Finding the Klink in his Armor [Pokemon Pit] [F]

[Pixel]

Assignment: Obtain Klink
Target: James Harker (PC Expert)

Owner of subject is an extreme recluse and will not leave home or readily admit visitors. You are advised to find a disguise which will permit entry--fast food delivery is suggested. Owner's home is possibly booby-trapped. Exert caution.

Silas looked over the message a few more times before double checking his disguise. He supposed that some people allowed for pizza delivery persons to enter their home. But Silas did not want to risk the man being suspicious over a delivery he didn't order since he wasn't quite sure of the man's eating habits. So he went with an oldie but goodie. 

A city worker.

There was a psychological phenomena that lead people to inherently obey persons of perceived authority. It was why a white coat and a clip board could trick even smart people into thinking you were someone important, like a doctor, and they should do as you say. A similar phenomena occurred with orange hazard vests. Wearing one and simply walking with confidence and acting like you belonged in a place could gain your entry and exit in even high security locations. An infamous art theft even occurred when two such men walked into a museum with a cart while wearing orange vests, took a priceless painting off a wall and then left with it under a tarp. Security did nothing. Why would they? Clearly they were doing their job and taking the painting for some scheduled maintenance.

Thus, Silas created his facade to reflect that notion. He donned a clipboard, a pilfered name tag that read 'Jonny Green', and some second-hand clothes that looked worn enough for a working man. The hardest thing to obtain were the boots, which looked too new, so he made sure to scuff them up before donning them. With a 'tool bag' at his side, and an eye on a nearby city truck doing ACTUAL work further down the street (the worker oblivious to his presence), he knocked on the door.

He had a script all ready for the man. 

Assuming he answered.

He would introduce himself and that he worked for the city. There was a reported gas leak nearby. He would need to turn off the gas to his home, and while leaving for the duration of the work was recommended, it was not urgent enough to warrant an evacuation.

"I hope you understand. It should be for a relatively brief time. A couple hours at most and we apologize for the inconvenience."  

—

Word Count: 421 (+400) | OOC: 

Starting the theft assignment of Klink from
the Pokemon Pit page.

Time of day is Day

[Hunter]

James Harker had been chipping away at coding within the comfort of the four walls that housed him as he sat comfortably at the work station he had established for himself towards the back of his home, away from any and all distractions. There was so much work to be done and so little time, any distraction at this point would have him behind schedule and place an unnecessary amount of strain on his already tight schedule. Most would assume an extreme recluse like James would have nothing but ample time to spare, he would vehemently disagree with that notion however, his work was the most important thing in his life and other people only served as unnecessary distractions.

A knock on the door instantly diverted James' attention away from the comfort of his computer screen. James sat frozen in place for a moment as he pondered who in the world could be visiting his house in the middle of the day. The brown haired males palms were clammy, his heart racing like a Ponyta across an open plain. James' mind wandered for a moment as he self analyzed the possibility of who could be on the other side, one thing he knew for certain was that it wasn't going to be a fast food delivery, after all in the past he had left very specific notes for workers to leave it at the front of the door and not to knock. There had been a scheduled power outage only a few weeks ago, to which James had been notified about so it certainly couldn't be anything to do with that.

James arose from his chair slowly as he retrieved a single red and white pokeball from his desk. The brown haired male wasn't fond of human interaction at all and as such slowly approached the front of the house, specifically making his way towards the front door in as quiet a manner as possible so as to not alert whoever or whatever was outside as to his presence inside of his own home. The tiny peeping hole in the door had been his ultimate weapon in avoiding regular human interactions, the brown haired male was all too happy to judge somebody by their looks, if they looked even slightly sketchy to him he would have no hesitation in ignoring them completely.

Standing in front of his door was an older, taller looking man with a darker shade of blonde to his hair. The broad shouldered individual appeared to be holding a clipboard and had a name that read 'Jonny Green', James pondered for a moment, his normally weak stomach was providing him a gut instinct that something was completely off, that name after all sounded like it had come direct from a random name generator. The man outside assumed somebody was inside as he introduced who he was and which company he worked for, James was less than pleased, had he so recklessly blown his own cover in the comforts of his own home and alerted the broad shouldered fellow to his presence? An apparent gas leak nearby had been the source of issue that had lead to the interaction between James and Jonny that was blocked by the oak door between the pair. To be evacuated from your own home was not something James was particularly pleased about, he had too many valuable items and data on his laptop. The extreme recluse's heart raced as he wondered how to handle the situation, his mind attempting to analyze possible scenarios that could play out and which would best favor him. Soon enough the brown haired male released a pokemon resembling a crossover of a bulldozer and a Chasmosaurus, his partner Bastiodon at the ready for whatever came next. If Jonny had not been alerted to James' presence before, he certainly would be aware now that someone was inside and had heard him loud and clear this entire time. James' instincts were alerting him to the fact that Jonny was not who he claimed to be, whether it was the mans appearance or the generic sounding name and excuse, something had tipped James off. The reclusive brown haired male reluctantly opened the door and posed a simple question to Mr Green before the man could get another word in,

'Cut the act, who are you and who do you really work for?'

Computer Expert James Harker feels like something fishy is going on!
His Bastiodon (Level 20) looks ready to fight!

