everybody's starry eyed

[attr="class","starrytext"]arian watched from above in shock of what'd just occurred. then, to his surprise, he was met with a strange spike on the side of his temple. a connection, once more, established: telepathy. pidgeot and talonflame hovered about the air as they awaited for their trainer's next orders. but before a command could be given, arian heard from victini's final words.

distracted by victini's repetition. it was too late to notice the incoming fire that would envelop both he and pidgeot. the fire engulfing their entire being. there was no physical harm, but mentally his mind believed their to be--it was literal hell. before a scream could erupt, consciousness was instantly lost.



everything went white.
it was quiet.
arian was nowhere, yet he was somewhere; his feet touched the something solid.

he had no idea where he stood. he had no idea where was that 'somewhere'. he was there, he existed. he was falling, standing, sitting, and laying. with a single blink, he found himself on a train. with a multitude of people. across from him there was a child, crying. arian stared with a blank expression. he stared at the child that cried and, then, turned away.

when he turned away, there was no one else around. he turned back to the child that no longer cried, but wore a simple smile. "that's how you do it. if you can do that, you win the game!" the child said, "now you try!" arian stared at the child. noticing how in his right eye he possessed a green pupil, but in his left a red pupil. "ah--mm, okay. how's this?"

"again!" the child said. "okay, how's this?" arian said.
"again!" the child said. "okay, how's this?" arian said.
"again!" the child said. "okay, how's this?" arian said.
"again!" the child said. "okay, how's this?" arian said.
"again!" the child said. "okay, how's this?" arian said.
"again!" the child said. "okay, how's this?" arian said.
"again!" the child said. "okay, how's this?" arian said.
"again!" the child said. "okay, how's this?" arian said.
"again!" the child said. "okay, how's this?" arian said.

arian brought the palm of his right hand to his forehead. breathing heavily, he was hot. why was he so hot? why was it hard to breathe? how long had he and the child been at this? "h-how..." the child intervened, "again!" arian stood up from his seat. angered, he'd place his hand around the child's throat. "stop asking me to smile! i smiled, i'm smiling! i won, you lose! this game is stupid! i won the bet. now give me my prize!" he began to tighten his grip around the child's throat. the child, once more, said, "again!" as if arian's hands weren't around his throat.

arian released the child by his throat. backing away, "this isn't fun anymore, this isn't fun!" he screamed. holding his head. "i wanna get off..." the child, then, continued with, "but...that was mama's favorite game. all you had to do was smile and you got the prize(s). you just had to give her a big smile and then you won the prize!" the child would pout, "you've become so mean that you forgot all about mama's game." arian's eyes widened. he stared at the child, repeating, "ma...ma?" he stared at the little boy.

that was when he noticed. he noticed that the little boy looked just like him.

"my name's arian! and since you lost the game, you don't get to hear any of my secrets!" secrets? "the secret game..." his favorite game with his late mother. "whenever dad was too busy to play with me and i had my temper tantrum, we'd play the secret game." the child would raise one finger, "there's only three rules! first: you give a big smile, the biggest! an honest, genuine, happy smile! two: you say what made you smile! three: you have to tell three secrets!" arian listened, a calm demeanor worn.


"okay." so he sat down. "i want to play again." arian looked toward his child self. "smile!" arian thought of what could make him smile so wide and big. the thought came and so he did, "what made you smile?" the child asked. "the thought of seeing mom again." that's right, he's dead (or so he believes). this train he was on, he'd look out the window only to see nothing but fog. "oh, i'm dead." turning to the child, it went dark for a moment. the child was now arian himself. an exact replica only except for the fact that he possessed a red orbs that stared into arian's green orbs, he'd ask, "there's no point in continuing the game then?"

copy!arian shook his head. "there's a purpose, you just needed a little push to help. you'd forgotten what it meant to have hope." he rose one finger, "to have dreams," he rose another. "and to have love and ambition." arian had then realized that what he'd listed wasn't just the three secrets, but something the VICTINI kept REPEATING.

