howard slayte isn't wrong. Hell, he rarely is. In a traditional fight, you would assuredly "lose". You would be worn down and overwhelmed by their sheer numbers, and then the League would capture you if they felt generous, or kill you if they didn't. In most senses, your defeat would be assured. Except, your idea of victory and theirs are quite different, aren't they? They win when they've got you in shackles or a casket. Meanwhile, you win by getting Palkia off of Kyurem. As they're going to find out, one of those things is far more difficult than the other.

And all it begins with Regice's Hyper Beam.

The instant it fires forth, you sprint forth, Xurkitree following close behind. That immediately backfires as a pair of Metal Bursts from Isaac Merlo fire back, and you're forced to throw yourself out of the way. Your Ultra Beast isn't so lucky, and its larger, ganglier body means that one of its arms is clipped by the edge of the counterattack, stripping away rubbery skin to reveal copper bones underneath. Still, it'll take more than a glancing blow to put it down, no matter how strong it may be. You quickly scramble back to your feet and continue your mad dash.

Yes, mad is the word for it, isn't it? As the Soulwinder settles upon the battlefield, your vision begins to blur and your head begins to ache. Xurkitree, too, begins to falter, its movements becoming more erratic with every step. It's amidst this chaos that you're ambushed by annalise henderson's Ceruledge, burning blades slicing your pistol in half, before Belial Stone's Arcanine rushes in to maul it. Tch. Well, not like you were going to shoot to kill, anyway. A gun's a nice threat, but you're past the point of those by now.

"Help us? And how do you know that?" You growl in reply to annalise henderson, a raised eyebrow invisible beneath your mask. "Just because your goals seem to align for this single moment, you think that it'll stay that way forever? That it's on your side? Is that the reason you'll condemn Kyurem, but protect Palkia? All for petty allegiance?"

Of course it is. It's always been about us and them. Us, the powerful, the fortunate, the righteous and the true, against them, the wretched, the miserable, the wicked and the wrong. The League and Rocket. Palkia and Kyurem. Not that they could ever understand your feelings on this matter. Not that they would even try. No, they seem all too content to turn this into a matter of just League against villainous Rocket, lashing out in jealousy against the Spacial dragon. Why bother explaining otherwise? They won't listen. Not to a useless scoundrel like you. They didn't then. They won't know.

...You toss the broken gun aside, and continue running.

The battlefield continues to get messier and messier. Tempest Quinn arrives with his Zarude, delivering a Z-Move to break down the barrier set up by ollie morales. That, in turn, earns him the ire of PENELOPE LIVY, who seems all too eager to kill him for that transgression. Retreat? No, not yet. You're too close to give up. Only a little further, and then--

--The shadows of Kazimir Wynter's Mimikyu reach for your legs, but Xurkitree grabs you just in the nick of time, pulling you into the air and out of their reach. The same cannot be said for it, whose cables are ensnared in the gloomy grip. Now what? With every second, this fight is getting more and more complex, more and more people entering the fray. Even now, Genevieve Cromwell enters the fray, aiming to put Regice to sleep. Arceus wept. You can't even call it a battle anymore: This is just sheer, unrelenting chaos. So, if that's the way it's going to be, you might as well add fuel to this fire.

"Electric Terrain!"

At that, Xurkitree allows its excess electricity to overflow from its body, flooding the air with pure static until it seems to turn yellow. In an instant, Electric Terrain is set up across the battlefield, from the mouth of the chasm to the edge of the Starry Shield. At that, the cold neon stares of dozens of stray Paradox Pokemon turn towards the mess of a battle, drawn to the excess electricity like moths to flame. More problems to account for. More opportunities to take.

Oh, and the electric aura will also ensure that the Hypnosis attempts on both Regice and Tempest Quinn, but, uh, you honestly didn't consider that at all. You'll just consider that a nice little added bonus.

But you've got to keep moving. Closer to Palkia. Xurkitree's done his part, so it's time for him to take five. You return him to his Pokeball, and a milisecond later, you send out your Dragapult, who catches you in a mid-air. With that, you fly onward, over the grasping shadows and towards Palkia All the while, you eye illeana reyes and her Blacephalon suspiciously. You're well aware of what that bastard clown is capable of. The question is, when is it going to pull that exploding head stunt, and what're you going to do about it?

---

Shred's Disguise
TL;DR - OKAY SO:
>Shred does some strategy-thinks.
>Narrowly dodges Isaac Merlo's Metal Burst. Xurkitree gets clipped though :slight_frown:
>Eris Halla Soulwinder settles on the battlefield. He does not appreciate this.
>annalise henderson's Ceruledge cuts his gun, but Belial Stone's Arcanine mauls it. Shred takes this time to shittalk annalise henderson before moving on.
>Thinks about how much he hates the government.
>Witnesses a lot of shit happen with Tempest Quinn and ollie morales and PENELOPE LIVY but he REALLY can't dwell on that right now and I can't either holy shit this post is too long!!!
>Narrowly avoids getting caught by Kazimir Wynter's Z-Move thanks to Xurkitree making the valiant sacrifice play.
>Xurkitree sets up ELECTRIC TERRAIN on the battlefield. Paradox Swords begin to mosey on over to get those Quark Drive boosts. Special tags for howard slayte and Tempest Quinn because they were targetted with sleep moves and I FORGOT THAT ELECTRIC TERRAIN PREVENTS SLEEP UNTIL HALFWAY THROUGH THE POST AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA--
>Switches out Xurkitree for Dragapult so he might fly in the air over the AOE League of Legends root effect.
>Eyes illeana reyes suspiciously. Does not trust that clown. Hates that clown.