The Enemy of My Enemy Is Smelly

When Goro the croagunk had heard from a traveler that there was water nearby, this was not what he expected.

The outlaw stared at the frozen stream with a dumbfounded look on his face, his hairless brow twitching in irritation. He was cold, tired, hungry, and he was already sick of eating snow. He'd run out of food for this little trip this morning and he was days away from any kind of civilization. His stomach was already rumbling idly and he was quite thirsty. And it seemed that a nice, ice-cold, refreshing drink was just too much to ask for.

He sighed and turned away from the large body of ice, his breath steaming in the cold of the afternoon. He could hear the sound of water rushing underneath the icy river, so it was probably just the top that was frozen over. But how on earth was he supposed to get to it without falling under and drowning? He croaked loudly in frustration, sitting down in the snow and crossing his arms in thought.

Goro was distinguishable by others of his kind by a few different markers. Perhaps most notably was his left hand - it was quite misshapen and he was always gentle with it nowadays, hinting at a significant injury. A red-stained, tattered joy ribbon was tied to his left bicep, and in his other hand was a bindle containing his supplies (or what was left of them).

To any onlooker, he probably looked like a homeless vagabond down on his luck. In actuality, he was a very bored outlaw with nothing better to do with his time than to get himself into trouble like this.

If the outlaw was looking for trouble, he wouldn't have to go far. A certain growlithe strolled into view and made her way to the body of ice, stopping just at the edge. Snow was an unfamiliar surface to Opal. She didn't want to experience slippery coldness as well as the stuff that kept landing on her and getting in her fur.

Although Opal didn't notice the other pokemon's presence immediately, it didn't take her long. A sniff of the air brought with it a highly unpleasant stench. Gods, what on earth was that?! It was awful! Opal whined and tried to bury her nose in her paws, which mainly resulted in a wet snout. Great, just great. Now she was even colder! She hated to imagine how much she'd be suffering if she didn't have the inherent warmth that came with being a fire type.

Goro remained largely unaware of the fire-type nearby, too occupied on his mission. He wanted water. The water was under the ice. So he had to get through the ice. The problem was he couldn't very well break the ice because then he'd fall through and get stuck. So distance would be a factor. He eyed the bindle laying in his lap, wondering if he could poke a hole through the ice if he jabbed down hard enough. The last thing he'd want would be to break his hobo-stick, though...

If only he could melt it. Then the water might not be freezing. It could even be warm; that would be a marvelous change of pace from all the snow and chilling winds. But he definitely didn't know any fire moves, and he didn't have the materials he needed to start a fire - if he even could. He shivered absently while he contemplated his conundrum.

It looked like he was just gonna have to break it. The poison-type outlaw sighed one last time, setting his bindle in the snow next to him and rising to his feet. He shook himself out absently before eyeing the distance between him and the frozen stream; it was maybe one, one-and-a-half Goros away from him.

A weak Earthquake might do the trick. He'd start with a very, very small one. That way, even if it turned out he used too much force, he could turn around and get out of the way if something bad happened. Resolutely, he raised one foot up in the air and stomped down hard. Underneath him, the ground groaned and shuddered, shaking violently, and he watched as the force spread far out enough that the ice began to shake, as well! It made a bunch of little cracks in it, but no clean breaks. Darn.

Completely heedless of the fire-type nearby, Goro raised his foot once more to try a stronger Earthquake...

[Energy: 6 since I forgot to put in in last post]

If Opal thought the stench and wet nose was bad, what happened next was definitely worse. The ground suddenly shook underneath the young growlithe. She retained her footing, but ended up staggering onto the frozen stream while trying to remain upright.

This was bad, Opal thought anxiously. She was on the cold, slippery ice, and it was shaking and breaking! She had to get back to safer ground! Unfortunately, such a thing was easier said than done. It was quite a difficult task to select where to place her paws. If only she had someone with her who knew what to do!

Opal's efforts were foiled when the second quake hit. The ice shattered beneath the pup, plunging her into the freezing waters below with a loud yelp.

(Osnap u rite. 12 energy for Goro)

Success! A wide smile bloomed on Goro's face when he heard the telltale sound of ice cracking and splitting. Looking out in front of him, a significant portion of the frozen ice was collapsing, from one end of his vision to another. He'd have plenty to drink! But his joy turned into confusion when he heard a sharp cry just before an ominous splash. The fighter was quick to react, turning on his heel quickly, and he caught just a flash of orange fur and sharp teeth before the creature dropped into the freezing water.

Goro didn't react for a few moments. He felt equal parts embarrassed and panicked, his stomach tying itself into knots. The whole point of doing it that way was to avoid doing that to himself. But some pokemon had - what, snuck up on him? Or they were just sitting quietly nearby? Either way, he'd had no idea they were there until it was too late. He jolted into action, leaving his bindle where it lay in the snow.

