Group RP Pokemon: Evolution Quest (IC thread)

Between the clashing weapons, spells being thrown left and right, arrows flying about, and spellsongs echoing through the hallways, suffice to say that the entire school had become a battlefield. The advance party (i.e. Aine and co.) tore through the maelstrom of combatants as they headed to the basement with Josson and Celine warding the shadowy slimes off. Unbeknownst to Blacky though, despite all the protection, one of these slimes managed to steal his starter sword somehow.

And then another roadblock happened -- this time in the form of this Zoroark claiming to be a shadow magician (and did he say his name was Rennach?). The way he moved was... quite enthralling. Like, dancer-like enthralling even. Yet the way Xuehua and Aine reacted to Rennach's flourish show-off reminded Blacky that this Zoroark was still an enemy. With that in mind, the blue-rings Umbreon shot his first arrow of this particular fight.

Meanwhile, the resounding Song of Light was soon joined by a male voice from a few paces away from where the group was. This second voice came from Lemy -- the Sneasler bard guy from before. Unlike Xuehua, he actually had attended Rennach's class back in his school days. This might as well turn into a teacher-student show-off once the teacher realised who he was up against.

Turn 1 actions

In no particular order:

• Aine: Song of Light (grants both physical and magical protection to allies)
• Blacky: arrow shot (sol) on Rennach
• Lemy: Song of Light
  • Offensive (works as an attack on Rennach) if Aine acts before Lemy and her spellsong works
  • Defensive (works like Aine's version of the spellsong) otherwise
• Atelier: ...
• Xuehua: ...

 

Now with a grip on Clair de Lune tome, Atelier guess he could only use it two more times before he could swap to another tome. If he overused Clair de Lune, it would likely fall apart, and then it definitely would not be repairable. He decided to use Night Daze against the Void Shadows. It was dangerous right now with too many hostiles fighting at the moment, and worse still with the fact that the team had been infiltrated. With this revelation, the entire campaign might be compromised, even with reinforcements.

"You! Where is Swirlix?!" Atelier demanded from Rennach. "What do you mean by 'resting among her sweets'?!"

Dormitory

While the fighting raged on outside, Mawile was hard at work keeping the wounded sorted and attended to. Long story short, she had turned Mochi's dormitory into a makeshift hospital with having to provide medicine and rest for the wounded, while also watching for the fallen students. Mochi wasn't particularly pleased at seeing her room being used like this, but at least the little space available was used efficiently.

Amid the bombing from outside, she couldn't wait for this night to pass. It was bad enough to be residing in a tyrannical school system, and now she was in a middle of a war? This was ridiculous. No student would ever want to come here again. Needless to say the dorm was still in need of repairs.

 

Blacky's shot rang true, hitting Rennach in one arm (11). If he was hurt at all, the only indicator was a single step backwards and a laugh. "Good, good! Let's give them a show to remember, shall we?"

The Shadow Magician then spotted Lemy. His eyes narrowed, and he leaped at his former student, claws enveloped in a dark Shadow Claw that struck the other bard back (14). Xuehua ducked in between them with a Double Kick attack from her Fire staff, countering their enemy with a powerful hit of flame (12).

Aine's flaring anger, only exacerbated by the magician's blow, seemed to worsen her song more than it helped (4). If that wasn't enough, she was interrupted by a sputter when Rennach flipped over her head. He aimed a Fury Swipe at Xuehua, which she blocked easily with her staff, muttering a few choice words about him to draw his attention away from the bards (2).

Lemy on the other hand finished his melody, the protective spell coming into effect (16) - just in time to absorb what looked like a critical Assurance attack on Blacky (8). Rennach smiled darkly as the shining light repelled his blow.

"Oh, I see how it is. Nice trick." His attention flickered to Atelier readying a magical attack. "Unfortunately, I'm better."

As Atelier fired his Night Daze, Rennach sprang forwards, sliding underneath the attack and right past the Eevee - who quickly found his paws empty. He looked about frantically, suddenly finding the Zoroark behind him.

