[Part 1]
Hiei and her girlfriend were just about ready to disembark out of their underwater cave, when Inabayama suddenly came up with an important question.
"So, I've been meaning to ask, why does it take so much of your concentration to move us underwater? I figured that would'a been pretty mundane compared to what you're used to doing."
Ah, just as she expected, her girlfriend was curious. To be honest, Hiei thought this particular question would be asked sooner or later, she just expected it to come in a few more days. Figuring they could postpone their departure just for a little bit more, she sat on the ground, and patted the spot next to her. Naturally, the Goodra obliged, sitting down, and allowing Hiei to lean onto her shoulder.
Damn, not only did this save some energy, but it also felt nice.
"Our mode of transportation is a bit complicated. It currently consists of three gravitational bubbles that project a powerful repelling force, contain said force in a limited radius, and neutralise these gravitational effects for the two of us. The result is a nigh-indestructible bubble that is, in fact, a semi-permanent construct that doesn't require any input to exist. However, moving all of its components simultaneously as not to disrupt it is a different story"
"And disrupting it would be… Not good, right?"
"Indeed. In order for it to be nigh-indestructible, the gravitational forces within it had to be tremendously high. High enough to either level this entire lake and alert humans of our location, crush us instantaneously, or fling us in a random direction at speeds incompatible with staying alive. Additionally, I have to generate air at the very same rate we are spending it, or we'd either suffocate, or be poisoned by it"
"Huh…" the dragon blinked a few times, as to process this information better, then looked at Hiei with a mix of curiosity and confusion, "But while we're sleeping, you're using this… Uhhh… 'Battery' to generate air?.."
Hiei nodded, pointing at the crystal in her chest.
"I can use my spike as a 'battery' that stores psychokinetic energy I produce, and passively uses it towards a singular task. I am also using temporary constructs of a similar nature while awake," at this, Hiei pointed at her arm spikes, "But these have smaller capacity, and require external energy input to function for the entire day. Which is why, after reinforcing my muscles, creating these temporary batteries and linking said reinforcement to them, I am connecting the temporary batteries to the crystal"
"Ah, so you can't battery air while we travel, because you'll either have to manually control your muscle batteries, which would take about as much concentration, or you'll have to sit there without any strength, which would be bad in case anything goes wrong. And putting the bubble movement on batteries is too risky, if possible at all" her girlfriend concluded, once again reminding the Gardevoir just how beautifully clever she really was.
"Correct," Hiei smiled. Honestly, the only thing that seemed to hold Inabayama back was her lack of knowledge on rather obscure, especially by Pokemon standards, topics. And of course, Gardevoir was glad to provide her with said knowledge.
"Ight, I think that about answers my question," her girlfriend offered Hiei a hand, "Let's go?"
"Let's"
At that, Gardevoir concentrated on shrinking down the area of three gravitational fields to their more travel-oriented size, and directed the dangerously powerful construct out of the underwater cave, collapsing it behind them in the process.
They still had a rather long way to cover, before even making it out of this lake.
[Part 2]
The foggy landscape was slowly but surely crawling far below, with trees, houses, roads and people merging into ant-sized boring mesh. You can only be impressed so many times by a bird-eye view through the tightly sealed windows of a Jeevee. Still, at least her dad was generous enough to send her off on a jet vehicle, rather than on an armoured car - that saved several hours off this trip on traffic alone.
Especially since he was so freaking adamant about her transport taking the long way around the Spiriting Away site. And like… Yeah, the mountain disappeared? And sure, social media was having a field day with that, so what? It's not like the new barren field in its place is any danger to anyone not terminally allergic to boring scenery?
Still, Fumiko couldn't help but feel bummed about this entire trip. Because despite her being the only daughter of the mayor of the freaking Kyoto city, and one of the richest girls in her class, here she was, sitting in a passenger seat of a Jeevee that had its course set to GyaraDocks, of all places.
FREAKING. GYARADOCKS.
She asked her dad for a cute shiny Pokemon for her 16th birthday. Something like Jigglypuff, or Sobble. Heck, even a shiny Pikachu would've been acceptable - but no, her out of touch dad sent her to GyaraDocks, a place that only nouveau riche 10 year old boys would be happy about.
And she was neither nouveau riche, 10 year old, OR a boy.
There was nothing special about owning a shiny Gyarados - not among people who mattered anyway. The only reason EVERYONE who wanted one didn't have it was the price. For most other shinies, you'd have to either hire a breeder, or buy a shiny on an auction. Meanwhile GyaraDocks just had a lakeful of these red fish monsters, making having one practically as meaningless as owning a regular Gyarados.
The only hope she had for the future was that her social standing in the class MAYBE was solid enough to play this off as something she didn't care about, and Fumiko really didn't feel like testing it out.
Her dad, of course, wouldn't listen to any complaints, because something-something-connections-something-something-reservations.
Dad: It would be good to have at least one Pokemon that can protect you
Fumi: ༼ ༎ຶ ᆺ ༎ຶ༽ Then what Dummy 1 and Dummy 2 are for?!
Traitor: And remember, GyaraDocks is one of our major contributors.
Traitor: So don't forget to pass my regards to doctor Agawa.
Traitor: Wait, did you change my name again?
Fumi: (๏ᆺ๏υ) You deserve this.
Traitor: Please, change it back.
Fumi: (∩｀-´)⊃━ I'm getting you a Jynx for YOUR birthday.
Fumi: (⌾⃝ ౪ ⌾⃝ ๑)⊃━ ﾟ.*･｡ﾟ I'll be sure to give it to you at the party, so everyone can see it.
Traitor: Please no.
So… Whatever.
