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Her bare knees ached. It came from the cold, unrelenting hardness of the stone counter.[break][break]

Bailey's head swiveled at Fernando's arrival, and she displayed no shame as she gestured to his empty cabinets. Some might have felt embarrassed at being caught digging through someone's kitchen, but her bafflement defied such rationale. “More than you have.” Like, seriously. How was this possible?[break][break]

“Do you just eat out all the time?” There was a loud tap as she set the coffee tin onto the counter. A rough push of the hand sent it sliding across the smooth surface, straight to Fernando. It was his poorly stocked kitchen. He knew where the coffee machine was.[break][break]

She'd slide off from the counter, pulling down at the edge of her button-up shirt to keep it at length with her upper thighs; tan-lines visible from where the point of her shorts would have began.[break][break]

The state of undress does little to faze her—hunger took precedence.[break][break]

“Oh, and uh... mornin' I guess,” she'd eye the councilman's state of disarray. “You got shitfaced last night.”[break][break]

The wild miltank-like licks of her hair suggested that she had not fared much better.

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Maybe she could have worded that better.[break][break]

“Unless I don't like 'em. Then, I'll break their heart,” because that was the power that came from her position. “Or, you know, maybe not. I can be nice... sometimes.”[break][break]

The bell tolled. With it, their conversation came to its abrupt end.[break][break]

“Have fun on your next date. Maybe you'll get lucky twice,” and she spared a short wave as a sleeping Chubs was pulled into her arms.

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She hated the early set-up.[break][break]

Watching two pokemon stand apart from each other and increase their stats was always boring, but Bailey had learned with time that she had to curb her dislike—it had a purpose that could make a difference in long term battles, and skipping over it was not wise.[break][break]

But, there was one benefit that came with her Scolipede that made this aspect of battling less necessary, and it was going to showcase itself.[break][break]

“Alright, let's get to the good stuff,” and she leaned forward, letting malice rise to her grin and reflect in the whites of her teeth; lips pulled back far enough to show the canines.[break][break]

She gave no order. Rollie Pollie only gave one glance back his trainer, and in that shared look, he would nod. He knew what the good stuff was.[break][break]

Turning back to the Weavile, he would do what he did best. With a sudden snap, the bug-type pokemon would lurch forward and curl downward to the ground—rolling into a tight sphere, like a wheel that would rapidly spin itself in place, building momentum.[break][break]

When he lurched forward, it was like the sound of tires squealing on blacktop; steamroller.[break][break]



The flat terrain of the battleground became his track, and as he aimed to collide against the Weavile, nothing else mattered.[break][break]

Even if the attack missed, he would remain contained within this tight shell; pivoting and turning sharply just to charge in once more. Another steamroller, used back-to-back.[break][break]

But it seemed faster this time.[break][break]

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Ah, how the turn tables.[break][break]

“Aw, what's wrong?” She'd tease, leaning herself over the table as her face rested in the soft curve of her palm; elbows balanced apart, just so she could really get close to hear what he was whispering. “You don't like someone taking the initiative?” Her voice would drop as well, just to mirror his.[break][break]

Drinks were set onto the table by a faceless waitress—water to wet the palate, and Bailey let one finger circle the ring just to hear the crystal sing. “Personally, I wouldn't mind it,” and there was something about being desired that could tickle anyone's fancy.[break][break]

“As long as they're not masked dickheads that get paired with me because they save me from getting' gorged on spikes.” At that, she would almost seem to pout at the memory.[break][break]

The crystal would almost scream when one finger rotated too fast, drawing out a shrill. “Didn't need the help either—my vikavolt was swinging in to grab me.”

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Slateport park gleamed with early morning light.[break][break]

Trekking through the grass latched droplets of dew to her shoes--it was a chill that she could ignore as her eyes drifted to the clustering of comfey. Their help had been appreciated, and as a gift from the Slateport Police Department, Bailey Cooper walked to the pokemon with a jar of sweet honey as a gift and a sweet breakfast.[break][break]

And if one were to linger for too long, she would offer up a pokeball to the selfless fairy. From the corner of her eye, she could spy Isra Nightingale , and spared a wave as she balanced the honey in her other arm.[break][break]

bdchvqwu

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As the swarm descended, there was one thing that did not escape Bailey's focus.[break][break]

The fire punch landed with a resounding success, and there was a sound that came from the singe that seemed to suggest effectiveness, and the way that the blade curled like paper thrown to a bonfire. she could see the rising cinders.[break][break]

It was a guess, but it was the best guess that she had.[break][break]

