Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoy. If you REALLY like it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 5 chapters ahead.
Aftermath of the whole 'Gyarados debacle' and some fleshing out of the Sensetional Sisters, and the Waterflower Clan in general. Never sat well with me in canon how Daisy, Violet, and Lily were, like, puddle deep.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Hey."
"We're so sorry-"
"-are you okay?"
I shouldn't have been surprised that the three oldest Waterflower sisters found me so quickly. If I genuinely wanted to be alone, I should have chosen a better spot than under a tree in their backyard.
The outdoor area behind the Gym was envy-inducing, even in my current state. While the half-dozen ponds of various sizes were a common sight around Cerulean, most didn't feature giant boulders lining the shore or pillars of stone rising from the water. The rock was chipped and broken, with a couple of holes peeking through the nearly 15 feet of solid granite, evidence of something powerful practicing its techniques. Even as I watched, a line of Water-types squared off against the sedimentary slabs under the direction of an older man with blond hair and a giant beard.
I couldn't hear what he said, but all the Pokémon arrayed before him reared back simultaneously and unleashed powerful Water Guns that sparkled in the pre-noon sun. The stone shifted and cracked under the pressure of their attacks, pieces falling off and splashing into the water.
There were surface training grounds as well, within the large open plain, ringed by forest and a giant fence. Large dirt tracks were torn and muddied, the terrestrial Pokémon of Cerulean testing their strength against each other and ruining the earth beneath their feet, with grunts and yells echoing from the straining fighters.
A man-sized, blue humanoid Pokémon, with a bulging circular upper body marked with a spiral pattern and what looked like white boxing gloves for hands, was locked in a sumo-style shoving match with another Water-Type. The opponent dwarfed the Poliwrath, a near eight-foot-tall behemoth of lean, light blue-scaled muscle. A crocodilian head bared its teeth, a red, jagged fin on its head swaying with effort. Large clawed feet dug into the soil, and a powerful tail attempted to help resist the force, yet despite the size disparity, the Feraligatr ended up being the one to give ground, trenches forming as it was pushed back before toppling under the roar of the younger Pokémon gathered to spectate.
For all that I wasn't particularly impressed with the quality of Cerulean's Trainers, there was nothing wrong with their Pokémon. Not that I was in any position to throw stones, curled up under a large birch tree on a small hill overlooking the area. I doubted I was particularly awe-inspiring myself.
"I'm fine," I mumbled, refusing to meet any of their eyes. It wasn't that I was overly surprised by the Cthulhu-esque monster masquerading as a Gyarados. I'd been through some difficult experiences. The PTSD was alive and kicking. I had kind of suspected this after my Gym battle with Brock, but I had hoped I was wrong. No, while that sucked and was embarrassing, it wasn't as bad as fleeing like a child or hiding like I was. My mental and physical ages had started lining up a little more throughout my time in the Pokémon world, yet I had never felt more like a seven-year-old than I did at that moment.
The sisters exchanged glances before Lily took the lead, while Daisy, the usual head honcho of the trio, looked despondent and awkward.
"There's no shame in being surprised back there. Gyarados is a scary Pokémon, even among her species," Lily said.
"Yeah," Violet chimed in, "I still remember the first time I saw her. Not my proudest moment – I actually peed myself." I snorted lightly, making them perk up.
"Me too!" Lily interjected, apparently deciding that sharing embarrassing stories about themselves was the best way to lighten the mood. "I still have nightmares about it. I don't know what Dad was thinking, sending that monster out when we were that young."
"Did he ever think? It was a strong Pokémon, and that was all that mattered to him."
The conversation trailed off after that. I considered letting the silence linger, but I'd already been a jerk, and they were trying.
"So it's not your Gyarados?"
They shook their heads, with Lily still leading the conversation. "No. She was our grandpa's – his Ace, in fact. You probably noticed the scars and battle marks. Most of those were picked up during the war. The second back fin was lost to the Clan head of the Swiftfeathers. She's an actual monster. None of us has ever used her for anything, and even when we feed her, we usually have a dozen Clan members with us."
"Our dad was an idiot, and even he learned to leave her alone. She should only be released in the most dire circumstances, not to scare a kid." Violet shot a glare at Daisy after those last words, making the orange-haired woman cringe before finally speaking up.
"... I'm so sorry, Peri. That was… that was not okay. I was in a bad mood, and I took it out on you. I'm really, really sorry. Damn, you could've been killed!"
