And we're back. Before I begin my usual banter, I do want to remake my announcement from earlier. Like I had mentioned before, I want to know which story is more popular among you viewers. Which would you rather see more of? Vote now.
With that done, we now get to see somebody else fall head over tail for a human. Though, maybe that's a bit of an exaggeration in this case. Either way, you'll get to find out who else discovers our three unlikely stowaways.
Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or its characters. They belong to Game Freak and Nintendo.
Enjoy!
Sora was up in the crow's nest with Pikachu, reveling in his first victory against the Chieftains, and against Akito. One badge earned, seven more to go. Sora was ecstatic! Pikachu shared his enthusiasm, bounding happily on the spire. But even in his self-celebration, Sora still pondered something that happened during the battle. When Charizard changed form, Sora felt a change in himself too. What had happened to him at that time? Ad why did Charizard not stay in that form? What was Mega Evolution? All these questions spiraled in Sora's head, making him nauseous.
Deciding to not overthink it, Sora swung from his perch onto some railing above the sails. Hanging on to some rigging, he sung to himself:
I want to take the ultimate step
Have the courage to be bold.
To risk it all, and not forget,
The lessons that I hold.
I wanna go where nobody's been
Far beyond the crowd.
Learn the way to take command
Use the power that's in my hand.
As he was singing the chorus, Yolanda and her Fennekin came up on deck to find the guardian.
When she eventually spotted him up on the sail, she called, "Hey Sora! Can you come down from there?"
Upon hearing her, Sora called back, "Sure. Hold on." With the speed of a Greninja, and the playfulness of an Aipom, Sora leapt and slid his way down the rigging of the ship like it was his own personal jungle gym.
Upon landing, not only did he scare Yolanda half to death, but Drake chastised, "I don't need you messing up my ship Sora. This isn't a jungle, you know." With a chuckle, Sora apologized for mistreating the Aura like he did. But once that was done, Yolanda pulled Sora off to the side of the ship, where Rina was coincidentally relaxing in the waters around the Aura herself.
"You know Sora," Yolanda started, petting her Fennekin, "That was a pretty impressive win you had against Akito."
"Thanks." Sora returned, "But, that's just the first one so far. I've still got a lot of tougher battles out there to win. And they won't be as easy as Akito."
"Was it even easy to begin with?"
"Nope. But they will only get tougher. So I have to get stronger."
"I see. Have you given anything else a lot of thought yet?" Sora was slightly startled by Yolanda's question, but then he realized what she meant.
"Yolanda, now isn't the best time to think about the wedding you want." he responded, "I've got too much on my head as it is."
"Which is why it would be a great escape." Yolanda tried to reason, "C'mon, in a short amount of time, I'll be of marrying age. You said you would serve me and my brother, right?" Down below, Rina grew worried as she eavesdropped. She had heard Sora say he served the prince since he saved his life. But was he really going to get married to the princess? Where would that leave her?
"You know, a victory like yours deserves more than a kiss on the cheek." Yolanda hinted, taking Sora's hand, "I want to give you a proper victory kiss."
"Princess, that's not—" Sora started to say. But Yolanda brought him closer to her without his knowing. Fennekin cheered its masters effort, while Pikachu looked quite puzzled by the gesture. But as Yolanda inched her face closer to Sora's, Rina decided she had seen enough. She brought out her tail as high as it would go, and made a huge splash up to the pair. Pikachu sensed this, and pushed Sora out of the way, leaving Yolanda and Fennekin to get wet.
When Sora looked to his friends, he saw Yolanda looked distraught. She was drenched from head to hip, and her hair was a mess from being soaked. But the biggest concern for the guardian was Fennekin. It's fur was drenched and looked messy. It even had a piece of seaweed on its ear. Steamed from having its fur messed up, it scolded Pikachu fiercely.
"Wait Fennekin! It's not our fault!" Sora tried to calm it down. But Fennekin didn't listen, and launched an Ember attack at Pikachu. Pikachu quickly dodged the attack, and it hit Sora instead.
