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What makes it fascinating, is that as the Water Shuriken comes in, the Primeape would beat on the ground again, the green arms flailing. And the moment that frog was down, she would pass out, the adrenaline no longer driving her. It seems it was a double knockout, to such a degree that Chad would do so standing up.[break][break]

Returning Chad to the Pokeball, he gestures towards the Pumpkaboo. "Take five, little one." He was enjoying the conversation, so at the very least he wanted to prolong it a little.[break][break]

Suffered way too much physical and emotional abuse to want to finish it prematurely.[break][break]

"Yeah. Mint just has that kinda power. What can you do? You get drinks with the guy, and-" ... nope, he didn't know Sharpe enough to get into that conversation. Grabbing the bridge of his nose, he shakes his head. "He's good like that."[break][break]

The number on a scrap of paper is nice, and as he looks it over, and nods, he groans in pocketing it, hoping it doesn't get too bloody. "You're alright." He pats a hand on his shoulder. "For what its worth, you got a friend in Rocket now." He lets go, and then with a Pokeball, releases his Scorbunny. He hadn't seen action much at all today.[break][break]

"Sunny. No Fire-Type attacks. Just show that little ghost what you got." With a salute, Sunny conjures an Electro Ball, and proceeds to bicycle kick it towards the Pumpkaboo. Ineffective moves should help assist things moving forward.[break][break]

Now, while they fight...[break][break]

"You're down two to one right now. Though I think Chad just got sapped of her energy."

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To the point. That's a relief. Sucking in a breath, he relaxes his shoulders finally. He knew he had done a good job, the amount of research he had to do had paid off.[break][break]

"A lot of this can be out of pocket for us, so really it's just the potential of the thermal drill, which can be paid back in dividends." He smiles, knowing that he's keeping half of the money for the team who are doing the job to begin with. A million for him, Isaac, Cygne, Gerald, and Makoto, and five million for Rocket. He's sure Walsh would have something to say, but as they say, you don't get a win unless you play in the game.[break][break]

His other question is answered quickly enough. "As it currently stands, if enough goes wrong, the idea is to cut losses and go before the League gets involved. But things are rarely that simple-" He levels his hand flat in the air. "-in the event I have to, I am prepared to be the fall guy if need be to ensure the rest of the team gets out safely. Otherwise, we can always take hostages, but that is an utmost last resort." He does consider it a moment. "Actually. If we could get a van in the resources, just somewhere a block or two away in an alley, that would be a great alternative."[break][break]

He smiles, now waving his hands forward. He gestures to Jayden, in case he has any further questions to ask. After all, it did help the plan come together.[break][break]

"Thanks. Really. I'm feeling rather confident now."

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The pit of his stomach was eroding quickly. The longer he stayed in this room, the more he had to talk to him. And... it was giving him mixed emotions. But, Ashley knew how to separate Jayden the admin from Jayden the former friend.[break][break]

Officially speaking, that was the nature of their relationship now. Ruined by circumstance.[break][break]

Ashley has a small folder written up, placing it on his desk. In it, five names: Isaac Merlo, ana fell, Gerald Kaiser, Makoto Kurumi, and Ashley Shepard himself. Each one with written dossiers on each. Roles within the heist, potential reasoning for the choice at hand. But it wasn't just that.[break][break]

He gestures underneath it. The target of the strike was a Mauville investment bank. Much more money on hand, and more for corporate businesses. A prime target for a heist, with a printed out floorplan, potential locations of entry, assets needed; one such being the potential of a power drill to open a vault. Added to that, there was the time-sensitivity to this particular heist; with the move to the digital age, this was a prime time to steal physical money.[break][break]

And of course, security detail; a number of Gastly, Houndour, and a security room with rotation shifts, three guards counted, but only two per shift with an emergency button for tellers behind bulletproof glass for immediate assistance with authorities. There's also just a small page on a getaway vehicle, to which is stated, they will ride Pokemon to get out. Pokemon are harder to trace than humans.[break][break]

"Everything has been thought through. Prepared for. Do I have your permission?"

