[attr="class","mimi"]blissfully ignorant of all the trouble ahead of them, mimi enjoys the feeling of the breeze in her face. a constant reminder that she can feel, she is alive. the cloudy weather is left behind in pacifidlog, and the horizon looks a lot brighter. with sun this strong, she's thinking a barbecue would be perfect. lance's suggestion isn't bad, either. she's always been curious about the region's famed coral reefs.

"enough for two?" she asks, standing up to look for the aforementioned diving gear. the shirt she's wearing comes off easily, and her short hair is tied up in a simple bun. "i haven't done this in so long. you better not let me drown, lance."

[attr="class","seelie"]LANCE VOLLANS

[attr="class","lance"]

[attr="class","lance b"]

[attr="class","lance i"]the sail boat drifts to an eventual halt. it sways with the currents, bobbing up and down as nature wills it to. they're close enough now to a formation of rocks for him to tie the boat around, and with a precise throw of a line of rope, he does just that.

"enough for two." he opens a little compartment and hauls out the diving gear. it thuds against the floors of the boat, the oxygen tank the heaviest out of the equipment. there are wetsuits for them should they need it, but it really depends on how deep they plan on diving.

lance wastes no time putting his on. "i won't. i know you'd haunt me forever if i did." the thought is frightening to even entertain. it doesn't take him long to finish putting on the gear. afterwards, he turns to her.

"need some help?"

Mimi Cheng
mission!

[attr="class","mimi"]a proud nod rightfully follows. "not to mention you'll never hear the end of it from your mom. we've taught you well."

while lance equips his set, mimi takes a quick gauging look at the depth of the waters in their chosen diving spot. it's not that she doesn't trust his judgement, but rather she's looking forward to meeting the fauna here. her earlier attempt had been, after all, a little disappointing in terms of numbers. surely they'd have better luck under the sea.

"oh, please do," she says, eyeing the second oxygen tank. lance makes them look light as a feather, but her memory tells a different tale. with her back turned to him, she adds, "is sootopolis close, or have we passed it already?"

[attr="class","seelie"]LANCE VOLLANS

[attr="class","lance"]

[attr="class","lance b"]

[attr="class","lance i"]the oxygen tank feels light on his back. he rolls his shoulders, stretching his wetsuit out until it feels more comfortable, before stepping over to help her with hers.

"it's fairly close by, why?" he asks, gently pulling the zipper of her wetsuit up, careful not to clip the ends of her hair. he reaches down for the oxygen tank after and helps secure it on her back. "too heavy?"

if it is, too bad because that's all the equipment he has. lance takes a step back and approaches the edge of the boat.

Mimi Cheng
mission!

[attr="class","mimi"]mimi shakes her head no. the tank actually isn't as heavy as she expected. she remains silent for a brief moment, while her mind calculates how long it'd take her to reach the hidden city from lilycove, later. "it's nothing, really. i did say i'm on vacation, but my agent mentioned something about the league looking for volunteers to help train dragon pokemon there, and you know what my passion is. i'll take a look at some point." she shrugs.

lance looks more than ready to dive in. after folding her clothes and placing a necklace on top of the small pile, she doesn't take long to follow.

"hey, you should tag along when i go to sootopolis if you have the time." the afterthought comes and goes as she jumps into the water.

[attr="class","seelie"]LANCE VOLLANS

[attr="class","lance"]

[attr="class","lance b"]

[attr="class","lance i"]it comes as no surprise that lance hadn't been asked to train dragon pokemon. as capable of a trainer he is, his experience with dragon-types has been limited at best. "you and dragons..." name a more iconic duo.

the splashing of water does little to pull him away from her invitation that lingers in his mind even as he dips his legs into the ocean. a smile tugs at the corners of his lips. there's something about the invitation that feels nostalgic and innocent and reminiscent. he probably will tag along, he decides.

lance bops up and down on the surface for a few moments, moving with the tides of the ocean as he looks to mimi. regulator in hand, he asks: "ready?"

Mimi Cheng
mission!

[attr="class","mimi"]what more could she say? the love for draconic heritage runs in her blood.

rather than answer him verbally, mimi makes an ok sign with her hand as she adjusts the mask on her face. she's ready to dive and swim around and watch the natural beauty of the route. she's not ready for the sight that'd greet them only moments later, however.

at first she thought it a big fish. a sharpedo, maybe. mimi hadn't brought any aquatic pokemon to her little escapade, but a sharpedo wouldn't have been that big of a problem. it becomes a problem when the appearance is that of two people with dubious, perhaps malicious, intent and water pokemon of their own.

she taps on lance's shoulder and motions towards the pair, a dewgong and a feraligatr in toe. her garchomp is freed from the constraints of her pokeball, and she hangs back in wait of the first move.

[attr="class","seelie"]
LANCE VOLLANS

[attr="class","lance"]

[attr="class","lance b"]

[attr="class","lance i"]the gorgeous sight of life under the ocean is marred by the sudden appearance of two people. the tap on his shoulder redirects his attention off the corals below them to approaching trouble. dangerous trouble. he narrows his eyes, calling out his mantyke.

shit. with no other pokemon capable of fighting underwater, their options are limited, situation turning bleak. lance looks to mimi and her garchomp, then back at the two just in time to see the water rippling with a SIGNAL BEAM from the dewgong.

leija is quick to conjure a WIDE GUARD but is unable to stop the feraligatr from sneaking under the invisible barrier to slam its AQUA TAIL into her. the mantyke recoils in pain.

drifting closer to mimi, he taps her on the shoulder and points upwards. their best chance at surviving this is to return to the boat.

