Ready or Not! [F]

[Morrigan]

Sharada remained in her hiding place as her Smeargle let out another catastrophic blow on the Toxicroak. She took her hat off to him for actually surviving Smeargles first attack, it was something that she had never really come across before, a pokemon surviving such a powerful blow. But thanks to it, she found out that if a pokemon survives one hit, Smeargle just gets even angrier - swell. The frightening sound of revving engines made Sharada peer her head out around the rubble. The two members were back on their motorbike and storming in with a net. Preparing her pokeball for a swift retreat, Sharada simply cringed at the sight of a simple tail flick causing them to skid out of control and crash. Another two down and out.

The whole demolishing Joe's warehouse and gang was starting to wear a little thin in Sharada's eyes. Every time she wanted to withdraw Smeargle yet another wave of faces would appear, not even giving her a chance to make a run for it. Judging from their pokemon, her actual team had no way of fending them off. Most, if not all, were fully evolved and full to the brim with the intimidation factor. The cold truth was that Smeargle was the only one capable of getting her out of this mess now. If they were all knocked out cold, perhaps they wouldnt remember anything when they woke up. Or if they did remember, they would only know of a female Rocket with a Smeargle.

Her plans of escaping were shattered as yet another duo burst through a set of doors, "Where the heck are they all coming from?!" she muttered under her breath, peering around once again to find their location. The duo seemed unfamiliar to her, she couldnt recall Joe ever mentioning a magician or guitarist. Raising her eyebrow, she listened carefully as they spoke. One of the men were incredibly concerned about the female, but thanks to him she was able to catch her name. This being familiar to her. Emerging from her hiding place, she began to speak, receiving a venomous glare from Smeargle as if to say not to approach, "W-Wait! That girl's name, it is Harley? Then..." Her mind flickered slightly, trying to remember other names Joe had mentioned. "Then... Is that Rocko?" she pointed a finger towards Eightball first, before shaking her head after remembering Harley hadn't call him that. Instead, she turned her gaze to the other two fainted males before shrugging her shoulders. "You guys have a guy called Looker here too right?... Urgh.. This was just a visit gone horribly wrong, please stop attacking!"

Her pleas of avoiding to battle fell on deaf ears as the two miraculously were able to knock the Smeargle out cold with a piercing guitar solo and a voltorb to the face. The next duo of Pokemon were starting to approach the unarmed Sharada, she had no choice but to send out two pokemon. "Charmeleon! Snorunt!" she called out, glancing back to see if Smeargle had woken, but she still seemed out cold. Perhaps if her team were to faint here, she would be able to escape. Charmeleon didn't seem to hold much confidence when facing the two toughies before him, he was also incredibly confused with how often he was beginning to be called out. Snorunt was shaking even more than usual aswell, the two reactions made Sharada feel more than a little bit guilty, "C-Cmon guys! Use Dragon Rage and Icy Wind!" With awkward nods, the pokemon could only react to it's trainers commands, coughing up bursts of flames and icy winds, sending them through the air.

[The REAL Joey]

Sharada's words resulted in an impasse. Merton was more than ready to battle and improve his standing within the gang but Erik was now completely unsure of what to do. "Merton, gonna have to hold back on your little tricks for now." Erik put a leg forward on top of a bit of rubble and leaned forward resting his arms on it. "I don't like that." His discerning eyes focused intently, doing their best to see past the tell tale R in front of him and at the girl dressed up in the uniform. "How the HELL do you know all them names?" His other hand ran up and down lazily on his guitar neck as he tried piecing it together in his mind. "The fact you know Looker's name really don't rest easy wit' me." Merton raised an incredulous eyebrow at his fellow gang member and lifted his hands in the air dramatically. "Oh for the love of-! This girl probably knows all this with a little information digging! It's not magic my dear Erik! Perhaps there's a rat in the group. Y'know, I DIIIID find Eightball to be acting weird earlier."

Erik closed his eyes and seemed to be nearing his limit. "Will you SHUT UP about Eightball? We geddit, you and him don't like each other." He turned to face him a bit better and shrugged. "I can see why he don't like YOU though. Always sticking those nimble fingers of yours where they ain't needed. That bike you fiddled with was my one, Einstein!" Merton drooped at being so thoroughly told off. Erik's attention was now firmly back on Sharada. "Hm." He murmured bluntly as his eyes lingered from her to the Smeargle. "I don't buy it." It seemed someone within Joe's gang had some sense. "She ain't no Rocket. Look at her, any other Rocket would control their Pokemon with fear and threats." Merton jumped back and as if he was on a stage, began hamming up his reaction, wailing his arms around at the suggestion. "ERIK! Are you going as faa~aar to say that she ISN'T a Team Rocket member?!" He spluttered and pointed to her get up. "Explain the uniform then!?" Erik merely shook his head and ran his fingers over his chin.

