Changes made Septerber 14/15th:
Marius now has a hinted back-story, which changed his relationship with his Pokémon.
The radio conversation was extended.
Marius was made slightly more expressive.
"Captain Stu, what do we do?! Should we turn back?!"
Marius Stu, the seventeen-year-old captain of the M.S.V. Charlie looked over his ships bow towards the skies and seas ahead. With all the years he spent either by the ocean or on it, he easily recognized the signs of the approaching storm. "No, the storm is coming too quickly. We can't escape and I doubt the ship will survive," he said with an almost frightening amount of calm.
This caused the sailor to enter a terrified panic. "What do we do?! I don't want to die?! I've got a wife and kids!"
Marius sighed in exasperation then walked past the ranting sailor and leisurely strolled to the control room. He flipped a few switches which sent a signal to the nearest coast guard. "Hello?" asked a male voice through the speakers.
"This is Marius Stu of the M.S.V Charlie. A storm is approaching my vessel and I do not expect it to survive. Send Rangers and rescue teams after the weather clears."
This was followed by a brief moment of silence. "And would you like fries with that order?"
Marius raised a single eyebrow. "I would prefer something more substantial upon rescue."
The speaker screeched as it tried to process the sound of a face hitting a desk. "For the love of ... Marius, would it kill you to show some emotion in your life?!"
"How would an emotional reaction kill me?"
The speakers screeched again, then the voice on the other side sighed. "Do you even hear yourself? That ship belonged to your father. Besides Radiance, it's all you have to remember him by."
"What about photos?"
The radio only screeched a little when the man on the other side elected to use his palm instead of his desk. "That's not the point. Are you really okay with losing your dad's ship like this?"
"It's my ship now."
"Damnit Marius, stop harping on the details and answer the question!"
"No, I'm not okay with it," he said as calmly as ever. "But I'm not going to risk my men's lives over a ship."
The man on the other side sighed. "Do you think they can get to you before the storm?"
Marius glanced outside and saw that the storm had already managed to reach him. "It is impossible."
"Okay. I'll tell everyone I can to look for you and your crew after the storm. ... And, don't die on me buddy; not until I finally beat you in a battle."
"I understand Bright, and ... thanks." He turned off the radio then grabbed receiver for the ship's speakers and switched it on. "This is your captain speaking. All hands are to release their strongest water types overboard and command them to rescue any people or cargo knocked overboard. Lives take priority; this is an order."
He switched off the receiver and stepped out with a single Pokéball in hand. Within was his only Pokémon, a Milotic his father named Radiance. Once he stepped outside, he was buffeted by a torrential downpour. "Radiance!" He threw the ball which released his Pokémon into the water before returning to him. "Wait beneath the waves and rescue anyone thrown overboard."
She looked around at the storm than at him with sad eyes and spoke in some high pitched tones and tics. Even though the sounds' meanings were lost to Marius, he mostly understood what Radiance said. "I'll be okay!" She continued looking for a few moments before doing as he commanded. He looked at his crew and found that two were missing. "Where are they?" he asked the nearest man.
The sailor needed no more to know what he meant. "Lilly-livered cowards fled on their Pokémon's backs the instant they let 'em out!"
Marius looked to stern and saw the two riding on the backs of a Seadra and a Dewgong. They were too far to hear anything he'd say and to get them would only risk more lives. He sighed in regret then turned towards the other sailor. "Tie down the cargo and hold on to the ropes."
"Shouldn't we be inside captain!"
"No. Our Pokémon can't save us from inside if the ship sinks."
At this point, the sailor could barely make out his captain's voice over the sound of torrential rain. "Aye aye sir!"
He went to relay the command as Marius tightened the nearest ropes. As he moved on to the next rope, he felt a sudden wave of drowsiness hit him. He tried to lock his arm into the next rope, but a powerful wave hit the boat and threw him from the cargo; causing him to hit the ships railing headfirst "Rest now my children, for when you awake a whole new world shall be your home."
Marius tried to open his eyes but winced when he felt a piercing headache. With his second attempt, he noticed that he was at the bottom of the ocean. In an instant, he noticed at least four unusual anomalies, but they could wait until he reached the surface to breath. One glance upwards revealed that the surface was likely too far for him to reach in time, but he would try regardless.
He could not feel his arms, so he mimicked the motions used by Pokémon that had horizontal fins. He kept his movements slow so he could conserve as much oxygen as possible, but he was still moving faster than expected. Once the surface looked within reach, he poured on all the power he could for the last sprint.
This proved far more effective than expected as not only did he reach the surface, his body completely left the water. During the short moments he spent in the air, he recalled the oddities from before. First, the waters he is in are too shallow to be the same ones he fell overboard from. Second, Radiance wasn't anywhere to be seen, and he knew how protective of him she was. Third, half the water Pokémon he saw appeared to be sleeping or waking up. Fourth, he never actually felt the need to breath. He hit the water then rose back through the surface and surveyed what he could see. Upon realizing that he was higher above the surface than he should be, he looked down at his body. It was in this moment that something happened to Marius that rarely happens to him: he was surprised. "I am a Gyarados," he stated with a new, somewhat rougher voice. It it wasn't in such bad taste, he would have found the irony humorous.
A few kilometers away, Celestia's sun began to rise over a city that floated under the ocean's surface: the city of Marelantis. Within the tower closest to the surface, a single half-pony half-dolphin began to rise from her slumber. Her skin, blue as the clearest ocean, sparkled as the sun's light peaked through her windows. She woke with ease and took a deep breath from an enchanted air bubble covering the upper half of her bed. She then swam over to a vanity made from a massive sea shell and grabbed a soft sponge designed to fit to her hooves, then she carefully scrubbed her body from head to tail: she was Queen Oceania of Marelantis; leader of all Hippocampi of the oceans, and it would not do for her to look anything less than her best.
She experienced her coronation only two short years ago; in the presence of the Equestrian princesses no less. There had yet to be an opportunity to prove her leadership skills and she would have to constantly be a shining example Marelantis's best until such an opportunity arose. It was fortunate that with her prominent mane and powerful tail, she looked the part.
She placed the sponge back down and smiled. She could feel her excitement bubbling as this day would be the day that she would be able to attend a concert by the Pony of Pop herself, Sapphire Shores. She swam towards her door eager for the following day but paused when she noticed what looked like pink coral with a white underside next to her door. Considering the four uniformly spaced three-pronged rounded spikes along the topside, she figured that it must have been some sort of gift from one of her city's many artisans. It was odd for a gift to be placed in her door rather than being presented during open court, but she decided that she could question why it was placed in her room as she slept at a latter time. She swam over and touched the piece of art, only for it to move more than expected. "Corsola."
She froze as the coral turned towards her and looked up with confused black eyes and a small but discernible mouth. "Coooorsola?" it said quizzically.
"It speaks," she said with rising panic.