2023-12-29: The Lost Age
- Log: 2023-12-29 The Lost Age
- Cast: Giovanni, Jessie and James, Arisugawa Joy, Peace Kishinami, Margaret, Rena Lanford, Claude C. Kenny, Cirea, Chase, Ethius Hesiod, Hannah Curie, Lan Lilac, Dias Flac, Elaine, Gwen Whitlock, Zed, Ida Everstead-Rey, Holly, Jacqueline Barber, Avril Vent Fleur
- Where: Professor Oak's Laboratory
- Date: December 29, 2023
- Summary: The Drifters, after finding themselves on a strange new world, encounter strange people attacking a strange laboratory. Do they know what's going on? No! Will that stop them? What do YOU think?
<Pose Tracker> Giovanni has posed.
Pallet Town is a pleasant town. Despite being somewhat large, it has a carefully manicured feel of a small town. There are no skyscrapers, like there are in other Nedian settlements. Small shops, single family homes, and a sense of community make it a popular place to live that never feels big.
And, nestled in Pallet Town is a laboratory.
A two-story building, with a curved red roof, and large windows on the top, stands on a hill on the edge of town. There is a house attached to the side of it; a windmill is up top. It is, ordinarily, a place of learning -- a place where young Nedians come to start their Pokemon journey.
Today, it is a target.
A scattered number of individuals are nearby, clad in uniforms with a prominent red R on them. Two stand near the gate leading to the laboratory's lawn, and they stand out for two reasons:
The first is that they wear heavier battle gear than most members of Team Rocket do. They're clad in armored coats, of Nedian make, but black and with that R on them. One carries a high tech shield, with several panels on it, and a sword over the back. The other has leather gloves, with reinforced metal over them.
The second is that they are not Nedian; both are tall with clawed hands. Their faces have prominent noses, with pronounced veins. The one with the sword and shield is broad-shouldered and muscled. The one with the claws is lean. But both are just not quite human, with longer legs an arms.
Biggs Guado glances at Wedge Guado, as there is a shuddering blast of flame up by the windmill. A sign of trouble, for any Drifters nearby.
"Think those two are gonna say the speech?" Biggs asks.
"Probably," Wedge answers.
<Pose Tracker> Jessie and James has posed.
In a small town like Pallet, two stories is deluxe. Two stories is worth talking about, especially in a building as large as a Laboratory. If Oak's Lab were a mall, it would be the end times -- because there isn't a single escalator to be seen in this town. Even lifts are a little magical. The degree of 'small' to this small town is such that building up instead of building out (into the endless rolling fields and paddocks) is inconceivable city talk.
It's on a hill, too. This is, underlined and bold, THE MOST IMPORTANT BUILDING HERE.
No wonder, then --
OST: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LXZmZP6EUmk Team Rocket Theme
"Prepare for trouble," dulcet tones ring out, across the Laboratory, as a shrouding Smokescreen obscures everyone's view.
"And make it double!" Another voice -- still remarkably pleasant, but more masculine -- joins the first.
"To protect the Nede from devastation," Jessie Musashi steps out from the murk and mire, perfectly-manicured in her white and black Rocket uniforms, that red R prominent on her chest.
"To unite all peoples within all nations!" James Kojiro looks much the same -- except he's wearing an elaborate machine across his shoulders which looks, to all the world, like an advanced vacuum cleaner. And what's that about all nations? Well... just look at the Guado, over there.
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" Jessie declares, swiping a hand out, as James sniffs a perfect red rose. "To extend our reach to the stars above," he adds, more calm but no less intent.
"Jessie!" "James!" And each says their name, positively sparkling through the process.
Somehow, a spotlight lands on the two of them -- and a Meowth, between them -- as they spread their arms wide. "Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!" Jessie introduces the lot of them, as James issues an ultimatium: "Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"Mrowr," their Meowth adds, menacingly. "Mrawr!"
It seems that today, your enemies... are Team Rocket!
... and they have an amazing stage crew?!
One member of which seems to be, "Koffing!", a strange gnarled and hardened toxic cloud which floats back beside James and provides more smoky cover as they break in. James laughs, as he makes his grand entrance into the Pokemon Laboratory --
-- and once he's there, he proves how much of a sucker he is by activating that vacuum cleaner, starting to suck up all of Oak's Pokeballs. "I can't believe how much it pays to suck!" He can be heard, above the noise of the machine, as Ashound's Pokeball flies for the menacing maw of the vacuum.
"Ekans, go!" Jessie says, over him, turning back towards the entrance to release her Pokemon -- a purple rattlesnake. "Make sure no one interferes!" Jessie instructs her, as Ekans bobs her head.
"Kkaansss!"
<Pose Tracker> Arisugawa Joy has posed.
There's a young girl with the two Guado Guardians -- she's fairly short, at only 162cm; she has a black baker boy hat on in the Team Rocket style, and is dressed in a black turtleneck and jeans, over which a white trenchcoat with a red R can be seen.
(Since I was little, I was an obedient child.
I did everything that was asked of me.
I never argued with an adult.
I studied and went to school every day.
I fulfilled what was expected of me:
I went to nursing school, to become a nurse.)
Jessie and James sweep onto the stage. That well-rehearsed, famous introduction... every time she witnesses it, it only gets more inspiring. Those two... even though she knows they've only met each other for about a year, they already move in sync better than even Joy thinks she can move with her Pokemon. And seeing Jessie-sempai shine like this...
(Yes, that was the start of it all.
At that point, I realised...
I was completely empty.
I was a hollow body, living without a trace of desire.
There wasn't a single thing in that life I was interested in...)
The Guado Guardians. Joy was really surprised to see outworlders, but the boss seems to have taken a real shine to them. She's pretty unsettled about the kind of weaponry they carry, but they seem like they're more interested in using Pokemon here...
(This isn't what I expected, but...
I made a commitment to myself.)
And of course... Peace is here too. She won't disappoint her childhood friend, who set her on her path. There's a quiet glance towards the professor, and then back towards the fray.
A quiet, centred breath. Then, she draws three spherical orbs with varying colours -- one is black and yellow with a stylised 'H' painted ontop, another is blue and yellow with a thunderbolt symbol, and one is white-on-white with a black and red top that vaguely looks like a knob -- hit the ground, and out emerge:
BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=og5jVYuydpc
A large turtle-shaped creature, roughly five feet in height, with a blue and cream colouration and a brown shell. It has a slightly smug look on its face, and twin ARM-like cannons on its back. It has a yellow construction helmet studded with rocks on its head. It's OSHA compliant.
GS: Joy sent out BLASTOISE!
(I won't turn back.)
A vaguely draconic reptilian creature, coloured orange and cream, with bat-like wings with a teal membrane on
its back. Its tail has a bouquet of fire constantly burning at its tip. It's wearing heavy-duty, steel-toed boots. It,
too, is OSHA compliant.
GS: Joy sent out CHARIZARD!
(I will fight.)
And finally, a large frog-like amphibian creature on all fours, greenish-blue in colour, with an enormous red
flower with white spots and large green leaves, vaguely resembling a rafflesia. It's carrying yesterday's lunch, for
some reason.
GS: Joy sent out VENUSAUR!
(For the future I desire...)
The three Pokemon are staying back for now, not joining the Pokeball-sucking antics. Are they keeping a lookout?
DC: Arisugawa Joy switches forms to Ex-Champion Joy wants to test you...!
<Pose Tracker> Peace Kishinami has posed.
You could almost mistake the other young woman as just being along for the ride rather than actively a member of Team Rocket. She doesn't wear the emblazoned, crimson R on her labcoat. She isn't anywhere near as obvious or flamboyant as Jessie and James. She doesn't exude minion like Biggs and Wedge do.
You might even think she's from the Laboratory that's being attacked, though she's probably a bit too calm for that given the way she watches the speech with her hands in her pockets, standing alongside Joy. If nothing else, she's attentive in her quiet; she's one of the first to actually notice other people on the scene, glancing behind her as the people of Pallet Town start to take notice of everything there is... to notice.
"Joy," she notes aloud, though when it becomes obvious that the warning isn't necessary she nods in satisfaction. It doesn't seem like the time to smile; instead, a frown flickers across the young woman's otherwise rather muted expression, and then she puts a hand to her forehead with the faintest of sighs as she turns towards the Drifters. "Hello there," she suddenly says, and you can tell she's at least trying her best to put on a warmer tone of voice. "My name is PEACE. People call me a POKEMON PROF."
The stress she's putting on some of the words is clearly making her own teeth ache, but she soldiers on. "As you've already seen, this world is inhabited by creatures called POKEMON. For some people, POKEMON are pets. Others use them for fights. Myself..."
She slowly turns a little to one side as the act breaks. "... I suppose I should say I study them, because I do, but... it doesn't really feel like the time to admit that, does it? Anyway, that's how it is. Call me an independent contractor, if you'd like." Her eyes flick over the assembled Drifters as she counts up the number of Pokemon she can see, a dissatisfied look on her face. Like the others, she lifts a trio of red and white balls in one hand, held between her fingers--
--but when she tosses them forwards, they roll innocently across the ground and come to a stop. "Fair is fair. Part of a professor's job is to help people get started. I'm supposed to teach you how to use them, but... you can figure it out. You're a bit older than ten."
Her labcoat rustles; something is moving in one of the pockets, and a small furry creature - light brown in colour and vaguely canine - pops its head out with a happy chirp. Suddenly, on top of her head, a slightly larger one in deep blacks with yellow accents lazily curls up where it's suddenly appeared. Curling around her legs is another, all spiky white and gold.
Here, at least, there's a quietly satisfied look on Peace's face. "Think fast, though."
<Pose Tracker> Giovanni has posed.
"...yeah, there they go," Biggs says. There is a glance at them; there's something almost like a fond look at Joy. Seems like a good kid. He looks sideways at Wedge. "Ready?"
"Born," Wedge says, after paying a brief -- and perhaps concerned -- glance at Peace Kishinami.
The both of them extend their hands and crack their knuckles, with a simultaneous loud POP. Then, they reach to their belts, and each pulls out a Pokeball. The red-and-white orbs shake -- before they toss them.
"Skiddo!" Biggs calls, as a goat with fur that becomes rather like a bush pops out.
"Shinx!" Wedge cries, as a blue and black cat, with golden eyes and a four-point golden star on his tail, sallies forth.
And then together, the former Guado Guardians shout: "GO GET 'EM, BOYS!"
BGM: FFX - Brave Advancement (Erlnite Remix)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z2EQfKNUGBw
DC: Giovanni switches forms to Team Rocket Grunts Biggs and Wedge Guado!
<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.
So where, as they say, was Margaret, the Black Pearl of somewhere-or-other?
Margaret did not have the privilege of finding the neat path through the Viridian Forest. Having no better idea, Margaret had simply relied upon good horse sense and her knowledge of woodcraft, such as it may be, as well as her one remaining sword. The refurbished Celesti steel is solid, although it has at this point lost the benefit of its runic inscriptions, the Rune Blade paint having worn off somewhere around the fiftieth hack through.
Margaret had been nonplussed to find a box containing a bottle of fresh water made of some kind of strange ARM material. She had drunk the water and kept the bottle. It was like glass, but flexible and much lighter. It was probably some kind of sorcery.
Yeah; sorcery. Go with that.
Margaret emerged from Viridian Forest approximately three quarters of a mile from the boulder-occluded route most people took and had been walking forwards. Towards the town. (She was on the other side of a slight ridge.) Sweaty, dishevelled, exhausted, with half of her spells discharged, Margaret was already considering whether or not she might be able to swop the bottle for at least space to nap.
Her ears flatten backwards and she sags at the explosion. Panting, she says to herself, "Alright, old girl, come on --" Trundle, trundle, trundle, and as she comes round she can see things. Hear things.
Margaret's eyes go over Jessie and James as they perform what she'd consider quite a passable effort at a formal introduction. The thought crosses her mind of giving them a recruitment pitch, even if their... cat? and their.... animate... what is that thing exactly?
This is the first time Margaret has clearly seen a Pokemon.
She is introduced to several others. (At least Jessie's snake makes sense. Are they Seraphs or something? Margaret wonders.)
Three similar creatures brought forth by the dark-clad young woman who is putting her in mind of Dollie somehow. No, wait, there's someone else. Peace. And she's a Pokemon... Moff? No, Proff. She's explaining something about Pokemon. Margaret squints at her with fatigue. The balls summon things? Some kind of shikigami thing, like Magilou's? Called 'Pokemon'?
And then Margaret's head turns.
Her eyes widen slowly as she sees...
Summoning a DEVIL GOAT and a HELL CAT...
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XMgMOYKZ96g
"You," Margaret hisses at Biggs and Wedge. She reaches for her blade as fatigue washes off of her like mud being subjected to high pressure water. "BOTH of you," she continues, voice rising, ringing. The sword is drawn and raised above her head.
"You DARE to show your faces!? After what you've done!? Rrraaaaaghhh-- to the Vile Tribe with both of you!!" Margaret continues, fatigue-raddled brain kicking directly into WAR MODE. "FOR NEO-VANE! HAVE AT YOU!"
And then she charges, screaming.
She has not fully encompassed the Pokemon.
GS: Margaret has attacked Giovanni with This Is How I Fight! GS: Margaret has completed her action. GS: Giovanni partially guards Margaret's This Is How I Fight for 103 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lanford has posed.
"What do you think Barry? Are you enjoying your stroll out?" Rena asked Barry, Claude's Kakuna, currently housed in the Kakukarrier - a net like harness on the front of Claude's chest.
While Rena's arrival on Nede was full of this sense of peace - and direction, it wasn't long before it was undercut by anxiety. Dias may have sensed it, the fear of the unknown, the idea that she'd accidentally helped do something terrible to these people by helping the Ten Wise Men.
Claude just knew because of the conversation they had.
But first contact with Nedian culture seemed to smooth all of that away. Their shopping trip in Viridian City had led them here, as the people had directed them towards Professor Oak of Pallet Town, as someone who could help them obtain direction on their journey.
Still, clean air! This peaceful feeling! Friendly people! Cute animals! Rena's enthusiasm was infectious as the party moved towards that hill. "Gosh, I just can't get over how peaceful this world is. I mean sure there are Pokemon battles but it's nothing like Filgaia here-"
Which is of course why her statement is immediately undercut by people in uniforms. A smokescreen-! A SPOTLIGHT! Rena actually has a hand over their mouth.
"Is this- a community theater production?"
That too, is undercut by them immediately sucking in a huge number of Pokeballs with a VACUUM CLEANER.
"They're- those are those balls. Are they stealing Pokemon!?"
A lot of questions hit her head! Like-
Why!?
Why are they doing this?
Why are two Guado helping them?
Why this whole presentation!?
Are they using Pokemon for CRIME?
Is that a FIRE-BREATHING DRAGON?!
Rather than shed her optimism she gets this intense look, "Dias! Claude!" Did she really have to call out to Dias first Claude? Yes she absolutely did, "Come on! We have to stop them!" Leave it to Rena to champion stopping cute animal based crime.
"Hold it right there! You can't do this!"
As a girl runs right up to the pair, and takes up a fighting stance-! She's definitely Nedian. Just look at her! So obviously she's going to oppose them with a Pokemon of her own-!
Which is why it may not be entirely expected when she dashes right up to James, spiked knuckles at the fore, "HAAAAAAAA-!" As she draws back a single arm, she's definitely aiming one helluva punch right at James, which leaves him only one really good option to defend with.
The vacuum cleaner.
"Suck on your OWN TIME! When you're not hurting anyone's cute little POKEMON!"
GS: Rena Lanford has attacked Jessie and James with Rena PUNCH!! GS: Rena Lanford enters a Counter stance! GS: Rena Lanford has gained 3 Combo! GS: Rena Lanford has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
"Into your ball, Barry." Claude is still wearing the harness, but without Kakuna in it now, because, "It looks dangerous..."
After Viridian City, Pallet Town is something of a surprise. Claude knows full well (well, he thinks so) how advanced Nede seems to be, so Pallet being kind of quaint is... incongruous.
But then, there are still small towns on Earth, too.
That would have been his biggest observation of the day. It would've been. Instead, there's all these people with Rs on gathered outside the lab, and...
"To... protect the world...?"
Claude tilts his head. There's also a girl who looks like the nurse from the Pokemon center, a professor type, and... two Guado!?
The speech nevertheless draws Claude's attention back until the battle begins, and he draws his sword. "Don't think we're going to let you just do whatever you want!" Claude shouts, looking at James and his vacuum as well as the two Pokemon who are there to ensure they don't interfere. Well...
"I'm gonna interfere!"
Rena interferes first. "Right!" he says, and then levels his weapon at Jessie. "Come on!" he says, taking his weapon in both hands and swinging it hard enough to create an, "Air... Slash!"
He jumps in forward!!
GS: Formation! Claude C. Kenny has attacked Jessie and James with Air Slash! GS: Claude C. Kenny has gained 1 Combo! GS: Claude C. Kenny's stances have changed from Counter to Avenger and Counter! GS: Claude C. Kenny gains 10 FP from his Daredevil! GS: Claude C. Kenny has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Cirea has posed.
Having been dumped in a strange and mysterious world, Cirea has handled that the same way she handled being dumped on the strange and mysterious world of Filgaia:
She got nosey, poking around the town while staying mostly out of sight. She learned several things and completely failed to learn several others, when things just didn't make sense to her. Cirea also got spotted once before she came to town and had to get out of sight in a hurry, because people were yelling about her more than usual even though she hadn't done anything.
And then she hung out where she was unlikely to get caught to figure things out, which usually means up on a roof. Specifically, Professor Oak's lab's roof, because it was larger and even though it was curved there were comfy spots to sit.
Cirea had been sitting up there with an (empty, possibly unusable) Pokeball that she found in the grass on the way here, trying to figure out how to make it work when someone sprays smoke everywhere! She's mostly above it, granted, but it still catches her by surprise and gets her to hop to her feet, creeping to the edge of the building and looking down.
Nope. Just smoke.
A few moments later, and as the (first batch, not James' Koffing's second wave) starts to clear, it is pierced by a spotlight-like beam of light - and not one that's coming from the Rockets' special effects crew, though it may not be obvious at first.
Cirea has her hands held together to make a circle and the beam is coming out of that; it moves as she angles her hands, burning away the smoke cloud in lines, which is probably a better giveaway that the Rockets didn't ask for this one.
"Don't go get 'em!" Cirea calls, still up from the roof. "Hold on, I still can't see."
Cirea does something that looks like nothing so much as balling up the light beam, and she drops the glowing sphere down off the roof a few moments later to blast away the rest of the smoke. It's blinding in its own right, but that's okay; she closed her eyes this time.
GS: Cirea has attacked Giovanni with Photon Bomb! GS: Cirea has gained 1 Combo! GS: Cirea has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Chase has posed.
A long whistle sounds out, followed by a decisive, "Pikapikapika piiii!"
The happiest Pikachu in the world bolts into battle with an electric surge of energy, joy in her bright eyes and sparking in her red cheeks. She leaps high into the air before she explodes with thunderous energy, intent on intefering with Jessie and James' criminal machine by trying to outright short circuit it with a paralyzing current.
She lands with a perfect pivot. "Chachu! Chachu!" The Pikachu shoves her paw in the air, waving back at her trainer so excitedly her whole body sways: a scrawny teenage boy with short, dark hair spiking out from under red and white cap that matches his jacket. His long ears mark him as native Nedian, as do the rest of his clothes. Today, Chase's nose has a bandage over it, with another on his cheek and a few on his right knee. Tomorrow, he'll undoubtedly have a new set of scuffs. Right now he's looking rather alarmed with wide eyes and a reflexively defensive posture. He looks to the machine, to Team Rocket, and then with even wider eyes, to all of these unusual strangers.
They put Pokemon away to leap into battle themselves, carrying weapons, and use techniques that look like their own Moves...
Chase slaps his own cheeks to get his focus back, then shoves his fingers in his mouth with a sharp whistle.
Both of his Pikachu's ears shoot straight, twitching once in understanding before she vaults into a graceful roundoff to face Team Rocket once more. She narrows her eyes while her mouth remains a perfect three-like curl, red cheeks sparking again as she gives Team Rocket a taunt in place of her trainer.
"Pika pi!"
GS: Chase has attacked Jessie and James with Thunder Wave! GS: Chase has gained 1 Combo! GS: Chase has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Somewhere along the way here, aside from the usual challenges of finding some stability in an unfamiliar land with minimal resources left-over from the Marduk trip, Ethius - the best Symbologist the Drifters of Lunar and Filgaia have access to on short notice - gets a chance to inspect a Pokeball.
Anyone who was around with him for that would hear him say - a) he could see ways to replicate exactly one of their many features but not all at once, and certainly not at this size, and b) the idea of a simulated environment within keyed to specific individuals is outright science fiction (until faced with irrefutable evidence otherwise, like direct testimony of a certain Biometal).
All roads eventually lead to Pallet Town. Ethius would've expected someone like... a Mayor, might have wanted to meet them, but perhaps it's for the best it's somewhere secluded. He holds his composure as many of those transported to this idyllic paradise(?) of a world are to visit one Professor Oak. He hasn't weighed in on the giant pupa ("Barry," he'll be reminded) since they bought a harness to carry them.
Then, trouble happens. It's not even double, it's at least sextuple. (Septuple if one counts Meowth, but this starts to split hairs.)
"An ambush?" Ethius asides. "...Theatrics?" He looks to the others, and simply nods, as Pokeballs roll along behind him and around him like a tiny herd of mice trying to make their escape. The vacuum's curiously powerful suction function gives him an epic windblown look. He doesn't appear to notice.
At first glance, Ethius might not be that far off from a hiker. That stick he carries must be for walking, right? He doesn't seem to be carrying any of those red and white spheres. Effectively defenseless(?) as he edges around the periphery of the scenery as Margaret flies into her rage against someone familiar.
There is a grassy goat and a blue-ish... cat? Lion? Staring them down. Ethius levels his gaze, waits for it--
And dashes forward, moving with his staff in both hands to push back and wrestle the smaller Skiddo down in a direct act of aggressive handling that... people don't typically do, here.
GS: Ethius Hesiod has attacked Giovanni with Shocking P G-rated Animal Wrangling! GS: Ethius Hesiod has completed his action. GS: Giovanni solidly guards Cirea's Photon Bomb for 57 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Giovanni gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Blind applied to Giovanni! GS: FP up! Sufferer activated!
<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.
It had been a rather... rough day, yesterday. What with going to a space station in an untested rocket to fight three out of ten incredibly strong opponents, the threatened destruction of both of their homeworlds, and then suddenly being deposited onto another planet with no apparent way back, into a place that was, frankly, both nice and weird all at once.
But a lucky encounter and some generous hospitality netted her a warm, homemade meal, a hot shower, a warm bed to sleep in, and some local spending money.
And she even had a fresh new outfit to help blend in with their new surroundings, too! a green striped t-shirt, navy blue skirt, and a long flowy pink vest.
All things considered, she was in a pretty good mood, hurrying along to Palette Town to meet up with some of her offworld friends to share what she's learned.
And then she saw commotion at what was, presumably, the laboratory.
"Zephyr! Go scope it out! I'll catch up!" Hannah takes off running as the red-tailed hawk (it could be mistaken for a Firetalon at a glance, perhaps, but it most definitely is not one) chirps and takes wing, zooming ahead to observe.
(Are... are those two giving a speech...?)
Hannah feels bad about fighting pokemon, but is pretty sure her Caterpie and Weedle aren't up to the challenge--but there are two offworlders here that Margaret seems to recognize. Hannah charges in, glancing over to her. "Friends of yours?"
She pulls a crest graph from her pouch, which is also likely to be a strange sight for a few people here. And then something twists strangely in her aura as she draws in power. She grits her teeth and slams the crest graph down on the ground with a shout of "Winter's Grasp!"
Sharp, jagged ice erupts forward towards Biggs and Wedge--and their two pokemon are, sadly, caught up in the crossfire. It surges forward to try and ensnare and spread onto anything it touches--which unfortunately seems to include most of Hannah's own arm.
"G-gah!" She grunts and pulls, eventually managing to wrest it free, but then has to stumble a few steps back from the effort.
There's something seriously not right about that ice.
GS: Hannah Curie has attacked Giovanni with Winter's Grasp! GS: Hannah Curie has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
Pallet Town is almost familiar. It feels small and cozy here. The buildings aren't huge or grandiose, there's plenty of good fishing in the large pond that borders the south end of town, and the people she's spoken to have been friendly enough. She's helped hang laundry once or twice for something to do, but there haven't been very many odd jobs available.
This may be because so many of the native folks have partnered up with the Pokemon creatures to make chores more efficient... or it might be because Lan is hardly the only Drifter who suddenly found themselves dumped into the wilds of an alien forest, and then kind of decided to hang around nearby. The labor market is very, very saturated. She's been eating a lot of fish.
Someone traded her a few cans of something like tuna for her help repairing a lace curtain and she's been eating those along with stuff picked from Viridian Forest and her dwindling jerky stash. She keeps catching the same orange fish and she'd be fine with eating it if it didn't keep blurting out its name!! You can't eat stuff that talks, that's just weird.
The theatrical couple says their lines with aplomb and Lan watches, clapping at the end (she doesn't really get it but they're so sparkly). She wonders what their troupe's name is. It must begin with R.
About thirty seconds later, when they've broken into the tallest building in town, Lan realizes that they're no theater kids. "Hey, you can't just-- uhm." There's someone in the way. Talking... at Lan? "Oh, you don't understand, I already heard all about Pokemon," she tries to interrupt, but... Peace is just not going to let her rehearsed speech be stopped. Lan tries to edge aronud her, towards the lab. "I can come back in just a minute and listen though, there's-- uh, did you see the people breaking into your lab? Are you okay? Do you need to sit down?"
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
It's so small town in Palette Town that the buildings are, by and large, even smaller than those in Arlia, quintissential small country town. The difference, to Dias, is that Palette Town has a distinctly cultivated feel to it, whereas Arlia was simply naturally built up on the edge of a natural forest.
There's no 'right' or 'wrong' to it. But it does feel off to him. He keeps that to himself, though, because *Rena* likes it, and Rena has a lot on her mind right now. ...Her anxiety may as well be a klaxon to him.
Pokemon continue to be something that don't interest the swordsman--he doesn't *dislike* them, but Dias is stubbornly a loner, even after he's joined up with Rena and Claude's group at Rena's behest. Collecting and training a bunch of monsters to fight *for* him just isn't his style. He's consequently here just for the sake of being here, and certainly not to watch over Rena and Claude as they go about *their* quest to raise the Kakuna that is officially Claude's Pokemon like they'd adopted a child together.
"Mm," he grunts accordingly when Rena gushes at how peaceful it is here. "My skills are going to rust here."
Or so he says, except then there is a ruckus. There is a *show*. Dias turns to watch Team Rocket's entrance with a baleful red eye and a hand on the sheath of his sword, just under the hilt. "Definitely not," he comments to Rena, though she catches on just fine on her own.
It's not just Jessie and James he watches, though they're certainly the most attention-grabbing; he also takes in the two Guado Rockets with their significantly more built-up armor and weapons, and the two Nedian childhood friends with their Pokemon guard and their Professor introduction.
It's true. They're certainly a lot older than ten. Three of them engage in battle right away; two are keeping an eye out; one is actively stealing Pokeballs with... some kind of weird vacuum contraption? It's a new one on Dias. There's also a number of Drifters rising up to face them; one woman beelines for the Guado, all but screaming for blood, with Ethius following soon after, while actual local children send out actual Pokemon to do battle. One woman freezes her own arm. There are many others. Dias observes them, too, even if it's only a second per person.
For his part, though, Dias is about to turn to face one of those quieter thieves, suspecting all this theatre to be a distraction even with one of them actively sucking out loud, but Rena and Claude leap directly into the fray with the main perpetrators of said theatre. ...Well. At least Claude put his Kakuna away and is fighting with a sword like a *sensible* person.
"Chaos Sword!" Dias calls, swiftly unsheathing and re-sheathing his long blade, unleashing a wave of purplish, demonic energy to rush towards James so Rena doesn't have to try to punch him all on her own--though perhaps a Pokemon will get in the way before the blow lands. Regardless, Dias will be on its heels to get in James' face shortly thereafter.
GS: Dias Flac has attacked Jessie and James with Ranged Chaos Sword! GS: Dias Flac has gained 2 Combo! GS: Dias Flac's stances have changed to Stoic! GS: Dias Flac gains 30 THP from his Cautious! GS: Dias Flac has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Elaine has posed.
Elaine
Inside one well known and well placed lab within Pallet Town is a young girl. She was sitting at a table pouring over information on a computer screen while comparing it to information on a small red device in a blue leather case with a shiny grey rock like emblem attached to one of the straps. She's humming happily, while multiple adults around her go about their own work. Then there's multiple noises, explosions? Fighting? ... A pikachu?
Elaine bolts up right and runs out the building as a larger than average dark brown Eevee chases on her heels out the front of the lab to look at what was happening, only to stop a few steps outside greeted by the sight of Team Rocket members... Already in a fight with others. Including her brother!
"What do you all think you're doing! This is a pokemon lab! If you want to rough house, then go else where" Elaine scolds stomping a foot while the Eevee beside her yipping in anger to, cutely fluffing itself up to look more intimidating. Grabbing a pokeball off her belt, she throws up into the air calling out "Pink! String Shot!" glaring at the members of Team Rocket as a pink and purple Butterfree appears and spits out a sticky string of thread from its mouth at the Koffin and Ekans and Meowth closest to it.
