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Hammerlocke


"Listen, I know you've been wanting more since Hulbury, but I'm not going to let you have any at night. You bugs get too hyperactive." Simon scolded as he pulled away the bag of treats from his Pokemon's hungry mouths, mentally cursing himself for getting them hooked to cinnamon buns in the first place. He put the bag in the one leg pocket that didn't have a bug in it and zipped it shut.

He'd just left Pia not too long ago after the pair had a pleasant dinner, and was currently on his way back to the hotel- it really did help to chat with someone and get his mind off of things. He'd chosen to take the scenic route, going through the moonlit parks in the castle courtyards, but that seemed to have been the wrong decision, as he had found himself sorely lost on the other side of town. A few confusing street signs later he'd gone back on the right path, but now that the clock was striking ten, he realized it was much later than he'd expected, and he had to get back soon if he wanted to avoid being locked out of his room.

The streets of Hammerlocke were far more pleasant than that of Motostoke's, likely due to the more historical nature of this walled city compared to the industrial bastion that was the other. The streets felt safer to walk through even this late, and other than a few stray Trubbish it seemed fairly clean as well. As Simon continued down the main path, he noticed a narrow alleyway which looked like a shortcut to where he had to go. Being in a rush and not seeing any people skulking in there, he shrugged and turned into it.

Darkness could be such a bizarre thing. Down this alley there were of course no streetlights, and the closeness of the buildings to one another hid much of the sky away behind black silhouettes. It was the same town, of course. It was still Hammerlocke. And Simon knew that. But darkness could be such a bizarre thing. Suddenly, the street wasn't so pleasant. Suddenly, the walls seemed to be looming. Suddenly, Simon's footsteps were overly loud. Almost like there were two sets of feet stomping together.

Still atop his hat, Princess let out an anxious squeak. Simon could feel the joltik trembling as he looked behind him nervously, but there was nothing there. "The night's just playing tricks on you, lassie." he told the Joltik.

"And what a trick it is," said a deep voice, not behind Simon, but beside him. In the darkness of the buildings there was a dumpster that Simon had been walking by, and in the darkness of that dumpster was something that looked kind of like a pile of laundry. "Out for a stroll, Simon?" it asked before unfolding and stretching up and up, taller than him. It was a man dressed in rags and a coat, his face under the hood hidden behind sunglasses and a handkerchief. Even though he was still several feet away, his long arms looked like they might be able to grab the boy anyway.

"Gah, shit!" Simon exclaimed as he instinctively stumbled backwards away from the figure, almost tripping over himself and causing his Pokemon to all duck into his pockets.

"You really should be more aware," the man chided. "I've had a tail on you for four or five blocks now." A little shape rolled up at the end of the alleyway, its little red eye aglow in the dark: a Rolycoly. It wheeled its way closer to the two as the man took a heavy step towards Simon. "What have you been up to in Hammerlocke?"

Simon straightened back up but still stepped away from the individual. Who was this guy and how did he know his name? Cautiously putting his hand inside his pocket to reach his Pokemon, he responded, "Listen, I don't know who you are, but if this is some silly prank I'm really not in the mood for it tonight."

"We're a bit old for pranks, aren't we?" The man put his hands in his pockets and pulled out two Pokéballs. "Just the right age for a proper battle though, wouldn't you say?"

"Wha…" Simon narrowed his eyes. "A battle? Mate, if you're a fan or something, I'm flattered but this is not how you get me to battle you. Cheers." the boy shook his head as he began to walk away, going back where he came from.

Something whizzed past Simon's head and there was a flash of light. With a thud, there was now a Stonjourner standing in Simon's way, catching its own ball as it looked down at him critically in the dark.

"Now, now, now, it's the sporting thing to do for two Trainers to battle when they lock eyes isn't it?" the stranger said to Simon's back.

Simon stared back at the towering Pokemon and gulped. Two rock-types… this already wasn't sounding great in terms of battle odds. And clearly, this guy wasn't asking. Putting on the bravest face he could and hoping to hide the nervousness in his voice, he turned back towards the stranger, "I don't know what your game is, mate… but you're gonna force my hand, I'll show you 'sportsmanship'."

"Simon Pearburgh. You have three badges to your name and, though I regrettably missed your latest bout with Kabu, I hear it was just as explosive as your bouts with Milo and Nessa before him." The man tossed down his other ball and let a Rhyhorn out in the alley too. "I very much believe you could beat me in a straight, common battle, and then you would hardly gain anything from the encounter but some annoyance and lost time. How about a little practice in a Rotation then? You do remember how to Rotation Battle, yes?"

Shit, a third rock-type. This guy may have been a Gordie fan instead. "A… rotation battle?" Simon echoed. "Like those Unova ones?" He'd seen a few of them on the telly over the years, but they weren't too popular of a sport in Galar, and the academy certainly hadn't bothered to teach anyone about them. Still, he had a general idea of what they were like, and he wanted to get away from this freak as quickly as possible. "I get the gist of them, yeah."