While Sora was coughing from the attack, Yolanda picked up Fennekin and chastised, "It serves you right. You remember Fennekin doesn't like getting its fur messed up."
"How was I to know that there would be a wave like that coming up?!" Sora argued.
"Your Pikachu seemed to have sensed it. Some guardian Pokémon, not protecting my little Fennekin." That comment really ticked Pikachu off, as it stood poised to use its Thunderbolt.
But Sora stopped it by putting his hand out in front of it, and replying, "That was uncalled for. Even from you."
"Whatever. I'm going to get myself and Fennekin cleaned up below deck." And she walked proudly away. As she did, Sora heard giggling coming from the water. When he looked over, he spotted Rina trying to stifle a laugh.
"That wave was you?!" he gasped, keeping his voice low enough so only Rina could hear him.
"Well, what'd you think it was? A Magikarp?" Rina teased.
"Why'd you do that?! I could've gotten in trouble with the prince if things went out of control."
"I was just playing around. Mermaids can be very playful, you know. And you shouldn't have stopped Pikachu from shocking her. She deserved a good shock, and a new hairdo."
"You're reckless!"
"And you're oblivious!"
"I could've gotten in so much trouble!"
"Because of a little water?! Seriously Sora, what was the harm in that?!" The two stared daggers at each other for a little bit, then turned away furiously. With it, Sora made his way to his quarters, and Rina returned to the fort on the dingy.
Drake noticed Sora storm off in a huff, and was quite perplexed as to why. But he shook it off, figuring Sora was just having a tiff with Yolanda and was merely venting his anger. Besides, if it didn't concern him, and he didn't care otherwise. The day's tide was all that mattered, as the ship cut through the water with ease. Everything seemed peaceful along the waves, almost too peaceful. And that worried him. The waves were too calm and shallow. Something had to be coming.
But he shook it off and barked, "First mate Kenneth!"
Racing up to the wheel, Kenneth stood at attention and responded, "You called, captain?"
"Take the wheel. Keep our present course." Drake ordered, "I'm going below to attend to private matters."
"Aye aye sir." Kenneth saluted. Switching stations, Drake went to his private quarters.
In the captain's cabin, Drake let out a massive sigh as he set himself at his desk. Keeping up the facade of a hardy captain was strenuous for him, and often left him exhausted. No one else knew that Drake was not as strict as he is supposed to be, save for his own Pokémon. Sensing his inner struggle, Roselia came up onto his desk and began wafting a wonderful aroma throughout the room.
Inhaling deeply, Drake sighed, "Thanks Roselia. Your Aromatherapy was just what I needed."
"Roselia." The Rose Pokémon curtsied. With his mind refocused, Drake drew open his log, dipped his quill, and began to chronicle the journey he has had.
Captain's log Day 803
Another crazy adventure has begun for the crew. This time, Guardian Sora has to accept the challenge of eight island Chieftains. So far, the guy has beaten the first one, who used something called Mega Evolution. Of which I have only heard rumors of its existence. Mega Evolution is supposed to strengthen a Pokémon further than normal, sometimes by changing type or ability. But you would need a pair of stones to be able to actually use it. Strangely, Sora's Charizard Mega Evolved too, and helped seize victory. But now, seven more Chieftains await the guardian. It shall be interesting how these next battles will go.
As he pondered what else to write, he found himself having trouble grasping anymore thoughts to add. Putting away his quill and log, he left his quarters for the deck.
Resting on her back, with her Squirtle snoozing beside her, Kari breathed in the bright day like a cup of hot milk. It was such a beautiful day today, and such wonderful waves followed along as well. It was a day Kari hoped would not be tarnished by anything.
As she relaxed, Kari spotted one of the humans come up to the deck on her side of the ship. When she saw him, something made her heart do a flip in her chest. She remembered him to be Drake, the captain of the ship. The sight of him was puzzling to Kari. Why was she feeling so different? She had been around Sora, and nothing new went on there. But with this Drake fellow, she seemed to feel like her tail was gonna go crazy.
