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Chapter 14

This is a Transition Chapter, Not a Filler Chapter, I Swear!

Morgan woke up late the next morning, but that was to be expected when he had quite the eventful night. Somehow, without even needing to see the sun, he knew it was fairly late into the afternoon. It must have been his Pokémon time sensing instincts at work since he knew clocks sure didn't exist in Mystery Dungeon games.

He yawned and stretched out his limbs with a groan before sitting up. Bird still slept beside him, all of her once wet feathers now dry and beautiful. It seemed the downpour from the storm had washed all of that icky saltwater out of her feathers and given her a nice shower.

Morgan quietly got up as to not disturb her, but he wasn't quiet enough. The Chatot opened her eyes and wagged her tail.

"Morning! Morning!" she sang.

"Good morning," Morgan said back with a warm smile. "You're looking better today. Sleep well?"

"Sleep well!" she chirped with a happy tune to her voice.

Morgan chuckled as she flew up to the Croconaw and settled herself on his shoulder. He reached up and scratched her head. As she cooed softly at his touch, Morgan noticed a rolled up piece of paper near his bed. That hadn't been there last night, he was sure of it. Someone had probably placed it there while he was dead asleep, which was pretty creepy, he wasn't going to lie…

He bent down and carefully unrolled the paper to find that someone had written him a note. More surprisingly, he could actually read this letter, as it was written in English, as in human English with a human alphabet.

"Repairs on the ship are going well. I'll need to buy more supplies when I wake up again, but you needn't worry about that. As I said before, I can cover the costs myself. I still estimate it'll be another three nights before the ship is completely repaired, so you better not get too bored on this island.

"-Gallows."

Of course that Sableye knew how to write in human, of course he did.

Morgan rolled the paper back up. So that whole thing with Gallows joining the crew really wasn't a crazy dream after all. Morgan actually had let a ghost captain (well, former captain) on his ship and let him be in charge of maintaining and repairing the ship. Morgan was honestly surprised that he hadn't woken up in the middle of the night to find his throat slit or his heart gleefully ripped out, as Gallows said he'd do if he intended to murder anyone.

The Croconaw wondered where Gallows had run off to, now that the sun was up. Maybe he was asleep somewhere inside the ship, as the ghost had said he was nocturnal. Where exactly he was in the ship, Morgan had no idea and knew it would be pointless to search. The Sableye could have phased himself into the deepest part of the hull that no one could access. It was best just to wait for him to come out when sunset came. Morgan didn't need his crewmates to realize he had let the Sableye join them anyway… he wasn't ready for that headache. Besides, he'd tell them the truth sometime. Eventually. When it wouldn't earn him a slap from Stormy. Or a panic attack from Skipper.

Morgan tucked the paper underneath his bed to make sure no one would find it, even if that was pointless since it wasn't like they would be able to read it anyway. Once the letter was out of sight, he looked over at Bird with a smile.

"Let's go check on the rest of the crew, shall we?" Morgan said. "I bet they woke up a long time ago and they're waiting on the beach right now or something."

Morgan debated getting another string and tying Bird to his arm, but considering how loyal she had proven herself to be during the Ghost Ship attack, maybe she didn't need a leash anymore. Maybe she could be trusted to stay with Morgan just like actual pirates back in the day. They sure didn't have harness or leashes for their pet parrots.

He exited his cabin with Bird and tow and sure enough, she didn't fly away the moment the sunlight hit them. She only started whistling a merry little tune Morgan couldn't help but hum along to. Morgan peered over the ship's side, anticipating to find his crewmates all on the beach and waiting for him impatiently, but was surprised to find no one there.

Confused, Morgan went down into the sleeping quarters to find that everyone was still in their hammocks, fast asleep. Well, more like Skipper and Stormy were still down there in hammocks on opposite sides of the room, probably to avoid another accidental cuddle fest. Slashie was nowhere to be found. However, Morgan didn't find that very surprising; she was probably out and about finding dinner for them. After all, evening wasn't that far away.

The Croconaw climbed out of the rest area and went back on the deck. He was tempted to go mainland and mess around, but he did want to talk to his crewmates as soon as possible. They had some matters to discuss regarding what they were to do now that they were effectively stranded on Starrain Island for three more sunrises, among other things.

