Easily Cut Out For This [Operation Slowpoke]

[Andrew]

Beginning Operation Slowpoke.

If you see me comin' down the street... ... You know it's time to go.

The time had finally come. Having hurried through the town, Terri found herself at the entrance to the remarkable Slowpoke Well. She wasn't sure if her lack of knowledge on the mission was exciting or just plain frustrating. The information she'd been provided with had been very vague. She assumed this was due to her current rank. In the defence of Team Rocket, it was a wise move not to trust the new recruits with top secret information. Not everyone was cut out for the job, and there were bound to be a few spies in the works.

"Took you long enough," a husky voice called out. A familiar figure emerged from behind the well. The very same grunt who had approached her before her gym battle sauntered over, cackling to himself. Terri bit her tongue, reminding herself of her status within the organisation. Someday soon she'd be able to challenge this halfwit, but for now, she couldn't risk getting kicked out. Besides, this man was her only source of knowledge with regards to the operation at hand.

"We're a little quiet today, are we?" the young man teased, coming across as rather unprofessional.
"Just gimme the information so I can get to work," Terri replied bluntly, though careful with her tone. "I beat the Azalea Gym Leader and my Pokémon can Cut. What's next?"
The grunt took a more serious tone, having realised that the young woman was in no mood to poke fun and or partake in his games.
"Alright then. The mission is to find a Slowpoke, cut off its tail and bring it back to base. Think you can do that?"
"Obviously, I can do that," Terri rolled her eyes. "I'll be back soon."

The mission was a simple one which left her slightly disappointed. She'd built it up far too much in her head. As she climbed down the ladder and into the well, she recalled her trial run where she'd robbed the Violet City Pokémon Center. In comparison to that, this mission seemed like a piece of cake. However, this time she seemed to be flying solo which meant she'd be able to take all the credit for succeeding. This was the beginning of something big and she was determined to make her mark.

GRAYE'S MARINADES

[Lamont]

The well wasn't the most inviting place. Even if it long ceased being an actual well for the town it was not without its water sloshing about the bottom. Between the rain and spurts of snow melting away the bare earth bottom was a mush of mud and craters of water. Said caters, however, were distinctly foot shaped. Terri wasn't the only one to tread down here recently it seemed. Perhaps more rocket grunts had been sent down to do the plain dirty work? That wouldn't bode well for the aspiring Executive.

Across the way there was a dug out section of the wall. It was a small bend, a little narrow, but definitely a path if those prints were any indication. Moving to get a better view and squint through the dim lighting it was clear there was a cramped tunnel. She was lucky to be short. Any taller and her hat would be sliding across the slick roof of the tunnel. At least it was short.

On the other side was a large open cavern. Beams of light from crevices on the surface above provided well enough light to navigate by if one was careful. The road ahead was very rocky and uneven, and the lapping of water echoed from somewhere nearby. But the scenery wasn't the interesting part. As Terri entered the cavern a darkened shape would make itself known just off to her side.

"Well lookit what we have here," a familiar snobby voice broke the calm ambience of the cave. Despite having not even seen it yet the pretentious smirk could practically be tasted. "I shouldn't be surprised it's you here doing the janitorial work. Last we met you practically screamed Rocket Grunt." A flow of maroon hair caught the light as the boy stepped forward, ice cold eyes staring down at Terri.

"What was it you said? 'I'll snap both your arms' if we met again. That doesn't sound like too bad an idea for low grade scum like you. Would make getting back up that ladder rather difficult."

Silver emerged from the shadows!
He sent out a zubat

(( Just checking since it matters for Silver's encounter... Based on this claim post, is Sanga supposed to be originally Terri's? If so, please change Sanga's OT to match the trade. Otherwise, where did Blaze go? ))

[Andrew]

I was gonna mention it in a few posts so the person modding would see. It's complicated as this was when we introduced the option for a second character. Oak was absent for a while but I messaged him and got special permission to claim Sanga for Andrew instead and rewrite his profile to reflect that. So technically, Terri never owned him but I guess it's treated as if she did. I left a note on her app for future reference.

