The Xurkitree stood no chance in the face of such reckless violence. Cables could only be on the receiving end of such a strong attack, and as its body slammed into the wall, its faint was immediate. Yet it still disappeared in a flash of light all the same.

Grigori’s ball peeked from beneath the ceiling, where he’d paused briefly. Navy’s begging did not fall on deaf ears.

But in a way, it was worse that he heard it. “I will not wait for the enemy to sentence me to death, Navidson. Do not attempt your honeyed words. Chase to kill, or save yourself.”

They were still at war, and he was still the enemy—one who knew his name and his identity. If he hadn’t spilled the secret on Howard, then the odds were good that he might be safe. For now. But how long until faction lines necessitated the information for victory? Until the League forced his hand?

Bobbers clattered against each other, a hollow song as he raced for the steps. From his backpack, a small bundle of plastic explosives. He hadn’t checked to see the exact number of entrances, but there wasn’t any time now. The white bundle found itself against a pillar next to the way he had come, and his earpiece lit up.

“Bunker deemed a hazard. League personnel inside. Detonation upon your command.”

He took the steps two at a time, detonation switch in hand. “Command, I repeat, Bunker deemed a hazard– League personnel inside, give the word!”

Arceus, damn it all– there wasn't a signal this far down. Maybe the sheriff would live after all…

---

Navy

Looked like they were all getting their rematches. Howard against his equal in intelligence, Shred his counterpart of strength, and Grigori his… beauty antagonist? This had to be a more metaphorical conflict. The image the soul presented, rather than the actual appearance they both held.

Unfortunately for both of them, they were identical in that regard. Fezandipiti was a monster, cruel and unjust as they came. Grigori wasn’t much different. That’s why he ordered the Bloodmoon Ursaluna to engage in combat, as it was a much more interesting conflict. As opposed to the two worst people slapping each other until one stopped breathing.

Unfortunately, the Fezandipiti’s charm worked even on Freddy. Its wicked yet alluring look (alongside a fuck ton of pheromones) drew in the bear slowly yet surely. Nary a hint of bloodlust in its eye, it set one heavy foot in front of the other.

Only then did the bird swing its feet swiftly upon his head, a Double Kick to knock it to the ground dead. Except its mud-caked skull absorbed the blow perfectly. And snapped from the trance for a moment, the earth rumbled before an Earth Power erupted. Mud went flying all over the scene.

And that’s when Fezandipiti used the momentum to soar atop the back of Freddy. Its short arms were barely unable to grab its sharp feet, and several pecks annoyed it to no end.

Grigori’s eye twitched.

---

howard slayte Shred

Silent. Still at the stone that surrounded the Kingambit. Pumpkin stared at the massive heap of rock and rubble. Or perhaps past it. Even as Zorua swiped at the earth and Regirock salvaged stone, she stood silently still. Patience was a virtue, in times like this. A foe that did not move did not require reflexes.

They required perfect precision. Even if the earth was loud, she would be quiet. Contemplation brought upon thoughts, and thoughts created problems. But thoughts also created solutions. Solutions were critically analyzed, disected, remade, smelted back down, then reforged once more. An endless cycle of minute edits, careful cuts until the perfect answer presented itself at her feet.

And she had come to a conclusion. It was the perfectly still silence of the metal samurai that brought it so.

"EAT SHIT AND DIE, MOUNTAIN OF COLD DEBRIS!"

SSHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHK!

Her blade fell down in one powerful swoop. Even as she rested her forehead against the ground, the outcome had been determined before she'd even acted. Rock fell sideways, and parted a path forward. Deeper into the decrepit building, which housed the skeleton and heart of this fallen building. Careful cuts and hard thinking would bring this entire building down. Oh, how wonderful her cut had been. How precise, how per--

And the Regirock had simply scooped it up with its massive rocky hand. Her eye twitched. "ACURSED CREATURE OF STONE, YOU SHANT ESCAPE MY WRATH FOREVER!"

Perhaps the next pile of rubble would let her reveal its secrets...

---

howard slayte Calliope Alvara Hitoshi Inoue MARILYN HASEGAWA  

Grigori’s eyes continued to twitch as the smoke settled and the dim yet impossibly strong barriers of Protect… well, protected their targets. Not only were they real, they were now very pissed off. Even worse was the flash of bright light to reveal the headache that was the Gholdengo.

