[attr="class","sunshine"]"Alright," she echoes before trailing after him.

Plank is more than familiar with the training spaces on the sub. They are the place she goes first when she's on the base and in a mood. Entering one then always fills her with a mix of relief and anxiety. She expects to come to them wound up, and her body is always confused when she's not.

"A knife?" she asks at the same time as she moves to get one. Her hand reaches down past her pockets and towards her shoe. She slips fingers into her left sock and comes out with a pocketknife. Its exterior is weathered, red worn away to pale pinks in multiple places, but when she snaps it open the blade is immaculate.

"This do?" she questions, eyes focused on her hands as she tests the edge with her right forefinger-tip. The top layer of her skin splits cleanly and she pulls the finger away smiling despite the spot of blood already welling up on it.

[attr="class","sunshine"]The Obstagoon makes for a pretty awesome picture. Queenie's DRAGON PULSE splits cleanly across its arms, the OBSTRUCT both stopping the attack and allowing the dark-type an easy dive into the depths. It would find itself face to face with a surprised Kingdra; but while its approach and grappling attempt are impressive -- the water is ultimately her domain. SWIFT SWIM carries her out of reach.

But there's no avoiding the attack from the Noivern.

It's a merciless display. The BOOMBURST sends painful vibrations through the water; and Plank can't help but be a bit impressed watching a Gym Leader willing catch her own pokemon in the crossfire. Putting Noah's cleverness from her first gym battle next to Melody's boldness in her second is doing wonders for her impression of the league's champions (well, figuratively, obviously the champion is a different . . . whatever).

Regardless, Queenie and Livewire both do their best to shake off the music still quaking through their bodies. Queenie does so with relative success. She blinks hard and shakes herself off; and then the water around her begins to spin dangerously. A makeshift whirlpool momentarily forms as a HURRICANE builds around her, then the winds rush towards Obstagoon with enough intensity to affect the air even above the water's surface.

Livewire fares significantly worse. This time when she attempts to build the necessary charge for another THUNDER something goes wrong. The electricity loses its direction on the way to the special organ on her head and instead discharges inside of her somewhere. The move is lost and she can't help but buckle somewhat at the pain that runs through her.

[attr="class","sunshine"]"Don't back down!" Plank shouts as the Primeape sparks and its fur stands on end. Baby rushes forward, gritting her teeth while heeding her trainer's command. The THUNDERBOLT hits her directly. It hurts, and badly, but she was ready for it and hardly misses a beat clearing the space her opponent had literally stumbled into.

Her body rears up before crashing down again, another WATERFALL made more impressive by the rainwater that swirls about the Sharpedo's body. Hit or miss she rushes by the Primeape, allowing her momentum to carry her past it. Paired with her SPEED BOOST it's enough to just avoid the DYNAMIC PUNCH from the approaching Machamp.

"Circle around!" Plank shouts, "Towards me!"

If Swabbie is going to keep using PROTECT they might as well make some use of him.

[attr="class","sunshine"]Standing around is boring and irritating but nothing new in her life. Plank rides it out as patiently as she can. Spits in the dirt a couple more times, kicks the wet spots until they vanish. When they finally let her in she follows without comment. She hopes if she doesn't complain there won't be any small talk; and sure enough that's how it goes.

They make the walk to the field in blessed silence. She's surprised, though, at what she finds there. Not the pokemon or the trenches or the battle-scarred ground. The gym leader. He looks like he's her age. Imagine that.

"Bonnie," Plank replies to the gym leader's greeting, "it's a pleasure, or whatever."

Not only is he her age, Doug seems just as eager to get on with things as she does. She can appreciate that. She reaches in her pockets, pulls out two pokeballs, and without ceremony releases her pokemon onto the field. Two flashes of light twist and shape themselves.

One grows long and terrible, when the glow fades Grog -- her Gyarados -- is revealed. He roars proudly into the air before snarling at the opposing pokemon already out. His attempt at INTIMIDATION clear and pronounced.

