Well, I've got something to say, readers.
I've decided that this fanfic is going to be a lot shorter than it was originally supposed to be. Instead of one big story, I'm going to be writing a "Destined Explorers of _" trilogy! And when the second one starts, OC submissions will be re-opened!
Look forward to it!
But right now, there's a crisis afoot! The Jellicent Kingdom has defeated the Abyssal Raiders and our heroes are on the run. What can happen now? Anything, that's what!
-.-.-.-.-.
Vizeli never thought she'd get out alive.
When she had regained her consciousness, Lady Sapphire and Neptune had already moved onto other targets. They either thought her dead, or the Frillish had decided to hurt her for now and save the joy of actually killing her for later. Either way, Vizeli had managed to limp her way out of the trench and into the wide ocean beyond.
She broke the surface with an exhausted gasp, sucking in a deep mouthful of air to help recharge her tired limbs. Forcing her tail to work, she began to motor slowly forward, hoping to reach land before she died of exhaustion.
Her arms and legs felt like a Steelix subjected to Gravity. Her tail was more sluggish than a Slowpoke. Her head felt like a Rhydon had been dancing on it. The poison from the Sludge Wave had sucked away what felt like the last of her strength. It was a wonder she could move at all.
Instinctively knowing that she was slipping into unconsciousness again, Vizeli forced herself to swallow her pride and choke out the words she never thought she'd say. But this was no time to think about dignity, not when it was a matter of life and death.
"Help… me…"
-.-.-.-.-.
Cenric expected to wake up in Arceus' domain – that is if he expected to wake up at all. If not in Arceus' domain, then he would have liked to have woken up in a nice, cozy bed with his parents watching over him, telling him it had all been a dream.
The Buizel could have imagined a million places he could have regained his consciousness in. But for some reason, he indeed woke up in a place that never would have made the list.
On a small, flat raft, bobbing up and down on the waves in the middle of nowhere.
"Oh, good," came the voice. "You're awake." The voice was flat and emotionless, and its owner certainly didn't seem particularly happy to see him.
Cenric opened his eyes and sat up, immediately seeing who he was with. There was Sam and Blanca, looking at him concernedly. Then there was a Pokemon that he recognized as one of the Crawdaunt guards from the Abyssal Raiders' dungeons. Finally, there was the owner of the voice, indeed not looking very glad to be stuck with him in the middle of the ocean. It was his old friend, Madeleine.
"What happened?" Cenric asked her. "Where are my friends?"
Madeleine was reluctant to answer until her parents gave her stern glares. She sighed heavily and replied, "I saw you and your friends being dragged along with some of the Abyssal Raiders. Since we used to be friends, I felt obligated to snatch you away and drag you along with us instead. You're welcome."
Her rudeness stung, but not as much as the fact that she'd openly admitted to kidnapping him. "They weren't Raiders," the Buizel responded. "It was Team Crustacean, and General Fang decided to help us escape from the Jellicent Kingdom because he knew that the Raiders were no more."
The Absol gave him a look that clearly stated she was skeptical of his explanation, but she didn't say anything more. Blanca carefully walked over and sat down beside him, affectionately starting to groom him with her tongue. Cenric just closed his eyes and let her. It was a big relief to finally be out in the open and not confined in a stagnant underwater cavern.
Sam suddenly raised his head and squinted into the distance, looking out at the water. "I see something over there," he stated, pointing with his paw at whatever it was he had seen. The Crawdaunt stood up to his full height and shaded his eyes with a pincer. "Yep, I can see it too," he said in a gravelly voice.
"You think it's someone in need of help?" Blanca asked worriedly. The Ninetails nodded and started paddling in that direction. "We might as well check it out," he said. "I can't stand to think that someone could be dying and we didn't do anything to try and help."
Everyone gave nods of agreement, and each Pokemon joined in to help Sam paddle their raft towards the mysterious object he had seen. It didn't take them long to catch sight of it as well.
"I see it!" Cenric said excitedly, paddling faster. Soon, the object was floating well within their sights. It indeed seemed to be a helpless Pokemon, bright orange in color, and looking really familiar to Cenric –
He gasped, suddenly recognizing the Pokemon. "It's Vizeli!" he said, pointing to the unconscious Floatzel. Madeleine looked surprised and her parents' expressions darkened.
"Should we help her?" Madeleine asked, raising a paw as if about to try and reach her. Sam and Blanca shook their heads. "Think of Cenric, dear," Blanca said scathingly. "Vizeli abandoned him, remember? Do we really want such a selfish Pokemon on board with us?"
