Scene #8729: PMD Job Bulletin 1: Furret's Fighting Field

Owner	Pose
Petra Soroka	After the Rock Anchor at the very bottom of Clastic Cavern was destroyed, Celebi's regular summons to the Pokemon world went quiet for some time. Expeditions take time to plan, after all-- if you're being taken to the Pokemon world as, effectively, hired mercenaries to aid Tinkaton's Guild in saving the world, there's no need for you to be there in the time between at all. Presumably, things in the Guild are proceeding as normal, and whenever they're ready to set out again, you'll all find yourselves waking up in the hay bed right on time. Tonight, though, things are a little different. Within whatever pleasant dreams you're having, the sound of light bell chime language is heard, indistinctly off 'somewhere else'. The chimes-- Celebi's voice, you know-- are just as wordless as they always are, before crossing over to the Pokemon world, but uniquely, noticeably different from before, you're able to interpret varied intonations in it; as if it's a proper language, spoken by people, that's miraculously unaffected by the Understanding, instead of something different entirely. It sounds worried, in the low-stakes way of voicing anxieties aloud while categorizing them in your head. Also, differently from before, you're not being reached out to. There's no dream-hand grabbing on to you to drag you through uncrossable dimensions. Instead, the voice just seems to be coming from... over there. Somewhere else in your dream; not here, but vaguely adjacent, in a way that's approachable, if you really want to. When you do display your intent to 'approach' it, however that looks within your dream, the voice shifts tone, surprised, then bursting into abrupt, sparkling laughter. The force gently wraps its grip around you, lifting you up from 'here' and towards that 'somewhere else', for no reason other than that you wanted to go. You all wake up in your assigned bedroom in the Guild, sprawled in the hay. Spinda's spot is empty already, but for anyone with the senses to notice, still warm and vacated in recent hours, rather than empty for the past couple months as yours have been. Petra is also here (still as a pale yellow Minun with blue-tipped ears and minus signs on her cheeks, bomber jacket on), groggily pushing herself to sitting and rubbing at her eyes with her paws. Petra: "Huh." Petra: "So we're actually here again." Petra: "I wasn't sure if that would..." Petra: "Oh god." Petra: "I hope Valence is aro--"
Petra Soroka	Petra's eyes widen in realization only moments before wobbling to her knees and falling to all fours, head hanging. Her ears droop down to lay limply on the ground, and the tang of ozone gradually builds up around her as the air ionizes. Petra: "Aaaaaoouuugh." Petra: "I-- I know where her place is. I'm okay. I'll--" Petra rushes out of the door through the Guild's center room, wobbling her way past the other Pokemon with unsteady, nauseous urgency. With the doors to the bedroom thrown open, it's clear that there aren't actually that many Pokemon around right now, for whatever reason. Timburr and Machop, the two wannabe tough-guy Pokemon Kale encountered in the courtyard before, lean against the wall besides the Job Bulletin Board, which seems stripped empty. From this perspective, and possibly from every perspective, Machop is only visible behind Timburr as a cross-armed, mildly thuggish in a scrawny way, boost to Timburr's own presence, nodding along with him as he talks to Bidoof, scrambling around in front of him. Timburr: "Look, pipsqueak." Timburr: "I'm not gonna waste my time flexing on you over and over when you keep rolling over like the little runt you are." Timburr: "Get stronger, or get lost, capiche?" Bidoof: "Oh, golly, I swear I've been working hard!" Bidoof: "Give me another shot in the ring, why not?" Bidoof: "........." Bidoof: "Everyone else is already in an Exploration Team, so I don't have anyone else to practice with, yup yup..."
Kale Hearthward	Within a minute of waking up, dancing practice is underway. Kaleduo used Swords Dance! Kaleduo's power increased! "Okay, why is it so easy to do now?" says Left Kale, as the main body dances in place. Right Kale addresses the others to explain. "We- I mean, I figured out how to use Swords Dance in the real world. But it's been-" Kaleduo used Swords Dance! Kaleduo's power increased further! "- a lot harder and a lot less consistent - stop doing that, the boost is temporary and we're going to burn through our energy." "If it was just something about being a pokemon then we couldn't use it at all in the real world... I'm gonna try it again." "Stop." "C'mon, one more." "You aren't- we aren't learning anything by this." Kaleduo heads out in search of something to do (to keep Left Kale from using up all of the Swords Dance power points) and comes across the job board - which is disappointingly empty of anything interesting - and so Timburr and Bidoof get his/their attention next. Has he seen Bidoof before? He can't remember. He needs to update his dossiers. He's definitely seen Timburr, though. "Hey. You need to get a go in? We're around. I mean I'm around." "Finally, something to do. Took long enough." "It's been - literally five minutes since we woke up..."
