[OPEN] fight fight fight

[improvking]

Who: the Ring-Spirit, various others (maybe even YOU?)
What: meetups for sparring!
When: throughout May
Where: small forest clearing in town outskirts
Warnings: possibly violence? it's "just sparring", but different folks may value safety vs winning to differing degrees,,

[ The Ring-Spirit has been feeling the need to work on his battling capabilities ever since he helped rescue Smoochum back in March... and the disturbing discovery made during Tangela's more recent rescue only made the importance of combat practice more clear.

So! He makes arrangements during the month to meet up with various other pokemon to spar - not on the coast (CERTAINLY not after hearing out Tangela), nor too deep into the forest, but just outside of town enough that they won't have to worry too much about the uninvolved getting caught in the crossfire. ]


[A] - Meeting as Arranged!
[ If you previously agreed (in person or over pearl) to meet with the Ring-Spirit to spar, you'll find him already waiting at the location when you arrive. He perks up on seeing you. ]

You want to stretch or something first, or get right to it?


[B] - Who You??
[ If you're not someone he's expecting to meet up with, but you linger long enough that he starts thinking you're seeking his attention, he'll be a little ruder. He has plans! ]

...Yeah? What do you want?

Comments

B

[dripdrive]

[Anasui had just been doing some patrolling before he saw the Ring-Spirit. The Espathra hadn't meant to stare at him, he just wanted to see whether or not this was the other Mimikyu - the one he actually wanted to talk to.

Even though he's been at Bottlecap Bay for a month, Anasui had not made any attempt to get to know his neighbours. He's been more or less keeping to himself, save for missions and trips to the archives. That being said, he still recognises the annoying Mimikyu from the clinic that followed him around as his neighbour.

Anasui scoffs and shakes his head at the tiny Pokemon.]

Nothing. Why would I want anything from you? [It's fine if the spirit is rude because Anasui will be ruder!]

[improvking]

Good question~!

[ He sounds almost friendly for a moment! Then he huffs loudly and shuffles closer, staring down (up at) his (tall) adversary. ]

Better question is, if you don't want anything from me, what are you staring for? Am I just that easy on the eyes?

[dripdrive]

[Now that he's actually talking to him, Anasui stares right back at the Ring-Spirit with his large, unblinking eyes. He doesn't even bother lowering his head, letting the other Pokemon approach him. He snorts.]

Hardly. That's literally why you have to wear a sack on your head. [Anasui no.] You're more yellow than the other one. Your cloak's tattier too. [That's almost an answer to the first question... Almost...]

[improvking]

[ Silence. Unimpressed staring back - from both the drawn-on eyes of his costume and the faint glowing from behind the eyeholes in its "torso".

...

Finally, a deadpan: ]

Last I checked, Shoka had an earring. That's an easier tell to memorize.

[dripdrive]

[Anasui rolls his eyes.]

Who pays attention to things such as accessories? They change easily. But now that I've heard your voice I may be able to tell you two apart.

[What an annoying thing...]

[improvking]

[ His "head" cocks to one side. ]

Now why would anyone change accessories? It might confuse other people~

[ Said in... a distressingly good imitation of Shoka's voice. This little shit. ]

[dripdrive]

[He more said that to imply he wouldn't bother telling them apart. The Ring-Spirit isn't important enough for that... and yet here his words have been turned against him. Anasui rolls his eyes.]

Fun trick. You practice that often? Is that why you're in the woods all by yourself?

A

[telewarped]

[Shoka had accepted immediately and without any questions, perhaps a little too eager for an opportunity to battle. She's been in a foul mood lately, at once vexed and vulnerable—ready to hurt and be hurt.

When she spots the Ring-Spirit waiting for her in the clearing, she makes a beeline for him, scurrying quickly through the brush, but she at least has the decency to announce her arrival with a bland,] Hey, loser.

[His question earns a tilt of her disguise-head.]

What would we need to stretch for? It's not like we have actual muscles.

[improvking]

You sure we don't? Hmm.

[ His own disguise's "head" tilts back in thought briefly. ]

Well then, I guess, think fast.

[ And his now-glowing tail-stick is coming at her with Wood Hammer powered on! ]

[telewarped]

[Talk about coming out swinging! Think fast Shoka does, narrowly avoiding the blow by lurching away with a sharp gasp. She recoils so fast that she actually seems to lose her balance and fall backward—only to then drop safely into her shadow.

