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Cillian Quinn vs Doug

He should've taken over on scouting duties after the first incursion. But they all had looked so eager to be helpful...

"Man overboard!" Shouted the colonel as rose back to his feet, rushing for a lifesaver before quickly making his way to the boat's railings. "Just keep calm! You'll be fine!"

He threw the lifesaver at them— and the boat began to visibly sink then and there, pulled down by the chain .

Goddamn it!

Reaching just underneath his arm for a net ball, he released a shrill whistle as he chucked it in the air.

An Orbeetle popped into the scene its senses spreading wide before the whistle even registered, eyes swiveling to look down unto the shit, and beyond it, into the thing beneath the sea's surface.

"Shatter the chain!" Ordered the lieutenant, pointing at the goal. "Here!"

His eyes fell unto the chain trying to pull the water beneath, before he raised a glowing pink digit towards it— and shot.

It hit a single link, cursing it. In tandem, the Orbeetle's eyes glowed— before an orb of psychic energy suddenly began to expand within the gap of the weakened link, snapping it apart!

"W-woah!" Yelped the Colonel, clinging to the railings whilst shouting over the comms. "Everyone stay inside and keep your pokemon close! I'll be busy!"

He couldn't fight an unseen enemy and worry about keeping everyone inside safe at the same time.

He plucked another net ball from his holster, looking into the water.

Who was he dealing with...?

"Keep an eye out! Not getting blindsided thrice in one day!" He shouted at his Orbeetle, before grumbling under his breath. "Jeez, I hope."

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Cillian Quinn vs Doug

Omega had very bad, no good, terrible news for Doug about the person trying to sink their ship into the ocean's depths.

It was highly probable that they were dealing with a... not quite normal human.

"Oh, come on." He said, staring down into the growing whirlpool beneath them with a feeling of dread in his guts.

This wasn't rash and direct enough to be the reckless Xerneas avatar, nor nearly as theatric and flamboyant as Elisabeth Fiorelli had presented herself in Galar. It wasn't the masked, unknown avatar from earlier either...

And it couldn't be declan walsh. So...

"Goddamn it!" He shouted into the whirpool, banging his fist on the railing in frustration as he realized he was dealing with the one and only King of Circhester, Rocket Underboss and —perhaps most relevant— avatar of the deformed Lugia.

The criminal formerly known as Gavin Merlino— Cillian Quinn.

"Isn't this below your paygrade?" He groaned at the man who was probably not even listening, for once lamenting the fact that leadership in Hoenn was so hands-on. "Learn to delegate, damn it!"

There wasn't much time to lament this. Now that he knew what he was dealing with— it was best to take things seriously. The rocket just wanted to sink their ship while Doug had to worry about keeping everyone inside alive. He needed to draw him out and give him a reason to leave.

"Omega!" He shouted as his chest alighted, a keystone shining bright from underneath his top. "Mega evolve!"

The Orbeetle's eyes shone as its body was enveloped in the infinity energy of mega evolution, a dark egg forming around it and swiftly growing in size before shattering.

The now ufo like Beetle's entire body crackled as it spread out its limbs.

G-Max

GRAVITAS

As a psychic sphere suddenly spread outwards to envelop the ship and a large chunk of the surrounding sea water, gravity seemed to come under the beetle's control— and everything lifted.

Rising in the air like a christmas water globe, Doug threw a leg atop the railing and glared down into the water, palming another net ball before releasing his Golisopod into the air.

"Force 'em out!" He ordered Kira the Golisopod, the nimble samurai flipping through the air as she fell towards the center of the whirpool, one arm held at her hip before she suddenly swung.

The water beneath split in half as if it were solid as her First Impression cut through with blinding speed.

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Cillian Quinn vs Doug

"Damn it, it really is you." He said through a grimace. "So you're the kind of boss that doesn't trust his juniors, huh?"

Just his luck.

Slapping aside beads of sea water as they floated into his path, the youth's voice rang through deck as his Golisopod landed atop a railing, claws curling around the bar as the storm of shadows began to surge.

"All personnel, grab onto something and don't let go!" His grip onto the steel bar tightened as the wind began to whip up at the anchor's command, his jacket flapping wildly behind him. "Rough waves ahead!"

