The fellow Kalos native shook his head as if to deny her statement. They weren't alone, quite frankly, that much evident in the way he could feel the piercing gaze of Zigzagoon that lurked within the cave they'd pinpointed as a source. Zigzagoon were a normal type that also had a penchant for fighting based attacks, he considered using his Dreepy, but the baby pokemon hardly had much bite to it, so with strategy in mind, he appointed his Falinks in a forward march as it went to scout.

"Non, quelque chose regarde (no, something is watching,)" he insisted as he felt his heart race in a sense of excitement.

But not to leave his lover scorned, he took her gently by the hand and pressed a kiss to her knuckles in a display of unwavering loyalty. Gaultier took the first step into the cave and took command of his Falinks whom had just come into contact with one of the many Zigzagoon ahead. The group charged forward with a rock smash and weakened the opposing creature, but it didn't seem enough.

"Mind helping us out, darling? Seems this one wants to give us some trouble."

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@esmee

lord knows esmee would be going down on gaultier like the titanic, but the good lord also knew that there was a time and place for anything, however, as the blonde was readily cockblocked by more than just her onlooking pokemon.[break]
"quoi?"[break]
esmee was rather disappointed in the small pokemon for causing any sort of bother to her potential other half. this was shown in the way the kalos native found herself looking down her nose at the pokemon as it zigzagged around, obviously taunting the two of them as if the attack had done nothing when it was evident it was lagging in its attempt. the mentalist smiled calmly, head propped up on one palm. "what an adorable creature," she started with, seeming to admire the zigzagoon as it wiggled its butt at her. the black and white-striped pokemon would resist the kadabra's attacks so esmee used her knowledge to her advantage - swapping in her new cetoddle. it wasn't exactly a super effective pokemon against the dark/normal type, but esmee didn't particularly have a fond liking for bug, fighting, or fairy types.[break]
"ice spinner," she said as calm as could be, even smiling as the zigzagoon was effectively hit by the barrage of punches and slams the spherical ice type performed on it. [break]
"do you see anything else, gaultier?"

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@gaultier

It seemed Esmee's assistance had proven to be necessary and enough to be the final blow. As they ventured further into the cave, Gaultier felt a chill run up his spine due to the decrease in temperature. From the inside of his jacket, he pulled out the scarf that Esmee had given him earlier that week and carefully wrapped it around his neck. So far, he hadn't caught sight of anything, but that didn't mean his Falinks didn't remain in tune with their surroundings. It scuttled about and remained alert, feeling for any shifts in activity further along in the cave. Before long, they stood at attention and clanged their armor together.

"Seems they've picked up on something up ahead. I don't think the next one will be so easy, though."

And he was right with that. Further ahead, they heard the howl of an Obstagoon, followed by the desperate sounds of Wooloo who tried to call for help. Well, at least they were on the right track with their search, it was just a matter of making sure the Wooloo were all retrieved in one piece. Gaultier took the lead, but it wasn't long until he was blindsided by a Linoone that pounced on him and took him down.

A sound of surprise escaped his lips as the ferret like creature jumped off of him and paced back and forth like a predator with its prey. Gaultier rolled himself onto his back in an attempt to get up and gave his Falinks the order to charge.

"Megahorn."

