(ACE) The MARSH Team

OoC)) Skip, Felix is just simply laying down and listening as he had nothing else to say.

"I know they were liars, but they are doing horrible things to other Pokemon!" The kid was meek but not ignorant, showing more awareness than Reed had given him credit for. He tried not to sob but there was no hiding how shaken he was by this whole ordeal. Letting out a slow, tense breath Reed knew he had failed once more; yet another Radeon suffered at their hand, a truly innocent one at that. He was not much for comfort and had little that could ease the young Pokemon. "That must have been very hard on you dear. Take deep breathes." Johvani eases, though it did not solve the issue he cried for. Shaking his head the male would continue on rather than cater, growling, "They mustn't be allowed to mistreat our kind any longer."

He spoke gently in his own gruff comfort, and hoped to spark something in the little one's gaze, but the moment was snatched by a sudden squeal. "So you knew that they're doing awful things? You knew and yet you're just twiddling your paws out here in the swamp!" The Aiveon gasps, her shrill cry practically drowning the sounds of the outside storm. "We are not sitting idle, brat. My paws are quite full." Snapping his fangs the Radeon flicks his head and tilts it so his scars may face her more directly. Old and new it mattered not; his paws were always busy tending this damn marsh. "Now now--" Johvani interrupts, the tension returning to the space but even they could not defuse it. "You didn't 'leave' them, you're still here in the backyard! You might not see it now but you know and are allowing them to continue!"

Frowning with disappointment Johvani's sad eyes creased a little deeper. "Seek, they did those awful things to us too. Don't ignore that we suffered because of them as well." It did not make them monsters to want to escape such unfair, awful treatment. All those good Pokemon deserved the same, and managing to make it out first did not make them any less of fellow victims, nor should they be condemned for it. "We are not turning a blind eye to their cruelty." Reed snarls, his rage barely contained as he stamps a paw against the ground, claws scratching at the stone. "Don't victim blame. He's undoubtedly innocent, but by your same logic Eleroo is also permitting their actions by not running back to help."

Giving an exasperated sigh Reed pressed his pads on the space between his eyes, the whites of his fur blending together. "I've made mistakes, endless blood stains my paws, but do not equate me to him. I'm not a heartless prick who sends Pokemon to slaughter like Salem does." So many Radeon were made to suffer, sacrificed for the greater good they were not allowed to partake in. I wanted to save my kin, he reminds himself of his goal, but Sedric and Warren were dead. ...But I was too slow.

Lifting his listless tail at the base he slams it back down with another tense exhale. "We escaped, yes, but we have not abandoned those he's made suffer, or those who've been blinded by his ways. His reign and mistreatment of others will end by my paws."

Baring her fangs and letting a growl rumble from her throat Seek pressed defensively against Eleroo's side. They ran and let their friends take the fall? These two were cruel as well! Was that Eleroo's infatuation with them, what both Salem and Reed's groups wanted to do with him?! Her fur spikes up furiously, disgusted that any Pokemon could consider using the small Radeon. "Seek, they did those awful things to us too. Don't ignore that we suffered because of them as well." Johvani tried to placate her but Seek continued to growl, her blue eyes shimmering distrust.

"We are not turning a blind eye to their cruelty." "I didn't see you in that mob when we went to rescue Eleroo!" She hisses, too focus to notice any pain as her wings flare out behind her. "Don't victim blame. He's undoubtedly innocent, but by your same logic Eleroo is also permitting their actions by not running back to help." "Don't blame him!" She bites back by muscle memory, ready to defend her kin at a moments notice. A few heartbeats passed before the Aiveon actually heard Reed's words, and her express shifts to perturbed. She- no, no he was making a leap in logic. Even if Eleroo learned about those Pokemon he had no bearing on them, no stake, no obligation to risk himself for them. Gritting her teeth she looks away to ensure Eleroo is being upset any further, but he refused to meet her gaze.

