Disclaimer: The following is a work of fan fiction written by someone who enjoys creature collector franchises. Pokémon is owned by Nintendo, Game Freak, The Pokémon Company, Creatures Inc. and Satoshi Tajiri. Digimon is owned by Bandai, WiZ, Toei Animation, and Akiyoshi Hongo. If you want to support the official releases, worry not. Lord knows there is plenty of merchandise to choose from.
Listening to as I review: Sandover Village (Jak and Daxter)
The Crest of a Master Chapter 7: Shell Shocked
"Uggghhhh," Ash groaned. He had spent the morning laying on his back watching the sea gulls circle overhead like a flock of Mandibuzz. He, Agumon, and Gomamon had been rafting for about a day and the novelty of riding on the back of a school of fish had run its course. "Are we there yet?"
"Shouldn't be much longer," Gomamon cheerfully responded as he swam alongside the fish raft. "I think."
"Can you be sure?" Agumon was lying next to Ash, but on his belly with a miserable expression on his muzzle. "I'm starving."
A loud growl erupted from Ash's stomach. "Same here."
"Don't you guys have food?" Gomamon asked.
Agumon lazily lifted a claw to wave Gomamon off. "If we're as close as you say we are then we'd be wasting travel food when we could have had a fresh brunch instead."
A smirk formed on Gomamon's face. "And what a brunch it will be. This is a fishing village, you know. They have so many specialty dishes like their thick clam chowder, gumbo that will warm you right up, perfectly seasoned gravlax, mouthwatering takoyaki…"
As Gomamon droned on, Ash and Agumon groaned and sank deeper into the pile of fish simultaneously wishing the shoreline would hurry up.
Later
"…and don't get me started on their fish tacos," it had been about half an hour and Gomamon just kept going on and on about food the entire time. The little jerk.
"I thought you didn't eat fish," grumbled Agumon.
"Just my own," responded Gomamon. "Friends don't eat friends after all."
"But tormenting your non-fish friends is fine?!" Agumon's head lifted up to snarl at the Seel.
"Yeesh, relax," Gomamon laughed. "Soon you'll be on your heroic journey, and I'll be left with no one to torment. Well, nobody but the locals and most of them can't take a joke. Not that I can blame them. Since the war began life's been nothing but work for everyone left behind. Picking up the slack for the missing Digimon."
Gomamon sighed wistfully. "Agumon, do me a favor and defeat Millenniummon fast. I don't think Digimon would have emotions if all we were meant to do was be cranky and serious all the time. How about you, Ash? Please tell me your world is nowhere as nearly depressing as ours."
"I don't think your world is depressing," Ash responded. Sure, Ash knew the world was at war, but that didn't seem to stop the island villagers from being friendly when he and Gary showed up.
"You just saw the welcome wagon," Gomamon said. "Just wait until you see the rest of the world. Speaking of which, welcome to Phishing Bay!"
Ash swerved around on the living raft to look ahead. There, shinning in the mid-morning sun, was land! Standing before the raft was a seaside town. The town started out on land with a series of wooden buildings sticking out from the tropical growth that decorated the hillsides and continued onto the water itself with smaller shacks that balanced on top of a maze of docks. In addition to the buildings there were ships which ranged from small dinghies to large brigs that looked like they needed an entire crew to man.
"Land ho!" called out Gomamon. He led the fish raft to the nearest empty dock and waited for Ash and Agumon to climb off. While the two of them were stumbling around getting used to standing on solid ground again, Gomamon dived back under and then proceeded to launch himself out of the water and onto the docks too. He then turned and waved to the fish. "Thanks for the help, guys!"
With that, the fish dispersed and Ash and company were left to venture forth into town. Looking around Ash felt something was amiss. The town looked like it should have been inviting, like a tropical tourist trap or a sweet summer spot. The weather was warm and energizing and the air was salty with the soothing sound of the ocean caressing the shores. There were even a series of shops selling souvenirs, fishing equipment, and boat rentals with door sizes both human sized and tall enough to welcome in an Onix. But something was missing.
"Where is everyone?" Ash surveyed his surroundings. Despite the colorful setting, the village was as eerie and quite as a ghost town.
"Working," Gomamon replied. "I just got through telling you how everyone is either at war or picking up the slack. Try to keep up, Ash."
A growl erupted from Ash's stomach. "Sorry, it's hard to think straight on an empty stomach. I guess we should go ahead and find the other human and Digimon? Agumon, do you know what kind of Digimon we're looking for?"
"Sort of," Agumon said thoughtfully. "I've never met any of the other chosen Digimon, except Gabumon. Actually, Gabumon would know the Digimon since he helped Pegasusmon hunt down the other chosen Digimon before they found me. He told me it was a Betamon."
"Eh, good luck finding her," Gomamon began to galumph down the dock. "That gal would disappear into her own shadow if she could. Let's go to the village leader instead."
Taking Gomamon's suggestion, Ash and Agumon followed the Seel across the docks. As they walked Ash began to notice that not all the ships docked were shipshape. A number of them had large holes whilst others had their sail's masts snapped off. Some weren't even floating, instead they were sinking with only the shallows of the docking area keeping them above the water's surface.
"Gomamon, what happened to all these ships?" Ash asked.
"Sea monster attack," Gomamon explained. "Digi-eggs have been known to get lost at sea from time to time. With no one around to raise and civilize them they turn into wild Digimon."
"What makes a wild Digimon different?" Ash inquired.
This time Agumon answered. "Digimon who hatch and grow up in the wilderness aren't too physically different from Digimon who lives in towns and cities, but they do tend to get bigger and have more beast like bodies."
"And nastier tempers," Gomamon added. "Don't get me wrong, there are wild Digimon who can be friendly, but most are aggressive and territorial. If you see a wild Digimon, just back away before it notices you. It might decide it wants to absorb your data."
As if to emphasize Gomamon's point, the trio came up on a shipyard where it looked as though a good chunk of the town's populous was hard at work building new ships and salvaging wrecked ones. Amongst the various Digimon Ash saw some more Gomamon as well as some new species. There were grey Krabbies sanding down some wooden planks while a large pink and black Shellder hopped over too them with some tools. On the other side of the dock Ash could see a green fish with long elegant fins glide across the docks to carry a long cord of rope. Meanwhile a group of orange furred amphibians that had long, black spikes jetting out of their backs were working together to secure various pieces in place.
Curious, Ash took out his Digivice. "Crabmon, Syakomon, Swimmon, and Gizamon. They are all rookie level and the Digimon version of a water type?"
"They all like water if that's what you mean," Agumon shrugged. "Is this everyone in town? I know most Digimon are off fighting, but there should still be more than this."
"Eh, no. The rest of them are probably out fishing," Gomamon said. "Anyway, the village leader's office should be right over here." Gomamon brought them to a cabin overlooking the shipyard which had a sign on it reading "Out on Inspection."
"He's out?!" Agumon's stomach released a loud growl. "If that's the case can we just go and eat instead?"
"Well," Gomamon said thoughtfully. "Most restaurants are closed between breakfast and lunch. But there is this one place that still offers brunch."
"Don't bother," everyone turned to see a Gizamon crawling near the office to grab some tools. "That restaurant was destroyed the other day."
