Environmental Appropriation

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What would have perhaps been a somewhat tolerable area if not for its extreme saturation with water, Cattail Marsh served as a unique mix of unpleasant traits. It was difficult to navigate and made it practically impossible to avoid getting dirty, and the landscape wasn't particularly appealing to the eyes either. It was nothing special to look at, though some of the inhabitants supposedly had a tendency to put up a bit of a light show during the nights. It was daytime despite what the low light from the cloudy sky may have suggested, so the flashing lights of illumise and volbeat were nowhere to be found. Perhaps later into the day, this would change, but that remained to be seen. Besides, this wasn't a primary concern, at least for a certain blue-ringed umbreon who had made her way into the marsh.

Krikka despised the disgusting, soggy ground, and she knew it would only get worse as they ventured further into the environment and inevitably came across larger quantities of water. Thus far, she hadn't had to get her fur wet and dirty, but this would surely change in due time. She stared ahead into the awful marshland, silently dreading her decision to come here despite having reasons. She knew there was something going on in the area that had to do with one of the warring deities, but she had no interest in such matters. Furthermore, even if she had decided to take interest, she certainly wouldn't have chosen to assist Zygarde. But, alas, this day was not one for concern over someone else's battles. On this day, the umbreon had a different goal in mind.

What was her goal in coming to such a place that she despised? It wasn't to assist in the war, nor was it to see the light show. She had just acquired a new... asset, and, simply put, she wished to test his capabilities. A semi-aquatic environment seemed like a great place to test the limitations of a buizel. He had already proven that, at the moment, he was currently lacking in combat and skills in general. With this in mind, Krikka wanted to see if he could at least perform well in an environment tailored to him. She needed to get a good idea of his limitations before she could start making any efforts to help him overcome them. Plus, since she doubted it would be easy to get him to surpass her in anything on land, she was considering playing to his strengths and training him specifically for the water so as to give him a distinct use.

Krikka assumed this environment wouldn't be particularly unpleasant for Solus, but as for herself, she was not looking forward to it. She had stopped in front of a large body of water, knowing it was a sign that they were entering the true marsh. The water seemed shallow enough to walk through, at least for the time being, but that didn't mean she was eager to do so. She looked down at her reflection in the water in front of her, seeing her own displeasure with the situation. She then looked back ahead, hoping to find a way around getting herself dirty. Aside from cattails and the occasional tree, there wasn't much. "So, how well can you swim?" she questioned mostly out of curiosity. Swimming didn't seem required, at least at the current time, but she still wanted to know. Perhaps this was a question she should have asked before deciding to take her new buizel out for a test run. It wouldn't have mattered either way, though, as she fully intended to teach him how to swim if he couldn't already. Swimming was the best way for him to have an immediate use, so he needed to be good at it.

Krikka watched idly as her servant obeyed her command, stepping forward to speak with the angry-looking little frog. She didn't care what his reason for being upset was, nor did she fear him, but she still wanted to avoid any more conflict, at least for herself. Her fur had already been sullied enough for one day and she wanted to avoid making the situation any worse for herself. She would have to work so very hard to get back to her usual pristine condition after this... excursion. It wasn't something she was looking forward to, but something necessary nonetheless, so she wanted to at least avoid making it any worse on herself. With this in mind, she didn't actually expect Solus to be a better diplomat than her, but he would still serve as a good safety test. If the croagunk turned out to be hostile, it would surely demonstrate this upon being approached and spoken to. In such an event, of course, the new opponent would have to be dealt with, but she hoped it wouldn't come to this if only because it would mean more work and more dirtying herself.

She paid close attention to Solus' words, and while they weren't anything particularly impressive, she didn't spot any mistakes either. Still, despite this, the croagunk instantly responded in assault, rushing forth to strike its new target. "Great," Krikka muttered sarcastically to herself with a sigh, a bit disappointed that she was having to put forth so much effort. This area was supposed to be relatively mundane, at least compared to Venen Gulch, and she had hoped this would let her simply relax whilst teaching her new servant how to do things. Sadly, it seemed she would not be receiving such a privilege as a day of peace; her slave-buizel was about to get attacked, and knowing him, he was probably going to lose the inevitable fight. Miserably. He had an inconsistent ability to strategize, and physically speaking, he was relatively weak. His arsenal of attacks also seemed to be sorely lacking, at least, based on what she had seen from him.

The umbreon took a few steps toward the scene, moving at her own casual pace despite Solus clearly being in immediate danger. As if her intentionally taking her time wasn't already inconsiderate enough, she then froze, an idea forming in her mind. She had come here with the intention of sizing up Solus' ability to work in water, and she wanted to train him. She now had a chance to do both these things at once without having to lift a paw. The buizel was about to be forced into a fight, and while he was probably going to lose, he would still surely learn from it. But, more importantly, Krikka would be able to get a better idea of his capabilities, even if only slightly. Besides, what reason was there to bail him out in the first place? Sure, she had told him to go talk to the angry croagunk, which sort of made the fact that he was being attacked her fault, but still. It wasn't like he was going to die from a little tussle with some random thing about the same size as him.

Then again, the croagunk had been capable enough to take out one of the hostile poliwhirl with relative ease... Perhaps this was a bad situation for Solus, or at least, it would be if left alone for too long. However, Krikka had every intention of watching closely and stopping the conflict at the first sign of any significant risk to her buizel. She wanted to see him fight in the water, not let him die for no reason whatsoever. He was still her investment, after all, and he had been relatively tolerable thus far, so she was interested in keeping him around. But that didn't mean she was going to bail him out of conflicts if she didn't have to, so she didn't intend to help him in this situation unless she decided it was necessary. She would have liked to sit down while watching the conflict unfold, but she wasn't interested in submerging any more of her body in the water than necessary. She was especially uninterested in sitting on the cold, muddy ground below the water, which meant she had to just stand. It wasn't the most comfortable way to view a fight, and she felt a bit awkward standing around doing nothing, but it was the best she could do.

Then a concerning thought came to Krikka's mind: what if Solus simply didn't try? What if he avoided the fight or allowed himself to be beaten out of an assumption that she would help him if he didn't win? He wasn't particularly violent in the first place, or at least, not most of the time, so what reason did he have to go all out when he had a safety net? It wasn't like he had much to gain from it even if he did win, aside from impressing her. She wasn't sure if he cared much about her view of him, though, since they weren't exactly friends. He had made it clear that he feared her, though, so perhaps he would put forth some effort if only to avoid being punished for failure? She didn't intend to punish him for getting his ass handed to him, since... well, that was already punishment enough, but he didn't know that. Or did he? Probably not, but if he was aware that there would be no extra punishment if he lost, then there wasn't much reason for him to really give it his all.

