Exciting Things to Sea

First topic message reminder :

The libraries at Windrose had been surprisingly bare when it came to the oceans. That was only natural, she supposed; they were difficult to explore. But the urge to see a niche filled had tugged Robin towards the Coral Forests, where she sat perched on a large, white piece of dead coral. She sat with her paws tucked under her body, sketching a rough picture of the world below - at least, as best as she could glean it underneath the rippling water. Drawing with only your mouth wasn't a fate she would wish upon most pokemon.

The end result... wasn't anything impressive. Especially since she only had her single pencil, leaving her to roughly label the pieces as 'red' or 'yellow', shattering any lingering illusion. Oh, well. She hoped she could express in words what she clearly couldn't through pictures. Her pawprint in the lower right corner and a hastily scrawled 'Robin P.' might have even implied she was proud of her work, that childish mess of squiggles and unrecognizable shapes. No, it was just a reminder for later, nothing more.

It was no sooner than she thought of how humiliating it would have been if anyone saw the blasted thing then, as she turned to tuck her pencil back into her bag, a sudden gust of wind swept it away into the sky. Oh, no. Oh, no. It would either fall into the water and get ruined, leaving her to re-draw the coral - which was unacceptable, that had taken so long - or, worse, someone would find it. And trace it back to her.

"Oh, no, no no no no no, come back!" Robin plunged into the water before she could think, following blindly after her picture, even as the wind held it tauntingly out of her reach, fluttering dangerously above the water.

Oh, this was not her day.

Robin's Energy: 6

Alki kicked at the ground, still very, very nervous about what the Vulpix was suggesting. She was going to get laughed at, wasn't she...? Robin was going to see her work and realize that she was being way too confident in herself and then laugh at her, but now she couldn't really say no, could she...? She'd already spilled out the contents of her bag into a hole in the coral, and there were some sticks of charcoal poking out. Was... there anything else...? It seemed as though it might just be charcoal... Alki looked up at the snowy Vulpix, tilting her head, her fear still written plainly across her face.

"N-No, I-I d-don't... h-have any, b-but..." She trailed off, staring at the sticks in the ground before grabbing one. It was very thick... Alki reformed her hidden power, sharpening the tip of her move so that she could sharpen the tip of the pencil. She wasn't really sure if she'd do a good job at all, but that seemed to be what Robin wanted her to do, so... Well, if she backed out, she'd fail by default, right...? Not that she wasn't going to fail if she tried, but... Well, it was better than giving up, maybe...?

"B-But... U-Um, w-what d-do you want me... U-Uh, u-us, to draw...?" She stammered out, looking around her, unsure on what it was she wanted to draw exactly. Not that what Alki wanted mattered. She wanted to please the scientist...

Whether or not her plan ended up being successful was... debatable. She was still incredibly anxious, and perhaps she had frightened her even more, actually. But she seemed to agree to draw, so... progress? She decided to interpret it as such, holding a little block of charcoal in her mouth before dropping it at her feet again. As much as she wanted to say anything that sticks out in your mind, she feared that might be a bit too much freedom for the poor thing. It would certainly make Robin second guess, at least, wondering what the correct, hidden answer was. Even if such a thing didn't truly exist.

"Well, let's see... maybe a landscape shot?" She suggested, staring out over the ocean. "The coral is what makes this place so special, right? Let's try drawing some of that." As tempted as she was to take samples, she was a bit afraid to touch it. Wasn't coral delicate? She wasn't sure just how delicate it was, but she decided against it nevertheless. She couldn't help but think the pokemon back at Windrose would be disappointed in her if she damaged it - but would it just return once they left...?

Better not risk it, she decided, looking out over the landscape thoughtfully. She chewed on one of the seeds from her bag idly, finding it gave her a bit more energy after the long journey here. Hopefully that had given her enough direction without stifling her? It was a hard line to walk, admittedly, even as she straightened out her paper with her paws.

... oh, no, now she'd have to draw in front of someone. And show her the inevitably terrible result. Well, she'd talked herself into a corner now, she accepted with a slight, irrational burst of anxiety. Drat. This was, perhaps, not her finest plan, but if it would help Alki feel more at ease...

