Eventually, after a long and relaxing walk through this forest on a dirt path, they make it to a small town just as Lucas foretold. It was quaint, no paved roads, well maintained footpaths, and tidy looking houses with extensive gardens having several people working outside.
Accompanying them are creatures of all shapes and sizes. A Kricketot, sentient rose bushes, a Psyduck, a couple butterflies and a giant moth who's sleeping. Overall, just a menagerie going about their daily life.
Clyde takes in as much as his eyes can, 'You know, I thought that I'd be walking into like, seven battles going on at once. But this just all looks so… Normal. Like it's an expected part of life.'
The pair continue their walk, ignoring most turns that lead to even more houses until eventually they come upon a pair of people standing in the middle of the road. The same two people they saw prior.
"Oh, hey Prof!" Lucas shouts. "What a coincidence, eh?"
The two approach the other pair, with the apparent Professor meeting Clyde's gaze. "Ah, you're both here. You opened the briefcase, I see?"
Clyde turns to Lucas, who gives a sheepish shrug. "We uh, we got ambushed by some Starly. It was a matter of life or death!"
The old man gives a long, drawn-out sigh. "Alright, which one of you had the Turtwig?"
"M-me. I'm sorry." Lucas stutters as he speaks, a small quiver in his voice as he looks to the ground in shame.
The Professor grabs something from his briefcase and tosses it directly at Lucas, nearly pelting him in the head before he can catch it. With a quick reaction, a Pokéball makes itself visible in his hands.
"And you must have had the Oshawott. Catch." A second toss and a second catch, Clyde also receives a Pokéball. "The Oshawott was supposed to go to Professor Laventon but I'll just have to procure another one. Hopefully he won't mind if his little project is delayed a while longer."
"Wait." Lucas states. "You're giving us these? Just like that?"
The old man gives a curt nod. "I could always use more help, and Dawn put in a good word for you two. Once I get the rest of the equipment unpacked, swing by for a little something to help. Besides."
He closes the briefcase. "Not safe for a couple of youngins to be walking around in nature without a Pokémon to protect themselves with. Now, let's head in Dawn. Have to make sure the others aren't making a mess of things."
As he leaves, Dawn gives a little wave. "Hey, thanks again for keeping the briefcase safe. Really appreciate it. But yeah, swing by later? Assuming all goes well, I'm looking forward to working with you both!"
"Come along, Dawn! We'll have plenty of time for chatter later. Or tomorrow depending on how things are going." The Professor opens the door and disappears into the depths of his lab.
With a sheepish smile, Dawn follows suit and disappears into the building as well.
"Hhhhhhuh." Clyde emphasizes the 'h', drawing it out significantly. "Didn't expect it to be that easy. You know I've yet to actually spot a downside to this whole monkey paw business."
"What was that?" Lucas asks distractedly, eyes glued upon the Pokéball in his hands.
"I said we should probably get that candy you wanted. Maybe grab a raspberry or two for your turtle. I'm sure they'd like a treat too." Clyde looks to the Pokéball in his hand. 'Wish I could remember what sea otters liked outside of fish.'
His eyes go wide. "Oh right, candy! Man, I got so distracted by getting my first Pokémon. I got my first Pokémon! Can you believe it? I actually have one now!"
"It is quite the thing. Happy with the one you got? 'Cause I know I am." A small smile at the thought of a sea otter friend.
"It's… Unbelievable! I get a tree turtle! This is probably the next best thing to a Charmander! But I mean come on, everyone wants a Charmander. This is more practical at least." He hops in place with excitement. "Alright, let's get going, I need to burn off some of this energy. Pokémart awaits!"
The pair set off, beginning their adventure of candy acquisition.
After a short walk through the town, they made it to the Pokémart. The town was quaint, though distinctly lacking in amenities. What it lacked in sights it made up for in the presence of a beach, which Clyde noted to visit in the future. 'Beach vacation hear I come.'
