Pokemon Tabletop United

[questionmark693]

The Pokemon League has been indefinitely postponed. Team Rocket is scarily quiet. The Elite Four is nowhere to be found. Gym Leaders in all regions have abandoned their gyms. Pokemon are attacking people unprovoked. Nobody knows what is happening. But a few have gathered together to find out what is happening and fix it. A mix of Trainers and Gym Leaders, they hope to stop the madness and fear engulfing people.

It's a quiet night in Vermillion City. The sun is setting over the sea, giving some beauty to the now very dangerous city; between Diglett Cave and the ocean, pokemon attacks here are frequent. Lt. Surge has gone missing, and without his protection Team Rocket activity has increased. The Pokemon Fan Club still meets monthly, but every month more and more members have stopped coming, and shortly there won't be anybody left attending. A small group of people is meeting in the entrance to Diglett Cave, one of the few places where they know they won't be interrupted, as this type of meeting has gotten more dangerous lately. The meeting is led by the Champion of the Johto and Kanto regions, a man named Rilyn. As the last person enters, bringing their total number to six, he looks up to make eye contact from his short height, and begins talking quietly,

"You all have heard the rumors. You have seen what is happening, and you know we are in danger. I wish I knew more than I did, but you five were the first I could gather before you went missing. I think it's obvious that Team Rocket is involved in whatever is happening, but to even imagine they have somehow kidnapped the Elite Four and over a dozen Gym Leaders is...unthinkable," he pauses to wipe some dirt off his suit that he famously wears at all times.

"I have a plan that I will be enacting this evening that will hopefully find some more information, but I have to do it alone. While I am doing that, I want to have you five pursuing another route, but to do so, you should know who you are working with. Dale, Chip, you run the newer of two gyms in Goldenrod of Johto. Mishka, you run the gym of Olivine. Terri, you are a Pokemon Ranger, and are intimately familiar with the behavior of wild pokemon. Malia, you are a native of the Sevii Islands, and the effects of the recent tragedies have extended as far as your Islands, where you are considered an expert in wilderness survival as well as Pokemon battles. Please, everybody take a moment to introduce yourselves more fully to each other, and ask what questions you may have," he finishes, having looked at each person as he introduced them.

With his speech ended, Rilyn step back, and watches silently, allowing whoever wishes to speak first, and begins checking his pockets before pulling out a flask and taking a quick drink.

[CosmicOccurence]

Chip wasn't entirely comfortable at this particular meeting.

In fact, he was downright spooked. He and Diglett Cave didn't have the fondest of histories - he'd almost died here on his way to Vermillion City for the first time. Lt. Surge, his mentor and strongest Electric specialist Chip knew, had gone missing. He was surrounded by a series of unknown trainers while the Champion said that he'd be going missing. The whole situation was totally bizarre.

But Dale was here with him, which was something. The two hadn't been running the gym long, but training alongside his oldest friend had caused them both to become better trainers. Slots hung in the air behind him, its single eye observing the scene and ready to fire off a blast of Electricity at the first sign of trouble.

What're the chances that a gift from Lt. Surge will be a part of the journey to save him, he thought with a grim smile. Surge's disappearance was half the reason he was here, although he and Dale did have their own scores to settle with Rocket.

I think Rilyn summed it up pretty well, Chip said when he realized that nobody else was going to speak up first. That was fine with him, he didn't mind being the outspoken one. I know that Dale and I don't exactly have a great reputation as Gym Leaders, but we're good at what we do, and you'll be hard pressed to find people who want to take down rocket more than the two of us.

Plus, he said, trying to lighten the tone, When this is all over you're more than welcome to come visit the Goldenrod Casino and Bar. We love high profile visitors, and you can enjoy a night at the only casino nearby that isn't run by a crime syndicate!

[Elfbird]

Mishka nods happily toward the other five. Her Aegislash clinks softly against the back of her lightly-armored uniform whenever the gesture shakes him too much.
"Chip and Dale, good to see you again! I'll look forward to a round of drinks and cards when we're not all in imminent danger of getting disappeared!

"Terri, you're the only Kanto native here, so we'll be counting on you most of all! We'll watch your back while you get us through Kanto's scary caves in one piece.

"Malia, you're here all on your own, right? It's a little cursory, given the circumstances, but," she offers the island girl in particular a smile and handshake, "so long as you're one of us, welcome to the Indigo League."

Greetings finished, she steps back and prepares for business.

"As for myself... I'm Mishka Shlager, called the Shining Blade of Olivine Gym. I still have a long way to go as a Leader and a person, but what strength my Pokemon and I have is everyone's strength until this crisis is resolved. I specialize in straight-up duels between Trainers and their Pokemon together, and I can help a little bit with daily chores and Pokemon caretaking."

She ends with a humble, almost self-deprecating bow. "I look forward to working with you all, as much as I wish we were meeting under happier circumstances."

[NineOfSpades]

Terri stood with the group, shifting her weight from side to side uneasily. She had her flashlight in one hand, shining on the dirt coated floor to create a small pool of illumination. The other hand was tucked into her jacket pocket as deep as it would go. Ranger Uniforms were made of a custom blend of materials, designed to be light and durable, ready to handle everything from deserts to the artic. That said, she was still standing in a cave, and even if her gear kept away the worst of it, it was hard to fully escape the damp chill that permeated through the limestone cavern.

