[attr="class","sbody"]

When Thomas and Ripper walked a few feet from where they smashed the barricade, something would step in front of them. A Cubone, who seemed to be particularly upset, walked up to them, tapping the ground with its club. Underneath the helmet it was wearing, its eyes were streaming with tears. It would throw its club at the duo, only to seemingly miss when Thomas and Ripper ducked out of the way. Ripper gave the Cubone a perplexed look, only to be hit in the back by the club as it made its way back to the Cubone.

Ripper performed a Swords Dance, before rushing the Cubone, pincers opened and raised up. The Cubone would ready its bone club, ready to take a swing at the Scizor. But once the Scizor got close, the Cubone relented, fear causing him to seize up, before Ripper's pincers came down with an X-Scissor. The Cubone cried out in pain, before crumpling to the ground, being knocked out by the attack.

"You okay, Ripper?", Thomas called out to the Scizor, who seemed to hover over the Cubone's unconscious body for a moment. Finally, Ripper stepped back, letting Thomas catch up to him, then continue on when his master went on ahead.

---

tags: @tag
notes: tl;dr

[attr="class","sbody"]

Thomas and Ripper would continue their run through the tunnel, when the sound of gears grinding caused Thomas to stop in his tracks. He was sure he knew the source of that particular grinding. Given his time in Unova, he had plenty of time to get acquainted with such a strange Pokemon.

Most importantly, he knew exactly how to deal with it.

A Klang would emerge from the shadows, firing off a Mirror Shot at the trainer. Ripper would quickly step in to take the blast. With a grunt, Ripper would endure the attack, glaring at the Steel-type. Thomas, rather than sending his Scizor to attack, would instead send out another one of his Pokemon to deal with it. A Pangoro emerged from the Pokeball, letting out a roar.

"Brutus, do your thing!", Thomas called out to his oldest companion.

The Pangoro would rush the Klang, as it attempted to charge up enough electricity to unleash a Discharge. Before the Klang could go through with it, Brutus would reach the Klang, swinging down its army wildly into the Steel-type. The Klang would drop to the ground at that point, its gears stopped turning. Thomas got closer to see if it was still alive. After confirming it was merely unconscious, Thomas turned to Brutus.

"Good work.", he told the Pangoro, offering him a fist bump.

---

tags: @tag
notes: THIS. IS. SPARTA!!!!!!!!!!!!

[attr="class","sbody"]

Midway through the tunnel, a large rock was thrown the group's way. Ripper let out a warning cry, prompting Thomas to duck. Brutus, thanks to the sprig in his mouth, was able to anticipate the rocks coming his way, and dodge them quickly. The one rock that came Ripper's way was quickly shattered with a well-timed Bullet Punch.

The trio looked down to see a Graveler approaching them. Brutus, who was in no mood for any sort of bullshit, let out an angry roar, and charged the Graveler. The Rock-type would attempt to intercept the Fighting-type by launching a Stone Edge at the creature. Brutus, for his part, managed to weave out of the way of the piece of sharp rock coming his way, before finally closing the gap with the Graveler, and bringing down his fist as hard as he could with a Hammer Arm.

The strike made an impact that echoed through the cave, a sound that made even Thomas and Ripper cringe. But the Graveler, thanks to being Sturdy, just barely withstood the attack. The Graveler would shoot the Pangoro a wicked grin, before his body took on a glow. Seeing this, Brutus quickly took a swing at the creature with a Bullet Punch, which just barely managed to stop the Graveler. The glowing had suddenly stopped, and the rock monster dropped to the ground with an audible thud.

When Thomas and Ripper got closer, the former would see the damage done to the Graveler. Cracks had formed, and a nice mark was left where the Hammer Arm made impact. But from the looks of it, its wounds weren't fatal, though they would leave a semi-permanent scar, one that would probably heal upon evolution, if it were ever to make it that far.

Thomas signaled Ripper and Brutus to follow him. The group would make a break for the exit of the cave, having had enough of what it had to offer them for the day. Perhaps in the future, Thomas would return, but for now, he had dinner to grab, and a home to get back to.

---

tags: @tag
notes: Ending, no capture