2024-06-22: A Pirate's Life for Me
- Log: A Pirate's Life for Me
- Cast: Giovanni, Jessie and James, Mia Tamaoka, Layna Manydays, Sable Aomori, Chase, Josephine Lovelace, Shige Kiwako
- Where: Meribia - Port District
- Date: June 22, 2024
- Summary: Team Rocket learns of a ship sailing into Meribia loaded with magical artifacts and goods. And that means it's time for PIRACY. In this case, by stealing the entire ship.
<Pose Tracker> Giovanni has posed.
Meribia's harbor is quite busy. Magical items have been sold in Meribia throughout its history, and today, there is a ship coming that has gathered goods from both Neo-Vane and Pendrago. It is a massive wooden frigate, with two masts and sails...
And it even looks much too big. The sort of broad, almost swollen hull that says 'this boat has lots of treasure.' So there are some guards on the harbor, watching as it comes in -- and keeping an eye on the crowd.
The seas glitter, the sun shining off them. There are a few boats out there.
And several of those rock to and fro, as two huge sea serpents rise up before the boat.
Those familiar with Energy Nede would recognize those: Gyrardos. The blue and white sea serpents lift up above the boat, which is trying to turn -- and on the back of it are young men and women in black outfits, with a red R on their chests.
And on the head of one are two Guado; they wear black coats, with the R emblazoned on the left breast, and then high-tech armor. One is broad-shouldered, with a shield; the other is lean and wiry, with light green hair that is spiked up.
Biggs glances at Wedge, then nods. "All right!" he yells. "We've got this specially-made painting, right here!"
Wedge hoists up a small painting, which gleams with Symbols. "The Vanishing of Miss Florence!" Wedge says. "Hell if I know how it'll work, but in ten minutes, it'll teleport whatever it touches away!"
The power of Item Creation.
"So..." Biggs yells, and then leaps -- followed by Wedge -- onto the deck of the ship. It sways, a little, as Wedge slams the painting down into the ship's deck. It lodges in, and then Symbols begin to glow over the deck. The Captain begins to run from them.
"Our boat now!" Biggs bellows.
For those here, in the harbor, they'll need to get here -- somehow. Fortunately, there are a lot of boats... and other means.
<Pose Tracker> Jessie and James has posed.
"Prepare for trouble..." "... and make it double!"
Oh, no.
"To protect Filgaia from false messiahs!" "To unite the desires of all pariahs!"
Oh, NO.
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" "To extend our reach to the stars above!"
Jessie and James ride in atop the head of a company Gyarados, announcing themselves across the waters via microphones powered by some strange Nedian technology: "Jessie!" "James!" And as they leap to the boat, Jessie reaches out, as James holds his signature rose. "Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!" "Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
"NYAAAAAOWWWWWWWWWWW," Meowth yowls, claws dug into the tail of that Gyarados, before he's finally flung onto the deck of the ship -- sopping wet. "Mrawr, MRWARRRRRRR!"
"Shut up, Meowth," Jessie sniffs, haughtily, as she turns to the ship. "This isn't about you hating the water. It's about profit!"
"Rich! Rich! We're gonna be rich!" James crows, as if he couldn't have untold riches if he'd just go home and get married already. But he's a self-made man, so he's going to steal his riches here.
<Pose Tracker> Mia Tamaoka has posed.
Mia is clinging for dear life on the back of one of those Gyarados, psyching herself up. Time to prove herself. She's dressed in a black dress with a bright red R on the chest and that black baker cap. The other grunts might go wherever the gyarados are going to take them, but Mia intends to get in on the action.
She does watch Jessie and James' introduction though--that's still really cool to see. She'll have to remember to ask them for some pointers, because honestly it'd be kind of fun to do a dramatic speech like that...
She looks to Purri, riding on her shoulder (and clinging on for dear life) who looks back to her. They exchange a nod. Ready? Ready.
Mia chants something softly to herself and makes a leap from the back of a Gyarados, coming down way too fast for a moment. A whirling gust of wind catches her just before she lands in a tidy crouch, and as she stands up she throws out two pokeballs. "Silci, Rishi, I choose you!"
Out pop a Beautifly and a Whelpwisher, and Mia crosses her arms as she stares down anybody willing to act against them. "Let's do this."
DC: You switch forms to The Peregrine! DC: Josephine Lovelace switches forms to The Peregrine!
GS: Your next attack with the Sneak flag will display with the name Dark and Stormy.
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
As a woman of the sea, Layna has always loved the smell of the harbor. That wonderful smell that feels like home... for the sea is her home.
Today, Layna walks Meribia's harbor with her crew, listening to the hustle and bustle. Ordinarily, they'd draw attention given their notoriety... but today, something else happens that decidedly draws attention away from her.
A big boat, looking as if it's been packed to the brim. Layna's treasure senses are off the charts - if it were a few years earlier, she would've loved nothing more than to round up her crew, ready the ship, and take it for herself.
Dahlia, the Ruby Empress's quartermaster, looks her way. She can see the longing in Layna's eyes.
"Layna." Dahlia starts warningly. Layna looks her way, offering her a grin.
"It's alright for me to think it, right? Look at it, though. It's a beauty, isn't it? Wouldn't it be fun?" Layna says. Dahlia only frowns.
"Layna." She repeats. Layna begins her response - and that's when, in the distance, two massive sea serpents rise up from the waters, confronting the boat. A wide grin spreads across Layna's face.
"Well, Dahlia. Now I gotta, aye? Wouldn't be a fine, upstanding citizen if I just stood here and let 'em get robbed, now, would I?" Layna says. Dahlia stares... and then sighs, massaging her forehead.
"Fine. I trust you have a plan in mind, at the very least?" Dahlia says. Layna nods.
"Oh, I've got a plan, alright..." She says.
...And so not a few minutes later, one of the ships speeds out of the Meribia harbor toward the commandeered vessel - Layna's crew taking charge alongside any stowaways they might've picked up. A hastily-prepared flag, the symbol of the Ruby Empress(though the actual Ruby Empress itself is still back on Filgaia), flies from its mast. Layna stands at its fore, a wild grin on her face as her hair whips around her.
"Ahoy there, maties! You've got a lot of guts, going pirating in my seas! I like it!" Layna shouts. "And those uniforms! Really displaying the pirate spirit, there! But everyone knows a pirate's true love be the 'C'!"
She gestures dramatically, casting a spell as she does.
"Now! Surrender the goods and prepare to be boarded!" She calls out. A gust of wind rushes forward from behind the ship, causing it to pick up speed as it moves to shake off any potential pursuing Pokemon and come up beside Team Rocket's vessel and lower boarding ramps!
Despite what she says, though... only Layna is getting ready to cross over.
<Pose Tracker> Sable Aomori has posed.
Sable Aomori thinks that Lunar is very pretty. She's recently come into the harbor on the way from the other continent, and is looking at the big ship when it's suddeenly rocking. Gyarados happen, and Sable blinks once, slowly, before she undersands exactly what is happening here.
'R'...
Sable frowns. She instinctively reaches for a Pokeball--and then doesn't deploy it. Instead she pulls her hand away, and then narrows her eyes at the ship.
She is dressed in Nedian clothes, of course; cargo pants and a swim shirt, and her usual rune-inscribed sneakers. And her long brown hair is loose. Her seagreen eyes set on Biggs and Wedge.
"...That painting..."
Just as Layna arrives, Sable leaps for the water. But where she hits the water, she doesn't sink. Symbology flares around her as the water turns to ice at her steps, and the young ninja runs across the sea towardsd the ship.
She somersaults from sea level up towards the deck, and drops into a fighting stance.
"...I don't like Team Rocket," Sable says.
Her eyes flick to Jessie and James, and then to Mia.
"I'm Sable Aomori. And I'm going to fight you."
<Pose Tracker> Chase has posed.
"HIYAH!"
Starmie is a Pokemon with two separate parts: one that can be stationary while the other whirls.
Staryu is not that Pokemon, whirling across the sea at rapid pace, carrying Chase, who in turn carries Pikachu, to the treasure ship across the see. It whips them up onto the deck, and Chase teeters and spins his next few steps before falling forward. Pikachu tumbles out of his grip, doing a few somersaults before landing in a flop.
"Pi... ka..."
...
"Pika!"
Pikachu pops right back up, slapping her cheeks a few times, while Chase peels his face off of the floor. Both of them look over the situation, with Staryu waddling up to join them in looking from the members of Team Rocket, to the treasure, to the painting, and then to the Drifters. Mia gets a distracted wave. Pikachu gives Purri, Silci, and Rishi a much more enthusiastic, paw high in the air wave.
Slowly, Chase sits up, cross-legged. He and his Pokemon give everything a second look around. They're not... stealing Pokemon right now. But it will go to funding stealing Pokemon, and further putting Team Rocket in position to direct Nede's future to one Chase doesn't want to see.
He stands, dusting himself up, while Pikachu suddenly leaps to all fours with sparking cheeks and determined eyebrows to go with her delighted smile. Chase rubs the back of his neck with an apologetic look and shrug of his shoulders toward Mia. He has to stop Team Rocket. He told her that he would fight against them.
...But as far as he knows, Mia has reservations about being with them. He doesn't know about her more recent change of heart.
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
There are a lot of reasons for someone like Josie to be in a place like Meribia. For one thing, she's not on any of the wanted posters here (always a plus). For another, the exchange rate between gella and Lunarian silver has been pretty hot lately. And for a third, a lot of the odd jobs around Meribia (that call for a woman like her) are fairly easily done (especially if you're armed like a woman like her).
And if you're a woman like Josephine, getting some (possibly considerable) money in your pocket and not getting arrested in the process is a pretty sweet deal. Energy Nede is nice and all, and it's true that she needs to focus on the Fields, but she's got more than one iron in the fire and it's not like rocket parts come cheap.
(Wait, what was that about rockets? Nothing, you heard nothing.)
