Alex sat on the stone shelf overlooking the lagoon, nursing a tin cup of instant brew heated over the fire. The sun was just crowning the horizon, painting the grey water in streaks of orange.
"Tide's out," Alex noted, observing the waterline on the mangrove roots. " And it's lower so it's time for a sea adventure"
He stripped off his heavy combat jacket and boots, leaving them in a neat pile near the fire and underneath, he wore a tight-fitting black rash guard and swim trunks he had purchased from the exchange.
They offered zero protection against claws or teeths, but they wouldn't drag him down like wet denim.
He picked up his diving rig which was infact something he had made remembering a youtube video he had watched for fun. He had cut a long, hollow reed from a specific species of swamp bamboo, Air-Root. It was flexible, durable, and about four feet long. He had fashioned a mouthpiece from soft rubber and used duct tape to seal the joint. It wasn't a Scuba 🤿 tank but he could do with that.
"Nidoking," Alex called.
The giant pokemon roused himself from his slumber and looked grumpy as the humidity was making his armor itch.
"Go to position One," Alex pointed to the edge of the rock shelf, directly overlooking the lagoon. "You are to stay there. If I signal...well, you know what to do."
Nidoking grunted, stomping over to the edge and dug his claws into the stone, steadying himself as he looked at the water with deep suspicion.
"Skorupi," Alex gestured to the treeline behind them. "you will be guarding my rear and If anything comes out of the swamp, a pokemon or anything.... kill it quietly."
Skorupi chittered, vanishing into the canopy.
"Feebas," Alex picked up the fish bowl. "You're with me."
He walked into the water and it was colder than it looked.
Alex waded in until it was waist-deep, then adjusted his goggles which were cheap, plastic things that leaked slightly and put the reed in his mouth, bit down on the rubber, and submerged.
The noise of the surface like the wind, the birds, vanished instantly.
Alex opened his eyes, the Northern Reefs were beautiful, in a terrifying way.
Beneath the muddy surface layer, the water cleared up and a massive coral structures rose from the sandy floor like colorful skeletons. Corsola were scattered everywhere, pretending to be rocks and groups of Remoraid darted through the seagrass like silver bullets.
Alex swam with slow, deliberate pace. He wasn't a professional diver, but he knew the basics like don't thrash, don't panic and certainly conserve oxygen.
Feebas swam beside him.
She was different here. In the tank, she was clumsy but here she was..... well, she was still ugly, but she moved with a fluid grace. Her drab, brown scales blended perfectly with the silt and dead coral and was invisible to others.
There, Alex thought, pointing a finger.
About ten meters down, nestled in a crevice of the reef, was a cluster of purple shells.
[ Pokémon: Shellder ]
[ Level: 8 - 12 ]
[ Status: Dormant ]
They weren't active combatants but were stubborn, clamped-shut vaults of biological armor and inside those vaults were Big costly Pearls.
Alex dove in and grabbed the nearest rock to weigh himself down, sinking to the seabed. He reached the Shellder bed and pulled out a pry-bar he had tethered to his wrist and jammed the metal tip between the shells of the largest Shellder.
CLACK....
The Shellder reacted instantly as it clamped down with huge force as the pry-bar didn't budge. Alex gritted his teeth around the snorkel and planted his feet in the sand and pulled.
Nothing...
Shellder's tongue, a long, pink muscle lolled out mockingly, then retracted.
Air, Alex's lungs burned so he let go of the bar and kicked for the surface and broke the water, gasping.
"All right jokes on me, it's plan B then," Alex wheezed, treading water. "Brute force isn't working and they have an impressive Defense mechanic when closed."
He looked at Feebas, who was bobbing next to him, looking bored.
"New plan," Alex whispered to the fish with a 😏 smirk."You're the bait."
They went back down and this time, Alex didn't touch the shells but signaled Feebas.
Go.... Annoy them.
Feebas hesitated as she didn't want to annoy the spiky clams but she remembered the Krabby incident, she remembered the fire in Alex's eyes.
She swam down and approached the Shellder they had tried to pry open.
She slapped it with her tail..... Boink.
The Shellder ignored her so she did it again. ..... Boink
Shellder opened its shell slightly, revealing the black eyes inside and hissed a stream of bubbles... Go away.
Feebas looked at Alex.
Do it again, Alex signaled.
Feebas sighed 💭 and swam right up to the opening and did a little wiggle.... Splash.
It did no damage, but it was insulting and the Shellder snapped.
It opened its shell fully and it's tongue shot out, glowing with ice energy.... Icicle Spear.
Now!
Alex lunged but didn't attack the Shellder. He jammed a small, wedge-shaped rock directly into the hinge of the open shell.
SNAP...
