The enemy was deep behind their lines, and that simply wouldn't do.

Being so high up, Shalin could see the enemies approach from far below. That included a pair of hostiles taking off from the ground and flying up to intercept her. Two of them, one Crobat and one Gliscor, both in hot pursuit. Pincers snapped in anticipation and fangs gnashed with disdain as they grew closer, unburdened by any rider to slow them down. The odds would not seem to be in her favour, and judging by the aggression of her foes, the two of them certainly knew it.

"Cro Cro!"

"Gliiiiscor!"

Energy coalesced around Crobat's wings, and with a well-timed flap, it sent forth a barrage of Air Slashes towards the Beedrill. Meanwhile, the Gliscor thrust its tail forth like a javelin, firing a Poison Sting aimed to hit the insect's rider.

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Shalin Nariya

The moment Shalin heard the cries of the poison-type Pokémon hurtling toward her, she hurled her Flygon's Poké Ball skyward. Another buzzing Pokémon added to the cacophony of the battle, the dragon-type glowed a faint green in sync with the suited rider. The green aura became brighter as a STATUS SHIELD encircled Shalin and her dragon, turning the poison barbs into needles as harmless as a syringe. Her Beedrill was not nearly as protected, buffeted by the AIR SLASH and forced well off her flight path.

Knowing she needed to go all-out against such a coordinated pair of Pokémon, she tapped into her suit's power, turned sideways in the saddle, and slid onto one of her Beedrill's wings. The Ranger Captain disappeared into a green streak of light, fluttering about faster than the eye could see. Her entire body shaking madly, the wasp dove for Shred's Crobat, looking to hammer her vibrating foreleg stings into the poison-type with the immense power of a dragon.

Sandy couldn't let Queen Zing have all the fun! Chasing down the Gliscor, the insectile dragon accelerated toward the long-tailed Gliscor, taking a swipe at it with her DRAGON CLAW.

In terms of speed, Crobat and Beedrill are both well-matched, though the weight of a rider once again proves to be the deciding factor. The bat manages to dodge the "Dragon Hammer", avoiding the vicious blows with ease, weaving between each furious blow as though it were second nature. However, it could not stay this close for long, and with every second that passed, the attacks came closer and closer to hitting. Thus, with a low growl, the Crobat flew straight downwards, making a hasty retreat.

But that did not mean it was running away. Now that the hunter was below its prey, it simply needed to change its approach. It began to beat all four wings in tandem, stirring up the air around it, before sending out a turbulent Whirlwind in an attempt to disrupt the Beedrill's delicate flight.

Meanwhile, Gliscor was entangled in its own affairs with the Flygon, dodging the flurry of claws. Though it lacked much of the speed of Crobat, it made up for it in hardiness, managing to shake off what cuts and scrapes it did get without so much as flinching. Yet, all it needed to find was a single opportunity, and when a gap into the dragon's offense presented itself, Gliscor was quick to capitalise with a Sky Uppercut aimed to catch the Flygon right on the jaw.

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Shalin Nariya

The Crobat was one slippery foe, and could fly in quite turbulent air. With how fast Queen Zing's wings were buzzing, not to mention the added strength bestowed by Shalin riding one of them, they were putting out a wake strong enough to upset the flight of most Pokémon the Crobat's size. Not this one.

Shalin held on for dear life as the wing she rode upon buzzed faster and harder, desperately trying to stay upright in the WHIRLWIND. Losing her sense of being in combat from the euphoric adrenaline rush, she sounded a loud whoop as the intense vibration suppressed many of her senses.

Even her Sygna Suit has its limits; after a few seconds of furious buzzing, the tingling in her hands and arms at last overcame her grip on the wing, sending her flying sky-high and at dizzying speeds. As she kept rising into the air, the Gliscor's sting landed exactly where it was aimed. Blood dripped from the scaled Pokémon's jaw, the STATUS SHIELD repelling the venom. The green glow surrounding the dragon vanished, letting gravity and Shalin's other Pokémon take over.

A little dizzy from discharging Infinity Energy to keep Shalin from falling off the Beedrill's fluttering wing, the Flygon hovered near the Gliscor and churned her wings so fast that they created a BOOMBURST from their tips exceeding the speed of sound. With Shalin out of range of the sonic blast, she was safe. That Crobat better be far away if it, too, was going to avoid the most powerful vibration Shalin's team was capable of producing!

With a mighty BOOM!, the Gliscor was sent flying back, struck by the full force of the explosive sound and sent tumbling through the air. For a moment, things seemed dire for the scorpion, as it fell further and further from the sky. However, its senses soon returned to it, and with a twisting swoop, it regained control. Of course, it would take some time to return to the conflict proper, but it was still in the fight, and that was what mattered.

That left the Crobat alone for a time, but that would not deter the bat from it's mission.

Taking advantage of the Flygon, whose attention was momentarily elsewhere, Crobat launched itself forth. Its grimacing mouth opened wide, revealing its two piercing fangs as yellow eyes locked on to the neck of the dragon. With its attack aimed and prepared, there was nothing left for it to do but bite down, aiming to Leech the Life from its foe.

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Shalin Nariya

The Crobat's WHIRLWIND had blown Queen Zing and Shalin far away from Sandy, who was reeling. The STATUS SHIELD surrounding them both had dropped due to their great distance, letting the Crobat latch directly onto the tired dragon's neck. With piercing fangs, the bloodsucker began to siphon both blood and Infinity Energy from the Flygon. Shalin felt the sting of the nasty critical hit as well, her link with the green-scaled Pokémon a double-edged sword.