...Then the devious vixen had an idea. It was insensitive and arguably cruel, but she was fairly certain she now knew the perfect way to motivate Solus to try his absolute hardest. She opened her still-soaked bag once more and glanced inside, seeing the perfect motivation. She still intended to wait for a moment to get a feel for how the fight would play out, but now, she knew a way to make sure Solus put forth every bit of effort he could muster.

Somehow, it didn't dawn on Solus that he was under attack until it was far, far too late. The buizel collapsed to the flooded floor of the marsh in response to the rather harsh hit to his face. Maybe he could have remained standing if he had realised a bit sooner that that was a fist coming for his face. Instinctively, he lifted his hand to his face, with the other hand being used to keep himself from completely submerging into the shallows. That was kind of a cheap shot, he thought as he felt the point of impact of the croagunk's fist with his jaw. What are the odds that Krikka's going to actually step in before I'm half dead?

Deciding that all peace offers were out the window and that it wouldn't be ideal for him to stay on the floor—both in the efforts to avoid looking pathetic in front of Krikka and in avoiding taking a beating uncontested—Solus quickly made his way to his feet while launching a Sonic Boom at the muddy water between the two. Utilising the distracting cover, Solus quickly retreated to the deeper waters. What are the odds this guy is any good in water? I'd say pretty slim, at least relative to my own ability. The goal now was to keep a distance. Based on the angry fighter's first attack, Solus was going to assume that his new enemy's combat tactics were pretty close combat oriented. Therefore, it would be in the buizel's favour to keep to the deeper water, where he was faster, and attack from a distance using his one and only offensive move. Sonic Boom was special in that its effective damage was almost unnaturally consistent. It was, however, also quite weak.

Solus took a quick glance towards Krikka to find that she was currently occupied with doing absolutely nothing. Cool, awesome, great. I'm on my own. Unless this guy decides it'd be easier to go after the Pokemon in the shallows. That'd be nice. Solus didn't expect to catch a break, though. Chances were pretty good that somehow, even if the croagunk did go after Krikka, that she'd somehow manage to persuade it into leaving her alone and continue to beat him up. She could do it, Solus was sure. And she would do it because she wanted to test him. Solus was hoping that Venen would be the end of her tests for him, but that didn't seem to be the case. Why she was so interested in keeping him around and making him useful to her he did not know, but he wasn't a fan of being treated like a tool that needs sharpening. Not that he actually had much say in the matter. He made a meagre effort to get Krikka into the fight with him—not that he actually expected her to bother while he was still standing. "Krikka, he's not being friendly..."

It was a dirty punch, but a clean hit. Goro felt the tension surge down his right fist, through his arm, and grinned amusedly as the Buizel in front of him dropped into the shallow waters, one hand rising to nurse his jaw while the other kept him above waters. Good feedback. How's yer jaw? In contrast to the Poliwhirl from before, it seemed this one would a much easier fight. Perhaps he should have let the other Water-type chase the Buizel down and picked apart the victor from that little duel; he might have been able to save the other Poliwhirl for later, that way. He glanced at the dark fox in the distance, wondering why it wasn't joining in. It just stood silently watching, eerie yellow eyes almost glowing in the murky swamp. Was it not going to save its little friend?

He was just about to lunge down at the little bastard when Solus suddenly lurched to his feet, leaping back just before a veritable explosion occurred between the two, an extremely heavy splash rising up and spewing water everywhere. His vision was disrupted for only a moment, the murky brown waters rising up against him, splashing wetly against his leathery skin. It must have been a Sonic Boom, but the Buizel had moved quickly enough that it just didn't occur to him to react. Still, the attack was obviously a distraction, and he had a hunch that the scrawny Water-type wasn't about to trade punches with a fighter like him. It was an escape attempt! Goro hurriedly threw himself forward, arms outstretched in a blind attempt to grab onto the slender Sea Weasel Pokémon, but unfortunately was only met with two fistfuls of mud, landing on his hands and knees in the shallow waters to the side. The Croagunk picked himself up slowly, lifting his gaze in front of him, taking in the Buizel suddenly swimming away, taking to deeper waters.

His quarry was that quickly out of his reach, floating in waters that were indisputably his territory. If Goro swam after the Buizel, it'd be a game of cat and mouse - and a losing battle. Goro could see it now; As soon as he dived into that water, he'd be forced to take Sonic Boom after Sonic Boom, or whatever else kind of Water-type attacks this particular Buizel knew. All the while doggedly chasing the much faster swimmer down, which was just... not going to happen. It was such an arrogant, prideful, and intelligent tactic that Goro was very, very strongly tempted to dive in anyway, just to prove the smug bastard wrong, but soothing his pride wasn't paramount here. The goal was to beat the hell out of both of the Pokémon trespassing in his territory, and taking this course of action was a good way to get beaten. Or even killed, considering what happened to the other Poliwhirl. They were one and one for murders around these parts - his parts. The Croagunk cast one last glance at the dark vixen silently watching them, scoffing in disgust and indignation. Who did these guys think they were?

Poisonous fists twitching in anger and frustration, Goro swung his gaze back solely on the Buizel, his expression vicious and hateful. He was furious at himself for letting the Buizel escape his clutches so quickly, but even more outraged at the Buizel itself, for bouncing back so quickly after his punch and escaping so quickly. Who the hell did this guy think he was, playing to his strengths like that? Did he just expect Goro to swim right after a Water-type? Hell, he probably did. He certainly seemed arrogant enough to consider such a thing, what with the way he walked right up to Goro in the first place - a poison-fighting hybrid. Did he not fear the venom that seeped through Goro's fists? Or the punch that just knocked him on his ass? All of this, after trespassing in his swamp. The Croagunk was worked up enough to spit fire at the pair of them, but they were both out of his reach for now. The Buizel in safer, deep waters and the fox was off standing to the side, just watching. What the fuck was this to her? Entertainment?

Abruptly fed up with the ridiculous situation he found himself in, staring down a Buizel floating in the distance while its companion watched stoically from the side, Goro snapped, raising a finger to point accusingly at the Sea Weasel Pokémon. "Ya think I'm stupid enough to chase a Buizel into deep waters? March yer fuckin' ass back outta there and take what ya got comin' to ya! 'Else I might decide I'll get a better fight out of yer girlfriend!"

Of course Solus allowed himself to be hit, and whether it was due to him being too slow or simply being surprised, the end result was the same. It was a bit disappointing to see him at an immediate deficit, especially when the attack wasn't exactly very covert, but it wasn't as bad as it could have been. At least he hadn't been instantly knocked out, and he wasn't crying or trying to surrender or anything. That was a good sign, or at least, a neutral sign. He even got back up from the blow almost immediately, which was actually a bit impressive. He then retaliated with an attack of his own, though instead of aiming for the croagunk, he struck the water between them. Krikka recalled him having used the same basic tactic on her, and so she knew he was trying to put ground between himself and his opponent rather than actually do damage. It was a smart tactic; he wanted to get to the deep water where he would have a distinct terrain advantage. He had probably surmised after being hit only once that he could not overpower this opponent, and he was probably right.

