Twoey was still grinning cockily as the Scraggy lifted itself out of the crater she had thrown him in, wiping off a bit of dust that had gotten on her arm. Yet, despite taking quite the heavy blow, it seemed far from down, already readying it's next attack. The Mawile snickered seeing it charge towards her, already readying her giant jaw for a counter attack, only to be caught off guard by the sudden appearance of four shadowy shapes that resembled other Pokémon.

The first blow connected with her middle, making Twoey stumble back as the rest of the shadows set in on her, their blows pummeling her into a ball on the ground. Individually, the attacks didn't deal all that much damage, but the volume of attacks was proving to be overwhelming for the Mawile, up until one attack cracked her across the face, making her spit the shoot of bamboo out of her mouth.

Surprise turned to anger and, with one powerful cry, Twoey's horn swung around, pushing the shadows away and leaving the path to the Scraggy open for her. True malice was visible on her face as she launched herself the short distance to tackle the other Pokemon, dust kicking up around her. Her blows came fast and hard, though they appeared more like PLAYFUL ROUGHHOUSING instead of attacks.

Kouji Matsubara
OOC: Clash 1/3
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 200

Colton’s eyes went wide as the crackle of thunder filled the endless space that made up the sky. Too slow…Bourdon would be too slow to dodge it and, with it being so high up in the air, the Bronzong could be better described as a floating lightning rod. In an instant, the sky was filled with a bright flash of light, coupled with an deafening boom, forcing Colton to cover his face to simply keep from going blind.

Once the light faded, he opened his eyes, blinking away the floaters as he looked up to see Bourdon hovering there, though it was clear that wouldn’t be the case for long. It let out a weak gong as Colton called the Bronzong back, wincing as he placed the Pokéball back on his belt and pulled out Arti’s next. The Rotom appeared in a flash of red, his gaze already locked onto the Gengar, his grin wide and mischievous as ever.

”Stop it in its tracks,” Colton ordered, Arti buzzing in confirmation. It zipped forward, zig-zagging its way up to the Gengar, giggling all the while. Electricity built up around its body before a bolt of static shot towards the Gengar in the form of a THUNDER WAVE. If he could slow it down and possibly paralyzed the Gengar, Colton figured the damage from the Extrasensories might be enough for Arti’s to capitalize on to finish it off.

He just needed this attack to land.

ana fell
OOC: Battle
10 MP (IC Post), 50 MP (Pokémon Knockout)
Total: 160 MP

Colton chuckled in response to Penelope’s statement. ”It certainly can be. Seems like everyday, the world just goes more and more insane,” he mused, his hands and tools continuing to work deftly across the circuits as he talked. ”That’s another reason I like machines. In the face of everything, they just make sense. Easy to predict, easy to fix, easy to understand. Makes for a good bedrock in-“

He paused, looking back over his shoulder at Penelope with an eyebrow raised. His head? What was going on with his head? Did he have something leftover from the jellyfish creature he and Hideo Kino had encountered there?

He reached up, running his fingers through his messy brown locks, expecting whatever it was to fall out after a pass or two. Onky, what he found didn’t move. It merely jerked at the top of his scalp, where further inspection concluded that it was indeed procuring out from. He could feel his skin smoothly merging into the hard, lumpy substance. He felt his heart begin to beat faster in his chest as his free hand pulled his Rotom phone out, directing it to snap a picture of the horn on his head.

When his phone swung itself back down, Colton stared at the picture dumbfounded. There, clear as day, a piece of coral jutted out of the top of his head. He felt panic begin to set in, his skin itching. He wanted to run away, to see what else had happened to his body, to get out of this nightmare world before his mind snapped…

But Arti, sensing his trainer’s growing panic, popped its body outside of the circuit board, floating over and nuzzling itself against Colton’s cheek. The staticky feeling of his partner next to him brought Colton out of his own head for a moment, just long enough to look at Arti’s concerned face, then to the broken apart transmitter. The circuits all going into their designated spots, the antenna leading down towards the transceiver, which lead to the speaker. Everything flowing as it should, even in pieces as it was. A bedrock of certainty, of reality. Something he could cling onto amongst all this madness.

Slowly, Colton’s breathing slowed and his heart rate returned to normal. He took in a deep breath, held it for a moment, then slowly let it out. ”A side effect of being in the Ultra Deep Sea, no doubt,” he answered, his voice calm as he turned back to his work. ”I can’t let it bother me, though. I’ve still got to get communications back up.”

