Pokémon Umbral ~ Ruinous Origins Mission 1, Chapter 1

[Naqel]

Rakald lifted his sword-shaped bone to his shoulder and headed along with the others. He didn;t bother to pick up a scouter, since his bone helmet would make it impossible to wear it anyway.

"I guess I'll do the digging then."

[Astral Harmony]

Rayleen shook her head. "I'm sorry, but that's impossible at least right now. The best thing you can do is warn your teammates when you decide to deploy Magnezone. Most trainers have found it relatively easy to avoid electronic problems just by standing far enough away from it. Currently, the shielding we'll need to prevent those problems in the future is almost complete. At any rate, if that's all, let's hit the road."

Dormond, the Mawile Pokébrid who drove the van, flicked his cigarette away when the team got inside. "We'll stop off at the subway entrance nearest to the bank to drop off the team that will be digging into the bank from underneath," Rayleen told Dormond. Dormond simply nodded, turned on the lights and sirens, and steered the van out onto the road. Despite the congested streets, the van made it to the subway entrance without any real trouble. Apparently, there was enough trouble inside the subway to make up for that. There was an assembled crowd just outside the subway and a number of staff talking amongst themselves. Rayleen hopped out to find out what the hell was going on.

Rayleen then turned to the team that would be using the subway. "There's a Salamence, Golem and the legendary Pokémon Heatran battling over territory down there, directly between you and the area where you can dig into the bank from."
Rachel rolled her eyes. "You're not supposed to end sentences with a preposition, ma'am."
Rayleen sighed. "The area from where you can dig into the bank. Better?"
Rachel just gave a small grin.
"The staff tells me that the subway tunnel's taken a beating, and trying to dig around them will just cause a minor cave-in, probably. The best thing to do is simply take all three out."

The scouters gathered a little information on the Pokémon:

Salamence ~ Dragon / Flying
Golem ~ Rock / Ground
Heatran (Legendary) ~ Fire / Steel

Rayleen looked at Mike with a smirk. "You could be in luck, Kenno. If you're lucky, you could actually snag that Heatran. Being able to acquire, at least temporarily, legendary and never before seen Pokémon is the biggest perk of being a Snagger."

Whatever they decided to do, they could hear the sounds of violence echoing up from the subway. Those Pokémon weren't far at all from the surface.

[Geminex]

Impact had selected his weapons from the van's armory when they got in, removing the LH insulated storage tanks from their compartments and affixing them to the thrower's feeding mechanism, selecting the HV rifle he'd be used and loading it, hearing the ammo magazine slide in with a satisfying click. He had already tested the shadow-claws for sharpness and would affix them to his wrists just before the mission started, no use taking chances an accidently stabbing someone. Except for that annoying Renny.
As his hip hung the comforting weight of the handgun every slayer was permitted to carry as a last resort. Impact had selected the standard model, which was a simple revolver. Highly reliable, fairly accurate, packed quite a punch. Rate of fire wasn't too high, but this was the sort of gun you used if a hitmonlee had just disarmed you and was about to break your spine, in which case you didn't need quick fire, because you either hit with the first shot or you died. He had just been selecting armor (grass, water... what else?) when the info popped up and his eyes widened. Their commander (she was a slayer, at least) had been right... any legendaries were very rarely seen, even more rarely fought... Meeting them, getting the chance to defeat the, was a true privelege. He was itching to go with the digging team, to fight the Heatran, but alas... his place was here. With any luck the Snagger would catch it, then he might be able to take it out when it went rogue. But until then, his ambitions of wiping out legendaries would have to wait. He gave the other team a nod, less of a "good luck" statement than an aknowlegement. Still, he hoped they'd succeed, if only to even the odds a little more.

[Dracorion]

Pierce was relieved when the teams were decided, but he was also dissappointed. He wouldn't be going in through the front. Still, he'd be going to the roof, which gave him at least one trainer for himself. Small consolation prize. And he'd be going with Renny, which he wasn't looking forward to. But being on the roof did give him an idea. "Can I get a copy of the building schematics?" He asked Rayleen.

On the van, Pierce just crossed his arms and tapped his foot again. First thing he did was grab a Max Revive and two Full Restores to carry himself, and a few other items for his pokemon to carry, to provide them basic protection. Then he put on his scouter, for all the good it would do, considering his partner for the mission, and waited to arrive. "You take the Electric trainer, and I'll handle the Ice." He told Renny.

They were dropping off the digging team at the subway first. His scouter showed him info on a Heatran, a Golem and a Salamence that were fighting in the subway. A Heatran... He sighed, wishing he could get a chance to take it on, but he was going to the roof.