The smaller Absol grew angry. "Who cares?" she snapped at her mother. "We're all floating towards who knows where, possibly about to die, and we really don't have the leisure of choosing our traveling companions. We need all the help we can get if we want to survive!"
Madeleine's outburst shocked and hurt Blanca. Before Sam could go to his wife's defense, Cenric spoke up. "… She's right," he said quietly. "We should help Vizeli."
All of the other Pokemon, including the Crawdaunt, looked at him in shock. Cenric took a deep breath and explained, "It's like Madeleine said. We need all the help we can get, and we can't be too choosy. And yes, she abandoned me, but she's still my mother and some little part of me still cares if she lives or dies. If we abandon Vizeli, then we're just as bad as her."
Sam and Blanca looked at him, their faces unreadable. Madeleine seemed surprised that Cenric had been so quick to agree with her. The Crawdaunt glanced from one Pokemon to another, wondering if they'd be helping the Floatzel or leaving her.
Finally, Blanca sighed, and gestured for them to paddle once more.
-.-.-.-.-.
Under the mighty, steaming shadow of the Hot Peak Volcano to the south of the Bughaven Forest, there lay the biggest city on the continent. Its name – Vulcana City. The bustling metropolis was so large, it shared direct trade routes with every single one of the Factions, from the large Earth and Diamond Factions to the more elusive Winter and Water Factions. Vulcana City itself was part of the Magma Faction.
Pokemon of all kinds congregated there for all sorts of business. There were multiple post offices, for instance, with Pelipper and Delibird flying from place to place and delivering letters and packages. There were at least three bazaars, each selling all kinds of wares from all over the Pokemon world. The main square was busier than all the main squares of all the towns on the continent combined. And of course, there were rescue teams all over, both unofficial ones and ones that served the Guardians directly.
Now just imagine seeing all of this after a lifetime of seeing nothing but trees and mountains.
Yep, the three wild Pokemon were pretty overwhelmed.
"This is Vulcana City?" Barn asked, trying to close his beak but failing miserably. "Vhat a place! Vladimir could never imagine such enormity!" the Noivern replied, crawling along behind him on all fours. Elf's beak was practically dragging on the ground.
The other Pokemon were somewhat less amazed. Adrianna had been here before long ago as part of a rescue team, but she had forgotten just how big the city was. Alphonse, Evelyn, and Lavender had never been here before, but they were used to the large towns they had grown up in. Team Exo visited regularly whenever they needed to get to the Guardians' secret island, and thus were completely unimpressed.
Goliath regarded the utter astonishment of the three wild Pokemon and chuckled. "I still REMEMBER my first time in the CITY," he assured them. "It was JUST as SHOCKING to me, BELIEVE me." He then buzzed up to the front of the group and said, "Well, Team EXO, you know what we HAVE to do, RIGHT?"
Tara nodded. "Yes, we have to find the rescue team headquarters in Vulcana City," she replied. Cheli added, "That's at the southeastern end of the city beside Sharpedo Gulf, if I remember correctly."
The Midjet nodded. "That's RIGHT!" he shouted. "We're going to need a BOAT in order to GET to the Guardians, and for THAT we have to VISIT the rescue team HEADQUARTERS here and get their PERMISSION! Any QUESTIONS?"
Alphonse raised a tentacle. "Yes, how are we going to find our way without getting lost?" He gestured to their immediate surroundings – even here on the outskirts it was pretty crowded.
"EASY!" Goliath yelled, making them all wince. An instant later, he was carrying two maps in his little claws.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the city, a bewildered Tranquill was staring at her talon in which she had once clutched a couple of maps.
"Take THIS!" Goliath said, tossing one to Alphonse. "Me and my COMRADES will take the OTHER. We'll MEET you at the ENTRANCE of the rescue team headquarters when we're FINISHED, CLEAR?"
Adrianna stepped forth. "I'll come with you," she said, shifting the once-again-sleeping Topaz in her arms. "Maybe I can help somehow, considering I used to be on a rescue team until recently."
Goliath nodded his approval and turned to Evelyn. "YOU'RE in CHARGE of these other FOLKS," he told her. "Just keep an EYE on them and make sure NONE OF THEM wander off. ESPECIALLY her," he added, pointing at Lavender.
Evelyn knew precisely why they didn't want the Venonat getting lost. She had explained to them that she was princess of the Bughaven Kingdom and that the new queen wanted her dead. Lavender had also asked them to call her 'Lola' whenever possible, so that other Pokemon wouldn't suspect her identity and tip off the Surskit guards hunting her.
She was a little paranoid, but after everything she'd been through, it was understandable.
