"Raticate, use Hyper Fang!"
"Raticate!"
The brown rat-like pokemon shot across the arena in what could only be described as a blur, moving so fast that Ekans was unable to avoid the attack completely as Raticate sank it's fangs into his body near the tail.
"Use Bite and Wrap!" I ordered Ekans, who did just that as he sank his own fangs into Raticate and Wrapped his serpentine body around it's own, squeezing tighter and tighter with every breath Raticate tried to take.
The force of the Wrap, combined with the damage from Bite and the toxins that Ekans's fangs naturally carried, and the Raticate was quickly unable to even remain conscious as it passed out entirely.
"Raticate is unable to battle! Ekans and Noah win!" The referee, a Nurse Joy, declared, and Ekans released the subdued Raticate while it's trainer rushed out to collect it. Thankfully, we were already in a Pokemon Center for immediate treatment.
"Good job." I said to Ekans as he slithered back to my side.
"Kansssssss~!" He hissed in reply, pleased with his victory and the praise. But then, his entire body began to glow before elongating, to nearly double his original length, while the area beneath his head flared out into a wide hood.
"CHAAAAAARBOK!"
Ekans, now Arbok, hissed victoriously as he finished his evolution, his body now a darker shade of purple while also losing the rattle that tipped his tail, instead trading it for a wide hood that depicted a pair of horrific eye patterns.
"Excellent!" I exclaimed at the sight of his new form, the third of my pokemon to evolve during our stay in Vermillion city over the last couple days, the others being Rattata into Raticate, and Metapod into Butterfree.
"Bebe~!" Celebi declared as she too came and congratulated Arbok on his evolution, which made him flare his hood even wider as he tried to show off. If only he wasn't still bearing a few injuries from the previous battle...
"Bebebe?" Celebi asked, seemingly noticing this herself as she looked Arbok over. What she did next surprised me as a bubble of energy expanded from her body, engulfing both Arbok and myself.
Within the bubble the air felt thick and heavy, though not in a constrictive way as dropplets of water began to form in the air, dripping onto the three of us. And with each drop I could feel energy filling my body, while Arbok's wounds began to heal at a visible rate.
"Oh my! That's Life Dew!" The Nurse Joy that had been overseeing the match said in awe as she approached us.
"Really? I didn't think Life Dew would be so potent." I replied while looking at the dew collecting on my skin.
"I guess you should expect that when dealing with a Legendary." Nurse Joy said while looking at Celebi longingly.
"Cebebe~!" The little Legendary cried with pride at the praise, as Arbok was already completely healed.
"Now that you're healed, let's return." I said to the pokemon, recalling him to his pokeball while Celebi canceled the Life Dew.
"Are you going to take on another challenger?" Nurse Joy asked curiously while pointing to the next trainer that stepped forward.
"Not this time." I said while shaking my head, noticing May arrive as well with a bag in her hands.
"You ready to go?" She asked while every head turned towards her.
"Of course."
"Good. The ship leaves in an hour." May said as I joined her, waving goodbye to the trainers and Nurse Joy I was leaving behind.
"Cebe!" Celebi called back at them, saying goodbye as well before she flew after us.
"I got us some lunch to eat on the way." May said as she reached into the bag and pulled out a sandwich, offering it to me before doing the same for Celebi.
"Are these from that one shop you were wanting to visit?" I asked before taking a bite. "Damn... That is a damn good sandwich..."
"Heehee, right?" May asked in a teasing voice as she ate with the same gusto as always.
We ate in silence while walking down the street, enjoying our food with Celebi floating along behind my head as she also ate. The only thing that disrupted the pleasant day was the noise coming from the construction yard we were passing. But even that did nothing to dampen our moods. At least, not at first.
"!!!"
The hair on the back of my neck suddenly stood on end, and I rushed forward with my sandwich forgotten as I tackled the girl walking several feet ahead of us.
"KYAAAA!"
Her scream pierced the air, probably because some random guy tackled her out of nowhere. But I was more concerned with what set my senses off, which was evident a second later as several metal beams crashed down into the sidewalk right where she had been.
"WATCH IT!" I yelled up at the workers who came running from the yard to check on us, a combination of people and pokemon.
"We're sorry!" The man in the front of them called. "The strap slipped-"
"I don't care!" I yelled while letting the girl go, who seemed to have calmed down now now that she knew what happened, and rose to my feet. "You almost crushed her!"
