Breaking the ice

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Nick wandered in the forest of mountains with a worried expression. He never did like dark and gloomy places. As if the ominous feeling that naturally occurs here wasn't enough, today had to be extra cloudy. Still, Nick had to brave the mountain range if he wanted to get that TM. A fighting type move would be great against rock Pokemon, and it can even break walls. That just sounds cool.

The Delibird wasn't so sure turning back was an option anyways. He flew over here, but this wasn't the ideal place for a take off with all the walls of rock and bad general vision in the area. Well, at least if he fell he could slow it down.

Mordred narrowed his eyes at the pathetic bird, deciding on what action to take. Beat now or just let him go? Beating it would be dishonorable in this state, and letting it go without any consequences would be a burden. He was on the verge of falling unconscious at this rate, or worse. Even if he ate his Oran Berry, it would only be able to heal his minor wounds, and maybe lessen the bleeding, but even so he wouldn't be able to survive back to Treasure Town to get some real medical assistance. He was going to need this bird's help, whether he liked it or not. Growling, he walked over to the Delibird, using his hands to lift and throw the rock away. He leaned down, trying to grab the bird by its chest feathers and lifting it to meet with his tired, but aggravated eye.

"You're not getting away that easily. Look here, if you want to make up for what you've done, you're going to help me through this entire trip. We're going to Treasure Town, and I'm getting medical help for my injuries. And as much as I hate to admit it, I won't be able to last through the trip in this state if I go on my own." He hissed, before turning his attention away from the Delibird and reaching into his Treasure Bag. He took out an Oran Berry that had a small part chipped off, taking a large bite out of it. Once he finished with the berry, it seemed as though the scratches and minor scrapes he had gotten from the battle vanished. His bleeding injuries lessened, but the right side of his face was still in an alarming state. "Oh, and be on the look out for Oran Berries. They may not help much, but they'll keep me from falling unconscious during the trip."

Nick looked to Mordred as he narrowed his eyes. A hint of panic finally reached the bird. He wasn't sure what the reptile was thinking, but he knew it wasn't, "I forgive you." As Mordred grabbed his chest, Nick couldn't help but squeal a little. Still, he listened to the Pokemon's words. He gave a small nod. "Y-you're right... I-I owe you that much..." His feelings were a mix of guilt and fear. Right now, Nick felt about as tall as a Joltick.

The Delibird helped the Scraggy walk, allowing himself to be used as a Pokemon crutch. He looked over to Mordred and mustered up the courage to speak again. "M-my name's Nicholas... by the way... We might as well know each others names..." He looked over to the lizard with a failed attempt at a smile. When he look over to Mordred, something caught the corner of his eye. "Hey, what's that?"

This dice is not existing.

"Mordred." The scraggy muttered, not really in the mood for having a conversation after what the bird had done to him. He looked over as the Delibird spotted an item, hoping it was an Oran Berry. To his disappointment, the similarities were far. It was a shame, but the scraggy felt lucky as well, seeing that it seemed like this forest might have a few items in store. With very few inhabitants, having to battle for an item was unlikely. He knew that he wasn't supposed to prioritize item hunting in his state, but he also knew that he wanted to make this trip worthwhile.

He looked around, spotting another item. He took his arm off the Delibird, walking over to where the other item was. He was able to walk, but with a slight limp due to the impact his foot had received. He shook off the pain, knowing it would go away fairly quickly if he didn't exert it too much. He'd experienced having many sprains in the past, seeing how his main move was Low Kick. Having the leg he frequented damaged was all too common that he had become accustomed to it. Heck, he could even pretend he had it if he needed to. But the occasion was very rare, and he had only done it a few times when he was still with his clan.

This dice is not existing.

Nick watched as Mordred released himself from the Delibird's grasp and hobbled over to the item. "Um, I not sure... you should be walking... just yet..." His voice was weak and quiet, more like a plea than an objection. The Scraggy kept moving despite the.

Nicholas decided that during this time he might as well get the item he found. It was a blueish color and completely round, probably one of those orbs Nick heard of. When Nick held it, he felt a sense of awareness of some sort about him. The bird placed the orb in his item bag for now. The Delibird turned back to Mordred and approached him. "I think we should be going now. If we stay here, that Geodud might come back, and besides, like you said, you need... well you know..." His head turned down. He was still ashamed of himself, as he probably should be.

