(no subject)
We started off with a bang, that was for sure. I pounced onto Schist's exposed back at the same time that a blinding burst of light tore through the serene night, temporarily dazzling us. Even if there were spots dancing in front of my eyes, my legs had a tight grip on Schist's rocky flesh. I lifted my claws and went to it with a frenzy. Just my luck, I'd never bothered to factor in the toughness of a Graveller's hide. It seemed like every swipe just bounced off the hard rock, sending numbing vibrations down my claws and into my arms. Aycee's Flash had bought me a few seconds, but slowly Schist became aware of the annoyance sitting up on his shoulders. "Eh...? Get off, you!" He snarled, all four arms flailing wildly as he attempted to swat me off. It'd been a fairly lucky pounce; he was having trouble reaching me. Every now and then a stone hand would clout me on the ear, but it wasn't going to be that easy to shake me.
It was hard to say if the others were having better luck than me. Aycee and Kanei were all but a pair of clashing blurs in the dark. It seemed to be hit-and-run with the two of them. Aycee would whip her tail against Kanei's side in a Slam, he'd bite down on it and scamper back. Whenever Kanei backed off too far, she tried to pick him off with a Thunderbolt and another burst of light would light up the snowy clearing. Kanei kept retaliating with Water Pulses, but his aim was horrible thanks to Aycee's lightning. The ground beneath was turning into a mess of slush, mud, and stone.
In the meantime, Casey had recovered from Enoki's first hit, and the two were duking it out like a pair of Vigoroths. Enoki bore several scratches from the spikes on Casey's hands, and the Breloom seemed to be hard-pressed to keep up with Casey's rapid-fire blows. Casey feinted low, then dealt out a swift uppercut. Enoki just about bent over backwards from the force of the punch, but he snapped back with a headbutt that had Casey wincing. That moment's flinch was all Enoki needed. His movements were... well, they looked like the random flailing of a drunk, but there was a cold precision to them. A wild haymaker that connected with Casey's jaw with an unpleasant thud and had carried Enoki into a teetering half-spin, followed by a sharp blow from his tail, then he pitched forward onto the ground. Both hands hit the dirt and his legs shot up, catching the Lucario in the stomach.
The thing about Casey, though... he's tough. Even if you manage to make him flinch, he just comes back at you like lightning. He bend forward under the force of Enoki's kick, but then both paws clamped around the Breloom's ankles. He spun around a few times with Enoki helplessly whirring in his grasp, then let go. Enoki flew towards the large rocks Aycee had used for cover earlier, and he was certain he was going to plow facefirst into them. He shot out his hands at the last second and pushed, vaulting himself right over a boulder and bringing himself down. I couldn't see what he'd landed on, but judging from the squeal... I'm pretty sure it was Kanei. Aycee let out a hoot of laughter, but it was short-lived. An Aura Sphere from Casey obliterated the rock Enoki had nearly hit, and gave him a clear sight of my teammates.
Of course, they weren't the only ones with problems. I'd been hacking away the best I could, and there were chips and shards of stone littering the ground as proof of that, but I still had yet to do any real damage to Schist. He'd abandoned his wild swatting, instead trying to shield himself with a Defense Curl. Ugh, that was how he was gonna play? Fine! I opened my mouth and let out a blood-freezing warcry--or a girly shriek, depending on who you ask. Either way, my Screech seemed to do some good; Schist jumped from the noise and uncurled a little. By now, I had a feeling that I was wasting my time with ordinary swipes. The only things I'd really accomplished were giving Schist a haircut and making my arms tired. Better to try something with a little more oomph. I raised one hand. The moonlight glinted off my claws as a layer of ice and frost began building up around them. "Hey, Balboa... heads up." I grinned as I plunged my claws down. If normal attacks didn't work, well... we'd see how much this brickhead liked an Ice Punch to the back of the head.
I was rewarded with a satisfying crunch, a roar from Schist, and a small burst of rock shards and dust. I winced as a few pieces of debris flecked off my skin, but I nonetheless kept grinning; I had left a pretty sizable dent in Schist's craggy hide. My pride didn't last long, though, before I felt Schist beginning to move. He was still all curled up, though, so for a moment I was confused. With his legs and arms all tucked in, what did he think he was...?
Rollout.
