Places were taken and the stage was set. Inhaling a lung full of fresh air, Oscar sighed deeply as he slowly stretched out his arms. The pokeballs in his hands opened, releasing their contents with a flash of red light. On Oscar's right was Baron the flygon, who flexed his wings and cried out happily as he stepped forward for battle. On Oscar's left--

A garchomp stands motionless, staring forward with his eyes shut. It breathes heavily as it stomps forward, the ground shaking ever so slightly with every step. Suddenly his eyes open wide, and after inhaling a great deal of air the mighty dragon would screech furiously. This creature of unbridled destruction was Mustakrakish: Second of his name, king and death to worlds, the glorious heir to the throne of hell, a cosmic being of such--

"Stop showboating!" Oscar shouted with cupped hands toward Mustakrakish, who gave his master a pointed look for interrupting his introduction. Mustakrakish huffed, steeling himself for battle. The first move was theirs, and Oscar would start off by making use of the gym's theme.

He shouted his orders as soon as his warriors seemed ready, "Baron bring the sand, Musta reel them in!" Baron cried out as his eyes began to glow from within his goggles. A grand Sandstorm was kicked up, covering the varied battlefield with a torrent of ripping earth. Mustakrakish made a single leap forward, attempting to get just a bit closer to his opponents. With his rumbling impact, the rocky terrain beneath his foes would shooting jagged rocks upward (Stone Edge). Mustakrakish was not aiming to harm his opponents, but rather to push them closer.

tl;dr
--A sandstorm is raging!
--Flygon used Sandstorm.
--Garchomp used Stone Edge, trying to push his opponents closer.

CIAN MAHER

Oscar's entrance was middling. He had slipped in, given nods of greeting to Elisabeth Fiorelli (who was kind enough to invite him), and silently took his seat. In his own black/red suit the beast might have blended into the shadows of the room, if not for his inconveniently bright pale complexion. He was about as stealthy as a shooting star. 

He wished he was in a better mood to be social, but Oscar was all business today. This meeting was like a gift exchange, but the gifts were intelligence briefings. Delicious intelligence briefings that would be very valuable in Oscar's current projects. He had information of his own to share of course, never come to the potluck empty handed and all that, but with all of the other Menteno accounts most of his tidbits may be redundant. Time would tell. 

Congratulations were passed onto fern delaney and BARNABY FINCH as well as mint frost , Zev Harcourt , and Marza Volchitsa : Rocket's newest admins and beasts respectively. Oscar clapped to their success, his expression beaming at the mention of Mint's name. That's right, he was proud of the little shit.

What are you gonna do about it? However, Oscar's good spirits were visible drained as he realized that declan walsh would not be attending. I mean--it was not as if Oscar cared. He did not even know Mister Walsh, he was just cool to look at. The meeting would be great with or without him it made no difference to Oscar! Shut up!

Anyway, at the mention of the energy source Oscar straightened up and raises his hand. "I'd like to inquire more about the energy source. Has anyone had the chance to study it yet?"

tl;dr
--Oscar is here to absorb, wants to know more about the new energy source.
--Proud of all the promoted Rockets.
--Totally is not upset that Declan is not coming.

Oscar catches Gaultier's jacket, his brief confusion subsiding as the grunt provided an explanation. Oscar held the jacket by the shoulders so that he could get a better look at the garment, whistling as Gerald followed Gaultier across. It was a nice jacket, Gaultier must have a lot of trust in Oscar to lend it to him. That or he does not like the jacket, poor thing...

Ceri read Oscar's mind though, as she said aloud the same conclusion Oscar came to. As nice as the jacket was, its material would make ziplining smoothly a challenge. It would need some sort of lubrication like--oh look a puddle! Oscar walked over to a puddle near the wall, squatting to examine it as Ceri zipped to the other side. The gathered fluid was--black? Blue? Water? Oil? Whatever, Oscar soaked the jacked until it was nice and slippery. He then returned to the wire, slapping the jacket over with a wet plop before smoothly sliding across the abyss. Oscar kept his eyes forward, fearing that he would slip off the jacket with surprise should he dare to look down.

Arriving on the other side, Oscar landed with a toddle before quickly regaining his balance. He then offered the jacket back to Gaultier, smiling and nodding with thanks. "Good thinking crew, now let's keep moving. Guards up!" Like Ceri Oscar also heard the soft humming that suddenly surrounded them, but did not take it as a sign to worry. Perhaps it was because everything here was already dangerous, new dangers would hardly make much of a change.

Oscar kept his focus on the cords attached to the walls, following them through open-air corridors until their final destination was reached. Fittingly, their uneventful trek through this ruin would be marked with a very cluttered final room. It was a massive bowl-like room, the perimeter of which reached far into the sky. In the center was a mass of machinery, and from a cursory glance Oscar thought it was some sort of fortress. Upon closer inspection however, he recognized it to be a massive generator--or rather several generators melded together. 

