if it were any other situation, the bronzor would have long since been squashed in the rhyperior’s hefty grip. however, this was a pokemon trained for working specifically with baby pokemon or… others that can prove to be difficult to control.

the rhyperior swung lazily for the bronzor time and time again, and the bronzor would deftly dart out of the way and act as if this display is somehow impressive. all it did was feed its ego.

after some time the bronzor sees the inkay return from wherever it had gone off too and the steel-type flits away to join it, screeching a happy melody.

oscar clayton

"dropping underboss was the best professional decision i've ever made," dominic says quietly over his shoulder as he turns to leave and join the others at the back of the next truck.

"empty fucking title."

his mouth twists to a sneer and he doesn’t even try to hide it. if that isn’t emblematic of the organisation at large, then he doesn’t know what is. dominic grapples with the thought as he stacks the crates from the back of the next truck.

maybe he’s older now (he can feel the strain in his shoulders and down his spine), or maybe it’s some other invisible, intangible shift, but when he looks around him he sees a farce. as dominic helps a teenage grunt hoist the next container up, he thinks about the kids that bought their way into leadership.

this is just so fucking sad.

Samuel Boothe

while the others launched their carefully planned and executed series of attacks, dominic hung back with lucas, lucas's morpeko and the obstagoon he had... acquired? the obstagoon's tongue lolled out of its mouth and dominic sort of wished he would put it away.

when the necessary preparations were completed by marcel and priam, dominic jerks his chin toward the suddenly gigantuan hatterene (disgusting little imp child, he thinks) and utters a command to the obstagoon.

the obstagoon outstretches its arms in a display of bravado and begins to verbally abuse the hatterene in a PARTING SHOT.

marcel maeda, priam conrad, Lucas Lane

dominic can't help but smile affectionately as the dojo student's gengar sings its song. he'd sooner describe it as "discordant" rather than "melodic", but it is endearing nonetheless. dominic casts a sideways glance at the rest of his group and hopes they think so too.

"just stand there, dude," he says to the manectric, raising a single shoulder in a shrug.

the PERISH SONG while usually intangible is now almost visible - it crackles with ELECTRICITY as it strikes their four pokemon. the manectric listens to the gengar's song and perhaps seems almost happy with it as the LIGHTNING ROD seems to heighten its senses.

priam conrad marcel maeda Lucas Lane

dominic stretches his arms out in a theatrically over-exaggerated shrug, his hands raised and fingers spread out in an expression of his exasperation. his ears ring and he can barely make out her words, so he resorts to gestures. he doesn’t express rage only because the absurdity of it makes the scene feel surreal.

he takes out the togepi’s pokeball and points first at it, and then at the cursed spoink.

"do you know what a fucking pokeball is?" dominic yells, even though he knows she won’t hear him. he doesn’t stop there - the deluge of abuse continues, words lost in the aftermath of the PSYSHOCK.

distracted, dominic doesn’t notice that the spoink is preparing for a second attack. the second PSYSHOCK sends the togepi flying into the air. dominic cuts himself short to watch, lips parted and brow furrowed, as the togepi ascends to the sky accompanied with a high-pitched piiiiiiiiiiiiii.

sure, he has pokemon that would likely lash out at the slightest provocation - which is why he kept them in their fucking balls.

as the togepi drops, dominic sees the tell-tale glimmer of another METRONOME. the pokemon, he realises, is aiming to drop directly on the spoink, and the scream is now enraged. its fists are glowing again - the pokemon is aiming with pin-point accuracy for the jugular. dominic recognises a THROAT CHOP triggered by pure SUPER LUCK and finds himself holding his breath.

his wishes align with the togepi’s, it seems. they just want the screaming to fucking stop.

Bailey Cooper

he only has time to raise a shoulder in a second, half-hearted and noncommittal shrug. ranger salary being shit explains how they could funnel people and resources into hoenn undetected for months before the invasion proper.

he doesn't have time to react before the spoink's attack ripples out. dominic recoils at the PSYSHOCK as though he had been physically struck. his face is angled away from the woman, and he counts to three before he allows himself to look up again. he can’t hide the way his hand flies to his belt, but at least he managed to stop himself before he emptied the pokemon capsules in her face.

"hey," dominic says slowly, and with great exertion, ostensibly trying to wrangle his voice into something resembling calm. "maybe you should consider keeping your unhinged pokemon in its ball."

dominic moves toward his togepi as if intending to simply pick it up but halts in his steps. it happens quickly but it feels like it plays out in slow motion; the togepi wags a finger in the air in a METRONOME and then begins to spin with its nub arms outstretched.

"fuck," dominic mutters under his breath as the togepi begins to close the distance between it and the spoink - airborne, hurtling, rotating like a top, both its fists aglow with red. the togepi screams in the throes of its DARKEST LARIAT as it seeks to pummel the enemy.

dominic can only grimace.

Bailey Cooper

dominic regards the kid trainer through narrowed eyes, his mouth opening and closing a few times as though intending to say something but thinking better of it every time.

after some brief brainstorming, dominic is left as the one to coast through the challenge presented to them. he doesn't need to go to the rotomi for this - dominic is quick to pull a capsule from his belt and releases a togekiss. the FLYING-TYPE safely soars above the TOXIC SPIKES.

with their own salazzles already having poisoned the enemy, and with the field clear, the togekiss opts to simply be moral support by flitting above their group. when the TOXIC is hurled at it, the togekiss will use MAGIC COAT to deflect it.

marcel maeda priam conrad Lucas Lane

dominic’s glad he’s walking behind zacharias in the tunnels because it means he gets to protect his ego for a little while longer - his steps are unsteady and shambling, he careens side to side like a wingull tossed around by a gale.

"shut up," dominic snarls half-heartedly, unable to come up with a more acerbic retort.

where he could see light cracking through the rockface - like veins in the stone - dominic came to a halt. he briefly considers joining the magby in its endeavour to dig through the debris, if only because it would cut down the amount of time he would have to stay trapped with zacharias.

he manages to dislodge one rock - a pebble, really - and then sinks down to the ground. dominic folds his legs underneath him, and sits cross-legged with his back against the wall. he slips in and out of consciousness to the sound of the magby painstakingly moving stones one by one.

@zacharias