Storm Sworn
Aric Fisk's Team:
Tynamo (Vita)
Veluza (Ascalon)
Silver Magikarp
Skrelp
White-Striped Basculin
Red Tropius
Nessa's Feebas (Quin/Tessa)
- [ᛊ] -
It had been a long two days. Not known for taking it easy, Nessa drowned those days with work. Be it assisting with recovery efforts, aiding the Chansey Stations, reunite families, and working with the Rangers and Leagues to pursuit the SS Cactus crew through legal means. Tirelessly and feverishly.
She did have a particular goal: To find her Feebas and the still recovering Aric. They were still missing. It tore at her. Everyone else she knew personally was.. accounted for in one shape or form. Her photo crew had been scattered, but most of them came out of it without much injury.
The budding water specialist groaned softly into her arms, unfortunately awaking after finally getting some semblance of rest. Her lithe upper body, still sore from all labor, was draped across a desk and atop a small stack of papers.
She had spent the night recounting the events through pen and page. Before that in the evening, she had just barely recovered enough to be publicly served a Hoenn Heart Badge for her quick thinking and due diligence. There was no time to overthink and mull over the mistakes when those she did helped and could help with her presence, as Nurse Joy of Dewford City put it. The switch from the public's sourness to congratulations and gratitude was a little jarring at first as well.
To upkeep the fragile mask of peace and stability..
Forcing herself back into those memories made Nessa sick to her stomach. She had made many trips to the bathroom just recollecting the tragic events—the loss and the pain. The blood and the screams. The blackened flesh and storming waters—
Unconsciously, her arms hugged an entire pokeball to her face. She was the only empty pokeball she had left. Her gifted Feebas', Quintessa. She wanted to hold out hope that the young fish would remain alive, but... It was but a single fish lost at sea in a foreign region at that. Quintessa was too shy and while trained, had gotten used to her rapid lifestyle. Being a Feebas, one of the weakest Pokemon in wild, many predators would see her as an easy snack. The wild waters have already shown there was usually only a single mercy: a quick death.
Nessa quickly switched her train of thought, lest she linger too long and cry again.
To look back at all, it was nothing short of a miracle she got through it because she couldn't imagine repeating it all over again. All because she knew she couldn't be a future Nurse anymore. Not after this.
The local Nurse Joy had recognized the girl's forgone look immediately, passing a word of warning and one of empty comfort.
"You're still young, you did plenty, Nessa. Take heart in that. Don't let it consume you like a tropical storm," the pink-haired woman had preached before getting called somewhere else.
It physically pained her to think that she might be putting Doctor Osumi's teaching to waste. That her teacher's life had come to a sudden end for nothing. That her mentor's undying will to protect the seas would die with her.
Nessa gagged into a sob, no longer able to feign her restless sleep, if just so she didn't have to deal with living. The girl shoved the papers to the side in effort to protect them from her tears and to somehow relieve her festering frustrations.
It would take twenty minutes for the girl to calm down. Despite everything, she could force herself to do the bare minimum before laying to rest her mentor's will. The respected woman deserved that much and so much more, but Nessa couldn't be the one to continue the arduous work at sea.
And so, she mustered the last embers of her strength to see them through.
Her body dragged her to the bathroom to clean herself back up. The model within her could take over for this ordeal.
And so, she let it.
Her shower thoughts turned to the current state of her room. Her room was a mess, and there was an hour to waste before the makeshift Pokemon Center nearby was open.
It was still a little weird that they weren't 24/7 to the teenager. Although, it wasn't the main center, and its main focus was to alleviate pressure during the busier hours or in emergencies such as an influx of capsized people and their Pokemon. With half of Hoenn embedding themselves in the sea, Nessa assumed they had figured this was the best way for everyone to be happy. Still, that thought did nothing to stop the flame of anger that crackled within her.
The sailors and designated organizers had lied to everyone. It would be about a week before she and a select few others were called to court regarding the oceanic liars. She did not know how she would spend that week—which was an odd feeling ever since she began planning everything on a schedule.
She did know one thing.
She would send them away for a long time with her testimony. It wouldn't be enough, nor would it relieve the pain they caused, but it would stop others from following their footsteps. When Hoenn opened their borders, there had been a decline in inspections and safety somehow. Hopefully, this major tragedy would give the region the kick in the arse it needed to get its shit together.
It was rare that Nessa got angry. She hated the feeling. It was such a.. useless feeling and just made her sad. Right here, it really just compounded everything else all the more to heights she wasn't sure she wanted to acknowledge.
