[... So that didn't go according to plan. The first rock is completely off target, whooshing through a doppleganger. The second comes surprisingly close, and only a bit of careful maneuvering from Felix keeps his wings from getting clipped.
The third? Smacks Venkman right in the face. He stumbles back and falls on his ass, startling Tarantula- and Felix, for that matter, who hovers in place for a moment to watch his trainer with concern.]
Jesus fuck, Spengs-
[Venkman rubs at his forehead, grimacing. He's not really hurt, he'll just be slightly bruised later.]
Alright, fine. Aerial Ace, try to finish it off!
[The Swellow nods, and briefly returns to the flock of doubles. As soon as he's sure Pascal has lost track of him, Felix rockets out and attacks from behind.]
Still, I feel like I've been on the brunt end of a lot of pain lately, I think it's about time for one of you guys to have something bad happen to them!
[True love: telling your bfs they should get hurt.]
[Egon raises a hand in concern, but then focused back on the battle when Felix rushes forward. Pascal stumbles forward as he's hit, and he tries his best to stay standing. He looks pretty bad right now, still hanging on a sliver of health.]
Another Feint Attack!
[With his last strength, Pascal does the same move as before, this time lurching back and forth before striking at Felix. When he hits the ground again, his leg wobble for a few moments, and the poor crab collapses in the dirt.
Egon pulls out the PokéBall and clicks the button, returning Felix. He frowns as he puts it away, thinking about his next move. After a moment or two, he tosses another PokéBall into the ring, and Cucumis Sativus lands with a wet squelch onto the ground. She waits patiently for Felix's move--there's no way she's beating the Swellow with speed.]
[The bird takes the hit with another pained squawk, and the last of the doppelgangers fade in the process. Felix lands on the ground in front of Venkman, open-mouth breathing a little from all the exertion, but he still has some fight in him. He chirps an apology to Pascal and congratulates him for fighting so hard.
Cucumis flops onto the ground, and Felix turns to look up at Venkman- who's gotten back up on his feet by now. Venkman nods- he's not switching Felix out yet.]
[Oh, Ray. Oh sweet baby Ray. Don't say that. Because as soon as he does, Egon pokes at a part in the PokéBall, and an arc of electricity hits him right on the back of his hand. Cringing, he pulls his hand away and says flatly:]
Ouch.
[The electricity immediately makes Riley react. Dad hurt?! She'll fight it! Before Egon or Ray can react, she dives towards the offending PokéBall, jaws opened wide as she crunches right down on the device. The wires sputter and spark as bits of metal get ground between her teeth. Satisfied that the evil is dead, she spits out the other parts onto Ray's lap and trots up to him, expecting to be pet.]
[Cucumis takes the full brunt of the Toxic glob, but she barely flinches. Sure, the poison quickly begins to take effect, but she knows what to do. Before Egon can even issue a command, she wiggles her spines around, and a transparent bubble seems to form around her, Safeguarding her from future poison.
Egon blinks, a slightly surprised expression on his face. It seems like the Pyukumuku is going to be handling this for now.]
[Venkman laughs, covering his mouth with his hand to stifle the giggling.]
Maybe she oughta train the rest of your team, huh, Spengs?
[He shakes his head.]
Ah... Anyway- Brave Bird.
[Felix takes flight again, up in the air- and tucks his wings in, swooping back down, low to the ground, and aiming right for this tiny little sea cucumber.]
I think she's more interested in sitting where she is.
[Cucumis barely moves when she takes the hit, but more out of the fact that she literally can't move. Being charged at by a bird at high velocity still smarts. Ouch. But she's got some tricks up her sleeve.
Slime begins to pour out from her skin as she wiggles about, trying to Purify her body of the toxins. The poison from her body drips out and flows onto the ground around her, and she looks far fresher than before. She looks towards Felix with a determined expression, as if daring him to attack again.]
[The recoil damage from Brave Bird leaves Felix incredibly close to fainting, and he's trembling a bit when he lands again. Venkman makes a mental note to get Felix the Roost TM as soon as possible.
He watches as the poison drips away from Cucumis, frowning a little.]
You've done great, man. Come on back.
[Felix chirps gratefully as the Pokeball's light engulfs him.]
Tarantula? Your turn.
[The kitten's ears perk up and she squeaks in excitement, running forward to take Felix's place.]
[Oh, no. Oh, noooooo. Egon looks a little uneasy at Tarantula skipping into the battle. It's a good thing that Cucumis is the one in charge right now.
She watches the cat run forward, then begins to...ooze more slime? Except this time, the slime quickly Hardens around her and forms a protective coating. Not much else she can do but sit and wait for the cat to try and attack.]
[Tarantula purrs happily, her tail up as she blinks happily up at Egon and making eye contact with him. Hi dad!]
Start with Fake Out!
[In the blink of an eye, Tarantula's paw lashes out, and she slaps the Pyukumuku, claws out. She doesn't even look at her target. She's still holding eye contact with Egon.]
[Cucumis definitely isn't expecting that, and she flinches, her face cringing inwards on her own body. Egon stares down at Tarantula with a weird mixture of pride and disappointment.]
