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.

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"Mmmphh..." Clovis moaned in pain, staying still where he lie on the ground. His eyes were shut, and his head faced towards the ground, but he heard a bit of a scuffle going on around him, enough to assure him that, for the time being, he was not the focus of that poliwhirl's attention. He hadn't been crippled by the throw, he didn't think. He was sure that he had hit the ground harder than that before, but he couldn't quite remember when exactly that was. The mud probably softened the impact a bit. It had to be useful for something, didn't it? At about the same moment Goro was struck with the poliwhirl's water gun, Clovis rose from where he lay, and sat on the ground, still dazed from the earlier impact. His entire front side was unclean, with mud smeared across his blue belly and staining his joy ribbon. He could sort of see out of his eyes, but they were both irritated by some of the filth that had gotten on the rest of his face. When at last he had rubbed them once or twice, and restored his vision, he looked over at his partner and at the poliwhirl. He had heard the sound of a water attack earlier- but now he was seeing the aftermath. Goro had been knocked down, but not laid out. Water dripped off of his front side as he stood himself back up, ready to get back into the action almost immediately. Being the lucky guy he was, Goro had just received a free wash. It might have hurt a bit, but at least he was still cleaner as a result! He wasn't sure that he was jealous, per se, but if either of them had to deal with water attacks, Clovis would prefer that it be himself.

Slowly, the piplup began to rise onto his feet. He felt aches in his body as he stood up, but adrenaline helped to dull them out. He could move, he could fight, but he didn't want to be tossed around like that again. Goro and the poliwhirl were a good distance from one another, walking in circles, seeking opportunities to strike. Clovis was just standing there, with the perfect window of attack. ...but what can I do? He asked. It doesn't care about ice beam. It won't care about hydro pump, and that's just as likely to hit Goro anyway. He looked down at his mud-spattered torso, mostly unaware of the fight going on around him. It was shameful to have himself soiled in such a way. He didn't have himself to blame for the streak of mud covering his front side, but it was still unfortunate that he had allowed his image to be tarnished so. There was no way, no way at all that he would let that poliwhirl get away with smearing him in mud. He longed to see the creature punished for its wrongdoing, perhaps in a way that it would be unable to harm another civilized pokémon again.

It can shake off my beams and sprays, sure, but I've still got two flippers. They work. They're hurting terribly at the shoulder, but they work. By now, Goro and the poliwhirl had probably made moves against one another, but Clovis wasn't very much concerned about the specifics of what time or position would be most efficient to attack. He had produced some effective plans in the past, sure, but he had wasted so much time in this encounter just thinking, and he didn't intend to waste much more.

He ran towards the poliwhirl, though suffering a degree of hindrance with the swamp terrain. He raised his right flipper high, curled it up into something like a fist, and pulled it back in preparation for a punch. As the beast was still preoccupied with the croagunk, it failed to react to Clovis moving his flipper forward quickly and directly, taking a straight punch to its back. All in all, the piplup's hit did little to impress. It turned around to where its rear attacker stood to prepare another punch, and quickly did a double-slap to the smaller water-type's face while on the rotation, the second of which knocked him backwards onto the ground, though Clovis did manage to lessen the fall by catching himself with his flippers. The poliwhirl had little time to spare dealing with both opponents at once, however, and turned back towards Goro just as soon as Clovis had been hit.

Goro and the Poliwhirl circled one another slowly and cautiously, each Pokémon searching the other for any visible weakness or opportunity to strike. For his part, Goro was focused less so on defense and more on a way to get past the Water Gun attack his opponent showed. If he had one definitive weakness (besides Psychic-types, of course) as a fighter, then it was dealing with ranged attacks. The Croagunk simply lacked any sort of natural response or defense against such a tactic, even as common as they were. To that end, Goro had to focus heavily on evading and avoiding them, and stepping in to close the distance between him and his enemies so he might enter his striking range.

But with a Poliwhirl, they were just about as physically strong as he was, in addition to having ranged options. Normally he could catch them by surprise or fight dirty, targeting their bulbous eyes or focusing his attacks on the swirly pattern on their stomach, as that was the only part of their bodies that didn't send any fists or feet sliding off course due to the ever-present slick, oily sweat the permeated the Tadpole Pokémon's body. At this point, Goro was very much familiar with this strategy, the Poliwhirl lurking about Cattail Marsh being perhaps his favorite encounter to run into.

He was moments away from changing an assault before his ally apparently had a bright idea, charging the powerful Water-type Pokémon from behind. The result of such a tactic was as predicted; the bigger, bulkier of the two Pokémon turned around and promptly struck his ambusher with a powerful Double Slap, bringing one meaty fist across Clovis' face before bringing it right back around. Predictably, the Piplup dropped like a puppet with its strings cut, only managing to catch himself on the ground with his flippers. But, at that point, Goro had all the distraction he needed.