Scrabbling to his paws Eleroo drew in a deep, shaky breath. His time in the Pastoria Gym had been both incredibly short and unbearably long, but he had learned more than he dare recount in that time. "Seek," he speaks softly, voice almost a whisper as he tried to regain himself, "if Salem was willing to torment me just because of what I am, do you really think Reed is in the wrong here?" Other than yell, Reed had done nothing to slight them. Leading them to safety, fighting on their side, giving precious information.. Regardless of past actions, between the two, one vastly outshined the other. He frowned at Seek, hoping she would see reason, but a spark of fight still shimmered in her gaze.

No, no way. Shaking her head Seek pushed their babble away- she would not bow to their logic. "We risked everything, everyone to get Eleroo back from those monsters. Do, or did, you not care about those you left with him?!" She didn't know about the Pokemon Eleroo spoke of, but it clearly struck a nerve in the two of them. Whether they were family or friends, they still left them to be lambs for slaughter. "We escaped, yes, but we have not abandoned those he's made suffer, or those who've been blinded by his ways. His reign and mistreatment of others will end by my paws." As he speaks the Aiveon's stance relaxes to an awed cower. An end? "I don't know what you're talking about," turning her head away from the other Pokemon with a slow shake "but you're out of time. He's going after kids. You need to do something now."

Felix laid there, just listening in with the back and forth of Eleroo's fears. True, being afraid is what makes them alive as well but there was also the phantom pain that fear leaves is something not so easy to get rid of. To Felix, seeing other pokemon being tyrants in this day and era, it was not something he wanted in his life but unfortunately, this is how reality is now. "We escaped, yes, but we have notabandoned those he's made suffer, or those who've been blinded by his ways. His reign and mistreatment of others will end by my paws." That's insane, that's suicide. He'll be killed before he even gets an attack in! East and Salem would foresee that kind of attack happening. Felix could tell by how the two had never dropped their guard, even with Uxie around. Even if Reed did get a surprise attack in, he would be counter attacked the second he makes contact. "but you're out of time. He's going after kids. You need to do something now." Felix would agree on it but again, rushing in is suicide and asking for death to take them.

The Sylveon gets up again and shakes himself a bit. Though combat wasn't something he was excellent in and he only knew some tricks to keep himself alive, he for sure knew how to psychologically toy with East from the reactions he got from him before that golduck forced him into saying stuff. "Ease, do not forget who the enemy is. We don't need in fighting when the real issue is out there and would be pleased to see you disagreeing" This time, he had to agree with this. That's exactly what Salem wants them to do is fight with each other. Moving over to Seek, he had to tell her what would happen if they tried to just rush in. "Seek, I know what you're saying is true, we've gone through that together and we got the wounds to prove it. We'll put an end to it, we just need to cooperate with them and make a battle plan.


Felix then gave a soft smile to Seek and with his feelers he waved to Eleroo, Shenron, Reed and Johvani. Despite the differences, they're in the same boat. "If we do go back and mount an attack on Salem and East, we'll need to plan this carefully and precisely." That was the only solution they would have.

Brushing their tail over Reed's paw Johvani stood close, waiting for the sound of a deep, exasperated breath. Reed's hackles were raised, but after a slow exhale he steadied himself once more to a reasonable level. He was hot-blooded, it was a well known fact, but he had long since learned to choose his battles. The children bickered, but after a few moments the heat of the room settled down once again as they digested the facts that were laid bare.

"Ease, do not forget who the enemy is. We don't need any fighting when the real issue is out there and would be pleased to see you disagreeing." Shenron reminds him, a welcome voice of reason among those getting riled up. Reed plants his rear once more, the grounded stance reminding him this was a safe space and not a fight for his life. These Pokemon were misguided, but unlike those he once called kin they were open to hearing the truth. "I don't know what you're talking about," Seek growls, her tone serious but settled from her prior outburst, "but you're out of time. He's going after kids. You need to do something now." Narrowing his gaze he locks eyes with the small Aiveon. Her statement was oddly poignant, her conviction showing after taking a stand. Had she settled on a side, on the truth? She did not pull away from his intense stare, and cracking a satisfied smile he feels a tingle in his paws.

