» Sub Divo Fraglantia [Ajax&Nyx] «

[Birdybot]

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Name
N/A

Dæmon
N/A

Level
19

Ability
Rock Head

Moves
Tackle, Defense Curl, Mud Sport, Rock Polish, Rock Throw, Magnitude, Selfdestruct

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Two very weakened Pokémon were now in this battle; Espi and Geodude. The Dig had clearly had a huge effect on the Zigzagoon, leaving her with possible even less health than Geodude had after all those super effective Bubbles and Bubblebeams. Geodude was possibly better off, since he was able to hide his pain better than his opponent and he had a higher defense stat. It would, however, take less time to make him faint since Weedy's Bubblebeams were much more powerful against him than either of their attacks would be against Espi or Weedy, especially with Espi under heavy protection. As for Diglett, he was looking and feeling pretty healthy. Not so many attacks had hit him this battle, and it was clear that he was still full of energy. The sort-of Tail Whip Espi had used while flying through the air and attempting to use a Sand-Attack had lowered his defense stat a little, but not too much as it was not a proper Tail Whip. Diglett was aware of the lowered stat, but not worried.

Geodude was impressed with Diglett's abilities. His friend was incredibly skilled at that sort of thing, and he felt almost weak compared to the Ground type in this battle, although to be fair he was facing an opponent with a type advantage. Still, as it was a double battle, they could both work together to bring him down and then Espi behind him. The Smokescreen didn't bother either of the wild Pokémon too much, as it wasn't as if Espi would be moving anywhere so it was obvious as to where she was; hidden from view by the doughnut shaped smoke. If they moved inside, their accuracy would probably be lowered, so it would be a good idea to use long-range attacks on Espi if they attacked the shiny racoon. The Bubble from Weedy was too randomly fired to be accurate, but a good percentage still managed to hit Diglett, a smaller amount striking Geodude.

The stinging Bubble over, Geodude and Diglett exchanged glances then nodded, Geodude rushing at Weedy in a Tackle. This Tackle was poorly aimed and likely to miss due to the Rock type's reduced accuray. He kept trying anyway, focusing his slightly blurred eyesight on his target as he charged, never completely sure that he would be able to hit Weedy or not. At this point, it seemed he would most likely miss. Diglett had meanwhile attempted to sneak around to Weedy's other side while he was busy dealing with Geodude, ready to strike with a Mud-Slap whenever the Horsea wasn't looking, waiting for Geodude to finish his Tackle before he made what would with any luck be a surprise move.

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[Rin]

► Okay, this was bad. Ajax couldn’t exactly see the Zigzagoon (as she was surrounded by smoke) but he knew that Dig had been pretty powerful. A critical hit, they would say. And now, even more moves were coming. He realized that Geodude had gotten more hits and Diglett was still more energetic, just as Espi’s HP was getting close to the major danger zone and Weedy was still relatively fine. They could pick of Geodude first, which would make the battle far easier for Espi without the distractions, or go for Diglett… There wasn’t much time left—it looked like the ground-types were making a move. ”Watch each other’s backs!” he called before Geodude vanished into the smoke. «

► Espi crouched low to the ground, slightly frightened. She could hear the whoosh of air as Geodude’s Tackle came closer…and there! There was his shadow, whizzing off to the side in her general direction (although from the looks of things his aim was very much off from where she was). ”Weedy, he’s there!” Sparing not a second, Weedy whipped around and fired a fierce Bubblebeam at Geodude as he rushed by. At the next second, however, she saw Diglett looming behind him--”And behind you!” The seahorse was knocked to the side by Diglett’s competent Mud Slap attack, his accuracy lowered. «

► Despite her previous trembling, Espi stood strong on her three legs—here was her chance to prove herself! She could do this! Letting out a loud Growl she surged forward almost simultaneously with a Headbutt as Ajax cried out, ”Espi, now’s your only chance! Then get away!” She pattered forward as powerfully as she could on her three legs and stump; head lowered and intent on the strike—Diglett was so close…! Moments later, the smoke cleared and Ajax yelled, ”Focus, Weedy!” knowing that Diglett could make some sort of counterattack on Espi, which could faint her. Blearily shaking mud out of his eyes, Weedy obliged, irises glowing briefly as he Focused his Energy for the next turn. «

[Birdybot]

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Name
N/A

Dæmon
N/A

Level
19

Ability
Arena Trap

Moves
Scratch, Sand-Attack, Growl, Astonish, Magnitude, Mud-Slap, Dig

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Geodude was annoyed that the Tackle had driven straight past his target, having attempted unsuccessfully to change course a little to actually hit Espi at the last minute. As he sailed on past, he was glad at least that the Smokescreen appeared to be leaving, since that just created confusion on both sides, although he was aware that his accuracy would remain lowered even after the last of the murky clouds had drifted off.

