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POSTED ON Feb 23, 2019 15:37:50 GMT

Rhian McArthur likes this

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Playing Cupid with Rhian McArthur

"When I said I'd come pick you up, I sure wasn't expecting this."

[break][break]

Leonardo takes Rhian's hand and pulls her behind a tree, seeking cover in the woods surrounding Oldale Town. The original plan was to pick her up at Slateport, bring her to one of the quaint little towns nearby for a romantic date, and finally fly back home. Then, the issue with the scizor and the rotom happened. And now this. Slight change of plans, he supposes.

[break][break]

No matter. They'd just have to deal with this in the same way they had done less than an hour ago: with their brains. And maybe a little brawn. Mostly brains though.

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POSTED ON Feb 23, 2019 16:06:56 GMT

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as scary as the impending conflict is, the warmth of leo's hand gives her all the reassurance she needs. in response to his words, she can only smile apologetically. "i guess that means ice cream is out of the question now?" rhian really was looking forward to have a proper date after being away for so long.

[break][break]

her body stills when she hears footsteps nearby. are those rockets? her heartbeat quickens, and not only because of her proximity to leo. she'd never had to fight a real enemy before. slowly, she peeks out from behind the tree, and is relieved to find only the two people they'd seen back in slateport, dressed all in black and this time with pokémon on toe.

[break][break]

"a persian and a seviper," she whispers in leo's ear.

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POSTED ON Feb 23, 2019 17:18:55 GMT

Rhian McArthur likes this

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[attr="class","tag"]Playing Cupid with Rhian McArthur

Did she know of his plan, or was she simply planning the same on her own? Leonardo smiles back. Regardless, if Rhian wanted ice cream, he'd make sure they got some as soon as they were done dealing with the small scale crisis at hand. Luckily for them, their targets show up almost as if they had come to them on their own, meaning he wouldn't have to waste any more time looking for them.

[break][break]

A persian and a seviper? With only those two pokémon out, Leonardo wonders if they're mere grunts or if they're hiding something up their sleeves.

"Do they have any more balls on them?"

[break][break]

Regardless of the answer, Leonardo then adds,

"Let's sneak up on them."

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POSTED ON Feb 23, 2019 17:56:41 GMT

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rhian squints. "can't really see. might be hidden from sight," she answers leo's question with an ounce of doubt. if they did have more than the two, would she and leo be in trouble? she doesn't know if she wants to consider that possibility.

[break][break]

a surprise attack. in that case, her mimikyu would be the best choice in battle. she lets the pokémon out as quietly as possible and, after a sideways glance at leo for confirmation, sends hero off to start their assault.

[break][break]

the mimikyu

hones its claws

in preparation, before dashing at the seviper with a swift

shadow sneak

. not satisfied with its performance quite yet, it turns to the persian. ghost type moves are immune to normal pokémon like persian. likewise, normal types are immune to ghost moves.

[break][break]

the mimikyu decides it's time to use its

charm

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POSTED ON Feb 23, 2019 21:13:39 GMT

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Playing Cupid with Rhian McArthur

"Hey! What was that for?" asks one of the grunts. Leonardo chooses to ignore him. He would sort out their allegiance soon enough. If not, well, he wasn't worth replying then.
[break][break]

Rhian's mimikyu is perfect for jobs like this, because its priority attack coupled with its masterful disguise make it a perfect distraction for his own pokémon to enter the battle. Leonardo's metagross may not have the advantage in speed, but its attacks are powerful and effective. A single zen headbutt is enough to confound the enemy seviper.

[break][break]

In a one-on-one battle, the metagross would definitely result victorious. With one of its typings being super effective against it and the other immune to intoxication, the seviper's auto reflective venom tail barely affected the metagross. Normally, however, that may not have happened the way it did.

[break][break]

The reason Leonardo wants to take the seviper down first is because this is no fair by-the-rules one-on-one battle. To avoid casualties on their side, he needed to make sure the seviper is out of the equation early on. With that out of the way, he can focus on the other grunt's pokémon.

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POSTED ON Feb 23, 2019 22:46:22 GMT

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honestly, it's impossible not to admire leo's natural gift for strategy. as expected from a former honors student. rhian's own battling style is a mess, in comparison. partly because she hates the concept of battling and partly because her only training partner so far had been leo, whom she obviously could never bring herself to fight seriously again.

[break][break]

watching him now, she briefly wonders if, given the chance, she could ever become as good as leo. the thought is fleeting and her attention is soon drawn back to the ongoing battle.

[break][break]

hero is hurt. in the short seconds that rhian's mind wandered elsewhere, the ailing persian had done something to hurt the mimikyu. somehow. this was not supposed to happen. a deep frown appears on her face. what now?

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POSTED ON Feb 23, 2019 23:40:08 GMT

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Playing Cupid with Rhian McArthur

Checking on Rhian freezing in the middle of battle makes Leonardo commit the same mistake. In his worry, he doesn't notice the incoming attack until it's too late.

[break][break]

"Metagross!"

he exclaims at the exact second a shadow ball collides against its body. It tanks the move with difficulty, but tanks it nevertheless.

[break][break]

Leonardo sighs in relief. The metagross would stay conscious for the next round.

[break][break]

"Quick, hammer arm! Don't give it another chance to hurt you!"

[break][break]

The persian is quick. However, it can't run if it has nowhere to run. The metagross advances towards it, cornering it against a broad oak tree. With both arms extended to the persian's sides, it would have to take the attack in order to escape. Either way, he wins.

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POSTED ON Feb 24, 2019 0:04:55 GMT

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leo feels confident in his next move, but something doesn't feel right to rhian. see, this time she was watching. and because she was watching (her mimikyu), she knows that the persian was also watching hero. it kind of looked like a kitty watching a toy it really wanted to play with, if you ask her. but, regardless, the point is the persian's focus was on the mimikyu and not the metagross, as leo thought.