Her shadow uncoils and snakes under the Ring-Spirit's foot, creating a path for her to reappear behind him, her own tail-stick drawn for a Shadow Sneak attack.]

[improvking]

[ As soon as she falls into her own shadow, the Ring-Spirit has a good guess at where she plans to pop up - but he doesn't turn fast enough, and her tail-stick gets a good whack in on his costume's head, knocking it to one side.

Unfortunately, this mainly just pisses him off, and he shouts an Astonish at her with extra vigor. ]

Fucker!

[telewarped]

[While it's pretty much an inevitability in battle, as a fellow Mimikyu, Shoka knows all too well how infuriating and humiliating it is to have your Disguise busted. Even so, that doesn't mean that she has the decency not to taunt him a little for it.]

Aw, hey, don't lose your head now, buddy—

[She barely has time to get that sentence out before he strikes back.]

Ghh—!

[The Astonish seems to rattle her whole form, making it shudder and twitch. She flinches, for a moment unable to even move—an open target.]

[improvking]

[ As Shoka seizes up, the Ring-Spirit follows through on that hit with an attempted Shadow Sneak of his own - faux-whispering as he reappears behind her, tail-stick raised: ]

Boo~

A

[truthdecided]

[Akechi arrives in a rather dramatic fashion, swooping down from the treetops and landing smoothly just a short distance away. As he hits the ground, he stretches, then folds his wings.]

I did some warming up before my arrival, but if you need it, then by all means...

[improvking]

[ The Ring-Spirit watches his arrival, then hums to himself. ]

Oh, no, I'm good... It just seemed more ~civilized~ to start off our spar with a question...

[ Even as his voice trails off, he drops into his own shadow, which quickly slips past Akechi to reconstitute into a Mimikyu right behind him, the Ring-Spirit's tail-stick already prepped to swing as part of a Shadow Sneak attack! ]

...maybe next time I'll do a proper ambush~.

[truthdecided]

[Well, well. That's a crafty maneuver. Akechi tries fluttering out of the way, but still takes some damage due to the swiftness of the attack. He'll have to be crafty here.

Fairy typing means that Power Trick won't work as well as it normally would, even if he stacked enough boosts with Hone Claws. What's more, that Disguise ability means he has to break the darn thing before he even gets to deal some real damage...

So he'll take to the air, beating his wings to launch an Air Slash to get things started.]

I can't fault you for taking the initiative. I would have done the same...

sorry this one took me so very long,, oop,,,

[improvking]

Oof!

[ The Air Slash connects! It knocks the Ring-Spirit's "head" to one side, leaving it lolling from his "neck" in an unsightly manner. He gives a little growl, angered by the damage to his disguise... as much as he knows he has to expect some rough treatment during a sparring match, he's irrationally attached to his weird rag! Still, he resists the urge to shout in response...

...Since the thing is, he's not entirely sure if Shadow Sneak can connect when his opponent is in the air and he's very curious about that. Would he appear in mid-air behind Akechi? Only way to find out is by trying, so he has to try it while he has the opportunity. Shadow Sneak attempt two! ]

You're good! c:

[truthdecided]

[Akechi's guard is up, and he swivels around in the air, trying to pinpoint the ring spirit...

But even in the air, he still casts a shadow, giving the Ring Spirit the perfect opportunity to shoot up and strike!

Akechi hurtles back, only to start beating his wings to avoid an impromptu crash.]

...Not bad, but this is far from over.

[If there's one thing Akechi has noticed about Mimikyus, it's their speed...

So, rather than shoot for direct offense, his feathers fluff up, his eyes narrow, and he unleashes a Scary Face!]

[improvking]

[ Akechi's expression causes something in the Ring-Spirit to seize up, and he starts moving more slowly. It's taking him an increased amount of effort to do anything... it's like he's stuck in a vat of molasses. Hm! Not good!

Still, he scoffs. ]

That all you got~?

[ But he is at a disadvantage now. He attempts to compensate with an Astonish. ]

Hold up, bitch!

A-ish

[outbounds]

[ They were regular enough sparring partners the month prior, but this is less a planned meetup and more of just Emmet dropping by when he noticed something going on while doing something else, presumably.

