Where Winifred sees a confusing, bizarre situation, Remi sees the stars aligning. She had been looking for someplace out of the way and out of sight. Someplace quiet, off the radar, but easy enough for her to access.

It was the perfect smuggling hot spot for quick and dirty hook-ups. Screw whatever Rocket needed this for, this place was about to be hers.

The wicked grin on her face is telling, but she manages to scrap it before it becomes too unsettling.

"We're supposed to be giving the bad guys a good rep by clearing out spaces inhabited by crazy wild Pokemon that the League is too busy to handle themselves. What do you think's in there?"

Her partner's drab attitude is ignored because, frankly, most of the people she'd met in Hoenn were pretty drab and moody. Maybe it was all of the space aliens and legendaries causing volcano's to explode. Trust me, she'd heard all about it through the rumour train. Nothing is sacred on that god forsaken submarine.

@winifred

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It was an incredibly obscure situation and assignment they've been given. But in its obscurity, there is opportunity. Rocket just needed proof of it being cleared out- they didn't give a shit about what happened after.

Another win.

The sharp smell of alcohol perforates the air despite the distance between them. Or maybe she just has a nose for hard liquor. Probably that.

"Good taste."

Remi smirks over her shoulder before stepping forward toward the well-hidden and barely-used trail to the secret base in the trees. Upon closer inspection, however, she's almost positive she can hear buzzing.

@winifred

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Was she defensive? She couldn't tell. Her input felt like a knee-jerk reaction to being caught with her hand in the cookie jar, an immediate reaction to explain why her hand was elbow deep in the jar rather than to just go about her business and ignore the haters.

Not that Remi was hating on anything. If she hadn't lost her own flask in her hasty move--

Bitterness and grief resettle momentarily at the reminder. She should have still been holed up somewhere in Kalos spending all of her dirty money on booze and strippers, but here she was fishing for coin at the bottom of the barrel while pretending that her brother wasn't dead.

Cool. Yeah.

Freddie's groan tears her attention back and away from the downward spiral she'd threatened to fall down. Thank God. Except the alternative isn't really much better for ones mental either. The buzzing grows exponentially more intense and she's noticed the squirming Weedle as they crawl away.

"Oh, wow! I just love this situation."

She's being sarcastic. The woman glances between the hundreds of Kakuna dangling from the branches. Maybe not hundreds, she likes to estimate high. She begins to get the creepy-crawlies and she shudders, but puts on a forced smile anyway.

"You wouldn't happen to have a flamethrower, would you?"

@winifred

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"Uhh, well I just meant even a real flamethrower. Or a lighter, or something. Literally anything."

Damn, people really rely on Pokemon far too much.

Her first response was 'I'm a rock-type trainer'. Congrats, lady.

But at least she has the sense to lower her voice. Remi doesn't think about it nor care, and continues to speak at the same volume. The buzzing grows worse, and she slowly turns her cheek back around to face the vibrating trees. Leaves shake and she begins to wonder where the hell she put her peach-bum cheek pouch change purse she carried. It had a lighter in it.

"Shit."

There was no leaving without a fight, and no getting to the treehouse to eradicate the swarm without a fight. She's given a seconds worth of warning before her partner charges. Her Graveler volleys a bunch of dirt, knocks down a few cocoons, and sends the world into a dizzying array of yellow and black.

Quickly, she reaches for a pokeball. It pops open to reveal a less-than-enthusiastic Mandibuzz that quickly becomes enthused by the dozens of Beedrill coming with stingers pointed. The bird cries, summons a TAILWIND that whips up air and speeds up both she and the Graveller.

It didn't stop the violent buzzing though.

@winifred

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"Do you need to drink a little faster to get some balls up under ya? Cuz you're shaking, and I don't work with pussies!"

Stress clips her words and makes her curt and sarcastic- and dare she say it, a complete ass. But urgency reflects in the hard stare she offers, and she is relieved upon seeing Freddie step up and send her Graveler after the Beedrill. Thank God.

Even if it were false bravado, it was working. That's all she needed to see, and all she needed to witness in order to get her own ass in gear.

With Mandibuzz above providing the team a TAILWIND, they move just a bit faster. It helps them give the drop on the wild Pokemon, mostly, and they beat back their opponents with ease-- for now.

"Slice em up!"

AIR SLASHES cut through, slicing through low-hanging branches and swooping up to catch Beedrill off-guard. They drop like flies, twitching violently on the ground.

"How many more of these fuckers are there?"

@winifred

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"Shit."

This must be why no one kept stock in Beedrill on the black market. They were wildly out of control and incredibly dangerous- not even the stupidest people messed with Pokemon like that.

"I'm counting.. half a dozen on the ground already. Let's hope there's only another half coming."

There were more Kakuna than Beedrill, it seemed. And it didn't seem that any of them were anywhere near evolution. Which saved their hides, for certain. Three more Beedrill charge, but not even a hive-mind and blind rage can protect them from themselves. Quick-thinking and powerful wings buffet them as they descend.

All three of them collide and are knocked to the ground in an unconscious pile. Remi, breathing heavily, tenses as if expecting to be jumped.

@winifred

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"Should be?"

Incredible confidence in this one.

She might think she sounds confident, and maybe she is, but Remi's own fear of Beedrill - yes, it's developing quickly and suddenly - is shaking her own.

But it's okay, because Freddie is right, and suddenly six more are on the ground all because their two Pokemon are perfectly capable of handling themselves. Because they're strong, powerful women, and these are just a bunch of creepy, ugly bugs.

"Huh."

That noise soon turns into laughter, rushed and only slightly hysterical. The rest of the Beedrill scatter just like she tells them to, which is by and large incredibly impressive, and then Freddie hits the dirt. She shouts, pulling Remi's attention back to her, and the woman's laughter continues into a genuine belly-laugh.

"What the fuck. No wonder the League abandoned this shit- they might be the only sane people."

They should have been sent in here with an entire army, and they'd sent just the two of them.

"Well, how about that?"

@winifred

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