[Pixel]

Silas offered the man his best smile, though it twitched with some genuine discomfort at the sight of the fossil pokemon. The man had cracked the door just enough to release the pokemon and now he was staring at the behemoth. His eyes flicked back to the door at the accusatory demand for his identity. He expected this. The man was known to be paranoid and reclusive and didn't let anyone in his house. That was why the food delivery idea just didn't seem like a strong enough excuse to him. 

He took a step back, like anyone with common sense would do in this situation, his hands up.

"Woah, woah, woah," Silas said, making his voice crack, like he was just some easily startled city worker. "Easy man. Ya got me. Uh, my name aint Jonny. Its Melvin. Was my dad's name so you know how that goes. But who wants to be Melvin Junior? That's how you get mocked all your life. But my middle name's Jonathan, so when I was about ten or so, I started going by Jonny and it stuck. Was Joe for a bit...but then the Journeyman I apprenticed under went by Joe, so back to Jonny." 

He took out a purposefully dirtied handkerchief and wiped his face like he was sweating bullets over here. 

"Man, please call back that pokemon. Look, I aint no gym challenger or nothing, but I'll defend myself..." he said, still trying to soothe the situation. He made a show of dropping a pokeball right in front of the man, revealing his wartortle, who stood defensively between them. At the same time, he pulled a little slight of hand, and signaled to a certain bird that was flying above, keeping watch. "Would you like to look at the paperwork? I just need you to sign here that you acknowledge the risk of staying at home while we're doing work. Here. I can put the form down and slide it under the door if you'd like..." 

Just look harmless and nervous. Distract. Change the subject. 

Syn was always his look out. He was good at it, even if easily distracted by shinies. Silas had entrusted a couple of pokeballs with the honchkrow and some instructions should plan A go awry. And Plan A was quickly going off track.

The honchkrow, upon seeing the hand gesture, let out a caw. He changed his flight path a bit and dropped a couple of the pokeballs entrusted to him into the man's backyard, where he was connected to the city gas lines. From those balls emerged a rat and a monkey. 

<Is this the box?> Brutus asked King. <The box the human wanted us to open?>

<Yes.> King replied. <Open it. I'll do the rest.>

<Okay!> The mankey wasn't very bright but he did love to hit things and break stuff. But this box wasn't hard at all to open... <Was that it?>

<Get back in your ball.> King warned him.

<Okaaaaay.> The mankey pouted a bit before retreating, terribly bored that the box opened so easily. 

King breathed in, dreading his mission assignment. 

Armed with a flame orb, he prepared to cause a faux gas leak explosion. King didn't like this. But...he started nibbling away...

—

Word Count: 543 (+400) | OOC: 

+Me feeling like I totally underestimated this mission+: I need to retreat to rearrange my party. xD But ahead we must forge!

Silas is attempting a charisma check and trying to calm the man down to avoid battling in the street. Using Aqua and Water Pulse x2 if needed.

Time of day is Day

[Hunter]

Upon questioning from James, the man who had introduced himself as 'Jonny Green' took a step away from the front door of the house with his hands up innocuously and admitted to working under a false identity, a justified physical response to becoming aware of the behemoth fossil pokemon that stood ready to protect his master should he be thrust into action. James' palmy were still clammy and small beads of sweat could be seen sliding down his forehead, his mind was in a constant state of thought, a perennial overthinker if there ever was one. The worst scenario that had crossed James' mind was that the dark blonde haired male would resort to physical violence to force him out of the comfort of his home, after all 'Melvin's' sheer stature would certainly be more than enough to overpower James' scrawny frame.

'Why should I trust you after you lied to me about your name? Personally I like the name Melvin'

James listened intently to 'Melvin's' explanation for utilizing a false identity, the story certainly made sense to him, however there brown haired male still had considerable doubt as to whether he was telling the truth or not. 'Melvin' handed over the paperwork on his clipboard for James to read, which the brown haired male did whilst constantly looking up to make sure that nothing suspicious was happening around him. The paperwork certainly appeared legitimate, James however was willing to stay in his home and take any risk that may be associated with things taking a turn for the worst, that was at least until he could smell gas percolating through the air, maybe there was some truth to what Melvin had been explaining to him. The smell was repugnant and quite honestly had James feeling sick to the stomach, his nerves were already at an all time high without this turn of events. This was all such an inconvenience to James, an egregious waste of time, the local council would be hearing about this in writing soon enough,

'Alright 'Melvin' I'm going to let you come in and fix the issue, but I'll have you know, your bosses are going to be hearing all about this ordeal'

Carefully James allowed the door to creak open, Melvin was in full eyeshot of James' Bastiodon now, should he try any funny business it was likely the behemoth fossil pokemon would take it upon himself to remove his masters problems the hard way. James felt as though he was a step ahead of 'Melvin' should the dark blonde haired man try anything crazy, Shadow and Medusa were lurking around the house and would certainly be watching and ready to act. It wasn't often that anybody entered James' home, security measures such as the ones he had in place were entirely necessary to protect he and his belongings. James wasn't fond of the idea of being forced to use his pokemon to battle inside of his own home, but if it it came to it he would oblige and protect his valuables at all costs.

