PKMNation: Freedom and the River

Deep in the woods, it was easy to lose track of time, and Trinity was happy that way. Her studies had stagnated on the ranch, and now, as she hunched by the river's edge and focused on keeping her balance on the slippery rocks, she began to feel she might really improve out here, while everyone else was off camping and romping. Maybe she'd take a break, here and there, but there was very serious training to be done.

There was the deep splash of something surfacing from the middle of the river, and Trinity was on her feet and in defensive posture before she even saw the Pokemon sticking his head from the water: a familiar hump-headed Seaking. "Yama? You startled me. ... I didn't even know you were here."

"There was a transport," Yama replied. "They said the waterbound were welcome, so... I came. This river is a delight!"

Frankly, Trinity wasn't sure how to respond to Yama using a word like "delight." The strong-willed Seaking was usually content enough, as these things went, but Trinity wasn't sure she'd ever seen him happy. (Or seen him much at all, but when he did surface, he generally wasn't happy.) "It's that good?" she said, trying to sound more curious than skeptical in case his mood changed.

"It's perfect. There's a lovely fast current... you ought to try for yourself. How good a swimmer are you, girl?"

"I'm --" Trinity almost said "good enough," but she stopped herself. Her Froakie blood from her mother's side made her an adequate swimmer, as well as a Water-type, but was that good enough? She wouldn't drown, but would Yama, or something else, give her trouble for not keeping up? The idea was just a touch frightening --

Before her mind registered what she was doing, Trinity's legs launched her into the water. The river was bracingly cold and surprisingly clear, with only a murky layer of weeds and sediment along the bottom to block her view. She paddled her way downstream for a moment before bobbing back to the surface, where Yama was watching her with a faint twinkle in his eye. "That your answer?"

"I guess it is!" Trinity still wasn't sure how good a swimmer she was, but this felt right. When Yama submerged again, she followed him downstream. It wasn't real training, but what did that matter?

***

Yama lost track of the Froakie-thing girl during one of the long straightaways, one with rocks to dodge around and silt to stir up, but he wasn't worried. A buoyant young thing like that wouldn't be in danger, and water protected its own.

Water. Yama had always been surrounded by it, of course, but this water was a revelation after a life spent in stillness. The brisk current, carrying eternal freshness past his gills, and the endless tastes of living and dead life that filtered into his mouth: this was what he was born for, why his instincts as a young Goldeen made him thrash against the walls of the aquarium in which he had been born. He'd been born a pet, and but for luck, he would have died one. That was not right. This was.

This trip would end too soon, but Yama wasn't going to leave freedom behind. He'd ask Bubs to ask Marshall for a trench dug from his pond to the creek, an outlet to wander when he needed to. He wouldn't leave for good, more than likely, and hopefully the humans would understand that. He just had to swim, in the way he so often didn't swim, and feel something that he'd long been denied. In this natural water, he could swim forever.

He could swim forever, yes, but right now, Yama had to admit that a quick pause for nibbling on river-weeds and waiting for Trinity was the best idea. He turned to begin to chew at one leafy frond, and as he did, he caught a glimpse of a near-ovoid shadow floating along the surface, extending a pair of legs beneath. Yama swam over to nudge Trinity's leg gently with his snout, and obligingly, the semi-Froakie submerged again. "Wait, I caught up with you? I was just floating, trying to conserve energy..."

"I stopped for a snack. Here, try the river-weed? You may not like it, but then again, you may."

Yama returned to his lunch, chewing contentedly even as Trinity made noises of disgust. (She didn't stop eating, he noted. Perhaps she could recognize something good for her even beyond its taste.) After a few more mouthfuls, he'd had his fill for now: just enough to keep him going, not enough to weigh him down. "There," he said. "Do you have the energy to go on?"

"I think so," said Trinity. "Let's keep going. We've still got a lot of daylight."

"Yes," said Yama, looking up at the daylight that only just filtered down to the river bottom. "Let's use all that nature gives us."