Sea of Opportunity

The water was calmer today than it had been last time, or at least it seemed that way to the dimly-colored ducklett floating on the water's surface. Simon had been here before; he had stumbled upon this dungeon by chance long ago and he had enjoyed his visit. ...Granted, his visit had been in large part focused on the struggle of a very kind Vaporeon's struggle with her fear of water, so he felt like he hadn't experienced this place to the fullest just from that one visit and the glimpses he had caught drove him to investigate further. That, and he had been made very aware of one skill that he was currently very lacking in during his last experience: swimming.


Duckletts were supposed to be incredibly adapt to swimming. He had seen his mother do dives to lake bottoms for food quite readily when he was a child, and his dad... well his dad didn't swim he was pretty sure. Regardless, he should have been quick to take to the whole "diving" thing, but when the opportunity approached him he had still opted to float. How silly was that? Simon felt a little ashamed every time he thought about it. When testing himself in the small pond, he had found his small lung capacity to be only a fraction of the incredible lengths that his mother could manage. He wore himself down fairly quickly when he dove. When he saw that, he began to feel as if he was letting her down. He didn't feel right just letting it go; he was supposed to be good at swimming. This was his mission now: to train himself in water and hone his natural talent.

Simon really felt at peace in this dungeon, even perhaps on a comparable level to the peace he felt at home. He had to try and ignore the incredibly pronounced feeling of loneliness while he was out here, however. On land, he was fairly content with being alone. He missed having friends, but there was always another pokemon around in his vicinity to give him hope. There was typically someone near enough for him to him to feel like there was a chance to meet someone.

Out in the ocean, however... the area was far less populated, at least on the surface. There just weren't pokemon out here, and those that were there were inaccessible to him because of how he had left his abilities neglected. Here he really had solitude, and it was a fairly large concept to grasp. ...So he didn't grasp it just yet. Instead, he focused on his diving practice. It began with deep breathing like his mother had taught him, to open up his lungs. He needed to be at his very peak capacity before he tried to go under the surface. Once he felt like he was comfortable, he gave his wings a few test flaps. His mother had instructed him that he really didn't need to use his wings for a casual swim, although he could beat them once or twice for a quick boost of speed or a change of direction. More importantly, they were useful for getting him under the water's surface in the first place.

"Fly into your dive.... but don't have too sharp of an angle, don't make a brunt impact..." Simon repeated to himself in his head. He lifted himself out of the water and caught the wind with a few wingbeats, still not entirely sure he understood what all of that meant. His mother had said it would be a skill that came with practice, so he assumed that it would become clearer when he tried it.

And he tried it.

He dove through the air from a relatively low height, keeping himself angled by ungracefully fanning and retracting his wings. He couldn't get a grip on what felt right, but he did at least have a sensation of what was too much and what was too little. Especally when his shallow angle caused him to catch the water's surface and skim a few feet rather than actually peirce it. Ow. He had to recover himself for a moment after that. It had been a disappointing first go, but Simon supposed that it had kind of been a cool thing to pull off by it's own right. He had also learned something about the process - another good twist. He just needed to try again.

This time, he managed to get into the water... although a bit crudely and definitely with the impact he was trying to avoid. Simon understood what his mother had been talking about now; already he had halved the stamina he had come down with. He had made it though, he supposed. He wasn't too deep yet, but already he could see the beautiful corals that the place was named for. Since he was down here, he figured he could use the opportunity to get a grip on his bearings.

Simon the Ducklett - 11 energy

A small Oshawott was idly floating along the ocean’s surface. He liked to do so during his free time to relax from anything that occured recently, even though the once warm and nice sun turned into dark clouds that seemed to permanently block out the sky. He wishes it would just go back to the old days of sunny, relaxing weather...

During his thoughts, he heard the sound of flapping nearby, causing him to sort of stand up and look around to see who it was. “Hello? Anyone there?” He called out before hearing a splash. Whoever it was, it probably already dove underwater. “Maybe I should, too...” He said to himself.

