I haven't received a lot of opinions on my poll for this and Mermaid Melody (probably because I haven't braodcast it on my stories, so readers don't know it's up). So I'm still gonna post each story alternatively.
But anyways, we're back, and beginning to get into the story for the Guardian and Maiden of the Sea. Hope you enjoy.
As Rina continued to worry that Sora would not make it, she heard his Pikachu coughing out water as it began to wake up. When it noticed her, Pikachu's cheeks began to spark.
"No, wait! I'm a friend," Rina tried to assure. "I helped save you both." Hearing truth in her words, Pikachu relaxed. When he saw his master, however, concern began to take over him too.
"Pika? Chu! Chu!" Pikachu nudged Sora. But there was no response.
Then, Rina came upon an idea.
"Pikachu, use your Thunderbolt to shock him awake," She suggested. Pikachu happily complied, and prepared for its electric attack. "Wait, let me get out of the way," Rina advised.
As soon as she scooted behind Pikachu, she instructed him to start. "PIKACHU!" Pikachu cried out, releasing arcs of electricity into Sora's body. Nothing happened. The second try was moot as well.
So Pikachu tried one more time, putting more effort into its Thunderbolt. This time, Sora began coughing out water as he bolted upright.
Gripping his chest, Sora spoke, "Take it easy Pikachu. You nearly gave me a headache."
"I'm sorry. I asked it to shock you," Rina explained.
As soon as Sora heard her, his eyes went wide with shock. "Whoa! Y-You're real!" he gasped. Rina looked away, slightly flustered. "So, you really did save me?" Sora asked.
"Yes. You and your Pikachu," Rina replied. "I saw you save that Squirtle during the tempest. And I had heard much about your love for Pokémon. I felt like I had to save you."
"You heard about me? From who?"
"A Lapras that you had saved."
"Hold on. I'm a little confused. Why don't we start with who you are."
After a few minutes, Rina had explained herself and told Sora about how she had come to know about him.
"You have sisters? And you all have Pokémon of your own?" Sora inquired.
"Yes, we do," Rina replied. Sora was blown away by all she had told him. To anyone else, all this would have been too unreal. But to him, it was simply amazing.
"I understand if you don't believe me," Rina spoke, turning somewhat solemn. "You humans don't usually believe in mermaids."
"That's okay," Sora assured. "But if it makes you feel any better, I really do believe you."
"You do?"
"Yeah, I had met many other legends when I traveled the world, even a legendary Pokémon one time. Many people believed them to be myths, but my buddy and I proved them all wrong at every turn."
"Pikachu," Pikachu spoke in agreement.
As Sora stroked Pikachu, he continued, "I've learned through it all to believe in the unbelievable. And it has served me well in my journey so far." As he finished saying that, his hand stroked Pikachu's tail. When he did, Pikachu let out a squeal of delight at the gesture.
"Your Pikachu likes having its tail petted?" Rina asked.
"Of course," Sora told her, then he offered. "You can pet him. Pikachu only lets people it trusts pet it." Pikachu offered its tail for Rina to pet, which she did quite hesitantly. But once Pikachu let her know that he liked it, she became more confident.
"You see, that's why I want to begin traveling again," Sora continued. "I believe there are even more unbelievable things out there to see. New Pokémon, great adventures, and amazing battles."
"So why don't you go out and explore?" Rina questioned.
With a sigh, Sora answered, "My duty to the prince. I saved his life, and he entrusts me with the princess. I can't just leave them now." Suddenly, Rina felt a huge pit in her stomach begin to open up.
"You love her, don't you?" She assumed.
"She's great… as a friend," Sora answered with a slight pause. "But I'm just not sure. I don't think royalty is the life I would want. I'd rather be free to travel and see all there is to see."
He sounds a lot like me, Rina thought. This gave her a thought that she felt she should do.
"Do you want to come with me?" She offered.
Before Sora could give a response, Pikachu's ears went up, and someone called out, "Sora! Where are you?" It was Prince Pewter. They were searching for him. Rina made an attempt to get back to the water, but Sora grabbed her wrist to stop her.
"Wait!" he pleaded. "Will I get to see you again?"
Without facing him, Rina replied, "I will try."
"Let's make a promise, that we'll see each other again." When Rina did look back, Sora had laced his pinky-finger with hers. "Promise?" he asked.
Placing her other hand over her heart, Rina answered, "Promise." And she escaped back into the sea.
Not a moment later did Prince Pewter, Tidus, and Yolanda come rushing over to where Sora and Pikachu were. Yolanda's eyes looked red, like she had been crying quite a bit. As soon as the group neared him, she flung herself onto Sora.
