The return of "The Ugly Karp-ling"

[Alecat]

I wrote this Poké-tale two years ago, when I was a member here at Serebii. When I returned recently I was very surprised to find that people remember it!

In some ways, I think I was a better writer then; maybe it was being able to write at 1am curled in bed with a laptop, left in my ideas only. I had thought I lost this piece, but I was able to retrieve it from said laptop and now I bring it to you, exactly as I did two years ago. (Well, I think I've caught an apostroph...ical mistake, but that's only one change). Next, I'd like to finish "The Little Goldeen," my Pokémon version of the "Little Mermaid". But I dunno if I can match the ideas that I had in mind then...

Chapter 1: Birth of a Scar.

Magikarp were not strong. Magikarp were not pretty. Magikarp weren’t even that intelligent, but their abilities of distinction and discrimination were enough to recognise that Bayle was not like them. They all knew;
Bayle was ugly.

Bayle’s egg was found nestled amongst the Magikarp eggs, and although her foster mother thought it strange she hatched the egg like her own. She had hoped that the child could be a beautiful Goldeen, that she could boast and brag about, a child that she could truly be proud of. Bayle was anything but.

As the shell of the egg first chipped away, it was evident that the baby was not a Goldeen. But even as the baby hatched, the mother Magikarp, Cybele, watched in fascination. The curiously coloured scales brought her a new hope; the fish was certainly not a Goldeen, but perhaps she would be shiny. Yes, a shiny child would be worthy of as much love and lavish attention as a beautiful one, Cybele thought, and as the egg chipped away underwater, she ignored her other 3 hatching babies.

Disappointment struck hard. The child was indeed a strange colour, being a grey brown instead of a gold, and her fins being blue rather than yellow. However, her scales were rough and her fins tattered. She did not have whiskers like normal Magikarp, and was totally missing a lower fin. But Cybele felt compassion for this poor child of hers, and held her beneath a fin as she waited for her other children to hatch. She named the three girls Bayle, Berit and Mora, and her son, Oded.

The father, a Gyarados, had long since disappeared, as Magikarp usually only mated with other Magikarp, and often males would evolve not long after mating season. If a father Gyarados did stay, they tended to be abusive. Consequently, many mother Magikarp would bring up their children together, sharing their limited knowledge and bringing up all of the children in schools. This particular school of fish had settled in a shallow river to hatch their eggs, and were to move further inland in a month or so as in the first week after hatching, mothers were kept frantically busy, watching over newborns.

Bayle was an ugly Magikarp. She was like a blemish to her family’s looks, their gold scales, their beautiful shine. She was dull and looked down on, but Cybele gave her as much love as her other children, perhaps even more. She was also Bayle’s only defender, protecting Bayle when she could, and insisting that the child would grow normally, and that she would probably become a wonderful, powerful Gyarados.

As the hatchlings grew, they were able to socialise with the other fish more freely. Mothers would let them swim all day, keeping a distanced watch. As the children only knew the attack Splash, constant supervision was required. Cybele let her children play as the other mothers did, but she noticed that Bayle wasn’t mixing with the other Magikarp any well. She was becoming withdrawn and was losing confidence. She would wander off alone much to the worry of her mother, and return alone each night. As far as Cybele knew, she had no friends. The mother Magikarp vowed to help her daughter’s confidence.

 

[Yami Ryu]

Interesting o.o have to say this is a pretty original fic, well, no, a very original fic. I love the characters you've thought up and their budding personalities. I can really feel for poor Bayle, and am surprised the mother is willing to try and help her daughter try and interact with others. But it seems Cybele is a good mother with a decent heart.

Hope chapter two is as interesting as the first o.o

 

[Alecat]

Whoops, I meant to post the next chapter before I went to sleep. Anyway, here it is!

Chapter 2: Difference is Scale Deep

Bayle was teased constantly. She was different, and the worse thing was that she didn’t understand her difference. Without mirrors to look into, she could not tell what she looked like, and the teasing of the other fish made her feel like a hideous pathetic monster. She began to wander further and further away from the school, creating stories. Then she knew she was different, Magikarp never told stories!

She had no friends, and her only defender was her mother, although that was the case with most Magikarp children. Her sisters and her brother were no help to her at all, and sometimes in her wanderings she would overhear other Magikarp telling her mother to “Abandon the child”. She was miserable.

