A New World, A New Mapby Northern Chaos33ChaptersChapter 2 - I got a bone to pick with you!Chapter 3 - Irresponsible Brawls!Chapter 1 - A Storm's a Brewin!Chapter 2 - I got a bone to pick with you!Lightning cracked and rain fell upon the ship, droning out the screams of terror that seemed to fill the narrow straits. A young man darted across the sleek wood and steel that was the deck of the ship as he stumbled past the soaking wet crewmembers. Avoiding the obstacles that those who had passed into another had given us, the boy made his way to the captain’s quarters. Reaching the cabin door, a wet ball of dark fur collided with his back, forcing the youth to stumble in shock. His head darted to see only his mischievous companion, while a shivering mess, seem unharmed. Her ears up and alert as another one of the many vessels in the unforgiving waters was brought down to the bottom by an unforeseen force. “Zor---rua,” the fox-like pokemon whined in both fear and surprise as both friends saw many of their comrades sink to the bottom of the sea. The man choose--no, he had to ignore the thoughts of sadness and terror that ran through his head. The captain needed to hear the new information that he had obtained if anyone else were to survive. Finally pushing past the men of the ship, his fist smashed the captain’s cabin door, waiting for someone to answer. A old and ragged looking man answered the door. The captain and others could be seen debating their next move. They had no idea what they faced, for no battle plan could save them. “Hadrain!?” The old buccaneer exclaimed, the firstmate being confused by young man’s arrival. “We thought Jorvak’s crew were gonners! How did you make it out!?” “Luck I assume,” Hadrain said through chattering teeth, the rain thoroughly soaking him to the bone. “I have vital information on the cause of our distress. Let me see Captain Xavier!” “Of course lad,” The older man said, quick to bring him inside. “We need all the help we need...never have I seen such a storm do this!” The Captain and his trusted mates looked up, slightly startled at Hadrain’s interruption. He let out an audible sigh that it was just one of his men and not the deathly waves that this storm brought. But he was curious on how one of Jorvak’s men had managed to survive the powerful waves that dragged the ship down to its end. “Captain,” Hadrain said, breaking the silence that had momentarily taken the room. “We have a problem--” “You don’t say!?” One of the captains most valued subordinates, Lucian, growled. Before the man could give Hadrain a piece of his mind, the captain stopped him. “We are aware that there is a problem,” Xavier said quickly, not in the mood for any squabbling. “But you didn’t come here to point out the obvious...so what are we really facing?” “Right now, I count three Pokemon that are causing us distress,” Hadrain answered, receiving the full attention of those in the room. “Pokemon!?” Xavier muttered, confused by this revelation. The pokemon of these waters were known to be friendly towards seafarers. So, what had changed their approach on humans? “Captain…” Hadrain said, snapping his leader back to reality. “The main issue is the--” Whatever he was about to say was silenced when the ship made a sickening crunch. The cabin exploded into splinters and those in the room flew in every direction, a giant tail lay where the midsection of the cabin existed. Hadrain scrambled to cling onto the slippery railing of the ship as he hung over the edge, his Zorua tucked under his arm. But as the ship slowly began to tilt over, Hadrain lost his grip. Darkness filled his vision as he plunged into the cold water… Intro: “Damit!” Hadrain screamed as he awoke from the nightmare, or at least he wished it was one. He frantically looked around his surroundings, seeing only trees, rock, dirt and grass instead of the cold bottom of the sea. Taking deep breaths and muttering words of comfort to himself, he slowly calmed down. “Where--where am I?” He said to no one in particular, getting a good view of the site he was it. He could feel a cool breeze hit his back and smelled the familiar salty waters that accompanied his life. His memory went back to the events that had transpired with the tourist and those Tyrantrum pokemon, his chest tightened in fear on what might have happened to his crew. Shooting up, he somewhat stumbled as if he was unfamiliar with his legs, “Probably because of me being out for so long…” The pirate thought. Looking around at the breathtaking scenery around him, he realized that this wasn’t the same island as before. “These trees are completely different than anything I have ever seen...which begs the question on where I am?” While Hadrain came to multiple conclusions, he chose to forget about that problem for now. He need to find his crew and shelter. Stretching his arms and hearing an audible pop from his back. He looked down to see his trusty hat, something he treasured greatly. “Well, it’s good to see you’re still here!” The captain laughed to himself, reaching down to pick his hat, he was caught off guard when seeing his fingers. Or in his case, claws. Three green claws gripped his hat. Hadrain looked around the source before realizing they were his. He gave a small chuckle at the sight, coming to the realization on why he was somewhere different. “Alright guys,” The pirate called out to his crew. “This is a very funny prank, but I think that we should get back to the ship, eh?” He waited for his friends to come out of the trees or bushes, ready to point out the ‘hilarious’ look on his face when he realized he had be turned into a Pokemon. He looked over to see his bushy (Literally bushy) tail swaying in the wind. He slightly frowned when his team had chosen to not appear, which meant that this was most likely not their doing… He gave a good slap to his face, a loud clap filled the jungle. “Ah!” Hadrain yelped in surprise, not use to his new strength. “That hurt...which means this isn’t a dream.” The swashbuckler started to lose his cool, his breathing quickening. He grabbed his hat and frantically ran over to what seemed to be a pond, looking down to get a good look at himself. He saw a green reptilian bipedal with a somewhat long neck and two crest on its--his head. Hadrain’s tail was like a palm trees, and two leaf like blades protruded from his arms. Two semi circled yellow eyes glowed at the reflection. “I---I’m a Sceptile!?” Hadrain screamed, shocked by this sudden transformation. He got up and shook his head, walking over and slumping next to a tree. “Where am I? Where are the rest of the crew!?” The captain cried in frustration. He was ready to rant some more, but realized this would get him nowhere. He may be in a strange body on a new island, but he knew the rest of the Volatile Hydreigon were here! It was his duty in life to secure their safety, to provided them with comfort. And dammit, he would do just that! Getting up, the new pokemon took up his fedora and placed it on his head. He entered deeper into the jungle, marking trees along the way with his claws so that he could retrace his steps. While he was somewhat clumsy with his steps, slowly he became more balanced. He also managed to operate his leaf blade, cutting through any branches that were in his way. What he saw next reminded him that there was so much more to be surprised about on this island. “Sweet Arceus…” He muttered at the sight. Before him lay two or three ships in a natural harbor, the wreckage was strew across the land and filled most of the area. What confused him even more was the style of one of the ships, it seemed to be designed more for air travel then taking to the waters. Walking over, he entered one of the ships. The inside of the boat remained somewhat intact. “This could be a great base of operations...it would need some work done to spruce it up of course.” As he continued his travel inside these ruined seacrafts, his eyes lay upon the remains of some of the crew who operated it. What seemed to be the remains of Ponytas lay all over the captain’s quarters. There were also items laying about, and while Hadrain felt bad that he was taking some of these objects, mainly canteens and musical instruments, he knew they were no longer any use to their owners. “Sorry mates,” The Sceptile sighed, taking one of the canteens from a Ponyta. Well, at least that is what he originally thought. He could tell by their skeletal structure, and the fact that they were in a wooden ship with no burn marks to be seen, that these were not the flaming equines he was familiar with. His eyes drifted over to the skeleton of what seemed to be a pony ship captain with a horn coming from his skull, a golden scabbard laying on his desk. He was well dressed, with a blue overcoat and fancy red hat. Behind him was a portrait of another one of his kind. Her coat was white as snow and a horn protruded from her head. She had a long flowing mane that contained many colors and wings slightly raised. Her regal expression also contained a warm smile and light filled eyes. Hadrain walked over and looked at the portrait. He blew on the painting, sending the dust into the air. He looked upon the equine’s head to see a golden crown with a purple gem in the middle. Reading one of the plates, he was able to read the title or the name of the piece: "Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria and admiral of her navy," The Sceptile said, managing to read out what he could. He never heard of someone of royalty named Princess Celestia, or a pony princess for that matter. Turning around, Hadrain walked back over towards the desk to see a some dusty books. Buzzap "What the heck!" The pokemon shouted, jumping up when some purple electricity went off near that sword and zapped him. Shaking his head in annoyance, the Sceptile grabbed the book and walked back over the portrait. The journal consisted of some entries about the voyage, precious cargo for her majesty, yada yada yada. “So...I’m basically robbing royalty by taking these things?” The pirate pondered, remembering the liberating of items he had just performed, things might get complicated a some point. “Hehe, I’ve been on this island for less than a minute,” The Sceptile chuckled, tilting his head in amusement when looking at the painting. “And I’ve found the remains of some strange and advanced equines. That and I managed to steal something from what seems to be a royal ship.” At this point, the pokemon pirate clutched his sides as he burst into laughter. After what seem to be a couple of minutes, Hadrain wiped the tears out of his eyes and straightened up. “Yazer is gonna kill me,” He giggled at the thought of the angry Charizard. She was always worrying for him since they first met during one of his less...promising situations. “Heh, maybe she’ll cut me some slack when--” Whatever he said was interrupted by the sound of creaking. Shingggggggggggggg Hadrain spun around and intercepted a golden blade as it made its way for his back. When he heard the sound of the sword being drawn, he expected it to be a grave robber hoping to off the pirate. What he didn’t assume was that it would be the very crew of the ship. His attacker was none other than the deceased captain. The skeleton trembled and quickly withdrew the blade from Hadrain’s arms, the blade itself floating in some strange aura. While the bewildered pokemon was still in shock by the sudden attack, other skeletal guardians rushed to the aid of their former captain, each one sporting their own horns or bony wings. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me!?” Hadrain yelled as he parried another sword, his foot shooting forward and kicking one of the skeletal attackers into a pile of bones. While the Sceptile managed to hold his own, he couldn’t last long under the constant attacks. Even in his original body he had never been skilled in hand to hand combat, let alone sword combat. And with the pirate distracted with the skeletal crew, he didn’t notice the boney captain drawing the golden blade that would impale the pokemon. Crash! The struggle had been interrupted when the ceiling was blown away and a black creature came smashing down upon the undead captain. Fire spewed from its mouth, turning the remaining undead sailors into ashes. Hadrain watched in awe as the draconic creature dispatch the skeletons with ease. However, the Sceptile went into a mad dash towards his saviour when a flash of light appeared above the dragon. The skeletal captain that was seemingly crushed had somehow managed to teleport above the creature, sword posed to decapitate the confused dragon. “Not so fast you useless pile of bones!” A colorful bird cried, its beak ripping through the undead being. The undead guardians now dealt with, the three pokemon got a good look at each other. “Singsong? Yazer?” Hadrain asked at the gaping Pokemon before him. “I’m telling you Yazer,” Singsong groaned as he and the impatient Charizard flew above what seemed to be the remains of a ship or two. “We have no idea what’s down there! Robbers, traps, other Pirates--” “Or the rest of our crew,” The shiny Charizard growled, getting ready to dive down into the unknown area. “They could be hurt down there!” The Chatot let out a sigh of annoyance. The dragoness had been known for her...lack of tactical planning, but going head first into Arceus knows what was not the best plan of approach. “I know I know,” Singsong said calmly, trying to cool the Charizard’s nerves. “But if we get hurt, then we won’t be much use in helping Hadrain--” Their conversation was interrupted when the sound of metal clashing and the yells of distress that came from one of the wrecked ships. Yazer looked ready to fly straight towards the obvious danger, but Singsong quickly chose to gain her attention. “Yazer, we need to think of a--” Singsong tried to finish his sentence, but a large gust of wind exploded next to him where Yazer use to be. When the Chatot finished tumbling, he shook his head and realized what had happened. “--plan…” Looking up at the sky, the bird gave a quick prayer to any divine being that was listening. He then flew after his companion, swallowing nervously as he saw the large hole the dragon had made. Just as