The Pokémart itself was relatively unassuming. Maybe a little bit bigger than your average variety store and whose windows held just as many adverts only instead of slushies and cheap hot dogs, Pokéballs and Pokésnacks. 'You know, I wonder if there's any actual functional difference to a Premier ball here. Wherever this is.'
"I wonder if they sell anything specific for grass types. Wonder what grass types even like to eat or snack on." Lucas looks towards the building with mild awe. "Only one way to find out!" He moves towards the door and bursts inside. Or attempts to. He instead walks headfirst into the door.
Clyde stifles a laugh. "Looks like it's a pull. Here, allow me." With a couple steps, he grabs hold of a door handle and pulls it open. "Voilà!"
Lucas rubs his nose gingerly. "Thank you, please don't tell Dawn about this. Or Barry. They'll never let me live it down." He begins to head inside before pausing, "Please let me live this down, too. I will buy your silence if need be!"
With a sigh, "You don't need to do that, I won't tell anyone. Everyone makes mistakes. Accidents happen and all that."
"Never!" He cries out. "The Honour of Sir Lucas shan't be besmirched! Now onward! I must bribe those who know too much into silence!" He strolls inside.
"Ugh." Clyde mutters. 'He's certainly got enthusiasm, I'll give him that.' He follows suit.
As they walk in, the first thing he spots is the cashier who is looking at Lucas with a look of unbridled confusion. 'Who knew shouting has consequences.' Her gaze shifts to Clyde who mouths a silent 'sorry' to her before looking at the shelves.
Much the same was a variety store has hundreds of different things, so too does a Pokémart. Only instead of wall-to-wall shelving and aisles of every snack known to man, it held wall-to-wall shelving of Pokémon accessories. Food that more closely resembles pet food, comfort items, Pokémon care products, a lot more merchandise than one would think normal, trading cards, limited clothing, and of course, snacks. A whole lot of snacks.
Behind the counter where one would normally find cigarettes instead has cases of bottles and of course, Pokéballs. 'Those potions?' Clyde wonders to himself. 'They keep them locked up here? Weird. Wonder why.' The Pokéballs themselves seemed like the same item that he was tossed less than an hour prior. 'Wonder if one of those could catch a cuttlefish. Should see about bringing one back home with me.'
Lucas immediately makes his way to the snack section. Clyde follows suit, lacking any true direction to go.
Therein, countless colourful packages saturate the aisle. Every Pokémon one can think of is featured somewhere. He idly scans the candy looking for two Pokémon in particular. Oshawott, since he had just been given one, and Darkrai. A personal favourite of his. It takes a while until the organizational pattern reveals itself, a rainbow starting from fire and going through all the types until dark. Checking the blue, an Oshawott candy reveals itself. Grabbing it, he looks over the packaging.
"Krabby-flavoured gummies?" He reads, trying to understand the logic behind having fish flavoured candy. "Do people actually like, buy these?"
Lucas turns from his indecision. "Oh yeah, especially here. All the aquatic flavours are popular. Though I'm more of a pecha flavour, myself. Still, people like what they like. Plus it doubles as a snack for them. What's that, Samurott?"
"Nah, Oshawott. Do Pokémon really like these?" He flips to the back and tries to find a list of ingredients. The label isn't as neat as it is back home.
Lucas nods. "Oh absolutely! Though it's more of a rare treat type of deal. Unless you want a candy addicted Pokémon, I mean. The sugar rushes. Eugh." He shivers.
Spotting an ingredients list, he gives it a read. 'First ingredient is sugar. More things change, more they stay the same.' Clyde moves to put it back.
"Nope nope! You hold onto that, that's part of your bribe." Lucas states, blocking the attempt.
Clyde sighs. "Alright, alright, I won't fight you on this." He continues in his search for the second candy and looks for Darkrai. After perusing the dark types numerous times, he fails to spot them. Briefly looking over the rest, there are surprisingly no Legendaries. 'Wonder if they're reserved for fancier stuff or something. Limited edition runs and the like.' He ponders the idea of Legendary Pokémon. 'Wonder if Manaphy is around. I'm sure if I spend enough time on water, I'll see them. That'll be the day. I think they're the only water Legen- wait they're mythical aren't they? Ugh, classification sucks.'
