Ghoul chuckled as the dog bounced back, yelping in pain. It came at a high cost, but the hit was clean. Unfortunately it would not be enough to take the Umbreon down, and it would respond by unleashing a flurry of Swift stars. They were too fast to avoid, and so Ghoul tanked the hits. Yet the barrage was too much to bear, and as the attack died down Ghoul would shudder before falling to the ground.

Dwayne gasped, having not expected Ghoul to go down so quickly. He returned her to their ball, panicking as he pulled out a new ball to send out a replacement. A flash would reveal another member of the Galarian Slowpoke family, this one being the Galarian Slowbro known as Gabba. Dwayne pointed to the Umbreon, malice in his eyes. "Gabba, Shell Side Arm!"

Gabba raised the shell-cannon on his arm, firing a large projectile of poison directly toward the enemy Umbreon.

Yuina Higashi

10MP for post
50MP for Pokemon KO

Get him to safety? Dwayne's eyes widened, the realization of what Josh meant sinking in. This was his way out, a clean break toward a better future. He never thought this would be an option, not with how the League had treated him before. Hold on there--treated him before.

Dwayne's eyes narrowed as the memory of the day's past encounters flowed through his head. He spoke out about his concerns immediately, "If I go with you--you're just going to lock me up right? You'll just put me in a cage and throw away the key, am I wrong? Please tell me I'm wrong. I can't--live like that."

Josh Devlin

Can't let him walk?

Dwayne barely had time to process those words before the man's Xatu disappeared, reappearing directly next to him. Dwayne froze, his eyes strained with fear as the Xatu examined him. Was he about to die? Was this Xatu about to tear him apart with its psychic abilities? No--apparently not, as the Xatu seemed satisfied to simply watch. Dwayne had no doubt though that it could destroy him at any moment, should it see a reason to.

Dwayne's face turned red, he felt building humiliation as tears welled up in his eyes. He squinted slightly, fighting as hard as he could to keep them from falling. As he began to feel absolute despair, one question kept cycling in his mind: "Then, what're you doing here?". He did not belong here, he was not a soldier nor was he a terrorist. He was here because he had no other option, he had to follow orders or die.

Dwayne abruptly fell to his knees, trembling as the urge to cry became stronger. "I'm just a guy in over his head." He said softly, clutching his head as reality crashed upon him. "I didn't ask for this! I just needed the money, I'm not a bad person!" After a moment of heavy breathing, Dwayne would abruptly push his hands forward with his palms pointed upward.

"Arrest me! Or capture me or--whatever! I don't care anymore, I'm done! Please! You have to! I'm sick can't you tell!? Sick in the head! Help me!"

lam logan

"Dracovid? Dracovid!" Dwayne continued to stare at the symbols even as his unwilling partner looked elsewhere. Dwayne's hand began to race across the symbols as familiarity filled in the blanks of what his companions had said earlier. As he inched around the pillar, he would begin chuckling to himself as a full picture began to form.

Of course chuckling proved to be a bit of a mistake, as the excess gas would send Dwayne into a fit of coughing. Once he was able to overcome the burning in his throat, Dwayne would share his discovery. "It's not a riddle as much as instructions. The gist is that we should use the 'might of a dragon's claw' as an offering of power to the gem, thus proving ourselves worthy of taking the path into the 'dragon's heart' or--'center'. I cut out a lot of flowery filler, someone was definitely struggling to fill out the space on this pillar."

Dwayne stood up and folded his arms, feeling rather cocky about having filled a very niche hole of usefulness. If only he had learned a language that could be useful outside of ancient temples. Dwayne looked to his companion, "So do you happen to have a dragon on you?"

Nikita Sokolov

Dwayne felt like he had been walking for ages, which was odd since he swore he did not walk very far to get here to begin with. What was going on? Had the mist truly stretched this far during his short time within it? He continued onward, unable to reconcile that something was wrong. This was supposed to be a very simple job, and his mind demanded that everything would remain simple even if evidence to the contrary was starting to stack.

Dwayne's march would be interrupted by a voice from behind him. As he turned to meet the voice's source, a man would run past in a panicked hurry. Dwayne looked to the man as he ran off before looking back again, the sounds of screeching tires slowly growing. Dwayne's eyes nearly popped from his skull when he saw the hoard of rolling tires ripping toward him--at least he thought they were tires.

Dwayne turned on his heels and began sprinting away, barely keeping ahead of the rolling hoard. He eventually started to catch up with the man from before, huffing as he tried to get more context.

"What--is--happening!? Are those tires--alive!?"

Amor Rose

The mystery man was predictably not-too pleased about Dwayne's blunder, and would vocally reprimand the already nervous boy. Dwayne's face turned red behind his mask, luckily hiding his embarrassment. Dwayne would take the man's insults up until his hopscotch statement, the young man's eyebrows furrowing with intoleration.

"Your vitriol won't help. Let's get out of here, then you can insult me all you like."

That was a lie, Dwayne would probably snap if this blowhard insisted upon adding even more insult to injury. Dwayne made his way to the gem, examining the pillar alongside the stranger. His mask helped filter the air up until now, but it could only do so much. His throat was starting to burn, he needed to find a way out fast.

The hieroglyphics seemed familiar, Dwayne could have sworn he had learned about a language like this in school but the memory was foggy. "Damn, if I could remember the name of this language I could probably translate it..."

Nikita Sokolov

The girl seems to want to trust Dwayne, which shall be enough for the sly criminal to work with for now. The girl's Fennekin companion waves at Dwayne, and Dwayne happily waves back. His carefree greeting almost causes him to miss out on what the girl said, but luckily he catches it at the last moment. The shock of her statement is genuine as he processes her words.