"What do you mean destroyed?!" Agumon exclaimed. It was always tragic when someone's place of business was lost, but it hits a potential costumer in a personal place when said costumer is on a famished hunt for food.
"Maybe we should split up and walk around to see if we can find the village leader or the other human and her Digimon," Ash suggested. His stomach was on empty and it was really getting hard resisting digging into more of the reserves of fish jerky and dried fruit he had. Hopefully giving himself something to do would distract him long enough until he was rewarded with a warm, non-preservative meal.
Agumon adjusted his backpack and picked a street to start walking down. "Yeah, sure. Might as well," he grumbled.
One team split later, Ash found himself walking in the opposite direction. This side of town was more the same: damaged ships, empty shops, no Digimon. But Ash gave pause when he came across a pile of rubble and debris. The fragments of wood were located right next to an area of the dock which was completely smashed in with some of the rubble hanging on the edge threating to fall through and join the rest of the sunken dock.
"This must be the restaurant," Ash mused. But wait, if that was the destroyed restaurant then why was he smelling food?
Ash gave the air a deep inhale. Oh yeah, that was defiantly food cooking. He walked around the destroyed restaurant to follow the scent. Further down the street was a large, blue building. It was several stories high with a shingled roof and a tall fence stretching around the back. There was a large sign hanging over the deck which read "Infinite Tide Inn."
Ash's stomach gave another growl. The scent wafting over from the building was enough to send him over the edge. Guided by his hunger, Ash stepped forwards towards the building and…
"EEEEP!"
Looking down, Ash flinched. He was so distracted by the smell of food that he didn't notice his foot landing on top of the short tail of a small, round Digimon. This one was an amphibian of some kind with blue stripes across its green skin. It had a large, orange fin sticking out from the top of its head and down its back which were pretty much one and the same. For limbs it had four stubby legs each ending in one large claw. The Digimon looked up at Ash with watering, red eyes.
"Hey, I," Ash was about to apologize when the Digimon squeaked and leapt into a nearby waterway and swam away. While Ash felt bad for hurting the Digimon, there wasn't much he could do about it now. Might as well continue into the inn.
Entering through the front, saloon style doors, Ash was able to see the lobby of the inn doubled as a sea side saloon. The walls were decorated with shell coded nets and pictures of sea life and various ships with a large, tropical fish trophy mounted to the side. In addition to the wall décor, the tables all had glass tops displaying shells and Sharpedo-like teeth underneath. In the back there was a bar with shelves filled with an assortment of beverages Ash's mom would probably skin him for even thinking about trying.
"Are you here for a room? Because the restaurant is closed until lunch," called out a feminine voice with a salty accent.
The source of the voice was another Digimon. This one had a blue, round body with short, stubby legs and long tube arms that ended in short, tentacle fingers. Over the top half of its head body was a pink helmet which went down over its eyes. There were holes in the helmet for the eyes and a bunch of coral sticking out the top.
"Sangomon, rookie level," Ash read his Digivice. "They are friendly Digimon that get along well with other species. If attacked, they can fight back using poison with Refuge Mist or water with Coral Pressure."
The Sangomon walked out from a back room, which Ash could deduce was the kitchen from the scent. "We're transitioning from breakfast to lunch. Come back in an hour."
Ash's stomach gave a very audible growl. "Uh," Ash scratched the back of his head bashfully. "You wouldn't just so happen have any left-over breakfast, would you?"
Hearing Ash's stomach growl again, Sangomon paused to think. "We don't have much breakfast left, but if you're really that hungry I could warm something up for you. What would you like? Grilled fish? Shrimp and grits? Crab melt?"
Drool began to code Ash's mouth as he listened to the menu. "I'll take what's ever ready sooner!"
"A real hungry lad, ain't ya?" Sangomon laughed. "I think the grilled fish and shrimp grits should still be warm. Take a seat and I'll," Sangomon suddenly paused and turned around. "Wait a minute. That toy you were playin' with just now. That was a Digivice! Are you human? Because you look pretty different from our human."
"Yeah," Ash smiled before realization hit. "Wait, do you know the human that's staying in this village?"
"She's been staying at this inn!" Sangomon grinned. "The sweet gal is out right now. Here, let me fix you up a meal and you can go and find her."
Once Sangomon brought out Ash a dish of grits, fish, and biscuits, he immediately dived in. Truly there was nothing like starving at sea for the better part of the morning to make a brunch feel more deserved. It was only when he polished off his food that Ash reached inside his backpack to find that he didn't have any money!
Ash began to frantically dig through his stuff. He knew the islanders gave him some money…but the wallet was in Agumon's bag! Feeling his insides sink, Ash went over to the kitchen to call for Sangomon. When she didn't respond Ash scribbled out an IOU note and headed out to look for Agumon and that wallet.
"And just where do you think you're going?"
Ash froze. Just as he opened the saloon doors, he was met with another human. This human was a girl a couple years older than him with a lanky body and mid-length ginger hair tied in a tight, sideways ponytail. She had a bit of a tomboy look with a sporty, yellow midriff shirt, red tennis shoes, a small red sack on her back, and shorts that were held in place by a pair of straps which went around her shoulders. And judging by the glare in her green eyes and hands on her hips, she was not too happy to see him.
"I was just going to quickly grab a friend and come back. I swear!" Ash held up his hands in a surrender motion.
The girl's glare hardened. "Funny, because it looks to me like you were trying to perform a dine and dash!"
"I was going to pay," Ash argued. "I just needed to get my friend because he has my wallet!"
"A likely story," the girl huffed. "I've seen your kind before. You think that just because you've been handed an important position that you can just fool around and take advantage of these Digimon? That just because they've been looking forward to human help that you can walk all over them? Well not while I'm around, buster!"
"This isn't a dine and dash!" Ash was now felling less defensive and more heated. "I tried to call for Sangomon, but she wasn't responding. I didn't want to worry my partner, so I was going to find him first!"
"Ah, don't worry about it," Ash turned to see Sangomon standing behind him holding a large bag. "I was just going to put that meal on the leader's tab any way."
"Sangomon, you don't have to," the girl's voice switched to a less angry, more concerned tone.
"We've been over this already, Misty," Sangomon walked over to Ash and handed him the bag. "You should save your cash for Digimon who are less charitable. Take what hospitality you can get for now."
Sangomon looked up at Ash and winked. "Sorry for not responding earlier. I was packaging this food for your partner. Next time, check your pockets before placing an order, okay?"
"Thanks," now Ash was feeling guilty for acting hastily. It didn't help that he could feel the girl, Misty, glaring daggers into his back.
"Hey Ash!" and now Ash could see Gomamon galumphing up to the inn. "I see you met Misty! Are you guys getting along?"
"That remains to be seen," Mistry griped.
Gomamon stopped just before the small group. "The village leader is back! He's waiting for you guys in his office. Your partners are already there."
"Alright, lead the way," Ash was having a hard time summoning his normal enthusiasm as it was just sinking in that with their shared destinies, he was essentially handcuffed to a girl who he made the worst first impression on.
One uncomfortable walk to the village leader's office later
Ash opened the door to what was aesthetically a normal looking seaside office. Or at least what he imagined a seaside office would look like. His only trips down to the beach were vacations with his mom or the Oaks and those didn't involve any visits to a beach cubicle.
