It was now day four of the Pokémon Summer Camp, and everyone was finishing their breakfast in the mess hall. And as the last camper finished their meal, Celestia clapped her hands to get their attention. "Morning everyone. Now that we're all fed and ready for the day, let me tell you what today's activity will be." In that moment, Timber, Luna and Sunset walked in carrying a bunch of fishing equipment, "Today, we'll be enjoying getting to know some Water-type Pokémon."
Everyone cheered at this, Gloriosa now continuing, "On the far side of the lake, multiple Water-types live there, and today you'll be fishing for them. The Pokémon are all aware of our activities and are fine with you fishing them, but you must refrain from catching any Pokémon."
"What?! Then what's the point?!" Lightning yelled, only to get nothing but shakes of the head from the professors.
"The point is to study the Pokémon you catch, Lightning." Celestia replied, her tone slightly dropping at the last bit, "Each of you will be required to write an essay about the Pokémon you catch, detailing their habits, diet and any other quirks you learn about them." A series of groans could now be heard, with the exception of a squee from one camper, who now had stars in her eyes, "And the higher grade you get on the essay, the more points you'll get for your cabin."
A few sighs followed this, everyone turning to see the nearby board that showed the points of all the cabins. So far, Ruby Cabin was in first with Sapphire in second, followed by Diamond.
"Alright!" Flash cheered as he stood up, "What are we waiting for?! Let's get out there and do some fish-er, research!"
This statement was met with many cheers, Luna giggling as she held up a box of fishing rods, "Very well, everyone get in line for a rod."
"And there's no need to push," Sunset added. "There's plenty for everyone."
It wasn't long till everyone had a rod, Celestia speaking up as the line shrunk, "I'm sure you all remember the flyers saying swimwear was advised. Well, now you know why. Anyone who wants to swim with the Pokémon they catch is welcome too, just so long as you don't forget about your report while having fun." Everyone nodded and headed off to the cabins, exiting a few minutes later dressed in swimwear.
The Sapphire Cabin were all dressed in the usual swimwear, the boys still wearing their camp shirts until they actually needed to get in the water. As for Rainbow, she was dressed in a black top with colors running down the front and pink shorts. Standing next to her was Fluttershy, who was in a black, green and yellow scuba suit. Trixie came out wearing a blue bikini with a star on the front and had a sarong around her waist. Pinkie then hopped up to the rest, wearing a one-piece similar to Twilight's except it was pink.
Once together, the group headed off to the lake, now seeing the rest of the campers. They saw Celestia and Luna, who both were wearing one-piece suits that were the same color as their usual clothes with their own sarongs that had their emblems on them. Sunset was wearing a black bikini with a fire-themed skirt on, and Timber was clothed in a white shirt and red shorts and had replaced his normal hat with a sports cap while Gloriosa was wearing a green variant of Celestia and Luna's clothes.
"Alright everyone, you all ready?" Gloriosa yelled, the campers all nodding in response, "Then let's head out!"
One walk to the lake later...
"Aw yeah, I can't wait!" Rainbow cheered as she skipped in front of the others, "Just watch, my catch is gonna be the biggest one! Heck, I might catch a Wailord!"
Twilight rolled her eyes at this, "Rainbow, there isn't a Wailord in this lake."
"How do you know?!"
"Because if there was, it'd fill the whole lake and not even be completely submerged."
"Whatever, nerd." Rainbow moaned before pointing to herself, "I'm still gonna catch the best one!"
"Not if I catch it first," Flash added. "And if my first isn't the best, I'll just keep fishing until I find something really cool."
"Actually, you can't." They all turned to see Timber and Sunset walk up to them, Timber chuckling as he explained, "Celestia forgot to mention that you can only catch one Pokémon, and whatever it is, you have to do your report on it."
"Seriously?!" Spike yelped, "But what if we get something super lame?!"
"There's no such thing as a super lame Pokémon," Timber told him. "Well, maybe a Pyukumuku or a Pincurchin, but you won't find any of those in a lake."
Doc nodded in agreement. "We'll just have to wait and see what we get. Who knows, maybe we'll get something really rare."
"Trixie's gonna catch herself the most beautiful Water-type in the whole lake."
"I just hope what I catch isn't too scary," Fluttershy muttered out, "I mean...what if I catch a Sharpedo or a Tentacruel?!"