GS: Elaine has attacked Jessie and James with String Shot! GS: Elaine has gained 2 Combo! GS: Elaine has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Giovanni takes a glancing hit from Ethius Hesiod's Shocking P G-rated Animal Wrangling for 54 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Giovanni gains 1 additional Combo! GS: FP up! Sufferer activated!
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
It's been a while since Gwen has had completely new territory to explore. After everyone split from the camp to try to gain information, Gwen did the same, having a merry little time with some friends, or doing it alone.
Sure, everything's a little too manicured for her tastes, but somehow, it kind of hits the spot after all the darker events she's had to go through. It brings her back to the days when it was just her and her horse, Gulliver!
..... If Gulliver was a tiny little fuzzy arachnid (will, kind of, not enough legs) that liked to hide on Gwen's person all the time.
Man does she need to actually trek all this by foot or what
Coming up to a cheery town, Gwen immediately spots some familiar faces, as well as one elves(?) with a a perchant for theatre.
Gwen has a choice: play it straight and assume this is not for show, assume it *is* a show and not interfere, orrrr....
Yes, yes. Well-meaning chaos.
Clapping her gloved hands as she strides up, a sunny grin on her face, Gwen exclaims, "Whoah, whoah, whoah, this is a great show! Hehe, this has been a great theme park. See, the ones I've been to all have rides n' all that, but here, you've installed a neat game! Ain't sure what I think 'bout all the animals being used for it, buttt."
Hitting her fist in her open palm, the courier's eyes light up. ".... Oh, oh! So this's like one of those fake gunslinger battles some of the more wealthy Seed Cities'd have! You guys wouldn't know what those are but that's besides th'point."
Cue Margaret choosing to seek revenge in the background, and Rena and Claude chosing JUSTICE.
Gwen strides over to the currently passive-seeming Joy, hands behind her head. "So, is there a tourism bureau or somethin'? Do you guys have couriers here? Also, I'm kinda a little lost."
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
What even is this place? Fanciful monsters, bizarrely clean air, unusually expansive and lush greenery-- it's like Filgaia on steroids. The Filgaia that existed only in the records that once were. Or, you know, like Lunar. But a lot more... 'civilized.' There doesn't seem to be war here, the people don't seem to be nearly as... concerned about tomorrow. It's weird.
It's weird.
Is this what 'peace' looks like?
...Hmn.
Zed watches from atop the highest point in town. 'Palett Town,' is what they called it. The wind blows by, twisting his scarf in a pure, refreshing breeze. It's quiet. He could almost fall asleep. And then--
His ears perk. Zed detects...
THEATRICS
...
NOW:
"WOW, YOU GUYS ARE RAD," Zed gushes visibly at the Super Pokemon Criminals who just made an entrance that he absolutely, positively approves of. Like, how could he not? That is, by default, the exact kind of thing he would get up to, and for that they have his admiration.
And this is entirely, 100%, why he doesn't join his SWORN BROTHER in swording them.
Instead, there is something more interesting here.
Three... very strong, interesting things.
"You, young lady!" Zed levels his sword at Joy and her trio of guardians, "Those creatures! They look... powerful. If your friends there are intent on stealing things, then I too am going to do some thievery! That is to say, I am going to borrow those three--"
He darts in, quick as silver, blade flashing in a nigh-invisible arc... Straight at the fiery-est of the trio. "--TO TEST MY METTLE! ENGARDE, NYAHAHAHA~!"
GS: Zed has attacked Arisugawa Joy with Miracle Strike - Phantom Bite! GS: Zed has gained 2 Combo! GS: Zed takes 31 damage from Poison! GS: Zed has completed his action. GS: Zed has canceled their attack on Arisugawa Joy. GS: Zed has attacked Arisugawa Joy with Miracle Strike - Phantom Bite! GS: Zed has gained 1 Combo! GS: Zed has completed his action. GS: Arisugawa Joy suffers a terrible blow from Zed's Miracle Strike - Phantom Bite for 169 hit points! GS: Cripple blocked!
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
After two days of stress, fear, anger, confusion, and emotional nothingness, things are finally starting to look up for Ida. She's had some good meals, a long shower, and a good night's rest. Her clothes are clean. She's actually feeling optimistic about this strange new world, in no small part to the kindness and generosity of a stranger who noticed she was struggling.
And now? Well, Ida was out for a jog through Pallet Town, dressed in her grey Thames jumpsuit with the OSHA-complient yellow visibility stripes and hand-embroidered 'Everstead-Rey' name patch. Her long hair is down in an attempt to camouflage her ears, and while she'd gotten a few curious looks, no one was too nosy.
And then, as she passed by the perfectly peaceful laboratory--which she had earmarked as a place to visit, later--this happened. This.
Ida leans out from a lamppost that isn't nearly big enough go hide her, but is the only cover this side of the fence. Her eyes widen in recognition. Those are two of Seymour's goons, what the hell are they doing here, of all places?
The spotlights and smoke come on. Two of the uniformed people (terrorists? gang members?? members of a bizarre performance art troupe???) launch into a speech that they have to have been practicing for months. And they're not alone. That one is a Professor?! And wait, that young lady, what's she doing--
Is that a DRAGON? Is that a frog? Why does that turtle have guns coming out of its shell?
"What the devil," Ida says.
Then the sole Pokeball on her belt shakes once, twice, and then snaps open of its own accord. A wave of blue force surges outward, pouring onto the ground, reconstituting into...
"Piii~!"
The chubby green caterpillar that snuck into her bag. With Biggs and Wedge distracted, Caterpie skitters through the gate, and is halfway across the lawn before Ida--momentarily overcome by the baffling chaos--notices. "Caterpie, WAIT!"
By the time Ida catches up, Caterpie is standing in front of Joy's three Pokemon, bouncing and bobbling, clearly sizing them up. Ida snatches her Pokemon up, shielding her with her arms. She takes a breath, and locks eyes with the young woman standing behind the three intimidating beasts.
"Young lady, do you mind explaining what the hell is going on, and why you're breaking into this research institution?!"
*IDA used REASON.
"ZED," Ida screams, not a smoment later, as Zed charges the Pokemon head-on.
GS: Jessie and James takes a solid hit from Rena Lanford's Rena PUNCH! for 184 hit points! GS: Jessie and James partially guards Chase's Thunder Wave for 0 hit points! GS: Delay, Disrupt, and Interrupt applied to Jessie and James!
<Pose Tracker> Holly has posed.
The fairy's been poking around some. There's.. nothing familiar which means it's actually pretty easy for her to get lost in more ways than one. Not that she seems upset.
Though for obvious enough reasons she actually did make an effort to stay close to friends. Got to keep them safe! (And you know. Not get lost and hit with a ball.)
She's fascinated though. Who doesn't love learning new things, Exploring new things. That it's nice and lush feeling just feels nice too!
Any thoughts about the stiuation being pleasant are interrupted by smoke though.
The demonstration put on is amusing and she says cheerily to no one in particular, "I always liked those kinds of plays." before hefting her paintbrush up and gesturing with it, "En garde, I'll take you on!" Though uh, the two talkiest of them are already occupied. She deflates and swings the brush around to point to Peace instead. Though it takes a second to realize this isn't some kind of show and she swings the brush up, around and wields it properly. "Ah. We have bad timing."
She kicks the base of the brush to add a flourish as she brings it to bear.
"Stays the same either way, let's go!" She seems to be enjoying it. Something about the theatrics adds to it for her. And you know, not being doomsday incarnate. That's a nice change of pace. Maybe her standards are getting warped...
With everyone else getting right into it though, the brush swishes through the air, leaving dark streaks floating before her.
Each sweep of the brush carries with it the most fearsome of curses. The teacher that never stops talking. The infinite loop tutorials where the 'I understand' button is buried far too deep and not highlighted by default. The sort of spell to put someone into a boredom induced haze. Or nap.
Admittedly it's probably aided by the fact that little miss fairy is talking the whole time about how this is a place of study clearly and they should be showing more respect. It's hard to say if it helps the spell or IS the spell at this point.
GS: Jessie and James solidly guards Dias Flac's Ranged Chaos Sword for 73 hit points! GS: Riposte applied to Dias Flac! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Arisugawa Joy with Pass! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has gained 1 Combo! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has completed her action. GS: Holly has attacked Peace Kishinami with Droning Incantation! GS: Holly has gained 1 Combo! GS: Holly has completed her action. GS: Jessie and James fully evades Claude C. Kenny's Air Slash for 0 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Jessie and James gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Shield applied to Claude C. Kenny! GS: Jessie and James takes a glancing hit from Elaine's String Shot for 0 hit points! GS: Entangle and Interrupt applied to Jessie and James! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated! GS: Giovanni suffers a terrible blow from Hannah Curie's Winter's Grasp for 76 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Giovanni gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Entangle and Slow applied to Giovanni! GS: FP up! Sufferer activated!
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
The path to Pallet Town has actually... been pretty pleasant! After a chance encounter with a kindly Chansey who healed her and a chance to rest, Jacqueline Barber is fully refreshed as she makes her way into town.
...It's fortunate, because almost as soon as she arrives, there's immediately signs of trouble. Crime - organized crime, indicated by the trouble-maker's matching uniforms. And... Jacqueline frowns. Guado? They look familiar. Aren't those Seymour's...? What are they doing here? ...And exactly how long did their allies practice that speech?
...No, time to focus.
Jacqueline focuses in, looking toward the young woman who addresses her. She listens intently.
"Hello, Professor. Jacqueline Barber." Jacqueline greets. Peace might look younger than her... but the title of Professor is one worthy of respect, regardless of age. "I see. So, they're called Pokemon - and it seems people here use them to fight. I'd love to pick your brain sometime... but you're with them, aren't you?" Jacqueline replies. Jacqueline looks down to the ball that's been tossed at her feet. She's a little unsure about this given the situation... but if this is the way things are done here, then she might as well oblige. She picks it up and presses the button on the front, shooting out a red beam!
...Which materializes into a rather angry looking sparrow, with a stance that suggests its roiling for a fight. Jacqueline takes note of this with interest, then focuses up.
"Ah... shall we get started?" She asks the Spearow... and that seems to be all the prompting it needs to lunge toward Peace and her team beak-first!!
GS: Jacqueline Barber has attacked Peace Kishinami with Peck! GS: Jacqueline Barber has gained 2 Combo! GS: Jacqueline Barber has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Jessie and James has posed.
"A community theatre production?! Tsk... little girl, you have no appreciation for professional work!" Jessie scolds Rena, because apparently she heard that. "See," she adds, pointing to Zed, "that guy gets it!" At least SOME people appreciate their efforts.
"... why, you little -- eehh?!" She was about to taunt Rena for joining the battle, but RENA SURE IS JOINING THE BATTLE. And so Jessie interrupts herself to yell: "James, look out!!"
"Huh?!" James turns, only to yipe, "YIPE!", when he sees a FIST COMING TOWARDS HIM. He ducks his face behind the vacuum's mouth, and Rena's fist impacts it, RIGHT as that Pokeball was about to be sucked in.
It tumbles to the ground, and releases a short, stubby Ashound, who says "ashroo?" only to yelp, "HOUH?!"
"Just because you got out of your Pokeball, doesn't mean we can't still nab you!!" James declares, as he reaches up to scruff the Ashound by his ruff. "You'll make a fine gift for the Boss!"
"HOOOOOOUUUUU..." Ashound howls, in dismay --
-- only for a Thunder Wave to interrupt them all. "FGKNjkfgnjkfnhfknh," James and Koffing yelp, as Ashound leaps down to the ground.
Thankfully, Koffing recovers first -- and quick enough to get in the way of Dias's Chaos Sword. "Koffi!!" He protests, with a plume of smoke to choke out their attackers. He's a loyal toxic cloud, apparently, and he has no interest in seeing his Trainer get chopped by demonic energy.
Ekans is good at seeing through that smoke, at least -- which means that she's able to slither away from Claude's Air Slash without being battered by it. She can't quite evade the String Shot of that special pink Butterfree, though Jessie looks at her and her eyes shine... just like this: $_$ "My, my, what a BEAUTIFUL Butterfree!"
"And that Pikachu is packing some real Pika-power..." James says, as he recovers from his shocking experience. (He's quite hardy, apparently.)
"Looks like they'll really have to prepare some trouble --"
"-- and make it double!!"
THEY JUST SAID THAT!
But as Koffing's smoke floods the area, Ekan's Poison Sting flies through the darkness to needle at Elaine's Butterfree and Chase's Pikachu. Dias, Claude, and Rena will have to cope with how hard it is to breathe for a moment, too!!
GS: Jessie and James spends 2 Combo on Poison and Link! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Chase with Prepare For Trouble!! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Elaine with Prepare For Trouble!! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Rena Lanford with Prepare For Trouble!! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Dias Flac with Prepare For Trouble!! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Claude C. Kenny with Prepare For Trouble!! GS: Jessie and James has gained 1 Combo! GS: Jessie and James has launched an attack Link! GS: Delay expired! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Chase with And Make It Double!! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Elaine with And Make It Double!! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Rena Lanford with And Make It Double!! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Dias Flac with And Make It Double!! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Claude C. Kenny with And Make It Double!! GS: Jessie and James has gained 2 Combo! GS: Jessie and James has completed their action. GS: COUNTER! Rena Lanford counterattacks Jessie and James with Crush! GS: Interrupt! Attack weakened! GS: Rena Lanford suffers a terrible blow from Jessie and James's Prepare For Trouble! for 0 hit points! GS: Blind, Disease, and Poison applied to Rena Lanford! GS: FP up! Arcane Font activated! GS: Rena Lanford takes a solid hit from Jessie and James's And Make It Double! for 0 hit points! GS: Cripple, Hex, and Mute applied to Rena Lanford! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated! GS: Interrupt! Attack weakened! GS: Elaine solidly guards Jessie and James's Prepare For Trouble! for 0 hit points! GS: Elaine's Blind Ward may block the effect! GS: Elaine's Poison Ward may block the effect! GS: Blind and Disease applied to Elaine! GS: Poison blocked! GS: FP up! Arcane Font activated! GS: COUNTER! Claude C. Kenny counterattacks Jessie and James with Meteor Palm! GS: Interrupt! Attack weakened! GS: Claude C. Kenny takes a solid hit from Jessie and James's Prepare For Trouble! for 0 hit points! GS: Blind, Disease, and Poison applied to Claude C. Kenny! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated! GS: Claude C. Kenny takes a solid hit from Jessie and James's And Make It Double! for 0 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Claude C. Kenny gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Cripple, Hex, and Mute applied to Claude C. Kenny! GS: FP up! Power Burst and Reaction bonus activated! GS: COUNTER! Chase counterattacks Jessie and James with Counter Attack! GS: Interrupt! Attack weakened! GS: Chase suffers a terrible blow from Jessie and James's Prepare For Trouble! for 0 hit points! GS: Blind, Disease, and Poison applied to Chase! GS: Elaine solidly guards Jessie and James's And Make It Double! for 0 hit points! GS: Elaine's Mute Ward may block the effect! GS: Cripple and Hex applied to Elaine! GS: Mute blocked! GS: Chase takes a solid hit from Jessie and James's And Make It Double! for 0 hit points! GS: Cripple, Hex, and Mute applied to Chase! GS: Jessie and James takes a solid hit from Rena Lanford's Crush for 295 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Jessie and James gains 1 additional Combo! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated! GS: Jessie and James solidly guards Claude C. Kenny's Meteor Palm for 154 hit points! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated! GS: Jessie and James solidly guards Chase's Static for 152 hit points! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated!
<Pose Tracker> Giovanni has posed.
"What the--" Biggs Guado has to cut himself short, as he spots Margaret charging at him with a sword. He raises his shield, and her blade strikes into it with a loud clang -- holding it at bay. His eyes narrow.
"NN-NN-NNEEH!"
Skiddo -- that's the goat one -- comes charging up -- and then pivots on his front hoofs, to swing his backside at Margaret. And then several sharpened leaves fly, at great speed, right for her.
"What, two guys can't go find work after the previous employer, uh, shut down?" Wedge asks, with an eyebrow twitch. And that's when a ball of light drops down -- through the smoke -- and almost beans the spikey blonde-haired Guado. It makes him jump, stumbling, and he looks up with a frown. "Who's the--"
"THWEWW!!"
That would be the trill-like cry of the Shinx. His golden eyes look straight at Cirea -- can he see through smoke!? (no, he just succeeded his Perception check) -- and then his face screws up. His eyes turn BLOOD RED and there is a pulse of FRIGHTENING WILL directed right at Cirea!
The Skiddo turns, then makes a panicked goat noise as Ethius Hesiod erupts from the bushes and manhandles him with the power of Federation animal handling. He swings around -- and then he begins to run, because Skiddo is one thing above all others.
Skiddo is a mount.
So he starts running rapidly, to and fro, across the battlefield. And trying his darndest to shake Ethius free!
"Magic!" Biggs shouts to Wedge, tearing his eyes from the sight of his out-of-control goat trying to shake a man free. He sees the ice erupting towards him, and then throws his shield up. Ice slams into the shield, exploding over it.
"Filgaian?" Wedge asks.
"Looks like," Biggs says. "Guess the whole gang got here."
"Just our luck," Wedge says. He looks towards Joy, then Peace -- and then a little hesitantly, Jessie and James. "LOOK ALIVE! You've got offworlders! Boss is gonna wanna hear about this!"
Ice is at their feet. They rip free -- as does, with great effort, the Shinx. He bobs back and forth, one foot to the other, before hopping into the air. Then, just over Hannah's head -- as she's working on the ice on her arm -- a bolt of lightning comes crashing down.
From the inside of the lab, there is a sound of a CLICK.
That would be someone locking the door. Then, Professor Oak pokes his head up through a window. His eyes widen. "Chase! Elaine!" he calls to the people he recognizes them. "I--I think they're here for my research! I've been studying something important! Don't let them in...!!"
He is a man with a strong jaw, grey hair, and a lab coat.
He ducks down below the window when Biggs Guado gives him a look.
Then, Wedge realizes that James got punched by Rena. He chortles.
GS: Giovanni spends 2 Combo on Headshot! GS: Giovanni has attacked Margaret with Skiddo - Razor Leaf! GS: Giovanni has gained 1 Combo! GS: Giovanni has attacked Cirea with Shinx - Scary Face! GS: Giovanni has gained 1 Combo! GS: Giovanni has attacked Ethius Hesiod with Skiddo - Takedown! GS: Giovanni has attacked Hannah Curie with Shinx - Thunder Shock! GS: Giovanni has completed his action. GS: Arisugawa Joy solidly guards Ida Everstead-Rey's Pass for 0 hit points! GS: Margaret takes a glancing hit from Giovanni's Skiddo - Razor Leaf for 54 hit points! GS: Poison applied to Margaret! GS: Hyper applied to Giovanni! GS: Interrupt! Attack weakened! GS: Dias Flac takes a glancing hit from Jessie and James's Prepare For Trouble! for 0 hit points! GS: Blind, Disease, and Poison applied to Dias Flac! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated! GS: Dias Flac fully evades Jessie and James's And Make It Double! for 0 hit points! GS: Cripple, Hex, and Mute blocked! GS: FP up! Power Burst and Reaction bonus activated! GS: CRITICAL! Cirea fully evades Giovanni's Shinx - Scary Face for 30 hit points! GS: Cirea's Slow Ward may block the effect! GS: Break, Poison, and Slow blocked! GS: Hyper applied to Giovanni! GS: Ethius Hesiod has activated Force Action: Guard! GS: CRITICAL! Ethius Hesiod solidly guards Giovanni's Skiddo - Takedown for 93 hit points! GS: Peace Kishinami suffers a terrible blow from Holly's Droning Incantation for 0 hit points! GS: Delay and Drowsy applied to Peace Kishinami! GS: Peace Kishinami solidly guards Jacqueline Barber's Peck for 70 hit points! GS: Shield applied to Jacqueline Barber!
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
"Gwen, please wait--"
Avril is not long on her friend's heels, off to find out more about this mysterious 'Professor Oak' who lives in Pallet Town. Her friends, busy with other matters (possibly including catching as many Geodudes as possible, knowing Dean) had stayed behind in Viridian City.
It had been strange, walking across the roads without so much as a Hobgob bounding up to cause trouble. Which makes it even stranger now that they set foot into Pallet Town and things are...
...are like this. Is this a stage show sort of thing, as Gwen declares? Or is this more sinister yet?
Avril pauses as Gwen goes on ahead, taken to staring at the trio of Pokemon: the dragon, the turtle, and the frog. "..." The fingers of her hand twitch, as if searching for the hilt of a blade.
You don't get as far as Viridian City without learning some of the rules of the world in which they've found themselves, but it also doesn't mean she has grown entirely accustomed to such things.
"They are... wearing safety gear," Avril observes.
Then, to Joy:
"Are you stealing Pokemon?"
...There's such a thing as being too blunt...
GS: CRITICAL! Hannah Curie solidly guards Giovanni's Shinx - Thunder Shock for 149 hit points! GS: Hyper applied to Giovanni! GS: FP up! Arcane Font activated! GS: Elaine has attacked Chase with Helping Hand! GS: Elaine has attacked Rena Lanford with Helping Hand! GS: Elaine has attacked Claude C. Kenny with Helping Hand! GS: Elaine has attacked Dias Flac with Helping Hand! GS: Elaine has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Elaine has posed.
Elaine Elaine glares at Jessie and James as the make theatrics out of the fight. A corner of her brain is also a bit impressed and might even admit it if not for the location of said theatrics! "Ah, Pink!" she calls out seeing the attack coming. Pink manages to guard itself against part of the attack, even as the Eevee beside Elaine jumps to her shoulder then into the air to to help catch Pink and guide it to the ground where it recovers into a hover.
Elaine blinks as the Professor suddenly calls out his thoughts on why Team Rocket was here, making her look up at the window wide eye and concerned. Then her attention is back to her Butterfree "Oh Pink, well done. Now then..." Elaine says as she looks over her pokemon, and then back to Jessie and James and their pokemon. "If you won't leave peacefully, we'll just have to make you. You're interrupting important work! Arrrggg... Veevee, Let's GO show them why you're my partner! Helping Hand!" Elaine says, calling out to her Eevee.
Veevee lets out a happy yip, pushing against Elaine's leg before she rushes out. She doesn't head towards any of the Rocket Pokemon through, but instead first for Pikachu! Veevee runs right up to the Pikachu and rubs against Pikachu with a loud "Vee! Ee!" patting Pikachu with her tail. Then she's off again this time running over to Rena and looking up at her with cheerful "Eevee!" wagging her tail. This is followed by Running over to Claude to do the same, then Dias, before running in a circle around each and back to Pikachu causing a white light to begin to collect around all four before it vanishes into them as Veevee returns happily to Elaine.
GS: Chase accepts Elaine's Helping Hand for 0 hit points! GS: Amplify, Burst, and Surge applied to Chase! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: Claude C. Kenny accepts Elaine's Helping Hand for 0 hit points! GS: Amplify, Burst, and Surge applied to Claude C. Kenny! GS: Claude C. Kenny enters CONDITION GREEN!!
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
There is, in the moment, an epic wrestling match between a young leaf-laden goat creature, and a grown man. In the days before the revelations of Limiters and their subsequent removal of the native Filgaians, Ethius' surprising physical strength relative to his sorcerous acumen and focus has always been a mild curiosity.
He digs his heels into the ground, gritting his teeth as Skiddo displays their birthright as a long-beloved beast of burden and transport. His boots accumulate dirt and turf around them, straining his ankles with just how much the poor Skiddo wants Ethius off.
He looks up, considering Margaret's reactions. "I've known Miss Margaret to be open and frank about her feelings regarding even the slightest annoyances, if in passing," it's Ethius, occasionally he gets weirdly overly verbose by habit, as he once again tries to wrestle the Skiddo down once more -
And gently pat them, should he somehow wrangle something closer to an advantage.
"But there's no mistake. I recognize the difference in limb lengths," he supposes, declaring a worlds-shattering revelation to the gathered while he's trying - perhaps in vain - to calmly pacify nominally hostile xenofauna.
"We aren't the first ones into cross over here." His delivery is overly dramatic and urgent while the rest of his body language is that of a kindly handler.
GS: Ethius Hesiod has attacked Giovanni with Dramatic Plot Revelations While Gently Handling Panicking Xenofauna With Kindness And Care! GS: Ethius Hesiod has completed his action. GS: Giovanni solidly guards Ethius Hesiod's Dramatic Plot Revelations While Gently Handling Panicking Xenofauna With Kindness And Care for 73 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Giovanni gains 1 additional Combo! GS: FP up! Sufferer activated!
<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.
"They are the complete and exact opposites of my friends!" Margaret shouts at Hannah as she closes. "I hold them responsible for Rex! Hiayh! Perish in obscurity, you dextromegalic mercenaries!"
Margaret swings!
She hits a shield!
"Your shield is a mere temporary obstacle between you and the grave!" Margaret shouts at Biggs a moment before she gets smashed in the side by rotating leaves. They tumble over her in a curiously circular motion, bowling her over.
Margaret flies...
BAM!!! and bounces off the ground...
... doing a full 360 and ending up in a crouch, her sword held up. With her ears back and her teeth bared, for a moment she is probably a bloody and dark vision of what the ancient forebears of the Nedians might have been.
It mostly goes away as her eyes track the gallivanting goat-thing with Ethius Hesiod in tow. Margaret doesn't know Ethius, but that doesn't seem like something anticipated. She raises upwards from her crouch, eyes narrowing.
Her right hand, braced as it is, is still able to rest on her hip. "Oh no," she says flatly, "offworlders! Better tell the boss!" More normally: "That's how you sound, you wretched maniacs! Do you think I'm going to forget the blood you owe!?"
Margaret's eyes turn towards the Shinx... she raises her saber...!
She doesn't have the heart. "Alright, all of you," Margaret declaims. "You!" she says, pointing the saber at Cirea. "Look lively! Two can play at this game. Let the road rise to meet your feet-- Th"
* Margaret used THUN.ROAD!
* Speed increased by a lot!
As crackling encouragement arcs towards Ethius, Hannah and Cirea, aiming to put zing and tabasco in their step, Margaret frowns slightly, as if something was off.
GS: Margaret has attacked Ethius Hesiod with Thunder Road! GS: Margaret has attacked Cirea with Thunder Road! GS: Margaret has attacked Hannah Curie with Thunder Road! GS: Margaret has gained 1 Combo! GS: Margaret takes 25 damage from Poison! GS: Margaret has completed her action. GS: Ethius Hesiod accepts Margaret's Thunder Road for 0 hit points! GS: Quick applied to Ethius Hesiod! GS: Quick applied to Margaret! GS: Cirea accepts Margaret's Thunder Road for 0 hit points! GS: Quick applied to Cirea! GS: FP up! Gleam activated!
<Pose Tracker> Chase has posed.
Elaine scolds Team Rocket for rough housing, but it's Chase who flinches back, pressing his hands together with a small headbow of apology as if any of this were his fault. But perhaps he's reflexively used to get a little talking to now and again on such topics, judging by the scrapes and bruises.
With that out of the way, Chase surveys the battlefield. He finds a safe path to dash over to Elaine, carefully setting a hand on her arm, and gestyring toward the strange aliens with a 'don't look now' sort of glance. His unease is evident in the way his grip tightens before he lets go. They might be helping now, but there's still an unfamiliar level of danger here Chase isn't sure yet how to parse.
But Professor Oak calls to them, and Chase looks over with a decisive nod, past whatever anxiosuness he's feeling. He's about to whistle another command when Ekans slams into Pikachu with a poisonous sting. Her static fur lashes out on impact, but her tiny body is sent tumbling back.
"Piiiiikaaaaaa...!" she complains, swirls in her eyes as she lands to the ground. Koffing's smoke follows, and Chase dives into the think of it, arm over his mouth with a sleeve as he offers his dizzied Pikachu a quick berry, which she immediately shoves into her mouth with both paws -- and in her gluttony, both paws. "Pmfiha."
Chase coughs, and Pikachu pops back up with renewed vigor. "Pipikachu!" she commands, and Chase backs off. Veevee gets a happy nuzzle back -- no sparks or static, because Veevee is good and nice unlike some people who shall not be named TEAM ROCKET -- and then charges with blinding speed back into the fray.
She nearly vanishes at the speed she's moving, but -- there she is!! A little yellow missile here to smash Koffing out of the air, kicking off of him to moonsault back into position.
GS: Chase used Force Action: Mystic on himself! GS: Hex removed!
<Pose Tracker> Arisugawa Joy has posed.
"Peace Kishinami," Joy addresses her friend. "I'm glad to have your support today."
The Drifters aren't really what she expects, though; Margaret is the first to flare onto the scene with some clear animosity in her heart, as she lunges sword-first at them. A blue-haired Nedian girl is just trying to punch James in the face. A blonde boy in strange clothes is using some sort of ki technique (she wants to learn it). There's a... mage... and her ice is lightly tugging away at her heart with a string of terror.
Also, some bandit-looking guy is wrestling the grass goat.
Is this...
(This is... a real battle...!)
Her fingers are trembling. She feels a bead of cold sweat on her forehead; a sense of fear is coursing through her spine. Her blood is coursing hot through her body. This emotion... this strung-out tension twisting through her body...
It's...
So, is there a tourism bureau or somethin'?
Gwen's extremely normal question snaps her out of it, and she stares at her for a full three seconds, before pointing towards a nearby Pokemon Centre.
"Each town has a Pokemon Centre. There are usually brochures and guides. And if you need your mail sent, there's Delibird Deliveries or Pelipper Post--"
You! Young lady!
