Authors Note: Don't ask me how Will knows about My Little Pony. Just don't.
Team Awesome were on their way to Canalave City and another Job Offer. Voltage was riding on Will's back, while Availa flew overhead. If a Tentacool or Tentacruel decided to drop in on them, Voltage would either punch them with Brick Break or Availa would smack them with Wing Attack. All in all, the Pokemon Rescue Team were making good progress.
"We've made good progress," Voltage remarked, unwillingly breaking the fourth wall. "Let's stop to rest, shall we?"
Will nodded and paddled over to a nearby rock. He and Voltage clambered on top of it, while Availa swooped down and perched on another rock, not too near and yet not too far either.
"So what's the Job Offer?" asked Will, flicking his two tails to rid them of water.
"A Psyduck needs our help finding her Trainer," replied Voltage, shaking his tail and spraying Availa with water. "Oops. Sorry, Av."
"Why would a Pokemon want to find its Trainer?" asked the Staravia curiously.
Will shrugged. "I suspect that they've created a bond."
"What's a bond?"
"You're too young to know."
"Am not!"
"Are too."
"Am not!"
"Are too."
"Guys!" cut in Voltage impatiently. "I can't have you squabbling like two Chatots in a cage. We're almost to Canalave City."
"He's right," said Will, pointing. "I can see land."
"Land ho!" exclaimed Availa.
Voltage stared at her. Availa shrugged.
"I think it sounds cool," she said.
"I once heard from a Kricketot that 'cool' stands for 'constipated overrated old Ledyba'," mused Will.
"Constipated Ledybas aside, we gotta get a wriggle on," said Voltage. "C'mon, last leg, guys!"
At Canalave City, Team Awesome were forced to hide behind a boat in order to escape from the humans. Will was treading water experimentally with Voltage bobbing on his back. Availa was perched in one of the nearby trees.
Will turned around and swam to shore, where he and Voltage clambered out clumsily. Availa was waiting for them, and next to her was a Psyduck.
"Oh!" she exclaimed when she saw them, though really looking over their shoulders at the boat. "So you'rethe Pokemon Rescue Team that I desperately called upon in this troubled time!"
"Indeed we are, madam," said Voltage. "So who exactly is your - ahem - Trainer?"
"Oh, she's just over there!" And the Psyduck pointed to a nearby tree.
"Uh... huh," said Voltage slowly. "Well, do you know where she lives?"
"I'm pretty sure she lives in Sinnoh," mused the Psyduck.
"Um, how about any relatives?"
"Relatives? Oh, you mean her Egg!"
"...How does that even make sense?"
"Alright then, here's an easy one," sneered Will. "What's your name?"
"Uh, I'm pretty sure it's Headache," replied the Psyduck.
"Is it because of the constant pain in your head or the fact that you cause a constant pain in the head?"
"...I don't understand you."
After a while, Voltage managed to figure out that Headache's Trainer had disappeared a few days ago. "It was after he went to train on Iron Island," Headache had explained. "He usually takes me, but he just caught this Ponyta and he wanted to train him up a bit. So he left me here in Canalave City, and I haven't seen him since!"
"Maybe she's been abandoned," snickered Will.
"Will!" scolded Availa. "Don't say things like that!"
"We'll need more information," interrupted Voltage. "And even if we didn't, Will can't swim all the way to Iron Island with me on his back."
"I could carry you all one at a time," offered Availa.
"It would take us an hour," said Will.
"Yes, it would," agreed Voltage. He turned to Headache. "Headache, when is the next boat scheduled to set sail to Iron Island?"
"What?" said Headache.
Voltage sighed and proceeded to talk in a slow, clear voice as though speaking to someone deaf. "When - is - the - big - boat - going - to - go - to - Iron - Island?"
Headache frowned, as though Voltage's words were taking a while to penetrate her mind. Then a light seemed to switch on in her mind, and she jumped excitedly.
"It's leaving in five minutes time!"
"Perfect!" exclaimed Voltage. He turned to Availa and Will to Iron Island. Without me and Headache hampering you on the way, you'll get there in about ten minutes."
"The boat ride takes about that long," put in Headache.
"That's perfect, then!" said Availa happily. She then turned to Will and said in an undertone, "This is perfect, right?"
Will groaned exasperatedly.
"This is the first time I'll be on a boat," Voltage told Headache as they snuck onto the ship. "There's no boats in Sunyshore City!"
Headache's already-larger-than-average eyes grew even wider. "You've never been on a boat in your life?"
"Well, not many Pokemon get to ride on a boat in their lifetime," said Voltage fairly.
"It's too bad Avill and Walia don't get to go on a boat," sighed Headache.