'Bastille stay boy, guard the door, nobody else comes in and 'Melvin' here certainly isn't leaving until the problem is fixed'

James has left Bastiodon to guard the door!
James is seemingly going to let 'Melvin' fix the issue, but is closely monitoring him from a room nearby!
James' Sableye 'Shadow' (Level 14) and Tangela 'Medusa' (Level 12) are ready for any funny business that 'Melvin' might try! Do you dare?

[Pixel]

He bought it? Silas was pretty sure he bought the 'My name is actually Melvin but I work under a nickname because I think my actual name is embarrassing so that's why you're sussing me as a liar' excuse. Because the man didn't have the bastiadon attack, and instead cracked the door more to reach for the offered papers. There was a long pause before—

He stepped back from the door with a warning that he would talk to his boss about this and for the fossil pokemon to guard the door. Silas wished he could breathe easier at this small victory. He was being allowed inside...though the fossil pokemon was also inside when he crossed the threshold, now acting as a sentinel. There would be no backtracking and leaving out the front door after this theft was complete. Not unless he wanted to come face first with that extremely dangerous pokemon that he was wildly under prepared to face.

Phew.

"Don't worry sir, all I need to do is turn off your gas for a few hours. Your connection to the city gas line should be in the backyard, and the connection from your property gas line to your home should be located in the garage." Just walk slowly, carefully, like he didn't want to spook the target. The house appeared large enough to have multiple rooms and that bastiodon likely couldn't traverse the hallways very easily, if at all, with the furniture and clutter. So if he could just disable the target in one of the rooms...QUIETLY...then he could look around the house without triggering the guard dog into attacking.

"We recommend turning off the gas at the property line." 

Thus he figured he would be escorted to the back door of the house since Mr. Paranoid wasn't about to leave his house to unlock the gate to let him in the backyard. As they traversed deeper, he examined the target, noting how scrawny he was. Silas wasn't a slouch. He could probably manhandle the man and knock him unconscious fairly easily. It was just the 'traps' he had to worry about...  

However, to his surprise, his escort didn't seem to insist on following him to the door. Instead choosing to retreat to a room and watch him. Darn it. Being out of reach meant it would be harder to disable him.

Hm. 

"Sir, I don't feel comfortable wandering around your house...ah, is the door to the back yard in the back or through a side door?" Silas said, choosing to play dumb and follow James, spotting the guard pokemon. As he did so, Plan B came into fruition.

BOOM!

It wasn't a large explosion, but uh...it was enough that Jame's backyard was now spontaneously on fire with 'rodent' damage done to his gas line. Silas gripped the doorframe, "Holy Arceus...what was that?! Is...is that smoke I smell?"

(King shook soot off his fur and returned to his pokeball, getting scooped by Syn, who perched on the roof and once more waited for orders,)

"Aqua!" Silas called out to his wartortle, who had followed him in, "I smell fire. Something must have lit up that gas leak nearby." Play the part, play the part. Acting like he was a concerned worker, he hurried out of the room and 'looked' for the backyard (as well as that darn Klink). When he 'found' the back door, he threw it open (and conveniently used the show to subtly return syndicate and retrieve his pokeballs from the corvid). Aqua, of course, played his roll well, and started to spray water on the grass. "Sir, there is a fire in your yard?! It is not safe here. This must be the source of the gas leak we detected! We should evacuate!"

They were at the back of the house. The furthest from that darn bastidon they could be.

Which meant he could stand his ground and battle if the man became aggressive and decided Silas was the cause of all his problems, and probably be reasonably secure. However, they were on a timer, no doubt fire rescue would be alerted soon. So he either had to be the 'good citizen' who evacuated this poor man from his home (and mug him later) or he had to confront him here and now before someone with a clue responded.

Silas was ready for either situation. Whether he kept playing nice or stood his ground to fight.

—

Word Count: 543 (+400) | OOC: 

Another charisma check! Let's see how this ruse plays out.

Time of day is Day

[Hunter]

The thought of another human being present inside of his home was a gut wrenching feeling for an extreme recluse like James, his privacy was being invaded and his confidence clearly in tatters, the damned gas leak had better be fixed quickly or the Cherrygrove City Council would have alot to answer for. James' Bastiodon stood guarding the front door, nobody was entering the premises or leaving it without James allowing them to do so, this small sense of control over the situation was something that was helping soothe James' nerves. Shadow and Medusa were lurking in the shadows provided by the darkness of one of the rooms in James' house, unbeknownst to them, 'Melvin' had spotted them in traversing through the house.

BOOM!! The audible sound of an explosion could be heard emanating from outside, the shock of the sudden development temporarily froze James in place as if it had scared him stiff. Immediately the brown haired male's mind went into a panicked state as he noticed a spot fire in his backyard, this was an extreme turn of events that he hadn't expected to occur today. To his credit 'Melvin' aided in putting out the spot fire as he and his Wartortle rushed to the backyard and begun spraying water on the grass. It was the suggestion to evacuate his own premises that had James fed up with the series of unfortunate events that seemed to be playing out like a script from a movie.

Piecing together the information that was presented to him, James jumped to the conclusion that this entire thing was a ruse, a pre-concocted plan by 'Melvin' to lure him as far away as possible from the safety and comfort of his home and his sentinel in Bastiodon. It was all too convenient of a series of events to be true, James had reluctantly given 'Melvin' the benefit of the doubt and had betrayed his trust, now the dark blonde haired man was going to pay for it.

