Eloise followed their fearless leader, Hughes, as he and Lain laughed at a joke Virgil just told. She didn't really care to interfere with that trio of testosterone, and instead stuck by Holly. A trail of cigarette smoke wafted behind the men, so she and Holly walked a little bit off to the side and back a ways. She was amazed about the amount of cigarettes Hughes could suck down. She stepped over another squashed cigarette butt, to avoiding letting the foul smelling aroma touch her boots. He had left a trail of flattened filters behind him from the time they left the Ranger HQ back in Rustboro City.


With a sideways glance, she noticed that Holly was looking a whole lot less nauseated. Time spent on solid-ground did wonders for the young Land Ranger. Holly no longer needed to lean against her Metagross for support. With a new-found joviality, she spent her time admiring the nearby foliage as they walked past.


“It's strange how, no matter where you go, the plant life is usually the same.” Holly remarked. “I've seen many of these species in Kalos. It reminds me of home... it's oddly comforting.”


Eloise lifted her eyebrows a notch while she pondered what Holly had said. There were a couple of flowers growing along the path that she had seen while growing up in Lumiose City. She had spent many afternoons plucking their petals and wishing she was anywhere else. The plants brought up memories of her younger sister, Violet, and the flower patch behind their home. Violet had poured so much love and energy into caring for them. The memory was a stinging reminder of Eloise's own failures.


[b]“Yeah, I see what you mean.”[/b] She said hoarsely. It had been some time since Eloise thought of her childhood.


Holly put a hand against Eloise's shoulder. A concerned look painted her face. “Are you oka-”  


Blessedly, each of their Cubes began to produce high-pitched dings and blinked in various colors. Eloise was grateful for the interruption to what was becoming a very uncomfortable conversation with Holly. Eloise unclasped her own from underneath her cape where it was attached to the belt slung around her hips. Each of the other Rangers around her stopped in their tracks and also retrieved their own Cubes from wherever they had them stored.


When she touched the side of her cube, the noises from it ceased. A moment later, the lights it produced coalesced into the holographic image of a man she was certain she had never seen before.


The man's brows were wide and almost furrowed without much effort. His hair was kept quite short all over except for his crown. His face was unkempt and he wore a dog tag on his left lobe. His irises looked black in the hologram, giving the impression that they were a dark brown. His nose was crooked, misshapen, a sad mass of cartilage under skin. His face indicated a seriousness that was common of most Rangers. However, its intensity was uncommon. His wide neck alluded to a strong torso. His jaw hardly moved as he began to speak.


“Sergeant Broadson addressing the Kalosian Rangers: Lieutenant Holly Bright, Captain Lain Ickeringill, Keeper Virgil Moon, Ensign Hughes Campbell, and Sentry Eloise Fenmar. Please report to Petalburg Woods to your immediate south. You will be briefed on your mission as soon as you arrive. Sergeant Broadson, over.”


After Sergeant Broadson stopped speaking, the Cubes shut back down. Without coordinates, or even a landmark, the Sergeant didn't give much on where to go. Eloise frowned at the Cube in her hand.


“These Hoenn Rangers are something else.” Hughes stated in between taking exaggerated puffs of his cigarette. “You were right, Lain, this place is pretty backwards.”


Lain gave a shrug of his shoulders, as if to say [i]I told you so[/i]. She was sure she had heard Virgil say something about how Broadson was handsome. His comment was passed over quickly in favor of complaining about the man instead.


Meanwhile, Holly held up her arm with the Gauntlet strapped to it and was looking for something within the confines of the device. Eloise left Holly to it. Instead of fiddling with her own Gauntlet, she signaled to Aragorn. She had had enough of meandering and waiting for Hughes to pick up the pace. Whatever Broadson needed from them must be important, even if she did question the Sergeant's lack of reliable direction.


The Noivern flew down from where he was circling in the sky above them and landed next to her in a rush of air. Holly sputtered when some of her own hair got into her mouth from the gust Aragorn's landing caused.


[b]“To the south. We're looking for a man. He probably has a facility or a camp of some sort. Go scout for us.”[/b] She ruffled the scruff of fur around his neck and held out a berry for him to eat. He munched on it happily before turning and taking off to the skies.


