The player that arrived looked friendly enough and Taylor beamed, happy that this could be an amicable match rather than an unpleasantly confrontational one. This was her first time attempting a PVP fight and honestly she was fully expecting to lose, so didn’t feel like getting overly competitive about it. Of course, that in no way meant that she didn’t plan to give it her all – frankly she rather though this current team would try their best even if she did choose to slack off!

Analysing the opposing party typings, the swimmer was interested to note that she had a slight type advantage, here. Mumble had several water-type moves that would be supereffective against the opposing sweeper, but that naturally meant that he became the most obvious target for swift elimination. When she’d thought this strategy through previously, she’d planned to target the opponent’s support off the bat, but this changed things. With their efforts focused on Mumble, the Piplup would almost certainly be going down at some point, so she adjusted, deciding it was best to make use of his type advantage while it was available.

Of course, before that could happen, there were blows to weather. “Brace yourself, Mumble!” She called, shoulders tensing as though she anticipated a hit herself. The water-type planted his feet, taking the full force of the Type:Null’s charge into his side. He staggered, the blow a sound one and fell back a few steps when it was swiftly followed up by dual Flame Charges from the fire-type starter.

The blows continued to rain down, and Taylor’s brows rose, impressed when the water-type didn’t cry out as the last attack impacted. It clearly hurt, but the normally naïve and almost childlike pokemon seemed to be in his element here, standing firm in the face of a flurry of attacks. “You good, buddy?” She called, breathing a quiet sigh of relief when the little penguin responded with a decisive nod, eyes remaining trained on the other side of the field.

“Okay,” she breathed, before raising her voice. “Focus in on the Torchic.” From there, her attention turned to the Vulpix. “You know what to do, Vix!” The fire-type did indeed know her role here, and since only one of her team were injured, it was clear enough who she should assist. After a moment in which she stretched luxuriantly to buff herself, the russet fox breathed out a puff of flame, warming her tails and dancing over to her water-type teammate. Moving lightly on her feet, she looped a swift circle around Mumble, brushing her now warming tails across his injuries as she moved. Once done, she skipped back to stand behind the water-type, and held her tails a little gingerly, doing her best to ignore the sting from the strain of such a move.

Whilst this was happening, Dinah had not been idle. The Espeon had darted forwards, eyes glowing as she summoned up the star-shaped rays of Swift, imbuing them with the psychic energy of a Confusion and launching them in the Torchic’s direction.

Now partially healed, Mumble moved too, lowering his head and charging directly towards the opposing fire-type while gritting his metaphorical teeth against the pain. His attack was inelegant but effective, bubbles of water seeming to seep from his pores as he moved, ensuring that the hit was a supereffective one, should it land.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{BREAKDOWN}
PIPLUP (253/300) Active
Damaged by Type:Null, Torchic & Meowth for 102 HP
Damaged by Charge Attack for 10 HP
Healed by Vulpx for 65 HP
- Fight through the pain

ESPEON (130/150) Active
Damaged by Fast Attack for 20 HP
- combine two or more moves for additional effect

VULPIX (130/150) Active
Damaged by Heal for 20 HP
- Use a Pokemon with a Refresh bonus

The little peeps of pain tugged at Taylor’s heart, and to say she felt bad would be a bit of an understatement. The cheeping reminded her of the baby birds in the dungeon she’d been involved in recently, and those were her babies for the duration of the event, so the association made her feel beyond cruel. Still, this was a battle. Gritting her teeth, she steeled her resolve and let things continue. She wouldn’t mind conceding if she was losing and it was necessary, but she couldn’t forfeit because she felt bad for doing damage to a cute opponent. That was just absurd.

Return blows rained down again, though this time the Meowth focused on healing the Torchic, so Mumble didn’t take a hit from him. Once again, he weathered the blows admirably, and again, Taylor’s brows rose as hit after hit shook the little penguin and he didn’t back down in tears. She’d honestly been expecting shock and upset from her starter, but it would seem his childish naivety did not extend to the battlefield.

Useful.

“Good job guys!” She called, before turning her attention to the Vulpix. “Think you could patch Mumble up a little more, Vix?” She asked.

<Of course,> The Vulpix practically purred, giving herself a shake before bouncing back up to the Piplup. Moving faster than the naked eye could track, she spun around the little water-type, eventually halting and giving a lick to his cheek. Mumble blushed from the very top of his head to the tips of his toes, and Vixey snickered, retreating to place herself behind him once again.

Taylor laughed too, shaking her head. That was not quite how she’d imagined Vixey healing the poor confused little penguin, but hey, if it worked, it worked! She watched now as the still-flushed Mumble braced himself, planting his feet and taking a big breath in. After a moment, He threw open his beak and blasted the poor opposing Torchic with a Hydro Pump.

Dinah had been darting forwards at the time to launch her own attacks on the Torchic, but with the torrent of water now obscuring Pheonix, she changed tactics. Throwing herself in the direction of the next closest opponent, she spun, kicking sand and dirt into the eyes of the Meowth in an attempt to temporarily blind them. That done, she spun again, throwing herself bodily against the support pokemon, determined to put a stop to their healing.

SPOILER: Click to show

{Spoiler}{BREAKDOWN}
PIPLUP (254/300) Active
Damaged by Type:Null & Torchic for 63 HP
Damaged by Charge Attack for 10 HP
Healed by Vulpx for 74 HP
- Fight through the pain
- Use a move with over 100 base power

ESPEON (110/150) Active
Damaged by Fast Attack for 20 HP
- combine two or more moves for additional effect
- Use a move with over 100 base power

VULPIX (110/150) Active
Damaged by Heal for 20 HP
- Use a Pokemon with a Refresh bonus
- Use a priority move