Pokemon Legends: The Grand Blues!

Hi everyone. I've been spending the last few months job hunting, so I've really only been updating my Fire Emblem magnum opus over on my A03 account ReynaAtTheEnd with all the other things I've needed to take care of. I apologize to everyone who's been waiting patiently for updates; I've lost the spark for some of the fandoms I'd been working in before, and found new ones. Because of that, I decided to try and write some new stuff to see if it would help me get back in the swing of things. Like this one!

Disclaimer: I do not own Pokemon or One Piece. I mean, what would I need job hunting for if I did?

Chapter 1

The Baratie was a business in boom; rain or shine, stormy or peaceful, its doors were open to every weary sailor drawn to its stately presence by the beacon of its lighthouse. It was considered to be the greatest achievement of its creator Red Leg Zeff by the man himself for this very reason; in the heart of the tempestuous ocean that they all called home, his restaurant provided food and comfort where there might be no hope at all. The adventerous spirit that had gripped the world since the execution of that man twenty years ago assured him that there was rarely, if ever, a slow day of work in the waters.

No matter the recent weather events.

"I'm telling you, I saw it with my own eyes!" The half drunken pirate swore, waving his wine bottle at the table adjacent to his. "A massive scar tore open the sky like Mihawk himself had rent it asunder with his sword! It was huge, blue and purple and glowing with...all these weird scribbles and glyphs! The rumbling sound I heard... it was an act of divine power, I've got no doubt about it!"

"There's no way," The civilian argued. "There's no power in the world that could create something like that, not even that swordsman." Being one who cared to be in the know about the Warlords, he wasn't keen on claiming that the most dangerous of them couldn't do something, but surely if he could do something like what this guy was describing, he would be ruling the world.

"It's true!" The pirate pounded his fist on the table. "And I saw things falling from it like meteors descending from the heavens! Great beasts I'd never seen in all my travels."

The civilian shakes his head helplessly and glances at his date; torn between the absurdity of the description and not wanting to argue with a drunk sea criminal. "Sounds like it would make an amazing painting," he offered diplomatically after a few seconds. Pleased that he'd seemingly won them over, the pirate throws back the rest of his drink on one go.

The young man uttered a relieved sigh and turned his attention back to the gal he still can't believe is actually interested enough in him to join him for lunch. "Last night I got woken up by a really loud cracking sound outside; I ran all over the house but couldn't find what might've broken. Scared the daylights out of me, I tell you. I don't want raiders coming to my village."

"Really? I heard something similar," His date said, her eyes widening a little. "It was so loud... and strange, too. It was almost like I was hearing all the glass windows in the world shattering at the same time, multiplied a dozen times over."

"I thought it sounded like an avalanche," The boy argued. "Which was kind of strange, because we're nowhere close to a mountain range."

"Wait, you guys heard a shattering sound in the night?" A guy at another table joined the conversation, having started listening in while he waited for the dessert menu. "Seriously? I come from Loguetown, and everyone there heard it in the night too!"

"You did?!" The boy whirled around in shock. "But – But we live way north of there!"

The guy nodded seriously. "Captain Smoker had the Marines out in force to check the structural integrity of the city buildings just to be on the safe side; that only stopped a few days ago. We felt a minor shockwave along with the noise."

"Was anything damaged?" The girl asked, wide-eyed.

"A few things, but thankfully nothing as serious as the Captain feared." The guy whistled. "I know the event was a few weeks ago, but I'm still wakin' up at the slightest bump in the night because of it! Scared the shit out of me when it happened, I tell ya; I thought we were under attack for a minute!"

Weaving between the tables, Sanji dropped off a few wine bottles and made a note of the conversation. As irritated as he is that he'd been temporarily kicked off the lineby that stubborn old man, at least the chatter in the last few weeks had been...interesting.

He'd seen the exact same thing the drunken pirate had; up late in the night, practising his kicking, he'd heard the world-shattering noise and seen the blazing rift in the sky. The world government was calling it a 'strange aurora formation', but that didn't look like any aurora he'd ever seen – in the North or East Blue. It lingered for ten, fifteen minutes, then vanished as suddenly as it appeared, leaving no trace behind.

No wonder it seemed to be the only thing anyone wanted to talk about ever since. Sanji had bothered the old man about it, but Zeff hadn't had any more answers than the government; he'd looked a little pale and awed when recalling the stunning sight. That was something Sanji didn't see often, so the magnitude of the strange event was increased even further to him.

