You're starting to regret your bike trip. Sure, it was fun, but it was tiring, and took all your morning. As a result, you're now making your way through a thick march, past sunset, doing your best to stay on the road.

You pass a short bridge, hearing water splash below you. You feel a small push, drawing your attention to a glow off the side of the road. The smell of roasting nuts reaches you as you try to see what's out there.

Jake's body started the trip upright and perky, but his spine began to curve more and more as they traveled on and on. The fatigue from the extensive, hard biking the day before and that morning was setting in. He had hoped that they would come across the next town in less than a day of travel, but it was becoming increasingly evident that Jake had little sense of scale outside of a city.

When they saw the glow and smelled the nuts, Jake stopped and signaled to be quiet and whispered,
"You think it might be Team Gaia again? Maybe we should check it out quietly."

Jake then began trying to creep forward quietly towards the glow to get a better look. It would be pretty bold of Team Gaia to camp so close to the road, but it could also be other nasty trainers looking to jump the competition and make a quick buck.

Seymour, having been about to call out to whoever was nearby, realized how foolish that could have been. Had he not learned his lesson yet. Luckily Jakey was there to be the voice of reason. "Let me know what you find," Seymour whispered. He stayed on the trail since he was not at all confident in his ability to sneak anywhere. He kept a line of sight on Jakey though, and was ready to rush to his aid if he ran into any trouble.

Jake quickly discover how hard it is to navigate a swamp in the dark. Sure, the events of the Dark Gym gave him some practice, but trying to move discreetly when every other step ends up in water is pretty hard. Between that and Jake's outline from the fire, Seymour has no issues following his progress.

Still, Jake manages to reach a dry mound, apparently used as a small camping ground. The light comes from a warm fire, where a pan softly sizzle. The delicious smell of roasted chestnuts mixes with the campfire's smoke, comforting the wet and cold teenager as he climbs the mound. It's only when he's fully in the light, that Jake realizes he sees no one around.

Jake was not truly nervous until he noticed that no one was at the camp site. It felt like a trap to him, but he still had a moment to react. He was probably spotted by now, so slinking back into the darkness would be risky. However, Seymour was probably still hidden. He did not want to alert anyone to Seymour's presence, so Jake decided to make sure he was heard. He tossed out the pokeball containing Skipper and announced to the nearby forest,
"Hey, sorry, I didn't mean to come into your camp. I'll be on my way if you don't want company, but it is awfully lonely being on the road alone."

The only answer to Jake's call is the distant sound of Politoed and Kricketot. At his feet, Skipper sniff the earth of the mound, apparently confused by something. He slowly walks around the area, leaving small footprints behind him.

Jake turned to where he had left Seymour,
"Oi, Seymour, there is no one here. And there WAS no one here. Something spooky is going on. We are the only one with foot prints."

This was outside of Jake's comfort zone and he hoped Seymour would be able to think of something. Jake's stomach was asking him to snatch some of the roasting chestnuts, but he was still suspicious of a trap... even if it were not a human trap, it might be a trap conceived by a pokemon. If so, Jake would want to net a pokemon that is this savvy.

Seymour furrowed his brow and cautiously approached the campsite himself. "No footprints? Like, someone covered their tracks? Or like this camp site constructed itself?" Neither of those options were very comforting to Seymour. Even so, he lent his keen intuition to the attempt unravel the mystery. Seymour tried his best to pick up on some clues about whoever (or whatever) had put the campsite here.

Looking closer, you see a few trace of an old camp. A rusted tent pole here, an old rope tied to a branch there... but it's old. Too old to match the fire you see here. Speaking of the fire, it's not very big. Just enough to cook, and help you dry off your pants, and with enough spare wood to last the night.

The pan seems kind of old too. Not broken or anything, but dented and a bit twisted. It's what you'd expect someone to discard once they can afford to buy a new one.

Overall, the place seems like a decent camping spot, if you ignore the mystery fire. And the purple flame that you've just noticed moving between two trees...

Jake began to grow a bit more relaxed as time passed without someone or something popping out of the darkness to fight them. Perhaps whatever set this up did not have malicious intent. Jake gingerly approached the fire and tried to get the pan off without burning himself so he could take a taste of the roasting chestnuts. Jake was too busy trying to get the food without burning himself to see the purple flame skirting around the edge of the darkness.
"Hey Seymour, maybe we should just appreciate this gift and chill here for the night."

"I'm not so sure that is a good idea..." he responded. "I can't be certain, but this campsite feels like it is an old abandoned site being repurposed to lure us in. Possibly by that." Seymour pointed out the purple flame to Jakey. He then directed his Pokedex toward it to see if anything would register.

Before Jake can look up, the faint light has already vanished from sight. Beyond the circle of light created by the campfire, you can only see darkness.

The chestnut taste pretty good, though.

Jake took a couple more chestnuts from the pan and munched on them as he approached Seymour,
"Oi, what did you see out there?"

Without missing a beat or waiting for a response, Jake trudged out into the darkness to where Seymour had seen the light, trying to activate the light on his own pokedex to get a better view.

"It was a purple light. Like a flame at the edge of the darkness..." Even as he replied to Jakey, Seymour was feeling increasingly uneasy about the darkness that was surrounding them. After a moment of thought, Seymour released two of his pokemon.

"Locke, I need you to shed some light on our surroundings. And Lotad, this area is swampy, so I need you to keep Locke dry and out of the water and mud." He picked up his Laconney and set him on Lotad's broad leaf. Locke's bright flames were already making him feel safer. "Keep your wits about you. I think there is something nearby." His words were both a warning to his pokemon, and a reminder to Jakey to stay safe. Meanwhile, Seymour searched his memory for any pokemon that might have a purple flame like he had seen and tried looking it up in his pokedex. He was usually pretty good with pokemon knowledge, but he wasn't even certain they were dealing with a pokemon here.