The croagunk hustled up to the edge of the stream, dropping to his knees as he stared into the depths of the ice-cold water. For the most part, the water was clear, and he could see the figure now much more clearly. It was some sort of dog pokemon, with orange fur and black stripes. He hadn't met one of its kind before, but the coloring hinted at a fire typing...which was not good. He hoped they could swim. But if not...

"Grab on, stupid!" Goro shouted, hoping they could hear him through the water. The outlaw plunged his good hand into the water, all the way up to his bicep. It was cold. Horrendously cold. If the pokemon kept their wits about them, then they could swim up, latch on, and he could pull them out. He did not want to have to leap in there after them.

Opal had never gone swimming before, but instinctively, she began to paddle. It was hard work keeping her head above water. The current constantly threatened to pull her under and carry her away. It was a rather scary experience, and it took all of the fire type's focus to not lose her head. She had to keep paddling, she had to get to the bank of the stream, however impossible that task seemed right now.

Salvation came in the form of another pokemon who happened to be nearby. They were a stranger, and a species she hadn't encountered before, but Opal was not about to be choosy. Choosy was absolutely not something she could be in this situation. She latched on to the frog's arm as it was offered,albeit probably a bit harder than they had been hoping.

Oh, yuck, Opal thought as a horrible taste entered her mouth. It was truly awful, enough so that the pup's hold weakened for a tense moment. She fortunately clamped back on just in time. This unpleasantness would simply have to be endured if she was to be saved. Opal hoped her bite wasn't causing her rescuer too much pain, and that she would be back on land sooner rather than later.

Ow! Legends, what the hell was wrong with this dog? Now it was a biter?! He let out a surprised gasp of pain before sucking in the same harsh breath through his teeth, clenching his eyes shut as he felt a myriad of sharp teeth close around his fist and latch on tight. The force behind them was surprisingly powerful, which perhaps was to be expected of a fire-type who was suddenly plunged into ice cold water. It hurt. It hurt a lot.

That didn't stop him from yanking up, hard. Goro rose up to his feet and pulled his arm back as hard as he could, ignoring the pain that was surging up from his hand. It might have gotten the better of him, actually, as he didn't just pull the dog pokemon out of the water. He stumbled back a few steps, pulled his hand back, turned all the way around and swung his arm out in an attempt to toss the crazy dog off of him. Yeah, he was helping the pokemon out, but that didn't mean he had to be nice about it.

If all went well, the dog pokemon would be well and truly out of the water, hopefully landing a few feet away from Goro and his hand, into the snow somewhere. If they still possessed the strength to latch on - then things might get ugly. The outlaw already had one bad hand; he did not want to see what he'd have to do in order to preserve his other one.

the sunset hero carried out 10 launched of one Frozen Stream :

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Almost as soon as she was clear of the stream, Opal let go of the foul-tasting frog, managing to drag him only a few steps with her weight as she was swung about. After a less than graceful landing and more of that dang stuff sticking to her, the growlithe scrambled to get up and shake off as much of the freezing water and snow as she could. She still looked somewhat like an abominable snowdog at the end of it.

The shaking had so preoccupied Opal that she'd forgotten about the awful taste in her mouth. She tried desperately to get rid of it for a moment. Unsuccessful, she finally turned to the pokemon who'd saved her. "Th-thank you! Sorry about the biting! That's how growlithe hold onto things, you know? Not just growlithe, actually. Other dog pokemon, too. Thank you!" the pup blurted out, still appearing to stick out her tongue, hoping the air would carry away the taste.

Frebedor carried out 6 launched of one Frozen Stream :

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Crap-crap-crap-crap. His arm was cold, now. His hand hurt and his arm was so frigid it felt prickly, the most uncomfortable kind of cold he'd ever felt. Goro shook out his hand absently after tossing the pokemon out of the water as if that would make the pain disappear. He also took a minute to study the dog pokemon, now that it was on dry land. It was covered in snow, now, though, so he had less of a clear picture. Still, what parts of it that were visible seemed...fluffy. He felt a surge of jealousy at the sight; Some pokemon were luckier than others. What he would do for such warmth at the moment...

"Uh-huh." Yeah, no kidding. She had a bite on her, all right. Apparently, she was a growlithe, though - the name rung something of a bell. He gingerly rose his other hand, rubbing at his colder arm for a moment before a warning twinge of pain in his broken fist convinced him to stop. Subsequently, he was wracked with a bout of shivers, the cold of the freezing water, snowy atmosphere, and frigid temperature getting the picture of him. This place sucked.

For a moment he felt awkward, arms hanging limply at his sides, not knowing what to do with himself in the aftermath of that little bit of excitement. Then he spotted his bindle a few paces away, having dropped it before he broke the ice on the lake. Wordlessly, he ambled away from the growlithe to go pick it up, leaning it on his shoulder.

