DISCLAIMER: I don't own Pokemon.
THE POWER OF THE OCEAN
CHAPTER THREE: SAVAGE ASSAULT
Rascal had woken woefully early and unsurprisingly had risen wanting immediate attention. I had slept for only a few hours, not quite as long as I had hoped but it was an ample amount of time for me to "recharge my batteries" as they say. Already I had feasted on some of the Bibarel's flesh caught during last night's hunt, which did not seem to please the Mantyke very much since he had moaned that his portion was "too fatty" for his liking. Instead, I compromised by presenting him with a couple of Oran Berries, far more suitable for Rascal's tastes.
This charade had gone on for long enough. Today, I vowed to myself that I would reunite Rascal with his missing parents. As I stretched my muscular limbs in preparation for what was bound to be a long day, I interrogated the child as best I could to obtain some information from him. His mother, as I had suspected, was a Mantine (or as Rascal put it, "looked like him, but WAY bigger"). His father, however, was more of an anomaly. He'd said that his father was more like a big blue snake. Immediately, the idea of a Gyarados popped into my mind, but Rascal discarded this by saying that his father did not have "great big scary teeth." What else could it have been? The likes of Milotic and Dratini would be more noticeable to the eye, but far less likely to encounter due to their rarity. There must be hundreds of Mantine living in these waters, so how would we know which, if any of them, was Rascal's mother?
"Can we go yet, Captain?" Rascal whined impatiently, entertaining himself by zipping around my room. The water had become quite "stuffy," the oxygen in the water that fills the room decreasing doe to the fact that I had kept the window and door closed to prevent any unwelcome visitors from entering. For the time being, I had opened the window to allow some fresh air/water to seep into the room. I kept watch by the window just in case one of the aforementioned predators might try something.
"Soon," I reply with a calm tone, there was no need to raise my voice despite his persistent nagging. "I need to know a bit more about your parents before we head off. Do you know their names?"
"Mommy and Daddy," Rascal answers cheerfully, as though he was proud of the fact that he knew the answer despite the innocent wrongness of his reply.
"No, I mean their REAL names. You call me Captain, but my real name is Galleon. You call your mommy "Mommy," but what does everybody else call her?"
"Well, Daddy calls her Fat sometimes," Rascal replies with a small laugh. "But I think he's called her Glide before, lots of times in fact." Finally, we were getting somewhere. Finding a Mantine called Glide would narrow down the candidates for Rascal's mother dramatically. "I don't know Daddy's name though. I didn't see him as much as Mommy." Sympathetically, I nod towards the child. Cross-Breeding with different species was seen as a terrible crime in some parts of the world, the ocean baring no exception. It is a shame, really. There is so much intolerance in the world these days. Same sex relationships are seen as sinful in the same way that, for example, a Swellow were to fall in love with a Pidgeotto. It is baffling to comprehend why this is such an issue. Perhaps to keep with the "purity" of Pokemon as opposed to the way that the humans do? I don't know… nor do I particularly care.
But that last little statement there… it wasn't necessarily true. I DID care, once.
"Captain Galleon?" Rascal asks curiously, prodding the side of my face with one of his flippers to snap me out of my daydream. I rapidly shake my head to rid myself of these thoughts and look back towards Rascal, whose smile widens as I take notice of him. I smirk to myself. Captain Galleon made me sound like some sort of pirate! It amused me a little, I must admit.
"Are you ready?" I query with a smile, swinging my arms in preparation to swim. The Mantyke beams with delight, zipping across the room to the Captain's Desk where I have laid out a satchel filled with various items we might need, mostly Berries and a Bibarel Fillet to keep us going, although I'd also placed a couple of items in there for Rascal's use should we attract confrontation. Rascal slips the strap of the satchel over his head and across his back in one large loop before swimming with the bag attached to him readily, saluting me in the same way that he had done yesterday or the day before (I can't remember, this whole situation has felt more like a fortnight!)
"Aye aye, Captain Galleon!" Rascal shouts with delirious happiness as I shut the window before opening the door for him to swim through. Overexcited by the prospect of finding his missing parents, Rascal zips past me faster than a freefalling Salamence. Rapidly, I close the door behind me and give chase. Damn, the little bugger is fast! I am barely able to catch up with him as he launches himself out of the great gash on the side of the sunken ship that provides entry, knocking Magikarp and Feebas out of his path without regard. I'm finally able to clasp a hand around one of his flippers, dragging him back in order to warn him of the dangers that lurk outside. Sure enough, a trio of nearby Basculin watch Rascal with famished interest. Luckily, my presence alone is enough to keep them at bay.
I look around the ship's ruined exterior. Sure enough, the Staryu and Starmie are STILL feeding on the algae that grow through the decaying wood. Chinchou and Lantern are also on the prowl, a greedy Corphish gets a nasty shock when he tries to snatch one of the youngsters from below, the Staryu also flashing with electrical charges towards the more curious Chinchou that venture too close. Things look back to normal, I still cannot fathom what seemed so amiss last night. Still, now was not the time for wondering about such nonsense.
I had only taken my eye off Rascal for a couple of seconds, but already he was off once again. To my horror, he was heading straight for the Basculin that had been watching him since appearing through the hole in the side of the ship. I swim with great haste towards Rascal, only to witness the fullest extent of his naivety.
"Excuse me," Rascal asks, bowing his head politely towards the trio of ravenous fish. "I don't mean to interrupt, but have you seen my Mommy and Daddy? My Mommy's a Mantine."
