The Sticky Glob may not have been a direct hit, but it still hindered Josh's jolteon all the same. What Makoto didn't expect though, was for him to make a change mid-chase; hopping over onto a glaceon instead in a bold move.

How would they deal with this change in opponents?

Well, perhaps they could go for something that'd linger even after a switch in 'mons. Pulling out a Poison Barb, Makoto would attempt a toss at Inky, in the hopes of inflicting some form of status condition on him. At the same time, Tsume would decide to forgo maintaining his illusion, to instead attempt a Night Daze at the glaceon as well, in hopes of obscuring the ice-type's vision!

Poison Barb #1 used

Josh Devlin

Josh withdrew Blinky before she fell any farther behind, which distracted him enough to not notice the tiny POISON BARB enter Inky's skin. The Glaceon was so focused on catching "Melissa" that he didn't notice it, either! Over time, the venom would ravage his ice-cold bloodstream, but it wouldn't even be noticeable for a bit!

What would agitate the venom's effects, though, were those of a wave of NIGHT DAZE! Inky was running far too fast to evade the attack, passing through the shockwave that made both of them flinch from absorbing a force that threatened to knock Josh off... or would have, if his ice-type steed didn't attempt to reflect the shockwave back at them both with MIRROR COAT.

The reflected Night Daze would slam into Tsume - shattering his mienshao Illusion, and revealing a zoroark that stumbled, snarling. Even if he could resist dark-type attacks - being a dark-type himself - it still hurt with Mirror Coat's effects. The dark haze that'd settle over his vision as he was struck with his own attack didn't help in matters, either - he had to be more careful on the twists and turns of the tunnel.

Makoto cursed a bit more audibly with this - but they'd place a hand on Tsume's shoulder, to try and help nudge him accordingly as a second pair of eyes...

... Even if they had to keep their attention on the glaceon behind them, too. With Tsume's vision hampered, the ice-type was going to catch up quick if they didn't figure something out fast. And so, they'd pull out something different - a Scatterbang - that they'd throw, hoping for it to land either in front of the glaceon, in the hopes of startling him into slowing down or even throwing off Josh!

Scatterbang #1 used

Josh Devlin

With the Zoroark's cover blown and a long and straight tunnel ahead of him, this was the perfect opportunity for Josh to catch the deceitful one. "This is our chance, Inky! QUICK ATTACK!" the Gym Leader commanded. His Glaceon mount lunged forward, rapidly closing the gap, until the deafening popping noise of a SCATTERBANG ravaged both their eardrums. The reverberation was so loud that it caused the walls between Josh and his quarry to start to cave in.

The young man released his leg pressure on Inky completely and pulled back on the ice-type's reins with all his might. The agile Pokémon slammed on the metaphorical brakes to avoid being crushed by the falling rock. Once he had completely stopped, Inky reared in fright, even the master rider unable to hold on through the abrupt shift in momentum. He withdrew his exhausted Glaceon, swapping him out for Basil, a saddle-wearing Leafeon. While he knew of another way to get through the cave to the rift, by the time he got past the cave-in, "Melissa" would be long gone. Instead, he ordered Basil to casually canter back outside to deliver his report of an imminent breach of the rift.

When the scatterbang bursting is followed by the sound of rumbling, Makoto knows the chase is over - even if in an unexpected fashion. Glancing behind reveals Josh and his glaceon both coming to a stop short of the falling rocks - and faintly, they couldn't help but find relief that this didn't result in any serious injuries on anyone's part.

Still, Tsume keeps moving - running onwards and further down the tunnel, to avoid the risk of being caught up in whatever collapse had occurred behind them. He keeps moving even past a guard set at the rift - propelling himself with Agility to leap on through, before anyone can even think to give chase.

And it's only when things truly fall quiet, the only sounds being the shared breaths between Makoto and Tsume both, that they stop - enveloped by the ever-present unease of the realm. Already, Makoto can feel the hairs at the back of their neck stand on end... But they shove it down, in lieu of taking the time to tend to Tsume.

If they were going to be going deeper in, as called upon, they'd need to make sure he was in tip-top shape.