Pokémon Umbral ~ Ruinous Origins Mission 2, Chapter 2
 

Armored Bishoujo: "Okay, here's the spill. Due to some security token thing or whatever, my post went up in flames and I can't get it back. So, instead of writing up about two and a half hours of post, I'm just going to do one big synopsis. Here we go."

About Impact's Team: "Cradily and Hitmonlee took great damage. The remaining Narchams are down. Phantomere has taken great damage as well thanks to Metagross's sacrifice. Pierce's Metagross, not Rachel's."

About Renny's Team: "Once more, good on hurting the enemy Pokémon. Renny and Shannon put down the rest of the zombies. By the way, Charlotte, Lola revived Latios as per Renny's orders and Latios, ahem, convinced Pike the Manetric to return to his Pokéball. So now you have Latios and Buck deployed. Don't forget."

About Tsubasa and Chizuru: "They unleashed their Signature Sequence, Storm of Stalagmites, wiping out all six enemy Pokémon, severely wounding all three trainers, and putting the hurt down on Phantomere."

So what does Phantomere do?: "Phantomere undergoes a Paradigm Shift of sorts, turning into a larger, more hideous version of itself. And like all desperate monsters, he turns on his own comrades, murdering the twin Pokébrids and all of their Pokémon in a savage double-cross. Using his necromantic powers, Phantomere returns the twins and all twelve of their Pokémon to unlife. Now Phantomere is nearly invisible and impervious to damage."

How does this change things?: "It's different from previous undead encounters in that the ability of one of the Pokémon, Hippowdon, actually works when a sandstorm kicks off. Rachel hasn't revived Tyranitar yet, so that can only mean one thing. These Pokémon and their former trainers seem to be able to use their known moves and abilities as though they weren't undead. Be careful because that'll make this much different from fighting normal zombies."

Wait, what about Harliette?: "Despite being more wounded than the twin, Harliette manages to escape joining her employers in undeath and eternal service to Phantomere. With no remaining comrades, she makes the smartest of the choices she could make and temporarily joins your side, under the orders of Renny. So now Renny's got five women around him. What a stud. Harliette still has three Pokémon, and will fight alongside one of them, her Kangeskhan."

Can we get that scouter data?: "Sure, it's the least I can do. Oh, before I give it to you, lemme say one thing. The Signature Sequence destroyed a massive staircase that was the primary obstruction which kept your teams separate. So now anyone can use any move on anyone. Keep that in mind. Now, the scouter data for all twelve Pokémon."

Cradily (Rock/Grass) [Female] (Wyatt's Pokémon 1)
Moves: Gastro Acid / Energy Ball / Ancient Power / Confuse Ray
Ability: Suction Cups

Hitmonlee (Fighting) [Male] (Wyatt's Pokémon 2)
Moves: Close Combat / Mega Kick / Blaze Kick / Focus Blast
Ability: Limber

Kabutops (Rock/Water) [Female] (Wyatt's Pokémon 3)
Moves: Night Slash / Ancient Power / Slash / Giga Drain
Ability: Battle Armor

Azumarill (Water) [Male] (Wyatt's Pokémon 4)
Moves: Hydro Pump / Double-Edge / Ice Beam / Brick Beam
Ability: Huge Power

Forretress (Bug/Steel) [Male] (Wyatt's Pokémon 5)
Moves: Zap Cannon / Double-Edge / Flash Cannon / Solar Beam
Ability: Sturdy

Zangoose (Normal) [Male] (Wyatt's Pokémon 6)
Moves: Close Combat / X-Scissor / Frustration / Iron Tail
Ability: Immunity

Breloom (Grass/Fighting) [Male] (Whitney's Pokémon 1)
Moves: Giga Drain / Dynamic Punch / Stun Spore / Drain Punch
Ability: Effect Spore

Persian (Normal) [Female] (Whitney's Pokémon 2)
Moves: Return / Night Slash / Power Gem / Feint
Ability: Limber

Heracross (Bug/Fighting) [Male] (Whitney's Pokémon 3)
Moves: Megahorn / Close Combat / Aerial Ace / Take Down
Ability: Guts

Seviper (Poison) [Female] (Whitney's Pokémon 4)
Moves: Poison Jab / Night Slash / Toxic / Iron Tail
Ability: Shed Skin

Tropius (Grass/Flying) [Male] (Whitney's Pokémon 5)
Moves: Leaf Storm / Air Slash / Body Slam / Silver Wind
Ability: Chlorophyll

Hippowdon (Ground) [Female] (Whitney's Pokémon 6)
Moves: Double-Edge / Earthquake / Crunch / Stone Edge
Ability: Sand Stream

"Factor in a fully awake Omnisroth, a Pulverot, Phantomere himself and the two Pokébrids and this is going to be a wild free-for-all."

So what's the strategy?: "Phantomere is out of touch, which leaves you with everything else. Treat these zombies like they weren't zombies. And since all of the Pokémon are deployed anyways, you can off Wyatt and Whitney first if you so choose. Defeating Hippowdon will get rid of the sandstorm if that means anything to you. Anyways, you have initiative. Stay on your toes and prepare to alter your tactics as the battle flows."

Renny watched with undivided attention as the Kimono duos harnessed through a combination of charisma and skill the total and utter clusterfuck of power that laid wrath to the entire battlefield. The end result was a envious sight as all the opposing pokemons were knocked out and everyone else on their side horribly battered. The collateral damage was also incredibly significant as his group was no longer seperated from the others.

"Incredible! Utterly amazing!"

Nothing could have prepared the inexperienced leader for what came next. Wounded and likely highly embarressed, Phantomere selfishly killed off poor Whitney and Wyatt. The resulting metamorphsis phased the Ruin General out like the phantasm that its name sake was. Renny shouted out with frustration and concern to the other trainer left behind."

"Get out of there! He'll kill you too!"

Renny was spellbounded as necromancy and dark arts was cast, reviving the pokebrids and their charges as zombies. As the sandstorm kicked up as a result of one of the pokemon, Renny shouted to the rest of the group as suprising Harliette joined Renny in his group.

"These zombies still have their abilities! Treat them as if they were normal pokemons, maybe stronger! You be careful too. Lola, Bounce that Breloom!"

Renny observed the field, attempting to find suitable targets to cut them down before it was too late. Choosing a few select targets to focus on, he gave out orders with all the urgency and less of the ressurance and praise he tended to do.

"Shaymin! Seed Flare that Kabutops! Latias, Psychic on Hitmonlee! Charlotte, that Forretress should go down fast with your Arcanine's fire attacks! Shannon, use Starmie's Ice Beam on Tropicus!"

The pokemons all attempted to unleashed their barrages of attacks as they crisscrossed to impact their designated target. Despite all this, Renny could not help but overlook the looming figure of Phantomere who might very well be plotting to make them his next victims.

"Tsubasa, is there any way you can seal off Phantomere as he is? If not, I'll let you do as you see fit!"

-----------------
AB: You said that Pierce could attempt to date Whitney... Did you intend for Pierce to date her before or after the zombification?

Requested Lola to use Bounce so she attacks Breloom on next turn for quad effective damage and 30% paralysis chance while protecting her from being targetted until the field gets a bit more clear.
Shaymin uses Seed Flare on Kabutops for Quad effective STAB damage.
Latias to use Psychic on Hitmonlee for super effective STAB damage.
Request Shannon to use Starmie's Ice Beam on Tropicus for Quad effective damage.
Requests/Asks Tsubasa if if is possible for her to use Wire Prison on Phantomere effectively. Otherwise, just plain out attack.

Advised Charlotte to use fire attacks on Forretress.

"Spits, its your turn again," Charlotte said as she swapped out Buck for Spitz the Mightyena, "go for the Omnisroth with a Super-Fang." She would have kept Buck out and kept back Latios, but he had forced himself into the fight and made that impossible for the moment. Spitz let out a disdaninful growl, feeling that he was being used solely for his ability to use that attack, but went through with the order regardless, remembering Charlotte kicking him last time he attempted to run from an Omnisroth.

"You," she said to Latios, slightly less enthusiastically, "use psychic on the snake." The legendary seemed to be slightly resentful about not getting a shot in at Phantomere, but followed orders and released a psychic assault on the enemy Seviper.

Charlotte obviously wasn't impressed with Latios's first impression. Maybe he would redeem himself, but Charlotte probably would let him go when this ended. Who knows, perhaps she could even find some other use for him. Lots of people would be interested in the possibility of seeing or owning a Latios. Maybe willing to pay. Charlotte didn't care too much for tpokemon besides her hounds. Hammond was just an abstract choice that happened to make a good first impression.

Pierce was disgusted as he handed Rachel Metagross' pokeball so she could heal it. "What the hell is wrong with you? I thought you fucking Ruin Generals were supposed to be tough! All I've seen you do so far is steal strength from everyone around you, you bastard!" He yelled at the invisible Phantomere.

"Tch, fine." He muttered, as he tossed Blaziken's pokeball. "BLAZE!" cried the pokemon as he materialized. "Kingdra, Dragon Pulse on that Omnisroth! Blaziken, get that Gallade with Shadow Claw!" Kingdra fired the turquoise ball fo energy at the Omnisroth while Blaziken slashed Wyatt with a claw made up of ethereal energy.

So this was it. The battle had been going on for quite a while, of course, but that had seemed... dilute. Too many distractions, too many factors, and, in a way, too easy. This was better. You were far more likely to die, far more likely to kill. This was raw, primal. this was battle. And he loved it. The rest of his team was already buzzing into action around him, and he joined it. He heard Renny give his orders (he had hoped that Charlotte could contribute with a Super Fang, but oh well), and prepared to give his own.

"Right... Matt, I´d order another sleep powder on Omnisroth, but I have a feeling it wouldn´t work. So next best thing... You can use screech, can´t you? On Omnisroth, please. Chizuru, we can´t kill Omnisroth this turn. Can you use your taunt technique on all Ruin types? That´ll prevent interference, for one turn at least. Have Girgatina hit Gallade, please. I´d join you, but I have an Pulverot to weaken. Rachel, pick your own targets. Hit whatever´s most likely to die. Let us commence."

His plan was to reduce the numbers of pokemon standing against them this turn, then hit the Ruin types next turn. He really didn't want to get hit by any of them. He himself was most effective against Ruin pokemon, so that was what he'd be targeting. He just hoped he could get everyone to cooperate.

(Completely having writers block tonight. Matt uses screech on the Omnisroth. I'll try and update this before AB's post goes up)

Ruin General Boss Fight Synopsis (Allied Force)
Lola: Begins Bounce. Damage and fanservice to commence on next turn.
Shaymin: Zombie Kabutops has been defeated.
Latias: Zombie Hitmonlee has taken great damage.
Starmie: Zombie Tropius has taken severe damage. Zombie Tropius is frozen.
Tsubasa: Signature Technique "Wire Prison" is used. Let's hope Phantomere's abilities are greatly limited by this.
Spitz: Omnisroth's health is cut by half.
Latios: Zombie Seviper has taken great damage. Special defense has fallen by 1.
Kingdra: Omnisroth has taken severe damage.
Blaziken: Zombie Wyatt has taken great damage. Critical hit.
Chizuru: Signature Technique "Solidarity Guard" is used. Ruin Pokémon are taunted, avoided, and countered. Omnisroth is still at severe damage. Pulverot has taken small damage.
Giratina: Zombie Wyatt has taken critical damage.
Metagross (Rachel's): Zombie Seviper has been defeated.
Registeel: Zombie Hitmonlee has taken severe damage.
Rachel: Metagross (Pierce's) is revived with half health. Force deployed to replace Blaziken.
Impact: Pulverot has taken great damage.
Matthias: Omnisroth's physical defense level is lowered by 2.
Kangaskhan: Zombie Hitmonlee has been defeated.
Harliette: Zombie Wyatt has been defeated.

"I'm on it!" Lola confirmed, and then took to the air.
Shaymin easily absorbed sufficient dust from the air as a result of the Kimono's Signature Sequence and sand from the sandstorm, then charged Zombie Kabutops and blasted it with Seed Flare. Kabutops swung its scythe arms awkwardly as it fell to the floor, dead.
Latias ripped into Hitmonlee with a psychic whopper. Hitmonlee clutched at its head, then with a great lurch, pulled itself together.
"Hey, you're pretty smart, shorty." Shannon said with a smile as she directed Starmie to do as Renny suggested. Tropius survived the blast of bitter cold, but fell to the ground with a strange tinking thud, indicating that Starmie had frozen in solid. "As a Rogue Pokémon, I can catch it, but since it's a zombie and I already have Jumpluff-" Shannon left it hanging. Some things were just out of reach.
"I think I can shut down any surprises he'll have for us with Wire Prison," Tsubasa guessed, then went to work. It was pretty amazing. Tsubasa started out as a visible ninja running towards Phantomere. Then as the zombie Pokémon took notice, Tsubasa shot forward like a freshly-thrown dart, leaving an afterimage. At Phantomere's side, Tsubasa bounded around like a Stantler on cocaine, setting up a tight and inescapable cage of cutting wires. Then she leapt back and landed with grace. "Here's hoping that works out for us."

Spitz was a little intimidated as it ran towards the Omnisroth, but when its big, looming six-eyed face was right before you, there was never enough courage. Still, Spitz proved his loyalty once again by cutting Omnisroth's total health in two. Then it hightailed it the hell out of there before Omnisroth decided to beat the doggie.
Latios stared down the zombie Seviper and ripped into with psychic force. Seviper jumped and bounced and went dogshit crazy from the pain. Seviper didn't look very good after that. Ha ha, it's special defense fell. Won't last much longer. And why the hell wasn't fighting the Zangoose? Those two Pokémon hated the hell out of each other. Oh fuckin' well.

Phantomere didn't respond to Pierce. Given that his greatly oversized tongue was now freely hanging out and dragging across the splintered floor, that was probably for the best. He'd probably soak everyone in disgusting saliva with just a small statement.
Rachel accepted Pierce's Metagross. "I'll have it in fighting-fit form in a moment. Don't expect it at full power, though. The moment I breathe some life into this, it'll pop right back on the battlefield."
Kingdra blasted a sizeable crater in the Omnisroth's massive face with a Dragon Pulse. But despite the obvious pain Omnisroth must have suffered from the effort, it still remained a sturdy, intimidating terror.
Blaziken put forth some extra effort and knocked Wyatt down with a brutal swipe across the face. Definitely a critical hit. Blaziken was not dicking around this fight.

