Kazimir Wynter makes the first move, charging forth in tandem with his Lokix. However, it isn't long before the man slips on ice left behind by the cataclysmic frost storm, sliding across the ground. His Lokix tries to Lunge towards the Iron Bundle, only to end up having its legs knocked out from under it by its own trainer, sending them both careening out of Santa's Grotto and crashing into the Stantler enclosure. The two only stop when they crash into a pile of hay, burying them in straw, and causing the reindeer much dismay.

The second member of the Shirtless Squadron doesn't have much better luck. It starts off well for Tempest Quinn, as the man not only manages to avoid slipping over himself, but his Dipplin even manages to launch a successful attack, too. The Infestation of insects rushes towards the Iron Bundle, eager to crawl into the circuitry, gnaw on the wires, and lay eggs in the USB ports. However, things begin to sour as the machine's head tilts up, looking to the bugs. For a moment, their ravenous advance halts, thousands of legs all stopping at once, thousands of eyes looking upon the Iron Bundle as though they were looking at the face of Arceus. Then, a flipper is pointed towards Tempest Quinn, and all of a sudden, the Infestation rushes to return to sender. Whoever would've thought that the bottomfeeder scum and hungry vermin would've betrayed their crisp apple commander in favour of this unholy wretch? Truly, a tragedy for the ages.

Fortunately, the last member of the Topless Trio manages to find some success. Aidan Hereford calls forth his Scizor, and the bug manages to avoid both slipping on ice and being mutinied by its own attack. Instead, it launches a simple and effective Bullet Punch at the Iron Bundle, hitting it head-on and sending it tumbling across the ground. It's not particularly flashy, but it worked, and that's more than can be said for his Clotheless Compatriots.

Meanwhile, ana fell and Eris Halla have the privilege of watching the ongoing farce on the sidelines. Certainly, not having to get close to that abomination is a luxury, but they can't exactly just leave it alone, either. So, the two send a pair of their own Pokemon on the offensive.

Eris Halla's Wooper is the first to arrive, hitting the Iron Bundle with a Chilling Water. However, it seemingly does very little to disable the creature. Sure, it washes off all the gunk, but it doesn't actually slow it down. In fact, as soon as the water drips off and hits the ground, it proceeds to shatter. Had it froze over after touching the Iron Bundle? That's strange enough, but it's made all the stranger, as the black gunk once again pours out from the robot's every orifice. What the hell is wrong with this thing?

That's what ana fell tries to find out. Her Porygon scans the Iron Bundle, trying to hack into its software so that it can be disabled. With some effort, it manages to breach a few layers of security, but it falters against the deeper protections. Still, the Porygon is left with read-only access to all of its data. Surely, it can find something, some error in its code or glitch in its system?

...Except, it can't. Sure, the code of Paradox Pokemon is highly advanced, incredibly futuristic, and near-incomprehensible, but even still, there doesn't seem to be anything notably wrong with it. Seriously, what's wrong with this thing?!

Well, there's no time to think about that. After all, the Iron Bundle is down and out! It's time to finish it off quick, before it can get back up and start wreaking havoc again!

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The next deadline for this thread is Sunday 27th November, 8PM GMT.
ana fell Tempest Quinn Kazimir Wynter Eris Halla Aidan Hereford

The group were quick to take advantage of the downed Iron Bundle, to try and take it down as quickly as possible and put an end to the chaos. They did this, of course, in the most chaotic manner they could possibly think to. There was not a single drop of coordination between the five fighters, and it showed in the absolute lack of cohesion in their move choices.

First off was Tempest Quinn, who... Well, didn't really have much input in his move, given he was still dealing with all the creepy crawlies. Instead, his Vaporeon took the initiative, sending out a Muddy Water to drench the battlefield, her trainer included. Luckily, that would wash away both the sticky syrup and the mass of bugs! Unluckily, it would leave the half-naked man drenched in dirty water, something that was far, far harder for him to wash off. Even more unluckily, it didn't seem to do much to the Iron Bundle. It just laid there as the water washed over it. After all, it was already leaking filth from every orifice, what would a little more do?

Next up was Kazimir Wynter's Togepi, who would triumphantly march up and wave its finger about, calling upon a Metronome, summoning forth the power of DRUM BEATING. A pair of vines would burst out of the ground, and proceed to repeatedly smash down onto the head of the Iron Bundle, as though the Paradox Pokemon were a drum, and the vines were performing the most intense solo of all time. By the time the vines retracted, the mechanical bird was more than a little beaten up, dents and bumps appearing all across its body. However, it still did not so much as move.

Then, ana fell would step up to the plate, striking a flashy pose as her Gardevoir fired off a Thunderbolt. Of course, it needn't be said that electricity and water were a dangerous combination, and Tempest Quinn could tell you that more than anyone. After all, he ended up suffering the consequences of this more than anyone else, as he experienced what the kids called "shocking squall torture". Still, it also ended up hitting the Iron Bundle too, so it wasn't all bad. Even still, the robot didn't so much as move, even from a super-effective lightning attack.

At this point, it became clear that any further attacks were just icing on the cake. Such was the case with Aidan Hereford's Scizor, who deftly avoided getting muddied nor electrocuted, and delivered an Air Slash to the downed machine. They cut deep into the Iron Bundle's exterior, most of all into his aforementioned bundle, which was split wide open by the fierceness of the cutting winds.

Finally, as though to add insult to injury, Eris Halla's Wooper waddles up and delivers a devastating Icy Wind to the Paradox Pokemon, sending it skidding backwards across the ground. Though, perhaps it wasn't the most expertly aimed attack. Amidst the chaos, some of the winds would blow backwards and end up blowing upon ana fell, who had foolishly leapt out of her shelter to strike a silly pose. What an idiot.

Still, when all was said and done, it seemed they were victorious. The Iron Bundle had been defeated. They had won! Now, all that was left to do was--

RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP! The Iron Bundle's mechanical sack, wrecked by all the damage, would burst open, and the contents would spill out. Most of it was fairly standard affairs, crumpled presents and sludge-covered baubles and human bones and the like. However, there were also other treasures amidst the loot, like loose Pokedollars, loose TMs and TRs, a few surprisingly fresh-looking berries, odd-coloured shards of colourful crystal, and even a brand new Tera Orb!

Surely, since they had fought so hard to run damage control, they might be entitled to take an early Christmas present for themselves...?

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The next deadline for this thread is Friday 1st December, 8PM GMT.

Tempest Quinn Kazimir Wynter ana fell Aidan Hereford Eris Halla