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The ripples across the water weren’t caused by the wind, as it turned out. Fane squinted at the surface of the lake, trying to see past the glint from the sunlight. Something skimming across the water...something small… on pointed legs…

“Is that a pokemon?” Fane said to Ceridwen, nodding towards the darting figure. The grimer held up a dripping hand to shield her eyes from the sunlight.

The motion stopped abruptly, the last ripples lapping gently at the shore. Suddenly, whatever it was darted forward, skimming across the flat water as easily as an ice skater would in an ice rink. A tiny wake formed behind the figure as it rushed towards them, and a few seconds later Fane could indeed confirm that it was a pokemon, a spidery looking blue one.

<If I’m not mistaken,> The grimer started, <I’ve seen a pokemon like that before in Hoenn.> Fane retrieved her pokedex from her bag to confirm. She was just about to scan it- the bug was just barely in range- when it let out a loud screech that nearly made her drop the device. She looked up sharply to see the pokemon’s beady black eyes narrowed in fury.

<You DARE intrude on my performance! I will rend your flesh from your bones!> Fane’s stomach twisted as her eyes widened. Did that pokemon just threaten to murder her? Over- what was that- a performance? The breeder looked to Ceridwen, but she only seemed puzzled- probably because she didn’t have bones to speak of. Instead, the grimer crossed her arms, suitably unimpressed by the wild pokemon’s threats.

Fane backpedaled away from the shore as the bug pokemon skimmed by, spitting bubbles at the duo before skimming away again with the graceful movements of a dancer.

Wait- the egg! It was too heavy to scoop up and out of the way, but it was right in the line of fire! Without thinking Fane fell to her knees in front of the egg, pulling it close to her body. She threw one arm up and squeezed her eyes shut to protect her face; the bubbles stung as they burst around her. “Ceri, you okay?” She called as they subsided, sitting upright.

<Fine, for the most part!> The grimer replied. <Oh, Fane, quick- he’s coming back!>

Sure enough, the Surskit was skating back towards them on long, delicate yet powerful strides that Fane might have admired had he not been dead-set on attacking them. This time, he let loose a frenzied laugh. <Hahaha! There’s plenty more where that came from, dearies- don’t think you can escape me!>

“Shit shit shit, okay, um…” Her heart was hammering in her chest as she trained the pokedex on Ceridwen this time. A list of moves appeared on the screen. Was this what being a trainer was all about? She only knew the very basics, she hadn’t anticipated getting into a full-fledged battle so soon! “Okay, um, try to use harden!” She called, glancing up from the screen to see if it worked. The grimer narrowed her eyes in concentration. The sludge that puddled around her pulled closer to her body, denser, forming a more protective surface. Fane might have cheered had she not spotted the bug pokemon darting towards Ceridwen out of the corner of her eye. “Quick, poison gas!”

A dark purple cloud rose from the poison pokemon’s mouth. <Ack!> Cried the Surskit, halfway through his lunge at the grimer. It was too late to change direction, and though he hit his mark with a satisfying thud, he also inhaled a lungful of the gas. Sputtering, he darted away across the water again, just narrowly missing a pound from the grimer’s fist.

“Use poison gas again- try to keep him from coming back towards us.” Another wave of purple spilled forth, this time across the water. Fane covered her nose with the collar of her jacket, trying not to inhale the fumes. For a long moment, there was silence.

“Do you think we got him?” Her voice was muffled by the jacket.

<Well, he’s definitely poisoned, I made sure of that.> Her eyes warily searched through the thick purple fog. Though it couldn’t technically poison the Surskit again, the gas did a decent job of hiding them from view.