She pulled herself out of thoughts, having finished her showering ritual and grabbed her two towels, one for her shoulder-length hair and her body. Her autopilot walked her to a bag, where donated sweats had been given. She hadn't gotten much time to shop...
That was Elesa's thing or for her crew to figure out...
Most of her personal crew survived. They had lost a single photographer. Akiza Diamant.
Feeling the raging emotions again, she stood in the center of her messy room, staring hard at the ceiling with furrowed brows and tears that threatened to drown her vision. But, she would not have it. Or rather, she would not let it.
At least, not right now. She could cry her heart, curse the oceans, and begrudge the things out of her control later. There were things to do in the now. And so, she begrudgingly wiped her tears with both her trembling hands. One of them held the wet pokeball she had taken with her to the shower.
She quickly slipped herself into a baggy gray sweater and pair of matching sweatpants. She had to tighten the waistband of the latter a ton to prevent it from slipping. Afterward, she started hard at her growing pile of laundry before turning away.
The daughter of her hardworking parents resurfaced to clean up the room. Starting on the papers she scattered, she straightened, sorted, and gave another look over to see if she had completed them. It had been a long time since she had helped her mother, but she still cherished those moments in her home office.
She dared not glance over her section of the events.
The sheets on the bed were smoothed in such a way Archeon's jaw would be jealous. The random thought briefly lifted the corners of her lips as she finished admiring her work. Her eyes drifted down to the mess of clothing, littering the floor.
Normally, her normally fierce-looking Drednaw starter would pick them up for her and deposit them into the laundry bin carefully with his jagged mouth. However, all her Pokemon needed a long-deserved rest, a serious look over, and a major part of her wanted to be alone for once.
That last part was an odd feeling. Unconsciously, her hands drifted over to her heart.
Spending her nights in silence, solitude, and darkness were... honestly, a terrible decision. Logically, she knew she shouldn't be alone. She regretted every moment of it, but she made her choice to let her Pokemon get the care from an actual professional.
And not some half-assed intern like herself.
The growing thumps in her chest pulled her out of her thoughts. Almost robotically, she returned to her cleaning. Easily, she draped her arms with clothes.
That was until she got to the bloodied garments from that day. She had completely frozen up, having forgotten them. But a moment later, she shook her head and left them there.
"T-They.." she started with a hesitant whisper, "they'll be disposed of l-later..." She nodded inwardly.
As she dropped the other clothes into a bin, a soft rap of knuckles her door rebounded throughout the room. A familiar voice followed, "Nessa? Nessa, are you up?"
Her body moved before she could figure out a proper response. However, once her brain caught up, Nessa redoubled her effort. On the way, she nearly tripped on the clothes she purposefully left on the floor.
Eventually, the long black-haired girl swung the door open to greet her visitor.
"Elesa? What are you doing here?" Nessa looked her senior model and friend up and down. The budding woman was in much better shape than yesterday in the hospital. Still, Elesa was leaving the usual glow that memorized the world. And so, Nessa couldn't help but also ask, "are you sure you should b—"
"Enough of that, Nessa." The blonde brushed off the concern and hurriedly glanced around, "could I come in? I- I don't have any lodging since..." She trailed off with a conflicted look.
"O-Of course! Come in, come in." Nessa stepped away and gestured for her friend to enter.
Elesa nodded with a look of relief. "Thank you, Nessa. You're a lifesaver."
A flash of emotion boiled through the younger girl's expression before she could stop it.
The blonde pretended she didn't see it. Instead, she plopped into the chair. In doing so, her gaze briefly found the documents. Again, Elesa tore her eyes away. This time, she dug into the plastic bag on her person that Nessa found herself blinking at. Somehow, she had completely missed that.
"Hey, Nessa, I got your Pokemon. The temp Joy heard I was coming to see you, and well, thought she'd save you the trouble." Elesa ended by holding the bag, after taking some of her own pokeballs out.
Gingerly, the darker girl received the bag, hugging it to her chest. In doing so, Nessa had dropped the pokeball she didn't realize was in her hand still.
She was pretty sure she had it with her in the shower too.
"Quintessa? That's her ball, right?" Elesa asked as she picked it up for her friend.
Nessa swallowed before nodding, not trusting her voice. The surprise that her friend recognized the ball stumped her as did the mistake of dropping such a favored possession of hers. She knew her Pokemon wasn't dead yet, otherwise the ball would go inert and ready to capture again.
She knew not the inner mechanics, but it helped keep her worries lowered.
