Rotten Fun

Cattail Marsh was a horrid mystery dungeon. The flatlands were inconsistent and mucky, composed of equal parts soggy soil and overflowing lakes and ponds, the two often overlapping. Thick, tall, stubborn cattail plants - which the dungeon was named for - rose up out of the ground, forcing travelers to regularly smack them out of their faces as they attempted to traverse the flooded swamp. Navigating the place was hard enough, but getting through clean was almost impossible. For that reason, it was somewhat isolated (at least during the day time). The only Pokemon who could be found in the flatlands were either wild, or travelers on their way to the infinitely more profitable and dangerous Misty Mire. And almost all of them were incredibly disgruntled about their location - even the ferals were born here, lived here, and died here were not fans of their surroundings. Travelers were usually just focused on seeing the night time show and getting out as soon it was over.

Because when the sun fell and the air cooled, the firefly pokemon - volbeat and illumise - would all rise into the muggy air as one and light up like a beacon, casting a gorgeous reflecting light down on the normally horrid flatlands. It brought the locals together, and it was probably the only thing that the marsh was really known for, aside from its overabundance of... mud and muck.

Goro the croagunk disliked nights at Cattail Marsh. He was a pokemon who valued privacy, and he had stumbled upon the flatlands for the first time during the day. He remembered falling instantly in love with the disgusting locale, and was incredibly dismayed when he spotted tourists running about the dungeon that following night. But he'd stuck it out, eventually coming upon an abandoned swamp shack and establishing the area around it as his own territory - by beating the snot out of any wild pokemon who came near it. It was the sort of life that he absolutely loved. He could spend his days foraging and patrolling his stretch of the swamp, as it were, and falling asleep to the view the fireflies provided was admittedly very nice.

It was a very satisfying, if short-sighted, lifestyle that he'd settled into. But he loved it. As the croagunk rose up from his crusty and half-ruined straw bed in the middle of the afternoon, it was with a lazy smile on his face. Goro ambled out of his incredibly small shack and into his 'front yard', as it were. In truth, he suspected that someone at Rainfront once used the now half-destroyed structure as a sort of fishing shed, since it sat upon a rather sizable bank next to a very large pond. But now it was his home, complete with a manner of little knick-knacks that he'd found, including his very own chest and bed. He took a moment to stumble down sleepily to the foot of the pond before kneeling down and washing his face in the dirty water, paying no mind to the uncleanliness of his actions. It was the start of another day for him.

He planned to spend the afternoon patrolling his stretch of the swamp and foraging for something interesting to eat - stopping only, of course, to 'play' with any pokemon that he came across. The thought of exercise first thing in the afternoon brought a flat smile to the croagunk's face before he turned and wandered off into the flatlands, yawning loudly, uncaring of who might hear.

[Energy: 25 - 15 = 10]

Poised upon the lone branch of an old, dead, tree sat a quivering ball of purple fur as he stared across the vast landscape of natural devastation that was Cattail Marsh, which he'd somehow convinced himself to visit, against all better judgement. In fact why was he here, really? This was insane! The swamp before him was like every Aipom's worst nightmare. The very ground, which he'd taken for granted everywhere else, was a sloppy, shudder-inducing sponge in this place.

Of course, Cracker was no stranger to the nature of these places, but he'd only ever seen pockets of land ruined like this, and never went near them. Cattail Marsh was something much different and much larger. It was practically a graveyard for trees, with only a few sturdy species that had adapted to the change. Unfortunately, they were so sparce, that travel by tree was impossible. These weren't the typical variety either. They weren't just mossy, like in the jungle back home, they were slimy, and wet.

In fact the whole region seemed to give off a rather unpleasant odor that made Cracker cover his nose with disgust. It smelled like rot to his senses, which wouldn't have been so bad if it weren't so pervasive. Even standing at the border to the dungeon, he could smell the fishy, gag-inducing aroma wafting his way on the afternoon breeze. Ugh... this is horrible... Why am I doing this...? he asked himself again, but this time he answered out loud.

"To... to conquer my fears, right? Y-yeah. To get stronger, a-a-and braver. And... and that means no more hiding in trees!" he declared, obviously trying to psyche himself up for the next step.

Fortunately he'd come prepared for this venture. Though he was no longer dressed in his leaf-cloak in a half-baked attempt to impersonate a fictional outlaw, the monkey wasn't completely naked, either. He wore a home-made backback of his own design, made from a gold ribbon, and had his joy ribbon secured around his neck. And most importantly, on his chubby little feet he wore a pair of carefully crafted footwear, composed of twigs and leaves. It was like taking a tiny bit of the forest with him wherever he went, and so far it had made ground travel much easier.

Now however, he needed to put it to the ultimate test. He had to explore Cattail Marsh, not because he wanted to, but because he needed to. At least, that was his reasoning. Since he'd been avoiding this bog like the plague, it only made sense that this would be the place to conquer both his irrational aversion to walking, and his fear of dark, scary places in general. The swamp sure fit the bill as an unwelcoming cesspool, but he'd come this far; he couldn't just turn tail and run now. Well... he could, but he refused to. F-for now at least.

Taking a deep breath, the monkey closed his eyes and took the final plunge, jumping down from his wooden perch, to the soft, mossy ground that lead down to the sludge water of the marsh, where a pathway of half-rotten logs had been constructed by unknown Pokemon a long time ago. First impressions were reasonable. His handmade shoes kept his feet dry, and it felt like he was still on a branch. The next few steps towards the shore however, began to worry him. The ground sloshed and squished wetly, threatening to leak into his meticulously tailored footwear.

Beginning to panic for the final stretch, Cracker eventually succumbed to his fear and jumped into the air, using the beefy hand of his tail to catapult him onto the first log. He landed feet first, and with surprising grace, but then the slippery wood beneath his feet rocked slightly, threatening to thrown him off balance. For a few tense moments, the Aipom's arms pin-wheeled in the air as one leg flailed in the air, then the other. Until finally the log underfoot stablized.

Already sweating bullets, Cracker let out a loud, relieved sigh, "Arceus, that was a close one...!"

Now that he was this far, the monkey found it easier to regain his nerve and continue onward. So long as he didn't think about where he was going, or what he would do when he got there, or even how he'd get back, Cracker could walk with steadily growing confidence, his brave front only interrupted whenever the log path he walked along started to wobble. Eventually he even began to hum an awkward, tone-deaf tune, which only grew louder the more content he became.

This actually wasn't half bad, so far. Maybe he really was just scared about nothing.

