Trials of a Champion - Kanto [Pokemon x OC]

15 Tentacruel Intentions

"Blue sky. White clouds. Open ocean," Paul muttered.

Luxio roared at us, pointing out a cargo ship leaving the harbor.

"I wish we could take one of those boats, too," I replied, gazing up at the fluffy clouds.

We spent the last three days playing in the sun. During that time, Paul and I thoroughly explored the bay, played several rounds of volleyball, smashed over a dozen watermelons, and built a sand city. And of course, we did it all with our Pokémon.

Now, bored expressions masked our faces as we lazed around the port. I wondered how to spend the remaining hours before our ferry arrived.

Suddenly, Pikachu pointed out at the water and tugged on my shirt.

A small blue seahorse stared back at us. "Oh, a Horsea! It's cute," I beamed.

"Seriously, is that all you girls think of Pokémon?" Paul groaned, lying beside me.

"We've been over this before. The answer is the same." I punched him in the gut.

"On second thought, definitely not a girl—" He received a kick this time.

I pulled out my Pokédex to scan Horsea. "Horsea the Dragon Pokémon. If it senses any danger, it will vigorously spray water or a special type of ink from its mouth. When in a safe location, they can be seen playfully tangling their tails together."

"It looks injured," Paul noted.

Horsea had a black eye and scratches covering its tiny body.

The sight broke my heart. "And there isn't a Pokémon Center anywhere on the island."

Suddenly, Horsea sprayed ink all over the water's surface. It then cried out to us.

"What do you think it's trying to say?" Paul asked.

I found an empty Poké Ball in my bag. "For now, healing its wounds comes first. I'll catch it to make it easy—"

An explosion shook the ground. The cargo ship just exploded, snapping in half like a toothpick. A plume of smoke rose into the air, fueled by a massive fire. The sailors on board dived into the water to escape the roaring flames.

"What the hell happened to that ship?!" Paul shouted.

I didn't hesitate to help. "Go, Zubat, Wartortle, Butterfree, and Pidgeotto! Save the people from the ship!" My Pokémon all hurried to save the sailors.

Paul gave me a look. "Don't you have any Water-types besides Wartortle?"

With a frown, I revealed the Poké Ball containing that Pokémon. "Well, I do, but I'm scared to use it."

"Scared?"

"Ah, forget it! Anyways, where's your water Pokémon?"

He turned away. "If you recall, my Gyarados search hasn't gone well."

I wanted to punch him. "Then what are you harassing me for?!" The Poké Ball just stared me down, as though it had eyes burning a hole in my heart. "Well, alright. I guess you get to learn the identity of my newest Pokémon. Sorry, I never mentioned it until now."

"What the hell are you talking about? Throw the damn ball already!"

"Poké Ball, go!" I chucked the ball into the air and watched Gyarados dive into the water.

Paul's jaw hit the ground. "You have a Gyarados?!"

"By some miracle, yeah." My Pokémon sat in the water, staring right at me. It took a lot of guts not to run away from those eyes. "Okay, Gyarados, I need you to go help out the others and save the people on that ship!"