"I'm sorry did you say warzone?" Dwayne looked around, as if trying to identify an ongoing battle nearby. There were none to be found currently, but his expression would remain worried. "That is the first I'm hearing of it, I must be very lucky to not have encountered any fighting."

Dwayne tensed up, as if displaying a sudden awareness of how much danger he was in. "Well now I don't feel comfortable walking around alone. Do you think you could escort me back to town?"

Genevieve Cromwell

Dwayne growled lowly, his fists clenched as he festered over the girl's words. "I expected it to work again, just like the last idiot!" Dwayne normally did not speak such vitriol in a crisis, but he was feeling rather riled up. Granted that was no excuse to be toxic, but you will not see him taking responsibility for it today.

As the umbreon raced toward Ghoul, Dwayne faltered to give orders. He was not an experienced trainer, and he quickly found himself unable to keep up with the dark pokemon's speed. Ghoul did not make a motion to dodge, instead lifting its arm to tank the bite. It clearly hurt, as Ghoul yowled with apparent pain. Dwayne's eyes widened, his eyebrows rising as concern for his pokemon set in. Was this too much for them?

Yet Ghoul was not useless on its own, it gave the umbreon a pained smirk before shifting its head so that the Acid in its crown would pour directly onto its assailant.

Yuina Higashi

Dwayne's right eye twitched, his sanity hanging on by a thread due to the stress from today's various debacles. This guy was weird, and his Xatu was intense--it gave Dwayne a bad vibe overall. From the way the man spoke to him, Dwayne concluded that he could once again attempt to pass as a civilian--however he was not inclined to do so. He had made that gambit at least four times today and fell into trouble because of it. He may as well tell the truth, it would lead to the same outcome.

"I'm no civ." he admitted bluntly, his voice hoarse from hours of yelling. "I've suffered greatly today, nearly dying for a cause I don't give a shit about. I just want to go home and forget this ever happened. Please."

Dwayne shivered with desperation, his eyes shaking as he waited for the man's response.

As his shock faded, Dwayne was seconds away from instructing Gabba to get as far away from this area as possible. Yet as he opened his mouth, someone would call out to him from nearby. Upon locating the source of the voice, Dwayne's entire face would clench behind his mask, his eyes bulging in terror. A man on a shapedo would identify himself as Josh Devlin. He claimed to be an elite ranger, and Dwayne would have no doubt about. It was likely this very Josh that had just sank an entire ship!

Dwayne thought his goose was cooked, but this guy did not attack right away. Instead, he implored Dwayne to run away with his life intact. Dwayne's face relaxed, was he really just going to let him go? He should probably just count his blessings and flee--but his curiosity burned within him. He had to know why. Finally the masked man gathered the strength to respond.

"I uh--wasn't on the ship--yet. Not to sound ungrateful but is there a reason you just want to--let me go?"

Josh Devlin

Unsurprisingly the ranger does not allow Dwayne to simply pass by unaccosted. He stops casually, trying to remain calm as the ranger demanded his name and affiliation. Dwayne tilted his head and raised his eyebrows, attempting to appear as confused as possible.

"Um--Dwayne Parker. I guess I'm affiliated with--Dewford? That's where I live anyway." Dwayne's cold eyes watched as bullets of sweat slowly rolled down the girl's face. Was she nervous? Or perhaps wearing that uniform was a lot less comfy then it looks. Either way, it helped Dwayne maintain an air of confidence. That shall be key to winning this battle of wits.

"Are you alright ma'am? You seem nervous, is something wrong?" Dwayne utilized the most sympathetic tone he could muster, hoping to slowly bring the ranger's guard down--at least low enough for him to escape.

Genevieve Cromwell

MP TRACKER
--10 per post
Total: 70

Dwayne froze, just as the stranger commanded. His hasty ruse proved to be a failure, with the stranger exclaiming that she would be turning him in to the League. Dwayne sighed heavily, dissatisfied with having to fight yet again. He clenched his fists for a moment before taking a deep breath. His body relaxed as his demeanor returned to the tranquility he was known for. Dwayne's half-closed eyes leered at the girl, his mouth grinning from behind his mask.

"You know, I'd prefer not to go at all."

Dwayne's hand swung a pokeball off of his belt, which swiftly opened with a flick of his wrist. A red flash would announce the arrival of Ghoul, Dwayne's Galarian Slowking. The sinister shaman cackled as she squared up against her foe, immediately ready for battle. Dwayne would not hesitate to command Ghoul to attack, he could not afford to be reluctant to battle if it meant getting out of here in one piece.

"Ghoul, use Acid!" Ghoul aimed the top of its helmet toward the Umbreon and its trainer, firing a disgusting burst of poisonous fluid.

Yuina Higashi

MP TRACKER
--10 MP per post
Total: 70

Dwayne had escaped his previous pursuer at least thirty minutes ago, and yet he still refused to return to the shore. Hanging onto his Galarian Slowpoke, Gabba, Dwayne has been searching tirelessly for a Rocket vessel to board. He knew that there were a few out here, and he refused to spend any more time as a solo agent. He had been ambushed, jumped, and bamboozled all day--he deserved a break.

Yet it took an age to finally find one, a black beacon amongst the blue. Dwayne grinned behind his mask, pointing frantically toward the boat. "Double time Gabba, before they take off!" Gabba began paddling like a madman, desperate for a breather himself. The two closed in on the ship, close enough for Dwayne to hopefully get someone's attention. Yet as he sat up straight and raises his hands, an explosion would rip through the hull. Dwayne and Gabba froze, watching helplessly as their salvation sank beneath the waves within seconds.

Dwayne's eyes twitched. He did not even see what had caused the ship to sink, his horrified trance breaking as he realized that it could still be nearby.

Josh Devlin

MPTRACKER
--50 for participation
--10 for post