He'd been about to pivot back to the kitchen to collect more orders when the bell announcing a new guest had arrived rings. Sanji casually pivoted and walked toward the grand staircase up to the entrance – there was a chance that a beautiful young lady would need to be shown to a table, after all!

"Welcome to Baratie," The new doorman, a patient and good natured fishman who's name Sanji unfortunately struggled to remember, addresses the new patron as the blonde loops closer. "How may I help you?"

"Wooooow..." A lovely feminine voice gasps, ringing in Sanji's ears like the beginning of a sweet song. He immediately put on some speed. "This is amazing! I've been on a cruise ship before, but the restaurant is usually tucked away in some corner downstairs. Nothing like this!" She clapped her hands together. "May I have a menu? Just to see the variety you have to offer; I'm pretty sure I'm going to stop here, but if I could-?"

Sanji easily swiped the menu out of the hands of some self-important looking guy, ignoring his outraged protest, and jumped the steps three at a time. "Here you go, my lady," He crooned, holding it out to the source of the voice.

The girl yipped in surprise and turned to face him, one hand instantly going to her white sun hat; she laughed when their gaze met, a surprised smile on her lips. Sanji was smitten instantly; the girl is around his age, just a few inches shorter than him and adorable in every way. Her long brown hair falls wildly around her shoulders, two loose strands framing a heart shaped face while the rest of her wild mane fell down below her shoulders. She wore a long sleeved light blue cardigan with a white shirt underneath and a long red skirt that goes down to her knees, with black leggings beneath and cherry red shoes; her clothes are a little dirty and scuffed, like she's been quite busy for a few days and hasn't had a chance to clean them properly. She's wearing a large backpack, and has a sword and a bo staff strapped across her back, and around her wrists are two different bracelets. One is mostly silver with a single stone inset, a fairly large unique stone of swirling colors within. The other has a z shaped crystal set in a swirling gold band. One slender hand rests on her utility belt, and she drops her hand to accept the menu.

"Thank you," She said with a giggle, before immediately flipping it open and sticking her nose in.

"Where would you prefer to sit, we have seats out on the deck and some booths available if you would prefer...a bit of privacy," Sanji said with a flourish.

"Oh, out on the deck please, I wouldn't want to make a mess." The girl responded distractedly. "Oooh, this all looks good... meat and vegetable dishes, ah the variety, this is perfect." She snapped the menu shut and beamed at him. "Sir, I would like three of everything."

Sanji paused, his mouth half open with a forgotten flirtation as he blinked rapidly at her. "I apologize, madam, you're asking for three of which dish?" He couldn't have heard her correctly.

"Three of everything," The girl repeated, tapping the top of the menu. Making a sheepish gesture, she immediately shoved a hand into her utility belt. "I know that's a lot, I don't mean to hold up the line but I would really like it. I'll pay extra for the trouble!" She yanked out two massive stacks of berries and tossed them at him and the doorman like they were nothing. He caught it out of reflex, goggling at her. "I need to feed my babies; we've been working our butts off the last few days, trying to get our bearings! I mean, you can probably tell..." She uttered a self conscious chuckle, brushing down her clothes. "I'm a bit of a mess. Sorry, I only had time to do a load of laundry this morning."

"Three of everything it is," Sanji said, his mind kicking back into gear. Of course a lovely slender girl like her wouldn't be ordering all of that for herself; she must be placing an order on behalf of the ship she came in on. "My fellow employee will see you to a table of your choosing; what name shall I put on the bill?"

The girl tilted her head in thought. "Leaf," she said after a minute where he thought she might have wanted to say something else. "I'm Leaf of Orre." She put her hand on her hip, like she half expected to be challenged.

"Lady Leaf," Sanji bowed with a flourish. "I'll have your food as soon as possible."

A light blush stained her cheeks in response, and she laughed again, like she wasn't used to being spoken to that way and didn't know what to do with it. "Thank you, sir!" She turned and skipped back toward the door. Sanji watched her leave with a dazed grin before whirling around and rushing for the kitchen. There was work to be done!

Patty didn't believe him when he barrelled into the kitchen and delivered Leaf's order; Sanji repeated himself once and told him to check with the doorman if he's so confident. Zeff had taken one look at the order, made an admittedly amusing face, and ordered Sanji to ditch the waiter's coat for now and help with this nonsense. Sanji couldn't be happier; he'd have to slip his lady an extra something sweet for this.

The menu at Baratie is long and varied; being on the ocean allowed them to get plenty of ingredients from the most basic to the mildly exotic. If it weren't for the old man's stubbornness about medium rare steaks, Sanji would be experimenting much more. Ah, but there was no time for that right now; he had vegitarian sauces and various pasta dishes to put together!

