j-con lunch

Kal?: That's what they all say. Doesn't make it true.

Radium: <Professor Yew was the guy who rescued us. He has a pretty big mansion but he won't let me have nice food!>

Kal: You were eating too many pokepuffs.

Radium pouts.

Hammerlocke pokemon center

Nurse: Oh dear... Are these two your pokemon?

The nurse's Indeedee runs out to see what's going on.

J-Con Lunch

"Look," he sighed. "if the Team were going to be less than hospitable to you, someone doubtless would have said so by now.

"But the only one who has is that pessimistic shadow," he considered.

Freezington, past

Kamon: -sweatdrop- Umm, nooo. Erm, look, I think I'll... just... I've got something to do... -backs away slowly, then takes off at a run-

Channah: Show your face around us again and I'll tear your skin off in little bits! With rusty tweezers!

Random Bystander: -turns head, confused-

"Not what I had in mind," Jackal stated, desummoning Knight, "More that if we keep him unconscious, I can render him too paranoid in reality to ever return to the Metaverse."

He stuck his hands into his pockets, "With permission of course, I do want this to be a proper group decision."

Bishop let out a laugh, "Captain are you really planning on utilizing that plan?"

Jackal shrugged, "Can't really say."

The island was open, the landing had begun, many young heroes had been picked up through correct channels. It was a brand new day, a new team had been formed, Jackal paced in his new office, worried.

Roxy sat on his desk, mask off, "Silas," she said, "Calm down."

Jackal continued to pace, and took off his mask, "What if this is a bad idea?" he muttered to himself over and over.

Roxy frowned, and gripped onto his arm, pulling him in close for a kiss, "Calm yourself."

Silas took a few deep breaths, he looked her in the eyes, and nodded, "Right. I said I'd do this, this is to make up for past mistakes, also to train a new generation."

Roxy pulled on the Fox mask and flipped up the hood, "Go on, give them a good speech."

Jackal stepped up to a podium and looked over the assembled group, he took a deep sigh and began.

"When I first formed the Aurabolts, it was to help me fight an entity known as the Hunter's Guild... from there I found friendships and allies, our fight grew, we ended up facing Pokefutures, and our fight continues to grow. More allies come in every day, as well as new foes, I can't face them all, and I can't handle them all.

Some of you may have hoped to be an Aurabolt directly, and I can't promise that, I'm terrified of what it may mean... however it is unfair to all of you here that you do not get the assistance of the Bolts. So I have come to a conclusion, we are now beginning a new team, that is why you are here. The Riolu Rebels, or just the Rebels for short.

Every single one of you here, will be trained under the Bolts, go off on missions, get support from our numerous benefactors. You will be trained and given safety, this island can be your home as well.

Each and every single one of you will learn our skills, our methods, and our methodology in our work. From now until you turn 18, you are all Rebels.

Welcome, the Rebels Base, we hope you enjoy your stay, you have much to learn."

Jackal stepped down and the doors opened, the new heroes were free to join.

Rebels Island

-After the events of last time Neon, or rather The Noble Element is here-

-Except now a certain someone is interfacing with his armor-

Oran OS: Ooh, you didn't tell me you had THESE kinds of connections!

Noble Elemental: Shhh!

-Heads in-

Edited by Umbramatic on Aug 5th 2021 at 10:39:29 AM

Hasslemon

J-Con Lunch

Aurelia: That makes sense.

Hammerlocke Pokémon Center

Me: No. Not really.

Aurelia: The half-Whimsicott one is the trainer of the Ribombee.

Dr. Azala's Lab

Dr. Azala: Have a seat, Radon. There's something I must tell you. Not as Dr. Azala, but as Alexis Forsythe.

-Radon takes a seat on a nearby bed. Dr. Azala sits down next to him.-

Alexis: Now, the thing about right and wrong is, it's subjective, usually on a case-by-case basis. You help an old lady cross the street, rescue a child from a burning building, or stop a runaway truck from hitting someone, you did the right thing.

Radon: Wait, how did you know about that last one?

Alexis: It was all over the news. Castelia City really likes its superheroes. And to think Gold would end up being one of them.

Radon: As for what's wrong?

Alexis: That always seems to depend on who you ask. Robbing a bank is wrong, simply because there are laws against it. Other things, however, with things like punting Lillipups, there are people who would say that is wrong, and also "How dare you?". It's not as much of an illusion as some people think. I mean, if you and Ferrum were tasked with retrieving Gold, and, let's say, someone were to stand in your way, who would be in the wrong? Them or you?

