Hot Dogs and Frogs

Goro wasn't entirely sure if this trip was turning out to be a success or not.

On one hand, he had seen a lot of interesting sights and battled pokemon he'd never even heard of. He was learning how to fight in new ways, using his head for the first time, and gaining valuable experience in coping with his new fist injury. On the other hand, every time he called it quits, the croagunk ended up getting terribly lost and ending up someplace entirely new - on accident. At this point, he just wanted to go home! He was tired, sore, kinda hungry, and long since finished with his little 'training trip.'

"The dewgong said go south 'til I find Raintfront..." he muttered to himself, wiping a bead of sweat off of his forehead. "That's a volcano. That's like the total opposite of Rainfront."

The thug had found himself approaching an impressively sized gorge of some sorts, kind of like Venen Gulch. Except instead of the air being coated with poisonous mist, it was just hot. Goro's breathing was ragged and he moved sluggishly, having somehow ended up hopelessly lost in the eastern desert. Specifically, the Fiery Chasm - he hadn't found himself at the lip of the crater, trudging along about fifty feet away from it. His gaze was raised high, staring up at the massive volcano in front of him. It was his first time seeing one. Despite the absolutely awful location, he found himself kind of enamored.

33 - 25 (entry) = 8 energy

[Energy: 2]

Opal was a happy puppy as she explored the nooks and crannies of Fiery Chasm. The weather was perfect, and there were so many new sounds and smells to entertain her senses! Some familiar scents were present as well. Other growlithe had been here, and it seemed like an arcanine had passed this way not too long ago. Maybe she could meet them? That sounded exciting!

Unlike a certain frog, Opal loved this place. Maybe she'd have settled down here if she wasn't part of the Guild. Unfortunately, though, that wasn't an option right now. Living so far away from Grassveil would make it hard for her to do her job.

Ecccch. Ech! The temperatures of Fiery Chasm were not something Clovis was used to. This entire eastern desert area seemed to be something of a dry, heated hellscape, just as the rumors had said. The piplup was out of his element here, as a creature who did better in cool climates and around water, now standing within sight of an, admittedly rather impressive, volcano. His pretty, thick feathers weren't doing him much good in this case. Hopefully his joy ribbon wouldn't burn off.

Doubtlessly, this was a terrible and treacherous area, which Clovis had no immediate business in. He had arrived at the Fiery Chasm through wanderlust, primarily, as he felt that to visit new places and expand his horizons would leave him with one-of-a-kind experiences that not every 'mon could say that they had. Something of a maxim to keep in mind, which he could think about between bouts of panting whenever he needed to reassure himself that enduring this heat was worth it.

Careful not to get too close, Clovis approached to some 10 feet away from the chasm's edge, and, upon realizing that heat from inside the chasm could be felt at even this distance, got a move on and put more distance between himself and the fiery depths. Upon turning around to do so, he noticed one other pokémon further from the canyon than he, a croagunk, seemingly captivated with the view of the volcano in the area. Being the social bird that he was, Clovis liked the idea of having some company, especially in this oppressive environment. He approached this croagunk from the side, and after reaching conversation distance, let out a "Hmm." to acknowledge the pokémon.

Funnily enough, they did look a little familiar.

[Energy: 26-25=1 lmao rip]

Having been drifting off in his admiration of the giant lava-barfing rock in the distance, Goro was caught totally unaware by the pokemon at his side. The croagunk started slightly at his approach, turning to face him, visibly off guard. He was a bit surprised at what greeted him; a piplup was the last kind of pokemon he'd expected to find in these parts. Maybe they had come to knock around some of the fire-types he assumed lived around here.

"Uh," Goro muttered smartly, squinting at the penguin pokemon.

His tone was skeptical but not totally rude. Something about the water-type wriggled in the back of his head, just out of reach. The pink bowtie, in specific. He felt like he'd seen it somewhere before... on another piplup, who had gone adventuring with him back in his swamp. Goro's expression lit up with recognition, his eyes wide and his posture straightening up.

"... Clovis?" he half-asked, not a hundred percent sure. Maybe the bowtie was some kind of fashion statement - was Clovis the only piplup in the world who wore a pink one around his neck? He hoped not. This guy looked like the powerful water-type that helped him explore the more dangerous parts of his home dungeon. Pretty much exactly the same, in fact.

