章 2: Rescue
Jared's raw, sunburned body jerked violently as his arm was suddenly grabbed, jolting him awake. Instinctively, he yelled and flailed, striking something hard with his elbow and recoiling in pain. Gasping for breath, he felt his arm released and heard a man's voice from above, "Relax, I'm not going to hurt you, buddy."
Cradling his throbbing elbow, Jared looked up to see a muscular man wearing futuristic sunglasses with surprise etched on his face. Standing beside him was a young man no older than fifteen, scowling at Jared.
Struggling to compose himself, Jared noticed that they were on a small wooden boat without sails. It dawned on him that he had collided with their vessel, causing the pain in his arm.
But the realization was short-lived, as the next moment brought an even greater shock. Screaming at the top of his lungs, he found himself face to face with a monster half-submerged in the water. His body convulsed in terror, flailing like a drowning cat. He swallowed water and hyperventilated, forgetting even how to swim.
As he began to sink, he hit his arm against the boat again in a last ditch effort. But the pain was nothing compared to his panic. Just as he was about to go under, the unfamiliar man grabbed him by the armpit and hauled him onto the boat with surprising ease, causing the vessel to rock back and forth from the sudden motion.
The strong man sighs and moves back, seemingly to give his panicking charge some air. Taking a seat, he scratches his chin while watching Jared's pathetic frame gasp for breath and cough up slimy seawater.
But Jared's mind is still filled with instinctive fear.
Jared found some relief after clearing his lungs, but the half-submerged monster at the front of the boat decided to change all that by craning its neck towards Jared's face.
The creature came closer and closer, and when it roared with a "LAAAAA", Jared did the only sensible thing to do in such a situation and resumed screaming.
His saviour began to chuckle before erupting into laughter.
After a good thirty seconds, Jared managed to get a hold of himself and decided to relocate his now hoarse voice to the task of shouting mostly intelligible words, "AHHH NOOO, WHAWAHT ISS THAWT THIINGG, DOWNT EAT MEEE!"
The laughing savior wiped a tear from his eye at the unexpected plea and then spoke in between laughs, "Hahaa, that's hahaha, uhm.. haaaha, he won't hahaha hurt hahaa you."
Using his left hand, Jared managed to find purchase on the rim of the boat and then moved himself into a crouching stance while slowly backing away in instinctive fear from the gaping maw not two feet from him.
He decided to ask the same question but said it much louder than intended, "What is that thing?"
The happy-go-lucky savior chuckled once again, "Ah, that's Yoshi, my Lapras. Hey, Yoshi, give him some space. The poor man's clearly been through a lot."
Complying with his trainer's command, Yoshi moved his head away and gave a snort, stealing glances from above the water with interest.
Just behind the muscular savior was a snarky voice, "He doesn't know what a Lapras is?"
Listening in, Jared's sunburnt mind began to churn and process the words the two had spoken. "Lapras? Lapras... wait... wait a minute..."
Jared then croaked out some words in shaky disbelief, "Lapras... Lapras is a Pokemon?"
Kukui smiled, "He sure is. He's my best friend too!"
"A Pokemon?"
"Yep," he replied cheerfully.
Jared moved his eyes from the monster's face to peer down at the shell connected to its large body. Eyes wide with disbelief, Jared began losing strength in his legs and slid down the rim of the small boat into a seated position. Clutching his injured arm and cringing from the blisters, he held his chest and took a few shaky breaths. 'Okay, okay, okay... this is good news. At least this means it's probably not a water planet, and there are no cannibals here to eat me.'
The two strangers conversed back and forth for a few minutes until eventually, Jared somewhat processed his situation.
Turning his eyes from the Lapras, Jared decided to listen in on the conversation between the two strangers.
"Bane, even if it's a joke, you are taking it too far. "
"..."
'So that boys name is Bane... and my savior is named Kukui... kinda foreign-sounding, isn't it? Wait foreign? Aren't I the foreigner in this situation? and he called me a commoner?"
Scratching his wrist, a new thought popped into his head. 'No, is sounding foreign really the crux of the issue here? THEY SPEAK BLOODY ENGLISH, I'M ON ANOTHER PLANET, AND THEY SPEAK ENGLISH!!'
Feeling overwhelmed, Jared says the first thing he can think of, "So, erm, please... don't throw me overboard. I'll even give you money if you save me."
Hearing this, Kukui looks over with a straight face, and points at Jared's naked body, "But I think you may have lost your wallet?"
Seeing Jared's choked expression, Kukui slaps his knee and laughs. "I can't get enough of your expressions, it's too priceless."
Kukui then pats Jared hard on the back, inflicting a critical hit on his sunburned body. "Don't worry, you are safe with me. Although, if we didn't show up soon, you were probably dead meat. I'm really curious how you ended up out here. You don't look Alolan. Were you visiting the island and encountered an accident?"
Cringing from the painful red handprint left on his sunburnt back, Jared replies, "Ow, no, sorta. I don't know. Do you have any spare clothes I can wear? The sun is killing me."
