Tentacool's Return
Over a year passed by since Lopunny had her Tentacool friend and Torterra returned, but there had been no sign of Tentacool returning. Lopunny was born a masochist, which is someone who feels good when hurt, and was mocked for it. Once Torterra, the leader of their village that was badly poisoned, returned to the village, he wanted to make sure Lopunny was treated equally because he had high hopes for her. Since the events of Torterra's return and countless Tentacool being murdered, due to something foolish Torterra did before he left and corrected, Lopunny hadn't have much free time to herself, because during the day she had been working for Torterra, and during the night working for Umbreon, the leader of the night patrol teams.
Everyday since, Lopunny has spent her free time either by the beach, hoping one of the many Tentacool floating past was the one she cared so much about, or by Swampert's salt water pond. Lopunny had less time then ever to help or talk to Swampert, her neighbor and teacher, so he had his daughter, a widow Marshtomp, watch over him, since his age was catching up to him. But on the upside in Lopunny's life, when working for Torterra, she has been able to talk to Machamp, a great friend who constantly worried about Lopunny. But still, Lopunny was happy with her life, since she was finally accepted by the village as an equal. All she longed for now was her Tentacool friend to return.
It was late at night and Lopunny was on her usual patrol with her team, who were Houndour, the leader, and Vibrava, an ex-convict who was earning his was back into society. After being in a night patrol group for a year, she realized that most of the members were ex-convicts who wanted to earn the village's trust and help right some wrongs. At this point in time of working, Lopunny and Vibrava had red bandanas, meaning they had done a hundred patrols, which also meant they wouldn't get new ones till they did a hundred more patrols, due to the fact it'd be too easy if it was always a new one every ten patrols.
While watching the beach that night, simply chatting away since the nights had gotten pretty quiet, Lopunny noticed something in the distance of the sea. When Lopunny told the others to look, there was a bright light that quickly faded. Houndour explained that it was probably just a Pokemon evolving, probably something bigger than them. Vibrava started pushing Lopunny because she wouldn't move, as if she was amazed from seeing an evolution for the first time.
Once it got late enough, Lopunny went back home and went to bed. Since Lopunny was up all night, she woke up at noon almost every day, since it gave her enough hours of sleep. When Lopunny woke up, she heard a loud noise coming from next door. Lopunny went over to check it out and saw it was Marshtomp screaming about something.
"Did Swampert fall again, Marshtomp?" Lopunny asked, still a bit drowsy.
"It's worse! He was mumbling over and over that he was gonna die again!" Marshtomp said.
Lopunny looked at Marshtomp and said, "Relax. I know you're a bit fidgety because of your husband, but if Swampert passes away anytime soon, he'll be free of his pain. Just think about it. He's very old and can't even walk that far. As much as I beg for that kind of pain daily, it hurts him and once he's able to pass on, he'll be perfectly happy."
"Lopunny…you found a needle yesterday, didn't you?" Marshtomp said, glaring at Lopunny. Lopunny sighed and handed it over. "You have to stop doing that! I know it may feel good to you, but the more you do it the more you hurt your body. I know that one of these days you'll snap again and realize how much pain you should be in." Marshtomp said, going inside to throw the needle away.
Lopunny skipped off to the village and asked Torterra what he wanted her to do today. Torterra said nothing, as if deep in thought. So, Lopunny sat and waited for Torterra to finish. When he opened his eyes, Torterra said, "Oh, Lopunny, you're here already? I didn't expect you for another half hour."
"Why couldn't I be a bit early?" Lopunny asked.
Torterra thought for a second then said, "Then I guess you don't know what time of year it is, do you?" Lopunny shook her head and Torterra continued. "This is the time of year that Pokemon start to evolve more. It's not well explained why yet, but most Pokemon seem to evolve around this time of year."
"That's amazing!" Lopunny said, amazed she hadn't heard of this yet.
"That is why today I want you to organize the list of Pokemon that could evolve in the next couple of days. Sableye should have the list still, so go get it from him and try to make a new list." Torterra said.
