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[break]

It was coming straight for them.[break][break]

"Oh fuck," and Bailey felt as if she were a deerling caught in the headlights, waiting for the moment of impact without a chance to retaliate. just like with the hyper beam, the oncoming gyro ball of black mass seemed undodgeable.[break][break]

Its speed told her that it could not be outrun--not by this zebstrika, and not with three people onboard. Could they dodge to the side? Not with the whirling arms and the neverending onslaught of dark pulse. "We'll have to chance it and move to the side--" but her moment of panic was quick to fade, just as she realized that the zebstrika had plans of its own.[break][break]

Her hair reacted to the gathering static; it frayed as the zebstrika turned to the enemy, letting its raw energy crackle and manifest its streams of lightning. Bailey glanced from the electric pokemon and to the ground, where the energy seemed to sink.[break][break]

For a moment, she felt weightless--it told her what the Zebstrika had planned. For the first time, she grinned.[break][break]

"Everyone hold on!" Bailey raised her voice just to be heard over the destruction, feeling her voice strained. Her one good arm latched around the neck of the horse pokemon. "We're gonna jump it!"[break][break]

They had no other option. Magnet Rise activated.[break][break]

The move was supercharged--the zebstrika lept from the ground just as the move activated, letting the newfound ability to levitate launch it from the ground to heights it could not have achieved from jumping alone.[break][break]

[break]

And as Bailey dealt with this situation, her Dunsparce had one of his own. As the building began to collapse, the pokemon did what was the most familiar to him--drill run was activated as the worm-like pokemon carried his momentum through the closest wall, then out of the building with a burst of brick and mortar from the exit.[break][break]

[break]

The moment the building was cleared, the worm would curl back into his ball, speeding away from the wanton destruction just as Bailey had told him.[break][break]

[break]

tldr: zebstrika uses magnet rise to leap over guzzlord, avoiding the gyro ball; doesn't have to worry about the dark pulses. in the distant building that the dunsparce is hiding, it uses drill run to drill its way through the walls as the structure begins to collapse, then rollout to find cover in the ruins once more.

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[break]

The path of destruction was simple to follow.[break][break]

Bailey Cooper withdrew her Hitmonchan as Zebstrika picked up the pace. The fighting-type could not keep up with the electric speedster—the Sergeant could not allow him to fall behind, so it was easier to return him to his capsule and give him the chance to catch his breath.[break][break]

The Hitmonchan was lucky—he could take a five-minute break. For Bailey, she had to grit her teeth and stomach the pain as the electric pokemon zipped through the ruins. The wind that struck against her face was so intense, it made her wish for her motorcycle helmet... but it was probably buried beneath a mountain of rubble as Mossdeep collapsed around her.[break][break]

It was a bumpy ride. She had to keep her injured arm extended—the injury made it impossible for the joint to fold. Everything was grinding and she can only let the limb dangle at her side.[break][break]

“Wait... is it heading to the dye shop?” A dark shadow seemed to stretch across the street, obscuring the sun and its rays over the smoldering city--and then came the tremble as heavy slam from the unknown creature nearly thrust her from the zebstrika. The electric horse stumbled, losing its momentum as it chose to prioritize maintaining its balance.[break][break]

Her good arm was the only thing that kept her balanced. Her arm wrapped around the horse pokemon's neck, clutching for dear life, as the hulking monstrosity collapsed half of the building with its girth.[break][break]

She just hoped that nobody was still inside.[break][break]

There was a familiar snap, two pops that signalled the use of the move teleportation. What had once been an empty stretch of street was now occupied by two figures. Arian and an unknown man that Bailey presumed to be the other head scientist. "...Yo," and she was right in their line of sight, giving a short wave with her good arm while the other hung; still unresponsive.[break][break]

Her eyes focused on the strange, glowing orb. "Uh, the fuck?" And somehow, it wasn't the strangest thing she had seen this last week. "Is that a pokemon? A talking pokemon? What?"[break][break]

