First things first, I need to acknowledge a milestone. 100+ reviews reached. I'd like to thank you, my readers. I cherish each and every review, favorite, follow, and even plain view of my story.
Review Responses:
lalalei: Well, that's certainly an interesting bit of information. I never thought there was a definitive ending to the series planned before, since at this point it seems it'll continue until Pokémon runs out of games (i.e. never).
The King of Ranting (Answered via PM): In order:
1. Yeah, the latter portion of the chapter was one huge dose of reality for Misty.
2. It's the first real chance that James had to train Gyarados, and, as a Water-type, it's best to play to his strengths by teaching him a strong water attack first. And Onix wanted to cover his weakness against water by building a resistance to it, and Brock agreed it would be best since Onix would have the best chance against the sea monster.
3. Brook informed James of them (Pokémon Flash Cards), and that they could be picked up at any decent care of Pokémon store, so he bought a set from Hutber Port.
4. More than likely, Giovanni sees that a hostile takeover of one region (or continent, if he took over both Kanto and Johto) would result in the rest of the world uniting to stamp them out. And each region has a Champion and Elite Four of their own. Even with Mewtwo, he does not believe himself and his organization to be invincible. As such, he takes the slow path, gaining control of the continent from underground and behind the scenes before Team Rocket can stop hiding and reveal themselves as the ones with the power. A much longer operation, but one more guaranteed to work.
5. I'm aware of the fact that a daring move like the battle between Misty and Ash would have long-term effects, and I'm prepared to take them into consideration as I write.
The Sinful: Indeed he does not. Once he realized that winning wouldn't get him any respect from Misty, he stopped playing along with the battle. And since Misty insisted on having one anyway, he just got it out of the way as quickly as possible.
Bored321 (Answered via PM): Yeah, it was a pretty one-sided battle once Ash stopped playing around.
You brought up a very good point, and I edited the chapter while leaving a notice about the change. I'll try to more carefully consider the events of my story when I write.
Snakespur: Thank you. :)
Snoozing Lurker (Answered via PM): Those are very good points regarding the type chart, and I'll certainly consider them in the future. One example of Flying vs. Grass was when Butterfree beat his wings for a quick wind to render Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf useless. Maneuverability is also a factor, but direct hits can often leave birds and bugs' wings damaged.
Example: A Machoke lands a Brick Break on a Golbat, who quad-resists it. It'll hurt and likely leave its wings damaged if it impacts a wall before getting its flight under control. But Golbat is quick enough to where any punches not outright avoided don't connect anymore than a glancing blow. Poison-types also resist Fighting moves, for some reason. Maybe because most of them have squishy/flexible bodies.
Thank you, I hope you continue to enjoy my story.
TheShadowOfZama: Misty's problem was bull-headed stubbornness combined with an inflated ego. She refused to even consider that Ash could be a better trainer than her since he started out pitting a Caterpie against a Pidgeotto. Ever since Team Rocket, he started training, and his loss to Brock had him begin to learn. Also, she makes light of Ash being pursued by Team Rocket since she's not the active target. Doesn't make it alright, but that's what she thinks, and it takes a lot to get her to change her mind about something she considers to be fact.
I'd be inclined to agree with your observation regarding Ash. Considering what he could've become (Canon!Ash), he's come a long way since his first loss. His security in his ability was taken away when he had to flee in Viridian Forest, so now he constantly trains to avoid losing Pikachu since he perceives it as a real threat. He wouldn't be as strong of a Trainer, but I'd bet he'd like to have that peace of mind back.
Also, yeah, I'm not telling when, but I do have such a battle planned.
jaguarspot: Yeah, that's a reasonable guess, Jessie, James and Meowth selling things to pay off their dues.
Most likely, if not better since they have a competence boost with their natural talent at selling things.
Yeah, she was, both here and in canon. True, Canon!Ash is a brat as well, sometimes making Misty look down-to-earth in comparison with how overconfident he can be in the early seasons. I've had to watch the episodes in order to get the scenes down. At times, it's hideous to see Canon!Ash in comparison to my version.
BrightNova169 (Answered via PM): In order:
1. Considering Master Balls don't make an appearance in this season (as far as I know), it's safe to say that the president of Silph Co. hasn't gotten the idea yet. And that's part of it, yes. Giovanni has two Rocket scientists on the inside, who analyze the tech and send designs back to Team Rocket, and the president accepts a bribe to look the other way.
2. I'm glad you like the conversations, but the original reason wasn't for that. I wrote translations for the conversations because writing Pokémon Speak convincingly is harder than some might think, and I would feel like an idiot trying to get a sequence of two or three syllables repeated over and over right.
3. I'll consider revamping King Crabhammer's name, but I personally don't see anything wrong with it. Besides, Ash is eleven. Who ever accused him of being clever with naming things? Also, thanks, I try hard to make the characters still seem like themselves, just with changes to their personality through experiences.
4. All of your points regarding Misty are quite true, as well as what she should've seen about Ash. But, as he said, she blinded herself to the difference in strength. In her mind, he couldn't be stronger than her in such a short time, so she refused to accept all evidence.
5. He deals with Team Rocket on a near daily basis. If he hadn't learned to keep his cool by then, he never would. Besides, he's fallen into a trap or chased a false trail because of his anger more than once (Mt. Moon, Pokémon Tech, the Squirtle Squad). Besides, he knew that none of Misty's insults were true. He was just battling her at first to earn some respect. When he found that she wouldn't give it no matter what, he quit because, as he said, *he* doesn't need to battle her to know that he's stronger than her.
Questions:
1. Not too long, I'd wager. There's a special feature on the Pokédex, and I'll leave it at that. When Ash has to use that feature, Oak will know some serious s*** is going down.
2 & 3. We'll see.
Now, with all that done, on with the story!
Chapter 21: Who's Right or Wrong?
Ash returned from his training at the usual time for the past couple of days at dinnertime, Pikachu resting on his shoulder. The Electric-type was tapped out from trying to master Thunder, and was looking forward to a good meal and a full night's sleep.
When he got up to the room the gentleman Trainer had booked for him and his friends, he found Brock already there with a bag of ice held to the side of his face. Geodude was also nearby, lifting one of the armchairs in the room up and down with Strength to train.
The Pallet Trainer looked at his friend's injured state as he took off his shoes, but decided not to ask since the two plates on the table set up with food from the hotel's room service answered what he needed to know. Misty wasn't coming back tonight.
Pikachu's attention was on the multiple bowls of Pokémon food on the ground. He climbed down from his perch and went over to one of the bowls as Ash released his other Pokémon to eat as well. He also filled a cup of water up in the sink and left it next to Tentacool in case she had to rehydrate before sitting down himself to eat. Brock sat across from him while picking at his own food, ice set down with the minute swelling gone.
Even though Ash didn't ask, the breeder still felt the need to answer the unspoken question, "I found Misty at the Pokémon Center, like you said. I got about two words out before she punched me in the face and yelled for me to get out."
"Can't say I'm surprised," Ash replied between bites. "I figure the one thing she hates more than losing is pity. Doesn't really matter what you meant, that's what she'd see. She's too proud."
"Couldn't you say that the way you treated her as if she wasn't worth your time was excessive, too?" Brock asked.
"Hey, I tried to walk away from that battle when it was clear that nothing would change from it," Ash defended. "But she insisted. Testing myself against other Trainers in the city, fine, but Misty wasn't, and still isn't, worth battling."
He gestured to Tentacool, "Two days of training Tentacool, along with some basic strategy of teaching her to fight other Water-types stopped all three of Misty's Water Pokémon. Imagine if Team Rocket got hold of an Electric-type, or another Pokémon that could take advantage of her dependence on water."
Brock grimaced, as it didn't paint a pretty picture. And unlike Ash, who was simply ruthlessly quick, Team Rocket would've verbally destroyed her after the fact as well.
