My Little Pokemon Silver Spoon Version

by Fashionably Late

Chapter 11: St. Anne

Author's Note:

Fashionably Late here, and since my proof reader is off on holiday I've decided to release episode 15 and 16 (Battle Aboard the St. Anne and Pokémon Shipwreck) as a single chapter, like the Starter/Abandoned episodes. I'll be working on the next chapter, but don't expect it until next month when that proof reader that I've yet to fire comes back. Gotta be honest, I was going to keep the Beauty and the Beach name, but overhaul the entire plot with a pokemon tournament with the reward being an evolution stone, but Island of the Giant Pokémon is split between Ash and Pikachu's perspectives, and since I'd rather stick to a single perspective I'm probably going to merge Island of the Giant Pokémon with Tentacool & Tentacruel. Might release Pikachu's perspective in an omake if anyone's interested, but I doubt it. Enjoy.

There was still plenty of time left in the day and no real reason to lounge around doing nothing. We started walking through the city and found our way to the port. Misty had the idea that we might find a better swimsuit for me than the school swimsuit I had.

“Man, look at all these ships.” Ash gasped in wonder.

“They sure are impressive.” Brock hummed.

“Can you imagine how luxurious it would be to travel on one of those?” Misty sighed. “The sun, the surf, lounging on the deck working on my tan!”

“You’d probably see lots of interesting water pokemon traveling that way.” Brock chuckled. “But there’s no way we’d ever be able to afford it.”

“Darn, reality can sure be a bummer.” Ash groaned. Brock and Misty both nodded, looking equally disappointed at the reminder while Flora and Weiss glanced at each other.

“Just ride a pokemon.” Weiss stated. “Lapras are good for traveling between islands and are capable of long distance travel.”

“A Lapras?” Ash pulled out his pokedex.

“Lapras. This intellectually advanced Pokémon is able to understand human speech. With its mild temperament, Lapras prefers to carry humans on its back, rather than engage in Pokémon battles.”

“They look beautiful.” Misty giggled. Her smile quickly turned to a melancholy frown as she looked up at a big, fancy ship. “Still, it would be nice to go on a luxury cruise someday.”

“HEL-LO~!” We all jumped back as two girls broke away from the crowds in front of us. Both were deeply tanned, one had short blonde hair and the other had long light-red hair.

“Like, you’re trainers, aren’t you?” The redhead asked us.

“Yeah, why?” Ash tilted his head curiously.

“Like, how would you like to attend the most cool, unforgettable trainers-only party? All aboard the St. Anne!” She waved a ticket in his face.

“It’s gonna be, like, totally radical!” The blonde cut in.

“Oh but, we can’t possibly afford the tickets.” Ash’s shoulders slumped.

“Like, not to worry!” The redhead giggled. “See, we were gonna go with our totally hot boyfriends, but they cancelled last minute, so, like, we were looking for some totally cool trainers to go in our place!”

“Yeah, you guys, like, look totally cool!” The blonde agreed.

“So, like, here’s the ticket! Have fun and, like, tell us all about it when you get back!” She pressed the ticket into Ash’s hands and she and her friend ran off.

“That seemed…a touch suspicious.” I muttered. “Ash, may I see that ticket?”

“Uh, sure.” He passed it over.

I had no idea what a legitimate cruise ticket looked like in this world, but this one didn’t look fake to me. It was a pass for a group between 2 and 5 people to board the luxury cruise liner the St. Anne. The date and time of departure were stamped at the bottom.

“Why would they just give this away to some total strangers?” I flipped it back and forth, as if that would reveal some flaw.

“Who cares?” Misty snatched the ticket out of my hand. “The St. Anne is famous! I’ve always wanted to ride it someday! This is like a dream come true!” Her eyes read over the ticket and she gasped.

“Guys, it’s going to be leaving soon! We have to hurry!” She rushed us, running down the pier.

“Hey Misty, wait up!” Ash called as the rest of us followed her.

Something really didn’t sit right with me about this.

“Look, there it is!” She came to a stop in front of the biggest ship in the port. I’d wager that two to three thousand people would have fit on board.

“C’mon, it’ll be leaving in a few minutes!” Misty rushed for the stairs.

“Wait a second!” I grabbed her hand before she could climb the stairs. “The ticket is only good for five people at most and there’s six of us.” I pointed out.

“That means one of us is going to have to sit this one out.” Brock thought out loud.

“Welp, that’s my cue to leave.” Flora declared getting everyone’s attention.

“Flora.” She held up a hand interrupting me.

“The past couple of days have been a lot of fun and pretty wild! But our biggest concern is you drowning, so Weiss is better suited to watching over you. Besides, this way I can head over to Celadon City and hang around there.”

“Take care Flora.” Weiss walked up to Flora and the two shared a hug.

“We’ll keep an eye out for you.” Brock promised.

“I hope we meet again real soon.” Misty added.

And that was that. Flora went down the road and we went up the stairs to board the St Anne. We parted ways as good friends.

At the top was a man in uniform who barely even glanced at the ticket before waving us through. I looked over my shoulder at him, watching as he welcomed another late arrival with the same casual attitude.

When I looked forward again I found myself standing in an opulent room crowded with people and pokemon. Stalls were set up, the dull roar of people talking made me feel like a man lost at sea. And the worst part?

I’d somehow managed to get separated from the others.

