victory_road | [Video / Action for Goldenrod, backdated to July 6th]

Current Location: A park in Goldenrod City

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[Video / Action for Goldenrod, backdated to July 6th]

_{[There are probably a lot of shaky-cam videos popping up on peoples' feeds, given the chaos. Unfortunately for you all, here's another one.]

[CLANG!]

[The trash-can lid that is front-and-center in the frame, held like a shield in front of the filmer, gains an unmistakable DENT as something strikes it from the other side with enough force that it's knocked askew. This reveals the attacker, although it's moving so fast that it's little more than a blur of white, pink, and pale green.]

[Only the filmer's quick reflexes save their fingers from getting snapped off as their improvised shield is yanked away-- they saw it coming and let go. The mechanical Gallade-doppelganger flings the trash can lid away and it goes spinning off across the ground-- which seems to be the floor of a small battling court in one of Goldenrod City's many parks.]

[This all goes down in about three seconds. At that point, the filmer's voice cuts in.]}

HEY, UH, who the FUCK are these guys?!

These are NOT my Pokemon!

_{[Wait, 'these guys', plural?]

[--Ohp. There's another one in the background.]

[The second aggressive stranger, a ghostly white fox, is a short distance away and grappling with a Hitmonchan. ... Or. Well. 'Grappling' kind of implies a two-sided fight. But the Hitmonchan's butt is getting THOROUGHLY kicked, because he was not prepared to have a Normal/Ghost-type flung at him on this fine day. He is on the ground covering his head with his big boxing gloves while the spectral Zoroark gleefully rains down Shadow Claws.]}

I literally JUST withdrew my own guys from the box this morning and these things-- _{[WHOOSH. A glowing magenta blade swipes dangerously close to the camera.]}EXCUSE you, rude!-- and these things popped out instead!

Oh my god, can you STOP for TWO SECONDS?!

_{[There's a flash of another Pokeball as she sends out her Togekiss to give the Iron Valiant something other than herself to fight, and the video cuts off there.]}

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[Jotaro doesn't respond to the near-sarcastic remark. He still feels he needs to state the obvious - It's all he can do over video chat.] Gallant's a real bastard. It'll use any moment your Pokemon is defending you to attack your Pokemon. And any time your Pokemon retaliates, it'll go for you.

--It's not fond of many moves. [Which sounds like a shitpost but isn't wrong.] But yes. It's hard on offense because it has lots of weaknesses: Steel, Psychic, Flying, Poison and Fairy.

[Jotaro glances offscreen and scowls. Growing louder is the sound of... a trumpet? In a forest? But he quickly shakes his head and turns back to the screen] It's got no coverage for Fairy or Steel Pokemon. If you have them, use them.

_{["A real bastard" sounds about right-- Heather has a feeling that one Scolipede she inherited (and never takes out of the box) would get along great with this thing. GOD FORBID THEY EVER MEET.]

[Gritting her teeth as she dodges another blow, she tries to keep the list of types straight in her head as Jotaro rattles them off. Steel and Fairy... Steel and Fairy... Well, Sunny was a lucky choice, then. But what else can take a hit like her but be fast enough to hit back?]

[She doesn't have time to ruminate on it for long; as soon as the air is clear of flashy, slashy psychokinetic energy for two seconds, she throws another Pokeball (and says a silent prayer that what comes out of it will actually be hers this time).]}

WOLF, go!

_{[AND THE PRAYER IS ANSWERED! A gleaming golden Lucario appears in a flash and raises his spiked paws, immediately on the defensive. He hadn't been her first pick, on account of still being weak to Psychic... but well, he's fast, and he's Steel, so he's her best bet.]}

No time to explain-- Bullet Punch this stupid thing!

[They'll either get along swimmingly or beat each other to death.]

Gallant twirls its blades. While the cruel Pokemon wants to bear down the might of its force on Heather, its very aware of Sunny and the threat she poses. It tries to get the jump on it and begins to do the calculations for Future Sight.

However, foresight can be short-sighted and the Iron Valiant is not prepared for Wolf and his speed. Gallant gives a loud, metallic shriek as its hit by the Bullet Punch and stumbles back.]

It's hard to penetrate its defences but it can't take that many blows. [Jotaro calls from the Pokegear. He can't do much but try keep Heather informed.] You only need to hit it a couple more times to knock it out.

[Gallant gets back on its feet but changes its stance. Its eyes begin pulsing in brillant patterns, trying to cast Hypnosis on its foes.]

