Emolga appears in a red glow as he's released from his ball. He didn't hear his name called in any hurry so he assumes he isn't going into battle. He yawns and rubs his yellow cheeks before taking a long sniff of the air. The air is humid and the overcast confirms the incoming rain. Emolga doesn't want to be out in that. He turns to his trainer to get back into the ball when a loud crunch startles him. He leaps back using the skin under his arms to glide back down to the ground. As his trainer's foot lifts, he sees his pokeball underneath split in two by the forceful stomp. Emolga looks up confused at the action.

"This is goodbye." His trainer doesn't voice any remorse only a stern tone. "You're just not a good fit for the party. You're supposed to stay in the pokeball unless I release you. You cost me several battles coming out to face an opponent you're not strong against. You can't just choose when you want to battle!"

Emolga's ears lie flat hearing this. He leaps upwards to land on his trainer's shoulder hoping to give a reassuring pat. The trainer steps out of the way however as the first few drops of rain begin to fall around them.

"No, Emolga," The trainer snaps. "You're not traveling with me anymore. I don't want you as my pokemon! You're not strong, and you're not a good pokemon!"

Tears form in Emolga's eyes at the harsh words. 'My trainer doesn't mean it' is all Emolga thinks in the moment. He begins to walk forward once again to return to his trainer's side.

"Go, Timburr!" The trainer throws a pokeball in frustration. "Use Rock Throw!"

The timburr appears as quickly as the pokeball hit the ground by Emolga. Emolga leaps to the air as the first set of rocks are thrown his direction. The rain downpours as Emolga finds safety in a tree from both the rain and timburr. When he thinks to look up again, he can barely see through the rain, however, his trainer and the other pokemon are nowhere to be seen. After a flash of lightning, he notices something still left on the ground where he once was. He glides down and finally sees it.

His pokeball. Sanctuary from the storm. Emolga carefully puts the two halves back together just right. He presses the button to go back in but it only springs the ball back in half. Newly formed mud splashes his face as the airborne piece lands. He has one more idea. He stands in the bottom half of the ball then carefully takes the top and places it on his head. It doesn't work either, but he pretends it does. Emolga dreams he is safely in his ball and back on his trainer's belt. A bright flash of lightning wakes him up from his daydream. He scatters from the ball and hides in the branches of the tree he was previously in. It will have to do for now. Emolga curls around himself to keep what little bit of warmth he has as he waits for the storm to pass.


Maho tugs at her dive suit gritting her teeth as she finally pulled it over her hips. She always found it annoying how the creator's of the suits assume just because a girl is a teen she should be curvy. Not Maho. Her body shape is more that of a young boy's than a teen girl. The correct size for her height fits too tight where the next size up has enough extra space to double as a submarine. Her brother, on the other hand, has no trouble putting on his.

"Zip me." Kai, her nine-year-old brother, backs up to her.

Maho fights to get her arms into her suit. "Zip yourself!"

Kai reaches his hands around searching and grasping at the dive suit trying to find the zipper. His sister has pity on him and gives up on an arm to quickly zip her brother. He stands still until the moment he feels the zipper catch at the top then he sprints for the edge of the boat.

"Last one in has pelipper breath!" Kai dives into Undella Bay like he was born with gills.

Maho and Kai spent their entire lives on Undella Bay. Maho was even born on the bay as well. Literally on a boat in the middle of the bay during the worst storm of the season that particular year. Their mother refused to go into port until she knew for sure that the Mantine and Mantyke herds had successfully stayed together and moved out of the danger zone. Needless to say, that meant they didn't have time to return to port before Maho joined them.

The old fishermen of Undella have a saying: Those born during a storm live exciting lives. Maho's family doesn't have the luxurious life of most who own a villa in Undella Town, but they definitely don't have a normal existence. They live in a small house north of Undella Town far enough away where they can't see or hear the resort. Her dad says that growing up around a place like that isn't healthy. Nature and pokemon are what Undella Bay should really be about not some resort. Maho and Kai's mother dreamed of a day where the pokemon of Undella Bay could live in harmony without human interference. Their father tries to keep her dream alive even with representatives from the resort offering him money to stop him from making the area protected. However, his heart and soul is in his studies and in the water, and so are Maho's and Kai's.

