Sharpedo Bluff

[Namohysip]

The westernmost point of Treasure Town led straight to a high cliff. Leaning to the side would allow for a clear view of how the cliff had been carved into the shape of a Sharpedo emerging from the land. The wind was strong and the salty air overtook most other senses, despite how high the cliffs were. It was hard to tell if the rustling noise was from the faraway waves or the bushes and grass.

There was a particularly large bush to the right of the path that looked like it was frequently moved and pushed. A simple walk off the dirt road and into the short grass, one could see a passageway leading down and into the Sharpedo's head, blocked by a simple door. A few trees dotted the right side of the bluff, and some pots and a fire pit near the edge of the left. Finally, near the very edge, on the Sharpedo's nose, was a flag that had several childlike scribbles on it with black paint. The writing was illegible, but it looked like it had been there for years.​

 

[windskull]

After his conversation with Necrozma, Nip had briefly returned to the square, pausing there to decide which of his goals he wanted to pursue first. He remembered Diyem mentioning a Dojo. While he did not recognize that word, he gathered from earlier, overheard conversation that it was a place where he could train. But he got the feeling that there would be several pokemon there preparing, so he elected to head elsewhere instead. He had not seen anyone head towards the cliffs at the time he'd left for the forest. Perhaps he could get some practice alone there.

The view from the cliffs was incredible. Wind buffeted him as he stood near the edge, staring out at the ocean that stretched far beyond the horizon. He'd never seen the Endless Waters, as myths from his childhood had described it, and seeing it in person made him feel so small.

He took a few steps back. Time to practice his moves, he supposed. Once again, he tried to summon an icy cloud. Nothing. He tried to pull from darkness for a night slash. Nothing. He took a deep breath, imagining that he flash froze the air around him. A few miserable shards of ice formed atop the fur on his arms. He swung his arms, launching the shards. Although glad he was still able preform an ice shard attack, the fact that it took so much out of him concerned him.

 

[Disco]

After very unceremoniously getting dumped into a strange world she where she recognized nothing, Mellow had tried to figure her way around her surroundings. It was rather hard when getting directions to the various places around town was overshadowed by the fact that the place was on the verge of being flattened... Literally flattened, by a Magikarp that had no business whatsoever being so massive. She eventually gave up trying to figure out which way was which and instead opted to go for the highest point to map it out herself. But as she reached the cape, Mellow quickly realized she wasn't the first one with the idea...

Well, maybe if she didn't bother the Sneasel too much, she could get the layout memorized without interrupting his training. Just so she didn't end up startling him though, she coughed into her hand and spoke up.

"Hi- Sorry, I didn't want to just stand around and frighten you or anything. I'm just going to be over here trying to figure out how to get around the town easily. Everyone is just so busy..."

 

[windskull]

Nip nearly jumped out of his fur when he heard the sound of a cough, followed by a voice behind him. He whirled around, not knowing what to expect and. Oh. A charmander. Not Owen, but one of the other two that had shown up after him. The wind up here must have carried her scent away from him. That was the only reason he hadn't noticed her until she spoke. Hopefully. Hopefully, it wasn't that his body had dulled senses, or anything like that. Was that even a possibility?

His earlier discussion with Necrozma echoed in his mind, and he had to take a deep, steady breath to keep his fur from puffing up. Not wanting to give his uneasiness away, he took one more deep breath to keep his voice steady and said, "You're fine. I just wasn't expecting to run into anyone else up here."

 

[Disco]

"I'm not going to be here too long! I won't bother you, promise."

She flashed him a smile, and went back to studying the town's layout. The longer she stayed though, and the longer she kept glancing at the Magikarp, the more she thought to herself; 'Maybe training wouldn't be such a bad idea.' She'd only ever really mastered what she needed, which was Sunny Day, so that she could live the simple life she'd grown to love. She had never tried learning things past that... What could she even do against a water type like that?? Mellow frowned to herself and studied the massive Pokemon, and began to lose track of time as she did.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Celeste poked his head into the stairwell leading into the bluff. “Hello? Is anyone there?”

He saw there was, and came all the way down into the bluff.

“This place looks lived in... but you two are with our group, no? Did we just break into someone’s home?”

 

[windskull]

Silently, Nip turned his attention away from Mellow. But as much as he tried to stop himself, he couldn't help but glance over his shoulder over and over again, looking to see if the charmander was still there. It was no use; he'd never get any practice done like this. Suppressing a sigh, he instead turned his attention to exploring the area, particularly around that weird bush he'd seen.

At about the time he found the stairway and decided to investigate inside, the absol from before had shown up at the bluff. He pulled the — what was it called, a door — he pulled the door open and discovered the living space below.

The absol spoke behind him. "Not on purpose," he replied quickly. "I was just trying to figure out what was down here. Not like it was hard to get into anyways."

