Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.
Piplup POV:
I emerged from the tall grass, returning to the sandy beach. I was still seething; mistletoe, seriously?! Arceus must really have it out for me to play such a sick prank.
I spotted the group consisting of Pikachu, Axew, Pansage and the ever-beautiful Meloetta around a pile of sand.
Meloetta; seeing her was both calming and frustrating. She was so beautiful and graceful, my perfect fit. But now when I saw her, I felt a part of me contend that it was Oshawott who was my perfect fit; even though he was a boy.
And that part was getting louder and louder.
"Hey Piplup, where've you been?" Pikachu called out to me. "We're making sand drawings, want to join?" That sounded enjoyable and relaxing, which I really needed.
"Sounds like fun, sure!" I replied. With any luck, my mind would just shut up and let me have some peace.
I watched Pikachu back away from the mound of sand and stand next to Meloetta. I took his place on the right end next to Pansage with Axew on the other end.
"Is there a theme to what we're making?" I asked them.
"We're making images of things that interest us" Pansage answered without looking away. Well that sounded easy enough.
I decided to just wing it (or flipper it, in my case) and make whatever I thought of. I spat a few bubbles out to dampen the mound of sand in front of me and got to work. 'A line here, a line there, and an oval around them' I thought as I drew mindlessly. 'Maybe a few dots here to make it more realistic, a few more, no that's too many. Smooth those over, that's better. Now for the bottom, a line here, two on the sides, maybe-'
"AAAAAH!" I heard someone yelling. I looked up and saw Oshawott running by with a Krabby pinching his tail. So that's where he went, to chase a Krabby. He must have messed with its claws, they hated that.
I laughed along with everyone else at his misfortune.
Suddenly I felt something grab me by the head and pull me straight up and out of my life ring. "Ow, what the heck?!" I yelled as I fell straight down on my rear. Quickly, I stood up, very annoyed and a bit sore. "You want a beating, weakling?"
I was met with silence followed by a low growl. With apprehension, I looked up and saw that the Pokémon I just called a weakling…was a full-grown Kingler. Who had battle scars all over its body.
And it did not look amused in the slightest.
I stiffened and shook as it glared down at me. I instantly regretted calling it a weakling. There was no way I could win a fight with it! Once again, I was in trouble of my own making.
Me and my big mouth.
I came to my senses and did the only thing I could do in this situation: turn around and quickly run away before I became its afternoon snack. Unfortunately, I heard it following me; guess I wasn't getting off that easily.
"Pip! Piplup! Lup! Pip! (I'm sorry! I didn't mean to call you a weakling! You're actually really strong! Please don't eat me!)" I yelled as it pursued me.
In my haste, I slipped on some seaweed hidden under the sand, causing me to tumble over and faceplant in the hot sand. Well, now I was in big trouble. That angry Kingler had surely caught up to me by now!
"YEEEOW!" I heard someone yelp behind me. I quickly stood up and turned around in time to see Oshawott finish ripping his tail out of the Krabby's claws, a bright red streak forming on it. He immediately jumped in front of me with his arms extended in a protective manner. "Leave him alone!"
The Kingler halted its advance, likely in shock, just like I was. "Fine" it grumbled, its anger disappearing from its voice. With that, it turned to the Krabby. "Let's go, kid."
The Krabby gave Oshawott one last glare before they both walked back towards the sea, leaving me alone with Oshawott.
Both of us quickly collapsed into a sitting position. I panted, trying to catch my breath after the exertion, while Oshawott blew on his bruised and cut tail. I felt bad as I saw the long red streak, it looked really painful. I didn't understand why he had protected me like that; I could have handled that Kingler by myself, after all!
Well, maybe.
"You okay?" he asked, turning to look at me.
"Yeah, I'm alright" I told him. "But why did you try to shield me?"
"You said it was going to eat you" he said, giving me a look. "I wasn't about to let that happen!" I stared at him blankly. Was he serious? I honestly did not know what to think about that.
"It just felt right" he admitted, shrugging his shoulders.
