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Maxie Matsubusa hated the beach.
Okay, backtrack. He hated the ocean aspect of the beach. The sandy shores and the beautiful cliff sides that were normally found on the edges of land were perfectly fine in his eyes. The ocean, however, was its own entity. Its own, awful entity. It was vast, dangerous, and there wasn't really anything there other than some equally terrifying water type Pokemon. Now, the treasures that lied under it in the expansive caverns and rocky terrain were something to behold, but until humanity can figure out a way to explore such a massive part of the world without drowning or being stranded on a lonesome island, those treasures would remain a mystery.
Until that day came, Maxie was stuck on the shores. Frankly, he would never want to go further than waist deep into water to begin with. The merciless ocean would not hesitate to drag his frail body out to see, never to be seen again.
Try as he might, the ocean was impossible to avoid in the lively city of Lilycove. The air was as salty as food from a cheap fast food joint and it seemed like no matter where a person went, the sounds of the waves crashing against the shore were impossible to avoid. The glittering white beaches surrounding the lower and east side of the city were popular tourist destinations no matter the time of year. Hoenn only had one season after all, and that season was fun in the sun summer.
The best time to go to the beach was when the sun was high in the sky. The cool ocean water was a heaven sent for those who needed a place to cool down. Swim suit clad people laid out on colorful beach towels and chairs, letting their expensive oils soak up the sun to achieve peak tan. All kinds of life visited the beaches during the day, but when the sun began to dip down into the sky, taking the summer fun along with it, people would go back to their overpriced hotel rooms or seaside mansions and rest from their day of living in the moments.
The only people who visited the beach after prime hours were couples wanting to have a romantic walk along the shoreline, holding hands as they talked about how beautiful the orange and magenta sky was. Along with them were loners who wanted to take the perfect shot of the sun setting over the horizon of the sparkling ocean and claim to be professional photographers even though they're probably in their early twenties and solely rely on Snapchat filters when editing their photos, or have peace and quiet time when looking for rocks.
Like Maxie.
As horrible as the ocean was, there was no denying that it helped in the creation of some of the most beautiful stones known to man. Maxie couldn't hold his Masters in geology without attributing the ocean for creating his field of study to begin with. Then again, he couldn't hold his Masters in geology with pride all the much to begin with. He was fortunate to obtain a steady job with Lilycove University as a research assistant. If that had not happened, well, he loved his dear sweet mother to death but he would go insane if he lived with her any longer than he already has.
The beach often held various types of stones and gems that he could add to his collection/research, so he has found himself wandering down the shoreline after the busy hours of the day time after time. It was practically routine for him at this point. He wouldn't have invested in waterproof shoes or a rain jacket if he only planned on visiting the beach once or twice in his life. Okay, that was a lie. He had those anyway but they were being put to good use now!
Tonight's hunt was jasper. It was common on other beaches such as the one in Slateport, but he has had little to no luck finding it in Lilycove. Maybe tonight he would have a little more luck. It had rained earlier in the day, so perhaps that would prove to aide in his search.
At least, that's what he thought.
Maxie began his adventure when the sun was beginning to turn the sky a light tint of orange, but now the sun had rested for the day. The sky was a milky black, starless due to the light pollution of the city. The only thing indicating that clouds weren't covering the view was the brilliant light of a waning moon creeping into the sky. It was getting late. Late and cold, as ocean air does when there is no sun around to warm the air. Maxie tugged his jacket a little closer around his body and flicked on a handy pocket flashlight. He spent one too many fruitless nights searching the shore for small treasures all because he couldn't see. His pocket flashlight was his saving grace.
His bag only held a few small beauties, but none of them were what he wanted. He was beginning to believe that the ocean knew millions of years ahead of time that he would be working in a university in Lilycove and decided to lay off the natural process of creating specific gems just in spite of him. That obviously wasn't the case, but he was alone so he could murmur whatever curses toward the ocean he wanted.
At least, he thought he was alone.
Maxie jumped at the sound of a loud, pained grunt. His flashlight fell out of his grasp but he was quick to grab it before it bounced off of the bundle of stones he was currently exploring.
He was about to walk on and let whoever was there with him carry about their business, but his conscience was being annoying today. That grunt sounded like it came from somebody in pain. If someone was found dead in the morning, that was blood on his hands.
"Hello?" He finally called out, staying silent to hear a response. None came. Maxie shrugged it off.
But of course, as soon as he was ready to go about the rest of his business he heard the sound again.
"Hello?" he repeated, this time scooting off of the large rock he had perched himself on. "Is everything okay?"
This could all just be a pitiful waste of time. Some kids were probably playing a prank on him. Either that or they were having some private fun time that he certainly did not want to see. He looked at the time on his phone. It was getting late. He needed to head back to his apartment soon. He was probably missing out on the nightly fight his neighbors were getting into.
