As they flapped down after the Xurkitree, Howard was screaming the whole way down. Flying with a paralyzed Scizor was like letting Shred drive an old car. You'd likely die in a wreck before the engine exploded, but both were a possibility that you had to entertain, even if your first mistake was to trust Shred Zeppelin of all people to drive.

Ah, right. Back to the screaming.

"GRIGORI WE'RE GONNA DIEEEEEEEEEE!" Howard screamed at him as the Scizor fluttered down with the two trainers in tow. Howard would've gladly held onto his Aerodactyl for dear life, but instead he was an accomplice in the first and only Scizor Test Flight. At least the ground was rapidly approaching. "IF WE DIE FOR HIM I'LL KILL YOU!"

Thud. They hit the ground, rolling into the next room.

Howard died.

Spiritually.

"GRIGORIIIIII!" Howard yowled as they hit the floor, the Stakataka's strike causing a gust of wind to blow off Howard's hat. What the? He had put a cord on it just for moments like this? Where was it! Then, he remembered the Scizor. Damn, the Pokémon must've cut it as they descended.

"My hat!" Howard clenched a fist, his haircut rapidly deteriorating due to the static electricity and helmet hair. This had evolved beyond basic combat. It was now a fashion war. As Grigori asked his question, Howard's eye narrowed in on the bright blue eye.

Then, he realized.

"Grigori! It's our base! Our base is back!" He yelled, shaking the enforcer and making his head flop about like an eel. It was just an all-star round of old foes coming back to ruin their lives. Howard half-expected the giant golem they had fought to round the corner and atomize them all. The gang really was 'all here'. "We're gonna diiiiiiie!"

Turning towards the Stakataka and Shred, Howard's Claydol erupted into an Earth Power, sending massive chunks of building and stone flying into the air as a geyser of stone and soil erupted under the Stakataka and Xurkitree. That would mildly irritate them!

"Yes! I know that I'm great and awesome, but that was too easy!" Howard shrugged, before moaning as the dust cleared and a limb erupted through the dust. "YOU'RE STEEL! YOU SHOULD'VE BEEN POUNDED!"

---

Grigori Sokolov Shred

You don't really know what happened after the Xurkitree jumped. You were far too busy trying to repent for all your many, many sins in the vain hope that it might get you a pity invite to heaven. However, all of your grovelling proves unnecessary, as surprisingly, this several second drop doesn't end with you as a red stain upon the floor. You suppose you should be thankful for that, but you're far too busy recovering from your near-death experience to even think about being grateful.

Well, that, and for one other pressing reason.

"BLEURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRGH!"

You vomit, regurgitating a grim slurry of over-sweetened weetabix and processed ham slices and stale cake and instant noodles all over the ground. It's not pleasant, not for you doing it, not for the Xurkitree witnessing it, and especially not for the ground who's being subjected to it. In fact, the ground is so displeased that part of it flips around, revealing a strange looking red circle. As you're in the middle of heaving and gasping, you happen to make eye contact with it. Wait, isn't that...?

CRASH! A pillar of bricks slammed into the Xurkitree, sending it flying back as you're dropped down to the ground. That SHOULD be a good thing, except for the fact that right now, the ground is your enemy, and it's incredibly displeased with you in particular.

"SHIT!" You grab a random Pokeball from your belt, scrambling to your feet as you toss it out. You're not sure who's inside it, but you can only hope they're fit for the job. "Come out and protect me--"

"FREE! FREE FROM THE BALL! TIME TO ATTACK KILL MAIM SLAUGHTER HURT!!!"

Uh oh. That's Haxorus. You try to curse under your breath, but only end up retching. They're something of a problem child among your ranks, more volatile than a cranky Electrode and more vicious than a pack of Vigoroth. When you got him as an Axew, you assumed they were just goofing off, and when they were a Fraxture, you chalked it off to growing pains, but as a Haxorus... Yeah, no, they're fucked ip crazy style. Arceus only knows what Rocket was doing with the dragon before you got your hands on them, because they're nothing but sheer, pure brutality. Shiny, though, so that's a big plus. Chicks dig that sort of thing.

"SHRED WANT VIOLENCE? WHO GETTING VIOLENCED? VIOLENCE PUNY ARCHAELOGIST? VIOLENCE OBNOXIOUS BODYGUARD?" Haxorus senselessly snarls, beginning to stomp towards the pair, only to angle its gaze down towards the shifting, staring bricks beneath it with incredulity. "FLOOR MOVING? FLOOR LOOKING AT ME?? FLOOR ALIVE??? HATE FLOOR!!!! VIOLENCE FLOOR!!!!!"

