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[attr="class","skulltitle"]導通抵抗

[attr="class","skullbody"]With Shiver's body near-completely enveloping him, and so many of the Wishiwashi's eyes pointed outward, Isaac expected to be perfectly defended. Nothing in the seven seas would be able to get the drop on him in such a pristine shelter. However, there was one thing he forgot to take into account when making these preparations.[break][break]

Shiver found this fucking hilarious.[break][break]

Not only did the Wishwashi not tip Isaac off, but they even split to open room around Isaac's ankle. Perfect security was breached in moments, and Isaac let out a startled yelp when Temp's rough hand took his ankle.[break][break]

The poor guy ended up banging his head on a solid wall of fish as he jolted. The Wishiwashi snickered in the sort of chorus only a hive mind was capable of. It was only when their dome parted, and Temp breached from the waters, that Isaac realized what was going on.[break][break]

"Heh. Nice one," he said, giving Temp a playful punch on the shoulder. As a bit of a little shit himself, Isaac knew what it was like to be suckered in by the siren song of a good prank. How in the world could he be mad? "How's it going, man? Been too long."[break][break]

It hadn't been that long since the Border, truly. But it sure as hell felt like forever.[break][break]

With the gang all here, Shiver's body stretched out into what could only be described as an escalator made of fish. The head of the school sat atop the platform, shooting Isaac and Temp a quizzical look. "This right here seems to be where our guy first breached into the cave," Isaac said, eyeing the tunnel that was a little too perfect to be carved by seawater erosion. "What're you thinking? Sneak right in? Or do you think we'd be walking into a trap?"

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[attr="class","skullbody"]"I like my dick right where it is, thank you very much."[break][break]

Sass aside, Temp's warning was pertinent. Preppers that went all in on weapons tended to assume the world was out to get its hands on their stash. And how would they prevent that? Why, with more weapons! The chances of them smashing into a landmine the second they entered the cave were worryingly high.[break][break]

"If he's not home, that means there's gotta be an exit that isn't rigged to explode," Isaac pointed out. "Either that, or he un-rigs the whole shebang when leaving, then re-rigs it once he's a safe distance away. Which, unless he's got some real high tech systems, seems like a stretch."[break][break]

The alternate entrance seemed like a safer bet. A shame Isaac's mind boggled as he tried to figure out where it could be. "A moon roof'd be easy to spot from above. And an underwater tunnel would ruin all the hardware and gunpowder he's trying to stow away," Isaac deduced. "Can't be any of those two . . ."[break][break]

"Shit. You think he's got a fake wall?"

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[attr="class","skullbody"]Luckily for Temp, Isaac was used to having rather clingy Pokemon. He sighed, rolled his eyes fondly, and surrendered his arm. Shiver shifted down to Isaac's feet, the Wishiwashi school now serving as a platform to brace himself on. At least he wouldn't need to swim with one arm while also carrying an entire Octillery in the other.[break][break]

The resulting stack of surf and turf looked absurd but proved shockingly effective. Shiver kept Isaac'd ankles locked, letting Radar start blasting into the wall with minimal recoil or fuss. It took a little bit of time and elbow grease, but they soon managed to chip a secret tunnel open.[break][break]

Temp, in his excitement, sent Isaac tumbling into the ocean with a cheerful back slap. Isaac popped out from the waves, palming a little bit of water out of his ears. "Heh. Sometimes you just gotta trust your gut," he said. In this case, his gut said he'd rather not get gunned down or blown up. His gut was very sensible.[break][break]

With that chipped away, Isaac popped on over into the tunnel. Shiver wasn't far behind, a few Wishiwashi peeling off of the school'd main body to form a little pair of fish legs. Isaac wasn't about to question how that worked. He was just glad one of his heavies was backing him up.[break][break]

"Any bets on what we'll find in there?" Isaac asked. "Cause I'm totally betting this guy's got, like. A little gun museum or something."

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[attr="class","skullbody"]"Ready for what? Getting skeezed out by a blow-up doll?" Isaac snickered a little, because damnit, for all Temp went for the low hanging fruit he picked funny low hanging fruit. "Psh, we got this. C'mon, let's rock."[break][break]

Thankfully, they weren't in need of much rocking to start out. They encountered surprisingly little resistance and surprisingly large amounts of gun crates. Did this guy seriously just leave his payload out in the open? And how much of this stuff did he have access to? He didn't know how good of a fun it was, but Temp sure seemed impressed. Maybe Isaac would ask Zev Harcourt about it later.[break][break]

"If he's a lightweight with enough time on his hands to dig a fucking tunnel into a cliff face, he's probably got loads of money on his hands," Isaac pointed out. "And a lightweight with a lot of money's gonna throw it around like he's compensating for something."[break][break]

A smirk spread across Isaac's face. "Y'know, if we've got a full prepper on our hands, he's probably left his cash here instead of in the bank," he pointed out. "Bet we could help ourselves to a nice treat if we keep an eye out."[break][break]

