(Open) A New Face in Town

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Grassveil Town was within sight! Opal had travelled a long way to get here, but the journey had been worth it! What the young Growlithe had heard about the place looked to be true. There were lots of Pokemon about, and there was presumably a lot to do here as well. Oh, if only her brothers and sisters were here as well. What a marvellous time they'd all have! Well, there was no point just standing there. Grassveil would never be reached then. Onward, to adventure!

Opal was wagging her tail with excitement as she trotted into the town center. She enthusiastically greeted passing Pokemon and asked several questions about the place. The shops she heard about sounded amazing. There were shops for berries, shops for gummies, even shops for blended drinks. That sounded amazing! Being a desert dweller, Opal had never had a blended drink. It simply wasn't a thing there. She made sure to memorise the location of these drink shops so she could come back when she'd saved up some money.

The deep rumble that came from Opal was immediately interpreted as hostile rather than defensive in reaction to his own aggressive motions. The more intensive reaction from Opal seemed to trigger something in the charmeleon as his expression snapped into an outraged glare. He backed away from the fire type as his jaws parted to reveal the sharp razors within. The teeth were not the focus of his intimidation, however, as he brandished his claws in the air before him. His head leveled with his tail as he focused his body into a defensive stance himself.

In the future, he would look back at this moment and curse himself for not taking the time to think more about why the growlithe might have reacted this way despite the curse that afflicted him. It was so blatantly obvious that she felt as if he were the threat. Opal was right to think so with his actions. The frustration of the situation got the better of him. He needed to vent-something to hit and take the emotions out on. The shroud in his mind thickened as his blood began to pump faster. His pupils contracted as the creature hissed at the canine.

It felt to him as if this growlithe was being the unreasonable one. She was the one getting worked up over nothing, not him. She was being rude and hostile for absolutely no reason that he could see himself. His previous hostile movements were practically shoved into an abyss as the reptile's vision began to tunnel onto the canine. There were no concerned bystanders, the village no longer existed to him, and it was just him and the fire type whose name he still could not remember.

He needed to attack before the growlithe did. The charmeleon's tail lashed to and fro while the flame of the tail began to burn brightly. The air around him began to increase in temperature as he fired himself up. Without any more warnings, he rushed towards the Growlithe and lashed out at the fire type. The aim was to grab the dog by the neck and pin her to the ground. This needed to be quick. He needed to get rid of this infuriating growlithe that brought forth all sorts of emotions and confusion to him. While part of his mind proclaimed self-defense, the other cried catharsis.

((Yeah, the genesect shenanigans were done through an event on the site. Encounters and interactions with legends are disallowed in histories of a character, but he participated in an event that allowed him to fight against it. He got absolutely wrecked and was clinically dead for a brief moment, but we don't talk about that. I'd be perfectly fine with one of Lord EV's characters coming in to give him a bitch-slap of the century. If he's going to come in it would probably be for the best if he posts either before or after you here.

Also as a side note for future-me: he's using Frustration to attack.))

"Where are you even going?"

"I told you already: to get supplies."

A worried jolteon and annoyed vaporeon were making their way through town, padding down the road in search of "supplies."  Adorning the left leg of the aquatic eeveelution was an assortment of color in the violet ribbon, a similarly vibrant pink ribbon, and a bracelet fashioned in the image of intertwining vines with blue gemstones fastened to it.  They were all important; the first signaled her guild membership, the second was her joy ribbon, and the third... was a gift.  The jolteon, on the other hand, had a similarly pink joy ribbon and a cyan-hued guild ribbon of his own, tied to his left and right wrists respectively, but no luxurious trinkets.  He had done nothing to prompt anyone to give him such a gift.

The jolteon, Keith, had no idea what they were actually going to get, or rather, what Sky was going to get.  It was her goal to go shopping, not his; he was simply here to look after her.  Their leader had requested she be watched after noticing her apparent... turmoil, and since no one else seemed to notice her slipping out of the guild, he was left having to follow her around in her annoyed state.  He was honestly afraid he'd push his luck with her too much and get some of what the last jolteon to bother her got.  She had fought a god of sorts, after all, and while she was entirely refusing to speak of the situation, the sheer fact that she was alive and in relatively good condition spoke volumes.  Even their powerful leader was quite literally crippled after fighting this "Mewtwo," so to even survive said to Keith that she was far more capable than him.

"Why do we need supplies?  You've already got a bag full of stuff; Sova's stuff, by the way.  Did he even give you permission to-" the jolteon tried to continue the conversation and see how far he could push his luck with his teammate.  He was growing tired of cowering at everything, and he wanted to believe his ally wouldn't turn on him.  He felt his questions were reasonable, but apparently, Skylar thought otherwise.

"Keith?" the vaporeon stopped and spoke in a questioning tone, as if asking for his attention.  She didn't even glance at him, but... she didn't sound too mad.

Hesitantly, the jolteon opened his mouth to respond.  "Y-yea-"

"Shut up," Skylar glanced over her shoulder at the pest hanging at her right side, shooting him an unamused look with an equally tired tone.  After watching him hang his head in submission, she put him back in the corner of her mind and continued forward.  After seeing him act out of fear over and over again, and now with him trying to babysit her when he was the useless coward, she was bothered with his presence; she didn't like him; she wanted him to just go away so she could get on with her business in peace.  What was she here for?  She was out to buy food and any extra supplies she may need for the mission she intended to take, which happened to be the same reason she had her bag full of "Sova's" resources.  She only had the things he never took with him, and some of it was hers; besides, they kept their supplies together and Sova had said before that they were to take whatever they needed or wanted at will.  He kept what he cared about with him, so anything else was fair game, and as far as Sky was concerned, she had earned the right to do a few missions and take whatever she needed.  She was sick of being pushed around and told what to do, treated like she was some incompetent child.  That was Keith.

When Sova and his... whatever had been rendered unconscious by the deity they'd gone to challenge, who was the one left to fight it alone?  Skylar, and she had done a pretty good job for someone the glaceon and zoroark both insisted would get in the way... and yet she was still being treated by a lost toddler who needed to be watched and protected.  Why?  What did she have to do to get just the slightest bit of respect?  She wanted to get rid of the leech following at her heel, but she didn't get much time to contemplate the best course of action for doing so.  A scene caught in her eyes broke her free from the spiral of negativity in her mind long enough to come back to reality.  It wasn't too hard to pick out two fire-types staring each other down, both with an awful aggressive posture.  She would have wanted to help in the first place, but right now... she was perhaps a bit too eager.

Keith, too, noticed the two civilians looking like they were about to throw down.  He was still good at heart despite his fearful nature; he still wanted to help others, hence his position on a team at a guild.  "Hey, do you think we should-" he started up with the intention of suggesting intervening, but he was interrupted once more.

