Beau Monde, Swamp Savage!

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Contrary to what most travelers inferred about him, Goro the Croagunk didn't actually hate travelers.

Having made his home deep in the dungeon of the Cattail Marsh, claiming an abandoned, rotting shack and a large stretch of the territory around it, Goro got precious little privacy, and he valued that more than almost anything else. Bearing in mind that passing through the Marsh was required to get to the infinitely more dangerous and resourceful Misty Mire, and taking into consideration that Dungeons were by nature difficult to traverse-- things like directions and time seemed to get distorted while inside-- he'd had more than a few visitors in his time here. Maintaining his stretch of swamp took a fair bit of work beating on feral Pokémon, so it was understandable that when he came across an explorer, merchant, or just a regular traveler wandering through his Marsh, he might be a little tense and jump to... unfortunate conclusions.  

No one ever accused Goro of being smart.

But despite all that, Goro didn't hate other people. It was just when he found them in his metaphorical backyard that he tended to greet them fists swinging. Otherwise, he quite enjoyed sitting down across a campfire and trading stories or learning new things about the nearby settlements.

On a quiet aft'rnoon, like this? Prowling through the murky waters of the Marsh purposefully, Goro croaked quietly to himself, fingers drumming against his sides in a fit of boredom. I 'kin go with th' company.

Keeping the Dragon-type subdued was no easy task. Goro lay on top of the Dragon-type, both hands forcing its head underwater while his legs lay on each side of the beast, clenching together in a very weak, tremulous hold. Fortunately, the feral Pokémon was much more interested in getting its head above water, rather than chucking the Croagunk on its back off, as it'd have a much easier time with that plan, with its slimy, gooey skin and own considerable strength. Goro himself was the picture of physical strain, arms trembling against the dragon's mighty neck pushing back up at him, an ugly scowl parting his lips, revealing a set of flat teeth.

"Did ya have a fuckin' plan, or was me tryna drown this beastie just fer shits and giggles?!" His words, no doubt painted by frustration and physical strain, were drowned out quickly when a sudden chill came over the area, just before a tremendous force rocked the Sliggoo's body, and him by association. One glance out the corner of his eye told the whole story - Clovis did, in fact, have a plan. A move, rather, some sort of ice attack fired point-blank at the Sliggoo's side, causing it to cry out sharply in a pain, a warbling voice bubbling through the slime dragon's mouth, audible even under the water. It's struggling grew all the more desperate, the Dragon-type actually bucking Goro right off with a pained but powerful jerk, the Croagunk soaring through the air a moment before landing a few paces away with a powerful splash.

The Sliggoo that was previously under him was abruptly pushed backward by the force of the Ice Beam, his weight no longer holding it down. It half slid, half rolled through the swamp waters before passing over a deeper mud hole, the slug dragon suddenly submerging completely underwater with a heavy splash, falling out of the Ice-type attack and into safer depths. Meanwhile, Goro rose from under the water sluggishly, halfway laying down in the shallow waters in his sudden exhaustion. His gaze swept from side to side, searching for the Dragon-type he was previously wrestling with, only to find rippling waters and a distinct, powerful chill in the area. His gaze found Clovis a moment later, croaking tiredly, a crooked grin pasted on his face. "Shit, nevermind, partner. That's one way ta do it. Think it's done for?"

Ah, to think that Goro had ever doubted him~! Clovis' ice attack had gone beautifully; It was immensely satisfying to have performed it so well. Not out of sadism or anything like it, of course, but because the joy of impending victory was just so wonderful! After being hit directly with the force of his attack, the sliggoo was pushed away, off into deeper waters, where it seemed to vanish, defeated, vanquished. Both corners of the piplup's beak rose up in a smile, clearly demonstrating the pride he took in his own abilities. He stopped searching for the sliggoo soon enough- the effort was clearly futile. Instead, he turned his immediate attention towards his companion, who was getting up after having been tossed aside by the now-conquered dragon type. Goro seemed to be smiling too, perhaps for the same reason, though the croagunk did look to be very much fatigued, the poor guy. Goro had been unfortunate enough have taken all of the physical damage from being tossed around, and exerted himself in another way while pinning the sliggoo as part of Clovis' plan. A sign, perhaps, to both of them, that Goro ought to be more careful in the future.

