COMPLETE: The Finneon’s Swim [One-Shot]

[Kyuuketsuki]

The Finneon’s Swim​

Along the clear, blue waters, he swam and dragged himself.

The Finneon that all the other Pokémon referred to as Fin swam close to the surface, watching the Pelipper flying just above the waters. He wanted to join them, to fly and see the world from the above the clouds, and to be able to change his surrounds with a few beats of his wings.

The sunrays tore down through the surface, and spread themselves into the waters of the ocean. The other Pokémon flipped and turned and jumped at the start of a new day, some even waited by the shore for adventures, for a Trainer to come along and catch them, and show them the world that lay outside of the blue.

And Fin knew what these Pokémon were feeling. Not long ago, many of his friends, one by one, waited by the shore for a Trainer to come along and take them. They were so excited at the prospect of going on a journey, and maybe helping a human enter the Hall of Fame that they heard so much about. Fin wanted to go, but he was too afraid.

With all the adventures came the unknown. What if he ended up with a Trainer who never used him? Or a Trainer that neglected him? Many of the Pokémon who waited at the surface would come back beaten and bruised, and they would soon faint from exhaustion, waiting for a new day to come, and a new possibility of a new Trainer.

And it was just another of these days.

As the Pokémon raced towards another bait, Fin looked down. The deep was just down there, and tiny lights drifted around, glowing and flickering and radiating the same energy that the rays of the sun emitted. They were the Lumineon.

Swimming so close to the surface, a Finneon eventually gathers enough sunlight that could last a lifetime, and soon afterwards, it would evolve into a Lumineon, the Pokémon that dwelled in the deep. They used their fins to walk along the sea floor lazily, dragging themselves and sending slow chunks of sand flying around them.

Fin had been to the deep, and he had seen the amazing sight, the lights. Up close, they were so tempting to join, like the Pelipper. Humans themselves would often just observe the Lumineon; the area Fin was in was not the deepest in the ocean, and humans found it easy to dive in, and swim along the Pokémon.

Fin swam along the shore, watching humans and Pokémon playing together on the sand, or battling side by side, or catching some of the Pokémon that were waiting by the shore. Fin didn’t know what happened to his friends, whether they found a good home or not, and he often thought of searching for them. He could swim as far as he wanted to, and reach every shore, but the humans didn’t just travel across land, sometimes, they would send Pokémon through time.

The concept was very difficult to understand, but there were many released Pokémon from different regions that would tell stories of a time long gone. Sometimes, they would even reminisce with the elders of the area. For all he knew, Fin’s friends could be forever gone.

He can allow himself to get caught, and to hope that somehow he would get sent to the time of his friends as well, and to meet them once again, but the chances of that were very slim. Fin took a small dive, swimming away from the shore, and ducking around the various Chinchou, Horsea, and all the other Pokémon that swam happily close to the surface.

And as he rested against the shallow end of the sea floor, he once again observed the Pelipper that flew above the ocean. They would beat their wings slowly, taking care not to fly too high, some would pick the fainted Pokémon, and nurse them back to health inside their beaks, returning them just a few moments later. Fin knew that he, like any other Finneon, could fly. He could fly for just a little longer than the other Water Pokémon that swam along; his tail allowed it.

He would often swim up and break through the surface of the water, immediately fluttering his fins as fast as he could, and remain in the air for all the other Pokémon to admire.

But he would always fall back into the water. And over time, he had practiced and practiced, and was able to stay airborne longer and longer, and on long nights, he would spot a little human girl pressing her face against her window, watching him as his glowing patterns jumped out of the sea and back in.

Always back in.

He remained where he was for longer than usual during that day.

He slowly came to realise that, as much as he wanted to, he will never be able to fly above the clouds. He would never be with the Pelipper, flying wherever he wanted to fly; he was limited in his destiny.

As the night slowly drew closer, and all the Pokémon retired back into their shelters to sleep, Fin swam up slowly, quietly, hesitantly. The moon took his place in the sky, and the water was dark, brining out the shine of the ovals on his tail, and the line running along his side.

He remained just one beat away from the surface, from the spot where he would practice; the girl was there, pressing her face against her window as usual, holding her little toy as usual, and waiting for Fin’s performance.

Fin’s eyes almost shut forever as he slowly backed away from the surface. He was a Finneon, and he could never achieve his dreams. He opened his eyes, and glanced at the bottom again, where all the lights were.

All the Lumineon were there, those who chose the life of the sea.

Into the deep, dark waters, he swam and dragged himself.