However, the croagunk appeared to have some level of intelligence as well, refusing to give chase into a disadvantageous environment. He then spoke, confirming that he had a brain somewhere in that aggressive little head of his. His words also confirmed that he didn't intend to willingly subject himself to a futile game of tag with a buizel, which meant the fight was probably over if Solus didn't get motivated to take it back to the shallow water. Krikka would have acted then and there to ensure the continuation of the fight, but it seemed the croagunk had more words to say, and now, he was becoming a bit... agitating. "Girlfriend..." Krikka growled to herself, gritting her teeth and tensing up at the remark and doing everything in her power to restrain herself. She now found herself wanting to handle this pest personally, both because he apparently thought he could take her and because he had been so bold as to relate her to the buizel in such an undignified manner. However, this was balanced out somewhat by how laughable the threat was; she was fairly certain Solus didn't intend to fight her battles for her unless commanded to, and she didn't want him to.

Suddenly, all signs of annoyance melted from her being. Her body loosened up and relaxed as her ears perked up and an indifferent, cocky smirk crept onto her face. This was all a facade to cover up her true emotions in the face of a stranger, but she was quite used to playing pretend, and quite good at it as well. "I wouldn't advise it," she spoke just loudly enough to be audible to the frog, not wanting to put forth any more effort than necessary to speak clearly. It was a simple warning and one she didn't intend to repeat, but it was one she felt the need to give nonetheless. If the overly aggressive croagunk still decided to attack her after being warned not to, then training be damned, she intended to lay him out. Still, she wanted to avoid that if possible, as her immediate goal was still to see Solus fight. Her gaze shifted toward the buizel to show she had nothing more to say to the previous focus of her attention.

"Solus," the umbreon spoke, still just barely loud enough to be audible. The lack of effort being put toward even the simplest thing probably gave her an apparent condescending demeanor, as if she felt that speaking wasn't even worth her time. She didn't mind if she gave off such an impression, especially since it was true. She reached her left paw into her bag, still staring at the buizel, and retrieved the teardrop necklace, allowing it to dangle by the string. She lifted the little trinket above her head so as to make sure Solus noticed it before she continued. "Win and you get this," came her simple offer, and in truth, it was a deal she intended to hold true to. She didn't actually expect Solus to win, but in the event that he somehow did, she was fully prepared to simply give him the necklace. After all, he seemed to have long since given up on trying to get it back, so she doubted it was his reason for sticking around her. Therefore, she didn't really need it as leverage to get him to stay, and while it was a pretty accessory, it wasn't that pretty.

Krikka was fairly certain that with her pet's fragile mental state, he would eagerly accept this proposal. She knew it was cruel to tease him with such an enticing reward when he had little hope of actually winning the fight, but she could think of no better way to motivate him. She didn't intend to count it as a win on Solus' part if he made the croagunk forfeit by way of not wanting to go into the deep water, but she assumed he knew this and thus didn't bother to mention it.

Fleeing to the deeper waters of the marsh had proved to be the correct strategy. The croagunk was clearly furious; his anger from before only escalating now that Solus was out of his reach. Now the guy was telling him to come back into melee range so he could beat him, and his motivation was threatening to hurt Krikka. That on its own was funny, but addressing Krikka as "girlfriend" was too much. For the first time in a while, Solus actually found himself laughing—a short bout of chuckling followed by a deep sigh. It was funny, and he might have actually laughed more wholeheartedly if it weren't for the true nature of their relationship. This guy really has no idea what's going on here. I might not be a huge threat, but if he sets of Krikka... You'd think the poliwhirl was a fair enough warning.

The buizel's attention was pulled from his own thought upon hearing Krikka addressing him. He turned to face her in time to see her withdraw something from her bag. Upon realising what Krikka was offering, Solus's body tensed. The necklace; Xeno's necklace. He needed it. The reason in the forefront of his head was so that he could eventually return it to Xeno. In reality, the biggest motivator for getting the little trinket back was simply the fact that he had failed to get it before and he felt an instinctive need to redeem himself. It was an offer that he could refuse, even if he was facing neigh-impossible odds. The fact of the matter was that he didn't actually know his odds of winning. At the very least, the croagunk probably had move useful moves in his arsenal.

"I'll just have to play dirty, then," Solus murmured to himself as he reached into his water drenched bag. Withdrawing a Gravelrock, Solus didn't hesitate in hurling it directly at his croagunk target. The moment the rock left his grasp, Solus proceeded to bolt towards the shallows between Krikka and his opponent. Krikka wanted him to fight alone. If he stayed in the deeper water, there was a good chance the blue-black-orange grump would just drag Krikka into the fight, and then the necklace would be out of Solus's reach again. He couldn't let that happen. Upon nearing the shore, Solus stood in the shallow water and withdrew another Gravelrock, preparing to throw it the moment the croagunk came too close.

((Fun fact: the Gravelrock does the exact same amount of damage as Sonic Boom.))

When Goro taunted his opponent, this wasn't the reaction that he expected. What he'd hoped for was that the Buizel would get incensed and angry at the threat to his female companion, and perhaps man up to come fight him on dryer land. Instead, the vixen off to the side had some words of her own to put forth, speaking condescendingly and imperiously to the frog Pokémon, her posture relaxed and indifferent while an incredibly frustrating cocky smirk violated her smug face. At this point, the both of them were wearing on his nerves heavily, and he found himself looking forward to dealing with the mystery Pokémon once he finished beating on the Buizel in front of him. He was surprised, however, when the dark fox reached into her bag to retrieve a little necklace, dangling it in front of her companion and promising it to him as a reward. The Croagunk was as confused as he was grudgingly amused by this little aspect. Looks like she wears the pants in the relationship. That meant she was stronger, after all. Or at least more dangerous than his current opponent.

However, when the Buizel in the distance actually laughed at his comment, Goro had to physically stop himself from marching off over to him and beating him bloody. These guys were as arrogant as they were rude, storming into his territory, killing off his entertainment, and having the nerve afterward to mock him like this. He couldn't remember the last time someone laughed at him like this! I'm gonna break his face. His fists were almost shaking in his eagerness, the tension and hostility palpable in his posture, the Croagunk leaning forward fervently while the Buizel's chuckles died off, the Water-type taking in the necklace his partner was presenting to him. Apparently, it did the trick, and he had only a moment to wonder why the fox Pokémon would want her companion to fight him head-on like he wanted. Perhaps they weren't as buddy-buddy as he assumed. Either way, he had every intention to beat them unconscious.

