QUEST: Mad Moonlighter

[truthdecided]

Who: Akechi, Ren, Akari, Flowey
What: Middle Forest bear huntin'!
Where: Middle Forest
When: Early June.
Warnings: Possible mindfuckery and Pokémon violence.

They did their best to prepare, given the circumstances, but the transition from broad daylight to the darkness of the forest gives Akechi pause.

They know what to expect. They know about the fog, yet he can't shake the feeling of paranoia gnawing at him below the surface.

Shifting shadows, ominous sounds.

His eyes narrow in the haze, and he tries his best to beat some of it away with his wings, as he whips a Tailwind up around his teammates.

"Akari-san's flames should help us stay anchored in the fog, though we should stick to the shadows and, more importantly, stick together. Watch each other's backs and prepare for the worst."

Comments

[arceusstansme]

Akari was walking with confidence, but Akechi and Ren both should be able to read her enough by now to know she is concerned. If this is an Ursaluna, she knows they are in for it. Big dumb looking boys, but big none the less.

But she knows she is also the one with the most experience in the group, so she can't let them know she is worried. When she sees the paw print and Flowey pause she looks at them.

"Remember guys, we got this. I handled a Noble one of these as a human, and Pokemon are tougher than humans."

[colorsflyinghigh]

Ren's joints ache. The scar on his forehead does too. He swears he sees shapes in the fog, vines ready to strike, but every time he looks, there's nothing. He's aware of the effects of the fog, but that does little to stop the paranoia from creeping in.

"Right. We've dealt with worse before, too," Ren replies to Akari, as much for himself as for the others, "we've got this."

Yeah, he's definitely also picked up on the concern of the rest (of course he should, that's what a leader does), and to compensate, he's taken on his Joker persona-- oozing with confidence, ready to fight, and self assured to make the rest feel more confident as well. In that regard, he's similar to Akari-- it's a mask that's well-worn.

He is deeply concerned when Flowey lands in the middle of the footprint. That size... at least 3 of them could fit in there, if not all of them. He swallows down the rising doubt-- he cannot doubt himself, the others, or the plan. They won't make it if he does.

"We've got this," he repeats, nodding at Flowey. He doesn't know the Sunkern, really, and he looks kind of small, but he's willing to trust the other. "As long as we've got each other's backs, we'll come out on top."

There's a moment of silence after his words, not even the noises of the forest present. He... hadn't noticed that the forest went quiet, his fur standing on end--

And then, as if to confirm Flowey's words, a giant shadow rises a few paces in front of them. A gleaming scarlet eye pierces through the darkness and the fog, menacing and unnatural, followed by a deafening roar, loud enough to hurt his ears.

It's gigantic. And it's approaching. Fast.

"Everyone, brace yourselves!" Ren manages to shout, before a giant claw smacks him in the face with a slash that he doesn't even have to chance to dodge, despite trying to jump backwards. He cries out in pain, but doesn't back down, hackles raised as he quickly assumes his position next to Flowey. The beast roars again.

[OST: Battle! (Noble Pokemon)]

It's Ursaluna, larger than any of them could have imagined.

And it is angry.

[truthdecided]

Akechi swoops down as quickly as he can, grabbing Akari and taking to the trees. A wise move, it would seem, as the ground rumbles, and an Earth Power shoots up from the ground where she once stood.

He keeps his voice low. "I'm going to land on a branch. Once there, climb on my back. We'll have better odds if we attack from the air."

That's his only warning before he takes for a branch under the cover of many leaves. While there, he narrows his eyes, gears turning in his mind. Time for a little Nasty Plot.

[friendlyflower]

The beast is more massive and terrible than he imagined-- its fur scarlet like blood, each of its claws large enough to tear him in two. "Ren, keep moving! You're faster than this thing!"

He hopes that's true, at least. Flowey knows he's slower than it for sure. Hopefully, Ren and Akechi will keep it busy long enough for him to execute his plan.

