Tale 11: The Finneon Knights (Brock)

(real tale: The Knights of the Fish)


"There was once a shoemaker--we'll call him Martin--who was renowned for being a hard worker." Brock begins. "Though he was a hard worker, he was very poor, and barely earned enough to buy food for himself and his wife. For a while, they made do on the meager pay he earned and wild Berries. But eventually, Martin decided to hang up his tools and decided to try fishing."

"Did that help?" Ash wonders.

"At first, Martin got very good at fishing, but before long, he was lucky to even catch an old boot." Brock replies. "He was about to give up and go try some other trade when one day, he managed to catch a Finneon, the Beautifly of the Sea."

"Is that really a Finneon's nickname?" Misty asks, interested.

"Take a look." Ash digs Dexette from his bag and invites Misty to look at the Finneon picture that blips on the screen.

Finneon, the wing fish Pokemon. Dexette begins. The way its two tail fins flutter while it swims has earned it the nickname "Beautifly of the Sea"

"I'm sure those must be beautiful to see!" Misty gasps, starry eyed.

"They are." Ash replies as he pockets Dexette. "You were saying?" he asks Brock.

Brock thinks a moment as to where he is in the tale, then continues. "As Martin unhooked the Finneon, it spoke to him."

Using a breathy young female voice, he requests "When you cook me for your dinner tonight, keep two pieces for yourselves, and bury two more in the garden."

As himself, he continues "Martin found the request odd, but respected the Finneon's wishes. When he cooked it for dinner that night, he kept two pieces for himself, and buried two more in the garden. When he came to look in the garden the next morning, he was shocked to find two newborns, a boy and a girl, under the shade of a tree."

"Aw..." Ash smiles.

"They named the boy Destin and the girl Lana, in remembrance of the waters the Finneon came from." Brock continues. Destin and Lana grew up to be kind and generous people, and very brave as well. When they came of age, they decided to go out into the world to seek their fortunes."

"And then?" Misty asked.

"With their parents' blessing, they set out early the next morning." Brock continues. "For a while, their journey was uneventful. But when they came to a fork in the road, Lana suggested they each go in a differing direction. If something wonderful happened to one of them, they would notify the other to meet them there. With that, Destin went east, and Lana went west, eager to discover what adventures awaited them."

"Pikachu?" Pikachu asks.

"Destin followed the road eastward for a while, until he came to a large city." Brock replies. "When he got there, he saw that everyone was crying. When he asked what the matter was, a townsperson explained that every year, they had to offer a maiden of pure heart to a terrifying Garchomp, lest the city be destroyed in flame. It didn't help that that year, the lot had fallen to the princess--who I'll call Isabel."

"Pini!" Happini gasps, afraid for the princess.

"Don't worry, Princess Isabel will be okay." Misty assures Happini. "Destin's gonna save her!"

Brock smiles as he takes his guitar and retunes it a little. "Destin borrowed a Ponyta, some armor, and a sword, and rode out until he came to the tree Princess Isabel was tied to. Despite Princess Isabel's pleas for him to stay away, Destin assured her he was going to save her, and end the cycle of sacrifice."

Once sure his guitar is back in tune, Brock continues "The Garchomp arrived soon after with a mighty roar, but Destin ran to battle with Princess Isabel looking on." With that, he begins playing the Zelda theme as an interlude.

"After a long battle, Destin emerged victorious!" Brock continues, playing the Zelda "got item" jingle for effect, to the Pokemon's bemused giggles. The city was elated that the Garchomp was slain, and the king offered Destin anything he wanted as a reward. Destin took one look at how beautiful Isabel was, and told the king he wished to have Princess Isabel's hand in marriage."

"See? Told'ja Destin would save the princess." Misty assures Happini.

"But what about Lana?" Ash asks. "What adventures did she get into?"

Brock is about to answer when he notices Happini is asleep at his feet. "She had plenty of adventures in her own right, but that is another story for another day."

"Yeah, we'd better get to bed ourselves." Misty agrees as she tucks Azurill in for the night. "We can always tell more stories tomorrow night!"

"Okay--you'll lead off tomorrow night's tales." Brock tells Misty as he tucks Happini in for the night.