He tensed further when Solus reached into his bag, pulling out something too small for the Poison-fighting hybrid to see. Goro perhaps expected another golden spike or some other kind of weapon, but whatever the Buizel was holding was small enough to fit in his paw. Quick as a whip, the Buizel pitched his chosen weapon in Goro's direction, the item looking to be some sort of... rock. The Buizel just threw a rock at him. He boggled at it for an instant, stupified at the realization that this was really happening, before snapping out of it and focusing on the task at hand. He thought about dodging it for only a split-second before scrapping the idea, the Croagunk planting his feet into the wet soil and raising his fists. If there was one thing that put him off about the murder that happened moments earlier, it was that they used a weapon to do it. It'd be one thing if the fox got carried away during an attack and went too far, but to use a weapon was to aim for killing, consciously seeking to murder your opponent. And that was something he just disagreed with; Why kill your opponent when they could get stronger and challenge you again? It was a waste!

No, he'd stand his ground against whatever fucking toys they wanted to use! It definitely wasn't smart to sit there and risk taking a rock to the head, but he had a point to prove here. His eyes tracked the rock as it was pitched toward him, making a straight arc for his face, the Buizel apparently possessing some decent aim. His arms rose to block the projectile, bracing himself to absorb its impact as well as he could. The strike was not at all what he expected, an unnatural shocking pain piercing his guard and washing through his body, the rock shattering against his raised forearms harshly, bits of debris scattering about. The attack was more piercing than he expected, certainly, but it wasn't extremely damaging, and he'd managed to hold sturdy against the weapon and not flinch. Probly ain't smart to sit here and wait for 'em to toss more, though. Instead of rushing forward to attack, like his opponent perhaps expected him to do, Goro dropped his arms from his high guard and stared at the Buizel in front of him angrily.

"Are ya fuckin' serious? Yer chuckin' rocks at me, now? Come fight me, godammit!" His fists tensed at his side as Goro shouted at his enemy, stepping forward ominously, his expression tight and furious. One used a fucking spike and the other was tossing rocks. How wimpy could you get? Why not fight with your own power? Unless he really was that weak, that tossing pebbles was his best bet, but in that case, venturing to Cattail Marsh was just a stupid thing to do. "Use yer water moves, use yer fuckin' Booms, I don't give a shit! But fight like a fuckin 'mon! Don't ya got any fuckin' pride?!"

It didn't take long for the deal to register in the buizel's head, and when it did, it seemed the decision was easy for him to make. His manner of fighting immediately shifted to one of more aggression, with him taking initiative to attack. He decided to use the tools at his disposal, presumably as an attempt to make up for his lack of viable attacks and avoid wasting energy. This was smart, but how effective would rocks be against an opponent who had already demonstrated himself to be a competent opponent capable of taking a hit? Krikka didn't have much time to wonder this as the first stone was cast practically immediately. The croagunk surprisingly didn't even try to avoid the rock, instead simply putting his arms up and allowing it to hit him. She assume that either he was lacking confidence in his ability to dodge... or he had far too much confidence in his ability to win this fight. Either way, it was definitely a bad move to simply take the hit, and if Solus was smart, perhaps he would take advantage of such exploitable behavior.

The buizel proved intelligent once more as he used the rock as a distraction to get himself back into what his opponent had dictated to be their "arena." With how aggressive the croagunk had demonstrated himself to be so far, it seemed reasonable to assume he would have simply attacked without hesitation, had Solus attempted to evacuate the deep water without first taking precautions. The buizel then prepared another rock, though rather than tossing it instantly, he hesitated, seemingly waiting for the foe to make a move first. Krikka couldn't help but wonder how much that would really do to stop the croagunk if he decided to actually come forward, but she figured there were always sonic booms to fall back on if a single stone wasn't enough. Surely, Solus was ready for the possibility that one meager attack would not be enough to accomplish his goal. Otherwise, he would learn this lesson among others in defeat, and Krikka would feel no sympathy toward his failure.

It seemed the croagunk had a brain as well, refusing to take the obvious bait and rush into easy striking range. This put the two at a stalemate that would continue until one of them decided to change their course, but which one would break first? That was hard to tell, but it was clear which one was having more trouble accepting the situation. The croagunk, who was showing himself to be one of very... colorful language, was clearly getting fed up with the behavior he seemed to view as cowardly. Krikka couldn't help but find his insults funny; she didn't see how using everything at one's disposal made them less "prideful," nor why pride even mattered in a fight. All that mattered in war was the winner, not what tactics they used to come to their victory. If this silly little frog was too foolhardy to use anything other than his own natural power, then any resulting defeats were his own fault and no one else's. Insulting the opposition for not playing by his rules when they had no reason to was simply idiotic.

Still, Solus did have pride, as the umbreon knew very well by this point. She couldn't help but wonder if he would be baited into doing as his opponent demanded with his pride under attack. This was mainly a question of whether he actually cared what the croagunk said, but if he did, it stood to reason that he would probably cease his current plan and just go back to using his one weak attack. If he did this, his victory would hinge on him being able to stay at a safe distance and having enough energy to throw out sonic booms until the croagunk couldn't take them anymore. Krikka doubted he would be able to do such a thing, but she was open to being wrong on this one, especially since she still didn't know exactly how strong the other combatant was. She knew he had a temper, though, and she also knew a temper could be abused if treated properly. She doubted Solus knew how to manipulate someone's emotions to help him win a fight, but perhaps he could be taught after experiencing how an angry idiot fought.

Come to think of it, while Solus was relatively weak, he was also competent enough, so perhaps this would be the best area for Krikka to focus on whilst training him for combat. After all, outsmarting one's opponent could easily make up for a steep difference in raw power and natural aptitude for fighting. And, even if he struggled to apply any potential teachings to combat, honing his ability to think would still be useful in general. Already, she was learning a lot from watching this fight, making it pretty clear that she had made the correct decision in trying to force it to happen. She allowed the necklace to slip off of her paw and fall back into her bag as she watched, her eyes glued to the scene. She was eager to see how her pet would handle himself, and at the same time, she also wanted to see how mad the little froggy would get. Seeing someone so enraged was very entertaining to her... and seeing the two hit each other was equally fun.

It was likely obvious to any observer that the croagunk was trying to be provocative; trying to drive Solus into fighting in a way that he deemed correct. However, Solus wasn't falling for it. He had a goal: that goal was to get his prize from Krikka. It was what was important right now, and that meant Solus had to win. To win, he needed to fight smart—that didn't mean he had to fight fair, or to anyone's code of ethics for fighting; except Krikka's, but she hadn't said anything yet, so as far as Solus was concerned what he was doing was perfectly acceptable. If Goro was going to spend time complaining about how he was fighting instead of retaliating, Solus was perfectly okay with that.

