North of the Battle Zone.

The flickering continues.

"LETS DO THIS."

Places elsewhere in the facility will suddenly see a drop in power. Down in front, any searchlights are suddenly rendered inoperable. Only faint emergency lights are on, and a few of them suddenly go out. Any further attempts by the templars and other security staff are confounded by the fact that they're looking for stuff in total darkness.

Scuttling beneath the group is a rattata with a device. The small diminutive creature isn't likely to be caught.

By the time the lights turn back on, Astatine was ready. It took bringing him into the facility in a USB before he could even reach the School's systems, but once he was in, there wasn't anything stopping him. His companions arrived just as he had already mapped out the place. And now it was a matter of seizing control and unlocking and locking doors in the right sequence.

A year as a disembodied consciousness in cyberspace makes you pretty good at computers. What with coding guides being your only way to pass the time. Only a porygon can do better.

But finding a way to communicate without Willard is gonna be tough. Morse isn't really a convenient way to get them to go where they need to go.

Maggie: "Alright, like we practiced!"

Bobbery and Pa-Patch both begin blowing an Icy Wind to further slow down reaction times of the Templars present while Slightly goes through and begins trying to dispatch those weakened by the wind like Zee's Sneasler has been doing to further assist Astatine in getting in and out unimpeded.

Edited by CorvusAtrox on Sep 27th 2022 at 8:47:01 AM

Battle Academy

-Knock knock!-

Xavier: C'm'in!

-Xavier leans back in her chair as Chazten walks in. His green hair is just as much of a mess as his outfit, and the bags under his eyes tell the story of a man who doesn't get nearly as much rest as he feels he deserves.-

Chazten: Hey, kiddo.

Xavier: Mister Chazten? Isn't it still a little early in the morning for you to be up?

Chazten: Yeah, you're telling me...

-He sticks a thumb over his slouched shoulders.-

Chazten: Need your help with something.

-Xavier hops up and follows him out.-

Xavier: Whatcha need my help for?

Chazten: Got a bit of an infestation.

Xavier: A... but I thought this place was air tight?

Chazten: Yeah, well, they got in the way hackers usually get into systems. By piggybacking off of the human aspect.

Xavier: ???

Chazten: What I'm getting at is that someone let them in and now nobody wants to get rid of them.

Xavier: Well, what are... "they"?

-They get to the Academy store. Chazten sighs as he braces himself before opening the door.-

Chazten: Joltik.

-He hits the button with his ID card and the door slides open to reveal a swarm of Joltik all around the room, making a mess of the already-haphazardly organized shelves.-

Chazten: They came in on Deziree, and now they won't leave me alone.

Xavier: Woah! That's... a lot of the little guys!

Chazten: Don't I know it. You find a way to get them to leave me alone, and you get your pick of every shipment I get in.

Xavier: But, I kinda already do...?

Chazten: For free.

Xavier: Oh. Alright!

-She boldly walks into the store. Some of the Joltik turn to look at her, predominantly due to her bright red hair.-

Xavier: Hi guys! Whatcha-

-A Thundershock hits by her feet, making her jump.-

Chazten: They've been getting... rowdy.

Xavier: Hrm. Gonna need some thinking for this one.

-She lets out her team of three. Toothless takes one look at the room full of Electric-Types and hides behind Chazten. Bandit and Madeleine are also a little leery of a room full of electric bugs.-

Xavier: We need to think of a way to get them to leave. Anybody got any ideas?

-She pulls out her Pokedex and Peepa's hologram pops up.-

Peepa: Joltik are always attracted to either large Pokemon in order to attach to them to drain the host's passive static electricity charge, or to power outlets where they may charge directly. Perhaps if we had one or the other wander by, they'd be attracted to it?

Xavier: They already seemed pretty full on electricity in there, and it's not like this place is lacking in power...

Chazten: They've fulfilled the bottom portion of their needs ladder and are working their way up.

Xavier: What are Joltik's natural predators?

Peepa: Due to Joltik's relatively small size and dangerous propensity for shooting lightning at things, they only have a few. Young Larvitar are known for chasing down Joltik in the wild, but are otherwise only thought to be "conditional" prey for Magmar, Heatmor, and Larvesta. Most birds avoid them due to their electrical capabilities.

Xavier: Oh. So that's a bust.

Chazten: Yeah, even if you could find a Larvitar around here, these little guys hang around Deziree, and she's near Dune's Tyranitar a lot. They're definitely acclimated.

Xavier: Hmmmm... Thinking, thinking, thinking...

Chazten: While you're doing that, I'm gonna go complain to Angela. Best of luck.

Heading towards the stormchaser

Chase II fortunately doesn't die. Micro follows along. He looks slightly concerned when he notices the stormchaser, but keeps on following.

Micro: ~Wait... Is this the stormchaser?~

The Underground, Secret Base:

“Guess you're letting your pokemon do the talking for you then?” Mark muttered, confused as his friend's silence before Gwana began shrieking. To perhaps nobody's surprise, none of the Lightning Sparks understood what was being said by the pokemon as one of them asked, “What's that Galvantula chittering about?”

“Iunno, but I wish it stop,” Another Team Lightning Spark replied before a third cruelly suggested with an evil snicker, “We should squash it like the disgusting bug it is, it's as unwelcome of a guest as the rest of them.”

While tensions began to rise, Travis would covertly type a bunch of commands into his mobile device on his wrist strap before quietly ordering, “Haxx do a quick room scan. I wanna know what we're up against here,” Haxx would gladly report without taking stealth of his existence into consideration and thus announcing his existence to the room, “I am detecting the presence of 20 low-level pokemon, including 8 voltorbs, 4 elekids, and 8 electrikes.”. "Thank you Haxx...so very much..." Travis would say with dry sarcasm and disappointment, while at the same time, Tricky would growl ferociously, arching her back and building a charge as she stood defensively between her trainer and everyone else.

“You'd better tell that thing to watch where it's pointing its bone or I'll shove it right into it's—-Aaaah what the hell?!” Lyndis would try to threaten before everyone notice Stipax make the first move against one of the 4 elekids. The attack would connect successfully as the elekid would fall onto his back and freak out, taking some damage and struggling to get the giant spider off of him.

