Thomas chuckled. "Fair enough.", he said, with a slight grin on his face. Though he was thinking of taking out a grunt or two quietly, in order to gain access to any radios they had, the fact was that it was now a race against time. Who knew what would happen if the Rockets found the official before they did?

While Noah was flung up to the second level, Thomas would simply take the stairs. Before setting out, he would send out Brutus the Pangoro. The trainer would rush up the stairs as fast as he could. While Noah would take out the nearest grunt with a double leg drop, Thomas would rush up to the nearest grunt, transitioning into a slide once he got in close, knocking him over. Thomas would then straddle his unfortunate victim, grabbing him by the collar, before throttling him into a violent headbutt.

"More Mareep for the slaughter, as far as I'm concerned.", Thomas called out to Noah, the bloodlust in his voice clearly evident.

"Shit, we got company! Two guys came in on the second floor! One with a Machamp, the other with a Pangoro! They just took out two of our boys!", one Grunt that was further back would call out over the radio. Those in between that particular grunt would send out their Pokemon, if they didn't already have one out, ready to fend off the two interlopers.

---

tags: noah faber
notes: tl;dr

"Relax, I was being figurative.", Thomas would tell his partner, the grin still plastered on his face. As he asked about his head, Thomas gave him a nod. The blood on his head was solely from that of the grunt.

As the two men sent out two of their Pokemon, both having an advantage against the two they presently had out, Thomas grinned. "Lucky picks. Not nearly good enough, though.", Thomas said aloud.

"Toxicroak, use Toxic, then Poison Jab!", ordered the grunt. Rather than answering Noah's question directly, Thomas would instead snatch up a Pokeball on his belt, calling out Freke the Alakazam. The Alakazam would allow the glob of toxic gunk to hit his body without a sliver of hesitation or worry of the consequences. Once the Toxicroak got in close with its attempt at a Poison Jab, Freke would Teleport momentarily, causing the Toxicroak to continue dashing towards the stairs, where Thomas and Brutus would calmly step to the side.

Freke would reemerge behind the Toxicroak. The Alakazam would then fire off a Psychic burst at the back of the Toxicroak. The venomous frog could only let out a short croak of shock and pain, before losing consciousness. As the creature was sent flying down the steps from which the intruders came from, the Rocket grunt looked on in shock, before noticing the Pangoro charging towards him, shoving him into a nearby wall, knocking him through it, and into the apartment on the other side.

"Shit!", an oncoming Grunt would call out, before fishing for one of his Pokeballs. The best he could do was stall for time, and impede their progress.

---

tags: noah faber
notes: Toxicroak down! Alakazam is Badly Poisoned.

Thomas couldn't help but grin as he saw the way with which Noah dispatched the Grunt. Freke, despite being Toxified, seemed to be doing just fine. For his part, Thomas didn't seem to be at all fazed by the fact that his Alakazam was afflicted with a case of Bad Poisoning. But then, the fact that the Alakazam had Magic Guard made things considerably easier. As long as something didn't nullify his ability, he was going to be just fine.

"Brutus, charge through the hallway!", Thomas would order his Pangoro.

The Pangoro would do just that, marching through the halls at a brisk pace, picking up momentum as he marched forward. A group of grunts, responding to the radio chatter from earlier, would spot the Pangoro as the hulking brute rounded the corner. Panic filled their eyes as they desperately fumbled for their Pokeballs. But it was too late, as the Pangoro was already going full tilt towards them, ramming them into the walls of the corridor with his shoulder, while maintaining his momentum.

Upon reaching the last grunt, the Dark Panda would grab the unfortunate man, tossing him up into the air, causing him to collide with the ceiling with a violent thud. As he came falling back to the ground, the Pangoro would catch the man, who dangled limply over his shoulder, before Brutus would casually toss him off. In his wake, the Pangoro left an impressive trail of injured Rockets. Those who didn't immediately lose consciousness would fill the hallways with their groans of pain, watching helplessly as the Pangoro and League members continued rushing through the halls.

Just as he did with the Grunts that attempted to get in their way, the Pangoro would plow through the barricades with disturbing ease. The duo would eventually make it to the end of a hallway, where a single closed door would greet them.

---

tags: noah faber
notes: Coming through!

Thomas, Brutus, and Freke would follow Noah into the room, where they would spot their target, the League Official, being held at gunpoint by a lone Rocket. Thomas looked straight on at the Rocket holding the League Official hostage. Knowing the man they were rescuing, killing him on the spot would've cost Rocket not only valuable intelligence, but skilled labor. After pumping him for information, the smartest thing to do would be to conscript him into working for them.

"That's Tauros shit, and you fucking know it! If you were really willing to kill him so casually, he'd be fucking dead already! From what I've seen, you've had ample opportunity to kill him!", Thomas called out to him aggressively. While Thomas was talking, and taking on the attention of the scene, Freke would be subtly apply Telekinesis to the gun's slide, waiting for the right moment before he'd take action.

"That so!? Watch me!", the man called out, before pointing his gun towards the entrance of the room, aiming for the two trainers. Before he could fire the gun, the slide would be pulled back forcefully, the chambered bullet flying out in the process. The slide of the pistol would be aggressively held back, so the Rocket couldn't fire the gun, before it was violently ripped out of his hand, breaking his index finger in the process.

"GAH!", the man cried out, before the League Official seized the opportunity to deliver an elbow to his solar plexus, and dash over to the two men who saved him. As the Grunt doubled over, Brutus would rush towards him, quickly closing the gap with a Bullet Punch, before grabbing the man forcefully, and tossing him towards the window.

Thomas would be there to catch the League Official as he ran over. "You're safe now, boss.", Thomas reassured him.

---

tags: noah faber
notes: Package secured!