bottlecaplogs | June Catch-All

BUT I AM ORANGE NOW, I- OH.

[Technus puts the pieces together fairly quickly. Shoka and Siffrin know each other already, so if that's the wrong answer, Siffrin probably wouldn't see him as orange.

And hey, if this turns out to be wrong, Siffrin will be able to handle his attack.]

OHH. I GET IT NOW. HOW... SHOCKING!

[As he makes that awful pun, Technus readies a ball of electricity between his limbs, grinning like a maniac the whole time.

He fires it at the fake-Siffrin before Shoka can make a move.

Technus used Electro Ball!]

Edited 2025-06-10 15:56 (UTC)

[While Technus launches his attack, Akechi fluffs up his feathers and unleashes a rather Scary Face, cackling madly to further add to the unsettling feeling.]

You'll regret trifling with us!

[That Electro Ball sure does hit the imposter as if they're not an Electric type at all! They let out a startled yowl, then dissolve into a ghostly shape. While it's affected by Akechi's Scary Face, that doesn't stop it from cackling back at him, and making to escape into a wall -]

[But the Scary Face - and the Tailwind Akechi set up earlier - make it not fast enough. The real Siffrin pounces onto it with a Bite, kicking with their back legs as if trying to snap its neck. When that doesn't work quite so well, they use their momentum to keep rolling over its head, still hanging on with their teeth. It takes the imposter along with them; they release in time to fling the ghostly figure directly at Shoka's glowing stick.]

You'll have to be more spirited than that! [Apparently Technus's pun has inspired them...]

[Even though they've flung the imposter at Shoka, they're chasing after as soon as they're back on their feet.] Shoka, how do you do -

[You know! The thing! They can't call out the pink part of the glow, but whatever it is she's doing when she's been beating on imposters with her stick, it seems way more effective than anything the rest of them do.]

[As the imposter is thrown her way, Shoka winds her tail-stick back, as if preparing to hit a home run.]

Oh—so you wanna play rough?

[(She may or may not have stolen that exact line from Conrad.)

With the imposter caught between Siffrin and herself, she's about to do her thing—only to stop short at Siffrin's words, one ear perking up in confusion. But then she understands, and the same glint returns to her eyes.

So Siffrin wants to play, too? Fine by her. They deserve it, after this imposter stole their face!]

Watch and learn!

[With no time to walk them through the steps (not that she'd be able to list steps exactly for this move), the best she can do is demonstrate. With no further warning, she leaps at the imposter—and starts to whale on it with whack after whack of her glowing tail-stick. Simple enough!

But there really is something uncannily playful about it, the flurry of strikes almost like a dance around the imposter's ghostly form. It's quick and erratic enough to kick up a cloud of dust around them, and Shoka certainly sounds like she's having fun, cackling all the while.

Still, she manages to hold herself back. With a final swing of her tail-stick, she throws the imposter at Siffrin's feet as if to say, Now you try!]

[Siffrin... sort of gets it, they think. It's something about the playfulness? Maybe because it's the opposite of the emotions ghosts normally like to evoke? Fortunately, cats are kind of known for playing with their food...]

[They give it a try, bapping at the dazed imposter, then smacking it around and tossing it in the air as if it's an oversized yarn ball. (With progressively more enthusiasm!) Somewhere in there - though it's nowhere near as strong as Shoka's - they do manage a Play Rough, kicking up the same cloud of dust. Finally Siffrin boots it toward Akechi and Technus.]

[The imposter skids to a halt and makes to break and run once more. Its form is nearly dispersed already, though, wisps of light bouncing out of it like they're abandoning ship - one or two more hits should make it dissolve.]

[Oh, going to run away, huh? Technus cackles again. He's having a great time fighting ghosts.]

YOU THINK YOU CAN FLEE? FROM ME, TECHNUS? OR MY TEAM?

NICE TRY.

[He forms an Electroweb like a net, throwing it to catch the doppelganger- or at least slow them down. It's not a stopping move, they can definitely go through the threads if they just keep running.]