Rebels Island

Emilie: What am I doing here? This isn't Motostoke. I'm supposed to be in Motostoke for my Gym Challenge. I even picked out a number and everything!

-She then looks around at all the other people that these "Aurabolts" had called to the island. This only made her more confused than she was originally.-

Emilie: WHO ARE YOU PEOPLE?!

Rebel Island

Sunny had come to investigate, eager to do some good once again. To blend in, much like Lamb, she had become fully human via a Sliding Scale Choker.

She stepped through the doors, her Rebel identity already in her mind.

Edited by AbsentCoder on Aug 5th 2021 at 9:01:32 AM

J-con lunch

Kal?: If you were just to up and say you weren't going to treat us well of course I'd be suspicious, but that'd be stupid. You don't get people to follow you if you go on about how they'll mistreat you. That part's for once you're already in.

Hammerlocke pokemon center

Nurse: Wait... Half Whimsicott? They seem like a regular Whimsicott to me.

The Indeedee picks up Florence and turns to Loki.

Indeedee: ~You should come too. You look pretty beaten up yourself.~

Rebels Island

Jess and Robin teleport in mid speech. They seem pretty exhausted.

Jess: I hope... We're not... Too late.

ON THE ROAD TO SPIKEMUTH

THE HASSLEMON INTERWEBS

SK: Ah.

SK: Hang on for one moment.

sabbathKnight left the conversation.

MAIN CONVERSATION

sabbathKnight rejoined the conversation.

IA: well. that was quick.

EL: Hello, Ozzy! Did you figure ou+ your +yping quirk ye+?

SK: Funny you should ask that; I'll need all of you to come with me. I've set up another conversation with Piku-chan and Oshawittle. They have never seen your typing quirks. I figured it would be best to show them.

HG: HUH. THAT'S WEIRD. I THOUGHT FOR SURE THEY'D SEEN MINE...

Everybody left the conversation.

CHAT WITH AV AND UL

Everybody joined the conversation.

SK: Here you are.

BC: #{hello 0 there}

WM: Hey there! HeArd you wAnted to See our typing quirks.

HG: I FEEL LIKE YOU'VE SEEN MINE BEFORE...

SB: yeah mine too ;;

EL: Hello +here!

ML: Hell[].

MP: (Hello.)<

NN: 1 th1nk th1s m1ght b3 doub13p1usm4ny pok3s...

IA: hey.

FM: O!!

CV: Thys ys gOyng tO be realli fun!

UR: HELLO, droogs!

RP: Hey, dudes! H()w are ya?

PM: greetings... ▲ my ▲ friends...

UF: Greetings, My friends.

   zz Hello! YoU sUre this isn't too many Pokemon, Ozzzzy? zz   

CS <— <— <— I don't re^lly mind. —> —> —>

GN: Hello!

FS: #(HeY O You O BLooDY O iDioTS)

SP: #[john o theyre o not o idiots]

AP: #<I * thInk * thAt's * EvErybOdy!>

IA: i think so t∞.

SK: Well, there you are; that's everyone's typing quirk. I... do apologize if this is too many Pokemon for you.

FLASHBACK, THE HASSLEMON INTERWEBS LEADING UP TO THE REBELS (POST-SPIKEMUTH)

renewedPhilologist began hassling marshmallowLover, canusVoltus, and ardentPeppers.

RP: Hello. I'd like to talk to the three of you.

ML: []h? What is it, Kim?

CV: Ieah, what's gOyng On?

AP: #<Is * It * sOmEthIng * fUn?>

RP: Well, it might be. I saw this thing about the "Riolu Rebels" and was wondering if you would like to join.

AP: #<rIOlU * rEbEls?>

CV: Ys that sOme kynd Of superherO thyng?

RP: Yes.

ML: S[]unds c[][]l! Sign us up!

RP: Alright, then. I'll be providing you three with chokers and the coordinates shortly. Welcome aboard.