To help alleviate the child’s terrible sadness, Cybele started to teach Bayle to fight. Knowing only Splash, Cybele would have to fight the whole battle, letting her daughter watch and gain experience. As she levelled up, as all Magikarp do, she learnt Tackle, and started to battle the wild Pokémon alone. She became the strongest of all the Magikarp, but even able to defend herself against scathing remarks, she was still subject to them. For all her battling skill she was still mocked, and this drove her to train harder and harder.

Soon enough, she learnt Flail, and Cybele became curious. She herself only knew Splash and Tackle, and started to ask her daughter questions.
“Bayle, soon after you learnt Tackle, did you feel as though there was a great strength within you, and you suppressed it?”
The child would just look at her mother, curiously and reply with a definite no.

She grew stronger and stronger, which comforted her mother. As the school moved inland, the predators of Magikarp became more numerous, and mothers would swim closer and closer to the children. Bayle swam confidently alone. She was stronger than the rest.

A shadow descended over the surface of the water… this could only mean one thing, a predator! The school was being attacked by a hungry Swellow. Diving into the water, the great bird extended its claws and skimmed the low water. The Magikarp panicked, and mothers herded children down to the bed of the lake, leaving Bayle wide open to attack.

Realising what had just happened, Bayle knew that she had to defend herself. She surfaced and drew the creature’s attention. Soon, the bird was diving at her, and she would have to act fast. In a panic, the Magikarp realised that the bird was much stronger than herself, and that she would have to have an amazing amount of luck on her side if she were to win this battle.

Bayle ducked underwater, and emerged again, but the Swellow had followed her shadow, and it was suddenly in her face. Bayle was terrified. She kept ducking and surfacing, but the bird kept using Quick Attack to follow her. The other Magikarp had already swum upstream, there was no chance she could catch up now. Then behind her, she heard a voice. It was Cybele’s.
“You can do it, Bayle! I know you can!”

Distracted, but heartened, Bayle turned back to the Swellow to find that it had its claws extended and coming right for her. It picked her up, and she was starting to lift… Petrified, and running our of breath, Bayle did something through instinct, an attack that she had known all along suddenly came to her mind, and from her mouth a freezing blast of hail and ice emerged.

The Swellow, vulnerable to icy attacks froze, literally, midair. It released Bayle, and plunged into the water as an icy ball of feathers, dropping the to riverbed before floating up again. Magikarp around scattered. They looked in fear at the frozen statue of the Swellow, and its huge eyes, bobbing harmlessly up and down.

The school was in awe of Bayle’s power. Never had the Magikarp seen such an event. The water was starting to turn cool, but the blood was boiling in many of the fish. The strange one amongst them was much more than an ugly fish… she was a threat to the whole school! Thrown into a frenzy of rage, the Magikarp rioted, driving Bayle back out to sea, where the salt water would choke an ordinary Magikarp. Cybele was left, crying without tears, without blinking. She watched in a great grief.

Bayle knew she was different from the other Magikarp. It was more than looks. There was something wrong with her.

 

[Yami Ryu]

o.o Go fugly Magikarp! KICK BUTT!

Erm, anyways, the only mistake I saw here was when a scentence seemed to have been accidently entered underneath the paragraph. Or a scentence didn't get a double enter XD anyways, as before this was an interesting, and intense chapter, I could just imagine the Swellow getting frozen cold.

And poor Bayle ;; scentenced to death in the sea, and Cybele too, having to watch her daughter driven to her death.

<< >> Renegade demands more.

*runs*

 

[Alecat]

Oh, whoops... yeah, these mistakes have only hung around for ages for me to discover.

I should post the whole thing at once, but I just like giving a bit of a break in between.

Chapter 3: Heavenly Bodies

Was the universe working against a tiny, poor Magikarp? Had the cosmos moved out of its usual order, just to torment a lost soul? Had the music of the spheres turned into a harsh, striking tune? It seemed that to Bayle.

She swam slowly, sadly, out to sea. She couldn’t go back inland, not with the Magikarp school, they didn’t want her. She was an outcast. It had taken a week to get as far inland as the school had travelled together, but Bayle predicted that in a couple or so days she would be back at their initial nest. She took her time. She didn’t feel like fighting, she didn’t feel like sleeping, she didn’t feel like doing anything. Inside, she wondered if she would be better dead.

