Chapter 11: Land Ho!
By the end of the day I was on Mr. Brineys boat and on my way to Slateport City. I had talked with Briney before we left about whether or not to expect another attack like the Tentacruel last time. He had told me no, but something was still bugging me about it. I brushed those thoughts aside and went back into the cabin, deciding to get some sleep for the night. We were anchored off the shore of one of the many small islands that spotted the southern end of Hoen, one so small that only a few flying pokemon lived on it. As much as I would have liked to catch them, it was late, everyone was pretty much already asleep, and it would have been a major hassle to get to the island. So I let this one go, ignoring the thoughts calling me an idiot for not getting anything.
It was close to midday when Brineys boat pulled up to the sandy beaches just south of Slateport. As the old man had promised, the trip had been uneventful, and I eagerly awaited continuing on my journey. Briney and I climbed into the small lifeboat he used when there wasn't a dock and about five minutes later, I said my goodbyes.
"Thanks for all the help Briney!" I called, waving at him as I made my way up the beach. I glanced over at Bruce, who flapped nearby. "So, anywhere in particular you'd like to go, or should we just hit the city?"
He was mostly silent, sniffing haughtily at me before looking around (or at least, his equivalent of looking around). "As long as I stay alive, I don't care what we do." he replied. I could tell he was pretty upset about being awake during the day, but he was one of the weaker members of the team if the gym battle was anything to go by. I had to hurry up and train him or he'd end up being another casualty. Speaking of training, I noticed a pair of young kids, a boy and a girl, wearing inner tubes nearby playing in the sand. They both had pokemon with them, a Marill and a Zigzagoon.
"Alright then grumpy, why don't we take some of that anger out on some adorable trainer pokemon?" I suggested, walking over to the kids. The battle wasn't extremely wearing, both the Zigzagoon and the Marill being inexperienced but strong. Bruce had to avoid some nasty blows, but he came out on top. "See, that wasn't so hard was it?" I asked him as we walked away, the kids healing their pokemon and praising them for their hard work. The look Bruce gave me made me feel like if he had eyes they would be just short of shooting lazers into me. "Okay, fine, I'll put you back in your ball. But you've got to get used to fighting in the daytime, I'm not a night owl."
I continued down the beach, battling the occasional trainer. I kept the team on rotation, making sure that no one got overworked. In no time at all we had arrived in Slateport City. It was the largest city in Hoen, probably because it was such a big center of trade for the island nation. Large freighters came in and out of the port near constantly, which prevented smaller vessels like Brineys boat from getting anywhere near the harbor. The docks were filled with large warehouses holding the various goods imported and exported. I watched the ships coming in, letting the pokemon out so they could see. Leroy's eyes were wide, as he gazed excitedly at the large ships. Banzai was trying to be indifferent, but I could tell that he was just as impressed. Cooper and Sasuke glanced at the ship before having their own conversation, and Bruce and Minato didn't seem to care. If they did, they didn't say anything.
After sight-seeing we moved on into the city proper, and I withdrew most of the team, leaving Banzai and Leroy out for protection and because I knew Leroy wasn't done exploring. There was a large, outdoor market where stalls sold all kinds of spices and berries, grown on the fertile soil farther inland. I was intrigued, but decided to not spend what money I had on the various homemade medicines. Going in further, we ended up in a more residential area, finally finding a PokeCenter. I checked in and while the team was healing, I brought up my map in order to figure out what to do.
"I need to deliver the package for Mr. Stone" I mused, looking up at a local map posted on the bulletin board in the lobby. "Let's see, where would Captain Stern be?"
"Oh, did you say Captain Stern?" a soft voice said behind me. I turned and saw one of the nurses a few feet away, caught mid-step. "Are you looking for him?"
"Yes, actually, I've got a package to deliver. Do you know where he's at?" I asked, glad I wouldn't have to spend a lot of time tracking him down.
My hopes were dashed by her response. "He's out on an expedition. He'll be back tomorrow, so you can find him then down on the docks." I groaned loudly and she giggled at my reaction. "Here, why don't I get you the address? And you can spend the rest of the day sight-seeing!"
