Mothra jetted under the first blade of wind, and then squealed as she just barely flew over the second. The Vibrava took personal offense to this.

What followed was essentially a dog fight, the Vibrava blasting blades of air that the Larvesta could only barely get away from. They cut into the soil and trees, and the leaves and webbing.

It wasn't long before Doug had a #brilliant idea.

"Oooh! The flash of Inspiration!" He said as he flicked his hat up, grinning. "Girlie, get in front of the webbing!"

Mothra squealed, her method of flight exhausting and not suited for extended combat, but obeyed all the same, her jets of fire blasting her towards the three tops with the Vibraba hot in pursuit.

Before the Oranguru could order the Vibraba to seize pursuit or change tactics, it unleashed one last blade of wind just in time for Larvesta to run out of gas, falling off back to the ground and just barely missing the blade.

It cleaved straight through the webbing, splitting it off... and turning what was previously a hammock into a hanging blanket.

The vibraba screeched as the webbing fell upon it in a swinging arc, catching it in its sticky grasp before smacking it solidly against a tree, trapping it against it.

"Hell yeah! That takes care of that!" He said, pumping a fist. "Good job, Mothra! Hideo, Vibrava's out for a moment or two- let's finish this!"

Onix took that personally, releasing a (shaky) bellow at them as he charged.

---

TAG: Hideo Kino

The ensuing bugfight was no doubt a spectacle to behold, and everyone, including Elga and the Oranguru, watched as it ensued. But Hideo could only listen, struggling to tell where they were between the whooshing jets and buzzing wings and cutting blades of air.

He could only wait for Doug to announce whether his plan had worked or not - and was satisfied when it sounded like they’d restrained the Vibrava. “Nice one!” Hideo said, raising a thumbs-up for Doug to see (if he turned to look).

But that still left the Onix around, and it wasn’t happy; the noise of rocks rubbing against each other were hard to miss, though that bellow wasn’t as threatening as it could be. He wasn’t sure how much distance Elga had covered by then, but it likely wasn’t enough to tank another attack.

“You got it! Elga, cut it off before it gets too far! Hit it with a Psybeam!”

Elga didn’t even break his (slow) stride, pointing a hand at the charging Onix. The three buttons on its hand flashed rapidly, each emitting a different color of light. The three lights joined together, a single magenta beam shooting forth to the Onix’s head.

It hit square on, the Onix visibly reeling its head away from the force - but its charge was unhindered. It was headed straight for Mothra, ready to Smack Down the fiery bug.

But rather than use a projectile, it raised its own body, aiming to hit her down with its own head.

Whether or not Mothra would try to dodge it, the attack would miss wildly. The Onix would hit the ground face-first, the arena shaking from its weight.

The Onix had hurt itself in confusion. It was wide open for Mothra to finish.

“Sounds like it took a really bad fall,” Hideo commented, “And it whiffed too. Its head’s probably all scrambled by now. Hope that we didn’t do anything permanent.” That’d be rough to explain to its owner.

John Sullivan

"Right back at'cha!" Doug said as he gave a thumbs up back at the youth. Couldn't see it? It was the thought that counted!

His thumbs up was weakened slightly when the Onix faceplanted solidly on the arena's floor.

"I hope so too." He said dryly while looking at the poor rock snake. Maybe they should have just tried to K.O it quickly instead of slowly whittling it down... "He's low on energy, Mothra! Let's put him to sleep with Leech Life! Er, gently!"

Mothra tilted her head in confusion at the last bit, before seemingly shrugging her shoulders, swooping down towards the Onix and settling onto its head before... gently (?) latching onto its horn and beginning to suckle its energy out.

A few seconds later, the Onix stopped struggling entirely, too tired to continue fighting, its slow, deep breaths the only movements left in it.

"That's one down, Hideo!" He said, dusting his hands with two sweeping claps. "Too easy!"

The orangutan narrowed its eyes, but returned the Onix to its pokeball regardless.

