AN: Update of the day. I 100% did not almost completely sorta forget to update. Not at all. (Inside server joke) I blame the duck.
Shoutout to: LiveMan, ArktheLegend, Abbadon44, Andrew1011, Haseo187, and TheSummerSet. You guys/gals/others are awesome and I appreciate the reviews.
Especially you Haseo187, thank you for that beautiful review. Not that the others are not wonderful but well… he/she/it wins. Have a metaphorical cookie. Lol thanks guys.
Disclaimer: I own nothing except my own content and my balls.
Chapter 6: The Sunken Ship
It took two days for my body to fully recover from the rest of my injuries.
The scars were prominent, and the burn marks weren't going away, but the injuries themselves were healed.
I tested it by doing some vigorous stretches and light work outs but aside from the physical strain, I didn't feel any pain.
In fact, my body felt stronger than ever. I didn't even need the last Oran berry I kept for emergencies.
"Hah, I guess all those nutrients helped me grow a bit stronger."
My comment was met with the watchful eyes of an apex predator.
My confidence wasn't really reinforced when an excited Khione tackled me and I fell just as easily as I did before.
But hey, it was adorable.
Being fully healed up, the four of us began making our way back down the mountain.
Deciding to play it safe, not knowing if any other Pokemon called the lower portion of the other sides home, we went down the way we came up, from the southwest direction.
What really came as a surprise to me was how much easier it was for not just me, but all of us.
Without the ache of the burns, and whatever else happened to my body while I healed, we managed to make the climb down in a single day.
Albeit, it took the full day and we had to set up camp at the base of the mountain.
The jungle didn't come directly up to the rocky mountain side but left around a dozen or so feet of space where not many Pokemon were visibly seen.
At the same time, there weren't any caves at the bottom of the mountain.
'Perhaps those tunnels from the top are the only way down into the interior. Something to consider exploring one day.'
Camping on the ground was a different experience from up top.
The wind was soft and quite, the sounds of insects and rustling of branches and leaves resounded, the dark of the forest instilled caution, and the various cries of Pokemon echoed through the tree's.
It was exciting, invigorating, and exhausting all at the same time.
The four of were constantly waking up from sounds but we would learn with time how to sleep and be aware at the same time.
I did my best to follow the path I took to the mountain, now realizing how much danger the untraveled path's held.
It was decently simple once I reached the river but getting there took a bit of navigating.
Once more, I was treated to the peaceful sight of various weaker first evolution Pokemon roaming about, swimming, drinking, resting, and going about their lives.
The feral ones were quick to run away when they noticed us but the intelligent ones didn't run at first.
They would look at us and act with caution but otherwise didn't run or attack unless we made a move.
Khione, the happiest and most energetic of the trio, was bounding around and greeting a few of the more curious ones.
A curious Sentret and Bellsprout even ran alongside our walking pace for a while as they played with her.
I felt like a proud parent, seeing my child make friends.
It was a beautiful scene, one that ended with the sudden entrance of three feral rattata who surprise attacked Bellsprout and took its life before anyone could react.
Khione stood frozen for a moment before lashing out with fury at the Rattata with her siblings and even the Sentret coming in to help.
I didn't even make it within striking distance between all three were dead.
The next leg of the journey was spent with me carrying a crying Khione and sending calm and peaceful feelings to her to calm her down.
One always had to be prepared in the wild, since you really never know what could happen.
Khione would grow stronger from this.
More aware and ready, I was sure of it.
The Sentret accompanied us a while more before returning to its home after waving goodbye.
We met other Pokemon along the way.
A Pidgey even landed on my shoulder and I gave the curious and friendly bird a piece of jerky and sent an emotion of joy to it.
It cried happily and rubbed it's little head against mine before taking off once more.
From the water in the river, I watched on as a Quagsire was teaching a trio of Wooper how to do something.
It was quite adorable to watch them try to mimic the evolved Pokemon and fall down before getting right back up like a bouncy ball.
The forest was alive and thriving, and the Pokemon were making each day worth living, for no one knew if it would be your last.
It made each day hold more worth than a year in peace.
Everyone truly lived in the moment.
It only took a few hours to smell the scent of the ocean and see the white sands of the beach through the canopy of tree's.
Breaking through the tree's, I once more arrived at my starting location. I even saw the log I sat on after waking up.
Standing there and looking and the glittering clear tropical water, the same way I did only days earlier, had me in a strange mood.
'It was only five, maybe six days since I was here before, and yet, it feels much longer.'
I looked on, watching the waves and occasional spotting Corsola, Remoraid, and Goldeen jump out of the water, snapping up insects and diving back in.
I even saw what looked like Tentacool tentacles come up to grab a Pidgey and drag it into the water only for a burst of water to come up and a wet Pidgey to escape with a cut off piece of a tentacle in its beak.
I smirked at the sight.
Everyone was fighting to live, for food, for survival.
And that's what I accomplished in these days.
I survived.
