A Silver Lining [Mission]

[Lazarus]

--- Team: Gengar, Houndoom, Scizor, Luxray, Aggron, Mamoswine ---

Items: 2 Potions, 5 Super Potions, 2 Revives

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"This mission huh?"

Laz muttered to himself, his breath moving out slowly from his well rested body as his eyes looked closely upon the note that he had taken from the infamous mission board by the Courtyard. His onyx colored orbs tracing every black letter, every word and every sentence that was written on it and tried to wrap his mind around the things that had been happening around school. Rumors were already moving around that there had been a screw up in one of the more sensitive missions, probably by a group of hotshots who thought they could handle the heat.

As such, Laz was already rather peeved at the reason of the mission. Because one member had screwed up, an entire field had become victim to a bunch of wild pokemon that majority of the students couldn't handle. With a defeated sigh, the red head just shoved the creased paper inside his pocket as he checked for his poke balls. Making sure that they were the ones he'd probably need along with the coverage he'd need to face a massive horde of wild pokemon, along with area of effect attacks, he'd think that his pokemon make up was enough.

As the gust flew by, his red hair doing what it did best. Bothering him to high hell with how long it had become. It's been months since he last had a hair cut and the length of his strands had already began to reach a bit lower than his shoulder blades. It made him look cool and all, when the wind would throw it back, but sometimes the style just isn't cut out for adventuring. Promising himself to get a cut next time he had some free time, the red head headed out for the Inner Woods where the mission clearly stated where the team would be meeting up.

Looking at the sky, the trainer had taken note of how high the sun had already gotten. It was midday and Laz had to swore at the possibly wrong timing of him accepting the mission. There was too much sunlight to effectively sneak around if the pokemon he had to force out were sensitive and that, the shadows cast were a bit too long. With a resigned sigh, Ysal just went with the program and moved over.

Standing by a rather rickety and rotting tree whose branches were already destroyed by the test of time, the young man would count repeatedly from one to ten, trying to see how many sets he'd be able to finish until the contractor would arrive. The silence was deafening as the forest itself had become dead. The lifeless forestry couldn't even be called a forest as the charred trunks were a sight to behold. Should you behold said site, nightmares should be appearing often as they were gnarled beyond recognition and became a perversion of what a real forest was supposed to be.

"I wonder when they'd arrive."

Laz asked no one in particular as he relived the silence that blanketed over his area. There was no one there but him and the wilderness seemed to be holding back on unleashing a barrage of wild pokemon in that very moment. A cracking sound from above had alarmed the red head who quickly looked up to see one of the branches started to fall.

Back pedaling as fast as he could, the red head dived out of the way and into safety as the branch splintered and cracked at the moment of impact, leaving debris scattered all over the dead weeds that had long since piled up through the dead forest.

"Where the hell are they?"

Laz had become to get impatient, and that wasn't a good sign. Being told to meet up here early, hah! When you create a scheduled period, you're supposed to be there by the time you yourself designated! Not make the guest and apparent volunteer for the mission wait for you. Pulling out a small flash from the inside of his jacket, the red head took a small swig of the contents inside and enjoyed the flavor of the burning liquid thawing the ice in his throat. Tasting the dredges of the alcohol go down his throat, the red head then snapped the lid close again before pocketing. He was giving them 5 minutes. If they didn't appear, he'd just burn this forest down and get it over with.

[Lazarus]

"Hey, I see you're---?"

A young teen, probably around the age of at least fifteen, greeted the red head with a smug looking face. His braces shining in whatever dim light the forest allowed them to have as he was wearing that overly unappealing yellow belt. The young contractor probably thought that he was on equal footing on the red head, seeing as he was 'deemed' worthy enough to receive help from what others called a Monster.

Though, all those assumptions and could have been bragging rights were quickly drained down as Laz sent a glare at the yellow dormer. His eyes piercing and deadly as he made it entire clear that he was not happy nor indifferent at the turn of events. He had been made to wait for some douche bag that thought was better than everyone else. Already, Laz was planning to dump the guy in the river without his pokemon to help save him.

The yellow dormer began to sweat as he stopped in his tracks. Finding his shoes rather interesting at the moment as his brain came up to speed and began freaking out on what the hell was happening. He took a chance and glanced at the red head. Nope, Laz was still boring a hole through your soul with his empty eyes. Scary ass shit man.