"You mean 'Will' and 'Availa', don't you?"
"About what?"
"...Never mind."
Voltage and Headache followed the human couple into the ship, careful to keep their heads and tails down. As they entered, the door slammed shut.
"Whew!" exclaimed Voltage. "Close ca-"
"Close ca?" frowned Headache. "What's a 'ca'?"
But Voltage wasn't listening. He was busy staring, open-mouthed, at the inside of the ship. It was filled with bustling humans, the walls were lined with shimmering portholes, and there was a makeshift Pokemon Centre, complete with pot plants. Next to the Pokemon Centre was the Poke Mart. Behind the counter was shelves upon shelves of colourful merchandise. Pokemon from Grass-types to Ground-types, flying and running and swimming Pokemon alike, all were gathered inside the ship.
"Departure for Iron Island due in one minute!" the speaker announced over the hustle and bustle.
Headache grabbed Voltage by the tail and pulled him behind a pot plant. She hid behind the one next to it just as a human passed them by.
Voltage, breathing hard, grinned at Headache. "Thanks!"
"For what?"
"..."
"Why in the name of Giratina did I have to get stuck with the Pokemon equivalent of Ditzy Doo?" muttered Will to himself as he swam across the ocean.
Above the Buizel's head, Availa was flying around in circles, whistling a bubbly tune.
"At this rate, we'll never get to Iron Island!" Will yelled at the Staravia. "Could you at least try to fly straight?"
Availa stopped flying around in circles and looked down at Will. "Hm? What did you say?"
"We need to get to Iron Island! Preferably before sunset!"
"Iron Island?" frowned Availa. "Where's Iron Island?"
Will groaned and let himself sink.
Availa watched him sink, then shrugged and flew off.
Will let himself rise and break the surface. Suddenly, he realised that Availa wasn't flying towards Iron Island.
She was headed towards Canalave!
"I spy with my little eye, something beginning wiiiiith... 'R'!"
Voltage looked around the ship. It had lost its amazement and grandeur. Now, Voltage just thought of it as stuffy and crowded.
"Roserade," he said dully.
Headache giggled. "Right! Your turn!"
I can see why she's called 'Headache' now,thought Voltage. He sighed and looked around.
"I spy with my little eye a bird Pokemon."
"Mm... Cranidos?"
"That's not a bird Pokemon."
"Hee-hee!" laughed Headache. "Right, sorry! Forgot! Mm... is it Wingull?"
"No."
"Chatot?"
"No."
"Staravia?"
Voltage scanned the area before him. There were no Staravia.
"There's not one Staravia out there," he hissed.
"Not in here," replied Headache, pointing to a nearby porthole. "Out there!"
Voltage looked at the porthole, and his heart sank. Flying towards the ship was an all-too-familiar Starling Pokemon...
"Availa!" Voltage exclaimed.
Availa was flying fast, flapping her wings and drawing breath in short, painful stabs. Her chest hurt from all that flying, but she needed to get to Iron Island... fast!
Availa started to slow down, and she began to relax. As she flew, she closed her eyes contentedly and listened to the rush of the waves, the whistle of the wind, the horn of a boat...
SMACK!
Availa felt something beneath her. She also felt pain. She let herself slide down the strange thing she had hit, leaving behind a few feathers. Right before she slid into teh sea, she heard a familiar voice calling her name.
"What the-?" exclaimed the captain of the ship. He watched in bewilderment as a Staravia suddenly smacked right into the window. His mouth agape, he leaned over to watch the Pokemon slide down into the sea. Confused and distracted, he didn't realise a Slowking peek out from behind the wheel. He didn't realise it raise an iron bar above her head. And he didn't realise her trip him over with it.
"Hey!" he yelped, as he fell over his own feet and smashed his head on the wheel.
Dazed, the captain slid to the floor. The Slowking stepped out from her hiding place and rolled the captain until he was out of sight.
"Out of sight," smirked the Slowking, "out of mind."
She then whistled quietly. Suddenly, a Luxray and a Honchkrow poked their heads out from behind a filing cabinet present for reasons unknown. The Luxray stepped over the unconscious captain, while the Honchkrow kicked him away carelessly with a black foot.
"You have done well, Reyal," praised the Luxray.
"It was easy," said the Slowking called Reyal, swinging the iron bar around lazily. "All I had to do was make a few simple calculations and slight adjustments to Ruthless's plan, and the end result was sufficient."
"Don't bother us with your crazy talk," snapped the Honchkrow in a cold voice.
"Peace, Ruthless," warned the Luxray.
Ruthless's beak snapped shut, but he eyed Reyal with dislike.