That green-haired guy is just as bombastic as Jessie and James... no, slightly less! (Joy is very protective of her sempai.)
"It's dangerous here, miss," Joy advises to Gwen, unaware of the irony. "You should leave--"
And then Zed's blade flashes in an arc of silver towards Charizard, almost imperceptible to the naked eye. The fiery dragon is unable to pull up in time--!!
(No! My Pokemon--)
CLASH
... but Joy is there in front of her Pokemon, at the last moment; Zed's blade has met something equally steely in turn, because...
(That's a real blade...)
In the young lady's hand is a thick shortsword, with a long blue wave-patterned cloth-tassel coming out of its brown, eye-studded hilt. The eye blinks once, staring at Zed where Doombringer is caught against its silver blade.
(This tension... of being able to be cut apart at any time...)
It's the most real feeling she's had in five years.
"You must be one of the Ten Wise Man's allies," Joy intones, her wielding arm held above her head in parry, and then she swipes in an arc to break the weaponlock.
Ida and Avril questions why she's breaking into her research institution, and whether she's stealing Pokemon, and answers in the most 15-year-old manner imaginable:
"I'm doing nothing of the sort. I'm just standing here with my Pokemon. But... you two know this guy?" Joy asks Ida and Avril, of Zed.
Oh boy, that's a loaded question, innit?
"Are you two with the Ten Wise Men too?"
Meanwhile, Charizard is just sort of staring at Caterpie like it doesn't really know what to do... it'd be like bullying at this point. Shoo, shoo, it gestures silently towards the Caterpie, blowing on its nails and primly staring at its manicure and looking incredibly precious about itself.
Venusaur and Blastoise stare at each other, and shrug at this unusual development. A tendril pops out of the side of the frog, and it opens the tupperware tub and lazily takes a bite of a jelly donut (onigiri). It extends the tendril and offers one to Gwen.
Blastoise scratches its belly.
Joy, meanwhile, has immediately lost the plot and is advancing on Zed, gripping Honedge with both hands as she wrenches her arms backwards into a low stance, and tears at the Hyadean with an arc of psychic power.
BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XDRrrpKg1NI
"I'm Arisugawa Joy. Show me your strength... and don't hold anything back."
GS: Chase has attacked Jessie and James with Quick Attack! GS: Chase enters a Counter stance! GS: Chase has gained 3 Combo! GS: Chase takes 27 damage from Poison! GS: Chase has completed his action. GS: Arisugawa Joy has attacked Arisugawa Joy with Fire Red! GS: Arisugawa Joy has gained 2 Combo! GS: Arisugawa Joy's stances have changed to Hero! GS: Arisugawa Joy has activated a Boss Action! GS: Arisugawa Joy accepts Arisugawa Joy's Fire Red for 0 hit points! GS: Hyper and Quick applied to Arisugawa Joy! GS: Arisugawa Joy has attacked Zed with Honedge - Psycho Cut! GS: Arisugawa Joy has attacked Arisugawa Joy with Fire Red! GS: Arisugawa Joy has gained 2 Combo! GS: Arisugawa Joy's stances have changed from Hero to Hero! GS: Arisugawa Joy has completed her action. GS: Arisugawa Joy has activated a Boss Action! GS: Arisugawa Joy has canceled their attack on Arisugawa Joy. GS: Arisugawa Joy has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Nothing To See Here Officer!! GS: Arisugawa Joy has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Nothing To See Here Officer!! GS: Arisugawa Joy has attacked Avril Vent Fleur with Nothing To See Here Officer!! GS: Arisugawa Joy has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Zed takes a glancing hit from Arisugawa Joy's Honedge - Psycho Cut for 116 hit points! GS: FP up! Power Burst activated! GS: CRITICAL! Avril Vent Fleur takes a solid hit from Arisugawa Joy's Nothing To See Here Officer! for 0 hit points! GS: CRITICAL! Dias Flac accepts Elaine's Helping Hand for 0 hit points! GS: Amplify, Burst, and Surge applied to Dias Flac! GS: Rena Lanford accepts Elaine's Helping Hand for 0 hit points! GS: Amplify, Burst, and Surge applied to Rena Lanford! GS: FP up! Gleam activated!
<Pose Tracker> Peace Kishinami has posed.
The moment when Margaret bodily rushes in is the moment that Peace's demeanour changes in some small but distinct way. Something about her straightens up, and it's not just her back; no longer is she a vaguely sleepy-looking and muted young woman with her hands in her pockets. Now she really could be a Professor, her eyes that much sharper and more attentive as she takes in the sight of Drifters doing what they do best. Now there's something calculating, evaluating in her gaze.
"Joy," she notes again as it becomes abundantly clear that many of these newcomers aren't about to play by any established Pokemon League rules. There's a lot of uncertainty and dissatisfaction at that thought, like some part of her title still nags at her - but there's also an odd sense of approval, mirrored in the way she pats the other young woman on the back as if to encourage her. There's a quiet ghost of a smile as she adds: "Go wild." Exactly who are the Pokemon around here?
... of course, that command is rather at odds with the way in which some of the Drifters facing her don't seem to want to actually take her offer of fighting her just yet. In the time it takes for her to internally catch up with what's happening she's reverted back to that sleepy sort of look, turning to watch Lan attempting to edge around their group to reach the building proper. A tilt of her head is enough to stop that progress, mostly thanks to a pale yellow and green creature being aggressively affectionate and almost making a figure 8 around Lan's legs. "I think you've misunderstood. This isn't my laboratory."
She intends to say more, but is suddenly being aggressively assaulted by tutorials in return. The dark sweeps of ink aren't any kind of move she's seen before, but they're certainly effective on someone who already seems to be drifting through this whole encounter half the time. Before she knows it, Peace is drifting out of attention, her hands are back in her pockets, and she's even slouching as she stifles a yawn. It might even be super effective were it not for the way in which she rather muzzily turns back to Lan and asks:
"... is that yours?"
Peace, don't call Holly a pokemon!!
Jay's introduction helps as well, because when it comes down to it this Professor is still in her late teens, and a formal address kind of automatically makes her perk upwards back to attention. It's her question that really seems to catch Peace's attention, and for a moment she looks back to Jessie and James, and then again to Joy. "... in a matter of speaking, yes." She faces down the Spearow, and nods again in that self-satisfied sort of way.
Suddenly, everything is happening at once; the Leafeon around Lan's feet simply chirps happily, its next wind around her legs accompanied by a body slam that tries to bear her to the ground. The Umbreon atop her head has seemingly had enough of Holly's dark waves, firing one back at her with a piercing cry. And as the Spearow dives in, the creature at her feet meets it with a sudden bolt of thunder. "Consider your typing, pick your targets. You won't beat this one in the air."
GS: Peace Kishinami has attacked Lan Lilac with Leafeon! GS: Peace Kishinami has gained 3 Combo! GS: Delay expired! GS: Peace Kishinami has attacked Holly with Umbreon! GS: Peace Kishinami has gained 1 Combo! GS: Peace Kishinami spends 1 Combo on Interrupt! GS: Peace Kishinami has attacked Jacqueline Barber with Jolteon! GS: Peace Kishinami has gained 1 Combo! GS: Peace Kishinami has completed her action. GS: Jessie and James suffers a terrible blow from Chase's Quick Attack for 184 hit points! GS: CRITICAL! Jacqueline Barber solidly guards Peace Kishinami's Jolteon for 103 hit points! GS: Interrupt applied to Jacqueline Barber! GS: Hyper applied to Peace Kishinami! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus and Gleam activated! GS: Jacqueline Barber has lost 2 Combo from Interrupt! GS: CRITICAL! Holly takes a glancing hit from Peace Kishinami's Umbreon for 135 hit points! GS: Quick applied to Peace Kishinami! GS: Strain! Peace Kishinami takes 150 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lanford has posed.
"Who are you calling a little girl!?" Rena immediately side steps to give Claude and Dias openings. Certainly she trusts their aim, but she doesn't want to give them any worries about close calls. Which is when, a stubby little Ashound is released, and Rena looks upon him, in surprise.
For some reason it resonates with a long forgotten memory of a sickly runt of a dog.
It immediately becomes James scruffing him, and Rena doesn't know why her eyes are dappled with tears, and a touch wet. "Get away from him..." She says quietly, before she picks up on the volume, "...You let him go RIGHT NOW!"
Does she sound more upset than usual even? Absolutely.
A toxic cloud of smoke suddenly overwhelms Rena from the Koffing, even as Poison Stingers fly. For a time she vanishes, and only her coughing can be heard.
But then- symbological power sparkles within the dark cloud as she shouts, "Cru... CRUSH!" And above both Koffing and Ekans a perfectly spherical boulder just forms from runes overhead, then lets gravity do the rest of the work.
Then...
"Condition - CURE!"
It's a Symbological Spell that multiple members of Team Rocket are familiar with, what's perhaps remarkable is how widespread it is, right away it's blooming over the crowd of those caught up in Jessie and James' attacks, trying to take the edge off what their Pokemon just did to everyone with the Double Trouble of Poison Cloud and Poison Stringers.
Even as Biggs and Wedge calls them out as Offworlders, "You're Guado! Why are you helping them do this!?" It sounds so strange to be called an 'offworlder', even if she's lived on Filgaia most of her life, that remark takes her aback. "Whatever! Even if I've lived my whole life on Filgaia I'm here now! And because I'm a Nedian it's my responsibility to stop you!"
She looks so serious, and is! But then- EEVEE! "Oh! Hey there!" As Rena gets rubbed up against by an Eevee, "You wanna help us? Thank you!" And certainly, to her surprise, she feels much better, having to resist the urge to pet it, "So cute...! Um-! Right!"
Game face on Rena, a cute little Pokemon is in danger! "Dias! We need to get that Pokemon away from him!"
GS: Hannah Curie accepts Margaret's Thunder Road for 0 hit points! GS: Quick applied to Hannah Curie! GS: Quick applied to Margaret! GS: COUNTER! Gwen Whitlock counterattacks Arisugawa Joy with Counter Attack! GS: Gwen Whitlock takes a solid hit from Arisugawa Joy's Nothing To See Here Officer! for 0 hit points! GS: Rena Lanford has attacked Chase with Condition Cure! GS: Rena Lanford has attacked Elaine with Condition Cure! GS: Rena Lanford has attacked Rena Lanford with Condition Cure! GS: Rena Lanford has attacked Dias Flac with Condition Cure! GS: Rena Lanford has attacked Claude C. Kenny with Condition Cure! GS: Rena Lanford has attacked Ethius Hesiod with Condition Cure! GS: Rena Lanford has attacked Jacqueline Barber with Condition Cure! GS: Rena Lanford has attacked Avril Vent Fleur with Condition Cure! GS: Rena Lanford has gained 1 Combo! GS: Rena Lanford's stances have changed to Sage! GS: Rena Lanford takes 27 damage from Poison! GS: Rena Lanford has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Ethius Hesiod accepts Rena Lanford's Condition Cure for 0 hit points! GS: Pray grants a random effect! Burst applied to Ethius Hesiod! GS: Claude C. Kenny accepts Rena Lanford's Condition Cure for 0 hit points! GS: Restore! Hex removed! GS: Pray grants a random effect! Surge applied to Claude C. Kenny! GS: Rena Lanford accepts Rena Lanford's Condition Cure for 0 hit points! GS: Restore! Hex removed! GS: Pray grants a random effect! Quick applied to Rena Lanford! GS: FP up! Gleam activated!
<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.
Hannah is glad to see some more people she knows made it through alright. "Mister Hesiod! Cirea! I'm glad you're both okay!" She's glad Margaret's okay too, but they haven't really met and now is not really the time for introductions.
But Margaret holds them the opposite of friends, exactly opposite, as it turns out. "It was a figure of speech!" she shouts back.
She's busy wrenching her arm free, when Shinx sees fit to levy an attack on her. It's only thanks to a warning chirp from Zephyr--somehow she heard it, despite all the din and Zephyr flying high above--and has just enough time after wrenching her arm free to hold her arms out for a defense. It strikes her dead on, but she bears it with with gritted teeth and a drop to her knees.
But she gets back up a moment later.
"Alright you two," she shouts towards Biggs and Wedge, ahving drawn the same conclusion Ethius had. "How'd the heck did you two even get here?!" (If limb lengths didn't do it, identifying her planet of origin, Filgaia, would definitely be the clue.)
She wasn't hoping to fight a pitched battle so soon, but if these little critters can summon bolts of lighting, it's getting harder for her to justify holding back. She pulls out another crest graph, this one glowing a bright red, and takes a deep breath.... but this one is to steady herself. She lets it out slowly... then follows it up by holding the crest graph under her mouth, inhaling, and then spewing fire.
GS: Chase accepts Rena Lanford's Condition Cure for 0 hit points! GS: Restore! Blind, Disease, and Poison removed! GS: Pray grants a random effect! Shield applied to Chase! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: Jacqueline Barber accepts Rena Lanford's Condition Cure for 0 hit points! GS: Restore! Interrupt removed! GS: Pray grants a random effect! Quick applied to Jacqueline Barber! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: Hannah Curie has attacked Giovanni with Blaze! GS: Hannah Curie has gained 1 Combo! GS: Hannah Curie has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Cirea has posed.
Cirea, at least, is not hard to find through the smoke. It's all that spotlight she's pointing around.
Shinx *stares* at her, and she stares right back. The psychic (?) wave washes over her, and her wings flutter as she bristles, continuing to stare right back at Shinx.
She blinks first, as it turns out. Or at least looks away from Shinx's KILLING INTENT. (All cats have killing intents. It's just a question of what and how much.) It's intense!
"I'm not the offworlder, you're an offworlder! Or - wait, we both are! You're from Lunar too!" Cirea knows what a Guado is - she didn't, from her books, but that's something she's learned in the last year or so and she is *entirely* sure that she hasn't seen anything but elves on Nede - regrettably, Cirea has yet to figure out the difference between a Nedean and an elf, but she is entirely sure a Guado is neither one of them.
Cirea ducks behind the curve of the roof just as Margaret's spell hits her, so she zips back around faster than before, holding the Pokeball from before in both hands over her head. She flings it downward, directly at the Shinx!
Nothing comes out, because Cirea found that thing abandoned in the tall grass after, presumably, someone failed to catch a Ratatta and had to bail. Nor does Cirea really know how it works, so to her she's just causing a distraction -
So that she can fly down, at top speed, directly toward the Shinx! And not just her - she's flying with a gust of wind behind her to speed her up. Pulling up at the last minute, Cirea lets the wind strike at the Shinx, accompanied with a stream of sparkles from her magic as she releases it.
Cirea hovers in place, practically vibrating. Maybe that's the side effect of Margaret's speed spell.
GS: Cirea has attacked Giovanni with Sparkle Gust! GS: Cirea has gained 2 Combo! GS: Cirea has completed her action. GS: Dias Flac accepts Rena Lanford's Condition Cure for 0 hit points! GS: Restore! Blind, Disease, and Poison removed! GS: Pray grants a random effect! Quick applied to Dias Flac! GS: Giovanni takes a glancing hit from Cirea's Sparkle Gust for 43 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Giovanni gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Break applied to Giovanni! GS: Quick applied to Cirea! GS: FP up! Sufferer activated!
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Zed is here!! Claude spots him, but is too busy in BATTLE to acknowledge his buddy. Instead he advances with Dias, and...
And are the kids there using their own Pokemon to fight these Pokemon instead??? And Elaine's yelling at them! "Oh, sorry," Claude says, "I didn't realize..."
That's an angry little cute Eevee. And a bug! Claude thinks about it for a moment, before instinctively replying to the smoke Team Rocket puts out with a blast of inner energy from his palm. But then--
Cough, cough. "All right then!" Hack. "Ugh--I know what I have to do! Rena! Dias! Let's go!"
If that Pikachu up there is any example, then...
Claude pulls the Pokeball from his belt and... hits the button!! "Barry! Go!"
And from the pokeball emerges a Shiny green Kakuna that stands dauntlessly before Ekans. "Kaaa...."
Claude stops coughing as Veevee rubs against him. "Oh! Thanks!" he says, and still feels lousy, but better than before! And all the more, as Rena... talks her responsibilities, and heals him. While BARRY meanwhile advances menacingly towards the Ekans, its black eyes narrowing harshly. "Kaa...kuna..."
It hops. Hop hop. Hop hop--and then--
SHING!!!! Kakuna used HARDEN!
"Yeah!" Claude says. "Just try and come at him!"
BGM INTERRUPT: TRIUMPH https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mJ3zdmDKnJ4
GS: Claude C. Kenny used Force Action: Mystic on himself! GS: Blind removed! GS: Regen added to Claude C. Kenny! GS: Claude C. Kenny has activated Force Action: Boost! GS: Claude C. Kenny has activated Force Action: Full Clip! GS: Claude C. Kenny has attacked Jessie and James with HARDEN!! GS: Claude C. Kenny gains 10 FP from his Daredevil! GS: Claude C. Kenny gains 35 THP from Regen! GS: Claude C. Kenny has completed his action. GS: Elaine accepts Rena Lanford's Condition Cure for 0 hit points! GS: Restore! Hex removed! GS: Pray grants a random effect! Surge applied to Elaine! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: Avril Vent Fleur accepts Rena Lanford's Condition Cure for 0 hit points! GS: Pray grants a random effect! Burst applied to Avril Vent Fleur! GS: Giovanni suffers a terrible blow from Hannah Curie's Blaze for 191 hit points! GS: FP up! Sufferer activated! GS: Jessie and James solidly guards Claude C. Kenny's HARDEN! for 109 hit points! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated!
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
The two Guado shout warnings to the rest of their criminal compatriots. Dias glances to one side past them at the strong-jawed professor as he shouts to the two children fighting alongside him, Rena, and Claude--Chase and Elaine, the man calls them. He'd already suspected that the blatant Pokemon theft had been a smokescreen, both figurative and literal, for something else; if their real aim is a Pokemon Professor's research, that... would probably make sense. (Dias is still getting used to the local culture.)
But beyond that, both the Guado and James say something about a Boss. *That* is straightforward and simple to understand. They're part of a gang (a team, if you will), and are here on someone else's orders--someone who isn't currently among them. Dias notes that, and James's yelp and Jessie's surprise at being directly attacked. They really don't do direct combat here, huh--but then, that was the point of the Guados's warning, wasn't it. Either way, it's not stopping him.
And while Dias is not enamored with the cuteness of Pokemon as his companions are, he isn't about to let bandits have their way, either. The Ashound escapes James's grasp, thanks to Chase's Pikachu, but the floating pufferfish-esque creature takes the brunt of the Chaos Sword, then emits another literal smokesceen, the poison gas whooshing around the group to cloud their view and poison their lungs. Dias is too close to evade what is functionally a death cloud, but he hears the slither of Jessie's Ekans and, even blinded and coughing, whirls to ready his stance and swift-slash at the creature with a flash of a partially-unsheathed blade. She may have been aiming her venomous servant for the Pikachu and Eevee, but to Dias, Ekans is just another monster.
Of course, that's when Elaine sends her Eevee out to cheer him and the others on with her cute little yips. At the same time, Rena casts a spell to clear the smog and purify its effects. Clear-eyed and clear-lunged, Dias, without actually breaking stance, stares at the small creature, normally stoic expression nonplussed. ...Elaine and Chase seem to have good synergy with their Pokemon, at least.
But then Rena is shouting at him that they need to get that Ashound away from James (and Dias knows *exactly* what Rena must be picturing), while Claude sends out that Pokemon of his after all to, one supposes, be a wall. Dias shuts his eyes briefly and heaves a deep sigh.
"Fine," is all he says, though. Because he's not going to tell Rena *no*--not when she's on the verge of angry tears.
GS: Dias Flac has attacked Jessie and James with Iai Strike! GS: Dias Flac enters a Counter stance! GS: Dias Flac has gained 3 Combo! GS: Dias Flac gains 26 THP from his Cautious! GS: Dias Flac has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
Do they... know this guy?
An arrow, perhaps, might point at Zed over there helpfully, just to the side of them.
Avril turns to look at Zed for a long, long moment.
"That is Zed," she tells Joy at length. "I do not think he is with the Ten Wise Men." Can she be sure about that? Can she be really sure?
...Yes, actually.
Avril gazes at Joy, then turns her head to look over at the chaos erupting over yonder (that blue-haired girl just ran up there and punched that man...) then turns her attention back towards Joy. "I see," Avril remarks, creasing her forehead in thought. "And yet, you are wearing the same uniform, are you not?" Is this really the time for an interrogation, Avril?!
Joy, though, answers in her own way by advancing on Zed, and this seems to serve to really pin down the gravity of the moment for Avril. They're stealing Pokemon! And this girl is-- "Zed! Be careful!" Breaking away from the three large Pokemon, she rushes towards him, drawing out blade and Medium alike in tandem even as that Symbological spell breaks over the area like a spring rain. "Lucadia! Aid us!" The Medium shines bright, and something like the scent of the sea washes over their general vicinity.
...Avril didn't confirm they're not with the Ten Wise Men, though...
GS: Avril Vent Fleur has attacked Zed with Bottomless Sea! GS: Avril Vent Fleur has attacked Avril Vent Fleur with Bottomless Sea! GS: Avril Vent Fleur has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Bottomless Sea! GS: Avril Vent Fleur has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Bottomless Sea! GS: Avril Vent Fleur has completed her action. GS: Avril Vent Fleur accepts Avril Vent Fleur's Bottomless Sea for 0 hit points! GS: Blitz applied to Avril Vent Fleur! GS: Gwen Whitlock accepts Avril Vent Fleur's Bottomless Sea for 0 hit points! GS: Blitz applied to Gwen Whitlock! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey solidly guards Arisugawa Joy's Nothing To See Here Officer! for 0 hit points! GS: FP up! Power Burst activated! GS: CRITICAL! Ida Everstead-Rey accepts Avril Vent Fleur's Bottomless Sea for 0 hit points! GS: Blitz applied to Ida Everstead-Rey! GS: Jessie and James takes a solid hit from Dias Flac's Iai Strike for 140 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Jessie and James gains 1 additional Combo!
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
In the instant of violence, Zed's senses are focused entirely on his target, the arc of his slash, the exact length of his blade. He strikes out, arms expecting to meet claw or flesh, when--
**CLANG!!**R
Instead of dragon, Doombringer contacts steel. Zed's eyes widen, at first in surprise, and then in--
Elation.
"Oh?" His expression curls into a smirk, a little fang jutting out impishly from his lips. "Ohohohoh?" He presses forward, leaning in to push his blade in. "One of the Ten Wise Man's allies, you ask!? Hah! Hahahaha~ That fire... The weight in that question, I can feel it. In your eyes. In your sword--"
The sword.
Blinks at him.
Zed blinks back.
A moment later, Joy breaks the lock. Zed whirls with the momentum, dancing backwards, his scarf twisting in his wake. "--If that's what you need to believe to fight me with everything you've got, then believe what you want! Ahahaha, who knew, someone here would step in to defend their dragon... With a living blade no less!" Zed laughs-- no, cackles. His demonic side is absolutely shining through with all its dark, dangerous devilry. He brandishes Doombringer, the blade gleaming with reflected Charizard-firelight. "Mine, too, is what some might call 'alive.' We are both wielders of <<Ensouled Edges>>, so let us enjoy each other's company in the way that only swordsmen and swordswomen can!"
He--
He's gone full battle maniac, oh no.
Joy charges, her blade ablaze with psychic energy. Zed beams with joy as he meets her, giving the girl exactly what she wants. Rather than psychic power, his sword shines with the light of distant stars. The two collide, locking again together, but this time not in merely an embrace of steel-- but one of pure power. The two forces war against each other, shedding sparks that cut like blades. Zed roars as his bladelight FLARES, blasting into Joy just as much as her power sluiced into him. "I AM ZED OF HYADES," he declares, overjoyed and overenthused, "Young lady, what is your SWORD SCHOOL'S NAME!?"
--And then a Guardian's Strength washes over him. The irresistable strength of the sea washes into him. He grunts quietly, "Avril... Do not worry. This... This is my first taste of this world's swordsmanship! I will savor each and every moment! Nyahahahaha!!"
GS: Zed accepts Avril Vent Fleur's Bottomless Sea for 0 hit points! GS: Blitz applied to Zed! GS: Blitz! Zed has attacked Arisugawa Joy with Saint Arts - Starstrider's Valor! GS: Zed has gained 1 Combo! GS: Zed's stances have changed to Avenger! GS: Zed has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Jessie and James has posed.
Between Rena's Crush, Claude's Meteor Palm, and the Static coming off of Pikachu, Team Rocket are having a terrible time of things even with their cheap-shot combo, but somehow they manage to pry themselves back up. Just in time to see:
"That Eevee is..."
"... using teamwork!
"That's not fair!"
"That's OUR THING!"
Jessie and James are apparently taking Helping Hand personally. Unfortunately, they take it so personally that they fail to penetrate further into the lab, and --
*click*
Jessie runs right into the door when she tries to open it. "Gah! Open up, old man!!" She cries, as she bangs on the door to Oak's inner sanctum.
"It doesn't matter," James says, wagging a finger. "There are plenty of Pokemon to steal out here! Behold --" He spins his vacuum about, only for it to splutter and choke. "-- eeeh?!" He asks, looking agog at the machine. "Just how strong is that girl?!"
"Koffi," Koffing opines, but before he can do anything about it, he gets RAMMED OUT OF THE AIR DID ANYONE GET THE NAME OF THAT TRUCK, which comes out as "Koffiiing?!", because Koffing has a limited vocabulary. Meowth scrambles out of the way as Koffing bounces on the ground, only to paw at him like he's a big, round cat toy. "Meowwwwrrrrth!", he yowls, and it must be a particularly mean demand that he get back up and keep fighting, by the sad way Koffing replies, "Koffi..."
"Come on, Koffing! You're not done yet! Give them a taste of your Sludge Bomb!!" James encourages his poor, beleagued Pokemon, as Koffing picks himself up. "Koffing!" He bellows, as he coughs up... OH NO IT'S SO GROSS! IT'S SLUDGE! IN BOMB FORM! AND IT'S GETTING E V E R Y W H E R E!
"Haaa?" Jessie wonders, as Claude enters the fray. She puts her hands on her hips, and steps forward to put a foot on the shiny Kakuna. "That's a special bug you've got there... but what do you expect it to do just lying there?! Hahahaha! Ekans, don't even worry about it!"
"Mrowr!" Meowth jumps forward, as Jessie turns away, to approach the SHINY KAKUNA. He bats at it with a paw. And then he grasps it with BOTH PAWS and begins kicking with his back paws. And then he tries gnawing on it. And: "Mrawr?!" Nothing he does... nothing he does is moving him at all?! "Hissssssssssss!!" KICK KICK KICK KICK!!
"At least he's having fun..." Jessie sighs, a hand to her temple, before she shakes her head and spreads her fingers at the others. "Ekans, Glare!" And Ekans rears up, in front of Eevee and Pikachu, to give them a chilling glare as her tail rattles!
Meanwhile, Koffing is knocked out of his Sludge Bomb Assault as he has to get out of the way of Iai Strike in a hurry. "Eek!!" James adds, as he hop-foots it away too... leaving the Ashound they were menacing where he's trying his best to hide himself behind a chair. ("Ashroo...")
GS: Jessie and James spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Claude C. Kenny with Fury Swipes! GS: Jessie and James has gained 1 Combo! GS: Jessie and James has activated Force Action: Extend! GS: Arisugawa Joy takes a glancing hit from Gwen Whitlock's Counter Attack for 44 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Arisugawa Joy gains 1 additional Combo! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated! GS: Arisugawa Joy takes a solid hit from Zed's Saint Arts - Starstrider's Valor for 202 hit points! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Chase with Glare! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Elaine with Glare! GS: Jessie and James has gained 1 Combo! GS: Interrupt expired! GS: Jessie and James spends 4 Combo on Poison and Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Rena Lanford with Sludge Bomb! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Dias Flac with Sludge Bomb! GS: Jessie and James has gained 1 Combo! GS: Jessie and James has completed their action. GS: Rena Lanford takes a glancing hit from Jessie and James's Sludge Bomb for 100 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Rena Lanford gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Dispel! Amplify, Burst, Quick, and Surge removed! GS: Poison blocked! GS: FP up! Arcane Font and Reaction bonus activated! GS: Claude C. Kenny has activated Force Action: Guard! GS: Interrupt! Attack weakened! GS: Claude C. Kenny solidly guards Jessie and James's Fury Swipes for 120 hit points! GS: Disrupt applied to Claude C. Kenny! GS: FP up! Power Burst and Reaction bonus activated! GS: COUNTER! Dias Flac counterattacks Jessie and James with Counter Attack! GS: CRITICAL! Dias Flac partially guards Jessie and James's Sludge Bomb for 249 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Dias Flac gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Dispel! Amplify and Riposte removed! GS: Poison applied to Dias Flac! GS: Charge!! You gain 50 FP! (That's 35 more than usual!) GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated! GS: Dias Flac enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: COUNTER! Chase counterattacks Jessie and James with Static! GS: Chase takes a solid hit from Jessie and James's Glare for 0 hit points! GS: Entangle and Shieldbreak applied to Chase! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: Chase enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Elaine fully evades Jessie and James's Glare for 0 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Elaine gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Entangle and Shieldbreak blocked! GS: FP up! Gleam activated!
<Pose Tracker> Giovanni has posed.
Skiddo is gently patted, after being forced to stop -- and Biggs looks at Skiddo, with a growing frown on his broad face. "Hey--hey, come on, we're in a fight! Don't... stop for a massage!"