 

[Shiny Phantump]

“Easy to get in, sure, but I can’t help but feel a bit... morally ambiguous about coming in uninvited.”

He stopped to think for a moment. “If anyone comes in, scratch me immediately. That way I’ll be alerted by... never mind.”

He sighed. Thanks, Diyem.

 

[windskull]

"It's not like I'm going to take anything from here," Nip said while inspecting some of the personal belongings being left behind. Not that he wasn't tempted to try and nab any valuable healing items that had been left behind. But he didn't feel like pushing his luck, considering how weak he currently was.

"I still don't get how villager mons can live like this. Big open spaces where you can be easily cornered. No place to really hide from danger. I suppose they do have a way to block out intruders..." He gestured back towards the door. "But even if it wasn't latched, I doubt it would be that hard to break the, uh, the door open."

 

[Namohysip]

"HEY!"

It came from seemingly nowhere--a blast of water from the left, just around the corner, from the huge maw of a Croconaw. The blast was incredible--even though it had missed Nip, intentionally, it left a clear carving in the wall behind him.

"What do you think you're doing?! Shouldn't you be evacuating?! And the way you were talking was reeeeal suspicious!"

She sounded quite young, but the way her body seemed more muscular, her trained stance, her fiery eyes... She knew how to fight.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Celeste sighed. “Ah, yes. This place is lived in after all...

My name is Celeste, we’re new around here. I apologize for the intrusion, but I saw the carved-out bluff and I just had to go check it out. My companion followed in after me, so I take full responsibility.”

There. That should lighten the tone from near-assault up to something more civilized.

 

[windskull]

Nip let out a yip, stumbling backwards and away from the forceful blow of water. It would have been a nasty attack to contend with in his regular body, but he was quite certain it would have knocked him out in a single blow now.

His eyes wide and his fur puffed up, he stood frozen, staring at the croconaw as Celeste spoke up. He took a long breath to calm himself and said, "yeah. S-Sorry about that. Although... shouldn't you be evacuating, too?"

 

[Namohysip]

Croconaw puffed out her chest. "I'm gathering the last of our belongings. I can't believe you didn't know that Team Spice lives here!" She snarled, slapping her tail on the ground and stomping her foot. "...Everyone does. So you aren't even from here? Or are you outlaws trying to disguise being caught as curiosity? Taking advantage of Mom and Dad being missing?!"

Oh, wonderful. A hothead, Diyem said.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Ah, she was still trying to push them around. Celeste suspected he wouldn’t get too far unless he pushed back a little.

“Yes, we ‘aren’t even from here.’ It’s been naught but a moment since I mentioned that. Because of that, no, we don’t know who Team Spice is. We were sent here earlier today by someone of questionable usefulness and are still getting our bearings on the place.

Now, I understand coming across strangers in your home can be confusing, but now that I’ve explained this misunderstanding twice, I do hope we can drop the criminal profiling in favour of a more productive discussion.”

 

[Namohysip]

"...How--how many X-Eyes are you on?!" Croconaw shouted. "You come into our home, and now you're criticizing me about productive discussions? Why, I oughta--" She stepped forward, but then some of the contents of her bag spilled out and she hastily picked it up. Among them, there seemed to be a packet of medicine. "Look, just--get out. Let's talk when we're outside, okay?"

 

[windskull]

Nip raised his paws in front of him defensively. "Alright, alright I'm leaving." With that, he turned and scurried up the steps, re-emerging on the cliff. Being out in the open like this wasn't ideal, per say, but it certainly wasn't as bad as being cornered inside.

 

[Shiny Phantump]

Perhaps the idea that he needed to push back a little was mistaken... He should’ve figured as much, but he’d wanted to push back, and let his frustration make the decision for him. Celeste took a deep breath. “Fair enough, I’ll admit I escalated that unfairly.

“However, you could hardly expect that immediately escalating to threat of violence would lead us to treat you with politeness, no? Even then, I tried to explain my mistake and took full responsibility, but you refused to listen. I don’t think this is quite the one-sided debacle that you make it out to be.”

He took another deep breath and headed of the exit. “Let’s just try to get this over with quickly, okay? It’s been a long day in many ways, presumably for both of us. We’re both on edge, but there’s no reason to make this any worse than it needs to be.”

 

[Disco]

Mellow had remained oblivious to the things happening behind her until Nip scrambled out of the tunnel. ...Just what had she missed?

"Um... are you alright?"

 

[Namohysip]

Croconaw stepped out after them and closed the door behind her with a huff. "How come you guys are here, anyway? Where are you from? Because you picked a bad time to show up..."

 

[windskull]

He came up top and there was the charmander, waiting for him at the top. Did she plan this somehow? Was she watching and waiting for him to get killed in some "freak accident?"

No, no. He was thinking irrationally. Probably.

"Just fine. If you count almost getting blasted in a torrent of water as fine."