[ti]spawn[/ti]two years to beat a game for three year olds

<Dile!> Exochomper took the Trainer's hand and let himself be lifted up, taking a deep breath in, and then, just as his Trainer had asked, he shot out a strong burst of water. Adrien yelped then, hurriedly lowering the Totodile a little from where he'd been holding him, and Exochomper stopped the stream of water, turning to look at him. <Toto?>

"Gentle, Exo, gentle! We're trying to put out the embers, not start a flood!" he scolded, ears sharply perked up.

<Dile,> he grumbled, but when he was lifted up again, he took the criticism under advisement, letting out a less pressurized stream of water and rolling his eyes when Adrien started carefully waving him around as though he were a hose, trying to spread the water further than the simple arc it was landing. A few yanma lit off, no doubt just as unhappy with the state of the surrounding grass as Adrien was, but it was nothing he had to worry about.

The motion out of the corner of his eye though, now that was something to worry about, and the water gun fizzled out as he let out a sharp <Dile!> of warning.

Exochomper 150/150 HP
Wildfyre 0/150 HP (currently fainted)

The burst of water caught the Normal type in the face - and that was enough to make it mad. With a loud bellow, the bull charged forward, lowering its horns and sending the Totodile flying. "Exo, careful!" he called, darting over to the small crocodile to check up on him, unable to check his concern.

<Dile,> he replied with a wave of a stubby claw, pushing himself back up to his fins and wincing. That had clearly hurt... but he wasn't about to make it easy. Making use of what he'd learned from the earlier fight with the Ponyta, the Water-type darted into the grasses, using it as cover.

"All right, go for a Bite this time," his Trainer commanded, on the same page as his smaller partner (for once).

Exochomper 86/150 HP
Wildfyre 0/150 HP (currently fainted)

The sound of an active battle had caught Nero's attention, and he had veered away from his well-trodden path through the Surge Steppes to investigate what was actually going on. He often wandered these areas, just enjoying the sensation of walking, and in such a dramatic location. Of course it was all fake, but UNOVR had a way of making things feel real in a dreamlike sort of way, and Nero was yet to get bored of what this area had to offer. Yes, he was probably advanced enough by now to go into Ostellia and take on some more difficult quests... but that took effort and conversation, and sometimes he really did just want to wander around and feel really cool while doing it.

But with no real goal in mind when he found himself just exploring the map, he was easily distracted by something potentially interesting happening. He'd intended to watch the trainer that he'd stumbled across from a distance, to keep back and preferably hidden behind some sort of outcropping so that the other player didn't know that he was here, and to maybe just pick up some battle tips from his observations. It wasn't long before he spotted a Tauros after all, a strong Pokemon that he hadn't actually come across himself yet, so the player battling it must be pretty good... Although he seemed to be struggling.

Once Nero was close enough to see things clearly, he watched the Tauros smack what seemed to be a Totodile away from it and straight into the chest of the nearby player. While Nero had intended to keep quiet, he couldn't help but snort in amusement at the way the player dropped to the floor from the impact - must be a new player after all, who'd wandered into a fight he couldn't handle. Although speaking of which... his snort had gotten the Tauros's attention, which had absolutely not been a part of his plan, and Nero quickly found himself tensing as the creature brushed its hoof against the ground and lowered it's head threateningly.

He grabbed the first Pokeball he could reach and sent his Purrloin out between the two of them, the little cat looking entirely outmatched as the huge bull raced towards her. But Nero knew from experience that she was stronger than she looked, and quick as a flash she was leaping forwards in a flurry of claws, launching a Fury Attack without even needing Nero to tell her to. Hopefully that would put the Tauros off from mowing him down at least.

Cheshired Kat <3

Purrloin's claws managed to catch the Tauros' eye, causing it to halt its charge as it let out an aggravated screech. Judging by the health bar hovering above it, it hadn't done a whole lot of damage, but it had stopped the Pokemon from knocking Nero off his feet too. And while he was happy not to be dealing with that pain, he was more happy to retain his status as the smooth, cool, unflustered advanced player who could take this kind of thing in his stride.