At that point he felt something sharp and stinging collide with his back. The bubble from the Bubblebeam smarted, and he winced before the rest of the stream pounded into the weakened Rock type, sending him skidding forward to lie face down on the sandy ground. He twitched briefly, but a strong and super effective move like the Bubblebeam left him without a chance of withstanding that turn and his tensed body relaxed, the Pokémon fainting. He was a little annoyed that he had been defeated before Diglett, having hoped that he could at least last as long as his companion to show the Ground type that he was as good a fighter as he was. Well, that day would come at some point, unless of course Ajax decided to catch one of them. He wouldn't really mind if he or Diglett were caught; that would just lead to new and exciting adventures.

Geodude fainted! Espi and Weedy gained one level each!

Diglett saw his battling companion defeated. He still felt reasonably strong. Not his best, but strong enough. He was a little worried now as he saw that he was left to face two opponents, although one did only have three legs and was quite weakened herself. The other, Weedy, he was more worried about. A Water type and with, by the looks of things, as much energy left as he did if not a little less. Weedy was his biggest threat, but just as well he didn't want Espi around to protect her teammate. His attention was caught by Espi's Growl lowering his attack, the mole Pokémon turning round sharply to face the Zigzagoon just as she rammed her head down on his own, shoving him forcefully further down into the ground and leaving him somewhat dazed. He rose up to the surface again, blinking to sharpen his focus through the pain of the sudden impact to his head.

Right, he could do this. Now that Geodude had fainted, he wouldn't be able to harm a teammate through using this move. Diglett knew that this attack would hurt Espi as well as Weedy, and he hoped that even if it wasn't enough to make the Normal type faint it would at least deal damage to his biggest threat. The earth began to shake gently under Espi and Weedy's feet, the shaking accompanied by a rumbling sound which grew louder as the shaking grew more violent. This was a Magnitude attack, and although it wasn't the strongest possible Magnitude it was fairly decent and would be enough to deal some good damage, as well as being fairly difficult to dodge. Diglett just felt it was a shame he couldn't have used it earlier, but he wouldn't have wanted to have hurt Geodude.

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ooc: None[/div][/td][/tr][/table][/center]

[Rin]

► Espi’s eyes opened wide as she saw Geodude sink to the ground, defeated, and felt a small surge of energy that could only mean a level boost. ”We did it! And I gained a level!” she yelped with gleeful surprise, waving her tail happily and fluffing her fur. Weedy blew a couple of bubbles (harmless ones) upward as well, cheered by Espi’s euphoria. Ajax quickly spoiled their fun by yelling, ”Concentrate!” He was unsure whether to call back Espi now. Weedy was certainly weaker than Diglett at this point, although his attacks would do a lot more damage. There was also that pesky Dig attack to consider. At the same time, one or two good hits would finish off Espi. The trainer shared a quick glance with his dæmon; on the pro side, Espi would be weak but sound if he took her back, and he could give her a Potion. On the con side, she would probably be offended and unhappy that he did not trust her strength, even if it was quite obvious she would faint sooner or later. «

► As Ajax thought, Diglett’s Magnitude struck. Espi gasped and hunkered close to the ground, pressing herself against it while whimpering at the energy it took to hold herself upright on only three legs. Weedy managed to brace himself as well, but still winced as he took damage. The attack finished with Espi panting heavily and Weedy circling around Diglett, looking for a clear opening. With that, Ajax decided. ”Espi, come back! Weedy, Smokescreen and Bubblebeam again.” He needed to make sure Weedy could dodge as much as possible, and land as many hard hits as possible in the meantime. The moment he issued the order, he threw Espi’s Pokeball. She half-turned and opened her mouth to protest, but was hit by the ball and vanished inside; Ajax caught it as it bounced back. She still might get some experience, Ajax reflected, and then looked expectantly at Weedy, his expression grim. Nyx’s ears were pulled back warily and she gave faint growl at the closeness of the fight. «