"We'll keep them in line," Evelyn assured Goliath. "Right, Alphonse?" she added, earning a reluctant nod from her Tentacruel friend.
"EXCELLENT!" the tiny Bug-and-Flying-type boomed. "See you all at the rescue team HEADQUARTERS!" And with that, Team Exo and Adrianna walked off and disappeared into the thickening crowd.
"Alright then," Alphonse said, unfolding the map. "We've got quite a dang bit of walking to do if we want to meet them at the rescue team HQ. We might as well head down to Sharpedo Gulf and do a bit of sightseeing while we do so."
It was settled. Alphonse and Evelyn took the lead, poring over the map, while Barn, Elf, 'Lola', and Vladimir followed behind. Even the Venonat, who was used to buildings, couldn't help but gawk at the new sights that awaited them around every corner.
"Look over there!" she squeaked from her perch on Barn's head, pointing with a stubby forelimb. A gap in the crowd revealed a fruit stand operated by a cheerful-looking Cherrim.
"I've never even seen half of those Berries!" Barn said, fascinated, swiveling his head to keep looking at the shop as they passed. "That's because they come from all over the world," Lavender said matter-of-factly. "You wouldn't see all of those if you lived in one little forest off the beaten path."
The Noctowl nodded and paused to let Elf catch up. "It's strange how organized everything looks," the Hoothoot commented. "In the wild there's no trading or bartering. It's first come, first serve. Survival of the fittest."
Vladimir nodded wisely. "Indeed," he agreed. "All of this is new and exciting for Vladimir and friends." It was clear that he was fascinated at the amalgamation of Pokemon, big and small, strong and weak, coming together to create this vast community.
A Salamence flew overhead with a roar, ferrying smaller Pokemon on its back to another part of the city. A Venusaur lumbered past, clearing a path with its huge bulk and pulling a cart full of supplies behind it. A pair of Plusle and Minun danced on the side of the street while a Maractus played music and a Pichu collected money from the onlookers. Everywhere the wild Pokemon looked, there was something new to discover.
Double-checking to make sure that Alphonse and Evelyn were still in front of them – even as the Tentacruel and Dragonair glanced back at them for the same reason – the wild Pokemon doubled their pace as they found themselves falling behind. "It looks like it would be easy to get lost here," Barn observed.
They passed a building in which hot gusts of wind and smoke billowed out. In it, they could see an Aggron striking something with a huge hammer, before lifting it up and allowing it to glint in the sunlight. It was a magnificent-looking sword. The Aggron lumbered over to a round, spinning rock and began to sharpen it.
"Blacksmith," Vladimir told them, gesturing at the Rock-and-Steel-type and his clever craft. "Making things from metal is new technology, or so Vladimir hears. Although vhy Pokemon vould use veapons vhen ve have natural veapons of our own is beyond me."
Lavender nodded thoughtfully, still clutching Barn's head. But when she looked down, she blinked in astonishment at what she found – or rather, didn't find.
"Hey, where did Elf go?" she asked, bewildered.
-.-.-.-.-.
When the Hoothoot looked up from examining the cobblestones beneath her talons in utter fascination and found that she was alone (well, not alone when there were hundreds of others surrounding her, but you get the gist), she almost panicked.
But before she could, thankfully, Elf remembered a vital detail. Goliath had said to meet them at the rescue team HQ, whatever that was, near Sharpedo Gulf. Apparently, that was at the southeast end of the city, so all Elf had to do was figure out which direction was southeast and fly there. Simple.
It was then that her internal clock chimed, alerting her that it was noon. Elf cursed and instinctively looked up at the sun – it was at its highest point in the sky, meaning she couldn't use it to find southeast.
"Ugh, now what do I do?" Elf asked herself in dismay. She found a clear space in the middle of the road and hopped along dejectedly. Where the road went, she had no idea. But it definitely went somewhere, so that was something. At least Elf knew that she wasn't nowhere. "Yeah, big relief," she muttered.
She hadn't been hopping for long when she suddenly slammed into something. The Hoothoot tumbled to the ground and grunted as she bounced off of whatever it was. Dusting off her wings, she looked up and saw that she had bumped into a very large Pokemon.
Elf vaguely recognized the orange, winged beast as a Charizard. He looked down in bewilderment upon feeling her bounce off of his stomach and noticed her lying on the ground. He held out a clawed hand and asked, "Need help, kid?"
Hesitating, Elf allowed him to take her wing and pull him to her feet. "Thanks," she said, shaking herself. "Don't mention it," the Charizard said, waving it off. "You lost or something, kid?"
Again, Elf hesitated. Could she trust this huge Pokemon? But on the other talon, he might be able to help her. So she nodded and said, "Yes I am. I got separated from my friends. We were heading for the rescue team HQ."
