Blake

After the announcement, Diana had headed off, telling Shannon that she needed to see about getting a temporary replacement for her arm, which the dragon girl understood, though noted she headed towards the infirmary, rather than the support center. Perhaps she was concerned with their other opponent? It would be best for her to go and check on that after she spoke to her dear sister... Or that was the plan, at least. On the way over to her, she found herself stopped by reporters, offering them a smile. It was a bother, but also her duty as a rising hero. "How can I help you, Mr. Reporter?" "First off, Miss Almaz, how does it feel to have had such commanding wins in both rounds?" "Why, it is only natural. Even if I, myself, faltered at any point, I had assistance from Ms. Seigi to make sure things went smoothly in both rounds." "Fast friends, then? Speaking of which, while our mics weren't able to pick up what was said, we could see you talking to Ukemei Ayane during the second round. It looks like the potential future #1 is quite the socialite!" "Mm." Shannon paused as she considered her phrasing, "Well, it is no secret that networking has a heavy place in our hero society. We also cannot choose who we have to interact with each time, either." "Of course. Speaking of top heroes, it's hard mot to draw parallels between you and the retired Lord D. Do you consider him to be a source of inspiration?" "As a matter of fact, I do. He is a great man, who always gives his all, even if he is likely to retire before too long. I have met him on a number of occasions with Ms. Orikami, and he has always seemed to be a kind gentleman, on top of his hero work." "I'm not sure if you were aware, but he was instrumental in saving lives when the last Sports Festival was attacked by villains a decade ago. You seem like an astute student, and our sources say you are at the top of your class academically. Aside from yourself, who do you think has the best shot at winning the whole thing?" "That is an interesting query... However, I believe my only real competition is my first opponent. Perhaps Mr. Akagi could pose a challenge, but that depends on what he has lined up." "Trust us, he would agree. He was very boastful when our associate spoke with him earlier. That's all we have time for right now, maybe next time we interview you there will be a gold medal around your neck?" "I look forward to living up to your expectations." As the reporters left to pursue others in the Top 8, Shannon spent a few minutes looking around for both Orikami and Mayu... Her smile faltering ever so slightly at the edges as she failed to find either of them. Everyone but the top cut had made themselves scarce for the time being, it seemed. Well, at least she didn't have to deal with that wretched girl anymore. ----- "[Alright, Diana, you can do this.]" The girl took a deep breath as she stood outside of the infirmary. She wasn't exactly used to being the one visiting, as opposed to using it... Especially not for someone who she was responsible for the injuries of. She usually would have avoided those people. Shaking her thoughts, she opened the door suddenly and walked in, greeted by the sight of Syo hooked up to multiple IV lines... and a dialysis machine. "Ah, it's... [worse than I thought]..." She muttered as she looked aside, "So, uh, Karada... I, uh... just wanted to say I'm sorry for you being in this situation. And to make sure you were okay." Despite his seemingly dire condition, Syo responded with a grin, "Oh! You're Ayane's friend, right? Dyna? She talked about how nice you were, was excited you were getting along with that Shannon girl. Hell of a right hook you got me with!" "Ehm, [Di-ann-uh]... But you were close! And she was excited about... No, nevermind that for now. I wouldn't say it was much of a right hook, I just knew I'd likely lose my left arm, too, if I hit with it." Diana motioned to where her prosthetic had been a sheepish look on her face. Syo nodded as she spoke, a hand on his chin as if deep in thought, "Hm hm hm, I think that's pretty incredible you got into the hero course despite the uh... missing bit. Must have one hell of a quirk to back you up! How'd you manage to react so fast?" "My Quirk is... more of a curse. That I found by mistake." Diana sighed, casting her gaze downward. She had worked so hard to keep this from being public knowledge, the school had helped, yet... "It's called [Equivalent Exchange]. EE for short. There's an invisible line down the center of my body, which causes it to be perfectly symmetrical inside and out... though my face has taken a few too many hits to maintain that," she chuckled awkwardly, "Anyway... If there's damage to one side, the other side is powered up an equal amount. And since I'm missing my right arm..." She moved and cleared the hair from her face, "My right eye," then let it go, reaching down to pull up her left pant leg a bit, "And left leg... Well, the opposite limbs and eyes are 100% stronger, more efficient, and so on. My good eye was able to keep up with your movements, and my body otherwise just acted on instinct." At first, Syo's eyes lit up with excitement, but as he read the room and gathered the sensitivity of the issue, he turned more serious, "You know, I can definitely understand some of that. You don't think I'm in this bed because you hit me, right?" Tilting his head, he gestured toward the large machine that was pulling blood out from one of his heavily bruised arms and putting it back into the other, "My quirk, Power Suit, mixes the wearer's blood up with my own. It turns out Ayane's blood and mine aren't compatible, so being on her for the better part of ten minutes got me sick as hell." He paused before adding on, "I don't think you're cursed, Diana. Even though you lost something, hell, because you lost something, you were able to outpace two people at once. I think you'll be able to save a lot of people like that." "Is that so?" Diana's mood seemed to lighten a bit, finally looking the boy in the eye, "Well I... I'm glad I didn't hurt you too badly. Sounds like your quirk is inconvenient, based on blood type..." She spoke absently, blushing at the comment he tacked on at the end. "It's... a bit more complicated than that. I was very much a liability for Shannon, through most of that... But [thank you] for the kind words." "Nah. She's got the brute strength, but we would have beaten her, especially the way she was seeing red. I'd say you won that fight. And..." it took a few strenuous seconds, but Syo managed to push himself upright, crossing his legs under the thin blanket, "blood rejection doesn't tickle, but it's worth it. I can't do anything on my own, so I need to use my gift to elevate everyone else." With a chuckle and wink, Syo grinned, "Who knows, maybe someday you'll get to try on a more comfortable outfit than whatever the support class nuts made for you." "You don't have any shame, do you?" Diana laughed at the last part, a smile breaking out on her face, though remnants of the blush remained. "That's so bold! Besides, our quirks aren't guaranteed to work together. Or our blood. And you're in that bed due to those things. Don't you think you should be a little less free with that offer?" "Nope! It's gonna take a hell of a lot more than a hospital visit to hold Kizuknight back!" "[Kee-zoo-nai-toh]? Is that your idea for a hero name?" Syo suddenly turned rigid, averting his gaze as his cheeks flushed, "Is it that bad? I haven't said it out loud before, I thought it was pretty clever..." But with a fierce vengeance, he turned back to her, raising his voice with a finger pointed directly at Diana, "Fine! Then what are you planning on going by??" "No, it's fine! I was just curious. As for me, I..." She paused, looking down a bit. Maybe the name she had before was a bit much... With a deep breath, she continued. "[Seigi no Hiiro - Artemis]." "YOUR TITLE IS JUST YOUR NAME AND YOU ARE CRITICIZING MY IDEA?" "I never criticized! Jeez, I didn't think anyone here would realize that..." Diana huffed before turning to the door, "Anyway... I should probably head back now. Not long before the Top 8 begins, whether I should be there or not... So let's try out your idea of seeing how our quirks mesh once you're better, okay?" Diana smirked at the boy, giving him a thumbs-up. ----- Diana gave her new friend a wave as she stepped out of the infirmary, a warm feeling washing over her from the experience... But she was less than delighted when she found herself face-to-face with a camera, instinctually grabbing at her missing arm. "Diana Seigi?" "[H-hai?] How can I help you?" "What a reveal! Do you think the prosthetic arm gave you an unfair advantage in the first two stages of the Festival?" Dread filled Diana as she felt her heart sink, freezing for a moment before only being able to utter one word in her native language. "... [What?]" "It appeared to be quite advanced, the only other one allowed to bring tech in is the student who designed her equipment herself, in class. How did you manage to receive this special treatment?" "It's weaker than I am. [Significantly]. It's a registered support item that I need to get through day to day life." "It looked plenty strong on camera. The boy you hit was awfully bloodied just from that strike. Is he on the other side of this door?" "I don't believe that's any of your business." she adjusted herself to block the door, trying to keep her breathing steady. "We are nothing but concerned journalists trying to provide our viewers with the truth." "Oh my, where are the honeyed words you reserved for me, Mr. Reporter?" "..." The reporter froze for a moment as the dragon girl approached, before acting as if nothing was wrong. "Nothing of the sort, I assure you! We are just making sure that boy survived the assault!" "The assault... you mean the fight? Mostly at my hands? And the only action Ms. Seigi took was to protect me from being blindsided..." Shannon's smile dropped, staring daggers at the reporter, "And even saving one of her opponents in the process? Would you not call that the mark of a true hero, Mr. Reporter?" "We're... just..." "I will not tolerate such blatant favortism. Ms. Seigi took actions to defend her partner, rescue her enemies, and sacrificed her prosthetic limb in the process. And you stand here and act as if she is some thug? You should be ashamed of yourself... and be glad that I am not Madame Orikami, as she would have already ejected the lot of you from the premises." "Anyway... Miss Seigi, how do you consider your prospects for the upcoming bracket?" "You do not have to speak to this fi-" "I doubt I'll get far. I will give it my all, but I am not very strong. I am here because of the, uh... [grace] of someone stronger than me. I apologize to anyone I let down." "We'll see what the public has to say about that." As the reporter left, Shannon's sharp gaze followed him, only softening up once he was out of sight. Rather than returning to her usual expression, she looked at Diana with gentle worry, tilting her head up to the taller girl. "Are you sure this is alright? I can try to have Madame Orikami help with this sort of situation." "[It... It's fine,]" Diana sighed and rubbed her right shoulder, "It's not the first time I've dealt with reporters like that. Probably won't be the last, either. But... thank you for stepping in. Seems like they place a lot of value on you, if you can talk like that to them and get away with it." Diana laughed nervously as Shannon shrugged in response, shocking the former a bit. "I am powerful. Society dictates that means that I am and will always be a good hero, due to such. Look at our current Number 1, for example. He is a... person of questionable quality, but he gets the job done. To many, that is enough. After today, do you feel the same, Ms. Seigi? You do not have to answer that right now. Just... something to think about. Hopefully in the future, we could..." Shannon shuffled in place ever so slightly, "Discuss it after all of this is done? Of course, if you do not have training or other things to attend to." "... [Sure]." Diana spoke, slightly dumbfounded, "But first we have this Top 8 to contend with. I... don't think I'm making it very far." Shannon's smile returned with a bit of warmth to it, nodding as she turned around to return to the arena. "Well, perhaps you would prove their conclusions wrong... if you made it to the finals. I hope to see you there."

The shards were fine. They could handle it. They just had to distract the woman long enough for Melissa to hit. When they felt the residual heat making it to them, they knew they had succeeded, chipped though their scale armor was. As the woman before them seemed to stall for just a moment, their own body began to shift and reform the armor. "You all...are even more annoying than those others. But if that was all it took I could never change the world like I'm meant to do!" Change the world? Someone causing wanton destruction like this would never manage that. They, of all people, would know... But why? As the woman powered up once more, Devin froze, their memories conflicting again. A hero. A villain. Someone walking their own path. What... were they? Who's memories should they trust, in this situation? However, they were quickly knocked from their confusion as a flurry of punches hit them, knocking them back, their skin feeling like it was burning from where the purple energy hit them. As they pulled themselves to their feet, they saw Melissa's form flying in, extending a hand and trying to catch her, only to watch her knocked away. "Knock it off!" Their body lost all form for a moment, becoming amorphous as it moved to position itself over Melissa, even as the wild storm hurt them, mentally gritting their teeth as they reformed to their humanoid form, standing ready for the monster's assault. They lacked the power to do anything without losing control. Melissa was down. That only left Morgan, so they had to play defense.

Single player is fine, I suppose. A lot of the lores are underdeveloped, causing them to come across as an ad for the deck rather than story/info. On top of that, a lot of the loaner decks are so, so bad. There's 1-2 good ones, but the rest are traaaaaaaash.\ The format is, currently, an older version of the OCG, but missing some cards. Maintenance is coming in a few days, so here's hoping they update with it, cause the client is a good bit behind on some things. So tl;dr, it's not super friendly to newer players or players expecting an older gamestate. Y'know, as expected of a live service client based on the actual game. I'm kinda bewildered by the sheer amount of people who expected this to be the "classic yugioh' they remember. However, I find that I am greatly enjoying the client on the whole. Ladder has been fine, especially since you can go up to Gold rank before you end up losing rank, so there's actually not much reason to not try... on top of the fact that the lower ranks are full of bad players and/or decks that mean basically anyone can climb up to gold if they just go for it. People have even done it with the starting decks provided, and those are, uh... garbage The game is currently generous with resources, but I fear this may not stay the case... here's hoping they update the system to be a bit more generous, otherwise only ranked will be a way to generate more cards. AS FOR POTENTIAL ADVICE Don't craft too much early. There are certain things to aim for, and it's very easy to make a deck for laddering if you're just patient with it. On top of that, if you craft an SR card, you get access to that theme's secret pack, if any. Along with a free pull. This means you can craft a card from the archetype(s) you want, then try 10 rolls on those banners, instead.