Maho puts her swim shoes on then zips her suit up as she runs to the edge of the boat. She finishes zipping up just as she jumps off. She doesn't have time to perform a dive so she tightens up and drops in feet first. Maho can hear her brother laughing as she resurfaces.

"Here's your hat, pelipper breath." He laughs handing Maho her navy fishing hat. She snatches it from him placing it back over her red hair. She lifts out of the water then pushes down on Kai to dunk him.

"Kids, you'll scare away the pokemon." Her dad comes out of the cabin carrying his survey table.

"Maho used Scary Face. It's super effective!" Kai jokes.

Maho splashes him just as her father gives them both a dirty look.

"I thought we weren't going to work today." Maho grimaces at the thought of working on her birthday.

"We're not, birthday girl. So go ahead and have fun." He hands Maho her goggles and underwater breather then hands her brother the underwater radio.

He waves at them as she put her goggles on. Kai pulls his down and dives under. As soon as Maho gets hers on straight, She dives under to catch up. Luckily, she has always been a faster swimmer. She dives down next to her brother giving him a quick shove before passing him. Their goggles are homemade. The lenses absorb light so they can see better underwater. One of their dad's many inventions.

They dive deep into depths down to the reef. Maho swims through the rainbow coral following a school of luvdisc. Everywhere she looks vibrant reef, coral of every color, sea anemones sway and flow almost rhythmically. The pokemon all seem to sing a lullaby in unison. Thousands of them: Wailmer, chinchou, frillish, shellder. Maho stops and takes it all in.

Kai, on the other hand, finds their old pet, a sealeo they call Beachball. When they first found him he was a hurt little spheal washed up on the beach. Kai being only four at the time thought he was a blue and white beach ball. Needless to say, Beachball got better and never went back to his herd. Now he has fun with them year round usually following and teasing them.

Maho put her hand over her hat and sinks just enough for Beachball to jet over her head. She hears another jet behind her and sinks down again. This time, however, Beachball gets her hat in his mouth. He claps pleased with his bounty. Maho swims after him, but he jets off again in a flash. Kai manages to get in front of Beachball, but he changes direction before getting caught. Beachball swims through the coral at lightning speed almost losing the brother and sister pair until an octillery moves into his path and forces him to stop. The sudden sealeo startles octillery into spraying ink into the area alerting Maho and Kai to Beachball's location. Beachball swims out of the ink shaking his head and letting go of the hat as he tries to get the ink out of his eyes. As her hat sinks down to the bottom of the bay, Maho rushes to grab it. She stops short swimming away quickly.

"WAILORD." The massive pokemon opens its mouth sucking in water and coincidently her hat as well.

Maho motions her brother to swim as the water around her begins to draw her towards the wailord's mouth. Beachball swims to her clapping and cheering her on as she swims against the new current. She makes it close enough to grab onto him. He takes off in a rush pulling her away from the wailord. Maho grabs her little brother as they pass him pulling him out of harm's way. Once they get out of the way, wailord shuts his mouth again and continues to swim happily. Maho and Kai give a sigh of relief together. Beachball started to clap again, and two start to chase their pet. Before they could catch him, the underwater radio starts to beep, their alert to get back up top. Maho and Kai race to the surface. She gains a good lead and breaks through the surface a leg ahead of her brother.

"Surprise!" Their dad stands on the boat in front of a 'happy birthday' banner. A picnic lunch sits on his survey table.

Maho can only stare in shock and awe at the setup. Kai hugs her around the neck bringing Maho out of the trance.

"Anything exciting happen?"

"No," Maho and Kai answer in unison then exchange a grin. The last time they told their father when something bad happened, they both had to wear life jackets up top and couldn't dive without him.

