Slowly the rangers trickle in one by one, fighting the inevitable with their little spouts of water and trying to evacuate the city as best as they can. That's fine, Xenon never believed that this one strike would be enough to destroy the morale of an entire city. It was just one cut, a deep cut that she had planned for months, but only one cut of a thousand.
[break][break]
For a moment she considers leaving as she hears the approaching Flygon, it was well known that criminals would stay at the scene of the crime to view their handiwork after all. Maybe she wanted to be caught though. Maybe she wanted to publicly sign this vile act, proclaim out loud to the world "This is my future, look at it and kneel in respect." She's already approaching Shalin before she even finishes the thought, her gas mask hides most of her face, but her voice is unmistakable as she speaks up from behind the ranger.
[break][break]
"Why bother?" A moment passes as she waits for Shalin to turn her attention to her before she continues. "That's not a rhetorical question by the way. Why do you bother doing all of... this? You can't possibly think you're going to be able to put this out all by yourself, and by the time enough people get here for any serious work to get done, it's going to be too late. The city is going to be soaked in poisonous soot, the soil will be permanently tainted, nothing new will ever grow here after tonight. So why are you even bothering to try?" The answer mattered, even if the results would stay the same regardless. She didn't understand people like this, she didn't think she ever would understand people like this, she didn't even particularly want to understand the woman in front of her. But the answer still mattered, the purpose of these actions needed to be vocalized, the philosophy that she followed needed to be spoken aloud. If only so Xenon could crush it herself.
[break][break]

+ - Shalin Nariya

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

She saw right through her of course, even if she never outright said it, it was clear she was the culprit behind it all. Maybe she could've played the innocent victim, tried to deflect the blame and just claim to be an innocent civilian asking questions. But she wanted to get to the meat of the matter, she wanted to Understand just what drove fools to risk life and limb for no reason at all, even if she could never really understand the perspective of someone other than herself.
[break][break]
"But why do you care about those people in the first place?" The questions continue heedless of the threats thrown about her way. "You don't know any of those people. They're all weak, none of them have anything to offer you. If they truly had any value they wouldn't need saving in the first place, they would be strong enough that they could save themselves. What's the purpose of saving people when you don't get anything in return? What value do you all derive from such a pointless show of charity when you're all more than strong enough to just take whatever you want?" She just couldn't understand, such a basic thing like empathy and compassion was so far beyond her that she just couldn't understand no matter how far her future stretched.
[break][break]
Ah, but speaking of stretching futures... it would seem that a portent of doom has arrived. A beast stalks forth from the flickering shadows, the light of the flame illuminating its back as the darkness it casts stretches over Shalin and her beloved Sandy. The Absol leaps forward once, twice to place itself between the Flygon and his trainer, a strange glint in his eyes as he prophesies an imminent doom in their future. "Ah, my beloved Antimony. Has the conversation already drawn to a close? How sad, how pitifully primitive. I expected more from her, I always disappoint myself with those pesky expectations don't I?" It didn't take a psychic to know that the conversation wouldn't reach any kind of satisfying conclusion for either party. They could only deny one another in favor of their own world, such was simply the nature of humankind.
[break][break]
"You should leave. It doesn't matter what kinds of toys you might wear to the party, you don't stand a chance against me. Your future was set in stone the moment you woke up tonight."
[break][break]

+ - Shalin Nariya

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

We're all here for each other, take care of each other and you'll find yourself taken care of, let's all be friends and help each other out~ It was like she was talking to a kid, an idealistic kid who saw the world through sunshine and rainbow tinted glasses thinking that everything would turn out alright if everyone was just nice to each other. She can't help but laugh at how absurd it was, even someone as insane as her could see what a stupid thought that was. Or maybe it was because she was so insane that she could laugh at the absurdity of it all.
[break][break]
"Plug your ears, cover your eyes, scream as loud as you like about how the world should be, it's all meaningless if you don't have the strength to make your ideals a reality." The wrist mounted monitor she wore began to beep wildly as Shalin activates her Sygna Suit, the latent energy of the area rapidly rising as the bond between Pokemon and Trainer rises and creates a defined zone of control around the two. The Absol could Detect the attack coming its way, Xenon didn't even need to be able to see the future to feel the vibrations shaking her bones.
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The trainer and Pokemon take a single step in unison, hopping away from the ground just as a wave of vibrating air crashes into the ground where they once were and tearing up the earth with uncontrolled fury. The battle begins with Antimony rushing the Flygon and its trainer as a dark energy coats its body, leaving a trail of shadow in its wake as it leaps up and crashes directly into the bug type. Knock Off, a technique specialized in disarming a Pokemon of its valuables and anything that could enhance itself. The result is rather clear as Shalin finds herself tumbling through the air and landing on the ground, Xenon wouldn't be tolerating this kind of "special bond" being flaunted so flagrantly.
[break][break]
"Show me the strength of your bonds, show me you can supplant my future with your own! If you can't then I'll throw you into the fires of my ambition and let you act as just another piece of fuel to suffocate the world!" Xenon screams as she charges headfirst at Shalin, letting Antimony distract Sandy while she engaged in a straight fist fight with the Ranger. If bonds were what gave this girl strength, then she would deny that bond and show off the strength she valued, the will to Deny the Past and Supplant the Future.
[break][break]

+ - Shalin Nariya

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

Maybe if this Absol was a Synga then she'd be crushing Shalin way harder than she is now, but as things stood Xenon could only consider this an even fight, maybe even a losing fight as the bond between Pokemon and Trainer continued to climb even when separated. Xenon's full frontal assault on Shalin is beyond brutal, especially the hooks from her left arm as the ranger would undoubtedly notice the metal limb smashing into her ribs, undoubtedly giving her another reason to be thankful for that vaunted Sygna Suit technology.
[break][break]
But the game can't last forever sad as it is to say, the rage of a dragon reaching its crescendo as its wings vibrate at mach speeds, releasing a sonic wave that would probably demolish Xenon if she were caught directly in the blast radius. It's only quick thinking on her part that saves her as she quickly circles around Shalin, using her as a direct human shield to protect herself from the worst of the blast. The ultramodernist can still feel her skull rattling in her head though as blood pools behind her eyes, no doubt several blood veins had just burst in her body even with the protection of Shalin and her Sygna Suit. She couldn't take another one of those, and neither could Antimony as he staggers back to his feet after getting blasted through the air.
[break][break]
But they wouldn't have to.
[break][break]
The prophesied doom arrives without fanfare, a psychic force striking a burning branch above Sandy with a loud crack and dropping at least a few dozen pounds of burning wood onto the Flygon to finish it off. Xenon can barely hear herself think as she opens her mouth and spits out a lungful of crimson life onto the ashen grass, but still she has more to say.
[break][break]
"I can respect that answer, but now I'm going to pose another question to you. Are you going to waste your time trying to catch me and put me to justice for my crimes? Or are you gonna dig your partner out of the funeral pyre I just dropped on her and let me get away? And I promise you, if you try to send another of your Pokemon to try and have your cake and eat it too, you will never see them alive again." The mad rocket grins viciously as she recalls her Absol and starts staggering away, turning her back on Shalin as the monster that started this inferno in the first place drops from the sky and sets its metallic feet down onto the ground, waiting for her to mount it while LED eyes lock onto Shalin with all the cold inhumanity of a machine. That's what it was after all, a machine of war, pure and simple.
[break][break]

+ - Shalin Nariya

[attr="class","pokeclass"]