As you might expect, even after a matter of hours aboard the Ophelia, I've quickly found out nautical life isn't for me. Almost none of the skills that life as a landlubber translate over to the sea.

I can't tie a knot, or rig a mast, or navigate by the sun and stars. The only two things that I have going for me are: one I don't get seasick, and two, there's quite a few people on this ship for our cranky old captain to get frustrated with, other than me.

Of course, that's not nearly enough to save me from being sworn at by the rest of the crew. Turns out the stereotype that sailors have quite the colorful language is a pretty accurate one.

Case in point, the man talking animatedly to me right now.

"I just don't understand what in tarnation is so difficult about this! You said you knew how to fish. I ain't never seen the ocean 'for I come down to Pastoria, so I don't see why I should know more about setting up rods than you."

The guy really didn't have to tell me that he was from the middle of nowhere. Anyone could tell that based on his accent, as well as the fact that we're all wearing sailor's caps, but he has a cowboy hat on instead.

"Just because I know how to fish doesn't mean I know how to operate one of these super high tech rods!" I retort, waving the thing at him menacingly. "I swear, they couldn't have made this more complicated if they tried."

The cowboy sailor is about to tell me for the third time how to thread the line without absolutely ruining it, but we both snap to attention at the sounds of our captain's gruff voice.

"What's going on over here?"

Great. Not only is Captain Grimes looking over my shoulder, but so is his first mate, Santos, the guy with the Grapploct I battled to get on this ship in the first place. I glare at my partner, but he's quick to pin the blame on me.

"He don't know what the hell he's doing! I done told him twice already!"

"Is that true?" Grimes asks me, crossing his arms, his weathered face not having an ounce of sympathy in it.

"I'm sorry, Captain," I say, thinking as fast as I can for an excuse. "There's a bit of a communication barrier between us."

"What do you mean there's a communication barrier?" Santos follows up. "You're both speaking the same language, aren't you?"

"I know," I say, leaning in. "But he's from Solaceon Town."

There's a second of pause as I consider if my joke had crossed the line, but the silence is quickly broken by the loud guffaws and belly laughs from both the captain and his first mate. I even see them wipe their eyes a couple of times, as the cowboy sailor grows red from the tables being turned.

"Oh, that was a good one. I needed that," Grimes says, still chuckling. He eventually points his thumb behind him. "Go take a break, Mikey. We'll finish up here. I'll call you if something needs breaking."

Mikey stomps off, (he's weaning cowboy boots too), probably a bit frustrated, but Santos waves away any concern before I can throw out an apology. "Don't worry about him. He's a little sensitive, since he's not much of a sailor himself."

That statement begets another question, of course. "Why is one of your regular crew not a great sailor?"

"You always need a crazy guy," Captain Crimes explains sagely. "Mikey's willing to face anything head on. He was the one who led the charge onto Captain Claw's ship."

He holds out his hand. "Let me see that rod. And the one you're more familiar with, as well, if you don't mind."

I shrug and hand the one I'm holding over, and then pull out the one from my bag and pass it on as well. I can see the captain stifle a laugh upon seeing the ancient technology I've been working with, before he gives it to Santos.

The first mate looks absolutely puzzled. "This thing might be older than you, Captain."

"It's not," he replies shortly. "I used to see commercials for this thing in black and white when I was a wee lad. Ol' reliable, they used to market it as. A rod that will stand the test of time." He takes it back and turns it over in his hands. "Apparently, they weren't bullshitting."

"Head to my quarters and see pick out a good one for our shrimpy little friend here, Santos," Grimes tells his first mate. The younger man salutes and leaves, and my face twists at for a moment at the nickname that's been given to me.

On one hand, it's good, because I don't have to make up a boy's name and remember it whilst I'm on this ship, but shrimp? Really? I mean, I know I'm the shortest and lightest here other than Ursula by a country mile, but they could have found something else to call me that's less lame.

My captain doesn't seem to notice my annoyance. "You must be the luckiest son of a gun alive, to be able to fish up a white-striped Basculin with an old rod like that. I thought I was lucky with my golden Magikarp, but there are other people with those. White-striped Basculin haven't been seen in Sinnoh's waters in hundreds of years."

"Ah, thanks," I respond, since I can't exactly tell him that I managed to travel to a time where they were plentiful. I change the subject before he can press me for details. "You have a golden Magikarp?"

"Yep. Along with a purple and black Finneon, an orange Shellder, and a green Marill." He pauses for a moment. "Right. Can't forget my teal Mantyke, either."

I stare at the man incredulously. "Five shinies?" In my awe, I forget to deepen my voice, but I think Captain Grimes dismisses it cracking due to my age.

"Is that what you youngsters call them these days? Shinies? They're only a different color. To be honest, I think that number is a bit low. I've been sailing the seas for over forty years, you know."

When put like that, six shinies seems somewhat reasonable in that length of time. "So you're like a collector or something? You haven't evolved any of them."

"I wouldn't go that far," Grimes says, staring out at the horizon. He holds a fist up, and almost immediately, someone yells out and the sails are furled, bringing the ship slowly to a halt. I can hear a chain rolling as the Ophelia drops anchor as well."I'm just taking care of them. Old men like me need things to do, especially in retirement. Besides, I couldn't send them back out. Being different and standing out isn't great in the unforgiving ocean."

