Azurill and Wynaut

As it was midday, not much was happening. The pond was still, save for a ripple that followed a blue orb. It floated on the surface, heading straight for the shore. When it got to the edge, a small blue mouse Pokemon emerged from the water. He shook himself once he got onto the land, flicking his oil-filled orb tail to dry it too. "Phew, that was a good swim. But now I'm hungry. Hmm."

There was a nice berry patch nearby that he knew of. So the where was obvious. The how though… he could just walk, but that was boring. He could hop on his tail ball and bounce all the way there. That was fun sometimes. Or he could…

Azurill grinned, picking up the thin tail that connected his body to the oil orb. Although it was heavier than his body, he had the strength to lift it up, then swing it over his head. Five times, he swung the orb around, moving it faster and faster. Then, he flung the tail orb with as much strength as he could muster.

And it went flying. His body got yanked into the air after it. There was a slight pain, but it was thrilling enough that he ignored it. As he came down, he shifted himself around so that he gripped the orb. It hit the ground, flattened some, then bounced back into the air, flipping him around. Azurill laughed cheerily as his orb kept bouncing along the ground. Eventually, it lacked the energy to go back into the air and caused him to tumble along the ground. Loose dirt clung to his damp skin, but he didn't care. This was too much fun.

When he stopped, he chucked himself over for any scratches or bruises. Nothing yet. He knew that someday, he would evolve, and then he wouldn't be able to launch himself around like this anymore. "Might as well enjoy it while it lasts," he said with a grin, picking his tail back up for another throw.

After his third throw, he was reasonably close to the berry patch. In order to make sure that he landed in the patch, Azurill was going to have to aim for a high arc. He threw his tail orb hard, sending himself flying over a large bush. As he got back upright to prepare for the landing bounce, he saw that he was heading straight for another Pokemon. This one was light blue, with long ears and a poof of hair coming off its head. He called out to get the other Pokemon's attention, but it didn't turn up to see him.

He crashed right into the stranger, but something curious happened. She didn't budge from her spot, despite how hard he had come flying at her. After a half-second of contact, she straightened up and flung him backwards. Azurill tumbled along the dirt path, squealing as he went right into the thick bush that he had just thrown himself over. It wasn't a thorn bush, thankfully. However, it was harboring a bunch of stickler plants, which covered him with their flat seeds.

He hopped out of the bush to get away from the stickler plants. "Ooo, I'm sorry," he called over. "I couldn't see you, so I didn't mean to land on you."

"No worries. Are you okay?" She turned around, wearing the biggest grin he had ever seen on a Pokemon. It curled up around her eyes and showed off a bright red tongue.

"I'm fine, just covered in stickies," he replied. "I'm Azurill." He made a bow, then started taking the stickies off.

"Good. I'm Wynaut." She scooted over to him, still grinning. "I can help." Curling her ears up, she reached over with them and showed off hidden fingers. With that, she plucked off stickies from his back and flicked them away.

"Thanks."

"What were you flying about for anyhow? You don't look like a Flying type." She was still grinning.

"I'm not. I was just having fun, coming over here for lunch." Once he had the stickies off his front, he brought his orb around the clean that. "Um, I don't mean to be rude, but could you stop grinning like that? It's creepy."

"Sorry, but I can't help that. I'm always grinning." She swished her tail. "But I'm not crazy or anything. That's just how we Wynauts are."

"Oh, okay. So what are you doing here?"

"Same thing as you, getting lunch. Okay, that gets all the ones you can't see. I know they don't hurt, but they're annoying." She scooted around him, waddling with her paws.

"Yeah. Thanks for the help."

"This place smelled nice," she said, flipping her ears… arms, whatever they were. They hung from her head, but had fingers, so Azurill wasn't sure what to make of it. "I go from berry patch to berry patch most of the time, following the scent. But I am supposed to be going somewhere now. Do you live around here? Mind giving me directions?"

"I live in the pond over that way," he said, pointing back to the west. "But I know this area pretty well. What're you looking for?"

Wynaut tapped her tail against the ground. "I'm supposed to meet with a bunch of my kin for a counter tournament. I was told to come to a peach orchard with a yellow windmill."

He thought. "Oh, that place. I haven't been there myself, but I've seen the windmill. Go to my pond, then head south to a tall hill. You can see the windmill from there in the distance."

"I see. Thanks, that ought to help."

"And what's a counter tournament? Are you counting stuff?"

Giving a barking laugh, she replied, "No, but that would be fun too! You know how I bounced you back without moving? That's a counter. I need to perfect countering in all forms before I evolve, so I take every chance I get to practice. Me and the others are going to compete to see who can counter the most counters. Want to come see? We don't mind visitors."

Go to a place where there were lots of the creepy grinning Pokemon? She seemed nice, but Azurill didn't think he could handle a group of them without getting nightmares. "Oh, no thanks. I've got my own training to focus on."

"I see. Well good luck with that, and don't go in the stickler plants again."

He chuckled. "Right. And good luck with your tournament."

She gave him a wave with her ear-hand limb, then waddled off towards the pond. After reflecting on the oddities of other Pokemon, Azurill went to gather berries for his lunch. He supposed that he was strange to others at times.

...

Ruby entry: Azurill spins its tail as if it were a lasso, then hurls it far. The momentum of its throw sends its body flying, too. Using this unique action, one of these Pokemon managed to hurl itself a record 33 feet.

Emerald entry: A Wynaut loves to eat sweet fruits. It cleverly picks fruits using its earlike arms. They gather in fruit gardens, drawn by the fragrance.

I think an endlessly grinning Pokemon would be kind of creepy after a while…