"The winner of the first match between Team Genesis and Team Free... Is Charlie Robin, Captain of Team Free! Let's hear a round of applause for them!" While there was some cheering, it wasn't as much as anyone would have expected. For Sai receiving a loss. For Charlie winning. In general. The duel simply felt... empty to the audience, who reacted rather lukewarmly. ----- “Alright. I draw!” Shortly after doing so, Eve turned her attention to her graveyard. “And during my standby phase, I activate… a whole bunch of effects in my graveyard! Take a moment to read over them. If you want to put that Arvata to use, this would be a good time.” “Nah, I doubt it’s relevant,” Agira gave a hearty laugh. “Alright, then. First, Matriarch of Nephthys will special summon itself in defense position! Next, Disciple of Nephthys allows me to add a “Nephthys” spell from my deck to my hand, and I choose Rebirth of Nephthys. Then, Defender of Nephthys destroys Devotee of Nephthys from the deck, and finally, Chronicler of Nephthys lets me return it to my hand.” After moving around the relevant cards, Evelyn commented “You really should have stopped something. Probably Disciple. Because now I’ll activate the Rebirth of Nephthys I was able to get from her effect. By tributing Devotee of Nephthys, I’ll ritual summon Conductor of Nephthys! And since I tributed Devotee, the spell’s additional effect activates, letting me destroy one card on the field. Since you don’t seem to want to use that Arvata, I’ll take the liberty of getting rid of it!” “Wait, what?” As a blue flame appeared on the field, from which stepped a young woman in a red outfit with an elaborate headpiece, the fires behind her took to the sky, before crashing down on Agira’s elephant, leaving not even ashes behind when the fires had faded. “Ah fuck, maybe I should’ve paid attention earlier… Well, live and learn I guess!” “With Conductor on the field, her own effect activates, letting me summon a ritual monster from my deck. Before you ask, yes, this does count as a proper ritual summon. And I choose another Devotee of Nephthys!” After a brief chant on her Conductor’s part, a second pillar of blue flame appeared beside her, soon subduing to reveal a woman in a blue outfit not entirely unlike Conductor’s. And in response to her own appearance, a third - yellow this time - pillar of flame appeared, behind Evelyn. "And when Devotee is ritual summoned, she can summon any non-ritual “Nephthys” monster from my deck. I choose Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys!” With her field going from near-empty to four monsters of varying levels of power in a single turn, Evelyn took a sharp turn around the track’s corner, before declaring “And now, my battle phase!” “Hold it! I activate my set Threatening Roar, which prevents all attacks this turn! Bet you didn’t see THAT coming!” “Tch. I didn’t, in fact. I have no choice but to end my turn, then.” A big grin etched itself on Agira’s face as he drew for turn, glancing at the card before pointing at Bear. “I activate my Fire Fist guy’s effect! By sending this Tensu to the graveyard, I can target and destroy one monster you control… and I’ll choose Conductor!” Evelyn muttered, moving her monster to the graveyard. The plan had been to eventually destroy her all along, but… “If I read right, she only activates when destroyed by your own cards… so I’ll continue by activating the card I drew, Share the Pain! We both choose one monster from our field to send to the grave. I choose Bear, obviously.” “And I’ll tribute Devotee of Nephthys…” “Perfect… now it’s finally time! I activate Onslaught of the Fire Kings! While my opponent controls a monster while I don’t, I can summon 1 FIRE Beast, Beast Warrior, or Winged Beast from my deck, at the low price of having its effect negated. Burn bright, Fire King High Avatar Garunix!” From behind Agira’s bike came a massive burst of red-orange flame, roaring wildly before taking the form of a bird with wide wings, fanged beak, and ornate designs, all flowing with the fire that made its body. “It’ll fade away in the end phase, so you don’t get to see its fully majesty, but that’s still enough. Next, I’ll normal summon Fire King Avatar Yaksha from my hand and… Battle! Garunix, destroy Nephthys with Flame God’s Ire!” The effigy of flame behind Agira let out a shrill roar, before charging forward to the sacred phoenix, engulfing it in flame as its owner grinned. As Eve’s life fell from 2400 to 2100, Agira pointed at Eve directly. “Then I’ll have Yaksha attack directly!” The saber-toothed warrior nodded, brandishing its burning staff, before striking at Eve, causing her life to drop to 300. With a triumphant look on his face, Agira proudly declared… “And with that, I end my turn!” “...eh? Just like that?” “I’m not sure, but… Did Agira just spare his opponent from Team Genesis!?” “Say wha?” Agira looked up to the announcer’s voice with a confused look, giving his head a scratch, even though the helmet made it pointless, “I don’t have any way to win this turn, do I…?” “Well, you did…” Drawing her card, Eve explained “I don’t know if you’re new to Turbo Duels or what, but each turn, both of us receive a Speed Counter to use on the effects of Speed World 3. Right now, we have four counters - five now that it’s my turn again - which is just enough that you could have used them to deal an extra 800 damage and win the game.” Agira stared in silence for a moment, before taking a deep breath. However, when he spoke, his mic appeared to have been cut, leaving only Eve to hear the string of expletives from his mouth. Once he calmed down, he took another deep breath, slapped at his face with both hands, then shot a grin at his opponent. “I mean, hey, if you win from that you deserve it! I messed up. Besides, it’s not like I’m defenseless… Return from the ashes, Garunix!” A pillar of flame erupted around Agira’s field, leaving only the same phoenix as earlier… but now covered in flesh and blood. Bright red feathers adorned with rainbow tips, golden adornments, and a long, reptilian tail adorned the same figure as earlier as it now stood in its full glory. “When Garunix is destroyed by an effect, it revives during the next standby and destroys all other monsters on the field… So I have to say goodbye to Yaksha, but it’s worth it! Take me down, if you can!” This was it. A measly 300 life points, and only two cards in her hand. Looking over her options, the potential was something was there… but only if she was really lucky. Taking the next turn on the track, Evelyn put down a spell card. “I activate Pot of Avarice! By shuffling five monsters from my graveyard back into the deck, I can draw two cards!” After returning her monsters of choice to the deck, and drawing her cards, Evelyn wasted no time putting down another spell card, already reaching for her deck again. “Next, I activate Preparation of Rites, allowing me to add a ritual monster from my deck to my hand, and a ritual spell from my graveyard as well. I add Conductor of Nephthys to my hand, and pick up my Rebirth of Nephthys again. Before using it though, I’ll activate the effect of Devotee of Nephthys from my graveyard. By destroying this Last Hope of Nephthys in my hand, Devotee can special summon herself!” Putting down the third spell this turn, Evelyn continued “Now I activate Rebirth of Nephthys! By tributing Devotee of Nephthys, I summon Conductor of Nephthys! And surely you’ll remember that by tributing Devotee with this effect, I can destroy a card. I’ll be taking that face-down out of the picture now!” "Ooooh, that's not good..." Her opponent muttered, hand rubbing his head as his eyes glanced to the booth his team sat in. “And surely you remember what Conductor does as well. This time, I’ll summon the other ritual monster up my sleeve. I summon Cerulean Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys!” From behind Evelyn’s bike, the two duelists were washed in the blinding light of a tower of blue flame erupting from the track, shooting up about as high as hologram technology would allow. A pillar that branched out, creating wing-like appendages before swirling around, closing in on itself. Once the pillar-gone-sphere burst in an azure explosion, a bird-like monster similar to the one Eve had summoned last turn, albeit quite a bit larger and with a different color, occupied the airspace just behind her. “I won’t waste any time, and get straight to activating Cerulean Sacred Phoenix’s effect. By destroying “Nephthys” cards from my hand or field, I can destroy an equal amount of cards you control. I’ll destroy this Sacred Phoenix of Nephthys in my hand, and your Fire King High Avatar Garunix!” The card that Evelyn discarded for the effect appeared over the blue phoenix’s head, going up in bright flames that became a blazing fireball, bound directly for Agira’s monster, and impacting with an explosion she could only describe as “satisfying”. “Ha, that’s not… Hey, wait, no that’s…” He muttered, before smacking himself in the face, “That’s lethal!” “It certainly is! With your field wide open, I’ll go into the battle phase, and attack directly with my Conductor and Cerulean Sacred Phoenix!” On her cue, the two monsters moved to go on the offensive, each channeling forth fire of their own respective colors. The two burning attacks were then fired forth at Agira; a red fireball from Conductor, and a blue stream of flame from the phoenix. “Belle’s gonna call me an idiooooooot,” Agira whined as the two attacks converged on him, wiping out his life points from max. As the holograms began to fade, the two duelists’ bikes followed suit, slowing down for a safe stop. Once they did, Agira tugged his helmet off and dramatically rifled his fingers through his hair, groaning loudly, “I can’t believe I threw like that! And against someone with the same decktype, I should’ve known!” “Consider it an important reminder for later, then,” Evelyn suggested, removing her own helmet. “I’ll admit, I only remembered Speed World’s effects because most of the pros I watched before joining a team were turbo duelists.” “I getcha, and I mean hey, I’m the one who screwed up. Just gotta do better next time, you know?” The boy grinned as he got up from his bike, walking over to Eve with his hand extended. “I’d love to have a rematch sometime, cause… well, we saw it could go either way!” “I’ll look forward to the rematch then,” Evelyn said, giving Agira’s hand a firm shake. ----- "Ugh... Hey guys, I might need to dip out for a bit." Vega spoke from the side as the first two matches came to a close, clutching her head, "So, uh... meet up and have your discussion here when it's done, yeah? And then the meeting will be on Tuesday... Sorry..." She gave a weak thumbs-up as she headed toward the elevator from the booth, sighing as the doors closed behind her... And, before long, getting off and heading for the nearest restroom, where she found herself throwing up before long. That would teach her to drink before a match again. ----- “Well, why don’t I take the rest of the turn easy on you? I activate my own Supply Squad behind Zakiel, then I’ll pass. Make your move, miss.” “Draw!” Rosalia examined the cards in her hand critically as she gathered herself, eyes panning over her cards slowly. He’s faked me out successfully, and managed to stop my counter, she thought to herself quietly, raising her eyes a fraction to examine her opponent across the field. He’s also using the same Supply Squad card I’m using, which means he draws a card if I destroy any of his monsters… But. She raised her eyes to glance up at one of the large screens that ringed the arena. Sai was nowhere to be seen, and it seemed Eve had narrowly escaped defeat. But her eyes finally found what they were looking for: Jon’s Life Points. His Ties of the Brethren lowered his Life Points low enough that with a single strong hit… She ran through some of the monsters in her Extra Deck, her mind settling on one large dragon that let out an echoing roar. I only need to line up one solid shot to finish it. And he’s no longer got the Life Points to use his Warning to stop it! “I set Silverrokket as Link Material!” Her monster blasted forward, streaking into the Link portal. I’ll have to be careful of the cards his monsters let him use from his hand, but that monster. It can put them all to a stop. All I have to do is reach it! “The materials for this monster is a single Dragon of Level 4 or lower! Link Summon! Striker Dragon!” Striker Dragon Link 1 (Left), 1000 Her monster was only on the field briefly before the hammer on the back of its head began to move. “When this card is Link Summoned, I can add the Field Spell Boot Sector Launch to my hand, and then, my Dragon can destroy itself to return any Rokket to my hand! I return Silverrokket!” Her monster erupted in a sudden and massive explosion, the shockwaves roaring out across the stadium and sending Johnathan and Rosalia’s hair flying back in its wake. Even in the face of this Rosalia was already continuing, as the chamber of the massive revolver appeared below her. “Boot Sector Launch gives all my Rokkets 300 extra attack and defense points, and it lets me choose one mode each turn: To summon any two Rokket monsters from my hand, or to summon any number of Rokket monsters from my Graveyard, so long as I don’t exceed the number of monsters my opponent already has.” “Hm… I suppose that’s fine. After all, nothing to revive right now.” “I summon two Rokket monsters from my hand! Summon again, Silverrokket! And Shelrokket!” Silverrokket and Shelrokket appeared on the field, both letting out echoing shrieks as they appeared in Rosalia’s 2nd and 4th monster zones. Silverrokket Dragon Level 4, 1900/100 > 2200/400 Shelrokket Dragon Level 2, 1100/2000 > 1400/2300 However, the two’s shrieks were quickly muffled as they began to be dragged downward, a trap rising on John’s side of the board. “I think that’s a good time to stop you… I activated Floodgate Trap Hole, which flips any monsters you summon simultaneously face-down.” And just like that Rosalia’s line of play disintegrated before her eyes. In that imaginary space within her mind, she saw her bullet perfectly deflected once again, with the offending shot now streaking straight for her. If my monsters are face-down, I’m unable to Link Summon! Rosalia took a small, hesitant step back, watching with clenched teeth as her monsters kept being slowly dragged down, full-size images of their cards appearing to begin to smother them and cover them completely. “Your set card… wasn’t Solemn Warning…” was all she was able to feebly say. And then, just before Silverrokket and Shelrokket were about to be forced beneath their cards and out of sight- A massive explosion took up Rosalia’s side of the field, violent and forceful, the commentator taken aback briefly. “Wha- What is this?! Something has exploded on Rosalia’s field! Did John have yet another trick besides his hidden Floodgate Trap Hole?” Smoke began to disperse from Rosalia’s field. There was only one face-down monster on her Duel Disk, and a gleaming spell card was in front of her, as the girl herself gazed warily from behind it at John. “You hid another Trap in place of Solemn Warning,” she commented simply. “Yep. Like I said, miss… There was no way I knew the top 3 cards of my deck. Only how to bluff. After all… the best way to mislead people is with the truth. Now, where’s that other Rokket?” “I activated my Squib Draw quick-play spell,” Rosalia explained. “I can destroy any Rokket monster, in this case Silverrokket, to draw two more cards to replace it.” She went to her Disk, taking two cards and adding them to her hand. Whereas she normally took only passing glances at her cards in hand before making a decision quickly, Rosalia now considered her hand very deeply. The commentator took the opportunity to add more of their take to the match. “Rosalia has traded out her monster for additional options against John! But by doing that she has made her defense against his massive horde of monsters that much weaker!” Rosalia closed her eyes, taking a deep breath. Her heartbeat was hammering in her chest. It was so hard to focus under the onslaught of the commentator’s loud (and incorrect, not that he knew that yet) calls and the roar of the crowd. It was almost like the entire crowd was pressing in around her, every surge of sound throwing off her train of thought. “Hey. Focus.” She paused, opening up her eyes. Once Rosalia looked at John, he continued, clearly speaking as quietly as possible, “Don’t lose yourself now. You’re not out of this yet, but you will be if you don’t lock on.” What? Rosalia frowned, unsure what to think of this… encouragement? Was it encouragement, or just stating a fact? He’s right. This isn’t going well… I may have the advantage of Life Points but the monsters on his field far outnumber mine. If I don’t get it together… She shook her head, trying to quiet the deafening noise of the crowd, and her own heartbeat in her head, a single bead of sweat dripping down from the side of her forehead. I could actually lose. The thought was like a bucket of ice-cold water: Brief and horrid, and bringing a bracing focus. She slowly clenched her teeth, her grip on her cards in hand becoming tighter. This is the first time anyone’s gotten to see the captain of Team Genesis duel. If I look weak, they all look weak. I can’t let that happen to them. I cannot lose! She finally moved her fingers along the cards she had assembled, taking two and setting them on the field slowly. “I set two cards face-down,” she said, her voice more solid, measured, having once again leveled the intense gaze directly at John. “During my End Phase… Summon.” A card ejected from her Deck , Rosalia taking it and placing it directly on the field. “Your Magical Musket monsters all share the ability to fire your Spell and Trap cards from your hand… My Rokket monsters all have an ability in common as well. During the End Phase, if a Rokket monster is in my graveyard after being destroyed, it replaces itself with any other Rokket from my Deck! The Silverrokket destroyed by Squib Draw lets me summon: Anesthrokket Dragon!” Her new monster was the smallest one yet, a beast with a head resembling a syringe, appearing on the field in Defense mode with tiny arms crossed. It briefly glowed with an emerald sheen. “The field spell Boot Sector Launch increases Anesthrokket’s defense points… To 2500.” Anesthrokket Dragon Level 1, 0/2200 > 300/2500 “Oh my!” Rosalia winced, just once, very slightly, as the announcer realized why that number was significant. “Rosalia’s monster has JUST enough defense points that none of John’s monsters can destroy it! Not even his mighty Castiel! Has Rosalia managed to stabilize against his onslaught?” Hardly, Rosalia thought grimly to herself. If he was able to suppress me this long, then this is only temporary. But it doesn’t need to be much more than that… I WILL find the way forward! Team Genesis won’t have any losses from me! “Y’know, it’s poor taste to spell that out.” John spoke as he looked up to the skybox, “I realize you’re gunning for Genesis to lose, but… Don’t you think that’s looking down on us both? Well, what would I know…” Rosalia blinked, legitimately surprised. She opened her mouth to say something, but at the end of the day really wasn’t sure what to even respond to that with. Drawing for turn, he placed the card on his disk immediately. “I activate Monster Slots behind Doc. By banishing a monster from the Graveyard with the same Level as one of my other monsters, I draw a card, and summon it if it also shares that Level. I’ll select Doc, banish Kidbrave from my Grave, and draw a card… which is Magical Musket Cross-Dominate. And then there’s Doc… Who will add Last Stand back to my hand… Unless you have a response?” Rosalia almost hesitated. A flicker of doubt ran through her as John correctly guessed her intention before she had moved to even make it. But her hand continued to her duel disk to strike a button, one of her Traps flipping up and lashing out several large black-iron chains to lash around Doc. “Last Stand will be staying in your Graveyard,” she declared definitively. “Fiendish Chain negates Doc’s effects, and also prevents it from attacking!” “Not bad… You stopped that.