While she briskly walked away I fell back into one of the many sofas, wracking my brain for something productive to do with my extra day. There was no gym in Slateport, despite it's size, and none of the usual places for a trainer like me to explore, like a contest hall or something. I decided to check out the route north of the city, Route 110, and see what I could catch.
As it turned out, Route 110 was mostly barren. There was a long stretch of road, long since eroded down to dust from an endless parade of people walking in and out of Slateport. All that was left of the natural grass was a patch near the city entrance, which held no pokemon for me to battle. "Man, is anything exciting gonna happen today?" I groaned to Minato, who floated behind me. I glanced at him out of the corner of my eye, seeing his body tilt slightly sideways as it bobbed in the air. "Not one for conversation are you?" I muttered, chuckling softly when he nodded in response. "Alright then, I guess I'll be doing the talking for both of us." We walked down the road as I told him some stories about my previous adventures. We had gone a fair way, almost coming to a T at the end of the road, when I heard a loud commotion behind me. "What the hell?" I wondered, turning around and looking past an uninterested Minato.
Behind me a large woman was charging forward, swearing angrily at something and brandishing a thick branch. It took me a moment to notice the small green animal she was chasing. It had the body of a canine, green fur covering it from head to toe. Its skull was slightly cone-shaped, and yellow streaks ran over its snout and eyes, ending in two spike-shaped tufts on either side of its head. Its tail was also cone-shaped, with a yellow tip and two smaller spike near the base. It was an Electrike, one of the only electric-type pokemon native to Hoen.
"Get back here you beast!" the woman yelled, swiping at the back of the Electrike. It yipped loudly, running faster to get away. I could tell that the green pokemon was going to run out of energy soon. Taking a deep breath, I decided to intervene.
"Hey! There you are, I've been looking everywhere for you!" I called, trotting towards the small pokemon. The woman slowed her pursuit, and the Electrike slowed as well, head tilted curiously as it looked at me with cautious, distrusting eyes. I ignored it for now and focused on the woman. "Sorry about that, this one's always running off and getting into trouble." I lied, hoping that the little pokemon hadn't gotten into too much trouble.
"You're this little monsters trainer?" the woman asked, glaring at me under thick brown curls. "I was minding the stall on the docks when I caught her trying to sneak a fish!"
The Electrike looked up at me, making literal puppy-dog eyes. I tried my best to glare disapprovingly. "You know better than to steal!" I scolded, having given this speech to Cooper many times. Minato floated down to her level, and she took an unconscious step back, unnerved by him.
The woman seemed to have calmed down a bit, no longer red in the face. "Well, she didn't actually get a hold of anything before I chased her off. If you've got her now, I'll just leave it alone. But I don't want to catch her near my booth again! Are we clear!?" she snapped. I nodded quickly in agreement before she huffed and turned away, heading back towards the city. A few minutes later, when she was out of earshot, I knelt down next to the Electrike.
"So, you're a bit of a troublemaker, eh?" I asked, reaching a hand out. Her eyes narrowed and she took another step back, growling. I was a little taken aback. "Hey, I just helped you out!" I protested. "Plus, you're the first pokemon I've seen on this route, I kinda have to catch you now." At the mention of catching, her eyes went wide and she fled, running back into the brush. Or she would have, if Minato wasn't already in her way. He lashed out, knocking her back at my feet. After the marathon she had just run, she was to exhausted to get back up. I quickly caught her in a pokeball, sealing the deal. "I know you're gonna be mad at me, but trust me. I'll take good care of you."
"Damn! That's what I get for trying to steal from the humans I guess." Nala sighed, lying down under the desk in my room at the PokeCenter. When I had gotten back, I had put Sasuke in the box in order to retrieve her. I had then given her the run-down and introduced her to the team, naming her Nala in the process. All in all, she seemed indifferent towards the threat of the Nuzlocke, and was more miffed about getting caught, as most wild pokemon were.
"Hey, if it makes you feel better, that's how he caught me too." Cooper piped up, his long body curled up in the middle of the floor. "I tried to grab a bag of chips off of him."
