2024-04-13: Expontential Entropy

• Log: Expontential Entropy
• Cast: Loren Voss, Xiumei Klein, Eleanor Klein, Timu Guado, Venetia Vuong, Chase, Chartreuse Spinosa, Lan Lilac, Hannah Curie, Ida Everstead-Rey
• Where: Pokemon Mansion
• Date: April 13, 2024
• Summary: Solaris is not to be sated so readily. Another strike is in the offing and the target, another origin point of Energy Nede's basic technologies. But regardless, they will meet resistance.

---

<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

    The skies are overcast and grey as day wends onwards into the early evening hours. Rain is in the overnight forecast for Cinnabar Island, known primarily for its fisheries and scientific research installations.

    The latter is of interest to Solaris. The technological achievements of Energy Nede appear to outstrip in certain fields what even the most cutting-edge technology of Solaris is capable. Samples have been desired, and while some technology and information can and has been taken surreptitiously (in the same way any Visitor might), to dig in a little deeper it's necessary to break a few eggs.

    They hadn't gotten anything from Armlock. Loren's attempts to strongarm a manufactory site chief had gone awry when the infiltration had been uncovered, interrupted and... exploded (though admittedly, the last was mostly his Graveler's fault). Research has another target in mind: they'd like to get their hands on either the research or technology coming out of Cinnabar.

    Loren has his doubts about another direct assault, even with fresh support arriving from Filgaia. But there are other possibilities. According to local rumor, the mansion on the edge of Harbortown was once a secret research installation -- never mind the local stories that it was some rich family home -- before it caught fire and burned. There's the chance there could still be something on site worth Solaris' time, and no one would be the wiser about their presence in an abandoned, damaged building.

    The locals, for their part, have noted that some Visitors have been asking a lot of questions about the mansion lately, though.

    A sweep of the more intact rooms hasn't turned up much yet. There was without question a fire, or something like it: some of the rooms are mere shells, the damage making them too dangerous to do more then survey from the doorway... or the hole in the wall. All in all, navigating the ruins has proved to be akin to a exploring a maze, and only after some time does Loren come across an intact door that is... also locked.

    "Damn... I think it's locked." He raps on it with the back of his hand, listening for the sound, then places his palm flat against its surface to extend sensory earth Ether into and through it. How thick is the door? Can they knock it down? Should they knock it down? ...Is it possible there's a key around here instead?

    Still facing the door, he pulls a face, unseen by his backup. There hasn't been a single thing yet that's looked like it was part of a laboratory. Maybe this entire venture has been a waste of time.

<Pose Tracker> Xiumei Klein has posed.

Xiumei and Eleanor had been in Cinnabar for some time at the beach. Surf and sun, as they say! A shame that it's an overcast day, but so it goes -- even on an artificial world with weather control. Sometimes, a region just needs rain.

Of course, then comments came in: some strange visitors at the mansion.

Thus, Xiumei is taking point. She has her long skirt, maroon vest, off-white collared shirt, and shoes on. But she also has an Eevee trailing after. She looks once at Liu Bei. "Up ahead?" she asks.

Liu Bei looks at her -- then looks ahead, and rounds the corner. He comes sprinting about, and looks up at Loren... then points at him. "Evoi," he demands.

"You there!" Xiumei says, as she comes around the corner. "What are you doing!?"

Then she clears her throat. "Sichou! Handle this, please!"

A tiny yellow arachnid Pokeon, with a big ball of string on its back, hops onto Xiumei's shoulder -- then the floor -- and then shoots forth a huge bundle of sticky string for Loren.

It's one of those days.

GS: Xiumei Klein has attacked Loren Voss with Tarountula - String Shot!
GS: Xiumei Klein has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Xiumei Klein has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Eleanor Klein has heard many good things about Cinnabar Island, not least of which is its beauty. ...She does have more work to do, of course. But she can do her work on the beach!

That's the idea, anyway. The elf is dressed in a breezy open button-down over a one-piece swimsuit and sandals, her orangey-blonde hair tumbling down free. She has some earrings! She has strange golden eyes. And--

She is walking with her wife, a little back behind Liu Bei. Her Pokemon are not out at the moment, but she does have a lovely bag on her shoulder that contains her Pokeballs. "Hm hm... How strange," she says. "I wonder what they're looking for in--"

"Captain," Eleanor sighs. "I won't be allowing you all to do as you please here, you know."

She extends a hand with a Pokeball in it, and Vulpix appears! Her name is Pyri, and she roars cutely as she makes her entrance. "Pyri," Eleanor instructs. "Use your Snarl attack to show him what we think of this."

Pyri rears back and lets out a deafening basso howl that ripples with dark power through the air towards Loren and his backup.

GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Loren Voss with Snarl!
GS: Eleanor Klein has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Eleanor Klein has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Timu Guado has posed.

    Timu Guado and her Pokemon friends all set off for Cinnabar Island, where she hoped to come hang out with Sable and to continue to make the most of the Pokemon Journey as the drumbeats of war are going on just beyond a portal. She knows Rille's definitely got a stake in some of what's going on there, and... she won't be wanting for work, though it's hard not to see the traumatic memories of Mauri's attack on Bevelle sometimes thinking about it.
 
     ...
 
     A welcome(?) distraction comes hearing about Visitors messing around the nearby mansion. Maybe she should check it out.
 
     "Hoo," Timu's Hooligre friend lays one of his hands on her shoulder in support, because he's aware that something has his Guado Trainer rattled and he can't quite comprehend what, so he can only support her the way he knows how - by being big, still kind of mean, and about ready to tear apart the scenery around him if sufficiently riled, as you do when you are a Pokemon species that has proven very difficult to train.
 
     It doesn't take long for the two of them to find a ruckus is already happening, with multiple Trainers and their partners making threatening gestures before Loren.
 
     Timu holds her healer's staff at close hand as she tries to size up what's going on, while Hooligre just seems to have an instinctual understanding that something is up, because cute Pokemon like that Vulpix over there acting like that mea--
 
     Hooligre is suddenly disturbed at Ulpi's presence and just flinches, losing his turn. (what)
 
     "What's going on?" Timu asks, raising her voice as if a trespassing teenager like herself has grounds to ask that!

GS: Timu Guado has attacked Timu Guado with Hooligre flinched...!!
GS: Timu Guado has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Timu Guado has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.

 
VENETIA VUONG had come along with Xiumei and Eleanor.

EARLIER, AT THE BEACH

Venetia gazes at the ineluctable mystery of the sunlit beach, a liminal space where joy and childhood and ease and relaxation can all come together. A place where some dream of arriving, and where others dream of staying; a place fervently wished-for by so many, for to be at the beach is to have the simple pleasures of swimming and the soft soothing sounds of an ocean to hand.

Venetia is wearing a broad sunhat and her ordinary clothing, although without the robe. This means it's something of a tank-top with matte-gray silk sleeves bound up round the biceps, as well as dungarees and working boots.

"Bah," Venetia says, to the beach, and turns to get another iced treat. Those she can at least respect.

NOW

Venetia still hasn't put on her robe, but she has at least ditched the sunhat. She also brought something else, which she pulls out of a hip pocket and orients directly towards the man at the door. "Reach for the roof, you gutless--"

Venetia orients the gun upwards when Vulpix and Sichou make their appearance. Her expression becomes more dubious. When Pyri lets out a deafening sound that Venetia can feel in her stomach, she loses her inhibitions on this matter, instead holstering the gun and reaching into her other pocket to take out a fistful of 1-G coins which she immediately throws off to one side.

Jingle!

At which point Venetia brings out a Crest Graph. "We are indoors, I suppose," she mutters to Eleanor, before the Crest Graph is wordlessly invoked. There is a stellaration of light, a breath of Ley-energy, and -- nothing happens?

Except that Loren suddenly becomes intensely magnetically attractive to precious metals.

The coins rattle on the ground before starting to whip towards him. "Crime," she answers Timu.

GS: Timu Guado accepts Timu Guado's Hooligre flinched...! for 0 hit points!
GS: Venetia Vuong has attacked Loren Voss with Precious Metal Sign ~A Fistful of Gella~!
GS: Venetia Vuong has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Venetia Vuong has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Chase has posed.

Chase is no stranger to trespassing around Pokemon Mansion. After the incident with Damian and Poltchageist, he was hoping to find a means to lure the creature out again and continue his efforts. It's not anything he advertised to anyone... he didn't want it getting back to Damian and rubbing salt in the wounds of needless guilt.

He doesn't know anything about rumors of Visitors because he's already inside the place. And he immediately proves why it should be off limits when the ceiling above Loren cracks and gives way.

"PIIIIIIIIKA!"

Pikachu shrieks as she and Chase crash through the floor in a deluge of dust and debris. Both of them cough, Chase into his sleeve and Pikachu less politely into space as she clings to Chase with her paws. Chase, eyes pinched shut, slowly opens them to look up at --

Wait, wasn't that the guy who was --

"Piii Pikachu!" Pikachu greets happily, waving her paw at Loren. Her bright smile turns to a small 'o' of curiosity as a String Shot goes flying. She looks up at Chase questioningly, while Chase hesitates, staring at Loren and all the other Drifters and Trainers who have arrived.

Unsure how to react yet, he hands Pikachu a silver colored berry as his eyes never leave the situation that is Loren. Pikachu is all too glad to shove the whole thing in her mouth.

GS: Chase has attacked Chase with Leftovers!
GS: Chase has completed his action.
GS: Chase heals Chase! He gains 34 temporary hit points!
GS: Lock state and Regen applied to Chase!
GS: Hyper and Quick applied to Chase!
GS: Loren Voss critically fails to evade Xiumei Klein's Tarountula - String Shot for 52 hit points!
GS: Loren Voss's Break Ward may block the effect!
GS: Slow applied to Loren Voss!
GS: Break blocked!
GS: Loren Voss critically fails to guard Eleanor Klein's Snarl for 123 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Loren Voss gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Infect! Debuff durations extended!!
GS: Loren Voss's Mute Ward may block the effect!
GS: Blind and Cripple applied to Loren Voss!
GS: Mute blocked!
GS: Loren Voss critically fails to evade Venetia Vuong's Precious Metal Sign ~A Fistful of Gella~ for 132 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Loren Voss gains 1 additional Combo!

<Pose Tracker> Chartreuse Spinosa has posed.

Cinnabar Island! When you run in the academic circles Chartreuse does, it holds a lot of interest. She happens to be here for research today, herself... which means she gets to hear the whispered rumors of Visitors asking a lot of questions.

The burnt-out Pokemon Mansion... there a few kinds of people who still poke around in there, and the rumors paint quite a picture of the Visitors.

And so, Chartreuse - guided by her Sentret, perching on her backpack with his tail wrapped around her upper arm for safety - has volunteered to go check it out to put people's concerns at ease. She carefully makes her way through the Mansion and its mazelike interior, which must have been a pain to navigate even before it burnt down, until, eventually, Chartreuse finds her way to a door.

...A door that, it seems, has gathered quite the crowd. A large group of Visitors has assembled, and they appear to have quite the Opinion of the man trying to make his way through the door.

"A ne'er-do-well, I take it?" Chartreuse asks the friendlier Visitors, glancing around - before looking toward Loren. "...Sir, do you mind explaining yourself?"

GS: Chartreuse Spinosa has attacked Chartreuse Spinosa with Watching carefully...!
GS: Chartreuse Spinosa has gained 2 Combo!
GS: Chartreuse Spinosa's stances have changed to Hero!
GS: Chartreuse Spinosa has completed her action.
GS: CRITICAL! Chartreuse Spinosa accepts Chartreuse Spinosa's Watching carefully... for 0 hit points!

