Author's note:

Bonus release today. Thought I'd do it this way from now on with these 0.5 chapters since people often just click on the most recent release and skip ahead of the main chapter.

***

“Don’t you dare!”

Lucy forcefully clamped down on her friend’s big dumb mouth before Justin got the chance to let loose with a bellow.

“Mphff hummf. Hmwt hwo!”

The boy glared at Lucy, struggling to pry her steel fingers away from his face. But to no avail. Lucy had always been freakishly strong for her age — hence why Justin often referred to her as a Slaking behind her back.

In one smooth motion, Lucy transitioned her grip to a chokehold, suffocating Justin behind her muscular forearms. “Have you forgotten Nina’s warnings? If you make a ruckus in this place, you’ll attract a whole swarm of Zubats to our location. Not to mention the risk of a cave-in!” She whispered in aggression.

To their side, Kerry chuckled at their shenanigans and assuaged Lucy with a gentle caress on her back. “I think he’s learned his lesson, Lucy. Why don’t you let go before Justin actually suffocates.”

“Hmph.” And with a little scoff, Lucy loosened her grip, allowing her childhood friend to collapse onto his knees as he desperately gasped for air.

“Dammit! What gives, you stupid Slaking?!”

Lucy twitched, but just before she could grab hold of him again, Justin sprinted and with a stupid cry, dove face first into the massive underground lake to their side.

“Nana~ ninana~ Try and catch me if you can, dummy! Oh that’s right, you don’t have a Water Pokemon. Haha!” Justin taunted, his infuriating voice reverberating all across the wide empty space.

“Lucy, wait—”

Before Kerry could stop her, the girl growled like an aggrieved Houndoom and jumped into the water after Justin — she may not have had a Water Pokemon on hand, but that did not mean she couldn’t swim!

“Oh shoot!” Justin panicked and started swimming, but his speed still fell short of Lucy’s who shot across the water through sheer brute strength and force of will.

Kerry sighed, internally cursing Nina for leaving her alone to babysit the rowdy duo. “Polly, go and drag them back, will you?” The nurse girl asked as she released her Poliwhirl with a flash.

Lucy and Justin’s current behavior was extremely dangerous, liable to attract wild Pokemon in the water or get hurt and drown themselves. Luckily, Kerry got Polly to take part in Pokemon lifeguard training back in school, so the Poliwhirl was well equipped to pacify the two troublemakers in a safe manner.

Once secured, Justin was practically coughing his lungs out as Polly plopped him onto shore — the boy had swallowed quite a fair bit of water during their little aquatic tussle.

Lucy, though, still looked defiant as she glared daggers at the boy. That was, until Kerry stepped in between them and stared down at her with a face full of displeasure.

“That’s enough! The two of you could have gotten yourself killed! Either you behave or I’m calling off our outing for today.”

Lucy immediately shrunk back with an apologetic look, while Justin wilted with a “Yes, mom— I mean— Yes, Kerry…”

The nurse girl snorted, then burst out into laughter alongside Lucy.

“Did you seriously just call her your mom, you dork?!” Lucy guffawed while giving Justin hearty slaps on his back, forcing more liquid to sputter from his mouth.

***

“So? Anything catch your eye?”

Lucy shook her head with a frown.

The trio of budding young trainers were currently in their swimsuits and sitting atop the shell of Justin’s Blastoise with the goal of maybe finding a Water Pokemon for Lucy.

“I see a couple of Quagsires around,” chimed Kerry as she waved at the derpy blue blobs who were friendly enough to wave back. “Nina’s always going on about how cute they are…”

“Nah… They’re not really my style, you know?” Lucy responded, eliciting a snort from Justin.

“Heh. This musclehead here only catches Pokemon that look all cool and menacing. Like that Marowak of yours, until you beat her to it.”

“I don’t wanna hear that from the guy who owns a Sharpedo!” Lucy shot back, with a great deal of incredulity. Even Kerry raised an eyebrow at Justin’s hypocrisy.

“Hate to break it to you, Jonathan. But she’s got a point.”

“It’s Justin! Jonathan doesn’t even have the right number of syllables!”

Lucy laughed. “I’m surprised a dummy like you even knows what a syllable is.”

Justin groaned and primed himself to jump at the girl before settling down with a silent glare from Kerry.

