The battle comes to a screeching halt, smoke rising from the ground where the hyper beam had laid siege. Admittedly, Qi'ra is uncomfortable and in pain. She lays sprawled out once the Pokemon attached to her fall off. She lifts her head though, to look at Remi.

"Battling isn't really what we do, bit out of our comfort zone for us."

And she has never trained dragons, not like this. Up until weeks ago she hadn't even looked at Qi'ra. But now she was bigger, stronger, far more confident. Her fears were being overcome with every step she took. Character development.

"Uhmm.. yeah? Of course I do, yes."

Her eyes widen and she watches the button turn over in her hand. She reaches for it and turns it over now in her own hand. The woman is smiling as she lifts it up to show her Dragonair. Qi'ra approaches, albeit slowly, to coil herself around the woman's body and rest her head in the curve of her neck.

"You aren't so bad yourself, pinky."

Melody Miro

☉

They follow the sound of squeaking and snuffling. What they find are a small gathering of adorable little Cyndaquil rooting around in the grass. One in particular inhales too much of the pollen or something, enough that elicits a sneeze. It's back lights up with flame and prompts a satisfied smirk from Remi.

"That's the one. You know what to do."

This time, naturally, the Sneasel have to work a bit harder to take down this target. The type difference between them are grave and have a window for injury. But they are practiced and properly trained, and they work seamlessly in tandem. They weave in and out and draw out the sneezy Cyndaquil, freezing out its flame just enough to weaken it. Giving the Pokemon a chill certainly did the trick.

Probably because these were babies, not fully-grown Pokemon. Regardless, they are successful and Remi steps in to finalize it.

capture attempt on cyndaquil

Remi Cassel

☉

Qi'ra recovers quickly from her DRAGON TAIL, pulling herself back into a tight coil before relaxing. Unfortunately, in spite of knocking them both aside, Melody's Pokemon recover quickly, too. From either side, the two Pokemon attempt to WRAP and hold her down.

But in doing so, they leave themselves open, too.

"Now, do something!"

Remi's second Dragonair, having been left to her own devices to charge up her strength, has every intention on attacking now. She opens her mouth, a HYPER BEAM in the back of her throat. Qi'ra continues to struggle, but lies limp just as the attack strikes out. The chances of it hitting her, too, are great. But that was why the second Dragonair had opted for an attack not as crippling as it could have been had it been a dragon-type one.

Melody Miro

☉

Remi chuckles, a low-in-the-throat cackle matched with her hands rubbing together in anticipation. This right here, the cute little blue bellied, paddle-tailed sea creature was exactly what she was looking for. A little birdie had mentioned they might be in high demand.

Why? Well, that wasn't really an issue, or her problem. She was probably going to get paid heavy for bringing them in. Or they'd stick around and become worthwhile partners for her own gain.

Regardless, the woman sends her two Sneasel off to separate one from the rest. No amount of slashing shells and squeals of outrage are a match for her Pokemon's speed and efficiency. Remi unlatches one of the safari-given balls, tossing it at the fainted critter.

capture attempt on oshawott

Remi Cassel

☉

Remi's brow twitches in irritation.

"What is that noise?"

Her shoulder jumps, head tilts sharply so that her ear meets her shoulder. It is soon followed by a shaking of her head and a finger jammed in her ear. Only then does she realize that the incessant ringing noise isn't tinnitus or a result of her hangover. Instead, it is a couple of Chingling passing by.

Fortunately, their annoying presence is fleeting and Remi is left behind to her own thoughts. Somehow, it brings her relief.

pass

Remi Cassel

☉

Qi'ra, naturally, turns out to be the main target. She chocks it up to bad luck, mostly. Or maybe that Dragonair, specifically, is the prettiest. She does turn pink in season two, after all. Oops, spoilers!

The Dragonair cries out in pain as she is thrashed not just by the PSYBEAM but also the DOUBLE-EDGE. She recoils, shaking off the dizzying pain, before lashing out with a DRAGON TAIL to hopefully put distance between herself and the two attackers. The second dragon performs a DRAGON DANCE in the meantime.