While the office was decorated in a similar manner to the restaurant with nautical pictures and furniture, Ash could very well tell that this was a private area thanks to the desk sitting in the middle of the room covered with piles of poorly stacked papers and maps. Standing behind the desk was a human-sized, bipedal porpoise which had marbled black and white skin. It was wearing a life jacket as a top and a life saver as a belt.
"Orcamon, armor level,"Ash read the entry on his Digivice. "It wears a bunch of safety gear because it's cautious, but that doesn't slow it down. It's fast in a pinch and can take down its opponents with its Vassallo Crush."
Down on the other side of the desk were Agumon, who was looking very agitated with a scowl on his jaws and claws crossed across his chest, and another Digimon. The same kind of Digimon that Ash bumped into before entering the Infinite Tide Inn. "Betamon, rookie level. They tend to be mild mannered but can zap you with their Electric Shock if provoked."
"Eep!" the Betamon spotted Ash and quickly scuttled over to Misty to hide behind her legs. As it did so Ash could make out a bruise on its tail. A roughly shoe sized bruise.
"Hey," Ash asked. "Are you the Betamon from before?"
At this Misty's eyes fell on the bruise before turning to Ash. "This meeting wouldn't just so happen have anything to do with that new bruise on Betamon's tail, would it?"
Before Ash could respond, Agumon hopped into the conversation. "Ah!" he pointed an accusatory claw at Ash's face. "Are those crumbs?! Did you get brunch without me!?"
Dang it! Can't a guy get a break? "I got you some food too, alright?"
With that Ash tossed Agumon the bag of takeout which the reptile immediately began to dig into with the ferocity of a Morpeko.
From behind his desk, Orcamon cleared his throat. "First off, I'd like to apologize for my absence. There was an attack last night and I had to help the shop's owner salvage what we could."
"I think I saw the wreckage earlier," noted Ash.
"Then I guess we must have missed each other," Orcamon nodded. "Usually, wild Digimon can be handled by groups like the Deep Savers. However, since their numbers have been stretched thin we have been scrambling around to fend for ourselves."
"You know, I specialize in water types," Misty offered. "My offer to help is still on the table."
"And once again I must decline," Orcamon offered her a smile. "You should focus on getting ready for your quest. Let me worry about this village."
Orcamon then turned his attention to Ash and Agumon. "As you probably know, the original plan was to send Misty to meet up with you on Byte Island, until we saw the distress signals. We knew then that we couldn't take that chance. But now that you are here we can plot a new course for you. I find that sea travel can be very tiring for the uninitiated, so I recommend you spend the rest of the day resting and getting yourself in order at the Infinite Tide."
"Oh, okay," Ash turned to leave.
But before Ash could make it out the door Misty hissed in his ear. "Say thank you!"
Ash gave Misty a dirty look, but none the less turned to thank the village leader. After he did so Agumon went up to the desk and placed Pegasusmon's egg on top of it. "Pegasusmon fell in battle," Agumon somberly informed Orcamon. "I don't want to take him with us since he's fragile like this. You guys were friends, can you look after him?"
For a moment Orcamon's eyes went wide as he took in the news of his friend's death. He then reached out and scooped up the egg. "Of course."
With that the group proceeded to exit the office. But before they did, Orcamon called out one more time. "Boys, please make use of the hotel's bathing area. You smell like you rolled around in fish."
"You say that like it's a bad thing," Gomamon grinned.
The Infinite Tide Inn
Once the group returned to the Infinite Tide Ash and Misty immediately split off from each other with their partners. Gomamon elected to stay with Ash and Agumon for a bit longer. What followed was a messy bathing session where Gomamon had successfully roped Agumon into a water war. Ash had some difficulty getting into the merriment. This lasted until the group made their way to their room for the night.
Ash was lying down on his bed in ill-fitting bathrobes, waiting for the hotel staff to launder his clothes. Meanwhile Agumon and Gomamon, also in bathrobes for whatever reason, were on the neighboring bed playing cards.
"Go fish," Agumon lay down a joker.
"Hmm," Gomamon studied the cards before tossing a pair of dice. The dice landed on snake eyes. Gomamon laid out his cards. "Full house!"
Agumon frowned. "I wish we actually knew how to play. Maybe then I would win," he peeked over his shoulder at Ash. "Hey Ash, you doin' alright?"
"Huh?" Ash snapped out of his funk. "Oh yeah. I'm great."
"Okay," Agumon's entire body turned around to face Ash. "So, how are you really feeling?"
Ash took a deep breath. "I'm supposed to team up with nine other humans to save your world. So far I only know two of them and they both hate me."
"Ah come on, it can't be that bad," Gomamon assured before addressing Agumon. "Can it?"
"I don't know much about Misty," Agumon folded his arms. "But that Gary guy was a jerk. He kept trying to goad Ash."
"Maybe he was trying to establish dominance?" Gomamon shrugged. "I don't know. There was just one human before, so he didn't really have any other humans to butt heads with. Just other Digimon."
To an extent Ash figured he was going to have to put up with Gary. Pegasusmon made it very clear that they were going to have to at least try to get along. As far as Ash figured it could work so long as he could get along with the other humans. Maybe even make some new friends. But now? "What about Misty? I just met her and she's convinced that I'm a crook."
Gomamon smiled sympathetically. "I don't know her too well either. But she made a pretty good impression when she first landed. After Orcamon explained to her what was happening, she started talking with the villagers, helping out the cooks, and even bringing Betamon out from hiding. Seems like she's taking the role of world savior very seriously."
"Too bad I didn't make a good impression," Ash mumbled.
"Then we'll just have to make a bunch of better impressions!" Agumon grinned. "Once we start fighting alongside each other she'll see that you are a great trainer and decide to give you a second chance!"
"Unless you give her a second bad impression," Gomamon interjected. "Sorry to burst your bubble, but I don't think you've been a champion long enough to know if you will give her a good impression."
"Well, then we just need to train his champion form," Ash felt a fire light inside him as he got up from his bed pumped his fists. "Let's get up early tomorrow and Digivolve you!"
"Yeah!" Agumon agreed, bouncing on the bed in anticipation.
"Alright!" Gomamon pumped his claws in the air before turning to the pair. "So what are you guys going to do?"
Both Ash and Agumon froze. "Well, uh," Ash thought for a moment. "We will go to a beach, because Greymon is big, and evolve Agumon. Somehow."
"Somehow?" Agumon frowned. "Ash, you were able to make me Digivolve before. Can't you do it again?"
"Sure," Ash awkwardly scratched the back of his neck. "I just don't know how I made it happen the first time."
Gomamon looked up in contemplation. "Well, last time it was during a champion Digimon attack, right? Maybe you just need another fight?"
"Well, there is that sea monster," Ash thought out loud. "If we find it, we can Digivolve Agumon, defeat it, and that'll save the town some trouble."
"I guess," Agumon said thoughtfully. "But we should try to lure the Digimon away from the village. I don't want anyone else to end up like Pegasusmon."
"You'll also want an escape plan for yourselves incase things go south," Gomamon pointed out. "Fortunately, I know a place away from town with a good escape route."
