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“FLASH CANNON,” the Ranger shouted, the ball of light energy zooming past Xiura and her acrobatic flying Tropius.
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“Please stop!” Xiura called out politely. It was worth a try.
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“A-are you kidding me?” the man cried out. Metagross stomped his feet, similarly agitated.
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Maybe she could wait this out, Xiura considered, watching Zev advance his attack on the ground. But perhaps she could save the man a gaping wound if she dropped his Metagross quickly. One could hope.
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She whispered to her Pokemon, "Okay, Tropius. Change of plans. Let me off, get as high as you can, and then body slam that Metagross."
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Tropius grunted his understanding, swooping down to alight on the ground. She then carefully let Xiura slide off his back. Xiura fled to hide behind a tree as Metagross used the opportunity to ZEN HEADBUTT Tropius. Tropius bellowed in pain. Xiura’s heart skipped a beat as Tropius nearly flinched from the impact. But Tropius shook off the attack and launched into the air, his yellow banana beard nearly incandescent as the sunlight glinted off it. Tropius flew away, and Xiura watched him go up, and up, and up.
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"Did your Pokemon abandon you because it couldn't hurt my Metagross? Wrong move," one Ranger said. "Now it'll be even easier to arrest you." The Ranger and Metagross advanced on Xiura, who retreated further and dove behind a boulder to hide. If she got hurt, she'd never forgive herself! Also, Zev probably wouldn't either.

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Xiura’s shoulders imperceptibly relaxed as the stranger, a woman, claimed she didn’t want to fight.
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“Okay, me either,” Xiura reassured, though she stayed on guard, just in case. It wouldn’t be wise to trust anyone she just met, although the woman didn’t seem to have any physical weapons on her.
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The way back to the temporary base was unfortunately lost to her amid the forest and mist. “Ahem,” she cleared her throat, looking around at the copse of trees they were surrounded by, which looked like a copse of trees she may have passed through an hour ago. Okay, perhaps that wasn’t such a helpful landmark to refer back to. “Did you happen to see a large rock formation shaped like a… a big Tyrantrum anywhere?” She spread her arms to emphasize the size of the formation as she spoke.
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A few twigs and errant pebbles around their feet vibrated from a sudden tremor that went through the ground.
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“Hm. Earthquake?” Xiura inquired aloud, looking around.

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“Oh, dear,” Xiura muttered, wincing as she saw Zev’s Type: Null in the middle of harsh combat with the Tyrantrum. They had anticipated resistance but Xiura had hoped, perhaps foolishly, that there wouldn’t be so many. But of course the League would be on high alert, considering the situation at hand.
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Xiura, mounted on Tropius, clenched her teeth so hard her jaw ached. The situation was very dangerous. Both League Pokemon looked strong. She eyed the men and women on the ground and decided it would be wisest for Tropius to stay in the air and keep a safe distance, to strike from a safe vantage point with her on its back. Metagross was not a Flying type, and so would have difficulty reaching him, and her by extension, she hoped.
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“FLASH CANNON!” Metagross released a beam of light energy, easily missing Tropius as he dodged nimbly in the air. Well, it was a little vindicating, knowing that League had no qualms about striking someone out of the air. She could die here, she realized with a little thrill of dread.
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“Tropius! Use MAGICAL LEAF!” Tropius’ accuracy with this move was immaculate. A flurry of bright green leaves scratched the Metagross’ carapace, but it seemed to shake off most of the damage.
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“You’re at a disadvantage, Rocket! Tropius is a terrible match for Metagross!” the Ranger shouted.
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Xiura realized the Steel typing of Metagross rendered it strong against Grass attacks. And furthermore, it was Psychic, wasn’t it? So any Flying attacks from Tropius would meet similar resistance.
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“Oh, dear,” she said again, considering her options.

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A beautiful, calm morning rose over a sweetly pastoral scene: a farm, complete with a red barn and vast grazing pastures for Mareep. The farmer who owned this beautiful milieu pulled on his overalls and hat, as he did every day, and walked outside. His expression was anything but peaceful, however, for the serene scene belied a devastating storm last night. He just had to survey the damage and ensure anything essential was in one piece.
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He quickly discovered that the gated pasture was empty of Mareep, the gate hopelessly broken beneath a heavy oak branch. He leaned one hand against the damaged tree, taking a brief interlude to weigh his options. “Where could they have all gone?” he asked wonderingly.
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A Mareep plummeted out of the sky, crushing the poor farmer beneath its weight.
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“What in the—” he managed to gasp out beneath the giant ball of fluff. He looked up. Two more Mareep were stranded in the branches, unfortunately caught by their fluff.
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“Mareep?”
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“Thank you!” Xiura said, waving to the cab driver who dropped her off at the farm. She was traveling in the area and had seen an interesting job posting by the local farmer’s market, asking for help finding some stray Mareep. Fitted in a green flannel button-down and some denim jeans and boots, she was ready to tackle the job.
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She knocked on the front door of the white wooden house on the property. An older man with a dark beard opened the door, his right arm in a sling.
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“Oh!” Xiura exclaimed in surprise, before collecting herself. “Good morning! I’m Xiura Balfaltin. I’m here to help with the Mareep.” She paused, trying not to let her eyes trail rudely over to his presumably broken arm.
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“Ah, I’m so glad to see you. Thank you for coming, and please forgive me for not inviting you in. This matter is of gravest importance.” He led Xiura over to the gated pasture nearby; it looked like the gate had been newly replaced, and only three Mareep were in there. “The storm last night was terrible; a wind-blown branch broke the gate and all the Mareep escaped. I'm expecting another helper, but please, if you could recover th—”
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They passed under a tree, and the man flinched, looking up into the branches carefully. “Are you all right?” Xiura ventured.
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“Er, yes, now as I was saying—”
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“MAREEP!”
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A particularly broad ball of white fluff fell out of the tree, landing directly on the farmer. “Not again!” he groaned.
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Xiura was briefly frozen in confusion but started to push the Mareep off the poor farmer. "W-why are your Mareep in trees?" she gasped with exertion.