She would just go there, pick a giant snake fish that grosses her out the least, and train the stupid thing to do dumb tricks in funny hats, or something. That could at least do some numbers on her social media, maybe.
Speaking of, her Jeevee had finally settled down on a VIP helipad, and opened with an annoyingly loud hiss.
Walking out of the vehicle after both of her tall, suit-clad bodyguards, Fumiko was greeted by a balding old man roughly the age of her father, wearing aviator glasses and widely showing his perfectly white teeth. Creepy.
"Ah, miss Furukawa, it's a pleasure to finally meet you! Welcome to GyaraDocks, your one stop for a perfect shiny Gyarados companion!" the man's mouth somehow got even wider, "I am doctor Agawa, head of this fine facility. Would you like a tour?"
"Just take me to the dumb fishes," Fumiko blurted, not exactly willing to waste her time looking at how they feed the damn things or something, "Also, dad sends you his regards."
"Ah, certainly. This way, then," the man nodded, then leading the way through the tacky-looking gates that belonged to a theme park, "Now, there are a few ways we could find the right partner for you. Some of our patrons like to take a swim in our indoor pools among Gyaradoses from which they are choosing"
Yeah, she was NOT wearing a swimsuit around this guy.
"Hard pass"
"Oh, that's perfectly fine, in that case we have a wonderful and perfectly comfortable observation area. Now, what are you looking for in a Pokemon partner?"
"Something cute," she gave a short answer, not believing for a second that this simple wish would come to pass.
"Oh, then I am sure our selection will not disappoint!" the doctor showed his teeth again, somehow making Fumiko even less sure of her chances.
The lake by which they were walking looked… Like a lake, yeah. Clear calm water, few freshly fallen leaves floating, and stupid-looking golden Magikarps sometimes peeking out. Far back, in the direction of Kyoto, hovering over the horizon, there should've been a mountain that was spirited away earlier this week, though nothing indicated that anymore. So that direction was now particularly boring.
Yeah, Fumiko expected this trip to turn out to be a massive, uneventful waste of time.
[Part 3]
Today, their gravitational bubble had to backtrack a little before burrowing into the lakebed. And it happened just a few hours into their journey as well. Which was fairly frustrating, yet understandable.
Because they had reached a point, at which their surroundings suddenly changed. The surface of the water crystal clear, the lakebed clean and full of vegetation, and floating cars loaded with blue people making rounds, as if looking for any signs of trouble. If Inabayama didn't know any better, she'd say that the humans were looking for the two of them, but no - it seemed like this part of the lake was just heavily guarded like that.
But for her girlfriend, the most shocking thing were those huge red water snakes calmly swimming through these waters. The dragon was not sure why, but she figured that now that they've made a stop in another temporary underwater cave, she'll learn soon enough.
"This lake is a breeding facility," Hiei managed, pacing back and forth through the cave, her gaze haunted and unfocused, "It's a bloody breeding facility, Inabayama"
"For… These golden fishes? They turn into those red long ones, right?", the Goodra asked. The question seemed to reach her girlfriend, who stopped and, after a few moments, sat down with her back to Inabayama's chest, guiding dragon's massive arms to wrap around her feeble frame. Yeah, she did look like she needed a hug.
"The small ones are called Magikarps. Back in the day, they was notorious for being everywhere, and being considered useless. However, with the advancement of human research, they became famous for their evolution, Gyarados, that underwent a significant power spike, and also possessed an aggressive and intimidating look, making it popular among human trainers"
So far, not that surprising. Inabayama could've been more flabbergasted at these silly fishes turning into something that looked aggressive and intimidating like those big red ones, but her own kin underwent similar transformation, both in terms of looks and power.
"And then, there is a highly documented phenomenon of Pokemon discolouration. The noticeability of said effect varies depending on species, with some being nearly indistinguishable from their kin, and some being unable to survive in their natural environment due to said discolouration putting them at severe disadvantage compared to their kin. There is also some data that suggests higher risk of genetic illnesses and defects in such Pokemon. However, humans decided that such rarity meant that these Pokemon would make for great collection pieces"
Oookay, NOW it started to veer into worrying territory. If this meant what Inabayama thought it meant…
"Now, you've seen the difference in the state of the lake before and after. The part through which we've traveled so far had algae on the surface, 'dirt' at the bottom made of decomposed organic matter, and one sole Pokemon species living in it. The part in front suggests that it was artificially made to look presentable, especially considering the sudden cutoff. All of this suggests that this entire lake is one big breeding facility for Magikarps. Which is supported by the fact, that regular Magikarps are supposed to be red, and Gyaradoses - blue."
Oh. OH.
"They…" the dragon felt really, really sick, "They bred this lake full of discoloured, diseased Magikarps?"
"And that's not the worst part of it. Have you noticed the look on the Gyaradoses we saw? Peaceful, practically sedated, despite their kin being known for its unstoppable anger. Which suggests that they are under the influence of SOMETHING that keeps them calm. Due to the size of the lake and the amount of Pokemon in it, possibly something that doesn't need to be readministered at a regular basis," at this, Hiei showed the dragon a small green electronic something, "All of Magikarps I caught had this thing in their skulls. Possibly, a receiver for some sort of a calming signal"
"Bloody. Hell. This… This is just monstrous. And worst of all, we can't even do anything about it!"
"Who said we can't?" suddenly, her girlfriend's scarlet gaze peered at the Goodra, "We still need to cross this lake, and all those human patrols aren't making it easy. As long as we avoid detection, shutting down this whole operation could be a pretty good distraction for them, don't you think?"
"Huh…" Inabayama couldn't help her growing, vindictive smile at the realisation.