Pokemon Mystery Dungeon: Burning Masts

The ship burns, the wooden planks of the floor ablaze, fiery embers floating from the surface of the charred oak. The masts were disappearing in a large flame, the cracking of the poles from the midsection of the main deck telling of a soon-to-be disaster, just waiting to happen. At the center of the Quarter Deck, which sits right above the smoking Captain's Quarters sat a lone Floatzel, the only survivor of the attack. In a single moment, there was a hissing, one that attracted the attention of the Captain, who sighed in defeat. It was the gunpowder below deck. The ship explodes, killing the single Pokémon. The remains of the ship slowly floated before sinking, leaving nothing but a trail of smoke, and the smell of fire in it's wake.
I remember it clearly, like it was yesterday. I was young then, and I had dreams. Oh yes, you better believe it. My friends and I, being in our teens, had always wanted to be captains of our own ship. Or rather, I wanted to be a captain. The others were simply alright with being my lackeys. That was fine with me. I was happy to have Pokémon below me, those who would do as I said.
I guess I should go ahead and start my story. It started back in... 1673? I was a young lad, that of fifteen years...
"Kinekey, son!" My father, a Floatzel, calls as he waves me over with his large, rather meaty claws. In his other hand, he held large planks, probably to work on his latest project. I wasn't too keen on the idea at the time, but I knew that he was right when he said I was going to grow on it, and love it.

You see, every family in our small town has their own portion of the docks, one to build a boat in and sail out to sea. The docks are complementary, and each family was entitled to one dinghy. Well, my family pays more to build a real ship. Like one that this new group had. They call themselves "Mystery Dungeon Rescue Teams" and work on ships to save local Pokémon who became stranded on islands or need items for certain voyages. They get a lot of money from the city, and easily had ten ships. Well, my Father has this grand idea to spend every Piece of 4 that we had on materials to build this rag-tag jury-rigged little ship together.

"Yes, Father?" I ask, grumbling in annoyance. You can probably tell I'm not looking forward to going out with him.

"Hey, you'll learn to respect what I'm doing one day, son." He starts, and I knew this was going to be the beginning of a long lecture of respect. He surprised me by what he said next.

"Look... You're young, not even a Floatzel yet... I don't expect you to understand, but I do expect you to earn a respect for what I'm doing. I leave enough Pieces for your Mother and you to eat, as well as myself. By making this ship, we can help others and take commissions to earn more money. You'd like that, right...?" He asks and looks down at me. I hesitate before I nod.

"Yes, Father... I suppose I would..." I'm unsure he had his priorities straight, but it may or may not work, so I'll support him.

"Come on then, let's go get to work!" He declares and walks through the door of the workshop that's connected to the home.

I follow, walking behind my Father from the front of our home to the grimy main street of the harbor that we lived in.
The town is, by most standards, absolutely disgusting. The discarded skeletons of half eaten fish litter the sidewalks, which were dark and moss-ridden from the constant moisture that permeated the air. The sky is constantly gray, something that led to the ever-present depressing mood of the whole town. The sides of the street hold other buildings, some make-shift houses, others were local shops which sold often fish-based products to the general public.

The air smells like that of salt, a scent familiar provided by the nearby sea, and the sweat of those working hard to provide a living for the residents of the town. I enjoy it. The smell burns my throat, and the salt makes my eyes sting, so I frequently have to rub them to keep from yelping in pain, but this is my home. I've been here forever.

"Lot number 112, right, Father?" I ask, looking up at him. A smile crosses my face as he grins slyly.

"Aye. Lot 112, don't you forget it, boy."

I nod and run ahead in excitement. I couldn't help but smile wide. Despite being a single man, over the course of 4 years, Father had gotten far on his ship. It's about half the size of the Rescue Teams' ships, but sails just as well, if not faster. There are two masts, in contrast to the usual three, which consists of the Foremast, the Mainmast, and the Mizzenmast. The ship in front of me only has two, the Foremast and the Mainmast, there not being enough room for the rear.

The body of the ship, like the planks in my Father's arms, is oak. A fine oak, at that. Because of the moisture in the air, most wood was rotting, and old, but my Father travels to different towns to gather wood that wasn't of poor quality.

"It's a beautiful ship, Father" I comment, running up the wooden ramp. The Main Deck is smooth, it has not had many other Pokémon, only my Father and I, as well as the Dock Keeper, whom has only been on for a minute.

"That it is... Stay here, find something to do whilst I finish up the wall of my quarters'."

"Yessir!" Knowing exactly what to do, I grab the broom in the corner and begin sweeping, pushing any leaves off the edge of the ship. After that was completed, I grab a rag and some salt-water and begin polishing the brass finishings on the ship. Smiling, I look over as I hear a song from from the inside of the Quarters, not like any normal song sung by bards in a tavern.

"Look ahead, Look a 'stern, look the weather in the lee, blow high! Blow low! And so sailed we! I see a wreck to the windward and a lofty ship to lee, A sailing down all on the coasts of the High Sinnoh League!"

A sea shanty, often sung by those who work long days and nights on the ships of the Dungeoneers, and by that of pirates. Pirates are the scourge of the sea, Pokémon that thrive off of stealing from the ships. It was often that we see the Dungeoneers come back, holes in their ships from the rivaling Pirates' cannons. It's quite upsetting to the mayor of the town, who is growing tired of the scum.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

I jump, yelping. In the distance, two ships lay floating. There were flashes of light and smoke all over the scene.