he saw his companion with a strange Sceptile, one wearing his captain’s hat no less, rushing towards his friend in distress, he saw the subject of worry. It seemed that the temperamental Charizard had ignored one of the foes they were fighting, one standing over her with an overpriced sword. “Not so fast you useless pile of bones!” Singsong snarled, smashing through the skeletal figure. After the surprisingly powerful attack the small bird managed to pull, Yazer looked over towards the Sceptile. Both of them were understandably confused by the pokemon wearing their captains hat, but soon came to the suspicion that he had looted it off their friend. “Singsong? Yazer?” The Sceptile said in a familiar voice, causing the two pokemon to be even more confused. Singsong and Yazer waited awhile, trying to comprehend the fact that their captain was a pokemon. “Had--Hadrain!?” Singsong stuttered, still not sure whether to believe what was happening. “In the flesh,” The Sceptile responded cheekily, giving the two a smirk. Looking up towards the hole in the ship, he saw that night was soon approaching. “Why don’t we get a fire going before it gets dark, then we can figure this whole mess out.” “Why am I not surprised,” Yazer deadpanned, giving the reptilian pirate a frustrated look. “We gotta save your green ass not ten minutes into both of us--” she waved her arm to Singsong and then back to herself, “coming to, you sure know how to get yourself into the worst of situations.” “Oh come on!” Hadrain said, kicking the broken bits of the skeletal equine and taking his golden weapon. “I was minding my own business---” “Bullshit!” The Charizard interrupted, leaning towards her friend with fire spewing out of her mouth. “I was,” The Sceptile whined, holding his hand to his heart. “I swear it!” Before the dragon could give the reckless man a piece of her mind, Singsong let out a loud cough. The two somewhat embarrassed pokemon turned to the Chatot. “While I can hardly believe that Captain Hadrain didn’t go about touching everything in sight--” The bird sighed, slightly annoyed by their captain’s...enthusiastic idea of carefully investigating an area. “Hey!” The Sceptile said, clearly unhappy at the scolding that his subordinates were giving him. “I’ll have you know--” “But he’s right,” Singsong stated, causing Yazer to almost choke in surprise. “We need to get a fire going before dark.” “The dead seem to rise if some kind of trap is set off,” Hadrain said, his tone taking a more serious tone. “Who knows what else this island holds...we need shelter.” Yazer was quick to interject, clearly seeing one flaw in the captain’s plan. “While I completely agree that we need to find shelter and get a fire going,” Yazer said, causing a small smile of triumph to appear on the Sceptile’s face. “We need to find the others. Who knows what horrible thing they’re going through!?” However, Hadrain shook his head in disagreement. While he too was worried for the remaining crew, he knew that frantically searching for them in the dark would not only put them in danger, but their friends who could be hiding. “We risk putting ourselves and them in danger with whatever is crawling around on this island,” Hadrain interjected, getting a nod of agreement from Singsong. Yazer seemed somewhat nervous, but knew that they were probably right. “Alright,” She sighed, thinking back to what they had seen when flying over the island. “Get on my back, Hadrain, and I’ll take us to something the seemed to be a cave.” With that said, the captain and the Chatot mounted the Charizard and were lifted off towards the sky. By the time the three pirates had found a suitable cave to rest in, it had become dark and cold. Both Hadrain and Singsong shivered when their fiery companion momentarily left the cave, her being the only source of warmth the two had in the cave. But Yazer returned quickly with a happy smile on her face, carrying a couple of nicely cut logs. She soon light them with her flames and the three crewmembers silently stared into their fire, contemplating what had transpired. Finally, the captain chose to speak up. “I won’t lie,” the Sceptile sighed, shooting a sad look towards his friends. “While I had at first assumed we were just stranded on an island, I’ve come to the conclusion that we are far from that.” “What do you mean, Captain sir?” The Chatot questioned, somewhat confused by his words. Yes, their leader had become a Sceptile, a pokemon, and they seem to be on a completely other island than where they were originally. But how could this be more than what it already seems? “Different species for one,” Yazer said, reminding her friend of the strange undead beings they ran into. “They weren’t the remains of any pokemon I’ve seen, and they used swords to fight.” “And the stars,” Hadrain added, gaining a look of concern from the Charizard. “Different patterns...they aren’t our world’s constellations.” “Wait...are you saying that what I think you saying!?” Singsong exclaimed, the mere thought of what his friend was suggesting seemed crazy. But he had been turned into a pokemon… “Mates, we’re not on Earth anymore…” The Captain of the Hydreigon Pirates said, his tail swaying from side to side in excitement. They were on a new world. A new world with mystical feats, such as raising the dead, and new species. A world of new treasure and mysteries. “Not that it matters,” Yazer said with the same enthusiasm as Hadrain, the Chatot raising an eyebrow at their take on the situation. “After all…” She said, a grin plastered on her face. Both of her crewmates knew what she was implying. The three thook in a deep breath, ready to perform the crew’s motivational tactic. It usually cheered them up. ????“The map is never wrong Now matter where we’ve gone Our time is now Is now and there’s no way anything can keep us down! Our hearrrrrrts soar because a pirate’s life is never a bore They’ve tried to gain ground But those hopes will be shot down Shot down Because a pirate’s life a pirate’s life Is more than just the sword More than just a sword It’s to explorrrrrrrrrer!!!!!”???? The three crewmembers laughed warmly at the awful performance they just gave. The song probably caused the greatest musicians of the past to turn in their graves, but it was the crew’s song. “We--” Hadrain gasped in between his laughter, clutching his sides in pain. “We need to work on that song!” “Ne--ver!” Yazer bellowed, collapsing to the ground. They really were awful. “Are you suggesting that we rebrand the amazing image you created for this crew?” Singsong chuckled, his mind drifting to the moment that they came up with the dreadful piece. It had involved many drinks and an inspired tavern. “Of course not,” Hadrain snickered. He seemed to be taking the whole situation better than one would expect, being turned into a pokemon and all. “But...we do need to come up with a plan for when we reunite with the rest of the crew.” “Okay,” Yazer smiled, taking her claw and drawing in the dirt in front of her. The other two members of Hydreigon scooted next to the fire pokemon, looking down at the layout of what they’ve seen of the island so far. “Let’s brainstorm boys, because we’ve got one long day tomorrow!” “Well, this might be a problem...” One of the equines said to his partner. His fur was navy blue and his mane was brown with black stripes, two bird-like wings rested along his sides. The four legged creatures had been tracking some strange creatures all day, trying to put together what they could learn about them. “Really, Card Swap?” A mare asked sarcastically, her bat-like wings fluttered in agitation at their predicament. “These strange creatures, one looking like a dragon of some kind, pop out of nowhere and it ‘might be a problem’? For all we know they’re with that crazy pigeon!” Card Swap raised an eyebrow at the annoyed thestral. Her midnight blue mane limped to one side of her furry marooned face, her two ears up and alert. “I wouldn’t go as far as to say that they’re in league with Alexander,” The stallion huffed, still keeping his eye on the three strange creatures by the fire that they made. “I mean, they can’t even speak any native language I’ve heard of.” The thestral got up and dramatically pointed her hoof towards the path that those under their surveillance took. “They came from that graveyard,” She hissed, giving a look of anger towards one of them in particular. A green bipedal lizard of some kind, with a familiar scabbard strapped to its back. “They even have that damn sword--” Her voice almost turned into a shout, but her friend managed to stop her from alerting the creatures. “--Which is why we’ll follow them and see where they go,” Card Swap reassured, his hoof in the bat pony’s muzzle to stop her talking. She glared at him and smacked his hoof away. The frustrated pony turned and stormed off, the pegasus went after the discontent mare. “Crimson Star, don’t do anything stupid!” The winged pony hissed as quietly as he could, while also trying to keep up with Crimson Star. "We need to get our gear,” She replied, quickening her pace as they left the creatures’ campsite. “Why?” He questioned, looking over his shoulder to see if the strange creatures had followed them. To his relief, it seemed that they managed to sneak away without being caught. “Because,” Crimson Star huffed, suddenly stopping and brushing away leaves a sticks to uncover a dark brown bag. “If what you assume I'd true, than these new guys have no idea what to expect on this island.” Card Swap paled at the notion, the idea of those three stumbling around stirring who knows what could cause problems back at base. “So, do we confront them?” The Pegasus asked hesitantly, unsure on his partners exact moments. Fortunately, it seem she had managed to cool down and keep a level head. “No,” The bat pony answered, shaking her head to the idea of confronting the strangers. “We follow them, see what loyalties they may or may not have, and keep them from waking every single monster that lives here!” With that said, she pulled on her gear from the bag. She donned a dark steel helmet, covering her entire head to the bottom of her neck. It's visor concealed her face and its long pointed nose allowed space for a pony’s muzzle. She also pulled out a chainmail saddle, its steel links gleamed in the dark. With her also lay a dagger, a crossbow, and a giant warhammer. “You look like for going to Tartarus to kill some kind of hellbeast,” Card Swap commented, digging up his own supplies. “Let’s just hope they’re not a bunch of idiots.” The thestral snorted at that comment, cocking the crossbow. “Yeah.” She sighed, getting up and flapping her leathery wings. Taking off up into the trees, her partner taking off after her. Things may have just gotten more complicated for those who managed to get by on this cursed island. And the chances of disaster taking place with these newcomers was probably likely. All it took was one shot to start a war...a war would lead to the end of whatever peace remained on this island. Author's Note Hello Everyone! I want to real quickly explain why I chose Hadrain to be a Sceptile. I wanted to make a character that would be able to work around traps and puzzles, but also be able to defend himself. That being said, I plan on laying out the island, so next chapter will focus on the other members of the crew and those tourist from the first chapter! I also did a quick mention of Celestia, since one of the ships belonged to her navy. I'll go more in depth with this later, so stay tuned! Again, criticism is appreciated. Feel free to let me know what you think and what I can improve on! North Out! Chapter 3 - Irresponsible Brawls! Clammer and Cy's theme “But---what if we, like, run into more of those Tyrantrums!?” A distressed Sylveon cried, his big blue eyes frantically darting from side to side. His cream color fur stood up, the smell of fear emanating from his entire expression. His companion gave him a deadpanned expression, his mouth pursed and his eyes giving him an unimpressed look. When the two had awoken, they found themselves alone on unfamiliar shores. Unsure on exactly they made it from one place to another, for they could not neither see their ship nor any signs of a battle that they were in store for, they immediately assumed that they had gotten...tipsy and imagined the entire event. But after a couple of minutes looking around, they soon came to realized that their experiences before the blackout were very real. Confused and somewhat worried about the situation, the otter-like pokemon decided it would be best to explore their surroundings and try to find their ship and crew, or anyone else for that matter. But the vast ‘cons’ of doing anything that could be unfamiliar with the Sylveon started in full tide. Anymon would have faltered under such doom saying, but this Dewott seemed to have the will to ignore this negativity. “Then we run…” the blue otter-like pokemon responded dryly. While his love went out to the nervous cat, this was the 54th ‘bad’ thing that could possibly happen. First, it was starvation, but the list started to climb around the time he suggested they enter the island’s jungle. “Anyone,” the Dewott mentally groaned, his moral trying to survive the Sylveon’s onslaught of the many cons of finding shelter. “Anyone could have been paired with him--” The otter looked down at the big blue eyes and nervous face of his companion, “--but it had to be me…” “Gurk,” The Dewott gasped, his friends ribbons wrapping around him, pulling him into a hug of fear. “Cy,” he said, attempting to speak coherently as Cy’s ribbons crushed the life out of him. “Y--ou’-re cr--ushing--me!” He groaned, the Sylveon dropping him in worry. “Oh, oh man,” Cy sniffed, giving look of both concern and apology. “I’m so sorry, Clammer...I have no idea what’s up with me dude!” Clammer rolled his eyes at the question, restraining himself from pointing out what’s ‘up’ with him. “Let’s just take a deep breath,” Clammer said, attempting to mellow down the excited pokemon. “Besides--” He said, giving the cream colored cat a pat on the head before continuing his path, “--our friends are probably out there as we speak, searching for us...you wouldn’t want to cause them to