As the boy finished inspecting the Southern Gate, he had to run toward the West after discovering that there was nothing located at the first location. The trees were pretty much a blur as he panted, arms moving robotically at his side as he sprinted forward as fast as he could. He had a bad feeling that there was going to be nothing at the western side either, but he suppressed the feeling and decided to head forward and try to think as little as possible. With the gate finally entering his view, he released his Pokemon once more. The three of them began to inspect all of the trees, bushes, and even checked to see if any holes had been dug around the area. Neither he nor any of his roster could find anything that could be anything close to a stash of stolen Pokemon, frustrating everyone.

"We didn't find anything over here, so I'd probably just head back instead of firing off some sort of signal, eh?" he considered, as he looked toward his Buizel who had proven herself the most intellectual of the group. Nodding at him enthusiastically, impressed that he hadn't made a hasty and dumb decision before the collective group was returned to their balls and the boy leaped forward in another run.

The night had been long and trying, and he didn't think that the hardest part would just be finding what they had already stolen. Fatigue was beginning to set in his bones and muscles, but the adrenaline of working a case was the only thing keeping him awake. Returning to Ophiuchus and Vash, it seemed that he had returned empty-handed as well. The only one missing from the search groups was...

"So, she must've hit the jackpot, then, huh? Can't let her have all of the fun, though, sorry!" he would announce, before zooming off once more in as much of a rush as he had arrived in.

To be perfectly honest, as spontaneous and hasty as he was, it was nothing short of a miracle that he had worked so well as a companion. Now, however, he was beginning to get tired and also wanted to put forth some forth some contribution. He had interrogated the initial poachers, whom he had not yet realized lied, and dealt with one of them but he felt that it wasn't enough.

Launching himself through the trees, used to it after his rounds around the park, he rolled to a stop and raised his arms in self-praise. Not too far behind him, he could hear the beating of Vash's footsteps catching up.

Vash Parker // Notes: pre-battle hype // word count: 437

The moment they arrived, the area was coated in glorious sunshine which shocked the boy. Thanks to the quick actions of his Aipom, he was dragged behind a tree before he was completely incinerated. Eyes blinked at the devastation that could've been him, the fight or flight instinct kicking in as his eyes narrowed. Peeking out behind the trees he noticed that they had used Sunny Day to create a miniature sun, making fire-type techniques twice as strong. That was going to be an irritating combination to defeat, but more pressingly...

Who the heck were they trying to kill with stunts like that?!

The surrounding trees and bushes caught on fire from the immense heat and power. Not very useful in tense situations such as these, he looked toward Vash with a panicked look. Fortunately, one of them had the mind to think tactfully and he released his aforementioned Lapras before using it to create a drizzle in their immediate area. The rain put out any fires that had begun to spread, as well, doubling the effectiveness. Smirking smugly, at their glorious counter-attack, he tossed a ball and released Slothy. While the rain was still falling he wanted to take advantage of it!

Timing his attack with Vash, the two Pokemon fired off a Water Pulse in unison that crashed into both the Absol and the Arcanine. The rain made the attack more powerful, but their opponent shook it off with disinterest. With a quick order, the Absol launched into a run, much too fast for Slothy to dodge, causing the boy to act defensively.

"First use Curse! Then Yawn!" he demanded, the Slowpoke first gathering energy in order to bolster his defenses and offense at the expense of his speed. Aiming her bladed-forehead at the Slowpoke, she brought it down with a furious Slash! The attack was a critical hit, nearly fainting the Slowpoke if not for the Curse that had enhanced his defense. Panting and struggling to his feet, he didn't forget the last command he had been given. Expelling a loud yawn, it took the form of a white cloud that enveloped the Absol who shook off initial exhaustion.

"One more time, use the rain for a Water Pulse!" he demanded, the Slowpoke firing off another Rain Dance-enhanced attack that smashed into the Absol. This time, it was clear that the additional effect carried by the attack had activated as the Absol shakily viewed its surroundings.

"You did amazing Slothy, come back before you get knocked out!" he ordered, returning the Slowpoke to his Poke Ball.

Clutching another one, he released his Buizel who trilled with anger as she desired to avenge her defeated teammate. Alceides' was also resolved, he was going to end this farce. There was no reason that they could have such strong Pokemon and couldn't just catch more instead of stealing them. What they were doing was nothing short of lazy, and that disgusted him to no ends.

"Sonic Boom, and then follow it up with a Water Gun!"

Diving right into combat, the Buizel whipped her tails toward the Absol causing a sound-based explosion. Striving through the confusion, it launched itself into the air before ripping through the air with its blade causing a black after-effect cutting deeply into the skin of the Buizel. Crying in indignation, she felt herself becoming faint but fought through it at the behest of her trainer.

"Are you okay?! Hang in there, Ariel! You can do it, I believe in you! You're one of my Pokemon, after all," he cheered her on, allowing her to continue with her order and expel a stream of water that was powered by the rain.

