The Raids

[bravenewmods]

[As the people of Union begin to move out into the plains, they'll find that the Councilor's warnings were apt. Though not everyone is targeted, it isn't long before a few unlucky travelers find themselves on the receiving end of the same type of attack. The bandits, whoever they might be, are experts at swooping out of the blue, striking so swiftly that the victims almost never even catch a glimpse of them.

How exactly will they put this to a stop? There's so many, it seems impossible to take them out one group at a time... Perhaps they have a base somewhere.]

((This post is for both groups who wish for mods to run and players to thread freely amongst themselves. You may feel free to handwave having been attacked and thread the aftermath of that event. Please respond to the appropriate section depending on where your character is. Thanks!))

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[bravenewmods]

[Amid the chaos that is Hurricane Usagi, the fluttering sound of wings might be easy to miss. However, as three shadows--large shadows--begin to descend quickly upon their merry band, that might be harder to miss.]

[faithfulflame]

[Somehow, Rei is not entirely surprised to see Makoto and Michiru again either. The way they'd come across one another was rather unforgettable, and she was never one to believe in coincidences really. She'll stand there, looking down at Usagi for a moment before joining Makoto in offering a hand for support.

A hand that drops at a warning growl from not far away, a deep basso rumble that Rei had already come to know meant possible danger. Casius, her newest Pokemon companion, took guarding her very seriously, and in the short few days since she'd met him...his protectiveness had become quite clear.

The dark haired girl's eyes dart up, searching for danger and spotting those shadows she shouts to the others! In the same instant, she steps around Usagi and places herself firmly between the oncoming danger and the space cadet on the ground.]

Look out!

[incousinswithyou]

[Vivace the Rapidash's eyes light up at the sight of her friend, but she feels Michiru tensing up. Greetings might have to wait. A light tug on the reins, and Rapidash is wheeling about, planting herself firmly on Usagi's other side and flaring up for good measure.

Whatever those are will have to get through a literal wall of flame, while Michiru takes the moment to try and assess the situation. This...isn't good.]

[makopunch]

[Makoto is barely one step behind Rei, alerted by her shout. She pulls Usagi somewhat unceremoniously the rest of the way to her feet and wraps one arm protectively around the smaller girl's shoulders, eyes darting left to right, searching for the danger.

Sunny joins her much taller Rapidash friend, although in slightly less impressive capacity, smashing herself somewhat awkwardly against the backs of Makoto's legs.]

What's going on?

[inthenameofthemoon]

Woah!

[ There was just so much going on now! First, it was being scared to the moon and back. Now, she's surrounded by friends by the one thing that she had been trying to avoid this whole entire time.

Lucky the Fletchinder, having been high up to try and help her human, takes it upon herself to make a dive towards the three shadowed figures with a loud caw, using Agility as a distraction and perhaps get a better glimpse as to what it is that's trying to get the jump on the party on the ground. ]

Lucky! Be careful!

[bravenewmods]

[With the puppy Usagi properly guarded on multiple sides, and Fletchinder taking to the skies, they would seem relatively safe. The fire bird does manage to catch a glimpse of what is going on in the skies; three flyers, all appearing to be Fearows, and moving in some kind of formation. Sitting atop them are three human-like figures who, despite altitude and the quick movements of their mounts, appear to be doing fine.

It would appear that they've figured out that they have been sighted and, one "human" raising its arm up, the other two bird-and-riders dive toward them at break-neck speed.]

[faithfulflame]

[Watching the shadows, Rei has a little bit of indication that something is coming down at them...but not a whole lot. Reaching back behind her, she grabs Usagi by the arm and dives to one side, hoping to prevent the girl she sees as...less than capable...from being hit.]

They're coming! Move!

[incousinswithyou]

Stay close.

[Rapidash steps forward to fill up the spot Rei had vacated, and then sends out a Fire Spin into the air. It's ostensibly aimed towards the enemy, but Michiru is mostly using it as cover fire. hah.

While that's happening, she's activating her Warp Band and summoning her Gardevoir.]

Gar... [the Pokemon's eyes glow and then she's casting Reflect on the party.

And...that's a Sweet Scent, gently wafting up with the fire, thanks to the Roselia ensconced protectively in the saddlebag.]

[makopunch]

Sunny!

[Although she's far more timid than Makoto in social situations, Sunny does share a bit of her partner's tenacity in battle...which isn't all too surprising, considering how long they've been together. She responds readily at Makoto's call, leaping readily if a bit inelegantly to her Rapidash friend's side. Thankfully Vivace is close, so it's not really all that big a leap.