much of a hassle with finding us, would you?” The other dynamic personality that the cat of glamor had besides pessimism was the need to decrease the trouble anyone would have to put up with for him. “Of--of course not!” Cy gasped, his pace quickening to stay close to his comrade. “But let’s face it dude, we’re on a seemingly deserted island with no sign of life--” The rambling cat stopped as the Dewott held out his paw to halt their walking. “What’s up?” The Sylveon questioned, as he went to look at whatever had Clammer stop. What he was met with was ten or so equines, each one as colorful as the other. While their appearance did not strike off as terrifying for Cy, he being one who usually feared Wurmples, he became unsure of how to proceed with a variety of weapons aimed at the two Pokémon. “Clammer…” Cy said in a hushed tone, looking from the armed ponies to the Dewott. “I take it all back, there is something worse than quicksand...being captured by colorful weirdos is extremely terrifying.” “No one is going to capture anyone,” Clammer said reassuringly, his voice projecting towards the hostile equines. While neither of them had seen such creatures before, it seemed like they too had never encountered pokemon. “Um, boss?” one of the horses said, turning to look at the one equine in the middle of the group. The pony that seemed to be the leader had a turquoise coat with a long blond, and messy, mane. “They don’t really seem dangerous or hostile. What are your orders?” The leader of the group tilted his head as he looked at the two Pokémon. “While we’ve run into some...less than favorable creatures,” the boss said, slightly lowering his weapon. “These two seem more stable than what other strange things dwell on this island...I’d even say they’re lost.” Some of the ponies relaxed, taking into consideration the newness of these awkward animals. “I don’t think they can understand us...just like humans,” the Dewott gathered, it being cleared that the laxness was not from his words, but through the assessment of the leader of the party. Which proved good, since it meant that these were infact a reasonable species. “I don’t think they know what we’re saying, Cy, but they seem friendly enough.” Clammer said, approaching the still ponies, much to the Sylveon’s chagrin. “But what if it’s, like, a trap!?” Cy panicked, not wanting his friend to take such a risk. Clammer waved him off and shot him a small smile of reassurance. While not putting the Pokémon at ease, Cy felt the need to trust his teammate and back him up if needed. As Clammer approached the group, the tensed up a little, unsure of what the pokemon was going to do. Taking a Scalchop from his hip, he activated one of his abilities. “Razor Shell,” He said calmly, a watery blade springing from the scalchop. The ponies took a step back due to the surprise of an unknown weapon. Ready for a fight, the ponies got ready for the strange creature to make its move. Instead of doing what they expected, the Dewott instead took the blade and stabbed the ground in front of him. Taking a knee, he looked up at the confused group and gave them a friendly smile. “Autumn Breeze,” The lead pony said to an orange pegasus mare with a braided red mane. “Let the camp know we’re coming back with company.” She gave a quick nod and took off, leaving the rest of the group pondering their boss’s decision. Looking at the confused ponies next to him, he raised an eyebrow. “What’s with your gawking? Can’t you see these fellas have only one intention on their minds?” he asked, hearing the shaking of heads from the group. “Um, what’s that boss?” a lime green unicorn asked in a Manehattan accent. Giving a small chuckled, the turquoise earth pony put his sword back into his scabbard. “Not getting impaled by a dozen or so scared ponies, of course,” he said humorously. Getting a small laugh from a relieved Sylveon and Dewott. “We’re going in circles,” Singsong deadpanned as the lost Charizard continued to lead the group in whatever direction she hoped they would be on. Yazer was suppose to keep a close eye on the ground below them as they traversed the skies, looking for their fellow crewmates. It seemed that she had either chosen to not take into account where they had been flying or simply forgot. “We. Are. Not. Lost!” She growled, angered by the predicament they had managed to find themselves in. Hadrain was unable to provided much info on their surroundings either, since his sense of direction was somewhat hampered by his new body. “In Yazer’s defense, this place is pretty easy to get lost in,” the Sceptile said, earning a glare from the Chatot. “But that doesn’t mean all is lost! We just need to make our way to the shore and see if anyone else remembered the rondevu plan.” In situations such as these, Hadrain and his Drifloom, Windbag, came up with a simple meet up plan. If lost on an island, he/she who was lost would make their way to the shore. “We may need to hold off on that, Boss…” Singsong choked and stopped ahead of the company, raising question to both Yazer and Hadrain why the colorful bird had ceased moving forward. Now stopped as well, the two fellow crewmates walked next to the frozen Chatot to see what had halted his approach. What they were met with was three colossal worm-like creatures with long purple scaled bodies, red mane-like hair and pink heads with black beady eyes and strange mouths. “What in the world is that!” Hadrain asked, jumping back as though the gargantuan worms were about to strike him. “They’re blocking the path…” Yazer groaned in frustration, for now she had finally gotten them back on their desired path and these large creatures were barring their journey. “And with the rate we got lost in these woods, this is probably the best road to take to the shoreline.” “But with these creatures blocking the path...we may need to traverse around them!” Singsong squaked in sorrow, not wanting to enter the deep forest growth that they had just left behind them. “Oh, but that’s where you are wrong my dear friend,” the Sceptile chuckled somewhat manically, causing his two crewmates to decided to move a few feet away from the captain. “The answer to our problem lies right behind us, actually!” The two turned around and were faced with a hill, or at least a somewhat steep drop that take a small portion of the path. Next to the drop was an even larger hill to the side with rubble and some conveniently round boulders. “All I see are some big rocks…” Yazer stated, giving her captain a skeptical look as he giggled gleefully and made his way over to the hill. “What could we possible do with them--” the purpose of Hadrain’s joy sudden came to realization and the Charizard made a mad dash to stop her captain. “--No, Hadrain no!” “Yes!!!” he shouted in response and made a run towards the boulders. “I can finally use the damn plan, hahahahahaha!” Singsong watched in confusion as the distressed Charizard chased after the crazed captain, who was going to work on setting up some kind of ramp out of branches and vines. “What is he doing?” The Chatot asked himself, as started to flap over to the two crewmates. It was then that he heard a cracking noise from the trees and quickly turned around to examine the treetops, only to find nothing was there. “I really need to get more sleep next time…” “What are those lunatics doing?” the blue pegasus asked no one in particular, looking to see that their latest guests had been setting up some sort of ramp aimed at the Tatzlwurms that were napping at their posts. “Starting trouble,” Crimson Star huffed, cocking her crossbow. “If they manage to really hurt those Tazlwurms, their chief will be furious and either blame us or those crazy pigeons.” Upon further examination, Card Swap soon realized that these strange creatures intended to direct the large boulders towards the monstrous wurms. The green reptilian one seemed to be in charge, giving orders for the dragon and colorful bird as they unhappily built the ramp. “They’re insane…” the stallion concluded, pulling out his large hammer and looked at the bat pony. “We’re going to stop them, right?” “We’ve got to ways at doing this,” she replied, equipping her helmet and tightening the straps on her armor. “One is us rushing headfirst and possible waking those sentries--” she motioned a steel hoof towards the sleeping wurms, “--or wait until these guys go night night for a decent time, and grab the perpetrators.” “And turn them into Tempest, handing him the attackers of his guards…” Card Swap added, earning a sharp nod from the mare. “Which could lead to us gaining his favor,” she finished, shifting in her armor and adjusting it to make it comfortable, “which could finally give us the edge we need to topple our unwanted neighbors…” “Alright then,” the pegasus said to his friend, lifting the extremely heavy warhammer and lieing it across his shoulder. “Let’s properly welcome our guests...and try not to hurt them too badly. We may need them later.” “I can’t make any promises,” Crimson Star sang, loading her crossbow and taking off towards the treetops in order to have a better position, leaving her comrade to give a tired sigh and take off after her. “This is an awful idea!” Yazer groaned, pushing a tremendously heavy boulder onto a ramp while Singsong secured the rock with vines from the surrounding trees. “Not only are we sure this will hit them, but even if it does, it may not have any effect on these guys! The could have scales of steel! They could feel vibrations in the ground as these rocks hurtled towards them!” “Not to mention the ethical issues that are brought up with this plan,” Singsong deadpanned, somewhat worried on the damage they might cause. “They could be endangered species or even the natives of this island...is it really right for us to be doing this?” “Oh come on,” Hadrain huffed, rolling his eyes at his team’s lack of enthusiasm before leaping onto one of the boulders. “This attack is completely ethical and safe! I guarantee it!” “Explain to me how this is in any way--” Yazer attempted to further challenge the Sceptile’s logic, but was rudely interrupted by his sudden shushing. “It’s just like bowling, my dear friends,” He said cheerfully, pulling out his telescope as he looked to see if the boulder was lined up with the target. “It takes patience...silence...and skill!” with his last words, Hadrain pulled out the golden blade he looted from the ship graveyard and cut the vines holding the boulder in place. He looked over to see both awe and horror as he released the giant rock, unsure on why his fellow crewmates suddenly went from expressions of annoyance to sheer worry. Looking around, he attempted to pinpoint what had distressed them. Then his body started to shift downwards, along with the coarse rock beneath his feet. His lurched forward and ran in an attempt to not be thrown of the moving rock as he and the stone were hurtled down towards the target. “Crap crap crap crap!” The pirate captain yelled as he helplessly ran to stay on top of the rapidly moving rock, all while Singsong and Yazer watching in states of confusion on why their leader couldn’t just leap off the boulder with his increased agility. By the time one of them had decided that maybe it was best that he didn’t become unconscious, it was too late for the poor fellow. Crashing into one of the stone pillars that held the crumbling stone arch that the worm-like creatures were lying under. Yells from both the taken-aback creatures and their own captain’s cry of terror filled the quiet jungle. “It actually worked…” The Charizard mused, flying over with Singsong behind her as she went to congratulate her downed leader. “An unorthodox method, sure, but effective in the end. Let’s try to see if we can get him--” Before the Pokémon could complete her last word, a large crack followed with two shadowy figures darting from the trees broke her train of thought. One of the figures, larger and more muscular than his armored compatriot, swung a huge hammer into the side of the fire-type and sent her flying into Singsong who had been by her side. Both crashed into a nearby tree with a sickening thunk. “Huh...rushing out actually worked,” The more masculine equine stated, his wings fidgeting after the sudden rush to battle. “I’ll give you points for that, Crimson.” Yazer attempted to lift herself up in order to face their attackers, but the wind was completely knocked out of her. She could feel the limp body of her Chatot ally lying on one of her outstretched wings, thankfully still breathing. “We’ll take these two back, then come back for the third one if he’s still amongst the land of the living,” The armored figure said to her comrade, looking over towards the now-ruined outpost the Tazlwurms had created. “But the dragon’s still conscious, could you please knock it out?” All she earned in response was a low growl. Giving a shrug, the winged pony walked of to the downed Charizard and lifted up his heavy hammer, having to rely on gravity to do most of the work. “No hard feelings, but you did just knock out some of the tribal guard,” Card Swap said apologetically, getting ready to literally bring the hammer down on the pokemon. “Night…” But to the surprise of both the two equines and Yazer, and gleaming light launched itself towards the wooden shaft of the long hammer and cut right through it. As the sunlight left the projectile, a familiar golden blade found itself lodged into a nearby tree. “Scep sceptile! (Greetings unwanted foes!)” A powerful voice cried out, all head snapping towards the source of the speaker. The two equines immediately recognized the reptilian creature who had mere moments ago crashed along with the large boulder. Unsure on exactly he was still standing, let a long perched upon one of the branches above them and lobbing swords, Crimson Star raised her loaded crossbow towards the creature. Yazer quickly shot her leader a worried glance, unsure of how well he could dodge the bolt at such a short range and after getting up from crashing into a wall. Hadrain in return gave her a small wink and mouthing, ‘I got this’, before turning back to address their armed acquaintances. “Scep scep, scep sceptile (While you probably already understand that smashing