---

upon realizing that, he'd come to be within a dark place again. no longer was there any white light. for so long he despaired within desperate anguish, that he masked it within a form where he desired to watch others lose something important to them. just like how he lost his mother and father at a young age. it all made sense. as arian believed he was dying, he wanted to AT LEAST reveal his THREE SECRETS to someone that was listening (VICTINI).

as arian fell from the sky. he'd tried his best to speak, accepting his fate. but if he were going to die, he was going to get out his three secrets. starting with the first"my hope...is to see mama." a weak smile, he'd say, "i'm happy."

"my dream...to take part in the greatest gamble..." thinking about it, this was a pretty great one. he didn't expect to die here. life truly is the greatest gambler, "i'm happy."

"and my third secret, what love most..." he'd begin to shed a tear. "i really love this world. i longed for the chance to gamble with death, i wanted to see them again for the longest..." it really sucked to say this, but, "i don't wanna die." he wasn't happy, his aspiration was to live longer--to live forever, this sucked.

everybody's starry eyed

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returning eevee and starmie. arian, shouting, "we're moving!" to both talonflame and pidgeot. he'd skydive off of the building from the sight of broken rocks hurdling their way.

falling head first, pidgeot would swoop in to catch his partner. talonflame followed behind. "take us high!" and that's where they went. pidgeot and talonflame hovered within the sky as they watched from above. before arian could do anything, a bright flash of forced the trio to cover themselves. "what a strong hyperbeam, and yet..." nothing. all hope was lost at this point.

arian took in the city's destruction. he watched from below as many struggled. thinking about it arian never really did understand himself nor as to why he did the things that he did. did he truly care for these people? did he truly wish to stop the abnormal battle before him? a complex thought, it wasn't until he expressed a slight smile. but that smile would come to be forcefully stopped once the VICTINI plagued their minds.

at first arian was ready to merely call it quits and just watch from the sidelines. but, somehow, the victini convinced him to help as much as he can. it'd be ashamed if he died too soon, he wouldn't be able to participate in anymore fun gambles. he'd never get to see the outcome within the battle between league and rocket. plus, if he died here, he wouldn't be able to truly say that he lived. he'd still yet to find the ultimate gamble after all.

"alright then..." placing a gentle hand atop of pidgeot's head, he'd follow along with the many who, too, used hyperbeam. "MIRROR MOVE, talonflame 'ME FIRST'!" arian ordered. talonflame and pidgeot would use HYPERBEAM in unison. targeting the large beast from within the skies.

tnvQMlaT

everybody's starry eyed

[attr="class","starrytext"]tightening the grip upon his ball. rosy cheeks enveloped arian's expression. he was near the point of reaching a euphoric climax. heavy breathing grew as he began to undo the tie around his neck. "i'm feeling so overwhelmed right now. this is the point of climax; will you help me reach the ultimate true bliss, fernando?" the ecstasy of this battle had been so overwhelming that it was time for the final bout.

arian was going all in.

"i knew you were going to be a ride." and so, gripping his ball, he'd toss out his final pokemon: gengar. the snickering ghost who smiled with glee was ready to bring on the pain.

everybody's starry eyed

[attr="class","starrytext"]"it disappeared?!" that was unexpected. now it was even faster than before. and that's something you can't mimic. now this was exciting, the thought of losing. having the tides turned on him. it was so fulfilling, intense. it was...it was...it was..."euphoric!"

his face became enraptured, cheeks turning brightly red. "i figured it out, i figured it out, i figured it out." arian repeated, chuckling as he figured out the male's game. eyes squint with a sheepish grin as starmie became pinned down, nearing to meet its fate with an intense bite. it wasn't until mightyena's surprise assault startled even starmie, causing the pokemon to unveil its own ability: illuminate.

a bright, white flash of light would intensely shine at the center of its jewel. taking the dog by surprise with how close it was, blinding them. no matter what type, human, or pokemon you were, it was only a natural reaction for anyone up close to turn their head from something so bright. which would be enough to give starmie a chance to retaliate with, "ice beam!" with a charge sphere of blue energy, the mightyena, had it chosen to not move, would be met with an icy cold beam that would force the pokemon off. but, had it chose to move, starmie would quickly stand back up on its feet with a new command given, "use ice beam on the ground and cover half the field in ice."

