[X] My Assistant

[FirePower]

Ares looked mostly confused as the person he was talking to sent out an oshawott and promptly attacked his bronzor. The attack had enraged Orbis, and the mirror pokemon was glaring menacingly at the oshawott. Ares closed his eyes and took a deep breath to calm his nerves before confronting the girl.

"Listen, I-I don't want to fight. If you could please just tell me what's going on I'll leave you alone," He said, raising his hands in surrender. He had no idea what had triggered the attack on his pokemon, but at the moment he was more concerned with not causing a riot. Hope was looking at the stranger, sizing her up. It was clear that the gligar on his shoulder was more than ready to fight if the girl posed a threat to Ares. Volgen, on the other hand, was peeking out from in between the boy's legs, not sure whether to confront the stranger. Looking over to check on his final pokemon, Ares saw that it was about to take action against the water otter.

"Orbis, don't!" Ares said to it, but it was too late. It slammed into the Oshawott for a tackle attack. The bronzor hurtled towards it a second time, but it was intercepted by a red beam of light.

"S-s-sorry!" Ares stuttered nervously, returning Orbis to its pokeball. Once the ball was put back in his belt he offered a potion to the girl. "He's, erm, kind of new to my group and really short tempered. If you, um, want I can heal him for you."

[BlackStarLine]

"Hmm... A flying/poison type verus a grass type... Looks like we're going to need to restrict the moves.." Daniel muttered to himself.

"Ok Lily, start off with a quick attack and then follow it up with Pursuit." Daniel said.

Daniel hoped this would distract the zubat enough so he could think up a better move combo. As Lily's standard moves wouldn't be that effective against the zubat due to it's type advantage.

This post has been edited by IceColdGlaceon: Oct 21 2011, 01:11 PM

[Kamaitachi]

The Poster-burning kid's Grovyle was quite a bit faster than Kanoa's Helipop. Between the quick attack and the pursuit, Kanoa couldn't even get in a command of his own..

Still fairly new to pokemon battling, Kanoa knew at least one thing or two, especially concerning grass and poison pokemon. At least here he could apply one of Helipop's potentially devastating moves.

"Okay buddy, use Confuse Ray!"

The Zubat, already showing signs of wear and tear from the shadow ball from earlier, now the Quick Attack and pursuit combo, doggedly took to the air, where he shot out a creepy beam of energy, aimed at the Grovyle in order to confuse it.

That would potentially buy him some breathing room from the rapid assaults. With any luck, it would turn the tide of battle back in his favour.

Feeling a surge of confidence, that bordered cockiness, Kanoa turned to Abraham and flashed a smile with a thumbs up. It was just that sort of cheekiness that kept Kanoa from being anything more than a decent battler.

[BlackStarLine]

"Damn... I should've seen this coming... This might take a while to get through.." Daniel muttered. Lily had never coped well with confusion, with past experiences of being confused nearly leading to the loss of a battle or two.

"Right.. If I'm lucky I can get off another quick attack and then follow it up with a Cut, hopefully that will be the end of the zubat and the effects of Mean Look..."

"Alright... Let's kick it off with anoher quick attack followed up with cut!"

Lily shot off at speed towards Zubat, but unfortunately for Daniel, confusion got the better of her and she charged off to the left of the zubat, nullifying the effects of quick attack, however by shere chance, she made a slashing motion with her right blade close to the zubats left wing.

"I hope to god that hit..." Daniel muttered.

[Kamaitachi]

Helipop shrieked as the blade clipped his right wing, sending him toppling out of the sky. Shakily, however, he rose back into the air, with slightly less enthusiasm than before. Kanoa figured that the bat was getting tired.

Kanoa was also getting irritated with the other trainer calling off multiple attacks in succession. Not one to play the rules by himself, he gave it a shot.

"Uh...Hypnosis, then Leech Life!"

Hypnosis was a move not usually in a Zubat's repertoire, but Kanoa had learned that Helipop was rather special. The techs at the Magma headquarters had suggested that Helipop's parentage involved a Noctowl somewhere, giving him access to the moves Hypnosis and Zen Headbutt, an array of psychic moves not common to Poison/Flying types. In this instance, if hypnosis hit, the Grovyle would fall asleep, and not be able to be recalled. Regardless of the sleep technique's effect, Helipop would latch on to the Grovyle and try to suck some of the life out of it, replenishing his own in the process.

Tapping his foot impatiently, Kanoa crossed his arms, wanting this battle to be over. It would've been easier if Abraham had jumped in, but the snappily dressed comrade seemed intent on fighting the noble fight.

[Yzarc Drowsnam]

"Kanoa," Abraham spoke softly as Zubat went to work, "Leech Life is a waste of time. Just use Wing Attack if you've got it. The battle will be over much quicker." In the case that Hypnosis failed and the Grovyle was able to counterattack (which, thanks to Kanoa's horrendous decision to drag out the battle with Confuse Ray, Hypnosis and Leech Life while allowing his opponent to actually fight, would likely spell doom for the poor Zubat), Abraham had Gaia's pokeball in his right hand, ready to go.

In the very least, the Grovyle would be weakened enough, thanks to confusion and sleep, that a supereffective Ice Shard should be enough to finish her off, assuming Helipop at least got one or two Wing Attacks in. Of course, defeating Zubat before it actually did any damage would be just such a waste of so much potential. Kanoa had this Grovyle locked in a terrible match and squandered the advantage by dragging it out. Abraham noted that, from then on, he'd be the one calling the attacks. Maybe Kanoa would learn something about basic strategy. Zubat and his lineage were simply not pokemon capable of staying in battle long enough to use status attacks effectively. He needed to do as much damage as possible and defeat this clear threat.

Hopefully he said it quickly enough so that Kanoa could call off the Leech Life and use Wing Attack instead.

[Dragonwish2]

Inside the room was an open battlefield, the traditional bright dirt with the white spray-painted outline. The room smelled like smoke and paint; a battle had probably been recently fought. Chris took up the marked spot on the far west end of the room. Rachel walked to the opposite and traced the outline of pokéballs.

"Let's just do a basic two-on-two battle, okay?" Chris immediately pulled out two gleaming pokéballs with his right hand. Rachel instinctively did the same.