Despite his familiarity, Seymour is drawing a blank on pokémons. Could be the worry of being in a dark swamp, or just how tired he is from the day of biking and walking. Jake is reminded of something though... the glow sticks Cary gave them. He still has a couple of them too. Maybe that's what Seymour saw?

His line of thoughts is interrupted as his foot slips on an underwater root. Jake's ankle gets scratched, but not too badly.

"Whoa! You okay?" Seymour said, rushing forward to help when he heard Jakey's foot splash. "Lotad, bring Locke closer. We need some light."

Jake gave a soft yelp as his foot got scratched in the murky water. He probably did not urgently need medical assistance, but the sudden thought of needing and the light in the dark reminded him that he still had two of the military-grade glowsticks on him from Cary. He checked his pack to see if they were confiscated from him when they were sleeping at the military camp. If he still had one on hand, he would activate it and toss it into the darkness. Then he would bring out Lackey to provide a bit of light like Locke was doing.
"I'm Ok, just surprised! It is way to dark out here."

With Locke's light, Seymour can examine Jake's wound. It's not too bad, but it's bleeding a lot. Thankfully, your medical pouch has what you need to prevent infection, and staunch the wound.

While Seymour does that, Jake does his best to see under the waterline, to avoid a repeat incident. Unfortunately, a light on the surface just causes a lot of reflections, leaving what's under a mystery. All he can see are a few roots poking through the water...

Wait, did that white root move?

As he holds out Lackey to get a bit more light, Jake spots another moving white root... and another, and another...

A small head breaks the surface of the water, and Jake realize his blood has drawn a swarm of hungry pokémons...

Jake did his best to scramble out of the water cursing,
"Nuts, nuts, nuts!"

As he was trying to get to dry land, he sent a pokemon into the water to body anything that came close to sucking his blood. Skipper would do just fine, after all, it was a water type, so hopefully it would be able to resist the enemy's blows,
"Skipper! Keep them away from me as I get back to dry land! Tackle any that get too close to me!"

Jake didn't recall Lackey though, he needed it and Locke's light to watch his step as worked to get back to the camp fire. As he moved, he swore he would catch one of those sneaky fish!

Jake throws out his starter, only to see it land in a pool of mud the fish is churning about. As Skipper tries to figure out what's happening, a wave of mud washes over him... not that he cares, as he dives under the water to wash it off.

As these two square off, Lotad and Locke do their best to hold the others back. Alas, they're not too suited to fight such opponent. That's when you notice purple flames raining down on the fishes, burning them. That creates the opening Skipper needed, and he sends his opponent flying. Not missing a beat, Jake tosses a ball at it in mid-air, capturing the pale pokémon.

Once you've returned to the safety of the mound, you see another pokémon chasing off the remaining fishes, as it gather a dark energy from them.


As soon as the fishes have disappeared, the lamp (now with a stronger glow) slowly fades from sight.

Seymour was impressed by the wet and muddy battle Skipper had won, but he didn't feel they were really in a position to celebrate. Not with that floating lamp still out there somewhere.

"Okay, that was definitely a pokemon," Seymour said, referring to the strange floating lamp. "You saw it this time too, right?" He made sure Locke and Lotad were safe from any more of the fish, then began searching through his Pokedex for the lamp pokemon now that he had a better glimpse of it.

Unsurprisingly, there aren't that many lamp pokémons listed.

"Lampent, the lamp pokémon. This Pokémon appears just before someone passes away, so it's feared as an emissary of death. The spirits it absorbs fuel its baleful fire. It hangs around hospitals waiting for people to pass on."

Jake takes a moment to pose with the pokeball holding his new companion, but then retreats to the mound with the fire,
"Oh yeah, I definitely saw it this time. Looks like it is helping us out!"

It was not until the pokedex revealed that it appears right before someone passes away that Jake had second thoughts and face paled,
"Maybe it is just trying to keep us fresh so it helped us fight off the fish! I don't know... this is creepy. I just want to go back to a city, but it is too dark!"

To feel a bit more safe, Jake released all of his pokemon -- except the newly caught one -- and had them circle about him to make him feel more secure. He then scoured the forest line to see if the ghastly apparition reappeared to snatch his soul! If it does not reappear, Jake would try to keep the fire going and eat a bit of food while staying alert for the spooky pokemon's return.

Maybe it made a mistake, or maybe it feed well enough on the fishes you fought. Either way, you don't see the ghost again, and soon find yourselves drifting to sleep.



You wake up the next morning, the fire still just barely burning. Around you, the rising sun gives a golden hue to the mist.

Seymour had to admit, he was a bit disappointed that neither of them had gotten the chance to face off against the Lampent, but he also had to admit he was happy that everyone had woken up without their souls burned away. It made him wonder what had happened to the original owner of this tiny camp...

With a shudder, Seymour poked at the little flame with a stick as he roused himself awake.
"Well Falkner, we survived the night. How do you want to start the day today? Is your foot feeling better?" He looked around at the misty swamp surrounding them. It was beautiful, but eerie. He wondered if there were other ghost pokemon floating around out there.

Jake stretched as he rose, shaking off a nightmare from the night before. He smiled a bit as he looked around; while he didn't want to be in a swamp, it looked a lot better in morning than at night.
"My foot is feeling alright, thanks for patching it up."

It only took a moment of surveying the swamp for Jake to make a decision,
"I want to get the heck out of here! No more ghosts! I want a nice bed in a not haunted palace!"

You quickly gather your things, and return to the road, leaving the mysterious camp behind.

You're soon greeted by the smell of the ocean, as the road swings close to the southern coast. After last night, you can't help but slow your pace a bit to enjoy the weather.