My gaze trailed to the trio of Eevee dancing in the sand, amused with the strangely soft ground.
Nox sneezed and blew a cloud of sand into Isis and Khione's face.
Khione teared up and Nox ran as Isis chased him for revenge and pressed his head into the sand.
I laughed and went over to wipe Khione's face.
"Eeeee."
"It's ok girl, come here, let's get that pretty face out again."
She scrunched up in discomfort as I cleaned her face until the sand was out of her fur.
"There we go."
"Ee!"
She jump tackle/hugged me and I hugged her back before letting her down to go get revenge on a head bowed Nox as Isis lectured him.
Khione jumped on his back and play hit him before laughing and the lecture was gone as Nox play wrestled with her and Isis, the responsible big sister, tried in vain to resist for all of three seconds before jumping in herself.
The scene was incredibly amusing but I turned back to the ocean and my thoughts.
'It wasn't just me. We all survived, together. And things are different now.'
My eyes flashed with an inner fire.
'I know my direction. I settled who I am for now. I understood what I could of my situation. I discovered my capabilities. I discovered a place to call home. I have allies I can trust my back to. And most importantly, I let go of what once was and accepted what is.
I am Orion. I'm not the nameless child unsure of what he was being carried onto the beach unconscious and wounded by the kind gesture of a Charizard.
I'm not simply the child who lived in this body before.
I'm not simply the college student who died from a rock climbing accident.
I'm Orion, the combination of broken elements of both souls, making something new.
A new person, a new identity, and a new soul, built off the backs of the first two.
They are my past lives.
Why I came to be doesn't matter.
I just am, I don't need a reason for more.'
A wave hit the beach and sprayed foam and wind at me as my hair blew back.
'One does not need a reason to be alive.'
In that moment, it felt like something crystallized inside me.
It was indescribable, but it happened.
Perhaps a core of who I am, a recognition of what I am, or some power I had yet to discover.
Whatever it was, I was satisfied and confident I was moving in the right direction.
My body reacted to my thoughts and emotions as I walked forward into the surf.
Clear tropical ocean water washed against the shore as I stepped in.
Outside of my knife, I had left my boots and supplies on the shore, feeling the wet sand beneath my feet and between my toes.
The salty scent of the ocean filled my nostrils.
"Ee!"
I turned back and saw the trio looking at me but I just laughed and waved.
"Don't worry, I'll be right back."
"Ee!"
The three went to step forward but then paused.
Salty water wasn't good for their fur.
They were in an awkward spot of wanting to join me and not wanting to enter the water.
I laughed and waved.
"Relax, I'll be fine. If I don't give you a sign for ten minutes, you can come after me. Deal?"
Nox and Khione didn't seem to agree but Isis met my eyes and nodded after a moment.
"Ee."
I smirked at her.
"I'll be right back girl, I promise."
She nodded and laid down, watching me closely with the other two following her example.
I shook my head and turned back before going deeper in.
'Here go's nothing.'
I sucked in a deep breath and went down in only my briefs and holding a knife.
Interestingly enough, despite it being salt water, my eyes weren't bothered.
Under the surface, the clear water revealed another world to me.
Like stepping into a portal, the underwater landscape was revealed before my eyes.
The white sand went downward on a gradual slope until it cut off and an expansive and beautiful coral reef spread like a miniature forest on the ocean floor.
Schools of fish Pokemon swam through the water and between the reefs.
Magikarp, Remoraid, and Goldeen swam in colonies as they drifted here and there.
Down in the reef, dancing pink coral, otherwise called Corsola, moved around happily as they nibbled on coral and compared their horns to actual coral for some reason.
Krabby moved around randomly on the ocean bed and I even caught sight of a Corfish.
I swam deeper in and saw giant clams I believed to be Shellder's. My guess was confirmed as I saw one crack open it's shell and eyes with a long pink tongue became visible.
I marveled at it all. Its sheer natural beauty.
'I don't have any real memories of ocean diving before but this is incredible.'
The water level gradually got deeper as I moved in the direction I believe the ship was in.
I came up for air a few times and to wave to the trio that I was fine before continuing. I found the maximum I could hold my breath was around three minutes.
The ground was still visible from the sunlight when I reached the ship a few minutes later.
'Thankfully, the sea bed around the island is pretty shallow. If the ship was beneath forty meters I would have to find a different solution.'
Back on earth, the world record for free diving was two hundred and fourteen meters. Casual free divers could enjoy up to forty meters before they really would have to seriously train for more.
But here? The sea bed was within forty meters, the water was clear enough to see through like the Mediterranean, and the sunlight illuminated the ship reck easily.
'Always be grateful for the little things in life.'
I popped up to the surface one more time, getting some air and waving to the shore to show I was still ok before I took a deep breath and dove back in.
Getting closer to the reck, I realized just how badly the explosion tore it apart.
The hull was practically blown right open on one side and the shrapnel had torn large chunks out of various parts of the ship.
I started my search by going around it, trying to find anything that might have fallen out and around.