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

 
    Wasn't Lan Lilac just in December City? Hadn't she arrived by luxury rail*, reigning triumphant over the broken and defeated remains of the Bad Lads Gang**, who have been a thorn in the sides of law-abiding denizens of the Ingnas Badlands for years and years?

    *She was tagging along on guard duty with Ruth Pauling, Meng Wu, and Hannah Curie.
    **The Bad Lads and their leader, Brilliant Dynamites Neon, were driven off but remain decidedly and unfortunately unbroken and are thus STILL a thorn in the sides of etcetera etcetera.

    But nevermind all that! She's here on Energy Nede again, mostly because the Seed Cities all have this weird otherwordly hum that most people don't seem to notice and it's really distracting, and also because if she spends too much time that close to Little Firelight... she'll just keep thinking about how badly she wants to visit. So she'd used the reward from a job well done to... purchase a train ticket right back the way she came from.

    Besides, Eleanor had said that Cinnabar Island is a nice place to relax on a beach, and ever since her first visit to Spira Lan has really learned to enjoy beaches. The only whales here are Wailord!

    She shows up behind Eleanor and Xiumei, her hair back in a long braid and her usual clothes exchanged for a swimsuit, a beach bag, and a floppy hat. "Looooooooooooreeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeen!" she complains loudly, pulling her hat off and placing it on top of Lunatone ('Hold this for me okay?'), "I was gonna go swimming! I-- oh, right," she remembers, and hands over the beach bag too, minus a single Pokeball. Releasing Buneary, Lan crouches to sit the fluffy-wuffy bunny safely just outside of the designated Fight Zone. ('This might be educational, so pay close attention and we'll go over it later!')

    Lan straightens back up and faces Loren again. "Anyway I was gonna go swimming but now we have to come stop you," Lan finishes, because she forgot most of what she was going to say. She's still got the most pertinent info in mind, however, because she didn't forget to follow that up with a rush past all the Pokemon to aim an elbow jab for his face!

GS: Lan Lilac has attacked Loren Voss with Dancing In The Dark!
GS: Lan Lilac has gained 2 Combo!
GS: Lan Lilac has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Hannah grew up in a desert. She's used to seeing sand. And lots of it. But one of the perks of leaving home has been getting to see new places, and new types of places. Sielje let her see snow, for the first time. Being a Drifter took her to many new corners of Filgaia, both in civilization and in its various ruins. Her first trip to Lunar was certainly memorable, as was the unexpected trip to Nede. However, today, she is getting to see something else new:

A beach!

(Yes, she was just in December, helping foil a train heist with Lan, but anybody who knows Hannah knows that she tends to stay busy and has a history of not staying still for very long.)

Even if it's been overcast, there's something fascinating for her about seeing the sand with the vast ocean lapping up onto it. She's got medium length curly pink hair, bright green eyes, and today she's opted for a green bikini. She brought all of her pokemon with her, too, as well as Zephyr, figuring they could all enjoy some rest and relaxation.

But then they hear word of strange visitors investigating the burned-out mansion. "Huh. That does sound kinda suspicious, don't it? Hey, Zephyr? You wanna help me scout it out?" Zephyr is not present in the vicinity. A moment later she makes a face, and says, "You just ate, an' I know you know I c'n tell-- Ah, forget it."

"Agapi, Eimi, Cassandra? Y'all wanna come check it out with us?" The caterpie, weedle, and Absol, respectively, look up from where they're lounging and make various sounds of assent. (Agapi and Cassandra are quick to agree, but Eimi only does after Agapi does.)

For the walk over she's slipped on a gray hoodie, left unzipped, and her usual hiking boots and satchel. And then they spot Loren, and Hannah scowls, one hand reaching for the crest graph pouch she is also wearing. "Well now I ain't too sure what you think you're doin', but whatever it is--"

She cuts herself off as Agapi charges forward ahead of her. "Cater caterpie!" After a moment Eimi joins her, and Cassandra stands resolute at Hannah's side.

Hannah blinks. "Well... alright then." She points. "Agapi! Eimi! Sring shot! Lock 'em all down!"

Agapi and Eimi both let loose with their own string shots to add to the others already being used.

GS: Hannah Curie has attacked Loren Voss with String Shot!
GS: Hannah Curie has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Ida was here for business, and not pleasure. Anne needed someone to stop by a lab on Cinnabar to pick up a few Pokemon from a colleague while she took care of other important tasks. It would be more picturesque if it wasn't raining, but... isn't this the perfect weather to explore a spooky abandoned building?

    The sounds of Chase crashing through the floor echo through the mansion. Bits of dust and rotten wood fall gently from the edges of the hole. A moment passes, and then, a woman's voice.

    "--Hello? Are you all right?!" Is it a ghost?! One of the people who perished in the fire? The ghost of a tormented Pokemon, pretending to be a rescuer? No, it's Ida's voice, and it's coming from upstairs. Footsteps creak across the rotting wood, slow and careful. Ida's face leans into the edge of the hole, brow knit in concern. "Chase? Pikachu? Is--" Eleanor? Venetia? Why is there a crowd here--

    Her gaze falls on Loren. Her face twists in a scowl.

    "Sal," says Ida, "Please keep an eye on him for a moment. I'll be right down." As mayhem breaks loose, a Butterfree with a beautiful golden bandana zips down through the hole, buzzes past Pikachu for a daring high-five, and stops--

    Less than a foot from Loren's face. "Free?" says Catastrophe Sal, cocking her head to the side. She seems to realize something, her eyes lighting up. "Free! Butterfree." She meets Loren's gaze.

    A wordless question lingers in those big, Butterfree eyes. Loren wasn't up to no good here, right? It sure would be a shame if she had to Tackle him.

GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Loren Voss with Sal Says Hello!
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has completed her action.
GS: CRITICAL! Loren Voss marginally charges Ida Everstead-Rey's Sal Says Hello for 0 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Loren Voss gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Charge!! You gain 30 FP! (That's 15 more than usual!)
GS: FP up! Reaction bonus!
GS: CRITICAL! Loren Voss critically fails to guard Lan Lilac's Dancing In The Dark for 126 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Loren Voss gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Blind and Disrupt applied to Loren Voss!
GS: Loren Voss mostly guards Hannah Curie's String Shot for 0 hit points!
GS: Cripple, Entangle, and Slow applied to Loren Voss!
GS: Hyper applied to Hannah Curie!

<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

    One minute, he's investigating the structure of a door in an abandoned ruin of a mansion.

    The next minute, a kid and his Pikachu just about fall on top of him, prompting Loren to take a step backwards away from the locked door. "What-- what are you doing in here--"

    This event is followed by a sound from behind him; Loren whips his head around so fast it's a wonder he doesn't strain something as people come running down into this particular turn of the hallway. "What the--"

    And in the next moment, Loren's found himself wound up in sticky string courtesy of a Pokemon whereupon he immediately overbalances and falls on his face just as Timu takes a peek to see what's going on in here. Yeah, it sure is one of those days.

    The other two Solarian operatives -- Second Class, if it matters -- take a moment to look at each other before going for their own Pokeballs. It's a small strange mercy that Loren's position on the ground spares him from much of the effects of the howl that rips through this space; the less-shielded Solarian soldiers along with Loren are not so fortunate. Though they struggle against the rolling wave of sonic force they collapse one after another onto the battered floor of the mansion hallway. One might think that this would be the end of it: two of them out of action altogether and Loren bound on the hallway floor. Gritting his teeth, Loren lifts his face off the carbonized tatters of what had once been a carpet and snarls out, "Zubat!"

    Something small descends from the ceiling overhead where he'd been perched. "SCREEEEE!" screams Loren's Zubat, answering Pyri's Snarl with the characteristic deafening screech his species is all-too-known to do. Unfortunately, Chase, Timu, Xiumei, and Eleanor get the worst of it, being so close at hand.

    "Do you think," Loren says in the aftermath of that piercing scream as he at last extricates himself from the webbing and gets back to his feet, "that I'm just going to give up?" He might be directing that at Eleanor, specifically, but, oh no

    "Lan?! What are you doing here--" And he gets to have one moment to gawk at her handing over her hat and bag to both of her Pokemon before she launches herself at him.

    "Go, Dunsparce!"

    He's not fast enough to avoid an elbow to the face, which sets him reeling back. One hand covers his face while the other finds purchase on the crumbling wall. It's also not Dunsparce that emerges. It's Graveler who emerges in a flash of light, apparently inviting herself to the party. She grins in a way that would be disarming even on something a lot more traditionally cute than she is (even though Loren's Alolan Graveler is plenty cute in a, well, 'definitely going to commit arson' sort of way).

    "That's-- none of your business!" he snaps at Chartreuse who slips in to get a better look at what's going on in here. It already looks like a disaster, what with Loren with tatters of webbing sticking to him and two grown people passed out on the floor.

    A voice calls out from above, and Loren goes slightly crosseyed as he glances upwards through the hole that Chase created and spots... another person. And a Butterfree. "Uh," he starts to say, staring up at those big Butterfree eyes.

    Something jingles. It seems ominous to Loren's ears and he's quick to put his eyes front and center just as light shines and a torrent of Filgaian coins come flying at him as tiny missiles.

    Except, they don't hit him. Graveler steps in to accept the attack! Her fist shines with a terrible, sparking light as she surges (as much as a Graveler can surge) for Venetia, full of salt and vinegar!

    ...Speaking of Dunsparce...

    There's a lot of them in here by now. "Clefairy!" Loren calls out, and here Clefairy makes his own entrance, appearing from within his Pokeball with a flourish. Spotting Eleanor among the crowd, Clefairy waves at her cheerily, only for Loren to pull a face that's approximately, 'are you for real'. "Stop messing around and help me out!" he sighs. "Thin the crowd a little!" Shrugging as if to go 'well, what can you do', Clefairy begins to sing. It's a charming song that reaches the ears of Chartreuse and Ida's Sal, but also a rather...

    ...soporific...

    ...one.

    "And you too, Dunsparce!" Loren calls out, calling out the last Pokemon he apparently has on him. This time the real Dunsparce appears in a flash as she emerges from her Pokeball. "Duns?" she asks, almost as if to ask, 'this again?'. Loren's world-weary look speaks volumes on its own.

    This is said, of course, just moments before Hannah -- her again, his expression seems to read, recognizing her from the last time they crossed paths -- instructs her Caterpie to let loose with another String Shot. Loren, despite his attempt to dodge, gets caught up in webbing for a second time and once more unwillingly hits the deck.

    "Spar," sighs Dunsparce who has watched this comedy of errors continue. She shakes her head and then dutifully launches a volley of mud and dust at Hannah's Caterpie.