"Looking for something?" taunted the magician, before throwing the book in Atelier's face, just for the sake of insult. When he finally got a grasp on his tome, he could tell covers were worn now, and the magical energy had been fully drained. Looked like he wouldn't get the second use of it out now. (1)

@WavePearl @SAF @122 Generation

 

Atelier looked hurt now that his tome was out of commission. Immediately he jumped back to grab whatever tome he had in his satchel, which was Brynhidlr. He had never used this tome before, so he opted to swing his sword for now, to be safe.

Balance: 20,900C
Inventory: ?x Books and Novels, 1x Journal, 1x Strategy Book, 1x Middle Rune of the Moon, 1x Watera Tome (SotS), 1x Lunar Tome (CdL) [damaged], 1x Firaga Tome, 1x Ethereal Grimoire, 1x Brynhildr, 10x Geo Pebbles, 9x Gravelerocks, 1x Thundara Gauntlets, 1x Potion of Fire, 2x Aloe Vera, 1x Kettle and Cup Set, 4x High quality coffee beans
Equipped: Steel Short Sword, Brynhidlr, Eevee Scarf

Dormitory

Meanwhile, Mawile was in the process of sorting out the wounded and had even found several imposters among them. She sighed. Like, why did these imposters even bother coming here?

“We can leave them outside. Else it will be too crowded in here,” Mochi said.

 

Honestly, friendly spars aside, it did feel weird to be praised by an enemy. And yes, both Blacky and Lemy shared the sentiment, though Lemy's case had its awkwardness doubled by the fact that he was up against his old teacher. Still, seeing that his fellow minstrel got annoyed, the Sneasler gently patted her shoulder to (hopefully) calm her down while keeping up with his Song of the Light -- but more offensive-oriented this time. And Blacky? He shot another arrow.

Turn 2 actions

In the roll initiative order:

• Blacky: arrow shot (sol)
• Xuehua: ...
• Aine: some kind of homing attack (sol with fire sub-type) (?)
• Lemy: offensive Song of the Light (sol)
• Atelier: sword attack (non-elemental unless someone enchants his sword, I think?)

Meanwhile, Elio could be seen helping Mawile and his fellow clerics out with weeding out the impostors. This whole impostor fiasco made him feel suspicious about the bag "Swirlix" had carried earlier -- Arceus forbid the real fallen ones were stuffed in it. For now he kept working while keeping said bag in mind...

 

@SAF @WavePearl @122 Generation

Blacky's arrow was dodged with a quick pirouette from the Shadow Magician (3). He was then upon Blacky with a U-Turn ready, but the young swordsmon deflected it with his bow, the magical barrier flashing into Rennach's eyes as they clashed (1). His stumble even meant Xuehua was free to send a Rock Smash in on his head, blasting Rennach into a quick disappearance (17).

He reappeared shortly after, wincing. "That magic... it really is you, isn't it? Her protégé. You regret skipping my class now?"

"Shut up, you cowardly charlatan!" spat Xuehua. He simply smirked in response.

The harsh light of Aine's phoenix appearing, while beautiful, did alert Rennach to its existence. As the attack approached him, he nimbly whirled about it, back and forth, transforming the battlefield into a ballroom with his movements. Close as the attack got, he always stayed tauntingly just out of reach (8).

The bright phoenix, however, did mean her allies could always keep an eye on Rennach's location. When he leapt at Xuehua with a Brick Break to remove the barrier protection, she was ready to block it again with her staff (8). That, in turn, meant Lemy's Song of the Light could hit the Zoroark at full strength, a beam of light practically obliterating the magician and sending him flying into the ceiling (19).

Rennach dropped to the floor, the Shadow Claw he had prepared in retaliation already fizzling out as he slowly stood back up (1). He coughed. "N-not bad. You were always top of your class, child."

He still had fight left in him, however. As Atelier approached him, ready to swing, he rolled out of the way at the last second (9), the sword just scratching his mane. "But you've seen nothing yet!"

