She’d sent her Pokemon into battle without another thought, mostly because — in every situation she’d read or seen — the best defense was offense when it came to Pokemon battles. Sending them into the battle, however, also brought the battle back to them, and Leisy saw now the price her Pokemon would pay.

“Tyrus!” Leisy shouted, her attention drawn to the purple smog of a ghost-type, who had — although successfully thrown his own Confuse Ray — been hit by the same move he’d struck with. Swirling in the air, the Gastly managed to face his opponent, albeit shakily. “Hit back with a Night Shade!”

The ghost-type struggled a bit to produce the corresponding move, but — after some struggle — he managed to gather enough smoky energy to fire off, the attack soaring through the air towards his confused opponent.

“Alright, Tyrus! Good job!” she called, returning the ghost-type. Her Gastly had pulled off all he could, and that — although he wasn’t exactly fainted — Leisy felt that he’d done enough to deserve a rest and sleep off the Confusion.

Glancing to check on her Prinplup — Naunet was holding her own, firing fierce Pecks at the Machop grappling at her — Leisy shouted a quick encouragement before turning to her most pressing concern: Devinco. The Pupitar was strong, and Animo’s strengthened Razor Leaf had barely done any damage.

“Cura, Disarming Voice!” Leisy shouted when she saw Devinco rear up for another Rock Slide. The Fairy-type struck quickly, shocking the Pupitar and preventing him from finishing his move as he soared backwards through the air. “Animo, String Shot! ”

The Sewaddle, retreating to his normal-type teammate’s side, turned around and shot a smack of stick web towards the rock-type, attaching Devinco to the ground. Immediately tearing himself free with a Trash, the Pupitar boosted himself towards Leisy’s Audino, spikes bared.

“Cura, dodge that!” Leisy shouted, alarmed.

The normal-type, however, did not heed her trainer’s words, tanking the move head-on and firing a Disarming Voice at the rock-type as he soared past, his trajectory changed thanks to the Audino. Wincing, the Audino turned around, crooning comfortingly to the shivering Sewaddle hiding behind her.

“Animo!” Leisy exclaimed, heart sinking. She was making mistakes now, directing three battles at once. Bidein was already back at her side, looking at her expectantly for his orders, and Naunet was doing her best holding her own on the other side of the field.

No, I’m not going to dwell on that mistake, because I won’t make it again, Leisy thought, shaking her head.

“Bidein, Flame Charge the Metang,” Leisy said, pointing at the steel-type. “Animo, Bug Bite the Metang, and Cura use Disarming Voice at it.”

The Metang’s controlling Devinco, so it needs to be taken down. Devinco’s just a placeholder — a shield it’ll sacrifice when all attacks are directed that way, Leisy though, hoping she was right.

---

^{Gastly 6, (confused) Night Shade > Zubat, [returned]
Audino 31, Disarming Voice > Metang
Sewaddle 2, Bug Bite > Metang
Prinplup 31, Peck > Machop
Fletchinder 31, Flame Charge > Metang}

---

@luckyblackcat @dark light

---

173 CP

✿ Florence Hadley ✿

Location: Greenhaven

@Dusksong @Dark Light

"Huh?" One moment, the battle was raging. The next, the Metang disappeared in a flash of light as the mechanic suddenly decided to back out.

Florence stared from the man leaving the scene to the confused younger boy. Of course she hadn't expected them to just hand over the stolen Pokemon, but what was going on here? What was that mechanic doing?

"Please..." She struggled upright, eyes filled with desperation as she faced AJ. "Those Pokemon..."

Her own voice sounded distant. As she took a step forward, everything blurred around her. She saw the ground rise up, heard the faraway-seeming cry of her Cacnea.

Then, nothing.

---

♥ Ellanor "Ella" Beaufort ♥

Location: Greenhaven

@Dusksong @Dark Light

"Florence!" Turning from the battle, Ella rushed over and dropped to her knees. "Florence, can you hear me?" The woman, lying in a crumpled heap, didn't reply.

Ella's mind and body froze with panic. Quick! she inwardly yelled at herself. Think! What would Florence do if the situation were reversed? If somebody else had passed out?