“ A small smirk crossed John’s face as he nodded… Before the chains fell away, clattering to the ground and staying on the field. “So I’ll use Doc as Link Material instead, in order to summon Magical Musketeer Max.” “Another user of Link Summoning… I figured as much.” “A bit more than just Links, but… This is probably the most important one.” Magical Musketeer Max Link 1 (Down), 1000 John snapped his fingers as a zombie-like man with a demonic claw grasped the rifle left behind by Doc… transforming it into a rifle made of wood and bone, pointing it at Rosalia’s board as it appeared, then taking the shot, breaking the bullet into pieces that hit each of her monsters. But when it did, they ricocheted off, returning to hit John’s deck. “It was a good attempt, but now I’ll add another Last Stand and Magical Musket - Desperado from my deck to hand. Which I’ll immediately activate behind Caspar, in order to destroy Anesthrokket.” The trap card shone bright behind the blonde musketeer, causing a rocket to shoot from it, destroying the Rokket monster walling John’s attacks. Rosalia scowled, her mind racing. In a single move he’s invalidated two of mine, she thought, drawing a card as her Supply Squad briefly glowed. Now he has Last Stand, and he’s destroyed the only monster that can defend my Life Points! Then, like before, Caspar’s demonic wing suddenly appeared once again, shooting a bullet at John’s deck. “And now I’ll search Magical Musket - Fiendish Deal… Switch Caspar to attack position… and then… Hm…” He took a moment to consider, eyes glancing across the board and field, before looking back to his own hand. “Then I’ll normal summon the Wild I added back last turn.” Fitting its name, the Musketeer appeared, bare chested and roaring, with an absolute arsenal carried on his back. “And I think Battle is next up. So first, Zakiel will destroy the set Shelrokket.” With a wicked laugh, the masked demon took a bow, before standing upright suddenly with its two guns cocked and ready, firing at the set dragon. Once it flipped, the yellow dragon quickly exploded, pierced by the demon’s bullets. “And then the others.” Before Rosalia had a chance to think, the other three Musketeers took aim. Caspar, then Max, and finally Wild took their shots, with bullets and rockets flying to Rosalia’s side of the board, leaving a cloud of smoke as John waited to see the outcome. The first noise to come from the cloud of smoke was coughing. Rosalia had taken another step back, this time just to brace herself, and she was barely visible inside the cloud. “That’s… quite an onslaught.” “‘S not much. I’m sure you can tell my deck isn’t nearly as good at outputting damage as others.” “Would you like a little help with that, then?” “Oh? Are you conceding after that?” A rectangular shape appeared in the cloud, a card that started pulsing with violent purple light. “Card of Endurance… This lets me draw one card… IF I increase the damage you deal to me by 1000 extra points.” Though Rosalia wasn’t quite visible inside the smoke cloud yet, she was glaring straight out at John, almost daring him. Do it, I dare you… use Last Stand! “I see… Risky, but maybe it’ll work out for you.” Rosalia allowed herself the smallest of triumphant smiles. On her duel disk screen two images of Shelrokket and Anesthrokket pulsed on her screen. “I’m confident it will. DRAW!” And as she pulled the card from her disk, the Card of Endurance erupted in a cloud of purple smoke, completely re-obscuring Rosalia just as the first smoke cloud disappeared. Rosalia: 5000 > 3800 > 2800 > 1100 > 100 “I hope what you drew was good, though. After all… your hand’s all you’ve got.” John placed another card on his disk from his hand, “I activate my Magical Musket - Dancing Needle.” As the trap card from his hand activated, three tiny bullets shot from it… and hit Rosalia’s graveyard on her disk. Anesthrokket, Silverokket, and Shelrokket each dissolved from Rosalia’s display as the card resolved. “Dancing Needle banishes up to three cards from my opponent’s graveyard… and I don’t think I want them resolving. Or for your field’s secondary mode to be live, while I’m at it.” “What?!” Rosalia was truly alarmed now, the smoke clearing to show she was wide-eyed and, after being at the heart of so many large eruptions, considerably more bedraggled than she had been at the start of the duel. Her hair was heavily windblown, and she stood with a definitive slacked posture, breathing hard as she watched Dancing Needle take away her last line. In the mind’s eye vision she shot three times, and had each bullet struck out of the air with ease. “That’s enough for now. I’ll set one card and end my turn.” John did just that, before glancing at Caspar. “Shame he isn’t a level 4 monster. I would have had lethal if he was.” Rosalia felt the noise closing in around her once again. “Aaaaand Marlowe has had EVERY play she’s tried to set up countered by Nava! And now that massive advantage of Life Points has been whittled down to her last sliver by Johnathan’s assault! What will this captain do in their first challenge here in this league???” Rosalia took two halting steps forward, returning to the position she had held before Johnathan’s attacks. All the shots in her head were a confused mess. Almost had lethal… And yet it feels like every shot he’s lined up has been perfect. Her hands tensed around the cards she was holding, gazing down at the ground with her mind in a furious flurry of confused thought. An S+ class duelist… I’m on this team for my skill and I’ve already gone up against someone I can’t defeat, the one thing I’m here for. The tension of the crowd was palpable, and Rosalia felt like every single audience member was personally breathing down her neck. The team was 1-0 right now, with Eve barely winning... Rosalia’s eyes flew to the screen like a magnet, and as she saw Sai’s life counter reach 0, her blood turned to ice. They will line up out the door hoping to see me lose. Sai’s words, his justification, ran through Rosalia’s head. So too did the sound of something deflating with gusto. Rosalia wasn’t sure if it was Sai’s ego, or her own. That was a loss to the team. A loss she all of a sudden couldn’t afford to stand alongside. I don’t know what to do. “Breathe.” John cut through Rosalia’s thoughts, speaking softly like before. His eyes trained on her, but his gaze didn’t feel stern. “Don’t get too lost in your head. One of your teammates won, the other has been on the backfoot this entire game. Show them you can lead. Ignore the MC. He’s an idiot.” She hadn’t even realized that her breathing had slowed. She forced herself to take a slow, rattling breath, the slight redness that had begun to build up around her collarbone lightening slightly. She continued to look down at the ground, not wanting to look up at the roaring crowd, the bright lights. She reached up with her spare hand to draw some of the hair out of her eyes. She caught sight of what she had drawn off of Card of Endurance, only now registering that she even had it. She let out one quick huff of a sigh, adding the card to her hand. “Evelyn. Sashisematta.” As the attention of the stadium turned towards the only duel still ongoing, Rosalia slowly raised her gaze to level back on John. “Thank you for your dueling so far. Like I told you before we started today… I won’t lose.” “Draw!” Only the briefest of glances before Rosalia was off like a shot. I have to move quickly. There’s a chance, a small, tiny window for him to make a mistake… I won’t rely on it, but if he stumbles I’ll take the shot! If not… Well. Like I said. “My graveyard has no Rokket monsters for Revolve Boot Sector. My hand is another matter. Activate my Field Spell! Summon! Metalrokket! Magnarokket!” Two blue-armored dragons rose from the revolver chambers, one the thin-headed missile that had been the cause of Kendra’s recent loss, the other a bulkier beast with a hollow-pointed head. Metalrokket Dragon Level 4, 1700/1400 > 2000/1700 Magnarokket Dragon Level 4, 1800/1200 > 2100/1500 “Your Life Points are too low to activate your Solemn Warning,” Rosalia called across the field, raising her hand to point directly towards John’s set card. “HOOOO! Rosalia has once again decided on John’s face-down card to be Solemn Warning! But has he set up a second bait, as he did with Floodgate Trap Hole???” “Hm… And how do you know that it’s Solemn Warning?” John smirked a bit, hand at his side, “Let me hear the line of thought.” Rosalia slowly raised her hand to point at John’s own… and the cards within it. “Process of elimination,” she said with finality. “I see… Now you’re thinking a bit more clearly. Well, I’ll admit it. It’s Solemn Warning, since you know all I’ve got. Show me what you can do with that knowledge!” “Do you know what nickname some of the members of our dueling club got to call me?” Rosalia’s eyes stayed focused on John’s hand, and the arsenal she knew it contained. “The nickname they gave me was ‘Sniper.’ They seemed to think I had almost a sixth sense to anticipate their moves and stop them before they’d even begun. But it was just that. Process of elimination.” Her eyes flicked to the Supply Squad card on her field, and its mimic across the way on John’s. There had been a reason she had been so loathe to destroy his monsters with that card in play. “I know every card you’re holding, and what they’re all capable of. Giving me the time to collect that knowledge… was a mistake.” “When I control any Rokket monster, I can summon Absorouter Dragon from my hand!” Another blue-armored dragon appeared, but this one lacked the glimmering wings that all her Rokkets seemed to share, and was much larger than any of the ones seen thus far. Absorouter Dragon Level 7, 1200/2800 “I set Absorouter and Metalrokket as Link Material! The materials for this monster are any 2 DARK Dragon monsters! Link Summon! Dillingerous Dragon!” Dillingerous Dragon Link 2 (Up, Down), 1600 The purple-armored dragon appeared on the field, the one that had blown Kendra’s Thunderbird into smithereens. But Rosalia knew that wouldn’t happen here. “Your Fiendish Deal trap card in your hand stops me from destroying any of your monsters with my dragon’s effects. But it gives me the effect of Absorouter: It adds any Rokket from my deck to my hand, and the one I choose is Autorokket Dragon! Summon!” The card ejected from her deck, allowing her to grab it and place it on the field, the tan-armored dragon flying to land alongside Magnarokket. Autorokket Dragon Level 3, 1600/1000 > 1900/1300 “It’s time for that dragon, then?” Rosalia’s eyes narrowed. “Seems I’m not the only one who’s figured a few things out. I set Magnarokket, Autorkket, and the Link 2 Dillingerous Dragon as Link material! The materials are any three effect monsters!” Almost subconsciously she heard that roar again; The roar of the dragon she had wanted to call forth previously, the creature lurking in her Extra Deck: Her ace monster. Her dragons all collapsed into rays of light, Dillingerous splitting into two bright winding trails of sparks. “Roar of the battlefield, coalesce into a mighty shot,” Rosalia intoned, in a rare bid of activity for her: A summoning chant. “Take aim and let your bullet become victory! Link Summon! FIRE! Borreload Dragon!” The three dragons flew into the points of the link portal… And it erupted in fire and billowing green sparks, a huge mushroom cloud of flame that held a large, bulky silhouette. Large, metal-tesselated wings stretched out, searing emerald light ringing the mighty dragon, as the smoke cleared and red armor plates shone in the light of the afternoon sun, and the body of a gun barrel slowly clicked into place, heralding a mighty roar that echoed across the field. Borreload Dragon Link 4 (Left, Lower-left, Lower-right, Right), 3000 The announcer was practically having a conniption. “What is this?!? Rosalia has managed to turn things around somehow, and summon the strongest monster to grace this duel so far! Is this it? Can she turn the corner on this duel?” “Just as I thought. Well, that is impressive,” John began, flicking his fingers, “But you’ve already normal summoned… and you already used your field… And, most importantly,” he held up his hand, “You know what I’m holding. So, how do you overcome this?” “Borreload Dragon has an ability… Anti-Enemy Rokket,” Rosalia said simply. “It lowers any monster’s attack power by 500 at any point in the turn. Most importantly, you can’t activate Cross-Domination in response to it, meaning I’ll keep all 3000 of Borreload’s attack power.” Rosalia waited. She knew the ‘but’ would come from John shortly. However, she was met with the same smirk as before. Not taunting, not demeaning, just… There. As if challenging her to meet him on the same level. “... But we both know it’s not that simple,” she said softly. Instead of proceeding to battle, she reached to her hand and pulled out one of her signature cards. “I’ll supplement Borreload with this Spell! Quick Launch summons any Rokket from my deck! Go ahead! Negate it with your Last Stand!” “One step ahead of you, miss. No… Rosalia.” He snapped, the spell shattering almost as soon as she activated it, Last Stand appearing behind Caspar, “And you know that allows Caspar to search a card, of course. So I’ll have him-” ”-find Magical Musket - Desperado,” Rosalia interrupted, pointing at him, almost daring him herself. “My, where were you this whole game?” John chuckled heartily, adding Desperado from his deck to his hand, “Took you a while, but you’re getting into the groove now. Show me what you’ve got!” “I’ve been here the whole time. I’ve just been… lining up my shot. And there’s something you should know. Once I’ve lined up that shot…” She reached to the last card in her hand. “I do not miss,” she intoned, turning it around to reveal- “A SECOND Quick Launch is in Rosalia’s hand!” The announcer called. Rosalia took the brief moment of crowd fervor at this to close her eyes and breathe one more time. It had been on top of her deck. The first one had come from Card of Endurance. One after another. A double tap, as it were. “Ah, there it is… Is that really enough, though? In response, I use Desperado from my hand, behind Wild, to target your Borreload!” Wild raised his hand, taking aim and firing straight into the gun-barrel chest of Rosalia’s Dragon… only to have the shot ruined in an instant by a curtain of dark mist erupting around Rosalia’s side of the field, the bullet being swept aside to shoot through the air approximately one foot away from Rosalia’s head. She didn’t flinch. Just allowed herself the satisfaction of watching John’s face as her Trap card revealed itself. “Dark Illusion. This stops one of my DARK monsters from being targeted by an effect. And notably… You aren’t the only one in this duel who knows how to use a Counter Trap.” John froze as he watched his card get negated, never speaking as his eyes darted to see what came from Quick Launch. “As I said, Quick Launch summons any Rokket. I choose this one: Summon! Exploderokket!” A long, many-segmented dragon with bronze armor burst forth from the card, each link of the beast chinking back and forth as it snorted crimson flames from its mouth. “And it has an extra 300 attack and defense points added from Boot Sector.” Exploderokket Dragon Level 7, 2000/2000 > 2300/2300 “Locking me out of the chain with a counter trap was clever, but…” Another hearty laugh escaped the man as Exploderokket was summoned, “That old man told me it was the worst Rokket, not worth playing, so I didn’t play around it… now here we are. I see what you mean by you won’t lose, Rosalia! But first, Wild procs, which lets me shuffle in Doc, Needle, and Last Stand into my deck, then draw 1.” If Rosalia’s feelings were hurt by this comment on her card quality, she did not show it. A brief flutter of doubt came into her mind, a twist of sickness in her stomach as John drew. This was the only weak point. That one card could mean her downfall, the one piece of knowledge she did not, could not have. But she merely raised a hand and pointed at Magical Musketeer Max. “Battle.” Her single word was heralded by a growing whoosh noise as small lights started to spark to life in Borreload’s eyes, and the gun barrel began to revolve. “Borreload Dragon-” “It’s now or never. Let’s go down together… I use Cross-Dominator, targeting Borreload Dragon! If your attack connects, your life points will be wiped out, and I have an unknown quantity in hand, unlike you.” As he finished speaking, Max raised his weapon again, taking aim at the massive mechanical dragon roaring at it. “The shot’s been lined up… Evelyn! Sashisematta! As I said. I won’t lose. Anti-Enemy Rokket!” Even as a cross-hairs appeared on Borreload’s face, it roared, a great bellow that synched with the whirling of the gun barrel in deafening harmonics. “I target any monster on the field to lose 500 attack points… And I choose Exploderokket!” To say this heralded confusion from the crowd would have been an understatement. To say it heralded confusion from the announcer was both an understatement and expected. All the while, John just smiled and nodded. But even as Exploderokket glowed with a harsh green light, it suddenly shrunk down, coalescing into a green sphere of light that rose up into the air. “Rokkets all have another effect, one that only activates when they’re targeted by the effect of a Link Monster,” Rosalia said, the light of her monster casting half her face in shadow as it rose towards Borreload. “An effect that activates by destroying them. In tandem with Anti-Enemy Rokket, my dragons become its bullets.” She took one last deep breath. I’m sorry, Team Genesis, she thought, with a touch of anger at herself. No, not anger. Disappointment. That she was to fulfill her promise in the letter and not the intended meaning. I promised you I would not lose. Against him… This is the best I can offer. “When Expldoerokket is targeted by a Link monster’s effect, I can destroy it to inflict 2000 points of damage-” A crackle of feedback as the commentator fumbled his microphone, before she finished: “To us both.” The orb of light entered into one of the chambers of Borreload. Instantly the chamber halted, and Borreload opened its jaws to reveal a massive gun barrel sticking forth, one that shone with horrid lurid orange light that erupted out as if from a flamethrower. The spearhead of the fire struck the center of the arena like a meteor, and it exploded out in a huge disaster radius that wreathed the entire duel field and its inhabitants in flame and smoke. Jonathan: 1400 > 0 Rosalia: 100 > 0 Rosalia had taken the window of time that the field was wreathed in smoke to gently run her hand through her hair and make it look a touch more presentable. It had been blown out of its style by the many blasts she had endured over the course of the duel. Readjust her hair and take a brief solace in the fact that for just a few brief moments every eye in the stadium wasn’t on her. As her Borreload hologram faded from sight beside her, she resumed the neutral expression she had carried onto the duel field, and the smoke parted to reveal a girl who looked unruffled, and accepting. “Good game, Rosalia.” John extended his hand to her, having walked over during the explosion and the smoke that followed, “You played to your outs. And, if it helps… You chose the right line of play, considering my draw.” Rosalia reached forward, and very gently accepted John’s handshake. “And to you as well… Thank you for the duel. You and all your team.” At last the announcer managed to splutter out. “Oh my! The duel has ended… in a draw! Well that’s certainly not something you see every match, folks! And with that draw, and a win for both Team Free AND Team Genesis, we have us a good old-fashioned draw to the ENTIRE match!” Despite the enthusiasm the announcer mustered, the crowd remained silent, other than a few rare claps echoing quietly. Inwardly Rosalia had a slight flutter of the heart, wondering if she had done something wrong. She kept her hand in John’s for as little time as seemed polite, and turned to walk back, back off the duel field. “Hey, before you go,” John added, motioning to her, “You have a lot of potential playing a control deck… And I know the deck you’re playing fairly well. Why don’t you come to Team Free’s next meeting and we can have a low-stakes discussion and practice? Trust me, the rest of the team won’t care… and your coach is good friends with our captain. What do you say?” Rosalia turned back, pausing at the edge of the duel field. The offer surprised her, though it was only apparent on her face for a moment. Her pale eyes flicked to Johnathan’s for half a moment and then away again, the girl now unable to maintain strong eye contact. “I’ll… have to see,” she said back, barely loud enough for him to hear. It was not a no, though it was by equal measure not a yes. She wasn’t sure herself what the answer would be. ----- "And with that, this match comes to a close, with a draw! Neither Team Genesis nor Team Free walk away with a win this week, due to a single misplay sparing Team Genesis! Despite their strong start last week, are they already out of steam!?" As the duelists returned to find their coach missing, hopefully explained by the three viewers upon entry, they were left to their own devices, to discuss amongst one another, while the booming MC's words still hung in their minds.

