Happy new year! So, this is the first chapter of"Season 2". What that means from a behind-the-scenes standpoint is that I have officially gone through all the original material I wrote a few years back and edited into the first season of ATQ. I am writing these from scratch and trying to post them as soon as possible. I have one and a half drafts past this chapter, but other than that and the story outline, I've got nothing. I make no promises as to when I'll be releasing new chapters. However, enjoy this new chapter!
Ash and Sabrina stepped out of the door of the Pokèmon Center, bags packed and ready for a long trek to Celadon City. Walking through the city, Ash took a turn to walk alongside the ocean port. A large cruise ship was in port and several trainers were boarding. Ash saw one with an Eevee on his shoulder, another with a Haunter following behind her. Yet another had a Torchic riding on his head.
"A trainers' cruise?" Ash asked, pointing the ship out to Sabrina.
"That's the St Anne. It's a popular training cruise ship. It's extremely expensive to get a ticket, though. I'm surprised that so many trainers are boarding at one time," she replied.
"Trainers, one and all! The St Anne is proud to invite you to a free cruise around the seas! Train with hundreds of other battlers while we supply food and drink! Battle for the top trainer award, get your Pokèmon Groomed, relax while your Pokèmon are cared for by our top care specialists! All sponsored by the Anne's new co-owner- the Planetary Corporation!" a man shouted. Ash pulled out his Pokénav+ and looked up the ship's routes.
"The Anne travels to a port in Harrison Town, which is only a few hours' walk to Celadon! he said, grinning.
"We're boarding, aren't we?" Sabrina asked, obviously excited by the chance to ride a famous cruise ship and relax for a few days.
"Absolutely," Ash said. The two climbed up the boarding ramp and onto the massive cruise ship, scanning their trainer cards as they entered. Ash looked around and saw a stadium with several open battlefields. He ran to the first slot and another trainer took the slot across from him.
"How many points do you have?" the trainer asked.
"Points?" Ash asked.
"You've got a Pokènav+, check it!"
Ash checked his Pokènav+ and noticed that a new app labeled St Anne had downloaded.
"It's how the cruise charts all the trainers' ranks! What are you?"
"It's blank!"
"First battle?"
"Yeah!"
"Well then, let's see what you're made of, noob! Cubchoo, go!"
The opponent sent her Cubchoo onto the field, where it patiently awaited Ash's own Pokèmon. Ash selected a Pokèball from his belt.
"We'll see who the noob is here, Quickdraw," Ash chuckled, "Charmeleon, take her down!"
Charmeleon appeared in a blast of light. It looked at Cubchoo smirked, ready for an easy battle.
"Charmeleon, Flamethrower!" Ash called.
"Endure, Cubchoo!" the trainer called. Cubchoo glowed blue as the flames flew over it, but remained standing.
"Now use Brine!" the trainer called.
"Oh, no," Ash muttered, "Charmeleon, jump and use Dragon Rage!"
Charmeleon leapt into the air, blasting farther up using the force of its attack, barely avoiding the blast of pressurized water Cubchoo had just released.
"Dive and use Metal Claw!"
"Brine!"
As Charmeleon dove and let his claws glow silver, Cubchoo fired another attack at Charmeleon. The two attacks met as Charmeleon dove through the water, using his claws as a shield to deflect the water. Charmeleon grit his teeth as the claws met Cubchoo, who fell backward and was unable to battle. Charmeleon stood up, falling to one arm to keep himself steady.
"Cubchoo is unable to battle," Ash said, "Charmeleon wins."
"Good battle," The trainer said, shaking Ash's hand. Ash saw a 100 appear on his Pokènav+. His opponent's decreased by 100 simultaneously.
"Charmeleon, are you okay?" Ash asked, walking up to his injured Pokèmon.
"Char…" Charmeleon said, nodding.
"Take a rest. I'll battle with another Pokèmon for a while," Ash said. Another trainer had taken a place in the other side of Ash's battlefield.
"Klang, go!" the trainer shouted, throwing a Pokèball onto the field.
