Mission 4: Present and Unaccounted For

That was certainly an infestation. Not so little creepy crawlies ruining the fine walls of the Over. Blake isn't so worried about the spiders, they were tiny after all. Expertly spinning Radiant's ball closer to the group, he then pales slightly as the bigger bug peaks out from the building. "Oh dear."

The bugs chitter and blink as they turn to face the Technicians, the smaller ones staring with bright blue orbs, while the larger one's eyes are solid spheres of crimson menace.

Aias sweeps forwards to slam the bug, and connects, but it seems surprisingly solid. Or, perhaps not so surprisingly, seeing as it seems to have an unyielding metal shell. The thing's at least knocked around, at least, and it chitters irately at the bird.

The larger spider, in contrast, is silent, with only the tapping of metal claws on surfaces marking its movement. It dashes with frightening speed around the battlefield, looking to move past the front line of Pokémon, towards the humans. As it approaches, it seems like purple liquid is spilling out of the joints in its armour, running in rivulets down its body, hissing as odd drops hit the ground. Its claws gleam menacingly as it rubs them together, sharpening them.

The big spider at least seems to acknowledge Blake, eyes narrowing. Whether that's a good thing or not is... yet to be seen. The smaller ones near it begin to scuttle forwards, their shells shimmering brighter as they do so. The spider near Lowe, on the other hand, opens its mouth to reveal large fangs that really seem like they're too big for its mouth, dripping with the same poison that seems to be leaking out of the large spider, hissing as it hits the ground. It sinks those teeth into Aias, causing the bird to briefly spasm.

Shuffling forwards and letting out a screech of challenge, Radiant emboldens her allies to stand a little firmer.

Gus and Radiant shift around, though they aren't doing any direct damage to the bugs. Aias seems to pick up some of that slack, though, getting a good smash on the smaller spider near it.

Blake's taunt seems to be doing work, though, as the spider swings around wildly to bite at Gus... but it rather too wild, and doesn't really get any traction.

Blake hits the spider... and man, is it solid. It feels like, despite landing a solid blow that he really didn't do too much to the squishy parts beneath the steel exterior. He also realizes that... whoops, this might not have been the best spot, as he isn't able to keep an eye on both spiders at once. He manages to dodge around one's attack, but the other one is able to get a solid hit in on him, raking him with its claws. He's going to need to sew that up later...

Aias isn't quite as lucky, with the bug facing it getting in several good rakes, legs moving in a blur. It's becoming a bit more of a nuisance, sharpening its claws in the Honchkrow like that.

When his fellow Technician cries out, Silas springs into action. All the walking that comes with this job has improved his physique, and it proves effective in combat as well. He quickly empties a restorative, targeting the wounded areas with practiced precision.

Meanwhile, Gus squares off against his foe. His usual buggy skills won't do much against another arthropod. Instead, he lunges forward with his technique created precisely for situations like this: the Incredibly Normal Slash!

Gus's attack may not have been the most effective - chitin against metal - but it still leaves a score in the thing's carapace, purple liquid dripping out of the small rent. Radiant finds more success, the spiders not seeming to be as well protected against attacks that can get in between their armour's cracks. And Aias is more successful still, tearing into one, and causing it to dissipate.

The large spider seems to have had enough of the whaling on its companions, and skitters past Gus, next to the two Trainers. All of a sudden its armour seems to loosen, before gouts of the toxic purple liquid that seem to form the innards of its body come jetting out, splashing over Blake, Silas, and one of the Spiders. It burns at the two humans, but the smaller spider seems to come out of it entirely intact - in fact, it seems even more clean and shiny now, as though all the grime just got washed off of it.