As Oscar stepped forward, the humming would become louder than ever. Soon dots of blue on the perimeter would catch his eye. Looking their way, Oscar would see several stakataka gathering around the rim of the bowel. For now they were docile, simply watching as the team of Rockets came closer to the generator. Oscar spoke as he continued forward, "Keep an eye on those block fuckers. I dunno what they're up to but it can't be good." 

Finally Oscar arrived at the generator, and began feeling around the mangled metal of its colossal form. "Help me find a way inside!" he said to no one in particular, pulling loose metal away hoping to make an opening for himself. "There has to be something valuable in here."

Ceri Glynn @gaultier Gerald Kaiser

tl;dr
--Ziplined across a wire
--They've made it to a ruined generator(?) surrounded by idle stakataka. Oscar wants to traverse deeper into the generator, hoping to find something to salvage. 

The final month of the year had been a busy one. The fallout of the Meteno event left Hoenn reeling, and Oscar had stepped up to provide what support he could. Not because he cared, but because it looked good to help. Otherwise he had been preoccupied working on his pokepods and planning for the steps beyond their completion. He had precious little time for catching up with his friends, so when he found a narrow gap in his schedule Oscar decided to make use of it.

Lulu Flint would be the lucky subject of today's visitation, as they had a great deal to discuss. It had been a very long time since they last spoke, which had to be right before the Cyberspace incident. With all of Oscar's newest developments gaining steam, he believed it would be a good idea to exchange notes with his dear research comrade. 

It took a bit of wondering, but Oscar was eventually directed toward the lab Lulu was occupying. Her research facility needed more maps, he would be sure to bring that up in their conversation. Upon approaching the lab's door, Oscar knocked loudly before carefully entering.

Oscar was still peeved about being dragged onto the dance floor, but his masked kidnapper talked a lot of sense. Peering from side to side, Oscar found that everyone around him was too busy focusing on their own shenanigans--he had no reason to fear their prying eyes. His steps slowed down, becoming more fluid as he leaned into his dance partner.

With their dance stabilizing, Oscar decided to inquire about about this masked stranger. Perhaps he could guess who they were, should he obtain enough insight.

"So, you did this a lot as a kid--was your family wealthy?"

mint frost

Oscar tilted his head as he listened to his friend's frustrations. Slowly the beast's lips would curl into a smile, he felt like a fisherman about to reel in a legendary catch. Oscar entwined his fingers, chuckling softly as Amor finished his rant.

Oscar shook his head, his eyes widening as they locked with Amor. "Why remain with the league at all? Here you are, contributing your resources, and they treat you like trash. A man of your talent would be much better off elsewhere."

Oscar's smile faded, his expression turning deathly serious. It was the moment of truth, either he reels in the whopper--or cuts the line. "I have an opportunity for you--if you're interested."

Amor Rose

Hey pals, it's Hollow! I thought it would be fun to reflect on our year of rp and share our favorite character moments! No structure or anything, just walk down memory lane to ring in the new year! I'll start.

My favorite moment from my character is from the Cyber raid, where a crippled Oscar was thrown like a football by his Urshifu and ragdolled against the monitor.

My favorite moment from a character that isn't mine is Martín del Mar becoming the Unknown avatar. That Sent me when I first read about it, really fun development.

Alright now give me your favorite moments of 2022!

Oscar perked up as he and his comrade followed Genesect down the hall. It had been a while since someone in Rocket did not recognize the infamous cyber bug, and Oscar was more than happy to share and tell.

"Nah, it's kinda tragic really. It's name is Genesect, and our previous boss made it by fusing a bunch of ancient pokemon parts with a cybernetic exoskeleton--that is also made out of other pokemon. It's chill though, really came a long way."

The froslass caught Oscar off guard, but luckily Zev's chandelure was there to provide some support. The ghost was knocked out, and Oscar popped his tongue loudly. Understanding the cue, Genesect marched over and began repeatedly stabbing the froslass until its torn body faded back into the shadows (Fell Stinger). No witnesses, not even pokemon.

Oscar nodded toward the door that had slammed earlier, it was just up ahead. However, he would stop short and begin tapping his foot as he contemplated something silently. Zev would not have to wait long to hear his thoughts.

"If I were hiding in this shit hole, I would misdirect my pursuers by slamming the wrong door. We'll have to search every room to be safe."

After a beat of silence, Oscar would pop his tongue twice. "Rampage." Genesect shuddered, its head rising upward as it let out a metallic shriek--its battlecry. It busted through the nearest door, and a pokemon's cry could be heard before being abruptly silenced. It then burst from the room and smashed through another door--a cycle it shall continue until nothing was left alive.