Again, Skylar turned to look at the jolteon with the same look on her face.  "Just go home, Keith. Do what you do best and run away," she spoke with such a lack of effort that it portrayed a lack of emotion.  She was mad at him, but with all the feelings weighing down on her recently, she had already burned through all the energy she had to put toward emoting.  She was tired, sick of her situation, and she just couldn't find the will to yell.  Keith's ears flattened and he almost seemed shocked at the remark, but it faded to what looked to be a restrained frown.  Skylar normally would have felt bad, but she just... didn't.  Her head swiveled back to the two agitated-looking pokemon, a growlithe and charmeleon, as she tried to determine a clear instigator in the situation.  Before she could think to do much, the lizard suddenly lunged forward and lashed out at the much smaller pup, leaving few options.

Skyar took a deep breath and restrained the reflex to cough at the feeling of her throat filling with water.  She doubted it would ever completely stop bothering her, but she was starting to get used to the sensation and it felt less and less like being waterboarded every time.  There was still a solid 15 feet or so between the target and herself, but with being banned from missions, she'd had plenty of time to work on her aim.  Within an instant, she loosed a pressurized jet of water from her mouth right at the charmeleon's face, choosing to strike first then ask questions once the situation was under control.  She hoped to throw off his aim, maybe even blind him for a moment, and hopefully draw its attention toward her.

For the second time now, Keith submitted to the vaporeon and backed away.  He was hurt, but more than that, he was surprised.  Sure, he didn't know Skylar all that well, but he had never seen her so... commanding.  He had never felt intimidated around her before, but now it was like she was totally different from the vaporeon he had come to know.  He was scared for her well-being as well as his own if he were to try defying her.  Still, after getting some distance away from her, he couldn't help but turn back around.  He felt insulted, but he also felt bad about the idea of just leaving.  He felt bad about proving her right, but as usual, it seemed he would be doing just that.  Turning tail and running back to the guild seemed preferable to being the burden he knew he would be if he tried to help.

(I come bearing the gift of eevee.)

There it was-the sign that her attacker was about to strike. The youngster had never been in a real fight before, but got in plenty of practice from playing with her brothers and sisters. Dodge to one side, pounce, bite... It seemed like a perfect plan. Surely this dangerous lizard would relent under her furious almighty jaws! She would dart behind him, aim for the legs and bring him to the ground. Fighters always needed to stay on their feet. Toppling her opponent would be a practically guaranteed victory.

Unfortunately, her perfect plan was not to be. The charmeleon was at her throat before she could react. The growlithe found herself pinned with not even one of her paws on solid ground. Real fear began to grip this normally brave individual. She couldn't bite and couldn't aim a Fire Spin. This was not how she wanted to go, yelping and wriggling! There was too much to do with her life, too much to see and explore!

In a fit of desperation, the helpless pup turned to the only remaining option she could think of: barking. These were no ordinary barks, however. Roaring would be a better way to describe the noise being made. Such a large sound coming from such a little canine was enough to turn away many threats. She hoped the same trick would work here. If it didn't, she was done for.

Had the growlithe not been in a state of sheer panic, she might have noticed that her immediate surroundings were suddenly dripping wet and wondered why that was. As things were, she was much more focused on trying not to get killed, and thus completely oblivious to the intervention.

(( The cavalry arrives! Huzzah! ))

The attack connected. He could feel the pup squirm beneath his claws. Without a second thought, his jaws parted to deliver a finishing blow. The pup grew loud, roars and bellows started up from where he expected pitiful whines and whimpers. Opal's will to live was clearly seen to the charmeleon as he hesitated. Before he could draw some kind of conclusion could be drawn on his part, a blast of liquid smacked into the side of his head that forced him to look off to the side from the force of the impact. The combination of the loud noise and assault only further nailed the idea into him that he needed to fight.

His head snapped towards the source of the blast to see a vaporeon and a jolteon that looked in his direction. His focus on the growlithe was broken, but he kept his hand down on the pup to keep the noisy thing pinned. The water type was awarded a vengeful glare as the lizard's attention was drawn to a strange circular trinket adorning her bag. It looked...familiar." The feeling of familiarity was far stronger than what he felt when he first laid eyes on the pup. The vengeful look quickly became a bubbling rage as the charmeleon readjusted his position to lower himself. All four of his legs were on the ground, though one still remained on the trapped pup.

He hated this. He wanted it gone. That badge needed to go. This pup needed to go. He wanted it all gone. What he didn't hate though, was the thrill he experienced when he rushed towards the canine. The shock of being doused by the sudden water gun. The charmelon's eyes widened as his bared his teeth at the vaporeon with the infuriating badge. The jolteon seemed scared, about to run away even (if he had not already), but it only served to fuel the thrill he experienced. A loud growl sounded from his throat as he tightened his grip on the growlithe as much as he could. If the pup did not free herself, he would have lifted the pup and thrown her at the vaporeon.

Whether the pup freed herself or not. The charmeleon's maw would become engulfed in flames. A massive fireball collected in his jaws as he inhaled the fiery energy. His eyes widened as the thrill he experienced just seconds before returned to him. For the faintest of moments, he thought about what he was doing. This was wrong. He was wrong. He should not want to do this; This was not what a normal pokemon would want. He was not even entirely sure if the vaporeon was the one that attacked him. The arrows pointed to the vaporeon, but still! There could have been a misunderstanding.

...Nah. The fog overtook him before his conscience could talk him out of the attack. He was not being possessed by some other being. He was not being forced into action completely against his will. These pokemon 'threatened' him. They 'assaulted' him. His motivations were clear: self-defense and self-indulgence.

If he was correct in his assumption that the water came from the vaporeon, then this was going to be a tough battle. It was not that the water hurt him greatly, but he assumed that the growlithe and the jolteon would assist her. The fiery ball grew in size as his tail flame blazed brightly to match up with the ferocity of the oncoming attack. Though, the tail flame seemed to flicker into a clean blue flame just before he thrust his head forward and launched the fireball at the opposing pokemon. Dopamine surged and rewarded him for the assault against the pokemon. Just watching the fiery blast fly through the air sent a chill down his spine that he enjoyed.

(Skylar has an active Aqua Collar in her bag. She'd wear it but she already has too many things on her wrist.)

Skylar wasn't counting on her water gun doing much, but she had hoped for more than the result. Her attack seemed to do little more than agitate the thing she'd made her enemy. Perhaps in a better state of mind, she would have been concerned with what she had just stepped into, but she couldn't find the will to care. She wanted the charmeleon to release his victim and focus on her, and all that mattered was that she was getting her wish... though not quite how she had hoped. The lizard lifted the presumably innocent little pup off the ground and chucked it at her, but she hardly had a reaction to the gesture. The growlithe had been thrown a bit high, toward her head rather than her body, so she lifted to her hind legs to bite onto the growlithe's scruff and secure it. No sooner than she was back on four legs did the charmeleon make its next move, summoning an overbearingly large blast of fire from its throat.