Ash finished off his plate and then drank the last of his water beside it, "Heck, even though they don't think her Pokémon are worth stealing, in that situation they might even take them just to spite her, saying something like 'We'll make them stronger than you ever could.'
"Like I said," he concluded as he picked up Pikachu, who was done eating, "she needed to wake up. Maybe I could've been gentler, but would that have gotten the message across?"
When Brock didn't have an answer available, the Trainer addressed his Pokémon, "Who wants to sleep out of their Poké Balls tonight?"
Everybody except Kingler and Tentacool said yes, both of the Water Pokémon refusing due to the fact that they were used to sleeping underwater or – in Kingler's case – in sand. Rattata simply curled up on the carpet while Pidgeot stood near the wall, both to rest and listen for intruders, and Squirtle simply moved to a spot out of the way and withdrew into his shell.
Ash walked with Pikachu, who was already half-asleep, and put him into bed, "I'm going to sleep. You said we have to leave early to get to Porta Vista in time for our ferry, and I want to make sure my Pokémon and I are nice and rested."
"Aren't you at least a little worried about Misty?" Brock asked.
The Pallet Trainer took off his belt and hat to leave on the night stand while answering, "She was taking care of herself before I met her. She'll be fine."
"I meant emotionally."
"Look, you're going to think that this is really, really mean," Ash started as he got into bed, "but if she can't pull herself together after realizing she isn't the best, then maybe she's not cut out to be a Trainer."
The next morning, Jessie and Meowth slurped up a breakfast of instant noodles as they looked at a barrel of anti-Tentacool "Stun Sauce" that they had made. Once they poured it into the water, it would spread and paralyze every Tentacool, making them easy for capture.
"We've really outdone ourselves with this level of genius," Jessie commented with a smirk. "Hmph, 'exterminate' the Tentacool, what a waste of resources. This concoction will make it look like they're dead when we present them to the old hag for our reward money, then we can give them to the Boss."
Meowth drank up the last of the broth and added, "Now we just gotta steal a boat ta deploy it once we find out where those Tentacool live."
"Aww… Did you two start an evil plot without me?"
The two agents turned and saw James entering the clearing. He was soaked and had a half-eaten banana in his hand.
"Where've you been?" Jessie asked. She looked him up and down, "Why are you all wet?"
James chuckled and took another bite of his fruit before answering, "All part of the training."
Meowth raised an eyebrow, "So Gyarados learned Hydro Pump?"
"Please," the male agent scoffed before swallowing, "that took half a day. I've accomplished something much more significant with Gyarados."
He turned his head over his shoulder and blew a sharp whistle.
Nothing happened for a moment, but James just stared confidently at his teammates with a smug grin on his face as he continued eating. A strong wind suddenly blew through the trees, rustling the leaves on the branches and making the balloon shift for a moment before it went back to its upright position above the basket.
"What was dat?" Meowth asked.
In response, James took out a single Pokémon Flash Card from his pocket and flicked it to Meowth, who managed to catch it. "Check the type."
Jessie squatted down next to the feline agent out of curiosity and both of their eyes widened as they saw that it was Gyarados's flash card and it identified him as a Water/Flying-type.
The teenage girl stared at James in disbelief, "You couldn't have…"
"On the contrary…" James thrust his free hand in the air with a victorious grin, "I did."
Even though his partners had an idea of what he meant, it still shocked them when Gyarados flew into the camp over the trees behind James, the branches nearest to him rustling from the wake of his passage.
Jessie and Meowth gawked at the flying sea serpent as he made a circle around the clearing in his descent and landed behind his Trainer.
James chuckled and threw away the peel of his fruit, "I will treasure the looks on your faces for ages to come."
"How?" Jessie asked incredulously.
The male agent patted Gyarados on the side, "I believed in him. We fell into the river quite a few times trying to climb a waterfall for practice. Eventually we reached the top, and just kept climbing. He takes a bit of time to build up speed to take off from land without assistance, but we figured out a workaround to that until he's better at it. That's the wind that blew through earlier."
With his teammates suitably awed, he raised an eyebrow, "So, what'd I miss?"
"Ash, even if she didn't want to see us, don't you think we should've at least told Misty that we were leaving?" Brock asked from behind a brochure map that he'd bought.
"She'll find us," the Trainer reassured without turning around, his walking stick firmly prodding the ground in front of him for traps with each step. Pikachu, at his instruction, was one step behind him and prepared to leap on Ash's shoulder. Team Rocket still hadn't attacked, and both were getting a bit antsy in anticipation of an ambush.
"Even if she doesn't make it to our boat, she'll track us down," he continued.
Brock raised an eyebrow and lowered his map, "How can you be so sure?"
Ash stopped and turned to look at his friend, "She's not going to take a defeat like that lying down." He then gestured to himself, "I wouldn't take a defeat like that lying down. I'd train, challenge them again and win. If I gave up after my first major loss, then I wouldn't have even made it to Pewter City."
He turned back forward and continued along the path, "Anyway, she'll either find us or go on her own until she feels she can take me on. Misty knows I'm collecting badges for the Pokémon League, and she knows the town where I live. I'd bet money that she'll be back at some point."
Brock sighed since it appeared he wasn't going to change Ash's mind. While the Pallet Trainer wasn't necessarily wrong about many of the things he'd said about Misty, Brock still didn't feel right leaving things like this. The problem was that Misty refused to listen and Ash felt the experience would teach her a lesson. Again, not wrong, but excessively harsh in the breeder's opinion.
But he could give both sides a little time to reconcile.
"There's Hutber Port," Brock announced while putting his map away as they turned a bend in the road.
Ash checked his Pokégear, "And we got here with-" His eyes widened as he saw the time, "We're five minutes late!"
The Pallet Trainer rushed ahead, still keeping his stick in front of him on the ground until he reached the concrete harbor, and saw the ferry that was going to take them to Maiden's Peak already leaving.
He and Pikachu sighed, while the Trainer groaned, "Ah man, what're we supposed to do now?"
Brock walked up behind him, "Don't worry, Ash. I did a little research, and that ferry service has several boats that make rounds during specific days like today. The next one should arrive and be ready to take off in about three hours. It's not that long." (1)
Ash simply stared out at the ocean for a moment as he realized that Brock set up the situation to give Misty time to catch up. Provided, of course, that she actually got up and followed them.
"Fine, okay," the Trainer replied while putting his stick in its usual place between his back and bag, walking off to find a better spot. "I'll use the time to train. Two hours, with an hour to rest after."
Brock was surprised that Ash didn't call him out on making them late, but followed anyway.
Pikachu looked over the waves and spotted something, bringing it to Ash's attention, "Chu! Chuu!"
Both boys turned with a curious grunt before seeing what Pikachu spotted. A light blue Pokémon with a light tan belly had approached the harbor. It had a round head with three spikes on each side, red irises, and a nozzle-like mouth along with a small pair of wing-like fins on its back.
"Who's that Pokémon?" Ash wondered as he took out his Pokédex.
"Horsea, the Dragon Pokémon. In this unique Pokémon species, thousands of eggs hatch every spring, and then the male raises them himself."
As Dexter read out the entry, Horsea moved closer, causing both Ash and Brock to gasp. The Water-type appeared to have taken a beating, possessing a black eye and various scuff marks.
Brock's brow furrowed in concern, "It looks like it's injured. There's no Pokémon Center around here, what are we supposed to do?"
"What happened, Horsea?" Ash asked in concern while putting Dexter away and getting down to his knees at the end of the dock.
Horsea muttered, "[They're coming…]" Turning his head, the Water-type shot a jet of ink in a pattern that formed a Tentacool and another jellyfish-like Pokémon that was larger with more tentacles. The similar gems in its head tipped Ash off that it was likely an evolved form.