(Energy: 28 - 0 (home dungeon) : 28)

For his part, Goro was only really concerned about waking up, locating breakfast, and getting in some exercise. If he was lucky, he'd find all three at the same time in the form of a wild pokemon getting too close to his place. He much preferred the barboach that swam along the deeper pools of water around here, but luring them close enough to the bank that one could snatch them out was tricky. Still, it required hanging relatively close to the shoreline of water, so that was what he did. Goro was unique in that he was probably the best pokemon around at navigating the flatlands, as he'd made his home here for quite some time, and at this point, it was second nature to him. He deftly avoided mudholes and cattail plants with the absentminded nature of someone who had dodged them a thousand times before, and would a thousand times more. Still, it wasn't as if he was getting through clean, at times cutting through stretches of water as high up as his waist, sloshing through carelessly. His leathery skin was easily stained by the clumps of muck, mud, and filth that he waded through without a thought, and given his relative carefree nature when it came to hygiene, he probably didn't look that much better than any of the wild croagunk around here.

The sight of a croagunk prowling about the marshes wasn't even an unusual one, either. His kind was common around these parts; He was just special in that he migrated to the flatlands, rather than being born in them. But he was unique in the way he loved the marsh during the daytime, rather than the nighttime - the thought of sharing his mystery dungeon with so many other people was not pleasant to him. The outlaw had been known to chase off a number of travelers before, just as often as he was likely to take them in and treat them to a meal. Goro was a fickle pokemon, prone to make whimsical decisions based on his mood and how he felt at the time, rather than considering the consequences of any actions he took. This carefree and thoughtless attitude probably had something to do with why his face was on a wanted poster in the first place.

The poison type croaked absently as he waded through a shallow section of a pond, ankle deep in water as he peered at the horizon. He was searching for any sort of movement, anything hinting at another Pokemon in the vicinity. He wasn't picky when it came to breakfast, though he certainly had his preferences. Berries and mushrooms he could tolerate, but he much-preferred fish. For that reason, he was sure to give thoughtful glances into the deeper side of the pond he walked alongside, eager to catch something to appease his now rumbling stomach. But it all seemed for naught. To his growing frustration, his territory was rather empty this afternoon. The wild pokemon nearby had learned their lesson a little bit too well, because he generally did enjoy it when he got a challenger. It just seemed that even feral pokemon could take a hint, and once again he began to give serious consideration to expanding his territory somewhat. To one day be the head honcho of the entire flatlands was a mouth-watering prospect, but there were pokemon present that he couldn't sneeze at. Some of them could - and had - lay him flat on his rear. It would take time, effort, and a lot of training for him to become strong enough to attempt such an endeavor, even with the joy ribbon he had tied around his left bicep.

"Fishy, fishy, fishy, fishy..." Goro mumbled absently to himself as he came to a pause in his stroll. He cast a speculative gaze onto the pond he was circling, peering deeply within for any sort of movement. What he didn't see, though, was the aipom perhaps thirty yards behind him walking steadily atop a chain of logs. "Come on out n' feed me, fishy fishy fishy fishy..."

After only a few minutes of walking, Cracker found that the path before him actually branched out in several different directions, the ancient log trails taking advantage of the dry patches of land that littered the region. Unfortunately, this meant that a direct path from one end of the marsh to the other wouldn't be as forth-coming as he'd initially hoped, and something else he failed to consider, was the likelihood that he might get lost.

Luckily for now, at least, the full reality of the situation hadn't hit him. He continued to believe that moving forward would get him to the otherside, so long as he stuck to a singular path. However when ten minutes went by, then twenty, and he still couldn't see any sign of a path leading out of the swamp, he started to grow nervous. He began to wander almost aimlessly, trying not to think about the fact that with every step he was getting more lost.

Eventually Cracker had to stop and rest, after spending nearly half an hour wandering. At some point he'd finally all but given up hope of finding the exit. Now all he wanted was to find the entrance again. For all his planning, he failed in the most important aspect. Plotting his route. Or at the very least, leaving a trail he could follow back if he did get lost. C'mon, that was survival 101 back in school..! Ugh.. why didn't I listen better? the monkey thought bitterly.

All of his troubles always came back to his renegade youth, and the education he'd missed out on, wasted on being a delinquent. Of course, he hadn't forgotten everything from those days. He knew enough about identifying his surroundings to realize, with considerable dismay, that the very rock he'd decided to sit down on to recover, was the same one he'd passed three times already.

Frustration held parallel with his fear of the situation, but through it all he was still trying to maintain a positive demeanor. Even if no one was looking, he wanted to appear friendly and approachable, and resist his natural urge to mug them as a way of saying hello. Unfortunately, any Pokemon he encountered here were more likely to be aggressive, but the area he found himself in now was oddly still and empty. Not that he minded, so long as it stayed that way until he got the heck out of here.

As soon as he'd recovered his stamina, the Aipom was back on his feet again, returning to one of the log paths that hopefully would lead him back. By now he was so turned around though, that he was essentially guessing. In fact, he was actually beginning to hope he might stumble across another Pokemon, a friendly one, that he might get directions from. However, such an encounter didn't seem likely in this place.

And he was still inclined to believe that, even when his mindless wandering brought him to stand behind a muddy, muttering Croagunk. Cracker stiffened on the spot for a second, instinctively reacting with terror before logic stepped in to override it. The other Pokemon hadn't seen him yet, and by the look of it, he was too busy staring at the swamp water to notice the purple blotch on his land.

The Aipom's first thought was to retreat back the way he came, and not take his chances with the feral-looking poison-type. But if he did that, he'd be instead taking his chances on finding his way out on his own. And what if he never did? What if night came, and all the scary Pokemon came out of hiding? He'd be trapped and surrounded with no hope for survival. All because he didn't ask the dirty frog for directions. Well... he wasn't going to let that happen!

Sufficiently psyching himself up for the task ahead, Cracker puffed out his chest and put on one of his best smiles before continuing to trudge down the wobbly log path. He kept relatively quiet as he grew closer, almost afraid to announce his presence, in case the Pokemon really was feral. But they'd been talking to themselves--muttering really--but actively speaking words. And most ferals weren't inclined to do so. However... he was also talking about eating the fish Pokemon that lived in the water...

Needless to say, the Aipom was adequately nervous as he awkwardly cleared his throat and reached out with his tail's appendage, only to hover-hand in obvious hesitation over whether to actually make contact with the poisonous Pokemon. "H-hi! E-excuse me, but... I--I'm kinda lost, and... haha, well, I was uhm... I was hoping you might know how to get out of this awful place? O-o-of course if you don't, that's fine, too. A-and if you're actually an angry feral about to attack me, then--th-then, well, hah... y-you can just forget I was ever here, and... and I'll be on my way?"

