Wingull chirped, waves crashed, and a strong wind pushed at the ship's sails. It wasn't storming, but the wind was enough to kick up some hefty movements on the ship's surface, tilting the floor every which way with an irritating rhythm.
Most of the Pokémon aboard made a fun game out of it, twirling around the masts and trying to avoid holding on as much as they could. The bipeds kept falling over and hurting themselves on the wooden planks, while the quadrupeds were having a time of it, tumbling and rolling like they were walking on ball shaped wheels.
An Umbreon, the teacher of this class and the one controlling the ship, was only advocating it. He held a special wheel in all four of his paws. With the ship's wheel below him, his hind legs helped to steady his movements while his front paws took advantage of every heavy whoosh of air that passed the ship. He kept turning the whole thing left to right, causing the ship to bounce and swerve in a direction resembling straight ahead, all the while laughing and calling out to his students in jest. Coincidentally, this did have them going faster than if they would try to stay on course.
But for Lute, this was the worst trip he could've asked for. A weekend at sea on a classic sailing ship with a captain this rowdy had him struggling to keep down his breakfast. This was even though the Eevee was sat stiffly right in the middle of the ship. He kept his eyes shut, body flat, and still he felt like his stomach was going to fly out of his mouth.
"Hey c'mon Lute, you're missing out on all the fun!" his Jolteon buddy called out, rolling over on his right. He was balanced by a Flareon who was only trying to steady himself, which in turn made fellow classmates call for 'cheating'. It all looked dumb to Lute, though.
He opened one eye. Just seeing the floor tilt made him gurgle. Someone bumped into him, and he could've sworn he spewed something out. It took a moment to balance himself, and then he was back to zoning out of this seasick nightmare with a single complaint in his mind. I hate boats.
"Lutey, c'mon and join us! Don't be a weakling," Jolteon called out again, getting thrown in the other direction. Flareon laughed with him, reaching out to try and snatch the Eevee from his spot in the middle of the ship.
"Guys, leave him alone!" a girly voice squeaked. It was just loud enough to catch everyone's attention, barely even Lute's. A short Minun was stood over him, hands by her mouth and feet knocking together. "You know he's not feeling well. So, so..."
"Aww, this is only to make him get stronger. Say Infia, why don't you join us?" Jolteon replied with a cheeky smile. The Minun shuddered, holding down her skirt as another brush of wind passed.
"I-I-I don't want to, either," she said so quietly that Lute could barely hear her. "N-not everyone has to get strong, you know."
"Not gonna be able to hear ya unless ya speak up! C'mon!" Jolteon said, diving forward to snatch them.
"R-Raiju, wait!" Flareon called out, but another tilt of the ship caused them all to tumble. They all managed to link paws against Lute and Infia's wills. The next thing they knew, Lute really did lose his breakfast.
...
"And that's what happens when you don't listen to your friends," Flareon groaned, a snide look at the Jolteon.
"Hey it's not my fault Lute decided to be seasick," he replied, still smiling, fangs showing and all.
"That's not- forget it. Raiju, you're such an airhead," Flareon rolled his eyes.
The four of them were lined up at the front of the ship while the messes were being cleaned up behind them. Now that the ship wasn't moving and they were docked at a port, Lute looked a lot better. He was a little taller than a regular Eevee, helped in part by the spiky curls of fur styled around the back and top of his head. His young complexion contradicted that confident hairstyle and size, but that was thought to be caused by his lack of will to evolve.
"I hope you'll stop and listen to your friends from here on, Raiju. If you see your friend is sick, I've got to know. I would've stopped if I knew," Umbreon said.
"Okay, I admit I was wrong. Sorry Lute, sorry Anbi sir," Raiju replied, hanging his head.
"Oh so now you apologize. Not the numerous times I kept telling you the same thing?" Flareon said.
"Well, Anbi's the smart one, Cinder. We've got to listen to him."
"And I'm not?"
"Oh you're smart too! Just not as smart as Anbi."
"Good grief." Cinder rolled his eyes again.
"Now, Lute. I understand you were seasick the whole trip? I really wish you'd told me sooner. You still took notes and things, right?" Anbi asked as he addressed the Eevee directly.
