And the next chappie is up. And thank-you for reviewing, Wolfy Pup, , and GwangFei. Her new pokemon will be revealed eventually. And the reason why Bella is nervous about going to fight the Saffron City Gym Leader will be revealed eventually, too. I'm also having my character and Gary follow these two episodes because I happened to like those in particular (I used to have the tape with them on it and watched them all the time when I was little).

DISCLAIMER: I do not own the Pokemon franchise.

CLAIMER: However, I do own my characters.

Please enjoy, no flames, but I will accept constructive criticism.

Chapter 10: Gyarados

"I believe in Christianity as I believe

That the sun has risen: not only because I see it,

But because by it I see everything else."

-C.S. Lewis

The cool air created by an air-conditioner surrounded me. Scientists in crisp white lab coats busily walked by from computer to computer. Each screen had a different image. One was of four heartbeats. The other revolved around four brain-wave functions. My small hand was being held by a larger one; I looked up and found it to be the hand of my father. He was younger than the last time I laid eyes on him. Short, brown hair that was not streaked with grey; I could see flecks of grey, though. His face lacked any wrinkle, and the bags that used to haunt his expression were non-existent. He was dressed in a strange black uniform. It took me a second to realize what he was wearing.

My father wore a black, sleeveless shirt with a bright red 'R' on the front. A long-sleeved white shirt was underneath. He wore gray gloves, and a gray belt that had three pokeballs on it. Black pants covered his legs, along with gray boots. My father was an elite member of Team Rocket.

"Bella," his voice scared me. He looked down at me and smiled softly, "Bella, I need you to go talk to him again."

"The scary man?" I replied without thinking. It was as if my mouth had moved on its own.

He shook his head, and I instantly felt relieved for some reason, "No. I want you to go talk to your friends."

I seemed to realize who he spoke of, and nodded my head in agreement. My father led me towards a set of five tanks that were filled with dark orange liquid. Inside one tank was a glowing ball of light. The next tank held a sleeping Squirtle, but it was different from any other; dark blue strips decorated its head. A sleeping Bulbasaur was in the next; it had dark green strips. A sleeping Charmander floated without care; it had dark red strips. Then there was the last. A strange, never-before-seen pokemon lived inside of it. It was curled in a tiny ball, sleeping the days away. Or that's how it appeared. I could feel my mind shake and wriggle around as it slowly began to shove my will outwards. Mentally, I could actually feel my mind enter the strange pokemon…

Bella…

Bella!

Someone…is calling for me?

Bella!

Who is it?

"Isabella Vanielle!"

My torso shot up instantly. I was prepared to rage at whoever dared to call me by that name, but I was cut short when my forehead collided with something. Pain shot through my cranium; I gripped my sore noggin and cried out in both shock and pain. The same voice that had been calling for me seemed to have been doing the same. I opened my eyes and jerked my head towards the one who uttered the 'I' word, "What'd you say!?"

It was Gary Oak. He was sitting beside me, cradling his throbbing forehead. He glared at me fiercely, "I said wake-up, stupid!"

"You have no right to use my first name!" I hissed. No-one but Professor Oak and my mother had the right to say that name. If they did, then they would end up on my bad side immediately. That name was an obscenity if Professor Oak and mother did not say it.

Gary stared at me, and then turned away, "Whatever." He stood up and held his hand out. I reluctantly took and allowed him to pull me to my feet.

I glanced around. We were in a bedroom, and we were not alone. Brock and Misty were there, too. "Where are we?"

"Uh…" Brock groaned hesitantly. Misty looked just as nervous as he did.

"Just look outside the window." The red-head muttered. I stared at her for a second before following through and going to the window. If it were possible, then my jaw would have hit the floor. We were surrounded by water, with fish idly swimming by.

"What!? How'd we…?" I began.

"The ship sank," Gary replied "but we wouldn't be on it if you didn't insist on grabbing that damn pokeball! If that trainer wants abandon it, then let her!"

"No way!" I shot back, "I won't just leave a pokemon to die on a sunken ship! That's cruel!"

He groaned in irritation, "You can be so stupid sometimes!"

"Your even worse, asshole!" I spat.

Brock stepped between us, "Alright guys, that's enough! Arguing won't help us, now will it?"

I sighed in frustration and took a moment to cool down. That's when I noticed something. I looked at Brock and Misty, "Why're you two here?"

"Well, it's kinda a long story, but…Ash traded his Butterfree for that one guy's Raticate. But he had second thoughts, so he wanted it back. The ship was sinking when they traded, and then he dropped Butterfree's pokeball. We followed it, the ship moved, and all three of us fell in here. We fainted from hitting our heads and now here we are." Misty explained.