Despite himself, the last few words came out as a squeak, but he'd been rambling well before that point anyway, and now he was contemplating whether to hightail it back the way he came and avoid the consequences of what was surely a huge mistake, or stand firm and pray he wasn't about to be killed.

Goro thought he had spotted something resembling movement, or at least heard something, but once again as he peered thoughtfully into the pond there was nothing to be found. Maybe going hunting first thing after he woke up wasn't the best idea - he was off his game something fierce today. The croagunk straightened up and looked across the pond, now, taking a moment to appreciate his own territory. Truly, it was a very small stretch of the swamp surrounding his place, but it was his. If he squinted, it was probably the first thing of actual value that he'd ever owned. There were a few knick-knacks back home in his chest, but nothing resembling property or like that. The shed wasn't his in the first place; It was now, because if someone came back and tried to reclaim it... well, they'd have a fight on their hands. But he had a feeling it wasn't exactly worth much given its location and state of disrepair. But he did own a little bit of land in the swamp - even if the only pokemon to formally recognize it was him and the feral pokemon close by who now refused to come near him.

In his introspective musings, the croagunk completely missed out on any all signs that someone was behind him and steadily approaching. It wasn't until he felt a firm tap on his shoulder that he was spinning around instantly, nearly jumping out of his skin. His fists were already hovering at his hips ready to start flying, but to his confusion, the thing in front of him was definitely not local. The absurdity of seeing a purple monkey-like creature in his swamp, followed by the intense nervous rambling that it immediately began, had him somewhat stunned into inaction. Instead of lashing out and picking a fight with this traveler, beating them up and chasing them out of his dungeon, his eyes narrowed and his jaw dropped slightly. It fell further and further down as the pokemon continued talking on and on, only snapping shut when it trailed off into a clearly nervous squeak.

The other pokemon's words had registered to him, somewhat - he was lost, he needed directions out, and he really did not want to get attacked. Normally, that would be a prime invitation for Goro to, in fact, attack someone. But truthfully he only preferred to fight strong-looking pokemon, or those he needed to in order to defend what was his. This pokemon was neither; He was trespassing, of course, but he was apparently trying to get out anyways. And given his incredibly nervous, perhaps even slightly fearful demeanor, he didn't exactly get Goro's blood pumping for a battle. If anything, the fighting type found himself disappointed. He'd set out not fifteen minutes ago looking for someone to battle or something to eat, but instead, he got something that didn't fall into either category. He didn't eat things that could talk to him.

The croagunk closed his eyes and spent only a moment to wish desperately that the pokemon in front of him could have been something else - like a poliwhirl, or a froakie. Those were fun to scrap against. Instead, he got a trespasser who actively wanted out of his place. Just his luck. He sighed disparingly, before resigning himself to playing escort.

"Yer not... ugh. Fine. Follow me." His own voice was husky and thick with sleep - he really did not need this so soon after waking up. He sneered at the strange purple monkey pokemon, turning fiercely away from it and began marching in the direction he had come from, jerking his shoulder away as he did so. His mood had gone from cautiously optimistic to fiercely irritated in a matter of seconds, and now he really was wishing for something to take his frustration out on. He paused after a moment of walking, turning back to glance at the monkey pokemon to make sure he was following.

The second he dared to make contact with the Croagunk's rubbery hide, the Pokemon had whipped around on him with such ferocity that Cracker reflexively jumped back and shielded his face with his little arms. He'd fully expected to be attacked at that point, quivering on the spot as he regretted everything. This was it, he was a goner. That poisonous monster was going to pummel him to death and probably eat his carcass, and--

Wait... did he say to follow?

Reluctantly, Cracker lowered his arms and opened his eyes, staring after the retreating Croagunk who'd accepted his plea for help. It took the stunned simian a few moments to really process that he wasn't in danger, though; that he'd in fact found his salvation. When it finally clicked however, his grin returned in full force. The purple monkey suddenly beamed excitedly as he danced on the spot. All of his previous fears vanished in that moment, while he was consumed by the joy of meeting another Pokemon that didn't immediately want to beat him up.

"Y-you're not gonna kill me? Oh! Praise Arceus! What a relief!" the monkey exclaimed, his own mood shifting from nervous and afraid to obsurdly optimistic.

Realizing he was being left behind, the Aipom clopped hurried across the log path in his clunky wooden shoes, stumbling periodically until he reached the stability of solid land. Or at least as solid as it got here in the marsh. Now that he wasn't lost and afraid though, Cracker's attitude had shifted sharply. He seemed to brighten up both in spirit and in color, like the swamp had been trying to suck the luster from his vibrant, purple fur. It really only made him harder to look at though, especially with the shiny, golden backpack he wore. There was no denying that he stood out like a sore thumb in his current surroundings.

"You really had me going for a second there," the monkey giggled as he followed closely, "I thought for sure you were gonna attack me. But I'm really glad you didn't. I don't know what I would've done I hadn't found you, honestly. You must really know you're way around here, huh? Do you come here often? I bet you know why there's no other Pokemon around. Haha... I mean, if I'd had go looking for someone else to help, I don't think I'd even find anyone. This place is like.. deserted, haha...! But that kinda makes sense, I guess. I mean, who'd want to live in a stinky, slimy place like this!"

Cracker clearly had no idea who he was talking to. Considering the Croagunk's grungy appearance, one could only assume he regularly bathed in the algae infested waters of Cattail Marsh. It fact, it was likely only due to that layer of dirt that the Aipom hadn't gone and poisoned himself by touching the poison-type. But of course, he was oblivious to the frog's highly toxic nature, as he was oblivious to the threats most Pokemon posed.

As Cracker started back up again, chattering a mile a minute, Goro's shoulders rose as he hunched in on himself further and further. At first, his guest's words were mildly annoying and, admittedly, slightly amusing. He wasn't above flattery, and when the purple monkey all but admitted to being scared of him for a second, it was kinda funny. But then he caught up and started up again, giggling absurdly before rambling off once more, and it took every ounce of willpower that Goro had not to turn on the spot and put his fist down the monkey's throat. Oh, by the legendaries. He's a talker. His hairless brows were twitching with every word the aipom vomited out, fists clenching tightly on themselves. Somehow, this creature had managed to immediately annoy him - not even seconds after meeting. His lips parted in an unconscious frown as his flat teeth began to grind against each other, and his eyes darted to each side of the horizon, desperately hoping for a distraction. Shut up, shut up, shut up, please shut up.

