[attr="class","samjermain"]The redhead nodded. It wasn’t like she was scared to use his first name. Surnames were always confusing anyway. Do you know how many McKennas could be in a room back home? It’d be like drawing a paper out of a hat. “Tempest, then.” It was a way cooler name than hers. It kind of made her wish she’d changed it.

Whoosh! Madeline found herself buried in a layer of powdered snow. With a noise of frustration, she stumbled backward. This instinctual reaction saved her from being cleaved in two by a Dragon Tail. “You would think ice types would be chill.” She shouted at the older man as he turned into kamen rider. His question made her snort. “I guess we’ll see!”

At least dying would get her out of the psychopath country club.

Quickly assessing her situation, the grunt swaps Yakuza for a glowing beacon. The Magcargo—Moxie—doesn’t seem impressed by the army of dragons. From its seat outward, snow begins to melt at a rapid pace. This makes it easier for the ginger to spot her opponents. Which, in their charge, had been nice enough to put themselves in a nice little line.

If they weren’t already attacking, Madd might have found a way to defuse the situation. But that wasn’t an option with a bunch of glowing death beams coming at her. Waiting until they draw within range, the redhead makes her order. “Rock Slide!”

And, just like that, it’s raining men boulders.

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[attr="class","samjermain"]The redhead turned to him. There’s a soft smile on her face—a temporary break in Madd’s tough-guy act. “You sound like my cousin.” Maybe not when she was younger. But the seeds of her melancholy had to be planted somewhere. “She walks around with the whole world on her shoulders. How you guys can feel worthless and still act so self-important is beyond me.” For Madeline, this feeling was weird. She was normally firmly rooted in the present with her eyes forward. There was no point dwelling in the past. It didn’t do anything.


But, right now, she was drowning in it. And this McKenna was way too stubborn to reach a hand up for help. It was better to drown than focus inward. “Huh.” She hummed thoughtfully. That dark hair didn’t have a single grey in it. “I wouldn’t have pegged you at 50.” The idea that he’d ended up stuck in that hellhole too never crossed her mind. Still, his words carried the weight of experience.

“I wish it were that easy.” A freckled hand lifts to rake through her short locks. Up close, it’s obvious the tousled look is the result of a professional. “Not everything’s a speed bump.” More than ever, she wished she had a cigarette. She went so far as to slip a hand toward her non-existent jacket. “A good deed today doesn’t do anything for who you fucked over last week..” It’d be nice, but life wasn’t that simple.

Still, there’s a hint of a smile. “Better, huh?” She murmurs this question beneath her breath. Hadn’t she been trying to do that? That brief spark of hope vanishes as she realizes it isn’t true. It wasn’t like she’d quit. Just keeping your head down didn’t change what side you were on.

At the offer of food, her brow lifts. A bottomless pit, the Obstagoon jumps up with a sound of excitement. A few drops of drool splatter across the water—the fish scatter. She can see meal plans rushing through those crimson eyes. “Yakky, chill.” A thoughtful hum follows as she thinks through menus.

It’d be dumb to turn down free food. Especially since she gave him a free show. Tits, tears, and all. Growing up, there hadn’t really been much comfort in food. Mom panicked when she ate too much. Neither parent could actually cook. “Anywhere with a good coney dog?” A hand lifts for pause. “Lab-grown?”

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[attr="class","samjermain"]The redhead watched her buddy climb out of the car. After a few seconds, she followed him. A brow went up as he held up a hand for her to pause. Orange eyes rolled, but she didn’t immediately ignore him. Man, this chivalry shit is nauseating. Still, it gave her time to suck down a cheap cigarette.

The red-eyed Linoone at her side perked up as the assault began. His long, thin claws rubbed together as he snickered. A paw lifted to make a gagging gesture as the two morons fled. “Don’t act all high and mighty, Yakky.” She shifted her ponytail to the other should. Back when this happened, she still hadn’t fully shed her dad’s Barbie persona—just gothed it up a little bit. “You’d be halfway to Johto by now.”

Making sure the street was empty, Madeline approached the store. She pulled her hood up and slid a black facemask into place. Only her eyes and a few strands of auburn hair were visible. A pair of dark vision goggles slipped into place “Nice job, Stinky.” A foot moves to gently stroke the Stunky. A brow went up as she spotted Darius bent in two over the door frame.

“Do you even know how to use those?” The taller teenager stepped closer. And, with a shrug, twisted the knob. Surprisingly, it opened. Rich assholes really had their heads up their asses. It didn’t surprise her that they didn’t mind leaving the door unlocked. Especially since one of them just came back from taking a leak.

