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[center][color=E38AAE][b]MENTIONS:[/b][/color] [color=FFE6E8]Iris [[@Serei2477]], Bianca [[@Majoras End]], Mika [[@Solace]], Astrid [[@LuckyBlackCat]], Sebastien [[@King Cosmos]][/color][/center]
[color=FFE6E8]Mika’s quip was met with a roll of Hestia’s eyes. The next Kai? That was a long shot. Kid was on the brink of soiling himself. How could someone like that get past all of the Major League Gyms? [color=E38AAE][b]”Pfft. As if he’ll ever be a shade of Kai,”[/b][/color] she uttered, her tongue laced with contempt. Even though the boy didn’t intrigue her as much as her own challengers did, she turned her pale eyes down towards the stadium as the boy sent out his Zigzagoon. 

Of course, the battle began as a shitshow. The boy’s grasp on battling was mediocre, at best. Her eyes pricked when she heard Astrid’s joyful narration, and beneath that, Bianca’s soft critiques. The latter was right. If the boy was smart, he’d have brought along items to use. He was such a green youngster, he probably spent it all on Pokeballs instead. Hestia huffed, leaning back into her chair and pulling out her phone to swipe through her feed. No new notifications, other than the typical post from the news outlets asking where their Champion was. She snorted as her mood soured. It was better to focus on the battle, she guessed, even if it was like watching a Magikarp out of water, flopping helplessly in Iris’ wake. 

When she cast her eyes back to the battle, she was surprised to see that the kid had a firmer hold on the situation at hand. Hestia leaned slightly forward and narrowed her gaze at the field. The Galarian Zigzagoon… did the boy intend to Dynamax it? That would be the only way to emerge from the battle as the victor, despite the chances being slim. Her grip on her phone tightened, ignoring the vibrations of an incoming call as she found herself excited over the outcome of the kid’s desperation.

[B]”[i]HELP! HELLLLP!”[/i][/b] 

Hestia flinched. A man had wrenched past the field’s security, his face contorted with bewilderment as he rushed forward. His skin was pale, his mouth was wide, his lips pouring out a frantic screech that stopped the battle in its tracks. The young man’s darkened eyes flicked across the crowd, desperate to catch their attention as security guards lunged forward to grab the crazed man. He writhed in their hold, spluttering in his struggle, as if he was a Primeape that had been caged against its well. It was only when his eyes landed on the gym leaders that he composed himself enough to shriek again. 

[b]”[i]YOU NEED TO HELP! THEY’RE ATTACKING! THEY’RE ATTACKING POSTWICK WITH… WITH… THOSE THINGS![/I]”[/b] His voice was hoarse from all of his screaming. The security guards glanced at each other in confusion. 

Hestia didn’t waste a single moment. Shooting up from her seat, she roared at the other gym leaders from over her shoulder. [color=E38AAE][b]”Move!”[/b][/color] It was all she said before she rushed past everyone and towards the entrance. 

Postwick was supposed to be a quiet town. [i]Supposed to.[/i] But when Hestia emerged from the confines of Iris’ gym, she was met with cries of terror. Several men and women tore past her in the direction of the Slumbering Weald, some yanking along children as they sought sanctuary from whatever was chasing them. Their cries echoed through the small town, rending Hestia’s heart and making it thump wildly against her ribcage. She turned her gaze further down the now dusty roads of Postwick. 

Several [url=https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachments/543180946963431444/1035720220305789079/unknown.png]individuals[/url], bearing tan-colored tactical gear complete with hoods and strange-looking gas masks, walked almost nonchalantly up the road. Multiple large shadows prowled next to them, their piercing yellow gazes cutting through the kicked up debris. Bared fangs glinted in the half-light. What the hell they were, she had no clue. [url=https://i.imgur.com/JFURdTM.png]They[/url] seemed to have come from another region, another world, perhaps not even their own. The sight of them terrified her, not only because of the look in their eyes and the venom dripping from their fangs, but because she didn’t know what or who they [i]were[/i]. The strange men and women, having only caught sight of her just then, pointed their fingers in her direction and barked out a command she couldn’t hear. Two of the monsters, purple and blue ones, charged at her as violet smoke poured out from their maws and nostrils. 

Her hand snapped to a Pokeball at her belt and tossed it into the air. Lazuli emerged from his capsule with a red glow, already roaring in fury. [color=E38AAE][b]”Dragon Cla–”[/b][/color]

Both of the Pokemon– if she could even call them that– roared back at her Salamence and vomited up a purple, acrid current of fire. Lazuli grunted and fanned out his wings, blocking the attack from hitting his companion. The smell of searing scales reached her nose as Lazuli screeched in pain, though his talons still glowed with energy as he lashed out at the azure-furred Pokemon. His claws tore into its side and sent it crashing against its ally, and both tumbled to the ground. Hestia’s widened eyes swiveled back towards her Pokemon. Lazuli sagged his neck, wheezing as he lifted his wings. Her blood chilled as soon as she saw the scorch marks across his leg and right wing. Some of the tarnished scales seemed to be even dripping off of him. He let out a half-rumble, half-wimper, his eyes looking down at his trainer with confusion. [color=E38AAE][i]That was a Fire-type move– how did it do so much damage?![/i][/color] Hestia reached forward in an attempt to soothe him, only to see that the determined duo had risen up from the ground. Their eyes held even greater rage than before, even with the blue Pokemon limping behind her partner as blood poured from the wound at its side. The individuals from before closed in on her with their own monstrosities, their auras bearing ill intent. 

[color=E38AAE][b]”The hell you lot doing back there?!”[/b][/color] she screamed into the open doors of Iris’ gym. [color=E38AAE][b]”I need your Arceus-damned help over here!”[/b][/color]
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