Sky got the feeling her little water gun wasn't going to do much to dispel the massive flame coming at her. As far as she was concerned, that just made deciding what to do easier; she sidestepped, or rather, leapt into a roll to the left, still cutting it a little close even with her quick response. She released the growlithe while she was still in motion, practically rolling the little thing across the ground. She didn't want to be so crass, but worrying about the luxury of someone else's comfort didn't seem like the best use of her attention at the moment. Before she was even back on her paws, she lifted her head and blew a forceful breath of mist into the air above. Her head snapped back to the foe as the haze above traveled upward and grew into dark clouds. "You should run," she spoke before bolting to the right and loosing another jet of water at the charmeleon. Whether the ball of fluff fled or not, she could at least draw the aggressor's attention in the opposite direction. She glanced back as she heard something reminiscent of an explosion; the ball of fire had blown straight through some random stall selling berries or something, but there didn't seem to be anyone there. Actually, with that intimidating display, most of the bystanders were clearing out in a hurry.

Most. There were still the stupid few who didn't seem keen on leaving. They thought this would be a show, and they were probably right. The vaporeon could feel her fins beginning to vibrate as the clouds overhead darkened. It'd be unpleasant for the growlithe, but she would have a better chance if she could fight this battle in her own element.

Keith, meanwhile, was doing... nothing, really. He simply stood idle and watched from the sideline until the eruption of flame from the charmeleon's maw, at which point he was forced to move because he was right in its path. He avoided the attack with more ease than his vaporeon teammate thanks to his greater speed and lack of any extra baggage, and he continued using this speed to turn and run in the opposite direction. He didn't even weigh his options or make any conscious decision; the instinct to run away just seemed to come naturally to him. At least he was something well-suited to running, if nothing else. Alas, despite how much he wanted to live, he found himself slowing to a stop within moments. He recalled how badly Sova had been hurt and how Skylar had gone to help and come back all edgy and jaded... and of course, he wondered if he could have helped. It was something he had been thinking about for a while, and all the self-assurance in the world couldn't make it go away. He looked up to see a thick layer of clouds forming in the sky; it was already a cloudy day, as was every day since the beginning of what some called the "holy war," but the grey was melting to an ugly shade of black as if in mockery of his feelings.

He looked back to the scene, with Skylar running around trying to draw the mad flamethrower's attention... then to the cloudy sky once more. The beast had already been hit with at least one water gun, so it was wet, and these were Skylar's rain clouds. She thought he was so useless, incapable of helping. Who didn't? They were right in thinking he was a coward, but to say he was useless, well... maybe that would have been true at one point. His fur buzzed with the sounds of building electricity, sparking yellow streaks carelessly around him. He had no idea how to do this, but he knew it'd look really cool if it worked. The wisps of light surrounding the jolteon subsided for a brief moment before a sudden surge of electricity erupted from his fur and into the air, vanishing through the clouds over the charmeleon's location. It was by no means close to hitting the foe, which probably just made Keith look even less impressive if that was somehow possible. He stared up with a concerned frown on his face, as if saddened by his spectacular failure.

He was just worried he'd done it wrong.

A yellow glow emanated from the darkness above before a rain of lightning poured down over the charmeleon, coupled by the painfully loud booming of thunder. Lingering electricity ran through the clouds as the building water within finally began to fall. He could see Skylar stop dead in her tracks and turn away from the flash of light, and he felt satisfied already.

So the fire-type could shrug off a little water... but now, soaked from that same water, how would it fare against this?

(You thought Keith was useless but actually he has Thunder.)

Opal continued to roar ferociously as her attacker's focus was diverted. Her noisemaking was becoming harder to maintain as his grip on her tightened. She continued to struggle, her instincts screaming at her to keep going to the last breath. There was no thought. Just the desperate need to survive. If the pup made it through this moment, she would have an important lesson to look back on.

All of a sudden, Opal found herself flying through the air. This came as quite the shock. especially when something caught her. Then she was dropped and rolling along the ground. What in the world was happening? The rather bewildered fire type stared at her saviour, a blue quadruped she'd never seen before, with wide eyes. Was this what caught her? She knew this was a pokemon, but it wasn't one she was familiar with.

The Growllithe didn't need encouragement to run. Not only was she way out of her depth, but the sky was turning dark and cloudy. That meant rain, and rain meant getting wet. Getting wet was a horrible thing, so she needed to find shelter. A quick look around revealed a burnt-out berry stall. Yes, that would do. Nice and warm, with no other occupants to hassle her. Opal darted behind the storefront and hunkered down.

A crackle of thunder only served to upset the little canine further. She wedged herself as far under cover as she found possible, letting out a whimper that could not have been heard above the summoned lightning. When would this hellish experience end? The only thing she wanted right now was for everything to go back to normal.

Missed, but he was not too disappointed about it. The fire type gave a low growl with mild annoyance as his attack blew past all of his targets. His claws dug into the ground as his tail lashed to and fro. The blue flame on it blazed brightly and his wide eyes concentrated on the vaporeon who denied him of his vengeance against the canine who did not deserve it. He hardly even noticed the droplets of water that began to rain down from above. Each little spec of water sizzled and evaporated swiftly when it was exposed to his body temperature. He took a step forward, towards the water type with a low crackled grumble. He was slow, purposefully so. He took his dear sweet time, but he was quickly punished for his mistake.

The energized display of electricity above was completely ignored by the charmeleon; the jolteon fell out of scope on his priorities. This was changed, however, when the sky tore into two just to smite the jolteon's foe. The charmeleon had no way to avoid the attack. His scream pierced the air. Electricity surged through his body and damaged him as the powerful attack did all it could against him. This feeling was not foreign to him. He was absolutely certain he felt this kind of attack before. It was nowhere near the same intensity, but it was enough to slice through the fog enough to reveal a memory to him.

Thunder. That was the move's name. It was a powerful attack he could remember being helpless against. A move that almost killed him. He could remember a purple armored creature, a pokemon. His heart thumped against his chest as a new emotion overtook the rage he initially felt. He felt fear. The jolteon's assault ended. Overall it only lasted a second, but that was all that was needed to spark the fuse. The charmeleon froze to the spot, electric sparks crackled off of him once or twice as the residual energy from the attack expelled itself. He was not paralyzed, but something was not right.