This wasn’t the first time the little otter explored the coral forests, at least. He’s been here many times in the past, though only two really came to mind. He never truly explored them until recently, which was when he got himself in a bind that only a... psychotic? Yeah, that seems to be the word. A psychotic Vaporeon needed to bail the Oshawott before he drowned, a terrible feeling to be sure... He had more confidence in his abilities, at least, taking deep breaths to prepare himself before flipping over and swimming down to the forests.

The coral glistened beautifully in the otter’s eyes as he approached it, looking for any enterances to swim through. Though something... or someone else did catch his peripheral vision. It was... a Ducklett? Since when did Ducklett go swimming deep in the ocean? I know they’re good divers, but I never seen them dive this deep... He thought to himself, though he did wave hi to it as he swam closer to the dungeon.

[20 - 10 starting: 10 Energy]

The coral was far more beautiful up close. Above the water, it had looked like a mess of winding trails of color. But down here, Simon could see all of the lovely shapes traversing the uneven terrain of the ocean floor. He could see the ecosystems of life meandering their way through the living forest, going about their completely normal lives at the bottom of the ocean. It comforted Simon to finally be able to see other pokemon. He much preferred to be beneath the ocean rather than above it. For a while, he just drifted above the corals as he got acclimated to being underneath the salt water. He was more used to fresh water, but thankfully the contacts that he wore for his eyes mostly kept the burning substance out. He also kept his wings closed tightly against him as he drifted. His mother had warned him that there were many currents under the ocean water that could grab your wings and carry you off if you weren't careful. He definitely didn't want to get lost; much of this dungeon was still unknown to him.

As he floated, Simon started to get the impression that he was being watched. Upon looking around, he found that not only was he being watched, but he was being approached. And he wasn't just being approached by any old water type, but it was in fact an oshawott approaching him. For a moment, Simon seized up in panic. Was that gril from before still here??? She had really intimidated him; he didn't think he could face her again... but swimming away now would have been incredible rude and also probably would incur her wrath, which Simon wanted to do far less than have another encounter with her.

Something was odd, though. The approaching oshawott was waving, and looked generally friendly, as opposed to standoffish and brute-y. It didn't take long to register in Simon's mind that this was a different pokemon entirely, which then gave the ducklett a deep sense of relief. Now up close, it was clear that this oshawott did actually face a slightly different face from the more terrifying female one, proving that they really were a different entity and allowing Simon to fully relax.

He unfurled one wing just long enough to return a chipper wave to the other pokemon. He was surprised and elated that a stranger was approaching him!!! A seemingly friendly stranger, no less!! This so rarely happened; it was something that always mad Simon's heart feel happy. " Hello! It's so nice to see another face out here!!" he happily said in greeting to the other pokemon. The sound was a bit muted, as Simon only opened the corners of his beak to talk down here. He honestly wasn't acclimated to the taste of salt water yet and it was pretty gross. "My name's Simon! Can I help you with anything?"

((I'm not fully sure if it's alright for him to talk underwater so the dialogue is temporary until I get further confirmation ^^'))

As he silently greeted the Ducklett, he did notice it seemed a bit... gray. Although one of the questions he wanted to ask was why he was colored in such a way, he decided not to go into further detail. He did notice he was... hiding behind his wing? Is he shy? Or afraid of him? Although Tempo noticed it didn't take long for a friendly wave back. Either the Ducklett confused him for someone else... or maybe he's just hiding his fear...

He heard the Ducklett greet the Oshawott and say his name was Simon, although he could barely make it out. Maybe he's not used to talking underwater? It's a strange experience for air breathing Water Types, but it does take practice to do so without wasting a whole lungful of breath. In fact, Tempo still needed a bit of practice on the subject of that, so it took a while for him to prepare himself. "N... Nice to meet you, Simon! I'm Tempo!" He holds out his paw to his wing. "So what's a Ducklett like you doing in the middle of the ocean? I rarely see your species dive so deep."

The Oshawott, who's name was Tempo, seemed very friendly! Not at all like Namataki; this mon was very kind and personable! The kind of pokemon that Simon would expect to run from him, or avoid him due to his appearances in fact. Simon was too happy to question it further though. He just wanted to keep talking to him! He took Tempo's paw and shook it before folding his wing tightly back up against his body.

