Chapter 1: Shipwreck
A teenage Trainer named Tommy thought things were looking bright as he sailed on a luxury cruise ship embarking to Poketopia. However, the weather takes an unexpected turn for the worse and the fate of the boy rests in the paws of a curious young Pokemon.
DISCLAIMER: All characters and properties are copyright their respective owners. All original characters, plot, and concept is copyright 2007 Zephyr Paws. The author is in no way associated or affiliated with any third-party. This original fiction was created with no intention of any copyright infringement against any third-party, and is purely for fan enjoyment. Do not redistribute.
We are going to be arriving at Poketopia Resort a little behind schedule due to a stalled out storm system in our trajectory path. Estimated time of arrival is 3:45 p.m. Poketopia Standard Time.
The speakers in the luxury cruise ship -- the S.S. Virgo -- alerted its passengers, regardless of their location aboard. Tommy, a young Pokemon Trainer excited to take on the challenges of Poketopia, was sailing with his family and Pokemon to the island housing the Trainer's dream. Poketopia is a place where tough Trainers come from all over the world to participate in exciting challenges against other top-notch Trainers.
Tommy was out on deck with his Pokemon while his parents were out socializing at a dinner party Being born into a wealthy family, Tommy was able to take expensive cruises like this and indulge himself in nearly whatever he desired. His parents made sure that spoiling him was their number one priority, although Tommy never became your stereotypical snobby rich-kid brat... just wealthy and under-appreciative of what he had.
"Okay, guys," Tommy caught the attention of his Pokemon, who were looking around curiously at the deck and the ocean until being called, "Poketopia has some tough competition, but we can take 'em. We've trained together for a long time..." He looked at his Typhlosion, who was quite interested in what he was saying. It always was.
"Some of us have been together for five years now, since I first started out as a Trainer when I was ten," he said as his eyes shifted from his Typhlosion over to his Ursaring, Piloswine, and Scizor, "we've come a long, long way, so I think we can win this thing. We're a team!"
"Sciz-!" "Phlo-sion!" "Raaaaa-!" "Pilo!" His Pokemon gave energetic cheers.
"So let's get to training and make my parents proud!"
After about an hour of training, the dark skies threatening safe passage to the destination drew closer and closer. The vibrant bolts of lightning of the storm danced through the sky in an attempt to scare those who dared to tread through the waters beneath it.
"Captain, this storm is lookin' pretty bad, sir."
"I been sailin' these seas for 50 years, Gray, and this be nothin' more than a gullywag. We can make it through."
"Aye-aye, captain!"
Drops of rain began to hit the ship, but failed to interrupt the training session taking place on its deck. Tommy's four Pokemon were training in a four-Pokemon free-for-all, just to practice their moves and techniques against each other. Occasionally, two of the Pokemon would team up to help practice their synchronization for the Double Battles that they may have to face in Poketopia.
With a loud crash of thunder a swift gale of wind, the sea became a lot more choppy as the rain turned into a torrential downpour. Something didn't feel right.
"Come on, we'd better get inside," suggested Tommy. But no sooner than the words came out of his mouth, the ship took a sharp dip into the sea. To the starboard side of the ship -- the direction where the dip started -- drew closer a monstrous wave. It appeared to be forty -- maybe fifty -- feet tall. Tommy and his Pokemon could only stare in mesmerization at the violent sea about to be lunged at them.
As the ship rocked and started to tilt, it felt as if the rain was striking violently at the ship -- except, it wasn't rain, but the top of the wave being blown off instead. A spray of seawater ripped at the frightened passengers on deck, knocking some down, while blinding others with the stinging salt water.
Tommy was among those pushed down by the might of the sea slashing at the ship. His tough Pokemon rushed to where he had fallen, but all Tommy could do as he lay on his rear was stare at the monstrous wave hellbent on sending the ship to the oceanic abyss.
