the grin that graces emma's lips is all too satisfied, and she shakes it a little more in annalise's direction, teasing. she shrugs, "no point in a gift if you don't use it." she adds, and watches as annalise pulls out an equally ugly dress. boxy pokemon-print with ruffles reminiscent of a peacock. dramatic wasn't her vibe, much less tacky.

but emma still squints and stares at the dress for a moment, as if she really was considering having the two of them give each other an awful gift. she was not a girl who said or was told no very often. life is fleeting—why waste it on experiences not lived? but then she laughs, putting the ugly green dress back into its place. freedom was one thing, influence was another.

"fine...you win. we'd look hot. but i think we'd start something we'd regret." she admits, putting the neon green dress back onto its rack. they were mildly famous and there was no shortage of gossip in hoenn, prying eyes and an excess of cameras. as much as she was apathetic to public opinion, she wasn't looking for that type of limelight.

regardless, emma flips through the racks, lazy and uninspired. these clothes were already dated, styled in last season's trends. maybe she shopped too much—everything she saw was something she'd seen before. "bored." she sighs. she wraps an arm around annalise's shoulders, peering with mild interest at whatever was in annalise's hands.

"wanna get outta here?"

annalise henderson

they had all made it longer than she had anticipated; but the electricity puts far too many people out of commission for emma's comfort. one by one, trainers disappear from the battlefield, their numbers dwindling to a severe degree.

and just like that, the odds have flipped.

she promised herself she'd fight until the very end, no matter the cost. the registeel concentrates a beam in its hands like a CANNON, and she dares to come closer.

"we need to keep breaking registeel's barrier." she says. she had no weak spot to aid her, but a MOONBLAST should at least help.

riddle answer: cannon
altaria uses MOONBLAST (STRIKE) on registeel
UUK5WALi

altaria (dragon/flying)
moonblast (strike/hinder)
sing (hinder)
tailwind (support/boost)
fire spin (strike/afflict)
sky attack (blast/snipe/hinder)
safeguard (shield)

electricity arcs from each orb that's launched from the registeel's hands. with the dry desert air and the electrified air, emma clicks her teeth as they navigate between the balls, and she pulls the stray hairs back as they begin to float. the bright moving lights made her feel LOST, trying to dodge them all.

seeing as most people were safe, or were too far out to save, emma made the decision to attack. alice conjures up flames, a whirling force full of sand and fire. FIRE SPIN would make its steel both searing hot and brittle.

they were getting close, she could feel it.

riddle answer: lost
altaria uses FIRE SPIN (STRIKE) on registeel
VmKCXaYp

altaria (dragon/flying)
moonblast (strike/hinder)
sing (hinder)
tailwind (support/boost)
fire spin (strike/afflict)
sky attack (blast/snipe/hinder)
safeguard (shield)

when their hands begin to wiggle, emma's closes a little tighter on reflex, unwilling to let it go so easily. but then she frees it from her own fingers, letting the soft skin slide away from her own hand.

the line had been drawn, and they leave her, breaking their gaze away from her as a final blow. it was almost as if she could see themselves building the wall up again, brick my brick, with emma on the other side. she smiles, having had her fill, and sits up, her hair falling down to her shoulders, settling back into its place where they were both supposed to be: emma stone, rising cadet, and adele veronesi, the secretary.

nothing more, and nothing less.

she respects their space. she knows when to make a quick retreat, because otherwise, they'd call the game off entirely. emma stone may be persistent, but she was not one to go as far as to stay where she does not belong.

she runs a hand through her hair and brushes the dust off her clothes, and regards the secretary with a tilt of her head, seemingly self-satisfied. it was time to make her exit, but before she leaves, she reserves herself for any last questions, the luxury of time temporarily reserved for ada.

"always. and you?"

adele veronesi

she feels a little guilty, prodding him when he was being so sickly sweet. it makes her chest tighten a bit, a reminder of what they've lost, and what remains.