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan is ALWAYS ready to go. Especially right now. He is bruised, battered, and tired. And still suffering some lingering psychic damage from seeing Rita's body horror of a true form. Once the patrat wakes up on the hay, Aidan hops up eagerly, ready for adventure in this world without conseq- "Oh, wait." He staggers, grabbing his head, "That was bad." His 3 day all day until you bleed training still is having a toll on him. "I put water in my bee-" A sudden stop. Can he SAY beer here? It seems like he shouldn't. "-drink." He reaches down, pulling a forest green scarf from underneath him and ties it on. That feels much better. A glance at Petra. He should ignore her. Talking to her is never helpful for him. It usually ends with a threat to kill him. "Hey, are you okay do you nee-okay bye!!" That makes things a lot easier. ONE BOWL OF FRUIT LATER, carrying it as one would an or derv plate, Aidan is drawn to his friend the Bidoof! "Let him fight! He's working really hard and-" Enter Kale, stage right. Aidan winces, muttering, "Hey, go easy on him." Then the worry comes that it might actually be WORSE that he said that. "You are strong, Bidoof!"
Angela	Without any indication that they were going to be summoned again in their sleep ONCE AGAIN, Cinder didn't exactly prep with an Angelapack today. Or any other tool from Lobotomy Corp. Cinder has vowed to herself to live a life of adventure rather than an ignoble life of safety that will still end just deep in the dark and when her dreams--typically dreams you don't want to think about, don't want to hear about, don't want to know about--take an approachable turn...She is interested, curious, and even a bit excited. She doesn't conciously think in the moment 'Oh! Celebi!' but that doesn't stop her. "Petra!" Cinder shouts, still wearing that green scarf and still very much a Cyndaquil. "You're back too!" She notices the lack of Eggpack. "Oh nooo... Angie's gonna be jealous." But secretly Cinder is perfectly fine with letting Angela be a bit jealous. She wants more Petra time in her life! She hops up and makes her way to Petra's spot and-- She trips over her own feet, bouncing on her belly and rolling forward before coming to a seated stop, facing forward. "Oop, forgot how different my center of gravity's here..." She wobbles back up to her feet. ZWOOOM! Petra rushes off quickly to receive the tender care she requires! "Ah nuts...!" She rushes after Petra--but slows down a bit as something occurs to her, mid travel. "Timburr? Where is everybody? Oh no--Valence is here right now, right?" She hopes that Petra isn't hurrying for aid that isn't going to be there. She glances to Aidan and Kale and. Kaleduo is easy to recognize because of the two heads--it takes her a longer moment to recognize Aidan. 'I knew he was short,' Cinder thinks despite not actually being exactly tall herself right now.
Dysnomia	In the half-cognizant way of dreams, Dysnomia stirred, peering without eyes, listening without ears, acting without intent. She reached, bodilessly, toward the musical voice. Felt herself seized, confused and helpless, legendary pokemon's bubbling over surprise and delight spilling over her mind like the tides pulling at an ocean. A hysterical joy too earnest for concious rang through Mia, and for a moment she clung happily to the voice even as it pulled her along, her feeble awareness fading as easily as it had come. She awoke in a sudden, flailing motion, unfamiliar with her body again. She sprung from her spot in the hay and tumbled, head over...Tail...? Landing in a heap on top of herself. Dysnomia: "Wha!" Dysnomia: "We're here again?!" Dysnomia: "..." Dysnomia: "Damn!" Dysnomia: "I guess we're stuck here again." Dysnomia: "We should find what's happening!" Surprisingly agreeably, Dysnomia slithered out toward the door, turning her head around toward the others. Dysnomia: "Come on."
Timespace Riders	Sougo Tokiwa, standing on the sun-kissed shore of a lake from a childhood memory, smiles, as a familiar chime sounds. His yardstick for a normal dream is substantially different from the average person's, for a number of reasons--but I'd know that voice anywhere. He smiles, headed over to say 'hello,' marching brightly over to a little paddleboat rental shack, until gradually, it fades out of vision. "Mmh... good morning, Woz," says Sougo, a little brown Eevee whose wide eyes are still shut. He simply assumes that Woz is there, beside him. "Good morning, sire." Correctly, it seems. "Did you have a good sleep?" asks Sougo, blearily rubbing a paw across his face before standing up for a four-legged stretch. "...indeed," says Woz, leaping down from a support beam overhead, and landing gracefully on his hind legs. His feline features bear a thoughtful frown. Sougo beams, knowing too well what's on his retainer's mind. "It's the dream, isn't it? How it was different this time." I guess we're stuck here again. Woz nods. "I did not think I would find myself willing to accept an invitation," admits the retainer, omitting the obvious 'and yet.' The two part for Petra (even Woz looks a little sympathetic), before following her path, albeit much less urgently, into the center room. Sougo's ears stand up and his brown eyes are wide open with curiosity, finding the place to be mostly empty. "Huh," says Sougo, a paw pressed against his chin. "And the bounty board looks picked clean, too... uwoh, it's those guys Kale was training with!" Sougo bounds up to them, with Woz in tow. Hey, go easy on him! Woz shakes his head in disagreement. Just as quietly as Aidan had muttered it, he answers, "How can one improve, without being challenged?"