"How many dishes is that?!"

"Hey, where did that saute I just finished go? Eh?! That was for our problem customer, ya idjit! Now I need to make another one!"

"Stop hogging the oregano, Carne!"

"Get off my back, the meat sauce will taste bland without it!"

"Oregano's for savages." Sanji said, tossing a pinch of basil in as he rushed past Carne with the carrots and beets he'd been looking for.

"No one believes that but you Sanji!" The man yelled after him, shaking his stirrer menacingly. Sanji waved mockingly his way. "Stay out of my pot!"

Familiar controlled chaos filled the kitchen as the cooks scrambled to commit to the meal, getting in each other's way constantly in the process. It was like a lunch rush, except caused by a single person. Zeff eventually appeared at Sanji's right and cordoned off one third of the kitchen to concentrate on Leaf of Orre's order, so the rest of the restaurant wouldn't be held up waiting for their meals. "She can't possibly be able to pay for all of this out of pocket," The old man groused.

"She threw thirty grand at me like it was nothing," Sanji retorted as he finishes cutting the onions. He arranged them amidst the salad delicately. "I think she's fine."

"A noble, then?"

"All women are noble," Sanji responded confidently. Zeff gave him a sideways look, his lips quirked in faint approving smile. "But I don't think so, not with the rumbled state of her clothes. She must be hungry; she has the look of being quite well travelled."

"Hungry enough for all of this?" Zeff mused, chopping up his own vegetables. "Well, I hope she's able to appreciate at least a few different dishes." He turned up the heat under the pot. "Where're she and her shipmates sitting? We can start sending out the food soon."

"Out on the front deck." Sanji said, clicking his tongue. Her comment about 'making a mess' was still rather odd to him; what could she have meant by that? "This bean sauce is almost done."

"Good, she better enjoy it; don't think I didn't see you messing with those spices." Zeff said warningly, causing Sanji to snort and roll his eyes.

"No one has ever rejected my food," The blonde bragged. "You'll see, you old fool."

Zeff gave him a warning glare, though he didn't go any further than that because there was still so much food to be made. As the chefs began finishing one dish after another, a fleet of waiters rushed in to grab the food and transport it out to their mysterious customer. Sanji hummed to himself as he worked, jumping from one recipe to the next, mixing things up with substitutes whenever he ran short on something. Honestly, he's excited to hear what she thinks of them-

"MONSTERS!"

Sanji nearly lost his thumb to a chef's knife when one of the waiters burst into the kitchen, running madly for the door to the cellar. "MONSTERS ARE ON THE DECK! AHHHH!" He fled within the cellar and slammed the door shut behind him.

Thankfully, nobody panicked – at least, in the kitchen. Innumerable pirates and occasional marines trying to start something on the ship had given them a high tolerance for sudden freakouts. With the doors still swinging Sanji could hear a lot of confused and concerned babbling within the Baratie proper.

"There shouldn't be any Sea Kings in this area." Zeff said with a concerned frown. "I made sure of that when I dropped anchor."

"I'll go see what the fuss is about," Sanji volunteered, setting his knife down and heading out to the front door. Zeff said something at his back that he didn't hear thanks to Patty and Carne yelling at the guy taking refuge in the cellar; Sanji picked up the pace and weaved through the tables. "Everyone please remain calm!, if there's indeed a problem, it will be handled promptly!" He yelled, pitching his voice so as many people could hear him as possible. The last thing they needed was a stampede of panicked people trying to climb out through windows or out the door.

If there was a sea king poking around outside, that would not help their survival rate in the slightest. Not to mention people would trample each other in a blind panic. Sanji didn't hear any roaring outside, so what had gotten that waiter so panicked?

He stepped out onto the deck and that's when he heard an unfamiliar trilling sound, coming from the far end of the deck. He turned to the right and nearly tripped over his own feet to faceplant on the wood.

A massive green, brown and dark green creature hovered in the air by a table where Leaf of Orre was standing, laughing and tossing a piece of steak from one of the plates up to it. The creature's slender neck stretched forward and snapped the steak up with a gleeful noise; long horns curved backward down its neck, and its wings were long and rhombus-like. Red stripes lined its body along its large back legs, along its wings, and the tips of its horns.

"It tastes really good, huh Tiana?" Leaf asked, unfazed by the bizarre monster in front of her. She walked up to it and reached up her hand; the serpentine/dragonlike creature dropped a few feet down and butted its head against her slender palm. "Yeah? That's good. Here, you have the rest of it. Sit!" She moved one of the plates closer, and the creature ducked its head to eat.