The hooded stranger gestured and Stonjourner stepped past Simon to put itself between Hood's other two mons as Hood stepped away down the alley. Stonjourner tossed its ball back to Hood. "Two mons on either side are sitting out. A third mon takes the field alone, and must physically tag out to the flank to allow a flanking mon the field. I'd go into particulars about how yielding works, but we'll keep it a simple three-on-three so that won't be an issue. Remember: only the fielded mon gets to do anything or be targeted, and the flanks can only swap in with a tag. The narrowness of the alleyway will help keep things going as they should." Stonjourner took its place in the center of the alley. Rhyhorn and Rolycoly backed off to either side, back nearer to Hood and up against the walls. "Flanking mons just have to be ready to tag in; they should focus on evading crossfire otherwise. It should make for an interesting exercise, wouldn't you say?"

Simon's fist clenched as he steeled himself, realizing he couldn't refuse now. His team knew how to work together… right? Memories of the wild area began flooding back in his mind, and he desperately pushed them out. No. It wouldn't go like last time. He had to trust them. "Okay then, Spewpa, Princess, Anorith, you're up!" he said, tossing Spewpa onto the field and extending his arm. Seconds later a confused Anorith emerged from his sleeve and landed beside her, followed by Princess who scurried out of Simon's hat. "Spewpa, you're up first. You two hang back till I say so."

He looked at the stranger. "Whenever you're ready."

"Oh, I'm always ready." Hood twirled a finger in the air. "Rock Polish." The big Stonjourner shivered all over and sparkled with whitish gleams in the dark.

"Start off with a tackle to get close, then poison powder!" Simon commanded. Spewpa squeaked as she bravely hopped towards the much bigger mon, before charging forward and exploding in a cloud of purple dust and square-shaped particles.

"Tag right, Smokescreen to dodge that!" Stonjourner skittered backwards abruptly fast and shifted to the wall, tagging Rolycoly with its leg. Rolycoly wheeled sideways, leaving a thick black curtain that shifted forwards and swallowed the center field, both Rolycoly and Spewpa. It was hard to tell, but it seemed like nothing had come of either Trainers' opening gambits except that now they couldn't see their mons. "Trying to double-up on me Simon, give me some credit," Hood's voice came from the other side of the cloud. "They may be Rocks but they aren't that slow now!"

"Not for long!" Simon retaliated, "Spewpa, string shot where that Rolycoly was!" He just hoped the visibility inside the cloud was better than outside of it. He heard his Pokemon squeak in affirmation.

There was a shocked sound from presumably Rolycoly, but then Hood said, "Rock Polish!" The smoke cleared off finally and Rolycoly had apparently negated the String Shot. Some thread sparkled in the moonlight around Rolycoly's base, but it seemed clean enough. "And again!" Rolycoly shivered and started sparkling the way Stonjourner was.

"Hit it with a stun spore, then! You won't be going anywhere!" Simon quickly called out, eager to pin down the Pokemon as soon as possible. Spewpa shuddered again before exploding in another cloud of dust, spraying her particles at Rolycoly again.

"Smokescreen!" The black curtain fell again and it wasn't clear immediately whether or not Stun Spore had managed to connect. Hood didn't wait to see either. "Tag left, Rock Polish!" The Rhyhorn along the wall shuffled into the curtain as Rolycoly zigzagged away to the side, crackling a little: Stun Spore evidently had connected, but Paralysis on an unengaged mon was hardly going to be helpful. The smoke cleared away more quickly this time, and Rhyhorn was glimmering with its own Rock Polish now, fixing Spewpa with an intense look. "I hope you're not waiting for me to make first touch," Hood said, "because I'd rather get my mons into peak condition if you're going to sit there and let me."

Simon was beginning to get frustrated; this little taunting game the stranger was playing was getting on his nerves- and accusing him of stalling only made his desire to get this ordeal over with even stronger.

"So that's the angle you're taking, then? Alright, Spewpa, tag, um-" he looked at where his other two Pokemon were; Princess was standing at the ready on his left, while Anorith was… somewhere on the far right, scratching away at a penis-shaped graffiti on the wall. "Oh for fuck's sake- okay, tag left!"

Spewpa squeaked and hopped backwards, bumping her head against the joltik as it took center field. "Spider Web!" Simon called out, knowing this would last far longer than a string shot. Princess let out a chirp and hopped onto the wall before spitting out a wide web of sticky string on the battlefield, partially draping the rhyhorn as well.

Wasting no time, he followed up with another attack; "Now, jump down and strike it's back with Absorb!"

