March Akech-all

[truthdecided]

Who: Goro Akechi and YOU! (With some quest prompts too)
What: Quests and general adaptation to being a small borb.
Where: All over Bottlecap Bay.
When: Throughout March.
Warnings: N/A

It's been over a month since Akechi found himself in a strange world and a small body. In that time, he's gradually adjusted to flight, reconnected with Ren, and made a name for himself through investigating the hexed items and partaking in several guild missions.

But it was during one such mission that realization hit Akechi hard, by way of one annoyingly heavy Purrloin, which is why Akechi can be found...

A. Strength Training (OPEN)

It may be a curious sight, seeing a volleyball-sized bird trying to lift heavy objects in his talons. Those in the Oran Berries may notice he's spending a lot of time in the training room specifically pushing his ability to lift large and heavy objects, but that same persistence applies outside the Oran base as well.

For instance, he can be seen near the edge of town, near where Heliolisk leads the initiative for paved roads. Though Akechi has yet to approach a partner and thus hasn't formally signed up for the mission, he does spend some time observing the operation with great intensity.

"Cobblestone would be another useful weight. I suppose there's also the option of scouring the canopy..."

What matters is, he needs to get stronger. What does it say about him, that he struggled to lift one cat?

B. Busy Berries (Locked to Dark Heart)

While foraging is a lighter activity, it does give Akechi the opportunity to hone his flight, sharpen his senses, and gain a greater mental map of the canopy. Not to mention, Dark Heart is one member of the Oran Berries fairly shrouded in mystery. As of now, Akechi hasn't spent any significant time with him, though the two have seen one another, in no small part thanks to A.B.A's impromptu "sleepover."

Much like his previous foraging mission, he comes prepared, with a basket in his talons to hopefully carry a respectable load.

Thus, he waits near the entrance to the Canopy, perched on the basket's handle.

C. Swoobat Swarm (Locked to Ren and Shoka)

The Swoobat present an excellent opportunity for Akechi to put his skills to the test. Sparring is one thing. In a spar, you have to hold back. But this is different.

The enemies are larger. They're psychic.

To Akechi's credit, he didn't immediately charge in. Instead, he used his flight to scout ahead and observe the Swoobat from the cover of the leaves in the Canopy.

Once he's satisfied with his observations, he quietly makes his way back down to his teammates, swooping down before them.

"They're fast, but appear frail. The way I see it, we could either bring the fight to them or divert their attention to the forest floor. However, we'll want to coordinate to ensure the best results."

That shouldn't be an issue in theory; he's worked with both Ren and Shoka before. It's simply a matter of working as a trio.

D. Wildcard!

Feel free to have your character bump into Akechi wherever! I'm also down for plotting either in PMs or at Dorked.

Comments

[colorsflyinghigh]

"Shoka!"

Ren doesn't have the time to interfere with the attack going her way, or to help Akechi, too busy dodging out of the way of the Swoobat swooping at him. The speed boost from the Tailwind helps, as does the residual energy from the Leech Seed, and as a Swoobet closes in for an attack, wind whipping around its wings, Ren deftly hops around it, catching it off-guard with a Sucker Punch.

Attack successful, Ren turns around to see how Akechi and Shoka are faring, and if they need any help after getting hit, his ears twitching around for movement from the Swoobat. He takes a moment to sharpen his nails against the ground- Hone Claws, before he sends out a Leafage to help disperse the Swoobat hounding his team. He grins as the glowing leaves hit; even if it isn't very effective, it should give both Akechi and Shoka room to breathe.

Unfortunately, he fails to notice the Swoobat from earlier- the one he infected with a Leech Seed- getting back up, its eyes glowing brightly. There's only a moment of warning as psychic energy ripples through the battlefield- Ren barely gets the chance to turn around before the Confusion hits him head first, knocking him to the ground.

His first thought: shit, that hurt.

Second: I gotta get up, now!

Third: ... Which way is up?

Confusion settles over Ren as he stumbles to his feet, his eyes clouded over. He sways where he stands, squinting at all the surrounding pokemon...

"Wh-huh...?" he slurs, dangerously close to falling over again as he turns his head. "Uhm..."

He's been Confused, and he's having a hard time making heads or tails of what's happening around him.

[truthdecided]

"Are you kidding me?" Ren, confused, now of all times... Akechi's feathers fluff up in irritation. His eyes hone in on the Swoobat who did it, and he lunges in for a charged up Power Trip, sending the bat flying back.

But there are more, and even slowed, they are annoying. So, though it's filthy, Akechi swoops down to the ground to try a little trick he'd been practicing at the beach.

You get a Sand Attack, Swoobat! And you get a Sand Attack! And you get one!

In short, there's a lot of dirt flying into those bats' eyes.

[telewarped]

The Gust tears down Shoka's illusions and whips at her disguise rag. A sudden, instinctual dread overwhelms her then, forcing her to freeze and focus all her attention on keeping the disguise in place—and those few moments are all it takes for the fight to take a turn.