"Th-thank you!" She said before they could reply, and I looked at her properly for the first time. She was wearing a white dress and had maroon colored hair that was styled into a side braid. And yet again I was struck by a sense of recognition, but I pushed it aside for now.
"Don't worry about it. I'm just glad you're ok. No thanks to them." I said while pointing to the workers.
"I'll say." May added as she skirted around the wreckage with Celebi. Then, the little Legendary used her psychic powers to lift the beams up off of the ground, and levitate them back into the construction yard with the others.
"There. Now try not to kill anyone else." I told the construction workers, who were starting to go back to their yard now that they knew we were ok. Though I noticed a few of them throw me dirty looks as they did so.
"Some people." May said while shaking her head in disbelief at them.
"Yeah. Now let's go so we don't miss our boat." I told her while checking the time. "Good luck miss!" I called back to the girl who had almost been crushed, once more feeling like I knew her from somewhere. But we were slightly behind now and didn't want to miss our boat.
Thankfully we managed to reach it with a bit of time to spare, a somewhat smaller passenger ship that could probably carry around a hundred or so people at a time comfortably. I doubt there was that many people riding it this time though since it regularly traveled back and forth from Vermillion city and Cinnabar island.
"Our cabin is 113." May said as we checked in, handing over our tickets and boarding with the last of the stragglers before heading to our assigned cabin.
"Cozy." I said as we entered it with the key we were given, revealing a small room with a single twin sized bed in it, as well as a door that presumably led to the bathroom.
"It's only for a couple days." May said as she entered the room to deposit her bag.
"I know. I'm just not used to traveling by boat." I said automatically. And while I couldn't really tell if that was true or not due to my lack of memories, I just knew it was.
"I can't help but wonder what kind of life you had before you fell from the sky." May said as she checked out the bathroom, which was also really small with a stall to take showers in. "It sounds like you never really did anything from what little you do know."
"Yeah." I said with a grimace, having noticed that myself. Sometimes it made me wonder if I deserved to travel with May, considering the bum I must have been before meeting her.
I shook the thought from my head as we made ourselves at home, and then headed back out to explore the ship properly.
The SS. Lapras, a passenger ship meant just to ferry back and forth between the two cities, there wasn't too much in the name of luxuries and entertainment on board for those making the trip. The main two things that caught my attention were the small arena where trainers could have battles, and a scheduled stop on the voyage to a reef system near the Seafoam Islands.
Other than that the only thing to do was fish off the back of the boat. Which was exactly what I started to do once we departed the docks, while May was busy giving her fans an update on May's Expedition.
"Rotom." I called to my phone, which floated up beside me while I kept both of my hands on the pole. "Call Misty."
"Roger! Calling Misty!"
I heard the phone ring a few times before she picked up, and the redhead's face appeared on screen.
"Hello? Noah?"
"Hey Misty. Long time no see." I said to her as she answered the call.
"Long time no see. And are you ON the sea?" She asked as she seemingly noticed that I was on a boat.
"Yeah. May and I are on our way to Cinnabar island." I explained.
"Lucky... So did you call just to rub it in?" She asked jokingly.
"Nah. I was wondering if you can give me some tips about fishing for pokemon." I told her honestly while directing Rotom to show her the pole in my hands.
"What kind of rig are you using?" She asked seriously.
"I don't know. They had the poles already made up for us, and the bait as well. I just needed to drop the line in the water."
"Have you ever fished before?"
"Nope."
"..."
Misty looked at me incredulously at my admission.
"So you're a novice, using random bait, AND you decided to try your hand at fishing in the OCEAN of all places for your first time?!"
"Yeah? What's wrong with that?"
"EVERYTHING!" Misty yelled back at me, her face almost as red as her hair by this point. She had to force herself to take a deep breath as she tried to visibly calm herself down.
"First of all, fishing for pokemon at all carries a certain level of danger. Most pokemon are stronger than most people, meaning that YOU can be the one that gets caught instead if you're not skilled enough to pull in whatever bites your hook. This goes double for ocean dwelling pokemon since they are typically stronger than most of those you'll find in lakes and rivers, due to the currents."
"You reeled in that Magikarp like it was nothing." I pointed out.