others with hammers is completely rude.),” The sceptile lectured, giving the two equines a scowl as he mentioned their attack. “Scep scep (But I think that we can--)--” “Yeah, I’m not going to even attempt to pretend to understand this gecko,” Crimson Star huffed, pulling the trigger of the crossbow and firing upon the talking Pokémon. Unfortunately for the armored equine, Hadrain was only attempting to buy time for Yazer to get back onto her feet. But upon seeing this rushed attack, his body glowing with a sudden light, the Sceptile used Hidden Power to launch multiple glowing orbs towards the bolt and it’s owners. This sudden and powerful attack destroyed the steel projectile and sending the two ponies reeling backwards. The explosion from the Sceptile’s attack sent a wave of dust from the destroyed area, blinding Card Swap and Crimson Star as they attempted to see where the green menace had gone off to. Before Crimson Star had any real time to react, a loud snap followed a tightness around her hind leg lead to her being ragged off and into a dark area surrounded by thick bushes. However, Card Swap probably got it rougher, as he was soon sent sprawling to the ground due to a sickening punch delivered by an angry Charizard. Getting up from the grassy ground, the dented helmet of the bat pony shifted around as it sought to find her opponent. All she got in response was an excited chuckle before glowing green blade-like objects lit up the darkened area. Her crossbow aimed at the light source, she once again squeezed the trigger...hoping that this time she would hit her mark. Author's Note My God...I really need to work on updating my stories XD Anyways, third chapter for everyone's favorite swashbucklers! And boy has the plot thickened. I won't lie, I have a blast writing this story, it really lets me break out of my comfort zone. Thanks to the ever fabulous Glitchhunter5000 for this story being presented in a very clean and well put manner, because I certainly have grammar and spelling issues sometimes. Glitchhunter is just a fantastic editor/proof reader who really understands what I'm trying to do with my stories! Anyways, see all of you in the next update and comment below on what you liked and what I can improve on! Chapter 1 - A Storm's a Brewin!Intro: Dark clouds slowly extend across the sky, promising difficult weather for those who remained outside. Below this incoming storm lay a vast ocean, land being a rare sight in this corner of the sea. And yet, it was this part of the endless blue that attracted many visitors due to the secluded islands that did exist. Humanities hand has touched much of the world, but it was here that one could see the true beauty of nature. This is what a certain tourist ferry would experience in the Sinnoh region, but they had more...pressing matters at hand. While the cruise had been fine and the people onboard had managed to avoid the oncoming storm, there were more dangerous circumstances that roamed these waters. Some involved the rampaging creatures that dwelled in the sea, Pokemon. Others however...they were more nefarious. While many humans work with Pokemon for many reasons; as friends, as allies, as co workers (trainers had perfect these companionships)some people sought to work with their Pokemon in different ways. While these humans were no less kind or caring to their Pokemon friends, they were on the far side of the law. Thieves, vigilantes, extremists...pirates. Two ships were docked on the shores of one of the few islands that existed in this part of Sinnoh. One was a normal transport ship, designed to carry many people and Pokemon on many tour groups. The other was leaner, its sides reinforced to the nail. And a single black flag ferociously flapped with the violent winds emanating from the storm. This flag carried the symbol that many seafarers feared. The symbol of a pirate. No ordinary pirates, mind you, but one of the up and coming crews that seemed to control the peaceful world’s vast sea. The Volatile Hydreigon The flag was a light black, with three snarling dark black Hydreigon head staring directly towards those who beheld the sight. While many speculate the name is based off the owner’s own Hydreigon, one renowned for its loyalty, other believe it goes deeper. The three heads representing the unison that one needs to be part of a ship’s crew, let alone a pirate crew. So, the main issue that these tourist face, besides the fact that they were taken by pirates and a storm fast approaching, was the problem of their destroyed ship. That was something they would have trouble overcoming since this was such a remote part of the ocean. But they were far too terrified by the pirates demanding their material possessions to consider this. “Alright,” The captain of these scallywags sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. It had been one issue after another for the pirate, these people making every single command difficult. If he had not been through these raids where stuffy rich people made this threat or this deal, he would have resorted to force. “I will make it clear one more time,” He said as smoothly as possible, trying to contain his frustration. These people really thought that he would just go away if they whined enough. “You do everything we say, and we let you go--” A snort of agreement came from the Charizard next to the man. While one would question bringing a fire type such as Charizard aboard a ship due to that precious flame on their tail, this one had a steel cage that protected its iconic fire. Contraption seemed to be slided over the end of the Charizard’s tail where it would be then strapped down. On the end was a metallic spike with plates that were bolted together to form a cone, thus making it airtight so that if the pokemon were to fall into the water, its flame would not die. “Why can’t you people leave us in peace!?” Captain Dokey, the one who sailed the now wrecked tourist vessel, growled. He had lost too much to these wannabe sailors, this being his most recent of losses. “I know, I know,” The pirate said, putting his hands up defensively at the sailor’s less than kind tone. “But we all have a living to make, am I really in such a wrong to want to make one as well?” While many of those that sailed with the old captain did not rise up to challenge the dangerous man, two trainers were carefully making their way to their pokeballs. They knew little of the man, only his name. Captain Hadrain. Hadrain was young for someone in his profession, being in his late twenties. While he had gained an infamous reputation, he was also known by many as a hero. His homeland is unknown, but he has sailed around the known world searching for mysterious treasures and exciting adventures. Some even say that he had fought with Team Aqua at one point or another. He wore a simple gray coat, with a clean black fedora with a long floppy brim and his crews symbol emblazed upon it. He was somewhat clean shaven, but one had performed better when it came to smooth faces. What made him different from all of the other pirate stereotypes was his never-dying grin. Neither happy, nor sad. “Alex,” The male trainer whispered to his friend. He looked over to see the crew of the Volatile Hydreigon. He counted four Pokemon and their human. A Drifblim holding a bag while a Garchomp urged the unfortunate tourist to place their possessions in. A Chatot was on Hadrain’s shoulder while the Charizard from earlier was watching over the group of tourist, looking for any signs of aggression or thoughts of harm towards his captain and friend. This was strange...he saw seven Pokemon total when the pirate had intercepted their ship. So where was--- “Well crap,” Alex huffed as she stopped her sneaking. The boy stopped as he looked back to see what had halted his friend’s approach to their pokeballs. The remaining three of the Volatile Hydreigon crew. One was a cream colored cat, the pokemon’s ribbons holding the two trains pokeballs. The Sylveon had a smug look on its face, smirking at the two trainers. Next to the cheeky pokemon was an Dewott, its hands on its hips lightly clutching one of two scalchops on its thighs. However, the most intimidating of the three was their leader. His three heads staring intently at the frozen kids, a small smile crept on the three faces. “Hyyy,” It said, the look of satisfaction on its face never leaving. “Hydreigon!” The two trainers let out a cries of terror as the draconic pokemon launched towards them, as if he was ready for the kill. What they didn’t expect was the vicious pokemon halting inches away from them, giving them an amused look. “Oh for the love...why doesn’t anyone listen me!?” A voice cried, the teenagers whirled around to see Hadrain walking towards them in annoyance. Things could have gone better for the pirate crew. It was an easy catch, but these wannabe heroes were always looking to ‘save’ these poor rich folk from the ‘big bad pirate’. Hadrain knew that he wasn’t a saint, but what can a guy do? While he may be a pirate, he had standards that made his job quick and clean. So murder would never be one of his charges, but this seemed to backfire on him occasionally. People always assumed that he would just kill them. But whenever he gives his ‘I don’t kill anyone and you just give me your money’ routine, his victims came to the idiotic conclusion that they could do whatever they wanted! “What do I have to do, break someone’s kneecaps?” Hadrain thought bitterly. “Us professionals never get the respect we deserve. I bet those washed up Aqua jokes don’t have to put up with this when raiding a museum.” The two teenagers that stood before him showed small signs of worry.The pirate assumed that this was these kids’ first time getting robbed, because when being held on a island with no chance of escape besides the guy who's holding you hostage, you don’t usually run off. But Hadrain was a professional, so he kept his smile and acted calm. “Soooo,” The swashbuckler said offhandedly, regaining his mental composure when realizing that he properly planned for this. “Watcha doing there?” He asked cheekily. “Ummm, nothing!” Alex said quickly, looking over to her friend to get his attention. The boy snapped back to her, giving her a ‘are you kidding me look’. “We...we were just talking a stroll!” She managed to say. “I...I don’t know,” The captain mused, deciding to entertain his captives. “Because it really looks like you were trying to ummm, get your pokemon and fight me.” Before the teens could reply to the nefarious seafarer, a large crack of lightning filled the sky. Hadrain growled in anger at the sound, signaling that they were in for a rough journey on the sea. “Clammer,” The man groaned, the Dewott walking up to acknowledge it had hear its name. “Clammer, be a dear and escort these nice people, with their pokeballs, back to the group.” Clammer the Dewott gave a skeptical look, but shrugged and did as he was asked. The Chatot on Hadrain’s shoulder looked up at the sky, giving it a thoughtful look. The colorful bird then chose to speak, slightly shocking the two teenagers that were being escorted. “That distress signal the ship gave off should bring a search party by tomorrow,” The bird stated, still looking at the now darkened sky. “I say we sail somewhere in the storm, maybe to one of the deserted islands. This way any of the authorities coming here will be to busy looking for the tourist that we can slip out once the storm settles down.” “Seems like a plan, Singsong,” The human agreed, giving his friend a small pat on the head. All of this planning and mugging was stopped when a thunderous roar came from the jungle beyond the shore. All of those on the land looked over towards the source, seeing one of the tourist that had managed to break away from the group. “No one, no one listens to me!” Hadrain shouted as he saw the deserter dashed towards them. What came behind him only furthered the pirates bad mood. A large behemoth emerged from the clearing behind the poor man that was its prey. Its head was massive and the two large and muscular legs that carried it shook the ground with each stomp. A furious Tyrantrum was the last thing one would want to see. And it seems as if this one was more than just furious, the usually redness that came with the pokemon was even darker due to the anger that seemed to seep out of the large creature. “You have got to be kidding me!?” The captain of the pirate crew shouted in fury. “Bloodfin, Yazer!” The Charizard and Garchomp respond quickly, not needing their captain to give them anymore orders. The two Pokémon collided with their fellow pokemon, stopping the Tyrantrum in its tracks. This might have been salvageable, if there was only one of these dinosaurs that was chasing the tourist. Two more of these pokemon burst from the trees, one going for the tourists that were near the ship while the other going straight towards the trainers, Hadrian, and his other pokemon. “Clammer and Hydra, get those people out of there!” The pirate commanded, the Dewott and Hydreigon bolting off the intercept the incoming pokemon. Before Hadrian could give any more orders, his eye caught something that filled him with dread. One of the Tyrantrum went straight for the trainers. “Moondust, with me!” Hadrain shouted, he and the Sylveon jumping in front of the trainers. Before any real battle could commence, a strange feeling overcame all of those on the island, causing everyone to collapse. Darkness filled Hadrain’s vision, a signal voice filling the quiet void that had appeared. “Rest now my children, for when you awake a whole new world shall be your home.” The tides dashed against the rocks, only the sound of thunder seemed to fill these forgotten isles. None who have been stranded here have ever survived, and these new arrivals will be no different. Who are they to challenge the ways of this world? They will fail to adapt, just like the rest. But maybe there is a chance… Afterall, they seem to be...different. Author's Note Hello Everyone! So, this is my first Wayverse fic. I'm attempting to keep it close to the canon stories and not mess with the lore behind it. I don't know whether it'll become a canon story, but zeus and his friends setup a pretty nice world, so I'm inclined to stick with it :3 Let me know what you think and what I can improve on!
