Lt. Surge grunted as he slung another tent over his shoulders. They had to set up camp, which meant that they needed places to sleep. Usually setting up a base of operations was Lt. Surge's number one priority when he was travelling for work, but he'd had other things on his mind. When Sabrina had crashed against the coral, it had really messed with his head. He had known that they were safe, but he hadn't felt safe. He had been so sure that they were being attacked by some stray pokémon. Nothing else had mattered at that time.
Sabrina's Alakazam's calm mind had been a lifesaver. He had still felt in danger, but at a point that he could manage. He had been in the military, and was currently a Team Rocket agent. These weren't careers for the faint of heart, and Lt. Surge had managed to get higher up positions in both his areas of work. He wasn't afraid of dangerous situations, he just...really could not handle anything that even remotely resembled the incident with Silver and that large bird pokémon.
Lt. Surge had needed that little extra time to finish collecting himself. He would have been able to calm down on his own, but the whole reason why he'd been freaked out in the first place was because of what had happened to Silver. Sabrina, Koga, and Lt. Surge could take care of themselves, but Ash was just a kid. A really naive kid who was so sentimental that he wouldn't evolve his pokémon unless he knew that it was what they wanted. Someone like that needed to be protected, and it was a lot easier to protect somebody when they were right at your side.
Lt. Surge had started spending so much time with Ash because he wanted to be sure that he was safe, but when one spends a lot of time with somebody, they either grow to hate them, or really care for them. Lt. Surge had never been one for hating, but even if he was, he didn't think that it was possible to hate Ash.
The kid was so optimistic and cheerful. He had a willingness to learn, but still that stubbornness to hold onto what he knew. Lt. Surge had always felt neutral about kids, but when it came to Ash, that neutrality turned to a complete fondness. Even if he thought that Ash was too soft on his pokémon, and that could be pretty annoying sometimes, he couldn't help but admire his insistence. Ash was a proud kid. He respected that.
Going into town with Ash had been just what Lt. Surge had needed. Being able to stretch his legs for a bit had felt pretty good, and Ash's excitement at getting off the boat after so long had been contagious. Just being near the kid had helped calm Lt. Surge down from his little shut down before.
Lt. Surge would have been content to hang out in town for the rest of the day, but they weren't there for a social visit. Koga had needed some pain killer, and the sooner they got that to him, the better. And because Lt. Surge was in a giving mood, and he really wasn't as much of a jerk as people seemed to think he was, he had made sure to pick up something extra for Blaine to use. Lt. Surge didn't know what was up with his arm, but he felt a little bad about making him bare through the pain up to this point.
No matter how much he didn't get along with somebody, he wouldn't wish pain on them...unless they were in a situation where either he he had to get hurt, or the other person did, in which case he wouldn't hesitate to do whatever he could to make sure that the other person was the one who was in pain. Some people thought this was cruel, but Lt. Surge didn't think it was. It was survival.
When they got back to where their ship was, Lt. Surge let Ash take some of the pain reliever to Blaine while he went to get some to Koga and put the rest on the ship. He was worried about Koga, but the ninja was way too proud to tolerate letting somebody hover over him. Sabrina was meditating with Koga, who had taken some pain reliever, so Lt. Surge could afford to give him some space.
After restocking the medicine cabinet, Lt. Surge had grabbed the camping gear and brought it up on deck. He could easily just carry the three tents ashore himself if it weren't for the fact that Sabrina had crashed into the coral. They weren't too far from shore, but Lt. Surge knew that nobody would want to sleep in a wet tent, and jumping into the water would definitely come with the risk of splashing the tents.
Fortunately, he had a backup plan.
"Alright, Magneton, let's go." Lt. Surge grabbed four of his pokéballs and released his Magneton. He'd been critiqued for having so many pokémon of the same type, but he ignored all of these critiques. If people worked with so many pokémon of the same typing more, maybe they would come to learn new things that they hadn't considered even possible before.