On the other hand, Goro had changed a bit. He carried with him in one hand his trusty bindle, a simple stick with a sack tied around the tip to carry around some items. A bag probably would have served better, but he hadn't gotten around to finding one for himself. On the croagunk's right bicep was his own joy ribbon, though it had been stained a suspicious red color since he had seen Clovis last. And perhaps most significantly was Goro's left hand, hanging limply, broken, bruised, and half-useless.

Opal was taking a break from sniffing and exploring to revitalise herself with Morning Sun. It was a wonderful move and a great pick-me-up. Somehow, the move seemed especially effective in a place like this. The growlithe happily stretched out and basked in the strong sunlight. As it washed over her, she pondered over which part of the Chasm to investigate next.

After a bit of this relaxation, Opal got up and continued on her merry way. Goodness, what an interesting mystery dungeon this was! It was perfect for fire types like herself! She would definitely make plans to come here again in the future.

[+6 energy from Morning Sun=8]

"Uh," the croagunk turned and gave Clovis a looking over, which the piplup returned by squinting his own eyes, and studying the croagunk up and down. While it was often difficult to discern the minute differences between individual pokémon of the same species, as all of them looked pretty similar, Clovis knew that he remembered this croagunk's mug from somewhere. There was only one croagunk that Clovis had ever bothered to remember the name of in his life, and that was the swamp-dweller, Goro, who he had fought alongside for a bit in Cattail Marsh. While this croagunk seemed to fit what memories Clovis had of Goro's general figure and posture, he also seemed to be carrying some bag-on-a-stick that Clovis didn't remember seeing before, as well as wearing a reddish ribbon on one of his arms. Urk, and then there was his left hand, which Clovis had to make a conscious effort not to stare at.

"... Clovis?" guessed the frog, correctly. That had to be Goro, right? Clovis didn't think that any other croagunk knew his name. The piplup let his beak corners rise into something of a smile, as he was glad to be remembered, and in the presence of someone who knew him.

After giving a slightly relieved exhale, Clovis chirped back. "That's right...! Uh, Goro." There was something of a mix between joy and uncertainty in his tone, as he wasn't entirely confident in his guess. Still, he hoped that he was right. Clovis remembered Goro being something of a kindly 'mon, though a bit brash, and it'd be quite a folly if the name he had just blurted out was the wrong one.

Unaware of Clovis' own uncertainty, Goro smiled widely at the piplup's words. What a stroke of good luck; he'd managed to get himself lost in a place like this, and of all the pokemon to show up, it was Clovis. A powerful water-type that had already fought side by side with Goro, and fought well at that. The croagunk could remember more than one instance where Clovis' quick thinking and powerful moves saved him back when they were messing around with strong pokemon in the marsh; against any fire-types that tried their luck, he would likely prove doubly effective.

"What the hell are you doin' here?" he asked, his tone much more friendly now that he knew who he was dealing with. "I thought you lived in Grassveil. Ya working at the guild now or somethin'?"

Type difference aside, Goro couldn't fathom why someone would willingly spend time in this place. The volcano was kind of cool, but definitely not worth the heat. He planned on getting the hell out as soon as he could grab directions. Good, reliable, believable directions. The last time he thought he had a straight shot home he'd ended up here of all places.

Maybe Clovis knew how to get back to Rainfront.

the sunset hero carried out 8 launched of one Fiery Chasm :

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Strange and unfamiliar scents began to waft up Opal's nose as she explored more. Well, mostly unfamiliar. She could smell two individuals of species who weren't local to these parts, and one she could already identify by name. It was Goro! The growlithe would recognise that awful stench anywhere! A rush of anger surged through her for a moment as she thought about how he treated her back in that frozen wasteland.

Opal had no idea what that smelly frog was doing here or who he was traveling with, but she was going to go and investigate. The pup was in her element-quite literally!-and felt that she would have the upper hand if they were to have a proper fight this time around.