Chapter 2 - I got a bone to pick with you!Lightning cracked and rain fell upon the ship, droning out the screams of terror that seemed to fill the narrow straits. A young man darted across the sleek wood and steel that was the deck of the ship as he stumbled past the soaking wet crewmembers. Avoiding the obstacles that those who had passed into another had given us, the boy made his way to the captain’s quarters. Reaching the cabin door, a wet ball of dark fur collided with his back, forcing the youth to stumble in shock. His head darted to see only his mischievous companion, while a shivering mess, seem unharmed. Her ears up and alert as another one of the many vessels in the unforgiving waters was brought down to the bottom by an unforeseen force. “Zor---rua,” the fox-like pokemon whined in both fear and surprise as both friends saw many of their comrades sink to the bottom of the sea. The man choose--no, he had to ignore the thoughts of sadness and terror that ran through his head. The captain needed to hear the new information that he had obtained if anyone else were to survive. Finally pushing past the men of the ship, his fist smashed the captain’s cabin door, waiting for someone to answer. A old and ragged looking man answered the door. The captain and others could be seen debating their next move. They had no idea what they faced, for no battle plan could save them. “Hadrain!?” The old buccaneer exclaimed, the firstmate being confused by young man’s arrival. “We thought Jorvak’s crew were gonners! How did you make it out!?” “Luck I assume,” Hadrain said through chattering teeth, the rain thoroughly soaking him to the bone. “I have vital information on the cause of our distress. Let me see Captain Xavier!” “Of course lad,” The older man said, quick to bring him inside. “We need all the help we need...never have I seen such a storm do this!” The Captain and his trusted mates looked up, slightly startled at Hadrain’s interruption. He let out an audible sigh that it was just one of his men and not the deathly waves that this storm brought. But he was curious on how one of Jorvak’s men had managed to survive the powerful waves that dragged the ship down to its end. “Captain,” Hadrain said, breaking the silence that had momentarily taken the room. “We have a problem--” “You don’t say!?” One of the captains most valued subordinates, Lucian, growled. Before the man could give Hadrain a piece of his mind, the captain stopped him. “We are aware that there is a problem,” Xavier said quickly, not in the mood for any squabbling. “But you didn’t come here to point out the obvious...so what are we really facing?” “Right now, I count three Pokemon that are causing us distress,” Hadrain answered, receiving the full attention of those in the room. “Pokemon!?” Xavier muttered, confused by this revelation. The pokemon of these waters were known to be friendly towards seafarers. So, what had changed their approach on humans? “Captain…” Hadrain said, snapping his leader back to reality. “The main issue is the--” Whatever he was about to say was silenced when the ship made a sickening crunch. The cabin exploded into splinters and those in the room flew in every direction, a giant tail lay where the midsection of the cabin existed. Hadrain scrambled to cling onto the slippery railing of the ship as he hung over the edge, his Zorua tucked under his arm. But as the ship slowly began to tilt over, Hadrain lost his grip. Darkness filled his vision as he plunged into the cold water… Intro: “Damit!” Hadrain screamed as he awoke from the nightmare, or at least he wished it was one. He frantically looked around his surroundings, seeing only trees, rock, dirt and grass instead of the cold bottom of the sea. Taking deep breaths and muttering words of comfort to himself, he slowly calmed down. “Where--where am I?” He said to no one in particular, getting a good view of the site he was it. He could feel a cool breeze hit his back and smelled the familiar salty waters that accompanied his life. His memory went back to the events that had transpired with the tourist and those Tyrantrum pokemon, his chest tightened in fear on what might have happened to his crew. Shooting up, he somewhat stumbled as if he was unfamiliar with his legs, “Probably because of me being out for so long…” The pirate thought. Looking around at the breathtaking scenery around him, he realized that this wasn’t the same island as before. “These trees are completely different than anything I have ever seen...which begs the question on where I am?” While Hadrain came to multiple conclusions, he chose to forget about that problem for now. He need to find his crew and shelter. Stretching his arms and hearing an audible pop from his back. He looked down to see his trusty hat, something he treasured greatly. “Well, it’s good to see you’re still here!” The captain laughed to himself, reaching down to pick his hat, he was caught off guard when seeing his fingers. Or in his case, claws. Three green claws gripped his hat. Hadrain looked around the source before realizing they were his. He gave a small chuckle at the sight, coming to the realization on why he was somewhere different. “Alright guys,” The pirate called out to his crew. “This is a very funny prank, but I think that we should get back to the ship, eh?” He waited for his friends to come out of the trees or bushes, ready to point out the ‘hilarious’ look on his face when he realized he had be turned into a Pokemon. He looked over to see his bushy (Literally bushy) tail swaying in the wind. He slightly frowned when his team had chosen to not appear, which meant that this was most likely not their doing… He gave a good slap to his face, a loud clap filled the jungle. “Ah!” Hadrain yelped in surprise, not use to his new strength. “That hurt...which means this isn’t a dream.” The swashbuckler started to lose his cool, his breathing quickening. He grabbed his hat and frantically ran over to what seemed to be a pond, looking down to get a good look at himself. He saw a green reptilian bipedal with a somewhat long neck and two crest on its--his head. Hadrain’s tail was like a palm trees, and two leaf like blades protruded from his arms. Two semi circled yellow eyes glowed at the reflection. “I---I’m a Sceptile!?” Hadrain screamed, shocked by this sudden transformation. He got up and shook his head, walking over and slumping next to a tree. “Where am I? Where are the rest of the crew!?” The captain cried in frustration. He was ready to rant some more, but realized this would get him nowhere. He may be in a strange body on a new island, but he knew the rest of the Volatile Hydreigon were here! It was his duty in life to secure their safety, to provided them with comfort. And dammit, he would do just that! Getting up, the new pokemon took up his fedora and placed it on his head. He entered deeper into the jungle, marking trees along the way with his claws so that he could retrace his steps. While he was somewhat clumsy with his steps, slowly he became more balanced. He also managed to operate his leaf blade, cutting through any branches that were in his way. What he saw next reminded him that there was so much more to be surprised about on this island. “Sweet Arceus…” He muttered at the sight. Before him lay two or three ships in a natural harbor, the wreckage was strew across the land and filled most of the area. What confused him even more was the style of one of the ships, it seemed to be designed more for air travel then taking to the waters. Walking over, he entered one of the ships. The inside of the boat remained somewhat intact. “This could be a great base of operations...it would need some work done to spruce it up of course.” As he continued his travel inside these ruined seacrafts, his eyes lay upon the remains of some of the crew who operated it. What seemed to be the remains of Ponytas lay all over the captain’s quarters. There were also items laying about, and while Hadrain felt bad that he was taking some of these objects, mainly canteens and musical instruments, he knew they were no longer any use to their owners. “Sorry mates,” The Sceptile sighed, taking one of the canteens from a Ponyta. Well, at least that is what he originally thought. He could tell by their skeletal structure, and the fact that they were in a wooden ship with no burn marks to be seen, that these were not the flaming equines he was familiar with. His eyes drifted over to the skeleton of what seemed to be a pony ship captain with a horn coming from his skull, a golden scabbard laying on his desk. He was well dressed, with a blue overcoat and fancy red hat. Behind him was a portrait of another one of his kind. Her coat was white as snow and a horn protruded from her head. She had a long flowing mane that contained many colors and wings slightly raised. Her regal expression also contained a warm smile and light filled eyes. Hadrain walked over and looked at the portrait. He blew on the painting, sending the dust into the air. He looked upon the equine’s head to see a golden crown with a purple gem in the middle. Reading one of the plates, he was able to read the title or the name of the piece: "Princess Celestia, ruler of Equestria and admiral of her navy," The Sceptile said, managing to read out what he could. He never heard of someone of royalty named Princess Celestia, or a pony princess for that matter. Turning around, Hadrain walked back over towards the desk to see a some dusty books. Buzzap "What the heck!" The pokemon shouted, jumping up when some purple electricity went off near that sword and zapped him. Shaking his head in annoyance, the Sceptile grabbed the book and walked back over the portrait. The journal consisted of some entries about the voyage, precious cargo for her majesty, yada yada yada. “So...I’m basically robbing royalty by taking these things?” The pirate pondered, remembering the liberating of items he had just performed, things might get complicated a some point. “Hehe, I’ve been on this island for less than a minute,” The Sceptile chuckled, tilting his head in amusement when looking at the painting. “And I’ve found the remains of some strange and advanced equines. That and I managed to steal something from what seems to be a royal ship.” At this point, the pokemon pirate clutched his sides as he burst into laughter. After what seem to be a couple of minutes, Hadrain wiped the tears out of his eyes and straightened up. “Yazer is gonna kill me,” He giggled at the thought of the angry Charizard. She was always worrying for him since they first met during one of his less...promising situations. “Heh, maybe she’ll cut me some slack when--” Whatever he said was interrupted by the sound of creaking. Shingggggggggggggg Hadrain spun around and intercepted a golden blade as it made its way for his back. When he heard the sound of the sword being drawn, he expected it to be a grave robber hoping to off the pirate. What he didn’t assume was that it would be the very crew of the ship. His attacker was none other than the deceased captain. The skeleton trembled and quickly withdrew the blade from Hadrain’s arms, the blade itself floating in some strange aura. While the bewildered pokemon was still in shock by the sudden attack, other skeletal guardians rushed to the aid of their former captain, each one sporting their own horns or bony wings. “Oh, you have got to be kidding me!?” Hadrain yelled as he parried another sword, his foot shooting forward and kicking one of the skeletal attackers into a pile of bones. While the Sceptile managed to hold his own, he couldn’t last long under the constant attacks. Even in his original body he had never been skilled in hand to hand combat, let alone sword combat. And with the pirate distracted with the skeletal crew, he didn’t notice the boney captain drawing the golden blade that would impale the pokemon. Crash! The struggle had been interrupted when the ceiling was blown away and a black creature came smashing down upon the undead captain. Fire spewed from its mouth, turning the remaining undead sailors into ashes. Hadrain watched in awe as the draconic creature dispatch the skeletons with ease. However, the Sceptile went into a mad dash towards his saviour when a flash of light appeared above the dragon. The skeletal captain that was seemingly crushed had somehow managed to teleport above the creature, sword posed to decapitate the confused dragon. “Not so fast you useless pile of bones!” A colorful bird cried, its beak ripping through the undead being. The undead guardians now dealt with, the three pokemon got a good look at each other. “Singsong? Yazer?” Hadrain asked at the gaping Pokemon before him. “I’m telling you Yazer,” Singsong groaned as he and the impatient Charizard flew above what seemed to be the remains of a ship or two. “We have no idea what’s down there! Robbers, traps, other Pirates--” “Or the rest of our crew,” The shiny Charizard growled, getting ready to dive down into the unknown area. “They could be hurt down there!” The Chatot let out a sigh of annoyance. The dragoness had been known for her...lack of tactical planning, but going head first into Arceus knows what was not the best plan of approach. “I know I know,” Singsong said calmly, trying to cool the Charizard’s nerves. “But if we get hurt, then we won’t be much use in helping Hadrain--” Their conversation was interrupted when the sound of metal clashing and the yells of distress that came from one of the wrecked ships. Yazer looked ready to fly straight towards the obvious danger, but Singsong quickly chose to gain her attention. “Yazer, we need to think of a--” Singsong tried to finish his sentence, but a large gust of wind exploded next to him where Yazer use to be. When the Chatot finished tumbling, he shook his head and realized what had happened. “--plan…” Looking up at the sky, the bird gave a quick prayer to any divine being that was listening. He then flew after his companion, swallowing nervously as he saw the large hole the dragon had made. Just as he saw his companion with a strange Sceptile, one wearing his captain’s hat no less, rushing