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Post by NolChannel on Feb 22, 2017 19:56:19 GMT -5
Out in Orre's vast wastelands, one could see straight to the horizon: storms could be seen from several hours off, and a sound loud enough could carry for miles. And on this day, several miles west of Garasu, the sound of a hoverbike buzzed through, sand kicking off behind into the air into quite an impressive cloud. Its rider wore a dark helmet, a black, treated visor currently keeping the errant sand out of his eyes. And in the sidecar, an Absol huddled down, keeping her fur out of the wind.
"You know," the Absol perked up, pitching her voice through the whipping winds, "This isn't our usual forte. Coming this far out of the city?"
"Just be glad that the city's been doing so well, that we have the time to even check this place out!" The biker called back, taking a light turn so as to not clip a sand dune with the front of their engine. This made the Absol lie almost prone to the floor of her seat, the Pokemon just shaking her head in disbelief.
Yes, this wasn't their normal line of work, but it was a low priority "audit" sitting on top of the inbox for quite a while. The biker checked his GPS once more, setting himself right back on track: straight west, a good twenty or so miles outside of the city limits, there was a man-made oasis. It wasn't something talked about openly, but the rumors were varied, between therapeutic effects, a nice calming place in the middle of the harsh desert, and a place to soothe the ails of shadow Pokemon.
It was this last claim that had caught his attention. Ever since the fall of Cipher, there was quite a demand to find any way to 'cure' Shadow Pokemon, and when there was a demand, there was someone willing to take advantage of it. From people profiteering and making money off miracle drugs that were nothing more than sugar pills, to camps where they simply vanished overnight, stealing several Shadow Pokemon at once, this officer had seen it all. And this oasis' rumors pegged all the right marks to make it a point of suspicion.
Suspicion enough for the officer to spend a slow afternoon driving all the way out here. Off the usual padded-down sand of popular travel routes, it took him a good forty minutes to even traverse this land! But, after so long, he finally found his way here: darker dirt parted away from the sand, and the glittering blue of the water showed brilliantly under the bright sun.
Here, the officer stepped off of the bike. Unclasping his helmet, the blonde officer tossed it right on his seat as he stepped out, the Absol following right behind as she shook out her fur. "... Leave Jolt to that next time, Khail. Please."
"Hmph." Sparing her but a glance, Khail stepped forward, taking one sweeping look at the place...
urmmuxunbidden |
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Post by urmmuxunbidden on Feb 23, 2017 19:34:15 GMT -5
Edward Ritter was meditating in the middle of the Oasis. He sat in the middle of three palm trees. His legs disappeared under the blanket of tall vibrant grasses. Around him were sparse wildflowers and spots of sunlight that made it through the canopy of palm fronds. Just a couple meters to his left was the shore of the small pond, covered in reeds and algae. Around 8 lily pads rested on the still surface of the water. In the opposite direction from Edward, away from the shore, there were stubby fern-like bushes with trunks that swelled with water.
With Edward was Grandius and Wyndra. The old torterra was nearly asleep, and Wyndra was fighting to keep old memories down. The tropius would occasionally lurch to the side before regaining focus. The meditating group took no notice of the approaching hoverbike.
Vogun and Hattie did notice, although only Vogun cared. He didn't trust this approaching stranger. Friendly visitors didn't tend to come unannounced on a hoverbike. Friendly visitors didn't tend to come at all without Edward pressuring them to. Vogun was sure that Edward hadn't gone to the city yet. It was still pretty early, and his trainer had been meditating when Vogun woke up.
"Hattie, go check out the pumpkins. I think I saw one starting to develop," He lied. The pumpkin patch was on the other side of the pond.
Hattie didn't want to check out the pumpkins, but she did catch the seriousness in his voice. The petilil bounced away. Vogun readied himself, extending a long vine steeped in his nastiest toxin. Poison jab was one of his better moves. The hoverbike was closer now, allowing him a look at the occupants.
