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The rosy hues of a MISTY TERRAIN mingle and intertwine with the whites and greys of the fog, their wisps obscure the witch’s face, yet if only for a second, a twisted and broken smile shines beneath the wide brim of her hat.
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Locks of hair seem to have a life of their own, twisting and turning in strange manners. Sinuous, they undulate, tangling up into a claw that takes hold of the Illusion Fox Pokémon. Something shimmers and spreads; a MAGIC POWDER that sticks to the Zoroark’s dark fur. What for? It may be unclear at first, but the fox would likely sense it right away: it changes him.
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The Beheeyem’s light swifts from yellow to red, and able to act after than the Zoroark thanks to the TRICK ROOM’s presence, it TELEPORT’s out of harm’s way – causing the NIGHT DAZE to do no more than cut through pink mist and fog before all traces of it vanish completely. A hum tells him to get back to work. Dutifully, it does so.
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There’s no panic. There’s no anger. There’s no rushed actions.
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The psychic pokémon are as calm as the masked figure that commands them, who at those moments watches the officer that runs towards him. A commendable effort. Futile, but commendable. He too is affected by the TRICK ROOM. He too can’t make use of his full athletic capabilities. The difference between them is a simple matter of knowledge, preparation, and a skillset most would not account for unless aware of its existence. At this moment, this is a battle in his domain.
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And so is that when Gunner Graves almost reaches him, the masked man disappears as if he had never been there to begin with. He stands to Gunner’s left instead.
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”Mm. You’ll have to be less obvious than that.”
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A kick is delivered to his side.



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MASK / DISGUISE

[break]+ IMPRISON IS ACTIVE (BEHEEYEM)
[break]+ BEHEEYEM TELEPORTS out of harm's way, then returns to primal point
[break]+ HATTERENE uses MAGIC POWDER on ZOROARK (Type change: PSYCHIC)
[break]+ MARS TELEPORTS to GUNNER's left and attempts to KICK him

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MERITS EARNED: 70 MP

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The call to stop the Hatterene earns Gunner Graves a smirk, although it’s not like he would know this. Not many would rightfully identify the real threat after seeing the Beheeyem go for the primal point itself. It’s a good call, and yet the irony is that said ‘good call’ marks the officer as a potential threat. Threats must be dealt with.
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The snarl rings through the air just as the kick makes contact, and behind a mask, golden eyes fall upon the brawling pokémon. In his mind, his assets are put on a balance scale and weighed against each other. Which is more valuable? Which is more useful? Which does he need the most to fulfill his mission? The answer is obvious.
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”Switch. Full delay.”
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The command is immediately responded to. MOONLIGHT falls upon the mountain’s peak, yet just as it's about to meet its target, there’s a sudden SWITCH. The Beeheyem takes the hit instead, its defences lowering, and where the Cerebral Pokémon had once been, the witch stands instead.
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Hatterene greets the Zoroark with the most wicked of grins.He may attempt to TORMENT her, but her MAGIC BOUNCE ability makes it so such pain and anguish is reflected right back at her opponent. The effect is returned. This is not where the volley ends.
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Spectral energy gathers in the witch’s claw, forming a SHADOW BALL that is then thrown towards the Zoroark.
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At the same time, an officer seems to believe it’s time for a fist fight. Oh, how easy it would be for Mars to reach for the gun at his waist and put an end to this. How easy it would be to grab onto this stranger, teleporting high up in the air, and then drop him to his own demise.
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He chooses to do neither of these things.
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Instead, he plays along, or at least he seems as if he were doing as much.
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Fists fly, slowed in their trajectory by the effects of the TRICK ROOM. The masked man ducks, although perhaps not low enough to account for the horns of his mask. When he does as much, something begins to appear in his hand. A blade of cool steel and as sharp as can be, aimed to kill. There’s no swift sword fighting techniques in this environment, no multitude of hits. There’s just one precise and terrible strike.
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”Sure, let’s go.” The distorted voice whispers, mocking and cruel.




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MASK / DISGUISE

[break]+ IMPRISON IS ACTIVE (BEHEEYEM)
[break]+ BEHEEYEM uses ALLY SWITCH to trade places with HATTERENE
[break]+ BEHEEYEM is hit by MOONBLAST (Spec. Att. lowered)
[break]+ TORMENT activates HATTERENE's MAGIC BOUNCE
[break]+ TORMENT is reflected towards ZOROARK
[break]+ HATTERENE uses SHADOW BALL on PSYCHIC-ZOROARK
[break]+ MARS tries to STAB GUNNER...

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MERITS EARNED: 80 MP

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A blade cutting cleanly through fresh, spilt blood, and screams of pain. The same scene repeats itself in a different manner yet again. This time, it results in no death. Gunner Graves had managed to block the attack at the very last second, but at what cost?
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A gloved hand lets go of the blade, leaving it embedded into the special agent’s arm as if this were where it now belongs – discarded like a tool that has served its purpose.
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He does not see the Zoroark leaping towards him, being too preoccupied by the sudden appearance of the Aromatisse. The Beheeyem does notice. Just as before, it makes use of its ALLY SWITCH, but instead of taking the place of the Hatterene, it appears where the masked man had been. Lights flicker yellow and red when the KNOCK OFF hits, the attack being effective against the Psychic type that the damage it caused is more than visible.
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There’s a clicking sound.
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The witch cackles.
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Without her master being in the way, she aims to devastate. She moves from side to side, and gaining momentum, its with a BRUTAL SWING that she attacks Gunner, his pokémon, and even the Beheeyem if it does not move away in time. Through it all, she laughs.





