Pokemon Island Chapter 1: Sink or Swim (Mostly Sink) (Patreon)

The first thing that hit me was sound, the endless crash and churn of waves around me, roaring in my ears. Then came the burn, a searing ache in my chest as water filled my lungs. Instinct took over before reason could catch up. My body jerked, twisted, and kicked, desperate to find something, anything, that wasn’t this suffocating blue void.

My eyes snapped open. Darkness. Pressure squeezing from all sides. My limbs thrashed in chaos, bubbles exploding from my mouth as I screamed underwater.

‘Where am I?! What’s happening?!’

Every cell in my body screamed for air. My thoughts tangled in panic as I tried to swim upward or what I hoped was upward but I couldn’t tell anymore. The light above was fading fast.

Then the realization struck like a knife to the chest. ‘I can’t swim.’

No amount of flailing could change that. The water dragged me down, deeper and heavier, and my body began to slow. My lungs burned, begging for release. I opened my mouth to scream again, but that only made it worse. The ocean rushed in, cruel and cold.

My vision blurred. My heartbeat thundered in my ears. The edges of the world began to fade, swallowed by the deep.

‘I’m going to die... drowning without even knowing why…’

Then—something shifted. A pulse of warmth cut through the cold. My right hand tingled. And before I even realized it, something appeared between my fingers. It felt like a small, smooth, spherical object.

My instinct screamed to hold onto it, so I did. The second my fingers closed around the sphere, a soft mechanical click echoed underwater.

A blinding light erupted before me. Through the fading brilliance, I saw it, something vast and graceful emerging from the light. A shape gliding through the water with effortless majesty. A long, curved neck. A shell-like back. Blue skin and yellow skin. Gentle, intelligent black eyes that met mine.

‘No way…’ It was impossible. It was unreal. And yet, there it was. A Lapras.

For a moment, I forgot the burning in my chest. The world froze as the Pokémon floated toward me, its eyes calm and kind, as if it understood everything without words. Then, with a single powerful stroke of its fins, it closed the distance between us.

The water around us surged. I felt something firm beneath me, the cool, smooth shell of its back and before I could even think, Lapras kicked off the depths with thunderous strength.

The ocean split open around us.

We broke the surface in an explosion of water and light, the world suddenly blindingly bright. I coughed violently, gasping for breath, each inhale feeling like salvation. The wind stung my face, salt spray covering my skin. My fingers dug into Lapras’s shell, clinging for dear life.

“H-Holy—” I coughed again, choking between breaths. “Holy crap! What the hell just—” The rest of the words died in my throat.

The horizon stretched in every direction, an infinite field of blue water under a sun. No land. No ships. Nothing but sky, sea, and me, straddling the back of a creature I’d only ever seen in games and TV screens.

Lapras turned its head slightly, its eyes soft and curious, as if asking if I was alright.

I stared back, chest still heaving, heart pounding like it wanted to burst. “You… you really saved me,” I whispered hoarsely.

The Lapras let out a melodic cry, a low, hauntingly beautiful sound that rolled across the waves like music. 

I rested my forehead against its shell, trembling with disbelief. “I… I don’t know how this is real,” I murmured. “But… thank you.”

Lapras hummed softly, almost reassuringly, and then just stared at me confused,

—-----------------------------

Lapras’ POV

When I had awakened, it felt like stepping out of a dream I have slept through for centuries. The ocean greets me like an old friend, its scent, its rhythm, its endless embrace.

I move slowly at first, stretching my fins as if testing whether I still remember how. The currents swirl around me, cool and gentle, carrying the voices of the sea. Each motion stirs a deep sense of belonging in my chest. ‘How long has it been since I last swam freely?’ I do not know. Perhaps years.

But right now, time means nothing. Only the peace of the water matters.

The waves whisper against my shell, familiar and soothing. For a brief moment, I close my eyes and hum, a low, melodic sound that ripples through the deep.

Then, something disrupts the harmony.

I tilt my head upward. Through the dancing curtains of light, I see a human, falling through the water, limbs flailing helplessly. Bubbles escape his mouth as he sinks deeper. 

I blink. A strange feeling stirs within me. Familiarity. ‘Have I… met him before?’

It is faint, like the echo of a melody from another life. A human boy with laughter brighter than most, his hand resting on my neck, trusting me completely as we crossed endless seas together. He too had no gift for swimming, yet never feared the water when I was there.

A warmth spreads through me at the memory. ‘Could it be? No. He was too different and far older than him. And yet… a feeling tugs at something deep within my heart.’

‘Why was he even in the ocean if he can’t survive. Foolish human,’ I think fondly, ‘he’ll drown if I don’t hurry.’

With one powerful motion, I sweep my fins, slicing through the current with practiced ease. The sea parts before me, welcoming my charge. I reach him quickly, he’s sinking fast, his body limp with exhaustion.

Without hesitation, I position myself beneath him. The moment my shell touches his chest, I moved upward with all my strength. The water roars around us as I propel us toward the light.