"Yeah, because it was a MAGIKARP." She said like she was talking to an idiot. "Magikarp are the easiest pokemon in the world to fish for. The only thing difficult about them is finding what they feel like eating that day. Everything else packs a punch when they eat a snack and the snack bites them back. And if you were unfortunate enough to hook a Gyarados? You can just kiss your ass goodbye."
"Huh." I said in contemplation as I learned more from Misty. And she didn't stop there.
For the next hour or so Misty lectured me on the different pokemon that could be fished out of the coastal waters of Kanto and Johto, such as Goldeen, Quilfish, and even seafloor dwellers like Krabby. But apparently there were also pokemon that traveled through these waters from other regions as part of their migratory patterns, such as Wailord, Finizen, and Lumineon.
Then she taught me about the proper technique to use when reeling in a pokemon. Apparently it varied depending on what was on the other end of my line, which was why most anglers needed to learn to identify the different tells when they got a bite. Precious few, like Magikarp, could just be simply reeled in without much thought. Larger and stronger pokemon however could take hours to bring in if the line didn't snap.
It was when she was explaining the different lures and baits to use for specific pokemon that I felt my pole began to jerk.
"I think I got something!" I exclaimed excitedly.
"Really?! Give your pole a quick jerk to set the hook! But don't yank too hard on it!" Misty quickly instructed me, and I did as she commanded as I jerked the pole back towards myself, earning a yank from the pokemon at the other end of the line.
"Now what?" I asked as the pokemon began dragging the line out.
"Let it take the line, if you try to reel in now then you'll risk losing it. Once it stops pulling, reel it in as much as possible." She ordered, and I did nothing as she commanded. A second later the clicking that was coming from the drag stopped.
"NOW! Reel it in!"
I cranked that reel as hard as I could go as I brought the pokemon in closer.
"Now stop!" Misty suddenly yelled as the pokemon started running again, and I stopped reeling as the fish dragged out the line.
"It's just taking the line back out..." I growled while watching all of my work be undone.
"Remember that this is a marathon, not a sprint. Your goal is to tire the pokemon out so you can land it." Misty instructed me. And sure enough, the pokemon stopped pulling on the drag a second later, allowing me to reel it back in once again.
We went back and forth like that for a while, long enough that my arms began to burn from all of the work they were doing. But, I was also slowly making some progress. Finally...
"I can see it!" I exclaimed as I began to make out a shape in the water.
"What does it look like?" Misty demanded as she tried to get get a look through the phone.
"All I can see is red flashing... Maybe a Tentacool?" I suggested, as all I could see in the water was what looked like several flashing red lights.
"OH! I think that's a TentaCRUEL!" Misty exclaimed excitedly, and I think she was right. This thing was WAY too big to be a normal Tentacool.
The thought excited me as I slowly brought it closer to the surface.... before suddenly the water exploded.
"WOAH!" I yelled, ducking right before a tentacle lashed out at me. As a result the pole slipped out of my grip before being pulled into the water, where it and the Tentacruel disappeared entirely.
""...""
Misty and I were both silent for a second as we registered what hapened. And then...
"PFFFFFT! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"
Misty roared with laughter at my expense from all my wasted effort, while I just stared at the spot where my pole had disappeared, which grew further and further away as the ship chugged through the water.
"Did that really just happen?" I asked dumbly while turning my attention back to Misty.
"Sure did! I saw the whole thing!" Misty hollered with undisguised glee.
"What's all of the commotion?" May asked as she joined us, Celebi riding on her shoulder as she licked what looked like a frozen berry pop.
"Noah just made his first fishing attempt!" Misty told her before I could say anything, before quickly filling her in on what happened.
"I wish I had been able to catch that on camera." May said with a cheeky grin.
"Not to worry Ma'am, I recored the entire thing!" Rotom reported to her. Then, before I could tell it to delete the footage, May's phone buzzed with a notification that turned out to be the entire video from when I first got the bite.
"I think it's time for bed..." I grumbled, leaving the girls to their glee as I headed back to our cabin. Swearing as I did so that I would catch a pokemon with a fishing pole before we reached Cinnabar island.
...
I woke up early on our second day aboard the SS. Lapras and immediately got to work, having Rotom find me the best instructional videos for preparing my own fishing tackle and baiting my own hook before I cast the line out into the water behind the ship. And there I sat, like the most attentive Growlithe as I watched the line carefully, memorizing the bob of the pole as it dragged behind the ship while watching for any inconsistencies.