“I'm guessing talking's out of the question since Stipax chose violence for everyone today,” Travis would say with a cavalier attitude before Lyndis would reply with caustic sarcasm, “Peace was never an option clever boy,”. The Team Lightning Charger would reveal a pokemon of her own, tossing a casually side-tossing the max revive earlier towards Gwana after saying, “I was hoping to use this at some point, but I guess you need it more, catch cubone!”

At this point, Lyndis would summon her one and only pokemon in the form of a snarling, furious Luxray whose Intimidate ability could be sensed the moment he was released from his pokeball. The luxray would snarl and growl while pawing the ground and leering at his surroundings before Lyndis shouted, “Hunter, heel! You'll have your chance if these chumps are any good at battling!” Hunter begrudgingly obeyed his trainer, settling for sizing up his competition and which pokemon he intended to rough up first.

“Hey DJ crank that music up! It's fightin' time!” One of the Team Lightning Sparks hollered at a background punk, who promptly maxed out the volume on the secret base's sound system before starting the battle music as the fight officially begun.

Battle Music:

Veilstone City Gym:

“Wait, Owen could hear you from all the way back here?” Travis said upon hearing Owen explain that the giant pottery wheel was in fact not a crucible. Both Mark, Travis, and their pokemon would shield their eyes and look away from the bright blue flash as the unique evolution process had commenced. Once the light died down a bit, Mark and Travis indeed were seeing was going on and neither one of them had a clue to make sense of what was going on.

“I know some pokemon evolutions are a bit out there, but now I've seen everything,” Mark said in disbelief with Travis adding in, “Yeah, makes you wonder if this whole thing was planned in advance. I mean they've got a song to go with it and everything,”

Mark smirked, unconsciously looking down with his arms crossed before slowly blinking as he refused to participate with the audience while Travis was more focused on using his mobile device to identify the song which Haxx would save for future use without even being asked. Mark would then muse, “All this pageantry is great for contests and all, but we'll see if it makes any difference in a real fight.” Before anything else could be said, the crowd would have to shield their eyes again from the final flash of the pottery wheel that began to glow with immense intensity before it destroyed itself.

“Well that was...something!” Travis would finally say, still not sure what to make of everything that just happened. “I've trained several pokemon when I used to fight the leagues, and while some of them evolved with stories to tell and some spectacle...I've never seen anything like this before. Guess we'll have to wait and see if it makes a difference.”

Edited by ParadoxialStratagem on Sep 27th 2022 at 1:48:54 AM

Pastoria

Horatio: "Oh! That explains it... This one is strange even for Goomy! She headbutted me really hard and has a steely sheen!"

Goomy: <He was in my way.>

Snowpoint Temple

Merlin: "Oh? OH! That's it, that's his sigil! But... What are Koraidon and Miraidon doing on it?"

Fou: <I mean they are kinda close to home...>

-Merlin starts pressing the dots on the sigil, causing a door to open-

Merlin: "Thank you Daydre! Now we can get to the bottom of this..."

-he and Fou enter-

Meat Palace

-Lead Monkey and his Persona both give a middle finger before immediately dashing for the exit-

Lavender Town

-the bag of confetti beckons further-

-it looks........... tossable-

-a Human pops out of the doorframe-

Human: "Thanks a ton! And... No, it was this... awful monster..."

North Of The Battle Zone

-Owen sends out Ein-

-Alex sends out Cogsworth-

Alex and Owen: "GET 'EM!"

Cogsworth: <Most certainly!>

Ein: -snarls- <With pleasure.>

-The two launch a Gear Grind and Acelrock at the Templars-

-Owen and Alex look at them, then at each other-

-Then RACE for the control node-

Edited by Umbramatic on Sep 27th 2022 at 6:03:53 AM

PEFE Bunker

<Pushing, trying to infuse my aura into the gem. Like the texts say, infuse my very soul into the heart of this saber.>

The Pen stepped over and grinned, only visible to Gale. You know ol buddy, he's got a lot of raw power. You've seen those big energy beams he tosses about, apparently he can also mega-evolve. Think he'd... miss anything?

The Pen walked over to Gale and continued. Imagine taking a bit of that raw energy and storing it. What could you do with raw auric energy like that? Me I can think of a few things... ever wanted Gasters with extra kick? How about a new dawnblade that cuts through mountains? Sure he'll be a little winded but we play it off like he just pushed too hard... he'll never know.

The Pen placed a hand on Gale's shoulder. We've been playing goodie for a while now... but even I know you have your limits. Wanna go rilla shit?

Battle Academy

Xavier: NOTHING IS WORKING!

-Xavier slumps against the wall, sliding down until she's sitting. Chazten walks up.-

Chazten: No progress?

Xavier: I tried being diplomatic!

Xavier: Please?

*ZAP!*

Xavier: OW!

Xavier: I tried being assertive!

Xavier: OUT!

*ZAP!*

Xavier: OW!

Xavier: I tried fighting them!

Xavier: Go, Bandit!

*Zap!*

*Zap!*

*Zapzapzapzapzapzapzap!*

Xavier: OW OW OW OW OW OW OW!

Xavier: I even tried scaring them away!

Xavier: Behold! A bad video game!

Joltik: *Gasp!*

-...-

*ZAPZAPZAPZAPZAPZAPZAPZAPZAPZAPZAPZAPZAP!*

-Chazten picks up the slightly scorched case for a copy of Star Vulpix Zero.-

Chazten: Dang. I would've figured that last one might actually do the trick...

Xavier: I know, right?!

Chazten: Keep it up, kiddo. I believe in you.

Xavier: You just don't want to get zapped.

Chazten: Eh, column A, column B.

The Hamlet, Pathway The The Farmlands

It's about halfway through the second glut of trees that it happens. A laugh, a giggle, and the ambient crystal-driven lighting of the place shifts abruptly from the ethereal blue into a more dire burning orange.

Lavender Tower

Hm, get a good enough look at the blighter to give any useful information?

-Gale pops a glance at the drawings on the walls-

Quite the artistic vandalism going on...

PEFE Testing Bunker

Hm. Seems like you might be trying to jam the power through a—

-Gale froze up as the Pen spoke up. It took a solid moment for her to push past it and start trying to hold two conversations at the same time-

I... He's a friend and a co-leader... I couldn't. Besides, as much as I like playing up the villain thing and the thief thing it's just an aesthetic, yaknow..? Well I mean except for actually stealing things but that's all harmless, yeah?

