Rotten Fun

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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.

Goro realized why he didn't much like talking with other pokemon as soon as he'd replied. Now that the conversation had shifted from simple matters, like his house and Cracker's home, and gone somewhere serious... he felt anxious. Butterflies were fluttering all around his stomach and he felt wrong, like he was a magikarp on a mountaintop. This kind of thing wasn't what he was meant to do; he didn't feel comfortable in the short stint of silence that he'd voiced his opinion. It was such a strong feeling to him that he'd literally molded his life in a manner so that he could avoid it. He lived in the most disgusting mystery dungeon in the area; the pokemon that came through here weren't looking to socialize, they were here because they had to be. And to make matters sweeter, they almost always were in a hurry to leave. He got to live the way he liked here, doing things that were fun and comfortable.

Yet he was willing to try to teach Cracker, mostly because he really could use that patch job on his roof, but also because the monkey pokemon was sort of growing on him. The idea of spending more time with him wasn't entirely unappealing if only so he could explore the dynamics of this... acquaintanceship?  It felt easier with Cracker than it did with other pokemon, in any case, so he wanted to see if it stayed that way, or if it got harder or even easier.

Luckily for the frog pokemon, the uncomfortable moment didn't last long. Almost as soon as he agreed to the proposition, Cracker veritably exploded into movement. His good cheer from before paled in the face of this new emotion, as he couldn't seem to stand still with all the positive energy rushing through him. The croagunk jumped slightly when it happened, clutching the log his fingers were digging into even more tightly. His face portrayed naked shock as the aipom literally bounced on top of the log he was sitting on, chattering along at a mile a minute. It became apparent very quickly that the monkey pokemon was just happy and excited, though, and a part of Goro relaxed at this. He didn't do anything wrong - this was just Cracker being Cracker.

"Yeah," he muttered quietly, watching as his guest went back to work with whatever he was doing with that bowl. "I'd like that." The prospect of learning a little bit of that aipom woodworking magic sounded good to him. If he was good at it, then he could work on his shack by himself. That would make him feel better about repairing it, less high-strung.

As soon as the purple monkey was done, however, he went to dancing and skipping along the fire, stopping in front of Goro, physically incapable of holding back his joy. He was eager to start. The croagunk was unable to hold back a snort of amusement, finding a small amount of comfort in how predictable this pokemon was becoming. Rather than standing up to join Cracker in his theatrics, Goro put his hand to his chin and inspected the aipom once more. "The tail does look like yer selling point..."

The aipom was probably on the right track. Raw physical power wouldn't be his selling point unless he learned a really, really powerful move that suited him. He was a slender pokemon, sleek and agile-looking. Goro was willing to be that he would prove difficult to pin down and catch. But how could that translate into becoming powerful? The croagunk's face pinched in concentration as he thought for a few seconds. It was an option that Goro himself very rarely resorted to, but items were worth considering. If Cracker was good at throwing stuff with his tail, then maybe he could practice with that. Pelting his enemies with projectiles while he ran around out of their reach sounded like it might fit him... but he was getting ahead of himself.

"First off, what moves do ya know?" That was as good of a place to start as any. A pokemon needed decent moves to fight well, or at least moves they knew how to use. If Cracker had a good attack he could use in place of items, then he wouldn't need ammunition to fight. Anything speed-oriented would work well, too, so he could hit without getting hit. That way his frailness wouldn't work against him.

As pleased as he was to hear Goro's objective opinion, he couldn't help taking it as an outright compliment, instead. Bouncing gleefully on the spot, he swung his tail to and fro, making the beefy hand on the tip of it bob about almost hypnotically. The Croagunk was still reserved about offering any immediate advice though, seeming to give it some considerable thought before requesting details on the monkey's current skill set.