The driver was a government operative, it seemed, and a higher up one at that. Vogun had seen Edward talk to plenty of this type. He had also seen many of them get angry or annoyed at his trainer. There was also a pokemon with him, although the hoverbike obscured any distinguishing features. He watched as the operative stepped off the hoverbike near the edge of the oasis. Vogun wasn't sure if he had been noticed yet, and he made an effort to honorably challenge this intruder.
"Right here! I'm the one you want! If you want to get to Edward, you're going to have to get through me!" Vogun shouted.
It was at this point that the meditating group finally noticed the commotion.
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Post by NolChannel on Feb 23, 2017 21:00:22 GMT -5
"Wow... how pretty..."
For those first several moments, the Absol just stared in awe at the scene before herself. The feline felt it, real soil, damp and warm against her paws, the scent of fresh, living water wafting through the ordinarily brutal breeze of the desert. Briefly closing her eyes, it felt like she was back in the training center of Phenac, idly napping away near that reservoir. No, perhaps it was even more than that! There was a soft smile on her face...
... And as for the officer? Well, he didn't quite meet the sentiment of his Pokemon, as he knelt down, running the dirt through his hands, looking carefully around the area. There didn't seem to be any off signals: no signs of battle anywhere around, nor several tracks in nor out of the area. No, it was clean: even the lining of the artificial oasis was perfectly cut.
Of course it mattered little if there were few signs in or out of the area - one windstorm would cover up something like that - but could this place really be a cover? If so, the entire point behind it seemed expensive and foolish! Well, Khail wouldn't really know until he met the person who-
Wait, was that a Weepinbell?
Abigail was quickly pulled from her trance, blinking as that grass type took a stance. And by instinct, she put her own paw forward, back arched as she stayed low to the ground! "My, my... guess someone really was trying to hide here..." Abigail didn't want to believe it, but the writing was on the wall: why else would such an aggressive stance be made!
"I suppose it can't be helped." Khail sighed, pulling up his sleeve. There was really no point in damaging the oasis - once recovered, it could be an actual, nice asset for the city - so Khail tapped a button on his wrist. A familiar barrier would pulse around, encircling both himself and the Weepinbell, a contained battlefield for this little farce. "Abigail!"
"Graugh!" Poison type, right? The Absol's horn glowed a deep purple, as she gave her head one strong whip, sending a strong psycho cut right for the Weepinbell's center!
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Post by urmmuxunbidden on Feb 24, 2017 23:01:32 GMT -5
The abol's attack connected, hard. Vogun wasn't particularly fast or durable, but he did have an ounce of fight left in him. He would use it out of respect for the battle, and to defend his team. The weepinbell lashed out with the poison jab he had prepared, whipping the poisonous vine at the Absol repeatedly, hoping that he could at least land a blow. Victory was impossible, but maybe he could slow down the intruders.
"Vogun, stand down!" Grandius ordered.
The torterra lumbered through the palm trunks into view. He was big, even for his species, and the bottom leaves of his tree had started to yellow with age. He spoke with force. Seconds later, a tropius appeared through the canopy. The tropius landed between Khail and the generated battlefield. Riding on her back was a very old man, dressed in baggy green clothing and an elaborate vest.
"Please," the elder implored, "forgive Vogun. He was just being diligent. We are more than happy to entertain visitors at this point. We were just meditating, if you'd care to join us."
"Edward, he's a government official," The tropius pointed out. Wyndra was a bit more observant than Edward.
"Oh finally!" The old man slid off the tropius and went up to shake the visitor's hand. "Was it Bryan that sent you then? Or Sherry? Well someone came to their senses; good for them. Good for all of us. So what kind of budget are we looking at? I've been thinking of getting some different kind of trees in here, perhaps we could start attracting some bug pokemon for the soil."
Edward's string of dialogue came out all on one breath. He'd been waiting for months to have this conversation, and wasn't about to let a little thing like oxygen get in his way. He practically enthused energy and optimism. If Khail or Abigail were observant, they might have noticed the torterra barely contain an exasperated sigh.
