This is an amazing roleplay I had with a talented writer over on DA: Nitron2097 (http://nitron2097.deviantart.com/)

Had to make an extra character for this, but I'd say it was worth it c:
Biography: http://www.furaffinity.net/view/15042479/

The RP style might be a bit confusing as we have sometimes completed the scenes of eachother. The reason was that this RP went over Notes, so each RP step contained multiple paragraphs xD

Hope you enjoy it nevertheless!


More arts (by Nitron):
River: http://nitron2097.deviantart.com/art/River-Ronessmee-493638112?q=gallery%3ANitron2097%2F50758916&qo=7
River's biography: http://nitron2097.deviantart.com/art/River-Ronessmee-OC-Bio-Sheet-493639211?q=gallery%3ANitron2097%2F50758916&qo=6
http://nitron2097.deviantart.com/art/River-At-The-Lake-493736048?q=gallery%3ANitron2097%2F50758916&qo=4
http://nitron2097.deviantart.com/art/Kingdra-Attacks-493847910?q=gallery%3ANitron2097%2F50758916&qo=3

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-- Chasing a Legend --


The Pokecenter of this village wasn't very frequently visited. It surely had a beautiful location, allowing the morning sunrays which glistened across a large lake nearby, to illuminate the inside.
Yet the village it belonged to was rather small, resulting in only few people interested in those creatures at all.

Nevertheless, there was a single girl standing in front of one of the large basins for water-types - the type this center was specialized on - and scribbled onto a paper notebook she was holding in her hand.

She was naturally tanned and had little freckles on her cheeks which were slightly covered by the back-long, glistening-black hair she had loosely bound together.
One would guess her to be just about 13 or 14 years old, yet her eyes were showing a sign of intelligence as well as confidence one wouldn't expect.

Her chest - which was clad in a beautiful, yet rather simple white robe - rose slightly up and down as she sighed contently and looked up at the basin again where she could hear the typical sounds of a few vaporeons playing around.

Suddenly she shook her head thoughtfully and slowly turned away, staring at her papers.

And looked up when she heard footsteps on the soft sand surrounding the basin.

Another girl that looked to be just about her age, wearing a navy vest over a tight dark shirt and shorts with high black socks, had walked up the path and was coming toward her. A small messenger bag hung from her right shoulder. She held her own sheet of paper and only looked up from it when she reached the edge of the basin, stopping at the edge of the water. She peered into the rippling water - her waist-long magenta ponytail falling across her back as she did - and lifted the visor on her forehead a bit to gaze into the water.

“Oooh, Vaporeons… Aw, they’re so cute!”

The new girl reached into her messenger bag and pulled out a colorful notebook with a pencil inside, opened it, and began scribbling in it, before sitting down in the sand beside the basin. She then pulled another paper out of her bag and looked it over, her lavender eyes gleaming with anticipation.

The warm smile that had been on her face faded into a frown as she looked over the paper, but she quickly dismissed whatever had disappointed her and picked up her notebook again, resuming whatever she’d been doing, tossing her ponytail back over her shoulder with her left hand.

She folded her feet together and set the open notebook in her lap with the pencil in the crease between the pages.

“You could make a new friend here, Oshawatt,” she said to herself with a giggle as she played with the laces of her bright blue high top sneakers.

The black haired girl was already with her mind away, thinking about what she could do next to finally solve this mystery she had traveled all the long way over here from Hawaii.

The steps behind her suddenly took her back to concentration and she looked around, seeing another girl. She noticed her beautiful hair color and the warm smile she had on her face, made her smile as well.

A bit surprised she noticed her whispering to herself and she chuckled as well before finally deciding to walk closer. The foreign girl wasn't very confident with talking to foreign people, yet something about this girl was making it easier for her than usually.

"Hello! Yes, the vappys are always adorable!", she said while she put her notebook down.

The new girl turned her head, and a look of surprise crossed her face as she noticed the other for the first time. “Oh…I’m sorry,” she said, a little too hastily, snapping her notebook closed and standing up, “I…um… I didn’t know anyone else would be here…”

She smiled widely, lifting a hand to scratch the back of her head. “I just… This paper they gave me…” Her hand went toward her messenger bag before stopping halfway, and she looked up and bowed. “Ah…sorry,” she apologized again. “This is…well… It’s my first time…leaving my hometown, so…”

The black haired girl stood there, watching; she’d had never seen someone with that skin tone back in Asperita City…a foreigner? But…there was something about this girl; she had an heir of quiet confidence.

‘Come on, River,’ she thought, shaking her head before taking a deep breath.

“Hi! My name’s River Ronessmee,” she said, holding out a hand to the other girl and speaking energetically, “I’m a rookie trainer from Asperita City!”

The tanned one chuckled softly and even gave a soft bow, yet with a playful smile.
"Sorry if I have startled you! Have been watching the vaporeons too, but they were not what I looked for.. however.."
The girl had a slightly foreign accent in her voice, yet she was speaking the language clearly.
Quickly she took River's hand into her own, surprisingly warm one.
"A pleasure to meet you, River! What an interesting name!"
She looked in River's eyes before she spoke.
"My name’s Mi'ara, but you can call me just Mi, if you like!"

Mi'ara stepped slightly forward and looked at the basin again. She could feel the send on her feet as she was wearing only some thin sandals.

"So are you training one of them?", she asked.

