The Blissey's eyes all but dared Rush to make another move, a giggle escaping her mouth of the utmost flippancy, while Adnea's eyes narrowed on Millicent again with their hypnotic glow. The Alcremie growled, sticking an arm over her eyes while Decorating the Drampa next to her with cream swirls and releasing a pink, Sweet Scented cloud.

"Oh, you troublesome little fairy," Adnea said flatly.

Had they not been up against a team with two members that could heal every unpleasant status they could possibly inflict, Astrid would've had a mind to bust out the Slumber Wands or Petrify Orb, but between Ama and Millicent, surely, that would only buy them a few seconds of time if anything. Jingle opened his maw and let out an ear-shattering Hyper Voice that Astrid guessed would've roused a corpse back awake had any been around, the absurd soundwaves made even more destructive from Millicent's boost. Rozen put up a Light Screen to shield off the Coalition bunch, but even that was shaking, for clearly, Team Sweetheart had almost as much firepower as they did 'love.'

Nonetheless, while Rozen put up a Reflect the next moment to shield Rush from Chira Playing Rough, Arashi hit the Cinccino with a Quick Attack and Astrid was quickly taking to the skies as Ama shot off an Ice Beam straight at her. Raijin wasn't wasting any time either and became cloaked in a blinding rainbow glow of a Dazzling Gleam aimed at Jingle, but without even flinching, the Blissey giggled and darted straight in front of her dragon comrade to take the hit instead.

"Hah! I can actually feel that, but barely!" Ama laughed, still grinning fervently and completely unfazed. "Nice try, darling!"

"Oh, come on," Raijin said in hapless protestation.

Arashi gave the Blissey a surprised glance as he quickly jumped back from Chira. "Sheesh! You guys weren't kidding about her!"

One of the Cinccino's tails took a steely glow and she tried to whack Arashi with her Iron Tail, but before it could make contact, Astrid swooped down and grabbed him up. The air started to take a sickeningly sweet smell to it from Millicent's cloud of aroma that made it a bit harder to concentrate on her movements, but still Astrid managed it fine enough while trying to block out the effects. Nonetheless, Chira turned on them next and set off a Swift, which would've been a dead-on hit if Rozen didn't set up a Light Screen in front of it that the white stars clashed into instead. Rush became cloaked in a white aura again with the Cinccino's attention diverted elsewhere, and he made a move at the Blissey, not even giving a second glance at the Drampa next to her with a sparking cloud of bluish smoke in his mouth.

Ama only giggled, bracing herself again and looking ready to Counter Rush's hit, but even if his Brick Break made her countenance turn pained again and a cry of dismay leave her mouth, the Reflect that Rozen set up was useless when she instead spit an Ice Beam straight through it.

"Ngah-!" Rush grunted in protest, his eyes covered by the cold crystals.

"Ah! Apologies, friend!" Rozen cried.

Jingle breathed a mighty Dragon Breath down at the Scrafty, but a Light Screen nullified its effects just fine too.

Still Rush smirked, shaking his head and freeing himself of the ice clinging to his form. "That's a'ight! Ehehe, you're good, Ama!"

Another Ice Beam sailed through the air at Astrid, and at the same time, another harshly glowing Dazzling Gleam flew at Jingle, but yet again Raijin's efforts were absolutely to no avail when the Blissey dashed to take the hit like a giggling juggernaut while her Soft-Boiled glow healed her up from any damage Rush had given her.

"Yes, darling, yes~!" the Blissey cackled, grinning with wild eyes. "Go on and blast away! You can't do a damn thing with me in the way, AHAHAAAAA~!"

"What is wrong with you?!" Raijin cried haplessly, twitching in frustration. "Er, never mind! I know the answer to that!"

Astrid, though, held her wings in and dropped back on the ground with her partner, letting Ama's attack sail overhead harmlessly. She shot a quick glance to the Alcremie that still had an arm clapped over her head, but that apparently wasn't stopping Millicent from Decorating her dragon comrade with a bunch of pretty designs. That had to be problematic on its own, but at the same time, the Orbeetle too let out a growl of frustration.

"I will not play these games with you!" Adnea declared. "Rozen!"

Without another word being exchanged, a Light Screen went up on every side of the Orbeetle except her front, to which her wings started vibrating at ridiculous speeds that shortly whipped up a barrage of destructive sound waves directed only at the foes before her instead of everywhere else. They weren't nearly as strong as Jingle's Hyper Voice, but still, her Bug Buzz was enough to make Millicent peek out in surprise with a tiny dismayed shriek and Jingle let out a smoking snarl. As soon as Millicent's eyes were uncovered, Adnea was peering into them with glowing eyes of her own, and the screens went down.

"Cease, Millicent," Adnea sharply commanded.

However, Jingle noticed fairly easily what was occurring and turned another fiery breath on Adnea, an absolutely ferocious blaze with his comrade's boosts. Of course, Rozen shielded the Orbeetle, but she floated backwards in caution when the blaze threatened to overtake the screen too. Even so, Adnea's narrowed eyes were glowing, and on the other side of the blaze, Millicent's were too.

Still, Jingle turned his Flamethrower away from the Orbeetle and onto the rest of them, and Rozen likewise would've shielded them all again, but a certain Cinccino cloaked in a pinkish glow went smashing into him before he could set up a Reflect to shield himself.

"Augh-!" the Audino cried, getting slammed by Chira and her scarves.

The rest of the Coalition group went dashing out of the way, but Chira instead ducked behind Rozen while keeping him ensnared in her scarves- an effective, very unwitting shield. A Light Screen went up, but it only lasted a second or two, for clearly, the Drampa's attacking capabilities had been boosted to their maximum.

"Rozen!" Rush cried, eyes going wide. "Hot damn, Chira!"

"A-ah…!" Astrid too was dismayed.

"Sheesh!" Arashi likewise exclaimed.

The Cinccino's furry scarves were singed along with Rozen's fur, but the grass between them and Jingle was absolutely scorched. Chira let go, casting a flustered glance to her less-than-pristine pelt for only a moment before scurrying back and shinnying up to the top of a reflective stone. Rozen let out a heavy breath, clearly pained.

"Rozen, are you okay?!" Arashi quickly inquired.