Petra Soroka	"Hey. You need to get a go in? We're around. I mean I'm around." Timburr looks honestly shocked when the Elites pile out of the bedroom, startling upright and almost letting his big wooden beam tip over. The vulnerablely open surprise on his face smooths back into macho disaffect right before Kale approaches him. Timburr: "Oh, you're back? I didn't--" After letting that slip, he closes his eyes and tilts his chin down, letting out a smug 'heh' of a rival who's trying too hard. Timburr: "I didn't think you'd actually be brave enough to challenge me again." Timburr: "But you've got guts, huh, bro?" Machop, behind him, presses his hands to his cheeks in shock, looking between the pair. Machop: "No way..." Machop: "A rematch? For real?" While that nonsense is happening, Bidoof immediately finds solace in Aidan's appearance. He pops up from his pathetic, shivering squat to waddle towards him, though he stops before moving too far, so as to not seem too presumptuous. He, unlike Timburr, has absolutely no reservations about immediately exclaiming that he's happy to see them. Bidoof: "Gosh, you're back!" Bidoof: "Well, shucks, you were gone for so long I was sure you'd forgotten all about us." Bidoof: "The Guildmaster kept talking about aliens and the Otherworld, but..." Bidoof: "I didn't get it at all, yup yup." "You are strong, Bidoof!" Bidoof's nervous excitement at seeing Aidan peters away, and he looks down at the ground with a bit of shame. He shuffles his front paws, like he's been caught in lying, and nods dejectedly at Woz's comment. Bidoof: "Well, that's just the thing, yup yup." Bidoof: "Timburr's beaten me, hum, hmm, how many...?" Machop: "Fifteen!" Bidoof: "Fifteen times in a row." Bidoof: "So he's probably right... he's got nothing to learn from fighting me, yup yup..." "Timburr? Where is everybody? Oh no--Valence is here right now, right?" Petra continued scurrying past the Pokemon to go upstairs, presumably out of the Guild entirely. She must've meant Valence's home outside the Guild-- normally, she's fine if Valence is in the same building as her, so the logical conclusion is that she must not be, right now. As to 'where is everybody', Timburr briefly takes that same shameful expression that Bidoof has, though he recovers faster and shrugs, conspicuously lifting up the wooden beam he always has with him while doing so, as if trying to not-so-subtly show off how easy it is for him to lift it. Timburr: "S'the middle of the day, bro." Timburr: "Everyone's out adventuring." Timburr: "Me n' Machop......" Timburr: "Well, everyone's too chicken to team up with us." Timburr: "And two's not an Exploration Team, even if it's the two most badass dudes in the Guild." Bidoof: "And I don't have one either, yup yup..."
Petra Soroka	The solution is plainly obvious, and yet obstructed by the clear difference in attitude between the three Pokemon. As talk of fights and training gets passed around, though, in from the open arch that leads outside, to the training grounds in the cliffside, comes a flash of brown and cream motion faster than the eye can see. A shockwave-like blast of displaced air ruffles all the greenery in the chamber, and after that burst of ExtremeSpeed, a long, ferret-like Pokemon slowly rises to his back two paws beside all of you. Furret: "So, Otherworlders, interested in a fight, are you?" Furret: "It was quite irrrrrresponsible of me to not assess your skills before the Expedition, so I quite thank you for offering to demonstrate for me now." Furret: "And while you're at it, whhhhy not show these rascals a thing or two?" Furret: "They're all struggling, you know." Timburr looks absolutely mortified, then immediately fiery with determined anger, hoisting the beam above his head and whirling on Kale. Timburr: "Furret--!!" Timburr: "Fine! You! Me! Outside!" Timburr: "I'll show you I'm the best!" Petra: "We're fighting, huh?" Petra appears back at the top of the stairs, having ran all the way down to the village and back. She'd seem triumphant, in her recovered health and bravado, but with Valence behind her, towel wrapped around her ears, she seems more like she's about to announce that it's her turn on the Xbox. Petra: "I haven't gotten a chance to, yet!" Petra: "Not when you all left, and I was just stuck here!" Petra: "So count me in, fuck yeah." Valence yawns, shuffling behind Petra after she scrambles down to rejoin the group, waving with the paw of hers that isn't holding some sort of novel with a pink and black cover. Valence: "My. So much energy." Valence: "Enjoy working that energy out, kids." Valence: "I'll be with Liligant if you've got any need for me, besides letting that little alien play around with you." Valence: "It's nice seeing you all!~"
Kale Hearthward	"Hmmf, I wasn't warmed up last time we fought... now, I'm ready to go! You won't even be a speed bump on my road to victory!" Kaleduo starts stretching. He double-takes when Furret extremespeeds on in ("Wait, can we learn that?") and then Right Kale grins a bit. "So they're all struggling, are they?" "Sure, we'll help impart some of our combat expertise~" says Right Kale with insufferable superiority. "Whatever, I just want to fight." Onward to the battlefield!
Aidan Proudpick	Big red and yellow eyes turn to Cinder. Dang it. He got the same color as Cinder. "I should have gone with purple..." he mutters to himself. Still, there's a smile on the Patrat's face, waving a stubby arm at the cyndaquil. "Hey!" Aidan frowns at the disappointment, whispering back, "There's challenge, and then there's being crushed, I don't want to see him get hurt." A wave wave towards Valence, lifting a his own stubby hand. A book? Wait, they have books here? He is surprised and taken aback both by the book AND Petra saying 'fuck' here. It doesn't fit into his consequence free adventure bubble! PatAidan then puts a finger towards Machop. "So what! That just means Bidoof is willing to try! And not rub it in people's faces! Which makes Bidoof," AidanRat folds his arms as he moves over to stand next to Bidoof, "a great expeditioner."
