Not long after Caroline would arrive, a black blur of fluff and fur would surge by her. The Zoroark was running on all fours, low to the ground but clearly not hiding from her at least. A few moments later a mildly frazzled man would show up on the back of a Mudsdale, the horse pokemon leaning over to give the fire horse a few curious sniffs. It took the man a few moments to squirm down off the back of his pokemon.

"Sorry I'm late." He huffed lightly, giving a small smile and offering his hand to the woman to shake. "I'm Ji-Hoon Ki. You here for the mission?" Chu-e jerked his head out towards the fields. At least he seemed friendly enough. Sadly, he didn't really look suited for doing any sort of mission that involved playing hero; the guy was death warmed over, at best. "I hope that Beepin didn't startle you. She gets really excited when she starts hunting." Which at least confirmed the dark type that had zoomed past had been his.

Giving his own horse pokemon a pat on the side, Chu-e glanced out over the fields now. There didn't seem to be anything obvious... but that could change really quick. If anything, it would be a good idea to keep an eye out behind them. You never know when someone could try and sneak up behind you.

caroline foster

The sudden black blur that surged past them, clouded by the settling darkness around them, startled both Rapidash and Caroline. With a loud huff, Daisy scrambled sideways and almost knocked her owner to the ground in her fright. The once-nervous, only slightly braver, fire horse huffed loudly with heaving sides as she steadied herself. Caroline was only slightly better, her heart skipping several beats as she rested a hand on Daisy's neck, which flared with flames of fear. "What the hell was that?!" She exclaimed, eyes staring into the darkness only seconds away from mounting up on her Rapidash and riding after it before she heard the sound of more hooves behind them.

"Holy shit, hi." She breathed, resting a hand on her startled heart and outstretching the other to accept his shake. Her Rapidash was cautiously sniffed at the Mudsdale, but kept her body pressed against Caroline as she kept one wide eye directed in the direction of the here-and-gone visitor. "Yeah, I'm here for the mission, but no worries, you're not late, I'm just early." She withdrew her hand. "I'm Caroline Foster, but you can just call me Caroline. This is Daisy. Nice to meet you, Ji-hoon." Pleasantries aside, and her heart finally steadying its beat, she continued, "That was your Pokemon? Lord Christ, I thought it was one of the predators we've come to check out. Nearly gave me a heart attack. My Lycanroc is out there hunting, too, so hopefully they can work together." And hopefully the two of them didn't meet in accidental altercation.

Caroline moved her gaze momentarily to the Mudsdale that stood sniffing her Rapidash. "Nice-looking Mudsdale you've got. I have one just like that at home. These two will be good for checking out the perimeter easily, if our other Pokemon don't find anything. I don't know where your Beepin (was that a Zoroark?) went, but my Lycanroc is checking out this pasture here. Let's check out the other fields while they do their thing."

Chu-e Choi

"I'm sure Beepin will be nice. Worst that will happen is she does that weird, open mouth chattering thing they do." Chu-e had instructed her to not instantly go for the throat tonight. It was a good chance to train her on holding back around regular people. Ones who didn't approve of or appreciate the kind of usual violence the Zoroark tended to favor. Ah, the struggles of rescue pokemon.

"But, it's nice to meet you Caroline, Daisy." He nodded to both of them in turn before he patted his Mudsdale on her side. "This is Bramble. Normally she helps me in my garden but I figured I needed some extra kick tonight. You and Daisy may have to take the lead until she gets used to this type of thing." For her part, Bramble looked as stern and confident as any other Mudsdale you would see, if not more curious of her surroundings if her ears flicking were anything to go by.

Since Caroline seemed ready to head out, Chu-e did his best to hop back onto his pokemon's back. "Think it's rustlers or predators giving them a hard time? Seems like a good guard pokemon could solve it easy enough if it was just wild pokemon." He had grown up in a farming town as a kid. Mareep, Rapidash, Miltank, and Tauros were more common in Solaceon but there were plenty of Luxray and Arcanine wandering the fields to keep them safe. Not many pokemon would go missing unless there was human involvement from what he remembered.

