When he finally arrived at the outcrop, Isaac would certainly find someone in need of a rescue, though it wasn't any of the missing people he was supposed to be looking for.

"QUAG! QUAAAAAAAAG!"

It was a situation that raised more questions than answers. What was a Quagsire doing in a place like this? How did it manage to get its head stuck in a gap in the rocks? Why did it put its head in there in the first place? What was it even looking for? Who did it belong to? Did it even belong to anyone at all? All the while, the creature just kept fruitlessly wriggling about, trying to escape its predicament, and failing to gain even a centimetre of freedom.

Of course, the liberator was under no obligation to rescue this idiot Pokemon. Even if the tide were to rise, it was still an amphibian, so it wouldn't have to worry about drowning. Eventually, it would manage to get itself free one way or another, though how long "eventually" would take was another matter entire. Plus, he had far more important business than helping every single stupid animal he came across. There were real people stuck here that needed saving just as much as he did.

But was he truly so heartless as to leave a helpless little Quagsire all alone in his hour of need?

---

Isaac Merlo
50MP for participation, 10MP for posting.

"QUAG! QUAG! QUAGQUAGQUAGQUAG-- Quag?"

As the frozen rock shattered, the curious creature fell down, bumping his empty head upon the ground as he pondered why he was no longer trapped. After taking a moment, Quagsire got up to its feet and cluelessly looked about, before laying eyes upon his saviour - Isaac Merlo and his Arctozolt. Fortunately, his focus was more on the former than the latter, for if the axlotol had realised the threat posed by the prehistoric amalgamation and its Freeze-Drying, then it almost certainly would've caused problems for everyone involved.

"Quag! Quagsire!" The amphibian greeted its saviour with a few celebratory hop and a moist hug of the leg, which would've been inconvenient, had the man not already been submerged by the waves several times. After what could only be described as "too long", he would finally let go, and consider the man's request. "Quag... Quagquagquagquagquag..."

One could practically see the little guy's brain working overtime, like an old computer trying to load up the latest triple-A video game. Slowly, but surely, he began combing through his memory, scrolling through the Excel '98 database of his brain as he tried to match his query for "other humans", before his eyes lit up.

"Sire! Quagsire!"

With a grin on his face, Quagsire would plop his way over to the cliff-face, pointing his stubby arms down towards a half-submerged cave. A cave? No, though it seemed like it at first, it couldn't be called a cave. It was a gigantic tunnel, rough and messy, bored into the earth by a rigid body and rough claws. It could only have been made by a Pokemon, and a big one, too.

Was this where the missing people went?

---

Isaac Merlo

"Quagquag!"

With a cheery expression on his face, the Quagsire would follow after Isaac. Of course, he couldn't walk on water, but he was still an adept swimmer. With a hop, the creatured splashed down into the water below, before paddling along after him. Thus, the three would venture onwards, into the strange tunnel...

And it was as they were traversing that mysterious tunnel, deep and dark and flooded and long, that Isaac would make the mistake of asking Quagsire an open-ended question.

"Quag... Quagquagquagquag sire sire quagsire quagquagsire siresirequag quag quag quagquagsire quag! Quagquag siresire quagsire quagquagquagsirequag quag! QUAGSIRE! QUAGQUAG, quagquagquagquagquagsire siresiresiresire quagsire quagsire. Quagsire sire quag sire quag quag sire quag sire! Siresirequag quagsiresire quagquagquag. Quag, quagquagquagquagquag, quag quag quag quag, quagquagquag, quag quag, QUUUUUUUUUUUAG! Sire sire, sire, quag--"

His (potential endless) blabbering is brought to an end as the passage around them begins to shake. At first, the tremors might seem like an earthquake, but when they don't subside, it's clear there's something else going on. Indeed, as man and fish and dinosaur travel further and further into the tunnel, the shaking only grows more and more intense. It isn't long before they arrive at the "end" of the underground pathway and find the source of it all.

A gigantic metal beast, so heavily plated that it might as well be a walking, breathing tank. Claws and horns covered in dirt and sediment, no doubt from ripping and tearing its way through the stone in its way. A selection of limp bodies draped off its soldiers, each of them left black and blue from their bruises. Could this be...?

"AGGGGGGGGGGGROOOOOOOOOOON!"

---

Isaac Merlo

At first, the Aggron wasn't sure what to make of the situation. It was… apprehensive? No, a better term might be stunned. It just stood there, watching as the stranger cautiously approached.

"Aggron?"

