[attr="class","spiral"]Stargazing is the last thing you'll find Fernando Silph doing after a hectic workday. Yet, somehow, here he is, loitering outside his home, sneaking a smoke that no one else knows he partakes in. And in that unique circumstance is an even more extraordinary situation. Up high, the night sky lights up in a brilliant display of neon purple lights. Darkness serves as the perfect camouflage for Genesect, allowing it to position itself without detection until it winds up its attack.

Fernando disregards the phenomenon at first, puzzled for a moment, before it dawns at him. No, there's no way that—

His hand reaches for a Pokeball and his mind stalls on making a rational move. Instinct keeps his eyes on the expanding light while his feet stumble backwards in an effort to push him away. In hindsight, he should've made a run for it immediately but panic takes over in the few seconds between the attack's charge and execution. He's barely able to throw the pokeball out by the time the TECHNO BLAST comes railing down on them.

Purple meets green and they stalemate for a moment before the TECHNO BLAST overwhelms.

There's a reason Fernando trained his Glalie to PROTECT upon being summoned. He doesn't use it often these days but during the Slateport Invasion it literally became his living shield. Unfortunately, that time has long passed and even PROTECT falters against the devastating power of Team Rocket's latest weapon. His Glalie is thrown aside, barrier shattered like glass, while Fernando is caught in the aftermath of the blast's impact.

His body is hurled backwards, clothing charred by the heat of the energy discharged, palms bruised and bloodied as he tries to stop himself from skidding against the cement. The pain is sharp enough to cause him to cry out in curses but that's just the eye opener he needs. It keeps him awake, steady, driving his fight-or-flight response into overdrive.

The smart thing to do is to run.

But his pain demands revenge and violence begets violence.

The first thing he needs to do is to even out the playing field. He reaches for the closest ball to his hand, jabbing his thumb in desperation against the capture mechanism. It lets out his Noctowl which flutters a few feet in front of him.

"FIND IT!"

He's not quite sure what they're dealing with but whatever it is, it's using the cover of night. Until Fernando knows where it is, he's both a sitting duck and stuck without recourse. Thankfully, the Noctowl's FORESIGHT allows it to see clear as day. It gives out an alarmed hoot while staring directly at the strange Pokemon.

Fernando doesn't wait for his Pokemon to find it. He starts running the moment the bird Pokemon is brought out, fishing to release his next Pokemon.

[attr="class","spiral"]Run. Get as far away as possible. Buy time to change the field to suit your advantage. What the enemy has in surprise can be contained by sheer numbers. Get your team out, Silph!

Battle routine set.

Execute!

The meager peace attained since Verdanturf may have rusted his guard but held within the sheath of Slateport is a blade crafted for war. All Fernando needs to do is draw it, letting muscle memory and routine propel his body. Like clockwork, it all comes back, each stumbled step paving the way for a giant stride, hand settling onto his Pokeball as it all comes back to him. He can barely activate it when it all comes undone by the Genesect's landing. The tremors from the Pokemon's raw speed causes him to lose his balance, tripping over his foot, dropping the ball clumsily, as he catches himself in time to power through his sprint.

Fuck! An amateur mistake. He has no time to dwell on his butter fingers, immediately reaching for the next one to take its place.

Left without orders, the Noctowl is left to handle the situation however it sees fit. When the situation calls upon a burning vehicle being hurled its way, the Pokemon responds with a decisive MOONBLAST, looking to incinerate the projectile before it can squash the much smaller owl. The action is born out of panic, an immediate reaction, but it proves as wise as the Pokemon's acclaimed visage. The MOONBLAST punctures the thin metal plates of the vehicle with ease, causing it to split, landing much sooner, and inadvertently causing the ruptured engine to combust in an EXPLOSION.


Flames and metal debris alike buffet the duo. A loose door, torn off its hinges, swats the Noctowl away like a mere insect, squashing it as it lands several feet away on bare asphalt. Fernando is also blown away as well, landing on his back, and rolling away due to the momentum of the blast. Intuitively, he raises his arms up to shield his face from any possible shrapnel, while his sleeves catch on fire from the lingering EXPLOSION.

It hurts all over. Terribly so. But there's no time to rest. If he doesn't react he'll die. Despite the throbbing, heated pain spread across his back, Fernando rolls over, wheezing out MISTY TERRIAN, while reaching for another Pokeball.

"AAAAAHHH!"

Screaming makes digesting the pain easier. In the same vein of pushing his limits on the last set of weight lifting, Fernando powers through swinging his arm to his waist, smashing the next Pokeball against the ground in a desperate effort to crack it open. Anything'll do so long as he can get it out.

