Lulu easily came to, which relieved Oscar because he did not want to have to slap her or something. She got up, determining that it was time to go before using a mystery ore to forge a path forward. Oscar had never seen that done before, so was a bit too taken aback to answer right away. Eventually he shook off his bewilderment and nodded. "Yes, onward and upward."

Oscar followed Lulu deeper into Ultra Space, catching the gaze of Darkrai as he passed. What was going through its head? Oscar wondered what effects the mist might have on the master of nightmares. A curious concept, but it was not Oscar's to get to the bottom of. He will have to press Lulu about it after all of this was over.

If either of them make it to the end that is...

Lulu Flint

MP TALLY
+50 (+10 per post)
+10 (Assisted Lulu)
+10 (Environmental paranoia)
+50 (Participating)
+100 (Mission Complete)
220

Oscar's smile turned genuine as Priam forced a fist bump. Fuck what did Oscar do to deserve such a friend? The two closed in, embracing each other within a powerful bro-hug. Oscar immediately felt better, there was nothing better than a solid hug to dispel life's woes.

"To the sucky days to come and those who get us through them." Oscar bumped Priam on the back with the side of his fist, finally releasing him from the hug. Oscar exhaled, laughing as he did a little stretching himself. He was about to prompt more idle chatter when a smashing sound drew his attention.

Oscar looked behind him, and nearly keeled over as he saw that Navitas had stacked at bunch of medicine way higher than the crate's top. "Whoa what no! How did you get so bad at organizing!?" The Xurkitree did not respond, it thought it had doing a pretty good job so far...

MP TALLY
+50 (10 per post)
+10 (Assisting Priam)
+50 (Participation)
+100 (Completing a Mission)
+200 (Winning a Battle/Mission)
410

priam conrad

Dorian seemed unbothered by his loss, and Oscar could not tell if the former beast was used to it or just did not care. Either way, reading into it would only make Oscar feel worse. Repression was the name of the game, stuff your negative feelings inside until they become diamonds or whatever.

They pushed forward, and Oscar would look back to watch the sole survivor of the League ambush fly off into the distance. Perhaps they would spread tales of terror, of their poor team being torn apart by what should have been easy targets. Or perhaps they will say nothing, internalizing their shame as they recount their failure to their superiors. Their future suffering put Oscar at ease, this was no escape.

Their cargo was safely delivered, and after landing Oscar would stretch loudly. Dorian expressed interest in working together again, and Oscar would nod in agreement. "Bet on it, I'll see you on the other side Dorian!" Oscar could not linger, he had other business to attend to. Xurkitree would take off once more, floating toward Oscar's next objective.

MP TALLY

+10 (assisted Dorian)
+50 (10 per post)
+50 (participation)
+100 (completion)
+200 (Win Battle/Mission)
410

dorian westcliff

Oscar gave Priam a forced smile, nodding in agreement at his sentiment. "Yeah, as long as we keep moving forward nothing can stop us! We're an immovable force of nature!" Or something like that. Oscar straightened up, raising a fist for Priam to bump. "And if things do go South, you're the best person to go down with."

Oscar paused before realizing how awful that statement was. "Fuck I mean, you know--I'm glad I get to work with you even if shit's going sideways." Oscar retracted his fist, that was not a bump worthy phrase and he refused to be pity bumped. Though as he reflected upon their circumstances, Oscar felt a twinge of sorrow filling his chest. Unable to fight back the bad vibes, Oscar would bluntly address his friend.

"Hey bro can I get a hug? Today sucks."

priam conrad

Oscar's warning came too late, and a League trainer would execute Dorian's crobat. Oscar watched the torn body of the bat fall into the ocean, his eyes twitching behind his mask. The image of his dearest crobat Nostra, blown apart by Nekrozma in less than a second, once more invaded his thoughts. To see another crobat torn down in such a heartless fashion made Oscar quiver, why must he be tormented with such savagery?

Luckily Dorian's pokemon avenged their comrade instantaneously, sending the hapless trainer and their pokemon hurdling within a ball of fire. Good riddance, Oscar nodded while ironically unconcerned with Dorian's own savagery. He looked to Dorian and sighed, "I'm sorry about your pokemon. At least its killer got what they deserved."

The attackers' numbers had dwindled down to one, and as Oscar's gaze rested upon them he would quickly point them out. "Hey that one's runnin'!" Indeed the sole survivor was attempting to make a getaway, clearly realizing how outmatched they were. Xurkitree reeled back and tried throwing the now blue-in-the face trainer and pokemon it was constricting at the fleeing foe--but these makeshift projectiles only got about five feet before plummeting into the ocean. Oscar rubbed Xurkitree's head, "That was a good effort, way to think outside the box."

dorian westcliff

Oscar sneered, covering his mouth to stop himself from laughing. They really thought he was one of them, dear goodness this was too easy. Alright Oscar pull it together, what could be done with this? Probably nothing; this was likely some reconnaissance team that took a wrong turn, hardly useful to Rocket unless they knew something they did not--which was doubtful.