"You're alright! Oh, thank heavens you're alright!" She cried.
"My apologies, princess," Was all Sora could say in reply.
"We were so worried," Tidus explained. "When you didn't come back last night, many of us wondered what had happened to you. Teller presumed you had fallen into the sea, but the princess wouldn't hear it."
Well, he wasn't too far off, Sora thought, chuckling in his mind.
"We came out to search for you. But we only found this," Prince Pewter picked up, holding out Sora's staff. "Yolanda almost made herself pass out from crying. She thought you were truly gone from this world. But Tidus finally spotted a Thunderbolt coming from over here."
"And that's when you found me." Sora finished, taking his staff back.
"Please, don't you ever do that to us again!" Yolanda scolded. All Sora could do was chuckle while scratching the back of his head. With everything settled, the group made their way back to the castle.
While out at sea, Rina held her hands in front of her chest, whispering, "I promise." Then she went back to find her sisters.
A couple days later found Sora staring out from the balcony with Pikachu. He had been too distracted to train Tidus, and none of his other Pokémon seemed to understand what was going on either. Even when Prince Pewter offered to battle him, Sora turned it down. And that was definitely not like him to refuse a challenge.
Truth be told, Sora was thinking about Rina. He had told her that he had met many legends during his travels, and proved they were more than myth. What he didn't tell her was that it was never any easier to wrap his mind around each encounter. And meeting a mermaid was no different.
He looked to his hand, and whispered to his buddy, "Promise. We'll see her again, right Pikachu?"
"Pika," Pikachu replied with a shrug.
Watching from behind them, unnoticed, Prince Pewter wondered why Sora was so distracted. But then, he thought back to the day Sora had come to Aurora.
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It was some time ago that it all started. Prince Pewter was out foraging for ingredients with Opal and Teller. They were near a cliffside along the coast, with waves that pounded up the rocky face. They were hiking along when Opal spotted some herbs they had been hoping to find.
"My prince, we've found it!" Opal cheered, "The much sought after ingredient for my latest masterpiece." After evaluating the plant, Prince Pewter concurred it was what they needed. He requested Opal to start on the meal right away.
"But what about you?" he asked, "Surely this delectable dish would serve better from two expert cooks." Prince Pewter chuckled, being reminded of a skill he picked up from hanging around with the chef.
Then he replied, "I just need some sea air to think things over. I'll be back soon." With a bow, Opal set off to start cooking.
Teller was confused by the prince's decision. Curious, he inquired, "Something the matter, my prince?"
"I's my sister," Prince pewter admitted. "She's refused to see a suitor for the fifth time this month. I wonder if she will ever find someone to be her husband when she is of marrying age."
"If I may, sire, it would be premature to consider marriage right now," Teller suggested. "You are both still young. Worry about your kingdom before you worry about her."
"I guess so," The prince responded with a chuckle.
Just then, Prince Pewter spotted someone a bit away from them. A maiden with flowing, dark-green hair wearing a white dress. Her back was turned to them, but Prince Pewter began seeing hearts.
"It's finally happening!" he groaned. "I've found my true love!" Prince Pewter made a mad dash for the strange maiden, only to slip on a loose piece of the cliff and fall towards the sea. He managed to grab hold of a piece of a tree's root, and held on just down a ways from the edge, out of anyone's reach.
"My prince!" Teller called out.
"I'm okay." Prince Pewter replied. "Bring me my Pokéstone. My Onix ought to be able to help." Complying with some reluctance, Teller took off.
When Prince Pewter looked back at the maiden, he saw her suddenly flip and transform into a small, black fox looking Pokémon with a bit of red in its fur.
"A Zorua?" he grumbled. Zorua just chuckled maliciously as it darted into the woods. Prince Pewter couldn't believe he fell for one of Zorua's illusions so easily. And now he was hanging from a branch, ready to plummet to the sea below. Was this really going to be the end of him, he thought?
Just then, he heard a boy cry out, "Hold on! I'll save you!" Prince Pewter looked to his right to find a boy in blue/green clothes with a Pikachu standing alongside him. The boy held out his staff and called out,
"I choose you, Sceptile! Froakie!"
Two lights escaped from the gem on the staff, one becoming a tall, gecko-looking Pokémon with twin leaves on its forearms and yellow seeds on its back, with a twig sticking out of its mouth, and the other became a small, blue frog with a weird substance around its neck.
Once they materialized, the boy ordered, "Froakie, use your frubbles to keep him from slipping!" With a huge leap, Froakie took some of its frubbles and launched them towards the prince. The sticky substance latched on to his hand and the piece of root, and held him in place to prevent him from slipping.
