victory_road | Video from Indigo Plateau! [backdated to Dec 18]

*The video starts off with a series of clips of pokemon battles strung together, all featuring Sion and his team. The first features Dusk the absol, landing a powerful Night Slash against a bronzong belonging to a masked man. The second, Valiant the gallade faces off against a ninja's toxicroak. Then Valiant is seen again, this time up against a machamp belonging to a rather strong-looking trainer. Following that, a clip of Just the lucario readying a powerful punch against a silvery-haired woman's absol.

Finally, (and perhaps most importantly) the background music changes to a battle theme few if any have heard before, the video this time showing a clip of Sion's glaceon Jina readying a blizzard against a certain caped dragon master's dragonite, as a hailstorm swirls all about the battlefield.

Then, after the montage fades out, is Sion with a smug grin, a certain dark-haired mage doing his best to avoid drawing attention in the background while Sion holds up a fancy-looking certificate.*

I suppose if anyone else wants to know what the Elite Four have on their teams without finding out first hand, Ryner and I could certainly spoil the surprise.

Ah, and I have a copy of the recordings of Ryner's battles, too, if anyone's interested.

*aaaand he's turning it off before Ryner can have a chance to protest*

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He'll take the most chocolatey cookies you can.

[butting in re: Sion's lack of sweet tooth, because if Sion's going to threaten to release his videos he can at least be a butt to him in return]

...Aah, but you don't have to. I'd be willing to talk about it either way, myself.

Ah, but if that's what he'd like, what will you request?

[Celebratory goods for everybody!]

That's very kind of you. Have you found any of their team configurations particularly surprising or unexpected?

[Rose pops up on Ryner's shoulder with a note. "Dango please!"

He doesn't even need to look.]

Rose'll want some dango, I'm sure. If you've got a recipe for that.

[Ryner that doesn't answer what your request is though--]

And well, they weren't exactly secretive about each of the types they theme around, but it was honestly pretty obvious from the start that Dragon was going to count not just the type. And I went in expecting Koga to lead with a Poison type who was immune to one of its weaknesses, so Skuntank wasn't really much of a shock... Honestly, the biggest surprise was Will's team. I prepared for all of the possibilities, but didn't really expect Slowbro or Jynx as much.

I've not yet found one, but that's merely a reason to look harder.

[Or to interrogate some poor cook who just wants to work in peace.]

My goodness, Skuntank, Slowbro and Jynx? I must applaud them for choosing to work with uncommon species. Why, I think I've only battled a handful of each so I arrived. Their strategies and movesets must be fascinating.

I'm sure Marian would gladly share at least one cookbook that has it...

[The way Rose clutches his hair just a little bit harder when he mentions that name is actually a marked improvement over usual, but still a thing. Today is about us. This team. Marian is back at home. Don't make this about her, Dear Partner.]

They really are interesting, yeah. The Elite Four really know what they're doing.

Should I not find one on my own, I'll not hesitate to ask.

[Though maybe not in front of Rose, because that hair-pullling looks a bit painful.]

It's too bad they still favor a specific type, even if they attempt to counter its counters. With more complete type coverage, surely their battles would be magnificient.

[He's used to it. Though he does reach up to pet her a little behind the ear.]

It would help them out a lot, wouldn't it... Ahh, on the other hand, with the gym leader certification that's the prize, maybe it's a test of some kind? And so they want to make it reasonable, or something.

True, that could explain it. If they want new Gyms from us, they can hardly wait a decade while we train to their highest potential level. Too few of us would ever reach that level.

And even those who would... would they bother? I mean, none of us know if we're gonna disappear tomorrow. I wouldn't've bothered myself, but Rose kind of insisted.

[Ryner, to be fair, you're a lazy outlier who shouldn't be counted...]

Why not? It's a challenge. It's a duty that can be chosen, that is not simply thrust onto anyone. It's a way to leave a mark on this world.

Well, I guess if someone's the type to care about that stuff...

Some do, even if our potential legacies here are shaky at best. I doubt those Gyms will outlast the last of us to leave, to be honest.

They probably won't.

...Ahh, well, it makes Rose happy, if nothing else.

Making one's starter happy is usually an excellent idea, if only because they know where we sleep.

["Clefairy~ ♥"]

...This is true.

Their power over the rest of the team is also not to be underestimated. Especially if the team in question would like the opportunity to show off their power.

["Tik!" And there's a chirp from the tinyspider in a top hat who's decided he wants to take a nap in the opposite crick of Ryner's neck from where Rose is perched. ...He mostly found it fun, not really a time to specifically show off or anything, but.]

Yeah, guess that's true too. A chance for all of them to show off how much they've grown.

Video from Indigo Plateau! [backdated to Dec 18]

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[video] Sorry for the super lateness! My laptop broke :(

[video] No worries~!

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