Upon first seeing the croagunk, aggressively attacking the poliwhirl in place of himself, Solus was somewhat intimidated by the Pokemon's aggression. Now, however, Solus was starting to get annoyed. This guy talks a lot for someone who wants a fight. The buizel tossed his Gravelrock a small distance in the air and caught it, growing a bit bolder now with the lack of attacks coming his way. He decided to voice his thought. "You talk a lot for someone looking for a fight," he tossed his Gravelrock up again and was struck by an idea. He caught the rock again, and slowly returned it to his bag. "You want me to fight on my own, no item assistance? Fight like you?" Solus took a few small steps towards the croagunk as if he was actually going to comply. "So, you want me to fight like an idiot?"

Solus didn't bother waiting for Goro's reaction. Trying to manipulate me into fighting at a disadvantage... Sorry, I already fell for that once with Krikka. Solus was hoping that his words would serve as a sufficient enough distraction to slow his opponent's reaction to his next move. The buizel withdrew the Gravelrock from his bag once more and launched it toward the croagunk. That, however, was not the end of Solus's little manoeuvre. He immediately followed up the Gravelrock with a Sonic Boom—Goro had asked for it, after all. It was simple: words to distract from the rock, the rock to distract from the Sonic Boom. Solus had every intention of winning this fight, and that meant he had to be thinking the whole fight—no stupid tackle attempts like he had done against Krikka in their first confrontation. He was ready and willing to grasp for any advantage he could take and willing to go pretty low to put his opponent at a disadvantage.

Krikka wanted a fight, Solus was sure, and returning to the deep water would almost certainly stagnate the fight into nothingness, so that might not be an option anymore, but most anything else was. Solus hopped back to his original position and tensed, ready to dodge any incoming charge attacks, or anything similar to what the frog had done with the poliwhirl earlier. Solus had no intentions of ending up like that poliwhirl. Evasion would be key here. Where his attacks were individually weak and wo9uld have to wear down his opponent over successive hits, all Goro would need to do is corner or restrain Solus long enough to get a few good hits in. Therefore, Solus would have to favour keeping out of reach over constant, repetitive attacks.

Winning this fight was priority number one, but making it enjoyable for Krikka was secondary. It was part of why he went for an insult as a distraction rather than anything else. Solus would be spending a lot of time with the umbreon, and keeping her happy and entertained would make everything a lot easier on him, so that was a constant motivator for him. Although he did occasionally slip up, such as just earlier when he suggested Krikka might have gone a bit far—something he only realised wasn't smart to say after he said it—he was sure to try and make up for it in actions. Retrieving her spike for her without being asked, for example. If Krikka's opinion of him could be messured on a point system with positives and negatives, Solus felt he was constantly balancing at around zero. He was trying harder to fix that, and this fight would be a perfect opportunity, so long as he didn't lose. If he did lose... Krikka would be disappointed, which in itself wouldn't be anything new, but it would be a new topic for her to belittle him with. That was another reason he needed to win this fight.

Goro's plea seemed to have fallen on deaf ears. Instead of pocketing his little pebbles and fighting with his own power, the Buizel elected to toss it up in the air, catching it again and offering bold, cocky little words. The arrogance of the pair was wearing thin on Goro's nerves, and it occurred to him that he really was wasting his time, trying to get the fight he wanted. There was no doubt in his mind that he was physically stronger than the Buizel, but it had an edge over him in terms of speed and evasion, and it had ranged attacks, to boot. Even if he played by Goro's rules, like he seemed to be considering, depositing his pebble back into his satchel and stepping forward slowly, Goro was still going to have to weather any projectile moves and find a way to get into striking distance. It would be a game of cat and mouse - except he stood a much better chance here, outside of the water.

He did have an advantage in that he lived in the Marsh - he knew the land well, and could normally traverse the swampy, muddy trails with minimal difficulty, unlike most travelers coming through. They were in relatively shallow waters, however, and while the Buizel had elected to hash their issues out here to avoid a stalemate, Goro wasn't going to be moving any faster than him, even if he did manage to get him into more treacherous grounds. He'd have to charge through whatever ranged attacks his opponent put forward before he could step into his range and lay into him. The game was clear to him, now: Sea Weasel Pokémon's superior range and speed against Goro's superior physical strength and tenacity. All he had to do was get close to the little bastard, and it'd be smooth sailing from there. Easier said than done, though. Boy wonder ain't gonna shy from playing dirty, judging from the fuckin' rocks he's playin' with.

Goro wasn't terribly surprised at the remark Solus tossed his way, expecting the rudeness and arrogance at this point. The two hadn't done much but shit on him since they got here, treating him much like the feral they killed, like a game to be played. He was silent as he bore the Buizel's taunt, furious but focused, eager to get their fight started in earnest. The sly rock pitch, however, did shock him a little. The little cheat was as sneaky as he was arrogant! Trained and well-maintained reflexes guided Goro well, in this instance, the Croagunk leaning forward and swaying right heavily, his left arm raising up to guard his face instinctively. It wasn't the cleanest dodge of his life, as the Gravelerock still managed to strike a shallow blow against his forearm, a skin-deep cut scoring on him, a thin trail of blood peeking out of the light wound. The Sonic Boom, however, Goro was less equipped to deal with. His eyes widened as Solus launched his attack, masking an attack behind two distractions, and cursed himself for fighting so passively. He needed to close the distance between them, quickly; there was nothing to be gained while his enemy was comfortable in his own range.

Goro planted his feet in the muddy soil and raised both arms in a hasty guard, leaning forward as to brace himself against the incoming projectile. He saw the Poliwhirl tank the attack earlier, and he'd soon proved himself superior to that particular Pokémon, so he was confident enough in his ability to withstand this attack. He nearly staggered against the force of the blow, forced back half a step as the shock-wave penetrated his raised guard, washing over him harshly. He was more shocked than hurt from the attack, as the diminutive size belied the shocking force behind the move. The Tadpole Pokémon earlier buckled under the projectile, but Goro managed to stand relatively firm, in contrast, shaking off the damage wearily, before raising his head and charging forward for the first time.

Alright, shit-head. Let's have it out, like yer askin' for. He saw Solus tense as he returned to his original position, preparing to deal with whatever assault Goro planned, but the Poison-fighting hybrid had no intentions of throwing a big swing and getting ducked for it. No, this little bastard clearly preferred fighting smart and dirty, so Goro would repay the favor as best as he could. As he neared the Buizel, Goro thrust his left arm in front of him, flexing the veins in his wrist powerfully, face pinched in furious concentration while his multi-colored fingers jabbed forward with a clear sense of purpose. A split-second later, a stream of purple-black venom surged from his poisonous fingers, his natural venom striking out in Solus' general direction. The attack was meant to trigger a reaction, more than anything else; Goro stopped his charge as soon as his poison sprayed forth, tense on his feet as he watched carefully for the Buizel's reaction. He was leaning forward on his haunches, arms spread in front of him, prepared to leap forward in whichever direction the Sea Weasel Pokémon dodged.

