As Marina clamped her fangs down upon the female liepard, the feline would send her on a rodeo ride - bucking, flailing, trying to get close enough to even just catch the end of the huntail's tail. But, it was clear that this struggle wasn't doing the liepard any favors - for even as she continued to try and fight back, she was beginning to visibly tire, breathing heavily through bared teeth.

And the male liepard saw this plain as day. Leaping back to disengage from Anne, he'd dart for Marina. As he came in close, the female liepard began to hold still to allow him to aim a Night Slash at the water-type, in an attempt to try and force Marina to let go!

Though Anne attempted to intervene, there'd come trouble - namely, in the form of of a certain zoroark. As Ribbon squeaked out a warning, the lycanroc would abort her charge to instead duck out of the way - but she'd still find herself grazed by the shock-wave, drawing a faint growl out of the wolf. She'd bark for Ribbon to keep tabs on the zoroark, before running at the male liepard - bringing out another Stone Edge to try and chase him away from Marina before he could do further damage.

. . . . .

As Julia called to Ettie, the young girl would sit back on the poor man's torso - the tips of her nails and her teeth visibly bloodied. Her gaze and demeanor was less that of the stray puppy that the ranger would likely be familiar with, but more that of the wolves she was raised by. And as Ettie turned her gaze to the other thugs with a low snarl, it was like she was assessing who her next prey would be.

The thug that she had attacked, meanwhile, would have a number of scratches - particularly around his upper arms, shoulders, and the front of his chest. On top of this, he now had a crooked nose - the cartilage broken from Ettie's biting - that was bleeding profusely, but thankfully not bitten clean off.

Which, the sight of a feral Ettie and her wild nature did no favors in the morale of the thugs. As the other man had Hellion use Smog to create an escape opportunity, the houndoom would let out an eerie howl as he was being recalled - the purpose this action served being unclear at this moment.

The seviper, too, would disengage to be recalled - and though Princess attempted to give chase, she'd be forced back by the smog. With her fairy typing, she wasn't exactly keen on diving straight into what was essentially a cloud of pure poison.

As they ran though, Julia made the call to not let them get away - and Ettie turned her attention to Duchess. "We chase." She would speak in a growl; and wasting no time, she darted off - skirting around the edges of the cloud to try and stay on the thugs' tails.

The hunt was on.

Duchess, however, would take in a deep breath - propelling herself forward with Quick Attack to try and just dart through the cloud entirely! It burned at her eyes and nose even as she held her breath - forcing her to squeeze her eyelids shut, even as she moved... But with her high speeds, she wouldn't remain in the cloud for long at all!

(Disregarding the nausea that was rising from the lingering smell, but well, that wasn't important now! She had to chase - to runrunRUN!)

Princess, meanwhile, would simply sit down on the chest of the bitten thug - affixing him with an intense stare and growl with Scary Face. He would not move, by her decree, unless he wanted to lose his nose completely.

. . . . .

The houndoom's distant howl, though, would prompt the combatants at the pen's edge to stop their fighting. The liepards shared a glance and - with one last swipe at Marina to force her away if the Night Slash from before wasn't enough - they would turn tail and run, disappearing back into the woods. The Zoroark, too, would withdraw - picking up the unconscious Umbreon and making her departure.

Anne blinked at this - glancing towards the others to check on them - before realizing something was amiss. Nudging the unconscious Ruffian towards Marina, she'd bark for the huntail to bring him to safety - anywhere that he could sleep off the poison from the Toxic in peace. Then glancing towards Ribbon, she directed for the cutiefly to follow and keep an eye out, as she gave chase after the felines and fox alike..!

Julia Davis

The prey was out of sight, beyond the treeline and undergrowth that rest beyond the pens. But they had still left a trail - footprints in the dirt, disturbed and displaced grass, broken foliage. Distantly, they could be heard - feet thudding against the ground, the crack of snapped twigs and dried leaves, bushes rustling, and hushed argumentative voices (though from this distance and at that volume, the words were unintelligible.)

Not that Ettie cared whatever it was the thugs were discussing - all she knew was that neither she nor Duchess were going to let them get away so easily. Not when the thrill of the hunt had kicked in - heart beating eagerly in her chest, deep breaths puffing in and out, and one's mind narrowing down upon the goal of catching. Catching and pouncing and biting and--, well, maybe nothing further than biting.