“You’re on. I won’t go easy! Jaklyn, let’s do this!” Rachel threw her pokéball into the air. Her sly green Snivy landed on the dirt field, radiating confidence and leadership. Jaklyn was Rachel’s top Pokémon, and one she could always count on. Rachel would use Jaklyn’s help to study wild Pokémon for Professor Rowan in the Sinnoh region. The nimble Snivy could climb trees undetected, hold a camera steady on her tail, and hold perfectly still as it caught video or timed pictures. Rachel had grown a deep bond of friendship and interdependency with her grass-type Pokémon.

Chris smirked humorously. “Is that one of those new Pokémon I’ve heard about? Whatever, it’s not going to come close to my Pokémon. Zigzagoon, I choose you!” His first Pokémon was a brown and tan striped weasel, with a raccoon face. Rachel pulled up the Pokedex app on her Poketch. It blinked and spoke in its classic digital voice.
“It walks in a zigzag fashion. It is good at finding items in the grass and even in the ground.”

“Zigzagoon, headbutt!” The weasel lunged and slammed into Jaklyn, knocking her back. She stood up and glared, waiting.
“Jaklyn, vine whip it now!” Jaklyn released two green long tentacles at the command, slapping the Zigzagoon repeatedly until it fell back, stunned. Rachel smiled. “Nice job! Now tackle it, and finish this battle!” The Snivy darted swiftly, moving side to side like a snake as she ran. She hit the Zigzagoon head on, and it spun back. Rachel waited, holding her breath as the weasel struggled to rise.

It fell to the ground, eyes closed in defeat. Chris pulled out his pokéball and returned the Pokémon. “Not bad. It’s time for my Natu!” He threw his pokéball out, releasing the psychic and flying Pokémon. It landed gently, feebly flapping its wings. “Natu, use peck!” The Natu ran, its beak glowing as it slammed Jaklyn into the soft dirt. Jaklyn pushed it back feebly with her tail, climbing out of the hole.

Rachel frowned in concern. “Jaklyn, be careful. Tackle it, fast!” Jaklyn ran and pushed the bird Pokémon over. The Natu couldn’t stand back up and struggled helplessly, flailing its wings. Jaklyn’s confidence was renewed, and she stood taller above her opponent. “Vine whip it while it’s at the disadvantage!” Jaklyn released her green whips, slicing the Natu with it and sending it flying. Chris pumped his fist.

“Just as I thought; you used vine whip again!” Rachel stared at him, aghast.
“What are you talking about?” The Natu turned mid-air and landed gracefully. Jaklyn’s sharp eyes widened.
“Natu, use night shade!” Natu opened its wings and screeched. Its eyes glowed, and Jaklyn began to convulse as dark waves emitted from Natu struck her. She collapsed as the attack ended, shuddering. Rachel cringed.
“Good job, Jaklyn. Return.” She brought back her Pokémon with a flash of red light and pulled out her second pokéball. “Looks like you have some surprises. So do I. Blake, you’re up!” She threw her pokéball onto the field, her fiery Torchic scratching the dirt eagerly as it appeared. While he wasn’t a true flying type like Natu, he had a beak and tiny wings, and the silhouette of a small chick. Rachel hadn’t depended on him for battles as often as she did Jaklyn, but she could see great potential in the few fights she had with Blake.

“Blake, use focus energy!” Blake’s eyes narrowed and he scratched faster, creating a rhythm of awe and power. Chris watched with a trained eye. Rachel could tell by now he had been in far more battles than she had, or been taught professionally.

“Natu, peck again,” Chris said calmly. Natu’s beak glowed as it ran towards the still Torchic.
“Blake, meet it with scratch. Quick!” Rachel yelped on the last word. Blake swung up a claw, his talons glowing in symmetry to the oncoming attack. The blows met sharply, each side putting all of their strength into overpowering the other. Rachel looked for a way to dodge the peck and still strike a blow. “Blake, go airborne and use scratch again!” Blake pushed off of the dirt with his remaining claw and swung onto Natu’s back, raking it with his sharp talons. Natu fell into the ground, struggling to rise.

“Use night shade one last time,” Chris said calmly. Natu turned around to the Torchic, its eyes glowing again as it cawed. Rachel’s eyebrows furrowed. This could be the move that ended the battle.
“Blake, hit it head on with scratch. Remember your speed!” The Torchic ran back as the first dark wave struck him. He stopped, holding onto the ground. Blake jumped again, this time opening his beak and letting loose a torrent of flaming ash and a small streak of fire. The Natu screeched as it raised its wings to hold off the blow. Rachel gasped. “You learned ember,” she whispered. Blake landed on the opposite end of the field, staggering. Natu opened its tiny wings again and rose, prepared to strike again. He glowed red and convulsed, crying out horribly to where Rachel had to cover her ears. As the red glow faded, Natu fell back, eyes closed. Chris returned the Pokémon, murmuring a small praise to the pokéball.

“That was a big surprise, dodging like that. You’ve got some skill. I hope we can battle again sometime.” He held out a hand, and Rachel shook it. She was grinning. Rachel knelt and picked up the chick Pokémon, hugging him.

“Great work, Blake! We won!” Blake chirped feebly in reply. Rachel returned him quickly. “Have a good rest now.” She looked around for Chris, but he had vanished.

[Kamaitachi]

((It's been a long time since ICG's last post...I'm just gonna keep going.))

Kanoa nodded firmly as Abraham threw him some advice. The older man was probably more of a pro-battler than Kanoa was, so the advice was most likely sound. To be fair, though, most people were more experienced at battling than Kanoa was.

"Helipop! Wing Attack!"

As the Zubat swooped forward, Kanoa noted that much more force was put into the attack than the Leech Life from earlier. As it impacted with the Grovyle, the novice trainer watched as the Grass-lizard reeled in pain, moreso than when the weak Leech-Life attack had hit. However, Helipop, too, was growing quite tired from the numerous attacks he'd received as well. The Zubat was not built for long, endurance matches, despite the egregious type advantage. Kanoa watched in dismay as both pokemon toppled to the ground.

"Good work buddy!" Kanoa cheered. It sounded a little false, as the disappointment from fighting to a draw rang clearly in his voice. Not sure how else to proceed, Kanoa drew another pokeball, smirking at Daniel. "I can keep this up all day, bud. You wanna back off now, or what?"

