CaV|gIz3

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Another shift.

This time, they were on a tower, but Soup didn't care.

Who was he to sentence others to their deaths? Was this really what it meant to help? Was the burden of charity reserved for only those with the mental fortitude to know that they were responsible for the lives of others?

He did not know.

People rush around him, doing things that he doesn't understand. Soup watched numbly as things happen all around him, people running and carrying Jirachi and all sorts of other things.

However, he snapped out of his brooding when Ho-oh dove at the tower. What on earth? That was definitely the legendary Pokemon, all right, but it looked... wrong. And there was a boy, more corpse than human...

The tower started to collapse, and reality itself went with it, breaking apart.

What was going on here?

Soup released Achlys, the Crobat flapping immediately, and landed right on her back.

"Sorry, Achlys," he yelled to be heard over the chaos around him. The Crobat flapped frantically to hold the weight of both herself and Soup, and to hopefully slow their fall.

As he fell, Soup thought of a wish, thinking of Jirachi. He knew that it might be reckless, especially knowing what had just happened with the angry Ho-oh and the zombie kid. If he'd connected the dots properly, there could be hell to pay from this.

But he couldn't stop himself.

He wished, silently, to understand what he saw. There was a great wealth of information here, in the past, but it was going by too quickly, and if he could decipher all of this... there was no telling how much good he would be able to do for those who were less fortunate, and what wealth of information he could bring back to the present time.

Then, at least, he could help right the wrongs that had plagued Hoenn, like he wasn't able to before.

Billi Marsh

As Billi dealt with the Corphish, Soup's eye was drawn by a Fraxure that was perched on a rock not too far away from their location. The dragon seemed to be pestering his Pokemon, bugging them with Taunts and other insults.

Ersa, still riding on the high of her evolution, took this as an opportunity to battle. She buzzed closer, but not too close, and nailed the Fraxure right in the face with a Bubble Beam. The dragon didn't seem to be too hurt by this, flinching slightly but not too hurt otherwise. It swung with a Dragon Claw, but Ersa buzzed just out of the way, and the Fraxure pulled back to avoid falling into the water.

It became clear that the Fraxure wouldn't be able to reach Ersa, and the Masquerain delighted in this. A stream of repeated Bubble Beams wore down the Fraxure slowly but surely, as it growled and snapped and made faces. Eventually, it was finally knocked out, and Soup threw a Pokeball, hoping that his aim was true.

Billi asked about Sinnoh, pointing out that nothing exciting was happening at the time, and Soup chuckled. "Yeah, I guess it's not as busy at the moment. Relatively quiet, especially for Hoennians like us, huh?" He smiled, including Billi in the statement. The journalist seemed like he was familiar enough and loved Hoenn enough to not be offended by it. "But yeah, travel is a special experience. Learning about the history and cultures of other places, in Hoenn or outside of it..." He shrugged. "It fascinates me.

Selena Desmarais 

Deimos rammed into the Toxapex just as she covered herself with her tentacles, not even slowing his charge. Her spines penetrated his exoskeleton, inserting more toxins into him.

The Heracross didn't even flinch. The impact had done him harm, sure, but he would have hopefully left a mark on the Toxapex as well. And if not...

"Don't let up, Deimos!" Soup called, and the bug snarled. He raised his hand, green energy coalescing into the shapes of small seeds. From point-blank, Deimos unleashed a flurry of Bullet Seeds right at the Toxapex's body, and her face too, if she showed it.

Deimos snarled with satisfaction as the poison continued to course through him, the pain sharpening his furious thirst for battle. He loved feeling so alive.

maverick noah ryder

Soup nodded as he shook his mission partner's hand. He tried to commit the name to memory, and was surprised when Maverick introduced his Pokemon by name as well. That wasn't common.

"You can call me Soup," he replied in turn. "The Crobat is Achlys, and the Flapple is Adonis," he explained, indicating the apple curled up in his arms. At the sound of his name, Adonis stuck his head out of the apple curiously. "I have other Pokemon who could help, but I'm thinking we can manage."

Maverick asked about the kind of bird that they were here to evacuate, and Soup shrugged. "To be honest, I don't know much more than you, except that it's a bird and that I think it's some Alolan species." He shrugged again. "Even that might not be right. Sorry for not being a big help, but I guess we can find out soon enough."