GS: Loren Voss has activated a Boss Action!
GS: You have activated the Boss Action Extend!
GS: Loren Voss spends 1 Combo on Interrupt!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Xiumei Klein with Supersonic!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Eleanor Klein with Supersonic!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Timu Guado with Supersonic!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Chase with Supersonic!
GS: Loren Voss has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Lan Lilac with Thunder Punch!
GS: Loren Voss has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Venetia Vuong with Thunder Punch!
GS: Loren Voss has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Chartreuse Spinosa with Sing!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Sing!
GS: Loren Voss has gained 2 Combo!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Hannah Curie with Mud-Slap!
GS: Loren Voss has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Loren Voss has completed his action.
GS: Chartreuse Spinosa mostly guards Loren Voss's Sing for 17 hit points!
GS: Drowsy and Hex applied to Chartreuse Spinosa!
GS: Eleanor Klein mostly charges Loren Voss's Supersonic for 17 hit points!
GS: Blind, Drowsy, and Interrupt applied to Eleanor Klein!
GS: Eleanor Klein has lost 2 Combo from Interrupt!
GS: Timu Guado marginally evades Loren Voss's Supersonic for 12 hit points!
GS: Blind, Drowsy, and Interrupt applied to Timu Guado!
GS: Timu Guado has lost 2 Combo from Interrupt!
GS: Xiumei Klein critically fails to guard Loren Voss's Supersonic for 27 hit points!
GS: Blind, Drowsy, and Interrupt applied to Xiumei Klein!
GS: Xiumei Klein has lost 2 Combo from Interrupt!
GS: Chase fails to charge Loren Voss's Supersonic for 20 hit points!
GS: Blind, Drowsy, and Interrupt applied to Chase!
GS: FP up! Reaction bonus!
GS: Chase has lost 2 Combo from Interrupt!
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey fails to evade Loren Voss's Sing for 34 hit points!
GS: Drowsy and Hex applied to Ida Everstead-Rey!
GS: Venetia Vuong perfectly guards Loren Voss's Thunder Punch for 46 hit points!
GS: Delay blocked!

<Pose Tracker> Xiumei Klein has posed.

"I wonder what he's doing here," Xiumei says as an aside to Venetia, before she looks back at Loren. Her brow furrows; Eleanor asks the important questions,though.

And there are a lot of people here to help, too! She looks about -- eyes finally settling on Chartreuse. She does feel a little bad about this.

"I'm afraid we dragged a problem from our world to yours," she says. "I'm terribly sorry."

The piercing cry of a Zubat makes her cover her ears; Liu Bei does the same, too, while her Tarountula leaps back. "Tarountula, come back!"

She holds a ball up -- he moves into it, with a click. Then, Xiumei looks at Liu Bei.

Then, at the Zubat. "Liu Bei! Denial!"

"Evoi!"

Liu Bei strikes one paw into the ground, and then sends a large puff of sand up for the Zubat. Which is when Xiumei throws her Pokeball...

...and a second Eevee pops out, next to his sworn brother.

GS: Xiumei Klein spends 1 Combo on Poison!
GS: Xiumei Klein has attacked Loren Voss with Eevee - Sand Attack!
GS: Xiumei Klein has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Interrupt expired!
GS: Xiumei Klein has completed her action.
GS: Lan Lilac mostly guards Loren Voss's Thunder Punch for 66 hit points!
GS: Delay applied to Lan Lilac!

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

...Eleanor did not think Venetia would enjoy the beach as much as she does, but it was worth a try! At least there is iced deliciousness. That's always nice.

"Oh, Venetia," Eleanor says. "...They don't do that here," she explains of the gun, looking apologetic. But Venetia sees it all the same. Meanwhile Eleanor sees a certain PIKACHU appear and looks a little sad at how cheerfully she greets Loren. But, "Are you two all right?" is more important. And then Chartreuse asks, so, "Yes," Eleanor says. "They're part of an organization on our world that likes to push people around."

Lan... Well, Lan's got it covered. Lan's fine. Eleanor says, "I was looking forward to the swimming," in passing. Just as she wonders where Hannah got off to, too, she sees her. And Ida...

"Hello, Sal."

"No," Eleanor admits to Loren when he asks what she expects, "I don't. But you don't expect me to stop opposing you, do you?"

SCREEEEE. Pyri wobbles on her feet, visibly unsteady. Her confusion is fairly plain as she looks around, puts a paw down, looks around, puts the other down. She starts to move again--

Pyri has hurt herself in her confusion!

"Pyri!" Eleanor calls in alarm, having covered her own ears. "Well. Two can play at the clever game," Eleanor says, kneeling down next to her Pokemon for a moment. "You can do it. Let's get back in there! Use Hex!"

Pyri the Vulpix then looks forward--and her black eyes glow suddenly purple. She rises into the air, surrounded by violet-and-gray smoke. "Pix..."

Her voice echoes quietly in all directions. Then, a haze appears around the Zubat.

Eleanor waves back quietly to the Clefairy. "You're doing well!" she encourages him, because--Well, she can't help it.

"There must be something worth finding in here," Eleanor reflects to Xiumei. "Or they wouldn't be nosing around. Perhaps we can find out what."

GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Loren Voss with Hex!
GS: Interrupt expired!
GS: Eleanor Klein has completed her action.
GS: Hannah Curie marginally evades Loren Voss's Mud-Slap for 56 hit points!
GS: Blind applied to Hannah Curie!
GS: FP up! Power Burst and Reaction bonus!

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Hannah winces as Eleanor's vulpix lets out a terrifying sound, reaching up to work a finger into her ear for a moment. "Whoa, nellie. Eleanor, Pyri's got a big set of pipes on her, don't she?"

Timu asks what's going on, and Hannah glances over to her, following up Venetia's answer with a slightly more detailed. "These guys're with Solaris. Whatever it is they want, it can't be any good." She glances over to Chase and Chartreuse. "Uh... that part might take more explainin' though. Later."

"Well, howdy, Lan. And--Sal and Ida, too. Well now ain't this a right proper party now."

Hannah recognizes Loren, too. And she's non too pleased to see him again. But the demands for answers will have to wait. Dunsparce (finally) comes out, and launches a spray of debris at Agapi, who is quick to move out of the way but not fast enough, and she's got with a faceful of gunk. "Cater! Caterpie!"

"Weedle!" cries Eimi in alarm, looking at Agapi helplessly.

"I got 'er," says Hannah, stepping forward to help wipe at Agapi's eyes. "C'mon, Eimi. We'll work together. Attack that Dunsparce with Bug Bite."

Eimi looks uncertain, but Agapi, still blind, makes an impashiohned cry of "Caterpie! Caterpie!"

Eimi nods and turns to face Dunsparce, and then charges forward at Dunsparce. "Weeeedle!" They lunge, and make to bite at the opposing pokemon.

GS: Hannah Curie has attacked Loren Voss with Bug Bite!
GS: Hannah Curie gains 5 FP from Gleam!
GS: Hannah Curie has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Timu Guado has posed.

    "Crime..." Timu echoes Venetia's observations, as her fingers start to curl and her gaze hardens, just in time for Loren's Zubat friend to come to the rescue.
 
     'SCREEEEE!'
 
     Timu clutches her ears and winces, as her Hooligre comes out of flinching to cover her while it feels like the room shakes and rattles under the latest act of sound-based carnage.
 
     There's a lot of people here, and as Timu looks past her Hooligre's shoulder, she sees so many of them just wobbling and otherwise dealing with the fallout of screeching and everything else. More importantly...
 
     "Hooligre, are you all right?" Timu asks, trying to look him in the eyes. He looks like he's got ducks swirling around his head. She should be heeding Xiumei's example in the wake of this, as she rests a hand against her Hooligre's shoulder. She knows he hates it when he comes off as weak and vulnerable, and yet--
 
     "Hooligre, please return!" She makes the call, as the thuggish Pokemon returns to his home while she reaches for...
 
     "Moteray!"
 
     "Mooo--" Moteray is cut short as he bumps into the ceiling, "te." His mood sours immediately. Ceilings! How dare they impede his desire to go in lines and directions however and whenever he pleases. He drifts back in Timu's direction with a little ouchy, which she lays a hand upon in comfort, closing her eyes and exhaling.
 
     "I'm sorry," she says, as she looks to the fallen allies of Loren.
 
     "Weren't they the ones that tried to take over Macalania?" She asks aloud, following Eleanor's explanation about an organization from Gaia that likes to push everyone around.
 
     And yet, Loren has friends, too, seeing the company he has accumulated. She supposes there's only one way forward, then.
 
     "Moteray... we're going to help him leave," she says, helping set her small stingray-like friend back ahead. "Moteray! Use a Thunder Attack on that Zubat!"
 
     "Moooo...!" Moteray opens up their mouth and sends out an electrified ring in that Zubat's direction!

GS: Timu Guado has attacked Loren Voss with Thunder Shock!
GS: Timu Guado has gained 2 Combo!
GS: Timu Guado has completed her action.
GS: Interrupt! Attack weakened!
GS: Loren Voss mostly evades Xiumei Klein's Eevee - Sand Attack for 0 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Loren Voss gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Blind, Interrupt, and Poison applied to Loren Voss!

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

 
    Eleanor is correct: Lan is doing just fine.

    He reels from her elbow strike and Lan dances back a few steps. She didn't come here to beat the tar out of him (even if he's probably going to force her hand again); she just wants to disorient him! Even if she knows he's got people watching him, even if she knows he's got so much riding on success for his masters. Master.

    Besides, mercilessly beating someone up in front of their Pokemon feels kind of... really mean?
    (Then why isn't she fighting his Pokemon instead?)

    His Graveler pops out of her Pokeball, eyes glittering with a kind of mischief that Lan usually associates with Cousin Tansy, known gremlin and reformed board game piece eater. She has just enough time to get her arms up in front of her to block, the rattling buzz of lightning stiffening her muscles; the sheer strength behind it sends Lan skidding back several feet, where she totters on her heels before righting herself and shaking it out.

    "So, see how I blocked there?" she asides to Buneary, who is watching despite having one ear tugged down over its anxious little face. "I can take a punch, even a magic one, so it's fine to block if dodging might put me into a worse position."

    She's... teaching battlefield strategy. To a Buneary.

    "I intentionally went his his face first, because that can shake someone up. It won't work on him because he knows how I fight, but if I could have rattled him I might have gotten the upper hand and been able to press the advantage." So she... she's just using Loren as a training dummy?! (Get you a Battle Girl that can do both.)

    She hears her name in the middle of the lesson and glances over. "Oh, Hannah!" There's a little wave, and then Lan goes back to Teacher Mode. "Now I'm gonna keep trying to disable him and make it harder for him to fight effectively. It's good to do this as early in a fight as you can." And with that, Lan leaps past Graveler to push right back into Loren's space again, fingertips jabbing for the soft bits where his chest meets his armpit, and the very important nerves deep underneath.

GS: Lan Lilac has attacked Loren Voss with Counting Stars!
GS: Lan Lilac has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Lan Lilac has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Chase has posed.

Pikachu munches on her berry, eyes mirroring Chase's from every person to the next. Again, the Visitors seem to know this man, and again, they do not like whatever he's up to. Crime, but not Team Rocket crime. A battle, but a Pokemon battle -- er, no, only almost. That... sorceress(??) is using Make it Rain and another girl is giving him a Mach Punch.

Oh, more String Shot.

As they watch, Pikachu plucks off a drupelet from her giant aggregate fruit treat, handing it to Chase, who pops it in his mouth suspiciously like popcorn. It's horrible. He can't look away.

Ida greets them, and Pikachu gives her a cheerful wave coupled with a bright, "Piii Pikachu!" of greeting. She pulls another silver drupelet off her snack and offers it up to Ida despite the vast difference between the ceiling and Pikachu's stubby little arm. Chase looks up and waves, mostly to let Ida know he's okay despite the accident. He looks to Eleanor and nods, starting to look sheepish.

He's not used to being caught in the act of his teenage misbehavior.

Pikachu high fives Sal without having to look, because this Pikachu has super high five senses.

but also
SCREEEEE!

"PIIIIIII!" Pikachu shouts back, swirls for eyes as Chase winces from the sound, pressing his palms over Pikachu's ears to help block out the sound. But even that is not enough to drown out the power of a Zubat's voice. Have you seen the size of their mouths?? Pikachu cheeks spark in agitation, and she uses both paws in an overhand chuck straight for Zubat to smack him with her half eaten berry!