She felt out of her depth. Well, maybe that wasn’t the right word for it. More like this was outside her wheelhouse of skills. She was all for putting criminals behind bars, and had done her part over the years to make sure the more dangerous characters she’d found trespassing in her zone had ended up regretting it. But that had always been treating symptoms, not going after the root causes. She didn’t mind that fact, since she knew where her feet were planted. Rangers might have some law enforcement authority, but they aren’t the police and they have different objectives. Putting out fires, rescuing lost campers, clean up after storms…things like that. Taking down an criminal organization that had the manpower and coordination to successfully target the regions Gym leaders and the Elite Four? As Terri looked around at each person in the circle, familiar faces and strangers alike, she sincerely hoped they felt the same anxious trepidation that she did. Anyone who looked what they were going up against and didn’t feel at least a pang of nervousness was probably crazy.

Of course, Terri wasn’t about to let the butterfree in her stomach get the best of her, either. Sure, she had her doubts, but there was a job that needed doing and precious few people who had the right mix of moxie, skills and knowledge to see that it got done. So long as folks were counting on her, she wasn’t about to back off.

"Yeah, figure I know a thing or two” she commented when Rilyn mentioned her name. Granted, other than the Ranger Academy, she’d never gotten any sort of formal education in Pokemon behavior. Her learning all came from working in the field, and she certainly knew enough to recognize just how much there still was that she didn’t know.

“Shucks, Miss Shlager, your liable to make me blush if you keep going on like that”. It was a half-lie, since she was already blushing a little. Terri never liked getting called out for praise, and it made her embarrassed. “Welp, ‘fraid I don’t have much else to add about myself. Like Mr. Rilyn said, name’s Terri Erwin. You folks can call me Terri, or Miss Erwin if you prefer that, I don’t much mind either way. I’m from Saffron City originally, though I’ve spent the better part of the past decade living just outside of Fuchsia City. Any of you folks who’ve been through the Safari zone round those parts have probably crossed paths with me at least once.”

Terri paused a moment, pulling out her Ranger license from her breast pocket, the action momentarily sending the beam of light she’d been carrying spinning around the room as she juggled to get the zipper loose. She held her credentials in her right hand, which along with her badge gave the group a look at the capture styler on her wrist. Maybe it was overly formal, but some people still take pride in their work and do things by the book when they can. "I try to keep things straight as I can. I don’t much care for sneaking around in the dark like this, but seems we ain't exactly drowning in alternatives neither. Mostly I’m just looking to make sure the folks who ain't looking to start trouble got somebody between them and the folks who are. So long as everybody here is on that same page, we’ll get along just fine.”

[Arcran]

"Hello!" Dale says happily, his words only slurred slightly, only slightly louder than the others. He raises his own flask as Rilyn sips from his own, before continuing to speak, mostly due to a sharp slap to the back of his head by Sangria, who was currently wrapped around his shoulder. "My name is Dale, but I suppose you all already know that," he says, before taking another sip. Truth be told, Dale didn't typically drink this much, but something like this made him more nervous than he'd care to admit. It wasn't just his history with Rocket that made him nervous; this was something that was important to the League and, more importantly, Chip. He couldn't let his friend down here, especially when Lt. Surge was on the line. He had to be at his best, which usually meant just a little more tipsy than some would like.

"I'm with Chip though," Dale says confidently, while Sangria nods on his shoulder, leering at the Magnemite occasionally. The fights between Sangria and Chip's other Pokemon were usually close, but the Bellsprout had a great deal of trouble with Slots, and a small rivalry had sprouted between the two. "As much as it might surprise people, I can do more than just tend bar and piss of Whitney," Dale says, rummaging through his pack. "Sangria and I tried to make some drinks for everybody, if you want them. Won't be enough to get you drunk, but it might give you a little edge in a fight. Trade secret," Dale says with a wink. "Consider them a sampler, for those of you that haven't enjoyed the casino before," Dale says, nodding knowingly at Malia.

"Oh, and, uh, me and my team are annoying as hell in a fight. Poison, Burn, Sleep, you name it, we've got it. Well, except Paralyze, although I suppose Chip has that covered," Dale says, pausing for a moment before continuing. "If there's something big and scary, just point me at them."

[The_Snark]

Malia shakes Mishka's hand firmly ("Thanks!"), offers a familiar nod to Terri, and greets Chip and Dale with a smile... that's probably just for Dale, actually, but since they've arrived together it's not too obvious.

"Well, I'm Malia, not that you need me to tell you that. I run Sevii's not-actually-a-formal-gym challenge, and fill in for the Rangers sometimes since we don't have any out there full-time. This is Laau." The Tropius looming placidly behind her rustles a bit on hearing his name.

She smirks at Dale. "Trying to get me drunk again, are you? He is a pain in the ass to fight, I'll vouch for that. It'll be fun to see that from the other side." She sobers a bit, looking thoughtful. "I haven't done much of this before - team battling, I mean, formal or informal. I like to get up close with my Pokemon, press the other guy and keep him outflanked. It should work nicely with other people, as long as you're careful not to hit us."

[questionmark693]

As Malia finished her last sentence, Rilyn took half a step forward, as though to retake the lead, but he stopped mid-step. The ground began rumbling, and small holes started appearing. The little light that there was from flashlights and the moon through the cave entrance showed the brown heads of a swarm of diglett and dugtrio. They came up from the dirt into the cave entrance they have never before entered, and their eyes glinted with a ferocious anger. They surrounded the clandestine meeting, with two diglett and a dugtrio to each trainer, and readied themselves to attack, moving slowly and deliberately (OOC: Enough to ensure anybody who doesn't have a pokemon out has time to let one out).

"Here we go pal!" Rilyn yelled out, pulling out a pokeball and a roselia appears in front of him, twirling its roses and attacking on its own. The diglett and dugtrio surrounding Rilyn all turn their focus to the roselia, and start to triple team it. As he began focusing on his own miniswarm of underground pokemon, the others began to focus on the other trainers....