Angela	Cinder doesn't quite catchup before Petra's left the building--and while she's distracted with Timburr and Machop, Petra arrives before she manages to pry herself free, gaze turned towards Furret as she mentions an interest in fights. "I don't know, I mean, I can fight anywhere and this isn't exactly--" ''We're fighting, huh? I haven't gotten a chance to, yet! ... So count me in, fuck yeah.'' "Let's do it." Cinder decides, straightening up, approaching Petra. "Looks like it went faster this time, I guess maybe because ... there wasn't ... as much ... buildup? " She extends a flipper arm towards Valence. "Thanks Val for helping Petra again! Nice seeing you too!" She is just so happy that Valence is consistently helping Petra with herr ... problem. She thinks over Furret's words in full rather than just dismissing it out of hand now that she has agreed to fight (because Petra wanted to). She says, "Well... I wouldn't say I'm an experrt or anything, but we did get good experience on the Expedition." It was pretty spooky, though, especially that last one until Spinda saved the day! That's how Cinder sees it!
Dysnomia	Furrett descended, making a dramatic landing, and their air of command would have made her stand straight up, if she'd had legs, or shoulders. Almost mechanically, she raised her tail to her head in a salute. "Yes si..." She took a moment, giving a full-body shiver before she finished. "...Sounds good. We could use some more practice in these bodies, couldn't we?" Taking a few moments to surveil her options, Mia rapidly saw each of those options slip away from her, one by one. Petra and Cinder found each other, Aiden picked a fight with someone big enough to step on him, Kale did...What Kale did, and made new enemies immediately. And Mia was still alone. Momentarily seized by the neck by the same reflex of panic when a student is left picked last for team drills, Dysnomia slithered toward Sougo and Woz, raising her head to look at them at eye level. "What do you say?"
Timespace Riders	"Fifteen!" "Fifteen times in a row. So he's probably right... he's got nothing to learn from fighting me, yup yup..." "Indeed," says Woz, his smug feline countenance punctuated with an upwards turn of his nose. "For a fight to be so named, it must involve at least two who would fight. 'Working hard' and 'fifteen times,' from the same mouth. My, what a story those words tell," he says, theatrically lighting a paw upon his chin, as his tail question-mark curls and dips behind his back. That just means Bidoof is willing to try! The amusement fades from him, replaced with frank unimpressedness. "Truly? It would seem," the retainer continues, arms spread grandiloquently wide as his tail deposits a mysterious book into a waiting paw, "That I have no need of this book. For I see and hear in the present moment that where Machop's well of learning has been overdrawn," Woz supposes, his arms falling to his side as he tucks the book close, "Bidoof's lies in disuse." His nose twitches in irritation. "Throwing oneself at a stronger opponent repeatedly and learning nothing is not 'trying.' 'Hoping' is the word you think of, Aidan Proudpick." "Woz," Sougo gently scolds, shaking his head and speaking no more of it. "Hey, Bidoof, listen. If you're serious about wanting to get stronger, and working hard, Woz and I can help you. Then," he says, with bright-eyed enthusiasm, "Timburr and Machop will have to take you on, once they see how you've improved--UWOH!" Sougo is nearly bowled over in surprise at Furret's entrance. What do you say? Sougo pauses thoughtfully, for only a fleeting moment, before he brightly bobs his head up and down in assent. "Well, okay!" "Um... how about... I'll take you on, Mia. And, Bidoof," he says, smiling wide, "Since everyone else is gonna do it anyway, why don't you show Woz what you can do? Woz..." He turns to his retainer, giving him an absolutely insidious puppy-dog look. The retainer sighs, "At once, sire," he says, tucking the book away with one paw and placing the other over his chest. He dips, a brief bow at the waist, and rises, sweeping a paw in a gesture of challenge to Bidoof, before nodding towards the door. "I will allow you the first swing," says the retainer to Bidoof, stancing up outside in the courtyard. Sougo, meanwhile, bounds a few yards over and stretches, basking for a moment in the sunlight before doing a little four-legged shuffle. "I'm ready," he cheerfully announces to Mia.
