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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]Beach combing was a hobby best spent with others. Unfortunately, in an active warzone like this, cooperation was hard to come by.[break][break]

"That'll send 'em packing." Isaac harbored no ill will to the grunts he'd sent scrambling over the horizon. He did, however, need them gone so he could start searching for the caravan they scrambled. A supply run had gone dark in this area, and he wasn't about to just stand back and let perfectly valuable resources sink beneath the stands.[break][break]

Luckily, his Pokemon had his back. Supernova and Nitro circled overhead, keeping a bird's eye few on the situation. As the Staravia and Fletchinder criss-crossed through the air, a troupe of Falinks scrabbled in their wake. It was going to take a lot of eyes to get a handle on this situation, and nobody brought as many to the table as Crash and the Boys.[break][break]

"Any luck?" Isaac looked over from the water's edge, his efforts at finding anything along the damp sands so far fruitless. Crash and the Boys looked over from their own quadrants of the beach, shaking out a "no" in unison. "Ugh. C'mon, a caravan doesn't just get up and walk away . . ."[break][break]

There'd been far too much fighting over this corner of the beach for there to be Literally Fucking Nothing. The League pushed Rocket out of the area. Rocket pushed the League out of the area. Now Isaac pushed Rocket out of the area. Like hell was he going to end up empty handed when the next part of the vicious cycle came knocking his way.

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While she was patrolling the area she got some information from Rocket through coms that they had managed to interrupt a supply caravan that belonged to the League, however they were struggling on securing said supplies for themselves. They were requesting reinforcements from any able bodied person in the area, which included her.[break][break]

Tori lightly whistled to Oz to call him back to her side as they would make their way towards the rendezvous point. Obviously securing those supplies would be a good boon for Rocket. Not to mention it would serve as a small blow to the League as well. But if they were truly struggling to secure these goods she wasn't quite sure how much she'd be able to help. [break][break]

"You look like shit." Tori commented on one of the grunts that had managed to escape an assault by a league member. They grunted as if to say 'No Shit' but she just smirked and handed them some first aid supplies. The furthest that Rocket had gotten with this damn caravan was not too far from where she was. But with busted up wheels they couldn't exactly just lug all of the supplies over to their area without being caught by League personnel that lingered in the area. [break][break]

"A distraction hmm?" Tori muttered to herself as she made her way with some other grunts to find those that were still lurking in the area. "Zero." with a small flash of light her zorua appeared with a grin on his features. "Let's play hide and seek." she said with a grin and Zero snickered beside her before shimmering into a perfect illusory copy of herself. [break][break]

Zero ran off in the open and Victoria would hide. Hopefully he would be able to serve as a bait to draw out the enemy, meanwhile Tori and the rest of the grunts with her could attempt to ambush them from another angle while their focus was elsewhere.

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Of course things wouldn't go as planned. After all she was no tactician. While she might have known her way around a few battles here and there she was no soldier either. She was a mercenary, a glorified errand boy. Victoria's frown deepened from her hiding spot as she noticed no one interacted with Zero the way she had intended. [break][break]

And it wasn't like Zero could do some great acting for her either. This was only a visual illusion after all. With a heavy sigh Tori turned to the other grunts with her. "I'll try to serve as a distraction myself. Leave a couple of people hidden in case I need help, the rest of you try to get the cargo up and moving." [break][break]

There were no objections to her plan, after all if she wasn't to go out there on her own they would be hard pressed to stop her. But this wasn't some grand self-sacrificing plan of hers. She just hoped that this would be more efficient of a plan than them all running into trouble and losing the supplies they had just recently stolen.[break][break]

Tori wasn't sure what to expect just yet but there was one take away from this whole thing, Tori had been alerted to a presence. An enemy no doubt but she wasn't exactly sure of their prestige just yet. She walked towards where Zero had last ran past with her hands raised as if to signal she meant no harm. "And here I thought our little trick would work."

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Conversation. Something, once again, she hadn't been expecting. Of course, it would've been the best outcome of this whole situation but the mood was awfully light for this being a battleground. It left her skeptical and on guard, but she didn't test her theory, after all she was the distraction. [break][break]

"So. I'll tell you mine if you tell me yours. Were you hoping I'd just see a Rocket and go running off to fight you?" his pokémon slowly began to approach but they didn't look like they were going to harm her. So, Tori shoved her hands into her pockets while they continued to converse. [break][break]

"Guilty as charged." Tori responded with a small smirk. "I mean, can you blame me though? This is a battlefield after all." she said with a slight shrug of her shoulders. "Your turn. What's your story? Why didn't you attack me?" Why don't you attack me now?

