Whistle, click.

Lucario leaps into the path of a Gallade's psycho cut, holding its fellow fighting type at bay with DETECT and a snarl. Crobat swoops back around to harry their opponents with HURRICANE winds, targeting the Machamp in an attempt to force it back.

Aiming to press an advantage, Lucario strikes at Gallade with EXTREME SPEED as Gavin slips into the building under cover of the haze.

[attr="class","beck"]the WHIRLWIND begins to sweep nidoking off the ground. it flails its heavy arms, attempting to stop itself, but its the TAILWIND that does it. crobat flies into the room and sends an AIR SLASH towards one of the officers.

but a particular voice draws their attention. though not commanding, it's one that resists, and resistance can only be met with one thing.

dragonite blurs forward, disappearing with EXTREME SPEED, before slamming its heavy frame into the gallade as well.

theo steps in; eyes scanning.

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn

Syah’s WIDE GUARD holds strong against the Crobat’s Hurricane. An officer points forward, signaling its Arcanine to rush towards the Crobat with EXTREME SPEED and attempt to crunch down on the bat with THNUDER FANG as it leaps into the air.

Blade is met with resistance by a Lucario. He scowls, his attack failing to meet its mark. He’s struck with Extreme Speed, and then another, sending him back from the way he came, staggering at the force of the attacks. Eva grits her teeth from behind the Machamp. The eyes the other officer’s Alakazam, “Psychic Terrain!” Fuck these guys and their Extreme Speeds.

The Alakazam takes it upon himself to ALLY SWITCH with the Gallade, bringing the healer back to Eva’s side and putting himself in the chaos. Like a bomb he harnesses the psychic terrain as power builds up around him and exploded outward in a boosted EXPANDING FORCE, “Syah, go!” The Machamp rushes forward toward the Dragonite with a DYNAMIC PUNCH.

In the limited room of the Pokemon Center's main lobby, the Pidgeot is quick to fire a few AIR SLASHES itself to counter the ones from the Crobat that threaten the officer below.

THEO BECKETT & Cillian Quinn

Thanks to the EXTREME SPEED of the Arcanine, Gavin's Crobat can do little against Arcanine's fangs. It shrieks, bites back in return with a CROSS POISON in the hopes of fending off its attacker.

But it goes down to a second super-effective attack in the form of an expanding force, boosted by the psychic terrain.

Panic rises in his chest. We can't fail.

Lucario fares better thanks to its secondary steel-typing, but still falters, dropping to one knee with a growl. With its head lowered, it looks as if the canine might be defeated but after a bracing breath, it lifts its chin and howls. Its eyes glow with pink-white energy as it COPYCATS the EXPANDING FORCE to regain the advantage.

Gavin whistles for Theo, seeking orders in the chaos.

[attr="class","beck"]the small space makes things difficult. in the brief moment he spends scanning, studying, he quickly surmises that any large-scale attack would likely cause the building to collapse.

and they can't have that happen.

dragonite raises its arms to defend itself against the DYNAMIC PUNCH only to have the force carry through, breaking through its arms. it cries from the pain, static building around its skin in response before it throws a THUNDER PUNCH in return.

crobat's kept at bay with counter AIR SLASHES, unable to move forward.

theo remembers hearing a voice commanding the others. he looks, sees a flash of blonde, and clicks and points.

nidoking roars, charging towards Eva Morales with its MEGAHORN.

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn

The Crobat falls. One down, too many more to go. It’s the small victories that can add up in the end. At least it gave the men with her a little more confidence, “Nice work, Aaron. Find the other one,” it didn’t escape her that there were two men and she could only spot one, THEO BECKETT. The soldier disappears into the Haze to search for Cillian Quinn .

A second expanding force blows through the group of pokemon in the center. The Alakazam is pushed back. Rattled, but protected by its typing. A hand lunges towards the Lucario but doesn’t grab the pokemon’s flesh. Instead, a PSYCHIC energy attempts to take hold and slam the pokemon back towards the wall.

Syah grins, breaking through the Dragonite’s attempted block. The pokemon retaliates quicker than Syah can counter. Electricity crackles through her body as the Thunder Punch strikes her side. It threatens to paralyze her, but adrenaline keeps it at bay. All four hands reach out for the Dragonite. Syah attempts to strike again. Flat hands jab forward twice, one towards the Dragonite’s side and another at its neck in an attempted DUAL CHOP.

The ground shakes as the NIdoking stampedes towards Eva. The doctor is unmoving, confident in her pokemon. The Nidoking is met with a strong PROTECT before it reaches Eva. Blade scowls on the other side, defiant in his will to relent. A sharp psychic blade aims to impale the Nidoking like before (PSYCHO CUT) and the barrier drops.

The doctor speaks, an attempt to avoid more unnecessary bloodshed, "Surrender now."

THEO BECKETT & Cillian Quinn

Though Lucario DETECTS the incoming psychic assault, the terrain means its reaction time is far too slow to avoid it. Already weakened, the canine goes down with a last, defiant growl.

With both of his partners compromised, Gavin is vulnerable.

He looks to hide within the fading effects of his Crobat's haze, sticking close enough to Theo in case the admin gave an order. He tucks his blade against his palm, his last line of defense should he be caught off guard.

Surrender isn't an option, and neither is retreat.

