World Tree MUSH

     Suiren had been waiting for the group on the path leading down to the beach until she heard the cries of a Pokemon coming from the beach below. With a frown as she tries to push out her nervous fears, she rushes down to see what was going on. When she gets to the beach, she can only gaze in horror at the scene she is seeing. 

     A group of team skull grunts have surrounded a Popplio and are keeping it from getting away from them while they all kick sand at the poor sea lion Pokemon. A couple more are bullying some kids and telling them to get off the beach because it's their beach now, they turn to Suiren as well when she shows up. "Get lost girlie unless you wanna fight! This is our turf now!" 

     Suiren grunts in anger/disgust and takes the Pokeball from the rope belt at her waist and calls the name of her Pokemon as she releases her Lapras from his Pokeball. "Kaiko let's clean up this beach, use Ice Beam!" The Team Skull grunt is already reaching for one of his Pokeballs as he sees Suiren go for hers, and sends out a Ferrothorn, a large steel-type that looks much like a thorny steel-grey seed-pod with three smaller green spiked spheres as feelers on the ends of vine-like appendages. 

     Ferrothorn tanks the Ice Beam from Lapras and with a grin, the grunt goes for the type advantage. "Ferrothorn, Power Whip!" Two of Ferrothorn's feelers glow before lashing out at Lapras, causing the plesiosaur-like Pokemon to let out a cry of pain from the strong super-effective hit. Suiren frowns, knowing Kaiko can't take another hit like that, and hoping the others arrive soon.

Bryllu had decided to go swimming and so the 3 feet tall synthetic being has webbed feet, webbed fingers and fins, a big horn on top of her head along with two inch blades at the end of her fingers. When she notices the commotion she comes out of the water. "Did you say you wanted to fight?" She asks the team skull grunt, clicking the sharp blades at the ends of her fingers together. "Fair warning. I'm not going to limit myself to fighting your pokemon."

     Here Mao Mao was, enjoying some time on the beach, a nice relaxing vacation... HA! JUSTICE NEVER RESTS! The towel he was laying on is his cape, fastened in a mere moment! The umbrella stand, his sword, quickly snatched up as evil makes its move! The umbrella itself... uh, well he just tosses that aside, he's not even sure where it came from honestly.

Nevertheless, the Ferrothorn soon finds itself under assault from a hail of furious strikes by the short cat warrior! "Ha-TAH! Take that, you foul-mannered beast! Thought you could sneak into a place of rest and relaxation on MY watch, did you!? You and these goons will now taste the bite... of JUSTICE!"

    Luke was enjoying a nice beach trip with a friend!. He had promised Rez to just hang around and enjoy the weather and snacks of the island, so the boy, the digimon, and his Bewear all were wandering down that path, holding snack bags. How does bewear handle grabbing things with those paws, Luke still has no clue. 
    The gathering of Skulls and the increasingly growing number of people willing to stand up to them was quite easy to spot, and so was his new friend, Suiren, already engaging into battle!. "Rez!, look, Team skull, looks like there is trouble!" he calls, "Bewear, go there and help!". It's a bit vague about meaning 'stop the evil team skull teens' or 'stop actually competent offworlders from mauling the angsty/angry teen trainers in mid combat'. That might change depending on how things go.

 
 Muradin had a score to settle with these Team Skull punks, so while many may wonder why a dwarven Mountain King was in the beaches of Alola at all, as it turned out this was kind of a personal grudge for the dwarf. 
 
 "That's it.. all ye bloody blighters are GETTING THE HAMMER!" A booming, thundering voice crackling with anger came from the landing as a short, but very muscled, bearded man approached the beach. Unlike last time where Muradin was just wearing his diving suit, this time he had his full battle gear, horned helmet, plate armor and the works. Miwa might not be here to oversee his actions but Muradin nonetheless intended to wipe these punks out of the beach once and for all. 
 
 And yet... once again.. he relented a little. That trainer Surien was already engaged in battle and a familiar face in the form of Bryllu emerged along with a.. cat of some sort. Still, the problem remained the same with Muradin. Most of Team Skull were kids.. yeah, they were hooligans and delinquents, but he couldn't quite go there and bash their skulls in as he usually did with his enemies. 
 
 "Look ye little brats! I ain't time to waste with the likes o' ye. Bring me Guzma!!" 
 
 "He and I got a score to settle!" 

    Heavy barefooted footsteps mark the passage of a seven and a half feet tall lionman whose shoulder-draped jacket blows about with the ocean breeze. Accompanying a trainer friend, though not his own trainer, Rez wanders alongside Luke and Bewear happily snacking away. Rez can snack better than the best. It's like a superpower. Monch cronch munch. But, no, a quiet day wasn't meant to be. Instead, there is trouble. 

    Rez stands there watching as a number of different folks all seem to be rushing forward to deal with who appear to be children. Holding a single crunchy dried fruit piece to his mouth, standing there, staring, the tasty tidbit becomes swiftly forgotten. "Why are those kids being bullied?" comes a response to Luke's cry of urgency. Team Skull might have a reputation, but not all otherworlders are going to see the same thing stumbling across the scene as it unfolds. 

    The Bancho Leomon looks down to Luke for clarification; he's not rushing in just yet. Pokemon and reputations aside, this feels a bit unfair.

    And Josuke comes in like a wrecking ball! Almost literally. There wasn't time to steal a motorcycle or a car, so he'd just been using Crazy Diamond to throw him down the beach, then catch him, then throw him again.

    So he lands in a roll from the latest throw and tries to get in front of the Lapras before it gets hit again. And immediately summons his Stand again, to protect HIM! Because he is human, and somewhat squishier than his Stand!

