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Welcome to The Cave of Dragonflies forums, where the smallest bugs live alongside the strongest dragons.
Guests are not able to post messages or even read certain areas of the forums. Now, that's boring, don't you think? Registration, on the other hand, is simple, completely free of charge, and does not require you to give out any personal information at all. As soon as you register, you can take part in some of the happy fun things at the forums such as posting messages, voting in polls, sending private messages to people and being told that this is where we drink tea and eat cod.
Of course I'm not forcing you to do anything if you don't want to, but seriously, what have you got to lose? Five seconds of your life?
Ayda looked hardly the worse for wear, even after she'd started taking hits. The ranger chief wasn't made of paper, either! In fact, even with her limbs seizing up, she was as lithe and fast as ever...
"Here's how a Forlasan Dewott fights," she declared, as she slashed left and right with her blades of water, lunging past Archie's guard to strike true, even with his style being unfamiliar to her.
"How long can y'all keep chasin' down yer quarry?" she goaded, before blasting Koa with a surge of water from thin air, which carried her further down the embankment.
Ayda's Rain Dance changed the weather! Boss Action: Ayda boosted her Eva by +2!
Ayda ate a Heal Seed and was cured of paralysis.
Ayda ate a Cautious Seed and her defenses rose by 1!
Ayda's Agile Razor Shell dealt 21 dmg to Astrid!
Ayda's Razor Shell dealt a CRITICAL 20 dmg to Archie! Def -1! Defiant!
Ayda used Restless Soul! She dealt 16 dmg to Koa, then retreated to Verdant Bank! Eva +1!
Razael focused...
Razael threw a Vile Seed at Astrid! Her defenses dropped by 1!
Razael's Cover Band lets him guard Ayda. Boss Action: Razael's Strong Brick Break hit everyone for CRITICAL damage! ...Except Nova!
Astrid took 24 dmg! KO!!
Prim took 13 dmg!
Archie took 12 dmg!
Koa took 11 dmg!
Nova took 7 dmg! Battle Armor!
The Haxorus ranger was a blur of martial movement, his strikes disciplined and strangely unlike the brutal power of a dragon.
Before he prepared to attack again, he tapped his own chest in several places, winced oddly, and then his scales flashed as an ethereal copy of himself stepped away from him to guard Ayda's other flank. His scales continued to shimmer, as if a field of energy was protecting him...
"Hittin' the sand already?" asked Ayda, with dry surprise.
"They are strong," was Razael's simple reply.
"No kiddin'."
Razael used Mindful Soul! He passed a substitute to Ayda and got 2 Mindful Shields. Boss Attack: Razael is preparing Breaking Swipe, targeting Rocky Bank...!
Astrid was revived at 4 HP!
Ayda recovered 12 HP total from her Aqua Ring!
Archie recovered 4 HP total from his Heal Ribbon!
The rain is pouring down...
The Oshawott shot his evolutionary counterpart a grin. Of course, now he was interested in hearing exactly how it was coastal Oshawott fought, and if that had anything to do with her original seeming lack of enthusiasm when it came to his presence. Either way, she was far more interested in the fight now!
“Self taught; and hopefully not half bad?” Archie said, “And I’m already learning plenty!”
He moved his blade up to block her counterattack, but couldn’t quite pull off the maneuver before she’d gotten inside his guard and slashed him good. Well, he’d always be the first to admit that his technique was somewhat lacking. And then Ayda was off, zipping around the battlefield gain.
“Seems like Forlasan Dewotts do a lot of running away!” he called, teasingly. Still, he momentarily clutched at his chest, his breathing a little ragged. This wasn’t good, he was definitely flagging at this point. But he wasn’t the only one, that Haxorus looked to be pretty haggard. If they could push him just a little further, they could take the dragon down and swing the odds a little more in their favor. The Oshawott took a deep breath, the grin returning to his face. “Let me give it a try. Promise I’m a fast learner!”