Chase shakes off his own confusion and stands up with Pikachu cradled in one arm, giving her a small pat as she whines a, "Chuuuuuuu..." of dizziness. His hand hovers over the balls on his belt. One of them begins to wiggle, and Chase takes that one to chuck into battle.

Nidoran appears in brilliant light, roaring* out at the opposition with all of its bucktoothed might.

(*Squeak.)

GS: Chase has attacked Loren Voss with Fling!
GS: Interrupt expired!
GS: Chase gains 5 FP from Gleam!
GS: Chase gains 40 THP from Regen!
GS: Chase has completed his action.
GS: Delay! Attack greatly weakened!
GS: Loren Voss critically fails to guard Lan Lilac's Counting Stars for 74 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Loren Voss gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Loren Voss's Break Ward may block the effect!
GS: Break blocked!
GS: Quick applied to Lan Lilac!
GS: Interrupt! Attack weakened!
GS: Loren Voss mostly guards Eleanor Klein's Hex for 107 hit points!
GS: FP up! Reaction bonus!
GS: Interrupt! Attack weakened!
GS: Loren Voss critically fails to evade Chase's Fling for 108 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Loren Voss gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Quick applied to Chase!

<Pose Tracker> Chartreuse Spinosa has posed.

It definitely looks like a disaster in here - even moreso than it usually does.

Loren declares it's none of her business - and to that, Chartreuse just sends a look.

"...I see you're in a bit of a bind, so I'll excuse the rudeness." Chartreuse replies. "But there've been problems with burglars in the past, so as a Trainer I decided to come investigate."

She does get an answer, though - it seems they do know him... and, his reputation is an unpleasant.

"...Well, fair's fair, I suppose... We've left one of our problems to you as well, after all." Chartreuse replies to Xiumei, offering her a wry smile, before considering Eleanor and Hannah's words. Solaris - an organization that pushes people around... "...I see. Thanks for the info. They sound like a bunch of real gems. Then in that case..."

She looks toward Loren and his associates.

"I'm going to have to ask you to leave." She says.

...Of course, it could never be that easy - only a moment later is Chartreuse reeling from the effects of Clefairy's delightful but drowsiness-inducing song. She manages to stay awake...

Sentret isn't so lucky, though - nestling up to the back of her head and curling up for a nap, still clinging to her upper arm. Good night, Sentret...

Smacking her cheeks to try to shake some of the drowsiness out of her system, Chartreuse reaches into her coat and draws out a Pokeball.

"Sandshrew, you're up! Use Rollout!" Chartreuse calls out. With an eager cry, Sandshrew emerges from her Pokeball - and then immediately rolls into a ball. She spins in place... and rockets off toward Clefairy!

The quarters provide a lot of room for bounce opportunities - resulting in Sandshrew continuously pinballing off of walls to come in for another pass at Clefairy or the closest of Loren's Pokemon. She's having the time of her life, rolling around like that.

GS: Chartreuse Spinosa spends 1 Combo on Poison!
GS: Chartreuse Spinosa has attacked Loren Voss with Don't let up.!
GS: Chartreuse Spinosa has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Chartreuse Spinosa has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Sal looks at Loren. She looks over at Loren's Graveller, then up at Loren's Zubat--with a visible wince as he starts to SCREE--then down at Loren's Clefairy. "Butterfree," says Sal, with a little nod to her opponent. It's nothing personal. Clefairy starts to sing. It's catchy. It's hypnotic, even. Catastrophe Sal mumbles a sleepy "Free" to Eleanor, bobbing back and forth in time to the rhythm. Her eyelids droop. Tiny mandibles part in an adorable yawn...

    And the sounds of creaking wood and hurried footsteps abruptly stop as Ida emerges from a nearby door, lunges forth, and catches Sal before she falls asleep in mid-air. The heiress glances at Chase to check him over, then pivots on a foot, and rushes back out of the fray--she is dangerously close to Loren's Graveler. Ida remembers what that one did last time.

    "...Lan?" The heiress' eyes go round in puzzlement, then dull horror, as she realizes what Lan's up to. Oh. Oh no. With Sal dozing comfortably in her arms for now, Ida's options are a bit limited--but then one of the Pokeballs on her belt begins to shake, and Ida plucks it off, hurling it into the fray. "Go, Marigold!"

    Out pops a smallish Eevee, who lets out an adorable little sneeze from all the flying dust. A bright golden scarf is tied around her neck. Her ears prick as she waits for her Trainer's command...

    "Quick Attack the Clefairy!"

    "Evoi!" Marigold cries, and she blurs forward, leaping back and forth. Her demeanor is equal parts doggedly aggressive, playful, and showy. Is she... trying to impress Liu Bei over there...?

GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Loren Voss with Quick Attack!
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.

 
"Yes, so it would seem," Venetia answers Eleanor with a slight sigh, regarding the prospect of just plugging the enemy agents with her gun, the way she's solved so many problems with firearms in the past.

(Editorial note: Very few problems can actually be solved with firearms. Please be sure to follow all safety rules at all times when using or storing firearms, no matter what your defensive stat-block may be.)

Of course, Venetia has larger problems on her mind as the men from another star bear up very well against an ALL OUT POKEMON ASSAULT. Well, *a* problem, especially when that problem interferes with her COINAGE ASSAULT. That problem is a rock.

It is not the first time Venetia has come into conflict with a rock, of course. This one, however, may be out to strike a blow on behalf of all other stones. Venetia falls back a step and reaches for her Crest Pouch, and when the Graveler pivots and hurls a thunderous punch, Venetia quickly says the words -

                "Simulacrum sign!"

-- and a violet amazon surges forwards, countering that punch with one of her own! The shadowy form of the Simulacrum, given life through the power of Crest Magic amped up to its theoretical or at least near-practical maximum, gives a counterpunch before evanesceing away, revealing a smug-looking Venetia. Well: smugger than usual.

In the chaos, Venetia notices something and remarks to Xiumei, "So just how many of those do you intend to collect?" Regarding, of course, the Eevees.

GS: Venetia Vuong has attacked Loren Voss with Simulacrum Sign ~Velvet Underground~!
GS: Venetia Vuong has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Venetia Vuong's stances have changed to Hero!
GS: Venetia Vuong has completed her action.
GS: Loren Voss mostly evades Hannah Curie's Bug Bite for 39 hit points!
GS: Disease applied to Loren Voss!
GS: Hyper applied to Hannah Curie!
GS: Hannah Curie drains Loren Voss! Hannah Curie gains 24 temporary hit points!
GS: Interrupt! Attack weakened!
GS: CRITICAL! Loren Voss mostly guards Timu Guado's Thunder Shock for 74 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Loren Voss gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Infect! Debuff durations extended!!
GS: Disrupt applied to Loren Voss!
GS: Hyper applied to Timu Guado!
GS: Loren Voss critically fails to guard Ida Everstead-Rey's Quick Attack for 132 hit points!
GS: Riposte applied to Ida Everstead-Rey!
GS: CRITICAL! Loren Voss critically fails to guard Chartreuse Spinosa's Don't let up. for 241 hit points!
GS: Poison applied to Loren Voss!
GS: CRITICAL! Loren Voss mostly evades Venetia Vuong's Simulacrum Sign ~Velvet Underground~ for 127 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Loren Voss gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: FP up! Reaction bonus!

<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

    'I'm going to have to ask you to leave', says Chartreuse.

    Loren's reply is succinct: "No." How would he explain that to Command? Even being grossly outnumbered isn't going to cut it, especially since he's made it through worse before. He can't leave here without something to show for it--

    It takes Loren a moment yet to get free of the String Shot again. He's at least quick to get back up on his feet once he forces his way out of the webbing, the quicker for experiencing it a second time around. Is this just going to keep happening? Is he going to continuously get targetted by their Pokemon, too? And that's not even getting into the other elephant in the room.
    'I'm sorry', says Timu of his fallen allies and his only response is to grimace and look away from her.

    "...Of course not," Loren says, clearly reluctant to acknowledge Eleanor's statement about their circumstances.

    And yet, such is still the reality!

    Sand rises in a pouff towards Zubat, who promptly squeals in dismay. It's not that it's because he's gotten sand in his eyes (notably, Zubat lacks these) but rather that it's just gotten a face (and mouth) full of sand. Neither is this the only thing to befall Zubat: no sooner than he's spit the last bit of sand out, he's treated to the sense of something being gravely amiss. He might not be able to see Pyri rise into the air like a thing possessed, but he can surely feel it--

    And also when he's cursed by dark energy, at that.

    "Zuuu," moans Zubat, prompting Loren to jerk his head his way. "Just hang in there! It'll be okay, you'll see--"

    Into this moment, Pikachu throws the remnants of her berry at Zubat's head, dropping the Pokemon right out of the air. "Hey--" Loren has to scramble to catch him before he hits the floor, skidding the floorboards himself in his mad dash. "Are you okay? You want to call it quits?" he asks Zubat quietly, cradled in his arms.

    "Zubat!"

    Zubat has started to glow with a strange light. Slowly, he rises from Loren's arms, his form becoming indistinct under the growing light. Something about Zubat is changing--

    As the light fades, what has happened becomes apparent. Zubat has gotten much bigger. And Zubat has eyes now, and a large gaping mouth with fangs. "GOLLLLL," screams Golbat, for he is Zubat no longer.

    "Uh," utters Loren -- but he can't argue with results, particularly not when Golbat lets loose with a large shockwave of a spectral pulse in the direction of Eleanor, Xiumei, and Chase's Pokemon.

    The only good news for them might be the fact that Moteray lets loose with Thunder Shock not long after, striking the newly-evolved Pokemon dead-on and -- to judge by the sparks dancing about his form -- locking him up for a few crucial moments.

    Lan's right: he's familiar enough with her method of fighting that, other than the initial knockback, he's not significantly rattled by the attempt. She's done things like this before! But more importantly and more urgently to the situation at hand, "Why are you giving pointers to your Pokemon on fighting a person?!" he calls out at her, which she more or less responds by vaulting over Graveler (who, for all her many strengths cannot move quickly at all). Too quickly, she's into his personal space and before he can do anything meaningful about it, has jammed her fingertips into the exposed nerves along his ribs.

    It's all he can do to stay on his feet. "Why are you-- you're supposed to fight using your Pokemon! Not me!" he gasps.

    The only good news for him in this particular moment is that Graveler does catch up eventually -- well, if 'catch up' means 'spray a bunch of sparks in Lan's general direction' from a distance away.

    Of course, this also means that the Graveler is not paying attention to Venetia. Venetia's spell slams into it from behind to send it toppeling to the floor, which turns out to be through the floor because the floorboards aren't that strong. After several seconds, there is a distant thud. "Uh, Graveler?!"

    There is at least a distant, "Graaaa," so she's probably fine. Clefairy goes so far as to peer down into the Graveler-sized hole, but it's dark and he can't see anything...

    It also makes him a fine target for Chartreuse's Sandshrew who, bounding off the walls in her balled-up form has gained quite a bit of momentum as she pinballs off Clefairy (knocking him down). She follows up with a swipe by the stunned Golbat, only to finish with one final bounce off of Dunsparce's head.

    Eimi the Weedle, on Hannah's orders, lunges for Dunsparce; though Dunsparce does her best to evade, she's just not as fast as the smaller Bug Pokemon (and just took a Sandshrew to the head) and receives a direct hit for her pains. "Sparce," she calls out, rattling her tail as if in warning as she rears back and away from the Weedle's immediate position.

