Fuyumi yelled out at the sea and ran forwards excitedly to dip her feet in the water.

“Fuyuuu! Careful not to slip and fall!’ Called her mother.

Nina simply giggled and set out her usual equipment. “Here, Mrs Tendou, you can sit on this camping chair.”

“Thank you, Nina. If only my children had half of your maturity,” sighed the woman.

Nina had taken Fuyumi out to her usual fishing spot after school. While Natsumi, being the kind sibling that she was, volunteered to stay in the Gym to take over their outstanding duties. The twins were actually quite diligent and quick to learn, so it did not take long for them to gain a minimum level of proficiency in their apprentice work.

Naturally, not all parents were so lax as to allow their child to go diving on their own, so Fuyumi’s mother tagged along as well to keep an eye on her daughter.

“Big Sis Nina! What are we gonna do? Will you be diving with me as well?” Asked the excited Fuyumi.

Nina chuckled at her enthusiasm and set Espy down onto her cooler. “Did you bring your wetsuit and rebreather with you?”

“Yeap!” Answered the girl, while giving her backpack a little pat.

“Awesome. And yes, Tini and I will be diving in with you to keep you safe. There’s a lot of Pokemon in the water due to all the plankton and regular fish,” said Nina as she removed her jacket to unveil her wetsuit underneath. “Thanks to the Sea Rangers, I don’t expect we’ll encounter anything dangerous like Tentacruels and what not, but you never know.”

Fuyumi was so excited to get started that she began undressing on the spot, revealing her swimsuit underneath.

“If you’re wearing your swimsuit then that’s fine. Just keep in mind that they have a clear view of this place from the observatory over at the Sea Cottage, if you ever plan on coming back.”

Fuyumi just shrugged and continued her actions. Being a young girl, she was uncaring about her modesty. Her mother on the other hand, overreacted and hastily held up a towel to shield her daughter from view.

“Alright, Fuyu. Did you memorize the hand signals that I taught you the other day? Cause we ain’t going in until you assure me that you’ll be able to understand me underwater.” Said Nina.

The junior apprentice nodded seriously and began demonstrating some of the basic hand signs that she had memorized.

“Great job,” approved Nina. “Stick close to me and Tini. Do NOT wander off on your own unless you notify either one of us. Understood? Good, now do a final check of your equipment and let’s go.”

Nina welcomed the familiar chill of the sea and the salty taste that came with it. It’s been several months since she went fishing with Tini, that was how busy it’s been over at the Gym. So it was a good thing that they managed to secure help. The girl did not even want to imagine what it would be like during Crunchtober if things had remained as they were.

Tini and Nina followed close as Fuyumi approached various different Pokemons with Berries in her hand to entice them. Some Pokemon were too wary to approach while others happily chowed down. But since she couldn’t talk underwater, Fuyumi could only gesture at her Pokeball to ask if a Pokemon would join her, which oftentimes resulted in confusion or straight denial as the Pokemon turned their backs towards her.

Nina swam close and patted her junior on her shoulder as reassurance. Trying to capture Pokemon without battling was hard. Doing so without being able to communicate was harder, so the junior apprentice has no other recourse aside from patiently trying again and again.

To her credit, Fuyumi was quite determined and refused to give up. At some point however, they found their path obstructed by an angry looking Krabby who was pointing aggressively at Tini and spewing out a bunch of bubbles.

This story originates from a different website. Ensure the author gets the support they deserve by reading it there.

Nina held back a sigh. “This guy again…” There was a wild Krabby who Tini used as target practice at some point in the past. And ever since their beatdown, the same Krabby would show up in front of Tini and challenge him without fail every time they went fishing. Or at least Nina thought it was the same Krabby. “Maybe it’s just one big family taking turns trying to get revenge? Who knows, who cares.”

The girl signaled for her Dratini to get rid of the nuisance. Which Tini did by casually shooting a Dragon Pulse at the Krabby, sending them spiraling into the distance as per usual.

Nina indifferently signaled for Fuyumi to continue her search. But surprisingly, instead of complying, the younger girl swam after the fainted Krabby instead. Nina looked towards Tini and shrugged before following suit.

In theory, Nina was supposed to resuscitate any wild Pokemon that Tini fainted. But in reality, she rarely bothered. At least not out in this part of the sea, since Pokemon preying on each other was a common sight.

She and Tini have seen plenty of Krabby trying to pry apart Shellders, and Shellders clamping down on Magikarps. It just seemed like a waste of Potions to heal a Pokemon who was just going to go and get themselves eaten immediately afterwards anyway.

