Ava looks up from the swampy grass, light flooding her vision along with the feeling of grasses cold yet burning to the touch, she hears Ren's groan, loud with an echo, as he gets to his feet "Is this inside of that Dimensional Rift?" he comments intrigued. Ava gets to her feet, surveying her surroundings.
Purple forestry, freaky ass branches, liquid flowers, and last but most notable; a dog shit stench… Yup this is a rift alright. But seriously it smells like heavy dirt and rotten eggs. Ava pats Ren on the shoulder, subtly wiping off the liquid from the flowers. "Yeah." She leans into his ear "You should probably go talk to Ms.sunshine over there." She points over to Venam who's looking intently into the steaming water.
"Right." Ren walks over to Venam, steadily but quickly. "Venam?" Ren calls, trying to get his friend's attention
"..." Venam continues looking into the water, sitting, slouched like a doll abandoned on a shelf as the clouded sky moves past her reflection.
Ren kneels beside the girl. "Venam, what's wrong with you?" he asks in a soft yet stern voice
Ava leans against a tree checking her Pokégear. Rift Dex? While I have the liberty I suppose.
Venam turns her head to Ren, her eyes devoid of light but still holding a sense of anger. "That guy in the cloak was right." her eyes shift back to the water. "This is all so fucking hopeless… Melia was already dead before we even stepped foot in that cave." Venam's low voice strengthens. "What's the point?" The cloudy sky covers the sun
"What's-" Ren speaks as he steps back
"The point?" The two say in unison, Ren's concern overshadows Ava's empty voice.
"What about us? Me, Ava?-" Ren's voice tries to maintain a low tone
"What about you? Melia?" Ava grips the rift entry ball (The black and red Pokéball) in her hand as her stare beams into it. "While we stand here, Zetta is walking away with a bit of dirt on his confidence and excuses brewing in his head. No injuries, no regrets; he's just walking out of this cave with no consequences attached." Ava lets go of the ball before getting off the tree. I wanna shove a boot up his ass so hard he'll think I was stuffing a Seviper up there. She sighs, followed up with a smile aimed towards Venam "So let's shove a boot up his ass"
"...I.." Venam looks over to the smiling Ava then rattles her head as the sun peaks from behind the clouds. "No, you're right. I was being such an idiot. I can't give up here." She then stands and looks at her reflection. "I want my revenge. I want Zetta to pay for what he did to Melia.He may have not been the one to pull the trigger, but he put her in the crossfire." Venam walks over to Ren, who starts looking off into the purple forest.
His gaze locks in on a spider web. "Right. I don't want to die here. Not yet." He then turns to Ava. "You mentioned a big Gyrados back at the labs, you've dealt with one of these before then. Right?" Ava nods. "Then what should we do?"
These pokemon influence the data in the balls, thanks to that I have a plan. Ava clears her throat. "I guess fighting one of them makes me the expert here huh?" She chuckles lightly, "From the data I got, the Riftmon will be a poison electric Galvantula so,me and Venam will fight the rift pokemon, but we'll need you to round up her children without harming them; if any harm is done to them she might shift her focus or just get more aggressive in general." I'll check his after we get out of here
Ren, now turned in the direction of Venam and Ava, looks down with a heavy weight in his eyes. He speaks with a sullen voice. "That's so…. Cruel, that Galvantula had nothing to do with any of this. It was probably jus-"
Venam walks past Ren stating, "It's just as guilty for Melia's death."
Before Ren could retort Ava places her hand on his shoulder and shakes her head slowly and whispers. "Maybe, but not now. She needs to blow off a little before she can be reasoned." She shakes her head.
Ren slightly flinches from Ava's words. "I guess you do have a point. but-" The young trainer's eyes deepen. "Killing a pokemon… damn it Team Xen." Ren starts to follow Venam as she goes further away.
Ava looks at her Pokegear, scrolling through it. "You like rock?" She turns her head towards Ren who's absorbed by his thoughts
"Now is not the time Ava." Venam says over her shoulder looking back to the pink haired girl.
She sighs and shakes her head. "Alright… You might want it later though."
Venam continues walking, not replying until the group meet a cluster of small gray Joltiks surrounding a big purple egg. "This road just ends with this huge egg?" She questions her body in a relaxed, defensive stance.
Ava looks at the baby Joltiks, then takes in the scenery. You must've been their mother. Ava's eyes soften their flame as her head tilts down. We're boxed in.. Is this how you felt as you died? Ava takes a once over, looking at the steep almost cavernous walls beside her; seeing the occasional brown or black root paired with a purple flower, she closes her eyes and swallows. "The Mon we have to beat is most likely inside that egg." She sighs "An omelet joke would be too easy here… for fuck sake."
