Ancient Oceans [Mission]

[Rixie Pakuna]

Participants:
-Laz Ysal
-Solo Rose
-Van Akiyama
Objective: Find the Tentacruel's hideout, then defeat and disband its gang.

A Wingull swoops over the waves gleefully, weaving back and forth and making happy noises. Two swimmers stray a bit too far away from everyone else. One shrieked, and the other grabbed them and struck out towards shore as fast as they could. The Wingull almost seemed to laugh and wheeled through the sky, blocking the sun over them for a moment, just long enough for onlookers to see a dark shadow of a tentacle grabbing a stone from a pocket of one of the swimmer's shorts. Then the tentacles were gone, and threads of shadows merged and shot away up the coastline.

The swimmers got to the shore, panting, the girl shaking with fear. "Hey! Wait a minute!" The crowd that was gathering around them gasped as the other swimmer explained, "My Water Stone! It's gone!"

He turned back towards the water, but the girl cried out and grabbed his arm, "No, don't go back! Who knows what those... those things were..." He glared out towards the sea, breathing heavily, "Okay. Fine. Let's get the hell out of here." The Wingull continued to fly overhead, still cackling out now and then as if it were still laughing at them. Then it turned abruptly and started flying towards the cliffs up the coastline, the same direction that the Tentacruel had headed.

[Lazarus]

"A retrieval mission."

Laz whispered as he took off his black shades and used it as a make shift head band to keep his hair out of his eyes. His red hair flapping wildly at the strong currents of the air. The sea breeze also hitting him smack in the face due to the lack of protection.

Leaving his collared shirt unbuttoned still, Laz hiked through the coast of the beach, following the location of where his accepted Mission Start and Goal laid. His belt of pokeballs clung tightly to his board shorts that had an inset for belts.

Waiting for the two other people who signed up for the mission as well, Laz had began to formulate several possible scenarios and solutions to the mission. It wouldn't hurt to have some kind of plan to get you through the fight anyway.

[Van Akiyama]

It was a beautiful day as Van stopped their walk down the wide stretch of warm, golden sand. The trainer could feel a small smile as he turned his gaze away from the ground in front of him and out to sea. The sun was high in the sun was hanging high in the sky above, bathing everything in its warm glow. The crystal blue-green waters of the sea sparkled as they reflected the bright sunlight. Along the shores of the beach, students could be seen swimming, playing games and relaxing in the beautiful weather. The sight reminded him of his home back in Lilycove City.

It seemed like a perfect day to join the other students in their fun and games at the beach. However, Van was not there to enjoy the sun. Only a short time ago, he had taken a look at the mission board in the school's courtyard and seen a plea of help from another student. She had been robbed by wild Pokemon and asked for assistance in gaining her items back. After signing on for the mission, Van had quickly made his way to the beach to deal with the problem and enjoy the rest of the day lounging on the beach... again.

After spending a minute or so enjoying the weather, Van continued his walk across the beach. Soon enough, the population of students died into nothing and the trainer soon found himself walking along what seemed like a deserted beach. It seemed like the rest of the students were avoiding this area until the problem with the thieving Pokemon had been dealt with. A few minutes of silence passed before Van spotted another figure ahead. The flaming red hair gave the identity of the person away immediately.

"I see you're already here. Ready to start this fetch quest?" Van mused as he approached Laz. The entire situation reminded the trainer of several video games he had played in the past, where someone had lost their items and he had been forced to go fetch the items in question. Of course, they had to wait for the final member of their group to arrive before they could actually begin, which gave Van time to reevaluate the mission again in his head. He had already gone through it before and altered his normal line up to match the situation the best he could, but it was best to make sure everything was in order.

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[Solo]

It was just another day for Solo, well kind of. He was going on a mission with two of the most powerful trainers in the school. Isis was out, and walking by his side as he approached the other two trainers. Chances were he wouldn't even get to fight considering how strong they were, but he was going to do something, and try to help out if he could. Oh who was he kidding he was going to do his best to show them up, though he knew that he would probably fail. That didn't matter to him he just wanted to get stronger no matter the cost, and that was all there was too it.

