Sea Slug Field Study

[RCCaughtem]

SubonicXP

"Oh heaven's no, I got plenty to do here." Ms. Emily said with a giggle, one could easily tell she just wanted to use this as a break from the kids. "Be safe though and have fun. I'll be here when you get back. Oh! That reminds me. Professor Oak wanted you to bring back a Shellos with you if you didn't mind. He said he was sure you would pick out a good specimen."

By the time Ryan was done talking to Ms. Emily the entire class had gathered up together behind him, almost thirty children in all, nearly sixty eyes staring up at him with excited intent.

Ryan smirks, then nods.

"Will do. I will try and find a good one for him." Ryan quips before turning to his eager charges.

"Alright class, pair up. This will be your research and travel buddy for this trip. Safety in numbers. Once we get down to the beach we will travel to Slug Isle via my Water Pokemon. I have only one rule about them and that is that you treat them with respect. They are being kind enough to transport you today, show them that you appreciate it. Alright. Once you guys are ready, we will be off!" Ryan explains to the young ones.  

[RCCaughtem]

SubonicXP

"Yes sir, Mr. Caughtem!" The class once again said in unison, just the slightest hint of mischief in the tone of some of them. The majority of them though seemed really excited and ready to get going.

Ryan was a bit uneasy, this was going too well. Ryan takes a deep breath and leads the now paired off kiddos down to the beach. It would be here that Ryan would call out Tank, his Swampert, Aysu, his Lapras, Orth, his Kingdra, and Theia, his Milotic. Ryan figures between the four pokemon, that should be enough to transport the class across the waves.  

[RCCaughtem]

SubonicXP

There was about seven children per each Pokemon, however they were young kids and it took about three of them to make a grown male adult so it was an easy transport for all of Ryan's Pokemon, as far as weight went. The children were understandably excited and as the Pokemon ferried them across the water they would splash around, a pair would try to climb up Aysu's neck, another accidentally pulled one of Theia's antenna while playing with it and several of them kept trying to command the Pokemon to use moves.

They were halfway to Slug Isle and already the kids were becoming a handful.

Ryan had been riding along on Rin Jin, when he started to see the kids acting up. Ryan gets to about the middle of the group and calls out Undine, his Brionne. "Undine, your song once more, please?" Brionne would start to sing once more. Once she had sung for a while, Ryan would pipe up. "Okay Kiddos, what did I say about respecting my pokemon? They are my trusted partners and are doing you all a favor. So please treat them kindly, yeah?" Ryan says as loudly as he can so all of them can hear what he is saying.  

[RCCaughtem]

SubonicXP

Undine's song would get the group's attention but didn't have the same startling effect as last time, perhaps because they were more used to it but it had the intended affect to get them to pay attention to Ryan. Several of the children would apologize and others would look down in shame. Either way they would calm down and sit down for the rest of the trip to Slug Isle, which was just coming into view.

Slug Isle was barely an island its self, a small sandy circular shoal with a salt water pond at the center, making the entire isle one big donut. The pond at the center was where the young Shellos hung out, protected by their Gastrodon parents until they were strong enough to defend themselves in the ocean. Samson Oak theorizes their Ground typing stems from the need to keep their young further inland for protection, allowing them to journey onto land for short bursts.

Ryan would have Rin Jin, Orth, and Aysu stay on the coast, while Theia, Undine, and Tank come onshore after unloading the kids. "Alright. We are going to stay together as we go to observe the Shellos and Gastrodon. My pokemon are going to act as a barrier for us, so stay within sight of them and do not go wandering. I want you all to have fun, but remain safe. If you have any questions, I can answer them. " Ryan explains to the children.

Theia would guard the rear, using her massive length to cover the distance between her, Undine, and Tank with relative ease. Tank would be off to the left, with Undine off to the right. Ryan stands behind Theia, keeping an eye on the kids and an eye behind him, making sure no threat was coming from the middle of the island.  

[RCCaughtem]

SubonicXP

RCCaughtem

Theia would guard the rear, using her massive length to cover the distance between her, Undine, and Tank with relative ease. Tank would be off to the left, with Undine off to the right. Ryan stands behind Theia, keeping an eye on the kids and an eye behind him, making sure no threat was coming from the middle of the island.

The kids seemed to listen to Ryan better this time, each of them taking out their notebooks and starting to proceed with their assignments as they watched the Shellos and Gastrodon from afar. A few of them did ask if they could get closer but of course Ryan wouldn't allow it. After about fifteen minutes of peaceful observation a young girl would approach Ryan, a look of concern on her face.

"Mr. Caughtem? My friend Sarah is gone." She flat out informed him. "She went to catch her paper after it blew away and chased it over that sand bank but she hasn't came back." The girl said, pointing in the direction of the pool, a small bank of sand between them and the pool which created a blind spot. She must have gotten by Ryan's Pokemon while some of the other kids were fighting over a colored pencil and accidentally released their rambunctious Crawbler. It took awhile to get it back in its ball after all.