I felt the urge to protest. My pride was bruised, not broken. "I'd have been fine." It was an absolute lie; if that creature wanted me dead, I'd be dead.
They knew it too. "Peri," Daisy said gently, though her tone was firm, "even Lance was impressed with her. She almost took down his Gyarados."
"Damn," I replied. That was highly impressive, but I believed it. I hadn't encountered any other Champion-level Pokémon, except maybe Slowking – though he was unique. I struggled to conceive how anything could be stronger than that without defying reality.
I definitely had a clear threshold for Legendaries, as I had wondered earlier. I was so screwed.
"Shame you're too scared to battle. Gyarados would've cleaned up." I intended it as a joke, an attempt to return to our previous mood. I didn't expect them to look at each other and then nod.
"You're right. We are scared." I blinked in shock at the straightforward way Daisy said it.
"Not of battling. We're just not good at it and not very interested-" Lily continued.
"-but of strong Pokémon. Daisy's Blastoise is our strongest, and he's barely Conference level, let alone Master," Violet finished.
I was confused. Being scared of the Gyarados was natural, but being scared of strong Pokémon in general?
"Why?"
Another round of glances were exchanged between them before they seemed to reach a consensus. Daisy started, regaining some confidence now that she had apologized and I had accepted her apology.
"Misty likes you, and we do owe you, so I guess it's fine. As we said, it really began with our dad."
"Well, our grandpa, if you want to be technical."
"Shut up, I'm getting to that! Anyway, our grandpa was a big shot during the war-"
"-like, the Admiral in charge of the Kanto navy, big shot."
"Yeah, a real go-getter. They called him the Leviathan of Cerulean-"
"-in no small part thanks to Gyarados-"
"-and the rest of his terrifying team. Dewgong was still a young Seel when he died, and even that thing is a beast." I raised my eyebrows at that. While not as impressive as Oak's Pokémon or the terrifying Gyarados, Dewgong was still a formidable Pokémon.
"Long story short, Grandpa left some big shoes to fill-"
"-and our dad wanted nothing more than to step into them. Unfortunately, he learned some wrong lessons from his father. You probably noticed Gyarados is a particularly impressive Alpha-"
"-and so is Dewgong, though he's more average. You kinda remind us of Grandpa in that regard-"
"-with a team of overly aggressive monsters-"
"-like that Bagon of yours."
"Wait!" I interjected. "You know about Betty?"
They looked at me as if I were an idiot. "Uh, yeah? Dude, there are cameras everywhere."
"Did you think we'd just let you do whatever you wanted without supervision?"
I had indeed thought that, but there was no way I was going to admit it, so I merely waved them to continue. Thankfully, they pressed on.
"Anyway, our dad got it into his head that the key to living up to the Leviathan name was getting naturally strong and aggressive Pokémon-"
"-which, while not entirely wrong, kinda ignored the insane amount of brutal training Grandpa put his team through, as well as the discipline and respect it took to control a team like that."
They all sighed in unison before continuing in a quieter tone.
"... truthfully, Dad wasn't a great Trainer."
"He put too much stock in natural advantages and pure power-"
"-plus, he just… sucked at the training part. He'd try to teach his Pokémon an advanced move, and when they didn't get it instantly, thanks to his vague and poor understanding of it, he'd blame them."
"You have a Titan Dragon-Type and an Alpha Growlithe. How well do you think those kinds of blessed Pokémon would take that? Getting yelled at and being told they weren't good enough?" I grimaced, imagining Betty's, or even Sol's, reaction if I tried to blame them for something that lame or yelled at them without cause. Sol would probably stop listening to me, even more than he already did. Betty…
Yeah, Betty would try to kill me and everything else in the general vicinity pretty quickly. She barely put up with me treating her well.
Seeing my expression, Lily smiled grimly. "Yeah. Wasn't great. There were a lot of incidents, a lot of injuries. Anytime he heard about a strong Water-Type causing trouble, he'd go and catch it-"
"-and then bring it back to the Gym. Back to us. It usually took less than a week before they had enough of his shit."
They were silent for a moment.
"And then… and then we heard about an Alpha Gyarados off the coast of Vermillion, that had managed to gather a small school and was causing trouble with shipping."
"Dad had always wanted an Alpha Gyarados. He tried with Grandpa's, but the old monster hated him even more than she hates everything else. I couldn't count the number of times she almost killed him."
"It was one of the biggest things that bothered him, definitive proof that he wasn't the Trainer Grandpa was."
