Remnants of previous battles cling to Skyler, though not quite in the same way that they do GIDEON GRAVES . A propensity for violence lends her a wild, savage look contrasted only by the lack of - visible - battle injuries.

When she casts a glance towards the battlefield, it is less with the intent of healing and more with the grim determination to push past enemy lines. And yet, her eyes are drawn towards a slumped figure. One that, upon closer inspection, she discovers to be fairly familiar.

Skyler's Dhelmise Phantom Forces them over, and the captain immediately crouches down to examine the man.

"Professor...? What the hell are you doing here?" This was no place for untrained civilians.

Calloused fingertips drag under his chin and over shapely jawbone, gently yet firmly tipping GIDEON GRAVES 's head back to get a proper look. "Shit, someone did a number on you, didn't they?" 

Her voice is a ragged imitation of itself, even as a soft whisper. 

"Hold still." 

Aqua Rings come to life around GIDEON GRAVES , seeping into cuts and bruises. It doesn't take long for the professor's flesh to knit back together, for purple to make way for healthy, unblemished skin. 

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Of all the things Skyler could've taken issue with, the one that annoys her the most is how offensively verbose the Rocket grunt is. While she does perceives him as a threat, his verbal diarrhea causes her to tune out most of his speech.

Here's the facts, her brain provides her. One, he's interrupted her healing. The Professor is still too much of a wreck for Skyler to feel comfortable leaving him behind, so she won't. Two, it seems as if the Rocket is by himself, save for the League official that he'd all but dumped at her feet. Alive, apparently.

And three, who the fuck was this guy calling a grandma?!

From her crouched position, Skyler makes sure to gently prop GIDEON GRAVES against a nearby rock. "Alright, Professor? I don't think you're in danger of dying anytime soon, so if you'll just wait a minute." She pats his shoulder, as if saying 'good job on not expiring', before rising to her feet.

She takes a step forward, just enough to make sure she stands between nicolas rivera and the two others. A shadow falls over the fallen individuals, edging ever so slowly forward in the gloom. Its maw parts into endless rows of razor-sharp, barrel-sized teeth.

"First of all," Skyler drawls, "fuck you." The sheer casualness of her voice is in almost direct contrast to the violence brewing behind her lopsided smile. "Second of all, fuck off."

He'd asked for water, hadn't he?

A slight tilt of her chin materializes a water spout behind the Rocket, and it pulls back like an adder before attempting to ram into the man and his pokemon.

At the same time, a pokeball bursts forth to release a fluffy-eared Lopunny, scars and eyepatch and all.

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Saggy tits?!

Skyler's nostrils flare with outraged wrath. She has half a mind to just whip them out and to hell with being amid an all-out warfront. Her shoulders pull back and her already proud profile is accented by its full-breasted glory.

'Course, her thoughts flee elsewhere when a Thunderbolt strikes the bunny pokemon, static coursing through paches of frizzled fur. Clarabelle takes the hit and shakes herself, bunny ears swinging with the movement.

Leftover electricty coalesces into a tiny ball, which then grows exponentially in size - and Clarabelle with it. A stone set into Skyler's necklace flashes for a moment, and the glow fades away to reveal the form of a mega evolved Lopunny.

"I'll show you saggy tits, Stunfisk face."

When Lopunny surges forward to launch an Aura Sphere at the yellow rat, Skyler follows. She'd never been one to leave the pokemon to do all the heavy lifting, not when she could wreck havoc herself.

Besides, that grunt was asking to be punched - and Skyler was all too happy to oblige.

Her hand reaches into her pocket, and a Poison Barb is lobbed towards nicolas rivera , aided by a jet of water that materializes out of nowhere.

Above GIDEON GRAVES and the unknown League member, Kyogre's colossal shape keeps an ominous vigil. Its markings flare red for a moment when Skyler uses her powers, and it floats ever so closer to the battle, as if drawn to the conflict.

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Aura Sphere crashes against the nearby bedrock, sending shards of shale flying outwards in all directions. Skyler raises her arm to protect her face against the plumes of disturbed dirt, muscles coiling in anticipation. Fully expecting some sort of retaliation on the Rocket's part. Anticipating it, even.

Clarabelle does the same, ears twitching on the lookout for any signs of movement. When nothing immediately rushes out to attack them, Skyler lowers her arm. Eyes squint. A deep groove carves itself between her eyebrows as the dirt dissipates.

There's no one there.

"What the actual fuck."

The Lopunny seems equally befuzzled about the unfurling events, a single pink eye looking to her captain for direction.

Skyler approaches the cracked bedrock and does her best to stiffle the dash of disappointment. Did he teleport away, maybe? Went to request reinforcements?

"He might still be around, 'Belle." A faint undertone of paranoia weaves into her words. "Gotta sniff him out."

She hasn't forgotten about GIDEON GRAVES or the other unconscious League operative, but being under Kyogre's shadow had proved to be a good enough deterrent for any wannabe kidnappers. Just not, apparently, whirls of pink mist.

"All good, professor?" She doesn't look back as much as throws the words over her shoulder.

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He isn't there.

Skyler blinks slowly, as if her vision would correct itself between one blink and the next. This happens several times before the cogs in her brain are jolted into motion and confirm that yes, the professor's is, in fact, gone. Disappeared. Poofed away.

"Are you fucking kidding me."

She steps over the fallen League operative (she'll get to them later) to inspect the curling tendrils of mist falling back into the open maw of a nearby cavern. There's no trace of GIDEON GRAVES except for the slight indentation where he'd been propped up against the rocky outcropping.

A suspicions glare is aimed towards the mist. Last time Skyler had stepped into something like it, she'd ended up crushed under a collapsed cave. If not for her powers, she would've died.

Had the professor even been real? She'd healed him, for certain. And yet...

A ragged cough draws her attention back to the other person in need of her help. Practical concerns immediately jump to the forefront of her brain, and she turns to kneel down by the person's side, Aqua Rings at the ready.

Skyler doesn't know if GIDEON GRAVES is alive. If he's okay - she certainly hopes so. But she'd done everything she could - it was his turn to fight now.

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