Elesa cut through her thoughts with soft words. "We'll get her back."
Nessa, taken aback as if slapped, could only stare. She barely mustered her next word, "w-we?"
The blonde puffed her chest with a serious nod. "I caught her, and I'll be damned if I'll leave her to wander off in the wilds. She's much too pretty to leave out there!"
Elesa fished out her pokeballs, revealing more than she had initially brought on board. In one hand, she held her starter, Stripes the grandiose Zebstrika. In her other, the two labeled pokeballs housed the girl's Tynamo and Chinchou.
"I-" the budding woman hyped herself up, "I'm ready this time!"
In doing so, she missed Nessa's glassy eyes. However, it was impossible to miss their bodies colliding as the younger girl threw herself at Elesa. The latter quickly changed tunes to comfort her friend, muttering soft words of comfort and rubbing her back.
They stayed like that for what felt like forever. That was until Nessa pulled out, hiding her face by looking away. "I m... I might throw up on you."
Elesa gave a short snort. "I didn't know I smelled that bad. Could I borrow your shower too while I'm here?"
Despite the tears, Nessa found it in herself to giggle too. It hurt her sore body to do so, but for now, she couldn't care less. "Go on you. I'll go ahead and fetch you some towels."
There were things to do.
In the end, the threat to the other Feebas was gone so the Milotic didn't have any other reasons to stay. Nessa's Feebas, Quintessa, and the silver Magikarp were caught Pokemon. The serpentine creature seemed to understand what that meant nor made any moves to "fix" that, thankfully.
Still, the various glances made at my cheery Tynamo and myself stumped me. I wasn't sure if it was trying to look for a reason to take them away or, honestly, I don't know what. The looks didn't seem curious, but to be completely fair, the majestic Milotic's expression couldn't really change much.
Either way, it's been hours since the ordeal. Nightfall had risen. With the lack of technology, the darkness only had my thoughts to keep me company.
Usually, at least.
"—Ty?"
I glanced down to my starter, who decided to accompany me for the night. It might've been my.. small panic attack that made my final Tynamo want to stay.
She really was a good girl, huh.
"I'm okay," I said with a genuine smile.
I wasn't good; nowhere near great. But, not gonna lie, it felt nice to admit I was doing okay again. Still, it didn't stop my tiny starter from practicing her new powers and floating up to my cheek, slathering me with her slime. Which reminded me..
"Are you sure you won't dry out, Vita?"
The eel only bit down on the back of my hand. Using what I hoped was a weaker version of Leech Life, something left me. I didn't really feel any different nor did she break my skin. My Pokemon seemed content and answered with a soft cry soon after.
"Tyy~"
Tynamo wasn't loud by any means, but she spoke in higher pitches. I hoped a certain someone wouldn't be annoyed by it. My eyes flickered out to the slumbering dragon, who had yet to stir since the Milotic encounter. I planned to ask for directions to the mainland soon. I was hoping for a ride back too.
My mind began wandering.
One of the first things that popped up was if the dragon could help with the coral seahorse Pokemon. I had no way of dealing with poison at the moment. I dreaded doing so, but I couldn't just leave the Pokemon to suffer. It seemed to cry out in more pain than fear as it sprayed everywhere.
The late Dr. Osumi wouldn't be able to stomach seeing the Pokemon in pain.
I quickly shifted thoughts, lest the blackened corpse of her body haunt my dreams.
I blinked into the darkness, barely spying the not-shiny Tropius.
I wondered if Tropius could fly. The living dinosaur hadn't since I surfaced here. Neither had it ever tried, only trotting everywhere with heavy footfalls.
I don't think she wants to leave though, so I didn't really plan to ask her to come with me. It was a small slice of paradise after all. A fully realized dragon protected the land at that. And if this world was anything like the games, coming across a Milotic was a near mythological encounter or something. I couldn't remember the specifics.
Pretty sure only one or two trainers had one in the Gameboy Hoenn games. The champion, and maybe a gym leader...
Oh right.
Another champion had one as well: Cynthia.
"Naam~" My starter yawned, still floating in the air. She found a crevice. To my surprise, water encompassed her. She used Aqua Jet to fill it before nodding at me with her entire body and slumping asleep in her new mini pool.
I was taken aback at the usage. I didn't realize that water moves actually summoned water. In my defense, it was hard to tell when using water moves in water, okay? Did it simply draw moisture from the air? Convert energy to matter somehow? Or maybe, did some Pokemon carry a pouch of water?
However, soon I followed in my starter's metaphorical footsteps and yawned.