At some point May brought me some eggs and toast for breakfast, which I gratefully ate before returning to my silent vigil as I waited patiently for a bite.
Celebi also joined me for a while in watching the pole, but eventually got bored and flew off to explore the ship with May.
I watched my pole until lunchtime, at which point May suggested that I reel the line in and check my bait in case something managed to take it, or if it fell off at some point throughout the morning. And sure enough, she was right.
I reeled my line in to find the hook at the end completely empty of both pokemon and the bait that I carefully applied that morning.
"Damn pokemon..... Make a fool out of me...." I grumbled irritably as I went to rebait the hook.
"I would advise to wait to that, sir." One of the employees said.
"Why?" I almost snapped back at him.
"Because, we will be arriving at the reefs soon. And while we are there, we have a policy that no passengers are allowed to fish until we have left them behind. This is to keep our passengers from accidentally getting hooked themselves, as well as to help prevent any snagging that may happen in and around the reefs." He explained patiently, and I reluctantly relented as I returned the pole and the tackle I had been using to their place.
I then returned to mine and May's cabin to get changed since I fully intended to dive and catch some pokemon while we were here. I can go back to fishing later.
When I emerged back on deck I was dressed simply in a pair of red and blue swim trunks that felt a size or two too tight, though May had insisted they were fine when she bought them for me. When I saw what everyone else was dressed like though, all thoughts of my own swim trunks were driven from my mind.
"That really is a good look for you." May said thirstily as she sauntered up to my side.
"Me? what about you?" I asked while shamelessly giving her whole body a once over. She was currently dressed in a red thong bikini, which was the same thing the majority of the other women preparing to go on the dive were wearing. "Are thong bikinis in style or something right now?"
"You can say that. Women have been wearing them ever since Diantha released a movie last year where she was basically only wearing one of these the entire time." May explained.
"Maybe we should watch that movie." I suggested absentmindely, earning me a playful elbow in the ribs from May. Though judging by her smirk, she wasn't against the idea.
The thong bikinis were hardly the most scandalous 'outfit' I saw though, as one girl even stripped herself down until she was completely naked in front of everyone. And when she noticed me looking, all she said was that she didn't like tan lines...
"Apparently people here are lot more open than where I came from." I murmured quietly, earning me another playful elbow from May as the man in charge of the dive started going over the rules for us.
Basically the ship would provide us with diving masks, along with mesh bags to hold our pokeballs with as we explored the reefs, and we were free to catch pokemon if we wanted to as well. But the ship was also not liable if we were injured by any wild pokemon, or if were left behind once the diving period was up.
I quickly tied the bag cord around my waist like a belt, putting several empty pokeballs into it along with my Rotom phone and a knife. Just in case.
May did the same, as did several others while a few of them tied it instead around their ankles or thighs. After that, May also pulled out a different type of drone than the usual one she filmed May's Expeditions with, one that looked as if it functioned under water, and prepped it for filming a new episode.
"Alright! You all know the rules, and you have your gear. Be safe out there!" The captain declared, and we all jumped into the water.
"I'm going to just film for a bit, Noah. If you want to go on and focus on catching pokemon, you can." May's voice said through the radio in our masks.
"Will do!" I replied while pressing the button, before pulling three pokeballs from the bag. "Magikarp, Poliwrath, Politoed!"
A chorus of cries answered me as I called out the three water type pokemon, the only ones I had on me at the moment as well. The others, Celebi and Charmeleon included, had been sent back to the professor's for the afternoon to keep some space open on my team.
"Let's go find some pokemon!" I declared while grabbing onto Magikarp, who started pulling me along with her while Poliwrath and Politoed flanked us. I could see the other divers as they each went their own way, some even in twos and threes, so I directed them in a direction that I didn't see anyone else going.
All around us were colors in every shade thanks to the corals and the pokemon who called them home. Everywhere I looked I could see pokemon going about their business, Corsola, Horsea, Shellder, Quilfish, and even a Chinchou. Unfortunately, they were all far enough away that it would be difficult to try and catch one at Magikarp's swimming speed, while POliwrath and Politoed were both too slick to try and hold onto.
But as we made our way over a small ravine through the coral, I was able to see a small cluster of Shellder nestled at the bottom, a Cloyster at their center.
