And here, folks, is another chapter of the "WTF are they on!?" Pokemon story.
Mina stared at the Pokemon that just surfaced from the sea with wide eyes and gaping mouth.
"Candace, that definitely isn't a Magikarp. Come to think of it, what the crap is it?"
Beach inhabitants near the two girls turned their heads yet again, their interest in what the new trainers were doing too much to look away from.
"It's a Staryu!"
"Ehh?" Mina looked around at the bystanders whispering to each other about the luck that the blonde girl caught a Staryu within her first hour of fishing. "A Staryu? Its name certainly fits, don't you think Candace? Just the 'star'-part, not the 'yu'," the seventeen year old mused, her finger tapping her chin while she surveyed the wild Pokemon. "Come to think of it, what is a 'yu'? Is that even a real word?"
Candace just stared at her catch as well, blinking at the star-shaped Pokemon before responding.
"Mina, there is no such thing as a 'yu'. Unless you mean the word 'you'. In which case, you are a retard," the blonde giggled, then pulled Mareep's pokeball off her belt. "Alright, let's catch this Staryu! Mareep, go!"
The little sheep appeared in a flash of light, looking around for her opponent. When her eyes fell upon the Staryu, her wool started to crackle faintly with electricity. Staryu moved into a battle stance as well.
"Mareep, tackle it!"
"Reep!"
Mareep rammed the Staryu, knocking it back a few feet. The water Pokemon righted itself, then retaliated by shooting a stream of water at Mareep. The blast hit her in the side, soaking her wool and stunning her momentarily.
"Mareep, can you use thundershock?" Candace questioned, and the little Pokemon shook her head sadly. "Damn… Well, tackle it again, then!"
The electric Pokemon complied, but when the two combatants collided, the weak electric current that had been coursing through Mareep's wool, which had been amplified due to the soaking from Staryu's water gun attack, had grown strong enough to administer a shock. Staryu crumpled to the ground, sufficiently weakened.
"Yes!" Candace exclaimed, grinning and pulling an empty pokeball out of her pack. "Time for the capture – pokeball, go!"
Candace threw the pokeball at the Staryu, crossing her fingers when a flash of light engulfed the weakened Pokemon. The ball wiggled once… Wiggled twice… Wiggled three times…
Then stopped moving.
Mina had stood still through her comrade's battle, her excited eyes following the movements of Candace's Pokemon and those of the unfamiliar one as the small duel escalated in its own epic proportions, only to end in a quick flick of the wrist as a ball was hurled at the star.
The moment the orb stopped rolling Mina found her voice.
"YES!"
Her hands shot up in the air as she jumped in delight at the sight in front of her, then rushed to her friend and caught her in a ferocious side hug that almost sent the two flying back to the sand Mina had personally become so fond of.
"Candace, you did it! You caught the Staryu – freaking amazing."
The small crowd around the two adventurers clapped politely, some nodding their heads at the scene displayed for their afternoon delight and enjoyment. Candace gave a grin and a thumbs up to the crowd, then ran over and picked up the pokeball.
"Oh. Em. Gee. I caught Staryu!" she squealed, hopping up and down on the spot. She attached the new pokeball to her belt, then picked up Mareep and spun her around in the air. "You were awesome!" The little sheep cooed in return, flailing her short legs happily. Candace turned to Mina, cocking her head to the side curiously.
"Now what?"
Mina splayed a crazy grin across her face and outstretched her arm, her finger pointing to an island in the distance that fumed with smoke.
"Onward!" Silence followed her outburst, only the crunching sand of the onlookers returning a silent cry of agreement. Even her Pokemon, situated now at their trainer's feet after the battle ended, looked at Mina with confusion in their eyes. Her hand lowered in uncertainty and a small laugh escaped her lips, "...or not. I mean, it only looks to be a freaking awesome island full of unknown Pokemon that would be fun to pet and look at and catch and – CANDACE! Now that you have caught a wild Pokemon, let's see what that secret base deal is about!"
Mina had gone from a firm standing, determined trainer to a girl with stars practically dancing in her eyes as she thought of the secret base.
"...tatta?" The purple rodent looked around the legs to the small blue blubber ball who blinked in confusion. Suddenly, Mina stopped gushing about bases and turned to look at Candace.
"Let's just go to that island."
Candace snorted, but nodded in agreement.
"Sounds good to me. I should probably take Staryu to the Pokemon Center to be healed first… One moment!" With this said, the blonde took off toward the red-topped building. Ten minutes later, she returned to the beach, out of breath.
"That… was probably not a good idea," she panted, then straightened up and looked at Mina. "Alright, to this super awesome island we go! Staryu, come on out!" The blonde released her newest Pokemon, then looked out toward the island. "It sure looks like a long swim…"
Mina stretched as she tossed the Pokeball with her Rattata up and down, looking to Candace.
"Yeah, it will. One guy in the crowd said it would take about an hour to reach it. Then again, he looked really iffy and his shirt was ugly and creased so I don't know if I would trust him. Buuut then again, he was the only one willing to tell me anything about the swim over there." Shrugging, she replaced the sphere and glanced down to her Spheal.