OOC: I'm going to let you guys take the first action here. They may have attempted to take you by surprise, but it's just wild pokemon, and you're all top notch trainers.

[Arcran]

The instant the Diglett began to rise out of the ground Dale began to move into action, almost instantly spiking Moonshine's Pokeball on the ground. He might be drunk but, well, muscle memory was a wonderful thing. Without even thinking Dale begins to issue commands, marking targets with his fingers as his Pokemon prepare to attack.

"Sangria, soften them up with Leaf Tornado! Moonshine, hit any survivors with a Seed Bomb!" Dale commands, watching as Sangria begins to sway on his shoulder before launching a devastating barrage of leaves at the Dugtrio, while Moonshine fires a seed with the force of a bullet at whoever survives.

Dale's Pokemon have Ace Trainer, Focused Training, and Brutal Training applied. Sangria and Brandy have trained Special Attack, while Moonshine trained Attack.

Dale uses Focused Command / Focused Training as a Standard Action due to Commander's Voice! Both Pokemon may act this turn! Going to spend 2 AP to allow me to ignore the normal penalties.\

Sangria uses Leaf Tornado!
AC 3: [roll0], Critical Hit on 18+, -1 Accuracy to all Targets on 13+
Damage: [roll1]
Critical: [roll2]
Sangria gains 5 DR due to Type Strategist!

Dale uses After You as a Swift Action! Moonshine may now act, ignoring Initiative!
Moonshine uses Seed Bomb! Targeting the survivor, with preference for Dugtrio if it's still up.
AC 2: [roll3], Critical 18+
Damage: [roll4]
Critical: [roll5]
Moonshine gains 5 DR due to Type Strategist!

Dale is currently at 6 AP.

[Elfbird]

Alright, in this kind of situation...

"Everyone, stay calm! If you get in trouble, fall into the center and we'll support you!"

Mishka fluidly tosses out a Pokeball toward her trio of would-be assailants and settles into an offensive stance, leaving Chronicle sheathed on her back for now.

"Sol, we're starting with a decisive blow!"

A Flygon bursts from its ball in the midst of the trio (quintet?) of wild Pokemon, his oddly copper-like scales shimmering in the brief light from the ball before the cave's natural darkness returns. Sol slams his tail into the ground under him, creating a small but violent shockwave.

Mishka: 22 Initiative
Shift: release Sol (Flygon) in the center of the three wilds focused on Mishka.
Standard: Agility (+2 Speed CS - now 30)

Sol: 30 Initiative (since his initiative count passed, acts immediately)
Shift: Flutter (+3 Evade and cannot be flanked until end of next turn)
Standard: Bulldoze* (Burst 1, Smite from Signature Technique modification)

Hit: [roll0] vs AC 2
Damage: [roll1] Ground, Physical
+Crit damage (if 19+ on the die): [roll2]
All legal targets get -1 Speed CS

Sol will gladly take the first Attack of Opportunity he can, should one of the wilds Shift away; GM can go ahead roll it if one comes to pass.

[NineOfSpades]

Digletts, and their evolved form Dugtrio, are not by their nature especially dangerious pokemon. They don't tend to exhibit strong territorial instincts and generally prefer to flee when confronted, making the likelihood that one will attack you relatively slim. That is not to say they can't be problematic. A colony of digletts can radically and rapidly reshape the landscape around them when they mobilize, and they are pretty smart critters so it can be hard to put a stop to them once a group really starts gathering momentum. Every few years the Safari zone would get turned end over end when the local Diglett colony decided it was time to move to a new area, but that was generally more of an annoyance than an actual threat.

That was what Terri was thinking as the Mole-Pokemon moved in to attack. Upon spotting them, her first instinct was simply to retreat. It seemed the most sensible option. There were no bystanders around to be injured, the Digletts and Dugtrio were not attacking any sort of structure, and with the meeting more or less concluded, the group had no real incentive to remain in the cavern. Better to just back off and leave peacefully.

There were two main problems. Once they were out of the tunnel, it'd be a simple matter to disperse. But getting out was liable to prove tricky, since their attackers were coming in from the only exit, and given the combination of sheer numbers and limited movement space, evasion would be tricky. Secondly, Terri had failed to consider the dispositions of her accomplices, who were already beginning to do battle. That narrowed her possible actions further, and Terri felt for her belt to withdraw one of her pokeballs. "Lara, Junebug, looks like theres a fight brewin' " She muttered, pressing the release button and sending out her companion. The flash of light and energy manifested into a Kangaskhan, with a smaller infant riding along in it's mothers pouch. "Be ready in case this part don't work" She muttered, stepping forward a little.

Terri didn't want a fight if it could be helped, and at the very least she'd rather deescilate the battle as much as she could before it got out of hand. Given that the cave they were standing in was literally called Diglett Tunnel, it seemed sensible not to provoke a rise out of the colony here, otherwise reinforcements would be coming before long. Her Capture Styler flashed, spinning a ribbon of rainbow colored light into a lasso of energy. With practiced ease, Terri gave a quirk twirl overhead and then sent the band out, guiding it tight round the center Dugtrio. As she did, she spoke in a calm voice, her body language non-threatening as she could manage "Hay now, easy there buddy, we don't want no trouble here, do we?"



Terri will use her standard action to employ her capture styler and try to improve the Dugtrio's Disposition and maybe get it to back off. Lara&June are going to hold their action to see if Terri's ranger-ing works, and then will attack afterwards if it doesn't.

Survival check to improve Dugtrio's Disposition: [roll0].

I'm not sure how deep into the cave we are in, but if we are close enough to the entrance for it to count as forest or mountain, add an extra +2 to that roll.