Magneton, as their name implied, gave off magnetic signals. Their magnetic energies often reacted to each others, and Lt. Surge had figured out how to use this to his advantage. One of his favorite things to do was have his four Magneton arrange themselves in a pyramid like formation. Three of them in a triangle at the bottom, and one of them at the top to finish the connection. The Magneton's magnetic energies would create an energy field that was so strong that it was practically solid. Lt. Surge could actually stand firmly on this barrier, and he could trust his pokémon to not let him fall. And if they could carry people, they could carry objects.
"I need you guys to take these things to land." Lt. Surge dropped the tent bags to the ground. He stepped back to give his pokémon room to work their magic. The four magneton arranged themselves into the pyramid around the bags, established their magnetic connection, and were able to carry the tents.
Lt. Surge watched his his pokémon for a few moments, just to make sure that they made it. There wasn't anything to worry about. His Magneton could handle much harder tasks than this. Still, it was always better to be safe than sorry. If he had the time, he always liked to make sure that work was done right. And he always enjoyed watching his pokémon at work.
Once Lt. Surge saw his Magneton drop off the tents on the beach he let his gaze wander further down the beach. He glanced briefly at Sabrina and Koga before he focused on the trees just past the beach. He crossed his arms when he saw Blaine stepping out of the forest. Now there was a man who looked like he was up to something. Not that that was news. The whole reason why Lt. Surge, Sabrina, and Koga were here with them was because Giovanni thought that Blaine was up to something.
They just needed to come up with a way to find out what that something was.
Even though Lt. Surge had a job to do, that task was pushed to the back of his mind when he saw Ash follow Blaine out from the trees, and the kid had a proud looking Charizard at his side.
"Way to go, kid," Lt. Surge smirked proudly. Despite Ash's weird philosophy about evolving his pokémon, he had still evolved his Charmeleon. Evolved pokémon were always stronger than the non evolved ones, but Charizard was definitely up there when it came to brute strength. If Ash was going to fully evolve just one of his pokémon, Lt. Surge was glad that it was Charizard.
Now Ash just needed to learn how to control that power, and if there was one thing that Lt. Surge knew, it was brute force.
"Hey, Ash!" Lt. Surge waved to the kid, who smiled broadly and ran to the edge of the beach.
"Hi!" Ash waved enthusiastically back. "Look! Charmeleon evolved!"
"So I see." Lt. Surge laughed. "Hang on, I'm coming over." Lt. Surge brought two of his fingers to his mouth and he whistled sharply. The sound carried over to his Magneton , who obediently came back to his side. Without even having to ask his pokémon positioned themselves in the pyramid formation. He hung on to the top Magneton as he stepped onto the electric force.
"Alright, guys, let's go." His Magneton floated him back over to the beach. Lt. Surge knew that he could just jump into the water and walk right over, but he wanted to get to the beach as quickly as he could. Besides, Ash probably hadn't ever seen a Magneton do something like this before, and Lt. Surge liked to show off what he had discovered.
Ash stared at the Magneton like they were pokémon that he had never seen before. "You're-you're floating!"
Lt. Surge grinned as he jumped down from his Magneton's magnetic force. "Ash, you haven't lived until you've flown with your pokémon." There was just nothing like it. And now, Ash could experience it for himself. Lt. Surge gestured at Charizard. "Do you two want to give it a try?"
Ash and Charizard looked at each other in confusion. "...Flying?"
Lt. Surge raised an eyebrow at the two of them. "He's got wings, doesn't he?"
"Well, yeah," Ash admitted. "But I haven't really thought about flying with him before."
Lt. Surge shook his head. Ash was an imaginative and adventurous kid, and he'd never even thought about flying on his pokémon? "You're so lucky I'm here." Lt. Surge eyed Charizard, who huffed in annoyance and turned his face away. "Why don't you give flying a try? Unless you think you can't…"
Charizard roared and blew some fire into the air. Just as Lt. Surge expected, Charizard rose to the challenge and rose up into the air with one powerful burst of his wings. Lt. Surge could tell by how nervous Ash seemed to be, and how unsteady Charizard looked that this was Charizard's first time in the air. There was definitely room for improvement, but it wasn't a bad first attempt.