Ash stared at it in muted fear, "That can't be good." He noted the Tentacool-shaped pattern and took out a Poké Ball. Turning to Horsea, he said, "I'm going to let out a Tentacool that I caught recently. She's not going to attack you; I just think she might know something about all of this."
Horsea hesitantly nodded and Ash opened the sphere. Tentacool materialized on land before jumping towards Ash. But he caught her, causing her tentacles to wrap around his arms instead.
"No time," the Trainer said. Turning Tentacool in his hands to face the pattern, he asked, "Do you know anything about this Horsea, or their warning?"
Once Tentacool's eyes fell on the image and Horsea started speaking, both she and Pikachu reacted with horror. (2) The Jellyfish Pokémon's appendages detached from Ash and hung towards the ground as she looked down in shame.
Pikachu noticed and asked in a grave tone, "[Tentacool, do you know what this is about?]"
Before she could answer, an explosion boomed, bringing the group's attention to further out on the water. A ship that'd been heading towards a construction site on the ocean had just blown up, leaving a plume of smoke as the two halves began to sink.
Ash reacted in an instant as he saw three men abandon the sinking vessel by jumping over its rails. Taking two of his Poké Balls, he opened them at the same time, "Squirtle, Kingler, Tentacool, save the crew!"
Squirtle and Kingler emerged in the water and sped off, but when he tried to drop Tentacool in too, she latched onto his arms again.
"Huh? What's wrong?" Ash asked when he saw Tentacool's pained expression. At that point, she unwrapped one of her tentacles from her Trainer's limb and touched her own Poké Ball, returning herself.
Brock grabbed his arm, "We don't have time; we have to grab a boat to help those people!"
As they did so, Squirtle and Kingler seemed to notice that their teammate wasn't coming, so they adjusted their plan. The Tiny Turtle Pokémon sped on ahead and grabbed the furthest crew member while the larger of the two set one of them over his back, holding onto the points of his crest, and held the remaining man loosely in his claw above the water. It slowed him down with the extra weight, but it kept both of them safe.
"Over here!" Ash called as Brock drove a speedboat out into the water. "Bring them to the boat!"
The two Water-types did so, Squirtle supporting his crew member as Ash pulled him in while Kingler simply reached up and set each of his men inside with his pincer.
When Ash checked on one of the men, he simply laid still and muttered, "It's terrible! Terrible! Terrible…"
Brock left the steering wheel while the boat drifted, "Looks like he's been paralyzed. What happened to you out there?"
"The boss!" the sailor stammered. "I gotta tell the boss… what happened!"
Ash put a hand on his shoulder, "Listen, we'll get you to a hospital and you can call your boss from there, okay?" He held out his Poké Balls as Brock left back towards the driver's seat, "Squirtle, Kingler, return."
As the Trainer put the spheres back on his belt, he spotted Horsea heading towards the dock where they'd gotten their boat from.
"Brock, after we drop these guys off at the hospital, I want to buy some medicine to properly treat Horsea," Ash said.
Brock nodded as he started up the boat again, "There's no Pokémon Center, but there should at least be a care of Pokémon store in this city."
After leaving the hospital and making a run to the store Brock described, it having been further along the harbor than they'd been earlier. Horsea was sitting in a medicated pool of water, a small rubber pool being loaned from the shop that sold them the medicine. (3)
Ash took one of his Poké Balls off his belt and expanded it as he whispered, "Tentacool, if you know something about what's going on here, please tell us."
With that said, he popped the sphere open to release the Jellyfish Pokémon onto the ground. She still appeared to be depressed, but turned to Pikachu when he approached.
The two Pokémon then engaged in a long conversation of their native tongue. Ash spent the next few minutes checking on Horsea's recovery. The Dragon Pokémon was quickly healing up, the earlier injuries gone for the most part, and he was swimming around the small pool now.
Ash chuckled at Horsea's glee when the Water-type jumped out of the water to splash back under and then surface. His attention was taken away when Pikachu jumped onto his backpack in order to pull his walking stick out of the spot he usually kept it.
There were a few objects gathered near Tentacool, including a frying pan and Brock's brochure map of Porta Vista.
"Are you ready to explain, Pikachu?" the Trainer asked as he turned from Horsea to his starter.
Pikachu answered, "Pika!" He struggled briefly to hold up the frying pan and held up one finger.
"First word." The Pokémon indicated his ear while holding up the cookware. "Sounds like 'pan'." Ash thought about it, "Plan?"
Brock held up a finger, "How about clan?"
Pikachu pointed to Brock and Ash nodded in understanding. The Electric-type then gestured to Tentacool, and Ash got it right away, "A clan of Tentacool."
Nodding again, Pikachu put down the pan and made the pattern of a house with his fingers through the air.
"Their home?" Brock tentatively asked. Pikachu smashed his fist into his upturned palm where the house had been drawn.
"Destroyed?" Ash asked in shock.
Pikachu solemnly walked to the end of the concrete harbor and pointed to the construction site, a mostly completed steel framework for a building.
"It's being destroyed for that," Ash realized, feeling sick to his stomach.
Brock thought about it before theorizing, "They must live in some sort of reef that it's being built on."
Pikachu pointed at Brock again, indicating what the breeder said, until Ash nodded for him to go on.
"The Tentacool clan…" the Trainer said as Pikachu gestured to his teammate and then clasped his hands before splitting them, "split up. What?" He turned to Tentacool, who nodded sadly.
Ash turned his attention back to Pikachu, who moved back and forth, pretending to have an argument with himself. "They formed two groups, arguing over…?"
Pikachu unfolded the brochure on the floor and took the stick in his hand, walking around the image of the island from Port Hutber to Acapulco.
"Traveling on the other side of the island?" Brock asked. "That group must've decided to settle in a new reef."
Pikachu nodded and moved back to his previous position facing to the left with the stick to represent that side. He spoke as if pleading while gesturing to leave. Then he dropped the stick and faced to the right, seeming angrier while representing the other side.
"One side wanted to leave their old home and find a new one," Ash interpreted. "The other…"
Pikachu angrily pointed at the city beside them while still in character and smashed his fist into his palm again.
"The other side is angry," the Pallet Trainer concluded. "They want revenge for their home being destroyed and are going to try destroying Hutber Port."
Pikachu dropped his act and nodded solemnly. Tentacool was facing away from Ash now, seeming sad before she started crawling for the ocean.
"Hey," Ash called before walking over and stopping her, "what's wrong?" He turned her around and saw that Tentacool was crying. The Trainer realized that she thought he was mad for what essentially her family was doing.
"Listen, I'd never blame you for any of this happening," Ash comforted while pulling her into a one-armed embrace. "You chose to walk away from this conflict. And we can still stop it. I'll warn whoever's running this project about the attack. Then, once they shut down their construction, the other Tentacool will still have their home and won't have any reason to attack."
Tentacool latched onto him and he patted her on the back as she cried into him again, "Shh… It's okay." Pikachu also jumped onto Ash's arm and hugged onto Tentacool for extra support.
Brock couldn't help but smile at the interaction. It was always nice to see a Trainer and his Pokémon getting along so well.
Horsea also watched on, intrigued by Ash's interactions with him, a wild Pokémon, and his own. He was certainly one of the kindest Trainers Horsea had ever seen.
Ash, meanwhile, could tell Tentacool had cheered up when he felt something slip up his shirt. Holding the Jellyfish Pokémon a bit further away with a raised eyebrow, he saw that she'd stopped crying and was beaming even though her wandering tentacle was clearly exposed. She even used a bit of her stored water to extend it to reach up past his neck and caress his face.
The Trainer rolled his eyes with a good-natured smile and said, "Feeling better, then?"