[CosmicOccurence]

Much like Dale, Chips hand immediately drifted to his Pokeballs on reflex. Roulette appeared in a flash, and without even thinking, leaped into action. The Voltorb was the only member of Chip's team who'd been in this tunnel when things had gone so horribly wrong, and they'd trained hard to avoid giving ground to Dugtrio so easily again. Ground types were still the bane of Chip's existence, but he'd developed tools to handle them. Still ... I muking hate this place, he grumbled to Dale as his team began to move.

The Voltorb immediately spun around, slamming into the nearest mole-Pokemon while simultaneously sending out a magnetic pulse that sent the ball spinning into the sky, impervious to the many ground type moves these creatures could throw out. Meanwhile, Chip was giving Slots murmured instructions as the Magnemite revved up for battle.

Thankfully, Dale was an expert where Chip was lacking. The two complimented each other well, with Dale's Pokemon mopping up Ground types while Chip's handled the Flying types that gave much of Dale's team trouble.


Chip:
Standard Action: Focused Command (allows me to command both slots and roulette this round, spending 1 ap to remove frequency limiters. 8/11 ap.)
Shift Action: Disengage behind my Pokemon and out of melee range of Dugtrio. Disengaging does not provoke an attack of opportunity like normal movement does.
Swift Action: 'Tag' a nearby Dugtrio (not one targetted by Dale's mons) as my Duelist mark.

Roulette:
Standard Action: Facade
AC 2 [roll0]
Physical Normal Damage [roll1]. On a natural 20, an additional [roll2] damage.
Swift Action: Magnet Rise - the voltorb is now immune to ground type moves.

[questionmark693]

As the natives of the Diglett Tunnel rise out of the ground with the intent of attacking these intruding trainers by surprise, they find themselves woefully outclassed. The three attacking Rilyn and his companion find themselves on the ground in a hail of razor sharp leaves, leaving them cut and bleeding, unconscious. The three surrounding Dale find themselves in a similar predicament, with a tornado of leaves erupting around them, and they also sink into the ground, unable to continue fighting.

As Mishka's companion, Sol, lets a small shockwave out from underneath it, the two diglett are slammed down into their respective holes, unable to continue; the Dugtrio (red health) attempts to retaliate with an astonish attack.

Dugtrio attacks with astonish (ghost, physical). Target flinches on 15+.
Attack Roll vs Accuracy 2: 13
Damage base 3: 26


Meanwhile, Chip is engaged in combat where his friend Roulette slams into a nearby diglett (now at red health), and all three begin to attempt retaliation, limited as they are by the fact the voltorb is now above the ground.

The diglett that was attacked (red) retaliates with sucker punch as a priority move.
Attack roll vs ac 2: 17
Damage roll base 8: 37

The second diglett (green) makes the same attack against Roulette.
Attack roll vs ac 2: 1
Damage roll base 8: 36

The Dugtrio (green) attacks with astonish (ghost, physical). Target flinches on 15+.
Attack Roll vs Accuracy 2: 2
Damage base 3: 25

The dugtrio attacking your team is considered tagged for your duelist purposes.


OOC: The actions vs. Malia are pending, as she attempted a roll that unfortunately failed. Also, I failed at dice rolling; does it not work when I edit the post or something? The rolls themselves are in the dice rolling thread.

[NineOfSpades]

Terri let out a sigh. Seems like her attempt at compassion had fallen on deaf ears. But that was sometimes how it went when dealing with Wild Pokemon, and she was no stranger to resorting to more direct methods of subdual. "Looks like your up Lara" Terri said, laying a friendly hand on her partners shoulder. The Kangaskhan gave a stalwart nod, shifting into a more combat ready stance. Terri did likeweise "Alright then, open up with an Ice punch!"

Lara's fists glowed with the cold chill of winter as the mighty marsupial rushed forward and intercepted the oncoming moles.



Ice punch against Dugtrio.

Attack roll (AC 2)
Roll: [roll0]

Damage: [roll1] Ice type damage
Critical Damage [roll2]

Ice Punch freezes the target on a roll of 19+

[The_Snark]

Malia's first reflex upon hearing the approaching Diglett is to step backwards, hooking an arm around her Tropius's neck and somehow using that as a lever to swing herself up onto its back. Laau, by contrast, has hardly reacted to the threat, head swiveling to give them a curious once-over... but he knows what it means when his master takes the saddle. He stiffens into readiness, wings splayed outward in a threatening display.

She barely has to nudge him to signal the charge. "Let's hit 'em hard with Leaf Blade, Laau!" The Tropius is already moving, closing the distance at an awkward-looking gallumph. Then he flashes forward in a burst of improbable speed, his leafy wings whipping down as he tramples over the Diglett.

Malia's Initiative is 30, while Laau's is 13 after the bonuses from Agility Training. But she's using Ride as One to let him take her initiative, because he's the one with the super-effective attacks.

She'll Shifting to try to line up the enemy Pokemon for a Pass move, which hits everything in a straight line of 4 meters. If she can manage to hit all three, great; if not, she'll go for the Dugtrio and one of the Digletts.

Malia has Teamwork, which gives a +2 Accuracy bonus.
Attack vs AC 2: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

Edit - critical hit! Which is probably overkill here, but ah well. Bonus damage is over in the dice rolling thread, the total is 78 Grass-typed damage (before Defense and the super-effective bonus).

[CosmicOccurence]

Roulette spun rapidly, its circular movements allowing it to bounce two of the attacks off of its exoskeleton without even a scratch. Unfortunately those two deflections slowed him down enough that one of the Diglett's blows came through, striking true.