On deck, Sparky brushed by Drake suddenly while trying to catch her Dedenne. Drake jumped on the railing to avoid them as they came back, but he lost his balance and began to fall towards the ocean.
Shocked but ready, Kari commanded, "Squirtle, use Ice Beam to save that human!" Awakened and alert to the need, the turtle Pokémon leaped into the air and launched an Ice Beam. The attack created a sort of slide, catching Drake and sliding him along. It was then that Kari noticed that Squirtle was making a direct path… to her.
"Wait, Squirtle, stop!" Kari panicked. Squirtle did, and Drake flew right into Kari and into the water.
"Captain overboard!" Kenneth called out.
Underwater, both Kari and Drake were startled by the others presence. They stared at each other weirdly, their gazes locked. When Drake finally did break the connection, he looked down to find Kari's orange mermaid tail.
Seeing the shock on his face, Kari tried to assure, "Wait, it's okay! I won't hurt you." Then, Drake's face began to turn blue as his not-so-full air supply began to run out. Realizing what was wrong, Kari ordered, "Squirtle, use Bubble!" Squirtle understood the command, and spewed bubbles over Drake until he was safely inside one.
Taking a big breath of air, Drake interrogated, "Who are you?! And what do you intend to do with me?! Keep me prisoner?!"
"Hey, I was saving you!" Kari said sternly, "You could at least have been a little more grateful."
"Not when it's someone like you! Someone who brings disaster."
"I don't bring disaster! I just sense when it comes."
"You can sense it? What do you mean?"
"I don't really know. It's just something I've had since I was born. When a storm comes, I receive some kind of warning. But, I don't really understand it myself." This caught Drake unawares. He had been led to believe that the beings like the one before him were dangerous to encounter. That any a good sailor who ran into one would be doomed to a watery grave. Most of the time, it was because of being drowned by them, or by a storm that they summoned. Yet, this one was saying she didn't bring storms. She only sensed when they would come. And he had been around long enough to tell when someone was lying.
Losing his tough guy facade just a little, Drake told her, "I'm sorry. Guess I was listening to too many sailor's stories. Especially about… mermaids."
"It's alright." Kari forgave, " I guess I should've known this would…" Just then, Kari's eyes glazed over.
"What's wrong?" Drake asked, seeing the change in Kari's expression.
"It's coming." She answered, "The storm is coming."
"It is?!"
"Straight ahead. And it's coming this way." With a gasp, Kari told Drake, "And it will destroy the ship! Drake, you have to warn the others!"
"Hold up! How do you know who I am?! I don't even know you!"
"I can't explain it all now. GO!" Deciding it was best not to argue, Drake burst out of his bubble and hastily swam for the ship.
Back on the Aura, the crew searched frantically for their fallen captain. Sora had Staraptor and Squirtle scanning around, Prince Pewter had Swamert out to search, and Kenneth's Floatzel was busy scouring for their missing captain.
"Any sign of the captain?" Sora asked as his Pokémon returned from searching. But both shook their heads in dismay.
"Swampert hasn't found anything yet either." Prince Pewter informed the crew.
"Well, we can't give up!" Kenneth told them, "We have to find the captain right away." Just then, Drake's head broke the surface some ways from the ship. Floatzel spotted him instantly, and rushed over to offer aid.
As the captain rode Floatzel back, he called out, "Sora, Kenneth, furl the sails! A storm is heading our way!"
Puzzled, Kenneth questioned, "How can there be a storm, captain? It's a crystal clear day."
"It is rather odd that a storm would come on such a tranquil cruise." Opal commented.
Climbing back on deck, Drake chastised, "No time for back talk Kenneth! Furl the sail and prepare for a storm now!" Kenneth was about to argue further, until Prince Pewter motioned them all to be quiet. In the water, Swampert's fins were quivering. Then, it swam out a ways and used Magnitude to create a huge splash.
"A level 7 tempest." Prince Pewter evaluated.
"Want to argue further?" Drake asked his first-mate.
"Aye aye captain. Furling the sail!" Kenneth saluted grudgingly.
