What other surprises await our friends in the aquarium? What else does Marion have in store for them?
Aakareo Kokokuhikari: Pretty soon, I'd expect.
JoshGamerV: If Marion has anything to say about it, we certainly will.
Hellraiserphoenix: Sometimes you just gotta learn that something's a bad idea for yourself. Like voluntarily petting a poison pokemon. Or being friends with Kate.
Duskzilla: It was a lesson that certainly stung.
Just a Bad Writer for Fun: Kate has more arrogance than she does common sense. You should not expect much from her. And no, it will be quite some time before the Galar trip. But it's certainly going to be a very major plot development, I'll tell you that.
Pokemon Academy: Beginning of Beginnings
Chapter 137
"We've disinfected the poison and cleaned the wound," Marion said, finishing wrapping up Kate's hand. "Don't worry, you two will be fine. I don't think the Mareanie wanted to really hurt you, she just… has a bizarre way of playing around."
"Bizarre like a poison sting right into my-" Kate grumbled, cradling her hand.
"While Kitty's doing her training, do you guys want to go fishing?" Marion suggested. "It's been way too long since the last time I went fishing, I'm getting a little antsy!"
"But weren't you just-"
Sango placed her hand on Kate's shoulder, shaking her head discouragingly. There was just no use.
"C'mon, Kate!" Marion grabbed Kate's arm, and dragged her over to the selection of fishing poles she'd had hung on the wall.
"Mareanie!" Mareanie called out, Blake glancing down at her bitterly. She was hopping up in the water, reaching out to him with her spines.
"I think she wants to play with you, Blake," Sango said.
"Playing? Is that what she calls it?" Blake asked, frowning.
"Marea." Mareanie huffed, her cheeks inflating. She spat a rain of needles at Blake, who ducked under it, the needles harmlessly hitting the wall.
"Marea! Marea!" Mareanie cheered, bouncing up and down cheerfully.
"See? It's like playing catch!" Sango cackled, holding her sides.
"No, it's target practice!" Blake sputtered.
"Mareanie!" Blake glanced at Mareanie's enclosure. Once again, the Mareanie was looking hopefully up at him. Then, much to his surprise, she scaled the wall, climbing over the edge of the enclosure and landing on the floor, looking up eagerly at Blake. Apparently, she wanted to continue "playing". She fired another spray of needles at him.
"Hey!" Marion shouted, drawing the attention of both Blake and the Mareanie. "Those tanks are breakable. Take it outside, 'kay?"
"Mareanie!" Mareanie nodded in agreement. Blake looked significantly less enthused.
"Come on, this is what you get," Sango was still stifling her laughter. "You deserve it, Mr. Ladies' Man. Popularity sure does sting, doesn't it?"
Blake shot her a dirty look, and Sango stuck her tongue out at him.
Mareanie chased Blake outside, spraying needles at him as she laughed joyously. Kate, meanwhile, was fumbling with a fishing rod on the dock, under Marion's instruction.
Sango sat down on a deck chair, watching Blake dodge Mareanie's attacks. Now that it was clear that the Mareanie was just "playing" with him and not trying to actually cause him injury (well, serious injury, at any rate) this was a lot more delightful.
"So you want to play, huh?" Blake said, irritated, reaching to his belt. "Fine, here's a playmate for you."
Blake sent out Tara, the small grass pokemon looking up at him in a huff.
"Sniv!" Tara said, walking up to him. She looked worriedly at his hand, her eyes wide.
"Snivy! Snivy!" Tara fretted over him. Mareanie looked at Tara with an expression akin to shock, narrowing her eyes. She fired another burst of poisoned needles at the grass type, injuring Tara.
"Mareanie!" Mareanie growled, storming over to Tara, anger on her face. "Mareanie, Mareanie!"
"Snivy!" Tara growled back, crossing her arms in front of her chest and turning her nose up at the starfish pokemon.
"Mareanie?!" Mareanie exclaimed, clearly outraged by what Tara had so rudely stated. She began waving her tendrils angrily. "Mareanie!"
"Snivy," Tara gave the pokemon a smug smirk, much to Mareanie's obvious frustration.
Mareanie bounded around Tara and sidled up to Blake, reaching a tendril out towards him hopefully. Blake didn't fall for it, stepping out of her reach.