A large, furry...fox? Cat? Dog? It looked like someone had bred the three animals with the intention of producing a creature that would make women faint from its cuteness – walked around Leaf's feat and made an amused mewing sound. It had red fur across most of its body and a big, poofy yellow tail – it was really fluffy, with a yellow plume atop its head as well as a mane and circles around its feet.

"Be careful!" Sanji blurted out when his brain caught up with what his eyes were seeing. "That – those are -"

"Huh?" Leaf twisted his way and blinked a few times. Then she waved at him and said. "No, it's okay! They're mine, I'm their trainer." The dragon creature tilted its head. "Tiana and Mika here are completely docile."

"W-What are they, Lady Leaf?" Sanji asked, his mouth opening and closing a few times as he looked between the two creatures.

"They're Pokemon." Leaf responded, seemingly thinking that simple statement should explain everything. She briefly removed her hat and runs a hand through her brown hair, looking sheepish. "I'd hoped that if I stayed to the side of the deck, I wouldn't cause a ruckus when I started feeding them... I'm sorry! I haven't caused a panic, have I?"

"Well you've certainly scared the wits out of a few of our waiters," Sanji responded slowly as he approached. The dragon creature licked its plate clean and turned toward him, its nostrils flaring. It turned fully toward him and ducked down, snaking toward him; Sanji jerked backward and half lifted a foot in self defence before Leaf grabbed onto its shoulder.

"Whoa, whoa girl." She tugged it back a bit. Sanji watched the dragon as it bobbled its head, sniffing repeatedly at him. "Sorry; have you been in the kitchen? She can smell the food on you. She's a big fan."

Sanji stared into the dragon's bright red eyes, and slowly a grin spread across his face. His pride in his work overrode the shock and confusion of the situation, allowing him to relax. "It is damn good meat, isn't it?" He asked the big beast. "I cooked it up myself." He saw its eyes widen a little at that. Incredible; that is a very expressive creature; he couldn't mistake that sort of excitement. "I told that old man no one could resist my cooking."

The creature made a delighted sound, its wings fluttering. Leaf looked between them and smiled warmly with a look of pure relief. Sanji melted into a puddle under those warm blue eyes.

"Thank you for not panicking," Leaf said in relief. "I'm sorry I didn't mention who my babies were. I've been having some trouble with people being frightened by their appearances. It's like no one for miles has seen a Flygon before. Or a Flareon."

"I can't say that I have," Sanji responded before spinning in a circle and kneeling. "But if my fair lady has them in hand, then what do I have to fear? I'll bring you your dishes personally from now on."

Leaf slapped a hand over her mouth, muffling a giggle that's definitely bewildered and disbelieving. Had no one ever told her she was beautiful? Impossible. She would have to have lived exclusively among blind men! "T-Thanks. I think? That's a lot of work?" She tugged on her hair again, then turned to the table where a tall metal cylindrical device is sitting. She pressed a finger on it and suddenly a red and white sphere popped out, growing in size when it bounced into her hand.

"Anything for you," Sanji responded, eyeing the red ball. "Er, incidentally... how many – Flygon? - do you have?"

Leaf glanced sideways at him and her smile became distinctly sheepish. "I have one Flygon, and one Flareon. Buuuut... I do have more Pokemon. A whole bunch more. My PC goes where I go."

She tossed the ball in the air, and a massive silver and black metal beast landed on the deck, sending a shiver through the Baratie itself. She winced slightly at the impact and placed her hat back on her head. "I'll give you and the cooks an extra tip for your troubles."

Sanji stared up and up and up at the beast, who peered curiously down at him from beneath its razor blade of a nose, and sucked in a deep breath before grinning. "More meat dishes, I presume?"

Leaf tugged down the brim of her hat and nodded. And that was how Baratie ended up serving its first ever Pokemon Trainer and her menagerie of superpowered beasts; the story would only become more wild and bizarre from there.

End Prologue

A short chapter to start off with, because this is basically an episode opening scene! Yes, I am basing Leaf off of the gen 3 girl main character, but she grew up in Orre instead of Kanto. The circumstances of the Rift will be explained as things go along; also, Leaf doesn't have an endless cavalcade of Pokemon in her PC, the fixed number will be revealed soon. I want her teammates to have some characterization of their own, after all, and that would be difficult if she brought a whole Pokedex's worth with her!

Please drop a review if you enjoyed!