[attr="class","text"]

it all happened so suddenly...[break][break]

and because he'd been rendered immobile by the that obnoxious ostrich, he could not get a clear view of what was happening around him. he heard fighting, however, and also keiko calling to him. that alone was enough to keep him in the fight despite of the unexpected circumstance of being physically stunned by a bird that probably doesn't even fly.[break][break]

before he knew it, he'd then be smacked with a pulse, but a rather soothing one this time. and with that, he managed to regain some bit of life in his limbs. when his body could finally function once again, he looked up from the seat of his pants in the sand to see the obelisk had come and gone, leaving behind...perhaps the clue they'd been looking for?[break][break]

what lies beneath...?[break][break]

he met the girl's gaze briefly, plainly, before propping himself up from the sand. "i am now." he then alternated looks between her and the slowking which may have offered an assist. "thank you guys." directing his attention to the path that presents itself before them now, hands swivel about to dust off the sand from his attire. meanwhile, greninja dash onward to scout immediate distance ahead of them. "i think that's worth checking out, yeah?"

keiko mori

NOTES

✦ prompts completed: 4 of 4[break]
✦ sandslash has fainted[break]
✦ ---

[attr="class","text"]

"alright then...good to meet you, bella."[break][break]

now that the two are formally acquainted, they can proceed with commencing the operation. although it appears that this woman was in no rush to get going just yet, despite silverio having waited for a considerable amount of time for her arrival - not that he minded this, but the sooner that they can get started, the sooner they can wrap up and collect their just rewards. he sought to examine her ride a tad closer, that was, until a rattata comes storming out of its spherical chamber to greet the man in kind atop its apparent trainer's shoulder. an endearing sight, it was. "and nice to meet you too, little buddy."[break][break]

it was...oddly cute...![break][break]

alas, her identity is confirmed, not only as a fellow ranger, but also as silv's running mate for the impending job. her vibe is surprisingly strong; there weren't many other rangers -- or even other people in general for that matter -- who would present themselves in this manner, exuding a level of confidence that perhaps may be immeasurable by any normal means. admittedly, he may have gotten just a tad antsy here for but a moment due to the mixup with times. but to say the least, he can appreciate the fact that bella had even bothered to show up at all -- it was better that than to be stood up like a blind date silently canceling.[break][break]

and so it was time for them to ride off into the sunset, literally![break][break]

bella wastes no time in getting herself comfortable on that bike -- how long has she been riding on it!? that wouldn't matter, so long as it can prove to be viable method of fast transportation. she suggests that he grabs on to something, and grab on he will. or in this case, someone to hold onto for some much-needed leverage, especially considering the breakneck speeds of which a vehicle such as this is allegedly capable of achieving. her repositioning as he sits behind her takes the man a bit of surprise, but for the sake of the mission, he would have to endure.[break][break]

broad arms tightly loop around bella's waist, unexpected bodily contact and all.[break][break]

before long, they take off, and the apparent rookie looks to strike up conversation en route to their destination, although she'd best keep her eyes on the road whilst doing so. first, the topic of their respective jobs. "i've been at this for a couple years now. before this, i was just an ordinary pokémon trainer doing ordinary things. i know that sounds insanely boring, but i'm also studying the environment, which is part of the reason i became a ranger in the first place -- to learn about the nature that i'm trying to help. if that makes any sense...!?" he finds himself competing with the sounds of the bike's engine as he speaks.[break][break]

"what about you, bella? you're just starting out as a ranger, you said? if it's okay to ask, what were you doing before this?"

Arabella Trovato

NOTES

✦ mission: sparkling spawning[break]
✦ ---[break]
✦ ---

[attr="class","text"]

somehow the ghost hand had managed to evade the greninja's water blast, and still, it insisted on haunting the group, perhaps until nothing would be left of them. if silverio were to go out, he would certainly not want to do so quite like this. it was bad enough that the team of pokémon he decided to carry along is already down one member at the hands of a vicious coffin. but when his expedition partner had finally remembered to try and catch a flick of an otherworldly experience...[break][break]

there was nothing...?[break][break]

a heavy sigh passed through the ranger's drying lips. "thought so..." another mirage; what else was new? "agreed, a third person could help stop us from losing our damn minds out here; anyway, we'd better keep moving. maybe we can find something that'll give a us clue on what the story is behind that obel...isk..." before he knew it, a mysterious wave of energy flashed in front of him, and suddenly...[break][break]

thump![break][break]

he found himself eating the sands, quickly losing control of his muscles. "what...happened...!? i can't...move...!!" words muffled by the grains of sand on his tongue. silverio, now immobilized for the moment, would be unable to see that an espathra had just shocked him into submission with its large, beady psychic eyes.

keiko mori

NOTES

✦ prompts completed: 4 of 4[break]
✦ sandslash has fainted[break]
✦ 14 become immobilized by an espathra's psychic eyes

