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Ruby could only sit back in shock as a sudden stranger who appeared with a Honedge came to her rescue. He was so quick to beat it up and capture it! As soon as it was finally away, Ruby couldn't help but let out a soft sigh of relief and slump against the ground. Ghosts... Terrifying. Just one touch and they could suck away your life! The mere thought encouraged a shudder that spread across her body as she looked up at her rescuer. "O-oh, I know. There's quite a few Corsola like that back home. I really don't like this area!" She laughed nervously, slowly standing up to her feet as Astral stood by her, looking at her trainer with a cautious expression.

"As you can see, we're uh... You know, I'm not sure what we're doing. It makes Astral here happy, so I suppose that matters for something, huh?" She gave him a soft smile, trying her best to calm down and relax. Unfortunately, a cry suddenly occurred in the background that almost immediately began to give her a headache. Shaking where she stood, she turned around... Only to see a rather weak-looking Solrock! What a poor boy! Out here in the dark when he was meant to thrive in the sun!

He seemed almost sympathetic to Ruby's plight, seemingly suffering from some kind of affliction himself. He didn't look healthy... Exhausted, rather. With a worried look on her face, she pulled out a Pokeball and quickly captured the Solrock. It looks like he needed a nurse to look after him. Before she could even think to tuck the Pokeball away, Ruby finally realized what made that cry from earlier, and why the Solrock was so weak. He was being tormented for who knows how long.

Floating back in the distance, a Mismagius was slowly gliding towards them. It's hat almost reminding the poor girl of an ugly mimicry of her Hatterene. Once again shaking where she stood as the Pokemon grew closer. "T-that's... I've seen some nice pokemon with a hat- T-that's not one of them. N-no no..."

notes: Route 121: Psychic/Ghost. Attempted capture of the Solrock!

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Ruby couldn't help but grin as her opponent seemed to double back in surprise. It was strange, battling against a computer. There was nothing to say, no words to tangle with. Just dead silence from its end. However, both Ruby and Whisper seemed to be equally surprised when the Smeargle began weaving its paint to make it look almost exactly like a Hatterene! Ruby had no idea what was going on, staring ahead with wide eyes. Did that mean it was going to attack with Whisper's moves too?

She glanced over at Whisper, only to grin softly to herself as her pokemon used Calm Mind once again. Even if the Smeargle would use Whisper's moves and look like her, Whisper had already prepared herself for battle! Meanwhile, the Smeargle had to waste time trying to disable a move and then transform! Next round they'd be able to actually go out with an offensive move, and Ruby could practically taste Whisper's anticipation, especially as she stared at the imitation of herself.

"Well? What are you waiting for!" Ruby spoke out to try and fill the silence in the room. "Attack us!"

notes: Gym Battle! Non-Traditional. One Versus One challenge.

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Ruby, of course, simply blinked in response as Alexei reacted to Bubble's colors. Was he not blue anymore? She had always assumed it was simply a winter thing for the Greninja line, entirely clueless about how they worked. Still... he looked sort of blue in the right light, right? She hummed a little bit, reaching over to gently pat Bubble's shoulder with a soft smile. She was still a beautiful gal.

As he asked about going to Mauville, Ruby quickly nodded her head and smiled as she began to tuck her badge case away. Cait was an incredible gym leader, and the abilities to heal she had... It was simply mindblowing! Smiling incredibly widely, she followed him right outside the door and walked into the outdoor arena. It was so beautiful, absolutely stunning. The shapes of flying pokemon flying overhead were incredible. She couldn't help but stand back in awe for a few seconds.

As a familiar face came down, Ruby couldn't help but smile at the Noivern as he took his place. "I don't have many flying types, no! But I'm ready! I got a plan! Just you wait!" Ruby grinned, looking at Bubbles by her side before pulling out a second Pokeball from her bag. Tossing them out instead, Opal the Aurorus suddenly formed and roared out.

"I hope your flying friends know when to stay back from a gym battle because Opal here's comfortable in... cooler climates!" She giggled a little bit at her own joke, rather obviously giving away her plan.

notes: Ruby sends out Opal the Aurorus! Waits for Alexei to begin the battle!