Zev Harcourt

Oscar remained ignorant to Eris's discomfort, stretching as he casually answered her inquiry. "I left them the manuals yeah, the machine is just more advanced than what they were using. Poor bastards were working with relics for ten years, you'd think someone would have cut them a fuckin' break."

Oscar glasped his mouth abruptly, realizing that he had just used two swears in front of a child! Oscar clutched his chest lightly, his pale face turning slightly pink from embarrassment. "Excuse my language, don't tell Chu-e I swore in front of you I don't want him to beat me up."

Oscar settled himself down, adjusting his tie before facing Eris once more. Only now did he notice her anxiety, her posture shrinking away more and more as time passed. Had he done something wrong? We he was practically a stranger, so Iscar could not blame her for being nervous. Though she might just be upset about her pokemon. He attempted to set her at ease, taking a seat by her side and clasping his hands together. "Is something troubling you Eris? Your pokemon are going to be fine, there's no need to worry anymore!"

Eris Halla

Oscar's march forward may have seemed foolhardy, but he was staying painstakingly aware as they moved further into this unknown realm. From the towers that leered at them, to the shapes moving through the charged clouds above, Oscar was keeping track of every possible threat. To be honest he was a little on edge, he had never felt more in danger. It was exhilarating.

They moved through the ruins of what was unmistakably a destroyed power plant. As Oscar pushed forward, he would stop briefly to examine some shattered machinery. Digging through the lifeless wires and circuits, Oscar recognized the machine to be some sort of control panel. He followed some of the wires, and found that they converged into a thick coating attached to the wall. The coating lead further into the ruins, like some sort of treasure trail.

Oscar slapped the dead machine. "The wires on the wall probably lead to a generator, maybe we can find something of value! Keep up now!" Oscar broke into a lively jog as he pressed onward, turning the corner as he followed the direction of the conjoined wires. He was forced to stop abruptly, narrowly preventing himself from falling off the path into a black abyss. The abyss prevented them from going further; while the way forward did not seem to far away the gap would prove far to big to jump over.

Oscar huffed and began searching for a way past, his eyes resting on some thick cords that hung just a hop above his head. As he followed the cords, he would discover that they lead into a wall on the other side. Could they perhaps...

Oscar turned to his comrades and pointed upward, "I need something thick I can use to hang over this cord. We're ziplining this bitch!"

tl;dr
--Oscar discovers some machinery that could lead them to a generator and some possible loot.
--There's an abyss blocking their way forward, they will need to zipline down a large cord to proceed.

Gerald Kaiser Ceri Glynn @gaultier

Oscar never turned down the chance to lend a hand to those in need, after all that meant good publicity for GMH! When Oscar caught wind of the sizeable crowd that was displaced by Kyurem's brief emergence, he gathered his work force straight away to aid in their relocation. It was the least he could do--plus it gave him a chance to collect snow samples from the icelands. Perhaps studying the ice would help give some insight into Kyurem's power.

As soon as Oscar heard that John Sullivan would be leading the effort, he would send word of his desire to help. They set up a meeting place, and Oscar would arrive with his reinforcements at the agreed upon time. Oscar four of his own vans to lend, equipped with snow tires that the board of directors thought were a poor investment but LOOK WHO'S LAUGHING NOW!!!

As Oscar coordinated his men through a headset, he would be startled by Douglas's sudden appearance. He had been too focused on getting things set up, he let himself get spooked! Oscar quickly relaxed, chuckling at how wound up he was before offering his hand for a handshake.

"Greetings cap--sorry, Lieutenant! Helluva day to do some good, we'll get some people loaded up in the vans and then roll out when you're ready! My folks are yours today!"

Oscar nodded, feeling sympathetic toward Eris's predicament. He had no knowledge of her troubles, so to him her gloomy and anxious demeanor was merely caused by her pokemon's health. He looked to the front counter, and while the nurse was not present he could at least see shapes moving behind the windows of the back doors.

Oscar clapped his hands together. "Well you're very responsible Eris. I actually just donated some equipment here, they might not be used to it yet. I'll go check on them and let you know how your pokemon are doing." Oscar strode toward the counter, humming to himself as his mood brightened. As he approached the front counter, the nurse would indeed emerge and greet him warmly.

The two would chat for a bit, with Oscar checking in on the new equipment and answering any troubleshooting questions the nurse had. With Oscar's back turned to her, Eris had a grand opportunity to run--though she would be leaving her pokemon behind. She might notice Oscar pulling out his phone and checking it. What did he see on the screen? A warning from Theo? News about Chu-e? It was actually a response from Martín del Mar, Oscar had asked him earlier for synonyms for the word 'cornucopia'. Not for any particular reason, he just really wanted them in his back pocket just in case.

Oscar put his phone away and waved goodbye to the nurse as she returned to the back. He walked toward Eris once more, his arms opened as an attention grabbing gesture. "She was stuck but I solved her problem and it won't take much longer!" 

Eris Halla