As the Poliwhirl was turning to focus on the Croagunk once again, Goro surged forward and bodily leaped into the air, arms outstretched aiming at his opponent. In terms of physical size, Goro was quite a bit shorter than the Poliwhirl, but he knew from experience that he was a bit heavier. He crashed into the Tadpole Pokémon's upper torso bodily, sending the both of them toppling to the ground right next to Clovis, the Poliwhirl on its back while Goro pounced on top of it, one arm drawn back in a hasty Drain Punch attack. Perhaps owing to the wild Pokémon's surprise at the sudden attack, Goro was able to bring his fist down harshly on his enemies right eye, the bulbous organ actually giving way to the Fighting-type attack, bending back grotesquely for a moment. Immediately, the Poliwhirl gave a cry of equal parts pain and naked surprise, bucking wildly beneath the Croagunk for just a moment before a powerful surge of water erupted from its midriff.

Goro, having been crouched atop his fallen foe, had no preparation for the sudden Water Gun attack. The powerful jet of water blasted him directly in the gut, actually carrying the Croagunk through the air for a moment before he landed on his back with a hard thud a few paces away from the pair of downed Pokémon, the Poliwhirl covering its injured eye with both hands instinctively as it thrashed about listlessly in obvious shock and suffering.

Clovis hit the ground quite a bit less forcefully this time, having managed to land with his flippers held out first. But though he had slowed his descent, he still allowed himself to collapse onto the ground, as he had been dizzied quite tremendously from being smacked to the ground. Once again, he was laid out in the mud, panting and trying to work his way through the numbing pain consuming both sides of his face. He saw nothing, having shut his eyes instinctually as he lay. But within seconds, he heard a terrible screech, and opened his eyes to see that the poliwhirl had been thrown beside him, with Goro on top of it! He began to get back into the swing of the action, rolling himself away from the both of them so that he would be in less danger. At the same moment that Goro was blasted away by another water attack, Clovis stood himself up, and followed Goro's path with his eyes. The poor frog had been pushed several feet back, hard enough that Clovis could faintly hear the landing.

Now it was Clovis who stood, with Goro and the poliwhirl being the ones on the ground. Suffice to say, Clovis considered this to be an advantageous position for him to be in, at least with regards to the poliwhirl. It was unfortunate that Goro had been knocked down, but he would be back up soon, surely. Clovis faced the poliwhirl, which was still on the ground. It had covered its right eye with both of its hands, and seemed to be in an incredible amount of pain. Clovis could only assume that Goro had gotten a punch in on the beast's eye. As a result of the hit Goro had gotten, Clovis now had an opportunity to get one of his own.

The poliwhirl wasn't far away. Just a few steps from where he had stood. Clovis didn't even have to relocate to make his next move. He had a clear window, so he took it, by steadying his breathing, and allowing water pressure to build up inside of him. Planting his feet firmly into the muddy ground, he let loose a hydro pump on the downed poliwhirl, blasting forward water at torrential speed.

For his part, Goro lay listlessly in the shallow waters some ways away, eagle-spread on the ground staring into the sky. The Poliwhirl was putting up a bit more fight than the other ones usually did. Call it deja vu, but he was certain he'd ended up this way just a little bit ago against another powerful wild Pokémon. Whether it was his habit of mounting his opponents to finish them off backfiring on him or simply him being a little bit out of his league here, he was having a blast regardless. The vitality and bullheadedness of his enemy was a very welcome change from the quick, unsatisfying scraps he had with the Goomies and Poliwags in his territory. He could perhaps do without the incessant ranged attacks catching him by surprise every other instant, but there wasn't much to do for that. S'part of the job, I 'spose.

The Croagunk rose from the ground steadily, gearing himself up to jump back into the fray. His eyes searched for his opponent, eager to dish out more punishment to the injured Poliwhirl, but apparently, Clovis already had plans for it. He watched in appreciation as the Piplup geared himself up for another technique, this time promising a point-black clean hit. He steadied himself against the muddy soil before rearing back and unleashing an explosive torrent of heavy water at the downed Poliwhirl, the outburst of water crashing into the Tadpole Pokémon harshly, spraying cruelly against its skin before slowly pushing it back. The Water-type skid across the suddenly slick, wet ground, pushed back by the overwhelming force of the Hyrdo Pump, gaining speed by the second. By the time Clovis' technique slowed down, the Poliwhirl lay still a ways away from its attackers, only the unsteady rising and falling of its chest telling of its condition.