with the new command issued. starmie would do just that. and it was either the mightyena ran off to kyle's side of the field or they would have a hard time keeping their balance during their high speed run. after all, they were mere dark-types not snow dogs.

everybody's starry eyed

[attr="class","starrytext"]"stand your ground." starmie's right appendage would be taken hold of by the mightyena's maw. "toxic." simultaneously, starmie would, once more, utilize the move toxic. spraying poisonous liquid into the mightyena's eyes that emerged from the starmie's top appendage. pushing the devilish dark-type several meters away, the gap quite wide.


sadly, the dual-type had to sacrifice the cosmic shield that had been placed up, and now broken, for an offensive maneuver. arian, with a shrugging sigh, said, "never say die when you can try, haha! now that's what i like to see, kyle!" this was fun. kyle was an entertaining guy, it'd been sometime since he found a gym battle this entertaining.

"recover." starmie began to glow a white color, it's wound healing. "i think your luck's ran just about out." starmie was one of mateo's toughest pokemon. it was versatile and unique. this battle could go on forever for the telekinetic water. "my job as a gym leader isn't to make this battle an easy fight. if you wanna get to the top, you need to prove yourself first. it's not about defeating starmie, it's about impressing me and showing me why you deserve my badge." stretching his body, he'd look toward the mightyena. wondering what it's next play would be.

everybody's starry eyed

[attr="class","starrytext"]clever, "mimic." but not clever. copying the mightyena. starmie would expel a poisonous liquid from the tips of its right, left, and top appendage. copying the mightyena and clashing the wide arc with its own, but that was merely from the right and left tip. starmie had also expelled the poisonous liquid from the tip of its, shooting it toward the mightyena and attempting to hit full on in the face.

whether it worked or not was unknown. but, regardless of the mightyena's chosen maneuver, starmie would follow up with, "cosmic power." the telekinetic water began to emit a strange, chromatic light around its body. the jewel at its center, which was it face, shone brighter. "up next?" arian welcomed the male with a smile to try for another attempt.

[attr="class","needlelies3"]

everybody's starry eyed

[attr="class","starrytext"]

gardevoir had been returned. bailey rescued lucas and arian. and as they galloped away and rose into the sky, events began to unfold.

so much had happened. but, in the end, bailey and arian were sent aback and away from the beasts maw. though they were still falling. in the heat of the moment, arian would reach into his suit jacket and toss out a pokeball. "pidgeot!" a flash of white light emerged from the pokeball. soaring through the air, a pidgeot would capture arian by flying underneath his falling body.

landing upon the pokemon's back. arian would be flown to safety. landing upon a building's roof close to the fight between victini and the guzzlord. as he landed upon the random building, he'd pat pidgeot. wondering just how exactly could he help? who or even what was that pokemon fighting the giant beast? what in the world is professor Lucas LeBlanc ?

no matter, arian needed to figure out how he could help. "eevee, pidgeot, talonflame, and starmie, out and line up!" he commanded the group. starmie, talonflame, and pidgeot stood in front. "eevee, paw-five with HELPING HAND." and in a straight line from one high-five to the next. starmie, talonflame, and pidgeot individually received a high-five from eevee. their bodies had then begun to glow a bright yellow.

"pidgeot use TWISTER! talonflame ME FIRST, and starmie MIMIC!" he ordered the trio. talonflame, pidgeot, and starmie, together, used TWISTER. inhaling deeply, a surge of funneling wind was released. traveling from afar, but together merging to become a destructive. aimed to deliver a piercingly blunt damage toward the GUZZLORD.

everybody's starry eyed

[attr="class","starrytext"]

an unavoidable scream was released. arian covered his ears. the shards around the gym's windows shattered and fall to the ground. "i just got those cleaned!" he cried. alakazam was a tad bit shaken, but with a NASTY PLOT in mind. his thoughts were only focused upon all the ways he could humiliate the armored beast during his shrieking yell. "he jumped?!" how did something that big even have the ability to jump so high. alakazam used his psychic ability to hover himself midair.