But speaking of Rockets-with-a-capital-R--
"Huh," Josie remarks from the dockside, taking a long drag from her rollup cigarette. "Now ain't that a thing. Didn't think they were off 'round here any." Stretching her long limbs, she's quick to toss her cigarette down onto the cobbles and grind it out under a bootheel. "Well, it ain't my business or none," she remarks aloud, then glances sidelong at a particular pigeon who is busily investigating some discarded frittes. "Now behave yourself while I go get a little air, right?"
Penelope doesn't even bother to stop poking at the abandoned street food.
"So," Josie says a man with a fishing boat not long after that, "I reckon today'll be your lucky day!" She withdraws her wallet and shakes it. It jingles promisingly.
NOT TERRIBLY LONG AFTER THAT, REALLY
Josie, with some difficulty, climbs over the side of the boat. She shakes out her right hand and grimaces. With her left, she salutes cheekily--
And immediately draws her rifle from where it's been slung across her back. "Ain't no shame in turnin' tail, now!" she remarks, not immediately leveling the weapon at that particular pair of Rockets (read: Jessie and James). "But if you'd like to dance, I ain't gonna say no!"
<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.
Shige is Meribia for a few reasons. Most nominally, she hasn't been there in a while being first and foremost. For a myriad of reasons really.
Still, she's dressed up a little for the situation. Mind you, she's also here on her own little beat up ship, letting it double as a normal ship. Mostly with a creative use of canvas covers and netting. And you know, she remembers what more mundane ships look like.
Sitting on the deck, drinking tea (And it's just tea!) she grumbles as something pulls her out of a reverie.
Or the person's shade behind her poking her in the back of the head repeatedly when she's not paying enough attention at this time.
An ear flicks up and she mutters, "That's a bit rude." at something spoken. Though she does get up, shake herself off and disappears into the cabin.
When she returns, well she's not wearing a local dress. She's got a water proofed bag slung across her shoulders and the clothing is a little more water friendly.
The reasons are clear enough why as she takes a running leap off of the deck and into the water where, well, she goes for a swim despite being of a feline nature.
It's when she surfaces some distance away and dives again that it becomes abundantly clear even if it weren't before. And when she hauls herself out of the water, onto the rigging and over a railing. Well. She looks like a drowned cat.
She shakes herself off and out comes her lantern. "Harbor master thinks you're trying to skip out."
Then she glances back and mutters, "Yes I thought it was funny." and readies herself.
<Pose Tracker> Giovanni has posed.
There is a collective groan from Biggs and Wedge, both, at the noise that the very wet Meowth makes.
Fortunately, events distract them.
"Biggs," Wedge says, with a glance at the water. "Incoming."
"Wha--"
The two Guado both turn and look at the boat, with the Ruby Empress's flag flying, that is rushing in. They both blink at the mention of the 'C' -- they're not the sharpest with puns -- and then the wind gusts...
...and several Team Rocket grunts and their Pokemon are blown into the water. A Jigglypuff bounces on the water; a Magikarp flops.
Biggs and Wedge both grab hold of the railing. "Did... we find a real pirate?" Wedge asks.
"Looks like," Biggs answers his friend. He frowns, then he shouts down: "We're not handing anything over! Now, get back, or--"
"Did... we find a real ninja?" Wedge asks.
Biggs's eyebrow twitches. "That would be ridicu--" And then Sable slams down into the deck, causing Biggs to stumble back, and he grits his teeth. Then, he shakes his head.
"Mia! Jessie! James!" he calls out. "Looks like we've got challengers!"
And several, at that. There's a wary glance at Chase and his Pikauchu from Biggs; a concerned frown from Wedge, in Josie's and Shige's directions.
Biggs and Wedge spring into action. Biggs rushes for Sable, and mid-step, he yanks his broadsword free. He swings it down as he closes on her -- the air around the blade compresses, then explodes outward as a fang of blue-white light that goes flying towards Sable.
"Air Slash!"
Wedge, for his part, looks down at Layna. Just before she can leap out of the boat, he throws a hand out -- and then a thick, noxious green mist begins to rise up around her, before exploding with a pop.
"Bring it!" Wedge calls down to her.
GS: Giovanni has attacked Sable Aomori with Biggs - Air Slash! GS: Giovanni has gained 1 Combo! GS: Giovanni spends 1 Combo on Poison! GS: Giovanni has attacked Layna Manydays with Wedge - Biora! GS: Giovanni has completed his action. GS: Layna Manydays perfectly evades Giovanni's Wedge - Biora for 0 hit points! GS: Poison blocked! GS: Layna Manydays has gained 1 Combo! GS: COUNTER! Sable Aomori counterattacks Giovanni with Rock Breaker! GS: CRITICAL! Sable Aomori fails to charge Giovanni's Biggs - Air Slash for 186 hit points! GS: Disrupt applied to Sable Aomori! GS: Shield applied to Giovanni! GS: FP up! Power Burst! GS: Giovanni fails to guard Sable Aomori's Rock Breaker for 152 hit points! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus!
<Pose Tracker> Jessie and James has posed.
Jessie and James have so much to say about dramatic speeches. They are all about the drama.
Including, in Jessie's case, the drama of being known. "Hmph... and Team Rocket doesn't like you, little girl!" She turns up her nose, when Sable insists she's not a fan.
"Eek!" James yelps, leaping into her arms and thoroughly interrupting her spite. "SHE HAS A GUN!" He was paying attention to the ruffian climbing over the side of the ship, anyway.
"Wh-- they all have guns, James, it's Filgaia! Get off!" Jessie shoves him to the ground, and brushes herself off... and by the end of it, she's holding a chain-whip, somehow. Where was she keeping that? (In her hair, probably. Have you seen her hair? Are we sure she's not half-Guado?) James, when he picks himself up, somehow has his signature rose in hand too. Look closely -- there are symbols on the petals. That's no flower! It's an Unconvential RPG Weapon--!!
"Mrowrrrr!!" Meowth yowls, as he points a paw at his fellow drowned cat, Shige. "Mra, mrah? Myaow... meh!" Is he trying diplomacy? Surely Shige understands that being wet is THE WORST, even if Biggs and Wedge and Jessie and James are ALL UNSYMPATHETIC, HOW COULD YOU. (Mia might still get a pass.) "Mraaaaaah!" Surely, if they join their feline powers together, they can never suffer water ever again!
Unfortunately, he's just kind of Meowthing and gesturing wildly, so Shige might not understand him at all. (He still has all seven of his lives.)
"Challengers," Jessie sniffs, glancing sidelong to the Pirate Ninja Party before returning her gaze to the medium and -- she's not sure what to call Josie, but whatever she is, she has a gun. "James, you know what to do!"
"Hm, hm, hm..." James chuckles, as he holds his rose, with a terrible smirk. "Deep Mist!"
Much like the smog-clouds of his Koffing, James summons the mists to cloud their foes' sight... though the ice-based Deep Mist is at least easier to breathe.
GS: Jessie and James has attacked Shige Kiwako with Deep Mist! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Deep Mist! GS: Jessie and James has gained 2 Combo! GS: Jessie and James has completed their action. GS: Shige Kiwako critically fails to evade Jessie and James's Deep Mist for 59 hit points! GS: Blind applied to Shige Kiwako! GS: FP up! Arcane Font! GS: Josephine Lovelace mostly guards Jessie and James's Deep Mist for 30 hit points! GS: Blind applied to Josephine Lovelace! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus! GS: Josephine Lovelace has Fallen! She is no longer able to fight! GS: Your FP has been set to 52. GS: Your HP has been set to 720.
<Pose Tracker> Mia Tamaoka has posed.
Purri, for once, is in perfect agreement with Meowth. There's a reason she was clinging to Mia so tightly, to stay out of the water as much as possible. "We'll g-get you a warm fluffy towel wh-when we're done, Meowth!"
Mia blinks, as Layna makes her declaration to surrender the goods. "... W-ait, that Magilou person tried to steal the statue w-we were trying to steal last time, and now she wants to take what we're stealing, too..." She frowns a little as she chews on that. "Is this g-going to happen every time we steal something on Lunar...?"
And suddenly Sable is there, in a fighting stance without any pokemon. She's going to fight... Mia isn't sure what to say to that, so she just nods. "Okay."
And then Chase faceplants on the deck. "Chase?!" Mia starts forward a half a step before a soft meow from Purri stops her. Mia looks between her and Chase. "... I know, but..."
"Purr, purrloin."
"... I g-guess you're right."
Mia has an awkward wave for Chase. "You okay?" She just means the faceplant, she doesn't think the everything else is okay. Meanwhile, Silci and Rishi give their own waves to Pikachu, while Purri has a more subdued greeting.
Mia does flinch a little as Josie brandishes a gun--it's not aimed at her but... that's something she's going to have to get used to, too, isn't it?
And Shige is there... Mia frowns, unsure of what that lantern will do... but that's not her problem right now.
Biggs and Wedge call out that they've got challengers. "R-right!"
She's not fighting herself, but she unfolds her arms and takes a more ready stance. "W-we're on opposite sides right now. So w-we have to fight. And..." Her stare sets more firmly. "I'm not h-holding back.
"Rishi, Rolling Kick!"
"Whelp!" Rishi springs forward, flipping herself upside down and whirling about with both legs, which extend ridiculously far to lash out at Pikachu.
GS: Mia Tamaoka has attacked Chase with Rolling Kick! GS: Mia Tamaoka has gained 2 Combo! GS: Mia Tamaoka has completed her action. GS: Chase mostly guards Mia Tamaoka's Rolling Kick for 38 hit points! GS: Disrupt applied to Chase! GS: Delay blocked! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus!
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
Layna challenges Team Rocket... and it's not long after that a girl leaps up onto the deck of the ship from the water. Layna does a double-take.
"Lass, are my eyes deceiving me, or did you run here?" Layna asks. She grins, though. "Well, if you're no fan of them, likes like we're in the same boat, aye?"
...She did it again...