GAME OVER, BUBBY! YOU LOSE!

[Cackling, Akechi beats his wings, trying to smack that foolish impostor with an Air Slash.

Perhaps if he's lucky, the damned thing will even flinch.]

You're a fool if you believe you stand a chance against us.

[The Electroweb and Air Slash are plenty enough - while Akechi might be waiting for a flinch, and Technus to try and get it to stay in place, what actually happens is the imposter bursts fully apart into wisps.]

[Siffrin skids to a halt from where they were just about to pounce on it again.]

[Shoka's delight at all this violence (and Siffrin's successful Play Rough) remains obvious. Fighting like this, passing the target from teammate to teammate, in perfect rhythm and synergy... It's almost nostalgic now.]

We totally killed that! [The target is gone now, dissolved into wisps just like the other imposters before them, but the glittering trail remains, leading them clearly forward through the dark.] Nowhere left to run now. Time to put 'em out of their misery!

[That little victory has left her emboldened, but as the team gives chase, they'll all feel an ominous presence—a certain Pressure—pressing down on them. The air is heavy, and it only grows more oppressive the closer they get to the trail's end. It sends a shudder through Shoka, making the shadowy edges of her form briefly jitter.]

Ugh... What is that?

[Something moves in the shadows—or is it the shadows themselves that are moving? The dark mass twists and spirals, gathering the wisps into itself and finally coalescing into a flat, disk-like shape. The green glow of the wisps forms two narrow eyes in its center, then a wide, cackling maw.

Before anyone on the team can make another move, it attacks, lobbing a Shadow Ball in Technus' direction.]

LEVEL UP! [Technus yells as the imposter dissolves into wisps.

He's been making video game jokes whenever they defeat an enemy- the wisps remind him of how enemies in DOOMED dissolve into pixels when you defeat them.]

TIME FOR THE FINAL BOSS!

[The Pressure is overwhelming. But Technus grins as he sees the Spiritomb form- he can take them, no problem!]

AHA! FOUND YOU! H-

[And then he gets hit by the Shadow Ball, sending him flying back into the wall. It's super effective!]

OW...

Damn it!

[A super effective move... Growling, Akechi digs into his satchel and lobs a berry at Technus.]

Stay back. Attack from a distance. If you can paralyze it, do so...

[For now, he'll use Spite to at least hinder the Spiritomb's ability to use that damnable attack, body glowing purple and feathers luffed up.]

[The fur on Siffrin's back starts to bristle the closer the group gets to the source of the Pressure. It makes them look bigger, but also more on edge.]

[They don't even have time to react before Technus gets clobbered - the startled sound they make is delayed. Akechi is in there with a berry before Siffrin can think of it, and anyway they handed over their stash of berries to Akechi earlier, on the logic that someone who can fly will be able to deliver them more quickly. So focusing on fighting it is! Presumably the "Attack from a distance." isn't intended for them...]

[Siffrin Quick Attacks to get up to the Spiritomb - and sails right through it. Oh. Right. That sure is also a Ghost type, then!]

[Fortunately, there's a cavern wall directly behind the Spiritomb; Siffrin bounces off of it and somersaults in the air to slice the Spiritomb with a sharp Iron Tail instead. When they land, they call out,] Shoka!

[- and Volt Switch with her, setting her up for some of her close-up attacks.]

[Shoka is about to helpfully advise Technus that maybe he shouldn't rush the giant ghost frisbee all on his own, only for her voice to emerge as a shout of alarm instead ("Technus!") as the Rotom is launched into the cavern wall. With Akechi at his side (and using an attack from afar that Shoka doesn't recognize but does seem to be doing something to Spiritomb, making their smile thin and their form waver), Shoka follows Siffrin's lead, readying her tail-stick to attack.

Conveniently, she doesn't have to wait for an opening; Volt Switch kicks in, and she's suddenly there in an instant, right in Spiritomb's face. Fortunately for their team, it didn't take her long at all to get used to Volt Switch-ing (it isn't too different from Telewarping, after all), so it only takes her a second to recover.]