PENELOPE LIVY
OOC: Comms 1/2
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 110 MP

In spite of the situation they were in, Colton couldn’t help but muse on what Hideo had said. ”So it must produce some sort of toxin that alters your hormonal balance. Incredible…” he said, scratching his chin thoughtfully. There was a lot he could learn from messing with something like that, but the question remained on whether he would be able to catch such a creature in the first place. Given how dangerous they were, the idea seemed incredibly far fetched.

And, it went without saying that he was currently running away from one.

It was certainly proving itself incredibly tenacious, tanking blow after blow with any sign it was hurt. They couldn’t keep up this chase forever, though, as they’d be leading the thing right to an important encampment with sensitive equipment and vital personnel. If they wanted to escape, they’d have to break line of sight and put as much distance between them as they could. ”Hmm…alright, Lodestone, let’s switch it up. Stop it in its tracks,” he said. The Magneton made its mechanical cry before a bolt of low voltage electricity streak forward, arcing its way across the Nihilego’s body.

While Lodestone did its work, Colton released Bourdon from its own Pokéball. ”Block,” he ordered. The Bronzong made a loud gonging hum, its eyes glowing as a large barrier formed right in the Nihilego’s path. ”I’m not sure how long that will hold, so I suggest we get away from this area as fast as we can before it’s able to recover.”

Hideo Kino
OOC: Cargo 1/2
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 120 MP

Twoey let out a grumble of annoyance as the Absol leapt high over her head, though her mood quickly shifted as it collapsed to the ground moments later. She looked back to its trainer, sticking her tongue out teasingly as he released his Scraggy. Mawile, unperturbed by this new opponent, rather cockily made a “come at me” gesture with one hand. Despite the brashness of the baby ever coming off as overconfidence, she was doing it to make sure the Scraggy wouldn’t be pulling any crafty tricks to dodge her attacks.

Twoey swung her giant jaws around as the kick connected with her side, teeth snapping together as they went to enclose themselves around the Scraggy. She winced in pain from the blow but her cocky grin stayed resolute as she jumped upwards with the other Pokémon trapped in her horn’s grasp. Thanks to the altered gravity, her sailed higher than normally possible, rotating to land against the bottom of a floating platform before pushing off and launching herself back towards the ground.

As the Mawile fell, she began to spin in the air, using the weight of her horn and the Scraggy in its grasp to increase the speed of her rotation before hurling the Scraggy back towards the earth in a SEISMIC TOSS, landing gently moments later.

Kouji Matsubara
OOC: Clash 1/3
10 MP (IC Post), 10 MP (Knocked out opponent’s Pokémon)
Total: 190

This damn Absol was a tenacious one, pushing right through Lodestone's electric field with all its might. And, as tough as his Magneton was, it had already been drained pretty significantly by an encounter with a Nihilego earlier. The pair clashed together, a bright flash filling the space as the Absol's darkened horn connected with Lodestone's body.

Once again, the three Magnemite burst apart, landing on the ground and, once again, their magnetic pull made them reassemble into a single being. However, this time, Lodestone did not rise from the ground. It had been knocked out cold, its three eyes rolling around listlessly. "Dammit..." Colton muttered, pulling out Lodestone's Pokéball and recalling him. At least, his efforts hadn't been in vain. The Absol was incredibly weak and he was certain there wasn't much gas left in the Pokémon's tank.

Colton pulled his next Pokeball from his belt, releasing his Mawile out onto the field. Once out, Twoey stood with her back turned to the Absol, glaring at it from over her shoulder and making sure to give it full view of the massive jaws growing from the back of her head, all the while chewing on a small stalk of bamboo.

"Play Rough!" Colton shouted from his raised platform, to which Twoey quickly responded. She crouched low before launching herself at the Absol backwards, her massive jaws snapping with excitement.

Kouji Matsubara
OOC: Clash 1/3
10 MP (IC Post), 50 MP (Pokemon Knockout)
Total: 170

"So I've heard. I've read some reports on these things, but I never thought I'd actually encounter one," Colton replied, using the break in the fighting to study it for a moment. It had such a strange appearance, almost mimicking a the silhouette of a person with long hair wearing a large hat. An alien appearance, one he couldn't even begin to try and come up with a reason as to why it existed at all.

Such is the nature of the eldritch unknown.

Colton instinctively raised an arm as it shot the Acid towards them, only to watch the purple goo slide down the protective screen that Hideo's Aggron had thrown up. An idea popped into his head a moment later and he looked to his own Pokémon. "Lodestone, Light Screen," he instructed, prompting a mechanical sound of confirmation from the Magneton.

A pinkish glow surrounded Lodestone that soon formed around everyone else nearby. While it wasn't as solid as a protect, it would provide some defense against any further special attacks that the jellyfish creature would send their way. With the barrier set, the Magneton charged another FLASH CANNON, firing another silvery shot at the creature.