And so, the small team stayed up for a while longer to put together a plan.
The Next Morning at the Beach
While Ash rowed the small boat back to shore, Agumon reached into a bucket over and over again to toss a generous portion of chum into the sea. Once the two made their way back to land they dumped the last bits of chum into a large pile of dead fish before joining Gomamon behind a large rock.
"It's a good thing the wind is blowing over the sea today," Gomamon remarked.
"Yeah," Ash whispered. "That might help the wild Digimon smell our bait."
"Actually, I was refereeing to how we don't have to smell it."
"I just hope your chum supplier doesn't let anyone know we're out here," Ash watched the pile of fish. No sign of a sea monster yet, but he, like Agumon, did not want a repeat of Pegasusmon.
"Relax," Gomamon assured. "That Syakomon is the 'who cares, I don't ask questions' kind of guy. He won't blab to anyone."
"He wouldn't need to. You guys are pretty easy to find."
All three fishers jumped upon hearing Misty behind them. When they looked back, there she was, hands on her hips, and Betamon standing behind her with a worried expression. Misty held up a map of the beach which the boys had marked up with their plans last night. The words "Operation Harpoon" were written at the top.
"Care to explain this?" Misty asked.
"Hey! I wrote 'Top Secret' on the outside!" Agumon exclaimed. "I thought you were Miss Rule Enforcer."
"I prefer to think of myself as Miss Common Sense," Misty retorted. "Are you guys trying to lure in the wild Digimon? Do you know how reckless you're being?" What if the Digimon is too strong for you? Our job is to fulfil a prophecy, I'm not sure if we can do that if one of us gets eaten. Did you think of that before you decided to go off and play hero?
"Yeah, we did," Ash argued back with a bite to match Misty's. He pointed to a cave entrance nearby. "Gomamon knows those caves like the back of his fin. If the Digimon looks too strong for us, we will evacuate into the tunnels. If the Digimon is too big it won't fit. If it's small, we'll lose it in the maze."
For a minute, Ash and Misty stared each other down. Finally, Misty huffed. "You still should have asked for some back up," she then walked over to the rock the boys were using for a bunker and sat down. Betamon skittered after her. "Since I'm here, I'll help you."
"But," Ash started to come back but was cut off by Misty.
"No buts unless it's yours sitting by this rock," Misty folded her arms. "The Digimon in that town have been nothing but nice to me and if there is a way to pay them back then I'll take it."
Ash groaned. Knowing he was not going to win this argument; he sat down next to Agumon. He then addressed his partner. "You thought just writing 'Top Secret' on the paper would keep people away?"
Agumon shrugged. "It always worked on Gabumon."
1 Hour Later
Though he wouldn't have said it out loud, Ash was feeling anxious at the prospect of fighting a mysterious sea monster. Or at least he was before Misty came along. Now he was silently begging the monster to just hurry up and take the bait so that he could at least put some distance between himself and the red head.
While Agumon and Gomamon were fine with making conversation in hushed whispers, both the humans just sat on their sides of the rock, refusing to even make eye contact. The Digimon tried to include Betamon in their conversation, but the amphibian would just mutter something that sounded like a rejection and continue to barricade herself behind Misty's legs.
Finally, Ash couldn't take the silence. "Where is it?!" He growled.
"Patience," chided Misty. "This is just part of fishing. Also, keep it down. You might scare it away."
"If it's strong enough to attack a town head on, shouting isn't going to scare it away," Ash's voice raised. "Hey, maybe sound even attracts it. Maybe that's why it attacked the town. SO HOW ABOUT IT!? DO YOU WANT TO SHOW UP OR NOT!?"
Misty slapped her hand across Ash's mouth. "Quite!" she hissed.
The ground began to rumble.
"Wow! Maybe I should try shouting the next time I hunt," Gomamon commented.
Suddenly the sand beneath the pile of fish collapsed allowing the fish to fall down into a tunnel. There was a roar and the ground rumbled again. This time the earth on the beach began to push upwards. The sand sputtered and flew around revealing a giant, gray, spiked, conch shell. Once the shell finished rising onto the beach, its top stopped spinning like a drill and a mass of pink flesh at its base. The flesh pushed forwards forming into the upper body of a creature with two heavy arms and a head. The head had a long muzzle and a mass of tentacles above its glaring eyes serving as hair.
Quickly, Ash scanned the new roaring Digimon. "Shellmon, champion level. It has a nasty temper and spends its time eating, growing, and finding new shells to hide in. When in battle it'll use its Hydro Blaster to shoot high pressured liquid."
"Ash!" Agumon called out. "I think I can feel it! I can Digivolve to fight that guy!"
"Alright," Ash pulled out his Digivice which began to glow. "Let's do this!"
"Right!" Agumon planted himself between his friends and the giant mollusk. "Agumon Digivolve to BLEEE!"
Before Agumon could begin his Digivolution, Shellmon blasted him off into the air with a powerful eruption of water from its scalp. The group watched Agumon blast off across the sky and far away into the ocean.
"Plan B?" Misty asked.
"Plan B," Ash confirmed.
The group of humans and Digimon dashed towards the caves, but they didn't make it. The Shellmon, seeing its prey try to escape roared and pumped some more water towards them. This water missed the kids and Digimon, but hit the cavern's entrance causing a cave in, trapping the group on the beach.
"What now!?" cried Misty.
"Time for Plan C!" Ash declared.
"You have a Plan C?" inquired Misty.
"We have a Plan C?" questioned Gomamon.
"We have a Plan C," Ash reached down and picked up a very stunned looking Betamon. "Go, Betamon! Digivolve! It's your time to shine!"
"Huh!?" squeaked the amphibian who was shivering in face of the oversized mollusk.
Misty immediately snatched Betamon away. "Are you crazy?! Betamon doesn't have enough training to take on something like that! We need to retreat back to town!"
"No way!" Ash yelled back. "If we head back to town Shellmon will follow us! That'll just drag the Digimon there into danger! I'm not letting anyone else die!"
Before Misty could respond, Ash took of across the beach waving his hands and shouting insults at the giant shellfish.
Misty
From where she was standing, Misty could only watch slack jawed as Ash dashed around Shellmon. The mollusk had taken the bait and started firing off water at the capped trainer. Hands clinching into fists, Misty swung her bag off her back and reached inside.
"Misty?" inquired Betamon.
"He's either crazy or desperate," Misty remembered back to the egg that was dropped off at Orcamon's office. Given what she was told about what happened when Digimon died, she could piece together what this kid has seen. Between Ash's declaration of not wanting anyone to die in combination with him pulling this stunt with no one to watch his "heroics" Misty was inclined to believe this guy was genuine.
"ARG," Ash cried out. Misty could see him furiously rubbing his face indicating that during their exchange Shellmon had been able to kick up some sand into his eyes. Now he was trying to dodge the water blasts blind.
"Either way I'm not just going to sit here while he gets himself killed," Misty took a small red and white sphere from her bag and pushed the button in the middle. The sphere expanded to fit in the palm of her hand. This was the only member of her team which was on her when the Digivice transported Misty to the Digital World, but it was one of her most faithful Pokémon.
