TM2 - First Day of School; Of Grapes and Oranges

[MoniqueBrie]

The Shogun stared into the eyes of his guests, a piercing gaze.

Kingambit, king bit gambit king. "The metal ones will submit to me, the Great Shogun." Monique heard what must have been the Pokémon's name in there: Kingambit. But there wasn't much time for her to ponder that before a massive clang of blades sealed the entrance and the Pokémon started circling her and ChiChi.

“You will serve in the Great Blade Army, to defeat the Living Cloud Which Brings Rust. To ensure your loyalty, your non-metal companions will remain here as guests of the Great Shogun.”

Monique looked at the advancing Bisharp, who held a shackle about as useful-looking as the ones she used to put on criminals back in New Po. Another Bisharp was starting to poke ChiChi in the direction of the others.

"Great Shogun, I can help you with my own Pokémon, but if you do not wish for that, I will not stand by!" She reached for one of her own Poké Balls and hoped it contained Camerupt. A Fire/Ground type would be the worst nightmare of an army of Bisharp.

The Lucario hybrid took in the Great Shogun's edict with trepidation. Though she was a Fighting-type, per her own admission, she was not a fighter, and the idea of being a lesser in a Steel-type army, all alone was decidedly unappealing. Then she saw a Bisharp advancing on Monique and holding shackles.

"She fights with me or you fight both of us!" ChiChi shouted, charging at the Sword Blade Pokémon. If she could pull off a Fighting-type move under duress like this, it would be devastating to the Dark/Steel Pokémon around her.  

[DragonFang099]

Brian only looked up when he heard the Pokemon seated before him and the others speak again. While he didn't understand what was being said, he could see by Lu's body language that she wasn't happy with the outcome. The male Lucario wasn't happy, either, but he wasn't about to go against the word of the Great Shogun. Still, it would have been nice to have some time to recuperate from the battle he and Lu had before being summoned here.

Lu, hearing the declaration by the Great Shogun, looked up in shock. She would be expected to fight against whatever this was? What had she done to warrant such an action? Or was it simply because she was part Steel-type? That made sense to her, seeing as the seated Pokemon before her kept referring to metal ones. Hearing that they were basically being forced into servitude to an army they'd never heard of before didn't sit right with her, and while she knew Brian wouldn't resist, there was no guarantee that either Monique or ChiChi would do the same. She got her answer when both ChiChi and Monique said they could help, and while she could see ChiChi being allowed, being a Lucario hybrid, herself, she wasn't sure the Great Shogun would allow Monique to do so.

Lu looked back at the Great Shogun and wondered if her own request would be allowed. Surely he could see that she and the male Lucario were injured? My companion and I will join the battle, she said, causing the male Lucario to look at her in surprise. However, if I might make a small request, will you allow my trainer to heal those that have injuries first? We will fight better at full strength. While Brian couldn't actually understand what Lu was saying, the way she gestured to herself and the male Lucario, then to him, told him she was perhaps asking to let him heal them. He'd not had time to use any potions on them before they were summoned here.

Seeing the Bisharp approaching with crudely made shackles, he figured out that the Kingambit had apparently decided that in order to make sure the Steel-types obeyed, those who weren't 'metal ones' would be forced to stay here. Hmm, this could pose a problem, but at the same time, it was a chance to study the way the Pawniard and Bisharp interacted, and possibly get more information about the Kingambit. This was a Pokemon he'd never heard of before, so he couldn't pass up this opportunity. He held up one hand and opened his mouth to say that the shackles wouldn't be necessary, but he had a feeling the Bisharp wouldn't listen, so he allowed the Dark/Steel-type to fasten the shackle to him. What better way to observe than to stay here, even if it was as a prisoner? Looking at Lu, he gave a slight nod. The look in his eyes told the female Lucario everything she needed to know. I trust you to make your own decisions on this, he was saying.  