The Charizard laughed. "What a coincidence!" he chuckled. "My pal Razor and I were heading there ourselves!"
Suddenly, a green mantis-like Pokemon appeared from out of the crowd and looked at the Charizard scathingly. "Now what are you blathering on about, Jules?" she asked. "You chatter more than a Chatot."
Jules grinned at the Scyther sheepishly before gesturing at Elf. "I was just explaining to this little tyke that we were heading to the rescue team HQ. Apparently her and her friends were heading there before she got lost."
The Scyther bent down to be on eye level with the little owl. "Is that right?" she said curiously. "If you'd like, Jules and I can take you there. My name's Razor, by the way. We're Team Blazers."
Elf looked up at Razor in awe. "You're a rescue team, too?" she asked in awe. Jules chuckled again and replied, "That's right. What's your deal, kiddo?"
Turning to face the Fire-and-Flying-type, the Hoothoot replied, "My name's Elf. I've been traveling with Team Exo and some of my other friends."
Razor and Jules both blinked, impressed. "You know Team Exo?" the Scyther asked. "Well, any friend of those legends is a friend of ours. Pleasure to meet you, Elf." Elf smiled and shook the tip of her blade.
"Well, we'd better get going," Jules said. "The Guardians are going to want to hear what we have to say, and we aren't going to find them by standing here and yammering."
Razor rolled her eyes and muttered "You should talk…" before following him down the crowded street, Elf hopping close behind. She had no intention of getting lost a second time.
-.-.-.-.-.
Meanwhile, Alphonse and Evelyn were busy studying their map, trying to figure out the best route to reach the rescue team headquarters. They had been scrutinizing the parchment for a while now, trying to make sense of it. The city was so large and complex, so unlike their original home on Diamond Island.
"OK, I think the headquarters are here," Alphonse mused, jabbing a tentacle at a spot on the map. Evelyn squinted and slowly replied, "Yes, I think so too. And that means we are… … … here." She pointed with her tail at another spot on the map.
Alphonse gazed at the map a while longer before nodding with satisfaction. "Alright then," he said, rolling up the paper. "If we're right, then we have a lot more ground to cover. Let's inform the others and" – suddenly, the Tentacruel was interrupted by a shout.
"Guys!" cried Barn, flapping up to them with Lavender and Vladimir close behind. "Elf somehow got separated from us!"
Evelyn's eyes grew wide. "What? When did this happen?" she asked, taking charge. Lavender gulped and squeaked, "We only noticed about a minute ago! We think she's lost!"
Alphonse started to wring his tentacles together worriedly. The little Hoothoot had started to grow on him, and he didn't really like to think of her lost in the vast urban jungle.
"Before anyvun panics, Vladimir has suggestion," the Noivern piped up. Evelyn nodded for him to go on, and he continued, "Ve all know vhere Team Exo has gone, yes? To rescue team headquarters at southeast end of city. Vladimir is villing to believe that Elf knows this as vell, and vill continue to head there in hopes of finding us. So all ve can do is continue on our vay and hope that ve cross paths with Elf there."
Slowly, Barn nodded. "He's making sense," the Noctowl agreed. "And if she doesn't arrive there, then… well, I'm sure we'll figure something out. Besides wandering all over the city looking for her, there's little else for us to do."
The Dragonair looked at each of them in turn before making her decision. "Alright, we'll do that," she said. "We have to, as Vladimir said, hope that Elf makes it to the rescue team headquarters without us."
With that agreed upon, the group of Pokemon continued toward their destination, weaving through the thick crowds that lined the streets and carefully making sure they were all together. They had no intention of losing yet another friend.
Across the street, a shady figure watched them go. Nodding to itself, it unfurled dark wings and took to the sky, keeping an eye on the group as it skimmed over the crowd.
-.-.-.-.-.
I've always pictured Vulcana City to look like a combination of Tatooine and Loc Lac City from Monster Hunter 3.
Cenric and Vizeli have been rescued by Madeleine and her parents and are forced to put up with each other for now. But why does Madeleine, the Pokemon that Cenric has been searching for ages for, claim not to be friends with him?
And what of Elf and her new friends? Can they reunite with Barn and Co. in time to catch a boat to the Guardians' isle at last?
Chapter Question #23: Trip versus Paul! Who would win in a Pokemon battle? Who would win a pain-in-the-arse contest? Who would win the Total Jerk Wars?
Trip: "I'm not losing to someone from the Sinnoh region boonies."
Paul: "That kid's a total waste of my time."
Vote now! *Star Wars theme plays*