    There's a lot of weirdness that could happen here. Those who can see his Stand... well, can see his Stand! It's a tall, muscular, light blue figure with pink armor that carries a heart motif. Those who can't, might still perceive something 'not right' around Josuke -- likely a feeling of 'the creeps', and/or the smell of ozone!

    "Oh, right... another one of those 'Teams'," Josuke quips dryly, scowling. "Didn't know there was a 'Team Bully'." Both he and his Stand are ready to do some damage if these jerks don't leave.

Holly's decided to take a day off from studying to head for the beach. It looks like there's trouble and they're buillying a Pokemon and a young girl. "Hey, that's not very nice!" The witch notices that there's already several others dealing with the situation.

"I think they've got it already under control, Holly." Servis points out as he floats next to her.

 "Bunch of punks, I could easily take them if I still had a physical body." Lavaux looks at Holly as he says but figures there's no need to possess the witch if things are already under control.

     The rest of the Team Skull grunts on the beach have noticed the fight brewing and rush to join in on things, each sending another Pokemon into the fray. "Where did all of you come from?" One grunt yells as he sends out an Alolan Muk, the pink yellow blue and grey sludge monster joining Ferrothorn in attacking Bryllu. 

     Muk uses Gunk Shot, sending out several orbs of an acid/poison mixture. Ferrothorn uses Flash Cannon, firing a silver beam of energy. 

     Another grunt looks to Luke, recognizing him as another trainer, and seds out Garbodor to fight Bewear, striking first with belch, eating a berry, then sending a wave of poison toward the large fluffy bear. 

     Another trainer comes up behind Mao Mao. "Aww, you're so cute, but if you are trying to bring us to justice, then my Pokemon will have to deal with you. She sends out the lizard-like Salazzle. "Poison Fang!" She cries, and the large fire/poison gecko leaps toward the feline with fangs glowing purple. 

     "Hah, we're not telling you where the boss is!" One of the grunts replies to Muradin, as another Pokeball is thrown into the fray, and a familiar hulking panda-like Pokemon rushes toward Muradin as the grunt that sent it calls for Hammer Arm, and the Pangoro's arm glows white as it slams down toward the dwarf. 

     Yet another grunt sends out Toxtricity, and calls for the humanoid frog-like Pokemon to use Thunder Punch, its fist glowing and sparking with electricity is it aims a blow at Rez. 

     A Machoke is sent out for Josuke, and it crosses its arms as they glow white, then the muscled fighting-type aims to strike at him with its massive arms. Finally, a Houndoom appears before Holly and its trainer calls for a Flamethrower, sending a blast of fire at her. "What can we say, we're not nice people."

Bryllu leaps, one of the orbs of acid sizzling on her fins as it hits her, then once she's on the other side of the pokemon she's going straight for the grunts, those blades swiping down towards a shoulder. "Fight your own battles." She tells the grunt, clearly not concerned with pokebattle etiquette.

 
 All things considered.. Muradin should not be surprised Team Skull has managed to collect THESE many enemies. 
 
 And yet, he is surprised. 
 
 Muradin had come in here ready to lend a hand to the kids that were getting overwhelmed by Team Skull, only to quickly see that the cavalry came in droves. Soon, Team Skull were well and matched by ninja cats, rival pokemon trainers (or Digimon trainers, Muradin can't tell the difference yet), witches and ghoests and, well, he's got no clue what Josuke is so he's just going to assume he's some kind of Warlock with that stand of his. 
 
 The dwarf furrowed his eyebrows trying to think of a strategy whilst in the heat of battle.. thinking he could try and bull rush his way past these goons and find Guzma but he had no idea where the ring leader was. 
 
 Just as well, these punks were proving to be surprising loyal as one them defiantly told Muradin to sod off essentially and threw at him an old friend. 
 
 "Hm!!? Ye again!? I already kicked yer arse the other day!" Said Muradin as he rushed towards the Pangaro. Muradin had to give the panda pokemon credit, he showed no fear attacking the dwarf who brutalized him earlier-- if this really is the same Pangaro, Muradin can't quite tell Pokemon apart just yet either... 
 
 "Bah! I donna even need to go Avatar to bash yer head in! HRUAAA!!" Muradin slapped the Pangaro's hammerfist blow with the flat of his axe, pushing the Pangaro's arms out of the way to avoid getting hit in the head. 
 
 Then, as Muradin parried the blow with his axe, he summoned his giant warhammer and swung it HARD at the panda's stomach, hitting him with such power that it sounded like lightning bolt had just struck the Pokemon. "Have a taste of Mirithos, ye cur!!" 

     More heroes join the fray! Mao Mao is not taking this one alone, but it seems the VILE VILLAINS also have backup of their own. Whirling around to face the Salazzle, he shoves his katana into its mouth sideways so that its bite can only clamp harmlessly on the blade. "Hah! Calling your attacks only tells me what you're going to do! And now... COUNTER PUUUUUNCH!" he shouts as he thrusts his free fist into the lizard's midsection.

A moment later, he reflects, glancing off to the side. "...Wait."

    Luke is both relieved and perhaps nervous as more team skull members rush to join the ranks of the fight, perhaps this won't be too dangerous for the young trainers!. He does seem a bit surprised at hearing Muradin actually seem to know the Skulls, and ask for their leader in person! that's a story he might like to hear!. He looks back to Rez, "They are a group of mostly teens taht are angry at everything and cause some chaos and trouble. They are not really... really bad, so I prefer if only their pokemon get... in a fight. If you see things getting out of hand, perhaps you can help?" he begins to explain his digital friend. 
    Any further talk is cut short as the garbage pokemon is sent to attack his bewear!. The pink and white pokemon covers its snout at the wave of poisonous gas, coughing a bit and pausing on its approach. "Bewear, take that bag of trash out of the way, Bulldoze!" the fluffy pokemon lets out a rather sharp roar as it gains a yellow aura for a moment, before slamming it's left foot down, causing a shockwave to travel along the ground towards the Gardobor, and potentially any other pokemon near it. "Remember Rez, just the pokemon ,they will likely surrender if they don't have pokemon to fight." he calls out, while covering his nose.