    Perhaps she's taken a page out of Chartreuse's Sandshrew's book, for without even a command she rolls up and grasps her tail with her mouth. She begins to rev up, visibily picking up speed without moving an inch from her position.

    And then, quite simply, Dunsparce is off, tearing across the room like a speed demon to ram and roll over everything that gets in her way. Which, as it happens, largely involves such things as Timu's Moteray, Hannah's Weedle, Chartreuse's Sandshrew and... Venetia, if they're not quick about it.

    Meanwhile, the Clefairy, recovering from his earlier Sandshrew-induced pummeling, picks himself up off the floor and shakes it off. This is when Marigold strikes, moving too fast for the Clefairy to track! "Clefairy! Use Stored Power!" With a nod of acknowledgement Loren's way, Clefairy furrows his brow and cracks his knuckles (???) before breathing deep as if to thus steady and align himself. The brilliant burst of pink energy that follows its martial stance is abrupt and violent.

GS: Loren Voss has activated a Boss Action!
GS: You have activated the Boss Action Extend!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Chase with Astonish!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Eleanor Klein with Astonish!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Xiumei Klein with Astonish!
GS: Loren Voss has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Interrupt expired!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Lan Lilac with Spark!
GS: Loren Voss spends 5 Combo on Headshot and Gatling, loading 3 into Gatling!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Timu Guado with Rollout!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Hannah Curie with Rollout!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Chartreuse Spinosa with Rollout!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Venetia Vuong with Rollout!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Stored Power!
GS: Loren Voss has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Loren Voss takes 35 damage from Poison!
GS: Loren Voss has completed his action.
GS: CRITICAL! Xiumei Klein critically fails to guard Loren Voss's Astonish for 64 hit points!
GS: Break and Delay applied to Xiumei Klein!
GS: Eleanor Klein mostly evades Loren Voss's Astonish for 11 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Eleanor Klein gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Break and Delay applied to Eleanor Klein!
GS: Chartreuse Spinosa mostly guards Loren Voss's Rollout for 96 hit points!
GS: Lan Lilac mostly evades Loren Voss's Spark for 55 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Lan Lilac gains 1 additional Combo!

<Pose Tracker> Xiumei Klein has posed.

"Yes," Xiumei agrees with Eleanor. "They wouldn't come here for no reason -- and I don't think they'd be so insistent, either."

Then she looks at Chartreuse -- there's a flicker of a smile, before she shakes her head. "Ah, well--I guess it evens out."

She looks back at the Zubat -- and her eyes widen. "Evolving!?" she says. She read about this. "Not good--"

The shockwave bowls over both of her Eevees. Xiumei winces, before she looks down at both of them. The newer one forces himself up to his feet. "Guan Yu, are you ready?"

A fierce nod.

"Swiftly, then!"

"EEEEHHH-VOI!"

Guan Yu throws out both of his tiny arms -- squares himself up, standing upright, hind legs spread wide enough to make his stance unassailable. He bellows -- and then a trio of shimmering golden stars of light explode from him, and come crashing down for the Golbat.

GS: Xiumei Klein has attacked Loren Voss with Eevee - Swift!
GS: Xiumei Klein has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Xiumei Klein has completed her action.
GS: Venetia Vuong fails to charge Loren Voss's Rollout for 249 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Venetia Vuong gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Timu Guado critically fails to evade Loren Voss's Rollout for 267 hit points!
GS: Chase perfectly evades Loren Voss's Astonish for 0 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Chase gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Break and Delay blocked!
GS: Healthy! For entering Condition Green, Chase receives 100 temporary hit points.
GS: Chase enters CONDITION GREEN!!

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

"She's so talented, isn't she?" Eleanor effuses to Hannah over Pyri's terrifying sounds. Timu apologizes to the fallen, and Eleanor looks to the gentle Guado as she asks the net question. "They were," Eleanor confirms for her about how Solaris tried to take Macalania. "The very same."

Eleanor watches Lan instruct her Buneary in the arts of combat with a lifted eyebrow, but she's not going to complain about results. Besides... if anyone deserves to punch Loren...

But Chartreuse, "It's both of our problem now," Eleanor says, but she catches her meaning. "...I appreciate your good nature about this all the same."

Poor Sal.

Venetia's sigh gets a 'what do you do?' sort of shrug. But Venetia's impressive Simulacrum magic is always a treat to see in action. "See?" Eleanor says to Pyri. "We have some things like that, too."

Loren does, if reluctantly, answer Eleanor's question. The elf remains fairly calm about all this, even if internally she feels more than a little melancholy about it--all the more when Loren seems so concerned for his Zubat. His precious Pokemon... Eleanor thinks that Loren is not immune to caring.

Except--"Oh, dear." Golbat's shockwave slams into Pyri, who is knocked back by it, dizzied.

Pyri has snapped out of her confusion!

"You see? Reliable friends, Loren. Even when you're worried about them, they worry about you. You have people like that too, don't you?" Not only Pokemon. THe Evolution is impressive. She'll have to redouble her efforts...

"Pyri!" she calls. "Behind Guan Yu, go!"

Pyri sprints forward and LEAPS into the air, whirling around towards Golbat. "Vulll....!"

There's a flash of gray and white as her tail suddenly stiffens, hard as steel, and she swings it at Golbat's face! "Pix!"

GS: Eleanor Klein has attacked Loren Voss with Iron Tail!
GS: Eleanor Klein has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Eleanor Klein has completed her action.
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey marginally guards Loren Voss's Stored Power for 69 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Ida Everstead-Rey gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Mighty applied to Loren Voss!
GS: FP up! Arcane Font and Reaction bonus!
GS: Delay! Attack greatly weakened!
GS: CRITICAL! Loren Voss fails to evade Eleanor Klein's Iron Tail for 183 hit points!
GS: Loren Voss's Break Ward may block the effect!
GS: Break blocked!
GS: Delay! Attack greatly weakened!
GS: CRITICAL! Loren Voss perfectly guards Xiumei Klein's Eevee - Swift for 77 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Loren Voss gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Hannah Curie has activated Force Action: Guard!
GS: Hannah Curie fails to charge Loren Voss's Rollout for 245 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Hannah Curie gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: FP up! Power Burst!

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

And Lan is... just going after Loren. Which was the same kind of instinct Hannah had, before Agapi decided to assert her wish to fight. (Maybe Hannah is just used to listening to the whims of an animal friend.) And she's using it as a teaching moment, too. "Well don't that beat all."

A bunch of real gems... Hannah recognizes sarcasm when she hears it, but she can't help but reply with a dry, "They really ain't."

Venetia, meanwhile, uses Simulacrum Sign against Graveller, and-- "C'mon now, ain't that a mite excessive?"

Hannah smiles to Eleanor. "She certainly is."

But there is a surprising development on the field--Loren's Zubat evolves! "Well, shoot--" Hannah hesitates, then glances over to the Nedians present. "Is that somethin' you say congratulations for? I mean I know we're fightin' this guy, but..."

But Eimi lands a successful hit, and looks a bit stunned. "Weedle?"

"I knew ya could do it!" calls Hannah. Caterpie joins in with a cheerful "Caterpie!", her eyes mostly wiped clean. But then Dunsparce revs up and starts to tear across the room. Eimi shrinks back, but right before Dunsparce makes contact Cassandra the Absol leaps right into the path.

She lets out a pained cry as she tries to charge at Dunsparce with her horn and just gets pummeled in the head, but her body does shield Eimi, who had reflexively flinched in anticipation of an attack that never came.

"... Weedle...?" they say, looking up at Cassandra in awe.

"Ab," comes the quiet, pained reply.

"Good lookin' out, Cassandra! See, Eimi, we're all backin' each other up." She pauses, and looks down to Agapi, who is nosing at her. "You got an idea? Go for it!"

"Cater! Caterpie!" calls out Agapi. Weedle nods, and both of them concentrate, starting to release sparkling, shining dust into the air. It spreads out over everyone falling down gently on the Drifter and Trainer pokemon to offer some relief and protection.

GS: Hannah Curie has attacked Eleanor Klein with Shield Dust!
GS: Hannah Curie has attacked Xiumei Klein with Shield Dust!
GS: Hannah Curie has attacked Venetia Vuong with Shield Dust!
GS: Hannah Curie has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Shield Dust!
GS: Hannah Curie has attacked Chartreuse Spinosa with Shield Dust!
GS: Hannah Curie has attacked Chase with Shield Dust!
GS: Hannah Curie has attacked Lan Lilac with Shield Dust!
GS: Hannah Curie has attacked Timu Guado with Shield Dust!
GS: Hannah Curie has attacked Hannah Curie with Shield Dust!
GS: Hannah Curie has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Hannah Curie gains 5 FP from Gleam!
GS: Hannah Curie has completed her action.
GS: Hannah Curie accepts Hannah Curie's Shield Dust for 0 hit points!
GS: Restore! Blind removed!
GS: Lock state applied to Hannah Curie!
GS: Hyper applied to Hannah Curie!
GS: Chartreuse Spinosa accepts Hannah Curie's Shield Dust for 0 hit points!
GS: Restore! Hex removed!
GS: Lock state applied to Chartreuse Spinosa!
GS: Hyper applied to Hannah Curie!
GS: Chase accepts Hannah Curie's Shield Dust for 0 hit points!
GS: Restore! Blind and Drowsy removed!
GS: Lock state applied to Chase!
GS: Eleanor Klein accepts Hannah Curie's Shield Dust for 0 hit points!
GS: Restore! Blind, Break, Delay, and Drowsy removed!
GS: Lock state applied to Eleanor Klein!
GS: CRITICAL! Ida Everstead-Rey accepts Hannah Curie's Shield Dust for 0 hit points!
GS: Restore! Hex removed!
GS: Lock state applied to Ida Everstead-Rey!
GS: Hyper applied to Hannah Curie!
GS: CRITICAL! Venetia Vuong accepts Hannah Curie's Shield Dust for 0 hit points!
GS: Lock state applied to Venetia Vuong!
GS: Timu Guado accepts Hannah Curie's Shield Dust for 0 hit points!
GS: Restore! Blind, Drowsy, and Interrupt removed!
GS: Lock state applied to Timu Guado!

<Pose Tracker> Chase has posed.

The light of evolution envelopes Zubat, who then becomes the majestic Golbat as Chase stares on with wide, sparkly eyed wonder. You would think the boy's never seen an evolution before. Strictly speaking, he's never seen this Zubat's evolution before. Evolving! For the first time! It's special! Even Pikachu is gazing on and clapping her paws. "Chaaaa~!"

Nidoran looks back at them, then clumsily sits up on his hind legs and claps his forepaws, too.

But this is a Pokemon battle and now a spectral shockwave is heading in Nidoran's direction. All three blink, then Chase whistles sharply and Nidoran squeak-screams, scrambling away in a desperate pivot with clumsy momentum taking him into an involuntarily twirl and --

Nidoran avoided the move in time with Chase's whistle!

He is frozen for several seconds, then turns to Chase and Pikachu in complete shock. Pikachu begins clapping for him now with pikaspeak chatter as shield dust wafts over him like confetti. Nidoran begins to vibrate, it looks back to Loren's team of Pokemon.

Maybe... just maybe... he can really do this after all...?!

Nidoran shifts his feet against the ground, steadying and steeling himself as his eyes narrow with intensity. He paws at the floor like a bull ready to charge, glancing back at Chase, who looks surprised a moment, but nods and whistles.

Nidoran gathers all of his energy up into an intense focus, a ball of water gathering at the tip of his horn. It grows in size, then explodes, launching pulsing shockwaves of water at Loren's Graveler.