"Mn-mnnneh."
"...Still getting the hang of this," Biggs groans. Then, he looks back at Margaret. His eyes narrow, for a moment. "We lost a lot of people in that war, too."
"And if everyone who listened to the wrong guy was dead..." Wedge frowns. "...There'd be a lot of dead people!"
Is that regret? No, must be the light.
Lightning crashes down for their opponents, to enhance them. The Shinx looks at Margaret -- eyes wide -- and then at Ethius. This seems to inspire him, as he spins in a circle, leaps up, and then comes crashing DOWN.
A powerful, rolling shockwave of electricity explodes forth like a ring, hurtling for Ethius and Margaret both. This is when Skiddo breaks free of Ethius's mighty grasp.
"What the--" Biggs stammers, as he stares at Cirea. "What are you supposed to be!?"
He hasn't seen a fairy.
Shinx sees a Pokeball fly -- and jumps away, before the wind catches him. He yelps, tumbling, and Wedge frowns. "Buddy!" he yells. "Hit it, now!"
The Shinx shakes -- and then shoots out a bolt of lightning, which zigs, zags, zips, and then ZAPS right at Cirea. Sparks explode -- and Shinx leaps back, before vanishing into a burst of light into the Pokeball in Wedge's hand. Which is when he throws out another.
The Pokeball opens, and a pile of gurgling purple goo -- with an open mouth and wide, white eyes -- lands on the ground. The Grimer burbles happily.
"Because we ran into one of the Ten Wise Men," Wedge Guado says, with a glance at Rena, then looking at Hannah. "And then we got punted here. Months ago."
"And then the Boss picked us up!" Biggs adds. "And do you know what we have now? What Guadosalam could never give us!?
A beat, then both Biggs and Wedge call out at once: "DENTAL!"
Then they go wide-eyed and duck to the side, as Hannah's fire breath scorches them both. Skiddo goes running as fast as he can -- skidding into the wall of the Professor's lab. His eyes are swirly, then, and he sways back and forth.
But Grimer is untouched, and fresh off the Pokeball. He turns, opens his mouth, and then spits out a huge glob of mud right for Hannah!
Professor Oak stays down for the moment. There is a wary glance at the door to his laboratory -- where, he knows, Jessie and James are outside.
Because it shakes when Jessie runs into the door.
"No!" Oak says. "And--and furthermore, don't you dare steal Pokemon! Team Rocket, I swear...!"
GS: Giovanni has attacked Ethius Hesiod with Shinx - Discharge! GS: Giovanni has attacked Margaret with Shinx - Discharge! GS: Giovanni has attacked Cirea with Shinx - Volt Switch! GS: Giovanni has gained 1 Combo! GS: Giovanni has attacked Hannah Curie with Grimer - Mud Shot! GS: Giovanni has gained 1 Combo! GS: Giovanni has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Briefly, Jacqueline looks toward the lab. She's not one of the one's called out to - but that does tell her why these people are here, beyond just normal thievery. Stealing research... She's curious, but she can worry about that later.
"...Ah, yes, that's right." Jacqueline considers, as Peace responds to her question with an 'in a matter of speaking'. She did say they could call her an independent contractor.
Spearow comes in for a peck... and is met with a bolt of electricity! It proves quite effective - super, even - and Spearow plummets, smoking.
Still... the little bird has a lot of fighting spirit. It picks itself back up, shaking off the ash and glaring defiantly. It's at this moment that Rena's Symbology washes over the area - and that, it seems, causes it to perk up more.
"Thank you, Rena..." Jacqueline breathes a sigh of relief.
"Are you alright?" Jacqueline calls over to Spearow. That glare gets directed at her, next. "...I see. Then I'll trust you."
She considers Peace's words, then.
"So, picking the most appropriate match-up is key. I know from past experience how effective lightning can be on something that flies..." Jacqueline considers. She scans Peace's fielded Pokemon. The most ideal target would be... "I see! Then... focus your efforts there!"
For want of a name, Jacqueline points at Leafeon. As defiant as Spearow might be, one thing it can accept is a call to violence. It flies toward Leafeon, Leering ominously to catch it off-guard before swiping with its talons!
As Spearow acts, Jacqueline takes a moment to draw the Lifeweaver's Codex from her bags, opening to the newest section as she jots down some notes on Pokemon.
GS: Jacqueline Barber has attacked Peace Kishinami with Leer! GS: Jacqueline Barber has gained 1 Combo! GS: Jacqueline Barber has completed her action. GS: Lan Lilac suffers a terrible blow from Peace Kishinami's Leafeon for 215 hit points! GS: Quick applied to Peace Kishinami! GS: CRITICAL! Margaret takes a solid hit from Giovanni's Shinx - Discharge for 242 hit points! GS: Disrupt applied to Margaret! GS: FP up! Arcane Font and Reaction bonus activated!
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"Okay, thanks!" Gwen's smile widens, as she scratches the back of her head. "That's mighty sweet of ya, but I'm more capable than I look!"
However, there is one thing that is certain: no matter the planet, no matter the place, Zed is going to Zed.
"Whoah, whoah!" Gwen hops back a step back as Zed DESCENDS from the heavens (no, he came from the side, but shut up). "Zed! Hey! It's okay, she's--"
Oh no, they're going full battle mode, aren't they? Gwen's known Zed long enough to know when it's not worth it to try stopping him. "Nonono, we're not with the Ten Wise Men! We nearly got whalloped by them, n' when we came to we were all here." She points behind her to Avril. "What she said! Zed's just the kinda guy who likes to make himself stronger, he ain't... augh, Zed... "
Despite Gwen's attempts at navigating this narrow division between peaceful and jumping into battle, one other factor is crawling up the back of her head, ready to force her hand in the matter.
The Joltik, emerging from the wild curls of Gwen's head like a predator from its jungle, raises its mandibles threateningly and--
*BZZT*
"Whoah, whoah! Voltie!"
<Pose Tracker> Holly has posed.
Holly does stop her reverie of inane rambling when it's suggested she's a pokemon too. "Hey!" She shouts angrily and gestures, "Fine, I won't just talk and be nice." Muttermutter.
She does try to slide down below that wave of darkness, heel catching the brush to speed it up like a polearm trick. The ink catching the darkness and.. well she catches the worst of it, but is still sent to the ground.
Placing her hand on a slowly sliding pokeball to get back up. Inadvertantly releasing what she thinks is a teddy bear in funny colors. "Chaaaam" is its cry and confused look. It looks equally confused back at the fairy. This goes on longer than the fairy would like to admit as she tries to get a better look at the ball. Even taking a moment to snag it against a splat of ink so it doesn't get sucked up. With it shrinking back down, she tries to keep a grip on it, stashing it away in her satchel.. somehow. Is this really stealing?
They seem to understand each other though after that silent moment. Holly gestures towards Peace, the Pancham nods and then Holly's on the tiny panda's shoulders as the bound forward. Holly winding up with the brush like it's a bat as they both leap into the air! And.. swing back at the Umbreon (And probably Peace by proxy. Sorry! Kinda!) With a streaking blob of magically infused ink in the thing. "That was rude!" she calls out. Punctuated by a "Pan!" from the pokemon followed by a kick! It seems she's founda kindred spirit in some kinds of mischief.
The fact that this is kind of funny has her smiling at least. Really this is kinda like being back at the library when it was active! For better and worse.
Then there's that moment of realization as they skid to a stop and turn. Looking.. rather silly really. "Wait typing and flying?" That's a new one to her. She points to the Prof and wiggles the paintbrush, "I bet I can fly circles around it!" That's not.. the point.
At least between the panda and the fairy they.. almost come up to half the height of most of the people here!
She looks down fianlly and adds in an undertone, "You want to help stop the stealing right?" met with a nod. She isn't going to force a critter to pit fight for her. She's good enough for it her own way!
There's also a moment of realization that she should get a ball for the charjabug having seen them in use a few times. Said bug was hanging out somewhere safe. The electric insect might catch up before this is over! There's a quiet moment to ask, "How did you fit in there anyway?" met with a confused sound from her current sparring buddy. "We're going to keep them safe. Let's go!" and off they go again in an awkward team effort. Like a school jousting event somehow.
A clear effort now being made to try and steer to help Jay's bird out after the admonition from said Prof. She should introduce herself, but, "Holly!" she adds, introducing herself and probably not helping the confusion on whether she qualifies as a pokemon or not.
GS: Holly has attacked Peace Kishinami with Ink Hammer! GS: Holly has gained 1 Combo! GS: Holly has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Cirea solidly guards Giovanni's Shinx - Volt Switch for 103 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Cirea gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Cover, Hyper, and Riposte applied to Giovanni! GS: FP up! Arcane Font and Gleam activated! GS: Ethius Hesiod takes a glancing hit from Giovanni's Shinx - Discharge for 68 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Ethius Hesiod gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Disrupt blocked!
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Caterpie wriggles in Ida's arms, trying to free itself. "No," Ida says, "stay, stay, danger." She glances at the dragon-creature, her eyes like daggers. The threat is clear. Touch this precious creature, and you deal with her--
But Charizard already seems to understand the seeming mismatch here, and makes what's clearly a 'shoo' gesture.
"We're not with the Ten Wise Men--" Ida says, focusing back on Joy now that Charizard is (probably) not going to incinerate her new bug friend. "Now, if there is nothing to see here, then please call off your pets and..."
As Ida speaks, Caterpie takes in the chaos of the battlefield. Barry the Kakuna bravely standing firm. Ethius gently petting Skiddo. Her eyes sparkle.
"...Did that man just kick a dog?!" Ida demands, venom in her voice, but it's too late. Horror darkens her eyes as she realizes what's happened. As a martial artist, she's seen it before, experienced it before: the very first rush of battle-adrenaline. Joy is somewhere only fists can reach, now. Caterpie squirms free from her grip, and skitters up to Venusaur, looking at the lunch sack with big, pleading eyes.
"Very well, Arisagawa Joy," Ida says, looking aside at Zed, pointedly. "I am Ida of the Method." She rolls up her sleeves. "Face me." Where Zed charged head-on, Ida weaves to the side, and starts circling Joy, throwing little feints and jabs, finger-strikes and open-palm blows. None are strong, but it is a very good test of Joy's defenses.
"Pii?" Caterpie looks up at Charizard, then at the fight. Is this... Pokemon watching while people battle each other?
GS: Blitz! Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Arisugawa Joy with Water Dragon Form! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has gained 1 Combo! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey's stances have changed to Stoic! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has completed her action. GS: Blitz! Gwen Whitlock has attacked Arisugawa Joy with MINE! GS: Gwen Whitlock has completed her action. GS: Arisugawa Joy takes a glancing hit from Ida Everstead-Rey's Water Dragon Form for 70 hit points! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated! GS: Arisugawa Joy takes a glancing hit from Gwen Whitlock's MINE for 50 hit points! GS: Jam applied to Arisugawa Joy! GS: Hannah Curie partially guards Giovanni's Grimer - Mud Shot for 141 hit points! GS: Dispel! Quick removed! GS: Delay blocked! GS: FP up! Arcane Font and Reaction bonus activated! GS: Hannah Curie enters CONDITION GREEN!!
<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.
Margaret looks up at Cirea, and then does a double-take as she, perhaps, parses that Cirea is like a child (very small) instead of like the philosophical concept of a Child, as debated in Neo-Vane (far away).
"Fine words," she answers, sonorously, to their opponents: "But even so -- do you expect me to ignore the howling of my brother's blood?!" Brother? Despite this, Margaret, perhaps notably, does not erupt into a burst of blurring purple light and attempt to chop the Guadomen into their primal cuts.
Perhaps a grain of mercy?
(Maybe, but Margaret is also remarkably low on MP.)
Her eyes flick round the battlefield even as the Guado explain themselves. "Then they didn't just pop up last month," Margaret grunts. Then she looks at the two of them, frankly baffled, as they speak of Dental.
Then, as if remembering something: "Oh, right," she says, "you only get the two sets, don't you." And so the sylvan elf (robust physiomorph) sucks on her teeth as if to say: awkward, even as her eyes turn towards Hannah momentarily.
That's when she receives a bursting spark from the retreating Shinx. "WHAT THE DEVIL!" Margaret shouts as she twitches. She witnesses the tail end of the process -- and points her sword towards Biggs and Wedge. "Alright, even so, the point remains, what are you even DOING here -- look!"
She gestures towards the door where she can hear muffled words from the resident. "He's saying not to steal your Pokemons things. What in the Goddess's name are they, anyway? Some kind of shikigami? They look like dolls come to life!" GRIMER.
Margaret glowers at Grimer for disproving her thesis immediately.
Then she attacks it with her sword in a broad chopping swing.
* Margaret used SWORD DANCE!
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
"Is what m- oh." Holly doesn't belong to Lan! She's a whole person (tiny). "She's not a Pokemon! She's a fairy." Is... is this new lore to add to the Nede's creation myths? Are beings like Holly the mysterious original teachers of Fairy moves??
(no)
She's about to try sneaking around again when... there's a cat twining between her feet. Is it a cat? It's cat-like. It's also way adorable. And kinda leafy! Lan kneels down to fuss over it and maybe pet it if it will let her--
(WHAM)
Lan goes skidding backwards, a pawprint right in the middle of her shirt. "Whuh??" she gapes, pushing herself back up onto her elbows to stare at Leafeon. Rude! Suddenly Lan is the one who has to wrestle with morality! "I... am I really gonna have to beat up a kitty...?" Even though the leaf kitty started it!
With a kip-up and a rustle of her top to shake the pawprint out of it, Lan assumes a fighting stance, balanced on one leg and ready to lash out with the other. "This feels wrong!" she complains, even though she has already beaten up many, many less cute animals in her time. She's hesitating--
She pulls the ribbon from her hair with a loud 'VWIP', a flick of her wrist turning it into a silver, silken whip. She lashes out, aiming to snare the Leafeon...
...and send it hurtling into its own trainer!
GS: Margaret has attacked Giovanni with Swift Retribution! GS: Margaret takes 35 damage from Poison! GS: Margaret has completed her action. GS: Lan Lilac has attacked Peace Kishinami with Ribbon Dance! GS: Lan Lilac has gained 1 Combo! GS: Lan Lilac has launched an attack Link! GS: Lan Lilac has attacked Peace Kishinami with Paper Moon! GS: Lan Lilac has gained 2 Combo! GS: Lan Lilac has completed her action. GS: Giovanni partially guards Margaret's Swift Retribution for 91 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Giovanni gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Quick applied to Margaret! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus and Sufferer activated!
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"Okay, thanks!" Gwen's smile widens, as she scratches the back of her head. "That's mighty sweet of ya, but I'm more capable than I look!"
However, there is one thing that is certain: no matter the planet, no matter the place, Zed is going to Zed.
"Whoah, whoah!" Gwen hops back a step back as Zed DESCENDS from the heavens (no, he came from the side, but shut up). "Zed! Hey! It's okay, she's--"
Oh no, they're going full battle mode, aren't they? Gwen's known Zed long enough to know when it's not worth it to try stopping him. "Nonono, we're not with the Ten Wise Men! We nearly got whalloped by them, n' when we came to we were all here." She points behind her to Avril. "What she said! Zed's just the kinda guy who likes to make himself stronger, he ain't... augh, Zed... oh, thank you." Gwen gratefully accepts the onigiri, and begins to munch. After a bite, she shares, "I'm Gwen Whitlock, super courier. Though maybe you don't need routes here, looks like..."
Despite Gwen's attempts at navigating this narrow division between peaceful and jumping into battle, one other factor is crawling up the back of her head, ready to force her hand in the matter.
The Joltik, emerging from the wild curls of Gwen's head like a predator from its jungle, raises its mandibles threateningly and--
*BZZT*
"Whoah, whoah! Voltie!"
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lanford has posed.
Something eases up in her throat at least, when Dias says 'Fine', as she tells him simply, "Thank you, Dias." And Rena whirls about in shock as Claude puts Barry into the fray! "Claude! You can't just put Barry in the line of fire!" As her complaint then transfers to Jessie and James, "Hey! Don't pick on Barry!"
Rena how do you think Pokemon are supposed to work!? But - in truth it's just as she can't see how Barry can handle this! Fury Swipes-! Rena's pose just shifts as she watches the Kakuna get repeatedly kicked!? And...
"I- Wow! Barry you're so sturdy and rugged!"
Where did she get rugged from?!
Rena dives out of the way just in time for the Sludge Bomb to still graze her, but unfortunately that sludge is already making it difficult to move.
As Biggs and Wedge say what happened though, "You're doing this for DENTAL COVERAGE? The Ten Wise Men are here NOW! I- you're unbelievable!"
James however... leaves the poor little Ashound behind and... rather than pursue them at the door, she runs up to the chair it's hiding behind. "Hey - I know they were being horrible to you little guy but... don't worry, we're going to make sure they're never going to hurt you ever again."
Even if she's unaware of it, it's like she's aligning her thoughts - feelings with it, and getting them across to the little Ashound.
Knowing it's terrified, rather than scoop it up, she takes out some Poketreats she bought for Kakuna, offering one... then another.
"It's kinda funny - you remind me of someone I knew a long time ago."
Still, it is a battle! And thus, even as she reaches out to the Ashound, symbological power grows around her as she starts casting a sequence of spells-
"Guard! Haste! Guard! Haste! Guard! Haste! Guard! Haste! Guard! Haste!"
The Faerie motified light shines around Dias Flac- as spells form magical barriers and quicken his swordarm.
But after Dias it goes to Claude's Kakuna! Chase's Pikachu! Elaine's Eevee! And...
A little Ashound hiding behind a chair.
"If you two are going to be like that, you're going to learn some respect for Pokemon- and the elderly the hard way!"
GS: Rena Lanford has activated Force Action: Extend! GS: Rena Lanford has attacked Dias Flac with Guard! Haste!! GS: Rena Lanford has attacked Claude C. Kenny with Guard! Haste!! GS: Rena Lanford has attacked Elaine with Guard! Haste!! GS: Rena Lanford has attacked Chase with Guard! Haste!! GS: Rena Lanford has attacked Rena Lanford with Guard! Haste!! GS: Rena Lanford has gained 2 Combo! GS: Rena Lanford takes 42 damage from Poison! GS: Rena Lanford has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Rena Lanford accepts Rena Lanford's Guard! Haste! for 0 hit points! GS: Blitz, Burst, Quick, and Shield applied to Rena Lanford! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: CRITICAL! Claude C. Kenny accepts Rena Lanford's Guard! Haste! for 0 hit points! GS: Blitz, Burst, Quick, and Shield applied to Claude C. Kenny! GS: Chase accepts Rena Lanford's Guard! Haste! for 0 hit points! GS: Blitz, Burst, Quick, and Shield applied to Chase! GS: FP up! Gleam activated!
<Pose Tracker> Elaine has posed.
Elaine hums a little happily at the results of Veevee's helping hand. "Good job Veevee!" as Veevee lets out a happy cry in front of her, wagging her tail. "Feeling better Pink?" She asks of her Butterfree beside, who lets out a chirpy cry and moves forward to join Veevee and Pikachu. "Good, then while they're having trouble with the door, knock them out of here." she says placing her hands on her hips.
The young girl finally uses a moment to survey the battle, noticing the Aliens Chase points her towards and blinking in surprise at them, before looking at the others fighting Team Rocket and realizing most of them aren't Nedian either! "What... What is going on?" she mutters under her breath looking around, then refocusing on Jessie and James at the door nearby. "We need to stop them first." as she watches Rena, Claude and Dias continue their attacks, or rather just Dias. Rena is helping them with clearing out Koffin's previous attack and supporting them while Claude sent out a Kakuna! Maybe it'll evolve soon!
"Hey Chase, triple battle formation with my Pink and Veevee! Pink, use confusion on the Koffin. Veevee, use quick attack on the Ekans!" Elaine suddenly calls out, naming a rarely used fight rule and method even as she lines her pokemon up to give them access to their targets. It might mean Pikachu can't reach Koffin, but there's still a Meowth, Ekans, and two Team Rocket Members right there! "Knock that snake right out of here Veevee!" she cheers on her Eevee.
GS: Elaine accepts Rena Lanford's Guard! Haste! for 0 hit points! GS: Blitz, Burst, Quick, and Shield applied to Elaine! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: Blitz! Elaine has attacked Jessie and James with Doubles Strike! GS: Elaine has completed her action. GS: Peace Kishinami takes a solid hit from Jacqueline Barber's Leer for 86 hit points! GS: Mighty applied to Jacqueline Barber! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated! GS: Peace Kishinami solidly guards Holly's Ink Hammer for 78 hit points! GS: Cover and Shield applied to Holly! GS: Peace Kishinami enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Peace Kishinami takes a glancing hit from Lan Lilac's Ribbon Dance for 0 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Peace Kishinami gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Mute applied to Peace Kishinami! GS: Lan Lilac drains Peace Kishinami! Lan Lilac gains 0 temporary hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.
"Months?! Didn't they only just get free though?" No, Hannah, now's not the time for interrogations. There's way, way too much happening now to try and piece everything together right this instant.
... Taking care of your teeth is important though... "Wait is that why you're doin' all this? For... the medical coverage?"
She can... understand it, in a strange sort of way.
Margaret is confused by the presence of pokemon. Hannah has an answer for her. "They're the natural wildlife of Energy Nede. Mostly. Sorta. It's complicated. But they've all got some kind of Symbological magic to 'em." Despite the presence of recognizeable tattoos.
But that mud spray is lobbed at her, and Hannah whips out a crest graph. She leans into the motion of the mud spray, drawing her crest graph against its motion. A trail of ethereal force is left behind, slicing through the attack and causing it to splatter all around her. She missed some of the worst of it, but... she looks down at herself and her mud-covered clothes. "... And I just got these..."
"Alright... give me room!" Another crest graph comes out, this one sparking as she holds it up. Her arm tenses as she channels magic into it. A ball of lighting starts to form, and it barely holds its coherence for a moment as it threatens to unravel into a messy web of lashing electricity before she forces it back into its proper shape. A snap of her fingers on her other hand, and she sends it forth at the pokemon defending Biggs and Wedge.
GS: Hannah Curie enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Hannah Curie has attacked Giovanni with Ball Lightning! GS: Hannah Curie has gained 3 Combo! GS: Hannah Curie enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Hannah Curie has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Chase has posed.
One of the strangers does something unstrange as Symbology blooms over the battlefield. Chase lowers his arm from his mouth, and where he's too stunned to react properly to what all this even is, Pikachu turns back to Rena with a bright, "Pi chuuu~!" and smacks her paw to her mouth before sweeping it out in a blown kiss. A little Pika's... chu.
And now there's a Kakuna on the battlefield. Somehow this has... not made anything less disorienting for Chase. And if it did, the vibe is immediately ruined by a man with an entire sword.
Pikachu isn't really bothered by any of this.
What Pikachu IS bothered by is the sudden glare of a snack. "Pika?!" She freezes in place, staring up at the Ekans. A millenia of primordial memory between rodent and serpent passes through Pikachu's mind. Who has the most to gain and lose in this ancient conflict, a dance they have had countless times throughout nature's history? Is she naught but prey in the face of --
Chase whistles a low, quivering command as Elaine calls for a triple battle formation, and as Rena's Faerie light casts over Pikachu.
Pikachu's eyebrows suddenly press down again, and her almost cat-like smile reappears.
"Pika," she acknowledges, looking for all the world like she has been given a gift. The gift of nasty plots. She does not actually know this move. That's Chase's job in this partnership. What she does know... is Zippy Zap. (Okay, first of all, is that even a legal Move, Chase what the heck --)
Pikachu drops to all fours and launches at the vaccuum machine in the chaotic formation with Elaine's Pokemon, prickling with high voltage sparks. "PiKA!" She smashes for her target -- or whatever happens to get in the way -- with the thunderous crash of intense electrical discharge.
Meanwhile, Chase takes that moment to rush for the door. With Jessie already there it's a little awkward. He crosses his arms to make an 'x', blinking up at her with a kind of ingenuousness that makes it seem like he's going for... asking nicely if she'll stop.
GS: Chase has activated Force Action: Full Clip! GS: Chase enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Formation! Blitz! Chase has attacked Jessie and James with And make it TRIPLE!! GS: Chase has gained 1 Combo! GS: Chase enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Chase has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
"He has to have a chance to prove himself!" Claude says to Rena, impassioned, on the amtter of putting Barry in the line of fire. "To show that he's his own bug, not just ours!" As he speaks, Claude glances over at Zed, and decides he has the matter of the terrible monsters over by Joy in hand. And Dias can rescue the Ashound! Even as--
Jessie puts a foot on Barry!? "You can't just step on him!" Claude protests. Ekans apparently isn't going to worry about it. But Barry is not done. Barry continues to stare, eyes intent upon Ekans, even as Meowth hissses and kicks and gnaws! It doesn't move Barry in the least, though it does damage Claude's morale--
Until Barry says, "Ka... kuna!!"
(Triumph continues, but at a lower volume)
Barry's fighting spirit grows! And Rena's magic douses it in POWER!! A red aura begins to surround it as, once again, it uses HARDEN!
Barry hops forward. Hop, hop, hop, an inch at a time but somehow very quickly, until it starts to move underneath Meowth, and--
"KUNA!!"
It tips right towards the cat!!.
"He is sturdy and rugged! Barry, keep it up!"
That's... some set of Pokemon those kids have though. "Do you guys do this often?" Claude wonders of Chase and Elaine.
GS: Claude C. Kenny has activated Force Action: Full Clip! GS: Claude C. Kenny spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: Blitz! Claude C. Kenny has attacked Jessie and James with DOUBLE HARDEN!!! GS: Claude C. Kenny gains 10 FP from his Daredevil! GS: Claude C. Kenny gains 32 THP from Regen! GS: Claude C. Kenny has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius Hesiod, black ops agent of the Pangalactic Federation, is engaging in wholesome xenofauna wrangling behavior with unflinchingly sincere and unironic intent. It's cute! And weird, given the pontification about a profound revelation while doing so. The THUN.ROAD and the sweeping Condition Cure together both put additional pep back into him where the rigors of Marduk, difficulties of navigating a new world with few additional resources, and a brisk walk to Pallet Town feel a bit... washed away.
Luckily, Skiddo has all the opening to escape when Ethius gets a whiff of ozone before the rolling shockwave of electricity comes. It is a lucky guess, after having seen isolated instances of things like a little yellow rat shooting electricity from red cheek pouches, that he moves to separate himself from the kid so that the Skiddo won't get caught in the crossfire*.
* Ethius is selling their training short in that regard. Skiddo never would have been in harm's way. He just wasn't going to take that for granted.
The Symbologist avoids being zapped too much on grounds of being mostly grounded and somewhat muddy from the wrestling bit with the little leafy goat, with only a faint tingling of short-lived neuropathy at the ends of extremities to show for lasting harm when the initial jolt passes through.
It's ample time to catch up on the exposition while shielding his eyes from the Volt Switch.
"So they already had some method, unknown to them at the time, to bring individuals - or... two individuals - here." Ethius sounds incredulous about it, as they talk about the thing they have now that they never could have had before.
Dental.
GUADOSALAM
Gon Guado, once one of Seymour Guado's right-hand men, checks himself in a reflective surface at the Moonflow. He's been feeling his age more and more. He opens his mouth.
Pyreflies, completely coincidentally since they do not have any capacity for opinions on the matter but are nonetheless correct in their arbitrary collective movement, emerge wholesale from the Moonflow with their eerie wails.
ENERGY NEDE
He watches as Skiddo avoids the fire breath in a panic, moving to stand up. Cirea's movements give him another dramatic hair-blowing-in-the-wind moment not too far behind him, and he's taking another look to make sure something isn't about to sneak up and try to eat her by happenstance.
He rises, muddy and stumbling momentarily because of the short-lived bout with neuropathy post-electrical Discharging, slamming the butt of his staff against the ground.
"If the worst of ambitions culminates in theft of domesticated xenofauna," Ethius keeps his eyes closed, and does not visualize what he has seen and dealt with before coming to Filgaia. The list is long. There is an innocence here worth preserving.
"...Let us keep it that way," he says, drawing the remaining satchel from his belt as fingers from the hand grasping the upright quarterstaff subtly wave while he murmurs the syllables to unlock the Symbological enchantment on that satchel.
He waits for the lightning storm by Hannah to clear before he hurls that satchel towards the newly emerged purplish mound of goo, a cloud of obscuring dust on impact with the ground emerging to obscure and, perhaps, pacify.
GS: Ethius Hesiod has attacked Giovanni with Powder Grenade! GS: Ethius Hesiod has gained 2 Combo! GS: Ethius Hesiod has completed his action. GS: Giovanni solidly guards Hannah Curie's Ball Lightning for 63 hit points! GS: Mighty applied to Hannah Curie! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus and Sufferer activated! GS: Giovanni enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Blind, Entangle, and Slow expired! GS: Giovanni partially evades Ethius Hesiod's Powder Grenade for 62 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Giovanni gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Cripple and Jam applied to Giovanni! GS: FP up! Sufferer activated!
<Pose Tracker> Peace Kishinami has posed.
For all of Peace's quiet aloofness, there is one thing that almost makes her pause - the sound of Professor Oak calling from inside the Laboratory is at once familiar and jarring, and sends a flicker of some uncertain emotion across her face. She introduced herself as a Professor as well, and she can't deny that part of that is thanks to still having some pride in the title. Given where she stands in this encounter, she also can't deny being unable to meet his face. She's not sure she wants to know what she might read there.
