she wasn't used to being... flirted with? was that what this was? maybe he was just being nice to her, but Alice felt her cheeks heat up all the same. having released her Primarina into the water, she simply watched out for the Corsola below. the siren would do a few jumps every so often, eyeballing the young man who came along with its trainer.

"um, actually I love water-types" she finally says, uncertain how to peruse this sort of conversation "and ice types too, but mostly water-types" the Primarina cooed with agreement of this "I've done a few jobs with the ocean involved. even swam all the w-way out in the ocean to capture Pokémon... but not really diving. not unless you count me hanging onto my water-types while they dive."

some people would say no. others yes. who knew what he thought? "it's Alice though. what's your name?" she asked, her cheeks still red.

1/5

oh, he was smooth. or she was just inexperienced with this sort of thing. she wished she could give a witty retort or something charming but all she could do was stare openly with her mouth slightly open. say something! "Ryuu it is" she says lamely, watching his Primarina join her own in the water "l-last one in, is a rotten Chansey egg!" she says suddenly, not wishing to be outdone.

she climbs over the railing and jumps in with an elegant dive. the water splashes back up to the boat. she is unbothered; for she has a swimsuit on underneath her white sundress. her sandals had been kicked off before she jumped. her Primarina would coo, swimming over to greet Alice. she hooks a pale arm around the siren's neck. "you coming or what?" she says with a smile.

2/5

 despite her earlier fluster, she felt more at ease in the water than on land with the other. an earpiece was placed in her palm, and she hooked it around her own ear. Alice would nod at Ryuu, the cool water calming her down. gods, she was so awkward wasn't she? "got it" she confirms before he vanishes from sight.

directing her Primarina to follow the Corsola colony, she doesn't spot any trouble. aside from, whoa! what was that? a deeper shadow under the Corsola... it got bigger and bigger until - SPLASH! A Sharpedo burst from the depths, causing a few unlucky water-rock types to be thrown around from impact. "Ryuu!" she says into the earpiece -

no doubt he was aware if the Sharpedo had been that deep -

but if not! there was a dangerous predator in the waves now.

3/5

Alice does her best. she always tries to do her best, smile and grin and go with the flow. like a pebble washing in a stream, being pushed along. there's some resistance at first but ultimately she goes along with whatever works. that's how she handles jobs. that's how this whole thing goes.

"go" she urges her Primarina, who swims to protect the flock of Corsola. the siren would look at the oncoming Sharpedo with squinted eyes before unleashing Icy Wind at the water between it and the flock. it froze a barrier the shark smashes into. the ice would not hold for long, but it deters the predator a bit.

it goes right after Ryuu and his Primarina after the assault they gave it.

4/5

"got it!" Alice would call out when the Sharpedo falls asleep. she tosses a spare Pokeball at it, capturing. the girl wasn't going to keep it though. she would release the angry shark after they did their job. once all the cute little Corsola were going to their destination, safe from harm. the full sphere fell into the water, bobbing on the surface. Primarina passed it to Alice.

"I'll release it somewhere away from other people and Pokemon once we report in" she explains to Ryuu "we don't need it hounding us while we're doing our job" once the Sleep wore off, the Sharpedo would simply keep going at them. it was in its nature. she couldn't fault it for this "look, we're almost done!" and true, the Corsola were cheering their efforts.

Route 129 was in sight.

5/5