"Well, I got mine!" Lucas presents some Charizard candy. "Hot cinnamon flavour! The best. Hopefully Turtwig will like it. Though if not, I got him some Bulbasaur candy. Worst case, I'll like the minty flavour!"
He looks triumphant for a moment before he scrunches his fane. "Oh right, I should probably get a little something else for Twiggy. Is that a good nickname? Maybe! Maybe he can get all of the nicknames!"
'Ironic, they give hot flavours to lizards, who can't taste spiciness.' He looks to his aquaintance, who's already moving to a new aisle. "I think that's an on-brand name, though once he evolves it'll aaaaaand he's gone." Chosen candy in hand and now alone, Clyde opts to check around the rest of the store.
Outside of specialized snacks, what remains is a separate aisle dedicated to Pokémon chow. While not as bright and colourful as the candy, it still remains so much more eye catching than a dog food bag. The variety here is significantly reduced in comparison with only a variant or two per Pokémon type. In the water department, they have two options: 'Land' or 'Sea' form.
"Wow, that is incredibly useless. Otters exist between both and aren't really picky when it comes to food. Ugh. Can I logic myself out of this one." He ponders what little he remembers from his childhood. 'Alright, Blastoise is a giant tortoise. Those can't swim, so that'd be land, probably. Pretty sure Magikarp is a fish, so sea? Is the difference between these like, fish flakes and pellets for sea and land?' He grabs a bag and investigates.
After a few minutes reading between the two, "Yeah it's probably land for an otter. Who knows if they'd even like it, though. It's a far cry from fish and oysters." He replaces the two bags. "In any case, I'm poor, and can't afford that off hand. Which- huh. Wonder if they even take debit. Do they have cards here or is it all purely cash?" With a shake of his head, he continues his exploration of the establishment.
Next to the cashier is a display featuring all sorts of new, shiny, and expensive technology. Pokégear, Pokétch, C-Gear and PokéNav all alongside an advertisement for Porygon. '"Get one today and trivialize the monotony of life!" Huh. Don't remember how much they can actually do. Wonder if they're like, an AI assistant or something. Could be useful.' A closer inspection of the Pokégear shows it vaguely reminiscent of a cellphone as does the C-Gear. The Pokétch on the other hand seems analogous to a smart watch with the PokéNav seeming to be a GPS. Accompanying the devices are promotional details, user reviews raving about them, and pictures depicting how happy people are now that they own said technology. 'Huh. No Pokédex here? Shame, that'd have been fun to snag.'
As Clyde looks over the specs of the various instruments, Lucas appears at his side. "Pretty great stuff, eh? I need to get one of everything at some point. Only have the Pokégear so far. Soon as I get that job though, I'm golden!"
Clyde gives a reassuring nod. "You're getting a job soon? Pretty solid, doing what?"
"Working as the professor's assistant! Didn't you hear him before? He gave us Pokémon and told us he needed the help! We're golden!" He bounces around, once again giddy with excitement.
With a confused shake of his head, "Wait what do you mean we're going to be his assistants?"
Lucas gives a toothy grin. "Well, I talked to Dawn, who was contacted by the Professor for help, and she said she'd put in a good word for me and Barry, and after earlier, we're his official assistants! I imagine he's just taking some time to sort out the paperwork or whatever."
Clyde blinks. "But I'm not Barry. Neither you, him, nor Dawn know who I am."
He shrugs. "Maybe, but you're Barry's long-lost twin! And Barry is the best friend which means that by the transitive property of friendship, you are too!"
Clyde blinks again in astonishment. 'Words cannot begin to describe how in the hell you came to that conclusion.' He sighs. "I mean sure, alright. Long as he's fine with that." He keeps his thoughts to himself. 'Something something mouth horse gifts.'
