Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or anything related to it.
A/N: Well, my first fanfiction story. I hope you like it! It's a fairly short one-shot, but I didn't want to put up a huge chaptered story that I might not have finished. I hope you like it.
Mika poked her head out of the reeds, using her barbels to scent for food in the murky water. She discovered a piece of fresh fish, but as she approached, her left barbel touched something thin and stringy. She fled backwards, fear washing over her.
Oh no! Someone's fishing… I have to be careful. But I'm so hungry… Maybe if I take it slowly I can get it.
The bright reddish-orange fish swam carefully ahead, feeling around for the string. When she found it again, she carefully followed it down to the bottom of the lake. A tasty morsel of fish was stuck to the hook. She got close enough to see the hook and, slowly, maneuvered the food off the end of it. One corner of her prize snagged on the barbed metal as she retrieved it, and the hook flew upwards missing her by centimeters.
Panicked, Mika flew full-steam into the reeds from which she came nearly dropping her hard-earned treat. When she reached the safety of an overhanging root den, she swallowed the meat.
That was worth it. Well, mostly. A little too close for my taste.
She shrank back against the far wall of her den as a shadowy figure swam by.
What was that?
The water was much less murky near the hideaway making the surroundings much more visible. Unfortunately, that meant Mika was also more easily seen.
Unable to stifle her curiosity, the Magikarp glided out of the shelter and set off in the direction the shape was heading. The water continued to clear as she ventured upstream into a small river. The rushing water tired her out, pulling her backwards and forcing her to put twice the effort in each fin stroke. Evading two or three more fishing poles, the fish found a spot to rest where the current backwashed behind a large boulder.
I don't think I'm meant for this kind of water!
She fussed over a small tear in her fin for a little while before continuing her mini-quest. The sun was beginning to set when she wandered through another body of water as the river widened and deepened. Marill darted to and fro with Azurill gleefully clinging to their tails. A few other Magikarp had formed a small school and were feeding on soft green plants spurting out from among the smooth rocks just under the shoreline. She even thought she heard a Gyarados roar! Other species passed by, most ignoring her, some giving her strange or even nervous glances. A little off-put, she settled down deep into a rocky crevice as sleep overcame her.
As the first rays of sun pierced the water's surface, Mika approached the school of Magikarp to ask if they had seen the shape. To her dismay, they scattered the moment she swam up. Saddened and confused, she forced herself to move on past the lake taking a couple bites of the green plants as she passed. The water behind her churned as the school returned in her wake.
The small fish pressed upstream uneventfully for the next two days, stopping occasionally to grab a bite of a plant or steal the bait off someone's fishing line. As she traveled, the water temperature dropped. By the end of the second day, she was freezing her scales off.
How can water be this cold, she complained to herself.
As the thought left her mind, the river suddenly opened up into another body of water. Small pockets of ice were forming on the glassy surface, and the water was so clear that she fancied she could see straight to the other side of the enormous lake. Strange Pokemon she had never seen before swam in all directions, some leisurely and some in a rush. Some were white with a horn cresting their heads, some were star-shaped, and some looked like pink Rattata with shells clamped to their tails.
Mika searched and searched but found nothing like the strange shadow that cut through the water by her home. Dejected and feeling silly for swimming all the way to the cold-water lake, she turned back towards the river and swam away with drooping fins. When she was about to leave the lake altogether, a strange song reached her. She turned and could not believe her eyes. There it was! The shadow! A beautiful blue and white Pokemon swam by her, the wings on its head flapping gracefully as it maneuvered through the icy water. It looked at her briefly, its glance filling her body with warmth, before turning around with a flick of its tail and vanishing as swiftly as it had appeared.
Finally rewarded for her efforts, Mika took the journey back downstream at a much slower pace letting the current carry her home. When she finally arrived at her own murky lake, a strange feeling swept over her, and she instinctively swam out to the deep center of the lake. White light exploded from her sending rainbow sparkles dancing out from her body. She felt too big for her own scales and stretched, feeling her body changing and growing. When the light faded, she nearly fainted in surprise. She had evolved into a Gyarados! Letting out a roar of joy, she tested out her new fins, amazed at the speed she could travel. For the first time in her life, she pushed her head out of the water. As she gazed across the sea of trees to the distant mountains, she wondered what that mysterious Pokemon would think of her now.
A/N: So, yeah, it's admittedly cheesy. But hey. Some cheese in the life is nice. Please review so I know what's good, bad, and where to improve! Thanks for reading!