The Audino let out a heavy breath, reaching into the bag he carried to retrieve an Oran berry. "Don't fret over me," he tiredly brushed it off.

If gazes could kill, the wrath in Rush's probably would've made Chira drop dead right there, but the Cinccino apparently was as content as could be, practically daring anyone else to get close to her as she sent off a flurry of starry discs again. Of course, her attack was blocked before it could connect to anyone, but Chira herself was sent scurrying when Raijin Discharged a flurry of bolts at her instead.

"I'd thrash the hell out of her just for that if Ama wasn't demanding my attention," Rush snarled, nonetheless turning his attention to the grinning Blissey again.

"Tough love is still love~!" Ama giggled.

Another Hyper Voice filled the air, Jingle roaring, "FEEL OUR LOVE~!"

Whatever they were feeling, Astrid was pretty sure it was 'crazy destructive tendencies' and not love.

Nonetheless, Millicent's aggression came to a halt under Adnea's Hypnosis, and she cast a troubled glance to her comrades before scurrying away from the Drampa and Blissey and closer to the Orbeetle while making some more gestures with her hands. Adnea gave her a few nods, the Alcremie seeming even more perturbed at whatever unspoken communication was passing between her and the researcher.

"One down, three left," Adnea declared, her piercing gaze directed at Ama next.

"Yes!" Rush cheered with a smirk, balling his fists up again.

All of the more lovingly aggressive ones on Team Sweetheart immediately turned their gazes on Adnea, still smiling but with wrath in their eyes. Millicent made a few pleading gestures at them, but had they been words, they would've fallen on deaf ears, for a Flamethrower, Swift, and Ice Beam all sailed straight at the researcher responsible for her turn.

"Millicent!" Chira fussed. "You were supposed to Decorate me next!"

Millicent certainly wasn't listening, scurrying closer to Rush while waving her arms in another dismayed motion. *No, no, absolutely no!* she said with all but her words.

Thankfully, neither Adnea or their newly Hypnotized ally were directly hit thanks to Rozen's screens, but the Audino's shields shattered into pieces within a few seconds and Adnea quickly floated upwards as the air below her was doused in fire from Jingle. Astrid and Arashi shared a quick glance before the Dartrix swooped her partner up while sending a sharp leaf barrage at the Blissey, hoping that perhaps it would mess with her for a second long enough to keep her from shielding Jingle. If a smile could have ever given someone unsettled chills, the one that Ama shot Astrid moments later did it- the Blissey's eyes were like burning coals and her smile was devilish. Arashi too gave a slightly startled cry at seeing it, but shortly, it was Ama's turn to give off a cry of protest, for Raijin certainly didn't waste any time in targeting the Drampa again. Ama rushed to block it as fast as she could, but Jingle was letting out a heavy roar of discomfort as the rainbow burst of energy collided.

"Gyah! Urgh, you scoundrel…!" the dragon choked out, his countenance going pained. If his voice was anything to go by, he was hanging on by a thread.

"Forgive me!" Raijin called back.

Chira too was readying to set off her own Fairy-type attack on the Coalition lead, but an Ice Beam and a Razor Leaf raining down from above made her pause when her scarves and one of her arms were covered in ice. Astrid's leaves jabbing into her pelt weren't all that pleasant either, and her pinkish glow left in favor of a Swift forming instead.

"Aim for her scarves," Astrid said quickly while the starry discs dissipated against Rozen's shields, one of her wings hardening while she flapped around them for a better vantage point.

Arashi did so, Chira growling in frustration as more ice hardened around her. She wasn't completely frozen solid, but it was enough to keep her in place while she tried to crack through with her writhing scarves and tail. Astrid's grip on her partner released and he dropped back on the ground, but she wasn't too far behind in diving down at Chira before slamming her between the eyes with a Steel Wing.

"Uwaaaa! You're supposed to be cute and fluffy!" the Cinccino snarled, glaring daggers and Astrid.

"You are, too!" Arashi shot back.

Nonetheless, the ice around Chira cracked, and she shortly burst out of it with her own tail taking a steely glow. The Frogadier rushed out in a Quick Attack, but that didn't stop Chira from whopping him with her Iron Tail hard enough to send him flying into the side of one crystalline rock face that was shortly left with some prominent cracks in its surface.

"Yiah-…!" Arashi gasped.

"Arashi!" Astrid cried, looking over to him.

Chira only laughed, sending off another Swift before scurrying back to Ama's side. The Dartrix quickly flew to her comrade, swooping him up again and darting for Rozen while the stars collided with a Light Screen. A Soft-Boiled glow was already emanating from the Blissey's egg that both Chira and Jingle gladly basked in as well, but Adnea too had to retreat back as another Flamethrower spewed from Jingle's maw that targeted her and then the rest of them. All of the Coalition members huddled together behind Rozen's shields that clearly required quite a bit of concentration to keep up for as tired as it seemed to make the Audino, and Millicent quickly set to Decorating Rush too with her pretty cream swirls.

"That Blissey is doing a damn good job of fucking with us," Rush remarked, eyes narrowing on the remainder of Team Sweetheart's silhouettes in the blaze.

"I could handle Jingle fairly easily if she wasn't in the way," Raijin concurred.

"That Drampa is liable to flatten this place before long too," Rozen added. "Not to mention Chira continuously targeting you, Rush…"

One Light Screen broke, and quickly, another went up, the ones behind it jumping aside to avoid getting burned by the blistering heat of the residual flames. Astrid studied them too, thinking that indeed, Team Sweetheart was putting up quite the fight. Chira was a pestilence, Jingle was outright dangerous, and Ama was nothing short of an immoveable wall against all of their efforts. Had it only been her team alone, making a dent in their setup surely would've been much, much harder, if not outright impossible. Still, Jingle's Flamethrower faded, and all three of Ama's brigade were still grinning with crazy eyes while her healing glow started to fade again.

The Dartrix thought for a moment, then, "U-um…"

Adnea's eyes fell on her fairly quickly. "Yes, that is a feasible idea and we should try it."

The rest of them in their huddle cast their glances to her, and she shyly fluffed up a bit. Millicent looked a bit concerned yet inquisitive, but whatever the Alcremie was thinking, she apparently didn't see it fit to voice (or rather, mime) it. Arashi too studied her inquisitively, with much brighter eyes when Rozen's Heal Pulse restored his lost energy.

