Tale 59: The Prince and the Mermaid (Ash)

(real tale: The Mermaid and the Boy)


"There was once a king who ruled where Vermillion City is today." Ash begins as the last notes of "The Entei Sleeps Tonight" fade away. "One year, some of his subjects that lived on what is now Knot Island tried to rebel against him..."

"Why did they rebel?" Melody wonders.

Ash thinks for a moment. "High taxes, I guess." Melody seems to buy that answer, so he continues "He decided to try and end the rebellion peacefully, and set sail for the Sevii Islands. At first, the voyage was uneventful, but then a storm blew up, and the ship ran aground on some rocks!"

"Pika!" Pikachu gasps.

"Just when it looked like the end for the king and his men, a mermaid appeared to him--we'll call her Nerissa." Ash assures Pikachu. "Nerissa told the king she would guide him back to safe waters in return for his firstborn. The king was understandably hesitant at first--the thought of giving up a potential heir pained him. But a wave almost tipped the ship over, so he quickly consented."

"Azu?" Azurill is interested.

"So Nerissa cast a spell..." Ash pauses to sing Imultao, ame no ga bakeno... "and the ship was warped back to safe waters."

He continues "The negotiations took about nine months, and ended successfully, but while the king was away, a little prince was born. He was named Casey, which means "brave".

[A great name...] Mai smiles.

"At first, the king forgot all about his bargain with Nerissa, but as the years went by, the king laid awake at night wondering what would happen if Nerissa spirited Casey away during the night." Ash continues. "So he told his queen the whole story, and Prince Casey was watched like a Braviary twenty four hours a day."

[But what about when he was old enough to go into the world?] Korra worries.

"When Prince Casey came of age, his parents dressed him in simple traveling clothes and gathered his belongings in a simple bag, and wished him well on his journeys." Ash assures Korra. "At first, Prince Casey's journey was uneventful, but when he stopped to camp for the night, he was startled as an Entei met him there!"

"What are you doing here?" Brock asks in a deeper version of himself.

"I'm traveling in hopes of fleeing from a mermaid." Ash replies as Casey.

"Might you share some of your food? I am very hungry..." Brock groans in character as the Entei.

Everyone laughs at Brock's Entei voice. "Casey agreed, and gave the Entei some of the Buneary meat he had caught. When dinner was over, they talked until they fell asleep." Ash continues. "The next morning, the Entei gave Casey a ruby as thanks for his kindness, and said to him..."

"If you ever get into trouble, remember the song 'Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul'--you will gain some of my power that I have sealed in this ruby." Brock explains as the Entei. "Since you helped me in my hour of need, so shall I help you in return."

"Casey and the Entei said goodbye, but as he walked on the road, Casey grew curious as to what power was inside the ruby. So he sang...." Ash pauses to sing Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul....

[And what happened?] Korra asked.

"Casey glowed a bright red, and he felt incredible strength and power flowing through him." Ash replies. "On top of that, he looked like he was consumed in flames to the average passerby, but the fire was actually holy magic that only harmed evil."

[Wow!] Mai is impressed.

"Casey sped along the road in his 'fireball' state, until the magic wore off a few minutes later." Ash explained. "He did manage to travel a long way while under the spell, though. When he made camp that night, an Espeon met him in the woods."

Brock switches to a mimic of May to represent the Espeon. "I don't know why you travel, but can you maybe give me a little food and a place to rest?"

"Casey agreed, and as thanks for his kindness, the Espeon gave Casey a sapphire and told him..." Ash narrates.

"If you ever get into trouble, remember the song 'Rou iitsa ron selga vichii'--you will gain some of my power that I have sealed in the sapphire." Brock explains as the Espeon. ""Since you helped me in my hour of need, so shall I help you in return."

"The next morning, after he had said his goodbyes to the Espeon, Casey wondered just what powers were in the sapphire." Ash continued. "So he sang Rou iitsa ron selga vichii..., "and he could see, know and sense things no human could see, know, or sense, in addition to knowing how to teleport like an Espeon. To the average passerby, he looked like he was made of a bright blue aura."

"Pini..." Happini gasps, impressed.

"Needless to say, Casey managed to travel quite a long way by teleporting himself until the magic wore off." Ash continues. "On the third night, a Pidgeotto met him in the wood as the sun set, and asked for some food. Casey agreed, and gave the Pidgeotto one of the Magikarp he had caught. The Pidgeotto gave him an emerald as thanks for his kindness, and told him.

