Author's Notes: Ack, it's Eusine! Huh. I'm not entirely sure what to do with Suicune and company now, but hey. Maybe Cape Man will get lucky or something later. (And Gemma, like Gin, is pronounced with a "hard g," just so you know.) And yes, I am leaving out Eusine's Haunter on purpose. He still has it, he's just not using it—you'll see why.

Chapter Twenty Five: Vs Electrode!

"I can't even surf on this thing."

Gin grumbled to herself as she got her Pokémon back from the nurse. She'd quickly stopped by Olivine's Pokémon Center after catching her Shellder, and was a bit less-than-enthusiastic as she remembered how small the thing was. Perhaps her lack of excitement over the Water-Type had been what had caused her to settle for a somewhat lackluster nickname—Gemma.

As Gin left the building, she sighed, hoping she'd be able to find a ship. Pulling her Pokégear out of her pocket, she selected the map feature and zoomed in on Olivine City. Fortunately, it looked like there was a dock fairly close to the south of the Pokémon Center.

Mood brightened slightly, Gin took followed the sidewalk to the south as she pocketed her Pokégear again. The path led to a small, rickety wooden bridge after a few minutes, and Gin's frown returned. That couldn't bode well for the actual dock…

Carefully, Gin put a foot on the bridge, and when it didn't wobble—miraculously, she thought—she started to stride across it. A few steps later, the bridge started to widen, and a wooden dock spread out horizontally in front of her. Several small ships were lined across the dock, but there were small enough to be personal boats; most of them looked like they could carry about ten people max. A couple other trainers had flocked around one of the boats on the right side of the dock, and Gin looked over at the boat herself curiously.

"This one's going to Cianwood," a black-haired girl explained. "I think we're leaving soon if you want to get on."

"All right," Gin nodded.

She quickly stood with the group, and a few moments later the captain of the tiny boat appeared near the railing. He slowly lowered a ladder, and the group started to climb on. Gin was the last of the trainers to board, and the balding man turned to the group with a weary look on his face.

"Okay, so the trip to Cianwood only takes a couple of hours. There are some cabins down below if you wanna rest up on the way there. I'll come and get ya when we get there, all right?"

"Yes, sir," the group chorused.

Turning towards a small trap door, one of the boys in the group yanked it upwards, and the trainers started filing downstairs. Gin rolled her eyes slightly as she went down; the old man's behavior seemed more than a bit odd, but when you had to ferry people in lack of a bigger ship, it had to make you irritable, after all…

When they arrived downstairs, they were in a narrow wooden hallway with five loose-looking doors. Gin groaned inwardly; that probably meant two beds per room. Counting the number of others, she realized she'd definitely have to share—there were exactly ten people, counting her.

Sighing, Gin quickly opened the nearest door as the other trainers scattered. Several of them appeared to be friends, and went off into rooms together. As Gin opened her cabin door, she blinked. The room was just big enough for the two double beds, a small end table, and a lamp. Sitting unceremoniously on one of the white-sheeted beds, Gin winced as it creaked slightly.

"Hey. D'you mind if I stay in here?"

A tall, pale boy with freckles and shoulder-length brown hair grinned as he entered the room. Gin nodded absently, figuring it didn't really matter if she agreed or not. The boy was already in the room after all and probably wouldn't leave either way.

"Name's Reyson Honda, by the way. You?"

"Gin Shinu," she said, bored as she shook his hand.

"Huh…" Reyson frowned curiously at her hand for a moment before letting go. "You… have really small hands, y'know?"

Gin shrugged. "I know."

Reyson slowly sat down on the opposite bed, still frowning as he inspected Gin. The gray-haired girl scowled back, twisting her tie around her finger.

"That's… kind of rude of you," she commented bluntly.

Shaking his head, Reyson blinked. "Oh. Sorry. No offense meant, but you look kinda like a girl is all."

Gin's scowl deepened. She could pretend to be offended here—the whole point of taking Kuro's uniform had been to look like a guy in the first place—or she could shrug it off… But pretending to be offended sounded more fun.

She pulled an empty Pokéball out of her pocket and tossed it rather haphazardly at Reyson as she turned to the side. "…I get that a lot. Stow it."

"Ow! Sorry!"

The brunette winced as the projectile hit his shoulder and bounced to the floor. Secretly grinning to herself, Gin flopped onto the bed and rolled over so that she was facing the wall instead of the boy.

"Hmph. Good night, Harrison."

"It's Reyson! And it's still afternoon!"

Gin slowed her breathing purposefully, and Reyson sighed a few seconds later. He probably figured Gin was asleep, as she heard him fall back onto his bed as well. Chuckling, Gin mentally patted herself on the back as she stared at the oddly-shaped cracks in the wall…

A shrill whistle suddenly rang through the air, and Gin jolted. She'd apparently fallen asleep, as had Reyson, as they both scrambled off of the beds. They quickly opened the small door and jogged up the stairs as the other trainers sleepily followed.

