10 (post)
+50 (tag a character)

"The future..." The words are uttered through a tinny, static-fueled voice. Still, he nodded in approval. "Interesting. I respect that. Do everything for tomorrow, for the next generation."

Tapu Bulu made the admin wary. Even if it was a lazy, irrelevant slacker, it was still a brute that had cracked Regice's arm with one blow. Even now, its Ice Body filled the cracks with more ice, slowly erasing the damage as time went on. The Grassy Terrain offered it little aid, as the crippling cold killed any soothing touch that grew close to its form.

"I'm not gonna try to convince you that this is all a sham or that you're wrong to fight me. You're absolutely right to. I've invaded your home and burned your city." The Horn Leech struck the colossus, causing it to reel back slightly as the Tapu began to sup upon its life force.

The satisfying, nourishing sensation of Infinity Energy and the golem's mechanical life being drained was quickly replaced with the toxic taste of Dynergy, with Regice's Wishing Star beating Dynergy throughout the golem's body.

"I'm just going to kick your ass." Howard shrugged, his visor flashing. "Just like I did to Petalburg."

As Tapu Bulu send Regice reeling, it send an Avalanche descending from the heavens, burying much of the route in snow. The admin was quickly obscured by a sheet of pure white. Still, his voice rang out.

"This war has ruined you." His voice was casual. "It ruined the Pokémon Rangers.

"Do you know why?"

---

Genevieve Cromwell
+30 (Post)
+10 (Weather/Terrain)
+50 past thread
+50 tag a character
+50 respect another character

"I still don't know how I won that, if I'm being honest." Howard at least had the shame to look embarrassed about it. Aurelie Lefevre's cooking contest had taught him much, including the fact that messing up a sandwich was considered a regional delicacy in Paldea. "I didn't see your dish, but it was probably pretty good."

His dishes were poverty dishes. They were meant to be things he could scrounge up with roughly three PD in his bank account before the next paycheck. It didn't need to be good food. It just had to keep him from dropping dead.

Given that the biggest threats to the archaeologist's life were dying of embarrassment, getting killed by his colleagues, and getting mauled by a Pupitar, he thought it was going pretty well.

"He's a good man, though. You're not wrong, miss detective." He waggled a fork, silently keeping his opinions on Josh to himself. He was honest, but honesty didn't win wars. Especially given his refusal to acknowledge New Mauville, where Team Rocket mined Dynite Ore. "You're pretty sharp."

He made a note to keep her away from Team Rocket, if possible.

"Any cool cases recently?"

---

Elaine Highland

"Then march on, Theo Becket." Howard's gaze turned downwards to the grave formed unceremoniously by the divine. Yet Regirock had never been a god, had it? It had been a messiah sculpted by human hands to save them from a greater threat.

Regirock was not a god. Wo-chien was not a god. Tapu Fini was not a god. They were just... things. Pokémon. When the fervor was stripped away, all mankind was left with were a handful of powerful, troublesome Pokémon.

He leaned down at Elisabeth Fiorelli's grave, an artificial knee scraping against dirt. He tossed a rose onto the cairn, and watched it shrivel up and die as it touched the thorny tomb. As it decayed, Howard's eye twitched.

"Rest well, Underboss Fiorelli." He turned away and walked off. "Rest in your coffin, incased in layer upon layer of stone."

He walked until Theo was out of earshot.

"But Elisabeth, I promise you. Your final resting place will be the entirety of the 'Old World'."

---

THEO BECKETT

He met Adrian's eyes, thinking for a moment before speaking sacrilege.

"Dead, of course." It was something he would have never uttered before joining Team Rocket. Leave the dead to their graves, for it was the task of the living to decipher the messages of the corpses that they left behind. Yet Howard knew from experience that such a thing was no longer possible. Naivety had a place, but that place was not here. "Go on and judge him, Executioner."

He clapped the man on the shoulder and turned away, his hat fluttering in the wind. He looked up at a faint shadow of an avian creature, flying so distantly overhead. It was as if the name had ushered in its presence, before it realized that there was nothing left to say to Adrian Malcolm.

"Decide then if it's worth swinging your sword."

He disappeared into umbral shade.

---

Adrian Malcolm

"I see." Howard closed his eye to muse on her words. For a horrible moment, it seemed like he would refuse. "Lulu."

The Legendary Giants were Hoenn's protectors. To leave the region behind, they would lose their greatest asset in the Power Spots dotted across the region, as well as the inherited will of Hoenn's populace. They were platforms of planetary defense, meant to stand on the ground and wage a war against otherworldly threats.

To reach across the veil into the inky darkness to seize the moon? It was ambitious.

"Is meeting Cresselia, seizing it, and understanding how it relates to the mist your dream?" He opened his eye. "If not, what is?"

---

Lulu Flint

It was only a Pokémon. Isaac Merlo was only a human. That was his own admission, and Howard often agreed. He lacked the suffocating presence that often followed someone who was larger than life, someone that was worthy of walking alongside a legend that had once graced the pages of myths spread through word of mouth and dusty, cracked scrolls.

It was only a Pokémon. Isaac Merlo was only a human.

Isaac Merlo was only human.

"You're not wrong. Purity is not a weakness. It's simply a description, a label to describe something. But still..." He looked past her malicious smile and towards the theater's stage, towards the dancing and chanting and general noise pollution. "...I think it's a shame that his journey will eventually end, and that even the purest hearts can eventually cloud over."

There were whispers of a pool in Dewford that could purify a stained soul, but where did that negative karma go? All Howard could think of when pondering that pool was how clear it had been.

When would it cloud over?

"It didn't feel like a blessing. It was a hard fight, and I don't even feel like I won. Even with Hoenn's defenders standing behind me. Say what you will, but Suicune is... remarkably hard to catch. The wind is difficult to pin down." Howard shrugged, before relighting his cigarette. "Who would've thought?"

He laughed, a plume of smoke billowing from his mouth like a dragon.

"You don't call them Suicune or Ho-oh. You bless them with honorifics. Why?"

---

Yotsukura Yotsugami

Howard's hand slipped, and a shirt fell in a heap, its hanger still attached as he regarded his roommate.

"Seriously? You better not have killed them, Chu-e. I swear to Arceus, they were just doing their job." Chu-e protected the admin, but who protected the grunts? Who protected Chu-e? Occasionally Howard was reminded of Chu-e's callousness. This was the person who had birthed a god, though. It shouldn't have surprised the admin that Chu-e Choi was black hearted. "Tsk."

After several of their conversations, though, it made sense. Chu-e was a bad person. That didn't stop him from sleeping in Howard's room, though.

What a scoundrel.

"We'll get you a few sweaters, then." Howard conceded, before instinctively shuddering as early Christmas music came over the store's loudspeakers. "Seriously? It's only September."

---

Chu-e Choi