Leave. Why was someone sent to take over the town giving him warnings? It didn’t make sense, nor did it settle the uneasy, uncanny feeling that persisted in his gut the longer he stared at his counterpart. Something rang familiar in the other’s voice, but…that was impossible. He didn’t know anyone in Rocket. At least, he didn’t think he did.

Wren frowned, stare fixed stubbornly on the owl mask. “No.” His attention shifted to the shedinja, eyes narrowing further when it sputtered into motion and slashed at the ground in front of Juno. The eevee finally darted back to Wren’s side, a low rumble in her throat that spoke of distrust. Again, something that felt different than outright hostility. But why? Wren didn’t get it.

He didn’t have time to stand there and think about it, though. With Juno out of the way, he quickly recalled the vaporeon who had been following him and sent out an umbreon instead, the gold rings in her fur glowing stark against pitch darkness. “You leave,” he spit back, “Stella. Dark pulse.” Wren was surprised at the aggression that slipped into his own tone. It grated against the softness that was typically settled there. Quashing that typical kindness. But he had a job to do here.

The umbreon springs forward, stamping the ground as she sends a blast of dark, heavy energy hurtling toward the shedinja, before her tactic shifts to circling around the ghost-type, like hunting prey.

---

tldr; wren refuses to back off, doesn't heed the warning given. sends out his umbreon, who uses DARK PULSE against shedinja.[break]
participation (50) + ic post (10) = 60 total mp

Levy Alinsky

☉

Why couldn’t he shake this uncanny feeling?

He knew what he’d signed up for when he agreed to become a ranger, and it had been expected that at some point he would be required to face off against those who’d aligned themselves with rocket. That wasn’t the issue. The issue was this…person who he didn’t understand, standing across from him.

Or maybe Wren just didn’t want to accept or acknowledge the familiar set of his posture. Burying his head in the sand to avoid the twist in his gut that didn’t want to dissipate after how Juno had acted.

No, there was no way. Levy had never texted him back earlier before everything ramped up. But that was probably because he was back in Slateport, safely tucked away in his dorm and studying some old, stuffy prose for an assignment. Safe and sound.

Wren didn’t like this fight. He didn’t like how it fucked with his head. It’d been minutes. And this was the result. Juno remained glued to his heels, posture low and defensive.

The shedinja swiped with flashing silver claws as his umbreon circled it. She shrieked as they found purchase and ripped down her fur along one side. “Push through!” Stella was sturdy enough to take the damage, though blood dripped down to the ground underneath as she continued to lunge in and snapped her jaws, burying her teeth in its husked body with a heavy BITE.

---

tldr; wren’s got the bad gut feels. umbreon is injured by METAL CLAW but doesn’t slow her attack, chomping on shedinja with BITE
running total (60) + ic post (10) = 70 total mp

Levy Alinsky

☉

“Heal up while you can!” Wren called out to Stella, who staggered in the wake of the shedinja’s collapse. A silvery glimmer lit up around her form, the pale MOONLIGHT absorbing into her fur. It’s enough to keep her up on her feel, some of the wounds from the previous METAL CLAW stitching back together loosely.

It was still daylight out, though, and the moon’s light was weak. So when his opponent’s perrserker burst free of its ball, already on the offensive, the umbreon wasn’t fully prepared to take the brunt of the IRON HEAD attack. The crash of the attack knocked Stella square on the forehead and rattled through her. WIth a shrill sound, she stumbled back toward Wren before crumpling by his feet.

He grit his teeth, the short-lived victory bitter on his tongue. Even that felt wrong, all of it felt so off. This was the last place Wren wanted to be, really. Even if he was opposed to this stranger, he didn’t like the idea of tearing others down in any capacity. And the harshness that his umbreon was treated with…no, there was no way that this was Levy. His Lev? He wouldn’t do that. The uncertainty of it wanted to swallow him up, he didn’t want to be here anymore.