He'd dealt with travelers before. He'd even escorted a few out like he was now, but never in his life was he so eager to attack one.

Goro wasn't even a good Pokemon. It wouldn't surprise him if he were on a wanted poster somewhere, and it said something about him that if he were he wouldn't know why, exactly. But he liked to think he was above senseless violence on undeserving victims, and even if this monkey kind of deserved a fist to the jaw, he wasn't quite there yet. There were common outlaws who enjoyed petty crimes, and then there were monsters who thrived off of discord and mayhem. He liked to think of himself as something in between - he enjoyed violence, especially good violence, but he wasn't going to go around beating up just anyone.

This monkey already had him absently reevaluating the merits of crossing that line.

It was when his guest reached the height of his rant that Goro prematurely snapped, immediately halting in his march. The two had been walking somewhat side-by-side; The croagunk was fine sludging through muddy pathways and shallow waters, uncaring of how dirty he got, while the aipom stuck to drier grounds next to him, using the aid of logs when available. The toxic fighter turned abruptly, the shallow water at his feet splashing up around him as he faced the normal-type monkey. His expression was angry, almost insulted, and his demeanor was hostile, hands clenched into fists at his side. He liked to think himself above senseless beatings, but that didn't mean he was immune to snapping.

"It's mine," His voice was low, angry, and suddenly very awake. His words escaped in a hiss of anger, and his eyes narrowed as he stared at the monkey who had unwittingly insulted the territory that he was very proud of. Of course, he didn't exactly elaborate - what 'it' could be was up to the aipom's interpretation. Nevertheless, it was abundantly clear that something the traveler had said just set this croagunk off, and all of the sudden he wasn't so friendly.

the sunset hero carried out 10 launched of one Cattail Marsh :

, , , , , , , , ,

Though the Aipom wasn't as quick to stop when his guide did, he didn't get much further than a couple feet before stepping into a particularly muddy patch of land that instantly engulfed his porous footwear and clung fast to it. Suddenly Cracker was stuck, and just as the furious-looking Croagunk rounded on him to utter two words, dripping with venom. Moisture proceeded to seep into his shoe then, and a chill shot up the monkey's spine.

His composure completely collapsed upon the realization that not only had he angered the Croagunk, but now he was trapped as well. He'd have to weather a beating if he couldn't talk himself out of whatever dung he'd just literally stepped into. And it certainly didn't help that he was quickly beginning to lose his mind the longer he had to endure the sensation of wet, squishy mud invading his shoe and touching his feet. Somehow that was more maddening than the possibility of being socked in the face by a poisonous frog.

"W-w-what? Hah... haha... Y-y-y-you live here?" Cracker stammered, suddenly not so chipper again. He nervously tugged on his stuck leg, smiling anxiously as his gaze darted around. "D--did I say... stinky and slimy? Uuuh-hehah, w-what I meant was... p-pungent? Y-yeah, pungent and... and... uuhm... t... textured...?" The monkey winced, still hoping he might save his hide. "L-look, I'm sorry, okay? I--I didn't you live here. In-in case you can't tell, I don't exactly belong here, alright?! I... I need trees. D-dry trees, not these slimy ones. I only came here to... to..."

The Aipom's pleas trailed off as his attention suddenly shifted elsewhere. His expression quickly grew more distressed as well, and for good reason. Behind the Croagunk, a Poliwag had emerged from the swampy water, amidst the tall grass and approaching swiftly atop the lilypad of a Lotad. He wasn't certain, but he thought he'd also seen something skitter across the water's surface further back, but it all spelled bad news. They must've been stalking the Aipom. And the Pokemon currently furious with him had no idea they were approaching, so Cracker stammered in his attempt to warn him.

"L-listen, my-my-my name's Cracker and... y-you wouldn't kill a 'Mon if you know their name, r-r-right? B-but I bet you don't know their names!" he yelped, pointing with his tail's beefy hand while he continued to frantically pull on his trapped leg.

(Energy: 28 - 21 (rolls) : 9)

Unfortunately, snapping at the monkey pokemon didn't seem to yield a very good reaction. It wasn't as if he was able to help himself - his anger got the better of him for a moment - but he still set the aipom into a stuttering, nervous wreck, just after the creature stepped into what seemed like a very thick mud-hole. The other pokemon alternated between trying to tug himself free and attempting to backtrack on what he said, but Goro's anger seemed to evaporate just as soon as it manifested. The aipom was just blabbering on incessantly; It didn't mean any offense. It was still offensive, sure, and just hearing the thing yap on and on was cause for Goro to grow irritated, but he'd sooner escort the monkey out than do anything he might regret. The croagunk typically tried to limit his more violent tendencies to wild pokemon, as no one really got upset when you beat on those. But if you hurt someone who had a family, or was willing to make the trip to Grassveil and notify the guild or the police... well, that complicated matters. He liked his life in the marsh, and he had no desire to get arrested and hauled to some other town to rot in a cell.

Instead of pouncing on the aipom when he was vulnerable, Goro merely sighed, mildly irritated that he was so easily provoked. He really needed breakfast and a way to vent, and messing with this monkey would get him no closer to either. The croagunk made a show of crossing his arms when the monkey trailed off, his rant coming to a lull - just to show that he had no hostile intentions yet. When he spoke again, his voice was simply tired and impatient. "It's mine. Yer in my stretch, my territory. The other critters know better than to come 'round here."

The monkey introduced itself as Cracker - strange name for a strange pokemon - and pointed ahead, behind Goro, with its large hand-like tail. The croagunk eyed the appendage suspiciously for a moment before throwing caution to the wind and looking where Cracker gestured, and he was surprised to notice a poliwag approaching. The little thing was riding a lotad like some sort of battle-mount, and the sight caused Goro to snort in amusement. His irritation quickly gave way to excitement and relief; Finally, some kind of excitement for him. Odds are this curious monkey was to thank for it, as well. "Or at least they usually do...

"Cracker, huh?" The croagunk turned his head to offer the still-trapped monkey a gratified grin before focusing on the two approaching pokemon. If they recognized the croagunk who claimed this area and its surroundings as his own, they sure didn't show it - the lotad jostled forward determined, and the poliwag hopped off of it before facing the two of them. "You stay behind me. This won't take long."