for interrupting alakazam's concentration merited a nice retaliation. so, with a powerful PSYCHIC blast. the beast was pushed forcefully back unto the ground. and, ONCE MORE, another PSYCHIC blast was released for an extra oomph. but arian doubted that did anything significant or grandeur. alakazam, then, used TELEPORT to return back onto Arian's side of the field.

his only reasoning for calling out the psychic-type to face against this armored beast was due to the pair sharing a similar wound from their last mission. gallade had a better chance at combating the creature than alakazam. the odds were stacked against alakazam. "hm..." he'd turn his gaze to the side to think. leaving alakazam to fend for himself. the psychic-type awaited for the aggron to try his hand with another trickery, utilizing his third eye to foresee what would occur in their future.

everybody's starry eyed

[attr="class","starrytext"]returning MEOWTH back to his ball. he'd gently stroke the top of its pokeball. "you did good, friend." placing the ball back into his pocket. he'd bring focus unto kyle. "that was a fun one, i didn't think there was such a tamer out there able to wield not one but multiple mightyena! you've trained them well, but it's sad to say that your lucks ran out." arian chuckled.

placing meowth's ball a way. he'd reach into the pocket of his jacket to pull out his final selection: starmie. "we're going all in on this gamble, starmie to the field!" calling out his gem. starmie emerged before the mightyena. "my specialization is turning the odds in my favor--no matter what. and this will be our last dance, win or lose; all or nothing. starmie has no intention of losing." extending the palm of his right hand, "the house offers you the first move, challenger."

everybody's starry eyed

[attr="class","starrytext"]"you're so crude." arian spoke within a hushed tone.

aggressive. the aggron pushed through the chromatic beam. "aggron's are known for having a strong defense. this won't be an easy fight for a telekinetic being. with one fist he uses metal burst to return what was given, meaning..." with a SUCCESSFUL HIT on alakazam with the fist that utilized metal burst. alakazam was brought upward with an uppercut. then, with its other hand, alakazam was about to be crushed by the powerful double-edged hammer of anguish.

quickly, TELEPORT was used to vanish out of thin air. and where did aggron appear? "above." alakazam hovered over aggron's and, once more used TELEPORT. alakazam appeared within the spot aggron once stood before the start of the battle and foresaw into the foreseeable future of what was to come. so, to avoid that, alakazam would use DISABLE upon the aggron as a sonar would be released from its gaze. preventing the pokemon from being allowed to utilize DOUBLE-EDGE again.

"alakazam and aggron are fighting of their own accord without command, and aggressively might i add." placing a palm upon his head, he'd groan, "i hope they don't destroy this gym." to have almost been hit by double edge would've been a surefire way to his defeat. alakazam had to nullify his the aggron's heavy offense quickly and effectively, but what of its defense? for now he'd have to wittle the metal-type down.

everybody's starry eyed

[attr="class","starrytext"]returning gallade. he'd take out another ball, this one being a long time ally and partner, alakazam. "he hasn't been the same since we met that thing." was it smart to call it out? "alakazam's been unresponsive, and it's like he doesn't wish to tell me his true thoughts anymore. he's shut me out." arian gripped the pokeball of his psychic companion. with a horrible scar upon his back, could it be that he resents arian for his disfigurement? but he did that of his own accord, so why?

"alakazam, the gods have flipped their coin and you're my next choice, onto the field!" expelled from his ball. alakazam showcased a malicious look as his expression. a piercing gaze etched the image of aggron standing before him into his brain. thinking of many NASTY PLOTS that could be done unto the steel-type. his body emanating a horrendous aura, and without command, he'd release a PSYBEAM.

a multicolored beam had been released within an electric manner. "without command?!" arian uttered in shock. for alakazam never maneuvered without a plan. arian didn't even have to think nor say an action, he just went for it. the dancing, eletrical beam of telekinetic energy hurdled toward the ferocious aggron. it's power a bit more stronger than the norm.