'You're a liar, I know it! There is no god damn way that the gas just so happens to burst without something cutting the pipes'

Despite how stressed he was, James had still been analyzing the situation at hand. Without taking his eyes off 'Melvin', quite literally staring daggers at the dark blonde haired male, James retrieved his mobile phone from a pocket in his pants and begun to dial the authorities. The man across from him was a criminal, James was sure of it at this point in time. The broad shouldered man's ability to stay in character had to be acknowledged, if he had tried it on somebody less aware than a recluse like James, it would likely have had more success, unfortunately for 'Melvin' his plan had hit a fork in the road so to speak,

'Shadow, Medusa, come out and hold this crook hostage for me!'

Emerging from the house and into the backyard was a pair of pokemon that James had called out for, the first a bipedal pokemon with a dark purple body, armed with sharp teeth and claws, the other a plant pokemon covered by blue, seaweed-like vines that seemed to obscure its face. Whatever 'Melvin's' plan had been, James wasn't going to allow it to play out any further, he was determined to stop the man in his tracks and hold him hostage until the authorities arrived on the scene and put this man where he belonged, behind bars.

'I'll be making sure you end up in prison 'Melvin', you won't escape you crook!'

Shadow (Level 14) and Medusa (Level 12) are ready to hold 'Melvin' hostage until the authorities arrive on scene!

[Pixel]

Cover was blown.

Silas saw the telltale signs of someone attempting to dial emergency and let the facade drop. He sent out his chingling, "Grab the phone and crush it." His voice was cold as ice. The little bell did as it was told with a shiver, swiping that device with psychic powers and yeeting it into a wall, crushing it to bits. No doubt such a tech savvy man would have more means of contacting the authorities, but right now, Silas was entirely focused on the matter at hand.

"Now, now, sir, why be so hasty?' Silas said snidely. "With that fire going on...surely someone will notice soon enough. Or at least before your house burns down with all your precious tech inside. Wouldn't want that, would we? You would have to go outside if it did." 

As the man's guard pokemon came out of the woodworks, he smirked and tossed out two pokeballs between he and them. Out emerged King and Syndicate, his raticate and honchkrow. The former still had slightly singed fur from his earlier escapades with the flame orb he still held, and the later was starry-eyed looking at all the SHINY stuff in this room. Oh look at all the metallic computer parts that he could just take for his nest!

"SHINY!" cawed Syn. "MINE!" Sure, the crow couldn't say many words in humanspeak, but clearly he had picked up his favorites along the way. <I will defeat you and take all the shinies!>

King sighed, looking tired as his fur bristled, stance wide as he prepared for the fight ahead. The flame orb would singe him soon after he took an action, so he remained very still until he was given an order.

"Chingling...why don't you have fun...and break a few more things so Syn here can have a shiny as a treat when this battle is done," Silas said coolly. "Of course...no further damage would need to be done if our new friend here would just sit down and behave. Perhaps call off his pokemon? No?" A pause. "I didn't think so. Alas, none of this would have happened if you'd just evacuated. I personally don't like acting like a hooligan and causing excessive property damage. However...needs must, as the saying goes."

He shrugged, "King...use swords dance. Syndicate use wing attack on the tangela." Silas' eyes darted to the wartortle that was now coming into the room. "Aqua...start soaking anything electronic you see." Between chingling and Aqua, he might be able to damage the security system before the paranoid man could activate it.

He still also had a couple more pokemon in reserve. If the man became physically violent or tried to flee, he could send his ekans out to restrain him. And if you could find that darn Klink, his new mankey would be the perfect match up. But for now...he had a battle to win and a pest to put in his place.

—

Word Count: 492 (+400) | OOC: 

Since this appears to be a double battle—
Sending out King and Syn.

King will use swords dance and Syn will use gust on tangela.

Time of day is Day

[Hunter]

There was many an items on James' meticulously planned out list of things to get done across the course of the day, however nowhere along that list was 'dealing with a criminal' to be found. 'Melvin's' cover had well and truly been blown, for as much as James actually liked the name, it likely wasn't even the dark blonde haired male's real name, just an alias utilized for the sake of a mission. As James rapidly attempted to dial the local authorities number on his phone, a yellow, spherical Pokémon similar to a jingle bell had been released from its pokeball, the innocent looking pokemon was anything but as its psychic powers took custody of the technological device that James had been holding. James' control over his own mobile phone was now non-existent as the strength of the psychic maneuver easily overpowered him. A piece of James internally shattered as he stood idly watching his phone get tossed into the wall nearby, crushed into small pieces as the cold, unforgiving voice of the dark blonde haired male spoke volumes as to the seriousness of the situation playing out. James wasn't having a bar of what the broad shouldered man was putting out,

'I don't know what your master plan is you crook, just know I won't let you get away with it!'

Shadow and Medusa emerged from their hiding places inside, the pair was an unorthodox combination but one that James had preached and practiced the importance of strategy with. The opposition they were bound to face off against in battle was a Honchkrow and a Raticate, a much more physically imposing pair than James' pokemon. Harker harkened back to an old saying as he studied his oppositions pokemon, an initial sense of fear begun to encapsulate the brown haired man's mind, he reminded himself to the age old saying 'It wasn't about the size of the dog in the fight, it was about the size of the fight in the dog'.

