...Maybe the problem was that she just wasn't believing in herself hard enough?

Yeah, that had to be it! After all, if she could hit the Primarina Splash, and she could almost hit the Magikarp Splash, then cumulatively, she HAD to be able to hit the Magikarp Splash! That was just common sense.

So, summoning forth what little self-belief and draining her dwindling reserves of overconfidence, Mitsuru and Bubbles once again blustered towards the approaching wave.

"Go! Mitsuru Splash!"

---

i|JM3Cuv

Hm. Okay! This little thing of incense? Is completely torn apart. It's so badly damaged that she could barely even tell it was a thing of incense. She certainly couldn't tell based off the smell, given that any scent inside of it had long been washed out by the seawater.

"Um, Golisopod? Could you please be a little gentler next time?"

Wordlessly, said Golisopod turned around, and dove into the sea once more.

---

mg663uNT
EGG TUTOR

Alright, well, she didn't get the it this time. But she was PRETTY CLOSE to getting it! If she just tightened up a little more and really committed to the backflips, she totally would've gotten it! So, with that thought in mind, she once again mounted her Mantine and went back to chasing the impossible dream...

...The Mantine Splash.

---

HCzX7GmA

The nice thing about Golispod were that they had big hands. Perfect for scooping up plenty of treasure from the bottom of the sea!

The not so nice thing about Golisopod were that their claws were very sharp, and had a nasty habit of cutting said treasure to pieces.

Here's hoping it didn't end up cutting anything expensive in half...?

---

g|5PDmSm
Incense

She did it... She did it...? She did it. She did it! SHE DID IT SHE DID IT SHE DID IT SHE DID IT SHE DID IT!!! WOOOOOOOHOOOOOOOOOOOO!

Having successfully performed a trick of modest difficulty, Mitsuru felt an equal rush of adrenaline and satisfaction. Finally, she'd gotten the hang of this Mantine Surfing thing! And, galvanised by her success, her next course of action seemed so perfectly clear:

"C'mon, Bubbles! Let's go! MAGIKARP SPLASH!"

---

ViMl5lQ6

Sea Mauville was sinking. A monument of the modern age, abandoned by those who made it and left to rot. A key piece of contemporary history, maybe, but insignificant beyond it. It had no legends, no mythology, nothing that would allow it to transcend this age into the next one. So, why did Mitsuru care? With the spectre of bankruptcy ever-looming, she certainly had much more important things to worry about. So, why was she here, volunteering to do odd jobs on this ghost of an oil rig?

Because it was the right thing to do, and more than anything else, she wanted to be kind... And because if she did a good enough job, she might get to shake ollie morales's hand... And there might be some expensive old techy stuff in here that nobody would miss...

Still, she was no expert in rangering, and she'd been hoping to be paired with someone a little more knowledgable about this sort of thing. Instead?

"Um..."

She looked down at the spare key she held in her hand, and then up at Rex. Being polite, he seemed... A few Pokedollars short of making rent, so to speak. Still, what he lacked in critical thinking, he made up for in spunk. In that way, they were very similar!

Which was even more worrying.

Stepping through the door, she immediately scanned the room, keeping an eye out for any waylaid gadgets or misplaced gizmos. Okay, lots of white candles, probably Litwick in torpor. Big desk, but no computer or anything, so it was probably pulled out already, which was unlucky. Bookcases, vases, paintings, keystones, chairs, standard stuff, really--

--Keystone?

Uh oh.

"UM. UM! UM!!! REX! PLEASE DON'T GO INTO THAT ROOM!"

---

Althus Rex

"Garganacl."

"Garg Garganacl."

"Garg."

Mitsuru sat and watched as Seimei interacted with his peers, a mountain of salt idly chatting with other mountains of salt. She'd read online somewhere that it was good for Pokemon's development to let them mingle with their wild counterparts. Apparently, it encouraged communal instincts, familiarity, and cooperation?

It was certainly boring, though. As it happened, Garganacl didn't really have much to talk about. Not that she spoke Naclese, mind, but she imagined it was a lot of stuff about "How is the salt, brother?" and "The salt is fine, brother.". Oh well. Pulling out her phone, she idly pulled up Facadebook, and began to scroll...

INSTANT KARMA: Shady man who was caught STEALING SALT from Garganacl Swarm DRIED OUT and LEFT DESSICATED!

Eesh! She'd hate to be that guy. Though, he did have a nice hat...

---

mSshaOp4

Okay, so, good news and bad news.

The bad news was, she was now terrified of the sea. As soon as she'd seen the Gorebyss and the Huntail swimming about, she decided she never wanted to go into the water ever again. Just thinking about them slithering through the water was enough to make her queasy...