"I'm coming!"[break][break]

"Dude, phrasing," and her bewilderment was clearly etched onto her features. She had to shake her head to come back to the moment, wondering if it was the shock of her injury that was continuing to distract her.[break][break]

"Fuck, I'm wasting time. Come on you two. Giddy up, we gotta get some distance," for whatever this pokemon had planned... if it was a pokemon. She tapped the space behind her--there was plenty of room on the electric horse, even if three people were going to be a tight fit.[break][break]

People in the distance were starting to draw close to the creature--Bailey can catch the sight of white hair from persephone amavi as she drew close to the creature. A sneak attack? "Shit," and while arian coin and Lucas Lane decided their options, she fetched one of her pokeball capsules.[break][break]

Her Dunsparce was released.[break][break]

"Hit and Run, okay Dumbass?! Do not engage with that fucker--he'll eat you. I am not joking. Hit. Run. Hit and run. Nod twice if you understand me," and she pointed out to the ruins, where there were countless concrete crags and crannies for a pokemon to utilize. "Keep moving, and I... I don't want anything bad to happen, okay little guy? Come racing back over here or hide in the city--or just leave. I'll find you." This pokemon was notoriously stupid, but it noded after sensing Bailey's concerns.[break][break]

[break]

And then, as it sped through the broken husks of buildings that the Guzzlord had left in its wake, the normal-type pokemon found it surrounded by fragments of mortar that could be... repurposed. Speeding along and finding itself to the far left of the creature, the Dunsparce started its attack--[break][break]

[break]

Hunks of wall were suspended in the air, glowing with ancient energy that the Dunsparce emitted--when enough of this ammunition was suspended, they were launched in the direction of the dark, monolithic glutton.[break][break]

Hit and run. It can understand those commands as it used rollout to speed away, looking for another place for it to fire more potshots.[break][break]

"Godspeed, Gump." The Sergeant would mutter to the departed Dunsparce, ordering the Zebstrika to get moving... and fast.[break][break]

tldr: follows guzzlord's trail of destruction to the dye shop while riding persephone amavi zebstrika. finds arian coin and Lucas Lane as they are teleported out of the building and rides up to them, just as the legendary is starting to materialize—makes a remark about “phrasing” and offers the two a ride to get some distance. [break][break]

spies persephone amavi attempting to sneak up on the creature and deploys her dunsparce, ordering it to use rollout to circle the beast (from a distance) and to find opportunities to use ancient power (FROM A DISTANCE).

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[break]

In its desperation, the monster's outstretched tentacles ensnared the scientists, dragging them through the portal just as it closed.[break][break]

Despite the proximity of Bailey's pokemon, they are not fast enough to catch the flailing hands as those people were dragged through by the portal—Aggron and Krookodile's bodies cleared through the empty air that the portal had once occupied.[break][break]

Bailey felt her adrenaline surge, unsure of her changing emotions—there was no sense of triumph, not when those scientists had been captured. Would they live? What had existed in that strange, distorted landscape? “Fuck—!” and the Sergeant turned and smashed the side of her fist against the closest object—the wall.[break][break]

Her pokemon returned to her side, watching the Sergeant as her chest rose and fell in tune with her frustrated breathing.[break][break]

“What the hell was that thing?” And even if the battle was won, there had been a loss.

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Amelia Porter was a familiar face.[break][break]

The two girls held eye contact for a fraction of a second—the pink bartender clicking together the empty glasses that were pinched between her fingers. There was a familiarity between the two of them; a similar energy that neither refused to acknowledge. “Please don't start up any trouble Bailey,” and the Sergeant refrained from her usual crude response, just because she could not muster that hostility to the cotton candy kid.[break][break]

The girl had been one of the people displaced from Slateport. One of the people that Bailey had guided through the train tunnels during the invasion—one of the lucky ones.[break][break]

“Yeah, yeah, not this time,” and Bailey took a seat at the distant stool that Fernando had suggested, happy to get her feet off the ground so she could find something to keep her balanced.[break][break]

A glass of water was set in front of her. When she sipped it, it was only enough for her to retrieve one of the ice cubes to chew.