_{[It's a relief when the attack lands-- Sunny had been able to protect Heather well enough, but that damn thing had just been too fast to hit and defend against at the same time.]

[Although the camera's not really showing much of her face (she's uh, not really paying much attention to where it's pointing), she nods grimly to Jotaro's advice. He apparently owns this thing, so she has little choice but to trust him.]}

We can do that.

Wolf, keep it up! Sunny, cover him!

_{[The jackal Pokemon darts forward again, but falters when his gaze meets the active Hypnosis attack-- however, Sunny wastes no time in opening her beak to let out a chime-like cry: Heal Bell.]

[It's clear even from the off-kilter video that the pair are well-practiced and used to battling alongside each other. With the sleep effect chased off by Sunny's song, Wolf regains his composure and lunges forward with another Bullet Punch.]}

[That's fine if Jotaro can't see. He stays glued to the screen, hoping his Pokemon doesn't greviously harm someone. Even when Phantom starts playing the trumpet even louder on his end, he remains focused, trying to think of anything else that could help Heather.]

[Evidently, Psycho Cut is the Iron Valiant's favourite move as it lets loose another one at Wolf. However, it's not expecting such a quick turnaround from the Hypnosis and is hit by Bullet Punch before it can process another move. It screeches loudly, looking battered and very much worse for wear but not wanting to surrender. In a desperate play, it tries to match Wolf's speed with Shadow Sneak to get in close and use one more Psycho Cut.

Finish it!]

_{[Heather hasn't been here this long for nothing-- as lackadaisical as she sometimes comes off, she doesn't fight softly, and neither do her Pokemon.]

[A soft glow shimmers around the Lucario as his... bobbles? Very big dreadlocks? WHATEVER those aura-sensing feelers are called... lift straight up. He sees you coming, Mr. Slice-and-Dice. Planting his paws firmly in the earth, he takes the Shadow Sneak head-on unflinchingly.]

[And then, pretty much simultaneously with his trainer's shout, as though already aware of exactly what she'll say, he locks eyes with the now-very-close Iron Valiant and uses--]}

METEOR MASH!

_{[(Insert dramatic anime cutaway to a big pillar of faintly-sparkly dust shooting up over the city's skyline.)]}

[The Iron Valiant is not prepared for the enemy to take its attack on or counter with such ferocity. There's a loud 'crunch' as the Meteor Mash hits and next Gallant sees is black. When the dust clears, the poor Paradox Pokemon lays in an impact crater, knocked out, completely with swirly eyes.]

...

Wow.

[Oh hey, Jotaro is here still.]

Good job.

_{[WHAM BAM AND THANK YOU MA'AM.]

[As soon as the dust clears enough to reveal the Iron Valiant sprawled in his crater, Heather grabs for the Pokeball he'd come out of to begin with and returns him in a flash of light. NOT gonna wait around for that guy to regain consciousness, NO SIR.]

[The Lucario, meanwhile, stands vigilant until the flash of the Pokeball confirms a successful return-- then relaxes, turning back to his trainer. Although still maintaining a very serious expression, his tail is a blur behind him. DID YOU SEE THAT, TRAINER? DID YOU? DID YOU SEE THAT EXTREMELY COOL THING HE JUST DID?]}

... Heh... yeah, I saw that, bud. That was one for the books.

_{[Heather's chuckle is equal parts fond and... relieved. The imminent threat is gone, and now she can focus on... figuring out just what the hell is going on. Plopping RIGHT down onto the dusty battlefield floor, she finally turns the camera back onto herself.]}

Thanks, man... jeez, you said that thing was yours? I hope it's less homicidal to you than it just was to me. YIKES.

[Awww cute Pokemon.

Jotaro sighs in relief too. He's not used to sitting on the sidelines, unable to do anything to help. When Heather comes onto the screen, he gives her a very tired look and then just... shrugs.]

Gallant is just like that. It just sees... anything really and its instinct is to maim. I don't know what its issue is but I haven't really had a chance to try train it. [You know, since it's not safe unless you have a couple of strong Pokemon dedicated to keeping it in check] The only reason why I caught it was to keep it from stalking and attacking the Area Zero scientists. It's a real handful.

_{[Wiping a smear of blood from one of the particularly too-close-for-comfort Psycho Cuts off of her cheek, Heather flashes Jotaro a weary grin.]}

Jeez, that makes the robo-mon I stumbled across out there look like a walk in the park...

