[center][h1]The Excavation Cave Crew[/h1]
- Roxanne ([@Shadeflare123]), Novis ([@Sen]), Aiden ([@Deos Morran])[/center][hr]
[hider=The Epic Triple Battle Inside the Excavating Cave, Pokemon captures included!]Aiden say Novis take teh charge and dive headlong into battle. A part of him on the inside was a upset about how much danger he could've just put not only himself, but also the rest of the team in, but at the same time... He was ready to support him and couldn't help but think he would've done the same in his place. [color=lightblue]"Alright bud I got your back! Let's get 'em Zorex!"[/color]

From there Zorex hopped to and jumped ahead to join Neir on the makeshift battlegrounds. smile wide and ready for a good old fashion three versus three Pokemon battle.

Roxy had to admit that she was a bit eager for a battle. The last one, she'd ended up losing against Aiden, so who could blame her? When that little group of troublemakers jumped them, she whirled around with a grin on her face. She needed to get her mind off her parents, anyway. [color=lightpink]"Well, well, Lucina. This'll be a good matchup for us, won't it?"[/color] Lucina let out an excited cry in response, taking several confident steps toward the wild Pokemon. Roxy herself was already trying to decide which one she was going to catch at the end of all this; less due to overconfidence, and more because of her excitement at the prospect of getting a new team member.

As the sparks of fire settled within the tightly spaced cave system and illuminated the area, the Drilbur took this as a challenge and began to charge blindly at the Growlithe, raising it's claw in prepartion for a scratch. Meanwhile, noticing their companion go in without telling them, the Rockruff and Larvitar both look at each other slightly shocked before charging with him,both of which were charging behind to attack the Growlithe with bites as they did not notice any threats at the time.

    Apparently the little show they gave was coming back to bite Nov in the ass, considering all three of the wild Pokemon were focusing in on Nier. Which was bad. Because Nier wasn't going to take all three attacks standing. Luckily, they weren't exactly charging forward with strategy-- moreso just charging in general-- so Nier could quickly jump to the side, out of the targetted trejectory. Unfortunately, it was almost like some kind of pinser attack, and by dodging to the side, Nier left himself open to the Rockruff's attack. The rock dog's teeth bit into Nier, but Nier shook the wild pokemon off quickly and managed to flip himself away from his opponents.
    
        The whole battle was subjectively a lot less intense when you're several feet taller than all the fighters, but nonetheless, Novis was focusing pretty hard. Even though Nier got out with a few scratches, all three of the wild pokemon were following through with their momentum, leaving them wide open to counterattack. Nier couldn't really do much against the other team, but since they were in close range anyway, Novis ordered for Nier to lunge back into the Rockruff and try to hit it with a counter-Bite.

Roxy's eyes widened as she realized that all three of their opponents were heading straight for Nier. They weren't even paying attention to Lucina or Zorex, which she supposed could be taken advantage of. It seemed like all three of them were trying for some sort of follow-up attack, leaving them wide open, considering they wouldn't see Lucina coming. [color=lightpink]"Okay, Lucina. Use Force Palm on the Larvitar!"[/color] The Riolu's right paw lit up with a bright blue, as she charged toward the Larvitar with as much momentum as she could draw. Leaping over Nier, Lucina aimed to send the Larvitar crashing back away from the Growlithe.

Seeing poor Neir take three attacks all at once made Aiden almost cringe, but given teh circumstances he handled them all very well/ Much like Roxy though he saw the window that was made in their rush of a single target and given that the Rockruff and Larvitar were occupied he elected to take this moment to help level the playing field, [color=lightblue]"Zorex! Use Sand Attack on the Drilbur!"[/color] While using sand on a ground type Pokemon may not harm him, nobody is immune to the blinding effects of getting it in your eyes to cloud your vision. Following Aiden's plan Zorex took in a deep breath and let out a strong puff of air that whipped up a torrent of sand, sending it straight for the Drilbur.

Rockruff felt confident as she sank her teeth into the Growlithe for a split second, only for her to be shaken off by Nier's movements. What she didn't count on, however, was how quickly the fire type would lunge back at her, causing her to stumble a bit before being hit. She yelped, starting to thrash in an attempt to make Nier loosen his grip on her. And, if she succeeded, would immediately charge at him in an attempt to tackle him into the cave's wall.

Meanwhile, during Larvitar's charge, a bright blue light was suddenly coming closer to his face, stopping him in his tracks as he soon realized there were other pokemon to fight a bit too late. Instead of attempting to bite down on the hand that was approaching, he instead attempted to move out of the way, hitting the walls of the cave in his panic and ultimately the force palm as well, causing him to fall to his knee's badly damaged and dazed. In a last ditch effort to cause havoc, the larvitar began to summon a sandstorm within the cave, causing dust debris and sand to envelop the area with blinding force.