...And will never get to see if he hits his mark, because he blasts himself across the room from recoil. "Raaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa.....!"

Pikachu leaps out of Chase's arms and rushes after Nidoran to get him from the other room. "Pika piiiii!" Chase stares, then very subtly taps his next ball as Staryu appears. But even Staryu emerges, twisting its body toward the chaos before tilting its gem core up at Chase.

"Hiyah?"

Chase shrugs and makes a warbling whistle. Staryu hops around to face Loren's team.

"HIYAH!"

GS: Chase enters CONDITION GREEN!!
GS: Chase has attacked Loren Voss with Focus Energy!
GS: Chase has gained 2 Combo!
GS: Chase enters CONDITION GREEN!!
GS: Chase gains 5 FP from Gleam!
GS: Chase gains 35 THP from Regen!
GS: Chase has completed his action.

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

 
    Zubat always looks so dainty and fragile. It's the curse of something so small and winged - those bones and membranes are delicate, and it doesn't even have any eyes. Of course, it's a Pokemon, and there are Pokemon Centers all over the place! And they're hardy creatures, really, but it's hard to look at poor Zubat be knocked out of the air and not feel bad for it.

    Lan takes a step back. There it is. The kindness that Loren hides, because he's so tired of being hurt. Because kindness is a liability for him. Because trying to connect had only ever hurt him, for a long time.
    When she watches him struggle like that, it hurts, and she just can't leave it alone.

    But he's not alone now. Zubat - now Golbat - takes that care and kindness and uses it to become stronger. Lan lets out the breath she didn't know she was holding, a smile breaking out across her face. Of course, that's not the end of the battle, but it really made her feel better. Why is she fighting him herself, and not via their Pokemon? Just because that's how it's supposed to be done on Nede...!

    "I can't ask my Pokemon to fight yours," she tells Loren, like it's the plainest thing in the world. "You befriended them to rescue me, when you thought I'd been kidnapped by Team Rocket. That'd be awful to do to them!"

    She just said it, where everybody can hear her! His street cred! And his reputation among his subordinates...

    "And I'm teaching her because she wanted to learn!" Graveler sure isn't having any trouble with the idea of attacking humans, anyway! Lan dances out of the way, with a spray of sparks dying on her skin the only damage she has to show for it. "And if I make you retreat, all your Pokemon will go with you, which ends the whole problem!"

    Ida and Eleanor (in particular) may think she's causing nothing but problems, but it makes perfect sense to Lan. Graveler falls through the floor and Lan winces, although she seems to be okay if the weak 'Graaaaa' from below is any indication. "So I'm gonna cut the head off of the chicken!" Lan declares, completely unaware that she's once again gotten the idiom incredibly, incredibly wrong. Backing up, she stands tall and focuses all her energy on the star that burns in her chest. It's a winged thing too, blooming forth, spreading its wet wings and bursting into a swarm of moths to harry Loren and splatter against him in smears of color.

GS: Lan Lilac accepts Hannah Curie's Shield Dust for 0 hit points!
GS: Restore! Delay removed!
GS: Lock state applied to Lan Lilac!
GS: MYSTIC ARTE! Lan Lilac has attacked Loren Voss with Magic Lantern Butterfly Moth!
GS: Lan Lilac has gained 3 Combo!
GS: Lan Lilac gains 5 FP from Gleam!
GS: Lan Lilac has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.

 
"It's an awfully long way to come to break into an abandoned mansion," Venetia answers Xiumei, even as her arms fold as she looks even smugger at the fact that her Simulacrum just power-bombed that animate rock back to its natural environment -- THE GROUND!

"-- Goodness," she says then, nonplussed as Guan Yu uses a technique that's something she hasn't seen before. The broad IDEA, yes, but the specific detail shown there? No. And that, perhaps, is why she is off her guard when the Dunsparce makes themselves-- the opposite of sparse.

(That's it, Venetia! Blame the cute animal for your problems!)

Dunsparce smashes into Venetia's legs and sends her toppling forwards. On reflex, and because she still had it in her hand, she calls forth the Simulacrum again. The Simulacrum grasps her shoulder and punches the ground, creating another hole and abruptly reversing Venetia's rotational velocity so she smashes into the floor on her back rather than on her front, and with somewhat less tooth-rattling force.

Somewhat less.

Venetia twitches several times even as Agapi and the Weedle call forth their power and fill the air with light; shining, coruscant dust.

Venetia rolls to her side. Onto the gun. It doesn't fire but it does dig into her side, and so she rolls to the OTHER side before pushing herself upwards. "Alright, then," she breathes outwards, even if the dust itself is perhaps only a fabulous guise for her. She reaches to her hip --

"Amethyst Sign!" Thank goodness, it wasn't the gun. Instead, Venetia unleashes her own version of what might be considered a Rock attack: a barrage of lumps of glittering amethyst hurl towards the general direction of where Dunsparce is, or perhaps the people in the door engagement. Venetia staggers a little towards the left after this, raising her hands up afterwards as the twelfth of the amethysts flies out.

The thirteenth is the big one, but she didn't want to hurl 150-odd pounds of quartz directly AT the door.

Not if he wants to get into it so badly, anyway!!

Venetia, panting a little, answers Hannah with less of her usual loving grace and gentle charm. "I'm not in the business of losing fairly, Hannah!!"

GS: Venetia Vuong enters CONDITION GREEN!!
GS: Venetia Vuong has attacked Loren Voss with Amethyst Sign ~Second Month's Decision~!
GS: Venetia Vuong has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Venetia Vuong enters CONDITION GREEN!!
GS: Venetia Vuong has completed her action.
GS: Xiumei Klein accepts Hannah Curie's Shield Dust for 0 hit points!
GS: Restore! Blind, Break, Delay, and Drowsy removed!
GS: Lock state applied to Xiumei Klein!

<Pose Tracker> Chartreuse Spinosa has posed.

'No', Loren replies succinctly. Chartreuse frowns consideringly, having to taken a second to - actually figure out what to do next.

"...Hm. Well, honestly, I didn't think I'd even get that far." She admits. "...I guess we'll keep doing this the old-fashioned way?"

Eleanor and Xiumei both get a smile.

"That's true. We're all in this together, right? I suppose if one good thing's come out of all of this, it's meeting interesting new people..." She replies.

And sometimes fighting them, like now.

Sandshrew pinballs around, picking up speed - but it looks like Dunsparce is doing the same! Wheel meets ball - and pinball turns into pool as Dunsparce sends Sandshrew rocketing down a hallway.

"Ah! Sandshrew!" Chartreuse gasps. She can hardly chase after her now - but judging from the echoing sounds of Sandshrew ball bouncing off of surface after surface, tracking her down will at least not be difficult.

...That does mean she's effectively down two Pokemon - but fortunately, relief comes in the form of Shield Dust from Hannah's bugs. That's one thing looking up, at least.

"Thanks!" She calls over. She's already starting to feel alert - maybe Sentret will waken up soon, too. ...Though with all this chaos - and one of Loren's Pokemon even evolved, remarkable - he might just rather hide in her bag... maybe it's better if he continues sleeping.

Chartreuse fishes through her coat again, and this time calls out...

"Mareep!" Chartreuse shouts. A remarkably round, fluffy, pale yellow sheep the same color as Chartreuse's scarf materializes! She lets out a curious 'baa', assessing the situation.

"Mareep, a Thunder Shock, if you would." Chartreuse asks. Determination crosses Mareep's face - and then a jolt of electricity races out of her fleece toward Loren's Dunsparce!

GS: Chartreuse Spinosa enters CONDITION GREEN!!
GS: Chartreuse Spinosa has attacked Loren Voss with From a distance!!
GS: Chartreuse Spinosa has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Chartreuse Spinosa enters CONDITION GREEN!!
GS: Chartreuse Spinosa has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Timu Guado has posed.

    "...Moteray?" Moteray pauses after the launch of their Thunder Shock, seeing the evolution of the Zubat target emerge in larger, stronger form. Even if they manage a brief victory in landing the super-effective strike, that 'GOLLLLL' is intimidating. (Also, Timu's wincing at Lan's particular choice of action.)
 
     "To hold against everyone as well as he is," Timu looks impressed enough at how Loren and his team is simultaneously handling this much attention and this much power at once (she sees that simulacrum over there too) must speak of something that's not readily apparent looking at the Solarian operative.
 
     Moteray veers lower instinctually as if to try and avoid being too on the level with Golbat, which is an issue because now he's drifting in reach of Dunsparce's warpath.
 
     "Moteray! Look out! From--"
 
     She can't call anywhere near fast enough before Dunsparce slams into Moteray with all the force of a rolling boulder that's just picking up momentum, a single super-effective attack enough to send the flying stingray corkscrewing in the air to be caught by Timu holding their Pokeball aloft to return him before any more injurious landings could be inflicted.
 
     "You did fine," she reassures the fainted Moteray as he's recalled. One of her Pokeballs rumbles and rolls, and Hooligre spills right on out of there unsteadily, because even in the safety of his own Pokeball sometimes one aspires to feats of... doing inconvenient things in their cofnusion.
 
     Timu moves to help steady her Hooligre friend up, as Hannah's friends bring forth sparkling dust that helps relieve and protect these status problems, and after a mighty sneeze does Hooligre come out of his confusion. (He flashes a thumbs up gesture after a studious moment looking at that Weedle and Caterpie, in eventual, grudging acceptance.)
 
     "...This world is kind," Timu says, "kinder than it might ever have had any right to be... and even your own Pokemon love you enough to fight this hard!" She might be riding the coattails of Lan's frustration and reticence to bring her own Pokemon against Loren's own. It's frustrating, and even upsetting! Even with the Ten Wise Men looming overhead, this world feels like a look into a better world that could exist. A world that mutually loves and co-exists, compared to Spira where the dominant forces of nature often seem wrangled only for sake of perpetuating suffering from those who passed.
 
     "...Hooligre," she faces up, "go and give them Punishment!" She points her staff in the direction of the Golbat, as Hooligre rears up a big hand and makes a chopping motion to smack them right on the top of the head with a bit of a dark crescent trailing in their wake.

GS: Timu Guado has attacked Loren Voss with Punishment!
GS: Timu Guado has completed her action.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Loren is doing something challenging--he's commanding multiple Pokemon, who are in turn fighting against other groups of Pokemon. Ida's only seen Peace manage that before, and her Eevees were so well-trained that they could hold the line with minimal input from her. As realization sinks in, Ida's gaze softens a little in grudging respect. "Lan, mind the Graveler!" she cries, gesturing at the boulder-like Pokemon with a free hand.

    Sal shifts in Ida's arms, snoozing blissfully. Her wings twitch in her sleep, like she's dreaming of high-speed adventure.

    Zubat drops out of the air, and Ida's face pinches in a grimace. To his credit, Loren catches him before he hits ground, but then a familiar light pierces through the gloom of the manor. Ida's eyes widen.

    "So that's..." Ida tucks Sal under an arm football-style, and whips her cellphone out of its belt case. "Golbat," she says, as PokeSnap finishes its image analysis and displays the index page. She glances at Hannah, then Chartreuse. "...Is it?" Is it poor form to not congratulate someone on an Evolution?

    Marigold lands on the far side of Loren's Clefairy, and turns with a few playful hops. She is met by Clefairy's raw determination, and a martial stance that makes Ida's brows rise. She whistles sharply--a wordless warning for Marigold to look out--and the Eevee sinks into a low, guarded stance, head turned away. The eruption sends her flying, but she lands on all four feet, only slightly mussed.

