The gentle swing of the tide soothed Nereus and Mera, his Horsea, both in a delicious swim under the bay of Mauville. The man, as usual, was only wearing swimming briefs. Like a true exhibitionist, he dived and then jumped on the surface, performing acrobatics that were at least jovial for someone his age. Mera tried to follow him as best she could, but she was afraid of going too far away from him, the poor thing was still too young for adventures on the high seas.

"Watch and learn, Mera" he pointed out with pride in his marine tactics. After the trick he threw his white hair to the side, splashing all the water with a certain charm and elegance. "Don't worry darling, someday you'll be as fast as me."

Words that left the little one hopeful! But one thing is for sure, Mera may not be that incredible at swimming, but she certainly makes up for it in the speed of her aim, after all, that's what won Nereus over.

"Or maybe as fast as that guy..." he said, pointing towards the pier where a young man was riding one of his Pokémon, apparently ready to practice some radical water sport. "Come on, let's take a closer look! Haha"

Josh Devlin

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"What beautiful Pokémon you have, buddy!" Nereus waved Josh from the water to the pier where the boy was. The whole spectacle left both the businessman and his Horsea inspired.

In his attempt to approach the pier to maybe socialize, Nereus noticed some wild species that were enjoying the environment peacefully like him, such as a huge heart-shaped fish that swam calmly below the man's thick legs without caring about the human presence. Nereus only continued forward until he got closer to the pier.

"Hey there!" he greeted in his deep voice. He respectfully kept a certain distance because he didn't know how each of those Pokémon would react to his sudden presence.


Skipping

Josh Devlin

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"Yeah... I tend to have a bit of an affair with aquatic pokémon, but not necessarily the water type, if you know what I mean..."

Nereus showed off his little Horsea on the edge of the pier as he braced himself with his strong arms to climb up in a single bound. "Nereus, Nereus Onassis by the way." He held out his hand for a greeting and was shocked at the idea that he was talking to an official gym leader. "Impressive! I haven't met many gym leaders in my life, although some of them are my clients out there..."

In the meantime, Josh spent a few minutes rescuing a Buizel, a maneuver that left Nereus very impressed. In the end, the pokémon stayed with the boy. "What a feat! It's full of pokémon around here, hm? Look over there!" To the right in the sea, Horsea was trying to get rid of a bothersome presence. A Wattrel was disturbing the water-type on the surface, perhaps it was thinking that it would be eaten...

"That's Mera. Listen, she's not so good at swimming yet, but her real talent is at aiming. Her aim is as fast as you, buddy. Check it out. Hey Mera! Fire! HAHAHA" he brandished loudly with a certain pride.

Horsea, realizing that her trainer trusted her, concentrated and focused on the flying opponent that occasionally crossed the surface. She decided that this was the right moment to attack, so all it took was one well-aimed Water Pulse bullet to bring the bird down.

"It's Gone! HAHAHAH Well done, Mera!" Finally, Nereus threw an empty pokéball at the fallen bird. "Well, I hope it works... that nice shot would be a waste, huh?"


Catching Wattrel

Josh Devlin

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"Hmm... ok, that's a problem." said Nereus after hearing Josh's proposal. "Unfortunately the only pokémon capable of supporting me to swim isn't here with me. He usually stays on the boat where I live, protecting..."

The pokémon he was referring to was a Dhelmise. The huge anchor was responsible for keeping the boat steady on Slateport's docks.

"But I don't mind swimming alongside my Horsea! I just can't guarantee that we'll be able to keep up with you and your Sharpedo HAHAHA"

So they both headed out into the bay as agreed. Horsea was a little nervous and intimidated by the Dark-type, but Nereus ensured her comfort by swimming calmly alongside her. Suddenly he got carried away and ended up leaving Horsea behind for a while. In the meantime, Mera was surprised by a friendly but showy and competitive pokémon who, like the pair, was simply swimming nearby. Simipour tried to get along with Horsea anyway, but as a defense mechanism she used a Smokescreen to ward him off.

"Hey! What's going on back there?" Turning around, Nereus noticed a puff of dark smoke slowly dissipating to reveal the ape pestering his pokémon. "Come on, Mera, show your power!" Then, encouraged by her mentor, Horsea fired a Dragon Pulse at the ape's face, confused by the smoke, and knocked it out with the blast.

"I can't miss my chance, right?" Said the big man, then threw a pokéball at Simipour. "I hope it works out... I really need a species like that to look after my boat."


Catching Simipour

Josh Devlin

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"Oh, can I?" he responded to the boy's offer. So Nereus politely greeted Megalo the Milotic and mounted the sea creature of stunning beauty. "

Milotic actually had a very strong and resilient body for that man's size. The saddle on him was secure enough to perform quick and precise movements, but without losing elegance. Nereus could almost feel as if he were in one of his speedboats on the sea.

"I can get used to this, hm" his pleasure was undeniable. Mera tried her best to keep up, but she was still too young to reach Milotic's excellence. A look of envy grew on her face, but it wasn't the only face that reflected under the water. Suddenly a face showing a dark smile emerged from the surface and jumped into the sea, ejecting water behind its shell.

"No Way... a Cloyster!" exposed the man. "C'mon Mera, bring it to daddy!"

Obeying her master's implicit command, Horsea, although a little tired, expelled a well-aimed Dragon Pulse at the Cloyster, seeking to hit his face, however, the bivalve Pokémon was faster and closed its shell immediately, falling quickly into the water. Mera felt nervous at such audacity in blocking her shot. Then Cloyster opened his shell laughing at the situation. Shell Smash was the best answer he could find to then invest in attacks against the cheeky Horsea.

"That one's hard to fall... Try one more shot, Mera!"

Perhaps removing the strength of his shell hadn't been the best option. Although he used an ice strike to hit Horsea, she evaded with an Agility and then aimed another Dragon Pulse to knock him down.

"My turn!" Nereus took advantage of the fact that Cloyster was weak from the blow and threw a Pokéball at him, hoping that all of this would be enough to capture. Despite everything, Mera had done an excellent job! Nereus was contemplative about what Josh had said a while ago.

"You know what, Josh... I think your Keiga can teach my Mera many things and make her even stronger. We can schedule this meeting, what do you think?"


Catching Cloyster

Josh Devlin

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