"The Vibrava is still trapped- knock it out!"

---

TAG: Hideo Kino

Hideo couldn’t tell how much energy was taken by that leech life, or if that attack had actually been gentle or not. What mattered was the sound of the Onix being drawn back into its Pokeball, proof that their opponent was down half of their Pokemon.

He nodded once Doug pointed out there was still one enemy Pokemon out. “Gotcha! Elga, hit it with the strongest Psychic attack you got!”

A bright blue sheathe enveloped Elga as he focused his energy. The Vibrava struggled, but it was firmly trapped in its bindings, unable to even aim itself for a retaliatory attack. It could only watch as the blue light shot forth, hitting it dead-on in the head. It redoubled its efforts, but the psychic assault was too much, and it only served to wrap itself further in the web.

Though his Pokemon hadn’t fainted yet, the Oranguru knew his Pokemon was done. Returning it to its Pokeball, admitting that it was defeated, was the only way to free the Vibrava, so it was done.

“We’re at the home stretch, Doug!” Hideo said, joy welling up. Elga still seemed in good condition, and he still had another fresh Pokemon waiting for him - his strongest. “Now let’s finish this!”

The Oranguru looked on, picking up the last two Pokeballs he’d prepared. He tossed one over on Hideo’s side of the field, the Pokemon appearing ahead.

“Pom! Pom!”

Hideo recognized that cry immediately, and was taken aback. “Pom?! He sent you out.”

The small monkey blinked a few times, her head turning as she observed the situation. She’d been lucky to have landed in a spot not covered by web. She looked to her trainer across the field, who seemed to be laughing. “This is great! Pom would never listen to someone who stole her! Isn’t that right, Pom?” Then at the Elgyem, who locked eyes with her, but was otherwise unmoving.

She glanced at Doug and his Pokemon. So, that was what was going on.

She shrugged her shoulders, her grin undaunted. “Pom? You’re not gonna help that thief, right?”

Hideo was unaware she was already bracing herself, ready to attack.

A wave of the Oranguru’s fan, and her tail lit up bright. There was no hesitation as she turned, whipping her tail forward as multiple Swift stars flew out, pelting Elga, who was forced to take a step back.

Elga wasn’t the only target, though; multiple stars were headed for Mothra too. And these would be nearly impossible to evade.

Hideo could recognize the sound of her attack, of it hitting his Pokemon.  “Pom?!  What are you doing?!” he asked, bewildered.

John Sullivan

"Oh for the love of- Mothra!" He said as the stars slammed into the already exhausted larva, shooting her down. She landed with a heavy thud on the floor, groaning.

She had already been fighting for a while now; the Onix hadn't exactly possessed much energy left in it for her to steal either. She really wasn't up for more...

And then the Oranguru sent out the other Pokeball, and Kama appeared on the field.

And Mothra immediately sprang to her feet- and scrambled towards Doug while screaming, barreling into his chest.

"OOF!" He let out as he was taken off his feet, sprawling on the floor with the larva digging into his chest. "Please don't be mad, please don't be mad, please don't be... Uh-oh."

The utterance came out after he managed to sit up and get a good look at Kama, as her narrowed eyes peered around the strange arena, then settled onto him and Hideo-

and then slowly peered over her shoulder at the Oranguru behind her.

Her eyes narrowed to slits, and Doug took that as enough reason to scream at the monkey.

"DUCK!" He said as Kama suddenly turned on her heel, arm swinging wide as she unleashed a wall of vacuum wind at the monkey, whose eyes opened wide as sauzers as it slammed into his chest, sending him flying back into the tree with a thunderous slam.

The booming crash echoed in the forest as the drumming in the background came to a complete stop, many of the Grookey and Thwackey falling off the tree's foliage as its entire frame was rocked.

"I friggin' knew this would happen!" He said as he sprang up to his feet, reaching into his pockets. "Get Rocky ready, Hideo! Go, Lepirax!"

