The Customaries

Chapter 1

It all started when Perry's stomach growled. He was on top of the roof of a skyscraper, taking in the scenery. The platypus was very hungry. Food was scarce these few months. His teal fur looked like it had never been washed.

Looking out, he saw all of Bridgetown. Rows and rows of buildings lined the cobblestone streets. Bridges were everywhere (Which is why it's named Bridgetown. It was like Venice, Italy and Hamburg, Germany with their own respective gimmicks). People were hurriedly preparing to open their shops in the early morning fog.

Perry looked at the watchtower of polished snowy white marble, which was the tallest structure in the entire city. The guard post had been empty for half of the century since the noble King Pikachu aided in fighting back the Re-dead Army Uprising. He saw the flag on the watchtower, which was red and had a picture of an eagle with a wizard's hat on and a wand in its talons. Perry could also see the marble white walls that surround the city. The Eves River on the east hugging the walls and the Ardifan Plains and the forest on the west. Not once had Perry stepped outside of Bridgetown, nor did he ever intend to. He was happy to be in the city he knew so well.

Dawn's first light woke him from his daydream. He turned to the local fish shop, waiting patiently for Kooper to make his catch of the day. Now, he hated stealing but since he was a stray he had no choice, he had to in order to survive.

Right on time, Kooper came in carrying a burlap bag. Even though Perry couldn't see what was inside the bag, he knew it was flounder because he could smell it.

When Kooper set down the bag on the stool, he went up front to open up shop.

Perry had his chance then. He came down from the roof and went into the shop. He took the fish in his mouth. He was about to back up to escape when…

Thwack!

A platypus trap snapped onto his tail. He was about to shake it of when he was picked up all of a sudden. He looked at who grabbed him and gulped with fear, It was Kooper!

"So, stealing from me again platypus?" Kooper spoke. "I think not!" Kooper then picked up a pole with a circle of rope at the end. Seeing this noose stick, Perry stomped on Kooper's foot, which made him drop the stick and cry with pain.

This gave Perry the perfect opportunity to escape. He ran as fast as he could with the fish still in his mouth and the trap still clinging onto his tail.

"He's getting away!" Perry heard Kooper yell from behind him. "Get him!"

"Don't worry," Bensen the gumball machine assured the blue-shelled Koopa Troopa. "He won't get far."

Now, Perry had been chased before, but not with a trap pinching his tail like a crab.

Perry was going for the rooftops again, but not with a trap weighing him down. There was no way! He then saw Kooper grab his crossbow and went towards him. Perry's heart pounded.

Thinking fast, the platypus ran into an alley. He dropped his fish and began eating. He then looked up and noticed Pichu, nibbling on a piece of cheese.

"Hello there Pichu." The platypus greeted.

"Hi there, Mr. Platymapus." Pichu greeted back. He then noticed the trap on Perry's tail.

"You gots youself im troubles?" He asked. Perry looked at the trap.

"Oh this? It's the newest fashion trend. They come in multiple colors." Pichu beamed.

"Reallies?" Then like an excited kid at Christmastime, the electric rodent jumped up and down. "I wants ome; I wamts ome!"

Pichu looked behind the corner and scurried back with panic in his eyes. Doofenshmirtz was nearby.

"It's Doofypoops!" He told Perry.

"What?" Pichu pushed Perry in Doofenshmirtz's view.

"Byes!" Pichu said.

"Wait!" Perry said back. "From one mammal to an electric rodent, won't you help me out of this trap? You can put the applesauce from your ears and stick in on this trap so it'll be easier for me to get out." Pichu looked disgusted.

"Ew! I donts dos tats amymores! Whats dos yous thimks I am! Sicko!" And with that, the mouse Pokémon scampered off. Perry sighed and looked up. He was face to face with Doofenshmirtz!

"Aha!" Doofensmhirz said. He took an arrow and put it in his crossbow. He aimed and fired. Perry dodged and quickly ran off. Word had it that Doofenshmirz had been hunting platypuses for their fur like people did before the early 20th century. The very idea of hunting a platypus for their fur made the semi-aquatic mammal sick to his stomach. Doof also collected platypus tails from his previous hunts. Perry was not going to be part of his trophy case.

