Chapter 8 - Dive and Catch

Celeste bounced on her toes, the way you do when you want the blood to flow while Aria kept looking at the scene with her half-lidded eyes, a smirk on her lips, and sarcastic comments to Powder.

“I can hear you, you know?” she told her Pokémon, ceasing her jumps. “Trust me. This will be great.”

Aria couldn’t help but snicker.

“What will be great?” Delia approached, her eyes also narrow, though not sly as the Eevee’s.

“Catching a water Pokémon,” Celeste beamed, earning an amused snort from Delia.

Morning light had just started to warm the air, and spirits were already much higher than yesterday’s. Delia had decided that Shelly could actually help to tow the lifeboat by using Water Gun for propulsion, just like during the storm. Manoeuvring would be easy and some bouts forward, too. Continuous movement, however, was still a problem, as Shellder only had so much energy.

Earlier, during breakfast, they talked about this at length.

Celeste’s first solution had been for Aria to help with Swift—she also saw that worked during the storm—but they fell into the same energy problem as with Shelly. Her second idea was to build paddles, but the islet they were in offered nothing more than twigs. They were stumped like that by the time they finished eating their berries. When Delia went back to her never-ending organising, Celeste kept brainstorming.

And that’s how she came up with the notion that Seel wasn’t the only fish in the ocean. As a trainer, she could go out to catch something better. Something that would help them. Not a finless, limbless Pokémon like a Shellder nor something tiny like the Krabby dotting the shore, but a proper water Pokémon. Maybe some fish… or maybe a Lapras. It’d be great if she got a Lapras.

“Are you going to befriend your new Pokémon again?” Delia’s arms folded and she arched her eyebrows.

Celeste’s gaze shifted, a brief pout surfacing. “Might be hard to make friends underwater.” She held her nose up. “I’ll try it your way.”

“Under... water?” Delia blinked.

With a smirk growing, Celeste shot back. “Didn’t you notice yesterday? I’m a great swimmer.” She paused. “Even greater at making plans.” At that last statement, it was Aria who scoffed. “I am, and you know it!” she stuck her tongue out.

Delia just kept blinking.

Finally, with a sigh, Celeste squatted by Powder and ran a hand through her hair puffs. “You two should have some faith, like little Powder here.” She smiled and got a cute “pix” as an answer.

Yeah… Powder had no idea what was going on, as the others didn’t hesitate to point out. Celeste tried to recall if she’d even taken her Vulpix further than the beach since she hatched and sighed when she realised Powder didn’t even know how to swim. It would’ve been great if she was around when they were living at the boat, but… that was before Aria even.

“It’s really okay,” Celeste tried again, gesturing towards the horizon. The sky was clear, and since the storm, no cloud dared to sully it. The added daylight also revealed some of the neighbouring islets. About a mile away lay the nearest one, a rugged place that appeared to be smaller than the one they were in. “I’ll swim over there. If I can’t find something in the water, maybe there will be on the shore. At least, some driftwood for us to make paddles.”

“This is madness.” Delia put it simply.

Celeste puckered her lips. Was it? Back when she was living on the boat with her parents, she’d go into the water all the time, to swim and even to dive. She never did water battles or anything like that… but she also didn’t have a lot of experience on dry land either. So what? There’d be a little less air and a little less ground, but it would be fine.

“I’ve got tons of experience with Water-Types,” she smiled, hoping that would convince Delia. “I’ve swum with my parents’ Pokémon a bunch. Heck, I’d even sleep with Chimmy around when the night got scary.”

“…Chimmy?”

“Mum’s Chinchou.”

Delia’s skepticism deepened. “So, your Water-Type experience boils down to having a nightlight?”

With her cheeks blushing, Celeste shrugged. “I’m saying I’m good at bonding with them. And it wasn’t just Chimmy. Dad’s Wailmer would come along when I was learning how to surf, and whenever she wasn’t carrying our crew or their equipment, he’d let me ride her.”

“And where was this expertise yesterday when that Wailord almost killed us?” Delia countered.