towards his friend in distress, he saw the subject of worry. It seemed that the temperamental Charizard had ignored one of the foes they were fighting, one standing over her with an overpriced sword. “Not so fast you useless pile of bones!” Singsong snarled, smashing through the skeletal figure. After the surprisingly powerful attack the small bird managed to pull, Yazer looked over towards the Sceptile. Both of them were understandably confused by the pokemon wearing their captains hat, but soon came to the suspicion that he had looted it off their friend. “Singsong? Yazer?” The Sceptile said in a familiar voice, causing the two pokemon to be even more confused. Singsong and Yazer waited awhile, trying to comprehend the fact that their captain was a pokemon. “Had--Hadrain!?” Singsong stuttered, still not sure whether to believe what was happening. “In the flesh,” The Sceptile responded cheekily, giving the two a smirk. Looking up towards the hole in the ship, he saw that night was soon approaching. “Why don’t we get a fire going before it gets dark, then we can figure this whole mess out.” “Why am I not surprised,” Yazer deadpanned, giving the reptilian pirate a frustrated look. “We gotta save your green ass not ten minutes into both of us--” she waved her arm to Singsong and then back to herself, “coming to, you sure know how to get yourself into the worst of situations.” “Oh come on!” Hadrain said, kicking the broken bits of the skeletal equine and taking his golden weapon. “I was minding my own business---” “Bullshit!” The Charizard interrupted, leaning towards her friend with fire spewing out of her mouth. “I was,” The Sceptile whined, holding his hand to his heart. “I swear it!” Before the dragon could give the reckless man a piece of her mind, Singsong let out a loud cough. The two somewhat embarrassed pokemon turned to the Chatot. “While I can hardly believe that Captain Hadrain didn’t go about touching everything in sight--” The bird sighed, slightly annoyed by their captain’s...enthusiastic idea of carefully investigating an area. “Hey!” The Sceptile said, clearly unhappy at the scolding that his subordinates were giving him. “I’ll have you know--” “But he’s right,” Singsong stated, causing Yazer to almost choke in surprise. “We need to get a fire going before dark.” “The dead seem to rise if some kind of trap is set off,” Hadrain said, his tone taking a more serious tone. “Who knows what else this island holds...we need shelter.” Yazer was quick to interject, clearly seeing one flaw in the captain’s plan. “While I completely agree that we need to find shelter and get a fire going,” Yazer said, causing a small smile of triumph to appear on the Sceptile’s face. “We need to find the others. Who knows what horrible thing they’re going through!?” However, Hadrain shook his head in disagreement. While he too was worried for the remaining crew, he knew that frantically searching for them in the dark would not only put them in danger, but their friends who could be hiding. “We risk putting ourselves and them in danger with whatever is crawling around on this island,” Hadrain interjected, getting a nod of agreement from Singsong. Yazer seemed somewhat nervous, but knew that they were probably right. “Alright,” She sighed, thinking back to what they had seen when flying over the island. “Get on my back, Hadrain, and I’ll take us to something the seemed to be a cave.” With that said, the captain and the Chatot mounted the Charizard and were lifted off towards the sky. By the time the three pirates had found a suitable cave to rest in, it had become dark and cold. Both Hadrain and Singsong shivered when their fiery companion momentarily left the cave, her being the only source of warmth the two had in the cave. But Yazer returned quickly with a happy smile on her face, carrying a couple of nicely cut logs. She soon light them with her flames and the three crewmembers silently stared into their fire, contemplating what had transpired. Finally, the captain chose to speak up. “I won’t lie,” the Sceptile sighed, shooting a sad look towards his friends. “While I had at first assumed we were just stranded on an island, I’ve come to the conclusion that we are far from that.” “What do you mean, Captain sir?” The Chatot questioned, somewhat confused by his words. Yes, their leader had become a Sceptile, a pokemon, and they seem to be on a completely other island than where they were originally. But how could this be more than what it already seems? “Different species for one,” Yazer said, reminding her friend of the strange undead beings they ran into. “They weren’t the remains of any pokemon I’ve seen, and they used swords to fight.” “And the stars,” Hadrain added, gaining a look of concern from the Charizard. “Different patterns...they aren’t our world’s constellations.” “Wait...are you saying that what I think you saying!?” Singsong exclaimed, the mere thought of what his friend was suggesting seemed crazy. But he had been turned into a pokemon… “Mates, we’re not on Earth anymore…” The Captain of the Hydreigon Pirates said, his tail swaying from side to side in excitement. They were on a new world. A new world with mystical feats, such as raising the dead, and new species. A world of new treasure and mysteries. “Not that it matters,” Yazer said with the same enthusiasm as Hadrain, the Chatot raising an eyebrow at their take on the situation. “After all…” She said, a grin plastered on her face. Both of her crewmates knew what she was implying. The three thook in a deep breath, ready to perform the crew’s motivational tactic. It usually cheered them up. ????“The map is never wrong Now matter where we’ve gone Our time is now Is now and there’s no way anything can keep us down! Our hearrrrrrts soar because a pirate’s life is never a bore They’ve tried to gain ground But those hopes will be shot down Shot down Because a pirate’s life a pirate’s life Is more than just the sword More than just a sword It’s to explorrrrrrrrrer!!!!!”???? The three crewmembers laughed warmly at the awful performance they just gave. The song probably caused the greatest musicians of the past to turn in their graves, but it was the crew’s song. “We--” Hadrain gasped in between his laughter, clutching his sides in pain. “We need to work on that song!” “Ne--ver!” Yazer bellowed, collapsing to the ground. They really were awful. “Are you suggesting that we rebrand the amazing image you created for this crew?” Singsong chuckled, his mind drifting to the moment that they came up with the dreadful piece. It had involved many drinks and an inspired tavern. “Of course not,” Hadrain snickered. He seemed to be taking the whole situation better than one would expect, being turned into a pokemon and all. “But...we do need to come up with a plan for when we reunite with the rest of the crew.” “Okay,” Yazer smiled, taking her claw and drawing in the dirt in front of her. The other two members of Hydreigon scooted next to the fire pokemon, looking down at the layout of what they’ve seen of the island so far. “Let’s brainstorm boys, because we’ve got one long day tomorrow!” “Well, this might be a problem...” One of the equines said to his partner. His fur was navy blue and his mane was brown with black stripes, two bird-like wings rested along his sides. The four legged creatures had been tracking some strange creatures all day, trying to put together what they could learn about them. “Really, Card Swap?” A mare asked sarcastically, her bat-like wings fluttered in agitation at their predicament. “These strange creatures, one looking like a dragon of some kind, pop out of nowhere and it ‘might be a problem’? For all we know they’re with that crazy pigeon!” Card Swap raised an eyebrow at the annoyed thestral. Her midnight blue mane limped to one side of her furry marooned face, her two ears up and alert. “I wouldn’t go as far as to say that they’re in league with Alexander,” The stallion huffed, still keeping his eye on the three strange creatures by the fire that they made. “I mean, they can’t even speak any native language I’ve heard of.” The thestral got up and dramatically pointed her hoof towards the path that those under their surveillance took. “They came from that graveyard,” She hissed, giving a look of anger towards one of them in particular. A green bipedal lizard of some kind, with a familiar scabbard strapped to its back. “They even have that damn sword--” Her voice almost turned into a shout, but her friend managed to stop her from alerting the creatures. “--Which is why we’ll follow them and see where they go,” Card Swap reassured, his hoof in the bat pony’s muzzle to stop her talking. She glared at him and smacked his hoof away. The frustrated pony turned and stormed off, the pegasus went after the discontent mare. “Crimson Star, don’t do anything stupid!” The winged pony hissed as quietly as he could, while also trying to keep up with Crimson Star. "We need to get our gear,” She replied, quickening her pace as they left the creatures’ campsite. “Why?” He questioned, looking over his shoulder to see if the strange creatures had followed them. To his relief, it seemed that they managed to sneak away without being caught. “Because,” Crimson Star huffed, suddenly stopping and brushing away leaves a sticks to uncover a dark brown bag. “If what you assume I'd true, than these new guys have no idea what to expect on this island.” Card Swap paled at the notion, the idea of those three stumbling around stirring who knows what could cause problems back at base. “So, do we confront them?” The Pegasus asked hesitantly, unsure on his partners exact moments. Fortunately, it seem she had managed to cool down and keep a level head. “No,” The bat pony answered, shaking her head to the idea of confronting the strangers. “We follow them, see what loyalties they may or may not have, and keep them from waking every single monster that lives here!” With that said, she pulled on her gear from the bag. She donned a dark steel helmet, covering her entire head to the bottom of her neck. It's visor concealed her face and its long pointed nose allowed space for a pony’s muzzle. She also pulled out a chainmail saddle, its steel links gleamed in the dark. With her also lay a dagger, a crossbow, and a giant warhammer. “You look like for going to Tartarus to kill some kind of hellbeast,” Card Swap commented, digging up his own supplies. “Let’s just hope they’re not a bunch of idiots.” The thestral snorted at that comment, cocking the crossbow. “Yeah.” She sighed, getting up and flapping her leathery wings. Taking off up into the trees, her partner taking off after her. Things may have just gotten more complicated for those who managed to get by on this cursed island. And the chances of disaster taking place with these newcomers was probably likely. All it took was one shot to start a war...a war would lead to the end of whatever peace remained on this island. Author's Note Hello Everyone! I want to real quickly explain why I chose Hadrain to be a Sceptile. I wanted to make a character that would be able to work around traps and puzzles, but also be able to defend himself. That being said, I plan on laying out the island, so next chapter will focus on the other members of the crew and those tourist from the first chapter! I also did a quick mention of Celestia, since one of the ships belonged to her navy. I'll go more in depth with this later, so stay tuned! Again, criticism is appreciated. Feel free to let me know what you think and what I can improve on! North Out!
Chapter 3 - Irresponsible Brawls! Clammer and Cy's theme “But---what if we, like, run into more of those Tyrantrums!?” A distressed Sylveon cried, his big blue eyes frantically darting from side to side. His cream color fur stood up, the smell of fear emanating from his entire expression. His companion gave him a deadpanned expression, his mouth pursed and his eyes giving him an unimpressed look. When the two had awoken, they found themselves alone on unfamiliar shores. Unsure on exactly they made it from one place to another, for they could not neither see their ship nor any signs of a battle that they were in store for, they immediately assumed that they had gotten...tipsy and imagined the entire event. But after a couple of minutes looking around, they soon came to realized that their experiences before the blackout were very real. Confused and somewhat worried about the situation, the otter-like pokemon decided it would be best to explore their surroundings and try to find their ship and crew, or anyone else for that matter. But the vast ‘cons’ of doing anything that could be unfamiliar with the Sylveon started in full tide. Anymon would have faltered under such doom saying, but this Dewott seemed to have the will to ignore this negativity. “Then we run…” the blue otter-like pokemon responded dryly. While his love went out to the nervous cat, this was the 54th ‘bad’ thing that could possibly happen. First, it was starvation, but the list started to climb around the time he suggested they enter the island’s jungle. “Anyone,” the Dewott mentally groaned, his moral trying to survive the Sylveon’s onslaught of the many cons of finding shelter. “Anyone could have been paired with him--” The otter looked down at the big blue eyes and nervous face of his companion, “--but it had to be me…” “Gurk,” The Dewott gasped, his friends ribbons wrapping around him, pulling him into a hug of fear. “Cy,” he said, attempting to speak coherently as Cy’s ribbons crushed the life out of him. “Y--ou’-re cr--ushing--me!” He groaned, the Sylveon dropping him in worry. “Oh, oh man,” Cy sniffed, giving look of both concern and apology. “I’m so sorry, Clammer...I have no idea what’s up with me dude!” Clammer rolled his eyes at the question, restraining himself from pointing out what’s ‘up’ with him. “Let’s just take a deep breath,” Clammer said, attempting to mellow down the excited pokemon. “Besides--” He said, giving the cream colored cat a pat on the head before continuing his path, “--our friends are probably out there as we speak, searching for us...you wouldn’t want to cause them to much of a hassle with finding us, would you?” The other dynamic personality that the cat