It… stopped?

Tavish momentarily ignored the order and peered around the Fluttermane. He can see how much it struggles against the temporary paralysis. Even in this limited state, its desire to attack them is still powerful. The twitches do not get less sporadic, and maybe even stronger of the slowed course of time.

But he quickly backed off, towards the stranger. It was weird to be helped rather than attacked on sight. If the roles had been reversed, this man would’ve been left to die without a second’s hesitation.

Most of the people in Hoenn deserved it.

Just as he and Obstagoon reached the person, he heard the flutter of the ghost’s hair strands in the wind. He spared a glance backward, only to see it chuckle softly and fade from view.

“Looks like we’re haunted,” he said as he continued to stride forward in earnest. “Forget harmin’ it– we’re better off running.”

“Obstagoon.”

“Huh?”

She’d stopped. Even if she couldn’t harm the ghost, she’d at least try to help the stranger who helped them. It was only right. One way or another, she’d help them out until they were free of this simple yet powerful menace. Her head swung around and her nose twitched.

“Obsta!” She pointed towards the thin air on their left. It did not remain that way for long, and the Fluttermane rematerialized as soon as its location was pointed out. It lunged forward, straight for the small group.

“Obstagoon!” Tavish cried out. He retraced his steps, but intuition told him he’d never make it in time. If the Fluttermane went for her… she’d be ruined. “Drive it back! Today!”

---

nikkari hect

One did not need to be a paranoid criminal to know when to heed the word of a stranger, but it sure did mean that Tavish reacted faster than any chump ever could. He put one step forward and turned around the next instant, his knife drawn and ready to… cut…

His heart was rather conflicted here. If that Fluttermane had gotten hold of him, then that would’ve been that. He’d see them do absolutely nasty things to other Pokémon. Other people. Thus, he didn’t exactly mind the call out, nor the way it was blasted back with a frosty Ice Beam.

But his conviction didn’t hold the same reservations: the move was vile. Evil. Whoever gave the command should be gutted like a Magikarp and left to be scavenged by the wild Pokémon. Cut down where they stand like the sinner they were.

“Easy, easy!” Tavish called out. Obstagoon held onto the sack of dangerous crystals with a tight grip, unable to fight back. “No need to get so–”

“Fuck,” he dodged to the side as the Fluttermane went for a second attempt. Its hair barely missed his skull, and he felt the icy chill of death leave a trail on his skin. Pinpricks erupted everywhere the connected as if an omen of what could’ve been. “Obstagoon, help!”

“Obstagoon!” She pulled one leg back and swiftly raised it into the bottom of the Paradox Pokémon. Unfortunately, that wasn’t an actual move that could hit it, and she instead fell backwards from the sudden change in balance.

“Okay, nevermind,” Tavish dashed over to Obstagoon and tried to pull her back, “distract the Fluttermane!”

It got ever closer, and its smile got only wider…

---

nikkari hect

Mikael was wrong. Did he seriously think the people of Rocket deserved life? Those who hurt, harmed, attacked, murdered the innocent Pokémon of Hoenn? Their innocent people? No, letting them live was a mercy. One they didn’t deserve. Best to sink them all in the ocean and be done with it.

But Tavish had long learned to keep his mouth shut on the matter. No point trying to waste breath on such a futile effort when he could just take action and improve lives in real time. Let the idealists dream their future. He’d achieve his.

“Hrm.” Tavish spared a glance back down at the Brute Bonnets. Researcher? That one quack probably thought himself a researcher too. People could lie, too. What if this one did the same?

But before he could voice any of these concerns, Mikael had already begun the trip to the stranded researcher. Fine, whatever. No skin off his back. He sheathed his knife and started to–

“Obsta–wait, come back!” He turned back around and began to half-follow-half-chase the small group that went closer to the Brute Bonnets. Looked like this stranger was running out of time, based on the fact that they’d manage to almost fall out of their only save haven. Now, he was on his last stretch as he dangled from a branch by his sleeve.