“Actually…” River’s free hand returned to the back of her head and she smiled a nervous smile. “I’d really like to have a Vaporeon, but right now I only have an Oshawatt and a Panpour.” She then opened her eyes, which gleamed with excitement as she turned back to the basin, gently pulling her hand from Mi’ara’s grasp. “But I really, really like Water-types, so I’m hoping to catch one soon!”

She then opened her notebook again and stared into it. “I’ve actually… I’ve wanted a Vaporeon for a long time.” She closed her eyes again and turned the notebook around to show Mi’ara.

The pages were covered in sketches of Vaporeon…some jumping, some swimming, and some running.

“They’re just so adorable!” River said again, clutching the notebook to her chest, her cheeks starting to show a hint of red as she giggled to herself.

The two girls laughed, and River smiled wide. There was something about Mi’ara…normally River had trouble talking to anyone she didn’t know, but when it came to Water Pokemon, she could talk all day. And Mi'ara was very easy to talk to...she seemed to be a very outgoing, confident person.

“Oh, right,” River suddenly said as she pulled out the sheet of paper she’d been holding before. “Mi…do you know anything about…well, a friend back home told me about this…” River held out the paper so Mi’ara could see it as she spoke, lowering her voice. “There’s supposedly this super rare legendary Pokemon living somewhere near this village and…”

Mi'ara had laid down onto the comfortable sand during their talking, inviting the other girl to do the same.
She admired the pictures of the adorable vaporeons and only giggled, smiling.
"You will catch one, don't worry! I have a Sneasel as well as an Eevee which hopefully will evolve into a vaporeon.. if I get one of those stones.."

She listened closely to River's words but as she mentioned the legendary pokemon, she immediately perked up.

"Ohh, how great to hear!" Mi'ara suddenly seemed surprisingly excited and her blue-green eyes almost seemed to glisten.
"So there are more people believing it exists? So that is spread more than I thought it would!"
She spoke rapidly and quickly took her own paper as well, showing to her a sheet seeming to display only a single creature filling most of the page.
"This is what I have found in documents from the very few people claiming to have seen it. The sources weren't very confident about this, but I believe it could be a watertype!
That's why I came all over here.. despite the trouble.. and many people telling me not to." She said with a chuckle.

River had pulled out her own paper, which just had some notes from an ‘urban legends’ website scribbled on it. She didn’t know anything more about this legend than Mi’ara, apparently.

“Yeah, that’s pretty much what I’ve heard too. It’s supposed to be something to see,” she says to Mi’ara, looking down at the page. “But, this is all I could find online, and no one at the Pokemon Center in Asperita City seemed to know anything about it.” She paused. “Well, except for this one kid from my school. He told me he was on vacation here with his family and he saw its shadow underwater.”

River’s hand clenches around the sheet of paper, her fingers trembling a bit. “He told me it was all spikey…and really big, like the size of a dumpster.”

The creature, even if badly scribbled, on Mi'ara's drawing was not the less dangerous looking as River had described it. Various spikes and horns could be seen on a creature which had a vague similarity to a Lugia or Latias, yet its head looked like it would crunch everything coming too close.
"Yes, it could be a dangerous one!"

Mi'ara saw her slight trembling and slowly shuffled a bit closer to the other girl in the sand.
"But imagine what mystery we will reveal if we find it! That would be incredible.. incredible.. " She said while she placed a hand around River and hugged her tightly. Immediately, a slight blush appeared on her cheeks, becoming visible despite her rather tanned skin. Mi looked down for a moment.
"Sorry.. I didn't meant to involve you into anything.."
She whispered while she had realized that she had said "we".

River felt herself blushing. It was strange…she’d only known this girl for – what, about ten or so minutes – but already, she could feel close to her. Her touch was soothing.

And what she’d said… ‘Mystery…reveal…find…!’ The words had sent River’s heart jump-roping in her chest…that’s exactly why she’d followed these rumors and struck out on this adventure.

River reached up and put her own hand on Mi’ara’s, still resting gently on her shoulder. “No, it…it’s okay. To be honest, I really didn’t want to come out here by myself, but…my friends from the Asperita Gym… They’re always talking about all their cool adventures, and…”

She looked up into Mi’ara’s eyes again. “…Well, I’ve always wanted to experience something awesome, like this…” She picked up Mi’ara’s drawing, looking at it with a dreamy look. “I think it’s really cool, to be chasing after something like this. And, it’s weird…but all the rumors on that website were all negative, but… I don’t think it’s a monster or anything. Its just a Pokemon, right? It’s living, just like we are.”

River reached out and took Mi’ara’s hand. “And you’ve come so far just to find it…” Mi’ara’s enthusiasm seemed to be infectious…the minor apprehension River had felt just a minute ago was gone, replaced by a strange sort of excitement.

“Anyway…we’ll find it! I want to see it…then I’m gonna draw it and show everyone at the gym!” The girls exchanged smiles again, and River reached down and picked up Mi’ara’s drawing again. It was a little sketchy; not nearly as neat as her pictures but the detail in it was still clear and well drawn; it looked like Mi’ara had drawn it in a hurry. “So is this yours? You’re a pretty good artist.”

Mi nodded and smiled reassuring. "Oh I'm sure this can figure as a very special adventure - and it might be just as interesting for us too!"
She giggles softly and almost blushes even more as she comments so nicely to her drawing.
"Nawr.. I just tried my best to put on paper how people described it."

Suddenly the black haired girl slowly looked down again and sighed heavily.
"This surely would be fun... But I am not sure we can even get any closer. The creature seems to be one of the deep waters.
That was also a reason I was here, to compare my drawing with the watertypes around.
In that case we will require scuba gear - of the type suited for deeper water - but in this tiny village, none seems to own anything like that, not to mention able to lend it... Even the waterbasins are shallow here."
She shook her head in a hint of disappointment.