"You can count on me, Impact-san," Chizuru said, then spanked her own ass. Somehow, this actually turned the attention of the Omnisroth and the Pulverot on her...as well as the attention of some other eyes. Chizuru raised her tonfas before her and set herself up to do some fancy fighting and footwork. "Go 'head, start some shit. See if I don't come o'er there and kill yo' whole force."
Tsubasa sighed. "Chizuru, don't talk like that."
"Sorry," Chizuru apologized, but she clearly wasn't serious.
The Pulverot and Omnisroth magically took the bait. Pulverot started by swiping at Chizuru with its huge claws...or rather, swiping at the space where Chizuru stood a split second ago. Chizuru was already airborne, then came down and thrust her tonfa squarely in its sensory orb. Chizuru bounced back and jumped before the Omnisroth. The Omnisroth tried to hit her in pretty much the same way, and Chizuru vanished. After the overextended swing, the Omnisroth looked quizically at its massive claw and saw Chizuru standing on it. How the hell did she get there. But the ninja didn't give an answer, she just ran right down the arm and leapt towards it face, pounding it with a blistering flurry of tonfa strikes. She kicked off of that same face and landed next to Pierce. "Giratina, Shadow Claw!"
"Watch me work!" Rachel yelled, then gave a quick glance at all of the enemy Pokémon. "Metagross, Zen Headbutt on Seviper! Registeel, Flash Cannon on Hitmonlee! Go, go, go!"
After giving commands to her Pokémon, Rachel administered a Revive to Pierce's Metagross. The moment it was revived, Metagross was out just like Latios. Metagross didn't feel like telling Blaziken to go back into the Pokéball, but Metagross was very intelligent and knew that Kingdra was going to be crucial to victory in this battle. So, it still convinced Blaziken to return. Not like it really mattered since Pierce could recall and deploy Pokémon as he wished as a free action.
Impact himself took the Pulverot by surprise, taking advantage of Chizuru stunning it previously. Impact slipped around behind and administered a flurry of thrusts with the Dragon Slave. This went well until the Pulverot swung around with a wild claw strike and knocked the sword out of Impact's hand. The sword clattered to the floor. Impact lowered his body and did a scrunched up cartwheel both to avoid losing much of his face from the Pulverot's other claw swinging around and to retrieve his sword. Impact rose from the ground and kicked the Pulverot solidly, causing it to stumble and giving Impact the window to escape back to relative safety with his comrades.

Matthias opened his mouth and blasted the Omnisroth with an ear-piercing shriek. The Omnisroth backed itself into a corner, trying to escape the sound. It tried to somehow muffle the sounds, which opened it up for a good beatdown in the future.
Shannon looked at the enemy. "Cacturne, return. Roserade, I need you now!"
When Roserade was out in the open, Shannon dramatically pointed towards the standing corpse that used to be Wyatt. "That guy looks so exhausted. Send him to bed, would you?"
Roserade seemed to smile and generating a misty sphere of netherworld energies, then hurled it with a flourish. The Shadow Ball impacted on Wyatt and finally the Pokébrid dropped. "Groovy," Shannon said.
That was everyone...well, almost everyone.
Harliette directed Kangaskhan's attention with the rusty machete. "Kangaskhan, Focus Blast on Hitmonlee."
The Hitmonlee was finally downed by that powerful attack. Harliette shot out and right into Wyatt. She softened him and prevented him from defending himself by blasting him squarely with the shotgun, then kicked him with the rollerskate and drew her rusty machete across his midsection. She didn't wait to see him fall and quickly returned to survey the battle's development. "Okay, here they come. Let's see what that clown freak does."

-----

Ruin General Boss Fight Synopsis (Enemy Force)
Phantomere: Resurrects Wyatt, Seviper, and Hitmonlee. Then hits Impact, Registeel, Starmie, Latios, Latias, and Tsubasa with Deathclock.
Cradily: Roserade is now confused.
Azumarill: Shaymin has taken good damage.
Zangoose: Shaymin has taken severe damage.
Breloom: Spitz is paralyzed.
Persian: Spitz has taken good damage.
Heracross: Spitz has taken critical damage.
Hippowdon: Matthias has taken great damage. Critical hit.
Whitney: Shaymin has been defeated.
Shaymin (Testament Drive): Whitney has taken severe damage.

Phantomere laughed. It was a deep, throaty laugh. His invisibility vanished and he reached out with his left hand. "Necromancy Force," Phantomere said, and three streams of dark light extended from the unseen palm of that hand. Those leylines of dark energy wrapped around the bodies of Wyatt, Seviper, and Hitmonlee. Then they pierced those corpses. Instantly, the bodies were lifted off the ground and they began to move again. Phantomere had effectively reanimated them again. But it was odd. Why wasn't the Kabutops reanimated? Maybe three was Phantomere's limit?
Then Phantomere raised its scythe. "Deathclock." Impact saw something appear over his head, and discovered a large, floating and spinning number two. This same floating two was above the heads of Rachel's Registeel, Shannon's Starmie, Charlotte's Latios, Renny's Latias, and Tsubasa. A deathclock of some sort? It didn't hurt him physically to have his life on a countdown, but that just made it worse somehow.
But Phantomere didn't turn invisible again.
"I think I get it," Tsubasa said, hoping she was on the mark. "Phantomere will always attack us every turn somehow, and if there're at least three slain zombies amongst the enemy force, he'll reanimate those instead of turning invisible and hiding from us. If we can deal out death so there's always three zombie corpses at the end of our phase, we'll have a constant open avenue to hurt Phantomere with."
"If that's the case, then our tactics should be simple. I don't think Phantomere will reanimate those Ruin Pokémon once they're killed, but nobody hold their breath."

Those freshly reanimated corpses didn't look capable to pulling off any moves, which was another good benefit. Killing them didn't mean they'd stay dead, but it did mean they wouldn't be able to do shit on the turn they're raised by Phantomere. And the corpses that remains corpses like Kabutops were just a sweet bonus.
"Heads up, here come the other Pokémon!"

Cradily hit Roserade with Confuse Ray. Roserade looked around and seemed to have trouble distinguishing friend from foe.
Azumarill blasted Shaymin with Ice Beam. Shaymin struggled against being locked in ice like Tropius and came through, but that still hurt it.
Forretress began to charge Solar Beam.
Zangoose sliced Shaymin up pretty good with X-Scissor.
Breloom locked Spitz down with Stun Spore. Spitz tried to shrug it off, but his muscles were starting to rebel against him.
Persian, who apparently didn't like dogs even in undeath, rushed Spitz and Night Slash, trying to help lock the doggie down.
Heracross layered the damage on Spitz with a brutal Megahorn. Spitz struggled to remain conscious, but it was probably already seeing spots of blackness. Blood dripped from an open wound.
Hippowdon turned to Matthias for a decent target, and hurt him like hell. A critical Stone Edge saw Matthias with a red stain spreading on his clothes. He could hold it together, but that was just beyond mean.
Whitney turned to Shaymin to vent her frustrations. Hitting Shaymin with Signal Beam was the final straw. Shaymin suddenly radiated the same golden light that Latios had from before and turned its pain and agony against Whitney. Great gusts of wind encircled Shaymin as it built up speed and rushed Whitney, knocking her into the air upon impact which left a beautiful breeze filled with leaves. Whitney impacted solidly with the floor and rose again, but it was easy to see she wasn't just walking away from that. Shambling, sure, but not walking. Shaymin returned to Renny's Pokéball.

Blaziken was reluctant to leave Pierce and return to his pokeball, but Metagross made a good point. All of the enemies' heavy hitters had the advantage over him: Phantomere, Omnisroth and Pulverot, and the two psychic Pokebrids.

Pierce was caught up in his train of thought, but he couldn't help but miss the show as Chizuru taunted and damaged both Ruin-types. She landed next to him, so he tried to give her some sort of praise but all he could get out was "You- that... wow." Realizing he had just made a fool of himself, he returned to his thoughts and barely noticed that Metagross had redeployed and Blaziken had reentered his pokeball.

Then he finally got his thoughts together and spoke to the rest of the team. "I've been thinking, maybe Phantomere is like the Mononokes. When he dies, the lifeforce he stole returns to where it originally came from. Which wouldn't be all that useful if their bodies are all in pieces. So, if at all possible, could everyone try not to destroy the corpses?" He pleaded everyone. Being stripped of free will and forced into subservience was a gruesome fate, and whatever kind of people Wyatt and Whitney were, no one deserved that.

Then Metagross turned around and gave Pierce a meaningful look, trying to communicate it's idea. Maybe it was Metagross's telepathy, but Pierce understood. "Hell no." He told it. "I'm not making you explode again." Metagross' counterarguments popped into Pierce's head. Smart bastard. "Goddamnit. Metagross, Explosion on Phantomere! Kingdra, finish Omnisroth with a Dragon Pulse!"

"That general can't seem to do anything unless he phases into our reality. And somehow, those zombies are related to how his power works, or else he would just be focusing on attacking us and then turning invisible..."

Renny heeded Tsubasa's insight as well as Rachel and Pierce's comment with judicious consideration

"Alright, in that case, I suggest we knock out the Ruin pokemon first! Then we keep on knocking out the pokemons with dual types with the types they are weakest against. That means we're focusing on knocking out Kabutops, Breloom, Heracross and Foretress. Stack up restricting status affliction on the rest of the other pokemons to hinder their attacks while focusing our heaviest hitters on the general! Tsubasa, your strongest attack on the general while he's still present! "

Renny then pulled out another pokeball to replace Shaymin on the battleground. Swampert hit the field with a powerful roar, ready for action. Latias hovered clumsily worried about the doomclock looming, death's number 2 never leaving its side.

"Both of you, dragon attacks on the ruin types! Dragon Pulse! Outrage!"

Swampert exerted tremedous effort as it pulled out a reservoir of draconic force and went on a rampage, attacking Omnisroth harshly while Latias attempted to lay support fire on Pulverot with Dragon Pulse. Renny watched the "sky" as Lola soared marvelously, ready to lay a bouncing smackdown on Breloom.

... "Wait, Shannon, you think you can catch it? Give it a try! If that's true, then we can do the same for the others and prevent them from being ressurected or from attacking us!"

Renny felt dumbfounded that the notion didn't occur to him at at first... but then again he didn't really think of zombies as catchable pokemons.
------------------------
Summoned Swampert

Swampert to use Quad effective dragon type Outrage on Omnisroth. Matthias use of Screech boosts its effective power by quite a bit since Outrage is phsyical.

Latias to attempt to use Quad effective dragon type Dragon Pulse on Pulverot.

Tsubasa to use Wicked Dance on Phantomere. Severe damage and... well 50% chance of KO, but I doubt he's weak to that.

Lola on trajectory with Breloom, ready to hit with Quad effective flying damage.

Shannon to attempt to capture Tropicus.

"This is progressively getting more annyoing,' Charlotte stated at the revelation of Phantomere's strategy. They were going to have to kill 3 zombies just to get a decent amount of shots in at him.

"Latios, you heard them, use another psychic on the Seviper," she ordered. With the drop in its special defense from the last turn, it wouldn't be likely to survive this hit at all. The legendary still wished to attack Phantomere, but seemed to understand the reasoning.

"Spitz," Charlotte said to the wounded Mightyena, "you probably won't be staying around for very long for the battle, so I want you to be part of a test." This caught the dog's attention, and he decided to ignore the pain to listen. " I want you to attack the Ruin General with a dark pulse, to see how good it can defend against a super effective hit."

Spitz decided to follow the order, glad to be of use for a reason besides super-fang, and sent the dark pulse flying at Phantomere. If he was lucky, it would be super-effective and they can get a proper scope of Phantomere's defense.

Impact paused. His initial intention had been to have the rest of the team cripple Omnisroth, and then kill it himself, but this was better. If Renny's Latias hit Pulverot with Dragon Pulse, it'd go down, he hoped, and they'd have that out of the way. Then Swampert's attack, along with Kingdra's, should bring Omnisroth down enough for a killing blow. The question was, how to execute said killing blow? He could use the stamina boost, that'd definitely finish the monster off, but he'd be losing his ability to hit twice. He wanted to save that for a certain ghost. And even if his standard attack didn't kill, Rachel could always follow up on it. Yes...
But first, again, orders. He agreed more or less with what Renny was saying, though the entire affair was missing micromanagement.

"Kabutops is still down, if we want to hit Phantomere again next turn, we need to knock out two more enemies. Shannon, I know that Whitney's close to death, can you throw something her way? And Rachel, if you can have metagross hit Seviper with psychic as well, following up on Latios, then we'll have our three corpses. Everyone else, hit Phantomere. Let's treat him like a Ruin type for now, we can see what's most effective. As for my team... Rachel, I'll attack Omnisroth, if it doesn't die, can you have Registeel follow up on my attack? Chizuru, Beatdown on Phantomere, please. I'm not sure if it's vulnerable to decreased stats, but we'll see. Have Girgatina support you. Matt, take care of yourself. Heal, use protect, whichever. Pierce, thanks for the support. Everyone, unless you have something else to do, focus fire on the Phantomere while we still can.

Oh, and Renny? Once the Ruin types are dead, I'd suggest we make Phantomere a main target. We can take two or three rounds' worth of hits from the zombies, we still have some healing items, but eliminating the zombies while Phantomere's still alive will be difficult. So here's what I'd suggest. We need to have three pokemon knocked out every turn, for us to be able to hit Phantomere. Hitting dual-types was a good idea. If we continue to do so, say, hit Kabutops, Breloom and Forteress every turn, with plant, flying and fire attacks respectively, then we should be able to have Phantomere visible every turn while expending minimal effort. Sound accepable?"

Renny nodded although didn't look at Impact directly, still focused on the task at hand. As much as Renny didn't like strictly directly beyond the most cruical points, the plan was sound.