If you see me comin' down the street... ... You know it's time to go.

It was dark in the well, although that was to be expected. Lucky for Terri, the dim lights were just strong enough to give her a sense of direction. She was rather unprepared, now that she thought about it. With no torch or Pokémon who could simulate one, this mission could have been a disaster. Starting at the bottom wasn't easy for someone so egocentric. The recent tracks in the mud led her to ponder on many infuriating ideas. Was this some sort of race against other recruits and had she arrived too late? Or maybe this was a trial and she was being watched and her methods being rated. She'd need to be stealthy in her approach.

Alas, she was not off to a great start. A familiar, yet oddly vexing voice caught her attention. She spun around, reaching for a Poké Ball as a reflex. Her face dropped as the bratty kid she'd met on route to Cherrygrove City smugly crept out of the shadows. "Are ya kidding me?" she hissed, trying to keep her voice low in case the Rockets were actually watching her.  She had so many questions and so many slurs itching to get out but she needed to make this encounter as brief as possible.

She didn't bother correcting him as he mistook her for a Grunt. "Like ya've any moral ground to stand on! Didn't ya tell me to hand over my Snubbull last time? Right before I beat yer ass, I might add." Arguing with a kid using reason was impossible, especially one as stubborn as Silver. Terri was well aware of this, but still opted to use this time to release some pent up anger — and with some luck — make the child cry.  She cracked her knuckles as Silver quoted her. "Don't tempt me, Ginger! I beat yer ass once an' don't think I won't do it again!"

By now, it was obvious there was no way to pass without defeating her young rival. She couldn't help but sneer as he called on a pathetic-looking Zubat. Did he really think he could win with one of the most painfully common Pokémon in existence? She tossed the Poké Ball still in hand. "Ollin, show 'em a Thunderbolt!" Ollin emerged from the ball and got ready to attack. "It's that same lil' pest from before, kiddo! I want ya to make 'em suffer!" The Snubbull's substandard eyesight made it difficult for him to recognise Silver but he was finally starting to get some battle time again so he'd do his best to impress.

GRAYE'S MARINADES

[Lamont]

It was almost fun to get the girl riled up. She wasn't like the rest of those weak fools prowling around the wilds preaching friendship is power and that almost allowed him to respect her. But he still didn't like her. Even though he mistook her dress for another uniform, there was something about her brashness and timing that set his hair on end. It couldn't be coincidence she was here now, and he doubted that she was snooping around for any good deeds.
"Finally going to let that flat nosed pup fight me?" he asked, indicating to his zubat to take a battle position. "Time to astonish this punk, bat."

He remembered the pink canine certainly looked tough in spirit, but under Teri's leadership how strong could it be? Silver dug his hands into his pocket as he briefly contemplated how things could have been if he'd successfully snagged the snubbull back then. Then his wish was granted. Teri tossed out the fairy type and gave word for an attack Silver wholly unexpected. A flash of surprise swept across his face for but a moment before he growled at his pokémon to take action.

Zubat shrieked. Its pitch echoing off the walls of the chamber in chorus all around them. Ollin's ears were thoroughly assaulted by the unpleasant ballad of the bat, but it was an annoyance at best. The snubbull's response was far more effective. Willing forth a crackle of energy Ollin soon had the fluttering flier enveloped in a barrage of electrical force. Another shriek sounded but this one was simply the pained cries from something being hit by its weakness.

Sizzling, the blind flying type plopped to the ground from the shock. Silver scowled. Taking a deep breath and turning his eyes down at the twitching pokémon.
"You failed to flinch the opponent and were rendered helpless on the floor after one attack..." His spiteful tone seemed to will Zubat to move. Before Silver could continue into any kind of threat the poison pokémon flipped itself off of its back. The red haired trainer paused and stared. Under the scrutinizing gaze of his trainer Zubat laboriously got back into the air for another round.