Goro retracted his previous criticisms of Clovis' tactics, presumably because they had worked quite well in the previous battle. He also asked, essentially, if the Sliggoo had been well and truly defeated. Clovis' guess was really only as good as Goro's in this instance. But, if he had to come up with some kind of answer... "Probably. It was poisoned, after all." That begged another question. Was the sliggoo actually dying or even dead? For a feral pokémon to meet its death prematurely was not at all a tragic thing, one could even purchase feral tauros meat from local stores in Rainfront. But if Clovis (and Goro) had actually killed something, that was something that Clovis would at least like to be certain about, especially since he hadn't done it before, certainly to any pokémon that was bigger than him. That grim thought removed much of the piplup's joy and composure, but he wasn't unnerved enough to want to run home or anything. "What's uh... what's next, then?"

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Goro stood sluggishly, the swampy waters washing over him as he rose from the shallow end, a palpable sense of gratification and satisfaction radiating from the Croagunk. Now, that was a fight. Forget the Froakies and Goomies and Poliwags. Even brawling with the bulky Poliwhirls around the marsh paled in comparison to a scrap like that. The dragon-type was powerful in a way that no other feral in the other parts of his home dungeon was, boasting its powerful fire attack and a surprising physical prowess that had managed to put him on his ass. It was a bit fast of a fight, and he was a little bummed out that Clovis did most of the work, but there was plenty more to come, he was sure.

His eyes drifted to the still rippling waters where the Sliggoo had apparently splashed in, the waters calming from inactivity. If it hadn't risen out of the water, yet, especially after being half-drowned, then it was probably done for. The Croagunk's eyes narrowed as he searched for any sign of death or resurgence. Personally, he was hoping that the Dragon-type rose up for round two, but the attacks that Clovis had used were incredibly powerful, and he knew drakes had a weakness in particular to Ice-type attacks. When a short-lived stream of bubbles rose up from the waters and died off quickly thereafter, it was all but confirmed. Poor thing was done for. It fought well. Nice fight, ya gooey bastard.

"Well, if yer feelin' a bit tuckered out, we could have a sit-down n' catch our breath." Goro turned to his partner, still struggling to wrap his head around the Piplup's surprising power. The water attack, in particular, was surprising, as it had doused the remnants of the incredibly deadly fire-breath technique easily before blasting the Sliggoo right into the waters where it met its end. Perhaps most impressively, Clovis had only suffered a brief bout of fatigue before jumping right into the fray. For his part, Goro was only feeling a bit winded, but of course, he'd provided less to their victory than the Water-type to his side. "Otherwise, I reckon there's more where that fella came from. We only got our toes in the water, so ta speak."

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"Oooooohhhhhh..." Clovis moaned and rubbed his eyes a bit. It probably was a good idea to take a short pause before wandering off further into the unknown, especially if there was a chance that they could encounter something just as dangerous again. It'd be good for Goro to stop for a bit too, he probably had a few aches from being tossed around like he was. "Just a minute, then. That savage didn't toss you around too hard, did it?" He teased. "We don't really have pokémon like that in Grassveil." There were large and powerful pokémon in the forests outside the town, of course, but those were mostly bug or normal-types; never a partially evolved dragon. There was little doubt that the creature was dead in the water, having never resurfaced. So far as killing things went, a wild slime-dragon was probably pretty impressive. "Dragon-slayer." Clovis mused. "I do like the sound of that."

Clovis could only assume from Goro's speaking that he was eager and willing to get into another fight with something in the marsh. The croagunk was certainly spirited, if nothing else, but Clovis was a little unsure about whether he'd want to go much further. He supposed that he was glad of his experiences so far, but the fight with the sliggoo had been stressful. That sliggoo had probably been the most powerful pokémon that Clovis had ever had to fight in his life, and while he had done well against it, that didn't mean that he was eager to go out fighting against more things. He would have liked to think of himself as a warrior and a skilled fighter, but the truth was that he just wasn't around violence often enough to be comfortable with too much of it.

Though he did feel discomfort, it would do him no good to go looking nervous in front of Goro, now would it? A moment to compose himself was all he needed, and then they would be back off, on the steady path to glory. "Is this the kind of thing you do for fun on a daily basis?" he asked. It probably was, there weren't that many other ways to spend the time in Cattail anyway, unless he had a stash of books hidden away or something.

As soon as Clovis uttered his groan and conceded to a short break, the Poison-fighting hybrid plopped down on his behind, splashing slightly in the swamp-water as he sat down to rest. He wasn't particularly damaged, as all he'd really done during that little scrap was dodge the fire-breath and hold the Dragon-type while Clovis peppered it with attacks, but it took more out of him than he realized. The Sliggoo had a surprising amount of physical strength, and if it had had any amount of intelligence to go with it, perhaps it would have been able to chuck the frog Pokémon off sooner, but Clovis' plan had distracted it enough, keeping the slime drake preoccupied with not drowning rather than escaping the pair of them.