First thing’s first though, he dug his Leppa berry out of his pocket and ate. That wouldn’t be of any help with his injuries, but it would at least give him the energy for what came next. Then, he swung his scalchop out beside him, the Flying Type energy returning to Water, and charged, slashing and punching at whichever of the two targets he reached first, not stopping until he’d broken through and returned to the ice bridge, where he slid to a stop on its slick surface, before spinning around to face towards the melee again, blade at the ready!
Prim skidded across the ground, feet leaving trails in the silver sands. She smelled jasmine from the ichor dripping down her face. That dragon didn't play, and as a plant, she was sorely matched against his ax-like tusks. The hissing breath she released sent raindrops flying from her face.
"Almost done," she panted.
With a strained grunt she summoned warmth from her core to her fingertips and began to call the sun.
Prim (52 STM, 9 TMP, +0 SPD, +0 ACC)
- Sunny Day (-30 STM, +2 TMP)
- **Bonus Action:** Item (Leppa Berry) (+40 STM)
- Solar Beam @ Razael (-25 STM, +3 TMP)
- Giga Drain @ Razael (-17 STM, +3 TMP)
- Walk to River Crossing
Net change: -32 STM, +8 TMP
Net totals: 20 STM (33 after regen), 17 TMP
Everyone had their witty lines. Their back and forth. And what did Nova have? Little to do, really. The haxorus was doing some sort of strange ethereal defensive thing. There had to be interplay between the glistening scales and the newly spawned substitute. And everyone else was stronger. So it behooved him, the fencepost, to try and brute force the answer. For science.
Koa narrowed his eyes as he studied Razael. There was a move he didn't recognize... Drawing on his resolve, he quickly downed a berry to get back some of his strength.
Test strikes. If it was a barrier, then he could take it down to give the rest of the team a chance to strike.
"Okay," he muttered under his breath, sizing up Razael and Ayda. "Let's see what it's made out of."
Ice bridge pros: very cool; definitely had to have earned them some style points; no more fording the river like it was Orre Trail. Ice bridge cons: there might've been a little bit of a baby stantler situation goin' on at the moment. Leaf tried her best to keep up with what the rangers were doing even through the baby stantlering, but it was, y'know. A lot. Damn but it'd be awesome if she could juggle that many moves at once.
...well, Kotetsu and his retainers had been willing to share their secrets after they'd proven themselves, right? They'd just have to get around to these lessons in ranger school.
Awesome as all the whatever-the-heck-the-rangers-just-dids might've been, it was ultimately entirely too many things, and that had to stop now, thanks. Getting Razael out of the way was definitely a priority, and she launched a burst of energy Astrid's way so she could freeze him over, but they couldn't just let Ayda's too-many-things get out of hand, either. She looked entirely too cozy with that aqua ring keeping her afloat, for one. It'd be such a shame if something muddied all that water, wouldn't it?
Leaf slide across the ice bridge and threw on the brakes hard at the end (one hundred percent because she meant to do it and not because baby stantler), kicking up a spray of slush and dirt where the river met the bank and throwing the mess toward the dewott's swirling curtain of water.
Leaf Aux Turn 3
Support @ Astrid (+1 Magic)
Interact @ Ayda (Attempt to foul up Ayda's Aqua Ring and maybe negate a little healing)
Everyone rushed across the ice flow, paws and claws and hooves skidding at first but quickly getting their bearings. While Jade kept pace with the rangers, she stayed observant, trying to catch a glimpse of Ayda's items each time the otter whipped something out of her bag...
"So you're at least half as cocksure as my tribe, huh," drawled Ayda. Something about her accent wasn't quite the same as the townie locals, now that she'd drawn attention to it. "Don't expect me t'rise to it!"
Leaf slide across the ice bridge and threw on the brakes hard at the end (one hundred percent because she meant to do it and not because baby stantler), kicking up a spray of slush and dirt where the river met the bank and throwing the mess toward the dewott's swirling curtain of water.
Ayda's lip curled in disgust at the contamination in her aura of healing spray. It corrected itself, but for a few moments there, its healing effects were interrupted.
Recovered from his discomposure – at least, from the acute one inflicted by the Water Pulse – Nova loosed a kick at Razael. The gleaming shimmer over his scales absorbed the hit, and the Haxorus monk responded in a flash, claws darting out to innervate Nova's muscles, disrupting his aura.