"No idea, but it don't add up. Hell, if a Rocket had a Pokemon that powerful..." He pointed over to the Smeargle and continued his deliberation. "Would some Rocket Grunt have access to that... That... THING over there. Nuh-uh. We'd be swarmed with Rocket Execs if that were the case. I doubt that any of us would be here right now. They'd have razed us from outside." He then chuckled once out loud. "And why would they come after us, really? Sure we've had our skirmishes but we ain't exactly enemy number one to 'em." He stood forward, his guitar now facing the floor. "Miss, you ain't no Rocket. That much, i'm sure of." Merton stepped forward, pointed out a finger and opened his mouth to say something but decided against it. Erik seemed dead certain. "BUT! That's not the problem. Fact is, you've you just come in here, wrecked our entire hideout AND knocked my sweetheart out over there." He sighed wearily and shrugged his hands out. "What i'm saying is, this don't ride with us. So whoever you are, we're doing this because of what you allowed to happen. Not because you're a Rocket! Merton, show's on"

Their Pokemon who had been waiting by their sides patiently realised they had been called up and slowly sprung to action. Exeggutor waltzed its way over and began stamping frivolously on the spot. Exploud had instead paced himself fairly quickly and was now opening and closing its massive maw. They seemed overly confident in their abilities and even more so when they saw what was fighting them. Exploud let out a terrifying roar that seemed to rattle everything in the vicinity. Only Erik seemed unaffected by it. "Exploud, like we practised, amp up the volume and UPROAR!" The Pokemon's eyes grinned deviously as its mouth closed. The Exploud was now preparing itself for some sort of sound wave. "Exeggutor my beautiful~ Leaf Storm! Shower them with leaves made out of razors!" Exeggutor nodded and began thrashing its head around to generate enough leaves to attack with. This was it. Nothing could possibly help Sharada's Pokemon withstand such powerful attacks... Or was there?

A small grouchy bark seemed to stutter everyone as it appeared the Smeargle had been knocked down but not out. It rubbed its head begrudgingly at Merton and looked to the floor. There was a nice little Voltorb he could send flying back. He picked it up and with an amazing curve, lobbed it right back into Merton's own mug, sending him straight to the floor, knocked out cold. It wasn't over though, this Voltorb had been knocked so hard its self-destruct protocol had been initiated. Exeggutor and Exploud had focused back on the battle and were about to attack as a loud explosion rocked both of them. Erik, seeing this, had dived and just about escaped the explosion. Where Exploud and Exeggutor once stood were two ashy figures. Unable to fight on, they both keeled over in defeat. Erik had scrambled back up and was mumbling something foul under his breath. "...Scurvy little mutt... HOW'S THIS SOUND?!" He had began playing his guitar again and was hoping to unbalance the artist Pokemon with vulgar melodies. Instead the Smeargle was ready this time and unleashed another godlike move from its arsenal.

The once overwhelming sound of a guitar being thrashed was being drowned out by the sound of a thunderous clock chiming at midday. Each bang seemed to reverberate and bounce off in every direction as it headed primarily towards Erik. Realising his mistake he barely had time to say his last prayers as the roar of time froze him on the spot completely. He was now a statue frozen in time it appeared. Smeargle's deadly power had arguably saved Sharada once more.


Double Battle

---

Erik's Exploud | Level ??? |
Health : 0%
Status : OHKO
Ashes to ashes

Merton's Exeggutor | Level ??? |
Health : 0%
Status : OHKO
Dust to dust

VERSUS!

Smeargle | Level 31 |
Health : 100%
Status : Normal
These guys even trying anymore?

---

As opposed to a moment's silence, there was a forceful slam of doors which swung open to reveal someone on the upper level of the warehouse. The walkway had been completely destroyed, meaning the shadowy figure had but a small ledge to stand on. Obscured by a veil of shadows, he looked down, his figure standing perfectly still aside from the distinct movement of his head. He was adamantly shaking it from side to side while his hand flicked up a single coin and catching it in the process. "This ends here." He leapt into the air and landed on the floor gracefully, two of his legs leaning forward, one hand on the floor and the other on top of his fedora hat. He straightened up and brushed down his front. The man was peculiar to say the least. He oozed a definite sense of suaveness and style about him that looked completely out of place in a bikers hideout such as this. He wore a fine black suit and was dressed impeccably. As he stepped forward he sighed at all the damage around him. "I cannot let this continue." He bowed forward, removing his hat and displaying his verdant green hair. Placing the hat back on, he grabbed all six Pokeballs from his waist and threw them three at a time in front of him. "No holding back." He bluntly stated.

