2

Half an hour later, Courtney had been taught to swim very well, courtesy of Archie. He watched her swim from the centre of the lake to the shore, splashing about a great deal but able to stay afloat, no problem. As she swam over to him, Archie gave her the thumbs up sign.

"Hey, you're doing great now sweety", he said. Courtney smiled.

"Do you really think so?"

"Yeah, of course", said Archie. "Ha, keep this up; we'll make a Team Aqua girl of you yet. Hey, I was just kidding!" Archie laughed and tried to dodge Courtney as she splashed him, batting water at him with her hands.

"No, bad Archie", Courtney said in mock sternness. "I'm loyal to Team Magma!"

"Haha, I know! By the way, you're splashing me and I like water".

"I don't have any lava to splash you with", Courtney pointed out.

"Well, thanks Arceus for that", Archie teased her. "You wanna swim some more? Or shall we go and get something to eat?"

"Let's get something to eat", said Courtney. "All this exercise has made me hungry".

"Uhuh, sure". Archie and Courtney stepped out of the lake and went to get their clothes. Courtney began to dress but Archie just stood there and frowned.

"Um, Courtney?" he said after a moment.

"Yeah?"

"Where are my swim shorts?"

Courtney gazed around, also puzzled. Not surprisingly, they were nowhere to be seen.

"Uh, I don't know Archie", she said, trying not to laugh.

Archie slapped his forehead. "Bloody hell! I bet a Pokemon stole them!"

Courtney couldn't help herself and she started to laugh. "Oh, Archie! Why would a Pokemon want your swim shorts?"

"I dunno, maybe it's a fan of Team Aqua?" Archie huffed and looked round again, just in case. "Ugh, how the hell am I gonna get back to the ship? If my Team see me like this, I'll never live it down!"

Courtney finally managed to control her mirth and she patted Archie comfortingly on the back. "Hey, maybe I can fly Tropius back and pick up some clothes for you while you wait here?"

"Nah, that won't work", Archie groaned. "My Team wouldn't let you on board without me".

Courtney thought hard. Another idea came to her.

"Maybe I could fly Tropius back to the volcano and get you some clothes from there?"

Archie considered this. He trusted Courtney to borrow his Pokemon but whatever would she find for him to wear? Still, anything was better than having to return to his ship in the buff.

"Um, yeah, that's a good idea", he said.

"OK then!" Courtney kissed Archie and smiled at him. "Don't worry Archie; I'll be as quick as possible".


Tropius was soaring over the ocean; Courtney and Archie sitting comfortably on her back. Courtney had a fit of the giggles and Archie was looking very embarrassed.

"Heheh, I can see your ship from here", Courtney exclaimed, pointing downwards towards the familiar Team Aqua base.

"Uhh, yeah", said Archie, blushing greatly. Courtney giggled again.

"Cheer up baby. Soon you can change into your own clothes and everything will be alright again".

"Yeah but I just hope nobody sees me before I get to may cabin".

Tropius flew lower and lower, finally coming to land on the deck. And unfortunately, there were many grunts, plus Matt and Shelley there. They stared in astonishment at Courtney and...

"Hey, Courtney! You can't land here. Especially not with a Team Magma grunt", said Matt.

"You need glasses more than their sodding leader does! It's ME, Archie, you dozy git!" Archie yelled, pulling off his hood.

"Oops! Sorry Boss!" Matt gasped and Shelley, Courtney and the grunts laughed really hard.

The End