Nova's Double Hit... was parried! Nova was paralysed!
Nova's Body Press deals 9 damage to Razael's projection!
Nova tosses a Small Blast Seed at Razael's projection for 20 damage!
Ayda raised her scalchop blades, breathing heavier now.
"Y'all have done well so far," she said, projecting her voice like an instructor to a class. "But a ranger's gotta know that the situation could change on 'em at any time – and that there always oughta be backup when things look grim!"
There was a sound of rushing wind from further up the ravine...
The sound from up the ravine was the sound of ranger allies – Nico and Xoco, riding a Tailwind to join the fray, if only indirectly.
"Nice weather for it, boss," quipped Nico, as he lended Ayda his support for her storm-fuelled moves.
Xoco hovered above the battle, looking pleased with how things were going. "Wouldn't be right if we couldn't help test ya ourselves!" she called, as she prepared to tamp down incoming attacks.
Nidoran, meanwhile, was content to wordlessly cheerlead for the chief, his presense still somehow obviously helpful to her.
Ayda dropped an orb at her feet, and the downpour started up again around her just as strong as before, overcoming Prim's brief sunny respite.
"Alright, how 'bout I show you folks some intermediate combat?" offered Ayda, apparently not caring a damn about her bruises.
She erupted into a storm of attacks, firing pulsed jets of water from the hip and colliding with target after target, never missing a shot – even as Koa took cover behind the rocks.
Ayda's AGILE Water Pulse dealt 18 dmg to Archie! KO!!
Ayda's Water Pulse dealt a CRITICAL 32 dmg to Koa!
Ayda dashed to River Crossing.
Ayda's Aqua Jet dealt 19 dmg to Prim!
Ayda's Razor Shell dealt a CRITICAL 32 dmg to Prim! KO!!
Ayda dashed to Verdant Bank.
Ayda's Aqua Jet dealt 19 dmg to Astrid!
Ayda's Small Blast Seed dealt 20 dmg to Astrid!
Ayda's Restless Soul dealt 21 dmg to Astrid! KO!!
Ayda retreated to River Crossing.
Ayda walked to Fishing Spot. Boss Action: Ayda created a Firm Protect! Boss Attack: Ayda is preparing Razor Shell, targeting Fishing Spot!
Prim was revived at 12 HP!
Archie was revived at 13 HP!
Ayda was panting hard despite her grin. She was still practically vibrating with adrenaline and heightened aura, but fighting half a dozen 'mon at once was clearly a strain on her stamina. She still had fight left in her, though, and anyone who lingered nearby would find out just how much...
The ol' mud-in-the-aqua-ring trick had worked pretty great for a little bit, but Ayda was just so quick, capable of juggling so many things at once even without Razael around to run interference, that she'd barely broken stride even after everything they'd thrown at her. And now Nico and Xoco had shown up, and Astrid was down, and things were probably gonna get pretty overwhelming if they didn't do something quick.
Most of the others were rallying themselves to spring back into action, but Nova's legs were locking up after whatever the haxorus had done to him. They needed everyone back over the ice bridge to bring the chief down, but in that state he wasn't even likely to manage all the sliding around she'd just had to put up with.
Hm, wait. Sliding. All well and good or actually all bad and terrible when you were trying to stay in place, but maybe...
"Hang on, Nova! Jade! Gimme a hand here!" Leaf put her shoulder to the graydian's side and shoved, hoping to help him toward and down the frozen crossing. A good enough sliding start from the both of them, oh, dunno, right towards Ayda, and maybe they could do a little bowling, yeah? "Keep it up, everyone; if she's gotta fall back on reinforcements then she's on the ropes!" She gave Koa an extra nod of encouragement as he prepared to dart past one more time.
Bowling Heaving Nova down the lane crossing took a lot out of her, and after he was well on his way and the slipperiness was doing its thing she allowed herself a few seconds to just sort of spin a little on the ice without fighting it. Just a moment to catch her breath and then make for the final charge alongside everyone else. As she slowed to a stop her eye landed on the nidoran, still sitting by the grilling fire, but now much more alert. Huh. You never knew with that guy, did you?
