As Andrew and his Grotle advanced, their path was obstructed by the appearance of a small Cubone determined to not let them move any farther. Holding his arms out wide, his bone had been thrust into the ground probably to give off an imposing image. The whole thing was laughable, but it irritated the man for some reason he couldn't quite put his finger on. Frowning, he gazed at Brute Root but decided that using him wasn't the best choice at the moment. Of course, if he did it would take only a few seconds, but that would mean the rest of his team would fall under his shadow and Andrew had no use for any weak Pokemon. Grasping the Safari Ball that held Bahamut, he tossed it high into the air before it released the small dragon into the route.

"This prey is all yours, Bahamut. No sneaky shit, we'll break the Cubone down," he warned, remembering all the tactics and avoiding it had done during their initial battle.

The man could use tact but he wanted to instill a sense of confidence in the rather timid Pokemon, one day he would grow up to be a ferocious powerhouse and so he needed to start acting the part. Taking the addition of the Dratini into account, the Cubone understood that they intended to battle so he removed his bone from the ground and charged forward. Really, the way the Pokemon carried himself was superb and, if he wasn't so focused on training his current team, he would've definitely considered a capture.

Before using his bone, he brought his head forward and slammed it against the Dratini as he pounded him into the ground. Crying in pain, the Dratini's instincts kicked in and he wrapped his body around the Cubone's body tightly.

"Hey now, that was some brutal shit! That's what the fuck I was talking about!" the man cheered on from the sidelines, loving the tenacity displayed by his Dratini.

Squeezing harder, the Cubone didn't emit any noise, instead slowly moving his body to a nearby tree. Bahamut didn't realize what he intended until it was too late, reeling back his body before slamming it against the tree in a variant of his Headbutt. Releasing his striking grip on the Cubone, the Dratini crumbled to the ground in front of the Ground-type who wasn't done just yet. Bringing up his Bone Club, he aimed to smash it into the dragon and finish things.

"You won't be defeated so pitifully, you'd better not," a dangerous voice erupted from behind the Dratini, stirring him.

"Use Twister, and send it flying,"

Whipping his tail, Bahamut created a miniature tornado that erupted from forth and drew the Cubone in as it rose higher into the air. Surprised, the Cubone flailed his arms desperately in his attempt to find something to hold onto. The storm kept rising until it reached the tip of the tree-line where the poor ground-type remained suspended for a brief moment. Descending at an increasing rate, he landed with a huge crash that dented the ground and sent dust flying all around them.

Bahamut had risen back up, and begun slinking over toward his Trainer wondering whether he'd be praised or reprimanded. Brown eyes flicked downward toward the Dratini, appraising his condition before speaking.

"Well, you did keep me waiting and it started to piss me off, but that was some pretty good thinking all around. I guess that's a good job," he shrugged, before patting the Pokemon on the head twice causing his Grotle to snort.

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Battle Log (TL;DR)

MADE BY NOVA

After Dratini's battle with the Cubone, it was obvious that the dragon would no longer be able to continue combating any other foes. Returning Bahamut to his ball, he would allow the petite Pokemon to rest for a bit. Marching onward now that their opposition had been dealt with, the Grotle had wasted no time in teasing his trainer. He found it all too funny that he had ended up praising the Dratini, despite that it hadn't performed quite the way that he knew his trainer desired.

Grimacing toward the large turtle, he wondered when he had become so bold and confident. As a Turtwig he was disobedient and enjoyed attacking his master, often doing whatever he liked. Since then he had become much more reliable, but his personality was free - it was annoying to deal with. There was nothing specific that he could complain about so he only quipped and griped, often eyeing the grass-type dangerously.

Perhaps the large commotion had drawn in the curious Pokemon, but the trees rustled just briefly before a Pokemon jumped out to confront them, once more. Much more playful than the Cubone had been, it didn't seem like he would stand in their way. Rather, as Andrew interpreted it, he was just looking for someone to play with and that was something that the man often disliked. He would walk down the path ignoring the Makuhita completely, or attempt to before it whined. The high-pitched noise was enough to irritate him into changing his mind.

This fat fuck was going to learn a valuable lesson.

"Alright, let's make this quick, I don't want to waste all day here, Siren," he spoke at the same time as tossing a Poke Ball on the ground in front of the Makuhita, revealing the form of a flustered Jigglypuff. Instead of worrying about her battle, she walked off toward the object of her desires in Brute Root. For some inexplicable reason, the Jigglypuff had been smitten with him even as a Turtwig. Initially, he had wanted no part of her, when they first battled she had thrashed moderately, but after evolving, it seems so did his tastes. Even his trainer could see the blush as he was approached by the fairy, turning his head to hide it. Marching over to her, the man picked her up with one hand before tossing her directly at the Makuhita - bouncing off his stomach and into the grass directly in front of him.

"Alright, that's enough, I said quickly - so start off with Disarming Voice!"