► Weedy was unhappy at the loss of his fighting partner, but guessed why Ajax had brought Espi back. He had a feeling Espi wouldn’t be happy at all, however. Determined to make the oncoming quarrel less than it could have been, he swiftly blew clouds of smoke around Diglett, then fired a Bubblebeam straight at the mole Pokemon, backing away a little to dodge whatever what coming. «

[Birdybot]

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Name
N/A

Dæmon
N/A

Level
19

Ability
Arena Trap

Moves
Scratch, Sand-Attack, Growl, Astonish, Magnitude, Mud-Slap, Dig

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It was definately a good thing that Espi had been returned to her Pokéball. This made the battle fairer for Diglett, one-on-one now rather than the difficult two-against-one he had been dreading. The odds were not in his favour all the same, thanks to Weedy's type advantage, but he had faith that he could overcome that factor and win the battle. He could see that Weedy was unhappy about fighting alone and that in the celebration of Geodude's defeat he had lost concentration, which had left Diglett with the oppertunity to move the fainted Rock type, who now lay breathing deeply on the side of the battlefield.

The Bubblebeam was not welcomed. As the steady stream of powerful bubbles struck him, Diglett fliched and was forced back from Weedy. The super effective move left him panting, weakened a surprising amount. Naturally, he was not impressed by this, growing agitated as he realised he probably could only take two more hits, especially if they were like that. Something had to be done about this, and quickly.

Thinking on his feet - or whatever it is Diglett have - the mole Pokémon hurled a bunch of sand in Weedy's face to begin. The Sand-Attack seemed fairly accurate, and while Weedy might have managed to dodge it with his quick movement straight after the Bubblebeam, Diglett was using it more to buy him a little more time. Still, he couldn't think of anything better to do than use that time to run at the Horsea in a furious Scratch attack.

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[Rin]

► Weedy sneezed as the sand hit him in the face. The impact knocked him back a little, and he did nothing to stop this as Ajax yelled, ”Get away!” Continuing to sail backward, he just missed Diglett’s Scratch attack, feeling the very ends of Diglett’s paws(?) connect with the ends of his tail, leaving the smallest sting and nothing more. Of course, he was still aching from past attacks. There was also the issue of his accuracy having been lowered twice, but then again, Diglett had suffered a couple of Smoke Screens as well. Weedy could only hope that previous-stat-lowerings to Diglett, along with his type advantage, could hold him out. «

►Ajax quickly realized that the best strategy was the most obvious one here; Bubblebeam was Weedy’s strongest water-type move so he better use that every turn, and he would need the Smokescreens for defense—Focus Energy wasn’t reliable enough in terms of critical hits. ”Weedy, you know what to do,” he said. ”Another Smoke Screen and Bubblebeam.” Nodding, Weedy sprayed several black rings of smoke around Diglett before weaving in between them as they had done in training, and firing a long Bubblebeam at Diglett before darting behind some heavier patches of smoke. The Horsea hoped he hadn’t missed – the sand was making his eyes water, and he blinked furiously while keeping alert to dislodge a few particles.«

[Birdybot]

[atrb=border,0,true][atrb=width,450,true][atrb=cellPadding,0,true][atrb=cellSpacing,0,true][cs=2][bg=4D1111]

[bg=4D1111][cs=2][div style="background: #7D2920;[br"]margin: 0px;padding: 2px;padding-top:2px;text-align:right;font-size:10pt;letter-spacing:0px;font-family: Bookman Old Style;text-transform:uppercase;color:#C68179; margin: 0px 10px 10px 10px;]rawr

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Name
N/A

Dæmon
N/A

Level
19

Ability
Arena Trap

Moves
Scratch, Sand-Attack, Growl, Astonish, Magnitude, Mud-Slap, Dig

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Diglett snarled in frustration as his Scratch attack missed its target. How was he supposed to defeat Weedy if he couldn't hit him? His only hope was that Weedy's attacks would keep on missing and he could strike. Naturally, this meant he was horrified at the first sight of the Smokescreen spreading out from the Horsea. Oh. This was not good, dashing some of his hopes of managing to strike. His accuracy lowered even further, he clung onto what little hope he had.