"Then its time to execute a plan against those demons!" He barks, fang-filled grin spreading cheek to cheek with a buzzing excitement. "We've remained close by for this very reason; to bring reform and change in that community from the hell its become." Eevee's would not need to live in fear, but neither should the civilians that had come to rely on them. "If we do go back and mount an attack on Salem and East, we'll need to plan this carefully and precisely." Felix warns them, but the eeveelutions were long past simple daydreams. "This is about more than those two. Its about all the Pokemon that live there. It isn't some blind attack, its reparations."

"They've rested on their laurels for too long. They have grown complacent with a lifestyle built on the bones of my kin. Their eyes must be opened by changing their very way of life." His tone darkened, eyes focusing on something impossibly far away. "Change does not happen over night," Johvani remind everyone firmly, "but it does need to be set in motion." Whether small or large, the first step on a long journey would always be the hardest. No one would want to trade riches for rocks, but with them they could build a new, stronger foundation. "We've considered our options for some time now, but there were key things we didn't know."

"When you were inside, how many Radeon did you see?"

Planting her paws hard against the ground Seek stood firmly before the older Eeveelutions. This was wrong, this whole thing was wrong! If these two wanted to stop things why wait so long? Why hang around without action?! If only she could have scratched up Salem's face... despite the horror they left those Pokemon with Seek doubted he realized the error of his ways. "Then its time to execute a plan against those demons!" Reed bursts, an uncharacteristically excited boom to his voice. "We've remained close by for this very reason; to bring reform and change in that community from the hell its become." Gritting her teeth the Aiveon narrowed her brow; it seemed awfully convenient that they had not acted until now when more Pokemon showed up, but she let that point die away on her tongue.

"Change, huh." She growls, her mind drifting toward only one possibility. "Like a shift in power?" Despite her pang for vengeance murder was not high on her to-do list. Their short time together showed a Pokemon that could talk them in circles though, and her stomach knotted uncomfortably at the prospects of another 'chat' with the water types. "If we do go back and mount an attack on Salem and East, we'll need to plan this carefully and precisely." Felix warned them, the path of attack becoming uncomfortably real. "We are not putting Eleroo at risk again." She barks to all the Pokemon around her. For his sake and theirs he shouldn't have to go through that again.

Eleroo shifted uncomfortably before getting to his paws and circling around to the other side of Seek. "This is about more than those two. Its about all the Pokemon that live there. It isn't some blind attack, its reparations." Reed angled them away from act, though his preaching only made the air more uncomfortable for the lad. Looking at Seek with pleading eyes he can only muster up a,"We can't let this continue." Would she feel the same, as personal about it as he did had they evolved the same..? Practically squirming in her own skin she looked outright uncomfortable but her voice only held concern instead of fight. "By doing the same thing?" Would that help, would that stop the oppression?

Johvani motions, trying to get their attention. "Change does not happen over night, but it does need to be set in motion." Eleroo nods in agreement, eyeing Seek wearily in hopes she can understand. There were other ways, surely these Radeon knew that. "When you were inside, how many Radeon did you see?" They asked, a question Seek had not thought until just then. "Um," she starts, trying to picture the crowd that surrounded them in the gym room. Water Pokemon abound, their species as numerous as their numbers. Other swamp loving creatures were in the crowd, native and otherwise, as well as some random individuals. Grass types, poison types, but... "I don't remember seeing any." Eleroo turned his head, eyes downcast toward the floor with no need for correction.

A simple word from Seek had been a concern and noted carefully. "We are not putting Eleroo at risk again." Felix wouldn't dare do that to Eleroo and for a reason. It would expose Eleroo to a more dangerous situation than last time. The sylveon thought for a bit and then realized that if they do leave Eleroo here alone, he'd have to stay hidden and quiet until they get back. "When you were inside, how many Radeon did you see?" That question though, if anything, was more or less the question so far. "I don't remember seeing any." That was about the truth to it. If there is any that was hidden, they likely are being held in a basement or possibly dead from starvation. The thought of death was there but there was also hope they was still alive but left in a state to where they're weakened and unable to do much.