    Glimmering dust envelops the battlefield. Sal stirs, blinks, and raises her head. "...ree?" she mumbles. She flutters her wings, and looks down at Eimi and Agapi. "Butterfree!" Ida looks at her, and she punches a tiny fist into an equally-tiny palm, mimicking her Trainer.

    "All right. Marigold, back! Sal, go!" Marigold scampers back to the relative safety of Ida's ankles. Catastrophe Sal takes wing, and quickly disappears into the clouds of dust. Eimi and Agape have not only awoken her, they've given her the perfect cover. A cloud of shimmering scales falls upon Loren's Clefairy and Dunsparce--each tiny mote is laced with either soporific compounds or unpleasant, bitter-tasting toxins. At one point, Sal appears before Dunsparce, from out of the murk--

    "Sal," Ida says, in this moment, "Confusion! Like we practiced!"

    And Catastrophe Sal's eyes gleam.

    Rivii goes flying. Ida emits an involuntary gasp. "Marigold, go help Pikachu!" With a salute, the Eevee bounds off to go help rescue Rivii.

GS: Ida Everstead-Rey spends 1 Combo on Poison!
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has attacked Loren Voss with Catastrophe Sal Rides Again!
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has gained 1 Combo!
GS: Ida Everstead-Rey has completed her action.
GS: CRITICAL! Loren Voss critically fails to guard Chase's Focus Energy for 246 hit points!
GS: Cover, Mighty, and Riposte applied to Chase!
GS: CRITICAL! Loren Voss mostly guards Lan Lilac's Magic Lantern Butterfly Moth for 132 hit points!
GS: Misery adds  Disrupt!
GS: Delay, Disrupt, and Drowsy applied to Loren Voss!
GS: CRITICAL! Loren Voss critically fails to guard Venetia Vuong's Amethyst Sign ~Second Month's Decision~ for 246 hit
points!
GS: CRITICAL! Loren Voss critically fails to evade Chartreuse Spinosa's From a distance! for 202 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Loren Voss gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Loren Voss fails to evade Ida Everstead-Rey's Catastrophe Sal Rides Again for 63 hit points!
GS: Misery adds  Delay, Shieldbreak, and Shieldbreak!
GS: Delay, Hex, Poison, and Shieldbreak applied to Loren Voss!
GS: Loren Voss critically fails to guard Timu Guado's Punishment for 246 hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Loren Voss gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Hyper applied to Timu Guado!

<Pose Tracker> Loren Voss has posed.

    "Gra??" Does it help that just moments before Venetia's simulacrum spell slams Graveler through the floor that she gets slammed by a water-based shockwave courtesy of Chase's Nidoran? ...Probably not.

    This is the first time Loren's had one of his own Pokemon evolve. While he's well aware that Pokemon do change form -- he's caused it himself -- it's another thing to see it happen to one that he's befriended. And even if he'd had some inkling that Zubat would eventually evolve, he's still surprised that he got so... big.

    Is evolution among an enemy's team something you should congratulate? Honestly, Loren looks about as lost on this front as Hannah does.

    "And?" Loren grits out at Eleanor. "What's your point?" He knows what her point is, but he's not about to give her the satisfaction of knowing that he knows.

    Emerging from his paralyzed state, the newly-evolved Golbat gazes with his equally new eyes upon his opponents. "Gollllbat," he thunders ominously, flapping his wings as he ascends but a couple feet into the air. But he is not without opposition: seeing the threat the newly-evolved Pokemon poses, Xiumei directs Guan Yu accordingly and a rain of golden stars batter down upon Golbat. Though Golbat steels through the assault, it does not end here: Eleanor's Pyri comes in right on the end of Guan Yu's strike. Where Golbat had been able to hold fast before, the same is not true here. Golbat is knocked aside, too quickly for Loren to hope to intervene this time.

    "Hey, Golbat! Are you--"

    Is it some sort of pride on Golbat's part? He's quick to right himself and again take to the air with but a glance in Loren's direction.

    Which is, of course, when Lan just comes right out there and says it, in front of everyone with no regard for how this looks or what he might think about it or-- anything!! Loren's response is of course to look upon her with unabashed horror, his mouth agape in shock. "That's-- you can't just say that!" he belts out, his blue eyes wide. "It wasn't like that!" he protests, as if anyone would actually believe him at this point anyway. At least his colleagues are out cold, or he'd be in some sort of trouble.

    Worse yet, it's not even just Lan he has to worry about. Timu, a girl he barely knows, professes how much his Pokemon must love him to fight this hard and it's enough to make his face burn in embarrassment. How is he supposed to-- like this--
    This is going to come back to haunt him, isn't it?

    His flustered state is something that Lan takes full advantage of: as she stated, if she makes him retreat, his Pokemon leave, and the whole situation is settled and done. Her butterflies slam into the wall of force he conjures before him -- or at least, some of them do. Other continue to fly forth, battering into him and sending him reeling backwards against the door. The door holds: it doesn't so much as shake under his impact.

    But he doesn't stay there. Lan's going to come after him again, be it with words or another blast of butterflies, and so Loren takes off running away from the doorway, trying to get himself a little more space to negotiate with. The upshot of this is that while Venetia might be focusing on Dunsparce with her spell, it's also the case that Loren has put himself well within targetting range and gets (across the shimmering pane of light, as hard as rock that he summons) his own spray of amethysts for his trouble. But Dunsparce isn't having an easy go of it either. Not only has she also gotten hit with the ensorcelled gemstones, but--

    She's just taken a bolt of electricity from Chartreuse's Mareep, sending her reeling back under the force of the strike. "Hey--" Loren belts out, startled by even trustworthy (sassy) Dunsparce taking such a hit. But just as Timu said, they're all determined to keep on fighting!

    Even Golbat, newly evolved and on the recovery from the earlier hits he'd taken, rounds up before Timu's Hooligre, clearly intent on continuing the attack. And even when the great hand knocks Golbat down once more, he gets up again.

    Even Dunsparce, subjected to the befuddling dusts of Sal's wings, is helped up onto her feet by Clefairy, who is quick to lend what aid he can. They'll all keep fighting together, even against such difficult and unlikely-looking odds. Because whatever Loren might feel about it, what Timu said is right.

    Something in Loren's bag wriggles free, poking a small black nose and tiny beady black eyes out into the light. Runeberry the cloudbear bawls, and just like that, the world goes rather impossibly pink and cotton-y.

    For everyone.

    Even in Energy Nede, there is nothing like this that actually exists, except within the minds of Fairy-type Pokemon. From within, however fleeting, they can impose their will without. This is a kind world, a loving world...

    And Runeberry means no harm.

    Such a display of benevolence and mercy to all involved in this battle seems to bring Loren around to the reality of his position: outnumbered and running low on resources and means, he's going to lose this one however he scrapes to recover lost ground. Gritting his teeth, he surrenders to the inevitable:

    "Fine! You've made your point!" he declares, shaking his head vigorously. "Dunsparce, Golbat, Clefairy! Return!"

    After that, his stance remaining guarded and wary, he approaches the hole Graveler fell through and readies her Pokeball uncertainly.

    In the depths of the Pokemon Mansion, Graveler fumbles around in the relatively tight and dark space she's found herself within. A spark of electricity serves to illuminate her surroundings: there are shelves and broken glass all around her. But the thing that her eyes settle on and that she slowly picks up is an old notebook. Graveler can't read, but she does know that trainers and other people value such things.

    Of course, the real problem now is going to be getting out of here again. But then a light envelopes her and both she and the notebook in her possession are returned to her ball.

    Loren, his allies secured, goes for his fallen fellow soldiers, scraping them (again! again, it happened again!) off the floor of the mansion. He'll catch hell for this, but it's not as if he has any other logical choice he can make.

    At least this way, if he's lucky and no one here opts to stop him from leaving after all, they won't get straight-up arrested.

GS: Loren Voss has attacked Loren Voss with Misty Terrain!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Ida Everstead-Rey with Misty Terrain!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Timu Guado with Misty Terrain!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Chartreuse Spinosa with Misty Terrain!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Venetia Vuong with Misty Terrain!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Lan Lilac with Misty Terrain!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Chase with Misty Terrain!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Hannah Curie with Misty Terrain!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Eleanor Klein with Misty Terrain!
GS: Loren Voss has attacked Xiumei Klein with Misty Terrain!
GS: Loren Voss heals Loren Voss! He gains 7 temporary hit points!
GS: Pray adds  Surge!
GS: Lock state, Regen, and Surge applied to Loren Voss!
GS: Loren Voss heals Xiumei Klein! She gains 36 temporary hit points!
GS: Pray adds  Blitz!
GS: Blitz, Lock state, and Regen applied to Xiumei Klein!
GS: CRITICAL! Loren Voss heals Chartreuse Spinosa! She gains 43 temporary hit points!
GS: Pray adds  Blitz!
GS: Blitz, Lock state, and Regen applied to Chartreuse Spinosa!
GS: Loren Voss heals Hannah Curie! She gains 37 temporary hit points!
GS: Pray adds  Shield!
GS: Lock state, Regen, and Shield applied to Hannah Curie!
GS: CRITICAL! Loren Voss heals Timu Guado! She gains 37 temporary hit points!
GS: Pray adds  Burst!
GS: Burst, Lock state, and Regen applied to Timu Guado!
GS: Loren Voss heals Eleanor Klein! She gains 32 temporary hit points!
GS: Pray adds  Shield!
GS: Lock state, Regen, and Shield applied to Eleanor Klein!
GS: Loren Voss heals Chase! He gains 37 temporary hit points!
GS: Pray adds  Surge!
GS: Lock state, Regen, and Surge applied to Chase!
GS: Loren Voss heals Lan Lilac! She gains 34 temporary hit points!
GS: Pray adds  Quick!
GS: Lock state, Quick, and Regen applied to Lan Lilac!

<Pose Tracker> Xiumei Klein has posed.

"It is," Xiumei says. "I can't fathom what might be here..." Then she looks at Chartreuse -- smiles back -- and nods. "Just so!"

Hannah's Weedle sends a rush of sparkling dust overboth Liu Bei and Guan Yu. The two Eevees stand a little taller, then.

She watches as Runeberry wriggles free -- a small, confused noise escaping her lips -- then frowns, when Loren leaps into the hole made by Graveler. She sighs, looking after the Solarians as they escape.

"...We'll need to figure out what they wanted," she says with a sigh.

GS: Loren Voss heals Venetia Vuong! She gains 31 temporary hit points!
GS: Reaction switch bonus! Venetia Vuong gains 1 additional Combo!
GS: Pray adds  Burst!
GS: Burst, Lock state, and Regen applied to Venetia Vuong!
GS: Loren Voss heals Ida Everstead-Rey! She gains 34 temporary hit points!
GS: Pray adds  Blitz!
GS: Blitz, Lock state, and Regen applied to Ida Everstead-Rey!

<Pose Tracker> Eleanor Klein has posed.

Eleanor beams at Hannah. And Pyri continues to do her best.

"Eimi is doing well, too. Let's keep them at it, shall we?"

But Absol is hurt, nobly so. They are indeed backing each other up. And her Pyri, for that matter, as the sparkling dust rains down for her and Pyri both. Eleanor feels better for it, but Pyri shines under the light, sparkling as she rises to her full (tiny) height again. "Pix!"

There is much going on that Eleanor can't focus on. But even in the chaos of battle, she can't help but hear Lan out Loren's concern like that. Sure, she knew, but that's dirty pool for her to reveal!! ...If anyone has the right, though, maybe...