“Come with me.”

Well…almost everyone, as Weiss took my hand and pulled into a crowd of people.

“Where's Ash and the others?” I jumped to the side, almost colliding with someone carrying an Oddish. “Where are you taking me?” A step to the right and I nearly tripped up a waiter. “My bad, sorry!” Why couldn’t I slip out of Weiss’s grasp?

“Ash is watching a pokemon battle with Misty and Brock, and I want to check something out.” Weiss said, stopping in front of a stall so suddenly that I almost fell on her.

“Hey, girls.” I froze, expecting someone else to scold me for standing in their way. When nothing else was forthcoming I looked up and saw a salesman behind a stall, standing over a tank of large reddish-orange fish. “Like what you see, eh? Behold, the king of carp! The Magikarp!”

“Um, yeah.” I had no choice but to follow Weiss as she walked up to the tank. Only then did she finally release my hand.

“Are you…selling Magikarp?”

“Aha, figured it out at just a glance, eh? Beauty and brains!” He dipped his arms into the water and held out the Magikarp towards us. “Now look at this, look at this! See how healthy this Magikarp is?”

“It, uh…” It flopped and wiggled in his hands. “Looks lively, the scales look shiny and the fins look strong.”

“Mhm, mhm.” He nodded along. “And between us, these pokemon are a goldmine! A goldmine, I tell you! Do you know what’s so special about Magikarp?”

“They evolve into Gyarados.” Weiss stated, seemingly mesmerized by the giant fish.

“True! But also…” He leaned forward conspiringly, nearly dropping the Magikarp back into the tank. “Magikarp lay a thousand eggs, did you know that? And all those eggs hatch and lay a thousand more eggs each, that’s ten thousand Magikarp! They lay eggs, that’s a million Magikarp! Sell them for just a hundred dollars apiece, and by generation three you’d be a set for life! A billionaire!”

That’s not how supply and demand works.

“And girls, you look to me like someone who’d like to live the high life! So I’ll cut you a deal!” He pushed the Magikarp into my hands and pulled out a crate of items. “Not only will I sell you this Magikarp for 100, but the breeding kit, the polishing kit, the owner’s manual, all for just 300 dollars! I’m practically giving it away!”

“Ah, wait, I don’t need all that.” Thankfully Weiss took the Magikarp out of my hands, literally, so I didn’t have to worry about dropping it. “Your business model is—!”

“Deal.”

I stopped.

“You said 100 for the Magikarp by itself, right?” Weiss interrupted. I was almost surprised by her boldness. “I’ll just take the Magikarp, please.”

“Oh? You sure?” He pouted.

“Mhm.” Weiss bent over to put the Magikarp back in the tank so she could rifle through her bag. “So does it already have a pokeball or…?”

“One pokeball, free of charge!” He quickly smiled, snapping the money from her hand and tossing a gold painted pokeball at her. She returned the Magikarp to it and thanked him politely before we took our leave.

“And hey! If you change your mind about the breeding kit!” He yelled after us. Over my shoulder I saw him pull out another pokeball and release another Magikarp into the tank. A man in the St. Anne’s uniform was walking by and I saw the salesman stop him, likely giving him the same spiel he’d given us.

“Are you sure it was a good idea?”

“Yes.” Weiss nodded curtly. “We’ll meet Ash and the rest at the buffet.”

Of course. Sooner or later Ash would end up wherever the most food was and the others would follow him.

Suddenly the whole ship shuddered.

“Passengers, please be aware that the St. Anne has officially left port. We hope you enjoy your stay!”

We were moving. I waited a moment to see if the moving would bother me but it didn’t look like the rocking was bad enough to trigger any nausea.

I ran up to Weiss, passing by several different stalls. Some were pokemon salesmen like the one we’d just left, but with better variety and much higher prices. Another waiter carrying a tray of tiny sandwiches walked past as we approached the buffet.

The buffet table was…It was…

I’ll be honest, my jaw dropped. The amount of food available was staggering. There were dishes I didn’t know the names of. A wide variety that seemed to have no end with something for everyone.

I took a plate and served myself some creamy mashed potatoes, corn on the cob, and buttered rolls. Weiss…

Weiss was balancing three plates, a pair in her hands and one atop her head. Some sort of pasta dish, a risotto, and prench fries with something that looked deep fried.

We found a table and began working through the food, bite by bite.

“Sarah, there you are!” I nearly choked on a bread roll. Ash and the others had found us.

“Wow, hungry much?” Misty laughed, setting her own plate piled high with desserts down beside me.

“There’s just…so much food.” Weiss…I think she actually had to blink back a few tears.

“Hey Sarah, you missed it! Butterfree and I won a fight against a Raticate!” Ash informed me. His plate was piled with foods I did not recognize.

“Congratulations on winning.”

“Yes, it was a most exciting match!” A strange man and woman, both dressed finely, approached our table. “Your Butterfree is certainly impressive, young man.”

“Thanks, I put a lot of work into raising it.” Ash blushed lightly.

“Indeed.” The man leaned forward on his cane. “And tell me, what did you think of my Raticate?”

“It was awesome!” Ash was never shy about praising a pokemon. “You trained it really well!”

“I’m glad you think so! That’s why I propose a trade!” He held up a pokeball, presumably the one with the Raticate in it.

“Huh? A trade?” Ash repeated, confused.