of glamor had besides pessimism was the need to decrease the trouble anyone would have to put up with for him. “Of--of course not!” Cy gasped, his pace quickening to stay close to his comrade. “But let’s face it dude, we’re on a seemingly deserted island with no sign of life--” The rambling cat stopped as the Dewott held out his paw to halt their walking. “What’s up?” The Sylveon questioned, as he went to look at whatever had Clammer stop. What he was met with was ten or so equines, each one as colorful as the other. While their appearance did not strike off as terrifying for Cy, he being one who usually feared Wurmples, he became unsure of how to proceed with a variety of weapons aimed at the two Pokémon. “Clammer…” Cy said in a hushed tone, looking from the armed ponies to the Dewott. “I take it all back, there is something worse than quicksand...being captured by colorful weirdos is extremely terrifying.” “No one is going to capture anyone,” Clammer said reassuringly, his voice projecting towards the hostile equines. While neither of them had seen such creatures before, it seemed like they too had never encountered pokemon. “Um, boss?” one of the horses said, turning to look at the one equine in the middle of the group. The pony that seemed to be the leader had a turquoise coat with a long blond, and messy, mane. “They don’t really seem dangerous or hostile. What are your orders?” The leader of the group tilted his head as he looked at the two Pokémon. “While we’ve run into some...less than favorable creatures,” the boss said, slightly lowering his weapon. “These two seem more stable than what other strange things dwell on this island...I’d even say they’re lost.” Some of the ponies relaxed, taking into consideration the newness of these awkward animals. “I don’t think they can understand us...just like humans,” the Dewott gathered, it being cleared that the laxness was not from his words, but through the assessment of the leader of the party. Which proved good, since it meant that these were infact a reasonable species. “I don’t think they know what we’re saying, Cy, but they seem friendly enough.” Clammer said, approaching the still ponies, much to the Sylveon’s chagrin. “But what if it’s, like, a trap!?” Cy panicked, not wanting his friend to take such a risk. Clammer waved him off and shot him a small smile of reassurance. While not putting the Pokémon at ease, Cy felt the need to trust his teammate and back him up if needed. As Clammer approached the group, the tensed up a little, unsure of what the pokemon was going to do. Taking a Scalchop from his hip, he activated one of his abilities. “Razor Shell,” He said calmly, a watery blade springing from the scalchop. The ponies took a step back due to the surprise of an unknown weapon. Ready for a fight, the ponies got ready for the strange creature to make its move. Instead of doing what they expected, the Dewott instead took the blade and stabbed the ground in front of him. Taking a knee, he looked up at the confused group and gave them a friendly smile. “Autumn Breeze,” The lead pony said to an orange pegasus mare with a braided red mane. “Let the camp know we’re coming back with company.” She gave a quick nod and took off, leaving the rest of the group pondering their boss’s decision. Looking at the confused ponies next to him, he raised an eyebrow. “What’s with your gawking? Can’t you see these fellas have only one intention on their minds?” he asked, hearing the shaking of heads from the group. “Um, what’s that boss?” a lime green unicorn asked in a Manehattan accent. Giving a small chuckled, the turquoise earth pony put his sword back into his scabbard. “Not getting impaled by a dozen or so scared ponies, of course,” he said humorously. Getting a small laugh from a relieved Sylveon and Dewott. “We’re going in circles,” Singsong deadpanned as the lost Charizard continued to lead the group in whatever direction she hoped they would be on. Yazer was suppose to keep a close eye on the ground below them as they traversed the skies, looking for their fellow crewmates. It seemed that she had either chosen to not take into account where they had been flying or simply forgot. “We. Are. Not. Lost!” She growled, angered by the predicament they had managed to find themselves in. Hadrain was unable to provided much info on their surroundings either, since his sense of direction was somewhat hampered by his new body. “In Yazer’s defense, this place is pretty easy to get lost in,” the Sceptile said, earning a glare from the Chatot. “But that doesn’t mean all is lost! We just need to make our way to the shore and see if anyone else remembered the rondevu plan.” In situations such as these, Hadrain and his Drifloom, Windbag, came up with a simple meet up plan. If lost on an island, he/she who was lost would make their way to the shore. “We may need to hold off on that, Boss…” Singsong choked and stopped ahead of the company, raising question to both Yazer and Hadrain why the colorful bird had ceased moving forward. Now stopped as well, the two fellow crewmates walked next to the frozen Chatot to see what had halted his approach. What they were met with was three colossal worm-like creatures with long purple scaled bodies, red mane-like hair and pink heads with black beady eyes and strange mouths. “What in the world is that!” Hadrain asked, jumping back as though the gargantuan worms were about to strike him. “They’re blocking the path…” Yazer groaned in frustration, for now she had finally gotten them back on their desired path and these large creatures were barring their journey. “And with the rate we got lost in these woods, this is probably the best road to take to the shoreline.” “But with these creatures blocking the path...we may need to traverse around them!” Singsong squaked in sorrow, not wanting to enter the deep forest growth that they had just left behind them. “Oh, but that’s where you are wrong my dear friend,” the Sceptile chuckled somewhat manically, causing his two crewmates to decided to move a few feet away from the captain. “The answer to our problem lies right behind us, actually!” The two turned around and were faced with a hill, or at least a somewhat steep drop that take a small portion of the path. Next to the drop was an even larger hill to the side with rubble and some conveniently round boulders. “All I see are some big rocks…” Yazer stated, giving her captain a skeptical look as he giggled gleefully and made his way over to the hill. “What could we possible do with them--” the purpose of Hadrain’s joy sudden came to realization and the Charizard made a mad dash to stop her captain. “--No, Hadrain no!” “Yes!!!” he shouted in response and made a run towards the boulders. “I can finally use the damn plan, hahahahahaha!” Singsong watched in confusion as the distressed Charizard chased after the crazed captain, who was going to work on setting up some kind of ramp out of branches and vines. “What is he doing?” The Chatot asked himself, as started to flap over to the two crewmates. It was then that he heard a cracking noise from the trees and quickly turned around to examine the treetops, only to find nothing was there. “I really need to get more sleep next time…” “What are those lunatics doing?” the blue pegasus asked no one in particular, looking to see that their latest guests had been setting up some sort of ramp aimed at the Tatzlwurms that were napping at their posts. “Starting trouble,” Crimson Star huffed, cocking her crossbow. “If they manage to really hurt those Tazlwurms, their chief will be furious and either blame us or those crazy pigeons.” Upon further examination, Card Swap soon realized that these strange creatures intended to direct the large boulders towards the monstrous wurms. The green reptilian one seemed to be in charge, giving orders for the dragon and colorful bird as they unhappily built the ramp. “They’re insane…” the stallion concluded, pulling out his large hammer and looked at the bat pony. “We’re going to stop them, right?” “We’ve got to ways at doing this,” she replied, equipping her helmet and tightening the straps on her armor. “One is us rushing headfirst and possible waking those sentries--” she motioned a steel hoof towards the sleeping wurms, “--or wait until these guys go night night for a decent time, and grab the perpetrators.” “And turn them into Tempest, handing him the attackers of his guards…” Card Swap added, earning a sharp nod from the mare. “Which could lead to us gaining his favor,” she finished, shifting in her armor and adjusting it to make it comfortable, “which could finally give us the edge we need to topple our unwanted neighbors…” “Alright then,” the pegasus said to his friend, lifting the extremely heavy warhammer and lieing it across his shoulder. “Let’s properly welcome our guests...and try not to hurt them too badly. We may need them later.” “I can’t make any promises,” Crimson Star sang, loading her crossbow and taking off towards the treetops in order to have a better position, leaving her comrade to give a tired sigh and take off after her. “This is an awful idea!” Yazer groaned, pushing a tremendously heavy boulder onto a ramp while Singsong secured the rock with vines from the surrounding trees. “Not only are we sure this will hit them, but even if it does, it may not have any effect on these guys! The could have scales of steel! They could feel vibrations in the ground as these rocks hurtled towards them!” “Not to mention the ethical issues that are brought up with this plan,” Singsong deadpanned, somewhat worried on the damage they might cause. “They could be endangered species or even the natives of this island...is it really right for us to be doing this?” “Oh come on,” Hadrain huffed, rolling his eyes at his team’s lack of enthusiasm before leaping onto one of the boulders. “This attack is completely ethical and safe! I guarantee it!” “Explain to me how this is in any way--” Yazer attempted to further challenge the Sceptile’s logic, but was rudely interrupted by his sudden shushing. “It’s just like bowling, my dear friends,” He said cheerfully, pulling out his telescope as he looked to see if the boulder was lined up with the target. “It takes patience...silence...and skill!” with his last words, Hadrain pulled out the golden blade he looted from the ship graveyard and cut the vines holding the boulder in place. He looked over to see both awe and horror as he released the giant rock, unsure on why his fellow crewmates suddenly went from expressions of annoyance to sheer worry. Looking around, he attempted to pinpoint what had distressed them. Then his body started to shift downwards, along with the coarse rock beneath his feet. His lurched forward and ran in an attempt to not be thrown of the moving rock as he and the stone were hurtled down towards the target. “Crap crap crap crap!” The pirate captain yelled as he helplessly ran to stay on top of the rapidly moving rock, all while Singsong and Yazer watching in states of confusion on why their leader couldn’t just leap off the boulder with his increased agility. By the time one of them had decided that maybe it was best that he didn’t become unconscious, it was too late for the poor fellow. Crashing into one of the stone pillars that held the crumbling stone arch that the worm-like creatures were lying under. Yells from both the taken-aback creatures and their own captain’s cry of terror filled the quiet jungle. “It actually worked…” The Charizard mused, flying over with Singsong behind her as she went to congratulate her downed leader. “An unorthodox method, sure, but effective in the end. Let’s try to see if we can get him--” Before the Pokémon could complete her last word, a large crack followed with two shadowy figures darting from the trees broke her train of thought. One of the figures, larger and more muscular than his armored compatriot, swung a huge hammer into the side of the fire-type and sent her flying into Singsong who had been by her side. Both crashed into a nearby tree with a sickening thunk. “Huh...rushing out actually worked,” The more masculine equine stated, his wings fidgeting after the sudden rush to battle. “I’ll give you points for that, Crimson.” Yazer attempted to lift herself up in order to face their attackers, but the wind was completely knocked out of her. She could feel the limp body of her Chatot ally lying on one of her outstretched wings, thankfully still breathing. “We’ll take these two back, then come back for the third one if he’s still amongst the land of the living,” The armored figure said to her comrade, looking over towards the now-ruined outpost the Tazlwurms had created. “But the dragon’s still conscious, could you please knock it out?” All she earned in response was a low growl. Giving a shrug, the winged pony walked of to the downed Charizard and lifted up his heavy hammer, having to rely on gravity to do most of the work. “No hard feelings, but you did just knock out some of the tribal guard,” Card Swap said apologetically, getting ready to literally bring the hammer down on the pokemon. “Night…” But to the surprise of both the two equines and Yazer, and gleaming light launched itself towards the wooden shaft of the long hammer and cut right through it. As the sunlight left the projectile, a familiar golden blade found itself lodged into a nearby tree. “Scep sceptile! (Greetings unwanted foes!)” A powerful voice cried out, all head snapping towards the source of the speaker. The two equines immediately recognized the reptilian creature who had mere moments ago crashed along with the large boulder. Unsure on exactly he was still standing, let a long perched upon one of the branches above them and lobbing swords, Crimson Star raised her loaded crossbow towards the creature. Yazer quickly shot her leader a worried glance, unsure of how well he could dodge the bolt at such a short range and after getting up from crashing into a wall. Hadrain in return gave her a small wink and mouthing, ‘I got this’, before turning back to address their armed acquaintances. “Scep scep, scep sceptile (While you probably already understand that smashing others with hammers is completely rude.),” The sceptile lectured, giving the two equines