And Then There Were Four

Cool water again washed against her scales, as Meredith dipped into the foggy water of Lost Conch Ranch's disused pool. Though the water was a bit grimy, she was grateful to be submerged again, rather than barely sitting in the puddle of a cramped tank. The trainer who caught her clearly wasn't prepared to take care of such a large fish pokemon like herself. Their vaporeon hybrid had at least the kindness to keep her watered with gentle bubble-beams, though she still shuddered at the indignity. As much as she longed to spread her fins and swim a bit, she was quite curious what her trainer was talking about with that pink-haired girl. Bobbing to the surface, she managed to catch the tail end of their conversation.

"No problem, Saki! I promise she'll have great care here!" Saki nodded softly, knelt down to fondly pat Meredith, and shuffled off, with her two vaporeon mixes in tow. As Meredith strained, wondering where they were going, her line of sight was suddenly obscured by the of the pink-haired girl they came to see. 

"Hi, Meredith!" she exclaimed happily. "My name's Darcey! Saki said you were in need of a bigger home, so looks like you're staying with us now! Welcome to the family!" Meredith cocked her head, looking this Darcey critically up and down. Well... as much as she liked Saki, she appreciated the trainer finding her a more suitable home. She'd miss her though, and her mischievious vaporeons. "Sorry the pool's so foggy, we just cleaned it and the cleaner hasn't settled down yet. Its not chlorine or anything though, don't worry! Nothing that'd irritate your scales!" She sat up to survey the land around. "Bully! Rymm! Come say hi!" 

Curious, Meredith splashed high enough to see above the rim of the pool, and spotted two pokemon rushing towards them. "I'll let you all get to know each other," Darcey smiled, standing upright. "We'll introduce you to Wiltbur later. He's a bit shy," she giggled. "I'll give you guys some space. Have fun!" she waved behind her, already walking away. Meredith glanced back to check on the approaching pokemon, only to be ambushed by a stampeding palpitoad, right above her and ready to launch into the water. 

"AAuubbbllrrr," Meredith's cry was muffled as she dove out of the way. The splash sounded behind her, signaling the palpitoad's entry into the pool. She turned crossly to face them, only to be approached by the darting palpitoad first. 

"Nice to meet you! I'm Rymm," the excitable pokemon beamed, hovering around her. The lumineon reflexively swatted her away with a large fin, backing away to have more space. The palpitoad Rymm, apparently unable to take a hint, closed the gap just as quickly. "What's your name? Where are you from?"

"Rymm," a gruff, muffled voice complained from the surface. Rymm darted to the surface to address him more clearly.

"I'm just asking," she rolled her eyes. Meredith took the opportunity to put a bit more distance between herself and Rymm before floating to the surface herself. There, she spotted the source of the second voice- a pale, white and brown sea turtle pokemon she had never seen before. He draped his two front flippers into the water, but otherwise seemed comfortable lounging at the edge of the pool. The turtle seemed young, though his voice was unexpectedly deep for such a small creature. 

"It's just exciting, you know," Rymm continued, "The first customer of Lost Conch Ranch! What are you here for? Training? Grooming? Just boarding?"

"I've no idea what you're on about," Meredith turned up her nose in her posh tone of voice. "But it appears as though I've just been transferred to your trainer."

"Yeah, but for how long until yours comes back to-"

"She's sayin' her trainer gave her to Darcey, Rymm," the turtle cut her off, apology in his eyes.

"Ohh..." Realization hit Rymm like a tidal wave. She furrowed her brow and her whole demeanor changed. "So your trainer isn't our first client. Great." She sighed, slouched, and dragged her armless form back out of the pool with shocking ease.

"That's no way to treat our guest," the turtle cuffed her, knocking her back into the water with a squeal. He sighed, and pulled himself all the way into the water as well. He, at least, respected her personal space and kept a comfortable distance. "Bully," he nodded her way." Recalling the odd name called before, the lumineon took it as his introduction. 