Charizard flew around for a few minutes to get used to his brand new wings before he came back down. Charizard looked proud of himself, and he was also the happiest that Lt. Surge had ever seen him. Evolution had been good for him.
Lt. Surge put his hands on his hips and looked at Ash. "You want to try?"
"Um, I don't know." Ash took a step back. "Maybe Charizard should be more used to flying?"
"That would probably be best." Blaine said. Lt. Surge rolled his eyes. Couldn't the scientist learn how to mind his own business. Even though Blaine was wearing sunglasses, Lt. Surge could just feel his judgemental gaze. "Ash's Charizard is smaller than the average Charizard is. He may not have the strength to support any riders."
Lt. Surge scowled. "If Charizard is bigger than Ash, he can support him." In fact, Lt. Surge was positive that Charizard was strong enough to fly riders bigger than he was. Lt. Surge looked at Charizard and frowned at the disappointment in the pokémon's eyes. Charizard was strong and eager to prove himself, so Lt. Surge said that they should give him the chance.
"Will you ride Charizard after you see that he can take it?" Lt. Surge asked Ash.
"O-of course." Ash said quickly. There wasn't even a trace of hesitation in his eyes.
Lt. Surge nodded before he turned to Charizard, a look of determination in his eyes. "You ready to show these guys what you can do?"
That stubborn fire returned to Charizard's eyes as the pokémon roared. He was ready.
"Let's do this." Lt. Surge gripped Charizard's shoulder and hoisted himself up onto the pokémon's back. Charizard grunted slightly at the unexpected weight, but he didn't buckle. Lt. Surge had to adjust his position, as he was actually bigger than Charizard was, but he was able to find a position that he thought would work.
"I don't think-" Blaine began to voice his concerns, but Lt. Surge wasn't going to hear it.
"Too bad," Lt. Surge put a hand on Charizard's head. "You just need to get into the air, and you'll do just fine." The hardest part would be getting off the ground.
Charizard huffed and bent his knees. Lt. Surge bent down closer to Charizard's neck as the fire pokémon's wings rose, and an instant later Charizard kicked off the ground at the same time as he flapped his wings. This was enough to get them off the ground, but if they didn't get more air they wouldn't be able to stay up there for very long.
"Come on, Charizard," Lt. Surge barked. "You call this flying?" Maybe it was a little harsh, but Lt. Surge knew from experience that people with stubborn fighting spirits listened best to strong commands. Charizard would push himself if he was pushed to do so. And if Charizard was able to fly Lt. Surge around, he would be able to fly anybody.
Charizard let out a flamethrower attack as he continued to flap his wings strongly to get higher. It was clearly taking a lot out of him, but once Charizard got his momentum going, it only got easier and it wasn't long before they were fifteen feet into the air.
"Now, let's try some real flying." Lt. Surge leaned forward and pushed slightly on Charizard's neck. Despite never being ridden before, Charizard understood the unspoken command. He flew forward, and when Lt. Surge increased the pressure on his neck, Charizard flew faster. He was a quick learner.
Now to see if his reflexes were just as quick.
"Pull up a little higher, but don't lose this speed." Lt. Surge said as he flew Charizard up over the water. "I want to try something." Lt. Surge kept his eyes on the ocean below them as Charizard climbed higher into the air. Finally, when it looked like they were finally high enough and the ocean below was deep enough that they wouldn't immediately hit the bottom of they fell, Lt. Surge made his move.
