Ask to Join Pokémon Trainer University

[_rb3]

Flop. Crack. Wes and the team were walking back to the main road when the Swellow fell to the ground in front of them. He reared back in surprise and shouted,

"What the hell is goin' on!" His Pokemon called along with him as they studied the limp bird. He looked up to the trees and then to the course where Jezebel stood clutching her foot with a triumphant smile on her face. In the distance they heard the cry of Holly over the uproar of the bird Pokemon and Wes began to head in the general direction of her voice. Upon arriving, he noticed that the class was dismissed. The trainer held up his hand as if to say something to Holly, but then decided against it to fix his glasses instead. With a longing gaze at the back side of Holly, Wes and his creatures began to head back to the dorm.

 

[MelodyMay]

Ammon fell off the platform into Jezebel's arms and munched his oran berry as she twirled with him in her arms. Seeing Wes, she slowly made her way to him. "Hey, Wes; where did you go?" she asked him, too happy from her her successful kick to grimace at her pain.

 

[_rb3]

Hearing Jezebel's voice behind him, Wes spun with a comb through his hair. At her comment, he laughed nervously,

"I went to go catch a Pokemon. But, then I remembered that I didn't have any Pokeballs." He scratched the back of his head and grinned widely at his embarrassment. His Pokemon rolled their pairs of eyes with obnoxious sighs at his stupidity.

 

[MelodyMay]

"Rookie," she teased with her tongue stuck out at him. "Ammon and I managed to beat the Swellow. I kicked Ammon to speed up his rollout attack," she told him with a smug grin.

She started heading back to campus, her thoughts going to the party. "Are you coming to the...," she trailed off, looking around for any teachers. "study group?" she finished with a wink.

 

[_rb3]

Wes stammered in defiance, "W-well it was so easy back when I just had Pokeballs! They wouldn't let me bring any in campus!" his voice trailed off, not really believing himself. I am a rookie. he thought with a grin as he walked to catch up to his fellow trainer.

He watched as she looked around before questioning him. His mind began to formulate what she had said, Study group. I wasn't invited to a- oh. Clever girl. His face grew into a sly grin,

"Yep, that 'study group' is going to be lit. When are you heading over there?" he made air quotes on the phrase "study group" with a laugh.

 

[Orion778]

Alan had finally finished setting up for the party. Scoring a portable speaker from an upperclassman on the floor above, he hooked it up to his PDA turning on a mix of Edgy/Punk music, leaving it turned down for now so he could enjoy it while he waited for his classmates to show up.

Somehow he had managed to doze off, apparently today's activities had taken more out of him that expected and he was awoken by the sound of knocking at the door.
returning his Pokémon Alan answered the door and was greeted by a crowd of six third years, one of which was the guy he'd borrowed the speaker from earlier.

"What's up guys! Everyone but the speaker guys gotta chip in 200P or 'party favors' "Alan requestied with a wink.
After some deliberation each of the older trainers handed over a small wad of cash before making themselves at home in the dorm room.

Alan shows the crowd to the drinks before turning up his music, currently playing a song by Sheer-ColdPlay ()

 

[MelodyMay]

"I was just headed that way now," Jezebel told Wes before returning Ammon. She popped a couple Tylonol and made sure she had her gift from her dad before heading to Alan's dorm. "I have been looking forward to this all day!" She told Wes as she knocked on Alan's door.

 

[MegaloX]

Matthew hadn't done much but study the courses in endurance class and he knew he would be one of the first ones to go the next day. "Well I better get to that thing." he said, heading back towards the dorms. He walked down the hall a little bit farther than normal as he passed his room looking for Alan's. He heard blaring music and some voices. "Are people already there?" he asked himself. He took a peek in the door and saw a small crowd of third years who decided to attend. "How did Alan get the third years to come?" he asked, totally surprised.

He took a few steps in the door and looked around. "Well I guess I'd better find Alan." he said. He looked back and forth before locating the boy next to the drinks. He approached him with a smile, "So it looks like everything is kicking off just fine." he said.

 

[_rb3]

"Oh, good. I'll pop in my dorm and meet you at my neighbors." he said with a grin. Wes left the Safari Zone path for the modern sidewalks that whisked him towards the hub at high speeds. His hair ruffled to a painfully ugly nest-like do. Gotta fix that. he told himself as he transferred to the sidewalk that would take him towards the glass covered dorm building.