Ryan almost goes pale and shakes his head. "Stay here. I 'll go look for her." Ryan says to the girl.

He signals to his pokemon to keep a sharper eye on the kids. Theia now moves up to all but encircle the class, Tank closes the gap, while Undine runs off with Ryan. From the water, Rin Jin, Aysu, and Orth move up. No kiddo was getting loose this time. Rin Jin would use his tentacles to wrangle any kid that even tried to stray.

Ryan and Undine chase over in the direction that the girl had pointed out. They had to find her!  

[RCCaughtem]

SubonicXP

Ryan's Pokemon had the kids under tight watch and control, even the few that dared to run off were quickly snatched back by Rin Jin. No other stranglers would get by.

Ryan and Undine would make it over the sand back where they would find themselves with an excellent view of the pool below. Fifty or more freshly hatched or several days old, Shellos were frolicking around in the pool, enjoying this new gift of life and figuring out how to work their bodies and the world around them. Their Gastrodon parents, a single bonded pair that appeared to have claimed the isle for themselves this year, were ever vigilante, standing on either side of the pool, keeping a close watch.

That was when they spotted the one thing that stood out, a tiny Shellder partially buried in the sand with just its tongue and the top ridge of its shell poking out. Ryan's training and experience with such creatures would tell him that this wasn't a hunting pose but rather a frightened one. Something scared this little guy and he attempted to hide away but for whatever reason failed to completely conceal himself, likely due to inexperience.

This was rather alarming. All these Shellos and Gastrodon and yet the girl was nowhere in sight. Ryan then notices the Shellder, well out of place and hiding rather poorly. Ryan turns to Undine. "Eyes on alert. Let me know if you see the girl or trouble. one may be following the other." Ryan says and his Brionne nods.

Ryan would squat down and tap the Shellder lightly on the shell. "Hey, little guy. What has you spooked like this? The Shellos and Gastrodon shouldn't be a threat." Ryan inquires of the Shellder. Something was amiss and he had to find out what along with trying to find his missing human charge as well. Something was telling him that both just might be connected, and he hated that feeling in his gut.  

[RCCaughtem]

SubonicXP

"Shellder!" The shellfish Pokemon chirped as it popped out of the sand, looking up at Ryan with a look of relief. By how quick it was to reveal its self and not flee deeper into the sand told Ryan that this Pokemon was certainly accustomed to humans and thus belonged to the little girl he was looking for.

"Shellder shell shell! Der shell!" The Shellfish frantically told Ryan. Thankfully as part of being a Water Channeler he could make out what it was trying to convey, even if he didn't exactly get the 'words'. From what he gathered the girl released her Pokemon to get the paper for her however a Gastrodon came along and ate it. Next thing the Shellder knew the Gastrodon tried to attack it then grabbed his trainer and took off with her heading towards the pond at the center of the isle.

Ryan sighs. Kids had no sense of self-preservation. He could have explained to her teacher what happened and was pretty sure that an exception could be made. But no. Now he had to go deep into dangerous territory on a rescue mission.

Ryan reaches down and places the Shellder on his shoulder. "Come on. Let's go retrieve your trainer. Can't let her be a captive here." Ryan says with a sigh. He walks over to where Undine is. "Come on. We have a little one to rescue. We go inland. " he says to his Brionne and the pair, along with their shelled escort, head towards the middle of the island.  

[RCCaughtem]

SubonicXP

The Shellder would instruct Ryan on which way the Gastrodon went however by observing the tracks in the side it was obvious the path it took after Shellder got them started in the right direction. Eventually Ryan would come upon the pool, a raise ridge of sand wrapping all the way around it, clearly made by the Gastrodon for protection but for them it provided excellent cover to hide behind while also allowing them to peek over and observe the pond below without being seen.

From here he could see all the little Shellos happily playing in the water with their siblings, several Gastrodon hanging out in the out rim of the pond to keep a close eye. It would take but a second for Ryan to pinpoint the missing student, dressed in a pink and white dress with her hair done up in a bun and wrapped with a pink ribbon. A Gastrodon of the 'West Sea' variant, that is the pink one, was insistently trying to get the girl to go into the water despite the crying child's protests.

That's when it dawned on Ryan, why the Gastrodon took her, due to her outfit and the Gastrodon being in peak breeding and parental mode it mistook her for a Shellos youngling.

Ryan and Undine would follow the path. This was the first time he had ever come this far inland. And while he understood the danger, he was still slightly taken back by the beauty of it. He then spots the girl and it all clicks. What a situation this was turning out to be.

Ryan sets the Shellder down. "Stay here and hidden for now." Ryan says before slowly walking towards the girl. He would take care to avoid any of the Shellos that were skittering about while making his way over. "Gastrodon! Back Down! That one isn't one of yours! She is a charge under my care and I have come to take her back." He declares to the bigger Sea Slug. Undine was following him, minding her distance and pathing as well.