    The Machoke -- and its trainer -- might be surprised when something grabs at those fists, mid-swing! Josuke has the advantage of not having to call out commands to his Stand, so it's likely he has a few extra seconds to react.

    And in this case, he uses those extra few seconds to arrange both a defense and an attack. The defense? Using Crazy Diamond to stop the fists before they hit Josuke. Though the astute will note the ripple of movement up the teen's own arms and the grimace -- yes, he very much felt that... OW!

    And the attack? No less than a veritable WALL of arm and fist, accompanied by the first real 'attack callout' that he's been involved in; the Stand gives a droning Cry of "DORARARARARARARARARA!" as it punches at the Machoke with a speed that's more the purview of the speedier Pokemon.

    Of course... those who can't see the stand, also can't hear the Cry...

The witch gets set on fire by the houndoom and begins rolling on the sand to try and put it out. How ironic. "It might be a good idea to summon a creature to fight them before you engage them next time, Holly." Servis points out to her.

 "I don't think a cerebus puppy is going to cut it, just punch them." Lavaux figures they'll back down if she engages them directly.

 "Never mind that, where did they get a hellhound from?! It really hurts!" She's still trying to put out the fire.

    When more of the children show to summon in more battlers, it's like a sudden riot breaks out. Within the span of seconds, violence and strife expand to engulf nearly all those present. Rez's dried fruit chip remains held and uneaten as this development grows in a flurry of fury. Beneath the brim of his cap, eyes narrow and brow knits. He doesn't really get much a chance to say anything more to Luke, even as Luke attempts to give a crash course in Team Skull sociopolitics while Rez follows along, as a five foot tall purple and yellow foe appears and charges, quite literally toward the lion brawler with crackling fist. 

    Almost as if in slow motion, the bag of fruit chips that was held in hand falls to the sand, half-bounces once, and spills the remaining contents all over. Like a switch being flipped, a clawed hand reaches out to block that Thunder Punch by grasping the punching fist directly. The electrical discharge courses through the taller Bancho Leomon and his white mane stands out on end in places as a result. However, this is all a means to an end to help prevent an escape from the follow-up. 

    The Digimon's other arm swings low, curving upward, not in an uppercut but in a clothesline. The lion fully intends to lift the Toxtricity up off the ground through this before coming to bear in a slam upon the sandy ground. "You. Made. Me. Drop. My. FOOD! GrrrrrrRRRRRRAH!!"

     The grunt that Bryllu goes after looks surprised for a moment that she got around their Pokemon so easily. "Hey! That's not fair!" He complains then cries out in pain as he receives a gash on his shoulder. "You idiot! The grunt with the Ferrothorn calls over as he calls for another Power Whip, aiming those morning star-like appendages towards the post human woman. The grunt with the injured arm calls out "Smog!" and Muk now creates a cloud of poisonous gas which wafts among friend and foe alike as he tries to get away in the chaos. 

     The Pangoro after Muradin looks surprised as his attack is deflected with ease by the dwarf, and then doubles over and staggers backward after taking a blow to the stomach. It's not done yet though, as its trainer calls "Use Revenge!" The Panda Pokemon growls as he glows with an orange aura, then crouches low before leaping forward, aiming a strong hook toward the dwarf, the attack somehow powered up by the energy of the damage it just took. 

     The Salazzle fighting Mao Mao looks to be in pain as it probably broke a fang or two biting down on the blade, but the counter punch hurts more, seeding the lizard reeling, staggering backward as its trainer calls the next attack. "Burn that cat!" Salazzle shakes off the pain and uses Fire Lash, a whip-like ribbon of fire lashing out from the mouth of the lizard toward the feline warrior. 

     Bewear's Bulldoze attack knocks Garbodor back and clearly, it seems to do some damage, but the trainer calls for the next attack, "Metal Claw" and the living pile of garbage strikes at Bewear with one of the metal rods in its arms. 

     Amidst the commotion of the battle, Suiren tries to go over to check on the Popplio the grunts were bullying earlier, but on the way, she calls for Lapras to help out Holly. "Kaiko, use Brine on Houndoom!" She cries, and her Lapras turns and fires a powerful blast of water at the firey devil dog, which yelps in pain as the blast strikes true. 

     Machoke didn't seem to notice Josuke's stand before, but now that it's being fought by it, it tries to fight back. "Close Combat!" The grunt yells, and Machoke strikes with a rapid flurry of punches. 

     Toxtricity cries out as Rez knocks it off its feet and slams it into the beach, pinning the large lion-like Digimon pinning down the smaller Pokemon. "Use Poison Jab to get free!" Its trainer yells, and it strikes out with an arm glowing purple.

    On most situations, doing a move like that might be a smart move, but unfortunately, that's not as effective against his particular kind of pokemon!. The bewear doesn't even seem to try to dodge, as the metal looking rod slams into its gut, causing it to grunt, while the atacking limb sinks quite a bit into the extremely plush pelt of the pokemon. "Let's teach them the dangers of trying close combat with you!. Try that new TM I got you!" he calls, "Zen headbutt!". The pokemon reaches to hold the garbage crature in place as it focuses, the top of its head starting to glow bright blue and seems surrounded by a light blue reflective 'shield' or 'helmet', before slamming its head down into the poor pokemon. 
    As the Bewear smashes its head into the opposing pokemon (how is that a psychic move?!) Luke's attention turns to Rez as he hears the snarl of anger. "Rez!, I can get you more food!, I promise!" he calls, realizing the digimon on a rampage might be far more trouble than the group of Skulls. Further talk is cut short as the smog fills the beach, causing him to cough and cover his face. "Darn it!".