_{["Mecha Mothra", as she's been calling it so far, hadn't been aggressive so much as very startled. She and Henry had been lucky to not bump into THIS thing down in the Crystal Caves, apparently.]}

Well, I hope you'll understand if I box this thing until I can get it back to you. Not particularly wild about the idea of a repeat episode of what just happened.

You anywhere near Goldenrod City by any chance?

_{[SHE WOULD LOVE TO HOT-POTATO THIS THING TO A PERSON WHO IS NOT HER AS SOON AS POSSIBLE.]}

Yeah... It seems to be just Gallant. The second... uh... "robo-mon" I caught acted more like a regular Pokemon. [Even though it was a beautiful shade of silver, Gyro was no different from any other Pokemon in the cave. Seemed like Iron Valiant was just the exception.]

Feel free to leave it in the PC. It's what I've been doing in the meantime. I'm not training it myself until I have a full team of 100s ready to restrain it.

And that's one of the many reasons why I'm in Kanto, trying to get stronger so I can manage it. I'm in the wilderness now. [So no such luck in pawning it back to him, Heather.]

_{[Heather's expression visibly goes from 'tentatively hopeful' to 'oh ugh oh no...' as Jotaro elaborates... Even in the box, she really doesn't want this thing, and honestly she wants to venture off into the wild blue yonder in Kanto even less...]

[But, well... it's not like he can be blamed for wanting to get his NORMAL Pokemon better-equipped to deal with it...]

[Letting out a long sigh, she drags one hand through her already-hopelessly-messy hair.]}

... Yeah, I mean... that probably is the smartest thing to do with it.

All of my active battlers are already level 100, and it still took a hot minute for us to find our feet with that thing...

When d'you think you'll be ready to take it back?

[That's fair. Jotaro also wouldn't want to go into the wilderness with a murderous monster in his pocket no matter how prepared his team is. The man gives what he assumes is a sympathetic nod (which seems more like a shrug). Those robotic Pokemon can be vicious. He's hoping that it can be tamed to the point it can be studied but that's a plan for the distant future. Training first.]

Ready? I will take it back when I'm next in the area and leave it in my box. I caught it so it's my responsibility. I'll start warping when I get to the next town.

[The joke is he's not going to reach the next town before Silph Co fixes its shit.]

_{[Heather's been friends with various emotionally-constipated men since she first arrived in this place over a decade ago-- no offense taken at the hard-to-read shrug.]}

You sure?

I'm in Johto-- well, Goldenrod specifically, so I guess that's not too bad since it's close to the train station.

_{[Still a bit of a pain in the ass though.]}

Keep my number handy at least, in case something comes up.

_{[JOKE'S ON THEM BOTH, and also Murderbot.]}

[Jotaro nods. He meant what he said - Gallant is his responsibility. He owes it to others and the Iron Valiant itself to look after it.]

MMM... Easy enough to get to. Three days tops.

Alright.

... I'm Jotaro. Jotaro Kujo. Just so you know what to save my number as.

_{[There's a few beeps and boops as she puts that in.]}

--Okay, cool.

I'm Heather Mason.

Nice to meet you-- sorry it's under these particular circumstances, but well... whatcha gonna do.

[Jotaro does the same, though he's a little slower than Heather is. He's not bad with technology but it still is new to him sometimes.]

Nice to meet you too, Heather. And don't worry. It's not the worst first meeting I've had. I'm just glad you're alright.

Heh, well... believe it or not, I've been caught off-guard by much worse.

_{[Gallant might be a lean, mean, slicing machine, but at least he's not a giant, gibbering flesh abomination.]}

You'd be shocked with what I'd believe. [Shit's been weird for Jojo since he was a teenager. But he can't help but wonder what Heather's gone through. If Gallant going rogue wasn't too bad, then it sounds like Heather's lived a crazy not-silent life.]

But good. I'm lucky then, if this had to happen, it was with someone reliable. Thank you again for handling this, Heather.

You know what, fair.

_{[Who shows up in this place that HASN'T had some wild shit happen to them? Very few! ... At least in Heather's experience. Maybe she only meets fellow weirdos, who knows. Not gonna question it.]}

And no problem-- I'll just go uh, slip this guy back into the box for the time being.

_{[WHERE HE WILL NOT CUT ANYBODY.]}

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[Video / Action for Goldenrod, backdated to July 6th]

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apologies for the delay

no worries, this summer's been nuts lol

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