As for Drilbur, he noticed a wave of sand coming at him, forcing him to instead attempt to block it with his claws instead of attacking. While he wasn't exactly blinded, his claws prevented him from seeing ahead as he was trying not to get sand in his eyes. It was a messy sight to behold.

    Novis let out a whoop as he watched Nier successfully take a bite out of the Rockruff, the failed dodge working out into something at least. Unwilling to let himself get thrown away into a vulnerable position, Nier held onto Rockruff with everything he had as it wrestled around. Of course, he couldn't hold on forever, and eventually the Rockruff sent Nier rolling away to the side, but he quickly regained composure, just soon enough to see the rock dog's second charge.
    
    Unfortunately, at the same time, a sudden tornado whipped up in the cramped cavespace. The winds themselves weren't anything to be worried about, but the sharp gusts threw around dirt and sand like nothing else. The particles of gravel stung at Novis' exposed skin, scratching up Nier as well. It was hard for both Pokemon and Trainer to see what was happening as the sudden sandstorm kicked into highgear, so Novis quickly threw on his pair of goggles and tried to see through the cloud.
    
    [color=red]"Nier! Dodge to your right!"[/color] Novis shouted out from behind his arm as he tried to shield his face from the grit. Nier was lost in the current of sand, but decided to trust in Nov's judgement and lunged to the side again. He ran into a wall, unfortunately, but the Rockruff's obscured charge missed as a result, crashing into the wall as well. Assuming the Rockruff was stunned by this collision, Novis foresaw another opening for his Growlithe [color=red]"Follow the sound and go in for another Bite!"[/color]
[done]

There was relief when Nier finally let go of her, a joy that was quickly replaced with blind anger at how she had been so rudely attacked. Following her own plan, she had begun to charge at the Growlithe, only for her friend's sandstorm to catch her off guard, causing her to not notice that Nier had moved out of the way, thus slamming with all her might into the cave's wall. She nearly stumbled backwards from the jolt of pain she recieved, only for another bite to come during her attempt at regaining her focus. She yelped once more, but this time didn't have the energy to try and fight back, slumping to the ground exhausted and beaten.

Roxy had to cover her eyes with her arms due to the rush of sand that was now blasting through the cave. She couldn't see what was going on anymore, which for a trainer was definitely not a good sign. Lucina felt panic come over her, as the sand scratched at her skin and forced her to cover her eyes as well. At that moment, Roxy had an idea. [color=lightpink]"Lucina! Use Force Palm!"[/color] The Riolu was confused, but obeyed her trainer, once again having her right paw glow a bright blue. At that moment she understood, as the glow let Roxy have at least a general idea of where her Pokemon was. Through the sand whipping in her ears, Roxy heard a yelp along the side of the cave.

It was hard to tell, but Roxy could have sworn she saw the Rockruff go down in defeat through the sand. She was close enough to see the poor thing, at least. For a moment, she pondered catching it; after all, it was fast enough to get the jump on Nier early on, and did enough damage to hold its own. That settles that, she thought, before calling out to Lucina. [color=lightpink]"Lucina! Head to your left, toward the Rockruff!"[/color] Lucina took advantage of the sandstorm hiding her from any potential attacks, and rushed to her left before nearly tripping over the collapsed Rockruff.

The glow of her Force Palm gave Roxy enough of a visual to where she could aim accurately. Reaching back into her bag and pulling out a Pokeball, she hoped to catch it on the first try. After all, Lucina was taking damage from the sandstorm each moment, and the Rockruff was too hurt to go anywhere soon. Cranking her arm back, Roxy threw the Pokeball toward the Rockruff, hitting it square on the head before drawing it inside. The ball shook once, twice, then three times before finally coming to a standstill. Roxy let out a victorious cheer, as it was her first actual capture of a wild Pokemon. She'd remember this moment for the rest of her [i]life.[/i]

Aiden was ready for a good long fight and when the Larvitar tossed up a sandstorm in the very enclosed space that was the cave, he wasn't worried. Being said Zorex was used to the sand, unlike almost every body else in the cave. Regardless he knew that he'd have to take care of it and while he couldn't see what was going on he knew Zorex could. After all the sand was his element. [color=lightblue]"Zorex! Find the Larvitar and use Dragon Rage![/color] For a moment Aiden waited for a result, but knew that he'd have to take more steps  is this was going to work. [color=lightblue]"Everyone cover your ears!"[/color] He called out before listening to his own advice and ducking his head.

Zorex hearing the command took in a deep breath, sucking in some of the sand before melting it into a ball of blue fire that built up in his mouth, growing and surging out fit to burst until he released all the energy in one great shot, firing a blue ball of radiant rage down the tunnel of the cave directly for the Larvitar.

