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Lutgarde's general demeanour isn't quite one you would expect from such a mysterious event - but at least, the curiosity might come in quite handy later still. They smile openly under their black mask that only covers the upper half of their face, leaving the rest unobscured, but even through the satin blackness, their eyes shimmer with a friendly attitude and no ill intent whatsoever. They dress in a more formal, gothic lolita dress with a pants suit instead of their usual poofy dresses, giving them an elegant air if they would be able to maintain it (they aren't).

"Thank you very much for the invitation!" they talk to their hosts, MAKI YUKIMURA and Seiichi Yukimura, "I'm looking forward to it!" They also greet the other guests friendly, wondering if there might be any familiar faces lingering beneath the masks, any voices they might recognise. Upon realising Elise Calcifet and Josh Devlin as ranger colleagues, they give these two another happy greeting, excited to also brave this evening with friends.

They do not know Marya Kareva , Elaine Highland or howard slayte , but they'd greet them similiarly kindly as they eventually take their seat - Lutgarde would be content to sit at whatever seat that would be empty still. The soup's served - or would be, if the maid hadn't spilled it. Lutgarde's half-way up to help them, before everything's already been handled and they sit back down. "It's alright, a bit more appetite will make the food even more delicious," they try to lighten the mood, continuing to chatter until the soup would be served proper.

Given their lack of culinary expertise, they do not notice anything at fault with the soup, and finish it up with the speed of someone who had quite a lot of siblings growing up - while never hungry, there's a certain hurry that just starts to become part of your soul. "What have you gotten?" they ask as the main course is served, curious to actually see different dishes on every plate. For them, they simply asked for meat and something filling, eventually ending up with a really high-grade Tonkatsu combination with some additional meat slices in sauce as well, and some vegetables. It's really strange how oddly refined it feels right now.

It's all- huh. In the dark, Lutgarde's standing up (again), though they once more remain unmoving, uncertain in which direction their host, slipping and falling perhaps because of the soup, has moved to. "Glad to see nothing happened to you, Mr Yukimura!" they say with relief, and sit back down again, before glancing at the floor where Seiichi has just laid. Has it been the soup?

tl;dr
- left image but in black-red + relatively normal black pants (but a bit frilly), black, gentleman-style leather shoes with bows on them & a upper half mask not fashioned after anything, black with lace
- greets everyone, thanks maki & seiichiro for the invitation
- takes whatever seat's empty still
- halfway stands up to help as the soup's spilled; sits back down, tries to make light chatter while waiting
- inhales soup, then the tonkatsu plus extra meat + veggies combo that's tailored for them
- asks the others what they've gotten for food
- stands up during the outage but doesn't move, relieved to see seiichiro is alright
- looks at the floor, trying to figure out if seichiiro slipped on soup from before?

NOTES

Lutgarde regards the notebook with a pensive look, before opening it up and starting to fill it. There's been quite a lot of information to keep track of, something that they always tend to struggle with if it isn't movement that they could remember physically - so, the easy solution seemed to be, get a notebook and start taking notes this way. However, by the time they have decided to do that, it's already been a bit (three months and more) since they've gotten to Hoenn, so ... they'd have to try and recall the information they've gathered over time to the best of their ability.

Well, better get started now than never.

SPOILER: Click to show

They put their fountain pen down (also something to consider ... Hoenn's humid climate makes it take a really long time for the ink to dry) down after the first stream of consciousness, wondering if they got everything ... probably not, but in the future, they hope to write down the most important data (and some not so important ones) more timely.

Oh, they should maybe underline the especially important information, maybe even in a different ink colour ...

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"Oh, so Suicune runs hot? Fits its tropical look," Lutgarde laughs - hoping Josh hasn't actually burned himself badly. Their bareback situation is objectively more comfortable, even if the amount of dress might be a bit of a hindrance. But at least, they favour dresses that would technically allow them to ride normally, since they're essentially glorified circles, if you think about the sewing pattern of it all. They take a moment to balance themself properly on Oreo, before giving Josh a thumbs-up.