It's like a square peg round hole thing, basically? Which gives the idea of either pouring as a liquid or just making the round hole bigger.

... Or trimming the corners off the peg... No. Ugh. I'm already strong enough to...

-She glances at one of her arms briefly. A few times when she's had to overdo it on the power, she's seen how the color drains... It always comes back, but there's always the fear that it doesn't-

Here, let me try something.

... Do it.

School Comms Relay

-Given their dual purpose as both combat gear and a viable spacesuit, the eyes of Nightingale's helmet are well-suited to blocking out glare like for instance from that flashbang so she's basically active as soon as it goes out. A few knockouts, mostly on those that the others have overlooked, but then she wheels around to the console-

-Sure it would have been simple enough to grab the USB in the struggle and plug it in while everyone was busy... So Gale kinda did. Though given there was a few different ports on this console she couldn't resist adding her own touch into this too, casually detaching a smartphone-sized box from one gauntlet and plugging it in-

Skeleton Key, Kodlak.

/Duck/ from a tinny speaker on the box: >On it.

-There is a faint sound of a wolf's howl from the box as both the Porygon and the USB's actual payload start to cause havoc with the system. The Nightingale, satisfied by this, taps the side of her helmet and engages some (temporarily) shared comms with certain other trusted allies in this fight-

Override complete, you're good to go for phase two.

North of the Battle Zone

-The Templars are, as you might expect, very easily subdued in their weakened state-

-Said USB is installed, and the piece of Trojan stored within heads off deeper into the base's systems to complete their own particular mission-

Zee: Guess we're just gonna have to wait now...

-Meanwhile...

School Base Command Center

Templar: -To another Templar who looks like he's either a younger man who's prematurely aged or an older one who aged well- Brad, Squad Tau stopped communicating some time ago, and ever since all of... this happened central communications have gone down as well. I've been trying to communicate with Central, but I can't turn off the all clear signal, so we're on our own.

Brad: -Pacing- They think they're some heroes out to save the day against the big bad School? No way! As if!

-Shrugging-

J-Team, obviously.

-Looking at what little footage they were able to grab before losing control over the central communications room-

We'll just take care of the truant and their little friends easily, Central doesn't even need to know. Teach them to think they can just come here and mess with us!

-It's been a very overcast day today-

Templar: Sir, there's more.

Brad: -Eyebrow raise- Oh?

Templar: There's an odd anomaly in this weather pattern that we're barely picking up through all this interference.

-Looking at a number of spots in particular-

Wait... How'd they all get this close without our sensors picking it up? Our spies said they were all still parked in Twinleaf!

-A bit of smoke of mirrors courtesy of the PEFE and more industrial forms of illusion-

Brad: -Unhappy- Oh boy... Clever little sneaks.

In the Skies

-Picking up on Gale's message-

Alright, they've gained control over the base's communications, phase 2 is a go.

Hitodama: <No more hiding huh?>

No point now, we're close enough that they can just eyeball us.

-Speaking into the intercom-

Alright J-Team, time to get this show on the road.

-And so the fog clears as a number of airships, but chief amongst them a certain yellow one, are revealed to be making their way over to the base-

Everything had to go exactly right for this to happen. Making sure everyone clammed up as we entered the Stormchaser at like 3AM, using the PEFE to create a good mockup Stormchaser to trick outsiders, and of course, our advance team.

-Above the Stormchaser, a Drampa with odd markings flies, quieting as their Shout clears the fog they'd summoned to mask the fleet's approach and mess with the School's radar. Next to the airship flies an odd-marked Talonflame of unusual size-

Raise the flag, let the School know who's coming for them!

-And so the Stormchaser lowers its regular white flag, its black "J" battle flag being raised in its place-

Brad: -Gritting his teeth- So they've brought more friends huh? The Stormchaser... it's even more of an eyesore in person.

Templar: What do we do sir?

Brad: -Angrily Shoot them down!

-And so the point defenses of the outer ring erupt, but many outright fail to fire thanks to the deep sabotage already in place, while those that can fall short of actually hitting any of the J-Fleet, and are soon silenced by the Stormchaser's guns before their aim can be manually corrected by any Templars around. The outer ring is passed more or less unopposed, as while the Templars obviously realize they're under attack, as the large explosions are kinda hard to miss, they're in too much disarray to mount an effective defense as the Stormchaser's gel cannons pick off any moving targets on the outside-

Brad: We have to slow those punks down somehow, anything still online?

Templar: Just some drones sir.

Brad: They'll have to do, let 'em rip!

Trojan: -Via the Stormchaser's main systems- The School is in disarray from our opening salvo, but some spots will still put up a fight.

We'll need to soften up the outside some more before we drop off our teams.

Trojan: Enemy drones detected.

-Using my dagger to form a cutlass construct-

Take care of that too. Let's do this!

-Via intercom-

A warning to those of you not used to airship combat, it's gonna be a bit of a bumpy ride.

Edited by rmctagg09 on Sep 27th 2022 at 10:31:31 AM

Stormchaser

-Kai and Mason are seated, waiting for the team drop.-

Kai: Really not a fan of airship combat. Definitely prefer Brie's flying.

Mason: You know she once pinballed a bunch of Flare goons with a Minior once?

Kai: Oh shit, really? Wow.

-Kai grins.-

Kai: My girlfriends are so cool.

Mason: I cannot possibly relate less.

Kai: That's your loss.

North Of The Battle Zone

-Oween amnd Alex stop-

Owen: Aw damn it. WE could have hacked thhat.

Alex: Guess we'll have to wait....

The SATWHUL

Jared: Are you suuuuuuuuure you got permission from Alex to fly the SATWHUL?

Locke: -desprately trying not to crash- "P-positive. Shr gave me instructions."

Coil: "Leave him alone, H Jared, you're not making him LESS nervous..."

Iris: We've still got School butt to bust.

-Neon says nothing, just fidgets nervously-

Jade: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa

The Base

Maurice: -siiiiiiiiiiiiiigh- "J-Team attack."

Victor: "Perfect! Pavo now is your chance to show your stuff!"

Pavo: ~I fear it is too late to use my Sentimon...~

Victor: "You have direct combat abilities! Gol use them!"

Pavo: ~Oh of course.~

-beat-

~May I bring Melia?~

Melia: -chirp-

Victor: "Of course."