Second in command, Looker is here to end this!





He sends out all of his Pokemon!!
Please select Pokemon for battle... Or... Er... Run?

[Morrigan]

"HOLD IT!" Sharada ordered loudly to her two team members, although it was far to late to stop their moves completely they still had time to deflect it. With a sharp turn Charmeleon swerved his attack to the side of them, his flames smashing against a pile of rubble whereas Snorunt simply sucked her attack back in, shivering violently at her body feeling even colder than usual. As the two retreated back to her side, Sharada's eyes remained glued to this guitarist, it seemed he was beginning to piece things together. Harley also attempted to try and work things out but since Smeargle was now out cold she might actually be able to talk to atleast one of them, "Atleast there is someone with some sense around here."

As Erik questioned her about knowing a few names, she decided to quickly pipe up, his partner didnt seem to be the type to listen to her words, "Joe! I know you all through Joe!" Her voice trailed as Merton did eventually dive in with an excuse, one which was perhaps true. For all they knew, she could've been a spy who had somehow tricked even Joe out of this knowledge, but knowing Joe he wouldnt fall for that kind of trick all that easily. The next question on the agenda was her uniform. Once again, she was pleased that it was so believable but even for her, this outfit was just something she had slopped together. Looking down at her chest, she remembered that the R had just been painted on, "This is just some stupid thing I made to surprise Joe! L-Look, I can scratch off this R so easily 'cause it's just paint!" Using a finger nail she scraped it across the R, flakes peeling off with ease.

In this whole situation, it was obvious Smeargle was one of the main causes. She, too, looked over to her fainted Pokemon, sighing to herself before speaking, "Smeargle doesnt listen to me when it comes to battling. She just wants some super tough opponent to knock her out... She is gonna be really pissed when she finds out you guys hit her with a Voltorb." The most likely thing for a trainer to do would be to return it, but for whatever reason she had not yet attempted to call it back. Yet another sigh escaped her lips, "Even when I withdraw her, she just pops back out again at any sign of a battle. I cant control her." Erik's conclusion of her not being a Rocket allowed her to force a small smile, though it was only for a short while. What he had said was right, she couldve stopped this ages ago by running off or not even turning up at all, instead of making Joe surprised she just caused destruction. Heck, Joe probably isnt even in there.

Not wanting to fight anymore, Sharada just stared ahead blankly at the oncoming attacks by the opposing Pokemon. Charmeleon hopped forward from behind her legs, sending bursts of flames on his own accord to protect his trainer from the flurry of leaves flying in her direction. As a few leaves crumpled to the ground, the whole room was once again thrown into a pit of silence. Sharada's eyes glanced around in horror, it seemed Smeargle had awoken. Diving to the floor, Sharada used her arms to shield Charmeleon and Snorunt from the explosion by the Voltorb and hurriedly returned them to the safety of their pokeballs. Before she had time to realise what was going on, Smeargle had thrown an attack at Erik, pausing him in time. Sharada staggered forward slightly, both him and Harley attempted to figure out why she was here and even they succumbed to the power of Smeargle. "Are you happy now?!" Sharada roared to the canine, recieving a simple 'hmph' from it.

Sharada had already realised the patterns by now, her eyes darting around the room to find the next cause of the door slamming. The entire floor was scattered with rubble, trainers and their pokemon, a number of doors had also been blocked off. Looking up to the floor above, her eyes focused on the tall figure. Remaining in one place as he jumped down, the shadows dispersed to reveal a rather handsome gentleman before her. Her rosy cheeks deepend as he spoke to her and bowed, she wanted to talk but no words were able to emerge. He had an almighty aura about him, warning her not to approach.

With two flicks of his wrist, he seemed to summon his entire team. Sweat drops rolled down the side of Sharada's face, her expression full of fear as she tried to gather strength to speak, "H-Hold it!" She took a step forward only to be teased by his Arbok with an intimidating swoop towards her. Avoiding the warning attack, she fell backwards, gazing up to the trainer before her, "Y-You're Looker... You have to be, please listen.." Her voice was incredibly shaken. By know, she should've selected her own choices but her team was most likely far too tired and she felt guilty using them like this. Not even having the energy to run, she remained in her place on the floor, closing her eyes tightly and waiting for a miracle to happen. Namely in the shape of Smeargle, if she could even handle it.