With a rabid roar, they deliver a heavy Breaking Swipe to the Stakataka beneath their feet, sending blocks flying as a single blow reduces the intricate stonework to rubble and detritus. Meanwhile, you're busy putting distance between that murder machine and yourself. Right now, you just need to leave that living weapon to its own devices while you get to safety, because you REALLY don't want to get caught in the crossfire of a battle as messy as this.

---

howard slayte Grigori Sokolov

Their old base was not fazed by the Earth Power. If anything, it only grew more agitated as the stonework rumbled in its rigid place. Grigori pulled himself up to his feet, dazed and slightly exasperated. It felt like the entirety of this space held contempt and hostility for any being not borne from it. A dismal thought in conjunction with their necessitaiton of being here.

But maybe it was time to fight fire with fire. “Scizor, I think it might be time.”

Time for what? Grigori rolled up his right sleeve and glanced down at the small black bracelet around his wrist. Inside a compartment was a shiny stone, a kaleidoscope of colors and hues. Scizor nodded along and shook its limbs loose. They’d only done this once before, and it had felt incredibly awkward. Like your skeleton itself molded into an entirely new shape. Maybe if it stretched, it would feel better?

Not the case. As soon as the grunt tapped the stone and pointed a finger at his Pokémon, the transformation begun. Metal atoms shifted and bonded in new, stronger forms. Its claws extended, shifted into the jaw of a mighty Krookodile. Its head rattled and groaned. Slowly, a black, spiked faceplate emerged from nothing. Its arms narrowed at all but the joints, and its legs doubled in width and lost its back toe.

Arceus, this felt awful! Despite its lack of mouth, a cry rang out loud and clear. “sciiiiiiiiZZZZZZOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRRR!”

“IT FUCKING BURNS AH FUCK THIS IS FUCKING HOT MOTHERFUCKING–”

It radiated heat. An internal engine shifted into maximum overdrive and pumped full of nitro. It had no method of self-regulation. The only decisions were to keep going until steel melted into a pile of sludge, or get off the ride. Unfortunately, there was a large building that needed to be punch through with impunity.

Scizor rushed forward, freed from its paralysis due to its transformation. It put Talonflame and Ninjasks to shame as the distance between it and the Stakataka closed in seconds flat. There was no time to waste, and its monstrous pincers cut through one of the creature’s legs like a knife through water.

Unfortunately for Shred, this caused the creature to lurch forward suddenly. Balance lost, it attempted to recombine and restructure its leg. Yet by the time it had almost ‘repaired’ the damage caused to its now cracked stone, the next leg suffered the same fate.

The Xurkitree attached to the Stakataka though, had yet to react to any of the phenomena that happened thus far. Either oblivious or uncaring, it continued its meager existence wrapped around the one leg. Neither a symbiote nor a parasite, its presence would hopefully go unnoticed and unbothered as the fight continued on. But this bug thing might put a damper on that mood…

---

howard slayte Shred
Scizor is now Mega Scizor (2 turns left) and free from paralysis

Man, the bitches loved Shiny Haxorus.

Howard couldn't even blame them. There was a guy in grad school who had caught one on a trip to Unova, and he had gone from the lamest person in the history of ever to the coolest in ten seconds flat. It was incredible what a simple color swap could do for one's popularity. Howard got why contest stars used Shiny Machines to alter color palettes. Even if it was both unethical and painful.

Hell, Team Rocket was unethical and painful, and Howard wasn't complaining! If he did, Grigori would likely put a gun to his back and whisper for him to face the wall.

The Mega Scizor made quick work of the Stakataka's legs, while Howard's Claydol continued to struggle to do substantial damage. How annoying. Grigori and Shred were taking all of Howard's good vibes, and that was not cool. He needed to do something, before his paycheck was cut for failing to be of use for this expedition.

"Sorry, Crumble. Tagging you out." The Claydol disappeared, and suddenly the entire room shuddered, almost knocking Howard and friends off their feet. A shadow loomed over the battlefield, and several eyes flicked open on their old base, staring up at the titan that now ruled the battlefield.

Bitches might've liked Shiny Haxorus...

But the boys loved Shiny Golurk.

Atlas closed a fist, looked at Stakataka, then at Howard, as if questioning his decision. Howard nodded expectantly and gave a thumbs up. The Golurk nodded, and then its eyes turned red.