Lucas waves dismissively. "With me and Dawn? Absolutely you'll be fine. Plus, who wouldn't want to work with a relative of Barry? No one, that's who!"
'I'm starting to think that this Barry is the prodigal son of like, the Champion or something. Wish I could remember if he was someone important or not. Haven't played… Diamond had Sinnoh, right? Diamond in… gosh 15 years?' He nods along. "No one indeed. Got everything you needed?"
"Yep! All good to go! Let's get these snacks and head out! I'd love to see Turtwig again while not fighting. Hopefully he likes me." Lucas heads to the cashier. "Also his Oshawott Bites!" He points towards Clyde who waves his blue package.
The cashier sets to work and after an exchange of currency, Lucas takes his newly acquired goods. The pair proceed to exit.
"Behold, the pact is sealed. Your silence has been bought! Never again shall you speak of the events that had transpired!" Lucas says in a comically menacingly tone.
"What events?" Clyde asks.
"You know, the whole door thing." The menacingly voice fades as quickly as it appears.
"What door thing?" His friend replies, playing along.
"When I walked into a door earlier?" Lucas looks to the ground, trying to hide his embarrassment.
"You walked into a door earlier?!" Clyde replies in mock shock.
"You were there!" He shouts, looking up from the previously interesting ground to meet his accuser's eyes.
Clyde blinks. "Wait, are you being serious or."
Lucas holds a face of confusion before realization dawns upon him. "Oh my- okay. Also don't share this. Man." He turns away muttering. "So stupid."
Clyde moves to give him a pat on the back. "Hey, you're not, I was just joshin'. Your secret is still safe with me. Now, want to head to the beach? Hopefully a bit more secluded, gives us a chance to see our new Pokémon?"
His acquaintance nods. "Yeah, beach sounds nice. Closer than the lake, that's for sure." He gestures towards the sandy shore. "Plus it's the off season, so it'll hopefully be largely empty. It's where I go if I want some quiet while I'm in town."
"Then let's check it out, been a bit since I've been to an ocean so it'll be a nice treat." He pockets his snacks and sets out roughly in the direction of the beach.
A few minutes of walking and a conversation about fish-based snacks later, the pair arrive at the beach where a familiar salty scent permeates the air. As promised, it is almost entirely devoid of life aside from a single family whose child is building a sandcastle, and a couple boats on the water. 'Strange, nice weather. One would expect more business.'
The beach itself was surprisingly large, maybe forty meters between the beginning of the sand and the water. Separating the sand from the two behind them was a loose tree line providing the only source of shade for the area. The sand itself was pristine, and scattered across the beach proper are outlines for volleyball courts. Clyde counts at least six with a cursory glance.
"Behold!" The boy yelled. "Beach! Perfect for aspiring new trainers such as ourselves to break the ice! Let's head over to the tree line, I'd rather not get a sun burn. Been in the sun enough today as it is."
"Lead the way." Clyde gestures forward.
With another minute of walking under their belt and suitably distant from the entrance and other people, Lucas sits down and produces his Pokéball. "Alright little buddy. Last time was a bit chaotic, let's have a more chill introduction." With a click and a pop, the Pokéball explodes into light and a Turtwig appears before him, little sapling on its green body and everything.
It looks around blearily for a moment before focusing on Lucas. "Hey!" He says giving a small wave. "I'm Lucas, and I'm going to be your trainer!"
The green turtle snaps at the air, looks around its surroundings, and plops itself in the sand with a yawn.
"Oh, okay! I support laying in the sand! Used to do it all the time. Still kinda do!" He then follows suit and plops himself in the sand as well. "Hey, want some candy? I got some for us to try!"
As he reaches into his pocket, Clyde focuses on his own Pokéball. Pulling it from his pocket, he too takes a seat; though one closer to the trees than the sand. With a similar click and pop, a flash of light emanates and an Oshawott appears. They quickly take in their surroundings, eyes lingering upon the man who released him for a moment before continuing their scan. After a few seconds, they give a satisfied nod and look towards him once more.
