014 Bushels ❦ [Action for Mahogany]

[buckyouup]

[Applejack has been quiet for the last few days. Hardly in the mood to talk, the southerner has been taking advantage of the warmer weather to get in some training. Never wanting to sit still, she takes every opportunity to run or fight or do something, but outside of her pokemon, she insists on being alone. She has to keep herself busy. So she doesn't think. So she isn't reminded.

One year. One whole year. And that's just the time she remembers. That's not counting the time she's been here before. She hasn't seen her family, her home, her orchard, in a year. She knows that time works strange here, that for her, time isn't moving back home, but that doesn't quite translate to her emotions. To her, she's spent a whole year of her life chasing strange animals while her family and her farm is without her. Stuck in some strange land, located who knows how far away from home. If she was never brought here, what would she have experienced at home? Would this year's haul be a good one? Did Apple Bloom get her cutie mark? She didn't want to think about it. She didn't want to think at all.

If you happen to be wandering in a secluded part of town, you may notice Applejack training. She may be running laps, or doing sit-ups, or training her pokemon, but one thing is instantly noticeable: she looks like shit. Her clothes are torn and her body is dirty and covered in scrapes and bruises. She looks like she hasn't slept in days. She doesn't want to. She dreams of home.]

Comments

[friendyousohard]

[The tactic works. Tower stares stupidly at the oncoming bird before taking the attack right in her chest, letting out a howl of pain before she collapses. Unfortunately for AJ, the sandstorm remains.]

Tower, return. [The red light pulls the hulking beast back into the ball, and Twilight raises an eyebrow at Applejack.] I'm impressed. I didn't think you'd have that much left in you at this point.

[She pulls out another ball.] Shall we continue?

[buckyouup]

[Barely able to see through the sand, Applejack recalls the fainted Omelette. She would have to congratulate her later. It was no small feat to take on Tower in her condition.

Unfortunately for Applejack, stuck in the middle of the fray, the sandstorm hurt her as much as it did her pokemon. She reaches for another ball on her belt. There was no member of her team that was fit for battle. Not in conditions like these, against an opponent so strong.]

How in the hay is this helpin' me?

[friendyousohard]

By driving in how stupid you're being, now pull out another Pokemon or surrender!

[She holds out the ball in her hand, glaring daggers at AJ.] Megasoma is in this one. Do you want me to let him out?

[sitdownbecider]

[Stupid? Applejack throws out her next ball. A Gardevoir gracefully floats to the floor. Her body is dirty, and she's visibly exhausted, but she still tries to keep an elegant pose.]

Flow, stay strong. This one ain't backin' down.

[Flow looks up, covering her eyes to peer through the sand. Twilight? What is your dear friend doing, attacking us while we're vulnerable?]

[friendyousohard]

Fine, you asked for it.

[She hurls the ball, and Megasoma bursts out, landing in front of Flow with a grin covering his whole face. Ooooo, a Psychic. This should be fun.]

No mercy. Megahorn!

[sitdownbecider]

Think fast, Sugarcube. Destiny Bond.

[She knew Flow would have no chance. Against any other bug, but not Megasoma. It was terrible to ask her exhausted pokemon to sacrifice herself, but she didn't have many other options.]

[friendyousohard]

[Megasoma's horn rams into Flow with the force of a speeding bus, just as Destiny Bond goes off. As Flow drops like paper, Megasoma suddenly goes rigid and flops to the ground with a noise like a groan. Another double KO, and Twilight still stands there with that cold scowl on her face.]

The longer we do this, the worse this is going to be on you.

[She pulls out another ball.]

[sitdownbecider]

If you think I'm gonna go easy on you, you got another thing comin'.

[She looks down at the fainted Gardevoir and sighs, recalling her.]

You gonna tell me who you're usin' this time, or are you gonna surprise me?

[friendyousohard]

Easy on me? On me? You're far from fresh, Applejack, and I could beat you even if you were!

[She glares viciously over the ball.]

That was a one-time deal. If you're still going to insist on making me angry you don't get any more niceties. Throw a ball or surrender.

[sitdownbecider]

I got a better idea, Sugarcube. Why don't you surrender, come down here, an' tell me what's gotten into you?

[Her glare intensifies as she grabs another ball from her belt. In a flash, Knight the Skarmory appeared.]

[friendyousohard]

What's gotten into me? You vanish on me for days, no note, nothing to tell me where you've gone or what you're doing, I finally track you down out here killing yourself, and your Pokemon I might add, and you have the almighty gall to ask what's gotten into me? Tesla!

[The ball pops open and Twilight's loyal spaceship floats over the battlefield, glaring down at Knight.]

Ruin her. Discharge.

[buckyouup]

[And here she thought using a steel type would give her a break against the sand.]

Stealth rock, quick!

[Another desperation play. Knight wouldn't stand a chance against the electric attack, but he could at least lay the groundwork for something else. The stones dig into the earth as Knight collapses, electricity still arcing through his metallic body.]

[friendyousohard]

Probably the best move you could have made. [She's remarkably blase about that. Cold, even.] You'll have to bring Tesla down before it'll do you any good, though.

[And with Omelette already down, that's going to be difficult. Unless, of course, she's brought along two fire-types. Or two fighting ones.]

Perhaps you're interested in trying to justify running off on me now? I warn you, this better be good.

[buckyouup]

[And admit weakness? Never.]

Sprout, give 'em an earthquake of your own!

[She tosses out her trusty Torterra. His small tree looks tired and wilted, but a large red apple hangs proudly from it's branches.]

[friendyousohard]

Did you forget Tesla can float? Magnet Rise.

[Merrily ignoring the shaking of the ground, Tesla floats high enough to just avoid the earthquake. Bringing Sprout down is going to be annoying, but Tesla's array of Steel-type attacks should even the odds.]

[buckyouup]

Outrage!

[An attack to mirror her mood. The normally stoic turtle lets out a cry or pure rage, which manifests itself into a powerful dragon-type attack.]

[friendyousohard]

Flash Cannon!

[The attack is strong, but Tesla's steel typing blunts the assault nicely. Countering with a blast of shining energy, this is now a battle of attrition.]

[buckyouup]

Protect!

[In a war of attrition, you don't want to start off exhausted. Or fight a robot, but that's slightly less relevant.]

[friendyousohard]

Magnet Bomb.

[It's just a repeated cycle of calling attacks at this point, waiting to see who will fall first... of course, with Sprout's most powerful attacks only doing half damage the end seems kind of obvious.]

[buckyouup]

Giga Drain!

[She was grasping at straws. Anything she could do to level the playing field, even a tiny bit.]

[friendyousohard]

Supersonic!

[Oh hey let's add some confusion into the mix why not?]

[buckyouup]

Why you--

[She huffs, though it's almost a snarl. She's cornered, and there's little she can do about it.]

[friendyousohard]

Angry? Good, that makes two of us.

Reflect.

[Because why not use the opening created there to ward off any physical attackers AJ might still have? Especially since Sprout is still one of those.]

[buckyouup]

Leaf Storm!

[What else could she do? She had to keep fighting. Sprout could barely see straight, but he would keep fighting. The leafs kicked up like a blizzard, slicing into everything in their path. Including Sprout and Applejack.]

[friendyousohard]

Mirror Shot.

[It was time to put the poor turtle out of his misery. Tesla was also starting to get a bit tired, anyway, so better to end it now.]