Oscar took in a deep breath and unzipped his hazmat suit just enough for him to poke his head out. He chugged the coffee, the beverage having cooled off just enough to be quickly ingested. He placed his empty cup on the one clean cart he brought and zipped himself back in. Once secure he would let out his breath, gagging a little from the smell that had sneaked its way in.

"Fuck what was I thinking?" He grumbled as he reeled from the scent. How could he allow such a mess to occur? What madness had possessed him? Oscar realized that Sylvie had asked him a question, and after piecing together the words he heard he managed an answer. "Ah, nah just Gallade. Their bodies are over there." Oscar pointed toward the mound covered in a white sheet. He had piled up the Gallade bodies he used after amputating their arms, having no need for the rest of the creature.

Oscar clapped his hands together as he remembered something important. "Oh, and this guy." He strode toward the plastic curtain, unceremoniously pulling it down with a forceful yank. The male body on the bed was no longer obscured. Its arms had been cut off and suspended by wires hanging from the ceiling. Oscar had opened the arms and combined the muscle tendons with that of a gallade, creating a morbid 3d medical model. Oscar crossed his arms, feeling the need to clear himself of blame concerning this man's death. "He was dead when I got him by the way. Pulled a favor from dorian westcliff. He just--has them around." Oscar tried not to think about it too much.

With that out of the way, Oscar rubbed his hands together. "Where did you wanna start?"

sylvie faust

Oscar grew more and more excited with every detail Lulu revealed. To walk through the simulation of a dream? This was the kind of beautiful sci-fi nonsense that Oscar strove to make into a reality! The fact that Lulu has pulled off such a feat filled Oscar with a sense of admiration, she truly was a wonder.

Oscar held in his glee long enough to answer Lulu's question. "They are an absolute mystery to me. I've heard theories that the dream mist invented them itself, cobbling together hypothetical versions of existing pokemon. If that is true, dream mist is one of the most powerful forces within our world. I recently had the privilege to take a look inside the arm of a--what do they call it--ah, Iron Valiant! The mechanisms inside were completely alien, yet I was able to discern how it fit together and functioned."

Oscar raised a hand to his chin, rubbing it profusely as he became increasingly exhilarated. "In other words, the Iron Valiant was not merely created out of thin air. Someone had to think through the tech that would make it function and fit it all together--just like any other robot from today. Yet the layout was so bizarre, you would think someone made it up on the spot and forced everything to work together flawlessly--just like any invention within a dream. So say the dream mist did create it, that would mean that the dream mist is capable of creating complex constructs with fully hypothetical yet functioning mechanisms untested by modern science! It would be an amazing discovery! Who knows what we could create with such power!"

Oscar realized that he was getting carried away, quickly composed himself. "It's all theoretical of course." He cleared his throat before downing the rest of his glass and placing it on a nearby surface. He clapped his hands together as he approached the machine, "So, that begs the question: What do dreams dream about?"

Lulu Flint

Oscar slowed, narrowing his eyes as the two Genesect happily recited the name Sam over and over. What had they said to each other, and why did it make Oscar nervous? They were clearly sharing ideas, exchanging data and coming to some sort of conclusion. Whatever this was seemed innocent enough, but how long until it's not?

Oscar nodded slowly, "Right away. I think it's time I have a chat with Prime." Oscar's serious expression brightened quickly, turning toward Lulu with a flourish. "Let's head back, if something interesting was around we would have found it by now. We'll return another day."

Lulu Flint

Time passed as the duo searched through the lobby. Their initial scrounging would reveal no keys, but what they would come upon was a...

TRAP!

The careless rummaging of Hitoshi yields detrimental results. A click could be heard as he opened one of the supply closets, followed by a long string of quicker clicks. Looking within the closet, he would find a mall dummy strapped to an office chair--holding a booby trapped box of fireworks.

The fireworks would unleash themselves indiscriminately, turning the supply closet into a wall of smoke and color. Loud pops would shake the walls, giving a clear indication of where the duo was located. Yet the trap's worst trick would not be revealed until the fireworks were finished, with the smoke now pouring out like water from a broken dam.

Smoke has enveloped the first floor. For three rounds, roll twice on the first floor. For Search rolls choose the lower number. For hiding rolls choose the higher number.