Another thought chases that one; she also can't deny having made the choice to be here of her own volition. And if she got cold feet after pledging Joy her support, that wouldn't exactly do wonders for that sense of pride either. She risks a glance over at her friend's position, carefully gauging how she's holding up on her end and taking in the sight of her weaving around her pokemon. She has a duty to do that much, doesn't she?
Something makes her square her feet, close her eyes for a second. Maybe it's finally sunk in her as well what it means to 'battle' as something more than a clinical back and forth. Without even realizing she's doing it, she folds her arms. "... don't think I'll be a pushover," she warns Jay as her eyes open again, which is a little rich when her Jolteon just plucked the poor Spearow from the skies. "We've got our own reasons for doing this."
She finally moves to try to avoid the Spearow's descent, calling out a sharp "Lee!" of warning as her Leafeon gets raked by its claws. Unlike Biggs and Wedge, she doesn't return it to a pokeball - rather, she simply holds still for long enough to let the creature dive into one of the many pockets of her labcoat. There's another chirp, as a predominantly red pokemon with a fuzzy ruff responds by springing up onto Peace's folded arms to give the angry Spearow a solid growl in return.
"Don't stick to just one Pokemon. You'll need to build yourself up a--" she's going through the script again, and this time it feels very hollow as she watches Drifters set about with swords and whatever else. Her frown is back, but only for a moment. "--'need' is overselling it."
Calling Holly a fairy is not helping the situation much. "... of course she's a Fairy type. What else could she be?" she asks Lan, still stuck at some major cross-purpose. Leafeon has already retreated from the incoming ribbons, but Peace looks unconcerned - because in a sudden blur of white and pink and blue, another creature has emerged to meet Lan's ribbon with one of its own. The two tangle together, and the Pokemon nearly loses its footing - before it levels a pair of deep blue eyes at her, and ever so cutely tilts its head. A-aww...
"Ah-- a team attack?" she adds as Undiscovered Fairy Type and Pancham roll in on the attack. Peace is back to dodging the fairy's paintbrush, nowhere near as good as Joy when it comes to actually working with and around her pokemon or, you know, moving fast in general. There's a faint sigh of dissatisfaction - and her hand moves to one upper pocket of her coat. She puts her hand inside.
Some paper rustles, and about eight different pairs of ears suddenly spring upwards to attention from around her. Oh no, it's--
<Pose Tracker> Arisugawa Joy has posed.
"I don't think that's a Pokemon, Peace..." Joy finds it in her to remark, though she certainly looks interested in the way that Peace is guiding the outworlders to try Pokemon out. Fighting them on their own terms...
Rena's cry to Biggs and Wedge isn't lost on her. Guado? Why do these offworlders know them? Is there something the Boss knows that she doesn't? There's a lot that's not known to her...
Avril points out that Joy's wearing the same uniform. Oh yeah... she kinda forgot about that. Before she even can futilely reason her way out of it, though, Avril--
Calls upon a creature called 'Lucadia'. "I can smell the sea. What kind of power is that...?" she asks with some wonder, though she spots Avril's blade, and her caution and tension redouble.
The two blades clash, as Doombringer shines with the light of distant stars, Joy feels her upper body's muscles straining. She doesn't have superstrength, or even regular adult strength; Honedge is doing a lot of the work here. As much as Joy's putting up a pretty solid front, her knees are quaking a little. Zed can see it. Her eyes don't have the gleam of a hardened fighter, nor an experienced Drifter. She is a fifteen year old teen. But...
(This guy...)
Zed's reaction is a little surprising, but it's not untrue. No matter how much a mantle fear weighs down on her, her resolve isn't untrue.
(This guy's real scary. I don't think he'll hesitate to cut me down for even a moment. But at the same time...)
She pushes on past that fear, letting herself feel it in its entirety for a moment and let it flow into her. Doombringer overpowers Honedge, and Joy senses the give from her Pokemon and leaps back before it falters, a subtle motion that she couldn't act on if she couldn't connect with her Pokemon.
(I haven't felt that kind of sincerity from the adults I know.)
Ida introduces herself, and thrusts herself at her with little feints and jabs; several of them she badly misreads, but there's some foundation in the footwork. She's likely taken self-defence classes, but... it's the same conclusion here. She's not an experienced fighter; she's not battle-hardened, fire-forged.
After one particular jab that Joy reads as particularly threatening, she raises her arm--
"Shedinja!"
--Ida can spot a small pokeball mounted onto the sleeve of Joy's coat pop open, and in a bright flash of white light, a two-foot tall... husk of a cicada's exoskeleton with little wings on its side, and a curious white halo on its head emerges to tank the blow, rippling with a mysterious oscillating light that seemingly absorbs much of the (light) force of Ida's blow.
Its purpose complete, it stays by Joy's right arm, and the semblance of a shield is complete.
BGM: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IBWUX-jFtfs
"Ida of the Method. Zed of Hyades. I'm Arisugawa Joy... this is Honedge and Shedinja."
Blastoise gives Venusaur a 'why the fuck are we even here' look.
Venusaur doesn't return the look, because it's busy spoiling Caterpie with a piece of apple that it holds near its head with its tendril. Aaah!
A moment later, Joy's body erupts with a mild electric shock that more startles her than seriously wounds, and she stares towards Gwen, and the Joltik on her head.
"Miss, please control your Joltik!" But Gwen mentioned she's more capable than she looks, and she, too, knows Zed. And Avril herself hasn't denied that she knows the Ten Wise Men... though Gwen explains that they nearly were whalloped by them, and when they came to, they were all here.
"Other than those two," Joy refers to Biggs and Wedge, "I haven't seen anyone else from outside of Nede. How can I trust you?"
(I don't really doubt them, but...)
joy do you even remember you were supposed to be stealing pokemon from the lab anymore
Darting towards the two that have acknowledged her as an opponent, Joy employs some good footwork once more, shifting stances as Honedge weaves itself in the cloak of night, disguising the true nature of its slash as she makes a rising slash for Zed, and performs a front flip in the air and attempts to drive the blade down at Ida.
Charizard is reclining on its side and is still being vain about its claws, but it does watch the battle with feigned interest and wiggles its fiery tail--
"Charrr."
--which drapes a mild circle of fire at Avril and Gwen, as if to keep them away from the battle. This is the amount of fucks Charizard has to give about this, and it's not a lot.
GS: Arisugawa Joy has attacked Zed with Honedge - Night Slash! GS: Arisugawa Joy has gained 1 Combo! GS: Arisugawa Joy has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Honedge - Night Slash! GS: Arisugawa Joy has gained 1 Combo! GS: Arisugawa Joy has attacked Avril Vent Fleur with Charizard - Low Effort Fire Spin! GS: Arisugawa Joy has attacked Gwen Whitlock with Charizard - Low Effort Fire Spin! GS: Arisugawa Joy has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Peace Kishinami partially evades Lan Lilac's Paper Moon for 151 hit points! GS: Poison applied to Peace Kishinami! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated!
<Pose Tracker> Cirea has posed.
"Hi Hannah!" Cirea is pleased to be recognized. "I was hoping there were other people I recognized around! I kind of got separated and then bam! I got lost. But I found my way here and I was looking around and then THIS happened!"
Fortunately, Cirea - despite being hard to shut up - does not actually talk overly fast, even under the effect of Margaret's spell. She just doesn't seem to stop for air.
Cirea, who is in fact smaller than a child unless it is a *very* small child indeed, waves at Margaret in some kind of greeting. It's a little hard to make out because she is simultaneously trying to defend herself against the Shinx and its electric discharge, but as it turns out lightning is actually faster than she is (who knew?) and she takes the bolt, launched several meters before she catches herself on fluttering wings.
"Ow ow ow..." Cirea shakes her head to clear it, but: "Hey! Where'd the cat go?" Now there's a... whatever a Grimer is. Cirea mentally files it under 'ooze' because she's fought weird blobby things before and leaves it at that.
"Wait, you get dental? You NEED dental?" Cirea has never brushed her teeth in her life and yet she still has all of them. Some things are unfair, and being a semi-magical species may be one of those things. "And you've been here for months? ...I thought they were just unsealing themselves now!"
"Anyway, I'm a fairy, *thank you very much*, I'm perfectly normal and you'd know if you read your books!" Cirea may have the wrong idea of what books are available in Spira, since - well, she hasn't been there much.
Cirea considers her options for a moment. "Right! New spell," she says, flying through a tight loop and leaving a trail of light behind her. The trail refines itself into a circle, which fills in with a pattern, forming a complex mandala of colour and shape -
And then a gust of wind comes straight up under the Skiddoo, which then angles to start to drag it away from the wall so it won't bash a hole through it. "Gotcha!"
GS: Peace Kishinami has attacked Peace Kishinami with The Promise of Treats!! GS: Peace Kishinami has gained 3 Combo! GS: Peace Kishinami's stances have changed to Hero! GS: Peace Kishinami heals Peace Kishinami! She gains 29 temporary hit points! GS: Hyper, Quick, and Regen applied to Peace Kishinami! GS: Peace Kishinami has attacked Jacqueline Barber with Flareon! GS: Peace Kishinami has gained 1 Combo! GS: Peace Kishinami spends 2 Combo on Headshot! GS: Peace Kishinami has attacked Lan Lilac with Sylveon! GS: Peace Kishinami has gained 1 Combo! GS: Peace Kishinami gains 35 THP from Regen! GS: Drowsy expired! GS: Peace Kishinami has completed her action. GS: Cirea has activated Force Action: Lock On! GS: Cirea has attacked Giovanni with Tornado Hold! GS: Cirea has gained 2 Combo! GS: Cirea has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Jessie and James takes a solid hit from Dias Flac's Counter Attack for 333 hit points! GS: Jessie and James suffers a terrible blow from Chase's Static for 217 hit points! GS: Jessie and James takes a solid hit from Elaine's Doubles Strike for 232 hit points! GS: Shield applied to Elaine! GS: Sneak! The true nature of Chase's attack becomes clear! GS: Jessie and James takes a glancing hit from Chase's It's... some kind of effective! for 101 hit points! GS: Jessie and James takes a solid hit from Claude C. Kenny's DOUBLE HARDEN!! for 300 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Jessie and James gains 1 additional Combo! GS: CRITICAL! Jacqueline Barber takes a glancing hit from Peace Kishinami's Flareon for 97 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Jacqueline Barber gains 1 additional Combo! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus and Gleam activated! GS: Jacqueline Barber enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: CRITICAL! Zed fully evades Arisugawa Joy's Honedge - Night Slash for 66 hit points! GS: FP up! Power Burst and Reaction bonus activated! GS: Dias Flac accepts Rena Lanford's Guard! Haste! for 0 hit points! GS: Blitz, Burst, Quick, and Shield applied to Dias Flac! GS: Avril Vent Fleur takes a glancing hit from Arisugawa Joy's Charizard - Low Effort Fire Spin for 69 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Avril Vent Fleur gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Blind, Drowsy, and Slow applied to Avril Vent Fleur! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated!
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
'His own bug,' huh. Dias side-eyes Claude as he counters Rena's protest, but not in a disapproving way. If he's going to raise one of these Pokemon, at least he's got the right idea about it.
"No need to thank me," he tells Rena. The Ashound takes the opportunity to hide behind a chair, out of the grasp of the fiendish Team Rocket. This is a smart idea, because James's Koffing then vomits up a massive bomb of sludge. What else is there to call it? It's nasty, it's gross, Dias slices it in half and knocks Knoffing back but does not actually keep himself from getting covered in disgusting goop in the process.
".........."
Dias is used to having to wade through gross things in both battle and during his wanderings, but that doesn't keep this... substance... from being truly vile. He can't even cough, because to open his mouth at this point is to risk *tasting* it. The smell alone is near debilitating. And, of course... there is the matter of just how long Dias's hair is, and therefore how much of this sludge just got in it.
One begins to understand why Pokemon trainers don't take the field directly.
Nonetheless, Dias wipes his face on the back of a rare un-gunked part of his sleeve, then locks a murderous glare on the Team Rocket duo. Rena's magic washes up around him via that Faerie, strengthening his defenses and boosting his speed, while she rushes over to handle the Ashound herself. That's good, because Dias's strength isn't for protecting, anyway.
"Gale Thrust," he utters the same instant he *launches* himself at them sword-first at such a speed that wind whistles briefly around him. (Joy's not the only one with Arisugawa energy around here, it seems.)
Whether it hits a Pokemon or a trainer doesn't really matter to him at this point. However, with Claude's Kakuna keeping Meowth busy, Dias might just connect at the same time Chase and Elaine combine their own triple battle attacks; certainly it matches the vibe of Pikachu's *lightning* charge.
You know. To the extent that a small electric rodent (and a giant butterfly, and a fluffy mammal of ambiguous nature) *can* match the vibe of a man with an entire sword.
GS: Blitz! Dias Flac has attacked Jessie and James with Gale Thrust! GS: Dias Flac has gained 1 Combo! GS: Dias Flac gains 24 THP from his Cautious! GS: Dias Flac takes 30 damage from Poison! GS: Dias Flac has completed his action. GS: Gwen Whitlock takes a solid hit from Arisugawa Joy's Charizard - Low Effort Fire Spin for 156 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Gwen Whitlock gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Blind, Drowsy, and Slow applied to Gwen Whitlock! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey takes a glancing hit from Arisugawa Joy's Honedge - Night Slash for 73 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Ida Everstead-Rey gains 1 additional Combo! GS: FP up! Power Burst and Reaction bonus activated! GS: Jessie and James takes a solid hit from Dias Flac's Gale Thrust for 262 hit points! GS: Giovanni solidly guards Cirea's Tornado Hold for 52 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Giovanni gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Slow blocked! GS: Hyper and Quick applied to Cirea! GS: FP up! Sufferer activated! GS: CRITICAL! Lan Lilac takes a glancing hit from Peace Kishinami's Sylveon for 119 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Lan Lilac gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Hyper and Quick applied to Peace Kishinami! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated!
<Pose Tracker> Giovanni has posed.
"Your brother?" Wedge asks. The lean Guado has his head tilted, seeming perhaps confused -- or perhaps skeptical.
Grimer turns towards Margaret, enormous mouth open -- and then bellows, as her sword chops down... and embeds into the goop of its body. It is like purple muck; somehow, the sword is stuck, for a moment, though it grunts in supreme frustration.
Biggs and Wedge both look down at Grimer, at once. They consider this question: what, really, are Pokemon?
"Dunno."
Professor Oak pops up from the window, to yell to Margaret: "Pokemon are the creatures that inhabit Energy Nede! They are friends, companions, and helpers! Some people work with them, others fight with them, and some--"
"PIPE DOWN!" Biggs shouts back at Oak, who drops behind his window again.
Grimer looks at Margaret -- and then emits a cloud of thick, noxious purple gas.
"Yeah, we fought one," Biggs tells Rena. "That's how we got here."
That--that may not be the point.
"At least one was out before that," Wedge answers Hannah. Then, he cracks a grin -- and shrugs. Is this just for the medical coverage?
He'll leave that for them to decide.
The ball of lightning hurtles down -- and then erupts into several forks of lightning. Grimer is struck, sent hurtling backward -- and then Skiddo gets hit again, his eyes still swirling. Then, the grenade lands -- dust flying out.
Skiddo tries to run, but almost hits the wall -- until the wind catches him, and pulls Skiddo backward before he can. He wobbles, for a second.
Then, he falls over, and Biggs holds out a Pokeball. Skiddo is pulled into it, with a flash of light. "All right, tag out, pal."
Then, he pulls up another Pokeball -- and throws it out. It cracks open, light shining -- but something else. A few colorful motes of light, with a prismatic sheen to them, also drift out. Then, out of it, bursts...
...something that is not a Pokemon.
It's a round, red-skinned thing with a massive fanged jaw and glowing golden eyes. It glows, faintly. It is a Fiend.
A Bomb.
"Go!" Biggs says.
Bomb opens his mouth and roars -- and then a sorcerous ball of flame appears, before it goes hurtling off towards Hannah. Then, it whirls around, and goes hurtling straight for Ethius in an effort to bowl him over!
"I've read a book!" Wedge answers Cirea. "And... huh, that's one of those types that the Boss mentioned--"
Wedge's attention turns to Grimer. "Grimer!" he calls. "Get her!"
"GRMMMY!"
Grimer opens his huge mouth all of the way -- and then BELCHES. A massive, stinking cloud of violet spews forth, and hurtles up towards Cirea!
GS: Giovanni spends 1 Combo on Poison! GS: Giovanni has attacked Margaret with Grimer - Toxic! GS: Giovanni spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: Giovanni has attacked Hannah Curie with Bomb - Fira! GS: Giovanni has gained 1 Combo! GS: Giovanni has attacked Ethius Hesiod with Bomb - Rush! GS: Giovanni spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: Giovanni has attacked Cirea with Grimer - Belch! GS: Break expired! GS: Giovanni has completed his action. GS: Hannah Curie solidly guards Giovanni's Bomb - Fira for 109 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Hannah Curie gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Poison blocked! GS: FP up! Arcane Font and Reaction bonus activated! GS: Gamble: Very High! Cirea takes a glancing hit from Giovanni's Grimer - Belch for 107 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Cirea gains 1 additional Combo! GS: FP up! Arcane Font, Reaction bonus, and Gleam activated! GS: CRITICAL! Margaret takes a solid hit from Giovanni's Grimer - Toxic for 153 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Margaret gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Disease and Poison applied to Margaret! GS: FP up! Arcane Font and Reaction bonus activated! GS: Margaret enters CONDITION GREEN!!
<Pose Tracker> Jessie and James has posed.
Ashound whines, when one of his defenders approaches him. "Shoouun..." And Rena will know that he's terribly scared -- he was one of the Pokemon Oak kept in his Laboratory to give to Trainers on their Journies, and that means he's never experienced the tension and adrenaline of an Adventure before. No wonder he's such a scaredy-pup!
But when Rena coaxes him out with Poketreats, he can tell she means well -- and so he sneaks out, cautiously, to snuffle them out of her hand. "Ash," he borks, as he nomphs. And the power of Guard and Haste bolsters him, alongside those treats...!!
"What's going on?! Why, little girl, we have visitors!" Jessie crows to Elaine, hands on her hips. "And some of them realised Team Rocket have great benefits!"
"I have so much PTO saved up!!" James adds, behind her. "I'm going to go and cruise on the S.S. Anne...!!"
"And he's going to bring me!" Jessie insists, a hand to her chest.
"Huh? I am?" "Of course you are!" "I guess I am..."
"Though... they're awfully violent, aren't they?" Jessie wonders, as she looks over to Joy's side of the battlefield. Sotto voce, she adds: "She'd better be able to handle it..."
But Elaine invokes a triple battle, and Meowth says, "mrowrrr," and declines to help at all. He's still too busy kicking at Claude's Kakuna, even as he falls on him. "Mrowrth!!!"
"Gah! You mangy cat!!" James yells at him. "How are you losing against a cocoon pokemon?! He can't even do anything!" "MRRRRRROOWWLLLLLLL," Meowth yowls, and it's very clear they're having an argument.
(An argument James is losing, somehow.)
But that moment of distraction costs him dearly, as Pikachu charges in with her Zippy Zap attack (that CAN'T be legal), catching both James and Koffing in her blast. James's vacuum bag can't quite stand the assault -- it break apart, and Oak's Pokeballs scatter everywhere!
"Ahhh! No!" James yelps, as he scurries around trying to pick up Pokeballs. Koffing is no use in gathering them up, though -- because Elaine's Butterfree Confuses him, and he starts bonking, harmlessly, against the wall. "The Boss was counting on us! Come back, little Pokeballs!!" One of them opens to reveal a Pidgey, who spooks RIGHT out of his palm, fluttering off into the rafters.
He hangs his head, and moans: "My birds are getting out of hand..."
"Shut up!" Jessie insists, with a stomp of her foot. "We're not bushed, yet! Wh-- what do you want, kid?!" She demands, of Chase, as he crosses his arms that way. "Don't you get in my way! EKANS, GO!"
And Ekans does, indeed, try to Go -- only for Elaine's Eevee to Quick Attack her into Jessie. "Ugh!" Jessie yelps, as she catches her snake. "Not into me, Ekans!!"
"Ekaaaa..." Ekans hisses, sadly, because there really wasn't much she could DO against such a lightning-quick foxcatdog.
But luckily for Chase, there's something BIGGER than an Eevee crashing towards Jessie and Ekans. Dias's Gale Thrust launches into the both of them, and they both go CRASHING away from Oak's doorway, landing in a heap. Which is to say: Jessie lands on Ekans, who flails around like a distressed noodle going "KANS?! KANS?!" for a moment before flopping down in defeat.
"Ugh..." Jessie groans, before she finally feels who she landed on, and yelps, "Ekans?!", jumping up all at ones. "Ekaaa," Ekans hisses, coiling in all her majesty again. "Good," she nods, and points to these fiends of truth and love. "Ekans! Surprise them with a Dig attack!!"
Does it really work if she yells it out loud like that...?
But Ekans disappears into the ground, Digging a hole through Oak's floor, and she does indeed disappear for a moment -- as James collects himself to cry: "Koffing! Hit them with another Sludge Bomb!!" OH NO, DIAS IS DOOMED --
As Koffing spins around, and pours Sludge on Jessie and James, the latter of whom cries: "HIT THEM, KOFFING! HIT THEM!"
Team Rocket are really stinking the place up, though. And it's at that exact moment that Ekans springs up out of the ground to assault Chase's Pikachu and Elaine's Eevee!!
GS: Jessie and James spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Claude C. Kenny with Fury Swipes! GS: Jessie and James has gained 1 Combo! GS: Jessie and James has activated Force Action: Extend! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Elaine with Dig! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Chase with Dig! GS: Jessie and James spends 1 Combo on Interrupt! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Rena Lanford with It Just Stinks!! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Dias Flac with It Just Stinks!! GS: Jessie and James has gained 2 Combo! GS: Disrupt and Entangle expired! GS: Jessie and James has completed their action. GS: Rena Lanford critically guards Jessie and James's It Just Stinks! for 21 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Rena Lanford gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Interrupt blocked! GS: FP up! Arcane Font and Gleam activated! GS: Rena Lanford has lost 2 Combo from Interrupt! GS: Claude C. Kenny has activated Force Action: Guard! GS: Claude C. Kenny suffers a terrible blow from Jessie and James's Fury Swipes for 293 hit points! GS: Disrupt applied to Claude C. Kenny! GS: FP up! Power Burst activated! GS: Chase solidly guards Jessie and James's Dig for 55 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Chase gains 1 additional Combo! GS: FP up! Gleam activated! GS: CRITICAL! Elaine solidly guards Jessie and James's Dig for 116 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Elaine gains 1 additional Combo! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus and Gleam activated! GS: Elaine enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Dias Flac takes a glancing hit from Jessie and James's It Just Stinks! for 21 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Dias Flac gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Interrupt applied to Dias Flac! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated! GS: Dias Flac has lost 2 Combo from Interrupt!
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
"I wouldn't dream of it." Jacqueline replies to Peace with a shake of her head. "When it comes to battling like this... you clearly have the lead on experience. I'll be in trouble if I take you lightly."
She shakes her head, then.
"I won't press you on them. But that doesn't I can just let it slide, reasons or not, either." She replies.
Leafeon retreats to the safety of Peace's labcoat, and out comes a rathery fiery one. Flareon growls - and Spearow takes a step back. Even it has to respect the power of the opponent before it.
"...I see. So assembling a number of them is the usual behavior?" Jacqueline says. Right now, she just has the one. "Well... I was already planning to study them further anyway."
She considers Peace's team for a moment.
"Yours seem well-coordinated." She considers. Well... she can't let herself lose.
"You can do this - hit hard and quickly!" Jacqueline encourages. Spearow obliges - rushing toward Flareon with a flurry of pecks!
Jacqueline shuts the Codex for now, looking toward Lan and Holly.
"How are you two holding up? The others seem to be holding their own, as well..." Jacqueline comments. Not that she can really focus - the battlefield has grown quite chaotic.
GS: Jacqueline Barber has activated Force Action: Full Clip! GS: Ethius Hesiod suffers a terrible blow from Giovanni's Bomb - Rush for 145 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Ethius Hesiod gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Delay and Disrupt applied to Ethius Hesiod! GS: Ethius Hesiod enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Jacqueline Barber has attacked Peace Kishinami with Fury Attack! GS: Jacqueline Barber has gained 1 Combo! GS: Jacqueline Barber has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
'Lee' is really nimble! It's kind of almost a relief. There's a difference between beating up wild animals and doing the same to someone's pet. Though there seems to still be some confusion about Holly. "She's-- she's not a Pokemon at all!" Lan tries to explain, although she's not sure why it's so important. "She's just like a very small person! No, wait, she IS a very small person." Help! Why is LAN the explainer now?! You could have picked literally anybody else and gotten better answers! Holly comes to her own defense and Lan practically deflates with relief. "What she said."
A beautiful white, pink, and blue ribbon intersects Lan's own, tangling together before she flicks her wrist again to seperate them. Sylveon tilts its head just so. Its eyes are cuter than one million buttons. CRITICAL HIT
"Ah..." Lan gulps. "Aaah... AaaaAAAAAW IT'S ANOTHER KITTY AND IT'S EVEN CUTER!" she wails (possibly responding to Jay's inquiry?), wringing her hands together uselessly and practically dancing in place. It's so not fair! It's not fair that there are so many cute animals here and she's having to fight them, because cute animals are made for snuggling and fawning over!! Even Runeberry, who would rather gum her hand for spare magical energy than accept a cuddle. She's got to end this fight because it's seriously damaging her morale...!
Lan backs up a healthy few paces, tries to get her head on straight, and starts channeling something big. Something more silver than her ribbon. Something shrimp-flavored. "O you of the endless dream of space..."
why does that meteor have a face
GS: Lan Lilac spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: Lan Lilac has attacked Peace Kishinami with Material - Shooting Star! GS: Lan Lilac has gained 2 Combo! GS: Lan Lilac has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Elaine has posed.
Elaine looks at Jessie and James sceptically as they answer her questions about what is going on. She clearly doesn't want to believe it, but there is some proof. After all, see: A Fairy, two Guado, and multiple people with weird ears. Nothing to support PTO claims through. Right after the round of battle starts through, she realizes Chase has moved and looks around calling out "Chase!" spotting him in front of Jessie at the door denying her entry. "Ahh, that's dangerous!" even as the duo Jessie and Ekans is knocked away from him by the fighting Pokemon and Dias. But it only last a moment, because then the responding attacks come!
Veevee isn't caught out by the dig, but she isn't able to dodge it either as tanks the hit head on from underneath. "Veevee! Are you okay?" she calls out to her Pokemon with concern.
Veevee lets out an energetic cry in response, wagging her tail hard as she looks back to Elaine with a nod. Elaine suddenly grins, clasping her hands under her chin with a little jump. "Veevee! Let's do it!" she says, calling out "VEEVEE VOLLEY!". No sooner has Elaine called out the move, than Veevee turns completely running up to Elaine and jumping up to place her fore paws on Elaine's thigh and let out a "Vee vee!" cry as Elaine reaches down and pets her. One would not be wrong to hallucinate a large heart appearing between the two for a moment before Veevee suddenly dashes the other way right at Jessie and James AND their Pokemon at speeds more suitable for a Pokemon using Extreme Speed! The hyper dashing Veevee practically beams through her targets causing a large flare up of energy to erupt before running back around to where she started in front of Elaine.
GS: Elaine spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: MYSTIC ARTE! Blitz! Elaine has attacked Jessie and James with Veevee Volley! GS: Elaine has gained 1 Combo! GS: Blind and Disease expired! GS: Elaine has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lanford has posed.
That! Really wasn't her point!
As she yells back at Biggs and Wedge. "Yeah but now all ten of them are here! And you're stealing Pokemon while they're threatening to take over the Universe!"
"To prove himself!?" Rena seems astounded by Claude's argument, and by the approval she sees in Dias' eyes for that argument, "I-" However, Rena looks at Barry, in that moment, meeting his black slits for eyes. "Barry is that the way it is?"
'KUNA!!'
"I... see!" Does she really? It's like there's this spark of understanding in that moment between her and Barry.
"Claude you understand him so well! It's incredible!"
And in this moment, watching the Pokemon fight, feeling Barry's desire to prove himself, "This is... what it means to be a Pokemon trainer?"
Rena asks noone in particular, just in wonder. She'd certainly heard it from all the children in Viridian City, seen it in the shops, but perhaps - perhaps now she's beginning to understand the real spirit of Pokemon duels that take place on Nede.
And so, she leaves Barry to his fight, instead focused on coaxing the little Ashound out, as it moves from terror to... a happy bork, "Ash!" Rena echoes, "There you go! That's right! There's a lot to be scared of, but it's okay - you're not used to this, are you? So I'll protect you!"
The Ashound borks again, "Ash!" Running around Rena's feet, now more enthusiastically pawing the side of her leg as it wags its two tails at her, "This... is what you've been waiting for?" She asks, suddenly startled at the change in vibe, "Is it because you were looking for...?"
She doesn't say it, but extends a hand down to pet him. In her mind's eye, remembering the still form of a dog she once knew, "To be honest... I'm scared to let you, I'm afraid something bad is going to happen..." She takes a deep breath, remembering Claude and Kakuna, in this moment of connection, of understanding between her and the runty Hound. But she's grown past that. She grew past it when she didn't allow her Mother to die in that bed. She just has to have faith in herself, her healing. "...but if that's what you want... then... show me."