After two rebreathers, I couldn't find much. Just a shit ton of broken metal that I had no intention of moving.
Things were still heavy underwater and I was not about to struggle to carry large pieces of metal without a good reason.
During my perimeter search, I found a few holes I could enter through to search inside.
I refilled on air and made for one of them.
'Strangely enough, with the light shining in, this feels sort of like playing assassins creed haha.'
The amused thought went through me and I froze for a moment.
The hairs on the back of my neck rose as I felt a gaze on me.
Looking around, I didn't see anything besides some school of fish nearby, not even Pokemon but just something that looked like herrings or something similar.
My heart rate started rising a bit and my eyes kept scanning my surroundings.
That was until I felt something brush against my foot and rapidly spun around in a cloud of bubbles to match eyes with, a terrifying, an awe inspiring, a….a….a Feebas.
"Fee."
My eye twitched at its call.
The thing was two feet, had a brown body with irregular spots, blue hand like fins, a blue tail, weirdly human like red lips, and a dorsal fin in a triangular shape with a hole in the middle.
It honestly looked old and shabby.
I sent it a glare.
'Damn fish, scared the crap out of me!'
The fish was intelligent, I could see the spark in its sunken eyes. But the damn thing ignored my glare and swam closer.
It circled around me a few times before just going still and floating beside me.
I rose a brow at it and reached out a hand to pet it but it swam away from my hand.
And then it had the nerve to just come back next to me.
My eye twitched again for some reason. I felt like it was mocking me.
Still, my time was wasted on the fish and I had to go for more air.
The thing actually followed me to the surface and back.
'What the hell? Does it want something from me?'
It wasn't exactly doing anything besides floating around me so I ignored it and continued my mission.
Unfortunately, I happened to miss the simple fact that it's tail fin was damaged and slowly leaking blood into the water.
Getting into the ship was easy, getting around the place inside was not.
Fallen beams, warped metal, and piles of debris often got in my way.
Thankfully, I found a pocket of stale air inside.
It must have been the mess hall on the ship from the size of the space but the ceiling was intact and a pocket of air was pushed upward.
Sunlight still came in through the cracks and holes of the walls so I was never moving in darkness.
Or well, I didn't enter parts of the ship in the dark.
I might be brave but I do have limits. Swimming into dark water under the ocean without a water Pokemon of my own was one of them.
I passed my ten limit check in time and I knew I had to get back to the surface.
'I don't want those three doing something rash.'
It was when I turned to head back that my eyes found something.
During my search, I found loads of crates, boxes, or other supplies cracked open.
The stuff inside was long since soaked and ruined, or even just empty from things floating away.
But just then, something reflected off the sunlight coming in and caught my eye.
Inside the remains of what was probably someone's room, I saw a thick case trapped under the metal frame of a bed.
Swimming over, I tried to lift up the frame but it wouldn't budge. The groaning of metal was loud under water but otherwise nothing happened.
The exertion however made me need to refill on air.
'Ok, let's try use my brain here.'
Grabbing a long piece of broken metal, I lodged it under the metal frame and tried to use leverage.
The metal groaned, I groaned, and the damn Feebas just watched me work while blowing bubbles.
'Can you be helpful or something?'
The fish noticed my look and pointed a flipper at itself.
"Fee?"
My eye twitched again.
'Yes you! Who the hell else is down here!'
I pointed a finger at the case while I held the metal piece.
The Feebas followed my finger and its eyes landed on the case.
'Yes! Get the case fish dude and I'll give you some food or something later.'
It looked at the case, then back at me, and then back at the case.
I felt hope bloom as it began to move.
And then the hope died as it swam to me and put a flipper on my shoulder.
I felt my temper flare.
'DON'T ENCOURAGE ME YOU BASTARD!'
In my anger, I didn't notice the spark of bluish purple appear around my eyes as the metal piece I was using as leverage was pushed hard upward and dislodged the metal bed frame with a loud groan of metal.
I winced at the sound and blinked as my eyes returned to normal.
I looked at the case out in the open and then back to the Feebas.
The fish also had slightly wide eyes as it looked down at its flipper like it discovered it was secretly a legendary Pokemon.
I rolled my eyes at the damn fish and moved over to the case.
'The metal must have been weaker than I thought.'
The case was decently thick and it had a metallic nametag on it. It was the tag that caught my eye when it reflected the sunlight.
[Property of Pete the Pirate. DO NOT TOUCH. If found, please call XXX or return to the Golden Hand pirate ship. Thank you.]
I furrowed my brows after reading it and just looked at the case.
'I feel like this belonged to a dumbass. I'm not sure if I want to touch it….'
The need for air reminded me I was on a timer and I shrugged.
'Hopefully, the salt water killed off any bacteria from the original owner.'
The case was locked and had a padlock on it but otherwise…
I moved it around a bit and smiled at its weight.
'It's light. No water inside. Good, at least I got something from this trip.'
Being underwater was fun and all, but I didn't want to be down here too long. I was a land creature and I liked air.
