To avoid the Krabbys, Frid made sure to head to a different part of the beach this time. That was an easy feat though, considering the whole southern part of Olivine was bordered by the sea. The stretch he chose now was well trafficked by tourists or otherwise sunbathers on this pretty day. He asked around, seeing if anyone had seen some 'Opal Kelp' around.
One kid eagerly told him yes and ran into the water with his snorkel, trying to point out to Frid where it was. Frid realized that he'd have to get wet himself, if he was to get hold of the treasure he was after. Putting his backpack down, he also pulled off his shirt and pants, hoping nobody would take offense to him momentarily jumping in in his underwear.
"Watch this stuff for me for a while, will you?" he asked Chikorita, who nodded eagerly and took a ridiculously cute defensive position in the sand.
Frid then wasted no more time - he leaped into the water and caught up with the snorkler.
"Down there!" the kid said, pointing under the surface of the water, about a meter down. It wasn't much deeper than that, so Frid could easily stand on the bright, sandy bottom. But his foot set down on something that was decidedly not sand...
"Oh no, not again!" he exclaimed and splashed backwards and away.
The thing he had stepped on floated up to the surface and swirled at him, blinking with its central gem. Frid's worry instantly turned into wonder at that.
"Oh my Ho-oh, it's a Staryu!" he said excitedly and waded forwards again.
The kid came back up and looked at the Staryu in front them. "Is it dangerous?" she asked.
"Nah. Well. I'm sure it can be! But we won't provoke it anymore, right? I'm sorry for touching you!" Frid said, now directed towards the floating sea-star.
It swirled again and kept blinking.
"Wow, you're so pretty..." Frid said, not able to keep himself from reaching out a hand and trying to touch the gem.
Bad idea. Suddenly, Staryu's body stiffened, and it leaped out of the water. The gem glowed brighter, and white rings of psychic energy formed in front of it, pulsating out.
"Psywave!" Frid shouted, recognizing the move. He pushed the snorkeling kid out of the way in the water and started to scramble backwards, but the Psywaves easily hit him.
It made him feel strange. Not an initial pain, but more of a numbing sensation. He fell backwards into the water, and his head sunk below the surface. He held his breath, but his arms and legs wouldn't obey him. He saw movement above the water, and then a second later something plunging through the surface and reaching for him. Something ensnared his midsection and pulled him back up. By the time he was up in the air, his limbs were working again, and he flailed in the water, looking behind himself.
It had been Chikorita, using Vine Whip to save him from the water's edge. Panting, he gave her a thumbs up before turning back ahead.
Ledyba had zoomed out and engaged the Staryu. The kid was thankfully back up on land, having screamed for her mother. Frid kept backing off, to shallow enough water for him to sit in and gather his focus after the surprisingly dangerous situation.
Could I have died?
No, of course not. Not with Ledyba and Chikorita nearby, and with all the other people around too. Someone would have saved him. It was fine. He was fine.
Focus, now!
Ledyba was trying to Tackle Staryu, but the latter kept diving in and out of the water. It looked almost as if it was playing with the bug. The bug didn't see it that way, Frid thought, recognizing his expression as desperate. Oh, poor Ledyba. Maybe he still thought Frid was in danger?
"I'm here, Ledyba!" he called out.
The bug spun around and looked utterly relieved to see his trainer alive and well in the wet sand.
Of course, Staryu took that opportunity to launch a Water Gun that hit him in the back.
"Dirty fighting? I see!" Frid said and got back up. He ran up to his items a few meters away on dry land and picked up a couple of pokéballs. One, he used to recall Ledyba to safety.
"It pains me but... We can do that too! Chikorita, Vine Whip!"
Chikorita once more used her Vine Whip to reach out and grab Staryu as it emerged from the water, no doubt attempting to keep the hide and seek game it had been performing with the flying bug. It found itself wrapped in leafy tentacles now.
Frid squatted and held on tightly to Chikorita's small body, just like with the Krabby before. "Get it over here to us!"