Tentacool patted him on the face with a, "Cool." With that done, she withdrew her tentacle and let Ash return her to her Poké Ball. With that done, he took out Dexter and switched one of his Pokémon before opening the new Poké Ball along with one from his belt.
"Bulbasaur, Squirtle, guard Horsea while they recover," he ordered. "They're not quite done yet, and I don't feel comfortable leaving Horsea alone."
Both Pokémon nodded and took up positions on opposite sides of the pool.
Ash then turned to Brock, "All right, let's find this 'boss' and warn them about the attack."
Brock nodded in response, "Right."
Misty ran from Acapulco along the quickest path to Hutber Port. She had to urge herself to not try taking a shortcut since that would wind up getting her lost. A paper fluttered in her hand, a note that Ash had left at the hotel counter with the receptionist.
"Hey, Misty,
"If you're reading this, it means that you didn't come back to the hotel last night and are probably looking for us. If you remember, Brock said that we were leaving for Hutber Port today, so that's where we are until the ferry gets there to take us to Maiden's Peak.
"I've been told that I was a little harsh on you, but I'm not sorry. You needed a wake-up call. I'd bet you want a rematch if you've gotten far enough to read this instead of going home to Cerulean or traveling anywhere else.
"Anyway, considering that you tracked me from outside Pallet Town all the way to Viridian before, I'm sure you'll find some way to challenge me again. I still don't think you're really worth battling, but I'd love for you to prove me wrong.
"-Ash"
'I'm not going to lose track of Ash,' she internally vowed. 'I'll find him and keep him in my sights while I train to beat him!'
She had already bought a notepad that morning to take notes on Ash's Pokémon and all of the moves she'd seen him use. Once she had enough information and trained enough to counter all of his moves, she'd challenge him again and win.
But she couldn't challenge him again if she couldn't find him. And Misty refused to let him get the last victory between them, especially in such a humiliating way.
The redhead charged furiously along the path, Ash's note still in her hand.
Ash and Brock had been directed by one of the recovering sailors to a specific building, on the top floor. As they stepped through, the Pallet Trainer looked around, "So, who's the boss?"
"I'm the boss, Nastina!" a rough voice shouted from almost directly in front of him.
He jumped back in surprise as an old woman stood before him. She had scarlet hair tied in two braided pigtails and suspended in arcs instead of coming down to her shoulders. Her outfit consisted of a purple dress with a yellow skirt and a soft pink feather boa. Nastina stood rather short, with an ornate red walking stick capped by blue globe, and she appeared to have menservants all dressed in swim briefs.
"I understand that you helped to save the men on my ship. Thank you very much." All of the men posed with fans as she laughed uproariously.
Ash tried to wipe the odd sight from his memory as he answered, "You're welcome. But I actually have something to talk to you about. You see, that building going on the island-"
"Ah, my new resort," the woman interrupted. "It's not finished, but it'll be spectacular! The world's biggest luxury resort! The hotel to end all hotels!"
"Well, that sounds nice, but-"
Nastina continued, caught up in her vision, "It'll have hundreds of luxurious suites, all surrounded by the world's most beautiful coral reef."
Then she scowled, "But only if those Tentacool stop interfering with construction! Because of those Tentacool, all of the tourists have been staying away from here. I don't know why such despicable creatures even exist!"
"Hey!" Ash called, finally getting her attention. "That's their home you're trying to build a hotel on. Did you ever consider that the Tentacool might, I dunno, fight back?"
Nastina glared at him, "They're hurting my profits. That's why I put out a reward for those Tentacool to be exterminated. Are you going to help or not?"
Brock gasped, but Ash just glared back at the hotel magnate and leaned forward. "I'm trying to help, but that isn't the answer. I came here because my own Tentacool warned me about what's going to happen. All those times they attacked the ships or stole supplies were warnings. If you don't stop, then the entire swarm is going to attack the city!"
"And why should I stop?" Nastina asked. "I bought the rights to that reef, and I'll build whatever I want on it."
"Do you even need a giant hotel?" Ash asked. "Why not just focus on your other ones?"
"I don't need a snot-nosed brat like you to tell me how to run my business." The woman clacked her cane on the floor, "Throw them out of my building!"
Two of her servants grabbed Brock, but Pikachu buzzed warningly with electricity from his Trainer's shoulder when two more approached Ash. The Trainer set a hand in front of him to let him know to stop.
"Don't bother, I'm outta here anyway," he retorted. "But know that whatever happens to this city is on you, Nastina." Ash turned around and stormed out the door, "Let's go, Brock."
The two men let go of the breeder, who moved to catch up with Ash.
After the two were gone, Nastina grumbled, "Great, a kid that can't be bought."
Ash and Brock walked down the harbor, the breeder behind his fuming friend. They were going back to check on Horsea, and Ash was still angry about how Nastina refused to stop the construction, even at the risk of the entire city.
Seeing that he might have a battle on his hands, and remembering the larger Pokémon that Horsea had drawn in the water, he took out his Pokédex and searched the Water Pokémon section for the proper entry.
Ash found a Pokémon that looked similar to Tentacool, but a bit more sinister with a sharp stinger-like part on its face and back of its lower head. Ash counted fourteen tentacles and it was also larger, but with the blue body and red gems on the upper half of its head while the lower half with the face was black.
Dexter read out the entry, "Tentacruel, a Jellyfish Pokémon. The evolved form of Tentacool. Its numerous tentacles serve as a powerful weapon. It is known as 'The Gangster of the Sea.'"
Ash closed Dexter with a sigh, "Just once…"
"Ash?" Brock asked, moving a bit faster to stand beside him.
The Trainer shook his head, "Nothing." Pikachu patted his Trainer comfortingly from his perch on Ash's shoulder.
'Since Team Rocket doesn't seem to be involved, just once I wanted it to not have to come down to a battle. And I don't even know which side I should be fighting for!' he internally grumbled.
Before Brock could try to get Ash to talk, the Trainer hurried on ahead since he spotted the pool where he'd left Horsea and his Pokémon.
"Squirtle, Bulbasaur, everything go okay?" he asked. Bulbasaur nodded while Squirtle gave a stoic thumbs up as the sunlight gleamed off the corner of his sunglasses.
Ash raised an eyebrow at the turtle, "How do you always do that? Did you practice a lot to get the angles down?"
Squirtle nonchalantly looked to the side, not answering either way.
Shaking his head fondly, Ash turned to Horsea, "So, you recover alright?"
Horsea nodded with a joyful squeal and Ash laughed while patting the Dragon Pokémon on the head. But a siren from several speakers around the city cut into the moment and got everyone's attention.
Nastina's voice rang out, "Attention, citizens of Porta Vista!"
"Nastina!" Ash growled.
"Effective immediately, I am recruiting volunteers to exterminate the Tentacool terrorizing our town," she announced. "I will award one million dollars to anyone who can exterminate the Tentacool. Isn't Nastina generous~?"
"She'll do anything to destroy them," Brock noted.
But he turned to see Ash urging Horsea into his jacket, which he zipped closed up to the Water-type's head to keep him inside. Once that was done, he returned Squirtle and Bulbasaur.
"What're you doing?"
Nastina continued, "Anybody who wants money and to help the development of our town, come to the yacht harbor immediately."
Ash grabbed Brock's arm and started tugging him along off the main path of the harbor, "How many people do you think would be interested in a million dollars?"
They felt tremors and Brock started running with Ash to the side of the street underneath the canopy of a shop. A stampede of people rushed by, parting around the pool, but completely heedless to anything else as they filled the whole street in their charge.
Ash and Brock followed afterward, seeing a tank drive down to the meeting point with all the people clamoring to be the one to do the job. The hatch opened, and Nastina emerged in grey and black army fatigues.
"All right," she called with a megaphone, "which one of you is going to win the one million dollar reward?"