"Oh, bwell," Simon responded, "I was just looking to improve my swimming skills a bwit, you know? My mom's really good at diwving; she used to go into dwungeons like this a lowt." The salt water was making it a bit hard to annunciate, but Simon pressed on regardless. "I want to be able to dwo what she dwid, you know? She could-!" Okay, maybe this wasn't the best idea. Simon realized that if he couldn't handle the salt water getting into his mouth, he shouldn't really be trying to say long sentences down here in the first place. It would probably be better to just surface and talk there. Simon gestured up to the light filtering through the water's surface and then began to swim up, hoping the Oshawott would get his meaning.

"BWAaaah!!" Simon sighed as he surfaced. "Sorry! I can't talk very well down there because I'm not all that used to the salt water yet," he explained apologetically, "But uh, yeah! I want to be able to go to all kinds of places like my mom used to. She could go down to the seafloor, and up to the clouds... I don't think most of our species practiced as much as she did, though. She really had to push herself to get that good; it almost got her in trouble more than once!" He smiled at Tempo. "You must be pretty good at this kid of stuff naturally huh? That's so cool!! Maybe... Do you possiblhy have some pointers for me?"

He tilted his head a bit trying to hear what the Ducklett was saying, noticing he’s talking through the sides of his mouth, although he saw the Ducklett stop talking before pointing his wing up. Guess it was too hard to speak down here. Either that, or he needed air, but he didn’t notice any signs of oxygen deprivation. “Alright, I’ll follow...” Tempo said as he followed him up.

The otter surfaced with a soft gasp and equally soft panting. Seemed like he didn’t reach a desperate limit just yet. Thankfully, it was in time to hear the Ducklett talk about... his mother? It surprised him to hear about her for so long, but he listened intently, lying on his back to stay afloat. “She sounds like a very good explorer. Maybe with enough practice...” Speaking of practice, he heard Simon ask Tempo for tips about being underwater. “I... I’m not exactly the ‘mon to speak to, honestly. I’m still a newbie in terms of diving. Every dove seems to end in near disaster for me...” He sighs a bit. “Although for speaking, if you keep talking, you shouldn’t need to worry about salt water entering your mouth. That’s what I can tell, anyway.”

Oh! Tempo made a good point. Simon hadn't considered how the pressure of his speech might interact with the water. Upon thinking on it further it seemed completely logical that the pressure of his words would keep the water out of his mouth as long as he was talking. Did that mean... Was he leaving his mouth open absentmindedly?!! His beak subconsciously clamped a little tighter shut, just to be sure. That was such an embarrassing thought!! He would look like such a fool if he was just sitting there with his beak wide open for no apparent reason. ...And now he was spacing out, which was not much better in terms of manners. He shook his head slightly and forced himself to get back on track.

"Huh... well that was a pretty helpful pointer, at least. Thanks for that! I hadn't even thought of it that way," Simon responded chipperly. "And, well, even if you can't teach me, maybe you'd like to practice with me since we're both here? It's a great day for it! The weather is nice, and the current felt pretty warm while we were down there. Maybe we can help each other out by practicing!!" The prospect of exploring with a friendly face excited Simon. He didn't have many friends to go into dungeons with... so exploring the coral with Tempo would be a really fun experience!!! One that only came along once every now and again. Simon really hoped that he would say yes!!

"What do you think? My mom tells me it's safer to go into dungeons with more than one person anyways... not to mention more efficient. Maybe I can help you with whatever brought you here, too!"

Simon the Ducklett - 11 energy

FoxFireAlchemist carried out 10 launched of one Coral Forest :

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He looked excited to hear that Simon was going to be his diving partner this time around. Compared to... well, the other times he went underwater, this one seems nicer. Though... he does look worried about what may happen down in the depths. After all, the Coral Forests seem like they’re out for the Oshawott every time he heads down there....”Well, I wasn’t really here for any particular reason. I was just relaxing on the ocean waves, but more practice and exploring what’s around here is always exciting!” His eyes sparkled in excitement. He takes a few deep breaths once again before diving underwater, once again...