She knows what to do thanks to Makoto's patient coaching, concentrating the static in her wool and directing the resulting Thunderwave attack upwards, towards Vivace's targets.]

[inthenameofthemoon]

[ There was something about this moment that felt familiar -- being pulled to safety and then carefully covered by other people. Where did this feeling of deja vu come from?

But, the feeling immediately disappears. Why? Because in her deja vu stupor, she's not paying attention and instead unintentionally proves to Rei that she's less than capable.

By trying to catch herself from the dive in an elegant manner, scraping her knee on a rock and immediately wailing. ]

OW! That hurt!

[ Pinky, not even bothering to shake her head at her Human's intolerance to a small scrape, rushes for the most highest perch she can reach within a few seconds, takes a deep breath and sends a nice little Song to one of the two Fearows that are on a bee line for them. ]

dw notifs I hate you

[bravenewmods]

[Their efforts are not in vain, however, the aerial assault seems to be more as a threat than anything else. Maybe they weren't anticipating anyone putting up a fight. They seem to dodge the Fire Spin relatively unharmed, although the smell of singed feathers in the air may tell otherwise.

The two flyers that dove toward them stopping just out of reach instead of directly engaging them--although one of the Fearows does appear to be flying a bit strangely, due to the Sing from Pinky. The third lands, and the person riding it dismounts. Despite being masked, it's easy to tell it is a woman. She appears to be sizing them up.]

Your goods, or we attack.

[faithfulflame]

[Rei sets herself, Casius taking a defensive posture in front of her as she stands guard over Usagi, but she looks to Michiru for guidance. The older girl is plainly a veteran trainer...]

[incousinswithyou]

[startled, Michiru had looked over when Usagi cried out, but no. Looks like the Princess bunhead is relatively fine.

And when the raider spoke, Michiru took a moment to assess their small party. Rei had proven herself capable before, and it looks like Makoto and Sunny the Mareep have been practicing. And Pinky the Clefairy is as plucky as ever.

The apparent difference in experience, however...

She shares a look with her Gardevoir, who nods in understanding. Michiru smiles. She hates losing, but she's not about to drag these girls headlong into a battle without an Escape Rope (or Teleport).

The raider gets a polite smile.] As you can see, we don't have much on us.

[there's a Nasty Plot gleaming in her eyes, even as her Gardevoir sets up a Light Screen for the party.]

[makopunch]

[Makoto is more than happy to defer to Michiru in this matter. She and Sunny are comfortable training together in the forest around Union, but they've never taken on three opponents at once - even with allies on their side - nor such large ones.

She shifts her position slightly, keeping her eyes on the sky while she listens to the exchange, doing her best to shield Usagi from direct view of the fliers.]

[inthenameofthemoon]

[ Usagi pulls up her knee, blowing on the hardly bleeding scrape for a moment to try and get it to just stop stinging so darn much! After a little while, it doesn't hurt as much but now all she wanted was a bandaid and maybe some delicious ice cream to make this all better.

But, first things first.

With a rather frustrated and angry expression on her face, Usagi jolts up from her spot on the ground and starts waving a fist angrily at the raiders. ]

What's the big idea, you bullies?! You think you can just come up to anyone you want and scare them to do what you want?!

[ Yeah... that's definitely Usagi's temper getting the better of her. ]

Even if we had anything on us, you don't deserve it anyway if you're just going to take without asking!

[bravenewmods]

"Bullies"?

[The lead woman laughs. You're cute.

If she senses anything amiss, she does not make it immediately known.]

Well, then this won't take too long. Drop your weapons, call back your Pokémon, and leave your goods on the ground. Now.

[faithfulflame]

[Rei takes a cue from Michiru yet again, taking a meditative deep breath and calming her mind. One hand reaches down to rest on Deimos head, a reassurance as much as a warning to get ready.]

You're outnumbered.

[It's all she can think to say, but her tone is as cold as a glacier. These people are not going to take anything of hers. And she is NOT going back to Union naked. Not now, not ever.]

[incousinswithyou]

[Michiru chuckles. Let's see what her allies can do.

And then with a few mental prods, her Pokemon are attacking without further preamble. Rapidash throws out an Ember attack at the lead raider, and then immediately wheels to the side and exposes the Roselia. The Grass type was ready for it, unleashing Toxic on wherever the woman ends up.

Attacking with Magical Leaf, Gardevoir aims for the Flying Pokemon the raider had dismounted from. Going for accuracy over power, apparently.