Lugging the case behind me slowed me down a bit, but not enough to make it difficult.
I grabbed some more stale air and went for the exit with my trusty useless Feebas at my side.
And then something hit me like a baseball bat and I got pushed back into the ship by the force.
I was completely unprepared for the strike and accidentally lost some air while salty water got up my nose.
I spasmed for a moment and rushed to the air pocket.
"*Gasp* Huuuuuuu, *cough* *cough* What the fuck *cough* just hit me!"
I took a breath and looked back under the water and my eyes widened at the sight of a floating blue bag with two red crystals on top.
Looking farther down, I noticed a pair of feral eyes, a sharp blue beak, and two waving tentacles.
A fucking Tentacool had entered the entrance of the hole in the ship.
'Fuck me.'
I searched around for the Feebas but didn't see it.
'Where did that damn fish go?'
I looked behind me to try and find another exit and I felt a vein on my head burst to life.
The Feebas was behind me.
'What the fuck do I look like to you?!'
It's eyes looked back at me and I swear it's expression was condescending as all hell.
It's eyes practically screamed 'Be useful to me.'
I flipped the fish off and turned back to see the Tentacool floating closer.
It was particularly fast or large but for a jellyfish with eyes, it looked menacing.
'Why the hell didn't he just swim away? A Feebas could outswim a slow jellyfish any day.'
I scanned the fish again and only from my new angle beside it did I see the lightly bleeding wound on its tail fin.
I felt ready to burst a blood vessel at the sight.
'So. It planned to use me as a decoy this whole damn time?!'
I grabbed for the fish and tried to throw it at the approaching predator but it dodged and smacked me with its fin while trying to push me forward.
The two of us fought as we ran out of space deeper into the area of the ship until we stopped and turned back to the Tentacool.
It was do or die.
I picked up a metal piece of debris. The case was dropped back at the entrance.
Feral Pokemon were not as durable as intelligent ones for whatever reason so I had a shot of damaging it.
Feebas steadied itself and a cold mist started coming off its form.
'Oh. It knows Mist, that could help.'
My bare skin grew goosebumps as the cold mist spread through the space and obscured direct sight. But we knew where it was.
I stabbed forward with the metal piece just as Feebas glowed white.
And then, as I felt my makeshift weapon find purchase, Feebas used tackle….
On the crack in the wall behind us.
'You fucking coward!'
The metal groaned and the crack widened enough for him to slip through.
'He fucking left me!'
I was so caught off guard by the action I didn't notice the tentacle coming for me before it was too late.
I was snagged around the waist and only had time to put the metal debris between me and the tentacle wrapping around me.
But the worst part was, it was squeezing the air out of me.
I grunted under the strain.
'I , Will , Not , Die , You , Fucking , Dentist , Office , Decoration!'
I pushed against the metal debris piece with one arm and reached for the knife tucked into the waist band of my briefs and began wildly stabbing the tentacle.
'Fuck you! Fuck you! Fuck you!'
"Teennnnnn!"
Blood pooled into the water and I heard the Tentacool let out a wail of pain.
But unfortunately for me, it had two tentacles.
The second one came and wrapped painfully around my ankle.
Just then however, from the crack the Feebas escaped from, a ball of yellow light traveled in and struck the Tentacool.
It froze and I noticed it's eyes growing hazy.
But more than that, it's grasp loosened and I immediately swam away.
I jammed the metal debris piece through its tentacle and lodged it between some fallen pieces of metal.
I didn't think I could actually kill the Pokemon in my current state, I didn't have the force, room, or time needed to penetrate it's head but trapping it in place for a bit was doable.
I burst into the air pocket and greedily gulped in air before quickly diving back down and to the entrance.
Behind me, I heard the Tentacool come back to itself.
"Teeennnttaa!"
I didn't care if it was angry. I swam to the entrance, grabbed the fallen case, and made a beeline for the surface.
The struggle had left me with a dozen minor cuts that stung in the salt water and I had a nasty bruise forming on my ankle but I was free and whole.
I burst through the surface to open air like a damn Wailord as I gulped in fresh air.
"Holy fuck, I'm alive."
I took a moment to savor that before laughing.
"Hahahaha, fuck you jellyfish! I'm alive!"
I waved to the shore where I could just barely make out three small forms jumping around and began swimming for it, lugging behind the case.
And then I felt something brush against my foot and look under.
'You!'
The fucking Feebas was back.
"Feeb."
I came above the surface and looked down at it so I could speak.
"You left me."
"Fee."
"Yes you did."
"Fee."
"I literally saw you ditch me."
"Fee."
My eye twitched but then it turned to its side and a glowing yellow ball formed in front of it before it was slowly launched away.
The fish turned back to me.
"Fee."
"So your saying you didn't leave me because you made it confused."
It nodded and patted its body with a fin.
I felt my temper rise again.
"So, your plan, was to escape outside the metal walls, confuse the jellyfish with long tentacles, and hope it didn't kill me while under a confused state. And I might add, I was already wrapped in tentacles before you launched said attack."