Meanwhile, Slots, who had been patiently lining up his shot, sent a blast of energy that was unnervingly accurate at the Dugtrio. It's three beams struck each head of the Pokemon individually while Roulette and Chip regrouped for their next attacks.

Slots is moving now from my focused command earlier this turn. I wasn't sure if you wanted to start next round or not, so I haven't posted Chip or Roulette's actions, as they're faster than the Diglett/Dugtrio. So let me know if I should post again now or if I should wait for you to officially start round 2 to post their actions.

Slots
Swift Action: Activates the Targetting System ability to use Lock On! as a Swift action. His next attack automatically hits.

Standard: Slots uses Tri Attack!
[roll0] It cannot miss due to lock on, but on a roll of 17+ it inflicts one of para/burn/freeze [roll1]
[roll2]. This includes the 5 point damage bonus that Slots gets from targetting a pokemon faster than it (Analytic Ability)
on crit another [roll3]

[questionmark693]

As Terri's Kangaskhan attempted to punch the nearest Dugtrio, it ducked to avoid the attack (speed evasion), but before it could retaliate, Sangria was able to turn to hit it with seed bomb, dropping it, leaving it unable to fight any longer.

Both diglett in this combat used dig.


Meanwhile, Malia charges through her small cluster of attacking pokemon, her mount using leaf blade to drop all three of her targets in one quick swoop. While this is happening, Dale has Slots strike true with Tri Attack, hitting his attacking Dugtrio. The attack hits hard, leaving the pokemon wounded (orange), before it retaliates.

OOC: I realize I got a bit mixed up with where exactly in the round we are; I think everybody has acted once, so we are now starting round two. Everybody with a speed higher than 22 goes, followed by the enemies, followed by anybody with a speed lower than 22.

[CosmicOccurence]

Chip continued to give orders to his team, focusing on his opponents that were already softened up. Keep that momentum up Roulette, and use Facade again! The attack wouldn't be as effective as if one of Dale's Pokemon had poisoned him, but with the powerful grass types present, Chip didn't think he'd need the extra firepower.


Chip
Standard: Focused Command, spending 2 ap (6 left this battle) to command both pokemon with any frequency moves with no damage penalty.
Swift: Expend Momentum [orders] on Roulette to gain the ability to use an EOT move again even though I used it last turn (reduces momentum to 2)

Roulette
Uses Facade against the diglett [roll0] +1 from focused training, +1 from Duelist (my pokemon gets +1 to accuracy rolls and evasion for every 2 momentum it has). Facade is AC 2
[roll1] physical normal damage.

At the end of Roulette's Turn evasion raises to 5 if the attack hits, 4 if it missed, increasing evasion bonuses to +2 (current evasion is +8)

Let me know if you have any questions about the mechanics behind this. Duelist can be a bit involved at times.

[Elfbird]

Mishka charges up behind Sol while he recovers from the Astonish, ducks under his wing, and drives her fist toward Dugtrio's faces (it would have been a gut punch on a human-sized target).
"Surprise!"
...She might have overdone it a little.

Quickly surveying the situation, Mishka and Sol decide that Chip could use their help the most. The Flygon attempts a fly-by assault on his group of moles, but the blasts of multicolored light from Roulette refract off Sol's metallic lenses and send him veering wide, narrowly missing the other combatants and cavern walls alike. Sol's high-pitched screech of surprise and distress might leave everyone's ears faintly ringing.

Rolls in dice thread, results copied here.

Mishka
Shift: shift into melee range of her remaining Dugtrio
Standard: Bullet Punch

Hit: 20 (crit)
Damage: 60+15 Steel, Physical
No additional effects.

Sol:
Shift: shift to set up a Line 4 through Chip's group of attackers, favoring the two undamaged ones if all three aren't possible without hitting any allies.
Standard: Steel Wing (Pass)
It missed horribly, so details are moot.

[Arcran]

"Chi - hic - Chip, you're slacking!" Dale says cheerfully, not feeling particularly threatened by the Pokemon currently battling them. If Sangria could take out a whole group of them with that lazy attack, well, this was an easy battle. "Come on girl, let's help him out. Give 'em a Giga Drain!" Dale commands, watching as tendrils of energy begin to flow from one of Chip's remaining assailants into the Bellsprout.

Dale uses Focused Command / Focused Training as a Standard Action due to Commander's Voice! Both Pokemon may act this turn! Going to spend 2 AP to allow me to ignore the normal penalties.

Giga Drain!
AC 2: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[CosmicOccurence]

Chip grinned at Dale's jab. He knew that if they were up against a Flying or Steel Specialist that Chip would have the upper hand over Dale. Still, he was a bit worried that the others might see him as a pushover, as his team wasn't performing particularly well. He had no doubt that he'd win ... but he was a Gym Leader, he wasn't supposed to have even a hint of difficulty against wilds like these.

I'm just giving you a chance to show off, Dale he said with a grin.

[The_Snark]

Malia checks her Pokemon as it passes by (and over) the enemy; a quick glance over her shoulder shows none of the three are in any shape to fight back. "Good boy," she tells Laau.

Looking around, it seems most of the others have dispatched the Diglett harassing them as well... except Chip. Hah. That'll teach him to take a crew of Electric-types underground. She judges Laau a few steps in that direction, just close enough to bring the butt of her spear down on an unfortunate Diglett's head.

Shifting towards the nearest enemy, then using Maul to hit them. Don't really care whether it's Diglett or Dugtrio.

Attack vs AC 2: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

On a hit, the target is Flinched, lowering their initiative by 5 and making them Vulnerable for a round, and Laau's Pack Hunt ability is triggered:
Attack vs AC 5: [roll2]
On a hit, the target loses a Tick of hit points, and Laau gets +2 Accuracy and +5 damage against it for a turn.