Upon arriving at the dorm building, he looked about at his Pokemon - two on the ground and one coiled on his shoulder.

"Time to get some rest, you guys. I'll see you after the party!" They called their farewells and Dratini yawned loudly in his ears. The trainer scratched the serpent's chin before pressing each capsule's button upon his holder. The clicking sound of the Pokeballs was met with a bright flash of crimson light. The trainer entered the building and continued to his dorm by his lonesome.

The trainer passed Jezebel, who was walking towards Room 316. He grinned at her excitement and it seemed to rub off on him as he answered,

"Yeah, same here. I'll see you inside." Wes entered his own room next door, hearing traces of edgy music filtering through the walls. The trainer placed the Pokeballs on his bed, combed through his hair, and left the room with what he had on.

Wes found Jez in the hall and looked around the corridor dubiously before knocking on the door with a closed fist of his own.

"I could hear the music through the walls in my room. It might be too loud for them to hear." he said to her with a shrug.

 

[MelodyMay]

"Yeah, let's let ourselves in," she said with her typical smirk as she waltzed through the door. She immediately started looking around for Alan or one of her other friends. Seeing the table with the drinks, she headed over and poured herself a tall glass. "Not as good as Grandpa's vodka but at least it's something," she whispered.

 

[_rb3]

Wes followed Jezebel in with a nervous smile and a fidget of his glasses. The loud music and smell of something awful filled his senses as he quickly closed the door behind himself. A haze of smoke had already filled the room and Wes leaned against the door, coughing into a hand. Not exactly sure what to do in a party environment, the trainer walked after Jezebel through the crowd.

In the process of heading to the drink table, the trainer was elbowed in the ribs and tripped by a stray foot. As he watched Jezebel, who he thought was once innocent, fill a tall glass with liquor, he glanced at the table. What do I drink? he asked himself before placing a hand to his forehead. What is that smell? he held his breath as his mind swam with the intoxicating scent. He shook himself to get rid of the feeling and surveyed the table once more. His eyes fell onto your everyday cola and he shrugged to himself. I'll just drink this and no one will think anything of it. he thought mildly. Probably just something to mix with something else. No one will know.

The trainer found a stack of cups and took the top two off with a grimace. He replaced the "top cup" in his hand to the stack and poured the dark, fizzing liquid into the second. Finding an ice bin, the male scooped in a few cubes and joined the group of chatting millennials in the center of the room. He stood awkwardly in the throng before spying Alan by the corner and heading that way.

 

[MelodyMay]

Seeing Wes wander off, Jezebel went after him, expertly weaving among the crowd in the dorm room. "Awful lot of cola; what'd you mix it with?" she asked with a genuine smile. She noticed him coughing a bit and grimaced. "Yeah, I'm used to the party scene and all this smoke is a bit much, even for me. But don't worry; I have a special treat tat'll help you relax in no time," she promised going back to her smile.

Seeing Alan in the direction Wes had been heading, she started heading that way. "Come on," she told Wes, grabbing his arm to make sure they didn't get separated in the crowd.

 

[Orion778]

The lot of you arrived at the door only to be greeted by a Sneasel, the little Pokémon was holding a large was of cash and had a little sign around its neck with a hastily written (200P) on it.

He seemed quite intent on not letting you in until Alan noticed the commotion at the door And signaled for him to "cut it out"

The student who had arrived before you let out a small cheer as the lot of you entered the room seemingly quite happy that the party was getting bigger.

Students were everywhere in the hazy room drinking from plastic cups and visibly having a good time, Alan sat above the crowd on the windowsill hopping down only to greet his friends "welcome to my humble abode" he stammered a powerful mixture of weed and alcohol on his breath

 

[_rb3]

As Jezebel appeared in his peripherals and said something above the noise, Wes turned to her. He stammered before answering and tried to play it off,

"Uh, plenty of good stuff in here. Don't you worry about it, Jez." His eyebrow rose as she talked of a "special treat". What is she going on about? he thought to himself as his arm was tugged away. He stumbled over his own feet before following her into the crowd.

As they neared the host, Wes could feel the scent grow stronger. The young trainer said something inaudible over the noise, but Wes imagined him saying, in a surfer dude's voice, something like, "Yo, bruh. Check out my joint." He coughed into his hand from his breath and smiled slyly,

"Quite a party you got here, Alan. I saw your door man at the front. You're charging people to get in?"

