Pokémon: Worlds Divided

Leon peeked out of the bushes and saw a few Lotad. Some were playing in the water, while a few were on land.

Leon had tunnel visioned on these Pokemon when Leona spoke up.

"That Pokemon can perfectly camouflage itself with that lily pad on its head. Wow..." When she saw this Pokemon, she was amazed.

It was almost as if it had adapted over the years to its environment to survive. Leon saw that most of these Lotad had either F or F+ aptitude, which was a bit disheartening.

But there was a quest he needed to finish.

"I'm sure it's used to survive, it seems like a logical theory." As Leon spoke, Lars saw something from the corner of his eye.

"Leon, there's a Pokemon over there pecking at the ground," Lars whispered and pointed.

"Oh..." Leon gazed over and stared at the Pokemon for a moment.

It was alone.

It had a round light-blue body, its round body appeared to be all of its head. Its wings were fluffy and white, resembling cotton or clouds.

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"It's actually a Swablu of all things, why would it be here?" However, once he saw its ability, Leon understood.

Most Swablu loved windy conditions and not rainy ones.

Due to its ability, Cloud Nine, these rainy conditions didn't affect it, no, it wasn't even bothered by it. The water would simply roll off its cotton-like wings without showing signs of being damp. 

'Its aptitude is an E-rank. That's probably one of best you could find in the wild, perhaps up to E+.'

When Leona's gaze landed on Swablu her eyes flickered with a strange light.

'This Pokemon is also a Hoenn type, so it's a must-catch.' Leon thought.

"Come out..." Leon summoned Aron again before turning to Lars to ask for his cooperation.

Though his Electrike didn't know any electric moves, it still had access to an ice-type move. Leon explained his plan to defeat and capture Swablu, with the use of Aron and Electrike.

Lars, of course, agreed. This would also give him a chance to initiate his first battle.

"Hehe, observe, little sis. Watch how amazing your big bros are." Lars rubbed his chin and smiled with pride.

"Pfft! Sure." Leona rolled her eyes before telling both Leon and Lars to be careful.

Both Leon and Lars crept over behind the bushes closest to Swablu.

Leon wanted to sneak attack it, but Swablu's guard was up. Swablu would look around almost every Five seconds or less.

"Aron, use Rock throw."

"Go! Attack with Ice Fang."

They both spoke in low voices, while Aron summoned rocks and flung them at Swablu. Electrike followed up by running out to attack soon after.

Swablu was naturally spooked by the sudden change and tried to escape, but it was too late.

Moments later, Leon was carrying a Pokeball with the defeated Swablu inside. The attack was swift and ended quickly.

Swablu was trying to fly away—when it was hit by a rock. Electrike finished it off. The commotion caught the attention of other nearby Pokemon. Leon and Lars retreated to the thicket, away from the marsh.

"That was amazing, it was quick and decisive!" Leona clapped her hands lightly and playfully.

"Haha, all in a day's work." Leon smiled and continued. "Would you like this Swablu? It's a great Pokemon, especially once it evolves like Electrike.."

"Really? Are you really going to give me that Pokemon?" Leona's eyes widened as she stared Leon right into his eyes.

That Swablu was quite cute compared to Leon and Lars's Pokemon. She wasn't against tough-looking Pokemon, but ugly and weird ones—she couldn't take them.

"Of course, I've already given Lars a Pokemon. Now, you need one and this Pokemon seems right up your alley."

At first, Leon wanted to give them Pokeballs to catch their own Pokemon. However, it was better for him to capture them personally before giving them away. This would allow the Pokemon to become an addition to his Catchdex/Pokedex.

Leon handed Leona the Pokeball and thanked Leon with a kiss on the cheek. Lars wanted to do the same, but he hurriedly dodged and rejected.

Leona laughed before they ducked down and waited near a bush. He only wanted to wait for the Lotad to let their guard down.

Leona poured berry juice from a clear bottle and offered it to her newly acquired Swablu.

This Wetland contains plenty of water and grass-type Pokemon. These were the main Pokemon that could be found here. Of course, there were flying types, but these Pokemon were challenging to catch.

The best method was if they landed on the ground rather than a tree, but most prefer treetops.

The rain had died down a lot and was reduced to sprinkles. Leon looked ahead at the Marsh and could still see those Surskit skiing on the water.

'This Pokemon is going to be impossible to catch.' It was small and fast, there was simply no way to acquire it.