Kukui tilts his head in puzzlement, then a few moments later he tosses over a shirt, "Did you hit your head or something?"
"No, no... my last memories were... of sitting on my couch," Jared replied in exasperation.
"Interesting, go on."
"Erm, so, where is this?"
Kukui answers while pointing to somewhere in the distance. Jared turned to look but distant fog obscured his view, "We're off the coast of Route Fourteen. I heard there was a sighting of a giant Tentacruel, so I was trying my luck to see if my young friend here and I could catch it. We werent lucky enough to find it, but at least one of us was lucky, haha."
Jared then notices the Lapras shake its head with a smile as if it were able to understand the corny joke.
"Can it understand us? And what do you mean by Route Fourteen? Where is that"
Kukui responds with an uncharacteristically serious expression, "Yes, but never call Yoshi a "It". He's my partner!"
Jared's sunburned face slowly begins to get even redder from the unexpected chastisement, then he laughs inwardly, 'I know some people on Earth that would love to be scolded while butt naked, but I'm not one of them.'
Kukui spent a moment rummaging through one of the two small bags positioned near the center of the small boat, and from his hands he produced some spare shorts. "You'll probably want some of these too. You're a bit smaller me, but they should fit well enough"
A bit bashful from his nakedness, Jared replies curtly, "Thanks... "
Jared tries on the shorts, along with the black and white striped shirt, "No underwear though..."
"Hey Kukui... actually, nevermind," Jared then reasoned to himself, "Yes, wearing someone's clothes is one thing, but the underwear might be a bit too weird..."
Kukui looks over in puzzlement for a moment before producing a smile. "So, what's your name? and to answer your previous question, route fourteen is near to Tapu village"
"Jared. So, Tapu Village? I dont know what that is."
The sunglasses wearing man motions over the slippery wooden floor of the boat, while Jared held onto the rails in fear of capsizing. Grabbing Jared's limp hand, Kukui gives it a shake. "Well, maybe you have temporary amnesia, at any rate it's nice to meet you!"
Smiling even wider, Kukui continues with interest. "Now that I think about it, that's a very unique name though. Where are you from, Jared?"
Jared coughs in an attempt to buy himself some time to think. 'I don't want to come off as a lunatic, so it's probably best I hide the fact that I came here from a different world. Kukui seems nice on the surface, but... I'm technically an otherworldly alien. So... maybe it's best I make something up, at least until I figure out how they treat aliens. Considering Alola is a real place, and the only two regions I actually know the name of are Kanto and Johto... and the fact that Kanto and Johto are probably far away from here, then... that probably means if I make something up, they likely won't be able to confirm it.'
After a short moment of deliberation, Jared replies, "I'm from Johto, uh... Pallet Town."
Rubbing his chin in thought, Kukui ponders for just a moment. "Pallet Town isn't in Johto though?"
In response, Jared's eyes open wide. He then abruptly stands up while desperately shaking his hands. "I, uh, sorry. I was confused. I meant Kanto."
Seeing Kukui nod in acceptance with a smile, Jared inwardly sighs in relief. 'That was close... how can i be such an idiot...'
From his position behind Kukui, an unimpressed Bane can be seen looking on with his arms crossed.
Laughing to hide his embarrassment, Jared croaks, "Ah... do you have any water? I think dehydration must be affecting my ability to think."
Reaching back into his bag, Kukui hands over a water bottle. "Sure thing!"
Grasping the bottle with both hands and nearly losing his balance in the process due to the slippery floor, Jared begins greedily chugging down the water.
Sputtering when a little water enters his windpipe, Kikui can be seen smiling slightly, clearly amused by the mans expressions.
Kukui then turns his head to the water-bound monster. "Hey Yoshi, can you please take us to land? Oh, and Jared, you might want to hold on to something, hehe."
Putting the water bottle down, Jared leans over the short railing on the side of the boat and holds onto the rim of the boat with his uninjured arm. He is now ready for any rapid movement!
Wiggling his ears, Yoshi slowly begins to move. A submerged rope soon becomes visible as the boat turns slowly, and after a moment the rope becomes fully taut. The rope is looped over Yoshi's shell on one end, while the other is tied firmly to the boat's bow.
A short time passes, and during this time Jared stares at the back of the fast-moving Lapras in thought. 'Is this really not the Loch Ness monster?'
The group travels in silence for a few minutes, and a cool breeze blows despite the hot sun. This breeze prompts Jared to shiver in his slightly damp clothes. "Weird, I could swear I felt warmer when I was in the water."
Kukui laughs, "Right? funny how that works isn't it?"
During their travel, Jared feels a tap on his shoulder, and when he turns around, he finds a sandwich held near his face.
"Hope you like tuna fish."
Looking at the sandwich in confusion for a moment, Jared contemplates the words. "Tuna...? How do they have tuna fish, and I thought that the world of Pokémon had no real animals, only Pokémon? How does this place share so many similarities with Earth?"
