[attr="class","vicwtw"]

Pez is dead. DEAD. He’s dead because of him. Because he told him to attack, because he didn’t bring more pokémon with him, because he underestimated their enemies…
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Vic will never forgive himself for this.
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He can’t look. He can’t bring himself to look at the place where what remains of his loyal companion lies covered in blood and abandoned.
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He doesn’t have to look. For, as if agreeing with his earlier assessment and his foolish plan, someone (Orion Lykos’s and CJ Mizikar’s pokémon, as he would likely find out later), causes the ground beneath them to shake. He holds onto to the nearest tree, and he also makes sure to hold onto Hailee Jacobs who seems to have lost consciousness, a nod of acknowledgement being given to CJ. ’It’s good that he’s here, he can help Hailee.’ One passing thought as he watches the earth shift…
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The landslide takes the shadow pokémon, and Pez’s remains are taken too, as if it were washing this grim place off its most superficial layer of death and pain.
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But, death is still there, isn’t it? And so is the pain.
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Vic feels like he’s going to be sick, but he stands his ground – fingers digging into tree bark.
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There’s a question. One that barely registers at first. One that he has to repeat in his mind when staring at a Lux Defort who looks as if he has been through hell itself. He needs to be strong for them.
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Deep breath.
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”Good thinking, Lux. Sketching them now, while you remember well, is a good idea… We’ll need those to make sure other rangers know what they’re facing if they run into those.” To avoid any more suffering, to avoid any more death.
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The next words are said to all rangers there, steady but lacking the usual enthusiasm that is to be expected of Victor Wexler. ”Good work, everyone. Let’s regroup and head down.”
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Had they really done good? They had done the best they could do, that much is clear, but it still hadn't been enough to save everyone...
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"Why are you so weak, Vic?"


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[attr="class","vicwtw"]

Thunder strikes, the sound resulting to be far more powerful than the actual attack that hits the Aggron’s iron hide. Or, is it perhaps that no matter how powerful the Dragonite’s THUNDER PUNCH, the Shadow pokémon’s defences truly are impenetrable at this point in time? Again and again, Pez strikes, claws closed to fists and charged with electricity and flames alike. Right hook, THUNDER PUNCH. Left hook, FIRE PUNCH. No matter what the Dragonite does, it seems as if he and the other rangers’ pokémon are no more than annoyances to the increasingly powerful Aggron.
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The same can be said for the Krookodile.
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It’s in horror that Vic watches as the shadowed Intimidation Pokémon takes down Orion Lykos’s Decidueye, his concern only increasing the moment he sees the Elite Ranger charge forward to rescue his companion and friend. ”Orion! Wait!” Too little, too late.
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Claws. Blood spilt upon hallowed ground. A plethora of well-spoken curses coming from CJ Mizikar.
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”Dude! What the hell! Don’t get yourself killed out here!” He too rushes over to check on his fellow ranger, but as much as Vic may have certain mandatory knowledge when it comes to first aid, those things are left in CJ’s hands. Everyone has their tasks, and Vic himself needs to focus on the battle – that much is clear. Focus on making sure all this ends quickly, before anyone else gets hurt...
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So, it’s carefully that emerald eyes watch the ongoing fight, paying close attention to everything from the moves themselves to the pokémon’s demeanour and their surroundings. He sees how Keldeo and Hailee Jacobs’s Mienfoo are trapped in a SAND TOMB created by the Krookodile, the Martial Arts pokémon fainting thanks to one of the Aggron’s attacks. Just like Orion Lykos before her, Hailee too rushes to her pokémon’s aid. ”Hailee!” Needless to say, it goes just as poorly as it did for the Elite Ranger.
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She hits a boulder. Hard. Thoughts of broken bones and worse come to mind. A concussion? Perhaps. She probably shouldn’t be moved, but she’s too close to the battle, and if she’s left there she might get hit by another attack. ”Hailee, stay with me!” Stay awake. ”This might hurt, but I need to get you out of here.” He picks her up, as carefully as possible despite the dangerous situation they’re in, making sure to get her out of harm’s way – or as close as possible to that, at least.
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Thunder strikes. Again, and again, and again.
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Keldeo cries out, shooting a HYDRO PUMP to keep the Krookodile away from the spot where it still finds itself trapped.
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It works, or at least it seems to work. The Krookodile steps back to avoid the pressured water, digging down into the ground in a way that even causes the earth beneath the ranger’s boots to lightly tremble with every moment. Emerald eyes widen with realisation there and then.
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”The ground!” Vic calls out to the rest of the rangers, both loudly and through comms alike. ”It’s unstable! At this rate we can probably get them to slide down the side of the mountain to drive them off!”
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Is he crazy? Is he desperate? Maybe so. Or, maybe he just knows that properly using terrain to one’s advantage can turn the tide during a battle.
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But, do they have the strength leftover to do so? They have lost too many pokémon. Vic’s own Arcanine is faraway, helping with the evacuations, and his Dragonite only seems to be getting more and more frustrated with every attempt to harm the empowered shadows.
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And right then, as if to confirm Vic’s worries, just as he gets Hailee Jacobs to a spot higher up in the mountain where it’s safer, it all takes a turn for the worse.
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The ground trembles, a maw of countless sharp fangs surfacing right beneath Keldeo. All too close they come to biting down on the colt, but its SECRET SWORD strikes at just the right moment, cutting through canines and incisors. Still, the Shadow Krookodile persists, jaws closing with force around Keldeo’s horn. Fangs piece though keratin as if it were nothing, the colt screams and cries, attempting to break free, and then, loud and clear, a snapping sound rings through Mount Pyre.
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Blood. There’s so much blood.
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It paints Keldeo’s small body in crimson shades. It drips onto these hallowed grounds. It flows, as if painfully weeping for the loss of the colt's horn.
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Perhaps it’s Keldeo’s suffering that is as if the last straw for the Dragonite. Perhaps it’s all that frustration that had been piling up with every meaningless attack. Perhaps it's his cantankerous nature truly coming to light. Whatever the answer may be, its with a raging roar that Pez makes it clear that he has had enough.
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The dragon's attention turns from the Aggron to the Krookodile, and empowered by his OUTRAGE, he grabs onto the shadow’s maw. Claws cut through maroon scales, and with incredible strength, the Dragonite begins to pull the Krookodile’s body out from beneath the earth – causing the ground beneath them to shake with every movement. It resists, but if only for a moment, Pez is proven to be stronger, Krookodile being lifted over his head and then promptly hurled away. It hits a boulder.
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But, in being preoccupied with one shadow, the Dragonite is left defenceless against the other…
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”Pez!”
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Retaliation comes in the form of a METAL BURST, and coated in steel, it's the Aggron’s claws that pierce through golden scales… Through muscle… Through bones… Through vital organs. It happens in a matter of seconds, but those mere few seconds prove to be fatal.
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”NO!”
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The Dragonite is motionless, a bloodsoaked claw stabbing right through his chest, and in his dark eyes, light fades.
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”NO!”
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Within Victor Wexler, something snaps just like Keldeo's horn had, nails digging into skin as his hands close into fists, and when he speaks his next words, they're full of a rage that is all too unlike the often chipper ranger.
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”WE NEED TO GET THOSE THINGS OFF THE MOUNTAIN NOW!”
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Before anyone else dies.