"Oh relax," Pinkie told her while skipping along with Gummy munching on her hair. "If something like that shows up, we'll look after you. Besides, your new friend could beat any of them, no problem."
"That's right Fluttershy." Twilight added, "Harry has Thunder Fang. That'll beat any Water-Type around here with ease."
"Oh...yeah, I guess that's true," Fluttershy whispered as she looked down at the Pokeballs in her bag. "I just hope it doesn't come to that."
It was here that they got to the lake, the campers now already seeing several Pokémon swimming atop the surface of the water. Celestia then told everyone to pick a spot and get to fishing, Twilight getting her line ready first. "Swish and flick!" she said, using a technique she had read about for how to properly cast. The teen watched as the line flew through the air before hitting the water about a good fifteen feet away.
"Nice cast," Timber told her. "You're a real natural."
Her face started to show a red sheen, "I'm...really just a novice. But I've read a lot about fishing."
"Well, they must be very good books, because you're practically an expert." Twilight's blush intensified at this, the two giggling as the rest blankly stared at their banter.
As for Flash, he was rolling his eyes before casting his own line. But as he did this, a bulb appeared in his head, "Oh yeah..." Flash reached for his belt and pulled out two Pokeballs, everyone seeing this as he summoned Riptide and Hopper.
"Spar?"
"Hop?" The two looked up at Flash, the teen giving them a big grin.
"What are you doing?" Doc asked next.
"This is the perfect chance to get Hopper used to swimming. We haven't been anywhere near a lake since he hatched, and I haven't had time to do it before." Flash turned to Riptide, "Mind teaching Hopper how to swim? Since he's not a Water-type, I'm not sure if it's built into him."
"Tore," Riptide nodded before jumping into the lake. When his head popped back up, he gestured for Hopper to do the same.
"Hop..." Hopper muttered as he stared at the water, doing a small gulp.
"Ri," Springer then patted him on the head before stepping into the water. Seeing two of his friends do it, Hopper slowly bounced in, his body instantly floating like a lure.
"That's so cute," Pinkie commented as they watched him start to Growlithe paddle through the water. Everyone else giggled as Twilight pulled out her Pokeball.
"Shine, come on out." The ball opened and unleashed the Galarian Ponyta, who looked up at her trainer curiously. "Shine, do you want to learn to swim?" Shine gave her an odd look before turning to the lake, jumping in and swimming around without issue. "Oh. Guess you already know how to swim."
Hopper then saw Shine effortlessly swim past him, the Hoppin growling before thrashing his tiny legs around to try and pick up speed. As they watched this, Spike said, "Wow, Shine's good."
"Well, she's not really swimming," Doc added. "It's more like she's trotting along the lake's shallows. Equine Pokémon can't hold their breath though, so it'll be dangerous if she goes too far out."
Spike was about to reply, only to feel a tug on his line, "Whoa!" He turned back to the water, quickly reeling his line, "I think I got something!" Everyone watched as he pulled the line, fighting it for a minute until the Pokémon finally shot out of the water.
"Gold!" A blue blur fell in front of the teen, revealing a humanoid duck Pokémon with a red gem on its head. "Gold, duck!" It then posed like a model on a swimsuit magazine.
The others all laughed at its actions before Doc got his own bite, pulling an Octillery out of the water. This was followed by Fluttershy getting a Kingdra, and Rainbow getting a Buizel. Next was Trixie, who wasn't too happy when she caught a Relicanth, made even worse when Twilight got a Finneon.
"Uh...I think I got a big one!" Pinkie announced as she pulled on the line, Gummy popping out of her hair to help pull on the rod with his mouth.
"Do you need some help?" Doc asked, only to get a shake of the head from Pinkie.
"No! I think I...almost...got...whoa!" Pinkie yelped as she gave one last tug, a giant splash following this. Everyone gasped as a huge shadow flew out of the water, the Pokémon soon landing in front of Pinkie.
"Dew!"
"Quag!"
"Osha!"
Three Pokémon now stood before the group, the first being a Dewpider, then a Quagsire and finally an Oshawott. Everyone blinked at the sight, only for Pinkie to shine a huge grin and cheered, "YAY! I caught three Pokémon!"