Larvitar, while battered and bruised, was doing his best to keep up the sandstorm that raged within the cave, listening to the cries of his friend which gave him more fuel to the fire. He felt this was probably the only smart thing he could do at the moment, but nothing could prepare his smug face for what would happen next. He hadn't seen the Gible before he had induced a sandstorm, but in the distance through the sand he could see a faint blue light, causing him to be curious as to what it was. It was approaching fast, so much so that Larvitar for a second was terrified as he felt impenetrable within his sandstorm, only to realize a move that he hadn't seen before was approaching at an alarming rate. He attempted to stop channeling the storm, but alas, it was too late, as in a flash he was enveloped in the blue fireball, knocking him away a fair distance and ultimately out of the fight for good, causing the storm to suddenly stop.

Meanwhile, Drilbur finally lowered his claws as the storm stopped, looking around to see that both of his friends were either gone or KOed. While it scared him slightly, he felt confident in his abilites to stop the remaining intruders, this time slamming one of his claws into the ground to send mud flying at Nier, while with his other he attempted to do the same towards the Gible. Perhaps he was a bit too confident in mud-slap, but he hoped it would at least buy him some time so that he could eventually retreat if that desire would come.    

    As the Rockruff was stunned by the head-on impact it had with the cave wall, Nier had the time to stumble through the storm until he could see the other dog. With his target locked, Nier launched forward and bit the Rockruff in the flank. This time, though, he didn't need to try to hold on, as that final attack sapped the last of its fighting spirit. The dog slumped to the ground, defeated, and Nier jumped back, so proud of himself that he ignored the slashing sandstorm. [color=red]"Atta boy, Nier!"[/color] Novis called out, throwing a fist up. [color=red]"Really showed 'em who's boss around here!"[/color]

    As the two were celebrating their first victory, Novis suddenly h eard a shout from Roxy. He snapped his head to look, but he quickly realized it was of joy. Turning back to Nier, it took a moment before he saw through the sand that the Rockruff was no longer there, instead the glint of a Pokeball reflecting the light of the lamps. So she caught it? The thought hadn't even occured to Nov. He was so focused on winning the fight that he didn't even realize that these delinquent wild pokemon could be partners. It was as he considered this brand new possibility that he heard first Aiden shout something, then the explosion. Rock bits and another wave of dirt flew at the group of teens, only adding to the mess of things. However, the sandstorm soon dissapated, soon becoming apparent it was the Larvitar's doing. The blast from Aiden's Gible had sent the Larvitar barreling backwards and ultimately out for the count, however, leaving nothing maintaing the storm. That just left the Drillbur, who decided it was time for a desperation attack: Mud Slap.
    
    Novis didn't want to say he was disappointed, mostly because at this point a direct hit would probably take out Nier, but it was pretty lame. Nier didn't even need a command to dodge the glob of mud thrown his way, but it was close enough that the Growlithe's coat still got grimed up. They were a distance away though, so instead of giving the Drillbur the opportunity to prepare a counter-attack, Novis ordered Nier to use Ember and hit it with flames from afar.
    [done]

Roxy was so caught up in her capture of the Rockruff that Aiden's shout actually made her jump in surprise. She turned to look at him just as a bright burst of blue flame went shooting toward the Larvitar. Roxy heeded his advice, covering her ears as the sound reminded her of an explosion. She was just glad that Lucina wasn't the one on the receiving end of Dragon Rage this time; the Larvitar was sent flying back, which definitely looked painful. The sandstorm had dissipated, allowing Roxy a clear view of the cave once again. It seemed that the only one of their assailants left standing was the Drillbur, who still seemed confident that he was going to drive them away. Well, they couldn't have that, right?

The Drillbur used Mud Slap-which Roxy found almost a bit sad-and directed it toward Nier. Then he sent another Mud Slap toward Zorex, which meant Lucina was in a very good position to attack. But she had to move fast, seeing as the Drillbur would likely try to attack her next. [color=lightpink]"Lucina, use Quick Attack!"[/color] Lucina's body became outlined in white as she sprinted toward Drillbur, moving at such a high speed that she was sure to hit the Drillbur before he had a chance to pull off another move. She hoped to slam into him and knock him backward, leaving him open for a follow-up attack from one of her friends.

Aiden watched once again as the sandstorm faded away, revealing that Zorex's Dragon Rage had struck true taking out the Larvitar and leaving only the Drillbur left. However before much else could be done the last wild Pokemon toss a large hunk of mud straight at Zorex and given that he'd released to much power in his last attack the mud struck home right in his face. Thankfully he managed to close his eyes and mouth first. Still it left him covered in mud that he had to blink away before shaking off the rest with some ease thanks to his slick scales.

