Tis the Sea for Me ^_^

[taurenhugger]

"Woooah..." Mikey stopped in his tracks as the coastline came into view from behind the trees. As far as his eyes could see, there was nothing but water.

The folks at the pond back home had suggested that he come here, that the pond was not big enough to fuel his love of adventure. And the weather lately was so hot that exploring the prairie was out of the question. It didn't help that they were in the middle of a drought either. But when they had spoken of a place of endless waters, he thought that they were exaggerating. Never in his life did he expect such a sight!

One step, then another, and on his third his front paw sank softly into the sandy beach. The warm grains swelled up between his toes and encompassed them. The air was fresh and crisp, and a strong breeze rustled the leaves in the vegetation behind him.

"Yahoooo!" he cried, running in leaps and bounds, splashing sand in every which way as he dashed across the stretch of sand and flung himself into the water.

His vision blurred as a sandy cloud rose up to meet him after his feet impacted the surface below the water, but it cleared a moment later, and what he saw was fascinating. Perhaps even more monumental that seeing the ocean from above, down here he could see clearly a whole new world!

Tree-like pillars of plants grew from the depths and tickled the top of the waters, and everything along their length was a lively bustle of activity!

There were staryu coating the bottom, inching around only a minute's walk to his right. A patch of coral coated the floor a half mile ahead, and countless creatures were swimming to and fro within it. To his left was a newly hatched family of poliwags all bobbing around a poliwrath which must have been one of their parents.

"I think I'm gonna like it here" Mikey said to himself with a nod, and swam out to join the fray.

[taurenhugger]

Sections of the coral were brilliant red, fading into a soft pink and even white in other patches. As Mikey neared the expanse, the movement there came into focus. Magikarp swam in large arcs in the water above, and a goldeen and seaking spun in spirals below. Numerous luvdiscs dashed to and fro in large schools that might have looked like giant bed sheets flying through the water. But something seemed odd. The coral itself seemed to be breathing. Moving with the same energetic beat as the life around it. As Mikey drew ever closer, he began to see why.

Countless corsola were bobbing in and out of the coral terrain, blending in near perfectly until they moved, granting the illusion that the ground itself was swimming! It was almost impossible to distinguish between the reef and the corsola inhabiting it!

Suddenly a long, dark grey strand dipped down into Mikey's view. "Tentacoool coo cool!"

"Hi!" Mikey rolled onto his back as he swam along, batting at the tentacool's tentacles as it followed above him, cheerfully mirroring his movements.

"Hi!" it laughed back. "I've never seen you before. Are you new here?"

"Yeah!" Mikey exclaimed, spinning again and diving lower. "Brand new! I just got here!"

"Really? Cool!" it bounced around playfully. "Then I have something neat to show you! Follow me!" It seethed its body and took off the right, Mikey playfully on its tail.

[dew]

Girdap, a large scar covered Swampart swam peacefully, quite disappointed that there weren't as many rock formations that he hoped there would be. He swam down to the bottom and looked for treasure, not finding any either.

"This place is already annoying me." He sighed, looking above him to see a Vaporeon and a Tentacool laughing.

"Now that's not something you see everyday."

He kept swimming , going over to one of the rock formations there was and started looking at it, not finding anything of interest.

[taurenhugger]

"Where are we going, anyways?" Mikey asked after what seemed like half an hour had passed. The reef had already faded into the distance, and the area here was much more green. Plant life now flooded the sea floor, and large pillars of vegetation-coated rock jutted out tall, making it difficult to sea ahead.

"We're almost there" the tentacool said playfully. "We're going to see Mr. Red!"

"Mr. Red?" Mikey cocked his head to the side as he did a small twirl. "Who's that?"

"He's just an old man that lives out here" the tentacool answered. "He's really fun! Me and my friends used to visit him all the time and play games! Boy did he hate that!"

"He hates games?" Mikey paused for just a moment at the oddity of the thought, then continued.

"He hates everything" tentacool laughed. "But he's really fun to mess with!"

