Chapter 4

On Stranger Shores

The only thing May could focus on was the rush of water that was now sending her spiraling upwards. She struggled to keep her body from flailing around as she felt tiny bubbles float around her. She tried to use her tail for balance, but soon found that it was not there anymore. Unfortunately, she allowed herself to open her mouth in shock at this realization, which only sent a burst of water rushing into her lungs. She clutched her throat as she became overwhelmed by all of the sensations she was experiencing. Just when she thought she couldn't take it anymore, a bright light came out of nowhere and she could feel her head break the water's surface.

For the first time in her life, May breathed in the salty air of the surface. She still didn't have the courage to open her eyes, but she could taste and smell the new world perfectly. She could hear the cry of a far-off wingull and the splash of some unknown Pokémon only feet away from her. Despite the terror she felt at being flung from her home without warning or goodbyes, she was excited. Wally hadn't been wrong when he'd said she'd wished for legs and at this moment, in the calm after whatever she had just been through, she was ecstatic to know that her dream of becoming a stronger Pokémon trainer was coming to fruition.

Whatever she had just been through was something she was still working out. The last thing I remember was talking with Archie and agreeing to his deal of swapping my necklace for legs. Then I ended up here. What happened between that? Maybe a side-effect of the deal was amnesia…never mind. I've got to figure out where exactly I am.

When she opened her eyes, she took in the brightness of the sun, which was now blazing red and orange like she'd never seen. Living underwater, she'd only know the sun through the beams of light that would come down through the water. Now, though, she was taking in its full glory. She smiled a bit as she began to notice other things about the surface. There were dozens of Pokémon that swam about, ignoring her for the most part. They ranged from the tiniest feebas to the most enormous wailmer. Huge rocks jutted out of the water and allowed Pokémon she'd never seen before to live on top of them. Everything seemed to work together and it baffled May.

It soon dawned on her that she was starting to sink a bit, as her head would dip perilously close to the water. It was then that she realized that she'd forgotten to ask the warlock how to use her newfound legs. It shouldn't be that different than moving a tail, she thought as she lifted them up for examination.

Of course, never having seen a human leg before, it was quite a shock to May to see not one but two of them poking out of the water's surface. They glistened in the sunlight and she could tell that there was a small shimmer to her skin. She thought it was just a trick of the light, but when she tried to rub it away, it didn't budge. Maybe it has something to do with the fact that I'm still a mermaid…genetically speaking. I hope it's not too noticeable. She also noted that she was now wearing what humans would call a bikini bottom. That's a relief!

May practiced different movements in order to get accustomed to her new body. She kicked out one leg, but that didn't do anything to help her stay afloat. She tried the other one, and received the same reaction. A goldeen stared at her as she attempted to learn how to swim. She rolled her eyes at it as she continued her struggle. It was only when she kicked both legs at the same time that she was able to spring back up.

"Ha!" she proclaimed. "I did it! Did you see that—?" When she turned to point at the goldeen, she noticed that it had already plopped back under the water. She sighed and smoothed back her hair before marveling at the sensation of moving legs. I can actually feel the water against my legs. I thought it would be slimy and gross but it's not! I wonder what else they can do…

She let that thought die off as she began to figure out how to swim. After numerous attempts, May finally got it down to a science; it involved coordinating her new found legs in a kicking motion that allowed her body to be propelled forward. It was nothing like the swinging motion she was accustomed to with her tail but as she'd suspected, the two movements could be seen as one in the same.

As she began to swim for the first time as a human, she decided to come up with a game plan. Now that I have legs, I might as well use them to do what I wanted to in the first place; train! The only problem is I don't see any trainers for miles! But what could be waiting on the shoreline? Maybe trainers live on that, like the Pokémon do on the rocks! I guess there's only one way to find out.

May propelled herself forward in the direction of the strange shore and was actually getting quite used to using two legs when she felt something tug at her from below the surface. At first she thought she'd just snagged her foot on something, but it became apparent that something was purposefully trying to pull her down. She tried kicking at it, but it did nothing to rid herself of the thing. Well if it's a fight you want, I'll show you one!

She fumbled around in her bag for her mudkip's pokeball and just when she fingered it, the unknown attacker pulled her under.

As comforting as it felt to be underwater, she was not able to swim and "breathe" freely, and was now struggling to stay alive. She again kicked at the attacker, but it would not be deterred. It was dragging her deeper into the water with every shake of its head. She knew she had to do something, but her bag was now floating away from her, the impact of being dragged under having caused it to slip out of her hands.

May heard the cry of a different creature come from her left and she saw a graceful Pokémon with stripes of red and blue coloring attack the one that was attacking her. It took a nasty blow to the side, which freed her from its grip. She began to float to the surface, but looked down to witness the two fighting fiercely with each other. The beautiful Pokémon was graceful through every movement, even when it was almost bitten by the attacker. Soon, she could feel her head rising above the water and she was back to breathing the surface air. She wanted to return to help the beautiful Pokémon, but she knew she had to find her bag first.

She frantically swam around, searching for the elusive brown bag, and spotted it floating some distance away from her. She quickly scooped it up and rummaged through its contents. Everything she'd brought with her was still in it, including the beautiful pin. At least that crazy Pokémon didn't chew this stuff up.