“I knew what it was, didn’t I?”

With a huff, Delia’s arguments dried up. The matter was settled. Among some protests, Celeste recalled Aria and Powder and faced the water. Maybe there’d be no need to battle in the end. She’d meet a Lapras, and they’d connect right away.

She grinned.

“Arceus, let it be a Lapras,” she said under her breath, safely tucking all her Pokéball in her bumbag.

—*——*—

Delia protested more before Celeste jumped into the ocean.

“You’re not thinking this through.”

“What if there’s something dangerous down there?”

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“You’re wearing a cast. I’m pretty sure you’re not supposed to swim.”

Legendries, it almost felt like she was listening to her mother speak. Which only helped to strengthen Celeste’s resolve. She hiked up her leggings, threw her arms wide, and dipped into the ocean without a look back.

The water felt cool against her body, and the cast felt weirdly slimy. With each stroke, when Celeste surfaced for air, she smelled the salt and the breeze and felt at ease. Sure, the ocean had its dangers, but it was also inviting. With treasures to be found.

With Lapras swimming around.

She paused when the rocks she was veering towards took over the scenery. Delia now was the speck on her back. Lost in dreams of blue scales and sturdy shells, Celeste didn’t even notice how far she went. She filled her lungs and submerged, hoping to find something interesting below the surface. Sand swirled around her, making the world of the depths shadowy but calm. Sunlight peered through, but other than the kelp drifting by, there wasn’t a lot to see. A school of Goldeen passed by her and she caught a glimpse of a Remoraid, but not much else.

Maybe she could look for something… better?

Her legs paddled slowly and in place as she studied the rocky outline ahead. Ten minutes to it, she guessed. She’d promised Delia she wouldn’t go further, but maybe around? There had to be a Lapras just around the corner.

“Now to what side…?” she muttered, only marginally aware of a creeping sensation around her ankle. She brought a finger up to feel the breeze and pretended that it’d told her something. It didn’t. That ankle felt ticklish. Just seaweed, she figured, trying to kick it away. Her legs felt weird, numb, and uncooperative. Had she been out here that long? Best to pick a direction. “Maybe I should g—”

Without warning, something yanked her downwards.

Water surged into her mouth as she struggled, her body thrashing against the unseen. All but that one leg responded. Before panic registered, she looked down.

There, in the dim light, red orbs glowed menacingly, illuminating the sinuous tentacles wrapped around her shin. They pulled her deeper, their touch cold and unyielding and its poison leaking all around them. Celeste clenched her teeth, fighting for every scrap of air, but her heart pounded against her chest.

Shit, shit. Shit.

For a split second, Celeste was all curses. The creature—a Tentacool—was tightening its hold, and the numbness in her leg growing. Poison. That’s why she didn’t like Poison-Types. Sure, ghosts could curse you and Fire-Types could burn you to a crisp, but poison always freaked her out more.

Then it hit her.

Aria!

She remembered she wasn’t completely helpless. She could call Aria to fight back. A Swift and this thing would be gone. With a quick flicker of her good wrist, she fished out her Eevee’s Pokéball from her bumbag. Hoping her Pokémon was ready to be underwater, her thumb hesitated over the button.

She’d be ready, right?

Celeste’s moment of doubt was costly. Before she knew it, Bubbles, precise as bullets, catapulted the Pokéball out of her grasp. Her fingers stung.

Aria!

Fear. Worry. Dread. Celeste wasn’t sure what emotion made her lose her precious breath.

While still being dragged down, her hand flew to her mouth, then clawed at her throat. Celeste tried reassuring herself. Aria would be safe in her Pokéball, and it couldn’t have gone far. The thought offered her some calm and clarity of mind. She reached down for the entangled leg, but the Tentacool recoiled as she touched its tentacle. Maybe it screeched too. Another push. She didn’t know what was up and down anymore. Pain lanced through her.

Powder? Could she freeze the Tentacool?

The edges of Celeste’s vision blurred.