"DECISION: Kick Ass."

Atlas let out a heavy slam as its Dynamic Punch punched through the crippled Stakataka, creating a massive hole through the organism as the fist punched through the bricks like a knife through soft cheese. Combined with Shred's Haxorus, the main body was blasted apart. Without legs, it could barely move.

Individual blocks littered the battlefield.

"Easy! It's even easier than last time!" Howard grinned towards Grigori, before a buzzing noise resounded behind Howard.

"ZRRRRRT!"

"EEEEP!" Howard dropped to the ground and began to cower as more electricity arced across the battlefield.

---

Grigori Sokolov Shred

It seemed that in these dire straits, everyone was going all out. Haxorus rampaged atop the sentient palanquin while Mega Scizor struck its legs, all while the towering Golurk clobbered it on all sides. You would be impressed by the sheer ferocity of it all, were you not stuck in the midst of it. You're being tossed above and thrown up and spun about and slammed down, and it's EXTREMELY disorienting. You'd probably vomit, if you hadn't already spent your spew budget.

...Man, that fucking Shiny Golurk is so cool...

Your unsteady train of thought is further derailed by the arcing of lightning. Raising your head up just a smidge, you catch a glimpse of the Xurkitree letting loose a barrage of lightning, having gone from "mildly irritated" to "quite displeased". This isn't good. The chaos is escalating. The longer you remain in the thick of things, the more likely you are to get caught by an attack, friend or foe be damned. You need to slip away from the eye of the storm and get to safety, but how...?

"OUCH! OUCH!!!" Haxorus shrieks, writhing about as a stray lightning catches its tail. "BASTARD WIRES! THINK YOU'RE BETTER THAN ME? WRONG! I VIOLENCE YOU NOW!"

"Haxorus, wait, NO--"

You try to grab onto the dragon to stop it, but that proves to be a very bad decision. The instant you grip it, the monster rushes forth, leaping off the top of the Stakataka and descending upon the peeved Xurkitree like a draconic meteor... Of course, it was using Giga Impact, but that wasn't really your primary concern right now.

"--YOU BASTARD DRAGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOON!!!"

CRASH!

---

howard slayte Grigori Sokolov

“AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA–”

The Scizor continued its assault, through both desire to vanquish its foe and primal fear of death. It did NOT want to resemble the remains of a construction yard alongside the Stakataka, which suffered hits from all sides.

Yes, even the Quite Displeased Xurkitree was hell bent on its destruction. That, or it was conveniently in the general vicinity of the rest of the bastards it wanted to murder. Either way, electricity shot out and bounced every which way in general, everyone an equal target for its bolts of lightning.

And as the shiny Haxorus clobbered it into the dust, Scizor managed to outrace its repair process. The sound of stone-on-metal filled the area, the building the cause as its weight gave in on itself. The bundle of wires that had no investment in the conflict seemed unbothered by this change of events. It simply unbound itself from the building block and put distance between it and the impact zone.

Grigori gave Howard a thumbs up as he crouched to the ground, ”I must agree, Mr. Howard. Looks like our investments have paid off.”

Despite existence in this realm being a pain, it felt nice to have things not end with them running in terror from a threat. The shiny Golurk was a welcome addition, too. Maybe he should go out and try to hunt for a shiny Pokémon as well. They seemed all the rage with the youth.

Even better was when he noticed the slow, mighty fall of the building away from them. Wait. It wasn’t getting further. Far from it, actually. The large rectangular continued to grow in size.

Panic seized Grigori by the chest. “MR. HOWARD, WE NEED TO MOVE OUT OF THE WAY!”

The grunt forcibly grabbed the archeologist and groaned. Howard had a lot more weight on him than initially anticipated. Even as lighting continued to arc off everything that had been caught in the crossfire, Grigori attempted to half-haul-half-help his friend out of the way of the building. Where was Scizor when you needed it?

“Mr. Howard, your shiny Golurk needs to push the thing off to the side! We won’t make it otherwise!”

---

howard slayte Shred

2/3 Posts with Mega Scizor

"GRIGORIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" Howard said as Grigori helped drag him away. The enforcer's brute strength was commendable, given that he was mostly carrying Howard and still running at a surprising speed. Whatever his workout was, it definitely worked.

As the Stakataka continued to grow and assemble, Howard couldn't help but feel that they were somehow being cheated. What was it with Pokemon getting knocked down multiple times, only to stand right up? This thing had been dropped into a chasm, punched, struck, exploded, and every other means of violence available to the three Team Rocket members.

