they've been even busier than usual since the start of the war. even though they're not a field agent, they've found themself cleaning up after some of the messes left behind by the growing conflict between rocket and the league. mostly it means covering shifts for those who are involved, the ones who are too injured (or worse) to continue with their own observations. nikola hasn't been to their own apartment in over a week, sleeping and bathing and everything in between here on the submarine.

needless to say, they're exhausted. but they won't quit while they're still work to be done.

they cradle a mega stone in their hand. it's a recent acquisition, but they've been studying it relentlessly, trying to understand the connection between it and their garchomp. the energy it gives off-- infinity energy, it's been called-- has been a focal point of rocket research as of late. the plan, they believe, is to harness it for other means.

they're so wrapped up in their own thoughts they don't notice somebody else enter the room.

[ Fenelle Miller ]
[ outfit ref ]

taking with Fenelle Miller !

claiming zorua, quaxwell, and clodsire!

now they draw back, the static in the air prickling on their skin. what have you done, josh? they wonder, horrified, watching in shock as he summons the beast. what have you become? he is now the ideal their research has been searching for all this time; a human, granted the powers of a pokemon. yet when confronted with it firsthand, they don't find themself marvelling as they thought they would. instead they're rooted in place, anxiety bubbling in their throat as they gaze at the person they once called a friend.

they snap themself out of it. "...very melodramatic," they comment acerbically. "and if you must call me anything, you may call me... kafka." but i'm not the only one who's changed here.

then it happens: they finally get the distraction they need. raikou's arrival delivers a burst of electricity that shorts out the remaining bulbs in the area. one by one, they shatter from the combination of heat and extra power coursing through them. quickly, nikola's hand finds a pokeball, pressing it with haste, releasing their typhlosion into the area.

a typhlosion josh would no doubt find familiar, given their rarity, but nikola doesn't have a choice.

"shadow sneak!" flammula's arms encircle them, and the two melt into the shadows, making their escape. i'll have to go through with changing my hair then, nikola thinks as they exit. it's too early yet for him to find me. when their work is done... they don't care what happens after that. whether they fall by rocket's hands, or the league's, it doesn't matter. just so long as they can finally see this project through, the thing they've suffered over for so long...

josh is left with only a trashed lab to look at.

[ Josh Devlin ]

nikola takes the vial and scrutinizes it. then they laugh bitterly; this would hardly be the first suspicious concoction they've downed in the name of science, and it likely wouldn't be the last. besides, while team rocket was shady and often up to no good, they had no reason to try and incapacitate or harm them via this method. as far as tests of resolve go, there were worse things to do.

they down the whole thing, expecting it to taste foul. instead the taste is... minty? what, are you trying to say my breath stinks? they wipe their mouth and raise an eyebrow at shizue, not phased. "is that all, then?" they're ready to be done with this.

REDEEMING

welcome to the poké mart!

1X level tutor (typhlosion --> gyro ball)
1X level tutor (typhlosion --> eruption)
1X level tutor (bewear --> hammer arm)
1X egg move (umbreon --> detect)
1X egg move (arcanine --> morning sun)
1X egg move (shiinotic --> stun spore)

PURCHASING

welcome to the poké mart!

1X mega accessory (with garchompite) (500 pd)
1X type 3 evolution (whirlipede --> scolipede) (50 pd)
3X gachapon ticket (link here) (150 pd)

TOTAL

do come again!

700 PD

trade confirmed! thank youuuu

gifting NIKOLA SAMSA 's GACHA COTTONEE to keiko mori ! enjoy!

the situation is getting out of hand. smoke fills the room, and if not for their mask, nikola would likely be having a coughing fit by now. something behind them can't take the heat and explodes, though thankfully it's a small enough explosion that it doesn't reach the two locked in battle. it'll get worse, soon enough. the equipment here wasn't made to withstand this sort of environment.

nikola takes another couple of steps forward. "at least tell me your name," they implore, as if they don't already know it. their fingers itch to grab their shiinotic's pokeball, but they don't like the look on josh's face. whatever that thing is that he holds in his hand... how dangerous could it be? one wrong move and they could get busted, here and now, before they've even had a chance to make progress.

another plan forms in their mind, one much safer than their previous one. they just have to wait for a bit of a distraction...

[ Josh Devlin ]

their garchomp falls to the ground with a massive thump. nikola swears as they withdraw her. they have something of a plan, but it requires getting close enough to josh to surprise him... for now, they'll call on their scizor, the steel type appearing with a flash of light in front of them. "iron defense!" they command, and incisus hardens his outer shell. he stands between josh and nikola, not making a move but glaring at their opponent.

and nikola takes a step forward. "the data already exists!" they cry out. "look around you! the pain and suffering that was endured here... i can make something of it! i can turn it back around into a net positive!" they throw their arms out, gesturing to the lab as it burns. a bead of sweat rolls down their forehead. "do you want it to be for nothing!? everything that happened, you're just throwing it away like it doesn't even matter!"

their voice is hoarse. they didn't realize how much they cared about this until they said it out loud. they take another cautious step, hands still out, not issuing a command for battle yet.

[ Josh Devlin ]

they're being met head-on. this does not make them happy, as the gouging fire's raging fury bears down upon their garchomp. even with damage being halved thanks to the type advantage, they can tell their pokemon won't last long. even so, they're not going to give in. around them the lab is still in a frenzy, with some of the more pragmatic researchers backing up and saving their data so they can escape with it. nikola is the only thing standing between salvation and the data being lost forever. data people and pokemon had already suffered for, data they could use if they can just manage to distract josh long enough for most of the researchers to escape.

for all intents and purposes, they have to appear as if they're trying to beat him, rather than stall for time.

terra gets knocked back by the entei's assault, but she stands her ground. "dragon rush!" we'll just have to fight fire with fire. their garchomp begins a headlong rush, thrashing everything in her way, putting out a few small fires left by the entei as she goes.

[ Josh Devlin ]

they cross their arms. "fine by me," they retort. they're not doing this for the greater good, or anything so idealistic. "as far as i'm concerned, this is a revenge match and little else. i will find a way to achieve results." then their suffering will not have been for nothing. all the tests, the needles and syringes and physical agony induced to try and unlock their 'hidden potential'... it will have meant something, and they'll no longer be the fool who was used and discarded like an old food wrapper.

they look at shizue, eyes serious under thick lenses. "once my work is completed, rocket can decide what to do with me. i have no problem with any of it."

nikola grits their teeth as the interior of the building is lit up by a faux sun. sand veil will now be useless, and their cover is blown. the only thing to do is stand and fight, and hope to find a way to weasel out before they're defeated. they have no delusions that they might be able to defeat josh at full power, after all, despite their training.

"...fine." the only part of their face visible is their eyes, which they fixate on their opponent. it's an expression josh will never have seen on nikola, and yet there might still be something familiar here... "use bulldoze, then." they can't use dig if they're not on the ground level, which is a shame.

terra rushes forward, incredibly fast despite her bulk. head and shoulders down, she charges toward josh's gouging fire.

[ Josh Devlin ]