An object blurred through the air before sticking to the side of the tank's frontal cannon. Everybody looked to see a red rose with a suction cup on the bottom to stick to the vehicle.
Ash's eyes widened as he looked out towards the water and saw a mid-sized boat driving in, "No, not now!"
"Who is that?" Nastina wondered, as she spotted the boat.
Jessie's voice rang out from a speaker on the boat, "Prepare for trouble,"
"Make it double," James added.
"To protect the world from devastation,"
"To unite all peoples in our nation,"
Jessie and James became visible as the boat came to a stop a short distance from the harbor. They jumped to the top of the boat and stood back to back.
"To denounce the evils of truth and love,"
"To extend our reach to the stars above,"
"Jessie,"
"James,"
The two agents fell into an elaborate pose as they said their last two lines.
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight!"
Meowth jumped in front of them and landed in his spot nearby to complete the formation, "Meowth, dat's right!"
Nastina smiled, "Hey, they got a lot of spunk."
Jessie and James noticed the woman in the tank and their eyes widened at her elaborate hairstyle. They'd never met Nastina in person before.
"Look at that hair," Jessie commented in awe.
James added, "Disaster."
A shot from the tank blew between them and knocked them back with its wake.
"I don't need your beauty tips!" Nastina shouted at them as the barrel of her tank smoked. "I need to get rid of the Tentacool!"
Jessie sat up and tried to calm her, "It's a very distinctive style, just don't shoot!"
The two agents then stood up with their hands clasped as the female agent continued, "We are terribly sorry."
"Yes, very sorry," James added. "Please, leave your little Tentacool extermination to Team Rocket."
Nastina chuckled to herself, "This crew might just pull it off." Then she called back, "Sounds good. If you exterminate the Tentacool completely, the million bucks is yours." Her menservants appeared around her wearing matching army helmets and holding fans, "Isn't Nastina generous~?"
"Yes, we heard you the first time," Jessie agreed.
Meowth hopped up onto the rail, "Just get da dough ready for us."
The trio then got back into the seats and Jessie drove them off towards the hotel still under construction.
Ash growled since he couldn't do much in this situation. If he tried to fly out and stop them on Pidgeot or Kingler, Nastina might very well shoot him with her tank to stop him from preventing the extermination. And that aside, he would have to worry about Team Rocket retaliating as well.
Team Rocket laughed as they drove closer to their destination.
Meowth sung, "We're gon-na make a mil-lion~!"
"All for getting rid of some jellyfish," Jessie added.
"And it's going to be so easy with our super secret Stun Sauce," James laughed.
Jessie and Meowth had filled James in on the plan to fake the Tentacool's deaths so that they could collect the reward and turn the Jellyfish Pokémon in to the Boss.
Soon, though, the motor of their boat started sputtering and they started being pushed back.
Meowth looked down, "Why're we going back?"
Then he and James gasped when they saw the boat resting on a massive swarm of Tentacool now, their head gems glowing red.
"Tentacool!" James warned Jessie.
"All of those are Tentacool?" Ash wondered incredulously. He knew his own had mentioned a clan, but he didn't think it was that large. Then he took out Dexter, "What's with those lights?"
A split screen with an image of Tentacool on one side and Tentacruel on the other with both possessing glowing red gems appeared on the screen.
"When agitated, or otherwise under high stress, Tentacool and Tentacruel's gems glow a radiant red color. Exercise extreme caution if sighting one in such a state."
"And there's a whole swarm of them out there," Brock commented fearfully.
Meowth shouted at his teammates, "Dump the Stun Sauce! Dump the Stun Sauce!"
"We don't have enough of it!" Jessie shouted back while looking around at the surrounding Pokémon.
James had managed to get an estimation, "There must be well around ten thousand of them!"
One of the Tentacool fired a laser from its forehead gem and blew up the boat, sending Team Rocket flying, along with the barrel of their poison. The concoction fell on the Tentacool that fired, and broke the lid, submerging it in the barrel.
A massive flash of white light shone between the cracks, and the wooden container burst as a glowing white figure expanded far beyond its boundaries and grew to tower over the ocean. The evolving Pokémon finally completed its transformation into Tentacruel and snatched Team Rocket out of the air with one of its left tentacles.
Jessie screamed, "We super sized it!"
The giant Tentacruel gave a warbling war cry as it held up the trio.
Tentacruel wrapped five of its right tentacles around the framework of the hotel on the coral reef, glaring at the structure as he squeezed. Before too long, the groan of metal rang out and the girders collapsed under the giant Pokémon's grip.
By now, the crowd was fleeing, except for Ash and Brock, who watched in disbelief, and Nastina, who growled as her half-finished resort was destroyed.
"This is impossible!" Brock uttered. "Even at its greatest height, a Tentacruel shouldn't be more than seven feet tall!"
Ash stared at the scene before him, conflicted inside as Tentacruel was tearing the remains of the construction to pieces. The Tentacool of the reef had every right to be angry. Nastina was destroying their home and trying to kill them because they wouldn't leave. They were in the right, but the way they were going to try fixing the problem was completely wrong. Fix? They were trying to eliminate the problem.
Shutting his eyes at what he had to do, he took out his Pokédex, 'Even if we're in the wrong, I can't let them drag the innocent people of this city into it.'
"Where are you going?" Brock asked as Ash started walking away.
"To check how many major roads there are near the water," the Trainer tersely answered while taking out a Poké Ball and pressing buttons on Dexter. "That's where they'll be coming in from."
"Wait!" Brock quickly caught up before grabbing Ash's hand, "Wait, you're going to try fighting off the entire swarm of Tentacool?"
Ash glanced over his shoulder, completely serious, "If that's what it takes to keep the people in this city safe, then yes. Get somewhere safe. Intercept Misty if you can, she has no idea what's going on and will more than likely get in the way trying to 'help' the Tentacool."
He wrenched his hand out of Brock's grip and threw the Poké Ball forward, "Pidgeot, time to fly!"
As the Bird Pokémon materialized on the ground, Ash hit the final button to switch his Pokémon, and caught the two Poké Balls that materialized over Dexter's screen.
Hooking them to his belt, Ash looked down to Horsea still in his jacket, "Horsea, you get somewhere safe."
"Hor-sea," the Pokémon answered with a head shake before jumping out of his jacket and into the ocean.
Ash looked concerned at the departing Pokémon as he boarded Pidgeot and took off his hat to throw at Brock, "Hold my hat."
Brock fumbled with it before grabbing hold, "Why?"
"I don't want to lose it; I'm going to be flying around a lot," Ash explained before he leaned forward and put his hands on the sides of Pidgeot's neck. "Pidgeot, take off!"
With a beat of his wings, Pidgeot used a boost of Agility to compensate for the extra weight and take off into the air.
Brock stood stunned for a moment before Nastina shouted, "How dare that thing crush my hotel?! COMMENCE FIRE!"
Her tank fired off a shot while her servants each fired their bazookas. But the shells only bounced off of Tentacruel's soft body and drew its attention to the city.
Brock decided to evacuate as well when Nastina shouted at the giant Pokémon to leave her hotel alone. Tentacool started swarming up the harbor and trampled over Nastina's men, paralyzing them as she retreated into her tank until they passed over it.
Ash watched from the top of a building near the center of the city as a tidal wave came in from the ocean. He'd already deployed five of his Pokémon into the three main roads from Tentacruel's location and only had Pikachu still with him.
The Trainer watched through binoculars as the water crashed down on the streets, instantly flooding them and allowing the swarm of Tentacool to swim about while the people that were still outside tried to swim for higher ground.
On one street, Pidgeot alternated between blowing large tornadoes to suck up and blow the Jellyfish Pokémon back towards the ocean and grabbing people to help get them further back to higher ground.