"The key word there is tried" I added, grinning at the incredulous look he gave me. Banzai and Leroy burst into laughter, and even Minato buzzed a little from his space near the door.
"That was a fluke!" Cooper protested. "I still manage to swipe all kinds of stuff from trainers!" He covered his mouth suddenly, eyes wide as he realized what he had said.
"Cooper," I growled, leaning forward and looming over the coiled ferret. "Did I just hear you admit that you're still stealing?"
"Uh, no? Why would I say that?" Cooper chuckled unconvincingly. "After all, I swore off my criminal ways when you caught me, right boss?"
Banzai trotted over, grinning evilly. "Best thing to do when in a hole is stop digging Coop" he said.
"What did you do before you got caught?" Cooper suddenly asked Nala, trying to deflect the conversation. I would have kept pressuring him, but I was curious as well so I let it slide for now.
Nala seemed a little nervous, still getting used to the lot of us. "Well, I was the leader of a pack of Electrike. I was trying to get us some extra food when I was chased by that mean old hag."
"Oh, you were a pack-leader too?" Leroy asked. "She's just like you Banzai!"
The Mightyena shifted uncomfortably as Nala turned her dark eyes on him. "That was before I was caught, back when I was a Poochyena" he explained. "It wasn't like I was something special or anything" he added shyly.
Nala snorted at his self-depreciation. "No, I guess you weren't" she said, causing Banzai to sputter and gawk at her. "I, on the other hand," she continued, ignoring him, "was the leader of the strongest pack in the Slateport area. With me gone, it will be a pretty harsh blow, but they will endure. Now it looks like I've got a new pack to look after, and from what I can tell you lot need a leader like me."
I groaned inwardly, knowing exactly what was coming next. Only a matter of time with a bunch like this I thought. Sure enough, the room exploded in voices.
"I'm the leader! I'm the hero of this story, and besides, I was here first!" Leroy shouted
"What do you mean you're the leader? I'm the only one here with any experience!" Banzai retorted
"Not anymore pup, and if you think your bullshit story is fooling me you've got another thing coming!" Nala replied, rising to her feet and taking a threatening step towards him. Cooper got up and out of the way as Bruce screeched from the fan, annoyed at the commotion. Leroy also stepped up, looking like he was about to start throwing punches. I moved to intervene before it got ugly, but somebody beat me to it.
Suddenly all three of the fighting pokemon were knocked back and away from each other. Minato floated down between them, revolving slowly to face each of them in turn. Then he floated over to me, before turning back to look at the disobedient trio. He seemed to have gotten his point across as all three of them picked themselves up sheepishly and retreated to various corners of the room. I knew I couldn't let them stew overnight or else they'd just end up fighting again. I sighed and sat down on my bed.
"Listen guys, there's no need for a leader. I know I'm your trainer, but that doesn't exactly mean I'm above you in the ranks or something. There have been times where my pokemon have lectured me before, or corrected me when I was wrong. The way I see it, we are all equals fighting for each other. A team, better yet, a family. Brothers, sisters, uncles, that sort of thing. We help each other get stronger and we support one another. So please don't fight over something as trivial as who the leader is." Having said my piece, I laid down on the bed, ready to relax for the rest of the evening. Conversation started up shortly after, and I smiled knowing that I got through to them, at least a little.
The next morning everything was back to business. I took Nala back to Route 110 in order to train her a bit. It turned out that she didn't need much in order to get on the same level of the rest of the team, clearly a capable fighter born from living in the wild. Her electric attacks needed some work, but she had no problem physically tackling her opponents and catching them off guard with her superior speed.
After a quick lunch I remembered why I was sticking around Slateport and decided to look around for Stern. Upon spending the better part of the afternoon wandering around the port, I discovered the ship he had been sailing on. It was parked inside one of the waterfront warehouses that had a shipping dock inside. I entered the building and called out.
"Captain Stern?" I asked, hoping he was nearby so I could get this damnable errand over with.
"Huh?" a voice replied nearby, making me jump. A large man in blue coveralls crept up from behind a desk. He pushed his glasses up onto the bridge of his nose and squinted at me. "What do you want?" he asked roughly.