[The REAL Joey]

Looker also appeared to be a master strategist unlike some of the other members of Joey's gang who relied on brute force. "Honchkrow, Crobat, fly up high and keep it guessing." His Pokemon nodded and began flapping their wings effortlessly to reach the height of the warehouse ceiling. He looked to his two snake Pokemon and ordered them also. "Snakes, side wind to the target and pincer movement." All that were left was his Poliwrath and Koffing. "Poliwrath, advance head on. Koffing, remain here with me and prepare Destiny Bond." Although using six Pokemon at once was nowhere allowed as a legitimate form of Pokemon battling it seemed Looker did not give a care at all for the rules. At this moment in time he could only do everything in his power." His team worked together with perfect synergy. The swoop from his aerial Pokemon every now and then kept Smeargle on its toes by checking for above attacks and then to the flooring to see if any of the snake Pokemon had come closer. The oncoming threat of the Poliwrath didn't do too much to calm things either.

Smeargle had finally met its match but this was only due to the fact it was vastly outnumbered. When the Smeargle was dealt with, it would be hard to say what would happen to Sharada and her team. Looker's eyes were hellbent on focusing on the Smeargle and he was just about to open his mouth to command all of his Pokemon to attack at once when there was a whisk of a door opening somewhere followed by a familiar friendly shout that could be heard off in the distance. "ENOUGH!" The figure was too far off but it was certainly the voice of the outlaw thief himself, Joey. The chime of a small detonation going off echoed from his spot. "Grimer-Trap activate!" Upon him calling out, a large number of Grimer seeped out of the cracks in the warehouse floor and dived upon the Smeargle. Merging themselves together they seemed to be acting as an ooze prison to restrict Smeargle's movements. Joey ran closer to the fray and sent out some of his own Pokemon on him. "Narcissa, Stun Spore on the Smeargle, NOW! Unless you want yer pretty face ruined." He sent out two more and nodded. "Elekid, Tubs. When the Grimer divide, I want you to hold back Smeargle so we can finish this."

Unlike Looker, it seemed Joey had a much calmer plan to deal with the Smeargle. As opposed to knocking it out he was going to do his best to subdue it and hope for the best. He swiftly reached to his Pokemon belt holder and sent out another one. A fluttering Zubat hovered by him. "Vlad, with Smeargle paralysed and Tubs and Elekid holding him back you've got one shot to Leech Life and drain his stamina. GO!" At the behest of their trainer, all of them co-operated perfectly together. Narcissa began stirring up paralytic spores and focused them above the Grimer. They divided apart from one another and retreated back under the cracks. Smeargle had been preparing an attack but became erratic in its movements by the time the spores had been inhaled. Elekid and Tubs jogged on and with their strength, held the Smeargle's arms by its side. All that was left now was Vlad. It circled in the air before doing a loop de loop and diving towards Smeargle's neck. Its piercing fangs landed a direct hit and the Pokemon began siphoning the stamina out of Smeargle. The Smeargle shrugged slightly, causing all of Joe's Pokemon to back off. Had their plan succeeded? It had. The artist Pokemon staggered forward before slumping on the dusty floor with its eyes closed. Joey breathed a sigh of relief and looked to Sharada. "Helluva entrance."

He slowly walked over to her and he became fully visible to the eye. Funnily enough, Joey wasn't in his typical biker image but seemed to be in that of a more casual get up. He was wearing rather fluffy slippers and a dressing gown that was wrapped securely around him. Trademark bandanna still intact, he was standing right before Sharada as he spoke. "I knew you said you were comin' over at some point but I didn't realise right now!" He looked at her uniform and raised an eyebrow playfully. "Oh I see... No wonder my gang weren't thinking straight." He looked over to his comrade Looker and gestured to him. "Say Looker, you go help the gang get back on their feet. I'll take Sharada and her team somewhere tranquil to get their breath back." He grabbed her by the arm gently and directed her with him. "So, how'd you like my entourage? Pretty ragtag bunch eh?" He laughed out loud as they headed down a narrow corridor. They eventually came to a pair of double doors which Joe unlocked and held open for Sharada. "We'll sit out here." They both moved forward and seemed to be in what was arguably describable as a make-do garden. Aside from a rather withered looking tree and a number of exotic looking plants, it was just overgrown grass everywhere. "Some of us come out here when we want a bit of time to ourselves."

[Morrigan]

With Looker's team swarming into action, Sharada peered towards her Smeargle, watching helplessly as the canine's eyes darted in all directions. Even if she were to order an attack now, there would be no way it would hit everything, focusing on six rather than two was proving to be a lot more difficult than she had first thought. Even Smeargle, who was longing for a battle such as this, was beginning to get a little panicked. Her once mischievous smile had faded and had been replaced with a look on concentration. Sharada prepared her Pokeball in her hands, determined to withdraw the canine before anything had the chance to actually touch it. This time was serious.

