As I ducked into the main hallway of the ship, I crouched down and surveyed the area from around a corner. There were a few grunts patrolling the area and guarding a few doors. I knew I had to remain stealthy, but it looked like the only way forward was past the grunts.
Then I had an idea. Maybe one of my Pokémon could act as a distraction. I checked my pockets… but I only felt one Pokeball. I had forgotten to grab the rest when I changed my clothes. I also didn't know who it was. I quietly called the Pokémon out. It was Ch'ding.
He instantly knew something was up, and remained quiet. He had his back against the wall next to me, leek in wing. I used my Pokédex to check his moves. He had Slash, Air Cutter, Double Team, and Leaf Blade. His moves were pretty good, and from what I understood his leek sharply raised his critical hit accuracy. In tandem with his powerful critical-dealing moves, he would be a strong force.
I realized how lucky I was that Ch'Ding had Double Team. I would hopefully be able to use it to get past the guards.
"Use Double Team and distract those guys," I whispered to him, pointing at the two goons blocking my path down the hall. Ch'Ding nodded.
He suddenly made ninja-like duplicates of himself, and they all ran towards the goons.
"The hell?!" The grunt on the left was taken aback.
"How did these things get in here," the other yelled as he tried to stomp out the duplicates. Ch'Ding and his copies led them away down a secondary hallway.
I made my move and ran down the hall. When I hit to the end, I hid around the corner and waited. Hopefully Ch'Ding would make it back to me quickly.
About 10 seconds later, he came running down the hall. The grunts were nowhere to be seen.
"Good job. Be alert, there may be more," I said to him.
We both stayed low and continued down the hall. I knew that the captain's quarters would be near the bridge, and I also knew that the bridge would be about middle of the ship and up a flight of stairs or two. I just had to be fast.
Near the end of the hall, I saw the stairs. Next to it was a sign labeled "Bridge." But there were no guards.
I carefully peeked around the corners to the right and left. Still no guards. Either the guards were up the stairs, or Purple-hair had a small group with him, the majority of his crew being in control of the dining room.
Ch'Ding and I began to creep up the stairs. I kept trying to listen for footsteps or chatter, but it was dead silent. At the top of the stairs, I saw the captain's quarters. I turned to Ch'Ding.
"Ok. Doesn't look like he has guards out here. But maybe he will in there. Make a bunch of Double Team copies and we will burst in all at once."
The duck nodded and began to duplicate.
I looked at the door. This had all been too easy. I knew Purple-hair must have had something up his sleeve.
"Ok. When I open the door, flood in."
I crept to the door, followed by an army of ducks. I gripped the latch and braced to open it quickly.
Then, with all my might, I swung the door open as fast as I could. The army of Ch'Dings flooded in. Then I saw him.
Purple-hair was standing up from the chair, uzi in hand. He was pointing it right at me. The duplicates didn't seem to faze him.
"Long time no see," Purple-hair began to monologue. "You see, this boat has cameras in all the hallways. You must have realized it wouldn't be that simple."
If he really had the guts to kill me, he would have pulled the trigger already. He was stalling. So I decided to do the same. The real Ch'Ding was already behind Purple-hair, ready to strike. I just wanted some answers.
"Before you kill me," I said, raising my hands, "I must know. Why do you need all that money? It must be more than just to cover payroll…"
"Ha! Do you really think I would tell you? Even if you could begin to understand our master plan, it would still be a waste of time. Even if I don't shoot you, you'll die from the poison!" He began to laugh. A very forced laugh. He was nervous. He must not have ever actually killed someone before.
"We will have to see about that later," I responded.
Just then, Ch'Ding used Air Cutter to knock the gun out of Purple-hair's hand, and the quickly followed it up with a slash to the face. Purple-hair went flying into a bookshelf head first, and then fell to the ground unconscious.
"Nicely done, Ch'Ding."
The duck gave a short ninja salute.
With no time to waste, I grabbed the antidote from the desk. It was just a normal Antidote from the Pokemart. Then I realized they must have used some Poison Pokemon to tamper with the food.
I picked up the intercom and calmly said, "The boss is taken care of! The poison they used can be cured with a simple Antidote found at a Pokemart or even a Pecha Berry!"
Then I booked it back to the dining room with Ch'Ding close on my tail.
When I arrived in the dining room, most people had already left. Surge was ushering the last few people out the door. Rachel was helping too. They both looked at me and smiled when they saw me.
"Is Officer Jenny here yet? The 'mastermind' behind all this is unconscious in the captain's quarters," I said.
"I'm sure she will be here shortly. You kids go on and get out of here, you've seen enough action for today," Surge chuckled. "My old friends and I will hold down the place till the police arrive."