He didn't pay any mind that Cracker didn't have much choice at the moment, currently stuck with one foot sunken in a mud hole. Instead, he strode forward, flexing his hands powerfully in preparation for the coming scrap. He regularly battled against the denizens of this mystery dungeon, so he was experienced against these types of foes. The lotad itself wasn't much to worry about on its own, but poliwags were quick, and their water guns were quite annoying. They did sometimes have the capacity to use the squiggly patterns on their belly in some kind of hypnosis technique, so it was best for him to cut that off quickly. The two wild pokemon split off from one another, approaching the frog pokemon standing in their was in a pincer formation. For his part, Goro simply hit his fists together and leered at the poliwag, shouting at it. "You'll be breakfast, I think. Come here and get it over with!" His voice was immediately different. His tone was dark, malicious, almost otherworldly. It carried with it an undercurrent of a challenge, and as soon as the poliwag registered the sound it ran forward to meet the croagunk in battle. It was his taunt move, tailored to keep his opponents from using pesky status techniques. It kept his battles nice and simple.

The poliwag stopped at about fifteen feet away from Goro, rearing back and thrusting its body forward. From the center of the swirling pattern on its belly, a focused stream of water erupted, and it splashed mightily against Goro's now raised guard. As he was focused on blocking the water gun from blasting his face with his forearms, the lotad circled around the two pokemon, its beady eyes focused on the aipom wrestling with its sunken foot in a mud hole...

As the slow to react Croagunk finally registered the oncoming threat, Cracker was still tugging helplessly on his sunken foot. He had little hope of relying on the strange frog's protection, even if this land was his territory like he claimed. So he needed to get free before he became the primary target. There was little doubt in his mind that these new Pokemon were after him for what he had, though. It made sense now that he actually thought about it. He must've looked wealthy from a distance, with his flashy backpack and hard-earned ribbon on display.

"Stupid... so stupid...!" Cracker muttered to himself, gritting his teeth and pulling as hard as he could, to no avail. Mud had packed in tight around his shoe, which, despite all logic he'd been trying to pull out with his foot. He hadn't been ready to give up on all the hard work he'd put into making it. "Why, why... why did I have to--!"

The Aipom flinched as his frustration was interrupted by the Croagunk. He'd half expected the Pokemon to be even madder at him as a result of this development, but instead the frog was grinning. He instructed the monkey to stay put while he dealt with the threat, but that was honestly the last thing Cracker wanted to do. Presently he was a sitting Psyduck, just waiting to be picked off.

Though the fighting stance his impromptu guide had assumed was an impressive indication of his experience, his initial attack was to immediately taunt one of his foes and invite them to make the first move. Cracker winced and resumed pulling on his leg, unable to pry his gaze away from the ensuing spray of water that struck the Croagunk as a result of his provocation. Was this guy crazy? Or was he just that confident in his abilities? Whatever the case, he really seemed to enjoy the thrill of battle. To a degree in fact, that made the monkey grateful he'd been able to defuse their earlier misunderstanding.

Unfortunately, while the Croagunk was preoccupied with one of the Pokemon, the Lotad had kited around the main fight to target the Aipom instead. The monkey however, was just as distracted by the impressive show of power the Poliwag was displaying, and only realized he was being snuck up on when a volley of bubbles began to descend upon him. As the first one landed on him, it popped with surprising force, making Cracker screech in terror.

One bubble by itself had been like an unpleasant slap, but as more bore down on him, their explosive popping suddenly had the equivalent force of a well-place punch; many... many well-placed punches. Raising his arms to defend against the attack, Cracker could only stand there as he was pelted from all side by exploding bubbles. He didn't know what else to do under such a barrage, but while he was consciously at a loss for a solution, his tail had instinctively begun digging up clumps of mud with its bulbous fingers and blindly throwing handfuls of it everywhere.

It must have eventually worked, as the onslaught on bubble bombs petered out, allowing for the considerably bruised and scuffed up monkey to access his surroundings again. He quickly spotted the Lotad, momentarily blinded by a sandy mud-ball to the face, but it was swift to dunk its face in the water to wash the grit out of its eyes. Cracker had already returned to tugging his foot free, though, and he no longer was trying to save his shoe. Now he was trying to get free to save his own skin, before he could be attacked again. And lucky for him, that made pulling himself free infinitely easier. In fact, his foot popped out of the ground to suddenly that the Aipom was sent sprawling onto his back, flailing in disgust as the wet, muddy earth soaked into his fur.

Leaping back onto his feet with a revolted shudder, the monkey froze and looked down at his naked foot. He was free again, but his whole foot was caked in mud. And now he didn't even have his shoe as a buffer between him and the ground. Cracker wasn't looking so clean anymore, either. His backpack and much of his fur was messy and brown now. And looking down at himself, he was on the verge of another panic attack. He needed to stay focused on the battle, but... how could he do anything in this state? He felt all wet and slimy, and the longer he thought about it, increasingly itchy the longer the mud clung to his fur. How could anyone live like this?!

Unfortunately Cracker didn't get much time to reflect on the medley of neuroses that were currently afflicting him, as suddenly a band of energy wrapped around him, pinning his arms to his sides and assaulting him with great pain as the energy was sapped from his body. His attacker had recovered, and now the Lotad was striking back again.

"Hah... Nngh! Help...! I--can't move..." he groaned, straining at his bondage and pleading for the Croagunk's assistance.

The poliwag's water gun packed some very, very decent force behind it. By his estimate, it was probably close to evolution. The stream of water actually forced him back a couple steps, as he was not expecting the forceful jet to pack such a punch. But it did, and it was with a muffled curse that he pushed back against it, wading through the extended water gun to cross the distance between him and his designated opponent. He'd only managed to get about five feet closer to the tadpole pokemon before its water gun finally died down, and when it did Goro immediately stepped forward. To the poliwag's credit, it didn't panic or freeze. The smaller water type attempted to sidestep the incoming frog, but he had experience wrestling down these kinds of pokemon. As the poliwag attempted to jump to the right and create some more distance, Goro read its movement and lunged forward, stepping into his striking range.

As the croagunk got within arm's reach of the poliwag, he swung his left arm over his head in a crescent formation. Halfway through his movement, the poison type's fist hardened, shining a metallic grey color in the afternoon light of the marsh. And with this change came an incredible burst of speed. It turned Goro's otherwise obvious and easy-to-evade haymaker into a hellishly quick bullet-like overhand strike - a bullet punch, if you will - and it slammed into the top of the poliwag's head harshly. The impact and force of the blow sent it reeling sideways, its rotund body leaning forward from the momentum of the strike, although it didn't appear all that physically damaged. This changed a moment later when Goro's other fist came flying from his hip to bury itself in the poliwag's body, striking the very center of its swirling pattern. Unlike his other attack, this one didn't seem all that visually different, but it was one of Goro's most potent weapons. The force of his dominant hand landing a clean blow sent the poliwag sprawling onto its back, and the larger croagunk followed its movement, keeping his right fist connected to the stomach of his enemy.