Felix looked around the den carefully and seen there was a select few places that Eleroo can stay hidden in. There was always a risk that the enemy might find the den and look around for any way to cause an ultimatum. "Eleroo might need to stay hidden in here in case this place is found and searched. Last thing we need is giving those two an advantage." The eeveelution wanted nothing but payback for the mind trick that East and Salem pulled on him. That Golduck will have to go first since it could try to pull that mind manipulation again. "We haven't seen any radeon while we was in there but we haven't checked the whole gym out while we snuck around. If anything, they're likely in an area that we haven't checked yet." Then the thought of what Salem might do to them came in mind and what he's possibly doing to them now.

The children argued, but otherwise did not oppose their points any further. Though Reed's blood still boiled he remained in control of himself, with only the tip of his tail twitching to show his true emotions. While his plans did not hinge in their response, it would certainly change some points and complicate others depending on-

"Um, I don't remember seeing any."

His eyes widen, breath halting in his throat as he stares down the pondering Aiveon. Though she seemed lost in thought there was no hint of deceit in her voice; she believed what she said to be true. "None? Not a single one?" Johvani presses, concern lining their mew as their eyelids tipped down even further in the corners. For a few moments Reed his frozen, the response not what he expected... yet painfully, believably, bitterly probable. To have none left, for none to be seen, to mention the loss of Sedric and Warren..! Clenching his teeth the small Radeon felt the weight of the world press even heavier upon his shoulders. He had failed so many..

"We hadn't seen any Radeon while we were in there but we hadn't checked the whole gym out while we snuck around. If anything, they're likely in an area that we haven't checked yet." Felix rationalizes, indirectly reminding the pair that Eleroo had been their only goal and target. With a young one, a new one, an outsider in their grasp, it was plausible that any other Radeon would not be allowed to influence him. Finally a breath continues to fill Reed's lungs and follows with a long exhale. There was still hope, still a chance, though the weight did not lessen from his aching shoulders. "We had barracks of sorts. They may have kept them.. away from the crowd." Though he refused to play in to his emotions the male would keep his hope alive. Even if they were too late, they could bring change for the future..

"Its possible they were there, or somewhere else after.. security was tightened." Johvani continued to reason, their hopes still very much alive as they considered all other avenues. "Besides, they clearly still have a keen interest in our kind, so measures would likely be taken to prevent numbers from hitting zero."

"Eleroo might need to stay hidden in here in case this place is found and searched. Last thing we need is giving those two an advantage." Felix suggested, the thought cautious and reasonable though it sent a chill down the Aiveon's spine. "We are not leaving him anywhere. He's safest with everyone." Seek snapped, a growl to her voice as she wraps an arm around Eleroo's shoulders. While his abuduction had been among everyone, same with hers come to think of it, the Aiveon swore on her life to never allow that to happen again. If he was out of sight how could she assure his safety? "Especially all the way in this dreary place.." To be alone in this dim den before facing further horrors.. the thought alone sent a shudder down her spine.

"None? Not a single one?" Johvani asked, double checking her response. "Not that I can recall." The others didn't say much on the matter, likely agreeing with her since they were all in the same boat; Eleroo and the two in charge were all they could really focus on in that momeny. "We haven't seen any radeon while we was in there but we hadn't checked the whole gym out when we snuck around. If anything, they're likely in an area that we haven't checked yet." That was, optimistic.. sorta. "Yeah, I guess they could have been somewhere else." With their weird perceptions and treatment of them, maybe they were on defense instead of the meeting, or whatever the hell that was. Uxie's teleport would have bypassed their outdoor security, and if they really had low numbers than seeing none or few inside would make sense. But.. the nursery was empty. Wouldn't young ones be important to watch? Why send the same Golbats after them if they had Radeon on hand, why risk the Marsh aside from speed? The dots didn't quite line up, but Seek did not argue a point she couldn't deny.

