As the breeze passed by, bringing with it the freshness of the sea, bubbles suddenly appeared on the surface of the water, revealing two figures that slowly emerged "unpretentiously", one accompanied by the other. The anchor Pokémon, Dhelmise, was supporting the corpulent trainer, Nereus, who displayed a beautiful smile and made graceful gestures with his hands as if he were a mermaid - and in fact he really did feel like one.

"JOSH MY BOY!!!" echoed across the horizon with his groaning voice trying to get the attention of the gym leader. Slowly, Dhelmise floated and brought his master to meet the boy. Nereus widened his eyes and laughed out loud with such excitement when he realized that Josh was accompanied by a colossal creature that was completely new to him.

But wait! There was another little creature in this scenario that had been forgotten...

A little further behind her trainer, Mera the Horsea tried to keep up with a weak and relatively breathless swim. It wasn't that she was tired, maybe she just couldn't keep up with the dazzlement her master imposed. Dagon the Dhelmise was the first to notice and, feeling sorry for the little one, he paused, letting Nereus complete the rest of the path alone, actively swimming towards Josh. He is indeed an excellent swimmer, his body was almost made for it.

"Hey buddy, how's it going?" he greeted Josh upon arrival, not necessarily fearing the great Walking Wake. "Oh my... it's huge! You certainly have a good story to tell!"

Unfortunately for now, Nereus had ignored his little Horsea's actions, who was now being assisted by Dhelmise. The water-type was afraid of Josh's Pokémon, but Dhelmise didn't seem to care as usual. The anchor would be her fortress.

Josh Devlin

☉

While Josh and Nereus were talking, Dhelmise arrived accompanied by Horsea, who, disappointed with her trainer, fired several water shots at his back. Nereus turned around and realized that the little Pokémon was trying to tell him something.

"What's wrong, Mera? Can't you see the adults are talking?!"

Mera frowned.

While Nereus was trying to listen to Josh's stories, or rather, Champion Josh's, little Horsea subtly left the place without being noticed, or at least that's what she imagined. Mera was different, she had some anxiety, but perhaps Nereus' moment of carelessness provoked this anxiety even more, resulting in her furtive escape.

Dagon the Dhelmise was the first to notice her absence. Worried, he raised his cursed seaweed to force Mr. Onassis's attention.

"What now?!" he shouted. The anchor Pokémon was very didactic in showing that Horsea was no longer there, that she had run away after feeling ignored. "Mera..." he worried.

Josh Devlin

☉