[ti]closed[/ti][S][C/Will] Ruinous Ranch

The lad before Josh didn't recognize him, the scout at first puzzled. "Will!" he called out to him. "It's been a while - how you been?" The saddled fire-type barked toward him in greeting. The new seals in the Arena Shop had to be crazy for those unfamiliar with them; for a Growlithe to grow so big that it could be ridden prior to evolving was something else.

As clouds began to roll in from the west, the most astute observers would be able to see a scant few wisps of corruption floating downward from the farm's abandoned residence's uppermost window. The scout, oblivious to its presence, cuddled with his Growlithe before sitting in the saddle. "These two are Raiden and Braver," he introduced the Zebstrika and Growlithe. "I don't think you've met either of them before."

"Right..." The last time they had met, he appeared much older than he did now. "It's Josh. We met in an Arena battle once. I know I look a lot different than I did before. I went to the Identity Parlor in Briarbane and got a new look. So I'm not surprised you didn't recognize me."

The remark was understandable; the Growlithe Josh was sitting on was huge. Such a big dog could get to some incredible speeds, and a fall would almost certainly hurt, even on softer ground like damp grass. "I've been riding Pokémon enough to have picked up a lot of tricks. I'll be fine!" he insisted, Braver barking once as an indicator of his consent. "Riding a Pokémon is a really convenient way to get around UNOVR, especially when you can't fast travel."

The wisps of corruption cascaded down from the attic's broken window, Josh still oblivious. Were he or Will to turn around, though, they would notice something clearly wrong. Hair-raisingly wrong...

The confusion seemed to only grow as Josh explained what happened in Briarbane that afternoon. The boy scout would try to clear up as much of it as he could. "It sounds childish, but I did it to make myself small enough to hop onto smaller Pokémon!" As if to prove his point, he clicked open a third Poké Ball, this one containing a Liepard that wore a saddle covering most of its back. "My older and taller self never would have been big enough to hop on one of these." It may have looked strange to Will, seeing a saddled feline. With how much their backs flexed, riding one had to be a real challenge. "And no, when you first met me... that's pretty close to what I look like on the outside world." Perhaps it would calm Will down some to realize that he wasn't the only self-insert on the server.

Josh couldn't help but chuckle at Will's perception of Josh having been a riding expert in the real world, too. "I had zero experience with any riding animal before--"

All of a sudden, the wisps grew in number, forming a shadowy horror that stabbed through Luna before retracting. "Look out!" Josh cried, diving out of the way of the snake-shaped silhouette whose forked tongue seemed to be what pierced the feline. With a music change, the two had found themselves thrust into an unexpected boss battle.

Combat Log> Luna has turned against the party!

"Stand back! I'll protect you!" Josh tried to assure Will as he invoked his abilities as a PLAYER to enter combat himself. With the speed of a Growlithe at his beck and call, as well as some very basic magic, he could fight just as well as one of his team members!

All of a sudden, Will had logged out without warning, leaving Josh all along against the CORRUPTED threat. Josh came out to the barn because he thought it would be a leisurely place to get his Growlithe fully trained for use as a steed. Little did he know that as soon as the game marked Braver as ride-trained, he would be engaging in mounted combat against a horror he had never seen the likes of.

"Now let us begin," echoed a demonic voice whose source was the Corruption coalescing into the form of a giant fly that was easily three times his size. "I hope you don't die too easily."

Upon targeting the Corrupted foe, all Josh got back in his UI were question marks. Backing out of the menu, he spent his all-important first turn reaching out to a friend for help. Sending Alicia Westfield a direct message, he entered it as quickly as he could while his mount breathed EMBERS upon the hideous being in front of them.

DIRECT MESSAGE> Sorry to bug you, but I'm in serious trouble. I'm outside the Tainted Barnyard and have been ambushed by a Corrupted threat that's way out of my league. The encounter's inescapable, too. I need a hand, now, or I'm probably on a one-way trip to the Everworld. Bring Fairy-type attacks if you can -- that's my gut feeling what it's weak to.

Even more suddenly than the Corrupted horror bore down upon him, Tikani and Pearl came to the rescue, the latter loosing a DAZZLING GLEAM that made their foe shriek and raise his proboscis almost straight up in pain. "The rats multiply..." a disembodied voice echoed all around both Josh and Alicia. With the foe reeling, Josh took the initiative to collect lightning in his hand and thrust it forward in a cast of ZIO. The electric bolts harmlessly bounced off.

"Good to know it's got at least one weakness..." Josh trailed off. Sadly, Keleth would be doing little damage to the shadow, what with the Galarian Ponyta being a Support. "The worst part is Know Your Enemy is going to be useless against a foe that is immune to electricity. I'll do everything I can to keep us up, and you take the spotlight."

They would have little time to discuss further, as a wide blast of electricity would race toward the Bolter and Gardener in the form of MAZIONGA - a mighty attack, indeed. As all four of his limbs were overcome by muscle spasms, Josh realized he needed to upgrade his Player class as fast as he could if he wanted to be on the battlefield for himself. Was buying into the class so early a mistake?

To spend precious actions on making mid-battle purchases was daring, but it had worked; she had pulled out all the stops and hammered the Corrupted foe's weakness. "My only fairy-type Pokémon is a support, so I'll be reliant on you for damage!" Josh relayed, grateful for the defensive buff from Tikani. His own Galarian Ponyta, Keleth, would glow with a DAZZLING GLEAM of his own, not to harm the fly-beast, but to make Pearl's more powerful.

"Pesky plant," the Corrupted being barked, shaking its head after the barrage of Fairy-type attacks. "Wilt!"

ZANDYNE in the form of a destructive tornado whirled around Tikani, its winds threatening to slice her foliage as efficiently as a samurai's sword. With the source of the LIGHT SCREEN fading, the cosmic insect-horror turned toward Alicia directly, raking down her body with sickening force. Josh gulped upon seeing the colossal amount of damage the physical attack inflicted. "I would ask if you're okay, but I know you're not," Josh half-groaned. "I, too, have a bad feeling about this. Like we're both not long for this world."

And with Luna looking ready to turn against Josh, it only looked like things would get worse...!