Ranger HQ Ranger Union HQ

[Jackie Cat]

Thunder Wave washed over the fire lizard, and her wings faltered for a few seconds, long enough for her flight path to swing dangerously close to the tower...

"Oh!" said Sinopa, frozen for a moment. This wasn't a common problem for her to deal with, and she hadn't had a battle like this since there was air in her lungs and blood in her veins...

But she recovered herself, and when Koa leapt, she crackled out of existence, and back into reality in mid-air, in Charizard's flight path. That oughta make sure the boy had a good target...

"Hi!" she blurted, grinning madly. "Who the hell are you?"

---

Aside from the silver Meowth still hanging back from the others, alone. Maybe she'd catch a glimpse of a reptilian silhouette creeping through the shadows under an awning.

Laura winced. Her reasoning had proved right, and that was a terrible, terrible thing. There was no way she could take out a serious fighter on her own. A reptile though... Dragon, maybe? Or Ground, or Grass, possibly... All of those were weak to Ice. And she had Ice, as did...

Isidora! There's a third one on the plaza! Get down here!

She took a silent breath, bracing herself, giving Isidora a moment to change tack, and then she blew frigid air from her lungs to cover the plaza floor.

Icy Wind!

 

[Chibi Pika]

The bulky figure outside the plaza stood tall, back spikes framed by moonlight. A Tyranitar. He braced himself firmly against Leaf's strike, but the follow-up from Archie caught him in the flank. He let out a low grunt of pain but didn't back down, obviously used to tanking hits. Then he flashed a grotesque snarl in the form of a Scary Face before stamping the ground and sending a rolling wave of earth outward from himself, aiming to slow his attackers down even further.

---

Jade blinked at the spot where Koa had just been, watching him take a flying leap from the watchtower. Had he really just done that? The Electrike landed on Charizard's back with an awkward thud, the impact sending a jolt of electricity through the fire lizard, who growled in pain.

Only a moment to seize the opportunity. She had to go for it.

Swallowing hard, Jade hurled herself after Koa, gathering an orb of water in her paw and splashing it against Charizard's head when she landed. Almost immediately, she had to flatten herself to the fire lizard's back to avoid being swept off by sheer momentum as Charizard pitched into a dive, scales glowing orange.

Jade's heart jumped into her throat. She knew what this was--Overheat.

---

The flash of lightning overhead briefly illuminated the figure in the plaza below. They jolted for just a moment, shaking frost from their scales before throwing a hurried look around. Then, the Sceptile noticed Laura and muttered something in a chittering voice that sounded not-quite like words before bolting.

In their claws, they were clutching some kind of stone.

 

[JFought]

Right here, Isidora!

Isidora was surprised to hear a reply her to thoughts in her head. Right, Betel. Thanks, I guess.

She took the surge of power from Laura's Helping Hand used that blow a strong Icy Wind towards the tower. She braced herself against the sudden, retaliatory heat and smirked as the charizard soon became overwhelmed by her teammates. Gotcha.

Isidora! There's a third one on the plaza! Get down here!

So this was a cover! Got it!

No time to waste. Isidora abandoned the fight and rushed back to the plaza, arriving just as Laura's Icy Wind suffused it's floor. She stuck close to the edges and took stock of her surroundings. There's Laura, and...

As soon as she spotted the third intruder, her approach became obvious. She kept a low profile and swiftly crept along the wall, looking for the straightest line between them. And once she found it, just as her target made a break for it, she knelt, placed her claws on her shoulders, drew them down her arms, bore the aching pain, and shot forward. In the blink of an eye, she had closed the distance and ran her claws through and past them, sandals skidding the ground and kicking up dust as she turned to face the sceptile head on.

She brandished her claws. "Where do you think you're going?"

 

[Tetra]

He hadn't expected Jade to follow his lead, but having her with him made him feel better. For all of maybe ten seconds. The sight of Charizard's scales turning bright orange as he clung to its back send a flash of panic through him.

"Douse him!" he called to Jade frantically. Maybe now was a good time to try that move he'd been working on. He howled, a blue aura formed around his body. A few yards overhead, dark clouds formed and rain began to fall. They had only a few seconds before it would probably get too hot to bear.

An aura formed around his paws and he channeled the energy from the storm into a wave of watery blue energy, splashing it over Charizard.

Koa used Secret Power!

 

[Weazel]

A Tyranitar, a large and dangerous Pokemon, more that deserving of the title of Pseudo-Legendary. But he and Leaf had the type advantage. They could do this. Probably. Even as the intruder’s snarling made his fur stand on end, he felt the adrenaline pumping into his veins. He’d make this Pokemon regret coming here.

Archie’s Defiant! +1 Attack!

