Cat'ch Me Downstairs, How 'bout That?

Every other place was likely overfished, but Laguna had spent more than enough time at the Cat's Meow to know it held a great secret.

Well, in truth, a secret that only mattered right now.

A hidden fishing hole in the basement of the establishment. Honestly, it was kind of ingenious.

She had been waiting for her partner for this expedition in one of the hot tubs, and nearly missed them coming in. "Aww shoot," Laguna mumbled to herself as she climbed up and out, quickly drying herself off. "If only we could fish, while still being in one of the tubs. Now that would be nice."

Slipping down the hidden stairs and into the basement, Laguna smiled with a wave as her bare feet slid across the floor toward the well. Wearing an unbuttoned Hawaiian-style shirt over her bikini. Didn't cover much, but she didn't really get cold either. "Well, well, well. Look who finally showed up. Ready to catch some fish?"

She quickly tossed her borrowed fishing rod and tackle out on top of one of the nearby crates as she continued. "I know it looks like I'm the late one, but I've been here for an hour already. I tell you, some of those tubs are fantastic. But enough about them, you think the saloon catches fish down here themselves to feed their cats?"

"Honestly? Who knows!" Laguna was readying her own line, adjusting her bait and tackle, trying before dropping her own into the pool. The important part was to keep their lines far enough apart that they wouldn't tangle.

"I mean, maybe something that lives in underwater caves? Or maybe something came in from the outside? Whatever the case, probably something the cats eat."

She hummed softly in thought, leaning back against the crate herself. "Either way, this is pretty nice. I haven't gone fishing yet. And in, well, the grander world beyond, heh, I haven't gone fishing in years. A shame, really."

Not even a full minute after she had dropped her hook, the bobber wobbled in the water and Laguna quickly tugged on her fishing rod. "Already? Looks like we have the best spot!"

There's a [Bigness]iQctDowS1d100 [Description]1d90 [Blarney]1d100 on the line!

The sight of the Frillish on the line had Laguna grinning ear to ear, pulling the jellyfish-like Pokemon up. She had to agree, there was something about it that seemed enticing, but she knew better.

"That, my friend, is a Frillish! They're a ghost-type pokemon as well, and paralyze people and drag their prey to the bottom of the ocean so they drown... On that note, don't touch the tendrils."

Laguna dropped her line back in the water, but only after making sure the Frillish was caught and a no longer a danger to anyone. "I have a hard time imagining them serving Frillish to cats... But what do I know? Pokemon eat weird things."

"Hmm, Galarian Meowth makes the most sense. I'm not sure if their poison is actual poison, or if it's like electric shocks, or ghost soul nonsense? Pokemon are weird."

She probably would have rambled about her theories some more, when Sarah caught a fish. Reaching around, Laguna helped by grabbing onto their waist and holding them steady as they yanked up the fish. Immediately, Laguna was in awe.

"Awwww, that's a Mantyke! And it's so big for such a little tyke!" She'd giggle, patting the big guy before catching them properly and setting them aside with the previous catch.

"We're doing well for ourselves! Maybe even after Blarney has found all the fish he wants, I might even come back here to keep fishing." Laguna would slowly drag a smaller crate over towards the pond, something for them both to sit on.

Simply humming as she watched the bobber, a question popped into her head as she turned to face her fellow trainer. "So, we've fought together several times, but I don't actually think I know you that well. What do you do for fun?"

Of course, online everyone always responded in unique ways. She didn't really know how to read people, but learning people's hobbies still said a lot about them. It just so happened that Sarah's hobbies were quite interesting. Past and Future, huh?

"Oh, I'm an artist!" Laguna said proudly with a smile on her face. "Studied for a very long time, went to art school, the whole thing. Sure, it's work, but I also do it for fun. It's uh... been a long time since I got out in nature." The topic certainly seemed tense, like there was more there than she was willing to share.

"But, uh, yeah! I also like video games, obviously. Though this is really more like a new world than just a game, I guess. It's fun exploring it all. Been helping out Professor Ash with some reports that... I should probably finish writing after we're done."

A tug on her rod brought that line of conversation to a brief halt, grinning as she tugged hard and began to reel in a new catch.

There's a [Bigness]WluLJbBp1d100 [Description]1d90 [Blarney]1d100 on the line!

Law? American law presumably, given they were on the American server anyways. EVen still, she hummed in thought. She hadn't really expected it, but it was kind of cool.

"Oh! Well, art is kind of always nebulous." She responded with a smile on her face, once again dropping her line into the water. "Sometimes, I just doodle random things. Anything that comes to my mind. I admit I've doodled Pokemon more often than I can remember nowadays. Remind me to send you a few pics later!"

Turning to face Sarah, she continued. "But like, professionally? I've done work for all kinds of things. I don't work for any like, animation studio or anything like that. Mostly freelance work. There's no end to other people creating their own content that needs artists like me to help make their vision become true. Sometimes people try and cheat me out of actually paying, but I keep all my bases covered legally. So, there's that."

She sighed softly, eyes glancing back over towards the water. "Some more stable employment would probably be nice, but I'm making do by myself. Got my own place, able to buy groceries, and spend so much of my free time playing video games. Can't say it's bad, you know?"

"Honestly? Kind of hoping we can find a Wishiwashi! Or, maybe a Veluza? Just something interesting that would be fun!" She hummed in thought, looking down into the water when the fish suddenly leaped up at Sarah!

Or perhaps more accurately, jellyfish.

Not wanting them to get struck by the poisoned tentacles, and no time to summon her own Pokemon, she just bashes the small Frillish on the head with her fishing rod, and it crumples to the floor.

And once again, the whole place smelled like lemons.

"Geez, good thing we weren't actually in the water." Laguna would mumble idly to herself, quickly catching the Frillish before it could attempt more harm. "You and your jellyfish, huh? It seems like they like you." She'd speak with a laugh, clearly teasing. "Maybe these waters are a bit more dangerous than we thought at first."