Mordred picked up a band. It was significantly stiffer and a bit heavier than most cloth, having some sort of material stuck inside. It seemed durable as well, as if made to endure attacks. The scraggy seemed to take a liking to the cloth, deducing that it was one of those 'Defense Bands' often talked about. Defense Bands were, well, made for defense. Although this seemed more basic than the ones from his clan, it would still do him good and lower the damage he'd take if they ever got attacked during the trip. He got the band, wrapping it around his forehead and overlapping the shred of red cloth that worked as an improvised eye patch. He reminded himself to get a better one once he got to town. Surely one of the shops there had what he needed.

As he finished equipping the band, a few nearby bushes began to rustle. He growled, knowing it was probably an opponent. He didn't expect one to appear so early, but it was possible that it had come for the items that they'd found. These weren't berries, so the possibility of them having been in the ownership of a native was high. And seeing how he'd just gotten the band a bit blood-stained from his injured head, he doubted the owner was going to let them off easily. He walked away from the rustling bushes as quick as he could, stopping beside Nick. With a low whisper, he warned. "Nick, opponent. Prepare yourself."

This dice is not existing.

(I made an error. It's fixed but please check my last post to see what I had to change.)

As Nick approached Mordred, the Scraggy whispered a warning to him. This tensed the Delibird. Another fight? They hardly got through the last one. Well, whatever it was, it couldn't have been worse than Geodude, right?

Oh, how wrong Nick was. With four arms and larger body, a Graveler leaped from the bushes. It turned to face Mordred with anger in its eyes. It targeted Red for two reasons. The first was he was the more weakened of the two. The other reason was that Red was the thief that took the defense scarf. As it approached Mordred, it felt the cold, sharp sting of ice shard on its back. It turned to face the nervous Delibird. Should Graveler take care of the theif first, or the meddler?

Mordred stared up at the Graveler, and from the angered look in his eyes, it seemed obvious they'd done something wrong. As it approached, it was interrupted as Nick threw an Ice Shard at it, effectively taking its attention away from the scraggy. The reptile immediately took the opportunity, filling his hand with as much sand as he could muster. Once the build up was complete, he threw the sand to the Graveler's face, blinding it as he did with the Geodude. The attack caused the large boulder to screech in rage, turning its attention back to the so-called 'thief'. The scraggy gave a leer, his eyes glinting as he lowered the blinded Graveler's defense.

The Graveler, now blind, grew twice as aggravated as it came. It threw its hands to the ground, forcing its fingers into the dirt as it pulled out a large chunk, leaving a small crater in its place. With a mighty roar, it threw the large projectile, immediately reaching down for another. The scraggy jumped out of the way in time, luckily having the opponent with horrid accuracy thanks to his earlier Sand Attack. He winced, causing the ache in his leg to spike up as he dodged too quickly. He wouldn't be able to land a good Low Kick at this speed. He had to make do with the limited amount of energy and strength he had left.

'Can't handle too many Low Kicks. I'll just have to keep lowering its defense.' He thought to himself as he lunged back onto the Graveler's line of sight and used another Leer, just barely dodging another chunk of earth.

The Graveler continued throwing rocks at Mordred until another sting from behind caused it to drop one. It turned in anger to see the same Delibird, but with calmer nerves. Having surrounded the Graveler, our heros had an advantage over it. However, this wouldn't last.

With a roar, the rock rolled into a ball and charged over to Nicholas who was lucky enough, or maybe even skilled enough, to dodge it. As the Graveler stopped, it turned back to the duo, now capable of keeping an eye both of them. However, it was just too slow to stop another Ice Shard attack that was launched while its back was turned. As can be imaged the Graveler's rage grew. It took a rock and threw it at Nick, missing by just inches. The bird gulped as he looked back to his opponent.

Mordred watched as the Graveler began preparing for a Rollout, not liking how the Delibird had interrupted its attack. He couldn't allow that attack to happen, not in such an area where landslides could happen at any time. After his encounter with the geodude, he'd much rather not have to be piled with rocks again. Settling with taunting, the Scraggy began trying to capture the living boulder's attention. "Hey you! Why are you getting so mad about a Defense Band? It's not like you can even wear it!" He teased.