“…Wait…we can’t get scuba gear?”

There was no mistaking the hint of fear that had appeared in River’s voice. ‘Just how deep does this Pokemon supposedly live?’

She flipped open her Pokedex and called up a map of the region; except for the large lake she’d walked along when she’d reached the Pokemon Center, there were no other bodies of water. But…

The Pokedex did show a series of underground caverns running underneath the mountainside, and one of the larger ones was connected to the lake, deep below ground.

“By deep water, you don’t mean…all these caves here, do you?” River asked, pointing to the screen. One of the mountain peaks apparently was an ancient volcano, and a series of lava tubes ran underneath the mountain, and they were deep enough to all be flooded with water. The only entrance seemed to be from the lake, and the only other opening appeared to be in a cave deep under the mountain. River then remembered the sign at the front entrance, encouraging visitors to take a dip in the lake, but the sign warned the caves were narrow and dangerous and that swimming into them was not allowed under any circumstance for safety reasons.

“I…I don’t know,” River said to Mi’ara. “I mean, I’m a good swimmer, but… I mean, I’ve never really liked cramped places… And we’re not supposed to…”

Mi'ara listened cautiously at the apparatus and nodded.
"So I guess that's one of the reasons why none has even seen that creature..."
She speaks thoughtfully, yet she gives River a reassuring smile and gently hugged her again for a moment, causing her barely bund, deep black hair to brush over River's shoulders.

"Hey, in my country we often learn to feel comfier in the water than on land - and your name even carries the name of a type of water!"
She grinned visibly and confidently again.
"Don't you think we can make our way down there together?"
Mi'ara gave a wink and leaned back again, looking in her new friend's eyes, hoping she wouldn't be too scared.

“…!”

River’s eyes went wide.

There was something about Mi’ara…her warmth…her confidence… And that’s when the thought shot through her mind; she saw her Mom, telling her why she’d given her that name. ‘I hope that your life will be adventurous like a flowing river, winding your way through many different experiences and places…’

“I…I guess,” River finally said, looking down at her Pokedex.

So long as they were careful…it shouldn’t be too dangerous.

And…she really, really wanted to see this Pokemon for herself. Since the first time she’d seen the rumors online, River had been thinking about that awesome legend, hoping she’d get a chance to see if it really was true or not.

‘No,’ she thought, ‘I came all the way out here for this! I’m going to see this through!’

She snapped her Pokedex closed and stood up, stuffing the tiny folding device into the pocket of her vest. “All right, Mi’ara…let’s go find him!”

The young girl looked a bit surprised, almost gasping. "O..oh, you.. agree?"
She asked, just to go sure while she stood up, placing her notebook aside.

"You surely must be loving the water!", she added with an innocent smile and suddenly leaped to the thin border of the vaporeon's basin and placed her hands into the water, only to turn around and splash a couple of waterdrops at River.*

"Hehehe! This will be a deep adventure.. a very deep one." A sort of odd tone was in her voice. It almost sounded fearful, yet she couldn't help herself but grin again and one could tell that this feeling of fear was just what she was after.

“Hey…really?” River threw up her hands to block the sudden splash, laughing a bit as she did so. Once again, the hint of apprehension had vanished from her heart, replaced by anticipation and eagerness. “At least wait until I have my swimsuit on!”

The cool water from the basin fell across her hair, a nice respite from the midday sun.

River went ahead and pulled off her visor, vest, and shirt, revealing a slim, black one piece swimsuit with red trim. She then pulled off her socks and shoes and took a pair of flip flops out of her messenger bag and put them on her feet. “Let’s check our things in at the Pokemon center and then check out that lake.”

"Oh, yes, you are right!"
She said and looked a bit surprised as she saw River just stripping in front of her and she even blushed a little*
"Thought I'd be the only one wearing just a suit down below!", she responded with a nod and quickly opened her white robe, revealing a skintight, dark-blue two-piece which was closely surrounding her small breasts as well as her hips. On the side of her hips, she could make out a brighter blueish tear or droplet of water on the fabric. Besides that, she was also wearing a small stopwatch, bound with a thread around her hips.

"Alright! Yes, let's go! I think this is a perfect day for this.."
*She said while she picked up her notebook as well as her robe, walking over to the center's shelter.

River stuffed her clothes into her messenger bag and followed Mi’ara over to the shelter. The girls went through the front entrance and up to the desk in the lobby, behind which was seated Nurse Joy. She looked up from her computer terminal and smiled at them. “Oh, hello there,” she said with a smile.

“Hi, Nurse Joy,” River said to her, holding up her bag, “We’d like to leave our things here. We’re going to check out the lake.”

“Of course,” Nurse Joy said, holding out her hand to take River’s bag, “Do you have any Pokemon that need healed?”

“No, thank you,” River replied as she pulled off her athletic shorts and put them into her bag. “My Oshawatt likes it just fine in his Poke-ball.”

“All right then. I haven’t had any other visitors today, so you two have the lake all to yourselves. Please remember it is a Pokemon habitat, so no catching, okay?”

“No problem,” River replied, and she heard Mi’ara giggle next to her. “We’re just going for a swim.”

“Well, have fun,” Nurse Joy said with another bright smile, her twin pink loops of hair bobbing as she nodded to the girls, who both thanked her before rushing energetically from the lobby.

