When it came to odd jobs, it was usually a case of Angelo simply being in the right place at the right time, his travels to different towns with pokeballs on his belt often attracting requests here and there. Protecting a herd of Gardevoir from poachers however… It was safe to say that this was a new one.

Oldale Town must have been desperate if they called on the assistance of a lone courier, he had thought, especially when there were plenty of rangers running around the region these days. Angelo was in no position to turn down their generous reward though and so, motivated by the cash he takes up the challenge, plunging into the dark forest with but his pokemon for backup – it's debatable if this is a smart move or not.

It looks like he’s been recruited just a little too late. By the time that he arrives in the described place where the pack usually lingered, there’s a scream from deeper within the woods, pained and desperate. Angelo’s brow pinches into a frown, swallowing the curse word that lingers on the tip of his tongue, something agitated crawling under the skin. He crouches behind a tree in the long grass, scanning over the remaining group of Gardevoir while Vela – silently swooping through the dark canopy – keeps her eyes peeled on them from an aerial view.

“Ratz, go check it out,” he mutters low under his breath, blue eyes steeled over with a thick layer of composure as Angelo nods towards where the source of the screech had come from. Ghostly, form a wisp through the shadows of the long grass, the Dragapult stealthily stalks. Twisting around the trees, it’s not long before the dragon spots a masked figure, sparks still sprinkling off his baton as he captures a lone Gardevoir. Alpheratz truly disappears into the shadows then, becoming one with the aid of PHANTOM FORCE, an invisible spy amongst the maze of trees. Watching and waiting as he follows their next movements.


tldr;

- alpheratz uses phantom force to vanish into the shadows to watch/track remiel and decidueye
- vela is above the gardevoir group keeping an eye out among the trees
- basically keeping watch this first turn

Remiel Calcifet // bryan delarosa

As the Gardevoir clustered together, urging their young into the middle of the circle for protection, Angelo slowly creeps around the perimeter with careful steps and sharp eyes. They were quietly muttering to each other in cautious chimes, their Ralts making weeping noises and somewhere, deep down, his chest pangs.

That’s when it happens, the Gardevoir suddenly becoming shrouded in a smokescreen. It was obvious the poachers were here and Angelo, catching sight of Vela’s glittering eyes in the darkness as she arcs around the edge of the clearing, gestures her onwards – to fight.

“Shit… Vela, get in there.”

Swooping, the Crobat intercepts the pokeballs that are thrown towards the blinded Gardevoir and their young, releasing a whipping storm of wind from her four wings. Her AIR SLASH pushes away a good portion of the smog and sends the spheres clattering to the ground, losing momentum as the breezes forces them towards the way that they had been thrown. There’s a screeching noise from the Crobat as she faces the direction of the Morpeko and Greninja, remaining close to the pack as if a barrier between the poachers and them.

Alpheratz, hearing the commotion, slips through the shadows to cut in front of the poacher in the Fox mask, speeding onwards until he bursts out of the inky depths close to the Gardevoir pack – all of them frozen from being able to teleport from the torment – and immediately releases a THUNDERBOLT. Electricity, illuminating the dark forest, crackles as it shoots towards the masked hunter to try and keep him away.

With Vela on one side of the group and Alpheratz on the other, wisping through the air, it was clear now that the Gardevoir were being protected by someone. Said person was crouched in the tall grass, keeping an eye on the beings he had been hired to protect and keeping the fire in his veins from overflowing… For now. He had been hired to protect the Gardevoir, not beat the perpetrators into the ground. No matter how tempting it was.

“Hey, Stronzo! We know you’re there,” he shouts into the clearing, towards where the smokescreen had originated. “How about you back off from the Gardevoir and leave... Before we treat you to a trip to ass kicking town - free of charge!”


tldr;

- alpheratz moves ahead to cut off remy and uses thunderbolt at him
- vela uses air slash to blow back the smokescreen/pokeballs

Remiel Calcifet // bryan delarosa

“Funny, who said anything about the League being here? Maybe I'm just a regular ol' civilian, in the wrong place at the wrong time...” Angelo shouts through the gloom, moonlight casting its silver glow upon the clearing. “But you might be onto something there, buddy; I'm sure they'll give me a nice reward for hauling both your asses in.”