"I've got a package for Stern, is he around?" I replied just as curtly. Sorry I woke you from your catnap I thought bitterly as he yawned.
"Captain Stern?" he clarified and I nodded, getting impatient. "You just missed him. He went to the museum in order to set up an exhibit."
My heart sank. I didn't even reply to the guy, which seemed just fine with him as he sunk back down in his chair, already drifting off to sleep again. I groaned in frustration and left, making a beeline to the museum. That asshole had better be there when I arrive or so help me I'll sick Nala and Banzai on him I thought. Night was just starting to fall as I finally arrived at the museum. "It just had to be all the way across town" I muttered before heading for the front entrance. What I saw made my heart sink lower than it already had.
The front entrance was crowded, and not with the normal bunch of civilians. Each and every person was wearing the standard Team Aqua uniform, bandanna and all. I decided to play it cool, act like I don't know the group. Fighting such a large group of them would be a huge risk I thought, carefully moving through the aimless mass until I made it to the front desk. I payed the fee and stepped inside, quickly noting that it was just as crowded as the entrance, and just as filled with grunts. I also noticed, through process of elimination, that Stern wasn't here. Other than the secretary at the front desk, I was the only one not wearing a sailor suit. I spotted some stairs in the back and made my way towards it.
I was halfway across and feeling pretty confident about not being recognized when a hand roughly seized the back of my vest and pulled, nearly knocking me off of my feet. "Hey! I remember you!" my attacker yelled out, and my blood froze. I'm never going to be able to battle my way out of here I thought, starting to panic. I turned to face my accuser, unfortunately not recognizing him outside of the usual grunt outfit.
"Uh, do I know you?" I ask, still trying to play it cool. Some of he nearby grunts had glanced over, but for the most part we had gone unnoticed. This did a lot to settle my nerves. If I can just get rid of this guy I can get out of this.
"You better!" the grunt hissed. "You're the asshole who stopped me from getting the Devon goods! Twice!" He leaned in, snarling at me as he grabbed the front of my shirt. "What have you got to say for yourself?"
The grunt finally identifying himself not only made me relax but also gave me an idea. "I say that it's incredibly stupid for someone who already lost to me twice to try to fight me a third time" I snarked. "Unless your boss managed to get you something a little stronger than a Poochyena. Oh, by the way, the one you lost to? Twice? He's a Mightyena now, and perfectly willing to fight." I smiled in what I thought was a confident way, hoping to mask my nervousness with bravado.
The grunt hesitated, which was a good sign. However, he seemed to get his confidence back and grinned evilly at me. "You're outnumbered kid. Every grunt here will attack you if we get in a scrap, and after they beat you they'll steal your pokemon. Is that the kind of risk you want to run?"
For a second I was petrified, knowing that he had an excellent point. I decided to press on, knowing it couldn't hurt my chances of surviving this with my team intact. "Sure, your buddies might attack me. They might even be able to beat me. But at the end of the day, I've got you right here, first in line. And let me tell you something," I whispered menacingly, leaning in an inch away from his face for effect. "I'm very protective of my team. So yeah, your friends will probably get me. But not before I sick eighty pounds of rage-filled black hyena on you." To add some emphasis, I tapped Banzais pokeball on my belt.
The grunts eyes went wide, and he went back and forth between me and the pokeball. He let go of my shirt and took a step back, stuttering as he tried to apologize. "S-s-sorry! I-I-I'll just go now!" he managed to get out before bolting. Some of the nearby grunts gave me a glance, but I glared at them until they looked away. Good, that should prevent any kind of problem I thought, hurriedly heading to the stairs. The top floor was surprisingly devoid of Team Aqua grunts, only a single person occupying it, aimlessly walking among the exhibits. Taking in his gray lab coat, cyan sweater and slick brown hair, I gambled that it was Captain Stern.
"Captain!" I called out, maybe a little to loudly. I didn't care, just glad to be away from the grunts and finally finding the person I was looking for all day. He turned, a little confused, and spotted me easily enough.
"Yes, can I help you?" he asked as I walked briskly over to him. I dug through my bag, quickly finding the package and thrusting it into his chest.