Tempo swam to where the enterance he found was and swam inside, starting to scan the area for goodies. The sights he saw were just as beautiful as ever, at least, though he looked back at Simon every so often to make sure he’s doing alright...

DJOshawott carried out 10 launched of one Coral Forest :

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Simon decided to use the opportunity to fly up and practice the aerial diving technique from his mother once again, using the high-velocity boost to quickly catch up with Tempo. Thankfully, Simon was a pretty adept swimmer once he was actually under the water, just so long as he had room to kick his webby little feet. Tempo led him to what he presumed was the entrance to the dungeon, and practically immediately Simon began taking in the sights. There were so many different colors in the corals and the plants that grew on them, it was almost too much for Simon's eyes... but he looked anyways because they were really pretty. Were any of those plants tasty, he wondered...? There would be ample time to find out, although he worried about looking silly in front of Tempo when sampling them. For now, he was content to swim forward.

"Hey Tempo!" Simon called, trying to only open his mouth when he spoke so that he could practice what the oshawott had instructed him to do. For a first attempt... It was semi-successful; he only tasted a little bit of salt before and after he spoke. It made him wince with displeasure, but otherwise he maintained his composure. "Tempo, come have a look at this!! There are some strange seaweeds over here that I've never seen before!!"

The seaweed in question looked... oddly rope-y, and dull in hue compared to most of the other plant life here. They were definitely out of place. Simon's curiosity was piqued, however, and he couldn't help but get a little closer... just close enough for the seaweed to begin to autonomously begin wrapping itself around the ducklett's body. Simon practically squawked in confusion and began kicking his legs around and around to try and free himself from the strange plant, but it was to no avail. The plant held tight.

...Oddly, as soon as it had Simon it began to glow a strange fluorescent green color, and Simon calmed down as he realized he was actually feeling... better? His lungs didn't fell tight anymore and he was now brimming with energy. He floated idley as the seaweed seemingly withered and released him, disappearing entirely. "...Did you see that?" Simon asked Tempo excitedly. "How strange!!! I suddenly feel better!! Is that just something that plants that grow in dungeons do? I've been to a dungeon or two but I've never seen that happen before!!" He looked around for other strange-looking seaweeds, but found none nearby. "Maybe we should look for more and investigate further!"

Simon the Ducklett - 3 energy

As the Oshawott swam through the waters, he heard Simon call to talk about some strange seaweed. ”Simon, wait! Those can be-“ He cries out, but it was too late, as the Ducklett was already siezed. Tempo lets out a squeak in fear as he tries to help out, but notices it glowing, blinding the otter for a few seconds. As it stopped, he sees and hears Simon saying he feels... better? That is... interesting to say the least... but be careful... These are surprisingly deadly...”

Something caught the corner of Tempo’s eye, seeing a Carvanha and a Skrelp, but the Skrelp seems to be... holding something? Tempo swam closer and saw... they were holding a Carracosta hostage. “Give us what you have before we drown you!” The Carvahna said to the in-peril turtle. “I... I told... you... I...” The Carracosta struggles to answer, releasing few bubbles as the Skrelp tightened his grip...

”H... Hold it!” Tempo suddenly cries out, scared for the drowning turtle. “Ah, someone else, and he seems to have something interesting...” Skrelp said before letting the turtle go, who frantically swam off for air. Tempo prepared himself, but he couldn’t break free after being attacked from the back by Carvanha. Skrelp tightens his hold on Tempo... “Now, then, little otter, what do you have...” Skrelp taunted as he squeezes air out of him... “F... Fine I... I’ll... give you what you want...” Tempo said. “If you pull a fast one on us...”

The Oshawott gives them a Diet Ribbon, Trawl Orb, Heal Seed, and a Rainy Orb... “These are useless! Give us something better!” Skrelp suddenly tightened its hold on him again, causing him to lose air again... “Hm... How about that little note on your scalchop...” Carvanha said to him. ”N... No... Please... That’s... personal...” Tempo said, clearly losing most of his air... “Then give it to us, or else we’ll leave you sleepin’ with Magikarp...” Skrelp said, also fnding a few reviver seeds off of the otter. “Ah, these things can’t save you from drowning, unfortunately... Keep them. It’s your last hope of survivin’, anyway...” Skrelp replied... Tempo’s vision began to fade, and he seems desperate to avoid breathing...