Forget Legendary Pokémon and whatnot. declan walsh should invest in Stakatakas. The things were practically unstoppable.

"Alright, alright! Atlas!" Howard shouted at the Golurk, which immediately turned to Grigori and Howard as they dodged another strike. The electrical strikes danced off it harmlessly. "Push it over!

Nodding, the Golurk ran towards the Stakataka and began to push with an obscene amount of strength. The Ultra Beast began to teeter slightly, before anchoring itself in place. How flexible was this thing? Nonetheless, Golurk had gotten surprisingly close to knocking it over. If only they had a little more push!

"SHRED!" Howard yelled at him. "Get your Haxorus to help push!"

Man. Their hopes relied on Shred Zeppelin getting his murderous Haxorus to cooperate with Howard's Golurk? If that wasn't proof that they were universally fucked, Howard didn't know what was. Maybe it was time to decide what language he would write on his gravestone.

---

Grigori Sokolov Shred

You can barely even tell what's going on. Your body is bruised, your bones are fractured, and your brain has been bounced around your skull like a pinball. Haxorus is grappling with Xurkitree in front of you, and Golurk and Scizor are trying to topple the Stakataka behind you. This is an unmitigated disaster. Why do you do this to yourselves? There's just no need for it!

With a groan, you drag yourself up to your feet, trying your best to get a grip. Someone is yelling at you, but with all the ringing and the blood leaking out of your ears, you can't really hear him. Unfortunately, you're just going to have to ignore whatever struggle Howard and Grigori are going through right now. Besides, you couldn't even help them, even if you wanted to! Not with your heavy hitter busy trying to chew through cords and cables. Right now, you just have to focus on getting Haxorus separated from this Xurkitree. Then, and only then, can you rejoin the fight.

So... How do you do that?

"DIE! DIE!! DIEDIEDIE!!!"

Currently, the wires have wrapped themselves around the dragon like some kind of esoteric torture device, trying to restrain the monster's rampage. Said monster isn't taking that kindly, and is currently gnawing upon its... tail? It doesn't look like a leg or an arm, and it seems to have a plug at the end, or you're going to call it a tail. Fucking hell, what are you even supposed to do about this? What order can you give that would solve this problem? Wait... Yes, that's it!

"Haxorus, use--"

"GIGA IMPACT!!!!!"

Before you can even finish your response, Haxorus goes charging forth once more, this time with the Xurkitree in toe, and proceeds to slam directly into Golurk, who in turn slams directly into the Stakataka, and just like an esoteric form of dominos, all three of them come tumbling down. Eeesh, this isn't pretty. They're going to blame you for this, aren't you? Well, it is what it is. At the very least, you weren't lying: You DID knock it over. And now that it's prone, you can...

The Xurkitree raises an arm, a gigantic orb of electrical energy swirling about in its hands. Uh oh. UH OH. You've pushed your luck too far! That's no longer a Quite Displeased Xurkitree: That's an HIGHLY EXASPERATED Xurkitree. And if you know anything about Pokemon attacks - Which you honestly don't, but that's never stopped you before - then that can only be...!

"HOWARD, GREG, GET DOWN! THAT'S A ZAP CANNON!!!"

---

howard slayte Grigori Sokolov

Grigori’s breath caught in his throat as the giant building got closer and closer. For the second time on one of these adventures, he considered if this would finally be the time he died. This time, it didn’t feel nearly as pivotal, though. Crushed by a ton of blocks? Terrible.

But for the second time, Shred managed to save the day. The Haxorus sent the Golurk into the structure, and it went to the wayside. Its collision with the wall of the power plant rocked the ground violently, more than any Earthquake had ever tried. As loud as a bomb, he dropped Howard and covered his ears as the sound echoed infinitely in the room.

Grigori only noticed the Highly Exasperated Xurkitree’s attack when it was way too late to hope for him or Scizor to step in. He was too far, and the latter was busily devolving from its Mega form. Steam radiated off its metal, and it violently flailed its limbs in hopes it would cool itself off faster.

Fortunately, there remained one more force that could tend to their needs. The Chill Xurkitree, who had fled from an untimely demise, returned in full force. Drawn to the humongous amount of energy that the other one had created, it approached quickly and used its own wires to feed off the first one.