Hours later, Bayle noted that the sun had moved overhead, and was now heading west. It was already into the afternoon, and she felt as though she hadn’t travelled at all… the scenery was monotonous and gave her no clue to where she was.

It started to get overcast and cloudy. Shadows appeared all over the surface of the water, and Bayle started to feel the water turn cool. She was tired, anxious and miserable. The shadows started to scare her, too, and as raindrops began to splash into the water, Bayle swam faster. She didn’t know where she was going, but concentrating on swimming well kept her distracted from thinking.

She had lost her family, she had lost her home. She was all alone. It was starting to become dark, and Bayle drifted in and out of sleep. She wasn’t sure whether she was awake or dreaming… but she swam downstream towards the sea.

That was the last thing she remembered, and now it was daylight, and Bayle found herself floating downstream. It must have been morning. She thanked whatever spirits there were that she hadn’t been attacked, and realised that she must have slipped into sleep from exhaustion.

Spinning her side fins to keep from floating downstream, Bayle noted her surroundings. there were fewer trees around, and more grasses. She recognised this place… she had been here last week with the school. She was close to the nest now. The current of the stream had dragged her out further than her estimation.

She had made good progress, but there was a nagging question in the back of her mind. Once she got out to the sea, what could she do there? Magikarp that lived in salt water supposedly did not live as healthily as freshwater Magikarp.

Bayle swam leisurely to a patch of reeds, to rest. She was feeling a bit sore too. Had it been from the fight with the Swellow, or being dragged here? She felt a bit bruised … she had been dropped into the water, and the bellyflop had not been comfortable. She thought that her fins may have been a bit torn too, but she couldn’t tell. They had always been ragged. Still a bit tired, Bayle settled herself in the reeds and went back to sleep.

The second time she woke up, it was into the afternoon. Secured safely in the reeds, she had not been moved at all. She started to reflect on what happened yesterday. She stung to think of it, but something inside made her think it was necessary. She was angry, angry that her mother had let her be bullied away. She did not realise what Cybele had done, back at the school.

Thrusting her head out, Bayle saw that it was deserted. She swam crossly into the clear when…
Two angels descended on the lake’s surface, their scales shining beautifully. They had pale snaky bodies and eyes with delicately long lashes. They must have been splashing in the water, for Bayle didn’t think that they had the power to fly… maybe they could. They must have been angels.
Trying to retreat back into the reeds, Bayle turned from the glorious sight in front of her. One of the angels noticed her.
“Child, what’s wrong?”
Bayle felt inadequate and unworthy of the company of such beautifully adorned angels. She tried to turn away.
“Don’t worry, we won’t hurt you,” one of the angels said encouragingly, “are you lost?”
Bayle felt calm fall on her. She wasn’t angry anymore, and she had enough courage to reply.
“No, I’m fine. I’m just feeling a bit sore,” she said, hoping that she hadn’t sounded as though she were complaining.

One of the angels placed its tailfin on Bayle’s head, she saw a flash, and felt as though her wounds were healed. Her eyes still adjusting to the light, she looked at the angels, They shined with brilliance. “Thankyou,” she whispered.

One of the figures looked at Bayle with concern, “do you want to come with us, child?” it asked. Bayle shook her head, and most of her body, a definite no. How could she accompany such heavenly beings? She would be a stain amongst their beauty, like she was an ugly disgrace to her family.

The two angels looked at each other, and back at Bayle.
“If you’re sure that you don’t need help, child…”
“No, thankyou, but I’m fine. Please, don’t worry about me.”
Bayle broke off the conversation, and knowing that they were not needed, or wanted, the angels disappeared, swimming downstream like great waves.

Bayle was left wishing that she looked like them.

 

[Yami Ryu]

No worries Alecat, trust me, I've seen worse mistakes. And atleast the whole fic isn't like that. So just think of it as a malfunction of enter button. Atleast you're not missing words like my last fic seems to be XD

anywho;

I absolutely loved this chapter, and the description you have for everything, and well, there's not much more I can say, as the only error I see is the malfunctioning enter button XD

and that with each chapter you do, I'm starting to love this story more and more.

 

[Alecat]

Whoa, are you online like... 24/7?

Anyway, thanks for all the comments. Are you talking about the weird spacings after people talking? Because I think that's just my strange habits... we all have them. (or maybe just the way that I incorrectly "learnt" it in primary school...) If not there, then it's just my insane habits. Most of us have them.