Then Malia will use a swift action to disengage*, except that instead of moving away she's going to try and land herself right in the middle of the enemies. Why? Because her Teamwork ability gives +2 Accuracy to anyone targeting an enemy adjacent to her, and anyone who hits an adjacent enemy triggers Pack Hunt again.

*Nimble Steps makes this a swift action rather than a move action, while Nimble Movement lets her move 2 meters instead of 1

[questionmark693]

Chip was determined to keep his momentum going; despite using electric pokemon, he was easily holding his own as he knocks his attacking diglett unconscious. The remaining two aren't going to give up without a fight, however, and the remaining diglett retaliates once more, but the dugtrio attacks Chip directly, apparently ignoring Roulette for the moment.


One diglett is unconscious. The second one (green) retaliates with sucker punch again. Dark, physical, AC 2, damage base 8.
Attack roll: [roll]1d20[roll]
Damage Roll: [roll0]

Dugtrio also attacks, however he tries to hit Chip directly. He uses Mud Bomb, ground special. AC 4 damage base 9.
Attack roll: [roll1]
Damage roll: [roll2]


Meanwhile, in a perfect reversal of roles, Mishka swings mightily at her assaulting dugtrio, knocking it unconscious. Those who manage to notice see Rilyn looking shocked by these events; even with recent events, someone who spent his whole life in league challenges is surprised by the sight of human vs pokemon combat. (Mishka, you are set up to hit both of Chip's remaining attackers). As she comes over to help Chip against his assailants, the Dugtrio slumps over as he is sucked dry by Dale's Bellsprout (unconscious, leaving only one green diglett). This last diglett is then hit by the butt of Malia's spear as everybody teams up to help Chip dispatch his attackers (green diglett is now vulnerable and acts on 17 initiative next round and is now yellow).

Meanwhile, the two diglett that had previously gone underground are now coming up, and continuing the new trend of attacking trainers, as one targets Mishka and one targets Malia.


Each diglett that used dig last round is now finishing the attack, one targeting each of the M-girls (can I call you that?) AC2, damage base 10, ground physical.

Attacking Malia. Attack roll: [roll3] Damage roll: [roll4]

Attacking Mishka, Attack roll: [roll5] Damage roll: [roll6]



OOC: As I read it, there are three diglett left, all above ground now, two are green and one is yellow.

[The_Snark]

Laau takes advantage of the Diglett's preoccupation with Chip's Voltorb to try and stomp it into the ground, a literal game of whack-a-Diglett - only for another of them to burst up from just underfoot! The Tropius is unbothered, but Malia is not so fortunate, the spray of dust and gravel scraping at her leg. She reacts swiftly, her spear arcing across to bludgeon the little Pokemon away from her.

Finding herself surrounded, the Sevii girl whips her spear about in a figure-eight pattern, slashing at both of the Diglett and holding them at bay. Laau adds in his two cents when able, flicking his wings out whenever one of them gets too close.

Round 2, initiative 30: Laau uses Stomp on the Diglett that Malia just hit.

Attack vs AC 2: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

(Stomp deals +10 damage because the target is smaller, +5 damage from Pack Master, and Finisher gives another +5 against flinched targets. If the attack roll is 15+, it's flinched again.)

Malia is hit for 17 damage, Laau for 0. She uses Cavalier's Reprisal (1 AP) to retaliate with a Struggle Attack.
Attack vs AC 3: [roll2]
Damage: [roll3] +18 = 55

Critical hit! That adds an extra 18 damage (roll OOC), and also Flinches the target thanks to King's Rock. Also it triggers Pack Hunt:
Attack vs AC 5: [roll4]
On a hit, the target loses a Tick of hit points, and Laau gets +2 Accuracy and +5 damage against it for a turn.

Round 2, initiative 13: Malia uses Multi-Tasking to take two Standard Actions, both Struggle Attacks. One for each adjacent Diglett, unless the first was KOed by Stomp (in which case they're both aimed at the remaining one).
Attack vs AC 3: [roll5]
Damage: [roll6] +5 = 47

Attack vs AC 3: [roll7]
Damage: [roll8] +5 = 46

On a hit, she'll activate Harrier, making the target Flanked, Slowed, and unable to take Priority or Interrupt actions until the end of her next turn; she can do this once per enemy. She gets +5 damage against Flinched enemies, both of which qualify. And of course, both trigger Pack Hunt on a hit:

Attack vs AC 5: [roll9]
Attack vs AC 5: [roll10]
Hit means the target loses a Tick of HP, plus Laau gets bonuses.

Finally, she'll use her Shift action on Flutter, raising her Evasion by 3.

[Elfbird]

Mishka feels the approaching Diglett an instant before it emerges, leaping back and shielding herself with her arms from the worst of the debris.

"Way to go, Malia! That's what I call teamwork! Now let's wrap this up!"

Sol bursts through the dust clouds, attempting a re-do of his last maneuver on whatever foes remain.

I'm, uh, not entirely sure what's left standing after Malia and Laau's tempest, so Sol's just gonna try to hit the highest-HP targets available.

Mishka:
Standard - Interrupt (Dig): King's Shield
Mishka takes no damage from Dig!
Shift: Focused Orders on Sol (+1 accuracy, +2 on skill checks)

Sol:
Shift: Set up a Line 4 (Pass) on the most efficient set of targets, barring friendly fire
Standard: Steel Wing

Hit: [roll0] vs. AC 2
Damage: [roll1] Steel, Physical
Crit (19-20): [roll2]
Sol gains +1 Def CS on a roll of 14+

[CosmicOccurence]

I'll admit that this is all rather confusing without a map (I'm a visual person) so let me know if I'm doing anything wrong.