"Leisy! Viv! Somebody help!" she called, checking the unconscious woman's breathing. She gave a sigh of relief as she felt the flow of air against her hand. "She's breathing, but she's not waking up!"

This was exactly what she'd feared, Ella thought, watching the Cacnea try unsuccessfully to wake his trainer. She'd known Florence would likely push herself much too far.

---

@LuckyBlackCat@Darkmoon Angel

The man shook his head in disappointment as the two young women spoke their own defiance of his insanity, turning to step back some distance. "Yet more fools who have no understanding of the evil we humans commit simply by existing. Very well, Excadrill, deal with them." Excadrill's grin only grows more wicked before it dives Amica with a Steel Claw. The battle was long and protracted, with only the trio of Amica, Dulcet, and Eclipse really showing how worse for wear as the sun began to rise. The man's Excadrill was breathing heavily, but outside of that, it didn't seem too beat up. Tommy and Amica were both worn out, but neither would give ground until they were both out cold.

The man himself was more irritated than tired, but something about his demeanor had changed as he began to realize that he'd overstayed his welcome with his plan for Entei. "Bah, insolent children. Entei is likely back in hiding and I've no patience left to sniff him out again. Excadrill, leave them. It's time we move on." the Ground-Steel type Pokemon wasted no time simply turning and walking away. The pair disappeared into the treeline and Amica immediately passed out, falling to the ground as Tommy rushed to her side.

"Stay with me, buddy. Cici, Luna, I think we won. But Amica needs to get to a Pokecenter and soon."

---

Just as her Pokemon were about to strike the Metang, however, the steel-type disappeared with a flash of red. Leisy looked around wildly for it, then — realizing what its disappearance meant — immediately tried the button on her Pupitar's Pokeball.

"Oh, thank Arceus," she said, cradling the Pokeball in her hands and hugging it when the Pupitar vanished inside. "You're going to be okay now, Devi. We all are."

Returning her Sewaddle as well, Leisy called her Audino and Fletchinder back to her side as her Prinplup finished the battle on her side of the field. Looking around for her friends, Leisy spotted Ella kneeling, frozen, over a body — Florence.

At Ella’s call, Leisy found her limbs freed from their own invisible shackles, and she sprinted over to Florence’s side. "Cura!" Leisy shouted, finding that the normal-type was already rushing over. “Can you help her out?”

“Auu,” the normal-type said, bending down and listening to Florence’s breath before summoning the bright glow of a Heal Pulse.

“Oh, Florence,” Leisy said, looking to Ella. “We shouldn’t have let her push herself this far. We should have taken a break, made her sit out, or,” Leisy stopped, taking a deep breath. “Arceus, this needs to stop happening.”

Cura looked to her trainer, stepping back from Florence’s side and shaking her head. There was no more help she could offer.

“Do you think — do you think sleep is enough?” Leisy asked. “Or should we rush her to the hospital and have a doctor check her over? Florence was the best at this sort of thing, but she’s the one who needs help now, and I really don’t know what to do.”

---

^{Prinplup 31, Peck > Machop}

---

@luckyblackcat @dark light

---

175CP

♥ Ellanor "Ella" Beaufort ♥

Location: Greenhaven

@Dusksong @Dark Light

In the bright glow of the Audino's Heal Pulse, Ella watched some of the colour return to Florence's face, but the medic remained unconscious.

"Let's get her to the hospital," Ella replied. How much damage had the Ekans venom done? It was difficult to say, but probably more than Florence had let on, and in this heat, it was more than likely that she'd become dehydrated too. They shouldn't have let this happen, Ella scolded herself. They shouldn't have let Florence keep pushing on like this.

The pink-haired girl glanced at the cave. "Those Pokemon, though... What do we do?" Their priority was to get their friend to safety before her condition worsened, but they couldn't just leave the Pokemon in the hideout. Florence had done this to herself in her determination to find her Chikorita. They couldn't let this all be for nothing.

---

♪♫♪ Cecilia "Cici" Taylor ♪♫♪

Location: Tefan Village

@Darkmoon Angel @Zarkun

"Whew..." Cici leaned against the cave wall. With the way the battle had been going, it hadn't seemed as if even the three of them would be enough to stop this one trainer. Just when he'd been on the verge of winning, though, he'd retreated, deciding it was no longer worth the effort to go after Entei. Despite Cici's relief, she knew this most likely wouldn't be the last time he'd try something like that.