Santos comes back with a different rod than the one I was using previously. He hands it to me. "See if you can't set up that one, Shrimp. If you're going to fish up something around here, you'll need something way stronger than the one you had."

This one is a nice balance between my original fishing pole and the deep sea super rods they have on the ship, and it proves much easier for me to figure out. "You really think one of these rods is going to hold up to a kaiju?"

Both sailors roll their eyes. "There's no kaiju around here, Shrimp," Santos insists. "We're talking about a Tentacruel the size of a skyscraper. The average one is five feet tall, and that's if you straighten its tentacles out."

"But there was a giant Tentacruel once," I press. "In Kanto. It took out a skyscraper. Surely you two must have seen it." I'm sure Ash and Brock remember it, if these guys need first hand witnesses.

Captain Grimes sighs heavily. "You're well informed, Shrimp. That's part of the reason everyone in Pastoria is convinced there's a kaiju out there. The other part is the condition of the two Wailord that have washed ashore. A lot of things can make a meal out of a Wailmer. It ain't so for a Wailord. You can't imagine how big they are until you've seen one in person. You could land an airplane on one, if that's any help."

"The only Pokémon around here that hunt Wailord are Gyarados and Sharpedo," Santos picks up where his Captain left off. "And they'd have torn one to shreds. Especially Sharpedo."

"Other than being tightly wrapped up, those Wailord didn't have a mark on them. The logical conclusion would be poison, which is where the Tentacruel theory came in. But I'm telling you as a man that's been stung a fair few times," Grimes rolls up his sleeves to show a few faded scars on his arms, "That they still leave their mark. Something else did this."

"And you think we can fish that something up," I ask, peering down the side of the ship into the vast expanse of blue underneath us.

"I ain't got the manpower for an extended expedition," the captain grumbles, "And I'm definitely not sailing with you lot for more than a day."

"Plus," Santos chimes in, we analyzed the contents of both Wailords' stomachs, and the concentration of minerals matches up with the water around here. They were attacked around here. Whatever's responsible has an appetite for destruction. It won't be out of sight for long."

Fancy stuff. "So now we wait," I surmise, to two nods. "Am I supposed to be doing anything in the meantime?"

"Whatever you want, Shrimp. There's nothing left to do until we start heading back. You can visit your friend, if you want. I also get the sense that a rookie at battling in and on the water like you wants to up your level before you leave here. My men are experts in that, as you might expect."

Santos gives me a thumbs up. "You've got a solid foundation, Shrimp. But that's not enough to beat a master like Crasher Wake. I can't turn you into one overnight, but I can give you a fighting chance, if you are interested."

Needless to say, I am. I've gotten fairly comfortable with Basculin's moves, and that he has escape techniques for when he's underwater, but that hardly makes me an expert on water Pokémon.

"Are we allowed to practice on the ship?" I ask, looking at the captain.

"You can," he replies, "but you won't learn much battling here. You need to go to the water."

I was hoping he wouldn't say that. Nothing like creating a bunch of attention with Pokémon fighting while you're hunting for a sea monster. In a wooden lifeboat. A bright orange one, no less, because that's the most visible color to the naked eye, so it's most likely to be rescued.

Of course, that also means it's more visible to predators, but hey. What do I know?

Guess I should go say my goodbyes. After telling Santos I'll meet him for training in a little bit, I head down to the lower decks.

Ursula has been much busier today than I have, considering her Pokémon are more suited to a life at sea. Helioptile is a pretty good deterrent to any rogue Water-types that might want to take a bite out of the ship, assuming they get past the roaming squadron of sea Pokémon these sailors have surrounding it, and Masquerain can always pump air into the sails to make us go faster.

Honestly, it's kinda ingenious. Who needs to rely on the weather, or burn fuel, when you can rely on Pokémon power?

Funnily enough, the cowboy sailor who I was arguing with earlier, Mikey, tells me she is also preparing to go out on a lifeboat, and I can find her topside. Or him, as he knows her as. I find Ursula at the front, or bow, as they call it 'round here.

"I didn't expect you to take up their offer," I greet my friend. "They don't exactly seem the type you'd learn from."

She watches them get the lifeboat ready. Apparently, they're lowered by a pulley system, the same way the ship drops and picks up its anchor. "Yeah, well, I've learned it's important to pull information from all different places. I'd be a fool not to accept what they're teaching me. One sailor said his Croconaw could show Masquerain Scary Face. And another said he could get Helioptile started on Surf."

"Masquerain already knows String Shot, Bubblebeam, Icy Wind, and Sticky Web." I count the moves off on my fingers. "How many more ways do you need to slow the opponent? And Helioptile seems a little small to be using Surf, doesn't he? He's not even a Water-type."

Ursula shrugs. "Heliolisk can use Surf. And if these sailors say Helioptile should get started now, who am I to doubt them? You know he loves the water."

"You need a Sun Stone for that, don't you?" I point out.

"I have one," she informs me. "I'm just waiting for the right moment."

"Where'd you get it?" I ask, suddenly curious. "From the Department Store in Veilstone? Randomly in Hisui?"

Ursula's suddenly looking anywhere but at me. "It was a gift," she says shortly, not revealing anything more than that. "As for Scary Face, I'm a horror movie fan, and a part of me believes that move can be adapted for a real life jumpscare."

Her changing the subject doesn't go unnoticed, but I let it slide for now. "You're a fan of horror films? Doesn't the prissy rich girl always die off first? Even on stuff like Ekans on a Plane?"