"You're a really good helper, buddy," she said to Nidoran, smiling at him. "But I'm afraid this time it ain't gonna be enough."
Then she kicked herself forward to finish sliding across and leap back into the fray.
Leaf Aux Turn 4
Call @ Koa
Interact @ Nova (Push across the river crossing to grant MC)
And there was the catch. The ethereal shielding translating to a parry, followed by bolts stiffening Nova's limbs and muscles. It left him struggling to move around. To do anything.
The others downed the haxorus with, well, valiant spirits. And then came the backup. Which Nova couldn't move to put a stop do. Just as Nova couldn't draw any attention away from his allies who were actually doing things. The end result being the oshawott and icepix going down, the latter for the second time.
He was so useless he couldn't even do the thing he was forced to do back home correctly.
Ayda shot across to the other side. Nova's knees buckles. The oshawott was back up. Not the icepix, though. Your fault.
Nova tried to lumber forward. His limbs didn't want to cooperate.
Then he felt pressure from his backside. It was too much of a struggle for Nova to turn around, but he heard the ponyta's shouts. And Nova's gut wrenched and twisted on itself.
They were pushing him. He was a liability and they were wasting their energy on him. Perhaps to mirror Ayda's earlier claims of never leaving a 'mon behind.
Nova tensed. The static danced around his fur and scales.
This wasn't some other world. It couldn't be. This was purgatory. Or worse. A purgatory where Nova was as worthless and expendable as the mindless units he once commanded.
There was no "self" to live as. The encouragement was nothing but proverbial carrots dangled on sticks. To get him to lower his guard. So this place could break him.
But Nova was already broken. He heard His voice in the back of his head again.
With something halfway between a rasping cough and a snarl, Nova did his best to use the momentum his teammates' pushing granted him to hop as far as he could, land on his belly, and skid the rest of the way across the ice toward the Fishing Spot. Once he was there, he lashed out. Weak, ineffective strikes that only had single-minded desperation to at least get rid of the blasted shield for the others.
It was... probably failing this test of character. Because Ayda wouldn't see anything in Nova's gray eyes. They were empty. The signs of someone who fought because fighting was all he had. His purpose. His fate.
Hopefully she'd only hold it against him and not the others...
Nova (21 STM, 9 TMP, -2 SPD, +0 ACC)
- Walk to Fishing Spot via...
- Interact @ Allies: pushed onto ice, then use their aid for a boost to get to the Fishing Spot! (-3 TMP)
- Iron Defense (-13.5 STM, +2 TMP)
- Body Press @ Ayda (-16 STM, +2 TMP)
- Double Hit @ Ayda (-10 STM, hit, -2 TMP, +2 TMP)
- **Bonus Action:** Item (Leppa Berry) (+40 STM)
Net change: -6 STM, +1 TMP
Net totals: 15 STM (27 after regen), 10 TMP
Nova's Body Press dealt # damage!
Nova's Double Hit dealt a heavily reduced # damage!
A flurry of panic rushed through Koa as Astrid fell and didn't rise, and then Archie went down as well, only to recover - somewhat. His own breath came in short gasps and he could feel his strength flagging. Nova looked worse for the wear as well, thanks to Razael's trick, which he'd escaped the worst of.
"Stay strong Nova," he called. "We've almost got this!"
Archie was gathering himself, Prim was preparing an attack. Leaf and Jade were helping Nova. If Nova could clear the way, then he could distract Ayda long enough for Prim and Archie to hit.
"Alright," he growled. A second wind of energy surged through him. Slow is smooth, smooth is fast. "Let's see how you handle this!" he called to Ayda with a taunting cry. Distract. All he needed to do was strike as strong as he could so the team could take her out.
With a burst of motion he lunged across the frozen river, letting the momentum of his slide carry him straight at Ayda. In one paw he clutched a spike of iron he'd brought as a weapon. He reared up and struck, paws moving in flurry of motion.