Lifting the Pokeball with her fingertips at the sight of the charging Poliwrath, Sharada felt her heart pound at yet another voice. Her immediate reaction was that she was pretty much screwed, especially if there were more people on the way. Pushing herself off the ground and onto her feet, her eyes met focused on the sight of a rather horrified Smeargle. Something was oozing out from the cracks in the ground, securing her tightly so that she wouldnt be able to attack. Hearing the voice from behind her once again, Sharada hurriedly span on the spot to see who had trapped her pokemon, "...Joe?"

Her once nervous, shivering body relaxed, for once she was actually pleased to see Joe. With him around, all this battling could finally come to an end. Watching sadly as Joe's plan flowed into action, Sharada was quick enough to approach her Smeargle, catching it before it tiredly hit the floor. With a soft smile, she lifted it up in her arms, clutching it tightly, "Y-You're so cheeky... S-Sorry if I let you down... S-Smeargle..." With her delicate breathing being the only reply, Sharada was finally able to return the rebellious pokemon back to her pokeball. But perhaps, for her, the trouble was just starting.

Sharada paused as Joe mentioned a few words to Looker, taking another good look at the mess herself and her team had created. There was no way she would be able to pay for all this damage to be fixed and even if she could, they probably wouldnt want builders moping about their hideout. A gentle tug at her arm snapped her out of her thoughts. She jumped in horror despite it just being Joe and began to follow him, her head hanging low with guilt as they exited the warehouse. As their feet tapped against the concrete floor, Sharada had to shield her eyes from the blazing sun as the duo stepped outside. It was clear to see that she was a wreck, dust covered her from head to toe, her hair was an utter mess and even her tights were ripped. With a deep breath of fresh air, she began to think about what to say to him. A sorry would've been nice, but now that he was standing in front of her, she was too nervous, knowing that he would probably reply with some sarcastic or embarrassing comment. Instead, she simply puffed her cheeks to him, finally taking in fully what he was wearing, "...I think I have the same slippers back at home..."

[The REAL Joey]

Joey looked down to his slippers and his face flinched at being caught out wearing such fluffly little shoes. "Ohahahaha, don't mind them. I was just lazying about in my room. Funnily enough, I didn't hear a thing as my room is sound protected. You wouldn't believe how nice some of them wiseguys can get. Especially Erik with his bleeding guitar, haha." Despite all the damage wrought he seemed surprisingly optimistic. Sensing that Sharada was feeling terribly guilty about the damage he sat her down on a shoddy looking bench and joined her. "Look, it's not a problem. I know it's meant to have this abandoned warehouse vibe but let's be honest here. It ain't. We'll just reconstruct it to look that way." He looked out to the sky and continued his conversation. "Some of the gang know a thing or two about layin' bricks plus we have a fairly large Machop population living underneath the grounds. We can just ask them for help."

His face crept into a rather cheeky grin. "Maybe work on building in a few new traps. The place will be as good as new. Or old. Yeah, old as we need to keep up the disguise." He looked over to the warehouse wall and seemed to be reminiscing. "I remember buying this place off dirt cheap from some old fella. Said he didn't want nothin' to do with it anymore and practically gave me ownership. Needless to say it came in so much handy. Being between Johto and Kanto means we can pretty much go to both when needed. As the gang grew we also installed all sorts of new features to the place." He tapped his foot on the ground, signalling something. "We have a high security vault down there." As Joey persisted on with informing Sharada about the warehouse's history he seemed to be dodging an issue.

Eventually silence fell between them and it started to become a bit awkward. He looked around the grassy garden before them before looking to Sharada and getting to his point. "Say... Shar? You're not hurt or anything are you? My gang can be pretty rough and I just wanna make sure none of 'em did actually harm ya?" He looked her over and from the exterior seemed alright, just shaken. "I hope you don't let this get you all off on the wrong foot with 'em. When they're back on their feet i'll have a little word with 'em and explain everything." He snorted a little as he thought about something. "Please tell me at least one of 'em worked out you weren't a Rocket though?" He stood up and stretched, cracking his knuckles in the process. "So yeah, we can relax out here some more for you to get yer nerves back or we can go and heal your Pokemon up." He scratched the back of his neck and laughed nervously. "Maybe even Smeargle too. Just hope it doesn't tear us all a new one."

