Pokémon Umbral ~ Ruinous Origins Mission 2, Chapter 1

[Dracorion]

Pierce secretly agreed with Renny, much as he wanted to shoot him down. He could understand the feeling of getting a second chance. That was how he'd ended up on the team. "Renny's got a point. She at least deserves the benefit of the doubt." He said. He didn't like it much, but it was the right thing to do.

Impact was just about to say something to Pierce, when Matthias interrupted. "If you've got a problem with someone on the team, we'd all appreciate it if you said it explicitly." He replied. Matthias did not make a good first impression. Pierce didn't wait for an answer, and turned to Impact. "Yes? What about leadership?" He asked.

[Geminex]

"From what I gather, both Matt and Rachel would decline, if offered a position." Impact began, eyes flicking between the two, looking from confirmation. I also assume that you would not, since you've been almost as enthusiastic as me about giving tactical advice." If that is indeed the case, and if we agree that we need a leader, or, in any case, should try one, it would, for now, be a contest between the two of us..." He began feeling more tense, though he didn't let it show. If this went well, it'd cement his control over the group. If it didn't... He'd most likely end up taking orders from either a trainer or a brid, and he wasn't sure how he'd deal with that. He was... fairly certain that he'd succeed. But he couldn't be sure.

[Menarker]

Renny nodded in agreement after Impact had said what he had said. He understood slightly that maybe there was something more than what he was letting on. After all, if he spoke about the needs of the victims, he might have known one. But to Renny, it was all moot. Of course he knew that the needs of the victims was important. That was what the purpose of the group was about ultimately and why he had joined. Renny fought because there was beings that could use whatever defense that could be offered to them. But for now, he was content enough that at least the situation seemed to have mostly been defused and that Pierce himself finally seem to relent and endorse at least a passing support of the matter. Matt's comment, however, made his gut wrench when he had heard it. Ignoring the fact that he could have meant just about anyone the way he had phrased it, the part that shocked Renny was the completely poor tact and timing. The situation he had tried to defuse could have burst into flames. He was thankful that Impact at least had the decency or humor not to fall for it. Renny however said nothing with worry that anything such as scolding or asking for clarification could result in an uproar.

Renny tried to smile at Shannon with whatever bit of encouragement he could offer. He didn't know the person at all, and for all he knew, Impact may have been competely right about her nature. But if she would be in the same team, he felt that part of his responsibility as part of the group was not to cause tension between each other. And for all he knew, Shannon could be a reliable ally if given a chance that didn't reek of punishment and condemnation.

[Dracorion]

Pierce stared straight into Impact's eyes without blinking, but his words had got him thinking. He had made suggestions before according to what he thought best, but he certainly didn't intend to be the leader. Yet, maybe he should be. After all, the only person he could trust to do the job right now was himself.

As for Impact, Pierce wasn't sure what his intentions were. He was, as Renny said, cautious and insightful. But, however much he levelled with them, he didn't trust his teammates. Pierce may not trust anyone else to lead, but he certainly knew they could do their jobs. Apparently, Impact didn't, and this made Pierce trust him even less. From what Impact was saying right now, Pierce thought he was being tested. He simply kept staring at him. "And...? What's your point?"

[Astral Harmony]

Lola placed a hand on her cheek and blushed. "Ah?! Oh, uhhh..."
Rachel grinned. There were some things that Lola still needed help with. "Her name is Lola Phelps and she works in our personal little medical ward. Unfortunately for Rayleen and Dormond, we can't treat wounds they absorbed. Anywho, once the teams are decided, we'll decide a leader as well. Nothing fancy. He or she will be more of a tactician, advising people what the best way to cruise through battles will be. Though I have it on good faith that Renny and Impact should take up the leads of the specific teams. That won't be a problem, eh?"