"What is? Whatcha got, Li'l-li'l Green?" Rush intently inquired.

Astrid looked to the Frogadier next to her. "C-can you use Quick Attack on Ama, but grab her egg instead of going for her…?"

He seemed a bit surprised at the suggestion, but nonetheless gave a quick nod.

Rush's face lit up, a smirk crossing it again. "Ohhhh, I see what you're up to, you devious little bird!" he snickered.

"W-wait a second!" Raijin protested, looking as unsettled as a faceless spiked ball with cable appendages could. "We're not seriously-!"

"There is no developing Happiny in that egg," Adnea quickly (and flatly) cut him off. "We are not stealing anyone's child."

That apparently assuaged whatever was running through the Xurkitree's head, but he still twitched again and mused, "… I have… questions."

"And we got answers, but for now, fish me out a Blast Seed from the loot y'all are carrying," Rush said, smirking gaze locked on Ama.

Whatever questions Raijin had, he wasn't asking, but he quickly went to dig out the item requested from their bag.

Astrid took to the air again while Arashi did as she had said, and the Frogadier turned into a blur while Chira cloaked herself in pinkish energy again and a sparking sphere of blue smoke gathered in Jingle's maw. Ama seemed to notice that something had brushed her, but in mere moments, she noticed something else very much amiss- the empty pouch on her stomach, and the egg that had formerly occupied it being clutched up by a certain Frogadier several meters away from her.

"Sorry in advance about your boss, Millicent," Rush chuckled to the Alcremie prettying him up with her swirls, stowing the Blast Seed between his teeth.

Millicent only smiled a hapless little smile and made a heart shape with her hands. The Scrafty laughed, giving her a pat on the back while Rozen put up a Reflect to block out Chira from Playing Rough. Adnea didn't waste time in trying her Hypnosis on the Cinccino next, but again, one of Chira's scarves was slapped over her eyes and her little feet running the other way when Raijin Discharged another nest of bolts at her.

Ama, however, got a wrathfully perturbed grin at noticing someone else holding her egg. "You get back here with that right now, Arashi!" she said, bordering on snarling. "Don't you know better than to steal a Blissey's egg?!"

Arashi stayed put, only moving when he set it down and Astrid came dropping down from above with a hardened wing. Very quickly, the egg's insides went splattering across both Astrid's front and the ground around them when she smashed it with a Steel Wing, which absorbed the Blissey's attention perhaps better than anything else. Maybe their less-than-friendly status quo made it understandable, but still, she couldn't help but feel a bit bad about smashing the egg, for she knew that only bliss and happiness came out of them and Ama herself seemed quite fond of carrying it everywhere.

The scream of despair and anger that left the Blissey's mouth may as well have been another Hyper Voice, for everyone winced on hearing it- not from damage, but in pure discomfort, for Ama sounded like she was in utter agony. Both Jingle and Chira had horrified looks as well, and Millicent too looked hesitant.

"YOU-…!" Ama shrieked, shaking with a disgusted, wrathful frown. "WHY?! WHY WOULD YOU DO THAT?! YOU CAN'T JUST-!"

She wasn't occupied on anything but the messy remains of her egg, and with the dragon next to her taken aback too, it gave Rush the perfect opportunity to get close to her with his fist drawn back. Between Rozen's Helping Hand and Millicent's decorative boosts, Ama wasn't in for a pleasant experience, and she noticed such all too late.

"Aah-aaaAAAAH…!" the Blissey breathed, pure horror in her expression as her eyes fell on the Scrafty.

WHAM!

Even if they weren't the ones on the receiving end, everyone else present flinched at seeing the hit Ama took. Thankfully, she couldn't shatter like stone, but Rush's Brick Break almost instantly made her fall unconscious with her eyes rolled back in her head. She wouldn't be bothering them, that was for sure, but her dragon comrade was in for quite the surprise too when Rush bit down on the Blast Seed and seemed to launch a Flamethrower of his own. The Drampa's furry wings flailed as if perhaps that would help him, and a mighty roar of protest escaped his maw.

"Sorry, not sorry!" the Scrafty remarked, jumping back.

"YOU DEGENERATES!" Chira screeched, taking a pink glow again. "You know how much the Happiny line loves their eggs and egg-shaped things! How could you?!"

"Oh, I'm finding it hard to have any love for you lot after that move!" Jingle concurred. "Millicent! You traitor!"

The Alcremie only held up a heart shape with her hands again, traipsing closer to Raijin and drawing a few swirls on his tail. The Xurkitree definitely wasn't protesting it.

The remaining two might have been left open without their shield and support, but that wasn't stopping them. Jingle turned a Flamethrower on Astrid and Arashi next, the leafy avian swooping up her partner as usual to gain safer ground, then turned an Extrasensory on Rozen when a Light Screen kept any of the flames from touching them. Of course, Rozen likewise shielded himself, but when the screen cracked, Rush darted right in front of him to nullify it instead.

Chira would've slammed the Scrafty with a Play Rough, but a Quick Attack from Arashi knocked her off course, and with a snarl, her scarves and tail almost seemed to take a life of their own when they Tail Slapped the Frogadier several times in a row before he could retreat. Astrid already had a Razor Leaf aimed for her when her partner darted out of the way, and yet again, Chira was clapping a scarf over her face, but rather to keep two sharp leaves from jabbing into her eyes while the rest embedded themselves in her fur and skin.

"Gods! You're vicious!" the Cinccino hollered in protest.

However, the moment she uncovered her eyes, a certain Orbeetle floated into her line of sight, and the brief moment of their gazes meeting was enough to get a hold on Chira's mind. Another Swift materialized for just a moment, then paused, then dissipated, the one creating the attack getting glowing eyes herself.

Jingle, though, had the beginnings of another Dragon Breath in his mouth while Raijin became cloaked in a rainbow glow made even more intense from Millicent's boosts. The Drampa was something fearsome, to be sure, but there was absolutely no ignoring the hesitance in his eyes at not having Ama as a shield when Raijin aimed a Dazzling Gleam at him, for as intense as the Xurkitree's attacks usually were, Millicent's boosts made the light almost burn for everyone in the vicinity even if they weren't close. The Alcremie herself averted her gaze and backed up a bit, even if she herself was a fairy and ordinarily right at home amongst fairy energy.