Foolish. There was too much energy to simply suck if away, even for a being of near perfect electricity such as it. Some had to be exuded. Its own head glowed a violent yellow as energy built up and up until it could hold on no more. Black cables bundled together and pointed straight at the Stakataka.

ZZRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRTTTTT!

A cannon of energy shot right at the building, which could only look at the other pair in… whatever emotion that looked like. Grigori could not tell from its position. Did aliens dream of otherworldly gods?

---

howard slayte Shred

Mildly Irritated Xurkitree? Chill Xurkitree? Forget them. Howard was Mildly Irritated, Highly Exasperated, and contemplating Chilling Shred in an icebox when he got the chance.

Watching his Golurk collapse into the Stakataka was like watching a bust of famed Kalosian general Napoleoff Boneapart fall against the ground and shatter because someone bumped into it. His Golurk was a piece of art, and Haxorus knocked it over! If they weren't fighting for their lives, Howard would've thrown a rock at Haxorus to concuss the brute. He'd probably die in the endeavor, but the trade was worth it.

Maybe he'd go to Valhalla or something, alongside Navy's new cat.

Luckily, the move worked, and instead of dying to a giant building, they got to join the thousands of ash corpses lining the ground. Lucky them! Howard felt the inhuman urge to run away and leave the other two behind. Maybe he could just file an accident report and be done with it.

Then, the Zap Cannon fired. Just not from the right Xurkitree and towards the right target.

The attack struck the Stakataka, causing lightning to dance across its body and each individual block. The eyes of each individual block dimmed until the entire Ultra Beast simply stood still, as if it had never moved at all. After a few seconds of hiding behind Grigori, Howard poked his head out. He cautiously crossed towards the Stakataka and nudged it with its foot. It didn't move.

"It's inactive!" Howard announced with a thumbs up. He then promptly collapsed into a heap.

Team Howard and Friends: 2. Team Their Old Base: 0.

---

Grigori Sokolov Shred

When the Zap Cannon fired, you assumed the worst, but as the blinding flash fades from your eyes and your sight returns to you, what you're looking at seems to be the best case scenario. Howard and Grigori are both very much alive, and the towering Stakataka is laying on the ground, very much "dead". The threat is neutralised, and somehow, nobody died. All in all, not too shabby, is it?

"YES YES YES! MURDER KILL DONE! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! NOW WHO DO I PUNCH STAB STOMP CRUNCH SLAM RIP CLAW NEXT?! WHO WANTS TO GET VIOLENCED NEXT!? I'LL VIOLENCE ANYONE!!! I'LL VIOLENCE EVERYONE!!!!! I'LL--"

"Holy SHIT, shut the fuck up." You groan, clutching your head. If you have to listen to those insane ramblings for even a second longer, it'll actually drive you insane. So, with a click of a button, you call the mad dragon back into their Pokeball, and blessed silence finally falls upon the battlefield. You breathe a deep breath as you slump down, slowly lowering yourself to the ground as you lie flat on your back, staring up at the stormy skies. Just like all of your trips to the Ultra Plant, this was an unmitigated disaster that just seemed to keep getting worse. But hey, you're still alive, aren't you? So, instead of complaining, you just close your eyes and breathe a sigh of relief. "Man, what a day. For a second, I really thought it was all over..."

You continue to lie there, relishing your hard-earned moment of respite. However, it isn't long before you can feel a tall shadow being cast over you. Great, what does Grigori want now? With a scowl on your face, you open your eyes, and--

--THE XURKITREE CAME BACK TO FINISH THE JOB.

"GYAH!" You yelp, looking up at the creature as it stands over you, no doubt thinking about how to finish you off. Slowly, it extends an arm, and all you can think to do is grovel for your life. "Wait! Stop! Be reasonable! You don't have to do this. Humans and aliens don't have to fight like in the movies. We can get along, just like in the movies! Think about it! You don't have to kill me! It's not too late to change things! I can fix my mistakes! I can turn my life around! I HAVE SO MUCH LEFT TO LIVE FOR...!"

...Wait, is that a Pokeball in its hand? You blink. It's offering you a Pokeball? You climb back up to your feet to get a better look at it, and as you look at it, you notice the initials S. Z. are crudely etched into the hinge. This is one of your Pokeballs? Oh, it all makes sense now! You must have accidentally dropped it during your last time in the Ultra Plant, and it was just trying to return it to you.

"Oh." You sheepishly rub the back of your neck, avoiding eye contact with the alien's lack of eyes. Man, Howard and Grigori aren't going to let you live this down, are they? "Thanks, bud. Sorry about the whole screaming thing. I guess I misunderstood you. It seems we have a long way to go before humans and aliens can-- Oops!"