"Meredith," she curtly shot back. Rymm, recovering from her surprise dunk in the water, clambered up onto Bully's shell. 

"Sorry, the palpitoad sighed. "It's just, its been weeks repairing this place and trying to turn it into a proper ranch. And we still haven't had one client!"

"So, I've been 'upgraded' from a tiny tank to a failing ranch. Just lovely," Meredith rolled her eyes and ducked back below the water. Bully tensed, and glared daggers as he followed her down.

"Watch your tone," he warned, eyes narrow. "Our people are doing their best to turn this place into a functioning, state-of-the-art water-type ranch. They inherited it in shambles. You have no idea how much work has gone into this place."

"Mm, work and money, I presume?" Meredith cooly retorted. "And you say it's been weeks since you reopened? Not one customer? Definitely sounds like a stable business."

"What's your problem?" Rymm rudely shot. This time, Bully made no move to intervene.

"I don't have a problem- yet," Meredith moseyed her way to the bottom of the pool, feeling out how much space they had. The cloudy water made it hard to judge. "I'll have a problem when I'm transferred to another trainer, again, because this ranch fails."

"What makes you think Darcey would hand you off?" Bully skeptically questioned. 

"Money is the most important thing to humans," she rolled her eyes. "Even if they don't think so, they need it for food, shelter and supplies. When the money runs out, they can't take care of their pokemon. So they'll sell us to someone who can."

"Darcey would never!" Rymm insisted, fuming. 

"You don't know our trainer," Bully tactfully agreed.

"I don't need to know her, I just need to know people. Money is what drives humans. It drives them to overfish the ocean, it drives them to harvest horns off the corsola and the tails of slowpokes. I've seen it. It was the only reason I let myself be caught by my trainer Saki, because I thought I'd be safer in a pokeball than in my own home. But come to find out, it's the same with all humans, trainers or not," she viciously spat, not realizing how close she'd herself encroached on their personal space. She noticed suddenly their mortified, concerned expressions, and quickly turned away to regain composure. Awkward, suffocating silence lingered for far too long.

"Well," Rymm spoke far more gently than Meredith had even thought the palpitoad capable of. "Maybe you'll find out that Darcey is different. I grew up with her. She's really kind. She cares about us more than anything, and we her. So we're giving our all to help her family's ranch succeed. If you got to know her, you might even want to help too." Leaving those heavy words to linger, Bully with Rymm atop, solemnly swam back to the surface. They were about to leave the pool when Darcey thundered back. 

"Sorry I took so long, guys!" she cheerily beamed. "I couldn't find my swimsuit! I would've just come in my regular clothes, but Michal gave me an earful the last time I came inside with my clothes all wet." She slowly dipped her legs in the pool opposite from Meredith. She eased herself in slowly with her hands visible, seemingly as to not spook the unfamiliar pokemon. Bully and Rymm happily made their way back around the pool to her. Meredith skeptically kept her distance at the bottom of the pool. Darcey, oblivious to her hesitation, dove down to meet her, cautiously offering a hand to pet her. Meredith allowed it for the sake of keeping peace. Darcey slowly got closer and closer until she was practically cradling Meredith- to the lumineon's displeasure.

In a way, though... it was nice. It was... safe. She allowed herself to relax until she noticed Rymm and Bully smugly watching from above, then quickly wriggled away. Nevertheless, Darcey's face lit up like a clear night sky over just a few seconds of 'bonding.' Meredith watched curiously when the girl had to resurface. She definitely was... interesting. Only time would tell what would come of the ranch, and what kind of person this Darcey would grow into. For now, she supposed, she ought to give Darcey the benefit of the doubt. She could manage to be a team player for the time being. As long as this trainer provided a proper home (and not a cramped, half-full tank) that is.

Bully and Rymm watched their new teammate from the pool's edge. Meredith was... an interesting character. Getting along might be hard at times, but she seemed to be coming around. And with a little extra effort, they might even become family. 

"Oh, no," Realized suddenly. "We still have to introduce her to Wiltbur."

"Oi, vey."