A Pixel in the Dust

Chapter 25 - Mare

I returned to the Mouth of the Cave, where Bea, May and Shizu were both sitting together, watching the others who were still playing in the Ocean.

When I caught Mare, I received 20 Points, making the number 40 now.

"I'm back, Bea." I called out.

"Hm? ...Welcome Back." She greeted.

"Anything happen while I was gone?" I stood next to her, looking out at the others.

"Nope. Everyone's been having fun. And... those two strangely got chummy all of a sudden." Bea said, looking at May and Shizu.

"Well... At least May's making some development. ...Wanna see something cool?"

"Like what?" She turned to me.

Taking out Mare's Pokeball, I emphasize it.

"...I caught a really cool New Member of the Team."

"...That makes it 1, 2... 9 Pokemon now? ...How many are you gonna catch?"

"Beats me. She wanted to leave the Cave, so I'm helping her out. It just so turns out that she's choosing to come with us as well."

"...Another Girl too."

'I know, right?'

"Don't... think too hard about it. Anyways, it's about time we greet them."

Walking over to the Edge of the Cave, I look down towards the Ocean. Everyone was swimming and playing, exploring the depths of the water, and searching for interesting objects.

"Everyone! Come back here for a bit! I've got a surprise!" I shouted.

Everyone immediately stopped, then turned their heads towards me. Not even a second after, and they're already swimming back to the Cave.

Mina, as lazy as she was, Teleported back.

"What's the Surprise?" She said, dripping from head to toe.

"Uhh... Let's get you cleaned up first. {Clean}."

Suddenly, all of the Water that Mina was covered in immediately went away, and I swear I could see a Shine on her horn.

"W-What was that!?" She was confused.

"I leveled up my Wisdom Stat. When it reached 20, I suddenly got the Skill "Everyday Magic", which only has Spells for Convenient Magic, like "Clean"." I explained.

"You... You can use Magic now?" Mina was in disbelief.

"Souta can use what?" Liv arrived first.

"Let's wait for everyone first. ...Where's Via?" I asked.

Everyone looked up at a small ledge that was not too far up from the Cave's Entrance. There was a small ledge, and I could see part of Via's head sticking over the edge where she was taking a nap.

"...Well, she's gonna get soaked." I sighed.

"Papa! Let's play in the Water!" Sui said, zipping by everyone.

"I'll hop in soon. First, let's wait for Bun to... Nevermind. She's already here."

"S-Sorry! I'm not the greatest Swimmer, so I tried to stick to the Shallows as much as I could!" Bun said, running towards us.

"That should be everyone. ...Hm?"

....A Squirtle was randomly part of the Group.

"...Who the heck are you?"