Hiding from the Storm

The Graveler came running up to them, causing the ground to shake ever so slightly due to its massive weight. It's eyes didn't move from its targets as it lifted its arms, ready to smash them to dust.

Mordred immediately ran towards the large pokemon, stopping a few paces in front of it. He just barely managed to dodge the Graveler's large fist, moving to its side. He used a Low Kick, hitting the area above its stubby legs. It sent the large rock pokemon a few steps sideward, earning an enraged roar from the pokemon as it grabbed a chunk of rocks from the floor and throwing them towards the Scraggy.

Mordred was successfully hit by the large rocks, but only received a few scrapes from their rough edges. He smirked, feeling almost no pain from the attack. Rock types were weak against him, and it was one of the reasons why he was still alive after such an ordeal in the cave. The Scraggy jumped up, suddenly throwing a handful of sand towards the Graveler's eyes.

The large pokemon gave another roar as sand blocked its sight, unable to see where it was aiming. It got another chunk of rocks from the floor, preparing another Rock Throw. Unfortunately, its lack of sight caused it to instead aim for Peter. Mordred's eyes widened, seeing the Graveler suddenly aim for the Chimchar. "Peter, WATCH OUT!" He yelled as the Graveler raised its arms and threw the rocks.

Peter winced when Mordred tried to warn him. The fight suddenly became a blur. Where was the Graveler? His eyes scanned the room, looking for the Pokemon. Where was it? Out of panic, Peter dived to the right and rolled, just missing one of the rocks. But as it shattered, a piece of that rock stabbed into Peter's side. He dodged it. He actually dodged it! Peter then had a burst of confidence as he stood up, then felt the bruise that the piece of rock left. It was just a scrape, though.

The Chimchar squinted again and could finally make out the fuzzy shape of the Graveler. How could have he missed it? Should he help or not? What if he gets in the way? His mind was full of screaming voices with their own opinions. Attack, run, go save yourself, die, win and you know the rest.

Peter then finally ran up to the Graveler and jumped up with a fist full of electricity. Not from bravery, but from pure fear. The Chimchar smashed his fist into the rock Pokemon, then realized his horrible mistake.

Rock Pokemon were immune to electricity. So, all Peter got from that was a sore hand. He landed back down and stepped back, disgusted by his stupid mistake. He was clueless on what to do and he couldn't think straight anymore.


((ASADG Sorry, if I made a huge mistake, don't hesitate to tell me!))

The Graveler gave a haughty laugh at the sparks, before suddenly charging at the Chimchar, slamming its rock body against the fire pokemon's. The rock pokemon took a few steps back after the Tackle, turning to the Scraggy. And with an unholy roar, it suddenly jumped up, curling into a large, hard ball.

Mordred watched was the large boulder started rolling towards him at a frightening speed. He ran, only causing the Graveler to accelerate as it chased the Scraggy through the tunnel. The Scraggy stopped at a wall, watching in anticipation as the rock pokemon began rushing towards him.

'NOW!' His mind screamed as he jumped with all his might, just barely dodging as the Graveler collided with the wall, sending large chunks of rock flying everywhere. The Scraggy gave a shriek when a much larger rock suddenly collided with his back, sending him to the ground with a powerful THUD!

Mordred groaned, the large rock still on his back as he struggled to stay conscious. A large wound formed on his back, new and bleeding. The Graveler found its way out of the wall, now trudging back, unharmed and ready to battle.

The Graveler tore its gaze from the Scraggy, seeing the Chimchar throwing insults at it. It gave a small growl of irritation, not liking the fire pokemon's petty insults. And yet, it refused to change targets as it stared down at the crushed Scraggy, ready to jump up and Rollout the fighting pokemon to a permanent pancake.

It was then it felt a rock collide with its arm. The Graveler suddenly moved its attention to the Chimchar, eyes wide with anger. How dare he! Did he think rock types were really that thickheaded? And to use a rock against a rock type?! Such an insult was not to be left unpunished. The large rock pokemon let out a roar before jumping up and curling into a large, deadly ball. It began rushing towards the Chimchar, planning to put an end to its display of offense to Rock Types.

