Someone was feeling confident there, wasn’t he? Granted, the Froakie did manage to dodge the Meteor Mashes well enough – somehow, despite the Mega Evolution and everything being active. But that was probably due to the small size.

Usually, that would matter less since that came with its own demerits. Less power output was usually the case. Those small lungs could not create the kind of Hydro Pump that a big Blastoise could make, she reckoned.

It would still hurt, though, but it likely would not knock Lucario out like this. The rules here might still count it as a vital though, so they had to be careful. “Extreme Speed around it and try to knock it aside,” she ordered Lucario, who picked up speed right away, seeking to bypass the Hydro Pump and hit that little one directly.

[break][break]

+ 1/3 VP, Mega Evolution over, using Extreme Speed CIAN MAHER 6JthodwI

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“Hmm, good question,” she replied. It wasn’t something she had given much thought, to be honest. Sure, she had been angry at rude customers. Who wouldn’t be?
[break][break]
But was that really at the root of it all? Or had she just been lashing out at minor nuisances because there was little she could do about what was truly troubling her? It was genuinely difficult to say. “Hmm, I guess I just kind of hated my life, one pesky little thing at a time. Yeah, that probably puts it best.”

[break][break]

+ CIAN MAHER

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“Hey there, you,” she replied, blissfully oblivious who she was talking to. He seemed like a good enough chap, all chipper and stuff. That was good enough. Plus, he was calling his Pikachu Tofu. He probably was weird.
[break][break]
Not that weird was bad.
[break][break]
Crossing her arms, she let her Lucario take the stage for her. “I am Megan. This is my partner, Lucario. I’m not one for nicknames. Well, not for Pokemon anyway.” Humans were fair game though, like good Ol’ Ollie over there. “We’re always ready, so you can have move in this Peek-A-Boo competition.”

[break][break]

+ ollie morales

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“I’m…not sure what the compliment was here,” she responded, slightly confused. Then again, the gym leader was a weird man. Taking anything he said too seriously was probably a bad idea to begin with.
[break][break]
Still though, there was still a battle raging. It felt weird fighting against a Froakie going physical with a mega-evolved Lucario. But then again, well, vital points were not exactly just about scoring power. Or necessarily making sense. “Well, since you are already there, just meteor mash away,” she ordered Mega Lucario, seeing the canine welcome the frog with a barrage of blows at meteoric speed and power.
[break][break]
Well, that was what it was supposed to do. Vital points be weird.

[break][break]

+ CIAN MAHER 2/3 VP, Mega Evolution 2/2, using Meteor Mash 99T2dakI

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“I’m always fair,” she replied, sounding a bit bored as she said that. Still, her Lucario was ready and the fight was on already. So, she better keep that part of it short and snappy. “No clue why people think otherwise. Anyway, time to throw down with that one, Lucario. Rock Smash the bug, like back in the gym,” she ordered henceforth, still remembering that silly battle of attrition she’d once had with a gym leader.
[break][break]
This likely would not end that way. The vital points would make sure of that. “Also, I am older than twenty. Also also, never ask a woman her age, silly.” Chuckling a bit at that, she watched Lucario rush at the Pinsir, seeking to hit it head-on right away.

[break][break]

+ onyx straub, 3/3 vitals, mega unused, using Rock Smash U6MEk2ra

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“Those are my specialty….sometimes,” she noted, half bragging because she felt like she needed a bit of a win of sorts. Plus, it was working out rather nicely. Claydoll managed to help with some of the Nihilego that had not been either pushed back by the water pulse or confused.
[break][break]
It would not be enough to win against a whole nest of these things. But it didn’t have to. Together, the Pokemon created an opening large enough for the trainers to simply run through. Dragalge itself would bring up the rear behind them. “They probably know where we are going, but they still have to find the exit. Smoke Screen to cover our exit,” she ordered, briefly leaving the dragon behind as it released thick smoke to stop would-be pursuers.[break][break]
Once that was done she recalled it from a distance, not wanting to either stop, nor leave it behind. For the time being, they were making some distance there. “If they are anything like….well, any other Pokemon, they will probably at least look around for us since we disturbed the nest. We should probably just go for now, right?” she asked, panting slightly from the sprint.

[break][break]

+ ooc notes

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“Suuuure,” she responded, watching the fight go by. Apparently, adaptability was in play here, hence the lick going first helped a lot in that regard. That already cost a vital point. She sighed. These rules were not to her liking. She and Lucario both preferred to fight till the last, after all.
[break][break]
But with things as they were, they only had two more hits to take, possibly. No reason to hold back, then. “And no, being a nerd isn’t the new cool. They just got cool nerds now is all,” she replied before activating her mega stone. There were acceptable nerd-doms now and those that weren’t. At least as far as she knew.[break][break]
The smelly ones were still not cool, at least to her. Unlike Lucario, who got even bulkier in this mega form and tried to break out of the light of evolution right away with an Extreme Speed.

