#skillswapping

[tapuhauko]

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

// @badbirchenergy & @skillswapping

[journcys-archived]

Sidney had been missing for two days.

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

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

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

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

// @skillswapping | closed starter.

[skullkxd]

@skillswapping said: ❛  don't you think you've already done enough damage for one day?  ❜ from Faba

They hate when Faba scolds them like this.

The whole thing was an accident anyway, mostly. The thing that exploded in their pocket wasn’t meant for Faba’s office — they had a different plan for it.

Ree is standing in the middle of the wreck, listening to Faba bitch at them endlessly as they pick silly string and glitter out of their hair, and their temper — which they’ve done so much to keep in check — is finally slipping.

“Will you quit bitching at me?! You’re not my boss! All you like to do is yell at me and I hate it!”

[aetherceuse]

The response comes to no surprise for Lusamine; she had a certain way with handling her associates, and the branch manager was no different. Hand rested on her waist, the other arm hanging freely at her side, the president lids her eyes, stoic frown accompanying her flat, blunt tone.

“A charming compliment is not what I intended to hear, it is acceptable, however—“ Lusamine brings both hands behind her back, folding them and pacing over to Faba’s side, where she stares down at him.

“That is not the note we will be ending on. Follow me,” she instructs plainly, heels clacking on the sterile floor as she begins to walk forward. Lusamine’s gaze shoots over to a certain subordinate who was listening in: hush.

Her next words are withheld. It is in Faba’s best interest to follow his superior. // @skillswapping continued.

[gnzma]

"okay guys now we all go to faba and call him a boomer. it's gonna be hilarious i swear-"

[pridepoisoned]

@skillswapping (for Faba!!) - [starter call/writing warm-up / accepting.]

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

Eris smiles. She feels comfortable here.

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

"You seem a bit bothered...I certainly don't intend to trouble you, Mr. Sauvageau. I, on behalf of the Devon Corporation, am honored to receive a one-on-one tour of this breathtaking facility," Eris offers with a respectful little bow and an airy wave of her hand. "You set the rules, and I'll try my best to follow your capable lead today, yes?"

[draconscious]

@skillswapping sent: ❛ you look like you could use a hug! ❜ ( from Alvina - SORRY CLAIR )

Great.

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

"Oof-!"

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

"Can you...let go?" the Gym Leader wheezes through gritted teeth against her visitor's embrace. "Thought...thought you were still in Paldea. Thought I could have....a moment of peace..."

[turojo]

@skillswapping asked:

09 . a kiss to prove a point . ( from faba — the point is something scientific, somehow. )

BASOREXIA - open

" Now I really think that 'happiness' is superficial to a point. An oxymoron almost. The effort to achieve and keep it exceeds the need leading to dibilatating stress instead. You see this? " He shakes a little vial, its contents sloshing around in the glass. " Synthesized serotonin. One swig. That's it. No need for anything el- "

.....or they can do that. Maybe an effort to shut the topic up already however it started in the lab or to prove one stubborn point to another equally stubborn point. ...He didn't pull away though even when the shock worn off a few moments before the kiss was parted.

" .... "

" .. You know with further analysis .. I think I can change the thesis. Kissing has - ahem, traditionally ah...been known to lower stress levels, improve bonding between individuals and ah.....release oxytocin and...dopamine all at once-- "

[airborneace]

Just like what you asked me because now I'm curious — What did Winona's involvement in the clash of the legends look like? Was that chain of events what inspired her to lookout for the region's overall safety, or was it the work of something else? As a sort of crisis manager, what kind of measures would she take should such a thing ever happen again?

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

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

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

Lessons were learned though. Winona will not allow herself to get complacent about potential organized criminal elements. The fact that no one was quick enough on the draw to halt Team Aqua and Team Magma was the catalyst to this problem, and ensuring that the regional leaders are aware of this is key. But even if all that fails, and another great crisis befalls the region, Winona will be the first to ensure that there is a proper hierarchy of command in place to tackle problems, and so that it's never going to be her communicating to a bunch of Gym Leaders who themselves are also all busy scrambling around to aid the situation and that the response will be less about getting their backs off the wall and more in line with ensuring that their backs never even get to that point. Whether that's agreements with suppliers for goods, or designated bunkers, or better loudspeaker systems, Winona is not going to allow Hoenn to be caught off-guard again.