"Squirtle, you're up! Ash called, letting the water-type out of his Pokèball.
"Use Charge Beam!"
"Dodge it!" Ash commanded. Klang shot the attack, but Squirtle expertly leapt into the air to dodge the attack. Its time training with Charmeleon and Ivysaur had done wonders for its speed and agility.
"Use Water Pulse!" Ash called. While in the air, Squirtle spun around and launched the orb of water from its hands, striking the Gear Pokémon and sending it falling to the ground.
"Get up, Klang!" Its trainer called. The Pokémon struggled, but floated back into the air.
"Tackle!"
Squirtle descended from the sky, tucking itself into its shell and slamming into Klang, sending it back into the ground, unconscious. Ash shook the trainer's hand and his Pokénav registered another 100 point increase.
Ash continued switching out Pokémon on the battlefield between battles, racking up a series of victories against the diverse Pokémon on board the ship. As the sun began to descend, Ash returned Nidorino, who had just finished battling and defeating a Jolteon. He checked his Pokénav once more before putting it away. A notice on the screen informed him that the ship would no longer be tracking victories that day. He checked the map and noted a training area nearby. He headed in that direction when Sabrina waved him down.
Sabrina had spent the day relaxing, and smiled brightly when she saw Ash approaching.
"Hey, Ash. They've got a party going down below deck if you're done battling," She said.
"Well, I was going to keep training for a little..."
"Ash, come on," Sabrina interrupted, "It's a cruise. Relax for a bit, your Pokémon need some rest anyways. Please?" She took hold of his hand.
"Well… I guess so…" Ash said, nodding.
Sabrina's face brightened. "Great! So, how about we both head to our rooms, leave our Pokémon to rest, get changed, and meet at the party."
"Alright, I'll see you soon."
Ash went back to his room and quickly changed for the party. He left most of his traveling supplies in his room, unclipping his Pokéball belt and leaving it on the desk. He left his jacket hung on the back of his chair and hung his hat and backpack from the back of the doorknob. He changed into a fresh black tee shirt and jeans and quickly checked himself in the mirror, nodding in approval.
"Hold down the fort, alright, Pikachu?" he said. The electric mouse nodded and curled up on the bed to take a well deserved nap.
Ash made his way to the room where the party was taking place. Repurposed from an indoor battlefield, a dance floor had been set up in half of the room, where trainers jumped up and down to the high-tempo music. Ash smiled and looked around. He saw a few faces he'd battled earlier, one of whom, Kay, waved him over.
"I was wondering if you'd show up, looked like you were on a roll up on the battlefield," he said. Ash laughed.
"Yeah, my friend Sabrina convinced me to give my Pokémon a break and come down."
"Ah, so you're here for a girl," Kay laughed.
"It's not like that," Ash defended.
"Sure. Keep telling yourself that," he responded.
"Keep telling himself what?" a voice asked. Ash turned around and gasped. Sabrina had exchanged her usual red turtleneck and dark pants for a red skirt, tights, a white tee-shirt, and a black jacket. Her blue hair was let down and fell to just below her shoulders.
"What?" she asked, "you look like you've seen a ghost."
"Nothing," he responded, "you just look nice is all."
"Thanks, and you look like you barely tried," she teased.
"I packed light!" Ash defended. Sabrina laughed.
"I'm messing with you, hotshot. I'll be right back, I'm going to go stop by the snack table."
The trainer grinned as Ash watched Sabrina, "Yeah, it's totally like that," he said. Ash didn't respond.
"So, who's your friend?" Sabrina asked, returning with a plate of grapes and a cookie.
"Ah, Sabrina, Kay. Kay, Sabrina."
"Nice to meet you," Kay said, shaking her hand.
"I saw you battling up on the deck. What ranking did you end up reaching?"
"Oh, I reached a 39. Pretty decent."
"Ash, how'd you do?"
"22," he answered.
"Top 25, not bad!" Kay complimented. The crowd on the dance floor cheered as the DJ changed songs.
"Oh! I love this song! I'm gonna go find my friends on the dance floor. You gonna come?" Kay asked.