"Alright, Charizard, dive!" Lt. Surge tightened his grip. Charizard looked back at him, but when he saw the seriousness in Lt. Surge's eyes, he obeyed. Charizard gave one more powerful flap of his wings before he dove down. Lt. Surge didn't bother telling Charizard to pull up just before he hit the water. Charizard, who was a fire pokémon, would know to avoid the water. And Charizard was extremely proud, so he would try to impress Lt. Surge by getting as close to the water as he could. He could do this.
Charizard dove until he was about fifteen feet away from the water, at which point he began to pull up. Lt. Surge would normally want the pulling up to be sharper, but that was too much to expect from a first time flyer. And it was a good thing that Charizard pulled up when he did, because as it was he only just avoided diving straight into the water. Charizard's feet brushed against the water, but no more than that. And with just a few flaps of his wings Charizard was flying parallel to the ocean, just a few feet above it.
"That's how you do it." Lt. Surge cheered enthusiastically. Charizard roared proudly, as well he should. Lt. Surge thought that it was a good time for them to return to the shore, but when he glanced at the ship he thought of another thing he could do to that related to their mission.
"Fly as close to the ship as you can." Lt. Surge said. He smirked as Charizard did as he said. These past few days every time Lt. Surge saw Blaine he was writing in one of those notebooks of his. Lt. Surge found Blaine's know-it-all attitude to be annoying, but the scientist's obsession with knowing what's going definitely made it easier to find the information that he was hiding. It was just a matter of knowing where to look.
Lt. Surge knew that Blaine would either have his research and notes on him, or kept hidden on the ship. Considering how many books and research Blaine had brought with him, Lt. Surge doubted that he had brought it all ashore with him, which meant it was on the ship. Fortunately, Lt. Surge knew exactly where on the ship Blaine had stayed. If he was lucky, he'd be able to take a look in through the window and see what was going on in there.
Lt. Surge pulled Charizard back to slow him down a bit as they neared the window that he needed. "Steady, Charizard," Lt. Surge muttered. He leaned closer to the window and smirked at what he saw. Just as he thought, there were a lot of books in there. Like, a library's worth of books. There was also a Ninetales in there, looking like it was guarding the door.
"Looks like somebody's got something to hide." Lt. Surge leaned back as Charizard flew away from the window, but he leaned back too far and began to lose his balance. Lt. Surge yelped as he fell off of Charizard's back back and landed right in the water.
Falling into the water was always shocking and potentially painful if you hit it from high enough and at a bad angle. Charizard hadn't been nearly high enough for Lt. Surge to get hurt from the fall itself, but the ship was resting on a coral reef near the shore, and Blaine's room was so close to the front of the ship that Lt. Surge hit the coral just as much as he hit the water, and it was not fun.
Lt. Surge fell head first into the water. He hit his head on the coral beneath the water, which knocked the air right out of him. This wasn't a good thing to happen at all, but especially not in the water. Lt. Surge's vision went dark for a few moments. He was vaguely aware of somebody grabbing his arms, but he felt it as though they were phantom pains, more of an impression than anything else.
Lt. Surge little by little became more aware of his surroundings, and though it took a bit, he eventually became aware enough to notice that his head wasn't under the water. A few moments later his vision began to clear up and he saw Charizard standing on the coral next to him, and both Ash and Blaine were there too.
"Th-that was…" Lt. Surge groaned and put a hand to the back of his head. He winced when he felt a warm wetness there. He brought his hand back and frowned at the blood he saw on his fingers. He let out a low laugh. "-Not what I was expecting."
"Are you okay?" Ash looked concerned.
"I'm fine." Lt. Surge tried to get to his feet, but the same hands that had pulled him out of the water were now holding him down.
"No, you're not." Blaine gently touched the cut on Lt. Surge's head, which made the soldier cry out in pain and try to pull away from the scientist. Blaine wouldn't let him move. "Do you realize how dangerous that was?"
"Hey, I only fell because I was acting like an idiot." Lt. Surge scowled as Blaine kept on probing at the cut at the back of his head. Was the man trying to cause him more pain? "If Ash doesn't do that, he'll be just fine."