It clicked almost right away, but by then it was too late. Schist had started rolling. I made a last-second effort to bail, but I wasn't quite quick enough. Next thing I knew, I had 232 pounds of rock merrily rumbling over my tail. If you thought my Screech was ear-splitting, well... I'm pretty sure I could have cracked glass at that one. Sneasel tails are flat to begin with, but having nearly four times my weight in jagged rock plow over them made it feel like all three pinkish quills were on fire. The pain shot right up my spine, and for a moment all I could do was lie there on my side, trying to keep my eyes from watering too much. Of course, once a Pokemon starts using Rollout, they don't quit after one hit. Schist had managed to turn around, judging from the steadily growing rumbling sound. I tried to will myself onto my feet, but it seemed like my body was too busy hurting to even think about running.
It was hard to say if the others were having better luck than me. Aycee and Kanei were all but a pair of clashing blurs in the dark. It seemed to be hit-and-run with the two of them. Aycee would whip her tail against Kanei's side in a Slam, he'd bite down on it and scamper back. Whenever Kanei backed off too far, she tried to pick him off with a Thunderbolt and another burst of light would light up the snowy clearing. Kanei kept retaliating with Water Pulses, but his aim was horrible thanks to Aycee's lightning. The ground beneath was turning into a mess of slush, mud, and stone.
In the meantime, Casey had recovered from Enoki's first hit, and the two were duking it out like a pair of Vigoroths. Enoki bore several scratches from the spikes on Casey's hands, and the Breloom seemed to be hard-pressed to keep up with Casey's rapid-fire blows. Casey feinted low, then dealt out a swift uppercut. Enoki just about bent over backwards from the force of the punch, but he snapped back with a headbutt that had Casey wincing. That moment's flinch was all Enoki needed. His movements were... well, they looked like the random flailing of a drunk, but there was a cold precision to them. A wild haymaker that connected with Casey's jaw with an unpleasant thud and had carried Enoki into a teetering half-spin, followed by a sharp blow from his tail, then he pitched forward onto the ground. Both hands hit the dirt and his legs shot up, catching the Lucario in the stomach.
The thing about Casey, though... he's tough. Even if you manage to make him flinch, he just comes back at you like lightning. He bend forward under the force of Enoki's kick, but then both paws clamped around the Breloom's ankles. He spun around a few times with Enoki helplessly whirring in his grasp, then let go. Enoki flew towards the large rocks Aycee had used for cover earlier, and he was certain he was going to plow facefirst into them. He shot out his hands at the last second and pushed, vaulting himself right over a boulder and bringing himself down. I couldn't see what he'd landed on, but judging from the squeal... I'm pretty sure it was Kanei. Aycee let out a hoot of laughter, but it was short-lived. An Aura Sphere from Casey obliterated the rock Enoki had nearly hit, and gave him a clear sight of my teammates.
Of course, they weren't the only ones with problems. I'd been hacking away the best I could, and there were chips and shards of stone littering the ground as proof of that, but I still had yet to do any real damage to Schist. He'd abandoned his wild swatting, instead trying to shield himself with a Defense Curl. Ugh, that was how he was gonna play? Fine! I opened my mouth and let out a blood-freezing warcry--or a girly shriek, depending on who you ask. Either way, my Screech seemed to do some good; Schist jumped from the noise and uncurled a little. By now, I had a feeling that I was wasting my time with ordinary swipes. The only things I'd really accomplished were giving Schist a haircut and making my arms tired. Better to try something with a little more oomph. I raised one hand. The moonlight glinted off my claws as a layer of ice and frost began building up around them. "Hey, Balboa... heads up." I grinned as I plunged my claws down. If normal attacks didn't work, well... we'd see how much this brickhead liked an Ice Punch to the back of the head.
I was rewarded with a satisfying crunch, a roar from Schist, and a small burst of rock shards and dust. I winced as a few pieces of debris flecked off my skin, but I nonetheless kept grinning; I had left a pretty sizable dent in Schist's craggy hide. My pride didn't last long, though, before I felt Schist beginning to move. He was still all curled up, though, so for a moment I was confused. With his legs and arms all tucked in, what did he think he was...?
Rollout.
It clicked almost right away, but by then it was too late. Schist had started rolling. I made a last-second effort to bail, but I wasn't quite quick enough. Next thing I knew, I had 232 pounds of rock merrily rumbling over my tail. If you thought my Screech was ear-splitting, well... I'm pretty sure I could have cracked glass at that one. Sneasel tails are flat to begin with, but having nearly four times my weight in jagged rock plow over them made it feel like all three pinkish quills were on fire. The pain shot right up my spine, and for a moment all I could do was lie there on my side, trying to keep my eyes from watering too much. Of course, once a Pokemon starts using Rollout, they don't quit after one hit. Schist had managed to turn around, judging from the steadily growing rumbling sound. I tried to will myself onto my feet, but it seemed like my body was too busy hurting to even think about running.