"Lan..." Pause. "I'm not sure I agree with your logic, but I understand it. And one way or another, we can't let him achieve Solaris's aims here!"

Then a look to Chartreuse. "We've certainly all made friends here." Loren, too. So when he asks her point, she frowns. "You know my point!"

But in the chaos, she cannot force him to admit it. Even as that misty, kind terrain emerges, Eleanor finds that Loren is leaving...

Eleanor doesn't stop him, for her part. Instead, she looks at Xiumei. "...We will," she says.

"The best way to do that is going to be to ask at the local labs, I think. This place isn't stable enough for all of us to wander around in." She sighs.

"...You did your best," she says to Lan. "We all did."

<Pose Tracker> Lan Lilac has posed.

 
    "I can!" she argues, because she just did. Who's going to stop Lan? Not Loren, clearly!

    A glittering cloak of scales falls safely around her shoulders, and Lan beams at Hannah and her team. It feels like a hand on her shoulder, encouragement in her ear, a warm sweater on a cold evening. It feels like safety.

    But the familiar cry of an upset baby cloudbear just feels like... "Oh, baby," Lan sighs. She'd go to it, having bearby-sat enough times to feel some responsibility for it (also it's very soft to cuddle, if equally squirmy) but everything's gone all... pink?

    She blinks down at her hands, at the fuzzy and fluffy raspberry cream colored mist gliding across the walls and the floor. "Oh," Lan says, because she hadn't considered for quite a while that Runeberry was eventually going to start growing up.

    She won't try to stop him from leaving, and Lan tilts her head a little bit at Eleanor. Why doesn't anybody agree with her? It's so weird...

    But Buneary hops up into her arms, then onto her head so that Lunatone can return her things and then, a little indulgently, settle into Lan's arms so she can carry it. "I won't let him do anything else he'll regret if I can help it. So..." she shrugs, but her arms tighten around Lunatone.

<Pose Tracker> Chartreuse Spinosa has posed.

Eleanor and Xiumei both agree with Chartreuse's assessment. Ida, meanwhile, is curious!

"Well, evolution is a big milestone in a Pokemon's life - and their trainer's for getting to witness it. It's certainly polite to congratulate them, though it's understandable if you're otherwise busy." Chartreuse explains. She had missed the moment herself, due to her attention being elsewhere.

And right now - her attention returns to Loren and her Dunsparce, watching them both carefully.

And then, something emerges.

"Wait a moment... I recognise that one." Chartreuse gasps. Team Rocket had captured that one at the spa before - and as she's piecing that together, a soft, friendly feeling expands. She pauses - and in that moment of hesitation, Loren makes his decision.

"...Okay." She says with a nod. She's not going to move to stop him as he collects his people and leaves. The battle's over, after all. ...But, there are questions left in his wake.

"...Good point." She considers, looking between Xiumei and Eleanor. The local labs...

"Let me know if you need someone to vouch for you." She offers. Given everything, it might help to have someone who can confirm they're on the level.

<Pose Tracker> Hannah Curie has posed.

Hannah spares a glance for Chase's Nidoran--but Phwee seems to be going after them, so she relaxes a bit. It's nice to see other peoples' pokemon supporting each other, too. Just like hers are. (And Zephyr isn't, at the moment... But to be fair, Hannah hasn't insisted, either.)

And... Loren went to go save Lan. Hannah blinks. "... Huh." She looks between the two for a moment. There's... definitely something she's missing, there. But that's a question for later.

While Cassandra leapt in to protect Eimi from Dunsparce's Rollout, Venetia gets her own last minute (mostly) reprieve from another application of Simulacrum Sign. But Hannah can't help but shout, "Venetia!" She's got some heal berries tucked away, but the battle's still raging, and she's trying to keep an eye on her pokemon, too. But Venetia can stand, so maybe she's okay for the moment.

But she's not in the business of losing fairly. "Well, fair enough, but..." Hannah might have attacked Pokemon using her magic the first time she encountered Team Rocket, but since really internalizing Pokemon as animals, that's a much harder thought to stomach.

"Welcome!" Hannah calls to Chartreuse.

Agapi gives s cheerful "Caterpie!" to Hooligre's thumbs up. Weedle gives a more uncertain, "W-weedle..." There is a cheer from Agapi for Sal making a recovery, too.

Hannah blinks as that cottony pinkness envelopes everyone. She's concerned enough, at first, to go for her crest graph on instinct--but she realizes quickly enough that it's not a threat to them. Loren does make an escape, but... seemingly (as far as they're aware), he didn't get anything of value. So maybe that's okay.

Would putting Solarian operatives in jail be the best move anyway? Solaris might try to break them out... but that might risk retaliation, too. It's a delicate balance to things.

"Congrats on your Golbat!" she calls out as Loren makes his escape.

So instead she sets about taking care of her pokemon. Cassandra seems to be feeling better, though, as she struggles to her feet, and Hannah kneels down to look her over. "There ya go, nice and easy... You took quite a hit." Hannah fetches out a heal berry and feeds it to her. "Venetia, you want one too?"

She nods to Eleanor. "I certainly will." Keep them at it, that is.

But while Hannah is seeing to Cassandra, Agapi and Eimi are having their own conversation, Agapi makes an excited, but encouraging sound, and Weedle nods...

And they start to glow as they release more String Shot, but this time to wrap a coccoon around themselves. The flash of light catches Hannah's attention and she looks over, eyes going wide. "Eimi, you're--"

In moments it's done, and the light bursts to reveal the yellow form of a newly-evolved Kakuna. "Kakuna," they say, shyly, averting their gaze from Hannah.

But Hannah just grins and steps over to pick them up, giving them a hug. "Congrats, hun! I'm so proud of you!"

Eimi relaxes a little. "Kakuna!"

"Caterpie!" cheers Agapi... and she, too, begins to glow a moment later, spinning her own chrysalis form as her body hardens into her next stage of evolution, Metapod. "Metapod! Metapod!"

The pokemon (or those blessed enough to be able to speak pokemon), can definitely catch the gist that Agapi was waiting for Eimi to do this, wanting to see them along and support them.

"Well now don't that beat all," exclaims Hannah. She kneels down to set Eimi down, and then give Agapi a hug. "Don't you two look right like peas in a pod. I'm happy for you both."

Cassandra wanders over and nods. "Ab!" She agrees.

And Agapi shuffles a little closer to Eimi, and Eimi leans a little bit more against her as they both settle into their new forms.

<Pose Tracker> Venetia Vuong has posed.

 
He's on the backfoot. He's rocked - his Pokemon are... defeated, and not very murderously. Venetia starts to grin for a moment. "You've got him on the back, fellows, don't let this go!"

She is confident enough despite her relatively DEFENSE-LOW attire to start striding forwards. Underneath her lace mask her eyes are widening and her lips split into a grin as she says, "And as for you, Mr. Housebreaker," Venetia says, her left arm making a preparatory rotary motion.

It probably is something like a nightmare from the perspective of a Solarian. Some towering DOUBLE GROUND DWELLER, bedecked in ritual totems and with something resembling actual muscles, is about to close to hand-grips and, presumably, proceed to murder and/or eat our hero, Loren Voss.

(Venetia has no such intentions, of course. She heard Lan's pleas, and was, momentarily, moved by them -- even if she didn't show it on the outside. However, a submission hold or two seem pretty clearly indicated -- as does buying his dinner and bed with INTELLIGENCE.)

Venetia raises her arms and sets back on one heel, before surging forw--

*harp sounds*

ards into a jump kick directly into a big pink fluffy-wuffy cloud.

Venetia sinks most of the way into the cloud.

"..."

By the time the vision dissipates, it becomes clear that Venetia managed to jump kick herself directly into a wall. She actually got her leg through it, although she is temporarily suspended by good solid Nedian construction, and also being about five feet off the ground. (She's leaning forwards.)

<Pose Tracker> Timu Guado has posed.

    Timu's Hooligre snorts derisively upon laying a smack down upon Golbat, only to find himself transfixed by the sight of that tiny black nose poking out of something that doesn't look like a Pokeball. From there, Runeberry turns the world so pink, soft, and cottony that he shouts in something approaching abject terror, because he's still getting used to the idea that anyone or anything does much out of kindness.
 
     Timu catches up to his side as she feels the misty terrain take hold, for a time, as an angry Loren calls back all the Pokemon friends that he's made to his side.
 
     There's been a lot to take in, lately, about how much the long-standing peace of this place is well at an end. A non-plussed, weirded-out Hooligre looks to Timu and points to his Pokeball, as if thinking that maybe, right now, the last thing he needs is soft pink soothing misty, airy places and more... whatever place of comfort looks like within his Pokeball.
 
     Timu wordlessly obliges, looking to everyone in silence about the prospect that the things Energy Nede has may yet be taken and twisted for potentially awful ends. It's a bit much to consider for a day she was hoping to spend with Sable and some of the others here before--
 
     There really isn't a 'before' when it's been 'during war and a looming threat of oblivion,' as Michael made clear in Pewter City some time back.

<Pose Tracker> Chase has posed.

Precious Marigold comes to Pikachu's side to help tug Nidoran out of the wall he's embedded into, the spikes on his back nailing him there from the force of his attack. He squirms his little, eyes large and watery, until teamwork frees him, leaving him hugging onto Pikachu and crying as she pats his back with knowing Pikachu nods. There, there.

They return back to Chase, who is left watching as Loren's will to fight for... whatever it is he's after begins to wilt under Timu and Lan's words.

Chase smiles, just a little. This Loren really doesn't seem like a bad person, when it comes to his Pokemon... They are fighting for him, and he seems worried about them, too.

The world becomes pink and cottony, and Pikachu breathes and excited, "Chaaaa~!" She takes hold of Nidoran's paws and dances with him in place under the heartwarming atmosphere. Staryu flies around the room, spinning unusually slowly in the peace of it, gem shifting from one color of the rainbow to the next.

But... what was this all about? Chase wanders to the hole Graveler fell into and peers down with a tilt of his head.

... He doesn't spot anything unusual.

He looks to Lan and the others. Don't let him do things he'll regret. Chase nods slowly to himself at this thought. Yeah... that seems to be a common problem. In any case, the Pokemon he's looking for probably won't be keen on showing up soon after all this commotion.

But there's more Pokemon evolutions to witness, and Chase promptly is distracted from whatever else he was thinking about.

<Pose Tracker> Ida Everstead-Rey has posed.

    Not necessary, but polite nevertheless. Ida's lips thin as she thinks back to the way Loren reacted last time, when his Pokemon were on the back foot. Her heart twists in her chest. "Congratulations," she says, meeting Loren's eyes.

    In the background, Marigold leans in to nuzzle Rivii's face, then takes his arm between her paws. She alternates between tugging and nuzzling, trying to keep the Nidoran calm until he's extracted from the wall. She scampers back along with him, bringing up the rear until they're reunited with their Trainer.

    Sal, like certain Crest Sorceresses present, is a pugnacious sort. "Free!" she cries, bright and challenging, as Dunsparce and Clefairy help each other. That's the spirit. She'd to the same for Marigold or Aurora, if they were fighting together. But then--

    Runeberry squalls. Ida finds herself standing on a bank of cotton-candy clouds. Bright sunlight spills through giant crystal prisms, refracting into rainbows that descend into the mist. It's very colorful, very soft-edged, and oh he's getting away, isn't he.

    Ida lets him. "Congratulations to you, too," she says to Hannah--and Eimi and Agape. Sal flits over and does a loop-de-loop of delight before descending to pat them both on the carapace.

    "To be honest," Ida admits, after a long moment, "that was... a refreshing change of pace?"