As he and Drake went to work, Sora urged the others, "Wait below deck until the storm passes."
"No way! I wanna help too!" Sparky refuted.
"Me too! I want to help as well!" Yolanda added.
"Guys, think about it." Cancer reasoned, "We don't really know how to run a ship or what to do in a storm at sea. We need to leave this to them and their Pokémon."
"But—" Yolanda started.
"Sister, they'll be fine." Prince pewter assured, "They'll make sure we get through this safely." She looked like she wanted to argue further, but she conceded defeat and went with the others below deck. As for Sora, he returned his Pokémon to his staff and rushed to prepare for the storm.
Down on the dingy, Rina was still fuming mad from earlier.
"He's so oblivious!" she muttered angrily, "It's like he doesn't know anything! I swear, that girl could swipe his Pikachu with how ignorant he is!"
"Sounds like someone is a little jealous." Sarah remarked slyly.
"Me?! Jealous?! No way!" Sarah just chuckled, seeing her older sister get all red in the face. Just then, the dingy began to lift up from the water. Shocked out of her anger, Rina and Sarah overheard the captain order Sora to secure the dingy.
"What's going on? Why are we going up?!" Sarah panicked.
"Quick! Inside the tent." Rina ushered as they took refuge. Once the dingy stopped rising, Rina peeked out to find Sora tying off the lines for it, with help from Donphan and Infernape.
"Sora, what's going on?" she asked quietly.
Tying off the line, Sora answered, "A storm is coming. We're making sure the ship's ready to handle it. Is everyone inside?"
"Dummy! Kari's not in here!" Sarah chastised, "Set us back down!" At that moment, Pikachu notified Sora that someone was in the water. And sure enough, when Sora looked to see who it was, there was Kari.
"Hang on Kari!" Sora called discreetly, "I'll get you up here!"
But then Drake ordered, "Sora, quit talking to the sea already! Brace the portholes below!" Grimacing, Sora wondered how he was gonna get Kari up now.
"Sora, I'll be fine." Kari assured.
"But Kari—" Rina was about to argue.
"I think I can help you through this storm. I'll stay close. Do what you need to do." Understanding the situation, Sora complied and urged the other two mermaids to stay in the fort. With that all settled, everyone worked to prepare as storm clouds began to roll in.
When it hit, the storm threw huge waves at the Aura, threatening to capsize the massive vessel. But the crew came prepared, and were ready to handle the tempest. Sora had his Aipom, Snivy, and Sceptile maintaining the ship and making sure everything stayed in place. Also, Pikachu stood at the top of the crow's nest, deflecting any lightning that would strike the ship. Kenneth had his Floatzel and Empoleon tow the ship wherever Drake commanded. And Drake sent out Flygon, hoping to use its Sandstorm to divert most of the wind and rain. Everything seemed to be holding up just fine thanks to their efforts, and escaped unscathed for most of the journey. But then, a fierce wave hit the hull, cracking it slightly.
In response, Sora called out, "Froakie and Leavanny, patch the hull!" So Sora sent out Froakie, and a tall Pokémon that looked like it was wearing a tailor's suit made from leaves. The two went to work, using their sticky stuff to hold the wood together. The patchwork continued as more parts of the ship splintered and cracked from the force of the storm.
With each repair being made, Kenneth felt less and less confident that they would make it. So did Drake. This storm was too strong to weather out. But they had no idea where to go through the wind and rain. But Drake wasn't willing to give up. The Aura had suffered worse, and always came out in one piece. This would be no different.
Just then, Drake heard someone urge in his head, Follow me. The voice sounded so familiar to him. Why did it? And where did it come from? Please Drake. It pleaded again, I can get you through this storm. You have to trust me. Please!
"Where are you?!" Drake shouted over the wind.
I'm here. Find me Drake. Then, as if his vision had been enhanced, Drake spotted a lone girl out among the roaring waves. It was the mermaid! The same one that warned him about this storm. I can feel where the storm is weakest. She told him.
"I don't like this." Drake admitted, "But we have no other choice. Lead on, Stormstress."