The platypus ran to a nearby blacksmith shop. The blacksmith, Lawrence Fletcher was hammering a sword. The hearth made the little shop toasty warm.

The platypus pounced up to the iron table and positioned his tail right between the hammer and sword.

Clang! The hammer came down on the metal trap, splitting it open. Perry jumped back on the ground and ran out of the shop. Lawrence was now confused.

"Wait, what did I just do?" He wondered out loud.

"Aha!" Doofensmirtz said as he saw Perry. "There you are, come here you!" Just like a lighting bolt, Perry stormed off as fast as he could with Doofenshmirtz hot on his trail. "I'll get you platypus!"

The next time Perry looked back, his fear increased. For there was now a puff of smoke in the shape of…Percival the Anaconda! How did his nemesis do that? The platypus didn't stop though, he just kept running and running. As he ran, he was thinking if the flounder he still had in his mouth was worth the trouble. He ran in the nearest building…a pet shop. But when Perry looked into the many cages something looked amiss about the Pokémon they contained.

In one of them he saw a Raichu with an ivory unicorn horn on top of its head. In another he saw a hairless Meowth who was giving himself a bath, a three-eyed Politoed, a Ninetines with eight tails and loads more. What was wrong with these Pokémon? Perry wondered. The Meowth and Raichu then argued about hexes, locust dust and components. Perry didn't have a clue to what they were talking about.

"Hey," spoke a Cubone with a blue bone. "You better get back in your cage." Perry looked at the Cubone. Perry dropped the fish so he could talk.

"Oh, right." He said. He grabbed the fish once again in his mouth. He ran around, trying to find an empty cage.

Finally he found one between a Squirtle with a pink shell and a shiny Wingull. The platypus went to the empty cage opened the door and closed it shut. He dropped the fish again and ate it in his cage. At least here he would be away from Doofenshmirtz. Olaf was working the counter. The Chimechos sang out as Toadsworth and Phineas came through the door.

"Toadsworth, McLeish's told me you'll be here." Olaf greeted him. Olaf turned to Phineas, "And this must be the birthday boy."

"Indeed it is." Said Toadsworh. "He turns eleven today."

"Then you came to the right place, we got the best selection of Customaries that came from The Divide River."

Aha! That explains all the extraordinary Pokémon; they were Customaries, companions to any witch, warlock, wizard or any other spell caster. The Customaries themselves have magical powers, something that Perry was now apparently a part of.

"How do I pick?" Was the first thing that came out of Phineas' mouth.

"That depends on what kind of wizard you wish to be." Olaf stated. "If you want to be a healer, choose a Happiny." He pointed to a Happiny who excitedly jumped in its cage.

"Happiny, happiny!" The Pokemon said cheerfully.

"I want to become a beyonder." Phineas exclaimed. "I want to go to faraway lands and fight foes."

"Ah, come this way then." Olaf led them near Perry's cage. He showed them a cage with an Axew.

"What's this Axew doing here?" Phineas wanted to know.

"That's no ordinarily Axew." Olaf told them. "It can breathe fire." Phineas then noticed flames coming from the Axew's nostrils.

"Oh, I see!"

"You better be careful though. They have a tendency to burn your hair off. I won't recommend them. Moving on!" Next he showed them a huge Pidgeot.

"Whoa mama!" Phineas observed. "That's one big bird Pokémon; it must seat up to eight cartoons or something!"

"And that is exactly what it does." Olaf said.

"Wow, cool!" Next he led them to a Slowpoke.

"Um Mr. Olaf sir? I don' mean to be rude, but, what's so magical about a Slowpoke?"

"Glad you asked." Olaf went to the cage and opened the door. Then like it had been shot out of a cannon, the Slowpoke shot out. Perry watched with awe, it was super fast! Toadworth had to hold Phineas back so the Slowpoke wouldn't knock him over.

"That's one fast Slowpoke! I guess it should be renamed as Fastpoke!" The red haired boy laughed at his joke, then looked at Perry. He bounded for the platypus's cage, who was eating the last remains of his fish.