Lopunny ran down to Sableye's shop and got the list, along with some more paper and ink so she could make the list. On her way back home, Lopunny stopped by Swampert's place to see how he was doing before she got to work on the list. When she got there, no one was inside, so she went to the backyard. In the back yard, Swampert was sitting on the porch with Marshtomp, getting Swampert some fresh air. Swampert was in worse shape then ever these days. His back was close to breaking, he could barely use his arms or legs, and his mind was leaving him.
When Marshtomp told Lopunny it'd be safer to not talk to Swampert, for the fact he's very confused at his age, Lopunny went over to the salt water pond, wondering if Tentacool, or anyone for that matter, was in there. As Lopunny got closer, she saw red glowing coming from the pond. Lopunny ran up to it and stopped in amazement. What Lopunny had seen was a Tentacruel that was five and a half feet tall from longest tentacle to top of head.
The Tentacruel came up and glared at Lopunny. At first Lopunny was amazed to see the Tentacruel, since the scar on one of its gems was a sign that it had to be her old friend, until it swiped a tentacle at Lopunny, which she jumped over. The Tentacruel continued to try and hit Lopunny, which eventually he did, but it made her squeal with delight.
The Tentacruel glared and said, "So, she's still just as confused as before. But I will not settle for this! You lied to me over a year ago! You said you'd protect me! But when that time came you were gone and let me get hurt! Only now do I have the power to show you the pain I suffered that night!"
Tentacruel wrapped its tentacles around Lopunny and started stinging her with all his might. At first Lopunny loved the feel of Tentacruel's sharp sting, until it started to hurt. Like when being tickled for long enough time, it begins to hurt, so did being stung, no matter how much of a masochist Lopunny was, it would still hurt her if given too much pain.
Eventually Lopunny passed out and Tentacruel put her down. "Now you know what pain is really like. No matter how much you love the feel of it, it still hurts you when given too much. You're just as normal as the rest of them."
As Lopunny started to wake back up, Tentacruel was going to give her another dose of stinging, but Swampert leapt in the way and took a of stinging for Lopunny. Marshtomp chased after Swampert and looked at him after he was stung. "This is bad. Swampert's in worse pain than ever! Help me get him back, and Tentacruel, you better stay right here because after I make sure Swampert is ok, I will have a talking to you."
"I'd rather not, I kind of just came here to get my revenge on Lopunny then I planned on going because—" Tentacruel said, getting cut off.
"I SAID YOU WILL WAIT HERE AND I WILL HAVE A TALKING TO YOU! NOW SIT THERE AND DON'T MOVE OR I'LL PERSONALLY RIP OFF EVERY SINGLE TENTACLE ONE BY ONE AND USE YOUR BODY AS A BALLOON AND PASS IT OUT TO THE NEIGHBORHOOD CHILDREN!" Marshtomp yelled at the top of her longs, glaring are Tentacruel.
So, Lopunny and Marshtomp took Swampert back into his house and Marshtomp started checking on Lopunny and told her to go outside by Tentacruel, which she did. When Lopunny got there, Tentacruel was glaring at Lopunny, but not moving because he was afraid of Marshtomp.
"You shouldn't be too afraid. She's just angry because she lost her husband a few months ago. I doubt she'll really hurt you." Lopunny said, smiling at Tentacruel.
Tentacruel mumbled, "She doesn't need to do anything. You're the one I'm angry at, not Swampert."
"But why are you angry at me?" Lopunny asked.
Tentacruel went on and on about being taken from the sea from a crazy Lopunny who thought they were the same. Then he mentioned how she made Swampert keep him in his personal pond. And to finish it up, after being promised he'd be protected, he was attacked and left with a scar on his left gem.
Lopunny frowned and said, "But I did understand what it was like to be you…and I was gone that day to make sure no more Tentacool would die. And Swampert did it so you wouldn't die in the bowl. I missed you very much when you left…I was very sad…"
"Wait…but how would it have made you sad? I thought pain felt good to you." Tentacruel said, confused.
"Not all pain…just pain that hurts my body. Emotional pain hurts me just like it hurts anyone else. People always get that mixed up and it makes me feel sad." Lopunny said, looking down, starting to cry.
Tentacruel put out a tentacle and wiped Lopunny's tear and she looked at him, amazed that it didn't sting. "There was one thing you were right about all this time. Because you let me sting you, I was able to control how I sting better. Now I can stop myself from hurting others."