Quickly swiveling to locate another target, Slots sent out another blast of energy at the Digletts. Oddly enough, they hadn't been using any ground attacks against his team, although wild Pokemon didn't always understand type advantage, especially if they didn't oftentimes run into such Pokemon.


Tri Attack agains the red Diglett
AC 2 [roll0], Crit 19+, Tri Attack gives the target a Status ailment on 16+ during Accuracy Check. If this effect is triggered, roll 1d3; on 1 the target is Paralyzed; on 2 the target is Burned; on 3 the target is Frozen [roll1]

[roll2] special normal damage

[NineOfSpades]

With the battle coming to its conclusion, Terri and Lara closed in on the remaining Digletts. It didn't feel great, since the fight was essentially over and there was little call to continue. But, as she reminded herself, there was still the rest of the colony located through the caverns, and letting one Diglett escape may bring the remainder down on top of them. Better to be safe than sorry, even if it was less than preferential.



Terri and Lara will close distance with whichever diglett is least injured and attack.

Terri used ExtremeSpeed (AC 2)
Attack Roll: [roll0]
Damage Roll: [roll1] + Crit (If Applicable) [roll2]

Lara used Ice Punch! (AC 2)
Attack Roll: [roll3] Freezes on 19+
Damage Roll: [roll4] + Crit (if Applicable) [roll5]

[Arcran]

Dale laughs as Chip deflects his jab, looking at the Diglett in boredom. Wild Pokemon were always such a hassle to fight, and weren't even all that interesting. What had the things been planning? Pop up and take them down? Hell, Moonshine and Sangria could barely burrow and Dale could come up with better than that!

"Moonshine, clean up for me, alright?" Dale says lazily, pointing towards one of the few Diglett still standing. The Parasect obliges by firing a blast of seeds at the Diglett, small concussive blasts resounding throughout the area.

Finishing off my last round.

Moonshine uses Seed Bomb!
AC 2: [roll0]
Damage: [roll1]

[questionmark693]

Now that everybody had warmed up and gotten over any initial surprise, there was a quick whirlwind of counter attacks and finishing attacks, and the combat finished unceremoniously. As everybody finished off the last of the standi-er, burrowing pokemon, Rilyn called out another member of his team, steelix.

"Hey buddy, can you do me a favor?" He asked his companion. The steelix nodded before Rilyn continued, "Just give us a warning before anything else pops out of the ground, please."

With that he turned to the rest of the group, and took in the full carnage of what had happened. "I'm not excited about trainers fighting wild pokemon....but I guess I'm also not stoked about them attacking people. Things are getting bad. We all know that people are holed up in their homes, storefronts are going out of business. So it's time to do something, instead of just reacting. I'm going....undercover, you could say. Gym leaders are going missing, and I figure the easiest way to figure out how is to let myself go missing as well. I need you guys to go to the fan club building. The club itself doesn't meet much, but it's one of the few public places people still go. Let people know you saw me," he looked around solemnly as he said this part. "I'm sorry, but somebody is likely to come after you as well, with three gym leaders among the five of you. And another in the process of being admitted to the League. But I need to see what I can do from the other side, and I trust the five of you to do something from the outside. Can you do that for me?"

[Elfbird]

Mishka hesitates, as if wanting to tell Rilyn not to endanger himself like that, but instead firms her resolve and nods with conviction.

"...You can count on us, Mr. Rilyn! Please, stay safe."

She'll be ready to head over to the Fan Club with everyone else.

Assuming 1 combat = 1 scene, I'll go ahead reset CS and Move frequencies. HP should recover over time if we don't get ambushed in the next hour or so.

[The_Snark]

In the wake of the battle, Malia slides off her Pokemon's back, though she keeps one hand resting reassuringly on its neck. She raises an eyebrow as Rilyn outlines his intended course of action. "Risky plan. Good luck in there, wherever 'there' turns out to be."

After a moment, she adds, "Do you have any idea where we should start, or are we on our own there?"

[Arcran]

"Wouldn't be here if we weren't gonna help," Dale says simply, returning Moonshine as he speaks. "I'm with Mal - can I call you Mal? I'm gonna call you Mal," Dale says, words slurring slightly. "I'm with Mal. How are we supposed to go about finding a lead? Just wait to get jumped?" Dale asks, glancing at Chip. If anybody had a plan it would be him but, at the moment, Dale had no clue what to do.

[CosmicOccurence]

We investigate, said Chip, his voice carrying just a hint of edge that likely only Dale would pick up on. The fact that the others now had leave to assume he was the weak link of the group. It was an impression he'd have to correct at the next opportunity. He wasn't particularly in the mood for people to suggest that they just sit around and wait to see what happened. If trouble would find them, it would find them no matter what they were doing. Chip had learned that the hard way.

The man drew in a breath, snatching a bottle of whisky from Dale's bag and taking a small swig. He sighed as the liquid ran smoothly down his throat, and settled himself. We can of course go to the Pokemon Fan Club, but there are a few other leads I think we could track down. If Lt. Surge was taken, there might be clues left in his gym. I should be able to get us in: Arceus knows I spent enough time in that place training under him. He wasn't sure how much of that suggestion was because it was a feasible line of investigation and how much was simply Chip refusing to believe Surge had been taken.

Guile [roll0] to hide irritation. I figure Dale would recognize it instantly because they've known each other for so long.