Burying his nose in his paws Eleroo kept his lips sealed. He wanted nothing more than to forget about the whole incident. He didn't want to think and worry about these horrors, but legends help him they had to do something for those other Pokemon. Were the others locked away because of him? Had he made things worse for them? I'm sorry. Salem spoke so much of others, honor, duty, but yet.. "We had barracks of sorts. They may have kept them.. away from the crowd." His eyes tip upward, looking big and pathetic against his small frame as he looks to Reed. Was that his doing? Was that bad, or unusual? Seek's side pressed more firmly against him, and the child lowers his gaze.

"Its possible they were there, or somewhere else after.. security was tightened. Besides, they still clearly have a keen interest in our kind, so measures would likely be taken to prevent numbers from hitting zero." More Eeveelutions shuffle, the reassurance calming their fraying nerves but not making the situation better. "Well that's.. something." Seek stutters awkwardly, the thought not encouraging. "So, you want us, I don't know, to strike that place or something? I'm not really following here."

Seek didn't agree with the idea of Eleroo staying behind. "We are not leaving him anywhere. He's safest with everyone." Felix could see her point but they're dealing with two powerful pokemon and they are at a disadvantage in terms of numbers if the entire city is manipulated to fight against them. Shenron inputted his opinions as well. The sylveon closed his eyes to think on what to do at this point. Seek's got guts but under extreme pressure, freezes up. Shenron's strong but water types was a weakness. Then he thought of the pros though. They work well together and all risked their lives to save Eleroo. True Eleroo wasn't a fighter like they are but perhaps there was a way for Eleroo to be able to help.

Taking the thought in, he nods and opens his eyes. "You changed my mind Seek, if you want Eleroo to come, I'll help protect him." Then he got to thinking on a potential escape route for the captured radeon should they encounter them. He looks at Reed and then asks him something. "If we try to take on both East and Salem, how would you deal with them?" Hearing his plan first would be ideal before any input on his idea.

"Well that's.. something." Johvani frowns, their attempt at encouragement faltering. Did the other Pokemon not believe them, or was the thought more disturbing than a glimmer of hope? Refusing to give up hope themself Johvani curls their tail around their paws. It was only a possibility, after all. "In my travels through this epidemic, valuables are kept somewhere safe but easy to evacuate or secure for later retrieval. If the Radeons are as important as they seem, they wouldn't be somewhere that anything could wander into." "Certainly. Any place Pokemon occupied would be well secured, both inside and out." Depending on the occupants and the location, some more so than others.

"Many precautions were taken to secure that town after things soured. All movements are regularly monitored to prevent threats from ever getting too close. However, if numbers are truly so low they likely would condense locations for better security. Any Radeon would need to be watched along with patrolling, so somewhere under scrutiny would be ideal." Placing a paw upon his chin Reed considers the options. Things had undoubtedly changed his he last had a view of the inside, but Salem was a bitter, callous, forward thinking and predictable bastard. He'd want them at the heart, with no chance to flee, with no one to hear their cries. "Perhaps they are kept close to the Swampert? Maybe near the stronger Pokemon who could "correct" them if they got keen." "You might be on to something there; they're likely still in the Gym then."

"So, you want us, I don't know, to strike that place or something? I'm not really following here." The Aiveon asks, her tone genuinely confused. Had he not been clear enough? "We need your cooperation to free any Radeon and break this cycle of neglect." He growls, doing his best to remain clear. "There is a hard limit to what the two of us can do alone." It was a reality they come to learn very quickly; two sets of paws could get a lot done, but overthrowing a society was asking too much.

"If we try to take on both East and Salem, how would you deal with them?" With a snort Reed let a dark grin crown across his muzzle. "Beat their asses and drive their maws into the dirt." To see them bleed while fear sparkled in their eyes... gritting his teeth the Radeon doubted such a satisfaction would ever come to pass. "Reed.." Johvani says sternly, reminding him to put personal desires second. "...They aren't ones to listen unless placed in an unfavorable position. They will need to be separated from any others and without aid. East is just a whipping boy, but stopping his sharp mouth wouldn't hurt. Even if beaten Salem wouldn't listen unless without proper incentive."