"So yer not gonna freeze to death or nothin'?" His voice was flat and uninterested as if he wasn't particularly invested in making sure the other pokemon was okay before getting on with his business.

[Energy: 0]

Opal couldn't help but feel a bit deflated at the uninterested response from her rescuer. Her ears then pricked up again as she noticed the frog appeared to have a previous injury. Easy prey if she cared about hunting other pokemon. Even if she did, though, she already knew that this one would not make for good eating.

"Goodness, I hope not!" she exclaimed. "Hang on... I learned Sunny Day recently. I can use that to warm us up a little!" the pup then added. Without waiting for a response, Opal reared up and let out a single bark. Some kind of heat seemed to rise up from the growlithe and into the sky. Gradually, their surroundings became brighter and warmer. Opal knew that a fire would still be needed, but this sunlight would provide a bit of immediate comfort.

"Oh," Goro was visibly surprised by the growlithe's nice gesture. His body language shifted, going from uncomfortable and disinterested to clearly alert. Almost immediately after she gave her little bark, the area got quite a bit warmer - the sun was actually shining down on them! "That...that's not bad."

He croaked pleasantly, a long, relieved sound mirrored by his poison sacs inflating and deflating. His minute shivering eventually stopped as he basked in the sudden warmth. This almost made that whole fiasco just a moment ago worth it. Sunny Day, she called it. He wondered if he could do it, too. Goro hated the cold. If he couldn't learn it, maybe he could force someone else to learn it. Like one of his...coworkers.

"You didn't, uh, get poisoned, didja? That can happen sometimes when folks touch me." Now that she'd proven herself useful, Goro was suddenly worried about the puppy leaving - and more importantly, taking her warm sunlight with her. He usually carried a berry for that particular infliction just in case, and last he checked he had a lum in his bindle.

Opal was glad the stranger appreciated her gesture. He might not be bubbly and bouncy like her, but that was okay. He was still a pokemon who needed help, especially after he'd gone out of his way to pull her out of the stream. Her form became more visible as the snow on her fur began to melt.

She wrinkled her nose at the mention of poison. That explained the smell, at least. "Uh... no, I don't think so. You don't taste very nice, though," she answered, "You don't smell very nice, either." Perhaps she was being a bit rude, but Opal could not stand poison types. Most of them were smelly, as this one was, which traumatised her powerful nose.

His face scrunched up at the offense. He smelled just fine! Maybe he was a bit ripe, but it had been a while since he'd last bathed. Cattail Marsh was a long ways from here, and there was no way he was gonna take a bath in freezing water. Who was she to judge?! She probably smelled like a wet dog!

"Well, at least I don't go 'round fallin' into rivers." Goro folded his arms as he looked down on the canine pokemon, his bindle half nestled between arms and half resting on his shoulder. "You could stand to watch where you're goin'." His tone was clearly defensive but not quite upset; like he was still somewhat surprised the growlithe had taken the conversation in that direction. The last person with the stones to pull that card on him was several times stronger than he was - in contrast, this girl seemed fearless.

Maybe he was being a bit childish in responding this way, but she started it. Plus it'd been a while since he'd gotten into some trouble. If he got lucky, maybe this would go somewhere fun, like a fight.

"I was," Opal huffed, not in the best of moods, "I was minding my own business when those quakes knocked me onto the ice." Unfortunately for the frog, while the growlithe was mildly annoyed at him, she still felt some gratitude, and wasn't looking for a fight. She just wanted to find somewhere where she could make a little fire.

"Well, I'm going to go back to exploring. I don't want to stick around any longer in case there's more earthquakes," she declared, "Thanks for your help." With that, she turned around, intending to walk away from the stream and to somewhere less wet.

Goro drew back when the growlithe mentioned leaving, dismay clear on his face. Oh no. He'd been suffering through snow and cold and ice water ever since he made the mistake of wandering into the icy lands, and he was not going to let the best solution to his problems just walk away from him. Forget the water he was after; This girl had heat. But how on earth was he gonna keep her with him? Just follow her to wherever the hell she was goin'? That was lame. He had a better idea.

"Yeah, no." Goro's face hardened and his voice grew equal parts cold and amused. The croagunk took one solid step forward, raising his foot high on the second step. With a firm stomp, he brought it down hard, channeling another earthquake. This was one a bit stronger than the last one, as he intended to demonstrate to the growlithe just who was behind those earthquakes. They could have been random, but they definitely weren't.

Beneath him, the ground shook and trembled once more, and he could hear more ice cracking behind him where the frozen stream was. Perhaps if he took a moment to think about it, the outlaw might have realized that making such a ruckus near the frozen stream - undoubtedly the home of many water type pokemon - was a bad idea. But such a thing didn't occur to him; he just wanted to get his way.