Dammit. The Oshawott groaned, suddenly finding himself on his back, the remains of his one Reviver Seed spilling out of his coat pocket. He’d been taken out by Ayda’s opening salvo, and even though he’d missed the rest of the action, the resulting devastation looked clear. As he pushed himself back to his feet, he saw the Petilil doing much the same. Koa looked worse for wear, and Astrid wasn’t getting back up. The chimera was still standing, but part of that looked to be the result of his limbs seizing up.
Archie grabbed his hat and his scalchop from where they’d fallen beside him, returning the former to its proper place as he tried to formulate his next move. It seemed the other rangers were aiding the Dewott in her endeavors now that the Haxorus was down for the count. Maybe they should consider regrouping. Archie still had his Oran Berries and Protect Orb, he could heal and put up a bit more of a defense, hopefully the others had something similar. But, if they did that, that gave Ayda a chance to prepare as well, and there was nothing to say that, even with their best efforts, she wouldn’t cut them down just as quickly. So, what was the play here? What was their next move?
And then the chimera went sliding down the ice past him. Archie gaped at him as he went, but, apparently the momentum of it was enough to give the Pokemon the speed to clear the rest of the distance to the Dewott, fighting his paralysis, to launch into another round of attacks. Koa, too, rushed across the river with a defiant roar. Archie laughed, seemed like the plan was simple: death or glory. He summoned the Flying Type energy back to the edge of his scalchop, and charged after his comrades!
“You’re looking a little winded, chief!” He taunted, slashing at her. He ducked low, giving her his best shit eating grin, daring the Dewott to keep her eyes on him and not on the others. “Maybe I can help with that!”
And then he punched, as hard as he could, into the Dewott’s stomach, right below her rib cage.
"Hang on, Nova! Jade! Gimme a hand here!" Leaf put her shoulder to the graydian's side and shoved, hoping to help him toward and down the frozen crossing.
Jade whirled around at the sound of her name to see Leaf shoving her weight against the much-larger Graydian, who was frozen, muscles twitching from paralysis. Did she actually intend to push him...? But even as she watched, she could see Nova's talons sliding on the ice, almost like skates. This could actually work.
"On my way!" Jade yelled, scrambling across the rocky bank and onto the ice herself, throwing her weight behind the chimera. She was smaller and lighter than Leaf, but maybe with the two of them combined...?
Interact @ Nova (Push across the river crossing to grant MC)
The light of Prim's little sun filtered through her eyelids, painting her consciousness green. Fuck, that hurt. Even with her natural resistance to water attacks it hurt. Why were her shells so sharp? Why did they even make shells that sharp? She knew she must have been a sight, could imagine rivulets of rain cutting through the waterlogged silver and streaming around her spread eagle body. But the rest was so nice. Resting didn't hurt at all.
The fight wasn't over though. After a count to three she maneuvered her reviver seed from her cheek to between her molars and crushed it. It tasted like celery that had been sitting in a stagnant puddle. If this thing didn't work she was going to need a firm word with the apothecary who'd hocked it to her.
Sure enough, though, the seed did its thing. When she pulled herself to her feet, she felt wired, like she'd just downed a whole kettle of campfire coffee. The brisk rain invigorated her.
She only had a couple seconds to take it in. The ax-drake, now just a groaning heap of brass plates in the sand. The little thunder pup, battering the captain with white-knuckle fury. The encumbered one, pushed along merrily by the filly and the cat.
And Prim. There was only one thing left to do.
Time for Prim stuff.
Prim (46 STM, 17 TMP, +0 SPD, +0 ACC)
- Walk to Fishing Spot
- Giga Drain @ Ayda (-17 STM, +3 TMP)
- CRITICAL Solar Beam @ Ayda (-25 STM, -20 TMP, +3 TMP)
- **Bonus Action:** Dash to River Crossing (-2 TMP)
Net change: -42 STM, -16 TMP
Net totals: 4 STM (17 after regen), 1 TMP
Ayda's shield could've held up under a wave of lesser attacks, but Nova's weight somehow found a shatterpoint, and the rain of blows came down. Tired as she was, Ayda's nimble dodges became rolling with punches, became blocks, became taking another beam of light to the core without any tricks left to deflect it.