You're not getting any PokéPuffs tonight.
[Which is going to be a broken promise pretty soon because he's going to forget and keep feeding her treats.]
[Tarantula's ears go back and she looks sad as she yowls for pity. Venkman looks amused.]
Dark Pulse, now.
[The Meowth takes a few steps back as a beam of energy shoots from the gem on her forehead, straight for Cucumis. That raised defense won't have much of an effect on a special attack.]
[The special attack hits her right in the face, causing her to flinch. She looks pretty ragged around the edges, but that doesn't stop her from standing strong.
Egon grits his teeth, glaring up at Venkman. His partner is being infuriating, but he's not saying anything. Yet.
The transparent orb surrounding Cucumis starts to flicker and fades into thin air. Egon's team is no longer safeguarded, which means....]
Egon jolts a little, covering his ears as he grimaces down at Cucumis. Her face cringes further inwards as she tries to block the sound, but it's no use. It's not like Cucumis can really Baton Pass anything except a Teeny Defense Boost, but what she can do is place down another Safeguard. If she gets taken out by her next attack, well...at least Egon's next Pokémon will be safe for a little bit.]
[The attack only hits twice, sadly, but that's two times Tarantula swipes Cucumis across the face, claws out. The move is also slightly boosted by her ability, Technician- not to mention the drop in defense.]
[Fortunately for Venkman, that's just enough to whittle down Cucumis's health. However, unfortunately for Tarantula, that boost in Technician and the defense drop....Those two claw slashes are enough to make the Pyukumuku...well, puke. When the second attack lands, a white fist bursts out from her mouth and socks Tarantula right in the gut, delivering those attacks right back to the Meowth. Her "hand" flops to the ground as the sea cucumber rolls over, unconscious.
Egon looks like he's about to pop a goddamn blood vessel, but he forces himself to remain calm. He's down to his last Pokémon, and Venkman's still got three. Granted, they've been whittled down, but...let's hope that Ford knew what he was doing when he bred Destroying Angel.
Cucumis is returned, and a Shiinotic replaces her. Lucifer stares unblinkingly at Venkman, his uncanny smile stretched still across his face.]
Lucifer. [Said in a forceful tone.] Use Sleep Powder.
[Still staring at Venkman, Lucifer unleashes a cloud of spores from his cap directed towards Tarantula. Watch out!]
[The punch comes as a surprise, and Tarantula cries out in pained alarm. And then just... Doesn't stop. She's yowling now. She comes limping up to Egon and Lucifer, whining pathetically.
... Venkman, meanwhile, takes a step back at the sight of that damn grin. Yeesh.]
Tarantula- knock the smile off it's face. Another Fury Swipes!
[Counting on Lucifer and Egon taking their guard down a bit, she lunges- nowhere near as injured as she appeared before. This time Tarantula hits four times, swiping across Lucifer's face. On the last strike, however, the spores connect, and she stumbles back, yawning.
And then she just. Curls up and goes to sleep. Goodnight Tarantula.]
[Lucifer remains smiling as Tarantula's claws rake against his delicate cap, scratching the fibers up. He seems to grin more widely when Tarantula gets a face full of spores, but that's probably just a trick of the light. The corner of Egon's mouth twitches upwards into a small smile.]
Lucifer, use Giga Drain.
[Lucifer extends his tendrils and plants them right on Tarantula's little body. Glowing essence begins to flow from the Meowth into Lucifer. The scratches that Tarantula dug into Lucifer's head start to close up, and soon, he looks good as new. All the while staring up at Venkman.
He retracts his tendrils when he's had his fill, waving them gently and waiting to take his next move.]
[Oh, I'm sorry, did you mean Moonblast? Because Lucifer's eyes seem to light up before Egon even finishes his sentence. Before Egon can react, Lucifer reaches upwards with his tendrils, and the sky suddenly darkens. A glowing ball of silver light begins to form between his "hands", growing and growing until the Shiinotic flings the energy towards Tarantula.
The ball of light explodes with a ground-shaking BOOM as the contenders are temporarily blinded. It's a completely unnecessary show of force. Lucifer looks pleased. Egon looks absolutely distraught.]
Lucifer!
[He immediately goes to check on Tarantula. How's she looking?]
[Yeah uh. That knocks the baby out cold. Luckily, she was already asleep, and didn't even wake up from the pain. She doesn't wake up when Egon checks on her, but she's clearly still, like, alive and breathing. Tarantula is taking an Extended Nap.]
Wow. Good job, Egon, your creepy mushroom beat the shit out of an unconscious kitten.
[He crosses the field and picks Tarantula up, shaking his head. He glares at Lucifer.]
Ever heard of overkill?
[Still, he's not too upset. After a pause, he pulls out a Pokeball and releases his third Pokemon-
Uh. Presumably.
Wait, there he is. It's the Kecleon- Georgie- who is just completely invisible except for the stripe.]
Shadow Sneak.
[Georgie's shadow slips across the ground and behind Lucifer, looming up behind him and preparing to strike.]
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