"Staryu," Misty declared as she tossed the ball across the beach. "Come on out!"
The ball snapped open releasing a bright light. The light formed into a two-foot tall, golden star fish. The Pokémon had golden plated armor around a ruby sphere in the middle and strong, stiff limbs. It gave a cry of "Hi-yah!" before placing itself between Misty and the Shellmon.
"That's a Pokémon?!" Gomamon marveled. "I don't know what I was expecting, but it wasn't that."
"Staryu, hit Shellmon with a Swift and bring its attention away from myself and the other human. Its move is like a Hydro Pump so don't let it hit you," Misty ordered.
Following her orders to a T, Staryu started firing a series of star shaped energy bullets at the Shellmon. Successfully distracted, the sea beast redirected its attention onto its new adversary and began firing water blast after water blast at the Pokémon. In response, Staryu began hopping and spinning around the battlefield like a living Frisbee. This dance between water monsters allowed Misty to sneak across the battlefield with Betamon and Gomamon to help guide Ash to cover.
Once behind another rock, Ash was able to successfully dislodge the sand from his eyes and watch the fight. "You didn't tell me you were a Pokémon Trainer," Ash said as he marveled at the starfish's acrobatics.
"You didn't ask," Misty smiled before looking down at Betamon. "You're turn. I need you to zap the water next time Shellmon tries attacking with it."
"Yes, ma'am," Betamon scuttled forwards and unleashed her attack when another volley of water left Shellmon's head. "Electric Shock!"
Electricity crackled across Betamon's fin before flying at the water. Almost immediately the lightning traveled up the stream of water to zap its source. Shellmon roared in pain and made a move to retaliate against Betamon but was once again distracted by Staryu who unleashed another barrage of Swift.
"Alright!" Ash pumped his fist. "You've got it on the ropes!"
"No," Misty's eyes searched the giant sea monster. "I just got it to go on defense. It's too bulky and armored for me to do any real damage. We need more power."
As if to respond to Misty's remark, a roar came from the ocean. There, rising from the waters like a kaiju out of an old monster movie, was another Digimon who resembled an orange and blue striped Tyrantrum with a brown plated skull.
Before Misty could start formulating a plan to deal with the new Digimon, Ash cheered. "It's Greymon!"
"You know that Digimon?" Misty asked while she watched Greymon step onto the beach to roar right at Shellmon. In response the mollusk redirected its attention and water blasts at the new arrival.
"Yep," responded Gomamon. "That's Agumon's champion form. Looks like he Digivolved after he hit the water."
"Greymon," Ash called out. "Lower your head to shield yourself."
Following Ash's instructions, Greymon lowered his head to use his heavily plated skull as a shield. He then slowly pushed back on the water and marched forwards until he was right up against Shellmon. Greymon then grabbed hold of the shell and proceeded to push back.
While Misty watched the shoving match, she noticed an overhang at the top of the cliffs behind Shellmon. "Ash, look at the cliff," she pointed up at the overhang.
Seeing the loose looking rocks, Ash's eyes lit up. "I see them," he then called over to Greymon. "Greymon, push Shellmon against the cliffs!"
"I'll help," Gomamon volunteered. "Come on Marching Fishes!"
At Gomamon's command a bunch of fish began leaping out of the water to spit water in Shellmon's face before flopping back into the waves. This didn't cause any real damage to Shellmon, but it was showing some discomfort at the constant splats of water to its eyes. This aided Greymon as he continued to push Shellmon up against the cliff.
"Staryu, use your Water Gun at the rocks on top of the cliff! Betamon, aim you Electric Shock up there too!" Misty ordered her team. Both water monsters shot their attacks at the cliff. This dislodged the overhanging rocks which came crashing down on Shellmon's head. Greymon moved back, allowing the Shellmon to take the full force of the avalanche.
Once the dust cleared, Shellmon lay down in the sand, clearly knocked out. The humans whooped in celebration and gave each other a high five, momentarily forgetting about their previous disagreements. Gomamon went up to Misty's team to offer them a high five as well, only for Betamon to scramble back behind Misty. Staryu also turned down the high five in favor of doing its own victory dance in the form of a jump and spin in the air. For his part Greymon just settled on releasing a loud, triumphant roar.
Later
While the Digimon guarded Shellmon, Ash and Misty rushed back to town to grab Orcamon. As it turned out, the village leader had already contacted the Deep Savers who were happy to help relocate the wild Digimon. Once the humans lead them to the beach, a team of Depthmon went straight to work tying up the shelled Digimon.
"While wild Digimon can be dangerous, they still play an important role in our planet's ecosystem," explained one Depthmon. "As such, when we come into conflict, we try to relocate them instead of slaying them."
"I guess that makes sense," Ash agreed. Though he didn't think about it too often, even the most destructive Pokémon, like Gyarados and Tyranitar, had their places in the ecosystem back home.
The Depthmon continued. "Now, while I do thank you humans for stepping up and helping the town, I must caution you to tread lightly when dealing with wild Digimon. While they are to be appreciated, they are still wild and won't mind making a quick snack out of you. So please stick by your Greymon friend." Depthmon nodded towards said champion Digimon was now lying down to bask in the sun.
"Captain!" Gomamon galumphed up to the Depthmon and saluted. "I just got done talking with Orcamon. It looks like this Shellmon was the Digimon who has been attacking the town. Shall we move out, sir?"
"We shall," Depthmon nodded headed off to join the other Depthmon. "I'll give you a moment to say goodbye to your friends." With that the team of Depthmon joined together to pull the Shellmon off into the ocean and out of sight.
Before Gomamon jumped into the sea to swim off with his comrades he turned to each member of the party. First, he addressed Misty. "Misty, I only got to speak with you a couple of times, so I don't really know you too well. But you love the ocean and recognize how awesome we water Digimon are, so you've got a good head on your shoulders. Take care!"
Misty blushed a bit at the compliment. "Thanks, Gomamon. I'm sorry we didn't get a chance to really talk. You seem like a great Digimon."
Gomamon then turned to Betamon. "Betamon, I've known you longer than I've known Misty. But I'm pretty sure we've spoken even less and it's not because you are the strong and silent type. Hold your chin belly high! You're a chosen Digimon! Represent!"
Betamon didn't respond. She just sunk down into the sand.
Then Gomamon turned to Staryu. "Staryu, buddy. You left me hanging. I don't think I can say anything nice to you after that."
Staryu didn't respond either. It just stoically stood by Misty's side.
Gomamon then waddled on over to Greymon. "So, you're finally leaving. I've got to say, the ocean's going to be a whole lot quieter now that you're not going to be around. No more bragging about your future human partner. No more half-baked training schemes. No more complaints about Candlemon. No more yelping when you fall off your boogie board."
Greymon huffed. "With how much you talk silence is not going to be an issue," his voice then adopted a more concerned tone. "Just don't let your loud mouth land you in trouble, okay?"
The Seel gave the dinosaur a grin before finally looking up at Ash. Instead of just addressing him, Gomamon pulled off the goggles from around his neck and tossed them at the trainer. "Heads up!" He called out.
Ash caught the eyewear and stared at it. "Your goggles?"