“They're weak to fire!” She would shout, just to be heard over the sound of clashing steel. “Fuck 'em up!”[break][break]

She had thought that taking a defensive front would have encouraged the others to be more offensive, but that was an assumption Bailey wouldn't make twice—if she had to, she would take on that role.[break][break]

And she had the numbers to do it.[break][break]

Two more capsules; Skuntank and Togekiss. The poison-type and flying-type were deployed to the field with a toss from both hands.[break][break]

“Chunker! Get some light in here!” and the Stuntank would deploy Sunny Day, conjuring an energy that manifested with a heat that resonated with fire-type moves.[break][break]

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“Tink! Play support!” Codeword for Life Dew, which would be done to try and mitigate oncoming damage; water-like droplets oozing from the porcelain of her skin. “And stay up! Don't let 'em slice you, girl!” Keeping her air-bound would keep the flying marshmallow out of range of the horde—and also gave a vantage point for the distribution of the life dew.[break][break]

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Darmanitan and Hawkin would overhear their trainer's observations, and with the effects of sunny day radiating behind them, joined side by side as their bodies were engulfed by an all-consuming heat. “Flare blitz, Bumbo! Flame charge, Hawkins!”[break][break]

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And they'd fling themselves into the fray, colliding their bodies into their oncoming foes. Rip and tear.[break][break]

tldr: bailey yells that they seem to be weak to fire. skuntank used sunny day. togekiss used life dew. Darmintan used flare blitz and activated sheer force. blaziken used flame charge and activated speed boost.

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Sometimes, having so many responsibilities could be a bitch.[break][break]

Bailey Cooper was not in a position to complain—it had been her decision to remain a police officer when she joined the Elite Four, and since there were no prospective champions constantly challenging her, then it meant that this job was the only thing keeping her busy.[break][break]

“Nah, already had the date—got the call on the ride home,” she said with a shrug. “fuck me, right?”[break][break]

If her dress was ruined, then she was going to be fucking pissed.[break][break]

She caught the pikechu's stare, and responded with an arch of her brows. “I'm Officer Cooper,” and her eyes would switch back to him. “You ready to beat up a ghost?”[break][break]

No with the little mouse, she hoped as she retrieved a pokeball from her purse.[break][break]

A small toss deployed and pokeball, and it was eager to snap back into her hand as it deployed its contents. From the red light, the ugly visage of a Mandibuzz took shape, and the bone vulture took its stance upon Bailey's shoulders.[break][break]

It was a funny juxposition—her dressed as nicely as she could be, next to a pokemon that was known for being sordid.

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The scent of the miltanks?[break][break]

“Ohhhh, that's smart!” Bailey would have never thought of that. Her experience with pokemon tracking was zero to none, and it was almost interesting to watch how Kyle directed orders to his pack. She was never a good learner, but a part of her mind tried to pocket that nugget of knowledge in case it could ever come in handy.[break][break]

She'd just need a pack of Mightyenna—Nah, never mind. Too much hassle. How could she even take them out for walks?[break][break]

Her head would perk at the sound of the bark, glancing to the direction of the forest. Like Kyle, she felt her lips twist into a frown. “Shit, figures they'd be somewhere in that maze,” but she had come prepared.[break][break]

One of her capsules burst, and from its red light, a Trevenant emerged. Dark and imposing, the tree-like ghost would glance at its surroundings... and then proceed to step close to his trainer, latching onto her with his claws as his expression changed from something frightening to something... depressed.[break][break]

He looked like he was ready to cry.[break][break]

“Reaver, come on, don't get fussy,” and she would get the cowering ghost tree a good pat. “Sorry, he gets bummed out around places like this—he got kicked out of the woods that he used to haunt by a bunch of haunters, and I think he's still bummed out about it.”[break][break]

He sniffled.[break][break]

“He'll be good at blending in,” because what was better than a tree hiding among the trees? "Lead the way."

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Sherlock the Wooloo had lead them this far.[break][break]

Bailey glanced in the direction of the clumps of wool, frowning at their mangled state. Poor sheep. Nature was a cruel, indifferent entity. “I think I saw Fidget fly off in this direction,” and she followed after the Wooloo and Lucas—hard to do, considering that the head scientist was still limping along.[break][break]

“If she's scouting the area, then she'll tell us if she finds anything.” Which was a godsend. Appletuns and their flying counterpart were more quiet than people anticipated them to be.[break][break]

They could easily sneak up on an unaware trainer—Bailey kept her eyes peeled, watching for signs of red or green shifting in the bushes.

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