"When are we going to get this mission started guys, I am ready to catch me some pokemon!.." he said in an obviously excited tone. Isis was her usual calm, and collected self staying at her trainers side waiting for her orders. Looking at the other two he wondered what kind of pokemon that they had with them, and he couldn't help, but wait for Aegis to evolve into a Beedrill. When that happened he would begin his ascent to the top ranks.

[Rixie Pakuna]

As you all made your appearances, the young Wingull came back and seemed to be keeping an eye out for something. Upon seeing you and your pokemon, it gave out a loud cry of alarm and wheeled around. It began to flap hastily towards the cliffs, attempting to get away from you.

-Stop the Wingull
-Follow the Wingull
-Stay where you are

[Lazarus]

"I wouldn't have accepted the mission if I wasn't."

Laz chuckled as the relatively calm atmosphere passed through the two trainers, with a small huff, Laz sat down on the grain like sand for a bit, getting in some relaxation time while he had to wait for the last member of their rag tag group of Trainers.

"As similar this situation is to the video games we probably used to play, our loves are on the line. No re runs and no second chances. So let's make it count."

Laz quipped with a tad too serious face. The somber atmosphere of his had been broken by the arrival of the last team member. With a grunt, Laz stood up and dusted off the stubborn sand that kept clinging to his pants.

"I guess it's Mission Start."

Laz commented once he saw the Wingull and presumably one of the pokemon causing trouble that was listed in the mission details. Pulling out a Pokeball from his belt, Laz chose Kirk, his Magnezone for the job. The huge light turning into a massive UFO looking pokemon.

"Kirk, Lock On to that Wingull. Im gonna follow it, given we don't know the exact location of their hideout, it might help."

Laz suggested as he started to walk with a brisk Pace next to his Magnezone who was already moving and stalking the Wingull.

[Van Akiyama]

"Obviously." Van retorted. He fell silent after his words as he kept close eye on the area in and around the beach. The trainer did not not need to be reminded that what they were doing was much more dangerous than any video game they had ever played. He knew full well that they wouldn't get second chances if things went terribly wrong. His parent had made sure he knew that long before he had gotten his first Pokemon and he had gotten a rather nasty reminder only a few months ago. The scar he had obtained from the encounter with the rogue Seviper still ran across his face.

He felt a small tingle run down his scar as the sound of footsteps caught his attention. Turning his gaze away from the beach for a moment, Van glanced over to see the third member of their party arriving. He recognized the other student from around the academy, though he had never spoken or interacted with him in any way before now. He listened as the other student asked when they were going to start and stated his eagerness to catch some Pokemon.

Van had been about to answer the other student when something caught his attention. A lone Wingull was gliding across the beach, scanning the ground and water below it rather intently, as if it were looking for something. The trainer watched as the bird gave a loud cry in panic as it spotted the three trainers and spun around to retreat. The way the Wingull had been watching the beach and how it had reacted when it had seen them struck him as suspicious.

"Seems you got here just in time. Looks like its headed towards the cliffs." Van said as he traced the bird's projected path with his eyes. As Laz took the time to call out his Magnezone and order a Lock-On attack, Van had already begun to follow the panicked seagull at a light jog. As he followed the bird back to the cliff, Van took two Pokeballs from his belt and tossed them in front of him. Belias, his Marshtomp, and Squall, his Honchkrow, were released from their respective spheres. Belias promptly matched her trainer's speed and followed him while Squall merely landed on Van's shoulder.

"Belias, dive in and follow us to the cliffs. Make sure nothing can sneak past us through the water. Honchkrow, cover Belias from the sky. Let us know if you run into any trouble." Van ordered, his breath steady and calm despite the fact that he was jogging rather quickly now. Both of his Pokemon nodded to their trainer. Belias changed it course, dove into the sea and continue following its trainer towards the cliffs. Squall took off from its trainer's shoulder and began to glide a good distance over the water. A black aura formed around the bird, signalling that it was preparing for battle with Nasty Plot (x2).