'Shadow, Fake Out his Honchkrow! Medusa, you use Stun Spore on it as well!'

The criminal 'Melvin' was working on multiple fronts, his Wartortle had been set to the task of destroying any and all technological devices that James owned. James muttered curses to himself, he should have never allowed himself to fall for this mans ploy. The computer expert held the side button of his smart watch for a few moments, this would initiate an 'SOS' signal to authorities, utilizing a GPS based system to pinpoint his location. As James awaited the assistance of the local authorities, the battle between he and the criminal that opposed him begun to play out in front of him.

Sableye covered the distance between himself and the big bird pokemon with ease as he clapped his hands in front of the dark-blue avian Pokémon causing it to flinch in response. The large rodent pokemon that stood nearby placed its short arms on its chest as he begun to glow blue, his physical frame slightly thicker than it had been just moments beforehand, it looked stronger that was a certainty. Medusa had begun shaking her body as if she had an annoying insect stuck in her vines, instead waves of red powder came from her being and collided with the dark-blue avian pokemon, causing it to be paralyzed as a result. A keen eyed observed would notice the fire like orb that the oversized rodent was holding seemed to be burning his skin. The infancy of the battle was already full of action, James was not at all confident that his pair would be strong enough to defeat their opponents in battle, he was simply hoping they would be able to stall long enough for the authorities to arrive and put an end to the criminal antics that he had been victim to.

---

VS JAMES HARKER (PC EXPERT)

---

Shadow | LV 14 | Keen Eye|
HP: 42/42 (100%)
Status: Normal
Move: Fake Out

Medusa | LV 12 | Chlorophyll |
HP: 41/41 (100%)
Status: Normal
Move: Stun Spore

King | LV 20 | Guts |
HP: 58/58 (100%)
Status: BRN [+2 ATK]
Held Item:
Move: Swords Dance

Syndicate | LV 21 | Insomnia
HP: 73/79 (92%)
Status: PAR
Held Item:
Move: Gust

---

BATTLE INFORMATION

SPOILER: Click to show

SP23 Shadow used Fake Out on Syndicate!
SP50 King used Swords Dance! [+2 ATK]
SP41 Syndicate flinched!
SP23 Tangela used Stun Spore on Syndicate (Honchkrow)! Syndicate is now paralyzed! MuKVmwZQ1-100
King's Flame Orb has caused him to become burned!

1-100

[Pixel]

Ending this quickly was Silas' plan. He still had a pokemon to confront and steal and it wasn't in front of him. His violet eyes almost seemed to flash with annoyance as he spotted the watch on James' wrist. With so much tech around, cutting off all access to emergency services was practically impossible. However, at least this weak little sos was delayed and the man couldn't give any verbal details. Given the location, they might just assume it was related to the fire. 

Fortunately, James was like him in a few ways. More brains than brawn. Sure, Silas could defend himself, but he wasn't going to be suplexing anyone over his head. If he was lucky, he might be able to choke James out, but that would be a lot of unnecessary struggle when he could hide behind the greater might of his pokemon. Poor James. Silas might not be used to grunt work and putting to action his own schemes, but he was always a planner. Always focused on the goal. Always willing to step on and over others if doing so would get him what he wanted. 

Today, it was petty crime. Tomorrow he'd be back in the board room, lording over the peons from the shadows. The sooner he was done with 'petty' crime the better. As much as he liked disguises and plots and manipulation, some day, he could run into someone who didn't cower in fear behind pokemon. He'd run into a fighter who could over power him. And that was just too great of a risk when he was trying to rebuild an empire from the ground up. 

"Master plan? Now now, that would be telling!" Silas said cheerfully, smile cold as the arctic and sharp as a new blade. One could cut themselves on the ice in his gaze. "But you're a smart man. You've surely figured out at least the first couple steps." Get into the house by any means possible. Create a distraction. Isolate James. Incapacitate James. Take the Klink. Flee. "Syn. King. Finish this."

King surged forward to bite the sableye, strength enhanced by his earlier dance and his burn. He was driven by sheer desperation and adrenaline. The pain made him stronger, more focused. And he resented Silas for pushing him like this. But all he could do was endure. For his family. For the little baby rattatas and his mate that he was stolen from all those seasons ago. He promised himself he would find them again...

Syndicate was trembling, aching and sluggish from paralysis. But if he could overcome those spasms, he would sling a sharp beat of wing towards his foe and send it FLYING.

—

Word Count: 450  (+400) | OOC: 

King will use bite on Sableye and Syn will use gust on tangela.

Time of day is Day

[Hunter]

Shadow and Medusa matching up against 'Melvin's' pairing of Raticate and Honchkrow was a serious 'David v Goliath' like scenario. The way the battle had initially played out had given James hope that he may be able to stall long enough for the authorities to arrive, if they even did that was. That hope was rapidly crushed as the physically imposing rodent pokemon's viciously sharp teeth dug into Shadow's side as the Raticate picked the dark typed Sableye up and threw him around like a rag-doll before releasing his grip and tossing Shadow to the ground, clearly unconscious from the power of the attack. The dark blue avian pokemon was fighting against the paralysis ailment, to which it seemingly ignored as a lethal gust of wind was blown in Medusa's direction, the strength of the air current picked up the Tangela's tiny frame and sent her flying into the air before awkwardly falling to her unconscious demise. James literally froze for a moment, he himself was paralyzed with fear as to what could possibly happen next. The extreme recluse had never had to deal with any type of situation like this and was certainly not going to allow himself to go down without a fight, even if that meant resorting to physicality,

'You're a Class A piece of shit, I hope you know that!'