"I did. Infia helped me out a lot, too," he nodded.
"Thank you, Infia," Anbi said. The Minun shifted away to hide her bright blush. "Pokémon used to travel the world on sailing ships like the one we used this weekend. Seasickness was a common thing for them."
"Really? How did they cope?" Lute asked.
"Many ways, but most of them lived with it. Travelling by ship like this was the only way for many Pokémon to travel the ocean, so they didn't have a choice. This was after the Lapras became a free species. And of course, now we don't even rely on ships and sea travel anymore," Anbi answered. He turned to the side. "The best way to learn history is to get experiences like this. I've always felt that it's important to learn that way. The hardships Pokémon went through and why we elected to change those methods to make life easier for ourselves."
"Wait is that all? Couldn't we have just learnt about sailing ships some easier way?" Cinder asked.
"Yes, we could have. But you learnt about how they were built, how they work, and then got to experience life on one. That's the best way to learn. Now, I hope you understand where Pokémon have come from when they decided to stop using these," Anbi said.
Lute looked around at the ship's details. "Even though I was seasick the whole time, I kind of liked this. We were close to the sea the whole time, and at night it was really pretty. The fact that Pokémon used to use this all the time... history is so interesting."
"That's the spirit, Lute!" Anbi cheered.
"You can be such a nerd sometimes," Raiju groaned.
"I hope you feel the same way, Raiju. All of what we learnt here will be on next week's test," Anbi said, half-lidded.
Raiju's fur stood on end. "Y-yes sir! I got it; I sure do."
"You sure do," Cinder said, half-lidded.
"Good. Then if you've got all your stuff packed, you're all dismissed. I suggest one of you go with Lute so that he gets home safely."
Lute groaned inside at that remark, and zoned out as he got himself ready for the trip home. It wasn't to be a long one. He lived somewhere in the middle of the cosy town of Everend, an easy walk from the port. This area was such a simple and populated spot that there weren't any feral Pokémon. The biggest danger was falling into the river that ran alongside the road, but to do that, you'd have to try to dive in.
History sounded dangerous in comparison. Dangerous but exciting. Apparently, Pokémon his age had to be walked home by their parents, traversing mystery dungeons filled with equal amounts of treasure, traps, and foes alike. Something like that would at least keep him awake during a casual school week.
Sadly, real life wasn't like that. He only had his imagination and dreams to go off of. He sighed as he folded a scarf into a small bag, knowing that nothing of his interests would ever actually happen here. He'd just stroll home, wave to the neighbours, eat dinner, and then get ready to do it all again tomorrow. Not that he was complaining – things were exactly as they should be.
"There you are! Geez, I thought you said you were feeling better? You took four seconds too long!" Raiju cried once he stepped off the ship. "So how about it? Who're you walking home with? It's gonna be Infia, isn't it? It's Infia!"
"Sorry," Lute groaned and swayed his head.
"Why would it- Raiju, this isn't a competition," Cinder said, putting him down. "That said, I live in the opposite direction, so..."
"Let's just walk," Lute shrugged.
"Nah-uh! What if you and Infia wanna spend quality time together?"
"R-Raiju!" Infia squeaked.
"I don't need anyone to walk me home. You can come with me if you want, but there's no need," Lute ignored them to walk by.
"I think that means he wants her," Raiju sung and nudged Infia. She immediately slapped him back.
"S-stop it! Why do you always have to be so... ugh, no!" the Minun pouted.
Lute turned to see her running away on all fours, and tilted his head. "What's up with her?"
"Told you not to push her," Cinder said, shook his head. "Look Raiju, just make sure Lute gets home okay, alright? I'll see you both tomorrow."
"Will do captain! See ya soon, too!" the Jolteon saluted. Lute glanced between the three of them until Infia was gone, confused until Raiju pulled him back along the main path.
The road back home was as quiet as expected. Fencing on the right to separate the road from the river, distant plain on the left that led to fields and the one-off farm, and then the soft, grainy road that led into the town. There were a few turns every now and then, but with such wide-open space and controlled greenery surrounding them, there was no worry of getting attacked or losing your way.