"Good. No pokémon of mine goes down in one hit," he stated. Whether as a brag for Teri's benefit or a passive aggressive comment toward Zubat was uncertain.


Battle

---

Weather: N/A

Zubat | LV 18 | Inner Focus
HP: 8% (4/47)
Status: -1 ATK
Used Astonish!

VS

Ollin | Lv 21 | Intimidate
HP: 93% (58/62)
Status: Normal
Used Thunderbolt!

[Andrew]

Ollin used Headbutt.

If you see me comin' down the street... ... You know it's time to go.

Silver's smug tone brought the memories flooding back to Ollin. Now he remembered. The teenager was on par with Terri's mean-spirited nature. The two viciously hurled insult after insult at one another. The battle had barely even started. How were they not exhausted already?
"Really? Dissin' my Pokémon?" Terri scorned. This kid was delusional. He was acting as if she hadn't already completely annihilated his team. "I hope ya brought back up. Sorry to break it to ya but yer scrawny lil' Zubat ain't gonna stop nobody!"

She covered and ears and screamed as Zubat let out an irritating high-pitched shriek. "Stop! Ollin, do somethin'!" As instructed, the Snubbull came to her rescue, putting an end to the piercing sound. The electric attack had completely fried the bat, leaving it extremely frail but with just enough energy to keep fighting. Like Silver, Terri was not impressed with her Pokémon partner's performance.
"Ollin, what was that? Finish that Zubat off, now! I don't wanna hear that noise again!"

Ollin began to sweat, under pressure to deliver this time. Terri hated this trainer's guts. He couldn't let her look bad in front of him of all of people. Not only that, but she was in the middle of an important mission. As the Snubbull remembered their first battle with Silver, he remembered how unbearable his own trainer used to be. Terri was still unpleasant at best but he'd definitely seen a softer side to her more recently. He and Edwina in particular had tried tiptoe around her any potential situations that would trigger her old tantrums.

"Headbutt, Ollin!" Terri roared, snapping the bulldog out of his short daydream. She waved her arms back and forth, visibly getting worked up. Ollin positioned his feet firmly on the ground, readying himself to leap up and smash his skull into the bat's feeble body. Terri was breaking but maybe there was still time to save this.

GRAYE'S MARINADES

[Marchbaby]

Though Silver was quite annoyed by his Zubat's performance in the first round he had at least avoided a total disaster as the flying type was still able to battle. In its current shape there was little hope of overcoming Ollin without a very sneaky tactic but Silver had no problems with being sneaky. " Our first plan did not go so well but that is why I trained you to have a backup option just in case. Use Supersonic this time and do not disappoint me." The bat Pokemon quickly battled the pain it was in as it started to send a series of supersonic waves towards Ollin trying to confuse the canine before he could get another attack off. A few seconds after the first waves reached Ollin he started to lose focus as confusion set in.

In his confused state Ollin had a hard time making heads or tails of the current situation but that is where the bats luck finally ran out. Ollin rushed towards the annoying noisy Pokemon nearly tripping multiple times as he tried to get the annoying bat to stay quiet. As dizzy as he was the Headbutt attack scored a powerful direct hit sending the Zubat into a wall and knocked out cold. Silver was not very pleased with the outcome but as Ollin was still confused the bat had managed to do at least one thing right before being defeated. As Silver recalled the bat he grabbed another one of his Pokeballs and tossed it out in front of him.

" Zubat you have a lot of work to do before you will be useful but I suppose you are not a total waste for now. Gastly it is your turn, go and get some revenge. This pest needs to be put in her place and the sooner the better. Zubat managed to confuse her mutt but you need to win if you want to be of any use to me." He said as the next round was about to begin.




Battle

---

Weather: N/A

Zubat | LV 18 | Inner Focus
HP: 0% (0/47)
Status: KO'ed
Used Supersonic!

VS

Ollin | Lv 21 | Intimidate
HP: 93% (58/62)
Status: Confused (1/4 turns)
Used Headbutt!

