@sanvi

Wow... Sanvi was really not letting up. But thankfully, there was the distraction provided by the task at hand to take her mind off of the... well, the extreme forwardness of her mission partner. She couldn't say she wasn't flattered by the attention, though. Ethel felt like it had been so long since someone had so bluntly complimented her, and even if she was happy with her own appearance, it was nice to hear it from other people.

Anyways. "Yes, the Weezing. Titan here can use Icy Wind to clear the area of any toxic gases," she said, indicating the huge Avalugg that marched behind her. Ethel hoped that Sanvi wasn't intimidated by his hulking size, but she hadn't seemed to pass any comment yet, and the Corviknight accompanying her was plenty large itself. "And I think our Steel-types will be good for chasing the Weezing away, since they'll likely be immune to their attacks."

As they entered the room, Ethel found that as she had expected, the room was blanketed with a thick fog. At her signal, Titan rumbled, his huge bulk not fitting through the door, but he generated a chilly breeze, that soon grew into a gusting gale, hoping to clear away the fog.

Kyogre was powerful. Immensely powerful. Its blasts pulverized the land and people they targeted, taking life without discrimination. But the defenders of Lilycove gave back as well as they received, and the onslaught of ice and lightning and grass and more battered at the sea monster.

And then, there was a jet of water that erupted from the ocean that was not born from this twisted god they were pitted against. Olivia Abbiati was at the top of it, and she and her Pokemon wasted no time coming to the defense of the leviathan, a swarm of insects and a salvo of rocks rising up to block off the rest of the attackers.

Confusion and fear arose within Ethel as she watched the scene. Was this an attack on Kyogre? That seemed unlikely, given that she had just ordered everyone to cease.

Understanding sunk its icy teeth into Ethel as Olivia began to chant. This was Olivia's attempt at... what? Beseeching Kyogre to stop its attack? Oh, dear god, she was getting closer to it.

Ethel knew enough about misguided trust and blind faith. It had been a comfort while it had lasted, but when it broke, it had shattered violently, the shards leaving scars that would never heal.

She would not allow the same pain to fall upon another, if she could do anything to stop it. A scream tore from Ethel's throat.

"Get away!" she yelled, hoping that her voice would reach Olivia from the back of mclaren mcflurry 's Steelix, over the roar of the churning ocean. "Kyogre isn't rational! You can't hope to reason with it!"

A part of her realized that, in this moment, Olivia's faith might have been the same way. Sometimes, there was no reasoning with the sort of unbridled devotion that would drive one to risk their own life.

But she had to try.

---

SUMMARY
- Ethel is still on mclaren mcflurry 's Steelix
- Ethel sees Olivia doing... that
- Ethel yells at Olivia to try and reason her out of... that

@sanvi

Beautiful? Oh, Arceus help her. This was not going to be easy. She felt her face heating up and cursed her fair complexion.

Ethel cleared her throat. Again. "Yes, uh, the Weezing. Are you---" Oh, wait, she'd already asked that. "Yeah, we can't have that, right? So, if you're ready, we could..."

It seemed Sanvi's Pokemon were eager to get started, so Ethel hurriedly donned her gas mask. Maybe it would help hide her face. Because, well, that would be helpful about now.

"I'm Ethel, by the way," she said, trying to shake off her flustered state. "If you're ready, we can go ahead and head inside."

mR39Sv5K

x2 from Freeze Dry

---

Ethel watched in dismay as the water level rose higher and higher. She was on the mountain, that was for sure, but the hateful rain was pounding harder and harder, and the coastline shrunk at an alarming rate. Ethel wasn't very high up on the mountain, and she didn't trust her ability to race the sea itself.

She watched as, nearby, mclaren mcflurry threw what could best be described as a tantrum. She tuned it out, as it was in a foreign language that she didn't understand. However, her attention was caught at the end of it. Quitting Rocket?

This wasn't the time, though. Rocket or not, they were all fighting this Kyogre, and the other woman's Steelix was a way off the mountain. Ethel approched them.

"Hey," she said, clambering aboard the giant steel snake. "I hope you don't mind me joining you." She wished she could have asked for the Steelix's permission, but this was a matter of necessity.

She held back her instinct to talk more. This was a time for action, not words. The Steelix hovered above the mountain, shooting over the water towards the Kyogre.

