bottlecaplogs | April Catch-All

[This feels like it shouldn't be a quest. Or, well, clearly it is one, but it feels like it maybe shouldn't be on the board? Siffrin's gotten the feeling that the little bay city of Pokemon is balanced precariously among its surroundings, and needs people gathering supplies or fighting back the forest. In comparison, just going to get some views of the ocean for a Numel... it's kind of making them feel guilty, like they're not working hard enough.]

[But they were told at the clinic to take it easier, to start, so something simple and relaxing it is! (Little do they know.)]

[Getting several views from the beach itself was easy enough, as was one from the top of the cliffs - Siffrin and Guilmon just had to make their way up to the Oran Berry base. But now Siffrin is peering over the edge of the cliff.]

[The Numel enthusiastically requested a better view from partway down, of the surf crashing against the cliffside. The trouble is: there's no actual path.]

I think we can make it down this way...? It'll be easier than climbing up from the beach.

[Hmm... It's tricky! Guilmon was told he should be careful about water. He gives a passing glance to the fire at the tip of his tail.

Fortunately, Guilmon does have claws. He looks down a t them, thoughtful.]

What if Guilmon digs? I could make a window! Or we could try climbing down the rocks, maybe...

[Siffrin's already started to take some very cautious steps down the face of the cliff, feeling out if they can actually make it down by balancing on outcrops. Only their back paw and tail are still up above the edge.]

[Verdict so far: maybe! But they're going to have to turn around and go down backwards at some point. This is the least steep section, and it's still very steep. They feel like they're trying to be a mountain goat.]

[Siffrin looks over their right shoulder when they hear Guilmon.] I'm not sure the Oran Berries will let us dig holes in their walls.

[They did see some windows, looking up from the beach. And the logical thing to do here would be to just go ask one of the Oran Berries if they can borrow a fancy windowed room for a few minutes.]

[But Siffrin, being Siffrin... feels like it'd be easier to climb down the cliff.]

Oh yeah... We don't wanna make Mightyena mad.

[He wiggles his claws a few more times, then f ollows along.]

Well, Guilmon can still use his claws and climb that way. That won't make as many holes!

[But he'll wait until that's necessary...

But he's also bigger than Siffrin, which presents its own issues. At least he's bipedal!]

[Sounds like a plan!] We probably don't have to go exactly halfway down, anyway. It's just to get a better view, right?

[Siffrin resumes picking their way down, tongue sticking out of the corner of their mouth as they concentrate. For a minute or two, it's pretty manageable; having a slinky cat spine helps a lot.]

[Then they come to a spot where they'll have to make a jump down to a tiny ledge - the incline here is basically just vertical. Siffrin squints, trying to calculate the distance, moving their head side to side. Then they leap.]

[...yeah, that lack of depth perception? Oof. They overshoot, with an alarmed yelp, and it's only by really twisting in the area that they grab the edge of the ledge with their front paws. Their back legs dig into the cliffside, scraping against rock.]

[It takes a hot minute for them to drag themself onto the platform. Whoof! They let out a relieved breath, then call up,] Careful here!

Wah, that was close!

[That was a very close call, and Guilmon very carefully makes his way over. He could just jump down, but... hmmm.

He doesn't wanna accidentally bump into Siffrin when he's bigger. So, just to be extra safe, he digs his claws into the rocky wall and tries climbing his way down a bit before he makes the drop.]

Do you think this is low enough?

[That was dangerous, so it might be good to start here...]

[Siffrin shuffles out of the way, balancing carefully. There should be just enough room on the ledge for Guilmon to land.]

[Hmmm. Siffrin tilts their head back to look up, then peeks down past their toes. The two of them are... maybe a quarter of the way down the cliff? Is this close enough?]

[It doesn't look that much closer, but at the same time - getting down this far was tricky enough, and it'll be even harder getting back up.]

Let's show Numel what we see so far, [they decide. Maybe it'll be fine! If not, they'll keep going.]

Okay!

[Give him a moment to dig his Grumpearl out of a little pouch he got in town. He's very careful when removing it, so he doesn't drop it.]

Numel, look! This is the ocean!

[Maybe being here will be okay? The view isn't too bad...]

[Numel's excitement bounces back through the Grumpearls, and Siffrin's tail perks up cheerfully. It's an odd experience, getting both their own emotions about staring down at the surf and Numel's, overlapped, but it's not a bad one. (If only because Numel's are extremely positive.)]

So, did you see everything you wanted?

[...]

[It sounds like Numel won't be upset if they stop here, but the Pokemon wouldn't mind if they did get a little closer... maybe just to where the spray of the surf would be hitting them, almost like a mist...]

[Guilmon giggles at all the happy thoughts. It's a warm, fuzzy feeling! Different, but not bad.]

We can try! As long as Guilmon doesn't get super wet, it should be okay.

[So he'll put the pearl away for now, so they can continue on their way. Just a little lower. That should be fine...]

[Okay! Siffrin takes the lead again, seemingly out of habit. They finally turn around to continue down backward the rest of the way, facing the cliff - backing cautiously over side of the ledge and downward.]