-----

Shannon fixed Impact with a long steady stare, then reached for one of her Pokéballs. "Abomasnow is just fine, asshole. Want a demonstration?"
Rachel stood between them, waving her arms like she was doing the Paffendorf dance. "C'mon, guys, no fighting! You're not even in the mansion yet!"

-----

Then Charlotte started yapping up. Shannon was this close to deploying Abomasnow "Listen here, you dog-fucking cum dumpster, I have a mind to teach you-"
"Enough!" Rachel nearly shrieked.
Shannon returned her Abomasnow to her belt. "Can I please go back to jail?"
"You can decide that once the mission is complete," Rachel said, sucking on a stick of Pocky.
"Dumb bitch has to tie steaks around her neck to get her dogs to fuck her in her ass because her vagina is rotten," Shannon grumbled oh so loud enough for Charlotte to hear. Oh, they were getting along so well!

-----

Lola composed herself again. "I'll be driving the van this time. Rachel doesn't have a license and I could never trust a woman who is always wearing headphones."
Shannon stuck her tongue out at Lola, but didn't seem offended.

The drive was longer than just going to bank. As the sun started to set over the cityscape, the dancing lights of the active night life indicated that the metropolis was just like every other city. It never fuckin' sleeps, and that's never a good thing. Even though it was getting dim, one could occasionally see the wild Pokémon that inhabited the alleys and the Rogue Pokémon that played the role of "troubleshooters". Rogue Pokémon did more than just fight as mercenaries. There was even a good number of electric types that fixed electronics. A Machamp smashes his top left fist through a window. A middle-aged chinese man rapidly exits the building, apparently a pawn shop of sorts, and offers the Machamp some cash.
"Pokémon mafia," Shannon identified. "Stopping them from demanding too much protection money for their services and wreaking havoc is usually the job of the police. I've never seen PATCA members do a sting op, which is curious because a lot of Rogue Pokémon work for the mafia. They have enough Pokémon to do the kinds of shit even we couldn't when we were the Thirteen Eevee Threat."

The van steered off the highway and entered a paved road extending into the forest. If one focused, one could see the Pokémon here as well. Mostly Kricketunes singing, Noctowls hooting, a Roserade playing a violin. "I love this place," Shannon continued as though anyone cared. "I caught Jumpluff, Roserade, and Shiftry here."

It wasn't long before the van finally reached the destination. There was a small detachment of cops here with some dog-type Pokémon like Arcanine and Houndoom there, as well as Garus the ice trainer and Evangaleen the lightning trainer from the Evil Eevee Eight. One would swear that one of those police officers looked like Police Chief Jenny. Well, she did like being out in the field.

The group exited the van and proceeded to meet the two trainers. "Yo, Evangaleen. Garus. S'up."
"I can't believe you agreed to this," was all Evangaleen said. Garus, being his usual self, said nothing.
"Yeah, compared to working alongside the woman who tried to fuckin' kill me, jail sounds like a trip to Club Med."
Rachel stepped forward. "Just remember what you're here for."
Evangaleen nodded. "Relax, I may be blonde but I'm not a stereotypical blonde."
Rachel couldn't sworn a violet kimono-clad ninja girl said that one before.
Garus decided to speak up for once. "When you defeat the Pokémon used by the maniacs or defeat the maniacs themselves, they're likely to flee. The mansion has no back door, so they'll flee out of this one and we'll be here to round them up."
Rachel nodded approvingly. "That's that, then. C'mon, let's go inside."

"Oh. One more thing." Garus said. "Someone entered the mansion while we were here."
"Someone actually got by the lot of you? How could you let that happen?"
"She was really fast and...and really...ummm..."
"She was really bouncy," Evangaleen said. "I don't know how that distracted us, but it did. Even I thought that she had magnificent tatas. Even bigger than that nurse chick with you has."
Lola suddenly straightened up and entered the mansion. Rachel turned towards the group. "I think Lola considers that a challenge. C'mon, let's follow her inside. Any other features of this woman you care to divulge?"
"Well, she was dressed kinda weird," Evangaleen said. "Looked like the kind of shit a female ninja would wear."
"Mini-yukata," Garus said simply.
"Another one of those chicks, huh." Rachel said before they moved in.