“What the– how? Fucking idiot,” he muttered. “Forget this guy! He doesn’t have a single self-preservation bone in his entire body!”

At least the fervent fungi still kept their attention on the undergrowth or the man himself, unable to reach him from so high above. It was honestly quite impressive, how much he managed to fuck himself over. And it looked like he hadn’t even noticed they were there yet. Good. He hadn’t gotten his hopes up yet.

But Obstagoon crouched down into the bush and considered the options. Even if they wanted to battle, they’d get obliterated. These were rather strong and tricky, despite their relatively slow nature. It’d be best to avoid a confrontation. Maybe if they could get the man out of the tree and just outrun them…

She signed the idea to Tavish, but he rolled his eye once again. “What, you got telekinesis in your back pocket? Better off just creatin’ a distraction. Right, Mika?”

---

mikael rosenberg
TOTAL: 271
hMo_jKLH

Lucario’s Metal Claw slashed into the Toxicroak, a solid blow right into his side. It sent the poisonous frog into a spin, and the world spun several times over. However, it was more theatrical than the actual force of the strike. No, his foe did not hit so hard that he was sent into a literal spiral.

Because he slammed his foot into the ground. From there, it was all too easy to convert the momentum of the spin forward. Straight ahead, both his fists put together and shot forward with all his body weight. This Revenge would be sweet. “Two left feet, eh?!”

On the Tavish side, he pushed Aurelie’s arm back and whipped his head backward. While it did mean he ate a heavy blow to his gut, it also meant his free arm could grab onto hers and keep her squarely in place.

“Fat chance–”

His headshot forward, and their skulls collided. The world shook, and he recoiled from his own blow. His feet felt unsteady, but he powered through the initial regret and pain from their forced mutual pain. “In… hell… whoah!”

No, that was not in his mind; the trees vibrated in place, and the entire landscaped vibrated in place. Like the world wanted to join in on the fight, the chemist tried to fight back and keep himself upright. It worked– barely. In the confusion of the sudden earthquake shaking the world and his own world being shaken, he swung rather blindly in her direction.

The earthquake didn’t matter much for Obstagoon, but it was annoying. Almost as much as the waste of time her Fury Swipes were. She growled at the strong metal bars. All of that effort, just to put a few scratches into them. It was time to get serious. Instead of her paltry normal attacks. she lifted both her arms far apart in the sky.

And then brought hem down into an X-formation, straight onto the bars. But not even the Cross Chop could put a dent into the reinforced steel.

But, perhaps, there was a third option. A sudden flash of light caught her attention. Lights from the Iron Thorns. They flickered, but did not stay active. It wanted to come to life, but couldn’t find the strength. Maybe if she… healed it, somehow…

---

Aurelie Lefevre
TOTAL: 444
  w_w0CpCG

Tavish swiveled on a dime, his knife drawn in one swift motion and raised in defense. He kept himself low to the ground as he examined the newcomer. Obstagoon turned her head as well, but didn’t immediately turn hostile; if these two could sneak up on them but didn’t attack them immediately, then odds are they didn’t have the intention.

Or they were more interested in looking them in the eyes as the life drained from them. No way to discern at first glance, really.

He remained silent for several long, dangerous seconds. As time went on, the stranger did not make any immediate moves to attack. His stance slowly yet surely relaxed, but the knife stayed in the air. A hopeful ward to any hostile actions.

“Why? You see the bastard down there,” he motioned to the distant pack of wild Pokémon that continued their search, “they’re as good as gone. And they probably deserve it. But if you can get it through to Obstagoon, here, then by all means.”

The furry Pokémon rolled her eyes and made some hand gestures to Tavish. It was as clear and concise as a Pokémon could get to sign language if Mikael had ever seen it before. Tavish sighed exasperatedly, “Yea, I know what I said!”

Arceus be damned. He pushed his lips together and looked to the ground. He ran the numbers, crunched them, and digested them as the logistics worked itself out in his head. The more he thought, the more he saw a path forward. A very theoretical, potential plan that he very much did not want to do.