Bulbasaur and Butterfree had managed to spring a trap, the Seed Pokémon leaving Leech Seed mines floating in the water while Butterfree generated waves to pick them up and drop them on the approaching Pokémon. The result created an expanding wall of creeping ivy that even snatched those that tried to go under it. Bulbasaur used his vines while standing on a traffic signal to assist people that couldn't swim.
The final street had Kingler, freely using King Crabhammer to create giant splashes of water that deterred the Tentacool with sheer force. Anytime he managed to land a direct hit on one of the Pokémon resulted in all the ones behind it getting knocked back as well. He was solely focused on combat while Squirtle handled relocating the citizens to shallower waters so they could run.
But Ash lowered his binoculars, seeing Tentacruel still a distance away. His protections would only last as long as it took the giant jellyfish to get in the city. Once all of the people were evacuated, he would fly out to confront it, despite his reservations.
Even if he did win – and he wasn't sure that he could – it would be the wrong way to end the conflict. It would only be dooming the Tentacool to having their home continue to be destroyed.
But he had no choice. He couldn't allow Tentacruel to destroy the city, even if it was justified.
Jessie and James had been washed in along with the tidal wave, and had grabbed onto the first solid object they could get their hands on before clinging like their lives depended on it. Once the water level receded around them, they let out a sigh and took deep breaths of air from having to hold their breath.
"Oh, thank badness we survived," Jessie groaned.
James looked down, seeing that they'd clung onto a pole at the top of a building's corner, "We're high, and dry."
"It's a good thing we grabbed onto this pole," she agreed while shaking her head clear. "It should be safe to climb down now."
"We don't want to draw that monster's attention right now," the male agent pointed out. "Better use Weezing and Fearow to get down from here."
Then he blinked as a third voice was distinctly absent, "Wait… I didn't hear any 'cats hate water' remarks…"
"Or 'saw my nine lives flash before my eyes' one-liners…" Jessie added while the two looked around.
Both looked back at each other and said, "Meowth is missing!"
Misty and Brock watched from a tower high on a hill that the citizens of Hutber Port had evacuated to. The breeder had found Misty heading in on his way out and grabbed her to drag along before she could protest.
When he'd read the note that Ash had left, it made him feel a little better that Ash cared enough to try and ensure that Misty improved, even if he expected her to find him on her own. He almost felt bad for making sure they were late.
Then again, if they hadn't been late, Hutber Port would've been leveled into a shoal by now.
Tentacruel grabbed a torn segment of a radio tower and threw it on an amusement park in the city. Brock figured that the place belonged to Nastina as well.
He held Ash's hat tightly in his hand as he could see a beige and blue speck flying around the city now. With all the citizens evacuated, Ash was taking the battle to the Tentacool and Tentacruel.
Misty frowned, "So these Tentacool are attacking Hutber Port because an old crone wanted to build a hotel over a coral reef, which was also their home?"
"That's right."
"Then why is Ash battling them?" she asked. "They're clearly right to be angry."
Brock turned to her, "Because, they are attacking the city. It was all Nastina, the people of this city don't deserve to have their homes destroyed because of one person's greed. Neither do the Tentacool. He tried to ask her to stop the construction, but she refused to listen. Now, Ash is trying to stop them since it isn't the way for the Tentacool and Tentacruel to solve the problem.
"He seemed very conflicted on the matter, but ultimately decided to protect the innocent," the breeder explained. "As far as I know, he hasn't lifted a finger to help Nastina."
Down below, several Tentacool blasted holes in the now empty buildings, and Tentacool leveled the top off of one with a single swipe of its tentacle as the swarm came closer.
Misty nodded, "Then we have to explain it to the people here. If we can get them to promise not to destroy their home anymore, then Tentacruel might stop attacking."
Brock agreed, but noticed something in Tentacruel's grip, "Wait, what's that in its tentacle?"
Ash and Pikachu's eyes widened from Pidgeot's back when he saw what Tentacruel held up, "It's Meowth!"
The feline Pokémon was blank-eyed in Tentacruel's grip, and a Tentacool crawled up before putting its tentacles over Meowth's head.
Meowth's eyes flashed red, and he spoke in an eerily monotone voice with a drone to it as it also seemed to be amplified by the Jellyfish Pokémon, "We are Tentacruel and Tentacool, hear us now. Humans have destroyed our ocean home, and now we will have our revenge."
"Tentacruel must be speaking through Meowth," Ash realized.
More Tentacool fired their lasers at buildings while Meowth continued, "Now we will begin to destroy your world, your home, as you have so cruelly tried to destroy ours. And not one of you has the right to complain about it."
Ash frowned, as he knew that Tentacruel was right on some level, but he still had to try to stop him. More destruction wasn't the answer.
His eyes widened when he saw a tentacle extend from the giant Pokémon's body to smash into a window of the tower where the citizens had evacuated to. He was about to command Pidgeot forward when a voice made him stop.
"Horsea-eaaa! Horsea-eaaa!"
Ash looked down to see Horsea in the water pleading with Tentacruel. The giant Pokémon turned around while retracting his appendage and glanced down with Meowth facing the Water-type.
"It's too late, Horsea," Tentacruel replied. "No matter what you think, we cannot turn away. We must teach humans the pain of having homes destroyed."
Horsea shook his head while pleading again.
"Spineless attitude like yours will only allow humans to be more cruel and inconsiderate in the future."
The Dragon Pokémon huffed at that and puffed up his cheeks in anger with a sharp retort.
Tentacruel's eyes narrowed, "So you say we're the spineless ones?!" He lifted one of his tentacles, "For that, you must be punished!"
Ash reacted on instinct, seeing the top of a building a few meters below and to the side. With Pikachu still on his shoulder, he jumped towards the roof below and commanded, "Pidgeot, grab Horsea!"
Without his Trainer's weight, Pidgeot sped down with Agility and snatched Horsea up right before the tentacle crashed down into the water.
The boy, meanwhile, landed hard on the rough stone of the roof and had to adjust to the impact his legs took before he shook it off in time for Pidgeot to return.
'Looks like all that walking was good for something,' he noted before a shadow eclipsed all three of them from above, making his eyes widen.
He grabbed Horsea from Pidgeot's talons and immediately dove to the side before a tentacle smashed the spot he'd been standing at, shielding Horsea and Pikachu from the rough landing with his body. Saving Horsea had also meant that Tentacruel had spotted Ash.
But from seeing the interaction between Horsea and Tentacruel, he saw that it might not have to come down to a battle.
Ash turned to Tentacruel once he got up from his fall, "You need to stop this; it won't solve anything!"
"Humans lost the right to tell us what's right and wrong when they started destroying our home," Tentacruel responded through Meowth while lifting another tentacle to attack.
Ash jumped on Pidgeot's back and they took off before the top of the building was leveled. As he flew, he put Horsea back in his jacket and Pikachu held onto his shoulder.
"How will humans respond to this attack with anything other than another attack on you even if you succeed in destroying this town?" the Trainer asked.
Tentacruel gave a sweep of his tentacle through three buildings in a row as Pidgeot was forced to dodge laser fire from the Tentacool below, "Then we will destroy them, too! The humans started this conflict, not us! We gave them plenty of time to stop as we hindered the destruction of our home, but they persisted!"
"That was all Nastina!" Ash retorted as he dropped off of Pidgeot to another building to face Tentacruel. "Everyone else in this city, even those who worked for her, you can't blame them too! Those sailors needed to support themselves, and maybe even families!"
"That is no excuse," Tentacruel coldly replied. "The fact is that they followed the human behind the deed when they could have refused. These so-called innocents also stood by and did nothing as our own kind suffered from their inaction."
Pidgeot grabbed his Trainer by the shoulders with his talons this time before fleeing at the sound of laser fire. A combined blast from all of the Tentacool created a much larger explosion that burst the roof from the inside.