On it!

[Shoka time. Shaking off the Pressure, she pounces on the Spiritomb and begins to pummel it with strike after strike of her tail-stick, her movements every bit as quick and erratic as her earlier Play Rough demonstration.]

How's this for spirited?

[Her Play Rough and Siffrin's Iron Tail definitely hit their mark, making Spiritomb shrink back with a hiss... But only for a moment before their grin widens. Boo-ring!

Sensing that it's preparing another attack, Shoka has just enough time to call out a warning:]

Heads up!

[It's vague, but it's the only warning she can give, considering she's never seen a Dark Pulse before. With a loud, menacing cackle, Spiritomb fires pulses of dark energy all around itself, apparently aiming for all of them at once.

With no hope of dodging it, Shoka tries to at least position herself between Spiritomb and Technus (he's a fellow Ghost-type, at the same type disadvantage she is, and he's already taken one hit, even if Akechi must have given him a berry by now), so that her Disguise ability will absorb the damage meant for him. There's an audible tearing sound as the energy rips through the neck of her disguise, making the false Pikachu head dangle limply to one side—but she's unharmed.]

THAT HURT...

[This is the first super-effective attack Technus has experienced, and he didn't expect it. He catches the berry, biting into it.]

UNDERSTOOD, I SHALL STAY BACK!

[Technus used Charge.]

[And then, Shoka gets hurt. Her head falls to the side, limp, and for a moment Technus thinks the worst.]

DOLLY!

[He can't remember her name even when he's concerned for her...]

[A fascinating maneuver... Switching places mid-battle, while also damaging the foe. Perhaps Akechi could utilize a similar technique...

But that's a matter for later.

This foe clearly isn't letting up. Akechi lacks a Fairy type move to deal super effective damage...

For now, he'll hit it with another Spite to hinder those pesky Dark Pulse attacks!]

Choose your moves carefully, you fool. We are not to be trifled with.

[Siffrin is bowled over by the Dark Pulse, mid-run back to the Spiritomb. (The overwhelming pressure from the Spiritomb feels almost tangible; it's slowing them down, despite their best efforts.) They roll over and back onto their feet, a little more bedraggled but not seriously hurt; it's not super effective to them, after all.]

[There is one (1) singular reason Siffrin isn't absolutely panicking over this immediately, and it's that they've known Shoka for long enough to be aware that her head isn't actually up there. Still, they can't help but let out a worried,] Shoka!

[As soon as Siffrin's close enough they leap at the Spiritomb again. They launch into a Play Rough to match Shoka's, trying to give Shoka and Technus some breathing room.]

[Whatever Akechi is doing, it seems to be really getting on the Spiritomb's nerves - more so than Siffrin's attacks, even. Or maybe that's just because Akechi's taunting it? Whatever the reason, in between swatting at the Shinx, it takes a moment to aim a Lash Out at him. Wisps momentarily congregate into a giant phantasmal claw.]

[The limp disguise-head and the shadowy particles spilling from the tear in its neck seem to weigh Shoka down a bit, slowing her and forcing her to take a moment to regain her balance, but she's quick to reassure:]

I'm good! Just keep hitting 'em!

[Brushing off the breaking of her Disguise is even more difficult than usual with the added Pressure, but whatever Akechi's doing seems to be having a similar effect on Spiritomb—and Spiritomb has taken that personally.

While they're busy launching their attack on Akechi and trying to ward off Siffrin, Shoka props her disguise-head back up as best as she can and moves to join Siffrin in Playing Rough, hoping to overwhelm Spiritomb with sheer numbers alone.]

[Oh, thank goodness she's okay. Technus stays back in the corner, watching the fight. His body sparks with electricity, just waiting to be let loose.

As soon as there's an opening, he strikes with a Thunderbolt, aiming for the center of Spiritomb's "body".]

June Catch-All

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WHOOPS! I thought I got this

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OOPS. Thought I hit this

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