Biggs and Wedge rally their allies. Jessie looks toward the Pirate Ninja Party - and Layna offers her a tip of the hat, and then to Mia, as she asks herself a question.
That's not a 'no'.
With that, Layna turns her attention forward.
Wedge faces her, and throws a hand out. A spell - rather than defend herself, Layna holds her breath and leaps through it. A wall of wind surrounds her, dispersing the noxious mist before it can settle in too deeply... and increasing her speed as she flies toward Wedge, fist hauled back.
"Aye, well said, lad! Let's get that blood pumping!" Layna calls back with a grin, her fist slamming forward him.
Ah, a good fight amidst the ocean breeze... Oh, how she's missed this.
GS: Layna Manydays has attacked Giovanni with Dread Momentum! GS: Layna Manydays has gained 1 Combo! GS: Layna Manydays's stances have changed to Avenger! GS: Layna Manydays gains 5 FP from her Daredevil! GS: Layna Manydays has completed her action. GS: Giovanni critically fails to charge Layna Manydays's Dread Momentum for 174 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Giovanni gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Riposte applied to Layna Manydays! GS: Healthy! For entering Condition Green, Giovanni receives 113 temporary hit points. GS: Giovanni enters CONDITION GREEN!!
<Pose Tracker> Sable Aomori has posed.
Jessie retorts, and Sable glares back. "You won't beat me by feeding the enemy today!"
Wait, what?
Sable is a real ninja! She also looks a lot like the Rocket executive Anne--there's a reason for that.
But now, as Biggs grits his teeth, Sable looks stoically back. He's taller than her, rare for the tall young woman--and she isn't openly holding weapons. She doesn't need to for the moment, though. His Air Slash explodes outward.
Sable is still new to fighting people for real, outside sparring matches--so she makes a reckless gambit. She makes a few gesures with her hands and calls out, "Rock Breaker!"
Through the Air Slash and below it comes a line of rocky chi that explodes upward at Biggs--as the Air Slash impacts Sable, knocking her from her feet and across the deck. "Ooof--"
But Layna is here, so as she gets up Sable can confirm, "I did. Though I cheated a little and froze the surface of the water..."
Layna seems a lot more ready for this thn Sable is, so Sable tries to draw courage from a Real Pirate.
Then, Sable rises up to her full height again, and pulls two small swords from seemingly nowhere at all. They shine in the sunlight, before she hefts them before her, and makes a Symbol with the arrangement of their blades. "Ancient technique--"
"STONE-SHATTERING SLASH!"
Sable leaps towards Biggs and slams both swords down for him, cutting in an 'X' meant to break his armor outright!
GS: Sable Aomori spends 2 Combo on Gatling, loading 2 into Gatling! GS: Sable Aomori has attacked Giovanni with Stone-Shattering Slash! GS: Sable Aomori has gained 1 Combo! GS: Sable Aomori has completed her action. GS: Giovanni critically fails to guard Sable Aomori's Stone-Shattering Slash for 367 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Giovanni gains 1 additional Combo!
<Pose Tracker> Chase has posed.
Chase rubs his nose, but nods to Mia and shows his palm. See? It's not even bloody. Whether or not this should be Chase's metric for how 'okay' he is will have to be someone else's concern.
He own attention flits to the guns and various other dangerous implements being wielded here, and Mia's own reaction to it. Chase has learned that Pokemon can be just as threatening against the weapons on these other planets, but they're still unsettling... As long as he's fighting Mia, then no one else is brandishing more firearms or swords or whatever else at her, either.
That's the hope, anyway.
Meeting Mia's gaze, Chase gives a single, firm nod in response to that declaration, his eyes intense with the same intent. Don't hold back.
With a sharp whistle, Pikachu braces herself, enduring the whirling kick from Rishi with her tail as a shield, the impact of it knocking her back several feet as her paws skid across the deck. Her cheeks spark, and lightning erupts out of her, lashing in static arcs with her own disruptive efforts.
Staryu, meanwhile, whirls clockwise, then counter clockwise, back and forth by Chase's head. He's constantly watching the other members of Team Rocket, even as Chase's attention falls squarely on his battle with Mia.
GS: Chase has attacked Mia Tamaoka with Thunder Wave! GS: Chase has gained 3 Combo! GS: Chase's stances have changed to Sage! GS: Chase has completed his action. GS: Mia Tamaoka fails to evade Chase's Thunder Wave for 31 hit points! GS: Disrupt and Hex applied to Mia Tamaoka!
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
'It's Filgaia!' Jessie shouts, prompting Josie's already self-assured expression to split into a lop-sided grin. "It's Lunar, right? Or're you lot meant to be somewhere else altogether?" Josie remarks, turning her head to glance over at the other Rockets.
Oh, there's Mia. Hi Mia! Josie waves. This may not be the sort of attention Mia is looking for, but fortunately, Jessie and James will soon see to it that Josie's attention is kept very much elsewhere.
Which is to say--
"Casting a spell? We'll see about that," Josie says, static electricity beginning to dance in the air before her as James begins to invoke Symbology. "O, thou...!"
She rarely completes the incantation in the first place, but this time around the invocation is cut off by a coughing fit. The partially-formed shield manages to stave off some of the growing fog around her, but only just. Perhaps if she had ever really paid attention in her Symbology classes she would have tried a different approach than this.
But what's done is done. Waving a hand before her to clear the air, Josie hops but one step back and squints one eye closed. Even with that haze, she's got a fair chance of landing a hit. In one smooth rise her rifle lifts and she cracks off that shot for James.
As they say, shoot the healer first -- but shooting the mage is also not a bad pick.
GS: Josephine Lovelace has attacked Jessie and James with Screwdriver! GS: Josephine Lovelace has gained 1 Combo! GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Jessie and James critically fails to evade Josephine Lovelace's Screwdriver for 176 hit points! GS: Cripple and Jam applied to Jessie and James! GS: FP up! Countermeasures!
<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.
Shige's response to Meowth is a curious one. She looks back and forth between the two. She doesn't understand the pokemon, but it's not hard to figure out what the complaint is. "If you help me out here I've got fish back on my ship and a nice dry towel." And an enclosed crew cabin. It's also a ghost ship, but shh.
She can try diplomacy too!
She's admittedly going to try and get out of the way of the fog, not fully knowing what it was. And you know, she's covered in water and it's icy cold and, "Hey it's just like being home again." It's a joke, but there's a flat edge to it.
There is a sidelong glance to Mia, visible through the mist. It's a disapproving look. And it's clear she's trying to keep at least a bit of an eye. They had a deal. But she has other problems.
There is something to be said for creeping mist though when your forte is ghosts and creepy things right? She borrows some of it. The form starting to coalesce near the light. A chanting figure, dressed vaguely like a local preacher. Faded robes, hollow eyes. Distant, creepy chanting as he seems to go through something of a blessing.
The feline leans in, murmuring something to the figure as she walks forward through the swirling mist. Trying to find her way using the ghostly blue light of her lantern.
The chant isn't comforting though. Bringing with it that feeling of something wrong. Dark even.
"I do appreciate teh assistance you know." Standing there in the mist. Two shadowy figures near her. Spooky lights. It's fun.. even if the situation itself isn't. Maybe she's trying to scare them off? That's how all the old ghost stories went!
Shige does glance towards Josie, "I think they might be lost now that you mention it."
Shige.. might take offense to the idea of shooting the healer first.
Admittedly she is more or less doing the same thing in a sense. Just you know, with a different kind of vibe. And less painful for now.
GS: Shige Kiwako has attacked Jessie and James with Haunted Ground! GS: Shige Kiwako has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Giovanni has posed.
"Ah, crap--" Wedge swears, as Layna leaps through his spell -- wind blowing the poisonous mist backward -- and then coems down for him. Her fist slams into the Monk, knocking him backward. He falls backward.
Then, Wedge rolls backward, and comes back up into a three-point stance. He leaps, then, and rushes at Layna. As he gets closer, he does a tight backflip -- and swings up his feet, kicking at her twice as he does a backflip for that very purpose.
"Don't think I'll hold back, then!" Wedge says.
Biggs stumbles backward when Saber's blades slam into his armor, leaving it cracked -- though not broken. It is a rather high tech material, after all. He grunts, before he swings his shield up defensively, and holds his sword out to the side.
"Let me show you how it's done," Biggs says, before he lunges forward. He swings his sword down with a mighty cleave across Sable.
When it closes in, it explodes with a burst of blue-violet light.
GS: Giovanni spends 1 Combo on Interrupt! GS: Giovanni has attacked Layna Manydays with Wedge - Roaring Cartwheel! GS: Giovanni has attacked Sable Aomori with Biggs - Armor Break! GS: Giovanni has completed his action. GS: CRITICAL! Sable Aomori critically fails to guard Giovanni's Biggs - Armor Break for 123 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Sable Aomori gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Break and Slow applied to Sable Aomori! GS: Quick applied to Giovanni! GS: FP up! Power Burst! GS: Gamble: Moderate! Layna Manydays mostly evades Giovanni's Wedge - Roaring Cartwheel for 68 hit points! GS: Interrupt applied to Layna Manydays! GS: FP up! Power Burst! GS: Layna Manydays has lost 2 Combo from Interrupt! GS: Jessie and James mostly guards Shige Kiwako's Haunted Ground for 0 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Jessie and James gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Hex applied to Jessie and James! GS: Quick applied to Shige Kiwako! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus!
<Pose Tracker> Jessie and James has posed.
"Eeehh? This is Lunar?!" Jessie asks Josie, scrunching up her nose. "It's all distant planets, to me!"
Meanwhile, Meowth strokes his chin, seriously considering Shige's offer. "Mrrr..." He meows, because unlike Purri, his Team haven't promised him a towel at all.
Unfortunately, his consideration is cut short by Jessie turning to him and brandishing a water spritzer menacingly (WHERE DID SHE GET THAT.) "Don't you dare betray us, Meowth!"
"Mraaaaa!!" Meowth yowls, all his fur standing on end.