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A flurry of activity happened all at once and it took Ruby quite a bit to try and process it. Everyone here was attacking the beast and the strange new one with all of their strength. Everyone was desperate to survive, to put it down, to keep the city safe. It would have been inspiring if it wasn't just everyone's adrenaline-fueled rush to survive. It seemed to even be working! The bomb was getting smaller and smaller, the beast... or more accurately, two beasts now were being beaten up, everything was going great. And for a moment, Ruby even held onto some kind of hope that they could do something.

That hope didn't last long. The bombs behind them explode, leaving absolute devastation in their wake... but at least nobody was injured even further because of them. And then the unspeakable happens. Someone captures the first beast within a ball... and Ruby can hear her heart pounding within her chest. The second's tick by, her eyes glued to the bomb... and it doesn't go away. It's a terrifying realization. A psychic message from Grace translating for Astral confirms the worst... The bomb is going to blow.

Ruby gulps heavily, shaking as she reached out to grab one of Whisper's tentacles in her hand to try and steady herself. The bomb was going to explode, nobody could stop it. Hopefully, at this point it was small enough that it could be... She honestly didn't know what to do about it. With a shaky voice, Ruby spoke out to her Gardevoir. "T-tell people... We can't be the only ones to know. A-anyone who can help, just..." Ruby began to break down through her fear, struggling to cope and clutched to Whisper's side as the tears continued to fall.

Grace takes one look at her crying trainer and closes her eyes. Sending out a telepathic signal to anyone nearby. It wasn't precisely in words, but just a concept pushed into their thoughts. The future had been seen, the bomb will explode. Astral the Gothorita seemed intent to continue looking at the future, taking it up as her role, trying to be of some use.

None of her pokemon seem to try and inform Ruby of the acid, poisonous rain or the terrifying beast overhead with a woman trapped inside it. She's already struggling to hold anything together. The two smaller Pokemon move beneath Whisper's new massive hat. The silent mega-pokemon stared up at the sky as the acid-rain began to fall didn't flinch in the face of danger. Determined to keep Ruby safe, no matter the cost, Whisper fired a psychic blast off into the sky right above her, determined to push away the acid with intense mental force.

Grace the Gardevoir, was admittedly a bit overcome as well. Taking shelter under Whisper's hat, she poured her psychic strength and used Wish, planning to hopefully heal Whisper from whatever malady might occur from this rather terrifying goop.




notes: Ruby's terrified, and on the verge of a break down. Grace sent a telepathic message to, Orion Lykos Olivia Abbiati Stormy Silph FERNANDO SILPH Balder Schwartz Alexei Ivanov and Annie Mei . Astral the Gothorita is still trying to foresee the future, Whisper is using Psychic to attempt to blast back any acid rain, and maybe magic bounce. Grace follows up with Wish on Whisper, to hopefully heal her should she get hurt.

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Ruby quickly took the boy from Bubbles's arms, glancing over at the new arrival as he introduced himself. Already being quite surprised by the chain of events, Ruby had absolutely no reason to doubt him. Thank goodness people were here who knew what to do because she surely didn't. The gas emerging from the staircase almost immediately told Ruby that heading down to check up on the kid's family was almost definitely not safe as it was. As the boy began to speak and clutch onto her, Ruby did her best to shush him and comfort him in her arms.

Burning sugar... Bombs?! Fear spiked through her heart as he fell unconscious, clutching the boy tighter in her arms as a voice suddenly began to speak over the intercoms. She was almost paralyzed herself, not knowing what to do. The only thing that kept her moving was the realization that if she did nothing, the innocent boy in her arms wouldn't have a family, and she refused to allow that to happen.

Biting her lip, Ruby nodded as the man instructed her to get the kid to safety. The only problem was nowhere on the ship was safe. Bombs, gas, angry pokemon, how could she even feel comfortable leaving him alone anywhere at all? Struggling with a decision to make and fraught with worry, Whisper suddenly left her ball and stood tall beside her trainer.