The specific attacks he knew and used daily weren't something he'd ever given much thought to, so this time it was Cracker's turn to ponder for a moment as he fell still and rubbed his chin in thought. "Weeeell... I've always been really fast, so there's my Agility! I normally use it to Run Away though. It's great for getting outta sticky situations, but whenever I try to pair it with a physical attack, I usually trip and fall on my face... Oh! But it can be pretty handy if I use it right before a Sand Attack! When I'm moving that fast, I can kick up a huge dust cloud! That's also really good for running away, but... it usually only blinds my opponents for a few seconds. An' it only works well in certain areas... Around here it'd probably be useless."

Cracker briefly thumped the ground with one of his feet, to show the lack of sufficiently dry dirt he had to work with. As his attack relied heavily on the surrounding terrain and climate, a marsh was probably one of the worst regions to use it, right next to any area covered in snow. Of course, he had the strength to kick up the earth even in unfavorable conditions, but its range and effectiveness were considerably reduced, and even nullified in some cases. Since it was purely a defensive maneuver anyway, he only relied on it for a quick escape.

"Anyway, when those moves erm... eventually fail.. and I'm forced to fight, I usually just fall back on my Scratch attack! Just like I did back there against that Poliwag! Hehe! You saw that, right? I was all 'scratch, scratch scratch! That's what you get for messing with me!'," he chittered gleefully, recreating the moment as he targeted an imaginary enemy beside him with a flurry of swipes. "Other than that though, I only have one other move I've been practicing--Astonish--buuut I'm not very good at it... Basically I startle the opponent with a big... RAWR!! And then wack 'em with my tail as hard as I can!"

Despite emulating the ability, Cracker hardly looked intimidating enough to startle anything, much less an enemy in battle, and he seemed to be aware of that fact. With a heavy sigh he dropped his arms and slumped to one side. "Although... it doesn't always work. I mean.. it does give me the opening for a good hit, but I can't seem to do enough damage. I don'know if I'm just doing it wrong, or what. I've tried practicing on trees but.. most Pokemon are a lot tougher and more... responsive than a big chunk of wood, y'know? And some of them are really scary too. Especially when they're ganging up and trying to kill me!"

The monkey promptly hugged himself on the spot and quivered, going so far as to wrap his tail around his body, too.

"So that's why I'm trying to be braver too... like you! But... gosh, you make it look so easy. You're intimidating just sitting still! Most 'Mons take one look at me laugh when I try to act tough," he huffed, crossing his arms and plopping down in the dirt as his tail uncoiled. "I've thought about using that to my advantage, somehow. Maybe learn a new attack or something, but I'm just not strong enough, I guess. Too bad I can't just kick and punch my problems like you do."

Looking far less content by the time he fell silent, Cracker still stewed over his final comments, deep in thought as the hand on the end of his tail, with a life of its own, assisted in the mental scrutiny by scratching the top of his head. The Aipom scowled at the ground, frowning as he pawed at the loose, moist soil. He tried to wrap his head around how he might make better use of it in this region, but it wasn't anywhere near as light as the sand found in Pecha Forest, or even Shadowhue. He tossed some in the air, but it fell back to the ground quickly in soft, heavy clumps. Now that he thought about it though, it seemed to lump together pretty well, so he attempted trying to compact some of it into a ball as he looked up at Goro for insight.

"I bet you have some ideas though, right? You're obviously an expert at kicking butt! I mean... you'd have'ta be to live here, after all. I was only wandering around for an hour or two before those Pokemon jumped us. I couldn't imagine being attacked like that every single day!" Cracker promptly tossed the dirt ball he was making up into the air, but it started to crumble apart well before he could catch it again, leaving him with dirty paws and still no solution to his internal dilemma. "So.. what would you do if you were me?"

As he suspected, Cracker boasted a somewhat novice move set. Funnily enough, Goro had worked with similar moves to Cracker's in the past. And just like the aipom, he found them to be wholly lacking for what he wanted to do. You wanted a bit more weight behind your attacks if you wanted to hurt someone, after all... The croagunk sighed, scratching his cheek as he gave thought to his guest's options.

