Emma's internal guess was right on the money, and Oscar was going to explain that before being hushed. He sheepishly recoiled, coughing a bit at the smell. Oscar wasn't eager to be down here either, but he saw an opportunity and had to take it. You see, he wanted to be a Rocket Beast one day, and his relationship to the only other Rocket Beast (Emma here) was rocky at best. He saw this mission as a chance to maybe bond with her, though they were off to a rough start.

Oscar's eyes began to water from the foul resonance plaguing the sewers, and thus was very thankful when Emma handed him a mask. He slid it on as quickly as he could, letting out a deep sigh once it was secured. "I was pretty sure my lung as about to burst there. Fucking poison types, how'd they get down here anyway?"

His musing was rhetorical, and thus he would not be surprised if Emma didn't answer. Yet as they began their foray into the labyrinth under Slateport, he wanted to at least get a conversation going. Though he couldn't think of anything to talk about, so they kind of trudged along in silence any way. Even while trying to think, he managed to pay attention to his rank surroundings. They seriously needed to update this system's interior, it looked downright foul. 

It was this very attentiveness that allowed him to discover a shifting mass hanging from the ceiling. "Look up." Oscar pulled a flash light from his belt and pointed it at his target, illuminating a cluster of grimer. Their writhing and pulsing made Oscar sick to his stomach, "That is--inexplicably disturbing."

Emma Wolfe

Oscar nodded, "Yeah one sec." He went for a pokebll on his belt, refusing to take his eyes off the churning grimer pile. He opened his chosen ball, releasing the Malamar Malum. Malum turned around toward his master and cooed, waving hello at both Oscar and Emma. Oscar pointed to the pile, "Cut them down."

Malum blew a kiss and looked to the pulsating grimer. He let out a noise of disgust before raising his arm tentacles. Theg began to glow pink, and after a moment he would start swinging them toward the grimer pile. Pink psychic blades shot out with every swing, cutting into the grimers upon impact (Psycho Cut).

The grimers began to fall from the perch, splattering across the ground as Malum continued his assault. The grimers were slow and dumb, and few had the capacity to dodge Malum's barrage of psychic swords. Before long, most grimer were just sliced up puddles of goo. 

As the last grimer stopped moving, Malum's arms would turn back to normal. He turned back toward Oscar and Emma, wiggling his tentacles with triumph. Oscar stifled a chuckle, he wanted to be serious but Malum's victory jiggle dance always amused him. However, there was work to be done.

"Get your wiggles out now, then you gotta focus. We have a lot of ground to cover." Malum saluted before turning to continue down the path, wiggling all the while. Oscar and Emma would follow soon after.

Emma Wolfe

Oscar allowed a small smile to slip as Emma seemed to complain. Only the slightest influx of her tone gave away her discomfort, which Oscar found to be rather amusing. He was so used to her exceedingly terrifying confidence, it was refreshing to see her be--nervous? No, extremely annoyed. Maybe this was scarier than he thought. After all, she usually took her frustration out on him--so perhaps it would be best to end this as quickly as possible.

These grimer must have been down here for ages, as their population was immense. The trio seemed to encounter a new cluster around every corner, and Malum would handle them with expert precision. The wiggling squid found a great deal of pleasure in his task, celebrating every ripped up grimer family with a new dance. Oscar tried to disapprove of Malum's revelry, but he could not help but chuckle at his eccentric soldier. He figured Emma couldn't possibly judge him, she was too busy focusing on the mission after all.

However Malum's happy dances would bite him in the posterior eventually, as mid-celebration he would be ambushed by a Muk. The damn thing came out of nowhere, Body Slamming the malamar from the side. Oscar reacted minimally, while the Muk was a surprise he did not doubt Malum's ability to handle the brute. However not everyone seemed to agree, as a shadow began to move just outside of Oscar's line of sight. When Oscar noticed, he quickly shook his head. The shadow retreated back into the darkness, not yet revealing itself. Oscar let out a brief sigh of relief, he didn't want his trump card to be outed so soon.

Sure enough Malum recovered quickly, slicing into the Muk with a flurry of Psycho Cuts. Eventually the Muk relented, allowing the group to proceed. 

Emma Wolfe

As the massive Muk emerged, Oscar could not help but sigh. Here he thought this was going to stay easy. Shame on him for being optimistic. Stuck behind the massive sludge, Malum would attempt to Psycho Cut it up like the rest. Yet its attacks barely left a dent, though they did grab its attention. The muk barely turned as it back handed Malum, Slamming him into the wall. This was bad.

Oscar agreed with Emma, they needed more fire power. While she would bring out a nidoqueen, Oscar would command his trump card. "Emma, Psychic!" Only after he gave the command would a horrible truth dawn on Oscar. He suddenly became rather clammy, his face turning red as he bashfully looked to the human Emma standing beside him. Any confusion caused by his command would disappear as a sickly Ariados appeared out of thin air. He had name the Ariados Emma.

Emma the ariados leered forward, her stare cold and methodical as she sized up her opponent. She obviously found it to be a minor threat, as she did not hesitate to attack. Her body began to glow with psychic power, and before the muk could act against her she would exert her power upon it. The muk too began to glow, writhing as Emma forced her energy upon it. Emma did not move, nor did her stare waver as the immense goo beast thrashed about.

Now would be a good time for nidoqueen to strike.

Emma Wolfe

The silence that lingered after the Muk's death was bone chilling. Oscar felt so embarrassed, he kept his gaze down as not to catch Emma's inevitable glare. But then Emma said something unexpected. She was flattered? Oscar looked to her, shocked by her reaction. Her expression was unreadable, but the fact that she wasn't angry put Oscar at ease.

He looked to Emma the ariados, who stared blankly at the remaining grimer as they fled. "Well she reminded me of you." Emma the ariados turned, looking to neither Oscar or Emma. She began crawling away, slowly blending into her surroundings until she was completely invisible. Oscar shrugged, "She'll be around."

A coo stole Oscar's attention, and looked over to find Malum flopping over to his position. Poor thing was covered in gunk and looked about ready to pass out. Oscar squatted down to pat his head, "Good work Malum, get some rest." Malum was returned to his pokeball. Oscar groaned as he stood up, rubbing his back as he heard Emma. 

"Yeah I'm sick of this place." The two began their journey back, likely sharing few words. At this point though, that was fine by Oscar.

Emma Wolfe