He took a few moments to viciously grind his fist into the point of impact, the poliwhirl crying out softly as he did so. He was gratified to notice that the stinging in his arms that came from blocking its unexpectedly powerful water gun subsided slightly. It seemed that he'd sapped all the energy he could from just one punch, though, and with reluctance the croagunk withdrew his fist, ending the drain punch. After two solid punches, the poliwag was still visibly conscious, but it was also struggling to continue. Its body trembled, shaking - he'd knocked the wind out of the creature, and now it was trying to breathe. It'd manage it in a few seconds if Goro left it alone, but he was also pretty hungry and it would serve to finish this one off while he could. He didn't want to let it get away and then have to chase the weakened tadpole pokemon all around the swamp just for breakfast.

Unfortunately, it seemed like he'd have to do just that. Goro looked up at the sound of fighting behind him - specifically, the monkey pokemon's screeching. He turned, and he realized that while he was relishing the sensation of grinding his fist into the poliwag, the lotad must have slipped by him! From the looks of things, it was giving this Cracker hell; The ground around the monkey pokemon was torn up, clumps of dirt missing. He took notice of the battle just in time to see the lotad use a band of energy to bind the monkey pokemon, pinning his arms around his body. The unfortunate explorer immediately began pleading for help - and he could go over there and assist. But then he'd be leaving his own prey unattended, and the last thing he wanted was for the first pokemon he'd seen all day to get away from him. His gaze flickered down to the poliwag on the ground, down but not out. There was... perhaps a way to hit to pidgey with one stone.

He reached down with a cruel smile and grasped the base of the poliwag's tail. The poor thing squeaked in response, ejecting a small amount of water in what was probably an attempt to fire another water gun. Goro held it out at arm's length, eyed the distance between him and the lotad - fifteen, sixteen feet? - and spun around counterclockwise. He carried the tadpole pokemon with him, and at the apex of his circulation, he threw his arm forward, bodily tossing the poliwag at the lotad currently holding down the traveler. Immediately after his throw, he continued on at a brisk power walk to the battle. To his satisfaction, he hit the mark, mostly. The much larger poliwag landed on top of the lotad, crashing into the much smaller pokemon with a decent amount of force. While the dual grass-water type was sent stumbling backward, unfortunately not crushed, the grass type move it was employing dissipated from the break of concentration, freeing the aipom.

"Look alive, fella!" The excitement in his voice was not at all faked - Goro was having fun now. His expression was cruelly amused, lips parted in a grin, revealing his flat teeth. He shook out his arms as he approached the two wild pokemon; Both were rattled, but not defeated. The poliwag in particular finally heaved in a greedy gulp of air, climbing to its feet once more, narrowing its eyes at the croagunk who'd attacked its central organ maliciously.

(Energy: 9 + 8 (Drain Punch) = 17)

While he was helplessly wreathed in pain, Cracker could only watch from afar as the Croagunk expertly countered his own opponent's initial attack, following up with not one but two attacks of his own, delivered with a level of skill the monkey had never seen before. He'd witnessed immense power on plenty of occasions, like the earth-shattering forces a psychic-type Pokemon could command, but that kind of directionless destruction seemed to pale in comparison to the pin-point, lightning fast, and potentially lethal strikes of fighting-types.

The Aipom could feel himself getting weaker with each agonizing contraction of his muscles, yet he found himself in awe of the frog's exemplary performance, which belied his unkempt appearance. There was no doubt the Pokemon was a veteran fighter. Watching him strike at his foe was like a form of art. Appealing to the eyes, and completely and utterly cool! Cracker was so enthralled, that he almost forgot he was slowly being killed.

It wasn't until the Croagunk's Hail Mary throw disrupted the Lotad's attack that he was finally freed from his painful bondage. The monkey was so weak though, he promptly dropped to his hands and knees, his head wobbling like it was full of air. For a few tense moments his vision lost focus, but the frog's gleeful cry jerked him back from the brink of passing out. With a rather pathetic squeak in response, Cracker tensed and jumped back to his feet, struggling to stay upright as he held up his arms in an awkward fighting stance.

"R... right... P-put em up, you... you thugs... I'll shhh-show you!" he stammered, still dizzy from the energy drain. He didn't feel like he could put up much of a fight at this rate, especially now that he had both angry Pokemon right in front of him, but the Croagunk was fast approaching. So... all he had to do was defend as long as he could. "C--c'mon, which one of you wants it first; I--I dare yah..!"

Cracker wasn't nearly so good at taunting as the frog was, but it was clear to the offending pair who the biggest threat was, and it wasn't the muddy little monkey. So rather than be spurred into another attack on the annoying furball, the Lotad shifted its focus to the approaching Croagunk, leaving the recovering Poliwag to deal with the weaker opponent. As it faced the poisonous fighter-type, the Lotad shifted into an offensive position, the lilypad on its back glowing brightly until suddenly it unleashed a torrent of razor sharp leaves at the advancing menace.

Much as he wanted to watch how the frog was going to obliterate his next opponent, Cracker unfortunately had to contend with a rather pissed off, and hurting Poliwag. Probably already mad enough that it had been deligated to the task of taking out the weaker of their targets, now it was fuming and rearing up for another Water Gun attack. The monkey immediately threw up his arms in surrender, screeching is distress, "No-no-no-no! Anything but that, please! I feel awful enough, don't get me all wet!"

The Poliwag of course ignored him, but by some sheer luck, Cracker was able dodge the incoming stream with his superior agility. The spray continued to follow him, much weaker than it had been when attacking the Croagunk, but still dangerous enough to warrant fleeing. However, instead of running away, the monkey arched straight towards the agitated Poliwag. Without arms, the Pokemon wasn't the most versatile, and it certainly wasn't capable of avoiding something much faster than it, like the Aipom. He even surprised himself by managing to circle around the water-type, faster and faster until it became dizzier than him.

Then, taking the offensive in a moment of blind rage, he leapt onto the Poliwag and began scratching at its face mercilessly. "How do you like that, huh?! Why can't you all just leave me alone!" he howled, beating upon the Pokemon with all his might, and practically drowning it in the water as he used it like a floatation device. "This is what you get for stalking me! This is what happens!!"

