Orion has no desire to participate in the festivities. If anything, it annoys him that his assigned patrol along Slateport beach was so much more crowded than usual, children and Wingull screaming in tandem and the raucous laughter of those spectating the Mantine surf grating on his ears. He might've begged Tam Fawley for reassignment if he wasn't so determined to prove himself an asset.

It's almost over. One more day.

At least he has Altair for less grating company. The Absol pads calmly at his side, stopping occasionally to poke his nose into some discarded treasure of the sand, at one point nearly earning a pinch on the nose from a Krabby that had burrowed in deep. A red service vest marks the Disaster Pokémon as a service Pokémon, too, warding off what determined folks weren't deterred by superstition alone.

A sudden, deep growl catches Orion off guard before Altair lowers his head, sharp horn lowered in a particular direction.

"What's gotten into you?" The Absol is his oldest companion and incredibly well-adjusted, not one to be distracted nor ruffled by strangers. "I know there's a lot of people, but..."

He trails off when he spots him.

He sees red.

Next thing Orion knows, he and Altair both are making toward Chu-e Choi with a purpose. The Absol strikes first, lunging right for the throat with a vicious NIGHT SLASH.

Altair snarls as sharp thorns dig into his paws and vines attempt to twist around his limbs. Embers flicker around parted jaws before a FLAMETHROWER erupts from his maw to sear the entangling roots. Though the NIGHT SLASH had been successfully blocked, FIRE clears a path for Orion's up close and personal revenge.

He's still getting used to his prosthetic, but that doesn't stop him from punching Chu-e square in the mouth.

It's an odd sensation, a brief sink of metal-into-flesh before a jolt reverberates through the artificial limb as if he'd punched a wall. He's so furious he doesn't think to question that this might not be a side-effect of the new arms unusual sensations. He's seeing red.

"I'm going to kill you, motherfucker."

Titanium fingers flex and flash in the sun as a pokeball drops into his hand. Perseus needs no introduction to Chu-e Choi. The Silvally remembers, and it hates.

"Break his neck."

With a BREAKNECK BLITZ, the Silvally aims to do just that.

Choi's Pokémon are fortunate; Orion's bloodlust is only for him. There's a sick, frightening sense of accomplishment that claws in Orion's chest as he watches Perseus slam into his target with all the force of an oncoming train, screams going up from the gathered civilians in tandem with a cloud of dust and sand.

When it clears, what Orion sees is the stuff of nightmares.

What are you?

He refuses to back down.

"Fuck you."

Perseus grunts as the SKY UPPERCUT connects, the pink hues of his fur and PSYCHIC MEMORY installed into his RKS SYSTEM enduring the attack with relative ease. The Z-MOVE had taken a lot out of the Sivally, but for now it remains on its paws and fires back with a PSYCHIC-TYPE MULTI-ATTACK toward the bipedal bunny. Altair contends with the Altaria, a clap of THUNDER heralding lightning's strike.

Perseus can do nothing against the barrage of attacks launched by the Lopunny, but Altair intercepts with a hasty DETECT that nullifies the worst of the damage. Panting, snarling, the Silvally takes advantage of Absol's defense by setting up a HEAL BLOCK that shimmers through the air. This was going to be a war of attrition, but—

"Police!"

Orion barely hears the shout beyond the ringing in his ears. That Chu-e Choi is cowering from him, tears running down his cheeks, does nothing to stop the ranger's wrath. His metal fingers curl into another fist, electricity sparking down the length of his arm. Choi's split lip gives him hope. He isn't immortal, not entirely invulnerable, and if Orion can just get close enough—

"Freeze!"

"Sir! Return your Pokémon!"

This time he hears them, whipping his head around like a cornered animal with his teeth bared. Were they stupid? Had they not seen this asshole turn into some crystallized demon? They're surrounded, now, several officers and even one of Slateport's Elite rangers that Orion's never met penning them in with bodies and Pokémon alike. A beautiful golden-furred Arcanine growls at him in warning, evidently waiting for her master's permission to pounce.

"He's Rocket!" Orion snaps. "He's the one who—"

"Return. Your. Pokémon."

Altair had stopped the moment the officers had sent up the call, slipping to Orion's side and pressing close without continuing the assault on the 'pitiful civilian'. Perseus has no such understanding of the law. The Silvally whirls around to lunge for Chu-e, only for a sharp whistle to send the officer's Arcanine charging in with a crippling CRUNCH.

"He cut off my fucking arm," Orion insists, but they're not listening to him. With his Absol standing down and his Silvally indisposed, Slateport PD close in for the arrest. "Get OFF me!"

But his murderous intent extends no more to the officers than it had to Choi's Pokémon, so words are his only (and useless) defense as his hands are cuffed behind his back.

Pathetic.

"He's full of shit!" But the officers aren't listening to him; they're attending to Chu-e Choi as he whimpers and snivels. "You're full of shit. Coward."

It's not helping Orion's case.

The mere insinuation that he, Orion Lykos, might be comparable to Rocket, stuns him into a sputtering, silent rage. How dare you? But his hands are cuffed and the fight is over, so the disgruntled Ranger only nods to indicate which pokeball belongs to his Silvally when asked. He doesn't want Perseus to get in any more trouble because of him.

As he's escorted away from his would-be victim, Orion catches the tail end of a question posed to Choi.

"... willing to come to the station to answer a few questions?"