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Xiura wore one of her darker ponchos and rain boots, prepared for inclement weather in all ways she could have thought of. Water bottles and dry snacks were strapped fast in her backpack, and she had a flashlight and rope. Just in case.
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The weather was awful and dreary as expected, the rain and fog that drifted through the swamp lands reducing vision and cloaking the movements of wildlife, though strange sounds of pitter-pattering and slurping intermittently came from various directions. Her Sableye Jin was acting cagier than normal, which wasn’t a surprise, considering the Bloodmoon Beast that was apparently lurking in the swamp. His apparent anxiety was unsettling on some level for Xiura as well, though she reached out and patted him on the head, trying to convey some sense of calm to him. Agitated, her dual-type Pokemon muttered briefly then scurried through the space between her legs, pointing crookedly to something in the distance.
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She saw a group of people in the distance past the rickety bridge, and hurried over to them. Taking shelter under the tarp Kazimir Wynter had set up, Xiura quietly said, “Thank you!” and flashed him a grateful smile. “This was so thoughtful of you.”
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It appeared she had arrived in the midst of conversation and speculation. She listened to the others’ thoughts about the origins of the beast. She personally agreed with DESIREE BLOOMS that the monster could be real, and very likely affected by an outside presence, especially if its aggression had only recently arisen. She hoped that they would be able to find the missing civilians.
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But before she could express agreement, Jin started pacing around, clambering across the ground away from the tarp, clearly unhappy with their vantage point. She rushed after him, approaching a man (ryker hayes) that appeared to be somberly keeping watch with his Gallade. “Hello,” she greeted politely, offering a smile. “I’m Xiura, and this is Jin. We’ll keep watch with you, if you don’t mind?” Her Sableye skittered around the Gallade and climbed up a lone, spindly tree, his glinting, gem-like eyes scanning the area with Detect, similar to Kazimir’s Urshifu. “Jin, don’t be rude,” she whispered worriedly, though the Sableye ignored her. She looked as far as she could into the distance, though her perception was likely dull compared to that of the Pokemon.

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The air inside the tomb was still, stagnant, and cool, compared to the hot, breezy desert air outside. Watching her step amid the pebbles and debris on the ground, Xiura looked back at Naomi Sato to make sure she was okay, too. But her attention could not be distracted for very long from the object of their interest, the "fallen star" in the middle of the tomb. Xiura looked up at the large, purple stone, its red vasculature pulsing ominously. It seemed a dangerous thing to touch—and so Xiura did not.
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She glanced over at Nomi with an uncertain smile. "I wonder what this is. It looks like some sort of alien stone. No wonder they thought it was a star?"
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She took a Pokeball from her waist belt. "Hatterene," she summoned her Pyschic Pokemon quietly. Hatterene hummed softly, awaiting her master's command.
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"Shift one of the boulders out of the way," Xiura said. "Then we can take a closer look."
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Hatterene's eyes glowed purple as she used her telekinesis to shift the boulders apart, her power visibly shuddering under their weight.
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Too distraught over the potential damage to her shop to protest Aurelie's instructions, Xiura nodded and rushed into the cafe. Incineroar and Froslass followed after in close pursuit, ready to help her.
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Swinging her gaze around the room to each and every corner from ceiling to floor, Xiura still could not find the Minior in the main room of the cafe. But—
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"Froslass!" Her ice-type Pokemon hovered over a small indent and dusting of sediment against the wall leading up the stairs.
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"Good eye, Froslass," Xiura managed to comment, though her worry increased. The stairs led to the upstairs hallway. Her bedroom with all her personal belongings was down that hallway, though the door was usually closed and locked. "It must have gone upstairs."
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Incineroar, not to be outdone, sniffed the air and bounded up the stairs after the Minior's scent. "Roar!"
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Xiura winced as she heard a crash of presumably glass. "Incineroar! Be careful! Froslass, please, see if you can immobilize the Minior before it or Incineroar can do anything else." She gestured at Froslass, who raced upstairs to stop Incineroar from causing more mayhem.
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Xiura, slower than her Pokemon, hurried upstairs as well, only to come upon a ridiculous sight. The Minior was up in the rafters of the wooden building, Incineroar trying to jump and climb one of the supporting wooden poles in order to chase the Minior. Froslass hovered nearby, as if uncertain whether to try and help Incineroar up the beam or to chase the Minior. "Don't you dare use a fire attack," Xiura warned loudly, just in case.
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Incineroar harumphed in indignation, glaring briefly at Xiura. "I know, of course you wouldn't, but still. Be careful!" she called out.

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