"Sounds good to me, Impact. I'm still letting Shannon try capturing the pokemon. If it works, any pokemon we injure but fail to knock out, we can remove from battle by capturing it!"

Matthias was hurt rather badly at this point and regarless of what Impact would say he was pulling back to heal. Luckily Impact told him to do so. Thus he took a step back, folding his wings closed and concentrating.

Roost.

With that his body seemed to glow a bit more, the various wounds healing as he recovered.

"That's acceptable. But let's try to have at least three dual-types left uncaught, as cannon fodder. Say, Kabutops, Forterress and Breloom? We can catch the rest, if we manage to weaken them, but those three need to be dead at the end of each turn." He idly wondered if the things could feel pain as he turned from the discussion and launched himself at the Omnisroth. He could have attack earlier, but he need to coordinate with Renny. And besides, he wanted the killing blow.

Ruin General Boss Fight Synopsis (Allied Force)
Metagross (Pierce's): Phantomere has taken laughable damage. Metagross (Pierce's) has been defeated.
Kingdra: Pulverot has taken severe damage.
Swampert: Omnisroth has been defeated.
Latias: Pulverot has been defeated.
Lola: Breloom has taken severe damage. Breloom has been paralyzed.
Shannon: Capture failed.
Tactical Update: Zombie Pokémon cannot be captured.
Tsubasa: Used Signature Technique Wicked Dance. Phantomere has taken trifling damage.
Latios: Seviper has taken severe damage.
Spitz: Phantomere suppresses Spitz with Hope Suppression. Spitz is paralyzed! It can't move!
Harliette: Discovers that Whitney wasn't actually killed and rescues her. She deploys Wormadam to act as her stand-in. She gives Shannon her Rusty Machete and Charlotte her Sawed Off.
Tactical Update: Shannon and Charlotte can now attack enemies directly. The Rusty Machete can make the target flinch. The Sawed Off can be used to hit one enemy for great damage or two enemies for decent damage. Because Shannon and Charlotte can't be expected to be very successful killers, they can fight alongside two Pokémon.
Kangaskhan: Forretress has taken good damage.
Wormadam: Breloom has been defeated.
Impact: Phantomere has taken minor damage.
Metagross (Rachel's): Seviper has been defeated. Three corpses.
Registeel: Phantomere has taken small damage.
Giratina: Phantomere has taken some damage.
Cerbraptor: Phantomere has still only taken some good damage.
Jumpluff: Uses Bounce.
Starmie: Cradily has taken great damage.

Metagross literally leapt and latched onto Phantomere's back, trying to squeeze it as hard as it could until it overloaded its systems and detonated. Phantomere didn't look hurt too badly, but that had to have accomplished something! Gotta layer the pain, just gotta layer the pain.
Kingdra (who I don't think was actually ordered by Pierce this turn so I'll take over) blasted the Pulverot with Dragon Pulse, knocking Pulverot to the ground.
Swampert ripped into Omnisroth like a hyena into a fresh kill. They all knew it was over for Omnisroth when Swampert reached deep inside its back and pulled out a considerable chunk of its spinal column. Swampert roared over its victory and then returned to protect Renny from harm, soaked in violet blood and smelling like...well, the scent was indescribable, but it didn't exactly smell bad.
Latias took to the sky, charged a large sphere of dragonic energy, then shot it at the sitting Pulverot like a cannon. Pulverot was smashed dead on and fell down completely. It didn't struggle to rise anymore. That took care of the non-zombie foes.
"Here's Lola, bringing the house down!" shouted the angel in white as she came down on Breloom with all the might her sexy frame could muster. Breloom was knocked to the ground with a powerful dunking strike, then tried to rise, but was having trouble. Lola straightened her hair. "And just as a bonus, paralysis."
Shannon balanced an empty Pokéball on her left index finger. "Givin' it a try," she said calmly, then slung it effortlessly. It was pretty hard to miss an enemy that couldn't move. But unfortunately, it didn't work. The Pokéball failed to open and capture Tropius. "It's probably for the best. There's a number of mysteries to owning a zombie Pokémon that I know I wouldn't like to answer for myself."
Tsubasa focused on Phantomere. "Signature Technique!" she shouted as she whipped out at least a dozen wires that stabbed Phantomere in various places. "Let's see your groove, Phantomere! Wicked Dance!"
And this is where she flicked the wires. They went out of control inside Phantomere's body, causing the Ruin General no shortage of agony. Tsubasa yanked them out and, with a flourish, stained the floor in straight lines of blood.

Latios blasted the reanimated Seviper with Psychic again. Again, the zombie snake coiled and squirmed in pain.
Spitz pressed on despite the paralysis, then suddenly fell down. Phantomere had raised his left hand. "Hope Suppression," Phantomere said simply. What the fuck was that?
"What the fuck was that?" Shannon asked for Charlotte.
"Maybe some kind of ability," Tsubasa guessed.
"An ability that makes status effects work all the time? That can't be good. A paralyzed Pokémon will be locked down every turn while a confused Pokémon will hit itself every turn."
Phantomere was just full of surprises. Surprises that pissed people off.

"Sure, and just when me and her were becoming friends," Harliette said, then skated over to Whitney. Suddenly, she froze. "Wait...guys, I don't think-"
Harliette didn't say anymore and just reacted, ditched to plan to finish Whitney off and elbowed the Pokébrid solidly in the stomach. "Br-...brother," Whitney whispered as she fell uncontious. The Breloom and the Forretress turned to her. Harliette pulled Whitney back and tossed another Pokéball. A Wormadam in a flowery plant cloak. "Sorry, but I'm not letting my employers die on me if I have a say in it. Kangaskhan, Focus Blast! Wormadam, Leaf Storm! Help us out of this shit storm!"
Kangaskhan opened its claws and placed them together, creating a ball of white energy and expelling it Forretress, knocking it to the ground. Breloom was sent skyward by the blast of leaves and wind, then fell dead on the ground. "Wormadam, with me!"
Harliette and Wormadam worked together to carry the barely moving Whitney to protection with the others. "Sammie?" Whitney mumbled.
"I really wish you wouldn't call me that", Harliette groaned, then faced Wormadam. "Join up with Kangaskhan. Help fight the enemy in my stead. I'll help my friend here."
Wormadam nodded and bounced over to meet with Kangaskhan.
Shannon looked at Harliette. "Hey, Impact was counting on you to kill her so Phantomere stayed vulnerable to attack."
"Sorry, I'm not losing Whitney," Harliette said, standing up. Then she did something bizarre and tossed the machete and shotgun. "Besides, Breloom is dead so I got something. You've got a problem with it, you handle it."
Shannon was speechless, but dutifully bent over and picked up both weapons. "Charlotte, I know I'm going to regret doing this, but I really don't like guns so...here."

Shannon just gave Charlotte Harliette's double-barreled sawed off shotgun. "And for the love of God, please don't shoot me." Shannon begged as she gazed at the machete she held. Then she tried to look deadly with it. She could use some work, but otherwise it was difficult to not know how to use a machete to cut things, including zombies.
At least Harliette was kind enough to provide some knowledge. "That machete can cause the enemy with by it to flinch. That's why I keep the thing rusty. As for the shotgun, it's got good shells. You can hit one opponent for really good damage or two targets for okay damage, your choice. I've got plenty of shells so just ask for more when you empty both barrels."

With Omnisroth down, Impact changed his plans and went directly for Phantomere. He didn't like the Deathclock over his head and he was going to do something about it. Impact set his sights on Hippowdon and ran forward. Hippowdon moved pretty slow, so it was easily to use the Pokémon as a place to kick jump into the air. Phantomere raised its scythe and swung it in a quick arc. Impact, acting on his instincts, flung the Dragon Slave toward Phantomere's face. The throw was off as the blade flew too low, but pinned Phantomere's tongue to the ground. As Phantomere struggled against the pain, Impact, who had been holding onto the scythe's handle for dear life, simply let go and landed on the ground, then took up his blade and sliced Phantomere's massive, foul-smelling tongue clean off. Impact avoided counterattacks from the zombies and got back behind safety. What's the matter, Phantomere? Badass slayer got your tongue?
"Metagross, you heard the man! Psychic! Registeel, we've gotta put as much pain as possible into Phantomere! Flash Cannon!"
Seviper was once again dropped like a terrible reality television show while Registeel was only too eager to put the hurt on an ancient nemesis.
"I'm 'a' bringin' it!" Chizuru announced, whirling her tonfas. "Signature Strike! Crippling Beatdown!"
The black kimono-clad kuniochi sprinted forward, kick jumped off of Forretress, and proceeded to hammer her tonfas repeatedly into various parts of Phantomere's body. When she bounced back to safety, she was visibly exhausted. "I can't find his weak points. Going to be hard to break that one. Giratina, you try!"
"Cerbraptor, give Giratina some help," Tsubasa ordered.
Cerbraptor and Giratina opened up on Phantomere with Gunk Shot and Dragon Claw, respectively. Just like Phantomere was resistant against debuffs, status effects were also ignored.

Shannon held out another Pokéball. "Roserade, you did good. Return."
With Hope Suppression, Phantomere could make Roserade hit herself all evening long since she was confused. Shannon tossed her next Pokéball. "Jumpluff, get your Bounce going! I'll tell you what to hit shortly. Starmie, Ice Beam again! Freezing zombies is just as good as capturing them since they can't attack either way."
Jumpluff took to the air as Starmie blasted Cradily with Ice Beam. Unfortunately, it was no good. Cradily remained mobile. "Another try then, I guess."
Despite now being armed, Shannon didn't move forward to attack the enemy herself. She held the machete like it was something gross. Apparently she didn't like lethal implements.

-----

Ruin General Boss Fight Synopsis (Enemy Force)
Phantomere: Resurrects Seviper, Breloom, and Kabutops. Then uses Fear Aura. It seems to be a defensive move of some kind.
Wyatt: Impact is now paralyzed.
Cradily: Cerbraptor is now confused.
Hitmonlee: Cerbrator has taken good damage.
Azumarill: Wormadam has taken good damage. Wormadam is now frozen.
Forretress: Solar Beam is being charged.
Persian: Matthias has taken good damage.
Zangoose: Cerbraptor has taken great damage.
Heracross: Wormadam has been defeated.
Tropius: Tropius is still frozen.
Hippowdon: Cerbraptor has taken critical damage. Tsubasa has returned Cerbraptor.
Sandstorm: Everyone takes ignorable damage.
Deathclock: Impact, Registeel, Starmie, Latios, Latias, and Tsubasa have only one turn remaining.

Phantomere reached out with his left hand. The freshly slain corpses of Seviper, Breloom, and Kabutops forced themselves back into the fight, which was amazing considering this was the second time Seviper died.
Then Phantomere closed his left hand into a fist. What seemed to be ghostly energy that looked like human faces screaming flowed along his giant body.
"What's he doing this time?" Shannon demanded.
Nobody had an answer for her.

Wyatt brought Impact to his knees with Thunder Wave, and with Phantomere's Hope Suppression ability, Impact wouldn't be able to fight the paralysis. Clever little zombie douchebag.
Cradily hit Cerbraptor with Confuse Ray.
Hitmonlee, in a rage of some sort, smashed Cerbraptor with Close Combat.
Azumarill wounded and locked Wormadam in solid ice.
Forretress started charging Solar Beam.
Zangoose followed Hitmonlee's idea and hit Cerbraptor with Close Combat as well.
Persian targeted Matthias and smacked him with Power Gem.
Heracross ripped into Wormadam with Megahorn, knocking it out of the fight.
Tropius wasn't about to do anything, what with being locked in a large crystal of ice 'n' all.
Hippowdon reduced Cerbraptor to a sliver of health with a vicious Stone Edge. Tsubasa sighed and returned Cerbraptor to his Pokéball. "I think I get the strategy. If Cerbraptor attacks itself in confusion and defeats itself, it might not use a Testament Drive on the one who defeated it because the one who defeated it was itself."
"Would that work?" Rachel asked curiously.
"Never been in the kind of situation to find out. But I don't intend on experimenting."

((I'll flesh this out in the morning, for now just synopsis:

Impact asks Pierce to deploy Blaziken, and attack Forretress with a fire move, asks Rachel to have metagross attack Cradily with steel-type attacks, asks Matt if he can hit Breloom with an air attack, asks if anyone could follow up on that with a psychic attack or two. Tells Shannon to put that machete to good use and finish off the breloom. Recommends that Renny has Shannon (or, rather, her pokemon) kill kabutops again, that Charlotte hit the frozen tropius with her shotgun, asks if there are any spare psychic attacks that could weaken the heracross, but not kill it. Once all that's done, recommends that everyone who isn't attacking use stats boosting (preferably attack-boosting) attacks, if available. Asks Rachel to prepare Revives, for when his death clock reaches zero, wonders about the afterlife, asks lola not to do battle this turn, but focus her energies on healing Tsubasa, and anyone else she can. Then gives order for everyone left over to attack Phantomere, uses full restore on self to heal paralysis, joins in this attack. Hopes for best.))

Pierce handed Rachel Metagross' pokeball again. "Don't revive it," he told her "it'll just explode again." He was getting slightly frustrated. After they downed Tyranitar, the enemy seemed content to ignore him and his pokemon. Oh well, maybe he should take advantage of it and revive Tyranitar. But not yet. He tossed a pokeball, loosing Blaziken. "Kingdra, Dragon Pulse on Phantomere! Blaziken, Overheat that Foretress!"

------------------------
Blaziken consumes White Herb to negate Overheat's Special Attack decrease.

There was a certain element of pride that came with Renny's two pokemons being the one to finish off the ruin pokemons. Swampert looked grisly, but beamed with a reassuring show as if the battle and the blood had cleansed it not sullied it. Latias miraclously purged the paralysis from her body as she flew as all the grace that she had before. The clock was still ticking though...

"Fantastically done, both of you!"

Renny then watched Lola bombed from the ceiling like a rocket, pinning Breloom down hard, teaching about the burdens of back pains via paralysis. The trainer could have sworn that she was extra bouncy down in front.