In the past, he’d thought the character cute. Commendable. But after being around the sentient statue more than twice? A twinge of pain spiked his forehead, and he clutched it as he pointed forward with his coffee in hand.

“You did not, Mr. Fox. Pumpkin, intercept please!”

“Aahaha! This fight will be glorious!” The steely samurai trudged forward, a fist of pure malicious intent as she went straight for the Fezendipiti. “I shall tear your bones from sinew! Blood will be my paint, my blade the brush, and the grass my canva–”

Before she could even connect with the bird, the Okidogi pulled back a fist and slammed it straight into her skull. Its raw strength was more than enough to launch Pumpkin way off to the side, and she smashed into a tree.

Leaves rustled over her now-fainted body. The dastardly trio giggled to themselves as they now ran straight towards them. “Mr. Fox, I must request a vacation after this.”

Fezandipiti eyed the grunt dangerously. He took a large gulp from his plastic cup, then tossed the empty vesicle to the side. He’d pick it up later. Another poke ball popped off his belt, and it opened to reveal a might, massive, frightening bear. Freddy had come out, and it’d have to be his savior from this sudden nightmare.

They were upon them.

---

Shred howard slayte

It was all too simple to stop them. A more precise attack would’ve sealed the deal. Prevention of escape was another method. Corner them like animals. Even if that made them more threatening, it wasn’t anything Grigori hadn’t experienced dozens of times before. Cornered threats were his primary target, back in the day.

But his heart wished this had never happened at all. Experience and knowledge of how things should’ve gone conflicted with the desire to go against the norm. He could describe all the ways they could’ve ensured victory, but an equal number of ways why he didn’t want to.

“The goal of Rocket is to eliminate hostile threats,” was all he could muster. “Your attack either prevented the goal of our organization or prevented us from acting outside its limitations. A Schrödinger scenario we won’t know the answer to until it is too late.”

They could be entirely unrelated to the League, or secret agents with everything to do with the League. They wouldn’t know. Grigori turned around and walked past Alba.

But before he did, a bloody, worn old hand grasped his shoulder. “Return to base without me. I must…”

He didn’t even ask if they had any final promises or wishes. As he let go of his partner, covered in numerous blood types and with heavy stones in his bones, there was only one thing still on his mind:

“I would have preferred to not be out here at all.”

---

Alba Evovae keiko mori Althus Rex

10 MP For Posting
50 MP for hitting rock bottom

Sociopaths were smarter to hide their detachment from people.

Grigori stomped down upon the thought. Swiftly, before it could escape and hide in the nooks and crannies of his mind. There were many reasons to think the way she did. Perhaps not all entirely valid. To presume labels was a mistake. An easy, but damning, mistake to make. Even with Ameena.

Even with the entirety of Rocket. Even if, sometimes, there was no other answer. “I… am unsure how to respond, Dr. Ameena.”

“I do not agree with your assessment of realities and universes, as tough of a concept it is to wrap my head around,” he said. “Nor the notion that the mind is forever. Has your mind not changed since you were a child, and the world was new? Many things unknown?”

The mind had to change, lest it be stuck in its ignorant, oblivious ways. It was one of the key requirements to consider oneself grown. For it to be permanent was to defy the reality of reality.

“As I see it, it is the context in which we exist that defines who we are,” he too motioned to the town being rebuilt. “No one exists in a vacuum. Who we are, how we act, and what we think, are all ultimately defined by connections made to the place in which we exist. Even if the definitions do not change between universes, the contexts in which they preside do.”

“Ultimately, you are right: current Mr. Grigori’s opinion on Dr. Ameena does not impact another universe– but it also means that your current self does not receive the gratefulness that the alternate Dr. Ameena receives. Even if you replaced her with yourself, it would only be a ruse. A lie.”

The other Grigori would be upset to find the Ameena replaced, even if they were functionally the same. Because they ultimately weren’t.

---

ameena abadi

They did not have the golems OR the crimson king. Grigori’s eye twitched. They were out here hunting ghosts and had not bothered to bring the big guns. Had they not remembered the prison? These were not easy foes to contend with. A Hyper Beam would do little if they were real and he was wrong.

