As expected, the Infernape responded well to Crabominable's strike. Infernapes were born for battle after all, it made sense that even Crabominable's eccentric fighting style would not trip it up. Crabominable performed well too, making a shaky-legged recovery shortly after its attack. It seemed pumped for more, and the Infernape did not aim to disappoint.

Oscar, however, was ready to make things more serious. They had no time for sporting back and forth strikes, this was a battle of ferocity and speed. Oscar snapped his fingers, "You know what to do, bring it to the climax!"

KNOCK OUT ROUND

Crabominable did not change its stance as the Infernape approached, only moving its claws up and down. When the fiery monkey zeroed in for Close Combat, Crabominable would finally make its move. It shifted its weight, attempting to thrust its claws over the Infernape's strikes to perform a REVERSAL and throw it over its shoulders.

Would it succeed!? Will this be its end!? Oscar watched cautiously, his body tense with anticipation.

K0cxYOc4

Knock out round initiated.
Move used--Reversal: The user gains +5 to every column and their opponent takes triple torpor for this knock out round.

Topor: 148

@gold

Oscar waited to answer Mint's quandary fully, choosing instead to watch his Hitmontop take on the alpha. The top-like pokemon was a formidable fighter, and the typing advantage did not hurt either. Yet the alpha did not back down, its eyes blazing with fury despite his mildly inebriated movements. It was fighting to protect its pack, and that determination was pushing it forward. Oscar could respect that, he would probably act the same if he were called upon to protect Rocket.

However, as impressive as it was, he could not risk it damaging itself beyond use. Oscar snapped his fingers, "Excellent work, it is done." Mint would not know what Oscar meant until Emma repaired, using the alpha's battle against the Hitmontop as a distraction. It latched onto the alpha's back, spraying out Toxic Thread like a silly string can. The alpha was enveloped, and its inebriation increased. Before it could even think to counter attack, the alpha would lose consciousness and fall to the ground. 

Emma kept the alpha pinned, watching carefully to make sure it did not wake up early. Oscar sneered, "When Emma poisons something, her Shadow Venom knocks them out as well. It makes catching pokemon very simple. Speaking of which---" Despite the alpha falling, the remaining pack members were still fighting. It was likely they would not cease until the alpha was either killed or captured. Oscar looked to Mint, "We should catch the alpha now. Do you have a pokeball on hand?"

mint frost

Babayaga leered down at his prey, waiting patiently for him to realize his predicament. As the human discovered the shackle, the look on his face made Babayaga soar. Hypothetically, he was not currently flying. With the human realizing how doomed he was, Babayaga resolved to finish this foolishness here and now.

He screamed, his face contorting into an expression of pure rage and bloodlust. There would be no mercy in his attack, Babayaga intended to rip this robber limb from limb--and he wanted the human to know it. The hunter's screech was unceasing as he leapt from the tree toward his target. With his talons outstretched, his aim would be to wretch the human's neck.

He would never connect. There was a flash of light, and suddenly Babayaga was gone. With his disappearance the Spirit Shackle would fade, and the human would be free to move once more. If Caspian looked around he would quickly find Oscar, holding a pokeball and looking annoyed. "I thought vermin were taking my berries, I never considered a fuckin' trainer would go for it. Would not have left this little psychopath here if I did."

Oscar did not feel bad per say, after all this guy totally looked like he was gonna swipe his berries. However not even a thief deserved to be put up with Babayaga. Oscar tilted his head, sighing heavily as he pondered what to do. Eventually he shrugged, there was no use holding a grudge. Pissing off Babayaga was punishment enough. Oscar tilted his head, "Are you alright? You look hungry----maybe you should take a few berries."

Oscar's eyes were blank, looking between the thief and the tree to help indicate what the thief should do.

CASPIAN LEVESQUE 

Gavin again showed concern, and Oscar's face grew red. That was what he was starting to hate most about this damn sickness, he drew so much attention to himself. He felt like a blinking light, he was not used to being so--exposed. It gave him conniptions. He waved his hand as if calling off a doting nurse.

"I'm fine I'm fine--ahem what is this about being a coward? You're quite the fuckin' opposite I say--though then again I lack context."

Oscar coyly sipped his water, smirking a little to hopefully invoke amusement from Gavin. His intention was to invoke a wily old woman waiting to hear the latest scandals. He dropped the gossip bit pretty quickly though, this was serious business and he wanted to take it seriously. 

"For real though, what happened?"