NOW

(Three people enter through the gates— all male, and all relatively young-looking in age (older children-mid-teens). The first one has a relatively tan complexion, with dark strawberry-blond hair, a yellow baseball cap, and a green shirt, with a military-camoflague jacket over top of it, along with a pair of brown jeans and green shoes. The second one is white, with scruffy dark blond hair that is still lighter than that of his camoflagued compatriot, and a dark yellow hoodie with a yellow shirt underneath, along with white jeans, white gloves, and yellow and white shoes. Finally, the third male- who is also the youngest- looks to be about 9-10 years old, with light fluffy blond hair, purple eyes (though he is not a Schoolkid like Neon is), an ahoge, and an all-yellow outfit. These three people are, respectively, Kaylan, Dalt, and Ringo— or, rather, Howie Volman, Thomas "Tommy" Rogers, and Pepper Starkey, having been turned fully human via the sliding scale choker— and all three look very, very excited.)

Tommy: "Whoa...! This place is awesome!"

Howie: "So many people are here..."

Pepper: "Wonder wha' we should name ourselves."

(And then Tommy suddenly hears Emilie.)

Tommy: "Did you guys just hear that?"

Howie: "I did. Let's go say hi."

(The three of them go over to her.)

Pepper: "'Ello there! We're with the Riolu Rebels!"

Tommy: "Are you okay?"

Freezington, past

-Sweatdrops upon noticing the bystander and waits for Kamon to get far enough away that chasing him would be unlikely to finally let go of Channah-

Not how I would've preferred to have done it, but the results were the same.

-More seriously-

The irony of our last meeting with that guy and how it ended is not lost on me. Sheesh, you were the one telling me to cool it back in Motostoke and you were threatening to have Hale mindflay him.

Edited by rmctagg09 on Aug 5th 2021 at 1:12:46 PM

Hammerlocke Pokémon Center

Me: It's a Long Story.

J-Con Lunch

-Aurelia takes another bite of her burger and then noms some more fries.-

Aurelia: Is something the matter with your shadow, Kal?

Hasslemon

Rebel Island

-Lost, frightened and confused, Emilie whips around and sees the three mysterious people who approached her.-

Emilie: WHO'S THERE?! No, I am not okay. What is this place? Why am I here? I'm supposed to be in Motostoke! I picked out my Gym Challenge Number and EVERYTHING! WHAT THE HELL IS A RIOLU REBEL?! WHAT KIND OF FREAKY DREAM IS THIS?! Am I hypnotized?

-Emilie swiftly grabs Howie Volman by the collar and lifts him into the air, still panicky.-

Emilie: TELL ME I'M NOT HYPNOTIZED!! PLEASE!!!

Freezington, past

Channah: -darkly- Garbage man doesn't get that you don't fuck with what's mine. I'll have to tell Montanari to find out if he has any family and stalk them. -looks around- Uh. Well. I don't know what that was all about but at least it got him to go away.

Freezington, past

-Slightly uncomfortable-

...Let's not do that, he's merely an irritant not like a Constantin or something. Two wrongs don't make a right after all and hopefully we won't be seeing him all that soon again.

Stormchaser, Somewhere

Azure is out and practicing scales on his guitar. Tabitha passes by him and he starts.

Azure: <Tapus Incarnate what the- oh, it's just you.>

<...>

<Where have you been all this time, anyway?>

Tabitha: <Contemplating the universe and our nature as fictional beings.>

Azure: <Excuse me?>

Tabitha: <Oh, I'm kidding. Don't mind me.>

Azure raises a brow.

Tabitha: <But more seriously, I've been doing this and that. Enjoying life. Basking in the sun. You know.>

Azure: <Not really.>

Tabitha: <You don't bask?>

Azure: <I mean I guess? Sometimes? Always gets boring after the first few minutes though.>

Tabitha: <Hm. I find it quite fulfilling.>

Azure: <That's what you find fulfilling?>

Tabitha: <Is there a problem with that?>

Azure: <... No, I guess not.>

Tabitha: <I don't question you trying to play the guitar with flippers, do I?>

Azure: <That's different!>

Tabitha <Well, maybe.>

Azure: <Don't maybe me! It is! Why did you even bring it up, anyway?!>

Tabitha: <I'm assuming you find that activity fulfilling. Am I incorrect?>

Azure: <Well... No. I do like it, yeah.>

Tabitha: <Then it's relevant, isn't it?>

<...>

<You seem agitated.>

Azure: <What? No I don't.>

Tabitha: <You do, a little. Is there something bothering you?>

Azure: <No, I'm fine.>

He says, with the air of someone who definitely has something he wants to complain about.

Tabitha: <...>

Azure: <...>

(In unison)

Tabitha: <Okay, what is it->

Azure: <You can't make me say anything->

They both stop and wait to see what the other will do.