Rhyhorn was rooted for a moment under the Spider Web and couldn't dodge away as Princess landed on it and Absorbed. "Stonjourner, tag in, everyone rotate right," Hood said. Rhyhorn shuffled awkwardly backwards, befuddled by the Spider Web, and then Stonjourner skittered forward and dropped into a split, its massive leg span punting Rhyhorn away to the wall as Joltik landed on its wide stony foot. Rhyhorn tumbled softly to a stop and lobbed Rolycoly roughly across the alley high so the little Rock landed at the wall opposite. A bizarre and complex maneuver that had succeeded in rotating Hood's mons clockwise, leaving Stonjourner in against Princess.

The biggest mon on the field levered itself up straight, balancing the smallest mon on the field on its foot, held out in front of it. "How about some high Stomping?" Hood asked. Stonjourner lobbed Joltik gently into the air and then brought its giant leg back, ready to kick the little bug like an undersized football.

"Shit- Princess, latch on!" Simon called out. The bug let out a pained squeak as she took the full force of the attack but managed to hang on to the stony leg with her claws. "Now Absorb!" The area around Stonjourner's leg glowed bright again as Princess sapped some energy from it, desperately holding onto it as the rock continued to move with the swing.

Stonjourner made an annoyed grunt and spun about haphazardly. It moved uncannily fast despite its size, its glimmering body streaking in the night as it gave Princess one hell of a ride. "Gravity!" Stonjourner planted its feet and clapped its hands over its head.

Suddenly, the air was remarkably heavier, and Simon's Bug-filled coat dragged down on him. The boy stumbled forward momentarily, realizing he'd felt this feeling somewhere before, but he didn't have time for reminiscing right now.

Destabilized by the sudden shift in weight, Princess fell off the Stonjourner's leg, landing on the ground with a louder thud than normal before shaily righting herself again. Simon tried to capitalize on the slight advantage the spider web gave him. "Thunder wave, then skitter back and tag left!" he called out, making sure Anorith was at the ready.

The little Joltik squeaked as she let out a pulsing wave of electricity at the Stonjourner, hoping it wouldn't avoid this status effect as well, before beginning to skitter towards the now-focused Anorith. Stonjourner took the Thunder Wave with a grunt, crackling now with the telltale sparks of Paralysis, but it still seemed rather lighter on its feet than might be expected. It and Hood both watched Princess fall back, but Hood didn't give an order.

The two bugs quickly high-fived each others' pincers as Princess drew back and Anorith stepped forward, letting out a menacing gurgle at his enemy. "Blast off with Aqua Jet!" Simon called out, throwing his arm forward, and Anorith did the same, shooting forward with his body encased in water.

Stonjourner twitched a little and seized up, unable to dodge the attack as the Paralysis held it still, though it stood up surprisingly well to it. "Block it in and bring it this way!" Despite its earlier stillness, Stonjourner whipped around behind Anorith in a blur, between him and Simon, walling him off from Spewpa and Princess. Stonjourner skittered forward, shoving Anorith back towards Hood and his Rocks. "Come closer Anorith," Hood taunted, "come play with your fellow Rocks."

"Noo, nonono! Anorith, don't listen to that!" Simon put his hands on his head in a panic. If this was any other Pokemon he would've ignored the comment as simple taunting, but there was a real chance Anorith could actually forget they were in a battle.

The confused bug let out a cry as he looked at both Simon and the rocks behind him simultaneously, instinctively backing up in response to the barrier, before his eyes rolled up towards Stonjourner. He lifted a claw and squeaked out a greeting. Stonjourner's expression in return was the very origin of the term 'stone-faced.'

Capitalizing on the distraction, Hood fired off a list of commands and his mons moved in tandem with one another, despite Stonjourner's Paralysis, despite the Spider Web yet lingering in places, despite the Gravity bearing down.

"Stomp high!" Up went Anorith from Stonjourner's nasty kick. "Tag right, Smack Down!" Stonjourner darted up against the wall as Rolycoly zipped in and lobbed a golden stone. Down came Anorith with a hard smack. "Tag left, Horn Lob!" Rolycoly and Rhyhorn passed one another. Up went Anorith on the end of a wicked horn. Hood's Rocks were tagging in between Simon and Anorith, leaving the hapless bug cut off from his own team, roughly juggled like a pebble in a blender.

"HEY! You can't just do that!" Simon yelled out, barely able to see his own Pokemon behind the rocks as it let out a pained squeak of betrayal. This was just turning into a street brawl.

"They're tagging in and out, aren't they?" Hood asked, almost tauntingly.

"You know what, screw this- Princess, tag in! Use Beat Up and help Anorith out!" Simon threw his arm out, and suddenly several spots around his coat began to glow with dark energy, along with Spewpa and Princess herself. Soon the figures of Snom, Burmy and Larvesta emerged from Simon's pockets and landed beside the bug, before all fived charged towards Stonjourner, ready to aid their comrade.

Simon looked at the stranger with disdain, "How's that for evening the odds?"