Though, well, he did know where to look. "I do know that the nest was made in a power line, though. It should be pretty close to here, I think." He looked up, scanning the area, until he saw a power line nearby with... Yep, that definitely looked like a nest. "Yeah, I think I spotted it," he said, pointing at it.

Kazimir Wynter

Another thing that was common at Meteor Falls was the wild Pokemon. The area seemed to be full of rare species, and Soup found more evidence of this as a group of egglike figures hopped up to him.

Of course, an Exeggcute. These were familiar to Soup, even if he had never had the opportunity to befriend one before. However, they seemed to be aggressive as well, launching a barrage of Leech Seeds at Soup himself.

Soup swore as he dove out of the way, bruising his knees as he landed. He should know better than to wander around Meteor Falls without a Pokemon out. He fished for a random Pokeball at his belt and pushed a button, releasing Atlas from the ball.

The little Chespin was unaware of the fight going on and squeaked happily as it saw... Was that Kazimir, from the digging site? But he shouldn't have gotten distracted, as that allowed the Exeggcute to lift up Atlas with an Extrasensory and fling him at the ground.

Atlas growled, righting himself and returning the favor with a barrage of Pin Missile. The eggs were all in a group, but the repeated fire nailed a large number of them, causing the Exeggcute to flinch. Deciding that Soup was the easier target of the two, it fired another Leech Seed at him.

This time, Atlas saved Soup from needing to dodge, intercepting the seeds and flinging them aside. Another Pin Missile knocked out the Exeggcute.

Soup groaned a little as he got to his feet, petting Atlas on the head and lobbing a Pokeball at the now-defeated Exeggcute.

"Hey, Kazimir," he began. "Fancy seeing you here, huh?" Kazimir asked about the fossils, and Soup smiled. "Well, right now, I'm being attacked by wild Pokemon. At this rate, I'll be the fossil." He shrugged. "But yeah, I was here for the fossils, among other reasons. I like the place, too," he explained. "It has a nice feel. What about you?"

Sénon Game

"When it spots enemies, it threatens them by jingling the scales on its tail."

Soup remembered this from a Pokedex entry, belatedly, as he winced and covered his ears, despite the earplugs he already had in them.

"Alala!" he reprimanded. Damn, he had his earplugs in, and the noise was still unbearably loud. "What happened? Is there someone out here?"

The massive Kommo-o was seeming to glower at something in the area. Soup followed her gaze to see another man, presumably a trainer, with a Croagunk. He didn't recognize him, but Soup figured that it might be a good idea to go and apologize for the racket. He flinched as Alala rattled her scales again.

"Hey," he greeted, pulling his earplugs out of his ears with a quelling glance at Alala, who seemed to subside, even if she was still glaring at this other trainer. "Sorry for the noise. Alala here is pretty cautious."

Soup stared at the newest intruder.

The Druddigon was terrifying. It stood as tall as Soup, and when it flared its wings and spread its arms, it was outright massive.

Acheron and Achlys attacked at once. This time, the battle was much more smooth. The Druddigon was a fearsome opponent, and more than once one of the combatants would flinch back as a Metal Claw tore at their skin, but a flurry of Achlys's Air Cutter and Acheron's Dragon Breath took down the dragon.

"That was great, you two," Soup said, tossing an empty Pokeball at the now-groaning Druddigon.

maverick noah ryder

Soup found himself in Slateport, once again at the League's call. He had just been passing through when he had received the notice that help was needed to deal with a nest of bird Pokemon in an inconvenient spot. It had seemed like a mission that was well suited for the kinds of Pokemon he had, and Soup figured that he might as well do it, especially since he was getting compensated for the work.

He was accompanied by the Pokemon that he hoped would be able to make this mission easier. Achlys flew beside him, the Crobat's four wings cutting through the air rapidly. Adonis was there, as well, but the Flapple preferred to be carried by Soup, tucked into a ball and making him look like an enormous apple. Soup didn't mind, knowing that he'd come out when he was needed.

