Trading:
A gacha Alteria for El Sunderland's tangela

A gacha Flapple/Appleton for Remiel Calcifet 's Ledian

A gacha Salamence for freya morningstar 's Frigibax

Zapdos stared at Mint, waiting patiently for his questions. True it had grown weary of questions, but at the same time it broke up the monotony of its day. It would answer whatever the humans needed--until it got bored anyway. It helped that Mint gave out compliments, Zapdos was a sucker for a solid boost to its ego.

Mint's first question was simple, and it allowed for a simple answer. Zapdos nodded sagely, only once to indicate an answer to both of parts of Mint's inquiry. Oscar looked excitedly to Mint, the idea that the other birds were within arm's reach was wonderful news. Oscar decided to take a turn with a question of his own. "Would you be willing to help us track down the ones in hiding?"

Zapdos shook its head, it was not a compass and it would not be used as some sort of 'detector' for its brethren. Oscar's face slacked a bit, this was unwelcome news. After a moment he would provide a follow up question. "Is there a way you could be convinced to help us?" Zapdos thought for a moment, genuinely thinking of what it would take make the effort worth it.

Eventually it would shrug its shoulders and nod. There was hope yet.

mint frost

Uh oh, seems there was a miscommunication with his adventure partner. Oscar chuckled nervously as Howard hissed, and he would stay silent as Howard tried to convince Bryan that there was no danger beyond the inherent nature of Ultra Space. Oscar had indeed known that Bryan had no more Blue Mulch, what he had proposed was--different. He could not blame Howard for getting mixed up, what Oscar wanted to ask for was ludicrous. Even for him.

When Howard finished Oscar would take the chance to tap in. "I have taken great measures to ensure the long-term survivability of anyone that resides within the research center. The ore created from steel pokemon is resilient to the effects of Ultra Space, so that is what we will use to build our base of operations. The base should be sufficient to allow long-term researchers to rest and recuperate, but we will also keep a rotating crew that shall never spend more than a week in Ultra Space in one sitting. The same suits that were worn on the Menteno shall suffice for field work. As for the mulch..."

Oscar breathed deeply, it was time. "I'll take the blame for the misunderstanding. What we require is very similar but much more intimate. I believe that Blue Fertilizer will be able to help plants grow within the harsh environment of the Ultra Desert. Especially with Howard being able to bring up the top soil hiding under the sand. We will just need a steady supply of fertilizer to ensure a healthy upbringing for the vegetation--from Xerneas."

@howard bryan delarosa

Oscar tried to keep his expression positive as Jayden took a bite out of one of the donut holes. His motions were so--rigid. He seemed to have aged a decade, even if he looked more or less like he always has. Maybe a bit gloomier. It worried Oscar, but he would not dare display that worry to Jayden. Not when he was here to make the sickly admin feel better--or try to anyway.

Oscar was aware that Jayden was now an avatar thanks to the report by Zev Harcourt, but he had yet to actually see Jayden's patron. When Jayden casually brought it forth, Oscar jumped a little. Its aura was--distinct. Despite how gently it circled Oscar's chair, he could feel a looming terror radiating from it. It seemed calm yet aggressive, like it tolerated Oscar's presence but was ready to rip him apart if he gave it a reason to.

Oscar felt himself struggling to keep his cool (no pun intended) but he would nevertheless try to seem unfazed. "Well it's um--very regal. It seems--affable enough. Why do you feel like your Avatarship is a curse? What are your 'symptoms', so to speak?"

jayden cross

Howard talked a lot of sense, and Oscar would nod along as he shared some of his philosophy. Oscar agreed with everything he said, though he had a differing perspective on the temporary nature of their struggles. Oscar fully intended to one day figure out a way to live forever, so that he could continue to influence the world for eternity. Perhaps his current struggles will mean very little, but Oscar wanted to be around to create new imprints in time until time itself finally ceased.

He would keep this to himself though; in his experience the search for immortality tended to create a lot of debate that Oscar did not feel mentally prepared to partake in currently. Plus he did not want to seem too crazy to Howard. Not until they were closer anyway. Oscar zoned out as Howard continued to cook, closing his eyes as the sand shifted over their structure. "I just hope this does not set us back too far. Not that it's a big deal, we can just pull up the topsoil again."