"Uh, hi, I guess. I'm Clyde, we uh. Had an incident back at that lake and you helped which, thanks for by the way. I enjoy not getting harassed by giant birds. Geese are bad enough as it is." As he talks, the little sea otter Pokémon tilts its head. Once finished, the Pokémon gives a squeak.
Clyde smiles. "Hey you even sound like a baby sea otter. Adorable. Which reminds me." He produces the candy pack from his pocket. "Got these for you, crab flavoured. Hopefully you like them." Tearing open the package, he gives it a slight waft. It's overwhelmingly fishy. "You know, if I wasn't used to this, it'd be revolting." Snagging a gummy, he offers it to the little fuzzy friend.
They slowly approach and give it several cautious sniffs. After flicking their eyes between the candy and the human, the take it, sit down, and begin to chew on it with a high-pitched 'myam myam.'
"Well, hopefully that means you like it. Odd choice to make them gummies, though. Gave a dog a gummy once, took them a full 20 minutes to eat it. Hopefully you don't have that problem." Clyde also tries one. Tastes strongly of sweetened fish. He does not grab a second.
Looking at the creature in front of him, he's struck by how otter-like they really look. Colouring and ear-regions aside, it could pass for an actual baby sea otter. Looked to have thick, fluffy fur, the webbed feet he noticed before, short tail, sharp teeth, even has a favourite rock. 'Or shell.' He remarks. They also happen to have three freckles on each of their cheeks.
"Well that's just adorable. Between you and Turtwig over there, you definitely won the cuteness contest." Oshawott continues to happily chew their candy.
"Wonder how good of a swimmer you are. Pretty sure baby otters can't really hunt or swim for themselves, but you're no regular otter. You're a real dang Pokémon." He exhales hard. "Still can't believe that. Wonder how Mark's friend would respond to this."
After a few silent moments, Clyde looks towards Lucas once more. They're holding up Turtwig while lying down, while saying something about a flying turtle. Looking back at Oshawott, they've finished their gummy and look towards the individual who freed them once more. They chirp before looking to the water a little ways away.
"Want to go for a swim, little buddy?" They look back with unbridled joy and nod enthusiastically. "Alright, well let's go play a bit! I'm not really dressed for swimming, but I can at least keep you company." Oshawott immediately begins sprinting towards the water.
As quickly as they can, at least.
What starts off as a slow shuffle shifts into a scurry on all fours. They sort of flop forward, their webbed feet not the best for navigating a sandy shore. Despite their difficulties, they look no less happy to be frolicking around.
Despite wanting to, Clyde holds back from carrying them to the water. 'Hopefully they're comfortable with being picked up. Until then, they're a strong independent otter.' He instead opts to keep pace a few steps behind the Pokéotter.
After a good 45 seconds, they eventually make it to the water. What they lack in grace on land, they make up for in the sea.
As soon as they're deep enough to swim, they show off their aquatic skills. Doing summersaults, diving, and generally showing off grace Clyde could only dream of having.
They almost purr as they swim, enjoying their newfound freedom with numerous splashes.
Clyde can't help but smile at the display, and as he watches over the happy Pokémon, Lucas comes running yelling "Turtwig hoooo!"
Stopping right before the water, they gently place the turtle down. "There you go, Twiggy!"
Turtwig approaches the water, places a single foot in said water, and growls before turning around. "Heh, not a fan of the salt water, eh? Sorry, forgot about that." He sits in the sand by the shore, and gently rubs the shell of his Turtwig. "We'll get you to some fresh water soon."
Throughout this, Oshawott continues their display, almost laughing at the reaction from Turtwig.
Lucas marvels at the Ottermon. "Dang, he's a pretty good swimmer eh? Wonder if he could catch some Magikarp."