"Um…okay, but where's Ash?" I asked.

Gary grinned and pointed upwards. I followed his finger until I found what he had been gesturing to. The poor raven-haired boy was hanging upside-down from a couch cushion. His Pikachu was standing on the floor under him, looking worried. I sighed and rolled my eyes. Figures Ash would get stuck in an odd position. Wait a minute. That couch is on the ceiling. I looked around. The entire room was upside-down. I shrugged and continued what I was doing. I reached upwards and closed Ash's nose with my fingers. I stood like that, just holding his nose shut. He began to shake as he tried to remove my fingers. Finally, he opened his eyes and jerked away.

He gasped for air and glared at me, "What're you doing that for!?"

"To wake you." I said flatly.

He glared at me fiercely and shook his fist, "That's annoying! I…huh?" He looked at me funny, "Why're you upside-down?"

"You're the on that's upside-down." Misty replied.

"No I'm NOT!!!" he screamed the last part, seeing as his jacket gave way and he fell. I moved before he could fall on me; his Pikachu was not so lucky. It groaned in pain due to his weight. He groaned and looked up at us, "Can someone tell me what in the world happened?"

"The ship sank." Gary repeated.

"WHAT!?" Ash leapt up and ran to the window. His jaw shook when he saw it.

I sighed and shook my head. Great. Now I get to die on my very first cruise. JUST GREAT! And haven't even seen Mew or Lugia, or gotten married and had kids. I haven't even got all eight badges! And now I'll disappoint Surge and Daisy and all of the Gym Leaders who wanted to see me in the Indigo League. And I'll never be able to see my mother and sister again…and I'll never be able to tell my father how much…how much…I broke away from my thoughts when I noticed something. I turned towards where I had been laying. To my relief, they were on the floor. I ran over to the abandoned pokeball and my egg and scooped them both into my arms. I shrank the pokeball and placed it on my belt. If she doesn't want it, then I'll take it. I thought as I turned to the others. I wonder when it'll hatch. I thought as I gazed down at my egg.

Ash turned to us, looking crestfallen, "So…what'll we do?"

"Well, we should probably concoct a plan to escape." Brock suggested. He turned away and began walking down the hallway. Misty, Gary, Ash, Pikachu, and I all followed him.

"And how do we do that?" I asked.

Misty stopped, "Maybe we should take a look around?" She suggested. Everyone nodded their heads in agreement. So there I was, walking around in the corridors of a sunken cruise liner with two Gym Leaders, two of my childhood companions, and a Pikachu. I wondered how my mother and sister would react to hearing about my experiences as a pokemon trainer. I also wondered if I would even survive the situation. Whether I would die here or not. I will admit that I was afraid; but I had to stay strong and face whatever lay ahead on the road of life.

Eventually we came to a set of upside-down stairs. Water filled the area, so if we wanted to see what was below, then we would have to dive down. Too bad I was a terrible swimmer. "What now?" Gary asked in an irritated tone.

Ash glared at him and then looked at Brock, "Can we leave him here?"

"No," Misty hissed, "and I have no idea what we're gonna do."

The raven haired boy sighed and changed to a thoughtful expression. After a second, Brock broke the silence, "Well, we should go up to the deck. But the since the ships flipped upside-down…"

"Then we'll have to dive down to the deck!" Ash snapped his fingers.

"But if we dive down to the deck and come across a dead-end, then we're done." The tanned boy reminded him.

Ash's face contorted in horror, "Then how'll we know where we're supposed to go?"

Gary's eyebrow twitched, "There is no friggin way that I'm dying in a place like this!"

"Will you two calm down?" Misty hissed. She smiled and pulled out a pokeball, "Waters my specialty," She tapped the ball, allowing an ivory light to jump into the water. It mutated into a Goldeen. "Goldeen, go look for a way out. If you find something, then bring something from the outside." The red and white fish nodded and dove under the water.

I sighed and sat down. Nothing to do but wait I guess. Gary sat beside me and grinned, "Guess now would be a good time to admit your undying love for me."

I groaned in irritation, "You're impossible!"

"Impossible to win? I know." He chuckled at his own bad joke.

I shoved him away, "Get a life, Oak! A life that doesn't involve me!" I stood up and stomped away. I stopped beside Ash and began fuming. He is the most annoying arrogant prick I have ever had the displeasure of meeting! Now I wanted to leave the brat in the cruise. Unfortunately, I knew that Misty and Brock would not let me. All six of us sat in the boat, waiting for Goldeen to return. It felt like an eternity before bubbles began to stir in the water. We waited impatiently for the red and white fish to rise to the surface. To our extreme surprise, a face wearing a dead expression rose from the liquid. It took us a second to register its presence; all six of us leapt back and screamed in horror at the sight. The head rose, revealing a body, along with two more bodies that were thrown onto the floor before us. Goldeen soon followed; it looked up at us expectantly.