Garnet shook. His body quivered in reaction to the strike as his claws curled into his palms. His blood boiled as his the blue flame on his tail began to illuminate a bright white light. In fact, his entire body seemed to become covered with a brilliant blank sheet that obscured his natural features. The form of the creature grew in size. What once stood only just barely taller than the eeveelutions he faced now towered over them with a good two-foot difference. The cloak that he had over him ripped and tore apart as his size forcefully removed the item from his person. Beneath the cloak, a bag could be seen. The strap of the item suffered the same fate as it dropped to the ground below and spilled its contents. Some berries, a seed or two, a small round object, and a few discs. From the back of the growing Charmeleon, two appendages seemed to burst forth and spread themselves out. The tail of the creature grew longer as his body became bulkier. The transformation continued until the beast's gaze locked onto the bold jolteon. Eyes wide with hatred and animalistic rage, the light dissipated to reveal the new form of Garnet. The Charizard took in a deep breath and gave a temper-fueled bellow at the electric type as he was marked as the monster's next target.

Garnet had a sizeable level difference upon these weaklings. The only one that matched him the closest was the vaporeon, who held a type advantage. Now that he was evolved, Keith also had a type advantage against him with his newly acquired flying type. He was a powerful pokemon in comparison that could have been considered a boss battle that had different phases to it. His charmeleon stage was the beginning and they had reached the next stage, charizard. It would have been expected for them to defeat this stage in order to reach either victory or a final stage. Unfortunately, a talon from the creature's arm reached down and touched the orb along with one of the small discs of the contents. This was not some boss battle that would waste time and energy with some middle-man phase. It was time to get right into the action.

The stone's dull color suddenly exploded into a vibrant swirl of blues and grays while the disc took on a less impressive glow. Where the disc ceased its glow, the stone continued to come to life in reaction to the charizard that picked it up. The newly grown wings curled around his body as he held the stone close to him. His head lowered towards it as yet another flashy display began to surround him. Despite the rain, the flame from his tail seemed to come to life in a fiery swirl that circled him. He was blocked off from the outside world in the cocoon of flames as his body underwent even more changes. The wall of flames shifted as a bright and colorful array of lights joined them. A vague symbol could be seen in the form of the flames-the sign of mega evolution.

A deeper roar could be heard from within. It echoed with a fierce intensity just before the wings of the monster within snapped back open and forced the animated display to dissipate. Dark scales, neon blue flames, white talons, and dark blue wings were not the only changes made to the charizard. Pointed wings and shoulders now adorned him and forced him to take on an almost villainous appearance. He reared his head back and curled his claws into fists. His wings spread out as much as they could as a plume of blue flames shot from his maw and burned into the sky above. It had no effect on the rain, but it still served as a proud display of his newfound power.

The pride and arrogance Garnet retained did not last for long. A new sensation was drawn to his foggy mind that was capable of cutting through the fog long enough to allow him a moment of clarity towards his current form. Energy pulsated within the monster, but this time it invigorated him rather than harm him. Still, there was one thing it had in common with the Thunder attack from a moment ago: it made him suffer.


(This went from 0 to 100 real quick. Keith may have been useful short term but in the long run he made things worse from an ic perspective/SHOT. Garnet has an active Charme-claw in his bag but now lacks a TM Earthquake he previously had :D no attacks this turn because he spent it evolving and using an item)

It was a beautiful day in Grassveil town. Or as beautiful as it could get, anyways. The sky was grey, just like it had been for the past week, month, year, probably longer, - honestly, both the jigglypuff and skitty had stopped keeping track - and as they walked, they tried to enjoy the cool weather. That was a challenge. A bit of Sun would be nice, even for a bit. But it was still cloudy, and neither knew if it were their imagination, but it seemed like it was only going to get cloudier in the days going forward. Both the pokemon tried to ignore it. Weather wasn’t exactly a good conversation topic anyways.

“Can’t we change the name?” Alki said, trying to keep a straight face as she continued to walk. She’d asked the question before, quite a few times, actually. And always, the same sort of answer. No. It’s a cute name! Alki, do you hate it? Why do you hate me? I came up with it myself! What had started as a legitimate grievance had now simply turned into an opportunity to tease Darcy, and tease her incessantly. It was fun!

And to be fair, as far as guild names go, there had to be a better option than Team Friendship Alliance . Why? What made her think that was a good idea for a guild name? But, on the flip side of the coin, if anyone was going to name their team that, it had to be Darcy.

Then there was the fact that she had to have some return to normalcy. She’d been way too close to ratting out Synd’r, and all because the jigglypuff talked in her sleep. Now Darcy thought that Alki was afraid of fire, that Alki had nightmares, and worst of all, that she required further babying. She wasn’t totally wrong, but she couldn’t afford to let Darcy hear the secrets that she’d keep, because she was talking in her sleep.

“Sure, right after we change yours, Alki.” Darcy responded, and now the roles were reversed. The kitten began to strut with newfound confidence, pride, and pure joy. She’d spent days preparing for this. Alki wouldn’t stop teasing her, and now she was going to suffer the consequences. Darcy wasn’t going to apologize, not this time, because Team Friendship Alliance was an amazing name, thank you very much, and it was high time that Alki started to respect it!

Was this what revenge felt like? She wondered this as she opened her mouth. If so, revenge felt good.

“You see, Alki,” She started, relishing her words as her eyes lit up with pride that was promptly shattered by a loud, thundering sound very close by, shocking both jigglypuff and skitty. Alki recovered quicker, and any hope Darcy had of a comeback went sailing out the window. The teammates locked eyes, and Darcy knew that Alki knew just how lucky she was, and just how much Darcy had been looking forward to this very moment, or this moment without the thunder, anyways.

Alki winked. Smiled. Turned around. And walked away.

Alki was walking away.

“W-Wait! Alki, wait!” She shouted, desperate to finish her retort but that desperation quickly multiplied as a scream followed the jolt, and now she just wanted to keep the jigglypuff safe, all thoughts of a comeback forgotten, but the Pink ball with the joy ribbon tied around an ear walked around the corner, towards the thunder, somehow, towards the scream and disappeared from sight, the Skitty let out a cry of despair and anger.

She approached the corner, joining her frustrating friend, whose spontaneous abundance of over-the-top confidence was both a sudden shift in personality, and a big cause for alarm. Running towards a scream? She’d been so strange recently, but now was not the time to bring that up. Now was the time to keep her safe.

What seemed like an all-out brawl unfolded in the middle of the plaza. The adorably pink and round thorn in her side turned into an object to protect, and protect at all costs, and as Darcy stepped in front of the shell-shocked jigglypuff, she was about to use Heal Bell on everyone involved, hoping to put a diplomatic end to this poorly located fight. But that wouldn’t work here, would it? The thing that had been a Charmeleon only moments ago was now a Charizard, and just as quickly, it evolved again, leaving everyone looking like ants by comparison. The very familiar-looking Vaporeon, the Jolteon, herself, and Alki.

Especially Alki.