[break][break]

+ CIAN MAHER, Mega Evo active, +20 to this roll and the one after, using extreme speed FwQjLtZt

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“Give him a bucket and he’ll see what he can do,” she replied with a shrug. It was not readily apparent where that whole paint thing came from, so she just rolled with it. Naturally, she was nudging towards her good old Lucario, which was taking the stage, more than capable and ready to use paint as a weapon, if needed.
[break][break]
For the moment though, everything remained at least somewhat chill. “That being said though, it is much better at throwing, um, hands as the youngsters say these days.” Frankly, she had lost track of lingo ever since she’d stopped manning the counter. And she never regrated that in the slightest. “I’m Megan and I say we are ready to go here.”

[break][break]

+ onyx straub, Mega Evo on standby

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Oh, look a dark and brooding guy. She hadn’t had one of those in a while. They often came to the gym, acting above it all and stuff. Slightly annoying, but at least they were usually quiet.
[break][break]
This one was, too. He just called out his Ceruledge – and no, she was not going for the most obvious puns for that one – and quietly waited to start. She sighed. “Hi there. I’m Megan,” she started as she arrived, Lucario at her side. She had the bipedal canine take to the ring too. “You don’t have to introduce yourself though or anything. We are going to find out whether or not you are a pizza cutter soon enough, heh.”
[break][break]
Okay so maybe she was going at it in the most roundabout way. Heh. Round.

[break][break]

+ zata nefertum

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“You know I wear glasses but,” Megan started, rubbing the back of her head, “no one has called me a nerd since middle-school, really.” After all, she was usually much too out-spoken and aggressive to be loped in with those. Not exactly one of the most popular girls, but always hanging with others, a nerd was never truly her persuasion.
[break][break]
But she guessed that she knew what he meant, anyway.
[break][break]
The leader took the initiative, of course. A smoke-screen was the obvious choice for a Pokemon like this. Megan knew that there was no point in trying to get out of that situation for now. “Make the most of it, Lucario,” she ordered, her Pokemon understanding and whirling around its own axis, unmoving. The frog would come to them, of course. So, it started up a Swords Dance, waiting for that moment.
[break][break]
Of course, that meant taking a hit. The frog landed on the dog, giving it a thorough lick. One that sent shivers down its spine, doing damage. But it also meant it had to be close. Once it connected, Lucario would try to hit back straight away with a Close Combat, though that was unlikely to succeed. Either way though, if it did hit something, it would have a better shot at winning with that in the rest of the fight.

[break][break]

+ CIAN MAHER hp: 2/3 most likely iljtSKst

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Oh, he was here too. Of course, he was. That probably was why the gym wasn’t open today. Well, not like anyone wanting to fight would challenge a gym on a day like this. Not when there was a big free-for-all going on in the city. At least she figured as much. How else would they have been free at the same time like this? Well, maybe someone else was watching the fort, but she would wager that a few others from the gym were out here, too.
[break][break]
Anyway. Fighting. That was her type here, anyway. Since this was a tournament where she only had access to a single partner, she had of course chosen her oldest and staunchest one. Incidentally someone quite well-versed in battles of attrition. [break]
Megan shrugged, while Lucario readied himself next to her. “Good morning. And you know me, I am born ready for things like this. At least this time, I am not late.” After all, the last tournament of sorts she had entered, she had barely managed to get to in time – only to immediately get unlucky and lose to a single sleep.
[break][break]
That would not happen again today. She was certain of it.

[break][break]

+ CIAN MAHER

[attr="class","pokeclass"]

“Always.” That was simple and short, but the only response that came to mind. They had more important things to do than exchange pleasantries, after all. And it was the only thing that came to mind anyway. Hence, she just said that before figuring out a plan of action for herself. The Dhelmise was already trying to attack their would-be ambushers.
[break][break]
Well, not as much would-be ones. They might not have succeeded in poisoning them right away, but at the very least they were now between them and the exit to the hatchery. That implied that they had to defeat them. But on the other hand, they didn’t really? After all, they had come to their home of their own accord.
[break][break]
She could not help but be a bit understanding in that regard. But they were a danger to Johanna, so that was secondary regardless. Hence, she decided to send out her own Poison Type in Dragalge. “Water Pulse them. Let’s see if we can confuse a few of them,” she ordered, hoping for the best. “I don’t like running, but we kind of invaded their home here. I say clear a path and get out of here, that fine with you?”
[break][break]
After all, this was the one field she still considered herself the expert in, above Jo.

[break][break]

+ ooc notes

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