The moment of panic cost him; the Bubblebeam struck. He ducked out of the way, avoiding at most half of the attack. He was panting now, feeling incredibly weak and desperate to win, more so than ever. This wasn't happening! He couldn't lose! Weedy was a little Horsea, and sure, there was a type disadvantage, but he refused to lose to him!

The main problem he was facing now was that he couldn't actually see Weedy. He needed to get another attack in and dodge the next attack, because otherwise he was scared that one more attack could well knock him out. He was pretty certain Weedy looked like he would survive another attack, so his nerves were high as he searched for the little Water type in the slowly clearly smoke through his blurred vision. Thinking he wouldn't find Weedy in time, he instead used a Magnitude; wherever the Horsea was, he might just hit him.

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[Rin]

► Ajax rolled on the balls of his feet, claw clenched tightly as he tried to hold in all the tension. It was just so, so frustrating, seeing the little Pokemon fighting out there and not being able to DO anything about it. He wasn’t going to go jumping into the battlefield again though. That had been really really stupid. Really stupid,

[/color] he berated himself. A brush of one of Nyx’s tails on his leg reminded him that he needed to keep calm – they could do this. Weedy had a type advantage and Diglett had been hit with a ton of Smokescreens and Sand Attacks this battle, and Espi had thrown in a few Growls too, so Diglett’s hits wouldn’t be as hard and strong as they had been at the beginning of the fight. ”Weedy, you’ve got this,” he called out. ”Just keep a thick Smokescreen layer around you at all times! Stick to your guns. “ He bit his lip when he noticed the ground beginning to shake – it had been really smart of Diglett to use Magnitude, a spread attack. It couldn’t cover the whole area of course so Weedy still had a chance of dodging it, but it was a lot less likely.

► ”I’ll stick to my guns! My water guns!” Weedy joked, a flash of blue as he briefly emerged from the black smoke. He had a bit of a winded sound to his voice – he had been hit. However, despite his fin aching, he seemed as if he could take it. Not many more, but hadn’t been as bad off as Espi at all. Ajax scowled at the fact Weedy had been hit, but he was glad that the little Horsea seemed like he was hanging in there. His yellow gaze flickered as he noticed Diglett too within the smoke – there was so much now that it wasn’t really clearing properly anymore – and Diglett looked really quite tired. Weedy, noticing the flash of brown also, obliged with the simple plan and blew another Smokescreen where he had seen Diglett, really quite glad now for all the Smokescreen training that Ajax had gone through with him. ”Good. Now, spin around in a circle as you launch the Bubblebeam. Gimme as good as you’ve got, Weedy. Let’s finish this!” It had actually been Diglett who had given him the idea of using a spread attack.

► Obediently after the cloud of dark black smoke had surrounded the area once more, Weedy moved a tad closer to where he had last seen Diglett and spun quickly around, all while emitting a steady stream of blue-hued bubbles from his snout. Ajax watched, tense – by spreading the attack it wouldn’t be quite as strong, but hopefully that would guarantee a hit and end the battle before Weedy’s HP also plunged into danger zone. He felt a twinge of guilt about taking Espi out of battle again – she had definitely been close to fainting, but she would now probably be pretty annoyed with him for not allowing her to see the fight through. It seemed like a lose-lose – either bring her back or let her faint, both which would lower her confidence…inhaling some of the black smoke and coughing while attempting to wave it away with his hand, his attention was brought fully back to the battle once more as Weedy, having fired the Bubblebeam, darted away in the Smokescreen, hidden now even to Ajax.

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[Birdybot]

Diglett's eyes flickered madly through the smokescreen. This was infuriating. His large pupils were well adapted to seeing with the minimal light that reached down into the dark tunnels in which he spent much of his time, so he was used to being able to see all the time. In the underground, it was not a good idea to rely on vision, but at least there he could make out some shapes. This was something else. A darkness even his small eyes could not see through for the solid particles billowing out in great clouds. And it seemed - yes, there was no doubt about it - the smoke was growing even more dense. Despair mingled with anger filled him. Seriously? Another of those vile Smokescreens?! The mole cursed in his head as he found himself lost within the swirling cloud, blind, lungs and eyes stinging, dizzy with fatigue.

