"You seem...I'm not sure. I suppose honorable in a way. You don't have to stay here either. But...what do I have to offer...I'll be honest...this is kind of an unfair expectation of me. I'm a newly appointed Ranger after all, so I'm not in the know of a lot of the bigger picture most of the time." He admitted with a sigh. "At the very least spread the word of how dangerous this anomaly is. We may be on different sides but I can tell neither of us want innocent people hurt."

The violet meteor strike true as Lota's body locked up once again. He fell in a plume of snow, unable to get back up. He was down and out. Toki frowned as he recalled Lota "You did very well..." He whispered. Now what to do...he was starting to run low on options. "Alright...Aylin, let's do this." He threw the next Pokeball "Metal Claw!"

Aylin appeared through the mist winding up her hammer, the silverish energy wrapped around it as she let out a tiny battle cry before slamming down towards Tsukiko. It was time to go on the offensive. Tsukiko offered much defense to the enemy team and Toki knew knocking her out would be the best outcome for now.

Lota seemed...thrilled? Someone to play ball with? How could he possibly pass up that opportunity? Well it seemed like this would be an interesting opportunity, so Toki called out for Lota to use Ember once again. Lota pushed through the paralysis for what he considered a new friend and started doing more fancy footwork with a pebble between his feet, engulfing it in flame as the snow around him melted and evaporated from the heat.

As he did this, Toki spoke to Makoto "Your goal of keeping me busy has long since passed. Your ally has escaped, and there isn't much reason for us to continue fighting. I'm in no position to make demands, of course, but if I win this battle, you tell me a little about what Rocket knows about the Ultra Space anomalies."

After another acrobatic showings, Lota kicked the rock into the air and jumped after it before giving a strong kick towards Tsukiko. Toki hoped this would help whittle down the remaining of Tsukiko's defenses as well as tick down the effects of Aurora Veil for later Pokemon.

• player/ooc name: Connor Tavarin
• character tags: Toki Akiyama
• ic posts for characters: That Which Drives Us
• are characters in directories?: No
• any notes/comments: N/A

Lota's body let out sparks from a mixture of frustration with the paralysis and a need to stand up and show off what he could do. Toki knew this, and while this next attack wouldn't be the most damaging, it would hopefully catch Tsukiko off guard enough to land a fiery hit. "Lota, show them how you use Ember." Toki commanded.

Lota's eyes lit up as he grinned. He let out a cry as he pushed through the paralysis and kicked up a nearby rock and engulfed it in flame. He began running around with it, kicking the rock in a variety of acrobatic stunts as the flames built on it more and more before he kicked it up. Finally, he leapt up and bicycle kicked the flaming rock towards Tsukiko.

Toki smiled at Lota's determination, especially when it came to showing off the legendary soccer skills the Scorbunny family is known for. Hopefully this would make the attack at least somewhat unpredictable due to how long it took for actually throw it out.

Toki huffed a bit, the cool air returning as he tried to think of his next move. Make decisions...push forward. Accept what happens. He took a deep breath and ordered "Flame Charge." The snow falling around Lota started to melt and evaporate as the ensuing mist shrouded his flaming form. He dashed forward, but before he could get a proper tackle in, his legs seized, and he tumbled awkwardly. He tried to get back up in time to avoid any kind of retaliation.

That paralysis was becoming a problem...Toki would need to remember to stock up on status healing items next time he had the chance, but there was nothing he could do for Lota at the moment. Depending on what happened next, he might have to call Lota back. Still, Lota managed to deal some major damage to a dangerous member of Makoto's team.

Toki's team trusted him. They fought well together, enjoyed the adventure, and adored their trainer. It's why them falling in battle hit Toki so hard. He didn't want to see dear friends get hurt and blamed himself if they got hurt. But, this was the nature of Pokemon battles, especially Ranger duties. They were prepared for this, so he had to be too.

"Don't count him out." Toki said, serious. "Lota. Push through...and Double Kick!" Lota grit his teeth and stood to his feet, body still struggling through the paralysis...but as the Charge Beam soars towards him, sparks of flame from the Flame Charge earlier reinvigorate his body and loosen his muscles enough as he dashed forward. He skirted along the beam just barely, body still protesting, but he leapt forward.

Lota would attempt the two kicks, a jumping stamp followed by a snappy roundhouse kick. Toki also made sure to give his Pokemon a good set of techniques. Lota would be much worse off if Aylin didn't use Light Screen earlier, and having access to both Fire and Fighting type moves made Lota very versatile against Haguru in particular.

Only time would tell if Lota's attacks would strike true, or if the battle would still be at a stalemate. The scales were even. How could Toki tip them in his favor?

No matter how Lota tried to dip and dodge out of the way, the tracking and leading was just too calculated and perfect. The Zap Cannon hit home, surging through his body. It sent him to one knee as he tried to move and counter attack, but for the time being his body was just too locked up from the paralysis to do anything further.

Zap Cannon was a relatively inaccurate move. Once again Makoto showed their prowess in making up for a move's shortcomings by using proper set up. They took care of not only their Pokemon for loyalty and friendship's sake, but fine-tuned their knowledge to be the best fighters they could be. Toki couldn't help but applaud slightly, a genuine, sincere expression of happiness on his face "This has been a great battle. You have to admit that." He said.

He worried this would be seen as a ploy to get them to let their guard down, but that couldn't be further from the truth. At this point, this battle served Makoto's purpose of letting the other Rocket member flee. This was all formality at this point, but Toki was going to prove to himself and others he was not just a naive boy who knew nothing of how to actually do battle.

