Welcome to Gaia! ::

"Hey Thard!" Dante said as he grabbed onto Drifloon and drifted off towards Maddy and Dark at an amazing speed (amazing as far as drifting is concerned...).

Maddy looked back at her fellow teammates. There wasn't that many of them right now, so she could only hope that this wasn't too big of an issue. The sun was steadily setting, disappearing below the horizon and being absorbed by the dark depths of the ocean.

I pull up level with Maddy and Star. "Hey Maddy," I call out, "we're getting close to the city. Should we stop at the Pokemon Center first and get some info? Or just go straight to the harbor?"

Dark lands nearby and recalls his Pokemon. He then points at Maddy.
"I suspect it's someone like you."
He means demon. He wanders over to the more-than-suspicious waters.
".... I want this one."
He states, talking about the demon.

Drifloon gently floated down, and Dante landed near the rest of the team on the harbor.

"Do we have any way of testing what exactly is in the water?" Dante asked, "It might help narrow down some possibilities."

He stood and thought for a moment.

"It might also be possible that a Tentacruel could survive in the water and give us an idea of what it going on underneath the water."

Larvitar nods as he whips out a few of Ginji's Pokeballs and gets to cleaning up the streets.

"Metag-- oh," Reaching for my belt, I grasp for a pokeball that isn't there. "Isn't this lovely? I left in such a rush I didn't set up my team properly. Hm... only four to work with. In that case, it's you two!" Tossing out a pair of balls, Xatu and Lickitung appear, ready to face down a Muk and a Tentacruel.

Tentacruel acts quickly, erecting a Barrier around itself. Xatu hammers Muk with Psychic, and the gooey mass retalliates with Poison Jab. Lickitung, taking her cue from my bird, smashes into Muk with Return. Ignored and free to act, the jellyfish pokemon shoots a Water Pulse at my long-tongued partner. Another Psychic barrage leaves Muk in bad shape, but it still manages to hit back with a Thunderpunch. A second strike from Lickitung's Return is enough to KO Muk.

Xatu is weary after the sludge pokemon's powerful attacks, and exposed to the full might of Tentacruel's Water Pulse. She goes down for the count, leaving Lickitung to fight alone. My second Pokemon tries to remove Barrier's effects with Screech, but to no avail. Clear Body blocks the attempt. Luckily, her Own Tempo ability prevents the water-type's Supersonic. Getting down to business, she lunges at the jellyfish with Zen Headbutt. The strong attack leaves a mark, but there's still plenty of fight left in the foe.

With a massive heave, Tentacruel spews a potent Sludge Bomb at Lickitung. It causes significant damage, and poisons my pokemon. Ever the trooper, Lickitung hits back with another Return. This time she scores a critical hit, piercing the foe's defenses! Tentacruel reels back from the hit and seems to struggling to stay on its tendrils. However, it has enough strength left for one more Water Pulse, knocking Lickitung out as well.

"Hm, not good," I mutter, "Okay Shuppet. Get in there. Try not to do anything you'll regret."
[Ha-hah! I knew you couldn't resist my cha-] Shuppet sees the giant jellyfish and stops short.
"I hope this works! Ultra Ball, go!" Before either pokemon can get off an attack, I hurl the device to capture the aquatic foe. It bounces off its rubbery bell and engulfs Tentacruel in a red light. Closing fast, the ball drops onto the dock and starts to shake. After what feels like an eternity, it finally stops and emits a soft 'ping.' Tentacruel is caught!

[Uh, yeah.... Take That! See? Where would you be without me?]