I guess... it was my turn to sleep too. Like with Tropius days before, I fell asleep quicker than I expected despite my worries.
Vita must've used Yawn cuz that thing was supereffecti—
About a week passed by. I gave some basic instructions to Vita, Ascalon, and surprisingly, the red Tropius. The latter had noticed I was teaching them things and wanted to join, I guessed. She had been as dutiful as Tynamo. She struggled to understand all of my words. Fortunately, Tynamo could help translate for me usually. If that didn't work, I tried my best to make a demonstration for the dinosaur.
I learned she had the moves: Razor/Magical Leaf (the difference was fascinating), Air Slash (a stronger Gust), Dragon Breath, Stomp (this was actually pretty scary), Vine Whip, Dragon Dance, Growth, Leech Seed. She acted older or more mature than all my Pokemon, so I guess it makes more sense she had more moves.
The "Leaf" attacks used red leaves, reminiscent of her scales. Razor Leaf lacked the necessary focus requirement and the "aim assist" of the Magical variant. To make up for it, Razor Leaf sent out a ton more leaves and quicker too in both startup and flight speed.
The "magical" attack was good practice for Vita's overall mobility with Magnet Rise. It took two days for Vita to up her mobility to dodge properly. That was.. until she figured out, she could get rid of the leaves by dodging at the last moment to get stuck in something else. It got Tropius pumped up to hasten the leaves.
Eventually, even Feebas and Ascalon joined in on the practice. The water did little too slow down the leaves actually.
I guess the dinosaur had used it for hunting, huh?
Air Slash was interesting. I thought it would be just like Razor Leaf. However, Tropius had sent out long blades of air with cutting power far above that. Honestly, without any sort of PokeCenter nearby, I wouldn't want any of the Pokemon to take a hit like that. Even if Ascalon could probably regenerate...
Dragon Breath was pretty cool. 'Nuff said. It was a pretty cool blue, contrasting the red Tropius.
Tropius' Stomp was scary. I don't know if it was her weight alone, but she essentially showed us that she had made the pool for the water to fill. Having four limbs work in tandem like that, I wouldn't want to be on the receiving end of that ever.
Vine Whip was weird for Tropius. She preferred burrowing them from her feet into the ground and attacking that way, instead of sprouting out her neck. I noticed it before, especially during the capture of Basculin, but assumed she just controlled the vegetation.
Testing the attack on Ascalon, it seemed to take longer to activate from the neck for Tropius. I guess her unique spiny leaves made it harder to summon them. They were pretty stiff and durable.
Dragon Dance.. Did the white dragon Pokemon teach her that? Was it one of those egg move thingies that she inherited? She did seem to struggle to use it properly. Although after carefully observing my Tynamo's Magnet Rise, she got a better handle of the move. So, that was cool. It was still far from usable in an actual Pokemon battle, as the mock battles have shown, but it was just a single step away. All she needed was more practice.
Growth made the pseudo dinosaur grow slightly. The scales became more defined and jutted out from her body. She became stronger with each of her attacks. If the Razor Leaf struggled to cut through the ground, it now sunk in fully before coming to a complete stop.
The difference was something else, and like with Dragon Dance, Tropius seemed to have trouble with the move. It was too bad that there was nothing I could do to help with that. I had a couple of ideas, but I don't think I could convey it to her in a way she could understand. There was neither enough time for me to get all the Pokemon properly when I had to gather supplies, like drinkable water, and make sure I wasn't going to get sun burnt again.
There had been harsh sunlight for the entire week...
Leech Seed was worrisome if I ever got on her bad side. The seeds she launched would sprout rapidly and drain anything it touched, similar to Leech Life but not as quickly. It was still very fast, nevertheless. I don't think it was supposed to be that fast since Leech Seed usually gave the current Pokemon small amounts of passive healing...
Speaking of the healing, because I refused to allow any real harm to any of them, the healing turned into increased fruit production for the red Tropius. Which was pretty cool to see. The flavor had also changed for the sweeter. It was pretty addicting actually...
That could just be my lack of sugary foods since being stranded...
Although, there was one attack I was unsure about and she was unable to use it properly? She would swing her head into something, stretching it temporarily to reach if necessary. It reminded me what little I could remember about Outrage, sorta? It gave Tropius a bit of a purplish-blue glow, akin to Dragon Breath, as it happened. From what I could gather, it wasn't supposed to give the Pokemon recoil as it made her immensely embarrassed each time she "failed" to use it.
I scraped it up to something similar to the psychic cutting attack from Ascalon. They just weren't ready yet.
