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He chuckled at Josh's suggestion as the Spiritomb next to him floated towards a crumbling column, [break][break]

“I've actually been meaning to go out to Mt. Pyre for some time, but you're correct; I was looking for a Dragapult, or at least a Pokemon similar to it.” Victor rubbed his stubbled chin thoughtfully, “But, despite how remote the Spear Pillar is, I was also told that plenty of flying Pokemon lived in the area. I figured if I couldn't find what I was after, I could settle for something a little outside of my wheelhouse.” [break][break]

He urged Valoo to follow Karitei towards the rocky pillar, circling around it idly to see what exactly she was so fixated on. A pair of glowing yellow eyes immediately caught Victor's attention, [break][break]

“Kari, please, be gentle,” he urged as the Spiritomb launched a SHADOW BALL at the inquisitive Golett. Victor grimaced at the small 'squeak' the Ground-type produced and made a point to dispatch a Poke Ball to catch it as quickly as possible. He wasn't about to give Karitei the opportunity to injure the poor thing more than necessary.

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Victor hummed thoughtfully in response. The levels of intelligence and power that draconic Pokemon possessed were the stuff of legends. Cultures all over the world revered them as symbols of strength and held them as beings to be revered; it was no surprise that working with them required a healthy degree of respect for them as equals, [break][break]

“I understand,” Victor replied with complete sincerity, “They're powerful Pokemon. I think someone would have to be pretty dense to try and enter a partnership with one without respecting that.” [break][break]

And respect the Dragapult he would, for it's prowess would be something to shelter himself against whatever storms the region had to throw his way in the future. [break][break]

“Ah, no thanks. It's not a bad Pokemon, by any means, but I find myself drawn towards the more... strange? Ethereal, maybe? I have something of a fascination with the otherworldly, truth be told.” [break][break]

God, that sounded pretentious, but surely Josh couldn't blame him for having preferences.

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“Yeah, I think so,” Victor replied. [break][break]

Truth be told, Valoo really was putting in most of the work, idly drifting alongside Josh and Resheph, and Victor felt a pang of guilt at the realization. He took a little more direct control over the reins, gently tugging back to encourage the Drampa into a slow ascent. If nothing else, the pace felt almost leisurely in comparison to his ride with Pazuzu. [break][break]

Victor's ears perked up at the mention of the specialists Josh recommended. Hoenn's authority on dragon Pokemon seemed like a good place to start; aloof or no, it was the knowledge that was most important to Victor. He kept in mind the fighting-specialist as well, committing both of their names to memory, [break][break]

“Thanks, I'll keep 'em in mind,” Victor replied with a smile, “Is there any specific advice you've got for me? Other than the specifics regarding the Dragapult, I mean.”

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The clashing of swords rang out over the snowy battlefield. Victor watched, trembling in the snow, as his Gallade fought with the mechanical monstrosity. [break][break]

The initial clash drove the Iron Leaves back, only for it to surge forward with a wicked NIGHT SLASH. Galahad dodged the attack with ease, light on his feet as he hopped back, the attack narrowly missing his torso as he pushed himself back into the fray with an AERIAL ACE. Victor silently wondered how the hell the Gallade managed to fight like that (he certainly didn't learn it from the piss-poor trainer currently freezing his ass off) as the attack struck the Iron Leaves' torso. [break][break]

As the automaton staggered back, a thought occurred to Victor; it was stupid, right? Galahad rushed forward while the Iron Leaves was down, leaping to strike with a downward arcing PSYCHO CUT, and Victor couldn't help but set the intrusive thought into motion as he reached into his pocket. There was no way this would work, surely, as his fingers curled around an empty Pokeball. Out of all of his most recent dumb ideas, this was probably the dumbest, he thought as he tossed the capsule at the Iron Leaves. [break][break]

Victor watched with bated breath as the robotic Pokemon was sucked into a beam of red light, the Pokeball shaking once, then twice, until the telltale 'click' signaled to him that maybe that wasn't such a stupid idea after all. With complete disbelief, Victor stooped over and scooped up the Pokeball, hastily stowing it away before any of the other combatants on the field could see the prize he had just captured. [break][break]

Then there was the sound of shattering glass around him, the sky kaleidoscoping into shades of pink and purple, and that was all it took for Victor to start bounding towards the treeline again in earnest. Galahad paced alongside him, having a much easier time navigating the snowy landscape than Victor, but that was far from the man's mind as he fled. He'd had just about enough of the sheer fuckery that had transpired, and whatever the hell nonsense was going on behind him was not worth engaging with if he wanted to leave with his hide intact.

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Victor nodded in acknowledgment of Josh's suggestion. It seemed perfectly reasonable, all things considered; if he could keep a low profile, and maybe work on getting the Dragapult to warm up to him, maybe they could establish a strong enough rapport by the time the icy clutches of winter loosened their grip on the region. Though, another thought wormed it's way into the older man's anxious little brain; was he really capable of taming a dragon? [break][break]

“I'll keep an eye out,” Victor replied earnestly. As Valoo floated effortlessly through the air, Victor squinted at the outcroppings of the Sky Pillar, keeping an eye out for either Dragon Pokemon the Gym Leader had mentioned. His eyes still scanning about the place with narrow focus, he called back to Josh, [break][break]

“So, uh, I know your specialty involves riding Pokemon, but would you happen to know anyone who specializes in Dragon-type Pokemon?” He glanced back at the Gym Leader, trying to sound as casual as possible and not like an idiot getting in way over his head, “You know, just as a point of reference.”