So, he and Bird hung out on the deck, Morgan giving the Chatot a few berries they had in their storage. He watched her cutely hold the food in one foot and nibble away at the sweet fruit skin, only to make a huge mess and fling bits of fruit everywhere with every bite. It didn't take long for the deck to become sticky with fruit. Morgan gave a long sigh as he scooped up all the pieces and threw them overboard.

"I don't know what it is with you parrots always throwing all your food everywhere," Morgan groaned. "Why you gotta be so messy?"

As if in response, Bird flung another chunk of fruit in his direction. Morgan rolled his eyes as he picked it up and chucked it into the ocean.

"Oh Jawbone, there you are. You're finally awake."

Morgan turned around to find Magikarp beside the ship, her head raised just above the deck's level. She seemed fairly well rested and in good spirits and surprisingly not covered in all the fruit he had just tossed into the sea. The ugly burn mark on her crest had already begun to fade, returning her scales to their serene blue color.

"Good morning, Magikarp," Morgan said. "Or well, I guess it's 'Good afternoon' at this rate. You feeling okay?"

"Oh, I'm fine," she said bashfully. "I've just been a little anxious… you know, about that Scyther being on this ship. I know you guys are still figuring out if she's joining you, but I don't really know if I can trust her. She looks so… vicious and threatening, you know?"

Morgan thought Slashie was the exact opposite of vicious and threatening, but then again, he wasn't exactly on Scyther menus. Then again, neither were Gyarados, even if they thought they were still Magikarp…

"As long as you dive down real deep into the water, she can't get you," Morgan said instead. "Scyther can't swim very well."

"I certainly hope so," Magikarp said, shrinking deeper into the water now.

Bird threw another fruit chunk at Morgan, but he dodged it easily and watched it hit the side of the ship.

"Well anyway, thanks for helping us out last night," Morgan then said as he picked up the fruit and dropped up into the ocean. "You really saved our hides from those Jellicent."

"I-I don't know what you're talking about?" the Gyarados asked. "I was only looking for you guys before I blacked out from that lightning bolt…"

"Nah, you took care of these Jellicent trying to sink the ship," Morgan said with a laugh. "It was kind of amazing to watch and I'm pretty sure you killed all of them."

"Um… I really don't think that was me that did all that. You must be mistaking me for another Magikarp," Magikarp said bashfully, her whiskers curling in toward her face. "Jellicent are so scary and they don't even let you die right away… I'd rather get eaten by a Pelipper than ever go near a Jellicent. I don't even know who I would have killed all of them in the first place… they're so big and scary and I'm just a weak, pathetic Magikarp…"

"Well you did, as hard as that is to believe," Morgan insisted. "So again, thanks for saving everyone. How does twenty bugs sound as a reward?"

"Oh… this again," Magikarp said. "Again, you really don't have to… especially when that probably wasn't even me who killed all those Jellicent and you probably saw some other Magikarp… but I would like that, yes. And maybe… if they have some… can you get me some Corphish? I've been having a craving for them lately…"

That didn't surprise Morgan. She was a Gyarados after all; she couldn't survive on just bugs her whole life now. She needed real meat. Morgan figured it wouldn't be long before she'd start asking for Tirtouga or Vaporeon. He just hoped that the prices on those Pokémon weren't too high when it came time for that.

"Sure, no problem," he said. "Anything for the almighty Jellicent Slayer."

Morgan then reached up and pat the Gyarados on the head, right on her crest. It felt like a starfish of all things, except a little smoother. However, the moment didn't last long. Magikarp shirked at his touch and immediately retreated back into the water. It seemed she was still a bit shy. Oh well, Morgan didn't take it too personally. Most fish didn't like being touched in general.

He went up to Bird to find she had finished eating her berry. He picked her up and after getting a sack of gems from his cabin, headed mainland in search of Gyarados food. He didn't need to wait for his crewmates to wake up before starting his day. He probably had time to do some shopping before they woke up, considering how tired they probably were.