When neither of them move, Azure Aqua Jets away before Tabitha can question him further.

Rebel Island

???: Calm down.

-Emilie may hear a familiar voice from somewhere behind her - a voice belonging to a woman in a dark suit, face hidden by a wooden Trevenant mask with its eye glowing a deep purple, a rapier clutched in her hand.-

??? Terra Preta: You still have my calling card, correct? I did say we would be in touch. Granted, it took longer than I would like to make the arrangements, but you're finally here. You said you wanted to be a hero, and this is the place for you to learn how.

-A spectral hand takes the rapier by the blade and holds it out towards Emilie, hilt-first.-

Terra Preta: Speaking of which... I believe this belongs to you.

Edited by Herbert40k on Aug 5th 2021 at 11:53:05 AM

Freezington, past

Channah: An irritant? He's a - -mutters to herself- I dunno. Something about that fuckwit makes me want to cut him. Whatever. I'll do it on my own time.

Wyndon Hospital

Mallory: The School?

Apple-A-Day: Yeah, I'm familiar with the concept, but not the implied capitalization.

Janie: I'm with...uh, them.

Indeedee: ~Mhm.~

Avery: I've heard of them.

Percy: What? Seriously?

Avery: I've been, uh, spending some time with the J-team lately.

Mallory: What.

Apple-A-Day: Like, from the show?

Percy: What show? Who is this?

Mallory: Wait, you haven't heard of the J-team?

Percy: I don't follow media.

Apple-A-Day: You were at a convention—

Percy: People were gathered. I figured I could do some business.

Avery: You need licenses for that, you know.

Percy: Eh. All my documents are fake anyway.

Apple-A-Day: I feel like you really shouldn't be saying that in front of emergency workers.

Janie: Medical ethics aside, it's honestly not the forefront of my concerns.

Indeedee: ~I do not give a damn. I'd be smoking in here if it weren't a hospital.~

Percy: Nobody's answered my question. What does television have to do with the School?

Avery: Well, they're...it's kind of complicated? The TV show is a highly inaccurate representation of the lives of some real people. And those real people are actually kind of competent? Or at least they seem to have some competent people involved at key organizational stages, insofar as they're actually organized.

Apple-A-Day: ...And there's television about them?

Avery: I don't understand it either.

Percy: We're reaching a really high noise-to-signal ratio, and I don't like that. Don't make me get involved with banter. Aware, disable anything currently recording sound or video.

Aware the Rotom: <Why are we in a hospital? And why are your bones showing? You always say that humans don't like when the bones are showing. Is that not a thing anymore, because I think it's nice when—>

Percy: The answers to your questions connect, but for the sake of making that connection happen faster I'll point out that exposed skeletons are not yet a fashion staple, and that the answers to all your questions also link to what I've asked you to do.

Aware: <Ooh, a puzzle. Exciting—>

Janie: Hey, I don't think I can just let you—

-Aware turns into a streak of lightning, flickering between the hospital cameras-

Janie: Why am I here?

Percy: No idea. You, Zorua girl.

Avery: Avery?

Percy: That. Tell your friends or acquaintances to stay away from the School. They're too big and too well-connected and too dangerous.

Apple-A-Day: That's not an issue—

Percy: You're a dear. But you're tangling with a Gyarados without Electric-types.

Avery: They said they...make people. Psychics and Obscurics. I take it you're one of those people?

Percy: One of their failures.

-she holds up her skeletal hand, flexing the fingers. The obscuric tendons sizzle a little-

Percy: I can manipulate dead tissues. Hack together a nervous and muscular system out of lightning and obscura if I need to.

Apple-A-Day: Humans can do that?

Janie: It's less common then being psychic or auric, but yeah, it happens from time to time.

Apple-A-Day: Wait, so did you raise Lacuna and Splice and Malik?

Percy: Yeah. Fossils already have a bit of life in them, it's just a matter of kickstarting it. You can do it at home with a car battery and some nutrient broth.

Janie: You...shouldn't.

Percy: Cara Liss advanced the field more than any of the scientists at Devon, quite frankly.

Apple-A-Day: Respectfully disagree.

Percy: Splice and Lacuna are doing fine, aren't they?

Apple-A-Day: They're doing well! That was actually what I was meaning to tell you—

Percy: Ah. Topic closed.

Avery: Seems like a pretty cool ability. What part of it failed?