"O-oh! Whisper! T-there's a-" She didn't even have to continue as the silent Pokemon moved their arm around to shush Ruby to say no more, someone was trying to endanger her trainer and that was all it took. Gently passing the kid off to Darling to hold and look after, Ruby glanced up at Whisper as she seemed to already be moving. There were a plethora of strong, violent emotions on this boat, and she was determined to silence them all.

notes: Ruby's shocked and scared, but doing her best to stay strong. The unconscious kid is passed off to Darling the Indeedee to look after as Whisper begins moving towards the entrance to the middle deck to fight whatever was coming.

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Ruby wasn't entirely surprised that he didn't have much experience with Galarian Pokemon. It was kind of silly to have an embargo in the first place, but it made sense on some level. Introducing new predators or prey to an environment that didn't normally have them could make things complicated for any Pokemon who already lived there.

At the warning again, Ruby simply stayed closed to Whisper's side and nodded in acknowledgment. Who knew what was going on these days anyway? Perhaps there would be a dragon that would actually threaten them, but ironically enough massive terrifying dragons simply didn't scare Ruby nearly as much as say, a small ghost would. In her mind, her own Hatterene was certainly scary enough to push away anyone who wanted to threaten her.

"Oh! I uh, I've had Whisper in a Pokeball for only a few years, but I've known her almost my whole life." She couldn't help but smile, suddenly glancing over at the girl who stood strong beside her. Whisper smirked at the comment, slowly letting their arm to wrap around Ruby's shoulders as the trainer continued to speak. "We've been together since I was really young! I used to go off and play with her in the forest, and just... Well, it was fun." The memories alone encouraged a soft smile to spread across her face.

Suddenly, Whisper's grip around her seemed to grow tighter all of a sudden, making Ruby blink in surprise. Something was coming, and it was pissed off, and Whisper could definitely feel it.

notes: N/A

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Ruby is admittedly quite stunned to see a Bruxish so far from shore. Not only has she never seen one before, and its appearance is a bit mildly offputting, Ruby can recognize psychic energy when she sees it. If it wasn't for her poor berry bushes health, she might have simply sat back and watched whatever they got up to. With Darling at her side, and her trusted Tropius flying overhead, Ruby carefully made her way into the garden.

She was in for a shock, however, as the fish was apparently quite aggressive. It suddenly lashed out at her, biting down hard in front of her with a strange glint to their jaw. Falling down to the ground to get away from the angry fish, Darling quickly stood in front of Ruby with a determined look on their face. Intent on protecting their trainer, Darling let out a charming cry, a Disarming Voice that pierced away at the Bruxish's mind and hurt the offending fish's emotions.

The Bruxish immediately backed off, seemingly stunned and unsure what to do about the sudden attack. Ruby blinked from her position on the ground, slowly standing up to her feet and speaking softly. "... How did you get here? If you come with me, I'll make sure you get the ocean someday."

The Bruxish didn't seem to respond vocally, but they seemed to settle down long enough for Ruby to chuck a Pokeball at it. Perhaps she'd have Grace use telepathy to tell Tropius next time, to keep an eye out for all offenders. From land, sky... and now sea, apparently.

notes: Capture Attempt on the Bruxish.

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The minefield was terrifying, but Astral lead them through safe and sound. The Lighthouse was within reach, and yet Whisper held Ruby back from simply rushing in. Something wasn't right. Terrifying emotions were echoing practically across the entire city, but something there unnerved even Whisper. It would eventually reveal itself, being the possessed Commissioner. Once again, Ruby didn't know what to do. There was so much going on, everyone was attacking these strange beasts to try and save themselves...

Ruby glanced at the ball dropping, it was almost to the bottom. And yet, it seemed to be shrinking with every hit. The girl instantly made up her mind, despite the tears already starting to fall from her eyes. If they couldn't stop the bomb, then it was their duty to make sure it was as small as possible. They could save the region, even if it meant they might not live. The thought was terrifying, but she refused to be a passive casualty in this conflict. Her fear and sadness slowly turning into anger, Ruby stared down Blacephalon as he seemed to be forming a Light Screen. Her tear-covered face twisted into an angry scowl.