She pulled, and flung the water pokémon out of the ocean. It landed with another swirling motion in the sand behind them, leaving them between it and the water. The graceful way in which it let it happen almost made it seem as if it had done it itself. The vines let go, and Frid stood up, releasing his pokémon.
"I've decided! I want you to come with us!" he declared.
The Staryu just silently blinked with its red gem.
"It only makes sense for me from Cianwood to have a water type, and you... You are pretty! You're pretty much the treasure of the sea!" the boy continued, with as much of a flattering expression as he could muster. It was genuine though. "I have lesser gems at home, they don't at all come close to yours!"
Staryu was silent for another second, but then it started rolling on its side, faster and faster, until it passed Frid and Chikorita by. His heart fell, as he figured it was returning to the sea instead of accepting his offer. But the Staryu didn't touch the water. Just before it made contact, it spun on the spot and returned towards the human. It came to a stop there, and blinked more fervently with its beautiful gem.
"Is that... Is that a yes?" Frid asked, feeling hope return.
Staryu now bent down - something Frid didn't even know it could do, as its body looked much more rigid and inflexible than it apparently was - and poked the grass pokémon at Frid's feed. Playfully?
"Huh?" Frid looked from one pokémon to the other, trying to decipher their intentions.
Chikorita cheered, but then backed off a bit and waved the leaf on the top of her head with a challenging stare.
"Ohh. You want a battle!" Frid said, happy again as he faced the Staryu.
The single blink he got in response, he chose to interpret as a yes.
"Alright then!" Frid said as he took his place behind Chikorita, putting some distance between themselves and the wild star. "Ready?"
Staryu was clearly ready, because a second later, it was firing off a Water Gun again.
"Tackle! Try to ignore the water and just run ahead!" Frid ordered.
Chikorita was a bit hesitant, but decided to trust her trainer. The water beam hit her and was strong, but it didn't exactly hurt her much. A refreshing shower was nice for most grass types! She kept running against the stream, not picking up speed until it finally let up - but by then she delivered a sudden Tackle that the Staryu did not expect. It was knocked back into the sand.
"Now, Vine Whip! It's so close so it will be hard to miss!" Frid reasoned.
But as Chikorita launched her vines and tried to whip the opponent, Staryu had jumped back up and was now nimbly dodging most slaps.
"It's agile!" Frid said, approvingly. "Back off a bit!"
That was probably a smart move, because next, Staryu tried to Tackle Chikorita. It hit, but not too hard as Chikorita was already running away. She tumbled towards Frid, but got up on her feet again rather fast.
"Are you alright?" the trainer asked, because Chikorita's face had turned a bit worried again. When she heard his voice though, she looked up at him happily, showing that it was easy to give her back motivation if she seemed to stray momentarily. He gave her an encouraging smile in return. "Okay, now turn around quickly!"
Behind them, Staryu had charged another Psywave - Frid now recognized the same glow from its gem as before. His brain speed-thought: Vine Whip might go limb like his own feet and arms if they tried to reach through the Psywave with that. But...
"Razor Leaf!"
Chikorita fired them off just after the Psywave was sent off from Staryu's body. As expected, they didn't affect the 'dead matter' that was the sharp leaves, and they traveled onwards to strike Staryu straight on. But at the same time, Chikorita was hit by the Psywave. Both pokémon fell to the sand and remained there.
Frid dashed up to Chikorita. She gave him a weak smile.
"Ah. I know what you're feeling like right now," he said softly. "Take a rest! Thanks for the help!"
He put her away in the other pokéball he had fetched, but then realized that he would need one more. During the time he went to grab an empty one from his backpack, Staryu had stood up again.
"I don't know if that counts as us having beaten you or not..." Frid admitted, fidgeting with the ball as he faced the water pokémon. "But I meant what I said! I really do want you to come with us. Please?"
Staryu's top arm 'nodded' at him. It looked kind of funny and made him giggle. But he tossed the empty pokéball at the water type and watched it get sucked in, the ball then clicking shut without problem. He picked it up and took a long, content breath.
"Well. Who would have known that I'd catch my first pokémon in my underwear?"
(Milcery evolves at a certain point later in the game)