The Magnitude he had used previously had been a success. There was hope yet. From the sound of his voice, Weedy was feeling tired as well. Just a little more. He might have little chance to perform an accurate attack, but the smoke worked in both ways, cloaking him as well as delivering a severe blow to his accuracy. To his knowledge, Weedy did not know any large wide-range attacks, so as long as he remained hidden, Weedy couldn't hit him, right?

Wrong. Bubbles shot out in every direction. There was nothing Diglett could do to avoid them, unable to see them until they were almost upon him. Each one stung, a single bubble barely smarting but the combined effect of all of them together was far greater. The attack was so spread out he was not hit by much of it, but his type disadvantage went in Weedy's favour as his head swam, barely able to keep conscious. Yet more blows drove him down. He could not bear the onslaught of small bullet-like bubbles, collapsing down within the smokescreen. After the attack, several long moments passed with not action from Diglett as he lay struggling not to lose while unseen in the smoke. Finally, his body gave out, leaving him resting against the ground unmoving.

Diglett was defeated! Espi and Weedy each gain one level!

[Rin]

► Weedy backed as far far away as he could, really worried about a Magnitude 9 or something coming and hitting him. He'd be a goner if that happened. Though his breaths were ragged, he darted around in the Smokescreen, praying that Diglett would be hit by the Bubblebeam. He had done his best to send bubbles in every direction, and he could only hope. Ajax meanwhile bit his lip, waiting for Diglett's next attack - probably another Magnitude - but, it never came. "Did...did we win?" Ajax coughed at Nyx, both rubbing his eyes and trying to peer into the mist. His daemon fanned the smoke in front of them out of the way calmly with her nine tails. "I believe we have, Ajax." She grinned briefly serenely at him, and he gave her a relieved look back.

As the smoke cleared, Weedy suddenly came shooting out of it. "Yay! Yay we won! Woo woo!" Ever his exuberant self, Weedy blew a Bubble into the air before flopping down at Ajax's feet. "Phew! I am tired. Diglett was strong! He almost got me!" The little seahorse then paused and looked up at Ajax with large eyes. "A-jay, what are you going to do about Espi? She's not gonna be happy you called her back..." Ajax rubbed his eyes again with consternation, looking guiltily back at Chatot, as if he expected the bird to judge him for his decision to bring Espi back. He sighed, knowing that there was some sort of conflict to come, then threw Espi's Pokeball. «

► The little three-legged Zigzagoon appeared with a flash of red. "Ajaaaaxxx!! Whyyyy?? I was doing fine!!" the raccoon immediately cried, jumping up and down with indignation. Or trying to at least. "Look! I'll show you! I could have fought!" and, mustering together the energy she had gotten from leveling, began to glow. Ajax jumped, looking around wildly at Nyx, Weedy and Chatot for an explanation, and quickly taking several steps towards Espire. "It's okay, Ajax." Nyx said, padding up to stand by her human again. "She's just evolving." «

► The three of them (and four with Chatot) watched as Espi glowed white more and more brilliantly, then began to flicker. Nyx pricked her ears in interest, watching keenly as the Zigzagoon's body began to elongate, becoming sleek instead of stout, the fur on the bushy tail flattening down, and long claws growing out of her three paws. When she seemed to have gained her final shape, the glowing died down; then almost abruptly it stopped, and with a glitter of the sun on the shiny's fur, Espire had evolved into a Linoone. «

► And yet the words, "I evolved! I could've kept fighting, see--" had no longer escaped Espi's mouth than she coughed on some smoke, toppled over, and fainted. Ajax quickly bent down, touching her fur gently with his one hand as he concernedly examined her for injuries. "It's okay, she'll be fine. Just get her safely inside the Pokeball, where she can rest. Though first, let's check if she's holding anything, too," said Nyx, who was gently sniffing the fainted Linoone. The daemon was referring to Espi's Pickup ability. After checking to see if she had anything in her mouth or paws that she had found in the sand during the battle, Ajax carefully tapped her with her Pokeball. "Me too A-jay. I'm tired," whined Weedy."Thanks for sticking it out, Weedy. You did a great job out there. Really, I owe you one for covering for me when I...you know." Ajax told the Horsea, who smiled back as if to say No problem before also disappearing into his Pokeball.«

