I tend to write these chapters all in a day, one chapter a day (sometimes two). And I generally post them in the same day too.
Anyways, a fun little chapter with a baby pokemon (one that grows fast).
Enjoy.
PMD 2: A Novelization
Chapter 43: Manaphy
Team Long Ears went back home in the Bluff once they were back to Treasure Town.
They deliberated about how to take care of the egg. In the end, they figured since nothing had been clearly guarding the egg or taking care of it, it would probably hatch without any additional assistance. All it would likely need was peace and quiet.
Thus, the two of them simply set up a third straw-bed and gently set the egg on it and left it to itself.
They spent the remainder of the evening gazing at the egg and chatting about it.
Night fell and both of them went to sleep.
In the night, Alex thought he felt something trying to enter his mind but though he didn't (and couldn't) do anything to stop it, it didn't enter whatever or whoever it was.
He wondered in his dream about Cresselia and if it was her coming and going like that. He found himself distracted by thoughts about what she had meant in that first meeting.
It was a grave accusation and wanted to know what it was about them that was supposedly causing disaster.
o0o
Alex woke up the next morning rested but his mind still thinking about his dream-bound visitor. Eve was already checking the egg, which was still sitting quietly on the bed they'd made for it.
"How long do you think it will be before it hatches?" she asked, continuing to gaze at it and admire the unique appearance.
Alex shrugged in response to her question.
"Who knows? It might be a few weeks or a few months… perhaps even-"
His words were interrupted by an abrupt jolt from the egg. They both froze, staring as the egg jiggled again.
"-A few minutes…" Alex ended, blinking.
The egg shook a bit more then it cracked and surprisingly, an amount of light streamed from it. Both of them shielded their eyes from the burst of light, which soon faded. Alex lowered his arm and saw the newborn. It wasn't like any pokemon he'd seen yet.
The newborn was almost entirely an aquatic blue though there was a red spot in the middle of its chest like some sort of gem. The pokemon had no legs but a small body with a pair of small, flipper-like arms. It's large head had yellow (almost golden) eyes with odd, circular designs over those eyes and what appeared to be a pair of long antenna that hung back in a large arc behind it. Alex almost immediately found the newborn quite adorable.
It looked around, apparently trying to figure out where it was and saw them, giving them a curious look.
"Hi there little guy." Eve said, charmed by the young pokemon's appearance.
It blinked, clearly wondering what Eve was saying.
"I guess since he just hatched he doesn't understand us, Alex." Eve said glancing at Alex.
Makes sense. What kind of pokemon is this anyways?
"Um, hi." He said, giving the newborn a little wave when it looked at him.
It watched his action and gave him a big smile, which only made it look cuter.
"H… hi…" it said, somewhat tripping on the simple word.
Alex couldn't hold back a small giggle. Just too cute.
"Well, I haven't ever seen a pokemon like this little fellow before," Eve said, the curious newborn echoing the word "pokemon" while she spoke, "Do you think Chatot might know something?" she asked.
"Only pokemon I can think of…" he shrugged and, gently coaxing the young pokemon to follow them, they headed for the guild.
Interestingly enough, the newborn had an odd ability to hover off the ground when it wanted to move (which led to Alex wondering if it was part-psychic type) and it followed them, bobbing along happily behind them.
o0o
They arrived at the guild, met with Chatot, explained their trip down into the Surrounded Sea cave, how they'd retrieved an egg therein, and how it had hatched the present morning to reveal their adorable new companion.
Chatot looked over the pokemon, who just returned his gaze, as curious as ever about its surroundings.
"Well? Any ideas, Chatot?" Alex said.
Chatot finished his visual observations, nodding.
"Hm… yes… I've never seen a pokemon like this one before but I do believe I know what he is." Chatot said, turning to them, "If I'm not mistaken this little fellow is called a manaphy."
Again, the young pokemon echoed the word it was hearing: "Mana-phy?".
"Manaphy are extremely rare," Chatot pointed out to the team, "and they are meant to grow up in the ocean. I suggest the two of you get this fellow back to the ocean as soon as possible. For his own good."
Chatot's tone was neither strict nor harsh… There was unmistakable concern in his voice.
Alex and his partner were about to respond when there was a sudden wail of crying, making both of them jump and Chatot looked a little startled as well.
The manaphy was loudly crying for no immediately apparent reason.
"W-What's wrong?" Eve stammered, trying to get over her surprise.
"I would imagine he's hungry." Chatot said with an understanding smile "He did just hatch after all."
Seeing the young manaphy crying like this was a bit heart-rending to Alex. Seeing the adorable newborn so unhappy was saddening.
"So… what do manaphy eat?" he asked.
"Well, they are water-type so you might try a blue gummi. Water-types like those best."
Gummis were basically jellybeans that Alex and his partner had found on occasion as they had traveled through mystery dungeons (they had also seen them in Kecleon Market as well). They came in various colors and hues, each unique to the flavor. Alex had found he personally liked the yellow ones best (a sort of tingling sweetness, as he would've described it). The blue ones… he also liked but not quite as much.