"Would a singular knock get it out?" Ren says his thoughts out loud.
"Well before you try, think of your best joke." Ren looks to Ava before going up to the egg. "What? First impressions are important." Ava adds with a smirk and a hand resting on her hip
Ren sighs then turns to the egg to find a small crack has suddenly appeared "Get read-!" Ren gets knocked back by the force caused by a flash of red and purple stabbing the ground in front of him.
"No, you don't!" Ava scoops Ren into her arms, pulling him back. "Lookin' mighty yoinkable today." She grins into Ren's surprised face as the blur retreats back into the tremendous egg looming above them, piercing amber eyes watching intently. They're counting on me to get us through this.
"Come out, Deluxe! Ava tosses Deluxe's Luxury Ball "Ren, start rounding up the Joltiks!" Ren dashes to the back lines.
"Grimer! Use Knock Off!" Venam's voice cuts through the tension, reverberating in the atmosphere. The command resonates in the dark, viscous sludge of Grimer's body, which exudes an oppressive energy.
Materna's tail shoots out an electroweb the size of a soccer field.
Venam skips backward as Ava pulls Deluxe closer. "Deluxe, follow up with Psybeam!" The Braixen shifts her weight in the poisonous marshland, brows furrowing in concentration.
A guttural thrump echoes as Grimer's condensed mass slams violently into Materna's furry, armored leg, the impact cracking through the air like a whip on stone. Materna stumbles from the blow.
"Now!" Ava commands. Deluxe fires the attack, but one of the spiderlings hidden behind the egg shoots a smaller electroweb directly at Deluxe's face, throwing off her aim.
"The fuck?!" Ava growls.
Materna's tail fires purple webbing toward Deluxe, the rancid stench of decaying meat wafting with it. Ava sidekicks Deluxe out of the way. "Try again! Ren, get your Corvisquire to scout for more of those little shits!"
"Grimer, use Knock Off! Harder this time!" Venam orders. Grimer barrels toward Materna, gaining mass as he moves.
A Joltik leaps in an attempt to disrupt Grimer's charge, but Ren's Corvisquire snatches the tiny Pokémon midair, flinging it to Frogadier.
Grimer's attack narrowly misses as Materna dodges, her massive jaws snapping dangerously close. "Again!"
Deluxe wipes the last strands of webbing from her scrunched face, then leers at Materna, unleashing a sharp purple spiral.
The Psybeam hits, causing Materna's tail to thrash violently. The clicking intensifies as her tail clears chunks of the egg. With each piece that falls, more of the nightmare beneath is revealed. The tail moves faster, almost summoning the restless clouds overhead. The greenery ascends into the darkening sky, and the trainers freeze in stunned silence, hearts racing. When the blur finally ceases, Materna's monstrous form stands exposed: still-molten fur shimmering under the unnaturally bright moonlight, her scorpion tail looming ominously over the trainers.
Fuck me... Ava steps back, nearly crushing one of the baby spiders now swarming around them. "It's one of those boss fights huh? King! Stand tall!" She rolls King's Steamball from her hand. I have to get used to this if I'm going to deal with Team Xen.
Ren's Frogadier dashes behind Venam, snatching one of the spiderlings, while Corvisquire collects others, ferrying them to the forest's edge. Ren nods at Ava, though his trembling arm betrays his nerves as he grabs another spiderling nearby. "We'll keep them off you as best we can, but we won't hold them for long!"
"We'll end this fast! Venam, It's Poison/Electric!" Ava states before kneeling down and whisper to King. "Be her watchful eye. I've got Deluxe." King glances at Venam before speeding toward her.
"Deluxe, use Flame Charge!" Ava shouts. Attaboy. Strong feeling Venam's going pure offense this fight.
Deluxe dashes toward Materna, weaving between the scattered Joltiks before slamming into one of her legs and bouncing onto the floor. The impact barely fazes Materna, who readjusts and lifts her massive forelegs.
Venam darts for the backline, shouting. "Grimmer, Minimize!"
"Deluxe, come back! Swaws, you're up!" Materna jabs her legs into the marshland, carving two intersecting lines in the ground.
Swaws counters with a gust of wind scattered with silver sparkles, shooting herself and Ava away in the process. King takes the hit for Venam, then blocks another Joltik from reaching her. Venam gets to her feet, glaring at Materna with utter disdain. "Now use Knock off!!".
A Joltik spouts electro-webs blocking Ava's possible escape routes; and Materna raises her fore legs once more. "Swaws, Bite!" Ava commands as Venam's Grimmer whacks the behemoth on its head.