The thugs weren't true prey, and the wildchild had a feeling Julia wouldn't like it if she treated them like true prey.

Duchess, too, shared in a similar mindset - though her own thoughts were less geared towards hunting, and more just the pure excitement of running. Even without people to chase down, she'd be happy to just run wherever she pleased - but this gave her a destination. A goal, even. Thus, when Spot called out the thugs, the electrike darted forward - ready to take advantage of the distraction his Shadow Ball provided! She used Quick Attack for that extra burst of speed, barking as she tackled into one of the thugs - the woman - from behind, knocking her off balance!

Ettie would be right behind Duchess as well, charging forwards to help wrestle the woman to the ground - snarling all the whilst. She didn't bite this time, thankfully for the thug - but the woman had nary a chance to fight back as she was pushed facedown by Ettie and Duchess both.

The remaining thug turned around, eyes widening as his hand hovered over one of his pokeballs, considering whether to fight or run - "Shit, fuck--"

But, that is when the cavalry arrived - albeit on slightly chaotic terms. The two liepards would arrive first, looking a bit alarmed at the situation that they stumbled across - as if they hadn't expected the trainers to be in such dire straits. The male liepard was quick to go after Ettie and Duchess though, swiping with a Night Slash to force the duo away!

Which, while Ettie was able to dive out of the way - snarling at the feline as she did - Duchess wasn't quite fast enough, yelping as she was sent tumbling away. Okay, that nausea-feeling wasn't going away - the electrike, safe to say, could tell that the poison from the Smog before was still in her system, and it wasn't fun...

The woman stood up - quick to move to the safety of the feline pokemon as she dusted herself off. "That's a good boy - keep those mongrels off me!"

The Zoroark, meanwhilst, jumped down from the treetops and landed next to the male thug - offering him the umbreon. "Shit - you took a beating, Midnight..." He muttered - pulling out a pokeball to recall the eeveelution, before glancing back to Julia and co. "But we've got a fighting chance now - Brick Break!"

Darting forward, the fox pokemon wasted no time in coming into close quarters with Spot - striking with a downwards chop to try and force back the Lucario!

Anne would not be far behind - and using Accelrock, she pounced upon the female liepard from behind with a snarl, sending them into a tussling roll across the grass. The female, however, had clearly hit her limit; cause as they slammed into a tree, she would fall unconscious - going limp.

Julia Davis

This appeared to be a final stand for the thugs - and safe to say, it was a chaotic one with the number of pokemon openly brawling amidst the trees of the surrounding forest. Clashing fangs, yowls and snarls, all of the works - and all the whilst, Ettie moved as if preparing to flank the enemy group. The prey was distracted. She would help cut off their escape, if they attempted to turn tail and run again. She didn't fear them - nor did her pack.

Which, even if Duchess wasn't having the best time, she would still stand up against the liepard before her. They curled their lips to growl at once another - teeth bared as they stared eachother down.... Until the liepard darted at her, trying to strike her with another Night Slash! However, the electrike saw it coming this time - and she was faster, using Quick Attack to dart under the swipe and slam herself into the liepard's stomach! Though the Liepard attempted to grab at Duchess with his claws, electricity sparked from her fur - warding away the attempt, and making his muscles briefly spasm.

Seeing that the numbers were against them though, the woman would send her Seviper out once more - the serpentine pokemon lurking at the edges of Duchess' and the Liepard's fight, clearly looking for an opportunity to tip things in their favor.

The man, meanwhile, would send out his houndoom - Hellion - once more. "Go back her up, Hellion!" He'd call - gesturing towards the zoroark. And though the hellhound was quick to obey, darting in the direction of the fight between Spot, Ribbon, and the fox...

... Anne was ready to play interference, with the female liepard being down for the count. With another use of Accelrock, she'd tackle into Hellion - teeth digging into the back of his neck. However, he would not take kindly to this - slamming his horns against her head to get her to let go, so that he could twist around and bite down on her shoulder with Fire Fang! The two were a flurry of snarling and wrestling against one another, though with Anne's rock typing and superior size, it was clear she had the advantage.