The beam cause a slight pause from the shifter, before lining their twisted cannon-claw up to take more shots. It was unexpected, but they had plenty of memories of people able to do that. Rivals, sisters... It was a bit odd that the zombie had multiple abilities, but not the end of the world. Perhaps they could have even assisted, if they understood the mechanisms better. Instead, the best they could manage was support, even as Melissa tried to reason with the woman. Shooting the projectiles down again, they winced as the sand hit their skin, stinging as they tried to cover for Morgan... Then Melissa swapped to the other angel, drawing even the shifter's gaze. "Now what's this thing?!" As if snapping them from the trance, their eyes immediately turned to the target, attacking Melissa in the sky. Gritting their teeth, the shifter let out a shrill roar, their form quickly becoming covered in that fish-scale like armor, though the wings did not return. Their hand that had just been a claw transformed into a long, pointed appendage, clad in the same material as the rest of them as they charged into the storm, stabbing that appendage into the ground to vault themselves up towards the woman, a tail growing out with thin, spike-like appendages slamming towards the woman. They could take the hit from the angel, but they had to guarantee it hit this woman!

Devin's feet felt glued to the ground as the woman glared at them with that... face. They weren't sure why Melissa was unaffected, but their body felt sluggish in the face of her onslaught, willing their body to move! Instead, they saw Melissa continue to carry the three of them, even with Morgan doing something. Move... move! Their eyes trained on the sharp stones heading towards Morgan from behind, gritting their teeth, before roaring suddenly, surprising even themselves. With a sudden shift to their leg, they forced themselves forward with a process not unlike the arm they had just made, rushing forward. Maybe, just maybe they could shift a bit at a time like this... They had tried it at school with minimal success, but it seemed to be going better now. Kicking off the ground, a pair of wings bursting from their back, with scales like a fish and a leathery interior, just long enough to gain some height in the air. As their body returned to their humanoid form, they threw their right arm forward, bracing it with their left as the end of it transformed into a mouth-like claw, shooting pressurize water bullets at each of the stones headed for Morgan, aiming to shatter them. "G... Go get her!"

As the team went about their week, meeting up and preparing for the next matchup, Vega had sent them all a message. Just a promise that if they didn't lose the match, there would be a reward for them the next time they met up. But what could the reward be? ----- Friday, February 28 7 PM "Hey, don't be like that. I won't be choosing the team order forever, you know!" Sitting in the corner of a dive bar, Vega laughed as she finished the sentence, earning an eye roll from the blonde person sitting across from her. While they did the motion, they wore a smile on their face, leaning back in the booth as they listened "Besides... things worked out better than I expected, just from the team speaking up for themselves. Taking time where they needed it, or stepping up to cover for each other. In fact, I can't imagine a more perfect first opponent for Rosalia!" As she finished her statement, she leaned back and took a swig of her drink, giving the other person a chance to speak. "Eh? Knowing you, that probably means your captain probably plays a gun themed deck." Vega choked on her drink, hitting her chest as she coughed, a bemused look meeting her. Once she recovered, she looked aside, quickly muttering. "I-I didn't say that, and it's not like that's what I meant!" "So she does!" the other person's lips curled into a grin, "What a bad coach, giving away sensitive info~" "I-" Vega cut herself off, face red as a beet as she was caught in that situation, struggling to find the words for it before the other person continued. "It's fine, it's fiiiine. You know I won't do anything with that info. I don't think he would do anything with it, even if I did tell him. He's not that kind of guy, you know?" With a sigh, Vega nodded and replied. "I just don't wanna screw them over. Yeah, you won't do much with it... But what if someone else did?" "Please, I trust you know to keep your guard up more with other people." the blonde hummed as they toyed with their glass, fizz rising from the soda inside, "You've shown that you know when to keep your lips zipped tight. Besiiides, you said that this was all off the record from the start, yeah? Just two old classmates hanging out? Not to mention that you actually ordered alcohol, lightweight that you are..." "I resent that!" "You resemble it." After some more banter and finishing her drink, Vega rested her chin on the palm of her hand as she looked at one of the televisions in the dimly lit bar, seeming to zone out just a bit as she watched the segment about her team's duel from the week before... before suddenly speaking up, words slurring ever so slightly. "Show him for me, will you? It's not how I planned it, and I feel like I can't do enough to get through..." "Don't worry, sis. I'll make sure that he understands. After all, 'speak to people in words they can understand'... You did it once. Now it's my turn to do it for him. Trust me, okay?" "Thank you, Charlie." ----- Saturday, February 29 12 PM "Welcome, dear fans, to another match in our amazing minor league circuit!" The MC boomed from his booth up above the screens, "Today we see the new team, with quite a reputation made for themselves already, Team Genesis against fan favorite Team Free, with plenty of heavy hitters! How will our new team fare!?" "He's so loooooud," Vega groaned, holding a pillow over her face, grumbling, "And he's just going to try and demoralize people again... can't we just skip the pleasantries today?" Kendra's hand rubbed at her own head gently, a small mumble escaping her as she yawned out, "Yeah. He's loud. And he's already brought up Sai's stunts. I wonder how many more times he's gonna bring that mess up..." "Hopefully no more after today..." The arena dimmed, opening the spotlight on the standard duel field, where Rosalia and her opponent stood. “First up, we have Team Genesis’ captain, Rosalia Marlowe, against Team Free’s Johnathan Nava! Rosalia has quite the uphill battle ahead of her if Johnathan’s record is anything to go by, but Team Genesis did have a strong showing in their first match! Can she do it!?” Next up, the spotlight swapped to the action field, referring what looked like a decrepit factory as the setting. "Then we have Sai Saishisematta!" the MC paused to wait for the boos of the crowd to quiet down a bit, "Against the captain of Team Free, Charlie Robin!" In contrast to the boos, the cheer was even louder. Whether that was due to Charlie's fans or Sai's enemies, it didn't change the intensity of the reaction. Finally, the spotlight moved to the race track, where the two turbo duelists waited to take off. "The third match is Evelyn Takao of Team Genesis against Agira Aarati of Team Free! Agira is known for his explosive antics, so let's see if Evelyn can match it!" "Is everyone ready!? 3.... 2... 1... DUEL!" "Uggh, he finally shut uuuup," the captain groaned as she pressed the pillow against her face more, before muttering, "Can one of you guys hand me a water bottle?" ----- Rosalia strode across the duel stage, trying hard to shut out the sudden waves of noise that was battering her from all sides. The others had had to deal with this last match? How had Sai managed to be such a blustering force over all this? As her opponent came into view, she took a second to close her eyes, taking a long, deep breath. Across the field from Rosalia, the man called Johnathan sighed, moving to remove a cigarette from his lips… Only to grasp at air, realizing he didn’t have one lit. Unfortunately. “Just call me John. And don’t listen to that guy, it’s his job to make it ‘dramatic’.” John raised his arm and activated his disk as he glanced at the screens above, seeing it decide turn order. “And looks like I’m first. Good luck, miss.” There were a few seconds before Rosalia responded. When she did, it was accompanied by the flash of her Duel Disk activating, both eyes opening to look straight on at Johnathan, raising her disk before her as she drew her starting hand. He was going straight to business. Good. “Pleased to meet you, John,” she said, the general politeness of her words belied by a strong, forceful tone. “I understand you’re ranked highly… I’m glad to face someone of your caliber.” “DUEL!” “I normal summon Magical Musketeer - Starfire to Monster Zone 2. Then I activate Pot of Prosperity in the zone behind her. By randomly banishing three cards from my Extra Deck face-down, I can reveal the top three cards of my deck, which are... Pot of Duality, Monster Slots, and Solemn Warning. I think I'll take Solemn Warning." As the woman wearing a shroud appeared in front of John, she took a quick curtsy as he activated the spell. Upon resolving it, she drew a gun from her dress and pointed at his deck, taking a shot at it as a crimson wing burst from her hip. Then, from the deck, came another person, this time a blonde an wielding his gun as he crouched, in defense position. "When I activate a Spell or Trap in the same column as my Musketeers, they gain effects. In this case, Starfire lets me summon another one from the deck, and I chose Caspar in Monster Zone 4. Then I'll set a card in the ST zone between them, and pass. Your move, miss." ----- "DUEL!" "Well, I guess it's gonna be two fusion experts going at it. Sounds like an interesting matchup," Charlie hummed as they drew their hand, immediately running away from Sai towards a staircase in the abandoned factory, "Good luck, have fun! I'm sure you did your research~" ----- "Alriiiight, nice to meet ya, but let's get going!" Agira punched his fists together with a toothy grin from under his mask... "DUEL!" ...only to realize Evelyn used the opportunity to get the jump on him, cursing under his breath as he took off. "Hey, you can't take advantage of a guy's passion like that!" As Evelyn took the first bend, and with it the first turn, Agira let out an anguished groan, before drawing his own card. "Yo, I got it!" he beamed, pointing to Evelyn, "Just wait until it's my turn!"

"Devin! Melissa!" Morgan called out. "Hit me! As hard as you can! Just don't pierce through my head or chest!" As the woman taunted them more from above, Devin processed the request. Was there a way they could do that without seriously hurting Morgan? Would they lose control again? Would the- But as the rocks began to train on Morgan, Devin found their body moving to help the girl, surprising even themselves. Of course, Melissa and her angel beat them to the punch, but maybe, just maybe... "I-If you're sure, then...!" Devin took up a spot behind Morgan as Melissa protected them. With a deep breath, their right arm transformed into something mechanical Like a high tech prosthetic arm, almost. Pulling that arm back, a piston shot out of the elbow, releasing steam for a moment... Before slamming back in as the fist lunged forward, punching Morgan square in the back with all of their might. "I don't know why you need this, but I can do it again, if you really need me to!"