 
 "Knocked the wind outta ya, ey!? HAH!" The dwarf laughed heartily as he saw the Panda pokemon nearly get folded in half after taking the hammer to the gut, clutching his stomach and staggering backwards. Any other foe would have been done after that, Muradin had seen mighty Orc warriors and even Taurens crumble after taking one of his hammers to the solar plexus like that. Yes, Muradin was certain that this one was done. 
 
 And yet.. as Muradin was starting to find out, Pokemon were very special creatures. They always managed to have some kind of secret technique that kept them in a fight. These guys, one way or another, were natural warriors. 
 
 "Hmrr!?" Muradin was quite surprised to see that the Pangaro was not done, and was in fact striking back with even greater force. So surprised in fact, that he was a touch slow with his guard and only managd to bring his hammer arm up to try and stop the cross to his face. "HMRRGG!!" The Panda cracked him hard on the jaw, his face reeling sideways and his beard flowing about after taking the hit. The Mighty Thane staggered slightly, blood pouring down his lips and down his bronze colored beard. 
 
 And he grinned a bloody grinned. 
 
 "Alright sonny, ye wanna fight then?" As powerful as that blow had it been it had merely amused the Mountain King. As special as Pokemon were it would take a lot more to make this dwarf falter, even just slightly. The Horde couldn't break him, nor the Scourge, nor the Burning Legion. It was a valiant effort, but all the Pangoro managed to do by hitting Muradin... was piss him off. 
 
 "HRUUUUAAAAAAAH!!" Bringing both his axe and hammer to bear, no pun intended, the dwarf surged forward and pushed the Pangoro's arms upwards with his weapons. This was to open him up and leave the Panda's body exposed to the follow up attack. The Thunderclap. Muradin swung his axe and hammer to simultaneously the Pangoro on both sides of his ribcage. It was a blow that had usually liquified the bones and organs of most Hordites and Muradin had been reluctant to pull such moves on a Pokemon. But hey.. you know what they say about fighting dwarves. 
 
 Don't. 

     "Hah! Fire is one of my specialties!" Mao Mao boasts with a broad grin, intercepting the blast of fire with his sword. It seems to be absorbed into the blade, momentarily, before blazing around it as if it were always a part of the sword.

"FIIIIIIRE SLAAAAAASH!" comes another hammy shout as Mao swings his katana at the Salazzle, launching an arc of flame right back at it- and by extension, its trainer who happens to also be in the blast zone, as it were.

Holly finally gets the fire out but she's going to need some burn ointment after that. "Maybe, I could summon a Pokemon of my own!" The witch pulls out her candy shaped staff and points at the water, using her magic to enchant it.

 There's a cry of "Luv!" before a Luvdisc hops out of the water and splashes uselessly at the Houndoom. It seems like the witch isn't having much luck today.

 "Is it supposed to do that?" Lavaux can't help but to ask a bit confused by the situation.

    With the Machoke being directed to basically copy Crazy Diamond's moves, there's a clash going on! Impacts rattle the air, though to the casual observer, it's only Machoke that's actually throwing punches; they just seem to hit a wall in front of Josuke.

    Of course, each one of those impacts rattles up Josuke's arms like rapid-fire hammer blows, and his grimace deepens. But the Machoke is holding Crazy Diamond off pretty well. Josuke needs a little more...

    So he raises his arms, placing his hands on the Stand's back, palms flat. He makes an effort to relax, to center himself... to breathe. Inhale... exhale... Inhale... exhale... All the air. All of it, get it all out of his lungs. Completely empty it... And then draw in a deep, deep breath to fill his lungs completely!

    And no sooner does he do that, than golden sparks of energy crackle around his hands. The energy transfers to the Stand, to those punching fists! The Machoke isn't undead, so it won't be Super Effective. But there's an extra 'oomph' to those punches now -- they seem to hurt worse, and more than that, make the impact site buzz and tingle in uncomfortably numb ways.

    The sudden poisonous counter makes the Bancho Leomon recoil, likely buying the electric/poison toad creature enough time to try to get free, but it might not be quite far enough away to keep from avoiding the retaliation. Despite having a sickly pallor seeming to tint the hue of his fur, the lion roars words with resounding echo while drawing his fist back before firing. If Mao Mao can get away with it in the brawl, Rez can, too. 

    "Flash Bancho Punch!" 

    With a burst of strength that causes his frazzled mane to billow free once more alongside the rattle of chain and flap of fabric from his GAKU-RAN, Rez bottles up all of his sudden Food Fury into one potent outburst. His teeth are bared. His eyes burn with intensity. This signature power move is either going to drill his opponent deeper into the sand or it might catch the impressive looking foe while seeking to pull away. Strangely, this punch is just as effective ranged as it is point-blank and the release of that power no doubt causes sand to whip up and get sucked along from the sheer air displacement. Rez knows better than to hold back against Pokemon. They are some of the few that he can fight with unhindered without worry of great injury. Usually.

     Suiren reaches the Popplio, and quickly discovers why it hadn't scampered off once the Skull grunts were distracted by the battle. The poor thing has fainted. She scoops the little blue sea lion into her arms and moves to the water, washing the sand off and pulling a potion out of her pack and spraying it onto any scrapes she could see. 

     Meanwhile, Bewear's counter-attack hits hard, the psychic headbutt sending the large garbage Pokemon flying till it lands hard in the sand. Its trainer calls for explosion, and there is a brief glow from the Garbodor before it faints before being able to complete the move. 

