Up to his old tricks

[shadow_exec]

Don't ask how Nascour got ahold of Wes's phone number. That's unimportant. What is important is that he's called the boy out today in one of the lesser-visited areas of the island, away from prying eyes, claiming that he has something very important to tell him that can't properly be communicated over the phone. So here he stands in the middle of the woods, arms crossed and waiting for his former enemy to show up.

Comments

[gottasnagemall.livejournal.com]

Wes blinks and glances at the Snag Machine on his arm, then looking back at Nascour. "Y'know... Just in case I need to use it again. I don't feel very comfortable just throwing it away, either."

[riku-medusa.livejournal.com]

Nascour chuckled dryly, watching him. "And here I thought it may have been due to some lingering attachment to the thing." The tall man uncrossed his arm and strode over to Wes, stopping a few feet in front of him.

"When I asked you about snagging before, you said it felt good. Are you sure that's not why you still wear it?"

[gottasnagemall.livejournal.com]

Wes, however, stayed planted in his spot and kept his arms crossed. "Lingering attachment? Please. And you know I only use it to snag Shadow Pokémon now."

[riku-medusa.livejournal.com]

"Do you miss it? Capturing shadow Pokemon, that is." Besides, without Rui, could he even tell what was a shadow or not?

[gottasnagemall.livejournal.com]

Okay, Wes actually has to think about that. He can't deny that snagging Pokémon, Shadow or not, always gave him some sort of rush. It was exciting. And he felt accomplished every time he made a successful snag. Which was every time, of course. After all, he was the best Snagger in Team Snagem.

He breaks eye contact with Nascour as he thinks, choosing to look at the trees instead. "...I..." What to say, what to say. Wes wasn't sure if he really wanted to admit that he did miss it. He didn't even know what the point of this line of questioning was. Nascour had to be up to something. Why else would he be asking Wes all these questions?

"...Of course not." Might as well say no and see where it leads. Though Wes still can't look Nascour in the eye right now.

[riku-medusa.livejournal.com]

But Nascour caught that glint of something in his eyes before he looked away, and he knew the answer. Reaching out, he placed a finger beneath Wes's chin and tilted his face up to look him in the eyes.

"You're not a very good liar." He said in an almost warm tone, then stepped back, giving Wes his space again.

[gottasnagemall.livejournal.com]

If Nascour hadn't stepped back, he most likely would have been shoved away. Wes isn't used to anyone invading his personal space like that, let alone someone like Nascour. He instinctively stepped back himself, wanting to increase the distance between them even more.

"I'm not lying..." Of course Wes is going to continue to be stubborn about it.

[riku-medusa.livejournal.com]

And of course, Nascour was going to ignore his stubbornness. He increased the distance even further, holding his arms out to either side as he walked backward, a grin on his face.

"I'll give you what you want. How does that sound?" He laughed, and with the flick of his wrist, a pokeball appeared in his hand.

[gottasnagemall.livejournal.com]

A scowl quickly formed on Wes's face. Of course Nascour wouldn't listen... Well whatever, might as well play along.

"Fine, then." Vulcan, who had been standing there idly the whole time, stepped forward to fight.

[riku-medusa.livejournal.com]

Oh, Nascour had no intentions of actually fighting, he was going to leave that up to his new 'friend.' He threw the ball between them, and what appeared was something the man had never used before: a Steelix, huge and menacing.

Without waiting for a command, the metal snake attacked, lashing out with its tail to attack Wes, ignoring Entei altogether. There was a clear madness in its eyes, and even Wes would be able to tell what it was, even without Rui there to see the aura.

"Here's your chance, Wes. Snag it."

[gottasnagemall.livejournal.com]

Oh, he will. But trying to snag it at full health would be foolish, so he would have to chip away at it first. Vulcan has a type advantage, so no Flamethrower. Wes couldn't risk one-hit KOing it. Spamming Dig for a little while might do the trick; while that is also super effective against Steelix, the move would be weaker since Vulcan isn't a Ground type. It should survive.

But first, Wes needed to jump the hell out of the way of that Steelix's tail. Geez, this thing was vicious. "Dig." And now that Vulcan was... somehow underground, Wes would have to be even more aware of the Steelix's movements. He kept his eyes locked onto the massive Pokémon, prepared to dodge any other attacks it threw at him.

[riku-medusa.livejournal.com]

The Steelix followed Wes's movements, and roared at him when he jumped out of the way. Snapping its jaws, the metal snake rushed at him, attempting to crush him under its bulk.