The nurse girl sighed. “That was my bad, so I’ll apologize. But no more fights from the two of you or I’ll have Blastoise send you guys back to the outpost in his canons.”

“Blast~” cried the Pokemon in affirmation.

“Traitor! Aren’t you supposed to be my partner?!”

Cry as Justin might, but it was a universal law among trained Pokemon to never disobey a Joy.

***

“Are you sure about this, Justin?” Lucy asked.

“Yeah, I mean look at all these Zubats. They gotta be coming from somewhere.” The main cavern they were in had too much human traffic during the day, which made it unideal for the bat Pokemon to nest in.

“I had Noivern do a bit of scouting earlier.” The boy continued. “She said that there’s actually lots of little tunnels high above. And some that we might even be able to fit through.”

Justin turned towards his friend with sparkling eyes. “That’s gotta be where the Lapras song is coming from! I mean, aren’t you curious?! It's a Lapras, Lucy! I betcha even Nina would be jealous if we somehow manage to catch it for you.”

Lucy averted her gaze. The fact that her childhood friend was doing this for her did make her feel a little warm inside.

“Yeah, but I still think we should tell Kerry. I kinda feel bad about leaving her behind.” The nurse girl was currently preparing lunch for the group. “And what if something bad happens and we need first aid?”

“It’ll be fine~” Justin drawled. “And besides, aren’t you worried that she’s gonna throw a Fast Ball on you again? I mean if I were a Pokemon, I sure as heck know who I would pick…” That last part was said with a low mumble, but Lucy picked it up all the same as she pulled the boy in for a vicious noogie.

“Fine.” Lucy said once she had her fill of punishing the mouthy Justin. “I’ll come along. But we need to take precautions so we don’t get lost.” Lucy accompanied Nina when she went shopping for cave survival gear and got some stuff for herself as well.

“Cool! Let’s gear up and get going!”

***

Lucy gasped in awe at the underground lake before her, glowing a brilliant cerulean gleam, like shimmering sapphire in liquid form.

However, that awe was short lived as she noticed the Lapras stranded atop a little island in the center, moaning in distress at the malevolent swarm of glowing Tentacools floating menacingly in the surrounding waters. Each eagerly flailing their tentacles and vying to drag the poor helpless Lapras into their ravenous embrace.

“I thought we already got rid of those guys!” Justin exclaimed.

“We dispersed the mega bloom, but it doesn’t mean that the Tentacool are just gonna go away. They’ll still approach, but in more manageable swarms.” Lucy frowned as she released her Manectric into the cavern and hopped onto his back.

“Let’s go, boy! We need to protect Lapras!”

“Mane!” The Manectric howled in affirmation as he ran towards the edge of the shore and pounced onto the Lapras’s solitary island in one massive leap.

“Priii!!!”

The Lapras cried out in distress, alarmed by the sudden strangers who intruded upon its sanctuary.

Lucy’s immediate instinct was to try and calm the Lapras but quickly decided against it, thinking that actions spoke louder than words. So she called on her Manectric to blast the lake with Thunderbolt to disperse the Tentacool.

Lapras shrunk and trembled in fear from the booming noise, eyes shut tight from the flashing lights. But once the commotion settled, she felt a tender caress upon her slender nape and a gentle voice calling out to her.

“Hey… It’s okay now… Those meanies are all gone. No one’s gonna hurt you anymore…”

“Prii…?”

With a great deal of hesitation, Lapras slowly opened her eyes, to meet the concerned gaze of the blonde haired girl in front of her.

“Hey there, buddy… Are you okay? Are you hurt anywhere?” Lucy rummaged around in her Berry Pouch. “Here, have some Oran Berries. They’re good for you, and super tasty too!”

The girl steadily brought the Berries close to the lip of the apprehensive Lapras, making sure to maintain eye contact and a toothless smile all the while.

“Prii…” The Lapras preened in uncertainty, but eventually came close and gave the Berries a little nudge before lapping it up. Lucy giggled at the sensation of Lapras’s slender tongue.

“Hihihi… My name’s Lucy, a Pokemon Trainer from Viridian City. Nice to meet you, Lapras!”

“Priii!”

