The Horsea Who Couldn't

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Footbridge - Route 12: Junction
A few wooden planks creak loudly as they are stepped on. The docks form a T here, stretching north, west, and south. In the distant north the docks seem to grow smaller until they become a mere speck on the horizon, but it is clear that that speck adjoins Lavender Town to the north. Only a few dozen feet to the west, the dock returns to dry land. The path to the west is quickly obscured by a lightly forested area. Southward, the docks continue to stretch across the water to the town of Maiden's Peak. A Goldeen leaps from the water not too far from the dock. Even here, pokemon are not absent.
Contents:
Horsea
Obvious exits:
South <S> leads to Footbridge - Route 12: Choppy Waters.
West <W> leads to Field and Streams - Route 11: Farmlands.
North <N> leads to Footbridge - Route 12: Krabby Crossing.

Towering white clouds drift slowly through the blue sky. It's hazy and hot, and the glare of the sun seems to drain the color from the landscape. Here and there, groups of colorful Butterfree can be seen flying towards the ocean. In the forest, the shade under the deep green leaves of the trees is welcome relief from the hot glare of the sun. While at the coast, the sea sparkles in the brilliant sunlight, the waves rolling merrily against the shore.

The docks squeek eerily as Jonah and his pokemon companions arrive. Jonah's hopes of finding a water pokemon to add to his team have been crushed a long time ago. Surely, Jonah's Growlithe, trots alongside him. Something seems to be on the Growlithes back. It looks like...a cowboy hat? Whatever it may be, Surely and Jonah seem to think nothing of the hat as they take a break on the docks. Jonah sits on the edge and lets his feet dangle over the side and Surely sits by him. Jonah heaves a heavy sigh. "We've been out for a while now, Surely. This heat is begining to take it's toll on me. We better get back to a Pokemon Center soon." Surely woofs slightly in agreement. She doesn't mind the heat that much, but she understands that Jonah does.

The sun is bright and hot, and shines down on the trainer and his pokemon (and hat) without mercy. The waves splash against the cement piers of the dock, burbling happily as they come up against the rough barnacles encrusted on it. It's a gorgeous day, though heat waves rise from the ground in the distance.
As Jonah and Surely sit looking at the peaceful waves, a voice cuts through the silence. "Abrraaaa Abra! Abrraa!" <You varmits better hurry on up! It's high noon and everfolk know that villians come around at high noon!> The hat speaks. Surely growls a low tone. "Growlll ithe!" <Oh, be quiet you. You just don't like being out in the sun.> That comment is quickly returned when the cowboy hat is quickly thrown to the ground revealing what is under it....another hat? A biker's hat now lays where the cowboy's hat once was. A voice from under the hat yells in disdain. "Abbbraa! Abra!" <Be quiet, punk. We better scram before we get fried like an egg on a sidewalk in 110 degree weather!> Jonah and Surely ignore the hat's comment. They look out across the horizon in quiet, with the occasional complaint from the biker's hat.

As the two individuals, other than that hat, remain quiet, things begin to happen. A tiny little Oddish scrambles across the bridge at the far end, barely visible if Jonah or Surely happy to look in the right direction at the right time. A Goldeen briefly leaps out of the water, snaps at a bug, then disappears back under the sapphire waves.

Jonah lays down, using the cowboy hat that Hatty had thrown to the ground to block the sun. It was a nice day and he felt like he should take a nice doze before he went back to a Pokecenter. Realizing Jonah's plan to take a quick nap, Surely quickly deposits the bikers hat onto the dock with a yell of <Puuuunk!> coming from inside. Nevertheless the hat simply rolls onto the ground, still not exposing what is beneath it. Surely lays next to Jonah, keeping one eye open in case of trouble.

Despite the Abra's occasional comments, more activity begins to emerge around the bridge. A cloud of gnats descends to the ocean surface, and in response, a school of Horsea begin leaping and shooting bits of water, trying to knock the tiny bugs out of the air. Most of them are quite graceful in their movements, their pectoral fins sweeping through the water and propelling them up into the air. All except one of them, who doesn't seem to be moving very easily at all.

Gentle snores from both the trainer and Growlithe begin to fill the air around them. Sadly though the relentless shouting of the hat persists. <Punks! All of ye! I'll get you all for this!> Of course, Jonah and Surely give no reply (after all, they *are* sleeping). The hat seems to be getting quite annoyed at this. <Punks? Hey punks!> A yellow head can be seen popping out from under the bikers hat. Realizing that the rest of his company is asleep, Hatty the Abra begins to drag his hat along with him to the edge of the dock. He peers over the edge at the group of Horsea. He sees the one ungraceful Horsea and says aloud, "Abrraaa! Abraa? Abraa!" <Whatsa matter with you, punk? Looks like you can't stand this weather like me, eh? That must be why you're swimming all crazy like, punk!>

As the Abra suddenly starts shouting at them, the school disappears. All except for the slow one. That one blinks in surprise as his friends vanish. He looks around, then spotting the psychic leaning from the dock and begins to ever so slowly swim in that direction.