His powerful wings carried him to the woods in no time, and now they rushed beneath him as he scanned the area with Supersonic. The information he received back from his scan surprised him. From what he could tell, there weren't any trainers roaming the woods in searching for Pokemon. He noticed an abundance of what appeared to be Pokemon, however. Perhaps it was because there were no trainers which would dissuade them from gathering in the woods.


Out of the corner of his eye, Aragorn spotted thin, wispy trail of smoke. He veered that way smoothly, riding the air currents which flowed above the tree tops. When he came to a stop above where the smoke was coming from, the only movement Aragorn saw was the twinkle of a small fire. The only sounds he heard were those of leaves brushing against each other and the creatures throughout the Woods. With no other apparent human activity, Aragorn decided that this must be what Eloise was looking for.


It was less than an hour when Aragorn came back to report to Eloise. With the crude communication system they had, he used Screech to confirm that he had found what she was looking for. To let him know she understood, Eloise held up her Cube and pushed a small indentation in the side. It let out a pulse of soundwaves that Noivern could see. She slipped the device back underneath her coat. She highly disliked using technology for such things, but it benefitted her and Noivern on more than one occasion.


[b]“Aragorn can lead us to Sergeant Broadson's camp. There are alot of wild Pokemon in the area, so watch yourselves.”[/b] She kept her eye on Aragorn while she followed his silhouette in the distance. She heard Hughes say something about how she should watch [i]herself[/i]. She brushed off his commentary for the sake of civility.


It took them much longer to reach the Petalburg Woods than it had taken Aragorn on his initial flight. They had been forced to camp when night settled in, but otherwise the trip was uneventful. They arrived at Petalburg Woods in the early afternoon of the following day.


Hughes stepped forward but Eloise stuck out a hand to stop him. [b]“All due respect, Ensign, this isn't your specialty. Lieutenant Bright or myself should lead here.”[/b] Her voice was firm. She resisted the urge to put her hand on the pommel of her sword. Aragorn loomed behind her, his eyes on Hughes' Swanna.


Everything about Hughes' posture tensed up as if he was preparing for a fight. His face molded into a scowl. “Why should I have to listen to a crazy bitc-” He started, his voice raising in anger. He was interrupted by Holly chiming in.


“St-stop it! No fighting! I think Eloise should lead us, okay?” Holly's voice was pleading. She had tears forming at the corner of her eyes.


Hughes let out a huff and glowered at Eloise. A few breathless seconds later, he backed down. He lit up a cigarette and inhaled deeply. His shoulders visibly lost their tension when he exhaled. “Fine. Take the lead, crazy bitch.” He motioned for Eloise to go ahead.


She fought down her own anger and gave Aragorn the signal to take to the skies. The Woods sprang to life all around them as they followed the well-worn path. Eloise noticed that despite being well-worn, plants had begun to creep across it. Nature was retaking what humans had made. All around the group there were subtle noises, indicating that life was going strong within the green expanse. Fog obscured the trees around them, giving the Woods an ominous aura.


Each of the Rangers had vastly different reactions, but all of them noticed the atmosphere change from the moment they stepped into the Woods. Holly's instinct was to huddle closer to her Metagross as it stomped it's feet over the vine-covered path. The sound of it's footfalls were muted by the surrounding vegetation. Virgil had pulled out a small drawing pad, and began sketching things that caught his eye. His Pokemon, Noctowl, was watching his back.


Hughes and Lain trailed behind the group, both were unusually quiet and had their eyes peeled. Eloise was amused, but grateful, for them managing that feat. They were usually far too chatty with one another. She was sure that they knew each other from before being assigned on this particular mission. Their Pokemon, Swanna and Cloyster, brought up the rear of their ragtag posse.


Eloise kept her eye on Aragorn's shadow above the canopy. Her hand was sweating from the grip she now held on the hilt of her sword. The hairs on the back of her neck and arms stood on end. There were no visible signs, but something wasn't right. She just couldn't put her finger on it.


That was when Aragorn and Noctowl sounded the alarm. Aragorn let out a short screech shortly before Noctowl let out a low and bold hoot. They both noticed a Pokemon having been following them for a few minutes now. Noctowl telepathized that it was a Dustox, one of the native Bug-types found early in this region. He also thought how it was odd it was following them.