She had even asked the Sea Rangers about it and was told point blank not to bother them with such minor issues, unless the Pokemon she fainted was an entire colony, or some sort of endangered species or something.

Nina told Fuyumi as much when the girl pulled the Krabby out of the water and began healing him. “Besides, this guy’s tough. He keeps coming at Tini only to be beaten down again and again. Either he’s really dumb or he’s a masochist,” she added.

The younger girl seemed to deliberate Nina's words as she patiently awaited for her rescue to wake up.

“Hey Krabby… Are you okay?” Fuyumi reached out to the Pokemon, only for Nina to pull her back when the Krabby snipped at her with his pincers.

Nina told the girl to be careful, but Fuyumi simply brushed her off and said that she was fine, before steadily approaching the Krabby again.

“Hi there,” continued Fuyumi. “My name’s Fuyumi and I’m aiming to become the best Pokemon trainer in the world.” She said, before laying out some Berries on the ground in front of the Krabby.

“Are you frustrated?” She asked Krabby. “That you can’t beat Tini no matter how hard you try? Well, I am too. My sister has always been better than me with Pokemon, even though we’re supposed to be twins. And Big Sis Nina? Well, she’s just perfect in every single way. How am I even supposed to compete?”

Nina was taken aback by her junior’s sudden confession, her cheeks reddening somewhat at the high praise.

“But I’m not going to give up!” Declared Fuyumi, fist clenched and eyes blazing with determination. “I’m going to keep working hard, and maybe, just maybe… One day, people will look to me and call me a Pokemon Master!”

The girl stared intently at the Krabby in front of her. “And you too, Krabby! You’re going to keep getting stronger and stronger… And eventually, your pincers will be strong enough to take down a Dragon!”

Fuyumi reached out to the Krabby once more, with Nina and her mother watching anxiously by her side in case anything untowards were to happen. Even Tini was coiled up and ready to jump in at a moment's notice. But the Krabby was calm, and simply stared at the hand that was offered to him.

“So what do you say? Will you join me on my journey to become a Pokemon Master? To become the best that ever was!”

Krabby paused in consideration, some bubbles gurgling out of his mouth. He then steadily looked up at the girl who had offered him her hand. And after making some more gurgling noises with his mouth, he let out a curt “Krab” and placed a red pincer on Fuyumi’s palm.

Nina couldn’t help but pump her fist and cheer out loud at the sight. “Now that’s a shonen moment right there!” She thought, as she congratulated her junior on her first capture.

“Thanks, big sis,” said Fuyumi before assuming a dramatic pose while pointing a finger at her senior. “Krabby and I aren’t going to lose! We’ll train hard to become stronger, and when we do… We’re going to challenge you and Tini to a battle. And Krabby’s going to pay you guys back tenfold!”

“Heck yeah! Bring it on!” Exclaimed Nina. It was hard to resist getting pulled into the blazing hot shonen aura that Fuyumi was emitting at the moment.

***

“So what do you say? Will you join me on my journey to become a Pokemon Master? To become the best that ever was!” Yelled Nina, eliciting cheers from the ladies in the break room

The girl was currently standing atop a table, doing a dramatic retelling of her junior’s triumphant moment, much to Fuyumi’s consternation.

The junior apprentice was sitting quietly in a corner, face buried in her palms and dyed the same shade of red as her Krabby. Which, incidentally, she had named Artoria. “As if the girl wasn’t edgy enough,” thought Nina at the time.

“That’s awesome, Fuyu!” Exclaimed Natsumi as she pulled her twin sister into a hug. “I’m so happy for you and Artoria. Pururu and I won’t lose. We’ll get stronger and challenge Big Sis Nina as well. Let’s all work hard together!”

Fuyumi gave a weak nod and cheered along quietly with her sister.

Misty smiled at her two new apprentices. “I admire your resolve Fuyumi, you remind me of a certain bonehead that I used to travel with,” she said. “Nina’s gonna be a tough rival to beat, but as long as you don’t give up and believe in your Pokemon, you’ll get there eventually.”

Fuyumi was embarrassed that even her Gym Leader was chiming in on the teasing, but she still nodded resolutely at Misty’s words.

Meanwhile, Nina laughed at the thought of her being the rival character in a Pokemon game. Except it won’t be her tailing the protagonist and challenging them at every turn. She also didn’t think that Misty had it in her to be so cheesy. Her current demeanor was much closer to the Misty that Nina knew from the anime.

“Alright everyone, let’s get back to work!” Clapped Lily, eliciting boos from everyone. “And you two, if you wanna beat Nina then you can start by doing a better job of cleaning the exhibits than her. Now chop, chop. Let’s get a move on!”