Regardless of the mud, the fight was still on and as Lucina dashed ahead like a bolt of lightning Aiden knew that he could help in her attack, [color=lightblue]"Zorex use Sand Attack!"[/color] His intent being to splash the sand past Lucina to distract the Drillbur to better like Lucina strike true.

Zorex knew his plan and sensed his intent so once again taking in a deep breath he exhaled to launch a splashing cone of sand straight past Lucina aimed for the Drillbur.

With so much going on at once, it was becoming increasingly clear to Drilbur that he was outmatched and that his attack would do nothing. He watched as it only managed to get Nier dirty, and how Zorex wiped off the mud like it was nothing, both of whom sent back their own attacks in retaliation. As he put up one claw to take the burning sensation of ember coming his way, he failed to block the sand attack, causing him to inevitably cover his face once more in an attempt to wipe the sand away from his eyes. It was then that he felt the fire from ember hit his side, causing him to tense up from the sudden burn, only to be knocked down by the blind speed of the Riolu, but still he clung to fighting on. With all the remaining strength he could muster, he began to charge at the Riolu who had recently got in his way, hoping to scratch her as many times as he could if he managed to get close enough.

    Now that it was three-verus-one, the battle was getting pretty pathetic pretty fast. Even if it could defend any individual attack, it was left wide-open for someone else's. There was just no winning this if its best move was blindly charging forward. All Nier did was look over at Novis, who was already fishing in his backpack. Pulling out a Pokeball, Novis hoped that they shown enough strength that the Drilbur wouldn't [i]still[/i] try to fight back. The shot itself was a bit tricky though, as it was a moving target, but it was clearly headed for Lucina. After a moment of Nov trying to trig it out in his head, he ended up just kinda blindly throwing it in the general direction of the Drilbur-- he was a hatcher, not a catcher. It ended up richocheting off the side of the mole's head, but instead of bouncing away, the ball stopped in mid-air and suddenly a flash red enveloped the Drilbur. It disappeared a second later, and the pokeball harmlessly fell to the ground.
    
    The following seconds were a pregnant silence. One, two ticks. The extreme determination on Novis's face was almost comical. Three. Click. Just like Roxy had, Nov let out a yell of sheer joy. It wasn't his first capture ever-- that honor belongs to a Lillipup back in Unova-- but it was his first one on this brand new adventure, and his second partner on the journey. Except, first they'd have to reconcile after that... bout.

Roxy watched wide eyes as all three of their Pokemon landed attacks on the Drillbur. She was almost...impressed by the fact that the little thing was still going after they'd each managed to hit him with something. He was about to give Lucina a mean series of scratches to the face, and she was about to yell [color=lightpink]"Counter!"[/color] before she saw Novis throw a Pokeball at the Drillbur; it'd be a great catch, if he managed it. Considering the Drillbur had a knack for fighting back, she wouldn't be surprised if it managed to break out of the Pokeball even after all this. She watched with anticipation as it shook, silence enveloping the cave. After the third shake, the ball stopped moving, a clear sign of a successful capture.

Novis gave a loud cheer, which made Roxy burst out laughing. [color=lightpink]"That. Was. [i]Awesome![/i]"[/color] She threw her arms into the air with the biggest smile that she'd ever had, which was saying something. [color=lightpink]"Guys, we are, like, awesome! That was [i]so cool![/i]"[/color] Roxy then turned to face Novis, her grin not wavering for a second. [color=lightpink]"Novis, congrats on the capture! And Aiden,"[/color] she then turned to look at her other friend, [color=lightpink]"That Dragon Rage! Holy [i]crap![/i]"[/color]

Aiden smiled seeing the battle was won and thankfully he had an opportunity to catch his first wild Pokemon in the Chromis Region. Reaching into his bag he pulled out a Pokeball taking aim and tossing it down the hall at the unconscious Larvitar, striking true.

As the ball took in the Larvitar and began to rock, once, twice, thrice, and then it clicked, showing that he'd done it. Smiling once again he pumped his fist in success before hearing Roxy's words, [color=lightblue]"Thanks, but really you should be saying that to him!"[/color] He said in response.

Zorex was ready to receive her eyes and started jumping up and down in glee, happy that his effort was appreciated and that Roxy had some nice words for him. All while Aiden stepped away to retrieve the new Pokemon he now had on his team.[/hider]
 As the dust of battle settled and congratulations went all around, there was still one thing of interest... The bag the Larvitar had. It was near the wall, now covered in dirt and dust near the pokeball that Larvitar was in. A keen eye would see a faint glitter coming from underneath the dirt. What was inside the bag, one might ask? Well, several things really. The first, or well, several things were fire stones, 3 of them to be specific, warm to the touch too. And the other was the archaeologist Stephen's lunch, though it was probably ruined now. What would happen to these items? Well, it was up to the group to decide.