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Jack frowned at squinted at the bright light that had replaced the Ho-oh. "What's it doing...?" He muttered. He glanced at Agnes, who didn't seem to know any more than him. Scanning the area for the other Rockets, he saw that some were as confused as he was and others were throwing themselves at the ground. "Great, this doesn't seem good."

He rubbed his forehead, unsure of what to do. Agnes's Rock Tomb attack seemed to have done nothing to the Ho-oh, which was kinda unnerving, considering the legendary's type weaknesses. Jack instead pointed at the newly revived Charizards. "Rock Tomb them," he said simply. Despite all the excitement and adrenaline, he was getting tired. He just stood there as Agnes sighed and threw some more rocks at them. "I'm so glad I taught you Rock Tomb," he muttered tiredly.

"Well," Hayes would have adjusted glasses that weren't there as Darwin ascended, but his arms were full of scientist. He nudged his Pidgeot over to a higher ledge with a "Down there, Dar." The large bird complied. Talons scraped on the ledge next to Langley, and a moment later the programmer was letting Nyx down to the rock surface, watching the glowing silhouette with a furrowed brow.

"For starters, it'd make it really easy to hit-"

The sun came out from behind the clouds.

The Ho-oh's twenty four foot wingspan came around in a blindingly white arc as it swooped for Pokemon and Rockets alike in a Sky Attack, blazing in a cloak of harsh light. Those in the air would be most at risk, but talons like swords struck out at those on the ledge, coming close - but not too close - to its precious egg.

"-everyone," finished the agent, hazel eyes wide.

As the glow faded, anyone with eyes that still worked might be able to see that the prior attacks had indeed had an effect - the bird was looking slightly worse for wear, though it was clearly still full of energy.

The Charizards were hit with the strong force of the Surf at the same time. Their tails nearly fizzling out from the onslaught of water. But then burning brightly once more. Roars of pain and fury erupting from them as they then shot forth powerful Flamethrowers that made their previous ones look small in comparison. The Ho-oh's rage reflected in the eyes and tails of the two 'zards.

Aila wasn't sure what attack was prefaced by that light, but if Nikki was calling for everyone to hit the ground, it couldn't have been anything pleasant. Add to that the renewed threat of the Charizard... No, things really were looking rather poor, weren't they? She took a few steps of withdrawal, crouching slightly in preparation to take cover, and raised the pokeballs of her lower-leveled pokemon. There was no need to subject them to something potentially deadly. Before she did, however...

"Revenant, Perish Song." She projected her voice at a volume that would hopefully warn the other Rockets of the move's use, if the ghost's haunting melody itself didn't give it away. They would have time to recall their pokemon before the song took affect, time that Aila banked on to recall her own. Pitre and Noire obediently returned to their spheres, but Gui adamantly refused to leave the battlefield, dodging the red returning light when it was pointed in his direction.

"Gui, this is no time for your antics!" she berated as the Pidgeotto continued to evade her. He uttered a cry of protest in response. Protecting that girl was his duty, and he would not leave her in such blatant danger!

The poor bird would soon find his ambitions to be delusion, though, as a blinding light soaked the entirety of the cavern and something akin to 440 pounds of pure fury in bird form came tearing out of the sky, batting him aside like the insignificant insect he was in comparison.

"Gui--!" Her exclamation would be stifled into a sharp cry as the Ho-Oh collided with the ledge and, by property of association, with the girl who had not found her way to shelter before the onslaught. She felt the pressure of the blow before she felt any pain, slowly becoming aware of the rough texture of the ground grating against her back. She listened. Had Revenant been spared from the attack? Was She still singing? Yes? It was hard to tell, but it seemed as though it was there. There was some kind of pounding in her head drowning out all other sensations. In the distance, a white and gold form struggled to stay aloft, staggering through the air until it could remain airborne no longer.

"Ah, Gui..." Strange, it hurt to speak. But Gui-- The Pidgeotto was falling, plummeting. Where was his pokeball? She moved to rise and found she was unable to do so. Where was it? He'd be incinerated in the lava. Fingers clawed for the red and white ball that she was not yet aware had fallen inches from where her hand lay. The unbearable pain that would ensue had still yet to register in her senses. "Gui...!"