The anger dwelled inside of James at the realization that his pair of pokemon had been so easily thwarted in battle by this criminal and his band of pokemon cronies, the gap in strength was much too large for Shadow and Medusa to handle. The only pokemon remaining for James was Bastille his Bastiodon who had been diligently guarding the front door upon James' request. With no other remaining option left to defend his home as well as himself from any physical harm, James beckoned for his loyal partner pokemon to leave his post and come to his defense,

I won't let you get away with this! Bastille, come and help me take this damned criminal and his goons out!

An air of uncertainty and nervousness could be heard emanating from James' voice, a cold hearted criminal such as 'Melvin' would have no troubles in identifying that James was simply now clutching onto the last sliver of hope he had available to him. Bastille heard James' beckoning and moved away from obediently guarding the front door as he came rampaging through the house at the request of his master. James' house was already an absolute mess with all the destroyed technology lying around, the rampaging heavyweight pokemon only added to the destruction as he rampaged his way onto the scene. With nobody left to guard the front door, anybody could realistically enter or exit the premises, this was an all-in type move from James but one he felt compelled to make given the circumstances. Whatever 'Melvin's' end goal was with this entire showcase of criminal activity, James was going to do everything within his power to stop him in his tracks. With all the ruckus that was taking place, a pokemon resembling two interlocking gears with six teeth each was hiding nearby, keeping a close eye on what was taking place.

Bastille (Level 20) is ready to defend his master! He'll fight until there's nothing left to give! 

Notes: +1 LVL & +1 Happiness to Syndicate and +1 LVL to King!

OOC: The escape path is open so Silas could potentially try and nab Klink and run or alternatively attempt to use the numbers game against Bastille! 

[Pixel]

Those two weaklings fell. 

Unfortunately, the boss of this battle was barging through the house, uncaring of collateral damage. This place was rapidly looking like a hurricane hit it. 

"Aqua, slow down that beast with Water Pulse!" Silas called out, not wanting to get run over by the fossil, uncertain if James would have the big pokemon attack Silas directly. With no idea if James just planned to hunker down and shelter behind the pokemon until help arrived, and no idea where the Klink was, he had to use numbers to his advantage. 

He released the rest of his pokemon.

"Slither, use glare on the target to keep him from doing anything too stupid," he called out to his ekans. She was an intimidating and venomous pokemon. Nobody wanted to be bitten by those toxic fangs. She coiled up and hissed, glaring at James with her snake-stare. "Once this brute is down, I will need you to keep his trainer from running off."

To the rest of his pokemon...

"Syndicate, look through the shinies to find one that looks like the picture." Silas said, whipping out a photograph and showing the corvid. The honchkrow cawed. 

"SHINY! FIND THE SHINY! KROW!" he flew off.

Silas looked at the rest, "Mankey, Chingling. Earn yourselves a proper name. Find this. Find it now. Open any pokeballs and drawers you see until you find it." He'd rummage through James' pockets later if he had to in order to find the klink. He was NOT failing this mission. He would grab that pile of gears. Nobody would ruin this for him. "King...you've done what you're supposed to do today. Help the rookies find the target. Go!"

And his pokemon scattered in all directions to find the klink. The house was going to be even more wrecked with them spreading throughout the rooms and rummaging around. Silas wondered if the klink was in a pokeball somewhere or possibly just locked in a room. If the target was just shut in a bedroom or something, without arms, it would be hard for it to get out to help. But if it was on a pokeball on James' person, then surely he would have sent it out to defend himself.

Silas was taking a risk, sending all but Aqua away, but he needed to cover as much ground as possible so that he could find that klink before time ran out. His exits were clear. He just had to encounter the target, capture it and flee the scene. 

His eyes darted back to James.

Aqua was now between him and the fossil, spraying rings of water at their opponent, trying his best to do a dent in that armor. Possibly confuse him even. It was all they could do. Silas didn't want to admit that none of his other pokemon were in any position to put up a fight against the thing. Aqua needed to prove his worth, here and now.

"Don't disappoint me," Silas said lowly. "Be strong. Like Mercenary and Syndicate."

—

Word Count: 505(+400) | OOC: 

Can't avoid the Ace this time it seems. 
Aqua uses water pulse x2

Time of day is Day

[Hunter]

The inside of James' house looked like a natural disaster had ran through it, the destruction was only added to as Bastille the rampaging Bastiodon charged his way towards the dark blonde haired male. James blood was boiling with frustration, if Bastille had collided with criminal instead of his pokemon, it would simply be an 'act of self defense' when explained to the local authorities upon their arrival, albeit being hit by a pokemon the size of his Bastiodon would be the equivalent to being hit by a truck impact wise. James's vision was clouded, that in itself would be a criminal act to physically harm another human with a pokemon, but the reclusive computer expert justified it to himself as a 'getting even' of sorts.