"you're soo..." she starts, but she's at a loss for words, her emotions suddenly overwhelming. the hug that envelops her is warm and full of love and hope. she holds onto her brother tight—remembering that when she struggled, nearly buckling under the pressure, how she'd think of alexander first. what would he say? what would he do? they'd called him heir and steward, champion. but she'd always thought of him as older brother.

she sniffs, trying to be brave. but the air, so celebratory yet bitter, made her sight blur. she begins to weep.

"...thanks, alex."

ALEXANDER STONE

at greyson's shirtless body, she wrinkles her nose, even going so far as to take a hand and pinch her nose in an exaggerated fashion. "at least load up on the deodorant if you wanna catch up." she says, sticking out her tongue just for good measure.

but emma smiles, still somewhat amused. "so-so. mostly training and figuring out where exactly to put me. alex said i'd move up faster if i was placed under someone with a higher rank, and he suggested you, since we know each other."

the thought of being greyson's underling wasn't the most appealing thought; she wouldn't describe their relationship as awkward—far from it, actually. she just didn't want to take orders from someone who was supposed to be a friend.

but she did place a lot of trust in him.

"what d'you think?"

Greyson Connors

she had already neared the city; this route was none too difficult for someone like emma stone. and having been satisfied with alice's training so far, she opts for a more quiet excursion, tucking her hands in her pockets as she thinks.

the thought of war kept nagging at her, and despite the warm welcome of hoenn, she couldn't help but think how everything may soon be lost to the conflict. her home and the beautiful region. war didn't just affect humans, it spread to the wilderness and the environment as well. and she thinks, that if it came down to it, she would rather die defending her home than to stand by and see it lost.

a wigglytuff waves at her as she passes, and she smiles, doing a little wave back before continuing on. pokemon were wild and feral creatures. it may be natural to fight, but surely, it was never at the scale of this war. might it be the last peaceful thing she sees before everything changes?

skip wiggyltuff

the weak spot ended up being a temporary blessing; the registeel falters, its eyes flickering in and out. there's another pause of silence as the trainers recoup—but it only lasts so long, and the registeel launches itself forward, swinging its arms and down, mini earthquakes sounding with each impact.

she directs her altaria, navigating through the turbulence caused by the hammering of its arms, dodging the eruptions of sands. getting caught in them would surely sent her towards an early TOMB.

emma's eyes land on another trainer, another shield should help—she puts one up against the sand and the impact, hoping to save him from injury.

"SAFEGUARD."

riddle answer: tomb
altaria uses SAFEGUARD (SHIELD) on Thomas Benoit
93dHh979

altaria (dragon/flying)
moonblast (strike/hinder)
sing (hinder)
tailwind (support/boost)
fire spin (strike/afflict)
sky attack (blast/snipe/hinder)
safeguard (shield)

she is relieved in the least, that alice's safeguard was enough to shield both her and the girl. soil and sand erupt in waves around them, like desert ghosts that pound at the shield, wanting so badly to enter. and for a brief moment, she wonders what would happen if they had broken through.

but then the dust settles, and the attacks from the concentrated attacks leaves the registeel stumbling backwards. it was a minor victory in the war; but she knew that it wouldn't be over until it stopped moving, whether dead or slumbering.

and so they watch.

the next attack comes with a storm of dynergy, a beam that summons a whirlwind of sand in its wake. alice flaps her wings, distancing them from the vast and desolate LAND, just in view of its WEAK POINT. it was now or nothing—they need to take the opportunity when it arises.

"SKY ATTACK."

riddle answer: land
altaria uses SKY ATTACK (BLAST) on registeel
cSSIJMvz (+20 if even)

altaria (dragon/flying)
moonblast (strike/hinder)
sing (hinder)
tailwind (support/boost)
fire spin (strike/afflict)
sky attack (blast/snipe/hinder)
safeguard (shield)

they're both laughing, the thought of someone wearing this so obscene that they can't help but demean it, the poor thing. emma wiggles the dress in front of annalise as she comes closer, showing off its sins against humanity.