“When two trainers like each other’s pokemon, then they trade!” He spread his arms wide, nearly swinging his cane into a passing girl. “You raise your pokemon, build bonds of friendship with them, then you meet another trainer, trade with them, raise and bond with their pokemon as they bond with yours! That’s how friendship spreads across this great, big, beautiful world of ours!”

That…that sounds nice. Spreading friendship across the world.

“That’s why I want you to trade your Butterfree for my Raticate!” He finished.

“Uh, I dunno.” Ash looked at us. “What do you guys think?”

“Spreading friendship is wonderful, I’d love to trade!” Brock’s whole face was red and he was staring at the pretty lady who was with the gentleman.

“Can you trust a stranger to look after your pokemon as well as you did?” Weiss…actually made a good point between bites of sushi with some sort of pink topping.

When did she get another plate…no three more plates of food?

Ash’s eyes widened a little, like that part hadn’t occurred to him.

To be fair, this gentleman was a much better talker than the salesman I’d met, better than the Flim Flam brothers even. I didn’t even recognize it as a sales pitch.

Ash stared at his plate for a moment before he raised his eyes to look the strangers in the eye.

“I appreciate how much you like Butterfree, but I’m not going to trade.” He straightened his spine.

“I understand, and thank you for your time.” I might have imagined it but I thought I saw him look in Weiss’s way before he left.

“Alright, let’s get back to the food!” Ash grinned, lifting his fork and knife.

Ah yes, the wonderful food.

At last though, only Weiss was still eating. My own stomach felt like I’d gained ten pounds. Considering I went back for thirds I didn’t consider that much of a stretch.

“So Sarah, where’d you go after we got separated? One second you’re there, the next you’re gone!” Brock asked me.

“I couldn’t find you guys so Weiss dragged me to the stalls. There was one man selling Magikarp and she decided to buy one.”

“What? Why would anyone want one of those? They’re…” Misty struggled to find a word to describe them.

“Magikarp: The fish pokemon, these pokemon are notoriously weak swimmers and lack any attacks other than Splash. Their only claim to fame is that they evolve into Gyarados, though no one is sure how.” Ash smiled sheepishly as the pokedex finished.

“Weiss did mention Gyarados.” I offhandedly mentioned as I fished out my own pokedex and looked up Gyarados’s entry.

“Gyarados: The Water Dragon pokemon, this pokemon has a vicious temper and is largely regarded as the king of the seas.”

“Ugh, Gyarados.” Misty shuddered.

“Um, Misty, you don’t like Gyarados?” I frowned. “Even though it’s a water type?”

“I like all other water types!” She quickly reassured us. “It’s just that, well, I had a bad experience with a Gyarados once. They’re the only water pokemon I don’t like.”

“But Weiss, how do you plan to get your Magikarp to evolve? The pokedex said no one knows how it evolves into Gyarados.” Brock pointed out.

“By training him and developing our bond.” Weiss stated like it was the most obvious thing in the world.

Misty huffed a laugh. “Now th—YIPE!” She jumped back, pointing behind us.

Behind me and Ash were the windows and they were all, throughout the whole room, slamming shut with big metal shields. The other exits were being sealed shut too.

“Hey, what’s going on?” Someone yelled.

The sound of a dozen machines powering on caught my attention. Nearby I saw a waiter tear off his red and blue uniform, revealing a black one underneath. He also pulled out a large backpack with vacuum hoses attached to it.

My eyes landed on the big red R emblazoned on his chest.

All through the room more people began to do the same, tearing off their uniforms and revealing menacing technology and a red R stamped on everything.

“Team Rocket!” I snarled, pulling out my first three pokemon. Up till now I hadn’t even considered the fact that Team Rocket was a much larger organization. We’ve only encountered Jessie, James and Meowth so far.

“Pikachu, Thunderbolt!” Ash rallied fastest.

“Bulbasaur, Razor Leaf! Eevee, Spearow, Quick Attack the machines on their backs, there are pokeballs inside!” I commanded them, keeping an eye on where they went and how far from me they were.

“Charmander, Bulbasaur, Butterfree, help us out!” Ash pulled out more pokemon.

“Geodude, you too!”

“Starmie!”

“Yun, Mien, Mr. Krabs!”

Huh, apparently Weiss also had a Krabby.

Team Rocket wasn’t expecting such a strong resistance. And when other trainers saw us fighting they started fighting too. Pretty soon the whole room was in on it, fighting anything wearing a red R. Every time a Rocket goon went down someone would take his vacuum bag and empty it out, allowing people to reclaim their pokemon.

“They’re falling back, keep it up!” I shouted over the commotion. “Spearow, Quick Attack left! Eevee, Quick Attack right! Bulbasaur, don’t get too far away!”

I saw Weiss vault over a table and grab a tray one of the former waiters had dropped. She let it fly, knocking the feet out from under one goon who’d been trying to leave with his ill gotten goods.

I saw a black blur out of the corner of my eye and I dropped to my hands and let loose a kick that would have made the Apple family proud. The Rocket goon grunted as he fell over and Spearow was at my side in an instant, cutting apart the straps holding the machine.

“Damn you brats!” A goon rolled to his feet. “You’ll regret the day you ever went up against Team Rocket!”

“Not now and not ever!” I retorted. “Surrender now and there’ll still be something left for Officer Jenny to arrest.”