A few minutes later, they stood on the sandy shore of the lake, the clear, blue water ripping brightly in the shining sun, small waves lapping up to the shore.

Mi'ara contently took in the fresh air of the lake. Her chest was swelling visibly and the toned muscles of her lower chest became visible - it was obvious that she was a fairly athletic girl. This impression was only reinforced by the carelessness she seemed to go about the cool air sourrounding her body while she stretched with closed. "Oh, this is so amazing here!"
*She smiled and lowered her arms again, looking at River and blushing a little. Then she leaned down and removed her sandals so her bare feet were touching the soft, natural sand.

"This is a beautiful place..", she whispered. "At Hawaii it is hard nowadays to find such a calm place..."
Mi leant over and placed a hand on Rivers shoulder. Have you been diving oftenly?

“I’m in the swimming club at school, but we don’t do anything like this, so…” The touch of fear had returned to River’s voice as she spoke, lifting her feet one by one to remove her own sandals. The sun’s felt refreshing on the bare skin of her arms and legs, “…I’m a pretty good swimmer, but I’m not sure how long I can hold my breath for.”

She turns back to the lake, staring through the shimmering surface.

The sparkling lake shone in her eyes, and she suddenly shook her head, as though shaking that trepidation from her mind entirely. ‘No, don’t be nervous,’ she told herself, ‘…This is gonna be fun, and we’re going to find that Pokemon!’

…And with that, she reached to her side, took Mi’ara’s hand, and tugged her forward toward the water.

Mi'ara nods slowly, yet a bit unsure herself.
"Don't worry.. we will return as soon as you feel unsafe!"

She tries to remember the vague map they had seen on the pokedex. The closest entrance to the cave was 13 or 14 feet below the surface, but this would only be the very beginning of their travel.

"Hmm.. but let's hope there will be some air pockets down there at some point!", she mumbles but suddenly gasped as she felt River grip her hand.

"Hehe, you are excited, I see!", speaks to her while she follows swiftly, soon splashing into the shallow water.
"Ahh.. the water is warm enough", she spoke with a smile on her face while slowly walking into the waist-deep water.
"M..mrr.." She gave a soft chuckle as the water touched her lower chest.

Suddenly she gasped a quick gulp of air and leaped forward, jumping right under the surface, not caring about the temperature anymore. Some water splashed around, yet she had disappeared gracefully.

River followed her, taking in a lungful of air and diving into the lake before her mind could catch up with her and send more fear coursing through her chest.

The lake water was incredibly clear, and River couldn’t believe how bright the sunlight rippling through the surface was as it struck the sandy bottom, reflecting off the rocks and grasses on the bottom. Her eyes took in all the beautiful sights; the swaying plants, the jagged stones, and all the little particles of silt and sand floating as if in zero gravity.

‘This is…so beautiful,’ River thought to herself, her eyes wide. The water was cool on her skin, and her hair flowed all around her as she followed Mi’ara down along the shore.

Ahead of them as they swam, River could see the lake floor get steadily steeper until it dropped away sharply. Mi’ara swam confidently ahead of her, her long limbs gliding effortlessly through the water. She reached the drop-off and angled her body downward, and after only a moment of hesitation, River followed.

…The deeper part of the lake was teeming with Pokemon! River immediately recognized many of them…an Oshawatt just like hers along with many others…a school of Goldeen swam just beyond the underwater rock face, and a Magikarp swimming amongst them. Just below her, several Staryu sat on the steep rocks.

‘Wow!’ she said to herself as she swam, ‘There are more Water-types here than I’ve ever seen in one place before!’ River swam down to where the Staryu were clinging to the rock face and watched them intently for a moment. A shadow came up behind her, and she turned her head to see Mi’ara, floating there happily with a wide smile.

The sunlight easily penetrated the crystal clear water, bouncing off Mi'ara's blue bikini and her body, causing the shadow over the reef down where River was.
Swiftly she kicked her tanned legs just once to bring herself in an upright position before she began to sink with closed eyes closer to her friend. A couple of bubbles freely seeped from her lips as she used just her outstretched hands to guide herself closer to the rock.

Her legs were touching together as if they were united due to her calm appearance. Yet she eventually opened her eyes again and reached for River's hand before she guided them closer to the pokemon she was watching too.
Suddenly a young Dragonair slid swiftly from a hole in the cliff. Yet the hawaiian girl wasn't surprised and just gently patted its head.

Mi'ara giggled underwater, causing a flurry of bubbles as she was not caring about her air while she played with the pokemon who was first trying to curl around her body but then nuzzled up to River's chest, bumping against her.

River watched Mi’ara pet the Dragonair, and she began to feel more comfortable in the water. ‘This is so awesome,’ she thought to herself, watching the Pokemon curl itself around Mi’ara’s body, and then it slid away from her and touched River’s chest, curling around her instead. River held her arms wide and let the Dragonair swim around her, spinning in the water, a wonderful feeling of freedom rushing through her. It’s scales were a little rough against her skin, but she didn’t mind one bit.

Swimming with all these different Water-types was something she’d never gotten the chance to do at home, and she wanted to relish every single moment.

The Dragonair lifted its head so it’s eyes met River’s, and she could have sworn she saw it smile happily before it took off into the water, heading for the deeper part of the lake opposite the rock face.

River watched it go before feeling something pulling at her arm. Mi’ara had taken hold of her wrist and was inclining her head, indicating the gaping hole in the rocks below them…the entrance to the cave and the start of their adventure.