[Darksol88]

[Naranja House]

[Drylands]

Sol would have to brace himself from the tremor that followed Klawf falling over after the assault, giving a relieved sigh and adjusting the tie of his uniform. "You'd expect school to usually be a little more... I don't know, mudano?" He remarked, watching the woman take from her higher perch and over to him. The glare didn't seem to faze him; if anything, her remarks alongside it confirmed his suspicions. "Anyway, if luck carried us this far, I'd argue we must be truly blessed with it. And yellow haired thief... if you mean Amaranth, we're not related by blood. In fact-"

His chance to tell her that Amaranth had been hoping to return the artifact 'taken' from her this whole time was cut short when Klawf suddenly managed to flip itself back up, managing to steel himself for a second round despite the ground's rumbling and keeping an eye on the massive Pokemon as it smashed a hole into the cliff and revealed the pink plant within. "Hm?" He could swear he'd seen something like it before, probably in a book; he certainly didn't remember seeing anything like it in person and time made it hard to fully remember. He barely had enough time to snap a picture of it with his SNAG before the crab had devoured the plant entirely, confused as to why they'd decide on a snack so suddenly.

That is, until the energy spiked and the pillar of light followed, beak agape at not only the cloak of energy now surrounding Klawf, but the power felt. If he didn't know what he was looking at already, he'd swear it was trying to rival a legendary. In this time, he'd get shoved aside as the woman that inquired him just moments ago had her own plans to catch the Klawf, prompting him to speak up. "Wait! I'm not sure they can be-" His warning would come too late as the Lunatone he saw come out get swatted away like a Venonat overstaying their welcome.

"Caught. Whatever they've ate's supercharging them, we're better off not inviting more of their ire!" Recalling Calida and Hoja for their safety, he couldn't afford to fight them with the ground becoming so unstable. Though Agueda and her Fuecoco had started to run themselves, they'd find themselves picked up by Sol again as he just managed to get airborne before the ground became too difficult to work with. "And you two hold on tight!" If there was any upside to any of this, it'd be seeing Aile deciding that now was the perfect to see who won between large bear and larger crab. There was some spectacle to be had, and it sorta kept Agueda's fear under control. Sorta.


[Bamboo Grove]

"I mean, I've got Forge and Kindle if you don't mind everything on fire..." Amaranth remarked, listening to her SNAG's translation for Guts' explanation. "And looking around, I'm pretty sure I saw other Swablu and Altaria around. What makes them not this living cloud thing? Also we're not killing the Altaria."

Speaking of that Altaria, they were too focused on moving to remark, still confused about the whole thing and apprehensive that the place was so barren. But all of them would be stopped by the metal sheet dropping just before them. The gaps weren't enough to really see anything, but it was safe to say something was going on. Not having noticed anyone else making up the sudden infiltration party, she'd turn her head slightly towards Leslie and whispered. "This looks... a little weak? Ramshackle? A strong enough impact or two might punch through, but I don't think we're sneaking in..." Other gears seemed to be turning in her head as she took a Pokeball in hand and an idea formed.  

[Reno Vantas]

Naranja House

Bamboo Grove

Leslie would look offended at Amaranth's implication towards Guts and, by proxy, herself. "What the hell!? No need to talk like I would let Guts take out a random Pokemon like that." Taking step behind the channeler as the made their way deeper into the cave, quietly muttering, "Known you this many years. Aint gonna just assault a Pokemon you got dibs on."

But she wasn't going to complain about their travel path at lest, carefully gathering up a few metal scraps from the nooks and crannies as they move along to their destination. She could always use more metal, especially since something was slowly beginning to collate in her mind for what might get her past this wall she was encountering with her hammer. And as they reached the wall of steel, Leslie would see her first thing to test the slightly improved hammer against. Nodding as Amaranth quickly dismissed attempting to be stealthy, Leslie would begin sizing up the wall and placing her hammer next to spots on it for comparison. "Strong impact and lack of subtlety are my specialty, as you well know. Now stand back. I've never done with a weapon." Leslie offhandedly told her companion, finally having selected a spot. Rearing back with her hammer, she would take a deep breath before throwing a heavy, vaguely aimed swing towards the metal. "Knock knock!" Leslie bellowed, hoping to either knock a hole clear through or set up Amaranth for something more.