Genesect knows where you are.

Prime turned its head as a loud commotion occurred downstairs. It had been so lost in its thoughts that it almost forgot to pull up the timer on its HUD. Numbers flared up on its visor, revealing that it was in fact one minute behind. It closed out the timer, running toward the stairwell to get to the first floor. It could not deny that it was not in the best headspace, but it had a job to do and it would execute its master's orders without fail.

Not bothering with the stairs, Prime would leap over the railing and plummet to the first floor landing. A loud crunch could be heard from within the lobby, and unfortunately for our participants it was not the Genesect. Prime stomped out of the mangled stone created by its impact, and burst out into the lobby to seek out its targets.

6nHL6o39

()Fourth Floor:
()Third Floor:
()Second Floor:
()First Floor: Genesect (Search), Hitoshi Inoue, Zev Harcourt

The wardens fall, and Oscar allows himself a brief moment of satisfaction. The beast behind his torment had been slain, and it felt so good. Yet the fight was far from done. The true hosts of this prison excursion remained, and neither were happy to see their plans undone.

Toxic mochi had been fired in every direction, and unfortunately Oscar could not hope to avoid the ones that had come straight for him.Entangle by yet more chains, Oscar heaved as even more toxin was injected into his body. He was far too weak to break out from the grasp of the chains, but luckily he had a loyal Mega Urshifu nearby.

Abner grabbed his master’s chains and ripped them apart with ease. It was a truly humorous sight, Abner might as well have been ripping a daisy chain. He dragged Oscar from out of the broken chains before helping his master to his feet. Oscar stumbled, struggling to maintain his balance. “Thanks Abby.” He mumbled in delirium. “You’re a–strapping young man.” A distinct feeling of malaise was starting to consume him, his every thought suddenly scattered into an indiscernible jumble. The room began to spin, and his vision blurred into a mess of light and color. Was–was he dying?

No, not yet anyway. The malevolent duo had transported everyone to the ruins of Lesser Megalopolis, and once Oscar realized this he would let out a groan. He meekly stepped forward, the muscles in his legs giving out as the poison he had taken on thus far ravaged his insides. Abner caught his arm, and Oscar looked up to find that his Urshifu had returned to normal. Oscar let out a choked chuckle, “We’re really fucked now.”

Maybe not, their hosts offered them the choice to leave. howard slayte made a compelling argument, though Oscar moreso aligned with that of priam conrad. He got the vengeance he wanted, now he just wanted to go home. Chaos erupted as those who chose violence clashed with those that wanted to spare their captors. Oscar watched for a bit from a safe distance, hearing Cillian Quinn’s call for Rocket to fight back. Oscar would not heed it, he did not want to reveal himself as a member of Rocket. Also he just didn’t feel like it, sorry Cil.

He stared at the toxic duo, indifferent to their struggle. He felt bad for the Megalopolans that they strung along, but not enough to jump to their defense. The only creature he would regret abandoning was the pecha shaped patron of their general, the one he supposed was ‘The Neverrot’. It looked so scared, flinging its chains in every which way, trying to influence the minds of the meek megalopolans…

Hey wait a minute.

Oscar’s mind clicked as he recalled the powers bestowed upon him earlier, the ones manifested by his desire. This creature had those very same abilities. The power to influence others, to enforce one's will upon the feeble minded. Oscar had thought of it as a passing fancy, a fun one off gaffe and nothing more. But–was the key to actually harnessing such power right in front of him?

Oscar’s trance was broken as red chains began to envelope the fruity life form, pulling it away from the general. Oscar followed the chain, and spotted Eris Halla trying to pull the Neverrot to safety. There were two other people wielding the red chain too, but Oscar only recognized and cared about Eris. Navy had lent his aid to their cause, using his Urshifu protecting them as the Neverrot was wrangled. One Urshifu surely would not be enough though.