Goro steadfastly did his best not to address or react too much when Cracker went back to singing his praises, though he wasn't totally successful. His contemplative frown slowly gave way to a hesitant little half-smile, and he found himself relaxing somewhat. He saw how the aipom fought earlier, so he understood why the monkey pokemon could think of him in that manner, but Goro knew he wasn't the best. He considered himself good, and he was getting better, but he wasn't nearly as great as Cracker made him out to be. Still, he'd be lying to himself if he said he wasn't quite a bit flattered by the excitable aipom's praise.

He went quiet for a moment after Cracker finished his explanation, thinking his question over. Honestly, the tools that the aipom had to work with weren't the best. He lacked a really strong, reliable way to hurt his opponents. He was quick and knew how to take advantage of that to an extent, but like the monkey himself said, that didn't amount to much other than running away. At least, it didn't in the capacity that Cracker was using it. What would Goro do with those tools?

"If I was you... I'd play with Agility. See how fast I can get, get better with movin' real quick-like, stuff like that. I've fought with pokemon who were faster than me before. It sucks." It was one of his biggest weaknesses, actually. Perhaps his biggest was that he lacked any method of fighting at a distance, Earthquake notwithstanding. That almost always meant that Goro had to get close to his opponents to attack them. And with his decidedly average speed, that could prove difficult, especially if he couldn't simply power through whatever his enemies threw at him. If he could make himself move faster, though, that changed everything.

Goro's face scrunched up, trying to imagine what it would look like if Cracker could really abuse Agility. It depended on how abusable it was, in truth. How fast could he get, and how feasible was it that he could master that speed? The croagunk knew that his guest was at the very least pretty quick, so any improvement there could turn that nimbleness into a real specialty. He spoke a bit more slowly, words coming together sluggishly as he imagined himself fighting against a super fast pokemon with total mastery of that trait. Unbidden, the poison-type's fists rose from the log to form fists, hovering restlessly just above his lap. "If you could speed up enough, and ya practiced real good so you were used to that speed, then yer lack of power might not matter as much. You won't need power if you can put the scratch on a guy two or three times before he even knows what hit 'em. Especially if you can get away from him before he swings back.

"... I think Astonish is kinda worthless, though. I used to use that move, too." He couldn't ever remember Astonish coming in handy, now that he thought about it. It was so unmemorable that unless he found himself with no other better option, Goro had simply ignored the fact that it was in his arsenal. "And I used to use Mud-Slap too, which is kinda like your Sand-Attack, 'cept it's better around these parts." Goro gestured vaguely at the wet, muddy ground at his feet, still sitting on the log as Cracker went on. Blinding an opponent came in handy, too, but there were other ways of doing that without a move. Like hitting them really hard in the eye.

"Ya might wanna learn some stronger attacks. Maybe scrounge up some TMs. Scratchin' folks and throwin' sand in their eyes is only gonna work for so long." At this, Goro gave a halfhearted shrug, standing up to turn the stick that the surskit was skewered on, rotating it so it was cooked evenly. "Unless ya wanna use items, that is. I've seen a few that can do damage, thorns and spikes n' stuff. Then you could fight at a distance and catchin' you would be way harder."

Heaving one last sigh, the croagunk put his hands on his hips, turning to face Cracker again. Those were his general thoughts about the aipom's toolkit, as they were. He was sure it wasn't the best advice. A smarter teacher would actually know things about Cracker's species, and what moves and skills they were best compatible with. A more resourceful pokemon might even have the TMs on hand, with first-hand knowledge with the moves in question, ready to pass that knowledge on. But all he really had to give was general theory and his own experience, which wasn't a lot.

It essentially boiled down to 'fighting fast pokemon sucks because they're hard to catch. Abuse your speed so you don't get caught, and learn stronger moves.' Not the best advice. The realization made Goro's shoulders sag a little - any second know Cracker would probably realize that. If not immediately, then definitely later down the line when he came across a pokemon who knew about his species. One of his hands reached up to grasp the back of his neck, his posture growing visibly insecure. He shouldn't have agreed to this little deal; already, he felt like did something stupid. At least he had warned the monkey pokemon beforehand.