"So, he went. Of course, there had to be someone to witness his moment of triumph, so he brought-"
I held up my hand to stop Violet mid-sentence. It was a fascinating story and gave some context not only to Misty, but the sisters as well, yet I had to stop them there.
"Stop. I appreciate you telling me this, and I'm sorry for interrupting. But I promised Misty we didn't have to talk about it. I know this is different, and she probably wouldn't blame me, but it still feels weird. So thanks, but no thanks."
My words seemed to stun the sisters, before they glanced at each other and started giggling.
"Okay, that's actually kinda cute-"
"-yeah, that's so sweet!"
"Maybe the runt has better taste than I thought."
I rolled my eyes as they mumbled, leaning back against my tree and taking a deep breath. It wasn't the most uplifting story, yet it helped me calm down a little more. Progress was progress.
"But yeah, we get it. Strong Pokémon are scary."
I shook my head, deciding to reciprocate a little bit. "It's not that. Well, that Gyarados is fucking scary enough, but… I had an encounter with a different Gyarados once. It… it didn't end well."
Lily put a hand on my shoulder, and we just sat for a moment. Eventually, I couldn't stop myself from connecting the dots, though.
"So that's why you don't wanna battle?"
"Yeah." They shrugged.
"Also, like we said, we're just bad at it-"
"-my stomach hurts when our Pokémon gets hit. It's awful."
"Much rather just put on our shows. Everybody enjoys themselves, nobody has to go to the PokéCenter-"
"-and we make, like, 10 times more cash."
"Bro, we're swimming in money. A single show garners more than a whole week of Gym battles. The economy has never been better."
You know what, that was fair. I'd been giving them a lot of shit, but not everybody had to fight. If they and their Pokémon preferred more peaceful pursuits, then it wasn't my decision. I guess I'd just been getting caught up in the hype about the 'Old Eight' and Gyms and shit, pushing my expectations onto them.
There was just one last question I had.
"What about Contests? Wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?"
They groaned, Daisy throwing her head back dramatically while getting up from the grass, Violet and Lily holding out a hand each to pull me up with them.
"Lugia, we wish!" Violet was the one to complain first.
"We've tried to set it up, but the League won't have it." Lily slumped over theatrically as we began making our way back to the Gym.
"Apparently, we 'represent the ancient traditions of Indigo and we cannot sully it with such silliness.'" I wasn't sure whose voice Daisy was trying to imitate with the low pitch and near growl, but I got the idea.
"It's Taurosshit! Sinnoh is almost as old as Indigo, and contests are a mainstay over there!"
"Goodshow even seemed interested, but fucking Lance and Bruno had to butt in!"
"Can't believe I used to think they were hot. You know Lance is an overly arrogant, controlling womanizer?"
"Prick's as bad as his dragons. Despite what we said during our first meeting, we'd be fine if we never saw the dick again."
"Such a waste of good looks. The intensity is kinda hot, but come on! You can't proposition three sisters for a foursome!"
"We were talking about poachers! It wasn't even related to anything! He interrupted us just to throw it out there!"
I soaked in the unflattering gossip about the Champion of Indigo, feeling a little nonplussed. Nobody seemed to like Lance very much. Grant hated the guy – though he was biased – and now the sisters were talking trash. The Professor had good things to say about his strength, yet he kept quiet on the matter of politics.
Whatever, it wasn't my problem. The guy was the strongest Trainer in two regions, so it made sense that he had a bit of an ego. Also, hitting on all three at the same time? Legend.
"So, why were you in a bad mood earlier?" I asked as we stopped to watch the target practice. The older blonde man nodded to the sisters and glanced at me before pushing his torn, actual pirate hat further up his head as he went back to instructing.
"Oh." Any sense of humor or overdramatization vanished like smoke in a tornado, which was a shame. I was starting to understand why they were so popular, aside from being attractive. "Right. That's still a thing. Lily, do you mind? I'll talk to Uncle." Daisy didn't wait for more than a nod before striding over to the old pirate, apparently their Uncle, despite looking like he was in his sixties.
"Right, so you know that Gym Leaders, or Clan heads if you want to be specific – but that's almost always the same thing – are in charge of their part of Kanto, right?" I nodded, making her nod back. Lots of nodding going around. "Good. Well, that means we're responsible for a lot of people with a variety of different jobs. One of those jobs, which we care about more than most Gyms, given our shows, is breeding."