As Swaws sinks its teeth into Materna's eye, Materna thrashes violently, whipping Swaws off. Clicking its chelicerae, it emits a high-pitched, ear-piercing squeal that stuns both trainers and Pokémon alike. Seizing the opportunity, Materna shoots out another electro-web. With their trainers paralyzed, the Pokémon take matters into their own hands to protect them.Venam's Grimer shields her.
Ren's Tarpinch moves the ground under him.
Swaws uses Silver wind pushing Ava out of the way, before the electro-web lands.
The poison seeps into the trainers' senses as the web crashes down on their Pokémon. Ava grits her teeth, struggling to push herself off the ground. It feels like my veins are buzzing, like I just inhaled stun spores. She heaves herself upright, panting heavily, and checks her Pokégear with trembling fingers.
"Yup," she mutters, pulling out a Cheri Berry and popping it into her mouth. Tastes like a zesty tomato, but it does the job.
Recalling Swaws with a swift motion, Ava shakes out her limbs. "We're paralyzed!"
Venam inhales a paralyze heal, the sharp scent jolting her back into focus. "You did well, Grimer!" she says softly, recalling the battered Pokémon. A flicker of grief flashes in her eyes before she shakes her head, forcing her focus back on the fight. With a swift motion, she pulls out a Premier Ball. "Whirlpede, it's your turn! Use Steamroll!"
Whirlpede bursts out, its antenna glowing brightly as it coils into a spinning ball. It propels itself into the fray, aiming directly for Materna's massive frame.
Above, Materna raises her burly tail high, silhouetted against the moon. Olive-brown sludge drips from its bulbous tip, staining the queenly white fur below. Ava grits her teeth as she watches the imposing figure.
Ren has a Trapinch, what's the chance it knows a ground type move… "Pretty fucking high."Ava mutters, sprinting toward him. She sees Ren snatching up spiderlings, doing his best to contain the swarm. "Deluxe, use Flame Charge!" she commands, her Braixen bursting into motion.
Ava grabs one of the small varmints herself and pats Ren on the shoulder. "Hey! Does your Trapinch know a move that can shift the ground under that big-ass spider?" she asks quickly. "I'd ask Venam, but… I don't want to trust her with that right now."
Ren looks through his backpack then looks to Ava "Yeah but unless you have a revive he's going to be out of the fight. But Venam's Seviper also knows bulldoze" Ava simply nods as Materna starts shooting an onslaught of sludge behind her.
I just have to trust that Venam's temper doesn't make her sloppy… I'd like to save Deluxe for the final stretch, but we don't have the luxury of making calls and preferences. Ava nods, eyes narrowing as Materna begins launching sludge in a relentless barrage. The viscous projectiles hiss and splatter against the ground, creating an acidic obstacle. "I'll figure it out," she says, dashing away.
Deluxe charges through the onslaught, her flame refusing to yield even as sludge splashes across her fur. Whirlpede follows suit, rolling forward with an unrelenting ferocity, its movement almost mechanical. Their combined efforts finally bring Materna down—one of her massive legs collapses with a deafening crack, like a tree falling in the forest.
Ava slides to a halt then shouts. "Venam! Switch out to Seviper, for Bulldoze!"
Materna leers upon her resistant prey, electing a cardinal fear. Forcing Whirlpede back into its ball. "C-come out! Seviper!"
Materna's chelicerae open but Venam interrupts with stern command: "Seviper! Use Bulldoze on the Galvantula-!" but her command was a breath away as Materna released her deafening cry upon the misfortunate trainers.
Ava's ears ring as she stumbles, adrenaline coursing through her veins. Materna's tail sweeps the battlefield, a monstrous blur of power. King lunges forward, pushing Venam out of harm's way just as the tail careens toward them. Ava's heart pounds.
"Trapinch is too far… and Ren won't make it," Ava calculates in a split second. Without hesitation, she shoves Ren aside, sending him sprawling to safety. The tail strikes her squarely, hurling her into a cavern wall with bone-jarring force. The impact leaves a dent in the stone as Ava crumples to the ground, pain radiating through her body.
Thank you, false god called adrenaline, this gives me a few seconds, 3. All of Ren's pokemon are too far away to come back and save us in time, I might have the higher chance of walking off the impact with a few bones broken.Ava shoves Ren out of the tail's path, sending him tumbling to safety. She barely has time to brace herself before the massive appendage slams into her, hurling her meters through the air. She crashes into a cavern wall with a bone-jarring impact, leaving a hefty dent in the stone.
"Ava!" Ren's voice cracks with panic as the tail rises again, sweeping dangerously close to ground level. He scrambles to move toward her but pauses as the Joltiks swarm around him, their tiny legs and sparks slowing him down. Torn between checking on Ava and the writhing mass of spiderlings, he glances toward Venam. Clenching his jaw, he reluctantly focuses on picking up the Joltiks, determined to keep them from overwhelming the group.