That being said, a sudden series of howls started up in the distance. Not the kind that would come from a Zoroark or Lycanroc, either.

A lingering feeling of doubt concerning the inevitable meeting of Zoroark and Lycanroc crossed Caroline's thoughts, but she was confident Echo could handle anything even if she preferred that they worked together. "I told Lycanroc to give a howl if she noticed anything, so I'm sure we'll hear about if those two meet or they find anything else." She answered, moving on to greet Ji-hoon's Mudsdale with a soft pat. "Sure, we can lead. Daisy isn't the most confident, but this will be some good practice and her flames will be a good guide of light for us."

As Ji-hoon mounted up on his Mudsdale, Caroline tapped her Rapidash's shoulder and the fire horse leaned down on one knee to allow her an easier mounting. The sound of hooves filled the night, more settled now than ever, as they moved along the fench line. "I've heard they used to have an Arcanine guarding the herd, but the last attack managed to severely injure it and the attacks have just gotten worse since then." Her eyes scanned over the field as she spoke. "It seems more likely that -"

A sudden series of howls halted both Rapidash and rider before she could finish. "Oh, fuck." It was coming from the opposite field. The same field that Lycanroc had been sent to scout. Not long after, a louder howl broke through the night from the same direction. A howl that was unmistakably that of her Lycanroc. "That's Echo!" Caroline spun her head towards Ji-hoon. "Let's go! She won't do anything until I'm there." From a stand-still, Rapidash spun on her hind legs and broke into a canter until they had cleared the fence guarding the Wooloo's pasture. From there, she broke into a gallop in the direction of howls as they steadily grew louder and louder. Panicked Wooloo scrambled past her like grounded clouds. She could hear fighting now, mingled with shouts and cries.

Chu-e Choi

"Ah, shit." Following Daisy's lead, Bramble gave a loud huff and Chu-e had just barely enough time to wrap his arms around his pokemon's neck before she bounded off after the fire type. The man took this less gracefully that Caroline; he was very out of practice riding pokemon in general and was almost knocked off of Bramble's back multiple times.

The sound of the fighting already started echoed in front of them. One of the larger Dubwool had been felled, bleating pathetically, a large Mightyena going for the throat. The only thing that held it back, barely, was it seemed the Mightyena was in a canine pissing contest with Beepin. The two pokemon were muzzle to muzzle, pushing against one another, low rumblings and snarls and snaps between them as each waited for the other to waver. There were four more pokemon besides it, hackles raised; a Bolthund, Manectric, Vaporeon, and, of all things, a Passimian. It could be probably assumed that Echo was doing something epic and cool as well but that is not up to these fingers to decide.

The sight of the two humans and their steeds broke whatever stalemate had been happening, the Mightyena lunging forward followed quickly by the Zoroark doing the same. They both went for the throat and it devolved quickly into less a battle and more a dogfight, a nasty thing with tearing claws and torn fur as the two pokemon went at it.

Before any of the other of this weird little pack could step in to help the Mightyena, Chu-e flung out another pokeball and did his best roll off his horse. His side would not be forgiving him for that later if the shock of pain was anything to go by. The pokeball he tossed out revealed a Machamp, the wrestling pokemon pounding her chest before running forward with Bramble to bodily block off the other pokemon if needed.

"I don't think these are wild pokemon, Caroline!" Chu-e called from the grass as he tried to push himself up. He whimpered in pain, doubled over and holding himself. Even if he tried to hide it, the man just wasn't in the physical state to pull stunts like that any more.

---

I'm kind of a sucker for over the top nonsense action, so feel free to go as hard and cheesy as you want. or tell me to dial it back and i will! :u

Thunderous hooves tore through the dirt as the two horseback riders galloped towards the sound of fighting Pokemon. Droplets of red liquid had been splashed across the ground, reflecting a crude pattern of dark and darker in the night's light. Ji-hoon's Zoroark and the Mightyena were pressed muscle against muscle as the dog scrambled for another bite of the fallen prey. Echo was not far off, cornered by both the Manectric and Vaporeon. Her body was pressed close against the ground and her ears were pinned tight against her skull. The Passimian, a ring-leader of some sorts, was slamming fists against it's chest and screaming bloody murders into the darkness.

