CHAPTER FIFTY FOUR

Having crossed the ocean to reach Cinnabar Island at last, Amy entered the Pokemon Center and could not have been more surprised to see Daniel and Natalie, seated by themselves around a coffee table, deep in conversation. Venturing forth with a burst of optimism, Amy announced,

"You two are never far away, are you?"

Glancing up, their faces broke into wide smiles and they embraced, albeit hesitantly from Daniel who sort of awkwardly patted Amy on the back. Breaking off, Daniel and Natalie noted Amy's tan, healthy complexion and body language much more at ease. Used to seeing her stiff and unrelenting, they relaxed and devolved into a narrative where topics were tossed back and forth with congruity.

After healing her Pokemon, Amy followed Daniel and Natalie out onto Cinnabar Island, the afternoon sun shining bright. Together as one, they released their Pokemon in bright flashes of red light from their Pokeballs, just under a dozen additional members to their party. They headed for the coast, where Seel and Natalie's Water-type Pokemon rushed for the shallows, padding happily, diving and splashing each other.

Settling upon the hard shore of the coast, putting on warmer clothing for the breeze which gave them goosebumps, the three of them recounted what had happened since they had parted ways in Fuchsia City.

Daniel began with his recitation of the journey across the sea from Fuchsia City to Cinnabar Island.

"Natalie and I got on the ship with that rude sailor, do you remember, Natalie?"

"I remember," smiled Natalie indulgently.

"Anyway, we get trapped in this storm and all these Tentacool and one massive Tentacruel come surging forth to attack - "

"No way," paled Amy. "Surely with all the Trainers aboard - "?

"Most of them didn't have Water Pokemon," Daniel admitted. "One had a Hypno, but its Psychic attacks nearly knocked us over and the Tentacool took it down. Another girl had a Pidgeotto, so Natalie released her Butterfree and the two made a compelling duo."

"So what happened then?" asked Amy, rapt with attention.

"We seemed to have the advantage, what with my Seel and Natalie's Squirtle, Poliwhirl and Horsea - well, Seadra now, as you can see - but then the Tentacruel knocked into the ship and sent Natalie overboard!"

"Oh, Natalie! How horrible!" cried Amy.

"Yeah," continued Daniel. "All of us are scrambling for dear life, the Water Pokemon are across the other side and none of us can help Natalie. Then she goes out of sight and - well - we thought a Tentacool had got you."

"I passed out, that's all I remember, shouting voices and flailing Tentacool - "

"Yeah," interrupted Daniel. "So we're back to fighting the Tentacool, trying to convince that useless sailor to turn around, but he manages to hightail it outta there - "

"Of course, at the time," said Natalie gently. "The sailor reasoned it was better to save as many lives as possible, than risk going back for me and everyone drowning. But when - "

"When we got back to Cinnabar," interrupted Daniel smoothly, as though there had been no interruption to his monologue. "The sailor was stern - he said he wasn't going back, and that was it. Luckily, I was in the Pokemon Center and guess who comes at that exact time - Lorelei of the Elite Four!"

"Really?" asked Amy, enthralled. "The Lorelei?"

Nodding avidly, Daniel continued, "As you saw during the Indigo League finals, she has a host of Water- and Ice-type Pokemon that were more than suited to rescuing Natalie. I didn't know if she was OK but I impressed upon Lorelei the situation, and she agreed."

"You saw her Pokemon?" asked Amy. "What were they?"

"Umm," Daniel paused for only a second, perfect recall for certain events. "Dewgong, Slowbro and Lapras. We rode together atop the Lapras, while one of the girls from the trip across the sea sent out her Pidgeotto to scout for Natalie ahead of us. Eventually, the Pidgeotto tracked Natalie to the Seafoam Islands, so we headed there and took her back from the clutches of the deep."

"Sounds like you've had a very productive sea trip," Amy muttered, for lack of anything to say. "I can't imagine how scary that must've been. My Pokemon wouldn't have been able to help aboard that ship - well, maybe Nidorina with her Poison Sting. But Natalie, how did you survive?"

Weakly smiling, Natalie inhaled and recollected the experience.

"I won't pretend it wasn't scary. When I woke up, I was lying in a muddy pool of water inside a dank, dark cave with no food, warmth or shelter. Later I would find out I was stuck in the Seafoam Islands, but that wouldn't have made any difference during my predicament. Of the Pokemon I had on my person, I only retained Butterfree - she was hurt during the battle with the Tentacool, while the others were battling in the ocean. Once I gathered my bearings, Butterfree used her supersonic waves to detect presence in place of illumination and led me throughout the cave."