But it was there. “... Name’s Tavish. You know anything about the bastard down there? What line of work they do?”

“If they hurt Pokémon?”

Maybe, just maybe… if this person wasn’t actually inherently evil, then he MIGHT come around to the idea. “Do you?”

---

mikael rosenberg
TOTAL: 177
PLr|5MzD

Damn. Tavish’s knife slid cleanly through the fabric of her jacket and missed the mark, saved by the Lucario now at her side. He restrained himself from immediately going for a second attack, as that’d get his head punched cleanly off by the dangerous Pokémon. Instead, he entered a defensive stance and strafed to her left.

Bloke went to her right, his eyes locked with the Lucario. He swung wildly, his fists a mile wide of the target. If anything, it’s like he tried to miss. Like the trainer, the Toxicroak adopted a defensive stance and waited to see how the Lucario would attack. His body hung low to the ground and bobbed to some strange, unheard song. He waited in Anticipation.

“Oi, eyes over here,” he waved a hand to her, “just me an’ you, eh? Let’s dance.”

Tavish didn’t even try to fake-attack. Instead, he kept his guard up and knife parallel to the ground. For a few, dangerously tense seconds, all he did was watch. No attempts, no attacks. Silent as the commotion of action stirred not even two feet from them. His one eye focused squarely on her blade.

Not even the loud roar of a very distant creature could distract him– but he couldn’t put a name to the cry. Strange; he could put a name to all the Paradoxical Pokémon calls by this point. But that one still didn’t have a name for the face, so to speak.

“Fancy knife ya got,” he finally spoke, with a thick, low accent. “Where ya mark yer head count? Etches on the blade or the pommel?”

He didn’t wait for an answer. His blade shot forward, towards her heart. Of course, this wouldn’t get anywhere, and she parried it effortlessly. But he was ready for any counterattack she’d offer, much like she’d be ready for any counter-counter attack. First impressions left them on equal ground, down to the lack of two eyes. Fate was funny indeed.

But it’s not like he needed to win. Obstagoon, in the initial commotion, went straight for the cage. She gave one of the bars a quick tug– strong. She grumbled, but couldn’t afford to waste time on complaints. The first thing that came to mind was to wear the bars away. Her claws extended, and she Furiously Swiped at the bars repeatedly. The clash of keratin on reinforced-steel filled the area and drowned out the roar of far-away beast.

---

Aurelie Lefevre
TOTAL: 360
  62ifOiJ9

Tavish waded through the rest of the water and retrieved Sonny just as the smoke started to seep in from the ground, like a burst septic tank. Try as he might, the thick black smoke was simply too potent, as he reached the spot where he thought Rhys was. Of course, the bugger had run off before he could even get his hands on him.

Tear him a new ass, as one might say.

On the bright side, the smoke also prevented the Iron Treads from making good on their intentions. Sure, they ran out of the cave and shook the earth all around him. A few got too close for comfort and nearly crushed him underfoot. But none of them truly collided with him or Obstagoon. After a few moments, they had all run past and back into the wild of…

Where this was. Tavish snarled, but did not bother to continue the chase. It’d be like trying to work with Fluorine: technically possible, but probably not worth the effort or the risk associated with it. Still, it didn’t mean he had to be happy about it. He stomped one foot into the ground and looked up to the blacked-out sky.

“Don’t think we’re done ‘ere, ya quack doc!” He screamed into the void. “Ya ‘aven’t seen the last of Tavish Rose, ya hear!? I’ll get ya one day, and they'll have to glue you back together in hell!”

Obstagoon quickly put a furry claw on his shoulder and held a digit to her lips. The quiet, muffled beeps of the wild Iron Treads got a little louder. He nodded along.

Time to make an exit, before they really got surrounded by the Paradoxical Pokémon.