"Dew/Quag/Osha!" The trio exclaimed, Pinkie leaping at them and giving one big hug. The party girl started laughing next as the Quagsire opened its giant goofy mouth, gnawing on her hair like Gummy while Oshawott started patting its shell like a drum as a cheer.
As this happened, Timber whispered to Twilight, "Did she just catch three Pokémon with one line and one piece of bait... which also includes an Oshawott that I've never seen at this lake before?!"
"I uh...yes?" Twilight tried to say, her head now showing steam come off it. She then pointed at Pinkie's new friends as she spoke up, "Um...Pinkie?"
"Yeah Twilight?"
"How...did you do that?"
"Do what?" Pinkie asked back, only for another splash to come from the lake. Everyone turned to the sound, just in time for a shadow to hop out of the water before landing on Pinkie's head.
"Shell!" yelled the Pokémon, showing itself to be a Shellder.
"Oh cool! I didn't even have to fish for that one!" Pinkie cheered before grabbing the Pokémon and putting it on the ground, "Hello there!"
"Shell!" Shellder replied before blowing a big raspberry with its giant cartoonish tongue.
Pinkie just laughed at this, "HA! Nice to meet you too!"
Everyone was now like Twilight, dumbfounded as she started to play with the four Pokémon. Twilight was the first to stop watching her, gripping her head as she whispered, "Ignore it Twilight. Don't question it...especially since there's no way an Oshawott would be here due to it not being native to Equestria...or the fact that Shellder come from the ocean. Just...ignore it."
And as the shock wore off from everyone else, Sunset went up to Pinkie and told her she would have to pick one of them for assignment. She agreed to use Dewpider, as it came out first, though decided to play with the other three as well. This was followed with Celestia and Luna coming over to question how this happened, Luna later declaring that Pinkie should be a test subject over random Pokémon encounters...which Celestia said 'no' to her.
It was here that Flash became the only one left who had yet to catch anything. "Come on..." he muttered as he pulled back his line to throw it for the fourth time, "I gotta catch something..."
Some commotion made him turn to see Lightning, the only camper who hadn't changed into swimwear, pull a Barraskewda out of the lake. The look on his face showed he was happy with the Pokémon he had gotten, making Flash. "Ugh...even he's good with what he got. Darn it..." He looked back at his line, "Why is nothing bite-hmm?" The teen suddenly felt a tug, making him smile, "Yes! Come to me!"
He quickly started pulling, finding whatever he had on the line to not be really resisting. "Must be something small. Come here, little guy!" He then did one last pull, only to go wide-eyed to see to a Pokémon come flying out of the water...and stay suspended on Flash's line.
"Clauncher," said a blue pistol shrimp Pokémon as it hung from Flash's line.
"Hey, cool." Flash chuckled as he looked it over, "No doubt you'll be an awesome Pokémon to do my report on."
"I wouldn't be so sure about that," Flash turned to Timber as he continued, "That Clauncher's lived in this lake a long time, and I've never seen it do anything noteworthy before."
"What?!" Flash glanced back at the shrimp, the Pokémon hopping off the line and landing before scuttling over to a nearby rock. Once on it, the little Water-type laid down and just stared at the lake. "You've gotta be kidding me."
"Sorry buddy, that's just the way things go." Timber said with a shrug, "I'm sure you'll be able to write a half-decent essay on it using your Pokedex, because trust me, like on the Shuckle, you'll want to give up on that one." With that, he walked away, Flash glaring daggers at the teen before looking back at the Clauncher, which just yawned in his face.
"Aw, crap...I'm in trouble." He moaned as he sat down, sighing as he spun around to see everyone else enjoying their Pokémon.
"Aw yeah!" Spike cheered as he posed with Golduck, the two laughing as Peewee tried to do the same.
"Buwee!" Buizel punched and kicked a nearby tree before spinning around to slap it with its tail.
"Awesome," Rainbow clapped, "Show me what else you got!"
Fluttershy laughed as she watched Kingdra zip around the lake at top speed. Its movements were beyond graceful, as if it was true royalty. "Aren't you precious," she commented as Kingdra swam over to her. She then reached out and petted it on the head.