River nodded, and together, the two girls swam down toward the opening. River felt a slight pressure on her ears as they went further down, and she looked over her head. The surface must have been probably ten feet above or so, but just inside the opening the cave sloped downward sharply, and River wasn’t able to see the bottom. ‘Wow…that’s deep,’ she thought.

Mi’ara didn’t even hesitate to swim right into the gaping hole in the rock, and after a moment, River followed her, trying to keep track of how long they’d been underwater so far, though with the excitement she wasn’t sure if her count was right or not.

But just then, River felt a slight spasm run through her chest…it must have been much longer since they dove than she thought. A few bubbles escaped her mouth, and she reached out and grasped Mi’ara’s ankle before she could get any further into the cavern. Mi’ara turned and looked, a little surprised, and River pointed upward, a few more bubbles coming from her clenched lips; Mi’ara nodded in reply and the girls both swam back up to the surface of the lake.

Mi'ara blushed a little, knowing she had been daring quite a lot if she had been diving down further. Yet there was something about this place what kept her restless. It was almost like something was attracting her to those unknown places. If she thought about it, she knew that this feeling had been present through her whole, young life - and it had got here more than into fairly critical situations.

The girl was sunken in thoughts, only brought back by River who tugged at her ankle now and her glance fell on her lips how she were forcing them closed to keep all the air in. 'was she entirely out of breath already?', Mi'ara wondered but she knew that they both didn't prepare in any way for the dive.

Gently she took Rivers warm hand blew a couple of bubbles at her, glistening during their rise, just as if she was teasing her new friend.
A slight tightness was on Mi'ara's chest as well, yet she didn't show any sign when he smiled at her and began forcefully to swim up towards the surface. As she swam, it was visible that she had a lot of training and dedication behind her. With closed hindlegs she bent her body perfectly, calmly ascending in a dolphin style.

The blazing sun burned its way into River’s eyes as they swam upward. River’s head broke the surface of the water and she inhaled a deep breath. Mi’ara came up right next to her, and River turned to face her, treading water with her legs to keep herself above the water.

“That was harder than I thought,” she said, knowing full well she was beaming uncontrollably. “But wow…that Dragonair was so cute! I wish I could have caught it! I’ve always wanted one!”

She looked down into the water again at the spot on the underwater cliff face where the Staryu were still attached to the rocks, and then to the school of Goldeen still swimming quickly around the grass and other plants in the water closer to the shore.

She turned to Mi’ara to find the other smiling back at her and nodding.

“You must swim a lot,” River said to her, “You looked so cool swimming like a dolphin like that.” She then lowered her head. “Sorry I had to come up…I’m not as good at breath-holding as you.”

The black haired girl threw her loose ponytail back and gasped once as she took in the fresh, cool air. Yet she was not out of breath at all when she shook her head and hugged River, splashing some water over her face accidentally.
"Oh, don't worry, you are a good diver!
We only need a bit of preparation to hold on longer.", she added and smiled a very happy smile with closed eyes.

"Yes, I have been trying a lot to find the most effective way of swimming... it helps with taking long distances underwater." Mi'ara's voice is a bit shy again as she leans back, using one of her hands to keep herself afloat while she takes some of her soaked hair out of her face, giggling softly.
Then she began speaking again with a slightly more serious tone.

"Have you read about the various tricks breath-holders can do - above and down below - to prolong their time underwater?"

River shook her head, droplets of water falling from her dripping hair, thinking back to everything they’d covered in their club. “No, we really don’t do anything like that in the swimming club. It’s mostly sprints and different strokes. I can do that dolphin kick but not as well as you.”

Her eyes fell back down to the entrance to the cave, trying to keep her spirits up.

“Sometimes, we do breath-holding contests, but those are kind of just for fun.”

She really…really wanted to see that Pokemon.

Though she was also still a little nervous; River had no idea how deep those tunnels were, or if they could find any openings where there might be air pockets or maybe another exit that wasn’t on the map.

This really was dangerous…and that realization finally hit home. This was risky…

She could get hurt…and maybe, even…

She shook her head again, harder this time, which sent drops of water spraying. ‘No…I can’t think that way! I can do this!’

“But…if you know any tricks,” River finally said, looking up to Mi’ara, “Maybe you could teach them to me real quick!”

Mi'ara was a bit surprised by River's shaking head and she could see the hint of fear in the eyes of this shy girl.
She lowered her voice and gently placed a hand onto her shoulder, just onto one of the straps of her one-piece.
"Hey.. if you have any problem, I will help you!". There is determination as well as a hint of security in her voice and her clear, sharp eyes connect with hers.
"But if you don't want to get that far, you don't have to!"
The tanned girl looks serious for a couple of seconds, yet smiles again when she notices her curiosity about the tricks.

"Well, first of all it's important to take in as much oxygen as possible, before we dive. This has the risk to get dizzy if you don't take care, but I'm sure you are a strong girl!"
She smiled even brighter now.
"So before we start, we calmly take deep, long breaths. Exhaling and inhaling all the air in our lungs. Then we speed up gradually for a couple of seconds, almost hyperventilating before going under... If.. you don't mind.. I could take your hand to guide you, until the dizziness fades!", the girl giggles and blushes a little, almost sinking underwater.

"Besides that..", she continued. "there is a technique suited for a real emergency. I only had to use it once...
The idea is to trick your body that you were breathing. For this you have to exhale and inhale rapidly in and out from your chest into your cheeks and back."