He took the moment to glance around, noting that Ares had engaged an Oshawott with his new floaty-mirror friend. The Oshawott, however, belonged to the girl that he'd violently collided with earlier, which meant that unfortunately, she too was an enemy. His little Magma unit was now under attack from two directions.

"So, Captain Tightpants." Kanoa smiled at the neatly dressed Abraham "I know I'm in charge and all, but you seem pretty sure of what you're doing. So...what do we do now?"

[Dragonwish2]

Rachel healed her Pokémon at a machine in the dojo. She left the building and walked along the curb when she spotted Daniel. He was engaged in a battle with two men, one in his mid-twenties, the other appearing perhaps eighteen. The first and older man was wearing a khaki trimmed suit, clean shaven and about six feet tall with shaggy black hair. The second was just a bit taller, with brown hair a bit longer than his companion’s, and wearing a simple white t-shirt, black shorts, and a black beanie over his hair. His ears were both pierced the left more than the right. Rachel gagged silently; she was never one to love boys with piercings, or too many piercings. The second one was talking to Daniel in a voice that struck Rachel as familiar, though she was distracted by the battle. The man was holding a pokéball as he spoke.

"I can keep this up all day, bud. You wanna back off now, or what?" Rachel thought what to do. Her last mission had been a slight disaster, since she had openly revealed being amongst the ranks of the Rebellion when she was first challenged. She finally decided to act like a passerby average trainer lending a hand. She ran to Daniel’s side.
“Aw, that’s not fair. I’ll help even this out!” Rachel pulled out a pokéball, “Blake, it’s your turn!” She threw the pokéball into the air and released her Torchic. Blake landed on the field by Daniel’s defeated Grovyle, pumped from his recent victory. “That’s better. Let’s get this battle rolling,” Rachel declared.

[FirePower]

"Zor!"Orbis said, popping out of it's pokeball before the girl could accept or reject the potion. It slammed into the Oshawott. Ares made a mad grab for the enraged bronzor, but ended up missing and falling flat on his face. Ares got up, his nose bleeding a little from it's impact with the ground. He dove for the mirror pokemon again. He caught it and manged to pin it to the ground. As Ares reached for the Bronzor's pokeball it began to glow with a pink light. It slipped out of Ares' grasp and fired a hypnosis attack at the Oshawott.

"Quit!" Ares said, returning the Bronzor once more. it was starting to become a handful, and Ares was starting to loose his cool. Figuring that the oshawott was no longer a threat, but not wanting to stick around to face the girl, Ares hurried away.

Ares wandered among the crown with a brisk walk. He's already attracted more attention than he was comfortable receiving, and he was eager to blend back into the crowd. Besides, he was hoping the girl would have a hard time following him amid the mass of bodies, should she have decided to give chase. After a minute or so he slowed down. Hope tightened her hold on the back of Ares' shirt, and Volgen sat faithfully at it's trainer's feet.

Taking his time, Ares made his way toward the front of the crowd, where Abraham and Kanoa were still in the middle of a battle. The Grovyle the Kanoa's Zubat had been fighting earlier was knocked out on the ground, as was Helipop. A different trainer had joined the fight, a girl about his age. She had a Torchic on the field, and the fire-type pokemon seemed pumped. Still, unless it was a lot stronger than it looked, Ares doubted it would stand much of a chance against both Abraham and Kanoa.

Ares hesitated. He wasn't really sure he wanted to fight this girl. Kanoa and Abraham most likely had the battle taken care of, and three against one seemed really unfair. On top of that, he felt he'd gathered more than enough attention for one day. Still, it was his irritating, hated job to help take over the park for Team Magma, and defeating any who challenged the park's new owners was a part of that job.

"Volgen, go help Kanoa," Ares whispered. The Houndour nodded and bounded off to where the battle was taking place. The teenage trainer breathed a sight of relief. By simply sending Volgen to assist, he reasoned that he was performing his duty to help get rid of the girl, but without making a big scene or going as far as ganging up on her. Satisfied, Ares watched the battle unfold from among the crowd.

"Houn!" Volgen yipped, running out next to Kanoa's fallen Zubat. The houndour took a deep breath and exhaled, sending purple poisonous fog in the direction of the Torchic. This pokemon was no bigger than he was, so he wasn't scared to fight it like other bigger pokemon. Getting into an offensive stance, Volgen tensed, waiting for the girl's Torchic to make the next move.

This post has been edited by FirePower: Dec 29 2011, 10:53 AM

[Dragonwish2]

As Rachel waited for the other man to choose a Pokémon, a Houndour ran onto the field. Rachel scanned it quickly. It appeared to have the same amount of strength as Blake. Since they were both it least part fire-type, the moves would have to be fast and furious. Rachel looked to the man, but he still held his pokéball. Rachel fumbled. Was it a wild Pokémon, perhaps? The Houndour released a breath of purple fog, which Rachel recognized as the move smog.

She looked to the crowd and grinned. “Alright, now this is a real battle!” This got a laugh from some of the crowd. She turned back to her opponent. “Okay, Stealth Master, start off with focus energy.” The Torchic tensed and squat on his claw, storing energy to give an explosive attack. As the smog struck him he shook violently, the poison taking its toll on him. Rachel knit her eyebrows together, concerned. “Nice work,” she said consolingly. “Hit it with scratch.” Blake leapt from his frozen position and ran, slashing at the Houndour’s face.

Rachel looked back at the trainer. His silhouette seemed familiar, but where had she seen him last? She thought back, and it dawned on her where she had seen him. On her first mission, he had called her out as a Rebel. She had fled and finally met his challenge in a battle. He had acted strangely, though, letting her escape easily. His Pokémon had looked strong, and even with her training, she feared a battle with him.

She considered announcing his alliance in Magma, but the consequences were worse than the benefits. Rachel wanted a rematch, though, and she intended to have one.

"Hey, while we're at it, let's have a double battle. I don't mind a little two-on-one action." She chose another pokeball and twirled it on her finger, catching it in the palm of her hand.

"So, how 'bout it?"

