For what it was worth, Hideo did get some good sleep since the last bee-pacifying mission. For better or worse, the loss of his Ariados had begun to settle, and he could start the process of moving on.

Part of the process was going out and doing stuff, instead of lying around and moping all day long.

Hideo arrived with the same Pokemon as before - his Oranguru - with the addition of one other: a small Zorua that he held in his arms. The little guy was very comfortable where he rested, Hideo's current sweater serving as a very soft blanket to rest against.

"Feelin' a lot better now!" Hideo exclaimed, "Sleep really was what I needed. I won't leave all the work to you again."

It had been fairly embarrassing how he didn't contribute anything last time - other than absorbing some of Doug's honey and attention. "And to be fair, we do work well together, so no shocker they want us doing more."

He nodded as Doug explained that it was more than just business as usual. "Well, let's make sure this hive won't cause them any trouble. We could even grab some honeycombs for'em!"

And for themselves, of course: honeycombs tasted great!

John Sullivan

Bigger buzzers

Wazzup my homie? Hideo Kino

Feeling his own spirits rise now that the boy looked so much better than he had the last time they saw each other, scruffed Hideo's hair one more time before nodding, turning towards the forest entrance.

"Right on! Though I don't think we'll be able to carry the honeycombs with us this time." Doug said with a grin as he began to walk ahead, gesturing for the Oranguru, and thus, Hideo, to follow as he pulled out his PokeNav. "This time... We ain't dealing with just a rogue Vespiqueen."

The youth led them through the woods at a brisk pace; soon, the foliage grew thick and the trees grew tall, their surroundings growing darker... as the faint, sweet smell of honey in the air began to become apparent.

It was a pity Hideo couldn't see it- the large markings of excessive Bee activity in the area. Such as the large chunks of Honey covering tree trunks... Or the massive Beehive rising over the treeline in the distance.

"... Holy sh*t." Doug muttered, eyes growing wide. "They weren't kiddin' when they said 'go inside'..."

---

Mission

A frown showed itself on Hideo's face. "...yeah, guess that's true. I didn't bring anything to carry honeycombs in anyways. Well, not unless I just stuff them in my pockets." And that would just put him in the same situation he was in last time.

Just further down.

Hideo followed along, his Zorua held close and his Oranguru making sure he didn't trip on anything. The scent of honey hit Hideo quickly, the boy (and his baby Pokemon) salivating slightly.

While Hideo couldn't see the bees' work, his Oranguru notified him of just how honey-drenched the trees were. And how positively-massive the hive itself was. "I think we're gonna need more than just some honey to deal with this," Hideo joked.

"But I did come a bit more prepared this time~" He took out a spare Pokeball, letting out the black-furred Arcanine within. "Floofer here can help smoke-"

He was interrupted by a well-timed lick to the face, courtesy of his Arcanine. There was a comically-disgusted look to Hideo's face as he wiped off some of the slobber with his sleeve - earning a giggle from his Zorua.

"-smoke them out. Or put them to sleep. I hear bees fall asleep when they get smoked."

John Sullivan

Bigger buzzers

Wazzup my homie? Hideo Kino

Doug took pause as his friend proposed a very, uh... hands off approach to the whole thing.

"Hideo..." The young man began slowly, grasping the boy's shoulder gently. "That would kill a lot 'em, and their eggs."

Doug didn't like hurting, let alone killing pokemon. And he specially didn't like when bug types where hurt; they were pokemon that tended to suffer a lot from humans and other pokemon alike.

"We gotta be careful when dealin' stuff like this. We're tryin' to make things, right ya know?" He said, ruffling Hideo's hair gently before turning his gaze towards massive hive. "We're doin' this the hard way."

And so, the young man unceremoniously reached over to a nearby tree, grabbed a massive handful of honey, and slapped himself in the face with it.

"Hope ya got used to the feelin' o' honey last time... cause that's our cammo."

---

Mission

A brief pause came by as Hideo thought further about his plan. Truth be told, he hadn’t thought it through that far - just applying what little he’d learned about bees after the first bout.

Maybe he hadn’t gotten enough sleep yet.

“Oh. Right.” Floofer herself didn’t seem that disappointed in the redirection, nuzzling the boy before he could really feel dumb for such a destructive plan. “Though…is there gonna be a way we clean this all up? Teach is saying this stuff’s covering a lot of the forest, and I don’t think a lot of Pokemon do well in goopy hives.”