     The grunt with the Pangoro thinks he's doing well, especially seeing blood from Muradin's mouth, but the mountain king strikes back hard, and the Pangoro suddenly slumps to the sand like a dropped sack of potatoes. 

     The Salazzle winces slightly but otherwise doesn't seem too fazed by the fire attack from Mao Mao. However, its trainer isn't so lucky and runs to the water, clothes on fire, while crying 'Ow ow ow, hot hot hot!' 

     Suiren's Lapras feels sorry for the Luvdisc and gently pushes it back into the ocean with a Bubble Beam attack, then turns back to the Houndoom, and uses Ice Beam to make a ramp for itself, then slides toward the devil dog before leaping into a Body Slam, crushing the fire type into the sand. He then gives a happy cry toward Holly, apparently glad to have helped her. 

     Crazy Diamond's powered-up blows start to turn the tide, and moments later, the Machoke staggers backward, looking unsteady, before finally falling to the sand as it faints. 

     Rez's Flash Bancho Punch counter-attack does strike true, coming too swiftly for the poison/electric frog to avoid, and it sends the Pokemon once again down in the sand, now partially buried as more sand falls atop its battered body. 

     Now most of their Pokemon beaten, as Luke expected, the grunts all look much less tough than they did before, as they all recall their Pokemon back to their Pokeballs, including the grunts with the Ferrothorn and Muk which are still standing. They don't appear interested in fighting against these odds, so they all cowardly flee, leaving the beach as fast as their legs will take them. "And don't come back!" Suiren yells after them before turning her attention back to the Popplio, who has awakened and she is feeding it an Oran berry.

 
 Out like a light. Muradin could count the number of people that had survived his Thunderclap technique with the fingers of one hand, and he sincerely doubted the Pangoro was going to join that very esteemed crew. 
 
 The Pokemon fell in a crumple at the dwarf's feet and was quickly pulled back by his trainer. Withouth their magical beasts to fight for them, the children would do as children did and run for it. 
 
 "Bah, is that it!!?" Muradin yelled before spitting some blood into the sand and rubbing the blood off his beard with his forearm. "And tell Guzma to come 'ere so I can kick his teeth in!!" He yelled angrily at them shaking his fist and shaking his head too for that matter. What a mess, and he had accomplished far less than he wanted by coming to the beach. For now the Mountain King watched the others wondering what was their stake in this fight, or if they all had come here by pure chance? More importantly.. "Hm.. wonder where Miwa is?" The dwarf scratched his head wondering how his friend might be doing. 

    Josuke pouts a bit as the thugs run away. He's not sad at all to see them go, of course -- he's used to bullies. "Good riddance," he replies, with a sigh. His lungs hurt, and his arms are going to be sore for a while.

    Yet the first thing he asks? He looks to the rest of the group, and inquires, "Anybody hurt? I can fix injuries." Some of these people don't know him after all, and he doesn't exactly look like a typical cleric or healer.

    Luke's first reaction, after making sure the Grunts get away, is rush to Rez, holding a large berry to him, "Here, eat this, it should help with that poison." he offers a plum berry to the large digimon. "It works with my pokemon at least.". The bewear seems to be mostly fine, no fire or poison, just a bit bruised. He waves to Suiren, but refuses to leave Rez's side until he is sure the lion is fine. "Hey Suiren, are you ok?" he calls.

     Mao Mao twirls his blade, now fire-free, and points it at the Salazzle. "Your master has been routed, beast. Flee with him, and I will consider sparing your hide." he says with a roguish grin. As the Team Skull "forces" retreat, he sheathes his blade and plants his hands on his hips, taking a deep breath and letting it out with a satisfied sigh. "Ahhh, the smell of victory. And seawater. Mostly seawater."

Quickly turning toward the rest of the gathered heroes, cape fluttering dramatically for a moment before the lack of breeze causes it to fall limply behind him, he approaches with a bravado-laden swagger. "Evil has once again been thwarted, friends. I'll be sure to include you all in my rousing account, uh... whoever you all are."

Holly smiles back at Lapras and Suiren. "Thanks, why were they causing trouble?" She's not from around her so she's not quite sure. "I kind of got burnt." Her attention turns towards Josuke Higashikata. "I'm not really good with healing magic myself, I'm Holly Winn!" She introduces herself to the other.

     Suiren recalls her Lapras and stands, still holding the Popplio she rescued as she walks back to join the others. "I'm fine, in the heat of the battle I was able to slip away unnoticed. This little one however, is in bad shape, should probably get to a Pokemon Center soon, though after a potion and a couple of berries she seems to be doing a little better." She says before turning to regard the rest of the group. 

     "I'm Suiren for any who haven't met me yet. I was the one that sent out a request for help dealing with those thugs. They're members of Team Skull, always causing trouble around here. The Police can usually deal with them, but they're stretched a little thin right now. I can't believe they were torturing this little one though, that is a new low, even for them!" She says as she gently pats the Popplio on the head and rubs behind its ears.

     "Suiren. Finally, a normal name in this weirdo World Tree. I had a cousin named Suiren, I think. Or was it Suezo...?" Mao Mao responds to Suiren's introduction, scratching his chin as he tries to recall some vague childhood memories. After a bit, he just shrugs and gives up. "Well, anyway. At least the little blue thing is safe. Strange that the local law enforcement are having so much trouble against these malbehaved ruffians though, if they've never had problems before. Very strange..."

    Luke leaves Bewear with Rez, and his own bag of snacks, perhaps the lion needs a moment to recuperate?. In any case, he moves to finally join Suiren and Mao cat, and the others!. He waves to familiar and new faces, and smiles brightly, glad to see so many willing to help around. As Mao speaks, he interjects, "perhaps they just are getting more members, so it's harder to control everywhere at once, plus usually they don't stay in one place for too long, so even if the police respond, sometimes it's too late to stop them."