A shame they weren't keeping their eye in the right direction. Temp looked left, Isaac looked right. Isaac looked forward, Temp looked back. But none of them thought to look up towards the ceiling, nor down towards the shadow at their feet.[break][break]

Only Shiver, who literally had eyes all over their body, noticed the shining silver meteor hurtling from above.[break][break]

They rushed to interpose themselves over Isaac and Temp, their fish-like form shifting into the shape of a fist to try and meet the impact head-on. Unfortunately, it was to no avail. The typically-formidable school was punched straight through, sending Wishiwashi exploding all over the room. Half the school was out cold. The other half took one look at the situation and began flopping out of the cave in a blind rush towards the ocean. Only Shiver Prime remained, fleeing towards the safety of Isaac's pocket.[break][break]

The silver meteor landed with enough force to crack the ground around Isaac and Temp. Were it not for Shiver's intervention, those cracks could've been spread all across their spines. Upon landing, the meteor sat inert, a chunk of pure, shimmering silver with a pale blue marble melted into its skull.[break][break]

Then puffs of steam launched from the meteor as it started to unfold.[break][break]

"Uh, Temp?" Isaac said, his relief at not being crushed quickly melting away. "I, uh. I think we've got compan-!!!"[break][break]

Before Isaac could even say anything, the meteor rocketed forward. A steely leg as thick as Isaac's entire body pinned him to the wall, and a pair of pale red eyes glared hatefully towards him. With his arm pinned, Isaac couldn't fish for the Pokeballs studded along his belt. For the time being, he was helpless before the raw power of the Metagross.[break][break]

Thankfully, he wasn't alone.

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[attr="class","skullbody"]"You're-" COUGH! "-tellin'-" COUGH! "-me!" COUGH![break][break]

When Isaac was done wheezing like an often-abused squeaky toy, he traded the iron grip of the Metagross for the iron grip of Temp. It hurt, but it didn't hurt quite as much as dying in a fucking cave in. "You're telling me. It's the freaking clash of the titans over here," he rasped, watching as the Zarude and the Metagross slammed each other into the walls of the cave.[break][break]

Needless to say, Isaac wasn't just going to sit around and be a bit part in this all-Pokemon Wrestlemania. Isaac fumbled for his belt in the dark, grabbing a pair of Pokeballs and hoping they would be good enough. "Faster we pull 'em apart and beat down that Metagross, the better. Maybe we can stop 'em before the cave gives way."[break][break]

The Colonel and Baconator burst from their balls, lighting the cave up with some much needed fire. "Get the back!" Isaac whispered, the two shouldering past each other as they rushed to be the first to the Metagross. Baconator charged forward in a furious Flame Charge, while The Colonel leaped over her head to bring down a brutal Blaze Kick.

Before other could make contact, they froze in place, psychic auras surrounding their bodies. Without even breaking up its tie-up with Bongo, the Metagross had caught the two Fire types in a powerful Psychic field.[break][break]

Its brow furrowed, and then the two captives were turned into psionic playthings. They slammed into the ceiling above, the floor before, and then into each other, before being disdainfully flung into the nearby walls. The Pokemon groaned in agony, taken out of the fight in but a single, brutal blow.[break][break]

Still, perhaps the distraction would free Bongo up to turn the tide of the fight, or give Temp an opening to try something. Isaac could only hope as he scuttled away to recover his poor, battered Pokemon.

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[attr="class","skullbody"]"But what if you-"[break][break]

No. Temp was right. Isaac had fought against Cillian Quinn by Ashley Shepard's side. Hell, he'd seen Gavin's menagerie. He knew what Shadow Pokemon were capable of, and this Eevee looked as full of barely-contained fury as Gavin's Alolan Sandslash did.[break][break]

For the time being, he'd let the Eevee cook. But he didn't like the idea of leaving his friend to his own devices. He'd have to find a way to get back into the fight, once he'd caught his breath and made sure The Colonel and Baconator were okay.[break][break]

The Metagross, on the other hand, did not like the idea of letting Eevee cook. If anything, he shoved Bongo out of the way with a stiff-arm, turning his attention to his brand new foe. Psychic power rippled around his body, pulling steel crate after steel crate . . . behind him? What the hell was he planning?[break][break]

Magnetic power lit beneath his chassis, and immediately his intentions became clear. He turned his freshly polarized body towards the crates, taking advantage of opposing forces to launch himself towards the Eevee at great speeds. With sheer momentum on his side, he spun like a frisbee of death, hoping to pummel the flaming hot Eevee with a Hammer Arm before it could make too much of a threat out of itself.[break][break]

"What the hell is this thing made of?" Isaac asked as it strung its gambit together. He should've been terrified . . . and yet, he found himself strangely excited as well.[break][break]

At least while Temp had its attention, he could try and brainstorm a gambit together . . .

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