Noivern, however, noted a Beautifly hovering back and forth over the group and letting loose some kind of powder.


With no sign of hesitation, Eloise drew her sword with a resounding metal-on-metal sound. [b]“BLOW IT AWAY!”[/b] She bellowed to Aragorn. Holly winced at the sudden explosion of noise from her teammate.


In response, Arargorn turned on a dime and shot himself like a rocket at Beautifly. He then quickly released a Gust aimed directly at the powder that the opposing Pokemon was releasing. He swooped back around and did it again, making sure to carry the powder far away from his companions below.


Meanwhile, the rest of Eloise's teammates were already coming out of their initial surprise and springing into action. They all jogged away from where the powder was floating through the air. Virgil ordered his Noctowl to fly up above in order to keep everyone informed of the situation, while also looking out for any other Pokemon that may join their battle. Holly and Lain faced off against Dustox. “Metagross, use Scary Face!” Holly commanded just as Lain said, “Cloyster, use Rain Dance!”


Their Pokemon obeyed, and soon rain poured down over the section of the woods the Ranger's party was in. Before it could obscure her vision too badly, Eloise pulled up the hood of her oiled cloak and kept her eye on the woods around her. She trusted her fellow Rangers, as well as Aragorn, to watch her back. Next to her, Holly had retrieved a dainty umbrella from somewhere on her person and was huddling beneath it.


Lain, however, seemed to relish in downpour. “After Rain Dance, use Blizzard on the rain around Dustox!” he ordered with a wave of his arm. Eloise watched with no little surprise as Lain and his Cloyster artfully began crafting a makeshift prison to capture the Dustox in. It was part of a Ranger's duty to let no harm come to Pokemon, even if they were attacking you. However, she hadn't expected Lain to come up with something that clever. The rain began turning to ice in the vicinity around Dustox. Soon, the Bug-type Pokemon would find it very hard to escape the trap Lain had set for it.


Hughes' Swanna was busy grooming herself instead of helping the group. It was as if she were trying to get rid of the powder that could possibly be dirtying her plumage, and it was of the utmost importance. “What are you bloody waiting for, love? Go help them!” Hughes barked at her. Swanna widened her eyes in shock, unbelieving that Hughes could speak to her in such a manner. She made an indignant hiss low in her throat, and then took to the skies.


“Metagross, use Light Screen to protect us.” Holly told her Metagross. Holly's actions surprised Eloise very little. She knew that Holly was defensive more so than offensive, and that the young Land Ranger would do her best to hold back Metagross from unleashing it's psychic-type powers. The Light Screen that Metagross now expanded in front of them was quite large. Eloise couldn't help but think that Holly had trained it extensively in the use of the move.


A few moments of Cloyster's assault passed before the jagged and uneven sphere of ice erupted in a fine powdered snow. The Dustox used a powerful Bug Buzz, it seemed, and was following up with an immense Silver Wind which integrated itself into the snow in an indistinguishable manner. It surrounded all four of them, but the Light Screen proved much stronger than the Dustox expected. The snow whirled around them and spun into small vortexes before falling from the force of the rain.


Directly below them, where the Light Screen could not reach, the ground began to turn black. Orbs of the viscous liquid formed and popped at their feet, splashing them with toxicity before it erupted and covered them all in its gooey blackness. The Venoshock took them by surprise as it was performed in a very peculiar manner. This Dustox wasn't playing around.


When the toxic fluid erupted around their feet, Eloise went to step back before it could eat through her clothing. However, she stopped mid-movement when she heard Holly cry out in pain. The younger Ranger had a nasty splotch of goo across her right upper thigh which was bubbling in a sickening manner. Instead of stepping safely from the Venoshock, Eloise threw her sword behind her into the woods where she could retrieve it later. She rushed forward and hoisted Holly up into a bridal-style carry, then turned and waded through the fluid. Eloise was certain that her boots would need repair after everything was said and over with.


Lain side-stepped the Venoshock and came out nearly unscathed. Small droplets had splattered against his calves, but nothing so bad as to cause him to stop his assault on Dustox. His Cloyster, however, was covered in the goo. "Cloyster, freeze the ground around you and use Withdraw! Wait for the rain to wash away the poison on your shell before coming out!"


