This was a dangerous place for someone at his level.
Their level of rock type energy control was impressive. They use Rollout, Defense Curl, and Stone Edge to react to any situation. The Golems would basically use Stone Edge to change direction or jump, making them extra deadly.
Jolteon managed to knock one out with a Shadow Ball before being blasted by a giant boulder several times. It fainted shortly after this. The Rock Blast attack from a high level Golem is terrifying.
Silas and Madam returned all pokemon except for Arcanine. They got on his back but when he tried to teleport, it didn't work.
Golems were rolling at Silas as they continued to pick up speed. Silas couldn't let them get close otherwise he'd face a chain explosion.
Madam called for a Donphan from earlier. It was truly an anomaly how Madam managed to bond with strong pokemon. He saw it with his own eyes. Madam rubbed in medicine to heal Donphan and said a few words then it was like it viewed her as a goddess.
Donphan took the brunt of a powerful Rollout attack and immobilized Golem. Dragonair had used the time to use Dragon Dance so when it used Aqua Tail, the damage was immense.
Nidoqueen also used Aqua Tail, they were starting to push back on the Golem.
Noticing the odds favoring the enemy, the Golem switched strategies. The Gravelers turned themselves into ball form then all the Golem launched them at the enemy.
This combination attack did serious damage forcing the group to flee but some of the Golem had been using Rollout for so long, they were as fast as Arcanine now.
Only by using Extreme Speed, could they create some distance. Arcanine had taken significant damage over the course of the fight so it couldn't move at its top speed nor repeatedly use Extreme Speed.
The situation took a turn for the worst. A powerful Rhyperior appeared from the ground like the grim reaper. It combined Hammer Arm with Earthquake to create a quaking fist attack. It directly killed one of the Golems for disturbing its sleep with Explosion.
Rhyperior used Dig and returned to its domain to sleep. Nobody tried to stop it. Silas had scanned the pokemon and it was at the Elite level, something they absolutely couldn't face.
The good news was that the Golem had stopped using Rollout but they were still intent on hunting down Silas and Madam's group.
Silas once again cursed his own weakness. If he were at a similar level to Madam, these pokemon would pose a much smaller threat.
The leader Golem was frustrated and couldn't take it out on the powerful Rhyperior so it focused all its rage on the group. It started throwing its fellow Golems as attacks. Without Arcanine and Dragonair using Protect, they'd all be dead for sure.
Nidoqueen and Arcanine unleashed a combined Dragon Pulse and Surf to push the Golem back. The leader used Explosion again and it completely disrupted the attack. Under the cover of the generated smoke, Madam and Silas escaped on Arcanine after returning Nidoqueen to her ball.
They ran along the underground river, it seemed to be draining into an abyss much further down. It was pitch black and impossible to see where it led. They didn't get far when a glowing Golem appeared in their face. Jolteon used Reflect at the last moment. The blast knocked everyone into the running river.
Golem looked on in frustration. The one thing Golem would never do is jump into a body of water by choice. They were forced to abandon their pursuit.
Arcanine was a surprisingly good swimmer but the real MVP was Dragonair. It expertly controlled a twister attack to guide the group along the river until they got out.
The river seemed to be never ending. They continued in the cave now on land, eventually reaching another cavern. This one was a large but a dead end cave. There were many glowing low grade Fire Stones along the walls and ceiling that gave the cavern ample light.
"We can stop to rest here. Nidoqueen, use Earth Power to soften the ground here and set some traps at the entrance." Nidoqueens Earth Power created a quick sand like trap along the entrance to the cave and interior while softening the ground for comfort nearby the group.
For good measure, Madam also had Nidoqueen use Stone Edge to further block the entrance. Then without being prompted, Nidoqueen fired off Toxic Spikes and Stealth Rock as well. It would be nearly impossible to sneak past the defenses set up by Nidoqueen.
Madam called out the group of Ursaring. She instructed them to watch the entrance as they rested. Sleep was necessary to recover their energy. Running away from the Golem was a tiring and terrifying experience. They were relentless. Silas held them with the same contempt that he held wild Beedrill.
Fatigue was slowly overwhelming everyone. There was a real possibility of death today. Luckily they survived but it was a close call.
Had Jolteon not reacted with Reflect, the consequences could have been dire. Finally, the group fell asleep 1 by 1.
After a couple hours, Silas was woken up by loud sounds of rocks being destroyed. The sound was getting closer. The rock spikes in the tunnel leading to the cave were turning to rubble one by one. Silas could see 3 pairs of piercing eyes and red heads with blue scaly bodies.
This was a small family of Druddigon. They were using Rock Smash to make quick work of the first layer of defense.
By now, all the pokemon and Madam were also awake.
There were 5 Druddigon in total. One of them was slightly larger than the others. It was clearly in charge. SIlas scanned the leader.
Druddigon (M) — Level 69
Ability: Sheer Force
Potential: B+
Moves: Rank A Dragon Claw, Rank A Dragon Tail, Rank B Metal Claw, Rank B Slash, Rank B Scary Face, Rank B Hone Claws, Rank B Poison Tail, Rank B Night Slash, Rank B Iron Head, Rank B Scale Shot, Rank C Outrage
With the Sheer Force ability, this pokemon would be a force to be reckoned with if it had a Life Orb.
As they cleared the last rock pillar Madam commanded Arcanine and Nidoqueen combined their Dragon Pulse attacks to devastate the pokemon before they got near.
Madam told them to keep firing but this time the Druddigon were ready. They used a combined Scale Shot Attack. The attacks exploded on each other.
Through the smoke, the Druddigon advanced together. They failed to notice all the traps and entry hazards. They fell one atop each other into the quick sand. The leader ruthlessly used the bodies of his tribe to jump across the quick sand.
He didn't notice the thin purple barbs sticking out of the ground. As soon as he landed in the Toxic Spikes zone, he was badly poisoned.
Druddigon howled in pain. Then suddenly several rocks shot at Druddigon from all directions. They exploded on contact and Druddigon dropped to 1 knee. Nidoqueen recalled the remaining poison on the ground.
While Druddigon was assaulted by Stealth Rock, they had unleashed a devastating combined attack that left all the Druddigon except for the leader unconscious.
Seeing this, the leader Druddigon was furious. It rushed to Nidoqueen and used a combination of Slash and Dragon Claw. This attack created an X shaped wound that was dripping blood. Nidoqueen's natural armor had absorbed most of the blow.
Some pokemon of similar rank might have been bisected by that move combination. Scale Shot had a secondary effect where the user's speed increased but its defense decreased.
Nidoqueen took the opportunity to use Thunder Wave to paralyze Druddigon. Unlike in the pokemon games, this was real life. A pokemon could be poisoned, burned, paralyzed, and asleep all at once.
After receiving such a deadly wound, Nidoqueen had to take the battle extra seriously. With a well trained fighting style, it made quick work of Druddigon.
Nidoqueen used a super effective combination of Dragon Pulse and Ice Punch to overwhelm Druddigon by abusing the type advantages.. It was already frail due to being badly poisoned so it couldn't resist the high amount of damage suffered. Madam caught every single Druddigon.
The melee between Druddigon and Nidoqueen had caused significant damage to the cave, even knocking down one of the cave walls to reveal yet another cave.