The air around them became immediately cooler as the Frosmoth took the scene, spreading her wings wide as she took in the scenery. One look at the furious Scyther was all it took.

"Slow her down with Icy Wind!"

---

TAG: Hideo Kino

Oh, right. Swift could hit more than one Pokemon, a reminder Hideo received when he heard it hit Mothra, and she hit the ground hard. “Sorry, Doug!” he shouted, “I dunno why Pom is doing what that thief says!” Gosh, this was embarrassing - he had to cover his face with his hands just to hide himself.

Sounded like Mothra wasn’t out of the running, though; just as the Oranguru released his last Pokemon, Hideo heard Mothra skittering back to Doug (knocking him down in the process). He uncovered his face, just as he heard Doug start trying to pacify whatever was let out.

Hideo was putting 2 and 2 together; Doug said he knew the Pokemon that was taken for his whole (bug-catcher) life, and he was deathly afraid of her going loose. The only Pokemon he knew Doug had that was that dangerous was-

“Duck!”

Hideo did as Doug shouted, getting down and covering his head with his hands, to avoid whatever attack Kama was about to let out. Yet it didn’t sound like that attack was directed anywhere near him.

In fact, the opposite direction. Towards the Oranguru, who sounded like he took a nasty hit. And there were a lot of other things dropping out of the tree it’d been hit into.

Hideo stood back up. It was easy to guess what the situation was now; stop Kama before she killed the Oranguru.

“A-alright!” he responded. He took out two Pokeballs - Rocky’s and Elga’s. “Sorry, Elga, but I think it’s better if you hang back for now. Rocky’ll be better at dealing with a bug like Kama.”

The Elgyem looked back, his mild annoyance indecipherable from his face. But he didn’t resist when Hideo drew him back into his ball, Rocky taking his place.

But as Hideo was switching his Pokemon out, Pom took the initiative; she faced towards Kama, letting out a massive Screech. Even if the situation was confusing, she was going to at least try to protect her current “trainer”.

Hideo caught on to that quickly as well. “Ah dang. Rocky, get over there as soon as possible! Get Kama with an Accelerock!”

The Lycanroc charged forth, surrounded by white energy, towards the Scyther, deftly avoiding what web still lied on the ground.

John Sullivan

A freezing gale swept across the arena as the Frosmoth spread wide and flapped her wingspan, the grass freezing into tiny stalagmites.

These mini-stalagmites shattered as the little Aipom's screech tore through through the air, hitting the Scyther's body and making her stumble forward, teeth grit as she glared dangerously over her shoulder.

Suddenly springing to the air, her rattled body evaded the sweeping gale of ice- but could the same be said for the screeching monkey?

Spreading her wings wide, the Scyther's spun across the air before taking a controlled fall at the center of the arena- and then spinning on her heel to meet Rocky's accelerock with her Vacumm Wave, the collision sending the remnants of the shattered stalagmites flying around them.

"Kama! Look at me!" He said, now that the two pokemon were locked in a struggle. "Let's all just calm down and talk it out with the monkey, okay?"

Kama responded with a harrumph, and then flashed one of her scythes.

"I don't think he's fluent in pain, Kama."

Harrumph!

"He doesn't need a teacher!"

---

TAG: Hideo Kino

Shattering ice, screaming monkeys, and clashing energy rung through the arena. It was a lot for Hideo to keep track of at once. All he could guess for sure is that nobody was badly hurt yet. If they didn’t get this under control soon, Kama would change that. Felt like it was up to Doug to get her to calm down - and his own Pokemon to hold her back until then. “Keep it up, Rocky!” he shouted, “Make sure she stays there! Doug’ll get through to her soon!”

Rocky was pushed back by the air waves, but the energy of his own attack left him unharmed. Pushed a good distance back, stood low, bracing himself, but he didn’t attack Kama again.

Yet.

He was facing off with her, keeping his guard up and ready to react if she went first. Which wasn’t to say he did nothing; he shot her a Scary Face, his message clear: “you better stop, or this is gonna get messy.”