All the opposing Rocks stopped short as Stonjourner weathered the blows on its big legs. Stonjourner peered at Princess for a moment and then turned away. The Rocks all peered at Hood in silence. "Simon," Hood said darkly, "Anorith didn't tag out." Hood's Rocks turned their gazes over at Simon expectantly, ignoring the Bugs on the field. "Am I to take this to mean you don't give a farthing for the rules here?"

"Yeah, I think I'm done with this." Simon said, as Anorith took the moment of respite to scuttle away between Stonjourner's legs. "I told you I wasn't in the mood to battle. If you wanna do this some other time, hit me up when you're not in some dark alleyway. Until then, we can call it a draw." He gestured for his Pokemon to retreat.

Hood snapped his fingers. "Clear me a path." Stonjourner dropped into a lopsided almost-split and spun like a giant stone compass, knocking bugs this way and that as Rhyhorn and Rolycoly dove into the ensuing melee. Hood strode forward briskly, as if the increased Gravity didn't exist for him, covering ground in wide strides. "Opportunity does not wait until you're 'in the mood.' Chance does not care whether or not you are 'done.' Danger does not beforehand 'hit you up.' If you will not play by the rules then neither will I, but there is no running from a Trainer battle!" Hood broke into a dash through the melee.

"What the fuck-" Simon eyes grew wide in shock, only now realizing the gravity was affecting him too. He attempted to turn away from the man but tripped as he lifted his foot- only for Hood to crash into him as he tackled him to the ground. Both trainers landed on the ground in a heap, Simon taking the brunt of the added impact with the gravity effect as the wind was knocked out of him.

Hood rolled clear quickly, getting to a knee. "When push comes to shove you must be ready, Simon. Aye, you might be the human hive, but you can't rely on your drones for everything." Hood stood up fully and approached Simon, grabbing him by the collart. "If that Joltik is your 'Princess,' then it falls to you to be King!" Hood swiped sideways, yanking Simon off the ground and flinging him like a sack of potatoes clear against the hard wall. "Act like it Simon! Defend yourself!"

Simon coughed and shakily pushed himself off the ground, still gasping for air and struggling under the added weight. All he could think about was to get away from this psycho, but the man's words filled him with rage. "Who… who the hell are you…" he croaked as he got to one knee. "...to tell me what to do?" He slowly got up and tried to swing a fist forward, but missed entirely as the man stepped back with ease.

Hood approached briskly. Simon noticed his team battling the Rocks nearby, but Stonjourner especially was doing its damnedest to keep between him and any backup. "I'm someone who cares, Simon." Hood bent down and grabbed him again. "I'm someone who doesn't want you to be so helpless the next time you find yourself looking down the barrel of a gun in the depths of some dreary mine." Hood levered his body and hauled Simon sideways into the air like on a Pinsir's horns. "I'm someone who's going to hurt you!" Hood dropped Simon down hard, back-first, onto his bony knee and let the Bug Trainer roll off it onto the ground.

The boy coughed, unable to even let out a pained cry as his lungs still grasped for air. This guy was fucking crazy, he really wanted to kill him- as Hood took a lumbering step towards him, he grabbed the man's leg and pulled himself up. He shakily got back on his feet as Hood watched in silence, and threw another punch.

Honestly, it would probably have been just as productive to punch the Stonjourner.

"You must do better than that!" Hood growled. He wound back his own fist, with all the dreadful presence of cocking a gun.

A surprised hum followed by a piercing screech sounded behind them, as the Stonjourner suddenly fell backwards to Snom's attacks and Spewpa broke through, leaping at Hood with all of her strength, fur raised like quills. She slammed into the man's back with surprising force, knocking him aside and away from Simon, latching on to his coat, the particles on her body glistening with light.

"Spewpa…?!" Simon managed to cough out. He watched incredulously as the light slowly took over the Pokemon's body, fully encompassing it, growing in size.

From the light two bright, wing-like shapes emerged and doubled in size, and the entire Pokemon increased in length. Suddenly, Hood found himself being held onto not by spikes, but by two barbed arms.


Vivillon let out another battle cry worthy of a much larger Pokemon, flapping her wings once as a blast of wind blew from behind Hood, throwing both of them against the wall away from Simon. Behind them, the rest of the bugs were keeping the Rhyhorn and Rolycoly away, firing off attacks to push them back.

Simon's eyes grew wide and he straightened up. "W-wait-"

Hood reached his long arms back over his head, folding them backwards and closing his big hands on the new Vivillon's wings. "Bad time to learn to fly," he growled, "because with Gravity up you'll find these handholds worthless!" He pulled the Bug off his back and sent her tumbling like a colorful rag across the ground, near where Stonjourner had gone down. Hood called into the melee, "Smack Down this butterfly!"

Hood didn't direct that order at any mon in particular, so both Rolycoly and Rhyhorn broke off from their scuffles to each lob a golden stone of quadruple-effective power into Vivillon where she lay. Before the Pokemon or any of her companions could respond, she was pelted with the rock attacks, both stones throwing her across the field and ironically back towards Simon. The young man had no time to react himself as the bug slammed into his chest and he fell to the ground again, knocking over his bag and spilling his pokeballs onto the street.