-----

The mansion may have been old, but it was in pretty good shape. Some things were pretty bizarre, though. The mansion apparently relied on candles to maintain some level of illumination, but those candles gave off far more light than one would expect from candles so small. The candles looked fresh, too.

Then there was the Pokémon that hovered near the stairs. Lola had a slightly clenched fist at her chin as though she was afraid of it, but not really. Nobody recognized it, and the scouters picked up nothing except the electromagnetic field being given off by it. It kind of looked like a jester. A hood prevented anyone from seeing its face clearly, but a fist-sized red orb shined from the blackness. Its arms and legs seemed to be made of spinning poker cards. The right hand held a very large, menacing scythe decorated in blood from at least several victims.

"Ruin Pokémon," Rachel guessed after her scouter picked up nothing.
"Welcome, ladies and gentleman. I am Phantomere, mighty general of the returning Fahngrest Empire and I am most happy to receive so many customers! I should love to violently murder you all where you stand, but you really should stay a while. We have lots of interesting people for you to meet and many fun attractions! Please relax and explore! I'm sure you'll be very satisfied with your experience here."

And just like that, Phantomere faded out of existence. Lola turned around and walked toward the others. "Is that really a Ruin Pokémon?"
"The scouters have data on every Pokémon in every region, even really hard-to-find ones. If Phantomere wasn't a Ruin type, the scouter surely wouldn't identified it."
"Strange Pokémon, though," Shannon observed. "It said it was a general of the returning Fahngrest Empire. The hell's up with that?"
"We'll have to go ask it," Rachel said.

In other words, mission start. Team 1's door was on the left side, and Team 2's on the right.

[Menarker]

Renny face glowed red with embaressment when it turned out that he was nominated for leadership. "I'll do my part." As he turned to his team-mates, his face turned pale from Shannon's language as he tried to speed things along by keeping people busy.
"Unless anyone has any request for items to ask Lola or Rachel, I think we should make way to the van. We can discuss our plans along the way!" Renny then rushed to the van, and briefly summoned all his pokemon, giving them the greatly abridged summary of the mission to come before recalling them back.

-------------
As they arrived, Renny jumped off the van and summoned Magnezone, confident in its defensive measures. "Magnet Rise"
"Magne" The pokemon prepped itself as it lifted its frame off with magnetic aviation.

"Alright, I recommend we summon up a pokemon to watch our backs and in case we come across a target. Charlotte, your dogs likely have good sense of smell, so I would think you're best to lead the front so they can detect our targets before they find us. I'll stick around the middle so I can support either side. Shannon, could I trust you to watch our backs? Lola, do you have any particular skills for self defense or should I suggest you stay near me in the middle?"

Renny didn't leave much time for debate, but he left a few moments in case they had any concerns before the group would enter the mansion.

When Renny saw the two trainers he fought with Pierce on the rooftop, he sheepishly grinned, somewhat embarressed.
"Wish you luck on your side."

Renny was curious about the identity of the invader in mini-yukata, but he figured that they would adjust to the situation as it came to them. If it was Rio again, it would be a welcome sight. If not, he could only hope she was an ally too.

----------
Renny was silent as he observed Phantomere's rather uninviting welcome gesture above the stairs, the atmosphere as chilling as his original intent to murder them all in due time. Keeping Magnezone to his immediate side, he bid the other group farewell.

"Be careful and watch out for openings in the walls and ceilings. Pokemon might be in the nooks and crannies."

He then turned to his team-mates. The nurse he felt he could be comfortable around, but he really had his head filled with trying to manage team dyanmics with Shannon and Charlotte.

"Alright, let's continue on."

--------------------------

Magnezone cast Magnet Rise in advance for ground immunity. Suggested group layout from back to front.
Shannon > Lola > Renny > Charlotte.