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Post by NolChannel on Feb 26, 2017 13:22:27 GMT -5
A clean hit! Seeing the Weepinbell deeply affected by the psychic blow, Abigail pressed her opening, claws drawn with a thick, black aura. Even as Vogun drew his vines up, the feline pressed forward: the Absol wasn't going to throw away the momentum she had, so easily! She clenched her teeth as the emboldened vine struck at her side, subsequently pouncing forward to try and drive her claw at the Weepinbell!
And only a moment later, would the Torterra's words echo throughout. Abigail was driven both by momentum and adrenaline - the mere words of another member of this oasis wasn't going to slow her down!
Khail, though, took more note of this. After all, it was kind of hard to ignore when a Tropius landed hard, mere feet away from the operative! Cautious enough, he stepped back just to keep his distance... though Edward's immediate response made him raise a brow. Well, that, and the apparent age of the person and one of the Pokemon here!
"Meditation..."
Khail muttered. It matched the description of this place well enough, but it still meant it could just be a cover, and Khail wasn't entirely convinced.
Not convinced, until Edward's reaction to figuring out that Khail worked for Orre: no bribes, no apologies or excuses. Just asking where in the heck his paperwork was in bureaucracy! It was so hurried, so exact, and so genuine, that the officer took a moment to process it.
"I mean, I'm not... tch."
He shook his head. "Abigail, down!"
And wherever she was when Khail gave the order, the Absol would blink, and immediately crouch down and 'heel' on all fours. Hopefully, Vogun could be drawn to the same!
"Alright. How about we take that again from the top? What are you talking about?"
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Post by urmmuxunbidden on Feb 26, 2017 14:03:57 GMT -5
Abigail's claw struck hard, and Vogun couldn't take it anymore. Grandius's order was unnecessary, because Vogun was unconscious within seconds. It was a short battle, and an easy defeat, but it was still one that Vogun would be proud of. Through the pain, the weepinbell managed a feeble smile before he passed out.
After Edward slid off of Wyndra, she hurried over to her fallen teammate. She shot Abigail a dirty glance.
"That was excessive," She scolded. It was hypocritical of her, she realized, but didn't she care at the moment.
Wyndra gently picked up Vogun with her head and put him on her back. The oasis would allow the weepinbell to recover, eventually.
Meanwhile, Edward was asked to explain himself.
"The top? Oh yes, I'm sure you need all of the details for a report or something. I'll try my best here. My goal, and I suppose your goal as well now, Is to develop a thriving ecosystem in order to heal the scars of Orre. I believe that if we give life to the land around us, It will give life back. I've started here with a small pond, as you can see. I've got reeds, lilypads, and blue algae. Once I got the pond to start retaining water, the next step was to develop a root system around it, and some decomposing plant matter to start generating topsoil. I don't really know all of the mechanics behind it, but we should be getting a scientist eventually, right? Honestly," Edward laughed "I've just been guessing at everything."
Hattie had been looking at these pumpkin vines forever, and was certain that there were no pumpkins developing. Surely, whatever Vogun wanted her gone for was done by now. She started to make her way back to the others. As she moved along, she was barely visible under the tall reeds. Still, someone saw her. It happened in a flash, the blast from the net gun was muffled by the silencer. The hunter collected his prize, unseen by the caretakers of the oasis. 1 down, 5 to go.
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Post by NolChannel on Feb 26, 2017 14:42:58 GMT -5
Excessive?!
That thought pulsed through the Absol's head, as the Tropius scolded her. What right did she have to say that, after the Weepinbell went at her first? Giving a 'tch', she turned her head away, avoiding eye contact as she slowly stood up. A long, red mark graced her right side, where that poisonous vine had given her a harsh strike: gritting her teeth, she walked back to Khail's side, sitting as she looked towards the other three. "Hmph."
And as for Edward, well, it would be easy to see why he was frustrated with the government. As an officer, Khail had no jurisdiction over this at all... and based on what it sounded like, some papers got shuffled around, and this oasis ended up on a problem list, instead of one of public development! At least, that's how it seemed: there was no reason to believe that the old man was lying, as there was genuine intrigue and honestly in his words. If he was faking, well, he was good at it!