The Feebas looked to the side while waving a fin back and forth.
I tried to grab the damn fish.
"I'm gonna fillet you!"
"Fee!"
Another round of wrestling commenced between a young human and young fish but the current was thankfully pushing me toward shore.
By the time we reached land, I was exhausted and fell face first into sand while Feebas hung out in the shallow water.
"Ee!"
I looked up and sent a tired smile to Nox who came up first.
"Hey boy."
He came in and licked my face excitedly only to back off with a grossed outlook with his tongue sticking out.
"Haha sorry boy, I probably taste like salt right now."
"Eev."
He spat on the ground a few times while I laughed.
"Where are the girls?"
He pointed a paw to the side and I rose a brow at the sight.
Khione was standing on top of a small pile of dead or passed out Krabby's with a big smile and a wag to her tail while Isis seemed to be conversing with two larger Krabby that were intelligent.
"What the hell happened here?"
Nox shrugged.
"Ee."
I rolled my eyes and nodded.
'Never a slow day in paradise.'
*Line Break*
I didn't really get the full picture, but it seemed a group of seven feral Krabby's were chasing two intelligent ones across the beach when they came across the eevee's and switched targets.
That didn't end well for the crabs.
When I got back to shore, Isis was talking to the two intelligent ones and they waved thankfully before going back into the water.
And then her eyes narrowed on me and cold sweat went down my back.
"*cough* guys, grab the crabs. I have….someone….to introduce you to."
Nox and Khione gave me a curious look but complied and crabbed the crabs by their legs in their mouth and followed as I guided along the beach.
I tried to ignore Isis boring a hole in the back of my head.
They got distracted by the crabs but I was down there without checking in for at least 20 minutes.
'Good thing stuff went down over here.'
I carried the case, my boots, knife and lighter, and the food bag and we moved down the beach.
'If my memory is right, the river to the south of the mountain should come out around here.'
It was only a few more minutes of walking till I saw it.
I waved into the water where Feebas had been following and pointed at the river.
Soon enough, the five of us were gathered back on the soft ground of the jungle.
Right where the beach meets the jungle and with the tail end of the river coming into the ocean, I set up a campfire to roast some juicy crabs.
While I worked, the four of them got acquainted.
As well as you could expect from a giant fish and a cat/fox hybrid.
"Fee."
""Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.""
"…"
"Fee…."
Feebas was looking nervous in the clear water as three pairs of eyes stared at him intensely.
Khione had her ears perked up and staring intensely, Nox was trying to tap the Feebas with his paw, and Isis was lounging and looking at him with a more serious stare than Khione's thoughtless one.
I internally chuckled at the sight and made no move to help him.
'Take that you damn fish!'
It turned my way and caught my smug look before I saw it's eyes narrow.
"Feebas!"
"*Hissss*!"
The eevee's hissed at whatever he said and Feebas looked subdued.
I laughed at the sight and called out.
"Get along you guys, for better or worse, he's a friend….I think."
Feebas patted itself with a fin.
"Fee."
Nox titled his head, Khione turned away to lick herself, and Isis just got up and walked away.
Feebas deflated a bit and I winced.
'Oof, sorry buddy. That would be the cat in them.'
I wasn't fully sure why Feebas stuck around after it all, but he did, so I decided to help the guy out.
He was injured and wouldn't be much good on his own for the moment.
And it's not like I'm trying to help anyone in sight, I'm a supporter of the cycle of life. It's just that I feel like helping him, so I will.
The lake on the island was quite peaceful from what I could tell. In the days I looked down at it, I never saw a single fight happening.
Even on the plains I saw fights occasionally happen.
In the lower plains it was between herds arguing over grass I think.
And in the upper plains it was between two evolved forms of Pokemon.
The second one was much more intense but they went by fast.
So my point is, I think the lake would be a good place for the Feebas to rest and recover and guiding him there is along my path back to the mountain anyway.
Using my knife, I prepared the crabs and removed the guts before letting them rest in a nice bed of hot coals.
The smell wafted out and even Feebas in the water had its eyes drawn over.
The trio were practically on top of it drooling.
"Back you three."
I shooed them away and flipped over the crabs.
'About eight minutes on each side, you want that shell to be a nice strong red color.'
Soon enough, they were ready and I used a stick to pick them off the fire and put them on a rock.
"Down you three! Nox. Nox! Relax! Ow! Khione don't bite my hand. Isis! Wha…where did you go?"
The difficult part wasn't moving the hot crabs, it was maneuvering around the three hopping fluff balls trying to bite off my hands.
"Oi! Girl don't take one like that! You will hurt your teeth!"
Isis had managed to grab one and retreat but I called her back.
She hesitated but under my stern glare she relented.
I patted her head and took the crab.
"Don't worry, it's yours, just let me crack it open for you."
"Eev."
I chuckled and broke off the legs and cracked open the shell for her.
"Here, enjoy girl."
"Ee!"