As you start thinking about dinner, you notice a couple of buildings by the shore. There also seems to be buoys in the ocean, and a small fishing boat by shore.

Jake couldn't help but smile when he saw civilization again! Well, it was a sorry excuse for civilization, but it was better than being stuck camping in a creepy swamp again. His pace picks up as he heads towards the buildings by the shore, and he calls out happily to Seymour,
"We might not need to camp out again! Hopefully we can get a good meal and a safe place to rest without any ghosts!"

"Sounds like a plan! Maybe someone will even know who's camp we stayed at last night," Seymour said as he followed Jakey toward the shore. "I also wonder what pokemon we might find in the ocean. I'm sure your new fish might like to stretch it's fins, if it has regained consciousness..."

As you get close, you see a small loading dock on the side, as well as a sign saying 'Mantine Ranch'

The main door is wide open, and leads to a room with a desk. The walls are decorated by pictures of people who you guess are employees, some doing jumping tricks on a Mantine. You have little time to look at them though, as you hear someone shouting further inside. "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU CAN'T!? The pod's almost here!!! I can't wrangle them on my own! I NEED you!"

The voice pause as you take a glimpse through the back door. An over muscled man bald man with dark skin is talking on the phone, waving his arm toward the window showing the ocean, and clearly agitated. "I can't. They're on their wedding trip in Rivierstel. Even if they answered, they wouldn't get here in time. And Laurie's leg is still broken. You're the only one..." There's another pause, before the man slams his phone down. "Damn it!"

Jake strides in with a wave, looking rather filthy from mucking around in the swamp
"Hey man, you're just in look, two trainers just walked in your door looking for a place to crash tonight. I'll help out with whatever you need if we can crash somewhere around here tonight. Spend the last night in a swamp, so we are just as in need as you."

As a demonstration, Jake cracked Skipper out of its pokeball. Despite having an unevolved starter pokemon on display, Jake oozed with confidence (and a bit of mud). Jake didn't stop to think that the task could require swimming in said ocean, swimming being something Jake wasn't really that familiar with.

Seymour may not have been quite as eager to offer to help as Jakey, at least not without hearing the details, but he had to admit he was intrigued. "What kind of pod are you wrangling? Mantine? I have a Lotad and Farfetch'd that might be able to assist out in the water. I'm not a great swimmer myself though."

The man looks a bit surprised at your arrival, but he looks at you up and down with his steel-grey eyes. "Hmm... you look like you've spent a lot of time outside... maybe you could do..."

He leans against his desk. "I'm Bertram Armstrong, the owner of Mantine Ranch. The pod in question is a group of Magikarps that were spotted heading this way. This could be a great harvest, except..." He sighs as he points at a photo on the wall. On it, you see Bertram with two men and two women. "I wasn't expecting such a pod this month, so all my assistants are off. If you two're willing to help, I could make it work your while.

It's a tough job," he adds with a grin, "but it's also crazy fun!"

Jake nearly jumped with excitement,
"Crazy fun and a tough job is exactly what I am best at! I cleared a mountain of Duder's for a biking company a couple of days ago! I was so sweaty and sore by the end of it, but it was 100% worth it!"

Jake then figured it was a good time to formally introduce himself,
"I'm Faulkner, one of the trainers from Kanto here for the tournament and I have been loving Cadien so far! Everyone here is really friendly, except one spooky masked dude, but that's about it."

When he heard it was a pod of Magikarps, it bolstered his mood even more, but led to a question,
"How can a bunch of Karpers be hard work? All they do is flop around, everyone knows that they are hardly even proper pokemon!"

"We're talking food production here, kid. They don't need to be strong to be edible. The hard part is herding enough of them in the net to be worth the effort." He grabs a piece of paper, and starts drawing. "Some company like to use large area moves to knock-em out wholesale, but I prefer live capture."

"The way we work is we have two Mantine surfers ride up the sides of the pod, spooking the fishes toward the nets. On a decent sized pod, it's enough to fill the cargo hold."

Jake seemed impressed, this man had dedication, a man who wouldn't take the easy way out, capturing them live instead of going for a KO. That was hardcore, something Jake could relate too (even though more often than not, Jake DID end up taking the easy way out). There was still more than one concern,
"Woah, that is awesome. I'd love to try it. Is the pod going to be here like almost now, or do we got some time to practice a bit. And if I fall in, will the Mantines help get me safe? I'm not the best swimmer. If not, I got a Mudkip and a Barboach that could probably help keep me afloat."

He then turned to Seymour,
"Are you game? This could be just the thing to rinse off all those nasty marshy memories!"

Already the memory of the spooky ghost pokemon was fading from Jake's mind as he mentally prepared for a proper physical challenge.

Seymour considered the potential dangers, but ultimately realized he wouldn't forgive himself if he passed up this once in a lifetime opportunity. "I am willing to give it a try. Can't promise we will get great results, but we'll try." Seymour still wasn't sure why anyone would even want to eat a Magikarp though, since he had heard they were all scales and bones. But that was none of his concern. It was probably just an urban legend anyway.

Bertram grins. "Glad t'a hear it! The pod will get here tomorrow afternoon. It's a bit short, but it should be enough to get you used to the Mantines." He pauses, as if remembering something. "Oh, I hope I have suits your size..."

Luckily, he does. You're soon fitted in a thick wet suit, and experiencing the cold water. "Don't worry, your body will soon warm the water that slip inside, and help insulate you. We're close to the lower limit of what those suits can deal with, but since you'll stay close to the surface, you won't have issues. Now, let me present you your partners, Nimbus and Sirius." Moments after, two Mantine jumps out of the water, soaring over you head for a moment, before diving and returning close to you.