He forgoes an immediate Growth to spit a Leech Seed at Ursaluna instead. The vines sprout from its legs and begin to coil, but Ursaluna is too powerful to restrained or even too slowed by it-- maybe a second Leech Seed from Ren would help.

Then, a dilemma: either stay here like a sitting Ducklett, or retreat back into the fog and face paranoia. He chooses the former and gets rewarded with a Slash that catches him in the side. The HP oozing from the Leech Seed dulls the wound, but it still hurts something fierce. He cries out in pain, the reality of the situation suddenly weighing on him: if he dies here, it's all over for good.

[arceusstansme]

Akari's eyes widen as she sees the Ursaluna.

It looked...bad. Very bad.

"This isn't normal!" She calls out. "This is a new variant. Or a zombie. Or, like something!"

LMAO @ THAT IMAGE

[colorsflyinghigh]

"We'll question it later!" Ren shouts, dashing forward to draw the attention away from Flowey. "For now, keep it busy!"

He punctuates his words with a Leech Seed, spreading even more of the leeching roots over the hulking beast's back. They provide some relief from the earlier attack, and he quickly follows up with a Hone Claws to bolster his own attack and accuracy. The beast, however, turns to him with a Scary Face, and despite himself, Ren flinches, his pace slowing.

The Ursaluna rears up on its hind legs, summoning a piercing, red light, round and similar in shape to the moon...

"Watch out! It's going to do something!"

[truthdecided]

"Stay away from him!"

Akechi swoops down, Akari still on his back, and hurls a Blast Seed at the Ursaluna's face. The explosion staggers the beast, giving the others time to either retreat or retaliate.

But the Blood Moon is already charged. It's all just a matter of time.

Akechi takes to the trees again, trying to hide in the foliage, but he's ready.

The next chance he gets, he will use Spite to sap away the bear's ability to fight back.

[friendlyflower]

Watch it! [This is bad; that attack might even prove fatal to one of them. Despite everything, Flowey pushes Ren out of the way and receives a Blood Moon attack to the face for his efforts. The light is blinding, all-encompassing, as crimson as blood.

When the dust clears, he's completely still, not even breathing. The Ursaluna staggers closer, recovering from its attack-- and then roars as the Leech Seed drains more of its vitality. Flowey, facedown in the dirt, manages a weak laugh.]

You... idiot. You fell right into my trap!

[His stem starts to glow as he hits Ursaluna with a point-blank Mega Drain. It's not much, but it's enough health to propel him to crawl back and take cover behind a tree.]

Hah... Anyone got... an oran berry? [He's panting for breath. He still can't believe he did that, much less lived-- he just realized there's no resetting. So why did he risk dying, knowing that only void awaits a soulless husk like him? Maybe he's too comfortable with the safety net resetting provided... it's not like he's a hero or anything. Not like the fallen child had been.

... He's not sure how much more of this fight he can take. But he won't be the first one to run away.]

[arceusstansme]

[She watched as the grass-type got hit and frowned. Her satchel! Her small horde packed tightly thanks to being ripped off by Bagin (the True God of Space) many, many times.]

[From her spot on Akechi she rips off the bag and throws it at the Ursaluna. It may not be a Sticky Glob, but it does bounce off it causing it to look even more stunned from the Blast Seed. The bag bounced and landed near the ground fighters.]

I should have something in there!

[She calls out, hoping one of the two down there heard her.]

[truthdecided]

[While the others rush for the satchel, Akechi beats his wings, his body glowing eerily. With a shriek, he overwhelms the Ursaluna with Spite.

The bear rumbles, rearing back as its ability to charge its signature move suddenly fails.

Now's the chance to strike, before it shifts to another strategy.]

[colorsflyinghigh]

[With the beast briefly dazed from the satchel dropping on its head, as well as Akechi's Spite to hold it back, glowing seeds form in Ren's fur. Within moments they grow large and heavy, and Ren dashes, throwing the seeds onto the large ground type.]