Alright, fucking with them it was then. Oscar centered himself, taking a breath before responding to the rangers. "Steelix Den? I think that was reported earlier, hold on let me pull up a map from my Pokegear." Oscar took a few seconds, pantomiming pulling up a map for his own amusement. "Okay yeah I think I know where you are! Describe your surroundings and I'll try to discern your exact location. I'm gonna guide you out of there."

Oscar took a seat on the body of the dead ranger, eager to lead these ranger clowns to their doom.

Raziel Beckett

Zapdos was thinking that it would just make the camp scatter. You know, sprinkle some lightning and maybe set a tent on fire. Nothing that would require too much effort on its part, just enough to make the area safe for Oscar to do--whatever the hell he wanted to do. As it leisurely approached the camp, it would ignore any exclamations sent its way. They were just ants, what did they have to say that was worth listening for?

Then the Scatterbang was thrown.

The device caught Zapdos by surprise, causing it to cry out as the flash illuminated its massive form. Zapdos writhed in the air, its relaxed state melting as the loud clap of the Scatterbang ringed through its ears. Zapdos slowly churned back into a neutral stance, its eyes closed tightly as it fought back the glare behind its eyelids. It stayed in place within the air, its wings beating rhythmically to the sound of the falling rain.

Then Zapdos opened its eyes. What were once tranquil were now full of fury. Zapdos was a creature of regal pride, and to have its majestic self-image tainted by such trickery was an insult it could not let go. Zapdos let out another cry, this one as loud and ghastly as the thunder that rolled overhead. Its wings began to beat faster, propelling Zapdos at its full speed toward the camp. What it had once seen as an inconvenient romp would now be a slaughter.

As it came upon them, electricity spiraling down its quivering body, Zapdos would abruptly stop and slam its wings against the air. The beaten air would rippled, super charging with heat as it grew and soared toward the camp (Heat Wave). The rain within the shock-wave's path would evaporate to its touch, doing little to ease its power as it washed over the camp like a rising tide.

luka chêne

Oscar limped downhill, dragging himself across jagged rocks and blackened bushes. He had just escaped a nearly unstoppable hoard of unknown pokemon, twisted reflections of familiar species. His disguise was in tatters, his skull mask was dented to hell, his pokemon capable of flying were knocked out, and he had no useful resources. His only escape would be the Ultra Deep Sea itself, he could surf back to Rocket's base camp on his Nidoqueen. He just needed to reach the shore.

Oscar nearly reached the bottom of the incline leading to the beach, when he would be suddenly forced to throw himself to the ground and shuffle behind a nearby boulder. The black beaches of the Deep Sea were growing dark, but in the shadow of what little light remained Oscar had spotted what seemed to be several tents. How did he miss those coming down? Oh right, the previously mentioned growing darkness. Not to mention all of the rocks and plants that obscured the shoreline.

Oscar carefully peeked from behind his bolder refuge, squinting as he tried to discern anything useful about the makeshift camp. Oscar saw figures illuminated by weak campfires, where they Rockets? No--they were wearing coats and berets, parts of the unmistakable uniform of the pokemon Rangers. Oscar pushed himself back behind the bolder, cursing innumerable times under his breath. "I'm so fucked, I'm so fucked, I'm gonna die on this fuckin' beach."

Oscar was spent; he could probably try to fight his way through with Nidoqueen, but could he take on so many Rangers on his own? Maybe he could sneak by? Would there be patrols when the darkness fully set in? Fuck this was horrible, how was he going to get out of this?!

And then it dawned on him--he had one more resource he had forgotten. Oscar hastily grabbed a pokeball hidden behind his belt, a ball to valuable to keep in the open. He enlarged it in his hand, the simple object seeming more powerful than a thousand bombs within this moment. Oscar smiled behind his mask, "How could I forget you? I'm a fuckin' dumb ass."

Zapdos was a haughty creature, and refused to allow any mortal to ride it. But Oscar did not need a ride, he needed a weapon--and luckily Zapdos was more than glad to reap destruction upon Oscar's enemies. Opening ball gave away Oscar's hiding spot instantly, as the massive form of the legendary bird would be clearly visible as it floated in the air. Zapdos looked down, and Oscar would reach around the bolder to point toward the camp. "See that base-camp? Annihilate it! Go all out, hold nothing back!" Zapdos thought about it for a second, deciding whether or not it wanted to listen.

Meh, it had nothing better to do. Zapdos turned toward the base, unleashing a might screech as clouds rolled across the sky overhead. Rain began to pour down, even within Ultra Space the weather could not escape Zapdos's influence (Rain Dance). The ranger camp had but a few precious minutes before Zapdos would reach them...

luka chêne

Oscar's leisurely flight through the open straightaway allowed him to take some inventory on the racers in front of him. Far in the distance he could see Champion kyle lopez himself clinging to first place. Did he not start in last? Are you telling Oscar this mother fucker golden mushroomed his way to first place and has been there this entire time? And of course right behind him was Josh Devlin , oh how it did grind Oscar's gears to know that he was so far ahead. It was of no consequence, he shall defeat both of them in due time!