"Team Rocket!" Brock announced.

I gawked at them, "Are t-they dead?"

I received my answer when water spurt from their mouths. They seemed to have been starring off into space when the girl groaned, "P-prepare…prepare for trouble…"

The man whimpered another line, "And y-yes…m-make that doubl-le…" Their eyes focused, and they seemed to realize who we were. The trio of Team Rockets jumped to their feet and glared at us. The girl appeared to be around twenty-five. She had long, dark purple hair that nearly reached the backs of her knees; her bangs were slicked back. She had sharp, dark blue eyes and pale skin; mascara and red lipstick decorated her face. She wore bright green earrings, too. A medium-sleeved, white shirt that was cut so that her stomach was exposed covered part of her torso; she wore a black undershirt that was cut so that her stomach was exposed, too. A bright red 'R' was on the front of the white shirt. Black gloves covered a majority of her arms. A white miniskirt covered her pelvis area, and black boots acted as her footwear.

The man appeared to be around the same age. He had medium length blue hair, and sharp yet less powerful bright green irises. He wore a long-sleeved white shirt with a bright red 'R' on the front; the bottom was cut so that the lower part of his stomach would have been exposed, however it was covered by a black undershirt. Black gloves protected his hands. He wore a black belt, and white pants and with black boots. There was a small Meowth standing with them, but it was standing on its hind legs.

"We've got you brats cornered!" the purple-haired woman smirked evilly.

Brock pulled out one of his pokeballs, "So you followed all the way to the bottom of the see?" He called on his Geodude.

In response, the woman summoned an Ekans and the male called on an odd pokemon of his own. Koffing, a poison-type. They are a common sight in burned and abandoned buildings. Koffing was a round, floating rock with eyes and a death-symbol on its body. Ash pulled out three pokeballs and called out his Bulbasaur, Charmander, and Squirtle. I hesitated to call on Growlithe and Pikachu. Do they know each other? This looks like a sequel to a movie I've missed. Gary joined the fray and called on his Wartortle.

"Alright, a match!" Ash stated eagerly. The drama of the scene ended abruptly when the boat tilted to the side, causing all of us and our pokemon to slam against the wall at the end of the hallway.

"Ow…" I groaned. I wrapped my arms protectively around my egg, knowing that danger was on the horizon.

Misty was pressed to the wall, "This ship'll fall if we don't do something quick!"

"What!?" Came Gary's muffled cry. I looked down and found Gary awkwardly lying against my stomach.

I could feel my legs shaking. Ash threw his fist into the air, "Charmander, Bulbasaur, Squirtle, Geodude, Ekans, Koffing, Growlithe, Bell's Pikachu, and Wartortle, to the other side of the ship!" All pokemon's whose names had been called quickly scurried down the hall to the other side. Little good was that action. Misty, Brock, Gary, Ash, Ash's Pikachu, the two Rockets, and I all slid to the other side and slammed into our pokemon. Ash threw up his fist and gestured towards the other end, "TO THE OTHER SIDE! THE OTHER SIDE!" All of our pokemon obeyed the command, save Ash's Pikachu and the Rocket's Meowth, ran to the other end of the hallway. Once again, we found ourselves sliding rolling all the way after them. For a third time they moved.

"Geodude! Come back to this side!" Brock called. It hopped back to us, but its weight caused the pokemon to fall on top of us. This pattern continued with all of us sliding back and forth until finally the boat came to a stop. All of us pressed out backs to the wall while our pokemon stayed on the other end; Ash's Pikachu and the Meowth were in the center of the hallway. It felt odd having Gary almost pressed against me; the situation would have been humorous had it not been threatening to our lives.

"You guys, call back your pokemon!" Misty ordered.

"But Team Rocket will beat us if we call our pokemon back!" Ash stated.

"I'm not gonna lose to those guys!" Gary spat.

I shook my head, "We kinda have bigger problems here!" I gestured to the hall. Misty nodded her head in agreement. I went ahead and called back Growlithe and my Pikachu. Brock, Ash, and Gary all looked at each other and quickly recalled Geodude, Squirtle. Charmander, Bulbasaur, and Wartortle.

Misty glanced past me at Team Rocket, "Call your pokemon back, too! What's more important? A pokemon battle or your life?"

The woman quickly recalled her Ekans, "She's right. Good point." The blue-haired man followed suit and dismissed his Koffing. The boat steadied itself, and we all breathed a sigh of relief.