► One more order of business, Ajax thought. He walked out to the battlefield where Diglett and Geodude were lying prone, fainted in the sand. Knowing what it was her human desired to do, Nyx bent down, attempted to pick up Diglett gently in her jaws, then jumped back. "Just let Diglett be. They can't ever be removed from the ground." "What?" Ajax asked incredulously as he sprayed a Potion on Diglett and Geodude, moving Geodude to the shade of a nearby sand mound. "Nope. No one will ever know," Nyx said, eyes sparkling almost mischievously, though she did build a ring of sand around Diglett to hide him from predators. "Shall we be on our way then?" "OK," said the Scizor boy amiably and he continued on the route, claw swinging beside him. «

[Birdybot]

Chatot appeared mildly surprised when Espi evolved, feeling pleased for the Normal type. He looked up at the glaring sun, still beating down relentlessly on the earth. It was far too hot; his breath was in shallow pants, and he would be sweating if birds could sweat. He stretched his wings wide and flapped them to try and loose some body heat. There was no breeze and the air was stifling. All in all, not pleasant. At least the lack of a breeze meant there wasn't much chance of a sandstorm. He had never seen one, and planned to keep it that way. Taking to the skies, the bird followed Ajax as he carried along down the route after leaving Geodude and Diglett to recover. The use of a Potion on them was very kind of him.

Small lizards skittered across the sands, feet dancing as they barely touched the baking ground. The sand formed small hills interrupted by stretched of dry reddish rock, some of which was also buried deep under the sand. Patches here and there shimmered as sunlight was bent by the change in air temperature, appearing to be pools of water which disappeared as soon as a few steps were taken towards them. It was a wonder anything managed to carry on in weather like this. Up ahead - this definitely was not a mirage - looked great pillars of rock. They were twisted in odd shapes, worn by constant beating of countless sandstorms. Their strange shapes were due to the fact that sand hit them in all directions, unlike waves hitting rocks at sea.

These rocks would have been little more than a landmark if it were not for the shadows they cast. Chatot swooped gleefully into the shade, relishing the cooler air. Something silver glittered over the hot sand, followed by something else that was silver. They looked reasonably large, but disappeared into either thin air or the sand. Perhaps they were just tricks of the mind. There were scratched in the rock around Chatot where something had been moving, so there could be something there...

From the sand burst a group of Baltoy. They were clearly alarmed by something, as they were not subtle in their fleeing even when they noticed Ajax, Nyx and Chatot. Their sudden appearance preceded the group forming a circle, hovering and linking arms as they communicated with one another in an ethereal form of pokéspeak. They sounded afraid, but it was hard to tell with a Pokémon as expressionless as a Baltoy. Finally, three broke off from the main group and floated over to Ajax. "Excuse me, human, but we may require your skills in problem-solving, if you are possessing of any. Your Pokémon may be of use to us also," the largest said.

"You see, the wonderful, refreshingly cool and ancient tunnels we have made our home are collapsing despite being in good condition, and we are baffled," another one said. The third Baltoy spun absently on the spot. It seemed to be a bit slow, but it was trying.

[Rin]

[[Ooc:// Oh yeah, did Ajax find anything when he checked if Espi's Pickup ability activated?]]

Ic://

► Ajax, Nyx and Chatot plodded on. Nyx in her Ninetails form enjoyed the searing warmth, but Ajax was starting to get quite uncomfortable. The drink earlier had helped, but his Scizor's claw was burning fiercely, the metallic sheen of it reflecting sunlight and soaking heat up so that he had to hold it away from his skin, or his own claw would burn him. His bug-like wings hummed very loudly behind him as they cooled him, but even so he was also sweating. Although his homeland was warm, there weren't many places as warm as this. At least it's the heat, not the cold, he thought to himself, mildly disgruntled. He looked down when he felt one of Nyx's soft tails tap his leg, and with her long foxlike snout she pointed ahead. There was something silver in the distance, surrounded by fantastically sculpted rock pillars. "Wonder what it is," Ajax said curiously, voicing Nyx's thoughts. They altered their direction slightly, so they walked towards it. «