Despite the uncertainty in Goro's voice, the Aipom looked up at him with wide trusting eyes and the biggest grin on his face as he took in every word as if unfiltered wisdom were being imparted to him. Whether or not the Croagunk's suggestions made sense, Cracker seemed to buy into it without much hesitation, and even started to get ideas of his own despite the poison-type's uninformed insight. Truth be told, he'd never actually considered, much less attempted trying to go faster than his body was naturally inclined to.

Giving it thought now, though, he worried he might just trip and fall even worse than usual. Especially on this particular terrain, which wasn't nearly as firm as the trees he was accustomed to, nor offered a reliable footing for the inherently clumsy monkey. But those were issues he was determined to find solutions to, in his quest to obtain strength and confidence in himself. Goro certainly seemed to admire speed, as he implied it was troublesome to counter for someone like him.

Of course, Cracker found that hard to believe after seeing the frog in action, but he refrained from dumping further praise on his tutor while he went into depth on how the Aipom might utilize his Agility in an offensive manner. In that moment he perked up with such a glow on his face that it might as well have been illuminated by a lightbulb materializing over his head. Combining speed with a Scratch attack was a stroke of brilliance as far as Cracker was concerned, and it also got him thinking of other combinations as well.

For example, his woefully ineffective attack, Astonish. Goro accurately surmised it was a useless tactic all on its own, having a shared experience with the move himself, which alone made the Croagunk more relatable in his mind. Then, however, he also compared an attack he used to know with Cracker's Sand Attack, and suddenly an unspoken bond was formed. As well as another idea. Normally he could only throw sand around if it was dry enough, but if he got stronger, maybe he could manipulate other mediums with similar efficiency too. Just thinking about lobbing balls of mud like a Mud Slap, had the Aipom covering his mouth to muffle a giddy snicker.

He did his best to remain quiet until the Croagunk was finished, nodding vigorously through his advice regarding items, but it was his suggestion of TMs that he remained stuck on until the end. He'd only ever found a single one in his travels, but it must've been a dud, because it didn't work on him at all. Or at least he didn't know how to make it work. Then again, he'd never heard of any Aipom ever learning Echoed Voice. So it was probably incompatible with him.

There was probably a shop around somewhere that sold them, but Cracker wasn't exactly rolling is Poke. So unless he started robbing other Pokemon of their coin-purses, he likely wouldn't be able to afford one. His next best bet in that regard would be searching dangerous dungeons for them. However like the first option, it had its issues. Namely, he had no idea where to find one, or if he could even survive long enough to do so. Now... if he had Goro with him his chances would certainly improve, but the Aipom didn't want to push his luck with Goro's patience in that regard.

By the time the frog had fallen silent once more with a big heavy sigh, following what could only be described as an awkward first lesson, he looked somewhat sullen; perhaps tired from the intense battle he'd fought earlier. Or so Cracker was happy to assume, anyway. As the instant the air was clear again, he promptly exploded with words that he'd barely been able to contain. The sheer act of releasing them made him launch off the ground and onto his feet, only taking a moment to side-step the fire-pit Goro had been tending to, before unleashing a rapid-fire rebuttal.

"Wow! That was some solid advice, Goro! I mean, I've never tried to go faster than I already do, 'cause I might just fall on my face! Especially on the ground; hard or soft, it doesn't seem to make a difference. I'm just rubbish at walking in general, I guess. Oh! But maybe you could show me how to walk on this spongy dirt without slipping. I bet if I could master that, walking on the harder stuff would be--hehehehehe--a walk in the park! Get it!? 'Cause it'd be so easy! And you sure make it look easy, too!" he rambled, very nearly flying off-topic as he paced back and forth, slipping between intense thought and trivial nonsense, "And you're soooo right, Astonish is just garbage! It doesn't scare anybody! But I just had a crazy idea thanks to you! Hehehe! Ready for this?! What if... I combine it with my Agility?! If I can't scare anybody, maybe I could surprise 'em by moving so fast that, just like you said, 'they won't see it coming'! It's genius, you're so clever! Why didn't I think about it? Speed! I just gotta move even faster!"