Robin's Energy: 16 (New Page + Reviver Seed)

Venusian carried out 10 launched of one Coral Forest :

, , , , , , , , ,

...Landscape...? But it was an ocean! There was very little land to draw, but... Well, she supposed there was some... and she could include the water as well too, along with the coral! Maybe... Maybe that'd turn out alright, if she did it like that...? Alki whittled down her piece of charcoal to a fine tip, sort of like her pencils in her room. This was going to be so unimpressive, and Robin was probably going to think she was a joke. Which, to be fair, wouldn't be inaccurate...

The girl's ears twitched as she sat down, spreading her feet out wide so she could see the sheet of paper she'd placed between them. With any luck, her feet would shield her paper from Robin's view too, assuming she'd positioned herself correctly... The jigglypuff leaned forward, the pencil in her hand lightly sketching out the general shape of the coral mass. The pencil strokes were a lot darker than usual.

"...Huh." She mumbled quietly, examining the point. She supposed it did look a bit blacker than the usual pencil, but the strokes it created were significantly darker... Well, that was alright. She'd just have to sketch lighter... As the girl got more and more into her drawing, she seemed more and more relaxed. Of course, it'd probably wear off as soon as she was brought to the real world, but... She'd never drawn water like this before! And... It was turning out ok. Ish. By her standards, anyways...

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Coral Forest :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Coral Forest :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Coral Forest :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Coral Forest :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Coral Forest :

Robin's Energy: 0
(0 energy from her rolls. Eating her Apple to get into the Echo World, which takes her back to 0.)

Despite her anxiety over drawing, it seemed to work well enough, in the end. She snuck an occasional glance at Alki, the ghost of a smile crossing her face as the Jigglypuff's posture grew noticeably more relaxed. She turned back to her own paper, though she had finished much earlier than Alki had, and the result was... questionable.

Very, very questionable.

She turned her attention elsewhere, flipping over her paper to the backside and making idle scribbles, so Alki wouldn't have to worry about keeping her waiting. She didn't mind, truth be told, even if she technically was waiting. The atmosphere here was... nice. Despite this being a mystery dungeon, even the pokemon seemed peaceful enough. The aquatic creatures either hadn't noticed them from atop their coral perch, or didn't care. Perhaps staying on the rock didn't count, to them, as intruding on their territories.

She only made a reference for her report later, counting the fish swim by.

- Lantern |
- Carvanha |
- Seadra |
- Kingdra |
- Alolamola |
- Wishwashi ||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| |||| (??? Many) One school.

This was... peaceful. Downright serene, even, with Alki focused on her drawing and Robin watching the pokemon swim by under the sea, flashes of color from coral in the seabed.

It was peaceful, at least, until the water began swirling to life, lapping hungrily at the lump of coral that the two were standing on. Was the tide picking up? Yes- yes, but no, that couldn't be all, because the moon overhead was shining brilliantly on a sunny afternoon.

"Al... ki?" Robin managed weakly, staring up at the sky.

This wasn't right.

"Keep your head up. Something's wrong."

Alki was far too focused on her drawing to notice any oddities outside of the paper. She wanted to make the light and shadows look right, or else Robin might think she was lazy, and if the shape of the coral wasn't exactly the way she saw it in real life, she was going to be extremely disappointed in herself. A good while passed, although the girl wasn't exactly sure of how long. She didn't want to look at the sun to track the time. Eventually, however, after many painstakingly small strokes and little divots of black within the outline of the coral to represent the many divots and holes in it, she was done.

And the water too! It was all done... But still... Her old apprehension returned as she took in the finality of the erasable sketch before her. There were so many details that looked all wrong, and so, so off... She'd spent like an hour on it! At least, it seemed that way... Oh gosh... She felt ready to cry now, Robin was right there behind her, and she could already tell something was wrong! Although he didn't really have a head to keep up, seeing as her whole body might as well be a head... The girl deflated in disappointment as she pushed the paper slightly away from herself, wiggling her feet back and forth as she tried to stave off the negative emotion.

Finally, she gathered enough resolve to state her thoughts. "Y-Yeah, s-something's definitely wrong, h-huh...? My drawing looks horrible..." Of course, it didn't look bad at all, if she was being objective. But the worst critic is always your inner thoughts, and Alki's inner thoughts were never too kind to her... Although if she were happy, maybe she would notice the relative quality of her work...?

Of course, not that she ever would be happy...