This post has been edited by Dragonwish2: Dec 30 2011, 05:07 PM

[Kamaitachi]

"Oh hello Wuffie!" Kanoa beamed as Volgen sprang to his rescue. He did a quick scan for Ares, but the boy seemed to have vanished into the crowd. (Either that, or Kanoa had already forgotten what he looked like.)

Out of nowhere, some girl had jumped to the aid of his opponent, who seemed to be doing nothing quite silently. She'd summoned a Torchic named "Stealth Master", and was taunting him with the prospect of a two on one.

"That sounds...super sexual." Kanoa tilted his head, scratching his shaggy brown hair. Then, of course, he realized that she was talking about a pokemon battle, and not adult no-no things.

Kanoa sized Volgen up for a moment. The puppy looked fairly capable, as did the cute little chick on the other side of the field. There was the potential for more pokemon to join the fray, and he wasn't sure he could fake his way out of this fight. Last time, he'd sort of cheated a bit and given the girl a chance to get away-

Oh!

Kanoa blinked owlishly at the girl, realizing that she'd been the same one from the resort. She'd thrown waffles at him, and briefly attempted to fight off his Zubat.

"Fine, kid" Kanoa grinned cockily. It was a bit of false bravado, considering that he was leading a team. This mission, like the one before, had bothered him a bit. He had been hoping, really, to just skate around and put flags up, even if the ulterior motive was to draw enemies out like this. "At least tell me your names. That's the honourable thing, right?"

Kanoa looked to Abraham for any sort of approval. The hot, older man seemed a bit more objective driven than the younger two. Ares, the youngest, seemed to not want to be there at all. Kanoa just wanted to have fun. However, Rachel had called him out, and he needed to step up.

"Benihana!" In a burst of colourful lights, Kanoa's grumpy looking Shroomish appeared on the field. There was a brief flurry of what appeared to be sparkles, but those swiftly faded, leaving the pink-dotted fungus curmudgeon pokemon sitting plainly on the asphalt. "Benihana and Vorglord are ready when you are!"

[Dragonwish2]

The crowd was cheering and calling out, some yelling their hope for either trainer. Rachel tensed as the young man looked dumbfounded at her question. He seemed to dislike the idea, but almost seemed pushed into it by the crowd.
“That sounds… super.” Rachel struggled to hear over the crowd at that point. The man seemed to analyze the Houndour and the Torchic for a moment before looking back up at Rachel, with a look that gave her goose bumps. Had he recognized her? Rachel tried to recall his name. Was it Kamo, Kapoi, or Kanoa? She found the last idea most promising.

Kanoa grinned at her, with a superior aura as if suddenly having the advantage. Rachel’s nerves were on the edge; she didn’t like the new cockiness in him. "Fine, kid. At least tell me your names. That's the honorable thing, right?"

Rachel’s blood ran cold. She scrambled mentally for a reply, a false name. Surely she had been asked in hopes she would be as foolishly honest, as she had in their first meeting? She finally came up with an idea. The false name was something she could learn to respond to quickly enough, but still far enough from her true name.

“I’m Lora. Who are you, then?” The twist on her last name allowed her a sense of ease at the lie. She asked her own question with a false curiosity, as if she had never met him.

He looked to the man next to him before turning back to her. He uttered something in a strange language as he chose his second Pokémon. Oddly, the pokéball opened in a shimmer of lights. The Pokémon that landed was a Pokémon unknown to her, appearing like a mushroom with dull coral spots over it. It looked irritable, as if it didn’t want to be there.

"Benihana and Vorglord are ready when you are!" He cried. Rachel’s eyebrow shot up quizzically, but she didn’t ask what language the nicknames were.

The pokéball was in her hand in an instant. “Scout, take your lead on the field.” Rachel threw her pokéball into the air and watched her grass-type land on the black asphalt, smug and superior as always. Jaklyn was prepared for battle, and she beckoned Blake to her side.

Rachel looked over the foe mushroom Pokémon. It appeared far stronger than her own Pokémon, as she had both expected and feared. She would have to try guerrilla tactics, but even that might not be enough.

Rachel stared at Kanoa with a joking smile. “If I win, you leave my new bud alone. If you win, I’ll get out of your way, and you’ll have the gracious opportunity to brag about beating Lora the Great.” She bowed dramatically formal, using the stalled time to strategize.
“Blake, focus energy. Jaklyn, use your Leer attack on the mushroom.” Her Pokémon reacted accordingly, Blake freezing in place as he stored energy, Jaklyn lunging and stepping back at the mushroom Pokémon deceptively. Rachel was eager to have the rematch. Can’t run now, Magma boy.

[Yzarc Drowsnam]

Things were getting a bit more interested than Abraham liked or expected. Though the first boy seemed to be defeated, a girl backed him up and insisted on a fight between Kanoa and herself, at which Abraham took a step back. He noticed a Houndour join the fight, which reminded him somewhat of Lucien, Raine's pokemon. Part of him was glad he hadn't been partnered with her for this mission. Then again, if he was, they'd likely at least be getting the job done.

He turned to disappear into the crowd and saw Ares among them. He simply nodded to the boy and made his way out of the center of attention. He enjoyed it, normally, but this wasn't positive enough for his taste. This could be a distraction, he figured, a way for him to complete the mission and properly claim Shady Acres for Magma without drawing too much attention.

So, with his fliers in his backpack, he made his way towards the center of the park. There was a nice, green park with a trail surrounding it and benches and trees spread somewhat sporadically throughout. The mission itself, Abraham had already surmised, was stupid. Putting up fliers didn't change anything, but he was far too low level to argue, and so he began doing his job. He put them up everywhere. On each bench, against each tree.

There were people running on the track, some with dog pokemon, some by themselves. There were a few people sitting on the benches, and these people, Abraham had to ask to move so that he could put the fliers up. The first couple, who were enjoying sitting on the bench, watching their Pikachu and Minccino play together, gave Abraham some trouble.

"Excuse me, ma'am. Sir," he said, politely. "I'm here putting up Magma fliers. If you wouldn't mind letting me put this on the back of that bench you're sitting on, I'd-"

"Why?" The man asked.

"Dave," the woman just looked to the man somewhat discouraging.

"What?" Dave asked. "What if I don't want Team Magma taking control of this park?"

