[FIN] Didn't see it coming

[Suudonym]

Luke exhaled lightly as he made his way in the direction of the apartment, reviewing the days events from the arrival at the hotel and convention contained therein to the discussion at the panel to the mistake of his identity and Team Rocket's interference to his conversation with Alder after things were settled. All things considered, he was fairly exhausted, physically and mentally, which was particularly justifiable given how early the day had started and how late it had become.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The light of day had long since disappeared as night fell across Camphoreon, leaving the occasional dim streetlamp as the only light sources in this part of town.

Luke would walk in peace for a few moments before a normal Pikachu scurried out from an alley nearby and paused in the middle of the sidewalk to regard the human curiously, its ears twitching. "Pi?"  

[Suudonym]

"Ah." He stopped, blinking at the electric mouse, and glanced around for any sign of its trainer before leaning slightly forward. "Hey there. Need something?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

When Luke leaned closer, the Pikachu hopped forward another foot or two before pausing and sniffing at the human curiously. "Pika?" It blinked up at him, tilted its head, then its cheeks crackled a bit with electricity a split second before a powerful Flash erupted from its tiny form, engulfing itself, the trainer and the immediate vicinity in a blinding white light.

The light from the move dissipated almost immediately, but its effect on the human probably wouldn't disappear as quickly. Luke would hear the sound of multiple footsteps approaching very quickly before something - likely a fist - suddenly collided with the side of his head.  

[Suudonym]

He tilted his head aside at the Pikachu's curious disposition, a light smile rapidly falling away as his vision was blinded by an attack he was thinking clearly enough to identify as Flash. With a short cry, his hand went to his eyes too late to prevent any damage, and a reflexive backpedal was interrupted by a sharp force against his head. Rough pavement scratched into the palm that extended to break his fall, his other hand moving for his pokeballs at his side. "The hell is going on here?!"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The hand at his pokeballs was pushed to the pavement before a foot forcefully pinned it there, the owner of said foot using a majority of their weight to ensure it remained immobile for the time being. A male voice spoke up suddenly, but was just as quickly silenced. "Grab his--oof!"

"Shut up!"

"Oh, right!"

The exchange took all of two seconds, and two more passed with what must've been silent communication as all of Luke's pokeballs were hastily removed from his belt. Immediately after, the pressure on his foot released before a hand gripped his arm to pull him to his feet - but halfway up, a knee slammed into his abdomen and another fist connected harshly with his head.  

[Suudonym]

It wasn't difficult to deduce, between the physical abuse and the removal of his pokeballs, that Luke had wound up once again in a Rocket trap. The earlier Flash still debilitated his sight, a severe blow biting into his middle and winding him of any of the accusations he would have liked to throw. Addled thoughts, through a veil of confusion and pain and anger, quickly went to feelings of self-deprecation and arrived at the conclusion that this was what he deserved for doing nothing to prevent the disaster at the panel - even causing the disaster in the first place, depending on one's perspective.  

[BlackFireKitsune]

A hand grabbed at his shoulder to force him back to the pavement, not giving any indication whatsoever that its owner was concerned about causing head injuries. The hand stayed at his shoulder to prevent movement, and a leg moved across his middle probably for the same purpose, indicating that further and more focused blows would follow - but the sound of rapidly approaching paws accompanied by a vicious snarl gave the unknown attackers pause.

"Zorrrark!"

"Waah!"

The pause lasted hardly a second or two before a light breeze and the sudden absence of the person pinning Luke to the ground indicated that said person had been forcefully removed from his person. The Zoroark's vicious, throaty growling continued very close by, followed by confused dialogue between several different voices. "Get this thing off me!"

"What the hell are you doing?"

"He's a Rocket! What does it look like we're doing?!"

"Bullshit. Off." The growling diminished as its source moved back to Luke's other side, and some scuffling nearby, probably from at least one person hastily moving away. "You have three seconds to get the hell out of here."

"But he is! He's a Rocket!"  

[Suudonym]

Luke tried in vain to blink away the large spots of white that dazzled his vision, preventing him from identifying the source of the various sensations occurring around him. He relaxed slightly when the presence of another person was removed from him, sitting up out of reflex but unable to follow through the instinctive wish to get into a stance that would be more conducive to self-defense. He followed the sounds as best he could, his breathing shallow from pain and his posture unsteady, then a coldness swept through him as his attackers stated their motivation. "You're trainers?!" he shouted suddenly, incredulous. The force in his voice stabbed at his middle, preventing him from further comment - not that he could think of anything to say. What could he say to that?  

[BlackFireKitsune]

"Yeah, and you're a Rocket!" One of them countered.