Petra Soroka	Out through the arch Furret entered from, and the Pokemon all find themselves on a natural grass and rock field that borders the cliff edge the Guild is built into. Overhead, far higher than the tallest Pokemon, there's a partial ceiling of rock, supporting the upper floors of the Guild. To the side, a cliff that plunges straight down, with the forest and, at a distance, the sea, visible below. As you file out, Valence calls out airily, in the same tone as 'be back inside by dinner', prompting Petra to scoff irritatedly, electricity sparking out of her cheeks to make Cinder's fur stand on end. Valence: "Be careful not to let Petra fall off the cliff!" Valence: "She won't be able to keep her charge balanced long enough to get back up, so she'll need help." Furret is, again, outside before anyone else, his movement marked only by another blast of wind, strong enough to send loose rocks on the cliff tumbling off, and strong enough for its tug on you to make you briefly worry about suffering the same. They rub their paws together as the Pokemon pair up, which seems to be the exact moment that Petra realizes she's been paired up. "Looks like it went faster this time, I guess maybe because ... there wasn't ... as much ... buildup? " Petra: "Oh, yeah." Petra: "Normally it's not that fast at all." Petra: "I guess it's probably because I got her help right when I started feeling it." Petra: "So it was dealt with pretty quick." Petra is blithely conversational while unleashing the string of innuendo, only saved by not having any reason to insist that 'this never happens'. From the distinctly uncomfortable look that flashes across her face when Cinder refers to Valence as 'Val', she's probably not dryly joking around, but her spirits recover very quickly afterwards. Petra: "Oh, wait--" Petra: "You mean, me and you?" Petra: "Sparring?" Petra: "W-well, I guess we never really get the opportunity to, at work, so..." Petra's eyes fall down from Cinder's face to the scarf around her neck. Some train of thought crosses her mind over a few seconds of silence, and a faint pink blush suffuses the non-blue parts of her face. Petra: "A-and. Well." Petra: "You know." Petra: "I still-- still won't be able to come with you on whatever's-- whatever's next." Petra: "So, it's just good, for me to help make sure you-- you get used to fighting like this, a bit." After everyone's paired up, Petra positions herself in a corner of the yard along with Cinder. She suddenly looks briefly unsure, muttering something to herself while the atmosphere's charge tangibly starts to shift. Cinder realizes something, in the moment before electricity blasts out from every direction away from Petra, certainly not restricted to just being aimed at her-- Petra hasn't fought in this world at all before.
Petra Soroka	"Sure, we'll help impart some of our combat expertise~" Timburr: "Yeah? Expertise?" Timburr: "I wiped the floor with you last time, man." Timburr: "You ain't anything compared to me." Timburr: "You get back from one Expedition and think you're tough Taillow, but I bet you barely even fought at all." Timburr: "I'll show you expertise, bro." Timburr sweeps his beam up to lay it across his shoulders, deliberately flourishing it out so it barely avoids hitting Kale and others, then saunters out to the field. He is unaware of Kale's 4X attack stat. "So what! That just means Bidoof is willing to try! And not rub it in people's faces!" Machop seems slightly taken aback to actually be addressed directly, and instinctively looks over to Timburr for support. Timburr is, however, totally engaged with Kale, busy huffing and puffing out his chest, which leaves Machop alone and forced to rise to the challenge of an extremely mild provocation from a rat boy. Machop: "Erm..." Machop: "Yeah, well..." Machop: "Well, he's still a pansy, even if he's trying!" Machop: "Yeah. That's right." Machop: "Still too weak to beat Timburr no matter how much he tries." Machop: "Not that it's easy to beat Timburr, he's, like, the strongest dude I know, he's so cool." Machop: "Which means Bidoof is..." Machop: "That Bidoof losing to Timburr is..." Machop: "............" Machop: "Whatever! I'm tough too, dude! So if you wanna fight, come at me!" "Which makes Bidoof, a great expeditioner." Bidoof, timidly hiding in Aidan's shadow the moment he's given an opportunity, makes an embarrassed chuckle at this. Bidoof: "Well, gosh." Bidoof: "I'd sure love if I was." Bidoof: "Maybe someday, huh?" "Since everyone else is gonna do it anyway, why don't you show Woz what you can do?" Bidoof, who's just been shrinking at Woz's continual disdain towards him, looks up at Sougo (who's even shorter than Bidoof would be if he wasn't gradually pressing himself closer to the floor in an effort to seem smaller) with wide eyes. Like a cornered animal, his eyes dart over to Woz without moving his head, but after a moment, and after Woz (reluctantly) agrees... Bidoof: "... Yup, yup!" Bidoof: "If you're willing to help out a weakling like me, then I've best give it my best shot!" Bidoof: "Ol' Bidoof's never been meant for this, I'll give you that, yup yup." Bidoof: "But that means I've got to try even harder!" Outside, in pairs: Each of the Guildmembers take their first swings at their respective partners at Furret's signal. The yard is plenty big enough to accomodate the half-dozen pairs, spread out, though there's varying levels of comfort between being under the rock wall and adjacent to the cliff. Timburr opens with a smug Leer, hefting the beam like it's beneath him to even need to swing it at Kale, then following up the distraction with a Low Kick to Kale's knees!
Petra Soroka	Machop tries to mimic Timburr's cool (to him) pre-battle poses, but swaggering works a lot less well when lacking the wooden club that's instrumental in all of Timburr's gesturing. After fumbling for a bit, he goes in for a punch upwards at Aidan, trying to Knock Off his scarf! Petra Soroka uses Discharge! It targets Everyone! Bidoof, opposite Woz, piles up a few rocks that are left over after Furret knocked them over. Bidoof: "R-ready when you are, sir!" 'Ready' apparently means a Rollout of a single, small rock, launched across the ground at decently high speeds. Throughout all of this, Furret seems to vanish, until appearing besides both the Elites and the native Pokemon in flash steps of speed. He appears mid-attack, adjusting posture and aim with paws or his long tail, like a karate teacher with hyperspeed reflexes, trying to fix mistakes when he sees them.