"The first person to die is always the most idiotic," Ursula corrects me, "And I'm anything but that. Ekans on a Plane isn't a horror movie either. It's a regular action move, except with snakes."

"I dunno. A giant sea snake dropping in on us unannounced would be pretty horrifying. Or anything else, to be fair."

Ursula glances at me. "Still hung up on the idea of a kaiju, are we?"

"Everything I learned points away from that," I acknowledge. "But based on their description of Wailord's size, I don't see what else could kill one. Especially without it putting up a fight."

"Being drained of life sounds like the powers of a ghost Pokémon. Perhaps it's one of them?"

There is another jellyfish Pokémon other than Tentacruel, and it is a ghost… maybe I'll suggest it to Santos and get his opinion.

"Oy, Crabs, Shrimp! This is the last call, if you want to get on!" someone shouts at us.

"I'll see you later, " Ursula says with a scowl at her nickname, stomping over to her lifeboat. I clamber into mine with Santos, and his Grapploct starts lowering us to the water, operating both cranks of the pulley with four of its arms.

Being suspended over water isn't any comfort for me, considering I don't like looking down when I'm high up in the air as we are now. The first mate notices my nervousness, though he doesn't know why. He pulls out another Pokéball and tosses it into the air.

"Don't worry, Shrimp! Poliwrath and I won't let a Sharpedo get to you." They both flex their biceps in unison. "One Focus Blast from my friend here will send those things packing."

That's not exactly reassuring. Obviously, the matchup is great, with Fighting resisting Sharpedo's dark attacks. If Poliwrath has Water Absorb, it's even better.

But I wouldn't bet twenty bucks on Focus Blast connecting, let alone risk my life on it. "What if they're too close for Focus Blast," I ask, hoping he has something more reliable up his sleeve.

Santos is quick to disappoint me. "Hah! Poliwrath's Dynamic Punch will have them seeing stars!"

My eye twitches in annoyance. Focus Blast and Dynamic Punch. Might as well go to the game corner and put your life on red or on black, because that's all this is.

I have to grip the sides of the boat as Grapploct deems it safe enough to drop us the rest of the way, and we land in the ocean with a large splash.

Not even thirty seconds, and I'm already getting wet. I suppose it was inevitable. The octopus Pokémon starts clambering down the side of the ship, using its suction cups to be able to grip the smooth wood. It too plops down with a splash, and Santos immediately gets to work.

"Poliwrath, Water Pulse. Grapploct, Ice Punch and Brick Break!" Much like Glaceon and I do, Poliwrath creates huge bubbles of water that it launches towards its partner. Four of Grapploct's arms are covered in ice, and the bubbles freeze as soon as their come into contact.

The other four arms get to work chopping each ice ball into half, creating platforms that float in the water. I give them a clap before I send out Basculin, who starts swimming around the icy obstacle course lazily.

"Is this how water arenas are layed out?" I ask. "Floating platforms?"

Santos considers, tilting his head side to side. "Sometimes. You'll also see a huge central pillar that goes all the way to the bottom in the middle of the arena, to create the Pokéball logo center, and the two half circles on either side as land as well. Crasher Wake prefers this type of layout, though."

If he's going to bring massive Pokémon along like Gyarados, that makes perfect sense. Much more room to maneuver without a giant rock pillar in the way.

At its trainer's command Grapploct shoots out of the water and onto one of the ice platforms. "Use your imagination and pretend Grapploct is a poor swimmer," Santos tells me. "You're the gym leader, and we're the challengers. We're going to stay on land as much as possible. How can you force us into the water, where you're favored?"

By knocking Grapploct off its spot, I suppose. "Water Gun!" I order, as an answer.

Basculin shoots a huge jet of water right at Grapploct's big head. The octopus reaches out with two of its tentacles, grabbing onto another platform and flings itself there, avoiding our attack and not touching the water once.

"Aqua Jet!" I follow up. This time, Grapploct needs to use Detect, but it still manages to escape to another platform.

This game of tag is quickly going to get old. "Surf!" I call with a smile. Basculin swims off to build momentum, then summons a huge wave to swamp every platform at once. Finally, we force Grapploct beneath the surface, but our victory is short lived. It pops up in a few seconds, still sitting on the ice.

"The first rule," Santos explains, correctly assuming that I'm well and truly stumped, "Has to do with physics. Water is one of the most dense substances out there. Unless you're planning on bringing a Golem or something, which I would advise against, your Pokémon will float. As will the platforms. Don't panic if you're pulled underneath. You'll come back up."

Such a simple concept, but he's totally right. These platforms are like giant life preservers. "What's rule number two?"

"Controlling territory." Santos points at the platforms. "You know that we have to stay on land. But you're not forcing our hand to make difficult decisions. You and Basculin have almost unrestricted movement, while we're confined to these things. You have to punish that."

"But if I keep up the pressure, forcing you to change spots constantly, you'll eventually mess up, right?"

Santos isn't convinced. "In reality, you'll be the one being forced to move constantly. Do you really have that little faith in you and your Pokémon's abilities?"

He's got me there. "Alright, fair enough," I admit. "Show me how to manipulate the battlefield to your advantage.