“Alki, be careful, alright?” She mumbled, hoping the jigglypuff would be reasonable in a fight, at least. She was tiny. And Darcy couldn’t bear seeing her get hurt. The jigglypuff’s bravado was gone, replaced by a pale fear, and Darcy felt a tinge of reassurance appear and dissolve in the sea of fear in the pit of her stomach. “What’s going on?” She yelled out, hoping more that she’d feel some comfort upon hearing a friendly voice from either Vaporeon or Jolteon. The situation was clear enough to her. Some feral was in town, roughing stuff up, roughing Pokemon up. The sort of issue Guild-mons were supposed to help with.

She was a guild member. Both she and Alki were. And, fearful as they were, they intended to help.

(Hey I hope I can still join just saw it was open /shot)

(Now the REAL fight begins.)

Skylar was stunned speechless by the massive bolt of lightning brought down on the charmeleon.  She idly turned toward Keith with a look of surprise on her face, then back to the downed charmeleon.  He'd literally smited the thing.  Smote?  Smited?  Smote.  "Keith..." she searched for the words to express her feelings.  She was actually impressed by the apparent power he had.  When had he acquired this strength, and when had he found the courage to actually use it?  He had just dealt with this foe with such ease, and after she'd told him to run away...  He'd stolen the spotlight away.  She was impressed, but she also found herself being overcome with... jealousy.  She would have liked to have been the one in the spotlight here, to perhaps get some credit for something, but now Keith would be the one looking good instead.  Or... would he?

Skylar's attention snapped back to the charmeleon as a vibrant glow enveloped it.  Her petty feelings toward her comrade suddenly vanished at the revelation that the fight was not yet over.  She actually began to worry... or rather, she knew she should have, but she didn't feel concerned in the slightest.  She knew the glow of evolution, and she knew such a power spike would be bad for them, but she just didn't care for some reason.  She felt more worried about the idea of losing or being shown up than the actual dangers of the situation.  A part of her was actually relieved at this revelation, taking away from it that Keith hadn't stolen the win from her.  "Oh, nevermind, you just made him mad," she commented as the light shattered from around the freshly evolved charizard to reveal his very angry eyes now glaring at the jolteon.  She actually felt just a little bit bad for Keith as she watched the proud smile on his face fade to a crushed and terrified frown.

Keith was so proud of himself for just a moment as he watched his electricity rain down on the charmeleon.  He didn't feel quite as happy about the scream of pain, even though it was from an enemy, but he was still proud.  At the very least, Skylar now knew he wasn't a complete pushover... and maybe she'd even respect him now that she knew he could rain lightning on her.  It wasn't something he wanted or planned to do, but maybe she would stop trying to push him around with the knowledge that he could.  Surely, such an attack would be at least a little bit intimidating; after all, she was a water-type and couldn't possibly have been too much stronger than him.  His attack had been the one to defeat their assailant despite how she had water at her disposal!  Or... he thought so, but he didn't need Sky to tell him how wrong he was.  He could see just fine on his own that the charmeleon was not only still conscious, but preparing another attack... or...

His heart sank.  The charizard evolved right before his eyes and was now staring straight at him.  Sparks of electricity built in his fur as he prepared to launch another bolt of electricity into the sky.  If he had his facts straight, the foe should have now been weaker to his attacks, so maybe he could just end the fight before it had a chance to use its new strength!  Skylar was now mocking him by pointing out that he seemed to have just made the foe mad, but that would surely change if he took it down a second time.  Alas, he didn't even have the chance to try before the charizard grabbed some stone off the ground and began to light up once again.  This time, he knew what it was, and he was now genuinely worried.  "Ahh," he whined with a shaky voice as he watched the charizard emerge from its second evolutionary cloak and loose a display of flames into the sky.  As he stepped back idly in renewed fear, his ears picked up a somewhat familiar voice.

Keith turned to see a jigglypuff and skitty he recognized to be guild members.  "Um..." he took a quick look back to the charme- charizard, then backed further away and toward the two pink things, "This guy was attacking some growlithe and now we're-"

Skylar's mood further soured as she watched the charizard to evolve into charizard 2, but that hardly compared to the disappointment she felt as she heard a familiar, annoying voice.  She glanced back to confirm what she already knew; Oh, good, Team Friendship Alliance is here to save the day.  She decided to interrupt the conversation Keith was trying to get into with them, partly because it didn't seem very productive, but also because she didn't feel like listening to them talk.  She briefly dipped her head into her bag, then lifted it back out in a swift motion, balancing an orb above her nose and tossing it into the air.  She swatted the orb with her tail and sent it shattering into the ground between herself and the children she'd been tasked with watching, silencing Keith long enough to interrupt him.  "Help or leave," she ordered, then redirected her full attention back to the charizard.  With the effect of the quick orb she'd just used, she hoped the others would be able to flee without trouble, or at least have less trouble keeping themselves safe if they insisted on staying.

More importantly, though, she would have a better chance at beating this guy if she could move faster.  However, the fight still seemed a bit stacked in the opposition's favor, leading her to quickly dive back into her bag for a second tool.  She pulled out another orb, this one clasped in her teeth, and tossed it into the air.  She then spun and caught the orb in her tail, carrying it in a crescent arc around her before flinging it in the direction of the charizard with all the force she could muster.  He seemed to like his fire breath an awful lot, so maybe this silence orb would take him down a peg.  She didn't actually know how this type of orb worked or if it would stop him from breathing fire, but from what she knew, it was supposed to stop anyone affected from using their mouth for things, so...  Well, Sova had apparently amassed a lot of them, so she didn't see the harm in trying.  Worst case: it didn't work and she'd wasted one of many.  She bolted to the right and toward the charizard with her enhanced speed, putting herself in a closer position and blasting another jet of water from her mouth.  However, this time, she wasn't aiming for the dragon; she was firing at the orb to break it in the air as it neared him, just in case he tried to dodge it.  She didn't know the area of effect on these things by heart, but she figured it was big enough to catch him in it as long as she didn't let it soar helplessly past him.

Keith, on the other hand, felt a bit defeated.  He sighed as the rain began to truly pour, quickly taking the spiky life out of his fur and weighing it down.  Still, after taking a look over at the skitty and jigglypuff, his body surged with electricity once more.  He wasn't going to give up and run away.  He knew his attacks were going to do significantly less now, but he could still help!  He could feel his heart beating faster after having the mystery orb shatter near him, telling him it was a quick orb.  He was already fast, so with this on top of it... he could surely keep himself safe and continue attacking from a distance.  He shot another surge of electricity into the sky, throwing it into the clouds over the charizard much like last time, and waited as yellow light began to surge from above once more.