Other than those three, the green fish, who I found out was Basculin when it cried its name while trying to attack Ascalon, was an annoying little bugger. It kept trying to bully Quintessa. It had quickly learned Ascalon and Vita were a no go, especially the latter with super-effective attacks.
I made sure to keep green fish fed with Ascalon's flesh that was discarded whenever the silver fish wanted to practice using his psychic energy. I still struggled to get used to the sight, but seeing the sudden energy return to the fish made it easier. Not by much, as I couldn't help but worry, nonetheless. But eventually, I would have to, I guess.
One positive was I wouldn't have to worry about him taking what were fatal blows. Even if spiny spikes in, what I called, his fishbone form broke, it would regenerate just as quickly as his flesh. An unfortunate accident with Tropius' leaves revealed that to us.
Still, for a capture, I still wasn't really a fan of this white-striped Basculin. However, if I released it, the stubborn fish would just get itself killed. I.. It didn't sit right with me to be complicit in its self-destruction. Either way, it wasn't too much weight on my utter lack of resources, so it'll be left alone for the most part.
The poisonous seahorse on the other hand.. it seemed to be receptive to Tropius, having since been fed regularly by the nurturing dinosaur, who didn't fear the corrosive poison. Of which, the purple Pokemon stopped spraying, but it kept leaking from it, nonetheless. Tropius had shown off the destructive capabilities of her Stomp and made a new smaller pool to fill up. All the named Pokemon pitched in to fill up. Unsurprisingly, Nessa's trained Feebas had the most stamina.
If only Quintessa could get over her passive nature, Basculin wouldn't be able to bully her and get a step closer to evolving naturally...
But back to the seahorse... its condition only seemed to worsen. It ate less and less. Being in the pokeball seemed to slow the progress, but it needed help soon.
I still had yet to think of an actual plan, as it was all reliant on numerous factors. I couldn't call it a plan if there was so much to change...
But in all actuality, I was just more than a little hesitant to talk to a Dragon-type Pokemon that could stare down an angry Milotic. I knew it had been allowing my stay here for whatever reason, but I swear, it didn't like me here. I assumed it had to do with this strange red Tropius.
Just another thing to thank this scarlet petal dinosaur for...
As much as I would love for her to join me, I had no clue what I was going to do, nor did I keep her away from her slice of paradise. She loved it here and thrived in the wild. She'd run off to greet the sun over the horizon, tend to the wild greenery, and reshape the land to liking.
Unless I somehow gather funds, I doubt I could fulfill her morning ritual in the city...
I awoke to Tropius' heavy steps. They stopped as soon as I stirred. And as I blinked awake, Tropius stared back apologetic with a tilt of her head.
I passed a slight smile, waving away. The red leafed Pokemon gave a croak and galloped out as softly as she could.
The dragon had to be used to the rumbling to remain sleeping through it basically every day. Tropius was the early riser sort, and other than the lethargic dragon, she had been alone. She had taken to the new company with surprising ease, now that I thought about it.
I could relate, honestly.
I went from forgetting about Pokemon to living beside them, separated by a pane of glass, to now breathing amongst them in the wild. However, I couldn't stay. As much as I disliked interaction, I was very much still a human. And then, there was getting the seahorse healed, finish Ascalon's medical exams, returning the estranged Feebas to Nessa, and thanking her and Elesa.
Speaking of the latter, I hoped she fully recovered by now. I don't know anything about the Pokemon world's medicine, but they didn't have anything magical to fix me up immediately. I didn't get a good look at her, but she was seemed okay for the most part.
I stretched into full alertness. Amidst that, Vita stirred with flickers.
"Good morning, Vita."
I bent down to cup her out of the water with my hands. But I paused. Vita was substantially bigger, nearly pushing out all of the water. She had grown millimeters before this, but now she still was small enough for both my hands to carry her. However, she no longer could swim comfortably in them.
Oh, her white scales were growing dimmer too! I couldn't quite yet tell how much darker she was in the dank cave.
"You're growing so fast!"
She only sent back a cheer, flickering brightly. In the dim cave, it was a little blinding. It did little to bring down the mood as I finally held my not-so tiny starter. I placed her gently into the makeshift crate and carried it. You never know what you could need, so I continued to bring it everywhere I went.
With one more empty pokeball left, I hoped there were no more Pokemon-related issues. My heart really couldn't take much more. And that's saying something, cuz, y'know, I've died before.