Mi's voice become softer the longer she spoke and in the end, she had placed her hand right on River's chest, enabling her to feel her warmth and occasionally when the water was silent, even feel her heartbeat. Her cheek's were visibly reddish and she looked away.
"This requires a lot of willpower... but it can help you for one or two seconds!
However, we hopefully wont need it anyways!"

She winks and throws her black hair back. "So are you ready for the adventure of your life, or not?", she asked with a grin and clearly in a challenging tone.

River practiced the deep breathing for a couple of seconds, until she felt her heart rate slow a little. The exhalations were very calming, and the strength of Mi’ara’s words filled her with an almost newfound confidence.

She turned to her new friend and gave her a tight hug. “Thank you, Mi,” she told her softly before releasing the embrace. “I’m ready! Let’s do this!”

Mi’ara gave her an excited look, and both girls breathed in, then out, then in again, as if trying to get in rhythm with each other, speeding up in the last couple of breaths as Mi’ara had instructed before River new friend held out her hand, which River accepted.

And then, with one final deep breath, both girls clamped their mouths shut and plunged beneath the water.

The number of Pokemon in the water seemed to have tripled in the few minutes they were at the surface, but this time River didn’t let it surprise her. She did feel a slight dizziness – just as Mi’ara said she would – but it wasn’t too bad. Mi’ara swam with strong strokes, and River followed right after her, their hands locked tight together. In only a few seconds, they were floating in the mouth of the cavern.

The adventurers traded smiles, and swam in.

The cavern started out fairly wide, and for the first little while, the girls had no trouble moving at all. The rock formations on either side as they swam along changed every few feet in both color and roughness; some were smooth and some were jagged. River made a quick mental note not to get too close to the walls to avoid cutting herself on a jagged piece of rock.

The cavern soon started to slope downward, and it got steeper as the girls swam along, and the light streaming in through the cave mouth behind them diminished, though not by enough to hinder their sight. Mi’ara continued on, and River followed closely, not letting go of her hand.

After a few more seconds of swimming, the passage narrowed, and they had to carefully maneuver their way through, River keeping close to Mi’ara’s body. As they slid through the tight gap, River felt her leg brush against Mi’ara’s, but she managed not to scrape against the cave wall.

But…as soon as they had cleared that obstacle…they came upon a fork in the cavern.

River quickly looked left and right… Both the tunnels sloped even more steeply downward than the current one, though the drop through the right hand one looked to not be as steep as the left one. River tugged on Mi’ara’s hand, and the other looked at her.

Right as River had given the signal to go under, Mi'ara had grabbed to her waist, taking the small stopwatch there and turned it on. So this time they would know at any moment how long they were underwater.

Her chest was swollen with air, almost looking like it would burst the firm upper part of her suit. However, this wasn't keeping her in any way from doing her strong, calm swimming moves - together with River.
The pressure around the two girls increased quickly, causing them almost simultaneously to pinch their noses to equalize the pressure in their heads. Yet afterwards they only continued fast to make their way through the massive rock of the cave.

Mi'ara's black hair glistened in the sunlight even down here where it became darker and darker. Yet almost instinctively she swam closer to River as they passed through the narrower passage. She felt their legs brushing together, yet she didn't care and continued forward, still holding hands.

Eventually as they were at the split-way, both the girls were unsure where to go. One or two trapped bubbles seeped from Mi'ara's lips although she kept them firmly pressed. She recognized that there was a slight difference between the two continuing tunnels. One seemed to be going even deeper than the other one.
Thinking that the creature they were looking for, was only able to hide for so long because it lived at the depths, it was easy to decide.

The tanned girl gave her friend a reassuring smile, watching over her athletic body how it was clad in this beautiful, black one-piece. She looked like an expert diver now.
So she pointed at the left tunnel and swiftly heading there - using her dolphin-style again to save energy.

The pressure become stronger and strong as they soon headed almost vertically down through the slightly narrowing cave. Mi'ara felt the slight tightness around her chest, yet if she was honest, she loved that feeling. She felt united with the water, yet she peeked over at River to check whether she was feeling the same.

Suddenly something distracted both the girls: A silent, beep could be heard and the girl with the stopwatch immediately pointing at it, showing the display which was blinking and showed 1:01.. 1:02. Then it stopped and continued to count silently.
This only made Mi'ara grin a little, yet she was a bit worrying. Not about the air but because with every second, they could see less and less as the sunlight was barely reaching down here.
Yet as she looked ahead she suddenly thought to make out a pale, greenish glowing a couple of feet below them. Both the girls were incredibly curious to find out what it was, speeding up their swimming.

River heard the soft beep and glanced toward the source; it was the stopwatch on Mi’ara’s hip, which Mi’ara pointed at.

…One minute and counting…

River felt a slight pressure building in her chest, and she tried her best not to think about it. Even so, nagging thoughts still pulled at her. ‘Can I really do this?’ The best she’d ever done holding her breath at the school pool was just under four minutes, so…if they went past two minutes down here…

Mi’ara continued to glide forward in the water, still not seeming the slightest bit worried.

‘I wish I were as confident as her,’ River thought.

The tunnel was now almost stretching straight downward – though River wasn’t sure; it was hard to orient yourself down here – and the water pressure was building gradually; River could feel it in her ears.

‘Just keep going,’ she told herself, ‘We’ll be…’

And then her eyes almost popped out of her head.

Just ahead of them, the tunnel seemed to turn back upward again, and…a soft, greenish glow was reflecting off the cavern walls. Something was lighting the tunnel. But the cavern also narrowed some more, and as it started to slope, it narrowed enough so the girls couldn’t get through side by side. Mi’ara looked at River, lifting her eyebrows just enough for River to see, and released her hand, swimming on through the gap. River followed, again moving slowly to avoid scratching herself on the walls. They rejoined hands, and River gave Mi’ara a ‘thumbs up’ to say she was okay.