Lute lost himself in his thoughts while his friend yacked away nonstop, drowning out the topics of food and hot classmates in place of what he'd learnt on the trip. The idea that sailing ships were the standard was unheard of to him, so it sparked all kinds of visions in his mind. Were there roads marked along the sea somehow? Were there any mystery dungeons that a ship would need to go through? How did Pokémon other than quadruped Pokémon control them?
He sighed and leaned to the side as they reached a hill that let them look over the fence and the river. Maybe there were small ships specially made to travel down rivers or something. He was about to have fun with that thought, but something took his attention. Or rather, someone.
"Wait, that's," he whispered, scrambling to step back a few paces. He hopped up to lean over the fence, and there they were. A four-legged Pokémon stood on the other side of the boundary, right by the edge of the water. "There's no reason to be there."
"Huh? What'd you spot- oh my good Grookey there's someone there!" Raiju cried, nearly falling over the fence. They both observed for a while, an inner concern growing as the figure edged closer and closer to the water.
"Wait, don't go in!" Lute cried and climbed over the fence.
"Lute, what're you doing?" Raiju pulled at him. "They probably just work there or something."
"It doesn't look like a water type. And Everend River is fine. Maybe they need our help?" he wondered.
"I er- look I'd wanna look around as much as the next guy, but the tide's gonna come in, and you were just sick an' all..."
"If the tide's coming in, we've gotta get them!" Lute gasped, and jumped over fully. Raiju moved to follow him, but hesitated on top of the fence.
Lute slid down the hill on the other side of the fence, scratching himself on twigs and stems as they passed him. He reached the Pokémon in the nick of time thanks to that, finding them less than a centimetre from the water. "H-hey, is everything alright?"
The figure half turned at his voice. An Eeveelution for sure, though it wasn't one Lute had seen before. On first inspection, it had all the features of a Sylveon: sleek, smooth, cream-coloured fur tipped with colour, and long, rounded ears. However, where there would be pink, this Sylveon was blue. Their eyes were a light burgundy.
The Sylveon look-a-like didn't say anything. They didn't blink or show any threat either, but one of its feelers went to their lips, as if telling Lute to hush. He didn't know what to say anyway, and blankly stared back.
Content he wasn't going to do anything, Sylveon returned to their task. This section of swampy ground stopped here, but continued on the other side of the river where it ran beneath the hill of the main path, creating a cave.
"I er," Lute said, and then began to freak out inside as the Sylveon stepped forward. Rather than falling right into the water, bright light formed below their feet. The light enlarged into bright blue diamonds marked with cryptic symbols. These diamonds grew as Sylveon walked, creating a path that floated on the water and led right to the other side.
Lute scratched his eyes. Was he dreaming? Was he still back on the ship with Raiju and the others, sleeping off his seasickness? He had never met a blue Sylveon before, let alone one with magic powers like these. It wasn't until the diamond platforms began to crack and fade away that he shook himself off and leapt across them.
"Lute wait! Lute!" Raiju cried as he skidded down to the spot where the Eevee just was. By the time he got there, Lute was on the other side keeping his eyes on the Sylveon. The platforms were gone. "What the heck're you doing?"
"I-I'm gonna follow them. I'll meet you back in town," Lute called back, dismissing his friend to catch up.
What was he saying? This cave ran well away from town. He knew that from what the grownups had told him. And when the tide came in, the cave would be drowned, inaccessible by anyone other than water breathers. He was throwing himself into danger.
"Hey, excuse me, but—"
Sylveon didn't need to turn around to silence him. Two feelers rose up and then stretched in his direction as he approached, snatching him around his waist. He was hoisted around to the Pokémon's face, which was unimpressed.
"I thought I told you to be quiet?" Sylveon began, revealing her young voice. Considering her height and weighty shape, he wasn't expecting her to sound around his age.
"Wa-wait, you've got to listen to me," he objected, his feet scrambling to try and get out of her grip.
"I'll drown you," she threatened.
"It's important! The tide's going to come in," he warned.
"Don't say I didn't warn you," she sighed, dipping him into the water beside them.
Despite her warning, he didn't prepare himself for that submerging. He coughed underwater as its chilling touch filled his mouth and nose, getting a hold of himself enough to grab her feelers around his waist. He gurgled and struggled to pull, very quickly getting to the state where he needed air at all costs. He focused mainly on trying to stretch his head up, but no matter how hard he strained, he couldn't pull his head beyond the surface.