'Melvin' was working a multi-pronged operation, each of his pokemon had been set to the task of searching for something specific. James tried his best to catch a glimpse of the photograph that the blonde haired man was showing to his pokemon, however his attempts were soon thwarted as the criminals Ekans coiled up and hissed at James, its ice cold glare as unforgiving as that 'Melvin' had moments before. Bastille had almost arrived at the scene of events, he was greeted unkindly by rings of water that had been sprayed in an attempt to slow his arrival, an effective tactical maneuver to say the least.

'Bastille, Take Down that criminal!'

James tried with all of his physical might to remove his gaze from the snaky-eyes of the oppositions Ekans, it was akin to a trance like state that he had been seemingly trapped in. Bastille tossed his square, castle wall like head around, the rings of water clearly annoying the heavyweight pokemon. Despite its rough, intimidating appearance, the Bastiodon species had been reported to mostly be docile, caring pokemon that would feed off grass and berries, Bastille did not fit that norm however, his intentions were clear, stop the criminal and protect his master, at all costs. Bastille charged towards the opposing Wartortle, his quadrupedal nature chewing up the space between the two combatants easily before the bulldozer like pokemon rammed its castle wall like head into the turtle pokemon, knocking him from his feet, the powerful impact of his attack clearly on show. 'Melvin's' Wartortle collected itself and fired off another dosage of its deceptively powerful rings of water at Bastille. Upon impact with the heavyweight pokemon it was abundantly clear that he seemed confused about where he was and what exactly he was doing, a secondary effect that had been triggered.

'Keep fighting Bastille, we can't let them get away with this! Hit that rotten criminal with your Take Down again!'

Bastille remained completely stationary for a moment, seemingly trying to collect his thoughts and remind himself of where exactly he was and what he was doing, the confusion clearly affecting his mental state. The rampaging heavyweight reluctantly managed to forge onwards and again collided his massive frame with that of the water type turtle pokemon which had been knocked off its feet again but went even further than it had done previously. The opposing Wartortle rose back to his feet, to the common eye it looked as though it had caught a second wind despite how much physical punishment it had taken so far in battle.

As the battle between James' Bastiodon and 'Melvin's' Wartortle raged on, the criminals other pokemon were fossicking through Mr Harker's household like an FBI agent searching for a wanted criminal. The sound of different household items such as vases could be heard shattering nearby, with it another piece of James' confidence shattered as well, his life was taking the cruelest turn possible, what had he done to deserve this? The pokemon that 'Melvin's' squad was searching for was stored away in a room that James clearly wanted nobody but himself to enter, the door was padlocked and a protective seal had been applied to the door easel to add an extra layer of security. The combined strong-handed force of 'Melvin's' band of merry criminals would no doubt allow another break and enter to take place...

---

VS JAMES HARKER (PC EXPERT)

---

Bastille | LV 20 | Sturdy |
HP: 24/60 (40%)
Status: Confused!
Move: Take Down x2

Aqua | LV 17 | Torrent |
HP: 22/52 (42%)
Status: Normal
Held Item:
Move: Water Pulse x2

---

BATTLE INFORMATION

SPOILER: Click to show

SP29 Aqua used Water Pulse on Bastille! JD4uZ1UY1-100
SP23 Bastille used Take Down on Aqua! Bastille was inflicted by recoil!
SP29 Aqua used Water Pulse on Bastille! Bastille is now confused! 1-100
SP23 Bastille tries to use Take Down on Aqua! 1-100 The move was successful but Bastille was inflicted by recoil!

OOC: Would you like me to post in the Pokemon Updates thread for the levels/happiness gains?1-100·1-100·1-100

[Pixel]

If only you had evacuated Melvin. Then, Silas would have snuck through the house, moved as little as possible and taken just the pokemon of interest. You resisted too hard against a foe who came in here prepared.

A more empathetic man might care about the distressed on James' face. Feel for the fact that they were twisted a cruel knife in his chest in adding to the destruction of his home. But this wasn't a stealth mission—he was allowed to make a mess. Make a point. No doubt he'd never forget how Melvin made him feel today—the despair and helplessness as he watched his every precaution become torn apart. The paranoid man already trusted nobody and here this stranger was, crushing any remaining vestiges of hope to dust beneath his heel. Ruthless.

"A rotten criminal I might be, but you're little more than a stepping stone," Silas said. "Keep up the pressure, Aqua." The wartortle, now aching from being tossed around a few times, released another water pulse to try to pressure the fossil into giving up or perhaps hurting himself in confusion. Silas had given him a berry before this mission and if he got into a pinch, he could eat it to restore some strength. But that bastidon hit like a truck. A literal truck. The wartortle could go stand in the street and experience a similar thrashing.

But thankfully, despite the hard hits and iron-hard defenses, Aqua seemed to be making progress. He was chipping away at his foe and doing just a tiny bit more damage. There was a clear discrepancy in stats and levels—with one being fully evolved even—but the wartortle knew that he had no choice but to hang on. He was the only one who could hold his own against this 'mon. Half the team today were far, far weaker than he. Far less proven. Little more than babies.

(Aqua just wanted to impress his trainer. To have Silas praise him in earnest like he did for Mercenary and Jessica and Syndicate. Even King, who was reluctant at best got more praise than him. Please. Silas. Watch him. Watch him and be impressed.)

The others found the locked room.