Already Cracker was looking left and right as if planning to give it a go right then and there, but he still had more to say, and picked up the pacing until he started leaving a trail in the dirt beneath his feet, "Oh, I was thinking about what you said my Sand Attack too. Y'know, how it's like that Mud Slap attack! I know you probably don't do it anymore, but I bet you can still sling a mudball, so maybe you could show me a thing or two, right?" He stopped briefly to look up at the Croagunk, almost as if expecting a response, but before one could be offered his eyes glazed over and looked away as he rambled on, "I could try hunting down some TMs too...! The only one I found was useless, but short of pick-pocketing or exploring more dangerous dungeons, I dunno. That'd be a nice long-term plan I guess, but right here and now I think that--hooh! Yeah! I got a wonderful idea! We should spar! Like a practice battle!"

Suddenly Cracker spun around on the spot, arms raised in a fighting stance, and his legs dancing on the spot as he beamed at the Croagunk with a faux-threatening furrow of his brows and a gigantic, playful grin on his face that belied any seriousness in his posture. There was no doubt the offer was serious though, as he dove into his roundabout reasoning for it. "C'mon it'll be great! I can show off my speed and test out some moves, and you can practice countering, so other fast Pokemon like me can't get to drop on yah! Awesome, right?! We'll both get better, and then I can help you fix your house! What d'ya say!"

The Aipom finally began to wind down, but in the process he realized the extent of the word bomb he'd just dropped on Goro and suddenly looked rather sheepish. He dropped the offensive stance and rubbed the back of his neck as he laughed awkwardly. I--I mean... after we eat of course. I bet you're probably starving. I should be too, but I'm--hah!--just so worked up and excited, I can't wait, but... oh! I'd better check on the sauce!" he chirped abruptly, rushing over to the fire in mild alarm.

He'd gotten so distracted that he'd almost forgotten all about the bowl of mashed berries and fruit. Not much time had passed, but they didn't need long to warm sufficently enough to bubble, which meant it was time for the final ingredient in his weird little recipe, so he promptly snatched up a mushroom and one of his Fire Rocks with his tail. The stone was sharp enough to serve as a blade for slicing up the fungus, the pieces of which he happily dumped into the sweet-smelling sauce, and stirred in with the pestle, while humming an energetic, yet erratic tune.

Goro blinked, still somehow surprised when Cracker erupted in a flurry of movement and chattering words a moment after he finished talking. The more he spoke with this aipom, the more predictable he became, at least as far as the conversation went. He felt simultaneously relieved and foolish for thinking that Cracker might think him stupid for the advice he gave, as once again, the monkey pokemon wholeheartedly agreed with his thoughts and proclaimed him a genius. As a pokemon who had never prided himself on his smarts, as one whose intelligence used to be often belittled and still got him into trouble, it tickled him silly to be called clever like that. Goro's smile came quite a bit easier now, the nervous butterfly feeling in his stomach becoming less prominent. This wasn't so bad.

Cracker even made a good point of his own. Maybe a bunch of Astonishes in rapid succession, supported by the boosted speed of Agility, might prove useful. The more he used, the more likely it became that at least one of them stunned his victim. Goro hadn't even considered that. Talking about moves and tactics and fighting was kind of cool, he realized. He found himself wanting to do it more, about more pokemon. This was exactly the kind of theory that he could handle; realistic, brutal, and violent theory that might even one day come in handy when he encountered it. And all it took to find that out was a little bit of talking with the most hyperactive aipom on this side of the swamp.

"We can practice together," he agreed, ambling over next to Cracker while the purple monkey attended to his sauce. It was coming along quite nicely; that was a scent he'd never encountered before. He couldn't wait to taste it. "We should probly work on your speed, first, though. I don't wanna try hittin' you 'til you have a good chance of dodging me." And the idea of training with someone else... it wasn't wholly unappealing. He used to watch his mom and dad train together sometimes, and when it came time for him to learn how to battle, his mom taught him hands-on. He never liked learning like that, not with her, but he wouldn't be learning like that from Cracker. He'd be teaching, kind of, even if at this point the aipom sounded like he knew what to shoot for. And he could the aipom better than he himself was taught. Goro liked that idea.