Chapter 4: Life at Sea

Bayle swam out to the sea. She didn’t know how she’d live or what she’d do out there. But she swam.

She burst out of the river mouth, and into the sea. The wide open water was amazing. So much space! The briny water took a bit of time to adapt to, but the change had been gradual, soon Bayle felt as though she had lived in it her whole life. Surely the Magikarp rumours were incorrect!

Now her worst fears were presented to her, she had no friends and nothing to do. She was curious to explore, but too depressed and scared to do so.

From the seabed, she saw strange curved surface sitting in the water. She didn’t really want to get hurt… but what did she have to lose?

Bayle swam up to the strange thing. It was white and smooth. One spot was so shiny that… she saw the faint reflection of herself in it.

She had never seen herself, but somehow she knew this ghostly likeness was indeed her. Whenever she surfaced she would never have a chance to look down at the water to see herself. Now, her image was laid before her in the white shine of the strange white thing. She saw herself. She looked terrible! She examined her discoloured scales, and her tattered fins. There were some things she knew but didn’t want to admit. But now she couldn’t hide from them. A Magikarp was never meant to look like that. She was wrong. A freak. And now she knew it. Straining to concentrate, Bayle lost the shiny patch. She could no longer see herself, and in a way she was glad. But now she was embarrassed.

A plop sounded as something hit the water and then sank. Bayle didn’t know what it was but it was a kind of food! Bayle was hungry. She didn’t know what kinds of water plants were edible out here. The strange food was her only choice, for now. There was one problem, however. The food was strung onto a twine… and at the top of the trap was a strange Pokémon… waiting to catch whatever was foolish enough to take the bait. Did Pokémon do that? Maybe it wasn’t a Pokémon.

Whatever it was, Bayle was determined to get the feed. Swimming up to the string, she thrashed at the line above the hook until the line was broken. She dashed to retrieve her prize, but…

A Tentacool grabbed it! Bayle looked gruffly at it.
“That’s mine!”
The Tentacool just bubbled, and managed to gurgle words, “I got it. It’s mine now. Thanks for the chow, Magikarp,” it said before splashing off.

He hadn’t stuck the word “Ugly” in. Bayle was curious. Maybe these creatures didn’t care. She would make her life among the Tentacool, she decided. They didn’t discriminate her for her looks, and they had obvious experience of living out at sea.

She swam up to a small group of young Tentacool. “Can I uh, stick around with you maybe?”
The Tentacool didn’t trust her. But they did outnumber her. A quick conversation within themselves and Bayle was accepted into the group.

She had friends. Or companions, at any rate. The Tentacool did look bizarre, Bayle thought. She supposed that they just didn’t care about looks. They looked strange as they moved too, squeezing their bodies. She was fascinated by them.

She learnt her new friends had lived here their whole lives. She learnt their names, strange ones compared to what the Magikarp named their children, Bayle thought. Ulb was the one with pink jelly-armour. She was bubbly and happy, and knew a lot about the sea, Bluub was the one with the longest tentacles. He was the one that had taken her food, Bayle realised. He could swim gracefully, for a Tentacool, and he too, knew a lot about the sea. Lastly was Gluna, a shy Tentacool, but who was a good fighter. She also knew a lot about the sea. Well, Bayle thought they knew a lot about the sea. She started to learn about the sea too.

The strange white shells that floated in the water were boats, and the things that would try to trap them were called humans. Her technique for getting food was quite good, her new friends told her, but hanging onto the line was dangerous. She was lucky that the human at the other end had not grabbed onto the string and pulled her out of the water.

Over days, weeks, months, Bayle stayed with her friends. They taught her about the sea, and in return she told them about life inland. She had developed excellent snatching skills too, and was able to grab the food that was stuck at the ends of the line. She thought that the dry ones were the tastiest. Ulb thought she was crazy. She thought that the sweet ones were best. Bayle noted that each of the Tentacool had their own preferences.

Was this what life was meant to be like? Yes, Bayle thought. She had food, friends, a new home and almost, a new family. And she could live out on the sea. She knew happiness. But how long could this charade last? She wasn’t a Tentacool.

