Combat is my bread and butter, or so I like to tell myself. I know that the way I handle it might not be everyone's preference, perhaps getting a little too much into a fanciful script play by play, but I think that in those moments where I do such a thing it's to emphasize them. Coming from a fighting game background, a character's actions in combat is as much a detailing of themselves as their actions in their conversations or day to day lives. When I write fight scenes and don't just gloss over things (because doing so would feel redundant or wouldn't add something that other fight scenes already have), I want them to have proper value.
Furiously beating wings echoed all around the room. As was per his usual, the gym had been closed off to the public, and it was only the two of them inside the battle room. "I feel like you're having trouble coping with this."
Hardened chitin met against hardened chitin repeatedly, the sounds eerily metallic in the frenetic clash of appendages. "What. Did. You. Do."
"I trained him a little," Alex said unapologetically, as if commenting on the weather.
"You trained him?! A LITTLE!?" Bugsy roared at him, a vein on his neck bulging. "You trained a permanent Mega in your own personal methods!? Verdant's barely keeping up with him, and that's only after a Tailwind and maxed out Agility!"
Alex grinned, watching Pinnacle flip over a lunging pincer, landing three quick violet glowing jabs with his smaller stingers to Verdant's arm in the same motion. "Yeah, it's pretty beautiful, isn't it?"
"WHY!?"
"Because there's three others just like him in the outskirts of Ilex Forest."
Bugsy's voice became even shriller. "And you didn't think to tell me this?!"
"'The League' didn't think to tell you this," he corrected, rubbing his ear. Pinnacle stabbed a stinger towards the ground, the limb completely stationary in the air as he pivoted around to face the scizor once again. In a practiced motion, all five stingers were aligned into one single piece, Pinnacle's head resting atop it. It was an unnatural position to get into, yet somehow to the beedrill it felt right. The buzzing from his side of the field reached a fever pitch. Yellow streaked across the field, a metallic crack! breaking over the flapping.
"He chipped Verdant's claw!"
Alex reached out and kept Bugsy from leaping over the stands. "It'll grow back. We both know that."
"Why?! Why are you showing me this?!"
"Because you need to know," he said quietly.
"Know what?! That you're as a sadistic asshole as everybody's been saying you are?!"
"That Mega Evolution isn't something to joke about," he stated, dropping the veil of amusement. Bugsy didn't flinch as he stared down into the younger man's eyes. Only a single, instinctive, trembling step back. "Scizor, heracross, and pinsir. The league has seen fit to give you all three of them, and yet for reasons only the Lake Guardians know, you've been allowing your pokémon to wander around the forests late at night, creating rumors of dangerous pokémon in the area, far beyond the patrolled routes."
"It's been working, hasn't it?!"
Alex took a step forward, Bugsy retreating the exact same distance. In the forested battlefield, unforgotten by him, the battle raged on, Verdant slowly becoming more and more overwhelmed by Pinnacle's assault. "Your pokémon may be well trained and their Mega forms may not be as deadly as others, but you forget the kind of power the form change brings about. Heracross tap into their latent Fighting energy and become akin to base level machamps. Pinsir gain a speed to boost their strength and can skewer anything, something that's all too easily done considering how much energy is coursing through their body. And I don't need to say anything about scizor and their difficulties in keeping themselves from liquidating internally."
Another crack.
"Your excitement of their new forms and the joy it gives your pokémon is becoming a hazard to the protection of the statues put forth by the League, as well as causing unnecessary risk to the people of Azalea."
"Tsk. Of course they send their lap dog in."
Alex frowned. "We both know what I am, Bugsy. What I truly am." The man said nothing. "Review the footage and learn what you can. As a member of your personal team, Verdant's showing is severely disappointing."
"But I'm only the Second Gym Leader!" He protested.
"A Gym Leader. Exactly." Alex narrowed his eyes. "That's exactly why I'm not clearing out my schedule to instruct you. You're the defender of the Azalea region and the one the city turns to when hives act out of turn. Three beedrill have somehow found the means to take the next step, a permanent one. How long until pinsir are seen shooting around or heracross tear down tree after tree and destroy ecosystems? How long until a scizor melts down and causes a forest fire?"
