"I understand completely!" Rex jerked his head to the left, the Night Slash drawing blood in a thin line across his scalp. "You're the one who doesn't understand!"

The wound looked like it hurt, but Rex continued to grin like a dog offered a bone. Gallade bowed to him, apologizing for sidestepping the blow and allowing his trainer to get hurt. Rex simply shrugged and waved for Gallade to continue. The more his knight focused on him, the less invested he would be in the fight.

This had to be real.

It had to matter.

"From what you've said, it seems like he hasn't been feeling well for a while. The best way to fix that is to get the blood going. You don't need a soul to fight! You don't need honor to live! If he wants to see his princess, he should fight to ensure that his body still roars!"

A Leaf Blade fell on the Doublade.

---

Eris Halla

[attr="class","pkmn-hoenn-team"]

Snacker Swaggered. Turtonator came.

In a world where Rex actually bothered to utter the turtle dragon's true name, it was possible that the young man would've been able to keep his dragon under control. As it was, the dragon simply let out a roar and stumbled forward foolishly, omitting the safety of the shell in favor for the Sharpedo's jaws.

"Damn. I can't afford to spend time messing with this Sharpedo." Rex grimaced as his dragon continued to lumber towards a shark he'd never be able to catch. "Calm down! Turtonator, get your head in the game!"

That suggestion was denied, unfortunately, as the dragon attempted to actually tackle the shark. Rex rolled his eyes. It was such an obvious blunder.

"I warned him." Rex shrugged and whistled innocently, waiting for his plan to come into motion, "Ohhhhh well!"

Yet faintly there was a click emanating from the Turtonator. Not an attack, but a promise. A vow for something that would come when he eventually got his head back into the game.

---

Josh Devlin

Bruising. Damn. It could've been worse, but it was still an uncomfortable wound. It'd leave her sore for several days, a sensation that Rex found worse than the sharp pains that eventual scarring would bring. Bursts of pain were indications of healing. Bruising and soreness were an inconvenience.

Nor did they look cool when they healed.

"If anything is broken or cracked, I can't do anything about it until we get back into town." Rex frowned and produced a Pokeball unused in the battle. "Unless..."

The Pokeball opened, and from the red haze came a small egg that waddled towards Keiko with baby steps. With a cheerful trill, a soothing water emerged from small fingers towards the bruised area as Togepi prepared a Life Dew. Despite the egg's reliance on Metronome, Rex had taught Togepi a few good tricks.

Hopefully this one would lessen Keiko's burden and keep her in working order.

"Me?" Rex frowned and shook his head. "I'm fine. I think that big guy broke a rib, and my eyesight's messed up from looking directly at that attack. It was strong, but I could've taken it."

---

keiko mori

Eris Halla is a child. That fact causes Gallade to slow the blade falling towards her neck just enough for the Doublade to intercept the attack. There's a large swath of empathy and humanity in Gallade's breast, but that does not apply to the knight's trainer.

Althus Rex, put simply, was a monster.

"Oh?" Rex's grin grew wide as Eris blocked Gallade's advance towards Volcanion. He laughed loudly, his white teeth flashing in a castle of cold steel. The fact that she had stood up at all brought him immense joy. "So you're gonna fight for him?"

Kids could be strong. Fortunate for Rex, and unfortunately for Eris, Rex didn't particularly care if someone was ten or thirty or a hundred. If they had the capacity to give him a challenge, he'd sharpen his blade against theirs and grow even further. That was his purpose.

With a whistle, Gallade pressed forward, eyes flashing as it foresaw an attack with a vision of the future.

"Fine by me!"

---

Eris Halla

[attr="class","pkmn-hoenn-team"]

"Not to worry, this won't take more than five minutes." Rex gave another cheery wave and took a deep breath, regarding the Gym Leader's three Pokémon thoughtfully. "Huh. Maybe not."

Althus Rex had a gift. It wasn't a gift of blood or natural power or anything particularly special. Rex's talent was the internal compass that ticked in his chest, guiding him to the strongest opponent nearby. Mauville was one of the most populous cities in Hoenn, with a large swath of talented trainers.

Normally, his compass would be going haywire. Now? It focused solely in on Josh Devlin. He was the strongest trainer in the city. That was a fact that nobody could deny, unless they were blind or deaf or stupid.

"Good." Rex's eye fell upon the Shiny Charizard. It was a very cool Pokémon. Strong, too.

"Not bad." Sharpedo came next. Acceptable.

"That's his strongest one. I can feel it." Josh's starter oozed aura, and the name rang out in Rex's mind. Yet names were irrelevant. Nothing mattered. Only the win.

He took a deep breath. One. Two. Three. Four. Five. A change went over the young man as the distant echoes of Littleroot disappeared into a box nestled somewhere in the back of his mind. This was badge one. He closed his eyes, thinking of the path forward. A thousand different lights coalesced towards a singular point in his mind: victory.

Rex opened his eyes.

"Turtonator!" Rex threw the Pokeball, and the turtle-like dragon stepped onto the battlefield, regarding the Gym Leader with a derisive expression. With a huff, Josh was met with the Pokémon's back as it shuffled towards him, poison oozing from crevices as a Venoshock erupted forward.

---

Josh Devlin

Rex grinded his teeth with anger as he shook his head furiously.