When she regains control of herself, it takes her another moment to make sense of the scene before her through the clouds of dust. She doesn't remember Akechi answering her question, but he is good, apparently, because now he's flitting angrily around and flinging sand into the eyes of (what looks to her like) every single Swoobat that made the poor decision to follow him here. Screeches of confusion and distress fill her ears. The Swoobat that haven't been knocked out do start to bump into each other now, the frantic flapping of their wings only serving to kick up more dust and sand.

Geez, she wonders. What the hell did they do to piss him off that much?

Then she sees Ren, swaying strangely on his feet. Yeah, that'd do it.

"Ren?!"

With the Swoobat stuck in Sand Hell, she decides that she can afford to check up on him—though she calls up another Double Team as she moves just in case, to give the Swoobat some false targets to focus their attention on.

She makes a beeline for Ren and hovers close, ready to offer support if his legs give out (or just take an attack or two for him).

"Hey—are you good? What the hell happened?"

flipped a coin to see if he hit himself- and he sure as hell did! rip bozo

[colorsflyinghigh]

"Ugh... huh?"

Ren sways a little as he turns to Shoka, his eyes squinting with effort. He shakes his his, blinking as if trying to get rid of the confusion, but he doesn't snap out.

"Shoka? I'm- I can't... what's happening? Where are the Swoobat?" he asks, slurring a little. "Why's there so many of you? I..."

One of the Swoobat, screeching as it gets sand in its eyes, barrels towards them. Ren, even in his confusion, notices this. His fur bristles- there! Attack. He's gotta. Attack. Right? Yes. That's it- they gotta drive back the Swoobat-

Unfortunately, the Leafage he tries to throw out doesn't quite happen the way he wants it to. His movements and mind clumsy, the green glow of the leaves appears around him- only to blow up in his face, hurting himself in his confusion. It sends him stumbling back- right into Shoka.

"Gah- what the-?"

[truthdecided]

"Do I have to smack the confusion out of you?" Akechi's done it before. He could try. However, that seems impractical. No, they have far bigger fish to fry.

Or rather, bats to knock down.

Through the chaos, he dives at the Swoobat Ren tried to attack, smashing into it with a charged up Power Trip. "Times like these make me wish I could use Megidolaon here..."

At least that would give him a proper spread move.

[telewarped]

What's happening? Ren asks her instead of answering either of her questions.

"Uh, I just asked you that..."

What does he mean, where are the Swoobat? They're everywhere? One's coming at them right now, in fact, so she readies her tail-stick to ward it away from Ren—only for him to fire off an attack first before she can protest or tell him to take it easy. If it wasn't already obvious to her that his brain has been completely scrambled, it is now, when his own Leafage immediately blows up in his face, sending him reeling back into her.

Her arms instinctively snake out to stabilize him—but their size difference makes it especially awkward. Though she tries to use her claws to hold him upright, he winds up half-draped over her disguise-head, squashing it down against the top of her real head.

"Ugh, I told you not to do anything stupid...! Way to fail step one!"

She tries to hoist him off of her then and puppet him into a seated position on the ground. A tendril of shadow holds her tail-stick at the ready, poised to fend off any Swoobat that might come too close to him.

"Just—sit this one out, all right? We got this."

[colorsflyinghigh]

Shoka's words kind of blend together in Ren's head, very slowly penetrating the fog. He... doesn't quite fight her when she sits him down- mostly because his dizziness makes it easier to just go along with it, but he does scowl once the words get through to him.

"Whu... no, I can- I can still-"

He shakes his head, desperately trying to clear the dizziness from his brain. Agh, what the hell-!

"I got- I got this- they can't avoid..."

He trails off, the words taking too much effort to form. Instead, he pours all his remaining concentration into once again summoning his powers. Come on- he can do this-

Leaves in the color of the rainbow burst into existence, and don't explode in his face this time. He successfully manages to send them off, leaving them to chase down the nearest Swoobat- who flies into a tree in surprise, knocking itself out.

"Still got it," he snickers, swaying dangerously on his ass.

[truthdecided]

"You're still confused. Don't tempt fate."

No, this is clearly still a risk for Ren.

So, to start, he'll kick up another Tailwind, then when another Swoobat descents, he shoots up for a Drill Peck to knock it away. "Shoka-san, you have the type advantage. If you have any moves that can strike multiple targets, that should be your priority. I will cover for Ren."

[telewarped]

Even after Ren manages to knock out another Swoobat, all Shoka can do is scoff in annoyance and grab him roughly by the scruff to keep him from eating dirt. Can no one listen to her today?

When Akechi gives the command, she gratefully releases her hold on Ren (after trying once more to guide him into a safer, seated position). She's far better suited to Attack than Defense, after all.

"You're the expert," she replies.

The expert at Ren, that is.