[Morrigan]

-- Moved to [ Deserted Grassy Patch ] --

Despite Joe telling her not to worry about the huge amount of damage she had caused, the thought still loomed over her head. With a heavily sigh, she sat gently onto the bench next to Joe. Sitting forward slightly, she rested her elbows on her knees, using a hand she removed her hat and used her spare hand to run her fingers through her hair roughly. A thought crossed her mind but she shook it off pretty much immediately, "I could call over my father and his crew to give you a hand but... I'd be in even deeper trouble than I already am." Flopping her hat back onto her head, she sat back up to straighten her achy back, "I'm sorry, alright? This was just supposed to be a bit of a laugh, I didn't expect my team to destroy half your hideout... I'll stay behind to help if you guys need it."

As Joe seemed to casually laugh off what had happened, Sharada paused at the thought of yet another warehouse trap. It was that cheeky Ekans catching her Smeargle off guard what had started it all off in the first place. Rubbing her eyes gently with her fingertips, she let out a laugh of her own, "Traps, eh? Well, if I'm welcome back in the future, atleast I'll be a bit more prepared for these 'traps' of yours." She decided it would be best to let him in on a bit that had happened to her, a smile staying on her face, "This pesky Ekans sent all sorts of traps at my team. The one what got me most was this Magnemite what stole my pokeballs. Well, except for Togepi, it was kinda intense."

As silence fell between them, Sharada returned to her leaning forward position, avoiding eye contact with Joe and cautiously nibbling at her nails. Was Joe angry with her after all? The two rarely had such awkward moments. Removing one hand from her lips, she was about to move onto the next when the sound of an almost worried Joe made her stop, "Huh?" A little confused that he was acting more worried about her than his own warehouse, she blinked to him in surprise, "I'm alright. You should be more worried about the pile of unconscious back inside." Pausing to think about his question, she shook her head from side to side slowly, "Harley was a little cautious and Erik just about got there. Smeargle didn't really give them a chance though." Her voice trailed off quietly before she continued, noticing Joe stand up in the corner of her eye, "I expect they'll be pretty pissed off with me. Not that I blame them."

Being presented with a few options of what to do next, Sharada became silent once more, feeling too scared to face his gang again at that moment. "Smeargle was just on a role earlier. That was the first time she has ever been knocked cold. I think she has learnt her lesson." Glancing to Joe who was standing right next to her, she reached out a hand absent mindedly and clutched tightly onto his. A small lumped jammed in her throat, now what? Asking for a hug or some kind of comfort wasn't necessarily like her and she doubted Joe would feel the same way. Still avoiding eye contact with him, she glanced around trying to think of a reason why she did this, before her eyes glued to a rather tattered looking tree, "Mmm... That's a honey tree over there, right? How about I let some of my team to rest over there so you can catch up with your gang to see how they are all doing. I think I'll be alright."

[The REAL Joey]

As news of a plotting Ekans reached Joe's ears he rolled his eyes and shook his head wearily. "Oh yeah... We had a few people complaining about this sly little Ekans causing havoc for everyone. Rocko got hit on the noggin pretty bad when the Ekans flicked a trap floor and sent a load of Voltorb crashing down on him." Thinking back, it was actually no surprise as to why Joey's gang was more than a bit irritable. "I guess with Ekans coiling about and activating traps off on my gang kinda had them on edge. Needed to blow off some steam, y'know? Still, seems you caught the Ekans. At least you'll have something to rely on when you go undercover for some dirt. I've been keeping my ears close to the ground and not heard squat. They're definitely running things a bit tighter this time around." Sharada's mention of a trap bought things to a lighter tone between them. "Ah yeah, the Magnemite was an idea me and Erik had. It's stopped quite a few people but from the sounds of it, your Togepi ain't nothin' to mess with. I'll have to see if Looker recorded any of the footage. I could do with a good video."

With the conversation falling back to the gang members back in his warehouse he shrugged and grinned. "They're a tough bunch. Sure they'll be fine. We'll just patch 'em up in the safe room and get a good bit of drink down their necks and they'll be good as new. Each and every one of them is a tough sonofabitch so they probably even enjoyed the scrap. Hell knows it instilled a bit of action around these parts. I doubt all of them have had such a testing brawl in a loooong time." With him standing next to her and Sharada's hand meeting his, his gripped back and he looked to her understandingly. "You must'a had quite a fright back them, c'mere." He tugged her up and wrapped his arms around her, enveloping her in a warm hug. He patted her back slowly while bobbing to and fro slightly. "There, there. It's all over know and you came out tops. Don't be such a 'fraidy cat, 'k?" He stood back and nodded as she mentioned her plans. "Ok, i'll go and see if anyone needs anythin'. You go and see if the ol' honey tree still has it. It's looking kinda withered. Harley's been doing her best to keep it lush but its old. Not much you can do eh?"