"Hey little guy!" Phineas greeted.

"What's that?" Toadsworth asked. "It looks like a combination of a beaver and a duck."

"The platypus?" Olaf said. He scratched his scalp. "Strange, I don't remember a platypus was here. In fact, I don't think a platypus Pokémon exists."

"Yeah," Toadsworth said. "Phineas, if I do recall, you wanted a Pokémon, remember?"

"Yeah, well I changed my mind. Pokémon or not, I want this little guy instead."

"Okay." Olaf said. He went over to Perry's cage, opened it up, picked Perry up and gave him to Phineas. Phineas hugged his new pet.

"I'm going to name him Bartholomew!" The boy proclaimed.

"Uh Phineas," Toadsworth put in. "You don't get to pick the name of your Customary. They reveal it to you through vocarum animale, an easy but powerful spell. You'll see later." Perry felt bad. This boy thought he picked out a magical animal, but in reality, Perry wasn't magical at all. He was just an ordinarily platypus.

After Toadworth paid the man, and signed Perry's adoption papers, the three headed for home but not before McLeish and Olaf said happy birthday to the birthday boy. The attendant then went to find the 'fastpoke' and put it back in its cage.

"Before we go home," Toadworth began. "How about we get fish for our new family member?"

"Sounds great!" Phineas agreed. "Doesn't it, little guy?" Perry agreed with a chatter.

So they all made a pit stop at Animalco before going home. It had been a tough morning, but now things were starting to look up.

The three had to pass through a market before going home. Toadsworth grabbed an apple on the way. They also passed by a hill that played a lovely melody. Perry heard Toadworth tell Phineas that every hill had its own song, telling a story of battles fought years ago to lullabies for cartoons that slept soundly under the starlight. Also they do a variety like Country, Hip-Hop, Rap and many others.

They had arrived at a stone cottage. By the cottage there was a sign, saying they were now in Rock Runlet. SpongeBob, Finn, Jake and Gary raced to them. Perry thought Gary would be slow but he was speedy like that Slowpoke at the pet shop (Gary even beat them).

"What did you get?" SpongeBob eagerly asked. They looked at Perry.

"It looks like a combination of a duck and a beaver." Finn observed.

"AKA, a duckver." Jake added. Finn turned to the dog.

"Niiiice!" The two then pumped fists together.

"No." Phineas told them. SpongeBob looked puzzled.

"That's funny." He said. "I don't remember a platypus Pokémon before."

"This is just a platypus; it's not a Pokémon."

"But I thought you went to a magical Pokémon shop."

"I did, but this little guy was somehow there."

"Hmmm, strange."

"Yes, yes it is."

"Okay!" Toadsworth butted in. "It's getting late. Let's wash for supper." Finn and SpongeBob followed the old toad.

"Already?" asked a disappointed Phineas. "But I haven't shown him I can levitate rocks using the levitation spell or how to cast a smoke blast."

"There'll be plenty of time for that tomorrow. Remember, Customaries are only allowed to use their natural animal talents. Human spells would be too dangerous."

"Okay." Phineas put down Perry and sulked off.

"I'm Jake." Jake introduced himself when the three animals were alone.

"And I'm Gary." Gary said. Perry smiled.

"I'm Perry." The platypus told them.

"So are you a Pokémon or a Pokémon that hasn't been discovered yet?"

"No, I'm not a Pokémon."

"Maybe he is a Pokémon." Jake whispered to Gary. "And the poor guy doesn't even know it." Perry narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not a Pokémon!" Jake laughed.

"Hey man! Cool your jets, I'm only joshing."

"If you want to be a serious Customary," spoke Gary. "This is the right place."

Perry thought of Doofenshmirtz, still looking for him in Bridgetown. The monotreme felt bad for him but also couldn't help but to find it humorous. That nemesis of his was a complete doof at times.

