Living close to the Falls meant that they were a frequent destination for Gavin's trail hikes. It's the heat that tips him off, more than anything, the shimmering air stealing breath from his lungs. He stops to rest, leaning against the wall, and that's when he sees the Magcargo.

He sees the Rangers, too, but they don't seem fussed about those attempting to catch the volcanic snails. A flash of purple amidst red-and-black tempts the Rocket closer, leaning over the erected barrier to take a better look.

Why not?

A lazy flick of his wrist sends a ball sailing toward a group of them.

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Hideo heard slugs. A lot of slugs and snails. It was their usual migration time, so he was told. He could feel their combined heat from all the way where he was standing; so this was what it was like to stand near a volcano.

Or so the boy thought.

A brief comment from one of the rangers informed him that he was allowed to catch one. And, well, what kid didn’t want a living, breathing, crawling mass of molten rock?

He wasn’t crazy enough to just grab one, though.

He let out Swimcoach, his Seismitoad. “Grab a good one!” the boy ordered, earning a concerned glance from his Pokemon. Still, she did as he asked, blasting a nearby one with a Hydro Pump before dragging it closer, so the boy could peg it with a Pokeball.

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"Isn't it beautiful?" Chryssa asked idly, resting her head in one palm as she gazed over the fences at the migrating swarm. The Magcargo left trails of cooling, blackened rock behind them. With so many of the fire-types crossing, the ground had become cherry red and molten, difficult to tell where the snails' bodies ended and the earth began.

"Can you believe you used to live here too?" she said, patting the arm of her companion. "I'm so glad we came back to your hometown for this special occasion." The Claydol floated, saying nothing as they stared out at the river of lava and pocked black shells.

She'd been called to Meteor Falls like many Rangers to help escort the Magcargo on their migration, but like the many now standing around just watching the natural phenomenon occur, by the time she'd gotten there there wasn't much left to do. Chryssa sighed, content. Unless one happened to slither into the Pokeball she'd hidden halfway up the path, she was content to just enjoy being somewhere warm.

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"Oh wow! Look at that!" Billi pointed out with his pokemon beside him. The trail of magma snails was a once in a life time experience, and it appeared everyone was thinking the same as him! pictures snapping, his own camera flickering as he got past the blockade, to get a closer look as the colony moved as a unit from their volcano home. But it took only a moment as Billi's eyes snagged a purple magma snail in the distance. So chucking a pokeball was the most he could do, but he prayed, "Please don't melt!"

Snails? Not really Chu-e's thing. Volcano snails? Well, that was more interesting. It looked like a lot of other people were here aiming for the same thing... well, Chu-e was more of a casual in this, so he wasn't going to take it super serious or anything. He wasn't going to storm to the top of Hoenn's own volcano and throw himself in if he lost or something. That would just be dumb.

So, with his very lackadaisical attitude, Chu-e just found a good spot and tossed his own ball out into the herd (was it a herd?) of snails to see if he got lucky. Hey, maybe if he got one, he could trade it for something cool!

tSaThlen

“Come on Rue! Hurry up! We are going to miss it! I want to get that pink one!”

The feline let out a long pleasant meow, leaping after her trainer. Her steps were delicate, careful not to slip and fall. Eleanor let out giggle, running even faster to try to beat her own creature..

“Excuses me please! I want to get a pink one!”

A group of people drifted out of her way as she spotted a group of them migrating. Her sapphire eyes light up, franticly searching for the special one she heard rumors about. But after a good look, the edges of her glossy pink lips turned down in a pout. “I don’t see it Rue,” the woman whimpered, feeling as though it was too late, “I don’t see it.” The feline caught up with her trainer, let her gaze flickered over where her trainer was look before letting out a meow. She nudge her trainer, trying to make her happy. “I wanted one so badly,” she whined to her pokemon, “Like sooooo badly Rue.” Her passion for pink colored pokemon burned hotter than a volcano, she wanted all the cute little pink creatures.