Drylands

Beau and Chris would round the corner as the flurry of attacks landed on the Klawf, watching as the gigantic crab weathered the sudden assault. "Are they always that big? Coulda swore I saw smaller ones before." Beau questioned, watching as the Rock type began to turn for what looked like an attempt to flee.

"It's a Titan. Which means we should be in the right spot for finding a herb." Chris said, eyes glancing around to see if she could find the unique plant.

And she would be quick to finally find it, although it was approximately one second before the Klawf devoured the rare specimen with the same delicacy and finesse that one would get from a Snorlax rolling down a hill and through a building. Beau would look between the even larger glowing crab and his companion, watching as a wave of emotion worked its way across her face. Starting from a slack-jawed stillness, Chris' expression would rapidly twist into a tight and tense snarl, teeth clenching as she began to wave her arms around. "That plant is so rare that some people debate if its just a legend and YOU ATE IT LIKE A PIECE OF BEEF JERKY!?! Victribell! Get your Vine Whip and trip that Klawf up! Lets set it up for that Urasluna!" Chris yelled, a quartet of vines erupting from the ground near where the shrub had previously been, all aiming to grab onto the Klawf in some capacity to hinder its movements or trip it up somehow. Out of the brush, Chris' Victribell would finally be visible as the shrubs around it were ripped down from the sudden, powerful motions the vines were now having to enact.

Looking between the two people who had just looked at a small kaiju and decided it was now time to fight it, Beau would glance up towards his Fletchinder. "Red Baron. Give the collective effort to assault this thing a Tailwind. " Beau somewhat incredulously commanded, watching as the winds from his bird's wings began to build and push his friends along towards the giant Klawf. Man, it was weird having to be the support to a reckless frontal assault like this instead of being the instigator for it.  

[Reno Vantas]

Reno felt a wild smirk cross his face as Aden leapt into action and immediately came to confront Spike head-on. "Want a round two, Aden!? I'm sure we can pencil it in right now!" Reno roared, preparing to watch as Spike's continued Outrage would steamroll through the Wooloo. He needed it to do something like that. Spike had weathered a lot of hits and while he had the defense to take a lot, there was a limit and it was rapidly approaching. So it was going to be all or nothing as Spike backed off from the first flurry and...stood there. Stock still. Paralyzed, one might say. Oh no. Oh no no no. Reno could already see the confusion and unsteadiness that always came after a full force flurry like Outrage taking root in Spike's eyes even as the barest hint of motion began to return to the Dragon type's limbs.

Eyes darting around the battlefield, Reno would feel his vision settling itself on Palladia. Aden's Wooloo was too far to reach, but he could do something to that Machamp. "Palladia! Congratulations!" Reno shouted, raising his left arm up to point palm-first towards the Machamp. "Smile for the camera!" He added, arm aimed towards the Fighting type's eyes before the holoprojector in the palm flashed to life. And with that, an incredibly bright light would be shone towards the Machamp's face, aimed to distract, disorient, maybe even let all the battle damage the thing had weathered finally set in and buckle a knee. All Reno knew is that he definitely needed to cover for this slightly off-color tactic. "You wanted Snagem Style, teach? This is Snagem style." Reno told Dendra, flashing a smile towards the teacher.  

[Atlantis_Darts]

SubonicXP

[Naranja House]

[Bamboo Grove]

The old man scowled at the words ‘Paldean government’ as they left Darts’ lips, making it even more clear his dislike of the regional authorities. “We disagree on to what extent this grove should be protected and how. We both wish to see it thrive, yes, but for different reasons. They see money through tourism as a reason to preserve it, I see a natural treasure to be preserved for the sake of humanity and Pokemon alike. Relations soured when they allowed that awful Pokemon Center atop the hill aways, cutting down a portion of the grove to do so, tarnishing this gemstone of nature.” The old man almost hissed, pointing in the direction of the mentioned Pokemon Center.