"What-"

Robin's voice died out very suddenly at Alki's protest. She instantly felt horrible, as silly as it was, knowing that something about the world around them had changed, becoming what she could only describe as unnatural. The water was picking up in intensity, still lapping at the platform that the two of them were standing on. "Oh, no, Alki, that's not what I meant at all. Look at the sky. The moon's out."

And what's more... she held out a careful paw towards the water, only for it to still at her touch. It almost felt... solid. She tested a careful step, leaning to put more of her weight on it. It bent, but didn't break underfoot, as if she was standing on plastic instead of water. She stepped out carefully, as if to prove her point, frowning back at Alki as she stood on solid water.

"It's not your drawing. It's... just, look at me. It's this." She wasn't sure how else to describe it, only gesturing blankly with her tails to the world around her, trying to prevent the worried frown from creasing her face. She suspected that Alki would be frightened, and so she needed to keep up a brave face, but...

... she truly, honestly, had no idea what had happened. Could this be a dream? No, she bit her tongue and brushed off aside quickly, watching the currents trembling under her feet.

Alki blinked in confusion as she watched the fox step out into the water and sorta... Float? Alki was pretty sure that wasn't supposed to be possible. White vulpix couldn't be that different from brown Vulpix, could they be? Not enough to float, anyways... And she didn't even seem to be floating. Not like Alki did, anyways. And what was that she'd said about the moon? The girl glanced up, still looking rather dejected even with the sudden, strange developments. She noted the Moon's presence with detachment, before glancing down at her paper. She'd drawn a sun...

"Y-Yeah... T-this seems sorta scary, h-huh? I'm... I'm not a very good guild member though, so P-Please don't count on me being much help at... W-Well anything..." Alki managed, her demeanor still more depressed than afraid. Why should she be afraid...? There were no electric types here, and as far as she was concerned, those were the biggest threat to her. Besides, she had a lot of items, and she could... Maybe use them before things got too bad...

"W-We should probably stick together... W-what moves do you know? This... U-um, it might be bad if we don't know what we can do if... U-um, if there's trouble..."

Now, Robin hadn't expected her to still be... more sad than frightened. She, herself, was rather concerned, though she was trying to keep herself together for Alki's sake. If there was a way in here, surely there must be a way out? "Well, let's see. I know Hypnosis, which lets me put a pokemon to sleep. That will come in handy if we get into any trouble." It was her only good move, she thought in wry amusement. Though she supposed it was much better than nothing.

"I can also use a move called Powder Snow, which is an ice type attack. What about you?" She chimed in, even as she gently stepped forward, still half convinced that the water was going to give out at any moment. Perhaps talking about Alki's capabilities would give them something to talk about besides the strange surroundings. If she was very lucky, it might even convince her she could be useful. (Though, she did quietly doubt it would end up being so easy.)

A pair of Skrelp were angrily butting at the surface of the water, seeming unable to break through, as if it was covered by a sheet of glass. She stared for a moment too long before a sheet of spikes broke through the water, one of them embedding itself in her foot. It dripped with a sludge-like, off-purple liquid. Robin hid a wince as best she was able, retreating back to the coral (and away from the Skrelp), trying and failing to maneuver her paw so she could pull out the spike.

Ah. That... didn't look good. It didn't exactly feel great, either - was her paw going numb? That wasn't a good sign-

Alki tilted her head, nodding softly as the Vulpix stated that she knew Hypnosis. Didn't Synd'r also know Hypnosis...? Did all Vulpix know it? That was curious, no matter which way you sliced it. It was a very good move, either way! An ice type attack wasn't something in Synd'r's arsenal, however. It was natural, she supposed. Synd'r wasn't a white Vulpix, and she imagined that someone with such a coloration would be an ice type.

"T-Those a-are p-pretty good moves!" Alki said, nodding with a bit more vigor now. Her own moves were none too great, though. Alki scuffed the ground as she waved her arms back and forth, unsure if whether she should tell the Vulpix her own moveset. Of course, she'd been the one to suggest they share, so why would she decide not to all of a sudden? "U-Um, I know d-double team, w-which lets me be... Um... t-tricky to hit... S-Sometimes..." Of course, the last time she'd used the move, she'd gotten electrocuted pretty badly but... Why mention that? It was her fault...