"Toadsworth has a massive library of spells," Gary continued. "That rival none in the entire kingdom. He is one of the most fantastic spellcasters who aided in the Re-Dead Uprising. His students do great things: serve King Pikachu, explore the Beyond, and become temple masters. Their loyals, or customaries, aid them in whatever way they can." He then saw smoke coming from the chimney. "We better go in. It's getting rather late."

"Right." Perry agreed. So the three of them all went to the cottage.

The three of them aided the wizards with dinner that night. Afterwards, they all went to their rooms and went to bed.

Perry thought of all the adventures he had and the adventures yet to come. With that, he fell fast asleep on the edge of Phineas' bed.

When Perry awoke the next morning, he realized that he was no longer on Phineas' bed. Instead, he found himself on the floor. Everybody was staring at him.

"Morning Barthomew!" Phineas chimed. Beside them was a brewing cauldron. Perry looked at the two animals.

"What's going on?" Perry wanted to know.

"Toadsworth is going to cast a spell on you." Jake answered. "We already gathered the ingredients and now they are ready. They were just waiting for you to wake up." Perry blinked in confusion.

"Why didn't anyone wake me?"

"Toadsworth says that sleep is important." Gary told him. "He says that we learn more with our eyes closed rather than open."

"Okay."

"We are ready for the spell, Phineas." Toadsworth told him. Phineas patted Perry's head.

"Okay!" He said. "You're in for a treat, buddy." He stood up and stood beside Toadsworth and the others. Perry gulped. He stood up and backed away.

"Uh, what's going to happen guys?" He asked. "Guys?"

"Don't worry," Jake assured the scared platypus. "It won't hurt."

"What won't hurt? Guys!"

"Vocarum animale!" The old toad shouted. He blasted Perry with his wand. Perry shut his eyes.

Perry reopened his eyes to discover that he was completely unharmed. What happened? He looked at his friends.

"What happened?" He asked. Phineas smiled.

"Yay!" The boy cheered. "It worked! I can understand you!" Perry shot a look at his owner.

"Are you talking to me?"

"Yeah! Isn't it just something?" Perry backed up again.

"Whoa, whoa! Hold the phone, you can understand me?"

"And I can understand you! Toadsworth conjured up a spell that makes me understand what you're saying! Pretty neat huh? Now you can tell me your real name!"

Perry couldn't believe this. No human had understood him before. But still, although he was still at shock, he managed to answer the boy's question.

"Perry."

"Perry? Yeah, I guess you look more like a Perry then a Barthomew and less letters to fit on your food bowls! When I'm older, we're going on so many adventures together!"

"Yeah…I guess." He felt bad that he didn't know any magic himself, now how can he protect his owner from danger? All of a sudden, a voice boomed from outside.

"TOADSWORTH!" The voice thundered.

"What's that?" Perry asked.

"It's King Pikachu." Phineas answered.

"Come," Toadsworth said to them. "We better see what the king wants." He went outside. The others followed.

"Ah," King Pikachu greeted them as soon as they were outside. Beside him were his servants: Lady Bellosom, Sgt. Sentret and Count Togepi. The king looked at SpongeBob, Finn and Phineas. "These must be your three pupils, correct?" Toadsworth nodded.

"Correct." He stated.

"Word has it that you three have great things in your futures which is why I'm here."

"You're going to make us kings?" Finn guessed. "And give us the keys to the kingdom?"

"No."

"You're giving us all driver's licenses?" SpongeBob hoped.

"No."

"Then what are you going to do?" Phineas asked. King Pikachu smirked.

"I'm going to let you all be killed." He answered. Perry gulped. He didn't believe it and from the look on Toadworth's face, neither did he. Jake whispered to Finn.

"Can't we all be killed when SpongeBob get his licenses?"

"Good one, Jake!" Finn told the dog. They then bumped fists again. The old toad pointed his staff at the three wizards in training.

"Shieldarum reisto!" He shouted. Three gigantic bubbles appeared and floated towards the three.

"I don't think so!" King Pikachu retorted. He then cast his own spell. A needle emerged from his staff and popped the bubbles one by one."

"Curses!" The old toad cursed.

"Ha-ha!" King Pikachu laughed. "You thought you could protect your wizards by encircling them in forcefields. But, I have the upper hand today!" He looked at his servants.