Tempo's warning about the seaweed shook Simon on the inside. Deadly? Yikes... "I had no idea... I'll be more careful next time," the Ducklett nodded. Maybe it was best to follow Tempo's lead for now. He had said that he had he knew this dungeon from previous visits, so it was probably for the best that he be the one showing Simon around. That said... suddenly Tempo was rushing off with few words, leaving Simon confused about what he was supposed to do.

Then Simon saw the mugging too. "Wait, Tempo-!" but it came far too late, Tempo was already confronting the attackers and Simon was still quite far away. He watched in horror as the Skrelp grabbed him and started to strangle him... Oh no, oh no, this was... Tempo would be... Ack! There was no time to think things through. He had to do something in this window of distraction.

Simon looked into his bag, pulling out 3 gummis. These and a Reviver Seed were all he had on him right now... but the situation was dire. Tempo's well-being was more important than a well-stocked bag. Simon swallowed the 3 gummis for strength, and then searched around him for something, anything he could use against the muggers. There just had to be... hey, were those seeds growing on that plant?? They were!! Simon darted over frantically, already knowing what he had to do. He grabbed one of the small items off of the plant and then turned around, propping it into his mouth but not biting down. He hoped his aim was good enough for this... He lined up the shot, and then blasted the seed at the offending Skrelp with the added power of a water gun behind it.

The seed was pressure-blasted into the attacker, who doubled back in surprise and pain. "AAAH!! For the love of- my eyes! I can't see!!!" For just a moment, Simon felt almost excited and celebratory for a moment at his fortunate attack, only to realize that the eyes were now on him. Uh...uh-oh... Suffice to say, Simon was not well-equipped to handle attackers of his own type. His only neutral attack would be Fly, and that would require him to leave the water - and by extension Tempo - in order to build up enough velocity to do damage!! Still, Simon held his ground. He couldn't leave with Tempo there! They'd just have to make some thing work.

"I've got more if you don't drop those items and buzz off!!!" Simon bluffed nervously. "Just get out of here!! We... We don't have anything worth wanting!"

Simon the Ducklett - 3 energy + 9 (3 water gummis) = 12 energy
-3 Water Gummis
-1 Blinker Seed

The Carvanha still squirmed around, too stunned to do anything... The Skrelp turned its attention to the ill-equipped Ducklett. Tempo was at least free, but he seems... disoriented... It didn’t take long for him to snap out of it, at least, and to see what peril Simon was getting himself into. “And what does a little Ducklett like you have that’s important to us?” The Skrelp said as he tried to coil up around Simon...

Tempo quickly grabbed his scalchop and snuck up upon the Carvanha before using an Assurance to see if he can knock him out quickly. Unfortunately, it barely held on, causing it to turn its attention on the air-hungry Oshawott... “What did you think you were gonna accomplish...” The fish taunted, but Tempo attacked again with a tackle, managing to finish him off.

Tempo swam over to Simon afterwards to stop Skrelp from doing too much damage... “So what sort of important items do you have? I know you don’t have all day...” Skrelp taunted. Crap... This is bad... What... How do... Tempo was at a loss of what to do... If he brute forced it, Simon might be as good as dead... But what kind of items are there... He saw a Trawl Orb, the one he gave the muggers earlier, and grabbed and used it quickly...

[Used Trawl Orb]

DJOshawott carried out 10 launched of one Coral Forest :

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OOOOOOH no oh no oh no, the muggers had come after him. Simon supposed this was more desirable than having them just gang up on Tempo, but now he was faced with the prospect of having this kelp strangle him for his now dwindling possessions. He didn't even own that much!!! He really didn't even have anything to offer this Skrelp outside of that Reviver Seed that he had brought for emergency situations - he had already eaten his gummis!! "I - I really don't have anything! I'm not an explorer, I don't own any treasure!!! Here, see? My purse is empty!!!" Simon pleaded as the Skrelp began to drift down around him.