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MASK / DISGUISE

[break]+ IMPRISON IS ACTIVE (BEHEEYEM)
[break]+ MARS leaves the blade in GUNNER'S ARM
[break](Will disappear when he's more than 30 ft. away at end of battle)
[break]+ BEHEEYEM uses ALLY SWITCH to trade places with MARS
[break]+ BEHEEYEM is hit by KNOCK OFF
[break]+ HATTERENE uses BRUTAL SWING (AoE)

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MERITS EARNED: 90 MP

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Dark fumes emitted by a roaring Typhlosion clash with the fog in air, coating their surroundings in a thick SMOKESCREEN. Behind the mask, an eyebrow quirks.
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His vision is impaired, that much is true, but only a fool would take this as a sign that his opponent has decided to retreat. Retreating would be the wise choice, that much is true, but in Mars’ experience, League officers seldom act wisely.
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”Find them.”
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The masked man moves cautiously, alert.
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It would do him no good to teleport when he can’t get a proper look at these unfamiliar surroundings. He could call an Unown and make use of its gaze, but why would he do as much when he already has a way out with him? Where his vision fails him, he knows he can count on the keen senses of the Hatterene. There are many reasons why she’s one of his aces, this is one of them.
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The forest witch senses what others can’t sense; the turbulent emotions of those who dwell in the SMOKESCREEN. The pain, the anger, and the hostility.
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She knows to protect her master.
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The blade is smacked right out of Gunner Graves’s hand with a second BRUTAL SWING and at that moment, the agent would perhaps see the way it vanishes in midair – as if it had never existed. Mars senses this. To think that someone would attempt to hurt him with his own creation…
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The Beheeyem’s lights can be seen shining amongst the smoke – intermittent and weak. It’s hurt. It won’t last much longer. Mars has never believed in allowing pokémon to outlive their usefulness. He clicks his tongue once more.
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”Primal point.”
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The witch is returned to the confines of a pokéball, and with one last look at their opponents through smoke, her master disappears as well.
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All that is left is the weakened and broken Beheeyem, one that begins to channel spatial energy to launch a devastating METEOR BEAM. It won’t get to do this. Be it due to its injuries, due the move being much more potent than usual due to 99943 Meteno’s proximity, or due to the amalgamation of energies that overtake the mountain, it ends up being too much for the Cerebral Pokémon’s systems to handle.
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All that excess energy has to go somewhere.
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When the METEOR BEAM starts charging to shoot, what occurs instead is a terrible explosion that spells the Beheeyem’s own devastation, as well of everything in the immediate area.




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MASK / DISGUISE

[break]+ Can't see due to SMOKESCREEN
[break]+ Hatterene senses Gunner's hostile intent and slaps the knife out of his hand with BRUTAL SWING
[break]+ Gunner would likely see knife disappear in midair
[break]+ Mars orders Beheeyem to attack the primal point and leaves
[break]+ Beheeyem attempts to charge METEOR BEAM but in doing so it EXPLODES
[break]+ Beheeyem dies

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MERITS EARNED: 310 MP

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An explosion.
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Not all that far from the peak, standing on one of the lowest branches of a tall tree that had been clearly visible even from within the SMOKESCREEN, the underboss firmly holds on in order not to get blown away by the blast’s pressure.
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He watches as excess energy causes his pokémon to burst. He watches as the explosion happens. He watches as fog and smoke dissipate with the shockwave. He watches as Gunner Graves and his pokémon are caught in the blast, being thrown in the air.
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Are they dead?
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He could teleport closer and easily finish the job if not, but in the end, the truth of the matter is that this is just one League agent amongst many. Insignificant to him. Meaningless. Even if under different circumstances Gunner Graves may have been someone who Mars identified as a potential threat and decided to deal with before he became more of a problem.
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Eliminating League agents is not his main objective today.
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Today, the primal point comes first and foremost.
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Had it also been hit by the explosion? Had it been damaged?
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If so, perhaps that would disrupt it for long enough to buy the team headed to mine Meteno some time. Perhaps it would help them with taking the primal crystal.
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All he can really do is count his losses, prepare, and wait for another opportunity to strike.





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MASK / DISGUISE

[break]+ Mars had teleported to a nearby tree
[break]+ Watches as an attempt to use METEOR BEAM on the primal point causes his BEHEEYEM to EXPLODE. Wonders if this has caused any damage to the primal point and if it will help buy time for those attempting to mine Meteno
[break]+ Wonders if Gunner and his pokémon died, prioritizes the primal point
[break]+ Prepares to strike again

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MERITS EARNED: 570 MP