Though he had already seen the nearest town last night, it seemed like an entirely different place in the daytime. The streets and markets were just so busy with Pokémon of all shapes and sizes bustling out and about while gabbing quite loudly. Birds roosted on rooftops or flew overhead, chirping to their hearts' content. Morgan even thought he saw a few performers in the streets, like a Ditto changing into mirror versions of its customers for their amusement or a Mr. Mime pretending to be stuck in an invisible box.

The town was just so loud and energetic now compared to the more subdued night atmosphere. Morgan didn't know how nocturnal Pokémon slept through all this noise. Maybe they shut off their hearing when they went to sleep. That was the only explanation that made sense.

The Croconaw went to the first market he saw and browsed around until he spotted some dead Sewaddle and Wurmple on sale, ten for thirty gems. He ended up buying a mix of those, along with some Corphish that were strangely in abundance and even cheaper than the bugs, being ten Corphish for twenty gems. Then Morgan remembered this was a seaside town, so of course it would be easier to get some Corphish as opposed to bugs. Besides, Corphish were invasive species in the games. There were probably way too many of them around and this was just one way to get rid of them.

Of course, Morgan didn't wonder if any of these Corphish had been intelligent and were the result of a mass genocide…

After paying for the grub, Morgan headed back to the ship. He let Bird munch on a plain seed he had picked up from the store, walking slow enough that she wouldn't fall off his shoulder while she ate. After all, it wasn't like they were in rush at the moment. Stormy and Skipper weren't even up yet.

Eventually, Morgan arrived at the ship and climbed aboard. He dumped all of the food overboard on Magikarp's side and watched her gobble it all up like a giant koi fish devouring whatever a human had thrown into its pond. Several fish near the ship watched the feast from afar, but didn't dare come closer. After all, no one in their right mind would dare steal food from a Gyarados.

Within heartbeats, Magikarp had swallowed up every last morsel. She didn't resurface, but she did flap her tail at Morgan like a whale, showing her thanks. Maybe. Fish behavior was weird and hard to understand, which was why no one ever wrote about fish.

Just then, Morgan heard footsteps from the sleeping quarters. He looked over to find Stormy and Skipper making their way toward him. They both looked a lot better than they did last night.

"Hi guys," Morgan greeted. "Sleep well?"

"Yeah, I'm feeling better now," Stormy said, rubbing at her eyes with her flippers. "How's the ship coming along? You get someone to fix it up?"

"Yeah, I got someone last night," Morgan answered. "He only works at night though, so we won't be seeing him much."

"As long as he's getting the job done right, I don't care when he works," Stormy said simply. "I'm gonna go look at his progress."

She waddled off to the side of the ship before jumping overboard. A quiet splash followed a heartbeat later. Morgan looked over to Skipper to find the Marshtomp was still waking up, stretching his arms and yawning loudly.

"The one taking care of the ship says we're going to be here for three more sunrises," Morgan said. "So, looks like you and I have got time to relax and do whatever."

"Oh, didn't realize we were gonna be here that long," Skipper said. "We could use a little break… though I do wish we didn't have to be here for three whole sunrises. I wanted to go raid a guild…"

"Maybe we can find one somewhere on this island," Morgan suggested. "Island's pretty large from what I saw on the map. We'd have to be sneaky though since we can't exactly leave the island if things go wrong."

"Yeah, yeah I know," Skipper said bashfully as he played with his hands. "It's just been a while since we've been at a guild. They're fun to loot. And you know, it's fun thinking about how crazy everyone is going because we stole their stuff or killed their Guildmaster. I like how things just… fall apart."

That sinister smile crept back onto Skipper's face. The sight caught Morgan off-guard a heartbeat. Right, he realized, Skipper was only a pirate because he was pissed off at guilds. Looting from them was his way to exacting revenge when he wasn't allowed to join, all for the stupid reason that he and Morgan were the both water-types. Skipper wasn't a saint at all despite probably being one of the nicest Pokémon on the ship. That also wasn't including what could happen if Skipper got mad…

"How long are you planning on doing this exactly?" Morgan then asked. "You know, attacking guilds and all."