Poliwrath dives into the water, and much like us, it pops most of its head out and shoots a Water Gun at Grapploct, still perched safely on an ice platform. Unlike us, though, Poliwrath hammers an arm into the sea at the same time, creating a huge shockwave that flings the next platform out of the way as Grapploct is going for it.

Sure enough, the other Fighting-type falls into the ocean for the first time. "Manipulating these things is why Crasher Wake is such a master of the arena. If you're not careful, he'll make things so hazardous that your Pokémon will hardly be able to stand anywhere, and will be forced into his domain instead."

I can imagine a few ways to do that, like making each platform slick with ice, so that Glaceon would be the only one of my Pokémon to not slip and trip all over themselves.

Assuming, you know, that she'll wake up in time. Not that- not that I'm worried about that happening.

Yeah, there's nothing I can tell myself to convince myself of that. This is the scariest thing that's ever happened to me, without question. I know that Team Galactic and Hunter J are out there, plotting, and the dark specter of Giratina is hanging over the world, and I might be one of the few people who can actually do something, but I can't do it without Glaceon at my side.

That might be selfish, but that's just how I feel.

My mentor for the day doesn't seem to notice my dark internal monologue. "The third thing that you need to remember relates to that suggestion you made earlier. The longer the battle goes, the more comfortable you and your Pokémon will be. The gym leader's advantage is your unfamiliarity early on. He'll throw everything, including the kitchen sink, to try and overwhelm you."

Santos gestures to the horizon, which so far has remained calm. "It's like being at sea. Any sailor worth his salt knows that when faced with a great storm, the only thing to do is weather it, because it's smooth sailing on the other side."

"Sounds like you've been through your fair share of storms," I quip. Hopefully, he can tell me when one is approaching, because I haven't a clue. I'd say it's a good thing I have an Absol, but with how superstitious these people are, I'd rather not bring him out unless I absolutely have to.

The experienced sailor nods sagely. "I was but a wee lad, still taller than you, of course, the first time I ran afoul of one. There was thunder ringing in my ears, lightning blinding my eyes, wind so strong I could hardly move, not that I would have been able to take a step, with how slick the deck was."

"Then we hit the eye," he reminisces, "And it was an oasis of calm. The sun was bright, the wind crisp, and those few precious minutes gave me the respite and strength to continue onwards, and face any and everything, to this very day."

"Are you telling me that every time you go out to sea, you risk dying?" I ask incredulously. "Why not pick another career, one with a higher life expectancy?"

Santos has a distant look in his eyes, as if he's only halfway here. "I've asked myself that question many times, actually. Captain Grimes took his wife out on her birthday, one time, and she was lost at sea because of a storm. Named the ship after her, as a reminder of what a cruel mistress the sea can be."

This has suddenly gotten super depressing. But why does our captain have an Absol figurehead on his ship? I thought he would put that there because he was saved from a storm.

"But no matter where I go, my mind and my eyes are always drawn back to that." Santos continues pointing out at the horizon, the line where the sky and sea meet.

"There's an old saying, that the sea will always take back what belongs to her. Water may fall on the land as rain, but it all feeds into a river that will eventually make its way to its origin. Once the sea is in your blood, and in your bones, like it is in mine, you'll never be happy without it. You'll alway find yourself coming back."

You wouldn't expect such a muscular guy to say something so eloquent and poignant, but that's exactly what that statement was. Unfortunately, it doesn't solve my next biggest problem, of what I'm going to do with Basculin.

Everything points to him being ill-suited for a life on land. Biologically, for one, being a fish, and two because of what's just been explained to me.

This whole episode with Glaceon has really shaken my confidence, too. So far we've been at a lake and at the ocean. What if Basculin gets some sort of withdrawal-like illness from if he's away from the water too long?

He's so comfortable here too, learning with Poliwrath and Grapploct's tutelage showing him how to use quick changes of direction and comboing moves to hit multiple targets at once. Am I capable of training him like that?

I clear my throat, to get Santos's attention. "Hey. Considering that I'm going to be traveling all over Sinnoh, and there is no guarantee there will be water in some places…" I hesitate before plowing ahead. "Do you think you could, um, look after Basculin for me? Intermittently? Whenever I get the chance I'd bring him back."

Santos jumps on my question so quickly I almost fall off the lifeboat. "Yes! He'll be so happy here, with all of our Pokémon. He'll train with them everyday, until he's a true master of water!"

Well, no taking it back now. I couldn't ask for much more, at least. We exchange phone numbers, and it's like he's a kid who's just opened up a card pack to reveal an exclusive Pokémon card. "You won't believe how much crap I get from the fellas about not having a rarely colored Pokémon. I can't wait to see their jealous faces!"

Speaking of jealousy, that reminds me. I haven't told Santos my thoughts on what's behind this yet. "Do you remember the whole giant Tentacruel theory?"

He eyes me suspiciously. "I thought we'd wiped that from your head."

"Hear me out," I say to the dubious sailor. "Maybe I was only half right. It was a giant jellyfish, but instead of a Tentacruel, it was a Jellicent. You said the Wailord was drained of its lifeforce, right?"

It's rather comical, how Santos's face drains of blood as soon as I utter that one word. He lifts a trembling hand to his chest and pulls out a charm, grasping it tightly. It looks a bit like a dolphin. Is there a dolphin Pokémon out there? Must be, even though I can't think of it.

"Don't say that name!" he whispers loudly, searching the water around us as if we were about to be attacked.

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

"What, Jellicent?" I ask.