The buzzing halved in intensity.
"You're one of Johto's Thirteen Pillars. Shape up, before I send a letter to the League that you're unfit for the job." Pinnacle hovered over to the edge of the field, lightly pressing one of his smaller stingers to the button of his ball. "You have one week to show improvement."
/ - /
Alex quietly hummed as his fingers danced along the strings. Around him, his team joined in the song, their eyes closed as they recited the lyrics in their native tongue. A song from Orre, one of the few songs that persisted throughout the years. A tale from ages past, whose original words had been lost to time, recreated throughout the ages every few generations.
A time when the area was one flourishing with life, instead of a barren wasteland.
A time that would return in the distant future.
Like Ho-oh's renewing flame, from the ashes of destruction, life would one day return.
Perhaps not in their lifetime, but one day, in the not-so-distant future.
When the song ended, it was to the realization that a small gathering of wild 'mon had joined them. To them, he simply smiled and moved into a softer rendition of the tale of the Legendary Beasts, a version more suited for lullabies than the original stage performance. Umbral in particular enjoyed this version, and not just because it was well suited for hiding in the effects of Hypnosis. In her past life the Ghost believed she had been a priestess of some sort. To which God she couldn't remember, but the act of rituals was one that resonated with her.
The piercing notes of Suicune, accenting by the song of both him and Umbral, were sprinkled with the gentler tones of fresh rainfall. The racing tones of Raikou, long, drawn out words of worship, slipped in and out of his sister's call. The droning plucks of Entei, accompanied by the deep growls of Celèste, sang of the burning power within each being; how the strength could be used to defend as easily as it did destroy.
The dichotomy of each piece, woven into each other and yet so distinct, enthralled their audience, and enticed a small group of trainers to come closer. "It might be best if you hurried off," he whispered to the younglings. With a flurry of squeaks and warbles, the gathered pokémon hurried off into the tree line, disappearing into the wilds of Azalea.
"Hey, are you Alexander Collens?"
Alex raised a brow as he took in the approaching group. "Perhaps." Buttoned shirts that had chest pockets on either side and thick pants that the majority had rolled up, the condemning piece of evidence from them was a pin on the leader's lapel; a red circle with a sliver of black on the top and three dots on the bottom portion arranged in a circle. If they weren't members of Bugsy's Gym, then they were the local enforcers.
"You need to apologize to Bugsy."
"No, I don't think I will." Day was going so nicely, too. Alex began packing his guitar up, mentally ordering his team to do the same. "Whatever you think happened, you don't know enough. Also, take a look at who's with me and tell me if you really think a battle can influence me." He nodded towards the teens in the back of the group, balls palmed and ready to be released.
"Three psychics? Yeah, I think we're good."
"Congratulations, you're wrong." Alex slung the guitar over his shoulder, mentally grinning as the kids tensed up further. I should write them up for this. Nah, one report a month's enough. "I'd say see you again, but I really don't want to." The moment his two fingered salute finished, he and his team teleported away, arriving within a vaguely familiar clearing. "Kids these days. No respect for their elders." With a few flicks of his wrists, his team was recalled, only Celèste and Umbral staying outside. "Light recon. Don't leave a trace." With those simple words, he was left alone.
On that mid-autumn day, the weather was slowly becoming chill, even beyond the natural retainment of the forest. The winds weren't as strong, barely a breeze every couple minutes, and the sun beat down unhelpfully. As planned though, all he needed to do was zip up his jacket, this one sporting the same yellow lines on black pattern but made with significantly more insulated materials. The protective mesh meant to dull any attacks was still woven in, as per usual.
Not much had changed since he was last here earlier last month- and Mew was he not expecting to have to return here for personal business so soon, but in the bright of day rather than the darkness of a stormy night he still had to take it slow. A five minute jog to the north west would bring him into the territory of Pinnacle's tribe, and somewhere to the… Alex spun around, trying to connect the memories. "South?" Somewhere to the south would be the remnants of the massive, hollowed tree that the kids had used as a hiding place. Rather lucky for them that a pokémon wasn't in there at the time. He hadn't thought it important at the time, but with branches thrown all over the lower base, the previous occupant had obviously picked up a thing or two about making a shelter.