 

[Yami Ryu]

A Tentacool grabbed it! Bayle looked gruffly at it.
“That’s mine!”
The Tentacool just bubbled, and managed to gurgle words, “I got it. It’s mine now. Thanks for the chow, Magikarp,” it said before splashing off.

I mean that, it could be double entered like;

A Tentacool grabbed it! Bayle looked gruffly at it.

“That’s mine!”

The Tentacool just bubbled, and managed to gurgle words, “I got it. It’s mine now. Thanks for the chow, Magikarp,” it said before splashing off.

But it's really not that bad when I think about it. And no, not online 24/7. Just affected by insomnia 24/7 so gotta do something to kill bordeom when I can't PS2 out XD

And yes. Habits. My insane little habit seems to be pairing up characters like they're going outta style/sale. .. and why does Habit make me think of Hobbit

Hm, the transition from fresh water to salt water seemed a little rushed, considering it takes time for Salmon and Eel to go from fresh water animals to sea going animals. But technicalities aside, it was fine, just a little rushed.

The interaction between the ugly Magikarp and the Tentacool was very interesting, and I think well written out, and I'm starting to guess what the Magikarp is, maybe what those angels were too.

And I'm assuming your using berries or pokeblocks as the bait on the hooks? If so I have to say that's a unique way of using a pokeblock/berry to catch a fish in a pokemon fic.

You don't have to keep posting a chapter everytime I post, I don't wanna feel like I'm forcing you to post new chapters. It's just that it leaves me wanting to read the next, that's what I meant by 'Renegade demands more', sorry XD

 

[Alecat]

Nyaa, I would have posted all at once anyway, if you'd not replied to the first one . Besides, I'm not going to deny you what I've already written!

Fresh water to salt water... well, I suppose I could have elaborated more on the scenery and the events in between. I guess that having such a simple concept in mind it made me rush the chapters and stuff; though it's true that one thing I've always felt I've needed to work on is just describing, elaborating and fleshing things out.

Yeah, the double spacing thing... I suppose it could be a bit annoying but it's a habit from typing conversations; leave one space instead of two. I won't change the rest of it, though, I'll just keep things unified and conform...ing for now.

And as I was saying, why deny you the next chapter? You'll get the concluding one with a nice big gap from me sleeping and being busy tomorrow. Yeah, this is the second-to-last one. As I've said, the story was rather rushed :/. But I'm proud of it because it was my first real fanfic.

Oh, and the pokeblocks are a throwback to the mechanics of the games... you get what I mean, I'm sure.

Chapter 5: Before the Storm

It was a normal day out on the seas and the Tentacool, (and one brown Magikarp,) were collecting food. The sun rose over the slowly rippling water and many humans had come out to sport with the sea Pokémon. They didn’t know it yet, but by the end of the day, the tally would result in an overwhelming Pokémon win. The Pokémon knew how to outsmart the silly primitive catching technique.

The humans had been out for quite a while already. The water was glowing the pink of a gorgeous sunrise, and the dark clouds that had hung over the sea the night before parted. The sand was warming under the sun’s new rays and the Wingull had begun their morning chant. It wasn’t just a normal fishing day, it was a beautiful fishing day.

Bayle was with her friends, Ulb, Bluub and Gluna. They had already found and finished breakfast and weren’t really searching for the fruit and candy-food like the other Tentacool anymore. The four were now splashing in the shallower waters, but keeping a careful eye out for predators or the humans, and keeping away from waves that could drag them ashore.

“Lookit meee!” Bluub called out. He was showing off his tentacles, again.
Bluub swum a few circles, did a summersault and then a backwards summersault.
Gluna giggled, or rather, sort of wobbled her body and smirked at Bluub. “You’re so vain,” she told him, “vain like a little tentalette.”
Bluub ignored her and continued to show off.
“Any Tentacool can do that!” Ulb protested, and proceeded to challenge Bluub to some kind of spinning contest.

Bayle decided to have a spar with Gluna. “Gluu, let’s have a friendly match!”
Gluna wasn’t sure, she’d never battled Bayle before, but the Magikarp certainly did look strong.

“I dunno Bayuu, I don’t know how strong you are…”
“It’s ok, I’ll be nice. I haven’t battled for ages and I want to see how strong YOU are,” Bayle explained, “Besides, us Magikarp are really weak by reputation anyway.”

She hadn’t told them about her incident with the Swellow, or how she knew that strange icy attack. She didn’t want them to think she was any more than a strangely coloured Magikarp.