"I'm here to deliver a package! You're a hard man to track down by the way, I've been looking everywhere for you!" I announced.
He looked at me blankly and then down to the package. Apparently he spotted the Devon logo on them because his face lit up in recognition. "Oh!" he exclaimed. "These are the parts I need for the submarine! Oh, I only wish these had come sooner, it would have made that last expedition so much easier..." He trailed off upon seeing the disgruntled look on my face. "Oh, right, sorry" he apologized sheepishly. "It probably took a long time for you to get this to me."
"Yeah, longer than it should have" I said under my breath. "Anyway, if that's all you need, I should really be-"
"There you are!" a voice shouted from behind me. I cringed, dreading what I was going to see but turning anyway. Sure enough, two Aqua grunts were standing by the stairs, approaching the two of us. I stepped in front of the Captain, who cowered in fear.
"W-what do you want?" he asked shakily. It was all I could do to not roll my eyes at him.
"They want the goods you're holding, they've tried to take it twice already." I answered, glaring at the two newcomers. "Haven't you assholes learned from your buddy? You're not going to steal this thing."
The grunt closest to us, apparently the leader of the duo, sniffed haughtily. "Yeah, sure, you beat one of us. But now there's two of us, plus a whole group downstairs!"
"And it took you all this long to figure out how to climb them, good job!" I cheered, flashing them a thumbs up.
The other grunt didn't take kindly to that. "You little shit!" he roared, charging forward before his partner grabbed him, holding him back.
"Don't get drawn in! We still outnumber him" he scolded, before turning back to me. "We were waiting for the good Captain to come downstairs, but since I spotted your little confrontation in the lobby, and when you went upstairs, we decided to follow. Looks like we lucked out. Now hand over the goods!"
"Didn't you hear me? You're not getting the goods!" I shouted, grabbing a pokeball and holding it threateningly. "Now clear out of here!"
The lead grunt sneered again. "You don't scare us kid, you're in way over your head. Come on mate, let's show him what Team Aqua can do!" Both grunts released their pokemon, a Zubat and two Carvanha. The two piranha pokemon were round in shape, with three large yellow fins jutting out from their bodies, two on the top and one on the belly. Their jaws were blood red, with a yellow star design on the middle, and their scales a deep blue color. They hung in the air, floating just above the floor, tail-fins churning back and forth.
Something was clearly off here. "Hold on a minute, how are your Carvanha not flopping around like Magikarp? There isn't any water here!" I protested.
It was, surprisingly, Captain Stern who answered. "It's a recent technology developed here in Hoen" he explained. "Since there is a high concentration of water dwelling species here, the League made special attachments for the pokeballs that allow the pokemon to "swim" through the air as if it were in a shallow pool. It's actually really impressive stuff."
"Yeah, impressive, sure" I groaned, already tired of the days events. "Whatever, I just want to get out of here. Nala! Take them down!" I released the green canine, and she growled deeply upon seeing her opponents. I swore, she had a grin on her face.
"A pair of fish and a bat, eh? Things stay this easy and we won't need to worry about the whole death thing" she grinned before charging in. The two Carvanha moved to catch her in a pincer maneuver while the Zubat dive-bombed her from above. She immediately hit the brakes, stopping right in the middle of the group. I called out in fear, wildly wondering just what the hell she was doing, running in half-cocked like that. I figured it out when I saw the yellow sparks running across her fur. Her opponents did too, but far to late to stop their charge. All three of them plowed into her at once and received the biggest shock of their lives, electricity lancing across their skin. It lasted only a few seconds, but that was enough to blast the weaker pokemon to a crisp. They collapsed in a heap, Nala no worse off than when she started. "Next!" she called confidently.
