Unprecedented Times [A Pokemon Ranger Quest]

Indivisible said:

What ethically deprived mad pokescietist made that discovery?!

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An idea itched at me. Wrote this while at work. Might clean it up later. Rushed the end a little.
E: slight corrections.
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On a stormy evening in late April, young Pokemon Trainer Denton became lost at sea while traveling between Poni Island and Ulaʻula Island. Both islands rest on either side of the Alola archipelago, and in his haste, the Trainer decided to skip over both Melemele Island and Akala Island, neglecting the higher measure of safety that the relative closeness of the other islands offered. This sort of occurrence is not unheard of as Trainers, both new and seasoned alike, decide to skip docking at other islands to reach their destination quicker. Unfortunately, these trips have been known to end in tragedy as the waters of Alola are rife with all manner of aquatic Pokemon, most of which are dangerous to approach even with an experienced team. More often than not, the Trainers who ride across the waves instead of through the air are never heard from again.

How fortunate, then, that the Pokemon Trainer who set off in late April found himself on Melemele almost a week later, dehydrated, starving, sunburnt, and smiling through exhaustion as he headed into the nearest Pokemon Center with his team and newly acquired Corsola egg. When congratulated, Denton pointed to his team. The proud mother Corsola, of course, and the Mareanie father.

The Center Nurse was flabbergasted. Mareanie are the natural predators of Corsola, finding the coral Pokemon utterly irresistible. Even some Alolan Trainers who specialize in raising the Mareanie line agree that preventing them from devouring potential Corsola teammates is near impossible, and the best method was separating them entirely. Yet, this young man claimed that those two Pokemon were indeed the parents.

"I mean, Arnie [the Mareanie] is my bud, man," Denton told the Alolan Wave. "He's saved me from some pretty gnarly Pokemon. Like, Tentacool and stuff out on the waves. But when we were headin' to Ula'ula, a Sharpedo started followin' the [fishing] boat. I thought it was gone after a few days, and tried to surf the rest of the way to Ula'ula instead. Just gotta get there faster, right? Got a rope, my board, and Reel, my Starmie, and we were off. Then the Sharpedo showed up again. I know it was the same one because of the huge scar on one side. Anyways, we were too far out when it finally showed up. I did everything I could think of to get it off our trail -- zig-zags, spike traps, jabs, the works -- but just couldn't shake it."

As Denton explains, the Sharpedo relentlessly pursued him and his Starmie out into the open sea. Arnie the Mareanie, sitting on his head, attempted to dissuade the Pokemon from approaching, but despite ramming into Toxic Spikes multiple times, the Sharpedo simply would not give up. According to Professor Kukui, this odd behavior coupled with the distinctive scar likely indicated that the Pokemon was ousted from its former territory and desperate. While Sharpedo are brutally fast, reaching speeds of over seventy miles per hour, they can only do so in short bursts and usually don't chase after prey so far out. As well, Mareanie and Toxapex poison is incredibly painful, one hit normally being enough to drive off most wild Pokemon. Instead, this particular Sharpedo endured the attacks and kept following Denton.

When it became clear that the Sharpedo would not fall back, Denton changed course for Melemele.

"We were on the home stretch," said Denton. "I could see Melemele Island comin' up in the distance. And then that Sharpedo Crunched Reel and broke his gem. She was in bad shape. Real bad shape. I had to recall her, and Arnie... Arnie totally lost it. He started pounding that Sharpedo with everything he had."

What exactly happened next, only Arnie and the Sharpedo know. Both dove beneath the waves, leaving Denton to hang onto his surfboard as his starter defended him. The only signs of battle were the dark lights of Elite aura-imbued attacks as the sea boiled beneath Denton. With more room to maneuver, however, Arnie surely had more freedom to act.

During all of that, Denton himself had a choice to make: to stay and wait for Arnie, or to paddle closer towards shore. While remaining in place would be easy, and indeed was recommended for anyone stranded at sea, it was still too close to the battle. Trusting in his starter but unwilling to stray too far, Denton began moving away from the battle.

"That was my bad," Denton admitted later. "I should've realized that the Sharpedo might mistake me for a flailing Spheal, but I thought it'd be too tied up with Arnie. Just wanted a little distance so I wouldn't get Crunched, too, ya know? Staying where I was would've meant Arnie had to defend himself and me at the same time, too."

The Sharpedo bit into Denton's surfboard and broke it in half. A screaming Arnie clung to the Pokemon's back, stabbing it with its spikes. Denton, adrift and just out of reach of Melemele, had lost his last shred of safety and his friend was ferociously lashing out to stop the Bully of the Sea. Most others lost at sea, Trainer or not, have lost their lives to less. Exposure, starvation, scurvy, and simply drowning have claimed more lives than Sharpedo do in a year.

Fortunately for both Denton and Arnie, Melemele Island is surrounded by a coral reef, rich with life and home to a healthy variety of Pokemon. Which included one very agitated Corsola.

Before Denton knew what was happening, a wild Corsola crashed into the Sharpedo, and effectively took it back underwater. Together with Arnie, they managed to drive off the Bully before breaching the waves, victorious.

Denton described Arnie's reaction to being within reaching distance of his natural prey as, "Wowza!"

"They had to drag me to shore, yeah, but man! Arnie was so excited! He was wigglin', vocalizin', the works! I'd never seen him so head over heels for anyone!"

The day long trek back towards civilization apparently gave Arnie and "Solar" time enough not only to bond, but mate as well. Denton made sure to take at least one egg to be checked over at the Pokemon Center.

Breeders and researchers are still investigating how Mareanie and Toxapex may be able to ignore their predatory instincts and befriend Corsola rather than eat them.