Less than an hour later, Celèste and Umbral returned, the former giving short gestures as to their surroundings. The colony of beedrill were well within their homelands, but further to the north another tribe- intermingled with members of a scyther colony- was slowly making their way in. The movements that Celèste described- Umbral moving her beads about to represent the various members involved- was very reminiscent of a Trainer's instructions.
Almost disturbingly so.
Given the rate of their movement, in another hour, perhaps at sun's zenith, the battle would begin. Pinnacle's Ultra Ball snapped out, the Mega slowly waking from his state of inactivity. "We're back in your forest, Pinnacle. Seems like rival tribes are encroaching in. Feel like protecting your home?" He asked with a rueful grin. The beedrill gave a pleased buzz, staying on the ground until he had to move.
"Celèste, go with Pinnacle and inform his tribe about what's going on." To the beedrill, "I assume you'll vouch for her?" A tiny nod. "I'll catch up in a bit. Emerl and I will stay here and try and strategize a little. Even if you two weren't able to sense any Trainers, their movements are still too coordinated for there to not be any interference." Pinnacle received a small feast of berries before the duo left, a prerequisite in order to keep the Mega able to do anything. While he wouldn't run out of food any time soon, the requirements to keep Pinnacle active were almost on the level of a snorlax's or gyarados; much too much for the average trainer.
"Caitlyn." The gardevoir hummed as she entered his mind, absorbing the information he offered. With another hum, she turned away and entered a meditative trance, psychic energy enveloping her form as she began scrying.
Another tap and Emerl was beside him, hand lights flashing questioningly. "You'll be taking command for this one. Our side's outnumbered, but Celèste and Pinnacle'll be on the field. Should be enough to even to the odds, but if not, feel free to take a few pot shots." Another series of flashes followed by a small mental prod. Alex acquiesced, taking in the information as he donned some body armor and recording equipment.
Somewhere within the forest, far beyond their current range of sensing, was another Trainer. Whether they themselves were issuing commands or simply had their pokémon leading the charge, they needed to be brought down. The combined force of Umbral, Deus, and Morgan should be enough to handle the task, and if need be he could pull his own weight. Alex clicked his tongue. The visit to this part of Ilex Forest was supposed to be nothing more than a simple day trip; let Pinnacle check in with his tribe and see if they needed assistance against the noted threat, maybe posture a little to keep some mons in line.
To find out that things had escalated so far, to the point that the forest was about to become a war zone, was a troubling affair. It wasn't as if this was an isolated incident either. All throughout the KanJoh region, the Ace Trainer channels were filled with chatter about increased wild activity and how a quiet All Hands signal had been activated to handle all the aggravators.
It was only a stroke of fortune that Aberrations, of any kind, hadn't been identified elsewhere.
/ - /
Side step left, freezing misdirect right. Throw Aura out towards Pinnacle to replicate his current move and- With a drawn out, inaudible roar, Celèste tore through the air, her Dark drenched leg bowling over three enemies and leaving them vulnerable to her allies trailing behind her. Ordinarily a battle such as this was meant to demoralize the enemy. Defeat enough of them so that the survivors would understand their plight and surrender without further bloodshed.
Bugs were notorious for fighting to the last mon.
A force of some sixty or so against over a hundred. Beedrill against beedrill. It was a toss up over which side would win. Pinnacle's tribe had the blessing of several of their members having once been Trainer owned, and so their skills and tactics were overwhelmingly stronger than their neighbors. It was the reason why, until Pinnacle had been taken away from his home for education, they were the uncontested rulers. Now though, even with only a few weeks of having outside influence, the combined force of beedrill and scyther-scizor were enough to make the battle exceedingly bloody.
Accompanying her and Pinnacle, a group of four beedrill followed up on the broken bodies they left in their wake. Ice and Flame made quick work of her foes, and Pinnacle used his pivoting strikes to brutal effect- when his stingers didn't punch holes through carapaces, that was.