The Shellder tried to clamp shut, but the rock blocked the mechanism. It strained, the shell grinding against the stone, but it couldn't close completely and now it was vulnerable.
Alex grabbed the paralyzed one and shoved it into his mesh harvest bag.
One down...
He moved to the next one as Feebas repeated the dance.
Boink..... Wiggle... Taunt.....
Shellder opens to attack and Alex jams the hinge then bag them, it was crude but really efficient that was until the water grew dark.
Alex paused and looked up and saw that a shadow was passing over them which looked like Jellyfish.
A swarm of Tentacool was drifting over the reef like a toxic blue cloud and there were at least thirty of them. Their red crystals pulsed with angry light as they had sensed the disturbance.
[ Pokémon: Tentacool ]
[ Level: 14 - 18 ]
[ Aggression: High ]
One Tentacool was annoying but 30 was a fucking death sentence. Their tentacles were coated in a toxin that could paralyze a even a huge Wailord.
Feebas froze but her camouflage worked only in sight, not on other senses.
One Tentacool detached from the swarm and drifted down, its tentacles extending like fishing lines and it brushed against Alex's arm.
STING....
Pain flared, hot and stinking as Alex bit through his mouthpiece, he didn't scream as he grabbed Feebas by the tail to which she didn't complain and launched himself toward the surface.
The swarm reacted instantly as they didn't drift anymore but surged. Thirty blue pokemons jetted downward, surrounding them.
Poison Sting..... Hundreds of tiny, glowing needles filled the water.
Alex twisted, taking a needle to the shoulder, another to the thigh and his limbs felt heavy and the numbness was spreading.
He broke the surface.
"KING!" Alex screamed, spitting out the ruined snorkel. "NOW!"
He didn't wait to see if Nidoking heard as he grabbed a rock protruding from the water and hauled himself up, dragging Feebas out of the water with him.
Below them, the water boiled as the Tentacool swarm surfaced, hungry for the prey that had escaped.
On the cliff, Nidoking stood up.
He saw the blue mass and saw Alex clinging to the rock, bleeding purple from the stings.
Nidoking didn't need to visualize the gate this time as he was angry.
His horn crackled and the air around him started to condense
THUNDERBOLT.....
He didn't aim for a specific target but aimed for the entire waterbed.
A yellow spear of pure electricity erupted from the cliff and it hit the center of the Tentacool swarm.
KRAKOOM........
Water is a conductor, well Salt water is even more of an excellent conductor as the electricity spread instantly, a spiderweb of lethal voltage tearing through the lagoon. Tentacool didn't even have time to screech as their bodies seized up and the red crystals dimmed.
The surface of the lagoon flashed bright yellow for a split second, steaming and then, silence.
Dozens of stunned Tentacool floated to the surface, drifting aimlessly with the current.
Alex lay on the rock, panting, his arm was throbbing, but the adrenaline kept him awake.
"Clear," Alex wheezed.
He looked at the floating jellyfish.
"Not even good meat," he muttered.
He looked at Feebas who was flopping on the rock, terrified but unhurt.
"Good bait dear," Alex patted her slimy side.
He carefully slid back into the water, avoiding the floating bodies and swam to shore.
An hour later, Alex sat by the fire, he had applied a Paralyze Heal cream to his stings, which now just felt like bad bruises.
Nidoking was looking proud of himself, eating an extra ration of chow.
Alex emptied the mesh bag onto the sand which contained Five Shellder.
He used his knife to pry them open which was easier now that they were out of water and were exhausted and checked inside.
*Shellder 1: Nothing
* Shellder 2: Tiny Pearl
* Shellder 3: Nothing
* Shellder 4: Pearl
* Shellder 5: Big Pearl
Alex held up the Big Pearl Which was the size of a marble, iridescent and flawless.
"One thousand points atleast," Alex whispered. "Plus the others..... Nice haul in one morning."
He looked over at the lagoon, at the Tentacool bodies washing up on the shore. He could harvest their poison sacs later.
"We're on schedule," Alex grinned, wincing as the movement pulled at his stung shoulder and looked at Nidoking.
"Your aim is getting better now buddy as you didn't fry me."
Nidoking snorted, I aimed left.
Alex picked up the Big Pearl and tossed it in his hand.
Authors Note:-
So what do you guys think 💬.....
Enjoying.....
The third and final month will be finished by 50 chapter's and the island arc , will be finished by late 50s.
Also the complete team chart will be placed in with the 45th Chapter.
So love your support, keep supporting your shameless Author with power stones and reviews and also on patreon.
Thank you All.....
Love you 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕 💕
You guys can have early access of chapters through patreon,:-
P a t r e o n . c o m / Aegis007
(Remove the spaces!)🔥🫰.