Marsh Madness

[Energy: 19 - 15 = 4]

"I guess I should explore somewhere... a bit out of my comfort zone..."

Tempo walked towards the marsh, thinking if he was going to explore more dangerous areas, he would need to train up, first. Maybe this would be an OK first place to explore...

Doesn't mean it's not freaky to him. It is a marsh, and he's heard of many poison types living here. He hoped that if he were attacked by one of them, he wouldn't be too sick from the poison... On the other hand, he's heard of the sights being beautiful at night, thanks to the Volbeat and Illumise. Maybe he should stay around until that...

Eventually, though, he reached the flooded part of the flatlands. "This must be the place, I guess." He said to himself. One part of him was screaming to turn back, but another was curious about this place... He decided to wade into the water a bit, before heading out for something more dangerous...

[Energy: 21-15 = 6]

Cattail Marsh is a dirty, smelly place, home to disgusting, savage poison-types that would not hesitate to spread their filth upon honest pokémon like myself. But, ahh~ I must see the pretty lights when they appear!

The piplup calmly strolling through the marsh as if he were taking a leisurely walk through Grassveil certainly seemed out of place, given the rancid smell of the entire area and the horrifically cynical lighting. Sure, these things bothered him... but he had come to Rainfront on a vacation! And since he was on vacation, having fun was mandatory! He had already visited the Coral Forests, and gotten himself a lovely joy ribbon as a souvenir, which he now wore around his neck like a string-bowtie. He had spent plenty of time in Rainfront Town itself... all that was left was to witness the Volbeat and Illumise at night, in person.

After quite a bit of walking, the air became a bit more humid, and water became a bit more prevalent. Clovis, the piplup, was rather cautious about getting his feathers too saturated with dirty marsh water, and before taking any further action, looked out ahead of himself to see if there was any movement in the water he faced.

It was a bit hard to swim in the marsh, but it wasn't impossible. Not exactly the most comforting experience, though... He'd much rather be in the ocean or a lake.

He sees another figure enter the area, and Tempo looked closely to see it was... a Piplup? Granted, it's not like Oshawott visit the marsh all the time, either, but it was still surprising to the sea otter Pokémon. ~Well, it can't be a wild Pokémon, can it? I don't think Piplup live around the area...~ He thought to himself. Tempo decided to head over to the Piplup to strike up a friendly conversation. "Hey there, Piplup... What are you doing here, anyway?" He asked, curiously.

There was certainly movement, alright. Movement from an approaching oshawott, swimming directly towards Clovis. Judging simply by their appearance and method of swimming, this probably wasn't the oshawott with the coughing problem that he had seen before, rather, this was someone else entirely. They must be common around here.

The oshawott made their way over to him, and Clovis awaited their approach without apprehension. They, or rather, he, according to the sound of their voice, spoke up. He asked, what was Clovis doing here? and referred to him simply as 'piplup'. Truthfully, Clovis would rather have been called 'Sir', or 'Mister', or even 'Fella' than 'piplup', which, being the name of his species, felt somewhat depersonalizing to be called. Nonetheless, etiquette compelled Clovis to give a reply anyway. "I am taking a walk; Sightseeing, you know? I had hoped to take a look at at those wild bug pokémon that light up the sky, when it gets dark enough."

He saw a confused expression on the Piplup's face... Maybe it was wondering what Tempo was doing here, too... Judging from its voice, it most likely was a male, as well. The Piplup responded by telling him that he was also waiting for the Volbeat and Illumise, but he was simply sightseeing. "I didn't think you lived around here. I don't usually explore this area, myself, but I decided to, just to train for any adventures I might want to take part in." He gets out of the marsh. He attempts to shake off the water, as well as not splash Piplup with it. "Ugh... Marsh water is hard to get off... Anyway, I'm Tempo! I'd like to call myself an expert diver! What's your name? I can't just call you Piplup, forever, now, can I?" He asks, cheerfully.

The oshawott was making some small talk, and asking some fairly standard questions. Clovis listened to his words, and stepped back a bit as the oshawott attempted to shake himself dry. In his introductions, the oshawott had called himself 'Tempo', as well as an 'expert diver', the latter of which was likely a self-proclaimed title. He had also asked Clovis for his own name, which he was glad to provide. When the piplup spoke, his voice was dignified and full. My name... He began, and took a short pause before continuing. ...is Clovis, of Grassveil. I suppose that I'd like to call myself an expert, erm... He took a moment to think up some sort of impressive title to give to himself, as well. ...an expert orator. I'm staying in Rainfront for a vacation. For courtesy's sake, Clovis added on a "Nice to meet you." when he had finished speaking.

'Expert Orator', huh? Tempo couldn't help but chuckle at the Piplup's attempt to sound cool. "Sure, we can go with that. Nice to meet you, too, Clovis." He didn't really know what to do, so he decided to head back into the murky water, again.

After wading around the water a bit more, he decided he was comfortable enough to really explore the area. He doesn't know what to find in the area, so he stays vigilant in his quest to... get stronger, I guess. Before he headed out further though, he swam back to Clovis. "Hey, Clovis, while you're waiting for the night to set in... you want to explore the area with me?" He said, extending an invitation to the Piplup.