From there Oscar silently meditated to the sound of the sandstorm, taking full advantage of their opportunity to rest. His serene trance was abruptly broken by what sounded like a not-too distant roar. Not an ordinary roar mind you, but a deep bellow that seemed as ancient as it was chilling. Oscar's eyes snapped open.

"Did you hear that?"

@howard

Oscar nodded as he shifted his weight, taking on a more casual stance with his legs while folding his arms across his chest. "Yep, everything is up to date. Well, except with whatever happened on route 120. No one can give me a straight answer about it, I am assuming it was some sort of mass delusion."

Oscar tilted his head, his cheeks getting a bit red as he recalled another pressing change. "The hardest change has been with Zapdos. It left my side when I got too sick. I thought that I had lost it entirely but at the very least it seems content with living at the power plant. That was a pleasant surprise to come home to. Other than that, everything is as it was before I left."

Oscar did not like admitting to failures, though he supposed that the loss of the thunder bird was not a huge misstep considering that he still seemed to have its favor.

THEO BECKETT

Shred's irritation was fair. Oscar brought him on to make a supposedly easy job easier. He felt bad to have dragged him into this mess, but at least Shred has not abandoned Oscar yet. That was probably a good sign right? At the request for nachos, Oscar would look to Genesect. Genesect looked around before producing a fresh batch of steamy nachos seemingly out of thin air. Oscar was aghast.

"Did--did you prepare those ahead of time?" Genesect made several beeping noises that roughly translated to 'They were for me but I don't mind sharing.' Oscar furrowed his brows, "How were you going to eat those? You have no mouth. Or stomach." Genesect let out a long, sad beep. It just wanted to pretend, it was a really hard night and it deserved to have a fantasy. Oscar patted the head of his machine as he grabbed a taco. "There there, I'll figure something out some day. You'll have your nachos."

The taco was grand, perhaps solely because of how terrible tonight had been. As he felt the spicy torchic meat warming his belly, Oscar suddenly felt positive about their situation. "You know, I think we're on the upturn. The worst is behind us, and before long we will all be home trying to forget that this night ever happened." Oscar lifted his taco toward Shred and Genesect as a sort of 'cheers' before happily taking another bite. Yes indeed, he finally felt that everything was going to be alright.

Then the street lights outside went out. Unbeknownst to Oscar, Zapdos was having an bad night as well. Its dreams were being plagued by strange nightmares, cursing it with a restless slumber. As it awoke from one of these nightmares, resting upon the Mauville Powerplant where it recieved a steady diet of energy, Zapdos decided to cope as many do when faced with a rough night's sleep: with a midnight snack. Its excessive gorging on electricity caused a power surge within the plant, resulting in a total blackout across the city.

Oscar gulped as the taco shop went totally black and the few pieces of equipment that were still on abruptly going silent. He chuckled nervously and shrugged his shoulders. "I mean, this isn't technically a bad thing. Maybe this could work out in our favor?" Oscar gingerly stepped out from behind the counter and walked up to the glass entrance of the shop. No one was outside from what he could tell, causing the gears in his brain to turn. "Yeah yeah, maybe we could use the dark to sneak away to safety! Finally some fuckin' good luck."

--One Hour Later--

They were not sneaking, they were running. They lasted ten minutes in the darkness before hell broke loose. The ground had begun to rumble before exploding with magma as a family of Heatran began clawing their way to the surface. Apparently they had been using subterranean power cables to feel comfortably warm. When the power went out--well you can get the gist.

Now they were rampaging through the city, with a particularly fat one chasing after Oscar, Shred, and Genesect not too far from the taco shop. Oscar had this to say as the trio ran for their lives: "Well--at least we don't have to worry about the police anymore!"

Shred

Oscar was tempted to focus on the crimson gyrados but he kept his eyes solely on Theo. Not to be cool or anything, he just thought it would be more polite. Don't get him wrong, the gyrados was terrifying. But to break eye contact during a conversation? What was he, a neanderthal?

Oscar nodded his head thoughtfully. "I was. My documented illness reached a point where I could no longer perform my duties. I went to Unova for treatment, and as you can see it worked." Oscar motioned to himself dramatically, inserting a little humor into an otherwise serious report.

Oscar clapped his hands together, "Thus I have returned, although much has changed in the short time I was gone."

THEO BECKETT