"Aight, I'll tell him 'bout it tomorrow," Blacky nodded. He had been the lone melee attacker in the group, so having a partner out of the blue felt weird yet reassuring for him. And then he just sat there in silence, waiting for Atelier's plan now that Angus had been accounted for.
Now that Atelier had done sketching, he turned out to have drawn a layout of the Keelford beachfront. The town faced the bay and there was a dragon head marked where the Dragon King was expected to surface. At the edge of town were circles representing the Spectral Shield. "I'll deploy the shields so that the town will be safe, and once the Dragon King does surface... "We'll begin with a long-range barrage of Geo Pebbles and Gravelerocks at the beach." He showed the Umbreon and Lanturn heads he sketched. "Blacky and... his Lanturn ally will move forward from different directions, outflanking him. If we can keep him at bay, Xuehua and Aine can launch long-range spells to support them. And by then we can hope by then the Dragon King doesn't get too close to the town. If that happens, retreat to the Spectral Shields. I myself will be launching spells too." In the back of Atelier's mind, he did have a concern that despite his strategy, Xuehua might lose it in the midst of battle and face the Dragon King up front. Nah, what are the odds? She's a nice girl, overall.
@122 Generation Aine looked over the battle plan. "What sorts of spells do you need from me? Offense? Defense? Support? Some combination of those? All of those?"
Looking at the battle plan, Blacky occasionally gave some "Uh-huh"s while hearing Atelier's plan. But deep down, he couldn't help but to wonder how this guy knew the Lanturn's name without Blacky himself even telling anyone about it. I mean, just who in the world Atelier was, a future Espeon? (...okay, this is a bit random. XD )
Atelier looked at Aine. "If Blacky and his friend can keep the Dragon King from approaching the town, you can use offensive spells along with Xuehua. Otherwise, if by some chance the Dragon King steps onto the beach, switch to defensive spells to support Blacky." He drew an arrow showing the Dragon King at the beach. Then drew more arrows showing the Eeveelutions retreating to the Spectral Shields. "This is only if Keelford is in imminent danger."
"Absolutely," Atelier agreed. "It's also still less than two weeks until he surfaces. Shall we wait it out until he surfaces? Or is there any other business we can take care of, like visiting the palace again or seeing to the Lanturn? "If nothing else, I have this delicious brew I prepared before the battle comes." Atelier showed the drink he pulled out from his bag. "It might give us a morale boost, I bet."
"I do wanna see the guy again tho. He needs to know about this," Blacky chimed in. "And I think being able to surf would be nice..." (FYI, Umbreon can't learn Surf.)
"Alright," Atelier said. "Go and see to him. We have... twelve or so days until the full moon, anyway. Need me to copy the battle plan for you? It'll be waterproof."
"Yes, please. We both gonna need it," Blacky agreed. Now that Atelier had mentioned it, this means Blacky had about 12 days or so to plan the frontal assault with Angus (considering Atelier would be at the sidelines)... and try to get something for a non-surfer like him to surf. (@ChocoChicken any thoughts for the whole plan?)
Atelier made a quick copy of his battle plan he had sketched earlier, drawing as fast as he could. Thankfully his drawings were very simple to understand, although his drawings of the Pokémon heads were messier than his first draft. Then he tore the page out and handed it to the Umbreon.
"Sounds good to me." Xuehua gave Atelier a nod. "Until then, we should just keep training, gather anyone else if possible, and just prepare as much as we can. There's the off chance he brings some minions with him, like... land fish? What else does he command?"
"Thanks, man," Blacky gracefully accepted the second copy of the map from Atelier, then put it in his bag. He and Angus definitely needed it. And as for Xuehua's question, Blacky couldn't help but to wonder if there were any other minions. "As far as I've seen in both trips, I only saw Sharpedo there," he said. "Haven't seen anything else, honestly."
@SAF @122 Generation @ChocoChicken "That's not to say there isn't more..." Aine agreed. "Who knows what lies within the palace itself?"
Well, Blacky just shrugged at Aine's remark. Note to self, ask Angus about it next time. (I wanna do the shadows sidequest after this, but first... anyone wanna say anything?)
(Ha, go for it) "If we are expecting minions to surface, we could always ask around if anyone in Keelford can help defend. We could ask them to set some defences. I don't know, do you feel ready?" Atelier asked Xuehua.
"Hmm." Xuehua paused for a moment, mulling it over. "Can we be sure about them, though...?" Angus seemed trustable enough... at least, provided Blacky would look over him. But more strangers...
@ChocoChicken "It may be worth rallying the townsfolk." Aine smiled. "So if you heard any rumors, now's your chance to investigate them."