[attr="class","dangertxt"]
Wheezing in the darkness, his teary brown eyes stared into the void. It would have been a little more comfortable if there was at least a better view than this. With a particular huffier huff, something sank away within the boy, something that wasn't just physical. It was starting to become rather apparent that this was the final result of a long series of mistakes he had made.
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This was the end.
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I'm going to fucking die down here... It was an inglorious way to go. And he wasn't even sure he was even sure there would be some grand memorial. It was unknown if he shared the fate of being interred within the caves alone. Indeed, perhaps the slow onset of death would be the prelude to a bittersweet reunion.
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If he had not come to this cave... If he had not come to this region... If he had not left Galar... Then none of it would have happened. While breathing came hard, imagining he was responsible for the deaths of the people he cared about more than most in a long time definitely added a weight to each inhale.
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Perhaps he deserved this.
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Granted, all of those poor decisions had left him with a greater appreciation for the people around him. It also made losing them hurt all the more. He had been reckless, an unapologetic agent of chaos. Perhaps he should have shown a little more restraint, even if it would have been less fun. If he just hadn't gone into the cave...
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Giratina. What a fool notion to go looking for some ancient god. Where was he now? Wherever it was, it was of no help to him here, dying in the dark. Then again perhaps he was lurking around. What if the monster they had found had been a guardian, or test? Even then, he had surely failed. Outside of some passing HNN article, who would even know his cautionary tale?
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Closing his eyes, for all the difference it made, the boy wondered how long he would have to wait for the long sleep. At least he wouldn't have to worry about meddlesome adults anymore. A fact that didn't feel like as much of a bright side as he had hoped. Maybe it was Hoenn's fate to be doomed anyway. Yet how could he judge, for here he was with a sorry fate of his own.
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Meanwhile...[break][break]
Many things happen at once around the subterranean members of
Search Team 1. Rocks and pebbles are tossed aside from the protective shadows of
Hideo Kino's gardevoir, and blasted into dust by the mighty punches of
Ruby Walker's urshifu and the electric touch of
Eris Halla' own companion, the girl is whisked to safety fairly swiftly.
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John Sullivan keeps things on track as a
life dew pulses around the group to mitigate the minor superficial injures. Perhaps the soothing touch of the dew will aid any anxiety building from the whole rotten situation.
John Sullivan's orbeetles wouldn't allow their trainer to be assuaged however, as they pick of a mass of pissed off pokemon elsewhere in caves.
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And plenty of panic along with it.
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It might startle him them when
Arashi Akiyama's salazzle comes skittering out of the darkness from the group's rear. Despite one of
Arashi Akiyama's pokemon nearly causing another cave-in, the destruction wasn't without potential benefit. A narrow passage was opened that left into another cavernous mouth. In the direction of the earlier ping, perhaps it would turn out to be a shortcut.
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But who knew within this tangled maze of tunnels?
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The aftermath of
Search Team 2's incident requires a little more recovery effort. While the cut suffered by
Greyson Connors is nasty and may leave a scar, the
floral healing his pokemon soothes him with seals the gash with ease. Whatever it cannot manage is further enhanced by
Stormy Silph's own entourage and their
life dew and
heal pulse.
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The mending rain helps close the minor slashes suffered by
Stormy Silph and
Celia Auclair. Despite their desire to tend to their trainer in whatever way they can, his boltund continues sniffing around the team's excavation efforts. Joined by silvally, the two find a renewed trail. While
aromatherapy further aids
Greyson Connors,
arthur finnian vanderbilt's kabutops and espeon clear the way for their compatriot's noses.
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While their combined abilities of
ancient power and
psychic uncover several rock crammed fissures from the old cave floor, the scent guided pokemon come to settle upon one in particular. Both stop at the same gravel pit in the ground. Unbeknownst to Team 2 this is the
same fissure their missing youth took his plunge...
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Now they must decide how to proceed without causing the remnants of the cave ceiling and mountain side from dislodging where they've settled into the hole to potentially tumble down onto their rescuee, should he not have crawled far enough away. The weight of the decision is heightened by muffled rumbles heard in the distance. Small tremors shake the gravel around their feet.
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Search Team 3's situation is dire. Multiple
explosions add to the stone debris of
rock slide to immediately sweep
Xander Belmont away along with his pokemon and any surrounding roggenrola. Buried under hundreds of pounds of rock, the events of only a few moments may prove fatal as the trainer disappears from his teammate's view underneath the tsunami of earth.
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Things fair little better for
MATIAS SILPH. Caught in the same cascade of detonations as
Xander Belmont, the cloyster's efforts are valiant, but the
protect cannot withstand a barrage of this caliber. Buffeted by blasts the pokemon faints, protected from immediate death by its hard shell. The concussive force of the explosions too shower the Silph man.
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While thanks to the actions of his pokemon he isn't buried under some of the cave giving in to the destruction, the amount of sustained damage pulverizes his internals, a swift demise, as he is flung lifeless past the remainder of the team. The deteriorating situation likely does not encourage
mint frost from their own state of despair.
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An
iron tail sweeps the roggenrola and a boldore away from him, only for
MATIAS SILPH to ragdoll into him and send the lone Rocket careening to the cave floor under the monstrous trainer, a cruel fate but not as deadly as party member's. A quick
confuse ray prevents the posthumously tackled man from being assaulted further, as the roggenrola continue to assault each other around him.
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The
yawn causes them to slow slightly.
kyle lopez's naganadel mount reeling from a
stone edge slicing into its carapace, it threatens to throw their rider as the mightyena does as it is bade, releasing a
roar throughout the cave. The sound halts the plague of rock pokemon for a moment before they begin to turn, the effect of fear overriding the earlier
rage powder.
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Eva Morales's
magical leaves cuts a swath through the closest retreating roggenrola, leaving the lifeless hardened stones littering the ground as the gigalith and the remainder of its brood retreat into the shadows to eventually fade into the abyss from which they came. For a quiet moment, Team 3 can reflect on the carnage that has taken place here and appreciate the fortune theyhave by having
kyle lopez in tow...
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...an avatar with a very particular set of powers.
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With the
sandstorm gone, only the dust of the small cave in choked the air, perhaps causing a few rescuers to cough. The keen eared among them would catch the echos of wheezing hacks foreign to their membership. The devastation had opened passage into another section of the underground. While no less shrouded in darkness, a voice came.
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''
Hello...?''
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The dynamic duo of
Search Team 4 found itself divided as
Allison Hawthorne lay crumpled and unconscious against a cave wall. Time was not on
Kaida Adachi's side. The rhyperior roared in confusion and disgust as the
acid spray cascaded over it. Stumbling further as
iron head pounded into it, it struggled to deal with the unfair match-up.
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Attempting to ward off the durant, it lashed back with a
scary face. That pokemon was the most potent against his conquest. With the
dragon tail buffeting into its bulky shoulder, it swung around with a
hammer arm to bat the dragapult away. There were too many of them. Glaring at the girl, he wasn't going to let her win!
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Stomping on the ground caused the cave to shudder as an
earthquake threatened to bring the cavern down on all of them. A creature of pride, first the rhyperior had to be forced away by that masked dog, and now a mere human!? Unacceptable. Even dying as the result of his own actions was preferable, and the cave would give unless he was stopped.
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Totals:[break]
Search Team 1 - 972[break]
Search Team 2 - 867[break]
Search Team 3 - 1039[break]
Search Team 4 - 80