He leaned backward, spreading his hands behind him as he croaked slowly, taking in the warm swamp air and natural sounds of the marsh. The tittering of the various bug Pokémon floating overhead and the cries of Pokémon in the distance, croaking of frogs and squelching of the many Goomies sliding around the muddy soil. It was still midday, it felt like, the cloudy skies overhead masking the sun's position, but going from the warm temperature it didn't feel too late. Goro smiled goofily at Clovis' remark, thinking on their little battle. Dragon-slayer, huh. That's a hell of a thought.

"I'm good, partner. Just a mite sore. Gooey bastard was stronger than he looked, yeah?" He studied the Piplup in earnest, now, that there weren't any feral Pokémon around to deal with. It really was hard to believe that the smaller Pokémon was so powerful, but during their battle, it boasted three powerful moves, one of which was easily recognizable as Toxic. He might have felt a touch jealous, but he was more of a brawler than the type to poison his enemies. It did happen on occasion, thanks to his Poison Touch and the natural venom he could spray from his fingers, but he usually never aimed for such a thing. Goro admired the other Pokémon's versatility and power and found himself eager to see what else he could do.

The Croagunk actually chortled at Clovis' words, realizing the contrast between the two of them. Of course, there were no Pokémon like this in Grassveil; they were plunging deep into a mystery dungeon, and the ferals at this point were at least going to be strong enough to catch them by surprise. Or, in the Sliggoo's case, nearly torch them for their arrogance. Well - his arrogance, really. "Beasties aroun' these parts are more than a bit tougher than what I usually fight, but... yeah, this is what I do, nowadays. Keeps me in fightin' shape, at least."

Ech. Perhaps it was a bit ironic, but the water-type found himself to be bothered quite a bit by the humidity in the air. It hadn't been as noticeable before, when he was walking or fighting, but it really created an altogether icky feeling, doubly so when combined with mud and dirty water. Clovis hadn't been wrestling around on the ground like Goro had, but he had gotten a bit of filth on his belly from the sliggoo splashing about, and his feet were all muddy from running around. Not good, though the croagunk was certainly much worse with regard to cleanliness. Just as he had thought, running around the marsh and fighting was something that Goro included in his daily routine, though he hadn't gone quite this deep before. "A pugilist, then?" Clovis asked casually, not expecting to discuss the topic for very long. He hadn't yet sat down; he didn't intend to, that would mean getting his derriere covered in swamp fluids unnecessarily. As it stood, getting dirty was the exact opposite of what he wanted to do.

Clovis looked down at his feet, both of which were submerged in shallow, vaguely discolored water. Said water was probably likely to make him even less clean than he already was if he attempted to improve his hygiene with it, but that was alright, he had a natural alternative. But before that, his companion deserved a brief warning. "Alright, clear the way; unless you're looking for a brief shower." He gestured outward with his flippers to make sure that he had enough space for what he was about to do. His beak pointed towards the grey sky, a few of his muscles flexed, and he opened his beak then, to blast out an unprepared, effortless and altogether lesser version of the hydro pump he had used earlier. The water, while still voluminous, was shot up without much speed or power behind it, and came falling back to the ground very soon after leaving Clovis' beak. As the water approached to where Clovis was still standing, he spread his limbs out, allowing himself to be covered in as much clean water as he could. The impact wasn't particularly forceful, it was really more of a welcome change, the hydro pump shower's cool water providing a very nice contrast with the sticky and warm atmosphere around him. It was refreshing, though some soap would have vastly improved the experience. He wiped away mud, slime, and the like, before shaking himself just a bit dryer. Clovis sighed, ever so softly. That felt much better.

"A... what now? Pug-ee-lis?" Goro cocked his head confusedly at Clovis' throwaway comment, glancing at the Water-type in askance. He'd expected the Piplup to explain what just came pouring out of his mouth, but instead, the Penguin Pokémon gestured at him, giving him a brief warning before aiming his beak at the sky. Hurriedly, the Croagunk rose from the waters and backed up several steps, more than aware of what kind of firepower the Piplup in front of him packed, but why would he aim something right above him? Goro watched in confusion as the Piplup geared up for something, and then croaked in comprehension as a much smaller burst of water shot from his beak and into the sky, dropping just as soon as it rose, the prim and proper Piplup apparently a little too dirty for his liking.