Pavo: ~Excellent. LOOK OUT MORTALS!~

-And they slither into the action. Vapor turns to Maurice-

Victor: We'll be suprevising them!

Maurice: What? But I don't have any combat- Ugh, fine.

Bubba Gump: <You've got me at least!

-and they head after-

Edited by Umbramatic on Sep 28th 2022 at 10:55:35 AM

Hearthome, Apartment

-Reverb is unceremoniously stunned and falls-

-Lady is unconscious, Hooty's unconscious, Bidoof cowers in the kitchen-

-Knife Drawer stands alone between Adelinde and his humans-

Knife Drawer: <Come get some!>

-he spreads his arms and blades wide, taking spray after spray of razor wood-

-standing firm as both birds and Lady—poor Lady—are perforated, crying out-

Knife Drawer: <...>

-and returning the needles as steel, twofold-

-behind him, Haru's Audino is flayed as promised, staggering back against the wall-

Rhoda: -hearing it all- No...!

-her wizened arm flashes out, snaring shrapnel from the air and squeezing until Adelinde's will leaves it—and her elbow joint gives, pushed past its last limit-

Haru: AUGH!

-she can't reach down far enough to shield his legs-

-she can't do more than brace for impact, and try and shield them from the fall-

-they crash onto the fire escape landing, bleeding from glass and wood-

Haru: -clutching her tight- On our own time...in our own way...for our own reasons...

Haru: -chuckle- Open road...clear skies...!

-he claws toward the drop-

Stormchaser, Skies

Megan: -sighs, watching the Drampa- "Cloud cover".

-she sits amidst the jury-rigged remains of her storm henge, the Damp Rock pillars exhausted of their fog-producing stores-

Megan: Could've made a cannon.

Hiro: -sitting with his sword in his lap, meditating- Is it wise for you to come?

Megan: -staring through the glass- ...this is my Region. It's my home.

-she smacks her wrists together, and a toll like a gong resounds through the skies-

-light surges from her Z-Ring, encompasses the clouds, and turns red—the Primal Energy remnants and stray EX essence all across the fleet shrink with them into the mouth of the Pokéball in her hand-

-she waits for its thunderous aftermath to subside before turning-

Megan: -awkward, frightened, confused- ...what else am I supposed to do?

-either Logan or Abilene would've counseled caution-

-Hiro more than either knows wanting closure-

Hiro: -rising to his feet- Missed you.

Megan: Talking to you is uncomfortable and honesty is painful.

-she takes his hand, and—with open air behind him—takes a deep breath-

-and hauls him fully upright-

Megan: -scrubbing her eye- Missed you too.

-the bark! of Hiro's Arcanine Teleporting in for rider...and guest, occurs on cue-

-Hiro and Megan climb astride Tea's back, settling into the least sensual pillion position enacted among any of their little squad-

Hiro: -staring back into the halls- ...hope you enjoy this, Percy. Or get something out of this more than fear or catharsis.

-a sun may bloom into existence off the Stormchaser's starboard side-

Edited by Asterisk395 on Sep 27th 2022 at 11:04:38 AM

Stormchaser, Past

A pause.

Until you're not.

"Uhhh shit shit shit what do I say to that"

Rowan: <Use honesty?>

"People don't want honesty!"

Rowan: <Honesty can be endearing if you spin it right! Do you have any better ideas?>

"mmmmmMMMMMM"

Rowan: <There, was that so bad?"

">:T"

"Yes."

Stormchaser Medbay

Strontium isn't a stranger to love. Observing it, anyway. When she was still in the School's good graces she'd seen enough people displaying it in public on missions. It had been hard, between her lessons and needing to shadow Templar, but she knew enough to be curious.

And she knew not to expect any for herself.

Ama's training was just a result of passing interest, right? Best not to get too attached. Sure it was fun, and sure Ama was much, much more forgiving than her instructors at the School, but it would all go away if she stopped performing, right? sure, Ama brought her all the way here instead of leaving her to die, but that was just because Ama hadn't lost interest yet, right?

She didn't want to hope.

Strontium is baffled by the joey in return, but takes the sweet. She considers it for a moment, but none of the nearby brainwaves indicate that it might be poison so she pops it in her mouth.

Ama doesn't make so much as a noise when the knives are pulled. Her back muscles reflexively twitch when the Heal Pulse is applied, but this (hopefully) doesn't get in the way of anything.

... The mouthguard has been bitten clean through when she takes it out, though.

Stormchaser

Aislinn: ".. Oh, you know of this place already? I suppose it is more high profile than I was aware of."

She opens the door and holds it for Harry.

...

Nothing happens, thankfully, as Chase II passes the threshold but that may just be because he's passed out. You never know.

Snowpoint Temple

"Oh cool cool. Uhhh.." Daydre heads in behind them, hoping she hasn't just walked into another death trap (but knowing she has).

Stormchaser, Bridge

Ama doesn't have much to do with large scale combat, so she's braced herself against a wall and is waiting for an opportunity to get to the ground.

Ama: "Been a while since I've participated in any of these."

Future!Hellebore: <.... Are you sure you'll be alright for this?...>

Ama: -grinning darkly- "This wouldn't be a bad cause to go out for."

Future!Hellebore: <...>

Ama: -grin fading- "But no. I do not intend to die here, don't you worry. There's plenty of people that don't deserve my sympathy when it comes to draining, here..."

Hearthome, Apartment

-Adelinde raises one hand, and catches the Metal Burst before it can harm her, Camazotz, or Tellurium-

Adelinde: Leaving your Pokemon behind to die? I'm almost impressed.

-while Camazotz aims another Thunder Wave at Knife Drawer-

-she reaches back with her other hand-

-outside-

-there's someone with Rhoda and Haru on the fire escape-

Lutetium: Oh. Uh...

-he awkwardly reaches out, placing a hand on both of them-

Adelinde: But I'm frankly more impressed with him. Latest model. Do you like?

-and with her other hand, Adelinde reaches back and hauls Thuban back into the room-

Thuban: <Hi again!>

-fixing shadows in place-

Adelinde: Now. Let's have a little chat, shall we?

Stormchaser

Brie: Ah, well, uh, I'd really rather not talk about that whole thing.

-...-

Brie: Though I am glad you like my flying. Maybe we can split off from the airship.

