The Gym Leader-- Temp, Memo thought he remembered the name-- was lounging by the poolside, hanging out with his Dewgong. It was really heartwarming to see-- definitely not the, like, badass, queue-epic-music, dramatic entry scene he’d imagined when this had played out in his head. Which was fine. He had a flair for the dramatic, but after fighting a Shaymin on an island of flowers in the sky, keeping it low key was just fine.

Yeah, Temp, Memo’d remembered right. He smiled and pinched his sweater in between his fingers and thumbs. “Thanks, man. I wanted something bright and beautiful for a bright and beautiful day.” Was it stereotypical to be a gay dude who wore designer clothes? Maybe. Who cared?

“Gotcha.” Ah, yes, remembering why he was here-- to battle, not just shoot the shit with this cool dude. Hydra’s Pokeball expanded in Memo’s hand and he took a deep breath to steel himself; win or lose, he wasn’t going to let himself get down. But he had to win. If he lost he’d tie rocks to his feet and throw himself off this boat.

He released the Pokeball with an artful spin and Hydra burst into the world, purple and fierce and quiet, like a loaded weapon. She writhed in the air and slipped into the pool with almost no splash, more serpentine than Memo had expected for, essentially, a giant seahorse. But he supposed there was a reason Kingdra was called The Dragon Pokemon, right?

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wearing

Tempest Quinn

☉

“Thanks,” Memo said, unable to shake down the pride that lanced through him when Temp complimented his big, purple, sea-dinosaur. Though he had little to nothing to do with making her beautiful. She was just that way.

He did, however, take Temp’s warning to note. “Will do,” he said, nodding. “She definitely prefers to be deep-deep.”

In the crystalline water of the pool, both Memo and Hydra watched the Clawitzer settle on the bottom. Hydra stretched out, more sea-serpent than sea-horse, ready to lash out and strike. The trick here, Memo figured, was going to be staying out of that big claw-- while also not demolishing the crustacean, the boat, Temp, and himself. Choosing Hydra instead of someone slightly less destructive like Olimpia, Titanic, or Strom, was a risky decision in and of itself, given her size and merciless nature.

He just hoped they’d come to enough of an understanding to not cause catastrophic damage.

Temp blew the whistle. The battle was on.

“Hydra, use agility,” Memo instructed.

Hydra stretched out her body, coiling and uncurling muscles as she began to move, serpentine, through the water. The size of the pool was her limiting factor-- but she just had to be faster than whatever the Clawitzer could throw at her.

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wearing

Tempest Quinn

☉

The Dark Pulse came at Hydra fast-- faster than either Memo or his sea-dragon had expected. Rings of purple energy lashed through the water and though she tried to avoid it Hydra couldn’t evade it completely. The tyrian loops caught the end third of her body and burst, throwing her tail above the pool’s surface. Hydra compensated by diving straight down so that her tail didn’t hit the deck of the ship above the pool. Stray splashes of water crashed over the pool’s edge.

Don’t be complacent, he thought to himself, realizing his technique of staying away, while it may keep Hydra out of that fierce grip, wasn’t going to be a good enough strategy to win.

But Temp’s Clawitzer wasn’t the only thing fast in the sea. Hydra spun in a circle, lashing the water in the pool in irritation; as she came around, she opened her mouth, and fired off a dragon pulse-- rings of plum-colored draconic energy around a singular beam, aiming straight for the Clawitzer at the bottom of the pool.

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wearing
hydra uses dragon pulse !

Tempest Quinn

☉