"King!" It cheered before diving back down, Fluttershy leaning over as she watched it descend. But before she could say anything, the Pokémon sprang out of the water and pushed her onto its back, the girl letting out an 'eep' before the Kingdra helped her get comfortable. Before long she was laughing, cheering as the Pokémon gave her ride above the water.
"So you can't breathe unless you're underwater?" Pinkie asked Dewpider, the water spider nodding in response. "And you need to make a bubble of water whenever you go on land?" Dewpider nodded again, Pinkie giggling. "That sounds like so much fun! How big can you make it?" Dewpider jumped into the water and started making the bubble bigger, Quagsire and Oshawott clapping at the sight. "Wow wee!" Pinkie pulled a balloon out of her hair and started blowing it up until it was bigger than Dewpider's. "Can you make it this big?" Dewpider increased the size again, Pinkie blowing her balloon up even more. The two kept blowing up their bubbles until they were both about four feet in diameter, only to-
POP!
Both balloons burst, Pinkie and Dewpider flinching before letting out a laugh. Pinkie then hopped into the lake with the spider, Gummy falling into the water with her. The gator started to float aimlessly in the lake, gently bouncing off whatever it hit, which was mainly Shellder as it kept trying to get a reaction from the gator.
"Hmm," Trixie hummed while watching the Relicanth lazily swim around. "You aren't the prettiest Pokémon in the world, that's for sure." Relicanth said nothing, "but if you've lived since the dawn of time, then I guess you're doing something right. However, would it kill you to try a little form over function?" Again, Relicanth said nothing.
"Wow..." Doc said as he watched Octillery shoot out its ink and use it to make an image in the water, "Impressive." he then took out a camera, only for the ink to disperse. "At least I now have a record of it. I have to admit, you're quite the artist."
"Till..." it responded, Doc not sure if it was smiling.
"Two point six inches," Twilight whistled as she put the measuring tape away. "That's almost twice the average size. You're a big one." She picked up her notepad and wrote the findings down, now picturing the size of the essay she would be able to write with this much information. Ten pages, maybe more.
"Not bad!" Lightning laughed as he watched Barraskewda zip through the water. "If you were actually useful out of the water, I'd be tempted to break the rules and try to catch you." He then noticed a Magikarp swimming close to Barraskewda, but the long predator fish spun around, smacking it away with its propeller tail, "HA! Good one!"
Flash rolled his eyes as he turned back to Clauncher, leaning down as he poked the shrimp...but it wouldn't respond. "Augh!" He yelled as he threw himself back, now laying on the ground, "You gotta be kidding me! Something or someone has it out for me at this camp!"
As this happened, Springer continued to watch Riptide show Hopper how to swim. There were a few issues, such as Riptide and Hopper having completely different body types, but Sparanitor was slowly making headway with him. "Spar..." Riptide nodded as Hopper was trying to do the Butterfree stroke.
"Hop," Hopper huffed as he tried to keep his nose and mouth above the water.
Meanwhile, Shine was now going up to her trainer, her mane and tail now waterlogged. "Nee!" She neighed while shaking her entire body, sending water everywhere.
"Ah!" Twilight laughed as the water splashed her, "Shine!" The Ponyta just wagged her tail at her, Twilight seeing this and sighing as she shook her head. "Well, at least you didn't get my notebook." She then saw her Pokémon shine its horn, now seeing the liquid in the lake shift and float, "Shine? What are you-"
She came to a stop as she now saw a large sphere of water float out of the water before beginning to reshape itself. First, it took the shape of its creator and became a Ponyta made of water, only to become like Hopper, Harry, Springer, Riptide and Finneon. Everyone gasped at this, Celestia walking up and saying, "Very impressive."
"So lame," Lightning whispered, nobody hearing him except the Barraskeda. The fish then sunk under the surface before surfacing with a rock, spinning to hit with its tail. "HA!" he laughed as the rock flew through the water shape, destroying it an instant. Everyone glared at the two, Shine beginning to tear up until Twilight comforted her. "Nice shot!" he told it, the fish replying swimming over and smacking the Magikarp from before again.
"What a jerk," Flash growled his ears heard a new noise. He then turned to the lake, now seeing a Poliwag surface up with some seaweed on its head.
"Polly!" It leapt up onto the rock and placed the seaweed in front of Clauncher. The pistol shrimp nodded at Poliwag and gave what Flash assumed was its thanks before digging in, Poliwag smiling before diving back under the water.