"Millicent…!" Jingle growled.

"Forgive me, Jingle!" Raijin cried.

The beam of sparking blue smoke was easily overtaken by the rainbow pulse of energy, and the Drampa went down with a roar. Millicent winced a bit at that hit, too.

"Thanks," the Xurkitree said, giving the one next to him a little tap on her shoulder with his tail.

Millicent only smiled, holding up another heart shape.

Chira, though, under Adnea's gaze, stopped lashing out for a bit, but still, even with her glowing eyes, she didn't seem very happy at the Orbeetle's intervention. "Are you getting in the way of our love and enlightenment?!" she fussed. "Adnea, you…!"

One of her scarves lashed at the researcher, but Adnea swiftly floated out of its way while still keeping her hold on Chira's mental state.

"Yunael was much easier than this," the Orbeetle remarked. "I suppose that's to be expected, but… heavens, how much poison did Seven Thousand douse you in?"

"Don't you take away my enlightenment!" Chira hissed, looking as though she wanted to attack but was frozen in place.

"Don't you resist me," Adnea sharply shot back.

It took a few moments more before Chira blinked in confusion a few times, but she seemed to calm down eventually, the wildness leaving her eyes for more tranquility. She studied the Orbeetle for a second, then looked around at the others, almost immediately getting an alarmed look at noticing Ama and Jingle limp and unmoving. Still, everyone but Adnea was keeping their distance just in case.

"… Alright, what happened?" Chira inquired, dusting herself off with one scarf. "The last thing I clearly remember is that we were all getting wrecked by Squad Fourteen-Five and the big red guy himself punched me. Then there's something about trying to spread love and enlightenment and… Just who is Void? And did we actually just have a huge fight? I feel like I should still be raising a ruckus, but…"

"Yeah, we actually just had a huge fight, ehehe," Rush answered her, crossing his arms and smirking.

Wordlessly, Chira looked to Millicent, who nodded and made a few more gestures, then back to Adnea.

"I'll fill the fuzzy gaps in yours and Millicent's memory in a bit, but for now, I'd rather focus on your fainted comrades," the Orbeetle noted matter-of-factly, turning and floating towards Ama and Jingle.

The two conscious ones of Team Sweetheart found it agreeable and nodded, while Rozen too followed after Adnea. The Starstorm trio exchanged glances, and Astrid and Arashi let out sighs of relief.

"… That Blissey really is something else," Raijin remarked.

Chira giggled, still carefully fluffing up her scarves and grooming the dirt out of her fur with them. "Isn't she~?" she chirped, then, looking over the Starstorm trio and especially noting the remnants of eggshell and egg yolk on Astrid's wing, "You lot are filthy! Let me fix that!"

Before anyone could protest, Chira's scarves and tail were quickly brushing them off, the Dartrix shyly fluffing up while her comrades looked surprise but didn't protest. Arashi even started grinning.

Rush laughed. "Ehehe, here we go, typical Chira grooming anyone and anything that looks even slightly dirty!"

The Cinccino gave him a sly look. "Don't you have walls to punch or something?" she remarked with a smile.

Both she and the Scrafty laughed, Rush holding one hand up that Chira slapped with her tail.

Adnea, however, was already in position to stare straight into Jingle's eyes as Rozen set to restoring his health too with a Heal Pulse. It didn't take long at all for the dragon to begin stirring rather fiercely, but the moment his eyes opened, Adnea's were already glowing and his started too as well. What seemed like the umpteenth Light Screen for that day went up when a burst of flames left Jingle's maw, but compared to what he was breathing off earlier, it was more subdued.

"Calm yourself, Jingle," Adnea commanded. "You will not hurt anyone."

He wasn't attacking, but just like Chira, it sure looked like he wanted to. A minute or two of Adnea's Hypnosis later, and he too was resembling his usual placid self.

"Adnea, Rozen?" the dragon nonchalantly asked. "What-"

"I'll show you later," the Orbeetle cut him off.

That was agreeable, and the Drampa stood aside to let her deal with Ama next. Another Heal Pulse from Rozen had the Happiness Pokémon stirring, and she too was staring into Adnea's Hypnosis with her wild eyes the second she came to.

"You bunch of-!" the Blissey cried angrily, glaring at Adnea and Rozen.

"Stop it, Ama," the Orbeetle said flatly.

Likewise, Ama too seemed like an ordeal to get a handle on, but Adnea's focus wasn't breaking. Seeing a Blissey kick up such a fuss with her snarls and shrieks of protest was… quite an odd sight, but that too was probably to be expected from the neurotoxin she'd been hit with. The others of Team Sweetheart definitely seemed to find it strange, and Millicent made a few more gestures while Chira and Jingle got hapless looks on their faces.

Still, after a minute or two, the tranquility had more or less returned to Ama's face, and she lit up with a smile fairly quickly. "Oh, darlings! It seems we had quite a brawl! I was worried we would turn into another set of those fussing crazies, but… Ah, we've been saved~!"

Another sigh of relief came from Astrid and Arashi. Ama, though, quickly threw one of her arms around Rozen, beckoned Adnea down for a hug, then gave the Orbeetle a little embrace too when Adnea obliged her (albeit with an unenthusiastic expression and rolling eyes). Her egg might not have been there, but she was still hugging them as though it were, for clearly, she wasn't used to having an empty pouch.

"Yo, Ama! That was rad!" Rush cackled, giving her a playful smirk. "Makes me damn glad we're on the same side, ehehe!"

"Ohhhh, Rush, darling~!" Ama chirped, skittering over to the Scrafty next and throwing an arm around him too. "I'm always so happy to see yooouuuuu~!"

Rush laughed again, putting an arm around Ama too before she scurried off to give the Starstorm trio little hugs in rapid succession too (that Astrid again couldn't help blushing underneath her feathers at). It was as if she'd never been poisoned… but perhaps she was just so overflowing with love and joy that it didn't matter.