Watching the monkey rouse itself from whatever the lotad had put it through was quite the amusing sight. Goro snorted as he made his way over to the three pokemon in a deadlock; Cracker was showing his guts while the tadpole and lily pad picked themselves up from his rather unorthodox solution to his ally's problem. To his surprise, the two pokemon actually showed a degree of intelligence. Rather than responding to the monkey in their face, very clearly asking for more, the lotad opted to focus on him. As he came to a stop a few paces behind Cracker, staring down at the two smaller pokemon about to re-enter the fray, he had to wonder just what they were about to do. With this pokemon, he was much less experienced - they usually hung around on the surface of the water, and didn't very often approach a poison type like he was. But this one was definitely spirited. Rather than flee in the face of a natural counter in the form of a croagunk, it stared him right down.

He took a dull note of the poliwag and Cracker facing off (it was a bit hard to ignore, what with Cracker's screeching), but his attention was suddenly forcibly drawn back to the lotad when it produced a barrage of leaves at him. He barely blinked at the move, uncaring of a couple of leaves coming at him. But when the first nicked his lower cheek, cutting deeply into his leathery skin and drawing blood, he cursed and shifted to a defensive position. He turned side-ways, raised his left forearm to cover his face, and lowered his head, leaning forward into the attack. This resulted in a shoulder block, where his left shoulder was the biggest target that the razor leaves could really hit, other than his lower body and midriff. Still, they hit. Goro hissed in shocked pain as he took razor-sharp strikes to his shoulder, his left arm, his midriff, thighs, and ankles, each strike cutting into him. A few even stuck in him, in his shoulder and his left side, but he was able to power through the pain and wade forward to reach the pokemon that had the nerve to make him bleed.

Goro pushed through to his striking distance, and the lotad scurried back just as the poliwag did - fortunately for him, the lotad was much slower than its counterpart. Instead of having to take a risk and guess which direction it was going to go, he was free to simply react to its movement and chased it down accordingly. His counterattack here was going to be much more vicious. There was quite the height difference between him and his foe, however, so punching down at the creature would be a little bit awkward. Luckily for Goro, another option came much more naturally to him. As he bore down on the creature, he simply reached out with a foot and whipped it downwards, savagely stomping on the middle of its lily pad and forcing it to the ground. The lotad grunted in response, attempting to push upward against his force, but he simply just raised his foot and stomped again. Again and again, he stomped on the leaf covering the lotad's back, and a couple stomps in the creature began crying out in response. The smile that had died when the lotad cut into him with its razor leaves bloomed once again, wide on his face.

After a moment, he reached down and grabbed it by its foreleg, raising it up to eye-level distance. To his surprise, the creature actually had six little stubby legs. He'd never noticed that before. A quiet, perpetual whine was coming from the small pokemon in response to the incredibly brutal punishment he'd dished out to it, and he found the sound quite annoying. In response, he lashed out with his other hand and buried a drain punch into the lotad's underbelly, over and over again once more. Unseen by him, the repeated sapping of his prey's energy went as far to heal the cut on his cheek, but none others - it had nothing else to give. The blood still remained, though, both on his face and the other places where he'd taken razor leaves. Still, the fight had been beaten out of the lotad, at least. He unenthusiastically tossed the creature to the side as he turned to locate the poliwag and the monkey, and he started in surprise when he noticed Cracker with the upper hand.

The traveler had mounted the smaller pokemon, tearing into it with repeated slash attacks while he berated it. It was hard not to appreciate the sight.

Still, there was one beyond him that interested him even more. A surskit was fluttering across a deeper part of the pond, out of reach but very obviously interested in what was going on. His stomach rumbled at the sight; Poliwags were one thing, but surskit were another. Between the two, he'd feel a lot better about frying up a bug, rather than a tadpole pokemon. But it was just... kind of drifting along the water, deep water. He'd have to walk right past Cracker and then swim out just to reach it, and that was just asking to get drowned. If he had to guess, it'd either followed the other pokemon out in their pursuit of the monkey, or it was just simply waiting to get the drop on the winner of this battle.

"You 'bout done with that thing, stranger?" He called out to the aipom mildly, in a much-improved mood. Before getting into it with these ferals, he'd been irritable and cranky, but now he was quite content with himself. He reached down to his left side and plucked out the razor-sharp leaf that had embedded in him, before reaching up and doing the same with his shoulder. He hissed quietly in pain as he did each one, wishing he knew a healing move of some sort. Idly, he gestured out at the lingering sirskit as he spoke. "Ya got company out there."

Temporarily driven mad by all the frightful and unpleasant stimulus around him, Cracker failed to realize he was ruthlessly slashing up an unconscious Poliwag until the Croagunk called to him. He was still standing atop the Pokemon, balancing on it like a ball to keep from falling into the water, but he'd snapped out of his blind panic. The Aipom stood in dazed silence for a few moments, panting heavily as he caught his breath.

Then he looked down at the unconscious Poliwag, groaning and gurgling in the water, all bloody and scratched up. Cracker's gaze shifted to his paws next, and the realization of what he'd done dawned on him. Both of them were crimson with fresh blood and mud. An unsettling heat radiated off his paws, only to swept away by a chill breeze that made the monkey shudder involuntarily. Stunned by his actions, the Aipom began to lose his balance, stumbling off the slippery Poliwag and back onto the shore.

Looking absolutely mortified with himself, Cracker stammered, "Oh--oh no, w-w-what did I do?! I--I'm so sorry! A-a-are you okay? Are you... still breathing? I-I-I didn't mean to, I swear--"

Even as he was tripping over himself to apologize to a Pokemon that had clearly meant to do him harm, the Croagunk nearby cut him short and directed his attention to a new threat. Suddenly Cracker had more important things on his mind, jumping and spinning in a circle to face the next enemy while striking a less-than-convincing fighting stance.

"W-what?! Another one? W-where?! I--I'll kick their butt!" he cried out in a mix of terror and bravado. After a few moments of staring with no immediate sign of an enemy, the monkey gradually relaxed. "I... I don't see anything."

As he turned away to face the frog Pokemon, Cracker instinctively winced at the sight of his savior's injuries. Though the Croagunk didn't seem to mind, just looking at those cuts gave the monkey unnecessary chills. He was still wholly impressed by the poison-type's resilience though, and his passion for the heat of battle. When he'd met the Croagunk, he seemed pretty laid back, but now the Pokemon was in his element and was positively thrilled.