► Suddenly a group of Baltoy burst from the sand, as if they were fleeing something. Ajax immediately tensed and grit his teeth, instinctively opening his intimidating looking claw and putting his left hand on one of the Pokeballs on his belt (it happened to be Scilde's). As the Baltoy noticed him they came to a halt, then formed a large circle nearby, appearing to be psychically communicating with each other. The Scizor boy watched them warily, closing his claw slowly as he saw that they weren't hostile, and by the time the three had come over to talk to him, he just looked mildly uncomfortable. Once they had claimed they requested his 'problem-solving' skills, he frowned, "hmmm"ing to himself. He had always been rather bad at puzzles and problem-solving. He usually just worked off of instinct, which was quite good concerning the subjects of fighting or battling, doing physical work, and protecting things, but simply average (and sometimes even below average, especially since he got frustrated easily) with everything else. Nyx was the analytic one. He looked at her, eyebrows raised. She shrugged back at him. They were losing time for every second they dawdled in this region, but there might be something interesting in the ruins where Baltoy lived. Ajax also felt bad for the Baltoy whose homes had just collapsed, although he wasn't sure if he could do anything about it. "Maybe we could do something...you're better at these kind of things though..." «

► Nyx herself didn't really care for helping the Baltoy, but she also believed there might be something in it that might be worth their while. "Why not." she shrugged, her expression flat and blank. Ajax turned back to the Baltoy. Styl, his newly evolved Combusken, might be able to help with anything physical, although she'd probably cause trouble at first. He wasn't sure if any of his Pokemon were particularly good at problem-solving, though - Weedy had a knack for figuring things out about people, but Ajax suspected that was because he was very attuned to people's emotions - empathetic was the word. "Okay, Nyx and I will try I guess...though I don't know if I'll be able to figure it out. Can you tell me what you guys know or lead me to the site of the collapse? Chatot, what about you?" «

[Birdybot]

((Oops, sorry for not mentioning that! Espi hasn't picked anything up this time.))

The two Baltoy that had spoken nodded, the third carried on spinning. Chatot frowned, thinking. He had seen the silver things. If they were real, that might be a lead on whatever was going on. The scratches, too. He gave his feathers a little shake as he strung together an answer. There was a chance they were getting themselves into something that was bigger than they could handle. At least the tunnels sounded nice and cool. It would be nice to get out of this heat, if only for a potentially dangerous experience. "I did see something, actually. A couple of flashes of silver across the sand, unless the sun was just playing tricks with the light. There are these scratches, too. Dunno if they're new," he told the two Baltoy, ignoring the third one.

All three Baltoy examined the scratches, but the slow one did still not speak. It stared into the middle distance, eyes closed as was the norm for its species. The other two did not think anything of this, turning back to Chatot. "I would say these have been here for a while, since the sandstorms have already begun to wear away the edges. Whatever made them can't have been that big, but it was strong to dent the rock," the biggest Baltoy reported. The second one moved out and the circle disbanded, breaking off to make way for the three Baltoy that had moved in to speak to Ajax. "Follow us. We will show you where the damage is," the largest one said. The group did not appear to have a leader, but trio appeared to be ambassadors of sorts. All the Baltoy seemed to treat one another with the same level of respect, with the exception of the slow one - it was hard to tell how the Baltoy felt about it, since they weren't exactly the most expressive Pokémon.

Ajax was being led into a tunnel. It was large but quickly narrowed. It was cuboidal in shape, ceiling and floor surprisingly smooth. The walls were rough with the eroded remnants of ancient carving, depictions lost to time. Cool yet stale air blasted along from some unseen but carefully thought out ventilation system. There was enough room to accommodate two people a few inches taller than Ajax walking abreast, which was spacious enough for the Baltoy but rather claustrophobic for large surface-dwellers. Sunlight lit the tunnel dimly, but as they walked further from this light source and the tunnel began to grow darker, the Baltoy began to glow with a faint light. This was not as bright as the move Flash, instead being thanks to their psychic abilities, but it was certainly useful. Chatot was immensely glad for this. The trio that had spoken to them began to lead them off into other tunnels, twisting and turning in a great maze. Without the party of residents, it would be difficult to ever find the way out again. The Baltoy hoped they were doing the right thing here. Ajax looked to be a young child. Could he cope? Would he stand a chance of figuring something out? They hoped his human-ish perspective would help, and he was after all the only living thing they'd found. It could be ages before they found someone else, and by then it may be too late. The collapsing tunnels they escaped from were not a good omen for anything that was to happen here. Along the walls were cracks every now and then, and a sort of scratching sound could be heard. The noise echoed off every wall, making it impossible to tell where it came from.

