From behind a rock, his prey emerged. The Slowpoke was...well, slow. And, if he had to be honest, kind of a nonthreat. Its pink blubber was slick with water -- perhaps it was just swimming somewhere in the well. The two made eye contact for a moment, as if to measure one another's intentions. The Slowpoke did not seem so intent on fighting, which, truthfully, was kind of disappointing. Raziel found himself leaning forward, toward the rather unbothered Slowpoke, as if to urge him to fight. After all, that's kind of why Raziel was here. His foot stomped quietly but frustratedly, unwilling to fight this thing that just wanted to hang, ya know?

Slowpoke laid down about 5 feet from Raziel, curled up like a content Lillipup. They said to let sleeping dogs lie. Not to stick your head in a hornet's nest.

But Raziel just wanted to fight. He sighed. "Fanny, let's let Slowpoke here know we want to challenge him." the ominous bird descended from the rafters, landing in front of the Slowpoke. With a squawk or two, perhaps she could convince the Slowpoke that they wanted a friendly spar. Raziel watched intently as the exchange happened, the Slowpoke rising to his feet for the battle. Within moments, a Psychic energy surrounded the Slowpoke as he attempted to use the move on Fanny. Raziel shrugged at the passive attempt to prevent real damage in this battle. "Feint Attack." Fanny barreled into the Slowpoke, her darkened wing grazing over him -- the power seemed restrained, perhaps by a desire not to fight.

A sigh rose out of his throat. "Feint Attack again, lets just do enough to send him on his merry way if he isn't going to participate, Fanny." And so she repeated the action, this time hitting a bit harder. That seemed to be enough to stir the Psychic type, as he took a few cautious steps toward them. As they waited, he summoned a jet of water and blasted it in Fanny's direction. Raziel smiled. "Finally. Fanny, absorb the hit and follow with Feint Attack again." he spoke, she obeyed. Her wings soaked from the Water Gun, Fanny shook some of the water out and took flight, water dripping from her talons as she knocked him over once again. Slowpoke struggled to his feet this time...for the last time. Another look at Raziel -- perhaps one to indicate a missed connection between them -- and he slipped behind that rock from whence he appeared.

Raziel kind of missed him already. Maybe he'd be back.

Notes: I chose levels over Slowpoke and I kind of regret it! :-(

One doofus left, another one showed up -- this was not an uncommon theme in Raziel's life. With Slowpoke regretfully gone, he was replaced by something dumber than him: a Psyduck. Almost like a set change in a musical, Psyduck appeared from behind that same rock Slowpoke appeared from. "What is back there?" head trying to peek around the corner of the stony wall, Psyduck unleashed a Water Pulse in his direction. Saved by his quick reflexes, Raziel dipped out of the way, watching as the ring of water replaced him in the space he stood in moments before.

Well, I did say I wanted to fight. The frazzled trainer stood up again, regaining composure as he ran a hand through his hair. He felt moisture trapped in the locks. Raziel grunted. "Fanny, lets do this. Eat this little shit alive! Night Shade!" The Murkrow appeased, summoning a dark mist that would drift toward the Psyduck, burning his skin. She floated in the air in front of and off to the side of her trainer, careful not to get him in the crossfire of any more Water Pulses. This would instantly prove to be wise as another Water Pulse hurdled toward Fanny, this time hitting the Murkrow. She crumpled to the ground, letting out a confused caw. As she rose to her feet, it was clear that the Murkrow was confused as a side effect of the attack. Raziel shook his head, eyes drifting over to the otherwise emotionless Psyduck. He rolled his eyes. "Alright let's get it together Fanny. Try to use Haze -- at least mask your presence while you recover." Fanny could do that much; she created a smoky mist that made visibility difficult. Raziel found himself fortuitous that this Psyduck did not have Cloud Nine and instead was losing track of Fanny.

She seemed to be set straight again with a couple seconds, and the confusion wore off. "Wing Attack baby!" White wings revealed the Murkrows location in the Haze as she ascended into the rafters and nose-dove into the unsuspecting Psyduck. This Wing Attack seemed stronger than most of hers -- perhaps it was Fanny's Super Luck? Psyduck seemed dazed by the critical hit and let out a deafening Screech. His hands shot up to his ears as Raziel wondered what sleeping beast that might have woken up. "Fanny, Feint Attack." she barreled into the Psyduck once again, finishing him off. Tired and weakened, he slinked off behind the magical rock.