Gripping the wheel tighter, Drake changed course as he was led by his guide. Kari would signal when he should change direction, and Drake in turn would direct Kenneth to instruct his Pokémon likewise. Kenneth was both puzzled and surprised by Drake's commands, but Sora figured he was getting help from Kari. It had to be her.
Suddenly, a massive wave rose over the starboard side, threatening to tip the ship over and ito the water.
Reacting quickly, Drake called out, "Roselia, use Petal Dance!"
"Sceptile, Solar Beam!" Both Roselia and Sceptile stood before the wave, and released their strongest attacks at it. The combined attacks pierced the wave, and dissipated its energy. So it crashed before it ever reached the ship.
Then, Drake heard, Up ahead. An island rests in the eye of the storm. Seeing where his Stormstress was directing, Drake directed the ship for bright patch over an inlet. The crew did their best to keep the ship together, frantically tying knots, fixing any damage on the hull, or redirecting lightning strikes. But eventually, they arrived in safety.
"We made it." Drake sighed.
The crew and their Pokémon were exhausted from the arduous work they endured, but rest had to wait. With the prince's help, along with his court, they began working on repairs that would not be temporary fixes. Cancer had even tried using a new invention of his to help in repairs, but it exploded in his face and he had to help by hand instead. Drake and Sora oversaw the effort, both relieved to have been saved from cataclysm.
Yolanda then came up to the two, with Fennekin in her arms, and spoke, "Sora, I need to tell you and Pikachu something."
"What is it, princess?" Sora asked.
"I'm sorry. It wasn't right of me to be mad at you for what happened to Fennekin and me." She apologized, "And it was wrong for me to be mean to Pikachu. Please forgive us." Fennekin also asked for forgiveness, both bowing their heads in reconciliation.
With a laugh, Sora replied, "It's okay. It's all water under the bridge."
Returning to her cheery self, Yolanda gave him a quick kiss on the cheek, and told him, "Thank you, my guardian." And she ventured off.
"You are quite something Sora." Drake commented.
Sheepishly, Sora replied, "Well, that's just how I roll." Then, a wave of water splashed over Sora and Pikachu from below. Drake took notice to this, and peered over the rail to see three girls, one being his mermaid. The water was shallow enough to where he saw that they were all mermaids.
"What the-?! Mermaids?!" he exclaimed rather loudly, "There are merm—" But Sora clammed his mouth shut before everyone else heard him.
Keeping his hand over Drake's mouth, Sora whispered, "It's okay. They're friends of mine."
"Hmm?" Drake questioned, still muffled.
"C'mon, I'll show you." Dragging Drake with him, Sora leaped over the side of the ship.
With her Squirtle ready, Kari told it, "Use Ice Beam." And Squirtle happily saved the duo, and slid them down into the water with a big splash.
"Who's the reckless one now?" Rina teased Sora as he splashed down with Drake.
"Yeah. Sorry about that Rina." Sora apologized.
"It's alright. Like you said: that tide has passed." Drake was dumbfounded by how calmly Sora was interacting with these mermaids.
"I'm glad you're safe Drake." Kari spoke, scooting closer to him.
Bewildered but quick to understand, Drake replied, "Thank you for guiding us."
With a blush, Kari told him, "I don't really know why I did. I guess I just didn't want to see you hurt."
"Or see us go down with them." Sarah pointed out grudgingly.
"Wait, what do you mean by that?" Drake asked.
"Sorry Drake." Sora started, "Guess I have some explaining to do."
Taking Kari's hand, Drake responded, "Why don't we let my Stormstress start. What's your name?"
Her cheeks becoming rose-red, she told him, "Kari. My name is Kari." And thus, without the others knowing, the explaining began.
Sora: I feel like someone has been following me lately.
Rina: Sora! Look out behind you!
Sora: Waah! Who's that?!
Rina: I thought you would know. She's been following you for some time now.
Sora: Strange. Who is she?
Next time,
The Violet Orphan
Whelp, there you have it. One more for the crew. Hehe.
See you guys next time.