Meanwhile, James can be heard laughing like a smug little jerk as Josie declares his spellcasting won't go so easily, only for to go exactly that easily. "Hmhmhmhmhm!"
Tragically, his smugness is cut short... by a bullet, which catches him just as he turns to the side. "OWIE!" He yelps, as he jumps five feet into the air, clutching his behind. Did -- did Josie shoot him in the --
He's all teary-eyed as he looks up to find a strange, spectral vision. "Huh?" He asks, his eyes going wide. "What a babe..." ... he's transfixed by the ghost. Oh no.
"James, you numbskull!" Jessie snaps, as she steps up, cracking her chain-whip. "Ugh, fine -- it's my turn! Eat SPIRAL LASH!" And she does, in fact, turn in a spiral, her whip cracking out to lash at the air, creating a terrible shockwave around her. Even if it doesn't hit, it's still going to be hard to deal with--!!
GS: Jessie and James has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Spiral Lash! GS: Jessie and James has gained 1 Combo! GS: Jessie and James enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Shige Kiwako with Spiral Lash! GS: Jessie and James has gained 2 Combo! GS: Jessie and James enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Jessie and James has completed their action. GS: Josephine Lovelace fails to evade Jessie and James's Spiral Lash for 171 hit points! GS: Mighty applied to Jessie and James!
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"Hey, I'm the last person who can get on your case for cheating. If it works, it works, aye?" Layna replies to Sable with a grin. She watches her fight. Layna's an experienced fighter, so she can tell when someone isn't used to fighting people for real... Still, she's definitely got potential, Layna can tell.
"You're doing good!" She encourages.
And then, she punches Wedge. He falls backward - but recovers smoothly and rushes toward her. He does a backflip, and Layna dodges to the side as his feet swing out - but he still manages to catch her square in the shoulder with those kicks, halting her charge. His movements are good, she'll give him that. They definitely haven't atrophied.
"Oh, I'd be insulted if you did." Layna says. She rushes forward, then dodges to the side at the last second as her hand lashes out with a swiping motion. It's an indirect attack - to steal away his stamina and add it to her own reserves.
GS: Layna Manydays has attacked Giovanni with Plunder Life! GS: Layna Manydays has gained 1 Combo! GS: Layna Manydays gains 5 FP from her Daredevil! GS: Layna Manydays has completed her action. GS: Shige Kiwako mostly evades Jessie and James's Spiral Lash for 57 hit points! GS: Mighty applied to Jessie and James! GS: Interrupt! Attack weakened! GS: Giovanni critically fails to evade Layna Manydays's Plunder Life for 168 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Giovanni gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Hyper applied to Layna Manydays! GS: Layna Manydays drains Giovanni! Layna Manydays gains 96 temporary hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Sable Aomori has posed.
"Really?" Sable wonders of Layna. "I guess you are a pirate..."
Sable tries to press her advanage with her weapons, but is knocked backward by Biggs's superior physicality and his shield. "Ngh--"
He lunges forward, and thhat mighty cleave hacks into her Symbologically-enhanced shirt, the enchantments protecting her sparking wildly as she's knocked backwards by the blast of light. "I see..."
She feels weakened, hurt--but she isn't quite ready to chance a hit like that again. So instead, she focuses, and starts chanting--
Her inborn Symbology manifess in a burst of blue healing light!
"...I can still do this, though."
GS: Sable Aomori has attacked Sable Aomori with Condition Cure! GS: Sable Aomori has completed her action. GS: Sable Aomori accepts Sable Aomori's Condition Cure for 0 hit points! GS: Restore! Break, Disrupt, and Slow removed! GS: Burst and Lock state applied to Sable Aomori!
<Pose Tracker> Mia Tamaoka has posed.
Mia glances over to Jessie, over the Filgaia confusion. "... Lunar is F-Filgaia's moon," she points out. So not another planet, in other words.
"Purr, purrloin, purr," calls Purri to Meowth. Would the Boss' top cat turn on Team Rocket that easily? (Is she helping him or goading him? Or is it both?)
Mia blinks as Layna tips her hat at her. She's... not sure how to take that. Mia glances to Purri, who likewise glances back and offers a "Mrowr?" She's not sure either.
Mia's focusing her attention on Cahse, but... is also secretly observing Sable in action, too. They're Rivals, after all, and even if Mia can't keep up with her like that now... Well, it's another goal to aim for, with her own training.
But Chase shows that he's alright, and Mia is, honestly, a little relieved for that. That might be a mionor concern, all things considered, but still. She nods back to him, confirming that she understands.
Chase is also determined not to hold back. That makes this easier, in a weird way.
Mia sees those sparks forming, "Rishi, get out of the way!" Rish tries to spring back but is hit by Pikachu's thunderwave, electricity crackling over her body as she stumbles back, twitching and trying to regain control of herself.
Josie chooses to wave to Mia, though, and Mia blinks and waves back, mostly by reflex. Upon reflection, she's been... pretty chill about Mia being in Team Rocket, for some reason. Should she ask the Drifter about that sometime...?
Shige's reaction is more like the one she expected, though. But they've been over this before, and Mia isn't in a mood to argue at the moment. And besides, she's not tricking any ghosts for her Crime efforts, so the deal is still on! She does pinch the bridge of her nose as Shige manifests a helpful spirit, though.
Of course that would be Shige's move.
Mia frowns, considering. It's not great terrain, but the type advantage might help... She extends a pokeball to recall Rishi, then throws one out with a call of, "Go, Chira!" Chira the Trapinch pops out, gnashing her jaws excitedly.
"Chira! Use Bite!"
"Trap, trapinch!" Chira charges forward in a mad scramble of limbs, lunging at Pikachu and gnashing out with her jaws.
GS: Mia Tamaoka spends 1 Combo on Interrupt! GS: Mia Tamaoka has attacked Chase with Bite! GS: Mia Tamaoka has gained 1 Combo! GS: Mia Tamaoka gains 5 FP from Sufferer! GS: Mia Tamaoka has completed her action. GS: Chase mostly guards Mia Tamaoka's Bite for 37 hit points! GS: Mute applied to Chase! GS: Cripple and Interrupt blocked! GS: Chase has lost 2 Combo from Interrupt!
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
She glances sidelong at Shige and again smiles in that lopsided manner. "Maybe, maybe not." Maybe they just missed a memo somewhere--
Which seems fairly likely as the rest of the Rockets seem to be about their business pretty solidly-like, while Jessie goes on to quickly decide that the specifics of where they are don't much matter. "Fair enough, fair enough," Josie remarks, shrugging her shoulders. "Still, I came all this way out here just to see what you lot are up to, right," she continues, "so I ain't about leavin' you be. Not to late to back down!"
She says, before James casts a spell (which is more effective than Josie would liked considering her counterspell; he's smug about it too which really crumples her napkin!), and before she retaliates if, not in kind, then certainly in spirit. "Right, and there's more where that came from!" Her gaze sweeps towards his partner (in crime!) and Josie realizes quite suddenly she has a problem as Jessie picks up speed with that whip of hers...! An attempt to dodge out of the way goes criminally, and Josie is sent careening for a railing, mercifully spared a short drop into the harbor below. But it does mean that her rifle is over there and Josie is over here, and what's a girl to do?
"Painra!" she calls out, jabbing a finger towards Jessie. The energy that rips through the air is the precise color of a fresh nasty bruise.
Spirans: also practicing some Symbology traditions!
GS: Josephine Lovelace spends 2 Combo on Poison and Interrupt! GS: Josephine Lovelace has attacked Jessie and James with Painra! GS: Josephine Lovelace has gained 1 Combo! GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action. GS: Jessie and James mostly guards Josephine Lovelace's Painra for 20 hit points! GS: Interrupt and Poison applied to Jessie and James! GS: Jessie and James has lost 2 Combo from Interrupt!
<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.
Shige calls out, "Hey come on, that's just rude." at the spray bottle. She's not that kind of cat. She's not even bothered by water, but she gets it!
That is replaced by a concerned look at Jamese falling head over heels for the ghost. Who also shares that look with the shaman for a brief moment. "Keep going." She murmurs to the ghost, who just nods and resumes the chant.
There is however, other concerns. Even if that's suddenly higher on the list than she'd thought. Should she be staging an exorcism maybe? There's a sharp shake of her head and she gets her mind back together. Tails the only real give away that she's- well, she was distracted, but there's some grace to her when she hops back and away from the whiplash. Feeling the sting, but only catching part of it.
The response is immediate. A figure stepping out of the mist. Visible at first and fading to a flickering shade. A figure wearing old fashioned armor, tattered remnants of a doublet being the most obvious sign this is another spectral helper for the feline. He pushes past her, hand moving to put Shige behind him as he stabs forward with the biting cold blade, leading it into a wide sweep immediately after.
At the same time another figure wearing robes and a wide hat raises her hand. Bringing a second chant to the immediate area, though this one brings a feeling of peace and calm. An old healing spell. For once, Shige's shadow is behaving normally. All of her friends have started to appear! (Even if most are new friends...)
"Would have been quieter at least." She admits to Josie's comment. Though the spell callout does get her to flick an ear. She doesn't.. question it. Out loud.
She's struggling a little, manifesting this much. Maybe she's pushing herself though.
She does call out to the side for a brief moment, "Focus." To Mia. She's well aware she's not focusing herself. You can tell others to do the smart thing even when you yourself aren't.
Though there is a realization that another person that had asked for tutelage might be out and about and- "Later. Later later later." She mutters to herself. Eyes forward again.
GS: Shige Kiwako has attacked Jessie and James with Reap! GS: Shige Kiwako has gained 1 Combo! GS: Shige Kiwako has launched an attack Link! GS: Shige Kiwako has attacked Josephine Lovelace with And Sew! GS: Shige Kiwako has gained 3 Combo! GS: Shige Kiwako gains 5 FP from Gleam! GS: Shige Kiwako has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Shige Kiwako heals Josephine Lovelace! She gains 186 temporary hit points! GS: Regen applied to Josephine Lovelace!