Cillian Quinn

Oscar kept up with Lulu fairly well, marveling at the facility as they walked through. Everything was so pristine and new, a blank canvas waiting to be filled with the instruments of progress. It was a little funny really, every far fetched idea Oscar and Lulu had discussed in passing suddenly seemed so--plausible. It filled him with drive, he was eager to drink it all in.

When they reached the Porygon, Oscar chuckled at its function. He stared into the little program's eyes, which stared back at him as it scanned his face. "Rad as hell." Oscar said with a grin. The porygon shook its head--no expressions. Oscar stifled his amusement and the scan took no more of their time. As they continued at a brisk pace, Oscar would start to lag more and more behind. Not because of his condition, but rather his curiosity about the various rooms they passed. I mean c'mon, the breakroom had a fuckin' foosball table! How could he not gawk?

Yet Lulu kept going, so Oscar would hobble-run to catch up with her. A few more scans later and she would direct his attention to a door, indicating that it was 'his'. Oscar's eyes bugged a tad as she kept walking, "My--my what? Lulu my what?" His tone was a mixture of excitement and concern, he did not expect to have a space of his own within the facility. Whether it was a development room or office fueled Oscar's imagination, and he eagerly caught up to get the 'big room' out of the way.

However the big room was nothing to glance over. It was both majestic and overwhelming in scope, the massive machine it housed being an almost unreal curiosity. He stumbled forward, his jaw slack as he took it all in. "Lulu this is--incredible. This--is this what I think it is?" Oscar had seen the schematics a while back, but to see it up close with so much progress made? Oscar was on top of the world.

"We're so much closer than I thought..."

Lulu Flint

Well this was very convenient. Here was Oscar, just dying to get the chance to peek into one of these Space-Time Distortions, and one popped in right on his front steps. Sure it caused Mauville to have a tiiiiiny power crisis, but that was a small price to pay for progress. Besides, the community was coming out in droves to help shut down the distortion--so the problem should sort itself out eventually.

In the mean time, it was time to explore! Oscar and a team of GMH researchers set up shop at the mouth of the distortion, everyone covered head to foot in hazmat protection. Oscar tapped his mask, watching their volunteer explorer put on GMH's specially made experimental aeronaut suit. One might think Oscar was trying to make sure the suit fit together or whatever, but in reality he thought the volunteer was cute. Like his eyes were so fuckin' blue, how did they get so blue? They had to be contacts. Or--lasers. Did they do that? Eye dye laser eye surgery? That sounds like a thing.

Oscar must have blanked out because he blinked and suddenly the volunteer was heading for the distortion. A GMH scientist spoke up beside Oscar, "We're ready when you are Mr. Clayton." Oscar shook his head, "Ummm yeah. Proceed! Does anyone have a camera? Should we be recording this?" Too late, the volunteer dove in. Now all they had to do was wait.

Though they did not have to wait long. About ten seconds passed before someone stepped back outside. It was not the volunteer however, but rather a robed old man holding a wrapped up orb. GMH security raised their firearms, demanding that the unknown being identify themselves. He removed his robe, revealing a pair of brilliant blue eyes and a long beard. Oscar gasped, it was the volunteer.

The volunteer spoke, his voice old but regal. "My journey has been long. I knew not the terror I would find beyond the distortion, and had I known I would have ventured forth again freely. I wandered the dunes of Dialga's realm, the tides of diamond sand guiding me to the shores of Palkia's endless sea. Beyond the sea I witnessed what awaits mankind. The endless night of the space god grows ever nearer. We are not prepared. We could not have possibly been prepared." The volunteer stepped forward, holding out the wrapped orb toward Oscar.

Gingerly Oscar stepped forward, taking the orb from the volunteer as they stared into each others eyes. Even after decades of hardship, the volunteer's eyes were beautiful. As the orb was passed on, the volunteer sighed. "This is the key to our salvation. My task is finally at an end. Now it is up to you." The volunteer gasped, falling to the ground in a heap. On-hand paramedics ran forward to check the man's vitals, and would shortly confirm what everyone thought. He was dead.

Oscar looked to the wrapped orb, no bigger than a basketball. It--pulsed. Was it breathing? He slowly unwrapped it, the tension in the air rising as thick as a morning fog. The final strap of fabric fell away and-----

"Oh shit awesome!" It was a Voltorb! Kinda? It looked, different. It had like, a wooden texture? Whatever it was cool. Oscar gave the voltorb a pet, and it seemed very pleased to receive affection. "I'm gonna call ya Torbs." Oscar snapped his fingers, "Let's send in the next volunteer! We're burning daylight!"