 

[Orion778]

"Well, my father did run a Casino.." Alan shrugged "and it's not like I'm just gonna be handing out free booze to strangers"

He then turned and tried to hug Jezz almost falling over in the process. "I'm so glad all of you could make it, make yourselves at home, enjoy yourselves"

 

[_rb3]

He nodded with an understanding look upon his face and looked around at all the cups in student's hands. The haze seemed to hang heavier by the minute, and his glasses were being quickly fogged up. Wes looked back to the group of his friends to find Alan gesturing to Jezebel as if he was going to hug her. He stumbled on his own feet due to his intoxication and seemed to hang on her instead of actually give her a hug. Odd. They must have really connected after their little trip. he thought with a frown. He heard what the male muttered because of his closeness and responded,

"Wouldn't miss it for the world, Alan. Thanks for having me." a polite smile spread across his face and he turned back to the crowd of millennials. His eyes lit up with surprise upon passing over the gorgeous green hair of Professor Holly and his face began to turn a crimson. What! She's here! he thought frantically with a comb through his hair. Wes shook himself and the image of the girl seemed to shiver before his eyes, his blood pumping quickly. The image turned out to be just a pretty brunette second-year among the crowd and he turned away with a hand on his face. This smoke is really getting to me. he thought with a sigh.

 

[Orion778]

"So you're one of Alan's friends?" One of the third years asks Wes trying to make conversation after bumping into him. "His brother was quite the beast when I was a first year, how does he stack up" He then politely tried to pass the smoldering joint in his left hand to Wes

All around bits and pieces of conversations could be heard jumbled with the music. Talk of the upcoming ranking tournament seemed to be on everyone's mind.

 

[MelodyMay]

Laughing gleefully, Jezebel hugged Alan and took a big swallow of liquor. "This is great, Alan! What do you guys say we break in my Dad's gift?" she said, showing them the unlabeled bottle of pills. She was excited to share this with someone; her Dad usually made sure she kept it silent.

"Where can we pop a few in private?" she asked Alan. Feeling very giddy from the second hand smoke, she wrapped an arm around Alan's neck and rested her chin on his other shoulder.

 

[_rb3]

Wes turned to the third-year student, hearing his words among the talk and music. As he held out the smoldering joint, Wes placed his hands in front of him and shook them as if to say, "no thank you". He responded to the male with a look back to Alan who had Jezebel's chin on his shoulder,

"Yeah, he's a friendly guy. I haven't met his brother, but I'd say he's close enough to a beast." He noticed the bottle of pills in her hand and a foreboding feeling crept into his heart. Hope they don't get hurt. he thought with worry. The trainer fidgeted with his glasses before turning back to the student before him. His ears picked up snatches about the upcoming ranking tournament and a glimmer of inquiry shone in his eyes.

"So, you've been in one of these tournaments before, right? How do they work, exactly?" he questioned the third-year.

 

[Orion778]

"We could probably go into the bathroom" Alan said pointing towards the closed door

"They're double elimination tournaments, they determine your class ranking" The boy explained in between puffs from the joint " There are four over the course of the school year, one every quarter. The first one is set up completely random, but in the later tournaments the higher your rank the more favorably you are placed on the bracket. Facing lower ranked students and such." He looked like he was finished explaining as he turned to had the joint off to a passerby before turning back to Wes "Oh yeah.. Only the top half of ranked students are accepted back each year. If you're in the bottom 50% you are expelled after the final tournament, the day before graduation"

 

[_rb3]

Wes listened closely to the information given from the third-year. As he did so, he watched the faint light of the joint being passed to another student. His eyes picked up on Alan and Jezebel starting to walk towards the bathroom across the hazy room. He coughed, as the whiff of the joint entered his nostrils and turned back to the male. At his final sentence, Wes fidgeted with his glasses nervously. Let's make sure not to be in that 50%. he thought and hoped that his partners could hear him in the room next door. He shook himself out of his mind,

"So, you're a pretty good battler if you're on year three, I'd guess. I hope I make it through." he exclaimed with a nervous laugh. Seems pretty rough to be expelled before graduation. Just think if you had one mess up and your entire education was screwed up. he told himself.