Goro grinned crookedly at the sight, finding himself admiring the Piplup's power once again. Perhaps he wasn't exactly a close-ranged brawler, but the penguin Pokémon more than made up for it with his explosive and powerful ranged attacks, enough to put down an, admittedly injured, Poliwhirl in one heavy hit. He studied the downed Tadpole Pokémon from his distance away, taking in its rapidly swelling and bloodshot eye and shaking limbs, not to mention being incredibly soaked from the flood of water it was just struck by. The Croagunk's impression of the feral rose even further when it actually stirred on the ground, fighting to stand up once again. Its limbs were shaking heavily, bruises from the overwhelmingly powerful sprays of water forming rapidly on its blubbery skin. Now, staring at the nearly spent feral, the Toxic attack Clovis deployed earlier was clearly taking its toll on it; normally, Poliwhirl were gluttons for punishment. His moment of appreciation was cut abruptly short, however, as in the ensuing silence of the Clovis' assault, a deafening splash behind the two Pokémon rang ominously throughout the clearing.

Goro spun on a dime, turning from the Poliwhirl on its last legs to take in the source of the noise, only to witness another Poliwhirl emerging from the small pond of murky waters to the side of the flatlands, which he'd only glanced at before. This one was the spitting image of its kin, a rotund body adorned with stubby legs, strong arms with meaty fists, and a pair of bulbous eyes sticking out from the top of it. In contrast to their opponent, however, this one was fresh from the water and raring to go. It bustled toward them nearly as quickly as the last one did, it short legs pounding heavy on the muddy ground in its feral outrage. It made a beeline directly for the pair of explorers. Goro resolutely squared himself against the oncoming wild Pokémon, planting his feet in the dirt. Of course the fuckin' tadpole would have a buddy hangin' around. At least we got this one nearly put down.

Ironically, this put the two explorers in a bit of a conundrum; they were caught between two ferals, with one standing on its last legs for a final stand, while a fresh one charged at them recklessly. It'd reach them in perhaps ten, fifteen seconds; enough time for Clovis to turn and pepper it with another ranged attack, but that would mean turning their backs to the increasingly desperate Poliwhirl behind them. Either way, Goro had his eyes set on the newcomer, electing to plant himself and wait for its assault rather than meeting it halfway. It wouldn't do for it to get past him and trap Clovis between the two fuckers.

Spoiler:

As the roar of water exited Clovis' beak, the poliwhirl slid away, its water resistance not being enough to stop it from being pushed by the overwhelming volume it had been hit with. It stopped, and stayed downed a good distance from where it had started to be pushed- breathing but poisoned and clearly injured. It ought not to be in fighting condition for very long, however, if the Toxic attack did its part. Clovis could only stagger for a good second or so as the Hydro Pump came to an end, shaken by the pressures released during his own attack. He took a few aimless steps before steadying himself, and looking over to Goro, who stood still. Silence dominated for a moment. Clovis could think of nothing to say in the moment directly after that bit of fighting had paused- and he didn't really have much in the way of time to speak, either. The downed poliwhirl rose from the ground and back to its feet, harmed but undefeated, before a massive splash sounded from behind the two companions, prompting the both of them to turn around and see another poliwhirl, just as big and bad as the first.

"Oh, fu-" Clovis stopped himself with a peep and put his flippers to his beak. "Fooey!" Dealing with just the one poliwhirl had already left Clovis feeling sore and aching, dealing with another meant having two directions to worry about at the same time. The hell is this? I can't fight two at once! Teamwork is supposed to be an advantage to us, not them! He had to fight one of the two, and picking one over the other meant leaving his backside open, unprotected apart from by whatever efforts Goro could make. He could see the healthy poliwhirl charging at the both of them, but there was no way that he'd be able to do much meaningful damage to it with his ineffective attacks, no matter how much skill he put into their delivery. The other poliwhirl had already been bruised and beaten back; it'd make a better target, as Clovis knew it would be better to try and put one down before it could do much harm, rather than dish out minimal damage to the healthy one before being steamrolled by it in melee.

So much time had been wasted in thought, but this was of no matter; he didn't intend to loose another ranged attack until his target was close enough to have the shine of its eyes visible. With mere seconds of time remaining, the piplup turned himself back round, holding in yet another Hyrdo Pump, which he shot off at the previously hit poliwhirl, which by that time had advanced quite a way's distance towards Clovis. As before, a large, quick, but this time less intense and less prepared stream of water blasted out of the piplup's beak towards his target.

Hopefully Goro would be able to keep the new one off his back.