She butted me with her head and went to eat as I did the same for the other two happy Eevee.
The fourth one I literally pulled the meat out of and threw it into the water where Feebas quickly worked to eat it up.
The fifth was mine. I threw the tantalizing meat in my mouth and felt it practically melt.
I couldn't stop myself from how good it was.
'Same as the bird meat, I don't even need to season this, it's amazing on its own.'
It's not like I was a master chef in my first life, but with only a single father and no mother, I had learned to cook well enough to live healthy. And that father just so happened to love outdoor cooking as well so we BBQed and camped out a lot.
And contrary to a normal crab, Krabby was at least two to three times larger.
It was a great meal.
"We should really think about eating seafood more often."
I got four nods at that and then four pairs of eyes stared at Feebas who nodded with the Eevee.
He stared back and blew out bubbles while the rest of us laughed.
"Alright, if you're going to join us to eat in the future, you're going to help us with stuff as well. And that means your part of the team, right guys?"
"Ee!"
"Eev."
"…."
Khione rose a paw with a messy face and cheered. Nox shrugged and went back to eating the scraps, and Isis stayed silent.
I went over to her and put my hand on her head, scratching gently around her ears.
She leaned into my touch and enjoyed herself.
"Whats up girl? You don't look so hot on the idea of him joining the team."
Isis looked into my eyes before looking away with a pout.
I chuckled and rubbed her cheeks.
"What? You embarrassed about something?"
She didn't look back at me but her emotions were conveyed over the physical connection.
'Concern' 'Caution' 'Jealousy'
I smiled softly at her.
'She's adorable.'
I mushed her cheeks and gently turned her to meet my eyes.
'Warmth' 'Gratitude' 'Affection'
I attempted to send such feelings back to her and I saw her visibly relax.
"Don't worry girl, I'm not going anywhere. As for the damn fish, you have every right to be cautious. He's a bastard but I don't believe he is a bad guy; I sensed no true malice from him."
It's one of the reasons I only 'attempted' to kill the fish and didn't actually intend to kill it, because I never actually got a sense that it wanted to harm me.
Use me as a decoy to run perhaps, but not directly attack me.
I can't exactly blame him for trying to survive, and if it wasn't for our weird adventure, I would be happy to let him fend for himself, but strangely, I just find myself unable to turn away.
So here we are.
It might be fast to consider him joining us, but it hasn't truly been that long since I met the trio as well.
Only a week to be exact.
And yet our various experiences have bonded us strongly.
We were a team, and we stuck by each other.
Isis sagged but nodded before she leaned in for more affection.
I chuckled and pampered the adorable fluff ball.
She acts mature in front of her siblings but she's a little girl to me.
After a few minutes I got up.
"Come on, let's talk with Feebas."
"Ee."
By the river, Feebas was getting acquainted with Nox as the two talked.
Nox seemingly took a few playful paw swipes at Feebas but he took it in good measure and swiped some water at Nox in turn.
They both turned as they saw us coming.
"Sorry to interrupt you two, but now that everyone is of one mind, let's set some ground rules."
"Ee."
Isis nodded next to me and we sat down by the edge of the water.
Feebas looked at me as I spoke.
"Now, first off, I won't hold it against you for what happened back at the ship. Annoying and dangerous as it may be, we got out alright in the end.
However."
I narrowed my eyes at him.
"If you join us as a team, there is no sacrificing us to run away. If you have an actual plan and you can trust in us to handle ourselves, I won't fault you. But if your acting on your own without a care for us, we can't trust you.
Is that clear?"
Isis said a few words of her own and Feebas nodded.
Then to my surprise, he actually rose half his body out onto the water surface and responded.
His voice clear to my ears for once.
"Fee."
I rose a brow at his actions but he dropped back in a moment after.
Trying to recall information about water Pokemon, I realized that I wasn't giving them enough credit.
'Right, most water Pokemon can actually survive on land in some capacity. Hell, even a magikarp could survive while flopping around for over a day out of water.
Couldn't do much else but say its name and keep flopping in place.
Hell, I think I faintly recall others doing it as well. Considering how Feebas only did it for a moment, I guess it's not exactly comfortable for them but they could do it.'
Nodding at the new nugget of truth I gleamed, I went on.
"Good, secondly, due to obvious reasons, we can't take you up the mountain. Therefore, we will take you to a large lake inland. I've only observed it for around a week, but it seems quite peaceful so far. You will have to stay there and do your own thing when we are elsewhere on the island. You ok with that?"
Immediately after my question, I got the distinct feeling Feebas was giving me a look that practically said 'Are you a dumbass? Why do I want to see you?,' but I'm sure it was my misconception.
Yes.
Surely.
I flipped off the fish.
"Moving on! Thirdly, you need a name. I vote for Bastard or Damn Fish."
"Ee."
"Back up food works to."
In an impressive display of mobility, Feebas launched out of the water, performed a double backflip, and smacked me in the face with his tail before spinning once more to land back in the water with a dive.