Nascour watched with an unreadable expression, playing no part in this fight aside from spectator. This was a test for Wes, one that he knew the boy would pass.

[gottasnagemall.livejournal.com]

Steelix may be big and scary, but Wes had something that it lacked; speed. Wes was small and light, therefore he was capable of moving at much quicker speeds. He just didn't get a chance to show off that speed often. The moment Steelix rushed forward, he jumped out of the way once again, landing back on the ground with a roll. But he wasted no time in leaping back to his feet.

And just as that happened, Vulcan popped out of the ground underneath Steelix to strike with Dig.

[riku-medusa.livejournal.com]

Howling in pain and anger, Steelix turned its attention toward the source of the attack and away from Wes. It crashed its massive jaws against the ground, trying to crush Entei between them, but its aim was a bit off due to attacking in a blind rage and it ended up with a mouthful of dirt.

[gottasnagemall.livejournal.com]

Silly, silly Steelix. "Keep it up, Vulcan." The Entei knew that meant Wes wanted him to keep using the attack, so it was soon underground again.

[riku-medusa.livejournal.com]

Silly nothing. That hole Entei just made in the ground? Steelix decided that it would be a good idea to follow the lion-dog down its hole and attack it underground. Wes might want to get Vulcan out of there as fast as possible.

[gottasnagemall.livejournal.com]

Oh, Wes doesn't have to do that. Vulcan can immediately hear the Steelix coming for it, so it leaps out of the ground, which creates another hole, and lands quite a distance away from it. Then it looks at Wes. What the fuck is it supposed to do now?

He lets out a sigh. "...Flamethrower. Just don't make it too strong, okay?" Quickly approaching the recently made hole, Vulcan blew a weakened Flamethrower into it to attack the Steelix still underground.

[riku-medusa.livejournal.com]

There's a furious howl from underground, and the earth shakes before Steelix bursts from the ground, metal body glowing slightly red from the fire. Once above-ground, it thrashes with no real target, in too much pain and anger to think.

If Wes planned on Snagging it, now was the time to do so.

[gottasnagemall.livejournal.com]

Oh, why not, let's give it a shot now. Wes gave Vulcan a nod, and it moved away from the Steelix and near its trainer. It was done attacking. Pulling an Ultra Ball out of his bag, Wes holds it in the hand with the Snag Machine on it to convert it into a Snag Ball, then throws it at the Steelix.

[riku-medusa.livejournal.com]

Still thrashing, the Steelix vanished into the ball with a flash. It shook with the effort of trying to keep the metal snake contained before finally falling still; a successful snag.

Nascour clapped his hands from across the battlefield, a grin on his face. "So, how does it feel? Exhilarating, wasn't it?"

[gottasnagemall.livejournal.com]

And since Wes's party was full, the ball disappeared in a flash of white light after Steelix was snagged. He shrugged nonchalantly in response to Nascour's question. "It gave me a little workout, that's for sure." Yep, he's keeping it cool.

[riku-medusa.livejournal.com]

Nascour crossed the field again, but left enough space between the two of them this time so as not to make Wes uncomfortable. "Don't deny how the machine makes you feel. That kind of power is addictive, and not even you can resist its temptation for long... Nor should you even want to."

[gottasnagemall.livejournal.com]

"Even if I do get urges at times, I'm perfectly capable of controlling them." Having the self control to stop himself from snagging everyone and their mother's Pokémon and instead snagging only Shadow Pokémon was quite a feat. Wes had no intention of reverting back to his old ways, either. "What exactly are you trying to accomplish here?" Since it's pretty obvious that Nascour is up to something...

[riku-medusa.livejournal.com]

Saying that Nascour was up to something was like saying that he was breathing. He was always up to something.

"Accomplish? Who's to say I'm trying to accomplish anything?" He shrugged, and walked past the young man. "Rather, I'm simply trying to remind you that old habits die hard."

[gottasnagemall.livejournal.com]

"Doesn't mean that they can't die." Wes can say with confidence that his old habit has died. For now, anyway. Assuming that Nascour has nothing else to say, he climbs onto Vulcan's back and rides off.

[riku-medusa.livejournal.com]

Once Wes was out of earshot, Nascour turned to look off in the direction he'd disappeared into. "But something tells me they'll be much more difficult for you to kill than you think." He murmured to himself, and began the trek back to the lab.