“But yes, your assumption is correct. No one has use for bamboo here in Paldea, not these days. They prefer concrete, plastic and other man-made materials. It’s shame because bamboo is plentiful, grows fast, and has almost unlimited uses. Even the local Pawniard and Bisharp know this, they are known to make their own constructions out of the local bamboo. At least something respects it these days.” He sighed. “I once tried to get native artists interested in working with bamboo but it went nowhere. The Artazon gym leader, an artist himself, wouldn’t even humor my idea.” He explained, giving further reason why he might dislike the powers-that-be here in Paldea.

"Hum..." The hybrid sighed too. Their walk had taken them within the bamboo grove proper, to something that looked like a natural clearing. One side of the grove was dotted with makeshift picnic benches hewn from the same wood that surrounded them. Darts' jacket waves happily in the slight breeze that rustled through the little grove they found themselves in. The other half was a natural plain, but had been cultivated and shaped with a great deal of care into something resembling a Pokemon battlefield. It was clear that while the action of shaping it had been man made, the plants were allowed to grow and strive to their maximum potential. Whoever had created this area showed the utmost reverence to nature in its making, and it was clear its use was as a classroom.

"Wow..." Darts says despite himself, gesturing out over the winding mass of vegetation and bamboo in front of the pair. "Was this your doing?" It was a neat metaphor, the gambler thought silently to himself. Sometimes in order to let things grow to their maximum potential you needed to give them a guiding nudge but not control the process entirely. Plants, for instance. Or students.  

[Requiem of Whyspers]

Naranja House

Bamboo Grove

Lykas watched and waited as the huge “Bisharp” began to speak, realizing as it did that this Pokemon was some sort of regional relative he had never heard of. Between the tone of its voice and the body language it was showing, the Pokemon wasn’t making some kind of friendly offer. And then the door slammed in front of him before he had the chance to get further in. “Damn it!” he swore as he returned to his normal form, fully materializing just as Leslie and Amaranth caught up to him.

“How did you two get in?” he asked as their presence dawned on him, though he didn’t recognize Leslie at first, assuming her to be an unfamiliar classmate. “I had to sneak past an army of Pawniard and Bisharp to get in.”

Shaking his head, he turned his focus back to the odd door. “Doesn’t matter. Monique and Brian are trapped on the other side of this door with that same army threatening them with shackles. My guess is that big, ugly ‘Bisharp’ leading this lot is planning to imprison them for whatever reason. We need to get them out!” he didn’t mention it looked like Monique had been ready to fight or that the classmate with her appeared to be trying to start one already. There was a pretty high chance that the sound of a massive battle was about to ring through the metal door whether they got through or not.