For a second there, Clovis could have sworn that he had heard the oshawott laughing at him. The second Tempo turned around, Clovis exhaled sharply, crossed his flippers and made a little "Hmmph." noise in annoyance. And not but a few moments after, the oshawott turned to face Clovis again. This time, the oshawott invited him to go out and explore the area, prompting Clovis to tilt his head slightly, and point out the primary reason for his reluctance to enter the water insofar. "You're an expert diver, so surely you know the answer to this. Are you entirely certain that this water is safe to swim in? As he said this, he slowly poked his feet into the water, testing its thickness and cleanliness.

Admittedly, he didn't really know himself. It was most likely safe, since he's been swimming in it for a while, but he didn't know what could be hiding in the depths of the marsh. Still, it can't be too dangerous, can it? Can't be more dangerous than the ocean... "It seems to be safe." He said to Clovis.

After he answered the Piplup's question, he began swimming out into the deep part of the marsh. Or was it deep? He needed to wade to keep his head above the surface, but he didn't really know how deep it was. Visibility is poor in the water. Diving to the bottom was an easy option, but it was also a risky one. He could get caught on something and drown without Clovis even noticing... He sighed and began looking for something around the area...

DJOshawott carried out 1 launched of one Cattail Marsh :

It seems safe, does it? Hmm. It's good enough for him, and I am certainly no coward. The piplup just shook his head, and ran off towards the oshawott, eventually being forced to wade, and soon to swim. He swam calmly, and smoothly, as if he had completely tuned out the danger and dreary atmosphere of the marsh. This probably wasn't the wisest method of swimming, however, as it was slow, and Tempo was getting ahead of him. So Clovis decided to pick up the pace, and make his swimming motions larger, faster and more focused, thereby bridging the distance. When he had caught up, Tempo appeared to be searching for something...

vonSteakhand carried out 3 launched of one Cattail Marsh :

, ,

He notices something in the water. It was a grimy piece of food... "Eaugh... Then again, I decided to look for something in a marsh..." He decided to keep it in his bag for now, at least. Maybe it could prove to be useful.

He turned around to see Clovis swimming in the marsh with him. Above him seemed to be a Volbeat, as well! It seemed to be almost time for the lights show... ~Have we really been here for that long?~ He thought to himself. Before that time, however, he pushed his luck to see if he could find anything else to take away from this... er, swim... He dives into the marsh water.

DJOshawott carried out 1 launched of one Cattail Marsh :

(Got sick off of something yesterday; probably going to be real slow with replies for a little while.)

[Energy: 6 - 6 = 0]

There it was- a volbeat, already? Truthfully, they weren't that special when they were alone, away from their coordinated lightshow. The lone volbeat only kept Clovis' attention for a couple seconds, before something else caught his eye. Not but a few feet away hung a single, tiny red berry; probably a cheri berry, just judging by its appearance. Cheri berries were always a refreshing, quick snack, and Clovis was particularly fond of how their spicy flavor burst out so wonderfully from their soft exterior. Such a lovely find! He carefully placed the little berry into his bag.

Clovis looked in Tempo's direction, and saw him dive down into the water. Maybe he was looking for something? While the oshawott dove down under, Clovis allowed himself to float leisurely on his back, and looked off casually into the distance. A round, blue pokémon was very far away, and seemed to be following the volbeat from before with its eyes.

[Might as well do this... 4 - 2 = 2 remaining energy]

He sees Clovis relaxing, watching the Volbeat fly around on its own. It's not as beautiful as he expected, but he knows that they usually go out in groups.

Tempo, against his better judgement, decided to check under the marsh water to find something. He could barely see anything. Eventually, though, he sees a pink scarf on some twig, but just barely. It didn't seem very useful, plus it kind of looked a bit tacky on him. He decided to put it in his bag, anyway.

He pushed off the floor and tried to swim back to the surface, but he wasn't able to move... He looks down and sees he got his leg stuck on a tree root... *I should've known...* He thought to himself. It may not be able to reach him, but he calls out to Clovis. "Clovis! Can you hear me!? I'm stuck!" He said. He's thankful he can speak clearly under the water without losing air. Still, though... He doesn't know how long he can hold on for...

Was there a noise? Probably not. Of course, it's better to be safe than sorry out here, so Clovis looked around for any ferals that might be nearby. Fortunately enough, there didn't seem to be any after a quick search. But still, something must have made that noise. Tempo was underwater, so it probably wasn't him. Still, Clovis looked over to where he had seen Tempo go underwater. He couldn't see the oshawott through the dark marsh water, but there were still a couple bubbles coming up from the area. Ah, I suppose that he's having fun. Maybe I ought to take a dive myself, sometime. In the meantime, Clovis practiced a couple simple swimming flourishes, like spinning around and doing little flips in the water.

...

He's been down there a while, actually. Should I be concerned?

Clovis didn't seem to be diving in. Then again, he might've confused the bubbles and the cry for help for wild or feral Pokémon... Still, though... He needs air, soon... He tries using his scalchop to cut himself free, but it didn't seem to work... He was too weak and the root was too strong for him to cut...

While cutting himself free, he dropped his scalchop, and was watched as it floated to the surface... "No!" He yelled out... He was running low on air, and his panicking wasn't helping the situation... "Clovis... I need help... I'm-" He starts losing air at a quick rate... He holds his paws over his mouth in desperation... *So much for being an expert diver...* He thinks to himself...