For the most part, Kai had just spent the trip into town as a bit of a tour guide for the group. After all, she had seen all of this many times before... and she had a cute baby to focus on! While the others explored, she poked and hugged at the bird, sometimes letting it look around as they walked about. She found it a bit strange that Amelia had put her own bird away, but different strokes and all. After a while, the foursome had ended up in a restaurant, preparing to eat, when.. "Sure am! Heading out there first thing tomorrow. Pa says that thing that fell from the sky was a good omen for me; The Totem Pokemon doesn't stand a chance! "Matter of fact, Best bless my battle with a few good rounds! Anyone who can beat a Trainer blessed by something fallin' from the sky, I'll pay for your meal!" "Ooooi, you're missing the point, y'know?" Kai placed her hands on her hips and puffed her cheeks out as she looked at the trainer, " confidence and excitement are good, disrespecting the totem pokemon won't end well for you. It's not the pushover you're acting like it is, and many of us have already experienced it." As Tia and Amelia spoke up, Kai nodded and tapped her lips, turning away from the trainer as Lani cooed atop her head, "You know... I do know a place that has a killer Pokébowl, if you don't mind a hole in the wall!"

The rules are simple! You just mark off the characters you know and try to make a bingo! Why? It's fun! And here's a link to the template. I believe each space if 195x195,

VS “Wait, Shannon, that-” Diana’s pleas fell on deaf ears as Shannon slammed 11-EX into the platform they stood upon, a twisted smile on her face and a wild look in her eyes. “Aren’t you supposed to be a hero!?” Diana scolded her, hitting her on the back as best she could, “What are you doing!? You’re acting more like a villain than a hero!” -Indignant Savior- “... Is it villainous to punish a villain?” Shannon asked as she looked back slightly, casting a calm but stony gaze, “Well, Ayane, what do you think? Is it wrong to punish someone who has harmed others? Is it wrong to tear them down so they can’t do it again?” “I don’t know the, um, [circumstances], but-” “Ohh, that’s a pretty heavy question.” The armor’s face turned back into another head again, with an increasingly confused and concerned expression. At the end of the day, stopping villains was a pretty important part of a hero’s job. But Ayane would be lying if she said the way that question had been phrased didn’t put her off a bit. “But villains definitely need to be punished! And I’ve… definitely got a lot of punishment coming my way, for everything I did! Just try not to kill me, okay? I wanna catch up and try to make amends after the sports festival, and I can’t do that if I’m completely out of commission.” Then Syo's head turned back into a helmet once again, closing over 11-EX’s face once again. “But we can do all that later! Right now, we still need to fight over those points!” Being this close to a Quirk like hers was a major disadvantage. Had to get some distance. 11-EX reached for their guitar, blaring out another pair of notes. Another platform beneath their feet, just as the existing one disappeared, and a slightly more complex formation. Something like a wall between the two teams, but with a hole sized and positioned just right for Shannon’s arm. Affording the pair the opportunity to wriggle free of Shannon’s vice-like grip. That should buy us a few seconds. So, about that idea of yours… Shannon roared with rage as the wall appeared, pulling her arm out of it and rearing back to strike, until... “Shannon… They don’t have any points.” Freezing, the dragoness looked over to the board, finding Diana’s claim to be true. She grit her teeth harder before bringing her hands back down to her side with a low growl, turning around. “So they don’t. Then your punishment can wait for another time.” She spread her wings wide to make a big flap, before adding on “Atone? Yeah, right. Find your points elsewhere and never speak to me again.” Diana frowned as Shannon rocketed upward, still hanging on. Despite Shannon’s logic for them teaming up, Diana had hardly been more than a burden or voice of reason. On top of that, Diana could feel the girl she clung to shaking, claws balled up to the point of some blood dripping from the palm… What had happened between her and Ayane? Before Shannon could elaborate further on the baggage she carried, the duo was stopped dead in their tracks by a platform appearing directly above them. In front of them, standing atop another, smaller platform, was Karada Syo, completely in his human form. "You know, I really don't have much of a clue about what your issue with her is, but you seemed to forget," clenching his fist, he put his whole body into his attack, a bare-fisted haymaker aimed directly at Shannon's face, "that this is a team battle!!!" Of course, Syo was far from prepared for Shannon's quirk to have applied even to the skin of her face. While it appeared soft and silky from a distance, it was like striking a ceramic plate. The only effect he had on the girl was leaving a bloody knuckle-print on her cheek. "Ha… ha… maybe that played out a little differently in my head…" Shannon glared at the boy who had just punched her, eyes wild, before she took a deep breath and closed them just for a moment, before opening them up and giving a soft, but terse, statement, while Diana let out a sigh. “Back down, and I shall spare you. Side with her against me, and there will be no mercy. This is the final warning I shall give to you.” And then while her back is facing you… Just like Syo had suggested! Drop him in front of them, distract Shannon even for a second, then from her own perch above the three of them, jump down and get the dragon girl from behind. As much as she would have loved to make a flashy entrance, that would ruin the element of surprise, which was her only real saving grace right now. And so, rather unceremoniously, Ayane moved her guitar on its strap to hang it over her back instead of her front - she didn’t want to risk damaging it in this next move, after all - then jumped from the platform she’d prepared for herself. A jump from which she grabbed Shannon by the shoulders, with a firm “Sorry about this, but I’m not giving up! On the points, or you!”

"Hm... The guardian might be upset, but I can't imagine they'd attack us outright... Well, at least not me or the professor," Kai mused whimsically, her tone more tied to the owlet she was poking the beak of than the conversation, "Even when angry, they tend not to hurt the people of Alola. Hopefully that isn't the case, at least," picking the tiny bird up, she sat him on top of her head, tilting it back and forth with a hum, "As for what to do tonight... I'd like to go surfing with Noa and Lani, but it's probably too dark for baby bird. So, if you guys want, I can show you around?" "Well, we won't get to see the sights by just standing here. I don't suppose any of you could go for a malasada or something? I'm buying." "Good idea! Although, this isn't my favorite island for those... I like the fusion styled ones on Ula'ula a lot more. But, the shop in Hau'oli is a great place for trying your first time!" “Well, I’m not super hungry now, but… I’d still like to see the city a little bit. I haven’t been to any of the islands other than Ula’ula so far… So I’d like to see some of the others. I’m in!” “Of course we should check out the city together! Isn’t Alola the place all the rich folks go on vacation? Let’s enjoy our stay before we have to start working!” "Hm... I'm not sure if the mall is open, but Hau'oli also has a boutique right next to a hair salon? I think Akala has better options, but the 'rich' options are here, if that's more your thing. Hau'oli is kinda one of our two tourist traps, in all honesty," Kai laughed awkwardly, Lani tilting his head a full 90 degrees from atop her head, "I wish I could show you guys the rest of the island, but it's best not to do that at night, even with how friendly the wild pokemon are. After all, you wouldn't get to see how beautiful everything is! But for the night, let me know where you wanna go, and I'll show you the best places, even if a lot of holes in the wall are closed up!"

Silence. Utter silence. Somehow, Devin had ended up on the same team as Melissa again. While they didn't gulp externally as the car rolled on, they did fidget a bit. The fact that Morgan was the other with them didn't help, because they had positively no idea how to deal with her. They hadn't said so much as two words to the zombie, had they? Someone they had endangered and someone they didn't know. Lovely. “We probably have to do this as quickly as possible, We should, um, Morgan, can you fly? I know Devin can… I’m just thinking about how to get to that woman and how to do it fast.” “No,” Morgan said matter-of-factly. She reached behind and patted her distinctly wingless back. “I could maybe make myself a pair of wings, but not on such short notice.” “Okay, Um, if you need to call out to us, its name is Zadkiel.” "I..." Devin spoke up as Melissa prepared, "I... don't think I should fly. I'll play support, if you can take the front." But as the angel took on the woman, Devin could only dodge the boulders as they fell, cursing themselves internally. If only they hadn't messed up so badly, they could fly and really help out. Instead, the most they could manage for now was... With a deep breath, their right arm shifted about, taking the form of a gauntlet, not much bigger than their own arm normally was. Flexing it about, the arm had a slot lift up slightly, causing a small barrel to protrude. Placing heir left hand on that arm, a small burst of energy shot from it, shattering a boulder that was headed directly for Zadkiel. They may not have too many shots before their form would protest, but they had to help at least this much...!

liquid

"Uh...yeah...about that... I was actually going to speak about that, coach. I'm gonna ask to not be Dueling this time around. I need to try and fix my deck and also need to read up more on the Action Fields with the correlating Action Cards that way I don't have the random surprise like I did with my first match." “...I don’t think so. My tests haven’t gone well, if no one is available to fill in, I’ll do it, but I think I need a bit more time. There’s a few cards I’ve got my eye on and I’ve almost got them sold to me, but I just need to do a bit more persuading… I don’t know if it’ll be done in time for the match.” "I see..." Vega blinked a bit at the two's objections, but nodded, smiling at them gently. "We can work with that. After all, we're a bit lopsided in terms of who can do action duels, so I think this is a fine time for Sai to step up as an action duelist. Maybe see what it's like through Daichi's eyes. And Rosalia, you don't mind filling in for Kendra, do you?" The coach turned around and doodled a bit more, making a pair of scissors with eyes next to Charlie, while she drew a gun with a wing on it next to Johnathan, following suit with the other four. A mirror half filled in, a snake with a headdress, Thomas, and a bird on fire. They weren't the best drawings ever, but they were a decent improvement on her @ignister blobs. As Rosalia offered to help and also go to the mall, Vega perked up and turned around, clapping her hands together. "Yes, exactly! Eve, Sai, you two have homework to practice or at least spend time together this week. Same with Daichi and Falisha. Teamwork is important, and fostering friendships is a big step towards that! I'd like it if you guys just... did this of your own volition, too, but let's start off this way. Nice and easy." The meeting continued for a bit, with Vega giving details she had found about the opponent's decks and playstyles, while encouraging the team to plan around them. As the meeting began to draw to a close, Vega nodded and placed her hands on the table. "So, we'll meet up on Saturday at the arena. 12 PM sharp for the duelists, everyone else should be there around 12:30, at the latest. And, if you guys do well enough... There miiight be a reward next time we have a meeting~"

“I said you didn’t have to!” And, after a pause, “Okay,” Melissa said. “I won’t. Let’s just go downstairs, then.” Devin kinda crumpled up a bit... quite literally, finding their body compressing like a spring as she said that, involuntarily. They had gone and done it again, saying the wrong thing. I mean, yeah, they were awful, but... They could have used more tact. Stupid, stupid Devin. They followed after Melissa as she headed down, their body clearly drooping in some spots, eyes cast down to the ground. They had only just managed to begin patching things, and here they were. Why couldn't they just have pretended to like those awful fishsicles? What would it have hurt? A few stomachs?" As they reached the bottom, Melissa headed off to the kitchen, and Devin did exactly as she had said. Slink off and hide in a corner. They couldn't fully remove their mass, but they could try to blend in. Squish into a corner. With a bit of adjusting, they found themselves smooshed in tightly, form matching the color of the wall. Sure, someone might wonder what that blob in the corner was, but most people tended to be rather change blind. Maybe they would join in, if they could calm their heart enough...

The task assigned to the group by Wicke seemed like one Kai would like. She knew most of Alola by the back of her hand by this point, and it would give her a good chance to show others how great it was! Sure, it was also to investigate, but that was fine. It was probably just a small concern, considering how united Alola tended to be. While the others took the ferry, Kai simply left her belongings on the boat... then let Noa out of her ball and straight into the water, earning a smile and wave. "Hey there~" Kai called out, taking off her top to reveal the swimsuit beneath, tossing it onto the ferry as well before hopping into the water, earning an enthusiastic tackle from the Mantyke. "I know, I know, I can't let you out as much when we're here, but I we're gonna be out and about for a few days. Ready for some surfing?" Climbing atop the rather large baby pokemon, Kai quickly found her balance, flashing the rest of the group a thumbs-up. "Don't worry, I'll just ride alongside you guys! I prefer surfing with Noa to riding on boats!" The two spent the trip back to Melemele doing tricks and spinning around in the water, laughing... even when Kai fell off and Noa jumped on top of her for a moment. It was all in good fun, thought it eventually became closer to paddle boarding as they neared the large island. She had planned to catch the line for the boat, but... Professor Kukui introduced himself and met them instead! While she had seen the professor before, she was still enamored seeing him again, because he was absolutely someone she looked up to! As she climbed out of the water and wrung out her hair, she gave Noa a pat before recalling her and joining the others, wide-eyed and bushy tailed. Kukui was the cooles- wait, no, second coolest person in Alola. Second only to the Masked Royal, and she wanted to get closer! "Rowlett, Litten, and Popplio; A touch on the uncommon side, which Wicke told me might interest you!" The three Pokemon all called out as they settled themselves comfortably on their own corners of the table. Kukui strode around the table, pulling chairs away and giving the four a welcome smile. "So eat up a bit, I imagine you must be a bit tired from your ride; We'll get to know each other a while and we can work out if these guys will head up towards this falling object with you tomorrow! Sound good, cousin?" "Ohmigosssssssssh" Kai whined out a bit and squished her cheeks, looking at the three pokemon, between them... "Um, th-thank you, sir!" She stammered a bit, before adding, "Er, cousin!" Turning back to the Pokemon, she looked them over again, but the shy little owl peeking over its shoulders nervously caught her attention the most. Heading over to it, she knelt down, walking over on her knees slowly to meet it eye level, smiling softly. "Hey there... I'm Kai. Wanna come with me?" The Rowlet hopped a bit, seemingly out of surprise, even with how patient Kai had been... but slowly waddled back over, nuzzling against her softly as the biggest grin spread across Kai's face. "You really are a sweet one! I think I'll call you... Lani!" She hummed as she picked up the owl and held it close, gently rocking back and forth, before her eyes suddenly shot open, "Oh, I'm sorry you two! I didn't mean to jump ahead, I just saw him and he was so cute!"