[fleurladari-a]

smash or pass faba :^)

" did you know that lysandre labs has a section of their labs dedicated to hybridization of pokemon as well as cloning? i believe you'd do well in both. of course, i only wonder what you'd do well to become. "

SMASH.

[monterraverde]

“Red LOST?! To that Igor-looking beanpole?! Aw HELL no. Wow…”

This competition just got ten times more interesting. Now she had a conniving bastard to topple.

For her friends honor? Hell no, the smarmy look on his face just made her want to knock him down a peg.

She had to tackle May, first.

[tapuhauko]

Kahuna Clash - Grand Finale!

Today is the day! The generator spat out the Meadow Terrain, so here they were, in a special area in the meadow for the Grand finale. Hau is the referee for this fight, and he checks both sides to see if everyone was ready. That being the case, it was time... "Fight!" They call out, and so the battle starts! May sends out Blaziken, and Faba throws out an Alolan Raichu. The latter doesn't manage to keep up, however, and Blaziken grabs the first point for May. Gardevoir against Slowbro is next. The two Pokémon clash and clash, seemingly evenly powered, until finally Slowbro clutches the win. Manectric and Tropius on May's side fight against Faba's Sigilyph and Alakazam, but the two former clutch yet two more points for May. Faba doesn't seem to be defeated just yet, however, as his Bruxish takes out May's Sableye... It all comes down to this last match-up!

It's Slaking on May's side, and Hypno on Faba's. The Pokémon fight, the crowd cheers, Hau's heart is beating in his throat at the tense battle. The two Pokémon collide, a storm of flower petals covering the scene... Slaking is the last one standing. Which means... "...Hypno is unable to battle! Slaking and May win!" The crowd cheers loudly, applauding as Hau walks up to May and lifts up her arm into the air. A thunderstorm rumbles in the distance, causing Hau to smile small. Seems like Tapu Koko approves. Hau moves to fetch May's prizes. He hands over the trophy, the star piece, and the coupon for a free, hand carved wooden statue of a thing or Pokémon of choice from Hala. The Kahuna and the finalists thank the crowd, and soon everyone is off, either to mingle, to watch the ride-Pokémon showcase, or to prepare for the party tonight. Hau stays behind a little longer, helping with cleaning up the area. There's still that feeling of being watched... But they try to shake it off for now.

[journcys-archived]

@skillswapping sent: "So that's how it's gonna be, huh?" Sid was always inisting that he lay off, but Noland couldn't very well do that with the way Wallace looked at him in silent judgement. Besides, it's not like His Highness here would do anything about it. "You're just gonna have to deal with the fact that I'm never gonna meet your impossible standards — that IS what you're thinkin' isn't it? If there's somethin' on your mind, you better just come out and say it! I think I can take it coming from you — let me have it!" ( frienemies, ahoy! )

The stare that Wallace gives Noland is blank. There was little to no care for what he had to say as he spouted off on his nonsense. Quite frankly, Wallace didn’t care about what relationships his League chose to have—what he cared about was the snide remarks he’d hear from the other, or the fact that his blockheaded behaviour could get in the way of things every once in a while.

“Last time I checked, Noland, I don’t show up to the Battle Factory to bother you.” He huffs, tilting his head to the side slightly and raising a brow as lithe arms cross over his chest. Wallace isn’t the violent type, but his fingers twitch slightly.

“You have a nature that clashes with my own. But I don’t think it would kill you to…change a few things. Better yourself a little, ect, ect.” It seems as though Wallace doesn’t know the weight of his words—he tries not to be judgemental but some people make it just so easy.

“Instead of trying to pick a fight with me, just go find Sidney and leave. This discussion is already cutting into my time, and I have places to be.”

[skullkxd]

@skillswapping said: "how can you possibly think this is funny ?"

Ree can’t even bother to pretend to not be grinning. They look Faba up and down — and take pride in how his pristine white suit is now absolutely covered in paint. Seems like Faba fell for the paint can on top of the door trick … typical.

“Anytime you get embarrassed is kind of funny,” they point out, adjusting their wheelchair so they can face him. “You should know that by now… what are you doin all the way in po town, anyway?”

[aetherceuse]

Branch Manager applications are open apparently.

[gnzma]

>:3