Into the Deep End

This isn’t the first time Tempo, the little Oshawott, was in this marsh, but it’s still quite an uncomfortable area. Pokémon can attack you from the trees to the depths without you noticing until it’s too late. It’s hard to traverse it without some kind of hinderence, either, even if it’s a Water Type swimming through. And despite it being one of his favorite things to do, he wasn’t gonna swim here unless he really needs to. After the last few times, where he barely escaped drowning, he doesn’t want to risk it again. Although he did wish someone was with him. After all, a partner makes things a little less dangerous...

”Can’t believe I’m slogging through this place again... But I’m sure more adventuring practice can’t hurt. Maybe some day I’ll finally be able to see what’s in that Serene Cave I keep hearing about... Maybe also visit that sunken tower in the ocean, once I can hold my breath long enough...” He said to himself, keeping an eye out for anything interesting to take care of...

[Energy: 20 - 15 = 5 Left]

Darcy wandered into the Marshland, searching for supplies. Or just a break. Honestly? It was mostly a break. She was confident enough in her ability to handle herself in the marsh, and it's not like she planned on going too deep into it. It was just so pretty at night! And she kind of wanted to watch those lights again, she'd seen back when she'd met Goro. Even if that was an experience she'd rather have forgotten, it did have it's pleasant moments..

And besides! She'd been so busy! It wasn't with guild work, exactly, but between looking after Alki and spending so much time with her, after her... experiences? It would be rather callous of her to go on a guild mission by herself when Alki was already saying she was useless all the time, over and over...

Why did she hate herself?

Darcy had asked her older sister if she could house Alki for a bit, while she looked around for supplies. She had agreed. That wasn't the truth, obviously, but she didn't want to make Alki feel guilty, or her older sister worried. She wondered how Alki would entertain herself... her older sister was busy, after all! She was helping their mother too, just like Darcy and Alki...

So... there she was. Walking through the slush in the hopes of a pleasant view at night. The Skitty kept an eye out, of course. It'd be nice practice, as well! It's not like any pokemon were particularly dangerous, here in the marshland. She saw an Oshawott moving, off in the distance, and being the extrovert she was, decided to chase after him.

He probably wasn't dangerous!

"Hey!" Darcy called out, cheery and excited to meet someone else here in the marshland. Even if there wasn't much to worry about, safety in numbers was always true! "Hey! Wait up!"

The otter's ears twitched a bit, hearing the Skitty call out to him. At least, he thinks it's a Skitty from this distance. The question was why was a Skitty out here, of all Pokemon? He guesses it doesn't really matter, it just didn't make sense in his head.

"I didn't expect someone else, honestly, but hey, new friends, I guess." He said to himself, heading over to the Skitty to say hi. On the way, though, he accidentally trips over some stray tree root that he could barely see. "Ow..." He gets up after that... embarrassing start, but at least it didn't happen while he was submerged. If he was... "A... Anyway... What did you need?" The otter asked the Skitty curiously as he approached him.

"Ah... N-need?" Darcy mumbled, unsure of whether or not she should talk about the Oshawott's tumble. Eventually, of course, she decided against it. It wouldn't be very... Well, it's not like they knew each other!  And more importantly, it might sound patronizing to him, and that wasn't how she wanted to make a first impression! He seemed fine, so she wouldn't mention it. That's all!

Oh, yeah! He'd asked what she needed. She'd almost forgotten, getting so lost in her own thoughts. Darcy shook her head, and smiled.

"It's not that I needed something, per se. More so... I mean, I figured I'd say hi, y'know? Besides, having someone to travel with is always safer than going at it alone!" Darcy explained, smiling cheerfully. It might not be much to look at, but just being alone out here was rather liberating! If only for a bit, she could forget all her troubles at the guild, and just giving in the here and now! And she'd met someone new too! That was always fun!

"Would you like to travel together? I'm just gathering supplies, if I can find any, but if you're here for any reason in particular, I can help you out, if you'd like that?" Darcy offered, hoping he'd say yes. It'd be pretty enjoyable to do that, and it's not like she had any real business out here anyways!

He did seem confused as to why it was taking a while for her to answer. Was it because of what he asked? Was it because of how he said it? Was it because he was clumsy and fell? Either way, it didn’t seem to take long for her to answer. ”I mean, you’re not wrong. I should find some friends I can keep in contact with for adventures like these. Most of the time I leave, I go alone, and sometimes, that nearly causes... problems...” He admits that he doesn’t have a good track record in adventures so far. Maybe with more practice, and a friend he can count on...