Opal's ears pricked up at the new voices. Had more pokemon really arrived on the scene? Why on earth would anyone want to do such a thing? Were they here to help? Maybe she should peek over the front of the ruined berry stall she was hiding under. It seemed like the voices were talking to each other, so the attention shouldn't be on her if she popped her head out for a second, right? She would assess the situation and act accordingly, most likely by ducking back under cover.

Barely putting more than her nose over the edge, the growlithe looked over the stall's counter at the unlikely group of heroes. Two new pokemon were there, both pink in colour. One, who was round, she thought she recognised from stories to be a jigglypuff. The cat, however, was even more unfamiliar than the first two individuals who had come to her rescue. Both seemed friendly, thankfully. Maybe they could take on that charmeleon if they all worked together. The young pup looked in his direction...

...It was a decision she immediately regretted. Where there was once a big lizard, there was now a really big lizard. A Charizard. Opal had no desire to fight one of those, especially when they looked like that! Back to her original plan of hiding! Her head disappeared quickly disappeared from sight, hoping the giant menace hadn't noticed where she'd run off to.

It empowered him, yes, but it was too much. The dragon gave another crazed roar with another jet of flames as his tail thrashed about. The flames unleashed the overflow of energy into the area around him, but it was not enough. The rain was extremely fortunate to everyone around them. Not only did it empower Skylar and Kieth's moves, but it weakened his flames and helped prevent an out-of-control conflagration of the village. He needed to do more in order to get rid of the excess; he could feel it. His tail flared to life as blue fire continuously streamed out each side of his jaws. He was so focused on his attempt to relieve himself of the almost painful aftermath of mega-evolution that he had not even noticed the orb that was tossed at him until it was too late. His wide eyes caught sight of the orb's explosion just out of the corner of his eye. He turned to aim his burning breath at the item, but the damage was already done. The orb's light seemed to take shape and wrap itself around his jaws. He became even more enraged as the string of energy the orb created forcefully snapped his jaws shut.

On the sides of his mouth, the inferno seemed to grow as it was forcefully focused on being expelled from those two sole openings. The charizard's muffled bellows and roars could still be heard, but he was no longer permitted to perform Fire Blast to his knowledge. If he were to take a moment and think about his attack, he would have been able to get creative with his use and work around his current condition. Unfortunately for him, careful thought was currently not a feasible action.

The wings of the creature began to move. Garnet rose into the air and took to flight rather than sitting in one spot like a sitting duck. More pokemon arrived, but they did not yet reach his scope of focus. It was not that he did not see them as a threat, but more so that he hardly noticed that they even existed. The pokemon he considered his targets seemed to grow even smaller as he rose into the air. It was around this time that the second bolt of lighting dropped on top of him. The fury of the dragon could not be heard as loudly as the last, but the increase of ferocity of the blazes around his mouth and tail spoke for him.

His attention was attracted to the yellow dot, the one he looked at before he mega evolved. That was the one that was doing this to him. With his new form, the electricity seemed to do next to nothing to him, but it still managed to attract his attention and focus his attacks on the electric type. If he were smart about it, it would have been a better idea to focus on the vaporeon. As said before, however, this was not a prime opportunity to be tactical. The fury in the dragon's eyes burned as brightly as his flames. The charizard suddenly shot at a downward angle straight towards the jolteon.

The more he moved, the better he felt. The more he attacked, the more alive he felt. If his ire had not consumed him, he would have held an expression of glee. Excitement and pleasure would have lightened his mood greatly at this newfound power, but he was out of his right mind. Not out of his own control, but not in the right frame of mind.

He could see the electric type's fear as they began to flee. Despite the speed boost, he managed to keep up with him just enough to try one attack. He attempted to make noise, but the thread of energy the orb procured took on a glow and strengthened its bond in order to keep his mouth shut. Frustration built up as the dragon took on another faint glow of white energy, not for evolution, but for an attack. Garnet aimed for the frightened jolteon and attempted to smash into the Jolteon and take it out with a single strike. Keith avoided his attack and took off, a quick thunderbolt sent Garnet's way that too had little to no effect. Instead, he chased after the electric type once again after he left small cracks in the ground where he briefly landed. Hot on his heels, he was bound and determined for vengence against the eeveelution. To his surprise, the electric fox ever so slowly gained distance. He may have been over this jolteon's level by a longshot, but Keith was still faster.

((Cooperated with EV a bit on this post, so i'm not taking control of his character suddenly without permission))

Alki had no intention of running away, especially considering who the Vaporeon was, and who she was friends with. That pokemon had been standing guard outside of Sova’s room, and Alki had been the one to enter it and make all the wrong choices at all the wrong times until she was crying outside that room. Now that same Vaporeon seem determined, and more than a bit pissy, and the jigglypuff wanted to make up in some way for the shitty situations she had caused earlier that day.

Besides, Darcy wasn’t running away, so Alki wouldn’t either. She hadn’t exactly felt optimistic, but at least she figured she could hurt a Charmeleon and at least contribute a bit. When he evolved into a Charizard, almost three times her size, those hopes were quickly dashed, and further smashed into pieces as the lizard’s coloration went from Orange hues to Blue and Black.

Would anyone really blame her if she ran away?

Alki considered doing just that, even as the Vaporeon began to toss orbs at the Powered-up Charizard with the sort of desperation that was only fitting of this fight.

She wasn’t much smaller than the Vaporeon. She wasn’t necessarily weak anymore, although she wouldn’t call herself strong either. The only thing she lacked was courage. That had to practiced and worked on, and she had a bit of a safety net here too, right? If there was ever a time to try and be brave, now was the time.

Although there was still the immediate problem of the fact that she was a jigglypuff, and she was going to try and fight a Charizard. The jigglypuff watched from the sidelines, still shocked at the situation before her, as the Vaporeon attacked the Charizard with what looked like a water gun.

Water! Water was good! Alki used Copycat on the Vaporeon, and understanding of the move was planted firmly in her mind, although Alki knew that it was neither as strong, nor as permanent, as the Vaporeon’s. Great. Water beat fire. Now what?

Now, apparently, the Charizard flew into a rage, both figuratively and literally, towards the Jolteon. He was fast, for his part. They all were faster, thanks to one of the orbs the aquatic eeveelution had used. What else? That also meant relative speed was the same. And as Alki tried to run towards the fight, she found that both Jolteon and Charizard easily outpaced her.

Despite the danger of the whole situation, Alki suddenly felt the flush of embarrassment that seemed to follow her no matter where she went. Even with the effects of the orb, she was still too slow.

The jigglypuff slowed, and then stopped. Better to think of some other alternative rather than make a fool of herself. Alki felt the soothing effects of Darcy's heal Bell, and a small measure of confidence returned to her. The Charizard was big, and it was a four on one fight! If she was the weak link, and she certainly felt like it, then she had to find someway to be useful.