He knelt down next to the fire and scooted a bit closer to it, rotating the surskit on the spit carefully. He'd done this quite a number of times, but he wanted to be extra sure that the bug got a good roast now that he was hosting a guest. Too well-done and a lot of the flavor went out the window, and not enough time on the fire meant it was mushy and raw. Goro didn't much mind the latter, but liked cooking his food now, and he had a feeling that Cracker wouldn't be down to eat raw bugs.

His lunch sufficiently turned over, Goro rose up and gave his front yard a cursory glance. "Walkin' in the mud ain't that bad, honestly. It's all in the hips and ankles." The soil around here was relatively dry - not as wet as the rest of the marsh, since it rested up on something of a sloping hill. It was a very mild incline, but the pond never really surged over the bank. Cracker shouldn't have much of a problem practicing with Agility in these parts. "The trick is to keep moving so you don't give the mud a chance to sink yer feet." But maybe the monkey pokemon was simply not used to the ground in any part of the swamp - the forest he lived in sounded like a very different place. If he was going to keep coming out here to learn from Goro, though, then he'd have to get used to it.

Goro turned back over to his surskit, inspecting it with a judging eye. It looked just about done, honestly, cooked pretty evenly on all sides. He neglected to put any more timber onto the crackling fire, content to let it die out while they ate around it. The croagunk sat down onto the log behind him, stretching his legs out and digging his toes into the wet soil at his feet. This was kind of nice, he decided. Talking with a stranger, cooking together, making plans for his house and theorizing about moves and stuff... He was enjoying himself, listening to Cracker's silly little humming song while he chopped up his mushroom.

Although Cracker was trying to distract himself with the food he was preparing, the Aipom ended up practically vibrating with glee when Goro accepted his hastily offered proposal, despite the hyperactive manner in which he'd made it. Normally other Pokemon found his endless well of energy to be overwhelming, if not outright annoying. And despite the laid back personality the Croagunk seemed to possess, the monkey had expected at multiple intervals so far that the frog would eventually get tired of his antics like everyone else. So the fact he hadn't yet was deeply encouraging.

The perceived lack of need to restrain himself however, was making it harder to control his impulsive nature. If he didn't find an outlet to burn off all the excitement building up inside him, the Aipom was only going to get more clumsy. Even now he couldn't stay still, poring over his improvised concoction, dancing on the spot and humming an increasingly broken tune that grew more tone-deaf by the second. In fact he'd begun stirring the mushroom-berry sauce so quickly that it threatened to spill over the edges of the bowl. There wasn't nearly enough movement in his current activity to satisfy all the twitching muscles in his little body.

His desire to start practicing right away was so intense that it was only slightly dampened by the realization that he'd have to avoid being hit one of Goro's punches; but then, his teacher was quick to suggest that their initial focus be increasing his speed. Already the Croagunk was showing, at least in the monkey's mind, proof of his vast wisdom and prowess as a skilled fighter. He really was a better educator than his own Elders had been, simply for the fact that he spent very little time talking, and chose his words meticulously, saying only as much as he needed to get the point across. And to that end, he must've understood just how much Cracker was looking forward to running around as fast as he could. Why else would he suggest they begin with the perfect avenue to channel all of his pent up energy into?

"Speed first, right. Right! That's smart!" he agreed, head bobbing up and down quickly in response to the Croagunk's concise analysis.

It was great for an Aipom like Cracker, with such a short attention span, that his instructor wasn't verbose in his lessons. As excited as he was to begin though, the least he could do was wait until they'd had something to eat. Goro sure looked like he could use the time to recover from his last bout, considering he still bore a few cuts, and multiple bruises on his arms after tanking a direct Bubble Beam attack. He actually managed to slow down his vigorous activity long enough to observe the frog as he tended to the roasting Surskit once more, backing away from the flames as one of the crisping Pokemon's limbs came uncomfortably close to him during its rotation.