The ship lurched to the side and dropped three feet. Only Weiss managed to stay standing but the goon I was talking to used the confusion to get away.

“Gang, front and center!” I pushed myself up. I needed to make sure my pokemon were okay.

“Bulba!” Bulbasaur came first, seeing how he stayed by my side the entire time. Eevee came next, followed by Spearow.

“Spear Spearow!” Spearow was glaring off at where the Rocket goon had disappeared to. The force of his glare was actually, no, that wasn’t the glare!

Spearow glowed hot, bright white. Each beat of his wings came stronger than the one before, until I was almost knocked back by the force behind it. The light faded away and where my Spearow once was there was now a Fearow!

“You evolved!” I gasped, delighted.

“Feeeaaaa!” He cried, proudly stretching his wings. “FeaROW!”

This time the ship lurched, tilting almost dangerously. I slid along the floor, arms flailing to find something to grab. Fearow’s talons latched onto one arm and lifted me up.

“Eevee!” I cried as he was sent tumbling towards the wall. I noticed that the doors and windows had been unsealed, leaving one open nice and wide for them to tumble through. “Oh no! Fearow, put me down!”

“Fear fear!” He released me. My arm was red and definitely going to bruise but I’d take that over slamming through a window.

“You did good, Fearow and I’m so proud of you but you can’t fit in the halls!” I pulled out his and Bulbasaur’s pokeball and returned them. “Eevee, I’m coming!”

Behind me I heard someone shout my name. I didn’t pay them any attention. I leaped over any obstacle in my way and grabbed the door frame to turn me in the right direction.

“Eevee, shout if you can hear me!” I yelled as I ran. My bag thumped against my shoulders with every step, not secured as tightly as it should be. I didn’t care, taking the next turn so fast I almost twisted my ankle.

“Vee!” Luckily Eevee was right around the corner.

“You’re okay!” I dropped to my knees and wrapped him in my arms as tight as I could. “Oh, thank you Celestia!”

“Vee Eevee!” Eevee sobbed into my chest.

“Hey now, it’s okay. I’ve got you.” I reassured him. “That was scary but we’re okay now, and you earned a good rest.”

“Sarah!” Ash and Weiss came running after me, followed by Brock and Misty. “We have to get to the lifeboats! The ship is sinking!”

“What!?” I nearly swallowed my tongue. I let Eevee go and fumbled with his pokeball. Okay, back in your pokeball, now!”

Another wave hit the ship. Everything happened in slow motion. Eevee turned to light and was pulled inside his pokeball. I lost my balance, tipping forward.

I lost my grip on his pokeball.

“No!” I was on my feet before the ship righted itself. “Eevee!”

“Sarah!” Ash and the others chased after me.

The floor was tilted almost forty degrees. I kept running, using corners and door frames to slow myself down and control my turns. The pokeball kept rolling, always just a little bit out of my reach.

“Almost, almost.” My pulse pounded in my ears. I couldn’t bear to leave him. My fingers brushed against the pokeball just as another wave hit, this one harder than all the rest.

Then everything went black.

---

Consciousness returned…fitfully. It was nothing like that morning in the forest. It was peaceful then and I felt well rested.

Now it felt like Apple Bloom had kicked me in the head, my arm throbbed, and for a scary moment I couldn’t remember who or where I was.

That passed quickly, thankfully, but the panic did push me to sit up before I was really ready. The world spun and I gripped my head between my hands and felt something wet on one side.

“Vee?”

Eevee was standing right next to me.

“You’re ok.” I hugged Eevee close to me.

I was in a lounge, with everything flipped upside down in a way that made my stomach tie itself in knots. Ash, Misty, and Brock were with me and none had regained consciousness yet. None looked seriously injured either though I could see some bruises forming on Misty’s skin.

“You’re awake.” I saw Weiss standing by the window with Mien out and about.

“What happened?” I asked as Weiss walked over to me and sat down, looking over my injuries.

“The ship capsized.” Weiss stated as she used a water bottle to wash out the wound on my head and trace it with a fingertip. She then took out a gauze and wrapped it around my head, stopping the bleeding. “It’s not long, but you should still see a doctor.”

“Mmmggghhh.” Brock moaned, slowly coming to as Weiss finished dressing my wound and applied a cream to my arm that stopped the throbbing.

“Nnn.” Misty jolted out of her sleep, hand rushing to clutch her shoulder. “Oooww.”

“Easy there.” Wiess approached her cautiously. “Let me take a look at it.”

“Weiss?” Misty turned to look at Weiss and incidentally caught a look at me. “Sarah?” Tears started falling out of her eyes. “Oh my gosh, what happened to you?”

“Uh, hit my head against something, I guess.” I shrugged. “Does your shoulder hurt?”

“Urrggh, yeah.” She tested the range of motion. “I think it’s okay, just sore.”

“Let me feel it.” Weiss gently laid a hand on Misty’s shoulder, feeling the joint. “It’s going to be sore for a while.”

“Ugh, wha?” Brock finished rousing himself, blinking blurrily up at the…floor.

“Brock, does anything hurt?” Weiss crawled over to him and leaned over his face.

“Weiss? Geez, feels like Onyx Body Slammed me.” He winced, sitting up. “I think I’m okay though? You guys?”

“I’m fine but Sarah hit her head on something.” Misty tattled on me.

