close tab

played by

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

0 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @Deleted

Deleted

the ecstasy of gold [c] [de]

POSTED ON Nov 23, 2018 10:49:19 GMT

He breathed, tasting ash as the smoke rose to greet him. The acrid taste was allowed to percolate, flooding his mouth with a familiar bitterness. The red cloth that adorned his face failed to filter it. Zacharias was indifferent to it. He felt the warm lick of flames rise to meet him, jutting out from broken windows. All he did was raise a hand to shield himself from the front of heated air.

It never touched him.

Someone was starting fires in Slateport, razing small portions of the city that had already been looted. The fight may have been won, but the spoils were still available for the taking. Grunts brush past him, running in various directions, hoping to find new treasures tucked in unassuming places. Inside each building was a life that had been ruined; a home that had been defiled.

Feeling like the rotten bastard he had always been, Zacharias stood in the middle of the street, alone in the chaos as the siege of Slateport entered its final hours. The dark blacks of his uniform defined him from the modern whites that shaped the surrounding structures of the city.

It had been too long. While the freedom to partake in the looting presented itself, the man refused to budge. He waited. He was biding his time, listening to the orders that filtered through his communication device... and listening to the final assessment as their victory was confirmed.

@mason

close tab

played by

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

0 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @Deleted

Deleted

the ecstasy of gold [c] [de]

POSTED ON Nov 23, 2018 15:23:13 GMT

he swore an oath to serve and protect and he'll be damned if he doesn't live up to it. he wears it on his chest, carries it with every step he makes because that's what they expect of him. but it's more than that: he's not sure how or when exactly but somewhere along the line he had become exactly what the league expected. what they needed.

a ranger. a soldier. he lives for the league. he breathes for the league. and he'll die for the league.

duty is what compels him to return to slateport without an ounce of fear in his system. the city might have fallen but he will not allow rocket to have complete and total victory. dominance can be fought and will be fought. there are still things he can save: people, pokemon, history.

slateport will not disappear.

he stops at the sight of a man donned in dark black that heavily contrasts the once-white city of slateport. "shit." he looks back and sees a few rocket members walking by not too far away, doing their plundering but also blocking him from turning back.

the only way forward is forward.

"i don't want any trouble now." his voice is low, both in pitch and volume to not draw any attention. he's not dressed in his uniform but he still sticks out because he's not in black. not the mention the cowboy hat atop his head. he steps closer to the man.

unsettling.

"just let me pass through and i'll be out of your hair in no time. does that sound good?" his hand hovers near his belt. no trust can be given. not to rocket.

@zacharias

close tab

played by

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

0 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @Deleted

Deleted

the ecstasy of gold [c] [de]

POSTED ON Nov 24, 2018 18:17:50 GMT

It was never that easy.

“Howdy partner,” Zacharias said as he tipped his hat to the approaching stranger. His smile was hidden beneath the red of his bandanna, but his eyes would crinkle and betray his amusement. He knew the approaching man was cornered – he knew that the Rocket grunts in the background would intervene if he tried to run past them.

As the man's hands drop to his waist, so does Zacharias; he mirrored the action, preparing to engage the cowboy in a standoff. The man wouldn't run.

This town isn't big enough for the both of us is a phrase that lingered on his tongue but he refused to say. Too cheesy.
“Now, where's the fun in that?” It would have been perfect if a tumbleweed had happened to roll by... but it is only a scene that Zacharias can construct in his own mind.

When he noted that someone was starting fires, he never clarified that it had been him.

There would a sound of breaking glass from overhead; the dark visage of a houndoom as it leapt from the second story.

