Chapter 1: Awash in Thoughts
It was another mundane moment at sea.
Stumpy sat down, his little feet sprawled out along the wooden floor of the ship he sailed upon, looking out the window into the vast ocean as its waves rocked the ship. For a moment, the sea would have excited him, just as everything else about living life anew would after he left his leading position behind and stepped down. Four years of pressure, four years of agony and self-doubt. It wasn't as if he were alone, not like his sprouting years where he'd been picked on and treated differently from the others that were just like him. It wasn't as if he were alone, avoiding natural predators and fending for himself on route from the place he called home his entire life for settled, yet unknown lands past his imagination.
No. This time, it was merely…boredom, once more. He thought living life in some small cradle of luxury solved every problem he had. He thought the security in his work and profession that he earned so swiftly over others that worked harder than him was enough to grant him some pride and self-confidence.
It did, for a time. It felt so damned good, being in a position of power for the first time in his life. The inebriation of others off of his formula, his craft, his brew, was Poké in his imaginary pockets. Life felt great…yet something in him changed the year he stepped down. He decided to get down from his penthouse view over the other workers, and he met them at their level, greeting them, cheering them up and pushing them to be the most productive versions of themselves. He saw the determination in their eyes, but also the silent derision, the envious fire, the looks of contempt. Such glares and leers made him think differently about himself.
Am I no better than a villain? Am I to blame for their anger at me? And how can I win the trust and respect of others when I question myself like this?
Stumpy's head hurt just thinking about it, and no remedy for headaches or migraines could take the sting out of this deep-rooted doubt he has in himself.
In some ways, he felt alone, even if many in the brewhouse were happy with him and what he's done for the company, and even if his higher-ups showered him with praise and adulation. Without Stumpy, they may have gone under, they may have closed shop and moved downtown, or worse, away from Capim Town entirely, or nowhere at all…possibilities ate away at Stumpy's mind like a slow, yet paralyzing poison. It was the curse of the prodigy, he supposed. The pressure to continue performing better than everyone else. The expectations of being more than just a cog in the machine, to be its engine, so to speak.
It was then, in those moments of anguish and depression, he asked to step down, but remain with the company in some fashion. His words shocked his higher-ups and his handmen and handmaidens, sure, but it shocked the entry-level workers he would greet on the way to his office even more. He thought what he was doing felt like the right thing to do in his own mind, but there were many who begged him to stay on top as a fresh face who helped the brewhouse gain more popularity, but it was still his decision to make. He was still a hard-headed grass-type, and his decision was final. He stepped down, consumed by doubts and pains.
But dwelling on his past wasn't healthy for his heart. Sure, Little Andrew's, his signature brew, was successful (and his pride and joy), yet to Stumpy, his true name and likeness on every jar and his confidential recipe inside them was something he fought vehemently for, by spore, crown, and petal. He earned both his say and his royalties in his next contract, at least. Every pint of Little Andrew's sold was another 80 Poké in his savings. Every time he went to some pub or some establishment and looked at a near-empty shelf that had his namesake mushroom-Ginseng beer, every time he saw another Pokémon hand over 1600 Poké for a five-pint pack, every time he saw the rich, bitter-spicy concoction flow down a patron's throat, he knew that it was a good day. After all, it was money in his pocket. And as it turned out, he wasn't half-bad as a salesman. Maybe it was the way he talked that got the attention of everyone else. Who knows?
And yet, with 30 full crates of his mushroom brew in the rear of his ship, Stumpy just couldn't shake this mental funk off of his mind. Even as a seafaring salesman, he just didn't know what to do next, but perhaps his destination: a small, yet close-knit and growing community in the Sand Continent that fancied themselves an oasis for everyone, was the place that could give him the answers he sought. With all this thinking and self-reflection, he didn't hear or notice the feet of a familiar friend creaking the wooden floor as she walked down the steps into the crewquarters. Two clawed toes scratched the surface of the wooden steps, and her weight made the solid wood bend in just the slightest way.
"Stumpy…hey…hey! What are you doing?"
"Wha..?" A familiar voice shook the Shroomish alert. He looked up, way up, and saw his most trusted handmaiden. A young Nidoqueen, who, with her motherly charm and who could see right through him so easily, someone who laughed at his crass sense of dry humor and was there to hoist him into her arms if he was ever in tears thinking of his late gran. She may be younger than Stumpy, but she had a particular wisdom that he didn't have.