Michiru herself holds onto a powered up psychic attack, just in case they try to rush her allies. Reflect and Light Screen should mitigate a lot of damage, but she'd rather not leave it to chance.]

[makopunch]

[...Uh, Usagi, can you back up all that talk, or...?

Oh! Michiru's pokemon are attacking! Makoto calls Sunny back to her side to give the others room to work, holding off further orders until an opening presents itself. Some of her attention is on what's going on in front of her, but most of it still trained on the sky. With Michiru's pokemon taking action, she doubts the remaining airborne attackers are going to remain there for very long.]

[inthenameofthemoon]

[ There's a squeak from Usagi as the leader of this group of raiders laughs. It makes her nervous and for a second she wants to slink behind someone, but, she stands her ground.

Really, she just wanted to run away, but what could she do? She wasn't a great fighter but Michiru was already taking on the head of the offensive with her pokemon.. Pokemon! She had more pokemon than just Lucky and Pinky. And like that, she taps her warp band and two of her three final pokemon pop out: Puffy the Jigglypuff and Turnip the Gloom (whom Makoto should remember.)

Both pokemon are a little confused when they're both pulled out, but, once they get a look at what's going on, they're a bit shocked that fighting is going on, but they move forward to help protect their human partner and her friends however they can.

Pinky tries Sing again on the same Fearow that was already affected, in hopes of making it fall asleep faster. With a large puff of his cheeks, Puffy uses Play Nice on the other flying Fearow. Turnip, on the other hand, seems to be building up a move on the ground, along with its stench. Sorry guys.

It wasn't the best line up, but hey, at least it was better than nothing! ]

[bravenewmods]

[The standing raider's Fearow immediately takes to the sky to dodge out of the way of the Magic Leaf, getting clipped but generally holding steady. The raider herself, on the other hand, twirls her spear with expert precision, catching the flames of the ember and whirling it around, creating a ring of fire that she then uses to block the incoming toxic attack.

Meanwhile, the Fearow in the air stalls as it starts to fall asleep. The Valkyrie yelps as she digs her feet into it to keep it awake, but is too preoccupied to react. Her partner, however, twirls a bola in the air and launches it at Michiru, the large thrown ball dragging a net that opens up in an attempt to entrap her.]

[faithfulflame]

[Rei's response is quick, entirely aimed towards defense, specifically against that net. Her finger snaps and with an unspoken command Casius spits out an Ember, and a small burst of flame flies from Rei's fingertips as well, burning a hole in the center of the net. It isn't much, but if Michiru's paying attention it may give her a way to avoid getting fully caught in it.

Phobos and Deimos though, stay still, cautiously watching and waiting for a chance.]

[incousinswithyou]

[it's gratifying to see that Usagi has more Pokemon. Even if one of them is a Gloom.

Her eyes flick upwards when she notices Rei reacting to something. Ah. Expending her held psychic attack, she slaps the whole ensemble backwards, right towards the Fearow struggling with sleepiness.

Rapidash snorts, tossing her head and pawing at the ground. She wants to charge, but Michiru won't let her.

Almost in response to Turnip the Gloom's stench, Roselia wafts up another Sweet Scent towards the fliers in the sky. Gardevoir readies a Moonblast, slamming it towards the human who threw the net at her Trainer.

Michiru keeps her attention on the raider on the ground, Foresight lending a gleam to her eyes even as a potent sphere of water begins forming in the palm of her hand.]

[makopunch]

[And there's an opening.]

One more time, Sunny!

[Makoto indicates the slightly off-balance Fearow that had been clipped by Roselia's Magic Leaf, and the Mareep aims another Thunderwave, wool practically crackling with built-up electricity as she discharges the disabling attack.]

[inthenameofthemoon]

[ Things were looking okay so far, but, she had to do something to make the tides turn in their favor! Usagi starts looking at her pokemon, wondering just what it is she could
do to help...

It's when she looks at both of her pink pokemon that something clicks in get head. ]

Pinky! Puffy! Do that thing you guys do to each other when you're fighting!

[ That earns her a confused stare from both her pokemon. Honestly, Usagi! If you're trying to be discreet or at least keep the enemy from figuring out what's about to happen, at least use words that make some form of sense! ]

You know! That contest you always make everyone sit down for because you can't figure out who's better? Do that now!

[ Puffy and Pinky look at each other for a moment and it suddenly dawns on them what she's asking for. Well, if that's really what she wanted... With a nod of understanding and then a turn so that all three raiders and their pokemon are in the line of fire (so to speak), they both take a deep breath and use a double strength Song that seems well practiced and hopefully very effective. ]