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[break]

She heard the hyper beam.[break][break]

With that sound, Bailey Cooper ended her struggle. The defeat had been felt, even if she had been unable to stand by her pokemon's side. The tears that burned her gaze came from that realization, mixing with the awful ache that made it impossible to move her left arm.[break][break]

She had never lost a pokemon before.[break][break]

Hitmonchan kept the hand to her back, noticing when the shouting came to its end. “I... I know he did his best,” but the Sergeant just wished she could have been there to support him—where would the ghost go now that its spirit no longer occupied that mismatched castle?[break][break]

Her good hand wiped the tears and the snot from her face. “He can rest.” There was no time to mourn—not while that beast still drew breath. The Sergeant could feel a familiar fire in her veins, rekindling the determination that had almost been lost.[break][break]

Their battle was far from over.[break][break]

The ground trembled, interrupting Hitmonchan's stride—they can hear the unknown creature before they can see it. The giant black shape was only visible for a fraction of a second as it collided through a nearby building, refusing to let the structure stand in its way. It was a level of speed that the Sergeant had not been expecting. [break][break]

“The fuck?” Where was it going? Why was it trying to get there so quickly?[break][break]

Her thoughts were interrupted by the stomping of hooves and the crackle of thunder as the Zebstrika arrived—the electric pokemon easily matching stride with her Hitmonchan. She squinted at the pokemon, “Perse is your trainer,” and it was a faint recollection that allowed her to make that claim.[break][break]

Her eyes went back to that path of destruction, too injured to protest when she was suddenly set atop the electric pokemon. Punchy had made a good point—this would be far more comfortable.[break][break]

“Come on, we gotta see where the hell that thing is going,” and she presumed that the others would follow, if they weren't already at the Dye Shop with Lucas Lane. “Giddy up.”[break][break]

They followed the trail of destruction, letting the Zebstrika set the pace. The faster, the better.[break][break]

[break][break]

tldr: realizes that her palosand is dead and overhears the destruction the guzzlord causes as it starts to travel through the city (not knowing where it is going). encounters the zebstrika that persephone amavi sent to find her and rides it instead of her hitmonchan, following the trail of destruction towards the dye shop.

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[break]

This was not right.[break][break]

Bailey Cooper had joined hands and had braced herself for the teleportation. There had been the snap, the sound that was only audible in the depths of her skull, as the world faded from her senses. It went black, like someone had yanked the cord to a computer screen, leaving her with the omnipresent sensation of static.[break][break]

Her body felt that unfamiliar pull as she was removed from this physical plane—recollecting itself in a manner that made her spine tingle from the residual energy—but the dye shop was not in her line of sight.[break][break]

Something went wrong.[break][break]

Staring down the same stretch of destruction, towards the towering beast, Bailey Cooper was reminded of her childhood. She can remember her legs dangling off her father's shoulders, approaching the edge of a large tank, where a wailord had dwelt inside—crowds of people occupying the bleachers for a display of acrobatic prowess from the massive pokemon. [break][break]

It had been for a show. She had been in the splash zone—both then and now, except water was the last of her concerns as the draco meteors started to carpet bomb the entire street.[break][break]

Fuck the splash zone.[break][break]

The Sergeant turned and ran, trying to regain her momentum, even when her breath was wheezed as she picked up the pace. She had never bothered to get into shape—never saw the point. How shortsighted.[break][break]

Her eyes focused on the glistening in the distance—the light screen from @triss . It became her beacon. Her feet tried to carry her, tried to help her through this bombardment, but it was not good enough.[break][break]

One of the meteors crashed and exploded in the distance, mutilating one of the buildings that flanked the street. At a mere glance, someone would have presumed that Bailey would have been spared. [break][break]