[NineOfSpades]

"S'not a bad plan" Terri said, giving Lara a pat on the back before recalling her partner. "Gotta figure if a Gym leader's missin', the Jenny's would be all over the place right out of the gate. Not to mention whoever nabbed him" She paused, thinking, holding one hand to her chin as she pondered the matter. Tracking people and tracking pokemon weren't exactly the same thing, but at least a few general rules probably still applied "I gotta believe anyone with the 'noggin to pull of something on this scale has probably covered their tracks pretty well, especially at the Gyms, since I'd bet dollars to doughnuts that'd be the first place anyone would think to look for a missing leader. Any trail we could pick up would likely have gotten scrubbed out or gone cold by now." She then gave a smile to Chip "Course, that there assumes that the person doing the snoping isn't close aquainted with the leader in question. Someone who might pick up on those lil' details that seem outta place" She gave an affrimative nod "Seems worthwhile place to look, at the very least"

[questionmark693]

"I cannot tell you how much I appreciate your willingness to help," Rilyn said. He looked around gratefully as everybody voiced their ideas and thoughts, with a hint of sadness in his eyes. A quick cough later, and he was back to normal as he continued, "As I said, my plan only exists if somebody comes after me, so I am also hoping for somebody to come after you five. Looking in the gym isn't a bad idea; heaven knows the man had a hard enough puzzle to get to him, he could easily have hidden something before he disappeared. Be safe though. If you five get captured or killed, we may lose hope. I only wish we were able to stop this before it got so bad so quick. A dozen gym leaders in two weeks....whoever is behind this, they have incredible reach. Remember that. I'm going to be on route 11. I have to make it convincing, so I can't just go quietly....you have to promise not to come to my aid." At that, he chuckled quietly. "Our plan revolves around myself being captured, and you being attacked. For me to be captured, I have to pretend to fight. For you to be attacked, you can't help me. It's not a great plan, but it's something. Good luck," he finishes with sincerity, before heading out of the cave, turning left once through the entrance.

[Arcran]

"Later man," Dale says, waving goodbye. "Try not to die, alright?" he adds a second later, before clearing his throat and turning to the other Trainers.

"So!" Dale says, looking around at the party. "What bar we hitting before we check out the Gym? I find it helps to be in the right state of mind for these kinds of things," Dale states, glancing around the party as he tries to get a read on everybody. He doubted anybody would take him up on the offer, but it wasn't exactly a serious one. Dale considered ribbing Chip for his struggles against the Ground Types, but thinks better of it after noticing how annoyed his partner sounded.

[CosmicOccurence]

There is a good one called Nuts and Bolts in the northern part of town, Chip says, grimacing at his fingernails. Though I'd rather not get attacked there; the owner is quite nice, and I'd hate to see the bar ruined.

[The_Snark]

"If there's a crowd there, I guess that'd work," Malia replies, taking the joke at face value. "But I'm not so sure about that. They might even be closed, a lot of businesses are running short hours these days. If we're going to namedrop Rilyn, it has to be where people will hear, you know? Not much point otherwise."

[Arcran]

"If anywhere will be open now, it's a bar," Dale says, a little surprised that people seem to be running with the idea. "Still, I don't think we should be name dropping Rilyn. He's basically going undercover; we'd risk ruining that if we go around talking about how great he is," Dale states. ""If we go to a bar, the point is to make ourselves seem vulnerable. We get a little too drunk, make a lot of noise, stagger back towards a hotel. If there's people watching us, that's when they'd make their move," Dale says. "It'll at least let us know how close our enemies are before we go to the Pokemon Fan Club tomorrow," Dale says with a shrug. "If we're avoiding Nuts and Bolts, I vote we go for a good 'ole fashion dive bar. More likely to be unsavory folks there, which makes our plan a little more plausible."

[NineOfSpades]

Terri let herself try to look at the problem from the flip side, getting into the head of their opposition. It was actually pretty easy, since catching bad guys and catching good guys were pretty fundamentally similar. "I doubt we'd be attacked tonight, no matter which establishment we endeavor to extend our patronage to". She paced a little as she spoke, framing the problem out in her mind even as she was explaining it "Figure it's like this. All these Gym leaders go missing right, real big namers who are known for being tougher than the backside of a Golem, right? So if you are going to take a swing at them, you can either try and come with a bigger stick and beat them down, or come at them all sneaky like. If these kidnappers took the direct route, gotta figure there'd be more signs of a struggle. An all out battle outta at least stir up some commotion. But no, these folks just up and vanish. That means they are being sneaky about it, coming at their targets with a plan." She was rounding onto her point now, and her tone became a little less speculative and a little more declarative. "Plans like that don't just spring up like freshly watered Nanna berries. Takes time, takes preparation. I don't care how inebriated a potential target is, I wouldn't risk jumping the gun just because they looked like they were an easy mark. No, I reckon I'd bide my time till the trap was all set to go, before springing it shut." She got to the end, took a brief pause to let anyone who'd been following her reasoning consider, before summarizing "Point being, If we go looking to get attacked tonight, I doubt very much that we'll be liable to get them to jump on us. That make sense to ya'll?"

[Elfbird]

Mishka had been quietly considering the situation, trying to avoid swaying the conversation with her own opinion. Terri's piece, however, gave her an idea.

"If it's like that... then why don't we go poking around the Gym first, then maybe scope out the Fan Club, and visit the bar last? If Terri's right and we're safe tonight, we'll get the most work done that way. If not, nosing about might force their hand and give us a half-baked trap instead of a well-laid one. Er... just a thought."

[The_Snark]

"Isn't blowing his cover exactly what Rilyn asked us to do?" Malia asks Dale. "He's counting on the bad guys coming after him, but if they don't know he's here that could take a while. I'm not saying we should gossip about his plans, just hint that he's somewhere around here."

At Mishka's suggestion, she shrugs. "Works for me."

[Arcran]

"Why the hell not? Let's go for it," Dale adds, shrugging his shoulders.