"Oi! Kinekey, get in here!" I hear my father calling, but I can not tear my eyes away from the scene. The ships are battling like there was nothing left on this world, small black dots shot from one ship, who flies a black flag with two crossing swords, a Pirate ship. The other flies a Post-Note, a letter, the sign of the Dungeoneers, who are probably returning from a mission.

It's obvious that the Pirates are winning, and it becomes more so as the Dunegoneer's flag falls as is replaced by a plain white flag, the signal of surrender. But the Pirates did not let up, and all that our town's ship could do was fire back with it's weaker cannons.

"Kinekey!" I heard Father run up behind me, grabbing me and pulling me towards the door to the Captain's Quarters. I squirm, trying to get away to see the last bit. I give up trying, but turn my head as the door behind us closes just as the explosion off in the distance.

The Dungeoneers had lost, and all the town could do is hope that at least some of them had gotten away.

"Son, you're best off not watchin' that. War aint for you, boy, and you best stay away from it." Father says, sighing. He walks over to the curtains in the back, pulling them closed to keep from anybody peeking inside without any sort of permissions.

"I don't get it, Father! I won't be gettin' in any fights, I just wanted to watch!" I exclaim, standing from the seat he had put me in. There is no reply, and I know that was the last of the conversation. Sighing, I walk towards the door in defeat.

"Where are yah goin', boy?" Father looks over.

"Can I go play with Rameton and the others, please?" I ask, placing a paw on the door. I don't feel like being in the same room as Father right now, and I know he probably wants some time by himself to work on the ship.

"Fine. But be back by the last light." He grumbles, picking up a hammer and nails. He places the nails in his mouth and takes one, placing it against the board before striking it with the hammer. I nod before opening the door and running down the ramp.
Probably the highlight of my day back in that year was spending time with my friends. We had been friends since the beginning. Straight outta the egg, we were out causin' trouble for the little down we lived in. I ain't gonna lie, we stole, and did a bit of vandalism, but we were never caught. I s'pose that all of our bad luck was saved for later in our lives.

I had a group of two others, three countin' myself. There was Rameton, who was a Mudkip, Goritar, who was a Totodile, and myself, Kinekey, a Buizel. I was the eldest of the three, and the ringleader of the trio. I was fifteen, Goritar was fifteen, although a few moons older, and Rameton was fourteen. Goritar was my best friend, but we didn't like to tell Rameton that. He would get jealous, and a jealous Mudkip is an annoying one.
Being one out of probably a hundred and fifty Pokémon of the fishing town, and because of the small town misdemeanors I commit, I'm pretty well known by those who lived here. Some shoot me glares, while others smile politely. I smiled at everyone, even those who hate me, although I'd be lying if I said my smile wasn't full of smugness and a sense of superiority.

An even larger smile crosses my face as I spot the abandoned cabin at the edge of the city, one that probably holds my two friends. It's our "Base of operations", although everyone else knows we stay there.

I burst through the door, grinning wildly. "Alright!" I exclaim, looking at the pair who stared back with wide eyes. Rameton had fallen over, and I laugh, closing the door behind me.

"Get up, you dolt." I roll my eyes and grab the Water-Type, hoisting him up. Slamming my paw on the table, I exclaimed

"Alright!" once more, looking at the two.

Goritar sighs, looking at me with a frown, "What have you got planned today, oh great and mighty "Cap'n"."

"You don't believe in me, Goritar" I observe with a playful frown. "May I remind you that I scored THIS-" Grinning, I turn and present our prized possession to the pair in front of me, "Last week? It's our biggest score!"

"Kinekey, it's a ship in a bottle..." Rameton looks over at Goritar as he speaks, his brow raising.

"Th-That's not the point! I bet the shopkeeper will miss that bottled ship!" I exclaim, raising it in triumph.

"There were like, 40 others..." Goritar speaks up, pointing out that what I had done wasn't really an accomplishment. I sigh, frowning and putting the stolen item down.

"I... I took it from the display case..." I mumble, feeling insecure about it.

"It's not like the case was locked, or anything..." Rameton says, stifling laughter. He was laughing at my annoyance. And I am, in fact, annoyed.

"Fine. You know what?" I tos the bottle away, growling at the two before slamming my paws on the table in front of me and leaning over.

"You all heard the explosions earlier, aye?" I ask, peering at the pair. They both nod, getting a curious look in their eye. Arceus I love that look. It let me know they were ready for whatever I threw at them.

"It's been an hour," I say, standing up straight and crossing my arms, "Let's go check it out?"

"You're insane," Goritar immediately sighs, shaking his head. "There are probably pirates still taking the loot from the ship, and there are probably bodies everywhere. If we're caught, they'll ki-"

"Then let's not get caught." I interrupt. "Look, you're tired of taking worthless trash, right? Well then let's step up our game."

"We can't just go from stealing a Ship in a Bottle from a two-pence store to plundering a pirate-infested ship wreck!" Rameton exclaims, looking at me incredulously.

"Why not? What's stopping us?" I ask, looking at the Mudkip expectantly.

"PIRATES!" They both exclaim, making me shiver and jump a bit.

I blink, then grin, "Hah! Pirates!? We're really afraid of Pirates?"
To this day... I'm not sure that was the smartest thing to say.
Hey! The actual fic is located HERE, if you wanted to gimme some feedback!