The tunnel then turned sharply to the left…and opened up wide to reveal a large cavern…with glowing green walls!

River couldn’t believe her eyes. The rocks on the walls were glowing! Green light filled the space, which had to be almost as wide as her living room at home. She tugged on Mi’ara’s wrist and paddled over toward the rock face.

The rock was covered by a soft, puffy looking plant that sort of resembled ground moss…and it was emitting a brilliant light. And…there were Horsea down here too! Several of them floated around the cavern, and a few drifted up to their new visitors.

‘This is amazing!’ River’s mind almost didn’t comprehend what her eyes were showing it.

…A short beep sounded and shattered her thoughts; Mi’ara’s watch, now showing two minutes…

River stared at the cold numbers, and now she was feeling really nervous. Any longer and they might not be able to get back to the surface.

She tightened her grip on Mi’ara’s hand, nodding in the direction they’d come from, and Mi’ara glanced in the opposite direction, toward another opening in the cavern opposite the entrance they’d just swam through. River’s mind raced.

‘She’s not thinking…of going deeper, is she?’

Mi'ara had been just as surprised by this very unusual type of plant spending light for them. She smiled and gently brushed her hand over it, noticing that it almost felt like moss.
This was almost exciting her too much and she closed her eyes for a moment to calm herself, slowing down her body's function.
During this, even the admonishing sound of the stopwatch could not disturb her. She placed her free hand onto her chest, yet opened her eyes, staring at the darker, mysterious tunnel leading out of the chamber.

When she felt River strengthening her grip slightly, she let out a small tricle of bubbles, trying to sooth the pressure which was building up within her chest. She peeked at her stopwatch too but shook her head when she saw River's attempt to return. Gently she tugged the other girl closer with her hand and placed her own palm onto River's chest before she showed just her index finger.

It was unclear whether she meant "just a minute" or something like "pay attention". However, with a strong kick of her legs, she pushed off the water and began to cross the cave quickly.

The horsea followed the two girls across the cave, swimming around them and River couldn't resist to pat them, causing them to return the favor and nuzzle with their snouts along her belly and neck. Mi'ara almost giggled from the look, yet she managed not to loose any bubbles.

Suddenly the happy pokemon swam away though just when they came to the entrance to the tunnel. It was slightly narrower, so the two girls had to swim close next to each other, not to hurt themselves.
Mi'ara wondered a bit why the pokemon had disappeared so suddenly and in the back of her head, she had a slightly bad feeling about going even further, especially since she knew that it would take almost two minutes to return.
"Could that be too much for her?..", went through her mind when she looked worryingly at her new friend, yet she wanted to test their limits and possibly find what they were down here for.

As the girls floated in the mouth of the tunnel, River glanced into Mi’ara’s eyes. There was expectation there, but also…a tiny hint of disappointment. Mi’ara turned and looked toward the opening of the cavern, leading deeper into this treacherous network of tunnels.

The discomfort in her chest was growing, and she knew she didn’t have much more, but…at the same time…

‘She wants to see it…maybe even more than I do…’ She thought about heading back up on her own, but the thought of going it alone scared her even more than continuing on. And waiting around here was the last thing they should be doing.

She shook her head and gave Mi’ara a thumbs-up, at which her companion nodded happily, giving River’s hand a firm squeeze, and they left the bio-luminescent chamber, heading deeper into the underwater tunnels.

Another soft glow – yellow this time – appeared ahead of them, and River recognized the color immediately; the bio-luminescent glow of Lanturns!

But after only about a hundred feet, it was clear getting through this tunnel was going to be tough. The cavern swung around to the right and got very narrow, with spiky rocks jutting out from either side. Their progress was slowed almost to a crawl as they had to navigate through. Mi’ara had just turned to help River through the last of the protruding rocks when River spotted something in the chamber ahead of them.

…A massive Kindgra, lying against the wall of the cavern, apparently sound asleep.

Right next to River's butt - as the girl was floating close to the exit - she could see some yellow lights, quickly recognizing them as a few, small Lanturns, providing a beautiful illumination.
Yet she also noticed the shadow of the large pokemon and Mi'ara’s heart began to race in excitement, thinking it could be what they were after, in this foreign environment.

Noticing that River had stopped swimming, she quickly popped her head out of the opening and stroked her black hair out of her face before her glance fell on this proud, large Kingdra. The young girl stood still as well, looking over at River who looked back with a slightly unsure expression.

This wasn't what the two were after but the appearance of this rare, graceful, yet powerful creature was nevertheless a special event.
The girls slowly looked around in the cave, seeing that there were multiple tunnels leading away from this point.
Yet Mi'ara was slowly reminded of how much her body missed the fresh air. The tightness in her chest had grown and it took quite some of her concentration to prevent her chest from spasming in need. Another two or three bubbles seeped from her lips.

She just wanted to look at her stopwatch as it beeped once again. "Time to return quickly!..", she thought and just wanted to tug at River's hand when she suddenly saw a quick movement. The Kingdra had woken up and probably unlike humans, it seemed entirely active already.
Mi'ara's eyes went wide and she was like petrified when the large creature rose rapidly and dashed at the two intruders. River wanted to swim away, yet she noticed how her friend wasn't seeming to move. In the last moment before the pokemon's massive head would hit them both, she pushed again Mi's side, turning her away. Their hands parted.