Misty and I stood up and dusted ourselves off. From what I could see, my egg was still in good condition. That's a relief. "Alright, we all agree that there won't be any battles," Misty said, "Let's work together."

The others disagreed. The two Team Rocket members, Gary, Ash, Brock, Meowth, and Pikachu were glaring at each other. I groaned, "Shake hands or I'll make you!" The redhead sighed and shook hands with both Ash and Gary. The blue-haired man and Brock shook hands, and Pikachu and Meowth sealed the deal.

I looked at the Rocket members, "Who are you two, anyway?"

"James." The blue-haired man said in a whiny, heavily accented voice.

"Jessie." The redhead grumbled.

"Okay, we'll work together." Gary crossed his arms over his chest and glared fiercely at Ash, who returned the look.

I looked toward Misty, "So how'll we escape?"

Misty smiled proudly, "Leave it to me! I forgot to mention this, but I built my own St. Anne once," we all smiled hopefully; "It was model," hope died instantly, "That's how I learned all about the structure of the St. Anne. Since the deck is blocked, we have to cut a hole near the bottom of the ship, that's how we'll escape."

I pictured the diagram, and nodded my head lightly, "Well, the plan does have merit…but how'll we begin?"

Brock gestured towards the ceiling, "Up there! I noticed that staircase while we were sliding back and forth," He pulled out a pokeball and called out his Onix. "Onix, make a staircase!" It nodded and turned so that we could climb up its back. Misty, Brock, and Ash were the first ones up there. I carefully began making my way up, but my fear of heights caused me to freeze.

Gary groaned, "Come on, Bells! Get 'yer butt up there!"

"You know I'm afraid of heights!" He sighed and pressed his hand to my back. I jumped in surprise, but allowed him to coax me to the top. Jessie, James, Meowth, and Pikachu soon followed. It was odd walking on the ceiling. The lights were out, so soon our path was cloaked with darkness.

"I can't see anything." Brock grumbled.

"I'll handle it." Ash called out his Charmander; its tail lit our way.

I walked up to Misty, "Where does this hall lead to?"

"This corridor will take us straight to the engine room. That's our destination; with a little luck, we can burn or way through." She explained.

We came across a door and opened it, only to find the stairs broken and a raging fire beneath us. My stomach dropped to my feet. "We'll never make it to ther other side!" Gary cried.

James embraced his partner, "Jessica."

"Yes James?"

"Whoever said that beauty doesn't last, must've been talking about us." He whimpered.

"I'll always remember what a wonderful dresser you were!" Jessie sobbed.

"So will I!"

I felt like smacking them upside the head. Misty did it for me, "Will you two knock it off? There is still a way off this ship!"

Pikachu shocked Ash on his trainer's command, and then snapped his fingers in realization, "Good, that's just what I needed!" He called out Bulbasaur, "Use Vine Whip and hook them on the other side."

"Bulba!" the green dinosaur said as dark green whips flew to the other side, "Bulbasaur!"

"Great idea, Ash! We can cross the vines to the other side!" Misty exclaimed.

I stood there trembling, too scared to even consider moving. I heard an annoyed sigh behind me. Gary walked up to me and grabbed one of my pokeballs. He tapped it and called out Growlithe, "Carry Bells to the other side." The dog barked and knocked me over so that I was lying on his back. He then turned and ran on the vines, then leapt to the other side with Ash, Misty, and Brock. Pikachu soon followed. Gary was after the yellow rodent. James, Jessie, and Meowth hesitated, but they quickly followed us.

Once we were safe on the other side, Ash recalled Bulbasaur and replaced it with his Charmander. I knew what he was doing, so I called out Charmeleon. Now we had three fire-types on the playing field. "Okay guys, use your flames to weld through the bottom of the ship and make a hole." I said. Almost all of my trauma from the fire-room had dissipated. Misty pulled a rope of out of pack and began tying it around herself, Brock, and Pikachu.

"Now we'll use water pokemon to swim to the surface." She said.

I looked at her, "But I don't have any water pokemon!"

"Neither do we!" Jessie stated.

Gary called out his Wartortle and began tying a rope around both us, "We'll share." Suddenly, the part that our fire-types burned fell away. Water began to pour into the corridor. I recalled my Growlithe and Charmeleon, while Ash recalled his Charmander and then summoned his Squirtle. Misty called out her Goldeen, Staryu, and Starmie. Staryu looked like a golden star with a red gem in the center. Starmie was a purple star with more arms and a red gem in the center. Once every was tied up, our pokemon drug us into the pouring water. I took a deep breath before being devoured by the cool liquid. Gary wrapped one arm around my waist and the other grabbed the rope as Wartortle pulled us toward the surface.