Nidoqueen looked down and extended her hands to Stumpy, and he willingly hopped into them. He felt like a Nidoran in her arms, but truly was just an 8 3⁄4 lb lumpy mess that needed to be comforted and sorted out. Nidoqueen was good at that sort of thing.
"You were thinking about that day again, weren't you…when you stepped down?"
"Yeh, luv. Me 'ead 'urts just thinkin' about it. I jus…I jus want to feel loike oi'm doin' roight by the comp'ny…oi'm sorry if I ever hurt you, luv, but…"
Nidoqueen sighed. Stumpy would catch the scent of her breath as she sighed and calmed down a bit. It was a refreshing scent, and had the air of someone who took good care of herself…someone who knew what she was and would let nothing get in the way.
"Don't apologize, Andrew…" Nidoqueen gasped and held her mouth shut.
It was rare that anyone would say his real name right to his face. It was almost an insult to him. To Stumpy, it was a name he didn't deserve. Only his dear late gran Cybil could call him that. It invoked the feeling of never knowing who his mum or his dad were. For anyone to just call him Andrew, by his real name, by the name of his gran's late human trainer, out of the blue without knowing what that name meant to him, it would piss him off badly enough that he would snap and fight in a blind rage, but this time, it felt...warranted. It was necessary. He needed to hear it, just like Nidoqueen needed to help him more than he realized.
"Look…Stumpy, you have no reason to be so down on yourself. You're doing great. Trust me. You do trust me, right?"
Stumpy smiled and nodded, then looked away for a little bit. "Yeh, luv. Oi dew."
"You know, it's been almost a week since we left. I just thought, Stumpy, maybe we cou-"
"WHOAWHOAWHOA! O-OI DON'T 'AVE THOSE KOINDA FEELINS FER YEW, LUV! PU' ME DOWN LIKE!"
Nidoqueen let off a frown, a parental stare, a raised eyebrow, and she set him back down on the wood floor. But eventually, she couldn't act serious anymore. She softened up and a hard laugh came all the way up from her diaphragm.
"Really, Stumpy? You're thinking of that? Pff…hahaha! I just thought we could go up top and look at the stars. For a little while, if you'd like."
"Oh…s-sorry, luv…oi know yew've go' a lova a' home an' oll…"
"No, I don't."
"An….An, oi'm nowhere naer big enuf to-"
Nidoqueen giggled a bit before being serious with Stumpy. "No, not even close."
The Shroomish let off his panic for a moment and felt deflated in a relieved sort of way. He didn't like to talk about intimacy all that much, especially with someone on the payroll and that worked with him all the time. It felt like such a awkward and inappropriate relationship to have, even if he did kind of have feelings for her…
But then, a smirk appeared across her mouth, and she slowly bent down, looming over Stumpy like a pillar to a pebble. Nidoqueen's face came closer to Stumpy's, a certain, teasing look in her eyes, her tongue tracing a short line across her upper lip and venomous teeth as she spoke softer to him. "Come on, you don't think I can stuff a whole Shroomish up my-"
"GOOD GOD JUS TAEKE ME UP THERE NOW WUM'N!"
A pause, then more smug, soft spoken words from Nidoqueen's lips. "Uhh...The deck or my-"
"TH' DECK!" Stumpy shouted at the top of his little lungs, with the low boom of a proper Englishman…like the kind his gran told stories of. Nidoqueen, his handmaiden, looked at him in shock, recoiling in surprise at how loud a little guy like Stumpy can be when he's this frustrated.
The poor Shroomish was so mortified he was shaking, his seedy little eyes seemingly the size of coconuts, the color in his body completely drained, and there was Nidoqueen, laughing even harder. "Figured I'd get one on you eventually. Besides, at least I got your mind off your self-loathing, right?"
Stumpy deflated again. "F…fack off…p-pick me up..." he muttered in a whimper.
