He didn’t know what to think of the Beast in front of him yet. He knew every even being able to be considered a beast, one had to hold overwhelming power in the name of Rocket. However, when he looked over at his companion for the night, he seemed a little…frail. Not that he could judge, Mint still had some baby fat on his body. But, the cane alarmed him with the Mightyena ready to attack and maul any human they got near. He nodded as the man spoke, frowning a little at the cough. “Uhh…yeah, I can help with the counterattack on the pack." Maybe not Caccio tonight, but he had Spumoni. He could handle it.

The Hitmontop waited bouncing o his feet occasionally dropping into a kick and a cartwheel as he warmed up for the fight. “I’m ready but uh, sir, do- do you want some water? Or a lozenge? I packed some extra?” he asked as Spumoni got into position in front of them already taunting the muzzle Mightyena.

oscar clayton

Oscar stared into space as he tightened the collar of his coat. He wanted to be proud and refuse Mint's offer of help, he thought perhaps it would show a semblance of strength. Oscar huffed, clearing his sore throat as he realized being stubborn would only make his life harder. The last thing he needed was to make his life harder.

He peered toward Mint and replied softly. "I could go for a water." Flash forward a few minutes, and Oscar would be slowly sipping the water while he waited for the time to attack. When he felt prepared, he nodded for the muzzle to be removed.

Hell broke loose the very moment the captured Mightyena was free of the muzzle. The trapped hound let out a horrific howl, so loud and distressed that you might have thought it was dying. Oscar shuddered but did not react. This was the kind of shit you had to get used to when working for Rocket. Before long, the sound of distant howls echoed across the route in response. Oscar sighed and turned toward the road. The route was dark, and at any moment they would surely be surrounded by angry wild dogs. Average day at work to be honest.

"They're coming. Time to earn our paychecks."

mint frost

The minute the howling began, and its reciprocated by many more, Cacio is on guard, sparking dangerously and eyes glinting bright red in the darkness. Mint couldn’t help but shudder either but stayed his ground, nevertheless. “Spumoni, when you see the leader of the pack, gun it.” He called out as the Hitmontop have a few practice kicks before setting up a few feet away from his trainer.

Meanwhile, the grunt stayed close to their bait, eyes vigilant while Cacio snarled at the trapped Mightyena to protect his trainer. “We just gotta keep it close long enough to lure the leader out. Once its down the other pokemon will try to disperse.” Easy picking for the rest, but he would have the leader for their breeding program.

Sure, as shit, the howls went silent, and the hounds encroached their prey. A couple began to rush out of the woods, and his pokemon are ready for the brawl. “Go nuts, boy!” he yelled as a couple of Poochyenas barreled out of the bushes and launched themselves at his Hitmontop. A tag team attack as three Mightyena came out of the darkness from the opposite ends. From the jump, the pack was brutal.

oscar clayton

The attack began, and it was going more or less how Oscar predicted. The younger pups were sent out first as a distraction, followed by a much harsher attack by the fully grown members of the pack. The GMH employees present let loose their own pokemon, and while none of them were trainers they held their own against the ravenous hoard. 

The captured Mightyena continued to howl, most likely spurring on its comrades as they desperately pushed forth their rescue. Little did they know, they never had a chance. Something appeared out of the shadows, a swift assassin that cut down one of the attackers with their razor sharp legs. Having discarded their camouflage, Emma the shadow Ariados would jump right into the fray. She acted as support, using Cross Poison to weaken members of the pack to make them easier to knock out.

Yet their resilience persisted, and Oscar knew exactly why. From out of the corners of his eye he saw a bright red gaze watching the battle from several feet away. There was no doubt in Oscar's mind that this concealed beast was the Alpha, biding his time to find the right moment to jump in. Oscar looked to Mint, "Mint, we have an observer." Before nodding over to their spectator. "I think he wants to be noticed, he probably has a trap ready for if we charge in. We should lure him out." 

With how intense the battle was getting, it probably would not be too hard to force the alpha's hand.

mint frost

Mint watched, Spumoni jump into the fray, moving in on the poisoned pups and sending them skidding back rolling in the dirt with a flurry of TRIPLE KICKs. Mint stayed back, all the while ready to pull out another pokemon to help if things got too rowdy. For the most part, his attnetion shifts from the battle to Oscar curious to how such a sickly looking man handled the action. Beasts, he'd been told, were paragons of strength for Rocket. but Oscar didn't look like the typical muscle man.

It's intriguing. He perked up as Oscar informed him of something, He hadn't even noticed the real thread had arrived, stalking the group as it waited to tear their throats out. "OH??" he whispered, trying to keep himself from yelling. "It'll have no choice if we keep this up right." he said peering at bright red eyes before looking up at the chained Mightyena. "Spumoni, the bait!" he ordered, having the fighting type switch targets after knocking back another wolf.

The Hitmontop rushed towards their bait using FOCUS ENERGY to charge up before slamming into it with RAPID SPIN, and then finally beginning to pummel the chained up Mithyena with TRIPLE KICK. Howls filled the air once more, but instead of enraged cries for help, they were yowls of pain and agony. This, with their decreasing numbers would surely lure the Alphas out. The first few screams surprised Mint, as if suddenly realizing what he'd ordered his pokemon to do. His hear rate spiked, the back of his neck and his arm pits heating up. Wait- Had that been the best course of action? Where had that plan of thought- efficiency- had come from?

oscar clayton | white rose

Oscar looked over as Mint commanded his hipmontop to strike the bait. As it whirled against its target, the captured hound would cry out with agony. Its pained cries brought Oscar no joy, but when a deeper howl answered back the beast would smile. "Good work Mint, you cut the work we'd have to do in half." Oscar did not think he had it in him, but the grunt was learning quick. Oscar could not have done it better himself.