Climbing onto Sceptile's back, the boy told it, "Okay, let's go get him." Sceptile then began scaling down the cliff wall towards Prince Pewter. Several pieces of rock shifted as it proceeded, but it moved with precision and proper care as it climbed. The root Prince Pewter held onto began to slip, but Froakie used more of its frubbles to keep it from slipping out any more than it had.
Once Sceptile was level with the prince, the boy reached out his hand and told him, "Give me your hand." Not wanting to 'hang around' any longer, Prince Pewter gratefully complied. With the prince rescued, Sceptile leapt up and landed back on solid ground.
With relief, Prince Pewter inquired, "Thank you. Who are you? And how can I repay you for saving my life?"
Returning his Pokémon, the boy replied, "My name's Sora. I'm a Pokémon Guardian. But, you don't have to reward me."
"But I must. You saved me, the prince of Aurora. Ask, and it shall be yours." But Sora was already walking away, his Pikachu riding on his shoulder.
A week later, Prince Pewter was sitting on his throne, listening to Yolanda give another complaint about her suitors while Teller transcribed the whole scene.
"I am not going to have you suggest another suitor for me! I've had enough!" she yelled.
"Yolanda, you'll have to have someone to care for you someday," Prince Pewter tried to reason. "I won't be there for you all the time."
"I can take care of myself, brother!" she argued. Prince Pewter just sighed, knowing how stubborn his sister could be with matters. Her Fennekin just sat dutifully at her feet, snacking on a twig it had picked up earlier. "If we're done, I'm going back to my room to groom Fennekin's fur."
Just then, the doors to the throne room opened as a new guest came in. When everyone looked to see who it was, they saw that it was Guardian Sora and Pikachu. Upon seeing him, Yolanda's anger simply melted away into nothingness. Instead, her heart began to race, and her cheeks turned rose red. Prince Pewter noticed this change in his sister, and chuckled in his head.
"You had summoned me, Prince Pewter?" Sora asked as he bowed to one knee. Pikachu respectfully followed his example.
"Yes. I have come to a decision of how to reward you." the prince informed.
"Sire, I have only done what was needed of me," Sora replied. "I have done nothing to merit a reward from you."
"Ah, but this reward is not my choosing. Rather, it is my sister's." Both Sora and Yolanda were puzzled by what he meant, until the princess clued in what he was implying. He was letting her choose because he had seen her change of expression as Sora entered. Yolanda had heard someone had saved her brother, but she never figured it would be someone like Sora.
Instantly, she begged, "Oh please brother. Might Sora be my betrothed? He has done Aurora a great service in saving you. It's the least we can do to repay him."
Prince Pewter nodded, and spoke, "Well, Guardian Sora?" Sora wasn't sure what to think. But he knew it would be rude to refuse such a gesture from both the prince and princess.
"Very well. As the prince commands it, I shall give my service to defend the princess and her kingdom." he spoke proudly before the court.
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Coming back from his flashback, he realized how selfish it was for him to keep Sora here. There was no doubt in his mind that Sora wanted to get back to traveling again. Deciding on what to do, he went up to the guardian.
"Guardian Sora," He regarded.
"Prince Pewter?" Sora responded quizzically.
Staring out towards the horizon, the prince spoke, "I have come to realize how hard it has been to adjust to living with us here. And I understand you seek to set out once more. So I've decided." He paused to let his words sink in, before continuing, "I want to travel with you, and see many other lands out in the world."
"Uh, really?" Sora gasped.
"Yes. As a reward for your continued services to my people." Immediately, Sora jumped up and cheered. He and Pikachu could set off once more.
But then, regaining his composure, Sora replied, "Thank you, my prince. I shall make preparations right away." And he took off into the castle, Pikachu hot on his heels.
Moments after they left, a young girl with large, purple hair and wearing a purple ninja suit and mask dropped onto the railing behind the prince.
Without regarding her presence, Prince Pewter requested, "I want you to follow along. And keep an eye out for anyone wanting to harm Sora, Yolanda, or anyone of our crew members. Is this understood, Violet?"
"As clear as crystal, your Highness," The ninja replied. Then she disappeared without a sound.
The day after that, Rina surfaced close to Aurora port. She wanted to keep her promise to the boy Sora. Problem was, her sisters had become very suspicious after the tempest incident. When she didn't come back after it was over, both Kari and Sarah felt inclined to know why. Rina managed to dodge their questioning, but she couldn't keep it up for long.
As she neared port, she noticed a bit more activity than normal happening at one of the docks. A giant, wooden ship with a Gardevoir mast head was being prepped by Machoke and Conkeldurr.
