Opal & Topaz

S1 ep 14: Thrown overboard

So far, everything had come to a stalemate. The water Pokémon weren't attacking him in fear of being electrocuted, and Sparks wasn't doing anything in fear of electrocuting him. It was a little frightening being in this predicament, but he was mostly embarrassed that he ended up causing this whole mess.

It wasn't like he could go back in time, though. So, he had to figure this out somehow. Daz always had a talent for climbing, maybe they could pull him up somehow?

"Are you okay down there?!" A familiar voice yelled from the top of the ship. Of course, it was very like Deimos to ask that kind of question. Hank just looked up blankly. Did Deimos really think he looked okay?

This was horrible. His legs were sore from treading, even if Daz was probably the only reason he wasn't half-drowned by now, and there was no conceivable escape route.

Looking back at the water Pokémon, they hadn't ever kept their eyes off him for longer than a second. The Blastoise in particular was staring maliciously.

"We're gonna find a way to get you up, okay?" Deimos stuck a thumbs up over the side of the ship. Hank didn't bother answering. They just needed to hurry up and get on with it.

It took a while, but he realised the waves were slowly getting larger. Looking up, a dark cloud rolled over the horizon. Dear god, he wasn't going to be out here in a storm, was he?!

Daz croaked and pat his head, getting water all over his face. It was warm and unfathomably salty. He supposed it was best to stay strong, not only because he had no other choice, but because he didn't like the idea of being constantly covered in salt-water by Daz's attempts to keep him calm. Plus, it felt weird to be pet by a Pokémon.

Finally, a rope was thrown over the side. It had large knots throughout, which confirmed his suspicion that it had to be tied together to get this long. He, or rather, Daz swam for it, while he probably just flailed uselessly. Once he reached the rope, he relished in having something solid to grab onto.

The water Pokémon weren't all too happy for him, though. At the Blastoise's cry, they all charged toward him. There was nothing for him to do but stare. He was stranded, being kept afloat by nothing but a rope in the middle of the sea, and if he let go he'd probably flail some more before drowning. Sure Daz was there, but he doubted the water Pokémon would allow them to keep helping him stay afloat.

He felt Daz tense, before they disappeared from his shoulder. For a moment, he was nothing but confused, before he realised Daz had jumped on the Blastoise's head and was covering its eyes. It cried in what seemed like confusion, but was more likely rage, which caught the attention of the other water Pokémon.

With everyone distracted, Hank felt a tug at the rope, and realised he was being pulled up. The second he was high enough to be completely out of water, a relief flooded through him. His only complaint about leaving the water was wanting a dry set of clothes.

Though, another cry rang out, and he saw Daz being hurled away from the ship, landing in the waters ungracefully. Their head poked out the water, though now that an angry mob of water Pokémon were after them, they disappeared back under relatively quickly.

Mild panic tugged at him, but he reasoned that Daz was probably fine. The water was their thing, wasn't it? But then, then it was also the mob's thing. Ultimately, it had to come down to who was better in the water.

Luckily it wasn't his problem anymore. He wasn't pulled over the railing very elegantly, but at least the churning waves didn't have him anymore. Lying there, he let himself take in the fact that he was back on solid ground, only to be interrupted by purring and a lick to his face.