"Whoa!" Seymour exclaimed in fascination as the Mantine soared above him as he tread water. He began doggy paddling toward Nimbus and rubbed its head when he reached the pokemon. He could already tell this was going to be a great experience, even if it was also likely to be difficult. Back in Lilycove City he had spent a lot of time on the beach, but usually no more than knee deep. Certainly not out in the open sea! Lotad wasn't a strong enough swimmer to support him for very long, and Seymour was not a strong swimmer on his own either.

But that reminded him, so long as he was going to be training to handle the sea, it would be good for some of his pokemon to get some practice as well. He let Lotad and Farrah out so they could bob among the waves. He then released Glumpy atop Lotad's rain dish. To Bertram he explained, "I'm not sure how this usually goes, but hopefully it's alright if my pokemon get a bit of training in too. I figured my Farfetch'd could help watch things from the sky, and Lotad and Glumpy can scoot around to dissuade other water pokemon from interfering. Or at the very least, today they can get some experience dealing with ocean waves in case any emergencies arise tomorrow." Seymour did love to planning ahead and being prepared!

Jake was obviously impressed with the Mantines soaring, incredulous even,
"Woah, it is a water pokemon that positively FLIES, so cool!"

Jake did not mind the cold as much as he minded the water, even through the suit he was visibly uncomfortable. That was not enough to dissuade him from trying his best to paddle forward. He noted how Seymour navigated the water and did his best to mimic it. In time, he made it safely to Sirius,
"I guess I get to surf on Serious!"

Then he continued to mimic Seymour by releasing most of his pokemon -- with the exception of Duder and his newest catch. He hadn't healed up 'Roach', so for the first outing he kept it in its pokeball; as for Duder... Jake saw how much the pokemon had struggled in just a puddle, so he didn't want to scare the poor thing to death.

Skipper and Lackey immediately headed to the shallows to play in the less dangerous (and more exquisitely muddy) area while Fetcher did some aereal maneuvers with Farrah.

Bertram chuckles. "They need a bit of a run-up, but when they catch a good wave they get some real air! You should probably avoid too fancy a move, just let'm glide you over the water. But first..." He pulls out two large red disks, with a white band across it.

A quick whistle draws the ray's attention, and they float near Bertram so he can place the disks on them. With a glow similar to that of pokéballs, the disks turn into a harness surrounding the Mantines, holding a riding platform with a pair of handles on their back. "There. Mantine surfing gear, straight from Alola. Now, let's get see how well you manage."

It takes a bit of getting used to, but the Mantines are quite friendly, responding well to your commands. Seymour is a bit shaky, but as long as he sticks to straight-forward maneuvers, there shouldn't be any problems. Jake however, revels at the fish's speed, even daring to make a few jumps over the waves and letting Sirious glide over the sea.

Time passes fast, and before you realize it, you're skimming the sea under the light of Bertram's boat. "Seems you've got it down! I think it's enough for the day, let's go back in for some grub!" He shows you how to remove the harness, and hands you a few berries to feed the Mantines and your pokémons while he prepares your meal.

While Jake was impressed and excited by the surfing, one thing caught his ear and drew some light suspicion. Not suspicion enough to call things up, more a point of curiosity than anything else. Between the walking, biking, and now surfing, Jake was again pretty worn out, so he didn't ask what was on his mind until they were eating their food (which Jake ravenously consumed, as usual),
"Wow, Mr. Bertram, that was a blast, I am looking forward to messing with those Karpers tomorrow. I'm sure we will get them all!"

Between the bites, he decided to ask the question... though indirectly,
"Hey, how did you get by before you had those harnesses?"

Jake wanted to ask how the man had gotten his hands on Alolan harnesses when Cadien was still pretty isolated, but he wasn't sure how closely Seymour's pokedex was being monitored by the government... in case Bertram was involved in smuggling.

Your host chuckles. "You mean back in my grand-pa's days? Back then, they'd ride the Mantine bareback. A lot more dangerous then. More than a few helpers ended up downing, even though they had a lot more training..." His gaze lingers on some of the older photos on the walls, probably as a trip down memory lane.

"That changed back in my pa's days. A navy ship took a trip in the Alola region, and were pretty impressed with the harness they used. Well, the storage at least. Seems the local egg-heads never thought to use pokéball tech to store gear. So the captain bought a ton of them for research. Some trickled down to civies like my pa, and I learned to ride with them.

Now-a-days, they make those harness locally, but I still think the original Alolan ones are the best. They ain't easy to get, but every one in a while a trader will grab some and bring em in. They're pricey, but that's quality for you."

Once supper is finished, Bertram shows you a small two-bed bedroom you can sleep in. You're left with the evening free to relax.

Seymour enjoyed the supper and light conversation. Even the history of the Mantine riding gear was interesting. He was tired from the day, but also excited for the next one.

After they were showed their room, Seymour let Jakey and their host know he was going to go sit on the shore for a while. He wanted to relax, watch the sunset, and maybe even see if there were any interesting pokemon along the shore. He also brought his Shroomish and Lotad along with to see if they had managed to improve their "surfing" skills at all. He hoped that Glumpy would be able to keep balance on the waves, and that Lotad would be able to compensate well for Glumpy's weight wile performing maneuvers in the water. Much like how he had learned to ride Nimbus today.

---

Seymour is relaxing on the shore, testing Lotad and Glumpy's progress, and keeping an eye out for any interesting coastal pokemon.

It seems the two managed to imitate you well enough. They won't be able to keep up with the Mantine or the ship on their own, but you think they'll be confident enough to jump in to help if needed.

As you walk around the fishery, you spot Bertram heading for what looks like another docking bay, though closed off from the ocean. "Hey there, kiddos. You doing well?" Looking closer, you see about half-a-dozen Mantine gather at attention. "You did well, you two. And how are these two doing?"