[attr="class","beck"]DUAL CHOP brings dragonite that much closer to fainting. its wings falter for moments, body dropping, but it holds because it knows its duty. doing anything less will not be acceptable. it focuses, tensing as it sends out a DRAGON PULSE.

the PSYCHO CUT finds blood, slicing through flesh, and though nidoking roars in pain, it continues its assault, relentless in how it jumps towards eva to throw a POISON JAB.

her voice cuts through the chaos, unhindered. his response is the same.

"no."

behind him, his fire-types enter the building, heat suddenly rising.

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn + Eva Morales

Another one falls, a small victory. Eva’s glare cuts across Haze and chaos to meet THEO BECKETT. Why did Rocket have to be so Arceus damn difficult. The Arcanine retreats to its trainer, his nose to the ground sniffing for Cillian Quinn in the Haze, “We’ll have your partner soon, then we’ll have you. Surrender,” It’s a bold statement, likely untrue especially as a new set of pokemon file in behind Theo.

Syah tenses, crossing all four arms in front of her as a Dragon Pulse tears at her. The power of the blast pushes her back, nearly knocking her off her feet. Her attention is called elsewhere by the Gallade’s pressure on her consciousness.

Psycho Cut lands, but the Poison Jab is quicker than expected. Luckily, the Gallade is faster than the Nidoking. A rush forward pushes Eva aside as the Nidoking’s horn tears through his shoulder. The Machamp rushes towards her trainer and partner, arms reaching out to grab the Nidoking and tear it away from Blade and throw it across the room with its STRENGTH.

Pidgeot faces the incoming fire types and blasts them with a WHIRLWIND to impede their progress. The Alakazam looks on in concern, taking a step back before concentrating it psychic abilities to peer into the future with FUTURE SIGHT. His eyes snap open in terror. It doesn’t look good.

THEO BECKETT & Cillian Quinn

Partner.

Too strong a word to apply between subordinate and superior; he was not Beckett's equal, likely never would be. He is weak, forced to fall back through the haze as the Arcanine lumbers forward in search of him.

He wants to signal Beckett to let the admin know that he's all right, but doesn't dare risk compromising his position.

His back hits the wall, knife held in a fierce grip.

[attr="class","beck"]partner.

he tenses, considering, but it falters quick, any reservations dissipating with the realization that if sacrificing merlino ensures the success of this mission, he'd do it in a heartbeat.

no hesitation.

"i don't care."

a PROTECT forms, redirecting the rush of WHIRLWIND into the wall. the building shakes as a result, threatening to collapse at any given moment. he clicks his tongue in frustration, then clicks it again to send an order.

nidoking crashes somewhere, it's difficult to see where exactly, but the thud that sounds is unmistakable. it fades into the background as his fire-types send out FIRE BLASTS, scattering across the room. one flies towards eva.

[attr="class","noodles"]Cillian Quinn + Eva Morales

The Arcanine catches Cillian Quinn ’s scent and leads its trainer to the Rocket through the thinning HAZE. A low growl rumbled through the canine’s throat and the trainer steps beside the beast, leering at Gavin, “You’re under arrest! Stand up, place your hands behind your head and turn around!”

Eva grits her teeth, of course he doesn’t care. He’s a Rocket.

Whirlwind does little to impede their progress against the protective barrier that rises around the fire types. Damn it, they spread out, a fresh display of power. The officers with their water-types had left to help with evacuation. Stupid order.

The room is quickly consumed with Fire Blasts. One strikes the Pidgeot, singeing its feathers and knocking it to the ground. Another one soars towards the other officer. With his Alakazam occupied, there’s no one there to protect him. Eva send Blade who attempts another PROTECT but the barrier fails and the two are engulfed in flame, “No!” she lunges towards the blast but Syah grabs her with all four arms, tucking her close to her chest to protect her from the fire that almost immediately scorches her back. Eva catches a glimpse of the man’s burned body and the Gallade barely able to stand. The Alakazam returns to its trainer and TELEPORTS the lifeless body to the closest hospital in desperation. Blade summons a LIFE DEW to try and smother some of the flames.

Syah collapses beside her, the Machamp’s back badly burnt and raw. The rain provides some relief, but hope seems to fade. Eva glances behind her. Hopefully they were able to evacuate everyone in time. A defiant look cuts across the flames towards THEO BECKETT . Rocket wouldn’t get this Pokecenter.

THEO BECKETT & Cillian Quinn

'I don't care.'

It's what he expects. It's what he's been taught. Rocket owns him, and his value is only in what he brings to the organization. Here, now, he is nothing but a liability.

He stares down an Arcanine with its teeth bared. His back is against a wall.

"A-All right, I surrender."

He turns, slowly, lifts his hands, and feels cool metal against the back of his neck. Breathes, steady, and counts each of the officer's steps on the approach. Over the thrumming of his own heart, he hears fabric shift.

He shifts, sudden, ducking low as he turns and delivers a sharp jab to the ribs. He's on the officer before the man's Arcanine can react, its extreme speed balanced out by the psychic terrain. A knife is pressed under the man's jaw.

"Your dog goes for either one of us and I'll slit your fucking throat. Return it."

As soon as the Arcanine is back in its capsule, Gavin shifts his attention to Beckett. The haze has begun to fade. Gavin's breathing hard, shaking, but there is no questioning the look in his eyes. Expectant. Loyal. Trained.