Once he thought about it, there was only one way to do it. This method was also the easiest way to defeat these Lotad as well.

And that was with Swablu. It was a flying type and it had a flying type move. Besides, the group of Lotad didn't have high levels at all.

The highest here was at Level Seven.

Despite this, there was a decent amount of them and Leon didn't want to risk it. He had to have at least one Pokemon that could easily deal with them.

Leon and his siblings waited, he wanted to wait for Swablu's recovery. After about Ten minutes of waiting, Swablu finally woke up from its fainted state.

Within two minutes Swablu recognized Leona as its trainer. She fed the Swablu some wild raspberries, which restored its health to normal.

This whole process took twenty minutes!

Leon almost pulled out his tent because Swablu was taking a while to wake up. Although there was a slight chill in the air due to the light rain, it wasn't enough to warrant pitching a tent.

Once Swablu fully recovered, they were ready to enact their plan against the Lotad. Leon firstly, but stealthily tossed a Pokeball at a high prior Lotad.

This Lotad had one of the better aptitudes, so it became a target. Once the Pokeball hit the back of the Lotad and encapsulated it, something odd happened.

The flash that engulfed the Lotad, which exuded itself from the Pokeball was brighter. This Phenomenon stunned Leon for a moment, what could this mean?

Of course, this caught the attention of the other Lotad. Their usual simple expression showed widened eyes, as they all turned toward the direction the ball had originated from.

Suddenly, these Lotad opened their mouths and shot Water guns toward them. Not every Lotad knew where the ball came from, but some had been on the lookout this entire time.

Some shots were random, while some were precise.

"Dodge!" Leon hurriedly said.

Leon knew this would likely be the result, so they didn't need to think twice to evade.

"Go, Swablu, Peck!" Leona ordered with excitement.

"Electrike, Ice Fang, let's go!" Lars pointed and commanded.

"Aron... Beldum, attack in the same way as before!" Leon, of course, didn't sit back and do nothing.

The most effective attacker was obviously Swablu. Its attack was backed by stab and it was super effective against Lotad.

The battle surprisingly lasted for a while since there were more Lotad appearing. They saw that their friends were in trouble, so they came to help from Marsh.

Once Electrike retrieved a couple of Pokeballs Leon told everyone to retreat.

Leon had to be careful because some of these Lotad had Swift Swim. They weren't slow and were moving at surprisingly fast speeds.

Leon didn't dare stay here, their move speed wasn't outrageous because the rain was dying down. However, their speed was still something that couldn't be underestimated.

Leon had to recall his Pokemon because they were too slow. He quickly escaped with his family into the forest.

Electrike ran and followed while Swablu took to the skies and followed. Lotad didn't have the determination to follow them.

The ground was muddy and the water made it difficult to run or walk, slowing them down.

"It looks like they're not going to give chase." Lars looked back and saw that the coast was clear.

"They won't chase, it's more of a lazy Pokemon than one may think."

Lotad was lazy until it reached its final stage, Ludicolo. Ludicolo was an energetic Pokemon that was active at most times.

"Haha, that really had my heart racing. I'm not sure if it was fear or excitement, but I know it was adrenaline." Leona's hands were still shaking when she looked at them.

"This is what it means to live, and there's more out there waiting for us beyond this island." Leon laughed and gave some encouragement about the world of Pokemon.

Though, he had yet to see it for himself.

"Haha, well, you managed to capture two of them. This is getting easier and easier for you." Lars had seen the swarm of Lotad coming out from the Marsh and was shocked.

Lars was afraid that they would be overwhelmed with numbers, but once Leon recovered those two Pokeballs they retreated quickly.

"They'll sell for a decent price." Leon could only think about the potential money he could make.

Thinking about the Pokemon he had caught, Leon quickly checked his mission progress.

-Objective-

Collect 10 Different Species Of Pokemon Native to the Hoenn region. [9/10]

'I need one more Pokemon to complete this mission. I should visit those Taillow from before and capture one. If I'm not mistaken, there might be a nest located in that tree.' 

After a brief pause, Leon came to the realization that the task at hand was complicated and posed a significant risk.

Leon thought the large tree was the reason for the abundance of Taillow hovering around it.

Once a Taillow evolved into Swellow, they became lone wolves but remained together as Taillow in some special cases.

"Guys, there's one last thing we have to do but it will be a bit dangerous. Are you guys up for it?"

Leon broke the silence and said.