I nodded once more. There was a crude joke there, but I was better than that. Actually, I was just interested in the story and didn't want to interrupt. Plus, I was watching the pirate Uncle talk to Daisy and Violet while still directing the Pokémon.
"Right. So, we sponsor like eight different breeders. We give them Pokémon – some rare – that fall within their specialty and pay them in return for first pick of whatever they produce. Anyway, one of those breeders, our Eevee breeder no less, was robbed last night."
That got my full attention. A robbery in Cerulean? Of rare Pokémon? That situation reeked of Team Rocket. It made a lot more sense than attacking the Gym for a Pikachu, no matter how absurd that seemed.
Maybe I had been too hasty when I said there wasn't much I could do about those goons. A good session of ass-kicking and light maiming was precisely what I needed to get back on my feet.
"Do you know who did it?" I tried to keep my excitement in check, but judging by the look Lily sent me, I failed.
"Uh, no, not yet. But we'll find them. Or Uncle will find them. He loves this stuff," she replied.
I frowned at that. "What about the police? Have you called Officer Jenny?"
Lily hesitated again. "That's complicated and gets into Clan matters. We've told Jenny, yes, but we prefer handling things like this in-house."
I was curious, but not enough to ask further. There was something else I wanted more.
"I want in."
"Huh?" I seemed to have shocked her with that.
"I want in. I've got a Growlithe who can help pick up the scent. Come on, I'm going stir-crazy in here!" I considered using a childish plea, but I was getting too old for that, and there was no way Lily would forget my past antics.
Last resort. No need to humiliate myself unnecessarily.
"Absolutely not!" Although I could see that Lily wasn't enthusiastic about the idea. "We already almost got you killed once today. There's no way we're sending you out to fight criminals. Besides, didn't I say we like to keep this stuff in-house? You're not a Cerulean Trainer or a Waterflower yet, so no."
"Come on, it's not my first time!"
"I said no!"
"Fine!" I knew I sounded petulant, but I didn't care. I had handled worse than a couple of criminals, even if they were Team Rocket. Plus, I would have backup this time! "I guess I'll just look for them myself!"
"The hell you are!" Lily had been the most accommodating of the Sensational Sisters in my experiences, so it was off-putting to hear her growl and grab me by the shoulder. "I'll tie you up in the Gym if I have to! There's no way-"
"Hold on, lass. Let the lad speak."
A deep voice, like the speaker had smoked three packs a day since birth, interrupted Lily's threat. I looked over to see that the target practice had ended, with Daisy and Violet returning alongside their Uncle.
Standing well over six feet tall, with a wide-brimmed pirate hat casting a shadow over his familiar blue eyes, Uncle Waterflower was an intimidating figure. His magnificent beard was braided, with three separate braids meeting in the middle for a super braid, while his sun-bleached hair hung loose and wild over his broad shoulders. Smoke curled from the large pipe hanging from his lips, the sweet scent of whatever was inside mixing with a heavy aroma of brine and seaweed.
Admittedly, the whole vibe was somewhat undermined by the criminally small blue shorts that showed off his hairy legs, with a thick, knotted scar covering his left calf. His garish pink flip-flops adorned his feet, and a white, unbuttoned poet shirt hung open, complete with frills on the neck and wrists, showcasing the blue symbol of Cerulean proudly on his right pec. Finally, two low-slung leather belts wrapped around his waist and blouse, each holding five old and beaten Poké Balls.
All in all, he was an odd guy, but he managed to pull it off.
"Peri," Daisy introduced us, "this is our Great-Uncle, Walter Waterflower. Uncle, this is Peri, one of Misty's friends. He's the one who's been using the training room for the last couple of days."
Walter Waterflower? Rough. It was only fair to reciprocate.
"It's short for Periwinkle." I accepted the handshake he extended, suppressing a wince as his calloused, thick fingers squeezed tightly. I didn't think it was intentional; he was just that kind of person.
"Periwinkle, eh? That's rough. I suppose I can't talk, though, can I? Always good to meet a friend of lil' Mist. The girl's a Gyarados in the making; she scares most people off." There was a faint accent reminiscent of Orre, but nothing too pronounced.
"Life's boring without a little conflict," I replied, earning a huff of amusement from him.
"Aye, I've heard that before. So ya want to come hunt criminals with me, eh? And why should I let ya do that? Ya think a little baby dragon and some rookies are enough to keep up with me?"
Okay, did everyone just know about Betty? How many people were watching those damn cameras?