"Servants, kill them!" Right on cue, the servants charged towards the three.

"To the cellar!" Toadsworth yelled at the apprentices. They all nodded and raced towards the cottage.

King Pikachu had conjured up a fireball and threw it at Toadsworth. Toadsworth dodged it and conjured up his own spell. He blasted at the rodent. King Pikachu dodged and blasted at him. The two were in a deadly wizard battle.

Meanwhile, SpongeBob was about to open the door when suddenly a blast hit the clasp and encasing it with thick rust. The three looked. The blast had come from King Pikachu's staff, whom managed to conjure it in his heated battle with Toadsworth.

"What the?" SpongeBob said. Before he could give Gary a task, Lady Bellosom, Sgt. Sentret and Count Togepi grabbed the three from behind. Lady Bellosom with SpongeBob, Sargent Sentret with Finn and Count Togepi with Phineas.

"Let us go!" Phineas cried. Jake and Gary growled. Perry chattered madly.

"And why in tarnation would we do that?" Sgt. Sentret wanted to know, grabbing his pistol and aiming it at Finn.

"Because we'll hope that you all come to your senses and realize King Pikachu had led you down the wrong path?" SpongeBob hoped.

"Nope!"

"Let Finn go!" Jake snarled.

"No can do, ol' yeller! Boss ordered us to kill him and kill him we shall."

"Then your king is whack!" Finn said.

"Oh yeah!" Jake challenged. "We'll see about that!" And with that, he pounced towards the Seargent. Sentret snapped his fingers.

"Lady Bellossom," He said. "You know what to do!"

"Right!" Lady Bellosom said. She then did her Razor Leaf attack on Jake. The attack hit Jake and Jake fell to the ground, all bruised from the leaves. He groaned and whimpered in pain.

"JAKE!" Finn yelled.

"And now to finish you, you old toad." King Pikachu threated in his battle with Toadsworth. The elderly toad was lying on the ground, weak and breathing heavily. "It all ends now!" A shot blasted from his staff and went straight towards the old toad. Toadsworth looked at the trapped wizards and managed to utter out weakly, his last words.

"If I survive this, let's order pizza. I mean, shieldarum reisto!" Three bubbles came out of his staff and went towards the three apprentices. Toadsworth then took his last breath and died.

"I think not!" King Pikachu said. He was about to pop the bubbles by making a needle appear when all of a sudden the three animals jumped on him and sank their teeth into him.

"OW!" King Pikachu yelped. "Get off of me!" He tried shaking them off but they just held on.

"Quick!" SpongeBob told the other two humans. "Do what our Customaries did! Bite as hard as you can!" And with that, Jake, Finn and Phineas all bit their captors. Their captors all then screamed in pain, releasing them. The bubbles encircled Phineas, Finn and SpongeBob.

"Yay!" Phineas cheered from in his bubble. "We're safe!"

"Not for long," SpongeBob reminded him. "The spell will wear off in three days." Phineas then frowned and was disappointed.

"Oh, yeah." He groaned. King Pikachu managed to shake the animals off of him. He went towards the bubbles.

"Blast!" He cursed. "Oh well, three days from now the spell will wear off and when it does, I'll kill you all!" He then laughed his evil laugh. His servants did the same. King Pikachu then snapped his fingers.

"Come!" He told his servants. "Bring them to the castle!"

Seargent Sentret, Lady Bellosom and Count Togepi all whistled. King Pikachu did too and Ponytas with a large carriage attached, stormed up. They stopped. The four Pokémon then put the bubbles containing the three wizards into the carriage. They then hopped on.

"What about the dog, platypus and the snail your Lordship?" Count Togepi asked, speaking for the first time.

"Leave them!" King Pikachu said. "Without their loyals, they can't use their magic. They're useless." With that, King Pikachu mounted his Ponyta and with a flick from his whip, they were off.

Perry couldn't help but to watch his owner's sad expression as they disappeared in the distance.

Then Perry was determined. Something was very clear to him, no matter what happened next, the three animals had to all pitch in and save their loyals before it was too late.