Frebedor carried out 8 launched of one Fiery Chasm :

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With the croagunk's big smile, Clovis knew that he had guessed correctly. It really was Goro, all the way out there, at such a great distance from Cattail Marsh. Compared to the Goro he remembered, this Goro seemed a bit worse for wear, what with his ragged ribbon and limp, presumably broken hand. He'd have to ask about that, as well as what had brought him to the Fiery Chasm. Who's looking after his stretch now? He wondered.

For as much as Clovis would have liked to ask a few questions, the croagunk was quicker in producing some questions of his own. "What the hell are you doin' here? I thought you lived in Grassveil. Ya working at the guild now or somethin'?" Seemed he had taken the words right out of Clovis's beak with his first question.

"You know that I am often inclined to travel, Goro." He thought that he had said something like that once. Maybe. "I figured it might be good for me to get out to somewhere I'd never been before." Looking around, the sights of the Fiery Chasm were unlike anything to be found back west in Grassveil or Rainfront. Smoke, ash, and rock dominated the landscape, along with an intolerable heat; this didn't seem to be a particularly good highlight of the continent's eastern side.

"...I'll admit coming here of all places might have been a mistake."

Goro croaked at Clovis' response, long and loud and satisfied, his smile only growing as a strong thrum of nostalgia ran through him. That was true, wasn't it? That was the reason the piplup had come around to Goro's territory in the first place, and it was probably why he agreed to go fight a bunch of crazy dangerous pokemon with a total stranger at a moment's notice. As straight-laced as he seemed, Goro thought Clovis was pretty hot-blooded. He was glad to run into him again, especially here of all places.

"Yeah, I messed up, too," he agreed, resting his bindle stick on his shoulder. "Got lost on my way home." He wasn't sure how he ended up making his way here from up north in the snowy lands, but he had managed it nonetheless. Either he had an impressively bad sense of direction or that dewgong had lied through her rotten teeth when she gave him directions.

He suspected the former but hoped for the latter. "This oughta be a pretty good spot for you, though. If the locals take after the place." He took a cue from the piplup, turning his about to inspect their surroundings. It didn't take a vivid imagination to guess what kind of pokemon would live in this particular hellhole. Clovis could probably thrash the hell out of some fire-types if memory served correctly.

(0 energy)

Opal had been following Goro's scent, but she couldn't help stopping for a moment as she detected a delicous red gummi. She immediately raced over to the tasty treat and picked it up. It was tempting to bite down on it and eat, oh so very tempting, but she resisted the urge. Into her backpack the gummi went, to be saved for later. The cafes in Grassveil could do wonderful things with gummis.

With the gummi procured, it was time to go back to tracking. It wasn't too long before Opal found who she was looking for. She sat at the top of a rocky cliff and looked down on the croagunk, both literally and metaphorically. Goro was with a small blue pokemon, who must be the source of the other scent she'd picked up. It didn't make sense for either of them to be here, so she listened to see what she could learn. A few small bits of rock fell down as she made herself comfortable.

[using Reviver Seed=27 energy]

A slightly discouraged look crossed Clovis's face as he heard Goro mention winding up there as a result of being lost. He was far from Rainfront or Cattail, certainly, and being lost was usually cause for some concern. But Goro was a hardy 'mon, and Clovis had faith that he would be able to find his way back home if someone pointed him in the right direction. Rainfront was west-ish from there, right?

His spirits were picked up a bit with Goro's saying that this ought to be a good spot for him. Clovis didn't necessarily agree with the sentiment, but there was some humor to be taken from the claim. Even if local fire-types would be at a disadvantage when facing him, the heat, terrain, and vaguely dusty air kept Clovis from feeling like he was in a "pretty good" spot. "Riiight." He said, nearly letting a chuckle slip. There might have been a bit of sarcasm there.

Ah well, maybe spending some time around Goro would help him get his adventurous spirit back. The piplup wasn't in too big of a fighting mood at the moment, but they could sit around and catch up, spin some tales, or do something else of the sort. He had been meaning to ask Goro a question.

"Say, did something happen to your hand?" He inquired, putting a flipper below his beak and giving his head a slight tilt. It was a bit frank of a question, but Goro had never struck Clovis as the type to beat around the bush. It'd probably be a nice conversation-starter, too.

And but a second after, a tickle ran through the feathers on Clovis's back as he heard the sound of some rocks falling from above. He twitched his eyes a bit in reaction to the sound, but otherwise kept his attention fixed on the frog, confident that, if there was any cause to be concerned, Goro would tell him.