"Seriously?! Are you so lazy that you have other Pokémon bring you food?!" Flash moaned, Clauncher saying nothing as it ate its meal, burping once it was finished. "Unbelievable..." He stared at the other campers, seeing most now swimming with their Pokémon while Doc handed out rebreathers. "Well if you're not gonna do anything, I guess there's no point in watching you." He then moved over and took a rebreather from the Gym Leader.
"Let's get going!" Spike cheered as he put his rebreather on and dived in with Golduck. The others all laughed as they leapt into the lake, those with a rebreather able to enjoy themselves as they swam to the very bottom. Fluttershy was still riding atop Kingdra while Rainbow and Trixie both held onto their Pokémon and were pulled along. Dewpider had tied its webbing around Pinkie's waist and was pulling her along, Gummy being pulled down as well due to holding onto her hair along with Shellder biting his tail. Oshawott and Quagsire were swimming side by side with Pinkie, all three giggling. It was here that Flash grabbed onto Riptide after giving rebreathers to Springer and Hopper, who held onto him as they went under.
The rest were simply swimming around, watching as the many Pokémon enjoyed themselves. Some Pokémon were eating from a large patch of seaweed, others scratching themselves against what would usually be very sharp rocks while the rest appeared to be working on keeping their underwater homes neat and tidy. Everyone marvelled at the sight before starting to have some real fun. Some of the campers decided to have a race, Spike, Rainbow and even Fluttershy competing. They all started at one side of the lake as Pinkie pulled a flag out from her hair, waving it down as everyone began to shoot across the lake.
Flash, Twilight and Doc all cheered as they watched their friends fly through the water at high speed, eventually reaching the far end before turning for a return trip. Rainbow and Buizel were in the lead with Spike and Golduck in close second, Fluttershy and Kingdra a little behind him with others bringing up the rear. Golduck was swimming like a human, Twilight having told them that it was actually rumoured that humans first learned to swim by mimicking a Golduck's style, pumping its arms and legs as fast as it could go. Meanwhile, Buizel was swimming dolphin style while spinning the split ends of its tail like a propeller while Kingdra was flapping its back wing as fast as it could to push itself through the water. While this happened, Spike, Rainbow and Fluttershy were holding on for dear life since the rules were both human and Pokémon had to be at the finish line to win.
Golduck eventually caught up with Buizel, the two glancing at one another before pushing themselves even harder. The finish line was in sight, both glaring as they kept bursting blasts of speed. And as they got closer, both thrust their hands to touch the finish line-
"GOLD/BWEE!" They both cheered as they went past the line, both thinking they had won before glaring at each other. But before they could start arguing, Fluttershy and Kingdra swam up, Fluttershy touching the side and smiling.
"KINGDRA!" It cheered, making the other two glance at it in confusion. That was until Pinkie pointed at something with her flag, the two turning to both Spike and Rainbow floating about ten feet away with spirals in their eyes. Everyone laughed as both blushed, now knowing why they lost.
As this happened, Flash noticed movement to his side, now seeing Clauncher return to the water. The little guy swam down to the bottom of the lake where the seaweed was, floating about halfway up one of the lengths and cutting it off. 'Looks like you're not lazy enough after all.' But then he noticed Clauncher wasn't eating the seaweed, instead swimming up to where the Magikarp was from before. He also spotted Barraskeda in the seaweed, eating away at the grass while the rest of the Pokémon stayed clear. All except Clauncher, who Flash noticed it was staying clear of as well.
He was then pulled out of his thoughts as someone patted his shoulder, Flash turning to see Twilight behind him. She pointed up, nodding as they both went up to surface before taking off their rebreathers.
"What's up?" Flash asked as they swam back to the edge.
"We need to get our essays done," she gestured to the rest of the campers, the two now seeing everyone getting out. Sighing at this, Twilight then asked, "Something wrong?"
"I still don't know what to write," he groaned as he pointed at the rock Clauncher had now returned to, "I doubt saying he's a lazy loather would get me a good grade."
"No, I guess not," Twilight added.
Flash sighed as he leaned back and floated in the water, "I'm gonna stay in here for a little longer."