That was the issue though. Every mon they had faced so far were nothing more than, to borrow a human term, cannon fodder. Base level beedrill and scyther that figured they could handle a lucario that dared wander into the battle or hoped to gain great standing by being the one to take down the once missing Warlord of Ilex Forest.
The scyther regiment was somewhere to the south east, battling the elder beedrill unit, and though Caitlyn promised there were two Mega Beedrill somewhere on the battlefield, she hadn't felt the bonfires of aura that heralded their presence. Just the blazes of aggression that raged against mirroring death knells.
A purple glowing stinger was deflected upward by a single panel of Protect. Grabbing the beedrill by the head, she infused her entire body with Dark energy, leaping into the air and clipping another trio of enemies with another Brutal Swing. A wet snap sounded as she landed, an extra step adding enough force to her spin to tear off the head of the beedrill in her paw.
The call of battle burned within her soul. To let the aura within her body envelop her entire form and let loose on the entire battlefield. To raze the forest down into tinder and sawdust; to give sustenance for the saplings and underbrush.
To give in to the need for violence.
Her aura closed in on her body, form briefly glimmering a defensive white as she collected herself. To let loose and give into her primal urges was to let down both Caitlyn and her Trainer. A failure beyond failure.
A blade of chitin crashed into her form.
Celèste opened her eyes.
Aura exploded outwards, scorching the scyther that dared attack her and sending it crashing to the ground. With a quick thrust of her paw, all the negativity she had collected was expelled in a single, explosive burst, eviscerating the scyther and the foliage in its general direction.
Once upon a time her projectiles were impossibly precise. Perfect beams of energy no bigger than Umbral's primary bead. Yet now, after what had happened at Orre, she was stuck like this. Flares of energy that could do nothing more than break and tear down. No spheres dancing around her form, the inspiration of Umbral's fighting techniques. No perfect mimicries of her allies, surprising foes as twinned attacks came barreling through the air.
Only brute force, shredding all in its path.
It was the flashiest move she had made this day. Her previous attacks were nothing more than what was to be expected of a Fighting type, yet now? Celèste surged forward, breaking away from her unit and landing deep in the heart of the enemy. With a single breath aura flooded her limbs, hardening them and bleeding the excess into the air.
Another breath.
Her roar shattered through the din of combat, a challenge to both herself and every mon in the area.
To dance in battle was acceptable. To flail was not.
Stinger and scythe arrived at the same time, each deflected with her paw spikes. Carrying through with the circular motions, she spun around, snagging a grip on the scyther's arm. Ice blossoming around its torso and onto its wings as she kicked out, the barely formed shards cracking as she yanked the limb clean off at the elbow.
Using the pilfered blade as an impromptu shield, Celéste deflected two more stabs before lunging towards the frozen, prone scyther, cartwheeling over it and stabbing it through the back of its head with its own scythe.
A vengeful blade passed by harmlessly overhead as she crouched down. Celèste sprung back up, one hand gripping the base of the blade while the other jack hammered at the elbow joint.
Cr-rack!
She whirled in the other direction on a foot, jamming a fire laced elbow into the bug's side. Borne of her Aura, the flames barely licked at her fur, but on the scyther, it blossomed into a viscous inferno. Kicking at the ground to keep the momentum going, her arm snapped out to plunge her spike into the scyther's carapace, a flame covered fist further adding to the conflagration and sending the blazing corpse crashing through a parting crowd.
Two seconds was all the ordeal took.
Two seconds to recreate the image that her former territory knew her as.
Celèste grinned, fangs bared tauntingly. With two quick flexes of her aura, one to warn her love to step away from their mental connection, she reissued her challenge, this time aimed at their Souls.
/ - /
The unfortunate fact was: beedrill operated off of scent. As a Ghost, Umbral only emitted the faint smell of death whenever she really began using spectral energies. Morgan's petrichor scent would be extremely out of place in the sunny forest, and Deus only gave off a smell when he was eating. As for himself, his scentless soaps and shampoos helped reduce his personal olfactory profile, but running about like this still produced enough sweat that combat would be an inevitability, not an improbability.