"But, I just have to ask…~" the Blissey's voice trailed off. "What… What happened~? Why, I feel like I've just been running on fighting instincts since Squad Fourteen-Five knocked us out, and… Well, it's all blurry!" She cast a pitiful glance to the shattered remains of her egg next, a hapless whimper escaping her mouth. "And I know you all wouldn't do that without reason…~"

Astrid tried as hard as she could to sink into her feathers, Arashi got an awkward look, and Raijin too was uncertainly tapping his fingers together again.

"Allow me," Adnea chimed in.

Shortly, all four of the sweethearts were getting surprised, taken aback looks when memories from Adnea graced their minds.

"Ah! So we tried to fight you, claiming it was for love!" Ama cried, hopping in place for a second. "That darling- er, I suppose I shouldn't call her a darling!- Seven Thousand made us go crazy and try to spread 'enlightenment' for someone called Void that we've never met! Oh, how awful!"

"Ack! I used Rozen as a shield! I would never!" Chira exclaimed in dismay before darting over to the Audino and giving him a hug too. "Sorry, Rozen!"

The Audino chuckled. "Oh, I do not blame you, Chira, rest assured."

"And I tried to attack these two tiny unevolved forms along with the rest of you!" Jingle lamented, casting a horrified glance to Astrid and Arashi. "Oh, what a terrible turn of events!"

"Rush!" Ama cried, grabbing one of the Scrafty's hands. "Do you know of a Squad Fourteen-Five or where they ran off to?! If they're tied to these 'crazy' incidents, then we can't let them get away! This absurdity has to stop!"

"We don't, but Adnea's on the lookout for them and more like them," Rush answered. "Look, Ama, there's more to it than you're thinking, a lot more, and I've been meaning to have a serious talk with some other team leads to get 'em up to speed. You busy tonight?"

The Blissey was certainly listening. "Oh? I'm not busy, but… darling, have you uncovered something?"

"More like conveniently ran into a reliable source," Rush remarked. "Our buddy Raijin here used to be one of 'em."

Team Sweetheart's eyes fell on the Xurkitree, who silently held his arm out and revealed his own identifying mark. Millicent gingerly backed away on seeing it, Chira and Jingle gasped, and Ama blinked a few times in surprise.

"… Those are the same sorts of marks that Squad Fourteen-Five had!" the Blissey exclaimed. "But, Raijin, darling, you're not a troublemaker, I can tell!"

"… Well, I try really hard not to be, at least," the one in question said softly, his turned-out cable twisting back around.

Ama chuckled, skittering over and throwing an arm around Raijin again as best she could. "Don't worry, I believe you! From what I've seen and heard, you're a real sweetheart too!"

If a creature made of wires with a spiked ball perched atop them could blush, their Beast comrade probably would have been.

Ama, though, skittered back over to Astrid and Arashi, nuzzling between them and sticking her arms around them. "And you two! I'm so glad you cracked that egg, all things considered! They're supposed to be full of love and happiness, but obviously, if I was getting into a battle with all of you, I was missing the 'love' part, so that egg was no good! What kind of pathetic excuse for a Blissey would I be if I was carrying around an egg like that?!"

The Dartrix was definitely relieved that Ama wasn't upset at them for it, but at the same time, she had to wonder if there really was 'love' in Ama's eggs. She wasn't sure what love, something completely incorporeal and rather abstract, would look like coming out of an egg, but what did come out of the one she carried looked a lot like a plain, unremarkable yolk… Perhaps she'd have to actually eat one to notice, but she wasn't keen on asking the Blissey for one so soon after cracking the last she'd carried.

"But~!" the Blissey continued, turning loose of the unevolved ones and hopping up and down while clapping her hands again. "I say this is an event worth celebrating! How about we fetch the rest of your comrades and we all go to Grumpy's~? All on us, Coalition lovelies! We owe you!"

"A'ight, I'll take you up on that, if only 'cause I ain't gotten smashed on berry beer in months!" Rush quickly replied, grinning.

Rozen chuckled, not protesting the idea at all, while Adnea rolled her eyes again without saying a word. Arashi instantly got a mischievous grin, and both of his comrades knew exactly what was on his mind. Astrid again went fluffing up, if only because the idea of going someplace with such a big group (never mind the others that would surely be there too) was rather… intense. Still, if all else failed, she could surely find a corner to nestle in and shove Arashi in front of her to deal with whatever social interaction might happen.

"Yeeees~!" Ama cheered, clapping her hands again and practically doing a happy dance. "Oh, what do we say, comrades?!"

Even without the Coalition bunch joining in, the refrain still echoed off of the mountaintop.

"MAY LOVE AND JOY FILL THE WORLD~!"


However, shortly after entering the town's perimeter again, and while Team Sweetheart broke off from the Coalition bunch to retrieve Yunael…

"No!" Raijin exclaimed, making the ones close to him jump back when sparks shot down his form for a moment.

"Yiah! What's wrong?!" Arashi cried, looking very startled at the sudden jolts of electricity mere centimeters away from where he had been.

The streets were bustling as always, but one in particular apparently stood out to the Xurkitree, for he stopped dead and quickly grabbed hold of Astrid with one hand, looking ready to swoop her up and run the other direction. The Dartrix fluffed up too, likewise startled and wanting to see what the matter was.

"Something up?" Rush asked, eyeing their Beast comrade.

In response, Raijin raised his other hand up and pointed out one figure with their back to them flapping alongside a Wobbuffet on the ground - a winged purple draconian with three stingers, one of which was huge in comparison to the other two and bore a mark of UB07-2004. Astrid followed where he was pointing and took immediate notice of the identifying marks, she too quickly looking ready to run the other direction. With widened eyes, she skittered backward a bit, nudging as close to Raijin as she could possibly get, and Arashi stuck close to her in turn too, albeit making certain to stay as far away from their Beast comrade as he could while still wrapping an arm around Astrid (just in case any sparks went shooting down his cables). Rush and Rozen seemed a bit surprised as well, but Adnea wasn't reacting at all.

"… Naganadel," Raijin noted, keeping his voice low. "Urgh, did they find us already…?! We can't-!"

"They did not," Adnea flatly cut him off. "That's not a Naganadel. That's a Ditto- a very happy-go-lucky one named Xeno, to be precise."

Rush snickered, crossing his arms. "Hah! The fuck happened for him to be using a form like that?!" he remarked, studying the one in question, then louder to get attention, "Yo! Xeno! Karma!"

