[ti]closed[/ti][S][C/Aero] A New World Ahead

Before the Hearteater raid, Aero was paranoid after hearing about Ultra Beasts roaming around wreaking havoc. She had some bad memories such as escaping a Xurkitree with her life or barely losing her Fuecoco from a Buzzwole... She thought she might get more if she continued exploring Ostellia in its current state.

Thankfully, that wasn't the case anymore. She got a new Buzzwole who was much more friendly than the last one, and now, her Braviary and Zubat were playing with the cutest Zapdos duo she had ever seen. She was standing next to Josh Devlin after he called about trekking through the route now that the source of their troubles was gone. As she saw the sun shining at them, Aero smiled and said, "Yep. It's much better than the gloomy clouds before."

She then stretched her arms to prepare for the trek ahead with Type: Null by her side and a familiar green egg with hexagon pattern in her backpack. "By the way, what happened before the raid? I'm pretty lost at the plot, so I'm basically out of the loop with the Ultra Beast and those strange colorless Pokemon earlier."

Oh? Was this a challenge from a little Zapdos? Ruffy could tell from their eyes that they were raring to fight him in a play battle. Being a senior Pokemon of sorts, the proud Braviary was willing to take on their challenge and see if it could handle its beak of strength...

"Ruffy, don't get too rough on Josh's Zapdos or you're gonna get a time-out!"

Well... Not in a way that would disappoint his trainer. Either way, he was willing to endure the Kantonian Zapdos's peck thanks to its Electric mod. As for Zuri, she was a bit annoyed at the Ninjask's teasing. Of course, that didn't mean she would ignore sportsmanship over her petty rivalry. She was a bit impressed with Mirage's progress after all.

As for Aero, she was surprised by what Josh Devlin had been through. He risked his life to complete a Quest that would end up being a prelude to the Hearteater raid. Yet she was saddened to hear what happened with his Pokemon in the aftermath. "I'm sorry about your Pokemon. I won't say anything else. But I heard Everworld might be tough to get through. I haven't been there before since I haven't got white-out, but I can't help but imagine what Ares and Ulysses have been through while they're gone."

As soon as the Electric Legendary birds focused their play battle on each other, Ruffy was still standing proud. Well, to an overconfident Braviary. In reality, the Braviary was secretly screaming in his mind. Just how powerful were those pecks? And the Zapdos were only babies! It didn't help his ego when he noticed Zuri chuckling behind him. He would have attacked her right there. But knowing his trainer's temper, he rather avoids confrontation in front of her.

Speaking of which, Aero clutched her chest upon learning more about his Pokemon. She couldn't imagine if her Skeledirge would have suffered the same fate as his Charizard. It was luck that allowed her to know about the quest and avoid her participation. But it still gave her shivers down her spine.

"The same thing happened to my Frosmoth during the final moments of the raid. He sacrificed himself for this guy's Poipole, but the opposite happened. It hit really hard on that Lunala and gave us the win to avenge the lost Pokemon." Aero sighed. "I'm still frustrated at what happened even if he didn't go to the Everworld. But I know from my parents that I can't focus on my guilt forever. Your Charizard did the right thing after he failed and I know he won't be happy if you keep being Mr. Gloomy."

She then took something out from her bag, revealing a small wooden house resembling a shrine painted in green decorated with hexagon patterns. Aero gingerly placed it on the ground along with her egg and smiled. "I played this game for a long time now, but I'm no expert on it. I mostly play it to have fun and I don't want to game's story to make me gloomy all day. Besides, you still have a chance to get Ares back. Don't waste your time thinking he failed. Rather, try to apologize to him and tell him that he did the right thing in the end. The same goes for your Dewgong"

Aero couldn't help but chuckle at watching her Braviary try to shake off the pain while Zuri teased him about it. "True. But I doubt I can wield it since you know, I'm small." She couldn't imagine how could she carry it even in real life. "Maybe that's why I prefer swords and daggers with my Ironsmith as well as games outside Pokemon."

She was surprised at an unexpected revelation from Josh's real-life self. She was attending a normal public school, so she couldn't imagine how he had gone through his life. She was relieved that he could still enjoy riding with his Pokemon. "Just be careful in the Everworld. If something happens to you, I can't call you my "friendly rival" in riding and adventures."

Eventually, the topic switched to her homemade shrine and her egg sitting next to it. "It's a mini-shrine I made for my Zygarde egg. I can't find any shrine that relates to it. So I decided to make one myself. I hope the game counts it as a "shrine"."

"Oh... Really?" Aero cheekily grinned. "I do like having the idea of riding a Pokemon in a battle with a weapon. But if you ask me, I'm still sticking with my swords and Pokemon by my side any day. I think those MMO players call it a "melee DPS fighter" or a "squishy rogue", I think..."

Aero grinned to witness his motivation rising. She knew it would be a risk to be charged into UNOVR's version of the afterlife, But she also knew Josh was strong. Strong enough to fulfill his goal of bringing back his beloved Pokemon.

She then nodded with a chuckle. "Well, I know much about Zygarde from the anime. So I have a feeling I will be busy taking care of this guy once they hatch. Maybe Rocky might help me since they're part-Ground-type since I still have another Legendary to take care of." She eyed her Type: Null, who was staring at two Zapdos play-fighting. "It might take a while for me to get them to evolve soon."

"Well, if I can hatch Zygarde along with other ones in my inventory, I'm sure your Zapdos will have great opponents to face. And if you don't want too much disadvantage, I'll try raising a Jirachi or a Solgaleo," Aero offered. "In fact, my dream is not only to explore UNOVR but also battle alongside them in my armor! Until I clean it up, of course." She still recalled her armor was corrupted by the mysterious mist back in the Hearteater raid and she feared something might happen if she kept it for too long.

After hearing Josh's guess on Type: Null's evolution requirements, Aero raised her eyebrow as he opened her Pokemon's stats. "That's odd. I had them meeting different Pokemon in my playthrough and it was added to the list. There's nothing said about capturing every type." Either way, she shrugged her shoulders as she closed the window. "Still, it depends if you also want to explore like me. I barely meet other players outside World Events and Quests."

Eventually, her Braviary and Zubat returned to her side as well and she nodded to her friend. "Same here. I am planning to stack up on Cosmog DNA soon. I just got a nifty sword from the raid and it would look cool wielding it alongside a Solgaleo."

Aero couldn't help but squint her eyes at Josh's window. Clearly, his UI must be bugged or something. But she didn't have the heart to tell him or even correct him based on the info she recently got. "Either way, you can try interacting with all of the Pokemon without catching them. Don't forget we can't have more than 50 Pokemon in our box. Unless you want to trade them for some rare Pokemon, it's best if you should try interaction before heading to the catching route."

Even with one of his subclasses being Ironsmith, Aero smiled to see his creative ways to use them for his riding goals. "I guess I should do the same with my swords and armor. My armor just got corrupted by that Hearteater's mist and I was planning to clean it up at that new shrine." She showed him the description of her aforementioned armor as she didn't want to infect their Pokemon by accident. "So far, it hasn't affected me or given me that rumored Parasite subclass. But there's no way for me to keep something so cursed without knowing its effects. Plus, I heard the Contact subclass has immunity against them as long as I have Vonnie with me. Which might be a double-edged sword for me..." She groaned, now conflicted at this accursed blessing.