Mimi Cheng
mission!

[attr="class","mimi"]lance's mantyke is hurt, but the garchomp sees it as an opening for a dragon rush that pushes it back and out of reach from them. on her way back, she brings the small mantray under her arm.

when lance suggests swimming up to the surface, mimi doesn't need any sort of explanation. not only are they out of their element, battling underwater also makes communication a lot harder. she agrees, they should return to the boat.

the garchomp returns to their sides soon after, and mimi can't be more thankful for her speed. there is no time to ask for permission, so she simply grabs one of lance's arms, hooks it around the garchomp's back fin, and taps her back as signal to get them out of there. this time, the dragon rush is used to create an escape.

"what's that? a tentacruel?"

seriously? she could not have possibly expected the boat to be compromised either. a third pokemon, or rather the tentacles of a third pokemon, are searching through their possessions.

"guimi, to your right!" she calls, and the garchomp begins to summon a sand tomb in said direction. but there isn't enough sand to pull from in their immediate vicinity, and the tentacruel is faster. before she can stop it, it's gone.

mimi turns. "it's probably with them." she instructs the garchomp to take flight and keep an eye out as she inspects whatever is left on the boat. "i doubt they came here just to steal our clothes."

[attr="class","seelie"]
LANCE VOLLANS

[attr="class","lance"]

[attr="class","lance b"]

[attr="class","lance i"]a sense of urgency overcomes him the moment they break the surface. lance spits the regulator out, not even bothering to keep hold of it as he looks to the commotion on the boat.

"a tentacruel," he confirms. garchomp's SAND TOMB does little to stop it from slithering back into the depths of the ocean. his expression hardens, assuming the worst. "they're here for me."

they waste no time to swim for the boat. leija does what she can to fend off the two water-types, buying them enough time to make it. lance helps her up before doing the same.

"remember the pirates i mentioned?" he reaches for another pokeball, callign out his spiritomb. "yeah. that's them."

Mimi Cheng
mission!

[attr="class","mimi"]this may not be exactly how she pictured her trip to hoenn at first, but mimi doesn't complain. "i see." it makes sense, actually. the region's geography, from what she'd seen so far, makes it a perfect breeding ground for pirates. "in that case, i should make good on that promise to help fight them, right?"

a whistle has the garchomp descending right into one of the enemy pokemon, mouth open for a bite. the dewgong, she decides, strategically picked for the softness of its skin against guimi's fire fang.

noticing the ease with which her garchomp's fangs bore into the dewgong's skin, mimi discards the possibility of thick fat as the pokemon's ability. hydration, then, which makes things just a tad easier for them.

"target the flippers, make it harder for it to move!" and the garchomp follows her lead.

the feraligatr might prove more troublesome, given their skillset. on the brighter side, "those jaws can't do much if you don't have a physical body." the spiritomb's appearance is more than welcomed.

[attr="class","seelie"]
LANCE VOLLANS

[attr="class","lance"]

[attr="class","lance b"]

[attr="class","lance i"]thankfully, the waters are clear enough for them to see what lurks beneath. he looks past the battling pokemon in an attempt to locate the two divers, and also the tentacruel that could lash out at them at any given moment.

"i could use your help." given the direness of the situation, lance knows their best chance is if they worked together. it's almost ironic. "just don't get yourself hurt."

it's the only warning he'll give her and even then it's light-hearted, which oddly enough doesn't feel out of place. he approaches the situation with caution and a bit of fun, as dangerous as it sounds.

spiritomb dissolves into the water with a shadow sneak, snaking his way only to reappear right in front of the feraligatr. green hues start to flash in a dizzying display, attempting to hypnotise the water-type. leija takes the moment to recover with an AQUA RING.

lance continues to search for the two divers. "do you see them?" for whatever reason, he can't.

Mimi Cheng
mission!

[attr="class","mimi"]her eyes follow the action with a squint. not at the actions transcurring, but at what she's hearing come from lance. "are you underestimating me, vollans?" the words come out colder than she means them to be. being looked down upon leaves, has always left, a bitter aftertaste in mimi's tongue.

whatever. there's no time for this.

the dewgong's fin-like flippers are already looking pretty tattered. somewhere deep inside, mimi feels very sorry about it. the competitions she's used to are far less violent, far less grim. however, pirates wouldn't have that sort of moral compass, so she has to swallow her guilt and do the best she can to drive them away.

crunch after crunch, the tactic is slow but effective. "careful, guimi. you can kite it." mimi really does not have much to criticize of the garchomp's approach, circumstances considered.

lance's question draws her out of the battle she'd immersed herself in. she blinks. see the owners of these pokemon? she doesn't, and now that he mentions it, that's really worrisome. "they couldn't have left them behind, could– wait, behind you!" she pushes him aside, scared that the tentacruel might hit him, and in the process makes the boat dip to the side.

[attr="class","seelie"]
LANCE VOLLANS