-Ever paces back and forth-

Misery: <I think you may be dwelling overmuch.>

Lace: <I don't mind.>

Misery: <Of course you don't mind. You feed off it.>

Lace: <Yeah.>

Misery: <Have you decided what you're going to be?>

Lace: <I think so.>

Misery: <And do we get to meet you soon?>

Lace: <Is the plan.>

-Percy stares out the window-

Percy: ...

Apple-A-Day: Are you sure this is a good idea?

Percy: It's a very bad idea.

Apple-A-Day: O-oh.

Stormchaser

Mason: Yeah, it was brutal. I mean, it was Flare, so no real loss, but still.

Kai: ...ah. Still, though! I think you're the coolest and I'd love to split off from the airship with you.

Mason: You're turning a fight against the School into a date??

Kai: You're just jealous Shaun's never offered you the chance for a heroic battle while riding pillion on a dragon's back.

Mason: This is the School!

Stormchaser Bridge, Vs. School Base

"Can you reach them from here?" Kendall asked, turning to Kamui with a look as he held up a finger with a growing amount of darkness on it.

<Can you?> She asked as her Drought lit up the ship, her Solar Beam charging up.

"You're too high up."

<Dare ga-?!> Kamui demanded.

"Oh, you two," Kendall observed. "You-"

"Yes we're defecting, yes we want to help, no, we don't know anything about the place, and we don't because someone put psychic blocks on us to keep us from learning about School weaknesses," the purple haired one summarized.

<They're sending drones after the fleet,> a voice piped up before an Absol landed. <…feels like they'll get close enough that you four can easily snipe them.>

Her eyes adopted a blue hue, fur standing on end as she attempted to Detect what could come in towards the fleet.

"Thank you, Cassandra," Kendall remarked. "Kamui, Nasty Plot," he chuckled, coming up with more than a few of his own.

Kendall reached up for his headphones, an orange flash coming from the right side as another Poke Ball opened, Lucario appearing before landing, Mega-Evolved, spikes already lighting up with Flash Cannons.

9-Volt’s fur bristled with electricity, ready to fire off.

Rei looked at her ice-covered claws with glee.

"Pro-"

"The goal here is to dismantle the School and cause more students to defect," Cesium corrected, her hair floating up from her own power as she looked around. "Not to simply cause mayhem."

"We know what to do and say. All we have to do is do it," Bismuth added.

Andreas would be nice to have on standby, Kendall sighed as he looked down, noting where the shadow cast by the ship lie.

Hamlet Past

"Playing me at my own game?" Kamui muttered to herself, the Will-O-Wisp in her palm being crushed in a fist, dispelled as the bright orange told her that she was being taunted. That whoever was laughing had power over them, and she had been ambushed.

She gave chase in the direction of the laughter.

Edited by AbsentCoder on Sep 27th 2022 at 10:37:36 AM

Meat Palace

-Starts moving towards the escape conveyor belt-

Lavender Town, past

Ann: -To the person- Plenty of those around these days, what did it look like?

Central Communications Node

Zee: -To Alex and Owen- Don't worry, I'm sure you'll get plenty of action, School's most likely gonna try to attack us here to get their communications back on line.

-To Gale-

You got a contingency for that one?

The Skies Above

-The Stormchaser more or less picks off the drones at its leisure, assisted by the others, as its guns blast holes into weak spots in the inner wall-

Drampa-EX Qinglong: <Now, let us show these gogil, the so-called School, how it's done!>

-Taking a deep breath-

<FUS ROH DAH!>

-And his Unrelenting Force Shout pushes a large section of the inner wall and its defenses into ashes-

Talonflame-EX Suzaku: -Flies at high speed and grabs a drone in his talons, throwing the now flaming bot at the rest in a chain reaction-

Brad: We just got those walls repaired, how'd they know to aim there of all places?

-Hand on chin-

Just random luck? As if!

Chiyo: -Smirking as she watches the antics on the bridge- Okay Captain, you're getting more excited than you usually get.

-To Chiyo-

It's been a while since I've gotten to do any of this, and screwing over terrible people always feels great. Why not lean into the pirate thing?

Chiyo: -Looking down into the hole created by the Stormchaser's guns- So, how are we going to do this?

-Pulling up a map of the facility-

Assault team's going first, clearing the immediate area of any remaining Templars and collecting intel, chaos team will follow right behind with our hearts and minds campaign and just being general nuisances to any and all attempts to get this place back online.

Chiyo: -Heading towards one of the side doors- Guess that's my cue.

Our cue.

Chiyo: It would be ours, if you'd won our rock-paper-scissors match on who got to take point first.

-Smiling-

You'll just have to follow behind me, Captain Tagg.

-Crossing arms-

Fair enough.

Chiyo: -Grabs a rope and proceeds to slide her way down through the hole provided by the Stormchaser-

Inside the Base

...and immediately finds herself in the midst of some Templars-

Chiyo: ...Hey.

-And before they can react, the closest Templars to Chiyo are immediately slammed against and pinned to the remnants of the wall by barriers, as Dactyl is sent hurtling to deal with the three still standing-

Way's clear Tagg.

-Getting Chiyo's message-

Okay...

So, this is really happening.

-Via intercom-

We're doing this in two stages, assault team follows behind Chiyo and I, chaos team is getting off afterwards. Trojan will continue to pilot the Stormchaser above the base along with the rest of the Fleet in order to give us covering fire. Arceusspeed everyone.

-And so the Stormchaser unleashes a hail of covering fire to dissuade any Templars from getting closer as those who are part of the assault team disembarks one way or another into the same hole Chiyo slid down, before the Stormchaser moves again to drop off the chaos team in a different spot-

Brad: -Watching as the assault team disembarks via camera, and his scar throbs when he notices a certain Schoolperson in question is on point amongst them- Iridium... I'm going to get even with that truant for what happened in our last battle.

-To his attendant-

Get Doc Circester and Gabriel on the line, we'll separate the J-Team between them, make it easier to deal with Iridium and whoever follows her.

Edited by rmctagg09 on Sep 27th 2022 at 2:38:41 PM

Damburst sees the Goomy doesn't seem to be challenging Him unlike Horatio and smiles smugly, confident in having established his place in the pecking order.

Scientist: "Uh... well I know that there's apparently a variant of Sliggoo that was more common in past Sinnoh that had a shell and was part Steel-type. Couldn't tell you exactly what the mechanism for Goomy evolving into that form instead are but maybe if you stick around Sinnoh with at least a Goomy predisposed to that kind of thing it could happen? Could happen elsewhere anyway but..."