"If you ever get into trouble, just remember the song 'Karuto, iichiida shou'--you will gain some of the power contained in the emerald." Brock explains in a breathy female voice. "Since you helped me in my hour of need, so shall I help you in return."

"After Casey and the Pidgeotto said goodbye, Casey wondered what powers lay inside the emerald, and sang Karuto, iichiida shou.... This made him glow bright white, and gave him the ability to fly." Ash explains. "He managed to fly all the way to the outskirts of a great city before the magic wore off."

"This getting good..." Misty notes.

"Casey heard the people talking about the princess--who hated boys so much, she would not allow even a picture of a boy in her room." Ash continues.

"And I thought Merida was bad..." Misty muses.

"We'll call our princess Megan." Ash assures Misty. "It began to get late, and as soon as no one else was on the road, Casey took the emerald and sang Karuto, iichiida shou...

"Uh oh..." Brock stifles a giggle at what he thinks will happen next.

"The flight magic wore off just as Casey landed in Megan's room." Ash continues. "Naturally, Megan freaked out at seeing a boy in her room, but when the guard rushed to see what the matter was, they saw nothing out of the ordinary, and concluded Princess Megan had a nightmare."

Everyone laughs as they picture the guard's reaction. "Casey tried returning to Princess Megan's room, but she freaked out again." Ash continues. "The guards, of course, found nothing, and figured the princess had gone nuts."

"So did Casey ever make it in there?" Brock is curious.

"Yes--and Megan concluded that her father would think her nuts if she screamed over the same boy again and again. Casey assured her he meant no harm, and after a few moments, Megan warmed up to Casey. They became fast friends, and would spend hours talking about many things." Ash continues. "Casey found out that Megan was a fine fiddler, and that her kingdom was due to head to war in three days, and they needed every person that could fight. He told Megan that if he did not return, to play her fiddle to the sea, and Manaphy would tell her where he was."

Inspired, Misty takes out her fiddle and cradles it in her arms, waiting for an opportunity to play. "Megan also gave Casey an sapphire ring identical to hers, so he would remember her if he got lonely on the battlefield." Ash continues. "So three days later, Casey and the king's retinue set off for the battlefield. But on the way, Casey heard a beautiful voice coming from the sea, and followed it beneath the water, where he met up with Nerissa."

"I was wondering when she would show back up." Melody muses.

"Although Nerissa treated Casey like a king, Casey longed for his beloved Megan on the surface." Ash continues. "Meanwhile, some months after the war had ended, a knight claimed he was the one Megan loved, complete with showing the king a lapis ring. But Megan knew Casey had to be somewhere, so one night, while everyone else was sleeping, she took her fiddle and made her way to a hill overlooking the sea, where she played a lament to the waves..." He motions for Misty to play.

Misty plays "Lament for Cerulean" for effect. "Sure enough, Manaphy heard the song, and brought Casey to the surface, despite Nerissa's pleas." Ash continues when the last note dies. "Manaphy told Nerissa that Casey belonged on the surface, and so Nerissa reluctantly bid Casey goodbye. Megan and Casey hurried back to the palace, where Megan challenged the knight to transform into a fireball."

Everyone laughs. "The knight had no inkling of magic power, so he just danced around making fire noises." Ash continues. "Then Megan challenged him to teleport, and the knight just jumped around the room making teleport noises. Megan then challenged him to fly, and the knight just ran around the room with his arms outstretched like wings."

Melody's laughter is the hardest at the knight's magic power, or lack thereof. "Then Casey sang Jao wiisha nes chiel com yutuul... and became a fireball." Ash intones. "The knight leapt behind a chair, and stayed there until the fire magic wore off. Then Casey invoked the sapphire--Rou iitsa ron selga vichii--and warped behind the chair the knight was hiding behind. No matter where the knight ran to, Casey warped there until the sapphire's magic wore off."

"And then?" Brock asked as he wipes away a tear of laughter.

"Casey then invoked the emerald--Karuto, iichiida shou--and stunned the crowd by flying." Ash continues. "He then showed the court the sapphire ring, and Megan showed hers. The king realized the knight was lying, and ordered him banished for deceiving him."

He concludes "Casey and Megan were married, and they lived happily for many years--but Casey kept the jewels with him, just in case he needed their power again."

[Bravo! Encore!] Korra leads the applause.

"That was your longest tale yet, Ash." Brock smiles. "In fact, that's gonna be a tough act to follow...."

"Oh come on, I know you can keep the momentum going with a tale of your own!" Misty assures him. "You are the master storyteller, after all!"