This time around, he was better able to catch the Pokemon’s movements. Magnitude or Earthquake, maybe even Bulldoze. It didn’t matter, Archie knew he didn’t want to be hit by it. He’d ended up near enough to a wall after smashing into the Pokemon, and there was an awning within grabbing distance, he just had to time it out in his head, and… Jump!

Archie used Detect!

The Dewott grabbed onto the canvas as the attack passed beneath him, then dropped back to the ground. That stunt wouldn’t work a second time, so he needed to take advantage while he had the opportunity. He quickly grabbed his scalchops, twirling them as the blue aura of his Razor Shell and the orange aura of his Sacred Sword extended from one and the other. Then he swung both at the Tyranitar’s bulky middle.

Archie used Razor Shell & Sacred Sword!

 

[Phoenixsong]

The moon caught the spines on its back and the withering snarl on its face and it all clicked. Tyranitar, of course. Fighting style wasn't even too far off the one that liked to hang out at Blue's gym, 'sides the fact that around there pokémon usually liked trick room for their speed shenanigans. This guy wanted to slow them down the old-fashioned way? Fine by her. Better, even. Way easier to work around.

Nothing to be done about the scary face; just take it, shake off the feeling that they wanted to rip her throat out, keep moving. Jump over the waves rumbling through the plaza stones to keep the worst of it from tripping her up, like she'd taught Rey. Not as graceful as the ninetales, maybe, he had way more practice keeping the timing straight with the ground trying its damndest to roll right out from under him, but screw it, she'd walk off the tweaked ankle later. Jump forward, keep up the pressure, don't let them push you back, then strike.

"Nice try, but nah," Leaf gritted out, before surging forward to drive a fairy-lit lance through the chinks in their armor.

Leaf's Defiant! +1 Atk!
Leaf used Tenacious Soul! +1 Spd!

 

[Jackie Cat]

That stone... Laura knew that shape.

"Sceptile has the Relic!" she shouted. Startled, she blew more frigid air towards the offending reptile...

"Wh–what?"

Sinopa, still falling, snapped into place on the plaza, and began frantically shifting pueblos...

"How could I not notice them inside," she hissed, admonishing herself.

Sinopa was trying to close off Sceptile's escape routes.

She wasn't going to make it.

 

[Chibi Pika]

Jade's paws were heating up below her and she took that as the cue to get the hell out. Charizard had swooped low enough, so maybe... She grit her teeth and jumped from her ride's back, feeling her paws automatically line up under her and cushion the fall, landing in the plaza below. Okay, phew, now to find some cover, and--

Koa was still back there. Jade's heart sank. What? What was he...? Above them, a spattering of clouds had condensed into existence, but he was still stubbornly clinging to Charizard's back.

"Are you nuts?!" Jade yelled up at him as the sudden downpour soaked her fur. Rain Dance would weaken the blast, sure, but he'd still be taking an Overheat to the face at point-blank! This was bad, this was--

No time left, had to act now. Jade threw a paw upwards, feeling the water around her collecting on her arm and the temperature rapidly plunging before firing a burst of Chilling Water, aimed right between Koa and Charizard--

And then she had to screw her eyes shut as the flames erupted outward in all directions.

---

Sceptile leered at Isidora, grasping the Relic closer to his chest. Again, he spoke in the same chittering speech which didn't register as speech the way that everyone else they came across did, regardless of language.

Except that Isidora might be able to glean some meaning from it. "Out of here," he'd said.

He threw a glance at Laura approaching from behind, then noticed the shifting pueblos. He crouched low and took a flying leap, landing on one of the pueblos before dashing across the rootops, hunting for an escape route.

"I need backup, Hearth-flame!" he hissed at the Charizard below.

---

Tyranitar braced himself against the barrage of attacks, throwing up a Protect shield against the first two but then grunting noticeably when the Sacred Sword crashed against his rocky hide. Still, from his expression, he was clearly used to this. The dinosaur retaliated with a deceptively fast swing of his arm, calling forth a hail of boulders, aiming to bury the two in a Rock Slide.

All the while, he tapped his foot on the ground in a distinct pattern while occasionally throwing glances into the sky. Was he... looking for someone?

 

[Jackie Cat]

Laura clenched every muscle in her body to suppress a scream of frustration, then gasped enough air to yell, "Get the Sceptile! The others are a distraction, the Sceptile's got the Relic!"

Her ice magic was shit, her power was shit, he was going to escape—

Sinopa's pueblos stacked and restacked, each one under Sceptile's feet descending as he landed. There was time yet, for someone better at this than Laura.

She swore bitterly, and dumped everything she had into Isidora.

Soul's Conviction!

"Fuckin' get him," she hissed between clenched teeth as her aura howled with Radiance.

 

[Tetra]

It had to be enough it had to- It wasn't. Idiot. He'd miscalculated. Mistimed. Thought he could bring down or at least stun the Charizard enough and then get off in time. He did end up getting off, just not the way he hoped. Icy water soaked his fur a split second before an overwhelming blast of heat sent him airborne.