"Flame Charge!" Toki shouted as Lota rapidly stamped in place before he rushed forward. He left embers with each footstep as his body engulfed itself in flame. With a mighty charge, he would attempt to bash into Haguru at full force while wreathed in flame. Lota ran about and picked up some additional speed from the charge. Even though Lock On would make it so the next attack would hit him for sure, the extra speed might be able to help him.

Toki's team might still consist of a few Pokemon that have yet to evolve, but they were coordinated and Toki knew how to play to each of their strengths. His set up with Tameemon was good. The match up just caught him off guard and that was okay. He had to keep enemy moves in mind before committing to a risky strategy.

Lota bounded around, a little unnerved by how perfectly Haguru was able to track him thanks to Lock On, but he was a tough Scorbunny. Whatever was going to come his way, he'd be able to handle it...he hoped.

Makoto's words shook Toki out of his spiral, as he steadied himself. "No. I know." He breathed in deeply and watched the Lock On commence. Sure, that would be very dangerous for Aylin, but there was nothing to worry about because Aylin wouldn't be fighting them. "Aylin, return!" He recalled the Tinkatink and switched for another Pokeball. "Lota. Show them the light of our flame."

Toki threw the ball, and a Scorbunny landed in front of him, bouncing in place with boundless energy. He jogged in place, kicking up sparks from the heated pads on his feet and seemed ready for a good tussle.

Now that Aylin has been switched out, Lock On would lose its effect, meaning that Lota would potentially have some breathing room from whatever attack Haguru had planned. Toki smiled softly, having regained his composure and his determination to prove his and his Pokemons' strength.

Toki contemplated what to do after Makoto switched to the Klingklang. Aylin was still healthy and raring to go, though her moves were limited in scope when it came to dealing damage to this particular enemy. There were a couple of options though, one that would help ease in the next Pokemon Toki could feasibly use against it. "Light Screen!" He commanded.

Aylin's hammer shined bright as she raised it to the sky, a shimmering screen reflecting in front of her that would last for some time, even if Aylin was no longer out on the field. She stood in defiance, though had a feeling she would be taking a break here momentarily.

Toki wiped his brow. His heart was pounding, his head ached. He'd never made so many on the fly decisions without doubting himself to a crippling degree, and fighting that ingrained urge to second guess himself was wearing him down rather quickly. He held onto his scarf and muttered affirmations to himself in an attempt to compose himself.

Aylin stood steadfast in the face of the battle and rushed forward with a little battle cry. She blocked a portion of the Ice Beam with her hammer. The chill still bit into her, but as a Steel subtype, it didn't harm her as much as it normally would have. She rushed forward, hammer at the ready as Toki gave the command "Metal Claw!" Steel versus an Ice/Fairy type. That would spell extreme damage if it connected.

Aylin swung her hammer hard, three silver claws of energy wrapped around her hammer as she attacked Tsukiko with all her might, the metallic sound ringing through the frozen air with the swing. Tameemon might have been strong and Azura was crafty and creative, Aylin was 100% pure, unrelenting tenacity given an adorable form.

That single attack could have been enough to unsettle Tsukiko and Makoto's chances against this unassuming Pokemon. A Fairy/Steel type was an astonishing combination with an extremely vast range of resistances and immunities. Even Toki had to admit this Pokemon family was absolutely resilient beyond all reasonable measure, and Aylin knew it as well. She was confident and hot-blooded, often pushing herself to her limits a little too often, but she would always get back up.

Toki breathed a sigh of relief as the attack landed true. Even with the added defenses that had to have done a significant bit of damage, but it wasn't over yet. Setsuna shielded his eyes and yelped as the blast of shining light rattled his body and knocked him away. Fighting types didn't hand the Fairy Typing's magical abilities very well, so that was a rough hit, but Toki had an idea to give him some rest "U-Turn!" He commanded. It wouldn't do much damage to Tsukiko normally, but it would be next to nothing with all of the current defenses boosted.

Setsuna dashed forward and leapt towards Tsukiko again, going for a simple jumping kick before backflipping as Toki recalled him. "Good going...next up...is you, Aylin!" he through out another Pokeball and out came a pretty unassuming little Pokemon with a steel rattle-shaped club in its hand and a relatively timid expression. She was anything but timid though as she waved her club around ready for battle.

Toki had a pretty well-rounded team of...very adorable Pokemon, but each of them were strong and ready to do what they could for Toki. Aylin in particular was very attached to him, second only to Azura, and she was going to push herself to the limit for him.

This was bad. The snowfall mixed with Tsukiko's Aurora Veil will make her a veritable wall of defenses. He lost his biggest hitter, so it was time to come up with a plan. "Setsuna, hide in the snowy mists!" He commanded. With deft, near silent steps in the snow, Setsuna gracefully stepped into the falling snowfall. Setsuna would step along the sides of the battlefield in the direction of the winds, hiding in the powder snow...

After enough time had past, Toki would make another play that could be seen as risky. Normally he wouldn't take so many risks, but he had to trust in his Pokemon's skills and his own judgement. Setsuna's accuracy was unaffected, he was using the snowfall as a cover, so it was time to act. "High Jump Kick!" With that, Setsuna kicked off the ground into the air, silently gliding through the air as he dove towards Tsukiko. The velocity and strength behind this was a double-edged sword, but one that needed to be drawn!

Setsuna would kick with ferocious strength against Tsukiko. Should the kick land, he'd use the force to spring safely back into a patch of snow nearby. If he missed, he would painfully land and tumble to the ground, hurt but still conscious.