He'd wanted to give off this impression for so long after all, had wanted to look like an expert for others to admire, and this was really the first time he'd managed anything close to that. So long as Purrloin kept up the good work, he might even be able to complete this little battle without losing the act, and he could walk away from this new player as some godly saviour... yeah... yeah that would be really cool actually.

While Nero dwelt on just how awesome he might be looking right now, Purrloin remained focused, dropping down from the kicking Tauros so that she could dart behind it as a Water Gun from their new companions smacked it in the face. With that as a distraction, she launched a Scratch attack of her own while it was looking away, hoping to make the most of her flanking partner while her trainer continued to daydream. Nero would look far cooler if he actually had his head in the game but no, that was apparently too much to ask from him.

Cheshired Kat <3 | It's certainly an introduction lmao

The sound of an impact snapped Nero back into reality, and while he missed what exactly had happened, he soon spotted the other player on the ground. With a slight frown at how he'd ended up there, he managed to just catch a glimpse of another Water Gun that flew too wide and missed the Tauros entirely this time, before the normal type went charging towards the other player once more.

Before Nero even thought to call out to his Pokemon to help, the player's health bar had dropped to zero, and with a sympathetic wince, he turned his attention back towards the raging bull. Nothing to be done there after all, the other player would respawn eventually, and now Nero had no eyes on him so no pressure to maintain his cool. "Alright, what else you got, Assurance?" That was a move, right? Purrloin reacted so it must be, the purple cat bouncing up to smack the Tauros across its back before it could turn back towards her. She was quite capable of fighting alone, but she did prefer it when her trainer joined in too. They were supposed to be a team after all.

Nero stepped up closer to the battle, no longer needing to hide or even stand all mysteriously in the shadows. He could let his hands ball into fists, let his teeth grit together in eagerness to see this battle play out in his favour. This game was fun. But fun wasn't cool, so he couldn't show it when there were other people around.

Cheshired Kat <3 | I'll post til it's down and then you can jump back in?

The Water Gun had gone ridiculously wide, comically so, and Exochomper barely had a chance to realize how bad his aim had been before he was taking the full anger of the Tauros directly to the face, and he yelped while flying before landing in the dirt again, unconscious once again. "Exo!" Adrien called, not sparing the Tauros a glance before he hurried over to the little Water-type, bending down to check up on him before he winced softly. "Sorry, little guy. We'll have to see if we can find some Rare Candies or something." Patting the starter, he fumbled out his Pokeball and, after a moment of turning it over in his hands, he figured out where the button was to retreat him back away again (and if it took a prompt popping up in his vision to get there, well, that was his secret to take with him.)

Ears twitching, he straightened up, intending to warp back to the Pokemon Center only to realize that the Purrloin's Trainer had properly appeared, coaching the little cat through the fight. Grinning when the Dark-Type landed on its feet and the Tauros let out a low bellow before sinking down, he lifted a hand high and waved. "Thanks for the assist there!" he called, sauntering back over. "Guess Totodile isn't as good of a matchup against a Tauros as it is against a Ponyta, eh?"

Nero

Adrien's tail flicked behind him in a jingle of gold - he swore, this was almost as annoying as when the dang thing was glitching out every fifteen minutes - before he sauntered over. There was a certain note of emotion in the other player's voice, something like the kids after they'd been beaten at the Smash tournaments he'd played as a senior in the senior lounge at lunch. Some kind of something.

He could work with something.

"Don't know if you noticed, but Tauros isn't exactly my style," he purred, gesturing at himself with a hand. Flamboyant and flashy? Now that was his style (or at least, it was Cheshired's style). "I guess it's better than an empty party slot, but if I had to be honest, I'd much rather have a cutie like that kitten there at my side than I would some big hulking bull." And if it rubs off some of that sour attitude, all the better for me.

He flashed a smile, bright and easy, as he finally got close enough to crouch down near the Purrloin, turning up his hand before he paused thoughtfully. "May I?" he asked, nodding towards the feline. "Kind of curious if its fur is as sleek as it looks, and I haven't exactly run into one of my own to find out yet."

Nero