Pom wasn’t attacking, but she was preparing: she’d gathered up some dirt in her hands/arms, and if Kama turned around towards the Oranguru again, even for a moment, it was gonna go straight in her face. Closest she could get to a Sand Attack in this arena.

John Sullivan

Up in the air, Lepirax cringed at the development.

"Stop, stop! Why would you do that?!" Doug said, eyes wide in horror.

A clang rang through the air as the Scyther responded to the dog's threat by beginning to grind her scythes together, energy visibly wafting off her blades as she sneered right back.

If the plan was stopping the fight before it started, that was definitely the wrong move.

Her glare definitely said, "That a threat, Fido?"

Doug pulled down onto his hat, biting down on his lip.

"Hideo. I need to get Kama's pokeball back." Doug said under his breath, slowly beginning to move around the arena.

On the other side off the arena, the Oranguru gasped back to consciousness, chocking out in pain as it held a hand up to its chest, noticing the bad bruise atop it before looking back to the arena.

---

TAG: Hideo Kino

There were upsides and downsides to training his Pokemon to be more independent than most other trainer Pokemon. Their senses were much better (and more present) than Hideo’s, and they were more capable than he was. And they knew well enough to keep him safe.

But sometimes, their judgments weren’t the most sound.

This was one of those times.

He could hear the scythe grinding on scythe, the growling growing in volume. “Aw man,” Hideo grumbled, “What did Rocky do this time? He was just supposed to keep her from getting too violent.” Guess that backfired hard, though not like he had any other Pokemon that could handle Doug’s strongest.

But at least Doug had a plan. Best they had. “Alright. See if you can get Pom’s too. I dunno how long until one of them-”

Rocky had met Kama’s glare - and accepted the offer, readying a Rock Tomb to trap her in.

Hideo recognized the sound of rocks being pulled from the ground. “Oh no. Nononono ROCKY STOP-”

Rather than listen to his trainer’s protests, he took that as his cue to fire them at the Scyther.

Pom steadily backed away, readied dirt still in hand(s). She didn’t want to get in the middle of what was about to go down.

John Sullivan

The rocks were answered to with walls of vacuum waves, exploding on contact- and from there on it was on.

But Doug wasn't really paying attention to that, much as he perhaps should have. He was now simply sprinting along the side of the arena, arms swinging madly as he made his way around to get to the bloody monkey, and more importantly, Kama's pokeball.

For his part, the Oranguru was just now beginning to rise to his feet, back pressed against the tree trunk behind him for support, and hand nursing the injury in his chest. His eyes and Doug's seemed to meet for a moment as the youth sprinted at him.

And in the ensuing panic, it ordered Pom Pom to use the bloody sand it had packed up already!

---

TAG: Hideo Kino

Clashing attacks resounded once again. Neither combatant was harmed, and neither seemed willing to back down. Claws clashed against scythes, roars were matched, attacks met attacks.

Hideo could feel his heart racing; he knew a Scyther’s scythes were strong enough to shear someone’s head off, and Rocky wouldn’t back down until he was forced to. He knew he couldn’t interfere in this battle: if he tried to direct Rocky, he might distract him and get him injured - or worse. But if Rocky did get too much of an edge, he could seriously hurt or even kill Kama. And just calling Rocky back into his ball would leave a worked-up Kama to go loose.

The only way this could work out is if Kama was called back first. He could only hope Doug’s plan would work.

But as usual, Pom would be the one to interfere - though not of her own volition. The Oranguru’s order was absolute, confused as it may be. She was forced to toss her sand into the fray, aiming for Rocky and Kama’s faces.

It was enough to break her smile, as she realized this was very likely going to draw their attention. And she was well aware of Rocky’s temper - and was already witnessing Kama’s.  As quickly as she tossed the sand, she was backing off, still watching them.

At least the Oranguru was focused solely on the fight between the pair - not yet aware of the incoming trainer and his bug companion.

John Sullivan