Raziel stomped over to the rock, curiosity getting the best of him. "What is back he -- oh?" it was a narrow path maybe 15 feet long and perhaps just wide enough for him to squeeze through. So he did just that, wriggling along carefully to see just what would meet him on the other side. His eyes lit up as Fanny hopped out behind him. A large, underground lake sat before him, the water dancing off the stony walls around it, creating something of a constellation on the wall. There were quite a few wild Pokemon, notably Slowpoke, lounging around. He felt out of place, but he did not feel unwelcome. Raziel took a few steps forward, eyes scanning every Pokemon and surface around him.

Was it strange that there was a watering hole in the middle of an underground well? Raziel was not up to date on his science regarding wells, but figured that any rules went out the window when the well was manmade. Across the room, there was another entrance, one much more accessible than the one he just shimmied through. A lot of Water-type Pokemon lounged around on the damp stones around the large pool of water in the middle of this cavernous area. Raziel walked toward them, most unimpressed with his presence. Life in the Yadon Well continued with or without his presence. The moisture in the air must have been relaxing for the Pokemon -- he wondered how undisturbed this biome was. Oddly enough, man invented this safe haven; they typically were the destroyers. This touched Raziel, and he sat down by the watering hole, Fanny coming to a rest beside him.

He tossed Horace's Pokeball and released the Corphish into the open. This was a good place to relax, among all the other water lovers. The Corphish immediately waded into the water for a nice soak. Raziel laid back and rested his head on the rocky surface. It would just be a few minutes...

Ten or so minutes passed, probably. The researcher sat up, eyes a little bit blurry as he glanced around the still populated room. A ton of Slowpoke, a few Slowbro, a Slowking, some Psyduck, Poliwag...they all seemed content. Raziel knew they didn't realize how lucky they were to be hidden from Team Virus like this. Horace had returned to his side within a few more moments, perhaps ready to leave. Fanny, too, seemed content but ready to roll, and so Raziel rose to his feet. Looking out into the pool of water, he saw a lone Remoraid staring right at him, a fierce look in its eye. Not one of malice, but a challenging one. Raziel nodded and looked to Fanny, who had fought a Remoraid once before at Tohjo Falls. "Ready?" he was asking the Remoraid, but Fanny cawed her approval of the battle. "Okay, let's start with Wing Attack!" she'd used this move many times before, becoming faster and stronger with it as their weeks together dragged on. Her wings glowed and she charged the fish, dipping into the water just enough to get a clean hit. The Remoraid skip across the surface of the water before diving down below, safe from her assault.

"Let's get up high, give yourself as much time to react as possible." Fanny nodded and started ascending, her wings flapping rapidly as the distance between her and the surface increased. Just in time, too: the Remoraid resurface and launched a chilling Aurora Beam in Fanny's direction. She was quick, though, and dodged, turning to watch as the aurora beam coated some of the stony ceiling behind her. "Feint Attack" Another nosedive, another direct hit. Remoraid was tiring; Raziel knew that they often couldn't handle more than 2 or 3 hits from the Murkrow. Fanny started ascending again, but was met with a fearsome Water Gun, which knocked her down toward the water with its contact. The water sprayed off of her, spraying over all the lounging Slowpoke. They cheered on the Remoraid, but Fanny was the star here. She cawed dramatically and soared upward, wanting to impress. Whipping up a Tailwind, the wind tunnel ended right in the face of the Remoraid. "Wait for your opening, then use another Wing Attack!" Raziel clenched a fist and looked on at his typically impatient Murkrow. Another Aurora Beam, followed by another Water Gun, came her way. Raziel opened his fist and threw his hand up. "Now!" She dove into both attacks, weaving around them expertly as she rode the Tailwind right into the Remoraid, a wing coming across and smacking the consciousness right out of the Remoraid. They were victorious.

The wind died down, but the energy of the room remained. Even if it was filled with a bunch of Slowpoke, Raziel felt exhilarated. Fanny was getting so much stronger and smarter, more independent. It felt like just yesterday she was cawing nonstop on Route 31. "Let's just leave these guys to rest and head out." he told his Pokemon, returning Horace to his Pokeball and letting Fanny have free reign over the "skies" of the underground cavern as they made their way back to that spooky ladder they came from. They had to make their way to Kogane City.