"Oh, yeah," Goro looked down at his own hand like it wasn't his, lifting his arm slightly. All the time that had passed after his initial injury hadn't done much good for the wound; his hand was noticeably misshapen and bruised. The swelling had died down after a while, but it still hurt like hell whenever he tried to move it.  It'd turned into something of a weakness for him - enemies tended to target his left hand now when he got into fights. It made things exciting, of course, but it hurt like hell whenever they managed to tag it.

Still, he lifted the hand in front of his face and attempted to form a fist with it, grimacing as he did so. To say nothing of the stinging pain, his rightmost finger refused to bend all the way down, and as he turned the half-fist over he noticed a portion of the top looked almost... sunken in. It brought back bad memories. If the croagunk closed his eyes, he could almost hear the resounding crack! that echoed through the clearing when he struck the monster that he'd been fighting.

"Hit someone too hard, I guess." Goro exhaled softly as he dropped his hand, letting it hang limply at his side. "Pretty sure I wound up hurtin' me more than I hurt them." He shrugged once, morosely. The croagunk was absorbed enough in his own thoughts that he didn't register the significance behind the sound of rocks falling in the distance. It was just background noise to him as he contemplated the long-term consequences of his own foolishness.

Opal was approached by two other types, a fennekin and a cyndaquil. The growlithe watched them closely, but they didn't seem hostile. On the contrary, they both were grinning as they walked up to her. "Hello there!" the fennekin greeted, "You wanna play with us? Spike and I were thinking of looking for explorers to prank!"

Opal realised that these two thought she was a fellow local. Still, it was always nice making new friends, and all three of them looked roughly the same age. Plus she could use some help in messing with Goro. She grinned back as as she answered, "Sure. I'm actually an explorer as well, but there's a croagunk down there we could have some fun with." The growlithe indicated down the cliff to where she had been watching.

"We should be careful, though. I happen to know this particular one can use Earthquake, and it looks like that's a water type he's with."

"Thanks for warning us," the cyndaquil piped up, "It seems like whatever we do should be quick. Maybe just run in, scatter a few of their things then run back out. It's always funny watching strangers get flustered when things fall out of their bags."

"I don't think that's a very nice thing to do, but I also don't like that croagunk. I've met him before, and he was really mean."

"That makes him even better to prank!" the fennekin cheered. Opal nodded in agreement, and the newly formed trio went on the move. They slid down the side of the cliff, aiming to build up momentum to charge at Goro and his mystery companion.

Frebedor carried out 2 launched of one Fiery Chasm :

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Being a piplup, Clovis didn't really have hands, rather, he had a pair of mostly-flat flippers with no digits on their ends. They were smooth, and perhaps not as dexterous as a croagunk's, but having little fingers to break meant hurting more, didn't it? Stuff that moved around tended to be sensitive. So, Goro's fingers must have been sensitive. Clovis tried to imagine the pain from breaking a hand as similar to breaking a flipper, or having a foot smashed. He shuddered a bit from this-- it was not a pleasant thought.

Hearing the croagunk explain his injury, Clovis remained plenty curious even after his initial question was answered. Who's the someone Goro punched hard enough to mess his hand up like that? What kind of hide was that tough? Typically, even hard rock and steel provided little issue for fighting-types like him.

"That makes him even better to prank!"

"Wha?" There was some voice above him, distant but vaguely audible. Turning to face it, Clovis took in what he saw with a step back. Three fire types slid down the cliffside in his direction, reaching great speeds as they did so. Clovis spaced his legs apart in something of a fighting stance, anticipating hostility, but still not entirely sure as to their intentions. They were headed straight for him, and instinct told him that the lot were hostile, but Clovis was still willing to award the benefit of the doubt, and rarely made the first move in situations like this anyway. Something of an honor thing.

The piplup turned quickly to his croagunk companion as if to gauge his reaction, before turning right back at the fiery trio with a new, rakish expression. "Easy, pretty miss, easy!" An eye was shut for a wink, a flipper was folded at his side, and his voice was imbued with the alluring power of attract. That ought to make some of them think twice.

...

Gah, I've got to stop letting Goro see me do this.