The girl giggled once more, leaning in close to nuzzle her face against Lapras’s coarse exterior. “Your skin’s a little dry, Lapras. How long have you been stuck on this little island?”

“Priii…” Lapras wilted, her beautiful visage drooping in sadness.

“Aww… Poor girl.” Lucy pulled the Lapras in for an embrace. “Don’t you worry. Those bullies are gone now if you want to dive back down into the lake. I’ll make sure to protect you while you go in for swimmies, how’s that sound?”

“Prii!!” Lapras preened in delight as she nuzzled against her newfound protector.

“Hehe. Mind if my friend joins in? Justin’s an idiot but he has a couple of Water Pokemon that’ll come in handy.

“Priii~”

And so, Lucy waved at Justin to come over as they dove into the Tentacool infested lake.

***

With a team of reliable bodyguards by her side, Lapras was fearless as she munched on a nearby Tentacool, stripping it of its blue gelatinous exterior while deftly avoiding the tentacles and glowing red “gems” on its head, where the bulk of its Poison was stored.

Lucy was absolutely fascinated by the sight. “Do Lapras feed on Tentacools? I’ll have to ask Nina when we get back.”

Before long, the population of the jellyfish Pokemon dwindled to a more manageable number — one that even Lapras could handle without fear of being overwhelmed.

One thing that Lucy couldn’t help noticing though, was how narrow the tunnels leading into the lake were. None of which seemed large enough to allow a Lapras to pass, juvenile or not.

“Where did you come from, Lapras?” The girl asked.

“Prii…” Lapras moaned in sadness as she lowered her head.

“Were you born here?”

Lapras responded by nuzzling her head against Lucy, eyes moist with tears. Just the thought of Lapras being confined in such a limited space from birth was enough to make the girl furrow her brows in anguish.

“Would you like to leave, Lapras? Go out on an adventure under the sun?”

“Pri?” Lapras tilted her head, not understanding the girl’s words.

Lucy giggled. “Of course, you wouldn’t know what the sun is, would you? It’s this big ball of light up in the sky. It rises during the morning and sets at night.” She then took out her Pokedex and pulled up a picture of the sunset that she took on Route 32.

“Priii!!!” Lapras’s eyes sparkled at the never before seen sight, her voice tinged with a yearning towards the world that lay beyond these rocky walls.

Lucy beamed at her new friend with a hopeful gaze. “So? What do you say, Lapras? Wanna go out on an adventure with me?”

“Pri!” Lapras nodded and nuzzled against Lucy, eliciting boisterous cheers from Justin who was closely monitoring the exchange.

“Yeah!!! You did it, Lucy!”

The girl laughed, feeling an immense wave of happiness wash over her. “Welcome to the family, Lapras!”

However, before she could bring out any of her Pokeballs for the capture, the entire cavern quaked as one of the walls broke, falling apart to reveal a gang of unruly looking, black clad individuals led by an older man in a strange silver outfit.

“Hmph! Another empty cavern… How are you lot so incompetent?! Does this look like ancient ruins to you?!” The older man barked, until his eyes halted on the pair of kids in the cavern and the sight of the rare Lapras accompanying them.

***

Author's note:

I've been on a fanfiction kick recently. Do you guys have any recommendations?

Though I did read one recently that left me fuming. Which I shall not name to avoid disparaging them.

My view has always been that a story is only as good as its ending. But a sad ending isn't necessarily a bad ending. And likewise, a happy ending isn't necessarily a good ending.

An ending can be both sad and good at the same time.

Case in point, Cyberpunk: Edgerunner. We saw David's spiral coming several episodes before it even happened. Everything was well telegraphed and foreshadowed. Hence, when it eventually happened, we as the audience didn't feel like we had the rug pulled from underneath us. We could properly partake in the sadness and bask in the melancholy. It's like watching a terminally ill patient peacefully pass away in their sleep. There's a level of acceptance there.

The idea of subverting expectations is reprehensible really. It's just an excuse for bad writing. The more you try to hide the twist by not preparing the audience, even more so. It isn't just all about maximizing shock value. The twist has to be context appropriate. It has to MAKE SENSE.

It's my fault really. I should have known. Why else would such a well written story have such low reviews? Sometimes my policy of not reading reviews before jumping in backfires. But it's a worthwhile risk I think.