[attr="class","frphoe"]

Indeed, the trap was sprung as he expected. But rather than directly attack him head on, the assailant was smart enough to take out his Lucario. The Crobat that sprung from the shadows would distract the Lucario with a Confuse Ray. But its entrance came along fast enough that Thomas, who was already on alert, would bring out another combatant from his Pokeball. The Lycanroc that emerged had easily lulled the Lucario in with his taunt. Due to his youth, Cobalt made the mistake of going after the wolf, attempting to bash it in with a brutal Meteor Mash. The attack would land, with the opponent slamming the Lucario into the ground with a vicious Counter, bringing down the Lucario.

Freke would attempt to latch onto the the Crobat with Telekinesis, before attempting to blast it with Psychic force into the ground in an attempt to take out the opposing Pokemon. Thomas would then quickly send another of his Pokemon out. A Clawitzer would come out of the Pokeball near him. While this was far from ideal, given that Colt was best off being placed as a sniper, he had to take out the Lycanroc fast.

"Open fire!"

The Clawitzer would fire off a Water Pulse towards the Lycanroc.

It was then that a woman popped out from the shadows. What struck him as strange was the fact that she came from a hiding spot that no pro would've considered, looking rather bored and tired. "What can I say? I'm a glutton for punishment!", Thomas told her, a slight grin of audacity on his face. The trainer was in a fighting stance, practically waiting for any surprises the woman had in store for him. He had no doubt the woman was only a distraction for her other Pokemon to roll in.

"Besides, I was curious as to why I've been singled out. Good to know who's coffee I pissed in, y'know?", he'd tell the woman.

---

tags: Emma Wolfe
notes: Lucario Down, Alakazam and Clawitzer sent out. Alakazam used Telekinesis and Psychic on Crobat. Clawitzer used Water Pulse on Lycanroc

[attr="class","frphoe"]

Colt looked on with annoyance as the Scolipede intercepted his attack. When the spiders drop down, Freke manages to take notice to the Galvantula, who attempted to go for Thomas' belt of Pokeballs. The Electroweb that latches onto his belt fails to stun Thomas, thanks to the carbon tape lining on his clothes insulating him from the current. However, the line successfully managed to latch onto his belt, snatching it away, while . Acting quickly, the Alakazam attempts to latch onto the belt with Psychic, and hit the mechanisms of the three remaining Pokeballs with Telekinesis.

A Hydreigon, a Scizor, and a Galvantula all pop out from their respective Pokeballs. Upon manifesting above the field, Kalameet the Hydreigon immediately Focuses his Energy, before going for the Galvantula, attempting to blast it with a Dragon Pulse. Meanwhile, Ripper the Scizor performs a Swords Dance, before lunging at the Ariados with a Bullet Punch. Thread the Galvantula first attempts to hose down the Araquanid with Gastro Acid, before firing off an Electro Web into its Water Bubble.

Colt dashes to the side with an Aqua Jet, before attempting to blast at the Lycanroc again, this time with an Aura Sphere. Freke would attempt to blast the Scolipede with Psychic.

"Oh, you must be Silas' pet assassin! What'd I do to piss Rocket off, exactly, hm? Was it my role in pulling the Commissioner out? I doubt it, since that outcome seemed planned on Rocket's part. Was it my raid on where that Gym Leader was being held? I fucked up so many of your boys, it's absurd!", Thomas called out to Emma.

---

tags: Emma Wolfe
notes: Alakazam quickly hit the buttons on the three remaining Pokeballs, bringing out Scizor, Hydreigon, and Galvantula. Scizor used Swords Dance and Bullet Punch, targeting Ariados. Hydriegon used Focus Energy and Dragon Pulse, targeting the opposing Galvantula. Galvantula used Gastro Acid and Electro Web, both targeting Araquanid. Alakazam used Psychic, targeting Scolipede. Clawitzer used Aqua Jet to dash, then Aura Sphere, targeting Lycanroc.

[attr="class","frphoe"]

The group of five would watch on as their attacks managed to connect with their opposition. Strangely, none of them would fight back. Instead, the five backed off, taking kneeling positions around their mistress, who pulled a gun on their master. But before they could react, a large swarm of small Spinarak and Joltik would swarm the team, leaping onto their bodies, and crawling around to distract them.

The swarm of spiders would catch the five Pokemon off guard, all of them attempting to shake off the Pokemon. Ripper and Thread in particular would have an easier time, the both of them being insects themselves, with Thread being a fellow arachnid, while Ripper's steel body afforded him a degree of protection. Kalameet would seem to have the worst time of it, his Dark-typing Thomas, with Freke just barely faring better thanks to Magic Guard. Colt would attempt to shake off the smaller spiders in annoyance. Thomas, on the other hand, would maintain his composure, despite the spiders crawling over his body.

"You think I don't know that Rocket pulls in desperate people, or outright conscripts their victims? While I feel for those sorry souls that get sucked into the Rocket machine, those who decided to serve the organization for coin made their choice! At the end of the day, they willingly chose to participate in Rocket's activities, at the cost of the blood of any innocents they'd have to shed along the way just to make their pay!", he would respond to her, the gun aimed at his throat not even fazing him. This was far from the first time he had dealt with the prospect of death. The trainer's focus was on the woman's hand, waiting for the moment that she would fire the gun.