FLAMETHROWER spilled from the creature's smoking maw. The battle began.

flash fire | nasty plot / smog / inferno / flamethrower / odor sleuth / beat up

@mason

close tab

played by

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

0 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @Deleted

Deleted

the ecstasy of gold [c] [de]

POSTED ON Nov 24, 2018 18:33:14 GMT

glass breaks overhead, calling for his attention: he gives it in full, shifting to react as he swivels on his feet. he dips his head down and avoids the shards of glass from slicing away at his bare skin only to take an immediate step back. his arm raises to swing his coat to act as a shield.

the FLAMETHROWER licks and rolls off his coat that immediately catches on fire. but it's a familiar maneuver, so he's long slipped out of his coat and rolled off to the side when the flames make contact. he knows better than to get caught by its flames, knowing that they'll burn for eternity.

he has to react. and so he does.

a flash of white summons rockruff. "the houndoom!" his voice calls for concern and his rock-type returns it in full. she's quick to rise only to slam her paws back down to create a sudden STONE EDGE that bursts out of the ground.

"be careful, mae!"

three more are immediately created as STONE EDGES look to surround and cage the fire-type, bursting out of the ground in quick succession.

there will be no yeehaws today.

@zacharias

close tab

played by

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

0 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @Deleted

Deleted

the ecstasy of gold [c] [de]

POSTED ON Nov 27, 2018 16:42:03 GMT

Zacharias' smiled as his challenge was met; the urge to yeehaw is almost too good to resist.

Houndoom landed–smoke easing between its lips with tongue-like strands–as the cowboy discarded his coat to avoid the searing flames. Another FLAMETHROWER was being prepared, but the hellhound is not given the chance. When the Rockruff is deployed, there are suddenly two targets for the pokemon to contend with.

He leaned, hand still hovering over his belt, as his pokemon responded to the shifting tides. No orders were given. There was no need. Neither of the men were children. They would not have to bark orders at their pokemon to get them to respond to commands.

The sudden lurching of the ground takes the Houndoom by surprise. The first stone edge failed to slice the hellhound, but one of the spires does nick the pokemon by the leg as it lunged backward, attempting to avoid the encagement by the small, inexperienced pup.

The smoke from its maw had dissipated; now, something with virulence. One hard exhale expelled the purple fumes, intending for the gas to spread throughout the street; SMOG. The wind carried it in Mason's direction, granting Zacharias the chance to stand and watch as the battle was obscured from his sight.

@mason

close tab

played by

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

0 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @Deleted

Deleted

the ecstasy of gold [c] [de]

POSTED ON Nov 27, 2018 16:55:57 GMT

he has nothing to clear the SMOG -- but he doesn't have to. his hand pushes on a single pokeball on his belt and calls out his trusty gallad, his partner through thick and thin. their minds are instantly linked and the dire situation is understood immediately. gallade moves to counter with a head-on approach but is stopped by a voice in his head: the cowboy's.

yeehaw, buddy.

TELEPORT saves mason. gallade places a hand on mason's shoulder and vanishes under the cover of the SMOG and reappear behind the rocket, not too far away but not too close either.

he draws his gun as they both stand strong, tough and determined in their resolve: for what exactly, he's not too sure. arresting the rocket isn't a logical option because it'll be too much of a pain to leave the city. if he's having this much trouble on his own there's no telling what a rocket in tow will do to him.

still, the barrel of his gun's aimed right at the rocket. gallade readies himself. but rockruff's preoccupied with the houndoom; this time she attempts a ROCK SLIDE by slashing away at the ground to send chunks flying towards the fire-type.

"like i said, just let us pass. it's still not too late."

@zacharias

close tab

played by

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

0 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @Deleted

Deleted

the ecstasy of gold [c] [de]

POSTED ON Mar 1, 2019 18:21:39 GMT

persephone amavi likes this

He pressed the bandanna to his face, tasting the sweet mire of ash and smog that hung in the air. The gas would linger, not yet dispersed—just like the Houndoom that prowled within the cloud, SMOG still freely spewing from its gullet. There was no sound of scrambling footsteps. No sound of pokemon being withdrawn.

Zacharias felt his shadow sway. It drew his gaze away from the unfolding battle, down to the ground where something dwelt. Something white, shaped like fangs that pulled into a smile. The dogs could handle themselves.

The cowboy had relocated. The Rocket followed the voice, then followed the man's hand to the barrel of his gun. Teleportation. The Gallade is an unfamiliar sight, but it was a pokemon that he could recognize even if he had never possessed a fondness for the Raltz line.