"One," Abel started.

"Why are you on his side?"

"Two."

"But he's a Rocket, why should we--"

"Three." A slight movement and the resulting click caused the group to pause in complete silence for a few moments, but one didn't want to stay silent for long.

"But--"

"I said get the hell out of here!" The blonde shouted, his patience obviously wearing quite thin.

Another pause, before one of them could be heard advancing a step or two. "C'mon now, you have to realize--"

The sharp report of a gun reverberated between the large buildings, and the frightened cries of the group quickly followed, accompanied shortly after by the sounds of their hasty retreat. The fact that none of them cried out in pain or had any trouble departing hinted that none of them had been injured - at least not physically.

Sonia's growls ended with an irritated snort as Abel clicked the safety back on and replaced his gun, and moved to gently tug Luke's arm to help him back up. "Hey, you alright?" He asked, his previous impatient and angered tones completely replaced by concerned, softer ones.  

[Suudonym]

Did they not stop to think for a second that if he was a Rocket he would have been arrested after being questioned earlier? Did they not even consider the notion that just maybe he might have been found innocent of their accusations? Unable to fathom a response, Luke blinked the light from his eyes, gradually restoring his vision and taking in what he could see of the scene through distorted sight. The sound of gunshot was the clearest thing in his senses, responded to in a panic, "Hey, don't shoot at them! They're trainers!" Somehow his warped sense of priorities still assigned his attackers the role of innocents due solely to their absence of affiliation with Team Rocket. Even if they were going about it in exactly the worst way possible, their intentions were still good… right?

It didn't seem that any of them had been hit, though, given the absence of a response and the vague retreating forms. He staggered to his feet with Abel's offered assistance, rubbing at his eyes. "I'm… yeah." About as all right as someone who'd just been blindsided and brutalized could be. "…I don't guess they left my pokeballs laying around?"  

[BlackFireKitsune]

Abel blinked at the first thing out of Luke's mouth. Don't shoot at them? Really? Regardless, he seemed concerned, and he didn't really want to further distress someone who just got beaten up. "I wasn't aiming to hit any of them, don't worry," he said, then frowned. "I kind've thought you might've been a little less concerned about them given the fact that they just, I dunno, beat the crap out of you just now." Because really, if someone did that to him he would've been pissed to all hell.

Mention of his missing pokeballs, however, made his brows raise and eyes widen a bit. "Your pokeballs?" A quick glance revealed that no, they did not, so he pointed after where they went and looked to his Zoroark. "Sonia, go try and get them back. Meet me back home, alright?"

"Zor," the dark-type agreed before she dropped to all fours and raced off down the street.

The blonde frowned and raised a hand to the back of his neck. "Man, I'm sorry they did that to you. ..are you sure you're alright?"  

[Suudonym]

"Oh," he replied dully. "Yeah, I… guess that would make sense." His hand moved from his eyes to his forehead in a fruitless effort to stifle what would likely become a raging headache before too long. He breathed lightly and took stock of himself. There was the headache for one, it was painful to breathe properly, a sharp heat in the general area of his hand… but at least his vision was clearing up. Mental note: Flash works pretty well in disabling enemies.

He made attempts at remaining optimistic over the Zoroark returning successful in its efforts, but it didn't seem like something worth holding his breath over. Of all the things, attacked by trainers. Living every day worried about being attacked by Rockets, and attacked by trainers. Attacked by people he in all likelihood would have given his life to defend were they endangered. He made no effort to disguise the desolation in his expression.

He gave a faint nod as a somewhat delayed response, surrendering his hand from his forehead to hold his sore middle, "Yeah, probably. Thanks."  

[BlackFireKitsune]

The young man watched with a growing frown at Luke's countenance, his delayed response, and also the fact he'd just gotten assaulted. From the few blows he'd witnessed before stopping the attack, the trainer was probably hurting pretty bad - or would be fairly soon. Definitely tomorrow morning, for sure. He attempted a more optimistic smile, reaching a hand to the redhead's shoulder, "C'mon, let's get out of here. Where d'you live? My place is pretty close actually, and you're welcome to stay the night - it is pretty late."  

[Suudonym]

Without lending thought to it a hand raised to his head again, the one marked by still faint bruising and swelling, though he winced from the movement of his fingers. "Not… too far. I, uh… Thanks, but I think I'll be fine." Seemed a little strange to stay overnight at the home of the person whom he occasionally encountered while practicing live firing once or twice a week, though he appreciated the sentiment of the offer. "Your Zoroark is going back there, though, right? I'd sort of like to see if it managed to track down my team… if that's okay."