Suddenly, the memory came rushing at him again. His life being in danger; his Pokemon evolving; the sudden vulnerability brought on by the evolution. This was the Pinsir mission all over again. Once again, his team was going to be hurt because of him. Another furious cry came from behind Hood, this time from Snom- the Pokemon looked ready to jump at the human herself next.

"S-STAND DOWN!" Simon ordered. "I GIVE UP!" he yelled out at Hood.

He lowered his voice as a ball grew in his throat, "You win, okay! Just, please-... don't hurt my team..."

"Hm. A bit of a rougher battle than I'd wanted," Hood said, recalling Rhyhorn and Stonjourner, "But a battle's a battle I suppose. And to the victor go the spoils." The Gravity subsided finally and Hood's Rolycoly wheeled over to stand at his feet. Hood peered down at Simon expectantly.

Suddenly, the boy realized something. "Wait…" The Rhyhorn and Stonjourner, the un-balled Rolycoly, the gravity… he'd seen this team. "I know who you are. You're Nigel, aren't you? You're a fucking league challenger?!"

The man crossed his arms. "That's a moniker for strangers to call me. I suppose I shouldn't think we aren't strangers though." He reached up and pulled down his bandanna to reveal a thick, black walrus mustache.

"You're… the guy from the mines…" Simon had seen that face in the past- and now he knew why he'd mentioned the gun. Last time he'd met this individual he seemed like a normal, sane person- what sort of game was this man playing?

"I presumed too much of our acquaintanceship evidently, if I'm still just 'the guy from the mines' to you. Granted, I shouldn't have expected to be remembered anyway." Mustache took a heavy step towards Simon. "But enough of this frivolity. I believe my reward is in order."

"Wha…? What the hell do you even want? Money? Seriously?" the boy asked.

"Money would be such a bland prize for beating the illustrious Simon who, I remember hearing, beat out one of his fellow challengers with but a single mon back at Motostoke."

Simon grit his teeth, but said nothing.

Mustache bent down and grabbed one of the mess of pokeballs that were on the ground, just out of Simon's reach. "This ball belong to one of them?" he asked, gesturing to Simon's Bugs.

"You must be on some Team Rocket shite if you think you're going to-" Simon began, but then paused for a moment as he recognized the ball. It was Caterpie's. "N-no, it's not! But it's-"

"Then that should do," Mustache said, straightening up. "One ball, hardly a drop in the bucket for a trainer of your caliber I'm sure."

Rage grew on Simon's face again as he got up and clenched his fists, "No. Give that ball back."

"You just said it didn't—"

"I SAID GIVE IT BACK!" the younger trainer yelled as he lunged at the man again.

Before he could even get close, Mustache's Rolycoly cut in and sent a Smack Down into Simon's head, and he buckled like a reed in the wind, collapsing to the ground from the rock move's effect.

The hooded, mustached stranger looked down at him with some surprise. He shared a look with his Rolycoly and looked out at Simon's Bugs, who were approaching wearily. "I understand someone like Simon must not lose often, but I didn't expect him to be such a sore loser over it. He'll be sorer still for a while but we didn't really hurt him. Stay with him until he awakens- and don't follow us." The man nodded to his Rolycoly and the two of them disappeared in a pillar of Smokescreen, leaving Simon crumpled in the street.

Hammerlocke

It was a quiet evening in Hammerlocke. The clock was hitting ten and a tired Simon, exhausted by the day's training at the gym, had collapsed onto the bed and promptly fallen asleep. He'd been spending nearly the entire day there now, and rarely coming home. An open bag of cinnamon buns on the table, meant for the Pokemon- but none of them were eating. Instead, the bugs were sat in a circle at the table, in a meeting that had been called by Vivillon.

The largest of the group raised her arm to call for the team's attention. It had been several days since the encounter with Mustache… and they all knew Simon had not taken it well; she shook her head with a sigh. He blamed him own weakness for his loss. Again. Instead of taking out his frustration at the world like before, he was now taking it out on himself. But as his team, it was their responsibility to be there for him- just as much as he was there for them.

Snom let out a hiss, suggesting that they track down Tim and obtain retribution themselves; the feeling of revenge would surely revitalize his spirit. Burmy and Larvesta nodded in agreement.

Vivillon shook her head. This wasn't about the Rock man. This was about Simon. This training he was putting himself through… he wanted to forget what was hurting him, but this wasn't the way to do it. But she had a plan. The winged bug motioned for the others to come closer as they huddled together, and began whispering her instructions.

Under the cover of night, the silhouette of a colourful vivillon, with a burmy in tow, slipped out of the window and flew off towards the city.