Maggie: "Yeah... makes sense that's to be expected. Hope you're ready, guys."

Slightly: <Oh, you know it!>

Pa-Patch: <We'll get th' Icy Wind goin' again when they come. Should make it at least 'arder fer 'em t' reach us while it's goin' an all.>

Stormchaser

Hoops and Xaster watch the carnage outside of the window. Hoops stands up as Tagg's voice comes through the intercom and heads for the exit.

"You sure you're not coming?" they ask.

Xaster looks sheepish. "I'd love to. But I don't think I'm strong enough yet, and I honestly think I'd just get in the way. Like what if they took me hostage and you had to choose between my life and the success of the mission?"

Hoops shrugs. "Success of the mission, obviously." Xaster isn't sure if that's a serious answer or not.

"I'll stay here in case things go wrong," Xaster suggests. He stands up and goes to Hoops. "Good luck. And don't die."

Hoops grins. "I did that already. They can't keep me down."

The Base

Hoops drops through the hole after Chiyo, bending their legs and using their bandages to cushion the fall and make sure they look good doing it.

They nod at the others. "Hi. Glad to be here." As though to accentuate that point, their eyes flash red. "What's the plan?"

The Pen grinned and spoke... genuinely spoke to Gale as its mouth moved. "Good choice kid. Don't worry, he's just gonna be a bit winded."

The Pen stepped over to the trail of energy and looked it over, with a bit of a flourish it pulled a bit off and seemed to snip it away with a pair of scissors, time seemed to slow as Gale could feel the energetic rush of the auric power.

The Pen shivered a bit before observing the dark gem, tilting its head. "Yeah here's the problem, he's doing everything right he just lacks finesse. He's not very good at using auric abilities beyond the attack stuff is he? Lucario can use aura to telepathically communicate, yet everytime I see him talk he uses his mouth."

The Pen gave a grin and poked at the energy field. "Just have to adjust this aaaaaaaaand-"

Time resumed as the gem suddenly glowed with a bright cobalt blue, and Silas collapsed, panting hard. The Dark Gem resonated with his power, but Silas had a bit of trouble.

Roxy rushed over and picked him up, cradling him in her arms. Silas took a few deep inhales and said. <I'm good... I'm good... I just... I think I pushed a little too hard...>

The Pen whispered to Gale. Not far from the truth, that energy would have gone elsewhere anyways, go on... tell him that he just overexerted himself too hard. Round hole square peg.

Rory drops down, perfect 3 point landing. He stands up and gives a stretch, having equipped his dynamo arm, Nero in his back pocket.

"Never thought I'd be back at one of these so soon."

He looked about the area. "Yeah a plan of attack would be nice, I'm good with charging in blind however, it's served me well before."

Further within, Gabriel looked over his workers, when the message came in. "Intruders, so soon? Guess it's good I brought Special Weapons here."

He turned to a menial. "Activate the Dark Troopers. All Of Them."

16 cyborg monstrosities, all containing the cloned neural-tissue of Gabriel began to awaken slowly, their batteries charging.

"We can handle a few invaders."

Edited by EchoingSilence on Sep 28th 2022 at 9:37:05 AM

PEFE Testing Bunker

-Gale tried not to flinch as the power flowed into her. She just... Stared at the gem, trying to push any thoughts about what was happening out of her head and just come up with something to say-

Hm. Yeah, I think I can tell what happened. Lot of dissipation; you were trying to brute force power into the gem and sure some got in but you burnt up a lot more doing it. To use the metaphor again? You shoved so hard on that square peg that you managed to shear off its corners, but tired yourself out in the process.

-Gale shrugged stiffly-

But, theoretically, now you have a little focus crystal for your Darksaber. Congrats.

School Comms Relay

Well, I have a few ideas. The first one relies on my Porygon being able to hook into their local base communications.

/Duck/: >Working on it.

And the second one is a good idea—

-Gale withdrew what seemed to be a Pokeball made of crystal from somewhere near her belt-

But it'd be better if someone knows how to Dynamax outside of Galar.

PEFE Bunker

Kendall looked on in concern at Silas collapsing, hesitant to touch the altered Dark Gem due to how much Aura it seemed he had put into it.

He had to wonder what power that gem now held, but it wasn't his to use anymore. Reaching into a shadow and digging around, he offered the winded Silas a can of Lemonade, silently setting it beside him before turning to look up at Roxy.

"You think we should continue this at a later time, when Silas has caught his breath?" He turned to look back at the Gem. "Then again, that- hmmm," he considered. "Would the Dark or the Aura win out in- Aura," he realized.

A lot of thoughts raced through his mind. That was a lot of Aura to infuse in something. Some of it was just drifting off his arms into the room, I could feel it. I wonder how Lucario is so pin-point precise with it…

Meanwhile, somewhere

Idly balancing his Lucarionite on the back of the spike on his wrist, Lucario sneezed and dropped it.

Meanwhile, in PEFE

Kendall chuckled to himself idly, looking at Silas, before turning to look at Pent.

"I've never seen this level of exhaustion, at least in my own Lucario, before," he considered. "How long do you think he'll need?"

Stormchaser, Bridge

"Wait, so you're-?!" Kendall started, letting Cesium interrupt him as he pointed at a drone and iced its wings up.

"If not by by being in the line of fire, the inexact science hasn’t left us with the best survival chances." Cesium added, throwing a drone into another with a psychic grip.

"And you-?" Kendall turned to Bismuth, throwing off his jacket in Kamui’s Drought.

"The only thing keeping us going is Chaos. We couldn't predict anything about him, so maybe there's more. We want to see it all."

"And the-"

"What's independent from the School, of course," Cesium corrected. "Their reach is bigger than even we know, so there are many places we can't see that we thought we'd be able to."

"The structural integrity of the building has been compromised," Bismuth observed. "You know what to do!"

"Right!" Cesium nodded, looking down at the building herself before sharing a look to Bismuth.

"… what?" Kendall asked.

"Don't worry about it," the Twins dismissed in unison before blinking away.

Ground Level

Standing on the roof, the looked around, every which way they could, looking for something before Bismuth snapped her fingers, Cesium immediately following suit.

And taping an envelope to the roof.