The stinging dragon turned around along with the Wobbuffet, and fairly quickly, the Starstorm trio was picking up on why the others didn't seem so worried. Whatever facial features a Naganadel was supposed to have, Astrid wasn't entirely sure, but the eyes that looked back at them clearly belonged to a Ditto.

"Oh, hello!" Xeno happily greeted, giving a wave and fluttering over as quick as he could with his comrade keeping close by. "I see you're all back in one piece!"

Astrid deflated, and Arashi too eased up, but Raijin still seemed rather tense while he studied the form that Xeno imitated as if still processing that the one before them wasn't a Beast.

"You… You're not…" the Xurkitree's voice trailed off uncertainly. He relaxed soon, though. "W-wait, you're the one we saw this morning!"

The Ditto laughed, glancing to Raijin next. "I sure am!" he replied, grinning. "What's got you all flustered? Did I unwittingly Transform into your nemesis or something?" He crossed his arms and giggled some more, Karma giving him a very pointed look (at least, as pointed as a Wobbuffet's perpetually flustered look could get). "Don't worry, I can change that! Sorry, bro!"

Xeno's body glowed white and completely reformed into another form, that of a Swampert.

"N-no, it's fine," Raijin quickly said to the contrary. "That's just standard Ditto fare, right…? But, you had to get that form somewhere…"

"Bramble Peak was full of surprises today," Karma noted.

"It sure was!" the Ditto concurred, his body glowing white again.

Yet again, the Ditto Transformed into something that looked even more outlandish- a small white and paper-thin body with two exorbitantly sharp arms stained slightly red on their edges and ornate accents in yellow and orange. Two beady black Ditto eyes (that didn't seem to belong on the body at all otherwise) peered back at them from above a mouth resembling a paper fortune teller, and on one blade arm was the mark UB04B-3017. Raijin twitched again at seeing it, and Astrid couldn't help being a bit unsettled at what were clearly the remnants of bloodstains on the sharp white edges. Arashi grinned awkwardly too, eyeing the red stains with uncertainty.

"I mean, look at this one too!" Xeno happily exclaimed. "It looks pitiful, but it's the sharpest thing I've ever seen! Aesthetically and literally!"

The Ditto giggled again and spun around in the air, making both Raijin and Karma visibly uncomfortable.

"Hey! Don't dance around so carelessly!" the Wobbuffet scolded. "You saw what those blades were capable of!"

"R-really!" Raijin concurred.

With a giggle, Xeno was still, and Transformed into a Pidgeot instead.

Adnea rolled her eyes again, piping up, "Xeno, Karma, can I show the rest of our group your memories so they know what you're referring to?"

That certainly sounded agreeable to the rest of the expeditioners there, and Astrid definitely wanted to see what had transpired to give the Ditto the two forms he used.

"Oh, go right ahead!" Xeno cheerfully replied.

"If you wish," Karma wasn't opposed.


"What is going on here?!" exclaimed the metallic-tinged voice of a Kartana. "Which one of you is Blast?!"

Two responses came at almost exactly the same time of "I am!" and "No, me!" but the two figures rattling them off could hardly be distinguished. Two round white heads with glowing blue and pink spheres of light covering the surface sat atop two blue and pink-striped yellow bodies with UB08B-12784 marked at the top of one leg, both of the figures shaking a white claw-like hand at the other. Of course, the Ditto eyes on one Blacephalon would've been apparent to anyone looking for them, but apparently, the Beasts on Bramble Peak didn't know to do so.

"And which one of you is Forty-Sixty?! Seriously! Knox and Remi didn't warn us about this!" the purple dragon exclaimed, likewise studying two others.

Two quite large metallic yet plant-like figures looked at each other, one lots more flustered than the other. The cannon-like arms that they pointed at each other were surely something that no one wanted to get in the middle of, but the cascading metallic sheets almost akin to long hair and the layers of metallic 'bark' around their bodies (the lowest of which was marked UB04A-4060) gave a feel of elegance as well. They were indistinguishable in looks, save for the frown that one wore while the other smirked.

"It's me, Twenty-O-Four!" a flustered but pretty voice protested, sounding like a fussing chorus of chimes. "You know it's me!" then to the other 'Celesteela,' "Don't make me burn you down!"

Of course, the fact that the other was silent probably would've tipped off another expeditioner that a Zoroark was casting an illusion and there were not, in fact, two Celesteelas.

Of the thorny trees sparsely dotting the hillside, an entire section of them was cleanly sliced apart, their severed halves haphazardly strewn over the ground. Still another section was smoldering, and a few patches of the ground were drenched in poisonous liquid. The terrain might've been rather rocky and rough, but Team Charade didn't mind, and the strange figures they encountered didn't seem to care either even if they too seemed completely out of place among the usual inhabitants of Bramble Peak. A Wobbuffet and a Girafarig mostly stood back for the time being, amusedly watching the Beasts get confused and flustered at their comrades' shenanigans.

"This is what happens when you attack Team Charade," Karma noted nonchalantly.

"Thirty-Seventeen, you're our team lead, how should we approach this?!" the Naganadel exclaimed.

"I've got an idea!" the Ditto-eyed Blacephalon chimed in, his head rolling off of its place and into his hands. "What does this do~?!"

BANG!

He hurled his head at the other Blacephalon, who gave a flustered shout as it exploded point-blank. The glowing blue and pink spheres expanded outwards like a firework, then converged back on Xeno's head where they reformed to their original form. The Ditto stumbled a bit, clearly taken aback at literally blowing up a part of his new form, but otherwise seemed content enough.

"Oh, don't you use my own move against me!" Blast fussed, taking hold of his own head too.

However, Thirty-Seventeen apparently had other ideas and turned to the one without Ditto eyes. "Good idea! The real Blast always goes launching his head to surprise enemies! You've been uncovered, impostor!"

"What?!" the actual Blacephalon protested, his head rocking around a little in frustration. "Thirty-Seventeen, it's me!"

That didn't seem to matter so much when the Kartana's blades took a dark purplish glow that elongated outwards, Thirty-Seventeen raising both of them up to strike. Blast hollered again in protest, sticking his head back in its usual place and turning the other way to run.