He watched the Pokémon in front of him shake his feathers dry, wiping off muck and mud with a sense of relief, clearly eager to be rid of the bulk of the Marsh's hospitality. Personally, Goro didn't much mind it, as it served well to mask his scent from anything dangerous with a sense of smell, and with his leathery skin, it was never hard to get clean. Probably different for such a fluffy fella like him. Goro stretched in in a resigned manner, bringing both arms over his chest and flexing experimentally. A moment's rest never hurt, and he felt as fresh as he could considering the circumstances. The throw from the Sliggoo might be a bit sore in the morning, but otherwise, Goro was eager and raring to go. He offered his companion an excited grin before gesturing forward,  a clear bounce in his step as he moved in front of the Water-type Pokémon.

"Feelin' crisp, partner?" Goro's voice was jovial and bright as his eyes flickered in front of him distractedly before returning to Clovis, the Croagunk clearly eager for the next challenge Cattail Marsh had to offer. He'd take point, for now. It was clear from his choice of moves that Clovis was focused on ranged combat, so it only made sense for Goro, who was a close-range fighter, to walk in front to deal with any sudden threats. "I'm ready when you are."

A little refreshment had truly done the little penguin some wonders. The cooling and cleaning effects served their purpose, and the water's damp comfort provided Clovis with a neat boost to his morale, certainly enough to keep him moving confidently through the unfamiliar environment. He was grinning, and internally trying to hype himself up for whatever beast encounter he would deal with next. He knew that no good could come out of griping about how crappy the swamp was, so it made much more sense to be, as Goro had put it, crisp! The croagunk was ready to get moving again, eagerly ready, at that; good for him. He took a position in front of Clovis, probably intending for the piplup to follow once more. "Let's get a-marching, Goro." He'd follow as soon as Goro started walking.

There were a few interesting observations that Clovis had picked up during the earlier fight which he felt warranted a bit of thought as they walked. With regards to how Goro fought, it was a bit bothersome that he seemed to be lacking much in the way of strategy or anything like it. When fighting the sliggoo, he had rushed in without any apparent thought, and would likely do the same to the next opponent he happened upon, certainly then putting Clovis in an awkward position in which he would be unable to make use of a ranged attack without the possibility of hitting his partner by mistake. Certainly an unfortunate aspect of the croagunk, and one that would have to be discussed if ever they found themselves in danger again.

Goro said nothing in response to Clovis' prompt, merely croaking absently and starting forward, confident that his ally would follow him. He was more eager for this than perhaps anything else he'd done in this swamp so far, as the Sliggoo was without a doubt the most powerful feral Pokémon he had ever encountered. The only thing that had ever come close were the Poliwhirl, and while they weren't very exciting by themselves, they usually hung around in pairs or even groups. Most commonly he'd find one or two alongside a group of Poliwag, and that was never a bad time. But the two of them were barely past the border of Goro's own territory, and already they'd encountered a powerful, if rather immature, Dragon-type. He could only wonder was to what else would be waiting even deeper in the mystery dungeon. Perhaps they'd even find a Goodra! Such a dragon would be well beyond the scope of his abilities, but the thought was incredibly intriguing. A silly grin found itself on the Croagunk's face, the Poison-fighting hybrid marching through the swamps with a veritable skip in his steps.

The marshlands, as they were, didn't change very much from area to area, or floor to floor. One needed familiarity to navigate the swamp, and at this point, Goro would be as lost as Clovis was. His steps were unhurried, tense, and very eager. Out of consideration, he was trying to lead the pair of them through the driest possible path he could, when in reality all he wanted to do was to rush through the waters to the next challenge. But, obviously, the muck and filth bothered his companion something fierce, considering he had to wash not even an hour into their little adventure. For such a powerful Pokémon, Goro found it amusing that he was so... quirky. The prim and proper way of speaking and the aversion to getting dirty belied the strength of his ally, and he wasn't sure to make of it. Either way, he was grateful for the company.

As he rounded a particularly tall cattail plant, the Croagunk's posture straightened, the Poison-fighting hybrid suddenly marching forward with an exciting aura, seeing something in the distance. True to form, not even a small march from their last encounter, and Goro had already spotted another of his favorite encounters in the Marsh - a Poliwhirl! The Tadpole Pokémon was tall and bulky, its rotund body and stocky arms telling of a bullheaded and healthy strength. It wasn't quite a Fighting-type yet, but they tended to lean toward physical combat, which was something Goro very much appreciated in an encounter. This particular one was off in the distance, drifting on its back through a particularly deep mudhole, seemingly without thought. Easy pickin's, if someone got the jump on 'em.

