[attr="class","icon"]

"oh no. no, no, no.i'm scared all the time. y'kinda have to be. to survive." [break][break]

a small sympathetic smile comes to his face as he sees vanilla's nervous shape peeking in and out behind the rotom phone. [break][break]

"it gets you going, right? fear. it can help you realize you gotta fight."[break][break]

he rubs the back of his head as he peers at the skeledirge's rocking pokeball.[break][break]

"you might wanna weaken the pokemon a bit first. gotta face it head on if you wanna catch something as strong as that." noah says.

[attr="class","bottom"]Vanilla Kingsley / ghost psychic / passing[break]

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comets of cream soar toward their advance. they couldn't let this man go. not now. not when they were so close.[break][break]

"cover greyson and his pidgeot! CHI STRIKE!"[break][break]

the mega machamp's fists effulge orange energy. leaping from stalagmites, the machamp tracks the alcremie's projectiles by this orange glow, smashing as many milky missiles as it can.[break][break]

however, the GEOMANCY acts as a flashbang. several projectiles still make it past, slamming onto the earth with squelches.[break][break]

"come back here!" noah growls.

[attr="class","bottom"]bryan delarosa Greyson Connors[break][break]
TL;DR: - MACHAMP uses G-MAX CHI STRIKE to help cover for Greyson and his Pidgeot; blinded by GEOMANCY.[break][break]

SPOILER: Click to show

+10 MP (IC POST)[break]
+10 MP (IC POST)[break]
+10 MP (IC POST)[break]
+10 MP (IC POST)[break]
+10 MP (IC POST)[break]
+10 MP (IC POST)[break]
+10 MP (USE MEGA)[break]
+50 MP (CHESNAUGHT KO'D)[break]
+50 MP (PARTICIPATION)[break]
+10 MP (Assisting another character and/or their Pokemon)

[break][break]

the umbreon's ASSURANCE strikes the hariyama's skull forcing the wrestler to stagger backwards. an enraged look, strained and defiant, burns on hariyama's face. it tries to stay up. tries to fight gravity and the alluring pull of unconsciousness.

hariyama is recalled before it hits the ground.

noah's MEDICHAM DETECTS the AURORA BEAM, darting by its frigid shaft just barely. with an urgent leap, it aims a DRAIN PUNCH for the VAPOREON'S CHEEK.

"took my hariyama down first! that's impressive! normally he's the last one standing!"

[break]

tl;dr and notes

medicham tries to DRAIN PUNCH VAPOREON.[break]
hariyama FAINTS.

jayden cross

☉

[attr="class","icon"]

"that's what i mean!" noah affirms. [break][break]

ecruteak is a second home. though as time passes, noah is finds that the scent of that autumnal town is beginning to fade. just like pressed leaves. [break][break]

"oh sick. four badges?" noah says. "bet you get people doubting you all the time even with all that since you're royal, right?"[break][break]

he shakes his head. just up ahead, on a higher elevation, a graveler and camerupt engage in battle. a ROCK SLIDE causes the earth to shake too.[break][break]

an obstruction of boulders careens into their path, blocking their advance.[break][break]

"hoenn's dangerous not just because of its pokemon, but because of its land too." noah says, his heracross already lumbering forth. "how do ya wanna get through this?"

[attr="class","bottom"]Elise Calcifet[break]
[break][break]

MISSION LINK

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the regret of impulse stings his knuckles. noah's heart can not help but pang with the painful resonance of sympathy. rowan's tone matches the frequency enough, the stuttering and disconnection of his voice causes pause.[break][break]

but noah does not soften his features. he remains scrutinizing and scowling. noah fights against being convinced as hard as he can, for a lie would mean the beating would have been justified doubly so.[break][break]

"the ranger?" noah says more to himself.[break][break]

the gym leader lets rowan go. hands release the other's clothes as if casting aside a dirty rag. noah stands back up, struggling to steayd his breath.[break][break]

"thanks for bringing him back." the machamp makes a noise of gratitude. "but don't think for a second that i trust you. if you're gonna escape, you better do it fast. they're gonna hunt you down... and if you're lying? i'll do the same."

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"cobra! greyson!" the names are torn from his throat without second thought.[break][break]

noah's machamp rolls off greyson's shield. and when his pokemon makes contact with the ground, there is a moment within a moment, where the scene stills. transposed against sootopolis' stone. [break][break]

however, both greyson and his machamp stand once again. noah exhales the rest of his breath as he lifts a gloved fist. [break][break]

the mega stone on its back glows. energy spark from its glossy surface, scattering beams of dazzling light. his machamp mega evolves, each limb crowned with a molten orange.[break][break]

warded away by the rough terrain of bryan delarosa's making, the mega evolved machamp serves more as a distraction. another brick on a threat level pillar.[break][break]

it hoists a large slab of broken ground and hurls it toward the XERNEAS & ALCREMIE after the SOLAR BLADE flies.