"Ma… Mareanie!" Mareanie wailed, crying. Tara held her stomach and began laughing.
"Mareanie!" Mareanie whirled around to glare at Tara, tears in her eyes. She pointed a tendril accusingly at Tara. "Mareanie, Mare! Mareanie!"
"Sni…" Tara baulked, her face turning more red than green. "Sn-Snivy!" She said, shaking her head and looking away from Blake.
"What the hell is going on?" Blake asked Sango, stepping up next to her. Sango glanced at him, and rolled her eyes.
"You really are dense," she muttered.
Mareani and Tara bounded over to Blake, gesturing frantically towards him and each other.
"Snivy!" Tara stepped in front of Blake, wrapping her arms around his leg, hugging him tightly, her face clearly showing how embarrassed she was at doing so. Mareanie was not amused.
"Mareanie!" The starfish pokemon fired another barrage of needles at Tara, and at Blake by proxy. Both got hit a few times by the painful, sharp spines, crying out in pain.
"Mareashishishi!" Mareanie cackled, delighting in having injured her "playmates" with her poison sting attack.
"Snivy!" Tara, enraged, chased after the other pokemon, swinging vines at the Mareanie as she ran, the poison pokemon laughing her head off.
"You okay?" Sango asked, giving Blake a concerned look.
"Yeah, yeah," Blake sighed. "It doesn't seem like she was really trying to hurt me… that being said, I don't exactly find this to be a lot of fun, you know, being used as target practice for a deranged little starfish."
Meanwhile, Kate was growing more and more frustrated with being forced to be "patient" in order to fish properly.
Why am I even still here, anyway? She asked herself, confused. Maybe I should just…
"Uwaah!" A tug on her line drew her out of her thoughts, and she fumbled with the rod, not sure what she should be doing in order to reel in the pokemon successfully. "M-Marion, what am I supposed to do?!" Kate asked.
"Easy, easy," Marion said, looking over at Kate. "Tug lightly on the fishing pole, and reel in slowly. Don't rush, just take it easy. This is a battle of resilience between you and the pokemon on the other line!"
Kate fought with her line, with Marion's encouraging. Drawing the attention of Sango and Blake, and even Kitty was distracted from her training to watch. Finally, she reeled in the pokemon. Floundering on the end of the hook was a small brown and purple pokemon, its body ruddy and bumpy with spiny fins. It had dark red eyes and a long mouth, and it was thrashing violently.
"It's a Skrelp!" Marion noted, leaning in close to the small thing.
"Uu…" Kitty said, pulling away from the pokemon reflexively, a little grossed out by it in spite of herself.
"Not 'ew'!" Kate chastised her, unhooking the small pokemon and holding it in her arms. "He's adorable!"
Blake tended to disagree, but beauty was in the eye of the beholder. And with the smile on Kate's face as she admired the poison pokemon in her hands, he didn't feel like saying a word.
"I agree, he's just the cutest little thing," Marion cooed, petting the small seadragon pokemon on the head. "We've got a few in the tanks, they're pretty common in this reason. Glad to see you've got good taste."
"Um… if you have a bunch of them already, then…" Kate looked down at the small pokemon in her arms, smiling hopefully, "…can… can I?"
"You want to keep him?" Marion asked. Kate blushed, and nodded her head. Marion flashed her a beaming smile.
"You got it, then!" She agreed. "I'll go get you one of our special pokeballs!"
"That's a ranger armband, right?" Blake asked, pointing at the orange band around Marion's arm. Sango nodded. "And she has pokeballs?"
Sango responded with a shrug. Marion was Marion.
"Some people come by for fishing," Marion called to them, walking over with a tray of pokeballs. "We rent out rods for them to use, since a lot of people don't have their own. And even though I'd never use one, some students want to catch pokemon they fish up. So we sell pokeballs here to use! But these aren't just regular pokeballs!"
The pokeballs she was holding were all a light sea blue.
"They're special Dive Balls!" Marion explained. "They work especially well on pokemon that come from the sea!"
Kate took one of the dive balls gratefully, and pressed it against the head of the small pokemon. In a flash of blue light, the Skrelp got swallowed by the ball, Kate capturing it.
"I got a new pokemon!" Kate cheered, jumping to her feet and cuddling up against the ball. "Blake! I got a new poison type!"
"Congrats," Blake said, nodding. Kate glanced down, smirking. "Looks like you're on your way, too."
