Okay, so she needed to get out more.

And to actually get something done.

Here’s to hoping I still got it, she thought to herself as she arrived via Air Staraptor at the Pacifidlog Pokémon Center. While the flight was really far, it was also her own fault for not having her Ralts Teleport there—but only because she knew how the Teleport shtick worked, most of the time.

“Alright, rest now,” she remarked as she recalled the Staraptor and entered through the Pokémon Center’s back door, before dropping by the PC and switching out the exhausted Flying-type for something else. A few moments later, she had her usual full team of six, and was now accompanied by a Ralts.

“Memorize this place well, okay?” she remarked at Antoinette, who was perched atop her head. Now, where was the person she was looking for?

Little did she realize that she was going to be teamed up with someone familiar for today.

Pink hair, pink hair… where are they?! She thought, scanning the crowd of people for someone who was pink-haired. That was her companion for today’s mission work.

+ Selena Desmarais
+ notes here

The next thing that floated by her…

…was a teacup. Wait, what?

Okay, even that’s a little strange for me! she thought, trying to remember if there was anything of the sort way back in Kalos. After a few moments of scouring her memory, she came up with nothing. Shrugging, she then unballed her Typhlosion and watched as Willem landed with a thud on the grass.

“Go time,” she said, pointing forward—right as the weird teacup then attacked with a Giga Drain! A Flamethrower cut across from the other side of the field, dissipating the incoming nature energy before colliding with the china of the weird Pokémon.

That’s a very real scream, she thought as the thing followed up with a Shadow Ball attack! “Hide! Smokescreen!” she added a few moments later, watching as a cloud of dust was thrown up—only the attack had connected after the evasive tactic was executed. Whoops.

Needs more practice, she thought as she continued, “Keep it up, Will, keep going with Flamethrower!” she went on, watching as the Typhlosion released another explosive stream of flames, catching the Sinistea right in the middle of what appeared to be a Shell Smash attack.

The tinkling sound of cracking china echoed around as another blast of super-heated flames went for the weird Pokémon, and it finally conceded by dropping to the dirt.

Out went the first of her three Safari Balls, every single intent to catch it all over her features.

+ @tag
+ catching Sinistea!

“What—what happened to you? What the hell’s up with that eye patch?” she blurted out without thinking the moment she saw her brother at the door. Of course, she’d missed the Audino that had accompanied him, but that was for another date and time.

Either way…

Shit, she had a lot to tell him.

“Y—yeah, it’s me, s-so what?” she continued, backing away a few steps just in case he slugged her or something. Her concern still lingered on the eye, though. “No, really—what the hell happened to your eye? Is this a new fashion thing?” she went on, folding her arms over her chest.

How awkward was this going to get?

Extremely awkward, that’s what! she thought in the back of her mind as she waited for an answer. “Well? Aren’t you gonna let me in, or something?” she tacked on, shifting her balance from one foot to another as she waited for him to get moving out of his shocked state.

+ Thomas Benoit
+ KEK

She had gotten so swept up in her preparations… she’d missed the appeal round!

Oh, hell no! she thought angrily to herself, sighing as she realized that they were in the first round now. They had to change out of their initial plan now and go for the back-up plan.

Okay, the theme is growth… wait, from something small… no, someone already did that! she continued, looking at her Primarina and wondering how the hell they were going to do this. She hoped that her back-up routine was going to work… no matter how slapdash and last-minute it was.

After the last performer (@haruka) had cleared out, it was her turn. While her costume was simple, an encouraging tap from her Primarina urged her to go forward, never mind if she was being consumed by an absolutely massive case of stage fright.

The spotlight shone down on them as they entered, no flashing or derring-do—there were only two microphones on the stage as per her request. Here’s to hoping nobody falls asleep with what I’m planning! She continued in the back of her mind, coming to a stop in front of the taller microphone.

The Primarina parked herself in front of the other microphone (adjusted to her level) and with a reassuring look to Andrea, began to Sing. Softly, at first.

While the immediate effect would have made someone sleepy, they were far enough away from the first few rows for it not to work. However, at the same time the Primarina was Singing a melody to the crowd, there was a video playing in the background.

While it was incredibly cheesy, she’d managed to cobble together a ‘training montage’ of sorts showing her companion as a Popplio, back in Alola—practicing alongside a much younger-looking Andrea, although some would wonder why her hair back then was brown and not red.

Natural redhead, dyed it brown for fun, she thought as she continued to harmonize alongside the Primarina, picking up the pace as she went through the lyrics. Halfway through the song there was a shift in melody, and with another nod in Arsinoe’s direction, the Singing was slowly combined with a Hyper Voice, increasing in volume as the video behind them showed the evolution of the Popplio to a Brionne along with snippets from her Island Challenge.

The video continued to play in the background, before reaching a final rising crescendo with the Primarina picking up the volume just so and adjusting accordingly to the song’s shift—the video behind them showing her finally evolving into a Primarina.

Once they were both done, and the video cut out, they took a bow and proceeded to exit, stage right.



+ @tag
+ missed the appeals round so here she is! Showed a video montage of the two going through training together back in Alola. Andrea is singing this song

So apparently she'd stumbled across a garden that was... looking a little toasty. There was a Fire-type Pokémon in the area and it was hovering a little too close for comfort towards what she recognized to be Berry Trees growing!

"Hey! Leave those alone!" she called at the weird Pokémon, quickly sending out her Primarina to handle the mess in case it set the entire place on fire. "Quick, use Sing and try to lull it to sleep!" she added a few moments later, momentarily forgetting that the freaking Lampent-line was partially a Ghost-type.

It did nothing at all, so before the dual-type could attack with a Fire Spin attack, the Primarina retaliated with a powerful Moonblast instead, catching the thing off-guard.

Another Moonblast attempt landed a pained squeal from the Lampent, who floated lower and closer to the ground afterward. A blank Pokéball was then thrown at the Lampent, an attempt to catch it before it set the entire place aflame.

She wasn't going to let that happen, no way.

+ @tag
+ catching the Lampent!

How long has it been since she made a break for it?

Knowing that she could turn to her only brother was a sign that she would be safe. Besides, she’d already made sure to discard and destroy all traces of the life she lived while undercover.

Truth be told she hadn’t found out anything much. Except that… well…

She was hoping that he would hear her out. And so her nervous pacing continued, in danger of actually trodding the grass down in front of the place her twin brother called “home”. She knew she had so much to say, to share… she wasn’t sure how to even bloody begin in the first place.

Either way, she was here. She was back.

And now she had to explain every single thing. She hoped he would understand.

+ Thomas Benoit
+ boo.

First up on the encounter list… and it was something she wasn’t looking for.

Why did she have a flashback memory of seeing someone attempting to blatantly advertise Barboach’s sticky film as some kind of anti-oxidant and skin cleanser… when it was clearly freakin’ poisoned?!

What the hell?!

Sighing, she wondered if she’d be able to find a Squirtle out here. She then backed away from the weird Pokémon, who had decided to flop over to a particularly muddy area near the banks of what she guessed was the lake inside the Safari Zone.

Strange times, indeed… she thought to herself as she gave the Barboach the widest berth she could imagine before moving on.

+ @tag
+ pass on Barboach, next!