#skillswapping

"Don't miss it folks! Tomorrow, at a to be determined battleground here on Melemele Island!"

Kurayami and her pups had barked and barked until they couldn’t anymore. There were complaints from nearby until people realized the Elite was never home. There was a little blood at the doorstep—no one knew what happened or where he went, but there was no word from him before he disappeared, which was odd because he had just seen Noland the very morning before his disappearance, and he was absolutely fine.

His body was dropped unceremoniously at the doors to the battle tower. Whoever dropped him there did it quickly and managed to get away before being spotted. The pokeball he had on him had been returned to him—it wiggled and vibrates until finally, Aristotle broke free from the confinement, red eyes looking down to his trainer and widening—the normally relaxed creature filled with an unbearable panic. At first, he tried to nudge Sidney with his nose; a whine leaving the Absol as Sidney shifts but remains unconscious. Aristotle’s head whips around before he runs to the door of the battle tower, slamming his body into the doors to open it and sniffs at the ground before running down the halls. People try to stop him, confused at the random, albeit very panicked Pokémon, but the canine continues until he finds who he’s looking for.

Teeth grab onto Noland’s pant leg and he pulls—he pulls and he pulls and he pulls until he’s forcibly dragging the man at least a foot down the hall before he lets go and barks—it’s high pitched and it’s scared—and for as long as Noland has known Sidney and Aristotle, he should know that this behaviour is all sorts of wrong for the Absol. He barks and jerks his head for Noland to follow him, in which he leads him back to the front doors.

Sidney lays there, unconscious, half dressed. There’s wounds in his thigh where blood has now dried, there’s cuts in his chest and his arm—it’s red and it’s bruised and swollen—it’s bent in a way it should not be bending. His breathing is heavy as Aristotle approaches him and nudges at him again before sitting down and letting out another whine—guilty that he couldn’t break out of his ball sooner.

Following closely behind her host-turned-impromptu tour guide, ERIS EVANS allows an exhilarated gasp to leave her lips as she takes her first steps into Aether Paradise. The central atrium mimics a scenic Alolan meadow, but the Devon representative's sharp eyes can still spot futuristic machinery and monitoring equipment concealed behind the well-kept foliage. Pokemon and other tourists are spellbound by the natural beauty of the innovative space, oblivious to its little deceptions.

Eris smiles. She feels comfortable here.

Compared to Aether's placid surroundings, the person leading her is anything but peaceful, a figure wracked with an erratic pace and mumbled muttering under his breath. Noisy. Eris can't help but wrinkle her nose at the lead scientist's turned back, but when Faba finally turns to face his guest in tow, Devon's best face is quick to change masks, wearing her most charming smile.

Great.

It's been a particularly rough day of training--as expected with the Den's unpredictable dragons--and the last thing Clair wants to see right now is the bright ball of sunshine shining at the mouth of Blackthorn's sacred grounds. She squints up at it, trying in vain to intimidate the radiant figure away, but as soon as the wary tamer sets foot at the top of the steps...

"Oof-!"

Alvina's cheerful energy--manifesting as a way-too-enthusiastic tackle hug--nearly sends them both toppling backwards down the stony staircase, Clair's sore muscles screaming in protest as she manages to keep them upright, saved from certain doom.

It looked like the sheer duality of what stress could possibly look like for Winona. She felt as though she was doing way too much and not nearly enough at the same time. As an adventurous spirit, and one very confident in her abilities, she would have preferred to be on the front lines keeping the peace, but she was also beholden to direct orders from the Pokémon Association to stay put and be the coordinator for all the Gym Leaders and by extension, the cities that those Gym Leaders represented. It's a headache enough to try and wrangle all eight of the other gym leaders to have regular meetings, but now to do it during a crisis situation? Where every minute brings with it new challenges. She was on phones making calls nonstop all day long for several days with next to no rest, making sure one region was equipped for excessive rainfall or other regions had surplus water for drought events. And since these could all change at a moment's notice, she was never truly done with her tasks.

But being caged up in a crisis management headquarters was bad enough on its own. She had many moments where she wished she could contribute more directly. And even though she knew she was most useful in her office, that sense of near-helplessness really ate at her from the inside. If she weren't already suffering from a lack of sleep, this would have made her lose some hours of shut-eye in and of itself.

But through it all, what inspired her to never actually complain about it and to soldier on through was that the Pokémon Association put its full weight behind her and all the Gym Leaders of the region put their faith in her as well. As someone who questioned why she was chosen to be regional supervisor, this was a moment of vindication for her. Like she finally felt like she was in a position where she could prove that she was worthy of that title. She could take the actions that could save the most lives, and because of that she felt a connection and responsibility to Hoenn as a whole. The crisis changed her a lot. There was plenty of growth, but it also left a lingering feeling that Winona was somehow forever going to be responsible for those who suffered because of the battle, and for rebuilding Hoenn again.

random pokemon ; ALWAYS ACCEPTING for Noland

There's a meow. You can hear it clearly. Behind all the noises, behind all the crowd, someone is meowing.

You're not sure why you ditched everyone to check from where that noise came from, but it doesn't take you too much to find the source... even if you're not half sure of what this Pokèmon could be, at first. It's... small, that's for sure. A little too thin, as scruffy as she could be. You vaguely remember someone bringing something similar to a battle some days before, perhaps it's her?

Perrserker, or something.

You dare to get on your knees, perhaps, or find another way to catch her attention -- but soon enough, she's rushing at you, purring loudly as she rubs her big face on your leg. Looks like you found a new friend, huh.