Maybe the Ring Spirit is just warming up, or maybe he's in the middle of a session with one of his actual planned sparring partners; whatever the case, when the Zoroark comes across the clearing he pauses, then goes to settle in comfortably in some of the nearby shade. ]

Do not mind me! [ he'll chirrup when or if he's acknowledged. ] You may continue on your current track. I am fine just watching.

[improvking]

[ The Ring-Spirit is doing a few exercises on his own - and after Emmet announces his intent to watch, the Ring-Spirit gives a brief nod of acknowledgement before returning to it. But eventually he's ready for a break, and shuffles his way over to Emmet then. ]

You think I'll notice when I learn something new? The archives were a bit vague on the details of how new moves get learned, just that it periodically happens...

[outbounds]

Oh. Are you just hoping it'll come to you with enough practice?

[ there is a minor problem here, if that's what it is: ]

I am not the best person to ask in that case. I already have a general idea of what I probably should and shouldn't be able to do. So I have actively been trying to figure out how to do specific things.

Learning things by way of experience should be fairly instinctual, though. Builds on preexisting foundations a lot of the time. So maybe just try to do what feels natural, and see if something clicks that didn't before?

What are you hoping to learn, anyway?

[improvking]

[ The Ring-Spirit listens intently, giving Emmet a thoughtful nod as he finishes. ]

Hm... I'm not entirely certain. Perhaps I'll grow more satisfied with what I can do now if I can just get the timing down... which likely is just a matter of practice.

But according to the Archives, a pokemon like me ought to be capable of more that involves shadows than what I can do at present... and maybe it's not strictly necessary for me to be functional in combat, but the Shadows were something of a specialty of mine before coming here - so it'd be nice to reconnect with them more.

Shadows here don't respond the way the Shadows did at home, though. I'm not entirely sure how to go about this reconnecting.

[outbounds]

Hmmm. Okay. Maybe I can try to help then. I don't know if it will work for you the same way or not but it is worth a shot. Let me think for a moment first.

[ There's a method to the things he does, but a lot of Emmet's process when it comes to this kind of thing is in actively doing, not overthinking or contemplating it for overlong. So he has to take a moment to backtrack from action to the thoughts behind it, then sort them out and get them in order.

The Zoroark stays perfectly still where he is, beneath the tree, but the shadow beneath him quivers and warps before stretching its way towards where the Ring-Spirit was practicing a moment ago, like the precursor to a Shadow Sneak Emmet never commits to and follows through on. Instead Emmet twists it this way and that for a few moments, like flexing a very esoteric muscle of sorts, before calling it back and letting it return to him as he remarks: ]

Stop me if I say something strange. Anyway. You already can do Shadow Sneak. So can I. Ghosts like Ingo can't at all. For me, maybe it is because I didn't have these kinds of senses or abilities before this. But that means I am very aware of where my shadow is these days, because it is so different from before. [ distinct, noticeable. ] My shadow is me but it also isn't. I think a lot of ghost moves can be thought of that way. Ingo can make ghost fire. I should be able to do ghost ice. I think that the 'being like something else' part is maybe the difference between ghost shadows and dark... darkness.

[ Things that are like and might mimic others, but aren't quite really. One of his ears flicks a bit, but he readjusts his position so that he can lift a paw such that a flurry of rushing shadow can cloak it in the jagged phantasmal claws of Shadow Claw as a demonstration. ]

Shadow Claw is easy if I don't think about it much. Or if I feel about it that way. With that half-step of distance, I mean. That it isn't me, that I am not there, that it is like my claws but it also isn't. You know.

[cw: discussion of possession]

[improvking]

[ The Ring-Spirit continues paying close attention to what Emmet says, and what his shadow powers do - watching how they move and twist about. ]

Hm...

[ He takes a moment to digest the information and ponder it properly. ]

I am... not as... attuned to being, ah. physical. Not as myself... It's... Tch -

[ This is starting to butt up against his new aversion to ~being perceived~, which makes proceeding difficult. He taps his tail-stick against his "head" as he tries to figure out a good middle ground. ]

Would this be at all similar to how I worked within my host, back home, do you think? Where I'm in control of the body but it's decidedly not my body...?

[ ...Wait, maybe he should explain. ]

In my world I was an amulet. I had to possess my wearer to do much of anything.

[ ALL IS NOW EXPLAINED, SURELY, ]