The appearance of riders and steeds brought a moment of distraction for all involved and, in turn, a sudden descension into chaos. Zoroark and Mightyena fell into a battle of torn fur and and spotlets of blood. Echo had used the distraction of her two opponents to use DOUBLE TEAM and escape into an open area before they could identify her. Of course, even that didn't last long and the Manectric was suddenly upon her back, digging in sharp claws, tearing skin from her body, and sending electric currents coursing through her body. She manuevered and twisted her body, slamming the sharp rocks of her mane into the Manectric's more tender skin until it fell sprawling to the ground. Little streams of blood trailed down from Lycanroc's blood, but she was no worse for wear in this fight. ACCELEROCK brought her speed and attack as she dashed towards the Manectric with barred fangs, leaping at him as she thrust massive stones around his body.

Caroline was off her horse first, an effortless move to the ground that was followed by Ji-hoon's slightly less graceful dismount. While she had a Pupitar stored on her belt, it wasn't suitable for a battle such as this. All she had was Lycanroc and Rapidash. She was thankful for the Machamp that crashed to the ground in a ball of light and ran into the fray. Rapidash waited for Caroline's command, but as soon as it was given she rushed towards the fight between Lycanroc and Manectric as the Vaporeon began to run in for help. Her horn began to glow as she directed a MEGA HORN straight for the Vaporeon's head.

"I don't see a trainer anywhere but it's too goddamn dark to see anything." Caroline called back to Ji-hoon, she had to force her attention away from the battle, but when she saw Ji-hoon doubled over in the grass she let out a shocked gasp and rushed to his side. She reached out a arm to his shoulder, "Are you okay?! Did one of those things get you with an attack?" Behind her, Lycanroc let out a scream of pain as the Manectric maneuvered around Rapidash and snared sharp teeth drooling red into her hind leg.

---

Chu-e Choi no worries! it'll be fun! sorry if my posts get a little long, i ramble about details hahaa

"I'll be fine." Chu-e tried to wave her off but accepted her help nonetheless, reaching up to wipe a bit of red from his lips. "This happens sometimes." He tried to give a weak smile before glancing back at the battle. Bramble had reared up on her hind legs, trying to force her body weight down in crushing kicks on the Bolthund, who narrowly avoided her attack to bite at her legs. The dog pokemon was more lithe than the larger horse pokemon but eventually she got frustrated. A hard slam of her front hooves together caused spikes of earth to shoot from them, the Earthquake finally catching the Bolthund on the hind leg.

Meanwhile, Muse fully body slammed into the Passimian, grappling the ape pokemon. The other pokemon was strong, also a fighting type, and grappled back. It did not have the four arms like Muse did but it was still tough. It's sharp nails dug into Muse's hide, oozing blood. Muse's lower set of arms slammed into the top of the Passimian's head in a Dual Chop, making the ape pokemon cry out but sink it's fangs into Muse's chest.

Beepin seemed to be doing a bit better, her savage nature doing her well in this fight. Her claws started to glow a sickly purple before she sank them both soundly into the Mightyena's side, deep and vicious. The Dark type dog loosed his fang's grip, giving the Zoroark a chance to kick the canine down.

"They're acting strange. Too coordinated to be wild pokemon but I haven't heard any attacks."

Caroline dug her heels into the ground as she pulled Chu-e to his feet and kept a steady hand on him as he found his footing. In the background, the war of hounds, monkey, and trainer's Pokemon continue to splash blood across the darkened grass like long tendrils. Rapidash's MEGA HORN against the Vaporeon had struck and sent the water-type reeling backwards with a yelp of pain. Lycanroc had managed to successful land her ACCELEROCK against the Manectric who stumbled backwards, but did not flee.