 

[Orion778]

"There's only 25 students in year three, and everyone is very skilled. So modesty is a healthy thing to have at this point" The older boy explains "My name is James by the way, and you are?"

 

[_rb3]

His eyes sparked at the revealing of only twenty-five students in year-three. Wow, and think that 50% more will be taken off for year-four. he thought with amazement. He responded with excitement after the third-year was finished,

"Twenty-five, that's insane! You'll barely have any classmates for year-four." he paused with a coughing fit and continued, "I'm Wesley, but most people call me Wes. Nice to meet you, James."

 

[MegaloX]

Matthew was having the most difficult time of his life. He'd never really been to parties or anything of the sort and he always tried to stay clear of them for one reason or another. This time was different however, he walked around coughing every now and then due to the massive amount of smoke in the air. He thought he'd seen Alan earlier but it turned out to be a random second year. By the time he had spotted Alan he already seemed too far gone, and even Jezebel too. "Wow this is crazy." the boy said. He even saw that Wes was interacting with a third year who seemed to be getting all buddy buddy with him. Matthew stumbled a bit but was able to catch his balance. "Just hang on for a little while." the boy thought to himself.

"Maybe I just need a glass of water." he said, grabbing a plastic cup filled with a clear liquid substance. Little did Matt know, that what he drank was not in fact water, but Vodka. The boy was absolutely shocked at the effects of the consumed beverage. "My hand is all...wobbly?" he asked, his voice trailing off at the end as he examined his hand which looked as if it was warping in a special mirror. "I'll just..." the boy started before taking another sip of what he still believed was water for some reason. "Damn it you did it again!" Matthew thought to himself. He stumbled over next to the speaker and released an ear piercing wail as he poured the Vodka all over his face.

 

[SageNeb]

Mike headed to his room before Jez finished her time at the course. "Return guys, it's going to get pretty crazy in my room soon," he said. He headed back up to the dorm and saw Alan was already there. Mike crouched and saw some Vodka. "God I'm thirsty," he said while looking at the Vodka," a little something to drink couldn't hurt." He took a bit of the drink and nearly collapsed because of the drink. He carefully made his way to his bed and passed out to a deep sleep. A few hours later he woke to loud music and a bunch of people smoking, drinking, or dancing. To Mike's surprise he was holding the bottle of Vodka in his sleep. He took another shot, which he handled barely any better and began acting crazy. "WOOHOO! LET'S PARTY ALL NIGHT LONG!!!" Mike screamed at the party. He then began dancing really woozily but full of energy.

 

[MelodyMay]

Jezebel just beamed at Alan as she dragged him to the restroom. Shutting the door behind them, she shook a couple pills out of the bottle into his palm.

"A word of warning," she told him, her grin mischevious. She held up the tiny pale blue capsule with clear liquid inside. "These things are not a joke; they can make a Tauros as tame as a Skitty. And humans get hooked fast; if I go more than four days without them, I get shaky and irritable. My Dad can keep us supplied if you want them though. They literally make any situation seem like perfection," she said with a wink before popping two for herself and washing them down with liquor.

 

[Orion778]

"Well, You only live once" He shrugged as he swallowed the pills dry.
Suddenly Sneasel burst into the restroom, looking for Alan. The little Pokemon pulled on his pants dropping wads of cash on the bathroom floor as it tried to get Alan to come back into the room


Meanwhile two more guests had appeared at the door, Older men, maybe in their late twenties. Both dressed in dark cloths one with a clean face, green eyes and spiky black hair. The other with shoulder length brown hair, a goatee, and a massive bruise on the left side of his neck. The brushed sneasel the doorman aside, who runs off the the bathroom to let Alan know. The men split up shoving their way into the room, asking to the party-goers. The man with the bruise and the goatee pulls Wes off to the side asking him "Do you know Alan Race?"

 

[_rb3]

Wes gasped as he was suddenly pulled away from James and placed against a wall, his shirt being held in a man's fist. For a moment, he stood silently, studying the man for all he was worth. His mind couldn't get over the bruise on the man's face and his dark clothing as he formulated his response. There is no way I'm telling this guy about Alan. He coughed into his hand from the smoke and answered with a hoarse voice, staring into the cold eyes of the man,

"What! I can't hear you over this music! I don't know who Allen Pace is." he said stupidly, shrugging his shoulders to further convince the man. Wes took a swig of his cola and nearly choked, the haze of smoke had infected his drink with it's awful smell. The taste of the beverage seemed to hold onto his tongue and slaughter all of his taste buds at once. He spit out the beverage and suddenly the man before him with the goatee was wet with the dark liquid that was previously in his mouth. Aw, poo. he thought in fear, Wish I would've thought to bring a Pokeball with me. Again.