"My eyes are adapted to seeing underwater, so those goggles are just a fashion accessory for me. You, on the other hand, only need one good cloud of dust to go blind," After chuckling the normally laid-back Seel adopted a serious look. "If I let you keep my goggles can you promise me something? Greymon has been my friend ever since Pegasusmon moved to Byte Island. I need you to watch his back. Gabumon too, once you find him."
A brief moment of silence passed before Ash took the goggles and hung them around his neck. "Of course I'm going to watch their backs. I'm Greymon's trainer!"
Gomamon smiled. "I'll hold you to that."
"You don't have to talk about me like I'm not here," Greymon snorted from his resting spot.
"Greymon!" Gomamon whined. "We just had a cool, dramatic moment! Now you've ruined it!"
Greymon just rolled his eyes. "Knowing you, you were about to do something stupid to ruin it anyway."
"Hmm, good point. Come on Marching Fishes!" with that Gomamon leapt up into the air accompanied by his school of fish in the ocean. Once Gomamon and his team hit the water they sent a small wave of water flying at the humans and their monster companions splashing them all in the face.
"Why you!" Greymon snarled and rose to his feet. He sounded irritated, but Ash could hear a tone of fondness under the growling.
Satisfied with his prank, Gomamon swam off to join the rest of the Deep Savers. As he jetted into deeper waters, he called over his shoulder. "Ocramon is coming with your supplies! Just wait on the beach!"
Ash and Misty waved goodbye to the plucky sea dweller before sitting down right next to the lounging dinosaur's head. For a while, they sat in silence. Finally, Misty turned to Ash. "Hey, Ash."
Ash gave Misty a questioning look. She wasn't addressing him in the stressed or hostile manner he had come to expect within this last day. Instead, her voice was gentle. "Yeah?"
"I want to apologize," Misty sighed. "You see, back home I live somewhere where I get to see all kinds of trainers. Most of them are decent kids who just want to give Pokémon training a swing. But I've also seen more than my fair share of people not fit to handle Pokémon. I've seen trainers who think that just because they have strong Pokémon that they're hotshots who can treat other people any way they want, trainers who push their Pokémon to the breaking point in order to get a win," Misty's face darkened. "Trainers who have been put in a position of power by people who loved them and run what they've been entrusted with into the ground."
After letting that statement sink in, Misty looked over at Ash. "Back at the inn I assumed the worst about you. I thought you were one of those people who abuse what has been given to them. But I can see now that you're just a goof."
"Hey! I," Ash Mareepishly scratched the back of his neck. "I should have waited for Sangomon before trying to find Agumon. I probably would have thought I was a thief if I was in your shoes too."
"And," the two kids turned to see the source of the small voice. Betamon peaked out at Ash from the other side of Misty before scooting back to her cover. "I shouldn't have swum off before you had a chance to apologize. Sorry."
A smile spread across Ash's face. "No problem! I think we all just got off on the wrong foot," He held out his hand to Misty. "Let's start again. My name is Ash Ketchum! My goal is to figure out what it means to be a Pokémon Master!"
Misty considered Ash's outstretched hand before accepting it. "Misty Waterflower. My goal is to become a Water Pokémon Master. I take it you don't have any Pokémon yet?"
"Nope," Ash gestured at Greymon. "Greymon's my first."
"Hey, I'm not a Pokémon," Greymon grumbled before looking over at Staryu. "I have a face."
While Staryu gave a "Hi-yah!" which sounded insulted, Misty smiled. "Not all Pokémon look like Staryu," she explained. "Most do have faces, but some don't. Some are hairy, some are made of rocks. Some are small and round like Betamon and others are larger and look a bit like you, Greymon."
"I'll believe it when I see it," grunted the dinosaur.
Just then, both of the human's Digivices started to beep. Ash and Misty shared a look of puzzlement before Ash brought up his Digivice. Opening up the holographic display, Ash could see a number of icons instead of the usual Digimon readouts. There was an app with a map unfolding labeled "DigiFinder" next to a picture of an open book which was labeled "DigiDex" which was right above an eye with the word "DigiView" underneath just to name a few. Right now, Ash's attention was on the app depicting an Agumon-like silhouette with a speech bubble which wiggled on the screen. It was labeled "DigiChat."
When Ash pressed down on the icon, the main hologram shrank down to a small disk hovering over the Digivice's screen. In its place a new hologram popped up displaying a message board, not unlike one from the internet.
#General
PalmOfMyHand has joined the group!
SightsNFlavors has joined the group!
PalmOfMyHand
here Alright. We've got our screen names and I think I just pressed the "notify everyone button." No going back now.
SightsNFlavors
About time too. I still can't believe you discovered these apps and have been sitting on them. I would have tried to call people right away!
PalmOfMyHand
I thought that we agreed to not mention that to anyone!
SightsNFlavors
I wasn't. I'm not typing…wait. Are those our words?!
PalmOfMyHand
This thing must have a microphone!
SightsNFlavors
Oh no! Has it been listening to us this entire time!? I haven't said anything embarrassing, have I?!
PalmOfMyHand
It looks like it's only active when we use this app. I think. Here, there's a button to toggle between microphone and keyboard.
"These must be some of the other humans," Misty noted as she watched the text scroll up on the screen.
From behind Ash's shoulder, Greymon's eye read the text. "Is there any way we can talk to them?"
"Only one way to find out," Ash tapped at the screen. A prompt came up along with a holographic keyboard which asked him to type in a username. Once he entered one in, the keyboard disappeared and several new buttons replaced it. One of which was probably the keyboard toggle button.
2BAMaster has joined the group!
2BAMaster
Hey! Nice to meet you guys! My name is Ash Ketchum! Are you guys human?
PalmOfMyHand
Well, yeah. Only humans can use Digivices. Or at least that's what Elephantmon said. It's also probably the reason why my Digivice hasn't been picking up my partner's voice. Even though he is really trying to interrupt. No I'm not letting you hold it! Hey, get off! Terriermon!
2BAMaster
Oh yeah. I think Pegasusmon said something like that too.
"Hey Ash," Ash looked over his shoulder at Greymon. "Don't say anything else about Pegasusmon, alright? I want to break the news to Gabumon face to face."
Ash gave Greymon a nod before looking back at the screen to see that someone else had joined the chat. Someone using an expression he was all too familiar with thanks to his childhood friend.
SmellYaLatr has joined the group!
SmellYaLatr
Ash?
2BAMaster
Gary! Is that you?
SmellYaLatr
Yeah.
There was a bit of a pause while Ash (and apparently the other Digivice holders) waited to see if Gary had anything else to say.
SmellYaLatr
WHY DIDN'T YOU GET ON THE STUPID TELEPORTER!
SightsNFlavors
Yikes. I guess high volume means caps lock.
PalmOfMyHand
Wait, teleporter?
2BAMaster
It's like I said before. I wanted to help Pegasusmon fight!
SightsNFlavors
Context? Please?
SmellYaLatr
That's it? It's not because…you know what? Never mind. Just don't go off playing hero or do anything else stupid. Okay?
2BAMaster
Why does everyone think I'm trying to be a hero? I'm just helping! It's what we were sent here to do! Maybe you should have stayed and helped!
"Ash, calm down," Misty remarked. At this point Ash's face was starting to turn red. "He's probably just worried about you."