[Rin]

► A couple scratches and some silver flashes, Ajax thought, frowning. Neither he nor Nyx had seen them, but it could have just been since they weren’t high in the air like Chatot was. Ajax himself had no idea what it could mean; Nyx went over and gently touched the worn scratches with her paws, frowning and thinking. Definitely could be a Pokemon…a silver Pokemon, hmm…what types of desert Pokemon are silver and have claws, don’t forget it could be a shiny… «

►They followed the Baltoy down the tunnels. Both Ajax and his daemon were thankful to get out of the heat – even as a Fire-type Ninetails, Nyx had been feeling uncomfortable. The Scizor boy stared around him warily as they walked further into the tunnel, feeling rather claustrophobic even though the ceiling cleared his head – certainly an adult would be forced to stoop heavily. He fought the impulsive urge to clack his claw to hear its echo, as he stared around him, eyes adjusting to the darkness. As they delved even deeper and the Baltoy began to glow slightly, he began to get scared – this truly was a maze, so if the Baltoy were duping them, or the tunnel collapsed, none of his Pokemon knew Flash or Dig, so there was actually a significant chance that they could die down here. Not that he hadn’t faced danger before but…he shivered, putting his hand on Nyx’s ruff and giving it a gentle squeeze to comfort himself. «

► While Ajax fretted to himself and missed details, Nyx was staring around with glinting eyes, taking everything in and thinking. Flash of silver, scratches in the rock, cracks in the wall, and this scratching noise…my best guess would be some sort of digging Pokemon undermining the foundations of the tunnels. Is it just an accident, or is this a malicious act… She pricked her ears, straining to catch the source of the scratches, but it was impossible. ”Do you know what is making that scratching noise?” she asked the Baltoy, wondering if this was perhaps a norm for them. Almost at the same time, Ajax asked nervously, ”Umm…what scared you guys earlier?” (For all he knew it could have been a Pokemon rather than the tunnels collapsing, or perhaps they had been excited to see them.) «

[Birdybot]

Chatot's wings were getting tired, and there was hardly enough room for him to stretch them out with all the Baltoy here. He tried landing on one for a piggyback, but it began shaking and gave a strange hum. That was enough warning for him to take off again with a disgruntled squawk. The Baltoy returned to seeming to take no notice of him, paying attention only to Ajax and Nyx as the two spoke.

The largest Baltoy shook its head, which was more of a rotation of its entire body centred more or less around the bit where its eyes were. "We can theorize, but we know not what we face for certain. We believe the scratching is the most probably cause of the tunnel collapse. Possibly some burrowing Pokémon, we know not how strong or how many, but it could be something natural like movements within the rock," it replied in a flat tone that might have an edge of worry to it. Maybe. The other Baltoy that had spoken earlier responded to Ajax's question. "A tunnel was collapsing, and we did not want to be trapped. The tunnels we're in now are our strongest but also one of the few left," worry was more evident in this Baltoy. It seemed to show just a little more of its emotions than some of the other clay Pokémon, but was still fairly difficult to read.

The group took a right turn and were faced with nothing more than a heap of rubble. "Ah," the largest one said as though it was nothing, "let us think on this. We must open our minds and listen to everything around us, feel the very stones of this place to find the source of this collapse. Everything has a beginning. If we find the root, the problem won't come back. Can't be too hasty," it added, glancing at Ajax as it said the last sentence. The Baltoy promptly formed a circle again, this time with all but the slow one joining in, and just - floated there. They did nothing.

This carried on for quite some time. The slow one hovered gently near Ajax, glowing softly and beeping to itself at random pitches. The scratching grew louder, and a thin trail of dust trickled from the ceiling. Still the Baltoy just observed. Muffled sounds could be heard from behind the caved in tunnel shortly before their echoes, suggesting that there was another way round the blockage, at least for the sound to travel. Still the Baltoy did nothing.