Melody Miro

☉

For a long time, neither side of the field does... anything. Nothing happens. No one gets confused, no one falls asleep, and the safeguard walls stand tall. Remi blinks, baffled if only for a moment. She blushes at Melody's 'we don't talk about this' and then the battle moves on.

"Sucker punch, thrash!"

Bear on the left tackles the Chimecho, planning to usurp and intercept the EXTRASENSORY with a wallop of its own. Meanwhile, the Spinda on the right THRASHES against its counterpart, limbs entangling. In the end, neither little teddy bear on Remi's side would be left standing.

She returns them in favour of two beautiful spindly Dragonair.

Melody Miro

☉

By now she is soaked through to the skin. She shivers, desperately clinging to the flimsy newspaper she's using as an umbrella. It hadn't worked then and it certainly doesn't work now that it's a wet mop. Frankly, she doesn't even know why she's here. She doesn't like dragons, not anymore.

But the curiosity and her brother's annoyingly excited tone whispers at the back of her mind. He would have loved this-- and he would have come prepared for the rain.

For the better part of twenty minutes, Remi has been following a trail of slime. The gooey mess sticks to the bottom of her boots, leaving perfect slimy boot treads behind. Her other hand is buried in her pocket both to keep it warm and to grip the empty pokeball. She tightens her grip, rounding the corner just in time to find the swarm.

They seem oblivious to the people crowding around, more than happy to bask in the downpour. Their gelatinous jelly bodies wiggle in tandem, their laughter almos contagious. Too bad Remi's a sour-puss.

TIts6iYA

Remi Cassel

☉

Blood, sweat and tears had gone into the purchase of this ticket. Finally, months after arriving in Hoenn and fighting tooth and nail to get her paperwork in order, she finally had access to the safari zone properly. Smuggling in this shithole region was far more difficult than she'd given it credit for. Rocket had a chokehold, but not as tight as the League did.

In other words, Hoenn didn't give out warden's tickets to just any old nutjob off the street. She needed to prove her citizenship here, prove she had a job and an income and that these Pokemon wouldn't just be going into the system once she'd caught them. The whole nine yards. Granted, it all made sense and was reasonable, but she had to wonder what kind of cheapshot smugglers worked here to enforce these sort of laws.

Ruined it for the good ones.

Remi presses a wet kiss against her shining ticket, waving it over her head with blatant excitement as she steps into the restricted section of the safari zone.

"Alright babies.. come to mama."

Remi Cassel

☉

"Ouch!" she gasps, fingers pulling her leg away quickly to avoid the continued abuse. She frowns, unsure what to make of the creature that had just left a goose-egg sized bruise against her knee. Roach interjects, chastising and doing his best to correct behaviour. What she witnesses, however, only adds to her amusement.

It was the way he lifted his chin and stared him down, begging him to try something else and warning him against trying it, too. It made her snort, but she nods sincerely as she can when the Cubone apologizes. Her straight face is only held briefly, however, broken by his line of questioning.

"Help me? Help me what? What-- no! I don't get drunk, I just have fun."

mission: break the ice

virgil roach

☉

It probably wouldn't be any different. They were two very different people from where they'd started. Remi's path was one of revenge and guilt, with little thought given to redeeming herself or choosing to do better. She purposely dragged herself through the mud to prove to herself she deserved nothing.

He deserved better. He had always been better.

"Okay."

The words feel hollow. They carry the potential to be the truth, but for now it is merely her letting go of control. Stepping into the faint light of hope and letting herself feel its warmth.

"Show me around?"

LANCE VOLLANS

☉

"Sure, that's why we'll show 'em they're frozen solid."

She inclines her head in the back where her Beartic is currently rearranging the back to set up their makeshift scene. With the Pokemon asleep, it makes it easy to separate the two that would be 'dead'.

"Beartic will freeze them and we'll take 'em home with us to dispose of. Works like a charm."

Practiced, polished, perfected. She was a smuggler for a living, and this wasn't her first 'oops they froze to death!' lie. All she had to do was remove the Beartic from the picture and present the bodies.

mission: cold caravan

@elliott

☉