The experience of riding with Chester was unlike anything she’d ever done. The way his serpentine body flipped through the waves—even with his arthritis—was equal parts disorienting and exhilarating. And, of course, he was smiling as best as a Gyarados could. Soon enough, her melancholic was replaced by a general feeling of freedom.

After depositing her latest gift in a basket—a bed Alastor had long outgrown—she turned back to face Chester. Just a few minutes in the sea had wiped decades off his scarred, wrinkled features. Is it wrong to take him out of here? The doctor wondered to herself as she reclined on the platform. The crusty salt had started to irritate her back—it’d be a pain to scrub out later. But she wasn’t about to deny him any more of this.

And, if he decided to stay, she wanted to spend a little time with him. As she grabbed onto a back fin, she paused to study its broken peak. The giant pits left by a life of fighting for food and glory. “3—2—1—” With a roar, the Gyarados vanished beneath the waves.

M8CuOVch

Fortunately, he’d handled his princess’s surprise dive pretty well. He even went so far as to continue humming as he discovered another of the events little baggies. As dark-colored sand flowed away, Ozni couldn’t fight back an amusing thought. This was the ocean his father had made a mess of. There were probably all kinds of chemicals in here.

Oh well. It wasn’t like he could do anything about it now. They’d paid the pennies the region asked of them ad recorded a few interviews full of fake apologies and empty promises. What else did people expect?

His hands clamped shut around something dark. It almost cut into his hand as he adjusted his grip and kicked back toward the surface. Staring at the blue shard, Oz looked like a kid who’d just discovered rocks can be pretty. Sure, he had no idea what it did, but it’d look nice on the camera.

“How about this guys? Make a cute ring, huh?” Maybe he’d auction this stuff off later. A buzz from his watch (waterproof with a solar system theme) made him look down. People were loving this shit. And even the guy who told him to get eaten by a Sharped was still[//i] watching. “Sugar!” Man, had his parents sparked for an anti voice coach? Yikes. “We’re going down, down—”

With a roll of bulbous eyes, Ana dragged her concierto into the depths.

O|kGhSd9

As she brought the blob out of the water, Madd stared at it quizzically for a moment. She’d seen one of these before, but she had zero idea what it did. Figuring she’d just ask Aubs at their weekly lunch meet-up—something that usually at a place too low-brow for her loser husband. That girl knew all kinds of archaic, weird stuff.

As she laid back on the Blastoise’s broad shell, Madeline watched the clouds drift lazily by. Sure, this place was being threatened by all kinds of stuff, but it was a good place for a sun tan. “Want a snack?” A deep rumble from the turtle and Madd reached into her waterproof sack. From it, she pulled out two clementines. These she split before alternating slices between her and the boat.

After giving her stomach a few minutes to settle, she again locked her hands in the rim of one of the big guy’s cannons. “Let’s go again.” She smirked. “Mama has a lot of bills to pay.”

DKBoitkC

Any chance to show off her swimsuit was a lovely occasion in Calpurnia’s book. It had not been easy keeping her loops up through five children and years of her husband’s sweet temptations (in the kitchen, you silly perverts). But she still managed to give the impression of a slightly muscular hourglass.

While she did not currently have a water-type Pokemon of her own—never being a fan of keeping the damnable things—she’d borrowed one from the laboratory. With a typical stern glance, she directed the beast into the water. Purrses—more present than her own shadow—was nowhere to be seen. Like most cats, he despised water and had little desire to be surrounded by it.

Still, she’d heard tales of what these little treasure hunts had unearthed, and many of the trinkets would work as lab supplies. Fixing her mask in place, she submerged herself in Hoenn’s tropical waters.

DrrCPY3d

Again, the Poliwrath busted through the water’s surface to chunk some algae-covered thing at him. This time, Biscotti gestured for him to climb up on the platform. In the noontime sun, they shared a PB&J sandwich. The crusts had been cut off and the cut—as always—a diagonal slice from corner to corner. As the pair enjoyed their gooey delight, they both turned to look over the water.

It might be an apocalyptic hellhole, but it was hard to deny this place was gorgeous. And the weather was way better than backhome. It’d been weeks since Scotti had seen a storm cloud. “Why is it sandwiches taste so much better when somebody else makes them?” Not really the type for philosophical discussions—food was food—the water frog jumped back off the platform.

So much for a thank you.

j0uzYT8I

"Glub glub..." Howard glubbed further into the depths. Wetsuits were terrible. He felt like he had been wrapped in a sausage casing and had been dunked into an ice chest. The suit was skintight, and left little to the imagination. Howard vastly preferred bulky diving suits, but it wasn't like he could go and rob the Slateport Museum or anything.

"Glub glub..." Howard pointed at something. There! He saw his Clamperl shooting off into the abyss. Huh, so it did use jet propulsion.

That was one mystery down.

---

1st - Move Tutor, Get!
2nd, Pokeball, get!
3rd, Z-Crystal, Get!
4th, Clamperl, get!
5th, Salac Berry, get!
6th, Devolution Stone, get!
7th, Pokeball, get!
8th, Move Tutor, get!
9th, Pokeball, get!
10th, Pokeball, get!
11th, Pokeball, get!
12th, TM/TR, get!

Riding across Slateport Beach on Kairi's back, the Vaporeon accelerated down the main pier and leaped off the edge, drawing her legs and tail in to cannonball in the waters of the shore area's shelf. She paddled to the surface before diving underwater once again, her powerful tail swishing back and forth and propelling her to speeds that most Vaporeon would be jealous of. The racer passed other divers on the way to the treasure field beneath Slateport's waves, arriving early enough in the day that the sun's rays penetrated deep enough for him to see without the aid of a Pokémon. All the obvious tall treasure sticking out of the pile had already been claimed, Josh instead digging deep for something he thought was an unusual shape. He would be able to get clarity on what it was after the Vaporeon reversed course, preparing to leap out of the water with another strong flick of her tail.

It felt easier this time around, June noted. Sure did help when the reward from the last expedition was... good? Hard to tell. Yet the excitement of finding something so cool in such an alien, foreign place got her blood pumping. Almost enough to ignore the sense of dread that hung out in the back of her head.

Almost.

Well, too late to back out now, right? She had this. Deep breaths, and she pushed back into the watery depths.

TJDxBADM

1x - Tera Crystal

NEW - 1x - Salac Berry