---

Rhys Collins
TOTAL: 470
  MCwPZAh_

The lass either pretended they weren’t there, a few meters to her side, or she was entirely unaware. Good. It meant their attack would be all that more guaranteed to succeed. He, Obstagoon, and Bloke all sat in a line, hidden in the shroud of a leafy bush. They simply watched and planned.

These scoundrels never knew when to give up, did they? Not only did the opposite faction try to stop their attempts to capture and experiment on the wild Pokémon, but the wildlife itself opposed their foul actions. Unfortunately for this lone stranger, she’d come to learn that there was a third, even more unpredictable threat to their efforts.

Tavish Rose.

“Are we ready?” He looked at the other two. Bloke signed in agreeance, and Obstagoon held up her makeshift smoke bomb. Perfect. He held up three fingers. Then two. Then, he balled up his fist.

Tavish and Bloke would handle the people and Pokémon, and Obstagoon would free the captured kindred. That’s why she was the one to pull her arm back and launch the pot into a near perfect arc.

Aurelie might hear it as it hit the various leaves that hung from the trees, each one a dead giveaway of its precise location. Unless she had the reaction time and speed of electricity, the pot would finally land about half a meter in front of her. White powder exploded into the air and surrounded the immediate location. Nothing deadly, but distracting.

He really hoped she didn’t see them run up, his own solid yet minimalist combat knife drawn and Bloke ready to attack whichever Pokémon she sent out first. It’d make things a lot messier.

Their footsteps were heavy on the dirt, and he went straight for her without a single jab or taunt.

---

Aurelie Lefevre
TOTAL: 172
  _ABFR5i5

“Oh that’s it! I’m gonna string ye by yer liver and feed ya to the Wingulls! Yer spleen’ll be great fer the Magikarp! I’ll pluck yer eyeballs–”

Tavish was too busy describing how each of Rhys’ body parts would be utilized for the benefit of Pokemon-kind to notice the entrance of the cave opened up. Or how Rhys deployed his own Starmie to wash them away, alongside the stragglers that still had a lock on to their existence. Trickle became stream became strong current.

Unfortunately for Rhys, Tavish still had a way to get to him. The distance between the two hadn’t been great enough to prevent him from seeing the Starmie. A psychic type. Perfect. Tavish quickly released Sonny from his ball and held the trap-Pokemon in his arms.

“You think yerself so clever, so let’s see how ye handle this!”

Tavish reeled back and tossed the heavy creature as straight ahead as he could. And thanks to the flat body of the creature, as well as the momentum, he skipped the first time he was in contact with the water. Once he flapped his body in such a way to go even further with the momentum, it took no time at all for him to close the distance on the Starmie.

Dark energy surrounded its fins and delivered a crippling Sucker Punch straight into the gem of the starfish.

“Show 'em who not t'fuck with, Sonny!” Tavish whistled, even as the current started to become problematic. If he didn’t stop the Starmie soon…

---

Rhys Collins
TOTAL: 365
  NYkmTgMQ

"No."

"Why?"

"Probably a bastard. See all them creatures around the perimeter of that tree? They're lookin' fer 'em-- cause they were a bastard!"

"Come on. We should at least try."

Tavish rolled his eye to Obstagoon. He did not want to help this stranger, this presumably evil, awful person. No matter how much his companion signed and swung her paws around in new, unique ways. Seriously, did she not see how many Brute Bonnets searched the brush and leaves for them? Two eyes weren't necessary to see how screwed they were. How angry the past mushrooms were.

Likely trying to eat them. Bastard.

And if it wasn't that, then it was research. Probably doing inhumane studies. Not as bad, but it was still an awful thing to do. Hell, if Tavish wasn't dead certain that the Brute Bonnets would both find and obliterate them off the face of the earth, he'd go over there and do it himself. Circumstance barely mattered. That quack Rhys Collins knew it first hand. 

Obstagoon tried to sign again, but he pushed her hands down. "Besides, even if-- and I mean IF, eye-eff, capital-- I even had the faint idea that I WANTED to help, we're two people! There's... seven? Eight? Brute Bonnet down there. Even if you, Bloke, and Sonny all played distraction, it still wouldn't be enough. You're askin' t'do a job that needs at least five more people."