"Good one! But we'll need your support! We're expecting a few bodycounts so we need you here, Nurse Lola!" Renny said that last sentence was a bit of distaste and worry as he hoped the end result wasn't as severe as what Rayleen and Dormond had to go through. As Pierce's Blaziken proceeded to intercept Foretress, Renny felt relieved as it was highly likely that Swampert was the one targeted.

"Shannon, have your grass type attack Kabutops! Charlotte, focus your weapon on something else! Latias is better against Tropicus!"

"Swampert! Attack Heracross! Latias, Ice Beam that Tropicus!"

Swampert thrashed viciously in the Hercules beetle's general direction while chewing on some undetermined munchies like how a cow would chew its cud. The air around Latias chilled as a beam of arctic power shot to impact the already frozen Tropicus and make the situation for it even worse.

--------------------
*Just noting that Swampert should be uneffected by Sandstorm since it's a ground type.

Swampert goes into Turn 2 of Outrage for strong draconic damage on Heracross. Recovered some damage (if any) via Leftovers.

Latias does Quad Effective damage on Tropicus with Ice Beam.

Lola to stand back and expect a surge of allies to revive. (Prefer that Latias isn't healed).

Shannon's Grass type to attack Kabutops (with a offensive grass move) for quad effective STAB damage.

Charlotte wasted no time in removing Spitz from the battle and replacing him with Buck. "Unload a fire blast on the Heracross Buck," she ordered. Buck listened to his master and let loose a blast of flames straight for the insect. It wasn't likely to last long with the combination of fire blast and Swampert's outrage.

"Latios," she ordered the legendary, "you have about one more attack, so I want to test something." Latios looked on a bit worried at his new trainer. He had seen how her last 'test' had gone with her Mightyena, it didn't look pretty. "I want you to use a psychic on Phantomere, to get an idea of what that aura does."

While Latios didn't like the idea of basically testing an electric fence for Charlotte, he was glad for finally being able to attack the Ruin General. While he was unsure if he could phase it at all, he still let loose a mental assault on Phantomere.

Despite the fact that Charlotte had very few experiences with a firearm, she still managed to get a bead on Phantomere with Harliette's shotgun. This man had made er look weak! Spitz attack had don nothing to harm him, but Impact managed to cut his tongue off with a sword, well Charlotte had something ready for him! Charlotte waited to see the results of Latios's attack before attacking. If it ended up being a counterattack of some sort, then Latios could take the brunt of it and maybe even pull a Testament Drive again.

---
Buck uses fire blast on Heracross
Latios uses psychic on Phantomere.
Charlotte fires the Shotgun at Phantomere, but waits for Latios's attack first.

Matthias winced, only just having recovered some of that health. He had been holding back long enough, it was time to go all out. He closed his eyes as he focused as his body started to shift

Paradigm Shift!

Within seconds his body had changed into that of a Venomoth, and took to the air, using what maneuverability he could inside the building.

Ruin General Phantomere Boss Fight (Allied Phase)
BGM Update: BGM has changed to "Engel" from Rammstein.
Lola: Leaves combat area. Uses two Full Restores on Harliette and Whitney.
Registeel: Cradily has been defeated. One body.
Kingdra: Phantomere has taken great damage.
Blaziken: Forretress has been defeated. Two bodies.
Tactical Update: Whitney has joined the party!
Swampert: Heracross has taken great damage.
Latias: Tropius has been defeated. Three bodies.
Shannon: Starmie is recalled. Florescence is deployed.
Florescence: Kabutops has been defeated. Four bodies.
Buck: Heracross has been defeated. Five bodies. Like shooting fish in a barrel.
Latios: Phantomere has still only taken great damage.
Charlotte: Phantomere has still only taken great damage. Tough bastard.
Shannon: Flinched by Fear Aura and counterattacked. Shannon has taken great damage.
Jumpluff: Breloom has been defeated. Six bodies. Wicked!
Metagross (Rachel's): Hitmonlee has taken great damage.
Tsubasa: Hitmonlee has been defeated. Seven bodies. Step up the slaughter!
Harliette: Phantomere has still only taken great damage.
Kangaskhan: Zangoose has taken great damage. Zangoose is now confused.
Whitney: Used Gardevoir Signature Technique "Black Hole." Phantomere has taken severe damage.

Shannon fiddled with her iPod. "Can't listen to Diefy forever, eh? Time to switch up to a fresher tune."
Diefy suddenly stopped playing and the whistling sounds that preceeded the song Engel by Rammstein started playing. "Dunno what the hell they're singing, but I like the beats."
"You got it, Impact." Rachel said, then pointed towards Cradily. "Take that one down now, fellas."
Registeel glanced at Metagross, advising it with blinking eyes to wait until it tried to deal with it first. Metagross agreed and watched as Registeel targeted Cradily and blasted it with Flash Cannon. Cradily was knocked out, still suctioned to the ground. "Beautiful. Hmmm...where to use your talents, Metagross? Oh, that one!"
Pierce observed carefully as Kingdra hit Phantomere head on with Dragon Pulse. Hmmm. It looked like the Fear Aura did nothing to protect him. Then what the hell did Fear Aura do?
Blaziken didn't give Forretress any time to recover from Kangaskhan's attack, and dropped Forretress like a ton of bricks with Overheat. That made two corpses so far.

Lola stepped out of battle and threw a couple of Full Restores to Harliette. "Can you and that Pokébrid join us? The more, the merrier and deadlier."
"Me?" Whitney breathed. "Fight?"
Harliette opened one up and began to use it on Whitney. "Depends on how badly you want your share of vengeance. That 'prophet' you two thought he'd be killed your brother and all of your Pokémon. I know you're usually a tender-hearted girl, but-"
Whitney stood up with more determination than Harliette would give her credit for. Then she started walking forward. "Hey, hey. Easy, Whit."
"Brother. I'm so sorry," Whitney said, looking at her zombified brother. "I wish I was strong enough to save you. But...I am strong enough to bring you the rest you've worked so hard for."
Harliette reached towards her chest and tore her cheerleader costume off, leaving her with a black t-shirt, denim hot pants, and most importantly, two sub machineguns affixed to straps. She unstrapped the rollerskates, leaving her in traveling boots, then ran up to stand beside Whitney and Kangaskhan. Whitney chuckled. "What's so funny?"
"How many times have you dragged me into these crazy fights?"
Harliette looked thoughtful. "This would be nearing triple digits, right? I lost count. But just like all the other times, I'm not going to leave you alone."
"Yes, Sammie. Please help me. It's all I can do to keep control."
Harliette nodded silently. Whitney was going to need more than light dialogue to keep from going insane. Pokémon she loved. And her precious, irreplaceable brother as well. Whitney hadn't been hit by the actual trauma yet, but once this fight was over and there was nothing to do but think, the despair will hit Whitney like a bomb.

Heracross was knocked back by Swampert, but Swampert was disappointed to know that his opponent this time was much healthier than the Omnisroth. Still, Outrage was no bitch move.
Latias polished off Tropius with Ice Beam, leaving the slain Pokémon ice-welded to the floor.
Shannon held out a Pokémon. "Starmie, return. And pray that being recalled stops the Deathclock. Florescence, I need you now! Leaf Blade!"
Florescence cut Kabutops with a devastating critcal. "Ha ha ha! Yeah, that's my favorite Pokémon!"
Jumpluff gave her a look from the air. Shannon folded her arms. "Yeah, I said it. You want to be the favorite? Do better than Florescence."
Kind of mean, yet fair. "Hold on, Jumpluff. Let's see what the others're doing and I'll direct you whose ass to kick."

Buck set Heracross ablaze with a wicked blast of fire, causing it to writhe around maniacally, then eventually fall. The corpses were piling up on the enemy's side. Phantomere was going to be overburdened with bodies to reanimate very soon.
Charlotte observed as Latios hit Phantomere without any trouble. Then, carefully, Charlotte got closer to the enemy and blasted Phantomere in the face. The blast got through. Just what good was that aura, anyways? It certainly wasn't helping him.

"The more zombies we take down, the less things that can attack us," Tsubasa said, readying her wires. "Even at the maximum, Phantomere can only reanimate six carcasses at the maximum each turn. We can cripple him indefinitely, giving us all the time to recover and put him down for good."
Shannon felt ready to fight now. Yelling, she charged Phantomere, then suddenly stopped. She froze, shivering uncontrollably.
"Shannon, hurry and strike him. What're you doing?" Tsubasa demanded.
"Get! Get them off me! God, they're all over me! Please, stop eating me! No, I don't wanna die!"
Phantomere brought his left hand back and smacked Shannon with a backhand strike, knocking Shannon back behind her Pokémon. "Shannon, are you alright?" Lola asked.
Shannon stood up. "They're...they're gone. Ugh, it was so gross and horrible. I was covered with giant bugs eating my flesh. Fucking crazy."
"The Fear Aura!" Chizuru chimed in. "I see, it prevents melee attacks from connecting and gives Phantomere a chance to counterattack."
"Kinda like your Solidarity Guard, huh."
"Yeah. Gotta be careful in the future."
"Damn him. Damn him for bringing my nightmares to life. Jumpluff, hit...wait, no, you'll just get hurt. Ummmm, take down Breloom!"
Jumpluff dropped out of the sky and smacked into Breloom, crushing it against the floor. Jumpluff bounced away to rejoin Shannon, leaving Breloom motionless.
"Then we all hit Phantomere now. Metagross, use Hyper Beam! It is the only long range attack you have, after all."
"Giratina, you'll have to use Shadow Force. It'll be impervious to Aura Sphere and all your other attacks are melee attacks that hit this turn. Kinda limits us, huh?"
Tsubasa and Chizuru solved their problem of having only melee attacks by combining their weapons. Because Chizuru wouldn't have been skilled enough, Tsubasa took it upon her to smack Phantomere from afar with Chizuru's tonfas affixed to Tsubasa's wires.
"Light 'em up!" Harliette said, then posed and used tricky-looking ways of shooting Phantomere. Kangaskhan, wary of the Fear Aura, instead hit Zangoose with Dizzy Punch, hurting it badly and actually confusing it as well.
"I shall tear your soul to shreds for your treachery, Phantomere. Everyone grab onto something! Gardevoir Synchronization Technique! Black Hole!"
It wasn't a particularly large hole that Whitney ripped open in time-space, but Phantomere was still pulled inside. One could hear terrible things happening to Phantomere inside. Then, only roughly three seconds after being pulled inside, Phantomere was spat back out, looking very nearly destroyed. Whitney bowed with a curtsey. "You shall perish for killing my brother and my friends. This I swear."

-----
Ruin General Phantomere Boss Fight (Enemy Phase)
Phantomere: Enters Umbral Awakening. He reanimates Kabutops, Breloom, Heracross, Forretress, and Tropius. He buffs all allied units to maximum in all areas. He curses the entire party with some kind of villainous sorcery.
Azumarill: Buck has taken critical damage.
Zangoose: Zangoose has attacked itself in confusion. Zangoose has taken severe damage.
Persian: Matthias has taken severe damage.
Seviper: Whitney is now badly poisoned.
Hippowdon: Matthias has been defeated.
Deathclock: Impact, Tsubasa, Registeel, Latios, Latias, and Starmie have been defeated.
Registeel, Latios, and Latias (Testament Drive): Phantomere has been defeated. The zombies have been defeated. The battle is over. Victory!

Phantomere seemed to be hanging on for dear life. Tsubasa, despite the face that the one above her head could turn and kill her in any minute, stepped forward. "It's all over for you, Phantomere. We're far too many and far too strong. Give up and end your evil existence now. Your resistance is only prolonging your agony."
The only answer she got to her request was laughter. "Foolish woman. The Ruin Generals have survived for eons. We have survived the wrath of the legendary Pokémon. And we didn't spend all that time licking our wounds. Prepare thyself, woman. This victory shall not be so easily earned."
Then Phantomere glowed. One would say it was like a Testament Drive, except the radiance was dark and forboding.
"Umbral Awakening," Whitney murmured in wonder.
"What? You know what that freak is about to do?"
Whitney nodded. "Faynoc is only seen by his most trusted servants, of which my brother was one. But he does make it an issue to see everyone who serves him once, at the very least. He uses this simple meet and greet to explain why his plan to bring the world under his diminion is possible. The Ruin Generals have a power similar to the Testament Drive, called Umbral Awakening. It was the reason the legendary Pokémon could not defeat them. The way Wyatt helped explain it to me, it seemed that seven of the eighteen known Ruin Generals sacrificed their lives using Umbral Awakening to save the other generals. We must be very careful. A Ruin General in Umbral Awakening is literally burning their own essence away to grant them incredible power, but they'll be extremely powerful until they perish."
"Not even Mika knows this," Tsubasa admitted. "How long does a Ruin General take to die when it does this?"
Whitney shook her head slowly. "I don't think even Faynoc knows that. But we've hit Phantomere pretty good. He shouldn't last long."
"Then we focus on survival, hitting Phantomere when we can get the chance, too. See if we can speed along his demise. Phantomere dies here, by our efforts. And he's not taking any of us with him."

Phantomere, now dying by the second, raised his left hand. Five of the slain Pokémon rose from the ground. "His powers have grown exponentially," Shannon said, the hand holding the machete shaking.
Phantomere then raised his left hand again. Suddenly, all of the zombies, including the dead ones, glowed with dark powers. The scouters reported that he had maximized their statistics. "We...might be in for a spot of trouble," Lola whimpered as she and Rachel reached for Revives.
Finally, Phantomere dragged his restored tongue along the floor and then raised it, blasting everyone with dark power. "Ugh!" Chizuru groaned from the pain. "What...what did he just do to us!?"
Shannon struggle to hold onto the machete. "Three moves each turn now!? He's not playing fair!"
Lola shook her head clear of the pain. "But he hasn't turned intangible. I think he's going for broke and trying to annihilate us before he's destroyed, himself."
"Be careful with the actions you take!" Tsubasa cautioned everyone. "Who knows what he just did to us."