Standing up, the red head could hear his feet crunching the defenseless twigs like they were nothing as his shoes trampled all over them and ending what miserable lives they metaphorically had. Standing a good half foot taller than the hotshot who still looked at him with apprehensive eyes, the red head placed his hand on the kids head and began squeezing it.

With the deadliest face and voice he muster, the red head looked the kid straight in the eye and demanded the information that was needed for the mission. "Tell me. What the fuck do I need to know?"
Laz asked as he shoved the kid towards the nearest tree trunk. The shaking of the tree motioned for what dead leaves that clung to it to fall down like lilies floating on a pond. And the air that escaped the kids lungs was lost on Laz as he gave less of a damn by the minute.

The child was trying to get the red heads hands off but it was no use. The childs eyes became frantic as fear began to roll down his pants. When Laz had enough of seeing this pathetic display of self, the red head simply let go and let the kid fall down on the floor, gasping for air and soaking up the piss that left him in fear. At least the urine had more than enough sense to run.

"Y-You Ha--"

The kid was having more than rough time trying to breathe as his eyes began to be fixated over in the distance. He was getting bit better though, but that was what irritated Laz at the moment. He needed to vent off some steam and this child just earned the rights to it. Punting the yellow dorming teenager on the chest, sending him to the ground and adding weight on said foot, Laz mouthed the words 'I'm waiting.'

"A-a-a b-bunch of them th-three stagers we-r-were taking the space we originally had...And it was our secret spot so we couldn't just leave it."

The teenager stuttered at the beginning, still reeling from the new found lack of air but managed to form coherent sentences after a bit. Still on his position, afraid and looking up at the red head, the yellow dormer could feel tears pricking his eyes. The guy understood that he wasn't done when Laz exerted a bit more force on his foot.

"But you...you gotta be careful around that Aggron and and that Steelix! Now that I think about it, there were a lot of Ground, Rock and Steel types in the herd so your Houndoom should do well against them."

The brat continued as he tried to pry the red heads foot off of his chest. It was to no avail as the red head only began grinding his heel on the dudes fingers before stepping back, getting enough information from the contractor and knowing what to do.

With a tsk, the red head had only raised his scarf up, the black cloth hiding his face enough from the elements as he headed north, where the note had told him about the last siting of those apprehensive wild pokemon. It's been sometime since he actually got a good look at the Inner Forest, so fighting here and now should be a rather good experience for him.

[Lazarus]

Laz hadn't bothered making a comment about anything as his feet traveled alone in these haunting and deathly illuminating forest. He had thought that he would at least have some sort of support for the mission, at least another brave trainer who could at least send some kind of meat shield or something. Oh well, the red head had never been one to ask for help when he knew he could handle it on his own. It could've been a tad bit more enjoyable had someone been there to help kill the silence but it's not like the red head could blame anyone.

With a resigned sigh, the red head just marched through the dying weeds that were now becoming so much more abundant than before and what ever pokemon trail he could use to at least try to find out where in the nine blazing levels of hell he was in. Arceus must be trying to make his day rotten or something. Not that he gave a fuck. He could sit in his Spear Pillar thing or whatever till he rotted away.

As such, the red head had just taken his jacket closer into him, fighting off the chill that seemed to follow him around like the incessant bickering of those kricketune wings and that Jigglypuff trying to make him fall asleep. Shaking his head to get the Drowzeeness away, the red head simply kept moving. His feet crossing more and more weeds and the height of said greenery increasing every so often to the point where it was reaching to his knees already. And they said life didn't grew here.

"What...the hell."

Laz had to suck in a quick breath at what he just saw. Right there, a rather huge clearing could be seen but that wasn't the problem. The problem was, that instead of it looking like it had been burnt down a long time ago and all that mumbo jumbo the teachers would often use to distract the students from off limit areas, it instead looked like some kind of monster had ravaged the area.

Walking ever so silently, the red head crouched down the moment his feet managed to reach the very edges of the brim that was dug to create the circle of the destructive piece of work. His left hand gently brushed along the accumulating debris as the dust from whatever cause it remained. Not to mention the soil that began clinging to his fingers, the red head once more stood up and checked his surroundings. Feeling unsafe from this position, the red head would rather stay safe than sorry as he picked up a poke ball from his belt and released a pokemon.