As he jogged quickly after the Wingull, he grabbed Glacies', his Cryogonal, ultraball from his belt for when the battle broke out. All that was left was to find the group of Pokemon and deal with them.

[Solo]

Solo wasn't one to talk to other people, and so he disregarded their comments that were obviously aimed at one another. Taking out a pokeball he grinned as he tossed it in the air, and it exploded in a flash of brilliant white light. From the light descended a dark pokemon that had a red looking feather above her ear. She was one of his most prized pokemon besides his Kakuna Aegis. Looking at the other two take off towards the Wingull he figured he would have to do the same. "Isis Agility then go chase it down!" he told to his pokemon in his fiercely icy tone.

She didn't seem shaken, and a light blue aura surrounded her body as she used Agility (x2). Then like a shadow in the night she seemed to disappear from his view as she ran towards the small bird pokemon. She wouldn't attack it because she was not commanded to do so, but she would easily track it down with her speed. As she left her trainer behind she was aiming to get to where she was going right, fast quick, and in a hurry. She saw the cliffs up ahead, and started to jump up them easily going towards the top.

At this time Solo took out another pokemon, and from it came his Geodude, Mars, they were going up to the cliffs, and the rocky terrain would offer his rock type a tactical advantage. Plus Geodude would be able to climb that cliff face easier than Solo.

[Rixie Pakuna]

The Wingull was flying too fast to notice its pursuers at first, but upon seeing a quick shadow leaping up along the crevices towards the top of the cliff, it cried out, "Gull, gull! Wingull!" and it shot a hasty warning Water Gun right in front of Isis, desperately hoping to discourage her from pursuing it further. It wheeled around shot back up towards the cliff towards the safety of its nest, thinking that she would be distracted by the Water Gun that was headed towards the ground just in front of her.

The water and the air of the beach was filled with a deathly calm atmosphere around the Wingull's unhappy cries, as though everything was waiting to see if the Wingull would be attacked or not. It's almost as if someone, or something, is holding its breath.
As you begin to draw closer, it is possible to see that a shelf is carved out from the cliff just below the water's surface, a dark gaping chasm in the water. Assuming that you haven't directed all your attention to the child Wingull, it shouldn't be too hard to notice. Perhaps it's worth investigating...

-> attack the Wingull
-> continue following closely (and probably have the Wingull attack you)
-> follow at a larger distance
-> abandon climbing up the cliff and turn towards the underwater shadow at the base of the cliff

[Lazarus]

"A chasm huh? Kirk, keep a close eye on that Wingull in case it tries to do something. Use Barrier twice while you're at it."

Laz said as he began to ignore the Wingull that was flying around and reached for his belt before grabbing Freiya's pokeball. Kirk then nodded, his three eyes still looking at the Wingull as he had erected a barrier around himself, sharply raising his defense. Doing it twice, Kirk had not doubly and sharply raised his defense stat. Increasing it to an insane amount.

Going nearer to the Chasm, Laz had thrown down Freiya who appeared in a burst of light, like every pokemon after being released from a pokeball. "Freiya, use Charge twice." With a nod, the blue Luxray had quickly followed her masters orders. Gathering up electrical energy inside herself, Freiya had done it twice. Despite the fact that Charge itself wouldn't stack, the boost to her Special Defense would. Her special defense already being upped by two stages, Freiya felt more confident as she strode next to her master towards the deeper crevices of the chasm.

[Van Akiyama]

As he jogged after the fleeing Wingull, Van glanced towards the Sneasel that Solo had sent out as it rushed past him. The agile Pokemon was extremely fast in catching up to the Wingull, frightening the gull and causing it to spin around and desperately launch a Water Gun at its pursuer. Van followed the bird with his eyes as it once again turned to flee after it had launched the Water Gun attack. It seemed to be heading towards the highers reaches or the cliffs, where it likely had built its nest, had hidden some of the stolen items or even perhaps both.