Mordred was able to open one eye, the other had gotten damaged due to his fall- but not to the point of potential blindness. His blurry vision was able to make out a large, grey being jumping up and suddenly accelerating. The Graveler. The Scraggy watched as the large rock began rushing towards a smaller being composing of reds and oranges. Peter. The situation finally registered to him, causing Mordred to force his tired state to push the large rock off his back. He wasn't going to make it. "PETER! What do you think you're DOING!?" He managed to yell, falling onto a knee as his injured back was unable to cope with standing upright.

The Graveler hit the wall with intense force, making a huge dent. The tunnel shook at the power, nearly forcing Mordred back onto the ground. It struggled in the large hole, trying to get its massive body out of the huge gap. It escaped, leaving a large hole on the wall. It shook, not enjoying the collision.

The Graveler stared down at the Chimchar before releasing another haughty laugh. Fire pokemon were so weak. As if these mongrels could defeat such a powerful rock type! It truly tickled the rock pokemon's funny bone. If he had one, that is. The large rock pokemon stopped laughing, deciding to end this. He jumped up again, curling into a large ball and rushing towards the Chimchar.

Mordred struggled, still on his knee as he forced himself not to fall from the tremor. He limped to a rock, hoisting himself up. Gritting his teeth, he watched as the battle unfold before him. He couldn't do anything. Not in this state. But he wanted to help. Some way. His companion was in danger, for Arceus' sake, and he was just there, acting helpless. It truly hurt his honor and dignity.

Mordred seemed a bit taken back when the Chimchar suddenly ran up to him, grabbing him by the arm. He was forcefully dragged along, having trouble regaining his footing at the sudden movement. But he didn't complain, knowing that Peter would probably have a good plan up his sleeve. That, and he didn't have much of a choice in his state. After a while, he finally got his footing back, running alongside the Chimchar through the empty, shaking tunnel. The Scraggy didn't dare look behind them, as it was plain and obvious that the speeding boulder of a Graveler was right on their tail from the terrifying sound it made as it rushed on the rough, rock ground.

The Graveler roared, making a bold move and going straight-on. In his haste, he missed the duo, colliding with yet another wall. The timing was just enough that the duo didn't end up being pancaked, and were instead sent with the tremor and the falling of rocks. Mordred rolled away in time, nearly getting his head squashed by a chunk of rock. Rocks continued to fly from the destroyed area of the rock wall, more so with the Graveler struggling in the dent.

The Graveler soon broke free again, now at its peak of anger. It jumped up, causing Mordred to stand up and prepare to run. But to the Scraggy's surprise, the Graveler didn't curl into a large boulder. No. It immediately jumped down, starting a quake. The power was equivalent to a 6, enough that the tunnel was shaking violently. Numerous cracks began forming from the dent, causing the wall to begin crumbling, its large rocks toppling onto the Graveler and toward the duo. The ceiling was also beginning to show on the verge of breaking.

Mordred turned to Peter, panic in his eyes. "Run! We need to get to another tunnel!" He said, knowing that the ceiling was going to come down in this tunnel. They had to run, hopefully finding a forking nearby and take shelter in another tunnel. If they didn't escape this tunnel in time, they would definitely be crushed to death by the ceiling and the walls.

The Tunnel began to collapse. Large pieces of the ceiling falling down into its interior, along with the heavy rain. The walls fell as well, crushing anything was was unlucky enough to be left in the destruction. Native pokemon of the caves began to run wildly, trying to escape in time. Many of them were crushed, but luckily most were rock types and ground types who were able to survive the wreckage. Zubats, Woobats, and other flying pokemon awakened, rushing out the large holes of the falling ceiling.

Mordred ran, attempting to balance his breath. The wounds that had recovered from earlier had been forced open by the battle and his overexertion, causing him to feel an excruciating amount of pain. Small drops of crimson trailed behind him as he ran, eyes checking on his companion to make sure he wouldn't be left behind. His state right now was matched by the Chimchar, who had successfully defeated the Graveler. The Scraggy didn't expect such a feat from the Chimchar due to first impressions, but the fire pokemon had proved him wrong, saving both their lives from the gargantuan rock pokemon.