"I-I also know, u-um, t-teleport, which... U-Uh, lets me teleport, a-and my Hidden Power is D-Dark, s-so I can control shadows. B-But I'm not, l-like, e-evil or anything!" Alki added in hastily. Of course, no one had ever accused her of such a thing, but it still seemed as though it made other people nervous... "A-And, u-um, I-I know flamethrower, a-and... U-Uh, disable. S-So... Y-Yeah. Do you want me t-to demonstrate any of them? A-Are... t-those moves ok...?"

To call them pretty good was generous. Robin had to imagine that was flattery; she couldn't honestly expect someone to compliment her on that. Especially someone who was, apparently, as strong as Alki was. Robin hadn't guessed it from her self-conscious demeanor and her downright soothing appearance, but she had clearly been through some adventures of her own before they met. Pokemon weren't simply born with moves like that - well, not unless they were very, very lucky. "Those are impressive." She answered, though she was already half-suspecting that her own words would be brushed off as flattery, too. It was a tad frustrating, in all honesty.

But she had other concerns.

Robin winced as she tugged out the toxic spike, spitting it out into the water, where it plummeted to the bottom of the ocean with unnatural speed, as if it was being pulled by an invisible string. The sight was... disconcerting, serving as a fierce reminder of just where they were. They needed to find a way out, and soon. This place was creepy, but the rush of poison in her veins was a subtle reminder that this was no dream.

She found herself gnawing on a second reviver seed, staring out at the horizon. She needed to keep her strength up. "Really, Alki! I wish I could teleport. And you could definitely knock me out in one hit with a flamethrower." She chimed, though perhaps the sentiment was... less reassuring than she had meant. Whatever the case, they needed to get moving. They wouldn't find the way out by standing still, after all.

She poked the water cautiously, and it seemed solid enough again. Walking over it was unnerving after she saw that spike get dragged down, but she didn't exactly have a choice... there was nothing on their little platform to make a bridge with, unfortunately. It would have been a weight off her mind.

She had expected Alki to be more frightened, but perhaps she was simply too socially anxious to be scared? It was almost an amusing thought, though Robin bit back any hints of laughter. "Oh - and don't forget your drawing! I can't wait to see it once we're out of here."

Robin's Energy: 16
+ 16, Reviver Seed

"B-But I don't want to knock anyone out with a flamethrower..." Alki said nervously, unsure of what the Vulpix was getting at. The fact that it was a compliment flew over the jigglypuff's head, and all that was left was confusion. It's not like she wanted to show off, and when she'd said she could demonstrate, she didn't mean to demonstrate it on Robin...  Did she think so? She wasn't that kind of Pokemon!

...Truthfully, she didn't want to demonstrate any of them. Robin seemed more impressed than she had any right to be. Alki had been too busy within the confines of her own thoughts to notice Robin pulling out the spike, or to really think too much on where they were. She wished her moveset was... well, a bit more impressive. Aggressively. What if they had to get into a fight...? They were in an ocean, so... Flamethrower wasn't going to work that well, was it...?

At the mention of her drawing, Alki jumped, grasping it tighter in her hand. Why did Robin want to see it? Once they were out of the dungeon, did she still intend to judge it? Alki wanted to throw it into the Ocean, but seeing as Robin seemed able to stand on it, she wasn't sure it'd have much of an effect. Besides, instructions were instructions! Alki carefully tucked it into her bag, unsure if she wanted to accidentally lose it at some point today or not.

"O-Ok... I-I'll keep it, b-but, um... W-What do we do? H-How... do we get out? This place is sorta weird..." Alki said without much emotion. She just wanted to avoid all the drama that could potentially come with territory like this.

Ah. Just like she'd suspected, the compliment was... misplaced. At least she had been distracted enough not to watch Robin pull the spike out, it wasn't exactly a pretty sight. Her question was a good one, though, and Robin wished she had an answer. "I don't know, but we need to keep moving. We aren't going to find a way out by standing still." She mused, starting to walk across the ocean towards the next coral platform, half-expecting to be plunged into the water with every step.

Yet another strange thing was that while the water was solid, it wasn't still. It felt like rubber, still sweeping in waves that rippled across the "ground" and broke against Robin's legs. She couldn't say she cared for the feeling. She lowered her head once more, watching water pokemon flicker below the surface, darting from shelters of coral, perhaps blind to the way reality was corroding before their eyes. This would make a wonderful report for Windrose, assuming she could find her way out...