The other takes less impressive shape. A bulbous mass grows wings and when the light is gone her Pelipper, Swabbie, is revealed. Flapping his wings lazily to hold himself aloft. Already clouds form above his head. They grow and spread slowly at first, and then all at once. The battlefield's silence is broken by the sound of rain as a DRIZZLE begins to wet the ground.

"Let's see what he's got, bring the storm boys!" she commands. Swabbie begins to beat his wings more fiercely, summoning gale winds at the same time as Grog seems to call them through his hot, heavy breath alone. Two HURRICANES surge across the field, emboldened by the already souring weather.

[attr="class","sunshine"]Despite her attempts to keep a cool head, Plank can't help but pump her fist when her first attack of the battle connects. For some it may seem like a drop in the ocean, but she relies on her offense hitting home from minute one. It's all about establishing pressure and momentum. That's all she knows how to do.

"That's it! Keep pilin' on, don't let 'im breath!" she shouts -- words equal parts encouragement and command.

Queenie and Livewire both prepare themselves to deliver another volley of attacks, but not before the gym leader cuts in with her own offensive. Plank's Lanturn has only just surfaced, sparks of electricity surging across her rubbery flesh, when she falls into the trap.

TAUNT pulls her attention to the Obstagoon. Rankles her enough that she doesn't turn away from the SUPERSONIC that scrambles her brain immediately after. The sounds of the stadium fade away and are replaced by ringing as the battlefield doubles and spins around her. When the static that surrounds her flares up, building into an attack, for a moment it surges dangerously.

But she pushes through her confusion. Livewire takes a breath and narrows her eyes to pull the Noivern into focus, before letting loose a THUNDER that rides the droplets of the rain on its way to try and fry the dragon-type.

Queenie's offense is, by comparison, quite straightforward. The Noivern picks up the Obstagoon and begins to fly away; but the Kingdra shadows it from the waters below. There's another flash of light before DRAGON PULSE once again splits the water and races towards its target. Noivern, as commanded.

[attr="class","sunshine"]Is this how people feel when she's in a mood? This is great! Plank's already getting used to Wolfe not laughing along to the things she thinks are funny, and it's even kind of funnier that way. Same with her grumping about and pouting.

"No mashed potatoes, got ya," she confirms with another light laugh before walking out of Wolfe's special corner in the medbay and looking around. When she spots a doctor she whistles. Yes, like you might call a Houndour.

"Hey, what can small, dark, and helpless over here eat?"

[attr="class","sunshine"]The dry sarcasm behind the man's display isn't lost on Plank, but she soaks it in anyway. Lets herself feel a little satisfied that she's got the man to perform for her. Lets herself pretend it's a show of control over the situation.

"What can I say, right's my restin' state," she throws out with a smirk.

"Knives," she answers Theo's question, then pauses and answers it some more, "Basic shit, nothin' fancy. I don't toss 'em around or juggle 'em or whatever. I'm good at stickin' it where it'll kill ya 'n' doin' it quick. At least in theory."

[attr="class","sunshine"]Plank plucks the lighter Gavin tosses out of the air. There's a gentle slap as the plastic meets the sweaty skin of her palm. While the underboss gets to work, she distracts herself by lighting her cigarette. With hands that absolutely are not shaking she slips it between her lips again before giving the lighter a couple flicks.

She's handled lighters plenty, she doesn't need the test flicks, but they kill some more time. The quiet snickt snickt pulls enough of her focus to ignore the blubbering man. Once she's verified that, yes, this lighter does work quite well, she finally actually lights her cigarette.

The first drag is rough. She's no seasoned smoker and her lungs are still trying to fight for their lives. Plank hasn't quite managed to kill every one of the little cilia within them yet; and they try in vain to filter the tarry smoke. All they manage to do is pull a tiny cough out of Plank before she breaths in again.

The man she lured into this trap dies pleading for one more gasp of clean air.