[break][break]

where the shadow ball came from, she can't say. all she knows is that he has the wrong target pinned down, and most importantly, there is something else out there.

[break][break]

"wait, leo!" she calls, while simultaneously motioning for her mimikyu to return to her side. "leo, i think there is another pokémon after all. i don't know where it is or why we can't see it though."

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POSTED ON Feb 24, 2019 2:22:35 GMT

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Playing Cupid with Rhian McArthur

Well that would have been nice to know earlier.

[break][break]

Rhian's warning comes after Leonardo has confirmed with his own eyes that the shadow ball indeed belonged to a mystery pokémon. The ball of dark, shadowy energy tips his metagross over, makes it miss its attack and on top of that allows the persian enough room to jump on top of the former and escape. A lot of things wrong right there.

[break][break]

Leonardo turns to Rhian and the mimikyu she's now holding between her arms. His gaze hovers over the mimikyu, considering. Formulating a new plan.

[break][break]

"All right, here's what we're going to do: I need your mimikyu to stand close to metagross for a bit. The shadow pokémon is going to attack again sooner or later, we just don't know who will be the target. And that's where mimikyu comes in. I need it to bide its time and copy the shadow ball as soon as it can, directing it back towards its original user. Do you think it can do that?"

[break][break]

This new plan of his largely depends on Rhian's pokémon, but he's ready to think of other options in case she or the mimikyu don't feel confident enough to follow it. The gears turning in his head don't stop.

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Fairy Princess

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POSTED ON Feb 24, 2019 15:06:49 GMT

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troubled, rhian looks down at her lovingly nicknamed hero. "i don't know; you're hurt. do you think you can?" she redirects the question to the pokémon. as its reply, pokémon hops off her arms before she can say anything further. the only option she's got left is to resolve herself to support the mimikyu to the best of her ability, so that's what she does.

[break][break]

their two pokémon stand together. hero and meteoro, meteoro and hero; they already sound like an indie band or a superhero couple. pity right now they're only bait.

[break][break]

soon enough a new

shadow ball

is released. it aims for the mimikyu this time, but hero is willing to make the sacrifice. as a true hero. its

copycat

forms a second shadow ball that phases through the first on its way to exposing the position of a gengar.

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POSTED ON Feb 24, 2019 18:15:24 GMT

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Playing Cupid with Rhian McArthur

Rhian's mimikyu is pushed back, but metagross has enough time to prop it back up on its shoulder before administering a high priority Bullet Punch.
A certain white sparkle glows as metagross strikes. The shadow of a gengar flickers before their eyes, havingDisable his last move.

[break][break]

Leonardo is far from disappointment. In the gengar's hurry to prevent further priority moves, it happens to also give him the last hint he needs to take it down. Its type weakness.

[break][break]

"Follow up with Psychic!"

[break][break]

A pink ball to mirror the gengar's purple one forms in front of metagross and blasts off against the shadow-dwelling pokémon.

[break][break]

Two down, one more to go.

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Fairy Princess

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June 25

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POSTED ON Feb 24, 2019 19:36:11 GMT

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the gengar glows red as it's returned to its pokéball. okay, good. rhian is relieved that they didn't have to fight against such a scary pokémon anymore, and doubly relieved because it could rest in its pokéball for a bit before its trainer (she hopes) brings it to a pokécenter.

[break][break]

do rocket members even go to pokécenters? do they have their own pokécenters? free pokémon healthcare is such an important basis to their society that surely not even someone looking to take down the system would dare attack them. right?

[break][break]

rhian glances at the two rockets in front of them. they don't look that scary after all. if anything, they look to be the scared ones. she idly hums in thought before her eyes land on the still standing persian and she's reminded of its fascination with her mimikyu.

[break][break]

"hero!" she calls out in warning, though not really knowing what actions to take. as usual, she turns to leo for guidance. "what do we do now, leo?"

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POSTED ON Feb 24, 2019 20:27:59 GMT

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Playing Cupid with Rhian McArthur

There is a stark contrast between the expression of the persian and that of its trainer. While the latter looks dare he say scared, the persian's eyes look unfocused, almost as if it didn't know any of them or what was going on. Leonardo suspects it used Amnesia to raise its Special Defense.

[break][break]

In that case, the persian really has nothing to worry about. They wouldn't be using special moves on it.

[break][break]

Leonardo really hadn't considered Rhian's mimikyu as a variable in this last stage of the battle, but now that she mentions it, he decides it could prove rather useful.

[break][break]

"Can you distract it?"

[break][break]

To distract the persian so that metagross could take its time with one last Hammer Arm is the quickest way to end this altercation, he concludes.

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Fairy Princess

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POSTED ON Feb 24, 2019 21:27:30 GMT

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rhian can't believe what he's asking her. "what do you mean, distract it?" she asks, refusing to accept that she'd have to let hero pose as bait yet again. she looks for the persian to maybe try and convince herself that it would all be okay. it has the complete opposite effect.

[break][break]

i mean, just look at those claws! they're so sharp, they look like they could slash right through hero's blanket, and if that happens then what's underneath... nope. absolutely no way.

[break][break]

however, for the second time today, the mimikyu goes valiantly into battle without its trainer's confirmation. it walks, or rather creeps its way, up to the persian, looking to

charm

it once more. it wasn't hard the first time; wouldn't be hard now.

[break][break]

hero inches from one spot to another, seemingly dancing to the rhythm of a a tuneless song as the persian bops its paws down on the spot the mimikyu just slid away from. with each bop, rhian gasps from her spectator's seat.

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