It would take a little teamwork to sort out what to do next. Chingling grabbed the lock with a confusion as Brutus grabbed a hold of it and started fussing with it. Likely they'd have to brute force it, but for now, they weren't in yet. They were too inexperienced to do anything efficiently really. Mostly they followed the lead of the others and just broke things and this was the only room they couldn't get into!

—

Word Count: 450 (+400) | OOC: 

Aqua uses water pulse!
And no need! I just flaked and forgot to update myself.

Time of day is Day

[Hunter]

Despite the very obvious size advantage that Bastille possessed over the Wartortle that opposed him, the battle was very much even between the two, the combatants were trading blows like a well matched boxing fight. The juxtaposition of the matter was uncanny, the smaller human male possessed the physically larger pokemon while the larger human male possessed the physically smaller pokemon, a 'David v Goliath' of sorts. There was going to be no happy ending for James, the reclusive brown haired male stood frozen on the spot as speed advantage that 'Melvin's' Wartortle had over Bastille allowed it to get off its attack first. The aqua rings appeared to be larger than the previous two iterations of the same maneuver, as if they Wartortle had found a well timed second wind. The heavyweight Bastille collapsed into the ground, a distinct thud sound could be heard, the Bastiodon unable to continue fighting through the cumulation of water type attacks that it had absorbed.

It had been hard to watch Shadow and Medusa be defeated so easily in battle, however watching his trusted heavyweight companion fall stung a little deeper. James Harker was broken, nothing to defend he or his household other than his physical being, the numbers game alone would deter the reclusive man from trying such a rash feat. All James could do was hope that the local authorities would arrive before this criminal succeeded in completing his mission, Mr Harker felt sick to the stomach as he wondered if the distress signal had even been received and was being responded to. James was certainly going to let his feelings be known to 'Melvin' despite the dire circumstances he now found himself in,

You're the worst kind of human, people like you belong behind bars

Meanwhile as the conclusion of the battle took place, the reconnaissance mission that 'Melvin' had set his band of pokemon to task with had garnered great progress. The unique team of pokemon had managed to locate a room that was locked stronger than any other in the wrecked remains of the inside of James' house. Working as a unit, the tribe of pokemon managed to break their way through the security of the door, another crime committed and the second break and enter that had occurred in a short window of time. The room that the team of pokemon would venture into had been pitch black up until their break and enter, daylight likely hadn't seen this room in quite some time, it appeared to be a storage room of sorts where a filing cabinet was housed. A particular gleaming reflection could be seen on top of the filing cabinet, it appeared to be a pokemon, a grey pair of gears. The steel pokemon awoke from its slumber and immediately was shocked at what it saw, the numbers definitely weren't in its favor, the gear pokemon was no slouch though, this was his chance to escape this room and it was going to be damned if anybody or anything would get in its road.

Klink (LV 11) is trying to escape!
Klink looks ready to fight for its freedom!

---

Aqua grew to LV 20!
Aqua wants to learn Protect, forget a move and learn it?
Aqua also gained +1 Happiness

Edit: Klink is Level 11, have corrected this!

[Pixel]

Down.

The bastidon was down. 

Aqua panted, looking tired, but that final aqua ring struck hard. A critical hit perhaps? Silas' mouth twitched and he nodded, "Good work." The wartortle whirled and beamed up at his trainer, soaking in the rare praise with wide-eyed eagerness. He did well! He impressed his trainer at last after all this time. So many battles where Silas thought he was too weak and too slow, taking too much time against weak foes. Aqua recalled all the times that Silas cut things short by throwing a ball or by swapping someone else 'more competent' in. This time, he left Aqua in against a large, powerful foe, and he won! No swap outs or other maneuverings.  

Was this how Mercenary and Syndicate felt? Is this why Jessica gave her loyalty even after primly dismissing the human as worth her time at first? Is this why King kept fighting despite his clear reluctance to actually battle? This rare praise as the thrill of the battle still burned hot in his blood. It was invigorating. It left him feeling like he finally had a purpose. Like he wasn't worthless...

"Slither, ensure our friend here doesn't go anywhere," Silas said as the man spat insults at him. The ekans got up real close to reinforce her glare and even wind her long serpentine body around his legs so that he would struggle to flee. Silas got up close and began a swift pat down of the man's pockets. "Fret not, I am after something specific, and it is not your wallet or any undo harm to your personage. I am a criminal, not a barbarian." Hm. Nope. No pokeballs, as he suspected. 

He did swipe the watch. Mostly to just break it too. 

He heard a door broken open.

"Ah, by the sound of it, my pokemon might have found our objective." He leaned in to whisper into his captive's ear, "By the way, James. Team Rocket says hello." Silas chuckled, sewing the seeds of Team Rocket's infamous reputation, as was standard. "Whatever did you do to gain the attention of the higher ups~?" 

Once the door was open, the pokemon burst through to see the klink trying to flee. The pokemon pursued it. King would try to take a bite if it passed by him too close. And the overeager Brutus knew this pokemon from the picture! Come over here you pile of gears! It's kicking your butt time!

—

Word Count: 411 (+400) | OOC: 

Is this the target or a different klink?
The target klink is like LV11. 

If this is a diff LV 15 Klink, King will use Bite x2 on it.
If this is a typo and it's LV 11, Brutus will use Low Kick x2.

Time of day is Day