“It’s not that serious, just a cut in an awkward position.” I reassured them. “Ash and Pikachu are still out.”

“Piii.” The electric mouse proved me wrong, rolling onto his side before pushing himself onto his feet. “Pika! Pikapikapika, Pikapi!” He ran over and started shaking Ash’s shoulder.

“Nn-huh? Shto-stop it, Pikachu!” Ash thrashed a little. His eyes blinked open and he froze, staring up at the…floor. “Am I still dreaming?”

“If this is a dream, I’d like to wake up now.” Brock deadpanned.

“Guys?” Ash rolled over. “Whoa Sarah! Your head!”

“Yeah.” I hissed, patting the tender spot on my head. “Weiss already treated it. Are you hurt anywhere?”

“Uh, no, I feel fine.” He answered after a brief pause. “Why’s the ship upside down?”

“The ship capsized.” Weiss repeated.

Misty made the mistake of craning her head to look around. Apparently that range of motion did not agree with her shoulder.

“This will help.” Weiss poured some of the cream she used on my arm and started rubbing it into Misty’s shoulder.

“Whoa, there are fish swimming out there!” Ash gawked at the window. “We’re underwater!”

“This is bad.” Brock grit his teeth. “We need to find a way back to the surface.”

“Yeah.” Misty nodded. Her shoulders were finally able to relax now that whatever muscle she’d pulled wasn’t screaming in agony.

“We’re not far from the surface.” Weiss stated, standing up and walking towards the door. “Seaweed doesn’t grow too far from the surface. It would get too dark and cold for plant life otherwise.”

That gave us hope.

“Let’s find a way out then.” Ash got to his feet.

We left the lounge and wandered through the halls. Even if we’d gotten a chance to explore the ship earlier it wouldn’t have done any good with everything flipped upside down. Eventually we found the stairs only to find everything below us was flooded.

“Do we go up or down?” Ash asked.

“Up is where the ship bottom is, down is where the deck and all the exits are.” Misty grimaced. “So we go down.”

“Ah.” I gripped my backpack tightly. I wasn’t that confident in my swimming.

“But if there’s a dead end we’d be goners.” Brock reasoned.

Weiss turned and kneeled to look Mien in its gem.

“Mien, go look for a way out. If you find one, bring something from outside.”

Mien nodded before jumping into the water and diving, leaving us to wait for its return.

While we waited my hands drifted over my pokeballs, back and forth. One, two, three, four now.

I was clutching Eevee close to my chest.

If I hadn’t lost my grip on Eevee’s pokeball we wouldn’t be in this mess. We would’ve made it to a lifeboat and we’d be heading to safety already.

But I lost my grip and the others chased after me. I was glad to not be alone, but I hated getting them mixed up in my mess. What if there wasn’t a way out?

I shook my head and forced myself to think about something else.

I thought about Discord instead. I know Discord said he wouldn't be holding my hand the entire way, but he wouldn’t just leave me in a capsized ship, right? Fluttershy wouldn’t like that. Besides he had sent Gardevoir to check on me when I almost drowned in Cerulean and had Flora follow along since then, even if the two did nothing when I fell into a river. Then, presumably, he sent Weiss to teach me how to swim and she helped Misty to teach me, and today Flora split off from the party and Weiss treated my and the others' injuries.

“Guys, I’m sorry.” I couldn’t look up from my feet. “If I hadn’t lost my grip on Eevee’s pokeball…”

“Hey now, that wasn’t your fault.” Brock placed a hand on my shoulder. “If anything, blame those Team Rocket guys for sending the ship into a storm like that. None of us regret following after you.”

“That’s right! We’re your friends, Sarah!” Ash declared fiercely.

“Yeah, we know you’d do the same for any of us.” Misty ran her hand over my back.

“Mien sure is taking a long time.” Ash frowned at the water.

“Maybe it can’t find a way out.” Misty worried.

“If so, then we go up and make a way out.” Weiss declared.

“Hey, there’s something coming!” Ash knelt down by the water. I refocused and saw a dark shadow rising towards us. A shadow too big to be Mien.

“Uh, Ash, you might want to step back!” I warned him just as the shadow breached the water.

Everyone but Weiss screamed, jumping back to avoid the bodies being thrown at us. We got back as far as we could on the landing, staring in fear at what Mien had brought back.

Team Rocket. Specifically, Jessie, James, and Meowth.

“Whoa, they don’t look so good.” Brock hissed in sympathy. The trio was half-drowned, with blue lips and coughing up a great deal of water between them.

“Prepa-prepare for…trouble.” Jessie burbled.

“Make…double.” James coughed.

“Meowth, that’s right,” Meowth shivered.

“Uggh, what…?” Jessie blinked, her eyes focusing on us. “Twerps?”

“What? The twerps?” They all jumped up, nearly landing back in the water again.

“Looks like we’ve finally got you cornered!” Jessie smirked.

“And now Pikachu will be ours!” James concurred. Both whipped out their pokeballs.

“If it’s a battle you want then it’s a battle you’ll get!” Misty and Ash stepped forward.

“NO!” I screamed, darting between the groups and spreading my arms. “No battling!”

“Eh? And why should we listen to you, little girl?” Jessie put her hands on her hips.