"Alright..." Twilight pulled herself out of the lake, "Just don't leave it to the last minute. Having a bad essay isn't as bad as having no essay at all."
Flash nodded before laying back again, Twilight now going back to her stuff while coming over to the others that were also writing their essays. As they did this, Trixie spoke up first, "What's a good word to describe something that's able to survive no matter where it is?"
"Um...how about, indomitable?" Twilight replied while rubbing her chin, Trixie giving her thanks while writing the word down, though she had a feeling she had spelt it wrong.
After a while, some of the campers finished their essays and ran back to the lake. Most didn't care that their papers weren't exactly masterful pieces of art that the professors would lecture about, and that was fine with them. Flash just sighed at this sight, unable to believe they had finished their projects while he hadn't even started his. He then stared at his Pokémon, seeing Riptide still helping Hopper with his swimming. "Well...at least someone in my team is getting something done today."
Meanwhile, Lightning was writing his own essay with his feet in the water. It was here that he felt something around his ankles, making him look down to see Magikarp again. "Get lost," he swiped his feet through the water, trying to push it away, but the fish Pokémon wasn't deterred and started pecking at his feet. "I said, GET LOST!" He gave Magikarp a proper boot, sending it flying and splashing into the water a good ten meters away.
"LIGHTNING!" He turned to see a seething Celestia staring down at him, "What do you think you're doing?!"
"What?! I told it to go away, and it didn't listen to me. Not my fault it's too dumb to understand."
"And that gives you the right to kick it?!"
"Who cares what happens to it? It's just a worthless fish. Heck, check your Pokedex and it'll say the same thing."
Celestia wanted to yell, but then sighed before lowering her tone, "Even if that's the case, you still have no right to do what you did!"
"Oh please." Lightning replied while rolling his eyes before turning back to the water, now seeing Magikarp pull itself above the water before flailing around. "See?! It can't even swim right!"
But as those words left his mouth, a bright light began to consume the lake. Everyone blinking at the source, they saw it was the Magikarp, who's body then exploded with a bright light. The others paled as they saw the small fish grew into a more serpentine shape, now becoming over six meters long before revealing a blue sea-serpent Pokémon with an angry look on its face. "GYARADOS!" Celestia screamed, the campers all trying to swim back to shore.
"Everyone watch out!" Luna added as she now saw the newly evolved Pokémon raise its tail before slamming it into the water, causing a wave to spread across the lake.
"MOVE!" Timber yelled as he turned to run, everyone else doing the same as the water slammed into the shore. Several campers were knocked over by the wave, the pressure knocking Lightning off his feet and into some bushes. Flash and his Pokémon were also flung into the air, all of them flying out of the water.
"Blaugh!" he coughed as he kissed dirt, spitting out some water as his Pokémon laid beside him, "You guys okay?"
"Riolu..." Springer moaned as he picked himself up.
"Riptide? Hopper?" The two gave their own groans to signify they were okay, though both a little rattled by the experience. A loud growl made them all turn to see the Gyarados glaring down at them, Flash quickly pushing his still woozy Pokémon behind him.
"FLASH!" He heard Twilight scream as Gyarados opened its mouth, a light appearing inside.
Flash closed his eyes and braced himself for the incoming attack, crossing his arms over his face. But as he waited...."GYAAAAA!" His eyes shot open at the sound of Gyarados's pained screams, making him now see the giant snake go flying back as something clonked it on the head.
"Huh?" Flash yelped as he saw a figure land in front of him, "Clauncher?" The pistol shrimp Pokémon stood in a battle-ready stance, its eyes now narrowed.
Gyarados shot back out of the water, a roar following as a large bubble of water appeared in its mouth. "That's Hydro Pump!" Twilight cried out.
"Claunch!" Clauncher opened its giant claw as a ball of multicoloured energy formed within before firing it at Gyarados's water attack. The shrimp's attack reshaped into a multicoloured dragon-shaped beam of energy, which struck the Hydro Pump and carved its way down the middle before exploding into Gyarados's face.
"GYAAAAA!" The atrocious Pokémon screamed as it fell back again, Clauncher leaping in the water in response.
"Clauncher! Where are you-" Flash tried to say, only to see Clauncher leap out of the water as its giant claw became wrapped in a spiral of water. As Gyarados opened its eyes, it suddenly found the claw smacking its head, pushing it fully down into the lake before the shrimp followed the giant sea snake.