[Dracorion]

Impact had been chosen as team leader, which Pierce was fine with. He didn't really have to follow Impact's orders, or at least, he could get away with it for this mission, and it gave him a chance to see what he was made of.

"... Fahngrest?" Pierce muttered. They had entered the mansion, and were greeted by a general of the Fahngrest empire. What the hell was that Phantomere talking about? "Whatever. Let's go find it and kick its ass."

Pierce pulled out two pokeballs and tossed them. Tyranitar and Blaziken materialized, and Pierce moved to the door in the left side of the room, his pokemon in front of him. "You coming?" He called to the rest of his team.

[Astral Harmony]

Team 1 Synopsis: The first team's first victim is a farmer who apparently doesn't like his breakfast disturbed. He deploys Grumpig and Blissey, but something else is attacking the first team. They look like the vengeful spirits of the dead and damned. There are four in all, bringing up the total number of hostiles to a threatening seven.

Through their door, they entered the dining room. Probably the first thing they noticed was the guy in farming overalls, white t-shirt, and dirty working boots using a pitchfork to make a bale of hay. The door creaked something awful and in the quiet room, the farmer easily took notice. "Hey, y'all. Ah don't rightly spose y'all'll be goin' back t'where ye came fum, eh? Ah'm jus' about ta have me sum beckfast."
"Now serving, our first maniac." Rachel said. "Sorry there, Mr. Green Acres but I'm afraid we've come with an eviction notice. Clean your mess up and get the hell out."
"Awww, shaddap ya dumb gal! Ah's gunna give you a whuppin'!"
The farmer stepped forward, pitchfork in hand and tossed two of his Pokéballs. "Have yerself sum beecon and eggs," he said as a Grumpig and a Blissey appeared from the capture beams. Clearly this guy wasn't smart enough to know not to mess with superior numbers.
"I think he's going to attack us himself with that pitchfork," Rachel warned the others. "He'll become a greater threat this way, but if we eliminate him first, we can expect to have to deal with all of his Pokémon at once. Shouldn't be a problem even if he does go down first, but smart people fight smarter, not harder, even if they do prefer challenges."

This was almost too easy...until the appearance of them. They floated right next to the farmer, but he didn't seem to notice them. They weren't Pokémon...maybe Ruin types? But they were hideous. They looked like horribly-slaughtered humans, some with rope around their necks, some with numerous gash marks. "What the hell are they? Be careful, I think they're going to fight us as well."

New Enemy Pokémon!

Grumpig (Psychic) [Female]
Moves: Psychic / Power Gem / Bounce / Confuse Ray
Ability: Thick Fat

Blissey (Normal) [Female]
Moves: Softboiled / Refresh / Egg Bomb / Double-Edge
Ability: Serene Grace

-----

Team 2 Synopsis: The second team encounters of batshit insane military instructor and his arsenal of Explouds. He joins the fight alongside his Pokémon, and a quartet of some kind of ghost joins in the fight alongside the enemy despite him not even seeing them. This brings the total number of foes to a considerable seven.

"Give me any order you want," Lola told Renny. "I should be decent in any role."
Any order Renny wanted, eh?

They heard the noise even before they passed through the door.
"Sound off!"
"Exploud! Exploud!"
"Get louder!"
"EXPLOUD!! EXPLOUD!!"
"That's fucking loud enough!" Shannon yelled.
The guy and his two Explouds turned around to see the group. He looked like one of those "married to the military" types. Too much muscle, too little brain cells and hair.
"Hey, civilian! You're ruining a training session! Get your asses out at once!"
Shannon gave a questioning glance at Lola. Lola shook her head. "He's full of crap. Sure, the military uses Explouds as a means of sounding alarms and do train them as such, but they have their own facilities for doing so. They wouldn't use a place like this for training of any kind, actually."
"Awesome! That means he's a maniac and we can kick his sorry ass!"
To say that the man liked the idea of battling was an understatement. "Oh, you think you'll make me leave? Then why don't you just try me?"