He turned around and slowly trudged off back into the warehouse, his fluffy slippers blowing gently in the breeze. As the door clanged shut, Sharada was left by herself with her Pokemon and had a chance to use the warehouse's honey tree.

[Morrigan]

By the sounds of things, the Ekans she had captured had caused quite a stir for Joe's gang members. Perhaps something good had come out of her arriving afterall. About to take her hand away from Joe's she turned her surprised expression up towards him at the feeling of him gripping her own hand back. Her eyes began to swell sadly as Joe tugged her off her feet, wrapping his arms tightly around her. "D-Dont get the wrong idea..." she whimpered, her voice slightly muffled as it was pushed against his chest. Awkwardly, she lifted her own arms, tightening them around his back and digging her nails into his dressing gown. She had never experienced such an embrace from anyone besides her parents but this felt different, it felt comforting and warm. She didnt want to move from such a welcoming spot but at the same time she didnt want to express to Joe how much she liked it. Sadly letting go from him, she hid her eyes underneath her fringe, nodding slowly to his idea of going, "I hope they are all okay."

With Joe now gone, Sharada decided to wade carefully through the long grass, towards the withering Honey Tree before her. Finding a worn down patch, Sharada tossed her bag to the floor before tossing her whole team out to enjoy the cooling breeze. They were all prepared to be faced with a fight, but luckily for them, they seemed to be outside. Kneeling to the ground, Sharada smiled gently to each of them, "I'm really sorry about that, guys. It seems are little misunderstandings are being dealt with now, I hope you all dont think negatively of me." Each of her Pokemon gazed to one another before pouncing on her affectionately. What had happened in the warehouse was tough and at the end of the day she was using her Pokemon to protect her, there was nothing wrong with that, "Heehee... Thanks guys~"

Ushering them off, Sharada allowed her pokemon to roam freely and carefully. It seemed even Smeargle had calmed herself down and was now playfully bouncing playfully in the tall grass with Mareep. Charmeleon was keeping Togepi nice and warm with his flaming tail whilst Cubone and Snorunt were sparring to themselves. With Swablu perched happily on Sharada's shoulder, she decided to tug out a jar of honey from her bag before approaching the honey tree, "Let's give this a go." Swablu began to tweet happily as she watched Sharada smoother the trunk with the whole jar of honey. Placing the empty jar back into her bag, she sat herself down on a safe patch, whispering to the glittering bird on her shoulder, "I wonder if anything lives in here..."


OOC: I'll probably catch whatever appears on the tree, so we can notify the staff to take away the honey, add levels to whatever I use and update my box with whatever I catch all at once. :3

[The REAL Joey]

As if slowly stirring to life, the tree seemed to move ever so slightly in thanks to being bathed in such golden nectar. The faint breeze that accompanied this day blew a bit harder as it stirred some of the leaves of the honey tree. The delectable smell was now most likely blown across all over the grassy patch as a tasty little invite for those who dared to come forward. Moment's passed with no response. It seemed nothing had decided to venture forward and sample the taste honey dripping from the tree's bark. Sharada's Swablu twittered in anticipation but still nothing came. It appeared the attempt at luring in a Pokemon had failed.

Except... It hadn't. The withered honey tree began shaking slightly almost as if giving indication to the fact that something had come out to feast on the generous offer. It was hard to make out at first but there was definitely something there. Closer inspection yielded a Pokemon that was beyond minuscule and seemed to be licking up the smothered honey at a starving rate. Its natural appearance also made it very easy to look over, due to how close to a cherry it resembled. An aesthetic defence mechanism perhaps. Seeing as Sharada had summoned it with her honey jar, it was hers for the taking!

Congratulations! Your honey has attracted a wild Pokemon!



A wild Cherubi (Level 15) is happily sampling the honey.
Please select a Pokemon to battle.

[Morrigan]

Sharada's eyes locked onto the honey tree for quite a while but her patience wore thin incredibly quickly as she flopped backwards onto the ground. Gazing up to the sky for a short moment, she slightly twisted her head to the side, looking at the roof of Joe's warehouse. It had been a while and there wasnt a single sign of Joe or anyone else for that matter. Perhaps Joe was angry afterall and they were plotting a way to dispose of her somehow. She rested her head back on the ground once more, but a sudden cheerful chirping from Swablu caught her attention.