The Graveler roared, not taking Mordred's insults lightly. It jumped up, curling into a ball and rushing towards the scraggy in another Rollout. The reptile was able to surprisingly dodge in time, causing the Graveler to collide with a tree in its failed attempt. It roared, before getting back onto its feet and hurling more chunks of earth at the duo, wanting to avenge its dignity and punish the two no-gooders for what they'd done.

The Scraggy smirked, having been able to dodge the Rollout with ease. It was just like his experience in Serene Caves, where he was nearly killed off by a similar Graveler. With all he had gone through there, dodging this pokemon's rollouts were becoming a mere routine. More sand appeared in his palm as he rushed to the rock pokemon, throwing it in its face to further reduce its accuracy.

Nick still wasn't too confident in his battle ability, but he refused to back off now. Besides, with all the sand attacks and leers in affect, there was actually a good chance of victory. All he had to do was avoid getting hit, and make sure Mordred stayed safe. Not that he thought Mordred to be helpless, but with him already injured, he thought it better not to risk it. That's why the Delibird was shocked as the Scraggy called for the Graveler's attention. Nick simply didn't know what to do. He almost felt that he threw that fatal present all over again. Still, he couldn't do anything to stop this. Luckily for Nicholas' conscious, this time the attack had completely missed. Nick sighed in relief

Still, the bird felt that if this continued, there wouldn't be a Mordred left to take back to safety. Sure, Nick wasn't exactly fond of the Scraggy, but he didn't wish any ill fate on him. Besides, Mordred's bad condition was Nick's fault in the first place. Slowly, an idea formed in Nick's head. Hopefully, this would work better than his last idea. It was more basic, and less reckless, so odd were in favor of that.

The Avian got closer to Mordred. This way, if the Scraggy was in trouble, aid would be easier for Nick to bring. With this, Nick actually stepped just a little closer to the Graveler than Mordred. He readied his Ice Shard and started firing at as fast a speed as he could, stopped only to dodge attacks and keep an eye on the Scraggy. He couldn't be directly infront of Mordred at any time, or he'd risk a rock hitting him when Nick dodged it. He had to plan his movements just a little. The quick fire caused the move to loose accuracy, but by a small enough amount that it was generally worth it.

Mordred watched as Nick made his move. He was a bit surprised - impressed, even- at how the bird decided to finally make a bold step. The ice attacks were quick, but inefficient from how it kept missing its target. The scraggy knew that this wouldn't be enough- they had to take down the Graveler as quick as possible to prevent any tables from being turned. They had only been spared this long thanks to the rock pokemon's blind rage- Arceus knows what would happen if the boulder would snap out of its tantrum and begin actually planning its moves. Well, the likely of it was very small, but there was still the lingering possibility. And Mordred was not one for taking chances... usually.

The Scraggy decided it was time to try and do some critical damage. But where was the Graveler's weakest point? It's a giant living rock! He watched the Graveler intently as he dodged its attacks, trying to decide where to aim. Legs would be a terrible idea- it already knew Rollout and primarily threw rocks as an attack. They couldn't attack the face head-on due to its arms being able to shield it, although it was possible for Nick's Ice Shards to hit if they were only close enough. And, like a light bulb, an idea appeared in the reptile's head. What if he knocked it forwards by using a Low Kick on its back? If he hit hard enough, it was possible to bring the Graveler down temporarily. That may be the chance they need to hit its face. He wasn't sure if it would even be that effective, but an Ice Shard to its eyes would definitely last longer than a few measly Sand-Attacks. With that, the scraggy hurried closer to his ally, narrowly dodging the flying rocks as he attempted to communicate his plan to the bird.

"Nick! I think I've got an idea! I could buy you a quick chance to hit the Graveler in the eyes with an Ice Shard. It would probably faze it long enough that we can try and deal some critical blows." He said, and in the process getting a small cut on his cheek as he narrowly dodged a sharp rock.

Nick continued to throw and dodge for a while. For that time span, all that mattered was wearing down the giant rock. What caused a little surprise was when the lizard came over to him. He started talking about an idea to distract the Graveler while Nicholas dealt a blow to... the eyes. This caused Nick to shudder a little. He didn't want to blind another Pokemon, even if it was trying to kill him. Still, the bird didn't seem to have much of a choice. The bird nodded and crept away from Red to help him with his part of the plan.