"Yeah, sure," she nods at Gavin's request before walking up to the man's corpse, still suspended by the pokemon responsible for choking the life out of it. She very pointedly doesn't look at his face -- not out of guilt but out of knowledge for what it must look like. All broken blood vessels and bulging eyes.

He doesn't have much on him. She pockets his cigarettes, finds his wallet and tosses it to Gavin, and finally discovers a gun tucked into the back of his jeans. There's probably more, but she pauses for a second to look at the weapon. Turns it around in her hand. Like the swords in Remiel Calcifet's practice room she tests the weight and marvels at how it settles in her hand.

[attr="class","sunshine"]The rising music and the transforming stage both only heighten the quiet buzz of energy running under Plank's skin. She puts her hands on her hips and breathes out hard while trying to repress a smirk. She's not here to have fun, she's here for that badge. Nevertheless, one foot taps steadily along with the beat of the drum hidden behind the guitars.

She narrows her eyes at the gym leader's pokemon as they appear, then shuts them completely in thought when she's given the first move. Takes a deep breath. After a couple seconds she exhales and opens her eyes. The wait isn't long but it's necessary. She can't get reckless and get caught in a trap like she did against noah faber.

"Let's go!" she shouts to her pokemon and both dive into the waiting pool of water, "Set up the rain 'n' let's start pressurin' her flyin' rat!"

The shadows that betray her Kingdra and Lanturn's positions under the water take two radically different paths. The latter swims off into an open, out of the way space. There her shadow moves in lazy, wobbly circles. RAIN DANCE. Immediately above Livewire, clouds form before rapidly spreading across the battlefield. For the combatants, the blaring music is muffled somewhat by the sound of countless raindrops hitting the water of the pool.

The former shadow, Queenie's, rockets off the moment the rain starts. Already the Kingdra was feeling at home in the water, but the rain bolsters her speed and comfort. SWIFT SWIM allows her to make a mad dash into firing range of the Noivern. There's a flash of light under the water's surface before a DRAGON PULSE bursts forth -- sending a spray out in all directions as it rockets towards the Dragon-type.

[attr="class","sunshine"]Baby snarls when her attack fails to get her anything more than a whiff of the Primeape's wet fur; but she's far from deterred. She spins around and is hot on its heels without pausing for a second.

"It can't run forever! Bear down!" Plank shouts and the Sharpedo opens wide. The air shimmers around her mouth with something ethereal before hardening into slivers of hard, pink light. The PSYCHIC FANG creates a second row of teeth with which Baby can attempt to chomp down on her slippery opponent.

As she bites down her whole body seems to flex. Adrenaline mixes with SPEED BOOST to keep her energized.

Meanwhile Swabbie faces an unforeseen problem. When he tries to unwrap his wings they don't budge. He flutters to the ground, still cloaked in a flickering green light. PROTECT refuses to abate and struggles to maintain itself all at once. The Pelipper is stuck.

"I'll battle 'n' clean all at once when I mop the floor with your team!" Plank calls back to the gym leader, chewing at the inside of her cheek as she tries to plan her next move.

[attr="class","sunshine"]Wolfe's response earns a short bark of laughter from Plank. Like most of their interaction so far the reaction's definitely not appropriate, but it makes her think of the last time they were together in the medbay.

"Now who's bein' dramatic?" she asks, grinning, "Alive is alive. Dead is dead. Even if ya feel like shit it's better you're able t' feel like shit."

She nods along quietly as Wolfe explains her condition, and can't help but laugh again at the sound of her growling stomach.

The frustration she flings Plank's way rolls off like water on a Ducklett. She knows what it's like to be wound up and helpless to do anything about it. You throw anger wherever's closest at hand.

"It's good it's not permanent, kinda need your brain t' do admin stuff," she says, "figure it'll put itself together better if we get ya some food, though, so how about I stop 'drillin' ya 'n' see what the doctors'll let ya have?"