This was his ploy; he'd lunge forward after Solus while he evaded the poison stream and make a grab for the slippery Water-type, in order to get him in his grasps. Getting a handle on the slender Buizel would no doubt put him in Goro's striking range, and that was his ticket to victory.

Krikka listened closely to the buizel's words as she watched, paying more attention to him than she normally would even though he wasn't speaking to her. Simply put, he generally wasn't quite so interesting as in this situation, and so the umbreon's attention was hooked on him. Plus, it wasn't terribly often that she had an opportunity to sit back and watch someone else fight. Solus was doing surprisingly well so far, but she wanted to see how he would react to being baited with his own pride. At first, it seemed he would actually fall for it despite how obvious it was, going so far as to put the rock away as if in some kind of show of good faith. However, Krikka wasn't one to make assumptions lightly, and so she kept an open mind about the situation as she watched it unfold. She had practically enslaved the buizel using his own pride, so she knew it was there, but she wasn't sure if his current opponent would be able to exploit it.

To her relief, her pet proved himself to be a bit harder to get to than the croagunk seemed to have hoped for. After stalling, probably to get closer and have time to think of a strategy, he suddenly lashed out with a surprisingly intelligent attack. It seemed he had figured out that just pelting the frog with rocks wasn't doing much, so he followed the next rock up with a sonic boom to confuse the target and inflict as much damage as possible while remaining safe. It was a good move, but probably not one he would be able to repeat easily now that his foe would be ready for it. He was making an effort to keep his distance as well, which was good since getting close would probably grant him an instant loss in the fight. It was fairly obvious that the croagunk was mostly geared toward close combat, and Solus was quite the opposite, which meant he would be at an extreme disadvantage if caught. Plus, he was pretty weak on top of it all, which would simply make it even worse for him.

Solus probably didn't have many tricks left to use, but there were still two things going for him. First, he had a distinct range advantage, and as long as he managed to keep it, he could make things very difficult for the croagunk. The second advantage he had was something Krikka was actually a bit impressed with, as it wasn't something she had truly expected him to manage. He had a mental advantage, as he was keeping himself calm and ignoring all provocative words from the croagunk. He was even returning with some choice words of his own, which had potential to further skew the clarity of mind in his favor. If he kept up with that tactic, then perhaps he could make the croagunk sloppy enough to be less threatening. He was already strategizing, so if he could make sure his opponent did the exact opposite, he would have a clear and dramatic advantage. Alas, there was always the risk that this would simply drive the croagunk to push through attacks in rage, which would make it harder to stay away from him. If Solus couldn't handle the situation properly, then it would probably end badly for him.

The insult had been entertaining and the combo-move intelligent, but the croagunk still seemed to be clear-headed enough to actually think. Rather than simply trying to rush blindly forward, he instead shot... something... from his hand toward the buizel. Considering the nature of croagunk, Krikka assumed it was poison, which would be very bad for Solus in the long run if he managed to be hit by it. He would have to slowly wear his foe down, so he needed to avoid being put on a timer by poison if he could. With that in mind, he was in a bad situation in which most outcomes resulted in him either being poisoned or opening himself up to another attack. Krikka recalled having done something similar to him in their first meeting; she had attacked twice in succession so as to hit him while he was busy recovering from having to avoid the first attack. The croagunk was surely planning on trying to get into close range by forcing Solus to focus on avoiding an attack rather than running away.

Still, the umbreon stood quietly and calmly as she watched, not yet feeling that the fight was over. Thanks to her, Solus had already experienced similar tactics to this, so if he was smart, he would know what not to do. If he played it right, perhaps he could actually win this fight, even from the bad situation he was in. As long as the sudden ranged attack didn't take him by surprise and he kept a level head and learned from his past experiences, he would surely be able to keep his range advantage. Otherwise, the fight was basically done already, which would make it a rather disappointing little tussle. Krikka hoped or it to provide just a bit more entertainment than it had as of yet, which meant her buizel needed to keep himself in it a bit longer. Still, even if he did fall so soon, he had already performed better than expected and shown that he actually had some potential for combat. He was able to think strategically and discard petty things such as morality and honor, and that was far more useful than a strength advantage.

Perhaps he would be a good investment yet.

Admittedly, Solus was surprised that Goro took both the Gravelrock and the Sonic Boom. If his strategy was to simply take each and every attack Solus threw at him, this might not be too long a fight. After bearing the attacks, the croagunk charged forward but stopped short. Solus managed to hold his ground despite the approaching threat, opting to try and dodge at the last moment in an effort to disrupt any close combat attack, but no such attack came. Instead, the croagunk opted for a ranged attack, which Solus recognised as some kind of poison attack based on appearance alone. The strategy behind the attack was obvious—it was perhaps one of the most basic, yet effective, combat manoeuvres. It was intended to provoke an evasion attempt, to force the target to move into position for a different attack that would be harder to avoid. They—Krikka and Solus—had used a very similar tactic against a skuntank.

The strategy didn't work well, however, if the target didn't attempt to evade the ranged attack. The buizel raised his arms to his face if only to protect his eyes from the attack. Solus had more than his fair share of experience with poison back in Venen Gulch, where he had managed to accumulate something like three different sources of poison all at once and somehow survived. He had endured the full effect of a skuntank's Venoshock. He was pretty sure he was ready for whatever it was this croagunk was using. Upon the toxin's contact, Solus was... Underwhelmed, to say the least. It did hurt, but minimally, like being pricked with a thorn. Maybe the lack of effect was due in part to a tolerance gained from past experience, but regardless of the reason, this was actually a little disappointing. He didn't even feel the after effects of poison, meaning if this had the ability to cause lasting effects, it had failed to do so.

Solus decided to take advantage of the situation by bringing to attention his adversaries failed attempt to harm him, in hopes that he could further enrage the croagunk to the point of recklessness Solus dropped his arms to the side, tilted his head as if confused, and spoke in a condescending tone—something he had great experience with, having heard it all too often from Krikka. "Was that it? I just got back from Venen, you're going to have to try a lot harder than... Whatever that was." Solus concealed it, but he was prepared to dodge and counter against any melee attacks Goro attempted next. They were in much closer proximity now, which meant Solus was losing the range advantage. However, this also meant that there was less travel distance for the buizel's Sonic Boom attacks, which meant they'd be harder to avoid. And if he could send his opponent into a senseless, blind rage, he could exploit that. If Goro bull charged him now, he would evade, get just behind the croagunk, and hit him in the back with a point=blank Sonic Boom.