Goro watched with bated breath and an eager grin as the Poliwhirl hustled over to him, steps heavy and fast, the wild Pokémon clearly just as eager to throw down as he. One on one, he'd beaten Poliwhirl before, but he was in a deeper part of the dungeon, so he supposed it wouldn't be surprising if this one turned out to be more powerful than his usual fare. The other one certainly had; Even before the newcomer burst onto the scene, he'd seen the Tadpole Pokémon struggle to rise to its feet after the hefty beating he and Clovis dished out. No Poliwhirl in his territory was that tenacious or stubborn. In a way, he was a little disappointed he hadn't established himself in this deeper area of the Marsh; who knew how much stronger he would be if he was battling against these guys every day, instead of pithy little Poliwags and Goomies? One thing was for sure; he was hanging around here a lot more often.

The Croaguk met the wild Poliwhirl's charge steadily, as the wild Pokémon elected not to use any move or technique, only attempting to bowl the smaller frog Pokémon right over. But Goro was heavier and stronger still. The Tadpole Pokémon charged into him with all the weight of his bulky species lauded, and Goro held strong against the sudden assault. His hands latched onto the Poliwhirl's forearms as he dug his heels into the muddy ground, the two of them sliding in the treacherous, slick soil for just a moment before coming to a standstill. In turn, the Poliwhirl's meaty fists clenched down tightly on Goro's soldiers, the two Pokémon grasping each other as both of them attempted to wrestle the other aside. The Croagunk heard a torrent of water being unleashed behind him, either belonging to Clovis or his adversary, but just as he was about to turn his head to figure out which, a single, large Bubble rose up from underneath him.

He did a double-take at the sight, tearing his grasp from whatever was behind him to take in the strange sight, before the projectile detonated in his face with a deafening pop. He reeled back as much as he could, the Poliwhirl kept a tight hold of him, letting go of the Croagunk with one hand, raising one meaty fist high in the air before bringing it down with a sudden, sharp vengeance. The Poliwhirl's hand met Goro's shoulder with the harsh chopping motion, a textbook Brick Break if Goro had ever seen one. The force of the blow was as surprising as the move itself; unbidden, Goro's right leg gave way under the strain and the Croagunk fell to one knee, half-kneeling on the ground, his hold on the larger Pokémon suddenly tremulous and faulty. In contrast, the Poliwhirl stood over him with one hand clutching his other shoulder tightly, his hand raising in the air again as if to repeat the motion. As much as the Croagunk wanted to move, the Water-type's grip on his left shoulder was tight and unforgiving, stopping any jerking motion from taking him to safety. Belatedly, Goro lifted one arm from his hold on the larger Water-type in some attempt to stop the technique, but it was too little too late. The Tadpole's meaty fist chopped down again, this time on Goro's left shoulder, and all of the sudden the Croagunk was on his knees under the heavy weight of the Poliwhirl's fist, the twin Brick Breaks forcing him to the ground, visibly at the mercy of the feral.

Spoiler:

It was a familiar scenario, all things considered. Just as before, the wounded feral charged straight at Clovis, perhaps hoping to be able to body slam him with an even greater amount of success than had been achieved the first time. No doubt, if the poliwhirl had gotten another grab on the piplup without his ally for support, there would not have been much of a fight. But this time, Clovis had no one to pass the fight on to, Goro was already plenty occupied with the other feral. The passive strategy Clovis had used during the poliwhirl's initial charge went out the window, so to speak, and the only option he had was to contend with his foe directly. He had spun to see himself being charged with little time left to flee or reposition, thereby being forced to stand his ground. He launched the same old Hyrdo Pump attack as always, though this one quicker to come out and less focused than usual. It was a strong burst of water that came out of the piplup's beak, and it was sufficient to knock the poisoned poliwhirl down to the muddy ground. Still, it could have been better. Clovis had felt fatigue at other points in the same day, but it hadn't caught up to him through all the adrenaline and the fighting quite so badly before. The reason for his being so tired did not elude Clovis, he had been giving out Hydro Pumps left and right like they were free candy. It was only natural that he would be feeling weary after getting smacked around and repeatedly loosing his strongest attack.

Clovis' vision began to blur, and his balance became less steady. He could see the poliwhirl in front of him, still lying still, breathing, and not doing much else. That big creature's troubles were over, for the time being. Clovis' troubles were still present. He put one of his feet to the side and began to turn himself around, but his short legs and sudden desire for something to drink seemed to have messed up his footing. When he tried to rotate on his left foot, he failed to catch himself with the other, and spun himself right onto the ground. He gave a little grunt upon impact with the soft, muddy soil, and for a moment, his head seemed to spin. He had fallen in such a way that allowed him to face his ally, who, as Clovis' vision steadily came back to him, was struck by the healthy poliwhirl's fist on his shoulder, forcing him to his knees.