Lopunny hugged Tentacruel's tentacle and said, "I knew it'd work. Now I can hug you all I want."
After playing around for another five minutes, Marshtomp returned to the pond and saw Lopunny and Tentacruel playing happily. Marshtomp told them that Swampert was in bad condition and probably couldn't even move anymore. Tentacruel felt bad for what he did, but Marshtomp said that Swampert forgave Tentacruel since he shouldn't have gotten in the way. When Lopunny tried to get into the pond, there was almost no room for her since Tentacruel was so big.
Lopunny and Tentacruel decided they should meet up at the beach where they first met, to also give Swampert some peace. When they both go there, Tentacruel was in the deeper part of it. Since Lopunny was kind of worried about what could be there, they thought of where else they could go. Tentacruel remembered a place they could go, and pulled Lopunny under water, telling her to hold her breath and close her eyes.
When Lopunny felt air again, she gasped for breath and looked around. They were inside an underwater cave that looked like it had a tunnel leading somewhere. So, Lopunny and Tentacruel caught up on what they missed while they were apart. It seems that Tentacruel was welcomed back and when he evolved, last night, he was praised, but didn't want it, so he swam to the pond, thinking he could hide from them and get revenge. Lopunny also found out that the big light she saw last night was Tentacruel evolving.
After almost an hour of talking a playing around, Marshtomp came walking from the other end of the cave and asked what they were doing in Swampert's basement. It seems that he chose the spot because it was the only way into the undersea caves. Marshtomp reminded Lopunny she had work to finish and told Tentacruel they could meet up after Lopunny got a good start on the list.
As they walked back to Swampert's house, Marshtomp heard him yelling. The two went to Swampert's bedside and he started to mumbled. "I don't have much time left…I need to tell you both something. Marshtomp, I want you and Lopunny to live here and keep the yard maintained. As for you, Lopunny, please don't hurt yourself for pleasure so much…I don't want you to die until you're as old as me. And tell Tentacruel to start protecting the sea creatures…and to keep a level head…and back on that night before Rampardos was captured, I—" Swampert suddenly stopped moving all together. Marshtomp was sure that Swampert passed away.
Lopunny started to cry and Marshtomp said, "Please don't cry, Lopunny. It's like you said. He's finally free of all his pain and is happy now." Lopunny ran off into the village and Marshtomp went into the backyard and started digging in the yard not too far from the fresh water pond.
Once Lopunny got to town, she continued crying until she got to Torterra. She told Torterra about Swampert's death and Torterra asked if there was anything he wanted to tell Torterra before he died, but Lopunny said he never finished and all he said was for her and Marshtomp to live in his home and Tentacruel to be strong and level headed.
Torterra asked who this Tentacruel was, never being able to meet him, and Lopunny told him all about Tentacruel and Torterra looked grim, worried that this Tentacruel would be just like the other Tentacruel from 58 years ago. Torterra promised he'd inform everyone and told Lopunny to take today and tomorrow off from all work. So, Lopunny returned to Swampert's Place and looked in the backyard, seeing Marshtomp filling the hole she was digging.
"Please come over here, Lopunny. We should say goodbye to Swampert." Marshtomp said, finishing filling the hole.
Lopunny came over and sat in front of Swampert's grave and said, "Swampert, you were a great neighbor and an even greater teacher. I will always remember what you taught me and hope I can pass it onto another Pokemon some day."
Then Marshtomp said her goodbye to Swampert. "Father, you raised me and even when my husband died you still cared for me. You were the best father I could have ever asked for. I am sure you're in much more relief in death than you were in life."
As Lopunny and Marshtomp were about to leave, Machamp came by and joined them while they were saying their goodbyes and started his own. "You were very wise, Swampert, and this world will miss you greatly for all the good you have done. You were a father to your children, a teacher and role model to Lopunny, and the greatest example of how to live life."
Everyone had now finished, so they walked back to the house. "I heard the news and ran here as fast as I could. It's sad to hear that Swampert is gone, but at least he was nice enough to leave his house to the two of you." Machamp said, sitting down.
"So you're not busy, Machamp?" Lopunny asked.