Whatever this realm was, it clearly didn't play by their rules. "The coral platforms are the most obvious landmarks here, so let's follow those and see where they take us. Sound good?"

[Energy: 37 - (10+13) = 14)]

"Y-Yeah, you're... probably right. That sounds smart. O-Ok." Alki said, the gravity of her situation finally dawning on her. They'd really have to find a way out soon, huh? Well, Robin was a scientist, right? So... She probably knew something about this. Scientifically speaking, of course. So why should she act of her own accord?  Robin was clearly smarter than her, so Alki was content to just follow her lead. She'd just screw something up if she tried to act by herself.

"D-Do you think t-the exit's, like, a p-portal, or... an object? A warp orb, maybe? I... d-dunno. Scientifically speaking, I mean." Alki managed, tapping her hands together as her ears twitched. She set a tentative foot on the solid water, but it wasn't really cold. It was warm, like the water she'd been in earlier had been. It wasn't ice. And there were still water Pokemon swimming around underwater...

Say, what if she had stayed underwater...? She would've been trapped there. She couldn't breathe underwater...

Suddenly, standing atop the water didn't seem very safe anymore, and the novelty of walking on water quickly faded into nervousness, and then fear. What if she fell through and couldn't get back out? What if that happened to Robin? Neither of them were able to breathe there, and she didn't know any water type moves... "L-Let's hurry..." Alki managed quietly, her face pale as she began to walk faster.

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Echo World :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Coral Forest :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Echo World :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Coral Forest :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Echo World :

Mada carried out 1 launched of one Coral Forest :

She wished, dearly, that she had something more reassuring to offer. But she had never heard of this place, nor did she have any clue on how to escape it. Honestly, she wasn't entirely sure how they had gotten here, either. At least this place wasn't outright dangerous yet, at least no more than any other mystery dungeon... just much more bizarre. "It could be anything." Robin agreed. "For now, keep an eye open for anything that's different than it is in the real world. Any odd landscape features, items you've never seen, maybe ev-EN-" She cut herself off as, suddenly, the water turned liquid again, plunging her into the waves.

They were close enough for Robin to scramble onto a piece of coral with relative ease. Meanwhile, a Lanturn had swam up to Alki, a rather brilliant grin on his face. He made an attempt to scoop her onto his face and guide her back to the platform that Robin was on - Robin, meanwhile, could have sworn that those two Ralts weren't there a moment before, one standing protectively over the other, a psychic pulse stemming from their horns.

"Who are you?" The bolder of the two demanded, his high-pitched voice lowered into a faint growl.

Alki nodded softly as the smart scientist spoke, turning her words over in her mind. It made sense! Anything out of the ordinary could point to a potential way out! Of course, it would've helped if Alki had been to this place before... Everything seemed out of the ordinary... Any further thoughts she might have had were interrupted by the sudden introduction of her body with the warm water. What had earlier been a pleasant experience now seemed frighteningly sudden. Her sudden fall pushed her underwater, even before her scream of fright could be let out.

For a few, frighteningly long seconds, Alki stayed completely submerged underwater. She tried to keep her eyes open, but the salt from the water stung her large, frightened eyes, and so she shut them tightly. Her attempts to scream carried almost no sound, only escaping as a plethora of bubbles to the surface. She brought her feet and arms together, curling up into a ball, with no idea what to do. Was she sinking, or floating? She wasn't sure. She was too frightened to tell. She didn't want to drown...

Of course, dying hadn't been a thought that had been completely absent from her mind, but she didn't want it to be like this... Slowly... Alki wasn't sure how long had passed, but she didn't even notice the presence of an aquatic Pokemon assisting her until she was reintroduced to the air above water. She tentatively opened her eyes, visibly frightened, before she turned to look at who had helped her. It was a Pokemon... Although she couldn't tell it's species. She'd never been to a place like this...

She managed a small smile and an almost imperceptibly small "Thank You...", before turning back to teleport onto the platform. She heard another Pokemon speak up, and turned to face him now. The girl was shaking, and despite the fact her companion was an ice type, she still found it more comforting, if not warmer, to stay close to Robin. She stared blankly at the Ralts, before answering his question. "A-A-Alki..." She managed softly, her voice shaking even more than usual... She really needed to learn how to swim...