"How's that, Clovis? Big ol' Poliwhirl like that oughta be worth our time." Goro turned back around to his companion, his demeanor eager and on edge, the Fighting-type clearly excited for another of the Mystery Dungeon's challenges. He'd tangled with more than a few Poliwhirl during his time in the Marsh, and none of them ever disappointed. "I seen 'em around my parts, too. There's probly one or two aroun' here with that fella - they like ta hang around in groups."

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There they were, back on the marsh-march. Clovis was nice and clean, not but a tiny few specks of filth appeared on his body, and he appeared, at least in his mind, to be very presentable, suave, and handsome with that string tie ribbon of his. He bent down his head, so that both the ribbon and the croagunk would be within his peripheral, and admired the neat little bow; its primary knot was tied around the aquatic bird's neck, or rather, in the little 'collar' space in the front of his cape-like tail. It being a joy ribbon gave it purpose beyond just looking good, it was truly a wonderfully purposed accessory, and Clovis was, by extension, a 'mon of patrician tastes for choosing to wear one. To keep dignity and to have standards even in savage lands- that was the epitome of discipline. And it would be discipline that separated him from the hordes of unenlightened savagery that awaited, deep within Cattail Marsh.

Goro possessed a certain flame about him. A certain enthusiasm that Clovis could instantly recognize as genuine. Whereas Clovis was pushing his way through an unpleasant swamp through force of will and desire to find glory, Goro was actually enjoying himself. The marsh was Goro's home, it made sense for him to be at least somewhat comfortable. At one moment, Clovis thought that he had seen the croagunk smiling, oddly enough. Perhaps he anticipated another rousing battle like the one with the sliggoo; Clovis couldn't deny that the rush of adrenaline that came from a good fight was certainly exhilarating. Goro just... enjoyed it a bit more? Fighting could be an art, though from what he had seen of Goro's style, his artistry was a tad bit crude. But, he was at least physically strong enough to hold down an angry sliggoo, and was upstanding enough to have shown a good degree of courtesy to his guest. Clovis supposed he ought not to complain too much about his companion; Goro seemed like a decent guy.

At one point, after Clovis had been, once again, smacked by the seedpod of a cattail plant, Goro stopped, apparently having spotted something. Clovis stepped to the right, so that he could see past the croagunk, and saw, just as Goro had, a single poliwhirl, floating about in a pool of muddy liquid, minding its own business. Goro turned around towards Clovis, and with great enthusiasm, remarked on the poliwhirl as being "big" and "worth their time." He continued to speak, and shared a bit of his own knowledge on the tadpole pokémon species. Apparently, they liked to group together, Clovis hadn't known that before. He did know that poliwhirl were brawny, amphibious pokémon with a water affinity, and that two of Clovis' ranged techniques would be resisted in some way, while the poison one would only take effect after some time. Should worst come to worst, flat-out trying to pound one unconscious with his flippers was an option, even if it wasn't exactly his specialty. He had two flippers for a reason, he would use them if he had to.

"It's just lying on the surface, isn't it? Are you sure you want to deal with one while it's in deeper waters?" At least, he assumed that the muddy water was deep- it was a little hard to tell from looking at it, what with how dense it was and how cloudy it was in the sky, but it was at least deep enough that Clovis couldn't see the bottom from where he was standing.

"I figure we just draw it out, see? Holler at the fella or chuck somethin' at him." He observed the Poliwhirl intently, scanning it for any differences from his usual fanfare. It didn't seem any bigger or noticeably stronger than the ones he found sometimes in his stretch of the swamp. It looked just the same as any other Poliwhirl, really; a large, rotund body with bulbous eyes protruding out of the top of it, with stocky legs and arms. Its hands were sectioned off and gave the appearance of gloves, and the center of its torso was home to a distinctive swirly pattern, which gave the oddest appearance of actually moving if one stared at it for too long. Normally, he'd never think about approaching the bulky Water-type so close to a source of water, but with Clovis on his side, he could probably put the big shitter down before things got out of hand. "These guys are real picky 'bout who's in their territory, ya know? Soon as he notices us, he's gonna come a'running at us, big ol' meaty fists swingin'."