Clovis had to do something if he wanted to prevent Goro from being pummeled into the ground. There wasn't very much time to think about what he could do, nor was there really any time to even try and get up from where he had fallen. He had ranged attacks and a mostly-still target. So, he leaned his head up, and let cold energies form from his throat. Opening his beak, he attempted to fire a quick ice beam at the poliwhirl, but gave a single cough instead. For a good few seconds, Clovis did nothing but breathe, temporarily forgetting his companion, so that a moment could be dedicated to respite. When at last he had gotten in some good breaths, he shot off an ice beam towards the big poliwhirl, hoping to, at the very least, divert its attention.

((Not dead! Just busy. Sorry for the wait, pal))

Goro's body ached strongly, phantom pains coursing down from his shoulders all the way down through his stomach and to the tips of his toes, the strength of the Poliwhirl's meaty fists speaking for itself. He lay kneeling on the ground, half-hunched over at the feet of the bulky, fresh Water-type. He tried to be angry at the thought, but all that he could feel was a strong sense of exhaustion. He'd taken more than a few blows, at this point, after the Sliggoo and the Poliwhirl before. Goro wasn't exactly fragile, but his stamina had limits, and without liberal use of his Drain Punch attack, he feared he wouldn't be good for much more after this. Still, there were enemies in front of him and behind him, surrounding him and his ally both, and if there was anything he had to do right now, it was fight. The Croagunk squared his shoulders as much as he could from his position, staring up at the Poliwhirl with a growing sense of determination.

It had been perhaps a bad idea for him to try and meet the Tadpole Pokémon's charge head on, he realized belatedly, but in hindsight there wasn't much else he could have done, considering the Piplup behind him that was... less than capable when it came to fisticuffs. Goro watched with a strong sense of resignation as the Poliwhirl raised its fist once more in the air, the large white gloved right hand straightening in the air in the beginnings of a karate-chop motion, the sure sign of another Brick Break. The worst thing for him to do here was dodge, and leave Clovis open to an assault - he couldn't see from here, but he was sure that the Penguin Pokémon was dealing with his own opponent. No, he had to stall this one, at least until Clovis finished off his opponent and was able to assist with this fresh one.

The Croagunk surged to his feet, both arms raising in front of his face as if to block the incoming attack. In terms of size and strength, the Poliwhirl had the advantage, but Goro knew he had more body weight and was faster than the big brute. He wasn't sure that was worth much in a head-on fist fight, with Clovis behind him. The Poliwhirl's right hand chopped down with a vengeance, crashing into Goro's upraised forearms with a tangible sense of strength, the Croagunk suddenly struggling to stand under the weight of the powerful attack. It took nearly everything he had, but Goro threw his guard to the right something fierce, carrying with it the Poliwhirl's Brick Break attack, effectively parrying the blow. He still felt the tremendous pain and weight on his arms, but better that than trying to withstand the blow. The effort still forced him down, however, Goro once again falling to one knee in front of the larger, fresher Pokémon.

Just in time, too, however - just as Goro fell downwards, a bright, glowing beam of Ice-type energy lanced overhead, striking the Poliwhirl and catching it completely unawares. It staggered with the sudden, unexpected attack, taking several steps back before coming to an abrupt stop, particles of ice crystals circling around the Pokémon in the suddenly chilly atmosphere. Goro watched on in shock as a thin layer of frost slowly came over the Tadpole Pokémon, spreading from the center of its body where the Ice Beam struck, snaking outwards and encasing the feral in a coating of palpable frigidness. He stared uncomprehendingly before he suddenly realized what had just happened - Clovis, behind him, had launched his attack, and the Poliwhirl had been... frozen.

The beast stood tall on its two feet before Clovis and Goro, arms outstretched and eyes wide in surprised, a thick layer of frost covering the majority of its body. It stood shock-still, making no movements whatsoever, but surely it was still conscious.

Clovis merely shut his eyes and let his head fall back down to the ground the moment he saw the effects of his attack. From the ground, he saw that the poliwhirl had been hit and caught by surprise. On its outside, there had formed a covering of ice from the beam, which had apparently been deep enough to totally stop the creature's movement. He was some ways away from the poliwhirl, and it wasn't particularly bright outside, but he could still see the feral's exterior frost. Aesthetically speaking, it was a bit of an improvement. The way that the translucent white ice tinted the poliwhirl's otherwise drab hide almost reminded him of the feather pattern of a shiny piplup! With his head back on the ground, he lay and thought about the art that his attack had just produced. That silly poliwhirl, once a ferocious beast, had been reduced to an ice sculpture and an object of one piplup's amusement. Though, perhaps reduced was an inaccurate word. If the poliwhirl could serve the purpose of standing still and looking pretty like an ice sculpture, then really, it was being much more useful than it would be pointlessly wondering about, living for nothing more than to eat and serve as a nuisance to travelers. A civilized 'mon was nothing like that.