"Huh?" Suddenly, a spike of pain shot up through his leg. The Mareanie was standing next to him cackling wickedly. Tara swung her vine at the small pokemon, but the Mareanie blocked it with her tentacle.
"Damn," Blake winced, grabbing onto his leg.
"Marion…" Marion glanced to see Kitty walking over to her, looking tired and more than a little drained. The small girl seemed like she was in desperate need of a very long nap.
"You're burnt out, huh?" Marion said sympathetically. "That's okay! That's enough for today! Tell you what! You come back here tomorrow, and we can get some more work done, okay?"
Kitty nodded, her expression eager in spite of her obvious exhaustion. She turned to Blake, smiling.
"Thanks for helping me get this far, Blake. I'm going to miss training with you."
"Yeah, me too," Blake said, smiling back at her. "Good luck. I'm sure you'll be able to get the hang of it."
"I'll do my best," Kitty agreed, nodding.
"Oh, hey, before you go, I have a present for you!" Marion said. "Come on! And while we're there, I can show you around!"
Kitty wanted to go home and go to sleep, looking helplessly back at the others as Marion dragged her toward the aquarium.
Having gotten used to Marion's way of doing things by now, the other three just shrugged apologetically.
"Um, I know you want to show me around… but I'm really exhausted… I feel like I'm going to pass out… if you don't mind, can I…?"
"Oh, foo," Marion pouted. "Fine, we can do the tour tomorrow! But I still need to give you your gift!"
She ducked into the large maze of fish tanks, emerging a few minutes later with a large light blue egg in her hands.
"What? That's…"
"Here," Marion said, handing the egg over to Kitty.
"You're giving it to me?" Kitty asked, surprised.
"Yup! This egg has a baby fishy in it!" Marion said, smiling. "Babies are so cute… a life you hatched with your own hands, watching over its growth, and seeing it reach its full potential… it's truly a wonderful experience."
"Are you sure?" Kitty asked worriedly. Her parents had raised eggs in the past, but she'd never raised one on her own before.
"Yup~! As long as you promise me something."
"What?"
"When that child hatches, please raise it with love and care, okay?" Marion asked, kneeling down to stand on Kitty's level, patting her on the head, ruffling her shiny white hair.
"I… I will," Kitty said, nodding.
"I know you will," Marion smiled. "Now, run along, you've got an egg to look after, and we've got a busy day tomorrow!"
Kitty and Marion headed back outside.
"Mareanie!" Marion called. "They have to go now! Come on back!"
"Mareanie!" Mareanie protested, shaking her head. Marion frowned and walked over to her, her expression surprisingly serious and insistent.
"They can't play around forever, you know," Marion sighed.
"Mareanie!"
Marion blinked, clearly surprised.
"Oh, really? Fascinating. Hey, Kitty! Come over here!"
"Yeah? What?" Kitty yawned, coming over to Marion.
"Quick harmonia training," Marion said. "I know you're tired, but this is the best time for it!"
"…Fine," Kitty sighed. "What do I do?"
"Just try and listen to what Mareanie is saying. And when she pushes against you, don't run from the connection. Dive headfirst!"
"Okay," Kitty said, concentrating hard. Her red eyes flashed with light as she tried to reach out towards Mareanie's voice.
"Mareanie!" Mareanie chirped.
"She says 'that guy makes a good practice target'."
"Hey!" Blake protested, Kate and Sango bursting out laughing.
"Close, why don't you try again?" Marion encouraged.
"Okay, um…"
Kitty focused harder, her head aching a little.
"Ah! 'I like the sounds he makes when I stab him', is that a little better?" Kitty asked.
"Don't ask me, ask her," Marion insisted. Mareanie nodded, laughing.
"Oh! Oh…" Kitty's eyes widened, and she nodded.
"You got it, right?" Marion asked.
"Yeah, I see," Kitty agreed.
"What are you guys talking about?" Blake demanded.
"Well, uh…" Kitty blushed, glancing away from Blake. "It seems that Mareanie… is attached to you."
"Yup, yup," Marion said, nodding in agreement. "Congrats, Blake! Let me get you a dive ball…"
"Wait, what?!" Blake looked down at the Mareanie nuzzling up against his leg, looking up adoringly at him. Tara glared at her angrily, but whenever she got close, Mareanie just hid behind Blake.