He lays on the floor, dipping both hand into the water. Pulling back out, you see he's holding a two-tone, light blue egg. "Looks like you're coming along nicely... if we're lucky, you could even hatch tomorrow..."

Jake accompanied Seymour down to the beach, but spent his time letting Roach out with Skipper and had them bond while he let Roach recover from Skipper's tackle the day before,
"See, you two can be friends. You both like shallow water!"

It was a rather simplistic take, but he didn't anticipate them to feel much animus towards each other in the first place. Jake was also eager to see the egg,
"I'm feeling good after getting filled up and on dry land. Looking forward to some wild times tomorrow though. Is that a mantine egg? Super cool! How often do you get those? I hope we can watch it hatch, I've never seen a pokemon hatch from an egg before!"

"I haven't seen a pokemon egg hatch before either," Seymour added as he leaned in to get a good look of his own. "At least not in person. I've seen a few in documentaries on television. But if you will allow it, Bertram, I would love to see a baby Mantine hatch when the time comes! Or whatever it is that is in that egg."

"He, you could get the chance. Every once in a while, one of them girls will bring me an egg." He carefully replace the egg, next to another, nearly identical. "That where the succession of our team comes from. Though we normally get more eggs than we need, so we often end up giving them to traveling trainer or the occasional hired hands."

He gives the two of you a knowing look. "What da ya say? Like to train up a Mantine of your own?"

Seymour's face took on a happy shocked expression as he looked from Bertram to Jakey, and then back to Bertram again. "Are you serious? Because I think it would be AMAZING to raise a pokemon from birth! And Mantines are so cool too!" Seymour knew it was a huge responsibility, but felt he was up to the task.

Jake gave Seymour a thumbs up indicating that if anyone gets a pokemon egg, it should be someone who knows more about what they are doing,
"Yeah! Seymour would be a great trainer for a newly hatched pokemon. I can learn more about little pokemon by watching too! I have my own Roach to train up in the mean time."

"Well, you've got a reason to do your best tomorrow!" Bertram says with a smile, before you all head to sleep.

You spend the next morning training a bit more, this time on signals so Bertram can guide you from the ship. You also take a moment to heal up Roach, in case you need her help.

Finally, you head further out to sea, following Bertram's boat. The pod of Magikarp is... intimidating, the say the least. Seeing around a hundred red fishes moving in a massive swarm is almost terrifying, even with pokémons as weak as a Magikarp. Still, following Bertram's signals, you take your positions and circle the pod, pushing them toward the nets. Most of the swarm swims under them, and the net's links are wide enough that the smaller fishes can swim through, but there's so many that by the time the pod has passed the ship, both nets are filled.

"Bring them around for another pass," says Bertram. "I'll empty the nets and turn the boat around while you do!" You follow his instructions, and start to turn the pod...

But something's wrong. It seems something else is pushing the pod in another direction. Then the pod splits, as another pokémon jumps into the air...

Seymour's jaw dropped as the Gyarados emerged, leaping into the air. He nearly lost his footing as his mind struggled to retain function. He was glad he was wearing a wetsuit, because he may or may not have wet his suit a little at the sight.

"Um, um, uh..." Seymour's brain struggled to regain traction. In hindsight the trainer knew he should have considered the possibility of encountering a Gyarados today. After all, Magikarp evolve into them. Thankfully Seymour's mind started to process the situation after only a couple seconds, even though they felt like hours.

"Um, uh, Farrah!" He threw his Farfetch'd's pokeball skyward to release her into the air. "Leer at the Gyarados and lead it away from us while we finish things up here. Stay evasive and as far away as you can manage while keeping its attention. Faulkner! Think Fetcher could help too? Maybe they can help keep the heat off of eachother."

Seymour was already steering Nimbus around, trying to get to an inconspicuous location without completely abandoning his herding duties. If the Farfetch'd failed to lead it way safely, his only real backup plan was to have Glumpy try and paralyze it before it could eat everyone...

Jake's also jaw dropped as the Gyarados emerged. It was hard not to be shocked by the emergence of such a large, powerful and famous pokemon. Even Jake knew that the worthless Karper grey into a mighty and fierce Gyarados. Jake even knew the right name for it. He wouldn't argue with Seymour's plan. It was as good as anything Jake could think of at the moment,
"Yeah! Fetcher go get it, after Farrah uses Leer, use Thief to try to take something, anything from it, then fly away!"

As he gave his instruction, he unleashed Fetcher to do his bidding. He wasn't sure if the Gyarados had anything in its possession, but even if not, he hoped the Gyarados would be distracted and unable to catch up with the other flying pokemon. After the quick bit of instruction, Jake returned his attention to making sure the pod could be salvaged and shouted at Bertram,
"Hey, you got any aces up your sleeve?!"

Your two birds take flight, but hesitate in front of such a terrifying foe. It leers at Fetcher, until Farrah distracts it with her own Leer. Using the distraction, Fetcher darts in under the wyrm's head, and comes back out holding a pink berry.

Bertram is too far to hear Jake over the noise of the engine, but he can't miss the the sudden battle taking place. He stops his ship and waves at you to come closer.

"Yeah!" Seymour exclaimed as he saw Fetcher perform his darring feat. He silently willed both Farfetch'd to keep up the great work, but refrained from yelling anything more, seeing as it would work against their goal of drawing the huge pokemon away. He had to trust in Farrah to keep following her original orders on her own and use her own judgement.

When Bertram signaled for them to come closer, Seymour did as directed. Although he still did his best to keep the Magikarp on course as he moved.