<Pose Tracker> Chase has posed.
Meowth is getting spitzed! With no towels! Staryu flashes its gem in alarm, and Chase looks over with a start himself. He rummages in his bag and hands Staryu something. Staryu floats over to Meowth and offers him a Poke Puff. Then Staryu begins spinning, acting like fan blades to try and dry Meowth off with a pathetic gust of air. Well, it's not exactly a flying type.
But the battle still continues.
A ground type Pokemon emerges, and Chase gives an urgent whistle while Pikachu balls up as she's chomped upon with a determined, "PiKA!" But Chira's jaws still give a decisive chomp, and Pikachu's shocked into unfurling. More shocking -- or the opposite of shocking -- is that her threatening sparking is doing... nothing at all!
She points at Chira and looks back at Chase, aghast. A whistle commands her back, and Pikachu rushes back to Chase's side, shouting "Piiiiiika!" while Chase spins a toss of another ball onto the field. Light explodes into a Nidoran. ... Poison's not much of a better choice when it comes to ground, is it? Chase watches, tensely balling his fingers into a fist, opening and closing it again. He whistles a sound, short and then long, to command his Pokemon. (Fire's not much a better choice here, and Staryu is busy. Or is there another reason Chase won't send Staryu out right now?)
Nidoran paws at the ground and roars out... a squeak, as usual. A stammered, tiny squeak. But as he lowers his horn, water droplets gather together and then launch out in disorienting, rippling pulses.
GS: Chase has activated Force Action: Fury Shot! GS: Chase has attacked Mia Tamaoka with Water Pulse! GS: Chase has completed his action.
<Pose Tracker> Giovanni has posed.
Layna's swipe catches Wedge along his chest. He takes a couple of halting steps backward, red light leeching from him and into the pirate. He hisses softly. "Damn--not bad."
His movement puts him closer to Biggs, who also takes a couple of steps backward. His eyes are on Sable, as he watches her use a healing Symbol -- there's a furrowing of his brow. Symbology was rare indeed in Spira, but not unheard of.
And, when one worked for Maester Seymour, a master Black Mage, they have a way of hearing about rare magic.
"Clever," he says. He looks at Biggs. "Ready, partner?"
"Let's do it!"
"RIGHT!"
Wedge jumps a little to his left. They take stock, the two former Guado Guardians putting Sable and Layna both between them. Then, they rush in as one -- Wedge rushes for them, striking with his armored knuckles with a one-two punch at Sable, then spinning into a roundhouse kick at Layna.
And Biggs runs in, at the same time, his sword swinging out with both hands -- in a ferocious chop, aimed at cleaving past them both with that mighty swing.
As they both rush in, there is a brilliant, deep red flash of light that forms after both -- and when they cross between their two opponents, those flashes of light meet.
Forming, briefly, a red X.
GS: Giovanni has activated Force Action: Lock On! GS: Giovanni has activated Force Action: Full Clip! GS: Giovanni spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: Giovanni has attacked Layna Manydays with X-Strike! GS: Giovanni has gained 1 Combo! GS: Giovanni spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: Giovanni enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Giovanni has attacked Sable Aomori with X-Strike! GS: Giovanni has gained 2 Combo! GS: Giovanni enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Giovanni has completed his action. GS: Layna Manydays mostly evades Giovanni's X-Strike for 179 hit points! GS: FP up! Power Burst! GS: Sable Aomori critically fails to evade Giovanni's X-Strike for 325 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Sable Aomori gains 1 additional Combo! GS: FP up! Power Burst! GS: CRITICAL! Jessie and James fails to evade Shige Kiwako's Reap for 194 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Jessie and James gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Quick applied to Shige Kiwako! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus! GS: Shige Kiwako drains Jessie and James! Shige Kiwako gains 100 temporary hit points! GS: CRITICAL! Mia Tamaoka mostly charges Chase's Water Pulse for 92 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Mia Tamaoka gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Misery adds Hex, Blind, and Delay! GS: Blind, Delay, and Hex applied to Mia Tamaoka! GS: Quick applied to Chase! GS: Healthy! For entering Condition Green, Mia Tamaoka receives 78 temporary hit points. GS: Mia Tamaoka enters CONDITION GREEN!!
<Pose Tracker> Jessie and James has posed.
"Mraaa?!" Meowth yowls, when Purri reminds him he's the top cat. "Mee-OWTH!" Of course he is! He'd never betray the Boss!
Obviously.
Jessie, meanwhile, gets a rude realisation: Josie has a gun and ALSO MAGIC. "Pain-wha--?!" She manages to ask, before she's hit dead centre with Painra. "Ow! That HURT!" She whines, as the spell does precisely what is written on the side of the jar.
She even has a bandaid on her temple, now. Don't ask when she put it on; she's very talented. (And, yes, very rude.)
James, meanwhile, is distracted... so distracted, that when a spectral sword chops for him, he doesn't manage to get out of the way even a little. "Eeeegggggggh!" He yelps, trembling head-to-toe as it goes right through him, reminding him of the inevitability of death and the fact that he hasn't done his taxes for years now.
Both equally horrifying, really.
"Well, if this is Lunar, then -- then we'll just have to take you TO THE MOON!" Jessie declares, recovering enough to snap her whip, sending it in an arc towards Josie. Specifically, a -- "Moonlight Arc!"
James recovers from his spectral stabbing just in time to rattle his head, and declare, in sync, "Lunar Light!" A moonbeam breaks from the sky, somehow, right on top of Shige and her cadre of cadaverian comrades.
(Somewhere, Magilou sneezes.)
GS: Jessie and James has attacked Shige Kiwako with Lunar Light! GS: Jessie and James has gained 2 Combo! GS: Interrupt expired! GS: Jessie and James spends 2 Combo on Headshot! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Moonlight Arc! GS: Jessie and James has gained 2 Combo! GS: Jessie and James takes 46 damage from Poison! GS: Hex expired! GS: Jessie and James has completed their action. GS: CRITICAL! Josephine Lovelace marginally guards Jessie and James's Moonlight Arc for 317 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Josephine Lovelace gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Dispel! Regen removed! GS: Blind applied to Josephine Lovelace! GS: Hyper applied to Jessie and James! GS: Josephine Lovelace enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Shige Kiwako mostly evades Jessie and James's Lunar Light for 64 hit points! GS: Riposte applied to Jessie and James! GS: FP up! Arcane Font!
<Pose Tracker> Mia Tamaoka has posed.
"Purr, purr," replies Purri. Of course you are. (Mia's too focused on her battle to notice cat-pokemon shenanigans.)
To the moon. "But we're already--"
Purri looks back to Mia and nosebumps her cheek. "Purr."
"... Yeah, okay."
Mia shoots a look at Shige. "I am." It's still taking her a bit of effort to deal with the presence of Shige's ghostly companions, though. "W-worry about your own fight."
"Phwee, y-you met Chira..." Mia murmurs quietly. Or is she just surprised Mia would resort to such a blatant type advantage? Mia's not sure. But she did say she wasn't holding back, didn't she?
Mia frowns with concern as Nidoran is called out to battle. It's true that Staryu is busy, but even so...
(Okay, it is kind of cute that Staryu is trying to dry Meowth off like a fan. But--later.)
Then Mia spots it--that water starting to gather around Rivali's horn, and Mia doesn't know what move it is exactly, but-- Chira, try to work your way around it and use Bulldoze!"
Chira gamely charges forward, bulldozing her way through the pulses of water. She's getting more and more unsteady as she goes; even if the pain blasts of water don't hit her head on, she's being buffeted to the sides as those hits keep clipping her sides.
But once she's through she ducks her head down and slams headfirst into Nidoran, trying to knock him back.
GS: Mia Tamaoka enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Mia Tamaoka has attacked Chase with Bulldoze! GS: Mia Tamaoka enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Mia Tamaoka gains 5 FP from Sufferer! GS: Mia Tamaoka has completed her action. GS: Chase mostly evades Mia Tamaoka's Bulldoze for 50 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Chase gains 1 additional Combo!
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"That I am!" Layna confirms with a grin. She's never been particularly shy about it.
"You're not too bad, yourself." Layna replies to Wedge. The two Guado are forced back closer to each other - but as it turns out, this works out pretty well form them.
"Careful!" Layna warns Sable as, suddenly, they're caught in a pincer attack. Biggs and Wedge rush in! Caught in the middle, there's nowhere to run, she can only do her best to mitigate the damage. Layna shifts her body as they come in, and as they meet, there's a bright red flash forming an X...
...and then the light clears, Layna's on one knee, holding her torso. She exhales sharply... but grins, forcing herself back onto her feet.
"That's some mighty fine teamwork there, lads... I can respect that." Layna says, rolling her shoulders. This wouldn't be any fun if it weren't dangerous - and as it happens, she's having a very good time. She looks over toward Sable. "You hanging in there, lass?"
She doesn't wait for an answer, because there's still a fight to be had. She sizes Biggs and Wedge up - and then lowers herself into a fighting stance, whispering an incantation as she does. Wind surges to life around her fists. She rushes Wedge down - but shifts abruptly to get both of them in front of her, punching the air twice. With each strike, blades of wind rush out, slicing through the air like a pirate's cutlass!
GS: Layna Manydays has attacked Giovanni with Cutlass Gale! GS: Layna Manydays has gained 2 Combo! GS: Interrupt expired! GS: Layna Manydays gains 5 FP from her Daredevil! GS: Riposte expired! GS: Layna Manydays has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Sable Aomori has posed.
"Cool..." A pirate.
Biggs doesn't immediately aggress at least, which gives Sable a moment to breathe. When she's called clever she doesn't acknowledge it much, but she does at least feel better, less vulnerable. But then they move together--
Sable tries to block Wedge's punch with her arms, but she misjudges where his fists are going, and Biggs's chop cleaves past her with a shockwave that his hard.
"Agh!"