There were no more buildings whole enough for Pidgeot to safely set down Ash, so the bird let go of Ash briefly before quickly performing a tight aerial somersault with Agility to catch him on his back before he fell far.
"Please," Ash pled with his head bowed, "you've done enough! Look at the people over there! They're sorry!"
Tentacruel turned his gaze to the citizens in the torn open tower. They had heard everything that the giant Pokémon and Ash had discussed.
"The humans won't destroy your home anymore. They won't support Nastina or any of her projects ever again!" the Trainer promised with his head still lowered. "They've learned their lesson. We're sorry. Please…"
He kept his head lowered and his eyes closed as he prayed for his last effort to work. A pause dragged out as Tentacruel stared at the terrified and pleading citizens of Hutber Port.
Eventually, he raised Meowth up to speak, "If this happens again, we will not stop. Remember this well."
With that said, the giant Pokémon tossed Meowth away towards the Ferris wheel in Nastina's amusement park. A Fearow snatched the feline Pokémon out of the air, though, so he blew up the ride himself with a blast of his own laser.
The explosion reduced the upper half to glowing scrap metal, and Tentacruel turned around to return to the ocean with all of the Tentacool.
Team Rocket was traveling through the flooded streets, the water reduced enough to allow them to wade through. Arbok moved behind the duo with her tail empowered by strength, allowing her to lift a large crate and keep it over the water.
"Fear! Fear!"
They looked up and saw Jessie's Fearow returning with Meowth in her grip.
"I think it's safe to say our million dollars isn't going to come in," James observed as he took their unconscious Pokémon partner from the Beak Pokémon's talons.
Jessie smirked at the departing Tentacruel and Tentacool, "But maybe we can get another paycheck. Quick, let's steal another boat."
Ash watched as the Jellyfish Pokémon left the city back to the ocean.
Unfortunately, Nastina pushed her way up from a small pile of rubble and shouted, "Ya think you can get away that easy, do ya?" She pulled out a smaller bazooka than her men had used and fired.
The shell just bounced off of Tentacruel's body, but he turned to look down at Nastina with one eye.
"I'll capture ya, throw you in a tank and charge admission!" Nastina growled. She fired two more shots with her bazooka and then tossed it aside in favor of two submachine guns, though they were equally ineffective. "Eat lead, Squidly!"
Ash groaned, "She just doesn't get the message, does she?" He looked to see Tentacruel ignoring Nastina's ineffective barrage to look at him expectantly. The hotel tycoon was directly responsible for their reef being destroyed.
The Trainer lifted his hands before grabbing onto Pidgeot again and saying, "I was helping the innocent, not her. She's all yours. Pidgeot, let's get out of here."
With that, the Bird Pokémon turned around and Ash left Nastina to whatever Tentacruel had planned.
"C'mon, ya big jellyfish! I'll show ya!" the old woman shouted while continuing to shoot.
The giant Jellyfish Pokémon loomed closer to Nastina as she fired, towering over her by the time her guns ran out of bullets with his shadow eclipsing her. The empty weapons clicked uselessly, and Tentacruel stared down at the magnate.
Hiding the fact that she was weaponless now, Nastina said, "Well, Tentacruel, glad to see you're wising up and coming over to my way of thinking. Now, why don't you and me go into business together?"
Narrowing his eyes angrily at the offer, Tentacruel reeled back one of his tentacles and swung it hard, knocking Nastina clear out of the city and over the horizon.
Ash watched Nastina fly away, 'Good riddance.'
Then he saw Tentacruel turn around and head back to the ocean after the rest of his clan. He smiled, along with Pikachu.
"Goodbye, Tentacruel."
"[Live in peace at your home,]" Pikachu added.
Tentacruel swam through the ocean underwater, heading back to the coral reef he and his clan called home. But his eyes widened as he felt a disturbing current through the water. Speeding up his swimming, he found a Gyarados attacking his brethren.
The Tentacool tried to swarm the Atrocious Pokémon, but liberal uses of Dragon Rage disturbed the water and battered them about for him to sweep them with his tail.
Giving a warbling cry of rage with his gems glowing, Tentacruel charged forward, "[You'll pay for striking my clan, sea serpent!]"
Gyarados turned and fled the instant he spotted him, leaving twisted currents to hamper Tentacruel's pursuit.
Enraged, the giant jellyfish swatted the water, disturbing the currents and rendering them less obstructive for him to swim across.
Extending his two frontmost tentacles, Tentacruel made a grab for Gyarados, but the sea serpent used another Dragon Rage to funnel the water forward and make a current to carry him forward faster.
Tentacruel wasn't deterred and retracted his appendages to use them to propel him faster as well. Had he been under less duress, he would've noticed that there was a metal band around the center spike on Gyarados's crest.
"Just a little further, Gyarados, I can see you coming!" James spoke into a headset.
He stood in a stolen speedboat's driver's seat with a completed Return Rifle in his hand as he aimed it towards the water. Where the bolt would be, there was instead Gyarados' golden Poké Ball strapped into a mount with a hole for the button to poke through the open back of the chamber. As such, the scope was raised and slightly angled to keep the aim precise while accommodating for the sphere.
Their boat floated on the outside of a circle made out of linked metal, the invention that Giovanni had sent them to catch giant Pokémon. Several more rolls of the specially designed chain sat in their boat, but they felt they'd made the perimeter big enough.
The trio had been hard-pressed to get ahead of the giant jellyfish earlier, also needing time to set up their trap, but they were lucky that Nastina had made a nuisance of herself to keep it occupied for long enough. While she didn't give them a million dollars, she'd still proven useful to them. Jessie and James had brought Meowth up to speed on their plan and he accepted the most important role in the operation.
Jessie held a trigger device for the invention, "Ready at your call, James. Fearow, standby!" Fearow was at the edge of the boat, with her wings primed for takeoff at her Trainer's call.
James looked through the scope to aim, "At the ready, Meowth?"
"Locked and loaded!" Meowth confirmed with zeal, holding a smaller bazooka than normal over his shoulder and aiming through the sight on the side. With its miniature build, he held it like his partners would a normal bazooka, which made him the best candidate since he could hold and aim it properly.
James watched like a hawk and then commanded, "Gyarados, fly up!"
The water in the center of the circle started stirring before a cyclone erupted out of it, shooting Gyarados into the air and letting him continue to fly. Tentacruel emerged a moment later, four tentacles primed to grab the flying leviathan.
"Gyarados, return!" the male agent commanded while aiming right for his Pokémon.
A red return beam shot through the muzzle and traveled towards the leviathan Pokémon, zipping across the distance. Gyarados held still, faithful that his Trainer would rescue him, even as the tentacles began to close in. James prayed silently for it to connect while not moving a muscle for fear of throwing off the trajectory. Through the scope, he saw that his aim was true and Gyarados was converted to red energy before Tentacruel's eyes. The giant Pokémon's limbs suddenly grasped nothing as James' Pokémon got pulled back.
James lowered the gun, not worried anymore. With the connection established, Gyarados was guaranteed to return to his Poké Ball. But he didn't give more than a second's fraction of thought to the matter before signaling, "Jessie!"
The girl nodded and pressed the button on the trigger. The chained metal in front of them glowed pale blue for a moment before the ocean in the circle became a field of electricity dancing over the surface, shocking Tentacruel severely.
They watched as the giant Jellyfish Pokémon lit up with the shock and then Jessie turned it off after a few moments, not wanting to overly damage their prize. "Meowth!"
"Ball-zooka, fire!" Meowth shouted as he pulled the trigger and a boom sounded. A spherical projectile shot out of the end and Jessie pointed forward, "Fearow, retrieve upon capture!"
The Beak Pokémon launched from the boat as well, using Agility and following the flying sphere as it headed right for Tentacruel. The gargantuan Pokémon opened its eyes in surprise upon impact and the Heavy Ball that Team Rocket had received floated in the air as it opened up.