The source of the deepened howl was indeed the Alpha, and Oscar watched with glee as the biggest Mightyena he had ever seen emerged from the tree line. With minimal effort it used its body weight to slam away the GMH pokemon that stood in its way, running at full speed toward Oscar and Mint. Oscar grinned, "Yeah come one get nice in close." The beast had its sights locked onto its endangered pack mate, which caused it to miss Emma leaping into its path.

Or more accurately over its path. As soon as the Alpha showed itself Emma dropped what she was doing to fulfill her true purpose. Leading a trail of Toxic Thread behind her, Emma charged across the path of the Alpha to intercept it with her purple hued webbing. The Alpha easily broke through it, but that hardly mattered. The toxic coating of the web rubbed off onto the Alpha, kicking in immediately. The Alpha slowed, seemingly dazed as the effects of Emma's shadow venom dulled its senses and lulled it into a drowsy stupor. 

Yet the Alpha stood strong, resisting the toxin with all of its might. "Fitting..." Oscar said with a sigh, "This Mightyena is truly an apex predator. We'll have to weaken it so that the toxin can knock it out." Emma came around, standing between her master and the still very angry Alpha. This battle was just getting started.

mint frost

His surprise and panic are cut short with a bit of reaffirmation from Oscar, looking from his Pokémon over to the sickly man. The Alpha breaking through the tree line is enough to make Mint yelp, having never seen an Alpha up close. He began to move to the side, not wanting to become a live chew toy. Spumoni turned to face the Alpha head on, staying in place. He was a fighter after all, he wasn't about to run from his real challenger.

though before than can happen Emma the Ariados leapt between them, coating the Alpha with some strange, dark colored webbing. At first, Mint was shocked at how useless their attacks on that thing were but then...he saw the Alpha wobble, it's red eyes fluttering a little. Drowsy? "What'd she do to it?!" He shouted, looking over at Oscar before back at their prey.

He nodded at Oscar, and turned to Spumoni who was already ahead of the game. Once more, he cut the distance with RAPID SPIN, before pummeling the alpha with a barrage of TRIPLE KICKS as they tried to get the Mighthyena to stand down. Mint meanwhile, rested his hand on another pokeball, should he need a contingency plan for Spumoni. Type advantage notwithstanding, he'd already gone through a lot tonight.


oscar clayton | LETS GUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Oscar waited to answer Mint's quandary fully, choosing instead to watch his Hitmontop take on the alpha. The top-like pokemon was a formidable fighter, and the typing advantage did not hurt either. Yet the alpha did not back down, its eyes blazing with fury despite his mildly inebriated movements. It was fighting to protect its pack, and that determination was pushing it forward. Oscar could respect that, he would probably act the same if he were called upon to protect Rocket.

However, as impressive as it was, he could not risk it damaging itself beyond use. Oscar snapped his fingers, "Excellent work, it is done." Mint would not know what Oscar meant until Emma repaired, using the alpha's battle against the Hitmontop as a distraction. It latched onto the alpha's back, spraying out Toxic Thread like a silly string can. The alpha was enveloped, and its inebriation increased. Before it could even think to counter attack, the alpha would lose consciousness and fall to the ground. 

Emma kept the alpha pinned, watching carefully to make sure it did not wake up early. Oscar sneered, "When Emma poisons something, her Shadow Venom knocks them out as well. It makes catching pokemon very simple. Speaking of which---" Despite the alpha falling, the remaining pack members were still fighting. It was likely they would not cease until the alpha was either killed or captured. Oscar looked to Mint, "We should catch the alpha now. Do you have a pokeball on hand?"

mint frost

Mint backed up further as the fight intensified. With the Alpha biting back at Spumoni and even pulsing with some sort of attack, albeit slowly but still probably packing a punch. Spumoni backed off as Emma appeared, clinging to the Alpha Mightyena's back and watching it slowly be half cocooned in the dark threads before eventually passing out. He nodded in turn to the spider in acknowledgement and awe. Her power-!

He looked from their prey and back at Oscar before standing up straight. "Uh- Yes, sir!" Quickly, he snagged an empty pokeball off his waist and tossed it at the Alpha before turning to Spumoni. "It's mate Spumoni, how is she?" he asked looking at the battered but still violent bait. The Hitmontop shouted slamming a last DOUBLE KICK on her and watching her drop in pain. Without waiting, he tossed another pokeball at her as well. With their partner practically out cold, the captures went on without a hitch, and suddenly there's a shift in the morale of the pack. Howling slowly but surely erupted. "We could capture the rest, but the breeding corps just needs these two." he said to the Beast as he held up both pokeballs for transport back.


oscar clayton | LETS GUCKING GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

As their targets were caught, Oscar coughed harshly into his elbow. Once again black tar would escape his mouth, but he was not nearly as disturbed as when it happened last. They has accomplished their mission beautifully, so his mood was far to elevated to be concerned with his ailment. As for Mint, he could not be more satisfied with his performance. Oscar could see himself working for Mint one day, he was a bright guy.

As Mint questioned if they should catch the rest, Oscar turned his gaze toward the ongoing skirmish. As soon as the scent of their Alpha disappeared, the Mightyena pack began to flee. Oscar scoffed, "They won't continue the fight to save their leader. Those cowards deserve to languish in the dark. Let them run."

Oscar turned to rendezvous with his chief of staff and debrief on their next steps. GMH was still obligated to diminish the threat that the Mightyena posed to travelers as much as possible, so there was still work to be done. Oscar stopped short, turning his head slightly to get a view of Mint. "I'm glad we did this--if you need anything just let me know."

An open invitation for future collaboration, a service Oscar offered to everyone that had earned his respect. With their current business finished, Oscar would go his own way.

mint frost