It was oddly inspiring, actually. And probably the real reason for the Aipom's own violent outburst--monkey see, monkey do, after all--but Cracker was oblivious to the negative influence. If anything, what he saw in the Croagunk was a potential hero to worship. Someone he wanted to be like. Somebody strong and brave; and brutally effective in combat.

Without proof of another threat, the monkey returned to a neutral, positive state. It allowed him to relax his muscles, but he realized then just how much pain he was in. After a direct Bubble attack and the subsequent Absorb that leeched energy from him, he wasn't feeling too hot. Cracker proceeded to topple back to the ground, sitting on hands and knees as he groaned softly.

"Ow... everything hurts," he whined to himself, before turning back to the Croagunk with wobbling smile. "Hah... s-sorry I'm not as strong as you are. I bet... you deal with this sort of stuff for breakfast... Literally...!" He said the last word with a look that suggested he had a good idea what the Croagunk's usual diet consisted of. "M-maybe I'll just... sit this one out, huh...?" he suggested, plopping his rump on the ground, no longer so concerned about getting dirty.

Meanwhile, the Surskit continued to kite around the pair at a distance, but gradually closing in. It must've thought it had an easy win on its hands, judging by the Aipom's state, but though Cracker had almost been defeated, the Croagunk had only just begun. The wild, water- and bug-type was picky. It would've rather gone after the weaker Pokemon than take on the stronger one, but it appeared to be protecting the purple furball. If it could distract the main foe away from the monkey though, then it could go in for a quick take-down.

Unfortunately its intentions were made apparent to an astute eye, as it closed in specifically around the Aipom, using its agility to remain mostly hidden from sight, save for the occasional stirring of reeds and cattails. As it zipped around skillfully, using the water's surface as its playground, it gradually charged up a devastating Bubble Beam, and proceeded to begin firing volleys of directed, explosively volatile bubbles at the Croagunk from multiple directions, attempting to lure him away.

The sight of Cracker snapping out of his little frenzy was definitely an experience. The monkey Pokemon looked terribly ashamed and terrified as he slipped off the poliwag's unconscious body, stammering out apologies and all sorts of other... words. Fortunately it seemed he still had some spirit left though, as he turned on his heel and struck a totally ridiculous battle pose when Goro pointed out the surskit to him. He'd been expecting for the purple monkey to either get riled up or get scared and run away, given his track record so far. To his surprise, the monkey confessed that he didn't see anything. Goro's head snapped up at the admission from where he had been absently fussing over his razor leaf wounds, and to his surprise, the surskit was indeed nowhere to be found. He narrowed his eyes and scanned the surface of the pond, looking for any kind of movement, but it was for naught. It wasn't truly surprising, honestly - of course the water bug would know a few tricks on the water. But it was worrying. The lotad had very unexpectedly pulled one over on him, and if it had been running around with this surskit... maybe it was just as strong as the other two. The thought brought a small grin to Goro's face.

He was distracted from his searching when Cracker spoke up again. Not a real surprise; It seemed like the monkey always had to be chattering on about something, or he just wasn't satisfied. Goro had to wonder if he just liked the sound of his own voice that much. He had to confess that he didn't mind spending a moment here peacefully - either the surskit was going to ambush them in a moment, or it had decided it didn't like the odds and ran off. Either way, there wasn't a lot Goro could do to lure it to dry land. Even wild pokemon were smart enough not to abandon such advantages, at least not without a very good reason to. And as Goro cast another speculative eye on the monkey that had plopped down onto the ground, he realized that this was a good reason. The pokemon was very obviously not from around here - the backpack, the ribbon, and the one remaining foresty-looking shoe told that story. He'd be much more at home in a forest, and presumably very unfamiliar with this kind of surrounding. Which... was probably where these pokemon had come from. They'd pegged him as easy prey. The poliwag, at least, had learned otherwise.

"I 'spose it comes with the territory." His response was dry and literal, even if it was a bit of a white lie. He'd been 'trained' by his mother from a young age, even if all training really amounted to was him getting his ass beaten until he learned to fight back. After that, there were a few corrections to his form, but as a fighting-type, it came somewhat naturally to him. The implied compliment did actually feel pretty nice though, and now that he'd gone and gotten bloodied up some, he found that the sound of Cracker's voice wasn't all that grating anymore. He preferred silence, of course, but he didn't think that was an option with this fellow. Still, he kept himself from getting to drawn into conversation with the traveler, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of an assault.

To his surprise, he found none. After a few moments, he gave up his search and shook out his arms and shoulders, rolling his neck a few times to loosen himself up. When he'd set out earlier, he'd been half-asleep and grumpy, but now he was wide awake and satisfied. All in all, it was a very good start to the day - he'd pick up the poliwag, maybe invite the monkey over for breakfast (lunch?), or just escort the fellow out if he didn't want to stick around any longer. The lack of surskit was little bit disappointing in the end though.

Or at least it was until a barrage of bubbles smacked him in the right side of his head - the first popped loudly against his face, and he couldn't help but absently compare the sensation to getting socked in the face. Then a stream of many more followed, and before he knew it Goro found himself falling hard on his side, his forearm placed protectively over his head as if to block any more bubbles. Then he realized what had just happened, and scrambled to his feet furiously - the little insect had waited for him to drop his guard before making his move. Goro turned to the direction where the bubblebeam had come from with a snarl, fists raised as if to strike out at the bug type, but there was nothing to be found. He drew back almost confused, idly noting that his head was ringing from the force of the surprise attack. But movement in his peripheral had him swaying to the side, ducking another flurry of bubbles just as they were about to collide with the other side of his face. He shuffled to the side, hunching down low as he realized what the surskit was doing now.

It was a lot smarter than he was originally willing to give it credit for. Another barrage of bubbles came at him, this time from the right; The surskit was alternating in its attack pattern. It wasn't... the attacks themselves weren't terribly accurate or even all that fast. The first had caught him off guard, but as long as he kept his head moving looking for another stream, it wasn't all that difficult to get away. But each time he rolled, ducked, or swayed away from a beam of bubbles, he was getting... herded away from the monkey. Goro grinned outright as he realized what he was happening.

It was a rare day indeed when a pokemon displayed this level of intelligence - and all of the sudden, the croagunk really, really wanted to eat this bug for breakfast. And he thought he had a way to flush the creature out from its ambush and herding tactics, but it would require some cooperation from the pokemon it was after.

"Cracker!" The fighting type directed his voice at the monkey now quite a few feet away from him. He hunched down low before turning to the side, so as to give Cracker a better target, all during a lull in attacks from the surskit. "Git on my back!"