 

[Orion778]

"You little shit!" The man shouted at Wes as he slammed him in the wall again "you're lucky we're busy or I'd take you outside and teach you a lesson" After slapping the rest of Wes's drink onto him, the goatee man went back to questioning the party guests until someone pointed him in the direction of the bathroom.

 

[_rb3]

Wes screeched with his hoarse voice before being slammed into the wall once more. The yell was not heard among the student, for the music was too loud, but the man and him could hear it for sure. Goatee slapped the drink cup from his hand, the liquids within splattering onto the floor and his shorts. As the man left to questions other party guests, Wes couldn't help but think, What has Alan done this time?

The flustered student made his way through the crowd, spotting an image that he never wanted to see again upon Alan's bed. He quickly turned away from scene, his face glowing red because he knew that the sight was not for him. Wes stopped at the drink table to a grab another cup from the dwindling stack. Knowing the room by heart, for he had the same one, Wes found the faucet and poured himself some refreshing water. He drank it quickly so as to make sure that the smoke wouldn't infect it like it had done to the cola. A reccuring thought hit him as he walked towards the bathroom to check out the scene, I hope Alan is alright.

 

[Orion778]

Bursting into the bathroom Wes finds both Alan and Jezz in a daze, the two trainers slumped against the wall laughing and mumbling incoherently as their heads roll from side to side. Two of Alan's pokeballs are on the floor in front of the pair, and his eyes are glazed over.

 

[_rb3]

Wes pushed open the door of the bathroom, hoping nervously that nothing was going on that shouldn't be seen. He gasped as his eyes took in the two figures slumped against the toilet and the wall with dazed expression. A bottle of pills lay in Jez's hand and two capsules rolled about on the tile floor without. The trainer crouched next to the duo and spoke worriedly,

"What the hell is this? Are you guys, alright?" he wove a hand in front of Alan's face to see if he was even awake or functional in his stupor. He cursed to himself as he fidgeted with his thick-rimmed glasses. The trainer sat on the floor beside them and a thought came to mind, Did the goatee guy get to them, or are they just high on pills and weed? He shook his head and found that the bathroom air was cleaner than the room's retched atmosphere. Wes took a large inhale of the oxygen as he tapped Alan's leg with his foot,

"Yo, Alan. People are looking for you. Or maybe... not anymore?" he huffed out the air and crossed his arms before his sweatshirt that was sprinkled with white substances and the cola from earlier. Wes looked over to who was originally Jezebel, to find Holly in her place and groaned. He shook his head furiously and the image disappeared from his mind. His head slumped against his chest as he waited for the pair of dazed students to wake, eyes threatening to close shut for rest.

 

[Orion778]

"Wes... is that you bud?" Alan asks his speech slow and nearly incoherent "donn worry bout it, the RA passed out an hour ago...." he trailed off again as the two men entered the bathroom. Closing and locking the door behind them.

 

[_rb3]

Wes snapped his eyes open at the sluggish voice that spoke his name,

"Hm, oh, yeah it's me. No, not the RA it's these two-" His voice trailed off as the bathroom door opened to reveal the pair if dark-clothed men. The latter one to come in shut the door and locked it behind them - their menacing forms filling up the quaint bathroom. Wes fidgeted with his glasses and coughed into a hand from where he sat on the floor; trying to fill the silence as the two parties stared at each other. The trainer simply said,

"Them." as he pointed towards the goatee and the dark-haired men who had invited themselves in. Suddenly, he wished once more that he had brought his Pokeballs as fear crept into his heart.

 

[Orion778]

The two men looked both Wes and Alan up and down " Hold up, ain't that the kid who beat your ass earlier" the man with black hair laughed

Cutting him off the brown haired man asked through clenched teeth "So which one of yous is Alan Race?"