---

mikael rosenberg
TOTAL: 92
QgFRjbYG

“Careful… steady hands...” Tavish cautiously directed Bloke as he extracted the precious minerals from the earth. Hell if he knew the exact dangers of these bright crystals. People gave these to their Pokémon here, supposedly. Fat chance in hell he ever did something like that– better off eating Lead or drinking Sulfuric Acid

At least he knew those would kill them all. How they’d break down their cells and cause total organ failure. Or just melt the flesh entirely. This, though? Entirely new ballpark. He didn’t even want to humor the stuff.

But Obstagoon held out the bag as the Toxicroak deposited the meager ‘ore’ with steady hands. She was right in her logic: they needed money, and this sold for enough. Furthermore, as much as he distrusted the League and its science, they had yet to show evidence that this stuff was necessarily bad for you. And if it didn’t hurt any Pokémon…

He’d have to trust his companion on the matter. She drew the drawstring on the satchel and hefted it over her shoulder. Bloke pointed to his Poke Ball, and Tavish reluctantly withdrew the poisonous frog. “Good work, Bloke. Obstagoon. Let’s hope we don’t find out after the fact that this stuff causes cancer.”

Obstagoon rolled her eyes but signed reassurances as they began their trek back to the surface. They had to delve pretty far into the earth to find this stuff, and with any luck, they wouldn’t run into any trouble on the way back.

And Rocket would suddenly become a charity for stray Yamper. “Stay on guard.”

---

nikkari hect

EXCURSION SIGN-UP

ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!

WHICH EXCURSION?: e.g. AZ EXCURSION A
PARTICIPATING CHARACTERS: tavish rose nikkari hect

EXCURSION SIGN-UP

ADVENTURE IS OUT THERE!

WHICH EXCURSION?: e.g. GC EXCURSION E
PARTICIPATING CHARACTERS: tavish rose mikael rosenberg

Tavish’s final rock arced toward Rhys, still barely missing the mark as the man disappeared around the bend. He followed in hot pursuit, not nearly as thrown off by the appearance of the low-jutting pillar. This is also why he cleared it gracefully, like a ballerina in a play.

Obstagoon didn’t even bother to jump, as she instead raised her arms and delivered the sediment a powerful Cross Chop. Debris scattered in her wake, some chunks large enough to slow down the–

Nope, the Iron Treads barreled through it like it wasn’t even there. Obstagoon groaned but kept on running. They’d reach an open space soon, and from there they could try to plan out a response. Just needed to keep going.

And hope Tavish didn’t actually trip Rhys. That’d be another hazard she’d have to worry about as they emerged from the dark, decrepit tunnels. It was, by no means, a grand, open space. They were in a large pit, filled with various boulders and a few other wild Paradox Pokémon that clung to the edges like life-preservers. They all scattered as the earth rumbled underneath the wild pack of Iron Treads.

But Tavish kept his eye on the back of Rhys, who showed signs of lagging. He remembered when he’d been the same, before he condemned himself down the path of vigilantic justice. How out of shape he’d been. How that had nearly gotten him killed several times.

He’d ensure this man never learned that mistake. Tavish pulled off another smoke bomb from his belt and handed it off to Obstagoon, “Throw it ahead!”

She rolled his eyes, but she did consider a different approach. The pot did not fly forward but instead slammed into the ground at her feet. White smoke billowed out and covered their tracks, so to speak. The first few Iron Treads audibly lost track of where to go and barreled off to the side.

The earth shook violently, and they could only watch as four Iron Treads slammed into the solid earth. For Obstagoon, a breath of relief.

For Tavish, abject horror. “Arceus, please grant them safe passage into your domain…”

“And send this bastard straight t'hell!”

He doubled his pace, his eye now ablaze. He’d feed him to the beloved creatures himself if he had to.

---

Rhys Collins
TOTAL: 296
 |aObnM0W