"Hey, Candace, do you think I could make it to the island on Spheal? I'm not so sure I can – I might squash the poor thing and kill him."
At the sound of his name Spheal looked to Mina and cooed, happy at the attention he seemed to be receiving until he comprehended the word 'squash' and 'kill' to be bad words and was struck with terror at the prospect of dying in the middle of the ocean.
"Sphealllllll…"
Giggling, Candace nodded.
"I think you should be fine, as long as you don't put all your weight on him or anything. Sort of just hold on to him like you would hold on to a life preserver, and do your part in helping to swim and stay afloat. He's just sort of like your inner tube. A very small inner tube that you could crush at any moment," she said.
Candace looked over her own water Pokemon, seemingly trying to decide how she could utilize its swimming abilities. She hesitated, then walked slowly toward the water. When she reached the shoreline, the blonde tentatively dipped her hand in.
"Crap, it's a little bit chilly. Oh well. I guess we should probably put our shoes in our backpacks so they don't get soaked. I can't stand soggy shoes," she said, bending down so she could unlace her sneakers. The fact that their clothes would be soggy enough did not seem to register in her mind.
"Wait wait wait – chilly? Hold up, Candace. I don't like soggy clothes OR shoes, and my knapsack is worn and easily water logged and when we get there it's going to be freaking FREEZING. It's already mid-afternoon and when we get there the sun will be low in the sky and I have not been struck with a brilliant idea."
For the first time in over an hour the red head ran to her abandoned sack left where her first plop in the ground occurred, fell to her butt and skillfully yanked off her green shoes, shoving them and her socks into the packed bag.
"Arrg, there's sand in my pants that better wash out with those waves of water, Candace, or I'll be one irritated trainer." She pulled herself up to a standing position and grabbed her sack with one hand while pushing back unruly flaming hair from her green eyes. From her spot on the warm beach Mina made her way to her friend at the water's edge and called her water Pokemon to her side. "It's now or never I say. The water isn't going to get warmer and our clothes sure aren't getting drier."
Candace, who had also put her shoes in her backpack, stood up and started to tiptoe into the water, cringing as the waves lapped at her shins. Staryu followed, though it was finding the water much more enjoyable.
"We are going to freeze our asses off," the blonde grumbled. When she was in up to her waist, Staryu swam out in front of her, coming to a stop with its back turned to its trainer. Candace took this as a signal to hold on, and so she did, clinging to her Pokemon and beginning to kick with her legs to aid in the swimming. Staryu surprised her by taking off at a surprising speed – not incredibly fast, but enough to make her kicking pointless.
The blonde and her Staryu led the way, and thus the girls' incredibly saturated journey began.
"Oh my god, it's freaking cold," Candace mumbled, shivering as a cool breeze blew over her. The girls had made it to the island — which was called Mt. Pyre, or so they read on a sign — unharmed and without any major mishaps, though it had taken significantly longer than an hour.
Mina's teeth noisily chattered as she bent down on the reclaimed surface that her feet could touch and stroked the small walrus's head affectionately.
"S-s-sorry Spheal, you m-must be tired-d-d. Bu-but is it's any con-con-consolation in the least, I'm s-scared shitless by being h-here." With a small smile she rose to join her friend, taking in the low fog that cradled the earth, bouncing the sun's rays off the top of the gray mist.
"Hey, Candace-e, we should f-find a Pokemon c-c-center. Spheal doesn't look t-too well. And I'm sure it's w-warm. And Mina likes the warm."
"Good idea," Candace said, scanning the area. There was a set of double doors built into one side of the mountain, so she did the most logical thing her hypothermic brain could think of – head toward them. She recalled Staryu as she started inside, briefly pausing in her stride to open the door for Mina.
As soon as they were inside, the girls were faced with a large, dreary room. Candace wrinkled her nose, looking around for any indication of what the building was… And found it in the form of numerous rows of tombstones. Mina was less than a step behind Candace since the two girls had entered the strange room, wincing every time their knapsacks made a small noise that echoed off of every surface in the confined space.
"Candace, this place is creepy. And creepy in cold clothes don't mix – at all!" The older girl's hand wrapped around her friend's arm, clutching it like her only lifeline upon seeing the tombstones Candace was peering at. "And is it just me or do you hear eerie music too? OH MY GOD - and footsteps – Candace, do you hear footsteps and eerie music?"
Mina's head whipped around in all directions, her scarlet locks going everywhere as she pinpointed the source of the tumult. Candace snorted, patting her friend's hand.
"I think you're imagining things. But it is really creepy in here…"
The blonde looked around, then spotted a sign on the far wall across the room. She approached it cautiously, peered at it for a moment, and summarized what it said.
"Apparently Mt. Pyre is, um, a mausoleum for Pokemon. We can explore all six floors of the building or take the side door out and climb up the mountain," she said, rubbing her cold arms. "Please tell me that you haven't developed any morbid fascination with this place and we can go explore."