When the pokeball had been released from the trainers hands, it had connected with the soft ground that had recently been mashed before plopping open, the white cloud of energy escaping as a malignant form began to appear before him. Catching the pokeball and minimizing it, the red head only stared with cold indifference upon the appearance of one of his pokemon.

A blood red carapace adorned its body, the metallic sheen creating a sort of menacing entrance as golden, slitted eyes would glare right back at him. Their faces broke into a smile though as Laz gave a small pat on Oracions head, as tall as he was. Looking around, the red head would direct his Scizor to help keep a lookout as well. Even if he knew that his Scizor was more than capable of destroying a couple of pokemon, the red head was not one to throw caution to the wind.

Trekking through the carved dome below ground level, the trainer, along with his fierce Scizor, slid down the ramp and were rather careful as they did so. A few rocks were lodged out but that was of minimal consequence on the paranoia radar. Moving down a bit more, until Laz's shoes felt the ground become a bit flatter, he had to gawk at how the ground was cracked and several trees were uprooted.

Images of a Steelix wrapping itself around the clearing as its steel body terrorized the ground, or the herd of Aggrons creating some sort of ring for the sole purpose entertainment did cross his mind. Maybe something worth while would appear. Maybe.

[Lazarus]

"There doesn't seem to be a lot of things around right now."

Laz murmured towards his Vigilant Scizor who was only floating around and keeping an eye at the vicinity as he accompanied his trainer who was looking over the destruction that was caused upon the field. His sneakers, though inappropriate for the mission, held on well as the red head and his partner took silent steps through the crater and tried to attract as little attention as possible despite walking in an open area.

And as they arrived by the center of the crater, Laz took only a step forward more when the entire area began to shake in a rupturous earthquake. It wasn't an actual attack and Laz already had Oracion help him avoid the brunt of it. But the moment the red head got off, a giant Onix suddenly burst through the ground, it's menacing snake head and the rocky horn it had on its head surprising the red head.

Unable to give the order to attack soon enough, Oracion had only managed to put up his pincers in a defensive stance, enough to hold back the Onix's rampage like surprise tackle. Oracion could feel the blow behind the Onix's attack as his feet connected with the floor, pulling up some of the earth as his feet dug in it.

Soon enough, when Laz had managed to throw himself away from the fight and from harms way, his mind began to work again as he barked an order for his Scizor to follow. With a flourish of his hand, the red head ordered for an Iron Head by his Steel Bug.

Oracion, the moment the Onix let up, complied with the order as the carapace on its head began to shine a silvery glow. Iron Head now ready to smash through the Onix. The Onix thought that he too was strong enough and attempted to bash it down but the point of contact where the Scizor attack, directly on the spike on its head, forced the stone snake to reel in abominable pain. He was thrashing around at the sudden loss of his horn but Oracion didn't stop there.

His pincers began glowing the same as his forehead had, the power in his fists multiplied by a monstrous amount as he reared back. When the Onix glared at the red form of the pokemon, the Scizor had moved in like a flash, his fist catching in between the stone snakes eyes as a cracked fractured its face. Soon enough, red shelled bug pulled its fist out, rocks falling from it as the Onix didn't even give a final roar and just slumped to the ground, unconscious.

Wiping his brow at the sudden victory, Laz had to berate himself for being caught off guard by the opponent. Had Oracion not been there to help him out, Laz doubted he would have survived such an encounter in such an environment. Getting back up and looking over his pokemon, the red head asked his pokemon only to receive a nod which meant that he was still fine.

Laz took that at face value, knowing his Steel Bug pokemon wasn't weak and could handle an Onix easy. He just wished that if he had to fight again, it'd be on not so surprising turns.

[Lazarus]

"Alright, another case of hotshots, eh Ora?"

Laz laughed as he had, after much time of having his Scizor double check if the Onix was actually down for the count via the usage of a few more Iron Heads to key points of its body, finally reached the opposite brim of the crater of a massive pokemon fight or something. Laz didn't know what could deal such damage to the surroundings unless it was some sort of Pseudo Pokemon or an entire herd of ground types. Putting that at the back of his mind, the red head continued on with his trek as his Scizor silently glided alongside him, his arms crossed and pincers hidden from view.

The trees were getting shadier and shadier the deeper the red head trudged through the forest. Their bark, what was once lush and brown, now looked rotting and dead. The rotting stench that came from some of the trees had the nasty effect of having him feel the need to barf but Laz held it in. He wasn't someone who's will and self control was so weak that he'd be beaten by something this weak.