He does not find it humorous, at all. "I'm serious, Shrimp. A sailor who encounters one of those will be sleeping with Kyogre shortly. Don't you dare bring one up here."

I suppose for men that specialize in Water and Fighting-types, a ghost with Water Absorb would be their worst nightmare. "But a giant one would be capable of taking out a Wailord, wouldn't it?" I question again. "Shouldn't we tell someone?"

His adamant refusal to believe that there's a kaiju out there is warring with his fear of Jellicent. Eventually, the fear wins. "You're right," he mutters, calling back his Pokémon to hook up the lifeboat so we can be lifted up to the main deck of the ship. I leave Basculin in the water for now, so he can introduce himself to his new school of friends.

"Captain!" Santos calls, wasting no time in perpetrating my theory. "Captain, we've got an issue."

"Spit it out then," Grimes tells his first mate. "My hair and beard have already gone white. Means I don't have time to waste."

He doesn't turn around as he's saying it, because all of the fishing poles on the starboard side have caught something, and the crew is trying in vain to pull whatever's on the end of them aboard.

"We've got an idea on what the culprit behind these Wailord deaths is," Santos says. "It's a, J-J-Je…"

He can't even get it out without stuttering. Jellicent equals Lord Voldermort confirmed. "Jellicent," I finish for him, to the glares and gasps of many a sailor.

Not Captain Grimes, though. I get the feeling that the old man doesn't put that much stock in superstition. Pretty sure his no women on board rule has more to do with his wife being lost at sea rather than some old sailing myth.

That being said, he's suddenly gone pale. "We sent Captain Claw's ship to the bottom of the ocean."

Every sailor goes still, as if recognizing the implications of that statement. Those of us who aren't as familiar with the sea look around in confusion. "What does that have to do with anything?" Ursula asks.

"A Jellicent's lifeforce, if you can call it that, is tied to the tragedy of a sunken ship," Captain Grimes tells us gravely. "And if we know anything about Captain Claw, it's that he sent a lot of people and Pokémon down to meet Kyogre during his reign of terror. There would be a lot of souls for a Jellicent to feast on."

He strides over to the side of the boat as in a trance, telling the people manning the fishing poles to let go. While that should release the pressure and let whatever's been hooked swim away, they're still pulling something in.

All of our water Pokémon are agitated. We're told to recall them, as our leader stares into the water.

"Captain," Santos begins, in a very small voice not fit for a man of his size.

Grimes holds up a hand to silence his first mate. "That's why we haven't found it," he says softly. "Its whole body is seawater. It blends in completely. Except for one thing."

This has escalated rather quickly. "You know that this was just a theory, right?" I ask the grizzled sea captain. "Throwing ideas out there."

"Well, your stone landed right on the X, Shrimp. There goes the treasure." he nods to a spot, where there is something in the water. It looks like a giant silver crown.

"Santos, ready everyone for battle," Grimes says, watching the crown slowly rise from the water.

When he doesn't get a response, he turns around, and sees that even though the people like me, who volunteered to come along, are fairly excited at the prospect of battle, most of his longtime crewmembers are paralyzed with fear. "Oy!" he shouts, making me jump, along with a few others. "Are you a bunch of salty sea hounds, or landlubbing, wet behind the ears lap dogs?!"

Grimes paces back and forth, even as the Jellicent must be coming up from the sea, yelling at the top of his lungs. "You know how it is! Every day on the high seas could be your last."

Is this supposed to be motivation? I'm not sure it would work on me.

"So why of all the damn times in the world are you scared now! This is the opportunity of a lifetime! I came to find what was taking out those Wailord, and I'll be damned if I let it slip through my grasp. When we take down this beast, we'll be the most famous fucking crew in history! People will be writing songs, and telling stories to their grandchildren until they're blue in the face!"

He raises a fist to the sky. "Now, let's take this motherfucker down!"

Now that's what I call a motivational speech. Even I find myself throwing a fist in the air and cheering, before the ship starts to rock as one giant blue tentacle grabs onto the front and another grabs onto the back.

Two other tentacles appear in the spot where Captain Grimes was just giving his speech, allowing this Jellicent to heft its bulk up, to get a look at its dinner.

I'm not sure if I'm glad this one isn't bright pink. That certainly would have made me laugh, in the face of this oversized Pokémon. One that apparently isn't finished growing either, as it's body is expanding rapidly.

Our captain curses loudly. "Water immunities, ready yourselves to get large!" he bellows.

I will never get used to this sailor speak. Ursula and I look around for the translation, which seems to be every Pokémon that has Water Absorb or Storm Drain, or Dry Skin, in our case, is being lifted up into the air. We carefully do the same with Helioptile.

A second later I understand why, because Jellicent condenses before ejecting all that water it's been ballooning itself with out of its crown, sending massive globules of it raining on our heads.

We're okay, with our Pokémon soaking up the hits, but the Ophelia, ancient as she is, is already starting to buckle from the first salvo alone.

"That Water Spout needs to be weakened!" Grimes roars. "Hit that thing with all we've got! Attack!"

The repertoire of attacks we can actually hit this thing with is a bit limited, sadly. Thankfully, Captain Grimes's Blastoise somehow knows Zap Cannon, which should make this a lot easier, once Jellicent is paralyzed.