Azumarill blasted Buck with Hydro Pump. Buck was overpowered and slammed against the wall by the maximized attack. Buck was still alive, but he was on the brink of defeat after that attack.
Zangoose, in confusion, ended up slashing himself with his large, sharp claws. Better himself than you, eh?
Persian was piling the damage on Matthias with another Power Gem. That cat was really starting to get on Matthias' nerves.
Seviper darted toward Whitney and bit her on the arm, then scurried away. Whitney could feel the venom running through her arm and start to spread through her body.
But what was worse was when Hippowdon felled Matthias with Stone Edge.

And then the Deathclock clicked to zero. With no pain or no forward warning, Impact and Tsubasa crumpled to the floor, their eyes still open. Shannon quickly reached for her Pokéball, and noticed that the deathclock took Starmie's life even inside the Pokéball. "Damn him," Shannon said, but her voice was lot in the three synchronous surges of golden light coming from Registeel, Latios, and Latias. A trio of Testament Drives, and all three legendary Pokémon rushed Phantomere with a power beyond compare. It was too bright and the radiance engulfed the whole room, blinding everyone.

-----

When everyone could see again, Phantomere was a bleeding mess of unrecognizeable matter sprayed across the floor. The zombies were down as well, most of them more ripped up than Phantomere.

Lola was still all business. "Rachel, get your side! I'll get mine!"
"I've got it!" Rachel called, then ran to help Impact and Matthias first.

While Lola and Rachel went into hyperdrive, bringing Impact, Matthias, Tsubasa, and the large number of Pokémon back from death, Chizuru approached Harliette and Whitney. Whitney had been healed of her poison before it could make any serious progress, and the two were in good shape. "We have a lot of questions for you two."

Whitney lowered her head, and Harliette faced Chizuru after putting her guns away. "You want to know where Millenium House is, right?"
"Millenium House?"
"Reynold Faynoc's secret underground base of operations. Unfortunately, neither Whitney nor I know where it is. In fact, I don't even work for Faynoc. But I usually do temporary jobs for him, like being a security escort in this case."

Rachel had just revived Impact and Matthias. "Don't move yet. Let me finish up before you try to stand up. So how was the afterlife?"
Lola reached her hand out to Tsubasa when she revived the kunoichi. Tsubasa kicked her legs up and used them to help her jump from the prone position. "Relax, I'm fine. Work on the others, then come back for me later."
Lola turned her focus to the Pokémon while Tsubasa joined Chizuru. "Anything?"
Chizuru shook her head. "But shouldn't one of his soldiers know where he runs his operation?"
Whitney kept her head lowered. Harliette shrugged. "Wyatt and Moera both know...or rather, they knew, but there's no chance of them telling us anything."
"And Whitney doesn't?"
"I'm just an acolyte. We're never shown where Millenium House is."
Lola wanted to have a good, long talk with Harliette, but that would have to wait until they were all healed up, and that meant every Pokémon before they left the room. No telling if it was truely over, but with Phantomere down, the worst was definitely behind them.

"Do we believe them?" Chizuru asked Tsubasa.
Tsubasa shrugged. "We? I don't know. But I'm going to trust them."
"That's good enough for me."
"Back to the drawing board," Tsubasa sighed. "But at least a Ruin General has been destroyed. That's definitely something, at least."
Suddenly, the doors burst open and in came Garus and Evangaleen, Crystalith and Lambdavolt right behind them.
"You guys all right?" Evangaleen said, gasping for air. "We saw huge beams of golden light out of the windows near the back of the house, so we ran in to see if you guys were okay."

Then Garus and Evangaleen saw all of the people that didn't enter with the Watchmen. "Hey, there's the girl with the awesome rack. And there's one that's really hot, too. And who're the other girls? And oh shit, what the hell happened here!? This place is ruined!"
Garus raised a hand and silenced his friend. "Evangaleen, I'm pretty sure they're exhausted right now. Let's help them get out of here so they can find a place to rest."
Evangaleen lightly punched her head. "Oops, sorry. Yeah, you guys gotta be tired. You all look like something a Feraligatr ate an' shit off of a cliff. Seriously."

Holy shit, they were right. They'd been functioning off of adrenaline for god knew how long, and now that their final fight was resolved, exhausting began to pull on them, making the cold, hard floor seem like an appealing place to grab a week-long nap. Chizuru suddenly leaned on Tsubasa. Tsubasa smiled. "Yeah, yeah, I'll take you home."
Tsubasa picked Chizuru off of the ground and cradled her. "Well, I guess now that it's over, I'll leave the rest of you. I'm sure you've got some questions, but this took longer than expected. Lady Shizuka may have already sent another one to find the two of us, so we'd better head back. We don't have any use for Whitney and Harliette, so they're all yours, and I'm sure you'd prefer it no other way. I imagine we'll meet each other again all too soon. Take care of yourselves and good hunting."

With that, Tsubasa danced with Chizuru in her arms, carving out a hole in the back wall, passed through, and began the first giant leap that would take her and Chizuru home.
That just left the PATCA members, both old and new, with two new additions.
"I'll have a talk with the police," Rachel said, making her way towards the door. "Harliette and Whitney have gotta be tired as well. We'll keep them in our brig for a good rest and just in case we have anymore questions."
"I definitely have some questions for you," Lola said to Harliette.
"About our mom, right?"
"And other things."
"Please make it wait, okay? We're all too tired for sisterly drama."
Rachel, Evangaleen, and Garus escorted Harliette and Whitney outside. Shannon smirked. "Sister, huh?"
Lola nodded slowly. "Younger sister. Her real name is Samantha. That's all I'll say for now. Anyways, this is mission clear, right?"
Everyone gave a general scan of the mansion. Now Ruin Pokémon signatures detected anywhere. They met in the main room of the mansion and assured each other that the hard fighting, and generally all of the fighting, was over. They could finally turn their minds towards other things, like ice-cold alcohol, warm meals, hot showers, and soft beds.
As the caravan of law enforcement and PATCA vehicles sped off into the night, Garus and Evangaleen shared a brief and somewhat humorous story. The guy in the officer's uniform who was training Explouds in the mansion had resisted arrest. Evangaleen's Lambdavolt made easy work of him, and then he did something nobody expect.
"He proposed to me," Evangaleen said, blushing while unable to look at anyone.
"And you're flattered?" Rachel laughed.
"I hear girls really feel good whenever someone proposes marriage to them," Garus said. "Some girls, anyways. Not like I'll ever try it, myself. Too many other hobbies to make time for girls."

Mission Two Complete!

It was... dark. Sinister. Reminded him of the undercurrent he had tasted? felt? when he had ingested that wonderful drop of demon gods' blood. But where the darkness in that had been... right, this was not. It wasn't just sufficiency, it was overpowering. It would crush all else, from nothing to darkness, from light to shadow, all that entered it would become its. He didn't know how much time he spent there... But suddenly, a prick in his arm, an awakening. He was back. Impact opened his eyes to see Rachel standing over him, not too bad a sight, considering what he had been looking at before, though she was a half-breed, he'd have to remember that... never forget...

He shook himself, blinked rapidly. His thoughts were... confused. He was not at his peak. Not at all. He looked around the room in time to see phantomere fall, burn die. This disappointed him. He had hoped to be the one to eliminate it. It had screwed them over badly enough. But oh well. At least the legendary types had been useful in their death, wiping out the abomination. It had been, he realized, a long battle. And now that the boosts had worn off, he was seriously tired. Bu there were things to do first. He may not have landed the killing blow, but he was damned if he wouldn't have something to remember the thing by. He was vaguely aware of Tsubasa and Chizuru leaving, but that was acceptable. He'd much prefer to keep them here, ask them some more questions gather as much knowledge as they could, but he'd gotten information from listening in on Pierce's prying, and of course, they could question Whitney. Besides, they wanted to leave, and he wasn't suicidal enough to try to stop them. Yet.

But back to Phantomere. The being itself had exploded across the floor, but beneath the gunk Impact found what he was looking for. The thing's scythe had been battered severely, but not broken. He saw its handprint burnt into the handle, and was careful to avoid that section as he picked up the weapon. He felt the darkness again, the one he'd felt before, but much less strongly. He could stand it for a while, though he wouldn't want to live with it. But, of course, he didn't intend to take the whole scythe. Just a piece. Summoning up what strength he had left, he whirled the scythe over his head, smashed it into the ground. Had the monster still been holding it, it'd have gone clean through, he was sure. But the thing was dead (or so it seemed) and the blade just smashed. Impact nodded in satisfaction as he crouched over the wreckage, his fingers carefully, oh-so carefully darting down to pick up the very tip of the weapon. It was about half the size of his palm, and seemed rather hideously sharp. He'd have to be careful not to cut himself on any of its edges. But it reflected the light so... not beautifully, because even in the way it reflected, there was some of the oppressing darkness. And yet he felt drawn to the light, polarised in ways it was probably never meant to be, held it up to the moonlight streaming from one of the many holes in the ceiling. Watched it twinkle. Then grinned. At the angle he held it, he saw the wreckage, behind him, the corpse of Phantomere. And this way, it seemed so much more stark. So much more final. More victorious as well.

He lowered the piece of blade, twirled it in his fingers, pocketed it. Turned back to the wreckage of what had been their most dangerous enemy to date. His grin grew wider, his voice a whisper. "Who you gonna call?" Then he turned again, headed back to the van without a word. Maybe he'd hand his trophy over to the research department. Maybe he'd keep it. They'd see. He was too tired to think about it now. Suddenly, far too tired. He stripped off his armor, quickly, efficiently as soon as he reached the van, but lethargically as well, until he was left with his jumpsuit, replaced various weapons in the vehicle's armory, then collapsed on a seat, leaned back, closed his eyes. He knew he should keep his guard up, but he'd just have to trust the pokemon users not to slit his throat. He probably wouldn't regret it.

"We did well, tonight. Though, really, next time, let's just tear down the mansion."

For one sliver of a moment before the trio of Legendaries used Testament Drive, Charlotte for the first time felt what may have been known as fear. She was almost sure that they were about a few minutes away from death, and she wasn't eager to meet the other side. She's have to ask Impact what it was like to die sometime soon.

After Phantomere exploded, and Charlotte made sure know one was looking, she exhaled a breath she was not sure how long she held. She also snuck away Harliette's shotgun inside her coat. She was keeping it. She also went over to where Buck was lying on the ground after the hydro-pump and returned him to his pokeball. "You did good boy," she said quietly before returning him. She wanted no one to hear her say that. She would have to choke a bitch if anyone did.

It turned out that the Latios she acquired was useful in a way. He had helped her deliver the killing blow. Charlotte admittedly had to share the killing blow, but it was hers. Now all she need was a camera. All Charlotte could ask for was playing a major part in the final attack. Now all she needed was a trophy and ..... What the Heel was Impact doing! He took the shattered blade of the Scythe! Charlotte was going to take the entire scythe and hang it on her Dining Room wall!

Charlotte sighed. She couldn't maul Impact here, neither he nor she were in any state beat the crap out of each other. She scanned around the nearby room, she noticed that Witney, the Gardvoire pokebrid, was apparently alive and being taken away for questioning. Whatever, Charlotte personally would have capped the girl and left it at that the moment she was revealed to be alive. Whitney and Harliette would likely become members of PATCA or another law enforcement group if Charlotte and Shannon were any indication as to how some criminals were handled.

Charlotte then noticed what she was looking for in the corner of the room, a dustpan. Quickly, she grabbed it and went over to Phantomere's remains. She then bent over, and scooped up some of the leftover gunk a residue, ignoring the smell. It was a bit morbid, even by Charlotte's standards. She had made the decision to keep it in a jar or an urn of some sort in her Rec Room. She then went with the others to the van, trying her best to not raise attention to her souvenir.

Pierce recalled his pokemon and looked at the fallen pokebrid and the pokemon mournfully. Turns out Phantomere didn't return the lifeforce it stole when it died. Still, they had managed to save Whitney, that was something. He looked at his allies. Impact and Charlotte were collecting trophies. There was Whitney, whom he wanted to interrogate, but she'd been through enough tonight. There'd be plenty of time to ask her about Faynoc later. Tsubasa and Chizuru left before he could thank them or ask them any more questions. Shame.

It didn't seem like anyone wanted any more souvenirs, so he walked over to Phantomere's remains, and picked up the scythe's handle that Impact had left. Then he joined the group as they made their way back to the van.

On the ride back, Impact decided to shoot his mouth off again: "We did well, tonight. Though, really, next time, let's just tear down the mansion."

"You know full well why we couldn't do that." Pierce replied simply.

Renny was practically breathless as Phantomere was a splattered mess on the floor. He rushed over to Latias who had fought without rest the entire time. Summoning Shaymin as well, he attended to their battered forms and reassured them, holding them closely.

"You both done a wonderful job! We're all done. Thank you so much for your invaluable support"

Shaymin's buds blossomed from the gratitude and relaxed as Renny returned the two of them into his pokeballs while Latias merely took some deep breaths and peacefully resigned itself to rest. Swampert was busying himself with washing the copious amount of blood that coated his skin, but his and Renny's eyes met and they both grinned at each other, smirking as if there was an inside joke between brothers.

Renny then remembered the last Kimono's tendency to run off, and he rushed back toward Tsubasa and Chizuru, but they had started to leave.

"We'll always welcome your help! I wish you the very best! Thank you!"

Renny then hugged Lola, who had been a godsend for her support, combat capablities and overall welcoming presence.
"You were amazing! For your first mission here, you did incredible. I hope you can stay with PATCA longer, Lola!"

On the way back, Renny sat close to Shannon and thanked her warmly.
"I'm glad you were on my team. You were a real help. I know things were definately troublesome at first, so I hope everything worked out for you."

---------------
OOC: Was going to make a "report" to submit as team leader but decided to scrap that.

Matthias changed back. It seemed his shift hadn't been necessary in the end. Not that he was complaining. He did need to collect a sample from this Phantomere though. He approached the mess that was the Ruin General and gathered some into a jar. There were some doubts about its usability in this state or whether he could actually use it as a Pokebrid but it was worth trying. He had a backup plan anyway if this didn't work.

He walked out with the group, remaining silent as usual. Unfortunately the mission had done nothing to assuage his concerns about a possible corruption higher up in the "good" guys. There was a chance he'd have to make a more overt action to discover the truth.