"I actually am not. Since Pokemon are evolving, the other workers are teaching the newly evolved Pokemon how everything works, so I've got the day off." Machamp said, happily.
So, Machamp helped Lopunny move her stuff into Swampert's old house, while Marshtomp cleared room and moved stuff around in the house. Lopunny wanted to move into the basement because that's where Tentacruel was, but Marshtomp explained it's too damp to sleep down there. So, Marshtomp cleared one of the other rooms, which had relics Swampert must have collected over time, for Lopunny to put her stuff in.
Swampert's home was made by him and him alone. It used to have him and his family, but they grew up and his wife passed away. He craved out an entire rock with three bedrooms and the staircase down into the undersea caves. Swampert's home was one of the best, since the others were all simple one room homes.
Once everything was moved into her new room, Lopunny went down into the undersea cave. Since Machamp wanted to check on some stuff, he left to give Marshtomp some peace. When Lopunny got to the end of the cave where Tentacruel was, there were other Pokemon there. Lopunny stayed hidden and heard them talk to Tentacruel.
"So, why the heck do you even try being that Lopunny's friend? I don't see any purpose in doing it." Said what looked like a Crawdaunt.
"Why not just eat her? I heard Lopunny taste great!" A Feraligatr said, licking his lips.
Lopunny was just plain shocked from what they were saying and ran off before something bad happened. As Lopunny ran, Tentacruel said, "Guys, I'm not going to eat her. I want to be her friend because she cared about me even though I was a runt. And I don't care what you guys think. Lopunny's been the nicest Pokemon I've ever met in years."
"That's a laugh. She only wants you because you'll actually hurt her when she asks for it." The Crawdaunt said.
"I don't care. She's still my friend and nothing will change that." Tentacruel said, glaring at the other two.
Feraligatr said, "Ok, ok. But can we at least nibble on her some time?"
Once Lopunny got back upstairs she ran strait into her room. Since the rooms didn't even have doors, Marshtomp walked in and asked, "What's wrong? Did Tentacruel pick on you or something?" Lopunny stayed silent. Marshtomp walked out of the room and down into the undersea cave.
When she got to where Tentacruel was, he was actually alone this time. Marshtomp glared at Tentacruel and yelled, "Tentacruel! What did you do to make Lopunny sad?"
"What? Why would I try to make Lopunny sad?" Tentacruel asked.
"I thought the same thing, but you had to have done it since she came up and went straight to her room and looks like she's gonna try to drown herself in tears!" Marshtomp said.
Tentacruel thought for a second then said, "Darn it…she must have heard the guys talking. I'm still picked on a bit because I care about Lopunny. She must have heard them talking and thought I was going to hurt her."
"Who are you talking about?" Marshtomp asked.
Tentacruel explained that after he left, he met Feraligatr and Crawdaunt and they picked on him because he played with Lopunny. They also knew about the cave and thought that the land Pokemon were just pray that they had to wait to fall into the water for. Tentacruel was hoping Lopunny wouldn't have to meet them.
Marshtomp understood what Tentacruel was talking about and asked where they were right now. Tentacruel said they were down by the reefs probably and Marshtomp dove into the water and told Tentacruel to follow her. They swam over to an island where there was music being made by many Pokemon. Marshtomp waved over at two Ludicolo and they came over to her.
The two Ludicolo were Marshtomp's brother-in-law and sister-in-law. Her husband was a Lombre that didn't like dancing like his family, but still cared about them. The Ludicolo thought Marshtomp would still be in shock about Lombre's death, and had just got wind of Swampert's death.
One of the Ludicolo asked, "What are you doing here, Marshtomp?"
"I need you to take care of some idiots who made Lopunny cry." Marshtomp said.
The Ludicolo knew who Lopunny was. Since Lopunny lived alone, she'd celebrate with Swampert's family when ever they had a party. The Ludicolo were also responsible for Lopunny learning she could hurt herself with needles easily.
Once Marshtomp explained what she needed them to do, basically teach Tentacruel's friends a lesson, they agreed to it and said once they did they'll drag them over to the cave so Marshtomp can deal with them. And with that, Marshtomp and Tentacruel returned to the undersea cave to see Lopunny sitting by the edge of the water.