a scowl as he mentioned their attack. “Scep scep (But I think that we can--)--” “Yeah, I’m not going to even attempt to pretend to understand this gecko,” Crimson Star huffed, pulling the trigger of the crossbow and firing upon the talking Pokémon. Unfortunately for the armored equine, Hadrain was only attempting to buy time for Yazer to get back onto her feet. But upon seeing this rushed attack, his body glowing with a sudden light, the Sceptile used Hidden Power to launch multiple glowing orbs towards the bolt and it’s owners. This sudden and powerful attack destroyed the steel projectile and sending the two ponies reeling backwards. The explosion from the Sceptile’s attack sent a wave of dust from the destroyed area, blinding Card Swap and Crimson Star as they attempted to see where the green menace had gone off to. Before Crimson Star had any real time to react, a loud snap followed a tightness around her hind leg lead to her being ragged off and into a dark area surrounded by thick bushes. However, Card Swap probably got it rougher, as he was soon sent sprawling to the ground due to a sickening punch delivered by an angry Charizard. Getting up from the grassy ground, the dented helmet of the bat pony shifted around as it sought to find her opponent. All she got in response was an excited chuckle before glowing green blade-like objects lit up the darkened area. Her crossbow aimed at the light source, she once again squeezed the trigger...hoping that this time she would hit her mark. Author's Note My God...I really need to work on updating my stories XD Anyways, third chapter for everyone's favorite swashbucklers! And boy has the plot thickened. I won't lie, I have a blast writing this story, it really lets me break out of my comfort zone. Thanks to the ever fabulous Glitchhunter5000 for this story being presented in a very clean and well put manner, because I certainly have grammar and spelling issues sometimes. Glitchhunter is just a fantastic editor/proof reader who really understands what I'm trying to do with my stories! Anyways, see all of you in the next update and comment below on what you liked and what I can improve on!
Chapter 1 - A Storm's a Brewin!Intro: Dark clouds slowly extend across the sky, promising difficult weather for those who remained outside. Below this incoming storm lay a vast ocean, land being a rare sight in this corner of the sea. And yet, it was this part of the endless blue that attracted many visitors due to the secluded islands that did exist. Humanities hand has touched much of the world, but it was here that one could see the true beauty of nature. This is what a certain tourist ferry would experience in the Sinnoh region, but they had more...pressing matters at hand. While the cruise had been fine and the people onboard had managed to avoid the oncoming storm, there were more dangerous circumstances that roamed these waters. Some involved the rampaging creatures that dwelled in the sea, Pokemon. Others however...they were more nefarious. While many humans work with Pokemon for many reasons; as friends, as allies, as co workers (trainers had perfect these companionships)some people sought to work with their Pokemon in different ways. While these humans were no less kind or caring to their Pokemon friends, they were on the far side of the law. Thieves, vigilantes, extremists...pirates. Two ships were docked on the shores of one of the few islands that existed in this part of Sinnoh. One was a normal transport ship, designed to carry many people and Pokemon on many tour groups. The other was leaner, its sides reinforced to the nail. And a single black flag ferociously flapped with the violent winds emanating from the storm. This flag carried the symbol that many seafarers feared. The symbol of a pirate. No ordinary pirates, mind you, but one of the up and coming crews that seemed to control the peaceful world’s vast sea. The Volatile Hydreigon The flag was a light black, with three snarling dark black Hydreigon head staring directly towards those who beheld the sight. While many speculate the name is based off the owner’s own Hydreigon, one renowned for its loyalty, other believe it goes deeper. The three heads representing the unison that one needs to be part of a ship’s crew, let alone a pirate crew. So, the main issue that these tourist face, besides the fact that they were taken by pirates and a storm fast approaching, was the problem of their destroyed ship. That was something they would have trouble overcoming since this was such a remote part of the ocean. But they were far too terrified by the pirates demanding their material possessions to consider this. “Alright,” The captain of these scallywags sighed, pinching the bridge of his nose. It had been one issue after another for the pirate, these people making every single command difficult. If he had not been through these raids where stuffy rich people made this threat or this deal, he would have resorted to force. “I will make it clear one more time,” He said as smoothly as possible, trying to contain his frustration. These people really thought that he would just go away if they whined enough. “You do everything we say, and we let you go--” A snort of agreement came from the Charizard next to the man. While one would question bringing a fire type such as Charizard aboard a ship due to that precious flame on their tail, this one had a steel cage that protected its iconic fire. Contraption seemed to be slided over the end of the Charizard’s tail where it would be then strapped down. On the end was a metallic spike with plates that were bolted together to form a cone, thus making it airtight so that if the pokemon were to fall into the water, its flame would not die. “Why can’t you people leave us in peace!?” Captain Dokey, the one who sailed the now wrecked tourist vessel, growled. He had lost too much to these wannabe sailors, this being his most recent of losses. “I know, I know,” The pirate said, putting his hands up defensively at the sailor’s less than kind tone. “But we all have a living to make, am I really in such a wrong to want to make one as well?” While many of those that sailed with the old captain did not rise up to challenge the dangerous man, two trainers were carefully making their way to their pokeballs. They knew little of the man, only his name. Captain Hadrain. Hadrain was young for someone in his profession, being in his late twenties. While he had gained an infamous reputation, he was also known by many as a hero. His homeland is unknown, but he has sailed around the known world searching for mysterious treasures and exciting adventures. Some even say that he had fought with Team Aqua at one point or another. He wore a simple gray coat, with a clean black fedora with a long floppy brim and his crews symbol emblazed upon it. He was somewhat clean shaven, but one had performed better when it came to smooth faces. What made him different from all of the other pirate stereotypes was his never-dying grin. Neither happy, nor sad. “Alex,” The male trainer whispered to his friend. He looked over to see the crew of the Volatile Hydreigon. He counted four Pokemon and their human. A Drifblim holding a bag while a Garchomp urged the unfortunate tourist to place their possessions in. A Chatot was on Hadrain’s shoulder while the Charizard from earlier was watching over the group of tourist, looking for any signs of aggression or thoughts of harm towards his captain and friend. This was strange...he saw seven Pokemon total when the pirate had intercepted their ship. So where was--- “Well crap,” Alex huffed as she stopped her sneaking. The boy stopped as he looked back to see what had halted his friend’s approach to their pokeballs. The remaining three of the Volatile Hydreigon crew. One was a cream colored cat, the pokemon’s ribbons holding the two trains pokeballs. The Sylveon had a smug look on its face, smirking at the two trainers. Next to the cheeky pokemon was an Dewott, its hands on its hips lightly clutching one of two scalchops on its thighs. However, the most intimidating of the three was their leader. His three heads staring intently at the frozen kids, a small smile crept on the three faces. “Hyyy,” It said, the look of satisfaction on its face never leaving. “Hydreigon!” The two trainers let out a cries of terror as the draconic pokemon launched towards them, as if he was ready for the kill. What they didn’t expect was the vicious pokemon halting inches away from them, giving them an amused look. “Oh for the love...why doesn’t anyone listen me!?” A voice cried, the teenagers whirled around to see Hadrain walking towards them in annoyance. Things could have gone better for the pirate crew. It was an easy catch, but these wannabe heroes were always looking to ‘save’ these poor rich folk from the ‘big bad pirate’. Hadrain knew that he wasn’t a saint, but what can a guy do? While he may be a pirate, he had standards that made his job quick and clean. So murder would never be one of his charges, but this seemed to backfire on him occasionally. People always assumed that he would just kill them. But whenever he gives his ‘I don’t kill anyone and you just give me your money’ routine, his victims came to the idiotic conclusion that they could do whatever they wanted! “What do I have to do, break someone’s kneecaps?” Hadrain thought bitterly. “Us professionals never get the respect we deserve. I bet those washed up Aqua jokes don’t have to put up with this when raiding a museum.” The two teenagers that stood before him showed small signs of worry.The pirate assumed that this was these kids’ first time getting robbed, because when being held on a island with no chance of escape besides the guy who's holding you hostage, you don’t usually run off. But Hadrain was a professional, so he kept his smile and acted calm. “Soooo,” The swashbuckler said offhandedly, regaining his mental composure when realizing that he properly planned for this. “Watcha doing there?” He asked cheekily. “Ummm, nothing!” Alex said quickly, looking over to her friend to get his attention. The boy snapped back to her, giving her a ‘are you kidding me look’. “We...we were just talking a stroll!” She managed to say. “I...I don’t know,” The captain mused, deciding to entertain his captives. “Because it really looks like you were trying to ummm, get your pokemon and fight me.” Before the teens could reply to the nefarious seafarer, a large crack of lightning filled the sky. Hadrain growled in anger at the sound, signaling that they were in for a rough journey on the sea. “Clammer,” The man groaned, the Dewott walking up to acknowledge it had hear its name. “Clammer, be a dear and escort these nice people, with their pokeballs, back to the group.” Clammer the Dewott gave a skeptical look, but shrugged and did as he was asked. The Chatot on Hadrain’s shoulder looked up at the sky, giving it a thoughtful look. The colorful bird then chose to speak, slightly shocking the two teenagers that were being escorted. “That distress signal the ship gave off should bring a search party by tomorrow,” The bird stated, still looking at the now darkened sky. “I say we sail somewhere in the storm, maybe to one of the deserted islands. This way any of the authorities coming here will be to busy looking for the tourist that we can slip out once the storm settles down.” “Seems like a plan, Singsong,” The human agreed, giving his friend a small pat on the head. All of this planning and mugging was stopped when a thunderous roar came from the jungle beyond the shore. All of those on the land looked over towards the source, seeing one of the tourist that had managed to break away from the group. “No one, no one listens to me!” Hadrain shouted as he saw the deserter dashed towards them. What came behind him only furthered the pirates bad mood. A large behemoth emerged from the clearing behind the poor man that was its prey. Its head was massive and the two large and muscular legs that carried it shook the ground with each stomp. A furious Tyrantrum was the last thing one would want to see. And it seems as if this one was more than just furious, the usually redness that came with the pokemon was even darker due to the anger that seemed to seep out of the large creature. “You have got to be kidding me!?” The captain of the pirate crew shouted in fury. “Bloodfin, Yazer!” The Charizard and Garchomp respond quickly, not needing their captain to give them anymore orders. The two Pokémon collided with their fellow pokemon, stopping the Tyrantrum in its tracks. This might have been salvageable, if there was only one of these dinosaurs that was chasing the tourist. Two more of these pokemon burst from the trees, one going for the tourists that were near the ship while the other going straight towards the trainers, Hadrian, and his other pokemon. “Clammer and Hydra, get those people out of there!” The pirate commanded, the Dewott and Hydreigon bolting off the intercept the incoming pokemon. Before Hadrian could give any more orders, his eye caught something that filled him with dread. One of the Tyrantrum went straight for the trainers. “Moondust, with me!” Hadrain shouted, he and the Sylveon jumping in front of the trainers. Before any real battle could commence, a strange feeling overcame all of those on the island, causing everyone to collapse. Darkness filled Hadrain’s vision, a signal voice filling the quiet void that had appeared. “Rest now my children, for when you awake a whole new world shall be your home.” The tides dashed against the rocks, only the sound of thunder seemed to fill these forgotten isles. None who have been stranded here have ever survived, and these new arrivals will be no different. Who are they to challenge the ways of this world? They will fail to adapt, just like the rest. But maybe there is a chance… Afterall, they seem to be...different. Author's Note Hello Everyone! So, this is my first Wayverse fic. I'm attempting to keep it close to the canon stories and not mess with the lore behind it. I don't know whether it'll become a canon story, but zeus and his friends setup a pretty nice world, so I'm inclined to stick with it :3 Let me know what you think and what I can improve on!