"Poliwrath, take down that Cloyster!" I immediately ordered the water type to my left before they could react.
"WRATH!" He let out a battle cry as he launched himself down at them, his powerful arms and legs driving him through the water.
"CLOY!"
The water/ice type cried in reply to the challenge, firing numerous icicles at him in retaliation. Poliwrath however didn't even flinch, instead smashing his way through them with his fists before hitting the Cloyster itself with a Brick Break.
While the two pokemon started battling, the cluster of Shellder began to disperse as the majority of them fled in different directions. A few however stayed, seeming to want to help the Cloyster.
"Politoed, bring me two of them." I ordered her.
"POLI!" Politoed cried in affirmation, using the edge of the coral next to her as a springboard as she launched herself through the water.
With the Shellder nestled within a small gorge, Politoed was in her element as she repeatedly launched herself off the walls around her to attack them in every direction, using the move Pound on them over and over again. Her attacks came in such rapid succession that all they could do was close their shells to try and protect themselves.
The second battle over before it even started as Politoed relentlessly hammered the Shellder, eventually knocking them unconscious under her repeated blows. She then collected two of them at random, and swam back to me while I pulled out a couple of pokeballs.
"Thank you." I told her with gratitude, tapping the pokeballs to the pokemon to capture them. And with them already being unconscious, they were unable to put up a fight as the balls fell still with a soft ding that I heard even through the water.
Now there was just the Cloyster, who was nearly defeated by Poliwrath as he hammered it repeatedly with strong fighting type moves. He may not be as agile as Politoed, but he had power in spades compared to her. And he was at least more maneuverable than a Cloyster.
Giving it one final hit, Poliwrath sent Cloyster soaring through the water towards me while I pulled out another pokeball. Soon, it was captured alongside the two Shellder.
"Nice!" I said while fishing my phone from the bag next to scan them.
~~~
Shellder- the Bivalve pokemon
It's shell is harder than diamond, and it used to help the pokemon get around through opening and closing it. At night they use their tongue to burrow into the sea floor.
~~~
Cloyster- the Bivalve pokemon
This pokemon's shell can resist even a bomb without shattering, opening only to attack it's opponents. It fights by shooting spikes and icicles at it's foes.
~~~
After reading their information I use Rotom to send the two Shellder back to professor Oak's in order to free space in my party again, while keeping Cloyster on me in case I needed it. I was glad to find both forms of the pokemon, the Cloyster to use in battle, and the two Shellder for when I was able to find a couple of Slowpoke to evolve them into Slowbro and Slowking.
"You guys ready for more?" I asked Poliwrath and Politoed, who both gave me a thumbs up in affirmation before we continued on to find more pokemon.
Next was a Horsea, which was swimming by itself until Politoed caught it by surprise. Then I was able to find a couple Corsola, one I caught for myself, the other I caught to give Misty as thanks for all of the fishing advice last night.
~~~
Horsea- the Dragon pokemon
When it senses danger, Horsea will spray a thick cloud of black ink to escape. It swims using the fin on it's back, and maintains balance using it's coiled tail.
~~~
Corsola- the Coral pokemon
Clusters of this pokemon form in warm seas, forming ideal hiding places for smaller ocean dwelling pokemon. If the temperature of the sea begins to fall, they migrate to warmer waters.
~~~
Unfortunately, time was also running out as I checked my phone to see that we needed to start heading back to the ship soon. There were still a few minutes though, so I directed Magikarp to check one last area of the reefs before started heading back. As we rounded the edge of the reef though, I was greeted by the drop-off and a sight that made any thoughts of returning to the ship leave my mind.
There, on the sandy sea-floor, was a lone Lapras.
This alone would be weird, as Lapras were usually swimming in pods at the surface of the ocean. But then I notice the lengths of rope and netting with weights that covered most of it's body.
"Let's go help it!" I told my pokemon, who all cried in affirmation as we approached the trapped pokemon.
"Laaaaaaaap....?" She called questioningly as we approached her, lifting her head weakly to look at us.
"Hey..... It's ok." I said gently as I carefully approached her, surveying the damage before I started trying to free her.
It was obvious that she was very weak, and I couldn't tell how long she had been tangled up in the ropes before I found her. But I did know that Lapras were unable to stay submerged indefinitely.