[attr="class","bottom"]bryan delarosa Greyson Connors[break][break]
TL;DR: - MACHAMP hit by SUPER-EFFECTIVE PSYCHIC / MEGA EVOLVES and THROWS SLAB OF ROUGH TERRAIN GROUND at XERNEAS & ALCREMIE.[break][break]

SPOILER: Click to show

+10 MP (IC POST)[break]
+10 MP (IC POST)[break]
+10 MP (IC POST)[break]
+10 MP (IC POST)[break]
+10 MP (IC POST)[break]
+10 MP (USE MEGA)[break]
+50 MP (CHESNAUGHT KO'D)[break]
+50 MP (PARTICIPATION)[break]
+10 MP (Assisting another character and/or their Pokemon)

[break][break]

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at the flash of fangs, the flamigo's neck lunges in reverse. but the flames come quickly, a wreath of scarlet heat wrapping around the bird's body.[break][break]

feathers burn. the flamigo's unnerving yellow-ringed gaze cringes with pain.[break][break]

"chop the neck!" noah shouts.[break][break]

the bird flips backward, wings flapping once to keep it in the air. its head swings toward salamence's neck like a pendulum blade for a THROAT CHOP.[break][break]

hopefully, it would stifle the flames enough for the flamigo to retreat. but the flamigo's on its last leg.[break][break]

it cringes again, this time with a BURN.

[attr="class","bottom"]freya morningstar [break]
FLAMIGO HIT + BURNED / VERY HURT / THROAT CHOPS SALAMENCE[break][break]

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as noah takes the marshadow's hand in his own, the fog pulls away. like streams of rainwater in some slateport alley, the smoke runs and steals all color.[break][break]

his machamp is quick to shift into the defensive. walls surge upward from the ground, encasing everyone in endless hallways.[break][break]

some pillars rise taller than the rest, and on their hallowed peaks, he sees the silhouettes of shadowy figures.[break][break]

they stand tall. their stares are encased in their umbral shapes. noah makes them out just barely. he sees a PENELOPE LIVY. a MATIAS SILPH.[break][break]

a kyle lopez.[break][break]

inadequacy hardens in his gut. it is an impossible weight akin to that of a silph on a scale. clutching his chest, noah stumbles to a knee, drawing in smoke with every desperate breath.[break][break]

...

[break][break]

eventually, kyle lopez finds him by the silvered light of a terastallized machamp. several walls have come down, torn apart by fists. the umbral stands for each figure have dissipated, leaving no debris. just smoke. his marshadow and machamp stomp away any foggy wisp left.

🗺️ utilize terastallization in an advantageous way.

noah wipes his eyes with his forearm. "fuck, i hate this place." he is quick to embrace kyle, sniffling and clearing his throat. "know where the others are?"[break][break]

while penelope strays from pieces of herself—noah holds onto the one who keeps him whole.

[attr="class","bottom"]kyle lopez PENELOPE LIVY MATIAS SILPH[break]
TL;DR: noah found by kyle! terastallization prompt complete.[break][break]

2o0St|MJ[break]

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like an active and exposed wire, the MULTI-ATTACK arcs and splits outward as frantic sparks. one bolt sears itself into machamp's shoulder. the muscle sears hot—but momentum carries the machamp through.[break][break]

as greyson sheds shadow from his roguish reveal, noah's machamp attempts to grapple the SILVALLY.[break][break]

"separate them!" noah shouts. "SEISMIC TOSS!"[break][break]

if successful, the machamp would tear the silvally away from bryan's healing grasp. in the air, they would somersault before landing, silvally first, against the border of vines.[break][break]

noah sucks in breath and rips away from his spot. he runs toward bryan, eyes frantically scanning the avatar, the patron, and his friend.