Which, Spot and Ribbon likely could say the same of the fight against the zoroark - as she was hurting from the one-two combo of Silver Wind and Aura Sphere. Snarling, she'd step backwards as if to disengage from them, letting loose a Night Daze aimed at Spot's face-... But, that wasn't truly a Night Daze. It was another application of her illusions - all to obscure the lucario's vision for the briefest moment. And once that moment passed, it would appear as if Ribbon and the zoroark had switched places - the fox turning towards Spot with a wicked grin, a claw raised to attack!

But this, too, was false. The zoroark had wrapped herself and Ribbon in a pair of illusions, to disguise them as eachother and confuse Spot. And amidst the confusion, the false 'Ribbon' would float closer to him, eyes filled with bewilderment and alarm... Before the illusion began to shatter, as the true zoroark attempted to strike Spot with Brick Break!

Julia Davis

As the Brick Break cut through nothing but air, the zoroark snarled - the illusion dissipating to reveal lips curled and fangs bared with displeasure. She'd step back, as if anticipating a retaliation from Spot - though much to her surprise, the lucario would instead disengage, to pick a fight with the seviper who planned to attack Duchess. Though the zoroark made to try and pursue Spot, she'd be stopped by Ribbon - who let loose a bug-infused shockwave, drawing a distinct grimace from the fox. She wasn't gonna be able to take much more of this, that much was obvious.

With her attentions fully on Ribbon though, the zoroark's tactics changed - and the only warning the cutiefly got would be sparks of flame and wisps of smoke leaking from inbetween her fangs, before she let loose a Flamethrower at Ribbon! A last ditch, in hopes of evening the odds a little.

Meanwhile, the Seviper and Spot both were locked in combat - as soon as her Fire Fang sunk into him, she'd use it as an opportunity to curl her body around him in an attempt to constrict him with a Wrap to try and keep him from escaping. However, this soon proved to be a mistake - Spot's metallic spikes would begin to shine, and there was suddenly a burst of energy striking the Seviper in the face, drawing a shrill shrieking hiss from the snake! Briefly, she was blinded and bewildered by the Flash Cannon - her coils slackening just enough for Spot to escape, if he still had some fight in him!

Duchess would tumble across the grass - not from being hit, but rather a somewhat hail-mary sort of leap, to avoid another one of the male liepard's attacks. She could see that Julia's pokemon - namely Spot - was having a hard time, and though she herself was tiring as well, she wasn't going to stop yet! Throwing back her head, she let loose a Howl, in an attempt to stir a second wind amongst them.

And Anne, too, would join in with a Howl of her own as she threw Hellion off of her, to aid in emboldening their side - they weren't going to go down so easily.

Julia Davis

A chorus of howls rose from the pokemon, both Ettie's and Julia's alike. And even though the urge to join in was strong for Ettie, she remained silent, to avoid alerting her prey - the thugs - to her presence. Not that she needed to join in, anyhow - her pack was small, but strong.

As if to prove this fact, there was Duchess and the liepard. Though the electrike was not able to avoid the incoming Night Slash - yelping as she was sent skidding back, visibly hurting - she did not stay down long. A jolt of electricity from the Static in her fur causes the feline to recoil, his muscles spasming involuntarily - leaving him open to a retaliation! Charging forward, Duchess bathes herself in her electricity, and throws herself into the liepard in a courageous Wild Charge!

And the feline, in response, was sent stumbling - muscles continuing to spasm, failing to listen as he tried his damndest to move.

On the other hand though, while Duchess was fighting back, Anne was standing her ground. Hellion would charge at her with a powerful Reversal - however, the lycanroc was prepared. He slammed into her with a raging fury, teeth and claws sinking in and drawing blood - but even as they skidded back in the dirt...

... Anne stayed upright, Endure-ing the onslaught offered, with her fangs bared in a low snarl, even as she breathed heavily. And letting loose a vicious snarl, she'd attempt to bite and throw down Hellion in turn, with a similarly powered-up Counter!

The thugs, seeing their pokemon going down one by one, would begin slowly backing away. The woman grit her teeth - seeing her liepard struggling - and would bring out her pokeballs to recall the Liepard and the fainted Seviper both. "We need to get out of here fast - their pokemon are fucking crazy." She'd hiss to her companion, moving to turn and run--

-- Only to cut herself off with a shriek, as Ettie burst out from the undergrowth - the wildchild snarling as she tackled into the woman.