"Oh, probably until I've hit just about guild in the world," Skipper said casually, like committing heinous multiple crimes wasn't such a big deal. "Maybe I'll even hit the guilds a second time, just to make sure they're hurting real good."

"That's gonna take you a long time then," Morgan stated. "I imagine there's like what, at least a hundred guilds in existence?"

"Probably, maybe a little more," Skipper said with a shrug. "I don't care how long it takes, though. It's not like I've got anything better to do. Besides, doesn't that work out for you? You'll get to have me around for at least a few cycles as your Quartermaster."

"Yeah, that's true," Morgan admitted.

Truthfully Morgan didn't know how long he wanted to be captain. He was just going along with this until he figured out where the story's plot wanted him to go next. He admittedly had been getting a little concerned this story had no plot since all he was doing was island hopping, but Gallows's words confirmed that something was going on. Some great plot was happening, even if Morgan couldn't see it. It was probably one of those slow burn stories where the writer took their sweet time building everything up so that it was almost a pain to read before letting it all come tumbling down. Then, the story would take you on a wild ride you couldn't get off of, even if you tried.

Well if the story wanted to be a slow burn, then fine, Morgan would let that happen. It'd give him more time to take an easy in this world and amass a formidable crew. Which reminded him…

"When Stormy gets back up here, I wanted to talk to you two about some things we need to take care of," Morgan then said. "As in, things that'll make us better pirates and keep us safe from anyone that tries to mess with us."

"Oh, are we going to talk about finally naming this ship?" Skipper asked. "It feels weird being a pirate and not even knowing what to call my own ship…"

"That wasn't exactly what I planned to talk about… but sure, we can name the ship," Morgan said with a shrug. "I'll even let you pick out the name."

Skipper's sparkled as he swooned like a teenage girl out of a bad romance novel. Just then, Stormy breached from the sea and landed back on the deck. She shook the water from her feathers before waddling over to the boys.

"Ship's looking good so far," Stormy reported. "I don't know who you hired, but you picked out someone good. What a miracle."

"Told you I'd take care of the ship," Morgan sneered. "See, you can trust me not to be an idiot."

"Yeah, sure I can," Stormy squawked sarcastically.

"Anyway, I was just telling Skipper that I wanted to talk to you both about how we can be better pirates," Morgan went on. "How about we go inside my cabin and talk about it there?"

The two nodded and followed the Croconaw into the captain's quarters. The three gathered around the map, which had been pinned back to the large table taking up the center of the room. Morgan debated taking Bird off his shoulder and setting her down beside his bed, just so she wouldn't bother him, but decided against it. She seemed well-behaved enough right now with her just sitting there and occasionally nibbling his scales. He was sure to give her a nut from a drawer though so that she had something to occupy herself with while he conversed.

"So, last night taught me that we kind of suck as pirates," Morgan said.

"We're not that bad…" Skipper said feebly.

"Yes we are," Morgan insisted. "We got lucky with the Ghost Ship last night, that's the only reason why we're not Sharpedo food. If a random lightning bolt didn't happen to hit Magikarp while our ship was being pulled under and she didn't happen to find us, we'd all be getting our souls sucked out. Besides, we're kind of running on a skeleton crew. We only have five crewmates, if we even count Bird and Magikarp. We need more members if we want to be decent pirates. We'll get a lot more done this way and have way more protection from anyone that wants to mess with us."

"We need to do a lot of things if we want to be decent pirates, but yeah, that's a start," Stormy stated. "Dad was always saying you should have at least nine Pokémon onboard."

"Exactly," Morgan said. "So, first thing's first… we need to find another Pokémon to protect our ship during attacks. We need some kind of hull protector so that if Jellicent attack us again, we can fend them off."

"Huh, interesting idea," Stormy replied. "Dad never really had a hull protector, but that's because if we ever got attacked in the water, he, Swirls, and Float went into the ocean and took care of the threat themselves. It would be nice to have someone with that as their designated role though so we could focus on taking care of the deck during an attack."

"Yeah, so maybe we can get some kind of water Pokémon to help us out with that," Morgan stated. "Like I dunno, maybe hire a Samurott or something."

"Nah, we need a Sharpedo, that'll do the trick just fine," Stormy said. "Nobody in their right mind would mess with us if we had a Sharpedo guarding our ship."