With Cloyster temporarily out of commission, Metagross hovered into the center-stage of battle against Dustox. With it's master in danger, it no longer had a reason to hold back. It was using Magnet Rise in order to lift itself above the ground and projected a vicious Psychic assault against Dustox behind the relative safety of it's own Light Screen.


Dustox reacted by emitting a strange wave of Psychic energy that seemed to counteract the Psychic from Metagross. It was pushed back far, regardless, but it held strong and its focus was entirely upon the metallic heap.


When they were a small distance away, Eloise helped Holly sit down on a fallen log so that she could tend to the younger girl's injuries. After pulling two Pokeballs out from the confines of her cloak, she brought out her other Pokemon, Blissey and Lombre. [b]"No time for pleasantries, Dro. This is serious. Wash away the poison on her leg."[/b] Eloise ordered, her voice firm and commanding. Lombre hesitated for a moment, as if to challenge Eloise's command. He looked around at their situation briefly, then nodded his head in understanding. He let out a small stream of water against Holly's leg where the goo was coagulating.


[b]"Hallie, you know what to do."[/b] Eloise gave Blissey a fond pat on her head. With a cooing noise, Blissey retrieved an egg from her pouch and waddled over to Holly.


[b]"You two protect her."[/b] Eloise told her Pokemon and marched off in the direction of where she threw her sword. When she glanced back at Holly and her Pokemon a moment later, Blissey was tending to Holly with care. The pink Pokemon's stubby arms were holding the umbrella for Holly, since the Land Ranger seemed to be in too much pain to carry it herself anymore. Lombre was carefully watching the battles take place between the other Pokemon, but not getting involved himself. This wasn't a fight he cared about. 


The rain fell hard as it pushed through the leaves and branches above them. Soon, the soil had turned to a thick mud and puddles formed around them. Holly was passing out from the pain, so Lain had to take control of the situation. However, the land wasn't his specialty. He only had the lessons he'd learned when he was an Area Ranger a few years ago.

"Metagross! Keep up the Psychic! Don't let it attack!" Lain called out, hoping the Metagross would listen to a stranger.

"Cloyster! Muddy Water!" he shouted without a breath.

It was something he'd never asked of his Cloyster. Being at sea meant there was no earth from which to take mud, but with the environment, he had to adapt quickly in order to take advantage of the situation. Adding Ground to the Water attack would prove more effective to the Poison-type. Metagross just had to keep it low enough so the Dustox couldn't fly away.

Metagross noticed what was happening, which wasn't surprising. It closed in slowly and began to form a Reflect just above the Dustox to dissuade it from flying any further up. The Dustox also knew what was happening and tried to perform Acrobatics and Bug Buzz at the same time, but the mental assault from Metagross proved too overwhelming to break. They were both covered with the sloppy mess which torrented from behind Metagross.

Dustox was pushed to the ground as the browned water passed through the Reflect above him. Metagross was sturdy enough to not be moved by the attack from its ally, but the damage wasn't unnoticeable. It was the price to pay to subdue this foe.

A twinkle blinked white through the trees until a horrible rumble began to shake the ground all around them. Metagross was going to end this with a powerful Meteor Mash, something it wouldn't perform often. But this Pokemon harmed its trainer, and it wouldn't let that pass.

The trees around Dustox crumbled under the weight of these immense spheres of metals from the heavens. They crashed into the ground around Dustox and splashed the much away to reveal dry earth. The rain began to subside as Cloyster recovered from performing such a foreign maneuver.

"Ice Beam," Lain commanded in a lowered tone. Though he hoped the Dustox hadn't died, he would still feel relieved if it couldn't attack them anymore.

The meteors were coated with an ice that shone white in the brightening forest. The clouds were beginning to break, but even the sun would not melt this new ice prison.


Up in the skies, Swanna had joined Aragorn against Beautifly. However, unlike Aragorn, Swanna was very, [i]very[/i] pissed off. She rushed at Beautifly and tried using Wing Attack to beat down the Bug-type Pokemon.

The Beautifly darted with a lack of grace through the sky, dodging the Swanna was little effort. She sprayed Swanna with various dusts, but it seemed largely ineffective. At this revelation, the Beautifly allowed the Swanna close to her so the force of her terrible vibrations would be most effectively felt. Swanna cringed, unable to see the damage done to her feathers and the look of her down spewing from underneath in the most unflattering patterns.