A minute later, Kukui breaks Jared from his internal monologue, "Say, Jared, what happened to your Pokémon? Did you get separated from them when you ended up here?"
"I... never had one before, probably," Jared replies.
Kukui reacts with surprise, "You came all this way from Pallet Town without a Pokémon?!"
With a cough, Jared explains, "I... I already told you my last memory was sitting at home. I have NO idea how I got here."
"So you're a commoner. I knew it, a proper trainer wouldn't end up butt naked in the ocean after all."
"Bane, I don't want to hear that talk anymore."
"Fine..."
An hour into the trip, Jared feels a familiar tap on his shoulder. Turning, he finds Kukui, who is seen pointing to a spot a little ways out. "Jared, do you see that over there?"
Jared turns to look and is greeted with a rather shocking sight. In his view are packs and packs of large, oval-looking red fish. The fish are happily swimming around and leaping out of the water periodically. It was like a endless tide of churning red.
Jared leaned over the side of the boat, squinting at the shimmering mass of fish-like creatures that were now swimming below the boat. He could see the distinct orange and white markings on their scales, but he still couldn't believe his eyes. Magikarp were considered to be the weakest and most useless Pokemon, yet here they were, swimming in perfect synchronization in the warm Alola waters.
Kukui, noticing Jared's uncertainty, explained that the Magikarp would come here every summer to breed. The sight was truly a remarkable one, and Kukui couldn't help but smile at Jared's amazement.
Jared nodded slowly, still in a state of disbelief. He had always been fascinated by the world of Pokemon, but he had never imagined that he would actually be able to witness it with his own eyes.
As the boat slowly drifted away from the school of Magikarp, Jared couldn't help but feel a pang of longing. He almost yearned to jump in and swim with the Pokemon, to experience the world of Pokemon firsthand.
His thoughts raced with excitement, and he finally realized that he was living his childhood dream. His eyes welled up with tears, but he didn't care. For the first time in his life, he was just happy to be alive.
'This is a dream I could have never dared to wish for, a wish a worthless bastard like me didn't deserve, but... even still, if this is somehow all a dream, I don't want to wake up. I want to be here for a little longer, as long as possible...'
Kukui put a warm, comforting hand on the tearful man. "It's like you've never seen a pack of wild pokemon before, hehe. Really cool though, aren't they? Just think, any one of them has the potential to become a giant man-eating Gyarados! "
Jared's eyes went wide, "Then Isn't it dangerous to be here?"
"Naw, we're probably fine."
After a four-hour trip over the calm ocean and several more questions from Kukui, the group was soon nearing an inlet.
Lining the shores of the inlet was a large concrete dock. The dock held ships of various sizes. The ships ranged from small boats similar to the one they were on, but there were also many medium-sized vessels. These vessels all shared one thing in common: they did not have a sail!
Jared pondered quietly, 'This is a lot bigger than what I'd imagine. I mean, it is called Tapu village, but this dock is fit for a city!'
Rooted along the shore were packs of scattered palm trees, and they were accompanied by random patches of small, sweet-smelling red and yellow flowers.
Placed sporadically throughout the landscape were a few sparse fields of small shrubs, their leaves and branches appearing as if they were struggling to survive the salty breeze. The shrubs were no more than a foot high, their spindly branches reaching out as if pleading for fresh water.
Despite the lack of vegetation, the air was thick with a sweet scent that mingled with the putrid stench of rotten fish. It was as if the scent was clinging to the shrubs, imbuing them with a faint, cloying fragrance that permeated the entire landscape.
As the wind picked up, the shrubs swayed and rustled, their delicate branches and leaves rustling together. The sandy terrain was littered with other debris and rocks, but the areas around the dock was pristine.
Jared covered his nose in disgust, but he quickly got used to it.
The colorful wooden houses on stilts were painted in bright hues of red, blue, and green, adding a cheerful vibe to the otherwise rugged and salty dock. The stilts rose high from the water, indicating that the town was susceptible to high tides and storms.
Jared observed the bustling activity on the dock as they approached. Men and women, both young and old, worked in harmony with their pokemon, unloading their catch from small boats and fishing vessels. Some were busy sorting the fish, while others mended their nets or cleaned their boats.
Beyond the dock, the town tapered off into a cluster of small houses, barely visible from their position. The houses looked quaint and cozy, with thatched roofs and brightly colored walls. Further away, a hill rose steeply, almost obscuring the horizon. It looked like a wall, separating the town from the outside world.
As they drew closer, Jared's attention was drawn to a medium-sized boat stranded on the shore. Three short men were perched atop the vessel, submerged waist-deep in the water, working on the coral growth on the ship's bottom. Their faces were intense with concentration, and they worked with practiced efficiency, oblivious to the world around them.
Getting nearer, Jared got a better view of the three "men," and their true appearance prompted Jared to ask, "Hey Kukui, are those Machops with clothes?"
With a small chuckle, Kukui nodded.
"This is all so... incredible. I feel like I'm dreaming right now. "
"pft, your expressions are still priceless"
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