Sylveon stared down at him coldly, and he caught full glimpse of that. She didn't even look like she was putting effort into holding him there. "If you promise to keep your mouth shut, I'll let you out. Will you do that?"
He let out another cough of bubbles, but he nodded, and she kept her promise. He coughed and sputtered as she let him down behind her, making her roll her eyes. "So much keeping quiet. Now go home. And forget what you saw here."
He opened his mouth to respond, but given what just happened, reconsidered. A quick glance back reminded him that the way he came now involved somehow beating the river's current, making that a no-go. If this is still a dream, it's turning into a nightmare.
"Stop breathing so heavily. You'll draw attention to yourself," she said, continuing on her way. Lute frowned, knowing he couldn't do that one. Just being soaked like that made him feel like his lungs were shrivelling up.
He'd heard about this cave from adults, but he'd never actually been in it himself. It was a stark difference from the everyday path he was used to, with its lack of light, uneven flooring, and wild greenery. Everything was so soggy and muddy that his feet sunk with every step, like he was walking on a murky sponge that stained his feet. He couldn't hear the wind either, only the running river and leaks from the ceiling.
Sylveon had no visible problem with trekking deeper inside, to his surprise. She walked with a light gait, avoiding falling into the mud even when she stopped to get her bearings. He wanted to moan about how she had that advantage, but she was far too busy making quick, snappy decisions about which way to go whenever they reached a turn.
He thought it would be an easy path that just ran alongside the river, but they were reaching hard, ninety-degree splits, some of which Sylveon didn't seem to think twice on. Some ten minutes later, she stopped at a corner that was far darker than the others. It reeked of urine, here.
"So the callout was right. There are Pokémon here," she mumbled. She coiled two feelers together and then quickly unfurled them to release an orb of energy that brightened the place up.
Lute couldn't help but gasp. The natural swampiness of the cave was still present, but now there were pipes, tiled walls, and other stations of unrecognisable machinery. Two Pokémon spun around at the surprise lighting, both Frogadier smothered in mud.
"Ah! Wait, it's just a bunch of kids," one of them said. "L-listen. I dunno how you kids got here, but you shouldn't be here. This here's a mystery dungeon. Get out while you can."
"This is a mystery dungeon?" Lute cried. Sylveon glanced back at him, and he clammed up again.
"Cut the small talk. You're a little too close for my liking. So get out, or I'll make you," Sylveon ordered.
"Wait, I think we shouldn't—" Lute said, silenced by another glare.
"There's brave talk coming from a little girl. Respect your elders," Frogadier snapped.
"Always with the little girl rubbish... the dated ones always end up being the ruffians," Sylveon groaned. She stepped closer to the frog Pokémon. "Don't say I didn't warn you."
"We're the ones who warned you!" the Frogadier shouted as they leapt toward her. Lute cried out and turned tail, but there was no need.
Sylveon tripped up the first one, whipping it with one feeler and shifting aside to make it leap past her. Then she revealed more of her magic on the second one, holding one feeler in front of her as if to guard her face. Similar to the diamond platforms she made earlier, a shiny shield formed around the feeler, which the Frogadier crashed into. The shield was bigger than his height, letting her use it to bash his face and knock him away.
"Wha-what?" Lute whispered and scratched his eyes again.
Sylveon dealt with any attack that Frogadier threw at her with this magic shield, effortlessly blocking Bubble Beam and Smack Down alike. He watched in awe until the first enemy got up and growled at him, making him freak out. "Wait wait wait I'm not- ahh!"
The next Bubble Beam was fired at him, so he dove away. He fell right into the muck and cringed, disgusted by it sticking to his mane and underside. That left him open to a second attack that pinned him face first into the mud, and he had a spitting fit. Up his nose and even tasting it a bit, he couldn't have felt sicker.
"Forget it bro, she's way too strong!" One of the Frogadier called out. "We weren't finding anything here anyway. We've gotta move closer to the temple!"
"Got it. You know what to do. Pull the switch!" his comrade commanded. He turned to Lute and backed off. "You got lucky this time, kid. Or maybe not. Whatever. Next time you'll respect your elders!"