Mina stared Candace down as the simple question was posed. "Oh yes, Candace, I would LOVE to stay in here for extra hours on end in a place that commemorates dead things." She moved her body away and stomped to the side door, stopping suddenly. "I don't even have my shoes on." Her head lowered to glance at her feet through the hanging mist. "Screw shoes. Viva la bare feet!"
Mina's fist pumped to the air crookedly, then continued her move to the door, "Wet clothes…threatening music…bare feet…I'm out." Candace giggled, following dedicatedly after her friend.
The two girls exited the mausoleum to find a small grassy area and then steps carved into stone the led up the side of the mountain. Candace looked around, fidgeting uncomfortably.
"We may not be in the fog yet, but this is still creepy as hell," she mumbled, calling out Staryu. "Why did we come he- oh, wait. Pokemon. That's right. Okay, let's get to exploring." With these words, Candace strode off into the tall grass, Staryu following behind her.
"Good call, Candace. Pokemon. That's the main objective here. Pokemon. C'mon, Rattata." Mina reached to her belt and released her small purple friend, going in a different direction from Candace in the turf, the look of determination on her face returning with every step she took in the dimly lit area.
"Hey, so, Candace, are we in a cave or something? And if we are, how will we know when the sun is going down so we can get back to the mainland? Because I don't want to be stuck here after dark – it's just not a dream of mine. Right, 'tata?"
The small Pokemon looked at his trainer, giving her the vocalized agreement she sought, and continued to travel farther into the grass.
"I think we're just on the side of the mountain… But don't take my word for it," Candace called over, making sure to stay close to Staryu. "So, I wonder what kind of Pokemon are up here… Hopefully they're not ugly or creepy, like this place…"
"For real. I don't want an ugly Pokemon – wait, that makes me sound shallow, doesn't it? What I meant to say is that I hope whatever Pokemon I acquire during our journey to find Craig and Gavin aren't going to make me shudder – AH!!"
Mina squealed as a small, rustic coloured Pokemon crawled from the grass and halted near her, raising one back paw to scratch behind the pointed ears. Mina's eyes dilated as she took in the sight before her.
"Rattata, we have to get that Pokemon! Um…tackle!" Uncertainty ran through the small rat as it barreled ahead, catching the fellow creature off guard and sending it back a few feet instantly. "Good! Now, um, do it again!" Gaining in confidence, Rattata once again ran toward the fox and knocked it for the second time, rendering it dazed and confused.
Mina took the chance presented before her and snatched an empty ball, throwing it in the direction the defenseless Pokemon. She let loose a huge breath when the sphere stopped twitching and skipped to her victory.
"Yes! Rattata, we did it! Yes!" Seizing the red and white ball she patted her friend on the head, smiling at him. The excitement was short-lived, however, for there was a shriek from the direction in which Candace had disappeared. A cry from Staryu was also heard, and sounds of a scuffle met Mina's ears. Minutes later, the blonde came into view, a smug grin on her face and Staryu following tiredly behind.
"Did I hear a triumphant cry from over here?"
"That in which yours was mirrored." Mina smiled at Candace, holding up a Pokeball in triumph. "What did you catch? I caught a – a fox…thing…" Her unoccupied hand reached to her head, scratching her forehead only to recover and hold out an eager thumbs up. Candace raised an eyebrow.
"A fox thing? Let me see," the blonde said, recalling Staryu. Nodding, Mina threw down the Pokeball and watched as the small form materialized; and continued to watch as the fox turned to face her with anger emanating from every piece of fur on the body.
"Ehh…I think she's mad…"
"Vuuull!" Following the irritated cry was a jet of fire, aimed straight at Mina.
"HIT THE DECK!"
Candace snorted with laughter as her best friend hit the ground, shaking her head sadly.
"Mina, that's a Vulpix. Karolyne has a few at home," Candace said, kneeling down to be even with the small Pokemon. "What did you do to piss her off so badly?"
Mina staggered to her feet and watched as Candace came into close quarters with the animal. "Careful Candace… I don't have anything to treat a burn – and that thing is rabid!" The Rattata trotted up beside the newly captured Pokemon and sat next to her, obtaining a remark about being a traitor from his handler.
The grass around the five of them shifted slightly, as if waiting for something to happen; perhaps another attempted burn victim.
"I guess she's mad at me. I had Rattata attack when her was defenseless – but look at her! She's so cute, I couldn't just let her walk away!" Mina's arms were flying dramatically while she spoke to her friend feet away, thinking that the more ridiculous she looked the more her point would come across.
"Wow, Mina, way to be a douche," Candace said, standing up. "Attacking a poor, defenseless Pokemon like that. You should be ashamed. But, hey, would you mind being ashamed somewhere else? I don't want to be here — or in the middle of the ocean, for that matter — after dark. Let's head back to the mainland."
Candace motioned toward the side door, and started toward it. There was no way she was spending any more time near a graveyard than was absolutely necessary.
"Good call. And my feet wouldn't mind being sheathed again…" Recalling her two Pokemon she chased after Candace, bracing herself for the freezing water to come and her soon-to-be flat Spheal.
Hope you liked reading it as much as Nat and I adored writing it!!