She felt an overwhelming, primal fear. What was she doing, going towards this monster? She had seen with her own eyes the terrible power it wielded. She could only hope that it wouldn't be directed at her.

They soared through the air. As McFlurry's Pokemon attacked the left fin, Ethel's went for the right. Stratus, still soaring with his illusory clones, attacked with another Electro Ball, as Magic followed up with his own Freeze Dry. Flavor and Crescent kept up their Dragon Pulses and Shadow Balls.

---

SUMMARY
- Ethel joins mclaren mcflurry on Steelix
- Attacking the right wing
- Light Screen, turn 3.
- Emolga (2 Double Teams) uses Electro Ball
- Mr. Mime Galar uses Freeze Dry
- Salazzle uses Dragon Pulse
- Lampent uses Shadow Ball



LEFT FIN: 1066 ✓

RIGHT FIN: 906

CMk0_MsI

x2 (electric)

---

Ethel stopped as rain began to strike her face.

The right word for it was definitely strike. The rain was aggressive. Not the soft patter of a spring shower or the pale imitative fury of a summer storm, but an angry, hateful deluge. The raindrops stung as they struck her skin.

Now atop the mountain, Ethel turned back to look at what was happening behind her, and nearly stopped breathing as Kyogre itself rose from the waters, its body swollen and twisted and wrong. Ethel held her breath as the guardian of the seas rose into the air--

and attacked. Origin Pulses tore into the seaside town, pulverizing anything in their path.

Dear gods...

Stratus, bless the Emolga's fiery soul, was still willing to fight. He'd had plenty of experience taking on opponents larger than him, and though he was intimidated, surely, he would not hold back. He and the clones he'd summoned from Double Team rose into the air in unison, releasing an Electro Ball to fire at the huge behemoth's right fin.

Flavor supported the attack with a Dragon Pulse of her own, alongside Crescent's Shadow Ball. Magic, considering the rain pelting them and the blasts from Kyogre tearing apart the land, erected a Protect, along with Stratus's previous Light Screen, hoping to mitigate possible damage.

---

SUMMARY
- Ethel goes "bruh wtf" (attacking the right fin!)
- Emolga's Light Screen, turn 2.
- Emolga used Electro Ball!
- Salazzle used Dragon Pulse!
- Mr. Mime Galar used Protect!
- Lampent used Shadow Ball!

LEFT FIN: 336
RIGHT FIN: 124

vqFvRCjo

---

Ethel watched the pillar fall. Across the town, three other pillars met their ends under the attacks of League soldiers.

And, of course, the main trammel itself, being attacked by a flying Wailord. Ethel couldn't help laughing at the sight. The Megalopolans were sure to be surprised by the Z-move.

It was time to move forward. She began to advance towards the mountain and the trammel even as the hail gave way to Alexei Ivanov 's Phione's rain.

Magic erected a Protective barrier as they walked, hoping to deflect any of the lasers shot by the flying bricks. Stratus and his clones, meanwhile, bolstered this effort by renewing his Light Screen.

Crescent and Flavor took more offensive approaches to thwarting the retreating attacks from the flying bricks. Flavor unleashed Fire Lash after Fire Lash, the newly evolved Salazzle swatting down any bricks that were within her reach. Crescent, her flames still flickering with Flash Fire's glow, blasted any other bricks with Fire Spin, the flaming vortex hopefully slowing down the bricks that tried to return to the main structure.

---

SUMMARY
- Ethel moves towards the mountain and the trammel!
- Mr. Mime Galar uses Protect against the lasers and other attacks.
- Emolga (2 Double Teams) uses Light Screen against the lasers and other attacks.
- Salazzle uses Fire Lash against any bricks within her reach.
- Lampent (Flash Fire) uses Fire Spin against any bricks that are within her reach.

mateo martinez 

Nobody important, huh?

"Hm," Ethel replied noncommittally. "I'm sure. For now, big bro Mateo it is," she said, playing along. Even though she was... well, rather reasonably sure that this guy couldn't be much older than she was, if at all. 

But whatever. That wasn't important. It wasn't necessarily fair for her to prod so much, either, considering her own cause for being in the region in the first place.

