pkemeter | Victory Road IC Inbox

Psychology.

[He grins, picking up Tarantula and standing up.]

Works for me. They're in the right level range. Lemme just switch some Pokemon at the right level out of the PC and we can take this outside.

[Egon nods, then goes to gently pick up Cucumis. Surprisingly, she tolerates it. If Venkman looks closely, Egon looks...almost excited?]

I'll meet you outside, then. Don't take too long.

[Yadda yadda time passes they get their Pokémon LETS DO THIS BATTLE

The battle takes place right outside the hotel, though a safe enough distance away that if any of the attacks go wide, they don't have to worry about too much property damage. In one hand, Spengler grips a PokéBall, tossing it in his hand like a baseball. As Venkman approaches, he raises an eyebrow.]

Excellent. Are you ready? Have you thought of any sort of strategy?

[Venkman does look closely, and the excitement on his partner's face makes his heart skip a beat. Fifteen years, and the bastard still has such a hold on his heart.

He gets his team ready for action. When Venkman heads outside, Tarantula is still out of her containment unit and at his feet, rubbing against his ankles.]

I've got a few ideas...

[He sounds just a liiittle cocky.

He doesn't send Tarantula out first, instead tossing out a Pokeball from his hand. The Swellow- Felix- is a new member of his roster, but he's gone toe to toe with Bond quite a few times now. He's lost every time, of course, both because of the level gap and the sheer tenacity of that bird, but he holds his own nicely. Felix chirps a greeting even as he tenses in preparation for whatever Egon sends out.]

[Egon grins, then tosses the PokéBall to the ground. Pascal the Dweeble pops out, chittering excitedly. Pascal taps his claws against the ground, raring to go. He glances back towards Egon for reassurance, and Egon nods. In a firm and confident tone:]

Pascal, use Stealth Rock!

[Pascal braces himself, then starts shaking his shell from side to side. Bits and pieces of rock fly off and levitate themselves around Felix. An entry hazard to chip off some health from Venkman's team. Pascal looks pleased with himself.]

[Felix greets Pascal politely, with a slight bow and a chirp.]

Man, I really need to get some stuff with that move.

[Venkman pokes at one of the nearby rocks.]

You know, if I tried sending Bond out in this, it'd knock her out of the running real quick- both her typings are weak to rock.

[Luckily, Venkman only has one bird with him. And he made the right decision in sending him out first. He grins.]

Double Team.

[Felix's easy-going demeanor fades away. He flares his wings out, and the field is filled with doubles. They don't merely stand still, either- Felix and his doppelgangers take flight, swirling around the area in a circle around Pascal.]

Edited 2019-04-10 00:55 (UTC)

I am aware, yes. I believe some Pokémon can learn it via TM.

[Just having a casual conversation while battling your partner. No biggie.

Pascal looks a bit bewildered, trying to follow the Swellow's true flight path. Egon raises an eyebrow.]

Bring that bird down!

[Pascal nods, understanding. He begins to dig up the dirt beneath his feet and unearths a rock. He lifts it with his claws, his legs skittering as he uses Smack Down to toss it with all his might at one of the copies. Does it hit?]

[The rock clips through a double, who dissipates into a fine mist. Venkman looks even more smug than before.]

Try Toxic, now!

[Somewhere from the mass of fluttering birds, a glob of purple... something comes flying for Pascal.]

[The Dwebble barely has any time to react when he gets smacked in the face with a blob of toxic sludge. He lets out a distressed chittering noise, trying desperately to scrape it off his carapace. Egon blinks, glancing up at Venkman and giving him a sharp glare.]

Feint attack!

[Trying to shake off the effects of the poison, Pascal steels himself and darts to the right--to the left--all while swaying his claws around, as if poised to strike. When it looks like he's about to skitter backwards, he leaps up and smacks Felix out from the swirling mass of birds. When he lands, his legs wobble slightly and he tries to steady himself.]

[Felix squawks in alarm as he gets hit, and many of the nearby doubles disappear. He takes a moment to recover from the attack before returning to the flock of doubles, waiting for his trainer's next call. He's a little winded, but he's still good for a few more rounds.

The remaining doppelgangers flicker after the attack, but continue their flight path. They're slightly faded out, now- if Pascal concentrates hard enough, he'll probably be able to pick Felix out of the crowd again.

For his part, Venkman doesn't seem too concerned. He even returns Egon's glare with a smile.]

Pluck-!

[Venkman doesn't even get the word out all the way before Felix darts back out of the crowd, beak-first. Seems like he's eager for retribution.]

[Felix manages to peck Pascal right in between his eye stalks. The Dwebble reels back, trying to concentrate while ignoring the growing poison seeping through his body. He shakes himself to try and clear his head.

Egon grimaces.]

Use Rock Blast!

[Pascal withdraws into his shell for a brief moment. He pops out holding a rock in each claw and tosses them at Felix like knives--one--two--three rocks. Hopefully, one of them hits. His legs tremble as he skitters about, trying to be quick enough to avoid Felix's next attack, but he seems significantly slower than before....]

[... 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.]

[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.]

Right. Let's see how you do with this.

[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.]

Toxic, again.

[Here comes another gob of poisonous ooze!]

[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.]

Ah. Alright.

[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....]

[He's literally not doing anything, Egon. Except winning.

Venkman considers his options.]

Try for Screech.

[That way, if Cucumis tries to Baton Pass anything, the other Pokemon will be at a disadvantage defensively.

Tarantula takes a deep breath. And unleashes the loudest, highest-pitch meow Egon Spengler has ever heard in his god damn life.]

[~~cucumis: what? i don't have fucking ears~~

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.]

Fury Swipes!

[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.]

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