The Ashound suddenly makes another turn around her legs, before facing James, and instantly... is hit by the worst SMELL it's ever had the displeasure of smelling. It starts to go green, and most of the courage leaves it. feeling the terror again, after all he scruffed him like he was nothing... the angle of the camera turns up, and it's now looking at the Koffing, the Ekans and the Meowth... as it whimpers, taking a step back, then another, back hunched as it paws at its nose. "Ashashash!"
He's waiting for Rena to tell him what to do, but she doesn't know what to tell him as she's not sure WHAT he can do, and plus, he seems really scared, ramping up Rena's anxiety she's having a hard time tolerating the smell herself, "It-It's okay! Really it's okay! It's!"
A low whimper-whine as it wobbles, wobbles under the stench assault and then... "Shounnnnn-ASHHHHHHHH!" Suddenly transforms into a bark, as a fireball suddenly spills forth from it's throat, spewing out in panic as they pour out over the Koffing and James behind him. "Whoa!"
That's one big fireball for one little runt, but sometimes all it takes is a single spark to start a flame. And despite past memories, Rena can't help but sound impressed.
"...I think even Celine would be impressed by that one!"
GS: Rena Lanford spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: Blitz! Rena Lanford has attacked Jessie and James with Remember! GS: Rena Lanford takes 34 damage from Poison! GS: Blind, Disease, and Poison expired! GS: Rena Lanford has completed her action. GS: Peace Kishinami solidly guards Jacqueline Barber's Fury Attack for 105 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Peace Kishinami gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Quick applied to Jacqueline Barber!
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
"It is the power of the Guardians," Avril tells her simply, that strange disc in her grasp still glimmering with hints of light. Humans aren't able to use TMs, are they?
How can Joy know she can trust them? "...You cannot," Avril says plainly, shaking her head. "There is little we can give you as proof other than our words. Yet, if we were allies of theirs, would we be here? This Professor Oak is no friend to the Wise Men, is he?"
But Zed has...
Zed has gone full Battle Maniac, yes. Avril glances at Gwen and the two of them may here share a fleeting look between them. "I believe he is intent on this," she says to Gwen, turning away from Zed and Joy's duel for but that fleeting moment. "Shall we see that no one is hurt?"
There is a long pause, relatively speaking. Avril turns her head to look over at the chaos that's erupted elsewhere.
"...And stop them from stealing. We were told to speak to the Professor. It would not do to see his lab--"
Which is the point where Avril screams in surprise, a lick of flame scorching in a run just past her legs! She saw what direction that came from, that was-- that was the--
Sometimes, instinct takes precedence over common sense. Avril turns towards Charizard, blade at the ready; with one swing, Absolute Zero cuts through the air itself. If that had been an attack, she means to respond in kind.
Charizard had only meant to keep the two of them off Joy...
GS: Blitz! Avril Vent Fleur has attacked Arisugawa Joy with Seraphic Soul! GS: Avril Vent Fleur has completed her action. GS: Arisugawa Joy takes a glancing hit from Avril Vent Fleur's Seraphic Soul for 74 hit points! GS: Delay blocked! GS: Quick applied to Avril Vent Fleur! GS: Cirea has activated Force Action: Lock On! GS: Cirea has activated Force Action: Full Clip!
<Pose Tracker> Cirea has posed.
Dragging Skiddo away from the wall is harder than it looks, even if you're using a slow-moving tornado to do it. Cirea has to really work to keep the wind spell going, and only the fact that Skiddo falls over gives her a break.
"What? I'm not one of them! I can talk, see?" Cirea has never seen a Pokemon that talks. As far as she knows (and Professor Oak seems to be agreeing with her) they're animals. Smart animals, but, well... animals.
Cirea twirls in place. "I'm a real fairy! See? Wings, ears," she has pointed ears that look at least similar to Nedeans, "everything! I - "
Grimer belches. Cirea is literally blown backwards by it, bouncing off the wall that Skiddo was so recently trying to get through (it's okay, she doesn't damage it). "Ugh, gross! It's all PURPLE, that means it's poison!" She feels more bruised than sick, though.
"But if you want it so bad, I'll show you some fairy magic..." But then a better idea comes to Cirea. She slowly grins. "...is what I'd say, if you deserved it! Instead I'm going to get your blob back!"
Cirea reaches behind her and pulls out what would be an oddly shaped vial for anyone else but is a little bottle for her; it's frosted glass so it's hard to tell what's inside other than it's dark. She uncorks it with a bit of effort and drains the whole thing.
Cirea pauses a moment, doing a bit of magic without speaking. Then, and only then, does she open her mouth.
As it happens, in that bottle was Nedean soda, which Cirea took from a vending machine and poured what she wasn't drinking at the time into one of *her* bottles, for later. She has since been carrying it around while she did all those aerial evasions and it is well and truly shaken up. It was almost too fizzy to drink.
Also, Cirea knows a spell to make the air vibrate. Normally, it makes a sound rather like a bell while shaking up anything inside it.
This time, it amplifies the sound of her own return belch to deafening levels. The force of it is enough to blow Cirea backwards while she emits it, and afterwards even she looks a little awed with her own powers.
"Excuse me," she says, quietly, because saying that retroactively makes it polite. That's the rules.
GS: Peace Kishinami takes a solid hit from Lan Lilac's Material - Shooting Star for 191 hit points! GS: Hex blocked! GS: Cirea has attacked Giovanni with Tolling Bellch! GS: Cirea has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Holly has posed.
There's a brief look towards Cirea, "Are they thinking you're some type too!" as she rides by the Professor on a punk panda.
The pair stop like the proverbial cavalry, trying to swat away at the creatures trying to tangle up Lan, though they end up riding past as the green cat is sent flying. "Aw, but it was cute." Even as she had clearly intended to splat some ink at it too!
The panda doesn't slow down though, having its own plan! Mostly resulting in Holly holding on for dear life with her free hand.
"She meant I'm- wait." She short circuits briefly, "Fairy type? No no, I'm the real deal!" She brandishes her brush again, "I'll write it on your forehead if I have to!" She's not a pokemon! This is still rather silly and she's genuinely having fun in an odd manner.
Though there'sa bunch of ears suddenly poking up and out and both the fae and her panda buddy stop. "Pancha?" is met with a simple shrug, "You tell me." Whether she actually understood it or not, the sentiment was clear. Also still not helping the argument that she might be an undiscovered pokemon.
Jay's question is given a brief thumbs up and a called out, "We're doing pretty good!" And she sounds like she's actually having fun. Somehow. "You?" That last part might have the speed effect as she rides past.
Lan's confusion as Holly rides past is also kind of funny, "You're all abnormally large people!" Clearly joking.
Either way, a familiar figure of a bomb in the room. Capital B? Probably should differentiate that differently. And not let her mind wander.
Her new panda friend and her come to a stop at her quickly murmured request, then she uses both hands to quickly sketch out a new pattern in the air. Quick, rough, kinda crude really. She's trying to clear the air, so to speak. To make it easier. The fact that her idea of clearing the air of all things magically enhancing is brute force is vaguely embarrassing, but she hasn't had a chance to re-refine it all!
"We should talk this out! I knew a lot of scientist-y sorts. They like talking, I like talking. It'd be easier!" Right before releasing the spell. Accidentally. At least it's mostly the Rockets down range right? "Should.. I tag in Lan?" she asks, wanting to help. She likes cute and fluffy, but also this probably is slightly more serious than she's been treating it with that fiend there..
GS: Holly has attacked Peace Kishinami with Dispel! GS: Holly has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Peace Kishinami solidly guards Holly's Dispel for 85 hit points! GS: Dispel! Hyper, Quick, and Regen removed! GS: Shield applied to Holly! GS: Giovanni suffers a terrible blow from Cirea's Tolling Bellch for 189 hit points! GS: Hyper applied to Cirea! GS: FP up! Sufferer activated!
<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.
"Domesticated xenosagas? What?" Margaret says to Ethius. "Speak up, man!" Hannah gives more explanation. "Oh," she says, "magical creatures. Well, that's horrifying." Her eyes flick back to Koffing, and then to Grimer.
Some sort of local scholar or hermit or ARMSmeister gives her more information, in accordance with what must be his nature. Margaret looks towards him. This information is being processed. Despite her status of a theatrical anti-heroine, Margaret did get pretty high up in the ol' magical research field, so these facts will be processed in more detail after
after
after the slime.
In many ways Margaret can now measure her life in the era of 'Before I got that crap on me' and 'after'. As the new era dawns, Margaret's face contorts with disgust.
This is certainly delaying her for a moment, and by the time she can get together, she answers Cirea - "Right!" Wait, Margaret uses a lot of purple. Is she poison? Why, just ask the last five people she dated, ha ha ha! Either way, there is a momentary and enormous belch from Cirea, which confounds Margaret sufficient to delay her counterattack for yet another moment.
At which point she sees a Bomb. "Alright," Margaret says, closing her eyes for a moment. "This is a hallucinatory episode. But that's a Fiend, and I'm not having that in yet another place." She sucks in a huge breath, lets it out. Then she -- blows a kiss to the Grimer?
It's a visible kiss. Like a little floating purple heart. And as Cirea just established, that means poison - a powerful disorienting enchantment! Hopefully it works! Because Margaret immediately hunches downwards and hurls herself forwards, twisting and blade-first, towards the hideous thing! Hopefully she can burst through --
-- Well, or knock it out; it's made of some kind of gunge after all. Margaret, perhaps unfairly, is having way less problem whaling on Grimer than she would have with the adorable kitten, or perhaps even the goat.
GS: Margaret spends 1 Combo on Link! GS: Margaret has attacked Giovanni with Illusion Kiss! GS: Margaret has gained 1 Combo! GS: Margaret has launched an attack Link! GS: Margaret spends 1 Combo on Interrupt! GS: Margaret enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Margaret has attacked Giovanni with Spiral Cut! GS: Margaret has gained 2 Combo! GS: Margaret enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Margaret takes 30 damage from Poison! GS: Disrupt expired! GS: Margaret has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Chase has posed.
Jessie's heart is is ummoved by Chase's plea. He drops his arms, striken, but physically umoved. At least Veevee is there to save him from his own reckless refusal to back down from the door, even as Elaine points out this isn't a good idea. ...And even as Dias' Gale Thrust blasts Jessie away while Chase needlessly, but in terror, flattens himself up against the door that stands between Team Rocket and Professor Oak's research. And also Oak.
He does not move for several additional moments, except for the way his eyes slide to look at Dias. Is the sword a Pokemon? Or is this something worse?
...Then a Bomb shows up.
Chase doubletakes, gaze still unmoving from these terrors on the battlefield as he flips out a small, rectangular tablet with a glowing screen and begins making notes.
"Chachu!" Pikachu calls.
RIGHT, THERE'S A BATTLE.
Ekans leaps into the earth, and Chase makes a couple quick whistles to Pikachu. She scurries around the ground, sniffing, ears twitching, and then brings her tail up in front of her body just as Ekans makes contact. It's super effective, but Pikachu toughs it out so Chase won't feel sad.
Pikachu sees Veevee wagging her tail, and not one to be left out of adorable violence, does so in kind. She calls back to Chase, tippy tapping back and forth in excitement. "Chachu! Chachuuuu!" Chase nods to her, and gives a sing-song whistle. Pikachu runs a gleeful circle and then leaps straight into the air.
All four limbs spread out wide. "PikapikaPIKA!" Massive bolts of golden electricity dance around the battlefield, weaving alongside Veevee's advance to add to the gravitas to her charge. A surging pillar of lightning with swirls of chaotic energy aims to engulf Team Rocket, joining the energy flare of Veevee Volley.
GS: Chase has activated Force Action: Full Clip! GS: Chase spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: MYSTIC ARTE! Blitz! Chase has attacked Jessie and James with Pika Papow! GS: Chase has gained 1 Combo! GS: Entangle expired! GS: Chase has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Barry is doing his best!! He's tying up Meowth! ...Not literally. Because that would require doing moves that aren't Harden. But that's fine.
Because Claude is understanding the meaning of being a Pokemon trainer. Barry seems to agree with him! And Rena understands--
"Let's trust him, Rena!"
Meowth attacks again--and this time, it's even fiercer!! It starts to leave marks in the outermost layer of Barry's armor, which barely holds, with the power of HARDENing once again!!
Rena's new friend fights. Elaine's Veevee definitely fights. And that Chase's Pikachu...
Barry, still staring intently straight at Jessie, begins to glow, golden...!
"Yeah!" Claude says. "Go you guys!"
GS: Claude C. Kenny enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Blitz! Claude C. Kenny has attacked Claude C. Kenny with TRIPLE HARDEN! GS: Claude C. Kenny has gained 1 Combo! GS: Claude C. Kenny gains 10 FP from his Daredevil! GS: Claude C. Kenny enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Claude C. Kenny gains 35 THP from Regen! GS: Regen expired! GS: Claude C. Kenny has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Zed is scary.
...
This is just, an objectively true statement. In battle, he is scary. His sword has tasted the lives of gods, devils, spirits and heroes. Combat thrums in his blood, planted there so very deeply by the Demon Mother centuries ago. He is, by all accounts, an ancient monster from another age. And yet, and yet--
There is such sincerity, such earnestness and so much joy in him.
"Hnn...!" Zed grunts, he feels his opponent's stance falter, her body straining against his strength. Her gaze... is terrified, uncertain. There's a hesitation to her that wouldn't be there in someone who had been hardened by conflict. There is...
This is...
...The product of a peaceful world.
And yet, the Ten Wisemen are a threat even to the people of Nede. With this untempered spirit, will they stand a chance...?
He roars a kiai, breaking their lock-- by pressing forward, unleashing an arc of star power as Joy retreats with her Honedge. He steadies his stance, lifting his blade toward his ear parallel to the ground, cutting edge angled toward the ceiling.
"...I see," he begins, "Your swordsmanship... is unpolished. The strength you wield... is derived from your bonds with your friends."
The Shedinja, for example. The Honedge, absolutely. Zed's eyes, sharp as razors, narrow in acknowledgement of the names she offers. "That is not, itself, a bad thing. The <<Power of Bonds>> is one I have grown to know well. But, against the Ten Wise Men..."
Against that power that they wielded, the raw, unhesitating violence of a killing machine that he witnessed from each and every one of them...
"...It will not be enough to rely so much on your friends' strength!" Zed declares, as Joy surges forward in an acrobatic assault. Honedge wreathes itself in darkness, hiding the true angle of its strike as it scythes up on a trajectory that would clip through the Hyadean's throat...
Only to be stopped by a geyser of interstellular void.
Or rather, a blade of the stuff.
In Zed's left hand-- is the shadow of his sword, Doombringer's darkness cast impossibly by its own starlight. "Hmhm, can you trust us, you ask...?" Zed smiles; it's a dangerous, almost predatory smile. His eyes are terribly yellow, like those of a bloodthirsty beast. "Well. Will your heart really be able to accept anything our words can convey? If not, then there's no need to talk about trust. Your fear... You overcame it to survive my attack once. Can you do so again? Can you overcome your fear of us to trust the sincerity in our words? Or..."
"Shall we instead convey the contents of our hearts," Zed races forward, a blade in each hand-- one of void, one of starlight, "In the language of battle!? Watch out, eyes open! Here I come!" He dances, a whirling dervish of violence, alternating single-strikes and combinations, "Maintain your footwork, do not take your eyes off your opponents, even for a moment!" Easier said then done, but Zed-- is Zed... trying to teach her? With violence?? Well, that is the way of the Metal Demons, isn't it? To learn not just as a science, but as an instinct that dwells in the body. "When you're faced against many opponents, then use one to obstruct the other! Your advantage is being in the eye of the storm-- if you can't defend yourself against two, three, four foes at once, then make sure you do not have to! And, needless to say..."
Zed plants his foot, he draws both blades overhead. The two merge, light and darkness fusing together into something that is Other. He swings, cleaving down in a vertical, hewing blow, "Trust in the bonds you've forged! Show me what your friends can do! Show me what you can do!!"
GS: Claude C. Kenny heals Claude C. Kenny! He gains 106 temporary hit points! GS: Blitz! Zed has attacked Arisugawa Joy with Saint Arts - Cosmic Convergence! GS: Zed has gained 3 Combo! GS: Zed's stances have changed from Avenger to Hero! GS: Zed has completed his action. <Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"Hey, hey, I didn't know it was awake! Sorry 'bout that--"
Joy then asks a very, very good question.
Gwen groans and sighs, shrugging, sharing a glance with Avril and nodding. "My friend's right. Why should we stand by n' let you guys do what is a crime? Sure, It was up in the air before, but... you're with 'em, right, miss? You got the R on your back n' all." She looks down towards Joy, hesitant, something pained in the grimace of her lips. "... Listen, we may be from another world, but--"
What do you say to someone this young? Is this really something that should make her think of people like Janus, Dario, or Romero? Their methods aren't as violent. But... what if Gwen could say the words that could keep someone going after a corruptive spark of their own? "... Hey..."
---Unfortunately she waited too long, as Joy has since darted off. However, maybe that's for the best; Zed's methods may be violent, but Gwen is certain the Hyadean's words are exactly the sort of thing this girl might need to hear. Following Avril's lead, Gwen follows right behind her, when...
"....!" What is one Fire Pokemon's equivalent of a zero effort move is another person's nightmare, and Avril and Gwen are two such people. Gwen protectively clutches her Joltik in her hands, which, unfortunately, greets Gwen's actions with a jolt of his own-- a gentle one, comparably. It's not used to human contact like this.
An arc of lightning discharges from Gwen's right ARM at the Charizard; Gwen would have decided against it in better circumstances, but this is instinct and fear. Gwen grimaces.
"... Shit, Avril, that dragon's just tryin' to protect its friend, like Voltie..."
GS: Blitz! Gwen Whitlock has attacked Arisugawa Joy with Return to Sender! GS: Gwen Whitlock enters a Counter stance! GS: Gwen Whitlock has gained 2 Combo! GS: Gwen Whitlock has completed her action. GS: Arisugawa Joy takes a glancing hit from Zed's Saint Arts - Cosmic Convergence for 98 hit points! GS: Dispel! Hyper and Quick removed! GS: Disease applied to Arisugawa Joy! GS: Arisugawa Joy takes a glancing hit from Gwen Whitlock's Return to Sender for 64 hit points! GS: Jam applied to Arisugawa Joy! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated!
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
The Federation Symbologist among them keeps a read of the situation as he watches the movements of the Skiddo over yonder (who has been called back), and a few cursory steps to back away just in case the purplish blob with a face and better-than-pseudopod limbs might be thinking of looking his way. He can smell it, he can identify some of the compounds of that smell and he's happy to keep his train of thought on 'the smell.' (It's 0.84 Chocobo tails on the scale.)
"They may not be fully aware of the severity of the situation, then," Ethius asides to Rena from over yonder, hand on his forehead, watching something curious come out of that Pokeball next.
"Pyreflies...?"
Beat.
"That's a Bomb." The word is understated, as he fails to elaborate further for Margaret (who probably already knows by experience). The Bomb moves for Hannah, and right on a dime accelerates right for him.
It smashes him in his chest, knocking all the air out of it and sending him skidding across the grass on top of the lingering burning feel from direct contact. Thrown over on his rear end, from his vantage point he watches small children cheer on small creatures of curious speed and power, and 'Barry' doing... Barry things, three times as hard, where Claude seems entirely into it, and Rena having a moment with a canine-like creature, and someone making a rude noise.
Ethius rolls on his side a few times across uneven ground until he can get up into a crouch.
"That's a Bomb," he reiterates, eyeing the Fiend flitting about doing Fiend things, as he looks to the two Guado who have naturalized themselves in the criminal element of the area. (Ethius is not yet aware how small the total 'area' of Energy Nede is.)
Taking his quarterstaff in hand, he backs up, mentally pictures something like it's a game of billiards in the moment, then takes it in both hands, and...
"Far Point!" He lunges for the Bomb at the utmost limit of his wingspan, delivering a pinpoint accurate blow -
- in an attempt to send that Bomb back towards those two Guado trainers.
"It would be polite to be better visitors to this world than to bring explosive ordinance of that caliber," he says.
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Caterpie takes big, gleeful bites of the apple slice. "Cater," it says, antenna bobbling in approval. It doesn't take its eyes off the fight, though, because even if Blastoise is feeling distinctly left out...
It might just be anthropmorphization, but Caterpie seems to be loving this.
Ida's instincts are good. She weaves right as she spots the smaller Pokeball, expecting Joy to launch another Pokemon right at her--
But this one... is a shield?? Ida's hand strikes it, and it's like hitting a solid wall. One of the old Zeboim ones, that outlasted doomsday after doomsday. "Pokemon...?" Ida says. The shield one looks like a cicada's exoskeleton, that makes... some sense, maybe? Maybe? But the sword...
Ida is still brand-new to Energy Nede. Give her time.
The way Joy moves is much more familiar. Nostalgic, even. Ida skips back as Joy executes that front flip, raising her bare right arm, protected only by a normal jumpsuit sleeve, to block.
"Let's see how well you adapt," she says, meeting Joy's eyes.
*IDA used IRON DEFENSE!
Quicksilver-blue fluid surges from Ida's palm, flowing down across her hand, then her entire right arm. In the blink of an eye, it hardens into gleaming exoskeleton, all blue and black and gold. Joy's blade SLAMS into her bracer with enough force to crack the armor, and jerk her sideways a little, but Ida compensates with her footwork. The blade skids down and off her arm. Ida pulls her newly-armored hand back and drives it forward in a palm-strike at Joy's sternum, followed by a twist into a sweeping kick meant to knock her off her feet. She springs to her feet, content to let Zed take the lead, for now.
Until he speaks about fighting more than one foe, which is when Ida suddenly slips into Joy's blind spot, then into a lunging knee strike. Her Pokemon can see it, though! Will they warn her in time?!
GS: Blitz! Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Arisugawa Joy with Muscle Memory! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has gained 4 Combo! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey's Stoic stance ends! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey gains 20 THP from Cancel! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has completed her action. GS: Ethius Hesiod has activated Force Action: Full Clip! GS: Ethius Hesiod spends 2 Combo on Headshot! GS: Ethius Hesiod has attacked Giovanni with Far Point! GS: Ethius Hesiod has gained 1 Combo! GS: Delay expired! GS: Ethius Hesiod has completed his action. GS: Giovanni solidly guards Margaret's Illusion Kiss for 0 hit points! GS: Misery inflicts a random effect! Break, Jam, and Slow applied to Giovanni! GS: FP up! Sufferer activated! GS: Giovanni solidly guards Margaret's Spiral Cut for 73 hit points! GS: Giovanni's Weaken Ward may block the effect! GS: Misery inflicts a random effect! Interrupt applied to Giovanni! GS: Weaken blocked! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus and Sufferer activated! GS: Giovanni has lost 2 Combo from Interrupt! GS: CRITICAL! Giovanni suffers a terrible blow from Ethius Hesiod's Far Point for 183 hit points! GS: Cripple and Jam applied to Giovanni! GS: FP up! Sufferer activated!
<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.
"We'll catch up after, okay?" Hannah calls to Cirea. One more friend found! Leave it to an emergency to draw together a varied group of Drifters and--and some natives, it seems, potentially.
But Wedge answers that at least one was out before the others, and Hannah frowns. "Which one? An' why didn't they do anythin' sooner."
How's they even get out to begin with?
Hannah blinks as the latest pokemon is summoned--
Oh crap. That is not a pokemon.
"A Bomb?! You guys put a Bomb into a-- Where did you even get--"
Oh wait there's fire approaching. Hannah pulls a crest graph from her pouch and draws it across herself. a shimmering energy field springs up and soaks the worst of the flames, leaving the last few licks to wash over her as she covers her face with her arms.
'that's one of those types that the boss mentioned'
"Hey, you jerk! She's not a Pokemon!"
Hannah scowls as she pulls out two of those strange piece of maybe-strips-of-paper-maybe-playing-cards, both of them glowing bright. One with solid orange energy, and the other with white, wispy puffs of energy. Her magic's been odd all fight, but now something in her aura twists sharply as she grabs a hold of enough magic to power two of those spells at once.
"You ain't gonna capture one of my friends or take anythin' else that don't belong to you!" The wispy white crest graph is swiped in the air, and a cyclone springs to life as if stirred into existence by the motion. It spins quickly, air lashing out indiscriminately like fine blades as it cycles round and around. A ghastly (but not Ghastly) wailing sound errupts from it at a terrifying pitch, only getting louder as it speeds up.
And then Hannah stomps on the ground, causing the earth to shake under the feet of the closest combatants. Rock, stone, dirt, and dust erupt in a spray from the ground in the middle of the whirlwind, and suddenly the cyclone is a dust storm in miniature, aimed to take out as many of Muk, the Bomb, Biggs, and Wedge as she can manage.
GS: Hannah Curie has activated Force Action: Full Clip! GS: Hannah Curie has activated Force Action: Lock On! GS: Hannah Curie spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: MYSTIC ARTE! Hannah Curie has attacked Giovanni with Elemental Conjunction! GS: Hannah Curie has gained 1 Combo! GS: Hannah Curie has completed her action. GS: Giovanni takes a solid hit from Hannah Curie's Elemental Conjunction for 307 hit points! GS: FP up! Sufferer activated!
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
"Foolish," Dias growls at James's bickering with his own Pokemon and Jessie landing on top of hers. Not just that--their entire vibe is of a team of fools, from their chatting in the middle of a fight, to their making puns in the middle of a fight. Someone with a sense of humor would probably love this; Dias, for the most part, but especially during a fight, is not. At least that machine of James's breaks, releasing all the Pokemon that he'd stolen. Dias is not invested in whatever these buffoons are up to, but he's against banditry on principle.
Koffing spins around and barfs up another Sludge Bomb. It might mostly hit Jessie and James this time, but it's still spreading around quite a stench. This time, Dias manages to nimbly backstep out of the way of the worst of the splash. At this point, if a little more gets on his pants legs, who really cares?
(He's still going to need a dozen showers after this.)
As Rena has a heart-to-heart with not just the Kakuna but also her new Ashound, Dias catches the frightened look Chase gives him and his sword, even as the boy absolutely refuses to stop protecting the door to Prof. Oak's lab. Dias eyes him back without turning his head, red gaze boring into him from the side; then he focuses back on Team Rocket. Jessie may not have a concept of what a surprise attack means, but as long as their Pokemon are still moving, they're still not going to give up on this fight, are they?
Fine.
While Ashound belches out a fairly impressive fireball, and Kakuna begins to glow bright, and Eevee and Pikachu combine their speed and might, Dias sticks with what he does best: channeling energy through an actual steel blade. This wide swing arcs from the ground to the ceiling with a short, harsh charge to get Dias closer to melee distance.
"Pale Moonlight," he snarls, just as a massive burst of bright energy smashes forward in a crescent wave to take out any and all enemies within reach at this point--Jessie, James, and their Pokemon all.
GS: Blitz! Dias Flac has attacked Jessie and James with Pale Moonlight! GS: Dias Flac enters a Counter stance! GS: Dias Flac has gained 2 Combo! GS: Interrupt expired! GS: Dias Flac gains 26 THP from his Cautious! GS: Dias Flac takes 35 damage from Poison! GS: Poison expired! GS: Dias Flac has completed his action. GS: Jessie and James suffers a terrible blow from Rena Lanford's Remember for 235 hit points! GS: Jessie and James has Fallen! They are no longer able to fight! GS: Interrupt! Attack weakened! GS: Jessie and James suffers a terrible blow from Dias Flac's Pale Moonlight for 270 hit points! GS: Jessie and James has Fallen! They are no longer able to fight! GS: Jessie and James suffers a terrible blow from Elaine's Veevee Volley for 318 hit points! GS: Jessie and James has Fallen! They are no longer able to fight! GS: Jessie and James suffers a terrible blow from Chase's Pika Papow for 346 hit points! GS: Jessie and James has Fallen! They are no longer able to fight!
<Pose Tracker> Jessie and James has posed.
Rena and Ashound have a heartwarming union, as each comes to trust the other. And as they watch it --
"What kind of a moment is that?! You're acting like we're the bad guys!" Jessie harrumphs, a hand on her hips.
"But, Jessie, we are the bad guys!" James points out, scrubbing Sludge out of his hair with a Team Rocket branded towel. (There's a little R embroidered on it!)
Jessie snaps her fingers, and sweeps out her hand. "That's right! The worst of the worst! If we stop stealing Pokemon..." "... then the only bad guys in town are the Ten Wise Men!" James finishes her sentence, as he tosses his towel away. "Didn't you hear us?! We're protecting Energy Nede from devastation!"
Providing a less lethal enemy to fight than the Ten Wise Men is certainly... one way to protect the Nede from devastation...
"Koffing," Koffing rumbles, as he manages to get his senses back. He puffs out some gas to celebrate his victory -- at the exact moment that Ashound barks Ember into existence. His next phrase turns into: "KoffiiiIIII?!"
"GAGLARGHBL!" Jessie and James add, as they run around very much on fire. This soundly prevents them from pulling off another round of attacks, because being on fire is incredibly distracting.
"Fools, he calls us!" James yelps, as he pats out his hair. "Do we look like fools?!" "We're no clowns! This is an outrage!" Jessie insists, as she stomps on Ekans' tail to put out the flame making her feel like an absolute Charmander. ("EKAAA!")
"Mroooowrrrth," Meowth sasses them, safely out of range of the Ember travesty, because he's quite busy kicking at his new favourite cat toy. One of these turns -- ONE of these turns -- it's going to break!