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And there it is. The problematic contradiction to the battle at large. A battle that, by all accounts, is pointless. The idealism that Isaac protrudes is tantamount to get him killed, because the conflict cannot end; it simply can't. Idealism. What is idealism? The bane to realism; because at the end of the day, whatever the tool is, whatever this thing is, this scribe, this power, it's far too strong to be in the hands of Walsh. And even worse, if its to the League.[break][break]

He was having a massive headache. On the one hand, he wasn't going to just betray what he told Isaac. But...[break][break]

The world isn't made for men like them. That's why Ash wanted to learn how to play the game; because at the end of the day, men like them died early, early deaths, buried in shallow graves. He closes his eyes.[break][break]

To the communicator question, he begins to explain. "Yeah. I guess that's what it is. It's weird, because it was the second time it happened. The first time, this dragon came and attacked me in what looked like Kanto. Like... back then. This time though, it was my foster family's house. Well... the first one." He winces, the thought of it leaving a bad taste in his mouth, but he balls. "But... it's weird. Two of them burst through the walls. They were wild. Mint said they looked like Tyranitar. But metallic, and futuristic." He tried to do what Eris did with explaining that one Quagsire monster during the Icelands, by being expressive with his hands, but it's a little hard considering he has to explain a touch over a body shape.[break][break]

Thinking a moment, he ponders. "Come to think of it. Right as Mint shut the door, they fired up with electricity. Dunno if that's any help." Anything at this point, he'd been without it for so long now.

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She isn't wrong. This place truly was dragging him down, and the more Ashley thinks about it, between those weird interdream leaks, the trainers throwing him into a fight club he didn't intend to be in and potentially breaking bones, and the the fall of someone so strong, his pillar...[break][break]

He nods.[break][break]

"Yeah... it's like... how it is in the Borders, but this area. It's just harder to do everything." He found himself rubbing the back of his neck. And then... an unfortunate truth comes out. "Isaac... he's not wrong. This squabble is kind of pointless, don't you think?"[break][break]

There's a moment of hesitation as he says it. As if the earlier conversation has done more to enlighten him than anything else that happened today. "Maybe we should leave. Before anyone else has to die." But the radio headset has him gesture. to his own communication device... which was broken. He holds it up.[break][break]

"You any good with mechanics? Thing hasn't worked since my run in with those green mechas." It'd... be nice to hear Kep's voice right now.

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"Arceus, I hope so. I'm tired of getting the sh-... the crap kicked out of me today." He laughs quietly, feeling a little less bad that his ape may have just...[break][break]

He whimpers a moment, turning his head down. "Yeah... they go by Landon Cassidy..." And for Eris, a new look overtakes Ashley's general chill demeanor. His eyes are filled with his hate, as he stares at the ground. Now, even more intent to killing him. As if the abyss had opened up for him to stare into.[break][break]

Back to Eris, as Sunny makes a happy cry of delight, Ash perks up, getting himself up onto his feet, and smiles again. A momentary violent moment having came and went through him. "How do you figure we're almost through? I barely have any gas in the tank left. Got an idea?"[break][break]

He can't rest knowing that there's still more fighting happening in there. Eris just gave him a pick-me-up.

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Though he does want her to at least hold still so he can clean the blood off, he retracts the jacket rag, and proceeds to sit on his own ass. Instead of trying, he smiles. Tries to lighten the mood. "You kiddin'? Isaac would ring my neck." One of his eyes could barely open right now, and he was pretty sure he sprained something or another. But Cygne... she made noises that made him almost whimper by proxy. It hurt, to say the least.[break][break]

It makes it worse to know that she lost someone too. Ashley's gaze is blank, filled with a hellish sorrow for a moment, as if the whole world was just playing everything for laughs. Pluto's death? Haha, funny joke. Bullet's death? Pure comedy. Kiryu's death? Now isn't that an ironic kill.[break][break]

Bongo... that one was like the punchline that was Ashley's life.[break][break]

Seeing the laugh to the painkiller, the only thing he has on hand, the motrin hopefully something to relieve her. But as she laughs, it's... sad. Like, watching her breakdown. And Ashley was in her place just months ago during Meteno. But as she cackles, and begins crying, all he can do is watch. He's not horrified. He's not even dejected. He just lets her weep.[break][break]

"Can you tell me about... whomever they were?" He asks, moving to place a hand in her's, if she allows it. "A therapist, they uh... they taught me that talking through it helps. And it does. Please."[break][break]

It's the least he can do. He just hopes that she doesn't hate herself, or... do what he attempted on Mt. Pyre.