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[attr="class","vicwtw"]

It’s only after he sends his pokémon to help the fleeing trainer that Orion Lykos informs him of the ‘Shadow’ status of the rampaging pair, and it causes all-too-easily-distracted Vic to turn to look at him, emerald hues fixing on his grudging sidekick. ”Wait, Orion, are you for real?”
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Why wouldn’t he be? There was once a time when Vic had thought the idea of battling against shadow pokémon sounded exciting, because the Unovan has always loved battles and especially those against strong opponents. This, however, is nothing like a tournament or a gym challenge. This is a bloodthirsty rampage, and quite frankly, it’s getting a bit out of hand, isn’t it?!
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Breathe in. One… Two… Three. Breathe out.
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”Okay! Well, there’s no point in stressing out or panicking about it, yeah? That’ll do no good! Let’s just do what we can to drive them off!” He smiles, self-assured and optimistic as ever, and just as he says these words, Lux Defort gets hit by a stray attack and gets sent flying off…
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Ouch.
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Karma?
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Maybe so.
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”Woah, Lux, buddy. You gotta be careful, man.” As if that weren’t obvious. Still, Vic finds himself glad to see that others help out the cadet (thank you Hailee Jacobs, Orion Lykos, and CJ Mizikar), and he pushes himself to return his attention to the Shadow pokémon. Keldeo's there, fighting bravely despite how outmatched he clearly is, but even Dragapult, one of his oldest pokémon and the one who accompanied him through many gym challenges back in the Galar Region, seems to be struggling. DRAGON DARTS are shot towards the Aggron, exploding loudly upon contact, but when the smoke clears, not even a dent seems to have been made on the shadow’s ironlike armour.
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”Damn, is it just me or they’re stronger now?!” The Aggron’s hide now looks and feels impregnable, the Krookodile’s attacks are full of wrath, and as if to match Vic’s own thoughts and words, Adriana Delmar comments on how they seem to be immune to INFATUATION. ”That might mean they’re immune to other status conditions too! Better to just lure them out of here!”
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The sentiment is there, but all around him, their pokémon begin to fall. His own Dragapult cries out in pain when the Krookodile bites down on his tail with its FLAMING FANGS, but ghost as he is, he dematerializes into the spectral realm of his PHANTOM FORCE. Exactly five seconds pass before he reappears to attack, Vic counts them, yet when the dragon does, the Aggron is ready…
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”Taffy, careful!” Vic can do nothing but watch when the Aggron grabs onto one of the Dragapult’s wing-like crests, leaving deep claw marks upon horns as it slams Taffy down to the ground with all of its strength.
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It’s then that the Dreepy that had acted as dangerous darts fly out once more, not in fear but to bring upon the Aggron an INFESTATION. It distracts the shadow despite how resistant it is to the attack, attempting to swat away the annoyance. But... It’s an IRON TAIL that deals the final blow, hurling the Dragapult metres away as if he were weightless and causing him to slam against a fallen log.
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Taffy faints, too injured to continue battling.
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Yes, the Shadow pokémon are definitely getting stronger.
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Vic sighs, emerald gaze assessing the damage caused. ”You did well, bud. Get some rest.” Taffy will be fine, and if anything, he knows he can count on CJ Mizikar to tend to him when the time comes. For now, what matters the most is avoiding any more casualties, and there’s only one pokémon he knows he can count on above all others when it comes to a battle like this…
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It’s his Dragonite that he calls out then, wings proudly extending as it flies out of a beam of red.
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”Do what you can to lure those pokémon away!”



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