Initially, Solus wasn't looking forward to the trip to the marsh. Now, though, he was actually starting to enjoy this. Mostly because he wasn't losing for once. Granted, he wasn't really winning yet, either. Still, he'd only taken the Two attacks—and the first was a cheap shot. For the first time in a while, Solus was starting to feel truly confident. He was going to win this fight, he was going to win that necklace, and he was going to prove to Krikka that he isn't useless. Or, at least, he thought so.

((Rolled a d6 for the poison chance, with 1 and 4 being poisoned. Rolled a 5. Solus is doing so well rn we're going to have to start fixing that soon.))

Goro watched in stupefied confusion as the Buizel in front of him elected not to evade the poison stream flying through the air at him, raising his own arms to guard his eyes against the surge of venom and bearing it stoically. There was no flinching, no surprised cry or remark, only a smart block and a resolute tenseness in the Buizel. Clearly, is opponent had been through a few scraps, seeing through Goro's little ploy like that. Admittedly, Goro's own poison was very weak in comparison to other Poison-types, not bolstered by some kind of technique like Toxic or anything similar, just the natural venom that ran through his own veins. He'd actually never experimented with the substance, as he much preferred to do his fighting up close and personal, rather than wear his opponent down with toxins and trickery. There was, of course, his Poison Touch, but that usually happened by chance during any scraps he was in, and only occurred every so often rather than something he aimed for.

I wonder... There was his Poison Sting attack, which was a rather weak move on his own, but there was always the chance it could poison its target, and coupled with his Poison Touch, there might be something worth pursuing in the future. For now, though, he'd much prefer to simply knock the lights out of his opponents. Goro stared resolutely in front of him as the Buizel said something, but at this point, the Croagunk was hardly listening to whatever words or distractions his opponent was offering. He'd done nothing but speak nonsense and mockery so far, and the Poison-fighting hybrid had no desire to hear any more of it. After all, he was in his range. Goro was in his range, and if there was any time to lay down a beating, it was here and now.

Goro wasted no time on words, gauging his distance carefully, fists raising to chest-level. He had to restrain himself here, despite how much he wanted to clobber the arrogant prick in front of him. If he went in too eager, he'd throw to wide a swing and be open to a counter-attack, and despite the relatively dull shock of the Sonic Booms his opponent tossed about, he knew too many of them would do him in. And that just wouldn't do, not when he had so much work to do. There was the Buizel in front of him, of course, but there was also the smug little vixen to the side taking in in the scene like some sort of act. Condescending bitch. He banished her from his thoughts quickly, staring at the Water-type in front of him hatefully, before stepping forward hard, closing the distance between the two Pokémon quickly. Goro's left fist suddenly struck out in a razor-fast punch, his multi-colored fist almost a blur in motion. It was straight and fast, a textbook jab thrown to test the waters, so to speak. If it did land, it might sting some, but it'd be noticeably lacking in power compared to the hook that Goro snuck in earlier when the Buizel foolishly approached him.

His other fist stood raised at his chest, rigid and aimed carefully at his opponent, ready to swing out or defend depending on the Buizel's reaction. This was the opening gambit; what kind of fighter was his opponent? At this point, it was abundantly clear to Goro that he favored long-range combat, as he'd already been peppered with a few Sonic Booms and even a couple rocks, but how did he fare in close combat? Would he sink or swim?

Either way, he knew this game well. He'd been taught to fight, and what he lacked in experience against intelligent opponents he'd have to make up for with tenacity. But there was no need to have to stick it out of he fought smart, hard, and fast. He'd gauge his opponent's reaction time with this jab, and if he failed to move then the Buizel would have to eat a punch. And that would be the best case scenario - from there he'd have leave to strike out at the Buizel at will, and at close range, at least a few of them would connect. If the Buizel was quick enough to react, then it was textbook in-fighting to stick to him and throw more attacks. It might seem bullheaded and stubborn, but nothing said damage like a fist in the jaw.

Either the buizel wasn't quite as creative as Krikka had hoped, or he simply didn't care about the attack.  Either way, he didn't choose the worst option, but certainly not the best one either, opting to simply take the attack rather than open himself up to something worse.  "I would have blocked it with my bag, but I guess that works," she muttered under her breath, not aiming for it to be audible to anyone else.  Still, despite her personal disagreement, she couldn't deny that the tactic seemed relatively effective.  The attack seemed to do virtually nothing to the buizel, implying it was about as weak as it looked, though it was a bit difficult to tell from an outside perspective if it had poisoned him or not.  Even if it had, though, Solus still held the advantage in the fight since the opponent would have to keep going long enough for the poison to even matter, which would surely be difficult.  Krikka didn't foresee the fight lasting quite long enough, regardless of who the winner ended up being.

The tactic of simply taking the attack certainly seemed surprising to the croagunk, which made since with Solus' behavior.  He had made himself look like a coward throughout the entire fight, so to an outsider, it could easily have seemed like he was one.  The umbreon chuckled under her breath, having learned all too well that of all the things he was, a coward was not one of them.  He had purposely provoked her on multiple occasions despite knowing the consequences of such a thing, all for the sake of his own pride.  He was by no means lacking in fear, but that didn't make him a coward.  Of course, Krikka would likely still take any opportunity to call him one regardless, but not everything she said always had to be true.  Sometimes, it just had to be insulting for her to decide to say it, even if it was entirely false.  But despite the fact that she would gladly take the opportunity to insult her buizel by calling him a coward if given the chance, she still knew he wasn't one.

This was further proven when Solus spoke up, antagonizing the croagunk once more without even a hint of hesitation or concern.  By now, it was clear that he knew exactly what he was doing with his words, though whether it would work or not was still up in the air.  Either way, it was at least entertaining to see what kind of rude remarks he could come up with.  He was actually surprisingly decent at it; perhaps she was rubbing off on him?  Wishful thinking, maybe, but it was a nice thought nonetheless.  Sadly, despite this foe's clear attitude, it seemed he was pretty good at keeping himself under control.  This wasn't the best situation for Solus to be practicing such a tactic in, but on the bright side, he would probably learn more from this than if it had been easy.  It would just come with the possible drawback of him being pummeled in a losing fight.  It was still possible that he would win if he kept playing smart and held the advantages he had, but as of yet, nothing he had done seemed to really accomplish much.

