Those people weren't just a bunch of idiots fumbling their way through the rifts. They were an organized group; a well-oiled machine tasked with transporting valuables from those rifts into League headquarters. Almost as if expecting a heist, the armored van was flanked by seasoned rangers riding Steel-type Pokémon for added protection.

They had yet to notice the bats hanging from the trees, one man's attention drawn to the rustling bushes instead, where he saw the head of a purple, reptilian creature with big, googly eyes popping out. "A Pokémon?!"

The 'creature' rose to full height, revealing a human girl in costume with a Fuecoco in her arms.

"A woman?!" The ranger blinked in shock, yet his expression quickly hardened. "Listen up! This is official League business. Civilians aren't allowed to interfere. Move along!" He told the eccentric cosplayer off.

"Yes, sir! Sorry, sir!" Andrea sheepishly said. How on earth did she keep finding herself at the wrong place in the wrong time?

Lulu Flint

☉

the bats turned in the direction of the unexpected distraction. however, though the realization of who it was was enough to gouge her mood, lulu quickly realized the opportunity that was presented. with the attention of the guard effectively stolen, she made her move.[break][break]
with the tap of a button in her pocket, high frequency soundwaves drew the bats from their hiding place to descend on the nearing vehicle. venoshock and supersonic sought to incapacitate those guarding it.

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-golbat"] [attr="class","pkspr pkmn-golbat"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-golbat"]

"What the--" Despite their many precautions, the rangers were ill prepared to handle the swarm of bats that descended on them. While the Venoshock had no effect on their Steel-type Pokémon, the Supersonic caused them to get confused and attack each other in an aimless frenzy.

"This doesn't make sense! Why would wild Pokémon attack a van?" Andrea pondered aloud. Ever impulsive, she decided to do something about it, sending her Rhyperior into battle. "Donna, drive them away with your Rock Blast!" She ordered the fearsome rhinoceros, who fired a volley of flying boulders at the Golbat swarm.

"What part of don't interfere didn't you get, woman?!" One of the rangers yelled at her.

"Sorry-y-y!" The dragon-hooded girl shrank back.

Lulu Flint

☉

poison doused the uniforms and pokemon of rangers while confusing psychic rays were enough to leave them wallowing mindlessly in it. meanwhile, the van was looking easier to take.[break][break]

lulu didn’t show herself just yet, however, eyes flicking to the dragon girl’s pokemon as she attempted to interfere.[break][break]

two of the golbats were hit, while a third evaded with a quick guard, and followed up shortly with fangs bared for a bite—not on the rhyperior, but rather its trainer, andrea. behind the shade of leaves, lulu smirked. it would serve the girl right, after stepping in her way so many times.

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-golbat"] [attr="class","pkspr pkmn-golbat"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-golbat"]

"Aieee!" The young woman cried in pain as Golbat's vampiric fangs sank into her shoulder, dropping her Fuecoco in the process. While painful, that Bite wasn't enough to incapacitate her. She had been bitten many a time by Chomper on accident, so she'd gotten used to it.

"Dragon Punch!" The draconic cosplayer thrust her feeble fist straight into her aggressor's face. While she certainly wasn't strong enough to take down a Pokémon on her own, her main goal was to get the Golbat off her shoulder, so that Donna could finish it off with a Smack Down.

While pandemonium was happening, Jalapeño curiously waddled towards the bushes (or tree?) where the true mastermind was hiding. Having found another human that could dote on him, the little Fuecoco looked up at Lulu with his innocent, dopey eyes.

Lulu Flint

☉

the golbat was knocked backwards in the air some, flapping its wings to right itself again, just as its friends flew in to join in the attack. while the golbat which had bitten andrea was smacked down by the rhyperior, two more attacks were incoming from the bats. [break][break]

confuse ray doubled up from both, eyes red and aglow as purple lights swirled to discombobulate the minds of their foes.[break][break]

meanwhile, lulu eyed down at the fuecoco who had managed to find her in the brush.[break][break]

”what?” she asked of it, unimpressed.