Tentacruel wrapped his tentacles around Lopunny to hug her and she started to curl up into a ball in fear, or tried to at least. When Tentacruel put Lopunny down she stayed curled up and didn't move. Marshtomp and Tentacruel tried to uncurl Lopunny, but she wouldn't budge. When Marshtomp asked why she wasn't moving, Lopunny said, "I don't want Tentacruel to eat me or feed me to his friends. I'm trying to look less appetizing."
"Lopunny, I'm not trying to eat you. Those other guys were thinking it. I'd never even think of eating you!" Tentacruel said.
Lopunny gave in and hugged one of Tentacruel's tentacles. Marshtomp was happy to see the two were happy with each other again. After about a half hour of playing, the Ludicolo came with the two fiendish friends of Tentacruel's. Tentacruel put Lopunny on his head and the two of them glared at Feraligatr and Crawdaunt. The two were frightened beyond compare, as if the Ludicolo violated them. Tentacruel wrapped his tentacles around Feraligatr and Crawdaunt and said, "You have five seconds to tell me why I should squeeze all the life out of the two of you."
Both of them stammered until Tentacruel started to tighten his grip, and then the Crawdaunt said, "I was only kidding around! I swear! I knew Lopunny was important to you the whole time! It was Feraligatr's idea to try and eat her!"
"You blabber mouth! We were close to getting him to share her with us!" Feraligatr yelled.
Tentacruel released Crawdaunt and said, "Thank you Crawdaunt. As for you, Feraligatr, I'm gonna have to leave you to Marshtomp since I'm going to relax with Lopunny for a while longer."
Marshtomp grabbed onto Feraligatr and with the help of her relatives, she dragged him up stairs and out the door. One her way out, Marshtomp ran into Machamp who was waiting outside the house for a long time. Marshtomp told Machamp that Lopunny was in the basement, so he went down there as Marshtomp took Feraligatr to Torterra.
Machamp was there to tell Lopunny that he was finally given a steady work shift, so he wanted to settle down with her and see if they could raise a family. But as he got to where Lopunny and Tentacruel were he saw Lopunny laying on Tentacruel's head and heard her say the one thing he not only didn't expect, but didn't want to hear. "Tentacruel, I love you so much! I swear I'll come back every day to hang out."
Just from those words so many thoughts ran thought Machamp's head. "Maybe I should have hurt her to make her happier." "How can they be in love? It wouldn't even work." "This is so wrong, so wrong!" Machamp just sat there and did nothing, as if in total shock.
Lopunny jumped off of Tentacruel and said, "I better get going. Tomorrow I have the day off, but I want to rest up on it. It'll be my last one for a while." So, Lopunny walked toward the stairs and noticed Machamp sitting there. "What're you doing there, Machamp?" Machamp didn't know what to say. He was still in total shock, so Lopunny tried to pull him up and said, "Machamp! Get up! It isn't like you to act like this. I don't like it one bit."
Machamp started to mumble something over and over and Lopunny tried to hear it. Eventually she did and Lopunny said, "Machamp, snap out of it. Let's get upstairs and we can talk. Ok?" Machamp nodded slowly and they walked upstairs.
Once they got upstairs, Lopunny started to explain everything to Machamp. It wasn't that Lopunny was in love with Tentacruel, she just loved him a lot. Lopunny and Tentacruel both knew they couldn't be together in a real relationship; they just wanted to be best friends, since it was the most they could ever be. Then, Machamp told the information he planned to tell Lopunny in the first place. Lopunny was happy to hear it, but said she wanted to wait a couple years before she could.
Lopunny wasn't raised like most Pokemon because she relied on Swampert's information to help her know what to do. She remembered him once say that you shouldn't jump into a relationship of any kind. When Swampert was younger, he waited five years till everything was perfectly steady before him and his wife had children. Since Lopunny wanted to honor Swampert, she wanted to wait until her craziness was behind her and she was ready to have children.
So, Machamp agreed that he'd give Lopunny the same option for as long as they may live. Lopunny walked Machamp out and went to bed. Marshtomp came back later after telling Torterra everything that happened. That night was relaxed and calm, or so everyone though, but it'd get much more hectic by morning.
To Be Continued…