Regardless, they’d have to deal with the bees themselves first. And hearing Doug goop himself with honey didn’t instill much joy in Hideo. He’d only just finished cleaning the honey out of his last sweater.

But he didn’t get much choice in the matter: his Arcanine grabbed a glob of honeycomb in her mouth, passing it to Hideo’s Oranguru. Before Hideo could even try to object, he was already being slathered with honey.

The same would be done for his Pokemon, even if the Zorua couldn’t resist licking some of the honey off his fur.

“Gonna need a bath after this,” Hideo groaned. “Alright. So what are we gonna be looking for in there?”

John Sullivan

Bigger buzzers

Wazzup my homie? Hideo Kino

"It's honey, mate. Pokemon livin' in a forest love this stuff." Doug said with a grin as he covered himself in it. "Once we've taken care of 'em, the honey will be gone 'fore long! Forest might look like a meadhouse for a good while, though."

If this honey was anything like the one willow atkins & Greyson Connors's batch were said to produce, a looot of pokemon would be on walking on shaky legs for a few weeks.

"You were gonna bath anyway." Snickered Doug as he finished his honey bath, before he began marching towards the hive. "Awright everyone, let's be very careful. The honey will prevent the Combees from sniffin' us out with pheromones, but they've got eyes too. Be sneaky. Aaand... go!"

Without another word, the youth sprinted for one of the several openings of the hive, keeping low to the floor. The coast was currently clear, hence his signal... but who knew how long that would last? Best make haste!

---

Mission

If they were gonna deal with these bees again, Hideo was going to make sure he wore something less honey-absorbant.

And he could only hope the honey wasn't as alcoholic as Doug mused on it being - his Zorua was licking that stuff up.

"Yeah, but I was gonna bathe later!" Hideo protested, unfortunately unable to stop his Pokemon from slathering him or themselves. "And now I gotta bathe all these guys too." Not that he disliked cleaning his Pokemon, but that was gonna make his bath time take a lot longer.

Regardless, it was time to venture forth. Hideo and his Pokemon nodded. "Well, here's hoping their eyesight's worse than mine," Hideo quietly joked, following Doug along as they infiltrated the hive. He relied on his Oranguru to keep him properly oriented, and aware of Doug's signals.

Hideo couldn't help but notice the squishy feeling under his feet, a mix of honey and comb. Hopefully, it didn't seep into his socks.

"So, what are we looking for?" he quietly asked.

John Sullivan

Bigger buzzers

Wazzup my homie? Hideo Kino

He snorted at the joke.

"A brood chamber." Doug replied simply.

And then immediately backpedaled.

"THAT IS TO SAY— A-Ahem." He said with a light cough. "The throne room. We're looking for the Queen's throne room... Anyway, follow me."

He had never been inside a Combee-hive, let alone one this gargantuan— not yet anyway! He had great hopes from Greyson Connors's... But anyway! It was his first time actually inside one, though he had studied a few discarded ones in the past and read plenty of documentation on the subject...

And now that he was looking at the size of this gargantuan thing, well... Maybe Hideo was onto something when he suggested burning it down. He did have some fire-types on hand...

No, no, that was a horrifying thought. Shut up brain!

He liked to think he could guide them to the bro-er, Throne room(s?); problem was, they needed to avoid all the drones.

"Hideo; got any Shadow Sneakers in your PC?" He asked as he palmed a net ball, peering around the corner as his brow furrowed.

---

Mission

There was a short moment of silence as Hideo listened to Doug try to censor himself. It didn't work. "Doug, I know what you mean by a 'brood chamber'," he said, "It's where the Queen lays eggs. And makes eggs. I know how they make eggs."

His Pokemon had been very busy with that pop-up hatchery. He had plenty of newborn Pokemon, some even had both parents at his camp.

He was surprised how many eggs his Illumina Cutiefly could make.

"So we just get the Queen. Seems straightforward enough." It was a solid goal, and he was sure they had more than enough power here to catch her. It was just a matter of finding her.

He nodded to Doug's question. "I do, yeah. But that just makes their shadow extend, right? I think Phantom Force would be better if we had to sneak around - just hide us in the shadows with them."

After handing his Zorua to his Oranguru, he produced a pair of Pokeballs, one in his left hand and the other in his right. "My Dusknoir here has Shadow Sneak," he said, raising the left ball. "My Banette here can use Phantom Force." The right ball was raised that time.