Pulling out his Master Ball at this point, he’d pop it open and release his Keldeo. “Hi, Delmare. Ready for a big fight?” he asked the Fighting-type. The Colt Pokemon nodded and winnied eagerly, spinning around as they aimed to throw a Double Kick at the same place Leslie had just wound up and slammed her hammer into. Maybe the combined force would break through the cobbled-together scrap metal door.

~~~~~~

Drylands

Clare hadn’t yet awakened when the Klawf flipped, unflipped, scuttled away and obtained it’s strange vegan power up like some kind of video game boss entering its second phase. The massive surge of power that came with that strange power up did cause them to snap awake, though. Trying to jump to their feet, they would stumble and fall to their knees, catching themself with their remaining hand. “Mirage… “

“Ratones traviesos.” Santiago muttered upon seeing what was happening. Those Tandemice were clever little critters, he had to admit, but they couldn’t keep Klawf busy forever. He got his proof a moment later, Klawf “escaping” up the canyon wall to munch on a strange pink plant he’d never seen before. When the Pokémon suddenly became cloaked in pink energy, he flew down to Clare and snatched them up into the air, attempting to get away before the massive crab could hit them again.

“Eep!” Clare yelped in surprise as the moth man’s silky hands scooped up from under their arms and hauled them into the air. Mirage was quick to jump onto the extradimensional hybrid’s leg before they got too high into the air, clinging to their ankle. “Where’s Gus-Gus?” They questioned, looking around with a great deal of concern.

As if to answer the question, the pair of mice seemed to be escaping from Klawf in great, bounding leaps at far greater speed than Clare would have thought possible, eventually getting close enough to jump up and grab their opposite ankle from Mirage. The two Pokémon looked back and forth between themselves for a moment before Klawf charged. In the chaos of it all, Santiago actually noticed the teacher going momentarily bonkers and getting her Pokémon completely destroyed in a single blow before Klawf’s power up and the following charge. “That can’t be good.”

Clare fumbled for a moment to find the Ball they’d caught Gus-Gus in and recalled the Tandemaus to it before pulling Mirage up to hold them tighter with their remaining hand. “Where’d your Pokémon go?” They asked, looking around for the Naclstack that had been watching over them while they’d been unconscious.

Santiago nodded with his head toward a not-too-distant wall. “Over there. He’s a quick one, you know. Sturdy, too.” He assured. Naclstack was sitting on a low ledge that was high enough to avoid the torn-up ground. “Speaking of… Naclstack, hit it with Salt Cure!”

“What’s that?” Clare asked, unfamiliar with the move.

“It’s a desiccating attack that will damage it over time by sapping moisture from its body.” Santiago explained. “It works better on Water-types and rusts Steel-types but it should still hurt it plenty.”

Clare wondered for a moment if Mirage might be able to do something similar. “Can you use Leech Seed?” They asked the little Grass-type. Mirage shrugged her shoulders but gave a mighty try as Naclstack hopped closer to the giant crab, aiming to spray it with salt. The tiny pepper Pokémon succeeded in spitting a single seed at Klawf. Whether or not it was a viable Leech Seed was debatable at best, however.

“Good try, I suppose.” Santiago attempted to encourage the small Pokemon, making an effort to move himself and Clare to a safer vantage point to continue the fight if it had to be done. “I’m going to guess the teacher won’t be any help with this after her little display earlier so I hope you Snagems are as skilled as your reputation has lead people to believe.” He muttered more to himself than Clare as he maneuvered them toward a safer cliff to stand on.

“Yeah, me too.” Clare mumbled, holding Mirage close with their only arm for now.  

[MoniqueBrie]

At first, Monique was relieved that the Great Shogun had shown mercy on her plight, or at least what seemed to pass for mercy in his demeanor, though she still clutched the Poké Ball tight, already uneasy about the situation. The Pawniard and Bisharp lowered their guard and began moving to and fro as they prepared to deploy the Great Blade Army.

Then it happened. A Pokémon from one of the Snagems—she couldn’t see which—crashed through the large partition that had been erected behind them, the sheet wobbling as it turned to the ground. In the sharpest instant, the army stopped and raised its blades, the activity of its pawns ceasing immediately. She could see and feel the eyes of others on her.

”Traitorous rusted metals!” The Shogun’s clangorous words dominated the volume. How dare you guide such vile soft ones into my domain!? Was this a scheme to harm the Great Shogun and his blades!? You will all pay for your deceit! I shall use your corpses for scrap and the soft ones will be thrown to the ringed beasts! Kill them all!”

That order sent them into a frenzy. Bisharp started setting upon her, threatening bladed pain. Monique reached for the Poké Ball to find that her feeling was correct. Lua Pele’s appearance caused more Bisharp to descend on Monique, using moves like Slash and Fury Cutter, and provoked the ill-tempered Eruption Pokémon into using Lava Plume. She hurriedly adopted a Bisharp disguise, something she’d wished she had done a lot earlier, and then sought out ChiChi.

