Seymour was so mesmerized by the spectacle of the distressed woman being dragged away noisily that he had almost missed what the balding man had asked. When he realized he was supposed to answer, Seymour shook his head clear and refocused his attention. "Um, yes. Yeah. We are here to attempt the gym challenge?" He phrased it as a question, since he was starting to wonder if they were even in the correct location.

The man seems to perk up at your answer. "Oh good! Just this way..." He steps away from the counter for a moment, leading your to a side door. "Just take the door with the 'Challenge' sign. Someone will come to see you soon. Feel free to help yourself to the donuts, but leave some for the other trainers that will show up, ya hear?"

Jake had a confused look about the woman being dragged away. While he wondered what it was about, he wasn't about to get involved in an issue with the oldies. While he followed the instructions to go through the challenge door, he also checked out what the other doors were labeled as. Once inside he took a couple of donuts and took a seat.
"I wonder if this is a team work one, or if we fight other trainers in the streets... huh."

"I wonder the same thing," replied Seymour as he grabbed a donut too. "I would say we should talk strategy, but I guess we don't know if we will be teammates or not. I wonder if it will be a large crowd of trainers, or just a couple of others." With nothing else to really do, Seymour waited patiently for the challenge to begin. As other trainers trickled in, he would do his best to learn what he could about them. Their likely strengths and weaknesses, as well as the Pokemon they might have at their disposal. Anything that might give him an edge later.

After a short while, two more trainer show up, one at the time. The first one is accompanied by a light clinging of chains. She's a girl with short black hair, wearing a red vest decorated with a couple of small chains over a yellow blouse. The door barely has time to close before the other one enters, a boy with shoulder-length black hair, and wearing a black jacket over a long-sleeved black shirt.

"So... I guess you're here for the challenge too?" The girl asks you.

Jake waves to the other kids entering,
"For sure, for sure. We are going in kinda blind though. Are you competition or are you the help?" Jake added a sharp smile with the question. He didn't quite look intimidating, but something close to that.

"Yup, here for the challenge," Seymour also confirmed. "This is my first time trying this gym challenge, but definitely not my first gym challenge overall. How about yourselves?" It would be good to know if there were other trainers with a lot of earned badges other than himself and Jakey. As he understood it, Vinmur gym was one of the "starter" gyms of the region.

"Ah, yeah... I live here, so I thought I may as well get started here, instead of running half-way across the country just to get my first badge."

"I got four myself." The guy says. "I'm not sure about the details, but I think the challenge is supposed to be cooperative? Most of them are usually, with the trainers facing off against the local troops."

The girl frowns. "Oh... I hope I don't get in the way then... I don't really have much of a team..."

The door opens again, as Major Kaufman steps in. "That will depends on you." He checks his watch, and nods. "I think that's a good cut-off. A four-men squad is what we usually prefer for our operations."

He moves to a virtual white board on the wall, plugging a USB drive on it's side and loading up a  set of photos. They show a small dinner, with the name 'Slow Tail' on a faded sign. "Your gym challenge is will put you in the shoes of an SPT officer. You'll have to plan and execute an emergency raid in this fictional restaurant. He pulls out a sheet of paper, and starts to read the briefing notes.

"This restaurant had been under strict surveillance because local police has been informed that its owner, Lian Niu, was using this restaurant as cover to make illegal performance enhancing drug. While surveying the place, the police noticed Alex 'The Knife' Jimenez (a wanted underground fight promoter) entering the restaurant. The SPT team has been notified and must attack immediately to arrest Alex 'The Knife' Jimenez. Plus, you must search for the drug lab to use as evidence to support the raid."

He points at some of the photos in turn. "We only have external pictures, and no internal plans. The dining area is seperated from the kitchen by a counter. The door next to the counter opens into a set of corridors leading to the toilets and the kitchen. Undercover agents have been unable to see the stairs to the second floor, so it's assumed to be beyond the kitchen.  And as you can see here, there's a back entrance on the first floor, as well as a set of external stairs leading to the second floor."

The girl looks a bit worried. "So... we're supposed to bust in that restaurant and beat up whoever we see?"

"No, you have to operate in SPT fashion." He opens a closet, and pulls out four familiar suitcases. "You'll each have to command your pokemon remotely. You will have one breach pokemon each, who will form the first team entering. You will also bring a back-up pokemon, should your breach pokemon be incapacitated, or if you need to guard someone. Obviously, you have other limits in what you're allowed to do. You cannot damage external walls, and you cannot use damaging attacks on humans. You need to disable them, and not injure them."

Seymour studied the scenario with interest. It was certainly unlike the other gym challenges he had participated in. There were a lot of different angles they could take in order to complete it. A lot would depend on what team they chose to send in. And so, Seymour decided to start sharing some of his thoughts and what skills he brought to the table.

"Since this challenge is cooperative, let's start by sharing which Pokemon we might send out on this mission and why. I have six with me, and I could potentially fill a lot of roles. I'm also decent at building or deconstructing fortifications." He then began listing his Pokemon team and what roles he could see them filling.