“We’re miles underwater and a battle could destabilize the ship and lose what little air we have left.” Weiss offered, pointing at the water lapping at their feet. The water level had already risen since we arrived here.

“Just what I was thinking.” Brock joined in. “If we battle here and now, both our groups will die! For now, the only thing we can do is try to escape together.”

“A truce? With these guys?” Ash grumbled.

“There aren’t any better options, Ash.” I sighed regretfully. Personally I would’ve loved to really see what Fearow could do to these guys.

“Hmph, I hate to admit it, but you’ve got a point.” Jessie huffed, though she didn’t put away her pokeball. “Fine, a truce. For now.”

“Mien, did you find any way out there?” Weiss asked her pokemon. Mien sadly shook its head. “Thanks for trying.”

“So nothing but dead ends down below.” Brock crossed his arms, eyeing Team Rocket suspiciously. “Anyone got any ideas?”

“As a matter of fact, I do!” Misty stuck out her chest. “I built my own "St. Anne" once.”

“Huh?” That got Weiss' attention. “Really?”

“It was a model.” Misty admitted, resulting in the rest of us grumbling. “So I know where the hull is thinnest. If we go up past the engine room we can cut our way out and make it to the surface!”

“Well, sounds like a plan.” Ash nodded. “But I don’t think we’ll be able to use these stairs.”

I walked over to see what the problem was and winced. Big pieces of furniture and what looked like a door were piled up there. Not to mention the difficulty of trying to climb upside down stairs in the first place.

“There’s a stairwell with a more open plan back the way we came.” Misty informed us. “Alright everyone, let’s go!”

I kept an eye on Team Rocket as we watched. They took turns giving me the stink eye back. With every step my hand would brush my belt. In these cramped quarters Bulbasaur and Eevee would be my front liners, but I was all too aware of the metric tons of water all around us. Fearow would have a problem moving in any direction other than forward. That left me with Cleffairy, and I really needed to start training her.

“There, the stairs!” Misty pointed ahead.

Yep, those were stairs. Above us.

“Hmm.” I chewed on my lips trying to think of a way to get us up there. Did I have rope?

“Mien, use Light Screen to form a staircase.” Weiss ordered.

Mien could do that?

A rectangular blue screen formed in front of Mien before laying down parallel to the floor. Then another blue screen formed and laid parallel to the first screen. The process repeated until there was a blue staircase leading up to the next floor.

“Woah.” We all looked in awe before quickly following behind Weiss and Mien.

Between one hallway and the next the lights went out. Some wiring must have been damaged or destroyed.

“My turn.” I heard the sound of a pokeball opening and then Charmander was standing in front of us, tail providing light to see by.

“It shouldn’t be far now.” Misty narrowed her eyes.

As we walked the air started getting a little smoky. Entering the engine room revealed a sea of flames below us.

“The bridge is out! How are we going to get across?” Ash groaned, eyeing the twisted metal.

"Jessica." James said in a more serious than usual tone.

"Yes, James?" Jesse looked back towards James.

"Whoever said beauty doesn't last, must have been thinking of us!" James took Jessie’s hand into his own.

"I'll always remember what a wonderful dresser you were." Jesse sniffed leaning into James.

"So will I." Agreed James.

“Will you two knock it off?” Misty snapped at them angrily, clearly done with their sappy sentimentality.

“Mien, bridge the gap with Light Screen.” Weiss simply ordered.

Mien obliged, forming a rectangular screen that floated towards the bottom of the door across from the fiery pit which then extended towards us and formed a bridge.

“Bulbasaur, I choose you!” Ash brought out Bulbasaur, drawing everybody’s attention. “All right, Bulbasaur! Vine Whip! Extend your whips to the other side!”

“Bulba!” Bulbasaur obeyed without question, using Vine Whip and extending the vines all the way towards the door.

While Mien made a bridge, Bulbasaur made a handrail so that we could balance on the bridge.

“Bulbasaur! Good job!” Ash congratulated Bulbasaur.

“That was a great idea, Ash!” Misty patted Ash on the back.

“Yeah, we can use the vines for balance while we cross the bridge!” Brock finished.

One by one everybody crossed the bridge until we all were on the other side.

Above us the metal creaked and groaned.

“Hear that?” Misty smirked in satisfaction. “The metal’s really weak here, this must be the place!”

“Right, Charmander, we need you to weld through the hull.” Ash ordered.

“Alright everyone, once the water starts pouring in, tie yourselves to a water pokemon!” Misty ordered.

“I’ve got some rope here.” Brock quickly passed out a line to everyone.

“Here Brock, you take Starmie. Sarah, you take Staryu.” Misty unleashed pokemon for us, while I returned Eevee, and we quickly tied our lines.

“Hey wait, what about us?” Team Rocket cried.

“Grab a water pokemon!” Misty snapped impatiently.

“Uh, Misty? I’m pretty sure they don’t have any.” I pointed out.

To everyone’s surprise James began snickering.

“I don't see what's so funny, James.” Jessie snapped at James.

“The poor guy must be cracking up just like this ship!” Meowth rationalized.

“You really made fun of me. But who's got the last laugh now?” James looked towards Jessie and Meowth. “Well, a true genius is never appreciated until there's trouble.” He pulled out a pokeball. “I knew we'd need this in a tight spot! Look!” He showed off the pokeball to Jessie and Meowth.

A gold pokeball.