"I… don't really know how to dance" Sabrina admitted.
"Hey, don't worry, nobody really does, I'm sure Ash would be happy to help you out, right, Ash?"
"Oh… of course!"
The three made their way to the dance floor, Sabrina ending up in front as Kay hung back, noticing Ash hesitating.
"What the heck, dude?" Ash whispered.
"It's a party, you're here with a pretty girl, and now you're going to dance with her. You know how to dance, right?"
"Yeah, but..."
"Great, then you can thank me later," Kay responded, pushing him after Sabrina. The two reached the dance floor and Kay navigated toward the middle of the crowd, waving toward a group dancing together.
"So… what do we do?" Sabrina asked.
"Give me your hands," he said. She nodded and placed her hands in his. He stood across from her and started simply moving to the beat.
"It's easy, just figure out the groove of the song and move to the beat," Ash said. Sabrina smiled. The two danced together to the song's beat.
"This is fun!" Sabrina said, laughing. Ash smiled back.
"Try this on for size," He said, letting go of one hand and using the other to spin her around. She laughed even harder. Soon, the two were dancing to the beat, jumping and up and down with their hands in the air or twisting around with each other. After a while, the two left the dance floor to catch their breath.
"You sure seemed comfortable out on the dance floor, popular with the girls in Pallet Town, were you?" Sabrina asked.
"Nah, there's a dance party at the end of a summer camp Professor Oak puts on every year, so after attending for 3 years and helping run it for 5, I've picked up some moves."
"I see. Well, I didn't really go to many dances as a kid. I was usually spending my time studying."
"Wow, I figured you didn't usually dance but I'd never assumed you never went to one. You seem so confident."
"Yeah… I'm… very different from who I was when I was a kid."
"Oh, really?"
"Yeah… well..."
Sabrina was interrupted as Kay made his way over with his two friends in tow. They nodded to Ash as Kay introduced them as Jay and his girlfriend Ella. Ash knew Ella from a scrimmage they'd had earlier, pitting her baby Dratini against Sneasel. Both Pokémon had been knocked out in a collision between a powered up Scratch attack and Dragon Rage.
"You two looked like you were having fun out there," Kay said.
"I, for one, am having a blast," Sabrina responded
"Same here," Ash said. He passed the trio a set of sodas and they nodded, opening them and taking a sip.
"So, where are you two headed?" Kay asked.
"Ash is challenging the Pokémon League. We're headed toward Celadon City, so we'll be getting off at the stop in Harrison Town."
"Smart. We're taking the long ride all the way out to the Sevii Islands for a few days, then meeting with a friend to catch a ride to Cinnabar Island. Ella is also battling in the league, and that'll be her eighth badge."
"Nice! I guess I'll see you at the tournament!"
"I suppose so."
The trainers small talked for awhile until Ella dragged Jay back to the dance floor. Sabrina smiled and grabbed Ash's hand.
"Shall we?" she asked, gesturing back to the dance floor.
"Sure," Ash said. Sabrina pulled Ash back onto the dance floor and they continued to dance until the DJ's voice echoed over the speaker.
"Alright, guys. We're gonna slow it down a little."
The song changed, and both Ash and Sabrina blushed as a slow song began to play. Sabrina looked around at the other trainers dancing with their partners and followed their lead, wrapping her arms around Ash's neck. Ash placed his hand on her hips as they began to sway to the music. As the song continued, the two grew more comfortable together, growing closer until they held each other close, foreheads touching, eyes looking into each other's. Ash paid no attention to a scuffle on the platform where the DJ stood, until suddenly the music stopped, a voice echoing over the speakers.
"Everybody get back to your rooms! Get your Pokémon! Get off the ship any way you can! Planetary Corporation… they're… they're Team Rocket!"
There was a loud thud as the source of the voice was tackled by two security officers on board, but the damage was already done. The name of Kanto's notorious crime group echoed through the room.
And with that, all hell broke loose.
To be continued! Sorry, I just couldn't resist with this one. Please leave a review, I'd love to hear how you're liking the story!
See you soon!