A single, pink bead came into sight, flashing twice before retracing its movements. Alex rose and quietly followed after. It was a useful trick, one that had taken Umbral several months to learn. To give up the majority of her corporeal form and exist only as her beads- how Morgan managed the amorphous state first was an answer he'd never learn.
A sextet of beads floated flush against a tree across the way, each arranged in two triangles. The moment he noticed them, they each gained a small, colored sheen: red, yellow, and green. At once, they rapidly flashed through a series of patterns. Message delivered, they fell low to the ground before flying off to continue scouting.
Alex knelt down on a knee, bracing a hand against the tree. Somehow a message had been sent to the main hive, and a detachment of scyther reinforcements was being sent to support the battle. If he stayed in place they should pass right by, close enough that he would only just hear the beating of their wings.
For only a moment he considered the idea of letting Umbral wreak havoc upon them, but this close to the hive it would only end up in their own deaths. Perhaps if Caitlyn or Emerl were here to provide support he would have considered it, but with only two stealth and one close combatant slash support, taking on a whole colony was a fool's errand. Three minutes later, the roar of flapping wings finally faded, and Alex set off once again.
Not for the last time, Alex wished he'd trained Morgan in taking on a different form. Liquid water was fine, but if they had enough time to pick up the skill of maintaining mental cohesion as mist then operations such as this- He shook his head. What if's were for when they had free time, not when they were slogging through a forest filled with territorial Bugs.
Deeper and deeper into the beedrill's territory he went, drawing upon memories of a time long past to reduce the noise he made. Concessions had to be made, however. At times he had to break into full sprints, racing to slip through the windows between the increasing amount of reinforcements.
By Umbral's estimate, another thirty beedrill had flown in from the other regions, bringing the total amount of Bugs in the area to 60. Only the core grouping of 20 stayed near the nest though, leaving two distinct groups of twelve and eight beedrill bolstered by a grouping of 8 scyther and two scizor on the outskirts.
It was frankly the largest amount of scizor he'd ever heard of in a single forest. This part of Ilex Forest was by no means a simple jaunt away from Azalea, but the potential ramifications were terrifying. Given enough time, the scizor would devastate the local populace and eventually move onto Azalea's apricorn farms, if not the town itself.
When a cluster of Umbral's beads next appeared, he flagged them over, whispering his concerns to the Ghost type. "Think you can hold all of them off when things start?" A trio of beads moved away from the rest, flashing an affirmation. "We'll be relying on you to buy us time." Alex palmed Morgan's ball, not yet releasing the Water type within. "Greater recon. Find us a safe place." With the order given, the beads shot off once more.
So far the movement of the Bugs reflected that of gathering for another assault. Their presence had yet to be detected, but it was no excuse to not act quickly. If they waited too long, Pinnacle's tribe would be overwhelmed and the victory earned by taking down the ringmaster would be a hollow one.
A glint of light.
Alex set off, following the bead through the woods.
/ - /
Chitin harder than steel clashed against her manifested claws, horrendous screeches ringing out as their limbs met over and over. The two Mega Beedrill held nothing against Pinnacle's attacks, yet the minimum training they had was enough to keep her movements locked down.
Streaks of blue shattered through shields of ice, the shards barely hindering their movements. Poison drenched stingers showered corrosive acids onto her fur, burning away her fur but faltering at her resistant skin. She was lucky these two weren't able to utilize Agility or Tailwind. Were the situation otherwise, she would be carrying more than a handful of quickly recovered wounds- love taps of Drain Punch siphoning away tonguefuls of energy that slowly added up.
Something had to change though. Not too long ago, a large group of scyther arrived and turned the battle out of their favor. Ally beedrill were rapidly being cut out of the skies, and with both herself and Pinnacle tied down it was only the joint effort of Emerl and her love that mitigated their losses. By her estimates, another five minutes and this would turn from a counter ambush into a losing battle. A tiny, miniscule pinprick made itself known at the back of her head. Celèste closed her eyes, fully immersing herself in her Aura Sight.
