[Game thread] Skull Ruins Pokerole

[PhantomUnderYourDesk]

The Speed Deoxys scan the group, predicting what some of your Pokemon will do. Luckily, Mightyena's typing protects his thoughts, and the Shield protect's Shiva's.
Rage Powder 1
(4)(5)(1)(1)(4) (6*) The Attack and Speed Deoxys immediately turn on the Dark type, their gems glinting in preparation for their most devastating attacks. Defense Forme Deoxys is unaffected, continuing their slow crawl toward Grid.

Yena looks really, really scared, but fortunately he has enough Loyalty to go through with this plan. It's hard to trust the Shield, but it's easy to trust Shiva.

That's extremely fortunate, as Shiva's certain that if those Clones would have picked up on her plan, they'd make sure to foil it beforehand with everything they've got. Once more she's thankecomes twice as wide ful for the Shield and it's lifesaving abilities, figuratively and literally, luckily a Darkmon's thoughts are too black to be detected by the mind of Psychicmon, legendary or not.

Shiva's smirking innerly as the reddish powder from her butterwolfly fills the air, and that smirk becomes even wider as the Clones directly fall for it. It does not really drop even as Shiva feels that obvious fear Yena's displaying rather vividly, but causes her to call out encouragingly towards him: "You've got this, I've got your back, I would NOT let you perform that move if I wouldn't know what I'm doing, dear one! Trust me on that one, follow your pack leader's orders, and you'll see THAT WE CAN MAKE IT!!" Hesitation is Yena's first careful response, but almost immediately afterwards he bristles his fur, spreads his wings wide and displays an agreeing howl - this special Mightyena will do everything for the delicate girl that came across him on that day on that Route, for the one who evolved him and made him into that strong and scary canine he is now.

Gallade steps in between Grid, Deoxys, and Yena as the weakened Attack Formes move in with rage burning in their normally docile eyes. Mesprit flies overhead, and you all feel the sense of kinship between Gallade and Nathan. It's no surprise, except perhaps for its strength. What is suprising is how much of a bond he feels with Shiva. Literally everything that has happened, happened because a little mistreated Ralts foresaw the future. He saw a girl would choose a Cottonee, would need to visit Elanor and get a Sunstone. He did everything in his power to get enough strong trainers to show up in Elanor at just the right time to be apprised of a massive threat to all Creshire. People who would have loyalty to Creshire, Trillium, and to their two key Pokemon. People who could be prodded into entering the Skull Ruins and obtaining the prophesied artifacts. An empathetic girl who loved Psychic types. A boy whose father had a particular affinity for them, who'd stop at nothing to reunite his family. These two original members of the party hold a very special place in Gallade's heart. Though it started as a plot, it ended as nothing less than absolute love.

Shiva raises her head to watch Mesprit fly, alloiws herself to be distracted for only a split second to be re-energized with hope and determination. That strong bond between psychic knight and young historian doesn't suprise her but nicely adds to that hope, what DOES catch her a little off-guard is that massive(?) bond Gallade seemingly holds for HER. She wasn't aware that Gallade holds so much for her, for none else but her who had that many issues and arguments with their Master. Whether she understands where this strong bond comes from she's not entirely sure, she feels like this bond is there for a reason, for an important reason, and no disagreement could have snapped that.

A short glance over to Nathan then to Gallade as he moves in to SLICE those Clones in his fury, and Shiva's mind and senses are imbuided with a certain meaningfulness. Also thankfulness, she even casts a small smile towards both, doesn't care that it gets lost in the heat of the ongoing fight.

In the end, she doesn't need to know or understand right away, but she does feel accomplished, chosen and confirmed in her strength. Faint words of thanks are whispered that only Shiva is aware of.

Crunch 2
(4)(2)(4)(5)
(4)(5)(1)(4)(4) I guess they'd shrug off only the first SE damage. That's 5 dmg.
Shiva follows that up by catching a Deoxys arm in a Pokeball. It's one of the ones Feraligatr tore to pieces. Looks like the smaller chunks can be treated as objects. But you heard from Nurse Joy that a big enough piece can still reform into a complete Deoxys clone.

Yena is untouched, thanks to the Shield!
Crunch 3
(3)(5)(2)(6)
(6)(6)(2)(5)(6) The last of the Speed Deoxys faints. Yena accidentally swallows a huge chunk and makes a face. He licks up some Shield Dust to get that disgusting alien taste out of his mouth, then he proudly trots over to Shiva (Ignoring all the rubble and glass that's bouncing off of him) and drops a Deoxys-finger at her feet. Which I guess she zoops up into a Pokeball for reasons I do not know.

"YESSSS, well done, let those invaders FEEL your teeth without a single drop of hercy, they deserve NONE!!" Every landed Crunch of her butterwolfy allures similar praise, it's highly satisfying for Shiva to see him attacking those Clones with some success, and seeing that Yena suffers not a single scratch as he trotos over to her, adds massively. It would be considered cruel if there'd be ordinary foes instead of particular alien creatures that bring nothing but descruction and depression.