It was a good day to be a Kadabra. Kass had always been the energetic type, but requiring sleep - even the semi-conscious kind that Abra practiced - for such a large portion of the day put something of a dampener on that. Now though? Well, they did still need some manner of sleep. But so much more of the day was freed up for activity! Xan wasn't the sort to get in the way of the Kadabra's autonomy, and though the human wasn't keen on touching Strugglecon with a barge pole, Kass had free reign to explore it to their heart's content. They kept mostly out of people's way, teleporting about and sticking to rooftops or the tips of lampposts and the like.

There was so much to do and see. Both impromptu and, er… promptu battling. Panels of people Kass was sure were worth listening to for some reason. Technological stuff that the Kadabra didn't fully understand but knew Xan would either appreciate or angrily dismiss as borderline theft. So, so many people! All sorts milled about. It was nice to see so many people together enjoying themselves, and in such variety too. All sorts of humans, all sorts of Pokémon. Kass was pretty certain they even caught the presence of a few of the Froakie who had tailed their group all the way through the Wild Area. And just now, here came two bugs! A Burmy and a Vivillon - something was oddly familiar about the duo…

Oh! These were Simon's friends! Planning a celebration… and they needed Kass to help? Declining would be crazy! Of course the Kadabra would help! They… couldn't actually write themselves, but they knew someone who could… and they could probably bug them into doing it - pun intended funny pun haha… that person (it was Xan, no use beating around the bush it's Xan you guys) also carried the money. Money would be cool. They could use it to purchase goods, and if worst came to worst, services. They should meet up again later today, under cover of darkness! Then they could all enact… their secret plan...


Valerie was shining her pokeballs. "I'm walkin' on suuuuunshiiiine-- er well, it's the night, ain't it! Dancin' on the Moonlight! Ooooh I love the NIGHTLIFE! I got to boogie~ On the Disco night rouuuuund--eh?"

Her singing and dancing were interrupted by the two Pokémon that were staring at her. She didn't even notice that they already came in. Valerie could swear she saw Pokémon like that before. She pondered for a bit. "Ummm… Vullaby? Bagon? Giratina? No, no, that's too big...oh! Uhhhh, Vivillon and Burmy! That's it!" The Burmy had a note with it, one that it gestured to Valerie to read.

"Ooooh no way, Si-mey's Bday?!" she beamed. "Yaaaas Queen! Oh! Then you're Little Si' Bro's little buds, aren't ya?! Oh! For his b-day, I should defs write him something! Ah, pen, pen, where is that cute pen… ack, nono Val not THAT pen, get your mind back in PG, hahaha! Ah, here it is!"

The two bug Pokémon watched as Valerie eagerly wrote something on a piece of paper she had around. After she was done, she handed the note to Vivillion. "Give this note to him! Ohhh I should give him something too…. Hm…" then just as quickly, an idea flashed in her mind. "Val, you are some kind of fr-ea-ky genius!" Okay, give this to Simey too!


Aeliana stared at the two Pokémon that landed in front of her. Both of them were bugs, a Vivillon and a Burmy, but neither of them seemed aggressive in the slightest bit. She watched as the Burmy began to wiggle towards her, a small note held within its mouth.

Mahina and Tampa gave the trainer a curious look, but Aeliana didn't pay the two of them much mind. The blue-haired trainer gently took the note from Burmy before examining it carefully.

"Simon birthday...?" Aeliana questioned. Her lavender eyes lit up with a flash of recognition, as if she were a child that managed to slide the round peg into the round hole. "You're Simon's Pokémon!"

The Burmy nodded it's small head in response. That at least confirmed the identity of the two Pokémon. The problem was that once again she found herself on the back foot in regards to another birthday.

"Gimme a sec, lil' dudes!" Aeliana exclaimed. She began to rustle around in her trainer's bag, eyes coming to rest on the perfect gift. A smile came to the Alolan's lips as she pulled it and handed it to the larger Vivillion. "Here! Give Simon this and tell him Aeliana said to have a cool one!"


Haleigh glanced down at her arms, looking at them with pride, with a black and red abstract flame pattern that swirled around her arms now permanently etched on there. It still stung, her arms were really sore and it took up most of her day, but it was very much worth it to have such a cool design.

As she exited the tattoo parlor and made her way back to the Hammerlocke Pokemon Center, she was suddenly greeted by the sight of two bug Pokemon swooping down and landing in front of her. The blonde stopped in her tracks, gauging the creatures' intentions. They seemed not at all fazed by her presence and upon a closer look, had a piece of paper in their hands.

She read it aloud. "Simon... birthday?"

Haleigh snapped her fingers as she exclaimed, "Ah, you lot are Simon's! Wow, it's his birthday already, eh?"

She looked up in thought as she thought about the sorts of things she had collected since the start of the journey and suddenly remembered the times that she, Mel and Simon liked to listen to music at the academy.

"I think I got just the thing. If you come with me back to the Center, I can give you his gift and I can send him a little note along with it."