The two grunts were put off their game by the utter defeat of their pokemon. "W-what do we do now?" the second grunt whined to his apparent captain. The other grunt never got the chance to respond, as a new arrival interrupted him
"What the hell is going on up here!?" a loud, brash voice barked, causing everyone to flinch. Oh great, what now? I thought, as the speaker walked around a glass case and into view. He was a large, dark-skinned man with a sharp-trimmed beard, wearing something that looked like a cross between a coat and a wetsuit. It was a dark blue, and had a high collar, and coat-tails, but was otherwise form-fitting. A large gold anchor hung from a chain around his neck, and a matching belt around his waist, upon which hung pokeballs. A light blue bandanna was wrapped around his head, just above his dark eyes, and the Team Aqua emblem was emblazoned on it. It took me a moment because of the outlandish outfit, but I eventually recognized him as the leader of Team Aqua, Archie.
"How long does it take you dumbasses to get a simple box of parts!?" he roared, glaring daggers at the two grunts. His eyes moved to their fallen pokemon, then to Nala and I. "Although it seems there's a reason for your failure" he relented.
"You're not getting the parts" I declared, once again showing bravado in order to avoid a fight. "The police are on their way, so you lot had better just clear out now."
"Oh? And what if we don't?" Archie asked, grinning wildly as I flinched. "But you make an excellent point. It'd be to much trouble to beat you and have to fight off the police. But I have to say, after beating us so many times, I'm starting to take a liking to ya kid. What's your name?"
So he knows about the other battles I cursed inwardly. "I'm Nick. I'm just a trainer from Littleroot" I lied. No sense in letting him know who I was. The way he was looking at me, if I told him I was champion of Sinnoh, he'd challenge me on the spot.
"Really? Nick, huh? I'll be watching out for you Nick" Archie replied. "But hey, why not join up with us?" I gaped at him, and I wasn't the only one. The two grunts also stared at their boss in open confusion. "No, seriously, think about it. Everything relies on the sea, people, pokemon, everything. The people of Hoen should know that more than anyone. All we're trying to do is expand that biome, protect the oceans and lakes, bring more water to the world. Isn't that a goal worthy of praise?"
"Expand the biome?" I asked, snorting in disgust. "That's just a fancy word for flooding the world. You say you care about pokemon, but what about the ones that don't live in the oceans and lakes? What happens to them when there isn't any more land to stand on? And that's without taking the people into account. Where will we live, what will we eat? An all seafood diet doesn't do you any good. It seems to me like it messed up your head pretty bad."
Despite my words, Archies grin never faltered. "If that's the way it is then, I guess there's no convincing ya" he said, sounding genuinely disappointed. "Just remember this kid. I'll go easy on you his time, but if ya get in our way again, I'm going to gut you like the morning catch. Take care!" he laughed as he made his way back towards the stairs, beckoning at his minions to follow. After they disappeared, I listened as I heard all of the grunts downstairs quickly heading out the door. Once the dust had settled, I collapsed onto my knees, letting out the breath I had been holding in.
"Nick!" Nala cried, rushing over to me, concern dripping from her voice. I held up a hand and scratched her ear, hoping it would put her at ease. It didn't. "What's the matter with you?" she asked harshly, butting my knee lightly with her head. "What did that guy do that's got you so spooked?"
"That guy was the leader of Team Aqua" I told her. "If he had wanted to, he could have forced a fight with us. Hell, I could have gotten in a brawl with everyone downstairs. You saw how many grunts there were, it would have been a massacre! I was so nervous since I got in here that I guess they just took their toll on me once Archie left."
"What, you're telling me that you're in charge of all of us, the master of our fates, and you're so scared of loosing us you won't even take risks?" she demanded, stepping back to look me straight in the eye. "I won't have it!"
"There's a difference between taking risks and walking head-first into a team wipe!" I yelled, glaring at her. "All of your lives are in my hands, and even worse, I think of you all as my family. Every time I loose even one of you, it rips my heart in two. What do you think would happen to me if you all died at once?"
Nala shook her head. "That doesn't matter!" she yelled back. "Stop looking in the future, thinking about "what if" and "what will happen". Focus on the now. We're here, we survived, and it was thanks to your quick thinking. So pick your nerves back up, get on your damn feet, and lets get this show on the road. We've done what we came here to do." And with that, the little green and yellow dog turned and walked out of the room, heading to the stairs. I sat watching her for a minute before getting up. No telling what kind of trouble she could get in without me.