It didn't take long to reach the large pool of water. Both Vita and I greeted Quintessa, who slept at the bottom, blending in with the rocky surface, much like her.. siblings? Cousins? I don't know.
Vita summoned energy to float out of the crate and into the water. She only wobbled once in the short distance. She wasn't good at moving smoothly, preferring much more to go zipping around. The eel seemed to use it at any chance she got, and it didn't seem to drain her much. She really wanted to master Magnet Rise to regain her levitation.
She greeted Quintessa face-to-face this time, and the two began chatting happily. The latter seemingly admired the Tynamo's recent growth with sparkling eyes.
Tropius must be on the other end of the island, doing something. Perhaps, to use the bathroom? The thought made me crack a smile. An image of the dragon potty training Tropius flashed through my mind. The cave wasn't stinky nor marred with brown, so they both knew better after all!
I shook my head soon after, turning away from the pool of water. As I contemplated whether I should release Ascalon, I gazed towards the horizon.
My focus immediately shifted towards the left. A random iceberg entered my field of vision? I couldn't see what Pokemon were on them, but one after another, the group began jumping off, and swimming out of sight and away from the island.
My guess was they were migrating up- or down. I still didn't know what direction was which—
"Troo?"
I was so engrossed; I hadn't even felt the red Tropius approach. She stared at the ice with confusion.
"This new?" I asked.
She nodded absentmindedly.
Vita floated by to join us. I went to hold her, but she pushed my hands softly and gestured at Quintessa, who sat at the pool's edge.
"You want me to carry her?" My starter nodded by dipping her body forward. "Okay... Will you be okay?" This time, Vita's body flickered excitedly, so I nodded. "Don't push yourself too hard."
I turned fully to the oversized fish. "You wanna see, bud?"
"Fee!"
I swept up the curious Feebas easily, uncaring of the water drenching my clothes. I was pretty sure she would be fine out of the water. As I turned back to the ice, there was but a single, tiny figure left. Given the size of it, I still couldn't make out what exactly it was.
It was blue and stubby. Round but not fat like a seal. All we could do was wait. Although, I blinked in thought.
Did Pokemon have better eyesight based on their typing? Tropius have the flying type, and birds in general tend to have great magnifying abilities, usually in regard to their eyesight. What about water types? Whilst in the water, did they evolve to see better? I know in the deep depths, most relied on senses other than sight because there was very little to no light...
I'm not sure how long it took, but soon the ice was close enough to finally make out the figure.
A Piplup. An honest-to-Arceus water starter from the Sinnoh region in the wild. It had been left behind by their waddle, otherwise a group of penguins. It was... waddling back and forth, like a toy soldier. It kept stumbling. Each time, the penguin would make some peeved motion.
Was it practicing walking? That couldn't be it...
"Strange..."
"Nam."
"Tro!"
Both Vita and Tropius nodded.
So focused, the small, blue Pokemon was oblivious to everything else. I don't think it even realized there was no extra noise from their group. That it was all alone. Defenseless. This would be the most opportune time to catch it.
I parsed my lips.
I still have no idea of the laws here or how these pokeballs work. Like, if these Pokemon are registered to anyone—to me? Or, say, am I allowed to even touch these Pokemon? Starters were often very protected.
My eyes widened before I swerved my head around, looking for anyone. If the protected group was being monitored, their overseers could help me get back to land! Quickly, but careful of the Feebas in my arms, I search the open air and waters.
"Troo?" The red Tropius looked to me in confusion, but I didn't really pay the dinosaur any mind. No offense to her, but I had to get off this little slice of wild paradise—preferably sooner rather later.
My Tynamo glanced at me before focusing back on the Piplup.
Maybe, I got my hopes up for nothing because there was nothing. There wasn't a single sign of any particular flying Pokemon carrying a person or paying any real attention to the leftover Piplup or chasing after the swimming group. The ocean was pretty calm, nothing out of the ordinary. It was just me and among the wild Pokemon and land.
I returned to the edge, but this time, I sat cross-legged, full of disappointment. Because of my many distracting thoughts, I failed to notice the approaching ice growing much closer.
That was until Vita piped up.
"—Ty tynamo!"
"H-Huh?" I blinked out of my stupor and followed my starter's gaze.
The miniature glacier thing was actually a large Pokemon! It was just about three-fourths the length of the furry, white dragon—which was still friggin massive. I'm not sure if the ice was actually part of its entire body, but it was just as wide as the Mega Sharpedo from fin to fin. It had a particular shine to it that made the ice ethereal.