Nova's Body Press... just barely shattered Ayda's shield!
Ayda dodged Nova's Double Hit, twice!
Koa's Mach Punches & Iron Thorn dealt 4, 7, 5, 5 dmg!
His Spark dealt a CRITICAL 22 dmg! It's super-effective!
Archie's Aerial Ace dealt 5 dmg!
His Assurance dealt a CRITICAL 17 dmg!
Prim's Giga Drain dealt 14 dmg!
Her Solar Beam dealt a CRITICAL 42 dmg! KO!!
She collapsed in a daze, just about able to call out "That's time!" as she hit the sand with a wet tchunf. The rainstorm faded, as did the aura of water vapour, which shimmered subtly on the Dewott's fur.
Nico gave out a seabird cry, and landed, folding his wings and bowing his head to each of the offworlder combatants.
"You guys sure did well!" he said, looking thoroughly impressed. "We figured you were already a lot stronger than when I first met you, but wow! You guys are getting real good, real fast."
Razael had staggered to his feet, and was now calmly crossing the river. Ayda rolled onto her side, spat sand and a spot of blood from her mouth, and got up on one knee.
"Good fight," she growled, with a grin. "Y'all have some mettle, fer sure... 'Though what really colours me impressed is how damn coordinated you folks are. There's no way you fuckin' rehearsed any of that, you didn't have the goddamn time to. I dunno if'n I'd actually have won even if you'd been less all over me, given the matchup an' all, but you took us out quick."
The ranger grunted as she forced herself to her feet, clutching some stitch or bruise in her side, and extended her other paw to Archie to shake.
"Wasn't sure what I'd make of you," she told him. "Reckon you're a cocky sonofawand, but you can back it up like shore-folk can't, and I can respect that. It was a damn good fight."
The paralysis won out over Nova in the end, leaving him standing there while the others laid into her and took her down. He heard her call time. A part of him wanted to strike anyway. But his limbs were too encumbered.
In the end, he amounted to nothing but a broken shield or two. Something he'd seen-- no, ordered countless mindless fulls to get rid of with sacrificial Explosions.
The voice snapped him to attention. The way they were calling out lines. Yes, yes, this had to be some twisted purgatory. Why else would battles proceed this way?
Maybe that meant Gene was successful. Maybe he pulled off a miracle. Destroyed Nova to free the real heroic soul imprisoned. And now he was here to pay for all his sins.
"Yeah. Congrats or whatever." Nova awkwardly fumbled with his bag to find the lum he knew he--
--Hadn't taken, apparently. Claws grazed a smooth orb instead of the berry he swore he placed in there.
He tried shaking himself to fling off sparks. "Mask. Tight."
Yes! He bit back the urge to gloat a little. He didn't want to look unprofessional, or sound rude. But he couldn't help but feel a little proud of what they'd pulled off, and once again feel strangely envious of the rush of satisfaction. The thrill of battle, testing your strength, fighting alongside a team and knowing they were watching your back, and he was doing something that mattered.
It was unmatched. "That was sick!" he called to Ayda. "I almost thought you had us at the end with some of those moves!" Moves he definitely didn't recognize. Maybe there were more powers at work here... Techniques unlike anything back home.
Reflexively, he turned to take in the rest of his teammates, who looked battered, but not too badly hurt at least. Nova still looked to be shaking off the worst of the paralysis from Razael, so Koa made his way to the chimera's side. Taking a Lum berry from his own bag, he held it it out. "Need one of these?"
"Yeah." Nova leaned over slowly. The size difference left it so Koa would be perfectly able to see the small slit that opened. The berry disappeared inside the mask, with the slit closing immediately after.
Nova chewed slowly. Swallowed hard.
The mask really was tighter than before.
"Thanks." His shoulders sagged. "Good job back there." He slowly turned. "If you're going to keep punching, should see if you can Thunder Punch. Or maybe Ice for scrapping with grounds."