[Menarker]

Renny nodded with approval as he summoned his pokemon in advance, giving them their items and holding the three he would take, and giving a very brief heads-up on the upcoming situation, focusing on Swampert and Magnezone before recalling them in. "That should work out just fine Pierce."

Renny instantly put on the scouters as he entered the van, fiddling and experiementing with the settings as he familiarized himself with the gadget feeling a slightest bit glum about the technical drawbacks. As the data on the subway monsters came up, he felt a small sense of awe at this rare encounter.

"Good luck Mike!"

[DanteFalcon]

Matthias put on the scanner, trying to get used to it's feel on his head and not particularly enjoying it. However information of any kind being updated mid-combat could be exceptionally useful so he would suffer through it's lack of comfort.

He sat calmly while they rode in the van, keeping his wings away from the wall to avoid leaving a nice poison dust spot for someone else to clean up. At the mention of the battle in the station he tensed ever so slightly and was extremely relieved it wasn't his fight to go to. All 3 of those were heavy hitters and he'd only have a decent chance against the Golem. The Heatran would plow over him like a speedbump. Steel was the one element that always set him back a step.

He nodded to the subway team as a way of acknowledging their departure and continued to wait. He didn't say a thing during the ride unless he was spoken to. He was considering the team's different personalities and if anyone would every truly like Renny.

[Arcanum]

Mike couldn't help but smile when the name "Heatran" flashed across his scouter. He didn't even need Rayleen to spell it out for him, because he already knew that he would be snagging that legendary. Before leaving the van, however, he made sure to grab three Full Restore just in case things went south.

"Right, see you guys in the bank," Mike said to the rest of the team as he left the van. He started to force his way through the crowd, not bothering to wait for the rest of the tunnel team. It was only after he got through the crowd and started down the stairs to the subway tunnel that he slowed down. He could feel the heat coming up from the tunnel, and by the time he reached the bottom of the stairs it was beginning to feel like a sauna.

"Alright let's get things started," Mike said, grabbing his pokeballs and tossing them in front of him. "Dragonite! Charizard! Time for some action!"

Not wanting to throw his two pokemon into the middle of a three-way turf war without some backup, Mike layed out his plan while waiting for the rest of the tunnel team to arrive.

"Dragonite, you're going to be taking on the Heatran with your water and electric attacks. Mostly water since that'll be one of its weaknesses. Charizard, I want you to provide support for Dragonite and make sure that the Golem and Salamence don't try to interfere. We'll adapt this plan on the fly since I'm sure you both know that my plans never end the way I want them to. Regardless of what happens though, I want that Heatran alive. It will be a huge help against those thieves in the bank. Understood?"

Both pokemon nodded in approval, and Charizard started to stretch his wings impatiently. No matter how hard Mike tried Charizard was always impatient before a fight, even if he only had to wait half a minute. Although this time, Mike could understand his impatience.

"I know," he said soothingly, patting the fire dragon's neck. "The rest of the team are taking their sweet time getting here."

[Astral Harmony]

Rayleen was almost intimately close enough to Pierce. "Here, it's this button," she said, fiddling with his scouter. The lens showed a miniature 3-D model of the bank. Aside from several small rooms like an office area and the restrooms, it more or less was just as bigass reception room and the small hallway that connected the employee's side of the customer service barricade and went a short distance to end at the big cubic vault. The screen zoomed out to reveal a 3-D underground tunnel, the subway tunnel that stretched underneath the streets. From the subway entrance they were at right now, they were only about five city blocks from the bank.

Rayleen didn't say any more because she removed her heavy coat and starting to prepare herself for combat. "Normally, I'm not supposed to do this," she explained. "But a Heatran is no bullshit. I'm going down with the dig team. We'll have to alter our tactics because of the temperature. The staff said it's been roughly fifteen minutes since the fighting down there started and they were about to make the call to us after they successfully evacuated the passengers when our van showed up. I told them to make the call anyways but we can't wait for reinforcements that may or may not come. I'll bet it's a furnace down there."

Dormond shuddered. As a steel type Pokébrid, he was weak against fire type damage and consequently hot places made him a little queasy, nevermind the fact that he was also weak against ground type damage and subterranean areas made him nervous as well. "We'll need to be careful in the extreme heat that Heatran will no doubt be giving off. If we can get some ice and water type power going and dig tunnels to the surface to vent the heat out, we should be able to fight to our full ability. However, if he have a lot of the Pokémon that can withstand and even thrive in the heat like Fire, Water, Ground and Dragon types, we may want to leave the tunnel in its state until we clean house with the Pokémon."