The three cracks fracturing the ice also seemed to hide a bunch of smaller.. pieces of ice? They were shifting with a mind of their own, but I couldn't get a good look in at this distance. I'm pretty sure I saw a multitude of eyes from within, but I really didn't want to look deeper into that.
Funnily enough, the Pokemon's own beady yellow eyes stared directly at me from what had to be the front. I only barely caught it over the still waters as it approached much faster than I expected. And yet, the little penguin on its icy back was none the wiser to everything happening.
The Piplup then tripped over one of the cracks, fell on its face with a startled but muffled cry before rolling onto its back. In doing so, it finally noticed the audience it gathered. Just like the iceberg Pokemon it laid on, the Piplup only continued to stare at me. All the while, its chest heaved up and down.
Oh, it must've been working hard.. to exercise or something?
Honestly, somehow this was one of the weirder things I've seen from a Pokemon. Most of them were pretty animalistic. This penguin instead was marching back and forth across the ice like he was patrolling it or something. I know I kept pointing it out, but it really didn't make any sense.
The Piplup patted the ice, gaining a glance from the iceberg Pokemon. After, it rose, seemingly waiting for something. Its eyes remained trained on me.
Somehow, I had an inkling of what was to come. My heart began to audibly thump in my chest as my temperature rose, despite the morning chill. I rose, similar to the Piplup. Now, I had unintentionally started to stare down the marching Piplup.
My eyes widened as ice suddenly grew from under the blue Pokemon's feet, launching it at me. It led with its beak, swung its body around, turning into a drill, aimed right at me. It looked like the attack was supposed to be Drill Peck. However, something was missing to give it the extra oomph as it didn't quite line up to the anime?
Tropius shoved me away with her vines. So, the airborne Piplup ended up crashing behind us.
"Tynamo!" Vita drifted in front of me, protectively, but low and close to the ground. She was glaring at the water type, alit with sparks.
A-Ah, this was going to be my first real wild encounter? A lil late, but I'll take it—
"Piip!" The wild Pokemon rushed at Vita with a leap forward.
Oh shit.
"Vita, Spark!"
"Nam!"
That was the wrong move because the Piplup's fins gained a metallic sheen. How the fuck did it get a hold of what I could only assume was Metal Claw?! However, there was one advantage the Piplup didn't account for.
"Go high, Vita!"
"Ty!"
Abusing her favorite technique, the sudden movement shift from my eel caught the penguin so off guard, the steel sheen dissipated. Its look of confusion was followed by a confused yelp, "Pi?!"
"Now while it's open!"
Spark renewed itself over my starter. Her unquestionable loyalty to my commands paid off. And seeing the new opening, Vita was doubling her effort now.
Unfortunately, while super-effective, it didn't finish the Piplup, who I noticed was pretty sizable for its first stage, I think? Either way, the wild Pokemon surrounded itself with water before blasting at Vita. I recognized this attack for sure.
Aqua Jet.
A part of me paused, wondering how a clash against Spark would go. I didn't want to risk any damage. In the same vein, with the speed and revealed skill of the Piplup, I didn't want to try dodging just yet.
Charge Beam would take just a moment too long to call upon. However, Vita had one other ranged "attack" that could be called upon at a moment's notice. It was practiced before I even joined this world.
"—Thunder Wave!"
Yellow energy seemed to ignore the water and phase through and into the rapidly approaching Piplup. Like before, the water splashed away as the penguin lost control of its body to uncontrollable spasms. I did want to feel a little bad, but it did attack first..
It recovered quickly and successfully regathered water around itself for another Aqua Jet. It was slower and more reactable.
"Charge Beam to finish it off."
Vita's lithe body flickered, drawing energy from somewhere to summon a lightning-fast arrow. The move did slow the Piplup, but it refused to let go of the water.
"One more time."
This time, Vita crackled with an increased surge of yellow energy. It was one that even surprised the small eel. Thankfully, it still hit the Piplup, clipping its lower body. With a small explosion, the blue Pokemon was blasted back. The water became electrified mist, crackling softer and softer with each passing second.
When it cleared, the Piplup went to rise, fighting the twitches and spasms. Its furrowed blue eyes glared at Vita. Water surged from its golden beak. And quickly, it shaped to form a small vortex that flew towards Vita, making my eyes bug out.
Thankfully, my mouth moved before my brain caught up to the current events, "Go high!"
"Tyy!"
Like the earnest eel she was, she followed the command easily.
Apparently, the show of power was just that. A show. The water vortex lost its shape just a second later, leaving a semi-paralyzed Piplup glaring still.
