Snippet #2788524

Unbeknownst to the fleet of Shadow Pokemon patrolling the skies above, the little Chimchar they sought was already present, though he did not match the color template they were expecting. The orange and pale yellow exterior was actually blue and cream-colored, respectively. Not even the tail was lit with flame, replaced by a fin that he was using to propel himself underneath the choppy water as he made his way to the island. He was submerged quite a ways, avoiding the strong pull of the current by treading stable ocean water. He would occasionally look up, making sure nothing had found him and was proceeding to attack him, but his attention was in front, towards the unnaturally steep incline made of crystal. That was the island.

He felt a tug on his feet behind him and he instantly kicked in response, as if he was dashing through the water. When he no longer felt it, he turned to see what had caused it. Nothing visible was behind him, but as he glanced upwards, he could see a small swirl of water growing larger and larger on the surface. He was confused by it, but as instinct kicked in, he figured it couldn't be anything good. He wanted to be as far away from that as he could.

His trajectory has changed slightly, moving so that he was swimming directly away from the swirl of water. He glanced behind him, watching it slowly and visibly reach down towards the ocean floor via a smooth, glassy vortex. Fortunately, he was already ahead of it when it started, so his path was uninterrupted. He swam forward, watching the wall of land get closer and closer until he was right in front of it. Then he propelled himself upward, holding back just a hair so that only his eyes would emerge and he'd be less visible. He already had good coverage of his skin, blending in with the blue water around him. Not to mention the rough water surface made it hard to find definitive shapes within the foamy, surging mess around them.

But now came the hard part...actually getting in to New Eve City. Already, he could tell that the outer walls were watched by Melaine's minions, as each tower had a guard stationed there. The small amount of land leading to the wall was steep and rocky, meaning it would be a tough climb up. To his left, he could see the hustle and bustle of a port, the only real break in the wall. But the area was flooded with Shadowlings. Getting through there unnoticed would be a challenge. In fact, getting through any part of the outer wall would be near impossible without being spotted. And he didn't want to be noticed...not yet.

His attentive gaze went further left, examining the boats and ferries that were cutting through the water. He was considering the possibility of sneaking on board and trying his luck there, when he noticed the waterspout, still churning behind him. It still looked like it was moving in his general direction, picking up water as it went. This was that glassy disturbance he'd just saw, he realized. He started moving back from it until an idea clicked in his mind. He studied the vortex, watching the water swirl around inside, watching it ascend into the clouds. He grinned at the concept of what he was about to attempt, the thought exciting him more than making him nervous.

He paused for a moment...and then submerged himself, heading straight for the waterspout.

Of course, the questions buzzed around in his head. Could he control his ascent? He had a few ideas on what he could do and it was entirely situational depending on the Waterspout's unpredictable nature. But he cleared his head, trusting only his instincts as he felt the tug of water being pulled above him once more. This time, he flowed with it, feeling the force of it yank him swiftly upward. He spread his arms to stabilize himself in the middle at first, but as the vortex grew wider and wider, he realized he had to hug one side to get carried. Not like aborting was an option anymore.

Crimson's head broke the surface and he started to breathe air while the Waterspout carried him higher. He could feel the water slapping against his skin hard as it swirled around him, moving much faster in the air. He winced at the sudden reverberation of pain, each droplet like a whip striking him all over. But he fought it, forcing his eyes open to try and scan his surroundings. Already he was relatively high as he could now see over the castle walls and into the town itself. He could make out anything else in the furious wind as he was sucked around and around in a spiral, only getting around a second at a time to gauge the drop down. He was surprised by the speed of his ascent. He was either so light that it wasn't a problem or the waterspout had really strong winds. Either way, he recognized this and knew that his time for release would come much sooner. He waited and waited and waited...until...

Now.

Right below the cloud coverage, Crimson started to spiral on his own. Using the momentum of the wind, he charged the Water Wheel much faster and became a cyclone within the cyclone. Then...zoom! He broke through the outer wall of the vortex and into the cloud coverage above them, freeing himself from the winds while using it to propel forward at an extremely fast rate. The pinnacle of his arc was reached early on and it was only a couple seconds later that he dropped from the clouds and towards New Eve Island.

The aim was a little off, but the distance was spot on. As the Water Wheel concluded and Crimson entered freefall, he noticed immediately that he had cleared the wall before he dipped below the clouds, avoiding the guards and sentries on the outside. He had done what he had intended, but now came the consequence. He did his best to slow his fall and aim for somewhere soft to land, but those landing spots were few and far in between here. He action rolled down onto a slanted rooftop, feeling his body lose control the moment he made impact. From there, it was off the roof, down into an alley, hitting the wall of a house along the way before finally meeting the ground with the entire front half of his body. His breath shuddered, which was all that kept him from crying out in pain. Having already been tenderized by the Waterspout, this was extra pain as he took a moment before slowly pulling himself to his feet.

"Mmpf," he bit back a moan as his entire body throbbed. Now he had to wonder about the dangers of what he had just pulled. Too low and he would've smacked into that wall at a much harder force, likely leaving him on the brink of being knocked out. Too high and he would've gone sailing over the whole island. But as he pulled out a few Oran berries from his pack and started munching on them, he grinned all the same as he took in his new limited surroundings. Two walls forming a corner, two exits in perpendicular directions. No one was around him. And no real vantage point existed from where he was at to the outer wall. He began to shine a bit as he morphed back into his typical Fire-Type state. The crazy idea had worked.

He was in New Eve City, without being detected.