Results
Oscar used a Forme Change to 'catch' a h!Voltorb
Voltorb has turned into h!Voltorb

While Felix's dragapult did recon, Oscar would listen carefully to his associate's intel. As he capped off, Oscar turned his head toward some empty space next to him. "Did you hear that Emma?" The empty space shimmered as Oscar's Ariados dropped her Camouflage. The shadow pokemon twitched as it nodded in agreement, gathering thread from her thorax as if rolling up a rope.

Oscar sneered, "Emma my secret stealth weapon. Her shadow abilities will prove useful in keeping us undetected. She can use her webbing to take out any cameras that should appear in our path, and her toxin can knock out any guards we may encounter." Emma finished rolling up her thread-rope, attaching an end to the edge of the roof and leaping toward the RTV building. Her Camouflage once again hid her form, and as the webbing detached from the roof one could barely see her using it to swing toward the HQ.

Oscar pulled out a pokeball to release his own Dragapult: Razor. He would be using it to get over to the HQ roof when the time came, its naturally stealthy movements should prove adequate enough for a short distance flight. Oscar looked to Felix, "I'm ready when you are. Hopefully your dragapult doesn't run into any trouble."

Felix Gallagher

PINKAN SIGN-UPS

Character: oscar clayton [break]

Age:28[break]

Pokemon:Look down[break]

IC reason for volunteering:Oscar likes to do nice things as part of the GMH Charity Initiative. It's good PR![break]

A battle tournament was not usually Oscar's scene. He was more of a contest kind of guy, using his head to create artistic performances. Battles stressed him out, because it was his job to be good at them and if he ever lost bad enough he was certain he would be fired the next day. This tournament was different though, it required the pokemon themselves to be very skilled in certain fighting styles. Coincidentally, Oscar just got his hands on Crabominable with a very--unique way of fighting.

This particular Crabominable was originally trained in a pit fighting ring, and he had earned himself a fine little reputation for his unpredictable style of boxing. He was born with a balance disorder, something to do with a malformation in the inner walls of his ears. It caused him to bumble back and forth in an apparent state of permanent dizziness, not unlike a Spinda. After some battle training, this Crabominable learned to harness its dizzy demeanor to become a savage fighter. After further training under Oscar's tutorage, the ceo was confident that this Crabominable would be a formidable asset to his team.

It was time to put its power to the test, Oscar stood with folded arms as his Crabominable staggered its way onto its starting place. His opponent was an elderly woman, who seemed to be kind enough to introduce herself. Oscar returned the courtesy, if only to seem affable to the crowd. "The name's Oscar Clayton. It shall be a pleasure to witness your strength."

Just like that the battle had begun. The Infernape made the first move, and right away the Crabominable would showcase its bizarre fighting style. It toppled backward, seemingly falling to its back. However, it had a purpose behind this apparent clumsiness. It allowed it to use one of its legs to take the fire punch instead of its head. With its other legs it popped back up, using the momentum to swing a heavy claw toward its opponent (Dizzy Punch).

Ibj6DgMW

@gold

Tapor: 150

In the darkness Oscar would watch the flash of Genesect's cannon barrel. Once--twice--three times. Did any of the blasts hit? He could not see a damn thing in this unnatural bleakness. Suddenly, any senses that could still perceive what was happening were dashed at the sound or twisting metal. A flash appeared, illuminating the dark and making everything clear. Genesect had been defeated.

Oscar stood motionless, barely able to comprehend what he was witnessing. Genesect had been impaled by Necrozma, its metal exoskeleton torn apart as easily as tissue paper. This thing was born to fight Necrozma, and it was dispatched as easily as pushing over a child. Oscar felt the weight of their task before, but only now did it sink in how out matched they were. This thing, if it so desired, could eradicate humanity in an instant.

It was amazing.

Genesect was freed from Necrozma's grasp, and Oscar wasted no time in stealthily trying to withdraw it. When he succeeded, he would let out a sigh of relief. At the very least Genesect lived, otherwise the pokeball would have rejected its corpse. If they made it through the night, Genesect could at least be repaired. Of course they would have to survive first.

With visibility restored, Oscar would regain his bearings. To his surprise he was no rather close to his new best-friend-forever-and-always-no-take-backs bryan delarosa, as well as a flaming masked figure. From his close position, Oscar would overhear Bryan suggesting that they use Infinity Energy to assault the dark puppet formally known as Chu-e--which caused Oscar to have a deranged idea. Could he possibly--would that work?