"Okay, everyone here?"

The ship's captain frowned as he counted the trainers coming onto the deck. Once all ten of them arrived, he pulled his rope ladder out from the large toolbox near the steering wheel. Draping it over the side of the boat, he looked back at the trainers.

"So if there're any of y'all not staying very long, ships come back about once a day. Don't miss 'um, y'hear?"

There were nods and choruses of "Yeah, uh huh," as the group members started climbing down the ladder. Gin somehow managed getting to be last again, and grinned as her shoes hit the small wooden docking platform. As she looked up, the captain was already steering away.

"Odd bird, that guy," a blonde boy frowned.

With varying degrees of consent, the group members slowly scattered off of the dock. They'd been dropped off near the sandy coastline of Cianwood, and after a few feet, the sand merged into rocky soil. The town was small and mountainous, and the buildings were tiny—even the Pokémon Center, Gin observed; it was right near the coast, and she could spot it easily.

Yawning, Gin decided to stretch a bit before looking for the pharmacy or gym. There were no real pathways around the island, so she tried to keep track of what turns she took and what buildings she passed as she walked.

Soon, Gin arrived near a small, rocky alcove that overlooked the beach. She paused for a moment, letting the wind blow through her hair, and grinned. However, the breeze then picked up quickly, and a blue-and-purple blur passed by her. Stumbling slightly, Gin squinted as the blur paused.

She quickly recognized the creature as one of the Pokémon she'd seen in Ecruteak—it was Suicune. The Water-Type gave her a brief look, and then turned towards the ocean. With a single leap, Suicune landed on the shore below and started dashing towards the ocean without pausing for breath. Gin blinked as she realized it was darting right over the ocean's waves, leaving small waves of its own in its wake.

"Hey! You! Did you see? Did you?"

A slightly familiar voice rang out from behind Gin, and she groaned as she spotted a brunette man in a purple cape. Eusine panted as he caught up to Gin, and looked out at the ocean, his eyes practically glowing.

"I thought Suicune might come to a place like this, with an ocean as amazing as that," Eusine breathed, mostly to himself. "That's why I tried to track it here…" He suddenly snapped, however, as he looked back at Gin. "And you! You're here. What makes you think Suicune wants you?"

"Hey!" Gin glared. "I just came here now! And besides, what makes you think Suicune wants you, Cape Man?"

"I… I…" Eusine actually looked speechless for a second. "That's it! You're on!"

As he reached for a Pokéball, Gin slapped a palm to her forehead. The man actually looked serious—it was almost comical.

"What does a battle have to do with any of this…?"

Eusine either didn't hear or didn't care. He grinned as he released a Pokémon, crying, "Go, Drowzee!"

"Whatever. Might as well test run Gemma."

Gin reluctantly released the Shellder. The Water-Type gave a screeching chuckle as his tongue lolled out, causing Eusine and Drowzee to wince. Annoying, sure, but maybe that could serve a purpose, Gin realized.

"All right, go on and get Drowzee with Water Gun."

Gemma shot a small stream of water out of the front of his bivalve while Drowzee was still covering its short ears. The surprised Psychic-Type stumbled backwards, falling into a sitting position near Eusine.

"Ah! Use Thunder Punch—"

"Ice Beam."

Giggling slightly, Gemma launched an Ice Beam as Drowzee tried to stand up. The ice quickly coated the wet Pokémon, and Drowzee was coated with ice from the neck down. It gave an indignant look as Eusine blinked, recalling it.

"You… Argh!" Eusine scowled, but then a slow smirk formed on his face. "I know. I'll let you use all of you Pokémon for my next one."

Why would he let me do a four-on-one… Unless… No, he can't have a decent plan…

"You must really want me to beat you. All right then. Come on out, Midnight, Theriolt, Umbra, and Magnesia!"

The Sneasel, Scyther, Eevee, and Magnemite all materialized next to Gemma. Gin grinned as Eusine blinked, trying to decide on a good combined attack to use on the new Pokémon. Although, the brief nervous look on Eusine's face vanished as he released his Pokémon.

"Come on, Electrode! Let's go with Explosion!"

Gin glared as the red-and-white Pokémon appeared near Eusine and started to glow with energy. She quickly opened her mouth, trying to force out an attack from any one of her Pokémon, but the energy around Electrode quickly exploded outwards, striking all five Pokémon at once. Gin looked in disbelief at the six total fainted Pokémon as she recalled her own.

"Why… That was crazy!" she shouted.

"Oh, no, it wasn't at all. I still have a Haunter left, you see, and I just knocked out all five of yours. Looks like I win," Eusine winked. "If you can't even handle me, you certainly won't be able to handle Suicune. Au revoir!"

Eusine tossed his cape and bounded away. Gin gaped after him, still not believing what had just happened.

"First Whitney… Now him?"

Gin yelled in frustration as she tried to remember how to get back to the Pokémon Center.