Jake kept in formation with Seymour as they approached the boat. He glanced over his shoulder to see how the 'battle' was going. He also didn't adjust his orders the whole 'steal and run away' was his whole strategy... and one he was not unfamiliar with. A part of him wished that he was free to surf around the Gyrados and race it! Of course, the reasonable part of Jake won out.

Farrah and Fetcher do their best to avoid the wyrm's attack, diving at the edge of the surf and kicking it into the Gyarados' eyes to ruin it's aim, but it's little help when he unleashes draconic energy at the birds. First as a direct blast, then as a whirlwind.

As you draw near the boat, Bertram sends out a pokémon of his own, that floats pass you to join the fight.

As Seymour bobbed between the waves, the concern he had for the two Farfetch'd was plain on his face. They were getting roughed up quite a bit. But when Bertram sent a third pokemon into the fight, Seymour's hope was raised. His concern was not lessened, but he knew Bertam's experience would be invaluable. He tried using his pokedex to get a bit of information on the new flying squirrel combatant so he could try and formulate new strategies if they became necessary.

After getting near the boat and seeing Bertram send out a pokemon of his own, Jake modified his instructions with a shout,
"Alright Fetcher, now overwhelm it with cut!"

Jake figured the pokemon might focus down the pokemon one at a time if only a single one was attacking, so the best way to support Bertram's pokemon might be to attack along side it. Jake would then focus again on getting the nets full of magikarps, but if they finish that, he would surf over to get a closer look at the battle.

"Emolga, the Sky Squirrel pokémon.
They store up electricity to fly through the air. When thunder cracks at night, sometimes there are almost enough of them to blot out the sky. As it flies, it scatters electricity around, so bird Pokémon keep their distance. That's why Emolga can keep all its food to itself."

Bertram shakes his head. "Sorry kids, I messed up. I should have expected that this would be a feeding pod. They don't usually divert from their path so wildly otherwise. But I would never have expected a Gyarados that big!" He stands up straight as his companion glides over the waves. "Don't worry, Arcus will give that overgrown snake what's comming to him! Don't worry about the Magikarp for now, pushing back that critter is top priority!"

Fetcher barely hears Jake's command due to the distance, but still turns to attack after dodging the Gyarados' gaping maw. Farrah continues her distraction attempts, just as Arcus reaches the fray. It zaps your foe with an impressive Thunderbolt, forcing the fish to dive under.

Bertram frowns, and says "that seems... too easy..."

Jake shouted back to Bertram,
"No worries old man, we still have the Karpers and no one got hurt yet! We are still on track! Plus, this is more exciting. "

Despite the voiced optimism, Jake was a bit concerned the Gyarados would attack from below, so he sent out Roach, who was only moderately quicker than Skipper,
"Alright Roach, I need you to go underwater, and see if the Gyarados is coming at us. If he is, try to lure it to the surface where we can hit it again! Make sure it doesn't go for the boat!"

Jake hadn't spent much time with Roach, so he didn't know if the new pokemon was up to the bold task of seeking out and luring a much larger, stronger pokemon, but it at least was AN idea. Jake then shouted up to Fetcher,
"Get ready to dive-bomb it with a devastating cut from above the second it emerges!"

"You too!" Seymour shouted to the vortex-battered Farrah, echoing Jakey's command. If the Gyarados decided to return, he figured it would be with a vengeance. Which is why he also let his Lotad and Shroomish out of their pokeballs.

To Glumpy, he instructed, "We have a big Gyarados out here somewhere. If it shows its face again, try and stun it Glumpy. I'm counting on you!"

Even though the adrenaline of the current battle still coursed through his veins, there was a chance the Gyarados wasn't coming back. And even if it did, there were now a lot of pokemon ready to face its challenge head on. Seymour steered Nimbus back around to see if there was anything to be done about their school of Magikarp, or if it would need to be re-wrangled at this point.

Looking at the Magikarps, you see they are... gone. Well, not completely. You can see a few red shapes near the surface some distance away. But it's clear most of the pod is missing.

As you look around you, Roach breaches the surface, looking panicked. At the same time, Lotad quickly moves closer to Seymour. The reason becomes clear when the Gyarados jumps out of the water, aiming right at Farrah, it's maw surrounded by a cold mist. Surprised by the jump, she's hit by the bite. Rather than be torn in two by the fearsome jaws, instead she is trapped in a block of ice.

Fetcher moves to counter attack... only to find a wall of Magikarps in his way! The massive pod is still following your opponent, even as it jumps in the air, and you find yourselves in an inverted rain of fishes. Glumpy panics at that, releasing a cloud of spore, only for it to be scattered by the splashing fishes.

The Gyarados clamps down on the ice cube in it's maw, shattering it and freeing Farrah. After a moment to recover her wits, she zooms between the Magikarps to land another blow on the wyrm. Thought it seems to shrug it off, it gives enough distraction for Arcus to release another powerful Thunderbolt. With nowhere to ground itself other than the Gyarados, it briefly glows at it's entire body is filled with electricity.

That was all it took it seems, as it falls back into the water, as the other fishes fall all around you...

Jake was overwhelmed by the chaos caused by the Gyarados emerging followed by all the Magikarps. He lost track of the action while trying to stay afloat as the Magikarps rained down from the sky. Thankfully, Sirius was well-trained so navigating through the rain of fish was not impossible. Apart from survive, his only meaningful contribution was to bring the frightened Roach back into its pokeball.

Once the Gyarados began to fall into the water from the epic Thunderbolt, Jake was able to assess the situation, he called Fetcher down to see if it needed any healing and cheered on his companions,
"Whoa, that was INSANE. I can't believe we managed to take down a Gyardos! Should we finish up bringing the Karpers in, or are we done for the day?"

Bertram shakes his head. "We won't be chasing anymore fish today. With their feeder gone, they won't show up for a while. Plus..." He points at his nets and the deck of his boat.