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This entire place was like some kind of hellish trauma conga line, because as soon as that dark hallway is visible, Ashley winces. As he watches Mint slam the door and lock it as Bongo passes through, he looks back and down the hall.[break][break]

"Yeah. Long story short; first foster dad's house. Abusive piece of shit. Looks identical... save for how it looks right now." As soon as the door begins banging, and Mint is thrown off, Bongo holds a hand to keep Mint from falling on his face, as Ashley turns to look at each door, answering Mint's question. "This is so fucked up... I was running from Greyson, and then... I turn the corner, and I'm here. It happened earlier too, after I split off from Gavin." He explains, trying his best to make the most of a bad situation.[break][break]

Deciding he didn't want to stay in a dark hallway with two killer robo mechas behind them, Ashley gestures. "We need to make some ground before they break through." Ashley turns to see an old grandfather clock immediately chime off, and scare the living shit out of him as he jumps back. "Always hated that thing. Bongo, barricade the door with it. Let's go." Bongo gestures for Mint and Spumoni to go, as he does so effortlessly with gorilla arms.[break][break]

And now came the problem of what door to open.[break][break]

He opens the first door he can. A dead end but... an office. The one from the orphanage in Unova. A familiar office to Ashley, being adopted there a handful of times where the documents were approved. To all the shit parents that just wanted more childcare money. His eyes stare daggers into the room, as he shuts it back. "Nothing in this one. Any luck?"

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That... was fair. Because all it takes to assure Ashley, is to hear the groans and moans from the grunts that had their generous asses handed to them from the young girl. With a singular look upwards, he just nods. "No kidding." He says so a little uneasy. Not so much that it is Eris that inflicted such grievous beatings, but more because he was glad he wasn't that bad off.[break][break]

Of course, when Eris had her Comfey help to heal him, he began to groan himself, feeling on the wounds as they began to close up. "Long story... so, after fending off this blonde girl (francie myrtle) attacking our comm towers, I had some talks and scuffles with Isaac and Gavin, ran into some old Salamence with this one woman (Kyrenai Black), ran into an old friend, Greyson Connors, who was handing me MY sorry butt. Got away, and unearthed some trauma thanks to some green mecha when mint frost saved my-then-half-beaten butt, got out and found a sniper that killed two of my Pokemon on Mt. Pyre, who kicked my already exhausted butt (paxton concordas), got tended to by jayden cross after he was scared away, found ana fell who looked worse than me, before finding you. And all I have left is Maple and Sunny here. But I'm alive." That should about sum it up.[break][break]

"Thanks Eris. Really."[break][break] As Ashley speaks, Sunny practically jumps onto her shoulder and gives her a big ol hug with his tiny arms.

He smiles and puts a hand on her head, if allowed, as he feels the wounds beginning to get healed up with Floral Healing. He didn't feel too great, hell, he felt like hell still, but at least this way, he could maybe walk on his own?[break][break]

"Well, you can handle yourself... mind if I stick around? You surely can handle yourself better than me."

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A low growl from Ashley is all he can do, as both Iron Thorns are too much for Bongo, each strike towards Bongo is blocked, and the other smacks the gorilla around, and for a solid minute, it's like watching a two-versus-one slaughter. Bongo, battered and bruised. So Ashley has a bright idea.[break][break]

"This is that house, right? That means-" Closet door, opens, and a fire extinguisher. He smirks. He got in trouble for playing with it before and spraying the living room when he was nine. Trouble that led to a beating. Thankfully, he doesn't have to think of it long though, because this was trouble that would avoid a beating.[break][break]

Running up to one of the Iron Thorns, he swings as hard as he can to the back of the mecha...[break][break]

The extinguisher bends from the impact around the metal body. Ashley's eyes shooting wide-open, as Iron Thorns slowly turns back his direction. Angry. The red eyes staring Ashley down. And Ash drops the extinguisher. Before it can burst and blow up his hands.[break][break]

"Oh. Fuck." And just before it bears down upon him, the backdoor is kicked open, and Ashley's eyes fire over towards that direction, as does the Iron Thorns he hit. But as it was revealed to be Mint, there's a look of utter relief on his face, as a Hitmontop comes to the field to back Bongo up, busy holding back another STONE EDGE. Another goes to strike towards Mint, and Ash calls out.[break][break]

"Working on it-" before getting a PIN MISSILE grazing his leg. Making a cry, Ash jumps out of the way for the other two pins firing out. "Oh FUCK you too, overgrown robohead." He scowls, before making a dash towards Mint as the fire extinguisher bursts and blows.[break][break]

And is met with Mint running to the entrance.[break][break]

