"Pluto?" If Pluto's voice echoing in the darkness is a surprise (and it is!) the cloyster that Hazel practically walks into while trying to find him is even more starling. Crying out in surprise, Hazel stumbles backward into a large rock - the cave wall? - a large rock that begins to shift and rise behind her. Not the cave wall!

As Edgar hops closer to shine his light on the very much not a rock, which is, in actuality, a very nonplussed looking graveler who clearly didn't enjoy having a random trainer bump into him while he was napping, Hazel's eyes widen, an apology already falling from her lips. "Oh. Oh no! I'm so sorry, I didn't see you there."

She should probably find a way to get closer to Pluto before this gets any worse, but the graveler's narrowing its eyes and the cloyster isn't exactly going away either.

Uh oh.

"Pluto?" she calls out again, hoping that he'll be able to follow the sound of her voice. This is really really not good. "I...I think I might need some help." Hazel's voice wavers, fear creeping in at the edges. Edgar might be able to scare off the cloyster with an Inferno, but he'll have to be careful about where he aims it. She really doesn't want to hurt anybody if she can help it. 

"Edgar, let's light things up so Pluto can find us." And hope for the best. 

Flames roar to life around the cloyster as the litwick jumps into action. Hopefully it will be enough to scare him off. That just leaves...the graveler. 

Pluto Fürst
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Smudge to the rescue! Hazel winces at the resounding thud that echoes through the cave as the Sableye headbutts the irate Graveler into the nearest wall. And...are the walls shaking a little bit? That can't be good, but Hazel can focus on that problem later. Right now, she only has eyes for the poor Graveler, who doesn't seem to be getting back up, and she doesn't think it's because there are two pokemon growling at it. 

"Wait," Hazel calls to Pluto's pokemon as they advance on the downed not-a-bolder. "I think it's stuck." It doesn't occur to Hazel that maybe she should stay put or, at the very least, that she shouldn't go over and touch the downed Graveler.

Frowning, Hazel pushes past her would be protectors and lays her palm against the Graveler's side as it thrashes and cries out, trying to right itself. It sounds like it's in pain. Probably best not to leave it here like this, not when other pokemon might come along and attack it while it's down. 

Decision made (she's gonna help the Graveler as best she can!), Hazel steps back, takes out a pokeball, and tosses it at the flailing Graveler.

With the Graveler safely out of harm's way (unless it decides to pop back out of the ball), Hazel turns to Pluto's pokemon, kneeling so that she's at their level and offering her hand for head scritches (if they want them). "Thank you both for protecting me," she tells them as Pluto steps into view. She glances up at him, offering him a shaky smile that says she's not quite as okay as she's pretending to be. 

"Sorry about that. I've heard stories about Shoal Cave and I thought I'd be able to get in and out in time, but the tide seems to have come in and flooded the way back, and my flashlight ran out of battery, and--" She's babbling and she knows it, still caught up in the shock and adrenaline of nearly being attacked in the dark. 

Speaking of the dark, it looks like Edgar managed to successfully scare off the Cloyster. The Litwick cries out in triumph as it hops back to Hazel's side.

[Catch Attempt - Graveler]

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Whew! It stayed in! Hazel can't help but breathe a sigh of relief as the pokeball stops rattling back and forth and gives a telltale click. 

Hazel lets Xye lick her hand before giving him a few scritches behind one of his ears, part in thanks and part in apology. "Sorry about that," she says as she stands and makes her way over to pick up her pokeball, "I'll try to be a bit more careful in the future."

It's hard to tell whether she's talking to Pluto or his granbull. Possibly both. She hadn't meant for anyone to have to come out and rescue her. Of course, she hadn't been expecting to spend quite so much time in this cave either...

"Is the path you came from still clear?" she asks hopefully. If only she'd brought Carmen along instead of leaving the abra to guard the shop, they could have just teleported out. "I tried the way I came, but the water had risen over most of the path and it's freezing." All it had taken was testing the water with her fingertips for Hazel to decide that swimming back was a really bad idea. She couldn't afford to catch pneumonia or something worse. Who would check on Nana? Who would run the shop?

Edgar's flame flickers and bobs as he moves away from the group again, the sound of his hops echoing off the stone. Where's he going? "Edgar wait! Where are you going? Pluto hasn't told us where the exit is yet!" she calls after the wayward Litwick. But it's no good, his light is still getting further away, further, and further until it stops and she hears a cry of alarm. 

Heedless of the danger that she might once again be plunging into, Hazel rushes to his side only to find a dazed gible blinking furiously at the sudden illumination. 'Oh no!' Had Edgar blinded it?

While it's only a temporary condition, that doesn't mean that Hazel doesn't feel bad about it. "Edgar step back, she's not used to the light." But the damage is done, the gible charges, narrowly missing Edgar in its impairment and charging headfirst into a large rock instead. It roars its fury, but all Hazel hears is its pain. That had to hurt. 

"I'm sorry, I'm really really sorry," she says as it turns and stumbles back toward them even more dazed than before. "I'll make it up to you late, okay?" 

Understanding what she's about to do, Edgar lights up the cave, trapping the gible in place with a brilliant gout of blame in the form of a fire spin. It doesn't even see the pokeball coming. 

[Catch Attempt - Gible]

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Two new pokemon in one day! Hazel might have been excited were it not for the circumstances of their capture. Hopefully, a little rest out of harm's way will be all they need! If not, she can always swing by a Poké Center on her way home.

Hazel frowns as she takes in the news. "Are you sure? I tested the water earlier and it's freezing." Which would explain the two ice type pokemon she can just barely make out at the edges of Edgar's light. They should probably avoid going that way, if only to avoid another incident.

[skip]

Pluto Fürst
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