Five trees down, Pinnacle carved through the air, all trees having long since been knocked down for breathing room. In her own clearing, trees having been destroyed with flares of energy, a trio of beedrill flew around angrily, waiting for their leaders to give the signal to join in the feast.
The build up of Psychic energy began slowly, gathering in the entire area rather than a precise spot.
Aura flared as she renewed the effects of Swords Dance and Agility. Draw the enemy in. Keep their attention so they lose track of their surroundings. Taunt them with pinpricks of damage and near misses, sating their bloodlust with carefully given ground so their morale rises to a fever pitch. As the crescendo reaches its climax…
The air exploded. Acrid smelling goo splattered all around, fragments of reinforced chitin embedding themselves into her back even as she shot through the haze. A flame covered fist slammed into the remaining Mega's face over and over. Soul eating flame lapped at the Bug's carapace, seeping into the cracks and cooking the life fluid within. With one last punch, she released a portion of her gathered energy, the bastardized Stored Power cratering the ground beneath them.
A staff conjured of Ice aligned Aura appeared behind her, a foot catching it and setting it into a spin. In a single motion, she deflected the trio of stabs from the cannon fodder, none-too-gentle taps carrying the full weight of her momentum sending them violently into the ground. With one last twirl, she sharpened the tip of her staff into a frost coated point, hurling the now-spear at the still downed Mega.
A single gaping wound would not be enough though, and with three quick steps she leapt over the beedrill, twisting so that her entire form would be perpendicular to the ground. Flame peppered the evolved mon as she passed over, the dense orbs minutely exploding on impact and further damaging the Mega.
She stomped a foot down as she landed, the ground beneath the beedrill erupting messily and knocking it into the air. Aura gathered in her palms as she reared back. With a shout, flame and thunder laced energy exploded forward, enveloping the beedrill with a loud boom.
At last, a moment's reprieve.
Celèste grunted as she expelled the more volatile parts of her aura, the sickly Dark aligned energy lingering in the air as a coagulated clump of ethereal corrosion. Useful as the malevolence was, letting it incubate in her body birthed problems of its own.
Thoughts for another time.
Her allies needed her.
/ - /
Alex's mouth twitched as Morgan melded around his arm, the distinct sensation of wet-but-not-quite making itself known. In front of him, a single bead flashed through a series of colors. "Go." With that single word, he barely had a moment to watch Umbral's bead fly off before his surroundings changed. In that same instant, he flung his right arm forward, Morgan shooting out and enveloping the man's head. The meditating alakazam beside him was instantly wrapped in distorted space, Deus landing a salvo of energy attacks that dropped the enemy Psychic before it could snap out of its trance.
A shower of electricity flew past him and impacted the struggling man, his muscles seizing up as paralysis set in. A moment later the struggling renewed violently. "Make sure it lands properly this time, Teal." Alex rolled his eyes as he plucked the four balls off the man's belt, taking a moment to activate his aura sight. The flickers of life were missing from the inner one in his right hand, and the sphere was quickly enlarged and used to reclaim the alakazam.
Pocketing the three balls, Alex strode back to the now unconscious man, moving him to the ground as Morgan finally leapt off and allowed him fresh air. He hummed as he began rifling through the man's pockets, chuckling in amusement as an inner jacket pocket revealed a wallet. "Bartholomew Christensen, hm? Now what's an Unovan doing all the way over here?" The wallet was filled with paper bills, and only a handful of non-incriminating cards. "And trying not to leave a trail." He took in a sharp, teasing breath. "Mm, lucky for you, I'm not the one who gets to do the interrogating. Me and investigations? Naw, we don't work together at all," he told the insensate body.
"No, that sort of duty's left to other folk. I just gather the evidence." Alex sat down against a tree, hand instinctively moving to pet Morgan as the vaporeon settled in his lap. "Teal, be a darling and make sure we're all good to go?" he drawled. A happy cry was all the reuniclus gave before teleporting away, leaving the three of them alone. "Best make yourself comfortable, Mr. 'Christensen'. You only have about an hour to get your stories straight."