Bellossom hasn't mastered Solarbeam, but Petal Dance is a perfectly fine attack to throw out against this Jellicent. My Grass-type sends ribbons of petals out to join Helioptile's Shockwave, the aforementioned Zap Cannon, and whatever other super-effective attacks the crew can muster.

Jellicent's answer is to cover itself in a Safeguard veil, so we can't status it. As for the damage we supposedly inflicted, Jellicent glows not so soothing for us green, recovering to the point where it looked as good as new.

That means its Water Spout is still at full power. Which is bad news for the ship, even if our Pokémon can shield us from the force of the attack. A sailor has to leap out of the way, as part of our foremast comes crashing down onto the deck.

"For fuck's sake," Captain Grimes curses loudly, really starting to swear like a sailor now. "We need to give that sonofabitch something else to Recover first!" His eyes fall on the tentacles, holding the ship in place for Jellicent to blast away at. "Them's our targets! Get over there and force it to let go. When it starts regenerating them, that's our chance!"

Ursula nudges me when I don't immediately move. "Are you still having doubts? I don't think Absol will have the same problems that Charmeleon and Bellossom had earlier."

"It's not that," I say hesitantly, looking around. "With how superstitious this lot is…" I can't really second guess myself though. We're already taking damage, and splitting our forces is a risky maneuver. That means I need to step up.

There's the usual gasps and finger pointing when Absol is summoned, but when Captain Grimes turns around for a second to see what the commotion is all about, he cracks a grin. "You've been holding back on me, Shrimp. Now, get in there and start pulling your weight!"

I suppose that's as good an endorsement as any. We wait for Jellicent to use Water Spout once more before we make a run for the two tentacles towards the front of the ship. "Bellossom, Leaf Blade!" I say, pointing at the one closest to her. "Absol, use Dark Pulse and Knock Off on that other one!"

Right away, there's a problem. The tentacle Bellossom slices down upon is bubbling like acid, before it hardens into some kind of armor that has her Leaf Blades bouncing off of it like bumper cars. We're forced to scramble away from a Sludge Bomb attack quickly after.

Meanwhile, Absol is struggling to make progress against wall after wall of ice being created by his tentacle using Ice Beam.

What is going on here? Each tentacle specializes in its own typing, which it uses to defend itself? Maybe I gotta give these pirates who trained this thing more credit. We've got the Poison and Ice tentacles, and hazarding a glance all the way at the other side of a ship, another one is giving our Water-types hell with Energy Ball and Giga Drain, while the last is using Psychic to throw Pokémon and their attacks away from it.

Jellicent is rearing up for another Water Spout. I cannot second guess myself right now. What happened to Glaceon was awful, but I need to trust in the healing process, and trust in myself.

"Sunny Day Bellossom, and put up a Petal Dance shield!" With all our Water attacks being useless against our opponent, I don't think the crew will mind too much, considering Sunny Day will weaken Water Spout significantly.

The most afflicted on our side is Helioptile, who winces under the harsh sun, but a Water Gun to the back quickly has him upright again.

Bellossom's swirl of petals interlock into shields above us and Absol, so we only get a light drizzle instead of a water bomb.

There's a Slowking manning the helm. I thank the stars it's not as slow to respond as a Slowbro would be. "Do you know Teleport!" I ask a bit too loudly, with the sounds of battle and swearing of sailors ringing in my ears.

It gives me a thumbs up. "I need to get to the other side! Swap us with that Empoleon and Quagsire and their trainers! And someone who can hit this thing hard!"

I brace myself as Slowking starts to glow blue, and I manage not to stumble when we land. The crew here is very surprised, but I leap into action.

"Weather Ball!" I shout, directing Bellossom to tear through an Energy Ball, and whatever other Grass-type defenses this tentacle tries to put up.

Likewise, the final tentacles psychic hold is useless in the face of Absol, and he rips through some stolen attacks with Megahorn. He pins the tentacle to the deck with Knock Off before laying into it with a point blank Dark Pulse.

Bellossom has managed to bring all her petals from the one side of the ship back over here. And sends them spiraling downward into her tentacle as well.

Some explosions close to Slowking signify that the other team has done their job, and Jellicent is forced to let go of the ship. I see it trying to recover again, but I've got something for that.

"Snatch!"

Absol swipes away that healing light, and Captain Grimes seizes the moment. "Atta boy! Everyone, attack! Blastoise, Hydro Cannon!"

It seems Ursula had been in their ear, because Helioptile lights up with electricity before transferring that to Blastoise, who roars and stumbles back as two Electrified cannonballs are shot out of its guns at lightning speed.

The Hydro Zap Cannon, along with our other attacks, actually forces this behemoth to stagger backwards.

"Lower the sails! Raise the anchor! Fliers, give us some wind. Now!"

I race back to the middle of the ship as we start to move, albeit slower, with the damage we've sustained so far.

"Why are we running away!" I demand. "We should finish it!"

"Putting distance between us is all I'm doing, Shrimp," Captain Grimes assures me, striding to the stern, the rest of us in tow. "That behemoth won't let us escape. Look."

Sure enough, Jellicent is pursuing us furiously. It's not going for Water Spout anymore, but we're not exactly in the clear.

I have to rub my eyes to process what I'm seeing. Jellicent is kinda doing what Bellossom does with Petal Dance, where she can create a bunch of weapons or items to attack with. Except Jellicent is doing that with seawater. And ghostly power.