The two older men, I had seen earlier stood up from their chairs, and gave a nod. The one with the Pelliper headed towards the Captain's quarters. The one in a mix of Alolan and military attire called out a Manectric, a Magnezone, and an Electrode. They began to patrol the ship looking for any goons to bring to the police.
I looked to Rachel. She was beaming at me. I couldn't help but smile back.
"Will do, sir," I said, walking over to Rachel.
I extended my elbow for her to join with me. She happily obliged, and Ch'Ding flew up onto my shoulder.
"See you around, kids," Surge chuckled. "I'll make sure Jenny hears about what you did here today."
Rachel and I walked off the ship, arm in arm. We saw everyone from the dinner hanging out by a long hedge next to the Pokemart. The employees of the mart, their pokemon, and many of the people of Vermillion City were handing out antidotes and Pecha berries. Among them was Elyssa.
We made eye contact, and she smiled at the sight of Rachel and I with Ch'Ding looking so happy perched on my shoulder. She must have known that her former Farfetch'D had been the hero that day, because she began to tear up. I smiled back, almost tearing up myself.
As Rachel and I walked back to the Pokemon Center, she rested her head on my other shoulder.
"You were really brave back there," she said quietly. "The first time I saw you, I never would have guessed. You manage to be smart, brave, kind, funny, and handsome all at the same time."
She lowered her hand, and tried to hold mine.
I winced and adjusted so that we were just arm in arm again.
"Thanks, Rachel. That means a lot coming from a friend like you," I responded. I cringed as I friendzoned her. But I had to do it. My love life, if you could even call my sexual promiscuousness that, was a fucking mess. I didn't need another girl involved in it.
"No problem," she sighed heavily. I could tell I had upset her.
Back at the center, we went back to our own rooms.
"Goodnight, Rachel," I called to her as she entered her room. She didn't respond.
I thanked Ch'Ding for all his work that night, and recalled him to his Pokeball. Then I changed into my Pajamas. I wasn't even tired, but I just crawled into bed. I just sat there, and began to think.
My mess of a "love life" had all started with Sera. I had never really known any other girl besides her, so I thought I loved her. However, I still didn't know if I truly did or not. Then there was Daisy. She was hot, but I truly think she just wanted a fling. She just seemed lonely and horny is all. Nurse Joy was pretty much the same story as Daisy. Kelly had been next. For awhile, I thought it was love at first sight. It just turned out to be infatuation, at least on my end. Roxanne pretty much shows that. Then Mount Moon happened. I was sure that she had broken up with me because of that. Maybe she and Sera had talked after Rachel and I left them in Cerulean. Either way, I probably wouldn't see her for a while. I did truly hope to run into her again, however. I wanted closure, and I wanted to be friends again. Misty and Spunk was when I really hit a low. With Misty, I was basically raped. So yeah fuck that. Spunk was just me being a horndog of a teenager, and a shithead at that. I could probably get arrested for it. Then there was my latest escapade with Shannon. That was a new low. Emotionless, questionable, rebound sex. I was ashamed. I still am to this day.
I decided to make a list. I took out some paper and a pencil, and wrote a title at the top of the page. It read, "Closure." I then listed all the women I had been with, including Spunk. I was going to finish what I had started with all of them. From that point on, I would no more be so loose and stupid.
I decided to start right away. I called Spunk out of her Pokeball. She was happy to see me, especially just in my underwear.
"Spunk, I hope you can understand this. We can never do that again. You are my friend, but nothing more. I am sorry," I felt weird effectively friendzoning a Pokemon.
Spunk cocked her head, but she seemed to understand. Her eyes looked sad. She approached me, and hugged me. I hugged her back.
I called her back to her ball, and checked her off the list.
I decided to write to Roxanne next. I took out her "postcards" from when I was in the hospital. I got an awkward boner as I looked at the pornographic images of her. I found the envelope they had been in and found the return address. I began to write a letter to her.
Dear Roxanne,
It was fun, but I do not think we should plan on continuing our little arrangement. I feel I need to move on, and to do that I need no strings. I look forward to seeing you again in the future, just as friends.
I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy your pictures, and I see no harm in keeping them. In fact, I will give you my number in case you want some pictures of me. Just promise it won't be too awkward next time we see each other :)
Clyff
442-632-0971
It was weird to write, but it felt nice to get it off my chest and onto the page. I went to the front desk of the Pokemon Center and got an envelope and some stamps. After I got it all ready, I placed the letter in the Center's mailbox.
With two already check off my list, I felt so much better. I made my way back to my room and decided to hit the hay.