“You can flash step your way outta this mess? And you're still here?” He waved a finger, tsking from beneath the mask.

And to leave the rockruff behind? “Now you've got me all fired up,” there was a clicking, like flint being struck against steel—an INFERNO that spread from the Houndoom, engulfing its body and then engulfing the SMOG that surrounded it. What was one more fire? Slateport was already burning.

ROCK SLIDE would be launched into the licking flames, but the outline of the Houndoom could not be seen—just the bright, burning pyre that would threaten to engulf everything that dwelt within.

Something emerged from his shadow—a purple finger, wiggling to match the tempo of its trainer.

Gengar used CONFUSE RAY, projecting the beam with one deft, horizontal swish while emerged in the shadow... and Zacharias? He ran, keeping his eyes trained to on the gun as he propelled himself to the closest husk of a building, seeking a barrier to interfere with the Ranger's aim.

cursed body | shadow ball, confuse ray, hypnosis, dream eater, disable, smog

@mason

close tab

played by

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

0 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @Deleted

Deleted

the ecstasy of gold [c] [de]

POSTED ON Mar 1, 2019 18:34:53 GMT

there's a reason why they simply cannot TELEPORT out of this mess of a city but it's not a reason that he's willing to reveal yet. gallade looks to him with concern-filled eyes, and awaits further instructions. "not now. we can't yet." mason whispers, voice low but commanding.

mason does make one slight mistake, however, and that mistake comes in the form of rockruff. the poor rock-type is left behind, practically discarded and left to be killed but mason won't let it. he swears under his breath at the sight of the damning INFERNO.

"dodge it!"

but it's to no avail. the scorching hot flames of INFERNO simply melt away at the ROCK SLIDE, rendering it into small chunks that couldn't even hurt a simple caterpie. luckily, rockruff is quick enough on her feet that she dodges the flames, seeing how quickly it melted her attack.

through the shadow comes a gengar, of all things, and it CONFUSE RAYS towards the ranger and his gallade. mason takes an immediate step forward and lowers his gun.

"i'll be fine. you need to help her!"

the CONFUSE RAY hits him dead on, causing his head to spin and vision to blur. he grits his teeth and clenches his jaw, soon dropping the gun onto the ground as he tries to regain his footing.

while mason struggles, gallade will prevail. swift in his movements, the gallade navigates through the thick of the concrete mess and ends up on top of houndoom, swinging his sword-arm down for a CLOSE COMBAT.

@zacharias

close tab

played by

i used to dream in the dark of palisades park.

awards

0 posts

DOLLARS

part of

TAG WITH @Deleted

Deleted

the ecstasy of gold [c] [de]

POSTED ON Mar 12, 2019 1:27:08 GMT

“Haha, what the fuck?” Did the cowboy just order his Gallade to run into the flames? Zacharias clasped a hand to the side of his face, stunned by what he had witnessed.

This ranger had balls.

Zacharias does not protest as the psychic-type subjected itself to the intense heat; nor does the Houndoom as it witnessed the shape as it charged into the inferno. Heat would rise and billow from the hell-hound's body with a growing intensity, uncaring if the flames stretched beyond its control as it spread to the surrounding buildings. What was one more fire?

FLASH FIRE was activated when the proper threshold was reached. The Rockruff may have escaped unscathed, but how long could the mutt last?

But the Houndoom had to divert its attention, turning to face the Gallade as the psychic pokemon readied its attack. The swing of the sword arm connected, striking against the pale white of one of its horns. The strike would have cleaved it straight from the Houndoom's head, leaving marrow and blood to ooze from the stump that remained—a yelp could be heard from within the pyre, but it did not draw Zacharias' attention.

He had heard the gun clatter to the ground, but did not dare peer from the cover that he had taken.

HYPNOSIS was cast from Gengar's hands—the rings would reverberate with a sound akin to a lullaby, aimed for the League official as he battled through the effects of the confusion.

The houndoom would not stand idle after sustaining damage—the dark-type would lash against its opponent in a sudden succession of strikes, seeking to strike as quick as possible as it gnashed its fangs against the psychic; BEAT UP.

@mason

close tab