And with the sound of a waterfall, coupled with muffled screams and chaos, the wave crashed down on the ship, pounding Tommy and his worried Pokemon with its ferocious wrath. Thunder boomed and lightning danced in the skies, as if the storm was laughing at the incident. But the storm was far from done proving its dominance over the ocean.
The ship continued to bob and sway against the ocean, losing its stability. The waves were pushing it around as if it were nothing more than a rubber ducky in a bathtub filled with an unruly three-year-old. Many of the passengers scrambling for safety were swept into the ocean from the first wave. Tommy was thrown back, near the railing, barely conscious as his Pokemon nervously loomed nearby.
"Ah... I... I can't move."
"Zor! Sci-zor!"
"Raaaaaaa!!"
Tommy's Pokemon tried to lift him up and carry him, his Scizor and Ursaring each holding onto one of his arms. His other two Pokemon looked at him with a look of worry in their eyes.
"Guys, uhhnn... you have to come back where it's... where it's safe." Tommy could only imagine himself reaching for the Poke Balls to return his Pokemon with, but couldn't control his body enough to actually grab them. "Damn... dammit... it's no use. I... I can't."
That was all that could be said as the feeling of total helplessness swept over Tommy. He was going to die. His Pokemon were going to die. His family was going to die. This was it. It's over.
Another dip took the ship several meters down into the sea as the cycle of waves continued. Tommy slid a few meters back, clinging on to the railing of the bow of the ship, as the vessel was tilting at a frightening angle.
The sound of a rushing waterfall returned to Tommy's ears. His face was blasted with a combination of the falling rain and slash of the wave. But, this time, the violent sway of the waves was too much for the ship, and it shifted to the point of no return, sliding to a full horizontal-axis.
Tommy was powerless. He fell through the railing and watched what he honestly believed to be hell. In the few seconds he had to fall, he could only stare in amazement at the sight of a horizontal ship completely above him and the sight of his precious Pokemon hanging on to the railing for dear life. The last sight before he hit the ocean was the sight of his water-frightened Typhlosion falling into the sea as well.
And that was it.
But while this hell was taking place, one curious aqua-dwelling Pokemon was surveying the mess of metal that was starting to capsize into the ocean. The excitement enticed the little Pokemon. It was curious to see what the commotion was all about.
Using its two tails like a propeller, the sea weasel jetted through the water towards the sinking ship. A few assorted objects from the vessel had already been leaked out into the ocean. These objects proved to be interesting to the creature, coaxing it to stop and investigate. One such object appeared to be a large table with holes placed on the corners and down the sides. Another had a reflective surface to it, which amused the Pokemon as it watched its sibling move in exactly the same way it did.
In the reflection of the mirror, though, the Pokemon caught glimpse of what appeared to be a human boy sinking into the depths of the water. The creature turned around to see the mirror was telling the truth, and watched for a moment to look at the interesting being before it. It appeared to be lifeless, not struggling or making any movements.
Humans have always been a fascinating subject to the aquatic Pokemon, who has led a peaceful life away from them and their technology, except for the occasional ship that would cruise through its waters. Tales of Trainers catching Pokemon and using them to challenge other Pokemon always left the creature excited. It was very curious by them. This one didn't look too well, though.
After wasting more time than necessary, the sea weasel spun its two tails and dove towards the falling human. It grabbed onto the boy with its paws, and then, knowing that humans and other non-aquatic Pokemon need more air, swiftly swam upwards to the wavy seas.
The Pokemon looked back to see the sight of a blazing inferno crashing into the ocean as the vicious storm and sea continued to unleash its wrath, cackling violent flashes of victory throughout the stormy sky.
Using the buoy around its neck as a flotation device, it swam opposite the burning wreckage towards an island it happened to know was in the area. It was one of a few small islands in this part of the ocean. None of these islands were inhabited by any humans. Just a few Pokemon took residence there. And this sea weasel Pokemon was one of them.
A few minutes later, as the two escaped from the storm's wrath, a small island no larger than two or three blocks in a neighborhood could be seen in the distance.