Truthfully, if he had been more determined to do so, he probably could have stood up after loosing the ice attack, but he had hit the poliwhirl, and frozen it, what more assistance could Goro need? Though now that he thought about it, laying down in the mud for longer than he had to was something that he would probably come to regret later. Clovis rose partially from the ground, stopping to get a few more breaths in before rising back onto his feet. There was no need to rush, the poliwhirl was frozen, Goro would have plenty of opportunities to knock its lights out. Probably. Really, Clovis hadn't taken too many hits himself, but if he had a chance to rest, then he would take it. Back on his feet, he stretched a bit, trying to get any remaining pains out of his body. He smacked the both of his flippers against one another to clean them, and wiped off the rest of his plumage. There were still stains on his feathers, yes, but he could deal with those later. There wasn't much he could do at that particular moment.

He ceased his cleaning and repositioned his feet, looking to get back into a steady standing position, so that he would be able to react to anything that happened. He paid attention to the croagunk and the poliwhirl as they did whatever it was that they did, but he didn't intend to tire himself out  by doing anything unless he had a pressing reason or an unrefusable opportunity.

For a long, tense moment, Goro could do nothing but stare at the sight before him. The Poliwhirl had been frozen by Clovis' technique. What were the odds? Here he had been, half-terrified and half-ecstatic at the prospect of fighting another, fresh Poliwhirl. They were his favorite opponents in the Marsh, true, but he'd also worn himself out by taking on several other strong opponents just before its arrival, and while the handicap it had over him was interesting, it lost quite a bit of appeal at the prospect of his ally vulnerable behind him. If he'd been on his own, squaring off against this robust, aggressive Poliwhirl with no one around to suffer the consequences if he was defeated, then he'd be interested in fighting the Tadpole Pokémon fairly. But with things as they were, his opponent encased in a thick, restricting layer of frost and his ally collapsing from relief and exhaustion behind him, Goro knew it was most sensible to not look a gift horse in the mouth, so to speak.

One benefit of having an immobilized opponent was that he didn't have to rush himself; Goro was able to take his time in putting the big brute down. Stiffly, the Croagunk rose back up to his feet and staggered backward, inhaling several large gulps of air and mastering himself. Truly, he'd gotten a hell of a workout today. He'd be feeling the after-effects of these battles tomorrow, for sure - no matter how liberally he applied his Drain Punch attack. The ache in his shoulders was no less pronounced, but slowly dulling as he stood tall on faintly-shaking legs. His back stung something fierce, as it had harshly chafed against the muddy soil of the ground several times today when he'd been tossed around by the Pokémon he'd battled - and that was to say nothing of his fists, his knuckles scraped and throbbing. All these injuries were signs of an excellent foray into the Marsh, trophies of a sort. A long, content croak crept out of the Croagunk, his head lolling backward in his moment of recovery.

He cast one more glance at the Piplup behind him, Clovis now beginning to stir and rise from the ground. Uninjured; only exhausted. Good things to see from his ally. Goro squared his shoulders resolutely, turning his attention back to his stunned enemy, taking in the frosty casing immobilizing the Poliwhirl one last time. Wordlessly, the Croagunk drew his right hand back to his hip, the dull hue of his most reliable move, Drain Punch, emanating from the curling fist. In a sudden explosion of movement, the Croagunk burst forward, shoulders and hips turning in rotation, his right fist shooting forward at the swirly pattern adorning the Tadpole Pokémon's stomach. It was the only part of a Poliwhirl's body that wasn't encased in the slick, oily sweat that made them such a pain to wrestle with - and thus, the best spot to bury his fist in. His Drain Punch struck hard and true, Goro's right hand sinking in deep in the Tadpole's midriff, a burst of tension and vitality surging down Goro's arm and filling him with a sense of physical relief. It also caused the defenseless Pokémon to hunch forward and topple over, arms and legs still comically frozen, sticking rigidly in place as the Pokémon fell.

For his part, Goro merely watched with a strong sense of amusement. It was nice to be able to take his time with this sort of thing, every once and a while. He didn't want to get carried away, of course - Clovis was standing right behind him, and the last thing he wanted was for his ally to get the wrong (right?) idea about him, thinking him a musclehead that only enjoys hurting others. That was only partially true - he enjoyed the thrill of a fair fight and growing stronger, as well, but nothing made him feel as powerful as causing another Pokémon pain in such a battle. Instead of mounting the still-frozen Poliwhirl and savagely beating the frost casing right off of it until it squealed for mercy, like he wanted, he'd have to settle for merely rendering it unconscious. Which... might be a bit difficult, considering it was frozen and he had no idea when to stop beating it.