Without thinking, Flash grabbed his rebreather and dived into the lake. "FLASH!" He heard the others yell but kept swimming, reaching the bottom before seeing the battle continue. His eyes were fully wide as he saw the pistol shrimp swim circles around Gyarados, slamming its Crabhammer attack into the Pokémon repeatedly.
It was here that the Gyarados unleashed a Hyper Beam at the shrimp, only for Clauncher to summon a protective bubble, blocking the attack before firing another Dragon Pulse at its opponent. Gyarados roared again after taking the attack, its body now thrashing around while stirring up the water. Above the water, everyone gasped at seeing the water become so harsh, wondering if Flash was okay.
And as Clauncher struggled to keep itself from being blown away, Flash cried out as he fully smacked away, Clauncher glancing back to see him being caught in the attack. Seeing this, he curled himself, causing him to be sent flying back. He quickly caught up with Flash before swimming again, Flash now coming to a stop as Clauncher pushed into his back.
While this happened, Gyarados stopped using Thrash, his energy spent as he started panting. Now seeing a chance, Clauncher got out from behind Flash at shot at him at high speed. Gyarados quickly countered with another Hyper Beam, but Clauncher just used Protect, shutting down the attack with ease. And as his barrier dropped, he zipped in and sucker-punched Gyarados with another Crabhammer.
The blow slammed the sea-serpent to the bottom of the lake, Clauncher swimming after him as a giant bubble appeared between his pincers. Clauncher then aimed at Gyarados and launched the bubble with enough force that it caused the water around to ripple. The bubble then struck Gyarados, hitting so hard that it was sent into the ground before being rocketed back up to the surface, its form soon flying out of the lake. Everyone was gasping at the sight, the bubble exploding with an ear-shattering pop as it unleashed shockwaves that ripped into Gyarados's body.
Gyarados then fell back into the lake, crashing with a tremendous splash, knocking a rain of water down on the awestruck group of campers. The serpent soon reappeared on the water's surface, swirls in its eyes. Flash and Cluancher came up next, Flash taking off his rebreather before commenting, "Wow. That...was awesome."
"FLASH!" He turned to see his friends on the edge of the lake, "Are you okay?"
"Okay? I'm better than ever!" He turned to Clauncher, "You're the most awesome Pokémon in this whole lake! I can't believe you just effortlessly took down one of the strongest Water-types ever!" Clauncher just smirked back as everyone turned to Gyarados.
Gloriosa sighed as they walked over to the part of the lake closest to the Gyarados. "I was afraid this might happen. That Magikarp always found itself on the receiving end of other Pokémon's tricks. I had a feeling all the anger it felt would explode one day."
"So what are we gonna do?" Timber asked. "Even if it calms down, there's no way this lake can support a Gyarados and the other Pokémon."
Gloriosa nodded, taking out a Pokeball. "I agree. We only got one choice now." She tossed the ball at the sea-serpent before it opened up and sucked the Gyarados inside, the ball dropping into the water. But before it could sink, Clauncher swam over and took it in its claw before giving it to her, "Thank you, Clauncher."
"Hey!" They turned to Lightning coming out of the bushes, having now woken up from being hit point-blank from the Gyarados. "You said we couldn't catch any of these Pokémon!"
"I said you couldn't catch any of them," Gloriosa countered as she put the ball away. "My land, my rules. Besides, I'm not keeping it. Once I find somewhere it can stay, I'll release it back into the wild." Lightning opened his mouth to respond, but she quickly beat him to the punch, "What, did you plan to try and catch it? You do realize that the whole reason Gyarados went on a rampage was because of you! You'd honestly think I would let you have a super-strong Pokémon that only evolved because you were bullying it?!"
"If it's strong, then I deserve it." Lightning replied as he pointed at the camp's owner, "Hand it over. Only I can handle that kind of power."
"Dream on," Gloriosa barked back. "And since you don't seem to care that you almost got your campmates killed, you need to be severally punished." Lightning rolled his eyes and shrugged, but before he could say anything, she then said, "Since you obviously don't care about the point system, I won't punish your cabin by taking any. Instead, you can help make the camp dinner tonight, and do all the washing up." She turned to Celesia, "Sound fair?"