After a few more minutes of jogging, Van had reached the base of the cliffs that the Wingull had fled to. Looking up, he could still see the area the bird had fled to higher up on the cliffs above. However, he could not see much more than the very edge of it from where he was. After a moment of gazing up the cliffs, Van turned his gaze downward towards the water. Just below the water's surface, Van could see a large shelf within the cliff side. Although the the sunlight lit the entrance up well, the chasm within was much darker and foreboding. After turning his gaze away and examining the surrounding area, Van looked towards his two Pokemon.

"Squall, fly up and see what the Wingull is hiding. Belias, guard the entrance to that shelf for now. Stay alert." Van ordered. Belias nodded as it received its orders and placed itself in front of the large entrance of the shelf. It placed itself far enough away to know if an attack would come from within but close enough to keep its eye on the entire area. Meanwhile, Squall had gave a heavy flap of its wings and soared higher up the cliffs. The dark bird soon found itself circling the area that the Wingull had fled to and looking for any signs of the stolen property or the gull Pokemon. As his Pokemon followed his commands, Van turned toward his two allies.

"You can leave the Wingull to Squall and I. I'm more concerned about the shelf and what's lurking within. It seems the most probable place for them to hide, assuming the Wingull led us to them in the first place." Van said, casting a glance towards Belias again. He doubted the water type would be able to handle more than two Pokemon at once while underwater, though he had no doubt that Laz's electric type Pokemon would help. He wasn't sure what the Sneasel and Kakuna would be able to do, depending on what appeared and attacked them.

[Rixie Pakuna]

The young Wingull, terrified, had fled back to its nest where it had been hatched not that long ago. An angry Pelipper was now guarding it, wrapping its wings around it to soothe the frightened child. It cried out to Squall, "Pelipper! Peli, peli! What do you want?! Stay away from our home!" A second Pelipper landed nearby, giving Squall a death glare. Mommy Pelipper didn't know if they'd be strong enough to ward off the dark-feathered bird, but she knew she'd give it her all trying to protect her baby.

The chasm at the foot of the cliff yawned widely at them. Nothing stirred, even when Freiya padded closer to the water.

-> attack Wingull parents
-> talk to Pelipper
-> go swim into chasm
-> wait it out

[Lazarus]

"Alright, just make sure to stay alert. I'm starting to get a bad vibe."

Laz mentioned as he tensed himself, despite the calm air that was floating around them. Freiya was busying padding around the water, crackles of electricity flowing around her, all ready to fire off a terrorizing electric type attack should any water type even dare to appear.

To be on the safe side, Laz had procured another pokeball from his belt and released his Nuzleaf, Loki. The green thing was excitable as he already began to splash water everywhere for no real reason. A soft smile on Laz's face before the red head had motioned for the Nuzleaf to come to him.

With a snicker, Loki hobbled over to Laz, awaiting his orders with a sloppy salute and a lopsided smile. "Loki, go ahead and use Sunny Day then go use Growth while you're at it." Laz said as the Nuzleaf nodded. Walking a few paces away from his trainer, Loki had used Sunny Day, clearing up the weather as he hunkered down to the ground and used Growth, its physical and special attack being upped by two stages thanks to the special effect of Sunny Day.

[Van Akiyama]

"You say that as if I wasn't already." Van said. As the trainer turned back to face the tall cliffs and the deep chasm ahead of him, he scanned the area around them carefully again. Like Laz, he was getting a bad feeling from the area they were in. The only other students he could see were far off in the distance and avoiding the area around the cliffs. The only sounds he could hear were the angry cries of Pokemon above him and the waves of the sea crashing against the shore and the cliff in front of him. After his quick scan of the area, Van looked up towards Squall, who had landed on the edge of the Pelippers nest was busy trying to calm the gulls down.

"Calm yourself! I only want information on the recent thefts that recently occurred in this area." Squall squawked at the gulls, "Both the victims and witnesses tell of tentacles rising out of the water and pickpocketing unwary students and trainers. Do you know anything about this? the dark bird finished. As the Honchkrow spoke, he glanced around the gulls' nest with its black eyes in search of any hint of the stolen objects. He had been careful not to tell of its own or its trainer's suspicions that their child had somehow been involved in the thefts. There was no point in angering them further unless they were indeed involved. Even so, Van had told all of his Pokemon the details of the mission and to keep an eye out everywhere they could for the stolen items.