Surprisingly, all of Tentacruel's considerable mass got converted to energy and sucked into the tiny sphere. Once it snapped shut, gravity took hold. Fearow caught up just in time and snatched it out of the air. She looked at the shaking sphere, getting ready to fly away in case the capture failed.
Back at the boat, Team Rocket watched with anticipation, Meowth already loading another Heavy Ball inside their invention. They were odd-looking charcoal and white spheres with four smaller blue orbs on the top, but the instructions had said they'd be good for giant Pokémon…
After a short time of nothing happening, Fearow started flying back to the boat. The trio's eyes widened.
"Did we…?" Jessie asked in awe.
James held a hand to shade his eyes for a clearer view, "Maybe…"
"Fearow had her orders…" Meowth noted with a bit of hope.
Jessie's Pokémon arrived and dropped the ball into her Trainer's outstretched hand before landing. They looked and saw that the button had gone out. They'd caught Tentacruel.
The trio took a collective deep breath.
"YEEEEEEEEES!"
The agents pulled into a group hug while laughing triumphantly. Even Fearow joined in, grabbed by Jessie. She nuzzled the Pokémon while still hugging her teammates, "Oh, I knew this plan would be a success, Fearow, and you did your part beautifully!"
"Fearow!" the Pokémon crowed proudly.
"We caught a giant Pokémon~!" James and Meowth sang as the human leaped joyfully with the Scratch Cat Pokémon, rocking the boat slightly. Jessie soon joined in with Fearow, the bird crowing in a way that seemed to be a laugh, "We caught a giant Pokémon~! We caught a giant Pokémon~!"
Jessie sobered up first, "Quick, let's pack this metal in and get this prize back to the balloon, before somebody spots us."
James and Meowth stopped singing in surprise for a moment before turning serious again. They had set up their trap quite a distance from Hutber Port specifically to avoid that, but they didn't want to take any chances where a certain Trainer was involved.
Ash and Brock boarded the ferry that would take them to Maiden's Peak, Ash's hat back on his head and a Poké Ball in his hand.
Earlier, after everything had settled down, Ash had offered to release Horsea, since the waters around Hutber Port would probably be a lot safer. But the Water-type had really taken a liking to him and decided to come with Ash on his Pokémon journey.
Deciding to send Pidgeot on a well-earned break to Professor Oak's since he'd flown hard and saved Ash's life on two separate occasions that day, the Pallet Trainer caught Horsea in a Poké Ball to be able to spend some time with him during the trip over the sea.
"Hold it!" Misty shouted from the boarding bridge.
The two of them turned around, and Ash raised an eyebrow, "Coming after all?"
"Let me make one thing clear, buster," the redhead growled as she stormed up to him. "You and I are rivals now! I got your stinking note, and I'm going to beat you!"
Ash shrugged, "I didn't expect anything less. If you didn't try, then I'd have to wonder why you were a Trainer, much less a Gym Leader."
"Also," Misty replied grudgingly, "I have to say… that was pretty all right, what you did to get Tentacruel to stop instead of just attacking."
The Pallet Trainer's eyebrows lifted in surprise, but he composed himself and replied, "I did what I thought was right. A battle wasn't the answer, for either side. But if Tentacruel had kept attacking, I would've done everything that I could to try stopping them."
That seemed to make him sad for a moment, but it quickly disappeared as he held up his Poké Ball, "By the way, since it'll only tick you off to find out later, I'll tell you now. I caught another Water Pokémon." He released Horsea into his arm, and the Dragon Pokémon squealed happily as he seemed rather comfortable.
Misty's eyebrow visibly twitched, but she seemed to bring herself under control with great effort.
"It doesn't matter how many Water Pokémon you have," she replied through gritted teeth, "our final rematch is going to be on land."
Ash whistled as he continued boarding the ferry, "I'm impressed. Trying to get rid of that overspecialization?"
"Shut up!" Misty shouted as she went after him.
Brock pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt he had his work cut out for him to get the two of them to be anything even remotely resembling friends.
All of Team Rocket's Pokémon, sans Meowth, were on guard, watching every direction outside of their camp, with Zubat in the center and listening for any intruders. The trio wanted to ensure that this transfer went off without a hitch.
Matori had already picked up the line, but they requested the call to be transferred to Giovanni. They waited while sitting on their knees and eventually the screen changed.
"Greetings, Boss," the trio started, trying to keep professional.
Giovanni pet his Persian, "For you to have called me directly, this must be something special."
"Oh, it is," Meowth replied with a confident smile as he presented the Heavy Ball with his head inclined. "Remember dat time we told ya we had a hunch we'd run into another giant Pokémon and wanted da tech ta deal with it?"
The leader didn't react, except to say, "Explain."
Jessie and Meowth gave their report of how they'd heard about a bounty for a Tentacool extermination and planned to use the Stun Sauce to pretend to kill them while, in reality, taking them to give to Team Rocket. They described how, regrettably, they underestimated how big the swarm would be.
After James described that they'd made themselves scarce until they could get Meowth back, the trio went on to their trap. Giovanni wholly approved of the plan they pulled off and told them to send the Heavy Ball over.
Once they did so, he said, "You three have shown exemplary work in your recent endeavors, despite the occasional failed mission. What I have for you as a reward is a test."
"A test?" the trio repeated in mild confusion.
"You will receive a specific Pokémon for your temporary use," Giovanni explained. "Your objective is to succeed in a mission using this Pokémon. However, I noticed that you captured the Tentacruel only when the boy was far away. For this test, you must complete the mission in spite of his interference."
He grinned, "Succeed, and you shall receive a promotion."
The trio's eyes widened, and Meowth asked, "Officers?"
"Of a sort," the boss agreed. "You shall receive a higher food budget, R&D funding and salary, a new mode of transportation and five subordinate agents. In addition, like officers, you may call upon any nearby idle operatives to help you in your missions."
"You honor us greatly by considering us for this position, Boss," Jessie replied with a bowed head.
James added with a bow of his own, "We won't let you down."
"That's why we're da top team!" Meowth finished with a grin.
Giovanni chuckled before cutting out the call.
End of chapter! I hope that you all enjoyed this one, I certainly enjoyed writing it. And, my gosh! Longest chapter to date!
The reason why Gyarados can fly? In one of the specials, "Pikachu's Rescue Adventure", a Gyarados is seen climbing up a waterfall multiple times, only to fall back into the river. At the end, once the massive storm has cleared, Gyarados is seen flying through the air. It was only one instance to my knowledge, but like James said, he believed Gyarados could fly and attempted to teach him whereas the average Trainer does not.
Notes:
1. In canon, Ash and co. apparently arrived late at Hutber Port and missed their ferry. That case can be chalked up to carelessness, but this time Brock deliberately took Ash on a path that would result in them having just missed the ferry. Anyway, both here and there, there are multiple ferries, so that's the only system I could think up. Several ferries of the same service arrive and depart on particular days in a cycle.
2. For some reason, in canon, Pikachu lost the ability to understand Pokémon Speak when Horsea was trying to warn Ash and co. about the Tentacool. The only semi-logical conclusion I can think of is some sort of Water Pokémon dialect that Horsea was using. But since Pikachu communicates with Squirtle and several other Water Pokémon over the course of the series, I decided that reason wasn't good enough and changed it to where Pikachu did understand.
3. In canon, Brock mentions something about a Super Potion working when Horsea's in the pool. I can only assume that the medicine was dissolved in the water of the small pool, because otherwise, they could've just sprayed Horsea with a Super Potion and released him back into the harbor waters to heal. Because, unless it went how I described it, there should be no difference in which water Horsea submerges himself in. Then again, Misty did show interest in catching Horsea.
See you when I see you.
-AJ203