The Skrelp looked at him strangely. "You... is that a purse?"

Simon sniffed and looked up at the creature. "I... yes, it is. Why...?"

"Aren't you a guy?"

"W-what are you saying?!! What's wrong with having a purse?? Are you judging my choice of bag right now, while you're in the middle of mugging me!??"

The Skrelp seemed to pay no mind to this. They frustratedly ripped the purse away from Simon and searched it thoroughly, even checking the lining of the bag with a mad fervor in order to ensure it was truly empty. There was nothing. The strange duck hadn't been lying, he was just some kid with no items. "Auuuugh…!" The Skrelp groaned angrily, throwing the bag with reckless abandon, which Simon scrambled to quickly reclaim. He turned back to Tempo, looking highly frustrated. "Alright, well since your friend is poor and useless I'm going to need you to turn over some goods before I-"

konk.

A bunch of items were suddenly drawn in from many locations around the group at the activation of the Trawl Orb, causing the Skrelp to get clocked in the back of the head by an incoming box. "O-OW!! For the love of - AUGH!" they howled in pain, grabbing the back of their stinging head with leafy appendages.

While all of this happened, Simon re-considered his options for attacking. Fly was... still very risky, He only wanted to use it as a last resort. Honestly, he was kind of lost here. He set to trying to assist Tempo instead. The Oshawott seemed to have a more diverse moveset and was better suited to fighting than he himself was. "Tempo, an opening!!! Now's your chance!!!" he cried, frantically looking around for something else to help them in this situation.

The Oshawott braced for impact as he activated the orb...

Konk

He looks over and sees a box hit the Skrelp, seeing it disoriented and hurt. ”Alright!” He said to himself in relief, but he needed to finish it off... Thankfully, there was a Corsola Twig that flew over to him. He grabs and takes aim... and throws it...

“Agh!” The Skrelp screams in pain as it hits! Tempo moves in close and uses an Assurance to finish the job! The Skrelp is defeated! ”You OK, Simon...?” The otter asked with a worried expression. Although he was one to talk. The otter lost a lot of air due to the attack. He did have a red blush to show how long he’s been under for. But he doesn’t know if they can make it back to the surface in time...

Simon was unendingly thankful for the sudden influx of items that had suddenly come whizzing past him, even if he didn't fully understand it. He figured it must have had something to do with Tempo, because items don't normally simply fly out of nowhere and hit people in the head in his experience. Then again, his "experience" didn't amount to much... oh, well, at least it was over now. With the opportunity created by the sudden items Tempo seized the fight by using a move Simon had never seen before to knock out their opponent, leaving only the Carvanha to thrash about in his blind confusion. Simon was hesitant with the other aggressor still present, but he also doubted that the seed would suddenly wear off immediately. He swam closer to Tempo in an attempt to regroup.

"That was great, Tempo!!" Simon exclaimed, although slightly hushed as he didn't want to risk allowing the other pokemon to get a lock on their location. "Are you alright? How did you make all of those items appear? That was amazing!! Did you get your things back?? We should probably get out of here and find a place to hide-"

"Psst!!" came a hushed voice nearby. Simon, still in a bit of a panic, immediately whipped his head around and looked for the source of the sudden voice. He saw a small Horsea clinging to a clump of seaweed nearby, looking equally frantic and nervous. Simon didn't know what to think of the pokemon being so fresh out of a dangerous encounter, but admittedly... he didn't really feel intimidated by such a small and unimposing figure. "This way, quickly!!!" it continued as soon as it had Simon's attention, though it flinched back at his appearance and it seemed intimidated.

Simon oblidged quickly, following the pokemon's instructions on a whim. He felt like he needed to by the urgency in it's voice, though he had no idea why and it struck him that it might not be the best of ideas. He made it to the seaweed before looking back and seeing if Tempo was also going to follow the pokemon's instructions, or if he needed to turn back and rejoin his new friend.