"We can keep peppering it from a distance while we move. I feel like letting it get any closer would just prove dangerous," Colton said, already walking further down the path, though his gaze didn't break from the creature.

Hideo Kino
OOC: Cargo 1/2
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 110 MP

GARDEN LOG

SPOILER: Click to show

Harvested 2x Tamato Berry, 1x Rabuta Berry, 1x Grepa Berry on 4/25/23
Harvested 2x Tamato Berry, 1x Rabuta Berry, 1x Grepa Berry on 5/09/23
Harvested 2x Tamato Berry, 1x Rabuta Berry, 1x Grepa Berry on 6/02/23

Colton's eyes went wide as the Absol gracefully leapt over Lodestone at the literal last second, completely dodging the Thunder Wave. It was like it had seen it happen before it ever did, using that window to give itself the optimal position to swing a Night Slash right into his Magneton's back.

His Pokemon cried out in pain, the connected Magnemite breaking apart and rolling across the ground in a daze. Slowly, their magnetic pull eventually made them attach back to themselves with metallic clanks before the conjoined Pokemon floated back up off the ground. Even if it weren't as practiced for battle, Lodestone was a tough one, its three eyes glaring at the Absol as static began to build up around it again. Colton recognized the site, taking a leap to float upwards to a platform higher off the ground.

With another cry that almost sounded like laughter, the electricity building up across the Magneton's body DISCHARGED, fill the area around it with a pulse of electricity. There was a clear look in Lodestone's eyes as it stared the bloodied Absol down.

"Dodge this."

Kouji Matsubara
OOC: Clash 1/3
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 110

DONATING/EXCHANGING

THANK YOU FOR YOUR CONTRIBUTIONS!

[break]

DONATING: 0 MP TO THE LEAGUE[break]

EXCHANGING: 500 MP FOR PARADOX POKEMON (IRON MOTH)[break]

CURRENT TOTAL MP: 65
Proof

"Dammit..." Colton muttered under his breath. The Absol was still standing, but it was clearly hurting from the attack. One, maybe two more attacks could finally bring it down, but this time he couldn't leave it up to chance. He need to slow this Absol down and let Lodestone hammer it with everything it had. Maybe that would be enough to get this guy to back off, though a small voice in the back of his head told him the only get away would be to defeat every Pokémon he had.

He had to hope against hope for that to be the case, though. A drawn out slug fest was the last thing he wanted to deal with at the moment.

Colton narrowed his eyes, but didn't offer a response to the guy's comment. It was just another remark about how he was weak or unintimidating or a pushover and responding angrily to such comments had already gotten him burned once that night. He need to keep his cool and stay focused, particularly on the Absol that was now charging back towards his Magneton, its eyes glowing as red as the blood that stained its white fur.

"Stop it in its tracks." Electricity sparked across Lodestone's body, readying its THUNDER WAVE for the exact right moment when Absol was too close to dodge out of the way. Little did he know the surprise that lay in store.

Kouji Matsubara
OOC: Clash 1/3
10 MP (IC Post)
Total: 100

Colton hobbled along the path, though to say he was all there would be inaccurate. He was, at most, pretty sure this was the right direction to get back to Granite Cave, but his encounters so far had thrown off his sense of direction. Everything looked alien and strange and it was hard to wrap his mind around which way was up or down because gravity didn't work right in this place.

That, and Colton's head was still swimming. Who would have thought getting physically hit by another human would hurt so much? But leave it to a Rocket to take his victory, a hard fought one at that, and turn it into a loss by literally just beating the shit out of him. At the very least, Kouji Matsubara had managed to knock his shoulder back into socket, leaving it sore, but functional. But, considering fish scales had begun growing on his left arm, along with the coral horn being joined by a second one, he couldn't really cheer all that much. He would look like quite the devil if not for his large glasses and torn lab coat.

A hollow laugh made its way out of his throat as he imagined how ridiculous he probably looked, but it took more energy out of him than he had anticipated. A wave of fatigue washed over Colton and he closed his eyes, pinching the bridge of his nose as he fought off a migraine following shortly after.

"Just keep it together...You're nearly out, for sure. Then you can rest," he told himself before opening his eyes to blinding white that made him blink and squint as his eyes adjusted to the sudden influx of light. After a moment, he looked around him, his jaw slack with confusion.

He was no longer in the Ultra Deep Sea, but instead, a hallway lined with fluorescent ceiling lights, white tile and white walls. It smelled clean, as if it had been freshly mopped and his shoes squeaked as he slowly stepped forward.

"Um...hello?"

paxton concordas
OOC: Interdream (1/2)
50 MP (Participation), 10 MP (IC Post), 10 MP (Mutation)
Total: 70