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[attr="class","samjermain"]The Vaporeon just tilted its head at Andrea’s yelling. Its yellowed eyes slid toward the shore. It hadn’t been laughing about the stupid fish! It was funny that this weasel was so scared. Instead of showing regret, the Vaporeon’s frill just expanded. The broken teeth ground more tightly together. Judgmental brat wouldn’t be saying that if she was hungry.

The clapping soon grated on the water fox’s nerves. Its eyes narrowed at the crocodile as its tail lashed angrily behind it. Just as it unleashed another water attack at the cheerleader, the Confuse Ray bobbed into its line of sight. Caught off guard, the Vaporeon lunged for the kaleidoscopic ball. That gave Yakuza a perfect chance to attack. Red eyes shifted to the girls behind him.

“That sounds like a plan to me.” Madeline pulled an old Pokeball from her jacket pocket. She’d dug it up from the beach earlier. And, while it was old as dirt, it should hold this little demon. “Soften him up, Yakky!” There was a pause as the badger took a step toward the Vaporeon. “Please!” Another water attack threatened as the fox began to pull from the pond itself.

A moment of nerves vanished. The Obstagoon’s muzzle split wide in a grin. He flashed a thumbs up. He totally had this! Just as the Vaporeon moved to fire his Hydro Pump, it was hit with an Ice Beam. Its skin became coated in frost as the earlier moisture froze in place. The frozen bulb shattered at its feet, as the thing hissed around the ice in its mouth. Stuck to the puddles at its feet, the water type thrashed.

Yakuuza kept the cold up even as his paws started to shiver. With a deep breath, Madd threw the ball at the pescetarian menace. It dropped to the ground and began to shake. Yakuza pushed himself until ice formed across its surface, hopefully tracking the rabid cat-thing inside.

Ice coated the ball as it continued to twitch. Once. Twice. Thrice.

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[attr="class","samjermain"]The redhead felt a brow raise. “Yeah?” She echoed right back. His bewilderment was reflected back at him. What would it be like to never have to think about money? Just to do things because you wanted too? That sounded like the only freedom to her. Unfortunately, the way there didn’t always reveal itself to the right people. “Must be nice.” This week, Madd had started packing her lunches again. An hour or two of prep work mandated by a need to save a few bucks.

As she passed the threshold, Madd’s ginger hair stood on end. All the hairspray she used was rendered completely useless. Next to her—similarly changed—Yakuza snickers. “You’re one to talk. You look like a Skuntank in an electrical socket.” Staring up at the Magnemite, the redhead sighed. From her pocket, she pulled out a few old, thrifted Pokeballs. They were clustered together in a little plastic bag. With a deep breath, she flicked out another Pokeball. From it, a tiny Garchomp emerged.

Just as she called out her first attack, the redhead noticed that Jayden wasn’t joining in. Is this a test? Suddenly nervous—she’d never been good at exams—Madd forced herself to refocus. She couldn’t go all out in a place like this. They needed to be surgically precise. Otherwise, she’d be washing dishes or whatever for the rest of her life. “Cherry Bomb—” Madd flushed. That name sounded dumb as hell. The dragon’s muzzle lifted in a smirk. A small sandstorm kicked up around the pint-sized dragon. “Trap them.”

The Rock Tomb trapped the floating menaces in a corral of stone. Sand flowed between the pillars, keeping the floating magnet balls in place. Yakuza, meanwhile, approached the gap at the front and unleashed a Snarl. In a closed area like that, escaping the sound waves was pretty much impossible.

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[attr="class","samjermain"]Madeline looked the girl up and down. She was objectively pretty. All subtle curves and pink hair. “It probably was.” The redhead had gotten to go on one whole date because of it. Not because she wanted a relationship or whatever. That wasn’t really her thing. It would have just been nice to have somebody to talk to. “I got a lot of requests for tit pics before I uninstalled it.” If anybody could have been bothered to spell stuff right, she might have done it. It wasn’t like her boobs had ever done anything for her.

Stepping back from the pool, Madd let Desiree take center stage. Just like Yakuza, she settled in to watch the fight. Unlike her cousin, jokes aside, she knew there were times when you just needed to punch someone in the face. As the Toxapex sank its needles into the Dracovish, Madeline winced in sympathy. “Remind me not to piss off the death umbrella.” Orange eyes watched as the Slowking jumped into the fray. What happened to that things face? Yakuza meanwhile stepped back from the girl and her Phantom of the Opera rip-off.

Ghosts gave him the heebie-jeebies. With its opponent gone, the Dracovish stared at them for a minute. Blinking its strange eyes, the patchwork creature offered a nod of thanks. Then, with awkward, shambling steps, it took off down the nearby tunnel.