The Hawaiian girl was slightly dizzy and she only heard a loud burbling as she was thrown back. Yet she vaguely saw how the Kingdra had hit River's back, throwing her forward and causing a large cloud of bubbles to burst from her mouth. In panic, Mi'ara pressed a hand over her mouth to prevent herself from shrieking out and losing most of her air.
Yet she realized that the pokemon didn't have enough. It leant back, obviously preparing for a powerful hydro pump.

She quickly grabbed River's hand again and pushed her forward. Mi'ara knew they would get hit of they tried to return where they came from, so she pushed off the rock, quickly dashing towards one of the tight looking tunnels, leading away from this chamber. She knew the Kingdra could impossibly follow them in there.

River gazed at the sleeping Kingdra, wondering if they could slip by without it noticing them. The chamber had two tunnels branching off in either direction that looked barely wide enough for the girls to squeeze through and yet another opening behind the snoozing Kingdra. She could see everything clearly thanks to the Lanturns.

Just then, a soft beep emitted from Mi’ara’s watch, and River glanced down at it.

…And the Kingdra’s eyes blinked and came wide open!

River froze, unable to move. A random Pokemon battle from her home gym flashed through her mind; the gym leader’s Seadra pummeling her friend’s Cyndaquil like it was a punching bag – and Kingdra was an evolution above that!

The Kingdra immediately rose and charged at the two girls, its red eyes full of anger.

River yanked at Mi’ara’s hand, but the other girl didn’t move, and River’s mind screamed at her to get out of the way…but…

She instead kicked forward with everything she had, and shoved Mi’ara’s body aside, seconds before the Kingdra slammed into River’s back.

“Ahhh!”

An involuntary scream came from River’s mouth, and she felt Mi’ara’s hand rip from her grasp. White spots flashed across her vision, and a huge burst of bubbles poured from her mouth. Pain ripped through her side as her body was thrown through the water.

A spasm shot through her chest, and she clasped her hands over her mouth as she realized all the air had been forced from her lungs by the massive Kingdra’s attack.

‘No…I’m gonna drown!’

She felt her body spasm as her mind told her to inhale, her abdomen cramping.

Just then, something clasped around River’s wrist, and suddenly she was being pulled though the water at an incredible speed. She saw a fuzzy flash of black out of the corner of her eye and realized it was Mi’ara, pulling her toward the cavern wall. The Kingdra’s wild charge had the Lanturns flashing their fins brightly in reply, and River could only see their blazing light as it burned her eyes.

She coughed, feeling her throat tighten, as though a rope had been thrown around it.

The light vanished, as did the grip on her wrist…

‘Mi’ara…help me…’ River thought as pain shot through her body, her lungs screaming for air…

…She saw Mi’ara’s face in her hazy vision, her black hair swirling around her in the darkened water and her eyes full of panic. She leaned toward River…and put her lips to River’s own. River felt warm air fill her mouth, and she inhaled sharply. Mi’ara’s hands reached around and clasped around the bare skin of her back, the touch easing the pain still pulsing through her shoulder.

She opened her eyes, and gazed into Mi’ara’s. There were tears at the corners of her eyelids.


The two girls had barely made it into one of the tighter tubes before the Kingdra had charged again. Mi'ara saw with agony though how her dear friend was struggling hard. The girl who had saved her from a just as terrible impact was coughing and about to inhale water at every second. She knew that if this happened, everything was too late.
"..We have only a single chance... hold on, River!", she thought with panic rising.

Their lips firmly pressed together and quivering, Mi'ara's heart was pounding hard in fear, yet she was incredibly relieved when she noticed that their kiss of life was working. Since the cave was narrow, their bodies were already close to each other but without any more shyness, they embraced each other further. Mi'ara was feeling her back with one hand and the other one rubbing over River's chest through the one-piece to feel how it was swelling with air again.

The black haired girl's eyes were blurry, looking as if she was crying, yet showed an incredible mix of happiness and sorrow at the same time when River opened her eyes as well.
Mi'ara knew they were in deep, deep trouble now, yet she continued to exhale calmly, determined to do whatever needed to save this girl's life.

Suddenly a loud shattering went through the whole cave system. It sounded almost like a growling and surprised the girls, causing their kiss to break. A couple of bubbles seeped up towards the ceiling, yet they both closed their lips firmly shut and looked next to their own legs, at the chamber they came through.
Everything they could see in the flashing light of the lanturns, was a huge shadow as well as a massive, spiky tail rushing through the water.
The now well known sound of a Kingdra's hydro pump followed after and a cloud of dust rose through the chamber, taking their view. Something was fighting the Kingdra but they had not been able to recognize what it was.

Mi'ara's mind was spinning, unsure what to do. She looked away from the entrance, peeking along the tube-like tunnel which seemed to head upwards just a few feet in front of them.
She loosened the gentle hug around River a little and nodded upwards before she began to kick her legs to swim.
Her body was reacting rather slowly though and as they had made a couple of feet, she suddenly realized why. She had passed nearly all her air to River, leaving her chest fairly sucked in. One could count her ribs probably as well as her her trained muscles on her bare, lower belly.
Mi'ara's eyes clenched with strain as she felt her chest heaving hard, forcing her cheeks to bulge and a pale, bluish color appeared on them - a clear sign that she barely had any oxygen left. Yet she quickly regained composure and continued to swim along with River.
"I won’t give up... I won’t give up...", she said to herself when she heard their stopwatch beep for the fourth minute.


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