Sitting up suddenly, she looked around hurriedly, "Whats going on?" Pointing her beak in the direction of the honey tree, Sharada squinted for a short moment, shrugging at the sight of a lone cherry, "There isnt anything... there?" Her eyes began to blink slowly as she noticed the thing she thought was a mere cherry began eating away at the honey which was smothered on the bark. A cheeky smile spread across her face as she nudged her glittering golden bird, "Joe has all sorts of wildlife around these parts eh?! Let's capture this one too!"

Jumping to her feet, Sharada dramatically pointed towards the small Cherubi, capturing the attention of all of her pokemon, "Alright Swablu! Use Peck!" Her team began approaching, sitting themselves behind Sharada's legs to watch the battle. Luckily for both her pokemon, the Cherubi and Joe's warehouse grounds, Smeargle was showing little interest and just continued with her sunbathing.

[The REAL Joey]

The sudden outburst by Sharada startled the little Cherubi and made it freeze on the spot. With Swablu flapping into the air and then diving beak first onto it to peck, the poor wild Pokemon had no idea what was going on. It only wished to taste the honey that had magically appeared. The Swablu hit it directly and in the process got a load of honey smothered over its beak as well as pushing Cherubi further into the folds of honey that were there. It wiggled about in a futile attempt to resist but it was to no avail. It began squeaking out its little cry and seemed to be trying to attempt an attack of its own. It puffed in a bit of air and all of a sudden its body grew to a much larger size. Cherubi had used the move Growth. With the added bulk behind it, it was able to break free of the stick honey prison and landed on the floor in front of Sharada's team. It really didn't like battling but it was going to try its best to secure the rest of the delicious honey for itself.



Wild Battle

---

Cherubi | Level 15 |
Health : 71%
Status : Normal; Atk +1, Sp.Atk +1
Nooooooo! I want to savour this honey! ;_;

Swablu | Level 11 |
Health : 100%
Status : Normal
Mmm... Cherries and honey.

---

[Morrigan]

Sharada grimaced at the sound of the painful cry caused by the Cherubi. It was so tiny and cute, the Peck was probably both startling and painful. Battles involving such adorable little creatures like this one really made Sharada feel guilty, but weakening it was the only way to capture it and making the cherry hers. She was a trainer afterall and since her mother had a Cherrim of her own, well, Sharada might aswell follow in her mother's footsteps.

With the sudden Growth spurt from the Cherubi, Sharada began to disvise a plan in the back of her mind. From recent battles, her Swablu had learnt a rather soothing lullaby, if she were to perhaps use that successfully, it would mean less pain for the little cherry pokemon. Judging from it's sudden growth, however, it still seemed a little too early. "Alright Swablu! Peck once more!"

OOC: Omg short replies are short D;

[The REAL Joey]

Cherubi braced itself for the Swablu to peck once more. As the fluffy bird Pokemon flew up into the sky, it seemed all the more eager to have another shot at the cherry themed Pokemon. It seemed to have got a really nice taste of it from the last round. It didn't take too long to fly about as it honed in and landed another devastating blow. The Cherubi flung around wildly as it tried its best to minimise damage but unfortunately it was to little avail. It puffed its cheeks at the Swablu and was ready to attack this time. It's tiny little legs carried it barely as it moved forward to land a tackle into the Swablu. Amazingly, despite being such a tiny little creature it packed one helluva wallop! The Swablu was knocked back pretty far and Cherubi seemed incredibly proud of its own strength. That attack boost surely had something to do with it. Swablu however was now glazed in honey from where Cherubi had rammed into it. This battle was messy more than anything else.



Wild Battle

---

Cherubi | Level 15 |
Health : 40%
Status : Normal; Atk +1, Sp.Atk +1
Ohohohohohohoh

Swablu | Level 11 |
Health : 61%
Status : Normal
I'm all sticky! @_@

---

[Morrigan]

As her glittering golden bird landed another successful Peck attack on the little Cherubi, Sharada tried to determine how many more attacks it would take. It seemed to be a little more wobbley and weak from when it was a short moment ago, however, to her surprise it landed quite a heavy slam despite it's pint size. As the sticky Cherubi came into contact with Swablu, it's cotton like wings became glooped with honey. She floated to the floor hurriedly, perching herself on the muddy ground. With a somewhat dazed expression, she glanced over to each of her wings, lifting them up and down slowly as the honey almost glued her to the floor. Not wanting to hurt it anymore than she had to, Sharada prepared the pokeballs of her pokemon beside her, "Alright guys, return for now." The move she had in mind sent both Pokemon and humans into a deep slumber, she didn't want it to effect her other team members aswell. Preparing to shove her fingertips into her ears, she ordered her next move to Swablu, "Alright Swablu, use Sing!"