Speaking of which, that was where the conversation immediately went, and... he was right. Hoenn didn't really seem like the place that so many people would decide to come to for a relaxing sunbathing session, especially right now.

"Well, when I came here, I didn't know too much about the local situation. I was more looking to flee something that had happened in Unova." She met Mateo's eyes. "Which, if you don't mind, I'd like to avoid the topic of. Let's just say that I made some mistakes when I was younger, even if they weren't really my fault." She broke eye contact. "And you'd think that someone looking to flee trouble wouldn't want to stay in such a troubled place as Hoenn, but... well, it makes me feel better to help people and Pokemon here, and do what I can to help."

She shook her head. "Sorry for getting all depressed on you. It's a lot sometimes." She took a deep breath. "Well, anyways, I assume you know what we're doing here?"

PwmlONPi

---

Ethel watched as the damn bugs finally got taken down. Thank Arceus. They were a menace, as anyone who'd seen them suck dry a Salamence could attest to. Without those to worry about, they could focus more easily on liberating this town and the poor residents inside.

Ethel was picked up, along with Magic and Flavor, by a huge Corviknight. She thought it belonged to that one man, Billi Marsh , who had gotten ensnared in the alien tentacles earlier. Well, just another person she'd have to thank, once all this was over. As the bird dropped them off on the town with surprising gentleness, Ethel thanked the creature before it took off again.

She cast a quick glance at the rest of her team. They seemed to be mostly fine, none of them having taken any severe damage until then. She supposed that was one advantage to not having a team of large bruisers. They seemed to be a secondary target for the enemy.

The situation on the coastal town was not a good one. There was death everywhere she looked, and even the Megalopolans had taken on a sense of urgency. At least this hopefully meant that they would be more desperate and make more mistakes.

On the other hand, Ethel thought as she leaped out of the path of a stun baton as Flavor incinerated the soldier, cornered enemies could be infinitely more vicious.

And, oh dear god. Was that trammel moving? That was a huge problem. It had seemed to separate into several pillars, each of which charging up what must have been some sort of attack.

Flavor, having taken down the Megalopolan, was soon consumed by a glowing light, the light blue spilling out. When it faded, she was bigger. The Salandit--- no, Salazzle, now, was much taller and larger, and more graceful as well.

"You look beautiful," Ethel told her. But there was little time for admiration. Fueled by the new evolution, Flavor hissed as she took down other Megalopolans as they tried to attack Ethel, cooking them with Incinerate.

Magic, next to her, had focused on one of the pillars. Taking aim at the North Pillar, Magic continued to output a torrent of water with Water Spout. Hopefully, the high-pressure blast would take down the pillar before it got the chance to do any damage. Hopefully the other pillars had their own troops stationed on them as well.

Stratus and Crescent had been following the Corviknight ever since it had picked up Ethel and Magic, but now they continued to fight. Stratus stayed back, layering his Double Team even more as more illusory clones formed around him. Crescent, meanwhile, was dancing about and incinerating soldiers along with Flavor, absorbing the flame from the newly-evolved Salazzle's Incinerate. Her Flash Fire activated, the flames in her lamp flaring brighter than ever as she whipped up a vortex of flame, the Fire Spin threatening to trap and burn those within.

---

SUMMARY
- Thank you Billi Marsh and Corviknight for the save
- Mr. Mime Galar uses Water Spout on Northern pillar
- Emolga uses Double Team a second time, creating more clones
- Salandit evolves into Salazzle!
- Salazzle uses Incinerate on Megalopolan soldiers (and Lampent)
- Lampent gets hit by Incinerate, activating Flash Fire
- Lampent uses Fire Spin on Megalopolan soldiers

RKgnK2jZ

---

The ocean churned beneath Ethel as the Wailord she was riding pushed the ship forward, towards the shore.

They approached the shore. As they got closer, Ethel saw that her fears were confirmed. The Megalopolans were already there, of course, and though she couldn't see what the hostages were being treated like, she felt like she had an idea, based on what she'd heard before.

The ocean churned again, but this time, there was a different purpose. Ethel didn't have time to see the trammels that were causing it, though, as the Wailord she was on was suddenly targeted by two buzzing, huge aliens.