"Oh, we should get something tasty to celebrate our first win. My treat." "So, what are we getting to eat?" "Mmm... Well, first things first, you guys should go and enjoy whatever you guys want. I'm gonna be a bit busy tonight, so I need to go home and get ready~" Vega crooned, then cleared her throat, "However, I'm gonna take the time to organize my thoughts. I would like to go ahead and meet up Tuesday, rather than later in the week... and yes, we have a match next weekend." Standing up to walk away with a soft hum, Vega stopped as she passed Daichi... placing a hand on his shoulder and looking down slightly to give him a soft smile. She patted his shoulder before stepping away, spinning around and flashing a smile and peace sign to the team as she descended the elevator. Of course, there was plenty she could say right then... But it was best for her to be hands off, she felt. ----- Saturday, February 22 6:35 PM "Running just a little late, are we?" a soft voice giggled as Vega walked into the ritzy Italian restaurant, looking over to it. At the bar sat a woman wearing a nice, body length dress, with some seashell flourishes on it, and her light blue hair fell to the small of her back. She stood up and walked over to Vega, looking up at the taller woman with a smile from about 9 inches below, "I figured you might be a bit later than this. Didn't your team want to celebrate after their first win?" "Well, they did, but... It's their limelight, y'know?" Vega laughed, rubbing at the back of her head, her own outfit almost matching the other woman's, but a bit less form fitting. Bits of She wore a pair of bangles that took on an appearance similar to flame, but overall, the outfit she chose was much more modest. Unlike the woman, she wore flats, before leaning in to rest her arm around the smaller person. "Besides, I didn't wanna stand you up. I just... take some time getting ready." The other woman giggled as Vega blushed a bit, leaning her head against the coach, "So... do you want to tell me about what happened with it, then?" "Ah, well... He's a bit... That is to say..." Vega scratched at her cheek, trying to look away from her companion, "He's... he's a diamond in the rough. Yeah, that's it. It's a rocky start, but it'll get better. Now, let's get a table, then I can tell you more, yeah?" ----- Tuesday, February 25 3 PM "Once again, congratulations on your first win, Team Genesis!" Vega began the meeting with a big grin, slamming her hands on the table, "Before anything else, it was a great showing! I had Daichi, Sai, and Falisha show up early to have a talk with each of them individually, but for now, I'm sure you've had time to look over the replays I sent each of you... At least, if you were planning to at all~" Vega seemed completely unconcerned, but there was an ever so slight accusatory tone to her voice. "Anyway, while I encourage more discussion of the duels since you've had time to think about it more, I would also like you to each look at your messages. I've sent info on the next team we'll be up against, and, well... It's a somewhat newer team, but one with a lot of fans and a lot of success so far. To the point that a number of the duelists on it are considered Major Circuit worthy or better. I'm not saying that I doubt you guys, by any means, but... do not take Team Free lightly." Walking over to the whiteboard, Vega hummed as she began to doodle more @Ignisters alongside writing some information down. While it was only briefly, if someone was paying close attention they would see the flame-like bangle on her arm peek out from under her coat's sleeve, before she turned around and clapped, having listed the decks, duel type, and approximate skill level of each of the players. Two in particular, Johnathan Nava and Charlie Robin, seemed to be ranked S+ and S tier, respectively. "Now... We won't know who they send out against us on Saturday, but we still need to be prepared. We only really have Daichi for action duels, so I assuuuume we'll be going with him, but that leaves standard and turbo. Kendra, Eve, do you two think you're up for this next match?"

“So we lost our first duel, huh…” Vega muttered aloud as she watched Daichi walk off the field, shaking her head a bit, “That’s a shame. Mostly because it really hurts morale, both for the other two and for him moving forward. You guys, don’t be too hard on him, got it?” She turned to the next screen over to watch Sai’s duel, a sigh and a smirk on her face. Yeah, this is what she signed up for when she recruited him to the team. But maybe he was overdoing it a bit. His opponent clearly had a lot less experience than him, but there was Sai, showing his ass. Finally, she turned to watch Falisha and Sorrel, just in time to see Falisha keep having her effects just barely make it. She seemed to be holding on, but… “Y’know, for how aggressive Sorrel is being, she has a lot more removal than I expected,” the red-haired coach reclined a bit, propping her legs up on a table in front of her, “But, iif anyone can bounce back from that… It’s probably you and Falisha, don’t you think, Eve?” ----- “I draw for turn!” Avery declared, a single bead of sweat falling down his face, “And then I special summon Alpha, the Master of Beasts!” As Avery’s card slotted into the disk,a loud roar filled the arena. From above, a large beast came slamming down, impacting the ground with a rumble that could be felt by everyone in the arena. As the beast stood up and looked forward, it’s leonine face bared its fangs, wings spread wide, and lithe body digging its gnarly claws into the pavement as it roared once more. “Then I activate Alpha’s effect! I’ll target my Puppy to return it to hand, and if I do, I can return cards my opponent controls to the hand equal to the amount I returned!” "Tut tut tut." Sai let out an exaggerated, sigh, rolling his eyes at his opponent. "Did you forget about my Dragostapelia's effect? By placing a predator counter on your Master of Beasts, I can negate its effect." As he spoke, his dragon spit out another of the small plant-like counters, which promptly attached to Alpha's face, preventing it from finding its target. “I’m well aware. I overlay Kalantosa and Puppy! Appear, beasts of the forest, Joyous Melffys, to the Extra Monster Zone!” The vortex formed and the stump from before appeared, but now covered with all kinds of fruit. A llama, a mouse, and other Melffy creatures appeared around the stump, looking over at Sai with a confused and expectant look on their face. “Then I proceed to battle. Alpha, attack Dragostapelia! Regal Roar!” Leaping at the dragonoid, Alpha’s wings spread wide as it sunk its claws into the creature, roaring loudly until only a few stray vines lay about. With a growl it returned to its owner, standing slightly behind and left of the stump, causing Sai’s life to drop to 3700. “Then Joyous Melffys attack you directly!” As a banana slapped Sai straight between the eyes, his life fell to 1700, and Avery let his breath out, “And I will end my turn.” Sai spread his arms wide as he took the damage, grinning and laughing like a maniac, his clothing billowing in a gust of wind. "I had warned you, and here it is! My final turn!" For a moment, his expression was calm, serene even, as he pulled a card from the top of his deck. "And now, I have drawn the card that will spell your defeat." “During your Standby, I activate Joyous Melffys! By returning it to the Extra Deck, I can revive any number of level 2 or lower beasts, as long as the amount is equal to or lower than the materials it had. As it had two, I’ll revive both Kalantosa and Puppy!” The stump faded away as a bunny’s head popped up, looking around to see if it was safe… only for Puppy to hop on top of it and bark proudly, panting as it stood proud. It stood a space to the right of Kalantosa with Catty to its right, while Alpha stood far left. "Summoning your Kalantosa against an empty field? I must really have you on edge!" Instead of looking at the present field, Sai instead inspected his long and carefully manicured fingernails. "Did you have any other effects you intend to waste, or should I just go ahead?" “Take your turn. If you have time to blather, you have time to play.” "Oh, but don't we have time for both?" With a frown, Sai placed a card in his field spell zone. "Allow me to invite you to my favorite place, the field spell card that will spell your demise! Despia, the Branded Theater!" Behind Sai arose an enormous building, styled in the same manner as his Crimsongleam Dragon. "It allows me to conduct fusion summons without Polymerization, and with it I will spell my victory!" "Now, for the next part of my plan for victory, I will normal summon my Predaplant Ophrys Scorpio! Its effect allows me to discard a monster card, my Predaplant Drosophyllum Hydra, to-" “I activate Catty’s effect and then Puppy’s effect! By returning it to the hand, another Kalantosa will appear,” The dog yipped as it turned around to hop into Avery’s hand, another of the bunny, slightly different shade. After that, the kitten followed suit, with Avery adding a card from deck to hand. “I search Hop Eared Squadron… and Kalantosa will destroy Branded Theater!” "Oh no! Not my Theater!" The tower behind Sai began to crumble and collapse, Kalantosa's effect having made quick work of it. "Nonetheless, my Scorpio's effect will now resolve, summoning Predaplant Darlingtonia Cobra from my deck!" Emerging from the ground was what first appeared to be a flower, before it bloomed to reveal the face of a venomous snake. "Since it was summoned by the effect of a Predaplant, I can search my deck for the spell card: Fusion Recovery!" “One more thing, I activate Hop Ear Squadron!” Avery placed the card onto his disk, causing three rabbits, using their ears to fly, to appear around the new Kalantosa and salute! They suddenly dispersed into green rings, two of them, and surrounded the rabbit, causing it to turn into two green stars. “Appear, festival of hopes and dreams… Star Mine!” As the summon finished, a doll-like creature with fuses all over its body appeared between Alpha and the remaining Kalantosa, defending itself… and having its fuses extend and attach to the two around it. “It may break theme, but when Star Mine is destroyed, it deals 2000 damage to you! If you destroy anything adjacent to it, the same thing happens!” Avery roared, bracing himself, “So I suggest you back down. That 1700 won’t take the hit.” Sai raised his eyebrows. "But does it not damage you as well? That's an awfully risky move. You are putting quite a lot on the line just to win this duel." “I have the life to handle it right now. You don’t.” "Even so, to blank your defensive options early just to hide behind a bomb you can barely survive, don't you think it's foolish? Your plan only makes sense if it's truly an impenetrable defense." “... I’m doing what I can. I’m no pro. I’m here because it means something to someone I care about, and I can only hope to improve. I’m sure I’ve played this out wrong, and I’ll learn from that in the future… But is it more pathetic to lose due to mistakes, or more pathetic to win because someone else made mistakes?” Sai gritted his teeth, the joy washing away from his face in an instant. "If nobody is to make a mistake, then the game is nothing but luck. To trod upon my victory is tantamount to trod upon my FREEDOM!" In a burst of motion, Sai grabbed hold of the kimono he wore, pulling it off of his body and throwing it into the stands in a single movement. Underneath, he wore a pair of billowing pants with several pleats, and his upper body was exposed to the entire audience. Every inch of his skin that had previously been concealed was covered by tattoos. His entire left side matched his arm, an intricate pattern depicting what goes on beneath the depths of the sea, its edge adorned with carefully drawn breaking waves, in homage to classical paintings. The right was ablaze, with even more demons and devils now visible. The details almost seemed to have been carved into Sai's body, the ink working together with scar tissue to create the complete image. On Sai's back was a vivid image of both the Sun on his left side and a blackened Moon on his right being pulled together into a spiraling abyss in the center, invoking both his spell card Polymerization, as well as the Yin-Yang. "Now, I will go beyond what luck ever could and seize the victory I foresaw on the very first turn!" Sai's face was curled into a vicious snarl as he slammed a card down onto his fan, "I activate Fusion Recovery, which allows me to return Polymerization and Despian Comedy from my Graveyard to my hand!" With an outstretched hand, Sai caught the two cards as they were ejected from his Graveyard. "Now I shall activate my Polymerization once more! By fusing Ad Libitum in my hand with Ophrys Scorpio on the field, I can summon Predaplant Chimerafflesia!" Just as his Darlingtonia Cobra pulled itself from the ground, so did a new monster, albeit on a far greater scale. An enormous flower of red and white sat between the two duelists, with two vines that each ended in a flytrap-like mouth. "Plus, since I used Ad Libitum as fusion material, I can summon back my banished monster: Masquerade, The Crimsongleam Dragon!" For the third time in the duel, Sai's ace dragon hit the field, hovering beside his new plant monster. "Now, Chimerafflesia, use your effect to banish his last hope! Consume Star Mine!" Without delay, the two mouthed appendages dove in toward the synchro monster, each taking half of it in mouth and tearing it in half, avoiding the explosion Avery was banking on. “Damn it!” Avery shouted as the monster was banished, pieces of it laying about the board, “Still, you can’t overcome Alpha!” "Oh, this Alpha?" Suddenly, the predator counter on the beast's face erupted with growth, crushing the monster's head and destroying it. "Since it had one of my predator counters, I can tribute it to summon my Drosophyllum Hydra from the graveyard." As he spoke, the monster he had previously discarded returned to the field. "I suppose your Master of Beasts served a better role at the bottom of the food chain, didn't it?" "And finally, do you recall when I said that my Branded Theater would spell your demise? By banishing Despia Tragedy from my graveyard, I can set it upon the field once again, and now I will immediately activate it!" The sky darkened and the air turned cold as the theater appeared once again behind Sai. "Now I shall use its effect to send my Drosophyllum Hydra and my Darlingtonia Cobra to the graveyard!" The two monsters shattered into fragments of solid vision, as a dark shadow coalesced before Sai, "Nobody will match my desire for victory. No matter how far I go, my hunger will never be sated! Fusion summon! Starving Venom Fusion Dragon!" The shadow burst to reveal the monster, a purple and black dragon adorned with multicolored orbs. On its head, a pair of horns curved forward, pointing directly at Avery. "And, since you control a special summoned monster with 200 attack, my Fusion Dragon gains that much! Not that it needs it." With a purplish glow, Sai's monster's attack rose to a total of 3000. "Now, Crimsongleam Dragon, attack his remaining monster!" Sai's demonic dragon dove in toward the small plant-adorned rabbit, aiming to crush it within its cruel jaws. Avery's monster didn't stand a chance. "Now, Chimerafflesia, attack directly!" The toothy vines went out yet again, but this time directly at Sai's opponent, taking a huge bite out of his life points. Avery winced at the attack, scowling. 2800->300 "Now, just as promised. It may have ten times the attack needed, but I am not in the business of mercy. Starving Venom Fusion Dragon, destroy my opponent's hopes and dreams!" The dragon heeded its master's command, diving in to his opponent and reducing Avery's life points to 0. "Next time you have lofty ambitions, back them up with more than platitudes." While the field faded away, Avery simply sighed. He looked back up to the window where his team waited with a wistful look, then silently walked away from Sai. Anyone looking close could see tears in the large man’s eyes, but his back was to Sai the whole time. The audience remained silent as the duel ended… Until someone booed, shorrtly followed by a few more. It wasn’t comparable to the applause from earlier, but it was clear the performance did not sit well with them. ----- “Alright then, I draw! Time to win! Aaaaaaand… MOTHER F-” The audio cut rather suddenly from Sorrel to the audience, who could only see her pitching a fit… But Falisha got to hear every single choice word that escaped Sorrel’s lips. “Rrr, I proceed to battle! Thunderclap Skywolf attacks you directly!” The wolf howled as it disappeared again, only to reappear with lightning crashing against Falisha’s disk! “Then I end my turn,” Sorrel muttered as her turn ended, only to be met by a taunt. “Oh, and it would seem you whiffed…! Well then, let’s see what I draw!” “Oi, shaddup! I just got unlucky, that’s all! What can ya do right now, anyway?” “Haha, I got it! I activate the Speed Spell, Overboost!” Her Speed Counters immediately rushed up to 9, her engine revving loudly as she pulled ahead, “Followed by activating the Speed Spell, Deceased Synchron!” “Hold it!” Sorrel grinned wide as she revealed the last card in her hand: Hop Ear Squadron! “I activate this guy’s effect! By summoning him during your turn, I can immediately Synchro Summon using him and a target. Seeing as I only have Thunderclap… Synchro!” When the red-haired girl placed the card onto the disk, they took their positions around the wolf in a triangle, beginning to transform… Only for the wolf’s claws and fangs to tear through them, howling as its own body faded to leave 7 stars. The two rings from the rabbits circled around, then tilted forward, only for a pillar of light to fill the area, a high-pitched howl echoing from it! “From a galaxy far away, the apex predator appears! Blow away the competition, Stellar Wind Wolfrayet!” Out of the light came a beast so large it barely fit on the track, running over Sorrel with paws on either side… if you could call them that. It had a sharp, draconic look about it, with glowing red eyes on either side of a red-gemstone mounted on its face. It had two large red horns, with other red protrusions across its body, segmented in appearance. Its reptilian tail flicked as its scarred-looking wings twitched, letting out another high-pitched howl! But… it only had 2500 attack, same as the wolf before it. “We’ll see if that even works! I banish Xenoguitar and Adamancipator Analyzer from my graveyard! Synchro Summon, erupt from the waters yet again, Adamancipator Risen - Dragite!” The dragon appeared from a burst of crystal once again, roaring at the wolf, which howled louder back at it. “Xenoguitar’s second effect from being banished, I mill Crystal - Dragite! I proceed to activate Dragite! Damnit, failing to find any rock monsters.” “Think you got a bit ahead of yourself there?” Sorrel grinned, her monster growling… and a counter denoting 3100 attack appeared next to it. “Each time you attempt to activate a monster, Wolfrayet gains 300 attack points! And with you failing your removal, you can’t attack over it anymore!” “Then I'll spend 7 speed counters to draw a card! Yes! I proceed to activate the Adamancipator Signs that I drew, targeting the Leonite in grave!” “I activate my trap card, the Transmigration Prophecy! It allows me to return your Risen Leonite and level 4 Leonite to your deck and shuffle!” “Sorry kitten, but I activate Dragite’s effect, due to it’s crystal being in my graveyard, I negate your trap card! Leonite revives, stacking Seeker, then using Leonite’s effect to add it to my hand!” Her runner erupted in a combination of fire and crystal, scattering the runway with lingering flames and crystal particles “Dammit…! Even so, you can’t kill Wolfrayet! In fact, doing that gave him another 300!” “Special Summon the Researcher in my hand, finding Tackle Crusader! Synchro Summon, Merge the stones gathered by the Hurricane, Risen - Rapture!” A small windstorm blasted behind her bike, blowing out any of the flames behind her and scattering the dust off the track, and Wolfrayet growled with 3700 attack. “I then activate Tackle Crusader’s effect, targeting Wolfrayet!” A spirit of the Tackle Crusader appeared, wrestling Wolfrayet before forcing it face-down in a chokehold. “Useless!” Sorrel laughed as the beast’s attack became 4000… and a wicked wind whipped through the arena, even shaking the glass on the booths that the two teams were viewing from, “When Wolfrayet has at least 4000 attack, I can return him to the extra deck… and shuffle each monster you control back into the deck! Howling Windstorm!” Wolfrayet stood up and shattered the spirit of Tackle Crusader, letting out an even more shrill howl than before, causing the wind to intensify around Falisha’s monsters… and throwing them all in different directions, only for them to shatter and return, “I may have no monster, but I drew the only losing card in my deck! This game is as good as won now!” She grins, “And with that, you’ve lost this duel. I Normal Summon Seeker, using it’s effect to special summon Koa’ki Meiru Prototype from my deck.” “3000 exactly!? Dammit, you little-” “I attack with both monsters! And that’s game~!” As the rock-robot and the boy struck at Sorrel’s runner, the screen came up, showcasing Falisha’s victory as she slide to a halt. Sorrel let out a frustrated grumble, pulling the helmet off of her head, while Falisha pulled up beside her, pumping her fist for the crowd watching as the small cheering erupted! The rock player hopped off of her runner and walked over to Sorrel, extending her hand. “Hopefully the banter didn’t get to you too much. I had fun and hope you did too. Feel free to come find me any time and we can get a few practice matches in!” “Eh? Why are you apologizing? I shit talk my opponents constantly, Hoeny just asked me to tone back!” She laughed loudly before taking Falisha’s hand and shaking it, “Good game. I’m a bit frustrated, but mostly at myself. I could have stopped that earlier but didn’t, so fair’s fair.” After the shake, Sorrel turned away and threw her hand up behind her as if to say bye. However, Falisha would find a note in her hand with Sorrel’s number in it, saying that she was owed a rematch! ------ “There you have it folks! Despite Team Wilding’s Honey coming out on top in record time, both Falisha and Sai from Team Genesis pulled out the win, no matter what you think of their methods! A big round of applause for Team Genesis!” The applause from the audience did come, but… It was less than Falisha had received individually. It also ended without much fanfare, only for the MC to clear their voice and continue. “Thank you to everyone for coming out to see these premieres today! Maybe some of you have new teams you want to follow, so please continue to support your local minor league!” ----- Vega sighed up in the booth as the duels wrapped up. She had feared it would come to this, but it would be a teachable moment. At least, once she had a chance to let them all discuss it themselves. And think on it. Once the three duelists had made it up, she cleared her throat… and began to clap. “Congratulations, guys! It’s always seen as a great sign if you win your premier, though it’s usually against an established team… but, either way, you did it! I hope this serves as a source of morale moving forward! However, I would like you guys to… discuss what took place here today, before we go. Of course, you don’t have to, but it’ll just be moved to next week’s discussion, so it’s either now or then. Would anyone like to weigh in first?” Vega smiled and looked over the entire group as she said it, although her eyes did linger on Rosalia for just a bit longer than the others, if anyone noticed.