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan puffs already puffy cheeks. "That's why I'm saying! He needs to work his way up! You don't know that he's not learning!" Aidan fails his wisdom check to understand projecting. He turns back, "Come on! I'm sure you can do great!" He reaches over to grab Bidoof by the cheek fluff, "Don't listen to him. You just gotta try something new! Do something completely different!" Part of Aidan believes, part of Aidan just doesn't want to be proven wrong. Bidoof isn't an elite. He probably can't do much, but, "You are gonne be an expeditioner!" He lets go of Bidoof's fluff, looking eye to eye. "Because you can do anything if you work hard enough!" OUTSIDE: Aidan watches Machop. He's tired, weakened, but he can do one thing, at least. Figuring Machop will go for a hefty blow immediately, Aidan's eyes suddenly FLASH. The fist floats through the air, moving as if through molasses to Aidan's SPECIAL EYES. The patrat scampers along the ground up to the Machop, going for a vicious BITE at his leg. Dark seems to bypass everything, and Aidan isn't going to question it! This moment is corrected in mid bite as the Furret twists his body a little more so that he can get a better angle on the bite.
Kale Hearthward	> "You get back from one Expedition and think you're tough Taillow, but I bet you barely even fought at all. I'll show you expertise, bro." "Yeah? I'll have you know - I've been on a lot more than one expedition!" "Just not here. Or with this form. Or these moves." "Will you stop undercutting yourself?" Battle time. Timburr used Leer! Kaleduo's defenses lowered! Timburr used Low Kick! It would be only 1/2 effective, but to be dual-typed normal is to suffer. Petra used Discharge. It's super effective! "Hey! Watch it!" "Nevermind that - Swords Dance time!" Kaleduo uses Swords Dance! Kale's attack stat rose even higher! Swords Dance, it turns out, has one fatal flaw that wasn't immediately apparent during the previous boss encounter: It looks really heckin' goofy. Kaleduo is boppin', slidin', shufflin', and dancing without any real sense of style. Or rhythm. Or grace. It's sorta like someone just imported Kaleduo to a 3D animation program and is making him move by clicking and dragging the different parts of his model, one or two at a time. "And - take THIS! Powerful Peck Attack!" "It's just called peck-" "SHUT." Kaleduo closes in on Timburr and goes to slam both beaks into him, one after the other!
Dysnomia	Dysnomia curled herself up like a spring eyes focused on Sougo, her wing-ears curled back, flat against her head. Her stare had held onto its errie radiance, even here, in this body. "You've adapted well to this, you know." She said to Sougo. "Are you enjoying it too, these little dreams away from our worlds...?" Dysnomia: "Isn't it nice, for a little breather?" Dysnomia: "That for a while, it doesn't--" Dysnomia used Dragon Rush! Dysnomia: "--MATTER!" Her body tensed, shooting forward with sudden force, scattering sand behind her in a shower. and she propelled her toward Sougo at breakneck speed. It was then, THEN that electricity began to arc from Petra, Dysnomia's eyes widened at the familiar smell of swelling ozone, recognizing what would come next. But she was already in the air, made a missle. The blast of electricity from Petra arced across the battlefield and through Dysnomia. It's not very effective, but its enough to send Mia's trajectory askew; to what end, she didn't know.
Angela	Cinder glances towards Sougo and Woz for a moment and bites at her lip--she's not upset so much as thoughtful. Before she figures out what to say (don't worry she wasn't going to figure out what to say even though she knows the general content), Valence asks for Petra to come back for Dinner and Cinder's own fur gets nice and prickly but Cinder thinks it's sweet that Valence is offering free food on top of being called upon so often just to keep Petra regular. ''Be careful not to let Petra fall off the cliff!'' "She won't fall off the cliff!" She vows. ''She won't be able to keep her charge balanced long enough to get back up, so she'll need help.'' "She's really strong I'm sure that won't happen!" She hopes. Petra agrees that it's not normally so fast and--the reason makes sense to her. "Yeah I guess if it's a matter of build up, getting to it sooner will only help..." She glances to Petra but th strange look is gone before she can interrogate it too deeply. And someting else comes up real quickly besides. She cheerfully makes her way along with Petra before realizing, "Oh! You mean, we're sparring with each other?" She'd probably go into a full meltdown just from the idea of full contact sparring with Petra if they weren't presently fuzzy animals. But maybe that's a good thing, Cinder thinks, she'll be able to keep her head in the game! "Alright I'm ready--" Cinder leaps to one corner away from the position she was a moment before and promptly flies right into one of Petra's aimless electrical blasts. She flops onto the ground, smoking gently. "W..wah... that's...incredible. Despite this being your first match, you already knew to aim where I was going to be instead of where I was...!" Cinder struggles back up to her paws and then says, "But I'm not out yet! Cinder... use Fire Charge!" She rolls up into a ball, the flame on her back igniting as she rolls towards Petra speedily! "Here I ROLL!"