"Hi...Hi, that would be...me" Alan said laughing through his slurred speech

"Looks a little young for Team Rocket Joey" the man with the goatee said scratching the back of his head
"Young or not, the boss said Alan Race might have relations, so we get Alan Race" Joey hissed

 

[_rb3]

Wes blinked, not remembering beating someone up. His face took on a thoughtful look until he was snapped from it at the mention of Team Rocket. The trainer spun his head to stare at Alan, suprise and confusion in his hazel eyes. His mind started to place the pieces together as the two men, supposedly from Team Rocket, bickered back and forth. So, he actually did disappear after Double Battles to do something. He was probably playing us the entire time. The inside guy to get everything set up, I'd bet! An angry, tormented glare took over the trainer's eyes.

Suddenly, he had the urge to choke Alan but clenched his hands instead as reason took over his mind once more. Maybe he isn't bad after all. Maybe he was forced to do it. Anyways, they said it was Team Forge. He shook his head in confusion and looked back to the pair of grunts in front of the door. He wasn't going to let them take away his supposed, high friend without a fight. Muscles tight in preparation, the trainer waited for the grunts to take a step toward Alan and Jezebel.

 

[Orion778]

"Huh?" Alan said as he attempted to stand, instead rolling, kicking his pokeballs under Wes and falling on his face "what does dad want?" His voice muffled by the fact that he was talking directly into the bathroom tiles

The two men laugh at Wes, both significantly bigger than him as they approach "You better watch out Ethan" the thug named joey laughed "wouldn't want to tell the boss you went 0 for 2 today against children"

 

[_rb3]

Wes flinched as Alan tried to stand with his weak legs and eventually just managed to kick the Pokeball away from him; his possible only defense. He covered his face, not wanting to watch the scene or see the state that Alan was currently in with his face on the bathroom floor. However, a thought struck him like a hammer and he peeked through his fingers at the Pokeball rolling against his hip. Whoever this is can help us get out of this situation. Hopefully it's not as high, drunk, or worn out as Alan is. Yet after grabbing the capsule from the ground and hiding it behind his back, his attention was caught by the scene before him once more.

Mr. Race is a Team Rocket member? I thought he was the owner of some casino in Kanto? he pondered for a moment, trying to remember the name of the casino. The name just didn't hit him in time due to the fact that he was drawn back by the approach of the two grunts. They had seemed to notice his sudden aggression towards them and were now mocking him. His eyes glowed with anger and embarrassment yet he was still able to be defiant,

"Oh, I won't be much trouble to you guys. But, maybe this one will?" he said slyly as the capsule behind his back opened with a bright flash of brilliant energy. The form of the glowing shape filled up the quaint bathroom even further, however the glow hindered the sight through his glasses for a moment in such short quarters and he was unable to tell which of Alan's creatures it was.

 

[Orion778]

Alan's Charmeleon formed from the light, and filled the room with the orange glow of its fire. Confused it looked at the men, then Wes, then Alan, and finally back at Wes releasing a gout of flame in his general direction as if to say 'who the fuck are you?'

The men were taken aback by the sudden Pokémon. "This is gonna be harder than we thought.." Joey said, backing off

 

[_rb3]

As the glowing form took shape, Wes noticed the orange glow of a fiery tail appear and realized that he had released the moody, yet powerful Charmander. Yet, a sudden image in his mind showed him that this was not the Charmander, but a Charmeleon instead. He must have evolved it while they were out picking up the stuff. he thought with amazement and a slight twinge of regret for not being there. The pair of grunts seemed to back away from the fiery-lizard; their eyes twinkling with fear. A toothy grin was produced on his face from behind the Pokemon, This might be easier than I thou-. His mind was cut off as the Charmeleon swiveled it's red-orange head and unleashed a plume of fire towards Wes. The trainer yelped and rolled across the tile awkwardly, the flames scorching his shoes in the process. I just got those! he thought with a hint of self-pity as he sat up close to Alan, rubbing his head. He spoke to the Charmeleon with a pleading voice,

"Charmeleon, I could really use your help right now." he stated with a gesture towards the two grunts in front of the door, "Alan is high or something, he can't help us." Hoping that the Pokemon would help, Wes used his best "Alan Race" impression to command the lizard creature,

"Charmeleon, use... uh- fire?" he realized with dread that he didn't know any of the Pokemon's attacks. The trainer hung his head against his chest and mumbled,

"Just take 'em out, or something." he pointed weakly at the grunts with a loose gesture of his arm.