With that said, Goro took a moment to scan their surroundings, partly in order to judge the terrain he was about to fight in, but also to search for any nearby Poliwags or other Poliwhirl in the area; they did like to hang together. This stretch of the marsh was relatively flat and dry; there were some surrounding waters, mostly diminutive pools of swampy muck that were noticeably shallow - but there was one larger body of water to their right side, almost a small pond of murky yellow. Goro gave it one distrustful glance before returning his gaze to his prospective opponent. The Poliwhirl they were observing was perhaps ten, maybe fifteen yards away. Certainly, enough of a distance for Clovis to get a few potshots in on it before it managed to get close to the pair of explorers. The mudhole it was resting in was likely home to nothing else; it was short in size, but from this distance, it was impossible to tell how deep it ran.

"Either way we're gon' have to deal with it. If there's one here, there's prolly one or two lurkin' real close." Despite the nature of his warning, Goro only grew more excited at the prospect of more fighting. He'd never fought to Poliwhirl at the same time, before; he briefly wondered if he could even handle more than one. They always did put up a very good fight, and he'd had more than a few close calls with the strong Water-types before. Clovis didn't exactly strike him as a close-range fighter, but he could probably support the Croagunk from a distance while he tried. Goro rose from his crouch, tense and keen to get started, arms half-raising to lay loosely at his sides. His fists were twitching of their own volition while he eyed the Water-type resting in its mudhole. A fervent smile was pasted on the Poison-type's face, revealing a set of flat teeth. "We take this bastard out first, and when his buddies show up we'll have one less tadpole to tangle with."

"Mmmmmm." Clovis shut his eyes and listened as the croagunk explained the situation. Poliwhirl were territorial and aggressive, so provoking one of them was almost guaranteed to enrage it. However, to enrage it was apparently the plan, as this was the only way to get it out of the water, where Goro would be at an extreme disadvantage. Clovis wasn't very eager to fight tadpole pokémon in water himself, so it was probably a good idea to just get its attention and wait for it to approach. Honestly, Goro's display of his knowledge and tactical skill in this case was surprising. Clovis had him figured for a brute before, but he seemed to be learning. Goro continued to lay out his battle plan, and cited the need to deal with this particular poliwhirl before its fellow ferals showed up. Once again, a reasonable thing to do. Goro had put forth a fine set of ideas, which he seemed to be very excited about putting into use, and Clovis would gladly execute them. But, so long as the two were still unseen, it wouldn't hurt to iron out the plan a bit while they still had an opportunity to talk. Goro had stood up, Clovis followed suit, and promptly placed his flipper on Goro, pulling, or at least trying to get him back to the ground so he didn't go running off.

"Alright Goro, hold up." Clovis gave a single cough. "You're saying that I'll get its attention, then wear it down with some attacks, hmm? And when it gets close, you can step in front of me and give it a good thrashing, that right? That sound good?"

As for how exactly he would get its attention, there were a number of options. In his possession, Clovis had a few small, pointy sticks, and he was close enough that he could probably hit his target, but he didn't want to bother retrieving them. He could make use of a hydro pump or ice beam, but that presented an entirely different conundrum, as there was a very slim chance that the poliwhirl in question could, in fact, not be an aggressive or uncivilized one. He'd give it the benefit of the doubt, in this case, though he was otherwise almost certain that he'd have to fight with it. It was such, then, that Clovis decided that the most reasonable option was to simply shout provocations at the tadpole pokémon.

He gave Goro a second to process everything, before stepping forward, and taking a breath. In an imitation of Goro's unique swamp dialect, he began to belt out the first few lines of a popular song, with its lyrics changed to suit the location, of course. "Cattail ladies sing this song, doo-dah! Doo-dah!" He took another breath, the poliwhirl almost certainly aware of his presence by now. It may have been a good idea at that point to start firing off attacks, but Clovis felt a certain obligation to sing at least one more line- the second was just as important as the first. "Cattail Marsh is five miles long; oh, doo-dah day!" Only then would he make use of the break between lines to loose the weaker, though more precise of his two attacks, an ice beam.

In his fervent excitement, Goro was visibly twitching forward in anticipation for the coming fight. So far, Cattail Marsh had been very boring after he got used to it, but this little exploration voyage was yielding very promising results, and very quickly to boot. Poliwhirl were rare around his stretch of territory, but the Poison-fighting hybrid was very interested in the fact that it appeared so quickly in the deeper parts of the dungeon. If this was the case normally, then forget patrolling his territory every morning; this is what he needed to be doing with his time! Stronger opponents were just waiting for him back here, and all he need to do was go and seek them out. The Croagunk was just a split-second from rushing forward to meet the Poliwhirl in the distance before Clovis' flipper came to rest on his shoulder, Goro actually jerking in remembrance of his ally. Was he that transparent in his excitement? He felt a thrum of sheepishness at how easily the Piplup read him, but it was largely drowned out by the satisfaction and fun he was having at the moment.

