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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]"Graf-aye-aye," Isaac said, an answer both succinct and characteristically Isaac-like in the face of Remiel's request for luck. No little scoundrel was gonna get in the way of this little scoundrel's support! He watched, keeping his eye on the birdie as it sailed towards the Grafaiai.[beak][break]

The Tera Crown didn't like that. In a great, big pulse of light and power, it sent Remiel's luxury ball hurtling away. Was it a defensive technique? No, the monkey didn't even seem to notice them, judging by how its carefree posture shifted into a hostile leer. This was different. It was like the terastalization itself exerted its will and stopped the capture.[break][break]

No. That's impossible, right? It was just some rock.[break][break]

"If it can block catches without even looking at us, we might have to do this the old fashioned way," Isaac whispered. "You got a bigass net or something on you?" This was Team Rocket! Surely, members of the organization didn't just walk around without some means of stealing Pokemon. Okay, so Isaac didn't. Poaching wasn't his jam. But if someone was mistreating their Pokemon, he just punched them in the kidneys, took the ball, and ran. That . . . wouldn't work here.[break][break]

While the trainers deliberated among themselves, Lord British took point. He flew to the head of the group, gnashed his mandibles a few times, and then launched a silky thread of String Shot right towards the Grafaiai. Who needed a net when you had Grade-A, fresh-made, pure organic Vikavolt silk?

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]Remiel had a good point. They lived in a world where you could catch anything from a random rat to God itself in a handheld pocket of space that cost less than a soda. If you were carrying around a net, you were basically nroadcasting your intention to play outside the rules to everyone in the world.[break][break]

"You're so right," he said, snickering at that goofy, old fashioned visual. Yet the relief the snicker brought was temporary. A strange, melancholy aftertaste settled upon his tongue when the amusement passed. "Still a better look than an enemy soldier, if you ask me," he muttered, more to himself than to Remiel.[break][break]

Life would be so much simpler if Rocket was still just guys with nets.[break][break]

Oh well. The only war they waged now was the war against this monkey, who just ignored their perfectly executed plan. "Little bastard's taunting us like he knew it'd happen. So either he knows a lot more about Terastalizing than we do, or he's Normal." Partial Normal types were a pox, if you asked Isaac. Either you're normal or you're not! Pick one, damnit![break][break]

Only one way to test that theory. Isaac tossed another Pokeball to the ground, a small procession of Falinks bursting out from it. "Crash, get your Boys in a pincer! See just how normal that typing is," he called. Crash saluted, gesturing with his little shields for the Boys to follow in his lead.[break][break]

It was a heck of a sight, seeing a procession of Falinks running in circles atop a broken down mall fountain. However, once they had the Grafaiai surrounded, they would draw tiny spears and pounce it from all sides for a round of Close Combat.

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]"Y'know, somehow that's not surprising." It made Isaac wonder just what a man partial to knighthood was doing in an organization like Rocket. "I'd by lying if I said I wasn't a fan, too. Though I've always liked mine more dark and mysterious than bright and shiny."[break][break]

Perhaps some would think that meant Isaac was an unrepentant villain. But would someone with the old world knowledge and noble blood of Remiel get that impression? Or would he realize the real implications that Isaac sought to capture? After all, the Black Knight wasn't always a villain. Sometimes he was simply a knight without a master, eschewing the way things were to take fate into his own hands.[break][break]

For now, though, the only knights on the battlefield were the mob of Falinks Isaac had left behind. They were instrumental in dealing a heavy blow to the Grafaiai, but they proved a lot less useful now that the fight was taken to the skies. Their stubby little legs just wouldn't let them reach the hanging lemur, no matter how high they tried to jump or how angrily they flailed their shields. Crash shot Isaac a pitiful look.[break][break]

"This guy's got a ton of tricks up his sleeves," Isaac grumbled. Pokeball deflection. Type changes. Substitutes. And now stealing Typhlosion's own ability to make itself immune to fire moves. "We can't keep chasing it like this. We gotta be one step ahead of him."[break][break]

Inspiration flashed into Isaac's eyes as he threw down another Pokeball, revealing . . . a fire type? Miyuki the Fennekin looked up at the Grafaiai, as if hypnotized by the massive gem on its head. "Alright, Miyuki. Hitch a ride on Lord British, then get ready to hit it with your secret technique, okay?" Isaac said.[break][break]

Once Miyuki was atop his back, the Vikavolt was all too happy to charge off. He'd been itching for a chance to get back into the fight! Miyuki watched patiently, silvery flame forming around the base of her tail and paws. Closer . . . closer . . . closer . . .[break][break]

Now! Once Lord British was in the Grafaiai's airspace, Miyuki leaped off of his head. Her entire body was ablaze, as if about to unleash a devastatingly powerful fire type move. It was nothing the Grafaiai hadn't endured before; in fact, with his purloined ability, it would only make him stronger.[break][break]

Miyuki smirked, and then disappeared in a puff of smoke.[break][break]

It wasn't a fire type attack at all. Instead, Crash burst out from the smokescreen, cannonballing towards the Grafaiai with his shields extended. Each of the Boys followed, one after the other, for another round of Close Combat. As each either bounced off or missed, Crash scrambled on the ground, trying to catch them with his shields into a wobbly vertical stack.[break][break]

Where they had previously stood, Miyuki splayed out, tail swishing back and forth. Ally Switch was a rarity among Pokemon, but in the hands of a tricky fox like a Fennekin it could work wonders.

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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]"Heh. Thanks," Isaac said, a victorious smirk on his face. He knew damn well that, when dealing with a fox, cutting them off from possible leverage was top priority. Giving them room to breathe was an easy way to end up buried under every cunning trick in the book.[break][break]

Apparently, without those tricks, the Grafaiai was helpless. Once Crash and the Boys knocked it out of the sky, Dusana was quick to finish the job. The Falinks whooped and cheered, running up to Miyuki and tossing the Fennekin up and down in an impromptu celebration. Lord British returned to Isaac's side, the Taunt's aggression ebbing out from the tension in his joints. With the battle over, it was time for Remiel to seal the deal.[break][break]

It was over. No Terastalization, no flash of light, no Pokeball repulsion, no way of eluding capture.[break][break]

"Seems like without that giant gem, it can't repel Pokeballs," Isaac pointed out. "Might be good to pass that along ASAP. If they're trying to be too delicate with the crystals, they might end up having trouble actually catching the dang things." There were plenty of other aspects of this mystery to study, but leave it to Isaac to jump right to the most practical concerns.[break][break]

With his limited scientific observations done, the time for basking in success was nigh! "Hey, you did damn good yourself," Isaac said, offering Remiel a fist. "And I'm not gonna lie. For my first time back in action since . . . well, everything . . . I couldn't have asked for a better mission. Thanks, man."[break][break]

If only he knew that his first mission may well be Remiel's last.

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