“Ok,” Gluna finally agreed, “but you promise, you will be nice, ok?”
“I promise,” Bayle said, putting a side fin on her belly, “I’ll be as nice as I can be, but you gotta go all out!”

The two friends prepared for battle, each ready to see how good the other was at fighting. Each of them went to a fishing line and stole themselves a berry that they could use to heal themselves if either got some kind of condition from the fight.

They faced each other and stiffly waited for the other to attack. At first they were hesitant to battle, after all, they didn’t want to hurt each other. But soon they were throwing attacks at each other here, there, and some of the older Tentacool were scolding them.

Bayle turned to apologise to yet another Tentacool that had become the unwary victim of an attack, but Gluna struck her in the side with a well aimed Poison Sting.

“Ow, that was good!” Bayle said encouragingly while rubbing her side, healing poison with her berry and preparing her next attack, all at the same time. She tackled Gluna with a friendly shove.

Gluna retaliated by producing a stream of water which pulsed through the sea and hit Bayle, causing little damage. Before Bayle could respond, Gluna had her in her tentacles, squeezing the health out of the little fish.

“You are good,” Bayle huffed, “very good!” she said, eventually being released from the attack.

Gluna smiled. “Thanks Bayle,” she replied, “it means a lot to me, but flattery won’t get you off easy!”

They recommenced their battle, and Bayle managed to distract Gluna with Splash.

“Bayle, what are you doing?” Gluna laughed, “c’mon, fight!”

Bayle did exactly that, but something overhead distracted her before she could strike the laughing Tentacool.

Something appeared overhead. Something stirred in Bayle… what was it? She was brought out of her trance by an attack from Gluna, but she pointed up and out of the water at the sky where a flock of bird-Pokémon were flapping away from inland.

“Do the birds usually do that?” Bayle asked, “in my short time out here, I’ve never seen such a flock…”
“Maybe they’re migrating,” Gluna replied thoughtfully, “but I don’t think the time of year is right… a scare inland perhaps. I don’t know much about them”

The two shrugged it off, and returned to sparring. But as Bayle’s Knock Out blow struck Gluna, something happened…

 

[Yami Ryu]

Have to admit, this is pretty good for your first fic, and you'll probably only continue to get better if you write another. And yay another chapter, and I guess I can wait that long for the next chapter

hm, once again, you've done well with the characters, and I love the bit about the pokemon outsmarting the humans, heh, like in real life with fishing too XD and Bluub and Ulb showing off was cute to me, I just love how you made the tentacool's personalities for this fic. Makes me just wanna hug one, even if they're not exactly hug-able.

o.o though I am wondering what could have caused the birds to leave inland.

The Suspence, it kills meh ;; but outside of that, I'll be waiting for the next chapter whenever you get the free time to post it o.o then when Myuu comes back I'll drag her over here to read this story too XD

 

[Alecat]

[edit] ack, Ren... I doubt you'll be reading this now. But I really started to really like you. *shrug*. Wherever you are, whatever you do, good luck.[/edit]

The last installment! I could have made this whole story a one-shot, but I like it split up into parts. The ending seems a bit... well, I've never been all to content with my story conclusions.

Chapter 6: Rage and Resolution

The water churned, the sky darkened. A strange cry emanated over the sea’s surface. Huge rain clouds began to roll in, and small splashes began to strike the water.

A wave carried Bayle away from Gluna. Bayle was frantic, and Gluna was still unconscious. The human bait scattered all over the seabed and the fishers had left. Bayle struggled to see in the current. She grabbed one of the left-over berries, and fought against the water to get to Gluna.

The young Tentacool girl had begun to rouse, but Bayle desperately shoved the berry into the jellyfish Pokémon’s mouth. Blinking and drifting into consciousness, Gluna started to ask the Magikarp questions.
“What happened?” She said, bewildered, “where’s Ulb… where’s Bluub?”
“I…I don’t know. The weather turned nasty and we all got separated,” Bayle replied.
Gluna’s instincts began to take over. “Quick, the rest of the Tentacool will be moving out in a big school,” she explained, “we can’t get separated from that!”

Bayle recognised that the other girl was going losing strength, and she knew it would be up to her to get them back to the other Tentacool. She peered over the surface of the water… and was met by a terrifying figure.