Karma gave the Girafarig next to her a glance. "Ravi, you should steal that one's power," she noted, pointing one arm at the flustered Blacephalon.

"I believe I will!" the Girafarig concurred.

Blast apparently could run fairly fast, but the Kartana caught up easily and sliced him down with a Night Slash, straight through Blast's head that seemed to deform for a moment with the attack. Yet, while the Blacephalon was thankfully left in one piece, Thirty-Seventeen's attack wasn't so kind to the surroundings, for the ground too was left with a giant slash splitting its surface open when the Kartana's blades merely brushed it. Nonetheless, just before the Blacephalon slumped over unconscious, the bluish glow of a Power Swap surrounded both him and the Girafarig, who started to smirk just like the disguised Zoroark pretending to be a Celesteela.

"Ooooh! That one is powerful!" Ravi happily exclaimed, stomping his front hooves gleefully.

However, Xeno too had other ideas, and instead turned toward the Beast team lead before shooting a Flamethrower. Of course, Thirty-Seventeen turned around all too late to see it coming, and only a sharp shout of dismay followed before the Kartana too was wavering faintly in the breeze, covered in singe marks and unmoving. Xeno chuckled, Transforming into the fainted one's form next.

Both the Celesteela and Naganadel let out cries of surprise.

"Thirty-Seventeen!" Forty-Sixty exclaimed. "No!"

"But…! I've never seen Thirty-Seventeen lose a fight! They always win!" Twenty-O-Four likewise hollered. "That's gotta be the real Thirty-Seventeen!"

"But since when could they change bodies like that?!" the Celesteela wasn't so sure. "Have you seen a form-changing Kartana before?! I haven't!"

They didn't have much time to fuss over the turn of events when Ravi went launching a Psychic at the Naganadel and the end of one of Kuro's cannon arms took a ghostly purple glow. Forty-Sixty put up a Wide Guard around herself and her comrade to block out both Ravi's attack and Kuro's Shadow Claw (that really couldn't qualify as being used with a 'claw'), both of them looking flustered as could be.

"Okay, safe to say you're the real Forty-Sixty?!" the Naganadel quickly inquired of the other one inside the shield, taking note of the other 'Celesteela's' move.

"Yes!" was the affirmation.

The moment the shield faded, the inside of one of Forty-Sixty's arms started glowing red with heat and she launched a Flamethrower at Kuro's visage, which in turn faded back to his normal bipedal canine look before he scurried out of the way. Twenty-O-Four, on the other hand, turned his stinger at Karma and Ravi before shooting a Dragon Pulse their way, but the Girafarig merely leaped behind Karma, who hardly moved a muscle. Instead, the moment the attack hit her, it bounced right off of a Mirror Coat and back at the Naganadel. Another surprised cry left the dragon's mouth as he quickly flapped to the side, the reflected beam of energy sailing off into the distance harmlessly.

"Come a little closer," the Wobbuffet beckoned without a care. "Or shall I come to you?"

The Girafarig behind her giggled, knowing that Karma's Shadow Tag would activate if such were to happen, and escape would become all but impossible for their foe. That seemed exactly what the Wobbuffet was intent on, for she started waddling closer to Forty-Sixty while Ravi set off another Psychic.

"This world is weird!" the Celesteela protested, readying a Flash Cannon. "We have to tell the others!"

"You do that!" Xeno laughed, sticking his bladed arms together. "Whoever you're with, tell 'em Team Charade said hi!"


The Starstorm trio was silent for a few moments, Astrid blinking in surprise while Arashi seemed fairly intrigued. Rush, though, gave another laugh, and playfully shoved one of Xeno's wings.

"Look at ya! Chasin' those asshats off with their own forms!" the Scrafty remarked, smirking with mischievous eyes.

The Ditto giggled. "Well, I'd never seen those species before, so I just had to try them out! Besides, they'd apparently never seen a Ditto before if my face wasn't tipping them off!"

"They'd clearly never seen a Wobbuffet either, seeing as they looked frightened when I bounced all of their attacks off," Karma added. "The poor things must have thought I was a useless tagalong."

"Heh, you ain't one I'd just walk up and punch either, Karma," Rush said with a smirk. "Attacking a Wobbuffet head-on is like kicking your own ass!"

Xeno giggled some more, Rush and Rozen following suit as well. Adnea only rolled her eyes, clearly not as easily amused.

Raijin wasn't laughing, but he too chimed in, sounding rather relieved. "That's… seriously impressive."

"Oh, it's easily my favorite thing about my species," Xeno brushed it off, primping his large plume with one wing. "When a strong foe appears in our way, they're basically handing their power over to us!"

It certainly was a good strategy, Astrid figured. If a squad of Beasts appeared, then one who could Transform into any of them was easily the best counter to them. Facing Xeno must have been like walking into a death trap in the form of a grinning purple blob… or at least, it would've been, had they ever seen him in his natural form.

"Well, there's somethin' about that, actually, Xeno," Rush noted, still smirking but giving the Ditto-eyed Pidgeot another gentle nudge. "You up to anything after sundown? It's important."

Xeno shook his head. "I got nothing! Especially if it's important!"

"Oh, is everything alright?" Karma inquired, perking up.

Rush chuckled. "I'm gonna make damn sure it is, at least."

Both Xeno and Karma nodded.

Shortly, they were exchanging their goodbyes and heading their respective directions, Xeno going right back to being a Naganadel when the rest of the Coalition bunch had their backs turned… at least, until they were far enough away to not be seen anymore. He turned into his imitation of Raijin's form, giggling in a much more electrical-sounding voice.

"Maybe I should've used this one!" the Ditto chuckled. "Now I know what his voice sounds like, so my form is perfect!"

"Or it would be, if not for your blatant Ditto face syndrome," Karma brushed him off. "I'm just waiting for the day you imitate the wrong Pokémon and cause someone trouble."

"Oh, come on, Karma! Imitation is the best form of appreciation!"

In the Coalition bunch, however, Astrid still couldn't help mulling over the fact that Team Charade had apparently walked away from their own Beast encounter with such ease, but clearly, the elements of surprise and confusion had been on their side as well. Besides, if Team Sweetheart's fiasco was anything to go by, the fact that there had been no Nihilego there to exert influence over Xeno's team with neurotoxins probably made things much less problematic.