    The more time that ticks by after the Toxtricity is recalled and the troublemaking children flee, the more discolored Rez seems to become. His yellow tawny fur and white mane look more and more purple and yellow. Luke's approach at first to hand over a berry is likely met with a sluggish gathering of fruit chips out of the sand. The Bancho Leomon seems to be salvaging what he can of the snacks one by one either to toss them into the bag or toss them into the sea. 

    Looking up, a hand is held out to receive the antidote berry. He'll eat it anyway. He'll eat most anything. It's simply a gamble if natural properties 'translate' properly digitally. If anything, it'll serve as food, as energy, to help him recover otherwise if it doesn't work. One bite is all it takes and the berry is gone. The lion guy slowly rises to his feet. The discoloration doesn't seem to get any worse, at least. Step by step, over the sandy terrain, the tall beast makes his way over to stand behind Luke while likely walking along with Bewear. 

    Rez doesn't look injured or tired. He simply doesn't quite look himself at the moment. He does, however, reach over to give Bewear a pat on the shoulder and a knowing nod as if to say 'good fight'.

      "They're getting bolder." Muradin overheard the explanation from Suiren and walked towards the group to give them a closer look. Now that he got a good look at Suiren and the Team Skull's apparent prey, Muradin could only shake his head in utter dissaproval. Suiren was teeny! Even by human standards, and the pokemon that Team Skull were attacking looked to be a little pup itself. "They're going after even smaller prey now.." Sighed the dwarf. "It ain't right, seeing all these children acting like bloody raiders or something. Where are all their parents??" The dwarf rubbed his forehead. "I hope I dinnae make this worst by antagonizing their leader the other day... but this is his fault." Grumbled the Mountain King. "This bloody wanker Guzma needs to be stopped and handed over to the guards. I'm sick and tired of seeing 'im control these wee ones." 
 
 "Oh right, I'm Muradin, nice to meet'cha, kid." Says the dwarf, managing to remember that he ought to introduce himself to Suiren. "Say, ye wouldn't happen to see a Pokemon named Miwa 'round here would ye? She's a uh... bloody bother.." He snapped his fingers trying to remember what kind of Pokemon Miwa was.. "Ah..Tentacruel? No wait, that was something else.. hmm.. oh! A Primarina! That's right!" 

     Suiren nods as Luke gives some reasons why the police might have trouble dealing with Team Skull. "There also have been reports of Pokemon Hunters trying to capture Tapu Koko, the island's guardian legendary Pokemon. Though it is so elusive I have my doubts that these reports are real. Still, the police probably have to assume they are till they prove otherwise. But yes, Popplio is safe, and the beach is now clear of Team Skull, so that is a win. I wonder if this Popplio has a trainer, hard to imagine one just ending up on the beach like this as they're pretty rare, though, this one is a little small, even for a Popplio, maybe just a young one that got lost." She questions then shrugs, then smiles to Muradin as he introduces himself and grins as he asks about Miwa.

     "Oh yeah, she's rather famous, especially around Alola since she's from here and a Pokemon that can sing in both Alolan and English is quite incredible. I think I heard her singing the other day while I was out fishing with Kaiko. I guess you met her previously? Anyhow, thank you all for coming to help. Shall we relocate to a Pokemon Center for some rest and food?"

"Sounds good to me!" Holly's not going to argue with Suiren. "It was a long trip here from New York." She doesn't have classes again until Monday. "Capturing the guardian of an island doesn't like a good idea to me. That means there won't be anyone to protect it!" She wonders why someone would do something like that.

 
 "Oh great, now we got bloody poachers to worry about!" Moaned Muradin and grabbed at his helmet, somehow his busted lip had stopped bleeding in the short time that he had been talking to Suiren- the dwarf healed really fast. "No wonder the guards are so occupied lately." What now? Did he needed to go defeat the poachers first so that the cops could do their job? Problems never ended here in Alola, it was surprisingly full of crime for such a peaceful looking island paradise. 
 
 "Oh right!" He facepalmed as Suiren told him that she indeed knew of Miwa, just as probably everyone in the island did! "I forget she's a superstar! Sod..." Not what Muradin had meant but it was too late to backtrack now. "Aye, I know here too and yeh, she is pretty amazing." He rubbed at his beard again trying to think the next step, maybe he could rope this rag tag bunch of adventurers to stop these poachers... and THEN deal with Team Skull. Muradin had a -burning- desire to bash Guzma's face in. He -really- didn't like the guy. 
 
 But as Suiren suggested going to recover and get some food, the dwarf perked up. "Oh aye! I know of a great bar-- wait!" He paused. "Which one of ye 'ere is underage? Show of hands, I ain't buying liquor for any kid-- actually, maybe we shouldn't go to a bar. Oi.." He rubbed at the bridge of his nose.. he could really go for a beer right now.. 

The Bewear does stay near Rez, and Luke makes sure he has snacks, for when the lion's appetite returns. The offer to visit the pokemon center is taken with a quick nod, "Sounds like a good idea Suiren, perhaps they can check if that popplio has a trainer, but as you say, seems unlikely. Maybe you can train it yourself!" he says happily. "I'm sure it is grateful for your help at the very least.". The boy greets Muradin and Holly, while the Bewear hovers right next to Rez, one 'arm' around his back as if making sure he won't fall down.

     "If the rest of their gang are as deadly as these chumps, I don't think this 'Tapu Koko' has much to worry about." Mao Mao surmises, folding his arms across his chest. "Even if their numbers are increasing. I wonder if they're getting help from these... other worlds."