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“An officer?” Victor reiterated quizzically, “For the league, I take it? Sounds like an interesting line of work.” [break][break]

He took another bite of his meat skewer before responding, chewing on the meat thoughtfully as he contemplated a way to describe his work without sounding totally pathetic. Writing trite listicles for a blog that generated next to no ad revenue was not the most glamorous of professions, nor was his freelance writing for the impossibly vapid pop news sites he often turned to for an actual, livable wage. Swallowing a hunk of meat, Victor furrowed his brow as he formulated his answer, [break][break]

“I'm, uh, a freelance author. For a few online news outlets. Even contributed some articles for Electabuzz-Feed.” [break][break]

Nice save; Victor had kept the details vague, name-dropped a more well known company he had written for, and managed to make his work sound way more credible than it actually was. He took another self-congratulatory bite of his meat skewer, hoping that his companion would choose to elaborate further on his officer duties rather than dwell on the vague nature of Victor's own job description.

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Victor bit back a sigh as he took in what Josh had to say. Well, at least the Gym leader wasn't trying to talk him out of it; he felt a swell of appreciation at Josh's insistence on helping. It was nice to know that someone was worried about the admittedly very reckless decision he was making, [break][break]

“Got it. Yeah, sounds good to me,” Victor replied, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. [break][break]

Karitei at least had the decency to float back to Victor's side after he had chastised her. He shot a suspicious glance at her; the Spiritomb's jagged smile just grew ever wider, [break][break]

“So, you looking for any Pokemon in particular out here? I'd hate to keep you out just for my sake.” [break][break]

And he would truly hate it; Josh probably had more important things to do than babysit him.

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Before he could make it to the safety of the treeline, Victor halted as the world around him was washed in radiant flame. [break][break]

For the briefest of moments, it called to mind a story that he had heard long ago, of an angry god commanding it's people to leave a burning city, and to avert their gaze as they departed. For those foolish enough to disobey the wrathful deity, they were transformed into pillars of salt, dotting the landscape as macabre reminders not to disobey the divine. And while Victor wasn't a stupid man and would never disrespect a being with greater authority than his own, he was also dangerously, lethally, curious. [break][break]

So that's how he found himself turning in time to see the Keldeo cleave the FUSION FLARE in twain, to see Hoopa strike it's LASER and fire recklessly into the chasm lined with tera crystals, and to see the mechanical monstrosities begin to blip into existence all across the battlefield. On the bright side, it gave him ample time to see the robotic facsimile of Virizion materialize just a few yards away from him. On the down side, he almost wished that he hadn't seen the way the green automaton, whirring to life, fixed him with cold, murderous intent. Victor could practically hear the servos thrumming as the creature began to bound towards him. [break][break]

He shrieked, realizing that the thing was far faster than him, and he had no means to outrun the robotic assailant. Victor hastily dug into his pocket for one of the few other Poke Balls he had brought with him and flung it at the Iron Leaves, loosing a fearful cry, [break][break]

“Galahad! Please, protect me!” [break][break]

In a flash of red light, a Gallade materialized onto the snowy plain, extending an arm just in time to meet the Iron Leaves' clashing LEAF BLADE. [break][break]

CNBRqJP2[break]

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Looking all around him through the blinding snow, Victor tried to find a spot through which to flee. [break][break]



First, he saw the group of capable trainers attempting to create some sort of land bridge to get close to and attack Kyurem and the Hoopa accompanying it. For a passing moment, he considered joining in to help, but that was out of the question. Who the hell was he kidding? He'd just be in the way, more likely to fall into the chasm than have a way of helping to bridge it. [break][break]



Looking up, he saw several trainers and their Pokemon in the air above and around him; a Charizard, a Braviary, Hydreigon, a Flygon, a shiny Charizard, and... is that some kind of lion? Like, a big, glowy fuckin' lion just running through the sky? [break][break]



… Huh. [break][break]



Victor realized that there was no point in questioning the oddity of the sight, at least not in this moment. Looking around him, he managed to find a spot in the tree line clear enough for him to pass, and so the miserable march began. The snow, deep as it was, proved to be a bit of a nightmare to wade through. But if he just kept at it, and kept low to the ground, he hoped to minimize the chances of himself being spotted by the malevolent genie and it's over sized lizard before he made it to safety. [break][break]



G2jUu3|C[break]

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While Josh's concerns were well-placed, Victor felt a surge of annoyance at his well-intended pleas. Sure, Josh was the expert, but Victor needed this. The Gym Leader probably had dozens upon dozens of Pokemon at his disposal; he was strong, he wasn't the simpering civilian that Victor was. Victor exhaled sharply through his nose as he stuffed the Pokeball containing the newly caught Dragapult away and forced a smile as he addressed Josh, [break][break]

“Maybe we'll have to reconvene for another riding lesson after this,” he offered diplomatically, “And I'll work with him for a while before I start trying to ride him. It's not like I've got a death wish or something.” [break][break]

He tried to sound confident, he really did. But he couldn't help but feel a creeping trepidation at the prospect of working with a dragon. They were supposed to be notoriously hard to raise, right? Maybe he ought to track down an expert for advice. Regardless of what kind of protection he needed, he wouldn't want the Dragapult to languish under his care. [break][break]

A small cry caught his attention, and Victor turned around to see Karitei launching a SHADOW BALL at an unsuspecting Lampent floating past. Apparently the Spiritomb had a real mean streak, [break][break]

“Kari, knock it off!” he barked sharply as the shadowy blob of energy struck the wild Pokemon. Karitei cackled as the Lampent started to fall from the air; Victor sighed with exasperation and tossed a Pokeball at the Ghost/Fire Pokemon. Looks like he had another Pokemon he needed to work with.