Sénon Game

Moana didn't even know what he was doing anymore. Why did he travel so much? He was new to the region, with no shelter except the tent he carried on his back and hotel rooms that he booked in the case of extremely harsh weather. He really shouldn't be seeing the sights like some common tourist.

Except that he did, because he was curious, and sometimes those odd jobs paid more than he foresaw, so travel didn't hit his wallet as hard as he expected. Moana supposed that the low travel rates were a side effect of living somewhere where Pokemon were used for transportation over half the time.

Regardless, here he was in the water routes near Pacifidlog Town. It reminded him a little bit of home. His home was wet, too, but not always in the sunny, beach-like way that these routes were. Ula'ula Island seemed to be half-covered with gloomy rainstorms for ninety percent of the year. Even so, the humidity here (and in many other places in Hoenn) was a pleasant, if bittersweet, throwback.

He was swimming, and he was good at it. Feeling adventurous, he paddled a little further away from the shore than he'd normally go, trusting in the abilities of Wali, his Sigilyph, to keep him safe in case something happened. The flying Pokemon was skimming the surface of the waves, occasionally dipping down into the water as if he was curious.

Moana spied another person in the water, who seemed to be playing with their Pokemon. He swam closer, curious and eager for some interaction. "Hello!" he called out.

Sénon Game

Moana began to reply, "It's nice to be able to---"

The conversation was rudely interrupted by... wow. A huge Salamence landed directly to the right of the swimmers and their pokemon, roaring loudly. Well, then. Wali was already on the job, launching blades of air at the aggressive intruder. The Salamence flinched slightly, the attacks damaging it, but it did not let up. By now, Moana had summoned his team's newest addition, Topeng, as well. The Ledian flew about, hissing in surprise at the Salamence.

"Swift!" Moana directed, and the Ledian assaulted the dragon with star-shaped blasts of energy. Adding to their assault was this other guy and his Pokemon, along with... was that a Barboach? The little fish jumped up and slammed the Salamence with an Aqua Tail, which looked impressive but merely irritated the dragon, who barely bothered other than to clasp its teeth around the poor Barboach's body.

Moana winced. That wound didn't look good. He fished out a Pokeball, chucking it at the Barboach to try and save it. If he could keep the fish in stasis until it got medical attention, it might be fine. As he retrieved the ball, he saw that the combined effort of Wali, Topeng, and the other guy's Pokemon had defeated the dragon, and the other guy was catching it. Moana couldn't say he wasn't a little envious. That Salamence looked like a real fighter.

Sénon Game

Moana, in the distance, saw what he thought was a Prinplup swimming past. His suspicions were confirmed as the flightless bird swam closer to him, curiously pecking him on the arm. Moana smiled and rubbed its head, which it seemed to like, because it made a strange throaty sound that must have been the bird equivalent of a purr. Wali watched the interaction, flapping above the waves and staring as blankly as he always did.

Moana turned to see the other dude take down a Murkrow and capture it. "Dang," he said. "Do you catch a lot of Pokemon? You seem really good at it. Plus," he waved his hands at the members of the team that were out, "your team speaks for itself."

Moana looked at the Prinplup, who he seemed to have instantly grown on. "I, meanwhile, catch a lot of Pokemon like these. Ones that don't mind coming with me anyways." He held up the Pokeball, pushing the button on the Prinplup's forehead.

Sénon Game

This mystery guy seemed to have a moment of introspection, after which he spoke up. Moana listened to the first part, and then smiled a little at the praise. "Yeah, I've been starting to catch some Pokemon of my own." He shrugged, trying to seem nonchalant. He didn't mention that his first four Pokemon had all been stolen. "What with all this news of aliens and stuff, I figured it would be best to be prepared." He eyed the stranger. "I might guess that you have the same reason, huh?"

He knew he should probably be at least a little suspicious of this guy. It was a random stranger who he'd met in the middle of a water route. Yet, he couldn't make himself feel that way. He'd hung out with a gang for a large part of his life. He felt like he had a grasp of people with bad intentions, and this guy didn't seem to give off that feeling.

Moana smiled again when a Corsola appeared and approached them, with a friendly demeanor. He'd seen that the nearby settlement, Pacifidlog, was actually built over a colony of Corsola, which would explain the Pokemon's presence here.

"I--- he began, but stopped in his tracks when he saw a ripple in the distance, that quickly approached, resolving into the shape of a dorsal fin as it appeared more clearly.

"Um," he said, "I think we're about to be attacked by a Sharpedo." He pushed the button on the Pokeball of his latest capture, the Prinplup materializing back into the water and looking about curiously.

Sénon Game  

Moana blinked in surprise at the man's curt response to the approaching threat. Then he barked a laugh. That wasn't what he was expecting, but he'd work with it. It was kind of refreshing, actually.

The Prinplup that he'd just captured had noticed the approaching threat, and apprehension entered his eyes, so Moana spoke quickly. "All right, buddy. I'm gonna call you Keiser for now," he decided on the spot. "Look, Keiser, there's a Sharpedo coming at us, as you can see. Can you help us out with it?" He gestured behind him, where the Sigilyph continued to flap, showing no emotion. "Between you, me, and Wali, we can take it, I think."

The Prinplup seemed skeptical, but he did shoot a stream of bubbles at the Sharpedo. The speedy Pokemon didn't even flinch, the attack doing minimal damage as it shot right through the bubbles.

"That's not gonna work," Moana muttered. "See if you can hit him up close with your beak or flippers! Aim for the eyes!"

The Prinplup seemed to understand, waiting for the Sharpedo to approach and slashing at its face with a Metal Claw and wincing when its rough skin damaged him. The Sharpedo roared and rammed Keiser hard, the water around it boosting the attack. Thankfully, Keiser seemed not to be hurt too bad by the Liquidation, just disoriented.

Wali joined the fray here, making a strange, echoing noise and launching an Air Slash at the attacker. This attack was more damaging, the blade of wind cutting into the Sharpedo's skin. Turning its back on Keiser, the hunter growled at Wali, trying to lunge out of the water and hit him with Liquidation.

Wali did not play by the Sharpedo's rules, instead flying higher so the fish couldn't reach, and splashed back down into the water. "Now!" urged Moana, and Keiser, who was waiting for the landing, nailed the fish with a Drill Peck, knocking it out.

"Wow, Keiser," Moana said, "That was impressive! You too, Wali. Good job, both of you." He threw his Pokeball at the defeated Sharpedo. It seemed powerful, but if it proved to be too much trouble, he could always release it back or give it away to someone else.