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Cass nods in agreement - it's been half a year now since the whole incidents, but they were still fresh on her mind. And their consequences? Still wild to think about. The presence of Uxie and Azelf is also something, though Cass grins at Hideo and Uxie being playful. A brief glance towards Azelf meets her with an unfathomable expression where she really isn't sure what it would want to say but doesn't.

"Yeah, it's reassuring," she says, though there's also the constant fear of messing up and having them get captured again ... but they're capable themselves, too, and mostly recovered now. "Just ... I wonder if the red chain's only not working on ... the three, or if all toxic chains might have ... but that's quite the power, hmm?" she wonders aloud, before looking at the battle ahead, too.

A toxic chained Mr Mime against Lucario, with occasional help from Cass' Emolga, using Electrowebs to pin the pokémon in place where needed, and swooping in with Quick Attacks. "They're like a whole different species of pokémon sometimes," Cass murmurs, "With their abilities and movesets also being different, sometimes." She thinks on Illumina pokémon, on Shadow pokémon.

But her thoughts are interrupted by her Talonflame's warning caw, before she Flame Charges into another toxic chained pokémon - a Skarmory whose wings appear to be bound by the purple chains sprouting from its neck.

Hideo Kino

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There's agreement, but also a more restless sentiment brewing within Cass. "Yeah, it's ..." She looks at her hands, looks away and at Effie fighting back that Skarmory which seems to have discarded its steel typing. Her Emolga Saude swiftly joins, tilting the scales into their favour, as a "Ralts" also decides to join the fight.

"I just. I wonder if it's better to know now than if we really need it," she says, slowly letting out a breath - like a deflating balloon, like the longest sigh. "I just wonder what good these abilities might do if we're so ill-matched ... but that's life, I guess." There's also another thought flickering, thinking back on the moments of the prison break.

A moment of liberation, delivered through the Toxic Chains. She looks at Azelf, wondering what the connection between it and the Toxic Chained clones might be ... but she isn't sure if she really wants to know, or even replicate it somehow. Not when it almost ended like this.

"Mh-hm," she nods at Hideo's comparisons to Shadow and Illumina - Shadow pokémon she never quite saw, but Illumina and Toxic Chain ... "I wonder why that might be ... or it's the more obvious typing, with the Toxic Chain and all," she says with a more light-hearted note, as Illumina doesn't really have a type to match like Poison. "I think they're wrapping up there, too," she adds, seeing as the Toxic Chain pokémon are surely subdued, but-

Something rustles in the foliage behind them.

Hideo Kino

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Cass nods with a slightly frustrated exhale, though she does see the point. It just feels ... there's one power she has and she couldn't even use it against her biggest enemies. Letting out a deep breath slowly, she nods another time. "Yeah, we'll figure something else out to kick their asses," she says with grim determination, though part of her ... "... What if we redchain our own Toxic Chained pokémon ..." she murmurs.

At this point, it's probably also in part "curiosity killed the cat".

It's an idle sentiment that she can afford for now - but it's becoming more haunting and questionable as something moves behind them. Uxie's quick thinking averts the crisis of them being toxic chained, and Azelf is quick to follow the sudden shift in tension as it Nasty Plots while returning from the other, now finished fight.

Immediately upon seeing Munkidori, Cass is filled with both rage and disdain. "Electroweb - Sludge Bomb, Flame Charge," she commands moves for Saude, Jon and Effie respectively, anticipating that Azelf immediately also pounces with Expanding Force. There's a shimmer of red to it, almost - but it has seen what has happened. Even if it would like to initiate a battle of willpower, it would be rather ... unwise, unfortunately. Not when they know so little about this all.

Cass' pokémon move after Azelf, throwing out an Electroweb in hopes of capturing the Munkidori with other means, but of course it's not to easy. The Sludge Bomb is also avoided with a cackle, though it's slightly singed by the Flame Charge. "Bastard," she cusses, staring at its stupid face with a grimace. But still ... it appears stronger than before - has to be stronger than before, even if it's not gigantic here, even if it doesn't wear an empowering mask.

But how?

Hideo Kino

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As soon as its sibling strikes, Azelf is quick to strengthen Uxie's Mystical Power with a Mystical Power of its own. An attack it doesn't get to used too often, to keep up the appearance of being anything but itself. However, here, the muscle memory of this attack kicks in as brains and "brawns" (for a lack of a better analogy) combine.

It's enough to offer momentary relief from the Psychic Noise and the stupid monkey's attacks, but it's not enough - Cass has no idea what the glow in the Munkidori's eyes mean, but they can't mean anything good.

"Jon, quick, it tries something!" The trash bag nods and leaps in front of the crowd, using Protect to shield. But only going into the defense wouldn't cut it ... Cass calls for her Emolga Saude, "Electroweb!" Maybe they could hope to restrain it and then continue wailing on it.

However, it also doesn't seem like it would go down as easily ... maybe it's merely here to haunt them, remind them once more that one weapon of theirs won't work - won't see the use that they wish.

Hideo Kino

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The battle was brief and intense, and Cass does her best to hide the actual terror as several beams were barely deflected and dodged. Azelf's parrying with Expanding Force as well, though it's not quite as efficient as Uxie's Future Sight as it meets its peer. Cass lets out a low exhale as silence covers the battle scene then, and nods.

"It's truly a fucking coward," Cass spits with feigned confidence that slowly starts sinking in for real again. "So we gotta find a way to immobilise it when it's showtime ... and we can't use the one way we've got clear," she adds with a sigh, though there's plenty of others. The Red Chain's been the most efficient so far, they should ... be able to figure something out. "Or mess with its mind somehow else."

But for now, the two other pokémon need help, and Cass would be happy to provide it and distract herself slightly, though Toxic Chains are still quite on topic.

Hideo Kino