To gear up, Rayleen took up a canister of Strange Parasites, the Titanic Fist, and the LH Launcher. "Grass and water on the Golem, ground on the Heatran, and ice on the Salamence will make this a relatively-quick assault, I'm hoping. Plus the LH Launcher should help in lowering the temperature down there."
Without embarrassment or hesitating, Rayleen kept undressing all the way to her underwear, which was clearly designed for an athletic body like hers. Then she suited up in an FR Suit, fastened a Sonic Guard to her left arm, put on some Jump Boots, and then strapped on some Platemail. She was well-equipped for taking on a Heatran. "Let's get down there before shit gets worse. Dormond, take the rest to the bank."

-----

Dormond drove closer to the bank. Moon the water trainer and Shannon the grass trainer were completely surrounded by police cars and officers tending to injured allies and wounded Pokémon. The Rampardos and Garchomp flanked the trainers, also staring down the ineffective police. Just above the edge of the bank's roof, they could see the Gliscor and Yanmega circling around, but the trainers couldn't be seen from the lower elevation. "There's a ladder on the side of the bank," Dormond pointed out. "An emergency escape from the roof that you can use to get to the roof if the enemy hasn't destroyed it."

Rachel hopped out of the van and looked at the semicircle of police vehicles. "They're not worth half their paychecks. They need to spend less time in the donut shops and more time training their Pokémon and themselves. Plus the police won't accept Pokébrids into their force." Apparently, Rachel had no love for cops.

-----

As for the dig team at the subway, they could already feel the heat as they descended the stairs. "That way," said Rayleen, pointed towards a subway train that was now on its side. "Any of those three Pokémon have the power and size to overturn a subway train. I'm surprised it's not partially melted."

As they passed the final car of the subway train, the air getting hotter and hotter, they saw the splotches of molten rock on the walls and ground. "Heatran's Magma Storm. There's no love down here."

The first Pokémon they saw was the massive backside of Salamence, which somehow found enough room within the tunnel to actually fly a little off the ground. Then he launched one of the broadest, brightest laser beams anyone had ever seen. The sound emitted was intense, and the destructive force generated by the impressive display caused a dull rumbling. "That Salamence knows Hyper Beam," Rayleen observed. "Definitely had training before, probably a Rogue, but I don't think he's working for the Evil Eevee Eight."

They couldn't see the Golem yet, but they could see the Heatran, mainly because its massive maw was radiant with the molten lava inside. "Everyone ready? We need to take 'em down fast before their antics bring the whole damn tunnel down on all of us."

[Arcanum]

Mike didn't even hesitate when Rayleen asked if they were ready. He immediately pointed at the Salamence and said "Charizard, use Dragon Claw on the Salamence. Dragonite, aim a surf right into the Heatran's mouth!"

Charizard rushed forward, running the first few steps then propelling himself forward with a few quick flaps of his wings. His right hand began to glow with power as he aimed his attack at the back of Salamence's head.

Meanwhile Dragonite dove forward, spraying a massive jet of water from her mouth onto the ground in front of her. She landed on the water, which coalesced into a relatively small wave which she rode directly at the Heatran. As she approached the legendary pokemon she readied her wings to pull herself off the wave and over the Heatran so that she didn't wind up in its mouth along with the water.

[Geminex]

Impact had in the end decided on the Shadow suit. He covered this in a spray of herbicide layer, pulled on a weather cloak and finished up with a Brain case. Fully suited up, he grabbed some extra ammo (2 30-bullet clips for his rifle, one extra storage tank for the HL launcher, 6 extra revolver rounds) along with 5 full restores and (reluctantly, he wasn't really planning to revive any of his allies if he could help it) 1 revive. His rifle was slung over his left shoulder, the claws were attached to his wrists, ready to spring out at a single twitch and he held the HL launcher, ready to fire as soon as they exited the van. He exited straight after Rachel, ducking slightly, turned to the team. "Kay, what we discussed. We attack the main entrance first, Renny and Pierce keep out of sight, and when the roof starts sniping, you use fly to get up there and hit them from behind." He turned back to Charlotte and Matthias. "If you guys can keep the grass and water trainers off me for ten seconds, I can wipe Garchomp, even the odds a bit. Then we'll go ahead with the standard battle. I take the grass trainer, Charlotte focuses on water, Matt supports us however he can. Let's try to take at least one trainer out by the time reinforcements arrive. Let's do this!"