At the mention of food though, his stomach growls as if on cue. "Hm. A bite to eat does sound good right now. Badgerclops scarfed down everything in the fridge before I left. We had a civil discussion about it."

Meanwhile, in Pure Heart Valley's sheriff's department, the corpulent cyborg badger is presently at work repairing his prosthetic arm, strangely bent out of shape. Suddenly, he sneezes! "Ah-choo! Yeesh, must be a draft in here."

"Anyway. Sampling the local cuisine is part of my scouting duties too. Probably." Mao Mao adds, back on the beach. "The king will probably appreciate broadening his culinary horizons."

    Slowly, yet still perhaps at a rate that can be witnessed with the naked eye, the coloration of the Bancho Leomon returns to normal. He doesn't even seem to notice these strange visual changes as they happen. The way the lion stands close to Luke and his pokemon might make it seem like they all know one another pretty well. The lion doesn't have much to say while there is talk of guardians and 'catching'; he has very very clear feelings about imprisonment that are great opposition to the normal way of life for the people that live alongside Pokemon. Two bags of snacks held in one hand, the lionguy crosses his arms and the stalk of grass poking free from his mouth moves a little as if to indicate silent pondering. 

    Sand cakes part of Rez's front after that bout of wrestling, but he doesn't seem to mind. Blue eyes scan over the others that are present, though. Suiren appears to be a lot like Luke, from what he associates anyway, although Muradin does get a lingering stare. Mao Mao... Well, Rez has never seen a Digimon like Mao Mao before.

     Suiren nods to Luke. "Yeah, I mean if it has a trainer they are nowhere to be found from the looks of it, so unless it belonged to some trainer that got bullied into running away by Team Skull, I guess I can be its trainer, but you're right, the Pokemon Center can tell me for sure." She says before begining to head for the path off the beach, laughing a bit at Muradin. "I'm eleven, so yeah, don't think my parents would appreciate it if you bought me some beer. But wouldn't they have drinks that don't have alcohol? I've never been to a bar." She asks before turning to Mao Mao. 

     "Some Pokemon Hunters have illegal technology and use dirty tactics to capture Legendary Pokemon, so I really hope the rumors are false. It really would be a blow to the island if we lost Tapu Koko." She admits as she leads the group down Route 3, through a mountain pass to the nearest Pokemon Center, which happened to be on the way home for Suiren as well. 

    Once there, she heads inside and explains the situation to Nurse Joy, who takes Popplio into her care and promises Suiren it will receive the best of care. Suiren then buys a pinap-aide and a chicken sandwich and sits down to eat, but first calls her mom to let her know what happened.

    The lion guy follows along with those that go and, thankfully, his coloration has returned to normal by the time they arrive. He has nothing to say, really. He sits on the floor cross-legged all by himself, too, and quietly eats his chips. One at a time, for as small as they are, the dried fruit gets crunched and chewed. Every so often a chip will require a second hand to use a claw to brush away some sand or clinging detritus. While the large beast isn't exactly picky about food, he still clears the visible 'extra bits' where seen before eating what he has. 

    None of this is to say he isn't concerned about the well-being of the Pokemon that was brought in or of any of the other fighters that were involved in the beachside altercation. He observes quietly, although his inquisitive stare may linger on some longer than others. Both the long red-haired girl and the medium blue-haired girl from the beach certainly look interesting. As usual, any Fighting Type Pokemon that wander by might find mutual interest in the Digimon. The lion sure looks the part. 

    Crunch. 

        Crunch. 

            Crunch. 

                Crunch.

     Suiren nibbles at her sandwich for a bit, but after eating half of it, she decides she's not hungry anymore, maybe it was just nerves, but in any case, she takes a sip from her drink before standing again and looking for a moment toward the intensive care rooms behind the counter, wondering how Popplio will be after all of this is over. She hopes with time and gentle care, the little water-type can overcome the events of tonight and not grow to hate humans. 

     With a frown, she turns her gaze away from those rooms and her eyes fall to Rez, and she approaches the lion-like Digimon. "Hey, I don't think I really got a chance to talk to you earlier. You kinda look like one, but you're not actually a Pokemon, are you?" She asks with clear curiosity in her voice.

    The feline monster watches Suiren's approach quite directly. Even for sitting on the floor, he sits fairly tall. It likely makes for a good height in speaking with somebody so young. He finishes chewing on the chip in his mouth while his hand, already holding the next one, drops it politely back into the bag with what crumbs remain. There is a light crackle of plastic as the bag is lower and placed in his lap. Thankfully, most of the sand has fallen away along the walk. He regards the young girl with a faint smile at the corners of his muzzle-shaped mouth while his right hand brushes against his pants wipingly. Offering direct eye contact, Rez shakes his head negatively in answer to her question. 

    While he doesn't speak just yet to her, this could be cautionary. While most young kids familiar with Pokemon seem to adore him, the Leomon has gotten mixed reactions and they all did just have quite a large brawl; a rush they're all likely still coming down from. The lion reaches out with his right hand, hand held flat, palm-forward. While being a 'high five' gesture most of the time, this time it seems to be a matter of offering a hand to explore, as desired. Suiren has this creature's full attention.

     Indeed in his sitting position Rez is in a more comfortable height for Suiren to talk with than if he were standing up. She notices the faint smile and smiles back herself, then as he holds his hand out, she considers the gesture for a moment, looking Rez over. Finally, with a grin she reaches out and gently gives a high five with her much smaller hand, then she slowly traces her finger along his palm a moment. Just about that time, Nurse Joy comes over and speaks with Suiren a moment. "Popplio is doing fine, and I have confirmed she doesn't have a trainer. She should be fully recovered in a couple of hours, but does seem to be shy around people. I'm sure with a kind trainer like you she'll warm up again before long though." 