"I've been wandering around this kingdom doing errands with you all day! And the day before that! I came here for practice, but the only thing I'm practicing is the fact that several of the robots here swing at right angles! I'm stronger than any random machine here in this kingdom, and nothing can rival me!"

He pointed a finger at Volcanion.

"Except for him."

He wanted to fight the strongest entities in the region to ensure that he never grew rusty. There were too many trainers with strong Pokémon, and the ones that didn't travel with trainers had to be incredibly powerful to stay independent. This Volcanion had been here for years. Years!

The strategies Rex could adopt by fighting it...

"That's why..." From a red haze emerged a Gallade, who took up a fighting stance. "...I wanna see what he can do!"

The knight lunged forward.

---

Eris Halla

Grigori Sokolov and Alba Evovae had won their little fight. It had been a fight with no meaning, but to describe it as that was to do Fisher and Alba's Eternal Floette a great disservice. The fight had no meaning, but it had meant everything.

Perhaps that was the truth of battle.

"Keiko, they were so strong!" Rex's eyes sparkled as they sat under a grove of trees several miles away from the original fight. Somewhere, Togekiss was perching to recover their strength from the rapid extraction effort they had headed. "That old one was a real warrior. He was like a machine."

Damn. His ribs hurt. Fisher had cracked one at some point. He looked at the courier sitting next to him, with the faint rise and fall of her chest and wounded breath.

"You're hurt." He nudged her gently. "Let me see."

---

keiko mori

Eris and Volcanion talk like old friends. Rex wasn't old, nor was he a friend to either. He was just a man here to train, and while the mass-produced machinery that made up this kingdom ensured a plentiful supply of foes, Rex was beginning to grow bored of them.

They were predictable.

Easy to beat.

Dull.

So while Volcanion basked in the healing waters, Rex throws a ball shaped like a Voltorb against a wall and catches it. It turns into a methodical sound, comparable to the intermittent clicking of gears and mechanical parts. Rex himself had little to offer to this court of knights.

So he threw the ball.

Again.

Again.

Again.

"ARGHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Rex finally stood up. "I can't take this anymore!"

---

Eris Halla

"That's because it knows we're strong!" Rex chuckled at them, his Gallade refusing to melt thanks to Illeana's barrier. The younger man didn't understand how she did it, but he wasn't going to complain. "It's the Pokémon of victory! Do you think it's going to just roll over as we beat it?"

Victory was something that scaled. Victini was just as powerful as it needed to be to make the fight worthwhile. If that meant it would raise itself up for a four against one, then who were they to complain?

The ground bubbled and split. Gas erupted. There was a memory of Littleroot, buried deep. Yet ultimately Rex simply shelved it and leapt backwards, his Gallade receiving a vision of a Future Sight, of the explosion to come, of the success that they would inherit.

The gas was a nonissue. Tornadus would blow it away or Illeana could conjure a barrier. They were both strong enough to turn the tide while Rex prepared his next attack.

"It's pretty tough, though. That must mean it has a lot of infinity energy, yeah?" He gave a thumbs up. "I've been hitting the books since last time!"

Since about forty seconds ago, maybe.

---

illeana reyes robin coello lam logan

"Call me a miracle worker, then. My fighting spirit will revitalize it into tip-top shape. Nothing heals the soul more than having something to fight for, Small Lady."

Rex speaks like a sage for a man who doesn't believe a word he's saying. Behind the duo, a Carbink follows them after being freed from slave labor. Frankly, Althus Rex didn't believe in conviction or purpose or anything of the type. He just wanted to fight long and hard and good and true, so that when he was finally dead and buried, he could say it had been a life worth living.

After all, this life was spent on borrowed time.

"I think I can beat him, actually. You could see it in his gait. Old and strong. Volcanion would be a good fight!"

The door stood before them, and Rex pushed it open with a creak.

---

Althus Rex

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He stepped out onto the field, letterman jacket open. Somewhere, keiko mori was about to witness the first step of Hoenn's next champion. He could taste the victory on his tongue, though maybe that was also the several taste buds that a Light of Ruin had seared off. He put two hands behind his head, oozing confidence.

"Heeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeey! Mr. Devlin! Gym Guy! Champ!" Rex waved at the older man from across the arena, eyes shining brightly at the prospect of fighting one of Hoenn's strongest trainers. "Don't hold back, okay? I want to see what the Master of Faster is really capable of!"

From his belt, he counted off three Pokémon. He considered using Togepi, but he suspected that the Gym Leader wouldn't appreciate Rex's decision to face him with a small fellow. Besides, Rex didn't want to blow a hole in the side of the building with Metronome.

"You excited? I'm excited! This is gonna rock! I fought this Rocket Beast who had a katana, and he couldn't even do me in! I'm on top of the world!"

---

Josh Devlin

Challenger: Althus Rex[break]
Traditional or Non-Traditional: Traditional [break]
Format: 3v3 Singles [break]
Pokémon:
GALLADE (MALE) - SHARPNESS - Psycho Cut/Sacred Sword/Aqua Cutter/Leaf blade/Future Sight/False Swipe - TERA: Psychic
TURTONATOR (MALE) - SHELL ARMOR - Shell Trap/Flamethrower/Outrage/Iron Defense/Venoshock/Draco Meteor
AZUMARILL (FEMALE) - HUGE POWER - Superpower/Play Rough/Rollout/Helping Hand/Bounce/Aqua Ring
[break]
Powers: Mega