----- The Night of the End of Mission Two -----

The blade as well as the handle of the scythe was cold to the touch. It kind of made one's hand tingle to hold it, and Impact found it difficult to settle for one piece, but fought off the urge to take more. The scythe had lost nearly all of its powers, and it was as useless for killing as it would be as a paper cutter. The blade tip pulsed with ethereal light, and Impact was surprised to see that the blade tip actually grew and shrank steadily, like a beating heart.

The strange internal fluid Charlotte had harvested was was actually kind of the same. It didn't exactly move like Impact's scythe tip, but Charlotte could sense some pretty dark shit within this ooze. There seemed to be bolts of dark lightning jumping around inside of it, making the ooze jump around. There was life in there. Or unlife, no one could be sure.

The scythe handle that Pierce picked up didn't move along, but it was still unnaturally cold to the touch. Pierce studied it carefully now that he had time and decided that the cold feeling wasn't physical, more like a soul-deep chill. Well, it didn't hurt. The handle looked like it was made of wood, but closer inspection revealed it to be made of some other kind of material. Some kind of mineral that Pierce couldn't identify it.

Lola's face had been red since Renny hugged her. Shannon gave Renny a thumbs up, not trusting herself to say something that Garus and Evangaleen would make fun of her for.

----- Earlier the Next Morning -----

Lola's shoes clicked on the cold floor of the underground brig in the agency building. Even without military training, Lola halted in front of Harliette's cell and executed a right facing movement. Harliette seemed to be asleep, but Lola knew better. Both Harliette and Whitney had spent the whole morning talking to each other. Lola tried to hear it herself, but she was too exhausted and chances were that they didn't talk about Harliette's family.

"Samantha Phelps-" Lola began.
"Harliette," Harliette interrupted, sitting up and slinging her legs over the side of her cot.
"I see you haven't eaten what was offered. The food we serve here, even to prisoners, is a lot better than the stuff served at normal prisons."
"I'm counting calories," Harliette lied.
Lola sighed lightly. Harliette had always been in a bad mood whenever it came to Lola, to the point it would alter Harliette's appetite and level of energy. "You're nineteen now, aren't you? So why're-"
Harliette stood up suddenly and slammed her fist into the wall. Then she stared at Lola like she was about to do the same to her.
"I'd treat that injury, but I get the feeling you'd sooner accept a slow, painful death from me. Oh, but you did take that Full Restore I gave you."
"Whitney's life was in danger. I would accept help from anyone if it meant I could protect her."

This was the first time in a long time Lola had seen any kind of positive emotion from Harliette. She wanted to see more, but Lola had some more pressing questions. "It's been six years since that day."
"Tell me something," Harliette interrupted again. "Did you have an investigation conducted?"
"Into what?"
Harliette chuckled. "Into why mother might've commited suicide. What else?"
Lola could feel her rage boiling to the surface. "Why bother? You are the reason she left me and father."
Lola's younger sister by four years shrugged. "And what do you think I could do to make that happen? What do you think I could say? I was only a thirteen-year old girl, after all."
Lola stepped forward, then slowly drew a handgun and trained it on her sister. "Why don't you tell me?"
Harliette shrugged off the cold stare of the gun's barrel with a light shrug. "Isn't that a little dark for you? Mom always called you an angel in white, after all."
"Talk. Now."
Harliette grinned. "Oh, so now the lovely lady Lola puts some oomph into her threats. Fine, I'll tell you, but only on one condition."
"Name your condition."
"Whitney is no longer in the cell next to me. Did you already send her to prison?"
Lola lowered the gun. "No. She volunteered to join the agency. Wyatt's death made her undergo some kind of one-eighty, and now she wants nothing more than to help PATCA bring Faynoc and the Ruin Generals down."
"Then my condition is simple. Allow me to join the agency as well."
"Why?" Lola asked, but she already knew the answer.
"I'd honestly rather eat pieces of barbed wire than work alongside you, but Whitney is my best friend. I'd tear the world to pieces for her, and now that she's lost so much, I think I'm the only one who can protect her."

Lola put the gun on the ground. Harliette smiled. She knew her older sister didn't like weapons. "I will talk to Chief Rayleen. Rachel gave her a call this morning to make a report, only to discover that she and Dormond will be returning to the agency and service within a week. I cannot promise that you will be taken in. I can only promise that I will talk."
"I guess I'll just have to accept that. First, I'll start with a question. Remember when mother said you were her favorite daughter?"
"Yes. I honestly, truthfully didn't like it that she played favorites between the two of us."
"And do you remember when she did all those nice things for you and you alone?"
Lola lowered her head slightly. "She put me through nurse training, she gave me the best part in the school play since she taught there. She got me the best presents. I...hated it. I didn't understand, Samantha. I didn't understand why she treated us so differently. Our father thought the same way."
Harliette placed her hand on her ample bosom. "I reminded her of something, Lola. My existence was a constant source of pain and shame. I think she treated you far better because she was hoping I would just die or run away, and then she could forget about me, and what I represented."
Lola could feel the tears welling up in her eyes. "What...what happened, Samantha?"
Harliette began to pace, conscious of Lola's swelling sadness but unable to hold back what she felt needed to be said. "Almost twenty years ago, your father went to a surgeon's conference, didn't he?"
Lola tried to hold back the tears by talking about less emotional topics. "He told it was about how they might be able to splice human and Pokémon DNA."

Harliette stopped, then faced her sister with her whole body. "During that extensive overseas conference, your mother was...indiscreet. You see, your father...is not my father. I only found out about it when I was twelve."
"You were a Pokémon trainer, then."
Harliette nodded. "I was so angry at mother that I could nearly scream. I rode my bicycle all the way from this metropolis where I found out back to our home. Now that I think about it, I should've put some forethought behind it. But I was just a pissed off Pokémon trainer who hated my older half-sister and my mom so damn much. I took the evidence, a nice little stack of photos, and presented them to your dad. That very nice, shit...just went nuts. Your dad confronted mom in a fight so bad I thought they were going to bring their Pokémon into it."
Harliette could see that Lola was crying now, but it finally had to be exposed. "I lost it, Lola. I don't know how many times I tried to foolishly repent for it by commiting suicide. Then one night, on my thirteenth birthday, your mother...did something. Look."

Lola slowly raised her wet face to see the horizontal line on the front of Harliette's neck. She discarded it as nothing special when she saw Harliette again, but now it's significance came flooding out. "Had she been a half-inch closer with that kitchen knife, I wouldn't be alive today."
Lola lowered her head again. Harliette sighed. "The rest is pretty much as you know it. Our mother and I ran away from home in different directions, your mother to trust her soul to the afterlife, and me to just...I dunno, get away from all the pain. After all, I was the one who made your mother kill herself, and I don't know how your father would love me knowing what he knows now. I couldn't live that life anymore, nor could I have lived it if I kept it all a secret."
Lola's voice was weak. "Where is this evidence now?"
"Burned it all, so if you're asking for proof of mom's cheating, I can't provide shit. She is my mom too, after all. I didn't like seeing her like that, and those photos always brought it all back. What she did. What I did. Everything that made it all spiral out-of-control so fast."

Suddenly, there was a sound to Lola's right. Lola turned to see Rachel with a ring of key cards in her hand. "Rachel?"
Rachel dutifully slid the card to the cell. The electronic lock lit up with a green light and the wall of bars separating the long-separated sisters slid slowly to the side. Rachel pointed at Harliette with her head while looking at Lola. "You're not the only one who knows about healing. Go to her."
Lola didn't hide the tears anymore. She broke into a sprint and nearly collided into her sister, hugging her tightly and letting her eyes spill over with emotions Lola had been holding in for years. Normally cold, Lola's warm, wet embrace unlocked all of the horrible feelings Harliette concealed just behind her eyes and then she started to cry as well. Rachel looked on as the sisters held each other and cried out six years of pent up emotions.

----- One Week Later, In the Dahngrest Ruins -----

"God, I'm so damn bored!" Kirie yelled.
"Then why don't you use yourself to become part of a house!" Chizuru said.
Kirie picked up on Chizuru's absolutely terrible pun joke. "Chizuru, correct me if I'm wrong, but did you just say something that could get you seriously injured?"
Chizuru quickly held up her hands as though warding off an invisible attack. "Ah. No, I don't think I said anything. Anyways, food's ready, so please come and eat up while it's nice and hot."
"Hold, Chizu-chan," Tsubasa said. "Lady Shizuka has something to put out now that we're all here."
"But the food will get cold," Chizuru whimpered.

Shizuka stood up. "Don't worry, Chizuru. I promise it won't take long, okay?"
"Of course, on problem."
Shizuka looked out at the assembled Kimonos. Fujiko wasn't there in attendance, but since Fujiko pretty much did her own thing that somehow usually managed to help along things that the Kimonos were doing, Shizuka decided to ignore this disrespect. "Mika, please begin."
Mika stepped forward. "I've managed to decipher more of those murals."
"Seems like you're only getting it deciphered in bits 'n' pieces. What gives, Mika?"
Mika shrugged. "The major chunks of the ancient history here is written in various languages. I believe that a number of different people from different walks of life came here and wrote their interpretations of the things that happened way back when. Anyways, the latest stuff I've deciphered is pretty important, but I should also mention that it's not good news."
"Proceed," Shizuka said simply.
Mika nodded. "Those murals tell of a being called Primal Exist. Supposedly, Primal Exist is some kind of ultimate Pokémon that turned the normal animals of the world into the Pokémon that exist today."
"Why'd it do something like that?" Rio asked, now too curious about the story to fondle Kiyomi under her kimono. Kiyomi looked a little disappointed that Rio stopped, but didn't say anything.
"The murals don't say, but I imagine it was to get revenge on the humans of this world."
"Makes sense," Tsubasa said. "Humans often take nature and the creatures that dwell within it for granted. They carve up forests for wood, pollute lakes and oceans with garbage and waste, and kill animals for various reasons, mindless sport among them. A good way to tell humans to stop stuff like that would be to gift those poor, oppressed animals with lethal powers."
"I'll bet that was a surprise. You keep a pet spider at home and the next thing you know, some kind of unseen force mutates that spider and gives it the ability to turn concentrated sunlight into a flesh-eating laser beam. Fuckin' awesome."
"I get the feeling legendary Pokémon are exempt from this tale," Kiyomi chimed in.
"Whadaya mean, love?"
"Just look at a few and you'll see my point, Rio. Some of them originate in legends beyond time and space and even this very dimension. This Primal Exist may have created the Pokémon, but I highly doubt it was responsible for the creation of every Pokémon that exists today."
Mika nodded. "You preach to the choir, Kiyomi. The murals don't even mention legendary Pokémon, but I'm almost 100% certain that Kiyomi is correct in this. Anyways, the murals talk about stuff like how there were bitter wars between man and Pokémon before Pokémon came to rule their own hunk of the world even when humans countered with the technology of Pokéballs and whatnot, but the really important stuff is at the end, and it talks about the war between the legendary Pokémon and Ruin Pokémon."
"So out with it. What's the really important shit?"
"Try as they might, the legendary Pokémon couldn't defeat the Ruin Generals, but they did seal away Primal Being and the Ruin Pokémon. But they could only do with all of them. That's right. Every last Pokémon had to be present to finally strike them where it really hurt."

Tsubasa leaned against a wall covered in murals. "So we need every legendary Pokémon with us if we're going to defeat Primal Being and rid this world of Ruin Pokémon forever? That's kind of a tall order, isn't it?"
"Yes, but it's not impossible."
The Kimonos all turned to face Shizuka. "As of late, legendary Pokémon have flooded into Honmyr. It's like they can sense the weakening of the seal and the awakening of the Ruin Pokémon and their monstrous generals."
Tsubasa pulls out her Pokéball, containing the legendary dark and fire type, Cerbrapter. "Each of us have one, with Lady Shizuka possessing two."
"The Pokémon Advanced Tactics and Counterterrorism Agency has Registeel, Latios, Latias, and Shaymin. And they're good guys, so maybe we can get them to help us."
"They're investigating the Ruin Pokémon. Our paths will cross many times."
Rio pounded her fists together. "That bastard Reynold Faynoc has quite a bunch of them himself. I've been running reconaissance like Lady Shizuka ordered, and apparently this Faynoc guy is getting legendary Pokémon DNA directly from the source."
"Renny and Charlotte got their Latios and Latias from a Mew Pokébrid named Moera," Tsubasa mentioned. "This could mean that Faynoc has Mew as well. And he likely has several others."

"The other legendary Pokémon will reveal themselves in due time," Shizuka said confidently. "Tsubasa, you have things to report as well?"
"Three important things, my Lady." Tsubasa said, stepping towards the center of the large, empty room. "First, Ghost Ruin General Phantomere has been destroyed."
Kirie whistled. "Damn, you always get to be in the cool fights, Tsubasa. I wish I was there."
"There are plenty of Ruin Generals remaining. We will all get our fair share of these difficult fights. Next, you wouldn't believe who I discovered to be in this world."
Kirie's teeth clenched suddenly. "Let me guess. Dinner."
Tsubasa nodded. "Dinner the Overhuman has entered this world, most likely through the same gateway we entered. I don't think she'll be a problem, despite being impossibly powerful beyond all measure. After all, she's not an evil human, just...really, really powerful."
"Whatever Dinner ends up doing, let's hope she doesn't blow up the world we're trying to defend doing it. We may be able to get her assistance in the future, but right now, all we can do is try to ignore her."
"After she humiliated us less than three months ago?"
Rio laughed. "Well, if you think you can take her now, you're welcome to try. Just remember that all of us tried to defeat her and she kicked all of our asses."
"I'll...I'll get my revenge...somehow."