Percy: The part where it requires multiple times the caloric intake of a normal human, and more importantly, the part where I don't take orders well. The School doesn't do this for shits and giggles— they're trying to achieve perfection. The ultimate lifeform, or something like that. We're the fodder, they see how the ability performs in the lab and in the field, then we're disposed of and the best of us get our parts built into the real soldiers.

Apple-A-Day: Sounds kinda eugenicist.

Percy: Yes. Obviously. That was implied.

Avery: Someone named Mason was on the airship, and he was talking about something called the Phantom Class. Is that you?

Percy: So he is alive, still. That's nice to hear, I guess. Yeah. After my batch, they stopped working with obscura— too unpredictable— and went back to dealing exclusively in Psychics, but they're still powerful.

Avery: You've got the same eyes as he does. And as—

Percy: As?

Avery: Nothing. Never mind.

Percy: Yeah. We all do. It might be some sort of epigenetic thing from however many copies of the WAV gene we've all got, or for all I know it's literal magic at work. But it can be a solid tell.

Avery: Mallory wore contacts, though.

Percy: There are other ways to figure it out. Which brings me around to—

-she points at Mallory again-

Percy: You. Who are you? You're too old to be active, and you're too relaxed to be an escapee. We don't really live normal lives.

{REDACTED}, Safe House

-Neodymium is here, musing on the day-

-her memories are still elsewhere, being held in trust by Bela-

-but-

-it sure did seem like Molybdenum freaked out over something-

-and it really was a weird day-

-full of so many people, going about their lives, being...boring. Normal. Existing to no real purpose-

-she conjures up a few Light Screens, bouncing some lasers between them, until she has a passable sketch of one of the art pieces she saw for sale and memorized-

-anything she creates, of course, only exists as long as someone is willing to support it, much like her-

-she flicks a finger and dissipates it, and does her best to get to sleep. It's dumb to be caught up in thinking about a future that's already planned-

Textspace

Stormchaser, Somewhere, Some Time Later

Azure is taking a nap. A certain Alolan meowth appears from somewhere and leans over him, staring.

Azure: <...>

Tabitha: <...>

Azure: -Screaming-

Tabitha: <So what's bothering you?>

Azure: <Right now?? YOU!>

Tabitha: <No, besides that.>

Azure: <Why are you so hung up on this?!>

Tabitha: <Curiosity, I guess?>

Azure: <Isn't there a saying about that being bad?>

Tabitha: <Not the extended version.>

<But, anyway.>

She sits down and stares at Azure.

Azure: <... What are you doing now.>

Tabitha: <I have nothing better to do today, so I will sit here and stare at you.>

Azure: <What? Don't do that. It's distracting.>

Tabitha: -staring intently-

Azure: <...>

Tabitha: <...>

This continues for roughly five minutes.

Azure: <OKAY. FINE. If I tell you what's been bothering me will you leave?>

Tabitha: -cat smile-

Azure: <... I'll just take that as a yes.>

Battle Outside Hammerlocke [TS]

Ray takes Kit's Snarl to the face, grimacing through it and continuing to advance with his Thunder Fang. The movements of is tail become less precise as he takes the damage, so he resorts to wildly waving it around rather than trying to actively defend against Kec.

Somewhere in Galar

As the scientist enters the room, Vana reacts by quickly returning Spinny to her pokeball. Hummy floats just behind her, trying to look intimidating.

The scientist raises his hands in a gesture of surrender, and takes a seat opposite to Vana.

Scientist: It's okay, I come in peace. I don't plan to take your pokemon away again.

Vana: ...

Scientist: Now, I've been talking with some of the other teachers amongst the school. We were discussing what would be the best way to deal with that trainer you told us about. Hoops.

Vana continues to say nothing.

Scientist: Honestly, you were lucky to meet them. We all watched the recordings of their gym battles, and I'm almost disappointed that you didn't get an autograph. If you want, we could provide you with the means to watch some gym battles. I don't see why that would cause any harm.

Vana looks up slightly, her interest peaked, but she doesn't reply.

Scientist: But, I'm getting off topic. Like I said, we had to think of how we'd make sure that they weren't a threat to this family. Because the school really is a family, Vana. We all look after each other and we want each other to succeed.

Vana: Families let each other go out.

Scientists: Families make sure each other are safe. It's dangerous out there, Vana. Wild pokemon, criminals, terrorists trying to destroy the world every few years... the school is your best defense against that.

Vana: Maybe...