"You really want a Sharpedo on our crew, don't you, Stormy?" Skipper asked with a nervous laugh. "Won't they… I dunno… eat us? I thought Sharpedo eat anything that moves…"

"Nah, they don't like Prinplup and Marshtomp," Stormy insisted. "Too muddy and feathery for their tastes. Worst they'll do is bite us before realizing how awful we taste."

Skipper didn't look all that convinced and just kept smiling anxiously. Morgan couldn't blame him since a bite from a Sharpedo probably meant you just lost your whole arm or leg.

"Speaking of new crewmates… we need to talk about Slashie," Stormy then said. "We need to figure out what we're going to do with her."

"I say we let her join us already," Morgan replied. "She's proven herself useful, gives us free food every night, and saved our lives last night. Plus, we do need more crewmates to be efficient pirates."

"I still don't trust her entirely," Stormy grumbled as she folded her flippers across her chest. "She gives me bad vibes. Plus she hasn't proved herself with a looting yet."

"We need crewmates and we've got a perfectly good Scyther with us," Morgan argued. "I say she's proven herself enough. What do you think, Skipper?"

"Yeah, sorry Stormy, but I don't think Slashie is going to hurt us," Skipper said softly. "She's had way too many chances to hurt us and she hasn't. Plus I like the food she makes... I don't think I could live without Slashie's food every night."

"She doesn't even make the food, she just chops it up," Stormy deadpanned before sighing and looking at Morgan. "I still don't think this is a good idea, but if you both want Slashie that badly, then we can make her an official crewmate. I won't like it, but I'll deal with it."

"Then I'll give her the good news when she comes back tonight," Morgan said. "Thanks, Stormy."

The penguin just grumbled. She wasn't saying it, but Morgan knew Stormy was beginning to trust him now. They would have still been arguing if she didn't, maybe even escalating everything into a shouting match. Maybe it was because he had shown actual competence in finding someone to fix the ship. Maybe it was because she felt bad about denying the Ghost Ship's existence and indirectly being responsible for their plight last night. Maybe she was developing some weird crush on Morgan that wouldn't come to fruition for another fifty chapters in an agonizing, slow-paced romance. Whatever it was, it made Morgan feel good to know that she could trust him.

"I will murder both of you though if Slashie does turn out to be a sociopath," Stormy then warned.

And there went that happy feeling. It was a good thing Stormy didn't know there was an actual sociopath sleeping somewhere beneath her feet right now…

"So we're letting Slashie join us, and we're also getting a Sharpedo to defend the ship while we're traveling," Skipper said. "That makes… two watermates, four deckmates, and one pet. We still need more actual crewmates."

"Yeah, we do," Morgan said with a nod. "That's going to be a little trickier since I don't wanna just put out signs on the island asking for new recruits. That's just asking for trouble right there…"

"How we got Slashie isn't much better," Stormy jeered. "She only joined because she thought we were cute."

"Okay yeah, fine," Morgan conceded. "Stormy, how did your dad get his crewmates?"

"I don't know how it worked with everyone, but Gangly joined because he was bored of life and thought pirating would entertain him," Stormy started to say. "Summer used to be neighbors with Dad and they started the whole pirating thing together, Mom fell in love with Dad and wanted to be with him, and we abducted Goldie from his guild when he was still a Psyduck since Dad really wanted another water-type at the time."

So that was what had happened. Captain's crewmates had joined for pretty colorful reasons, just like Morgan's own crewmates. It seemed there was no normal way to recruit Pokémon for your pirate gang. Then again, was any party member in a story ever recruited in a perfectly normal way?

"Well first I'm going to get that hull protector before we get any deckmates," Stormy then said. "In fact, I'm going to go find myself a Sharpedo right after this meeting is over."

"I mean, sure, if you want, go ahead," Morgan said. "It's not like we have anything better to do. But uh, won't you have to swim out a ways to find any Sharpedo?"

"Starrain Island actually sits right next to a massive kelp forest," Stormy said as she pressed a flipper to the map. "Says it right here, see?"