“I’m going to go back downstairs now. If you’re going to try to stop me inflicting these” -- Melissa held up the remaining, quickly deteriorating fishsicles -- “you better do it quick. At least come hang out, even if it’s just sitting in the corner watching everyone else have fun like I was planning to do.” "P-please don't make everyone sufferrrr," Devin whined, a toothy frown appearing in the darkness of their hood, "They're so baaaaad! But I... I guess I can come downstairs... If you think it's okay..." Devin nodded and prepared to follow, only to see the fiaeries approaching... and staring at the fishsicle with absolute horror. Rather than saying anything, Devin was mostly confounded by the small creature. Of course this was a different world, but fiaeries existing still wasn't on the bingo card... Wait, this was their chance! "I... I told her they were bad, back me up on this!" Devin suddenly blurted out, "Before she makes anyone else eat one!"

"Are... you sure I should be the one riding on your back?" Diana rubbed the back of her head as Shannon folded her wings forward, cocking her head back to Diana. "I'm strong, but not much else, and it doesn't seem like I'm doing much if I'm the rider..." "Nonsense. It will be much easier for me to fly if you ride on my back, rather than holding onto my legs. Again, I sought you out for your tenacity, more than anything. I trust that you will make decisions that will lead to us surviving this round." Before Diana could object, the origami butterflies appeared, displayed the time limit, and... ”Let the games-’ ”-BEGIN!” Taking a deep breath, she grasped onto the smaller girl's back, only to be caught off guard by the immediacy of them taking off. It was unlike anything she had felt before, the loud wingbeat, the sudden pressure as they ascended, the lack of control. It was a bit much for Diana to take in, her head feeling like it was swirling, while Shannon looked about. "My, it would seem that Dear Meguru and Mr. Shoshiki got an early start taking down... Who is that?" "Dodge now!" The dragon girl barely registered the words, body moving instinctively as Meguru and Shoshiki flew past them, rocketed from a pillar that appeared from nowhere. "That... is that Ayane?" Diana muttered, causing Shannon to tense up slightly, "Are you oka-" "I'm fine," she replied suddenly, before clearing her throat. "Yes, I am fine. I am just surprised by whatever happened to make that thing. Critical Armor... We are going to change tactics slightly. I had hoped that simply being in the air would be enough, but I am instead going to keep moving. Will you be okay if I do?" Diana nodded as she clung to Shannon, prompting the latter to take off, flapping her wings to keep abreast of the situation. There was only so much detail that she could see from up high, but if the quirk she had heard about improved that much, then she had every reason to be on her toes.

BEHOLD MOTHERFUCKERS Another update. On one of the more important stretches of the run! Your new level limit is 30, and the trainers in this stretch are scary as fuck!!!!!!! Route 109 This is where Briney drops you off, just south of Slateport. I suggest returning to catch a Buizel here later, but you can't catch shit here atm. Make sure before progressing past Slateport to come back and complete the Seashore House (that's the name, iirc?), because Soda Pops are hilariously efficient, especially at this point in the game. Slateport City You're just here for plot. However, once you have the Good Rod, you'll return to catch a Wailmer. There's also... well, we'll touch on that once we have said Good Rod. For now, DO NOT MISS THE THIEF TM. One of the Aqua Grunts in the first floor of the museum gives it to you. It is missable. Oh, and since I didn't mention it, this game uses Gen 6+ TMs. I'd say Gen 5, but you CAN use TM Learning Shuffling to refresh PP, such as in Gen 6+. Next, stop at the Pokémart. Buy a harbor mail. Next go north! Route 110 Rabbit season? No, it's God damn DUCK SEASON. And we're after one of these sick ass mother fuckers. What? You say that Farfetch'd sucks? Fuck you. Farfetch'd is one of the strongest guaranteed encounters in this hack, thanks to its new Hoennian Evolution! (fun fact, i learned that this is apparently a fairly well known fan evo, made before SwSh existed. Neat!) This glorious fuck is a Fighting/Flying type, with either Hyper Cutter (subpar, but good against intimidate!) or Resolute (gen 5+ Sturdy). What? You wanna know how to get one? You just raise a Farfetch'd to level 28! I'd suggest waiting until 31, so it learns Fake Out first, but that's up to you. Indeed, Mallar'ki is a strong-ass addition to your team, both as a strong pivot due to Resolute or just a murder hobo. Or both! Anyway, back on topic. All you have to do is Repel with a Level 20 in the lead, and you're guaranteed this prime specimen. The only thing you really lose is Ponyta or a Krabby later on. so I guess you coooould Repel with a 19 to rule out the Poochy/Wingull but keep Ponyta... But are you some kinda nerd that wants a bitch pony over a fucking CHAD DUCK SAMURAI? I didn't think so. btw, don't progress too far, May's team is fucking scary and level 26+, so hahaha you'll get your ass beat to next tuesday What you SHOULD do is go into the cave next to the Trick House. Sure, it has a trainer in front of it, but she only has a 25 Drowzee. Click To Reveal Cave Name Yes. Now, there are only 2 lines available in this cave. Whismur and Diglett/Dugtrio. Do you see why we wanted the Whismur now? Catch it and start training, it'll fucking dunk Wattson. After you beat May by some miracle, you'll head up to Mauville. I'd suggest not fighting many of the trainers in the area between Slateport and Mauville, as they have proven to be dangerous as hell on many playthroughs. You have been warned. Mauville City You fight Wally. Avoid using Steel-types that can't fight Magnemite well, because his has magnet pull, and he WILL steal a kill. Get the Mach Bike. Get HM06 Rock Smash. Get the Coin Case. Go west! Route 117 This is... one of the most annoying routes in the game, for me. You wanna see this encounter table? Roselia and Ivysaur are both insane encounters, being some of the best Grass type options in the hack, while also helping with the "not enough special attackers" problem I mentioned earlier. More chances at the Marill/Slowpoke/Corphish set up, too! Which, like, cool, chance at Slowpoke is sick. Just... Why are both Ivysaur and Roselia confined to this one spot? It makes me grumpy. I love them both, while Butterfree and Beautifly are both garbage encounters. Ditto isn't much better. Do what you want here. I have no solid strategy other than "pray". You may also choose to wait until you have Rock Smash. There's a hidden area deeper inside of Petalburg Woods, with a brand new encounter pool and different locale. It holds the best HM Mule you can imagine, but also has an encounter pool in front of it, with Caterpie/Beautifly lines being the most common things... despite the three Hoenn starters also hiding there. Continue to Verdanturf. We'll have to do this again to get the Strength HM after Wattson, but for now, go into Rusturf Tunnel. Head to the left once you do, then down into the grassy area. "Help" the blackglasses man, then climb the cliff, and you'll find.... Burning Grotto If something happened to your Diglett, you have a chance to get a Numel (not amazing for this use) or a Geodude to fix that problem. Ground types kinda win against the Electric Gym (shocking!), so it's not terrible. However, unless you plan to repel in order to guarantee either a Magmar (24-25) or Numel (22-24), I suggest waiting. You don't want to get Zubat as your encounter here, as there's a better place to get it later on. You'll come back once you get Strength to get a stupidly cool item, anyway. Return to Mauville, go north. We'll go east before moving on, but there's a scary trainer that way. Just make sure, before moving up to Fallarbor, you DO go east and grab the hidden Heart Scale. Route 111 Okay, this one is very much on you, as a player, to decide how you consider your encounters. There's a water/rock smash encounter earlier on here, and the Desert is technically part of this route! However, the desert is uh... difficult to manipulate. You'll get either a Trapinch or Sandshrew in Mirage Tower, but that's a different pool, and the Desert has a pretty even mix of "neat" and "eew". As such! I say! Smash a rock and get a Geodude here, to guarantee a cool encounter later! But you can't do that until post-Wattson. Hmph. The surf pool is Marill/Slowpoke/Goldeen, but Old Rod can get Kabuto and later rods can get Barboach. Not really worth it, but neat. Return to Mauville, and go to... The Game Corner There's a poster top left. Press its button. Go to the right of the counter and look behind a potted plant. Jump into the hole. (side note: You can get Gible, Larvitar, or a hack original mon here, as well as the 3 original elemental stones, dream balls, and Link Stones. Decide which of these you want later, unless, again, desperate for a ground type to fight Wattson) Traders Den Yep, seperate area! This connects to the Secret Tunnel from earlier. There's not a ton to do here, but there's a Wonder Machine! For 10000, you get a Lv. 5 Pokemon "traded" to you! ...I have no idea how it works, if I'm honest. It usually gives me garbage, but occasionally gave me sick shit. Not commonly, though. I'm not sure what the proper timing for using it is? Maybe once you get all of your guaranteed encounters, but...? Return to Mauville once more. If you don't get the encounter, just keep it in mind. Mauville Gym just use dig 4head no really, dugtrio can eat this shit for breakfast and take maybe 4 total hits during it, none of which are damage that comes close to killing it even with a crit there's no strategy other than that Graveler/Golem can use Magnitude. Not as consistent, but has no issues. Numel seems awkward to use here, but I've never had to, so. There you go, you got a badge. Because you knew your type matchups. Hop would be proud of you. General Notes for Mauville Stretch Everything is scary and trying to kill you, except for Wattson's gym which will roll over and die like a fucking bitch You unlock a lot of unique encounters and other such things in this stretch, and if you get here, it means you beat Blake. Which means, barring recklessness or absurdly bad luck, you proooobably should be able to make it past Norman, at the very least. Make sure you're training your Gyarados, by the way! Probably your Tentacool or Carvanha as well! You will very much need them for the next stretch! Be good to your Ground type as well. For Gyarados, hold onto Dragon Rage. Trust me. I don't think you have a reason to throw it away, anyway, but have to be safe. Make sure to start training Farfetch'd around this point, if you hadn't already. It will also be very useful for the upcoming stretches... Even the E4, if it survives that long. ----- See you soon!