"Wow." She stared in the direction he'd walked away. "More screws loose than a Magneton in need of repair."

Forte and Kymbalon staggered over, barely able to stand. Dulcet flew close by, swaying, letting out a triumphant chirp before falling to the ground. "Ah! Dulcet!" Cici crouched by the unresponsive Swablu. "All of you, you did a great job, but come on." She returned the three Pokemon, nodding at Tommy. "Yeah... Let's go."

---

Leisy nodded, checking Florence’s forehead with a palm. It was warm with sweat, reflecting the girl’s internal struggle, but otherwise not immediate alarming.

“We need to get her to a hospital, and soon,” Leisy said, glancing around at her friends. “Let’s phone in an emergency and start from there. None of us are in any condition to take on another battle like that.”

---

It took a while for the police and ambulance to arrive, and—after multiple statements and testimonies—the girls were finally allowed to visit their sleeping friend in the hospital, where they promptly fell asleep as well. When they awoke, one by one, it was well into the evening, and the sun had already begun to drift towards the horizon in the distance.

“We’re going to have to tell her that Vernie wasn’t there,” Leisy said softly, remembering the police’s short report to the group after they were done being interrogated about the event. The cave had been far from empty, yielding twenty-something cages of Pokemon, all reported missing. There had been nearly fifty Pokemon in the cave, but none the grass-type Florence had been searching so hard for.

It should be a victory, Leisy thought, turning to look at the girl on the hospital bed, but it doesn’t feel like one.

---

@luckyblackcat @dark light

---

176CP

♥ Ellanor "Ella" Beaufort ♥

Location: Greenhaven

@Dusksong @Dark Light

Ella looked from the unconscious woman to Leisy. "How do we tell her?" she whispered, heart sinking at the thought, just as it had done when she'd heard the report. She couldn't begin to imagine what the news would do to Florence, who'd pushed herself to exhaustion only to be no closer to finding her Chikorita. Hands on her lap, Ella clenched the fabric of her skirt, a mix of relief, disappointment and frustration coursing through her.

They'd completed their original mission. They'd found the Vileplume, her leaf trail having led the police to the many caged Pokemon. No matter how many had been rescued just now, though, it wasn't a victory until all of them were saved.

It shouldn't have felt like a failure. It wasn't their fault the Chikorita hadn't been anywhere nearby. Nonetheless, it did.

---

✿ Florence Hadley ✿

Location: Greenhaven

@Dusksong @Dark Light

Where am I...?

Florence's surroundings came into focus. Different surroundings. Blue walls, the beeping of machines, the smell of antiseptic chemicals. She scrunched her eyelids at the glaring lights overhead, letting out a soft moan, dizziness intensifying.

"Nea!" At the sound of Tiergan's voice by the bedside, it all came back.

With a gasp, Florence sat bolt upright. "Ah!" She clutched her throbbing head, multicoloured spots dancing in her vision. Her back and legs ached fiercely from the earlier constant movement, the wound on her shoulder had flared up, and her left arm stung, an IV hooked to a saline bag sticking out from under a bandage. As usual, she ignored her physical state, other things on her mind.

"Is everyone ok?" she forced out through her dry throat, the words hurried with tension. "D-Did we win? The Pokemon, are they out of there? Where's Vernie?"

She stared around the room, but there was no sign of her Chikorita.

---

✰ Jason Ackerman ✰

Location: ???

@ToadRopes


Jason had no idea how much time had passed.

He wasn't tired, hungry or thirsty, but it was already more than clear that reality didn't work the same way in this place. Had he been in here for hours, days, weeks... longer?

At the sound of crunching leaves and twigs, he whirled around. The sight before him made him stagger back. He'd expected an illusion of the child, the parents, or somebody from his past. Not this.

"Heh. The mighty Legendwatch leader, flinching away like some frightened little Skitty," the figure taunted, standing tall, green eyes glinting. A smirk spread across his tanned face, which looked a few years older than it should. "Surprised to see me? Admit it, do you really expect me - this version of me - to ever exist?"