"Were there wild Pokemon in there?" asked Amy, goosebumps on her skin not just from the sea breeze.

Natalie nodded. "There were Krabby and Shellder, nothing too serious besides those damn Zubat - I swear - but at one point, I got lost from Butterfree when I tripped and fell into a current, down a small waterfall and into another chamber. I managed to hold on for dear life on one of those hard, pointy things that stick up out of a cave and pull myself to safety. I tried to look for Butterfree, but I couldn't see where we had gotten separated, it was pitch black darkness. I saw some moonlight from a hole in the cavern ceiling, thinking I could climb up like a rock wall but - but I wasn't alone."

Amy watched her, wide-eyed.

"There was a bird Pokemon roosting there, except it was glittering blue and way bigger than a Fearow - "

"What was it?" asked Amy, unable to help interrupting.

Natalie and Daniel glanced at each other.

"It was an Articuno," whispered Natalie.

Silence, but for the sighing of the waves on the coast.

"A what?" asked Amy, confused. "I've never heard of that before."

Deftly, Natalie retrieved the glittering blue feather from her bag. Amy held her breath, hand to her heart.

"Wow," she admired. "But if - is Articuno rare?"

Nodding, Natalie continued, "We would later find out - well, by we, I mean me, because nobody believed me at all until we had a scientist examine the feather - that it belonged to Articuno, one of the legendary bird trio. Articuno is of ice, Zapdos of electricity and Moltres of fire."

"A legendary Pokemon?" asked Amy, her voice hushed. "That's incredible! But how did you get away from it?"

"I was thinking the exact same thing!" Natalie laughed. "I was scared out of my wits. Obviously, as a legendary Pokemon it must've been used to have being tracked for capture from Trainers who wanted it as a trophy, or as a powerful Pokemon. But I just wanted to get out of there! I'll later admit it would be nice to have it hang around, but anyway, it must've sensed that I didn't come on bad terms, only by chance, and it lowered its back so that I could hop on - "

"No way!" laughed Amy, rapturous. Her latent enthusiasm that seemed to burst so much more often now lightened Daniel and Natalie's spirits.

"That was the good part of my getting stuck in the cave," Natalie took a deep breath. "From somewhere deep in the cave, a Trainer rushed forward just as I had got onto the Articuno's back. He must've been tracking the legendary bird, 'cos he accused me of taking it first. He released an Electabuzz - "

"Electabuzz?" asked Amy.

"It's a Thunder-type," Daniel was quick to explain.

Nodding, Amy turned back to Natalie, who continued, "Articuno uses Ice attacks, but the problem was that Electabuzz's Thunder-type attacks were especially damaging to Articuno, who is a dual Ice/Flying-type. The Articuno took flight with me atop it, but the Thunder attack electrified us - and I can tell you, I felt like I was dead. We both crashed to the cavern floor, utterly spent when the Electabuzz used a Thunder Wave to paralyse Articuno and the Trainer threw an Ultra Ball at it."

"He - he captured it!" said Amy, shocked. "And he attacked you!"

"The Articuno managed to escape from the Ultra Ball, which as you can imagine pleased the rogue Trainer not a bit. I found a Paralyz Heal and managed to heal Articuno of paralysis, and I hopped on the Articuno's back. Electabuzz tried another Thunder, but the Articuno blew a sort of Mist that threw his vision off and the Electric attack missed, just as the Articuno flew through the hole in the cave and up into the night sky."

Completely at ease, Amy sat back on her hands and said, "Wow! That's amazing, Natalie."

"I thought the Articuno might fly me back to safe land, but it was severely hurt. It dropped me on a patch of dry land outside the cave, sang in its Pokemon language to locate Butterfree, who flew out to find me, and then Articuno took flight after I gave it a Potion, leaving behind this feather."

They all glanced at it, beyond value or measure.

"A few hours later, Butterfree returned from scouting to report company on the way. I saw Daniel on a Lapras and the rest - you already know." smiled Natalie.

"That's pretty cool," admitted Amy, recounting her own adventures by comparison. "I had no life or death experiences, but I did win the Marshbadge from Sabrina!"