Ash quickly slapped the keyboard toggle button which muted the chat. He turned and glared at Misty. "You do not know Gary like I do! It doesn't matter how hard I try he's always making fun of me!"
"Well, that sounds bad. But now's not the time to, ugh," Misty sighed. "Greymon, can you help me out here?"
"Don't let that jerk push you around, Ash!" Greymon growled.
"Not what I was looking for," Misty grumbled taking out her own Digivice.
SmellYaLatr
Are you calling me a coward? What would I be helping with? Picking up your pieces once that Digimon was done dicing you? Face it Ash, the best thing we could have done, the best thing YOU could have done is get out of the way and let someone who actually knew what they were doing fight.
"See!" Ash pointed an accusatory finger at the screen before switching the settings back to microphone.
SightsNFlavors
Seriously. Context!
TomboyMermaid has joined the group!
TomboyMermaid
Hi. Misty here. I'm currently with Ash and he is perfectly fine. In fact we are just about to set off to The Temple of the Crests. Does anyone want to talk about that?
BookWurmple has joined the group!
BookWurmple
Hello! My name is Lillie and I'm currently traveling with Gary! Yes, we were just about to head that way ourselves.
2BAMaster
Greymon and I were able to finish off that Kurisarimon.
TomboyMermaid
Ash…
SmellYaLatr
Greymon?
2BAMaster
Yeah. Agumon was able to evolve to champion.
PalmOfMyHand
Hold up. I thought Digimon lost the ability to evolve at some point during the war.
2BAMaster
Yeah, I guess the Digivices can make it happen anyway? I'm not sure exactly how it works. Greymon and I just figured out how to make his champion form stick.
BookWurmple
What do you mean?
2BAMaster
After the first evolution Greymon reverted back to Agumon. I know it's weird, but it's just something Digimon can just do. I think he was just feeling too drained the first time around to hold it.
SmellYaLatr
Huh, interesting. Garurumon was able stay in his champion form.
2BAMaster
Yeah. Wait, Garurumon?
SmellYaLatr
Come on, Ashy-boy. If you were able to get your Digimon to evolve then it must not be that hard. And my Digimon was able to bring down another champion without reverting. So safe to say he's pretty strong. Or at least he's stronger than Greymon.
Greymon snarled at this comment.
2BAMaster
Fat chance. Greymon has taken down two champions. No sweat. How many have you taken down?
TomboyMermaid
You know my team helped.
SmellYaLatr
Should we modify those numbers from two to maybe two? Emphasis on the question mark.
BookWurmple
Gary, please.
2BAMaster
Agumon had Gabumon on the ropes. So I know Greymon would beat Garurumon.
SmellYaLatr
Fantasize all you want. That battle was interrupted right before Gabumon could finish Agumon off.
DragonsFTW has joined the group!
DragonsFTW
Oh for Pete's sake! Will the two of you cram it? Talk about a bunch of kids!
2BAMaster
Who are you calling kid?
DragonsFTW
Obviously none of the people who aren't arguing like a couple of four-year-olds.
RockSolid has joined the group!
RockSolid
Alright, everyone cool it. Ash, Gary, if you guys have a beef with each other please save it until after we all meet up. Yelling at each other in chatrooms doesn't solve anything.
2BAMaster
Yeah, I guess you're right.
SmellYaLatr
Fine.
RockSolid
Also, DragonsFTW, I get that you are frustrated. But name calling won't help anyone.
DragonsFTW
Hey! I wasn't name calling…oh. I guess I was. Sorry.
TomboyMermaid
So, as I was saying before. Temple of the Crests?
SmellYaLatr
Yeah, I think everyone is supposed to be heading that way.
BookWurmple
Maybe we can use the map function to plot our course in a way we can meet up as we travel. That way we help and watch over each other!
SightsNFlavors
Sounds good to me. Hey, what are you doing?
PalmOfMyHand
Did you see how the main screen just shrunk when we brought up the chatroom? Look. It can be brought back up. If we use this then we can look at the chat and the map at the same time.
Ash and Misty did just that and sure enough, they were able to get a map and chatroom on two separate holographic screens. The map could switch between colored, colorless, 3D, etc. While the two were browsing over the maps, Misty pointed out some colored dots on the colorless map.
TomboyMermaid
Okay, I'm looking at one of the maps and I think the colored dots are us. There are a pair of red and cerulean dots right on a beach that looks like the one we're on.
BookWurmple
Oh! There I see them! Ours is the blue and orange ones. We're in the farmlands at the base of the Modern Mountains. It's in the west.
SightsNFlavors
And ours is the orange-red and bright green.
PalmOfMyHand
I think they're vermillion and emerald.
SightsNFlavors
Whatever. Hey look at that. We're actually pretty close to BookWurmple and SmellYaLatr.
PalmOfMyHand
Hey, yeah! If we keep moving forward our paths will intersect!
DragonsFTW
I'm a bit further north, but I think if I change my direction I can probably meet up with you guys later. I'm the black dot.
RockSolid
And I'm the pewter gray dot. I'm actually closer to Ash and Misty. My partner and I are currently crossing the desert. I think we can find a place to meet.
SpotlightQueen has joined the group!
SpotlightQueen
Sorry I'm late to this guys! I landed in a village right in the middle of the artic. My partner has been giving me a crash course in ice age survival. We had to find a safe place to hunker down in before I could respond. I'm the pink dot very far north.
DragonsFTW
Ugh, ice. I don't envy you. Ah man, it doesn't look like you're close to anyone!
SpotlightQueen
It's okay! The Digimon from Penguinmon's village gave us some train tickets. It'll take a while, but once we exit the snow we should be able to find a town with a train station that can take us straight to the temple!
SightsNFlavors
Lucky. My village leader told me that most of the train tracks have been falling apart since the war.
SmellYaLatr
Okay. I'm counting nine humans. We still have a tenth that needs to pick up.
PokePuffPower has joined the group!
PokePuffPower
Sorry. I was just reading through the chat. I'm up to speed now. Actually, I was wondering something. Ash, you wouldn't just so happen be from Pallet Town would you?
2BAMaster
Uh, yeah. How did you know?
PokePuffPower
Uh, just a guess. I'm the purple dot north of you guys so I'll fill you in when we meet up.
RockSolid
Are you in a safe place? I think that if you just sit tight we can all meet up and head to the temple together.
PokePuffPower
Actually, I haven't had a chance to leave my village. So, it all works out!
TomboyMermaid
Okay, my village's leader is coming up. We're going to hit the road. We'll follow up with you guys in a bit.
Once the Digivices were closed, Misty frowned at Ash. "The argument was over. You should have just left it."
Ash just scowled and curled his hands into fists. He wasn't sure what he was expecting from Gary when they got a chance to talk again after Byte Island, but to hear him just go back to insulting his intelligence just hit a nerve. It was bad enough that Gary constantly bested him in everything back home. Now that they were both out of their element they should have been on even ground. But even here Gary still looked down upon him.
Catching Ash's shaking fist, Misty sighed. "Look, just stay away from Gary when we meet up with the other humans. There's ten of us, I'm sure some of them will like you fine. Just hang out with them."