Oddly enough though, the Aipom wasn't as disturbed by the sight now. As it changed in color, his perception of it as a living thing did as well. No longer was it a thing that had been killed, but a thing to be eaten, and Cracker was finally giving that some serious thought. It would certainly be rude to refuse if Goro offered, and the monkey was curious enough by now to consider trying it. Besides that, all the energy he was burning was making him pretty hungry. A bit of berry sauce just might not cut it. And as he watched it slowly rotate, he had to admit, it was beginning to smell pretty good now. He was confident it would pair well with his sauce, too, which was almost finished. A little more time nestled among the glowing embers of the firepit and it would be ready.

He continued to stir at a slower rate while Goro sat back to relax and offer up some expertly delivered advice regarding one of Cracker's concerns. The Aipom looked down at himself as the frog spoke, lifting a leg to look at one of his ankles, before putting it down to shake his hips with a grin and a giggle. Though he wasn't sure how to make use of the particular body parts the Croagunk identified, he seemed to know what he was talking about, so Cracker was looking forward to that particular lesson. Being able to run on mud without slipping or falling was an exciting prospect. Especially if it made him better as running in general, as his legs had a tendency to trip him up even on solid ground. He was just far to used to moving quickly using his tail and tree branches, instead of his feet. With Goro's help though, he was positive that would change.

"Hehehe! You're a really good teacher, Goro!" he commented as he stirred the bubbling sauce, "I feel like I've learned a lot, and we haven't even started yet!"

Leaning down to take a whiff of his fruity, mushroom blend, Cracker was pleased by the earthy aroma. Another minute more wouldn't have hurt, but the monkey was bristling with impatience, so he swiftly withdrew the hot, clay bowl from the fire, setting it on the dirt to continue stirring while it slowly thickened. "Mmm..! All done, I think. This'll make a really nice dip for the meat, I bet! I hope you like it, it's a recipe I just made up! Smells really good though!"

When Cracker complimented him yet again, Goro merely snorted politely and waved the praise off, not so easily convinced. He might make sense to the aipom now, but once they started actually training and practicing, that could change. These things were easier said than done after all. He just hoped he could make the process as easy as possible; he wanted to teach Cracker better than how he was taught, in terms of methods, at least. Goro wasn't the most tactically sound fighter in the first place, so he knew he had it work cut out for him in that regard.

The croagunk stood up, hands on his hips as he judged the roasted surskit. "This looks done too." he remarked, hovering over it. With little fanfare, he braced one hand against the surskit's sizzling body and the other at the base of one of its four legs before pulling hard. With an audible crunch, it broke free easily, leaving Goro with a surskit leg almost as tall as he was. "Here," he said, unceremoniously dropping the toasty limb in the aipom's lap. He was quick to pull off one more for himself before retreating back to the log he sat on, plopping down on it with a snack fit for three.

"I usually leave the bodies alone 'cos there's organs and stuff in there, and I don't got time to mess with that stuff. The legs are ready to go, though." As if to demonstrate, the croagunk dug his fingers into the morsel, breaking through the seared skin and ripping out a loose, stringy piece of muscle. He tilted his head back, opened wide, and dropped it down the hatch. He chewed, long and hard, before humming appreciatively. "See?" Weirdly enough, this was his way of trying to reassure Cracker. Surskit never struck him as particularly appetizing either, and it wasn't super tasty by any means, but it wasn't bad. Most importantly, it was edible.

Cracker's dip could compensate for the taste, anyway. Goro took a few inconspicuous, inspectional sniffs, contemplative. He didn't see what Cracker used, but he guessed it was mostly fruits and whatnot from his food basket. He did catch the mushroom, and it gave it something of a humble, earthy scent that complemented its flavor. It smelled good, but just to be safe, he was going to wait for the aipom to try it first. Maybe it didn't taste as good as it smelled.