It's got a couple anchors, swords, throwing axes, and a whole bunch of other stuff probably favored by pirates, and it's about to start throwing them at us. Blastoise steps up to blast the first anchor thrown at us with Hydro Pump.

"Poltergeist," Captain Grimes explains to us grimly. "As long as it can create items to attack us with, we're under threat. And out here, there's unlimited ammo."

More Pokémon join Blastoise in shooting down the Poltergeists as they are flung at us, Absol included. Obviously, Dark Pulse is great against Ghost-type moves, but I'm surprised by how powerful one of them is, blasting through three Poltergeists before fading away.

"How are we supposed to stop this, Captain?" someone asks.

He surveys us before his eyes land on Ursula. "I suppose it's too much to ask if your Pokémon knows Thunder, is it, Crabs?"

"That's correct," Ursula replies, exchanging a glance with her diminutive Electric-type. "Would dropping a Thunderbolt on its head stop it, though? It took every other move we sent at it."

He waves an arm at the super sized jellyfish. "If we can destroy those things while it's creating them, the move will backfire, and explode on itself. And that's one of a ghost's few weaknesses."

Dragonflame from Ursula's Gabite might be able to get through, but she left him behind, along with Meowth and Growlithe, since none of them can swim. Gible, despite being a shark, never was the most streamlined of Pokémon.

I'm still looking at Absol. Dark is the other weakness ghost has, and he's cleaving through these Poltergeist with more ease than anyone else.

Like I thought before; one bad moment doesn't define me, and doesn't mean I'm on the wrong track. I call Absol over to the side, away from the line of Pokémon defending the ship. He gives me a questioning look.

"Listen. I want you to try the combo move again. Pump Dark Pulse into that Razor Wind until that whole thing explodes." I'm sure if Absol was the type to get startled, that statement would have done the trick. As it is, he gives me a sharp look.

"I've got total faith in your ability to keep us safe," I assure him. "You see what we're dealing with. We need something extraordinary."

He nods once, and summons the two tornadoes of Razor Wind, before firing a Dark Pulse straight into them, letting it curl around the tornadoes and get absorbed into the spiral motion, turning both of them black. We'd normally stop at this point, but Absol dutifully keeps Dark Pulse up, making them grow larger and more violent, until there's no way it doesn't capture people's attention.

"Shrimp, what's that?" Santos asks me nervously. I ignore him and everyone else for now, as Ursula, the only one who knows what's going on, pushes everyone back, not that they need encouragement. We almost get hit by a Poltergeist weapon as a result, but I've got my eyes on our custom move.

"Come on, come on," I chant under my breath. I know this thing is going to work. How, and when is the question. We're getting to the critical point, where Absol is struggling controlling these tornadoes, keeping them from crashing into each other.

I think my problems have been rubbing off on him. You have to accept things sometimes, and react to them. "Absol! Let it go!"

He obeys, and the two tornadoes instantly crash into each other, converging at one single point, a ball of swirling winds pulsating like some sort of dark heart.

Absol waits, and waits, and waits, until it grows to the point it's about to burst before he strikes, slashing through it with one clean stroke. After a tense moment, our attack explodes outwards into pitch-black scythes of wind, too many to count, all aimed in Jellicent's direction.

"Bullseye!"

"Holy shit!"

Heh. I'm not surprised everyone is so stunned. Even though the sheer volume meant we missed a few times, Absol's combo attack destroyed every last one of the Poltergeists, not to mention pounding Jellicent until its oversized head disappears under the waves.

"Hell of a move there, Shrimp, even if we didn't know what you were doing for most of this," Captain Grimes compliments me. "Where'd you two pick it up?"

Right as I proudly puff out my chest and begin to explain how it's a contest inspired technique, I lose my balance as the Ophelia lurches due to a wave passing underneath us.

An unnatural one.

Jellicent's first move this time is to drench us in a huge Surf. We barely react in time, and though quite a few hats are lost, we all grab something and manage to stay aboard the ship.

Everyone is staring at me and Ursula, mouth agape.

Right. We lost our hats. Now our disguises have been revealed.

Honestly, I'm surprised they worked this long. Even Captain Grimes, who's seen everything under the sun, seems stunned. "You two?" he asks incredulously.

Ursula quickly diverts their attention. "Don't we have bigger fish to fry?" she points to the other side of the ship, where Jellicent is hauling its bulk up once again.

It's definitely in worse shape than when this began, but pure rage is driving it forwards. From its mouth a torrent of water the width of five men is fired at us.

Every Water-type on the ship uses their own Water gun or Hydro Pump to first protect us, then match, and then slowly overpower Jellicent's attack.

I look down at Bellossom. "Get ready for Petal Dance," I tell her, because this is a clever opponent.

As I suspected, Jellicent drops the attack entirely, intending to heal itself by absorbing all the water we're sending its way.

"Shield!" I shout, and Bellossom interlocks every petal into an impassable wall, holding the deluge of water at bay.

Jellicent is preparing a huge Shadow Ball to break through, but we're one step ahead of it.

"Electrify!" Helioptile lights up with electricity before transferring a small portion of that to our attack, to transform it completely.

As Jellicent releases Shadow Ball, I give the command for Bellossom to drop her shield, which promptly twists into ribbons and is flung at Jellicent, along with Absol's Dark Pulse, and the most powerful Water/electric attack you've ever seen.