The jigglypuff decided to take inspiration from the Vaporeon. She wasn't the only one who could use orbs, and if that's what it took to be useful, then so be it. Alki began to rifle through her bag, searching for something of use. Organization wasn't a strong suit of hers, but after a few arduous seconds that felt like minutes, she found what she wanted.

An attention orb. The Jolteon certainly seemed more powerful than her, and if the most effective use for Alki was as bait, then so be it. Better Alki than him.

Alki picked up the orb with her hidden power, and ran towards the Charizard. She didn't have to be within attacking range, just close enough to draw his attention. Once she was close enough, or as close as she could get, as fast as she was, she lifted the orb high above her head, and brought it down towards the ground between Jigglypuff and Charizard, shattering it.

Now attention would be on her, if things had gone right. She hoped that would be worth something. Otherwise, it was just going to be that much more of a shitty day.

Open The Spoiler:

Skylar didn't know what to expect from the orb, but it worked.  The effects were immediately made clear as the shattered orb loosed a whirl of light to assault the charizard; rather than visibly hurt him, it bound itself to and sealed his mouth, ceasing the flaming bellows.  Skylar felt accomplished for a moment before realizing in tune with the flap of the dragon's wings that this meant he would now have to fight through other means.  Dodging his fireballs suddenly seemed a whole lot easier than trying to dodge his claws, assuming he focused on one target.  Another electrical charge fell from the sky as the charizard took to the sky with his new wings, and Skylar now found herself hoping it would have the same effect as last time... but this could not have been further from the case.  The painfully loud crack of thunder and bright flash of light served as testament to the consistent power of the move, but when the electricity cleared, the target seemed... almost completely unfazed.  Unfortunately for Keith, this nigh-worthless strike was still enough to make him the center of attention.

Keith, of course, realized this, and he was filled with fear at the mere sight of the charizard's eyes locked with his own.  He was off running before the beast had even made its move, but even with his head start, it still wasn't enough to put on distance.  He understood that diving downward would have given the dragon more speed, but he was still concerned with the idea that this thing was faster than him; he knew he was weak, but he was still a jolteon.  Fortunately, he was still able to react fast enough to leap to the side and avoid being crushed as the charizard came down and slammed into the ground.  He discharged a small thunderbolt in an opportunistic attack before bolting away, but this paltry shock didn't seem to do anything.  He was going for Skylar and hoping they could fight this guy together, and at the same time, trying to lead him away from the others.  Despite his festering terror, he still wanted to make sure everyone was safe... even if it meant singling himself out even more than he already had.  As expected, the angry black monster gave chase, but the pursuit ended shortly after the sound of something shattering.

Keith looked to Skylar to see what orb she had used this time, but to his surprise, she... hadn't.  She was looking at Darcy and Alki, bringing Keith's attention over to them as well.  He saw a faint, sparkling glow emanating from the ground around the jigglypuff, telling him she was the one who had used the orb.  Whatever it was, it seemed to have made the charizard pause; Keith had also taken the moment to stop and try to catch his breath, but only after gaining a bit of distance.  He watched expectantly as the light simply vanished from around its apparent source, and after a brief pause, decided to stop trying to figure out what it was supposed to do.  He gulped as the charizard's gaze shifted from the jigglypuff back to him, shooting the same daggers as before.  He stepped back in fear, stumbling and nearly falling to the ground with his attention too entrapped by the... flames... and teeth...  He felt disallowed from peeling his eyes away until the charizard finally did so first, at which point he mirrored the movement and trailed his focus back Sky.

The ground around her was glowing.  She stepped back and was followed by the intrusive light; it crept up around her paws and up her legs, spreading its soft white sheen over her.  She stared down at herself and watched as her body was slowly overtaken, but she was quickly brought away from this when she noticed a certain angry lizard was staring at her.  She shifted her gaze from him to her legs, then back to him again... then to the damned jigglypuff.  The light began to fade before it could engulf her body, but faint streams of its luminescent surged throughout her being, lingering just visibly enough to remind her of its... something.  What was it?  She didn't get much time to ponder the thought before having it answered for her as the charizard leapt off the ground with another muted growl.  With his sight locked on her the entire time, she still didn't know what the jigglypuff had done, but the consequence was becoming all too clear.  "What did you do!?" she shouted over to the puff in a poorly hidden mix of confusion and agitation.  Her emotional presentation lacked fear, perhaps because she still wasn't scared despite the compounding reasons why she should have been.

With a mighty flap of his wings, the charizard lifted further off the ground, dispersing a wave of dust from the ground beneath.  Again and again he repeated this process, rapidly climbing into the sky and forward in the direction of the vaporeon.  Her mind was blank as she watched him soar toward her, lifting himself higher and higher with every flap of his wings.  It was with great effort that she managed to bring herself back to focus and out of whatever mental block she was falling under.  She couldn't let her tempo break now, in the middle of a fight with a dangerous and powerful psychopath in the middle of town square.  She threw her head into her bag and pulled out as many spiked shards of iron as she could comfortably hold between her teeth, managing to get up to three.  She had never tried aiming with more than one at once, but she didn't like her odds of hitting what she wanted to hit with just one.  In an effort to make the first move and attack before the charizard could do whatever it was he had planned, she spun and whipped her neck up, hurling the spikes into the air with all the might she could find.

It was hard to aim under these circumstances, but Skylar still made every effort to make an accurate throw anyway.  What was she aiming for?  The wings.  She hoped she could tag his wings with at least one and make flight more difficult, and to her relief and amazement, she actually managed to land a direct hit with all three.  Two of the thorns pierced straight through the charizard's left wing while the third stabbed into the upper area of it.  He began to lean into his injured with with irregular flaps, losing altitude at a building pace, and Skylar was hopeful once more.  Then the airborne lizard gave up on flying altogether and allowed himself to simply... fall, glaring straight down at her all the while.  Blue flames trailing behind from his tail and mouth, he used his wings only to push him faster as he hurdled down toward the vaporeon with a speed she could hardly react to.  She leapt back from where she thought his immediate point of impact would be, but for fear that he wasn't just going to hit the ground and knock himself out, she began reaching for something more to defend herself.

Melt.

She still had no idea how to do this at will.  She was slowly overcoming her fears and learning to properly use the tools at her disposal, but she still couldn't get the liquefaction down.  As the charizard grew closer, she could feel her heart begin to race.  It wasn't fear, but rather, panic.

Melt on?  Please melt.  MELT.

She could feel the uncomfortable sensation of her molecular structure just beginning to change as the ball of fire and angst crashed into the ground.  Before she knew it, she was on the ground with a searing pain in her everything, laying on shaking ground in a spinning world.  She struggled to pry her eyes open and was immediately met with the sting of the littered air filled with dust and debris.  She could hear the rain falling, but her vision was too blurry to see it and her body was too overwhelmed to feel it.  She could make out what seemed to be the remains of the stalls surrounding the road.  They had been practically leveled.