Lancer let out a loud buzz to grab Oscar's attention, and Oscar peered down at his steed with an annoyed huff. "What gives, can't you tell I'm giving villainous glares to my rivals?" Lancer pointed one of his needles forward, pointing out that their straight line was about to become extremely curvy.

Oscar yelped, bracing his back just in time for Lancer to attempt the U-Turn. Its reaction time is still not its strongest skill, but hopefully seeing the turn coming was enough to prepare him for this devilish obstacle.

Speed (A)
Endurance (C)
Reaction (C)

BjTaDIVY

((Going for Target 1))

As Oscar and Navitas reached the ship, Oscar would be sure to hop off onto the deck while Xurkitree proceeded to join Skyler's Urshifu on the ground. Oscar straightened out his blazer and adjusted his tie before giving Skyler a sly smile. "I come to every League effort. Literally every one, hoping that Dhalia will notice me. Alas, I haven't been invited to ONE meeting." Oscar raised a fist to the sky, "Am I not good enough for ya Dhalia? You too cool to shake hands with Oscar Clayton!?"

Oscar cleared his throat, he got a little too real there. That had to come from somewhere, maybe he should start seeing a therapist. He dusted off his hands as he tried to get closer to Skyler. Before he could get too close a Rocket grunt would come running up to deck him in the face. Oscar fell on his ass, his jaw radiating from unexpected pain. Oscar clutched his mouth and glared at the grunt, "Oh you little shit!" The executive would leap forward, tackling the offending grunt to the ground before proceeding to beat them senseless.

Meanwhile Xurkitree was picking up grunts and chucking them toward the Urshifu. It was hoping the mighty fighter could uppercut them into oblivion or something, but it was not holding its breath for anything fancy. Not that it could hold its breath. It has no lungs.

skyler dross

Oscar watched the trainer Xurkitree had knocked off fall, his eyes widening as Dorian's chandelure casually set them on fire. Oscar whistled, "Nice shot." He turned his attention back to Dorian, who was already focusing on the rest of the would-be bandits. He tilted his head as his crobat tried to confuse an enemy, "You should ask. I'm sure Walsh would hear you out if you were interested in getting back into it. I mean, you clearly haven't lost your touch."

Another trainer got past Dorian, riding rather comically upon a kicking dodrio. Oscar kept forgetting that the three headed bird could fly. Xurkitree reached forward as it approached, latching onto the duo with its tendrils. It began to rapidly constrict, choking both the pokemon and its rider with a nasty Wrap. It was really impressive considering that it still held onto the cargo with its claws. Oscar looked down upon the struggling trainer, making sure they could at least see him flipping them off before they passed out.

Oscar looked back to Dorian, just in time to see a sneaky trainer trying to come at his blind spot. "Yo watch your left!"

dorian westcliff

Oscar's smile strained when Priam brought up the dream mist. He had narrowly avoided falling into his own personal hell, and it left a rather sour opinion of the anomalous fog. Oscar ended up shaking his head, "I ain't going in the mist for more than a second, let alone seven minutes. Fuck that would be the most nightmarish scenario I could think of, getting felt up while losing your sanity. What a way to die."

Priam had good notes about the mermaid theme though, Oscar was more or less on board but the momentary delving into his terrible experience thus far had put him in a clearly gloomy mood. He still gave his friend a supportive smile, but he could not hide the heaviness in his heart. Oscar sighed, placing a hand on his hip as he looked up at the alien sky of Ultra Space.

"War's a drag." He said flatly, really wishing he had not quit smoking. "I mean that's the overstatement of the century I know but like, shit dude today has been rough. How did it all become so complicated?" Oscar briefly reflected on easier times, when his only enemies were blue aliens and ultra beasts. If only it could have stayed that simple.

priam conrad

The chitchat was welcome; while the League invaders posed a viable threat they were hardly a challenge for the likes of Oscar and Mint. Besides, talking with Mint was great regardless of the circumstances. Oscar answered Mint casually, "Nah, I avoid using shadow pokemon when I'm acting as a civilian. I mean, I know the people of Hoenn get their hands on some crazy shit but I feel like a shadow pokemon draws too many eyes." Good call too, Oscar did not want to imagine how difficult it would have been to subdue a rogue Desolence.

Speaking of, it was about time to push for another volley of Earth Power. Oscar looked to Desolence to give a command, but stopped short as he witnessed something unexpected. "What--what the fuck!?" The Nidoqueen was fast asleep, snoring softly as it lay sprawled out on the ground. It would seem that Charlie's Yawn affected more than the enemy. It was a bizarrely accurate reflection of Oscar's luck today.

Oscar let out a flurry of curses, withdrawing Desolence and placing her ball back onto his belt. Oscar continued to grumble as he reached around for a Beast Ball, opening it to reveal a Xurkitree. The Xurkitree rose to its full height, its tendrils shaking with anticipation. Oscar pointed to the invaders, most of which were busy trying to wake up their sleeping pokemon.

"Navitas, fuck 'em up!" Navitas let out an electronic screech before extending two of its tendrils and firing off a volley of intense electricity (Thunderbolt). Oscar placed a hand on his hips as he watched the electrified enemy mob scramble, "You'd think they would have been more prepared for this."

mint frost