At least he'd had the chance to yank his paws off the Charizard's scales. His paws flailed as he tried to right himself midair before crashing awkwardly to the ground. Hot, tingling pain washed over face and eyes, and an acrid burning scent touched his nose. He could feel his singed fur and he didn't have to look to know his jacket was blackened. Great.

Wincing, he forced himself to his paws, just in time to catch Laura's warning. The adrenaline of the fight kept the worst of the pain at bay. He muttered a swear and took off after the Sceptile. So much for the relic being safe he thought furiously. They couldn't lose it, not when it was the best hoped they'd gotten in months. Pouring more electricity into his body, he ran faster, feeling like it was already too late. For good measure, he fired a carefully aimed Thunder Wave towards it.

Hopefully Isidora would beat him to it.

 

[Weazel]

No way he was getting out of this one. The Dewott crossed his blades over his chest, hoping to at least deflect the worst of the damage, and allowed himself to be driven backwards by the onslaught rather than stay and risk getting buried. The rocks clanged against his arms and crossed blades, more than a few crashed against his exposed legs. Oh yes, he’d be feeling this attack in the morning.

Still, he wasn’t out, not yet at least. He staggered back to his feet where the attack had driven him to his knees, and twirled his blades back into an offensive stance. And then he heard Laura yelling. Shit. This had been a distraction all along. Catching this Tyranitar was meaningless if his companions escaped with the relic, and there was no helping the scores of Shadow Pokemon if they lost it. The Tyranitar had slowed them both down, but maybe there was still a chance Leaf could reach the others if she left now. Which meant…

“Leaf! If I keep him busy, do you think you can reach the others?” He called, before squaring up against the Tyranitar again. He gave his twin blades another twirl, creating a clash of blue and orange sparks when the two auras clanged together. “Alright big guy, eyes on me!”

Archie used Hero’s Soul! Evasion +2, Archie became the Center of Attention!

He closed the gap between them with another Aqua Jet, stabbing forward with his Sacred Sword and spinning the Razor Shell around to guard.

Archie used Aqua Jet & Sacred Sword!

 

[Phoenixsong]

Dammit, she'd been there, she'd been right there and this jerk had— Tumbling rocks cut off the rest of Leaf's thought, crashed into the side of her head, nearly took her legs out from under her. All that stellar horse-hearing went dead for a second or two, replaced with painful, obnoxious ringing. Just ringing, that was all. Nothing else. See what happens when you don't know how to wait? See how your impatience just makes things harder for everyone else?

Grah. Forget this. Buncha whining from someone who wasn't here and didn't get it wasn't how this got fixed; fixing it was. Archie said he could handle this guy, then he'd be fine. "Just be careful, I think he's looking out for someone else!" She threw her shoulder into Tyranitar for one last side-swipe, one last attempt to force a stumble and interrupt whatever morse-code-riverdance he was doing—

Leaf used Tenacious Soul! +1 Spd!

—and took off, flying back toward where Sinopa was playing Tetris with the pueblos. Even going at full tilt, the green blur on the shifting rooftops just pulled further and further away... rgh. Goddamn tyranitar. But she couldn't fall behind, couldn't let them escape. What else, something else, anything else...

Right. Deep breath, stay light, move with the energy and let it carry her along. Leaf surged forward again, glittering gold light streaming from her horn almost like cascading coins. No chance this guy was as stupid as those goblins; even less chance she'd actually hit them from back here. But as long as they thought she might, even just for a second, just one flashy little distraction of her own to give the others an opening, it might be enough—

Leaf used AGILE Pay Day!

 

[JFought]

Isidora's eyes widened as she realized what the sceptile was holding. When did he-? And they widened further when he jumped impossibly high onto the roof of the nearby pueblo. "Shit!"

There was a sudden tightening of muscle as Laura's power transferred to her. The human's desperation was disruptively contagious, the situation beginning to feel as if it were slipping out of control. But the sneasel couldn't afford to panic. She had a job to do, dammit, and she was going to get it done.

With the pueblos sinking into the ground, she spotted the opportunity to jump onto the closest as it lowered. The white aura of Quick Attack surrounded her as she chased after the sceptile, hopping up and across the rooftops with great strides and leaps. What's his exit plan? Is it the charizard?! Where is she right now?! How much damage had her teammates dealt already? Would it be enough to stop them from flying away together if they tried?

Except that would only matter if they had the relic. If she could just force him to drop it, them getting away was an acceptable loss. She threw a prepared Ice Shard at his back as she closed distance, and she mentally prepared herself to draw from her hidden power again. As soon as I get the chance, I can catch up and cut him off again-!