"More than fair," Celestia responded, turning to glare at Lightning as she continued, "And don't try to get out of this. You know exactly who I'll talk to about this if you do."
Lightning clenched his hands into fists, growling as he glared at the professors. While this was happening, Flash was explaining what he had seen underwater, "Then Clauncher used Protect to get in close and sock Gyarados in the face before using Water Pulse to blast it. You saw the rest."
"Amazing..." Twilight said in awe before looking down at Clauncher. "I know Clauncher has the Mega Launcher ability, which increases the power of pulse attacks, but...that's incredible. This little guy must have some true strength." Everyone else looked back at Clauncher, now seeing it was back to relaxing.
"What's it doing?" Spike asked, "After something like that, it's just going back to sleep?" They then noticed the other lake Pokémon coming over to give their thanks while also putting down pieces of food. "Hey, don't do that. He's strong enough to get his own food."
"I don't think that's it." Timber told him. "After seeing how much stronger it is, they probably want to keep it happy so it doesn't do to them what it did the Gyarados."
Everyone gulped at this, all except Flash. Instead, he thought about the fight and how Clauncher had saved him twice from the Gyarados. "No...I don't think it's like that. If they really fear him, they would leave him alone."
"That doesn't make sense." Timber replied, "I mean, look at how powerful he was. They'd have to fear him."
Flash gives him a flat stare, "You're not looking at this right, Clauncher is...is..." a bulb suddenly went off in his head. "That's it!"
Before anyone could say anything, Flash zipped away, going to a backpack and pulling out a piece of paper and pencil. Everyone's eyes went wide as he began to rapidly write on it, only to instantly finish his work just a few minutes later:
Clauncher. When I first met this Pokémon, I thought he was nothing more than a lazy good for nothing who let others do things for it. But as I got to know it better, I realised something: Clauncher wasn't being lazy, he was conserving his energy. He was making sure he was well rested so that if something happened, he would be able to react and fix it without issue. He's the lake's protector, the keeper of the peace. When a problem occurs, he's there to solve it in the best way possible. Sometimes it's through diplomatic means, while other times through force. Clauncher, despite his size, is the strongest Pokémon in this lake, but he doesn't use his power to do whatever he wants.
"No, Clauncher keeps his power to himself until the time he needs it. Other Pokémon are willing to feed him, not out of fear, but out of respect and thanks for keeping their home a safe place to live. He is the guardian of the lake." As Flash finished reading aloud his essay, his ears were suddenly filled with cheers and clapping.
He smiled as he looked out at the mess hall, everyone enjoying hearing the many essays as they ate. Celestia then gave the teen a firm nod, "Excellent work Flash," She took his essay as she said this, "You truly managed to understand Clauncher's feelings and get a good grasp of its character."
"Thanks. It was hard to understand at first, but when I got to know him better, things just seemed to...you know, click."
"Well, you've certainly earned this grade." She handed him the essay back, a large red A in the corner with a plus sign next to it.
"Check it out guys," he slapped the paper down. "Pretty cool, huh?"
"That's fantastic," Doc commented, "You sure earned it."
Twilight nodded in agreement. "With this, we'll have enough points to overtake the Ruby Cabin."
"Alright!" Spike arm pumped, "Camp hall of fame, here we come!" He grabbed a hotdog off his plate and snarfed it down, only to shine a big grin, "Who's up for seconds?"
"Sure," the others all replied before heading over to the food station. They placed all their plates on the washing pile and got new ones even though they were getting the exact same thing as before.
As for why they were doing this, it was due to Lightning being in the kitchen, scrubbing a pile of plates. A low, almost deadly glare was on his face, his hands slowly putting each on a draining board as Timber watched him while eating a hamburger.
"Keep going." Timber commented as he finished his burger. "If I find a single spot on one of those, you're washing it again."
"Yeah yeah...shut up." Lightning grumbled as he washed another plate.
Meanwhile...
Over at the lake, Clauncher was relaxing at the bottom, his eyes shifting around as he saw the rest of the lake Pokémon enjoying themselves.
They knew that even though he looked calm, he wasn't focusing on them. Clauncher's eyes were for viewing everything, focused on every aspect as he readied himself to jump into any situation possible. After all, he was the Guardian of the Lake.