Lola frowned when she observed that soldier boy stood with his Pokémon instead of behind them, and drew a large combat knife. "Hmmm, I think he's going to attack us alongsize his Pokémon. We could remove him first, but if we do then we'll have to deal with all of his Pokémon at once."
"They're probably all Explouds," Shannon said. "No biggie."
Then they appeared. The officer wannabe didn't seem to notice, but how could you not notice something so horrible? There were four of them, and they looked human, but they were violently disfigured, like they were tortured to death. "The fuck're those?" Shannon demanded.
"I don't know," Lola confessed. "But be careful. I think they want a piece of us, too."

New Enemy Pokémon!

Exploud (Normal) [All Males]
Moves: Hyper Voice / Hyper Beam / Crunch / Overheat
Ability: Soundproof

-----

Strange Enemy Data

Mononoke ~ Mismagius Mansion apparently has some ancient secrets that should have remained buried, but Phantomere's powers are unearthing some kind of horrible truth. Mononoke are clearly not Pokémon, but they are still ghosts, and one might be able to defeat them as such. They appear fragile, but we'll leave it to those they're fighting to determine how capable they really are.

[Dracorion]

"I can't understand a word he's saying." Said Pierce. When the ghosts appeared, he smiled. "And here I thought this was going to be boring."

He thought about it for a moment. If the ghosts were Ghost or Ruin type, then Matt, Impact and Rachel could handle them. Meanwhile, he knew he could take out the farmer's pokemon. "Tyranitar, Crunch! Blaziken, Sky Uppercut!" He called. Tyranitar charged straight for the Grumpig, pushing it down and biting down hard on its shoulder, while Blaziken came in quickly at Blissey and let loose a powerful uppercut.

[Menarker]

"Anything? Alright Lola. Can you hold on a second? My knowledge of Lopunnies aren't exactly top notch, so I'm just going to briefly run through it."
Renny stared at her through the headset's scanner as he ran up a general list of the moves that Lopunnies had access to, blushing slightly all the while, trying to keep his eyes at least respectful levels...

Renny quickly stared at the scan results while the group was bantering and opted for dealing with the pokemons... and the ghosts that just showed up. At best, if they defeated the pokemons all fast enough, the human would run off on his own. The trainer attempted to designate an order to the group using all the authority his childish frame could muster without going overboard."
"Focus on the Explouds! They could hit all of us at once with one of those moves! The ghosts can be dealt with after! If the general is still around when we're through, then we'll put him out of commission."
Renny pulled out another pokeball and tossed it close to the ceiling.
"Togekiss, we could use your support stunning them! Twister! Magnezone, Thunderbolt the Exploud further away from you. Lola, could you lend Magnezone a helping hand?"

"ISSSS!"
"ZONE!"
The flying happiness pokemon kicked up tons of dust as multiple cyclones circled around like tops around a massive one in the center, glowing majestically with a draconic aura. Magnezone took this chance to charge up its magnets before arcing a powerful jolt of lightning toward the Exploud, presumably saving the closer one for Charlotte.

"Shannon, watch out for the Explouds. They got fire types moves ready."

-------------
Togekiss uses Twister which hits ALL enemy foes, each one has a 40% chance of being flinched and thus don't get a turn. Dragon type. Average effectiveness, no STAB and the move is weak-ish, even if it's using the special stat which Togekiss is awesome at. (The 40% chance is due to the normal 20% flinching chance of Twister being doubled by the ability Serene Grace) Togekiss also immune to Ghost type moves attacks if the ghosts do target him.

Magnezone uses Thunderbolt, STAB special (Magnezone speciality too) on one of the Explouds.

Requested Lola to use Helping Hand to give Magnezone a significant 50% power boost to make Thunderbolt's power 142.5. Multiply by STAB and that's a power of 213.75. ^^