"Like I told Lily, it isn't my first time. I'm sure we'd give an old-timer like you a run for your money." I had to hold back my excitement; I wanted him to agree, but I couldn't resist a bit of snark.
"Oh yeah? And what does a little one like ya know about combat, eh?"
"Well," I began, deciding to start with something verifiable, "I helped take down the Team Rocket guys in Mt. Moon." Technically true.
"I know. Ya're named in the report." Damn it. Why would he read that? It wasn't even in Cerulean territory!
"Uh, right," I stammered. I coughed to gather my thoughts, but thankfully, he just raised a bushy eyebrow as if to say, 'keep going.' "I grew up in Orre?" I let that slip out more as a question, thrown off by his intensity.
That earned a thoughtful nod from him. "Better, better. Rough place, Orre. Half the pirates attacking our lanes are from Orre. Still, not that impressive. Anything else?"
I hesitated. I was confident that the Rocket Lab would be enough to convince him, and I could share the same story as Grant. However, Walter seemed a bit more… aware than the elder Pebble Clan member.
"Let me see that Feebas of yars," Walter said, throwing me a lifeline. I lit up and grabbed the correct PokéBall, convinced that Siren would impress him. If not, then I didn't want to go with him anyway. Siren was awesome and he could fuck himself if he thought otherwise.
Siren materialized, looking around confusedly. Upon spotting the lake and the targets, she immediately headed towards it for some training. But I quickly grabbed her and held her up for Walter to inspect.
Half-lidded, disinterested eyes met mildly curious ones in what was possibly the least intense staring competition in Indigo history. They were both blinking, which left me wondering about the whole concept. Maybe it was a Water-Type/Water-Trainer thing.
Finally, Walter seemed to have had enough and nodded with a little hum. "Not terrible. Decent levitation, if nothing else."
Damn right, not terrible. I took that as an acknowledgment that Siren had won. Nobody could beat my Princess when it came to looking unsure about what was happening or not caring enough to find out.
"Let's see what else she's got." Siren and I blinked in unison as Walter nodded his head at the target boulders. I grinned and placed Siren on the ground. She rolled her eyes at both Walter and me, likely annoyed that we had interrupted her training. Still, she turned to face the nearest pockmarked stone.
She tensed, and I could imagine the energy swirling within her as she gathered it. Her cheeks puffed out, and soon she couldn't contain it anymore, launching the Water Bullet through the air like a missile. A dull thud resonated in our ears as it impacted. I clapped along with the Waterflower sisters as the attack left a decent-sized hole, fragments raining into the water amid the leftover mist. While it was on the smaller side compared to the others on the large rock, the fact that it outperformed some was certainly promising.
This was still the training yard of a Gym and a whole Clan. I wasn't sure how many Waterflowers there were, and surely they had other training areas, but this had to count for something.
Walter gave the same little nod and noise as before, then put his fingers under his bristly mustache and whistled loudly. A splash from the lake caught our attention, just in time for a giant fish to poke its head out from the far end of the pond. The new Water-Type mainly was a deep orange, with a white spot around its jaw, prominent pink lips, and two small fangs sticking out. Black stripes decorated the top of its head, and in the center of its forehead rose a long cream-colored horn, above a pair of round, dark eyes. A white, flowing, mohawk-like fin ran along the back of the Water-Type, peeking out of the water.
Similar to Siren, the Seaking didn't wait for any instructions. Unlike my darling, though, it took just a second to unleash its attack.
I barely caught a glimpse of the huge, glowing orb of water as it shot through the air, creating a shockwave that disturbed the calm lake. Before I could register what happened, it traveled over 200 yards and struck the target.
BOOOOM!
An explosion rippled through the air, followed by the sound of an iceberg collapsing into the water. A massive chunk of the three-story boulder was ripped away, debris raining down across nearly the entire field as the other Pokémon scrambled to dodge it. Almost a fourth of the rock had disappeared, leaving a gaping hole so large that I could stand inside it – along with another version of myself on my shoulders.
"Anything else?" Walter asked, seemingly unfazed and mildly engaged as he sucked the Seaking back into one of his ancient Poké Balls and reattached it to his belt.
It took me a moment to reboot my brain after my ego was deflated so thoroughly that I nearly wanted to apologize to Ash.
Holy crap. I just got put in my place.
My pause must have been long enough for Walter to interpret it as confirmation that I had nothing else to share. He shrugged his shoulders and began heading for the Gym.