It blasts Jellicent into the air and back into the sea, but amazingly, this thing can still move! At least it's fleeing.

That isn't much comfort for some of us. "You're not getting away!" Captain Grimes roars after it. "Water Pokémon out, now! Full speed ahead! Slowking, set course for impact!"

We once again pump wind into what's left out our sails, and I send Basculin into the water to surge us forward with every other water Pokémon helping out. Impact, though? What does that mean?"

I look to Santos, who seems resigned to what's going to happen. "Hold on tight, lassie. Don't want to see you go overboard after you've come this far."

Jellicent notices us gaining on it, and turns around for one last Surf.

This time we're ready for it. "Hang on!" someone shouts, as the Pokémon in the water push the front of our boat up, so that it points to the sky, and we glide right over the wave rather than crashing into it.

I can imagine the expression on Jellicent's mustachioed face as the ship comes soaring down onto its head. Ghost it may be, but thousands of pounds of wood can't have felt good, not to mention how many splinters it must have.

Finally, it's floating motionless on the water, with the waves the only thing moving its gargantuan bulk back and forth. I think every person on the ship throws out a Pokéball of some sort, myself included. No one has any idea about whose Ultra Ball is shot back up by a water Pokémon once Jellicent is caught, but Captain Grimes takes possession of it regardless.

It should be a celebratory atmosphere, considering what we just defeated, but it's a somber one instead! I'm about to tell Bellossom to get this party started by showering us with some Petal Dance confetti, when I realize why everyone is so sad.

I'm not the last person, at least. Mikey, the cowboy sailor I had a problem with earlier, speaks up. "Captain? I think the ship be sinking."

Our captain's heavy sigh is nothing less than despondent. "So she is. Santos, get everyone on the lifeboats." No reference to women and children is made, both of which would have applied to me.

Even though the whole process is rushed, with these lifeboats being dropped a lot less gently than they were previously, it's not the frantic, panicked scene that I would have imagined.

That is, until I see captain Grimes handing his Blastoise and his new Jellicent Pokéball off to one of his crew, standing on the middle of the deck, watching everything happen, while making no move to get on a lifeboat himself.

"We're leaving him?" I shout incredulously, making to get off my lifeboat.

A sailor's Machamp grabs me gently by the back of the shirt and lifts me up so I can't run off as easily as a cat holding her kitten. "A captain has to go down with the ship," someone informs me sadly.

I struggle in vain against the Superpower Pokémon. "So we're abandoning him to drown? Do you have any idea how awful a death that is? All over some stupid antiquated, made up rule?"

There's no time to make any more arguments because we're dropped into the ocean unceremoniously. There we can really see how much of the ship is beneath the water. It's not long before the Ophelia is gone, her captain with it.

"It's ironic that you're so concerned, when this is all your fault."

I look around to see who said that, but I can't tell. "How is this my fault?" I ask.

The sailor crosses his arms. "First time we let females onboard, and the ship sank. What else needs to be said?"

I stagger back like I've been shot. Am I really that unlucky? Did I just cause a man to die, on what was supposed to be a fun, learning, adventure? Is everyone around me cursed?

Ursula is having none of it. "This isn't our fault," she insists, putting her foot down. "It's yours! Had you done your job, and considered the possibility of a Jellicent, then none of this would have happened! You'd still have a ship, and there would still be Wailord around!" Rant over, she falls back onto her bench with a huff, and I feel much lighter as a result.

There's no chance for a counterargument to be made, not that the sailors can make one, with their agape mouths, because ripples are appearing in the water all around us, everywhere we look.

"Jellicent's coming back for round two!" someone cries out in fear.

I hear a sound like a face getting slapped. "Get a hold of yourself, man! We caught that thing already!"

"Then it's its big brother coming for revenge!"

There is an enormous round shadow below us. "Do they make submarines this big?" Ursula asks me worriedly.

I don't know, but this seems more like an aircraft carrier. We could land a plane on this shadow, with how big it is. It's encompassing every single one of our boats. I've never seen something so huge-

Isn't this what Captain Grimes told me earlier? You can land a plane on the back of one? "It's a Wailord," I say numbly. "We're going to actually see a freaking Wailord!" This can't be a coincidence. "Who do we that's around here that has a Wailord?!"

Ursula answers me, looking a bit faint. "I can think of someone."

A geyser spout confirms it as we and every other lifeboat are lifted out of the water onto its great blue back, not to mention the roar of a beast bigger than any other. When the water dies down, it's trainer is revealed, too.

Wallace, even soaking wet, is as elegant as ever. "Ahoy, brave sailors! Your captain here sent out a distress signal earlier. It appears you've had a small boating accident! Allow Wailord and I to escort you back home safely."

That's one way to say our ship sank. But at least there's no lives lost today. In addition to saving our skins, Wallace and Wailord have mananged to save our captain from a watery grave. It's a bit difficult to make out the expression on his face, but I don't get the sense that he's relieved to be alive.

He made sure everyone else got off the boat, and certainly could have himself. Blastoise could have easily swam him back to the surface had there really been no time to avoid going under.

A captain has to go down with the ship, but I think ours was willing to stay down. I can guess why, but that's forty years of baggage, that I don't really feel like unpacking at this moment.

For now, I lie on my back to enjoy the Wailord express. We dealt with one crisis today, and I'll be ready to deal with the next crisis when it comes, too.

Because I feel so much better.