They had moved to Pallet town years ago; and she would still take a daily walk by the local beach. Some mornings he would find her lying beside him; others not. Random afternoons he would find her missing and at night sometimes, if the moon was full. He could call out her name until he came down with a case of laryngitis, but she would never hear him; not over the sound of the crashing waves.
He knew not to be surprised anymore. They could be in the middle of a party, a meal, a conversation, and she would just walk out the door. She would just go to the water. It had a call that was much stronger, and far more alluring than his.
When they started a business together, a Pokémon daycare, nothing gave the woman more joy then to take her water-type charges down by the shore. She would stay there the entire day, if there weren't anything else to be done
He felt fortunate that she had loved him enough to move from Cerulean, with its various ponds and lakes, and the famous Cerulean Cove. Though he did suspect the nearby sea had helped her adjust. He didn't believe for a moment that she would ever live anywhere without it; not even if it meant being with him.
Tonight the moon was full, and he had woken up to the sound of her footsteps retreating and the front door closing. He had grown into being a light sleeper, since so many creatures had become his responsibility. He lay in his bed, swirling the concept of her amaranthine love for the water in his head. He had known this about her for as long as he had known her. She had taught him to respect the ocean, as dark and as deep and mysterious as it was, but her love for it could never be taught, he supposed.
Sometimes he feared she would never come back from her visits. Not that he feared drowning; her ability to swim surpassed a Goldeen's. Nor did he fear unwarranted attacks, her Golduck always managed to follow her around, always ready to prove itself against its reputation as a Psyduck. What he feared was her feet rooted in the sand, the waves creeping up her legs and the ocean claiming her as its own.
A cry came from the front door as someone pushed it open. He waited, refusing to breathe out in relief just yet. Footsteps, familiar and quick, seemed to rush towards him where he lay. His eyes closed, he listened as something entered the room, and then with a rustle of falling cloth, his bed. Something with damp skin, wet hair and smelled of salt water curled up next to him.
She had returned after all.