The man folded his arms across the dragon silhouette on his shirt, the two Pokemon by his side advancing. One stomped forward, sturdy legs supporting a hulking clay body that towered over the humans. With each of its steps, the ground shook. The other floated, staring ahead with a single gem-like eye, light reflecting off its shield.

"If you do," the familiar but changed man continued, "then prove it. Prove you can be me." He took a stride forward. "Amyntas, Agne, show him what you're capable of now."

Jason tensed, forcing himself not to shrink away as the Golurk and Aegislash drew ever closer. The real, lower-level Amyntas and Agne stayed where they were, prepared to defend their trainer even at their disadvantage.

"Careful, both of you!" Jason called out. The illusory trainer in front of him sneered.

"Doubting yourself. Just as always," he chuckled. "Some master in the making you are. Go on. Prove both of us wrong."

Winning this battle could be the only way out of here, Jason thought as he stood frozen to the spot. If it wasn't, though, or if he lost... would there be any way out?

---

@LuckyBlackCat@Darkmoon Angel

The trip back down the rest of the mountain was exhausting for all three trainers, and the damage their Pokemon had suffered had them stopping every hour or so to make sure they were OK. The trip, as a result, had them out until dark and then without their Pokemon until at least the next day. Tommy slid into one of the waiting area seats, his face sullen. "This is my fault. Your guys's pokemon would be in way better shape if I hadn't let you come with me..." He clenched his fist in frustration. "I have to become a better trainer, for the sake of my friends and my Pokemon..."

---

♪♫♪ Cecilia "Cici" Taylor ♪♫♪

Location: Tefan Village

@Darkmoon Angel @Zarkun

At a loss, Cici sighed. "It's not your fault," she said softly. "If we hadn't worked together just now..." She kept glancing in the direction of the desk, nerves tightening with each passing minute. Tommy wasn't to blame, but he was right about something. They all had to become better trainers.

The musician's five healthy Pokemon surrounded her, Ligeia bouncing up into her lap, blue eyes filled with worry. "They'll be ok," Cici tried to reassure her, petting her on top of the head. The fairy type's recent evolution should have been something to celebrate, but right now, their main concern was the state of the Pokemon who'd taken on something they'd been in no way ready for. "They have to be ok..."

The moment the nurse reappeared at the desk, Cici and Ligeia jumped up. The trainer's stiff muscles ached as she ran forward. "How are they...?"

She relaxed at the nurse's smile. "They'll be fine, they'll just need to take it easy for a day or so," the red-haired woman replied, handing three Pokeballs to Cici. The guitarist instantly let them out, Forte swaying as he stomped over, Kymbalon appearing with her scales scratched up, and Dulcet wobbling in midair before perching on her trainer's shoulder.

Cici gave a laugh of relief. "Whew... You gave me a scare." Or rather, it must have been her who'd given them a nasty shock by pitting them against a much stronger opponent, she thought with a twinge of guilt. "You shouldn't have had to be involved in something like that. Not this early on. I really should've thought this through."

She'd told Tommy not to blame himself, only to do exactly the same thing. It all felt like her fault. As strongly as she believed in helping others, rushing into something way over her head - and dragging others along - didn't help anyone.

---

@LuckyBlackCat@Darkmoon Angel

Tommy looked up to reply to Cici, but before he could, the nurse had already brought out her Pokemon and she rushed off to make sure they were OK. Standing, he slowly approaches the counter and inquires to the condition of Amica. "Your Froakie's in rough shape and we want to keep her under observation. Is that alright?" The news broke Tommy's heart, but he gave an affirmatory nod before turning and heading for his room.

"I'll see you in the morning, Cici. I think I'm just going to get some rest." Upon reaching his room, he stayed awake long enough to let his other Pokemon out and then passed out, and was still snoring when the sun came up the following day.

---

♪♫♪ Cecilia "Cici" Taylor ♪♫♪

Location: Tefan Village

@Darkmoon Angel @Zarkun

Cici's relief at her own Pokemon's recovery was clouded with worry by the news of Amica. "She's in good hands here," she reminded Tommy, trying to sound as positive and reassuring as she could, while inwardly blaming herself. If she'd been able to help out more back there, maybe this wouldn't have happened.