The creature’s jaws were large enough to simply take up the Magikarp and swallow her. Its long, blue snaky body was covered in thick, rough scales, and it was making such a noise that Bayle couldn’t believe that she hadn’t felt the soundwaves from under the water.

Bayle quivered in fear under the sea-snake’s huge form, and for the second time in her life she realised that she would have to defend herself. She prepared the attack that had saved her last time, the freeze attack that brought down the angry Swellow.

Could she defeat the towering Pokémon? She could only hope that the icy attack would penetrate the scaly armour. She let loose.

The thing roared, and thrashed in the waves. It screamed as the Ice Beam hit it, but didn’t seem to be hurt. As it thrashed, the waves began to topple Bayle in her place. Gluna swam to be with the other Tentacool, but Bayle had already forgotten her friend.

The monster came at the Magikarp, crashing through the waves and its huge maw snapped at her. Bayle predicted its move, and tried to move away at the last instant, but the waves swept her into the attack.

Teeth hit her, and her scales, not being so strong as a normal Magikarp’s, were pierced. Bayle winced. She faced the huge thing and stared it in the eye. Was there something familiar about the form of the beast? Bayle tried to identify a possible weakness in the armour.

The clouds dropped their belongings, the rain came down and down.

The atrocious thing’s eyes glowed red. It seemed to be charging up an attack. Bayle knew now was the time to act, and she charged her own attack and aimed…

The ice shower hit the Pokémon in the neck. It lost concentration let its unfinished attack fly, soaring into the air. It slumped into the water, exhausted.

Bayle didn’t know if it was safe to approach, but she had to be sure that it was now harmless. She approached it, and looked it in the eye. The creature stirred, and Bayle moved back, ready to attack again. Instead of attacking, however, the beast blinked and looked Bayle in the eye.

Then, it said something, something that rage restricted it from saying before. It wasn’t a monster, it was just another Pokémon, and no longer enraged, it spoke weakly.
“B… Bayle?”
“Who… who…” suddenly Bayle knew. This was a Gyarados, this is what every Magikarp would long to be, and what many Magikarp families would abandon through fear. Often, like this one, they would become uptight, angry and stressed because of desertion.
“My… baby…” the thing said… could it be? Now Bayle understood more, this was her mother, this was her guardian, this was the only Magikarp that had ever had faith in her. This was Cybele.
“Mummy…?” If Bayle could cry, she would. She tried to wrap her fins around her mother, and the two hugged each other, like mother and child should.

With her last ounce of strength, Cybele managed to utter some words to her beloved daughter. “Bayle… I love you. I’m… proud… of you, my… baby…”

She fainted.

Bayle sobbed, she had hurt her mother. The mother that loved her so much and who she loved in return. She felt guilty, and she felt hurt, herself.

Something inside stirred. Something powerful wanted to express itself, something wanted to get out! Bayle was too weak to fight it. The something grew and grew… and Bayle felt herself growing, too. She felt as though she had died, for a moment. A wave of calm descended on Bayle, and she felt strong again. A rush of emotions suddenly came to her… and then…

It was over. Bayle felt different. Her body felt invigorated, and…

Bayle looked down at the floating figure of her mother and tried to rouse her. She felt awkward but she managed to use some technique to wake up Cybele.

“Bayle. Bayle!” Cybele looked at her daughter, and then motioned the child to look at her reflection.

Bayle looked down… and what she saw was…

An angel. She was one of the angels. She wrapped herself around her mother in a warm embrace. She felt happier than she ever had, no longer the ugly Karp-ling that could be taunted and ridiculed.

She was a beautiful angel, but she also knew that looks weren’t everything. She understood that she could now do whatever she wanted. She saw that she still had her friends, but she finally knew her own place. She knew… she was free!

And freedom was the best feeling of all.

 

[Kakiryu]

Oooh that was an incredibly cute story :3 Although it is much much harder for a feebas to become a milotic than magicarp to gyarados. I loved how Bayle turned into a milotic, although there is still one question... how did a feebas egg get mixed with magicarp eggs?

 

[Alecat]

As in the old fairytale, how does a swan egg get mixed up with duck eggs? I don't really have an answer, maybe a Milotic mother left the egg there so that her baby could survive something she couldn't?

Thanks for your comments though . I tried to incorporate the game mechanics into Bayle's evolution, hee!