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Blanche was feeling nervous.
They were supposed to research the rumours about plants growing under the icebergs of the Northern Sinnohian Sea, and test out the newest diving equipment called Triton. It was supposed to work like gills, and filter the air from the water to the wearer, and so make them able to spend time underwater basically for a limitless time. That is, until its battery wears out. The device had been lab tested, but it had never before been used on the field, so Blanche couldn’t help but feel nervous about this. They had taken the liberty of taking commonly used diving gear with them in case of any accidents, but they hoped they wouldn’t have to use them.
A clear mew roused Blanche from their worries as their attention focused on the Vaporeon nuzzling their leg. The Vaporeon, nicknamed Sushi by Spark after much protesting on Blanche’s part, had been with them the longest, and so knew exactly how to read their emtions. Blanche crouched to pet the Vaporeon’s head, thanking them for the wake up call, and took the Triton.
”Well, time to go, Sushi.” Blanche stepped outside the boat’s cabin and descended to the water slowly. It was freezing, but Blanche was used to cold temperatures. Sushi jumped in beside its trainer and dived. The two stayed close to the boat for a moment to test out if Triton truly was as flawless as they had been promised it would be. Blanche took in the first breath carefully, almost expecting to swallow a mouthful of seawater. When all their lungs were met with was air, however, they started taking stable breaths, making sure it hadn’t just been a fluke. It hadn’t been. The Triton worked! Blanche was already feeling excited about this trip.
Inspecting the underside of an iceberg isn’t as easy as one would imagine. Icebergs aren’t nearly as small as they seem, so there is a lot to inspect. Being underwater would’ve also been a factor in making this mission more difficult than it should’ve been, but Blanche, having been an avid swimmer since childhood, was so used to moving in water it hardly slowed them down. Sushi was tasked in helping in case anything went wrong with the Triton, and to drive away any aggressive Pokemon that would come near. Fortunately no Pokemon appeared to harass the newcomers – the only Pokemon that came near enough was a young looking Seel, who Sushi drove away gently. As Sushi was, in its boredom, chasing its own tail, Blanche lamented on the lack of a notepad to write notes on. So far the iceberg had been barren of any plants, but even that would’ve been good to write down, maybe even the working conditions could be worth of note. The Triton could have a light on it for easier use in the darker waters, where light didn’t reach.
Even though Blanche knew the possibilites of the rumoured plant simply growing on another iceberg, they couldn’t help the doubt they were feeling. They had been inspecting this particular glacier and finding no traces of plant life on it, and they had to admit it could’ve just been a rumour. Most stories they and their coworkers find and inspect end up turning out to be just stories that have been told to scare children from doing something dangerous or annoying. Maybe they should swim to another iceberg, and- And they couldn’t breathe. They breathed in ice cold seawater, and tried their hardest to suppress the need to cough. They motioned wildly for Sushi, who was now in full alert. It grabbed its owner from their arm with its teeth and started dragging them upwards towards the surface. Blanche knew this to be a slower process than they could hope for. Dragging someone while swimming isn’t the easiest feat even for water type Pokemon. A cry resonated through the water, and Blanche felt themselves rising faster. Something was pushing them. As they broke through the water’s surface, they ripped the Triton off and took in hasty breaths in between hacks and coughs. Blanche held onto Sushi, who looked at Blanche worriedly, making low, long, worried noises.
”Sushi… thank you”, Blanche thanked. Sushi had understood immediately they had been in trouble and known what to do. But there had been another one helping out Sushi…
Blanche turned around to find a Seel, presumably the same curious one Sushi had driven off previously. It held a safe distance to Blanche, but it looked clearly curious. Its eyes were focused on the human, and its head was tilted. Vaporeon let out a curious mew, to which the Seel responded loudly to. Blanche would’ve gladly let their partner get to know this wild Pokemon, but they really should get back to the ship and find some proper diving gear that could be trusted to work right.
”Sushi, use Surf. We need to get back to the boat.” Sushi carried Blanche quickly to the ship that it somehow hadn’t lost track of, and let Blanche climb onto the boat, remaining behind. Blanche figured Sushi was enjoying the time in water, as it had been stuck on the boat for days now.
The splashes of water Blanche could’ve expected to see when they came back, but what they hadn’t expected was to see the Seel from before playing around with Sushi, who was usually very withdrawn around strangers, Pokemon or human. Both of the Pokemon were enjoying themselves, although Sushi still seemed lightly cautious over this Pokemon. Blanche felt curious about this Pokemon that seemingly had won Sushi’s trust so easily. Blanche called Sushi over, and asked the Vaporeon to follow them as they dived again. Blanche noticed the Seel following behind them, and smiled to themselves.
Blanche had lost all sense of time, and their caring for time as well. They hadn’t found any evidence of what they came to look for, but so far they had had a brief battle with a couple of Sealeo that clearly held this area as their own. Blanche had used the fastest tactic to escape without aggravating the Pokemon any further, preferring to avoid conflicts than to cause them. Seeing how Sealeo were usually quite docile and peaceful, even playful, this encounter interested them. Had they Sealeo been disturbed beforehand by something? Maybe these Sealeo were just uncharacteristically aggressive, which, while not impossible, seemed like an unsatisfactory of an answer. Blanche was already formulating a plan of sneaking near the Sealeo to study them, when Sushi started lightly headbutting them. When it got the attention it had wanted, Sushi started swimming upwards, turning to see whether its friend was following. Blanche sighed and swam obediently to the surface. They had been on plenty of missions with Sushi before, and knew very well this was the sign of Sushi becoming tired. Or believing them to be tired. No matter which case it was, this was always the mark after which Sushi refused to work and to let Blanche work either. Blanche found this behaviour annoying, but maybe it was right. Resting could be a good idea. The Seel that had been accompanying the duo joined them on Sushi’s Surf to the ship.
”Sushi, hop on”, Blanche offered their shoulder, hanging on to the ship’s ladders. Sushi jumped up on their shoulder, weighing more than was comfortable for the small framed leader. This had been way easier when Sushi had been a little Eevee, Blanche thought. They were already halfway up the ladders when they heard a sad wail. They turned their head and saw the Seel hanging onto the metal ladders with its flippers, letting out distressed cries after its two new friends. Blanche felt sad about leaving the little fellow there; it had been good company, and both Blanche and Sushi had already grown fond of it.
”Hold on, friend!” Blanche shouted, and started climbing faster. When they reached the deck, they immediately headed towards their cabin. Sushi had hopped off their shoulder, and was running by its partner to the cabin and back, and stayed at the deck when Blanche started climbing down again. They reached water level, and held on to the ladders as they saw the Seel. They stretched their hands towards the Pokemon, and showed it a wave-patterned light blue pokeball. A Dive Ball.
”You’ve been good company, and you clearly would like to keep being good company to us”, Blanche spoke.
”Would you want to join us?”
The Seel let out a glad arf and bopped its head on the pokeball, which called the Pokemon inside it in a red light.
”I suppose that’s a yes.” Blanche smiled