Herald Cryptic Oz

[1ozzy]

The usual Friday setter, does my head in!

6a) Avoiding key, next to whale breaching (6)

11a) Sleepyhead prepared to be awkward (8)

18a) Rangers plucky fighting leading to retreat (4,6)

NB: 8 pokemon hide in your completed grid. Can you catch 'em all?

[JJ109]

11a) Strained
S(leepy (head)) "trained" = prepared, strained = awkward (a strained conversation etc)

[Mamyalynne]

18 Game Warden

Ranger's ?

[1ozzy]

Thank you JJ & Mamya.

Sometimes I think too much about the clues Fridays' setter writes and hence trip up on some I shouldn't.

Very much appreciated.

[Lie-in King]

6a - is it 8 letters? Please...

Eschewal (avoiding) - 'ESC' (key) + anag 'whale'

[1ozzy]

Not only is it 8 letters it's also 6d)

I'm feeling like a certain dwarf right now...

Thanks heaps LiK.

[Lie-in King]

You're welcome & I'm grateful - you gave me something to look at other than the women's wrestling :-)

[1ozzy]

10 answers left now and I haven't caught a Pokemon yet.

Narrows things down a bit.

Thanks to all.

[Lie-in King]

If they're "hiding" in the grid, might be worth checking diagonals & the unchecked letters in columns & rows?

[1ozzy]

Good tip, I just found one, didn't think of that. Actually not thinking very well at all today, might go mow the lawn and come back to it with an empty head ;-)