Not all the Magikarp fell back in the water. A lot of them are now flopping about on the deck. And even raised, the nets caught a bunch more both on their way up and down. "I need a hand sorting through this bunch! Come onboard, we need to sort the small fry from the meaty catches."

Seymour guided Nimbus back toward the boat so that he could help Bertram sort the Magikarp. On the way, he returned his Lotad and Shroomish to their pokeballs. "Great job you two. You did great. And Farrah!" He called his bird pokemon over and extended an arm so she could land. "You were downright marvelous! You certainly got your feathers ruffled today. And frozen! But you pulled through like an ace. I'm really proud of you." He gave Farrah a good long scratch under her chin, then returned her to her pokeball as well. "You deserve a good long rest."

When he reached the boat, Seymour climbed aboard and followed whatever instructions Bertram gave them. Even with Bertram's guidance, the trainer managed to get swatted in the face by flopping Magikarp more than once. "If there are any that are too small to keep, but big enough to train, I wouldn't mind tossing a pokeball at it," Seymour said. He knew that he probably wouldn't be winning any battles with a Magikarp, but there was more to training than just battles. Such as friendship, exploration, and cooperation. Seymour kind of liked the idea of having a Magikarp friend. Although he would feel a bit guilty about the rest of the Magikarp's school. But then again, the food chain was just a part of life.

Jake celebrated being mostly done with the work by trying something foolish. He spurred Sirius  away from the boat to get some distance, then surfed at high speeds right at the boat before pulling up and trying to get Sirius to fly over the boat with him on its back, then, when over the boat, Jake tried to dismount and land in one piece on the boat. If he was able to accomplish this, he would be awfully proud of himself.  If not, well, Seymour may need to find a Human Center to heal Jake up.

Assuming Jake is not horribly crippled, he'd offer to feed his Fetcher the berry is heroically stole from the Gyardos and give it some positive attention,
"Great whacking with your stick out there Fetcher! We showed that overgrown fish who is boss alright! You're the boss!"

He kept Fetcher out to continue soaring around the boat as it saw fit. While Fetcher did its thing, Jake helped out the best he could sorting out the big fish from the little. He laughed at Seymour's want for a Magikarp though,
"Its a miracle that Gyardos even exists, these fish are so wimpy I can't believe any of them could evolve like that. Then again, even if you don't use it, you can still send it back to your family, right?"

"Right," Seymour agreed. "Perhaps it will even be able to take on the role of welcoming other pokemon I may catch, and help them get settled in!" It was an extremely optimistic view, but not an impossible one. But it was irrelevant unless he actually caught a Magikarp (or two).

---

Seymour will catch up to two Magikarp, if they are available. That way they won't be lonely if they are the only fish in their pond for a while.

Jake makes an impressive jump unto the boat's deck, and lands perfectly... on a slippery Magikarp. Swinging his arms wildly, he desperately tries to keep his balance, as he slides across the wood, right toward the cargo opening. At the last moment, Jake manages to grab a dangling part of the net, sparring him an undignified dive into the fish-filled hold.

Bertram laughs out loud at the display. "Great moves kid, but maybe you should use your arms to throw them in the hold instead?" he says between bouts of laughter. "If you want some, be my guest! We got enough here to make my day. And seeing how big that Gyarados was, I'd wager these Magikarps have some great potential!"

Compared to what you've done those last few days, sorting and pushing Magikarps about is a pretty easy job. You're done not long after noon, and Bertram makes sure to give you a filling meal.

After you're done, the fisherman gives you an impressive stack of Pokédollars, before guiding you to his Mantine pool. "As promissed, you two have well earned these. Go ahead, those eggs are yours."

OOC: Okay, this may be a bit long.

First off Jake, the berry is a Persim Berry. If you give it to a pokémon (his 'held item') or throw it at them during a fight, it will automatically cure Confusion.

Second, I've sent the stats for both Magikarps. Bertram wasn't kidding about their potential, all their stats are higher than that of a normal Magikarp.

Third, you can both have a Mantyke egg. Bertram has more than enough eggs for his needs.

And now, the level ups!
Your pay increases your Pokédollar to Below Average.
You've both earned 20 Favors
Seymour's Agility increases to Low
Jake's Toughness increases to Exceptional

For Seymour's Pokémons:
Lotad's Defense increases to Below Average
Glumpy's Attack increases to Below Average
Laconney can learn one of these abilities:
         Winter's Kiss (Ice moves have -2 Pow against the Pokémon, and getting hit by one heals one wound)
         Dazzle (User's Fire type moves gives -1 Acc on a critical hit)
Farrah's Def and SpD both increase to Above Average
Doom's Speed increases to Average
Basher's Att increases to Exceptional

For Jake's Pokémons:
Skipper's Att increases to Exceptional
Fetcher's Speed increases to Above Average, and can choose one of these abilities:
    Keen Eye (Acc cannot be reduced, and ignore opponent's Evasion increase)
    Defiant (When user's stats are reduced by something other than his own moves, his Att is increased by 2)
Lackey's SpD increases to Above Average
Duder learns
Smack Down    Rock      P   Average   0   Target looses resistance to Ground and Groundsource moves
Roach's HP increases to Average

Ouf, that was a lot of writing.

With a delicious meal in his belly, two new Magikarp on his team, and a Mantyke egg in his hands, Seymour was currently on top of the world. What an exciting day! It had been an experience he would be telling to his grandkids one day, of that he was sure. Although his entire body was now beginning to ache from all of the exercise.

"Do these eggs come with any instructions?" Seymour asked Bretram as he held the egg tenderly. He was afraid he might drop the precious thing. "Do they need to stay wet?"

---

I believe my sheets should all be up to date. That was a lot of record keeping. But in a good way!