Keith's body had just begun to charge with electricity in preparation to loose his thunder yet again when the blazing dragon crashed into the ground.  The sheer force of the impact was apparently enough to send a violent shock wave rippling out, quite literally throwing Skylar due to her close proximity.  For all his speed, Keith was still unable to react quickly enough to even try to flee from the wave of force, leaving him swept off his legs and thrown to the ground much like his teammate.  He didn't get tossed nearly as far nor as hard, yet he was torn to the edge of consciousness and bathed in agony despite this.  He couldn't breathe; the wind had been knocked right out of him and his lungs were too shocked to right it.  Through all the pain and the headache suddenly splitting through his psyche, a single thought reached him.

The growlithe, his mind echoed to him.  His body let off a brief, flitting white glow as he wished for the well-being of the thing they'd been trying to protect in the first place.  He didn't know anyone's condition and couldn't really think about it at the moment, but he knew the growlithe was a civilian, not a guild member, so they needed to be the highest priority.  He was giving the benefit of his wish to someone other than himself despite how badly he needed it... but that meant he was a hero, right?  At the very least, it had to mean he wasn't a coward.

(Something something collaborative post with Lazlo something something, Garnet EQd, Keith gave doggo a wish, P.S. attention orbs affect the leader so good job Alki)

Opal had resolved not to emerge from under that stall again. Everything was just too scary. The only thing that could coax her back into the town centre would be the words of that blue pokemon who'd saved her. Maybe the jigglypuff as well. Those two seemed like trustworthy individuals. They'd know if it was safe for her to come out later. Right now, it most definitely was not safe.

Even though the youngster knew she was in danger, because she couldn't see what was going on, she didn't realise just how bad things were about to get. As such, she was completely unprepared for the ground trembling and everything falling down around her. The noise went from ear-splitting to deafening in an instant. Her body was slammed against a piece of wood that promptly collapsed on her, along with the rest of her refuge. Everything went black for the poor pup.

It wasn't certain how much time had passed, but Opal eventually came to. The growlithe opened her eyes and looked around. It was dark. She felt groggy. Hang on... was she glowing? That wasn't something she was capable of doing, to her knowledge. Had she died and gone to the afterlife? Only one way to find out, and that was to escape this pile of wood. What on earth had she even been doing under a pile of wood? How on earth did she get in that position?

After shuffling some bits of wood out of the way, Opal found herself free of the pile. She looked around and all of a sudden remembered everything; meeting that charmeleon, being attacked and rescued, dashing for cover. So she wasn't dead, not yet at least. Why the glowing, then? The pup quickly pushed that question to the back of her mind as she saw the black monster advancing on her blue saviour, who'd also been knocked down.

The young fire type wouldn't have been able to do much in normal weather, let alone this downpour, but she had to try. Something was better than nothing, after all. Mustering her courage and ignoring her now drenched fur, she summoned a tornado of fire between the two pokemon, making it as strong as she could manage. That might not amount to much, but it wasn't meant as an attack. Her intention was to obscure the charizard's view, even if only for a moment, to buy her ally an opportunity to recover.

((Doggo tries to be the hero this time and uses Fire Spin. Also, nice music!))

((Lord E V back at it again with the best custom tracks))

The empty mind chased the electric type as much as he could, but he could not seem to gain on the creature despite his impressive speed. Muted snarls only fueled his anger as the monster tried to latch onto the electric type. Almost-just almost. If he could cut the little prick off then he could make the pest stop completely! He would have liked to believe he was just about to strike Kieth when a brilliant sheen of light reached the corner of his eye. Garnet ceased the chase immediately as he stared at the source of the light. A small round puffball looked at him, but his attention was more focused on what exactly that item did.

It did not take long for him to assume that it was simple: nothing. Whatever they used, it failed or had no effect. Idiots aside, he looked back to the vermin he was so dedicated to eliminating. The flames around his jaw and tail flickered with excitement as the jolteon's fear consumed them. A wide grin of satisfaction drew itself across his face before he bared his teeth at the frightened pokemon. Just when he was about to attack once more, the light started up again. His eyes snapped towards the source again, more annoyed this time than angered.

The vaporeon began to glow, though his attention was strangely centered on her badge. That's right...that badge-that stupid badge! His target was changed. The jolteon was practically forgotten and it would not have been wrong to say that the Jigglypuff was never even considered. The charizard lifted himself into the air again with a powerful flap of his wings, all the while his eyes focused on the glow of the vaporeon. His mind encouraged him, egged him on to attack. He waited briefly, however, as he searched for fear within the water type. He did not see any obvious signs, so the lack of submission towards his power brought him to attack. He decided that he would give her a perfectly good reason to be afraid.

He charged down towards the pokemon with indecision. He was not sure what he was going to attack with, but the answer would be given to him shortly. He was not able to react in time to avoid the spikes. He refused to allow himself to cry out as they tore into and even through his wing. The holes threw off his flight as he began to wobble. Despite the haze that obscured his thought and the energy of the battle, he was given a moment of enough clarity to think of something that caused him to smile again.

His wings shifted. He was no longer going to swoop, but crash. He aimed himself down straight for the vaporeon. His speed picked up and he did not care to correct himself when the vaporeon moved out of the way. Towards the last minute, he adjusted his wings just enough to face him upright and crash into the ground defensively. The ground caved beneath him from the force and sent out a shockwave that leveled stalls and even went on to damage pokemon in the area. The move he made caused his wings to become damaged, the holes made by the thorns grew slightly larger. He could not fly properly with this.

He attempted to fly again, but he was successfully grounded as his wings refused to permit him any lift without even more agony. The energy he expelled through flight was no longer being released, which caused it to build up inside of him once again. The power of mega-evolution was too much, without a close bond to hook him down, he had no way to manage it properly. The blue flames blazed once again before he struggled with the binds of the Silence Orb. He failed to rip them off, as they only tightened their grip the more he struggled against it.

The vaporeon, his mind remembered. His head swiveled to look for the water type, though fortunately for him the light of the attention orb notified him exactly where she was. The charizard turned to face the downed vaporeon. He felt no shame at the thought of kicking an opponent while they were down, but he did advance towards her at his own leisure in order to savor the moment. Once again, he would be punished for his wait as a wall of flames cut off his view. His immediate reaction was that he somehow avoided the attack, rather than the fact that it was not aimed directly at him. His gaze snapped towards the canine that started it all, now that his focus on the attention orb was broken through the lack of being able to see it.

His eyes spoke for him that the little pup would be next.

((hint hint; fire spin stops an opponent from moving for a bit))