The heat and the intensity was not intended for her, but the residual force still radiated out from its source—it slammed into the side of her body with the force of a truck, catching her off guard as the shock wave swept her from the ground.[break][break]

The pain of the collision does not compete with the landing. Her body was chucked far to the left, where instead of hitting the ground and tumbling, her momentum is suddenly halted by something hard and stationary—the street curb. Her elbow had jutted out, mid-spin, only to collide against this barrier as she crushed it with her own weight.[break][break]

She heard the crack and felt the cold surge of pain—something broke.[break][break]

World went white. Bailey cannot register the rest of her tumble, only that she was suddenly stretched across the ground of the street, injured arm clenched to her chest, as a guttural scream left her lungs. The concept of staying silent was lost on her, not with this.[break][break]

But that scream served another purpose—a purpose that revealed itself when the capsules on her belt burst, welcoming her Hitmonchan and Palossand back to the scene. They knew the cries of their trainer and came without hesitation to her side.[break][break]

“Fuck, fuck—” and she has to grit her teeth, breathing through hissed breaths, as her body broiled through the shock. Her efforts to try and scrape herself up from the ground had been too slow, too labored from the damage. The Hitmonchan noticed this struggle, then noticed the looming threat that continued to decimate their surroundings.[break][break]

They were losing time.[break][break]

The fighting-type scooped her from the ground, glancing to the Palossand as the ghost-type lurched forward—sand stretching as the granules soared to the beast. [break][break]

It had died once. It did not fear a death that would come twice.[break][break]

The pokemon shared a glance—a look that Bailey only understood when her body is hoisted over the Hitmonchan's shoulder as he started to run, separating her from her own pokemon—carrying her away from what was about to unfold. “NO, NO—NOT LIKE THIS! PAILARD! GET YOUR ASS BACK HERE! YOU HEAR ME?! YOU FUCKING GHOST! YOU FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT!”[break][break]

[break]

The fighting-type ran faster, bracing a gloved hand to Bailey's back as she screamed her insults until her throat felt numb. "Don't! Stop! He's not gonna make it—Punchy! I'm ordering you to fucking STOP—" but the Hitmonchan did not stop, even when Bailey pounded her good arm down against his back.[break][break]

[break]

The fighting pokemon weaved, refusing to run in a straight line as he navigated through the bombardment. In those few moments, the Sergeant was denied the chance to say her goodbyes—she can only see the rising brume of morter and sand as it dispersed with the growing storms. [break][break]

It was the last that she saw of Pailard. it was the last that she saw of the bomb-blasted street, just as Hitmonchan veered down the street to their left, disconnecting her from the lone sand castle.[break][break]

[break]

This was its purpose—as a castle, it had been built as a last line of defense. Now, it finally had the chance to serve that purpose.[break][break]

tldr: bailey cooper has sustained indirect damage from one of the exploding draco meteors; while she managed to avoid the radius of the explosion, the shock wave cannot be avoided. her body is thrown against a nearby curb, where she sustained damage from the force of the impact (her left arm). [break][break]

her pokemon respond to her injuries by leaving their capsules, knowing they are still in the splash zone. hitmonchan has shouldered bailey and has used a combination of detect and agility to try and create distance from the guzzlord and avoid the incoming meteors, heading to the address where Lucas Lane is located—palossand has chosen to remain behind, summoning another sandstorm to confront the beast and to try and buy time for his trainer.

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[break]

Why was this pokemon so... strange?[break][break]

“Because they think I'm ugly,” the Feebas would say as he turned his eyes back to the door, praying for the moment his trainer would return. “I'm called Guppi.” Was the spinning star being honest? Was he really immune?[break][break]

Some young pokemon gossip in the far corner of the room, occasionally glancing in his direction. They were probably talking about him, judging by the stares at the whispers. It was embarrassing.[break][break]

“...I never knew I looked... different.” His trainer never made him think that. “Do you think they're right?”[break][break]

His blotchy scales, strange eyes, and dumb expression would all point to yes.

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