Vaporeon came back first, a torrent of water shooting from its jaws with the force of gun shot and targeting the fire horse's frontal body. Lycanroc, still in speed, intercepted the attack to protect the weaker fire type, which sent her flipping and spiralling across the ground. She was braver than Daisy, but the water-type attack was just as effective against her. She laid, dazed, on the ground while Daisy reared up in shock and surprise a glow of light enveloping her body. AGILITY. Then, Rapidash charged forward, slamming her hooves to the ground and creating numerous small craters across the Earth as she approached the Vaporeon and Manectric. STOMP. STOMP.

Again, STOMP.

Manectric let out a howl of pain as one connected and moments later, Vaporeon let out a similar scream as the Rapidash's powerful hooves caught one of her paws beneath it's mighty power. Lycanroc was still recovering, but her strength and resolve to protect the bleating Wooloo kept her from a full-knock out. Instead, small orbs began to glow around her as rocks formed within and she began to thrust them into the fray. ROCK THROW. The best of her long distanced abilities.

Caroline had kept her eyes so focused on the battle in front of her, cautiously analyzing the future capabilities of her Pokemon, that for a moment she'd almost forgotten Chu-e was still next to her. Until he spoke. "What?" Her voice was louder than it should have been, but she quickly adjusted. "Yeah, they're - I don't know - there's definitely something controlling them, but..." Daisy's flames reflected off the powerful Passimian in hand-to-hand combat with the Machamp. An idea came. "The Passimian!" She spun her head to face Chu-e. "This is going to sound a little crazy, but we need to take down that Passimian. I think he might somehow be controlling the hounds."

Chu-e Choi

"That's...!" He was about to say 'crazy', but then Chu-e actually took in the scene in front of them. Ape pokemon were pretty smart and with all the chaos as late, it probably would have been easy for the pokemon to swipe someone's pokeballs... hell, Chu-e even had his Slowking trained to catch them for him. It wouldn't be too much of a stretch. So, instead he turned back to the fray and called out over the battle.

"Beepin! Muse! Take out that Passimion! Do whatever you need to do! Bramble, keep those dogs away!" Then he turned back to Caroline. "Think your pokemon can help Bramble keep those dogs off my guys? If that monkey's the problem, it'll try and get help."

Beepin, who had successfully shoved the now very wounded Mughtyena away, flicked her ears back when Chu-e yelled. She chattered before running at the Passimion on her hind legs, slower than when on all fours, her claws glowing again to strike. Meanwhile, Muse wrapped her powerful arms around the Passimion, taking whatever it dealt out, to keep it relatively still for the oncoming attacks.

As expected, the Passimion began to shriek and drew the attention of the canine pokemon. Bramble managed to kick down the Bolthund as it tried to make a break for it's master.

Caroline had refrained from using Pupitar until this point. The recently acquired rock/ground type was not as comfortable in battle with Caroline as Lycanroc and Rapidash, but her dog and horse were already in combat with the hounds. She reached for the pokeball on her belt as she yelled, "Daisy, Echo, keep those hounds busy. The Passimion is controlling them!" As Pokemon, trainer and monkey controlled, began to falter from fatique an Earthquake from Pupitar would bring a quick end to the battle.

Or so she thought. Before Caroline could even pull the ball from her belt, the giant monkey let out a blood curdling shriek. It rang through the open air and Mightyena, Boltund, Manectric, and Vaporeon raised their head in shocked worry. Their beady eyes grew wide as they saw the wounds and chaos that surrounded their 'trainer'. As Bramble kicked down the Boltund in it's moment of distraction, Echo and Lycanroc also took advantage. With powerful hooves and sharp fangs, the dog and horse beat down on the remaining hounds. The Vaporeon screeched in pain as Echo dug her sharp fangs into its neck. Manectric and Mightyena yelped as Daisy smashed her hooves into their sides and they collapsed to the ground with heaving sides.