It did not take Jake long to recover from the embarrassing spill, after all, his landing would have been perfect if not for the dumb Magikarp that found its way under his feet. After all the work and good food, Jake's eyes widened when he was handed a fat stack of cash. His mind raced with irresponsible ways of spending it, but that would have to wait until they got to a place where he could spend.

The egg was also something Jake was impressed by. He managed to suppress a laugh as he pondered any match against Seymour would be a mirror match with three of their pokemon being the same. Jake piped up in a lower pitched voice, as if he were talking in an 'underwater voice,'
"Oh wow, yeah, I can keep it wet if need be! I already have two water pokemon. I am practically a water trainer now."

Jake then proceeded to give a thumbs up to both Seymour and Bertram after delicately placing the egg in his backpack. He then proceeded to do a couple squats and continued in his normal voice,
"Wow, so what now. How far is it to the next town from here? I don't want to get stuck camping out at night again if I can avoid it."

"Actually..." Bertram checks his watch. "It be a bit tight, but you should be able to reach it..." He pauses as both of your eggs begin to shake, and cracks appears on their surface. "Welp, looks like you're in luck!"

Jake's egg breaks apart first, releasing a Mantyke in his hands, looking up at him with a smile. Seymour's egg shakes a bit more, only to stop, long enough for him to wonder if it's actually hatching. But just as he's about to say something, it burst to pieces. But Seymour doesn't see his new pokémon. In fact, he can't see anything...

As amazed as Jake was with his new pokemon hatching in his hands, he could not help but laugh in Seymour's direction,
"Woah, your Tyke is sure attached to you, it... its on your face! Looks like you will be best friends!"

Jake managed to control his laughter and asked Bertram a question,
"Do pokemon usually hatch when they find a good partner, or are we just super lucky?"

As Jake talked he licked his hand and pet the water pokemon with the moistened skin.

"Uh! Eh! Pleh!" Seymour struggled to pull the Mantyke off his face without being too rough with the tender hatchling. "What a naughty little Mantyke!" he scolded playfully once his face was free enough to speak properly. He already loved his new little companion. "I think you might be right," he replied to Jakey.

He would have liked to pet his Mantyke too, like Jakey. But instead he struggled to merely hold on to the wiggly, slippery, newborn fishy that just seemed to refuse to sit still. He would definitely have to come up with a good name for the naughty little 'tyke.

"And do you know where a handy public PC is for pokemon transfers, Bertram?" Seymour added to Jakey's question. "I am going to need to store one of my current 'mons if I am going to care for this little guy. Because he is definitely going to need a pokeball."

"Lucky seems like a good term for you, kids!" At Seymour's request, he pauses. "Maybe... let me check. I wonder if it still works..."

He returns to his office, but heads to a computer covered in a plastic sheet. As he pulls it, you notice space to hold two pokéballs on the side. After a painfully slow booting time, the screen shows a stylized pokéball, above options to transfer, retrieve, or trade. "You really are lucky!" Bertram takes a moment to wipe away some old cobwebs. "I haven't used that since I was a kid. My pa used to rent the boat to trainers who wanted high-seas pokémons. Happened often enough that he got this installed.

Course, the army put an end to that. Didn't want civilians straying too far south during the Kanto war."

Jake seemed impressed by the old machine. He hadn't needed to store pokemon yet, but it was good to see someone use the machine. Still he was not sure exactly how it worked,
"So is it like a pokeball teleporter? When you store pokemon, does it get teleported into a warehouse?"

For the most part, he stayed relatively quiet while watching Seymour operate the mysterious machine.

"I'll show you the ins and outs," Seymour replied to Jakey. Despite his confidence, Seymour did not have a lot of experience with these machines. And certainly not such an old model. Still, this was much closer to his comfort zone than riding pokemon out on the open ocean. And he seemed to have handled that challenge just fine.

It took him a bit to figure it out, especially with a wiggly Mantyke in one arm, but it wasn't long before he figured out how to do what I want to do. "Alright, so, I am going to store two of my pokemon in this computer. They will be essentially turned into raw data in a global system that can be accessed by any computer like this one. Then, hopefully, my family back in Hoenn can retrieve their data with my permission and turn them back into physical pokeballs to release my pokemon on their land until I retrieve them again." He looked to Bertram. "At least that's how I always understood it. Did I mess any of that up?"

Regardless of what answer Bertram might give, Seymour had one last thing to do before sending his pokemon away. He released Lotad and Roggenrola in front of him to explain his plan. He explained to them how he was sending them both to his family's land in Hoenn so that they could prepare the area for future pokemon he might catch. He wanted Lotad to show Roggenrola and the two Magikarp around the area, land and water, so that they knew all of the ins and outs of the space. Lotad was his only pokemon who had been there before, which is why that task was being given to him. Roggenrola would then be a sort of host for other land-based pokemon who show up, and his Magikarp could be the water-based hosts. He would retrieve Lotad again after a day or two once Basher, Magnus, and Marigold felt comfortable in their new environment.

After his pokemon knew his wishes, he returned them to their balls and beamed them into the computer. He crossed his fingers as the old machine whirred, praying that there were no fatal glitches in its system. If all went well, he then offered a pokeball to his new Mantyke friend, Turbo.

"Not sure where they go. Never been big on that electronic stuff. I'm more into mechanic."

Despite the slow speed (and a scary screeching noise as it connects), there's no issues with the transfer. You do, however, get a message on your Pokédex, warning you that there may be a delay in transferring pokémons outside the region. You see no explanation why that may be the case, but assume it may be liked to the border still being closed.

With everything settled, you wave goodbye to Bertram, and head back toward Windzall.

OCC: That you will reach in the thread Windzal.
This message was last edited by the GM at 19:33, Sun 14 June 2020.