***

In that instant, typal instinct and adrenaline overrode ChiChi’s pacifist inclinations. There was fighting to be done, and her Lucario DNA was going to ensure it happened. She began moving rapidly around them, her fists whirling so quickly that she managed to unleash an attack—Vacuum Wave, she would learn later—that knocked several Bisharp back.

She saw a Bisharp running for her and in the clangor didn’t hear Monique’s voice. “It’s me! It’s me!” She kicked the attacker back, dealing a blow of Fighting-type chi and sending Monique back several feet to the floor. She used the moment of respite to summon a Poké Ball.

***

Just my luck, the sheriff thought, her body slightly scraped from the rough ground. She had used a disguise to appear like a Bisharp and blend in, which had reduced the amount of times she was being attacked. But she couldn’t help ChiChi in that form because she looked like an attacker.

Hearing and feeling the heat of another Lava Plume, Lua Pele apparently doing battle with the Bisharp on her own, Monique got up slowly. If she took another blow, she would be too weak to cast an Illusion. She decided to look like ChiChi herself. There was no other way she could get her attention and her trust.

It would be an eerie moment to see her doppelgänger, or maybe an identical twin, pacing toward her, ready to fight alongside her. But better that than another brutal Lucario kick.  

[DragonFang099]

Lu was grateful that the Great Shogun would allow Brian to heal her and her fellow Lucario, and she turned to him, the male following her. He used a Potion on each of them, restoring their strength, then turned at the sound of metal crashing to see a hybrid he'd never seen before, not knowing it was Leslie. He could see Lykas and Amaranth, as well, and Lykas' Keldeo. What were those three thinking? He shook his head in exasperation; sometimes the members of Snagem acted before thinking, but at the same time, he couldn't say anything, since he'd done the same quite a few times. Still, that didn't bode well for their situation, heavily outnumbered and staring down the business end of sharpened blades aimed at them. Brian didn't have to understand Pokemon to know the Great Shogun wasn't at all pleased with this turn of events, and when the order was given for the Pawniard and Bisharp to attack, he knew they would have to fight to get out.

So with that in mind, he looked at Lu and the male Lucario and gave a nod. "Let's do this, then," he said, and Lu grinned in anticipation. While she normally wasn't one to take on more than she could handle, this was a fight she knew she would have an advantage in, just by typing alone, though the numbers would eventually prove a problem. The male Lucario looked at the Lucario and trainer pair and wondered just what it was that made Lu want to fight for him; no, 'for him' was the wrong phrasing. Lu wanted to fight with her human. He had to wonder just what Brian had that made him gain the loyalty of his fellow Lucario, and decided he would ponder this another time. For now, they had a battle to worry about.

"Alright, Lu, start it off with a Bulk Up, then follow it up with a round of Aura Spheres and finish with a spinning Low Kick," Brian said, pulling out another Pokeball. Lu glanced at it and grinned, knowing exactly who was in that particular Pokeball. Brian knew it was a risk letting him out in such close quarters, but he needed the edge that this one would give, so he tossed the Pokeball in the air. "Firebrand, roast those Pawniard and Bisharp," he said. While Firebrand still didn't trust Brian fully, he was starting to come around, and seeing the number of Pawniard and Bisharp, he knew he was needed to even the odds. "Use Sunny Day, help out Monique's Camerupt, then use Fire Spin to pin the nearest Pawniard and Bisharp in place! After that, we're going to try to go after that Kingambit. He's the leader, so taking him down should make the Pawniard and Bisharp call off their attack."

The Magmortar looked at the number of opponents and gave a feral grin. It had been a while since Brian had used him in any battles, simply due to him being fully evolved and wanting to give his opponent a fighting chance. But now that he had called him out, the Fire-type had no qualms about using reservation. He knew Lu and the other three Lucario he could see were allies, and he was careful not to hit any of them as he released the requested Sunny Day, followed by Fire Spin on the nearest group of enemies, hoping to pin them in place so the others could do some damage while he and Brian fought their way toward the Great Shogun.

The male Lucario looked at the enemies nearest him. There were a few Pawniard led by a single Bisharp, all of them going after Lu. Seeing an opportunity, he leaped into battle, throwing himself into the midst of the group with a flurry of flying punches and kicks. The small group scattered, not wanting to be on the receiving end of those punches or kicks, then regrouped and attacked again, this time targeting the male Lucario. The male gave a slight smirk; good, their attention was on him, and now that he was battling opponents that were more numerous, he didn't have to hold back. Holding out one paw, he waved it in a 'come get me' manner, prompting the Pawniard to leap forward as a group.