But when he chomps on Kakuna's Triple Hardened shell, it's his teeth that are chipped! "MrrOW!" Meowth yelps, and for the first time he wonders if maybe it would have been better for him to command the fight from afar, as Giovanni's Top Cat is privileged to do.
(Again: No one fact check him on that one. He's the top cat. Just trust him, bro.)
He gives Barry the Kakuna one last mighty KICK from his hindpaws -- only for the mighty light of HARDEN to flare under his claws, and knock Meowth across the room into the thieving Trainers he's travelling with! "Mrroowwwrrr!!" He yowls, as he tumbles, tail-over-end.
With the whole gang now together, Jessie and James look at that heart-bubble between Elaine and Eevee with a creeping sense of dread. "Are that Eevee..."
"... and that Pikachu..." James adds, looking up at the Electric Rat as she leaps majestically into the air,
"... really for real?!" Jessie latches onto James, tears streaming down her face. "And that scary guy with the sword is really going to attack us! I think... this is the end!!" They've never had to confront their own mortality at the end of a blade before--!!!
Veevee's Extreme Speed crashes into the lot of them -- and as they sail into the air, they're BLASTED by Pikachu's terrifying electrical power. Thankfully, the force of Dias's crescent wave mostly carves out around them rather than through them -- but it handily takes out the window, too. That very same smashed window which they're now soaring towards--!!
"LOOKS LIKE TEAM ROCKET'S BLASTING OFF AGAIIIIIN...!" Jessie and James wail, as they and their Pokemon are blasted right THROUGH that shattered window -- thank goodness they didn't have to break it with their faces -- and out into the wild beyond!
Don't worry, they'll be fine.
Probably.
GS: Arisugawa Joy takes a glancing hit from Ida Everstead-Rey's Muscle Memory for 61 hit points! GS: Mighty applied to Ida Everstead-Rey! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated! GS: Arisugawa Joy enters CONDITION GREEN!!
<Pose Tracker> Giovanni has posed.
"I've got faith in the Boss," Biggs tells Rena. "He'll handle it!"
Wedge wrinkles his nose -- and then he shakes his head once. "I'll have to look it up!" he tells Cirea. Then, his eyes widen. "Grimer! Get cle--"
Cirea belches in kind. The full might of her belch slams into the Grimer, blowing the Pokemon backward. A kiss floats after -- and plants on him. Chu~
"GRIIIiiiimmmm--"
He goes airborne, which is when Margaret slams into him. He goes arching high, high into the air.
When Grimer lands, he is absorbed back into Wedge's waiting Pokeball with a flash of light -- and a snap, as he closes the Pokeball. "Good job, buddy," he says with a sigh.
"There's something different about this Bomb," Biggs says, with a glower at Ethius. "And I'm a great guest."
"The best," Wedge adds.
Ethius flies true. His staff slams into the Bomb. That connects Fiend to Biggs and Wedge, knocking all three of them back -- right through the front doors of the laboratory. They hit the ground, bounce, and roll. The Bomb comes back up. Wind whips up, tearing around them. Biggs and Wedge struggle to get upward; the monk pushes himself up, with a grunt. Biggs slams his shield into the ground to force himself up.
The wailing makes Wedge's eyes narrow. Then, the earth erupts -- and they're both slammed back down.
But the Bomb is floating.
"Red-haired guy," Biggs says. "And focus on us. We're the ones in front of you! Bomb, you ready!"
"Symbological wards are active!" Wedge says, as he pulls out a smartphone and checks an app on it. "Should be safe!"
"Heh, to think... see you on the other side, buddy!"
"GWAAARRHH!" Bomb roars, outside the front door to Professor Oak's laboratory. And then, Bomb swells. He expands once, in a shuddering wave of growth -- and then again, ballooning outward. His eyes widen, and they're full of stars.
Many Bombs have come here before. But Bomb... he will be the first to live to tell of it.
"Uh, Biggs--"
"Too close!"
And then Bomb explodes. For a moment, it is utterly horrifying; a Pokemon Move beyond what even Team Rocket would do. He detonates in a massive fireball that rocks the ultra-reinforced ceramic walls of Professor Oak's lab and gently singes the paint, until the nanites correct that. But the fire blast shoots in through the door.
For Ethius. For Margaret. For Cirea. For Hannah. And, too, for Biggs and Wedge. They're blown backward...
...and the smoke wafts and clears, and there are flickering Symbols all around Bomb. Bomb shudders, then deflates -- sagging -- and pops back into the Pokeball.
But no, Bomb does not shudder. He vibrates with triumph!
Biggs looks at the Pokeball as it snaps closed. His eyebrows are singed. "...Good work, buddy."
GS: Giovanni has attacked Giovanni with Bomb - Grow! GS: Giovanni has launched an attack Link! GS: CRITICAL! Giovanni accepts Giovanni's Bomb - Grow for 0 hit points! GS: Hyper applied to Giovanni! GS: FP up! Sufferer activated! GS: Giovanni has activated Force Action: Full Clip! GS: Giovanni has activated Force Action: Lock On! GS: Giovanni has activated Force Action: Snipe! GS: Giovanni has attacked Cirea with Bomb - - Self-Destruct! GS: Giovanni has attacked Ethius Hesiod with Bomb - - Self-Destruct! GS: Giovanni has attacked Margaret with Bomb - - Self-Destruct! GS: Giovanni has attacked Hannah Curie with Bomb - - Self-Destruct! GS: Giovanni has attacked Giovanni with Bomb - - Self-Destruct! GS: Interrupt expired! GS: CRITICAL! Giovanni accepts Giovanni's Bomb - - Self-Destruct for 468 hit points! GS: FP up! Sufferer activated! GS: Strain! Giovanni takes 50 damage! GS: Giovanni has Fallen! He is no longer able to fight! GS: Giovanni has Fallen! He is no longer able to fight! GS: Ethius Hesiod has activated Force Action: Guard! GS: Hannah Curie has activated Force Action: Guard! GS: Hannah Curie solidly guards Giovanni's Bomb - - Self-Destruct for 135 hit points! GS: FP up! Arcane Font activated! GS: Strain! Giovanni takes 50 damage! GS: Giovanni has Fallen! He is no longer able to fight! GS: CRITICAL! Margaret suffers a terrible blow from Giovanni's Bomb - - Self-Destruct for 364 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Margaret gains 1 additional Combo! GS: FP up! Arcane Font activated! GS: Strain! Giovanni takes 50 damage! GS: Margaret has Fallen! She is no longer able to fight! GS: Giovanni has Fallen! He is no longer able to fight! GS: CRITICAL! Ethius Hesiod suffers a terrible blow from Giovanni's Bomb - - Self-Destruct for 347 hit points! GS: Strain! Giovanni takes 50 damage! GS: Giovanni has Fallen! He is no longer able to fight!
<Pose Tracker> Peace Kishinami has posed.
"It's not?" Peace seems to genuinely blink towards Joy's comment, then swivels back to Holly as she continues to ride her Pancham into battle. "... are you sure?" The rest of the conversation that Joy is having is not lost on her; the Drifters claim that they aren't with the Wise Men, but Joy's point is perfectly clear as well - all of these people are new on Nede. Trust has to go both ways.
Peace is smart enough to acknowledge that this is a frankly ridiculous setting to say something like that in, of course. It's not exactly a surprise that trust might be a non-starter when they're standing alongside Team Rocket-- is what she'd like to say, but there does seem to be something in the way in which Joy seems to be making friends _via fighting_. ... she's forced to admit that was something she was never very good at, and that as far as this is concerned it's better to leave her trust in Joy.
She is exactly the type to not realize when she's doing it herself. That's the curse of being The Smart Kid.
Her Professor's pride cuts both ways, because while she still can't really look at the hurt and concern on Professor Oak's face there is some inner core that still lives in her assistant days, and that inner core is what makes her fold her-- wait, they're already folded. She folds her arms harder, then, and takes quiet pride in the fact that she gave the speech first, and managed to pronounce capitals where Oak does not. She even handed out Pokeballs. Take that.
"That's how it is," she says back to Jay. She doesn't elaborate on what part of the conversation she's replying to - whether it's about building a team, or her acceptance that they have to fight in a situation like this, or the training of her Eevees. Something makes her pause, and the possibility that they might not be with the Wise Men makes her offer: "As it is, your group stands out a lot. You should consider it." Her Flareon takes the pecks head on as if ready to just bull straight through them; it flinches, though, and that's enough for Peace to make a motion with a hand to call it back to her side. "Fee, come on."
Sylveon looks intensely pleased to be called cute; it practically preens on the spot, puffed up and strutting around in a quick circle and completely missing the sudden generation of the meteor above its head. There is an almost comical bonk as the pokemon's fawning gets interrupted with a crash of a rock and the creature skittering backwards; Peace's eyes are wide as she watches the whole process, then drop to a thoughtful frown as she kneels down to help it up and onto her shoulders.
The excitement of the rustle of Peace's treat bag is met by a dampening field that seems to sap the spirit of her Pokemon; the Professor can feel it as well, like a lead weight around her and lulling her back towards her sleepy state. Several of her pockets get a little biscuit-like pellet dropped into them, and then... Peace eats one herself. "So you can pull off moves like Pokemon. Even regular people?" she sounds quietly fascinated; as a possible evolution of Tandem Style, she can't overlook the possibilities here.
"... still, that's fine. I've thought for a while now that the rules could do with a shake up." Peace pulls herself up, a distinct and solid frown on her face rather than a fleeting aloofness for the first time - not least because a portion of the battlefield is suddenly searing in shadow and metal and fire and chaos, and for everything else she feels about this situation she's damned if she's going to let Joy face that all on her own.
"So I'll show you the power of a Professor. And I'll break some of those rules myself," she adds as she slips the labcoat off her shoulders. It hangs heavy in her hand, weighted down by several Pokemon; she gives it a flourish as she tosses it in front of her and to the ground, whereupon it immediately starts rustling and bulging as several variations of Eevee jostle underneath it. Her voice is still not loud, but it's sharper than it's been all fight as she commands: "All of you, go!"
Two shapes streak out from under the coat first, as it turns out she didn't just have one Eevee, but two - they're terribly fast, and dart through the ranks of the Drifters and underfoot without pause, circling back and forth in an array of quick strikes and whips of their tails. Spearow is caught from multiple directions, and Pancham as well - though in apparent deference to Joy's comment, Holly herself is spared. They don't seem to know what to do about Lan and Jay in particular; it's only when Peace firmly nods and repeats the command that the Eevees also strike at their legs as they go past.
It all serves to tether people in place as the rest of the Eevees emerge. Eight in all, they've gathered into a huddle on the labcoat. Some are lying down; Sylveon is still a little swirly-eyed from its hit and being fussed over by an angular-eared creature in light blues. But all of them turn in unison at the 'Now!' that Peace calls out, and all of them--
--tilt their head. Aah, there's bubbles and everything around them...
... because suddenly, stalling is all they can do. "Joy!" Peace calls with urgency as Jessie and James get blown away and completely out of the battle. It doesn't take her long to sum up their chances against some of the power they're seeing, and it leads back to one decision: it's probably time to go. She just has to account for how long it might take to get Joy to stop fighting - and with all of that together, she suddenly doesn't like their chances.
A Bomb goes off, and Peace takes that as her cue. "I hope to see a full team next time. The Pokemon Centre can sell you more balls," she comments hurriedly, warring between the script and saving her own neck. At exactly the same time the poor Spearow assaulted by each of the creatures in turn; another lighting bolt tries to strike it down, but instead feints it into a roaring fire followed immediately by a sluice of water.
It is a dazzling combination of moves one after the other, an array of elements that run seemingly the whole spectrum - which is good, because that helps mask the way Peace has to awkwardly run up in the midst of it, scooping her labcoat back into her hands and trying to ignore the way it gets progressively heavier with each Eevee that returns to it. Why did she even throw it to the ground like that in the first place??
GS: Peace Kishinami has become ENRAGED! GS: Peace Kishinami has attacked Lan Lilac with Baby-Doll Eyes, Max Power! GS: Peace Kishinami has attacked Holly with Baby-Doll Eyes, Max Power! GS: Peace Kishinami has attacked Jacqueline Barber with Baby-Doll Eyes, Max Power! GS: Peace Kishinami has attacked Lan Lilac with Two Eevees At Once! GS: Peace Kishinami has attacked Holly with Two Eevees At Once! GS: MYSTIC ARTE! Peace Kishinami has attacked Jacqueline Barber with The Eeveelution of Battle! GS: Peace Kishinami has gained 1 Combo! GS: CRITICAL! Cirea takes a glancing hit from Giovanni's Bomb - - Self-Destruct for 192 hit points! GS: FP up! Arcane Font and Gleam activated! GS: Strain! Giovanni takes 50 damage! GS: Giovanni has Fallen! He is no longer able to fight! GS: Jacqueline Barber solidly guards Peace Kishinami's Baby-Doll Eyes, Max Power for 0 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Jacqueline Barber gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Enrage! Mighty, Quick, and Shield removed! GS: Break, Cripple, Jam, Mute, Slow, and Weaken applied to Jacqueline Barber! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated! GS: Jacqueline Barber enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Jacqueline Barber takes a solid hit from Peace Kishinami's The Eeveelution of Battle for 321 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Jacqueline Barber gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Delay and Poison blocked! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus activated! GS: Lan Lilac suffers a terrible blow from Peace Kishinami's Baby-Doll Eyes, Max Power for 0 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Lan Lilac gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Break, Cripple, Jam, Mute, Slow, and Weaken applied to Lan Lilac!
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
'And I'm a great guest.' 'The best.'
"...You have a witness to vouch for that claim," Ethius seems to concede this point with a turned head and a hand on it, in a brief moment of levity, "I believe I have lost grounds to argue on that front."
Things play out as they do, as the Bomb floats back up, and what Wedge yells is alarming.
'Symbological wards are active!'
Ethius knows what's going to happen, and doesn't think twice when he moves closer - of all things, to a swelling Bomb! Sweltering heat from the accumulating power is bad enough, for someone flesh and blood, as he hurriedly puts himself in-between the Bomb and the laboratory.
'Too close!' Biggs and Wedge rethink their current distance, where Ethius swings an arm inward to slurred syllables as he has done flawlessly, countless times, in his career as a visitor and guest of better intentions of good manners than is sometimes possible.
* BOOM *
The fire blast shoots through Ethius as bright, blinding sparks go off while his own Symbological shielding goes off to mitigate and redirect both the heat and force all around him, slamming him up against the wall with incredible force, sliding down in injury and shock and a sooty appearance.
"You will not be--"
He catches the subtle change of color that comes with nanites moving to correct the make and condition of a material, and then the agent just slumps down onto his seat and puts his hand on his head again.
"...Yes. This is a far more advanced society." It was an altogether needless gesture on his part. "...Technology is incredible."
At least the nanites have to do a little less work in maintaining the laboratory walls and structure, Ethius accepts the quiet loss in something approaching humor as his arm slacks down to a raised knee while he catches his breath.
<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.
That bomb is floating. And then growing.
Oh that can't be good.
Hannah hastily pulls out a crest graph and motions with it. A barrier springs up around her, ethereally white and translucent, but crackling fiercely with whatever it is that powers her magic. She holds out a hand as if to reinforce it as she feels the flames slam into it. It gets quite toasty, and it gives out just as the flames end, but Hannah herself seems mostly unharmed.
She staggers forward a step and drops to her knees, catching her breath.
Anybody close enough to her would overhear her saying "... no, no, I'm good" to herself.
<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.
The Grimer is filleted; as she tumbles backwards, Margaret leaps up to see the symbological Creature being recalled to those orbs of sorcery. (Margaret has decided they are orbs of sorcery. Margaret is going to be irritated later.)
Her attention snaps forwards.
"What?" she says, before looking towards the Bomb. "Oh no!"
That was an authentic oh-no. Margaret raises her arms to cover her face because she cannot muster the neccessary sorcerous energies to go into full Super Sonic Racing mode, more's the pity. She tilts her head forwards and
kraka-BOOM
was less well braced than she thought.
Sailing artfully through the air, Margaret is able to muster her sorcerous ring before she actually goes flying through a neighboring building's front window. Instead she twitches upwards and loses no relative velocity, which means she smashes into an awning instead.
* Margaret has been KO'd!
Her sword wobbles, having been dropped and embedded itself an inch or so into the ground (or, potentially, the Pokemon Prof's floorboards. Is that real wood, Oak? Or is it... Sudowoodo?)
<Pose Tracker> Arisugawa Joy has posed.
Joy can't her Jessie spur her on, in her own way, but somehow, her heart is emboldened. She knows her sempai are also fighting against some really violent people over there (at least as far as she saw; she kinda got distracted after Rena's initial punch). They have to hang in there!!
Avril tells Joy that she can't trust them; there's little proof they can give than their word. But even as she says that, she can hear more than just the words Avril speaks, because she can psychically look a little deeper than the spoken word.
If one is observant, there's the faintest aura around the retina of Joy's blue eyes as she focuses on her reading.
(She's not lying...)
But--! Suddenly there's fire, and Absolute Zero races through the air--
"I won't let you...!"
CRASH
--and once more, Joy intercepts in the interstice of time between her readying and her strike, having kept an eye on the hilt of Avril's blade for quite some time now. Honedge seems like it's straining a little against Absolute Zero's unusual make, but...
There's a look with its one eye to Avril. It, too, has someone it must protect.
(This lady seems cool, but... there's a danger that's completely different than that Zed. It feels like my spine's frozen solid...!)
Charizard was ready to defend himself, but mostly just stares at Joy in a 'what a weirdo' kind of a way, shrugging his shoulders and emitting a little button mushroom-shaped sigh.
Zed chides her on her swordsmanship, which raises her heckles, and points out that it's not enough to just rely on her friends' strengths. It wounds her, because she is the way she is now because of them, but she's always known...
Watching them battle, having the time of their lives...
The kind of powers that these outworlders wield is terrifying. What's that darkness that surrounds his sword? There's a contrast between the dark and the light, and as Joy faces him down and stares at his yellow eyes--
There's fear, yes. This is an incredibly dangerous man. She shouldn't be doing this. And yet...
(This is where I need to be. Right here...)
"... in the heart of battle," Joy murmurs, her voice rising with, for all else that she might be unrefined, a very firm, resolute tone. "If my swordsmanship is sloppy, then battle is where I need to be!"
Zed's two blades converge, beyond light and darkness, and Joy moves in tandem; her right arm -- Shedinja in tow with it -- clashes in a direct deflect that strains deep and hard against her body. At first, it seems hopeless--
"...!!"
But then Shedinja's aura intensifies, an oscillating barrier seemingly physically pushing back against Zed in a way that can only be called... Wonderful.
Ida's bare-armed defense has her panicking for a moment -- despite all her posturing, Ida can see there's still a lot of care at hurting people with Pokemon that Joy doesn't want to delve into -- but she can't count for the sheer intensity and power of Ida's exoskeleton.
(Ida's intensity too is different... there's something ferocious inside, like it's not just her...)
"What...?"
Blue and black and gold, she hits something much harder than she expected, much like Ida earlier, and the palm strike hits her straight in the chest and has her wheezing and skidding, breathing intensely with both Shedinja and Honedge reeling before her.
"I can still fight... I'll fight..."
Gwen's ARM discharges for Charizard, and Joy's too spent to do another ill-advised block for him. The draconic Pokemon looks ready again, like, oh boy, it's time for him to finally get to do something--
CRASH
--but Blastoise has jumped in front, taking the brunt of the electric attack with its shell. It's Super Effective! The gun-toting turtle looks pretty wounded from that, but it manages to spare a smug grin as it looks back at Charizard.
Charizard just stares back at Blastoise like, 'bruh'.
Venusaur is completely checked out of the battle because it's enjoying feeding Caterpie. In a way, distracting a foe all by itself, isn't Caterpie the MVP of this fight?
"Fine." Joy slowly rises and answers Gwen, her legs trembling. "I'll admit it. But you don't understand one thing. Team Rocket's the only people on Nede doing something about the Ten Wise Men. That's why we need everything we can get, however we can get it."
Ida's disappeared, and Joy seems to be -- well, she seems to be struggling to catch her breath, which wheezes in a way that doesn't just seem from exertion, Ida can tell. There's no way she's going to be able to defend against that in time--!!
But Joy has the bond of her friends with her, and suddenly, Shedinja is once more in front, defending her--
Waaaait...
Shedinja is over there! Then who is this--
"... t-thank you, Ditto."
The Shedinja pressed against Ida's knee rapidly morphs back, and now resembles a purple blob with two dots for eyes. It's weirdly cute, somehow.
(Shoot... not right now... I don't have time for the inhaler... come on, Joy...)
"You don't get it. The adults here... ... I'll give it... all I have," comes Joy's less than impressive-sounding response.
Charizard perks up like 'finally, she's gonna call on me, right?' Primping himself up to full height, spreading his wings out wide, blowing on his claws again--
"Honedge. Ditto!"
GIRL YOU ARE KILLING ME. Charizard is shaking his damn head when--
"Charizard."
oh HECKIN YES
Ditto has manifested itself into a Honedge, and letting go of Shedinja, which hovers around her, she now grabs hold of twin swords, much like how Zed has combined his blades earlier.
"Grant me the power that's inside..."
Sucking on air, Charizard draws back with all his might, and a familiar spinning column of flame surrounds Joy, and sharply spirals up to wreathe around Honedge and Ditto both.
"I'll... fight..."
Joy darts towards Ida and Zed, both of which she's mentally marked as her valid targets, despite Avril's attacking of Charizard earlier, and Gwen's errant shot. In a fell swoop, her twinned flame swords erupt into a fierce flurry of frenzied slashes, crowned with a cross-shaped lunge that has her passing through.
"I'll earn the future I desire!"
GS: Arisugawa Joy has activated a Boss Action! GS: Arisugawa Joy spends 1 Combo on Link! GS: Arisugawa Joy enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Arisugawa Joy has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with It's You and Me...! GS: Arisugawa Joy has attacked Zed with It's You and Me...! GS: Arisugawa Joy has gained 1 Combo! GS: Arisugawa Joy has launched an attack Link! GS: Arisugawa Joy spends 1 Combo on Reload! GS: Arisugawa Joy has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with I know it's my Destiny!! GS: Arisugawa Joy has attacked Zed with I know it's my Destiny!! GS: Arisugawa Joy has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Holly suffers a terrible blow from Peace Kishinami's Baby-Doll Eyes, Max Power for 0 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Holly gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Enrage! Cover and Shield removed! GS: Holly's Mute Ward may block the effect! GS: Break, Cripple, Jam, Mute, Slow, and Weaken applied to Holly! GS: Holly takes a solid hit from Peace Kishinami's Two Eevees At Once for 246 hit points! GS: Holly enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey solidly guards Arisugawa Joy's It's You and Me... for 134 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Ida Everstead-Rey gains 1 additional Combo! GS: FP up! Power Burst activated! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey takes a glancing hit from Arisugawa Joy's I know it's my Destiny! for 140 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Ida Everstead-Rey gains 1 additional Combo! GS: FP up! Power Burst, Reaction bonus, and Arisugawa Joy's Reload! activated! GS: CRITICAL! Zed takes a solid hit from Arisugawa Joy's It's You and Me... for 284 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Zed gains 1 additional Combo! GS: FP up! Power Burst activated! GS: Healthy! For entering Condition Green, Zed receives 100 temporary hit points. GS: Zed enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Zed solidly guards Arisugawa Joy's I know it's my Destiny! for 56 hit points! GS: FP up! Power Burst and Arisugawa Joy's Reload! activated!
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lanford has posed.
"You definitely are!" Rena tells her, unperturbed by that. Whereas Biggs and Wedge, "I- is it really just that simple as having faith in your boss!?" Rena had heard this pair was REALLY loyal but- this seems to go beyond that. Is this guy really powerful enough to defeat the Ten Wise Men?
Rena looks to Chase and his bravery in guarding the door, but thankfully, through their efforts, it seems like it's becoming less of an issue.
In the end, Ashound looks surprised too, before it barks, again and again at Jessie and James running around on fire, "Ash! Ash!" Rena however quickly picks the Ashound up as Biggs and Wedge pull out a BOMB because ho boy she knows what those are, backing up. The Ashound's tongue lolls out happily, tail wagging. "Claude! Dias! Take cover!"
... She almost tells Claude to pick up Barry, but Barry has TRIPLE HARDENED.
Honestly, Barry's good. A bomb would be a minor inconvenience right now she feels.
Suddenly, enormous blast wave, the Ashound puts its paws up over its ears, as it howls out, "SHOUNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN!" Then, lowers its paws, and goes back to panting.
And Jessie and James are blasted CLEAR OUT THE WINDOW! By Dias!
"Huh...I think, we won?"
Rena looks out the window, just to be sure they're fine. And doesn't even see them. Ashound's tongue lolls as it looks into the far off distance as if trying to track where they went and being unable to. "Ash! Ash!"
"I can't believe them! Stealing innocent Pokemon! And here I thought Nede didn't have anything to worry about other than the Ten Wise Men..."
Rena looks over to Dias and says to him sheepishly, "Looks like you won't have to worry about your skills going to rust after all."
Putting him down, he immediately walks towards Barry and... sniffs him... sniffs... sniffs. She comments to Claude., "Um - I guess I need to ask this Professor Oak guy if I can... if I can keep this guy. But I'd really like to... he's small, but he's got a lot of heart."
It's in that moment that the Ashound borks, and licks Barry across his upper portion, near his face, as she smiles at the scene. "Hey Barry and him are even getting along! What... to name him though. I think..."
She trails off, abstracted, like she's putting a LOT of thought into this one, and then...
"... I think I'm going to call him Shorty."
Dias definitely knows that she couldn't have put TOO much thought into that one... but, she looks more happy, than anything. There's certainly this faintly bittersweet vibe...
... but happiness certainly reigns, as she kneels down to pet the pooch, and he leaps up to nuzzle her, putting his paws on her shoulder. He knows that she bonds SUPER FAST with animals, after all.
<Pose Tracker> Cirea has posed.
Cirea enjoys making people look ridiculous, and apparently she doesn't mind doing it herself, because after her sound spell she's looking pretty proud of herself. "Take that!" she declares, before she looks over at the Bomb. Her brows furrow.
"If you haven't been back since you came here, how'd you get one to put in the ball? You didn't have a ball before." Cirea points accusingly. "That's cheating, somehow! You're not supposed to make Bombs out of nothing!"
The Bomb expands.
Cirea's eyes widen. "Uh, whoops," she says, and immediately casts a spell. Two spells. Three spells - she's building walls of wind, offensive spells held back rather than being thrown. But holding an entire wave of air is hard, let alone three of them, and by the third one she's struggling -
The Bomb explodes.
Cirea releases the wind in a vain attempt to make the explosion *not* go at her. It doesn't work very well - black magic isn't really meant to be used that way! - but it means that the smoke goes mostly away from her, and it buffers it enough that when it clears...
...Cirea is in a tree, hanging from the underside of one of the branches, where she got thrown and only just managed to catch herself. She lets go, flying slightly wobbily. "And don't come back!" she calls, before dropping to the ground, landing in an awkward sitting position.
<Pose Tracker> Holly has posed.
Holly comes to a skidding stop as she spots the.. eevees. First things first though, "No I'm really not! Even if some of us get bigger and we're usually in specific places." She can figure out zoology on some level at least. Huff.
Still, there's the issue of fluffy. Lots of fluffy. She'll have to get one at some point probably. The professor did mention trying to catch more right? She leans to one side though, looking down at the pancham, "Wait do you have a name?" "Cham." She nods. She didn't understand a thing, but that's a later problem as the first part catches the pair off guard.
The two are clearly caught off guard as more eevee pile out of the woodwork. The.. jackets? Then two of them dart after the pair and the fairy quickly brings her brush up and around in a wide pair of swings, leaving two solid barriers of ink that barely slow the two foxcatthings down. She'll eventually learn their name. Or she'll come up with a catchy song to help or something.
The two of them go flying though! Even if Holly catches herself with the whole flying thing and she tries to soften the panda's landing with a splash of water rathen than ink resulting in a less hurt, but now soaking wet and annoyed panda glaring around.
"Sorry" she informs the critter as she takes a stance and begins drawing something more complex with the explosion going off, the bubbles and the escape! "They're too big to carry!" She replies to the idea of a whole team. Even shrunken down the ball is rather large and it's a miracle she hasn't popped the stitches on the satchel.
"You're on though!" Hey, this really HAS been fun up until the explosion. And you know, being mistaken for a pokemon, which is kinda funny in a detached way.
She does try to check on Lan and Jay as they'd been closest and all, but a familiar figure going for an unintended flight gets her attention and she tells her new pancham buddy, "One sec!" leaving it confused as she darts off to check on Cirea. (And Hannah, who seems tired, but in-tact and stating she's good!)
The new panda buddy looks to Holly briefly, then wanders over and looks up at both Lan, then Jay too. Like it's doing a checkup since it's clear they were at least familiar with the strange new flying trainer!
<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.
In the end, Lan couldn't bear to seriously injure Sylveon. Rigdobrite knows this and still loves her.
"Of course we can! Anybody can find something if they try, and are willing to work hard." Anybody who doesn't mind getting tattoos can learn Symbology; anybody that can do geometry can wield Crest Sorcery. Anybody willing to put in the training can do something.
Lan may be missing the point here. It's hardly unusual.
There are so many of the little kitty creatures now, popping out of Peace's labcoat. "Does... doesn't that get heavy, with all of them..." Lan gestures vaguely, like she's patting herself down. Surely the little brown ones are just normal kitty-things. Surely they are!
