Summary: Not even the water is safe in this sadistic world of killer creatures. But what does this mean for Larson and his friends?
Note: Enjoy everyone. Don't forget to let me how you like it so far.
Hexy asked me, "Now what"?
I shrugged, "You're going to ask me that kind of question? I have no clue. At this point I guess we just wonder from place to place in hopes of finding Ethan. I'm drained".
That said, we decided to set up camp for the night and had ourselves some salad and berries. After everyone went to sleep though, I felt a tentacle touch my shoulder while I was trying to catch some Zs.
I shooed it away, "Mmm". I felt it again so I sat up. Everyone was asleep except for who was trying to get my attention. Frillish. "Oh, sorry. What is it"? I asked her.
She floated down next to my face, 'Frill'? She tugged on my sleeping bag zipper. "You want to sleep with me"? She nodded her pretty pink head, 'Frillish'.
I think she must've felt scared about what happened to her so, I unzipped it and though a bit crowded there was more than enough room luckily, especially considering she didn't really have bones.
I could feel her warmth next to mine. Honestly it was nice sleeping with someone else for a change. Frillish fell fast asleep, putting her bulbous head up to my chest. "Goodnight Frillish", I said with a smile.
The next morning we just wandered. After awhile of walking, Hexy came over to me. "Are you lost"? She asked.
I didn't know myself, "I think we could be. It doesn't make much difference though". I was out of energy today; but that'd change.
Hexy suggested, "Well, if we're just wandering aimlessly, I think I might know where we are. Lake Verity should be down south from here".
"Lake Verity"? I questioned, hoping she'd elaborate.
"Legend has it that there's a cave in the center of the lake you can find Mesprit. She might know where Ethan is. It's a slim chance but if Arceus and Giratina are real there's a good chance she is. Maybe reading your emotions can give her insight and help out". Hexy seemed confident in her idea.
I did too. She hasn't steered me wrong before so far and she was frankly one of the most knowledgeable person I've known. "Okay. Sounds like a plan".
The day was young and once we found the clearing we took in the view. The lake glistened, but was very flat, with no waves whatsoever. "Wow. This place sure is nice".
Hexy wasn't as impressed, "Look's like a giant cereal bowl. Trees all around and the lake is just water with no islands. I can see clear across it".
I shrugged. "Well, you've gotta admit the vastness of it is something". I placed my hands above my eyebrows to look around. "So, where is this Mesprit supposed to be"?
I heard a laugh. "Ha ha. You're not going to find a lake guardian just standing here silly. You're going to have to go out there yourself".
I turned to see a pretty blue haired girl with sandals and patterned swim shorts with wave motifs. Her eyes were about on par with Hexy's for beauty. Deep blue with white pupils; never seen anything like them.
"Um, hi. Who are you"? I asked the young, flat chested lady.
She introduced herself, "Oh, sorry. I'm Lana. I'm an aspiring water type trainer. In fact I've already got a bunch back home. I only brought my best with me for today though".
Hexy was observant. "So, what's a girl like you just doing all the way out here at Lake Verity alone? Just by your shorts I can tell you aren't a local".
Lana smiled. "Yeah, I'm actually Alolan. But I did come with a friend. Mallow. Haven't seen her in awhile though. Hopefully she'll be back soon. Anyways, I came out here with her to find another water type for my team. A red gyrados".
"A red gyrados"? I wondered.
Lana balled her hands and held them out in her excitement. A common gesture among people I've noticed. "Yeah, I guess it happens due to forced evolution or something. I'm hoping I can capture him or her".
Hexy and I decided to go off and look for Mesprit. "Well, good luck with that", waved Hexy.
Lana shouted to us. "Hey, wait. Maybe we could help each other out"?
I turned back to her, "I'm listening".
She pointed to her large dinghy. "I've got a boat if you guys are planning to go out to the lake. I only ask you help me find the red gyrados while we're out there also looking for Mesprit".
I agreed, and Hexy went along with it. "Deal".
We all hopped in the boat, with our pokemon all stored away. "So, this friend of yours? Marshmallow"? She corrected me, "Ha ha, just Mallow".
"Right, Mallow. Isn't she going to wonder where you and your boat went"? I asked.
Lana wasn't worried. "It'll be fine. If she comes back she'll just see us out here. It's pretty clear weather. Also she knows where I was standing. Left a little flag back there just in case too".
She took out her pokeball, "Hey, do you two mind if I take out Primarina"?
I didn't, "Sure. Go ahead. I think I'll let Frillish out for a bit. She loves water after all".
We released our pokemon. The primarina wasn't one I was very familiar with so I took out the pokedex to scan her. 'Primarina, the soloist pokemon. Possibly based on the mythical siren. It's beautiful voice is used both to attack it's foes and lull humans and other pokemon into happiness'.
I leaned over the boat and got a better look at the water dwelling pokemon. She began to sing in a human like way akin to an opera singer almost. A bit weird hearing it come from a pokemon, but it was pretty nonetheless.
I complimented her, "Those are some vocal chords you got there Primarina".