After watching Squall converse with the wild Pokemon, Van brought his gaze back down to the water before him and began to scan the ocean floor. The area around Belias was calm and peaceful, yet there were no other wild Pokemon in the area around the cliff. Like the students of the academy, they seemed to be avoiding this particular area as well. After he searched the sea floor of the area around the cliff, Van's gaze once again fell on the dark chasm below the cliffs. It had remained as quiet and dark as when they had found it, yet he had a feeling that their objective was deep within the chasm's darkness.

"Get ready..." Van said over his shoulder to Laz, "Belias, lob a few Mud Bombs into that chasm!"

He watched as Belias carefully approached the dark chasm it had been guarding and opened its mouth widely. Several orbs of compacted mud were shot out of the water type's mouth with impressive force. Despite the pressure of the water around them, the Mud Bombs kept their straight course and disappeared into the dark depths of the chasm. Seconds later, the dulled sounds of the orbs detonating could be heard. As Belias quickly swam a few paces away in case an attack came, Van watched the chasm carefully for any signs of activity.

[Rixie Pakuna]

The Pelipper glared at Squall distrustfully, noticing its surveying glances over her nest. The father Pelipper responded hoarsely, "We are not involved with the thefts. But we can tell you that they live under this cliff." He glanced at his mate, who was still glaring at Squall and puffing her feathers protectively over their only son, and added, "When I was young, before the thieves moved in, sometimes we would dive under the water there. There's a brief tunnel there that is flooded with water before you reach the spacious cavern. My mate and I," he glanced at her again, "wanted to build our nest there. It is warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and it is safe."

He made eye contact with Squall and reminded him, "Since the tunnel is the only way in, it will be easy for them to defend. But remember, that is also the only way out." He then looked away, at the trainers below, figures who, from this distance, looked even smaller than Bunearies.

A few seconds after the first Mud Bomb smashed into the Chasm and churned the water, the day, which had just been cleared up by Sunny Day, became dark and cloudy. Within seconds, rain began to fall. Slowly but surely, the raindrops became heavier and heavier as more pokemon began to add to the Rain Dance. But still nothing could be seen from outside the chasm.

-> wait more
-> go into the chasm

[Lazarus]

"Loki, try and use Sunny Day again. This rain...it wouldn't be beneficial for us. Freiya, just keep charging and make sure to be careful. Kirk, get ready to Lock On on the first thing that comes out."

Laz ordered his pokemon as he carefully watched the ripples that were formed on the body of water.

"Van, how's it going there?" Laz hollered from his shoulder, focus still on the chasm that seemed to emanate animosity. Well, if Van didn't answer, Laz had enough confidence that his best friend would survive. Back pedaling a bit, his feet crunching through the damp and somewhat harder sand, Laz kept a careful watch on his pokemon as well. Loki trying to clear the skies with Sunny Day and Freiya still sending sparks of electricity through her body and raising her Special Defense stat by another stage.

'I know you're there...Just come out already so we can finish this.'

[Van Akiyama]

Squall listened as the father Pelipper claimed that neither it or its family had anything to do with the thefts. The dark bird did not return the gulls' glares as it listened to the father's explanation and the tip that the cavern below only had a single entrance. Instead, it nodded as the wild Pokemon ended its explanation and glanced around the nest again. If any of the items were hidden within the nest, one or more of the gulls were concealing it from view. As the father turned his gaze down towards the two trainers below, Squall scanned the gulls' nest again before glancing up to the sky. Dark clouds were quickly gathering and rain was beginning to fall rather heavily.