The redhead turned to face Desiree. Man, that sounds reductive. Sure, it hadn’t been an insult, but it felt weird to be summed up in just a couple of words. “I don’t fish actually. I just work tackle.” One time drawing blood had turned her off of hooks and casting forever. “You still singing?” Two Pokemon flitted by behind them, but Madeline paid them no mind. Tentacles weren’t something she was comfortable with, and a hexagon bug didn’t seem a good fit for a pond.

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[attr="class","samjermain"]The redhead listened with a soft, distracted smile. Normally, she loved talking vintage movies. It wasn’t new releases that excited her but the discount oldies. Though, if she was being honest, some of that had to do with costs. For the same reason, she often snuck in snacks and drinks. A harmless bit of rule-bending, Madd didn’t think Navy would like. “Maybe I’ll give it a go.” Copper eyes roved the nearby, conspicuously empty waters. Then, her eyes slid toward the nearby houses. “It’s not like this place’s party city.”

When he stands, Madeline slides a foot back. The heel of her boot clumps on the dock just behind Yakuza’s free hand. Half scared he’d done something wrong, the badger turned toward her. Finally, he sees the look in her eyes. It reminded him of his face when somebody shoved him into a boat. Or when his BFF caught him eating her low-fat yogurt. “Goon?” The question mirrors Navy’s concern.

“I—” This guy was pretty good. It was like he could smell the nerves. The redhead bristled like an angry Skuntank. She wanted to tell the loser to butt out, but that didn’t work with dogs. It wasn’t like Madd could tell the truth, not to a sheriff. She hadn’t gone this long without getting arrested for nothing. And the woman had no intention of tossing it away. “I was just thinking about home.” A hand lifted to tuck a few stray strands away. This made the stupid costume pull tight.

She shook her head. Suddenly, the words escaped in a rush. “I’ve done a lot of shit since leaving, and I wonder what’d have happened if I hadn’t.” Sure, Madd would have been a puppet, but that wasn’t too different from what she was now. Then again, that guy wouldn’t be, well, whatever he was. “Seeing you reminded me of somebody.”

A laugh escaped. Fortunately, there was a tried and true way to shut this down. “Probably just cause I’m on my rag.” Yakuza blushed beneath his fur and turned away. His plate-sized paw, hovering just over her shoulder, retreated.

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[attr="class","samjermain"]The worn fox’s muzzle lifted in a snarl. “Peon!” This exposed its chipped, broken teeth. A frustrated rumble followed as the ghost stepped in. Nothing but a nosy, little specter intent on putting his figurative nose into everybody’s business. As the destiny bond intertwined his fate with the Gengar, the water type scoffed. Dull, cracked claws dug irritably into the silt at the lake’s bottom.

Then, its opponent was revealed. With raised scales, the pond beast turned to face the dark type. One look at his nervous, merlot eyes made any anxiety vanish. A strange, hacking sound emerged from the creature’s exposed ribs—laughter. Behind him, blending in with her dark outerwear, Madeline stepped up. “Knock him into next week, bud.” The badger gulped. “You’ve got this.”

This thing’s totally got rabies! Yakuza thought to himself. The clapping invigorated him, just in time. Ignoring the Gengar for now, the Vaporeon launched itself toward the bulkier Pokemon with an Aqua Jet. With a look of panic, the cowardly Pokemon threw his arms up in an Obstruct. Seeing the Vaporeon bounce back, the muscular layabout felt his heart lift. Its scales looked duller and more worn.

Opening his mouth, he aimed to capitalize on the defense drop with a Snarl.

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[attr="class","samjermain"]On occasion, Madeline would cast an envious glance at the Flareon. Sure, she had a fire-type of her own. But wrapping yourself in molten lava wasn’t exactly a good idea. On occasion, her footsteps would slow enough to bask in the warmth of the big fluffy dog. It’s like Richard the Second or something. Her uncle’s dog served as everything from a pillow to a rough-housing playmate growing up. Having her around was the best part of this mess.

As he corrected her, Madd turned to face him. Sure, this was an anarchist shitshow, but it felt weird to be super chummy with her boss. At a day job—where you weren’t killing people—it seemed fine. But this guy could drop her like a sack of potatoes. It wasn’t like an HR violation would bring her back to life. “What do you want me to call you then?” Suddenly, her forward progress stopped. Fiery eyes narrowed as she stared out at the wide open space in front of them. Though it’d been bothering her, the nerves had stopped her from paying it much mind. “Do you feel that?”

The ground beneath their feet was vibrating. Cursing beneath her breath, she turned to look behind them. Suddenly, the little snow hills looked way too orderly. More like the path of a snake or burial mound than windblown happenstance. “Shit.” A hand dropped to a Pokeball at her side. “I knew this was too easy.” Now out in the open with nowhere to hide, whatever was beneath them made its presence known.

Snow erupted in front of them as something emerged from the cold hard ground. For a moment, the grunt was blinded.

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