Clovis outlined their general plan, laying down a plan of tactics that Goro honestly hadn't been seriously considering; when he said they should flush the Poliwhirl out, it had mostly been an offhand suggestion. He was just as eager to fight the strong Water-type as, no doubt, the Tadpole Pokémon was eager to drive them off. The Croagunk bowed his head dutifully, taking in Clovis' words silently and consideringly. Truthfully, it was a very solid plan. Much better than what Goro was about to do, which was rush the big bastard and hope for a fun time. Goro's eager smile turned into a sheepish grin as he nodded at the Piplup, silently signaling his agreement to the plan. Poliwhirl touted strength and vitality above all; letting Clovis get a few attacks on it before it reached them would help him immensely when it came time to do his part.

Goro stilled himself as Clovis called out to the Water-type tadpole, singing a merry jingle that was horribly out of place in the fight to come. He did a double-take, glancing at the proper Piplup once when he touted the first line, and once again when he finished with the second. The Croagunk was just as surprised as he was confused; it was good that Clovis was comfortable enough to try such a thing, as it meant that the voyage so far had taken little toll on him, but what the hell kind of Pokémon called out to an opponent like that? He was almost startled into laughter, but the immediate chill that came over the area smothered whatever mirth he had in the situation. This was easily recognizable, as Goro had felt the same sensation when Clovis blasted the Sliggoo into its watery grave; his Ice-type attack.

The beam was narrow and dazzling, shining brightly in the grim locale of the marsh-lands, tracing a path directly for the Poliwhirl across the pond. The Tadpole Pokémon had jerked out of its stupor at the sound of Clovis' jingle, before; it only had time enough to level its gaze at the disturbance before the Ice-Beam attack crossed the distance and struck it mightily, scoring an impressive strike on its right side. It was a good shot, considering the ground between them and their prey, but the accuracy of the attack didn't impress the Poliwhirl on the receiving end.

The type resistance shone through in the end. The Tadpole Pokémon weathered the blow for a few moments before shrugging the attack off, jostling its shoulders and patting the area on its side consolingly before surging forward. It surged out of its mudhole quickly, murky brown waters splashing as it leaped from its resting spot and advanced on the pair of explorers at a run. Considering its round shape and size, the Poliwhirl moved impressively fast, covering nearly a third of the distance in only a few moments. Goro positioned himself to the side of his ally, not eager to get caught up in whatever technique he tried next.

It was clear, in the moment; the Poliwhirl was bustling forward at an alarming speed, having covered almost half the distance between it and its target. Its arms were upraised as if expecting another incoming attack, a semblance of intelligence shining through its feral nature. Clovis had one more shot before it would be upon them; perhaps two, if the next one stopped its charge.

What a wonderful tune he had sung. It was perfectly upbeat, a jaunty song to lift his spirits. Merry singing was a simple but effective method of improving focus, and in this case served an essential attention-grabbing element. Clovis' aim was true with the ice beam, hitting the poliwhirl towards its right side, though it didn't seem to have done much in the way of significant damage. This was to be expected, probably. Water-types could normally take ice attacks much more easily than others, Clovis knew that, being a water-type himself. Still, ice beam was a good attack, and Clovis had struck accurately. The poliwhirl must have felt some kind of pain from being hit, at least a little bit. If it was hurt, even slightly, on one side moreso than another, it was prudent to make use of this vulnerability, and exploit it to the greatest possible extent.

Clovis could tell that he was being charged, and charged rather quickly at that. He probably had enough time to get off one more attack, but what virtue could possibly make his next ranged attack any better than the underwhelming ice beam? The most tactically sound thing he felt he could do at that moment was to improve the melee situation Goro would go into, while forgoing the opportunity to get off another ranged attack. The poliwhirl's right side, which was to Clovis' left, was the wounded side, therefore if he could make it easier for his companion to strike on that side, he would make the fight go a little bit quicker. There wasn't much time to consider exactly how he would do that, but the quickest and most practical thought was to run off to the right, forcing the poliwhirl to turn to its left away from Goro, revealing its wounded right side, and also distracting it enough so that it would be caught off guard.

Ah, he had already wasted so much time thinking! Quickly the piplup dashed off to the right, spraying poison from his mouth wildly and without care in the general direction of the poliwhirl, all the while holding his left flipper out flat towards the croagunk, a signal which implied for him to "Stop." Clovis knew that he would be overwhelmed very quickly when the poliwhirl reached him. He just hoped that Goro would have the sense to jump in before he could be punched around too badly.