"The third thing," Tsubasa interrupted. "Is that I'm certain that forward military base is nearing completion."
"You weren't particularly smart there, Shizu." Kirie said. "I told you 'just send me and I'll deal with those humans trying to investigate these ruins' but you told me no."
"And I meant it," Shizuka said. "Our mission here is not to pick fights with humans. War with the military force in that base will be unavoidable, but I would like for this fragile peace to extend as long as it can."
"When they do try to bully their way in here, that's when you get to have fun, Kirie."
"Seriously?" Kirie looked excited.
"Remember how we do it, Kirie. When they send in their first waves, we brutally slaughter them as over-the-top as we possible can to demoralize the rest of the enemy force. That should delay further attacks and save many more lives."
Rio cracked her neck. "This may be the demon inside me, but I can never get over how fun it is to kill humans."
"This will rapidly become more difficult for us," Shizuka said, looking out over all the Kimonos. "Not only must we gather all the legendary Pokémon, but we must suppress all enemy forces trying to enter these ruins."
"Faynoc's going to be targeting PATCA rather quickly," Tsubasa warned the others. "Mostly because I'm certain he doesn't know where the hell we are. If we can keep our eyes on them, we may be able to find Millenium House."

"That's a good idea. Do you mind if I watch them for a while? I want to see how strong they are."
"You're asking us, Lady Shizuka? None of us mind at all. Oh, at least a few of them have more than a passing interest in Magatamas, so you should take Mika with you."
"I'll go as well," Kiyomi volunteered. "I haven't had much of a look at the technology of this world, and I've longed to get out of these damn ruins and see how this world is for myself."
"I have no problems with this. Do any of you?"
Kirie shook her head. "Not at all. Boy, I hope the military attacks us soon! With all of their soldiers at once! I've been dying to spill some blood and organs."
"And if you're going to spill blood and organs, then you should have a full and nourishing meal!"
"That's the best idea I've heard all morning," Tsubasa approved.

----- Three Weeks After the Conclusion of Mission Two, In the Millenium House -----

Two legendary Pokébrids entered the large candlelit chamber and kneeled on the red carpeting. "Beloved Father, we bring news," said the man clad in black.
Faynoc nodded.
Both Pokébrids kept their heads respectfully bowed. "Our investigations into the incident have told us much. Acolyte Whitney has betrayed your will and has elected to join with the Pokémon Advanced Tactics and Counterterrorism Agency. That mercenary Harliette has done the same."

Faynoc rose from his lavishly decorated throne. "Then let my decrees be made. You two, my trusted inner circle, The Light and The Dark, shall seek out these fools and annihilate them when they are best exposed. Make it seem like an accident when you do so. Every one of them and their legendary Pokémon must die or you will never be allowed to return. Are my decrees understandable?"
It was no question for a true servant of Reynold Faynoc. "Thine decree is well understood and shall be carried out as per your divine will, our Beloved Father."
Faynoc sat back down. "Very well, then. I expect mighty deeds. You are to take the Excelsior and Carrion squads with you. You are dismissed."
The Light and The Dark rose silently, turned on their heels, and exited as quietly and stately as they entered. Time to go kill some interlopers.

((I've proposed this in the discussion thread already, if we're gonna be talking to Matt, we might as well use the time that we have and do it now. I am hoping whatever we post won't mess up anything that AB's planned, though if it does, we can just declare all of this non-canon.
Also, in this post: Impact displays self-irony! Can you spot it?))

Impact dozed about halfway through the journey, before jerking awake again as one of the wheels hit a pothole. He jawned, stretched a little. Damn, he was tired. He had been mulling over his various team members as he half-slept, and realized he didn't know very much about them. He decided to take the fact that he hadn't died in his sleep as a good omen, decided to rectify that right now. It'd be a while before he'd get the opportunity again, and even if the answers he got weren't honest, the reactions to his questions would be informative (he hoped).

"We've been on two missions now... eliminated various horrible threats, saved each other's lives repeatedly, I would assume. And yet we are... strangers, yes? I know your names, your general patterns of behavior and thus how you'll probably react in a given situation... but I don't know you personally. Every opportunity to make... introductions so far has been cut short, sadly enough. But we'll have at least another half hour in this van. So... Why are you here? What drives you? What scares you? Who are you? Matt?"

Matthias closed his eyes to marshal his thoughts. He barely trusted Impact and thus would need to phrase this carefully.

I suppose I could talk a little about myself. My name is Matthias as you all know. I'm driven by my own moral compass above all else and I follow it rather strictly. As you've all no doubt discovered, subtlety is more my style as opposed to being overly obvious. I tend to examine events rather closely to determine what my next actions should be as well as whom I work under. Although I suppose unlike most of you I'm more fascinated by the Ruin types that we find ourselves against rather than repulsed. And it is quite likely I will eventually choose one as one of my many forms. Is that sufficient Impact?

He opened his eyes slightly, clearly tired but looking very obviously detached from the conversation.

"Now that was rather ambiguous," Charlotte chimed in. She was a little bit curious about Matt to. She really didn't know anyone on the team well at all, but Matt, as it had seemed, was really the only who made a point of not having any interaction with them. She wasn't even aware his name was Matt until now. Kinda forgot about him on the whole.

"Why don't ya delve a little deeper for us, we're all friends here right?" Charlotte said with a smile that tried its best to convey sincerity, but came off as amused. "How about I break the ice a little bit," she said, "my name is Charlotte Beaufort, I'm here because I enjoy the thrill of battle, I also enjoy to be the first to battle something, and I'm not sure what I fear," she said. "I suppose thats something I'll figure out in this line of work," she concluded with a laugh. The whole thing seemed a bit more like she was mocking Matt than trying to encourage him."

"So, I've gone, why don't you go a little deeper Matt, what direction does your moral compass, why do you like subtlety and obscurity rather than taking a more active role," she then took a brief pause, "and why do you want the power of these Ruin-types so much." She seemed to be rather entertained by her prying. "Although," Charlotte then said, seeming more amused at her little interrogation, "I suppose if you don't feel comfortable yet, than how about someone else goes before you. Impact?"

Charlotte wasn't quite sure as to what brought about that last sentiment, but she found herself to be glad she said it. Just who was Impact? She had interacted with him, but she didn't know him. In a way, he was just like Matt. At least Matt made no true effort to hide his real name from his teammates.

Impact nodded. "Sure... why not? In everyday life, my name's Ray Green, though if I know anyone well, sooner or later they start calling me Impact. I got the name when I spent three years with one of the slayer battalions, each squad member got nicknames, mine turned out to be Impact, and seemingly, people thought it suited me. So it stuck. I left home early, did some adventuring, some studying, some military time, and here I am. I have joined this merry little agency because I want to hep people. Not necessarily trainers or pokemon, but the people who don't have either, who never had the time or resources to train pokemon, who don't have any pocket monsters to rely on for help and protection. I want to help them... for now, anyway. Later, I'm thinking of, perhaps, indulging my political ambitions... but that'd be a while off, yet."

He was surprised to realize that he had actually been honest. Of course, he had emphasized some facts, ignored others and hadn't mentioned that he detested them and all they stood for, but he had been mostly truthful. And that had probably been a good idea.

"But I'm not that intersting. I agree with Charlotte, I would like to hear more about matt. You are an... enigma of sorts, yes? One question I would like to know the answer to, in addition to what charlotte's been asking, is the question of why you're fighting with the patca. Moral compass?"

If I wasn't fighting with PATCA I'd be fighting against them. As a whole that decision seems rather stupid unless I have a cause to fight against them. Despite my emphasis on subtlety I don't stand on the sidelines and just let things happen. I doubt we have the time to put into a full psychological analysis of where my moral compass sits in comparison with all of yours.

He was purposefully being rather vague. Charlotte was being altogether too friendly and he most certainly wasn't going to tell her things without a damn good reason. Not to mention Impact...

You speak of me being vague Impact when you don't go into any depth on political ambitions or why you only want to help people for now. It gives the impression that you may not want to help people in the future which hardly inspires confidence as a leader; temporary or otherwise.

Impact smiled inside. The pokebrid wanted to trip him up? Really? Him? Very nice.
"Well, I'd say it gives the impression that I'm coming off an adrenaline high, which means that I'm rather tired right now and in no state to argue political ideology. Though if you like, we can meet later this week and I can tell you exactly why I think I'd be a good Regional Administrator for Homnyr. As for helping people... I guess it's because a lot of them don't have anyone else to help them. In a world where some have seemingly godlike creatures at their disposal and other don't, someone has to even the odds. But again, I'm tired and in no mood to discuss this right now. You seem a bit tired too, since you come to the rather incomprehensible conclusion my lack of explanation gave the impression of poor leadership. Seems like something of a fallacy, really. And for that matter, I never said you were being vague, just that you were a mystery to me. Though I'll take the fact that you used the word as a subconscious admission of sorts. You have spoken for a total of about two minutes, and yet I know no more about you than I did when we got into this van. I would greatly appreciate some... elaboration on your part. Give us information, instead of clues. Come on. It's not hard, Charlotte and myself did it. Just... open up. If we're gonna be fighting alongside you, it'd be good to know what you're fighting for. Particularly now that you've admitted to being either with or against us. Doesn't exactly inspire confidence."

The slayer was again trying to turn the tables on him. However he'd left enough holes for a counter-argument. Something about the slayer bothered him and he wanted to reveal it before tipping his hand at all.

And since I just helped you topple a Ruin General I believe that would be a resounding for you rather than against you. And you evaded my question. Why would you not want to help people in the future? Unless your trying to imply that as a Regional Administrator you'd create a utopia or you'd just become a blood sucking bureaucrat who wouldn't care about the people anymore.

"Indeed, you're part of this squad, and if you hadn't brought it up, I wouldn't be questioning your loyalty. But still, you seem very reluctant to answer even the most simple of questions. A suspicious individual would get the impression that you're hiding something."

And now Impact realized what had been making the pokebrid suspicious. His tounge had slipped lightly before, he had said that he wanted to help people "for now". What was worse, he hadn't noticed. Ah well, he could regain lost ground. Again, honesty might be useful.

"As for my political ambitions, I see what you mean. The "for now" that I mentioned wasn't indicative of my willingness to abandon the people I fight for. It was far more a sign that I plan to ensure that they no longer need help. How I'd go about that, I'm not yet sure... but I'd find a way, I think. Perhaps you all can help me."

Matthias nodded, relaxing slightly. He still didn't trust Impact but he had answered the question

As for the question you've been asking me, my goal is not unlike yours. I intend to help Honmyr conquer this uprising of chaos. I'm not sure after that. As to how well that will depend on which side I believe will be better for the nation as a whole. Any other questions you want me to answer?

Impact nodded. "One more thing. Which sides are present in this conflict? In your view? And how could each benefit the nation as a whole?"

What Matt had said was... helpful. Again, annoyingly vague, but helpful. And with any luck, he could find out more, even if Matt was determined to remain vague.

That sounds like two more things to me. However I shall oblige. Currently there are three primary sides with many other break downs possible. The PATCA. The Ruin Pokemon. And the assorted other criminals which probably are unorganized. The PATCA intends to restore law which has benefits but is also a system far more prone to being shaken by chaos. The Ruin forces I honestly can't say.I know nothing of Faynoc nor his intentions. However I doubt I would agree with him. Which leaves the criminals. Hardly a force of any threat unless they organize themselves into a coherent force. They could force the people into being more capable themselves but it would cost a great deal. Thus I fight with the PATCA.

Clearly he had put a great deal of thought into this.

"Very nice... I like the way you think. And I'm all the more happy to have you on our side." Impact leaned back. He was actually impressed at the pokebrid's apparent neutrality, lack of bias. He might be useful. If he could be persuaded. "So that's Matt, Charlotte and myself done, for now anyway. How about Pierce?"

Renny was exhausted and tired from the mission, and only listened without much to say, but when Matthias expressed interest in a new pokebrid specimen derived from the ruin types, perhaps even the sample of the ruin general itself, the lad was alerted and decided to speak up.

"Matt, if I could just clarify something about your intent regarding your interest with the ruin pokemon. And correct me if I make a mistake, as I don't fully understand the pokebridization process. I understand that their abilities are astounding and their true nature beyond understanding. However, I worry that if you go too far, you will suffer a heavy price. Earlier while our group were still seperated, Tsubasa spoke in significant lengths regarding the ruin pokemons and their ability to be controlled by someone possessing the Control Gene. Frayson created and injected himself with the command gene, and passed around subservient variants to his Ruin Generals, such as Phantomere whom we just fought and now have samples of."
Renny gently waved his wave slightly pointing to the group who took trophy parts of his corpse and weapon.
"His Ruin Generals could run their armies, and Frayson could direct their actions, right down to the individual Narchams if he wanted to. On the most basic level, if you take this form, you would gain the type and advantages of a ruin type. I admit that sounds incredible... it's also possible that you could control the gene inside the Ruin Generals and could end up controlling the ruin types yourself... but I worry that you would be suspectible to being controlled by anyone with the control gene like any other ruin type. You would be at the mercy of Fayoc or his minions. Is there a particular reason for your interest in the ruin type or this particular sample which you expressed you might take its form?"

Renny's eyes were wide with worry as if Matt could have almost have gone over his head.

To defeat an enemy often times the best method is to understand your enemy. If I can become one I would know precisely what we were fighting and have a far deeper understanding of the way they work. Even if Phantomere isn't an option there are others I'm willing to try. With enough time the command gene could probably be neutralized, or in the worst case scenario it just means I wouldn't be able to access that form against ruin enemies. The gain outweighs the risk in my mind.

He fell quiet again, listening for any information the others could give.

Impact sighed, innerly. Matt had mentioned his plans, and had scraped up a sample of Phantomere, and he had been afraid of this. And he himself wasn't quite sure of how to regard that problem. Was using the power of a ruin type to fight ruin types bad? Or, rather, was using it worse than using normal pokemon? Using their power, that was acceptable, even with normal pokemon. But they didn't just provide power, they thought, acted for themselves. Humanit's greatest assed had always been its ingeneuity, and it had sacrificed that to pokemon. The last great technological breakthrough had been the creation of pokebrids, the last spark of man's genius had gone into inextricably binding human genius with stagnant pokemon instinct. But was the ruinous instinct truly worse than the "natural" pokemon instinct? He didn't know. So he sat, thinking, waiting for Pierce to reply.

Pierce listened carefully to the conversation while he inspected the scythe handle. Apparently, Impact had some political ambitions, and his goal was to create a world where no one needed to be protected again. It seemed far too idealistic for Pierce, but then, Impact didn't seem like much of an idealist. Matthias, on the other hand, was cold and calculating, and worked for PATCA simply because it was the lesser of two (or three) evils.