To put it extremely mildly.

He wasn't entirely certain if Tapu Lele would feel like fighting on such short notice— he had best be ready to deal with it if not.

"You know what to do." He muttered to his Orbeetle, the keeper of gravity— before slapping his Golisopod in the back. "And you do as well! Drop the anchor, Kira!"

The chitin plates upon his Golisopod's back glowed with the neon pink imprint of his palm as the samurai launched into battle.

With shadows pooling around her arms, growing her claws to awe inspiring size even as her body was battered by the storm, her tough frame toughed out the damage as she leapt from railing to water surface to water drop, seemingly adept at moving in the zero-G environment, closing in on the large Shadow pokemon before attempting to take a precise cross swipe across the algae covering the metallic surface.

For his part... Doug considered the rocket Underboss carefully.

He was... much taller than Doug; bigger in general, really. Definitely had more training under his belt than the younger soldier...

'Eh. Business as usual.' When was he ever the better fighter anyway?

Swinging himself over the railing, his feet touched onto the metal bar before he leapt off from it, cross a large gap of air to land relatively near the blonde man.

"Just for the record— I liked you better back in Galar, your majesty."

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Cillian Quinn vs Doug

The youth grind to a halt as a Cryogonal was thrown into his path, gulping as corrosive acid dripped down onto the steel deck and sizzled. A good warning, if there ever was one.

"Without Rocket weighing you down." The young soldier finished the other man's sentence for him, throwing in his own counter narrative with a somewhat confident smile.

They both knew what Galar had been about. There had been attempts to bring about Rocket in Galar— and none of them had come from the King of Circhester.

The Golisopod released a chittering hiss as tendrils surged forth and wrapped around her limbs, locking her in place to suckle away at her life force. Her eyes narrowed dangerously, muscles tensing as they attempted at tearing away from the algae with raw strength alone...

Before giving up.

Suddenly, the air between them seemed to cool off to freezing levels— before an Ice beam blasted forth from the bug to the anchor at near point blank.

"Heh, Rocket must be doing pretty fine for itself, if a mistrustful guy like you feels like he can afford to waste time with a bunch of medics." He said with a smirk, hoping the sweat running down his back went unnoticed.

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Cillian Quinn vs Doug

"...?" He tried not to shiver, the other man's chilling laughter engraving itself in his memory. "You... you serve declan walsh's rocket. All you want is power? Second-in-command 'power' good enough for you? Cause otherwise..."

He would have to depose and substitute Declan Walsh eventually. Here he was, nose down on the trenches, doing literal grunt work while the real Rocket Boss was back in Sootopolis, feet on his desk.

"S'like watching someone try to climb the corporate ladder." People who actually believe they can 'win' the rat race; become the CEO through sheer hard work, grit, and hours... "Inside Team Rocket."

The corporate ladder rat race was already nothing but a false dream sold to corporate workers to keep them dazed and hopeful. He supposed Team Rocket's adherence to strict hierarchies and love for badass, if almost juvenile rankings began to make sense if one looked at it through that lens...

"Urgh— capitalism makes everything worse." He muttered, his hand slowly moving to grasp his wrist, staring at the other man pensively.

This was Cillian Quinn, Rocket Underboss, Avatar of Lugia, and Rocket's current top enforcer.

He... was alone.

Surrounded by many nautical miles, far away from land.

And Rocket support.

Doug was a medic now. It wasn't his job— not anymore. But...

No. To even attempt it would put their medics and supply line at risk— more importantly, it would put the lives on his hands in danger.

But to let the man go would do so too—

"Huh? Pretty sure you were trying to destroy—" He began to quip back, before his eyes widened as the large anchor suddenly vanished into a rippling portal of energy.

He had thought too much about it— any choice on the matter had been taken off his hands now.

As the Underboss rushed towards the portal, a shadowy blur zipping through the ship at superhuman speed, Doug realized that if he was to do anything, now was the time.

His hand raised towards the portal, his finger pointing moving a step past Cillian as the tip shone a bright magenta—

And shot the scales, attempting to give the blonde a parting shot.

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