"Politoed, keep her distracted. I'm going to try and cut these ropes away." I said while pulling out the knife I'd brought.
"Toed!" Politoed replied, swimming towards the Lapras's head to keep her focused on her as I worked.
I had to work slowly and methodically as I cut the ropes, taking care not to accidentally cut her as well and do even more damage that what they had already done. But I could tell she was relieved as I removed more and more of the ropes, the tension leaving her body as I worked in a way that I hoped wasn't just her growing even weaker.
"Noah? Where are you? The captain says that it's nearly time to go." May suddenly called through the radio in my mask.
"I'm going to be a little while. I found a Lapras that was caught in some old rope and netting." I replied, trying to work as fast as I could without causing further injury.
"Really?! I'll let the captain know." May replied before the line went silent, letting me focus on my work.
I don't know how long it took me exactly, but eventually I was able to cut the last bit of rope that was keeping her bound. Once that was done, I pulled out a pokeball.
Thankfully Lapras seemed to understand as she let me gently tap it to her head, sucking her inside and successfully capturing her.
"We need to get back to the ship right away." I said to my three pokemon, before giving the netting another look. "Poliwrath, can you bring that with us? I don't want any other pokemon getting caught in it."
"Poliwrath!" He declared, basically saying to leave it to him as he bundled the net up.
"Alright Magikarp. I need you swim as fast as you possibly can." I told her seriously.
"KARP!" She declared passionately, taking off as fast as possible through the water once I grabbed onto her once more.
Never before had I seen Magikarp work so hard, swimming as fast as she possibly could with me holding on. Which still wasn't very fast, but it was faster than I would have been able to on my own.
Magikarp seemed to hear my thoughts on her speed, as she consistently worked to swim even faster, and faster even then.
"Magikarp..." I said, worried that she was going to hurt herself. But then, she started glowing.
My eyes widened as Magikarp began to shine in the water, her figure growing from a relatively small fish to a massive serpent.
"GYAAAAAAAAA!"
Magikarp, now Gyarados, roared once her evolution had finished, declaring her fury to the world and we shot through the water like a freshly fired torpedo. I couldn't even keep track of our surroundings as bubbles filled the water around me, before suddenly I was out of the water and in the air as Gyarados breached the surface.
"KYAAAAAAA!"
I heard someone scream below me, followed by several urgent voices as they seemingly prepared for battle. Thankfully, I could hear May's voice cut through all of their's as well.
"Hold on! It's just Noah!" May yelled, even as Gyarados lowered me to the boat deck. And it seemed like only then that the others realized that they weren't being attacked by an angry Gyarados.
"Thank you Gyarados." I said while patting the side of her now massive head, earning a rumble that almost sounded like a purr.
A second later Poliwrath and Politoed both erupted from the water as well, the former with the net as they stood to attention beside me.
"Thanks you two." I said to them genuinely. All three of them seemed pleased with themselves as I recalled them to their pokeballs.
"So you have the wounded Lapras?" The captain asked as he approached.
"Yeah. Is there anyone on board who can treat her?" I asked while holding up the pokeball that held her.
"We've already got a first aid kit ready, and my men are used to looking after the occasional Lapras that poachers have gone after." He said, and I called her out onto the deck for them to work on.
"Lapraaaaas..." She let out a quiet cry while laying there weakly. I held her head in my arms comfortingly as the crew members worked, treating the spots on her fins and neck where the ropes had dug into her skin.
At the same time, May was putting together some food for the Lapras in the form of a sort of soup that the pokemon happily began to lap up once she brought it to her.
We stayed like that for a while, me comforting Lapras while May tried to help her get her strength back with soup and the crew worked on her. Thankfully it didn't take them long to actually clean and dress her wounds, and thankfully they weren't too severe either. Once they were done the captain approached me.
"We've done what we could, so what do you want to do now? Release or keep her?" He asked me.
"I think I'll keep her." I replied while rubbing the side of her head gently. "I planned to capture a Lapras eventually anyways, and this way we can keep an eye on her and take her to a Pokemon Center when we reach Cinnabar island."
"Alright." The captain said with a nod, before sending the rest of his crew back to their stations.
"I can't say that I'm not jealous." May told me as we both sat on the deck next to Lapras, as I fully intended to leave her out of her pokeball for the night to get some fresh air and keep an eye on her. "Lapras are beautiful, but they're also hard to find because of poachers thinning their numbers for their shells."