"Come on, Blake! She really wants to keep playing with you!" Marion said. "What's the matter?"
"Her 'playing' hurts!" Blake said.
"That's just how poison types are," Kate shrugged. "Come on, Blake! Awaken to the mania of poison types!"
"Yeah, just look at this face!" Marion said, kneeling down next to the Mareanie, both of them staring up at Blake with big puppy-dog eyes. "Can you really say no?"
Blake baulked, turning his eyes away. Marion picked up the Mareanie and pressed her closer to him. He turned to look at her again, the small pokemon beaming up at him hopefully.
"…I guess she isn't that bad… but no stinging!"
"…" Mareanie contemplated this hard, much to Blake's frustration. Marion set her down on the ground, and skipped over to grab another dive ball. She handed it to Blake.
"Come on, do it!" Marion said, slapping him on the back. The ball fell out of his hands and landed on Mareanie's head, capturing her.
"Yay!" Marion cheered. "Kate, and now Blake! And when Kitty's egg hatches, she'll join too!" She grabbed Kate and Blake, wrapping her arms around them. Holding their necks in the crooks of her arms, she pulled them into a hug. "I've made a whole bunch of fellow fish allies today! Yay for friends!"
She let them both go, smiling wider than her face. "Everyone gets to make fishy friends!"
"…"
"Hey, Sango-"
"PASS."
"Aww, boo…" Marion huffed. "Now, Blake, here's some stuff to go over for raising that Mareanie of yours! Mostly, they eat Corsola. But that's a big no-no! No Corsola for her! Since they're mainly carnivorous, I can sell you guys some meaty fish food mix! Kate, Skrelp mostly eat seaweed, so you can just stick with the standard stuff! Come on, I'll cut you guys a good deal!"
She turned to Blake, her expression serious.
"And this is really important, Blake. Mareanie are classified as an invasive species in this region. Do you know what that means?"
Blake shook his head.
"It means that they're a hazard to the area's ecosystem," Marion explained. "Because they're predatory. You can look after it, there's no rule about that. However, there's a breeding restriction. You can't let her breed in specific regions, or else they can destroy the ecosystem of the area. Alola is already having problems with their local Corsola population, and Mareanie is a naturally indigenous species. Clear? You can't let your Mareanie breed here. I can send you a list of regions where Mareanie are not problematic, but you need to be careful."
Blake nodded, begrudgingly. As cute as Mareanie might be, this was starting be a lot more trouble than it was worth. And it wasn't really worth a whole lot, considering that all the small pokemon really seemed to like doing was stabbing him and his pokemon with their spines and needles. Not exactly the foundation of a strong relationship between a trainer and their pokemon, he had to say. But Kitty seemed to be encouraging of it, and Marion seemed fairly well-informed. And she seemed to be attached to him, at least. It couldn't hurt to raise her for a little while.
Of course, it wasn't in his nature to abandon a pokemon. So "a little while" would almost certainly end up being a very long while.
Blake knelt down and pressed the button on the pokeball, the Mareanie emerging with a smile, bounding up to him.
"Hm, now I need to think of a name," Blake pondered. "How about 'Kate'?"
"Hey!" Kate exclaimed.
"I was kidding," Blake laughed. Tara walked up to him warily, staring at the Mareanie with a suspicious look.
"Mareanie," Mareanie addressed her with a smug smirk, Tara twitching in irritation.
"Okay, okay, let's give you some time apart," Blake sighed, returning Tara to her pokeball. He turned to Mareanie. "I want you to be on your best behavior, okay, Mareanie? Tara's your friend now, and you two need to get along. I know how you like to 'play' with people, but be nice from now on, okay?"
"Mareanie!" Mareanie nodded, smiling. Blake smiled back at her.
"That's good," Blake grinned. "Way to go, Mareanie."
Mareanie rubbed up against his knee, looking up hopefully at him. He smiled, and reached down to pet her on the head.
SCHLEAK
"AGH, YOU PIECE OF-" Blake growled, clenching his already-wounded hand.
"Mareashishishi!" Mareanie cackled, rolling around in the sand joyfully. Sango rolled her eyes.
"I'm done trusting you, you little brat!" Blake said, Mareanie laughing even harder and nuzzling up against him lovingly.
Well, ladies' man Blake does it again.