maki observes through the binoculars as the caravan crawls over the ground. ground and rock types... she has plenty of pokemon with a type advantage, but only five pokemon are guarding the trucks? she frowns thoughtfully. "...if they're ground or rock types, we can't assume there's only five," she says quietly, staring across the sandy expanse. "there may be more underground. we should be cautious instead of rushing in with a headlong attack assuming we can beat them with sheer numbers."

she reaches for a pokeball, and releases her empoleon. her recent failure in the gauntlet has set her teeth on edge, so she needs to make sure she doesn't screw this up. "if we use mist as a cover, one of us can get their attention, and the other can sneak around back. these are ordinary truck drivers-- if we take a hostage, they'll likely let us take what we want."

the main problem, then, is getting close enough to release that mist without being seen. there's little cover in the desert, only sand dunes. "we just need to get close enough without being spotted first..."

[ Zev Harcourt ]
[ outfit ref ]

the flight over is silent, and it's not long before they reach their destination. once they've landed, maki once again calls upon her empoleon once more. the command she gives is quiet, so she won't be overheard, and it takes mere seconds for the area to fill with the water type's mist. with visibility now limited, maki begins the frontal assault, providing cover for zev to sneak around. it's the obvious choice-- since it's her empoleon providing the mist, she needs to be the more visible one, or else their opponents will suspect something is wrong.

it should be easy enough to pick them off one by one. "whirlpool," maki says, no emotion in her voice. a torrent of water whips around the closest pokemon, trapping it in its throes. it's not a powerful attack, but it is a way to limit their movement. she'll have to be cautious from here on out, though, because her own pokemon is particularly vulnerable to ground type attacks.

her fears are realized when the ground starts to shake. rather than pinpoint her location, her opponent has decided to shift into an all-out attack by using earthquake. maki holds her ground, thinking quickly. "get onto the truck!" it's the only way it'll be safe, as the sand beneath them rumbles dangerously. her empoleon follows her order, leaping onto the nearest vehicle and clinging to it by using metal claw, digging in to provide leverage so it can hold on tightly.

[ Zev Harcourt ]

the shaking slows, and maki regains her footing. it's hard to tell what's going on in the mist surrounding them, but she can hear zev's pokemon have joined the fight as well. on the truck nearby, as her empoleon clings, it finds itself in a much better vantage point for seeing zev himself as he yanks the driver out through the broken window. it spies the claydol then, as the psybeam it unleashes heads on a crash course toward zev. recognizing him as a person to protect thanks to maki's training, it opens its beak and directs an ice beam at the other beam, cutting it off and preventing it from hitting zev.

the two beams cross and hold each other back. it gives the empoleon enough time to launch itself at the claydol, fully intercepting it. its ice beam grows stronger, and finally pushes back the psybeam, crashing into the ground type. maki hears the commotion and follows her pokemon on foot, hurrying around the bend. the trucks themselves have come to a screeching stop. maki catches the barest glimpse of zev and the driver, and knows their plan, so far, has worked out.

[ Zev Harcourt ]

the mist around them clears, leaving only the scorching heat of the desert. maki and her empoleon remain on standby, as zev holds the hostage who is already pleading for his life. their opponents' pokemon freeze, uncertainty clouding their body language, waiting to be given orders. in that regard, maki and the pokemon here are alike.

she hears the sound of multiple people unbuckling. "good," she calls. next, the pokemon are recalled. "come out with your hands up." she doesn't want to see any funny business. the moment someone tries something, her empoleon is ready to hit them with another ice beam. they likely wouldn't survive such a direct attack, and the other drivers seem to know it as they eye the water/steel type warily.

maki nods to zev. so far, so good.

[ Zev Harcourt ]

the truck drivers watch with horror as their valuable cargo is vanished into thin air by zev's beheeyem. locked inside one of the trucks, they know better than to intervene. maki catches the eye of one by accident, and instead of looking away she stares them down until they look away, chastised.

when zev addresses her, she angles her head, dipping it in recognition. "thank you." her empoleon has come to stand beside her, standing at roughly her height. the acknowledgement she gives it is not unlike zev's acknowledgement of her own efforts; "well done," she tells it, before returning it to its ball.

maki gazes at the trucks for a moment before turning back to the smallest truck, not wanting to let it out of her sight. "do we leave them, once we're done here? if we let them go back in one piece, they may buff up the security for next time." her tone is thoughtful. "...perhaps we could wipe their memories. that should cause some confusion. if we're lucky... the blame will be placed on them, and their employers will assume they're responsible for missing merchandise."

[ Zev Harcourt ]