"It's not so much about control, sir," Abraham said. "As you know, this park is in somewhat desperate need of maintenance. I've only been here for a few hours myself, but in that time, I've seen graffiti at the skatepark, pokemon poop all over the ground here. I need to use the bathroom, but I'm truthfully afraid of walking into any of the porto-potties. Team Magma is simply looking to improve the park to what it could be, which is a beautiful place. This place is beautiful, it just needs some help. That's all we're after."

"Doesn't sound like Magma," Dave said.

"Well, we're not all what you hear from Aqua or The Rebellion. We're people, and we realize that if we desire people to respect us, we should respect them in return. There's certainly some ulterior motives behind cleaning up the park, and that's to get people to like us more." This strategy, the up front and honest one (although it was not entirely honest, but it did have that guise) would only work on someone like Dave, who is suspicious in the first place, and always looking for the catch. "Magma is somewhat of a PR nightmare, as you can imagine."

Dave sort of chuckled. "Yeah, I bet that does suck," he said, but notably did not move. "Still, don't you think that the best way to fix the park would be just to fix it? Rather than spending resources putting up fliers which are gonna just get torn down anyway?"

"Who's gonna tear 'em down?" Abraham asked.

"Well, I was plannin' on it," Dave shrugged. He stood up and drew a pokeball. "Seein' as how I'm Aqua."

"Well, see, that makes some sense," Abraham smiled, taking a step back.

"Get out of my park," Dave said, already with an air of victory about him.

"I was just backing up so we could have room to battle," Abraham said. "If I win, you leave my park. You're welcome to tell Aqua about what happened here, but you can't hide the truth. People are gonna know it was us who cleaned up the park, and all they're gonna see from you is a militant reaction. It'll be in our favor either way."

Everything Abraham said about Magma's plan to clean up the park was a lie. It was never hinted to him that they were going to be funding maintenance, but the more he thought about it, the more that made so much more sense. You can't rule a resisting people, but when you make them love you, you win. That's how the most successful of evil dictators did it, at least, and the more time he spent with Magma, the more he figured they were the bad guys. They didn't have to be, though.

"We'll see," was all Dave had to say. "Jenn, call back your pokemon. I'm gonna battle this asshole."

"What, you don't want my help?" Jenn sighed, calling back Minccino and Pikachu.

"This is a man's fight," Dave said, summoning an Aron. To this, Abraham couldn't help but smile, as Dave clearly had lost his cool in the situation, and Jenn seemed to expect it. He enjoyed being the driving force tearing apart their relationship, however cruel that sounded.

Abraham responded by sending out Gaia, his Swinub, who would be very effective against the Steel/Rock combo with her Ground type, though Aron's Steel attacks would hurt her. He was somewhat relying on her speed to finish him off first. "Aron, use Metal Slash!"

"Gaia, Mud Bomb," Abraham nodded. As Aron charged, his little claws glowing, Gaia shot a burst of mud at the little piece of iron armor. It had enough force behind it to knock him back and when he pulled himself to his feet, it appeared that his vision had been blurred. He continued his charge at Gaia, but it was easy for her to sidestep his assault.

"It's spelled with an E."

"What?" Abraham asked.

"Erin," Dave said. "Spelled with an E and an I. Like the girl's name."

"Okay," Abraham nodded. "I didn't say anything."

"You were thinking it."

"I truthfully wasn't," Abraham smiled. "Gaia, Mud Bomb."

"Erin! Use-" It was too late. The Mud Bomb hit and it was extremely effective, just as it had been before. Taking a second one was not good for Erin's standing-up properties, and the poor girl fainted instantly. "It's not over, you know," Dave said. "I got plenty of pokemon."

"I'm sure you do," Abraham nodded. "Go on then."

[Kamaitachi]

"I'm Lora. Who are you, then?"

Kanoa blinked curiously. He remembered Della (read: Dusk Reanne), telling him that the girl's name had been...Rebecca? Roquefort? Something R sounding. Lora didn't sound right. He had hoped that with her adrenaline pumping, she'd simply use her real name. It had worked on stupider people. (It didn't really matter though, as Kanoa had the irritating habit of instantly forgetting names.)

And for what was quite possibly the stupidest and poorest planning of all, Kanoa had not expected her to turn the tables on him like that. He admired her moxie for basically deflecting his own tactic back at him. He went through a list of possible pseudonyms: Wolverine. Wang Fire. Al Fangor. Mrs Doubtfire. Ford Prefect. Crunch Buttsteak...Now they were just getting weird.

"F." He said hesitatingly at first. This was a mistake, since F was really just a letter, and not a full name at all. Then with full confidence, he spouted: "Jasmine Adams. You face the notorious F. Jasmine Adams!" Everyone present looked...nonplussed. The fake name "F. Jasmine Adams" was so very false. However, it was one of those names that was so false it might've possibly been true. In any case, he realized that he should've gone with his real name. "Kanoa" was about as far-fetched a name as they came these days.

Lora went on to give herself a title. ("The Great" was a pretty droll epithet. He had been hoping for something like...Lora "The Wizard", or anything of equal coolness to wizards.) As she spouted on about the terms and conditions of the battle, Kanoa found himself bored and zoning out. She was bowing ridiculously, but then called out the names of attacks.

Snapping back to reality, Kanoa realized that Abraham had disappeared, and that Ares was nowhere to be seen at the moment. That meant he was commanding a foreign pokemon, as well as his own Shroomish in a fight against...a little firebird and a snake. The girl had called them by different names, which was confusing enough to Kanoa. Stealth Master was now Blake, and Scout was now Jaklyn. However, he'd use their defining qualities rather than their nicknames or species.

"Benihana, Stun Spore on the little chicky! V-v...Voldemort! Use an awesome fire attack on that smug-looking snake!"

[FirePower]

Volgen wailed as the Torchic's claws raked across his muzzle. It was so loud and pitiful, several people muttered in concern. Ares wanted to go out to help the Houndor, but he stopped himself. The whole point of sending Volgen to help instead of facing the girl himself was to not attract attention, and if he went he'd blow it. He just had to hope Kanoa and Abraham would take care of the Houndour.