"Very well. Thank you for the tip." Squall said to the wild Pokemon. The Honchkrow spread its wings and took flight again from the wild Pokemons' nest. It was not fully convinced that the birds were innocent in the whole ordeal, however, and circled the small habitat twice as it scanned it from above. Once it was finished, the bird angled itself downward and dove back towards the beach. It pulled out of its dive as it neared the group and landed neatly on its trainer's should, who had pulled his hood over his head when it had begun to rain.

"Anything?" Van asked his Pokemon. The Honchkrow pointed one of its black wings towards the large chasm that Belias was guarding, indicating that their objective was within. Van glanced towards the chasm through the countless ripples the downpour of rain was causing before looking back towards his Honchkrow. "Squall, fly around and check for other possible entrances." Van ordered. However, the dark bird merely shook its head and pointed down towards the chasm again. Van understood the Pokemon's meaning immediately.

"So this is the only entrance?" he asked. Squall nodded to confirm that it was indeed the only entrance to their objective. After watching the cave for a moment, the heavy rain from the Rain Dance attack began to lighten up. Glancing over towards Laz and his Pokemon, he could see Laz's Nuzleaf attempting to quell the rainy weather with its Sunny Day attack. "Give it up. They obviously have the numbers to keep the weather the way they want it." Van advised, "The Pokemon that stole the items are in the chasm and this is the only entrance. We either lay siege to the place or bait them out. I'd suggest baiting them out."

As he spoke, Van reached into his pack and removed a water stone from one of the side pockets. If the Pokemon were looking for valuable items to steal, he had plenty to use at bait. Several evolutionary stones and an Azure Flute that, if the flock of Murkrow that had attacked Squall were any indication, was very valuable in the eyes of Pokemon. Van began to roll the water stone between his thumb, index and middle fingers as he waited for Laz's answer.

[Rixie Pakuna]

The Wingull nestled up to his mother pathetically, and she glared at the Murkrow, eyeing it the entire time until it finally disappeared down the side of the cliff. She turned to her child and murmured to him, "I warned you not to be caught. I know you find it entertaining, but you really shouldn't be seen around those petty thieves. Don't forgot that they took over our nest site!" Done scolding him, she crooned, "Don't scare me like that, my baby."

Suddenly the weather becomes even darker. Either a bunch more pokemon or a couple stronger ones have added their Rain Dances to the ones that were beginning to barely falter with the Sunny Day. Dark clouds swirl above as rain once again plummets to the ground and into everybody's clothes, hair, fur, etc. Still, no movement from the chasm. It seems that whatever they are, are refusing to come out.

[Lazarus]

"Let's try baiting them out then. Get your pokemon ready."

Laz said as he gave a low whistle at the amount of rain. Even Loki's Sunny Day was having barely to no effect at the massive amount of pokemon spamming Rain Dance like there was no tomorrow. Getting a small rubber band from his board shorts pocket, Laz quickly tied his red hair back.

The heavy amount of rain making it more so difficult to even see anything. With his long red hair finally tucked behind his ear and tied into a small ponytail, Laz hollered over to his three pokemon who neared him. Ruffling his Luxray's mane, Laz had her walk near the water, her fur still sparking from the amount of electricity Freiya gathered inside her.

Her maw was still biting the air, itching to chew down on something and just electrocute it like there was no tomorrow. Laz's Nuzleaf, Loki, on the other hand had given up on even using Sunny Day and just hunkered down and used Growth twice, stacking his Attack and Special Attack to +2 each. It was the only thing he could do since there wasn't any enemies yet.

"Kirk, I need you to send as many Magnet Bombs as you can in the chasm."

Laz said as he looked at his Magnezone through the strong rain, only noticing its eyes blinking in affirmative as it faced the empty chasm while still floating on the shore. With a shout of his name, the Magnezone unleashed three Magnet Bombs towards the chasm, the balls plopping in the water, notable sinking before vanishing from site. If it causes an explosion, it hit something, if it didn't, well, Laz could always try and hit the surrounding areas.

