Frillish Does A Thing (Demo)

Shimmering sun.  Blue skies.  White sand.  Warm sea breeze.  These are phrases that describe everyday beaches.  Thousands of people and pokemon flock to these coastal paradises to indulge themselves in leisure and fun.  Some choose to surf and swim around in the salty ocean with their family and friends, breathing in the crisp tangy air.  Others stay on the soft sand and soak in its warmth, watching the waves slide onto the shore and relaxing with their loved ones.  One could assume that a place like this is the perfect way to escape from reality.

“And let’s not forget the babes, their beauty, and their beach balls, Mac!” A man in his youth hollers out, interrupting his friend’s thoughts with a slap on the back.  Mac shrieks and jumps out of the wooden dinghy he was cruising on and falls into the deep blue below with a splash.  Not being enthusiastic of having his oxygen taken away without warning, Mac splashes and struggles in the liquid, fighting the ocean for his right for air.  His resistance goes on until he properly reorients himself and floats upward.  As he resurfaces out of the water, he takes in a big gasp of air to calm his nerves.  Laughter brings his attention back to the dingy he was pushed off from.  Mac turns around and stares at his assailant, unamused by his childish prank.

“Gabe, what the heck was that for, man!?”  Mac shouts out in embarrassment and anger.  He grabs onto the dinghy’s side and lifts himself back onto the vessel.

“You were chatting with yourself again; and I just couldn’t resist an easy, tempting target…,” Mac’s friend explains, his laughter only growing in volume.  “Oh man, you should have seen the expression on your face, it was hilarious!”

Mac swats Gabe’s head with a rolled up piece of newspaper lying on the deck.  Gabe flinches and covers his head and sunglasses with his arms.  “One of these days you will have to stop with these pranks.  I could have drowned back there!”  Mac says while trying to shake off some of the water that got on his skin.  Gabe pulls out a spare towel from his backpack and gives it to his wet friend.

“Aw c’mon, we all know you can swim far better than any of us.”  He praises.  “…which is kinda interesting, really.  You hate being out in open water but can swim like a muscle builder, almost similar to Swampert.  Most hydrophobic people I know just stay away from it.”

Before Gabe could continue with his inquiry Mac throws a towel right into his face, intercepting his analysis and giving him a mouthful of damp fabric.  “That doesn’t mean I enjoy swimming in those death traps.  I only learned how to swim so that I can escape them if I ever get into a plane crash or something.”  Mac rubs his hair, still moist from the incident earlier.  “I don’t even know why I agreed to come out here with you guys on this stupid boat, especially when all the fun happens on shore.”

“Simple.”  The captain piloting the dinghy speaks out and pulls out a flier from his pocket.  He passes it towards Mac and goes back to the motor controls.  Mac scans the paper with his eyes, and his expression darkens.

“Oh. Right. Money.”

He sighs out loud and sits down.  While his friend continues struggling to get the towel off of his face, he takes out some of the fishing supplies he brought on deck from the fishing kit.  “Pokeball bait?  Check.  Extra fishing reel? Check.  Good Rod?”  He pulls out a green rod from the kit, examining it from every angle.  His hand caresses some of the worn out marks on the fishing pole and squeezes them to test their durability.  After a few moments, he sighs out again.  “Check...”  He moves his hand back a few inches away from him and casts the rod out to the sea, holding onto the black grip handle.  The reel swishes and zips a couple of yards away from the dinghy and the pokeball bait falls into the water with a small ‘plop.’  He sits down and closes his eyes, his mind wandering while he waits for a bite…

While he may not like the water, Mac cannot say the same for water-type pokemon.  Rather, they are one of his favorite types he would choose to have and specialize in if he was a trainer.  Memories of his past crawl into his mind as he sets up the bait and reel onto his good rod.  He remembers his dad and mom taking him aquarium back in Ambrette Town and show him all kinds of water types, some of which he even interacted with himself.  In his early teen years, he became a volunteer at the aquarium there and got even closer to them.  He would feed, chat, play, and even swim with them as if they were all friends in school.  He even assisted the manager in some pokemon shows, showing off the sync he had with them to the audience.  Even though he may not remember as much as he does now in his adult phase, he still cherishes the experience he earned back then.

In fact, he even made a promise to himself that if he were to own a water-type pokemon of his own, he would swear to never separate from it.

Unlucky for him, he has recently run into a tight money situation and is currently broke.  Unsure of how to solve his problem, he came to the beach to take a break from the problem.  And then he saw the waters filled with miniature fishing boats and people chatting around wielding fancy rods.   He was about to inquire about why there are so many fishermen in the beach until he found the flier the captain showed him.

The piece of paper read, “Tomarrow, a pokemon fishing competition will be held in celebration of the birth of Cyllage City!  Sponsored by the Pokemon Fan Club, prizes will be split into three categories: Rarity, Size, and a secret category.  The top 5 fisherman that can achieve the highest of these categories will be rewarded $1000.  Twenty more fishermen will also be given $500 based on these categories.  Lastly, the person who manages to find out and accomplish the secret category will be given a whopping $2000! You must register and sign a waiver with the Pokemon Fan Club to enter.  We do not take any responsibility for injuries and/or deaths that can occur from capturing Gyrados, Dragalge, or any other violent pokemon as it will be up for the fisherman to prepare for such problems.  All water pokemon submitted to the contest will no longer be owned by their captor as these pokemon will be donated for the new aquarium opening up in Cyllage City.  The competition will last 48 hours.”

The thought of having to give up his first water pokemon away even after making that promise absolutely devastated Mac’s morals.  However, he desperately needed the money.  Even $500 would be enough to get him out of the slump.