Maxie flashed his light around the area, completely ready to leave. But then he saw something shimmer off in the jagged rocks a few feet out in the water. Well...maybe he could spare another few minutes. He rolled up his pants to stay above his knees as he trekked out, wincing as the cold water engulfed his skin. Oh, the things he will do for his hobbies.
His eyebrows rose in curiosity as the sound of the grunts grew more clear the close he got to the rocks. He was probably going to ruin someone's good time, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized he didn't care. He stuck his flashlight in his mouth and hoisted himself up on the slippery stones.
That flashlight promptly dropped onto the rocks below, flickering as if fighting the inevitable before it flicked off for good.
Maxie didn't need the light to see what was before him. A long, Sharpedo patterned tail was trapped under two ragged rocks. It was common for fish to swim into the small pools of rock clusters during a high tide, only to get trapped when the water receded. But this...this was no fish. Stretching out above the tail was not a doofy looking, beady eyed face. Instead, it was a torso. A dark skinned, muscular human torso. A human face stared up at him as well. The water matted his dark hair to his face and the roughed up, navy blue fins sticking out where his ears should be. His teeth were sharp and a pale "X" shaped scar was smacked right in the middle of his face.
Maxie didn't even realize he was holding his breath as he looked at the creature. The ocean was mysterious indeed. Just to make sure that he hadn't previously slipped off a rock and hit his head, he smacked his cheek just to make sure this was reality. He felt a small sting. Yep. This was actually happening.
He must have overstayed his welcome. The creature picked up one of the smaller rocks and tossed it at Maxie. He was snapped back to reality just in time to duck out of the way. The creature obviously didn't want an audience. Maxie poked his head up over the rocks to take another peak at him, only to be met with daggers.
This was remarkable! This was amazing! Humanity had only placed mer-creatures in the world of fantasy, but here was one in the flesh. One that looked like it could tear flesh apart, nonetheless.
If the world found out about him, it would be Maxie's one way ticket to fame. He could make something of himself. But then again, who was to say he would get credit? Being a research assistant, he knew all too well what it was like for all of his hard work to be published under someone else's name.
The creature was heaving mighty breaths. It's probably hard to say how long he's been trapped. The pool of water was shallow. It wasn't even enough to cover his tail. Maxie had no idea how his respiratory system worked, but he could safely assume he needed water.
Maxie ducked down again. He was cynical at the plans of finding fame from this discovery. Too many factors. Too many people. It wouldn't work.
He circled to the front of the rock cluster where the tip of his tail lay motionless. The creature saw his head poking out and tossed another rock at him. Maxied ducked out of the way again. "There's no need for that!" he huffed even though he doubted the creature would be able to understand him. He may have human parts and maybe the ability to learn language if Chomsky was right, but if he was never exposed to language then there's no way in hell he would understand it, let alone speak it. Suck it seventy-five percent of mermaid fiction.
Maxie held his hands out in front of him, palms up and open in the hopes that the creature would see that he meant no harm. His eyes were still harsh, unmoving from the man while his webbed hand searched for another rock to throw.
"I'm...going to help you," he said calmly, evenly. Language may not be universal, but tone kind of is. He placed his hands on the first rock. It was smaller than the other one and perched right on top of it. It seemed like it would be easy enough to get off, but he could see how the creature couldn't. It was just a little bit out of reach.
Maxie found his footing so he would slip and started to pull the rock up. Arceus, it was heavy, but it was angled in such a way that Maxie didn't have to unlodge it from anything. He managed to turn it over and let it fall to the side.
The rock crashed among the others and Maxie placed his hands on his knees, catching his breath. Normally he had a team to help him with the heavy lifting stuff. He looked over at the creature. Those harsh daggers were gone and instead held a curious wonder to them. He was by no means happy, but he discarded the ragged rock he had in his hand.
Now it was time for the other one. Maxie knew there would be no way for him to push it to the side. Camerupt would be able to move it, but he would also end up crushing the creature in the process. Plus, Camerupt hated the water way more than Maxie ever would. Maybe he could raise it up just enough for the creature to get his tail out? That seemed like the best course of action here.
Maxie stepped into the cramped hole the creature managed to get himself stuck in. He looked like he was going to swipe his legs out from under him, but Maxie quickly put his hands up again and placed them on the rock. "Easy. Just one more. I'm not going to hurt you," he spoke calmly. He found his footing again and rubbed his hands together. He sucked in a deep breath and raised one end up the rock up with all of his might. Maxie was by no means a muscular man, so he could only get the rock up a few inches. It was a few inches just enough for the creature to move his tail. As soon as he was in the clear, Maxie dropped the rock and collapsed onto it, panting with every breath. He really needed to start working out.
The hard part was over with. Maxie stepped out of the way and held out his hand. The water was shallow, but it might be enough for the creature to swim to freedom. The creature looked at him curiously and hesitantly. Maxie pointed to his hand, then to the ocean, trying to convey the message that he was only here to help. After a moment, the creature stretched out his arm and took Maxie's hand in his own. Maxie pulled him forward and the creature pushed himself off of the rocks. With the combined efforts, the creature was thrown into the water.