As you reach to take the Pokeball back, you accidentally knock it out of the creature's wirey grip, causing it to bump into mass of cords that made up its torso. Before either of you could even process what was going on, the Xurkitree was caught within a flash of red light, pulled into the very same Pokeball it had been trying to give back to you. You have no words. You have no thoughts, either. You simply stand there, completely stunned, eyes wide and mouth agape, as you watch what happens next.

Shake. Shake. Shake. CLICK!

---

Shred has caught a Mildly Irritated Xurkitree!
howard slayte Grigori Sokolov

Shred… caught the alien? Grigori closed the distance between them fast and looked at the poke ball in barely disguised curiosity. Oh, how he wanted to poke and and let it out and see what it felt now being under the control of a human. Did it even know? Did it even care? It must have, for how it tried to murder them only a minute prior.

“Congratulations on your newfound acquaintance, Mr. Shred,” Grigori said. “Hopefully you two get along well. And don’t try to bring each other down into the dirt.”

Meanwhile, the other Xurkitree slowly approached Grigori. Its movement told him it wasn’t scared. Or angry. Or happy. Or sad? As smooth as water, yet as uninterested as Arceus. For the best, he decided. Better to have no emotion than a negative one.

However, it snaked out an errant cord right towards his back pocket. Try as he might, the grunt could not react fast enough or dodge far enough out of the way to stop it. He felt its cold appendage grope around his pocket until it latched on and pulled out yet another poke ball. Huh?

“Mr. Howard, do you have any idea on what this means?” he asked. Perhaps it had its own curiosity to the new creatures in front of it. Did this mean they held the intelligence of humans? If not that, then of the smarter Pokémon? It rotated the sphere in its grasp, like it was the most interesting thing in the world.

Another cable joined the frisk. Together, it pulled on both sides of the ball with great force. With a little elbow grease it–

Disappeared inside. “Well. Uh. Hmm. I’m… stumped. Looks like Mr. Shred and I now possess these things.”

“Do you think Team Rocket will want to experiment on it?” He asked fearfully. They better not. This was a creature to be examined with care and caution, not drills and scalpels.

Oh, but Howard was now the only one amongst them without one. “Sorry, Mr. Howard. I’m sure, if you really want, we can find you an alien to take home. Although, the best– and perhaps only– candidate is, you know. Dead.”

---

howard slayte Shred
Grigori caught the Chill Xurkitree!

"...what?"

Was this a joke? The cord monsters had been stalking them the whole time, and not only that, but Shred and Grigori both caught them? What sort of first act foreshadowing nonsense was this? It wasn't fair! He wanted a funky cord monster too!

On second thought, he did not. He'd probably wake up one day only to realize that he had left the bloody thing plugged in, and he'd be visited by the police on the assumption that he was running one of those crypto mines that Shred was always talking about. Howard didn't know where the thug was learning about those things, given he had never seen Shred use a computer, but whatever.

Simply put, he couldn't afford to keep a Xurkitree plugged in. Jokes on Shred, he'd be caught diverting power from Hoenn's electrical grid.

Could Grigori afford to keep one of these things? Howard knew from experience that the Team Rocket salary was not large, but Grigori had to have some sort of severance package or tenure from being a member of Team Rocket. Or, at least, Howard assumed he did. The older man never spoke much about his past, but judging from his age and how people treated him like part of the furniture, Howard assumed he had been there for a while.

"From my years of anthropological study on alien life forms," Howard said waspishly as he looked at Grigori, "You just septupled your electric bill. Congratulations."

Dang. He wanted to study these things, but Howard guessed it could wait. The Stakataka was an interesting specimen, as well. Who put them here? Why? What was their purpose beyond ruining the lives of low level grunts? How did they communicate with one another? A lot of questions. Very few answers.

"Don't worry. I don't think my apartment lets me have aliens." Howard frowned, "I don't think I'm even allowed to have Pokémon."

Reaching down, Howard picked up a stray brick of the beast. He tossed it towards the greater pile, before walking away. Click. Hearing the noise, he turned back towards it. The block had connected for a few seconds, before falling away. He frowned at it. Strange.

He had a hunch.

"Howard. Grigori. Do me a solid and zap this thing for me." Howard straightened his hat and scratched his chin. What was he cooking?

---

Shred Grigori Sokolov