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Of the various locales that Rhys had been dispatched to for missions, he had to say that Area Zero was one of the most visually impressive. A seeming natural wonder, the area was characterized by slopes, walkways, large expanses of flat earth, and clusters of shining Tera crystals that Rhys still didn't fully understand the significance of no matter how many briefings he read.
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Then again, he supposed that that was part of the reason Rocket had been pushing for mineral analysis of the newly-exposed area. That wasn't remotely his field of study, but he supposed all the higher-ups really needed were an extra pair of hands and enough of a brain to not allow the machine to get damaged while it was gathering data.
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He approached the woman with an unhurried gait, offering a crooked smile and nodding his head in return of the greeting. "Rhys Collins," he replied, sliding his hands into his pockets as he surveyed first his partner, then the machine. "'Fraid not," he quipped with a frown, walking around the device. "I was told there was a button...?"
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He crouched, squinting, and with the certainty of a man who was certain about nothing at all, jabbed at the only button he could see - a small red one nestled between a cluster of metal corners. The machine revved to life with a sound like rocks in a garbage disposal, and promptly began sinking into the earth as a handful of small drills extended from the base of the apparatus.
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"Oh, shit," Rhys commented blandly, leaning over from his crouching position to look at the increasingly deep shaft the machine was digging as it shrank from view, then back up to Nenet with a tilt of his head. "Suppose it'll come back when it's done?"
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"There is a button," Nenet confirms.
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Rhys crouches, and Nenet takes a subtle step back away from both man and machine; she then freezes when it roars to life under his touch. Her head tilting to the side, the machine seems to run itself as it digs deep into the earth and out of sight.
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"Only one way to find out, unless you want to chase after it with a bit of string."
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The machine wasn't quiet, and though there was nothing in the area last she checked, Nenet releases Solrock from its pokeball just in case. "What are the odds something comes to investigate the noise," she muses absently, her golden eyes already scanning the rocky terrain.
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Rhys curls his lip at Nenet's suggestion, opting instead to stand and absently brush off the front of his slacks. "I'd rather not, if it's all the same," he affirms, nudging a small pebble into the hole experimentally. He doesn't quite know what he expected - he can't hear the thing land over the racket the machine's making, and although it's getting marginally softer the deeper the thing burrows, he can feel the vibrations underfoot.
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When the woman releases her Solrock, he peers at it admiringly for a moment before offering a heartfelt sigh. "Well, I wouldn't have put money on it if you hadn't said anything, but this place seems to enjoy karmic backlash." Digging in the satchel at his hip, he withdraws a pokeball and calls out his Crobat.
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"Go up the pass and get back here if there's trouble, yeah?"
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The Crobat screeches in what Rhys can only assume is a positive response and wheels about, flapping off toward the mouth of the path. As he passes overhead of a small clump of vegetation, the vegetation takes the opportunity to turn and regard the bat with suspicion, then toward the trainer who'd sent it out to disturb them.
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Wait, it wasn't vegetation. It was those damn vine-covered mushrooms that Rhys had had quite enough of, lately, thank you very much. "Here's the trouble!" he hollers toward Crobat as the Brute Bonnets advance on his and Nenet's position, ducking forward at an angle to draw attention from the woman and her Solrock. His Crobat whipped around almost immediately, firing off an AIR SLASH that clipped one of the fungal attackers and sent it crumpling to the rocky earth.
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One down, more than he'd like to go.
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Her training with Zev was paying off, it seemed, as Rhys's Crobat almost immediately found some aggressive vegetation, followed by an aggressive vegetal Paradox Pokemon.
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"I'm beginning to hate this place," Nenet mumbles under her breath. "Solrock!" The little sun jutters to life and flames, illuminating the area with a Flare Blitz before tackling the nearest Brute Bonnet. The Paradox Pokemon retreats, though two more seem to appear to aid the wailing Pokemon.
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"How much do you think that machine's worth?" Maybe they could hold out until its return, but she wasn't willing to risk her life for a few years and a drill bit at the end of the day.
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Nenet winces as her Solrock is nearly slammed into the ground by a thick vine; the Solrock recovers, once more slamming into a Brute Bonnet to send it flying backwards.
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Dancing back out of the way of one of the Brute Bonnets swiping at him with a vine, Rhys allows himself brief vindication as he catches Nenet grumbling under her breath - at least he wasn't the only one exasperated with everything in this place trying to kill him.