“You bought a Magikarp too?” I gasped in shock.

“Wait a moment, if you bought a Magikarp, why aren’t you tying yourself to it?” Jessie asked, though she was already hard at work securing herself to James’ Magikarp.

“Because they’re weak swimmers.” I winced at Weiss’s deadpanned tone and Team Rocket’s look of bewilderment.

They didn’t know that? Magikarp would never be able to pull them through the torrential waterfall!

Even as I was thinking it, Charmander finally finished cutting through the hull. Water came crashing down in big waves. Ash almost didn’t return Charmander in time!

“Quick, get over here!” Brock and I could both take an extra and Meowth didn’t weigh that much. Misty could take him and—!

Team Rocket was struggling with the knots they’d used for their Magikarp’s harness. That was the last I saw of them before the hull started to split above us.

Ocean water is freezing. My muscles seized up immediately. I had enough presence of mind to take a big gulp of air before Staryu started pulling me upwards, fighting against the current.

Leaving Team Rocket behind.

It was a good thing I had the harness because I never would’ve been able to hold onto Staryu. The current by itself was strong enough to rip me away but the cold numbed everything. The salt burned my eyes and I struggled in the dark just to hold my breath.

How long would it take to reach the surface? Would I run out of air first? I didn’t dare count the seconds.

Were the others okay? Would Team Rocket make it out?

Everything was so cold. The water pressed in on all sides. My chest began to burn, aching for sweet oxygen.

Air, I’ll never take you for granted again.

---

“Sarah, over here!” My eyes were too blurry to make anything out but I could hear Misty calling. I tried to kick my legs like she’d shown me but swimming’s a lot harder in full clothes than in a swimsuit. Luckily Staryu saw me struggling and provided itself as a buoy for me to grab.

“Sarah, I’m here!” I heard Misty splashing to my left.

“Misty, it’s…cold!” My teeth started chattering.

“Yeah, I know.” My vision was starting to clear up. Misty looked half drowned herself but she was swimming under her own power, not Goldeen’s. “C’mon, there’s a makeshift raft over here. Don’t worry about swimming right now, just let Staryu carry you.”

“No…arguments.” I was shivering. Weiss had to haul me onto the raft. Brock and Ash were also shivering, looking damp and miserable. Pikachu was shaking himself out, causing his fur to fluff up.

Weiss looked completely unaffected by the cold.

“Team Rocket?” Ash asked in concern.

“They haven’t surfaced.” Misty answered somberly, climbing up to join us. With the exception of Weiss she seemed to be handling our dunk in the ocean the best. Probably thanks to past experience. “There's nothing more we can do except try to find some dry land.”

“We should send out our bird pokemon to find land.” Weiss suggested.

“Hey, yeah!” Ash jumped to his feet, digging through the pile of clothes for his belt. “Go, Pidgeotto!”

“Pidgeooo!” The bird pokemon flew up.

“Fearow can help too.” I threw his ball in the air.

“Whoa, Sarah! When’d you get that?” Ash squawked louder.

“Spearow evolved during the battle with the other Rockets!” I told him excitedly. “Isn’t he gorgeous?”

Both bird pokemon locked eyes, sizing each other up.

Ah, maybe releasing a Pidgeotto at the same time as a Fearow wasn’t the best idea.

“Alright you two, try to find some land! Bring something back if you find anything!” Ash yelled up at them.

With a caw and a squawk they took off in opposite directions. From the speed with which they flew I wagered that they were going to compete over who found land the fastest.

Weiss and Brock took a look at my head injury. Brock replaced my salt encrusted bandages with a fresh set.

“Pidgeooo!” We all looked out over the water at Pidgeotto’s return. He was towing something through the water. Before I could realize what they were Pidgeotto had already dragged them onto the raft.

“Team Rocket?” We all stared in shock.

They were…very still. Pale white, with blue lips. The only sign of life was their Magikarp, now flopping on our deck.

“Are they…?” Misty didn’t finish her question.

“I’ll check.” Weiss edged forward uncaringly, kneeling down beside them. She tested James’ pulse. Then Jessie’s. Then Meowth’s.

“They're alive.” Weiss reported.

I sighed, torn between relief and aggravation. On the one hand, I never really wanted them dead. On the other, somehow I doubted any of this would inspire them to turn over a new leaf.

Pikachu, I noticed, looked equally conflicted.

After a while Team Rocket woke up. Invisible lines were drawn along the raft while we waited for Fearow to return.

“It sure is taking a while.” Ash commented.

“Heh, maybe that Fearow’s decided to run away. I know I would if I were that twerp’s pokemon.” Meowth snickered.

“You take that back! Fearow would never run away from Sarah!” Ash and the others leapt to their feet.

“Guys?” I blinked.

“Facts is facts, twerp. And the fact is that Fearow ain’t—”

“FEEEAAAAA!” This time I was the one who jumped to their feet. I looked up and out over the water, watching a distant speck grow closer and closer.

“Fearow! Great to see you!” I welcomed him back with a wave.

“Fea-Fearow!” He flew over, dropping something from his talons into my arms as he passed overhead and began circling.

“A tree branch!” Brock grinned.

“That means Fearow found some land!” Misty cheered.

“You did amazing, Fearow.” I held the branch tightly.

“Everyone find something we can row with.” Misty stretched out for a piece of flotsam.