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-golbat"] [attr="class","pkspr pkmn-golbat"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-golbat"]

Those Golbat were quickly becoming a pain in the butt, confusing even more of the rangers' Pokémon, one of whom fired a Flash Cannon dangerously close to the duo. "Now we have to deal with friendly fire too?!" If only there was some way to contain those winged nuisances...

Wait a minute, there was!

"The only way to make them stop attacking is if we catch them!" Andrea threw an empty Pokéball at one of the Golbat, yet it bounced off its body without doing anything. "That's weird. It looked weak enough to be caught. Unless..." Then it finally hit her, causing her eyes to widen. "These Golbat belong to a trainer!"

Meanwhile, Jalapeño was utterly incapable of reading the room, mistaking Lulu's annoyance as a sign that she wanted to be his friend. The baby croc smiled widely and tried to hug the woman's leg.

Lulu Flint

☉

rangers on duty stumbled around in the background, while others headed over to investigate. the golbat slapped away the pokeball with its wing defiantly, screeching—but lulu was preoccupied.[break][break]

the underboss eyed down at the paldean pokemon, never having seen this kind up close before. however, when it tried to get nearer, she took a quick step back and put a hand out. ”no. not a hugger, thanks.”[break][break]

the bats continued to fight and flail, only growing louder as reinforcements arrived to disrupt their progress. andrea had successfully occupied them long enough. they fought back with toxic and air cutter, despite now being outnumbered. [break][break]

a swift noivern swooped down out of the trees to join in, knocking a ranger from their rapidash.

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-golbat"] [attr="class","pkspr pkmn-golbat"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-golbat"] [attr="class","pkspr pkmn-noivern"]

"Kyah!" The Air Cutter brushed against the dragon-costumed girl's arm, leaving a cut deep enough to break the outer layer of skin and draw blood. Donna tried to fend off the rest of the Golbat, but was badly poisoned by the Toxic, forcing Andrea to switch her out. "Go, Chomper!"

Her Hydreigon ace burst out of his ball, sparkling as shiny Pokémon tended to do. Upon noticing Andrea's injury, the three-headed dragon entered a berserk state, barreling towards the newly arrived Noivern with a brutal Outrage.

And while Chomper was out for blood, Jalapeño just wanted to make a new friend. Plucking a small flower out of the ground, he offered it to Lulu. D'awwww... That Fuecoco knew how to get to a woman's heart.

Lulu Flint

☉

just as quickly as it had arrived to the scene, her noivern was met with the all-too-familiar green form of andrea’s shiny hydreigon. the ranger reinforcements occupied the golbats, and meanwhile, noivern was defending itself with a dragon pulse that propelled an evasive maneuver.[break][break]

lulu’s eyes didn’t remain on the fuecoco for long. the flower offering went coldly ignored, as she glared towards the hydreigon. another button was pressed in her pocket, and two more bats that had been leaving the trees to join the fight suddenly retreated, and all those that had gone after the van followed suit.[break][break]

a sharp whistle then came from the trees, though lulu didn’t reveal herself. not until moments later, when she was a mere silhouette on the back of the same noivern, who had fled the fight at her command, and swept back in a blur to pluck her out of the fuecoco’s bubble.[break][break]

and with that, she was gone, impromptu mission abandoned.

[attr="class","ooc"]Andrea Vaneau [break]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-golbat"] [attr="class","pkspr pkmn-golbat"]
[attr="class","pkspr pkmn-golbat"] [attr="class","pkspr pkmn-noivern"]

Vastly outnumbered, the bats scurried away. Andrea caught a glimpse of a feminine silhouette riding on Noivern's back, joining the retreating Golbat. "A trainer?! Could it be..."

The girl's mutterings were interrupted by a gruff voice calling out to her. "Hey you!" It was the ranger from earlier, and he didn't look like he wanted to congratulate the young PokéManiac for a job well done. Quite the opposite, in fact.

"Eek!" Andrea yelped, hastily retrieving her darling Fuecoco and skedaddling outta there before she could face the consequences of her actions.

Lulu Flint

☉