Seeing the man get into the water wasn't a shock, but the reaction that the man had given at the pokémon he'd summoned had Sam wondering if the guy knew how ridiculous he looked? Or maybe he was just absent-minded.

Sam had those days. The days when the cereal gets put away in the fridge and the milk goes in the cabinet on accident.

With a buzz, their underwater single battle was signaled to begin. Sam quickly made a motion of surrounding himself and dratini followed suit. A pale energy formed around his scales as he twisted and moved in the water, getting up a SAFE GUARD.

notes

dratini used safeguard

Laurence Anderson

Watching his dratini FLINCH due to the bite had him frowning. Of course she flinched, the thing was like a mad hatter in the sea. Sam took out from his pocket a clicker. It was used to signal water pokémon. He'd learned it from some of the girls in Cerulean City, who'd gifted him the dratini after he helped them fend off some thugs.

He was reassuring his dratini, telling him that it was alright that he'd flinched, and to prepare himself for the next attack as quickly as he could.

notes

dratini flinched!

Laurence Anderson

Another few clicks and the dratini was snapping out of his hesitation. The flinch had faded and he was back and ready for more.

Those wing like ears paid close attention to the clicks given. Once they finished, the dratini started to twist and move his body elegantly in the water. The energy that gathered during his beautiful dance caused his skin to gain less resistance, his movements quicker and more fluid-- and it certainly raised his fighting spirit.

There was quite the competitive fire in his eyes now.

notes

dratini used dragon dance!

Laurence Anderson

That safeguard was beginning to lose its sheen. Sam could see it fading and because of that, he tried to compromise by attacking first instead of stacking his dratini for a one hit-KO situation. With another dragon dance or so, it would have been simple. But it was best to get on the offensive as quickly as possible.

So he gave a small flourish of his hand, clicking as well. The flourish he knew might have looked a bit ... well, flamboyant, and anybody that knew him would know that he didn't usually flourish himself like that. But then the dratini turned with a determined gaze toward the pointy urchin and dove head first with a DRAGON RUSH.

The flourish was a way to boost the dratini's spirits, mostly.

notes

dratini used dragon rush!

Laurence Anderson

Though that last attack hadn't done much damage, time was immediately wasted when that mareanie came in for a bite that caused the dratini to flinch.

For now, Sam couldn't do much. But he did take into account the comedy that was before him. It was hard to keep serious when somebody was so beside themselves because of their pokémon.

The situation greatly reminded him of his toxel, who was quite the handful. Perhaps all poison pokémon were like that, considering his gastly could be quite the little shit as well when he wanted to be.

Though gastly did mind Sam well and always looked out for him. Something Sam would eternally be grateful for.

While that flinch finally began to fade, Sam could see that the safeguard had also faded, and he couldn't ask dratini to quickly bring it back up before the mareanie's next attack. So instead, he gave a few clicks to warn the dratini to brace himself.

notes

dratini flinched!
dratini's safeguard has ended.

Laurence Anderson

There was no getting away from the toxic ooze that was produced by the sea urchin. Sam could feel it then and there, dratini wasn't going to last the rest of this fight. But that didn't mean he wasn't going to let it go down easily.

To ensure that they showed their fighting spirit, Sam made eye contact with his dratini and nodded firmly.

It seemed only that nod was all that was needed for dratini to begin giving it his all. He twisted his body and moved through the water at great speed, an attempt to slam his body into the mareanie.

notes

dratini is poisoned!
dratini used slam!

Laurence Anderson