Alright fuckos, we're moving on to the second section of the game, and probably the only part where your pathetic "choice" at the start of the game has any major impact, supposing you didn't pick some rare niche shit. Or even if you did. We're on the road to Dewford! After you do the plot with Briney and Aqua, you can then take the boat down to Dewford, where we will get... more encounters than you probably think, buuuut... Dewford Town You get the Old Rod here! Just to the left of the gym. As mentioned, you probably wanna use this time to backtrack to Petalburg, in order to get a Goldeen. While the upcoming gym isn't the best for sac pivots, it's still more use than you'll get out of it later. !!!WARNING WARNING WARNING!!! Do NOT approach Steven with the letter before you finish up whatever you need on the mainland. Briney will refuse to take you back to Petalburg until you finish the gym, if you do. Anyway, now that you have the Old Rod... fish. Now. You'll get either a Magikarp or a Carvanha. Once done with that, head right. Route 107 Same deal. You'll get either Karp or Piranha. Next, head back to Dewford then north, to... Route 106 Why did we come here to fish last? Because the old rod encounters are different! Yes, in this spot, you'll get either Magikarp... or Hoennian Tentacool (Water/Electric)! It's a really strong Pokémon, though not at this point. This way, you get 2 very strong + 1 solid encounter guaranteed, instead of accidentally getting Karp on 106. This also makes later encounter management easier! With the guaranteed encounters out of the way, head south. No, do not go to the cave yet. Dewshine Beach A new area made by the hack! This area has a few interesting encounters... but some just plain suck. Wingull, Kakuna, Weedle... vs Azurill, Swablu, Krabby (idk why, but can have Speed Boost), Skorupi, and Paras. While most of these likely won't impact your run too much, I would still advise... Skip this encounter for now. Getting a Wingull here locks out a decent chunk of neat things, which have certain niches to fill. Sure, the thread of Weedle persists, but better to cut one shitty hit, ye? You can get Wingull from the ocean routes, so hold off until you can surf on 108. If you really must get an encounter to round out the team, though, it's fine too. You lost neat things, but not absurdly important things, if you're unlucky. As such, I'd say go for it if you don't wanna wait. There's a battle with Gym Leader Blake (!?) at the bottom, where you help fend off Magma Grunts, and you can also get the White Flute from a Fisherman. Make sure to grab said flute, it's helpful later. Next up, it's time to go north again! Granite Cave REPEL YOU FUCKER, REPEL I REPEAT, DO NOT GET AN ENCOUNTER HERE This is one of the last encounters you should get in your run. After all, some powerful options (Aron, Riolu, Hoennian Dunsparce) are available down here, if you repel with a level 14 on the lowest level... but the issue is that Sabelye can also show up. And you have guaranteed Sableye encounter later. On top of that, you MIGHT get a Lairon in Victory Road, or even a super rare Lucario! By waiting until you've touched Victory Road, you greatly increase your chances of getting a valuable asset for winning the run. Aron and Dunsparce in particular offer a lot, but more on that when we get to the E4. Note: There are Google Spreadsheets for this hack to document. They list Aron on the second floor as Levels 14-15. This is incorrect, as they only appear at Levels 13-14 there. So yeah, this is also a skip for now. Just repel until you get to Steven, making sure your lead is 15+. Dewford Gym This is now a Dark gym. Respect the fuck out of it. Sableye, Murkrow, a double battle you can stumble into... I would NOT enter below level 18, under any circumstances. And then there's... Yes, I know this morty looking fucker shares a name with me. But I would not be a Mono-Dark trainer, so there. His team is a Murkrow (20), Sneasel (21), and Houndour (22). They hit HARD. But what makes this fight so scary? His signature move is PURSUIT. Yep. Swapping out will often result in a death, and it's awful. This is the gym you are most likely to lose to, out of the first 5. Hell, maybe out of all of them? It's hard as hell for the point in the game, and the lack of good counter options. Even a lucky early Gallade (the ralts from earlier sometimes has a dawn stone) isn't enough. You know what helps a lot, though? Gyarados. Intimidate. It doesn't have good moves yet, but it at least has that ability. The Tentacool isn't bad either, and Ferroseed is far from the worst. Flaafy and Luxio both perform decently in here, too. So just make the best of what you got. General Notes for Dewford Stretch Most of the important stuff has been covered, but keep those skipped encounters in mind. They're important to come back to, after all. There's a massage/item parlor at Dewshine Beach, so that's also important to remember. Before going to Slateport, return to Petalburg (if you didn't get Goldeen yet) and Rustboro, as you can speak to Steven's father to get a Link Stone. As in, an item that evolves any trade evo, even stuff like Rhyperior that usually requires an additional item. ----- Until next time, which will hopefully be tomorrow!

*nuzlockes "What is blazing emerald" you poor, unfortunate chumps might be asking, well I'm here to tell you. Blazing Emerald (Ver. 1.6.0) is a hack of Pokémon Emerald, made by Struedelmuffin. It features many new regional forms and/or evolutions for existing Pokémon, new moves, new E4/Gym Leaders, some slightly changed plot beats, portraits for noteworthy characters, and many features that cannot be simply summed up in one sentence. Discord: https://discord.gg/GAbHMJ3 ----- Now, I spent the better part of a month playing this hack. I lost many runs, some of which didn't make it far at all. There are points in the hack where you will almost certainly die when doing it blind... or even, y'know, not blind. The second gym leader is pretty hard to counter in this hack. QUICK ASIDE TIME Nuzlocke Rules Used 1. You can only catch 1 Pokémon per route/area. 2. You must nickname all Pokémon you catch. 3. If a Pokémon faints, it's dead and cannot be used. 4. If you White Out, you lose. 5. Dupes Clause. 6. Shiny Clause: Maximum of 3. The hack greatly increases shiny chances (1/1000), and you can get a Shiny Charm after Norman. 7. Played on the Hard Mode setting. This means that you are playing Set mode, no bag use during trainer battles, and hard level caps. 15, 20, 30, 35, 40, 45, 50, 55, 60*. *more on this later Few more things. --Party EXP/Single EXP is in options, to be toggled at will. For sake of expediency, I tended to leave it on, barring specific reasons to turn it off, which I will touch on later-- --EV Training opens up post-Norman, which is important (but fairly streamlined). You can pay a guy 10000 to reset EVs on a Pokémon-- --You can buy Heart Scales during Daytime in Slateport. 7500 a pop-- --A move tutor for Egg Moves (Pacifidlog, Star Piece payment) was added, but most Egg Move pools were made smaller-- --Most importantly, you can pay 25000 to a man in Sootopolis to swap abilities. So, if your Pokémon has a bad ability, just be patient!-- Starters So, the first route of almost any Pokémon game is a bit of a contentious one, due to technically receiving your starter on it. I rule that starter doesn't count, but that's on your personal decision. The good news is, this route doesn't matter too much*! There are many choices for starters. The hack is mostly built around choosing Clefairy, Eevee, or Pikachu, who have all received buffs... but there's a "Custom Starter" option available that greatly expands the pool/change's May's team. https://wheelofnames.com/view/mmn-sgr/ ALL HAIL THE STARTER CHOOSING WHEEL (made by @Kazooie) But I am here to smartly inform you that your starter choice doesn't matter. I mean, it does, but not in these overarching sense of whether you can win or not. *That said, Clefairy/Eevee are both very strong standard choices. Clefairy helps a lot in the early game, while Eevee pops off in the lategame. Pikachu exists. I personally recommend Clefairy, just because it learns Covet early, and this is very useful against the Rich Trainers (2 before Roxanne, 2 after) who have Nuggets. You can steal 20000 in the form of nuggets before you go to Dewford! Instead, we're going to focus on your encounters and how to maximize their potential for the win. Route 101 Other than your starter, the encounters are Wurmple, Zigzagoon, Poochyena, and Shinx. All are levels 3-4. -The only garbage encounter here is Wurmple. Pray you do not. -Run Away Poochyena is fine, cause it evolves into Intimidate Mightyena. Hustle Poochy bad. -Zigzagoon is a solid HM mule, plus you get rewarded for that if you get the right ability. Can also contribute to later encounters. -Shinx is the best encounter overall, probably. Intimidate Shinx is insane, Lithe Shinx is meh. However, the TL;DR is that you don't have much control. You get what you get, that's about it. If you can skip it and make it to 102 first, by sheer luck, you can possibly get any of the above and come back, but there's a better strat on 102. Route 103 103? Yeah, this is actually accessed before 102 in game. Now, the grass offers the same things as Route 101, with the same level ranges... but with Wingull replacing Poochyena. So, my advice? Skip it. Other than a lucky Shinx, nothing here is worth it, and Wingull is explicitly a bad encounter, at this time. Instead, come back once you getbetter fishing rods. Fishing here with those will either yield a Tentacool or Staryu (Good)/Staryu or Starmie (Super). Believe it or not, you don't want Starmie (shocker!), so you should come back with the Good Rod. It's a guaranteed Staryu, which has a very useful ability for both grinding AND battles. I suppose you could try and manipulate this to guarantee a Shinx later in the game, but Staryu is better, overall. Especially with how anemic this game seems to be for good Special Attackers. Route 102 Okay, we made it! The pool here is muuuuuch larger, but this is also the birth of a key strategy; Repel Scam. If you can make it through the route without an encounter, then you can buy Repels from Petalburg. If you come back with a Level 5 mon, your available encounters are narrowed to Zigzagoon, Poliwag, and Ralts. These three are the best encounters available at this time. It is worth noting that the Water encounters on this route might be worth saving, if you feel confident. Surf can yield Poliwag, Marill, or Slowpoke, while Rods can yield Magikarp, Goldeen, or Corphish, depending on quality. All of these (bar Poliwag) are available in Petalburg's ponds, so this isn't the only encounter available. Aim high for the Ralts, guarantee the Goldeen that you'll need for later (!?), or try and get a stronger water type? Up to you! Zigzagoon is the worst thing you can get between Repel and Fishing, but it's also fine for the reasons above + being part of a later scam. Petalburg City You don't help Wally! Just get to leave! You can't get anything at this point. But, once you get a Rod... As mentioned, the encounter pool is as mentioned above... but unless you reaaaally want Slowpoke chance (6% vs 94% Marill), it's best to go ahead and come back to use the Old Rod. Getting a Goldeen is important for the Safari Zone later in the game, and... idk, use it as pivot fodder. Fuck goldeen. Route 104 This route is a little notorious, because the top and bottom half of it are the same route. So it's only 1 encounter with the same encounter options. Kinda BS. And the encounters are a mix of the same and some new iffy shit, like a Snubull that might have Intimidate. So, what are we angling for? Skip the fucking grass. Do not touch it. Under any circumstances. INSTEAD, proceed to the berry trees. At this point, either save a state OR hard save. It's save scum time (creator intended as needed!). When you go to pick a berry, there's a small chance that a Hoennian Solosis will attack. This is a Grass/Psychic type that is guaranteed to be Level 5. Be patient, it will eventually appear. Be warned, it has a worse catch rate than other stuff in the area, so if you wanna come back after you get the Great Ball from Petalburg Woods, feel free. This Solosis is a super strong answer to Roxanne, and it gets Ripen at level 15. Ripen is Cosmic Power + SpAtk boost, which means setting up on the first mon Roxanne sends out leads to a clean sweep. It'll also have Magical Leaf (80 BST) and Confusion ready by that point, as well as Sleep Powder. It also has an ability that increases the healing it receives from moves. Really, really good mon. Petalburg Forest Before you enter, there are 2 things you must do. 1. Buy Repels. 2. Lead with a Level 9. Doing this will guarantee that you get Ferroseed for an encounter, though it may take a while to find, as it is quite rare. However, it is nearly as strong, if not stronger, at answering Roxanne. I don't think it maintains quite as much value in the long run next to H!Solosis, but it's still very strong. Curse, Seed Bomb, Iron Head, and Pin Missile are all fairly early, before you can transition to its more traditional, bulky builds. Also of note is the Grunt fight. Still just a level 10 Poochy. Beat it and get a Great Ball, continue on or backtrack to solosis. Technically speaking, there are berry trees on the other side, so... Rustboro City No opportunity for an encounter here now. You'll revive a Fossil later on. This will most likely be Claw, as Root offers less of what you need when you need it, so don't get hopes up for Lileep. However, before going to the next route, make sure you lead a Level 9 or 10 (depending). Route 116 Time for more repel scamming! Poochyena, Whismur, Nincada, Abra, Mareep, and Skitty are the possible encounters. Whismur is only level 8. Poochy and Nincada are 8-9. Abra, Mareep, and Skitty are 9-10. Poochyena is okay (only if Run Away), Whismur sucks ass, Nincada can be good, and Abra/Mareep both offer strong options. Skitty has a gimmick, but it got buffed, so. If you repel with a 9 in the lead, you have a 17% of hitting a Poochy, 10% Nincada, 15% Abra, 9% Mareep, and 2% Skitty. No, this does not add up to 100%, as it's the chance of them appearing on any given tile. You are most likely going to get a Poochy, least a Skitty. If you have not already caught Poochyena, I would recommend going in with a Level 10 in the lead instead. This makes Pokémon much more rare, with Abra at 7.5%, Mareep at 4.5%, and Skitty at 1%, but these encounters are all better than a Poochyena or a Whismur. Just be patient, and you'll get a good team member. Rusturf Tunnel Sadly, you are here for Whismur. Tyrogue does exist here, but it's pretty bad to not get the Whismur here, as it greatly reduces your chance of getting an encounter that you'll want to get for Wattson. Just catch a Whismur. Use it as pivot fodder or leave it on the bench idk General Notes for First Stretch Solosis and Ferroseed are both great at getting through this part of the game, as they are strong options against Roxanne. Most basic trainers don't amount to much of anything, especially not in the face of any Water or Grass types, with a few exceptions. You can enter the gym with a level 9~ solosis and solo it, getting most of the EXP needed to get to 15. Get to 15 before the Roxanne fight, get Ripen, and set up. However, if things get hairy, do not be afraid to swap. This is why we have the Ferroseed on backup. Her team is Aron, Geodude, and Hoennian Mareanie (Rock/Poison), so be aware of that. Mareanie has Poison Sting and Spike Cannon (25 BST, up to 5 hits), so it may be better to just swap to Ferroseed, if you didn't set up enough Ripens/you fear a crit. Other than that, uh... Yeah. Maybe skip the May fight on the way out of Rustboro, as it is quite scary for the point in the game you're at. Oh! And! Try to avoid the rich people you see until you have Thief or Covet. Those early nuggets are too fucking nice. As mentioned, Clefairy can make fighting them earlier a thing, but you can also go to Slateport and get Thief before coming back. ----- That's all for now. Next post should cover the Dewford Stretch, which is... a little bit of a doozy, I think? Anyway, thanks for reading! Seriously, check out the hack, it's cool as hell! I really enjoyed trying to surmount it, and achieving it felt amazing. I wish I had the talent or equipment to animate and/or record this, but alas.