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@esmee

although esmee was a self-proclaimed sharp-witted individual, she found herself easily distracted when it came to gaultier. the way he had kept her simple gift of a scarf left her feeling warm despite the cold air around them. hell, she even found herself thinking about the falinks he favored - admiring the choice of pokemon for its versatility and utility. it was strange how many bodies formed one pokemon but she wondered if it could be used as many sets of eyes in different spots and then put back together as a unit. [break]
these thoughts and feelings were put to a halt as she saw gaultier go down.[break]
it seemed he was the very titanic, himself. quite rude, really. without her?[break]
running a hand along her face, the mentalist pulled her banette and spiritomb to her side.[break]
"shadow sneak," she commanded of the two of them. while this ghost-type move wouldn't be too effective against the dark/normal types, it was meant to be more of a distraction while she had her new walrein be the star of the show with the way it shot an aurora beam straight at the obstagoon standing among the wooloos. this would hopefully freeze it since the ray was aimed at its legs, leaving ample time for the wooloo to start moving away from it while the trainers planned their next move.[break]
"come, lovely," esmee ushered gaultier to his feet after having rushed to his aid, kneeling down to help him off of his back and have her team fend for themselves as the onslaught of all the zigzagoon evolutions started to pounce from the very walls and ceiling like spiders. [break]
"it seems we have much work to do, but i am confident in our abilities together." usually, it would just be her dealing with everything. for someone who offered professional mental help, she had the unhealthiest habit of putting everything on her own shoulders. it felt surprisingly good to have gaultier to call her partner in this case and others.[break]

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@gaultier

The Zigzagoon swarm had them outnumbered, and it seemed they would be pulling no punches this time around. Gaultier released the rest of his ensemble, quite fond of his Aggron. The Drakloak and Alolan Vulpix of his team were sent out to deal with the smaller issues of Zigzagoon. For the Obstagoon however, that came Gaultier's heavier hitters in the form of Aggron and Falinks. But it wasn't long until the wild pokemon used Obstruct to protect itself, the roar from the pokemon sending even his Aggron sliding back from the immense wave of sound which seemed loud enough to wake even a Snorlax from its deep sleep.

"Thank you for your assist, darling. A shame I likely got dirt on your thoughtful gift."

Gaultier dusted himself off and made quick work of gathering the fleeing Wooloo. But even with Esmee's move to freeze the Obstagoon's legs to the cave floor, it managed to break free and came full force their way. In a quick move, Gaultier sent his Aggron forward and gave it a command.

"Protect."

It wasn't long until the steel behemoth projected a thin yet stable wall of energy to protect not only itself but the rest of them from the creature's charge. While it bounced directly off the wall, it caused a crack in the barrier to which Aggron couldn't maintain. Thankfully Gaultier foresaw this situation and sent his Falinks forward to charge at the Obstagoon. The little battalion charged forward in a flurry of attacks in its Close Combat.

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@esmee

"i am simply happy it's getting some use," esmee remarked about the small gift she had gotten gaultier. of course, the rest of his gift came in the way she had herself wrapped in a bow for him but that wasn't here nor there ... though perhaps reliving its appearance later.[break]
"how much do you exactly find yourself doing these things?" she wondered out loud, impressed by his command over his pokemon. truth be told, she had come with a strange team to deal with the dark-normal types, given she specialized in mostly dark and ghost pokemon, herself. regardless, she had heavy hitters like the hydreigon she let loose from its pokeball - letting it roar its way towards the obstagoon and follow up the falinks with an outrage. this move would leave her hydreigon locked in combat with the obstagoon for a moment, but she had her walrein join in with a water pulse to attempt to confuse the leader pokemon as well as have it incapacitated should the damage be enough.[break]
"vous ne cessez d'impressionner (you never cease to impress)," esmee admits, batting her eyelashes just once at her partner in justice this time around. the two of them were prone to committing horrible acts but this time, they seemed to be taking care of the weaker population - the wooloo flocking around them and baa'ing loudly for help. while the wooloo hid around their legs, it seemed it made them the prime targets for the obstagoon and its followers which her banette and spiritomb were trying their best to block off. her kadabra jumped into the fray despite knowing its type matchup being a quite horrible one, using an ally switch to tank a few hits then follow up with recover to make itself useful at least as a meat shield. this made esmee blink, but nothing more. she knew her pokemon knew they were tools to use, even if somewhere deep down she would relent them coming even close to death.[break]
"how will we do it?" she asks, referring to finishing off the obstagoon threat - cockily so.[break]

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@gaultier

"Leave it to me, dearest."