The Absol had attempted her very hardest to evade sleep, but it wasn't going to be an issue any longer. Confusion ended, but that was only met with her falling into a deep slumber, finally. Exhaling a deep breath as Ariel fainted unconscious, he sadly returned her to her ball. Slothy was way too weak to continue fighting, Ariel was unconscious, and Ophiuchus was the shackles for the first two poachers...who had lied.

"It's all up to you, Momo...I know you can finish things up," he said, taking a deep breath as he faced the final leg of their challenge.

Launching into the air, she gathered chilly energy around her tail that was clenched into a fist before spinning vertically and smashing into the Absol like a top. Thankfully, the Absol continued to slumber through the damage with only a slight hitch in her breathing.

"Momo, go ahead and use Swift now!"

Giggling, the Aipom gathered energy within her tail before sending forth a spray of stars that slammed into and exploded around the Absol. As a dust cloud concealed the Absol, she emerged from it - shocking both the trainer and his Pokemon. This poacher was much more composed than the last two, he didn't underestimate them one bit. He was treating them as equals and that was why Alceides' was on the ropes. A powerful Slash connected with the Aipom, this one not become a critical hit turned the tide.

"Fury Swipes!"
"Psycho Cut!"

The two collided in melee combat, viciously attacking one another repeatedly. Momo would scratch at the Absol a few times, before being blasted back by a powerful thrust of her horn. Finally, the Absol dropped to the ground at the feet of the Aipom. Releasing a cry of Victory, she sluggishly climbed atop the boy's shoulders. It had been a long night, and now he just wanted to make sure that they won and got this over with so he could rest and get his Pokemon some treatment.

---

Battle Log (TL;DR)

Vash Parker // Notes: yee // word count: 948

Fatigue was looming over Alceides and his team like a tsunami, it wasn't a question of if the wave would hit merely when and how much damage would be sustained. But the boy was stubborn, if anything, and he wasn't going to pass out while it seemed like Vash still had the energy to spend. He finished up his battle around the same time as the boy but then proceeded to handle the more technical aspects of their case while he rested up against a tree. Releasing the unconscious Buizel, he laid her on the ground gently before spraying the entirety of her body with two bottles of Potion. Thanks to the medicine she was able to get up immediately, albeit a bit groggily, before he continued the treatment system.

Next was Slothy who had battled so dang hard, it really made Alceides proud to see the changes he had undergone. Even though the impetus had been the insults slung by his mentor and elder brother figure, Frederick, ever since the tower had fallen his Slowpoke's battling attitude had taken a complete 180-degree turn. Normally, he would only begin to battle after sustaining a bit of damage and Alceides never took an issue with that. It was just the nature of his Slowpoke, but after the combination of the brazen insults and his powerlessness in defending his trainer, it seemed to cause a change in Slothy. He followed all of his orders to a complete T and even volunteered at times.

Spraying him down using the third potion, the last was his darling Aipom who had performed beautifully at the end. By the time he had finished curing the lot of them, they were abuzz with triumph while Vash had called in and made preparations as well as a report. Moving to the boy's location, he straightened his posture before grinning at his question.

"You bet, we've always got some energy left in reserves, right, guys?!" he questioned his team, who needed no further confirmation as they launched themselves through the thicket in order to retrieve their friend and the enemies she contained.

Honestly, at that very moment, it had dawned on the boy that he neglected to bring his Seviper with him.

"Eh, all's well that end's well, or something like that!"

He prepared to leave along with Vash, planning to leave the last poacher in the hands of the large Lapras. His legs were responding slowly now, each kick off the ground and each stride screaming in pain over the amount of exercise he had done on the mission. To his credit, Alceides pushed the majority of the thoughts out of his way only thinking of the rest he was going to reward himself with after.

"Let's finish this whole thing up Vash, I need a shower so bad!" he revealed his motivation, able to sprint decisively to his Seviper who was happy to have not been forgotten. Thankfully, the two poachers had still been napping by the time that the group returned. He turned to his Pokemon and suddenly wished that he had taught one of them a sleep-disrupting attack before he stood over their bodies with a different plan in mind.

"WAKE UP-SLAP!" he cried, swinging his palm forcefully and quickly across both of their faces in a line, back and forth. After the second slap, the pair woke up but he continued to hit them a few times to vent out the anger of having been lied to.

"Nice to see you're up, we ran into the last member of your group that you didn't have," the boy questioned, his voice growing darker as his anger threatened to spill.

Taking a deep breath, he attempted to calm himself down as they got them up to their feet and toward the gate where their scumlord boss was waiting. With one poacher in his grasp, Aipom wrapped around his neck and Seviper around his wrists, Alceides allowed Vash and Scyther to transfer the other guy. Yawning, it was then he forgot he wanted to say something to his temporary partner before the cops came and they parted ways.

"That was some pretty awesome action and thinking from you, I prolly would've just run around here aimlessly for a while if you weren't here to help. Er, uh, so what I mean to say is thanks! And if you ever need help or just want to meet up again, I hope ya don't hesitate!"

Vash Parker // Notes: x4 potions used // word count: 746