---

Ollin gained 2 levels and is now level 23. He is trying to evolve into Granbull, would you like him to evolve or would you like to stop the evolution?


Silver is not ready to give up yet, he sends out Gastly (Level 16). Would you like to switch Pokemon?

[Andrew]

Padma is holding Exp. Share so she should be at Level 11 after defeating Zubat. Ollin evolves in Granbull. Using two turns: First, Terri uses a Full Heal, then Ollin uses Bite on Gastly.

If you see me comin' down the street... ... You know it's time to go.

Silver was far more shrewd than he was ever given credit for. In terms of offence, his team was fairly mediocre. Still, he managed to remain undeterred by this, keeping himself in the game with sneaky tactics such a last second Supersonic.
"Oh, I'm gonna strangle ya," Terri roared as her Snubbull fell victim to the attack. Ollin tried hard to fight his confusion and to remind himself of the importance of this battle. Fortunately, ramming his head against Zubat satisfied both conditions. "Ever get tired o' failin' at everythin'?" Terri taunted, her rage temporarily subsiding.

As the Zubat was set to rest and Silver called for his next Pokémon, a light began to emit from Ollin's body. "Whaaa?" Terri knew this glow but still couldn't believe it. The clumsy Snubbull, twirled around in a confused state but as he did, his body morphed into a larger creature. "Nice timin', kiddo. Let's wrap this up!"
The newly evolved Granbull was impressive to say the least but unfortunately, the confused state remained. Terri fumbled around in her handbag, pulling out a Full Heal. She jogged over to the spinning dog and sprayed it with the medicine.
"Get back in there! We ain't got time to waste with this runt."

Retreating back a few steps, Terri was in the game again. This new, stronger Ollin would have no problem taking down Silver's Gastly. Apart from the big oaf's speed, the fairy-type was a force to be reckoned with. "We'll see who gets put in their place," Terri sneered. "Yer little ghost friend won't last long, I promise. Ollin, kick this off with a Bite!"

GRAYE'S MARINADES

[Professor Oak]

Silver watched in bemused contempt at his opponent's antics from across the other side of the damp cave floor. He had just witnessed a pink dress-wearing fairy dog Pokemon, teetering around in a confused state, suddenly transform into a brutish purple bulldog with sharp fangs and a prominent under-bite! What's more, this Pokemon's trainer rushed out in the heat of the battle to spray it with a medicine bottle!

"… …Humph! Only weak Pokemon require special pampering from its master," Silver declared. "Humans should never interfere with battling Pokemon for in the wild only the fittest survive! Gastly, let's see what this giant purple candy tastes like."

In the darkness of Slowpoke Well, only Gastly's gleaming eyes and tiny pointed teeth were visible. The eyes began to drift towards Ollin and no sooner had the Granbull regained his senses than a large pink tongue materialised from the gloom and slid up the side of his body. Ollin shuddered from the cold, numbing sensation which sent a chill down his spine, paralysing him in fear.

"Ha! Seems like your efforts to keep your pathetic Pokemon focused has failed," snickered the red-haired rival. "That's not the only thing my little wraith is capable of. For centuries the monks at Sprout Tower have feared an ancient evil lurking in the shadows. Many great misfortunes have befallen them over the years and it was I that was able to determine why."

Silver smirked as he said this, his cold eyes trained on Terri's face constantly surveying for signs of fear or weakness. His Gastly seemed to have read his master's mind for it knew exactly what move Silver had instructed. A luminous silver spike appeared suddenly and drove itself into the gaseous cloud that was Gastly, right above its malevolent eyes.

"Yer little ghost friend won't last long, I promise. Ollin, kick this off with a Bite!"

Ollin heard his trainer's command but suddenly started to feel dizzy and light-headed. It was a completely different sensation to the confused state he was in earlier. He was immediately struck by a sense of impending doom as his vision became clouded by dancing apparitions. Nonetheless his loyalty to his trainer prevailed and despite still remembering the sensation of that chilling tongue on his cheek, he lunged forward at the Gastly and chomped down with all his might.

