The sound of a hiss greeted Vash's ears making him spin around. He glared at the boy a moment unsure what he was doing crouched down. His hello making his face soften though the confusion wasn't quite gone. He was pretty young to be doing dangerous work. Still he wasn't about to judge he needed the help even if it was from the duo before him.

"They are most likely farther in," Vash said speaking normally. "You don't have to worry too much right now." He pondered the aipom a moment it would probably make a good scout for them. Tina was a bit on the slower side but made up for it in power.

"Vash Parker," he offered his hand to the boy both to help him up and for a handshake. "I assume you are my backup," he said it questioningly as he wondered if anyone else was supposed to come. He hadn't heard about anything more than one person. He had automatically assumed them capable and probably a senior due to the fact he himself was still but a rookie.

Or perhaps they assumed him the senior cause he wasn't fresh out of high school. An honest mistake he guessed. If nothing else he was at least mature and responsible; so what he lacked in experience he could make up for in capability. 

"From what I understand they use canine pokemon. Beyond that is anyone's guess. There's a pretty wide variety but I'm more worried about them having arcnine's or houndoom's. If they set blaze to the park so they can escape we'll have a major dilemma on our hands," Vash said giving a low down on his thoughts.

"I think the area should be scouted first," he said looking to the aipom. "And I think your partner is perfect for that job." He gave a small smile.

He wasn't sure how good the kid would be in battle but he was definitely good for something. Vash wouldn't underestimate him; a lot of people got their pokemon early in life. It honestly gave them a lot more experience raising pokemon than those who choose to pick up their partners later in life.

notes

Sidekick huh, well at least he wasn't pegging himself a hero.  Not that Vash would peg himself much a hero either. He honestly has a tendency to overthink things. Like setting the park on fire at the mention of dog pokemon. Nothing really told him they were fire types for all he knew they could be poochyena's or mantrikes. 


"Perhaps I worried too much with so many water types at hand," Vash smiled a bit. "Got Tina here." He looked to the trapinch who bobbed her head in acknowledgment. "A lapras and a scyther myself."

Between the three they could definitely handle any fire types. "We're partners in this so don't feel the need to demote yourself to sidekick. If you have any thoughts I'll listen," Vash said knowing he himself was inexperienced in the field.

Between the two of them, they had seven pokemon. Surrounding their enemy may not be too bad a plan though it would run their pokemon thin. He wasn't too sure about that as it would be easy to divide and conquer that way. Maybe some guerilla warfare? Make a bit of noise lure a poacher away and take their numbers down a notch or two before swarming them.

Vash looked out into the darkness as he thought about it. He wasn't too sure about either one. After all, it would be easy to catch on if someone from their group went missing. Vash had to hope there simply wouldn't be that many.

notes

"Playful pokemon can be a hassle," Vash agreed thinking of Belle. The lapras was a handful herself and then some. Not only was she playful but she was also almost twice his height. When she started moving there was no stopping her.

The rustling of leaves put Vash on edge a moment till a certain purple pokemon launched herself back at her trainer. Vash had to smile as the pokemon as it chattered away. Though they had sent her out to scout Vash realized they...he couldn't understand pokespeech. It seemed her trainer could though.

"It's good one of us can understand pokespeech," Vash said trailing along behind with Tina. The trapinch's legs working double time to keep up. "I was wondering how good we'd be at charades." His voice slowly becoming quieter as he wondered how close they were.

His hand going to the belt where his pokeballs were so that he'd be ready the moment they came into sight. His body was rigid and on edge as they walked. His breath catching slightly as he heard the first faint voices of the poachers. He began using the park trees more hoping to get a good sight on them before alerting them of their presence.

"We need a plan," Vash whispered. "Shall we separate them or bunch them together to take out at once?" If they were going to to take them together they both needed to be in agreement.

notes

[attr="class","Vgentemptitle"]The poachers send out their pokemon!

[attr="class","Vgentempdiv"]

Seeing the two rangers approach, the poachers seem arrogant, laughing at the duo. An arrogant duo waste little time in sending out their infamous canine pokemon. It's clear these poachers are all used to working together in battles - it'll take more than just brute strength to take them out!