But the good news was, it let her make use of her brand new Golisopod! Not only was it a Water-type, but it had hands, too. It was practically made for Clamperl Diving!

"Okay, Golisopod! Go down there and fish up some treasure! Preferably, the valuable kind..."

With that command, the Golisopod obliged, and dove into the sea.

---

PYULMOwb
BLUE CHARD

Wow, she was REALLY bad at this, huh...?

So, no Magikarp Splash, no Over-the-Gyarados, no Starmie 720... Okay. Alright! That was okay! There were still plenty of tricks left for her to try. Like this one, the "Primarina Twist"! She'd always liked Primarina. They seemed very elegant and not particularly mobile. So, in that sense, it would be the perfect trick for her! Minus the elegance.

"Let's go, Bubbles! PRIMARINA TWIST!"

---

N3vSK4IR
HIT, 1000 POINTS

PURCHASING/REDEEMING

welcome to the poké mart!

5X Gachapon Tickets (200 PD, 1 free from this Clamperl Dive)

TOTAL

do come again!

200 PD

Down and deeper, deeper and down. Despite everything that had happened here, Mitsuru couldn't help but feel a twinge of anticipation. It was like she had weathered the dark skies and stormy waters, and was seeing the first rays of sunlight scatter through. First a mysterious Entei, then a strange crystalline tree... What other mysteries did the Cave of Origin hold?

She idly pondered that question as her Garganacl carried on through the winding tunnel. Daydreaming, if nothing else, was an excellent distraction from the thought that danger lay ahead. Better to be hopelessly optimistic than correctly pessimistic.

That was the hope, anyway. But reality had a funny way of subverting expectations, and neither optimism or pessism could prepare her for what came next.

"Woah..."

The sight of the blue stalactice encased in Tera Crystals made her eyes go wide and her mouth dropped. She couldn't explain why. Maybe it was her exhaustion, or maybe it was the sheer energy radiating from the thing, but something about standing before it felt undeniably... Divine. As though she were standing before a God in cocoon form. Or, maybe an egg? Or a prison, or a sheath, or a barrier, or, or, or...

Before she could grasp whatever idea her mind was reaching towards, she found herself interrupted again. Out from the nothingness came an Iron Crowned, fully formed and charging towards her. Immediately, her Garganacl prepared itself, readying a Heavy Slam to counter the cutting blades.

But it could not ready itself for the Gouging Fire that appeared behind it, or the Bulldoze that shoved it forth.

"No, no no! NO NO NO NO--" Mitsuru shrieked, forced from her sodium throne as the alternate Entei shoved her Garganacl forward. As she tumbled to the ground, she landed awkwardly, and though she couldn't tell exactly what happened, she felt a sudden and excruciating pain in her foot as she crumpled down to the ground. "--Guh...!"

But that was a pittance compared to what her beloved Seimei went through. Stuck between a horn and a sharp place, a Psycho Cut and a Bulldoze, the golem was carved to pieces, chunks of salt falling away until only the rocky body was left. After that? All it took was a well placed slice from the Crown and a fierce Gouge to send it tumbling down to the ground.

---

70 MP: Seven posts.
50 MP: For getting your Pokemon knocked out in your prelude thread.
50 MP: Have your character recall a past thread or event that they have participated in or not (link the thread).
50 MP: Have your character directly or indirectly spotlight another writer's character's strengths.
50 MP: Have your character experience great fear, hatred, envy, or have a grudge worsen.
50 MP: Have your character experience great pride, joy, relief, or have confidence grow.
50 MP: Showcase a meaningful moment between your character and their Pokemon.
50 MP: Have your character be injured by another's pokemon directly or indirectly.

Gosh, this was great. Swimming was great! She loved swimming! And while she hadn't been sure about the whole "diving" thing, she was certainly warming up to it. Gliding around underwater, floating along with the fish, watching the crabs scuttle amongst the treasures, seeing the eels slither along like snak-- NOPE.

With her rosy view of the underwater world effectively unrosed, she quickly grabbed the first thing she could before immediately swimming back to the safety of the shore.

---

|1htnxEv
DYNAMAX CANDY POG

Okay! So, the Over-the-Gyarados wasn't very easy either. Eesh... Were any of these moves easy? They all seemed like a real pain in the butt... It's fine, it's fine! There were still plenty of tricks she hadn't tried yet, she just had to keep working her way down the list.

And next on that list?

"Alright, Bubbles, it's been a rough start, but I believe in us! So... Let's go for a Starmie 720 this time!"

---

oyFLkZFX