Maho and her brother change out of the dive suits before helping themselves to tuna sandwiches and potato chips. They sit and joke with each other, busting out with laughter at every occasion.

Beachball jumps up onto the boat and they have fun letting him balance and toss floaties on his nose. He sits expectantly waiting for his tuna reward before juggling again. Playing with him gives her father enough time to sneak off and bring out Maho's birthday cake. Thirteen candles sat pressed into the chocolate frosting. He and Kai sing to her, and Beachball claps and barks to the tune. Maho stands up and closes her eyes to make a wish.

'I wish to be the strongest water pokemon trainer ever!'

She blows out the candles, and they cheer for her. They eat cake then they bring out their presents for Maho. She opens her dad's first. It's a small box, but she doesn't mind. She takes the lid off to show a baby blue pokeball with yellow lines. She takes in her hand and rolls it around her fingers.

"It's a quickball. The first pokemon you catch won't get away from that."

"Thanks, Dad." She gives him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

Kai hands Maho the present he got her. It's quite a bit bigger. Maho pulls at the ribbon then removes the lid: A white hat, just like her navy one, with a green ribbon, her favorite color, above the rim.

"Too bad about the other. It was getting old anyway."

She hugs Kai around the neck then instantly put the hat on. It fits perfectly. "How do I look?"

Beachball claps and chants before anyone else has time to comment.

"Do you have a present for me?"

Beachball tilts his head then quickly dives back into the water. They laugh and keep the party going. Her next present is a seaweed twine and shell necklace, followed by a special pocket sundial and compass handmade by her dad The last presents are a green and grey messenger bag and its contents: a map of Unova region, a survival kit, a small tent and sleeping bag set, a green Xtransceiver and a ticket to Nuvema Town. They try to keep smiling despite the sudden realization.

"You're going to be a great pokemon trainer." Her dad fights back tears.

"What if I'm not good at it?" Maho feels a tightening in her chest at the thought of leaving the bay for the first time.

"Are you kidding?" Kai chuckles. "You're going to be the best until I become a trainer that is."

"You wish!" Maho laughs then hugs them both tight not wanting to let them go.

"Just remember to get oshawatt, water master." Her brother jokes and punches her shoulder.

Maho grins and punches him back. "I will."

Beachball jumps back up on the boat. He puts a small pearl down on her lap. Maho's jaw drops. Her father and brother lean in to take a look at the find. Beachball claps and chants.

"Wow, good boy, Beachball." She pets his head. "I'm going to miss you, too."

The party comes to a close. Maho already feels it will be a birthday she will never forget. Then at an hour before sunset, they wait on the boat for the true spectacle. Together they've spent four years preparing for this day. Then like clockwork, the lapras appear. Her dad motions to Maho.

She picks up her ocarina and looks at the music sheet in front of her. She plays four notes. On her sheet, it's the way lapras say, "Hello, I want to be your friend."

One answers with three notes. They all fight for the paper to see what it said. Although there is no real reason as to why her father and brother are looking. Maho is the one who wrote the music notes and is the only one of the three who could read music.

'Who are you?'

Maho plays back. "I am a friend to lapras."

It answers, and they look on the sheet music.

"You are-" Maho whispers flipping through the sheet music. "I can't find the last word."

Her father and brother look worried. They don't want the lapras to leave before they have a chance to finish the experiment.

She plays back. "Do you like to sing?"

Maho plays a melody to them. A soft tune like a lullaby. As she does, she stands up on the boat. Her dad gestures for her back down in case the motion scares the lapras. Maho moves away to the boat's railing meeting the lapras several yards from her. At the end of her melody, she pauses. The silence is almost deafening. When it seems like they weren't going to get a response back, they all, every last lapras, begin to sing the tune in unison. Maho's dad and brother stand up and walk over to the railing next to her. When the lapras stop, Maho plays again and the lapras join her midsong. Yes, this would be a birthday she would never forget.