[Van Akiyama]

Van watched through the thickening sheets of rain as Laz ordered his Magnezone to launched several magnet bombs into the caverns their targets were hiding in. The Magnezone let out a robotic shout of its name and lobbed three bombs into the dark chasm. The three orbs of metallic energy spiraled into the submerged caves and disappeared into the darkness. Van kept his eyes on the cavern for a few seconds before turning back to Laz and holding up the Water Stone in his hand.

"Sieging the place and provoking them to retaliate like this is only seems to be making them dig in and stay put. It's best to draw them out." Van called to Laz through the loud noise of the downpour around them. As he finished speaking, the trainer drew back his arm and lobbed the Water Stone into the sea. Through the dark and disturbed surface of the sea water, he could make out Belias quickly diving after and catching the evolutionary stone before it reached the shallow sea floor. Once it had retrieved it, the Marshtomp resumed watching the dark chasm that the thieving Pokemon were holed up in.

"I'm sure you know that Belias won't be harmed by your Pokemon's electrical attacks." said Van. After watching the chasm for any signs of life or movement for a few moments, Van glanced towards Squall. The Honchkrow's gaze was aimed up the cliffs, towards the next of the Pelipper and Wingull that it had questioned a short time ago. The dark bird wasn't convinced that the family of gulls were completely innocent. Upon catching its trainer's eye, Squall ruffled its feathers and gave a shrug to show that the rain wasn't bothering it much. As a bird, nearly all of the rain was simply sliding off of its feathers.

Assured that his Honchkrow would be fine, the trainer turned his attention back to the situation in the water. It was getting difficult to see well through the sheets of rain pounding at the water's surface, but he could tell that Belias seemed a bit more nervous now that it was holding the Water Stone. However, the mud fish Pokemon held its ground as it waited for whatever was in the dark chasm to come out and attack it. It had positioned itself a fair distance away from the caverns so that it would have time to dodge and retaliate if something launched an attack from within. It seemed that all of Laz's Pokemon were preparing for battle or were waiting for the battle to begin.

[Rixie Pakuna]

The Magnet Bombs disappeared into the water heavily, and zoomed down into the chasm. There was a huge explosion, followed by two more in quick succession. The cliff itself seems to shake. Whatever's in the chasm, it managed to dodge the Magnet Bombs. But they slammed against the rocky walls, and it seems almost as though the chasm is about to collapse, sealing off the entrance to the underwater cave. It would be dangerous to proceed with any more large explosions...

A single Finneon darted out from the cavern eagerly, fluttering eagerly around the Water Stone. As if not even noticing that the Stone as being held by a Marshtomp. As soon as it realized this fact, however, it confusedly stopped in its tracks, and attempted to rush back into the cavern! What will you do?

-> chase it back in!
-> try to coax it back out
-> BOMB THEM! (even though it will collapse the tunnel)

[Lazarus]

"You three, stand back and just focus on buffing yourself up. We'll let Belias bait the thing out."

The conditions were still rough, the increasing down pour making it overly difficult to see much except the faint outlines of what was what. With the orders given to them, the trio had focused on it.

Freiya was first as she returned to her Master's side, thinking of a few things before coming up with a solid string for her moves. With her repertoire, there wasn't much which meant she was basically stuck using Charge and raising her Special Defense stage by stage.

Next was Loki, who was meditating in the heavy rain that was being caused by the obscene amount of pokemon using Rain Dance. Once more, it stuck itself to the ground and used Growth twice and finally maximizing his Special and Physical Attack stats as he calmly waited for the battle to start.

Kirk just floated there and used Barrier, creating shell slash armor like thing around him that was transparent and pretty much made it harder to hurt him by raising his Physical Defense so much more.

[Van Akiyama]

Van felt the ground beneath him shake as the three Magnet Bombs detonated within the darkness of the underwater chasm. The sound of cracking rock resounded through the area as the Magnet Bombs destructive power took effect, though it was muffled by both the downpour and the fact that it was underwater. It seemed that the attack had come close to causing a cave in. As the effect of the Magnet Bombs vanished, Van glanced over towards Belias. The Marshtomp was uninjured and was still clutching the Water Stone tightly in her front fins.