The whole movement took two to three seconds.
I had to blink a few times as my brain took a few seconds to process what my eyes saw.
'Did I just get slapped by a fish?'
My eyes narrowed and I jumped in the water with a splash.
"Get back here you bastard! To quote a character from a show, TASTE MY FIST OF LOVE!"
It took fifteen minutes for us to get tired out again before I slumped back on the edge of the river.
The trio were snickering at me and I shot them a look that did nothing to stop them.
I rolled my eyes with a huff.
"Whatever, I needed to wash the salt off me anyway."
They snickered more and I ignored them.
A few minutes later, we started pitching names again until one stuck.
Going with the 'Myth' theme I had going for the first three, I pitched myth related names until Feebas seemed to enjoy the name 'Triton.'
The prince of the sea's, son of the Greek sea god Poseidon, and minor god of waves and calm seas.
It seems the damn fish took a liking to the princely feel of the name and chose it.
"Ok, your Triton from now on. I think that covers the main points. We can share our short and long term goals later. For now, let's celebrate with a treat."
I took out the last Oran berry from the food bag.
I didn't need it in the end since my body healed well on its own, but Triton was still injured on its tail fin.
Otherwise he could have escaped the feral Tentacool easily.
Using my knife, I cut the juicy fruit into four slices.
I could have went with five, but I decided to be considerate for Triton and forgo'd my piece.
A piece went to each Eevee and the final one was placed on the water.
"To a new team member."
""Eev!""
"Fee."
Isis sent me a look but I smiled and nodded my head before she ate her piece.
'She's such a caring girl.'
Oran berries actually have a decent boost to recovery not just for immediate needs but for a few days afterward as well.
They are like a turbo shot to your metabolism that goes down slowly over the course of days.
With everyone happy, I cut apart the last two crabs and added the meat to the food bag.
Now we had smoked crab meat and bird jerky.
Which left us with one more item of interest.
The case!
I rubbed my hands as I looked down at my prize from salvaging.
'Please have something useful in you.'
It was the only thing I found in a few hours of searching that wasn't water logged or damaged.
[Property of Pete the Pirate. DO NOT TOUCH. If found, please call XXX or return to the Golden Hand pirate ship. Thank you.]
'Who the hell calls themselves a pirate in their title? Was this guy just that proud of his title or was he that much of an idiot? He even named his pirate ship! This guy was a dumbass for sure. But at least he was a prepared dumbass.'
Breaking the padlock wasn't hard with a nice sized rock and enough swings.
Snapping open the latches, the case opened with a soft creak and golden light shined out as my eyes watered.
Clothes.
'Oh thank god. I'm all for being nude when necessary but I would feel much better with some damn pants on.'
I didn't regret making bandages from my old pants, but if I had something else to use I would have used it.
Going through the case, I found a few pairs of good quality clothes. Ones for a man who expected to be out on the waters or in the wild.
'Not surprised, poachers probably go into all kinds of environments.'
The only real issue was the size. Thankfully, there was a basic sowing kit inside.
'I guess I can cut into them, make myself something from it all. I can even use leftovers to make a larger bag.'
Smiling happy at my new find, I looked under them.
The wall of the case had a few items as well.
The first item of notice to me was the journal.
It was a rough dark green covered weatherproof journal.
'Reminds me of the military style ones both fathers had.'
One from legit military days and the other because anything less would be ruined with his type of work.
I knew it was weatherproof from the quality of the pages. They were synthetic rather than average paper. Water proof, tear resistant, all the good stuff.
It even came with lead pencils and extra lead.
'Useful.'
Moving on from the journal, a few items were comfortably sitting in straps.
A small bundle of thin paracord, a basic first aid kit, a multitool, a box of matches, and a leather pouch.
'Looks like this guy was preparing for various situations but generally keeping it simple.'
It's nothing special, and the guy probably had other items with actual tech on his person, but the case would be good for land or sea emergencies.
I removed the pouch from its strap and eyed it's content curiously.
"Seriously? This dude really loved the pirate theme."
It was a small pouch with gemstones and some gold coins in it.
'Well, might be useful at some point if I run across humans or get back to civilization.'
That was all the case had.
I checked the seems just in case the pirate was a cliché lover but there was nothing.
'Supply check.
Weatherproof case made of hard material. Lightweight and easy to carry.
A few pairs of sturdy adult male clothing.
A weatherproof journal and lead pencils with extra lead.
Basic sowing kit.
Basic first aid kit.
Simple multi-tool.
Box of matches.
Small bundle of thin paracord. Exact length around forty to fifty feet.
Small leather pouch of gems and gold coins.
Adding in my current supplies.
A good knife.
A good lighter.
Simple food bag. More like a large pouch really. Contains highly nutritious Pokemon bird jerky and crab meat.
Single pair of boxer briefs.
Single pair of socks.
A good pair of hiking boots.
I think that's everything right?
Ah, I also kept the bandage strips I made out of my pants. Washed them in the hot water and left them up there I think.