"Let's go for it!" they grin, challengingly. "Oreo, Fairy Wind!" It seems like it'd be wind against wind - with no doubt, at the moment, in Lutgarde's mind that of course, Hoennian Suicune should be able to use a move that they've only ever seen with Flying types. Their own steed doesn't concern itself with this, either, as a mythical, glittering wind kicks up around their quickening hooves, and Lutgarde holding both themself as well as the shield attached to their arm steady.

However, as they clash, Lutgarde is thrown in for a loop. The shield comes dangerously close to breaking, and the impact of the sword on it jerks their arm away, exposing their upper body in theory for any follow-up attack.

They barely manage to stay saddled, probably also thanks to the aid of Oreo who notices that something is amiss. The Galarian Rapidash neighs, before pacing down, now using the Fairy Wind in reverse - coming to a slow before crashing into the nearby woods at high speed, buffering them. "Seems like offense is the better defense here," they shout over the distance and distant battle cries, reminding them again of the current scenario. "Let's see what the sword has in store for us."

4NQRToFk
Josh Devlin
choice sword, 1 curio
50pts, 1 curio

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Lutgarde frowns slightly as the boat comes closer, bringing them to their current residence - Lilycove City. A sandstorm is rather ... odd. "Thanks, but we'll hop off for now!" they tell the Captain with a grin and a wave, before calling out their Primarina Noh, who'd be a tad bit faster in getting them to shore.

They shield their eyes and face with their arms, approaching what they believe to be the source. "Hey, everything alright?" they shout, trying to be heard over the harsh winds. "Need help?" They wave at the person, who seems to battle a Flygon with his Silicobra - and an explanation for the situation starts to form in their mind.

haoyu tso

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Even with their combined efforts, it doesn't seem like it does all that much, and Shalin's words only hammer the reality in more. At this point, the Hydreigon would run them into the ground before they could progress further - and they wonder, for a brief moment, what would happen then.

And they really, really would rather not find out if they could help it in any way.

"Light Screen!" Lutgarde yells out, but even with the half damage from the protection, it still is freezing here. Sylv barely manages to use a Quick Attack to get away from the brunt, while Sylph does the same with Extreme Speed, keeping herself and Lutgarde as her rider safe. Noh, however, isn't quite as lucky, and loses consciousness. The ranger quickly recalls him, "Thanks," before focusing on the situation at hand.

How to defeat something that doesn't have a weakness? It does seem to be significantly weakened now, with the Hyper Voice also, so maybe ... they'd have to keep at it, persevere against all odds. At least, there's no real other idea in Lutgarde's mind as they hop off Sylph, running over to Shalin. "Sylph, Extreme Speed to get close, and then Dragon Hammer!" they shout, before kneeling down next to Shalin, trying to get them both to a slightly safer spot - hoping that the pokémon attacking would be enough to distract it. "Oreo! Use Confusion!" they also call, hoping maybe - maybe itself would be the key to its own destruction ...

The Galarian Rapidash neighs, charging in shortly after the Togekiss. Sylph speeds up to attack as suggested, and the Fairy type, almost unreal-ly so, seems to appear surrounded by the roar of dragons as she slams her entire body against the Hydreigon with incredible force, quickly followed by Oreo attracting the heads' attention with a neigh, before directing their eyes to the shimmering horn on their head. The glittering lights try to confuse the heads, leading to them attacking each other - hopefully.

Shalin Nariya
choice confront a hallucination made real, 50pts
150pts

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Lutgarde gives Aubre a thumbs-up, hoping that both of them wouldn't regret it - but this seems important, too, somehow, something that they couldn't just leave ... "Of course," Lutgarde replies to Shalin, relieved to see that she's managed to regain consciousness a little bit - part of their tension seems to drop, even if it still reverberates in their bones. Or maybe it's just the aftershocks of Sandy's Boomburst, an explanation they much preferred over the probable truth.

