Chapter 13

Cruising Along to Victory!

Ron and Max rushed towards the dock, hoping that they would get to the S.S. Anne in time for the Pokémon Trainer-only party that they had been lucky enough to get tickets for. They were looking for somewhere labeled Dock 8, where the S.S. Anne was staying until it was ready to go back out to sea.

"Hey Ron, shouldn't you be more careful with that egg? I'd hate to think of the outcome if you dropped it," warned Max, noticing his friend cradling the egg case between his arms.

"You act like I'm irresponsible or something. I'm pretty sure I know how to take care of this precious cargo."

"Whatever you say man, whatever you say." Max could not help but laugh when Ron mentioned the word irresponsible. After all, Ron did appear to be that type of person.

The two trainers were lucky to arrive at the dock just in time. They made their way to a long metal ramp that took them to the main deck of the ship. At the top was a man, waiting for trainers to hand him their tickets. As Ron and Max handed him their tickets, they really hoped the tickets they were given were legit, otherwise they'd be in a bit of trouble.

"Alright boys, you're all good to go," said the man, handing them back their tickets. Ron sighed in relief, glad that they really would get to enjoy the ship.

They followed signs that had been placed along the ship, meant to lead visiting trainers to the main hall of the ship. Eventually they reached the large glass double doors of the main hall. Ron could not believe his eyes. There must have been at least two dozen battlefields set up in the hall, along with table after table of buffet offerings for trainers. While Max ran off for the food, Ron headed over to a familiar face near one of the battlefields.

"Hey Vincent, it's been a long time, hasn't it?"

"It sure has been. I take it you've been wasting your time around Kanto trying to earn badges?" asked Vincent.

"Well aren't you the same? It just so happens that I've earned two badges so far, and once I'm done on this ship, I'll be heading back into the city to earn my third."

Vincent looked a bit surprised, clearly believing that Ron was an incapable trainer who would not even be able to earn a single badge. They two trainers stood around awkwardly for awhile, not having anything to say to each other. It was then that Max came over to them with a girl. She was wearing the same tattered looking jeans and black sleeveless shirt as before, but instead of her yellow scarf, she wore a green colored one. Ron thought it matched her eyes quite well.

"Look who I found here! You remember Samantha, right?" asked Max.

Ron wanted to hit his friend in the face, right then and there. How could he have forgotten Samantha? She was the cute looking girl they had met on Nugget Bridge. Although he would not admit this to Max at the time, he even felt as though he was getting a slight crush on the girl. He was pleased to see that she seemed excited to see him, and even more pleased to see the look of disgust she gave Vincent.

"I thought I told you to never show your face around me again," said Samantha to Vincent. He looked at her with a bit of shock, expecting his asshole ways to charm her somehow. It may have worked on most girls, but she was different.

Ron sensed conflict, so he intervened. "Can't we all just get along? If you want me to, I'll even kick this guy's ass in a battle. Would you like that Samantha?"

She laughed, telling Ron to do whatever he wanted to Vincent. Ron was glad to take his rival on. They had only battled once, and Ron wanted to give his newly evolved Raichu a chance to get some payback on Mankey for the last battle. He figured the evolution would change the outcome of the battle.

Vincent turned to Ron, saying, "That sounds good to me. I guess I could kick your sorry ass across this ship if that's what you want."

Ron said nothing in return, simply walking to his side of the field. Vincent did the same and prepared for the battle. They would battle using standard Pokémon League rules, using three Pokémon each. For his first choice, Ron opted to use his Spearow. In return, Vincent sent out his newly evolved Pidgeotto. The changed bird was at least three times larger than it was in its original form. It was colored about the same, except the tail feathers on this Pokémon were both tan and red. Obviously his rival had done some training since their last encounter.

"Well how do you like that? Your Spearow hasn't evolved, while my Pidgey evolved just days after our last battle," taunted Vincent.

"Evolution doesn't mean anything! I'll take you on no matter how many times your Pidgey evolves." Ron tried not to let Vincent's taunting get to him. "Spearow, let's start things off. Lunge at Pidgeotto beak-first. Give it your all!"

Vincent smirked. He was obviously amused by Ron's attempts. He ordered his bird to swerve out of harm's way, and then to counter with a Wing Attack. The attack left Spearow plummeting to the ground. Ron's opponent was not done yet, as he ordered his Pokémon to finish Spearow off with a Quick Attack. A stream of white light followed Pidgeotto as it threw itself towards Spearow, finishing off the bird without much of a challenge.

"Hmmph. I told you that Spearow wouldn't have a chance. Can't you at least put up a fight?"

"I'll do more than that. Let me introduce you to my newly evolved Pokémon. Come on out Raichu!"

Ron's electric rodent prepared itself for battle, showing off its immense energy as sparks flew from its cheeks. Ron immediately ordered his Pokémon to strike Pidgeotto with a Thunderbolt attack, not giving time for Vincent to send Pidgeotto to charge at his Raichu. The attack did critical damage to the winged Pokémon, leaving Vincent frustrated with the current situation.

"Shake it off Pidgeotto! Show Raichu that type advantages don't scare us. Use your Wing Attack!"

Ron replied, "Don't give him a chance to even touch you. Attack with Thunderbolt once more and then end this with a Mega Punch attack!"

Pidgeotto was once again hurt by the Thunderbolt attack. It was really a surprise that the flying Pokémon had been able to endure the same powerful attack twice in a row. Vincent had obviously trained his Pokémon well; however, when Raichu made contact with its glowing fist, the struggle was over. Pidgeotto fainted on impact.

"Well that was luck for you. You won't get off so easily with my next Pokémon." Vincent grabbed another Pokeball from his belt. "Let's do this Wartortle!"