Soup found someone waiting in the area, looking at his watch with a couple of spectacularly colored bird Pokemon at his side. Soup guessed it must have been his partner for the mission, so he cleared his throat.

"Hey, are you here for the birds?" he asked. His gaze went to the Talonflame and the Honchkrow. "Speaking of birds, your birds look... very unique. Are they shiny?"

Selena Desmarais

Soup raised an eyebrow at the sight of his opponent. Selena Desmairis, the gym leader? Huh. Well, he would put up a fight that he could be proud of, whether he and Deimos won or lost.

His thoughts sobered slightly, his grin fading as he contemplated the reasons she was probably here, and the reason that he himself didn't want to acknowledge. He needed to be stronger. He needed to be able to help Hoenn when it could use his presence and his strength.

He shook off the sudden melancholy. No need to brood right now. This was training, sure, but it was fun too. He could afford to enjoy himself.

He smiled again, but it felt a little forced this time. "I would never." He wouldn't dream of not giving his best. Not when the future could depend on the effort he put in today.

Deimos didn't bother trying to avoid the Toxic Spikes. The poison seeped through him, and his body reacted to it. It was painful...

...but it was invigorating.

Deimos roared in his buglike voice. Now not heeding the spikes that were strewn across the ring, he charged straight at the Toxapex, his horn lowered as he aimed to ram and fling the poison-type.

---

SUMMARY
- Deimos doesn't care about the Toxic Spikes, getting poisoned and activating Guts.
- Deimos charges full-force at Toxapex with Megahorn.

Selena Desmarais 

Soup grinned as the crowd cheered.

To be totally honest, he had absolutely no clue why he was here. Pokemon wrestling rings? What on earth? That couldn't be further from his job, or what one would peg his interests as.

But recently, he'd been spending more time with his Pokemon, training and growing his team alongside his archaeology, and it was paying off. His Pokemon were stronger than ever, and only growing stronger. And, well, this would be a great test of how much he'd really improved.

His grin widening as he waved back at the crowd, he pushed a button on his Pokeball and released Deimos. The Heracross eyed the crowds with indifference, not caring at all about all the attention on him. Well, that was fine. Soup scanned the ring for his opponent.

"Acheron," said Soup, getting the Vibrava's attention. "You're strong, that's for sure, but you need to learn to work together with others." The Vibrava didn't seem to bother, buzzing indignantly at Soup and Achlys. The Crobat only narrowed her eyes, still gritting her teeth against the sandstorm that the Silicobra had whipped up.

Soup sighed, but before he could say something again, a Sneasel pounced out of absolutely nowhere, Slashing its claws at Acheron. The Vibrava was unpleasantly surprised by this, buzzing even louder and recoiling. Acheron dove at the Sneasel with what must have been Superpower, reddish energy cloaking his body, but the Sneasel was fast, leaping out of the way and assailing Acheron with an Icy Wind, which struck critically and brought Acheron to the ground.

Before the Sneasel could continue to attack the fallen dragon, Achlys attacked. The Crobat lunged and sunk her teeth into the Sneasel, draining his life force with a Leech Life. The Sneasel tried to escape, but Achlys was relentless, releasing the Sneasel but immediately darting forward once again with a Poison Fang, after which the Sneasel retreated.

Soup was gratified by this. Hopefully, from now, Acheron would have learned his lesson and would be more cooperative.

Soup was assailed by a Silicobra, and his first thought wasn't that it was dangerous, but that it would be a good exercise for Acheron and Achlys. Man, he was really getting into that Pokemon trainer mindset recently.

"Acheron, Achlys, drive her off," Soup said. Achlys prepared to attack, the Crobat whipping up blades of wind with Air Cutter, but Acheron wasn't waiting. The Vibrava shrieked (Soup winced and put in the earplugs) and dove at the Silicobra with a Dragon Rush. The Silicobra, startled, expelled a large volume of sand that quickly whipped up into a sandstorm. While Acheron didn't mind, continuing to whale on the Silicobra, Achlys hissed in surprise, buffeted by the sand now swirling around, and lost her grip on the Air Cutter.

Sure enough, Acheron managed to drive away the Silicobra, but Achlys wasn't happy. Soup decided that he'd have to work on their teamwork together.