"You don't know that." Blaine said sharply. Lt. Surge chose to ignore him.
"Kid, how 'bout you try flying out for yourself?" Lt. Surge suggested to Ash. Blaine all but groaned in indignation.
"You must be delirious if you still think that's a good idea." Blaine finally let go of Lt. Surge's arms and stood up. "In case you haven't noticed, you're bleeding."
"It's not like they're gonna go flying over the coral." Lt. Surge rolled his eyes before turning to Ash. "I'm serious though, kid. Fly with Charizard. It'll get you to trust him more, and if he knows you trust him, he'll be more likely to listen to you." Lt. Surge had seen this to be the case countless times.
Ash, who had been watching the two adults in concern and slight confusion, finally looked excited at Lt. Surge's suggestion. "Okay!" Ash eagerly turned to Charizard, just like Lt. Surge knew he would. Most kids were eager to take a ride on a pokémon, and Ash had already shown that he was eager to do anything that he could to be friends with his pokémon. This opportunity just wasn't one that he would pass up.
Charizard crouched and lowered his head so that Ash would have an easier time getting on his back. This was Ash's first time on Charizard, but he looked completely comfortable on his pokémon's back. He was ready for this.
"Just be careful." Blaine called out as Charizard took off into the air and Ash gave an excited shout.
"Relax, old man." Lt. Surge stood up and winced at the pounding in his head that came with the sudden movement. "Plenty of trainers ride on their pokémon. It's not a big deal."
"It is a big deal if someone gets hurt." Blaine shoved his hands inside his pockets. "You can act like a fool all you want, but leave Ash out of it. He's reckless enough without picking up bad habits from you."
Lt. Surge glared at Blaine. "How am I a bad influence? All I did was encourage the kid to fly around with his Charizard. If the pokémon can carry me, it can carry Ash."
"I told you before you went on that idiotic joy-ride that Ash's Charizard is smaller than most." Blaine said coldly. "We didn't know for certain if he was strong enough to carry the weight of a child, and yet you, a fully grown adult, thought that it would be wise to just take off and see how things went."
Lt. Surge shrugged. "Look, you can study and observe things all you like, but if you really want to know what will happen if you do something, the fastest way to learn is to just do it."
"That's also the fastest way to get yourself killed." Blaine looked up at the sky where Ash and Charizard were flying around. He frowned, clearly displeased. "Train your pokémon and live your life however you please, but don't force others to join you."
"Hey, Ash wanted to fly with his Charizard." Lt. Surge crossed his arms. He wasn't forcing anybody to do anything.
"Was it his idea?" Blaine asked. Lt. Surge opened his mouth to answer, but Blaine cut him off before he could begin. "No, you were the one who decided what Ash should do with Charizard, just like how you're the one who has decided that Ash should evolve his pokémon."
"They'll be stronger." Lt. Surge said automatically. He didn't understand what the big deal was. So what if he thought that Ash should evolve his pokémon?
"But it's not your decision to make." Blaine turned his attention back to Lt. Surge, who felt his blood boil. He may not be able to see other man's eyes, but Blaine's tone made it perfectly clear just how much contempt he was feeling. "I can't stop you from mistreating your own pokémon, but I won't let you teach others to do the same." Blaine turned away from Lt. Surge and began the walk back to shore.
Lt. Surge scowled as he watched Blaine leave. That scientist sure knew how to run his mouth. Who did he think he was? To say that Lt. Surge mistreated his pokémon, even though Blaine had barely even seen Lt. Surge interact with his pokémon before. What was he basing his judgement on? The fact that he didn't like the advice that Lt. Surge gave to Ash?
Lt. Surge glared up at the ship. He felt lousy. He hated it when people acted like they knew everything about him, when they really knew nothing at all. However, there was one good thing about this little chat with Blaine, and that was that Lt. Surge didn't feel even the least bit guilty about snooping through his things.
Why should he feel bad for spying on a man who had made it perfectly clear just how much he hated him?