With a flipping kick, the Zoroark disappeared into the air. He soon reappeared in a puff of smoke, waving it away with... no, did he have that many arms?

Three clones of Rennach stepped out the smoke, each of them adjusting their claws and fur before leaping about the room, darting in and out of the Void Shadows' scuffles with malicious laughter. "Time for your grand finale!"



(For the next attack, specify whether you are aiming for Rennach 1, 2, or 3. Attacks towards any clone will dissipate the clone, so if someone is aiming for an already-dissipiated clone, I'll roll a d2 for which of the remaining Rennach they attack.
A missed attack will not down a clone, but to balance, once someone successfully hits the real Rennach I'll redirect all attacks to him, regardless of original aim.)

(This turn, both characters immediately after Rennach's nat 1s got a roll with advantage. Atelier just still got unlucky. Rennach is at 3 HP - in the yellow. I think this fight can go on for two more turns, one if y'all get incredibly lucky, maybe.)

 

With no time to read through the spells in Brynhildr, Atelier picked the first one he found, which was Apple Acid. He needed a moment to recover from the motions of swinging his sword which did not reach its target. In light of everything that had happened so far, he grew more worried for Xuehua than anything. This was becoming a personal matter for her now, for what it was worth. If she was taking it personal, then could she possibly be pushed to the edge? Like, what if this was a mind game that was being played and Xuehua was losing it? He watched carefully as Aine's phoenix projection caused a diversion enough for Lemy to land a direct hit.

Also, he noticed that Rennach was making more personal attacks on Xuehua. "He's trying to get in your head! Don't let him!" Atelier shouted at Xuehua. "Stay with us!" With that said, he used the Apple Acid attack from Brynhildr in the direction of the third shadow. Whatever this 'grand finale' was, he didn't want to know, but rather wanted to prevent it from happening in the first place.

@WavePearl

(Did you specify a target as per Choco?)

 

Unfortunately, Aine's command was easier said than done -- all three Rennachs moved too quickly for everyone to figure out which one had a shadow in the first place. "Whose grand finale, teach?" Lemy smirked at the mention of "grand finale" much to the Umbreon's amusement (Blacky couldn't really call his own master "teach" due to... complications). It could be either playful or sarcastic depending on whom you're asking, but he digressed.

For now, Lemy shot a round of Swift at his former teacher's first shadow while Blacky shot yet another arrow at the Zoroark's second one.

Turn 3 actions

In the roll initiative order:

• Blacky: arrow shot (sol) on Rennach 2
• Xuehua: ...
• Aine: ... (If Aine goes offensive, pick a number: 1, 2, or 3? Or is it a multi-target attack?)
• Lemy: Swift on Rennach 1 (yes, Sneasler can learn Swift off TMs)
• Atelier: Apple Acid on Rennach 3

 

Blacky's third arrow wasn't as lucky as his first, the Zoroark moving too fast for the shot to hit (5). One of the clones even grabbed the arrow with one hand, twirling it as he leapt about before throwing it back at Blacky's feet with a dark chuckle.

Before anyone could react, one Rennach dropped out of nowhere with a Brick Break, kicking Lemy in the back and knocking the minstrel to the floor (14). The magical barrier from the Song of the Light around them even shattered with the move as Lemy paused to catch his own breath. "You've put on a good show, my student, but your curtain falls now!"

Xuehua leapt at the Zoroark with a ferocious yell and her staff ablaze with Brick Break, but he simply sidestepped the attack (4). A second Zoroark came in with a Low Sweep, tripping her into the floor with a slam (11). Her growl of rage was a little muffled.

Thanks to the attack from earlier, Lemy had to take a moment to recover, not quite getting the Swift off in time for another Rennach to attempt a U-turn on Aine. Fortunately for her, Atelier leapt into the fray, firing an Apple Acid that dissolved the clone. (3 for Lemy, 2 for Rennach, 10 for Atelier)

All this chaos gave Aine a moment to step back from her frustration and focus on her determination. Having charged up the attack over the course of the turn, she now unleashed her brilliant light. Though she couldn't see the effect of the attack, her heightened hearing from her minstrel work told her enough - the sound of a clone dissipating, followed up by a gasp and a thud from the real magician (15).