Hitting it a few times was a start. Almost lazily, Goro raised his hand not dissimilar to the fashion in which the Poliwhirl had raised its own, when it used its Brick Break attack on him. He couldn't deny feeling a sense of cruel glee at striking the helpless feral in the same manner as it had him. Goro launched another Drain Punch into the center of the Poliwhirl's body, another surge of tension and vitality surging up his arm and filling him with a sense of relief and healing, before raising his arm once again and launching just one more for good measure. If Clovis asked, well... it was for healing purposes. Really.

At that, he was... marginally satisfied. But it was a good place to stop - he couldn't tell if the Poliwhirl was truly unconscious or not, considering it was frozen stiff, its eyes wide and unseeing underneath its frosty encasing. If it wasn't, then at least Goro would be in decent enough shape to deal with it, if it was stupid enough to come back after them. But it'd probably cut its losses and decide not to bum-rush the Pokémon that beat it so handily.

Spoiler:

The croagunk did not begin taking advantage of its opportunity to beat on its opponent immediately. Goro took his time to do anything, which was probably understandable. Goro didn't need to rush himself here, the poliwhirl was immobile. He ought not to have too many difficulties. Really, the only thing Clovis needed to do was wait on Goro to finish beating up the frozen creature so that it wouldn't be a threat when it thawed. Goro could handle this on his own, from that point on. His fists struck their target powerfully, as the poliwhirl was incapable of putting up much resistance. With just a single punch, it had fallen over, presumably as its frozen legs were incapable of moving to support its balance.

All of this punching was well, good, and necessary, and Clovis felt no qualms about watching the feral take a whopping, but, frankly, it just wasn't very much fun watching something else get beaten up without it giving any resistance. There was a much more important matter at hand anyway than the frozen creature's fate- that being the muddy brown state of his feathers! Parts of the penguin's plumage had been smeared brown by his earlier falls, and he had plenty of time to do something about them.

A Hydro Pump was... possible? But really, it just sounded like a lot of effort to go through when he had already exhausted himself by using them offensively earlier. There was a limit to the amount of water that could come out of the piplup's beak, and he wouldn't push it, even for such a worthy cause as getting himself clean, if it meant that he would be less capable of producing more Hydro Pumps when met with another opponent. For the time being, he had to settle with using his flipper-wings to aggressively pat dirt and other manners of small grass patches that had become stuck to the mud. While Goro struck the poliwhirl repeatedly with his hands, Clovis finished up his brief cleaning, and approached the croagunk casually, with little obvious concern for much other than further cleanliness.

"Goro-Goro!" He announced the croagunk's name twice, with some degree of enthusiasm apparent in his voice. The joy of victory was a joy that never seemed to lose its value over time- though this particular victory was one enjoyed by Clovis while he was in worse of a state than after fighting the sliggoo. This victory ought not to have been any less impressive, however, as this one had been done with equal numbers. The both of them had downed their own opponents in combat, and though they had helped one another at times, there was still no way in which it could be claimed that numbers were on their side.

As the Croagunk drew his fist back one last time, he took a long moment to inspect his handiwork. Or, their handiwork, rather. The Poliwhirl lay frozen on the slick, muddy soil at his feet, rigidly tensed up and encased in a thick layer of frosty ice. There were several cracks in the encasing, evidence of Goro's fists, fast-forming bruises spreading where his attacks had struck the immobile opponent. Still, the Poliwhirl lay still and frozen, eyes unseeing. It was the first time he'd seen an enemy encased in such a thick layer of ice - certainly, he'd seen Pokémon get frozen before, but this was the first time he saw it up close and personal, so to speak.

It was a humbling sight. At first glance, it wasn't evident if the Tadpole Pokémon was even breathing, let alone conscious. It wasn't too terribly damaged, but the signs of a hard fight were definitely forming on the defeated Poliwhirl's body. Had the great bulky beast not forced Goro to his knees, it might have been him frozen like that. Goro shuddered minutely as he appraised his fallen foe, suddenly glad that he didn't attack his now-ally like he would most travelers he came across. The last thing he wanted was to feel what this Poliwhirl was experiencing.

He was drawn from his musings when the Pokémon at his side chirped his name excitedly, the rush of victory and tension clear in his allies' tone. The sound brought a crooked slant to Goro's own mouth, the suddenly cheerful atmosphere contagious. Belatedly, he realized the gauntlet that he had just ran through. A Dragon-type followed up by two great big Poliwhirls? One after another, all in the same afternoon? What a day - he'd need to venture deeper in the Marsh more often, that was for sure. The tension in Goro's posture melted immediately, the Croagunk lazily turning to regard his partner, his cheer and the rush of victory visible in his manner.