Rina was about to investigate when Sarah's voice rang out, "So this is where you disappeared to." Rina knew she had been caught, knowing both Kari and Sarah were behind her.
"What is up with you?" Kari interrogated. "The last few days, you've been staring up towards this human place. And now you're coming back, why?"
"I've… become interested in humans!" Rina admitted, "There, are you two happy?" On the contrary, both were quite puzzled.
"But why? You hate humans," Sarah pointed out.
With a heavy sigh, Rina confessed, "I did. But Lapras told me there had been a human that had saved it some time ago. When I heard that, I wondered why. And I've seen that humans aren't malefic."
"What do you mean?" Sarah asked, growing more suspicious by the minute. Rina quickly found herself in a major pickle. If she revealed that she had saved Sora, her sisters would hate her for betraying them.
So, instead of answering, Rina suggested, "Let's sneak on over, and you'll see what I mean." She took off for the ship, while her sisters remained perplexed.
"She's hiding something." Sarah theorized.
"No doubt about it." Kari returned, shrugging in agreement. Still, they opted to follow anyway. The only way to find out her secret was to follow her every move.
Sora stepped onboard the HMS Aura along with Prince Pewter, Teller, and Opal. The prince had abandoned his regal garb, and opted for a plainsman's apparel. He wore an orange shirt, brown-cotton pants and hiking boots to hide his nobility as prince.
"Captain Drake, what's our status?" Sora inquired of the captain.
A boy with bright-green hair and ivy-green eyes, wearing a purple scarf around his neck, a purple vest over a black undershirt, and green shorts that went just past his knees. "All's fair, Sora," Drake reported. "Fair wind for sailing once again."
"Captain," came First-mate Kenneth, "ship's all ready to make way." Kenneth was a spry youth, with dark-red hair under his blue bandanna, a yellow-sleeveless shirt, and black sailor's shorts.
"Good man. Let's prepare to make way." Drake announced.
Suddenly, a puff of smoke from an explosion below deck escaped through the hatch. Coming out, coughing, were two more youths: A boy with blond hair, wearing a blacksmith's apron over blue garments and large spectacles, and a girl about Tidus's age wearing a brown dress covered in scorch marks.
"Cancer! Are you and Sparky alright?" Sora expressed his concern to the boy.
"We're fine." Cancer replied in-between coughs, "But my invention is all ruined."
"I told you not to tamper with that last piece!" Sparky chided. Cancer just slumped and let out a sigh.
Sora had met these two during his travels, and brought them along to help on the ship. But, as Cancer was an avid inventor, sometimes things went somewhat awry.
Once it was established that no harm was done, Drake called out, "Weigh anchor!"
But before they could, Yolanda cried out, "Wait! Wait for me!" she rushed aboard, followed shortly by Tidus.
"Sorry," Tidus gasped. "I tried to stop her, but she was too high strung on coming to join."
"You aren't leaving me behind," Yolanda panted. "I said I would come on your travels, and I mean it." She had also changed from her fancy attire to a commoner's red-colored dress.
With a shrug, Pewter told everyone, "Well, we might as well let them come along. Right, Sora?"
"Sure. The more, the merrier," Sora replied.
"Pika Pika." Pikachu affirmed. With that settled, Captain Drake repeated his command.
Hearing the command to make way, Rina noticed the chain in front of the ship being raised.
"Come on!" She urged her sisters. With much haste, all three managed to seat themselves on top of the anchor.
"We're risking our necks, just so you can know more about humans?" Kari posed the question. Rina simply chuckled nervously in reply.
"Well, it's too late to turn back now." Sarah pointed out. The three mermaids were so high up, that if they tried to leave now they would be spotted. Pretty soon though, the ship began turning out to sea. They were setting sail.
Sora slung his legs over the railing on the bow of the ship. Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder, and the two stared out at the vast horizon.
"We're finally back on our journey Pikachu," Sora said to his companion. "And maybe, we can see Rina again."
Meanwhile, down on the anchor, Rina noticed Sora sitting just above her and her sister's heads. Even though she wasn't with him yet, being nearby still felt like a relief to her.
Then, she silently prayed, "Please, let us meet again. Let us be together as we venture out into the world."
And so, everyone was setting sail for the world, with new adventures waiting right over the horizon.
Yay! Sora is journeying again! Oh, just to clarify, I wrote this during the first season of Pokemon XY (English broadcast, anyway). So if you're wondering why he still has a Froakie, don't worry. It's not because I'm not caught up.
Don't forget to fave and review. See you next time.