Ares watched as Kanoa sent out Benihana, the oddly-colored shroomish giving off a quick burst of sparkles. Ares doubted the wisdom of his choice, since the Torchic would be given a type advantage, even if Kanoa's Pokemon were stronger than the girl's. The girl- Lora- sent out a Snivy, another choice Ares questioned. Abraham, meanwhile gave a quick nod Ares and disappeared into the crowd.

Ares, Volgen and Hope all rolled their eyes in unison as Kanoa completely and utterly butchered the Houndour's name. Ares understood that Kanoa had had to learn several names at one time, but this was just insane.

'His name's Volgen!' Ares shouted mentally, as though Kanoa could read his thoughts. 'Vol-gen! That doesn't sound anything like Voldemort!' Unable to keep listening as his pokemon's name got destroyed, the teenage trainer left to go look for Abraham.

It took a moment after Kanoa addressed Volgen for the command to register before the attack was carried out. Part of it was being called Voldemort. It took the Houndour a bit to realize that the sinister-sounding name Kanoa had used was meant to be his own. Another big part was being controlled by someone other than Ares. The Dark Pokemon shot a small burst of fire at the Snivy, which was called both Scout and Jacklyn. Volgen hoped that Kanoa hadn't been expecting an awe-inspiring move like Eruption or Flamethrower. Ember was the only fire move the Houndour knew, so it would have to be awesome enough.

Meanwhile, Ares came to a clearing. Abraham was nowhere to be seen, single skateboarder who had gotten bored watching the battle, and were hanging out in front of the pokemon center. He was a couple years older than Ares, with dark, critical eyes and shaggy light brown hair. Standing next to him was a Bayleef, which watched Ares and his Gligar with alarming ferocity.

"Hey, Ain't you one of them Magmas?" The boy said, eying Ares. The dark haired trainer nodded, reaching for Orbis' pokeball. He doubted he would be able to defeat the Bayleef, but it was his job to try. The boy looked Ares up and down. It seemed like he could tell exactly what Ares was feeling.

"You don't want to be here, do ya?" The boy said. Ares shook his head. "You've been acting like you want to avoid people since you've showed up."

"Y-you're not going to fight me?" Ares asked. He had half-expected the guy to fly into a frenzied rage and attack him, either with his Bayleef or old-school beat 'em up style.

"Nah," He said, shaking his head. "What's the point in beating up some kid who's here against their will? Them Magma higher-ups the real enemy. You don't look tough enough for a good fight, anyways."

"Um, thanks?"

"Welcome. I'm Jackson, by the way, and that's Balade," Jackson said, introducing himself and his Bayleef.

"I'm Ares. Nice to meet you."

"Ares? As in Ares Zarrenler? I've heard of you. You're that orphan from the poor district, right? The one who was always tryin' to learn new languages?" Ares nodded with a mental wince. He hated being called an orphan, even though it was completely and utterly true. He hardly remembered his parents, and he really hated being reminded that he lost them.

"Well, you've got stuff to do, right?" Jackson said, nodding. "Look me up some time, y'know, when them Idiots in red give you a day off." With that, the Skater, returned Balade and took off towards the ramps. Ares, with a small shrug, continued in his search for Abraham.

[Dragonwish2]

Rachel scoffed at the false name; there wasn't the letter K in any of it, and he seemed a bit hesitant to speak for a moment. The crowd, in their daftness, ignored the silly name as though it were normal. She wanted to prove them wrong, but the battle was already heating up, and the bystanders had already forgotten the conversation entirely. She noticed some onlookers wincing or whispering to each other as the Houndour screamed when Blake scratched it.

Rachel considered the type advantage of both sides. Jaklyn could be taken out easily by the Houndour, if she was hit by one too many a fire attack. Blake had a better chance; fire moves were ineffective on him, and the mushroom Pokémon appeared to be at least partly a grass type, with the use of Stun Spore.

She couldn't let Blake become paralyzed; he was already poisoned, and if she lost her fire type in this battle, she had only a slim chance to win, or even tie. She was already wishing she had taught one of her Pokémon a move that could counter the spores. As she thought, an idea struck her. She waited until the spores had already been shot and were just a yard away.

"Blake, use ember to stop the spores before they hit you! Jaklyn, wait for my signal." Her grass type glanced back at her cautiously, then nodded sharply and waited. Blake chirped and let out a stream of sparks and fire, aiming for the spores. Rachel held her hand up, her fingers posed tightly.

She held the position quietly, waiting. The Houndour seemed to look back at Kano for a moment in confusion before attacking symmetrically to Blake, shooting out a small flame. Rachel snapped her fingers, and Jaklyn jumped to avoid the attack. Her tail was caught in the flames, however, and it caught on fire. Jaklyn bit her lip and pat it on the ground repeatedly until the fire went out, leaving her tail blackened with ash and smoke.

“Good save, Jaklyn. Retaliate with tackle!” Her grass type charged at the Houndour, slamming into its already sore snout. Rachel looked back to Blake. His Ember had worked; the spores had burned into a crisp mid-flight. Blake froze, his eyes glazing over before a trembling overcame him. Rachel grit her teeth as the poisoning harmed her Pokémon; she couldn’t heal him until after the battle. The spasm stopped and he chirped in assurance, standing stronger.

“Blake, use ember on the mushroom,” Rachel told him. The chick Pokémon chirped in reply and spouted a small flame onto the coral and tan mushroom. “Are you ready to give up yet?” She called out to Kapoi in false bravado. The battle was leaving a sour taste in her mouth already; she knew she would have to turn the tables quickly, or be in the loss at the end. She took all possible openings and advantages into consideration. The man had called the Houndour by two different names now, but used the same name for the mushroom Pokémon. Perhaps it wasn’t Kanoa’s own Pokémon? She noted the confusion, and decided to attempt a technique she had rehearsed with Jaklyn just once before.

Jaklyn jumped back from her attack and landed on the blacktop. Blake shortly followed, his ember burned onto his enemy. Rachel looked to them both. “Jaklyn, leader of my team, it’s time to make this bird fly. Throw Blake into the air, just like we practiced.” Jaklyn understood the severity of the situation and briskly crouched to the ground, holding herself up on all fours. She set her tail down. Rachel calculated the result. When she had first tried imitating the trick of flinging things with Jaklyn (whom had first given the Rachel the idea by throwing sand at her, in a prank of Marcus’), she had started with simple bean bags. Her Togepi was flung after the Snivy had become skilled with the bags. Eventually, Jaklyn could throw things up to six pounds a good two yards, with somewhat rough accuracy.