"I think we've still got a few of those in storage, don't we Alex?" Eve said, a little uncertain.
Alex had stored a fair number of gummis of various colors over the weeks and he was pretty sure there was at least one blue one in storage.
"We'll go check." Alex told Chatot, who nodded and told them he'd keep an eye on the manaphy while they went.
o0o
They soon returned with a blue gummi in-hand.
Eve approached Manaphy with it.
"Hey there Manaphy… here's something to eat…" she said gently. The manaphy's crying slowed and he blinked in some confusion as he looked at what Eve was offering him. He took the gummi and stared at it, apparently wondering what to do with it.
"It's a gummi." Eve explained to the child and tried motioning for the newborn to eat.
"Goomi?" Manaphy echoed, slurring the word slightly and continuing to stare at the candy curiously.
"Go on…" Eve said and continued trying to indicate how to eat.
The manaphy finally brought the gummi up to its mouth and nibbled on it. His eyes brightened upon tasting it and he promptly swallowed the rest of it. Eve breathed a sigh of relief, now that the problem at hand had been handled.
The manaphy's mood immediately brightened again and excitedly repeated the name of the candy (still slurring it).
"Now then…" Chatot said "As I was saying, you should get this youngster back to the ocean as quickly as possible."
"But… but he's only a child, Chatot." Eve argued "We can't just leave him to fend for himself in the ocean alone! At least let him grow up a bit before we take him back." She said, her concern evident…
Chatot sighed, worry creasing his brow.
"As I said… manaphy are meant to grow up in the ocean… this environment is as different from the ocean as is possible to be…" he said… almost sadly "Are you sure about what you are doing?"
"Please Chatot." Eve said, pleadingly "Just a few days." Alex could see that Eve had gotten attached to the little guy. Admittedly, he also found himself unwilling to part ways with him so soon.
Chatot heaved another sigh; his concern still etched on his face.
"I do not like this… but if you wish… you may raise Manaphy for a little while. The consequences will be upon your shoulders though..." his tone was ominous, though still not harsh in any way.
Eve nodding, smiling warmly.
"Okay, I understand. Thank you Chatot."
Chatot did not return the smile, his concerns about this choice would not be erased.
"Alright Manaphy. You wanna come live with us for a little bit?" Eve said sweetly to Manaphy.
It seemed he was starting to understand more because Manaphy reacted to this with immense joy and started to dance through the air around Eve and then proceeded to do the same around Alex.
With that, they headed out of the guild and went back to the team's cave at the Bluff.
They spent the day playing around with Manaphy and enjoying the time with their newest friend.
o0o
Next day, Manaphy was already up when they awoke, greeting them with his smile. Eve said "Good morning" to both Alex and Manaphy and then focused on Manaphy.
"So, what do you want to do today, Manaphy?" Eve said cheerily. Alex found himself feeling like he was having fun just having Manaphy around.
"Goomi!" the water-type cried out excitedly. Alex chuckled in response.
"Sounds like he wants another blue gummi, Eve."
"Want to go get another one from storage?" Eve asked. Alex pulled out a blue gummi as if he had conjured it out of thin air. Manaphy hopped in place, happier than ever.
"Thought I'd pack another since I figured he might want another one." Alex explained as Manaphy gobbled up the candy.
"Goomi!" Manaphy said brightly, showing his pleasure by dancing around in place.
"Liked it did you, Manaphy?" Alex said, also smiling brightly. Then he noticed that Manaphy was already a bit bigger than he was yesterday. His observations were drawn away by what he heard next:
"Alex! Eve!" Manaphy said gleefully and started to dance around them.
Alex blinked, astonished at how fast the child was apparently developing.
"Wow… he's already learned our names…" Eve said just as stunned as her partner.
"Hey… how about we take him down to the beach?" Alex suggested after a few moments of watching Manaphy continue to happily dance around the cave.
"Okay, that sounds like a good idea."
o0o
They led Manaphy through town. The town was more crowded at the time, resulting in a lot of pokemon looking at Manaphy and comment how cute he was as they passed. They arrived at the beach, Manaphy's cheery mood seemingly unbreakable. He had been enthused by meeting so many new pokemon in town.
They stepped out onto the sand and Manaphy was immediately drawn to the water, awe spread across his face.
"This is the ocean, Manaphy." Eve explain "It's where you came from."
"O-shun?" Manaphy echoed, curious about yet another new word.
"Yep, that's right. Ocean." Alex confirmed, nodding.
Manaphy splashed in the water and immediately found it to be so enjoyable he giggled and splashed some more, doing his "happy dance" in the water.
Team Long Ears soon joined him and they spend the day there playing.
o0o
That night, they were all sleeping well from a long day of playing.
Manaphy though, rose from his bed and hovered over to the "teeth" of the cave and gazed out at the ocean far below…
The young pokemon continued to stare like this for some hours…
o0o
The next morning, Eve woke up about the same time as her partner.
"'Morning Alex." She said and turned to Manaphy's bed.
"Good morn-" she stopped dead in her sentence.
Manaphy was gone.