In the distance, Alpheratz glows with an unusually bright energy, using DRAGON DANCE to gracefully wind his way through the air to avoid the attack sent his way. Both the Dragapult and Angelo miss the Lycanroc – too distracted or far away to see it prowl through the shadows. “Tell you what, I'll use the prize money to send you on your little, one-way trip. As thanks.”

Poacher A's partner wasn’t quite so… eloquent. Poacher B shouting through the woods with a competitive ‘fuck you’ and confirming their intentions to the world. If Angelo hadn’t been pissed off, he probably would have laughed at the differences in approach; instead his mouth twists into a stormy smirk, eyes darkening.

“Bring it on, prick,” he calls back, goading Poacher B as he restrains his own temper.

Angelo has shifted around the clearing enough to be able to see the Greninja and the Morpeko but he can’t quite make out where their trainer was hiding, stopping behind a tree as he evaluates the situation. A parting shot collides into Vela and she staggers in the air, wings fluttering as she tries to regain her composure from being stunned by the loud shout. Fingers clamping around a pokeball, Angelo summons a new pokemon as he hears Poacher B order his Greninja, sending an Emolga out into the fray.

As the Greninja collides into Vela with a shadow sneak in the air, Lysithea swoops, SPARK coating her small body in a layer of electricity as she attempts to tackle into the Greninja’s side; letting out a battle cry despite her tinier stature.

Vela drops, then her wings beat quicker, stopping herself from colliding into the grass and pulling herself into the air again. A burst of poison is released towards the Absol then, VENOSHOCK glowing an acidic purple as she swoops overhead to try and douse the dark type.


tldr;

- alpheratz uses dragon dance to evade
- vela is hit by parting shot and shadow sneak
- lysithea uses spark on greninja
- vela uses venoshock on absol

Remiel Calcifet // bryan delarosa

“Or both,” Angelo mumbles behind a clenched jaw, not giving Poacher A the satisfaction of rising to the bait – he was definitely both a fool and a liar. Fuck him, he could handle far more demanding things in life than a two-verses-one battle...

In the skies, Alpheratz and his opponent seem to dance within the air, avoiding one another as they strike out amongst the maze of trees.

“Alpheratz, fall back!” Angelo shouts, blue eyes sharp as the Dragapult cloaks himself in a green glow of energy and charges right for the Decidueye – pushing through the tunnel of sharp leaves towards his opponent with U-TURN.

Regardless of whether he hits his target or not, Alpheratz is drawn back towards Angelo in a beam of energy and another dragon takes his place, Eltanin the Salamence soaring into the air with a guttural roar that hinted at a beast ready for the fight. There’s a sudden flash of red as FLAMETHROWER is released from a fanged maw, incinerating the leaf storm that had obscured the Gardevoir and aiming at the reinforced pokeballs before he swings it towards the Decidueye too, for good measure.

“Okay… Time to move.” Angelo breathes, pushing himself away from the tree that he had been crouched behind now that his position had potentially been revealed, skirting deeper around the perimeter.

Smack Down collided into Lysithea and she lets out a wail, wings failing her as she begins to plummet towards the ground. Thankfully, Vela is there. Swooping elegantly with her wings to avoid the Absol’s attack until she reaches her teammate, paws grasp hold of purple feet and the Crobat hauls them both back high into the air. Together, in a show of combined strength and far less subtle in its approach as tensions rise, DISCHARGE and AIR SLASH are blasted towards where Poacher B’s pokemon stood to try and push them back – a combination of wind and electricity exploding into the woods with the crashing noise of a thunderstrike.

As his pokemon work to push the opposing forces back with their attacks like a steadily expanding barrier, Angelo finds a spot, tucked away between the two groups and reaches for a pokeball… If he can't get the Gardevoir to teleport, then they'd have to get out the old fashioned way.



tldr;

- alpheratz uses u-turn, swaps with eltanin
- eltanin uses flamethrower on the leaf storm/pokeballs and decidueye
- lysithea is hit by smack down
- lysithea is kept aloft by vela
- vela and lysithea combine discharge/air slash at bryan's pokemon
- attempting to push the two groups backwards

Remiel Calcifet // bryan delarosa