Blake stared at Jaklyn incredulously until she motioned for him to stand on her tail. When he still didn’t move, she shouted, “Sniiii!” The Torchic yelped and ran onto the blackened leaf tail. Jaklyn set her small arms back onto the ground and poised. Rachel pointed to the sky.

“Now, throw him!” At her trainer’s cry, Jaklyn slung her tail and pushed off the asphalt, landing with a small flip on her two feet. Blake spun wildly in the air, screaming in fear. Rachel noticed his flight blown left by the wind and said, “Jaklyn, use Vine Whip to push him higher and hold him there. Release him when I say.” Two vines protruded from Jaklyn’s neck, reaching out and catching Blake in a seat almost four yards in the air, just two feet from the other Pokémon. “Blake,” Rachel called, “use ember when Jaklyn lets go, but stop before you hit the ground. Aim at the mushroom. Jaklyn, catch him if the poisoning takes effect.” The two nodded. Rachel glanced to see Kapo’s face, then smiled and brought down her raised arm.

“Let’s finish this. Drop him!”

The result was a wild flame, forcing Jaklyn and some spectators to step back in order to avoid being hit. Blake struggled to keep himself facing forward, but the wind blew him into a spinning ball of fire. He stopped a few feet from the ground, shaking again. Jaklyn caught him with both vines and let him slide down her back, holding him in her ashy tail until the poison stopped. She righted him and looked to Rachel. Her tail was sagging, a sign which unnerved Rachel. She looked to see what could make her grass Pokémon so depressed when she froze, horror filling her mind.

The ember had completely missed the mushroom and hit the Houndour, who looked unharmed. Rachel swore the Houndour looked stronger. She looked back to her two hurt Pokémon and sighed, thinking of the terms she had agreed to before the battle. Defeat was near for her, whether she liked it or not.

[Yzarc Drowsnam]

Dave's next pokemon was both a solid partner for Aron (or Erin, rather) and a great counter to Gaia. Azumarill, a pure water type, resisted her Ice type attacks and took neutral damage from her Ground attacks. On top of this, it was fully evolved and bulky enough to shrug off Gaia's neutral attacks without problem. More importantly, however, was its access to a plethora of powerful water attacks.

"Azrael, Bubblebeam!"

As it used Bubblebeam, at Dave's command, Abraham wasted no time pulling Gaia back in order to avoid the super effective attack. Tartarus took the hit instead, and even though it didn't hurt as badly as it would have hurt Gaia, it still hurt. He winced at the powerful stream of bubbles blasting in his face, but once they stopped, he looked onto his opponent.

"Thundershock," Abraham said, watching the battle carefully. Tartarus, his Elekid, was probably faster than this Azumarill and would hit much harder with its effective electric attacks. However, as expected, Dave refused to allow Abraham the easy win. He called back Azrael (another nickname which sounded notably similar to the species name, yet just slightly different) and sent out a pokemon who could more easily handle the Thundershock: Dugtrio.

This was a high leveled pokemon, capable of inflicting massive damage on Tartarus. Also, it popped underground upon release and completely avoided the lightning attack, which struck the ground and disappeared. Its three heads came back up right in front of Tartarus and Abraham refused to let him get torn apart by its Ground attacks. As he held his pokeball out and shot the beam which would call it back, however, Dugtrio disappeared into the ground and reappeared behind the Elekid, blocking the beam.

"Dodrio won't allow you to switch pokemon," Dave said with a smile.

"Sorry," Abraham shook his head. "Did you name your Dugtrio Dodrio?"

"Yes,"

"Fantastic," Abraham sighed. "Your naming theme is very dumb. Tartarus, use Light Screen,"

Before he got the screen up, however, Dodrio, or Dugtrio, or whatever it is would be more appropriate, use Bulldoze, a Ground attack which knocked Tartarus to the ground. He managed to get his Light Screen off, but when he stood up, he found himself slowed fairly significantly. He couldn't even try to get another attack off before he was hit with a second Bulldoze, knocking him out completely.

"You're a fool," Dave said. "Light Screen won't help you against Dodrio."

"Chaos, you're up," Abraham tossed out the newest addition to his team, Chaos the Shellder, who had yet to experience combat with that tactical minded Abraham, but he was in for a treat. The matchup was unfavorable to Dave, as Shellder's Water and Ice typing were both capable of dealing significant damage, so he called him back just as Abraham commanded, "Icicle Spear!"

Azrael popped out in Dodrio's place and took the full force of Chaos' flurry of icicles. His ability, Skill Link, allowed him to use such multi-shot attacks much more effectively and accurately - In short, every time he used his Icicle Spear, it would hit five times. Azrael resisted the hit, but he still took all five of them, and was in no shortage of pain for it.

"Rollout!"

"Rock Blast!"

Azrael moved first, rolling into a ball and smashing into Chaos. The hit hurt, as it was Rock type, but it was still weak as he had yet to gather momentum. The pokemon continued rolling, however, after it hit Chaos, and turned around preparing for another hit. In the mean time, Chaos shot five chunks of rock at Azrael, which had the same effect as Icicle Spear, all of which hurt. Azrael rolled right back around afterwards and hit Chaos once more, this time with a much harder hit. Chaos' defenses were strong, and Abraham was grateful he had agreed to take him. One more Rock Blast hit Azrael and knocked him right out of his ball.

"Son of a bitch," Dave sighed, calling back Azrael. He sent out Dodrio, whom seemed to be his final pokemon, in his place. "Magnitude!"

"Ice Shard!" Abraham shouted.

Chaos wasn't going to beat this Dugtrio. He had taken so much damage, and a single Magnitude would be enough to finish him off. Moreover, due to Arena Trap, even pulling him from the battle wasn't an option. Dugtrio was a fast pokemon, and he was going to get his Magnitude off before Chaos could use what would have been an extremely powerful Icicle Spear. So, he did the only thing he could do aside from lying down and accepting the Magnitude.