Eventually, they arrived, and the sea weasel dragged the human onto the shore. It looked right at the seemingly lifeless body of the human with a look of disappointment. Maybe he was already dead. His clothes were pretty badly torn and his body had a lot of blood seeping out of it from various cuts acquired from some of the wreckage.
Using its soft, moist tongue, the Pokemon licked the blood off the human's wounds to clean him up a bit. It wasn't resourceful enough to make a bandage or tourniquet to prevent the bleeding. Not knowing any better, it covered up the wounds with seaweed and sand from the beach to try and prevent any more bleeding. Pokemon know that blood and bleeding should be tended to...
But was it too late? The critter couldn't tell. It wasn't familiar with checking pulses or heartbeats. So, it decided that it would try and at least comfort the human. It hopped up onto his stomach, and then lay flat down on his chest. It felt pretty nice, and it didn't take too much longer for the exhausted Pokemon to drift off into a content slumber, dreaming peacefully about the human and what he would be like when -- or rather, if -- he woke up.
By the time the sun showed its face once more after hiding from the now-passed storm, it was getting ready to turn in for the day, tinting the sky with a marvelous orange glow.
At this time, Tommy, who had been knocked out for hours, horrid nightmares of a catastrophic accident and losing his Pokemon flooding his dreams, slowly began to regain consciousness.
"Uhhnnn... no... no..." he mumbled, starting to wake up.
"No!!" Tommy shouted as his nightmare ended and he awakened. But before he could assess what was happening or where he was, he noticed an orange, furry creature sleeping soundly on his chest, snoring steadily.
"Whaaa!!" cried Tommy in the utmost confusion as he heaved the surprisingly heavy creature off of his chest, knocking it to the ground in a bit of an unpleasant way.
"Bui!" it snapped back, rubbing the back of its forehead with a disgruntled look on its face. After a few strokes across it, it took a glance at Tommy, and then quickly cheered up and gave a clear smile. "Bui bui!"
"Huh? It's a Buizel. And it doesn't look like it's going to hurt me..."
The Buizel was smiling contently back at him -- eyes shut, tails swaying. It seemed to be happy about something. But what?
Then it hit him. He was distracted by the Buizel before, but now that he was awake and perceptive, he realized that this scene wasn't right... he was on a beach. He took a quick look down at his clothing to see it tattered, torn, and barely usable. His garments were washed out by the salt water, torn apart by debris, and stained with blood from cuts that he didn't remember having on his body.
Not saying a word, the mesmerized boy walked a few steps along the beach, turning his head to peer off in various directions to survey his surroundings. It was an island. He was on an island. Not too large of one, at that. There was a small forest, which couldn't be much larger than a city block or two, in from the beach. A few palm trees dotted the edge of the beach, but that was about it. Nothing else.
Tears began to form in the boy's eye. Sure, he had to read a story about a shipwrecked captain on an island once for school, but never thought a situation like this could ever happen to him. He was on his way to Poketopia! Poketopia! His Pokemon... oh no...
"No... no, they- they just can't be... they can't..."
The scene of his Typhlosion falling into the water flashed through his mind. He knew that the others would have probably followed suit and would be sucked into the ocean's depths. And his parents... what if they didn't escape? They were wealthy, sure, but not very seasoned in reacting to disasters.
He couldn't hold it back anymore. Tommy was used to crying when he didn't get something he wanted, at least, when he was younger. But not like this. His cries and sobs filled the air as the tears pouring down his face soaked the sand beneath him. He fell to his knees and tilted his head up toward the sky, still bawling his eyes out.
Buizel didn't quite understand what the human was crying about, but he sure seemed pretty sad. It figured that it probably had something to do with the big boat. Maybe it was the mirror that it stumbled across? Well, it would be long gone by this time, the Buizel thought, so it walked up to the human and gave it a tender hug. He didn't pay it any mind, but it didn't stop the Pokemon from trying to help, and subconsciously, it did.
Night fell after Tommy cried himself to sleep. Buizel curled up beside him. It was a short lived night, though, as the next day seemed to come too soon.
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