The poliwhirl was unrelenting in its charge towards the singing, ice-beaming piplup that had assaulted both its ears and its right side. Clovis could do nothing but change the shape and signal of his flipper from a flat "stop" to a curling, beckoning "Come here!" before the poliwhirl made use of its speed and weight advantage to lift the barely-over-a-dozen-pound piplup up, and throw him down into the muddy ground, Clovis being unable to give much in the way of resistance, apart from a shocked, instinctual roll after hitting the ground made in an effort to avoid any pinning moves the poliwhirl would try next. Clovis had yet to recover his senses or much feeling in his muscles after the body-slam, but the poliwhirl, to Clovis' knowledge, still had a perfectly exposed and undefended right side, damn nearly asking to be hit.

Goro watched in increased anticipation as the Poliwhirl charged toward them. Despite its rotund size and figure, it was surprisingly quick on its feet, closing the distance between it and the intruders in its territory much faster than Goro might have guessed. The Tadpole Pokémon bustled toward them with its arm crossed in front of it, waiting for the next incoming ranged attack from the Piplup beside him. Goro was no different, glancing at Clovis listlessly as the Water-type got closer and closer. What was he doing?He had a free shot, here. There was no reason not to take it unless for some reason the Piplup was unable, or unwilling.

The Croagunk did a double-take as Clovis took off in a dash, spraying forward a Toxic attack at the alarmingly close Poliwhirl. He had dashed to the right, and the Poliwhirl obviously had its eyes on the Piplup, as not only was it the Pokémon that disturbed it, but also the only Pokémon that truly looked out of place in Cattail Marsh. Goro had taken a step forward absently, an instant away from rushing to Clovis' aid before he noticed the flipper signaling him to stay put. What the fuck was he doing?

The Poliwhirl charged right through the Toxic spray, venom soaking into its arms and chest before coming to a stop in front of the much smaller Water-type suddenly in front of it. Goro caught only a glimpse of Clovis' flipper beckoning him forward suddenly, only to be interrupted as the Tadpole Pokémon lifted him bodily into the air, just to bring him back down again in a harsh ground throw. Was that-- did he just want a clear shot to poison the Water-type? He still could have done it while Goro tussled with the Poliwhirl, as he would be unaffected by the Poison-type technique. In the instant when Clovis instinctively rolled away from his attacker and the Poliwhirl looked to deal some more damage, Goro realized what Clovis wanted from him.

The Water-type's right side wasn't-- not injured, exactly, but at a glance, it was clear that he was struck with the Ice Beam attack earlier. Clovis wanted him to attack the same area for compounding damage, focusing their fire on one location to drop the big bastard as soon as possible. Goro surged forward as soon as the thought occurred to him, his right fist surging powerfully at his hip while he prepared his Drain Punch attack. In hindsight, this was a much better plan of attack that Goro's nonexistent strategy. He stepped in hard, shoulders and hips rotating powerfully as he brought his right hand around in a heavy hook aimed at the Poliwhirl's right side. His punch swung hard and true, Goro's fist burying itself into the side of the Poliwhirl as it was just about to redouble its attack on Clovis.

Whatever damage the Ice Beam inflicted didn't seem to faze it, as Goro's fist lost some traction against the Poliwhirl's oily slick skin, sliding off course after the punch. The Water-type stumbled only slightly before it shook the attack off and squared up against Goro, turning away from the downed Piplup to take in its new challenger. For his part, Goro faced his opponent with an eager smile on his face, raising his fists in front of his face, mirroring the Poliwhirl's posture. His eyes tracked his opponent briefly, taking in the violet stains on the Poliwhirl's body and the fast-forming bruise on its right side, the tolls of their battle already visible on their opponent. To its credit, the Water-type bore the damage stoically, stepping back and curling in on itself before it thrust its midriff forward, the swirling pattern on its belly rotating wildly before a strong torrent of water blasted forward, crashing into Goro.

The surprise ranged attack caught the Fighting-type flat on his feet, blasting the frog Pokémon backward bodily, knocking Goro flat on his rear. He'd expected some manner of physical attack, but apparently, the feral knew to deal with both of these Pokémon in different manners; fighting Clovis up close and blasting Goro out of his striking range. The Croagunk rose steadily, the Water Gun honestly shocking him more than harming him, before beginning to circle the Tadpole Pokémon slowly. This needed to end quick - before anything else nearby heard the sounds of their battle and decided to join in.

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