The first thing that registered in Damon's mind as the Ho-Oh passed over him was that the shadow it cast was much larger than he'd anticipated it would be. The next thing was an intense agony centered squarely along the length of his right forearm, and he didn't have to look to see the gash left in the wake of the Ho-Oh's talons.

If this was how most raids went, he would happily never go on one again in his life if he got out of this alive.

"I'm fine, I think," he assured Faleen when she called.

The gash would likely need stitches, but it wasn't life-threatening. Something inside of Damon hardened as blood dripped down the length of his forearm. He reached to his side as soon as he was sure it was safe to do so, removing the two Great Balls from his belt and releasing both Badru and Halima. They may not have known any ranged attacks, but they could provide support. And against a Ho-Oh that was likely as strong as it could physically get, the team would need all the support they could get.

"Badru, use Confuse Ray! Halima, Helping Hand!"

For a brief moment, the still young Espeon hesitated, practically trembling in the face of the overwhelming danger that faced her. But a soft coo from the Umbreon next to her seemed to snap her to attention, and she quickly powered up the nearest Pokemon that could foreseeable use an actual attack - the Raichu huddled near Nikki. The Umbreon used the moment to charge the attack he'd been ordered to use, and fired the ray at the Ho-Oh.

The Ho-oh wheeled back around and readied for another attack. But not without being met with a second onslaught from the Rocket Pokemon. Despite the help of the Charizards, and its superior level... no Pokemon could hope to go against so many and win. Not even a legendary like the fire phoenix before them.

The attacks struck true, and the Ho-oh shrieked in pain, even as it was hit with the confuse ray and the Perish Song went into effect. The fire bird faltered, seemingly to struggle staying aloft for a moment.

With Darkfeather, he still moved, and thus hadn't been defeated yet. But he needed a moment to recover from the blow and the Hyper Beam he had just used. Nikki saw this as her opportunity. Extracting an Ultra Ball from her bag, she made a run to the edge and with a practiced arm, lobbed the sphere in the Ho-oh's direction.

It was at that time, that the elites also finally made their appearance, repelling down from the sheer rock walls of the volcano. "Good work!" Seth called as they made their way down, seeing the progress that the grunts and agents were making. They were faring better than he expected, especially as he saw the Ho-oh get sucked into a ball.

The Ultra Ball fell and hit the ledge near Nikki's feet. It wiggled once and she scooped it up, tightly wrapping her fingers around it as if willing it to stay inside. "Come oooon..." she muttered between clenched teeth. "Stay in there." It wiggled again, but then a bright light seeped out from the ball as cracks formed all over it. Brown eyes went wide and she tried to release it, but it was too late.

The ball exploded with a thundrous boom, the ball breaking apart, and the sheer force sending Nikki backwards and landing next to her Pidgeot. A sharp cry of pain escaping her lungs as she hit the rock.

The Ho-oh emerged and then stumbled on the edge, clearly on the brink of fainting. Seth cursing as he rushed onto the scene and pulled out a master ball. This would have to be handled the proper way.

The Ultra Ball's explosion seemed to snap Aila's senses back into their proper place, and she became aware of everything happening around her practically simultaneously. The Ho-Oh was-- Wait, what about Revenant? Gui! She found the pokeball at her side and gave as great a lunge as she could manage in her prone position to wrap her hand around it, aiming the trigger and recalling the Pidgeotto into the safety of its confines. She drew a sharp breath and gritted her teeth against the pain that seemed almost to rip her body in two. It seemed like she was bleeding, but focusing on any single thing was proving exceedingly difficult.

"Reve--" Revenant? Where was the Mismagmius? Though she couldn't make out her dark form, the ghost remained nearby, locked into the completion of her melody despite her desire to aid the human. But agh, why couldn't she will her body to move? She'd been in pain before; how was this any different? "Reve--" She simply couldn't manage to form the rest of the name. The room seemed dimmer all of a sudden - had the Ho-Oh been caught? No, it was different from darkness due to ambience. This was a problem with her eyes, perhaps linked to her inability to concentrate.

A cold realization of her exact circumstances dawned on her, and her small fingers drew as tightly as she could manage around Gui's pokeball. "Le--" The name caught again, unable to take form before her consciousness fled her.