[It means they're moving much slower now than before, having to pause and find handholds. Clawholds. (Handholds would be easier.) But they seem to be doing reasonably well at it. Siffrin even calls back up instructions to Guilmon for the tricky bits. Not that they need to, probably - Guilmon is taller and larger enough that he can probably reach spots easier, or just stab his claws in and make his own holds.]

[That's until they get to a patch that's plain rock, no crumbly dirt or plants, and without any good cracks to shove claws into. A proper rock-climber (with proper fingers!) could probably manage, but Siffrin and Guilmon...]

[The Shinx's tail lashes, frustrated. They call up:] We might have to backtrack a bit.

[They were so close to the halfway point, too! Siffrin can't feel the spray yet, but the air was smelling damper with every step.]

Mmm...

[Guilmon pouts at the abrupt dead end, tail swishing. But what can they do? If they jump, that's risky, and Guilmon's tail shouldn't get wet.

If he had the white wings card, he could fly! Alas, he does not. Takato is not here to provide it, either.]

Guilmon could try breaking into the rock...

[But the Oran berries probably wouldn't like that, so, sighing, he starts making his way back.]

[Yeah, this is just lame. Siffrin agrees.]

[They scramble their way up after Guilmon, placing their paws... perhaps a little bit too carelessly, now that they've been this way once already. But so far no disaster has struck!]

Do you see any other good ways down?

Hmmm...

[He looks around, trying to find something safer as they climb. It takes a few moments, but something soon grabs his attention.]

It looks like there's some small ledges down... that way.

[He tries pointing with his tail, careful not to swish the flames around. It's a bit of a diagonal descent, off to the side from the path they took before.]

If we're careful, maybe we can drop down?

Worth a try.

[Siffrin tests their stability on the cliff, then leans from side to side to try and see a few slightly different angles on the ledges. Let's not overshoot a drop because of their depth perception again.]

[They think they can make it, though.]

Guilmon can always go first!

[He doesn't really understand depth perception, but he is bigger, and if you're bigger, that means you're supposed to help people who are smaller, so he...

Angles himself a little, and then drops, though he does flail his arms a little on the way down.

On the positive side, he lands safely, albeit with a slight stumble and a wince.]

[Having Guilmon down there first does help. Siffrin knows how big Guilmon is, so they can tell how far away the landing point is.]

[They bunch up their haunches and drop down, kicking off from the cliff wall a little.]

[Unfortunately, immediately upon landing, they can tell that something has Gone Wrong. Maybe they landed a bit too roughly, maybe the ledge wasn't quite enough to support both their weight at once, maybe the two of them are just unlucky, but -]

UM -

[The ledge is crumbling underneath them.]

Wah!

[In a frantic scramble to avoid falling to their doom, Guilmon scoops up Siffrin and tries dropping down to the next platform, which... hopefully won't cause as many problems? Maybe?

One can hope.]

[Nice catch! Siffrin flinches violently when grabbed without warning, but has enough awareness of what's going on to not try to fight back.]

[Next platform!]

[Which is. Also crumbling, though definitely a bit more slowly. Think fast Guilmon!!]

[~~The good news is they're definitely at least halfway down now~~.]

[Ummm... well, obviously the answer is to... hop? Maybe that won't make them fall so fast or hit so hard! It makes sense in his head...]

[You're doing amazing sweetie]

[The platform crumbles, and they drop. Siffrin tries to dig their claws into the cliffside as they fall, but only succeeds in pulling another large chunk of dirt down with them -]

[They bounce off a couple rock outcroppings and skid to a halt on a ledge. Oof.]

[Good news: they're much closer to the water now! Bad news: there's no way up.]

Nn...

[Guilmon steadies, now that they're done falling, and carefully sets Siffrin down.]

Maybe we can record, and then Guilmon can dig a tunnel?

[If Mightyena gets mad, they can explain it!]

[Oof. Siffrin staggers to their feet, shakes out their fur, and tests each paw one by one. They're very sore and bruised and scraped up - they're sure Guilmon is too - but fortunately, they don't seem to have broken or sprained anything.]

[Siffrin should've been more careful. Stupid. Just climb down the cliff, yeah, sure! What an idiot they are --]

[...] Y-yeah.

[While Guilmon is recording and sending the sea spray, Siffrin inspects the ledge they're on, then the cliffside next to them. They pace back and forth, testing the cliffside with their paw.]

...ugh. We might have to swim out... [This far down, it's all rock. Claws are good and all, but can Guilmon actually dig through this? Siffrin certainly can't.]

Guilmon's used to digging through rock!

[Well, cement. He made his secret hiding spot bigger by digging further into it before. So maybe he can do that here?

Wriggling his claws, he turns to face the cliff.]

Swimming might be hard with my tail, but we can do that if digging doesn't work.

[For now, he's gonna try using Dig into the rocky cliff face. Fortunately, Charmeleons can do just that!]

[Right. Siffrin eyes Guilmon's tail. They have to keep it from... going out, presumably?]

If I swim next to you, I can hold it in my mouth and try to keep it from getting splashed? [They offer, hesitantly. Sounds... difficult, but they're feeling like this is all their fault, so it's only fair. The trick will be to keep the waves from splashing it...]

[So: any luck, Guilmon? Or is the rock too tough to dig through without tools?]

April Catch-All

For Guilmon (A Shell-fish Request)

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