Clyde shrugs. "Probably, honestly. They gotta eat. Well, Oshawott is still small so catching fish proper is probably a bit more of a challenge. Though I'm sure they'll prefer oysters or clams until then."
It isn't long until the otter slips beneath the waves and remain underwater for a while. "You know, if I wasn't familiar with otters, I'd be worried they disappeared. Probably just up to some underwater shenanigans."
"You've worked with Oshawott in the past?" Lucas asks, offering Turtwig a candy.
Clyde contemplates how to answer. "I've had some experience with them in the past, learned a lot about a lot of different aquatic creatures. Studied it and all that."
Lucas' eyes shine. "Woah! So you're like a water specialist!"
He ponders the suggestion. "I mean, I guess? I don't know, I just know a fair amount about things that live in water. Corals, fish, sharks, all sorts of fun facts. Heck, take little Oshawott. They're probably just looking for oysters. Watch."
The pair watch the water, and within twenty seconds, Oshawott surfaces with a couple of small mollusks. "There, see? Couple oysters. Shallow water is an easy place to find them."
Oshawott begins to pry open their new-found bounty using the shell on their abdomen.
"Once they find one, they'll crack it open. Usually have a favourite rock to work with, though a shell works just as well." After a few attempts, the mollusk is pried open and Oshawott digs in.
Lucas watches in amazement. "Never seen an Oshawott before, let alone one doing what it is. Usually the only water Pokémon I see are fish, swimming around. Going blub. But this? A lot more interesting."
Clyde shrugs. "Fish are amazing in their own right. Each one fills a specific purpose. Some are detritivores or bottom feeders, some form huge schools and swim as a single unit, others swim with larger fish and help them by cleaning them. Not to mention their colours. So many beautiful colours."
He loses himself in thought for a moment as images of fish fly through his mind. "Plus, there's everything else. Manta rays, octopi, starfish. The ocean holds so many wonderous things. So many secrets."
Lucas looks towards the Oshawott. "Honestly, never really thought about all that. Guess it's just because we don't have all that much variety up here. I've heard of most of those, but none of them live up here so I've never really looked into them." He chuckles to himself. "Granted, Charizard isn't native to this region either but I know a lot about them."
"Hey man, chase what your find interesting." Clyde says to his acquaintance. "Passion drives you." He too watches Oshawott work to open the second oyster. "It's what's gotten me this far, despite everything. And now I'm here. Somehow. Still not entirely sure what's going on here but eh. Just going along for the ride of life at this point."
Oshawott pries open the second and feasts, discarding the shell in the process. They return for a moment, crawling onto land on all fours and approaching Clyde. "What's up, little buddy?" They close the distance and show off a small shiny object. Accepting it, it looks to be a small pearl. A smile warms him. "Well thank you, I love it. It's a perfect little gift."
With a smile, Oshawott returns to the water with almost a gallop.
"I'm keeping this. But I wonder what the market for pearls is like here. Could start a small business." He looks to Lucas.
"Honestly, pretty good." Lucas replies. "During the busy season, you could probably sell a lot of those to tourists. Just a matter of how many you could get."
Clyde questions the ethics of using Pokémon labour. "I've no idea how long I'll be here for but that's an interesting thought none-the-less."
"Well as long as you're here, you'll have a friend in Lucas! Hey! We have Pokémon, we should battle them!" He presents Turtwig. "Turtwig could totally battle Oshawott! We're Pokémon trainers now! Trainers battle! There's some open battle arenas here that we can use! It's perfect!"
'Huh, they're battle courts, not volleyball courts. Makes sense. Shame, no beach volleyball.' Clyde looks between Turtwig and Oshawott who is still swimming happily. 'I mean, I guess I am?' Before shaking his head. "I'm no trainer, just a guy with a Pokémon."
Lucas disagrees. "Never! You're a full-fledged trainer now! Under Professor Rowan!"
'Rowan! That's his name.' He frowns. "Alright, how about this. We wait until we talk to the Professor again, and then we can maybe battle. Maybe. I'd rather not bring beat-up Pokémon to him right after he gave them to us. Responsible owner and all."