As she replaced the bag on her shoulder, she heard the cry of the beautiful Pokémon. She turned around and gasped when she saw it leap out of the water. Its scaly skin shimmered in the hazy sunlight and its bright eyes met hers. Hey, that kind of looks like my skin! She clutched her bag in awe as it dove into the water without making a noisy splash. I wonder where it's going now. I'd like to thank it for saving me—

Before she could do anything, she felt something from underneath her. Oh no, don't tell me it's that crazy Pokémon again! She tried to swim away, but was flung into the air by the beautiful Pokémon. As she went soaring in the air, she couldn't help but laugh. Was it…actually playing with her? As far as she could tell, it was, and as soon as she came back up from crashing into the water, she swam up to it and began splashing it with water. It responded by diving underwater and nuzzling her shoulder. I didn't know such a beautiful Pokémon could be so playful!

"Do you usually do this after you save someone's life?" she asked it. The Pokémon merely cooed in response before spitting water in her face. May was so caught up with her shenanigans that she failed to notice a stranger approach the two on the shoreline.

"Are you alright, miss?"

She turned abruptly from her playing to take in a man in a white cloak standing on the shore. His short sea green hair poked through his white hat and he looked at her with concern. She glanced from the stranger to the Pokémon, which was now gazing intently at the man. This must be its Trainer. They're both beautiful.

"I am," she replied with a nod. "It's all thanks to your…"

"Milotic," he answered with a smile. "He sensed trouble in the waters and ended up finding you. He's pretty good at that kind of thing. Are you sure you're not hurt? It looked like something vicious was after you."

"I couldn't tell you what it was, but I think I got away without a scratch,"

"I've never seen a Pokémon attack a human before, at least not without being aggravated first. I'll have to tell the others about this…" He paused before saying, "Are you sure you should be in the water still? Who knows if it will come back and I'm sure your hands are more wrinkled than a prune."

"Oh!" she exclaimed, forgetting that she was now a human. She glanced down at her hands and noticed that they indeed looked like a disgusting prune and deduced that this was a sign of ugliness in humans. I'll have to remember this in the future.

May began swimming to shore and the stranger's milotic gently nudged her forward. The man knelt down and extended his hand towards her and she grabbed onto it.

When her feet touched the sand, she had to hide her shock. The sand was warm and dry on her skin. The sand was never like this at home, she noted. Standing was a whole new experience and she couldn't anticipate what walking would be like. Her legs seemed to tingle, like she'd lost all feeling in them. She tried her hardest to appear like she'd walked all her life and the stranger didn't seem to notice too much. He didn't return his milotic to its pokeball, instead allowing it to swim beside them.

"Were you training out there before you were attacked?" the man asked as they slowly walked down the shore.

No, I was dragged into a wrecked ship by a warlock who gave me the legs you see now! "Yeah," she lied. Well, I guess it's not a complete lie. That's why I'm here now, anyways. "I guess I got carried away and forgot the time,"

"I understand. Sometimes, I spend entire days just sitting by the water and watching milotic swim."

May let her mouth drop slightly. "Whole days?"

The man smiled. "I've actually only done that once. But I just meant that it's easy to do." He sighed and glanced over at his Pokémon with a warm smile. "Where's your Pokémon? Shouldn't you have it by your side?"

"Ah, well," she stumbled. "I was just finishing up my training and my mudkip's pretty tired. Sometimes I go a bit overboard."

"A mudkip did you say?" the man asked with surprise. "That's a pretty rare Pokémon. Where did you find it?"

"I found it at the bottom of the—" May stopped short of saying 'ocean'. "I mean, my parents gave it to me when I was ten."

The man nodded. "They must be supportive parents if they let you have your first Pokémon at such a young age."

May nodded and looked down at the ground. Already, she was starting to wonder if her parents had noticed her absence and whether or not they were worried. She frowned.

"Are you ok?" the man asked. "Oh, you're shaking. I'm sorry; I should've offered you my cloak sooner."

The stranger placed his white cloak on her shoulders and she was flooded with warmth. I guess I didn't notice how cold I was until now. "Thanks…mister…?" she asked.

"Wallace," he replied. "And you are?"

"May,"

The two said nothing as they stood on the beach. Wallace suddenly cleared his throat and said, "I don't mean to be bothersome, but if it weren't for that Pokémon back there, I'd of let you go on your way by now. But I'm afraid if you go back out there, it'll return. Do you mind if I find you some place to stay until I figure out if it's safe to swim there? I wouldn't want the same thing to happen to any other trainers."

May blinked back her shock at the stranger's kindness. Dad always said humans were a lot more selfish than merpeople. But this guy's proving to be an exception. No, maybe it's just a front. But still, I've got nowhere to go for the night and I'm getting hungry. "Sure. I agree, I wouldn't want anyone, especially kids to be attacked by…whatever that was. I think I'd blame myself."

Wallace smiled and said, "I would feel the same. I'm just glad milotic was here when it happened…but I'm sure there's a room somewhere in town that you can stay. It's the end of tourist season, so the innkeepers shouldn't have a problem with you taking up a room."

The crashing of the waves against the sand helped to calm her nerves as the two began to make their way further down the shore. The farther they walked, the more May realized that she was slowly leaving behind everything she'd come to know. Wallace began talking about Pokémon, but May's attention was on the glassy waters she knew she wouldn't live under for a while. I'm sure I'll be fine. Mom and Dad can certainly take care of themselves and Wally is safe now that Archie's deal's been completed. I'll find a way to get back there, but before I return, I'll train as much as I can and come back with the strongest Pokémon the ocean's ever seen! And I may just have some awesome stories to share about the surface, too.

As May smiled to herself, the beady eyes of the Pokémon that had attacked her glared at her before they slowly slunk beneath the water's surface.

A/N: I don't have much to say this time around other than the fact that we've finally made it to dry land! We'll have to see what's in store for May as she adjusts to life as a human.