“And it was agony to beat them with less,” Grigori reminded the Boundless. june sleigh would’ve made for a better candidate in this scenario: she would’ve been more than willing to go along with their makeshift plan. Instead, Grigori rose from his perch. His knees complained all the while.

“I… do not know if she would find the notion as affectionate as you hope, Mr. Shred,” he said. From his own poke ball came Pumpkin, who merely stared at the small group. “But if the hyper beam connects, then there should be little to bring back.”

“If it lands.” His gaze returned to the three. They were oblivious to their hopeful demise. He better land it. “Ghost types are not afraid of Normal attacks, Mr. Fox. All it will do is alert them of our presence.”

As energy converged onto the focal point of the Pupitar, Grigori stretched his limbs. There would be hell to pay when the trio was not slain. Kingambit mimicked her trainer perfectly.

“Oh, there will be blood and slaughter a plenty, Mr. Shred! The early bird does indeed get the worm– unlike that bird over there! And sleeping dogs are better left to lie. And monkeys…”

She could not remember a saying for the monkeys. “They shouldn’t be on the bed!”

---

howard slayte Shred

Grigori immediately sucked in. Hard, loud, and flinched at double the strength as Howard’s name drop.

He knew. Of course he knew. It’d been said in Dewford. But those were trying circumstances. A city lay in ruin, and they’d managed to all make it out alive. Despite it all, they lived. But here, it was as mundane as a war zone could be. Two enemies on the opposite side, neither willing but entirely ready to fight if necessary.

“Then Mr. Fox will be killed no matter the outcome,” he spit out. His knuckles whitened. “Either as an enemy of the state or a traitor. That is what I know, if Rocket wins.”

Navy now held his entire life in his hands. All it would take is one singular sentence to the right person, and his cover was blown. The facade would crumble, and he’d be forced into Petalburg city. The only place he’d be welcomed. A punishment he deserved– but not like this.

“Because he is a liar.”

“I am not a good man. Good men do not do the things I do. If you knew a fraction of it, then you’d kill me on the spot. Like I deserve.”

Navy was a troubled man. Grey. Impossible to pin as good or bad. Grigori Sokolov could not say the same, and bramblous thorns bit into his soul. “But I will not let you do so freely.”

With that meek warning given, the ball clicked suddenly, and white light filled the room. Out came the stuff of nightmares, a creature not interested or even a part of their world: thick black cables snacked outward, like it was climbing out of the ball voluntarily. Soon after, a spiky white head emerged. Light flickered.

Then locked onto Navy. One arm came back, and green energy enveloped the limb. A Power Whip to send Navy further into the tunnels.

But Grigori… he ran.

---

Navy



10 MP for post
50 MP For learning to respect Navy (somewhat forced because he knows his name, half because he's humble but also he should KILL GRIGORI SOKOLOV)

Two hundred thousand dollars? To Shred? Was he stupid? That money might as well have never existed. Not that Grigori knew– or even wanted to know. Waking up at six in the morning to do eight long hours of hard labor, only to be dragged here? He slurped his extra large Moped™ coffee and took the orichalcum binoculars from Shred.

“There are numerous factors to explain the phenomenon,” Grigori peered down at Fezandipiti. Just as prideful and bold as the days in that abhorrent prison. Terrible memories. “Perhaps one of the various legendaries and their avatars brought them back. Or maybe the DRK Triad is behind this. Or maybe they don’t exist.”

Huh? Grigori handed the binoculars back to Shred and sighed. “Consider this: we are deep into the month of October. The little ones are getting creative. And with the appearance of a certain ape at Petalburg…”

“All one would need is an image and a Zoroark,” he concluded. The alternative was that these Pokémon were real in the flesh, and they were about to be crushed beneath their heels. But that was much more work intensive. His bones wouldn’t like it.

“But with Mr. Shred’s newfound powers, and Mr. Foxes two golems, I do not feel that either scenario should pose a problem for either of you.”

He took another loud slurp of his coffee. This could be a whole pillow bag’s worth of sweets with how much sugar they jammed into the thing.

---

howard slayte Shred

A Glimmet here, of all places? It did not make sense. They were supposed to be present in underground cave systems, or perhaps on dig sites. howard slayte probably knew more about them than he, but this did not seem right. And yet, it did not seem interested in causing any overt problems. All it desired was a nibble of a berry or two. Or three. Or four...