With a few moments of silence, Lucas nods. "Yeah, yeah that makes sense. But once we talk to him and he tells you you're a trainer, then we'll battle! Plus there's a Pokécenter right in town so it's perfect!"
Clyde sighs. 'I mean, that's what people do here. They Pokémon battle. When in Rome.'
Oshawott disappears beneath the waves once more. "Alright sure." He says. "If the Professor gives the okay, then we'll battle."
"Awesome! I'm going to have to get Turtwig fired up and ready to go! There's no way we can lose!" Lucas picks up Turtwig once more. "Look at him! This is the face of power!"
Clyde nods in agreement. "When did they say to come back? Did uh. Dawn I think, say to come back tomorrow?"
His acquaintance shrugs. "Maybe! Might have just said later! We can always just drop by anyways and find out. Worst case they kick us out. He can be kind of… Intense, sometimes."
"Well, I'm happy to go check it out. Kind of hungry, too. But also, beach is nice. And Oshawott is loving this." Watching the water for any sign of the otter. "Well, once Oshawott surfaces, I'd like to hit up the lab. Or food. But also I'm broke. Don't think they'll accept any of my money here. Should have eaten before leaving. Bleh."
Lucas looks to his friend. "Well, I can always cover it! Then once you get your money situation figured out, you can cover the next one! We can trade back and forth, even! Make it like a game!"
Clyde smiles again, more than he has in a while. 'How are you so damn wholesome.' With a deep breath. "I want to argue, but I've been told to accept people's kindness. And also I'm hungry. So sure, if you want to take this one, once I can, I'll cover the next one."
Oshawott surfaces with more mollusks. "Who knows, maybe I can afford food by selling pearls. Not exactly my profession of choice but if it's an honest living, can't really argue."
With a bit of effort, Oshawott cracks open a third. "Hm. Hey, Oshawott!" Clyde shouts, stealing their attention. "Can you bring one of those over for a second? I just want to look at it, I'll give it back."
Without hesitation, they swim over. Taking a few steps on land, they hand an unopened one over, eating from the other.
Taking it and inspecting it, it looks rather unusual for an oyster. Solid purple colour with a few almost spikes coming off of it. The shell parts ever so slightly to reveal what appear to be two eyes before slamming shut once more. 'Is this… a Cloyster? Little oyster Pokémon? Huh. I guess that makes sense. Never really thought about the food chain in the games.'
He returns it, eyebrows furrowed in contemplation. "Thank you, enjoy it."
Oshawott accepts it, returns to the water, and continues prying it open.
Picking up the discarded shell of the third oyster, he looks at it. 'Looks kinda like it. Interesting. This place just got a hell of a lot more fascinating. More than just face value Pokémon battles, it seems.'
He shifts his view away to Turtwig. 'And him, he has that sprout on his head. Is it cosmetic? Symbiotic? Does he gain the energy from photosynthesis? So many questions. Biology textbook never covered this.'
"Well." He says, breaking the silence. "Least I don't need to worry about feeding him. Can get his own food, weight off my mind. I don't know how to fish to catch him something, so. Is it even a him? I actually don't know. How do you sex an otter? Learned about the reproductive cycle of a sea urchin but not that." He recalls the past with a less-than-favourable lens. "I mean they're both niche factoids but at least one of those would be useful right now."
Oshawott successfully opens the fourth mollusk and chows down.
"Well, I've got time. I'm in no hurry. Might as well enjoy the moments and learn a little bit as I go." He watches the otter swim and eat. 'Home'll always be waiting for me. Think I'll take this as a hint to enjoy a little vacation. No need to rush back into aquarium hell.'
"Hey yeah! Enjoy things! Like Turtwig enjoys candy!" As Lucas plays with Turtwig once more, attempting to convince them to try a Charizard candy, Clyde enjoys the weather and water, watching a happy otter enjoy themselves.
'No need to rush at all.'