[attr="class","text"]

forget what was thought of a moment ago; the antsy little land shark seeks to impose his will right now. out of nowhere, he lunged forward to tackle the archaludon, only to be met with a steel wall of doom - the metal alloy dragon didn't budge. an amusing sight to their trainer. "haha, well that's a start. just keep that up and you'll be bringing this tower down in no time." he jokes as the larger dragon lends a side-eye to the man with audible grumbling, immediately realizing the implications of that statement.[break][break]

little did they know was that the ruckus would draw the attention of another gargantuan dragon pokémon, with that one being native the ranger's homeland. baxcalibur demands the group's attention with an enthusiastic roar. archaludon stands firm, fearless and defiant. the gible, however, seeks refuge behind silverio's legs for a moment, but peeks out from there upon realizing that the icy behemoth made no move to stage an attack.[break][break]

he then runs out toward the monster, looking to tackle it, but it's caught by its massive claws. baxcalibur picks up the poor little gible, eyeing him intensely, then gently sets him back to the ground. a silent but mutual understanding between the two dragons, perhaps? in any case, archaludon is undoubtedly thrown for a loop. but in silv's eyes, he sees a new friend indeed.[break][break]

"see that? you've found yourself a new friend after all."

solo wild

NOTES

✦ catching baxcalibur! using premier ball[break]
✦ ---[break]
✦ ---

[attr="class","text"]

in the past, it'd been said that silverio and his poképals have had a knack for attracting all sorts of people and other creatures. it appears that the same holds true here, for another unexpected guest joins the party. this time, the form of a muddy fish on land, perched near the wolf's backside.[break][break]

another endearment sight to the ranger. "looks like you've made some new friends." silverio alludes, jokingly. the mudkip holds a firm grip on the lycanroc's craggy fur despite its valiant attempts to shake it off. it seems that the hunter has become the hunted today, much to the amusement of his trainer.

safari!

NOTES

✦ catching mudkip![break]
✦ ---[break]
✦ ---

[attr="class","text"]

thanks to the combined efforts of their pokémon, despite the slowking's last attack having no effect on the moving coffin at all, the team has miraculously managed to survive another skirmish. but how much more of this nonsense would they be able to endure? a loaded question, for there was still much more to see and do in this realm. despite keiko's eagerness to acquire some snapshots to remember this trip by, the cofagrigus was one thing that the ranger himself will want to forget.[break][break]

seeing the two humans fleeing the scene, the greninja followed suit of them, hopefully with slowking in tow. but just as silverio had begun to believe that he had seen the last of that spectral menace as he called for his sandslash to return to its ball and rest, another hand begun to drop on the pair, similar to that coffin's. "you're kidding me...wait, is that even real...!?!?" judging from what they think they've seen, it may be just another illusion.[break][break]

regardless, instinct took over, this time on the part of the frog ninja, as he unleashed an emphatic hydro pump on the massive ghost hand.

keiko mori

NOTES

✦ prompts completed: 3 of 4[break]
✦ sandslash has fainted[break]
✦ ---

[attr="class","text"]

as if the world was saying that he hasn't seen it all already, a crack in the very fabric of reality opens shortly silverio's return from the mechanical kingdom. while this happened, the ranger had sought out for some much-needed downtime with his poképals after the trials they had endured together. but this ripple in time has already grown too large for the man to ignore, and thus, curiosity may kill the delcatty.[break][break]

if silv wishes to learn more about hoenn's environment, as well as the phenomena that plague it, then turning away from this opportunity is not an option, with that in mind, and with a masculine nidoran in tow, he dares to step foot through the cracks. no immediate signs of danger, although the storm cloud forming in the skies above him may be a clear indicator of an impending omen. suppose that the paldean should not overstay his welcome.[break][break]

however, after brief moments, the nidoran begins to grow at a pace incomparable to any natural causes - it has rapidly evolved. sensing a disturbance, the newly-formed nidorino prepares an attack with his horn, only to imply more size force than usual. "no freakin' way..." a technique that the poison pin pokémon should not be able to use by any normal means. an anomaly of sorts...?[break][break]

suffice to say that silverio truly hasn't seen everything there is to see in hoenn, just yet...maybe not even half...

space-time distortion!