The toxic cloud that was Gastly dispersed in Ollin's jaws and vanished. The Bite attack had been super effective!

"Curses!" yelled Silver mockingly. He seemed more concerned with making a witty remark than the plight of his Pokemon. "Oh well, only the strong-willed survive. Now, let's fight jaw with jaw!"

Battle

---

Weather: N/A

Gastly | LV 16 | Levitate
HP: 0% (0/40)
Status: KO'ed
Turn 1: Gave Ollin a Licking -4HP!
Turn 2: Curse!

VS

Ollin | Lv 24 | Intimidate
HP: 65% (55/84)
Status: Paralysed and Cursed (-21 HP)
Turn 1: Thoughts elucidated...
Turn 2: Bite!

---

Ollin grew to level 24!



Silver is not ready to give up yet, he sends out Croconaw (Level 23). Would you like to switch Pokemon?

[Andrew]

Updating Padma to Lv.12 from Exp. Share. Also removing one Full Heal from Terri's inventory for the previous turn.

Next, switching Ollin out for Tiago and using two turns. First, using a Full Heal and then a Super Potion (both on Ollin, of course). Both items need to be updated.

If you see me comin' down the street... ... You know it's time to go.

The red-haired boy continued to patronise her with snide remarks as she made the decision to use some medicine. He seemed to know exactly how to get under her skin, even after she'd just defeated one of his Pokémon and one of hers had evolved.  "Keep talkin' Ginger. That's all yer good at," she exhaled loudly, trying to keep her cool.

Just as she thought the battle was clear win, things took a turn for the worst. Terri had gravely underestimated her opponent. It had been a long time since her last battle with Silver and since then, he had vastly improved. Though his Gastly couldn't deal with more than a single Bite attack, Terri soon learned that its main purpose had been to inflict her Granbull with some weighty status effects. Moments after rectifying Ollin's confusion, he became paralysed. To add insult to injury, Silver commanded his Pokémon to inflict the bulldog with a curse.

"Yer lil' game plan ain't gonna save ya," Terri scorned. She'd had enough of this child's antics. Her only saving grace was the fact that she'd knocked out two of his Pokémon without losing any of her own. Silver revealed his next Pokémon which seemed far more impressive than the previous two. 
"Now, let's fight jaw with jaw!" Although this would have been the ideal scenario, with Ollin's current state it wasn't feasible.

"Tiago, yer up!" She didn't even dignify Silver with a response. She hurled a Great Ball which contained the Corphish into the air as she recalled her Granbull to recover. She hoped that Tiago would be able to stall for at least two turns. Rooting through her bag once more, she pull out her last Full Heal and a Super Potion, spraying the Granbull with each consecutively.

GRAYE'S MARINADES

[Professor Oak]

Silver rolled his eyes in contempt as Terri recalled Ollin and began treating her injured Pokemon.

"Well, well, well... here we go again, looks like yer got more of that makeup in your handbag," mocked Silver and began imitating her, pretending to spray perfume on his Croconaw. "Well yer know that old saying about putting lipstick on a Granbull..."

However, it wasn't long before Silver realised he had an opening as Terri continued to rifle through her handbag to find the Super Potion as well. Seizing the opportunity, he lowered his gaze and his manner became more serious.

"Right, Croconaw crush that little lobster with your jaws!" he commanded.

Tiago looked back nervously at his trainer for instruction but saw that she was preoccupied with Ollin. The shellfish Pokemon turned back to see a blue, yellow and red blur charging towards him and braced for impact as strong jaws came crunching down on him twice!


Battle

---

Weather: N/A

Croconaw | LV 23 | Torrent
HP: 100% (70/70)
Status: Crocodile Snap!
Turn 1: Bite! -15hp
Turn 2: Bite! -15hp

VS

Tiago | Lv 22 | Shell Armour
HP: 47% (27/57)
Status: What about me, it isn't fair!
Turn 1: Ollin treated for all status ailments
Turn 2: Ollin at full health

---

[Andrew]

Switching to Ollin again and using Thunderbolt.