"My team consists of a Gogoat, Ditto, Lapimage, Pinsir, Castform, and a Snom. The Snom is good at making ice walls, and so might be decent as a guardian. The castform can change the weather conditions, which can give us a surprise terrain advantage on the fly. My Pinsir is physically strong, and could be good at busting in, performing feats of strength, or subduing hostiles. My Lapimage has both fire and ice abilities, and is quick. But his hypnosis capabilities might prove to be the most useful in this scenario. My Ditto is a wildcard, and its capabilities would largely depend on what other Pokemon are around. And lastly, my Gogoat is an all-around tough lady."
After sharing what his Pokemon could do, he looked around to see if anyone else wanted to do the same.

Jake considered his pokemon for a moment. Some were not ready for the limelight. Others were not suitable for internal roles.
"I got three that might be good. Skipper, bandy, and growler."

He looked at the other trainers,
"That's a Marshtomp, Wreckoon, and Arcanine. Bandy is fast and sneaky, so she is my top pick. The others would be good as back-up if things go loud."

Jake considered his own experience crime-ing in restaurants. Usually it was just dine-and-dashes, so he couldn't think of anything particularly relevant to this challenge. He did consider Seymour's options too,

"If we wanted to try real stealth, could double Wreckoon with your ditto. Being able to hypnotize sounds good though. Nice way to take care of a human without hurting them."

He did have a question for the major too,
"Do we expect Mr. Knife might flee? If so, can we use the back-up pokemon to rock him?"

Major Kaufman nods. "There's always a risk of someone running, but there is also the risk of innocent civilians on the premise too. That's why you need to stop people from fleeing, without harming them."

The boy thinks for a moment. "My Scorbunny is a bit out of his depth for this, but my Bagon would do a good job shocking the people into compliance, while being tough enough to survive. And I got a Gengar I can send as back up, as well as use to guard one of the exits in secret."

"Ah... I got my Fletchinder. He's good at chasing down things, but... not really at stopping them nicely. I also got a Hitmontop, but he didn't get much training so far... and my Corvisquire is a scrapper too, so I'm not sure how I can help the most..."

Seymour considered what the others had said about their Pokemon and searched his Pokedex for each Pokemon mentioned. That way he would have at least a base level of knowledge about what Pokemon his allies were talking about.

He looked to the other two trainers. "If you two are leaning toward using a Bagon and Gengar, and a Fletcher and Corvisquire, I think we can make that work. Oh, and I am Seymour by the way. I was so focused on the challenge here that I forgot to share names."

After giving other people a chance to share their names as well, Seymour continued with a potential battle strategy. "If you would like to use Fletcher and Corvisquire, I think it makes sense for you to be in charge of aerial surveillance. Fletcher, being a fire type, might even be able to access the building through a chimney or heating vent that would be too hot for other Pokemon. And with Bagon providing firepower and Gengar being a secret door guard, I think that will be extremely useful too."

"I think my Lapimage will be my backup Pokemon, and I'm leaning toward Ditto as my main infiltrator. Especially if we are going with a slightly more stealthy plan. If we were barging in guns blazing I would send Pinsir, but I think if we need more muscle later I will have my Ditto copy Bagon or an enemy Pokemon instead." Seymour looked around to see if anyone had other things to contribute to the plan. Jakey would need to pick a backup Pokemon too, but either of the two he mentioned would be a fantastic choice.

Jake nodded to Seymour's comments. They all made sense,

"Oh, yeah, I am Jake by the way. I'll pick growler as my backup. She is faster than skipper, and I think that is a good thing as a backup."

Jake jostled his backpack a bit,
"So, do we get this show on the road now?"

"I'm Jodie. I guess I'll have Fletchinder keep watch of the windows, and intercept any pokemon getting out. And I'll have Corvisqure stay high, so he can drop on whoever escapes."

"And I'll send Bagon in, and hide Gengar near the back stairs. Oh, and I'm Sidney." The boy says. "So where do we go in? Front? Back? Split?"

"Jodie, Sidney, nice to meet you both," replied Seymour. He then thought about what their strategy should be.

"I think if we do want to use stealth, we sneak in through the back rather than bust in through the front." That much seemed pretty obvious. "Maybe the Bagon should wait near the front door though? In case we need it to barge in as a distraction? Then the Wreckoon and Wreckoon-Ditto can sneak in the back. One on the upper floor and one on the lower. Gengar watches the back stairs, Lapimage hypnotizes anyone escaping from the front, and Growler and Corvisquire chase down anyone else who gets away. Fletchinder can rush in from any side once we know which part of the building requires the most backup. We should try to leave ways for Flechinder to get in if we can. Second story windows should be easy for a bird to get in, but difficult for a person to get out."

Having settled on a plan, you equip your pokemon with their camera and radio, something you're already familiar with. You then take a ride in a police truck, out of town, and to a collection of small city blocks, where no one seems to live.

After a turn, the road is blocked by police cars, and you get a look at the restaurant. The front windows are all covered, not letting you see inside. The second floor windows seems to have drapes, but the windows are blocked by bars on the outside.