"Aww, poor little blighter's lost his Mommy and Daddy," one of the Basculin chuckles mockingly in a deep, somewhat Cockney/London accent. "What do you reckon, lads? You seen any Mantine floating around 'ere?" The others shake their heads, not taking their eyes off Rascal until I float alongside protectively.
"You'll have to find breakfast elsewhere," I taunt threateningly. The Basculin laugh to themselves, before the same Basculin with a wild look in his eye slowly floats away from the rock that they seem to be resting near.
"What's going on here, then?" the red-striped fish sneers with interest. "Is this your kit, Swampert? Been 'aving a bit of nooky with a Mantine, have ya? Why's that, can't pull one of your own species?" His two cohorts laugh behind him, the chief Basculin grins to reveal his razor sharp teeth that would tear Rascal apart within seconds. Rascal, in his innocence, does not seem to even see the danger.
"No, this is The Captain! He's helping to look for my parents," Rascal replies, still acting as politely as possible.
"Alright then," the Basculin notes, smirking a little to himself as he apparently acknowledges Rascal's statement. There is still a look of maliciousness about him. I move Rascal to one side, ready to defend him against these unpredictable foes. "In that case, no, we ain't seen yer parents. But that don't matter too much! By the time we're done, you won't see them OR your bloody Captain ever again!" I let out an aggressive growl, barricading Rascal from the Basculin, the other two begin to move into position, as if creating a formation in order to attack.
"You need a hand with this, Savvy?" one of the other Basculin asks with a sneer, ready to join in the upcoming fight.
"Nah mate, I got this," the Basculin known as Savvy replies. Apparently, Rascal has finally stumbled across the realisation of this predicament. He is now right behind me, cowering with a sense of fear that I can sense even though I cannot see him. The water behind me is trembling against my back, the vibrations of the Mantyke's worriment confirmed. "So 'Captain,' you ready to be torn limb from fucking limb?"
"You can try," I answer with determination in my voice. The other two Basculin cheer and whoop behind Savvy's back, urging him to initiate the first attack!"
"Get him, Savage!" one of the Basculin encourages menacingly. I'm guessing Savvy must be a nickname, considering he's just been addressed by the name Savage. Makes much more sense than having Savvy as a nickname. Savvy means "discerning," as well as being a paraphrase of "pirate talk." With that, a jet-stream of water trails behind Savage as he darts towards me. Instantly, I summon a large circular barrier around myself, engulfing Rascal in the process. Savage bounces away from my Protect harmlessly, although he seems clearly annoyed at being unable to land a clean hit.
"Fucking wimp!" Savage taunts, addressing my defensive tactic as opposed for resorting to all-out strength. I simply chuckle as the Protect fades away. He swims at me at full speed once again, this time his teeth are bared as he opens his jaw as wide as possible. I choose not to erect another barrier, instead I extend my fist. The Basculin takes the bait, clamping its jaw down on my closed fist. The pain is far more excruciating than I realised. The Bite didn't draw blood, but it was certainly close to puncturing the skin. "Gotcha!" Savage grins, pressing down even further on my hand. However, I quickly swamp forward towards the rocks, my first glowing a pale blue. With an almighty punch, I force Savage into the rocks, the pale glow turning into a freezing sensation that encases Savage in a large block of ice. An Ice Punch at that close a range can cause great damage to even a resistant type such as a Basculin. I extract my fist from Savage's mouth just as the last of the ice entombs Savage, a look of shock is frozen on his face.
"What was that you called me?" I mock with a small sense of triumph. "Got nothing to say? Very well. Let me put an end to this." I quickly check back on Rascal, who is cheering me on from behind. I raise my arm high above my head, before thrusting it downwards, my patented Hammer Arm shatters the thin layer of ice emphatically, knocking the Basculin down forcefully onto the seafloor. The other two Basculin quickly swim to his aid. "Wow, you're persistent for a Pokemon that isn't even beyond Level 16," I mock once more. Savage glares at me with pure frustration, but quickly swims away with his two underlings at his side.
"This ain't over, Swampert!" he calls as he retreats hastily, making me frown somewhat. I knew full well that I was capable of fending for myself, but I know that I can't stay fully focused when I constantly have to look over my shoulder to check the welfare of Rascal. He cheers with delight as I swim to his side.
"Are you alright?" I enquire with a nurturing tone, like a father would ask his own son.
"Wow, Captain! That was awesome!" Rascal chirps, zipping back and forth in his usual fashion. It wasn't exactly "awesome," as he had called it. But I certainly seemed to prove a point.
"You really ought to be careful," I warn with a more stern and serious voice than before. "If all three of those Basculin had attacked at once, we'd have had more of a problem. They weren't particularly strong, but there are some Pokemon that are MUCH stronger and more dangerous than those! Arceus knows what would have happened if there were more of those things. It wouldn't have been pretty, that's for sure."
"You got THAT right, prick!" the angered voice of Savage suddenly shouts from behind. Both Rascal and I turn around quickly to see a much more intimidating sight. No longer is Savage accompanied by two companions. There are now at least twelve of the bastards! They all bare their teeth in readiness to attack. Rascal shivers with fright once again, ducking behind me. "You've gone and messed with the WRONG Basculin, mate! This time we're gonna fuck you up REAL GOOD!" A scowl escapes my mouth once again. This doesn't look promising.
"Shit," I groan, clenching my fists once more. "Me and my big mouth." This was going to be tough. Before I could even plan out the orchestration of my attack, the whole hoard of ravenous fish charge towards me. "Stay back," I warn to Rascal, who quickly rushes away in search of a hiding spot as I prepare for what will surely be a difficult battle.
End Of Chapter