With all of their teamwork put together, it seemed the Iron Bundle was on its last leg. His Pangoro seemed eager to put the bird down, but certainly not as eager as the fellow civilians caught in the crossfire. With a nod to his Pangoro, the creature giving a roar that channeled its frustration. Like its trainer, the pokemon found the bird irksome, and the fact it had managed to survive this long and cause this much damage had put quite the damper on a nice day out.

Like a flickering candlelight, it was ready for them to blow out this Iron Bundle. The Pangoro slid across the ice, unfortunately lacking the grace of a skater and steadied its aim before it dealt a blow to the skeletal robotic form of the mischief making creature. With careful precision, the Pangoro fired a PARTING SHOT at the Iron Bundle, hoping that it would hit its mark.

After a heaved sigh, Schuyler finally turned to virgil roach to give an exhausted laugh. Given the circumstances, he felt it wouldn't hurt to tell a little white lie. These people didn't have to know his actual name. It was easier that way.

"Right," he insisted. "Don't think any of us had the luxury to exchange names. Name's Finn."

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tl;dr
- pangoro uses parting shot
- finally "introduces" himself

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

robin coello virgil roach luka chêne trinity beckman

It was almost mad that trinity beckman had attempted to throw a pokeball at the Iron Bundle. Such a simple idea, it was a miracle that no one had thought of it to begin with. While the ball broke apart, the tool had been enough to bring the z-move to a halt. Between he and luka chêne's attacks that landed, and virgil roach's BONE RUSH that did a number on the menace. They were so close to putting this bird down for good that he could almost taste it. But even then, robin coello had a point. They needed to maintain a certain level of damage control because it wasn't as though they could cause mayhem and not be expected to pay for it later.

The Iron Bundle was no doubt already seeing stars given their joint attacks. Maybe it was best not to have his Pangoro deal the final blow. But did he have much of a choice? His Ditto fully knocked out, Schuyler was forced to recall the creature. Goodra was still holding on, as it had been one of the pair to take far less damage than its partner. They didn't have to pack a wallop on the malfunctioning bird.

Or did they?

The Pangoro hadn't forgotten how when it first tried to take down the Iron Bundle, it had been shocked, then sent flying by the damned train they worked so hard to stop. The bear stomped forward, aggressive in its approach as it raised an arm in an attempt to deliver a HAMMER ARM to the bird. It seemed to swing its attack with all the frustration the day left it with -- humiliation, frustration, and above all else, impatience.

"Seems our pokemon are about as tired of this thing as we are, let's not let this thing have the chance to even get back up."

His tone cold and resolute, he gave a firm nod to his Pangoro to make the attack.

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tl;dr
- ditto-bundle faints from z-move
- pangoro attacks iron bundle with hammer arm

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

robin coello virgil roach luka chêne trinity beckman

Unfortunately it seemed the all-out attack on the Iron Bundle fell through. The creature was formidable indeed, but at least they'd gotten some heavy blows in on it. All they had to do now was worry about taking on the brunt of the z-move that it had unleashed. All sorts of decor came flying at Schuyler from the wild winds of the Iron Bundle's attack -- glass ornaments, tinsel, even a bundle of mistletoe. Immediately the Ditto-Bundle at his side began to try and combat the shards of ice with AIR CUTTERs. But it was far too much for the replicant to keep up with. But the question was: would the z-move come to a halt if they could continue to land blows on the Iron Bundle? It would be a two-pronged attack, an attempt to wipe out the blizzard's path while another partner pokemon made a swing at the Iron Bundle on its perch in the tree.

"Let's try to coordinate our attacks to at least get that thing from its vantage point," he remarked. "Wide hitters, take on the z-move's effect. Hard hitters, let's bring that bird and that perch down."

With the remark made, Schuyler's Pangoro readied itself to take on the tree. To make up for the attacks the Ditto couldn't take on, his Goodra fired a MUDDY WATER torrent at the oncoming halestorm. Without so much as another thought, he flashed virgil roach a smile. It seemed the man had the right idea thinking it better to take down the tree first. But hindsight's 20/20.

"Say, I owe you an apology for the cowboy comment. How about some drinks when we finally get things settled here?" A cock of his head back at the rest of the group. "That invite goes for the rest of you."

As if in tune with the resolve, his Pangoro offered a VITAL THROW at the base of the tree.