Eventually, we arrived at the surface. I gasped for air; my body was sore and trembling. Wartortle swam towards a wooden raft, and Gary helped me climb on. He followed and dismissed his Wartortle. Ash, Misty, and Brock rose out of the water next. The swam to our raft and climbed on. Misty recalled her pokemon while Ash dismissed his Squirtle. We waited. Ash finally broke the silence, "Why hasn't Team Rocket surfaced?"

"Maybe they're still inside." Misty suggested.

Brock shook his head, "That doesn't matter now. We need to find dry land soon."

"But how?" Gary asked.

He placed his hand under his chin thoughtfully, "I remember the story of Noah, where he used a bird to find dry land."

Ash nodded in agreement, "Then we'll do the same thing as Noah!" He called out his Pidgeotto, "Go search for dry land. Bring back anything you find!" The bird nodded and flew off. It was nearly thirty minutes later when Pidgeotto returned with Team Rocket and placed them on the raft.

"They didn't make it…" I breathed. Their corpses were piled on, and were completely soaked.

"Not even Team Rocket deserved this." Ash mumbled.

"I guess we should give them a burial at sea, to show our respect." Brock suggested. All of us bent down and slowly shoved them towards the water. I felt nauseous when the idea that I was touching corpses entered my head. Our plan was hindered when James and Jessie leapt up, throwing Meowth into the water.

All of us jumped back screamed, "ZOMBIES!!!" At the same time.

James glared at us, "I am not a zombie!" Meowth struggled onto the raft and shook himself dry. All of us sat down on the raft and remained silent. There was very little to say, really. We were stranded on a boat without anything to eat. The only sound was the waves and annoying Magikarp that just flopped on the raft, repeatedly saying its name. Hours past by and soon night fell. My eyelids slowly closed, and before long I fell asleep…

It felt like two days had passed. My stomach growled at me for the hundredth time. Gary was lying on the raft staring at the sun like a starving zombie. Everyone else was staring hungrily at the Magikarp. I simply sat there, imaging cooked ribs with BBQ sauce on them. Suddenly, Meowth jumped up, "THAT'S IT! DINNER'S SERVED!" He tried to bite into Magikarp, but his fangs cracked as a result.

"You better not try that again," Misty said, "Its just made of scales and bones."

"UGH!" James roared, "This stupid pokemon is so useless! Why'd I even buy it!?" He walked up the orange fish and kicked it into the water, "I don't want to be your master!"

Magikarp splashed desperately in the water. That's one nuisance out of the way. I thought. My egg was still sitting in my arms. I turned my attention back to the creature when it began to glow a pure white. It slowly grew into a giant, bright blue serpent with yellow scales and stomach. Its mouth hang open, revealing sharp teeth. Sharp, angry crimson eyes glared at us. I jumped back and clutched my egg fearfully. I quickly checked my pokédex for its information. Gyarados, a water-type. It has a vicious temper, and is known for destruction. They usually live in large bodies of water.

"WHAT IS THAT!?" James screamed in fear.

"Now it's a Gyarados, you idiot!" Misty cried.

James calmed and smirked at his pokemon, "I'm James, your master. Obey me." It roared in displeasure at him. James screamed in fear and hid behind Jessie.

I slapped my palm to my forehead, "Oh yeah! That's real manly, James! Show some backbone." I looked back up at the creature in fear.

Misty called out Goldeen, Staryu, and Starmie. She tied ropes around them and then to the raft. "What's your strategy?" Gary asked.

"My strategy is…" she paused, "RUN AWAY!!!"

"I'm game!" I said. The pokemon began dragging out raft away, with all of us helping them with random sticks and poles and even our hands. Gyarados began chasing us, roaring the entire time. "FASTER! FASTER!" We all cried. Without warning, the blue dragon ceased in its chase. It began roaring at the sky in anger.

"What's doing?" Ash asked.

"It just evolved, so maybe its tired out." Brock suggested.

Misty shook her head, "What if…what the stories are true? Sailors tell terrible tales of the Gyarados…it maybe Dragon Rage!"

"Are you serious!?" Gary cried. Just as he asked that, hordes of Gyarados appeared. They began to spin until water cyclone appeared. All of us screamed in fear as they began to approach us. "We gotta run!"

"But no-ones ever escaped Dragon Rage." Misty countered. The cyclone converged on us, and the powerful winds shattered our raft and lifted us into the air. I could remember screaming as I spun in circles. Then, a pair of arms wrapped around me, and soon…I fainted…

Another cliffy. Please review and the next chapter will be up soon…