In between 'catching' that Deoxys Finger and re-focusing on the ongoing fight, Shiva takes a moment to ruffle Yena's black neck fur affectionately, then lets him leap back into action once more. The Pokeball she packs away, now she has one finger and a piece of an arm of a Deoxys Clone in seperate Pokeballs - What she'll do with them I don't know either, I just thought she'd totally do that. Maybe flash-freezing it and kill the DNA within it to keep it as a trophy, or donating it to science.

Shiva is immune, and granting a bit of cover to Spira and Terra, enough that they don't take damage. With four more Pokemon fainted, the next AoE will hit all trainers and then some.

Bodies of friend and foe are strewn everywhere. Elsewhere in the valley, it's much the same. The Flying members of the League have arrived, and many were wiped out before they made their first attacks. Lati@s are definitely still going. No sign of Mesprit right now, but you still feel a little hope despite the devastation you just experienced.

Haha, just moments ago she felt blessed by and thankful for the Shield's coverage, her fingers clench around it and hold onto it with everything - but not with fear, but with determination. Every fibre of her body literally screams 'You're not bringing down the wielder of the ancient Shield, you abomination of space!!!' 

The scenery of bodies everywhere - including of friends - is gruesome and one Shiva won't forget that easily, but if she's being honest Real Deoxys' gruesome 'experimenting' on Tepic was worse. THAT'S the image that'll haunt her. FLying members of the League arriving distracts her from letting the current scenery burn into her mind for later flashbacks of posttraumatic stress disorder, even if they get down very quickly - BUT, it causes her wanting to keep going, feeling even more now that they must make it and win this battle.

"The ends justify the means. Sorry, Shiva." Cosh moves the Shielding from Yena to Nathan. Yena stumbles immediately in broken glass, but doesn't yet know what could happen.

Shiva raises her voice rather audibly in response: "You don't have to apologize for that Cosh, I DID gave you permission to move the Shield's protection around if you see fit after all, just don't do so randomly and without a good reason!" Yes, no hard feelings about that, but her expression darkens a little as Yena nevertheless keeps going. She fears that the Clones will now let him pay for fooling them with irritating powder.

The first Defense Deoxys rushes headlong into Nathan. The other two look like they're about to do the same, but Exeggutor is in their way.

Zen Headbutt 4
(5)(3)(3)(4)(3)(3) (4)
Nathan is unharmed, but Shiva feels the incredible power of the bulky blow slam into her shield arm. Nathan goes flying and hits Marco, dealing a little damage to him.
(6)(3)(6)(3) Marco takes 2 dmg.

This is what she'd call 'a good reason', for example. Only barely she makes it to not loose balance from that massive blow against her shield arm, just as fast as that blow came she's back into a stable position again.

Kelda is completely panicking. "I don't know what to do! I don't know what to do!"
"Spira! I'll bring you medicine in a second! I'm no good against Defense Deoxys. I'm no good, I'm no good, I'm no good!!!"
Nathan obtains Magnet Rise from Luxray via Cosh. "Calm yourself, Kelda. Remember the Meditations. Find your center."

Just as she did towards Cosh, Shiva calls out to Kelda now. "Listen to him please, calm down again, please don't do the same mistake of doubting yourself like I did too often!! Your survived the Skull Ruins, and we ALL SHALL SURVIVE THIS FIGHT AS WELL if we just ccordinate and combine our strengths!!!"

In Attack Forme, Deoxys still bears a grudge against Yena. Spira is also caught in the splash.
Zap Cannon 5
(5)(5)(4)
Yena drops to 1hp instantly.
Spira faints and takes lethal damage.

Oi, THAT'S the blow of repaying that Shiva feared Yena would suffer, she can barely watch and the yelp as the Zap Cannon hits him pains Shiva's ears more than normally.

What hits her more than that however is that this attack didn't hit just her butterwolfy. Terror washes over Shiva as she watches Spira faint, it feels like time has slowed to increase the cruelty of this happening. "Nononono, NOT ON MY WATCH!!" (҂ `з´ ) In a quick movement she leaps over to him and gprotectively holds the Shield over them both for the seconds she needs to use a Revive on him and pull him back onto his feet."C'mooooon, you shall not die off, we need your strength here! That attack hit you hard, but it wasn't directly targeted on you - LUCKILY it wasn't." It may be not super-obvious on her now, but Shiva's incredibly relieved that it hasn't.

She gifts him a small and reassuring smile, then heads back into action among all the chaos and destruction, her wrath fueled by Deoxys's willingness to attack Trainers just because. "Oh you're feeling good for assaulting us directly and knocking us out, DO YOU? Well, TOO BAD, screw you for thinking you'd get away scot-free from that act!!"

Both Yena and Nightshade are recalled into the safety of their respective Pokeballs, the Expert Belt Yena lost is pciked up and packed away, and from the two newly-tossed ones two new fighters for Shiva manifest: One is a furry and fierly mage aka Delphox, the other is Kyuu IF there's a positve answer to the mechanical question I proposed here. If what I asked if not possible or allowed, it's a massive chunk of a panda instead: It's Pangoro, and he's RAGING to show these Clones that he's not okay with what they're doing here!