Sable hits a knee on the ground, entirely failing to get out of the way. While her clothes protect her to an extent, the blows still hit hard enough to stun.
"That's..."
She said she wouldn't look away. So she doesn't. She looks up, instead, turning over her shoulder to look at Biggs behind. "You fight really well together," she says. "...You're strong."
Even Layna seems to think so. "I'll be OK," Sable says. "...My Pokemon wouldn't give up from this much, so I can't either."
She stands, and has her hands free, making intricate gestures with her fingers. "Power of Rock... Diamond Hand!"
Her hands seem to freeze over--no, it's spectral gems--and then she throws out her hand, "Shatter!"
A diamond burst of magical rock erupts in front of Biggs!
GS: Sable Aomori spends 1 Combo on Link! GS: Sable Aomori has attacked Sable Aomori with Diamond Hand! GS: Sable Aomori has gained 1 Combo! GS: Sable Aomori has launched an attack Link! GS: CRITICAL! Sable Aomori heals Sable Aomori! She gains 133 temporary hit points! GS: Expansive and Quick applied to Sable Aomori! GS: Sable Aomori enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Sable Aomori has attacked Giovanni with Shatter! GS: Sable Aomori has gained 1 Combo! GS: Sable Aomori enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Sable Aomori has completed her action. GS: Giovanni critically fails to guard Layna Manydays's Cutlass Gale for 202 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Giovanni gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Hyper applied to Layna Manydays! GS: Giovanni fails to evade Sable Aomori's Shatter for 142 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Giovanni gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Jam and Mute applied to Giovanni! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus and SOS Overdrive!
<Pose Tracker> Chase has posed.
The problem with Phwee is that sometimes she's not as keen to understand type charts as Chase is. That is, after all, Chase's job! She just casts the lightning. And what do you MEAN the lightning doesn't work on everything? Unfair! Unjust! Please fix physics!
Now she watches the fight from Chase's shoulder, cheering Nidoran on with claps of her paws and an enthusiastic wagging of her tail. ...She's already forgotten about her grudge against the laws of reality.
There is a lot going on with the battles on this ship with sorcery and blades. There's a glint of an X, and Chase's attention darts toward Sable in concern. But he has to trust her own quest for power against the challenges they face while focusing on his own.
Chase takes a deep breath, and puts his fingers to his mouth for a clearer, louder whistle. Nidoran gives a tiny nod, pulse after water pulse hitting the Trapinch that advances ever forward. He holds his ground as the Bulldozer comes for him, trembling, eyes pinched shut (that's not good!) until --
Another whistle, and Nidoran suddenly springs upward. The attack strikes, but not so directly it completely runs roughshod over Nidoran like it should have, giving Nidoran just enough control of himself to spin in the air to reposition himself. Don't worry that he's screaming the whole time. It's fine. It's definitely going to be fine...!
At least Chase believes that, another deep breath and this time a quick pair of percussive claps and a stomp, and Nidoran's spinning goes faster, faster and faster, and the second he hits the ground he becomes a whirling drill that slams right back for Chira.
It may be a poor type match up, but Chase meant what he implied: he's not holding back, either. And Nidoran never, ever does. For better or for worse.
GS: Amplify added to Chase! GS: Chase has activated Force Action: Boost! GS: Chase has attacked Mia Tamaoka with Drill Run! GS: Chase has gained 1 Combo! GS: Chase gains 5 FP from Gleam! GS: Disrupt expired! GS: Chase has completed his action. GS: Sneak! The true nature of Chase's attack becomes clear! GS: Mia Tamaoka mostly evades Chase's Chase and his Pokemon are breathing in perfect sync! for 91 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Mia Tamaoka gains 1 additional Combo! GS: FP up! Power Burst and Reaction bonus!
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
It's definitely a different form of the practice, at least where Jessie and James are concerned, but 'different' of course rarely means 'worse'. ...Perhaps particularly so when the practitioners that Josie learned the arte from were accustomed to such things like the undead, Fiends, and undying whale monsters (the first and last items on the list are completely separate from one another).
"It don't mind me none," she answers Shige with a shrug of her shoulders. Josie frowns, knitting her brow. "...Well, other'n my savings..."
It's just dawned on her that she'd emptied her wallet to bribe a fisherman to come out here and deal with this.
"...Well, back to square one, looks like. C'mon, you two!" she says, returning her exortations to Jessie and James as a sense of calm seems to soothe over the hurts she's suffered.
'C'mon', she says, and the Rockets are keen to take her up on the offer.
"Tch-- Looks like they mean business now--!" Josie says, climbing to her feet properly to throw out an electrical barrier as Jessie slams that whip right at her! It...
...doesn't really help that much.
"Damn, damn, damn," Josie hisses, rising at last from the place where Jessie had nearly sent her below deck the hard way. Another go like that, and she'll be in a sorry state. Breaking into a run (and ignoring all her aches and pains) she rushes for her fallen rifle. Snatching it up, she draws a bead on Jessie, now her main target. One, two--
She could aim to kill, certainly, but her aim this time around certainly isn't that. Arms, legs-- or even that whip.
But there are two bullets regardless flying right for Jessie.
GS: Josephine Lovelace spends 1 Combo on Interrupt! GS: Josephine Lovelace has attacked Jessie and James with Suffering Bastard! GS: Josephine Lovelace has gained 3 Combo! GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.
Shige just shrugs. That's a later problem! The fact that there's nascent problems for small mediums. Or something.
Her ear perks up though, she had been distracted, but she's a cat and, well she's sober and it's actually kind of making her think things in the back of her head. Not entirely happy things. More embarrassing truth be told.
Really though, the moonbeam does expose the ghosts for what they are! In that it shows a more gruesome image. Just for a moment. Remnants of what had happened to the figures helping Shige.
The feline herself does.. mostly get out of the way with just a bit of singed hair and fur. There's also a distinctly unhappy cat sound from Shige at that.
She shakes herself out and tries not to look like a drowned, singed cat now. She's had better looks.
"You paid for this?" There's some incredulity there. Not that she hasn't paid to go handle things, but it's different when it's a sacred duty right?
"Let's get your money's worth out of them then." That's being proactive! And probably a bit scary.
Josie's looking a bit rough after the hit, despite the witch's efforts. She glances to her, muttering, "Stalling is going to make it worse." Gesturing to the the priestess, the witch nods and replies, the hint of a whisper to any nearby.
The remnants of the mist that had been surrounding her being pulled in to manifest other ghostly figures. All hollow, remnants, nothing quite solid or living visible among them.
With this many the chanting is almost audible. And then the faint tinkling of a bell is heard and they begin to fade away and the temperature drops as they converge towards the trio. Creepy, bitter cold and draining. (Literally for once.)
The shaman actually steps forward behind them, concern pretty obvious as she keeps an eye on Josie now. "If you need to duck back.. I've got you."
GS: Shige Kiwako spends 2 Combo on Headshot! GS: Shige Kiwako has attacked Jessie and James with Mourning Rites! GS: Shige Kiwako has gained 2 Combo! GS: Shige Kiwako gains 5 FP from Gleam! GS: Blind expired! GS: Shige Kiwako has completed her action.
<Pose Tracker> Giovanni has posed.
"Gh!" Wedge grunts, as Layna rushes for him -- and he shifts the wrong direction when she does. Blades of wind explode off of her, slashing through them both. Wedge gets struck into by several, and then thrown backward.
He hits the mast -- and then crumples down, slumped.
Biggs looks at him, then frowns. "Just me, now," he says.
He looks back at Sable.
"That's how it works, when you fight with someone for years," Biggs says to Sable, rolling his shoulder. Then, he swings up his shield. The huge armored shield takes some of the worst of the gems; others tear past, leaving it battered and chipped at the edges, and strike into him.
The big Guado is slammed backward, but keeps his footing on the ship's deck -- though it's now worse for the wear. He gives a brief glance -- a little worried, perhaps -- at Wedge.
He holds his sword up. Light gathers into it -- brilliant, white light that makes the masts and his shadows cast long. Then, he slams his blade down between Layna and Sable both. When he does, rays of light explode off it.
"Life is short... Bury!" Biggs cries out. "Stock Break!"
GS: Giovanni has attacked Layna Manydays with Biggs - Stock Break! GS: Giovanni has attacked Sable Aomori with Biggs - Stock Break! GS: Gamble: Low! Sable Aomori critically fails to guard Giovanni's Biggs - Stock Break for 178 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Sable Aomori gains 1 additional Combo! GS: FP up! Power Burst! GS: CRITICAL! Gamble: Very High! Layna Manydays mostly charges Giovanni's Biggs - Stock Break for 266 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Layna Manydays gains 1 additional Combo! GS: FP up! Power Burst! GS: Healthy! For entering Condition Green, Layna Manydays receives 99 temporary hit points. GS: Layna Manydays enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Jessie and James mostly evades Josephine Lovelace's Suffering Bastard for 69 hit points! GS: Misery adds Shieldbreak! GS: Interrupt and Shieldbreak applied to Jessie and James! GS: FP up! Countermeasures! GS: Jessie and James enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Jessie and James has lost 2 Combo from Interrupt! GS: Jessie and James mostly evades Shige Kiwako's Mourning Rites for 91 hit points! GS: Poison applied to Jessie and James! GS: Quick applied to Shige Kiwako! GS: Shige Kiwako drains Jessie and James! Shige Kiwako gains 56 temporary hit points!
<Pose Tracker> Jessie and James has posed.
Meowth is, thankfully, offered respite by the fearless efforts of Staryu, who sees beyond the barriers of Trainer/Rocket to the reality of Poor, Sad Wet Cats. He noms on his Poke-Puff, and is slowly transformed from a Sad Wet Cat into a Blow-Dried Cat.
Luckily, this also means he's busy, and can't help his humans. Which is a shame, because Jessie is running all around the ship trying to avoid being SHOT WITH A GUN. "Aaah! James, do something!!"
"I'm too normal to fight a ghost!!" James wails, as he runs away from the sound of tinkling bells.