[attr="class","bottom"]bryan delarosa Greyson Connors[break][break]
TL;DR: - MACHAMP hit by MULTI-ATTACK; ATTEMPTS TO SEISMIC TOSS SILVALLY.[break]
- NOAH rushes toward BRYAN & XERNEAS & GREYSON.[break][break]

SPOILER: Click to show

+10 MP (IC POST)[break]
+10 MP (IC POST)[break]
+10 MP (IC POST)[break]
+10 MP (IC POST)[break]
+50 MP (CHESNAUGHT KO'D)[break]
+10 MP (Assisting another character and/or their Pokemon)

[break][break]

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noah breathes out, air thick as if ghosts are being strung though his teeth. it obsfuscates implications. undertones. physical gashes.[break][break]

when everyone affirms their status, noah is deaf. the beat of his heart is too much in his ears, and when kyle tells him to care for the shadowy stalker, he takes it as kyle being okay too.[break][break]

"alright." the gym leader says.[break][break]

he kneels down to face his marshadow. above, his machamp stands guard—but its eyes glide toward the mythical as if to affirm the gloomdweller's choice.[break][break]

"thanks buddy. i won't let you down." noah extends his hand and the marshadow mirrors the movement expeditiously. [break][break]

they squeeze to seal the deal... [break][break]

and the fog takes them too.[break][break]

noah doesn't hear the earth pillars erupting like tortured headstones.

[attr="class","bottom"]kyle lopez PENELOPE LIVY MATIAS SILPH[break]
TL;DR: noah checks on marshadow after believing everyone is okay; he's taken by the mist with his pokemon.[break][break]

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"bad parents? naaaaaw." noah dismisses the idea with a scoff. "but can you imagine how crazy cracked our kid would be? they'd get our good looks, our battling talents, uh... and maybe my height."[break][break]

he smiles weakly. teeth gritted and lips stretched wide as if caught red-handed in the middle of performing a prank.[break][break]

"but if no kid, uh, more behaved mightyenas might be nice." he laughs. "maybe they're just being jealous because i've taken up more of your attention."[break][break]

the gym leader leaves the scope for brighter sights; the minior shower pales when compared to who noah sees beside him.

[attr="class","icon"]

vines strike against noah's CHESNAUGHT. its spined armor is battered and its fused shield parries vine after vine. but it is an imperfect gauntlet of defenses.[break][break]

the chesnaught knows just to bide time.[break][break]

"ugh, yeah. i'm alright. i'm alright." the appreciation in his voice is stifled by pangs of pain, but a firm nod conveys his comradery. "i've got this."[break][break]

in the distance, his CHESNAUGHT FAINTS. with a thud, it falls to the damp, cavern ground.[break][break]

noah lifts himself up, muscles eased by the comfey's sacrifice. he places a hand on greyson's shoulder. "just call me if you need help."[break][break]

noah's hand tears away, and he runs toward his fallen chesnaught. clutching the pokemon's pokeball in his left, he recalls the chesnaught. his other arm swings out immediately after to toss his machamp's capsule.[break][break]

"sorry to send you out on the battlefield so quickly." noah says to cobra.[break][break]

his machamp grunts and sizes up its opponents: the ultra beast killer, a deity of vitality. no matter.[break][break]

"come and get some!" noah cries and his machamp charges forth, a DYNAMIC PUNCH thrown at the closest opponent.

[attr="class","bottom"]bryan delarosa Greyson Connors[break][break]
TL;DR: - CHESNAUGHT faints from Z-MOVE.[break]
- NOAH is rejuvenated from COMFEY'S Z-MOVE[break]
- MACHAMP attacks the nearest pokemon (SILVALLY OR XERNEAS, YOUR CHOICE PILO) with DYNAMIC PUNCH.[break][break]

SPOILER: Click to show

+10 MP (IC POST)[break]
+10 MP (IC POST)[break]
+10 MP (IC POST)[break]
+50 MP (CHESNAUGHT KO'D)[break]
+10 MP (Assisting another character and/or their Pokemon)

[break][break]

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deathly cold air courses by from PENELOPE LIVY's MR. RIME: a transpolar current escaping the pull of penelope's shrinking fear.[break][break]

despite the forlorn tinge staining the chaos, noah discovers admiration of the councilwoman's burgeoning bravery.[break][break]

the yveltal's wingtips frost and the CLEANSING TAG thickens the spiritual quagmire the beast must trudge through.[break][break]

"what! yours was?!" noah says back to kyle as he takes matias' hand. "thanks... hah, i know. fuck that bird for real, man."[break][break]

the SPOTLIGHT descends upon the petrifying MARSHADOW—and forces a tendril of yveltal's OBLIVION WING to peel away from the attack's main body.[break][break]

the red bolt plunges unto the MARSHADOW and casts its stone shackles aside. in the distance, MATIAS SILPH's URSHIFU & VIRIZION strike slowed wings and scarlet breast. [break][break]

it is enough for the yveltal to flee.[break][break]

"shit... we all good?!" the gym leader asks everyone. beside him, his machamp tends to the marshadow.

[attr="class","bottom"]kyle lopez PENELOPE LIVY MATIAS SILPH[break]
TL;DR: spotlight frees marshadow; freeze-dry, cleansing tag, and spotlight help matias' pokemon scare the yveltal away.[break][break]