Chastising his Pokemon for her speed, or lack of, he then ordered her to attack and she complied - if only to return to her darling. Releasing a sickeningly sweet song, several musical notes took form as a sound wave enveloped the fighting-type and assaulted him. Thanks to the super-effective attack he was sent flying, shocked by the sudden burst of power. Gaining motivation, he pounded his fists together before flying forward and slamming his palm into Siren. Slamming into the ground, she cried in pain before rolling away in order to recover.

Getting back up on her feet, she inhaled air and inflated herself to display her anger - she was not pleased with the way she had been treated by him. Floating up into the air for a moment, she released all the air within her and performed a powerful dropping pound utilizing the entirety of her weight. She had a unique way of attacking, that was for sure, and the Makuhita was beginning to question how to proceed. Releasing what could only be called a war cry, he moved forward and thrust his fists forward toward the Jigglypuff. Strike after strike he smashed into her, though she wouldn't give up. It was painful and she felt like she wanted to fall any moment - but she would fight nonetheless.

"I think that's good enough, let's use Defense Curl!" he ordered, as she curled into a ball to endure the remainder of the onslaught. Seeing that he was no longer gaining ground, he threw his body weight against hers in a hearty charge. Returning in kind with her own Pound, the two exchanged several blows though Siren was adjusting now that her defense had been increased.

"Okay, let's finish it up with Disarming Voice!"

Releasing a sweet song once more, the sounds overwhelmed the Makuhita and caused him to faint. Siren didn't seek any praise, she was giddy being free of her responsibilities as she skipped back toward the Grotle.

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Battle Log (TL;DR)

MADE BY NOVA

After defeating the Makuhita, he was astounded at how much of a turn her personality could take in battle, they ignored the unconscious body as they finally made it inside of the Dark Cave. He was going to be spending a bit of time there, strengthening both himself and his Pokemon. Both proud and vain, Andrew had skated through most of his life on natural talent with an arrogant demeanor. If there was a mirror, he would check it before walking away - but lately, that had begun to change. He started caring less about how he looked, and more about how strong his team was. After the supposed fall of some tower in Kikyo, an outburst of trainers erupted within Johto as the flames of change were upon them.

He was going to have to change too, and that's what this whole mission was about. He wanted to stay disconnected from the world for a bit, survive on the bare essentials meanwhile training non-stop with his Pokemon against Wild Pokemon and their natural physical abilities. Siren was powerful but she was very slow, Brute Root was resilient but he lacked a drive and was also slow, Scyther was very fast and powerful but not very durable, Bahamut was clever and tenacious but he lacked any noteworthy traits aside, and he had, unfortunately, neglected his Cerberus a bit so their relationship was the most strained - needing work overall.

Before they could set up camp, however, it seemed there was a final guardian of the cave who they needed to defeat before they could rest. Returning the Jigglypuff to her ball, he patted the back of his Grotle to indicate that it was his turn.

"Alright, Brute Root it's your turn now. We can't have you getting too far behind, right?"

The moment the words left his mouth, both Trainer and Pokemon burst into a fit of laughter. The two were way too alike, both cocky and always looking down on others - even one another. Trotting forward, the large turtle squared off against the Phanpy who seemed much more intimidated than a few moments ago.

"The little bitch is scared, don't draw this out. Start off with Mega Drain," he ordered, the Grotle complying as a large green orb enveloped the Phanpy before imploding and scattering into numerous smaller orbs that floated back to it.

After being attacked, the Phanpy resolved herself to fight regardless of her fears and curled up into a ball before rolling forward. Slamming into his leg, the Pokemon reeled back in preparation for another round. Reeling forward she slammed into his leg once more, the Grotle unflinching, as she continued to spin and readied for a third time.

"Stomp when it approaches, then Bite her," his voice growing colder as his impatience began to kick in, especially against such a weak Pokemon.

As she rolled forward, the Grotle complied and the Phanpy rolled up into the air before being snatched by powerful jaws. Crying out in pain, the large turtle continued to apply more pressure squeezing his jaws tightly together. After a few moments, the Grotle slammed the Phanpy into the ground. Ashamed, angry, and weak she flailed forward and managed to deal a decent amount of damage to his partner. Perhaps gaining motivation, or putting everything into that final attack, she charged forward only to be met with a furious maelstrom of leaves that carried her up into the air and relentlessly cut at her. Once the storm cleared, she dropped to the ground with a loud thud and moved no further.

"I give that a C, you spend too much time playing," he murmured, shaking his head in disapproval over his improvised finish. After they moved the Phanpy, he began to move forward until they found a large clearing - though it was too dark to see much. Utilizing Cerberus and Brute Root he managed to create make-shift torches and a decent bedding. Collapsing atop the leaves and vines, he didn't hear the numerous clicking of balls that indicated his Pokemon releasing themselves to crowd around and sleep with him. They didn't get very many moments where affection could be exchanged, so they often did this at night without him figuring it out. The sole exception was the Grotle who slept near him but directed toward the 'doorway' with one eye opened.

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Battle Log (TL;DR)

MADE BY NOVA