Hearthome, Apartment

Knife Drawer: <This was our choice, you miserable—NO!!>

-hearing Lutetium, he turns and lunges-

Rhoda: -hearing a child- Don't!

-too late-

-Thuban's shadows arrest him at the sill, and Camazotz's lightning freezes him there-

-and two—at best—terrified, bleeding middle-aged people are deposited at Adelinde's feet, too burnt-out to crawl even if her immediate presence didn't dissuade it-

-shamefaced at her 'pride', despite everything—Haru only slightly moreso than Rhoda-

Rhoda: ...Adelinde.

(-they're still holding hands-)

Rhoda: ...guess so.

-at Lutetium- Does it matter if I like him? He's going to go like the rest anyhow.

-she prods Tellurium while she's too Imprisoned to protest-

Stormchaser, Medbay

-the sweet is sweet, and tasty-

-...and strictly speaking for Pokémon, but that's never stopped anyone-

Joey!Kangaskhan: :•

-the mother Kangaskhan finishes her ministrations, patting Strontium on the head-

Kangaskhan: <There we are. Be gentle, now.>

-for Ama, no issues—the healing is quick and clean and incredibly painful-

(-sort of like getting stabbed in reverse, and also being shot-)

-but the pain subsides quickly: muscles good as new, reenergized, with only thin scars to show the wounds were ever there-

Logan: O_O

-they wordlessly accept the...former mouthguard-

-and make a note to research some that accommodate people with fangs, and perhaps horribly strong jaw muscles-

Logan: We...recommend leafy greens to recover the blood you lost. Lots of fluids.

Wanna get some?

Stormchaser, Bridge, Briefly

-Logan passes by Ama on their way back to the medbay-

Logan: We'll be ready for any more kids.

-they try and meet her gaze, worried-

Stormchaser, Skies

-oh, right-

-in the approach, a multi-pronged Solarbeam roared from the virtual Sun, scouring drones from the air-

Hiro: -dipping his hand into the stream-

-it flared from bundled yellow-green to stark, burning white, illuminating weaknesses-

Megan: -shielding her face-

-the Castform, Ribombee, assorted Fire-Types running it—wave them on-

North of the Battle Zone, Skies

-fire briefly flashes in the skies above the facility, too minor to note-

-a woman wrapped in metal plummets next to a flightless bird-

Megan: -wry, high-pitched- Wanna turn back?

Pippy: -equally wry- <Hey, I go where you go!>

Megan: What?

Pippy: <I SAID—>

-he throws up his wings—going into a slight tailspin—and they pivot to direct their falls into each other, catching and holding tight-

Megan: This is stupid, right?

Pippy: <Really stupid.>

Megan: Foolhardy in the extreme. We're gonna get hurt, or...

Pippy: <It would've been nice to stay at home and water the plants.>

Megan: I'm not going to stop.

-she's looking at him, desperate for...something-

Pippy: <I go where you go.>

-a familiar presence oozes up their spines-

-Megan sighs—they arrange themselves into an aerodynamic formation, Pippy's wing outstretched and aiming down-

Megan: -huddling close- Faultline.

-gravitational potential energy funnels into a blade of unrelenting shear force-

Scientist: ...is that another drill?

Templar: No drill. The blimp babies are making their move.

Scientist: -test tube-ing- Bets on making it past the perimeter?

Templar: -snort- No b—

-the next thing they know, their ears are ringing-

-the blast—whatever it was—bored a fissure up through multiple floors, shattering concrete and fiberglass...-

Templar: ...

-...or...down...?-

-a shimmering shield rests at the bottom of the pit-

-he shouts orders, Templar carting injured scientists away and arraying themselves along the floors' rim-

-the Protect casing fades, and the presence it was shielding them from floods the crater-

Bleeding Scientist: -shriek- Genesect's eyeteeth—

Templar: -shouting, terse- Attack!

-psionics sleet down from all sides, kicking up dust-

-beams streak down—and emerge sliced in two, blades flashing in the cloud-

-launched constructs hover inches from making contact, held at bay by a nimbus of raw fear-

Megan: -exhale- ...they work.

Vee: -grim- <'course they work.>

Vee: -grinning, all teeth- <Made 'em wit' our own blood, sweat, an' tears.>

Pippy: -bluelight blades sparking on his wings- <And soul.>

-Vee mumbles-

Megan: -grunt- Okay, far from the group, ████ going, and...

Templar: -roaring- Show yourself!

-their Trainer rises between them, clad in unearthly blue scale mail, a circlet of black iron smoking on her brow-

Megan: -waving- Hey, uh...'sup?

Templar: Identify y—

-a younger Templar waves, and has his hand swatted by his superior-

Megan: -pushing her glasses up- Phyllis? Is that you?

Said Superior, Phyllis the Fractal: Uh...hey, Subject 42-M.

Megan: -dusting off, glancing around- Wooow, they moved you out to the boonies, didn't they?

Phyllis the Fractal: -stiffening- I got promoted.

Megan: -smiling, gauntleted, scratching her head- Yeah! TA, right? You had your heart set on it.

Phyllis the Fractal: Oh! Uh...yeah.

Megan: -waving her hands- Not making fun of the boonies! It seems like you put the important stuff here.

Phyllis the Fractal: We've...we've got some shit.

-she points to a machine that now resembles a poorly-made pancake-

Megan: Gosh, that's cool. Congrats. c:

-Phyllis blushes-

-snow sloughs from the remains of the roof, sending chunks of floor careening stories down into sparking, severed wires-

Templar: ...if you ladies are done catching up, mind dying in agony?

Megan: -shaking her head- ...Oh, right! Almost forgot. Repaying gifts. Uh, no, I kind of blew my chance at that. Sorry.

-she winces-

Templar: -slowly and clearly- ...because we're going to kill you.

Megan: -blowing air through her lips- No, I...don't think that's gonna work. Anyway—"return to sender" is a bit gauche, as my—friend would say, but uh...

-frown- It's all I could think of?

-a wave of Obscura swallows Phyllis's shouted word before anyone hears-

Templar: You won't have to worry about thinking much longer. Your pets might put up a physical defense, but our telepaths have already pierced your mind. Give up, or we make you.

-he pauses, hearing something-

Templar: Use your words.