But he couldn’t just leave, either.

“Bulldoze!” The command rang out as Basil sprang free. The gogoat’s hooves dug into the ground and pulled up earth as he built speed as he charged the perrserker– head tilted down and spiraled horns at the ready.

---

tldr; stella uses MOONLIGHT to recover, but it's weak due to time of day and is knocked out flat after being headbutted with IRON HEAD. Sends out his gogoat, who rushes perrserker with BULLDOZE
running total (70) + knock out opponent's pokemon (10) + umbreon is ko'd (50) + ic post (10) = 140 total mp

Levy Alinsky

☉

Again and again, he had to remind himself that conflict was a part of the job. But he hated it. The fact that he was fighting someone right now– someone that uncannily reminded him of someone who was undoubtedly the most important person in his life, sat heavy and uncomfortably like a stone in his stomach. Stella was injured, and Wren had injured this masked stranger’s pokemon too.

He hated this, he hated it. So the frustration that was written across his face was likely misinterpreted. He wasn’t mad at his opponent. He was frustrated with himself–because what was he doing? What was the point in this? He’d signed on to be a ranger in order to help people. Help the environment and the creatures that inhabited it. All this conflict didn’t feel as if it was helping anyone.

Wren winched at the shrieking that volleyed out of the perrserker. Even as he praised his own gogoat for the solid hit. It wasn’t a success that last for long, though, and maybe he deserved that.

Basil let out a bellow of pain as the inferno whipped up around him and crackled through brittle fur. Wheeling around, he thundered back toward Wren with flame caught up around his leafy ruff. Gritting his teeth, he recalled the gogoat. Snagging one of the first pokeballs to touch his fingertips, out came his psyduck. Tumbling free clumsily, but once Winston was up on his feet, he toddled into action with speed that probably looked abnormal on the portly duck.

All that was needed was one look at the fire-type to know what to do– with an exaggerated inhale, his psyduck opened his bill wide and blasted at the centiskorch with HYDRO PUMP. The torrent of water backed with enough force to hopefully both douse the firebug, and knock it back out of the way. "No more!" he yelled at the masked man before he could think better of it. But whether that would result in defeat or something else remained to be seen. All Wren knew was that the surreal feeling that amplified this fight was making him feel sick to his stomach.

---

tldr; basil is hit by the INFERNO and quickly recalled by wren. sends out his psyduck who blasts the centiskorch with HYDRO PUMP. Wren calls for a ceasefire between them on a account of emotional tummy ache. ;n;
running total (140) + ic post (10) = 150 total mp

Levy Alinsky

☉

The use of HYDRO PUMP did the trick, and when the blast of water subsided, it revealed a collapsed centiskorch, successfully extinguished. Not that the advantage made him feel any better about the whole thing. In all honesty, he didn’t really think that his plea would come to anything. For all he knew, the rocket would just continue to push forward until they ran out of pokemon.

He didn’t miss the wobble in the stranger’s voice. It struck through Wren like a bolt, and immediately something terrible shuddered through him. Juno whined at his side, nudging against his leg as Winston tottered back over to his trainer. A pitiful look settled on his face, eyes wide and frantic as he frowned. “No, wait, d–” he babbled out, but it made no difference.

The masked man bolted before Wren could finish gettin the words out. “Don’t go.” he continued regardless, shoulders falling as he stared at the spot the…stranger had been. Reaching down, he scooped Juno up to deposit her back into his knapsack, and pat the confused psyduck on his head. The whole thing felt wrong and weird and unsettled.

Shaking his head, he turned away, signaling for Winston to follow him. Standing there dawdling wouldn’t come to any good, but there was no way that the bad taste lingering in his mouth would diminish.

---

tldr; the match ends in a mutual draw! wren is upsetti T-T the end
running total (150) + ic post (10) + completing a battle (100) + tying a battle (200) = 460 total mp

Levy Alinsky

☉