And then— we break the surface.

Air rushes past us in a cascade of spray and sunlight. The human gasps violently, coughing out seawater and sucking in breath after desperate breath. I feel the tremor of his body as he clings to my shell, his fingers digging into the ridges. I stay perfectly still, keeping us balanced, my fins gently paddling to steady him.

His voice is broken and hoarse, strange sounds, words I do not understand. Yet the emotion in them is clear: fear, confusion, awe.

When he finally lifts his head to look at me, his eyes widen in a way that makes me pause.

There it is again—recognition.

His gaze trembles, as though staring at a ghost. The reflection of my image dances in his wide brown eyes, shimmering with disbelief.

I tilt my head curiously, studying him in return. His dark hair is plastered to his forehead, his face pale but alive. There’s something oddly endearing about his expression.

He says something else, softer this time, his tone filled with gratitude. I cannot understand his tongue, but I understand his heart. He is thankful.

I answer him with a gentle hum, my song rolling across the waves in calm reassurance. The ocean quiets for a moment, listening. He freezes at the sound, his eyes softening.

‘Strange human… he acts as though he has never seen one of us before.’ I lower my gaze, amused. 

—-------------------------------------

“Where… am I?” I whispered, voice barely audible over the sound of crashing waves.

The question hung uselessly in the air. My eyes darted around, scanning the horizon, but all I saw was water. Endless, glittering, blue stretching in every direction. No land. No boats. No people. Just me, floating on the back of a creature that, by every rule of logic and reason, shouldn’t exist.

A Lapras.

The blue plesiosaur tilted its head, watching me with its large, soulful eyes that gleamed like black pearls. Its expression was curious, almost gentle — as if it was trying to figure out what sort of strange, flailing human it had just rescued.

“Don’t suppose you know where we are, huh?” I finally said, forcing a weak laugh as I met its gaze.

Lapras blinked slowly… then shook its head.

“Figures.” I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck. “Guess asking a Pokémon for directions was a bit too optimistic.”

It let out a soft croon, low and melodic, almost apologetic. Somehow, that sound made my chest tighten. ‘Why… does this feel familiar?’ The sound, the look in its eyes, even the calm way it carried itself… it was like remembering a dream I’d long forgotten.

Shaking off the thought, I turned my focus back to the ocean. The vastness of it hit harder now. The waves shimmered under the morning sun, but the farther I looked, the more that beauty turned to dread. There was nothing. No islands, not even a hint of another Pokémon. Just a lonely sea and a borrowed lifeline beneath me.

“Okay… think,” I muttered to myself, glancing down at my drenched clothes. Same black t-shirt, same blue jeans, same grey sneakers I wore every day, all plastered to me like a second, soggy skin. “Still fat, so that’s a minus,” I added under my breath, grimacing as I poked my stomach. “Guess I didn’t pull a body-swap isekai at least.”

Then I noticed the object still clutched tightly in my hand. The Poké Ball.

It gleamed faintly under the sunlight, droplets of seawater rolling off its red-and-white shell. My brow furrowed. “Did I summon you somehow?” I murmured, turning it in my hand. 

My heart thudded. “Wait. Does that mean I have a system? Like, the whole ‘Congratulations! You’ve been Isekai’d into the Pokémon world!’ thing? No… no way. I didn’t even meet Arceus! Isn’t that mandatory?”

Lapras tilted its head again, clearly puzzled by my rambling.

“Don’t worry about it,” I sighed, tucking the Poké Ball into my pocket. “You wouldn’t get it.”

That’s when I heard it, the wind shifting. The once gentle breeze grew sharp, heavy. The surface of the water rippled, turning restless. Clouds began to gather on the horizon, their dark bellies rolling like living shadows.

My stomach sank. “...Crap. That’s not good.”

The waves started to rise, lifting and dropping us in uneven motion. My fingers instinctively tightened around the ridges of Lapras’s shell. “Listen,” I said, my voice trembling a bit as I leaned closer to its neck. “Do you think we can… move somewhere else? Someplace calmer?”

Lapras blinked. For a second, it seemed confused, then it gave a soft hum, like it was acknowledging the tone of my voice, if not the words.

A moment later, the ocean beneath us stirred. Lapras began to move, its massive body gliding smoothly across the waves despite the growing wind. Each motion was steady and strong, like a moving fortress.

“Good girl,” I muttered, relief washing over me as we began to put distance between ourselves and the storm’s edge.

Lapras glanced back, and for a moment, I swore it smiled.

As we cut across the water, I couldn’t stop staring. The way the sunlight caught the smooth curve of her neck, the rhythm of her movement, the intelligence behind those gentle eyes, it was all so impossibly real.

If I weren’t busy worrying about survival, I’d probably be squealing like a total nerd right now. Because, holy hell, a real Lapras just saved my life.

I’m bringing this back and with a remastered version for everyone to read.