Dren was still on the rooftop and gave them a friendly greeting, his tail aimlessly draped over the side as he perched tranquilly. For such a large and intimidating draconian form, he never gave off a threatening air.

Inside, however, Lazuli and Cinder had apparently been conversing as nonchalantly as they possibly could judging from the cheerful intonations of words they couldn't quite make out, for the Azumarill was grinning, and the Fletchinder seemed to be happy… for the split second he didn't notice the rest of the Coalition members slipping back into HQ. Almost too fast to see, his eyes were narrowed on the Starstorm trio again, practically ablaze with bridled fury.

"Did you win?" Cinder quickly inquired in a tone so icy he may as well have been an Ice-type. "Did the triad of screw-ups hold you back?"

It was easy enough to figure out which half of the brigade was being referred to as the 'triad of screw-ups' from Cinder's glare. Astrid fluffed out, and Raijin shrank up. Lazuli gave the avian next to her a shove, still smiling nonetheless.

Rush didn't seem too concerned. "Right the opposite, bitchcake!" he brushed it off with a smirk.

"Oh, must we use such vitriolic words?" Rozen mused haplessly, shaking his head.

Adnea was silent, not having a care in the world. Arashi, though, still smiled, and strode closer to the Fletchinder, sticking a hand on his wing. Cinder looked ready to flog him for that alone, and Astrid got slightly wide eyes at her comrade's gesture too.

"Hey, look!" Arashi said amiably, as if there wasn't burning rage in the Fletchinder's countenance. "We know you have reasons for being like you are and we know no one is supposed to talk about it, alright? We just wanna be friends; you don't have to threaten us!"

The Dartrix's eyes stayed wide open, for she couldn't quite believe her partner saying such without a second thought to someone so standoffish. Raijin twitched too, rather unsure what to make of it, and Lazuli's grin too became a bit uncertain. Still, they didn't have much time to be uncertain nor did Arashi have much time to keep grinning before Cinder's wing was slamming into the side of the Frogadier's head and his talons practically pinning him to the floor. The Fletchinder didn't seem to want to stop there either, for he leaned his head back poised to rip into Arashi with his beak next.

"Yiah-!" Arashi cried, squirming in protest and a Water Pulse forming in his mouth in panic.

"Arashi!" Astrid hollered in surprise, darting over with a quickly hardening wing.

"Hey!" Raijin too objected, a few bolts sparking to life in one hand.

Lazuli reacted quickly too, grabbing hold of one of Cinder's wings and yanking him backwards, right as Arashi spit a Water Pulse. The Frogadier jumped back to his feet too, then promptly jumped aside as a Flamethrower spewed out of the fiery avian's beak, Cinder not seeming to notice Lazuli holding him back but flailing against her anyway. Still, Arashi shortly found himself with Astrid at his side and Raijin's sparking cables planted around him, but that apparently didn't dissuade the Fletchinder either when some more embers glowed from inside his beak.

However, what did stop them all was Adnea floating down between them with glowing eyes directed at Cinder and Rozen putting up a Light Screen in front of the Starstorm trio.

"ENOUGH!" thundered the Orbeetle in a huge voice hardly befitting of such a small body.

Cinder's eyes started to glow too, making his flailing cease, and Adnea quit her Hypnosis shortly thereafter even if he was still glaring. Rozen's screen went down too, but Astrid and Rajin stayed by their comrade, not quite ready to leave him unguarded after such a display.

"What did you tell them?!" Cinder hollered, casting his furious glance over at Rush and Rozen next.

"We didn't tell them a thing," Rozen answered, quite unamused.

"Get a fuckin' grip, will ya?" Rush remarked, eyes narrowing while he still smirked. He crossed his arms. "If you weren't on this team and I didn't know you better, I'd beat your ass for somethin' like that."

The Fletchinder wasn't keen to keep attacking, but he still glared even as he averted his gaze down to the floor. "… Go to hell."

"I'll give you hell," the Scrafty wasn't bothered. "Anyways, you two- Team Sweetheart is back in commission and Ama wants to celebrate over at Grumpy's. You two down?"

Lazuli's face instantly lit up. "Ooooh! Yes!"

The rage seemed to leave Cinder's eyes, and he flatly stammered out, "… S-sure."

At that, Rush broke into a wider grin, eyes dancing with mischief. "Good! Let's go tell Dren to get his ass down and let's go have some fun!"

The Azumarill clapped her hands together and practically scurried out the door before anyone else, and they could hear her hollering up at the dragon on the roof shortly thereafter. For just a moment, Cinder's gaze fell back on the Starstorm trio, eyes burning with wrath again as if he might spit another Flamethrower, before he too set off after her. With nothing left to be on guard about, Astrid eased up and Raijin went back to his usual bipedal stance, the three of them exchanging wordless glances before they too set off behind Rush and Rozen.

Arashi too wore a grin, giving Astrid a mischievous look, and she still knew exactly what he was angling for.

"If you go getting tipsy, just don't forget who we are or something like that," the Dartrix softly pleaded. "You're the social one; I need you to hide behind."

Her partner giggled, giving her wing a pat. "Don't worry! I've only had berry beer once when Mom offered me a taste, and it was awful! I can't imagine drinking enough to get tipsy!" He gave both of his comrades a glance. "But, if I did, you two would keep me from doing something completely stupid, right?"

"Of course," Raijin replied. "I can't get tipsy from drinking things like that, so obviously I should be the one watching out."

The Frogadier laughed. "You're the best, Raijin- always watching out!"

"That's why I'm here," the Xurkitree said, giving them both a gentle pat with his tail.

Astrid fluffed up a little, saying in a just-audible voice so that none of their other comrades could hear, "… F-for what it's worth, I'm glad you're both here…"

The two next to her paused, casting their gazes on her. She was a bit surprised when she found herself with Arashi's arms thrown around her, her partner grinning hugely, but didn't protest it. She didn't protest Raijin reaching down and giving her a gentle pat on the back either. Had her wings not been practically pinned to her sides by Arashi's embrace, she would've hugged both of them, but apparently, that would have to wait for another time. In any case, they quickly snapped out of it before Adnea's piercing stare or Cinder's furious gaze could fall on them again.