"Oh, let's have a look!" implored Natalie, as Amy opened her Badge case and they saw the round, gold Badge in the sixth slot. "Daniel won the Volcanobadge yesterday, and I challenged Blaine - the Gym Leader - today, and won my Badge, too. So we've all got six Badges!"

"What was battling Sabrina like?" asked Daniel, who certainly did not want to recount the Pokemon battle with Alesha, nor the crippling aftermath.

Musing, Amy replied, "She's certainly special. She's a telepath - she can read minds - and she uses Psychic-type Pokemon."

"So she gets inside your head?" asked Daniel, alarmed. He had quite enough of that from Alesha.

"Not in a bad way," Amy admitted. "Well, you've got to be strong. She told me that above all else, a Trainer must have the willpower to persevere. Essentially, battling her is as simple as facing the truths she extracts from your mind."

"Well, I've got her beat, then," Natalie rolled her eyes. "There's nothing I'm holding back!"

"Yeah, Natalie," grinned Daniel. "You're completely honest!"

Privately, Amy thought this was a reflection on her being dishonest, but questioned whether she was being unjustly defensive and harsh on herself. Daniel lacked guile and was so openly trusting he lacked any skill of manipulation.

"There's another Gym in Saffron I came across, but it isn't recognised as an official one, not by Pokemon League standards, anyway. It's called the Fighting Dojo and they obviously use Fighting-type Pokemon. I found it good practice before I challenged Sabrina."

"That's good to know," Natalie turned to Daniel. "If Sabrina's as difficult as you say, we'll need all the practice we can get. Say, how did you get to Fuchsia?"

Skipping the part where she indulged in introspection with Connie and her friends, Amy replied, "I met a group of swimmers, and together we rode on Water Pokemon across the sea to get here. I borrowed a Goldeen from this girl - actually, these swim clothes, too - and I'm glad to say we didn't run into any attacking Tentacool, perhaps because it was during the day or else too damaged by the ship battle you recounted."

"That sounds about right. So, you're about to face the Gym Leader, are you?" asked Natalie.

"Actually, I was going to find an inn at which to stay. I need a lie-down," replied Amy. "So I'll probably face him tomorrow."

"That sounds good," Daniel smiled. "We weren't sure how to get back across the sea, now that the ship that took us here is wrecked. But if what you say is true - that Tentacool don't attack during the day - then we can ride our Water Pokemon back!"

Getting to their feet, Daniel and Natalie led Amy towards the only inn on the island. They checked in and secured a room for the three of them. It had a shared bathroom, one bedroom with two separate single beds, and a couch in the living room which extended into a bed, where Daniel would sleep to give the girls privacy.

After a quick trip to the Pokemart, Amy returned with a few supplies bought for Daniel and Natalie with their borrowed money, including a Town Map of which Natalie's had been waterlogged in the Seafoam Islands.

"You know," said Amy, watching Daniel prepare dinner and Natalie feed the Pokemon in separate bowls. "I read the Town Map and Pallet Town isn't too far north of here."

Slowly, Daniel glanced towards Amy, then to Natalie.

"That's a great idea!" he said. "We'll do that after you battle the Gym Leader, Amy."

"But - why after?" asked Amy, confused. "It's probably best you leave in peak daylight hours - "

"He means we'll take you along," Natalie rolled her eyes at Daniel, turning to Amy. "After facing Blaine, the only Gym you'll have left is Viridian, right? We can all go together - there's enough Water Pokemon between us."

Throat tight with emotion - Amy hated that it came more easily and smoother now, she patted her hair and nodded. "That'd be great, guys. Thanks heaps."


The next day, the three of them checked out of the inn, splitting the bill three ways. They were experiencing an increase in the amount of prize money they received from Gym Leaders as they gained more Badges, so they were becoming more comfortable with spending on Super Potions and Full Heals.

Amy had headed to the coast, to catch Connie and her friends before they departed for another day of training their Water Pokemon out at sea. She returned the swim top and shorts with grateful thanks, having washed them in the laundry facilities provided by the inn and waved goodbye as they set off into the sun.

After healing her Pokemon at the Pokemon Center, Amy found Daniel and Natalie waiting by the entrance to the Cinnabar Gym.

"Thanks for waiting for me," she winced against the bright sunlight.

"No problem."

Natalie smiled. Daniel walked ahead to hold open the door for them. Amy was so happy that she had found two people she could absolutely rely upon in this world.