"And even if none of the other humans like you, you've still got us," Greymon added.
"Exactly," Misty put her hand on Ash's shoulder.
Ash took a deep breath before offering Greymon and Misty a smile. "Thanks."
Finally, Orcamon made his way to the kids and their monsters. In addition to the supplies Ash and Agumon brought with themselves earlier, Orcamon carried a wagon filled with some extra packs linked together with some leather straps and a large, thick blanket. "We don't have a professional saddle maker in town, but when you told me that Agumon had Digivolved into a Greymon I thought it would be best to at least whip up something. The blanket should act as a makeshift saddle while the belts should hold the bags in place."
While Orcamon helped the humans and Betamon secure the new accessories on Greymon's back, Ash heard Greymon mutter to himself. "I'll be a worthy warrior. Just you wait."
Given that the dinosaur's eyes were locked on the office at the edge of town where he had left the egg earlier, Ash didn't have to think too hard about who Greymon was talking to.
Once the supplies were secured and more goodbyes were said, Misty returned Staryu to its ball and grabbed hold of Betamon. She then stepped onto Greymon's tail and climbed up to the makeshift saddle to sit behind Ash. Greymon then rose to his feet and adopted a horizontal walking stance. He then stomped off to find a path further in to the main land and towards the team's destiny.
AN: Gomamon is that one friend who, upon learning that you hate it when waiters sing "Happy Birthday," will inform every restaurant that you visit that it is YOUR Birthday.
Alright! We have a Betamon! Obviously Misty had to be paired up with a Digimon from the Deep Savers field. While Swimmon would have worked as a reference to Misty's Goldeen and other fish Pokémon and Sangomon would match up with her Corsola, I decided to go with Betamon as it works for a reference to her Poliwag and its evolutions. There's another reason I wanted to go with Betamon, but we'll get into that later.
I gave Betamon a shy personality to contradict Misty's bolder, firecracker disposition.
Bonus segment! Digivice colors! Let's just focus on the kids we've already met. Ash and Gary's colors are based on the first games released outside of Japan, Red and Blue, which are also the names of their game/manga counterparts (again, outside of Japan). Lillie's orange Digivice is also based on game box art as Pokémon Sun has an orange background. As for Misty, she's from Cerulean city. Easy.
Now for the Reader Response Recess!
Ashpoke55: Thank you again for tuning in! In regards to your request I have already got the basic outline for this arc finished. And there is indeed going to be a part later on where some of the characters have to stop by a school. But it is probably not going to be the kind of school you may be thinking of.
In the continuity of this fanfic Digimon get their basic education in a village from either the elder or some other appointed Digimon. If a Digimon was looking for further education they can either seek apprenticeship, self-study, or venture to a specialty school. One school is the magic academy mentioned in the previous chapter which I'm probably not going to really do much with. I just put it there as a nod to the school in Witchelny which is a bit more of an obscure part of Digimon lore. So if our adventurers aren't going to stop by a magic school, then what will this school teach? We'll reveal that once we get there ;)
Legoguy67: First I must ask: What did you do to the other 66 Lego guys? As for your question the Digivolution lines are going to mostly be streamlined. I am planning on having some alternative forms of Digivolution like Jogress/DNA Digivolution at some point, but that is not going to be for a loooong time. Thank you for reading you Lego maniac.
Giblo126: Thank you for reading. Ha! Little do you know that my grammar mistakes are completely intentional to serve as a commentary on how the Pokémon Company and video games in general are being released with too many glitches!
…You don't buy that do you? Yeah, I'll fully admit that my grammar is not the best, this is entirely on me. I am too shy to look for a beta reader and too impatient to read over the chapter more than once before posting it. I plan for this fic to be long and I want to get started on the next chapter ASAP. As a result I do find myself George Lucusing these chapters, usually right before posting the new chapter (look, I always intended to put those dewbacks in the background). The area where I find myself struggling with the most is commas, but if you catch anything other trends please to let me know. After all, this fic is also a means for me to improve my technique.
The one who reads and writes: We've got a lot of points to address so let's crack our knuckles and get down to it. The appliances, computers, and vehicles sitting around in the middle of nowhere are not from the Pokémon world, rather this is a phenomena that has been observed in different Digimon continuities namely the File Island arc of the Adventure anime and in some of the games. I'll later be giving an explanation for why it is happening in this continuity towards the end of this arc.
As for the meat farms, these are also a part of Digimon lore. Though they are more a mechanic to feed your Digimon in some of the games. The meat apples were from an episode of Digimon Frontier.
As for the Pokémon food, yeah, farming Pokémon for meat doesn't sound like it would be easy given their intelligence and power. But, as you mentioned, where does the deli meat that these games expect us to cook with come from? Just soy meat? I think may be some health issues there.
We could assume that there's a lot of Pokémon hunting seeing as how Farfetche'd was once almost hunted to extension, but I'm not sure that will be enough to feed all the humans and their Pokémon partners. I'm not going to go into a deep dive on this in the fanfic, so let's explore several options here!
Possibility 1: Ranchers do just let their livestock live out their life and harvest the meat upon their death. This would explain why livestock Pokémon would be cool with living on a farm as they get food and protection until their end. Though just sitting and waiting for the animal to die doesn't sound very sustainable for a farm.
Possibility 2: The livestock Pokémon are actually Pokémon like Chansey or Veluza who shed meat and the patties and sausages we are cooking with in the games are just made from a different kind of meat than what we are accustomed to. Of course if we go this route the Tepig stir fry and the Tauros tenderloin must be delicacies as they wouldn't be as widely available as other kinds of meat and would have to be hunted. Or the butcher did just politely wait until they died.
Possibility 3: The livestock Pokémon mirror domestication in our world in that humans found Pokémon who were not as resistant to being eaten, Pokémon that would have already been picked off by natural selection if just left out in the wild, and bred them as an easy food source in early civilization. This does sound plausible as domesticated animals are animals that were friendlier towards and dependent on humans who were then bred as pets and food. But in the world of Pokémon where there is a hug emphasis on friendship between humans and their monster companions this feels a bit dark.
You, the audience, decide!
The final thing I'll address is the age continuity. You made a good point that just because kids are allowed to go on a journey at 10 doesn't necessarily mean that they won't wait. However I'm not sure about Ash being a full blown teenager. Either the Pokémon anime operates on a floating timeline where things happen but the characters don't really age, or Ash has got a serious case of baby face. Also, in going back and rewatching the anime for this fanfic I think May did say that she was 10 when she got her Torchic so that's at least one character whose age I can confirm I had to adjust.
Digimon Introduced
Betamon: Rookie, Virus, Amphibian
Shellmon: Champion, Data, Mollusk
Orcamon: Armor, Free, Aquatic Beast Man
Sangomon: Rookie, Data, Mollusk
Swimmon: Rookie, Vaccine, Tropical Fish
Crabmon: Rookie, Data, Crustacean
Gizamon: Rookie, Virus, Sea Animal
Syakomon: Rookie, Virus, Crustacean
Pokémon Introduced
Staryu: Water, The Star Shape Pokémon
Next Time: We continue to follow Ash and Misty as they venture deep into the jungle! There the team is asked help another village. Or should I say hive?