The Abra leans a little *more* forward over the edge of the docks. If he leaned over any more he would fall in. We wouldn't want that, now would we? "Abbbraa Abbraa!" <What's going on with you? Are you some sort of gimp or somethin'?> Hatty isn't trying to be mean, he is just...well...being Hatty.

<What? What was that you said, sonny?> the Horsea croaks in a high, wavering voice. <Were you talking to me? If so, speak up, I can't hear you.> As the fish speaks he continues to swim over to the dock until he's right under the leaning Abra, and peers up at the psychic, his eyes narrowing a bit as he tries to bring the other pokemon into focus. <Who are you, anyway, sonny? I don't think I've seen you around these parts before.>

With the conversation begining between the two pokemon, Jonah lazily peers at Hatty from behind his sun-protecting cowboy hat. At the impossible angle that the Horsea was in, Hatty leans a little more over the edge of the docks. That's all that our dear friend gravity needs to pull the yellow pokemon into the ocean below. Luckily the Abra stops right before his head touches the water. Jonah had grabed Hatty's tail...barely. Jonah's hands were begining to slip. Strangly, the hats manage to stay on Hatty's head! Hatty carries on as if nothing was wrong. He is now face to face with the Horsea. Surely, who had gone flying when Jonah had lept up to grab Hatty was just recovering from the unpleasant awakening. Hatty resumes conversation. <The names Hatty, punk, if it's anything to ya! You seem like a rather dull fellow, punk! Am I right or am I right?>

<It's nice to meet you, Matty,> the Horsea says, sounding very friendly. And no, I'm not full, though thank you for asking, sonny. That's why I came up for a bite to eat.> With that statement, the Horsea turns and spits a small Water Gun at a passing insect, but misses it completely. Despite this, he swims over to where it would have landed and scoops up some water and eats it as he would a bug. <Ahh, those things are getting saltier all the time. Not like the good old days,> he croaks.

Enraged at the mispronounciation of his name Hatty begins to squirm, trying to take a swing at the old Horsea. <Punk! I'll get you, you little punk!> The squirming causes Jonah to be pulled down with the Abra. So much so that the Abra's head is temporarily dunked underwater. Immediatly seeing that Jonah was about to fall into the ocean along with the Abra (but mostly because of her trainer> Surely leaps toward Jonah and bites down on the back of his shirt and begins to pull both the trainer and Abra back up to the docks. Of course, this is way too heavy for the female Growlithe and she is only able to pull them back up just enough for Hatty to be able to breathe again. Jonah, starts to reach towards his belt with his spare hand, in an attempt to get Hatty into his pokeball again. Hatty shouts at the Horsea. <You old geezer, get over here now! I want to pummel you until the Snorlax's come home!>

<Sunk? Sunk? What's sunk?> the Horsea mutters, peering this way and that as if trying to see what sunk, and not even noticing Hatty's dip in the ocean. <Caeser? No, no, I don't eat salad. Goes right through me and makes everything else do too, heh heh,> he coughs. <Can't handle those green veggies anymore, though I sure used to love them. Kind of you to offer though.>

Jonah's hands feel around his belt for Hatty's pokeball. Hatty has other plans. His eyes glow a dark purple and he glares at the Horsea. <Nobody mocks me and gets away with it!> He uses a Confusion attack on the poor Horsea <if it's even possible to confuse this *already* confused and...how shall we put this...senile pokemon>. Jonah's shirt begins to rip and Hatty is *still* not in his pokeball.

<Sock? I'm sorry, sonny, but I don't wear socks. Though they would probably keep my tail nice and warm,> the Horsea has enough time to muse before the purple beam of the Confusion attack hits him. The poor fish doesn't even see what hits him. One moment he's mumbling to himself about socks, the next he's floating belly-up in the ocean, obviously unconscious.

*RIIIIIIP* Jonah's shirt finally has had enough. Just as it gives way, a red light surrounds Hatty as he is sucked into his pokeball. Not long after, Jonah falls with a loud *SPLASH* into the water. Surely grimaces as Jonah hits the water. She feels sorry for her trainer but she admits to herself that she does take some pleasure in seeing her trainer drenched. Jonah growls as he swims to an area where he can hold onto one of the stakes holding up the dock. Luckily, his pokeballs are firmly attached to his belt. The contents of his pocket, however, are a diffrent story. His super potion sinks to the bottom of the ocean and his two pokeballs float lazily in the water next to him. He grabs one and throws it towards the unconscious Horsea.

Jonah throws a pokeball... 
...and it fails.

Unfortunately, the waves made by Jonah's abrupt entry into the water cause the unconscious Horsea to drift right out of range of the thrown pokeball, which ends up floating on the surface near the fish that was to be its captive. The Horsea continues his nap, now snoring loudly.
Grumbling to himself Jonah throws his last pokeball at the sleeping Horsea. Jonah wasn't going to get all wet like this for nothing.

Jonah throws a pokeball... 
...and it fails.

The Horsea suddenly wakes up before the pokeball hits him. Looking rather confused, he spots Jonah, lets out a shriek of surprise, and dives under the waves, letting the pokeball splash harmlessly above him.

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