Go down! [he shouts, the Seed Bomb blasting into Ursaluna while he dashes for the satchel, using the impact to rifle through before it recovers, and fishes out a sitrust berry. He's quick to toss it to Flowey, who needs it more than him right now.]

Here-- quick, before it recovers.

[friendlyflower]

[He's just opening his mouth to inform Akari that he can barely move when the Sitrus Berry flies directly into it. He chews and swallows, feeling the energy flow into him.]

Thanks for the assist! Let's--

[Only then does he realize his mistake. He opens his mouth and an explosion of fire bursts forth as he screams. The Blast Seed he was carrying in his mouth has activated. Fortunately, it doesn't blow him up and he's able to direct the explosive fury at Ursaluna; unfortunately, it's not exactly a pleasant gustatory experience. Fortunately (again), the Sitrus Berry numbs the burning.]

Note to self. Get a stupid satchel of my OWN.

[Once the Blast Seed has subsided, he quickly begins charging up a Growth. The others may see his meager form actually begin to increase in size as he takes in energy. He just needs a little more time... then he can unleash a truly devastating attack!]

[arceusstansme]

[Akari took a deep breath and sent of a wall of smoke to try and help hide the teammates on the ground some more.]

[She hates feeling useless as she tries to think of something, she knows her fire attacks would do less than nothing ad in fact probably wear her out sooner because she knows she is low-leveled in comparison to the beast in front of them.]

[So, she tensed up a little, Akechi could probably tell Akari was going to try and go for an opening once she saw it, because even a little more damage is better than none.]

[truthdecided]

[Nodding, Akechi moves into position, beating his wings to strike the Ursaluna with an Air Slash to try and flinch it.

Perhaps that will give Akari the opening she needs, to say nothing of the others.]

[colorsflyinghigh]

[With Ursaluna flinched, Ren dashes away, giving Flowey space to rack up some Growths, as well as let the damage from the Leech Seeds build up. He's thankful for the smokescreen, using it to dance around Ursaluna as it tries to regain its bearings (heh).]

Catch me if you can! [He shouts, drawing further attention away from Flowey. Ursaluna roars in anger, but before it can move, Ren throws out a nasty-mean Sucker Punch. Not super effective, but a good distraction.

It doesn't save him from receiving another Slash in return, though thankfully, it's not as effective as the first one, Ursaluna too busy trying to clear the smoke and shake off the flinch to damage him too much. Still, that doesn't mean he doesn't feel it, and he hisses.

Hopefully Flowey's almost done charging up for a big attack... while they're doing well, every hit weakens them, and he's not sure how much longer they can keep this up, at this rate.]

[friendlyflower]

[The Growths have built up indeed, and Flowey has noticeably grown, though still easily dwarfed by Ursaluna. The Leech Seeds, along with the berry from earlier, have also restored his vitality.]

Hey, you big idiot! Remember me?

[Ursaluna turns with a quaking roar and hits Flowey with a Slash that nearly fells him this time... but not quite. Flowey retaliates with a full-power Mega Drain that makes the monster stumble back in pain-- likely not expecting it to hurt as much as it does. He presses the advantage and attacks again, delighting in the feeling of power.

The health drained from it and Leech Seed is enough to close the wound that the Slash opened, at least for now. He's not sure if he can take another. Playing with his life fast and loose like this... he feels so terribly alive.]

[arceusstansme]

[Akari took this chance to do quick attack, while it had chipped off, and she bounced off the Ursaluna as if it were a wall, and she was a baseball (but also that is probably how it looked anyways.]

[She landed on the ground with a roll and quick re-righting of herself.]

[truthdecided]

[Unfortunately, the Ursaluna sees an opportunity to attack. While Akechi readies another Air Slash to divert its attention, the bear ducks down to deliver a Lick.

Yes, just a Lick. Of all the mundane moves it could use.

No matter, though. He refuses to take chances, so he lobs another Blast Seed at the beast's back, then flutters higher into the air.]