Vash agreed with the boy's thoughts, surprisingly, and decided that they should bunch up the poachers before attempting to get rid of them in one fell swoop. The two advanced to where they were waiting, only to be greeted by a rather cocky duo. The two were obviously startled at the appearance of someone else, but when they saw a kid amongst them their apprehension suddenly dispersed like vapor. Frowns turned into smiles, as Vash told them that it was just best to surrender. He wasn't wrong, they were shaping up to be a pretty impressive combination in their own right! Not requiring much more provocation, they needed to defeat them anyway, Vash began to attack the Houndoom and occupied the attention of that poacher.

The other man was feeling incredibly lucky, guffawing cockily, probably relieved he didn't have to deal with the fierce Vash and his Trapinch, Tina. "Heh, kid, just give up and run. This won't even be an exercise for us, it's just a matter of course. I will crush you," he proclaimed to a smiling Alceides, who enlargened a Poke Ball in preparation.

Seeing that he wasn't going to give in without an actual fight, the man shrugged and threw a Great Ball. The contents of which erupted to reveal a Mightyena, for a moment he was dazzled by seeing Poochyena's evolved form but he had to force himself to get over it so he could save the Pokemon. Tossing his own similarly colored ball, he decided to bring out his Seviper named Ophiuchus in order to begin.

"Let's cut loose, 'kay, Ophi? Glare!" he spoke casually before quickly ordering a command, the serpent pokemon staring directly into the eyes of the Mightyena and paralyzing him. It was an incredibly unique technique, and one often reserved for other snake-like pokemon according to the Pokedex. Sucking his teeth in irritation, not prepared for such a method of attacking, the man cried for his Mightyena to begin howling. Thankfully, for him, the canine managed to avoid the effects of total paralysis and released a sharp bark that increased its attack.

Gathering poisonous energy in her mouth, the Seviper chucked a Sludge Bomb toward the Mightyena who had no time to dodge. A large cloud of smoke hid her form, but they were sure that she wasn't going to just sit still.

"Mightyena, use Crunch!" the man demanded his dog, who began to charge toward the Seviper as a set of fangs formed in the air in front of her. As she neared, the projection clamped onto the snake viciously and continued to shake her a few times before slamming her into the ground.

His teeth were grinding viciously against one another as he watched the rude treatment of his Pokemon. Mightyena prepared to move into to utilize Crunch once more, but Ophiuchus expelled a Flamethrower that charred the dark-type and kept her at bay. Normally, by this point, his Seviper would have had the upper hand. In truth, they were struggling much more than they ever had before. Weakened, he knew that his Ophiuchus would continue fighting to the last but he didn't fight to intentionally knock his own pokemon out.

"You've done a fantastic job but, I won't allow you to be hurt any further. Return Ophi," he somberly declared to his friend, before returning her to her ball. Nudging Momo, he indicated that it was now her turn to perform. The man wielding the Houndoom it seemed was no match for Vash who had the superior experience to the boy.

The poacher who was in possession of Mightyena, despite the fact that his hound was weakened and hindered, was chuckling obnoxiously at the boy's initial favor, or what he perceived it to be. The reality was that no one understood better than Alceides how weak he was, so the point with Ophi was to hope for victory but to whittle his resistance down. She had done her job splendidly, and then some and now Momo was going to finish things.

"No need for hesitation Momo, this guy is trying to do bad things and we're going to stop him! Use your Swift! Then, follow it up with Ice Punch!"

Following the directives, she jumped into the air and began to bombard the Mightyena with a shower of stars. The canine lacked any long range attacks, and so she could only move forward to where she thought the Aipom would land. The two were thinking of the same thing, as Aipom was flipping as she fell to gain momentum as the icy energy accumulated at her tail. Similarly, icy energy had formed into a pair of fangs in front of the Mightyena once more. They opened as the Aipom spun through and smashed into the dog like a hammer.

The attacks collided and created an icy mist that enveloped the two, unsure of what was happening. Inside, the two attacks had collided and both Pokemon were still standing. Mightyena attempted to use Crunch to finish the Aipom off, but Momo was feeling on fire today. Her hands and the tips of the fingers on her tail began to glow with white energy as she scratched at the Mightyena. Left-hand scratch, right-hand scratch, spin and swipe with the tail, she restlessly assaulted him as paralyzation gripped her into place. As the mist clear, there was a clear winner even though she was covered in bruises.