With the offer made, Gaultier ordered his Falinks front and center. The Obstagoon readied itself for one last rush, but it realized with the way that its fellow evolutionaries were wiped out left and right, it was like a cornered rat. But even a cornered rat still had some fight in it. With its maw opened wide, it came charging at the Falinks in an attempt to sink its teeth into the squadron with a crunch. Alas, Gaultier snapped his fingers and at that simple command, the Falinks formed a defensive formation and shot up a forcefield to protect themselves. Teeth gnashed into the forcefield and from the way they did, it was obvious the wild Obstagoon found itself in pain.

"Now, close combat."

With the final order in the battle given, it seemed Gaultier found himself the decided victor. But the Obstagoon planted its feet firm and roared to throw the Falinks off as it used an obstruct to send the small soldiers flying. Gaultier planted his own feet and held his hands out to catch each little solider of his Falinks and carefully placed them on the ground. He didn't dare let up.

"Again. Close Combat. Give it everything you've got, Soldapetit."

The team assembled and readied itself for one last charge. Given the way the Obstagoon had shredded its vocals in its final defensive act, it couldn't do much more to protect itself. So once the onslaught of Gaultier's Falinks began, it wasn't long until the Obstagoon fell with a heavy thud. The swirls in its eyes were enough to show that the creature had fainted. It was no surprise their entire team had tired themselves out, so Gaultier carefully called each of them back for a well deserved rest.

"Let's get these Wooloo gathered, shall we?"

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@esmee

truth be told, esmee would have been in quite a pickle without gaultier there. his pokemon were much better suited for taking on the dark-normal types, whereas she had assumed they'd be fighting the normal type variants. this surprise had taken her by the neck but gaultier had shown that it was only his hand that belonged there and she was released - at ease now that the obstagoon laid on the ground, defeated.[break]
"you did wonderfully, ma tout (my everything)." indeed, the praise was all his. esmee had focused herself on acting the defensive line for the wooloos as both her banette and spiritomb started to form ghostly circles around the normal types who wouldn't be hurt by such a thing - instead seeing it as means to guide them certain directions. with this in place, the wooloo stomped forward in unison. the tight lines they formed were put forward by ghostly auras and reinforced by her kadabra's psychic ability, making it real enough to have the little white puffballs butt their heads if they tried to get out of line.[break]
"it's beneath you to do such work, but i thank you for your help." obviously, she held gaultier on a pedestal. menial labor such as this was not meant for someone of such high caliber, but she was amazed at his work as a trainer. the little falinks seemed to be so well trained and gaultier was obviously a man of many talents - mesmerizing esmee with his prowess. [break]
she had to do better. she would be better.[break]
"a celebratory drink is in order," she offered as she looped an arm around her lover's waist, pulling him to her side to lead them away into the sunset.
[break]

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@gaultier

Gaultier carefully gave the brass of his Falinks a proud pat on the top of its head. All the soldiers within the Falinks line stood at attention and clanged their armor in an almost proud fashion before it readied itself to go back into its pokeball, followed by the rest of his team. The legal advisor soon stored his pokeball away as he looked back down at the Wooloo. They all seemed relieved that the attack on their flock had been quelled, even giving out a cry of appreciation. The pokemon seemed like they had no thoughts in their heads and Gaultier felt a little pity for them. But they'd find their way back home, they always did. As each sheep-like pokemon rolled off into the sunset, it wasn't long until he felt a familiar arm around his own waist that pulled him in the same direction.

"Ah, a drink sounds splendid right now," he offered. "Though I can't say I wouldn't mind simply drinking the sweat you worked up, choupinou."

He couldn't help the way he grasped the blonde's ass and gave it a firm squeeze. They had certainly come to deserve a little reward for the work they'd put in. Perhaps they could take the opportunity to ring in the New Year together and drink their way into it.

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@esmee