"Now... that was a hell of a scrap, eh, partner?" Goro leaned forward, resting his hands on his knees, taking a moment to catch his breath in the sudden silence. The rush of Drain Punches that he'd struck the Poliwhirl with had done much to alleviate any remaining pains he had from the battle with the Sliggoo, leaving him only with a very satisfying dull throbbing in his fists and aches spreading through the rest of him. Still, there was something to be said for the fatigue he was feeling, the effects of fighting so much and so often catching up to the overeager Croagunk. He'd be feeling this in the morning either way.

Ah, Goro looked to be quite happy as well, sporting that big, goofy croagunk grin, and commenting on the fight as being a hell of a scrap. Indeed, it had been an exciting battle by every metric. The two of them had tottered on danger's edge by being charged, beaten, and thrown around. But despite everything that the dungeon had thrown at them, the pair were still living, conscious, and ever-victorious. "We've done marvelously, Goro. Marvelously." The piplup acknowledged his companion, as the croagunk took a resting stance. Goro was taking advantage of this moment of respite, as he probably ought to have. He'd taken some heavy hits mere minutes ago, afterall. Clovis had managed to avoid being hit more than a few times, himself, but all of the moving and the attacking was still tiring. Taking a little time to rest after something so strenuous was always a good idea.

The piplup stretched his wings a bit, trying to alleviate their slight soreness. He could feel a constant sort of background pain throughout most of his back, likely as the result of a poliwhirl's earlier bodyslam. That particular poliwhirl still lie a ways away, but there was another one, that had occupied Goro primarily, which lay quite close to both the piplup and the croagunk. Clovis gave the frozen creature a good looking at, so as to better gauge what had just happened. It was... frozen, according to every meaning of the word. In addition to the obviously present, albeit cracked and possibly thawing ice covering, all of its joints seemed to have been rendered immobile. Truth be told, that's the first time I've had that happen. The piplup shrugged. For the moment, Clovis was content to stand and breathe for a bit.

Goro fell silent after Clovis' remark, letting the moment breathe. The Piplup's words said it all; it was a marvelous set of battles. In his own territory, Poliwhirl were a very rare find, but he'd found two of them together not twenty minutes away from his stretch! They'd stuck together in the same manner that their lesser form Poliwag tended to do, taking safety in numbers and backing one another up in case trouble arrived. It was a particularly enticing observation; were there things that could threaten them, deeper in the Marsh? What else would he be able to find, if he ventured further into the Dungeon? Despite his current condition, sore and hunched over next to his ally in a similar state, he couldn't help but want to go on. March deeper, and test his strength against the things that caused these Poliwhil to stick together.

Still, he was wise enough to realize what a folly that would be. Against opponents that were any stronger, the possibility of serious injury only became greater. It was a wonder that the two Poliwhirl hadn't grouped together quicker and posed a more serious threat, instead giving Clovis and Goro ample time to weaken one before reinforcements arrived. Come to think of it, the possibility of another in the background wasn't entirely dismissable; exhausted, Goro rose his head and surveyed the horizon, pausing when his gaze traveled over the bodies of water around them. Any more Poliwhirls would have probably arrived by now, but there was always the threat of getting swarmed in a Mystery Dungeon.

"You do that on purpose, partner?" The Croagunk cast one last glance at the Tadpole Pokémon they defeated, his eyes roving from the frozen one to the unconscious one to the side, before crinkling in satisfaction. What an ally he'd found. "Gotta say, yer a lot stronger than I had ya pegged for. When I first saw ya, I mean."

Clovis remained standing throughout the break, seeing the dignity offered by standing as preferable to the extra rest provided by lying down, or to the awkwardness of trying to squat with penguin-legs. He didn't move much, or focus on anything in particular, with whatever entered his vision being less important than simply staying balanced and steadily letting the exhaustion wear off. Hopefully nothing else would warrant his attention for the time being. Clovis wasn't very much looking forward to having to move around until his fatigue had subsided.

Still, there was plenty of breath to speak. Goro spoke up, breaking the silence, and asked, perhaps sarcastically, if Clovis freezing the poliwhirl had been intentional. It wasn't, but it had still happened, and it was a good thing that it had happened, too. Goro would probably have taken quite worse of a beating if that last particular attack hadn't frozen the poliwhirl solid. I ought to be letting out ice beams more often, if that's how they work.

In addition to the little question, Goro was kind enough to provide something of a compliment to the piplup, telling him that he was stronger than his looks showed. And to this, Clovis agreed. A chance to brag a bit was always welcomed, after all. "It's true." At less than a foot and a half tall, he'd gloriously defeated ferals often twice his size with the aid of Goro, the local. He puffed his chest out a bit, and tilted his head upwards. There wasn't much more to say to that, really, but he felt a bit more eager to keep going after hearing the croagunk speak. With renewed confidence, Clovis declared his intention to keep going. "I think I'm plenty rested. Are you?" He looked straight at his ally.