As they ran deeper through the tunnel, the destruction right on their tails, Mordred couldn't describe the utter relief he felt when they finally saw a forking up ahead. The ceiling was beginning to calm as it drew closer to the forking, hushing down to a mere few falling rocks as the Rock Pokemon began to pitch in to prevent further destruction of their home. The duo soon reached the forking, being greeted by 4 tunnels, each pointing to different directions. Mordred was unable to detect any scent of blood in the forking, primarily because both pokemon had some on them.

The Scraggy looked at the tunnels, trying to distinguish which was right and which was wrong. He looked over to his companion, about to ask for his opinion. His words were caught when he saw how battered the Chimchar was. His arms were covered in bruises and bleeding injuries that it made the Scraggy shudder for a split second. "...Want to rest?" Mordred asked, not wanting to force the injured pokemon into further pain. They both probably deserved a moment to recover from the battle.

Mordred smirked, watching the Chimchar fall right he brought up the question. It was obvious the pokemon was tired, and the Scraggy definitely didn't blame him. Exhaustion was expected after such a battle, and it seemed stupid that he even asked. He watched for a little while, making sure that his companion wasn't experiencing any fatal injuries. He didn't seem to be exhibiting any excruciating pain, except for the bleeding. They'd need to get those treated when they reached Treasure Town.

The hooded pokemon took one last glance at the destruction they'd just escaped from, making sure no one was heading towards them. To his surprise, none of the native pokemon gave mind to them. They were all too busy trying to repair their home and escape from the rubble that had buried them, not to mention the water still pouring down from the holes in the ceiling. It was possible they didn't even know the duo were the cause of the wreckage, but Mordred didn't complain. He was relieved that no one was going to attack them for what they did.

Mordred gave a sigh, walking over to one of the walls near the tunnels. He leaned on the rock surface, letting his body slowly sink into a sitting position. He closed his eyes, finally relaxing his tensed muscles. Silence filled the forking, the two intruders far too tired to say a word to each other. The Scraggy could only hear the faint sound of the pokemon back at the wreckage and the pouring rain, but even those were overwhelmed by his rapidly beating heart. He continued to take deep breaths, attempting to calm his heartbeat. The loud thump was getting a bit irritating, and he was beginning to miss the silent melody of the rain.

He opened one eye, deciding to take a better look of his surroundings. The forking was empty, save for the two pokemon. But a small blurry figure behind a few rocks caught the Scraggy's attention. An item?

This dice is not existing.

"So, what will we do next?"

Mordred turned to Peter, taking a few minutes to reply due to his exhaustion. "We need to choose a tunnel... But we have to be careful. I can faintly remember falling into a steep pitfall trap of sorts in one of these tunnels, causing me to get even more lost. In our current states, it'd probably take us a few days to get out if we take a wrong turn at this point." He said, opening his other eye. He turned his head back, having a better vision on the blurry figure. It seemed to be a stone, slightly tinted green and glinting in the darkness. The Scraggy didn't know why, but he had the slight urge to go and pick it up. Weird. He didn't think he had that much of an affinity for shiny rocks.

With a slight groan, he moved his back from the hard surface of the rock wall. The horrible stinging pain of the injury on his back suddenly sparked, reminding him that it had yet to heal. He began to regret leaning on the wall. The Scraggy straightened himself to a standing position, but slightly hunched due to the pain on his back. He hobbled over to the glinting rock, picking it up. It was a Moonstone, if he could remember correctly. Pokemon like Nidorino needed these for evolution. Sadly, his species didn't require it. He put it in his Treasure bag anyways, thinking it would be useful in the future.

He looked over to Peter, a hint of pity on his face. Poor guy. The Chimchar didn't deserve such a first experience, especially before he became an Explorer. But experience was good. Being an explorer wasn't all fun and games, after all. The Scraggy only hoped this incident didn't tarnish the chances of the Chimchar deciding to become one. Mordred knew this fire pokemon had a lot of potential. More so after his spectacular success at the battle with the Graveler. "Should we go now? We could rest a bit more, if you wish. But we may get attacked if we dwell here for too long."