If you see me comin' down the street... ... You know it's time to go.

Tiago's eyes repeatedly shifted from left to right. He'd been thrown into the deep end without any leverage. He turned to Terri to make some sense of the situation but she was too concerned with other matters. Tending to her Granbull's wounds was her top priority but the snide remarks from her rival also stole her attention.

Terri laughed as he imitated her. His strategy was glaringly obvious now. He'd successfully drawn out the battle which was frustrating; but in the end, he hadn't made done any real damage.
"Congratulations, Ginger. I ain't never met someone as pathetic as you in my whole life. But I bet ya hear that all the time from yer parents, don'tcha?" A large smirk appeared on her face as she looked him dead in the eyes.

However, in the midst of the distraction, Silver had ordered his Pokémon to attack. Tiago was still completely lost as he watched the two trainer trash talk each other. Before the Corphish could put the pieces together, Silver's Croconaw pounced at him. He flinched away as the crocodile landed two powerful Bite attacks. On the bright side, he'd finally gotten some perspective.

Alas, it was a little bit too late now that Ollin was ready to take over again.  "Sorry Tiago, that's all for now," Terri apologised, half-heartedly, recalling the water-type. She nudged Ollin back out onto the battlefield. "Yer up again, kiddo. Don't lemme down." The now fully-healed bulldog was getting a lot of practice in today. He nodded and trudged forward, locking eyes with his opponent.  "Ya know what to do, make 'em regret bein' born — Thunderbolt!"

GRAYE'S MARINADES

[Hunter]

Not often had Silver been defeated or even gone even with other trainers in the trash talk department, but Terri was sure as sugar giving it a red hot crack in doing so. Silver's mind was fixated upon destroying the will of his female adversary, it was proving to be a much more difficult task than he had first imagined it to be. Terri's comments were beginning to take their toll on Silver as his facial expression changed and he begun to appear agitated, the boy was clearly feeling the pressure, though he most certainly wasn't going to lose to no girl, no sir, not today. Terri recalled her Corphish from the battle and released Ollin the Granbull onto the scene once again, this was a tactical move on her part and one that Silver was not prepared to go ahead for free.

"Boy oh boy I'd hate to be the folks that had bring you up into this world, must have been quite the chore! Now Jaws, hit 'em with your Ice Fang's and then spray that ugly thing's face clean with ya Water Gun!"

Silver's Croconaw was agile for a pokemon of its size, the water type pokemon covered the distance between himself and his opponent with ease as he clamped his sharp fangs now glowing a light blue colour down upon the body of the fairy pokemon. Ollin appeared to still be feeling the effects of its stint in battle against Silver's Gastly as the effects of paralysis ensured that the speed advantage was firmly in Croconaw's favour. As the water type pokemon disengaged from close quarters he shot a rapid stream of water out of its big jaws that collided directly with the enemy Granbull's face. Valiantly the clumsy Ollin bumbled his way through the effects of paralysis as he unleashed a volatile Thunderbolt attack upon his opponent. The effects of the attack were devastating, the water type in Croconaw could be heard screeching out in pain over the damage the electric type move had inflicted upon him.

"That there mutt is the stupidest thing I've ever seen, I ain't losing to you and that filthy, stinking animal"

Battle

---

Weather: N/A

Croconaw | LV 23 | Torrent
HP: 45% (32/70)
Status: -1 ATK
Turn 1: Croconaw used Ice Fang (8 Damage)
Turn 2: Croconaw used Water Gun! (13 Damage) and then was hit by Thunderbolt (38 Damage)

VS

Ollin | Lv 24 | Intimidate
HP: 55% (47/84)
Status: Paralysed!
Turn 1: Ollin was switched into battle in replacement of Tiago and was hit by Ice Fang! (8 Damage) [Intimidate effect applied]
Turn 2: Ollin was hit by Water Gun! (13 Damage) and then used Thunderbolt! (38 Damage) 

---