He grinned, dodging skillfully as the Pawniard tried to attack, the retaliating with well-placed Bullet Punches and Low Kicks, aiming to knock them back. These Pawniard were smaller than some of the others, which told him they were younger, likely only just starting out in the 'Blade Army.' That also told him they were likely to be the first to either give up or get knocked out, though the Bisharp would probably take any knockout hits for them. Still, he loved battling, and this was a chance to really test his mettle against opponents that had more numbers and skill than he did. How long could he last against such opponents? Only time would tell, as he leaped into the fray in a whirlwind of attacks.  

[Darksol88]

[Naranja House]

[Drylands]

"Good thing one of us can still keep that thing slowed down," Sol remarked, keeping to his flight for safety. Much as he wanted to assist, he didn't see an easy way of doing so. Perhaps with Xatu holding the two with Psychic and him using the same to get her out in the first place, that might work-

'All of you, run!'

The shout and sudden, additional spike of energy from Klawf gave enough to tell him maybe don't go playing hero on this one. That, and he couldn't shake the feeling that somehow this would get pinned on the team. But maybe that was preferable to whatever must've been going through Agueda's head for committing the crime of just wanting to catch a new friend, and he was already getting a hint of that from how the girl was shaking now that a teacher had gotten involved. It'd be a first day for her to remember, alright.

Briefly muttering 'mierda' under his breath, then realizing someone might hear and giving a look towards Agueda to suggest not repeating that, he'd answer the archeologist. "Ya lo soy, no need to tell me twice!" Being in the air meant there was relative safety, but until he knew the other teammates and students were too, he wasn't about to fully bail from the situation.

[Bamboo Grove]

"Er. What? We've... just met?" Amaranth remarked, very confused at Leslie's comment about knowing her for years. Had she recognized her, it would've made more sense, but missing the importent context to make that connection, it just sounded very sudden and weird instead. Still, she wouldn't quite listen to the idea of standing back, finally taking her hammer out of the ball she put it in earlier and brandishing it as the wall was smashed down. This gave her enough of a glimpse to confirm that something was definitely going on, but the light thuds of Pawniard landing behind her caused her attention to turn at once.

Luckily, her SNAG was still translating what would otherwise be confusing, hostile Pokespeak... not that it wasn't still a little confusing. "You... took our friends and this thing opened up, so we came in out of curiosity and this seems a bit, you know, extreme?"

As the Pawniard began to attack, a few of them especially focused on Altaria to prevent the hearlded calamity, a pained cry could be heard when the wound from before was struck, causing them to let out a cloud of Mist in response. With respect for where they were and simply wanting to escape with the others, Amaranth let out her Minior and took a deep breath, unaware of the tiki artifact around her neck starting to react in the moment.

"Petra, Shell Smash! Ready yourself! We need to clear a path out!" She shouted, rushing for Altaria and swinging the hammer to attempt knocking the Pawniard off of them. As she did, her Minior would suddenly crack and shatter the shell surrounding them, exposing their orange core in the process as the energy around them surged.

[Uva House]

"Then pencil it in right now!" Aden remarked, feeling confident he might have something going. Of course, there was never a guarantee of this. The jolt could simply not take or not be enough to stop the onslaught. But he failed to hide the smirk on his face when the paralysis took a lucky hold and stopped Spike in their tracks. Which would quickly fade as the combination of Flash and Thunder meant he was the last one standing of the three while Absinthe took a trip to the salt mines over- he could only guess- not sending out something as strong as a Machamp. If anything, it spurred him on to prove her wrong about this battle being over.

"Alright, still two on one... kind of... sure, let's have fun losing and go out swinging, then. How about we Copycat that Thunder and get the rest of that buildup out of you, Wooloo? I think Glissando might not appreciate it buuuut." Wooloo wouldn't have too many issues going for it, copying the energy from Crystal's Helioptile just long enough to let out her own Thunder attack after Odd's Hypno. With Spike a little easier to manage, he felt the better option would be to deal with the arguably bigger threat now that he'd be focused on.

The whole time, Cera had been watching curiously with her Smoliv being surprisingly behaved for the moment, though her attention would leave the battle briefly as she kept looking at the weird, black Pokeball-looking things on some of the students. Unless it was some sort of ball she hadn't seen yet. Much as she wanted to ask, she was slightly nervous even as she took occasional peeks to try- and fail- to discern whatever it was.