Spoiler: they are not.
Their perfect, velvety ears! Their adorable round faces! Their fluffy manes and tails! They're a perfect storm of cuteness that brings Lan to her knees. "a-aaaww..."
Which is a good thing, because now she's lower than the worst of the explosion; the fire and superheated air passes harmlessly overhead without even singing a single hair. Lucky!
This is when Pancham finds her, dazed and kneeling on the ground until her brain can sort itself out.
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Meowth just keeps kicking!! Claude,, meanwhile, tilts his head at Jessie and James. "You're... protecting... how?" he wonders. he definitely doesn't get it. But barry does. 'It' being Meowth's chompers. the glowing Kakuna flares again, and begins to rise into the air. Its green chitin shines. Its aura of battle pulses. And its gleaming black eyes stare down upon Team Rocket as they are blasted away.
Claude does take cover from the Bomb explosion, but indeed, Barry is just fine, still glowing all the more brilliantly. In fact, he's started rising into the air, shining so brightly that he might as well be a miniature sun, until he can't be seen at all--
And when the smoke clears, there is a gigantic green bee with two huge extra stingers on its arms!
*KAKUNA has evolved into BEEDRILL!
Claude's eyes widen. "W-whoa..." He stares as his little Kakuna, only recently evolved into this form thanks to Ethius's black stuff, has become the mighty Beedrill before them!
"Barry... You really did find your own strength," he marvels.
But Barry does not chase after Team Rocket. Nor does he move to defend the door. No, Barry the Beedrill immediately takes off, buzzing through the air, to hover before--
Before Ethius!?
"Beeeeeeeeeeeeeeee," Barry tells him, staring intently at his bag.
"Um?" Claude is baffled.
<Pose Tracker> Jacqueline Barber has posed.
Lan and Holly are doing alright, and Jacqueline nods back.
"I'm hanging in there." She replies. ...As she should, of course - she's not the one doing the physical fighting.
'That's how it is', huh...
"...I see." Jacqueline replies - but Peace does give her some food for thought. "...I hadn't thought about that. It wouldn't do for there to be misunderstandings."
She shakes her head. She does listen with interest, though. The rules could do with a shake up... It leads to a lot of questions - what sort of place is Energy Nede...?
...She focuses, though, as Peace tells them she'll show them the power of a Professor.
"Watch out!" Jacqueline warns Spearow. It readies itself - but Jacqueline is surprised to find the Eevees rushing her, too.
"Ah!" She gasps, as they strike and whip at her legs with their tails as they pass. Spearow receives much the same treatment...
...But that's not all Peace has in store. It finds itself faced with a dazzling volley of attacks. It leaps and braces itself as it tries to endure each and every attack...
...But in the end, it's still just a single Spearow.
Letting out one last, defiant crow, it sends a glare toward its opponents and then faints. Jacqueline hurries over to it, drawing out a potion bottle and quickly getting to work - but as she does, she looks in Peace's direction.
"...Alright. I won't disappoint, Professor - let's meet again sometime." She says. Spearow's wounds tended, she returns it to the ball.
It looks like things are starting to wrap up elsewhere, too...
GS: Jacqueline Barber has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Ethius Hesiod has posed.
Ethius is taking a breather from his abortively silly attempt at using the culmination of Federation Symbology for personal protection against specifically high grades of technological weaponry (and, in some cases like this, explosions), and might have an internal laugh later that he didn't catch the nanite meshes on the building structure there. Catching that is his job.
...Then, there is a large, bee-shaped creature buzzing towards him. He looks up, but notices a lack of aggressive posturing.
"...Is that--" Ethius has seen the life cycles of enough insects and insect-analogues - you don't go through your adolescent years in the foster care of insect-descended individuals without being aware of this - and intuits that this must be 'Barry' in his adult form. Have they gone through almost the entire life cycle of this creature in roughly 24 hours?
...
"You must be hungry, using... that much energy," Ethius coughs once. He's feeling that 'nearly being incinerated/obliterated by an explosion' deal, taking his bag, rummaging through it, and bringing out a vial of...
Gooey Stuff. (it is exactly what it says on the tin)
He takes the stopper off the vial and holds it up in offering, tilting the neck of it towards Beedrill.
<Pose Tracker> Elaine has posed.
Elaine blinks. Then blinks several more times. Then yet ANOTHER loud explosion shakes her out of her shocked state. "I... I didn't mean we'd literally remove them..." she says looking in the direction Jessie, Meowth and James had blasted off in. She gives a shake of her head looking around the rest of the yard as Veevee and Pink settle on her shoulders. "Umm... What has been going on really through." she askes noone in particular looking at the aftermath of.. an explosion use? And then looking more closely at Claude, Rena, and Dias before looking at the other people fighting further from the building.
Elaine sighs, and then looks at Chase saying "Well, at least you're alright. But don't put yourself in danger like that! That wasn't safe! But, umm.. good job helping stop them." before she's distracted by the distinct noise of a Pokemon evolving. "Ooh! A Beedrill!" she says moving closer to Claude to examine the pokemon. From her hip, a red device in blue cover lets out a beep before announcing "It has three poisonous stingers on its forelegs and its tail. They are used to jab its enemy repeatedly."
<Pose Tracker> Avril Vent Fleur has posed.
She, out of reaction alone, swings for Charizard, her white blade glinting in the sunlight.
But it never connects. Instead, her blade is blocked, in much the same instant that Gwen remarks that Charizard's only trying to protect its friends.
Just like Gwen's Voltik had, and much the way she would for anyone she held dear.
Avril's expression is a complicated one as she drops back, away from Joy's daring block and the resigned Charizard. Her blade is held before her still, but its tip is directed towards the ground. She gazes at Joy for one long moment.
"...You wish to protect your friends, too," she says to Joy.
And that is enough for Avril to set her blade aside, Absolute Zero's edge vanishing in a glint of light to leave only its hilt. She keeps only the Medium in hand, its sparkle dimming.
The moment ends, and Joy is again for Zed, leaving Avril and Gwen as bystanders alongside Joy's other Pokemon.
There's a crash from the building. Something -- people perhaps? -- go flying through a nearby window and Avril pauses long enough to once again share a look with Gwen. "We should go and see what has happened," she tells Gwen, sparing a glance at Joy who is engaging both Ida and Zed with the power of her bonds and hesitates in spite of her words. Should... they try to keep this from getting any worse, like she'd suggested before?
"I'll find out what's happening," Avril decides instead. "Watch over them!"
This said, she races off towards the building's entrance.
<Pose Tracker> Chase has posed.
The battle is chaos. Bombs exploding. A pink haired stranger calling the earth to erupt into dust storms. Martial arts battles of fist and blade and flame. An absolute army of Eeveelutions. Team Rocket violently expelled from the building.
Chase coughs as the dust settles. He looks up immediately for Elaine, relieved to see her safe before dipping his head down at her approach because he knows he's a little bit in trouble. Scolding ends in praise, and his eyes light up -- just a little.
Pikachu rushes back to him and scrambles up his leg to get to her perch on his shoulder, where relentless nuzzling commences. "Chachu~, Chachuuuuuu~." Chase endures with a wince and a smile, reaching up to gently rest his hand on her head.
His expression sobers quickly as he looks over this group of strangers. While Elaine chooses to be friendly, Chase watches warily. Catching onto her trainer's unease, Pikachu lowers her voice into a conspiratory whisper. "Pikaaaaa. Pika pi..." Chase nods along like he understands any of this, then ventures to try and check on Professor Oak.
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
Dias hasn't engaged with the battle conversation up until now--he largely doesn't see the point--but that doesn't mean he hasn't been listening to it. The fact that not just Jessie and James, who Dias thinks are idiots, but also Biggs and Wedge, who are from Spira and understand the culture of combat, seem confident that their boss (and by extention, they) could be a bigger 'bad guy' than the Ten Wise Men is... potentially intriguing. Are they all just fools who don't understand how powerful the Ten Wise Men are? Or is their boss really that impressive?
One of these days, Dias will see for himself with his sword. For now, Team Rocket blasts off again--two of them out a window, two in the wake of a Bomb going off. Far from the other parts of the battle, too--and the others seem to have *that* well in hand, so he doesn't intercede. Dias doesn't need Rena to tell him to take cover, but it's good advice regardless. When the smoke clears and the Bomb returns to its Pokeball, Dias will be well out of its blast range.
Which is good, because he really doesn't need this gunk *baked in*.
Rising to his feet, he sweeps his blade to one side to flick off whatever's on it; then he sheathes it with grace and care. He half-turns to Rena with a frown. "We sent them packing, anyway. I guess there's thieves in every world." He looks down at Ashound as the Pokemon goes over to Barry for sniffs--just as Barry is overcome with light, forcing Dias to shield his eyes for a moment, and breaks out of his cocoon as a massive bee-like creature.
"Again," he murmurs as he lowers his arm, peering at the Beedrill. Rena, meanwhile, comes up with a name for the Ashound. ...and Dias's one-word line would frankly be appropriate to repeat here. He eyes her and shakes his head a little bit.
"You get attached so fast," he says, and it might sound like a criticism--save for how he continues, a subtle affection in his otherwise gruff voice, "That part of you never changes."
The names don't need to be good, anyway.
And apparently, as far as Barry's concerned, neither does the food... Dias makes another face as Ethius offers it more of that Gooey Stuff. Today's been a red letter day for gross things.
He looks over at Elaine and Chase, though, as the former draws closer with Pokedex open and the latter keeps a warier distance. Dias gives Chase a curt nod. What *has* been going on, though? "Seems like your friend would have the best idea of that," he comments, turning a pointed stare at the door to Prof. Oak's inner lab.
<Pose Tracker> Giovanni has posed.
Biggs and Wedge get up, shaky -- but they've had worse. Wedge glances in the direction that James and Jessie took off in. The two former Guado Guardians look at each other and nod, before they take off in that direction as well.
It takes a moment before Professor Oak opens the door -- slowly -- and peeks out just as Chase approaches. He glances about his (somewhat damaged, now) laboratory, but his eyes are quick to look for Chase and Elaine. After all, they're the local children he knows best.
And it's not lost on him that Chase guarded the door.
"Ah..." He trails off, for a moment. His eyes are, briefly, on Barry the Beedrill. Then across the room -- at all the strange people here. Why, even the Nedian girl is dressed quite differently. "Chase, Elaine, are you both all right...?"
He glances at Joy -- and at Peace, with a hint of recognition. And concern. He ducks a little behind the door again. "My, quite the day, isn't it...!"
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"... We mean well, but we're still outsiders. We don't know all the ins n' outs of this place," Gwen assesses, with an apologetic smile. "But I understand what that Pokemon was tryin' t'do, a little. Ain't its fault that it used, uh, fire, heheh..." Gwen laughs uneasily, rubbing her neck.
Gwen Whitlock says, "Zed. Ida." This time her smile is genuine, glinting in her far more subdued fog blue eyes. "Gonna check in on things with Avril." She gives them a thumbs up. "Show her somethin' she can rise up to.""
<Pose Tracker> Gwen Whitlock has posed.
"... We mean well, but we're still outsiders. We don't know all the ins n' outs of this place," Gwen assesses, with an apologetic smile. "But I understand what that Pokemon was tryin' t'do, a little. Ain't its fault that it used, uh, fire, heheh..." Gwen laughs uneasily, rubbing her neck.
It's hard telling just what Joy means by this Team Rocket and what methods like these do to stop the Ten Wise Men, but that will need to be for later. But, just like she tried to shield Voltie, Joy tried to shield her own Pokemon.
That wins a lot of points in Gwen's book.
Maybe, it's best to just let those who teach in unorthodox ways, like Ida and Zed, do their thing, especially as Avril has a better idea.
"Zed. Ida." This time her smile is genuine, glinting in her far more subdued fog blue eyes. "Gonna check in on things with Avril." She gives them a thumbs up. "Show her somethin' she can rise up to."
...... which is not the greatest endorsement since Gwen literally spent the fight FIGHTING ACCIDENTALLY but that's just another day in Gwen's world
GS: Gwen Whitlock enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Blitz! Gwen Whitlock has attacked Zed with Sparkle! GS: Gwen Whitlock has gained 1 Combo! GS: Gwen Whitlock enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Blind, Drowsy, and Slow expired! GS: Gwen Whitlock has completed her action. GS: Gwen Whitlock heals Zed! He gains 96 temporary hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Peace Kishinami has posed.
Peace has proved herself in battle, as Lan is taken out by the combined cute power of a half-dozen Eevolutions, as Holly is blasted away much like Team Rocket, and as Jay's Spearow falls to exhaustion and she cedes the battle. There's no time to be pleased about it; she can leave that for later, when Joy isn't about to keel over from an asthmatic attack. ... she's not sure, but even beyond that, Peace feels like maybe they've missed something important that means she can't feel too satisfied.
"..." Plus, there's two of them and a good dozen or so opponents, so even in the grand scale of things she might have won the battle but could still very much lose, er, the same battle.
It doesn't help when Professor Oak peeks out from the laboratory and she finally manages to catch his face and see the well-meant concern that's placed there. It's something she's been trying to avoid all along, and not just because she knows Professor Oak personally. It's also that the man has barely a mean or angry bone in his body, and she was trying to set aside the fact that this basically felt like robbing a puppy and taking away its bag of other puppies.
All at once, in the face of that, she deflates. In a desperate attempt to save face, she holds her head up high, not answering those she was facing off against directly as she slides her (admittedly heavy) coat back on and puts her hands up. "... I concede. ... I don't have any money on me to give you, though."
Wow, that's the most dastardly loophole of all!
<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.
Ida's Caterpie gobbles down another apple slice, and nuzzles up against Venusaur's leg, affectionately. Where is it putting it all? It's a growing bug, and one day soon--but not too soon--it will undergo the same journey brave, mighty Barry is on right now. "Piiii!" Caterpie chirrs, hopping up and down as Barry... transcends. Becomes the Barry he always was, inside.
But it still doesn't take its eye off its trainer(?).
"Breathe," Ida says, settling into a guarding stance as Joy skids back, wheezing. "If you can't breathe, you can't fight." Her tone is calm, instructive. "Every breath stokes the Breath of life within you." There's emphasis on that capital. Chi, it's called, sometimes, but Ida's mother always called it Breath. She doesn't hesitate on that last strike, though, even if she wonders if she's going to need to summon a doctor, and how do they even do that here--
But in a moment where Joy cannot defend herself, her friend defends her. Ida's eyes widen as the second cicada-shell turns into a strangely adorable pink blob; she lets out a soft "Aww!", stepping back and watching with wonder as the Pokemon copies another. Two blades, empowered with the fury of a great fire dragon...
"Pie!" Caterpie cries, from the sidelines. "Pipie! Pipie!"
*IDA used STEEL GUARD!
Quicksilvery flesh erupts from Ida's other palm, flowing down to encase her left arm in armor, too. The exoskeleton on both forearms flows outward, into twin small shields, like (more?) organic versions of Shedinja. Ida flows with Joy's movements, responding to each swing of Honedge and Ditto with smooth, fluid blocks. That doesn't mean it doesn't hurt; each impact is at least a little jarring, and flames lick at Ida's face a few times. She can tell Joy is pushing herself to her limits, but she's also pushing Ida further out of her comfort zone.
Good, Ida thinks.
"We've got this, Gwen! Do what you have to!" Ida skids back, dust puffing at her heels. In the wake of Joy's attacks, her exoskeleton is cracked, broken, smoking at the edges. "All I have, then?" Ida's blue-grey eyes narrow with intense focus. She curls her right hand into a fist, and draws it back. A brilliant glow envelops it--golden-white, surrounded by bright fiery red-orange.
There's a subtle boundary between them--maybe more like a gradient. Joy might not have much time to analyze it, because in the next moment, that fist is racing at her in a lunging uppercut--Ida moves so fast she's a blur of grey jumpsuit and wild, dark hair.
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey spends 5 Combo on Headshot and Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: MYSTIC ARTE! Blitz! Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Arisugawa Joy with Unbroken Lotus Fist! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has gained 1 Combo! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey's stances have changed to Avenger! GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.
Hannah pushes herself to her feet, looking a bit tired from... well, working harder than she's used to to control her magic, which... really almost didn't work. That's concerning. There are many concerning things here.
Hannah has her doubts that Team Rocket is here to protect the world from devastation.
But she's got a tired smile for Holly when she comes to check on her, and...
"Oh! Congrats on your Beedrill evolving!" Because this is a thing she learned about from her new and definitely not secretly-problematic friend Anne.
But Zephyr chirps from nearby, swooping down to her for a moment before taking off after Margaret, and Hannah nods and takes off after the other woman who smashed into an awning, to make sure she's okay.
<Pose Tracker> Margaret has posed.
Zephyr can swiftly confirm Margaret is alive. She seems beaten up, shows signs of fatigue and recent forest travel, and mostly seems dazed. If he seeks a carrion feast, it will not be her today.
Sadly, she probably cannot be thrown over the counter of the Pokemon center.
Also she has an empty plastic bottle for some reason.
<Pose Tracker> Rena Lanford has posed.
Rena gasps as Barry shines with a certain light again and-! "Oh! What a handsome bee! Those drills look really powerful." It then flies over to Ethius and- "Again!?" Rena is just as baffled.
Do Pokemon really like Ethius' cooking that much? In a way it makes her feel a little self-conscious about her own!
But she supposes Barry must really have found his own strength. As Dias notes she gets attached so fast, there's a faint flush of pleasure. "Well. I can't deny that, I spent so much time in the Sacred Forest, I just always felt so close to the animals."
In that moment she smiles at Dias, "But - I'm glad I do, it means I got to enjoy the attention of my older brother that much longer."
The fight isn't exactly over, but the writing on the wall is there, so she just watches the conclusion with Peace and Joy - as Professor Oak pokes his head out.
"Oh!" When she sees him duck his head back behind the door, rather than greet him, as she seems to understand his intent on not wanting to be a target... she leans to the side, and presents herself as that strangely dressed Nedian Girl with an Ashound in her arms.
Taking Shorty's paw, she waves it his way as affably and discreetly as possible.
Even as Shorty borks twice at the Professor, "Ash! Ash!"
GS: Arisugawa Joy suffers a terrible blow from Ida Everstead-Rey's Unbroken Lotus Fist for 326 hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Claude C. Kenny has posed.
Beedrill accepts the Gooey Stuff with gusto. Don't ask how Barry eats. It's fine. He's not a Kakuna anymore!
Again, Dias murmurs, and Claude grins. "I guess that's what they do?" Elaine's small device gives information on Barry's new form, and Claude considers it thoughtfully. "He seems pretty tough now. Maybe I can teach him a few techniques..."
He smiles at Elaine. "You two did great there!" he says.
But he sees Oak come out, and then hide again, and he's probably nervous, considering...
"Sir," Claude says. "Professor. I'm glad that you weren't hurt. Sorry about the extra commotion..."
"...We're still getting used to how things are, around here."
Beedrill starts buzzzzing back towards Claude, as Claude himself turns towards Joy and--
Well, Peace at least probably isn't fighting anymore. But, "What does being broke have to do with fighting...?"
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
Something beyond light and dark-- something between them. Something that is both and neither. A place that Zed has found, a synthesis of who he is. Demon and Hero, both identities embraced completely and utterly. This style he's built-- is a synthesis of who he is, the refinement of the ancient Saint Art. He expects it to overcome Joy's defenses completely, but...
"--Oho?"
A husk-like beetle stands in his way. It flickers and buzzes, emitting a strange energy in its own right. Zed smiles a genuine grin when he notices he's being pushed away. "Excellent...! Shedinja cares much for you. I can see that clearly...!"
But that's not all. She can stil fight. She will still fight.
Zed stands ready. Joy summons a... little purple blob-- one which morphs into a second sword. He's seen similar before; he's actually pretty sure there's at least one Hyadean Metal Beast that can do similar. "It may be no perronele, but its mimicry is impressive. So..."
She comes. Her dragon lends his flames, her twin, living swords give their all. Zed meets strike with strike, their dance a strange bookend to what he'd attempted only moments prior, but he didn't have a swirling fire tornado backing him up. Though he can keep up with the strikes, the fire and heat that wick off the blades yet scorches his body, burning black lines across his armored bodysuit. Strike. Strike. The fire burns hotter. Sweat beads at his forehead, a patina of oxide forming across his skin as his metallic flesh tarnishes in the overwhelming heat. And yet--
His eyes remain fixed.
His smile only grows wider.
He is looking at her. Right at her. Staring, deep into her eyes. "Yes... Yes! This strength-- seamlessly melding the strength of your beloved companions with your own. Combining their powers into one...! I recognize you, Arisugawa Joy! I see your passion, your focus! And--" She swings, a final cross slash; something that should have ended it all, right then and there.
But--
Zed meets it with a blow of his own. His fused blade, the blazing Doombringer, clashes against both fiery swords as he's forced back, pushed one meter, then another. And yet, even as the blastwave hammers through him, he's still there. Still smiling. His sword pulses with light. Faster. Faster...! "You asked me not to hold back. I will honor your wish! Just as you fight as one with your swords... Behold, my own <<Ensouled Edge!>> Awaken, Doombringer!"
A wave of darkness washes out from Zed in a spherical wave. For an instant, Joy can see it-- an alien sky, an alien cityscape, all ablaze in the dying moments of a distant world. She can only witness what has been scorched into so many of Zed's dreams for months-- and then it all collapses, racing in as Zed draws it back, his sword and his soul swallowing it all back up into a halo of unlight. He presses in, a burst of sudden force knocking aside the crossed Honedges. "Salvaged from the scraps of memory, behold the sword arts of Lost Hyades!"
One foot forward, slammed down with enough force to crack the tile underneath. He swings upward, knocking aside the twin blades... Then sluices forth, a cascade of blinding, flowing swordplay that sweeps in like quicksilver before striking with the sudden rigidity of steel. All the while, following him is something akin to a shadow, and yet not truly Zed's. It's a shade of someone else, weaving in his wake, building the pulsing aura higher and higher with each strike...
Until he finishes with a final, downward cleave, shouting a kiai as a blast of that strange power erupts all around him!
GS: Zed has activated Force Action: Full Clip! GS: Zed has activated Force Action: Snipe! GS: Zed spends 5 Combo on Headshot and Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: MYSTIC ARTE! Blitz! Zed has attacked Arisugawa Joy with Hyades Memoria - Unfallen Star ! GS: Zed has gained 2 Combo! GS: Zed has completed his action. GS: Arisugawa Joy takes a glancing hit from Zed's Hyades Memoria - Unfallen Star for 124 hit points! GS: Strain! Zed takes 68 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Dias Flac has posed.
"Looks like it," Dias replies to Claude. Some of the others recognize the process too--that woman who froze her own arm. He glances at Hannah, but if his attention is anywhere, it's on the multiple duels Joy is carrying on at once, including with that one friend of Claude's. Zed has some fascinating techniques, Dias muses with sharp eyes. He can see why the two of them are friends in the first place.
Rena's smile is echoed by a faint smile of his own, though--even if it is suddenly, for some reason, a little bittersweet.
Before he can say anything, though, Prof. Oak pokes his head out. Any semblance of a smile is gone in an instant as Dias stares him down. Seems he's not committing to leaving his lab--wise, considering the fighting isn't fully done yet. But one of the remaining fighters has conceded. The last one is a matter of time at this point.
He doesn't offer any apology or Pokemon-based greeting of his own, though. Instead, he asks, "Do you have a shower in there?"
<Pose Tracker> Arisugawa Joy has posed.
Avril points out a truth that goes pretty deep. All this time, watching her friends battle and get hurt and even faint, sometimes...
Joy didn't want to only be standing on the sidelines, even understanding how important being a Trainer is. It wasn't enough for her. The feeling of wanting to protect them, but also...
Gwen mentions how the Pokemon just wanted to protect its trainer, but fire... that seems to have set something off (proverbially) in her. But Avril and Gwen have run off towards the lab--
The lab--
"The lab..." Joy looks shocked as she realises the Bomb has exploded at Professor Oak's lab. Is he fine? Are the Pokemon fine? That-- that was a real violent move, but she's not privy to all the details that Biggs and Wedge have put into their calculated manoeuvre.
Ida's imperative isn't lost on her -- though her constricted, inflamed bronchioles certainly aren't making it easy to do so -- and she takes a moment to do just that, in the midst of her attack. Good. Her breathing technique is on point; someone's taught her properly.
The way in which Ida's exoskeleton moves away from her, forming shields, however, has her shocked; just what kind of being is she? And the way Zed also meets strike after strike, even with the flames sapping away at his strength, what kind of beings are these...?
Their eyes are fixed on hers, Ida's and Zed's.
They're terrifying.
They've seen things she can't even imagine.
But they're honest.
They understand her.
But... that was the most powerful movement she could think of utilising, and she's definitely not even down, or fettered. He, too, just seems to be fuelled further onwards. Just what are they...?
She's outmatched. But...
There's an intoxicating thrill in being outmatched that she's sure they understand too.
That awe doesn't last long, because--
All I have, then?
Joy's irises narrow in terror as Ida's fist roars towards her, at speeds faster than her oxygen-constricted self (not to mention even if she was in a normal state of mind) can follow.
(Is this the end...?)
You asked me not to hold back.
Did she bite off more than she can chew? Yes. Charizard yelps a little, too far from the action as Shedinja attempts to break Ida's unbroken strike--
He fails, and the husk of a cicada's shell spins out with a shrill little cry, slumped against the ground.
Joy witnesses it, even as Zed acknowledges her passion and focus; she witnesses it, an alien sky, an alien landscape in an inferno of death that spells its end. The sword arts of Lost Hyades. No--!!
She feebly raises Honedge and Ditto, but the Pokemon are knocked loose with that burst of force, the fluidity and perfection of his swordplay threatening to tear her fragile and definitely unhardened body in half--
POP
BOINGGGGG
...
...
Joy has collapsed on her rear, realising the sound of a Pokeball's release at the last moment, and... a rubbery sound? She checks herself, and finds no wounds. She's also in the shadow of a being of incredible size.
Ida's fist has struck something very soft and pliant, and yet impossibly... resilient?
So has Zed's sword, Doombringer's awakened self plunged into something that seems to truly have no boundaries between skin and flesh, just an infinite expanse of elasticity. How could something be so... pliable?
boingggg
An incredibly round creature has manifested itself as a shield in front of Joy, at the last moment. It is a navy blue creature, with a cream-coloured belly, somewhat resembling a bear. Indeed, it has slightly bear-like paws and feet, too.
The countenance of its face, upon which two little fangs peek out, knows nothing but infinite grace and serenity.
https:'bulbapedia.bulbagarden.netwikiFile:0143Snorlax.png
Snorlax has emerged, and it has decided that the battle is concluded.
"Snorlax..." Joy whispers with a cough -- then uses the moment to finally fish out a little blue plastic device and press her mouth to it and inhale, then scamper onto her feet.
"What about the professor?? Is he fine?" Joy finally lets her werewithal catch up with the rest of her senses. Oak peeks out through the door a moment later.
My, quite the day, isn't it...!
Joy's shoulders sag in relief. "That's an understatement, Professor..."
<Pose Tracker> Giovanni has posed.
"Ah, thank you, young man!" Professor Oak says. He looks to Rena -- then her Ashound -- and smiles. "Well... you must be newcomers from another world. I had my suspicions, but..."%rHe'll have to explain more later.
"I should clean up the lab -- ah, and check on my Pokemon. They must be worried--" He glances after Peace, and then around. "But I'm in all of your debts!"
And then Dias asks an important question. He hesitates -- then nods. "I do, yes--ah, I'll make sure everyone gets cleaned up!"
CELADON CITY
In one of Celadon's skyscrapers, sunlight pours in -- and across the martini gripped in a man's hand. He lifts it, having a sip -- and then turns as the door opens. He is a middle aged man, with the pointed ears typical of a Nedian. His black hair is cut short; he has a blazer over a red turtle neck.
The breast has a red R printed upon it. He turns to look at the person stepping through the door: they wear white, a hood up over pale blue hair, and there is a thoughtful look on their face.
"So, 'Mr. Firmament,'" Philia says. "Those Drifters are here. As you hoped they would."
Giovanni cracks a smile, then turns his back on them -- and looks out the window, over the skyline of Celadon again. "The report from Biggs and Wedge is that they didn't disappoint."
"Do you think you've bitten off more than you can chew?"
Giovanni regards them in the reflection, for a moment. Then, he shakes his head. "Hardly," he says. "I have a responsibility. I intend to stop the Ten Wise Men -- and I'll hedge my bets. If I can't do it, I won't let my pride be the death of Energy Nede. And if they come to stop me, then I'll show that I'm up to the task."
"Some would say Mede is doomed, already."
"I won't accept that," Giovanni says. "I'm not handing the future of this world over to those who think it has no future. The future is something you build, if you have the strength to."
"...Mm." Philia glances to the side. "I hope you're right..."
DREAM CHASERS MUSH: CHAPTER 3
"BURN"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9bfp_ubBgbc
<Pose Tracker> Zed has posed.
boingggg
"...Eh?" Zed blinks, the shadows swathing him fading away in the breeze. He lifts Doombringer, and swings it forward into the mass, only for--
boinnnngggg
"..." Zed... puts Doombringer away, places his hands on Snorlax's side, and--
Begins squish-petting the enormous soft thing, "Ahahahahahaaaa~ It's so squishy and soft, this would be the best bed ever...!"
...
He's-- he's face-deep hugging the giant bear thing.
T-this is the same guy, right...?