Astral the Gothorita seemed to just look at Whisper, the two of them communicating psychically. Whisper's own anger just seemed to react to Ruby's, building and building until she actually let out a cry, floating off the ground slightly. Ruby quickly sent out Grace her Gardevoir as well, quickly speaking to it with a shaky tone to her voice. "Grace, Astral, support her! Please!" The two nodded their heads, quickly taking their place right by Whisper's sides.

Astral continued to use Future Sight, searching for an opening, some sign of weakness, or perhaps just a way to stop the bombs from colliding between them. Meanwhile, Grace suddenly twirled in the rain, an aura of water seemed to spin out away from her, using Life Dew to heal any nearby allies and even attempt to put out some fires at the same time. However, Whisper continued staring dead ahead, silent as they always seemed to be.

"P-please..." Ruby shook in the rain, the combination of the cold water soaking her to her bones directly conflicted with the rubble, flames and active bombs still all around them. Her hand instinctively went to the necklace her mother had given her, no idea if she'd ever see her again. However, to Ruby's own surprise, the necklace itself seemed to react to Ruby's touch.

A strange aura seemed to surround Whisper as she physically changed. Growing not only in size but in strength as well, Ruby only stared in shock as Whisper let out a terrifying shriek, floating up above the ground with her new three tentacles swaying in the air. The Raging Goddess was pure anger, her face twisted with a wild smirk.

[player]https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/s/5jm9zzr3y6vidqm/858-Gigantamax%20Hatterene%20Cry.mp3?dl=0[/player]

Ruby's natural instinct was to laugh, despite everything. Even now, Whisper was full of surprises. There seemed to be no limit to what she could do. "Whisper!" Ruby shouted as loud as she could, pointing at the Blachepalon with focused intent. "Put him down!" The psychic energies that had already been swirling around the Hatterene quickly grew in brightness as Whisper attacked with all of her mental might. Using Psychic, a huge torrent of mental energy was fired at the clown, attempting to overpower straight through whatever screen he was trying to build.




notes: Ruby's determined to at least make the explosion smaller, even if they can't survive. Astral uses Future Sight once more, looking for the best possible outcome. Grace uses Life Dew, to heal any nearby allies and attempt to displace some flames. Whisper Mega-Evolves and blasts Blacephalon with Psychic+Calm Mindx2 in an attempt to pierce straight through the light screen.

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There was so much going on, Ruby hardly knew what to do about it all. She stared in horror as people feebly attempting to attack the nightmarish clown, seemingly to absolutely no avail. Even the one attack that seemed to even hurt it probably didn't hurt it even that bad. Still clinging to Whisper, the young girl kept breathing slowly, trying to force herself to calm down, to think everything through.

It seemed nobody else knew what they were doing either, which was both relieving and worrying at the same time. Everyone seemed to be heading towards the Lighthouse, instead of running away... Which meant either everyone was definitely braver than she was or running away just seemed like a surefire way to not survive. The sudden introductions of bombs in the path made by the beast, however, certainly scared her. She could handle getting hurt, or so at least she told herself that.

Glancing up at Whisper, the two of them both seemed to have the same thought. If anything happened to the other, they'd never live it down. Nodding slowly, the girl reached into her bag and pulled out another one of her Pokeballs. Astral the Gothorita quickly forming, the psychic Pokemon only had a few seconds to examine the horrific scene before them before they were spoken to.

"Astral," Ruby spoke out loud, forcing herself to be as confident as she could, ignoring the fires burning the city around them. "F-find us a way through. Help us find the path t-towards victory." Immediately, Astral looked up at the stars and nodded her head. Their eyes suddenly glowing, they used the move Future Sight and began to lead Whisper and her trainer straight through the minefield with hopefully not a single scratch.





notes: Ruby's trying her best to calm down and think rationally. Astral the Gothorita uses Future Sight to foresee the future and lead her trainer through the minefield.