Morgan looked down at the spot to see that there was a small drawing of kelp beside what he assumed to be Starrain Island and had written text beside it. He didn't dare ask what it said, as he wasn't ready to admit he was illiterate just yet. Or ever.

"Yeah, I see it," Morgan said. "I don't know if there's going to be any Sharpedo there, though. They don't really live in kelp forests, do they?"

"They don't, but sometimes they pass by or just come to visit friends," Stormy stated. "So I'm gonna find one and make him ours."

"Ooh can I come with?" Skipper asked eagerly. "I've always wanted to see a kelp forest! I heard they look like forests… but they're underwater!"

"Hence why they're called kelp forests…" Stormy droned. "But fine, sure, I could use an extra pair of eyes to help me out."

Skipper squeed and held his hands to his mouth to hide a giddy smile.

"Good luck finding a Sharpedo," Morgan said. "I'm going to stay up here though since I need to wait for Slashie. Think you'll be back up before sunset?"

"Either a little before or a little after," Stormy assured. "Trust me, I don't like being in the water after dark. Things come out when the sun sets that you don't want to mess with… things that can be even worse than Jellicent."

Morgan didn't know what could possibly be worse than ghost jellyfish that could sink your entire ship and then feast on your soul for sunrises, but based on Stormy's dead serious expression and Skipper's trembling, apparently there really was something worse than that.

Morgan knew better than to ask. He didn't need creepypasta fuel in this story. Well, more than there was already.

"Anyway, uhhh, that's all I wanted to talk to you guys about," Morgan then said. "Oh actually, there is one more thing. Skipper, what did you want to name the ship?"

Skipper immediately perked up. He giggled eagerly as he covered his mouth with his hands in an attempt to suppress his joy.

"Let's call it The Manaphy," Skipper said with a dreamy look in his eyes. "I like that name."

"The Manaphy," Morgan deadpanned. "As in that stupid water balloon that can swap people's hearts or whatever."

"Yeah!" Skipper said fervently, not even picking on Morgan's disdain.

Morgan thought that was the worst name someone could ever name a ship. When Morgan thought of a ship's name, he thought of something imposing, something respectable like the Leviathan or Queen Anne's Revenge. He did not think the name of one of the most pathetic legendaries in existence was a respectable name to give anything. Morgan would have taken The Keldeo over The Manaphy, at least Keldeo was a horse, not whatever Manaphy was supposed to be.

"Funny you should say that, Skipper," Stormy then said. "That's already the name of this ship."

"What," Morgan said flatly.

"Yeah, Dad called this ship The Manaphy," Stormy said plainly. "He liked the idea of how free Manaphy were. I just didn't tell you that in case you wanted to name the ship something else."

"Oh no, The Manaphy is perfect!" Skipper said, eyes glowing. "We don't need to change the name at all!"

Morgan was about to say they should change the name because it was still dumb, but then remembered an awful rumor he had heard back in the human world. In the human world, it was considered a bad omen to change a ship or boat's name. Doing so would only invite tragedy to the crew.

Maybe that myth didn't exist in this world, but the heartbeat Morgan remembered the myth, he got paranoid. Nothing would probably happen because he called the ship The Kyogre from that sunrise forward, but he couldn't be so sure.

"Alright alright, fine," Morgan then said as he rubbed his temples. "We'll keep the ship's name as is."

Skipper squeed while Stormy snickered at Morgan's obvious distaste for the ship's name. Morgan hoped Pokémon other than Captain and Skipper actually respected Manaphy's name, otherwise he'd be the laughing stock of the entire pirate world. Then again, he had a Gyarados pulling his ship, so maybe anyone would think twice about teasing him. Well, until they found out how much of a laughing stock that Gyarados was…

"This meeting is done," Morgan said, still reeling from the ship's name. "You two go find your stupid Sharpedo or whatever."

The two bid him their goodbyes before exiting the cabin. A few heartbeats later, Morgan heard a couple of splashes. He inhaled deeply as he stepped out of the cabin himself and onto the dock the ship was tied to. He collapsed on his back and absently watched Bird leap off his shoulder and strut around the dock, poking at random things.

And so he waited for everyone to come back, basking in the sun like the reptile he was.