She covered her mouth and blushed. Lana gave her story as she rowed us. "I've had her for awhile now. A couple of team skull grunts were harassing her one day, so I used Lapras to turn them into popsicles. She was pretty injured though so I brought her home and nursed her back to health. We've been inseparable ever since".
"You really care about your pokemon, huh"? I stated obviously.
She was all too eager to agree. "I love these creatures. Especially water types. I can't bear to see them suffer, you know"?
"Well, you seem like a very sweet girl". Lana blushed a little herself. "Thank you".
Hexy noticed too and glared at me. "What? It was a compliment".
Frillish and Primarina seemed to be interacting well. Frillish tried to mimic her singing, 'Frill frill frill frill frill frillllllll'.
Primarina seemed to try and tutor her, 'Pri pri pri pri pri priiiiiiii'.
It went back and forth between the two until Frillish seemed to get it down, 'Frillllllllll'. She sang a high note. Primarina clapped with her flippers.
I clapped myself, "You two sound amazing". Frillish blushed, while Primarina did so again. This time, she even winked at me, which made me a little red too.
Frillish noticed though and yelled at her, 'Frillish'?!
We finally reached the center of the lake. Lana stopped rowing, "Here we are. It's said that this is the spot where Mesprit lives". She looked around for her own goal, "Do you guys see a red gyrados anywhere"?
As we began looking, I took a look down at the water. We turned out to get more than we bargained for. "Hey, what's that"? A huge gyrados sized shadow slithered below the surface.
Everyone took a look. Lana squeed, "Maybe that's the gyrados. It's the right size".
Myself, I was a bit on edge. Gyrados always scared the crap out of me in all honesty. Probably the scariest sea faring pokemon aside from sharpedo. Boy was I wrong.
Suddenly, an oval shaped object floated to the top and without thinking I grabbed it. "Hey, what's this"? I pulled it out and Lana screamed, "AHHHHHHH"!
It was a skull. A human skull. I dropped it back in the water, "Where'd that come from"?
Two seconds later, the full body surfaced. Then, I heard Lana scream even louder. "What is it"? I turned around to her and then looked all around. Skeletons of both humans and pokemon, mostly water types floating to the top. But unlike the one I just grabbed, these ones weren't pure skeletons. Freakily, they still had their skins.
The dead bodies were entirely shriveled up and the eyeballs were sucked in too, while the skin was tightened against the bones themselves, like having the ribs completely visible through the flesh even though they weren't sticking out.
A dark skinned body then hit the boat, with green hair. I found a pink flower that must've been a part of it. "What's this"?
Lana saw the flower, "Hey, that's Mallow's". She climbed over to my side of the boat and her eyes widened to burst. She let out the most bloodcurdling scream I'd ever heard, "AHHHHHHHHHHHH"!
She puked over the side and started crying, "Mallow. Crying...Mallow. No, no, no, no! I shouldn't have let her go off on her own, I should've…oh Mallow".
I held her to try and comfort her, "I'm so sorry". She held me tightly, "There, there. We're here and…".
Hexy called to us, "Sorry to cut this short you two, but I think whatever that huge shadow was is coming up to surface".
With a huge splash, that sent the boat back a little, we were confronted by the evil creature. Lana could immediately tell what it was, "A gorebyss"?
I took out my pokedex, 'Gorebyss, the south sea pokemon. It lives at extreme depths. Though visually elegant and beautiful, it is actually quite sadistic. It uses its tubular mouth to siphon the bodily fluids and drain its prey completely of both blood and vital organs if hungry enough'. I shook my head in disgust, "So it's a sea mosquito".
Lana pointed out, "They're not supposed to get this big".
Inside of its tube mouth was a gyrados whisker sticking out of it. Convenient with how this gorebyss was the size of one. "I think it's safe to say your red gyrados is gorebyss soup", added Hexy.
The gorebyss slurped up its 'leftovers'. Hexy decided to joke at the wrong time, "Guess this shouldn't be a surprise to any of us. It's name is literally a combination of 'gore' and 'abyss'.
I called over Frillish, "Well, whatever the case, this thing needs to go".
Lana called Primarina, "We'll help. Mallow was my best friend".
I gave Frillish an order. "Use Shadow Ball on this monster. A LOT of them". She created dozens with her tentacles and tossed them like baseballs all around the gorebyss' body. It let out a large scream, 'Gorebyss'!
Lana yelled to Primarina, "Okay Primarina, use Hydro Pump". She raised her voice and took a deep breath, before blasting a huge jet of water from her mouth. It hit the gorebyss directly.
The sea serpent cried out again and retreated back into the water with a huge splash that nearly capsized us. Lana almost fell over but I managed to catch her, "Gotcha".
"We need to do everything to stay OUT of the water. I think Primarina should come in the boat. Frillish can fly at least". She agreed.
Primarina climbed in, and we all waited for the monster to return. "This is like jaws. That thing will keep coming back until we're all husks", Hexy compared.
Lana seemed to change her sad demeanor to more serious. "I know water types, and with that you're most definitely right. When a gorebyss finds prey it won't stop until it's full". She lamented, "I just never realized they would attack people".
I asked, "How'd it even get into Lake Verity in the first place? The pokedex said it's from the sea".