Crouching low and then jumping up with excitement, he let out his victory cry, "All friggin' right! That was so epic, Momo! I've never seen you so in the zone before, you made me proud!" he gushed, endlessly praising his partner for a job well done. With the Mightyena defeated, he released his Ophiuchus once more to bind the man and keep him from retreating.

Turning to Vash, it seemed that he was just waiting for the boy to finish up.

"Sorry it took so long, any problems?" he asked, before looking around.

"Were there any more? I was so swept up in battle I never thought to check if there were more than two of them!"

Vash Parker // Notes: -- // word count: 1,024

As Ophiuchus constricted the poacher that Alceides had confronted, the boy worried that he was asking for a bit much considering she was battling just mere moments ago. But she had gotten enough rest that she was lively, like normal, and grinned in satisfaction when her trainer gave her a thumbs-up. Opposite their group, it seemed that Alceides had been a bit wrong about the ease of their combat. Because he was so focused on his own battle he misunderstood the quickly glances as Vash's side easily handling the Houndoom. It wasn't as if they were unskilled, they were more than the boy, but the Houndoom must've been incredibly powerful.

The scorch marks both on the ground and covering the Trapinch's body told a malicious story, reflected in the eyes of her trainer. It was exactly as the boy would've to react if one of his friends were hurt, but it was still shocking to see up close. Kind eyes had hardened, demanding that his Scyther capture the poacher as he attempted to escape. Speeds, unlike anything he had ever seen allowed the mantis to embrace the poacher with her scythes, ensuring that if he moved he would surely regret it.

After such an emotional outburst the man became much more reserved, the boy grinning in response despite the situation. The two were so much alike that it was actually somewhat scary, aside from looks they could've practically been twins. Handing the interrogation over to Alceides, he announced that he would check their bags while the boy was free to handle the actual interrogating.

"Okaaaaaaaaaay, let's do this. Scyther if you'd be so kind as to bring him closer. Ariel, Slothy sit on the next one until I'm ready for him - Ophi, I'll need you for this," the boy began to crack his knuckle, his voice surprisingly cheery despite the awful implications behind them. His eyes glowed with wicked ingenuity, the Scyther catching a glimpse and smirking at the hidden monster within the boy.

There were very few things that angered him, and he had very little enemies, but the mistreatment of Pokemon was not something he could ever abide by nor forgive. The Scyther complied, either due to her trainer or out of respect, moving the first victim closer as Seviper flipped the first poacher onto his belly and had his Slowpoke and Buizel sit on him to ensure he didn't escape. Slowpoke's immense weight would've been enough, but Ariel was there to ensure no funny business ensued. Using Seviper, he had her hold an additional blade to the man's neck that the boy pushed in, drawing small droplets of blood.

"That's such a pretty color, I wonder what you'd look like covered in it?" he asked, smiling and licking his lips as he stared the poacher in the eyes. Unnerved by such creepy antics, made worse by the pain of the bladed tail and the precarious position overall, any thoughts of escape drained from his body and his body went limp with no resistance.

Needless to say, he squealed like a pig and revealed that they had already hidden a large number of their findings somewhere within the park so that they could finish grabbing more and quickly leave. The two were working alone, arrogant combination, so the only thing that was left to do was to find the stash. He refused to tell the boy where it was actually located, but that was fine - it wasn't as if they were going anywhere. Vash returned, looking at the boy hoping for answers.

"Slothy, use Yawn on both of them. Ophi, return to binding our catch," he ordered his Pokemon quickly, putting the culprits to sleep and ensuring that both were properly restrained once more. Once both were done, he smiled at Vash and gave him a thumbs-up.

"We finished the boss fight, now we just gotta go find the hidden treasure! They were working alone, or so he said, but they did load up most of their stolen Poke Balls into a nearby stash. I didn't get a location, but, at this point it's just a matter of a little scavenger hunt, right?"

The boy always had an optimistic view of things, smiling at the man and awaiting his instructions, and opinions, before they acted.

Vash Parker // Notes: -- // word count: 717