Deep Dive

If it weren't for the whole being a water type and, you know, being able to breathe underwater, Ava would have been a bit more panicked about waking up underwater. The Oshawott's eyes fluttered open slightly as she groaned, feeling herself float as she found herself suspended in the water. Wriggling herself into an upright position, she glanced around at the coral around her, kicking her feet as she took in her surroundings.
Well...this is new... She thought to herself, starting to kick forward a bit, angling her tail to direct herself. Underwater, the scarf around her neck definitely seemed to take in some of the water, making the fabric a bit heavy. Maybe that was a poor choice to wear it when she had decided to...
Wait a minute. I don't remember deciding anything. How did I get here...? In hindsight, as she tried to remember things, she found that while she could remember plenty of other things, she couldn't think of how exactly she had ended up in the Coral Forests. As she had begun to move, she winced, putting a paw to her own head. It felt like it was throbbing a bit, maybe she had hit it on something? Well, whatever. If she just forgot a bit because she hit her head, she was probably only disoriented. She would remember in time. For now, it was time to explore around the area. If she had to take a guess, that was probably what she had gone there to do.

Energy: 14/24(-10 for entering)

Zhu Li slowly yet gracefully swam through the coral structures, thinking to herself as she swam. She had decided that she should travel to a town called Grassveil. Many of the Pokemon in Rainfront mentioned it and its guild, which only made her more intrigued. The way they described it, a guild sounded someone like a pod, only somewhat more official. Though there was one problem.

Being the large water type she was, the Lapras was more at home in the water than on land. However, Grassveil was much more inland than Rainfront, leaving the Lapras little choice but to drag herself there unless she wanted to attempt to swim through the winding rivers that may or may not lead to Grassveil. All she knew was that there was one that at least ran through some dungeon nearby called Shadowhue Forest. Not the most welcoming place, by any account. So the Lapras had been training herself to move on land for the past several weeks, and she felt that she was almost ready to attempt the long journey towards Grassveil.

(15 energy)

After a few moments, the Oshawott sighed, cautiously swimming through toe coral and coming to a denser portion of it. Taking her shell, she began to chop away at the coral, trying to remove the obstruction from her path. Thinking about her situation a bit more, something else came to mind that she hadn't thought of before. Yes, not knowing how she got there was bad, but that also meant she didn't know how to get back to the shore, which was worse in her mind. Well, this sucks. Maybe I can follow the tide or something, or maybe I can find someone...

With another chop, she managed to clear the path, and swam out into a more open area. Well, she hadn't necessarily been able to cut the coral, but hitting it enough times seemed to make it loosen up a bit. Moving out of the cover of the underwater foliage, she turned and blinked, catching sight of another Pokemon. The first thing that ran through her mind was how, well, huge it seemed. Whatever it was, it definitely wasn't something she wanted to make an enemy of yet. But, then again, maybe it knows how to get back to the shore... Still a bit wary, but unsure of how to proceed, Ava kicked her feet a bit and hovered back by the coral, ready to move back into it should the Lapras prove to be hostile.

The Lapras turned her head, hearing the splashing noise caused by the Oshawott kicking its feet a bit. The larger Pokemon, finding herself quite curious about the smaller one, swam up to it. "Why hello there. You don't look like a Pokemon who'd live here," Zhu Li said as she approached. As she neared, she lowered her head down to the Oshawott, which showed her own head being larger than the small otter Pokemon.

(sorry for le short post, not entirely sure on what to do at the moment)

"...what?" Ava kicked her feet a bit, moving further away from the Lapras' head as she lowered it, not completely trusting the other pokemon yet.
"What do you mean, I don't look like someone who would live here? What does someone who would live here even look like?" She continued on, doing her best to keep her tone sounding confused. Frowning a bit and looking somewhat annoyed by the comment, she rested her paws over her front, placing them close to her scalchop in case anything happened. She probably just lives around here or something and hasn't seen me around. Or maybe Oshawotts just aren't common around here. Still, seems like something worth asking her about. Just don't tick her off or anything, I'd rather avoid getting somebody her size mad...