Oscar looked to Abner, “Abner, how long can you stand next to another Urshifu without trying to kill them?” Abner looked up as he gave the question some thought before lifting his free claw, indicating five minutes. Oscar nodded, “Good enough. Go help Urshifu protect the red chain.” Abner hesitated, and Oscar would misinterpret the bear’s expression as worry. “I know you will worry about me, but this is more important. I’ll be f–”

Abner abruptly dropped Oscar, having decided that he did not mind standing next to one of his kind–temporarily. Oscar fell onto the cold concrete, raising his hand into a thumbs up. “You got this!” He then began to drag himself toward the group, at the very least wanting to be physically present should they succeed.

Abner stood beside his fellow ursine, stoically providing a nod of encouragement before closing his eyes. He lifted his arms into a loose stance, flowing like the wind blew through the high grass on the plains. With complete concentration, Abner would be able to deflect and redirect projectiles that came toward the group (Detect).

6SZ4|2ec

tl;dr
--Oscar is way past poisoned.
--Oscar ignores Cillian Quinn's call to attack to maintain his civilian cover.
--Seeing an opportunity in Pecharunt's survival, Oscar sends Urshifu to protect Eris Halla, Cassandra Kubrick, and Hideo Kino with Detetc alongside Navy's Urshifu. Thus, he is choosing to Spare.

Oscar's invitation to begin was met with a deluge of questions from Hitoshi, each more offbeat than the last. As the onslaught went on, Oscar's smile slowly turned into a placid frown. This guy really had a motormouth, and Oscar had no gas to fuel it. The scientist began to slowly close the door, before decisively shutting it upon Hitoshi's final question.

Now safely within his security room, Oscar jumped into the rolling chair in front of the security monitor control panel. He spun around once before toggling a switch to turn all of the monitors on. They gave him a clear view of every major angle of the four floors, but Oscar's favorite monitor could be found in the very center.

It was the point of view of Prime the Genesect, allowing Oscar to see right through its HUD. Prime was currently staring at its reflection within one of the foggy windows. It had been--contemplating a lot lately. Its interactions with its 'siblings' had left Prime feeling rather unfulfilled. By helping them reclaim their individuality, it had come to find that it did not have much of an identity of its own. It was the first Genesect, but what was it beyond that? Was it meant to be anything beyond that?

It had the shadows of memories floating through its artificial brain, a foggy image just out of reach. A life that was not its own, among the jungles of a world long past. A community, a purpose, a family, a culture, all within its grasp and yet unreachable. It gave Genesect a feeling it was not familiar with, it could not even place the name. We call it yearning.

--Thirty Minutes until Genesect becomes active--

()Fourth Floor: Genesect (Idle)
()Third Floor:
()Second Floor:
()First Floor:Zev Harcourt, Hitoshi Inoue

"Right on." Oscar mused as Fern stated their trajectory. Oscar had no problem with being aimless, that was how he made most of his discoveries. Oscar kept his eyes up for most of the initial trek, trying to get peeks through the windows of the shattered skyscrapers. They were all so dark, as if nothing were inside. Just black holes. It was pretty rad.

Oscar looked to Fern when they made the indication that they were about to drink something. Oscar raised an eyebrow, wandering over to the barely lit vending machine. Just like Fern he would put two and two together about the z crystal slot, and after scrounging for a complete one off the ground Oscar would order a beverage of his own.

Oscar raised the can to his eye level and turned it slowly, unable to read the Megalopolan text that wrapped around it. "I've always wondered what would keep working within our world, after the end. Probably everything but the useful shit." Oscar lifted the drink toward Fern before cracking open the can and having a long drink. He has had worse things travel through his body, this alien drink was nothing.

Except, maybe a little gross. Oscar cringed as he pulled his lips away, setting the can down delicately onto the ground. "Tastes like--lemonade, charjacola, and grape juice. Fuckin' abysmal." No doubt it was some cocktail of Ultra Space fruit and whatever they had instead of sugar. Oscar would pass.

Oscar wandered past the vending machine into a nearby alley way. This empty stretch between buildings was pitch black, with no light able to touch its isolated position. Oscar pulled out an ultra ball, opening it to reveal a former Ultra Space resident: Navitas the Xurkitree. Navitas stretched out its wiry limbs, wrapping them around its master in an affectionate display. Oscar chuckled, "Yo thanks but we're on the clock here. Can I get a light?" Navitas let out a sing-song hum, its head emitting a bright glow that stabbed through the darkness of the alley (Tail Glow).

