>>58078243
>But it knew enough to recognize who was in charge.
>Placing it in a mud puddle, the marshtomp turned into all fours and barreled into the water.
>In moments, it dug itself into the riverbed.
>You huffed and walked away.
>Lucky for you, that marshtomp didn’t reach your thighs.
>Barely two feet tall, you guessed.
>If that were a swampert, it might’ve suffocated you underwater.
>All the more reason to understand your new body.
>Further downstream, you dipped into the water and cleaned the mud as best you could.
>Another bath tonight.
>At this rate, you’ll run out of shampoo way sooner than you thought.
>At least you were going home a better man.
>Er, pokémon.
>You might have been the first to see a new species. How many could say that?
>Won’t go down in the history books for that, but you’ll know.
>It was only a matter of time until news got out.
>Probably a day or two of “there’s no way this can be real” and “gotta be a hoax”.
>Eventually, someone with a big reach would show it off and it’d sweep across the world.
>Would pokémon appear all over the world, or just here?
>You had a feeling this area was ground zero.
>Might be a lot more here.
>A yellow flash further downstream caught your attention.
>A sharp din echoed over the waters a second later.
>It wasn’t near the highway. Or the train tracks.
>Lightning? Without a cloud in the sky?
>Something else to investigate.
>You thought of using your aura sight, but there was the possibility that aggressive marshtomp was aching for a second round.
>Jogging down instead, you found some clues.
>Something had been here.
>Three dead fish floated on the water, sliding lifelessly into a rock at your paws.
>Their bodies were fresh, and their aura faded moments ago.
>Ozone stank the air.
>But you saw no bent plants or tracks.
>You heard nothing out of the ordinary.
>Whoever “fished” took off fast, you guessed.
>Shameful they’d waste food like this.
>Shameful for them, but lucky for you.
>This would be great dinner.