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His Crobat swings its wings forward, catching two of the Brute Bonnets with a violent slash of CROSS POISON that hisses angrily against their flesh, causing them to retreat. Backing up, he finds himself nearly on top of Nenet, offering a wry smile.
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"No idea. I don't know how popular you are with the brass, but I'm not exactly in a position to be confident of my ability to walk if I came back with a report like that." He pauses, considering briefly, and added, "Lovely to meet you, incidentally." Manners, Rhys.
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Although Crobat and Solrock are holding their own against decidedly superior numbers, it's clear that the two of them alone aren't liable to hold out against the cluster of pokemon encroaching on their position for much longer. "Are you opposed to a little tricky fighting?" he inquires, snapping his fingers.
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Above, his Crobat wheels around at the signal, spewing forth a thick HAZE that blankets the immediate area. Thin enough to see through in a pinch, but heavy enough for the Brute Bonnets to have trouble negotiating - exactly what he'd hoped for.
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"That's fair." While Nenet could probably get away with it via Zev, she didn't want to bus the poor man beside her. As he nearly bumps into her, she flashes a fleeting smile and utters a polite, "Charmed," in return. Her eyes shine with amusement.
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That amusement is soon gone as she turns her attention back to the fight surrounding them. "We can try," she assures Rhys. As Crobat covers the area in a haze she directs her Solrock to Rock Throw at an encroaching Brute Bonnet.
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A high pitched squeal fills the air as the Brute Bonnet is struck, and in the din of the area Nenet can just make out a soft whirring. "I think the machine's returning," she calls to Rhys. Peering at the local chaos, she spies the patch of ground where it would presumably return. "I'll see if I can get it!"
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Wheeling back from one of the Brute Bonnets that had ventured too close to him, Rhys can't offer much more than a grateful grunt at Nenet's response, his Crobat barely saving his neck with an AIR SLASH that tore the offending fungus in two.
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The haze seemed to be working, at least enough for Solrock and Crobat to be picking off one of the Paradox pokemon here and there, but a low series of noises from deeper along the trail has Rhys's heart lurching into his throat. He nods to Nenet - "Go, I've got your back." and calls to his Crobat, "Finish the poisoned ones, time's up!"
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The Crobat screeches in response and proceeds to vomit a stream of viscous liquid that splatters onto a Brute Bonnet, already ill from poison, and promptly melts it into a smelly slough against the ground. Even fighting for his life, Rhys did enjoy a good VENOSHOCK.
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Trusting Rhys to distract the Paradox Pokemon around them, Nenet kneels onto the ground; a few second later the ground pushes upwards and she digs down with her hands until the machine finally breaks free from the earth.
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With the machine back in their possession Nenet pulls out a second pokeball and lets loose a Celesteela of all things - it's not huge by its species standards, but certainly big enough to get two people out of a sticky spot.
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"Let's go!" Nenet calls to Rhys as she shoves the machine in Celesteela's finger-like appendages and then grabs onto one of its arms. Solrock and Crobat could follow on their own.
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The only thing saving Rhys's neck right now - and that of the woman he was currently attempting to cover (him, a bona fide nerd, holding off a gaggle of pokemon, ha) - is the fact that the group of Brute Bonnets is sizeable enough to be a problem but not sizeable enough to be overwhelming.
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With the Haze working in their favor, Rhys is able to direct his Crobat in cutting down any of the walking fungi that get too close to their position - though some calls are closer than others, he has a system going. He just hopes that they'll have a way out before more pokemon are drawn to the scuffle, or he really doesn't know what he'll be doing then.
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Glancing over to see what progress Nenet has made, he finds his shoulders sagging in relief as she pulls the machine from the ground. That's their professional lives given leave to continue, now they just need to see about their biological ones.
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Her next move has his jaw dropping. "Holy shit," he articulates as the Celesteela manifests. Scrambling forward - he's not going to stop and ask twice - he clambers onto the free arm, leaning over to shout at Nenet, "You've gotta be kidding me!"
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Apparently she wasn't, as the thing launched into the air of its own propulsion. It's like we're blasting off, he thought giddily to himself as the brawling pokemon grew smaller and smaller. He only hoped he wouldn't ever find himself in a future situation where he'd have to blast off again, at least. This was murder on the arms.
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