Schoolkid: —trying! But all we're getting is—

-Megan pops open a Pokéball, and a trident dripping with crystal bursts into her hand—Phyllis screams other words, frantic, but no sound comes out-

Megan: -whispering, eyes closed- Rampant. Renegade. Eterna.

-her pupils dilate-

Hiro: -appearing behind Tagg- We'll build a foothold here, then?

-his stance is casual, but his Aura is not—it's blinding, laden-down with dozens of vengeful last words-

Hiro: -tilting his head- ...We can hold another front. Point us somewhere my team and I won't conflict with your duo.

-he eyes Chiyo's burning barriers with a rather pointed curiosity-

Hiro: -eyes flashing- Any new targets of interest?

Edited by Asterisk395 on Sep 28th 2022 at 11:31:36 AM

Lumiose City Pound (Braker; pre-Aczan)

Discussion of putting pets down

Eventually, Braker, Walter, Cuddles, and Caboose entered the Lumiose City Pound, and the first thing that they noticed was that there were no Pokemon anywhere. At least, as far as they could see anyways.

"My word, it's completely empty..." Braker muttered.

<They must have adopted them all,> said Cuddles.

And then, they heard a voice.

"Oh, it's not empty."

They turned to see a woman standing at the counter.

"Oh?" asked Braker. "It's not? It certainly looks empty."

"Oh, this section is empty," said the woman at the counter. "But there's a Houndoom in the back if you'd like to see him."

"Sure," said Braker.

"Alright, then," said the woman. "I'll just lead you to him, then."

"Very well, then," said Braker.

Cuddles jumped on Braker's shoulder, while Caboose and Walter followed.

"Now, remember," said Braker, turning to face Cuddles. "We're only here to look at the Pokemon; not adopt them. At least, not yet."

"Oh, and by the way, I should note that the Houndoom will be put down soon, so this is your last chance to see him."

And that stopped Braker dead in his tracks.

"...forget what I said, Cuddles," he said.

Stormchaser- Braker's Room ( post-Aczan)

When the announcement came in over the intercom, Braker was already in his room. Walter, Cuddles, and Caboose were all beside him when the announcement came in.

<...A School raid?> asked Walter.

<Which School are we raiding?> asked Caboose.

<Oh dear...> Cuddles realized. <This is the School from the meeting, isn't it?>

Braker nodded gravely. "Indeed it is. And now that I've got a Heracrossite, I think this will be the perfect time to show off Heracles' power in the face of battle."

<Who else do you plan to use?> asked Walter.

"Definitely you, definitely Caboose, and definitely Serkis and Romea," said Braker. "I might use Snoop for the sake of sadistic games, and also Lithium."

<What about me?> asked Cuddles.

Braker thought about it for a few moments.

"You can stay here," he said. "Watch Only Connect or Gamecube or what have you."

<...I'm not sure I should do that,> said Cuddles. <I mean, I could do that, but—>

"You want to join in?" asked Braker.

<Less "join in", and more "look out for any Schoolkids" and then basically keep them safe,> he said.

"Ah, but many Schoolkids will probably be joining the fight," said Braker. "They have Pokemon. I think they're fine."

<Oh,> said Cuddles. <Okay, then. I'll stay here.>

"Alright, then," said Braker, starting to head off, with his Mega Camera being carried along with him. "We'll see you on the other side."

<Good luck, Lenny~!> cried Cuddles. <Don't die~!>

"I won't," said Braker.

And with that said, he, Walter, and Caboose walked out the door.

Stormchaser- Raid Base

Almost immediately, Braker made it down to the Raid Base— and immediately noticed four things.

The first was a strange person he'd never seen in his life before. The second thing was 9-Volt, who he waved at. The third were the two twins standing there- undoubtedly Schoolkids, as he noticed their purple eyes— and the fourth...

"...well, it appears I missed the invocation," Braker muttered to himself. "Hello, Kendall. Hello, 9-Volt. Hello... Not-DC."

<Assuming he even still does those anymore,> said Walter.

<What invocations?>

"Remember the old phone footage I showed you in Wyndon Stadium?"

<Oh. Ohhhh...> said Caboose.

Braker nodded. "But here's the more pertinent questions."

To the twins-

"Who are you—"

-to Hoops-

"—who are you—"

-to Kendall-

"—where are they?"

Beat.

A glance at Rei and Cassandra.

"Also who's the Weavile and who's the Absol? I've never seen or met them before."

Stormchaser- Ingrid's Room ( post-Angia, post-Bailey, post-Kabu)

Before the announcement went out over the intercom, Ingrid Anderson was just about ready to sit her mons down for a watching ceremony of Only Connect. A new season had been released, and she was ready to binge every single episode of the series.

And then the announcement hit.

A few of her mons- namely Benny, Ananpi, and Bindi- were out of their PokeBalls, and the moment the announcement came in, Benny immediately stood to attention.

<General!> he cried. <There is a raid on some unknown enemy occurring.>

"...The School?" asked Ingrid. "Who are they?"

And then Ananpi immediately popped in.

<They're a terrible organization that breeds Psychics and abuses children, chuu~>

Beat.

Ingrid, Benny, and Bindi all stared at him.

"How on earth do you know that?" asked Ingrid.

<I see every single post that there is, chuu~!>

"...oookay...?" asked Ingrid.

<...General, if anyone asks, tell them that Braker told you who they are,> he said. <Let's go.>

And with that said, he left. Ananpi jumped onto Ingrid's shoulder, while Bindi began giggling to herself.

<Breeding Psychics and abusin' children?> she laughed. <Oh-ho-ho... they're in for it! They're all in for it!>

<Let's just skip to the scene, chuu~!> cried Ananpi, immediately jumping off of Ingrid's shoulder and pushing the screen away.

Stormchaser- Raid Base

The second that Ingrid came down the stairs, she saw Braker— and a whole ton of Trainers she'd never seen before in her life.

"Oh! Braker!" she cried. "You're here? I didn't realize you'd be participating in this."

"Hello, Ingrid," said Braker. "I didn't think you'd be participating in this, either."

"Why, of course I would," she said.

And then she noticed Kendall, and the twins, and their Pokemon.

"...o-oh dear..." she muttered to herself, glancing down a bit at the sight of Kendall and all of the Dark-types that were out. "W-who are you?"

<He's got a Galvantula, too?> asked Bindi.

"He does?"

<Hiya, chuu~!> said Ananpi, waving to Kendall.