 

[Chibi Pika]

Tyranitar's attention snapped back to Archie in an instant, just in time for him to brace himself against the rushing water. The following sword strike caught him in the side, and he stumbled backwards, hunched low. He growled some words that didn't feel quite like words, but from his expression, the dinosaur looked reluctantly impressed.

So he drew himself fully upright and stamped his feet rhythmically, sparks of dragonfire wreathing his limbs. The next time he lunged, it was far faster than before, closing the gap within seconds and smashing an electrified fist into Archie's ribs.

---

With one acrobatic leap after another, Sceptile was slowly gaining height, ascending the pueblos as they sank down the cliffside. His focus was 100% on the task at hand, keeping hold of the relic without losing his footing as the terrain ever-shifted.

But Isidora was swift too, and she kept pace with him with the boost of a Quick Attack before firing a jagged shard of ice at the fleeing intruder. It crashed against Sceptile's back, and he fell forward, nearly tumbling over the edge if he hadn't thrown out a claw to catch himself.

But he'd dropped the relic. It fell, clattering down several awnings to land in the plaza below. Sceptile hissed under his breath, slammed his tail into Isidora and then leaped down after it.

---

Charizard had landed, steam leaking from her body after the Overheat. She shook some of the water from her scales with an irritated growl, then glanced up at Sceptile after his cry for backup.

Jade tensed, preparing to launch another Thunderbolt the moment that Charizard spread her wings. But she didn't spread her wings--she inhaled deeply and spewed out a thick cloud of black smoke, quickly filling the entire plaza. Jade recoiled backward, eyes screwed shut as she pulled her bandana over her nose. Dammit, she couldn't see anything. But she had a vague idea of where the relic had fallen, she'd heard the clatter, if she could just make it over there--!

 

[Jackie Cat]

Laura was still down on the plaza, her paws cool agaisnt the frosted-over surface. Would the relic make a different sound if it hit uncovered stone? Hard to say, but it sounded like it couldn't have gone far...

The silver Meowth sensed for the errant artifact with feline ears, her exotics-tinged aura, everything she had, and went down on all fours to hurry after where she thought it had gone. She had to retrieve it. Had to.

 

[Tetra]

The distinct sound of stone against stone made Koa's ears perk. Yes-!

Smoke filled the plaza. Stifling a cough, Koa shoved his bandana awkwardly around his snout and focused on the spot where he'd heard the Relic Stone fall and seen the Sceptile dive for it. His eyes watered as he moved through the smoke towards the spot, racing as fast as he dared. Somewhere in the smoke he thought he caught a glimpse of Laura trying to race for the relic.

He had to give the others a chance to get it before that lizard did. With a bark, he sent a surge of electricity into the smoke to stun the Sceptile, praying that his attack struck true and Isidora or Laura would be fast enough to get it.

Koa used Shock Wave!

 

[Chibi Pika]

The battle raged on. Sceptile dove into the Smokescreen, and there was a low, gutteral growl when Koa's Shock Wave connected, stunning him for just a moment before he retaliated with a spray of Bullet Seed fired wide, some of them landing a hit but most of them clinking against the frosty floor tiles.

Scrambling blindly through the thick smoke, ears attuned to the direction that she'd last heard the relic, Laura's paws finally landed on a chunk of smooth stone.

Only, a pair of claws had landed on it at the exact same time as her.

 

[Jackie Cat]

Who was that? Sceptile? That Charizard? Isidora?

Laura reacted without thinking, threw herself bodily over the object, shouted out loud—

"I've got the Relic! Cover me!"

 

[JFought]

Isidora hadn't expected her Ice Shard to prove so effective. Instead of speeding forward to catch up she was stumbling back gasping for breath, barely keeping her footing after Sceptile's tail had crashed into her. She didn't see where the relic had dropped, but she heard it. But with the smoke and her allies in the plaza, her vantage point was probably more useful here than getting blinded...

Not that she wanted to wait there. Her tail feathers twitched anxiously as she observed the situation. C'mon, gimme a sign. What's goin' on down there...?

"I've got the Relic! Cover me!"

That's all she needed to hear. Judging from the attacks fired in the plaza, Sceptile was distracted with Koamaru. And with the relic secured, any usefulness the smokescreen could have had as a cover was gone. So Isidora took a deep breath, jumped down, and blew an Icy Wind through the plaza to clear the air.

 

[Tetra]

"I've got the Relic! Cover me!"

Chilling wind tore through the plaza and washed over Koa. Nice one! he called reflexively to Isidora, before remembering she probably didn't care. Whatever.

The wind gave him a glimpse of pale grayish fur in the direction he'd heard the stone fall in, and another figure he couldn't quite make out. Not one of their team, that much he knew. Someone else trying to get the stone.

That was enough for him. Instinct took over as he bounded forward, opened his jaws and-

Koa used Roar!

The motion and attack, the sound, all felt oddly deja vu for a second. Then the sensation was gone.