DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon. Kinda guessing you already knew that.
I've had this idea in my head for a while now. I've read many Pokemon fanfics and I've noticed how none of them really take place in the waters/sea/ocean, so I figured I'd try something a little bit different. Hopefully it pays off! Feel free to leave comments. Open to pretty much all criticism, so long as it is constructive.
And on a side note, all chapters are POV of the principle character unless otherwise stated.
Enjoy!
THE POWER OF THE OCEAN
CHAPTER ONE: THE CAPTAIN
You may think that an environment as harsh as this cannot provide much in terms of a foundation for a stable lifestyle. Sunlight is scarce, water is abundant yet one would be a fool to try and drink it. As opposed to lush grasslands, spanning forests and blossoming meadows, the only form of plant life here is the slimy-looking weeds that dance in the undercurrent. The ground beneath me is comprised most of rock and sand that spans for what seem to be an infinite number of miles. There is little in terms of "society" here. It's a Stoutland-Eat-Stoutland world out there, survival of the fittest. It's the circle of life. Yet here I am, almost a mile down submerged in the warm summer's ocean.
And frankly, I couldn't be happier.
The place that I choose to reside is within the sunken wreckage of a decaying wooden ship, most likely used by antagonistic humans who scoured the seas in search of plunder. Indeed, this vessel is home to countless Pokemon. The outer boards of the ship nest thousands of microscopic plankton and fungi which hundreds of Staryu and a fewer number of Starmie feast upon in a never-ceasing all-you-can-eat buffet with several Chinchou and Lantern also try to include themselves in such a free-for-all. Corsola gather in the lower decks of the ship, their horn-like protrusions help provide shelter and sanctuary to Remoraid and Horsea that hide from the constant waves of predators that scour these "relatively shallow" waters in search of an easy meal.
It is constantly silent, one could even go as far as calling it peaceful. That is never the case. This ship, I consider to be my castle. But like any castle, there are always invaders and outside aliens that threaten my realm. Venture too far in search of prey and you risk running into hungry packs of Sharpedo. If you try to break the surface, which I must do on a fairly regular basis in comparison to my permanently aquatic neighbours, hoards of Gyarados and Tentacruel patrol the surface. Luckily, they daren't venture too close to the ship thanks to the defensive Chinchou and Latern. They often discharged electricity when threatened, which would send the vast majority of potential attackers packing. This technique had also been adopted by a small number of Staryu and Starmie, learning how to wield electricity as an efficacious form of attack and/or defense.
But this wasn't a problem for me. Not only did the electricity have little effect on me, if any, but I could handle my own against attackers. Especially those fucking Sharpedo that chase me almost every time I place a foot (or should that be a fin?) outside of the walls that house me. The Gyarados are a bit more of a problem. Fortunately, they aren't as well adapted for travelling on land as I am.
I let out a yawn, bubbles of air escape from my lungs as I open my jaw widely, stretching my front limbs. You could call them arms, yet you could equally call them front legs. Maybe I should explain. I am a Swampert. Maybe not the most likely of creatures that you'd find living at the bottom of the sea, but I find it far less strenuous than living on land permanently. I am able to breathe underwater, although not to as great an extent as when I am on terra-firma. But food is more readily available around here. A diet of Krabby, Shellder, Remoraid, Luvdisc and, if I'm lucky, the occasional Buizel. The more delectable choices of Wartortle, Alomomola and Gorebyss are few and far between and the even more fulfilling Seel, Dewgong and Sealeo are found in much colder waters. And I absolutely REFUSE to eat fucking Magikarp, no matter how common they are.
The "room" that I call home is, or was, the Captain's room. Some of the Pokemon around here refer to me by the name Captain for that very reason, although that is not my real name. It has been so long, sometimes I forget it myself. How I ended up here, that is a story that I would much sooner forget.
My day begins with a groan having only just woken from my slumber. Another nightmare had disturbed my sleep, but only briefly. They've been becoming much more frequent lately. Instantly, I figured there might be a Darkrai lurking around the area, but since when were Darkrai aquatic? Moving out of the pile of soaked rags that I had formed into the shape of a "bed" fitting of a creature of my size, I peer through the port-hole that is still intact after so many years subjected to the brutal undercurrents. Just as I press my face towards the transparent pane of what can only be glass, I stare out into the abyss. How am I going to pass the day today?
If you crack a joke about "going for a swim," I swear I'll rip your fucking arms off!
Suddenly…
"MORNING!"
I jerk my head backwards with a start. The mischievous smile of a young, yet high-spirited Pokemon firmly presses itself against the side of the ship. It giggles in a playful voice upon seeing my reaction, before peeling itself away from the window and swimming in a loop-the-loop before coming to a stop a few feet away from the window.