Jessie grabs him, and shakes him, and yells: "Get a hold of yourself!!" Only for that to turn into hugging him, because now she can feel the creeping cold horror, too.
"You do something!" James wails, pushing her away.
"F--fine!" Jessie snaps, as she pulls out her whip again. "I'll show them -- Diabolic Whirl!"
She is, as it happens, really good at spinning up those shockwave cracks with her whip.
GS: Jessie and James has attacked Shige Kiwako with Diabolic Whirl! GS: Jessie and James has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Diabolic Whirl! GS: Jessie and James has gained 1 Combo! GS: Interrupt expired! GS: Josephine Lovelace fails to evade Jessie and James's Diabolic Whirl for 145 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Josephine Lovelace gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Blind applied to Josephine Lovelace! GS: Josephine Lovelace enters CONDITION GREEN!!
<Pose Tracker> Mia Tamaoka has posed.
There's a worried glance Sable's direction when she goes down to a knee. There's a strong impulse to want to offer healing, but... Anne's warned her that a 'real' fight like this involves getting hurt. She knows Anne would have warned Sable, too... and besides, they're not on the same side in this fight, are they?
(A Condition Cure is technically not a Hyper Potion, right?)
That's okay, Phwee. Even if you don't quite grasp physics, you're still a good partner and companion to Chase. (Purri is proud of how well she looks out for Chase, in fact, and has told her this before.)
Nidoran jumps, and Chira just runs right under him, skidding to a stop a few moments later, looking around with wide, blinking eyes. "Traaa...?" Shouldn't Nidoran be there? Where did he go? She starts to hop in place to turn further left and right with each hop, still looking and missing the screaming behind her.
"Behind you, quickly!"
"Pinnnn!?" Chira whirls around to see Nidoran spinning right for her and lets out a startled cry. She's not Hasty for noting though and throws herself off to the side to evade it, but Nidoran's horn still scores a long, glancing blow along her side.
Between the pulses of water and having to suddenly whirl around to dodge that attack, Chira's looking a bit unsteady on her feet now, wobbling a bit even as she's standing in one place. Mia pauses, thinking for a long moment. Chira could keep fighting, certainly, but...
Mia did promise not to hold back. She holds out a pokemon. "Good job, Chira. Take a break!" Chira vanishes in a flash of light, and Mia looks to Nidoran, and then Chase. Next, she just says one word.
"Purri."
Purri lets out a loud purr, nuzzling Mia's cheek for a moment before leaping off of Mia's shoulder to land on the deck. She stands up, unsheathing her claws--they're a different color now, a vibrant pink instead of the light purple from before, but still sparkly. She takes up a ready stance, ready to spring into action.
"Hone your claws and use Night Slash!"
"Purr!" confirms Purri. She concentrates, and her claws start to glow with a bright white light, until that light bursts and reveals that her claws have a decidedly more wicked edge to them, the points glinting ominously in the light. Then she concentrates further as dark energy starts to rise up from her body, and she stares Nidoran down, hissing at him. The energy glows along her into her claws, and suddenly she springs forward, charging her opponent.
Darkness trails fromher claws behind her as she runs and she pounces--down come one set of claws, lashing out at Nidoran, followed quickly by the other set.
GS: Mia Tamaoka has activated Force Action: Lock On! GS: Mia Tamaoka has activated Force Action: Fury Shot! GS: Mia Tamaoka spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: Mia Tamaoka has attacked Chase with Go All Out!! GS: Mia Tamaoka has gained 1 Combo! GS: Mia Tamaoka gains 5 FP from Sufferer! GS: Mia Tamaoka has completed her action. GS: Chase has activated Force Action: Accelerate! GS: Chase marginally evades Mia Tamaoka's Go All Out! for 130 hit points! GS: Misery adds Mute! GS: Mute blocked! GS: FP up! Reaction bonus!
<Pose Tracker> Layna Manydays has posed.
"Right. Well said, lass." Layna says with a nod as Sable says she'll be okay. It takes courage, to come out here to fight like this.
Wedge is knocked back, crumpling to the deck. Just Biggs, now, but he's still ready to fight back. He raises his sword and light gathers - and then he brings it down. Rays of light erupt forth and Layna braces herself, weaving through them as best she can. But there's too much, covering such a wide range... she's caught up in them and they tear through her. She backpedals - though this time, she manages to catch her footing.
She's bloodied... but even though it's her own blood that pumping, she's still grinning wildly.
"Good! Good!" She cheers, rolling her neck. She takes a moment to roll her shoulders.
"Now... hear my name! I am Layna Manydays, Captain of the Ruby Empress!" Layna shouts - and then she charges Biggs down. Wreathed in wind her movements pick up as she unleashes a flurry of punches, one after the other, shifting with each strike as if attacking from all directions. It makes it difficult to tell what's going on, but with each motion, she aims to steal bit of his energy. Just a little at a time until she lunges forward, concluding with a single, final palm thrust - unleashing a portion of the stolen energy in an explosive strike!
GS: Layna Manydays has activated Force Action: Lock On! GS: Layna Manydays spends 3 Combo on Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling! GS: MYSTIC ARTE! Layna Manydays has attacked Giovanni with The Hand That Seizes The Future! GS: Layna Manydays has gained 1 Combo! GS: Layna Manydays gains 5 FP from her Daredevil! GS: Layna Manydays has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Giovanni critically fails to guard Layna Manydays's The Hand That Seizes The Future for 316 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Giovanni gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Layna Manydays drains Giovanni! Layna Manydays gains 100 temporary hit points! GS: Giovanni has Fallen! He is no longer able to fight!
<Pose Tracker> Sable Aomori has posed.
Sable is too busy dealing with two experienced combatants to notice Chase's gaze, but she would feel better to know he was watching if only for a moment. Now, though--
"I see" Sable answers Biggs. They have an experience she can't even begin to match. But that doesn't mean she's ready to give up.
Mia's right though that Sable knew in theory that this was possible--and was as prepared as she was able to be. Now, though, her defensive technique comes up against a powerful move from Biggs. The blast of light hits her hard, destroying part of her shielding aura and causing her to stagger backward one more time. "Gh--" Perhaps it's more luck than skill that sees her still standing.
She isn't sure whether to heal herself and Layna or press the attack again--until Layna acknowledges her, and even charges--
"Wow..."
"Right!" Sable says, and narrows her eyes. She pulls some small knives from her pockets and charges them with poisonous chi, before leaping into the air and throwing them. Thanks to the power of the Diamond Hand, they double mid-air, enough to send green-tinged needles at both foes!
GS: Sable Aomori has activated Force Action: Snipe! GS: Sable Aomori has activated Force Action: Fury Shot! GS: Sable Aomori spends 1 Combo on Poison! GS: Sable Aomori enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Sable Aomori has attacked Giovanni with Venom Needle! GS: Sable Aomori has gained 2 Combo! GS: Sable Aomori's stances have changed to Stoic! GS: Sable Aomori gains 23 THP from her Cautious! GS: Sable Aomori enters CONDITION GREEN!! GS: Sable Aomori has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Giovanni critically fails to guard Sable Aomori's Venom Needle for 99 hit points! GS: Misery adds Delay! GS: Delay, Disrupt, Jam, Mute, and Poison applied to Giovanni! GS: Giovanni has Fallen! He is no longer able to fight!
<Pose Tracker> Chase has posed.
Staryu will always stand for Pokemon who are suffering, and what suffers more than a wet cat? ...Perhaps Jessie and James, in this moment, but Staryu seems far less concerned with offering them any solace while the battles rage on.
Nidoran... lands a hit! His ears raise up, eyes wide, and he chirps a squeak at Chase and Pikachu while Pikachu bounces on Chase's shoulder, pumping her paw in a fist. "Piiiika! Pika!" Nidoran mouth opens wide in something akin to a smile. He's doing it...! He's becoming... stronger...!
Purri takes to the battlefield, and both Pikachu and Nidoran's ears drop low. It's obvious who Mia's strongest Pokemon would be, and that is now the opponent. Chase's intense gaze refuses to waver, but his fingers twitch at his belt as he considers his options.
A whistle gives Nidoran his next command, but Nidoran is trembling terribly under Purri's ominous gaze and sharpened claws. Whatever Chase asked Nidoran to do, Nidoran instead trembles like a storm battered leaf about to be ripped from a branch. The claws come in and Nidoran flails in panic, becoming a graceless disaster of thrashing claws and spines.
Whatever he manages, Purri's second swipe slashes Nidoran back and sends him landing on his own spines, eyes swirling.
GS: Chase has activated Force Action: Fury Shot! GS: Chase has attacked Mia Tamaoka with Nidoran is doing his best! GS: Chase gains 5 FP from Gleam! GS: Mute expired! GS: Chase has completed his action. GS: ROU|LET|TE: Ruinous! Gamble: High! Mia Tamaoka critically fails to guard Chase's Nidoran is doing his best for 205 hit points! GS: Reaction switch bonus! Mia Tamaoka gains 1 additional Combo! GS: Misery adds Hex! GS: Hex applied to Mia Tamaoka! GS: FP up! Power Burst! GS: Mia Tamaoka enters CONDITION GREEN!!
<Pose Tracker> Josephine Lovelace has posed.
"Let's call it a little 'encouragement', eh?" she calls back to Shige. It was better than the alternative: Josie's breaststroke is rather lacking, and it'd be a bad sight if the powder got wet, besides. "--Ha! Now that's more like it!"
But in spite of Shige's attempts to keep her in good shape, even Josie would have to admit she's feeling a little poorly after those hits she's taken. Still, though--
"I ain't goin' nowhere," she tells Shige, punctuating the statement with a brisk shake of her head. "I've had worse. Trust me, kiddo," she adds, coupling the remark with a saucy wink.
Though it's just moments later that Josie, juking left in an attempt to mislead Jessie's aim, discovers that she has really, really good aim with that whip... and good reaction time, too. Not for the first time, Josie is sent ass over teakettle to land heavily across the deck.