Lana thought about it, "There must be a waterway underneath the lake or something. That's the only way she could be here".
Hexy basically told us to shut it, "Well, that's not important right now. What is important is that you two and your pokemon get ready for when it comes back".
It didn't take long for it to return. Once again our boat jolted, but this time the gorebyss attacked. It used Coil, of course coiling itself up. Not good, since now she'd be stronger and more durable at least by a little.
"Okay Frillish, use Energy Ball. That should hurt it". Generating a big green ball, she lobbed it overhead at the pink pokemon, hurting it rather nicely.
Lana ordered Primarina. "Use Dazzling Gleam Primarina". She raised her arms and created a large flash of multiple colors that disoriented and hurt the gorebyss. Lana cheered, "Great job Primarina".
The gorebyss was angry, and hungry now though from its injuries. It used a form of Draining Kiss. It smashed its tail onto the water and everyone fell out of the boat, though it wasn't capsized.
Using its tube mouth, it stabbed Primarina right through the abdomen and lifted her up. Lana tried to reach out, "Primarina"!
Primarina gave a faint smile looking at her friend and simply waved her flipper, while the gorebyss sucked her dry right in front of Lana and our eyes. Frillish flew at the monster to try and help her but the gorebyss flung her away with its tail.
Upon finishing its meal, it tossed Primarina's drained corpse to the side. On top of everything, that of course meant gorebyss was now fully healed again if nothing else.
Lana was livid, "YOU'LL PAY FOR THIS"!
I grabbed her shoulder, "Not now she won't. Come on, back into the boat". We all climbed in.
The gorebyss dived back underwater. I had an idea though. "it's time", I looked to Hexy.
She immediately knew what I meant, "You sure we should use it here? It could screw up the world permanently this time. There's no info on that thing".
I nodded my head, "I know, but it's the only pure electric type I have on hand. We're killing this thing. Now".
Lana was shocked at what we said, "Kill it? But it's a pokemon".
Hexy gave her a light slap, "Wake up! Face the reality. We've been doing so for nearly two weeks now. Some pokemon are just evil. Maybe not all gorebyss' are, but this one DEFINITELY is. So either we kill it or it kills us. Either way, sometimes that's the bottom line".
Lana listened to every word she said, and didn't say anything else. I assured it, "It's the only way to get out alive Lana. Sorry you have to go through this. But I already have myself multiple times".
"Come on out MissingNo". It beeped, "Use your yellow form". It transformed into so, 'Beep'.
Lana was naturally curious, "What is that thing"?
I replied, "It's a long story, but let's say it's a unique 'pokemon' and has multiple forms. That said I shouldn't have to use Distort".
The monster rose again, but we were ready. "MissingNo, use Dsicharge". It floated upwards and shot out a shockwave from its body that zapped the gorebyss, and since it was in the water already, the damage was doubled.
It countered with Water Gun by trying to spit out a stream of liquid from its tube mouth at MissingNo, but it dodged it rather well. "Great, now use Thunderbolt".
MissingNo charged itself up and I could see it surging with lightning. It shot out a stream of electricity at the serpent, shocking it to its core. I swear it heart almost stopped. "Great. Nice one MissingNo. This should almost be over".
Gorebyss upped the ante, using Rain dance, it spun around in place until it began to of course rain. The water began to pour onto MissingNo, causing it minor but continuous damage. I knew we had to end this here and now.
"MissingNo, use Electro Ball". Generating more electricity, it tossed the orb at gorebyss. In a last ditch effort, the serpent tried Draining Kiss again.
After the orb hit her, she tried to jam her tube mouth into MissingNo. Little did she know that she'd get nothing out of it. Stabbing it, she began to try and suck up the nutrients, but none was to be had.
The victory was in hand, "Now MissingNo, finish this with Thunder"! It shot a huge burst of lightning up into the sky and in a flash it came down like a storm cloud, zapping and frying the gorebyss.
It cried out in pain, its huge body falling onto the water's surface, floating still on the lake. One of the small seashells it had on its body floated over and I scooped it and into my backpack. "You won't be needing that anymore you sea scum".
We rowed to shore and while me and Hexy were both glad to be alive, Lana was just distraught. Both of her best friends had died horrifically, and there was nothing she could do to get them back.
I walked over to her, "Are you going to be alright"?
Her eyes were full of tears and her voice shaky, "I don't know".
I reached into my backpack and pulled out a couple hundred pokedollars, "Here. You said you lived in Alola right? You might not have gotten that gyrados, but now you can get back home to your mom and your other pokemon friends".
She gave me a huge hug, "Thank you...thank you so much for both of your help…". I just held her back.
After the long hug, she wiped the tears from her eyes, "If you both...sniff...if you both ever find yourselves in Alola. You're welcome to come by my place. I'll help you any way I can".
We appreciated it, "Thank you, and you're welcome".
She walked away, "Oh, and you can keep the boat if you still need it. Goodbye, and good luck with Mesprit".
Me and Hexy looked to each other. We weren't done with this place yet. So I returned MissingNo, kept Frillish out and we both rowed back out to the center of the lake. Possibly diving this time.