When she asked him if he took pride in the deaths he caused, he just narrowed his good eye at her. "What the hell are you talking about, me being proud of any of that!? If you're talking about the three that died during the rescue of the Commissioner, those deaths were unfortunate, regrettable. What my subordinate, and her Pokemon did to those men was out of line! I would've much rather preferred the men alive.", he'd tell her. "As for the men I brought down during that raid, Cobalt there would've been able to sniff out any decent souls among the bunch. And trust me, the only decent soul in that place was the hostage they were guarding! And while I might've broken them, I made sure not to kill those men! Your boy, Jayde Cross, on the other hand, didn't seem to give a shit if they got caught in the crossfire of his companion's attacks!", he'd tell her.

"You can take it how you want, but I try to go out of my way not to kill those that I deal with! Whether they're innocent souls caught up in the horrors of Rocket, or those who gladly perpetuate the nightmare, I do my best to keep them alive! Those innocent souls you speak of, I'd rather give them the chance to start over again, to live a life free from the horrors they were forced to endure, and inflict upon others! And for those evil souls that gleefully carry our Rocket's will, I wish to see them answer for their actions!", he would tell her, his gaze hardened, his voice sincere.

"But tell me this, why is a Rocket assassin so concerned with innocent lives, and whether her targets are any better or worse than her employers, hm? Why the fuck does any of that matter to you? I crossed Rocket, that's all that matters, isn't it?", he'd ask her.

---

tags: Emma Wolfe
notes: -

[attr="class","frphoe"]

"They have ways of revealing themselves. But unless Rocket's basic training program includes the ability to mask one's Aura, then a Lucario's more than capable of sniffing them out.", Thomas replied to her. "I may not be able to read minds, or intentions, but that's what friends are for!", he continued with a grin of audacity.

The fact that the hundreds of spiders were inhibiting and distracting his Pokemon was annoying. Then again, the fact that the woman's Ariados used its ability to call upon a swarm of smaller spiders was rather impressive. If by some miracle, Thomas got out of this alive, he'd have to look into it. Though at this point, he doubted that anyone was coming to save him, considering the usual routes in and out were webbed off, the woman had a gun to his throat, and his Pokemon were being swarmed to the point where they wouldn't be able to step in.

Before Thomas could remark on what she had to say, gunfire would erupt, after a quick shift in aim. Thomas grunted as he instinctively gripped his shoulder in pain, stumbling back before falling over the cliff. The drop was short, albeit painful. The insects that were crawling all over him, incidentally, spared him the worst effects of the fall. As they scuttled away, Thomas was left to writhe on the ground in agony, gripping his wounded shoulder.

Thomas looked up at the woman, a fire in his eye. As much as he tried, he couldn't belt out a response to the woman's remark, agonized hissing is all that came out as he lay there. Internally, he was asking himself what caused the woman to change her mind. And how would she justify outright sparing the man, once Rocket found out he was still alive.

Kalameet would react to his friend's fall with a Roar of rage. Whatever remained of the small spiders would immediately scuttle away as the group of five were freed. Thread would quickly scuttle over to peer over the cliff, seeing that their master was still alive, albeit wounded. Thread cried out to the group, causing most of them to converge onto the cliff. Freke, meanwhile, would use Telekinesis to grab Thomas' fallen belt, taking Cobalt's vacant Pokeball, and recalling their fallen ally.

Thread would make his way down the cliff side, making his way next to his master in order to comfort him. "Thread. I-I.", Thomas tried to speak. "I'm. sorry.", he'd tell the insect. The Galvantula would rummage through Thomas' things, noticing the rubbing, as well as some other supplies for field dressing wounds. Thomas nodded to the insect, knowing what he had to to. Weakly managing to get the cap off, Thomas would take the rubbing alcohol, applying it to his wound with an agonized grunt. The familiar burning sensation of the alcohol to his wound wasn't pleasant in the slightest.

After disinfecting his wound, Thomas would begin to temporarily patch it up, allowing Thread to fix the patch job with an application of String Shot. "Thank you, Thread...", Thomas tells the creature, before slumping back to the ground, breathing and hissing heavily.

While Thread was tending to his master, Freke and Kalameet were recalling Ripper and Colt, both of them furious with the result of the ambush. Ripper wanted to smash the woman's skull in with his pincers, while Freke was overall bitter with not even being able to finish off that Lycanroc. While Kalameet and Freke were no doubt unhappy with what transpired, they were more focused on getting Thomas some proper treatment.

Kalameet, with Freke on his back, would descend down the cliff, getting to where Thomas ended up. Freke would recall the Galvantula, then use Telekinesis to offer his master some help up onto the Hydreigon's back. Thomas would do his best to make his own way up, before conceding to the Alakazam's assistance, finally slumping onto the Hydreigon's back.

When the dragon attempted to turn towards Lilycove, Thomas would immediately protest. "Verdanturf, please!", he told Kalameet weakly. The two Pokemon were shocked at their master's decision. "They might... have people in the hospital... waiting to finish the job. Jasmine... can take care of me...", Thomas managed to tell them.

With that in mind, Kalameet would turn towards Verdanturf, flying as fast as he could manage towards the small town. While it would no doubt be a longer journey, he understood what his master meant. All the Alakazam could do was attempt to comfort his wounded master during the long, arduous flight.

---

tags: Emma Wolfe
notes: -

[attr="class","frphoe"]