Disappointment welled up inside me.
"Sure, I'll take ya. I'll keep ya safe, and it's good for a lad to see that kind of stuff."
What?
"WHAT!?"
"Uncle, you can't do that!"
"He's just a kid!"
Walter waved the sisters off and gestured for me to follow him.
"Bah! Yar grandpa and I were younger than him when my Pa took us out to sea for some hunting. There ain't nothing wrong with a bit of practice. Don't worry, I'll bring him back in one piece. A little traumatized, perhaps, but that builds character!"
I was starting to feel that Walter would get along great with Grant.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
It didn't take long for us to be out and about in Cerulean. Walter wasted no time, heading straight out of the Gym toward the crime scene, which I realized I didn't actually know the location of. Not that it mattered; Walter knew the way like the back of his hand, maneuvering around the city with even more confidence than Misty.
I had spent my time holed up in the Gym, so it was nice to get outside, even if I could feel the adrenaline beginning to pump. Patience, I told myself. There was no point in getting riled up just yet. I'd save it for the thieves. It felt strange to hope that Team Rocket had robbed some poor breeders, but I did.
As we made our way toward the outskirts of the city, the large moat came into view. I decided to make some small talk. Walter was old; surely he had something interesting to say.
"So, uh, you're the sisters' uncle? Or grand-uncle, or whatever?"
I saw the back of his hat bob slightly in a nod.
"Yep."
I waited for him to elaborate, but nothing came.
Okay.
"So you're their grandfather's brother? The Leviathan, or whatever his name was?" I knew I had the name right, but I thought maybe probing him would get a better response.
"Yep."
Same response, same nod.
Right. Maybe something more direct would work.
"So you fought in the war, right? That must've been exciting. Did you know Grant Pebble from Pewter?" I figured bringing up my association with another veteran might win me some points. Presumably, he had a favorable opinion of me if he brought me along, right?
Right?
"Yep."
Okay, fine, if you don't want to talk, we won't. Didn't want to chat with your geriatric self anyway. Probably just going to rant about kids on his lawn or something.
So we walked in silence between the two of us. The people of Cerulean were lively, bartering and chatting among the brooks and flowers. Fountains and benches were occupied by all sorts of people hanging out.
Many noticed us, particularly Walter. Calls of "Walter!", "Sir!", "Uncle!", "Admiral!", and even "Hey, Handsome!" from women of all ages followed us out of the city. The older man nodded to each in return, yet offered no verbal response. His demeanor was very different from what I had experienced with the sisters. Perhaps he relaxed around family.
Once we crossed the bridges and were walking along a path of simpler stone that led to some more remote houses outside the city proper, I couldn't stay quiet any longer.
"So, where are we going exactly?"
"We'll be there soon." That was all I got, though the man did slow down to walk beside me as we traveled through a small copse of tall trees shielding us from sight in either direction. He might have been warming up to me.
Forget it; I could be courteous, I decided. I'd give him another chance.
I opened my mouth to speak, maybe even offer something of my own first-
-only for a hand to grab the collar of my shirt and yank me clear off the ground while twirling me around. My back slammed into the rough, jagged bark of a particularly large tree. I looked up furiously, ready to lash out at this wrinkly, elderly figure, only to freeze with my feet dangling in the air as a deadly calm voice rang out in an insultingly even tone.
"You will tell me everything you know about Team Rocket."
My eyes locked onto a pair of stormy blue ones, looking at me neutrally. There was no anger there, no violence – just a complete certainty in the words spoken.
"You will not lie to me. If you do, I'll know."
The sea didn't need to threaten. What purpose was there in intimidation when the gaze that pinned me down held such abyssal depths? The bottom of the ocean wasn't a burning, boiling place; it was quiet, cold, and dark. Some might even call it tranquil. Serene.
Peaceful.
"You don't want that."
Those people were morons.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
AN: Another chapter where not much happened plot-wise, but I couldn't resist the cliffhanger.
Walter wasn't supposed to exist, Peri was just going to be walking around when he heard about poachers in the area, but I couldn't see a good reason why the Waterflower's wouldn't do anything about it, or how Peri was going to be allowed to join, so Walter was born.
He also wasn't supposed to know about Team Rocket, but he just kinda stole that scene and decided, 'Nah, I'm a badass,' and who am I to argue? That Seaking also came out of nowhere. Cerulean as a whole has been a suprising writing experience.
Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoyed. If you REALLY liked it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 5 chapters ahead.