"Whew... that smarts," she gasps, staring up for a moment at a too-blue sky. "Well, ain't winning anything like this--!" Surging to her feet with a suggestion of energy she doesn't really have, she takes a long calculating look at the pair of Rockets and nods thoughtfully, as if to herself.
"Time to go all out."
Her left hand snakes low: an ARM, another ARM! She spins the Reaper's Hand experimentally. The recoil dampening's top notch, for a small sidearm, but that doesn't mean it'll be smooth sailing... as it were.
She runs for Jessie and James both, announcing her approach with a pair of shots from the salvage-built ARM. Nor does she stop running, switching the ARM's mode over as she approaches: catapulting forward, she is in flight over their heads as she fires again, raining buckshot down upon them like some vengeful gun-loving god.
GS: Josephine Lovelace has activated Force Action: Snipe! GS: You have activated the Force Action Snipe! GS: Josephine Lovelace has attacked Jessie and James with Last Word! GS: Josephine Lovelace has gained 3 Combo! GS: Josephine Lovelace's stances have changed to ! GS: Josephine Lovelace has completed her action. GS: CRITICAL! Shige Kiwako mostly evades Jessie and James's Diabolic Whirl for 78 hit points! GS: Blind applied to Shige Kiwako!
<Pose Tracker> Giovanni has posed.
"Oh--hell, you really are a pirate!" Biggs shouts after Layna introduces herself. "And--" He looks at the knives that were thrown for him, from Sable. "And you really are a ninja!"
The knives strike first, green needles slashing into him and through his defenses. He stumbles backward, disoriented, before Layna charges at him. Her punches land, one after another, in a blur -- each drawing energy from him.
Then the palm thrust strikes into his chest. He goes flying backward, hitting the deck, and striking the painting. The very one that should teleport them free.
It is dislodged from the deck. It goes flying up, spinning into the air.
But, as they say, what goes up...
...must come down.
GS: Jessie and James mostly evades Josephine Lovelace's Last Word for 102 hit points! GS: FP up! Countermeasures and Reaction bonus! GS: Strain! Josephine Lovelace takes 50 damage!
<Pose Tracker> Shige Kiwako has posed.
Shige's keeping a split focus, watching both Mia and Sable in focus, there's not that much she can do about it as the distraction is enough to at least catch a shockwave unfortunately. She's got an arm to her head now, trying to clear a mess from her eyes. It's worse when you're fuzzy and she's making some rather unhappy sounds.
"It'll get worse, just leave." She calls out in their direction. Mostly aided by big cat ears and them rotating between panic and attack.
She shakes her head out, trying to ignore that she's looking a bit haggard by now. There's going to be some brush time in her future.
She bites her tongue with Josie's comment. Trying to convince kids younger than her is one thing, she knows she's set in her ways and surely the others are too!
She does manage a funny noise at the wink. Somewhere between a snort and surprise! "Then let's wrap it up." She recovers decently.
Though even as she says that, she's still not an offensive powerhouse and she's realizing she's not helping enough.
Straightening herself out, she keeps one hand over an eye and points to Josie. The figure stepping forward more familiar. An ancient mercenary, already chanting his spell. An obvious connection between him and Shige, making him far more visible and.. maybe solid. He throws his hand up, ending the chant with a heal before taking a defensive stance. Ready to help. Never in the way for Josie at least..
GS: Shige Kiwako has attacked Josephine Lovelace with Umbral Knight! GS: Shige Kiwako has gained 3 Combo! GS: Shige Kiwako gains 5 FP from Gleam! GS: Shige Kiwako has completed her action. GS: Shige Kiwako heals Josephine Lovelace! She gains 215 temporary hit points! GS: Quick and Shield applied to Josephine Lovelace!
<Pose Tracker> Jessie and James has posed.
"Huh?" Jessie pauses, having unscrambled her head after that dizzying turn. "You weren't going all out before...?"
(Josie's kind of a scary woman... even according to the scary woman.)
"Yeegh!" James yelps, grabbing Jessie's arm, as another ARM comes into play. Bang, bang, and their baby shoots them down, as they run haphazardly back and forth across the deck. "WHY ARE THERE SO MANY BULLETS," Jessie cries, as James babbles: "IDUNWANNADIIIIIEEEE!"
"Myaow..." Meowth sighs, reluctantly getting up from where he's been carefully dried by Staryu. "Mrah, mah," he reaches out a paw to shake one of those star-tips, perhaps grateful to have received solace in these hard times. But... "Mrow," he has to go take care of his humans, who are CLEARLY in over their hand. That Ruffian With A Gun now has a ghost bodyguard, and who knows how powerful she'll become now she has ghost power?
He steps up onto the field, and puts his paws on his hips, as he declares: "MEEEE--"
Lady Florence goes flying up, up into the air.
Lady Florence careens back down to the deck.
Meowth looks up.
"--OWTH?!"
With the sound of tearing canvas, Meowth suddenly becomes the Lady Meowth, his beautiful cat head replacing the portrait's face perfectly.
"Mrooowwwwoowowoowowooowowwwwww?!"
He yoinks, and YOINKS --
-- and they have mere moments before the teleportation spell engages, judging by the light building where he's gotten himself stuck in the painting.
Jessie and James stare at him, before they look to Biggs and Wedge. "Looks like Team Rocket's..." "... blasting off again?!"
<Pose Tracker> Giovanni has posed.
Biggs looks up at Lady Meowth. His mouth opens wide. "Oh--"
"Shiiiiiit!" Wedge says, as he looks up, too. The light washes over them both, blinding for a moment. Biggs calls out, loudly: "Tactical retreat! Tactical retrea--"
And then it it engulfs them. With a flash, the two former Guado Guardians are gone.
<Pose Tracker> Mia Tamaoka has posed.
Sorry Jessie, sorry James. Mia might be able to help with ghostly worries, but... she's got her own fight to worry about, and she's... not rreally ready to take onm Shige at her own game, regardless.
Chase's Nidoran celebrates getting a hit in, and it's honestly hard for Mia not to want to join in on that--she remembers how Nidoran clung to Chase's leg in their last fight... not that she was in much better shape, back then.
That battle almost seems like a lifetime ago, now.
"Good w-work, Rivali," she says, sincerely. "It looks like we're b-both getting stronger. But like I s-said... I'm not h-holding back."
And out comes Purri. She is the strongest Pokemon Mia has, but it's not really a matter of raw power. It's more that she and Mia have a long, deep bond with each other, born of protection and comfort from Purri, and a deep, total trust from Mia.
And it's only getting stronger.
But deep as that bond is, even Purri has her limits--She unleashes her attack on Rivali, but Rivali's panic fuels a desperate flailing does have a lucky outcome--a spike manages to jab Purri right in the feline equivalent of a solar plexus, and both pokemon are sent flying away from each other as claw meets Nodooran and Spine meets Purrloin.
Mia starts forward for a moment but catches herself, waiting to see what the outcome of the exchange was. "Purri, a-are you okay?"
"Mrowwrrr...." mumbles Purri weakly. She's still struggling to get up, but when it takes her too long, Mia steps forward and gently scoops her up. "We'll g-get you healed up."
Silci, meanwhile (remember Silci? She's been here the whole time, keeping an eye on things) has been watching the battlefield, and she sees that painting go up, and swoops over to Mia. "Beau, beauti beau fly!"
Mia looks up, to where Silci is pointing. And blinks.
"... Huh."
And she actually grins a little. "I've b-been waiting to do this..." She looks to Chase and offers a wave, before reaching behind herself to grab something from her pack. She lifts it high overhead and then slams it into the deck. "Bye!" A cloud of smoke billows out from around her...
And when it clears, she's gone.
<Pose Tracker> Chase has posed.
Chase scoops up Nidoran to give him a pat on the head, while Pikachu leans down to nuzzle her fellow Pokemon happily. Nidoran's eyes go big, pupils dilated with overwhelmed joy. It's these moments that make all his efforts with it. Even Mia gives praise, and his tears overflow as he looks to her. "Ran...!"
Staryu returns Meowth's shake with a wiggle of its ray and bows a 'nod' of understanding. Their companions must be cared for. It turns, watching Meowth, only to tilt up and see the painting fly up...
... and down. Staryu stares on unblinkingly, because Staryu's eyespots are without lids, even if you know to look for them at the end of its rays.
"Hiyah?"
Chase guards his eyes from the flash, blinking his vision clear in the aftermath. He looks to Mia with a small amount of concern, and is caught so off guard by a grin he doesn't expect to see that all he manages to do is wave back before asking himself why they're both waving. Pikachu also waves. Of course she does.
The smoke bomb clarifies things. Bye indeed...!
While cradling his Pokemon, Chase reaches for his belt to free the one he hoped to save for the end of the fight, after everything was over. In a burst of flame, Ponyta appears, stomping into the deck and snorting smoke. He peers at a battlefield not in need of his power, and looks to Chase with a burning gaze. Chase whistles a low, soft sound.
Ponyta snorts again, but complies. With a fiery flare of its mane, the warmth of the sun shines above it, helping aid the healing of those present. It should be enough to get everyone here to an inn, but Chase steps over to Sable in particular to help offer a hand up and a shoulder to lean on, if she needs it.
<Pose Tracker> Sable Aomori has posed.
It's gratifying, despite the exhaustion, for Sable to hear that she really is a ninja. She's worked hard at it!
But she's surprised when she sees the teleportation happen, and then the smoke bomb next. She blinks once, and stumbles, hiting the ground on her butt as she wobbles.
Team Rocket blasts off, and Sable wonders abou Jessie and James and Meowth, but...
"What does that word mean?" Sable wonders of 'shit'.
She accepts Chase's hand up, though. "Thanks..."
She looks to Layna in some awe. "But wow..."
"That was hard. Is that what our Pokemon feel like...?"
She'll need a little help getting away, but the day is saved... right?
Well, unless Layna steals it after all.