As Shalin's altitude peaked from being hurled off Queen Zing's wing, the green Beedrill shot skyward and flew underneath her, catching her. Turning off her Sygna Suit to stem the pain, it forced Sandy to take the full brunt of the LEECH LIFE attack. The veins of her neck bled almost completely dry, causing Shalin's Sygna Pokémon to crash into the ground below.

The link between her and her Pokémon turned off much faster than Shalin had expected. Did something awful happen to her Flygon? She couldn't dwell on that. She took her right hand off the wasp's reins, pinching against the Key Stone in her MEGA CIRCLET. All she needed to do was wait for the excess Infinity Energy to drain from her Sygna Suit, and her Beedrill would Mega Evolve.

Fangs sunk deep into the Flygon's neck, and before long, the great dragon collapsed, falling down far to the ground below. Having scored a critical knockout, Crobat took a moment to savour its feast. It hadn't taken much in the way of damage, but what little it had taken began to fade away. All it took was a few seconds to consume what it had taken, and the bat was as good as new, free from scrapes and bruises and exhaustion alike.

Meanwhile, Gliscor had managed to regain the altitude it had lost, riding the winds to bring it back to where it once was. The two attackers had been reunited again, and now, they were fighting a two-against-one. And unfortunately for Shalin, neither was inclined to be particularly merciful.

So, the two would take up the chase once more, flying after the Beedrill like predators hunting prey, all the while bombarding it with a barrage of Poison Stings and Air Slashes.

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Shalin Nariya

As the two flying Pokémon charged toward, Queen Zing's wings buzzed faster and harder, a tingling feeling shooting up the rider's body as her suit's Infinity Energy left her. The light of MEGA EVOLUTION enveloped them both as the wake of the AIR SLASH cut into the inert Sygna Suit's weak protections. The INFINITY ENERGY revitalized the Beedrill as she sprouted two additional foreleg stings.



The vibration was numbing; she was but a passenger on the Mega Evolved Pokémon, zipping through the air with almost uncontrollable agility. Her drone was sickening, both to listen to and to feel the physical wake of the air they displaced. The girl's hair underneath her suit was a total mess. Helpless to send out another Pokémon, Shalin and Queen Zing simply let the Gliscor's needle strike almost harmlessly. With the added speed Mega Evolution bestowed upon her, the wasp's rear sting glowed purple with the energy of a DRAGON HAMMER, looking to pound the deadly barb into the Crobat.

The power of Mega Evolution was a truly frightening thing to behold, and even moreso to fight against.

The empowered Beedrill shot forth with blinding speed, aiming a powerful sting at the Crobat. Even though it was faster than most, the Poison-type found the tables turned, and now it was the one being outsped. It barely had enough time to react, and could only manage half of a dodge, able to avoid getting directly hit. However, that just meant that instead of its body taking the burnt of the damage, a wing was forced to endure it instead. One sickening snap later, and the Crobat found itself spiralling, unable to control its flight with only three wings. While it hadn't been knocked out, it was hardly going to be rejoining the aerial skirmish in its current condition. Just like that, the odds had been evened, and now, it was a fair fight once more.

But that didn't mean Shalin was in the clear. No, when Gliscor saw its ally falling from the sky, something in its expression changed. All of a sudden, it had lost its advantage, and now it found itself backed into a corner. And when in desperate times, that called for desperate measures.

With a ear-piercing screech, the Gliscor swooped forth, razor-harp pincers open wide and ready to close on the Beedrill's neck, aiming to decide the entire battle with one hit, one brutally effective strike, one Guillotine to end it all.

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Shalin Nariya

As incredibly powerful as GUILLOTINE was, it required incredible precision to snap the neck of a Pokémon off. It was precision that was made all the more demanding with the sickening speed and agility the five-barbed wasp zipped through the air with. The bug's entire body visibly rattled with the power behind her loud buzzing, the harness Shalin sat in the only thing keeping her in the saddle.

Baiting the Gliscor as close as possible, the big bug halted one of her wings completely. Shalin gasped from the sheer strength with which her ride changed directions, the sides of the flying ground-type's pincer slamming into one another harmlessly. Unbeknownst to Queen Zing, the whiplash from the wild turn had rendered Shalin unconscious, her harness keeping her from falling. Lurching back, the Mega Evolved monstrosity threw all five of her FELL STINGERS toward the Gliscor, her violently vibrating body adding to their strength.

"SCOR...!"

As the five stingers punch a hole right through the Gliscor, its eyes go blank and its mouth drops wide. It's a ruinously effective attack, hitting just about every vital point on its body. The piercing damage alone was bad enough that, were it not for the scorpion's natural resistance to poisons, the venom that followed might've proven fatal. Still, he's made of much hardier stuff than most. Unfortunately, that isn't hardy enough for him to keep fighting.

Unconscious, Gliscor slides off of the four stingers, and falls down to the ground below. Shalin is free to continue on her path, her Flygon knocked out, but otherwise completely unimpeded.

GLISCOR AND CROBAT - DEFEATED.

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Shalin Nariya

MP TOTAL THIS THREAD:
100 MP for SKY.
60 MP for 6 IC Posts.
10 MP for knocking out another Pokemon.
50 MP for Gliscor getting knocked out.
100 MP for completing an RT Mission.
150 MP for completing an RT Battle.
50 MP for participation.
300 MP for losing.

TOTAL MP = 820MP.