"I'm from Wintervale. I travelled a bit before I came here, and I joined up with PATCA to help people, and also because the fights are fun." He replied to Impact's inquiry. It was all true, but he ommitted almost all of his backstory. He wasn't very keen on telling them that.

"Indeed. You seem quite... disciplined. Focused. I got that trait in the military... but where did you? For that matter, where did you learn to fight?" He had toyed with the idea of congratulating Pierce on being almost as vague as matt, but decided to leave it for now. Gathering information was more important than doling out liberal amounts of insults.

Son of a bitch. Impact going to keep asking, the fucker. If it came down to it, Pierce wouldn't lie. But he also wasn't going to tell him the truth.

"Well, I've been a trainer my whole life, so that probably has something to do with it. I learned to fight from different teachers while I was travelling. It's good sense to know how to defend yourself when everything goes to hell."

Impact nodded. That wasn't all there was, casual trainers didn't gain that much skill (Renny was, possibly, an exception, he wasn't sure), but it'd do for now. And speaking of Renny... "So... how about Renny? Why're you here? Though I can imagine."

Renny yawned a bit, evidently tired but he tried his hardest to think of an answer.

"Well, from a practical side of things, my family moved around from place to place since before I was born after my father retired from being a pokemon trainer until we recently stopped moving not too far from here. I decided to get a job close to home so I could be with my family, so I came here once I heard there was a need for those with experience with pokemon. As for why here... Well... I had Togekiss ever since it was an egg and it never was far from my side once it hatched. He is always a compassionate soul and I feel blessed to have him and my other pokemons as my companions."

^^ Renny smiled broadly as if the memory and the thoughts of his pokemons eased up all his fatigue of the evening.

"Anyhow, when I decided to become a pokemon trainer quite a few years ago, I "technically" got Mudkip as my first pokemon, although Togepi naturally came along with me and I caught a few others the old fashioned way. I done my share of traveling, both as a trainer and along with my mother and father who supported me taking me to more far off locations like Mount Coronet among other marvelous places. Anyhow, I was shocked by a particular gym battle where I saw the challenging trainer losing and his pokemon showed signs of extreme weariness and potential abuse, but the trainer didn't care. It was a hollowing sight to me, but the match ended suddenly and the gym leader actually used his full authority as a representative of the Pokemon League and revoked the trainer's license for mistreatment of his pokemon! I guess that is where I got the inspiration to join PACTA. At the time, I felt that I would basically be searching out trainers both legal and criminal who violate the terms of the trainer license and terminate all unethical or immoral treatment of pokemons which they capture as well as the manner in which they are used. Well, I admit it's not as simple as I make it sound. I mean, Shannon here done a tremendous job tonight, even though her past actions were admitably not as noble, so I know that a pokemon's bond with trainers can be quite so deep or that there could be certain circumstances... In a way, I felt that if I raised strong and happy companions through my actions, then I would set a strong example for others to treat other pokemons and trainers with the same respect which should also extend to all others without pokemons or those who don't raise them in the same manner as a trainer. Although I admit that the assignments we done by far is quite different from what I envisioned I would be doing, I still believe that what we have done is a vital contribution."

Renny turned his thoughts inwards a bit more as his words leaked out in the middle of his soul-searching.

"I always felt that everyone was responsible for the connections they make throughout their lives. That living with others meant that our very interactions touch each other in different ways. It is because of those differences that we struggle because we perceive kindness in different ways, and we may hurt each other in the attempt to be kind. But those differences are meant to be celebrated. The way I see it, the befriending of a pokemon or a human and how we interact with each other are really not that different... and that things will change if we behave as if those differences don't make a difference at all. But I'm afraid to admit that I'm still thinking of what I'll ultimately do with my life further down the line or how I'll do my part to make that dream a reality."

And this was where he broke sometimes. Pokemon for power, he could decry. But... companionship, that was another thing. He would have to... reevaluate. Not change his mind, god no, but consider how this kind of trainer fit into the grand scheme of things. But first... "I see. An interesting story, certainly, interesting motivation. I've also frequently thought that there are individuals who just shouldn't have pokemon, that a pokeball in the wrong hands can be so very dangerous. But tell me... you seem to have great respect for life, particularly for that of pokemon. How do you feel about destroying the ruin types?"

Renny looked pensive and solemn as he pondered the simple question but complex situation. His visage was an odd sort of serenity as if his consciousness was heavy but at peace.

"I pity them. I really do. Even as warped as they may very well be, they are still living creatures who may have yet to develop fully. They may very well not have the ability to act as their own advocate and be responsible for their actions, lashing out at whatever they see as a threat or being the puppets we have seen them as. And that they are at the hands of those who use them as a weapon makes me wished I knew there was a way to take them back. However, it would be ill to deny that the reality is that there is no room left to negotiate or I would have done so... well, more than I tried already. Some, like the ruin types aren't in the position or able to comprehend negotiation. Some truly believe that their way is the right way or that they can't live peacefully with others... and as much as I hate to think it, some just want to watch the world burn."

Renny cleared his throat and looked at everyone who paid attention to the conversation with a brief but bold expression.

"One of the other reasons why I joined PATCA is because not everyone is capable of defending themselves. Some fear the dangers involved. Some don't even know it exists. Many may not be strong or experienced enough. Others don't have the means to do so. You told me before that I think about the needs of the ones who may deserve a second chance, but also not to forget the victims. I don't believe I have ever forgotten. I joined because I believe I have the means and the will to fight in their place and my comrades all support the cause, acknowledging that others need help. The best I can do is to fight and negotiate when possible as best as my abilities can manage so that the quarrel may be solved with as few casualities as possible. When everything is over, perhaps there can be a resolution where we can make amends with the ruin types... maybe not. We all joined PACTA for varying reasons, but ultimately I believe our efforts support the whole of Honmyr and beyond, even if we aren't directly aware of our effects on them."

Armored Bishoujo: "This is something Menarker presented to me in PM...with some heavy modifications."

----- Two Weeks After Mission Two -----

Renny stands in front of the hospital where Rayleen and Dormond were administered after the first mission and bank incident. Things have been quite busy, and he felt embarressed to not have visited them sooner. But in his defense, Lola had said that the District Chief and her Mawile Pokébrid butler would have returned over a week ago. What were they still doing in the medical ward of Ricewood Masterworks?

Then again, there was a bit of runaround. As two the first people, Darcen's corpse included, to receive injuries from Ruin Pokémon, the Pokémon Professor of Honmyr, Jeanette Ricewood, had a personal interest. After all, a lot of money that funded her research projects came from PATCA's budget. And Jeanette was a hands-on kind of workaholic.

Renny was admitted after some over-the-intercomm dialogue between the professional and well-dressed male receptionist, and finally saw Jeanette and Dormond...watching Rayleen go to town on a boxing bag. This was mostly due to Rayleen have a different left arm than she did in the first mission. A cybernetic prosthetic of sorts. Dormond noticed Renny first and walked over to him. "Ah, Master Tresserhorn, good to see you. I'm sorry that we haven't stayed in contact with you and the others. Lady Crosswald and Lady Ricewood have been up at all hours of the day and night, testing various breakthroughs in the scientific world."
"Don't call me a lady," Jeanette said crisply. "It makes me feel old."
Rayleen reared back and then slammed the mechanical fist into the punching bag with a blazing fast thrust punch, detaching it from the chains that held it to the ceiling and sending it crashing into the wall. "You have a ten-year old daughter, Jean."
"Still, I like to think I'm still an attractive young woman."

True. Jeanette Ricewood was quite decidedly "smexy". One would describe her as looking much like Shion Uzuki from the Xenosaga series. Science hot, to put it bluntly. She certainly didn't look her age of thirty-five. Rayleen turned to Renny and she and the professor joined him and Dormond. "Sorry that we haven't come back when I said we were going to. The mission where I was defeated taught me something. I think we're playing hardball, Renny. And you know that when the enemy plays hardball, we come bringing the hardest balls there are. But it's good to see someone come, worried about us. Anyways, don't worry about my arm. Actually, if let it heal, I could've kept it, but I'm woefully impatient. I wouldn't even give Dormond time to talk me out of it."
"Lord knows I've tried," Dormond said sadly.
"But enough about us. Lola gave me a thorough report, but you guys haven't been doing much of anything agency related since then, have you? What've you been up to?"

Renny told Rayleen plus two that for most of the past two weeks, he was on a sabbatical of sort, traveling with his Pokémon. In particular, he replaced all his Pokéballs for his Pokémon with Luxury Balls thanks to a particular artisan dealing in that line of business. Needless to say, Togekiss and the rest were elated at this new development as well as the overall relaxing journey enjoying nature.
"Yeah, that sure sounds like you," Rayleen said, chuckling.
"Don't be mean, m'lady. I remember all the times you'd drag me outside when you were young to have fun with Pokémon and nature."
Rayleen blushed and couldn't look at Renny anymore. "Yeah, thank you for reminding of what a dork I was as a kid, Dormond."
Then she quickly straightened up. "Ah! Not that I'm calling you a dork, Renny. I wish I still had the close relationship with my Pokémon that you have now. Anyways, I'm sorry, but I intend to keep working out a little more here. A week or maybe two, tops. After all, the Ruin Pokémon aren't going to take it easy on us, and with some of Faynoc's cultists as well as a Ruin General taken down, he's going to have his eye on PATCA, and us specifically."

A beeping sound was heard. "Professor Ricewood? There are three ladies here to speak with one District Chief Crosswald."
Rayleen and Dormond exchanged looks. Then Rayleen snapped her fingers as though she figured out what this meant. "Hey, are they wearing mini-yukatas?"
Not even a second passed. "Oh, those are what those are. And they all have weapons and look pretty dangerous. I called security, but they knocked them all out in just two seconds."
Rayleen turned to Jeanette. "Professor, please admit them. They're with those girls I've told you about."
Jeanette nodded. "Please allow them through."
It was their first time meeting a true demon. The one in the red mini-yukata was in front. She had beautiful black hair like Chizuru and the same red eyes, but her eyes were sharp and the way she carried herself spoke of many years of combat, perhaps decades or, since she was a demon, centuries. The woman and her two escorts, one an orange-haired beauty in glasses and a blue mini-yukata and the other a very young girl with short black hair and blue eyes holding, of all things, a skateboard. She wore a yellow mini-yukata. "Excuse me for the intrusion. My name is Shizuka Mizuno. I wish to talk of a great many important issues here in Honmyr and would like to propose an alliance of sorts since we all seem to be working towards the same goal."
"And what goal would that be?" Rayleen asked carefully.
"Read this," the little girl said, stepping forward and offering up a tome.
Rayleen looked at Jeanette. "You're the smart one. Can you read all that really quickly?"

Jeanette sighed and took up the book and began reading quickly, her eyes darting quickly across the pages. "This...this is incredible!"
She rapidly closed the book. "But is it true?"
"I think the book contains enough proof, particularly the sketches."
"The pictures, eh? Let me have a look."
Rayleen took the book from Jeanette and rifled through it. "These are really good pictures. A Narcham, a Pulverot, an Omnisroth, and who is this?"
"That is Phantomere, the Ghost Ruin General."
Rayleen confirmed this with Renny who was actually there that night. The picture was perfect and included shading and little snippets of information on various parts of Phantomere's anatomy. "Who drew this?"
"Chizuru Suzuki. She's very good at drawing."
Rayleen continued to flip through the book, allowing Renny to see more pictures. "Hmmm. Oh, what's this bulbous thing?"
Renny couldn't identify it.
"That, according to vague descriptions in the murals I've been deciphering, is Primal Exist."
"You're not certain? Wait, I'm sorry, let's do introductions, first. My name is Rayleen Crosswald. I'm the District Chief for the Pokémon Advanced Tactics and Counterterrorism Agency based here in Fainas Metropolis, and the acting leader of the Watchmen. This is my butler, Dormond Ferguson. That is Jeanette Ricewood, President and CEO of Ricewood Masterworks and is considered the Pokémon Professor of this region. And last but not least, this is Renny Tresserhorn, an outstanding Pokémon trainer in the Watchmen."
Shizuka bowed again, this time the two girls with her doing the same. "I am Shizuka Mizuno, leader of the demon force called the Kimonos and a top swordfighter in our home netherworld. To my right is Kiyomi Matsuraba, the mechanical genius of our force. To my left is Mika Mutsumi, the magical powerhouse and intellectual prodigy of our force. And while you may not necessarily believe it, we are indeed demons from the netherworld, and we have come here to investigate and eliminate the Ruin Pokémon threat in its entirety."

Rayleen blinked. "Under whose orders, exactly?"
Shizuka placed her hand on her chest. "Well, I am the leader of the force, so I guess that means we're doing this under my orders."
"So you're from the netherworld. How did you know about the Ruin Pokémon problem here before us?"
"When we're not beset by some kind of problem, we tend to go out looking for problems. I believe you call people like that adventurers, don't you?"
"That kind of differs wildly from my definition of an adventurer, Shizuka."
Shizuka shrugged. "Then what would you call us?"
"I can't come up with a nice way to say it. But I will say that I'm thankful you did get involved. There's no exact telling how many lives your heroic actions have spared."
"Saving lives is its own reward. At least that's the way most of us in the Kimonos feel."

The friendly banter and more serious discussions continued on for what felt like a couple of hours, and ended with Renny inviting Rayleen, Dormond, and the three Kimonos to the party. Ricewood politely declined, stating that things were picking up too fast for her to afford some free time for a good time.

---- The Next Day -----

Renny goes into the PATCA building and invited Rachel and Lola to a party he was planning at his home shortly after Rayleen returned. Shannon, Moon, and Evangaleen were also nearby, and of course the very nice Renny invited them as well. Renny hadn't seen Moon before today, mainly because Moon was being patched up at a normal hospital. Moon was holding a Pokéball and seemed to be really happy. Ah, that Starmie Shannon captured in the second mission. But the way Moon was staring at Shannon...

Shannon had sealed her own fate in the romance department. Hopefully, she did it intentionally.