     Suiren nods. "Thank you, I'm relieved to hear that." Nurse Joy smiles and heads off to continue her duties, and Suiren turns back to Rez, a mix of emotions bubbling around inside her. She has likely just gotten her Partner Pokemon, one that can grow with her and go anywhere she goes, while Lapras is more sea-bound and was already fully grown and trained when he was given to her by her dad. However, her heart bleeds for the poor Popplio and what it went through tonight.

    The Bancho Leomon seems to be aware of this. 

    "Shyness isn't weakness." The words spoken do come from the lionman. They are about as deep in tone as one might imagine they would be spoken by a large creature such as he. There's a light rumble to the words, more born of the chest than the throat, that can be harder to hear when not so close. His brilliant blue eyes search as they gaze upon Suiren, yet they do not not wander. He shifts a bit where he sits on the floor and that stalk of grass moves about a bit in the seconds that follow before more words are added, though these seem to allude to something other than physical aptitude. 

    "Do you think she is strong?"

     Suiren nods, moving to sit in a chair nearby. "I can't blame her for being wary of people, even those that are trying to help, after what she went through. Wouldn't be surprised even if she was fighting back. I think she is strong to have stood up to being bullied by five of those thugs despite being so little, and seems to have come out of it pretty well. But, I also will train her to be even stronger, and one day we'll show those Team Skull goons how strong she really is."

    Clawed fingers tap along the fabric of those worn pants while the Not-a-Pokemon listens intently to what the young girl has to say. When Suiren says as much, the lion guy moves a hand to his knee and his tail lightly curls around to the side with the sound of dragging metal from the ring around it. "That's a lot of conviction." 

    Leaning forward just a bit, stare never wavering, the fuzzy muscular brawler wonders aloud, "Are you truly ready to stand against injustice?" The words aren't spoken of doubt, but of assuredness. It's a very bold position to take. Most prefer to keep to themselves, to live decent lives, to focus on their own needs more than the needs of Balance. It's a lot to aim for, even for a skilled Pokemon Trainer. Rez's gaze searches for this deep conviction and commitment within the girl before him.

     Suiren frowns a bit as Rez questions her readiness and convictions toward the goal she had just stated. She was sure she wanted to help fight Team Skull and stop them from causing so much trouble around Alola, this is her home and they are a nuisance at best, dangerous at worst. However, the truth is that she's still a little girl with only two Pokemon, one of which was effectively wild and would need lots of training before it would be effective in battling the likes of Team Skull. "Well, maybe I'm not ready to go after them tomorrow, but I will train hard, so that someday soon, my Pokemon and I will be stronger than they are, and can help to put an end to their troublemaking."

    "Strength can grow, yes," nods the lion. "So can your heart." A hand lifts and a finger points and a claw very nearly touches in gesture to Suiren's 'heart'. "But your commitment can only weaken from the moment you speak an oath. You may not be able to act on your convictions now, but it's important to always remember why you say an oath more than it is to remember the oath itself." 

    The Leomon pulls back from his leaning forward to instead sit up straight. His gaze breaks in order to look around the Pokemon Center and those within in. "Take a moment. Look around. Listen. Experience this moment, free, uninhibited by distraction. Remember the people and Pokemon here, the looks on their faces, the sound of their voices. This is where you spoke your oath to pass on your strength to another so that you can inact justice upon the cruel and misguided. Remember this moment and it will be yours forever. Jijitsudesu, you should do the same when reunited with the one you have saved." 

    So much talking suddenly! The talking ceases, though, as wandering fingers rattle plastic to dig out another fruit chip to crunch on. He has to really dig, though. The bag is nearly empty. It's hard to be meditative without snacks.

     Suiren nods, and suddenly moves to sit down next to Rez as she follows his words, looking around at the other trainers and their Pokemon, some young budding trainers like herself, others clearly much more experienced than her. She then closes her eyes for a few moments and just listens. She hears the whispers of others talking, the gentle hum of the air conditioning, a Blissey wheeling a bed from one room to another with an injured Pokemon on it. She lets all of this fall away as she lets go of the distractions, and pictures herself and Popplio, and thinks about the commitment she has made today, and how it is something they will need to work at together, and not let the conviction fade with time. Eventually, she opens her eyes again, and leans over to give Rez a gentle hug if he allows. "Thank you." She says softly.

    A strong arm cloaked by the fabric of that hanging jacket slips around Suiren to offer a hug. It's a kind gentle hug. The kind of hug one might expect from a Pokemon, perhaps, with a note of pureness behind it all. "You are welcome. Just remember, cruelty comes in many forms. I would never allow compassion to compromise my conviction, but Injustice sometimes Digivolves into things that are easier to overlook or ignore, or worse: tolerate or allow." Rez says nothing more unprompted. He merely adds a bit of perspective to think about in the future. 

    "My name is Rez," he finally offers. "I am a Digimon from the Digital World." That might sound pretty close to a Porygon2 in nature.

     Suiren smiles as Rez hugs her back, and an eyebrow is raised at the talk of Digivolving, and him being a Digimon from the Digital World. "Nice to meet you Rez, I've never heard of a Digital World, since I'm guessing you're not just talking the world online with computers." Suiren comments with curiosity. "I'd like to ask you more about it soon, but right now I think I'm going to go check up on Popplio, see if I can get her to trust me before we go home together." She says as she stands, offering a respectful bow to the large Digimon. "Hope I see you around soon!"

    The Bancho Leomon slowly begins to stand, taking the fruit chip bag in hand, and offers a bob of his head in farewell. It's very simple, but his eye contact is as direct as always and that faint smile says more than any other words he can presently offer. He turns with a billowing of his GAKU-RAN and begins to pad off toward the nearest recycling bin with a pause to let a trainer rush by his path.