Dugtrio was extremely fast, but not faster than Ice Shard. Chaos shot a small blade of ice from its shell which pierced the three headed whatever, dealing some super effective damage. Then, the ground began to shake, as it tended to do with Earth attacks, and Chaos took a hit which knocked it out.

As Dave smiled, Abraham tossed out his final pokeball. Gaia remained conscious as he refused to let her fight Azrael. But Azrael was fainted, and all that remained was this Dugtrio, who had taken damage.

"Magnitude!"

"Icy Wind!"

The two ground pokemon were facing off, but Gaia was also part Ice, which allowed her to use potent attacks effective against Dugtrio. His Magnitude did some damage, but Icy Wind did more and, importantly, slowed him down significantly. This allowed her to use Icy Wind a second time in a row while Dodrio was still reeling from the first hit. Three Ice attacks against him (or her) including Chaos' Ice Shard was enough to do him in.

Dave called his final pokemon back with a discouraged look on his face. "So," Abraham said. "I forget exactly what was said, but it was something along the lines of you getting out of my park? Jenn, you're welcome to stay, of course."

"The Swinub's weak," Dave said, looking desperately to the girl. "Finish it off. Use-"

"No, Dave, I don't think so," Jenn said. "You made it perfectly clear this was a man's fight."

"But- You- He's Magma!" Dave seemed utterly lost at this point. "He's Magma."

"I'm not in Aqua, remember?" Jenn crossed her arms. "I don't have anything against Magma. I thought I made that clear last week."

"Okay, but," Dave began.

"Dave," Abraham said. "It's over, man. Just let it go. Anyway, I really have to be going. Jenn, I'll trust you to see this troublemaker out of the park. All his pokemon are knocked out, so he shouldn't cause you too much of a problem." He smiled slightly and winked at her, then turned to make his way back to the skatepark where the battle was likely still raging between Kanoa and that girl. And Ares, if he was still hiding in the crowd for some reason.

However that battle turned out, Abraham had a fairly brilliant plan to win Shady Acres for Team Magma.

[FirePower]

Volgen yelped as the Snivy tackled it, aiming specifically for his snout. For a second his vision became fuzzy, blurred by the pain. He squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head vigorously, dispelling the blurriness and returning his usual clear vision. Whimpering, the Houndor covered his muzzle with his paws and made himself seem as small and insignificant as possible in hopes of getting a quick rest.

It watched in curiosity as the Snivy got onto all fours, ready to launch it's partner into the air. The Torchic though, had a sudden spasm. Volgen guessed that he must have poisoned the small chick. The Houndour would never have guessed that he had such capabilities unless he'd seen it himself.

Volgen continued to watch, sitting upright for a better view, as the Snivy launched the Torchic in the air, a feat that impressed the Dark Pokemon. For a second it panicked, spinning around in the air and screaming it's over sized orange head off. The Snivy grabbed the it some ways above the ground, saving it from falling to the cold, hard ground below. It pushed the Torchic up higher and released it, sending it falling toward the ground.

Volgen jumped to it's feet and stepped back as the ember attack came raining down. It was too late, though, and the fire attack came raining down on him. For a second, the Houndour felt nothing but true terror as he was enveloped by the vortex of flames. Then he realized the fire wasn't so much as singing his fur. Instead, he felt more battle-ready than he had ever felt before. New strength coursed through his limbs, and he felt like butting head with even the biggest pokemon.

As the flames cleared Volgen's opponents saw what had happened. They looked scared, and with good reason. The houndour felt invincible, as though nothing and nobody could hurt him in this state. Taking a deep breath, he released another ember attack, much larger than the first. It spiraled out towards the Snivy. After a moment, he closed his jaws with a satisfied snap, stopping the attack.

[Kamaitachi]

F. Jasmine Adams, that is to say "Kanoa", felt a bit irritated that Lora/Rachel the Great/Wizard had initiated two attacks in a row. He wasn't sure why everyone felt the need to do it, even though he would've been more than happy to use the same technique himself if he were losing.

In any case, he watched intently as Rachel, Jaklyn and Blake set up their attack, which essentially created a pillar of flame that fell out of the sky. Wincing, he chanced a glance away from the battle, but when he turned around, Benihana was unhurt, V-Puppy seemed brighter and more powerful (even producing a much stronger ember attack), the Snivy seemed injured, and the Torchic weary. The battle was quickly turning in his favour, and he didn't need to be told twice to capitalize on this.

"Benihana, Headbutt on Mr. Chicky-Licky! V-DAWGZ, use ember on that snake-in-the-grass!"

Benihana, now used to Kanoa's eccentric naming, immediately launched his grumpy-faced self full force towards his enemy. With the poison taking effect, surely a Headbutt would tack on some extra damage (with the potential to flinch the Torchic (but Kanoa didn't know that). With his partner's pokemon, he was sure that Volgen's Ember would produce significant enough flame to inflict some massive pain.

He noticed that Rachel/Lora was wearing down morale wise too: She'd grown less arrogant, and almost looked defeated. Kanoa felt sorry for her, to be honest. He had joined Magma to strengthen himself as a trainer, and perhaps gain some notoreity in Noverus, not beat up on trainers with weaker pokemon than him. Also, to be fair, he hadn't really gotten stronger as a trainer. His pokemon were getting stronger, but not him. Abraham and Ares were probably better battlers than he was, and here he was, leading the team because he had more 'experience' doing crapsack missions like this.

While in his earlier battles, he'd found loopholes to accomplish his mission without inflicting serious damage on people. This time, though, the mission was to put up flyers, then rout anyone who came to disturb them. There was no loophole in that. On top of that, this Lora (Rachel), had been a reinforcement to the first guy. If he won a battle of attrition, his team would be too weak to take on any further reinforcements.

"Where's your spunk now, Blorta!?" He forced a laugh out, not really convincing himself (the dimwitted audience seemed to eat up his evil act, though, and also seemed to accept that Rachel's name might actually be "Blorta"). "You messed with the wrong awesome trainer today!"

It really did sound forced. Yet, he stifled his doubt, and reminded himself that above all, this mission was fun. He erased the idea of Lora as an enemy from his mind (in a surprisingly quick fashion), and threw himself back into the battle with all the energy of a child at play.

"You're boring me, Blorta!" he grinned "I bet you're better than this!"