All in all, I have more than enough to survive and thrive.'
I took out the journal and opened to the first page.
….
I opened to the *new* first page. The ripped out garbage was the delusions of a man wanting to be king of the pirates in terrible handwriting.
I titled the page 'Supplies' and made notes for everything I had.
On the next one, I made points for 'Long term goals' and 'Short term goals.'
Long term.
Survive and get stronger. That goes for me personally and the team.
Explore the island.
See new Pokemon.
Keep searching for new experiences.
Short term.
Set up a daily training regimen.
Train against the birds to grow stronger.
Maybe make a few things to make life more comfortable.
Branch out from the safe paths and map out the various areas.
Think of more short term goals as I go along.
'That should do it. It doesn't have to be so long for now. I can add stuff as I go along.'
I snapped the book shut with a satisfied smile and tossed all my stuff aside the knife into the case.
Throwing my socks and boots back on, I looked up at the sky and saw the sun setting on the horizon.
'Not enough time to head back.'
"Well, we can spend the night here, let's set up camp.
Girls, can you get some firewood for the night? Nox, let's see if we can find something else to eat so we don't waste supplies if we don't have to.
And Triton…. Well, if you see something edible in the lake, let me know."
""Eev.""
"Ee."
"Fee."
The four of us got to work and soon enough a makeshift camp was ready from the remains of our dinner set up.
I cleaned up the fire pit and used more stones to get a better effect versus the quick and easy fire I made before.
I found some adult sized leaves from tree's in the jungle to lay down and use for sleeping.
The girls got a nice stack of dead wood to burn.
And between me, Nox, and Triton, we got a bit more food to eat.
Nox and I, well mostly him to be fair, caught a rabbit.
Nox went full predator on the thing as soon as he saw it.
The rabbit didn't even get a chance to escape.
It was nice big and juicy one.
Not a Pokemon though.
Feebas did actually manage to find some salt crystals by the edge of the river where it meets the ocean.
They were hard and rough but could be crushed easily with the right amount of force and sprinkled on the food.
I threw the gems and gold coins into a sock and used the leather pouch for the salt.
I spit roasted the rabbit and soon enough we had a wonderful meal ready to go.
Just as I was about to cut into the golden meat, the bushes nearby rustled and we all cast wary glances at it.
But interestingly, it wasn't a feral Pokemon for once but a curious looking Poochyena.
The grey and black Dark type hound sniffed the air and drooled a bit while looking at the rabbit.
I chuckled and cut off a slice before placing it on a leaf and putting it down gently a few feet away.
"Enjoy little guy."
"Yena!"
It barked happily and dove in but just as I turned back with a smile, the bushes rustled again and I found myself looking at another pair of eyes.
"Zig."
A curious Zigzagoon had followed the scent as well.
Seeing another fluffy creature, I couldn't resist but to reach and cut another slice.
But I was stopped by the traitor known as the alpha fluff.
Isis put her paw on my hand and shook her head.
Her look tore into my heart.
"But…."
"Eev."
She shut me down without a chance.
Zigzagoon looked pitifully up at me and even Nox looked affected.
Exchanging looks with him, we both nodded.
The rabbit got cut into and served to Isis, Khione, and Triton while Nox and I shed manly tears and dove back into the woods.
'WE WILL FEED THE FLUFF!'
'EE!'
That night, two more rabbits and three feral rattata were killed to service the various small and intelligent Pokemon that followed the smell.
Isis stopped trying to stop me after we brought back more food and shrugged.
Feebas was joined in the water by a pair of Wooper's and a Goldeen, and a little party went down around a campfire with a dozen various Pokemon aside from the eevee's.
It was a fun affair and as the sun fully set and the moon and stars came out, I found myself laying comfortably between two large leaves with my usual fluffballs curled up into me, and the other wild Pokemon cuddled up against them.
A large smile was on my face as I drifted off.
'I love this world.'
*Line Break*
'*Squueee*'
A straight faced Sabrina squealed in her mind because she does not squeal out loud. It would ruin her reputation.
But the image she divined was just diabetes inducing adorable.
The boy she thought of more and more every day curled up in a leaf with that wild look to him and all the wild Pokemon was too much.
It was illegal.
'How can anything be that cute. It's not fair, I want to pet some fluff now.'
Sabrina got up with determined eyes.
Her father sent her a curious look from the other side of the room where he had been teaching her a lesson on advanced techniques.
"Sabrina?"
"Father, there is something I must do, I'll be back in an hour or two."
Her father nodded seriously.
"I'm sure it's something of great importance if it's worth pushing pack my detailed lessons. Go my daughter, do what must be done."
Sabrina nodded seriously and teleported out.
'I think I recall one of the disciples had a Flareon…'
That day, an unstoppable force turned the clan upside down in the search of fluff.
All while the patriarch was drinking tea with a smile thinking it was for a grand purpose.
It was for the fluff.
Chapter end.
Coming Soon: The Island, The Future, and The Quest for Fluff.