Powder could barely freeze anything when she was comfortable and on land and she never swam before. Calling her Vulpix was a bad idea. But…

Almost on autopilot, her fingers found their way to her Pokéballs: Powder’s and the empty ones. She remembered the Geodude in Vermilion. They’d used an empty Pokéball one then.

Mustering the last of her strength, she lunged at the Tentacool. It was too slow to react. Celeste struck, pressing the Pokéball against its head. With a shriek, the Tentacool was sucked in.

Celeste paused, watching the capsule drift in the water. It shook once.

Did… she capture a Pokémon?

It shook again.

A Poison-Type of all things…? And without even battling.

Three shakes. Then…

It burst open.

Damn.

Celeste’s lungs screamed for air.

As the glow from the failed capture attempt dimmed, she kicked towards the surface. Disoriented at first, she felt relief wash over her as she saw those elusive rays of light were just a few feet away. Hindered by her cast and the throbbing, poisoned leg, she wasn’t fast. And then—

Air.

It flooded her lungs like she was a newborn taking her first breath. She was panting. She was crying. Aria. Where was Aria. She needed a bit more—

And she was dragged under once more. This time, the tentacles cinched tighter around her thigh. Painful as hell, but over her leggings there was a little less poison. Thinking more clearly now, she got another Pokéball and locked eyes with the Tentacool.

To its furious, bloodshot red eyes.

Maybe she wasn’t thinking that clearly.

The gem on its head, previously obscured, now pulsated, casting a bright red light all over them.

Without a second thought, Celeste hurled the Pokéball at it. The Tentacool swatted it away, unwrapping a tentacle in the process. That was enough. She kicked it with her other leg and bolted. Her movements were desperate, propelled by fear and adrenaline. Clutching another Pokéball, she didn’t dare glance back; the red glow haunted the waters around her.

Spotting a rock, she noticed the seafloor was closer, the water shallower. She was near the shore.

Driven by instinct, or maybe luck, she grabbed the rock and swung behind it just as an attack hit. She didn’t even see what it was, just the red light. The rock softened the impact on her back, but the force caused her to tumble towards the shore.

When she finally came to a stop, knees buried in sand, she heaved, coughing up water and fighting for every breath. Finally collapsing in her arms, she gasped.

She was still clutching a Pokéball. Celeste's grip tightened around it. That was an empty Pokéball. Not Aria’s.

Aria…

She glanced back toward the sea, half-expecting the Tentacool to reappear. But the ocean had returned to its tranquil state, the waves gently caressing the rocks, where Krabby scuttled and...

She squinted.

Was that a… Pokéball?

There, clattering on a rock, was the familiar round red and white. The surface had been marred by scratches and sand, and it had to be Aria’s. It just had.

Letting the empty Pokéball slip from her grasp, Celeste crawled toward what she could only hope was her best friend. Too weak to stand, she pressed the release button, hoping, praying, to see an Eevee.

Aria materialised back into the world, with those same half-lidded eyes and that snarky smirk she had early, almost as if to say, “What trouble have you got us into this time?” Then she actually saw her trainer and her expression turned to concern. As Celeste enveloped her in a desperate hug, she let out a soft “Veev.”

“I thought I lost you,” she whispered, her voice cracking.

Aria responded with a lick to her cheek, prompting Celeste to pull back just enough to meet her Pokémon’s gaze. Her racing heart began to slow.

“It wasn’t a good idea,” she said. Her leg was burning now, but it was over. No more Tentacool, no more Poison-Types. Not ever again. “I…” she trailed off, lost for words.

“Veev?” Aria’s gaze shifted, focusing on something behind her back.

She froze. Was it back?

When she turned, no Tentacool was in sight. Quite the opposite, really.

A pink figure approached, its pace slow, almost tentative. It carried the empty Pokéball she’d dropped with its tail, setting it down before her.

Celeste blinked, but did nothing.

It blinked back.

It nudged the Pokéball closer with its snout and suddenly that familiar glow enveloped it. Celeste could only watch in silence. The pink thing vanished into the ball, prompting it to wiggle.

One shake.

“Wait. What?” Celeste widened her eyes.

Click.