"to make everything else in the store look better maybe?"

because for the teenage girls that they are, there is nothing more amusing than to make fun of something, or someone, if they had committed some sort of transgression against them. perhaps that made emma worse person because she admits it so freely, to embrace being petty and trivial.

but in the very least, shitting on an ugly dress was a victimless crime.

she checks the tag before her face twists in disgust, and she flips the tag over to show the price. "500 pokedollars. now that's a crime." she says. even for a rich girl like her.

but it was a little funny, too.

"if i bought it and gifted it to you, would you keep it? it's rude not to accept a gift by the way."

annalise henderson

in a way, she thinks, she had been rejected. or at least, her offer had not been accepted, and for emma, that means that her offer was denied. there was no in-between with emma stone; no maybe or perhaps. she was a demanding girl, hungry for answers and certainty.

so when ada veronosi gives her a non-answer, it's up to emma to say yes or no. right?

"yes, it's soo comfortable." she says, her voice dripping with sarcasm. ada fades from her view, and she lets them, humming quietly in her semi-defeat. that is, until she suddenly feels the soft skin of their hands, brushing away a string of her hair away from her face. it was a strangely intimate gesture coming from someone who was not usually receptive to them.

is this turning into a yes?

the smile that appears on her face is giddier than she likes; giddy didn't really look cool. not in the way she wanted to be. but she had never lost her boyish charms despite all of life's attempts to do so. and with her slender hands, tinged with the shrewdness of a boy, emma slowly reaches for theirs, running her nails down ada's wrist until she could hold them just in place.

"but i can bear the discomfort for you."

adele veronesi

they are not only vulnerable to the attacks of the giant legendary, but also the hazards of the earth; sand that whips into their eyes, winds that threaten to blow them away, and falling debris caused by said storm, heavy enough to crush.

no one was safe, not even in the air. her altaria flips around suddenly as she suddenly sees a flash of light headed towards them, eyes widened. the only reason why they hadn't been struck was due to a SHIELD of a stranger (Naomi Sato). she nods at them, relieved. "thanks for the help." she says, clipped and short as to keep the sand from collecting in her mouth. there was barely time to communicate in a situation like this.

seeing as they had collectively rallied around a few trainers, emma turns again, seeking to pass on the favor she had been given so generously. and there—another girl, who was standing next to greyson. it was a small comfort to see him relatively safe, if scuffled a bit. but she thinks that if they don't succeed this raid, then they may all be on the path towards RUINATION.

the registeel had unleashed another attack on them; large shockwaves coming at them at nigh impossible speeds. she points to robin coello; she doesn't know if she can save herself in the process. she has to try anyways.

"alice, SAFEGUARD the girl."

riddle answer: ruination
altaria uses SAFEGUARD (SHIELD) on robin coello
vVshno5g

altaria (dragon/flying)
moonblast (strike/hinder)
sing (hinder)
tailwind (support/boost)
fire spin (strike/afflict)
sky attack (blast/snipe/hinder)
safeguard (shield)

machoke were far too ugly for a girl like emma, who often basked in lux attention provided by the admired and envious. she had a brand and she would stand by it; and right now, she was less than pleased about the wild pokemon that had given her the time of day.

emma stone wasn't the biggest fan of fighting types, the display of their grotesque muscles and their vulnerabilities. but unfortunately, there seemed to be an excess here in this certain area. she had forgotten since her time here, she was rusty after all.

but despite her disdain for these pokemon, the wild timburr that appeared in the distance looked a little too small to properly put up a fight against alice. she does a small whistle, redirecting her pokemon to go around. she wasn't cruel, and she'd rather go around than to deal with a pokemon that may want to pick a losing battle.

"let's go past."

skip timburr