Deep Sea Despair

Chapter nine

Pip gritted his teeth, limping through the forest. The fight between him and the two baddies had taken their toll on him.

His hoodie had a dark spot on it where the blood was pouring from his wound. He would need to wash the hoodie immediately.

Well, at least you can tell I'm using it. Pip thought as he pressed his flipper against the fabrication of the hoodie.

He flinched as his flipper touched the area near the wound. Pain flashed through him. He gasped with pain. It was like he had been struck by a super effective attack.

His eyes began to dot with clear salty tears. The tears changed his blubber color to a darker blue as they fell down his cheeks.

Sobs choked within his throat, as more tears poured down.

The pain...it was unbearable. He almost thought he couldn't take the heat, but he continued on. He must move on. He had to prove all those other members wrong about him.

He won't die! Not even with a claw mark on his side! Never!

He continued to hobble about in the woods, praying no other predators or other Popplio haters would come and find him like this.

Not that they can beat me! The Popplio scoffed with a roll of his eyes. Other Pokémon always over judge their strength. It's not hard to use that against them.

The Popplio lifted his back flipper on the top of a log. He heaved his other flipper and put it over the log as well, but had a hard time getting the flipper on it, struggling to keep the flipper on the log.

He was just very slippery.

He pressed his front flippers down on the top of the log, feeling the rough indications on the brown trunk.

He heaved himself over the log, back flippers slipping on the way down the log.

He pants, head filled with sweat as he stood on the ground. He leaned his head down. That took a lot of work out of him.

His wound must be keeping him from being able to journey far.

Next time I find Tudi and his partner I must really catch them! That bubble isn't going to do much to him! He still got off pretty unscathed!

Pip sighed with frustration. Not only will Paarthurnax be disappointed that he couldn't do this simple enough job, but Avalon will make fun of him. That almost always leads to Eule finding some way to defend him whether it was a talk as he thought of before or something totally different like telling Avalon off.

That strategy rarely works anymore, Pip pondered with a sour face.

He took heaved flipper steps forward. At this rate it would take forever to get back to the Squad HQ before time for dinner.

He licked his lips. His fight with Tudi had made him starving; it could have also been the gaping wound in his side. Either way all he wanted to do was get back to the Squad.

And get out of this Pokémon-filled forest. No way am I planning on seeing a Spinark here unless it's a nice one.

The little Popplio continued his way through the forest, paws holding on to each and every tree that was in his way.

He sighed. Things would be so much easier if he wasn't hated on. Were Popplio ever meant to be treated right? It's obvious the Starter Squad thought so, or at least the leader did.

But were Popplio ever really meant to be treated as such? Maybe it was a joke made by a Greninja and a Seel.

That they had a kid that was called a Popplio, and then everyone saw that Greninja was a starter, so they thought Popplio were half starters so they let them in the squad because of the way Greninja is Godified.

Pip stared ahead, putting his flipper near his face, shielding it from the harsh glares of the sun.

With a myth like that one story it's hard to believe the sun will ever go away.

What was Pip talking about? There was a story that was prophesized to end up coming true in the near future.

Pip didn't believe a single word of the ridiculous prophecy. The only story he believed was the one about the...he didn't even want to figure it out.

Actually, that one wasn't even told. Pip just received a scroll. He told Eule about it. Eule only told him that Cygnus gave one to him too.

He had no idea what the little bear was trying to tell him, other than a Darkness was going to be up ahead, and all members of the Squad should be ready.

But if that's true, then how come some of the members had no clue what I was talking about?

Pip didn't have much time to think more as he began to finish up the walk back to the Starter Squad HQ.

He didn't get far before he felt something rub up against his side. The same side that had the wound. It was the bushes. The bushes had rubbed their thorny bodies against him, pulling his hoodie away from his body.

The bushes had scrapped the same side.

It just stopped bleeding too! Pip thought with disappointment as he flinched. His wound was sensitive to the touch of the thorns.

The thorns had dug into his skin and had torn away some of the flesh, that had just been healed, and made his blubbery body start to bleed once more.

The sun had set.

Pip sighed as he looked at it to the best of his ability.

Guess he would be having to find some shelter tonight.

Pip glanced down as he untangled himself from the thorny bush.

He then settled on his way to a nearby shelter. He didn't know how long it would be until he would find it, but he knew he saw something on the way.

Let's just hope that isn't someone else's home. With that he shivered and went on his way.