Julia Davis

Ettie bared her teeth, growling as she grappled with the woman. Though the thug made an honest attempt to throw her off, arms raised to protect her face, Ettie hung on with her clawlike nails - and snarling, she'd bite down on the woman's arm. Her teeth didn't sink in hard enough to break skin and draw blood - more focused on keeping the woman occupied than actually fighting or hurting - but it was still enough to draw a terrified yell from the woman.

It likely didn't help, when Anne moved to stand over them both - and though it would take but a breeze to knock the lycanroc over, the large wolf was still an imposing presence as she snarled at the woman, frightening the thug into simply staying still.

However, the final thug turned tail and ran - at least, until Ribbon and Spot both interfered. Duchess, too, would attempt to join in the chase - the little pup barking as she ran circles around the man. She was clearly ready to act, if he got back up! She was a good girl! She'd catch all the bad people! ... Although, after a few loops, she'd slow down with a half-whine - okay, maybe she wasn't ready to catch all the bad people. She was actually starting to feel kinda tired and really icky...

And with that, the chase and fighting was over - Julia bringing out some rope, to tie up and properly arrest the thugs. Only then did Ettie get up and off the woman - though her demeanor still read like that of a wild animal. Her eyes were locked on the thugs for any sudden movement, low growls rising every so often. She'd only turn her eyes away to glance to her packmates, making soft chuffs and inquiring whines in her throat as she tended to Anne and Duchess both.

Even if she was using bandages, pecha berries, and the like to tend to them like a human, she still was vocalizing and fussing over them like a pokemon - occasionally licking or nuzzling to reassure, sniffing for any signs of bleeding scrapes, and the like. And in turn, the two were checking up in Ettie in similar fashions - sniffing her, Anne licking her atop the head to soothe her, and so on.

Only when Ettie was satisfied, did she turn her attention to Julia and the others - and only then, did she speak. "Julia-pack okay?" She asked softly, looking over Spot and Ribbon briefly. She looked plenty ready to tend to them, too, now that she'd done what she could for Anne and Duchess.

With Ettie's own pokemon tended to, Julia asked about looking after Spot and Ribbon - and the wildchild perked up, before nodding. She went straight to work, moving over to the lucario and cutiefly both - carefully tending to any wounds they might've recieved from the series of fights they had been put through. Trying to figure out how to apply a bandage to someone as small as Ribbon was a bit of a new experience - something they had to play by ear - but all the same, Ettie was diligent in her work.

Anne and Duchess both would be there, too - the lycanroc carefully licking Spot to groom him, and to clean his wounds as Ettie wrapped them. Duchess, meanwhile, laid down next to them - her tail wagging as she nuzzled his side.

As Julia reached where Princess and the one remaining thug had been though, the snubbull would appear to have dozed off completely! One would think that you shouldn't sleep whilst so close to the enemy, but well... She was a bit of a juggernaut for her size, even if she was on the slower side, anyways, right? She'd begin to stir and grumble as Julia and the thug began chitchatting though, and it'd only take a light nudge for her to get off of the man's chest, so that Julia could tie his wrists.

And once Julia returned to the rest of the group, Princess would follow after in her usual lazy waddles - taking to snuggling up amongst the other canids to resume her nap...

... At least, until Anne threw her head back to howl - a signal for Marina and Ruffian to come back and regroup, now that the danger was done with.

When Julia asked to open up the truck though, they'd have a sudden visitor - namely, the little wooloo from before! Ettie wasn't sure how he had gotten out of the pen - but she was more than happy to see him, crouching down and patting the wooloo on the head with a happy little "Mehhhh!" of her own in response. "Ettie-friend help other-friends?" She suggested to the wooloo - gesturing for him to follow, as she went to open up the truck.

A handful of wooloo could be seen - kept in stacked carriers, likely to keep them from rolling around too much. When they heard the bleating of one of their brethren though, they'd begin to noisily bleat back! One by one, the carriers would be opened under the careful watch of the pack - the canids herding to help keep the wooloo from wandering off, and guide them back towards the farm.

But, the nervous-but-bold little wooloo that had stuck by Ettie's side lingered - and glancing towards the thieves, tied up, he'd puff his chest and give them one big "MEHHHHH!", as if to give them a piece of his mind!

Ettie couldn't help but begin giggling with this - and mimicking him much like before, she'd look to the thugs and bleat out a hearty "MEHHHHHHH~!" of her own!

(Anne, visibly amused, just shook her head and sighed fondly.)