They hold their breath as the final showdown - despite best efforts to keep the Corviknight at bay and, more importantly, focused away from Aubre and the automaton, the mechanical bird turns its head towards her nonetheless. Their mind runs empty, not- they look immediately at the creature as it shouts, and then saves Aubre. Another good chunk of tension drops as they see that, indeed, this creature isn't hostile - even if they can't really tell what it is about, but it seems to have the regal bearing of a princess and the looks to match it, too.

"Yeah, let's," they agree, carefully picking up Shalin to carry her without worsening any of the wounds. "Take care of the worst, and then head back to Hoenn..."

They exhale slowly while they're walking, not noticing that their steps are slightly in sync with the ever-going ticking noise in the background.

"Let's head home."

Shalin Nariya Aubre McKenna-Settentrione ooc. end!

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The lack of a saddle is almost more surprising than the appearance of the Paradox pokémon itself - but another glance says why, giving its less tamed, wild demeanour. Definitely a huge difference to Raikou from before.

"Maybe it feels the challenge in the air?" they grin, and nod. "Let's go for it then!" They call Oreo for themself, and the horse neighs in greeting, lowering her head to be patted. "Hello, Oreo. We're going to have a little mounted battle here, are you up for it?" they ask. The Galarian Rapidash turns their head to look at the other pokémon, before nodding and bowing, slightly - it's not a full bow, but they do lower teir head, with one front leg angled while their body leans backwards a little bit.

"Can we get saddles somehow here or will we just do it bareback?" Neither Suicune nor Oreo were saddled up, which could be a bit of a complication. "And then ... wanna do it lance-tournament style, just with sword attack versus shield bash?"

Josh Devlin

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Lutgarde couldn't help a grin at Eris' words and Reiner's reaction to them, smiling at their friendship. "That's very cool!" they laugh, wondering what kind of abilities this suit might have - but for now, it's not as important as getting the rest of the route cleaned and finished up. Gladly, with the biggest patches gone, the rest of the clean-up is a breeze and their team effort has the route returning to its former state.

"Glad there wasn't anything more sinister lingering," they comment, taking out the receipt from their lunch to scribble some notes on it to report later - maybe they should see about getting a notebook to write things like this down ... (they were such a slow typer, despite being rather well-versed with technology overall). "Actually, I was," they reply to Eris, who seems to share the same destination as them. "Was hoping to catch Navy in a free moment if he's got one, or just enjoy the seaside scenery" they add, as they take one last look at the route.

But, there's nothing left from the poisonous sludge, nor are there any poisoned crystalblooms either, so their job here is done. Sylv immediately walks over, wrapping a ribbon around their wrist, while Sylph seems to retreat to a comfortable distance for her after receiving a berry snack. "Well done, everyone," they smile, giving Noh and Garnet some berries to snack on as well, before recalling them to their pokéballs.

"Seems like the boat's ready for take-off now, too," they say, nodding towards the waiting boat whose captain seems to eye the duo, wondering if they wanted to hop on as well or not.

Eris Halla

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Red, literal and metaphorical, fills Lutgarde's vision. In contrast, their knuckles turn white as their hands are clenched to fists, as their eyes look upward - a glare that seems to shine red. Even without physical connection, Sylv and Sylph notice a change in their trainer as they are up to fight off the Corviknight. They seem conflicted, but don't hesitate as Lutgarde gives their orders, with a chilling voice, "Extreme Speed, then Air Slash. Aim for its wings. Quick Attack- the key."

Then, they hurry, shaking their hands, arms, everything, to Shalin's side, finally realising there's bleeding to stop. Not only this numbing inferno, not only this feeling of helplessness. This anger, this rage. "Shalin-" they say, taking a deep breath, before tearing apart their many layers of dress fabric to bandage her wounds, while also seeing if she could find the icy horse's pokéball to recall it.