Vincent had clearly done some serious training since his defeat in Pewter City. His second Pokémon was the evolved form of Squirtle, the Pokémon he had received as his starter choice in Viridian City. Once again, his new Pokémon seemed to have tripled in size. It grow strange rudder like parts where ears would go, which went along nicely with the new white tail it grow on it's behind. Ron felt fortunate that his Pikachu had evolved to Raichu before he got on the ship.

Ron said, "I know we have the type advantage, but let's try something different." He recalled his electric Pokémon to its Pokeball. "Let's show 'em what you've got Krabby!"

Vincent grinned, as he thought he would have no chance against Raichu. "Start things off with an Aqua Jet attack!"

The turtle Pokémon used a stream of water to propel itself towards Krabby. Ron ordered his Pokémon to brace itself, hardening its body to withstand the collision. Krabby was pushed backwards slightly, but still had some fight left in it. Wartortle was left vulnerable after attacking.

"Crabhammer attack now! You can do it!"

Wartortle's defense mirrored Krabby's, which allowed it to endure the blow well enough to fight for a bit longer. Both water Pokémon fired a stream of bubbles in each other's direction, but the attacks collided in the air and never reached their target. These two Pokémon were evenly matched. The trainers saw this, so they both recalled their Pokémon to their respective Pokeballs.

Ron only had one Pokémon to choose from, so he sent Raichu back into the fight. Vincent sent his third Pokémon to the field, a small puppy Pokémon by the name of Growlithe. This one looked much stronger than the last one that Ron had gone up against, clearly showing an eagerness to put up a fight.

"Raichu, use a Thunderbolt attack, followed by a Quick Attack!"

"Growlithe, use a Flame Wheel attack. Go right through that electricity."

Growlithe wrapped itself in flames, and then rolled towards Raichu. The electric rodent managed to land a Thunderbolt attack, and then charged head on at full speed. The collision was fierce, but Raichu was trained much better. It got up first, though was burned badly by the flames. Ron was concerned, so he recalled Raichu and sent out his Krabby once more.

Vincent did nothing, which might have been what cost him this round of the battle. His Growlithe was hit by just one Bubblebeam attack before collapsing from exhaustion. For once, Ron had the edge in the fight, but he still felt concerned. Wartortle was powerful, maybe even powerful enough to take down his Raichu.

"This isn't over yet. Let's see if you can take down my first and best Pokémon." He clenched a Pokeball in his hands, ready for a showdown. "I'm leaving it up to you Wartortle. I know you can do it!"

But Ron did not want him to do it. He ordered his Krabby to attack with a Crabhammer attack. The attacked missed, showing off Wartortle's impressive speed. For a turtle, this Pokémon moved quite fast. A stream of water was then sent in Krabby's direction. The crab Pokémon endured the blow, but it was the attack that followed up the water which was the undoing of Ron's Pokémon. Wartortle lowered its head, then charged head on at Krabby, literally.

"And just like that, we're equal again. What do you think about that Ron?" taunted his rival.

"I think that this is about to end….with me winning!"

On the sideline, Max and Samantha discussed the situation that was unfolding. Both of them knew that this fight would be close. There was no clear winner in this matchup, despite the alarming type advantage that Raichu possessed against Wartortle.

"Ron's Raichu just evolved the other day. It should be interesting to see how it does in an extended battle," commented Max.

"That's really fantastic that his Pokémon evolved. It should help him out today. So far Raichu has looked really solid, even considering that Pidgeotto had a disadvantage," replied Samantha, hoping that Ron could take down Vincent.

"Thunderbolt seems to work well, so let's use it again!"

Raichu charged up electricity before firing it towards its opponent. The turtle Pokémon avoided the attack easily. Ron noticed that his Pokémon was suffering from the burns.

Wartortle countered with its Water Gun attack, soaking Raichu in the process. The water seemed to ease the burns slightly, but Raichu was still in a lot of pain. Ron had to end this quickly.

"Alright Wartortle, let's give them no chance to recover. Use an Ice Beam attack!"

Vincent's Pokémon fired a beam of pure ice energy at Raichu, freezing the Pokémon in place. Ron then watched in fear as the turtle lowered its head once more, prepared to end this battle once and for all.

Without hesitation, Ron ordered his Pokémon to use a Thunderbolt attack. Wartortle was clearly in pain because of the strong electric attack, but it proceeded to collide into Raichu, freeing it from the ice in the process.

Both trainers urged their Pokémon to continue fighting, but it was no use. Raichu and Wartortle collapsed to the grounded, knocked out from sheer exhaustion that the fight had inflicted. The two Pokémon were recalled to their Pokeballs.

Vincent said, "Ron, I have to acknowledge that you did decent out there. However, you really should have been able to take down a water type Pokémon with an electric type. That was pretty pathetic."

Suddenly, Samantha joined in the conversation, alive with frustration. "You're just pissed off because you didn't win the fight. You're the pathetic one."

Vincent walked away, muttering something about not wanting to waste his time arguing. Ron thanked Samantha for backing him up, offering to walk with her over to the buffet table for a quick meal. The young trainer felt as though he got some well deserved training in during his stay on the cruise liner, despite the fact that he would not be able to enjoy the ship on an actual trip.

He really wished that he had gotten a chance to spend some time with Samantha, but he was certain that he would get another chance at that in the future. They said their goodbyes, then Ron and Max set off for the Pokémon Center, where they would stay the night before heading off to challenge the Vermillion City gym leader in the morning.

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Notes:

- Next chapter will include the gym battle and evolution…but not when you expect it.

- Should start writing chapters on some kind of schedule. I blame school for the lack of work.

- People should also read "Rise to the Top" by Blue Bongo. It's bloody brilliant.