"I don't know any spread moves, actually, but no big." Their combined efforts have already thinned out the colony, after all, and the Swoobat that still remain seem to be reconsidering their decision to come here—especially when Shoka moves toward them with the Tailwind at her back and a new set of Double Team illusions at her flank. "My time to shine!"

They spring into action all at once, diving down into their shadows or leaping up into the air with startling speed and grace—and what follows is complete chaos. Shoka is almost too fast to be seen as she darts from one target to the next, slashing away with her claws and swinging her tail-stick with no mercy at all. Bits of blue fluff and particles of shadow scatter; alarmed shrieking and gleeful laughter fill the air. The Swoobat can't seem to follow her at all, their attacks succeeding only in dispelling a few of her illusory selves. If the Swoobat get any real hits in at all, they aren't enough to slow Shoka down in the slightest, and soon they start to drop from the sky one after another.

[colorsflyinghigh]

Ren sticks out his tongue at Akechi- or, at least, vaguely in his direction. He's still seeing double, so it's a little unclear where he actually is.

"Tempting fate is- is..." Ren blinks, once, twice, before he lamely finishes, "I tempt fate so good."

Words are hard when your brain isn't working right, okay?

Still, even confused, he can hear the rampage Shoka is going on, tearing through Swoobat like it's nothing at all. Ren's delight at her joyous shrieks overshadow his annoyance, cheering her on.

"Go go Shokaaaa~" he half-slurs, wobbling back to his feet. "You got this!"

The way his tail sways ends up looking a little too much like a Tail Whip to be a coincidence. Hey, he's just trying to help!

[truthdecided]

That's it. Akechi gives Ren a light whack with his wing. "Snap out of it already!" But he doesn't have time to do much else. More Swoobats descend, so he flutters forward, retaliating with Air Slash.

At least that move can hit multiple targets. It's not much, but it should at least help whittle them down.

[telewarped]

At some point, an attack must have hit her, because pain lances through her head, but she is so transcendent in this moment—pure adrenaline and joyous violence, further urged on by Ren's distant cheering—that it barely slows her down. When Akechi's Air Slash knocks back a pair of remaining Swoobat, she's there to finish one off, savagely tearing it out of the air with a sweep of her claws and landing heavily atop it.

"Get wrecked!"

Its partner watches, its ruff of blue fur bristling as it considers its next move... only to then turn tail and fly off in a hurry. With an almost catlike hiss, Shoka takes a swipe at it, but only manages to graze the heart-shaped end of its tail. As a colony, the Pokémon were completely beyond reason, but the few that remain—only one other now—seem to have regained some amount of sense, because they choose to retreat, fluttering in a panic back from where they came.

"Hah!" Shoka jeers. "All bark and no bite, I'd say."

Well, maybe a little bite. The fabric of her disguise rag is distressed, allowing particles of her formless, true body to spill out, and her trembling is only partly from excitement. And then there's Ren, clearly still suffering from the effects of one of the Swoobat's Psychic moves (she gets it now, at least a little, considering the way her own head is pounding).

"Think we need to chase 'em down?"

They're not the only team out here, after all, and she doubts those remaining two stragglers will be up to causing any more damage.

[colorsflyinghigh]

Well, Akechi's hit certainly manages to finally snap Ren out of confusion- or perhaps the status effect just ended when the Swoobat fled. It's hard to say, but finally, he stops swaying on his feet, and he can think clearly again. Well, mostly- that psychic attack hurt mentally in a way that's hard to describe, similar to a Psiodyne... but not quite.

Still, it looks like most of the Swoobat either fled, or are down- courtesy of Shoka. He may have been confused for most of it, but he's fully aware of the berserk mode she just went in. Goddamn.

"Well- I do need to catch up to you two. I didn't really get a chance to beat any up after a certain point," he hums with a sigh. Still, looking at Shoka's ragged- well, rags, and the way his own head still pounds... "But eh. I'm sure they've learned their lessons for now." He grins. "I'll get you both next time, though. I just got unlucky."

[truthdecided]

"I'm inclined to agree, if only for your sake." He eyes Shoka's damaged disguise. That can't be pleasant. "While I'd like to do more, I believe we've done enough to send a clear message. The question is whether or not they're fully cognizant..."

He stares off in the distance, toward the direction the bats came from. "With the way many Pokémon are behaving of late, I'm not fully convinced this is the status quo."

[telewarped]

"My sake? I'm not the one who had his own attack blow up in his face."

But Ren seems to be perfectly fine now, all of a sudden, and if she were to be honest with herself, she'd notice that she's run herself a bit ragged (literally). That aside, they're already surrounded by an impressive pile of fallen, unconscious Swoobat.

Speaking of which, what are they even supposed to do with all those now?

"... But fine. Guess they've had enough. For now."

In any case, checking up on her teammates comes first.

"You feeling okay now, by the way?" she asks Ren, hopping down from her fainted Swoobat perch and shuffling over. "You were pretty out of it..."