Oki Mariner (Day)
While they were taking their break, the sound of something coming out of the water alerted Sirius, Asui, and Dominic to Selkie's presence. "Hey. Froppy, Mountain King! What're you playing around for?" he asked. "Just because frogs and volcanoes have big mouths doesn't mean you can spend all your time gabbing. And Sirius, I ordered you to supervise them. Make sure you're doing your job properly!"
"We're done cleaning." Asui said.
"And I'm supervising them properly!" Sirius said, putting her hand on Asui's head.
"And volcanoes have vents, not mouths." Dominic added. Everyone looked at him in confusion. "Someone had to point it out." he clarified.
"Oh? Is that right?" Selkie asked. "Sorry, guess I jumped to conclusions. My bad!" The captain then put his fists just below his face while attempting to look cute. "I'm sorry!"
'Was that his attempt at Baby-Doll Eyes? If so, he failed.' Dominic thought to himself. Then again, he had once seen a Luxray use that Move, so it wasn't impossible for Selkie to pull off this weird skill.
"Hahaha! Was I too cute for words, you two?" the captain asked his two interns.
"They're dumbfounded." Sirius said, embarrassed. "I always say this, but you can't just make your face cute. Below the neck, you're too macho. Not to mention, your face is too rugged."
"What did you say!?" Selkie asked, outraged. "When I do this for kids, they always laugh!"
"Have you considered the ever-so small possibility that perhaps they're laughing at you and not with you?" Dominic asked. This made Selkie fall over, his worldview shattered.
"Captain Selkie! There's a message from the Japan Coast Guard!" a crewmate from the helm said.
"I'll be there right away!" Selkie said, going to the helm.
"Froppy, Mountain King, can you help me unfasten the ropes? We'll probably be sailing out." Sirius asked.
"Finally, some action!" Dominic said, excited.
Oki Mariner (Evening)
"Stowaways?" Sirius asked her captain, having heard the reason behind them going out to sea.
"The Coast Guard got a tip that there were stowaways on the trade ship, Nysan." Selkie explained. "The Coast Guard inspected the Nysan, but there weren't any to be found. However, after careful investigation, they found cargo missing from the ship's freight list. Do you know what this means, you two?" he asked his interns.
"It seems that before the Coast Guard arrived, the stowaways stole some cargo and moved it to another ship." Asui said. "They might've been smuggling brokers."
'Do all frogs have deduction skills that good?' Dominic wondered, being reminded of one of his first Pokemon.
"That's correct! The job we've taken this time is to secure the stowaways thought to have escaped on a small boat and deliver them to the Coast Guard." Selkie confirmed, pulling up a holographic map. "Based on the Nysan's position, this is the area where the smaller boat might land. The Coast Guard and other sea heroes are also looking for the boat. The sun will set soon, so try locating it with the radar. I'll search in the ocean. That is all. Now get to work, sailors!"
"Aye aye, captain!" everyone said in unison. A minute later, Selkie jumped into the sea.
After night fell, Dominic activated the searchlights and joined Asui and Sirius on the deck. The three of them used binoculars to look for the boat, but as expected, none of them found anything in the darkness. "Nothing on the radar, and we can't see anything. Well, this is going smoothly." the blonde said sarcastically. Even his heat vision didn't pick up anything.
"Don't worry, we have the captain on our side." Sirius said confidently.
"We have a message from the Coast Guard!" a crewmate said. "A fishing boat thought to belong to the stowaways shook off a hero agency patrol boat and escaped into the part of the ocean we're searching in!"
Selkie resurfaced immediately after that announcement was made. "Everyone! I found the fishing boat!" he said. "Sailors! Turn off the lights and get close without telling them where we are!"
"Aye aye, captain!" everyone said in unison. It took a while, but they eventually came across the ship they were looking for.
"Captain, I can see the boat!" Dominic yelled. Once he had Selkie's attention, he pointed in the direction he saw the boat in. It was several miles away, but still visible in the dark thanks to the blonde's heat vision.
"Okay. Prepare a patrol boat and block their course, then board their ship without setting off a flare!" the captain said.
"What should we do?" Asui asked, Dominic standing beside her.
"Stay here. Sirius, stay with them." Selkie ordered.
"Yes, sir." Sirius said.
"It's a shame, but we can't go against the captain." Dominic said, knowing how Asui was feeling. He'd seen a friend experience the same thing a few years ago.
"I know you both want to join him, but even if it's just stowaways, we have to be careful." Sirius said to the interns. "We can support them from here."
"Captain, we've arrived at the fishing boat's course." a crewmate said.
"Got it. Leave the rest to me." Selkie responded. He turned on the searchlights, then spoke loudly through the speaker. "Stop the ship! This is a pro hero! We are here on a job for the Japan Coast Guard to inspect your ship!"
The hero and a handful of his crewmates were able to board with no resistance. "Captain, I couldn't find any of the cargo in question." one of the crew members said to their captain. "There wasn't any here either." another added.
"That's what I told you!" one of the suspected stowaways said. "We were just fishing-"
"Then you can show us what's under here, right?" Selkie asked, referring to the storage.
"There's nothing but fish down there." the suspect said.
"Just open it." the hero said sternly.
"What a pain, it's just fish." the suspect groaned, lifting the hatch.
"It's too dark to see anything." one of Selkie's crewmates said.
"Can't you turn on any lights?" the seal-Quirk user said. He, as well as his crewmates, were caught off-guard when they were pushed into the storage by the stowaways. They were soon joined by one of the three that pushed them in.
Back on the Oki Mariner, things were getting tense. "Captain, please respond." one of the crewmates asked over the radio. "It's no use. The radio's not getting through. I'll go take a look." he said to Sirius, running toward the door.
"Wait!" Sirius said, putting a hand to one of the fins on her head.
"Of course!" Dominic said, getting a Poke Ball. "Come out!" From the capsule, a pink Pokemon with a vaguely humanoid body appeared. It closed its eyes, and focused on something only it and Sirius could hear.
"What's going on?" Asui asked, confused. Dominic put his hand over her mouth, quieting her voice. Before she could object to this, he showed her the entry of the Pokemon he brought out.
"Audino, the Hearing Pokemon. Type: Normal. Audino's sense of hearing is superb. Not even a pebble rolling along over a mile away will escape Audino's ears."
That's when it hit Asui. Selkie must've been using his sonar to communicate with Sirius, and Audino was helping to decipher his message.
"Stowaways. Different boat." Sirius relayed. Audino nodded to its Trainer, confirming this information. "Don't worry. We're fine. Find them. Mick, start the boat!"
"Aye aye!" Mick said, steering the boat to a nearby shore.
"If that boat's a decoy, then the stowaways should be heading to shore." the blue-haired sidekick said to the interns. "Thanks for the help." she said to Audino, patting its head.
"We aren't going back for the captain?" Asui asked.
"If Selkie decided it's best for us to pursue the stowaways instead of helping him, then that's what we'll do." Dominic said.
"I understand, ribbit." Asui said.
It wasn't long before they reached the shore. Soon, Dominic's water-resistance training would be put to the test.
