Trial of the body, Cerin

[Onyx Leo]

Cerin groaned inwardly as he lifted his foot out of a small puddle of water. Or at least what he hoped was water. He gave his foot a quick waggle before continuing on his way. The darkness of this cavern was almost overwhelming. The only light source in the entire area was the ever-burning ember at the end of his flickering tail. Even with it, he was only able to gaze a few paces ahead of himself, and even THEN he was still prone to tripping and stumbling over slippery rocks. "Trial of body..." He said in a hushed tone. "After this, I'll finally be elected into Ashmourne."

A smile crossed his scaly lips as his tail wagged with excitement. "After this, everything will be right again..." His pacing increased as he bared the next turn. Visions of grandeur danced in his head as his smile grew into a toothy grin. "After this, I can save everyone..."

[Guyviroth]

The brighter of the two caves, Misty Cavern would appear to be much easier to navigate but it was still much of a hassle, especially for a fire-type pokemon like Cerin; not only did the cavern produce a veil-like mist, but it was home to many water-type Pokemon as well as evident with the surrounding group having patches of water and deep puddles, more than likely where some of the other Pokemon have buried. It almost felt like these Pokemon were working together to ambush interlopers.

Before long, Cerin would find himself in a large open area, spanning several meters in each direction with the only indication of any life would be a few mushrooms growing on the floor and on the corners of the cieling where the damp mist had risen and gathered. However, before Cerin could set foot further a few of the mushrooms before to wiggle, sprouting from the ground, revealing two Paras from the ground. However, another attacker seemed to be lurking nearby.

[Onyx Leo]

He quickly threw his arms back with his claws fully splayed out. Lowering his head and arching his back forward, he charged at the two Pokemon in a V like formation, taking advantage of his speed early on. "If Ashmourne truly wants to test my strength..." As he drew closer to the two grass types, he deeply inhaled. "They'll have to do better than you two. EMBER! With his maw left agape, he unloaded a rapid succession of small, bullet-like fireballs towards the two grass Pokemon.

[Guyviroth]

Type advantage was going to prove only to be a minor convenience; Ashmourne would not send out a Pokémon to a place where he was advantageous in terms of type if they weren't confident in the wild Pokémon's abilities. The Paras were not the be taken lightly because they were Bug and Grass types. They were surprisingly quick for their movement, weaving through the fire released from Cerin, although one of the Paras took the damage abruptly but was just able to move despite nearly fainting.

The Paras looked discriminatingly at Cerin, one of them charged in to attack with a Scratch attack, while the other Paras let out a series of powder-like spores into the atmosphere. Because of the mist, it was difficult to tell exactly where those spores were, turning the entire battlefield into an airborn minefield for Cerin. One wrong step forwards could mean becoming poisoned.

[Onyx Leo]

Cerin furrowed his brow as he watched the two bug Pokemon weave in and out through his embers. "These Paras are quick..." He said to himself. "Too quick..." He stopped his charge by skidding to a halt and swinging his tail back, then began to leap backwards to create some distance so he could better assess his situation. A small smile crept onto his face as he saw one of the Paras get hit by an Ember. It was still moving, but it won't be for long.

Fast as it may have been, between his backpedaling and his already keen reflexes, Cerin had more than enough time to see the other Paras coming. Using his momentum and a bit extra help from his powerful tail, he leaped back one more time. This time, aiming for height instead of distance. He inhaled again, and unleashed another flurry of embers directly below him where the Paras should have been. He cracked another smile as he landed a short distance away, tail wagging in delight. All his training seemed to be paying off.

That was when he noticed the spores. Tiny sparkling particles were released into the air the other Paras. Usually you're able to tell the type of spore it is just by seeing the color, however he only got a quick glimpse before it faded into the thick haze of the cave. "Poison, stun, or sleep spores..." He muttered to himself again. "Inhaling any one of them could be life threatening." After a brief pause in thought, he quickly wrapped his tail over his nostrils, also increasing the size of the fire at it's tip to hopefully burn away any spores close to him.

"Thirty seconds..." he thought as he began to rhythmically move his arms and legs, hearing the tribal echo of drums in his head. "I've tested myself, I know myself. I can hold my breath for thirty seconds." Soon a light chartreuse glow encompassed his entire body, from the crown of his head to the tip of his tail. Opening his eyes, you would see that they too suffered from that same unearthly glow. This was the effects of his Dragon Dance. "Twenty five seconds..." He lowered his head and charged at the Paras, the cause of this poisoned fallout. Unable to use any breath abilities like Ember, he outstretched his claws for Scratch as he grew closer. With his increased speed and strength, he would hopefully be able to make short work of the Pokemon. "This better be enough..."

[Guyviroth]

It was of great strategy what Cerin was achieving at the moment. By gaining height witht he jump he was able to clear the altitude of the freshly-released powder while inhaling for another Ember. The fresh Paras was able to, again, dash away from the embers, but the already injured insect took the full brunt of the attack and was knocked down for the count. The other Paras, however, was unsympathetic with the fall of its brethren, almost as though it was in a hypnotic state.

As soon as Cerin began to dash towards Paras, the bug Pokemon retaliate in kind and rushed towards the Charmander, not matching its speed but it was able to dodge under his Scratch attack and attacked in the same manner; Cerin's body was a much larger target than Paras was, so Paras was able to claw at the Charmander's underside, giving it a scratch leading vertically over its belly with enough force to knock the wind out of him and send him backwards. After which, Paras released another set of spores, this time Stun Spores. Not only would Cerin become poisoned if he were to inhale, but if he were to advance recklessly he had the high risk of becoming paralysed.

[Onyx Leo]

((Hmm... How high is the ceiling? Are there any alcoves or stalactites I may be able to reach? Just want to get a clearer area check... Also, should I bother asking you next time? XD /hasbeenawhilesinceI'vebeenGMed ))

[Guyviroth]

((Statactites are present yush. No alcoves though.))