Despite his apparent plan having fallen flat, the croagunk had still gained an advantage in the form of closing some of the distance between Solus and himself.  Of course, he immediately tried to take advantage of this, which was about the best move he could have made at that moment.  Solus was surely ready for something so obvious, but would he be able to do anything about it?  He almost certainly wouldn't win if he was caught, so he would have to regain his lost ground somehow, or at least maintain what little he had left.  However, this was easier said than done since his opponent was more competent than appearances would have suggested.  The little frog was surely aiming to end the battle as quickly as possible by getting up close, and he had to know he wouldn't win in ranged combat if that pathetic poison squirt was all he had, which meant his main goal was figuring out a way to get in close.  On the flip-side, Solus' priority was clearly to keep his distance and avoid being caught, and it seemed the winner would be decided based entirely on whose strategy was successful.

If Solus lost, which he probably would, his time was likely to be even less pleasant than he knew.  Krikka was already preparing for the likely loss, knowing she would probably have to get the croagunk off of him to avoid letting her property be too badly damaged.  However, given her distance, the only way for her to quickly "rescue" the buizel would be with a dark pulse, which wasn't a particularly precise move.  In other words, she would almost certainly hit Solus in the process of saving him.  Oh well.

Solus was ready for a charging attack. Unfortunately, his cutting words didn't seem to be enough to provoke an outright blind rage, so his opponent's approach was made with more caution than the buizel would have liked. It was still a fast approach, too, and Solus was far from adept at fighting in such a close proximity to his adversary. Still, he managed to avoid taking the jab by taking a quick few steps back. The range advantage he had had was gone now; Goro had the advantage so long as this remained true.

I'm not losing this fight! I need to get some distance again... Evaluating the situation now, he was starting to see how quickly the tide of the fight could turn if he didn't act smart and quickly. Even if he managed to dodge Goro's next several attacks, he would inevitably be backed into a corner and end up being pummeled. Solus only had one way of escaping from the croagunk—it was something he had used multiple times before and had even used once already in this fight. Firing off a Sonic Boom at the ground below his opponent's feet, Solus used the mud that was kicked up from the impact as cover so that he could bolt and gain some distance once again. If he was lucky, perhaps the attack would even trip up his opponent.

Distance was key. Every time Solus pulled that Sonic Boom trick it would become increasingly less effective. In fact, Goro would probably expect it now at this point. So what now? If he couldn't keep separating himself from Goro, then what would he do when the croagunk closed the distance again?
Something he'd do within the next few seconds, no doubt. Solus withdrew another Gravelrock—the third of six he had with him. The moment Goro started toward him, he'd make another Sonic Boom attack and throw the Gravelrock at the same time, replicating the ranged pincer attack once more. Come on, just let me beat you so I can get that necklace and get on Krikka's good side for a minute!

Regardless of how this fight ended, Krikka wasn't going to be any nicer in the long run, but it'd be nice to be praised rather than insulted for once. On an unrelated note, Solus was beginning to think that he'd need to invest in some new techniques. He preferred ranged combat, but without anything to assist him in melee range he was extremely disadvantaged in such a situation. Additionally, he did only have one ranged attack—his only attack—and it was pathetically weak. He didn't even have any offensive water-type move. Huh... I'm doing unreasonably well right now, come to think of it...

It was a good punch. His shoulders were square, body turned side face, and his fist swung quick and true. His left jab was fast and heavy, and he'd expected the ranged fighter to be caught off guard from the first punch he threw. But, surprisingly, the Buizel was either ready for it or possessed some impressive reflexes. His fist struck nothing but air as Solus quickly stepped back from the attack, none too eager to duke it out at close range. Thinking on it, the dodge probably wasn't as impressive as he first thought, as it didn't take a genius to realize that the Croagunk was going to want to start swinging once he closed the distance between them. Retreating was the right call, here - Goro wasn't shocked at this little tidbit. The Buizel would have to be crazy to want to fight at close range with a Fighting-type like him.

And he probably wasn't crazy - just arrogant and cocky. Even still, his opponent was clearly smart, or at least smart enough to realize his strengths and fight according to them. No matter how much Goro wanted the Buizel to stay close to him, it simply wasn't going to happen. He'd have to chase the faster Pokémon down and to do that he needed to fight harder. Stick to him at all times, wear the Buizel out until he gets tired and slows down, or swing hard and often enough to get a lucky punch or two in. Goro pressed forward as soon as Solus stepped back, stepping hard and fast to keep up with the retreating Buizel. He had no intentions of letting this opportunity escape him, as he wanted to finish this particular scrap hard and fast, so he could deal with the presumably stronger Pokémon that was waiting for him. How's he gonna get outta here? Turn and bolt? Or take to the waters?

Or, maybe... Goro halted his charge abruptly, planting his feet in the muddy ground. His opponent was fleeing, and that was normally the last thing he wanted to happen in a fight like this, but if his gut was right, then some distance at this particular instance wouldn't be the worst thing for him. He stopped completely as Solus retreated further, and just like before, Goro watched the Buizel fire off a Sonic Boom at the shallow waters at their feet, a large splash of mud and water immediately rising up to cover his escape. At this distance, Goro wasn't caught by the attack itself, only having to raise his hands to keep the mud and water out of his eyes as Solus presumably used the distraction to create some distance.

True to form, Goro stood stoically as the water fell and Solus stood a distance away, withdrawing another rock from his bag. Was that his strategy? Again? Hang back and pitch rocks? The Sonic Boom trick hadn't created a lot of distance between them, and as soon as Goro ducked under one pitch, he could rush forward again and start throwing punches. What was this Buizel thinking? Didn't his opponent realize how lacking this tactic was?

Goro took both attacks last time, just falling short of dodging the rock and being forced to tank the Sonic Boom, and while it wasn't a pleasurable experience, neither was it particularly damaging. He had to wonder at the Buizel's strategy, and why this was all he was willing to do. The fight had just started, true, but if all he was going to do was pitch rocks and fling weak projectiles, then it was only a matter of time before Goro waded through them and caught the slippery bastard. The Croagunk was more curious as to why his opponent wasn't using any Water attacks - they were fighting in shallow waters, true, but if he recalled correctly Buizel could store and generate their own water. He couldn't be short on ammo, could he?

Or was he conserving his strength for the rest of the dungeon? He didn't know what the pair of Pokémon were originally here for, after all. The thought drummed up a sense of rage in Goro - if his opponent was trying to save energy by not taking him seriously - that would be as stupid as it was insulting. Goro snarled at his opponent as the thought occurred to him, fresh anger coursing through him at the continued arrogance of his opponent. Best take me serious, ace, or yer gonna get hurt. Bad. Wordlessly, Goro started forward slowly, closing the distance between them with one stoic step at a time. His steps were tense and on edge, the Croagunk prepared to duck under any rock throw or roll out of the way at the first sign of a Sonic Boom. He'd have to weave through whatever ranged attacks his enemy put foward, and he'd have to be quick enough to catch him when the little shit inevitably started running again.