"Wait, what?" He turns to face the... unfamiliar door. Which Ashley was sure he kicked in. What was going on? Why was Mint so changing the plan? Unless... he frowns. This place... as he swivels on a heel, he yells out to Bongo, running just behind him. "Cover us bud, start the storm!"[break][break]

Bongo places his hands together, twisting them around, as a fierce wind surrounds both Iron Thorns, causing violent fierce winds in the house to throw everything around, in an attempt to give Mint and Ashley cover to run. SPRINGTIDE STORM utilized to the best of his abilities.[break][break]

And run they most certainly do.[break][break]

"Okay I'll kick the door." Ash races to the door, and kicks it clean and open with his own foot. It should lead to outside, right? That has to be the case. This was Shit Foster Dad Number One's house, it led right to the yard if he remembered right. He was certain of it. So the moment his foot collides with the door, he awaits to see the front yard.

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As Gavin's own Cryogonal appears, as well as his Glaceon, the duo showcase the power of Shadow Pokemon, having Ashley turn to the side, and ponder. How much stronger could he be if he just embraced it?[break][break]

To Gavin's question, as the Donphan has their Rollout near them, as the Exeggutor attempts to PSYSHOCK his Cryogonal, and the Vigoroth attempts to THROAT CHOP on Maple to little success thanks to SNOW CLOAK, Ashley smiles.[break][break]

His answer? "All of them. Maple? Blizzard." Under the snowy terrain? All of them would be hit guaranteed; the Donphan, the Exeggutor, and the Vigoroth. All are now subjected to the fierce icy winds, made stronger by the shadowy ice beam that blasted the Donphan, doing a hefty amount of damage. The Exeggutor takes quite a hefty hit itself, while Vigoroth seems fine, though definitely didn't like that.[break][break]

"This'll be over quickly. We have the advantage." He says, deadpan, eyes on the field, a smirk. Ice was their trio's downfall. The only one that may be an issue? The Vigoroth.

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Hearing Cygne speak was, while nice, stressful in its own right. The way she spoke, and tries to push herself up as his face mat in a bit of fear. Shit, was she dying? He tries his best to at least clean off her face from that excess of blood. How... how much was on her?[break][break]

How much of it was her own?[break][break]

But, hearing her speak like that only has him trying not to chuckle. Even if he wasn't looking great either, he seemed to be in a moderately better shape. "Phrasing, Sunshine." He's chuckling, but it's weak, and filled with worry, as he helps her sit up. "Maple. Mind giving her a cool pillow for a minute to sit up?" The Glaceon nods quickly as he walks where her head would lay before laying down, as Ash lets her head rest on Maple's back. A cool pillow.[break][break]

"To answer your question though-" the answer is caught in his throat a moment. And he looks away. He forces it out of himself, the subtle crack in his voice painful. "-about the same as you, I take it. Bongo, he..." He grips towards his own mouth, and holds back the tears, as he forces his smile back over it. A small façade.[break][break]

"Anyways. What about you? If talking hurts, let me know. I'll have Maple give you some chilling water." Maple mews behind Cygne. A good boy.[break][break]

Ashley's concern. This is just him nursing Kep after their expedition. Only difference was, Kepler assured him he'd be fine. Cygne though... she looked rough. Really rough. He prepares to pull out whatever first aid he has to help. And all he has?[break][break]

Painkillers. That'd do. "This should help with the pain. Can you swallow?" Ibuprofen might be helpful. He doesn't exactly have much past that.

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Sawyer looks back at him. The reflection him. It is him. It always was in him. It just was locked behind a gate, a number of padlocks that slowly came undone. Ashley grabs at his face with his left hand, and wipes away the sweat.[break][break]

It isn't something that can be taken back. That makes sense. Of course it isn't. But it's one of the worse he's done. And though it wasn't for Gavin, he had never done so in anger. He had never let it fuel his fire so much before. Right now, it's like pulling the rug from under him.[break][break]

Because he liked it. And that scared him more than anything.[break][break]

But before he can respond...[break][break]

"HEY!" A trio of people were down the way, walking towards them. They would see Gavin, and freeze. They considered running... when they threw out three Pokeballs. From them, an Exeggutor, Donphan, and a Vigoroth come out, prepared to tussle.[break][break]

Ash scowls, and turns to Gavin. "Guess this will have to wait." He gets up onto his feet, and tosses out Maple the Glaceon. "Freeze the tunnel." And with it, a SNOWSCAPE throws the whole cave into a snowy flurry.

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