NOTES

✦ nidoran(♂︎) has evolved to nidorino[break]
✦ nidorino forgot horn attack learned megahorn (later evolution move)[break]
✦ claiming one (1) red shard

[attr="class","text"]

attempts to come up with something to support his theory would have to wait, although it was likely that nothing else would even come close to being as viable as silverio's hypothesis. then again, was anything in this realm truly logical to begin with? perhaps that remained to be seen, but the man's interest in the obelisk had been piqued. until the wave of chills had struck him, mysteriously.[break][break]

she felt it too!?[break][break]

that ruled out the possibility of another illusion, or in this case, delusion. and reality would be verified by the presence of a spectral coffin, and like the victreebel and orthworm just moments ago, it too sought to intervene in the team's plans to explore the desert. another 'fight or flight' scenario. this time, it seemed that the latter was chosen.[break][break]

silv turned to dash away, but at the sight of the girl practically burying herself, instincts took over, and he rushed over to try and pull her up from the sands. meanwhile, sandslash chose to fight. it balled itself up to rollout on the moving coffin, but it was met by the fiend's shadowy hands and blasted away with a dark pulse, putting the spiny mouse down for the count.[break][break]

seeing this, silverio than called out another team member, his patented frog ninja. with its speed, it easily evaded confagrigus's hands and threw a slew of water shuriken towards it. "...you good!? we've gotta move!!" the ranger called to keiko.[break][break]

chalk this one up as another otherworldly experience that neither of them would expect, yeah...this would explain the cool air they'd felt.

keiko mori

NOTES

✦ prompts completed: 2 of 4[break]
✦ sandslash has fainted[break]
✦ ---

[attr="class","text"]

calls could not be any closer than what this expedition team had just experienced over a span of just minutes. first, an unnaturally giant orthworm sought to trap them in a sandstorm, then there was the sight of an oasis that wasn't truly there, and finally, a violent plant needing to be pruned. what a day it's been, and strangely enough, it had barely gotten started.[break][break]

after the battle with the killer flycatcher, silverio had regained his senses, albeit with some much-needed help. "i understand now...why the league doesn't want anyone exploring these rifts alone, that is, and here i was thinking that we've seen it all..." far from the truth, on the contrary. to say the least, very few of what he had experienced previously could compare to what has transpired here and in that mechanical kingdom.[break][break]

"huh...!?" he spotted her crouching down at the sight of something poking out of the sands, and the ground tremored once again, this time with an impact comparable to a garchomp's earthquake, which causes the ranger to stumble a bit. when it passed, an outrageously tall structure emerged from the sands.[break][break]

eyes widened as he examined it, its sheer size taking the man by surprise. who or what could've designed it this way? "something that must've lived long enough to see through its construction in its entirety, i'd bet. no telling as to what though..." a free hand grazed the stone, holes and all, then...was something...? "looks like it's missing some parts, just like that pillar we saw before!"[break][break]

a eerie aura suddenly wafted around the ranger's stature, prompting him to cross arms in a way that would describe having been blasted by an arctic burst of air. "whoa...i just got a chill...somehow i get the feeling that we're not the only ones here..."[break][break]

who knew what other surprises this realm has in store for them....

keiko mori

NOTES

✦ prompts completed: 1 of 4[break]
✦ ---[break]
✦ ---

[attr="class","text"]

he can't help but to worry...[break][break]

the reports of the golden pokémon may not be enough of an indication as to how much of a threat to the people, and to the pokémon inhabiting this quaint environment. still, the job entrusted to the two rangers today was to subdue it by any means necessary. to be brutally honest, silverio wishes that neither he nor his captain would need to resort to extreme measures in order to fulfill the task at hand, but if push comes to shove...[break][break]

lo and behold, the 'shove' comes sooner than he would've liked.[break][break]

the wolf pokémon moves to utilize its sharp nose to track any scent of unusual happenstances. although, it wasn't long at all before the biggest threat to this area in recent memory finally presents itself. a fellow canine, this one radiating a mesmerizing brilliance of gold - precisely as the reports had described it. boltund, already establishing itself as a hostile figure.[break][break]

at elise's command, silv and his lycanroc assume a readied stance. this would by no means be an ordinary battle against just any wild pokémon, but one who some folks had alluded to as 'noble'. "get in there and help 'em out!" the paldean quickly orders his lycan friend, and the wolf swiftly rushes in following the trevenant's attack, zig-zagging steps towards the opposition, seeking to trailblaze through their foe.[break][break]

afterward, a shift in the wolf's proverbial gears may be noticeable as it maneuvers at seemingly immeasurable speeds.

Elise Calcifet

NOTES

✦ mission: noble phantoms[break]
✦ lycanroc used trailblaze on the golden boltund[break]
✦ ---

[attr="class","text"]

further along the trail, they go. all the while, their newfound friend seeks refuge atop the lycanroc's back, within its craggy fur, much to the chagrin of the rocky beast. silverio finds this sight strangely amusing. but he fails to notice a tiny chicken now treading in his canine friend's footsteps.[break][break]

the wolf, however, catches a whiff of its presence. it turns about face ever so swiftly, instilling fear in the poor little torchic and sending it running for the hills. "that was...something..." what the ranger truly wanted to say was 'that wasn't very nice of you, buddy.' oh well...

safari!

NOTES

✦ skip![break]
✦ ---[break]
✦ ---