On the other side of the fire is Fernando's Rhydon. As their first line of defense, the Pokemon is struck by the SIMPLE BEAM, oblivious to the nature of the attack, but enraged enough to roar in defiance. In a show of clear vindictiveness, the Pokemon digs its hands into the ground, uprooting the road and throwing the sheet of broken cement into the air before punching at it repeatedly. Each chunk becomes a potential ROCK BLAST set to pelt the enemy from afar from behind the obscuring curtain of burning gasoline.

His last Pokemon, Porygon2, remains by his side, DOWNLOADING a map of the area to better adjust for combat. It remains unaware of their predicament, barely able to locate the bodies of Fernando's injured Pokemon by the time the second ROCK BLAST is launched.

[attr="class","spiral"]It can talk?

Fernando doesn't have time to question the phenomenon in front of him. Surviving is his only concern. The bleak respite granted by his opponent's monologue is enough tfor him to grab his bearings, dedicated to planning his next route of attack while remaining still, buying as much time as possible without putting up any obvious resistance. Let them talk. The longer he entertains the idea the less valuable their element of surprise becomes.

"Surely killing dahlia goode must be easier than ambushing me to get me to do your work for you."

In any other circumstance, Fernando would've answered with the same brevity he spares those that annoy him. However, he needs to string them along a bit longer. Enough to mentally count his Pokeballs and confirm where his next one is. It's the third one from the left. Now if only he could unhook it faster than the enemy can attack.

"Then again, she's a stubborn bitch. Probably went through as many assassination attempts as I have back in Kanto."

He doesn't outright decline. Not yet. Not while there's still a smoking gun still aimed at his body. But buy too much time and the enemy will grow tiresome. He needs just enough for the rest of his Pokemon to familiarize themselves with their setting and the positions of their allies.

"Who are you? What's the terms to your deal?"

Pretend to go along with it to lure the enemy into a false sense of security. Not because they have anything to worry about but because that slight moment where they take the chance to answer him gives him a split second to haul ass and get back onto his feet. Fernando throws another Pokeball out, revealing his Mimikyu which remains beside him. Unaware of the severity of the situation, it giggles, TAUNTING the only person it could deem as an opponent: Genesect.

[attr="class","spiral"]"You're asking the impossible from me while pointing a weapon in my face. You should know better."

His last stand of defiance is tapping the last Pokeball on his person, releasing his Gyarados to serve as both a meat shield and his primary offense. Like the rest of his Pokemon, it comes out swinging, coiling up in a show of INTIMIDATION while its DRAGON RAGE swells from between the beast's jaws. It fires off the attack immediate as a show of force, dead set on creating spacing by blast it backwards.

And in this time, Fernando books it, forcing distance to get a better view of the area while removing himself from the danger zone.

His Porygon uses GRAVITY and everyone becomes tethered to the ground. Even his Gyarados is tugged closer to the floor, still floating but unable to slither through the sky freely.

Out of sight, his Noctowl uses the torn off car door as a shield, taking a moment to ROOST to recover its energy.

By now, his Glalie has shaken off its initial shock. It floats back into place, firing multiple ICE SHARDS at the Genesect from where it landed after the TECHNO BLAST.

Mimikyu takes the chance to disappear into the ground with SHADOW SNEAK, unaware of the TAUNT taking effect.

And lastly his Rhydon remains out in the open. The burly beast demands attention and pools a blue orb of water into its palm. Once the energy peaks at a respectable level, the Rhydon thrusts its arm out toward the Genesect, unleashing a gigantic SURF from out of nowhere.

With all the piece on the board, Fernando's battle routine slowly comes to fruition. If it wasn't for the perilous nature of their encounter, he would've loved to dissect the battle from a more strategic standpoint. Anything to find out what makes this newfound Pokemon tick.

[attr="class","spiral"]Precision and routine keep him alive. Despite the painstaking effort to even out a sure loss, Fernando some how comes up with a draw. The fact that his opponent can TELEPORT Pokemon onto the scene instantly serves as a firm reminder that surprises come by the dozen. It goes without saying that this was premeditating and aimed at sending him a message.

Fernando Silph is just as vulnerable as anyone else.

And, once they disappear, fear takes hold, jolting across the rattling noise of his bones and fingers. But Fernando does not dwell or hide from fear. He embraces it with a mounting frustration that's muffled by the ongoing fire outside. Someone else has taken up his role during the Slateport Invasion. They're stalking him, observing him, and utilizing everything they know to pick at him until he becomes undone at the seams. It's his textbook behavior — just never thought of to be on the receiving end.

"Someone beat me to it."

Someone beat him to Avalon.