Victory Road IC Inbox

[pkemeter]

"You have reached Dr. Egon Spengler. Please leave a message, preferably fifty words or less."

Comments

[neverstudied]

[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.]

[pkemeter]

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.]

[neverstudied]

[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.]

[pkemeter]

[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.]

[neverstudied]

[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.]

[pkemeter]

[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.]

[neverstudied]

[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.]

[pkemeter]

[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....]

[neverstudied]

[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.]

[pkemeter]

[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.]

[neverstudied]

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.]

[pkemeter]

[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!]

[neverstudied]

[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.]

[pkemeter]

[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.]

[neverstudied]

[Baby still sleep. Venkman's still a little unnerved by Lucifer, but doesn't look too worried. Yet.

Tarantula is definitely low on health, though. Another hit or two will probably do her in.]

[pkemeter]

Alright. Let's top off that health with Moonli--

[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?]

[neverstudied]

[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.]

[pkemeter]

I think I might have to give her extra PokéPuffs to make up for this.

[He sounds genuinely apologetic, at least. He doesn't have time to call out and warn Lucifer when the Shiinotic gets smacked from behind.

Lucifer keeps smiling. He turns his head ever so slightly to try and identify the Kecleon.]

Lucifer, use Confuse Ray.

[Lucifer hardly moves, and a bunch of colorful floating lights float and intertwine, heading straight towards the red stripe.]

[neverstudied]

[It's a hit! The red zigzag stumbles, disoriented. The Kecleon blinks into visibility for a moment, before disappearing again.]

Fight through it- hit with Psybeam!

[There's a pause, as though Georgie is trying to comprehend the order. He does, though, and a beam of multicolored light zooms towards Lucifer.]

[pkemeter]

[Lucifer seems to wobble a bit when hit with the lights, like an inflatable punching bag, but he never breaks eye contact with Venkman. He doesn't seem particularly confused, though.]

Use Giga Drain again.

[The Shiinotic's tendrils whip forward with blinding speed, s t r e t c h i n g and reaching for the Kecleon. The ends of his tendrils spread and feel around for Georgie, trying to steal his life force. Not freaky at all.]

[neverstudied]

[Georgie flickers, turning completely visible again and clearly disoriented. It's easy to latch onto him with the tendrils, though he tries to wriggle free.]

Fury Swipes-

[Not happening. Georgie stumbles and scratches himself up in the process.]

[pkemeter]

[The thin barrier surrounding Lucifer fades. Egon looks a little worried--a hit from Toxic could seriously wipe him out. Best bets are to try and whittle Georgie's health down until Venkman is forced to send out Felix....

Of course, that's if Lucifer survives.]

Quickly--use Ingrain!

[Lucifer's feet suddenly root themselves into the dirt as tendrils worm their way around the Shiinotic. He smiles, sipping up more nutrients.]

[neverstudied]

[Georgie and Tarantula retroactively take damage from stealth rock because we completely forgot about that

The instant the Safeguard fails, Venkman perks up.]

Georgie-

[Georgie shakes his head to clear it. He's still under the effects of confusion, but he regains some control and fades from sight again. He doesn't have to hear the rest of the order to know what Venkman's gonna ask, he just goes ahead and spits out a blob of Toxic ooze, aiming right for Lucifer's face.]

[pkemeter]

[The fact that Lucifer is now rooted in place helps Georgie's aim, and Lucifer takes the full brunt of the toxic sludge. He delicately raises a tendril to wipe it off his face, though his smile seems a bit strained now.]

Send that sludge right back to him!

[Without hesitating, Lucifer scoops up the toxic goop in his hands and forms a loose ball. With some effort, he lobs the Sludge Bomb right at Georgie. Right after he throws it, his cap seems to wobble as the poison begins to seep further into his body.]

[neverstudied]

[The Sludge Bomb hits him right on the stripe, and his invisibility fails again. It hurts, particularly because of his Color Change ability- after Giga Drain, he turned into a Grass type. Lucifer gets lucky and poisons him, too- the Kecleon seems to be struggling to stay on his feet, trembling. On the bright side, the attack snapped him out of his confusion.

Now Venkman is starting to look worried.]

Another Shadow Sneak.

[Obediently, Georgie's shadow slips forward, twisting and turning on the ground. Upon reaching Lucifer, the shadow yanks- attempting to dislodge the Shiinotic from his healing roots.]