Red eventually got close enough to deliver his kick. Graveler stumbled as planned. Nicholas threw the shards, right on cue. However, the attack was blocked.

Gravel rose with even more. He pulled out a rock almost twice as big as before, and with sharp, jagged edges. It flew at Nicholas at high speed.

The bird tried to dodge, but couldn't make it. He was pinned to the ground by his wing, too dazed to notice the pain.

The rock turned to Red, fists curled tight.

[I PERMIT THIS GODMODDING because I am lazy and we planned it like that anyways.]

Mordred stared in horror as the rock collided with his acquaintance. Too shocked to move, he was immediately hit with a hard, rocky fist. The scraggy was sent tumbling onto the ground, feeling pretty sore on his jaw from the Graveler's uppercut. He laid on the ground for a while, before finally snapping out of his shock and forcing himself back onto his feet. He growled, now angered more than ever. Sure, the Delibird may have cost him his eye, but allowing this giant waste of a rock hurt the guy was just as horrid.

The Graveler roared with fury, before curling up into a ball and rushing towards the scraggy in an attempt of vengeance for the earlier hit. The attack was dodged, causing the rushing boulder to crash into a tree. The dark type moved as quick as tired his legs could take him, stopping beside his fallen ally. Taking a closer look at the damage, he could see that the Delibird's wing was trapped by the boulder. He looked back to the Graveler, who was busy trying to get back onto its feet after the attack. Pulling his foot back, he mustered his energy into a Low Kick, hitting the large rock in attempt of getting it off Nick's wing. The rock rolled over to the side. Mordred stared in disgust as he saw the mangled wing. It had cuts, possibly from the sharp edges of the rock. Well, looks like he wasn't the only one who was going to need medical assistance.

The sound of the Graveler's loud roar rang through the area. The scraggy looked back to the rock, panic beginning to fill in. They had to flee- this Graveler was far too powerful for them to beat in their conditions. He looked down at his fallen ally, before hurriedly picking up the bird. He ignored how heavier the pokemon was, not having any time to complain as he scurried out the scene. Just in time too, it seemed the Graveler was about to hit him with another rock.

Everything was blurry. Nick could hear a ringing in his ear. He wasn't aware yet, but the bird's left wing was broken. Of course, though not as bad as his wing, Nicholas' torso had its fair share of cuts and bruises as well.

The bird's vision was slowly returning to normal. The ringing was wearing off, letting him hear again. Of course, with this came the awareness of pain, mainly that of his wing. However, one look at what he was pretty sure was Mordred's face reminded him he had no right to complain.

Nicholas still couldn't quite figure out what was going on, but he was sure they somehow got away from the Graveler. Nick slowly went to hold his injured wing, hoping it would somehow help with the pain. "Mordred? Is that you? I-I'm sorry I could stop that Graveler... I can't see that good. Everything's kinda blurry. A-are you ok?"

Mordred continued running through the dark woods, stopping only when he realized Nick had become conscious again. He looked back, relieved to see that the Graveler was not following them. They seemed to have gotten lost in the darkness, but that was the least of their problems. The scraggy put the Delibird down, seeing how he was pretty heavy and how his legs were still working. His arms ached, but he decided it was worth it as they were now (temporarily) safe from harm.

"Mordred? Is that you? I-I'm sorry I could stop that Graveler... I can't see that good. Everything's kinda blurry. A-are you ok?" The scraggy paused, taking a good look at the bird. Guilt hit him as he saw the ice type's bruised form, knowing that if it weren't for his ridiculous plan this never would have happened. Heck, they could've just ran, but his stubborn pride didn't allow it. He heaved a sigh, sitting down on the ground and crossing his legs.

"I'm fine. And you don't have to apologize. It's my fault you're in this condition." He muttered, not taking his eyes off Nick's wing. That thing was broken, definitely. What was that thing the healers did when someone broke their arm? Something with wrapping it with cloth. A cast. Yes, they probably needed to find a cast for that. They could probably find one in Treasure Town, but from how battered both of them were it was highly unlikely they would even reach a place that far. This was not a good situation, and with this stress coupled with his alarming injuries, the reptile was beginning to feel dizzy. The Oran berry had saved him from collapsing earlier, but the exertion had caused its effects to wear out quicker. He was not happy about this. Not at all. "We need to get that treated before it gets worse... but how are we going to head to town in our states?"