“Grr, why don’t we just get the pokemon to pull us?” Jessie complained.

“Because if an emergency hits then we’ll want our pokemon fresh and well rested! That’s why!” Misty waved her makeshift oar around threateningly. “Now c’mon and row! We don’t know how far it is to the nearest land!”

“Fearow, return!” I recalled my friend. I was about to join the others in rowing when I noticed one pokemon hadn’t been returned yet.

“Um, James, right? Aren’t you going to…” I gestured to his Magikarp.

“Are you kidding? That thing is worthless and I’ll not bother myself with it!” He lifted his nose high in the sky before following it up with “Besides, I lost its pokeball.”

“Ah.” I winced in understanding.

Our heading was almost due west so it wasn’t hard to stay on course. At least, not until the sun went down. The air grew crisper as stars began lighting up the night sky. It was safer if we didn’t try to navigate at night, though I knew the current would still be carrying us. I just hoped it would carry us towards land.

Normally we’d sleep in our separate tents or at least in our separate sleeping bags, but we didn’t have that option tonight. Our sleeping bags were still wet and there wasn’t nearly enough room to set up a tent. It was cold though, and we all ended up lying side by side trying to suction some warmth from each other. I placed myself on the outside, with Misty and Ash lying between me and Brock.

Team Rocket didn’t stay up long. Even now they’re snoring away. Shipwrecked with our worst enemy, what a cliché.

Hopefully, tomorrow we’ll find land.

The sun was brighter out on the ocean. It woke me up long before I was ready. Long before anyone was ready.

We sent Fearow and Pidgeotto out to confirm the direction we needed to row in, then we got started.

“So hungry.” Ash’s stomach grumbled loud enough for everyone to hear.

My own stomach felt like a hollow middle. With all the food I’d eaten on the St. Anne I couldn’t believe I was hungry at all, but there it was.

“If I’d known we’d be starving I would’ve stuffed my face on the St. Anne.” Misty pouted.

“Ugh! Can’t…row…anymore.” Meowth slumped down behind us. “I’m wasting away here!”

“Karp karp karp Magikarp karp.” James’ Magikarp continued flopping on deck.

“I’m so hungry I could eat…I could eat…” Ash started drooling a little. “Filleted Magikarp.”

What?

“Oooh, or fried Magikarp.” Brock stared off into space.

Are…are they serious?

“Mm.” Jessie licked her lips. “Marinated Magikarp!”

Those can’t actually be real food, right?

“That’s it! Dinner is now served!” Meowth pounced on the Magikarp.

CLANG!

Meowth had just learned the hard way that Magikarp’s scales weren’t just for show.

“Geez, look it up! Magikarp are nothing but scales and bone!” Misty shook her makeshift oar at everyone. Her face and shoulders were turning red from sunburn, and I had a feeling mine weren’t much farther off. Weiss, however, wasn’t turning red, but seemed to be suffering from the heat.

“So not only can this thing not swim but it can’t even be eaten?” James shook his fist. “Why, you! I don’t want to be your master anymore!” He reared back and delivered a solid kick, sending his Magikarp flying off into the water.

“Hey!” I shouted. “There’s no call for that!”

“It’s a worthless pokemon and I dearly regret paying my advance salary for it!” He defended himself.

“Guys? Guys!” Misty screamed, pointing at the water.

A bright, white light that every trainer should know was emerging from Magikarp. In seconds the source of the light had more than quintupled in size.

“It evolved.” I realized.

“Wow, so that’s a real, live Gyarados!” Ash scanned it with his pokedex, though as I recalled I already looked at that entry.

“GYAAAAAAAAA!” Gyarados roared.

“It’s a real, live nightmare is what it is!” Jessie screeched. “James, control that thing!”

“Gyarados, it’s me, your master!” James struck a heroic pose, proving once and for all that an IQ minimum in the double digits was not a requirement for Team Rocket, although it actually did get a laugh out of Weiss.

“GYAAAAAAAAAA!”

“Leave this to me!” Misty threw all her pokemon out while Weiss only released Yun and Mien.

“What’s the plan?” Brock widened his stance.

“The plan is…Run away!” Misty screamed. She and Weiss grabbed the rope harnesses and tossed them to their pokemon, who slipped them on quickly and began towing us as quickly as possible.

“Row row, row for your lives!” James squealed. We all grabbed our oars and did our best to push ourselves faster.

For a while Gyarados kept up with us, then it just suddenly stopped.

“It did just evolve, maybe it’s out of energy?” Brock suggested hopefully. Up above, I saw storm clouds gathering with unnatural quickness.

“That’s not it.” Misty looked pale beneath her sunburn. “I’ve heard stories from sailors. This…is Dragon Rage.”

“We need to keep rowing.” I gripped my oar tight enough to turn my knuckles white.

We didn’t get far.

One gyarados is cause for fear. A school of them was enough to make all attempts at escape meaningless. They swam in circles, faster and faster, roaring the whole time as we desperately tried to make distance.

And they formed a cyclone.

“Everyone, hold on!” We latched onto each other’s hands. Team Rocket was gone and I had no way of knowing where. I couldn’t even keep track of my friends with the way we were spinning through the air.

And our grip was slipping.

“Hang on!” Ash was across from me and I could still just barely hear him. “We have to ho---AAAAAAHHH!”

And just like that, we were torn apart.