As Laz ordered for his Pokemon to buff themselves even more, Van caught sight of something coming out of the chasm. A single Finneon had emerged from the shadows of the caverns and had approached Belias. However, from what he could tell through the broken surface of the water, the fish seemed to ignore the Marshtomp in favor of the Water Stone that she was holding. Van watched as the Finneon circled Belias a few times before stopping and looking up towards the mud fish Pokemon. After a moment, the Finneon had turned and retreated back into the caverns.

Van watched the caverns intently for a moment to see if the Finneon would bring anything else out. However, when nothing else emerged from the darkness, Van put two fingers to his lips and whistled loudly. Once again, Belias emerged from the sea and quickly approached her trainer, still holding the Water Stone between her fins. Van knelt down and thanked his Marshtomp as she handed him the stone. Rising back to his feet, Van crossed his arms and stared into the dark chasm above.

"Either its gone back in to get reinforcements or its not coming back out without proper bait." Van said to himself. The Finneon had retreated when it saw Belias, yet it or its group had stolen from trainers while they were swimming. It seemed that they were being cautious, though it was to be expected after the numerous attacks they had lobbed into their lair. After a moment of thought, Van glanced towards the stone that was in his hand.

"I'm going to toss the Water Stone out into the water and see if they come out. Your Pokemon should position themselves closer to the cliff so that whatever might come out won't see them until they're already out. We don't want to spook them into staying hidden by having a small army waiting in plain sight. If this doesn't draw them out, I'll swim out there myself and see if they'll take the bait then." Van explained through the heavy sheets of rain. As he spoke, he approached a nearby small outcropping of rocks and crouched down behind them. He was hidden from sight of the caverns, but he could still look around the corner to see what was going on. With the thick dark clouds and the thick rain, his black clothing would prove useful in keeping him hidden.

Once Belias had gotten back into the water and concealed itself behind some rocks and seaweed, Van drew his arm back and once again tossed the stone out into the water. Despite the dark atmosphere and the thick rain, Van could followed the glint of the evolutionary stone as it sunk to the shallow ocean floor. All that was left was to wait and hope that the thieves would take the bait and fall into their ambush.

[Rixie Pakuna]

In just moments after the stone hit the solid rock bottom near the base of the cliff, multiple Water Pulses all came rushing out of the cavern, forcing away anybody that was too close to the cavern. The Water Pulses (three to be exact, though that's nearly impossible to tell) created a dramatic display of water that crashed straight at the pokemon. A Finneon, probably the same one as before, came rushing out of the cave, scooped up the Water Stone between its front fins, and darted back towards the chasm right before its friends sent another shock of Water Pulses through the water.

Water Pulse has a 20% chance to confuse the target.
If a pokemon is hit and the dice rolls 1-2, the hit pokemon is confused.
1st Water Pulse barrage: [dice=10]
2nd Water Pulse barrage: [dice=10][rand=992060282966122505327655002474850114165758714086687566398177296]

[Lazarus]

"Damnit! They know we're here!"

Laz shouted through the thundering rain. He meant that the word 'we're' was for him and Van but seeing as he wasn't anywhere to be seen, probably already getting to position for a surprise attack, the enemy should instead think that he was referring to him and pokemon that were already out.

The stream of Water Pulse came rushing towards them but the Nuzleaf was already tensed up and unleashed a barrage of Razor Leaf that sliced through the rain and the incoming water pulse. Thanks to the power boost it had gathered before the attack, the combo was strong enough to save his team from any kind of damage from that assault.

"Freiya, use Discharge and try to goad them to coming nearer. Everyone, let's move back after that and see if we'll be able to get them to chase us."

Laz said. All of his pokemon agreed as he started to back track very slowly as Freiya sent a raging Discharge through the water, hopefully burning through any kind of resistance as the electric attack coursed through the water, making a 'taunt' like suggestion before using Swagger. Hopefully the enemy could see it and more or less want to chase them to the land.

As the attack soon finished, the red head started to make more noticeable steps going back before they were a bit farther now but still within attacking range of the enemy.