Blue eyes bore into Isaac. Then, they briefly flicked to the Quagsire, standing beside him with a blank expression on their face. Then, they slowly shifted towards the Arctozolt, rollng and sliding and tumbling along behind them. Then, they return to Isaac, before slowly narrowing. Gears are turning and turning and turning. Puzzle pieces are being pushed into place. Lines are drawn and dots are connected. Eventually, the great lumbering beast reaches a conclusion, and their expression hardens.

As does the rest of their head, as the metal plates upon their skull begin to shine.

"AGG--" The Steel-type roars, suddenly rushing forward. It aims an Iron Head right at the intruder, seeking to break their entire body with a single crushing blow. "--RON!"

---

Isaac Merlo

Two great beasts of iron clashed against one another, and while Aggron was clearly the stronger of the two, it was nevertheless forced back by the Lairon. The concussive force of the Metal Burst sent him reeling, staggering back as though its brain had been bounced around its steel skull. Despite that, the Aggron did not seem deterred by "losing" the exchange of blows. If anything, it only seemed to infuriate it.

Territorial instinct began to kick in, overriding whatever previous orders it had been given. To be challenged so brazenly by one of its lessers? Such an insult would not go unpunished. Stepping forward, it let out a roar of sheer anger, one that shook the tunnel around them from floor to ceiling. It was time to put this arrogant whelp in their place!

Tossing the bodies it was carrying down to the ground like discarded trash, Aggron reared its head back once more. Except this time, it wasn't going to rely on anything as pedestrian as an Iron Head. No, instead of its hardiness, it would rely on sheer brute strength alone.

And like a hammer coming down upon a nail, the Aggron unleashed a Head Smash upon Lairon, aiming to break both its lesser's shell and spirit with one blow.

---

Isaac Merlo

Wide eyes grew even wider as they watched the spectacle unfolding in front of them. From sheer unquestioning dominance, pushed back to the brink of equal footing. Now, Aggron was not looking down upon an undeniable inferior, but a prospective equal. This was no longer a pup that didn't know its place: This was a worthy challenger.

And that only made the iron beast even angrier.

"AGGGGGGRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOON!"

Once again, it reared back, preparing to put all of its might into an attack. Now, however, the recklessness of its Head Smash was coming back to bite it. The recoil had already drained its reserves of stamina, and though no signs showed through to its flawless steel skin, it had done plenty of internal damage, too. Still, a little thing like that wasn't going to stop it. Even if it couldn't rely on its head, it could still defeat this foe. Its metal body gleamed as it took a low stance, before it launched forth, aiming to meet the Body Press with a Heavy Slam. A test of strength, of raw might, where only the better of the two would budge. Thus, like the collision of two greatswords, the pair of Aggron would--

--CRASH!

Before the unstoppable force and immovable object could collide, the force was stopped and the object was moved. Both of them were sent skidding back as a third challenger made itself known, bursting into the tunnel as it Dug out from the earth below. For most, this intruder would be an enigma, unknown to the modern world of Pokemon. For one as well ventured as Isaac, however, its primordial body, ethereal aura, and unmistakable ivories would immediately identify it.

Great Tusk.

---

Isaac Merlo

The other Aggron lets out an irritated growl, before following it with a sour grunt. As much as it wishes to crush this poseur like a tin can, it can't exactly do that when there's a rampaging mammoth getting in the way. Thus, it grit its teeth, and instead turned its anger towards the Great Tusk. Slamming its tail into the ground and smacking it off the walls of the tunnel, it calls upon a Rock Slide, sending yet more boulders tumbling down from the ceiling.

Between the Slide and the Tomb, dozens of rocks are falling onto the Great Tusk, but it isn't so easily stopped. With a mighty trumpet, its body curls up in a ball and begins to revolve, performing a Rapid Spin. Boulders hit its whirling body and break apart, sending a blast of fragmentation scattering all across the tunnel, fast and hard and sharp and very, very bad to get hit by.

That's bad news for Isaac, who already has his hand full with the two captives. From a glance, they seem like League men, most likely a pair of scouts who happened to be in the wrong place at the wrong time. But, of course, they're not the only ones who got caught up in this mess.

"QUAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAG!!!"

The wet fellow bumbles about in a panic, watching the fight in front of him with wide eyes and mouth agape. This isn't good. Already, the tunnel isn't particularly structurally stable, and now the battle between the two Aggron and the Great Tusk is only making things worse. It won't matter who wins if they're all buried in rubble, unable to move, forced to do nothing but wait for death. How long until the entire ceiling comes crashing down on top of them? Minutes? Seconds?

Was it already too late?

---

Isaac Merlo