Ethel set her jaw. "Team, target the newcomers," she directed. She had already seen, out of the corner of her eye, what one of the other ones had done to a Salamence, sucking it dry as if it was a juice box. She wouldn't let the Wailord that had saved her life become victim to the same.

Magic turned to the Buzzwole, keeping up the Water Spout. The high-pressure spray would hopefully damage the Buzzwole. This was joined by Crescent's Shadow Ball and Flavor's Dragon Pulse.

Screaming angrily, Stratus leaped at the Buzzwole, the Emolga striking one with Acrobatics before darting away quickly, his small size and speed hopefully making him a harder target for the aliens to strike.

Ethel scanned the sky, hoping for a method of getting off the Wailord. They were approaching dry land, and she hoped to find a way to get there safely.

---

SUMMARY
- Ethel turns her attention to the Buzzwole attacking Wailord!
- Mr. Mime Galar uses Water Spout on Buzzwole (both).
- Lampent uses Shadow Ball on the Buzzwole that skyler dross is attacking with Lapras.
- Salandit uses Dragon Pulse on Buzzwole that skyler dross is attacking with Lapras.
- Emolga uses Acrobatics on Buzzwole that skyler dross is not attacking with Lapras.
- Ethel looks for a way off the Wailord. ( Billi Marsh )

Empress's patience would be tested again, it seemed, when a Magmar approached the two of them. The fire type, however, seemed much more aggressive than the Ponyta that had approached first.

Ethel laid a hand on Empress's side. "Calm down," she said. "It hasn't attacked---"

However, she was swiftly proven wrong when the Magmar roared and unleashed a blast of fire from its arm at the two of them. The Flame Burst nearly singed Ethel, as well, and would have struck her had she not dove to the side at the last moment.

Empress was not so fortunate. The fire struck her full on in the front, and Empress roared in response, now truly angry. She charged at the wild Magmar, hoping to trample it under her feet, but the Magmar was faster, spitting a cloud of black smoke right in Empress's face before running out of the path of the charge.

Empress stopped, sniffing the air with her nose to locate the Magmar more effectively, but the fire-type took that opportunity to unleash another Flame Burst, this time from point-blank range. Empress groaned and fainted.

Ethel blinked. Well, this was bad. Two more Pokeballs flashed as Crescent and Stratus appeared amidst the black smoke. If this Magmar was looking to fight so badly, then she would fight back, but not fairly.

Stratus picked up on the situation first, diving and striking the Magmar in the face with an Acrobatics. The Magmar stumbled back, but Stratus squealed, too. He must have been burned from the contact with its fiery body. Ethel bit her lip as the Magmar prepared to blast another volley of flames at Stratus, but Crescent was there in a flash, the flames swirling into her body and feeding her own flames.

The Magmar gave well, but it didn't take as easily. Another Shadow Ball sent it stumbling backwards, and Stratus, still smarting from the burn but somewhat recovered, followed up with an Electro Ball.

Though the attacks had obviously hurt the Magmar, it still wasn't going to retreat. It prepared another Flame Burst---

Ethel threw a Pokeball at the Magmar. If it wouldn't succumb to the Shadow Ball or the Electro Ball, hopefully this Pokeball would finally defeat it. It made Ethel sick to capture a Pokemon against its will, but this Magmar was dangerous. She would take it to someone who was more qualified to deal with dangerous Pokemon, and hopefully they would know how to deal with it.

The next Pokemon who approached them was a familiar sight. Ethel had seen Ponyta before, even during her short time on Hoenn, and they were rather curious, as this one proved. The Ponyta approached cautiously, sniffing at Empress.

Ethel smiled and began to greet the fire-type, but Empress must have still been in an aggressive mood. The Mamoswine stomped and grunted angrily, launching another Mud Bomb at the Ponyta. The poor equine panicked, whinnying and galloping off.

Ethel frowned at Empress. "Empress... You can't be aggressive for no reason. That Ponyta didn't want to hurt you." Empress stared at Ethel, seemingly unimpressed, but she soldiered on. "Look, how would you like it if someone attacked you and you weren't doing anything? You wouldn't like that, would you?"

Empress snorted, blinking and breaking eye contact. Ethel figured that would be as much of an acknowledgement as she could expect from the Mamoswine at the moment, so she let it slide.

What was with her behavior recently?