”Anyway, you said you needed help getting supplies, right? I’ll try my best to help. Just... be careful, OK? I’ve been here a few times, already, so I know some things that can hurt you, like Greninja, Marshtomp... plant roots...” He said with a hint of embarassment with that last line. He didn’t want to admit what exactly it did to him. It would sound stupid.

"Ah, well, everyone runs into problems from time to time!" Darcy said cheerfully, nodding her head at the Oshawott. He seemed to be nice, and that was enough for Darcy! he even offered his help up to her, and it'd be rude to turn down such an offering! He offered words of caution to her, about Greninja, and Marshtomp, and... Plant roots? That last one seemed... quite out of place, being honest. Darcy tilted her head quizzically, looking down at the Oshawott.

"Plant roots?" She asked, missing the hint of embarrassment in his voice. She struggled to think of why those would be a threat on par with the first two items in his list, but she couldn't quite come up with anything. "How would plant roots be able to hurt us?" She asked, genuinely curious as to the Oshawott's line of thinking. Was she missing something?

"Erm, regardless, I'll keep an eye out for those." Darcy added, unsure of herself. Plant roots? Now it was eating away at her. Great.

"So... shall we get going? I just need supplies for my guild team! We're running low, and my... teammate is kinda feeling down so I'm letting her take a bit of a break... Once she feels better, though, I wanna be prepared to do all kinds of missions!" She explained to her newfound companion. Alki'd feel better soon, she was sure. It'd just been a series of unfortunate events that had caused her to act like this. That was all.

The Oshawott kinda regretted talking about the roots. He could tell that the Skitty wouldn’t forget about it for... a long while, at least... ”Don’t worry about that last one. So as long as you’re careful near the water, you shouldn’t need to worry about those plant roots.” There. Now hopefully that would stop the thought from eating away at the cat. Hopefully.

At least now there was a partner for his current adventure, so even if he did encounter a... plant root, it might not... drown him. Hopefully. ”Um... Have you been here, before? If you haven’t, I can take point. I... sorta know how to get through here.” He said, trying to awkwardly change the subject. “I mean, it’s not hard to navigate, but I... can find some safe gathering spots. Plus... I can help you with the deep water...” He said that, but if he could avoid the deep water, for now, it would be fine. The last thing he wanted was to drown from a plant root... again...

DJOshawott carried out 5 launched of one Cattail Marsh :

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Alright. Clearly, the plant roots thing came from personal experience. Darcy gave him a small nod and a small smile. There really wasn't any need, or any point to pushing the matter further. "Alright, I'll be careful! Promise." She said, and just like that, she'd forget about it. It's not like it was particularly important, anyways. And judging by his nervous, bashful tone of voice afterwards, it was pretty clear he would like to change the subject, and Darcy was more than happy to oblige.

"Been here before?" Darcy smiled and looked down to the ground. Yeah, but it had been a while ago. Alki had still been an Igglybuff, and that had been when she'd met Goro... Darcy wondered, briefly, what was going on with him, but just as quickly erased him from her mind. He wasn't the kind of Pokemon she wanted to get involved with. Brash and impulsive and irresponsible and... honestly? Not the sharpest knife in the drawer, if she was being honest...

Darcy let out a small chuckle and nodded. "Yeah, I've been here before. It was a long while ago, though, so if you'd like to take point, I'm fine with that." It certainly did sound  like it'd be more useful to have him on point. Darcy... wasn't a very good swimmer. At all. So she'd be quite happy to have a water type leading the way. "In fact, I appreciate it!" She nodded at him, before looking off into the vast marshlands. The place was big, as she was all too aware from her last venture here. "Anyways, no harm in having a bit of small talk as we go!" She said, taking the first steps forward, intending to follow the Oshawott wherever it was he decided to lead her. "How many times have you been here?"

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Cattail Marsh :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Cattail Marsh :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Cattail Marsh :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Cattail Marsh :

”I guess I can take point.” The Oshawott said, heading onward and looking around. “I have been here... maybe 2 or 3 times, maybe? All those times, I’ll be honest, are scary. Trust me, stay away from the water, and you should be fine...”

As he walked on, he steps on something that suddenly launches him up and out. ”WAAAAAAAAAGH!!!!” He called out in surprise, flailing a bit, before hitting a Lotad in a shallow portion of the swamp. “Ow... You... You OK?” The Lotad asked. ”Yeah... Sorry... for hurting you, though...” “It happens. There are traps that can fling you if you’re not careful. Plus, my lilypad does give some protection.” Lotad chuckles it off.