The Lapras tilted her head at the Oshawott's questions. "Well, I don't know anyone who lives here who has...whatever those are," Zhu Li said, pointing her nose at the Oshawott's fur as best she could. Admittedly, it would have been difficult, seeing as how she was much, much larger than the little otter. "I've only seen Pokemon who have scales or skin, not whatever those little...things are." Though Zhu Li really didn't know completely, she normally kept near the shore of Rainfront, and hadn't been in deeper waters like this for quite a while since her arrival at Rainfront.

(Woot first roll in a water dungeon go!)

Dracorexion carried out 2 launched of one Coral Forest :

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The Oshawott blinked and gave herself a once-over, trying to figure out what exactly the Lapras meant by that. Little things weren't exactly specific, and it probably wasn't her scalchop, since sea shells were usually found around, well, the sea and ocean. But she still couldn't figure out exactly what Zhu Li meant. Not important, she seems friendly enough. Maybe she can help.
"Look, uh, I'm going to be perfectly honest, I'm not sure how I got here really." Ava decided to admit, rubbing the back of her head. It pained her to admit it really, but still, logic dictated that it would be a lot harder to get back without directions.
"So, do you think you could point me in the direction of land?" She continued, sounding a bit reluctant to ask.

Pikashock carried out 1 launched of one Coral Forest :

Pikashock carried out 1 launched of one Coral Forest :

The Lapras tilted her head slightly. This Pokemon didn't even know how she got here? Zhu Li didn't think on it much, since she didn't know how someone could forget how they got somewhere. In any case, the little furry Pokemon was lost. The least the Lapras could do was help her.

"Well, if you simply come to the sea floor, it'll show you where to go," the Lapras said as she swam downward, coming to a rest on the sand. When the sand kicked up by her landing finally settled, the Lapras was laying down at an angle, her left laying slightly higher than her right. "This sand collects near the shore, so if you simply follow this slope, you'll eventually find the shore and can follow it to find Rainfront town."

[12 energy]

"Oh, right..." Ava followed the Lapras downward, tilting and kicking her feet a bit, using her tail as a rudder of sorts to steer her down. To be perfectly honest, she felt a bit foolish, not having thought of that solution to her problems before the Lapras had said it. Of course the sand slope would lead her back. Coming to a rest at the ocean floor, she landed on the sand by Zhu-Li and kicked it up a bit, nodding her head.
"Well, I suppose I should thank you then." The Oshawott looked back up to the larger water type, smirking a bit.

Before she could say anything else, there seemed to be a stir in the water nearby. Something was coming. Suddenly, a sea-horse-esque pokemon burst out from the nearby coral, swimming hastily towards the duo. Acting quickly, Ava kicked back a bit, but found it wasn't needed. The Skrelp avoided her and Zhu-Li, and simply continued on its way, swimming off.
"Huh. That was odd...you think it had somewhere to be? Or maybe it was running from something?" The Oshawott suggested, shrugging a bit as she looked towards the Lapras once more, now hovering just above the sandy floor.

Energy: 8/24(-6 for encounters)

The Lapras smiled, "No need for thanks, I'm sure you would have figured it out eventually," she said encouragingly. While she may have not known the Oshawott personally, it didn't take much to figure out where to go to reach the shore. The Oshawott, from what little Zhu Li has seen of her so far, also appeared somewhat capable.

The Lapras blinked as she saw the tiny Pokemon swim as fast as it could towards, and then away from them. What would cause it to be swimming around in such a hurry. The Lapras narrowed her eyes a little, "We should probably move out of the way if something were chasing it. I wouldn't want you getting hurt before you get back to shore." The Lapras then quickly moved her head behind the Oshawott, nudging the smaller water Pokemon forward as she pushed herself off the sand, kicking up a large amount.

The Oshawott gagged a bit as Zhu Li pushed herself off of the sand, closing her mouth to try not to get any more sand in it. Shaking her head, she frowned a bit as the Lapras nudged her and turned around.

"You don't need to worry about that. I assure you, I'm perfectly capable of handling myself out here." Ava reached for her front scalchop and lifted it up, holding it out to show the Lapras as if to prove a point. As she did though, the coral around the area shook a bit as a much larger shape than before began to swam past. The wake created by the pokemon's swimming seemed to knock the Oshawott back slightly, causing her to let go of her shell, which drifted down and lodged itself in the Carracosta's own shell on its back. The larger pokemon didn't even seem to notice Ava, and regarded Zhu Li with an indifferent glare, before continuing to swim off. It took a few more seconds for what just happened to register to the Oshawott.
"...really? This is going to set me back a bit..." She scowled, grabbing her second scalchop from her back as she immediately started to swim after the Carracosta.