Melody gave a small smirk as she looks at the note from the Burmy and Vivillon that had landed in front of her windowsill. She wasn't sure who the former was, but Nightshot could recognize the latter from a mile away.

"I thought I was gonna have t' track Si down to give this to 'em. You two are the delivery bugs, yeah?" she tossed her satchel onto the ground and began to dig through it. After a few seconds of digging, she victoriously held out her find. Of course it had sunken to the bottom by now, she'd been carrying it around since the Yule season. "Here," she said as she placed the disk in the butterfly's tiny hands, who promptly put it into a bag the burmy was carrying.

"Hey, can you guys give him a message?" She asked after a brief hesitation. "Can you tell him… he's still the Ultimate Hope?"


Winston sat at the desk in his hotel room, hard at work. His body was still heavy and tired from his journey through the Wild Area, but he had to have something to show by Strugglecon. It was an opportunity to get new eyes on his work, after all. Just as he was finishing up inking a page, his phone rang.

He didn't often get calls so he was quick to pick up. It was Isla, who didn't often call either. "I'm at the arts and crafts store. My hands are full so I can't really text. Simon's pokemon came to me and told me his birthday was soon so I'm going to make him a gift. You like him too, right? I'll send you his address if you want to give him something too."

She hung up. Simon's birthday… He'd always been his favorite challenger from their class. His perseverance and creativity were things Winston always admired, and they were just the start of the list. He had his own business, but doing nothing would have felt wrong.

For a moment he wondered if it would be weird, since the two hadn't actually spoken much. He didn't really talk with anyone at the academy, now that he thought about it. But he quickly put those thoughts out of his head. He didn't imagine that sort of thing would stop Simon either.


It was late, very late, but even the dead of night didn't keep Pia from wandering through the streets of Hammerlocke. Having just visited her mother at the hospital and working the entire day, the exhaustion had caught up to her.

She decided to walk around for a bit longer, when suddenly in front of her, two Pokémon flew out of an alleyway. Pia almost mistook them for ghost Pokémon and was ready to scream until she saw the figure of a familiar Burmy.

"Oh…" she sighed in relief and held her hand against her thankfully-still beating heart. "You startled me." She stood up straight, only now seeing the Vivillon carrying the Burmy and holding a note. It definitely was still a Spewpa the last time she saw it.

Pia picked up the note as the Pokemon offered it to her, and read the few words inscribed on it.

"Simon's birthday...?"

It was short but effective. So Simon's birthday was coming up? It said an address too but truthfully, Pia had nothing to give the boy or money to spend on anything. Evidence was her still broken, old phone. Still, birthdays were something to be celebrated and having had near nothing in her birthdays herself, she at least wanted to offer the boy something.

"Do you guys have a moment?" Pia asked the two bug Pokémon who nodded in response. She slung the bag off her shoulder and grabbed the piece of paper she had used to mark the page off of her book and wrote on it with a pencil.

"Could you deliver this to him?" Pia held the folded piece of paper to Burmy and Vivillon a few minutes later. "Make sure he has a good one." She smiled.


Normally Ryan took the stairs, but since her room was on the sixth floor and she was busy scrolling through Instagran, the elevator served. Someone rushed in as the doors were closing, but she paid them no mind until a crinkle of paper announced the arrival of a note in her face.

"Wha- uh?" Once she maneuvered the paper to an appropriate distance, she could read the scrawl. "Simon Birthday?"

A weird but definitely affirmative noise led her to slowly pull the note from her eyes and finally observe the messenger. No, messengers. Plural. A Burmy and Vivillon, staring expectantly. "Ohh, Simon-Simon. Okay." There were far too many to keep track of in Galar, but she only knew one with such an affinity for bug-types.

Ryan handed the paper back and jumped when the elevator chimed, announcing their arrival at her floor. "Um, okay, you- you're putting me on the spot. Couldn't you have done this while I was shopping? I don't know if I have anything gift-like. Come help me look, I guess."


Rosa sighed, but a happy smile stayed spread across her face. It had been a few days since what she now hoped to be her final days in Motostoke, and she'd only just managed to get back to Hammerlocke. The girl looked down at her ATC, nodding her head as she checked the date.

"Just barely made it," she whispered, shoving the device back into her pocket.

Just as the girl entered the city and started to walk back towards Pia's house for a much needed shower, she was stopped by two Pokemon in the middle of the street. The girl looked down at the two bugs, and then at the wrinkled and crumbled paper which they were presenting to her.

"Simon's birthday? I see. Well, as long as it's not my Simon, I suppose it's fine."

The girl smiled, dropping her bag from her back as she began digging through it. After a few seconds, she'd come across the item she'd been looking for. 'This has been in here for months, doing nothing besides poking me and taking up space. I haven't even seen Jasper since that time back in Motostoke… I'm sure I can find something else to give him before we manage to meet up again.'