I felt a multitude of varying emotions at this. They ranged from cool annoyance that he thought I was so weak I needed protection, to grateful warmth that he put himself in harm's way for me.
"Er, thanks" I mumbled out, not feeling confident in which emotion was right.
"I'm going for a swim!" I heard Ash yell out, breaking me out of my confusion. Saved by the yell.
Oshawott looked over at him. "Looks like Ash and the girls are going to play in the water while Cilan and Pansage make lunch" he observed. My stomach rumbled at the mention of food, causing me to blush. "And I'm guessing that works with you too" he added, chuckling. A thought crossed my mind, filling me apprehension.
"Do they make us Pokémon food or something more…natural?" I asked, dreading the answer. The image of Dawn's fried Magikarp entered my mind, causing me to shiver.
"Nope, it's Pokémon food, and it's really good too!" Oshawott confirmed, to my relief. I exhaled; thank goodness. I did not want a repeat of that particular incident. "So, want to join everyone in the water?"
I looked out at the shoreline and only saw Axew and Pikachu. Axew had waded waist-deep in the water and seemed to be waiting for Iris to join him. Wherever she went off to. Pikachu had somehow procured a surfboard and was standing on the beach watching over Axew.
"They must have left to get changed" Oshawott said, and I nodded in agreement. I suddenly laughed as the image of Dawn emerging from the trees in that swimsuit played in my mind. The looks on everyone's faces was priceless.
"What are you laughing about?" Oshawott asked. I chuckled one last time.
"Let's just say this trip almost just got very interesting" I replied, grinning while starting to walk to the water.
"Wait, don't you want to put your life ring back on?" he asked, and I halted. Honestly, I didn't, but Dawn wanted me to wear it. I sighed; the warm water would have to wait.
"Yeah, I guess so" I answered glumly. I walked over to the mound of sand where the Kingler had so rudely picked me up. There it was, resting on the sand right where I left it.
I stepped inside the ring and bent over and grabbed the front of it. Immediately I realized I had a major problem. When I put it on before, Dawn had helped pull it up around me; but now she wasn't here. I tried to secure it around my waist, but every time I pulled one side up, the other would fall down. I groaned in frustration.
"Let me help." I felt Oshawott pull the back up and secure it while I secured the front. I felt his arm graze my back, causing me to shiver. I turned to face him after the life ring was on.
"Thanks" I told him in genuine appreciation. There was no way I could have done that myself, after all.
"No problem" he replied. He looked over me, probably to see if it was on correctly.
Or so I thought.
"I'm not sure exactly why you're wearing that," he began, turning a bit red, "but it suits you. You look really cute right now."
I was very flattered, and a bit embarrassed, with such a nice compliment. It was a good thing he turned away, because my face felt as hot and red as a shiny Moltres.
"Hey, you drew a scalchop!" I heard Oshawott say. I looked up and saw him looking at the pile of sand I had been working on. I walked over as my face cooled off and looked at what I made.
Sure enough, the drawing was of a shell; or apparently a scalchop, whatever that was. I honestly had no idea what I had been making. Pansage had said to make whatever interests me, so apparently this was it.
Oshawott took the shell off his chest and held it next to my sand-carving. "It looks just like my scalchop too, awesome!" He moved closer, his eyes darting back and forth as he compared the two. "You even got the worn-out spots right!"
I inspected my work closer and found that yes, it was an exact copy of Oshawott's "scalchop." It was actually pretty good, and I was proud of it, although a bit confused. Why did I find his scalchop interesting?
"Hey Piplup, you coming?" I heard Dawn call. I looked over and saw her waving to me as she ran towards the ocean in her swimsuit. Her decent swimsuit.
I turned back to Oshawott and saw he was already heading over to join the others swimming. I smiled to myself and followed him to the water.
Maybe I did like Oshawott as more than a friend. But I decided to shelve the serious thoughts until after the trip. After all, this was supposed to be relaxing.
/
Like it? Constructive criticism? Have any suggestions for future chapters? Leave a review please!