They hopped away after that, but not without pulling the largest lever attached to the machines they were working on earlier. Sylveon allowed them to, and relieved her shield when it was clear they were gone. For the first time since Lute started following her, she inspected the machines with curiosity on her face, though she didn't make any comments.
"Urgh, it's all over my mane and tail... Mum will never let me hear the end of it at this rate," Lute complained, getting Sylveon's attention. She gave him a snarky smile. "Hey it's not funny! I stink now, too."
"I didn't think that ordinary civilians were that afraid of Spirle," she commented.
"Wait, those two were from Spirle? Are we thinking of the same Spirle?" Lute gasped.
"They were only grunts. At the end of the day, they were no better at fighting than the average Pokémon," she said. A sudden rumbling set off another round of panicked squeals from Lute, making Sylveon roll her eyes. "For goodness sake."
A wave of water high enough to cover their feet brushed over them. Sylveon looked up at Lute with widened eyes for only a moment, and then a whole torrent of river water came right at them, forcing her to act fast. She only managed to form her magic shield again before they were both taken off their feet and deep into a powerful current.
For Lute, all he could do was brace himself for the worst. He kicked his feet to try to ascend, but the water forced him down. His efforts resulted in him gurgling, flipping, and spinning, crashing into walls every now and then. He had no idea what was going on or where he was being sent. His eyes were shut the whole time and his body was in a constant panic.
What felt like minutes later, things seemed to calm down. He was still deep in the freezing, dirty river water, but he had stopped flipping, left with his head upside-down. Struggling for breath, he made a desperate break for the surface. It didn't look like there was one, but he went there anyway.
A thin air pocket. A small space where the water didn't fill just big enough for him to fit his head into. With all the soiled plants hanging from the ceiling too, he could hold on and hang there, half submerged in water. He breathed frantically, claustrophobic from being forced to keep himself here. He knew he couldn't stay here, either. Not with the water still trying to pull him along.
"Sylveon! Raiju? Someone, please!" he screamed at the top of his voice. He gave in after a few more desperate twitches, and took the deepest breath he could muster.
Back underwater, the current had weakened but still felt difficult to swim against. He let it push him along while he scouted for the Sylveon, but all he could see were bubbles and dirt swirling around in the water. The actual riverbed was indented into the floor below, where rocks jutted out. He hugged one to stay in place and look around properly, finally spotting the mysterious fairy type. Her head was lodged right into the mud at the deepest level, where only her feet were showing.
He made a sound of shock and kicked off the rock to swim down to her. By the time he reached her, he felt his chest beginning to tighten, telling him to find his way back to that air pocket. He glanced up to check where it was, but he couldn't see it.
After I free her, he told himself, grabbing her hind legs. Her head wouldn't come free as easily as it looked, and he began to panic. Please, gods please!
He positioned himself on the slippery wall beside him and gripped her waist properly, pulling so hard it earnt a growl, and then a gasp as soon as she came free. Lute cringed with the hard swallow of water that came with that. He clenched his eyes shut, his feet scrambled, and his whole body began to ache like nothing he'd ever felt as large bubbles escaped from his gurgles.
Fortunately for him, the current had pulled them both along after he freed Sylveon, allowing him to latch onto her. She floated toward the surface as the current carried them both, so all he had to do was fight unconsciousness and resist all the ache that surged through him.
It seemed to last forever. His eyelids were forced themselves closed as his mouth refused to do the same, letting out gurgling coughs that sparked the aches in his muscles. His body just wanted to do everything it shouldn't do when he was trying to avoid drowning. He felt like he was breathing water until they finally floated up to a surface. The instant he felt his head come free, he let out a gasp and coughing fit that he wasn't sure was ever going to end.
The river still carried them, but it was slow enough to gain some control. It hurt to breathe, so Lute focused on reaching the nearest floor he could, and pulled the unconscious Sylveon with him. He couldn't regain his breath even though he leaned against the floor, so he brought up enough strength to throw Sylveon up onto the muddy floor. He joined her a moment later, and collapsed beside her as an aching heap. Here, he was happy to give in to his body's urges and pass out.