Pikashock carried out 2 launched of one Coral Forest :

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Zhu Li blinked as the Oshawott showed her the scalchop. What's that supposed to do? It was a tiny shell compared to Zhu Li's own, so it wouldn't do much for protection... However, it was then that a Carracosta swam straight through the coral, chasing after the little Skrelp. Zhu Li didn't know why, but suddenly Awa began to swim after the larger Pokemon. Was she mad?

Zhu Li turned and followed the Oshawott, though, noticing that the little Pokemon was swimming in the exact opposite direction she should if she wanted to get to shore. If they got too far, the sand would eventually flatten out, leaving them with no way to find the shore without some difficulty.

(sorry for le short post, kinda speed posting rn between some yardwork)

She hadn't even noticed that the Lapras was following her, only focused on catching up to the Carracosta. After a few seconds of swimming, Ava found the much larger pokemon that had unintentionally made off with her scalchop. It still didn't seem to be doing much, simply swimming along at a slower speed and minding its own business, moving through the coral as it searched around. As she prepared to leave the cover of the coral she was currently in and get closer so she could grab her shell, she paused for a moment, glancing back and noticing Zhu Li following behind.
"Uh, look..." Ava began to comment, rubbing the back of her head. "I try not to ask for this when I can. But that shell of mine means a lot to me, and I'm not exactly in the same size range of that pokemon, so I was wondering if you could assist me a bit. Just, if anything goes wrong, maybe you could just back me up? You've got, ah, a bit of a size advantage there." The Oshawott finished explaining in a somewhat hushed tone, almost appearing to be physically pained in having to make the request to the other pokemon.

Energy: 4/24(-4 for encounters)

Pikashock carried out 3 launched of one Coral Forest :

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Zhu Li grimaced as they continued to swim, soon the coral began to become much sparser as they neared the open ocean. We really shouldn't be so far out... the Lapras thought as she neared the Oshawott. The Lapras soon found herself listening to the Oshawott's request while she watched the Carracosta. She frowned, "Well... alright, just don't spook it, maybe it'll allow you to get your little shell if you ask?" She hoped simply asking would work. She tended to stay close to shore, and even with her size advantage, the Carracosta was no Pokemon to mess with.

The was a moment's pause as Ava blinked, simply staring at Zhu-Li for a moment. Or, asking. I guess that could work. Yeah... The Oshawott thought to herself, not even having considered the option beforehand. Looking down, she nodded her head thoughtfully.
"Ah. Right. Or that, that could work as well..." In her mind, asking was the riskier option, considering it would give away any element of surprise she might have, and while surprise probably wasn't that important to the Lapras, it was fairly important to her. But, if the larger water type was there to back her up, maybe they could take the Carracosta together. Or she could just swim off while they were both distracted by each other.

For better or for worse, the Oshawott gently kicked out from the coral, swimming up behind the other large pokemon.
"Excuse me, uh, sir..." She called. The turtle pokemon seemed to perk its head up and slowly turn around, looking at Ava with a bit of disdain.
"Err, right...look, when you passed by just the other moment, I dropped my scalchop on your shell. It's sort of important to me, and I'd like to get it back." Ava explained. The Carracosta stayed silent, eyeing her for a moment as if thinking. The Oshawott watched on with interest and anxiousness. Would it really be that easy...?

"There's a Binacle around these parts that's been causing me trouble. Take care of it for me, and you can have your shell back." The Carracosta grumbled out bluntly. Ava simply stayed in place for a moment, eyeing him.
"...what." She spoke flatly, and reached to her back, drawing her second scalchop and holding it out, pointing it at the other water type pokemon, her expression annoyed and practically screaming 'are you kidding me?'. There was no way she was going to go on some sort of fetch quest for this pokemon, no chance at all. She didn't run around helping pokemon, that was the guild's job.

Energy: 7/24(+3 total from previous roll)

Pikashock carried out 3 launched of one Coral Forest :

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