"Hm... alright, I see what happened here." Khail gave a nod. "Sounds like you've been waiting for this for a while? Well, I'll make sure the paperwork goes through the right channels this time. Even get my own stamp on it." He took another glance around the oasis... everything seemed in order, anyway! "Now, I presume you have some paperwork when you first got a permit for this plot, right?"
Ah, yes. The Absol rolled her eyes... government stuff.
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Post by urmmuxunbidden on Feb 27, 2017 16:31:27 GMT -5
"Oh, ah, permit?" It was a rare occasion that Edward had no words.
"I think we've proven ourselves as caretakers of the land. Nobody else was doing anything with it," Grandius interjected.
"Yes! Precisely. I mean, I'm more than willing to go through the legal channels, but we really mean no harm. Bryan and Sherry can both vouch for me."
Edward didn't realize that both bureaucrats he named were actively avoiding him.
"What exactly do I need to get a permit?"
The scizor scoped out her other prey from his position above the palm fronds. Unfortunately, it seemed that the rest of her quarry was grouped together, and were talking to an unidentified human. She eyed his main objective, the escaped tropius, through a scope on her net gun. It was a pity that both her and the torterra were too big for nets. This mission just kept getting more complicated. This job had better pay well. At least, if things did get messy, that's what the scyther were for. She opted to bide her time first, quickly dashing to another treetop before her prey could be alerted. There were still too many variables for an open assault.
Meanwhile, something was bothering Grandius. Wasn't Hattie with Vogun before this whole debacle? He tried to piece together where the petilil might have gone. He beckoned Wyndra for a side discussion.
"Look for Hattie."
The tropius nodded. She moved to the fringe of the congregation, within neck's reach of the water. Sometimes Wyndra caught Hattie looking at her reflection in the pond. The tropius scanned the water's edge, searching for a specific petilil-shape. Wyndra wasn't having much luck.
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Post by NolChannel on Feb 27, 2017 19:07:47 GMT -5
Ah... now it made a little more sense. It definitely sounded like Edward had at least some contact with Orre - Bryan, at least, sounded like quite a familiar name - and the questions were relatively up front.
And it even earned a bit of a chuckle from Khail. "Well, you're lucky you started this stuff way out here, then." With a bit of a smirk, he continued: "In most other regions, a place like this would have quite a bit of fees behind it - purchasing the land, approving your rights for soil and weed control, property taxes, and depending on the area, maybe even quarterly inspections. But out here?" Khail stretched out his arm, motioning towards the vast desert of Orre. "Its not much, but you might be able to recuperate some of your expenses. Land out here is pennies on the dollar... we actually have a problem just with people hiding out in these wastes for illicit trade."
"Hence why we're here." Abigail interjected, giving a nod and a knowing look towards the Tropius. 'Excessive'? For all she knew back then, she could have been dealing with a thief, or a drug peddler!
"Abigail, behave." Her rare attitude earned a nudge from Khail's foot. "Anyway... you'd need identification and a project scope, just a report of what you want to do out here. Here, let me get you a better address..."
And as the two would work through that, Abigail's gaze wandered over the other three. She hadn't detected anything was off yet, but the change in expression from the Torterra was interesting. She'd pieced that expression before, when 'Grandpa Guru' was missing one of his spoons -
Hattie?
"... Huh." Khail seemed preoccupied enough: slowly standing up, and not really hiding her movement, she moved to follow the Tropius. As much as she could get a bird-eye's view, the long-necked Pokemon didn't seem like she could look through bushes! "Mind if I help? I'll look through the brush..."
And presuming the Tropius wasn't about to smack her for doing so, she'd do just that, using a forepaw to gently pull at some of the looser shrubbery!
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Post by urmmuxunbidden on Feb 27, 2017 20:29:30 GMT -5
"If you can do so without hurting anyone, yes I'd appreciate the help,"
Now Wyndra was just being mean, almost testing the absol. Something in air this morning must have put her in a bitter mood. If she would stop to think about, Wyndra might have been able to place more accurately was what bothering her, other than the fainted weepinbell still on her back. Some distant scent from a bad memory was making the tropius uneasy.
Edward and Khail continued to talk about paperwork, with Grandius watching them. Khail so far had been very helpful, and Edward made a mental note to remember him later on. All he had to do for the permit was to fill out a report.