Well we shall have to fucking wait to find out because there was other shit to deal with now. A spotlight behind Oscar caught his attention, prompting him to turn his head. To his utter horror and bewilderment he would not find a normal light, but rather the bright blaze of a Solar Beam that was coming right for him and his two proximity buddies.

"Fuck!" Oscar pulled a pokeball off his belt and opened it, releasing his faithful Wobbuffet: Deliverance. As the Solar Beam neared, Oscar would kneel behind Deliverance and cry out, "Mirror Coat!" The Wobbuffet saluted, glowing a hazy purple as he covered himself with a reflective shield. Oscar was confident he would be spared, though he was not sure about the likes of poor Bryan and the masked stranger. He should have brought something with Protect! Why the fuck was this happening? Was fighting alien satan not enough? 

eOqLxMCF

tl;dr
--Oscar withdrew Genesect sneaky like.
--Oscar threw out Wobbuffet who used Mirror Coat to reflect the Solar Beam.

The human did not heed Babayaga's warning, and insisted on approaching the tree. Surely Babayaga could spare just a few berries for this persistent trainer. Right?

WRONG!

Babayaga would sooner die then let a single berry escape the tree's branches, at least not without retribution! His wing was already outstretched, so unbeknownst to the interloper Babayaga was already prepared to strike. With his other wing he pulled backward, emulating the form of an archer priming their bow. A shadowy arrow would appear at the tip of his outstretched wing, and Babayaga would loose it toward the intruder.

It would miss, likely to the intruder's relief. Ah but this was a trap! If the trainer was not careful, he would fail to notice the Spirit Shackle emerging from the arrow. Perhaps he would further fail to notice these ghostly chains attempting to wrap around his legs and hold him in place. Babayaga shrieked with a vengeful rage, his eyes manic with bloodlust. This human would pay for his insolence, if his snare was successful Babayaga planned to torment this whelp until he begged for mercy! 

---20 Minutes Earlier---

Oscar was spending the morning at a Mauville cafe, sipping a latte while aimlessly looking over his social media. He was rather groggy, and really wished he could ditch work today to sleep in. Alas, that was just wishful longing. At the very least though, he could unwind a bit before heading to the office. Suddenly his mindless scrolling was interrupted by an alarm. It was a reminder to pick up his berries, which he had entirely forgotten about.

Oscar nearly choked on his beverage as the memory came flooding back to him. "Fuck shit I need to hurry!" He leapt from the table and hurried out the door. He pulled out a pokeball, releasing his Salamence onto the Mauville sidewalk. He jumped onto its back, ignoring the bewildered cries of angry pedestrians. As they took to the skies, Oscar could not help but wonder how Babayaga faired during his watch. Hopefully he did not get into any trouble...

CASPIAN LEVESQUE

Oscar looked over as Mint commanded his hipmontop to strike the bait. As it whirled against its target, the captured hound would cry out with agony. Its pained cries brought Oscar no joy, but when a deeper howl answered back the beast would smile. "Good work Mint, you cut the work we'd have to do in half." Oscar did not think he had it in him, but the grunt was learning quick. Oscar could not have done it better himself.

The source of the deepened howl was indeed the Alpha, and Oscar watched with glee as the biggest Mightyena he had ever seen emerged from the tree line. With minimal effort it used its body weight to slam away the GMH pokemon that stood in its way, running at full speed toward Oscar and Mint. Oscar grinned, "Yeah come one get nice in close." The beast had its sights locked onto its endangered pack mate, which caused it to miss Emma leaping into its path.

Or more accurately over its path. As soon as the Alpha showed itself Emma dropped what she was doing to fulfill her true purpose. Leading a trail of Toxic Thread behind her, Emma charged across the path of the Alpha to intercept it with her purple hued webbing. The Alpha easily broke through it, but that hardly mattered. The toxic coating of the web rubbed off onto the Alpha, kicking in immediately. The Alpha slowed, seemingly dazed as the effects of Emma's shadow venom dulled its senses and lulled it into a drowsy stupor. 

Yet the Alpha stood strong, resisting the toxin with all of its might. "Fitting..." Oscar said with a sigh, "This Mightyena is truly an apex predator. We'll have to weaken it so that the toxin can knock it out." Emma came around, standing between her master and the still very angry Alpha. This battle was just getting started.

mint frost