Which one did he need?

John Sullivan

Bigger buzzers

Wazzup my homie? Hideo Kino

"Well, it let's cha slip into shadows too." He pointed out briefly, though he nonetheless paused to give Hideo's words some thought.

He thought about it for a moment, before simply nodding... not that Hideo could see that.

"Let's try yer way anyway. Banette it is!" He said with a grin, looking over the supernatural doll with a measure of curiosity. If he recalled right, he had gifted Andy Blackadder with its pre-evolution, a Shuppet, almost 2 years ago. He wondered how it was doing...

He shook off those thoughts as he palmed a net ball, releasing old and reliable: Garo.

The Orbeetle took in its surroundings quickly before it began to spread its senses out; the giant beehive might've been big— but it wasn't 6 miles big.

After a few moments, the telepathy prodding from the Orbeetle reached the two boys.

"Alrighty then. Follow Garo's instructions; he'll lead us to the Queen!"

---

Mission

"Always found it better for attacking at a range. Most Pokemon don't expect to get hit with a shadow." It's how his Pokemon used it, anyways.

Move debates aside, his Banette was chosen to move them. Hideo let it out, the Banette overjoyed to have been chosen. It brushed up against Hideo, slathering itself in honey - unintentionally. "I can hold you when we're done here," Hideo said, patting the Banette on the head. "First, brood chamber time!"

The very obvious question of "where the heck is the brood chamber" arose in his mind, yet Doug answered it without Hideo speaking a single word. Hideo could feel the Telepathic prod from Doug's Orbeetle, even among the ones he received from his Oranguru.

"Seems like we're all set. Banette, follow Garo's lead!"

A large shadow appeared under the group, enveloping each member within the Phantom Force. With Garo's direction, they'd make their way towards the brood chamber.

"So, uh, since the queen'll be there, is she gonna have a lot of guards?" A fight was likely going to happen, but just how intense would it be?

John Sullivan

Bigger buzzers

Wazzup my homie? Hideo Kino

"Probably." Doug said simply as he reached into his jacket, palming yet another net ball. "But I won't let it get too violent. I got a plan."

His fingers briefly dragged over the surface of his Araquanid's ball, considering the water-type bug with a hum. After a moment, he nodded, releasing the Araquanid nearby.

He thought he knew how to finish the fight without letting things get out of hand.

"Garo, direct Banette somewhere hidden from sight in the chamber." Doug ordered, the beetle doing as ordered immediately. Before long, their group was popping into the throne room almost directly behind the aformentioned throne, hidden out of sight— but not the senses.

Still, as the supercharged Vespiqueen began to react, Doug's Araquanid moved swiftly, its long forelights cupping its own large water bubble—

Before expanding it to massive size.

"Entrainment." Doug ordered, the Araquanid plopping its own bubble off its head before ramming it atop the Vespiqueen, trapping her in the water.

And dragging the attention of every single combee inside, who all rushed in a frenzy towards the bubble, all but leaping inside and getting trapped themselves.

"Get us out of here, Hideo. We've got the Queen."

The hive would disappear on its own without the super charged Vespiqueen to direct it.

---

Mission

Hideo could feel some sense of relief, knowing Doug was already prepared for this. But he wouldn’t expect any less from the not-retired-Bug-Catcher.

The Banette did as instructed, hiding off to the side as Doug and his Araquanid went to work on their ambush. Though Hideo stayed with them along with his honey-coma’d Zorua, his other three Pokemon couldn’t resist peeking out of the shadows to watch Doug’s plan unfold - and in his Oranguru’s case, to keep Hideo informed.

“And here I was ready for a battle,” Hideo sighed, even as each of his Pokemon glanced back at him, none-too-thrilled about a fight that would leave them swollen up like a balloon.

The somewhat-worried Banette looked at the massive glob of water and bees, but did as requested, dragging everyone into his shadows once more, carrying them all out of the nest. It wasn’t an easy effort, and while Doug and his glob of bees would be able to exit the Phantom Force smoothly, Hideo and his Pokemon were unfortunately spat out, the Banette himself unceremoniously landing on his face, out cold from the strain.

“Did a good job there, Banette,” Hideo said, righting himself before he drew the Banette back into its Pokeball. “And here’s hoping the nest really does go away now. And we don’t have another bunch of them to deal with.”

Surely this was the end of their Bee battles. Right?

John Sullivan