This bloody Mantyke has been pissing me off for weeks now! I had half a mind to scoff him for breakfast.
"What's the first orders of the day, Captain?" the Mantyke asked cheerfully. "Shall we go hunting for treasure?"
"If you want to look for treasure, go join an Exploration Team," I yawn once again with little interest, swimming over to one of the cupboards of the Captain's Room where I had stored a nice Kingler Claw for my breakfast, which was fortunate for the Mantyke. "My first order of the day is to leave me alone for the rest of the day, and the day after that, and the day after that. Are you getting the hint?"
"No, sir," the Mantyke replied, spinning in a circle zippily drifting back and forth with a couple of flaps of his "wings." His chirpiness really pisses me off sometimes. "I don't know where I can find one. The Jellicent Guild is over a hundred million miles away," he exaggerated with an infantile sense of innocent, "and there's lots of scary Pokemon out there that might try and eat me!"
"And what makes you think that I won't?" I ask with a hint of venom as I crack the claw in half with ease. The Mantyke merely smiles, apparently not intimidated by me in the slightest.
"Coz you've got a Kingler Claw!" he answered. My look was even more threatening than my initial warning. The Mantyke simply continues to smile with a delirious look of joy on his face. This young critter didn't have a care in the world, despite the dangers that lurk in the deep. I can't help but release a chuckle that is only so loud for me alone to hear. Shaking my head, I tear the remaining flesh from one half of the claw, before moving towards the window and slowly opening it, discarding the severed pincer in front of the Mantyke, who gleefully nabs it in his mouth and sucks on the remaining few clumps of flesh that I had not devoured myself. Before I have a chance to close the window, the Mantyke quickly zips into my room.
"Hey!" I proclaim angrily. "Get out of here! This is MY den, not yours. Shouldn't you be with your parents or something?" I keep the window open, desperately searching for the large, somewhat ghostly shapes of Mantine, but fail to spot anything noteworthy amidst all the damn Magikarp. I look back to see that the Mantyke is zooming backwards and forwards all across the room, looking around every nook and cranny. I swim after it, but it quickly evades me attempt to grab it before it unsettles anything out of its position. It giggles playfully once more, which only causes me to scowl. "I'm tired of this, Mantyke. Go back to your parents!"
"Mantyke?" the creature of the same name enquires curiously. "My name is Rascal, not Mantyke." Why does such a name not surprise me?
"I'm not calling you Mantyke by name, I'm referring to you by species," I sigh with exasperation, placing the palm of my hand (paw, fin, whatever) on my forehead to further imply this. "I'm not going to tell you again, go back to your parents!"
"I can't."
"WHY THE FU…" I quickly stop myself from swearing in front of the kit, who seems as unfazed as and Unfezant by my anger. "Why can't you go back to your parents."
"Coz I don't know where they are," Rascal answers with a slightly disheartened sigh, his cheery demeanour dissipating rapidly. "They went off the other week when the stars shrunk and disappeared. They told me to stay here until they get back."
"Wait, what!?" I exclaim, not fully understanding the situation. "The stars shrink and disappear? What do you mean?"
"I don't know," Rascal whines, falling somewhat silent but continues to stare at me as though I could provide some sort of answer for him. A sense of sorrow and somewhat guilt filled me. I could quite easily put him out of his misery and at the same time have found myself my lunch, but there was something about the youthful charm of this youngster that made me repent such a thought. With a sigh as a result of my heavy-heartedness, I pick up the second half of the Kingler Claw and casually throw it in the direction of Rascal. It floats in a spiral through the water. Rascal quickly spits out the remnants of the previous half and quickly begins to devour the flesh on this one.
"Look, I'll help you find your parents and you can stay here until we do," I say to the youngster, whose face suddenly lights up. "But there's one condition."
"Shure, wha iz ip?" the Mantyke mumbles with a mouthful of claw.
"That you do exactly what I say and don't go anywhere by yourself. These waters are dangerous if you don't know how to navigate them. And seeing as how you don't know what specie you are, let alone know your way around this area, I don't want anything happening to you before we find your mother and father. Understood?" Rascal responds with an over-excitable nod of the head.
"Thanks, Captain!" Rascal beams joyfully, spitting the claw from his mouth for a moment as he darts forward to embrace me with his wings. I roll my eyes at this act of affection, groaning under my breath.
"And one more thing," I add. "My name is not "Captain." From now on, you call me by my real name. Galleon."
"Aye aye, Captain!" Rascal grins as he draws away from me, saluting me like a deckhand with one of his flippers. I shake my head and turn away from Rascal to peer out of the window once more, contemplating if I was actually doing the right thing. Not for the kit, but for ME.
Worse still… I'm STILL hungry.
End Of Chapter