It just wouldn't back down. Just like the Basculin, but less instinctually and more aware. I could tell that much as it matched gazes with me.
I scrambled for a plan. First, I switched my sights to the ice float to start.
"Vita—!"
Suddenly, Piplup's small body glowed a blinding white. As much as I wanted to stare, I had to look away lest even my retinas get as burned as the rest of body. The last thing I caught was Piplup growing to a new size. It was kinda like watching Tropius' Growth for what little I did see—
"PRINPLUP!"
Annnd the mini battle maniac was having a protagonist moment. Well, it's a shame I have at least two more Pokemon to call upon a moment's notice.
I know Vita was oddly powerful for what she was. Paul for her current state, to put it lightly. Elesa nor Dr. Osumi failed to mention how the Tynamo line is even worse off than a Magikarp when alone. But I'm not sure if she could effectively handle a second stage Pokemon.
Tropius had natural bulk and resistances, but she wasn't my Pokemon, so she was out.
Ascalon could match Aqua Jet with his own, plus regenerate any damage he took. If the Pip— Prinplup wasn't going to leave us alone, a fresh Ascalon could probably take down the.. half beaten penguin?
I'm not sure what evolution did. What I do know and recall quite fondly is how Ash's Pokemon would get a powerup immediately afterwards.
Meanwhile, Vita was a small eel. She had been getting bigger, slowly. Perhaps stronger too? But by how much? I couldn't quite tell nor knew how to quantify it without any tools...
And so, I moved to ask her to retreat. But she turned to me with fierce eyes.
Ah, this is the first time she ever requested anything from me if I understood the look right. She wanted her own moment, or something. I don't think she was ready to evolve yet. Elesa said a Tynamo would be a bluish-gray when it was close. Vita was still very much a white, though less pristine than back at the doctor's office.
Vita had nothing to prove.
Was saving my life repeatedly not enough? She lost so much from doing so, from new and dangerous waters to the rest of her siblings. She had the socialite blood in her. She greeted all the Pokemon, making quick friends with them, except the few who pointedly chose otherwise.
"I—" Still, I couldn't find it in me to deny Vita this. "Okay."
"Ty!"
I cracked my knuckles as Vita gave a cry that wasn't quite cheerful and turned back to the much taller penguin. It was a habit I had before focusing on a serious project. "Let's do this," I mumbled to myself.
Both Feebas and Tropius caught it though, turning towards me. The two watched on with keen interest. I forgot they were there, honestly. Even if Quintessa was literally in my arms.
I quickly passed her to Tropius, who automatically summoned vines from the ground to hold the fish. I sent a small thanks and stepped closer to the battle.
Prinplup's whiteness finally faded away, leaving one of the worst designed second stages—
Ahem.
The penguin in overalls blinked down to its new form and squawked angrily, "Plup?!" It then just ignored any of the tension and began pacing back and forth like it had done on the ice.
This time, it was noticeably faster and smoother. It wasn't just because of the longer legs. The first stage wasn't meant to walk but waddle as it was a penguin made for the water. Or something like that...
Dawn's Piplup must've been built different.
Either way, the golden beak seemed to smile as it paced faster and faster. It started to wave its wings around with happy tears and cheers.
"Prin! Pri! Plup, lup!"
Eventually, it started to run in circles with open arms—er, wings, like a child. Three rest of us could only watch. Any of the surviving tension was now reduced to dust by then and scattered to the morning breeze.
- [ᛊ] -
Aes (A/N): Who's that (ice) Pokemon?
And also, what move is Tropius trying to use? Here's another hint: It's a move that can be inherited only for them.
I hope all my "creative" liberties regarding this Nessa aren't too terrible. Shown off a bit of where Elesa's head is at too. So, it's not terribly doom and gloom, yes? You'll have to wait another two chapters for the budding Gym Leaders perspective. Hopefully, said wait won't be too long—
Originally, I was going to cut the chapter on Piplup's evolution, but I wanted to keep writing for once.
And the newest Pokemon is here! His growth will be some of my personal highlights whilst writing. When I originally started this, I was worried if I would have enough fights, so I made this guy. You'll learn more about him in the next chapter's intro thingy. That and finally, the path to reach humanity.
Soo.. basically, Aric will start his journey with a full party? Bit of an accident that I noticed too late, actually (I'm really bad at counting). Writing half asleep isn't very conducive to keeping to a plan, I guessss. It's fine, probably.
The writing slump is starting to slip away. It's not completely out of the park, though...
Words: [7,643]
Edits: some