"Perhaps we should not let this continue," Grigori said as he took out a poke ball. All it took was a simple throw to capture the rocky flower in the sphere. Another one for the collection.

---

Don't be mean (Catch attempt on Glimmet)

Return to the… ballroom? Why, that was such a nice, simple, easy thing to do. Don’t play hero, _______. Let everyone else solve the mystery presented to them. To forget it all sounded like bliss. Forget your name, forget your past. Forget who you are. It did not matter, despite it mattering the most.

For now, he was just ______. And she was _______. Wasn’t that enough for him, just this once? Couldn’t be be content with such a simple, lackadaisical thing?

_______ sighed. Perhaps, just this once, he could forget who he was. Forget the sins of his past. Let the mystique of the event carry him away, until nothing remained. There were many capable people here. One of them would solve the problem. Instead, he walked to the front door and took _______ by the hand.

“I would be lying if I said the idea of a dance was not pleasant,” he said. “And I never tell a lie.”

Slowly, the would make their way to the ballroom. Even as the spirits gave up the illusion a few dozen meters away, they hadn’t done so in the ballroom. Even better, the floor had become mostly empty, safe for the few brave souls who wouldn’t let the night drown them out.

“Is now a bad time to say I’ve never danced proper?” _______ turned to _______. “You might have to lead the way, lest I stomp your toes into the floorboards.”

---

Allegra Burns

Tl;dr
 - Sorry I fell off a cliff again (got better though)
 - Says 'yea sure sounds cool'
 - Goes to the not ENTIRELY fucked ball room (this better be separated enough from the entrance hall to make me not look silly)
 - Doesn't know how to dance
 - Uh yea that's probably an Illusion of sorts

Meteno bunkers were all that resided in the area. But the reason they now faced each other down meant little in the grand scheme of things. Fate, luck, whim of the gods– all that mattered was their faint breaths and unsteady grip on the Poke balls.

“I already told you,” Grigori growled. “Inspecting the viability of a base of operations as opposed to a booby trap. They give me coordinates, I do the job. Not everyone gets to see the full picture.”

Especially not a grunt. Age meant little in wartime, outside of questions of advice from younger souls. How to maximize odds of survival, the safest places to go– or most dangerous. But he was not the one sought out for strategic developments.

“But good to know we’re all on the same page,” he said. How much longer could this go on, before one of them broke? “That makes it my turn again.”

“What does that make you then?”

“Because I never would’ve noticed the hidden wall,” he admitted. “Yet neither would your precious bedfellows. Where does that leave you, Mr. Navidson? On the fence? Indeterminate? Indifferent?”

Did he cling to the grey for all he was worth, in some desperate attempt to appeal to both sides? Or was he like Howard, but on the opposite side of the venn diagram? They had ventured off the beaten path of business.

Now it was getting personal.

---

Navy

10 MP for post
50 MP for Learning something of the Other Character

Grigori Sokolov was the perfect man for the scenario. Two strangers, neither of whom were particularly capable. One had a death wish, and one wished for anything but. Yet they were smart enough to realize how bad things were. All they had to do was run faster, harder, make sacrifices. Such was their luck.

But the power of the Eternal Floette? There were no gods here– until now. All he could do was jump back and try to wave the pain from his knuckles. Mega Gallade blades, organic as they were, still had incredible density. He’d feel that for a month.

“Stand down, stand down!” He screamed to Alba above the sound of pure destruction. Scizor also had to disengage, and it eyed the smaller creature dangerously. His claws flickered steely gray. “Ordinance not authorized, STAND DOWN!”

It was too late. The Pelipper already took its owner, and the thrill-seeker, away from the battle. Far, far away. His heart let its strain dissipate into his bones; he would not take more life from this world today.

His brain spoke an entirely different story. “...”

“Targets… have escaped,” Grigori held out his Poke ball as the Light of Ruin started to dissipate. Before Scizor could attempt to chase them down, it was swallowed whole and returned to his side. “Why?”

It was all he could muster with the thousands of conflictions within his soul.

---

Alba Evovae keiko mori Althus Rex

10 MP for post
50 MP for being injured by pokemon (Fist bones hurt )