Nidoqueen scooped Stumpy back into her arms and walked up the steps to the ship deck. It was night out indeed, no sun in the sky, only a waxing moon and the light of the stars. The night sky was one of the few things they could look up at if either one of them had a hard time sleeping. It was great for a lot of things, and therapy could be one of those…
"Nidaquaen…yew eva…" Stumpy choked back and resisted shedding a tear. "Yew eva thought that loife was boring? So boring you wanna get away frum it oll an' neva look back?"
"Sometimes. Is that why you stepped down?"
"oi guess. I jus…didn't want the otha Pokémon to think oi was some uptoight wanker…"
"Stumpy, you're not one of those. I've known you for two years now, and the last thing I would ever call you is an 'uptight winker'."
"It's wanker. Wan. Ker. Means arsehole, jerk, douche, th' loike…"
Nidoqueen chuckled a bit as they lay down on the ship deck together. Nidoqueen propped her feet up onto the railing of the ship, crossing her legs. Stumpy wished he could do that.
"Right. Stumpy, you're not one of those kinds of Pokémon. As your hands and arms, I'd have told you if you were acting like one."
That's exactly why Stumpy chose her to be his handmaiden. She was more to him than just a vital pair of hands that could grab stuff or stir a vat or sign his contracts and agreements and deals for him. Nidoqueen was open, honest, and she knew a lot more than her young age would suggest. At the same, Stumpy was older for sure, but his mind was still unevolved. He didn't realize that he was missing the forest because of all the trees in the way.
"Oi guess oi'm actin' roight foolish, ahrn't oi?"
"Only a little bit. Please, you have nothing to fear, Stumpy. I'll fight for you if there was, and no matter what, I'm going to be there for you because…"
"'Cause yew loike me so much?" Stumpy responded with a smirky look.
"...Because I love you, Stumpy."
And there it was, something that made his smirk disappear instantly. Stumpy's heart felt like it sank down to his gut, and then it fluttered in his chest as its thumping deep inside him picked up its pace. It made him feel uneasy, and yet, it was the first time anyone had told him those three words in that combination since before his gran passed away. He didn't quite know what to make of this. But Stumpy hopped up and began to walk away.
The Nidoqueen sat back up, looking distraught and embarrassed. "Huh? Was that too personal, Stumpy? Wait, please…"
Stumpy stopped in his tracks and turned around.
Nidoqueen had a tear in her eye, and looked at him with a genuine sense of care. It was enough to make the little Shroomish tear up as well, and he came running right back and buried himself against her chest. Company feelings be damned, corporate ladder and policies be damned, he needed this time alone with her to get his mind off of the menial work.
"Fack, oi luv yew too, luv!" He said, his voice muffled. He'd have hugged her if he had those stretchy arms like his gran and the other Breloom had. Nidoqueen clutched him close to her chest, giving him the hug he wished to give and receive. "Oi'm 'appy yor wif me, Nidaquaen."
Nidoqueen leaned in with a kiss, eyes closed, but Shroomish struggled to get away from her approaching mouth. There was an understandable fear when it came to that. Her jaws were big, her teeth and fangs could seriously hurt him, and it made him feel uneasy being near a big Pokémon's mouth like this. It was the reason he was so afraid of his fellow workmate Exploud...
"'Ey…e-easy, luv…s-stop et…"
Nidoqueen stopped closing the distance and the embarrassed blush on her face was easier to read than a book. She must have gotten carried away. Her eyes trailed to the left, looking out towards the waves that began to gently rock the ship to and fro.
After an awkward silence, Nidoqueen finally spoke up. "Let's…Let's get to sleep, Stumpy. It's late, and we need to get up early. Sahra Town will greet us with open arms tomorrow."
"Yer roight, luv. Oi do need me some shut-oye…"
Nidoqueen got up, scooping the little Shroomish in her arms and walking down the steps to the crew floor in the ship, back to their bedrooms. As Nidoqueen set him down in front of his room, Stumpy looked up at his handmaiden and smiled, telling her good night with a bright smile. It's clear Nidoqueen made him feel happy again. He watched her retire to her own bedroom and walked into his, pushing the door shut with a creak and a soft thud. Without any arms, Stumpy didn't have a proper bed like Nidoqueen's big bed of straw. Instead, he hopped into his quilted sleeping bag and buried himself deep in its damp and comfortable touch, and he closed his eyes, hoping tomorrow would bring him good fortune…
But then again, self-doubt was still a cruel, persistent bitch…