"Can I borrow some paper, and a pen?" Edward was short on office supplies.
Abigail pulled back some shrubbery. It was hard to see, but she revealed a well-camouflaged head of a crouching scyther. The bug pokemon stood perfectly still, not daring to breathe. The hiding scyther ran through his list of options at this point, and none of them would make scizor happy. He had overheard the conflict between the absol and the tropius, and figured his best bet would be to stay hidden. Perhaps the absol would be too agitated to see him. Perhaps she would think he was another resident of the oasis. He was still hidden from everyone else, so as long as she didn't say anything, he would be safe.
In the worst case scenario, he would have to cut her off before she announced her presence. The scyther's muscles imperceptibly tensed up, ready to strike if she began to rat him out. The targets would certainly notice the the fainted absol, but at least the targets wouldn't know the nature of the attack.
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Post by NolChannel on Feb 27, 2017 20:46:10 GMT -5
"Ah, yes... I have a pen." Khail left out the fact that it was what he used to write tickets, but heck, it was useful nonetheless! Clicking it, he offered it to the old man with a folded piece of paper, helping with whatever notes and directions he would need to get that sorted out. Hopefully, this oasis would soon be a public help.
And as for the search for Hattie? Come to think of it, the Absol had no idea what she was even looking for, though she presumed it was a smaller grass type... though it wasn't as if the Tropius' tone was going to make the Absol want to ask. Practically rolling her eyes, she pulled back that brush. There was no start, no-one moving to scurry. "Hattie?" Oh, what were the odds it was this first bush? Letting out a 'tsk', the Absol shook her head. Just a second or two later, she turned around, pulling herself away from the brush, the Scyther having gone undetecte-
Not bad...
Shifting her foot, the brush would give a start, an upended rock of stone edge tearing right through the entire bush! On a glance, it would look like the Absol was just attacking the oasis itself, but there was definitely more to it: that thin white glint across the leaf-like blades, that still green that didn't move with the desert wind, that chill in the Absol's head as she sensed the Scyther about to attack! Abigail had spent so long routing up Cipher... if nothing else, she had the experience here!
And only after that, would she try to call out: "Group up!"
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Post by urmmuxunbidden on Feb 27, 2017 21:25:58 GMT -5
The scyther breathed a sigh of relief. Thank goodness this absol wasn't terribly bright. Perhaps scizor would treat him with mercy.
Of course, as soon as he let out that breath, the absol shifted and the rock-type attack tore through the bush. The scyther didn't even see what hit him before being taken out.
"What do you think you are doing?" Wyndra scolded again, although this time more out of curiosity and worry than maliciousness.
The absol called out "Hattie" before destroying a bush. Wyndra doubted Hattie was in the bush, but the fear crossed her mind. There weren't a lot of sane reasons to attack shrubbery. Grandius lumbered over, to try to calm down whatever was going on. It wasn't good for Wyndra to get worked up like that.
Abigail called for everyone to group up. Wyndra's fear shifted; the absol wasn't crazy, but something serious had happened. Edward stopped his writing and joined the gathering around Abigail. Grandius had the idea to search through the remains of the bush, but by the time he got there, the scyther was gone.
Stalking from above, the scizor heard the commotion. She didn't witness the actual move hit, but she did see one of her operatives dash away through the reeds, carrying a fainted scyther. She swore under a whisper as she saw the remaining targets gather in a circle. She needed something to drive them apart, otherwise this would never work.
"Look," Edward began, "I'm sure there's a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this. You're Abigail right? That's a wonderful name, by the way. Abigail, what's going on?"
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Post by NolChannel on Feb 28, 2017 0:36:15 GMT -5
Ha! That showed that darn bug!
Well, that was Abigail's thought, for barely a moment, before the Tropius called over to her, but the Absol was already acting on protocol. Without the skepticism that the Tropius had, Khail grouped right up with his partner, drawing a Poke-ball into his hand. "Well, something's up-"
Ah, right. The rest of the group here wasn't quite used to their antics, and only Edward was as close as Abigail would have liked. Though, at the very least, the elder trainer did put a bit of trust in her. The compliment on her name made her ear twitch, but the feline shook her head. Focus!