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Amused. Tori was cautious, but amused at the same time. The end result would be a battle either way, there was no way she could leave him here with the other's attempting to sneak their goods away from their trackers right under their nose. But for now she'd enjoy their little chat. [break][break]

Though as she continued to listen there were a few things that she picked up on that left her with more questions. 'Forget?' she thought to herself. It didn't show on her outward expression, considering she was still wearing a smirk. But one wouldn't say something like that unless they were 'familiar' with something.[break][break]

To be familiar in this case would mean they were involved which could only mean one thing... "Surprised you haven't already come for my head, considering. Clearly, Crash & the Boys have you too scared to try anything." Tori's grin slowly fell from her face as a deep sigh left her lips. "Ah, I see." so her assumption was correct after all. "What a shame."[break][break]

With a click of her tongue she crossed her arms over her chest. "And here I thought we were getting along." The skies overhead quickly began to darken as RAIN began to fall. Somewhere out of view, Tori's Phione, picked up on the situation and began a timely RAIN DANCE. A soft rumbling of thunder could be heard as the clouds above swelled and swirled. [break][break]

"And no, I'm never afraid." she replied just as a flash of light was lit from behind her signaling Osiris' AURA SPHERE being charged before blasted straight at them. Rules were rules, and Tori just had to obey. There was no other option for her. Desertion was paid in blood, it was just that simple. She was sure he had his reasonings, they all did, but so did she.

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It wasn't that Victoria was incapable of feeling fear. Her recent escapades with the Blood Moon Ursaluna showed her that wasn't the case and that there was plenty of things that could still rock her to her core. But why would she admit that to a total stranger, a deserter at that. Confidence was half the battle, that's what she learned in Kanto. [break][break]

But confidence could also be a downfall, so she made sure usually not to overestimate her opponents. But nothing could've prepared her for what began to unfold as combat between them began to progress. She watched as his Metagross mega evolved and glared at her Lucario. She clicked her tongue in disapproval.[break][break]

She wasn't equipped to deal with mega evolutions at the moment. Especially since she was down a pokémon as well because she had sent Zero off. Empowered by its allies a wave of psychic energy rushed towards Osiris. He had attempted to QUICK GUARD against the incoming attack but he honestly wasn't used to such a burst from an empowered enemy. [break][break]

The psychic wave hits and the jackal crumbles under the pressure. "Fuck." she grumbles as Osiris attempted to get back to his feet before completely blacking out. "Nice try buddy," she whispered to him as she recalled him. They had been fighting nonstop recently too. The exhaustion plus power match-up was all probably too much. She pushed him too far. [break][break]

"New girl, I take it? Or are you just compensating for something?" Victoria glared back at her opponent as she watched as he collected the water droplets in the air to form a water ball of sorts in his palm. He suddenly reminded her of Cillian Quinn and his MIASMA which could only mean one thing, he was an avatar. [break][break]

"Stop talking like you know me." Tori growled. "We're not that close." she said as she took a step back. One pokémon fainted, another missing. This wasn't looking good for her. Neri wasn't quite ready yet to handle these guys and the way she saw it, water wasn't going to be doing much against this guy.[break][break]

She didn't have to explain anything to this man. Her pride dictated it so. She'd experienced all manner of hell in her life. But she could help but feel her insecurities flair in the face of imminent defeat. She was weak and clearly outclassed here. Her plan was scuffed from the beginning. She shook her head and laughed pitifully at herself.

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"Well, you didn't even know me before. So I'll take it."[break][break]

Victoria rolled her eyes and groaned in annoyance. Still, she'd take his snarky quips over what he could be doing to her right now. The difference in strength was clear, and Victoria was out of her league. At least for now. The DREAM MIST was an ever present force on this island, this time was no different. Over the course of her escapades on this island she'd gotten exposed to the mist enough to grow sick of it. [break][break]

But as she was backed into a corner she was granted glimpses of what would seem to be her opponents past. Each word that he spoke pierced a spot in Tori's chest that made her want to squirm. She felt extremely uncomfortable, perhaps because there was clear truth in his words. But she didn't want to hear his preaching, not here. [break][break]

She didn't come here for a therapy session, she was just a soldier. Besides, everything he said was in direct contradiction to everything that she had been taught back in Kanto. "Ugh." she groaned as she held her head. With the MIST'S involvement pops of dream bubbles would appear around her as well. [break][break]

What they showed was the hell she endured. The abuse from her parents who took their anger and frustration out on her whenever they couldn't measure up to Rocket's standards. The death, poverty, and corruption she was exposed to at a young age. The eventual death of her parents to the rescue and eventual adoption from THEO BECKETT. [break][break]

Hell, even her private moments when she'd cried to herself whenever she was left alone because she was scared weren't spared. She'd often crawl into her father's empty bed and cry herself to sleep when he was gone. Tori wasn't fearless, no, but she couldn't expose her fear because that weakness would be exploited in such a way that she'd wish she was never alive. She'd been there, done that. Kanto was unsympathetic. [break][break]

Kanto was such a different beast than what those here had to deal with that it was unreasonable to believe that she'd be able to properly work through and heal through all of her trauma. And this was just as taste. "Keep that spirit up, alright?" A bright smile spread across his face "Bet you'll have me on the ropes next time."[break][break]

As Victoria retreated she glanced back at him once more in confusion. "I don't understand you..." Why would he go so far out of his way to offer her advice like that, especially to an enemy. He knew, having been in Rocket, he knew she would be forced to confront him again. Tori was always taught unconditional kindness, was empty kindness. A tool used to manipulate your target. Every fiber of her being was warning her but yet he seemed so sincere. She was conflicted. But she didn't hate the guy, snarky and annoying as he was. [break][break]

She didn't look back as she disappeared further into the DREAM MIST to get away from them. After all, she was sure they would meet up again.

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