"The hounds won't be a problem anymore," Caroline announced, though there was no triumph in her tone. They still had to deal with the Perssimion. And now was a chance.

A glow of light filled the air as a hard shell emerged and floated to the ground. It blinked. "Titan, use EARTHQUAKE." Well, he didn't need to give that a second thought. The ground beneath them began to shake and shiver as it split open and broke the Earth beneath the Passimion.


Chu-e Choi

After the great heft and roiling of the ground, all was still. Muse and Beepin had been caught in the attack, not Caroline's fault, and after the grueling battle the two of them had succumbed. Thankfully, they were just tired. It was quiet as the dust cleared, revealing that... Chu-e let out a thankful sigh. It seemed like all the pokemon had been taken down. Calling his own two back, he produced a few pokeballs from his hip and started to toss at the dogs and the ape. He couldn't keep these, given the nature of the mission, but they didn't deserve to die just for being hungry and desperate. They could be turned over to someone else for rehabilitation.

"Alright... Well, I guess that solves that problem." He walked over and nudged on Bramble lightly, the horse tense after the fight, and gently ran his hand over her muzzle to try and soothe her. He was still sore from pushing himself, those few beads of blood dried to his lips and down his chin from aggravating his injuries. Well, Chu-e had been in worse. He would deal.

"That Dubwool is still alive, right? Think we can get it back to the farm?" The sheep pokemon was in rough shape, having almost been a meal, but it still bleated faintly from the grass where it had stayed during the battle.

As the dust settled away, Titan hovered proudly before his master craftmanship of the world's turf. The grassy terrain was broken up and jagged sections of earth tilted to the sky. The other trainer's Pokemon had fallen as additional victims to his attack, but it was no matter to Titan who hovered a circle around his masterpiece and noted the damage. He'd successfully managed to decapitate the hounds, as well. Everyone should be proud of him, but they seemed far too concerned with the injuries of those he'd attacked. Hmph!

"Is everyone alright?!" Caroline called out to her Pokemon and Ji-hoon, who had made the noble decision to capture the downed hounds for rehabilitation (or so was her guess, but she was rarely wrong). "Ha, that was a bit of an over-kill, Titan." Caroline scolded the Pupitar. She was ignored. "Don't think I won't put you right back in your Pokeball if you don't behave." She huffed with hands on her hips before Ji-hoon's question caught her attention.

The Dubwool laid on its side with stains of blood speckling it's woolen fur. Lycanroc approached first, nosing the sheep who bleated feebly in response. Caroline approached next, sided by Rapidash now, and knelt down beside the Dubwool. "It seems fine for now, but we should get it some potions and healing back at the farm." Her arms stretched out as she attempted to life the horned Pokemon. "Oh, fuck me, you're a heavy one," she gasped as she stumbled and clumsily rose to her feet. "Daisy." There didn't need to be a command, Daisy kneeled down and allowed her to place the Dubwool on her back. It was an awkward carry, but it would do for now. "I'll walk. Let's just get this guy back to the farm as soon as we can. Come on, Echo. Titan."

Chu-e Choi

"I'm glad you can get that guy, I don't think I could have." More like, his stitches would have ripped open an he would have probably bled to death or something equally stupid. Since she seemed to have it covered, Chu-e called for Bramble to come back over and did his best to get back on her back again. There was no way in hell he would be able to walk all the way back on his own.

At least the pokeballs were tucked at his side, which he could turn in later. In most practice, if you caught a pokemon on a request it was technically the property of the league (or rocket, since he had run a few of those). One of those weird loopholes they gave to make paying you more worth it, he guessed. For Chu-e's part, he didn't seem as interested in talking anymore; his chest was sore.

"I think this, uh, ticks everything off the boxes.... You take that pokemon back and I'll take drop off these pokemon. Does that sound okay?" It would mean them parting but they could both probably use a good rest. "You get some rest, Caroline. If you ever need help again, feel free to hit me up! Or, look me up if you're in Mossadeep if you need a free meal!" With that said, he rode off.