In the meanwhile, their fairies join the fray, with Sylph leading the charge with Extreme Speed, rushing right into the bird to get it off balance after it drops Sandy and goes for a dive on Aubre, pushing it off course to follow up with an Air Slash to wound one of its wings - she keeps at it, and also brings Sylv closer in position to the chest. In one swift motion, Sylv pushes off with a Quick Attack, leaping for the key, severing the chain to which it's attached, before leaping once more back to the Togekiss, who catches him in time.

"Aubre!" Lutgarde shouts, feeling like the waves of their mind calming down, even if they're still shaken by it - they can't let it affect them now, there's things they have to do. Even if their hands are trembling with a whole tornado of emotions. "We've gotta get going now," they say, a slight hint of desperation slipping through a more composed mask. They carefully lift the smaller ranger up, hurrying towards the door that their pokémon were also heading for. To distract from the unconscious Shalin in their arms, they focus back - a mental map of the place. Where's the entrance through which they came ...

Their thoughts there were interrupted also by the automaton in the middle. Now, the glowing ball has been inserted, but- nothing happened yet. "We-" they begin, but exhale then. They're not someone to take the lead in a situation like this, or many other situations. Sylph and Sylv fly by them, standing by the door, but immediately turn around after dropping the key - ready to continue fighting, despite bruises and wounds. "... Maybe for a moment longer, but we've got to go," they call, and Sylph immediately charges forward again, attacking with a combination of attacks, while Sylv occasionally dives in with a Quick Attack or setting up Light Screens for protection.

Shalin Nariya Aubre McKenna-Settentrione

REDEEMING

welcome to the poké mart!

redeeming all from PC
1X ability capsule (togekiss sylph's hustle > super luck)
1X tm/tr (sylveon sylv forgets draining kiss and learns magical leaf)

TOTAL

do come again!

0 PD

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Admittedly, even with a mask on, it's really hard not to figure out that Lutgarde is who they are amongst all masked individuals. Their curled twin tails are one indication, as well as the gothic lolita style, even if it's now fashioned into something they consider less casual for the occasion. Which, interestingly enough, has resulted in a pants suit with a light, long coat jacket. A few bows and frills, as well as some lace adorn the black suit and accent it with dark red hues. Their mask is actually not Sylveon-themed (but they are, as ever, accompanied by the black-red dyed pokémon, who also wears some accessories), but just simple black with red ornaments.

Overall, their appearance may be described as mysterious, somewhat dark - which does not mix all that much with their easy-going demeanour as they smile and look around the event curiously. That is, until the scavenger hunt takes place, and hmm ... "I wonder if this could be anything?" They hold a mushroom that could maybe resemble a Parasect - but they aren't quite sure if it's actually fitting or not, but hey, it's worth a try!

L28XJQPS

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It got hurt, which is a plus - however, it's not as effective as Lutgarde is used to, which is a reason for concern. And the list only gets longer - each head gets an attack, flavoured to fit the odd colouring for this pokémon. "Light Screen, but also get away - Fairy Wind, Quick Attack!" they command their pokémon. Sylv almost reflexively has put up the protective light, before dashing away, just like Oreo who uses the kicked up wind to try and distract one of the heads as well.

As Shalin's Bass Boost lets out a torrential pour to douse the flames, Lutgarde picks up that, on their own, each would be devastating - together, however ... they'd rather not see what could happen then. "Oreo, come back for now - Noh, Garnet!" they call, "Garnet, use Captivate - Noh, try and guide the electricity with Bubble Beam!" Bubbles wouldn't be as effective as a proper water beam, but it would have to do for now - at least its strength is boosted by the rain, too.

"Do you know of any weakpoints, Shalin?" they also turn to ask Shalin.

Shalin Nariya
choice confront a hallucination made real, 50pts
150pts