When she opened them again, she could see the rest of the team behind her in the ring of chaos, Rennach on the other side. By his heaving breaths and stooping stance, she could tell he was on his last legs. But then he looked up, and the sharp smile hadn't left his face despite everything. If anything, it was wider now, a certain wildness to it.

"Ha... hah. Haha! It's clear you're tiring." He stood up, collecting himself with a cough. "But the end of the show is no time to start slacking. Not after all the work I put in to make this happen."

Rennach brandished his claws with a final pose. "Come now! Let's finish - make this a spectacle worthy of my name!"

@SAF @122 Generation @WavePearl

 

Heh, Lemy thought. "It's clear you're tiring," Rennach said, yet the teacher looked even more tired than his (former) student was -- and said student himself looked a little more tired than any of the Eeveelutions. Seeing his wounded and crazed teacher coupled with Blacky going for a Double Kick on the Zoroark, Lemy sang a spellsong though it seemed somewhat unclear what he was singing...

Turn 3 actions

In the roll initiative order:

• Blacky: Double Kick (physical version)
• Xuehua: ...
• Aine: ...
• Lemy:
  • Song of Healing if someone manages to land the final blow on Rennach before him
  • Offensive Song of the Light (sol) otherwise
• Atelier: ...

 

Atelier could feel the power radiating from the tome in his paws, as if it were coursing through his veins. He launched a Frenzy Plant from the tome, with something stirred in his mind to use a more lethal spell to finish off the Zoroark.

 

Blacky and Rennach leapt at each other, both of them prepared to clash with their best blows. Through the scuffle as the two weaved around each other, Blacky's Double Kick scored, as did Rennach's Fury Swipes, leaving both fighters landing on their feet with more than a few bruises. (11 - Blacky, 13 - Rennach).

Unfortunately for the Zoroark, Blacky had one thing he didn't - other allies in the fight. Xuehua got him in the stomach with her own Brick Break, kicking the illusionist away once he collapsed (10).

"Good... good show," he wheezed with a last smile, before falling to the ground, not far from Swirlix's treats bag. The drawstring slid open, the actual unconscious Swirlix tumbling out - and revealing many other of their fallen allies stuffed inside. With the fight against the Zorua and Wild Shadows around them still going strong, however, perhaps it was best to just leave them in there until the battle died down.

The Glaceon would have sent a rude gesture his way, but a Void Shadow flying past her face snapped her back to the situation. While Lemy finished up his healing song (16, had we still been in combat, but I'll carry it over anyway), she paused to check their surroundings.

"We gotta get out of this mess. To the basement!" Swapping back to her usual Ice Staff, Xuehua charged towards a weak link in the chaos, blasting through it with an Icy Wind and a yell of rage before dashing into the distance.

In the meantime, a strangely distinct Shiny Umbreon warrior in the crowd started towards Celine...

@SAF

 

And just when Atelier was about to launch the Frenzy Plant, Xuehua had landed a final blow on Rennach which meant that he didn't have to use the move after all. With that said and done, Atelier looked at the tome once more before he decided on using another move.

"We should get the others to safety too," Atelier said to himself. He was surprised to see Swirlix tumbling out of her treats bag in comedic fashion. When did she fall into the hands of the enemy? For now, it was best to eliminate the enemy until it was safe. Using whatever means necessary, of course.

"Use Petal Blizzard. Kill them all," a voice said in the back of his mind.

Atelier blinked, shaking his head. Where did that voice come from? It was true that Petal Blizzard was wide open before his eyes. Could he possibly harm his allies, though? There had to be a safer move.

"Do it," the voice said to him. "Or use Ruination instead."

Atelier wasn't sure what was happening, yet the tome wasn't providing him with options either. It was like the only option he had was to use the move before him. Else he could always swing his sword instead until he had more time to read through the tome.