The alley went deeper than Oscar anticipated, apparently toward an entirely new street where similarly no light could touch. Oscar gestured toward the alley, "Wanna head down here? Could be something cool." Oscar would let Fern lead the way regardless of the path they chose.

Prompts
01 use an ELECTRIC-TYPE Pokemon to help light your way.

fern delaney

And just like that, it was show time.

Oscar smiled, turning around to open the main doors for his participants. "After you, gentlemen." The entry corridor was a dimly lit, with an open door to their right and two double doors ahead of them. The glass of the double doors had been painted black, preventing any peeks into the office building's lobby. Several inactive bolt locks had been welded onto the sides of the doors, waiting for the test to begin. Through the right door, the duo would find the security room. Once they were fully inside, Oscar would move over to open this door entirely.

Blank security monitors lined the walls of the security room, waiting to be throttled awake so that Oscar may observe the training from afar. Oscar bent over behind the door and pulled out a black plastic box, which he quickly shoved towards Hitoshi. "Place all pokeballs and weapons in the box and then hand it over to Zev." Oscar's glasses slid down slightly as he gave Zev a cheeky grin, "I wonder if our beast remembered to leave his shit at home though." Oscar chuckled and waited patiently for everything to be put into the box. Once that was done, he would place the box into the security room and cross his arms. Time for the briefing.

"Alright so here's the deal. Once you walk past those doors the locks will activate. On the other side of those doors is an electric padlock. This padlock needs four keys to open, one for each floor. Your mission is to get the keys and escape the building within eight hours. Easy right?" Oscar sneered and clapped his hands together, "Nah, there's a little hitch. My Genesect is in the building with you, and after thirty minutes it's gonna start hunting your asses down. If it finds you, it's been instructed to use as much force as possible to prevent your escape--you know, without destroying the building. I've scattered some tools you may find helpful throughout the building, but you will mainly be relying on your own cunning and survival skills. The only rules are that you don't try to break any of the windows and don't use avatar powers--which only applies to one of you. Timer starts once you cross the threshold."

Oscar snapped his fingers, as if he had forgotten something. "Oh right! And remember to have fun!" He gestured towards the double doors, indicating that it was time to enter when they were ready.

OOC Rules

This game is played through chosen actions and dice rolls. Every turn you may choose two of the following actions.

>Search for Item
>Hide (or Run)
>Use Item
>Move up or down a floor

--Search: When you search for an item, make a roll.
>1-40: You find nothing. Lower numbers may activate a trap that gives away your location.
>41-70: You find one of Oscar's Tools.
>71-100: You find a key.

--Hide (or Run): When hiding, you are challenging Genesect's search roll (see below) to avoid being spotted. Simply roll, and if your roll is higher than Genesect's you will succeed. If you do not hide while Genesect searches the same floor as you, you will be spotted and a hunt will begin. This includes if you intend to switch floors.

If Genesect is Hunting you, you will do the same thing as before to avoid being caught. You have three 'lives', losing against Genesect's Hunt roll three times will result in being eliminated.

--Use Item: Use one of Oscar's Tools or use the keys to escape. Tools are revealed upon successfully locating one. They will always be advantageous.

--Move up or down a floor: Exactly what it says on the tin, use the stairwell to move up or down one floor. Try not to move up or down at the same time as Genesect, it is very easy to be spotted within the stairwell. There is an elevator that allows you to skip floors, but it requires the use of an Oscar Tool to open.

Every round of posts is worth 30 minutes of time.

--Genesect: After this first round, Genesect will become active and start hunting you. Every round, Genesect will choose a mode to be in.

>Search: Genesect is using its senses to search for a target. Loud noises and frequent movement will attract its attention.
>Stealth: Genesect is trying to move stealthily. What floor it is on cannot be tracked while in Stealth mode.
>Hunt: Genesect has spotted you and wants to break your bones.
>Rest: Genesect has been stunned and needs to recharge.

Moving up or down a floor is a Free Action for Genesect.

New mechanics may appear depending on in-game actions and developments.
You win when: You use all four keys to open the double doors.
You lose when: Genesect catches both Zev and Hitoshi or eight hours have elapsed.
You have complete creative freedom when it comes to the appearance and layout of the office building.