As soon as he hit the water, he was gone. Maxie thought that he saw a head poke out from the distance, taking a final look at the human that helped him, but in the inky darkness of the night, Maxie couldn't be all too sure.
All he knew was that it was back to his regular life.
///
Maxie might had finally struck gold. Well, not literal gold. That mineral was nearly impossible to naturally find on a beach side. Instead, he found stones of dazzling oranges and whites off on a cliff side. All it took was just a little skilled climbing to reach it, but Maxie believed he found just what he was looking for. The sun had set and the moon was high in the sky. He was here way later than he normally is, but he couldn't stop now. With his new flashlight perched in his mouth, Maxie chipped away at the rocks.
It was by no means an easy task. The rocks were slippery and he could barely keep his footing. He found himself grabbing onto the rocks every now and then to keep himself from falling. He should have left and came back with safety gear, or at the very least some rope, but he was getting greedy.
All it would take was another mighty swing to dislodge the chunk of gems he was going for. At least, that's what Maxie thought. All it took was a gentle swing. The gems fell and Maxie's force kept on going. He tried to grab onto a rock to hold himself up, but the rock he grabbed was sharp and loose. It cut his hand and to add insult to injury, it fell from its spot.
Maxie desperately tried to grab onto something, anything, but his luck had ran out. With a shout, he towards the rocky ocean below. If the rocks didn't kill them, being swept away in the water would. He closed his eyes and braced for it.
Maxie didn't even remember hitting the rocks of the merciless, cold ocean.
////
Everything hurt.
His back, his legs, his arms, Maxie didn't even want to open his eyes since he knew they would hurt as well.
He expected to feel the smoothed out surface of a slate that has been exposed to the ocean for millions of years, but instead he felt...sand. Sandy dirt, more specifically. He groaned and rolled over, spitting some of the salty water out of his mouth. His clothes clung to his body in such an annoying way. When he opened his eyes, he found that he was not by the cliff side any more. Wherever he was...he wasn't for sure. It looked like a cave, a cavern of sorts. Water ran through the middle of it, leaving very little area for land.
Maxie winced in pain as he sat up. He wasn't for sure what hurt most. He could move his arms and his back, but his leg was out of the question, so he guessed that answered that. Most of the pain came from his left ankle. It had to be twisted.
"Hello?" he called out into cavern, only to hear his voice echo to him in return and a bunch of Spheals bark because someone had woken them up from their naps. How in the world did he get here? More importantly, how was he going to leave?
Without any warning, something jumped out from the water and Maxie jumped back with a shout of surprised terror. That shout turned pained since his ankle didn't like that one bit. Before him was not a Pokemon that lucked out on a cheap meal though. Instead, it was a familiar face. A familiar, scarred face.
It was the creature Maxie had encountered all of those weeks ago, propped up on the edge of the ground. Maxie was half tempted to start throwing rocks at him, but he knew better. His heart was still racing from the scare, but his mind was able to figure things out rather quickly.
"I supposed I can thank you for this, hm?" he breathed out. The creature made no indication that he understood him. Maxie would be in the same boat if he started speaking some kind of ancient mer-creature language. He did point to the ankle Maxie was holding. Maxie thought about how he should respond and figured gestures worked best. He held out two fists and made a snapping motion, causing even the creature to wince.
Looks like they were getting somewhere.
The creature held out his hand, pointing to it and then the entrance of the cavern. Maxie was charmed at the mimicry. He really couldn't help but smile at the gesture. Part of him wanted to fear the creature. He could easily sink those saws for teeth and rip him limb from limb, but Maxie knew better than to think that. He had to have been the one to drag Maxie to this isolated sanctuary.
Maxie took his hand, and with combined efforts Maxie slid into the water. He was quick to wrap his arms around the creature's broad shoulders. His body was shaking part from the icy water and part from being deathly afraid of drowning in said icy water. The creature patted his hand and flashed him a comforting grin as he effortlessly swam to the opening. The morning sun was beginning to peak over the horizon, painting the sky faded tints of pink and blue.
"We must start meeting under better circumstances," Maxie lightly laughed. He let up his grasp just long enough to point to himself. "Maxie."
Just for shits and giggles, Maxie pointed to the creature, asking for his name. He wasn't expecting anything, so the shrug came as no surprise.
"Alright then...but I do need something to refer to you as. I think it would be kind of demeaning not to refer to you as something," he rambled even though he could see no wheels were turning in the creature's head. Maxie hummed in thought, glad to have something to take his mind off of the pain in his body or the chilliness of the water. Plenty of names popped through his mind, but none seemed to fit the creature.
Well, maybe one.
Maxie snapped his fingers to get his attention again, then pointed at him. "Archie?" he offered.
The creature pondered over the word for a moment before flashing him another smile and a nod. Maxie was quick to match that smile.
"Archie it is, then."