bottlecaplogs | June Catch-All

[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

WHOOPS! I thought I got this

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OOPS. Thought I hit this

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