Eloise had found her sword, and was cleaning muck off of it when she heard a Pokemon cry out from the sky. Her eye immediately went upwards to make sure Aragorn was alright. She was relieved, but dismayed, to see that it was Swanna who was falling from the sky in a mess of shedding plumage. Hughes rushed toward his Pokemon when she fell to the ground in a heap. With surprising affection and tenderness, he huddled over Swanna and started administering medical aid. Eloise put it on her check list to have Hallie check up on Swanna.


Aragorn didn't like Swanna, but the knowledge that a teammate was just downed because of Beautifly made him upset. He let out a horrible Screech in Beautifly's direction, which tore through the air with a horrible force. Eloise's ears rang from the noise. Immediately after, Aragorn used Hone Claws and Tailwind. A dangerous aura began to surround the bat-like Pokemon.


Noctowl saw what Aragorn was preparing to do, and used Double Team. The Tailwind from Aragorn made Noctowl faster, causing his Double Team to be even more effective in creating clones. The clones surrounded Beautifly in all directions in attempt at disorienting his foe. Then, just at the height of his speed, he stopped. Six afterimages remained and copied his movements as he used Shadow Ball. The dark orbs flung towards Beautifly at an alarming speed.


Aragorn waited patiently for the right moment high above, and prepared an Agility when Noctowl used Shadow Ball. Knowing that Beautifly would dodge the orbs, he took advantage of that opening and dove at the opposing Pokemon using Aerial Ace. When he reached Beautifly, he latched onto the Bug-type and, instead of stopping, he plowed through and dragged Beautifly with him. Performing Sonic Slam, he crashed himself and Beautifly into the ground next to ice prison holding Dustox. Large chunks of ice and earth flew into the air upon their collision.


[b]“Aragorn!”[/b] Eloise cried out, rushing toward the area of impact. The area around the Pokemon was full of craters from Meteor Mash, making the terrain difficult to navigate. Eloise stumbled on one of the craters, but caught herself by jabbing her sword into the rain-softened ground. She left it there and continued the rest of the way in a stumbling, running panic. 


When she arrived, she saw that Aragorn and the Beautifly were trapped underneath debris. She began to lift heavy pieces of ice and rocks off of them with grunting, panting effort. Before she could get very far, Metagross and Noctowl used their psychic powers to lift the debris easily out of the way.


[b]“Aragorn, are you okay?!”[/b] Eloise's voice was tinted with worry. She knelt on the ground next to him and put her hand on his head between his large ears. The movement of breathing soothed her panic marginally, but it was him turning his head and letting out a subdued noise that calmed her moreso. He was just dazed and weak from battle, but not permanently hurt. Now she turned her worry to the two Pokemon who had been attacking their party.


She made a motion for Aragorn to get up, and he complied. The Beautifly was sprawled across the ground, it's wings flattened limply. It was unconscious. Without even having to ask, Blissey was already by her side. Hallie always knew when to be there to help. [b]“Make sure Beautifly is alright.”[/b] Eloise told her, but it wasn't necessary. Hallie had already slid down the side of the small crater, and was now running her stubby arms along Beautifly's wings and body to check for life-threatening injuries.


Eloise stood up and peered in the direction of the Dustox. Lain and Virgil were already there with Cloyster, who persisted in keeping the ice up around the moth. “As Hughes likes to say, what in the [i]bloody hell[/i] was that about?” Virgil's hands were planted on his hips and his brows were furrowed. “It isn't like Dustox to act like this during the day. I could see it from Beautifly, though.” 


“The little fucks will have to answer for hurting Holly and Swanna.” Hughes' deep voice came from behind them. His Swanna was by the log where Holly was sitting and recovering from her injury. Lombre stood by them calmly and merely watched the situation unfold. However, his posture was like a spring that was about to be sprung. Eloise had no doubt that he would, and could, react quickly to any sign of danger.


Eloise was about to argue with Hughes' statement, but the discussion was cut off by Noctowl. < Somebody I don't recognize is coming here. She doesn't look happy. >


With that very small warning, the group of Rangers prepared to face off against another opponent. Eloise put a hand on Aragorn's wing. She felt his body tense up in preparation for battle.