Chapter 46
Journeys
As the Wailord liner pulled away from the beach, Blaze's pit in his stomach only grew larger. This was a great opportunity for sure, but he was far more concerned about the other liner growing smaller in the distance. He was worried about his partner, more than he ever had been despite this just being a training trip with Paul accompanying him.
Wave noticed the Monferno's nervous expression, after making sure the Warlord's ears were below the surface for the sake of privacy, the Feraligatr turned to the only other occupant of the massive saddle and said "I know how you feel, but just relax"
"What do you mean?" Blaze said slowly, completely oblivious.
"You're worried about being away from Alex, you shouldn't be," Wave assured him, doing his best to ease into the conversation Paul had told him to have with the fire type.
"I know it's just….." Blaze was struggling to say how he felt.
"After you lost him, your too nervous to be apart from him, fearing something else will happen to him and you won't be there" Wave finished his statement.
Blaze's expression showed bewilderment as he asked "how did you know that?"
"Because Vine and I went through the exact same thing with Paul. After he saved the world from a meteor he had to leave too, we thought we would never see him again so he might as well have been dead. He came back, and for the first few months, I was a lot like you" Wave admitted.
"Oh…..uh how did you get past it?" Blaze questioned, shocked at how much the Feraligatr understood his situation.
Wave shook his head and said "I came to realize that Paul made his choice, he saved the world knowing the consequences. He may have came back, and I need to continue to respect his decisions and not cling to him hoping to sway them. Life happens no matter what"
About two hours later, the Wailord pulled up to a massive, wooden doc in the middle of nowhere, ocean on all sides as far as the eye could see. The waves were calm and the crystal clear water was breathtaking. There was a single restaurant and house, those two and a Kangaskhan rock was everything the island.
Wave and Blaze dismounted as the wailord completely surfaced and said "I'm gonna get something to eat and rest. I'll be ready to set off in about three hours"
"Where is he going?" Blaze asked.
Wave chuckled and said "Pull out your expedition orb's map, the island of storms is a ways to our north"
"Ok, right here below the water continent right?" Blaze asked as he looked over a small island very near to the center of the world map. The hologram was projected between them by the orb
"Exactly, this is the centermost area of the world that's safe enough for travel, a lot of Wailord liners pass by here, as for where he went. One hundred feet below us is Aquarous, a massive underwater village built into a coral reef" Wave explained.
"Really! Wish I could see it…" Blaze admitted, despite his innate fear of water, like all fire types, the ocean was always fascinating to him.
"You can actually, expedition orb, code 9042, one for underwater travel" Wave ordered the orb.
On command the orb shot a beam of light at Blaze, covering him in a glowing bubble of energy. "Oxygen bubble complete, deactivating in T-Minus 3 hours, repeat code to renew if needed" the orb said before deactivating.
"Wait, really?" Blaze asked as he looked at the bubble hovering a few inches over his skin and even wrapping around his tail flame.
"Yea? How do you think exploration teams handle underwater expeditions. They aren't expected to all have a water type, hop on" Wave revealed as he turned his back and motioned for blaze to get on.
Blaze smiled and grabbed onto the Feraligatr's red fin. He gave Wave a nod as they dove into the crystal blue sea, soon enough he saw Aquarous. It was incredible to say the least, homes built into caves and coral with shops and housing for water pokemon. After a quick tutorial on swimming he looked around and talked to the natives for the next hour.
Soon enough it was time to go, Wave got him back to the surface in time and they set off without issue. After another hour at sea they arrived in Noe Town.
Noe town was very different from Treasure town. The village was built into the side of a coastal cliff with multiple terraces giving the town a layered look. Houses were made of stone with a fountain on the uppermost part of the city.
"Any idea where we are meeting the Fire masters?" Blaze asked.
"You don't meet them right away, according to Paul you train for a while and then get to meet them after passing a few tests. The Pokémon who will take you to the training grounds will meet us at the fountain." Wave said slowly as he remembered Paul's instruction.
The duo came to the fountain overlooking Noe Town and surely enough there was someone waiting for them. It was a bipedal, chicken-like Pokémon that was slightly shorter than Wave. The majority of it's body was red with accents of beige, yellow, and gray. Behind its head, there were beige, hair-like feathers that continued downward and surrounded its chest and abdomen. It had a small red face with a V-shaped crest on its head. it's blue eyes were semicircular with yellow sclera, and its mouth was similar to hooked beak. It had featherless, gray hands with three fingers each and tube like legs covered with shaggy yellow feathers on the bottom of its legs.
"Hello, I'm Pele, I take it that your Blaze?" the Blaziken asked in a calm, feminine voice.
As Alex and Paul passed through Pokemon square, the Fraxure was smiling ear to ear. The air continent was pretty cool, it ws definitely different with it's flat plains and wooded areas, Pokemon Square however was very similar to Treasure Town.
"I have to warn you, Koh has a very...odd way of speaking, keep you cool, you patience will pay off, believe me" Paul warned as they came to the crossroads in front of Team Go-Getter's base
Alex gave a frown and said "i've faced down Dialga, I can handle a odd speaking psychic type"
"Kwaaaah!" A strange, melancholy shout causd Alex and Paul to turn and see a pokemon waiting for them.
Koh was a green condor-like Pokémon with long, red-and-black tipped white wings that covered most of his front. Underneath his wings were designs that resembled red eyes. Along with its main green coloration, his feathers had accents of black, yellow, and red. He had almond eyes, a long, slightly hooked beak, and two long, red feather crests. Koh's yellow talons had only two toes, one in front and one in back.
"It is a pleasure to meet you Alex," Koh greeted.
Author's note- I lied, decided that a chapter dedicated to worldbuilding was in order before going any further. Few things to note..
1. Oh look I explained how underwater dungons work, unlike the games.
2. It is with a heavy heart that I am announcing a hiatus for this story, I imagine it running till the end of the year or a little more. Thank you all for your support! during this I will be beginning a story in a new world that I have always wanted to tackle