After saying goodnight to Tommy and Luna, Cici trudged to her own room, all eight Pokemon following. Forte stared up at his trainer, concern for Tommy and Amica clear on his face.

"All we can do is hope for the best," Cici said softly, petting the Loudred between his speaker-like ears before settling into bed, exhaustion having caught up with her. It wasn't long until she and her Pokemon drifted to sleep.

---

Leisy shook her head, not knowing how to respond to Ella’s question because despite the heroic deed they’d been able to accomplish, they’d failed to do the very thing they’d set out to do: recover their friend’s Pokemon.

When Florence came to with a flood of questions, joy registered in Leisy’s mind—happiness that her friend was alright, awake once again. However, at her last question, Leisy’s heart plummeted, and she glanced helplessly at Ella before steeling herself.

“Everyone’s fine, Florence. We won the battle, and we’re all fine,” Leisy said. “There were nearly fifty stolen Pokemon from the cave, and they’re all being returned to their rightful owners right now. But…” She trailed off. “Vernie. Vernie wasn’t there.”

Her eyes dropped to her feet, not wanting to see the reaction Florence would have to her words. She’d told the truth, and she hoped that Florence would understand that they had done a good job—a great deed—but, all the same, she understood that pain was inevitable with a trainer separated from her Pokemon. She’d lost touch with Devinco for less than half an hour, and it had felt like nothing she’d ever gone through before.

---

@luckyblackcat @dark light

---

177CP

✿ Florence Hadley ✿

Location: Greenhaven

@Dusksong

Florence had known all along there was a chance Vernie wouldn't be anywhere nearby. Knowing, though, wasn't the same as accepting. The news still brought a fresh stab of pain. Raw, unbearable pain.

The hope she'd let build up, along with the strength it had given her, faded away. She hunched over, shaking her head, still unprepared - unable - to face the truth. "But..." she whispered. "B-but... it seemed like we were so close..."

Disappointment, guilt, and sickening worry roiled through her. "I failed her..." Tears choked the words. "She... She was so excited about setting out, and... and n-now... Who knows what's happening to her!" She couldn't bring herself to think about what her closest friend could be going through right now. "If only I'd been thinking... if-if only I hadn't dragged her into that mission right away..." Instead of being able to say anything more, she broke down sobbing.

Had starting out as a trainer been the biggest mistake she'd ever made?

---

♥ Ellanor "Ella" Beaufort ♥

Location: Greenhaven

@Dusksong

Ella sat helplessly as she watched Florence break. There was no other way to describe it - seeing the hope leave her eyes, seeing her crumple, hearing her speech drowned by tears.

"No... Florence, no. It wasn't your fault," Ella said, knowing all the while how unlikely she was to comfort her friend. She rummaged through her bag, and, unable to find a tissue, handed Florence one of the brightly-coloured, boldly-patterned rags she kept around for sewing projects. "We know it's possible to beat those poachers. We all managed to get those other Pokemon out, so we'll find Vernie, and we'll do the same for her."

It was just the three of them now, Vivian having gone home to support her family and Petals after their ordeal. Even so, Ella was prepared to help Florence in any way she could, and presumably, so was Leisy... but how would they, when they didn't have the slightest idea where to search?

---

@LuckyBlackCat@Zarkun


The battle against the trainer with the Excadril was tough, ultimately to the point where the trainer seemed get bored of his three opponents and ran off. Everyone was beat after the fight, Luna couldn't even think straight at the time so everything seemed to pass over her. The one thing she did know, is that her partners needed attention, and she wasn't too hyper herself.

Upon arriving at the Pokemon Center with the others, Luna handed her two pokemon so that they could get fixed up. After saying goodnight to Cici and Tommy she made her way to her room, never in her life would she think that she was gonna get caught up in something like this, tremors happening because of legendary pokemon, people who seem to want to make the legendaries go berserk, it just sounded crazy to her.

However, it was her job as a breeder, to ensure that all pokemon were treated kindly, so she wasn't about to let people like that do what they please. She held her head high before falling onto her bed, tomorrow, she was gonna give it her all.