"Honestly, your guess is as good as mine. That bush had a Scyther in it that looked like it was about to jump at my neck. Heck, he would have had to been in there for hours..."
"... Makes sense." Khail sighed. "You come out here often enough, you'll start to leave a predictable pattern. And its not like the arm of the law stretches out into the wasteland all that well..."
"So, what? Poachers?"
"Not for grass types. Black market." Khail quickly corrected Abigail's close guess, the officer looking towards Edward. "And that would have been just a spotter... tch. You know, you've done a great job of getting the foliage nice and thick around here, Edward."
And right now, that was working against them! "... Damn it..." Surely, the same thought had crossed the others' minds:
What about Hattie?
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Post by urmmuxunbidden on Mar 2, 2017 20:53:10 GMT -5
As Wyndra processed the bits of information, her expression grew angrier. Edward was very concerned about Hattie, but he also picked up on Wyndra's distress. He moved toward the tropius and gently put his hand on her neck. The tropius still flinched at his touch, and Edward backed off.
Grandius seethed quietly. What really upset him was that they seemed to have gone after the youngest and weakest of them first. He expected some form of greed to reach his little sanctuary eventually, but this was personal now.
Edward addressed the gathering, "Hattie will be okay. We have an operative right here with us. We will get her back."
He turned to Khail, "We've been a target ever since we rescued Wyndra from an smuggling ring. Hattie is a young petilil, about this big. No combat experience. We'll pay everything we have."
Edward then addressed Wyndra, "As much as we need to find Hattie, you might want to sit this one out. I don't want to lose you too."
"Whose side are you on?"The tropius hissed, "I'll sit this one out when I'm dead. Tell me to stand down again and I'll just do this on my own. Understand?"
The old man chose not to press the issue. The tropius moved Vogun off of her back. The weepinbell was starting to wake back up.
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Post by NolChannel on Mar 2, 2017 22:20:01 GMT -5
Abigail, as a dark type, could definitely feel the negative tension in the air, both from the Torterra and Wyndra. The latter had a particular feel about her, like a match sitting on a bunch of dry sticks: one wrong touch was just going to set her off, in the worst way.
And this situation wasn't getting any better: the only thing the group really had going was that they were largely grouped up. As Khail heard Edward's explanation, he didn't even give a nod, the officer just processing the information in his head. "... To target a Petilil... did they make a mistake, or are they just vindictive?"
"Either way..." Abigail muttered, stepping slightly away from the Tropius. As the Absol did so, however, she winced, forcing her weight towards her left side. The thick red mark on her right was still a deep red. Was she poisoned? Khail took a brief look at his device, a purple mark next to the Absol's symbol.
"Tch..."
The Scizor's frustration was kept largely to herself. Deep in this wooded area, and silent as she was in the branches, she kept the net gun locked right over the Absol. Not that it mattered: firing in this setting would just give away her position, and with one of few Scyther out of commission, it was going to be hard setting up a good shot. Oh, it just had to be one of those Orrean jerks! Still, she ran through a few ideas in her head. The knocked-out runt was still held in a net, and the entire group wasn't exactly professional.
It was risky, but she had an idea...
"Abigail, we should have-"
Khail's words were cut off by a sudden noise: deep in the foliage, across the other side of the oasis, a large, unnatural rustle bristled through the leaves. Heck, one of the trees was cut, falling down straight away! This immediately distracted the Absol from her condition, stepping forth as something seemed to be threshing through the woods! "That has to be bait..."
"Still, it means they'll be there, right?" The Absol shrugged, and started forward. As a group, there wasn't much to be worried about! Though, should they all approach, the woods would grow silent...
... And in a thin clearing, they would only see one thing: the Petilil, trapped in a net, knocked out and hanging from the top branch of the highest tree. It was tempting to just arc a psycho-cut up there, but the Absol quickly decided against it as she looked below: hard bark and rocks!
"Oh my... I hope that's a stable branch..."
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