Scientist: But, other people don't understand. This Hoops, they'll think that the school is something bad. That it doesn't have your best interests at heart, and they could do something that could put lots of your brothers and sisters in danger. You wouldn't want that, would you?

Vana: No...

Scientist: Good. Then you agree, the only thing that can be done is to kill Hoops. And we want you to do it.

THE HASSLEMON INTERWEBS

HG: WELL... FREDDIE AND I HAVE HAD OURS FOR A WHILE.

SB: y-yeah ;;;;

SK: As for everyone else... they just decided on theirs.

Rebel Island

(Howie, Tommy, and Pepper all look at each other in startled disbelief.)

Tommy: "Oh no...! We made it worse...!"

Howie: "I-it's okay... I'm sure there's got to be an explanation for all of this. You'll be fine..."

(and then enter Terra Preta)

Tommy: (in a whisper) "Who's she?"

Howie: "Not sure..."

Pepper: "Is that— is tha' a SWORD?!"

Howie: "..."

Tommy: "..."

Pepper: "What? What's wrong with swords? They're cool!"

The Wild Area- Bond or Break #2

Braker: "Who are you? That's easy. You're Scramble. And... Gamecube's not on again, unfortunately."

Scramble: <Oh... that's a shame... well, you got me right, at least...> (he sighs) <What even am I...?>

Braker: "...you're a Dracovish?"

Scramble: <I- that wasn't... never mind... Um... okay... what is my favorite Gamecube game? Wait... did I not tell you?>

Braker: "Um... no."

Scramble: <I knew it...> (he exits the bushes) <I don't deserve to play this game... why am I alive...?>

Braker: "Awwww..."

Kim: "I can name multiple good reasons why you should be."

Scramble: <I can't...>

(He sighs and sits down.)

Braker: (beat, he looks over at Scramble, then:) "Just... just skip to the next Pokémon."

Scramble: <It's Radio Scramble, by the way...>

Braker: "Heh. Figures."

Circhester Stadium Entrance Room

Braker: "You're very much welcome. What are your thoughts on the footage?"

Freezington, past

-To Channah-

Well he was kind of a creep to both of us, but let's just focus on other things for me.

Perhaps I should've scanned him before he left, mind stuff in Johto is a pretty weird coincidence to have...

Crown Tundra, today

-Hiking up on the Path to the Peak-

It's an easier hike than Mt. Coronet or Mt. Lanakila, but it's something. Got reminded of that one incident with that Garchomp that tried to eat me.

Crown Tundra

Channah: Oh Coronet's the worst. Though I did have this dream once where I went into this awful mountain full of Electric-types and there was this whole section of just identical ninety-degree halls and this lost kid in a Pikachu costume was following me the whole time and the rock puzzles kept resetting and there were too many hidden items for my inner perfectionist to handle so I just left. Did you tell me about that Garchomp? It doesn't sound super familiar.

Stormchaser, Somewhere

Azure: <I watch the training the others are doing for the Galar League sometimes.>

Tabitha: <Yes, and?>

Azure: <It's frustrating!>

Tabitha: <Oh? How so?>

Azure: <I don't know! It's just... Like, it feels weird? When Daydre dropped the Alola League so early in, but she's putting this much effort into this League. Makes me feel pointless. Kazma keeps taunting me about it and I hate that he's right. I feel like I don't really have a point being here.>

Tabitha: <Have you talked to her about this?>

Azure: <.. No. I don't even know how I'd bring it up. And it's not like I have a solution either.>

Tabitha: <... Hm. Maybe you should? Maybe ask to be fielded in a League match sometime?>

<Though, I will say, I do rather enjoy the life of a house-Meowth, so I don't think I totally understand the issue here.>

Azure: <I.. guess I could do that? I don't think I'm hung up on her winning the Alola League specifically. I just don't like feeling like I'm being passed over?>

<... Maybe I just like fighting?... You know what that might actually be it.>

<The last time I really felt alive was when she took me out for that training deathmatch, even if I did get knocked out like a loser.>

Tabitha: <Hm, I see. Well, good luck with that.>

Without another word she turns and walks away.

Azure: <A->

<...>

<Okay but why did that actually make me feel a little better?>

Textspace — Some Point In Time That Does Not Conflict With Other Existing Things Occurring

Stormchaser Training Room

-the little phone glow that lets Kai know that the message has gone through appears in a patch of darkness in the corner of the room-

-Ever waves from the shadow-

Ever: What's up?