Here is an example gameplay loop to tie it all together:

SPOILER: Click to show

Round 1
>Zev Goes up to the second floor
>Hitoshi searches for an item, rolls 56, gets an Oscar Tool
>Genesect becomes active

Round 2
>Zev searches for an item, rolls 30, gets nothing
>Hitoshi searches for an item, rolls 23, gets nothing
>Genesect moves from the third floor to the second floor and goes into Search Mode, rolls a 76

Round 3
>Zev tries to hide from Genesect, rolls a 44
>Hitoshi searches for an item, rolls 67, finds an Oscar Tool
>Genesect finds Zev and begins a hunt, rolls a 55

Round 4
>Zev runs from Genesect, rolls a 89
>Hitoshi searches for an item, rolls a 96, finds a key
>Genesect loses Zev, moves down to the first floor and goes into Search Mode

ect.

Current Layout:

()Fourth Floor: Genesect (Idle)
()Third Floor:
()Second Floor:
()First Floor: Zev Harcourt, Hitoshi Inoue

THE GAUNTLET SIGN-UP

GET READY TO RUMBLE!

CHARACTER: oscar clayton[break]
PKMN TEAM (CHOOSE 4):
WHAT IS YOUR IC REASON FOR ENTERING THE GAUNTLET?: Oscar was grandfathered into the modern day SPECTRA, having been chosen to be a member within the previous two iterations. This Gauntlet is a chance for him to prove to the current Rocket leaders (and himself) that he deserves his place within the initiative.

The army of trainers faced off against three titanic wardens. The trio's masks glistened with unearned power, and the sight of the cocky bastards grinning as they held them aloft made Oscar's blood boil. He and Abner pushed forward beside Navy, watching through the endless sea of attacks for an opportunity to unleash one of their own.

Out of the three targets, Oscar had his eyes locked onto his former warden: Fezandipiti. Its smug smile taunted the fuming scientist from behind its mask, the very same that earlier revealed his deepest desire. Yet desires are fickle things that tend to change from day to day. While staring upon that blasted crying mask, all Oscar could think about wanting was seeing that bird die.

Navy unleashed some sort of bizarre sygna suit effect that enhanced fighting type moves. As Abner felt his muscles solidifying into abject perfection, Oscar knew the time to attack had finally come. Oscar pointed to the peacocking fowl, "Abner, fry that turkey!" The ursine titan roared, clapping his hands together with staggering force. As he pulled them apart, an orb would form within the gap between them. Abner pulled back before chucking the Aura Sphere directly at the bird--its impact inevitable.

Oscar's eyes could not help but drift away from his pokemon's attacks to his fellow fighters. A lot of them were performing awesome combos and working together, while he stood alone. Oscar frowned, "Damn I'm slacking."

bKUwszhN

tl;dr
--Empowered by Navy's Type Field:Fighting, Mega Urshifu uses Aura Sphere on Fezandipiti.

It had been a while since Oscar got to host a Genesect training session. The past few were successful enough, but Oscar had felt the need to elevate it for SPECTRA. Being hunted by a relentless cyborg was all fine and good, but SPECTRA required more than just surviving against a superior foe. You needed to be able to defend yourself as well, ideally even fight back.

So Oscar had hit the drawing board, cooking up something that could reasonably test the mettle of SPECTRA's agents. It had been a side project though, just a few notches above a hobby. So when he got the call from Zev Harcourt to set up a Genesect hunt for a SPECTRA assessment, Oscar had not finished his final draft for the exercise. Fuck it though, we'll call it beta testing.

Oscar sent Zev the address of an abandoned office building on the outskirts of old Mauville. Oscar had bought up a few of these abandoned properties for these very occasions, and with just a week of preparation the office building had been transformed into the world's deadliest escape room. It was approximately four stories high, its once gleaming glass windows worn into foggy husks. A fitting enclosure for the terror to come.

Oscar was waiting at the front of the building, dressed in black combat fatigues. He smirked coyly as his aviator glasses reflected the setting sun, waiting patiently for his charges to arrive.

Zev Harcourt Hitoshi Inoue