"Well, this is one Lapras that no poacher will be able to get their hands on." I told her firmly.
"Laaaaaaaap." Lapras trilled in agreement, and her voice sounded beautiful now that she was getting her strength back.
Thankfully the crew brought May and I a couple chairs to sit on so we could stay close to Lapras, while other passengers also wanted to come and see her since she was no longer being treated. It wasn't until later that I finally pulled my phone out and sent Misty a message along with the Corsola I had caught for her earlier.
I also took a selfie with Lapras, Cloyster and Corsola before posting it to the group chat I had with Gary and Ash to show off.
***
"Just admit that we're lost!" Misty snapped at Ash irritably.
"Are not! I know exactly where we are!" Ash snapped back at her, all while Pikachu looked back and forth between them like a particularly interesting show.
This was how it had been between them ever since they started journeying together, Ash getting them lost or in some trouble, and Misty having to be the mature one who either got them out of trouble or found the way again.
Currently they were hiking over Mt. Moon as they headed towards Cerulean city for the next Gym battle, and naturally Ash had gotten them lost once more in the many crevices and ravines that covered the mountain.
Eventually Misty just gave up and decided to set up camp early for the night, knowing Ash would as well once she started cooking some food.
As she was setting up the tent though, her phone beeped with a notification.
"Noah?" She asked while opening it, to see a message thanking her for all of her advice the night before. Misty smiled when she saw it, and wished she were traveling with Noah and May instead of Ash. At least they seemed to have their heads on straight.
But then she noticed that there was something else with the message, a pokemon!
"He didn't have to send me a pokemon." Misty said, though she felt warm in her chest and belly regardless. After all, she still needed to 'thank' him for saving her from being captured by Team Rocket back in Virdian. Something she was already working out with May.
But when the pokeball appeared in her hand, and Misty opened it to see what was inside, all of her mental functions ceased.
"Corsola? Corse?" Cried the little coral pokemon, while Misty just gaped at it.
"What's that?" Ash asked, his own irritation seemingly forgotten in the face of a new pokemon.
"It's a Corsola..." Misty said quietly. "Noah went and got me a Corsola..."
She immediately got down on her knees and scooped the Corsola up in her arms, regardless of the stony spines covering it's body, and hugged it tightly.
"I always wanted a Corsola!" She cried happily, rocking the water/rock type back and forth in her arms, before holding it out so she could get a better look at it. And as she did, Misty had a sudden realization.
"If I didn't need to thank him before, now I REALLY need to..." She said seriously, her mind already swimming with ideas of how to do exactly that.
***
Noah's Pokedex
Pokemon Registered-38
Pokemon Caught- 26
***
#4- Charmander
Fire type
#5- Charmeleon♂️
Fire type
#10- Caterpie♂️
Bug type
#11- Metapod
Bug type
#12- Butterfree
Bug/Flying type
#13- Weedle♀️
Bug/Poison type
#14- Kakuna
Bug/Poison type
#15- Beedrill
Bug/Poison type
#16- Pidgey
Normal/Flying type
#17- Pidgeotto♂️
Normal/Flying type
#19- Rattata♀️
Normal type
#20- Raticate
Normal type
#21- Spearow♂️
Normal/Flying type
#22- Fearow
Normal/Flying type
#23- Ekans♂️
Poison type
#24- Arbok
Poison type
#37- Alolan Vulpix
Ice type
#43- Oddish♀️
Grass/Poison type
#44- Gloom♀️
Grass/Poison type
#50- Diglett
Ground type
#56- Mankey♂️
Fighting type
#60- Poliwag♀️
Water type
#61- Poliwhirl♂️
Water type
#62- Poliwrath♂️
Water/Fighting type
#69- Bellsprout♂️
Grass/Poison type
#90- Shellder
water type
#91- Cloyster♀️
Water/Ice type
#116- Horsea
Water type
#123- Scyther♂️
Bug/Flying type
#127- Pinsir♀️
Bug type
#129- Magikarp♀️
Water type
#130- Gyarados
Water/Flying type
#131- Lapras
Water/Ice type
#182- Bellossom♀️
Grass type
#222- Corsola
Water/Rock type
#236- Tyrogue♂️
Fighting type
#251- Celebi
Grass/psychic type
#595- Joltik ♂️
Bug/Electric type