A New Line Through The Lives Of Kanto

Fish Out Of Water

The sun was blazing this afternoon, no friendlier to endure in the middle of a hot beach.

"I could do for a nap," June brought up. "Do we really need to move right after lunch?"

"What are we gonna do all day? You all had breakfast, I woke up and we had a match with Nosepass and Rotom, then Ralts and Lanturn, and we all ate lunch. Do you wanna just take the day off here? If so, be my guest. I, on the other hand, have a League to get to."

"You have weeks, Gary! All I'm saying is we could have let our food settle."

How about settling your mouth? Gary thought, rolling his eyes. His eyes landed on something ahead in the sand. He couldn't make it out and didn't look away as he got closer. Once right above it, he knew it was something alive. Or something that once was.

He knelt down by the little gray thing that was possibly a foot long and could have been a worm. It had a black pattern on its side like a lightning bolt, blue fins around its body. It was some kind of fish. It looked dried out and even dead.

"Gary? What you starin' at?" June asked casually, stopping on the other side of the fish.

"I think it's a Pokemon. I don't think it's doing well. I bet it's a Water type and it ended up out of the water somehow."

Barboach. The Whiskers Pokemon. Its body is covered in slime to protect them from bacteria and slip away from predators. Its whiskers provide a radar for finding food. If left out of water, this Water and Ground type will dry up and weaken.

"I knew it! Water and Ground. Interesting." Gary scooped up the Pokemon carefully in both hands. "I hope it's not too late." He ran to the water and dipped the fish in it, keeping his hands underneath it.

The water moved, swaying, carrying the Barboach only to the end of Gary's cupped right hand.

The Water type didn't react.

"Damn..." Gary sighed. He slowly moved his hands from under the deceased Barboach and placed his hands in the sand to dry, watching the little Pokemon be carried with the water and sink. "I knew it..." He stood up and brushed his hands off on his jeans. Shaking his head, he turned to June. "It's too-" Gary paused, seeing June. His heart sped up its beating. "June?"

June was several feet from Gary, both of her hands covering her mouth, looking ahead at the path they were going along.

Gary noticed that she was standing by something in the sand that she wasn't looking at, but he couldn't quite make out what it was from where he stood. Then, he turned around, faster than he intended. "No..." Gary whispered, and he took a shaky step closer to June, feeling highly uncomfortable. "It can't be." He took in the sight of multiple, tiny objects littered throughout the beach.

The one by June was a Barboach.

A couple more further away were also Barboach.

Gary feared the worst as he stepped past June and walked through the sand, taking in the spread out, dried out bodies all over the beach. He went as far as his heart would allow him before it was enough and he just stood in the middle of the wild mess surrounding them. "What is this?"

"How?" June cried softly. "How is this possible? All of these Water types out of water? Why?"

"Maybe some kind of accident?"

"All of them?? There's gotta be over a hundred out here, Gary! And all practically overnight?! We went through here yesterday! There wasn't a single one out here!"

"I mean, maybe something big was feeding through here and splashed them out here."

"There's no way..." June said hesitantly. "I want to believe that, but..."