Aidan Proudpick	Aidan IS also briefly distracted by Kale looking like a Source Filmaker meme.
Timespace Riders	Woz is so given to tricks and deception that it makes sense he's here as a Pokemon known for Prankster antics. Bidoof (and, to his annoyance, Petra, with her indiscriminate attack) does get to -swing- first. Even so, he quickly Hones his Claws with a brisk, spark-flinging scrape. Giving his singed tail a flick and casting away the soot, he does actually seem impressed with Bidoof's attack. "I see," he says, struck by the projectile, rocking slightly from the impact, but holding his ground as it breaks against him. "You don't lack for strength. But I believe I see the issue. Observe." In a single bound, Woz clears the distance between them, his form becoming an ill-defined streak of purple and cream. The glint of his claws flashes purple in a skillfully executed Night Slash a moment later, hitting harder not only for his keen placement but his sharpened claws, as well. As a backwash of dust rushes forward to meet him, he explains: "Know your opponent--if you cannot outlast him, you will not defeat him with conservative attacks that invite him to put his strength forward quickly. Either hone your offense and strike decisively as I do, or learn to endure his." Isn't it nice, that for a while, it doesn't-- "Yeah!" Sougo beams brightly at Mia. MATTER! "HUUOUH!!" cries Sougo, who, despite having said he was ready, is clearly taken by complete surprise at Dysmonia getting fired up. His buffoonish cry transitions to cartoonish gibbering during the brief contact with Petra's electrifying saturation bomb. Mia ends up striking a glancing blow despite her altered trajectory, for much the same reason--Sougo's control of his body depends on not being electrocuted! Rolling with the impact and coming back up, his claws dig into the grass and help him keep his footing as they carve little furrows. "It's been nice for you, too, hasn't it? I'm glad." Sougo grins brightly, then leaps into the air, his hind leg extended in a kick. A red-blue drill bit gradually fades into existence around his paw, spinning rapidly--he begins to Dig when he impacts the grass again, erupting forcefully from the earth to hit Mia with a rising kick!
Petra Soroka	Aidan's Bite lands on Machop's leg, making him yelp with surprise as his followthrough almost knocks him over. He twists around for a Low Kick, exactly like Timburr's, to take advantage of Aidan being ducked down in the strike zone, and nearly falls over before Furret rushes into place beside him, adjusting tweaks of his shoulder and foot placement with blurred-fast limbs, to let him smoothly transition between being attacked and attacking. Machop: "Hey!" Machop: "What's the deal with you and Kale aggroing on me and Timburr so hard?" Machop: "Are you a pair like us?" Machop starts getting really excited at that idea, the hotheaded antagonism fizzling away as he pumps his fists, Focusing his Energy. It's easy enough to gather that Aidan and Kale know each other from how they treat each other-- and Machop doesn't know anything about Aidan having any friendship with Bidoof before this. Machop: "Oh, shit, dude, we could be rivals." Machop: "Lots of Exploration Teams have rivals!" Machop: "And you'd be my rival, yo!" Machop: "Since the other one's obviously your leader!" "Nevermind that - Swords Dance time!" Timburr: "Huh?" Timburr: "You're not even attacking, bro." Timburr: "Are you just wasting my time? Man, I thought you'd take this seriously." Timburr, just like many of us, fails to see the value in status-enhancing moves. He sags a bit, letting his wooden beam smash into the ground, seeming genuinely disappointed. Preparing to finish off the fight by hurling the wood at Kale, he's completely taken off-guard by the peck-- and even more surprised when he's instantly taken out by it, thrown down against the field so hard he skitters close to the edge from knockback alone.
Petra Soroka	"Oh! You mean, we're sparring with each other?" Petra: "Oh." Petra: "I thought you meant that." The two-layered miscommunication doesn't seem to bother Petra very much. Her smile doesn't fade at all when she looks around to see that everyone else is already matched up into one-on-ones, so they've got no choice but to face each other. She then proceeds to blindly zap everyone. "Despite this being your first match, you already knew to aim where I was going to be instead of where I was...!" Petra: "Ah-- well--" Petra, dazed from the aftermath of the Discharge as usual, feels like her mind is stuffed with cotton until the electrical imbalance repairs itself. When it does, she stammers a bit at Cinder's (direly misplaced) praise, and proceeds to not correct her at all. Petra: "Well!" Petra: "It's not like-- it's not like it's my first time fighting at all!" Petra: "That's just a fundamental; I can totally go harder once I'm used to it!" " Cinder... use Fire Charge!" "Here I ROLL!" Petra is momentarily confused, until the fire envelops Cinder, and then she can't help herself from collapsing into a laughing fit, giggling and ugly snorting accompanied by the crackling of electricity. Petra: "Ahahaha!" Petra: "Are you shouting out attack names?!" Petra: "You goof!" Petra: "Okay, okay." The errant electricity around Petra starts coalescing rather than dispersing outwards, forming a dense sphere of flickering lightning around her. Rather than jumping out of the way of Cinder's flame charge, she crouches down in place, clearly intending on launching herself facefirst into it instead. Petra: "Um-- P-Petra uses... Volt Tackle!" Petra: "Faster than-- no, that's not-- maybe, Strike like-- that sucks, I-- waugh--!" Petra is incapable of coming up with a pun before being forced to match Cinder's rolling ball of fire with herself, causing both of them to explode. "Either hone your offense and strike decisively as I do, or learn to endure his." Bidoof is knocked clean away by Woz's Night Strash, scattering the rocks he'd piled up. Struggling back up to his feet, Bidoof takes the advice with a very serious huff and nod, with his fighting spirit almost visibly rekindling. Bidoof: "Don't think I'm one for heavy-hitting like that, yup yup." Bidoof: "Maybe you n' Timburr will always have one over me, there." Bidoof: "But if there's one thing I know how to do..." Bidoof: "It's try my gosh-dang hardest!" Scrounging from the debris, Bidoof picks up another, much bigger rock, and uses his entire body to roll it as hard as he can at Woz. Bidoof: "So if that's what it takes!" Bidoof: "Then I'll always keep trying! Yup yup!"