"After we sink this pathetic ship, Sinnoh will be ours!" announced the Luxray, placing a paw on the captain's head. "Team Wrath will rule all of Sinnoh!"
"Reyal!" yelled the Slowking, raising a pink hand triumphantly.
"Ruthless!" shouted the Murkrow, flinging a wing into the air victoriously.
"And me," said the Luxray quietly, "Rival."
Will watched in horror as Availa slipped beneath the surface. Shocked, he swam to Availa's side as fast as he could. But when he peered into the blue-green below, he could see nothing.
"Availa!" he called out in vain. "Availa!"
But he knew that Availa would not hear him. Her waterlogged feathers would drag her down, down, down, into a land that was not her own. And then, when she finally ran out of oxygen...
Will took a deep breath, and dived.
Voltage knew that, from the moment the ship started tipping, there could be only one reason.
Either the captain was unconscious, or Tentacruel were slamming against the side of the ship in a desperate attempt for food.
Alright, then, two reasons.
The point was, he needed to find a way to steer the ship. And fast.
Humans and Pokemon were running around, screaming and yelling, screeching and calling, growling and roaring. The Nurse Joy at the makeshift Pokemon Centre and the waiting customers ran. Forgotten Pokeballs rolled around the floor, making it difficult to navigate. Voltage grabbed Headache's arm and pulled her through the panicking crowd. The Psyduck was still playing I Spy with herself.
Voltage ran to the end of the room and flung open a door. In seconds, he had bolted through it, pulling Headache with him. He whirled around and slammed the door shut.
They were in... that room where the wheel is. I don't have very good boat knowledge.
Anyway, they had arrived, and they could see instantly that the captain was unconscious. Headache stopped her gabbling and turned around to see where they were, confused. Voltage bounded up to the wheel and grabbed it. He whirled it around wildly. The boat tipped precariously to the side. He steadied the wheel hastily, then looked around and saw the captain's hat lying a tail-length away. He used his tail to pick it up and place on his head.
"This ship is officially in command of Captain Voltage!" he announced proudly.
"Wh-what?" stammered Headache. "Where're we - oh!"
Voltage turned around. What he saw made his jaw drop.
The silence pressed in on Will's ears, making him feel horribly alone. His floatation sac had collapsed, enabling him to swim underwater. However, he could not see Availa anywhere. In fact, he could not see anything outside his ten-feet range of vision. Hopelessness and anger overwhelmed him. For a moment, he felt like letting loose an attack at some passing Goldeen, but he knew that would get him nowhere.
Wait a second...
Suddenly overcome with a brainwave, Will hastily charged up a bright-blue, glowing sphere between his paws that lit up the water around him. He threw it in a random direction, and his eyes lit up. As fate would have it, the Water Pulse had flown right where Availa had fallen!
Will swam over to Availa and grabbed her wing. His lungs were beginning to struggle slightly. Trying not to imagine how Availa'slungs might be feeling, he set off the for the surface.
Of course, he wasn't aware of the Sharpedo following him hungrily.
A brown-haired Pokemon Trainer was standing in the doorway. His eyes lit up as he saw Headache.
"Headache!" he exclaimed, running towards the Psyduck. "Oh, I've been so worried..."
Headache leaped into her Trainer's arms. Voltage watched the heartwarming scene unfold, one tear running down his face, his mouth stretched into a broad smile. But there wasn't any time for watching. He needed to get this ship on course... and fast!
"Raichu rai!" he said, which in Pokemon language means "Watch out!"
He turned the wheel to face Iron Island, which was now in sight. Headache cheered, her Trainer beamed, and Voltage breathed a sigh of relief.
Suddenly, the captain began to stir. Voltage whirled around and watched apprehensively as the captain struggled to his feet.
He saw a Raichu wearing his hat. He turned around and saw a Pokemon Trainer holding a Psyduck in his arms. He blinked a few times, shrugged, took his hat back, and pointed wordlessly at the door.
Getting the message, Voltage walked out of the door, the human and Headache close behind.
And so, everything turned out okay.
All the Trainers, including Headache's, got to train at Iron Island. And no-one, human or Pokemon, was hurt. Word had spread of the legendary boat-driving Raichu. But he was nowhere to be seen.
The captain never spoke of his strange and abrupt loss of consciousness. He didn't then, and probably never will.
And that's pretty much the end.
Except for one thing.
A Buizel, hampered by a Raichu and a Staravia clinging to his back, swam for his life through the Sinnoh ocean.
"SWIM FASTER!" yelled the other two Pokemon.
"I HATE SHARPEDOS!" yelled the Buizel.
And they swam and swam and swam, a true team.
Swimming, flying, running... anything is possible, especially if you're Team Awesome!"