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tl;dr
- ditto-bundle uses air cutter to carve a path while goodra uses muddy water
- remarks to the group that once they get through this, they should go out for drinks to celebrate cause this has been a hassle
- pangoro uses vital throw at the base of the tree the iron bundle is atop

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

robin coello virgil roach luka chêne trinity beckman

A seasonal drink? At least now it seemed things started to come back to normal. And at least with the idea of peppermint in mind, he could throw a peppermint tea into the blend as a base. While his Ditto finished steeping the tea, the two blended the tea with some eggnog as the milky base. But the bursting pearls were an admittedly strange choice. Schuyler's idea was simple: incorporate a blend of festive flavors. A bold move, but a glance at the scoreboard told him he really needed to impress the judges. Fourth place just wouldn't do.

Everything blended together and was topped with some whipped cream. Maybe it was the lack of confidence given that he didn't often experiment with boba, but he felt like a Magikarp with Swift Swim in the middle of a sandstorm -- utterly blown out of the water and floundering about. With the final round upon them, Schuyler took a deep breath, steeled himself, and presented the drink.

"Here's hoping this is enough to spark some holiday cheer."

LntKjWz1

TOTAL OF ROLLS ADDED TOGETHER: 255

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

@bubble tea brewing showdown

Once it noticed the ranger in motion, the Mabosstiff turned and began to make a hurried dash back to the ski lodge. It made leaps and bounds to avoid the pine trees blanketed in snow as it finally came to a halt when it reached the doors. After a few loud barks, Schuyler and another person staying at the lodge worked to pull the doors open once again. The Mabosstiff trotted in and looked back to make sure the ranger followed close behind.

Huddled in a group were some parents with their children. Others attempted to use their fire-type pokemon to keep themselves warm. Schuyler himself finally stepped forward and spoke up.

"Sorry to chase you the whole way out here, but it seems there was a power surge. I don't have the know-how to fix it myself, but if you've got an idea on how to fix it, I think there's an electrical box just northeast of here."

He offered the Mabosstiff a low whistle as if to insist it follow along. Schuyler was quick to take the first step out and eye the outside. The snow was becoming more of a problem, so time was of the essence to reach the electrical box to try and give it a temporary repair. A polite flash of his teeth at the ranger came as he spoke up again.

"If you don't mind, I'd like to accompany you. It's looking pretty bad out there, and I'd feel guilty expecting you to go out all on your own."

Schuyler offered a hand out to shake. A blasé comment to break the ice.

"You can call me Finn. I came for a vacation but it seems that's up in smoke at the moment."

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

Josh Devlin

Despite all the efforts they put in, the train had only lost its decorative covering. He feigned the gesture of frustration but deep down, he didn't actually care about the casualties. You had to break a few eggs to make an omelette, as they say. Eyes fell upon the Iron Bundle that ascended the tree like a star. As it dug through its bag, all Schuyler could do was prepare for the worst. And just like that, the creature plucked a z-crystal out of its pouch. He'd seen how impressive luka chêne's z-move could be, ergo he could only assume the worst of the Iron Bundle. With trinity beckman back into the fray, he cocked his head at the tree.

"Seems it wants to be the star of the show," he commented. "Forget formulating plans, we have to do anything and everything we can to get that Iron Bundle separated from that Z-Crystal. Take down the tree, scale it, do whatever you guys think is necessary. But let's keep a level of communication."

He knew however that robin coello's concern would likely fall with the victim's of the train wipeout, and he couldn't blame her for following her civic duty. But something told him it would be easier to go at this all with just about everything they had and dogpile the holly jolly hazard.

While on one hand, his Ditto-Bundle served as a distraction, his Goodra served as the retriever. The Ditto-Bundle continued to dance around, and from its own bag, it pulled out a PRESENT to fling at the Iron Bundle that stood at the top of the tree. While the Ditto-Bundle continued to fling presents all about, his Goodra that had sat on the sidelines slipped in with a SHADOW SNEAK, but rather than attacking, it attempted to pluck the Z-Crystal away from the Iron Bundle's flippers at the top of the tree and reconvene with the group below.

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tl;dr
- suggests they simply dogpile the iron bundle
- uses ditto-bundle to keep the iron bundle distracted
- uses goodra's shadow sneak to attempt and snag the z-crystal while the iron bundle is distracted

⚰︎ divider made by milky!

robin coello virgil roach luka chêne trinity beckman