"I bet!" Mikey laughed back. "I knew an old poliwrath like that back at my pond! Did you have a trick in mind?"

"He lives in a cave, and its dark and gloomy in there, so I thought I'd brighten it up with some... decorations" the tentacool smiles, producing a bubble and letting it float up and away.

"Haha!" Mikey chuckled, catching on. "Let's do it!"

[dew]

Girdap sighed and swam, seeing a rock formation come out and the Tentacool mention a cave.

"Cave?" He asked himself. Bound to be treasure in there. He swam to the rock formation and began looking for a cave, any cave at all.

[taurenhugger]

"In here" the tentacool spoke, drifting down toward the weeds covering the sea floor.

"In where?" Mikey asked, looking around for anything that might have resembled a cave. Then, suddenly the tentacool disappeared.
"Hey! Where'd you go?!"

"In here. Shhhh!" the tentacool bobbed up and spoke in a hushed whisper. It was half-submerged in the floor of plants. Evidently the vegetation had grown over the entrance to the cave. Mikey swam down to tentacool and pawed at the stringy seaweed to reveal a rather large hole in the ground.

"How does anyone live here?" Mikey asked, whispering this time.

"He doesn't come out much" the tentacool lifted its tentacles in a shrug, then sank below the vegetative wall and into the cave. Mikey followed.

The cave was dark and deep. The light from above shone down in green as it filtered through the swaying weeds. About fifty feet down, the light was too faded to help, but the walls began to house peculiar fungus-like plants that lit the cave in eerie blues and yellows. Deeper and deeper they ventured.

[dew]

He sighed, no good caves to explore was depressing. He began to look harder and saw the seaweed where those two disappeared into, he moved it away and found the cave. He swam in and began to search around, looking for something like treasure, unaware that this was someone's home.

[taurenhugger]

"How far does this cave go?" Mikey asked. The passageway was wide, a good thirty feet across or so. He was thankful for that, for he didn't care to be in small or confined spaces.

"We're here" the tentacool whispered, holding a tentacle out to stop Mikey from venturing any farther.

Just up ahead, the cave's path had a big gaping hole in its bottom. Slowly, the tentacool led Mikey up to it to peek down into the abyss below. It was a cavern of sorts, as big and vast as the prairie Mikey had grown up in! It must have stretched a mile. The glowing plants dotted the ceiling of the giant chamber, but extended far out of view, and the water below was pitch black.

"This is his home?" Mikey gasped, forgetting to whisper. "Who in the world needs this much space?!"

"I do..." a low voice rumbled up from the water below.

Tentacool adopted a grim look.

"Oops" Mikey squeaked, covering his mouth his his front paws.

Something began to materialize from the shadows below, but by the time Mikey had even begun to make out the face of the angry red gyarados, it was too late.

[dew]

Girdap heard the voice and hid, watching the two children. He wasn't as large as the red serpent like Pokemon, but he could probably hurt it if it harmed the children. The decided to step in anyway, give the kids a chance to run if they were scared...no...he w would wait, but ready to jump in.

[taurenhugger]

"Adios!" the tentacool gave a quick salute with one of its tentacles, then slipped back as its body took on a clear color, making it nearly invisible.

"What are you doing in my house?!" the red gyarados thundered.

"Uh, you're dreaming" Mikey smiled timidly. "There's nobody here but you." He cocked his head to the side with a meek grin, then twirled his body, disappearing as well.

Tentacool had an amazing camouflage, but when it came to hiding in the waters, few could best a vaporeon, for vaporeon had the unique ability to physically melt their bodies into the water itself.

"AaaaahhhrRRRRa!" the red gyarados roared. It began thrashing about wildly. The clump of water that was Mikey drifted along the swirling currents, distorded by the motion of the water around him, but otherwise safe. The tentacool, on the other hand, was not as fortunate.

"Ow!" it yelped as a fin smacked it against the wall and its camouflaging ability cut out. "Uh oh..."