Aidan Proudpick	"We are not a pair!" "HE IS NOT MY LEADER!!!" The Low Kick flashes out. Aidan is swept up in it, his legs cut out from under him. He's tired. Too tired. He still feels like he's been through a laundry mangler several times. Worse yet, the blow HAMMERS into Aidan, causing much more damage than he expected, smashing him over. What the void is that. "I mean, we could be rivals, sure." The sudden change takes Aidan offguard. In the Elite space, it would be a death sentence. Around here it might be... Fun? Aidan's teeth glimmer a brilliant gold, shining in the light as he tries to bury them into the Machop! HYPER FANG. It's Not Very Effective. Didn't Kale ramble something about type- DETECT fails! Machop FOCUSES for a mighty punch. "Oh." Aidan flashes his eyes again. The mighty punch is going to come! DETECT FAILS. Aidan is wide open for the coming blow.
Dysnomia	Dysnomia hit the ground with a bounce and a tumble, not as elegant as she'd hoped, but all it took was a twist and she was right-side up again. She hadn't landed far from Sougo, and she pulled back her head and neck into an S shape, like a snake. "It takes some getting used to, but, I'm seeing the other side of it. But, that doesn't mean I'll let myself LOSE!" She lunged for Sougo as he leapt, but couldn't get to him in time to keep him from touching the ground burrowing into it. Dysnomia laughed; in this body, a high pitched, squeaky chirp. "Oh, you tricky little..." She said, twirling her body. She began to glow. Dysnomia Used Dragon Danc-- The ground fractured before she could finish, as Sougo rose from the earth, his paw digging sharply into Dysnomia's white underbelly. The dragon rises with Sougo into the air from the momentum of the strike, carried up and falling back down to earth with a hard THUMP. For a moment, she's still. And then, she stirred. Pushed herself back up, her eyes shining with a vibrant spark. "That all you got?" She taunted, in a tone that said, I don't want this to end!
Timespace Riders	The rock is simply too large for Woz to safely block, and too fast to evade--so he attempts to meet it with force. He half-succeeds, shattering the rock but not without getting pelted by its still very fast-moving fragments. "Good," says Woz curtly--not dismissively, but as a teacher might, adopting his poised stance after the force of the impacts has passed. "There are those with the knowledge to aid you in perfecting your defenses. When our bout is completed, I will tell you who to seek." He flexes his claws, their honed points glinting in the sun. "For now..." --- I don't, either... The spark in his eyes seems to meet the one in hers. One could swear that there is a tangible ignition in the air at the meeting. This is the happiest I've seen her! He laughs warmly--"Not even close to all I got," Sougo fires back, his hind legs pawing at the dirt in preparation for a charge. I've still got a Trump Card or two up my sleeve, haha!" He does--and it's fairly likely that he'll be sparring with her for a good while after Woz and Bidoof.
Angela	Cinder's fuzzy cheeks pinken and her backflame sputters which in Cyndaquil physiology means she's feeling a bit BASHFUL. Petra promises to TOTALLY GO HARDER and Cinder doesn't doubt that she can manage it! If she really wants to win she better go hard on her--and fast! But that's just it really, Cinder doesn't actually want to win this fight she just wants to have a good time with Petra so going vicious and trying to take down Petra quickly isn't something she really wants to do. It seems cheap, too. And besides, she helplessly starts giggling when Petra calls her a goof. She feels like a goof, but--like--in a good way. It's nice. She doesn't think she needs to harden a shell around herself, she doesn't think she needs to brutalize as hard as possible to keep herself safe, she doesn't have to hide from killer machines or Sweepers--she can just ... Relax. And be happy. It's nice. Petra's life is so grand and big and wild she is just so happy she gets to be a part of it. Her breath comes in sharply as she barely suppresses a little bubbling giggle as Petra shouts out an attack name of her own. They explode! When the smoke clears, Cinderquill has rolled over onto her belly, smoking gently and keeps on giggling in that position. "Hey... Hey Petra... Petra guess what?" She sniggers. "This has been...eheheh.... This has been a BLAST."