You can see the side street, more of a parking alley really, has a van in it. Beyond the van, you see a chain-link fence with an open door, and a metal staircase leading up.

Jodie sends up her Fletchinder to fly over the building, giving you a better look at the rear of the building. You see one metal door on the ground floor, and another on the second floor. You also see three windows on the second floor, one of them without bars.

Jake hmmm'd as he saw the fletchinder's perspective. He was glad that he already had a bit of experience with the camera and radio tech. It was also nice that they were far enough away they could talk strategy without risk of being discovered by the sound of their voices.
"The van is a new bit. Should we cut the tires or post one of the back-ups there?"

After the first sweep of the Fletchinder, Jake figured to ask for another pass,
"Hey, lets get another passover. There might be a camera we missed. Check points of entry, that fence gate, staircase, and front and back doors."

If there were cameras on the points of entry, they could probably bypass a few via wreckoon's sly climbing and such, but if the doors were covered, it might be a bit trickier. Maybe they could get into the unbarred window without making too much noise? Even if it were locked there were ways to jimmy one open.

"With the way the street is blocked, I don't think we have to worry about them leaving by the road."

As Fletchinder makes another pass, Jodie points a few black spots on the walls. "Are those camera? They kinda look like them... And they got three of them in the back. One watching each doors, and one watching the chain-link door."

"From that angle, I don't think the windows are being watched."

You can see the window is closed, with drapes blocking your view. You do see a shadow moving inside, however.

Jake taps his foot in thought, then addresses the on-site officer,
"Do we need to worry about them destroying the evidence in the drug lab?  Maybe we should lay off for a half hour or so if not. Give them a bit of space to relax after the flyover."

He considered how jumpy the people inside were... and what their instructions from the staff were. After all, this was a test, so they may be more likely to trash the 'evidence' than a real world criminal enterprise. Jake grit his teeth,
"Ugh, this is harder than a real world op, they know we will start the op at some point, so they won't ever be not on guard. I bet they have a sentry near that window, even if they don't have cameras."

Jake pondered for another minute, before developing a plan, perhaps not in the spirit of the exam, but the exam had its unrealistic constraints that hopefully he could use against it,
"So, we aren't allowed to damage the external walls? That doesn't mean we can't thump on them pretty hard. Just not breaking anything. Bagon should be able to headbutt a wall for a while to make them think we might be breaking the wall, the rules, and come out to investigate. That should pull the sentry away from the window to allow the Bandies to jimmy the window open and get in. It will almost certainly be a person that comes out, so we could try to have Lapimage to hypnotize them to neutralize a whole team. If we do this, we need to make sure Bagon is captured on camera, but not Lapimage or the bandies."

Jake then glanced to their minder and to the others for any dissent.

"Maybe we should try to cut the power to the building?" suggested Seymour. "That should cut the cameras and make it more difficult for them to do much of anything for a bit while they stumble around in the dark. Malley can go in as a Gengar to slip in and tamper with the breaker box, then he can turn into a Wreckoon and Malley and Bandy can get the doors open. As a bonus, they will likely open some curtains for light, which should give us some better views in through the windows."

"Of course we can have Bagon and Lapimage do their distraction at the same time, adding an extra layer of redundancy to the plan. I think that was a really good idea," he said to Jakey.

If there was no major objections or major changes suggested, Seymour would begin enacting the plan by giving orders to his Pokemon.

"Huh, cut the power, that's smart" Jake remarked, giving his approval.

"Hold on..." Jodie points at a cable connected to the building's roof. "That's connected to the power lines. And the other buildings have their own connection. It should be fine if Corvisquire cuts it." Seeing no objection from the major, she does so, and the building grows dark.

At the same time, Bagon starts hitting the side wall. Hard enough to make noise, but not enough to do serious damage. From Fletchinder's high view, you see the curtains move for a moment, but they stay close.

As soon as the power went out, Seymour mobilized his Ditto. "Alright, that's our cue. Malley, sneak in there as a Gengar or a Wreckoon, then try to get the upper door open as a Wreckoon. Let's get some eyes on the inside."

Seymour's words were calm and level, but internally his heart was pumping like crazy! He was completely unsure about what they should expect when those doors opened.

Jake considered delaying longer. But the power outage was a good time to go in. Even if they had a backup generator, it would take a moment for it to come online.
"Wreckoon, give it a moment, then try to jimmy the window open carefully. We don't want them knowing that you are getting in."

At first, Malley doesn't seem to know how to get in. Bandy, however, knows just what to do. with a few low cries, she points to the window, explaining to the amorphous pokemon out to undo the latch, and open the window.

The two silently slip into the room. An emergency light to your pokemon's right let you see a few things about the room. There's not much in the way of furniture, just an old bed covered in boxes, with a dresser at it's foot. There's a closed door at the far end, toward the front of the building, while to the right is an empty doorway. You can see there's a small room there, with a second doorway right across leading to a corridor, where the emergency light is.

In that small side room, a man calls out his pokemon. A bulky, upright pokemon with large horns on it's head. They don't seem to have noticed your infiltrators.