[dew]

"Enough!" Girdap thundered, charging at the Gyarados and slapping him with his heavy arm, a move humans called 'Hammer Arm'. He got in between the Tentacool and the angry red beast. He didn't see the Vaporeon, but he knew they had good camouflage. But no one could beat Girdap when it came to protecting children.

"You will stops this childish behavior and rampage this instant!" He roared, preparing himself to stop any attack. The scars all over his body were not fake or self-made, they were there from countless battles with monsters bigger than this one.

"You kid, get out of here before I force you out of here." he growled at the Tentacool, not taking his eyes off the red Gyarados. "And where ever your friend is get him out of here too."

[taurenhugger]

"Hey you vaporeon, where'd you go?" the tentacool looked around in a flash as the mighty swampert moved in to defend them.

"Here! Over here!" Mikey called from the hole in the ceiling.

"Oh there you are! That's a neat trick, but let's get outta here!" the tentacool said in a rushed voice as it sped up to Mikey and led the way down the cave tunnel.

"Who was that guy?" Mikey asked as they hurried along.

"Dunno" the tentacool didn't bother to shrug. It was using its tentacles to get as much speed as it could.

-

"Another one?!" Mr. Red roared, bringing his thrashings to a halt as he layed eyes on the swampert. "Stubborn brats and your adventures! Stay outta my house!. It's eyes flashed with anger again as it watched the vaporeon and tentacool dash out and down the tunnel. It looked to the swampert and back and barred its fangs.

This thing was obviously no stranger to battle. If it was this far into his territory, it must be trying to take it! And Mr. Red had no intentions of giving up his home he'd had for so long.

"Get out!" his voice boomed, its sheer volume creating distorting ripples in the water that made visibility slim. He reared his head back and a large whirlpool manifested in front of him, then shot out at the Swampert and up into the tunnel. Gyrados followed in its wake, travelling at its base to ensure that his Twister attack forced everyone out.

-

"What was that?" Mikey paused for a moment to stop and listen. The water around him began to seethe and rumble in the tunnel. Something was coming, and fast!

"Swim!" tentacool cried.

[dew]

Girdap sucked in water and let out a strong Hydro Pump, before he could release it he received a nasty scratch on his arm from the Gyarados's attack, but then let it out, forcing the attack back somewhat.

"If you would listen then you would understand my being here." Girdap said calmly, staring at the Gyarados with calmness in his eyes, but it was deadly.

"I didn't know you inhabited this cave, I'm an explorer. I thought it was abandoned. I am truly sorry for coming in here." He bowed his head slightly then looked back at the Gyarados.

"But if you insist to attack me while I leave here, then I will be forced into a battle with you." He gave a sort of salute then began to swim out of the cave. "Good day, Mr. Red, I believe it was." If the Gyarados didn't attack him, he would swim out of the cave, looking for those kids. They deserved a good talking to and he was the one to give it to him.

[taurenhugger]

Mr. Red watched the swampert menacingly as he left, but made no move to attack. The man had a certain aura of respect about him, and commanded a fair deal of power as well. If his words were true, there was no conflict here... But those pesky kids would get what was coming to them.

-

A grand surge washed by Mikey and the tentacool, knocking them around a bit. Some strong water attacks were being thrown around back down the tunnel, and they didn't plan on sticking around to see the aftermath. Hurriedly, they rushed out the last chance of the tunnel and burst through the overgrowth and back into the open water.

"That was scary" the tentacool giggled, bobbing up and down now that they were back to safety.

"He usually like that?" Mikey gasped, catching his breath.

"Only if he notices you" the tentacool laughed and bobbed around.

"We'll have to be sneakier next time" Mikey grinned.

[dew]

"There will be no 'next time.'" Girdap growled as he was behind the children, his arms crossed in anger as he floated there. he wasn't that angry really, but he found putting his face in a scowl helped to make him look cruel and powerful.

"Are you insane?" he asked them both. "Gyarados are rage Pokemon, they will pick fights." He growled, his glare disappearing as he sighed.

"Kids these days...I think they are brain dead..." he mumbled to himself.