Swallowing his bile, the red head pointedly began to ignore how the black bark looked like they were being infested with maggots and the occasional deadly looking Weedle that has made a home made out of String Shots and dead leaves. He didn't need that right now and all he had to do was to keep looking for the clearing where the note had pointed at.

Hauling himself over a dead trunk that had been thrown by the winds, the trainer once more looked around, trying to gather his thoughts about the mission. It was still pretty early in the afternoon so the need to rest was minimal. Judging that he could still go for at least an hour or two before he'd need to eat a meal from his bag of goods, the young man kept walking, the weeds becoming scarcer when the trees began to look more desolate.

The bite of the wind had also increased in intensity and not only did the red head began to feel cold due to the unceremoniously inappropriate weather, the where ever it was from breeze had the bright idea of bringing the odor that the red head had tried oh so hard to avoid. Visibly covering his nose with not only his scarf but with his hand, the red head looked over to his Scizor who was still as silent as ever, and only scanning the surroundings for a chance encounter.

Laz didn't even bother sighing as the warm flask next to his chest kept that place warm at least. But the wind was picking up again and Laz pulled closer to his outfit before he went off on his not so merry way towards the goal. There wasn't a wild pokemon to stop him on this area at least so that was a good thing. He was just worried though, that with all this luck he was facing, he might end up having to fight some sort of monstrous pseudo on conditions that didn't feet him.

[Lazarus]

"Damn these Weedle Webs."

Laz complained as he had to get a rather lengthy branch to help him get through the obstacle. Crouching down to the ground, the red head carefully picked up the branch that had probably fallen down from one of the nearby trees a few days before he had decided to go here. The branch was a sickeningly darkly shaded brown, the mix of colors could remind someone of the black marks on fruit that had long since passed their 'best before' date and then some. Not to mention the stench the branch held in place as the aforementioned rotting bark had parts of things that Laz would rather not remember.

His only silver lining for this rather unscrupulous situation was that his hands were covered by his beloved full handed gloves. Not the usual fingerless pair he wore when he just went catching. No, for this mission, the red head was thankful that he had worn his actual gloves. Just to make sure though, the red head would hold over to the edge that wasn't unsavory and start poking at the web.

Well, not so much poking as swirling it enough until the Branch was no longer usable but had managed to break down a big enough part of the webs that would allow a person of Laz's stature pass through. Once that was over, the red head made sure to be careful around it and duck and all those nifty things a person did to make sure he wouldn't be caught by the insufferable web. When that rather unwelcome obstacle passed and his Scizor just easily broke through the web via a well aimed Vacuum Wave, the red head had to face palm. He had forgotten that he had a pokemon with him and that they could do things outside battle.

"HNNNGG!"

Laz roared with closed teeth and a closed mouth which prompted his partner to look at him oddly for the antics that he was pulling off. When his little rage fit was over, the red head just gave a blank stare at his Scizor whose red carapace glinted intimidatingly in the shadow. The red head only mouthed a sarcastic 'What?' at him before the pokemon responded via indifferent shrug. With that little spectacle over, the duo continued to keep heading through the forest.

Over his next corner though, the red head had to be careful. Through the dense amount of broken trees and maggots worming everywhere, Laz had to widen his eyes as he had stumbled on a pack of Primeapes wrestling each other. The red headed would've wanted to avoid any confrontation until he'd reach the actual area that was detailed in the map but this was the only clear path he had and if he derailed from it, it would only mean that he'd lose sight of where he was going and fail the mission.

Thinking things thoroughly though, Laz began to come up with a solution to his problems. Looking over his belt and naming his pokemon that he had with him, the red head was confident that he could take on the bunch with his team if he allowed to go all out. The problem was, if he did go all out and the fight would be finished rather quickly, then he'd be expending energy he couldn't waste in case the actual boss fight would be difficult.

Noting that the opponents had yet to notice him, the red head gave himself some time to think. There was no rush anyway, even if it did suddenly become night time during his mission, he wasn't afraid of the dark nor was he a newbie at handling things during the night. The trainer was rather used to how to deal with night time problems only because his pokemon would be willing to keep watch for the perimeter. If it came to that though, his biggest problem would be finding an area that wouldn't try to gag his nostrils to death.