"Here," she said, holding out the gift to the two Pokemon. "And let him know… to have a happy birthday, and that I can't wait to have a battle against him. I'm excited to show each other how much we've both grown."

Prepping for Strugglecon ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡
Demon x Death
Poké:

1000 ♡ Friends: 23

Prepping for Strugglecon ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡
Demon x Death
Poké:

1000 ♡ Friends: 23

Let's talk. Idk.
...
Poké:

1000 ♡ Friends: 23

Haleigh Windsor and Raphael Allard

"Please, put your hands together for... ahem, er, the... The Tea Rose Ensemble!"

The stage lights dimmed, and a silence fell over the venue as the final remnants of confused applause died out. The final entrant was due to start, the audience waiting with anticipation for who would end this evening of spectacles.

A sound of heeled shoes walking across the stone floor rung out from the darkness on the stage. They came to a stop, and after a few more seconds of silence, a spotlight suddenly turned on, revealing a masked young woman standing in the midst. She was clad in a frilly outfit in primarily dark colors, with a top hat and a cape - almost as if she were the ringmaster at a circus, or a gentleman thief.

She made a deep, theatric bow. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls," she spoke, "tonight, I would like to tell you a story."

The music began to play. With some sleight of hand, she produced a Pokéball in her left hand, and threw it to the side of the stage. The spotlight above her moved along with it, turning to a blue shade as the Pokémon inside was revealed. Out came a Dusclops, wearing a blue bandana and an eyepatch on the side of its head, as if there were a second eye to block.

"Once upon a time, in the faraway land of Hoenn, an evil man plotted the doom of the region. Obtaining an ancient artefact known as the Red Orb, he sought to awaken Kyogre, the deity of the seas— to evoke tidal waves, raise the water, and engulf the land."

As she explained from the dark, the Dusclops began to move. He struck a smug pose, and with a Will-O-Wisp, conjured a Red Orb in his hand. The blue spot shifted to the backdrop, and on there, suddenly a humongous shadow appeared. Dusclops' Night Shade perfectly emulated the shape of Kyogre, its silhouette appearing as though it swam through the air.

"No sooner did the titan wake, however, than the man lost control. Black clouds filled the skies, to where it seemed night when it was day. Deafening lightning strikes frightened the people on the land, and the rain that started was unrelenting."

Dusclops made Kyogre's shade larger, and it let out a roar as it simultaneously made the "Red Orb" take the form of Kyogre's raging eye. As though it appeared out of thin air, a Smokescreen from elsewhere on the stage filled the air above, and a heavy slamming noise could be heard to recreate the sound of thunder.

"For a full day and night, this hurricane blasted the region, and the people cowered in their homes. That is, until a group of heroes stood up against the threat. Harnessing the power of Kyogre's eternal rival, did they turn the tide…"

The smokescreen opposite Dusclops suddenly swelled, creating a black backdrop to counter the bright Kyogre's. Then, with the loud roar of fire, did the cloud come alive. A Lava Plume erupted from within, burning the large shape of a Groudon, with its arms spread, into the dark cloud.

"One man fought with Groudon at his side, flanked by a young trainer prodigy. A battle of epic proportions ensued, wave-breaking and earth-shattering." The performer's voice seemed to shake a little, be it with nervousness or intentional urgency. The imposing silhouettes of the godlike Pokémon shuddered momentarily, until they suddenly seemed to lunge for each other.

"Until with their power, the titanic encounter was finally brought to an end."

It appeared as though both primals were sucked into a vortex. The lights turned off, and the smokescreen itself vanished in mere seconds, until the stage was enveloped in darkness once more. The stars of the night sky were once again visible, and the audience was permitted a moment for their eyes to adjust. Only then did a dim spotlight turn on to the center of the stage.

There, three figures stood, hands joined together. On the right was the piratey Dusclops, its eye trained on its performing partner. Opposite it stood a Torkoal, wearing a pair of stern glasses, and its shell adorned with red ornaments. Between them, the performer was sat on her knees. Her hat had been removed to reveal a striking bandana of her own... clearly reminiscent of the one worn by the young trainer of legend. Dusclops' floating hand and Torkoal's paw were sandwiched between both of her hands, and her gaze remained fixed on it.

"So was the Hoenn region saved, and does our tale for tonight end." She slowly returned to her feet, and along with her Pokémon made another theatrical bow, holding her hat to her side, to replace onto her head as she stood up. "Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, I am the Tea Rose, and I hope you enjoyed the show! For now, I bid you good night... Until next time!"

Looks were exchanged between the Pokémon and their trainer, and with a quick Smokescreen and Confuse Ray combination, the three vanished into thin air as they made their escape from the stage.

Prepping for Strugglecon ღゝ◡╹)ノ♡
Demons, Demons and More Demons
Poké:

1000 ♡ Friends: 24

Haleigh Windsor
18 | Female | From Circhester