"Are you ok Ash? Do you need to sit down, get a drink?" Selene asked as she saw him dazed off as he remembered the forgotten memory. She waved a hand in front of his face until she saw him blink. Pikachu tilted his head at the other Pikachu but smiled as his tail swayed. He then started to try and snap his owner out of the daze as well.
"O..oh yeah, I'm fine, just an old memory, that's all. Sora just reminded me of the one I used to play with as a kid," he said as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Let's go catch up with the rest."
Selene smiled and nodded, "Oh, ok. I'm sure it was a great memory," she said nonchalantly as she followed behind. Charlotte and Nero bounded after them with Luke by their side as he held Akiko in his arms. Selene looked down to Michelle, 'Sora,' who was in her arms and gave a wink. They both knew that he was slowly starting to regain his memory of the time they had spent together.
When they got to the Pokemon Center, Selene said that she would check to see if Michelle was in their room or not and that they would meet them at the lobby. Charlotte nodded, "Ok! We'll keep an eye out for Misty and Brock," she said as she went to sit on a bench and let her feet dangle. Ash nodded as he went to get his pokemon healed. When they got into their room, she let Michelle down so that she could transform back into her human self.
"You showed him who's boss~" Selene chuckled as she went to go get her bags.
"Well, you were a big help yourself, I wouldn't exactly be able to battle by myself in that form," Michelle chuckled.
"We better not stay here too long, don't want them to worry," Selene said as she headed back out. She had one foot out the door when she spotted Brock's spiky hair going down the hallway. "Hey Brock!" She called with a smile and a wave. Her call made him turn around and wave back.
"Selene! Michelle! How did the fight with Surge go?" He asked curiously as he had his bag around his shoulder. He stopped as the two came to his side.
Michelle gave a cheeky shrug, "I don't know, I wasn't there, you should ask Selene," she said with a grin.
Selene gave a chuckle, "Well, I used Sora, my Pikachu, to show him how real women fight. He hopefully got the hint since we beat his Raichu," she said with a grin. She raised a brow as she changed the subject, "So, did you see Misty?"
"Yeah, I told her to meet me down at the entrance since I was finishing up. She should already be down there, is that where the others are?" Brock asked, meaning the rest of their traveling group. Selene nodded. "Then let's go meet up with them," he said. The trio didn't take long to get back to the entrance where they saw Misty braiding Charlotte's hair. Akiko spotted Michelle and ran over signalling to the others that the rest of the group was there. Michelle easily picked her up and brought her onto her shoulders with a smile and a nuzzle to her face.
Misty looked at Michelle with a raised brow, "Well, you seem to be in a better mood~" she smiled.
"Yeah, I burned off some steam and found out what happened to Surge, so I'm good," Michelle said with a smile and a shrug.
Selene nodded, "Yeah, me and Sora, my pikachu, gave him a lesson in womanhood. Anyway, do we have a plan on where to go next?" She asked.
"Not really," Michelle said.
Brock then piped up, "We are going to have to go to Hutber Port to get another ferry to Saffron City. That is where Ash's next gym is. So we should go check the port out to see if there are any ships heading to Hutber Port," he then took out a map and showed the direction they needed to go.
Selene nodded with a smile, "Alright! The bridge nearby should be where the port is. Let's go!" She beamed as she suddenly got a burst of energy. The group nodded in agreement before they all shuffled out of the building and towards the giant steel bridge that overlooked the ocean.
As they walked onto the highest point of the bridge, a giant ship came into view. It was larger than its competitors nearby. A bright smile came upon Ash's face as they got to the main port. "I would love to travel the ocean in this ship," he said in awe.
"It's nice," Michelle said as she gave a small shrug, "But, bigger isn't always better."
Selene shrugged, "It's a statement piece."
"Yeah just think of all the pokemon we'll be able to see!" Brock said with a smile.
Misty was swooning as her hands were grasped in front of her, "Oh for sure! Just imagine sunbathing on the deck all day. Just a nice relaxing cruise!"
"Yeah, a luxury we can't afford, especially a cruise like that," Brock said with a sigh and got all depressed with Misty and Ash as well.
"Oh cheer up guys," Michelle said as she tried to pat Ash on the back.
"Yeah, I'm sure the boat we'll take to Hutber Port will be just as nice, but smaller and more affordable," Selene said with a nod. "Let's take a look-"
Sounds of confetti poppers were going off in front of them as two 'women' popped out of nowhere. "You're our lucky winners! You six have won tickets to the St. Anne!"
Michelle looked at them and narrowed her eyes, "How old are you two and how are you a part of this competition?" She asked sternly. "Right guys?" She asked as she went to turn to Brock, Misty and Ash but they were too enraptured with the free tickets. "...And we lost them."
"Oh silly! This is part of our school charity event!" Said the one with long ginger hair. She and her classmate looked eerily familiar and it was giving Selene bad vibes. Before they could argue anymore, the two shoved the six tickets into Ash's hands before skipping off.
Michelle's eye twitched, "That was one of the weirdest things I had ever seen."
"Yeah...and I get a bad feeling." Selene said but Ash started to give her big sad eyes. She gave a sigh. "Fine, we'll go," she grumbled.
"But keep an eye out. We have a bad feeling about this," Michelle scolded before they started to walk to the giant ship.
The group headed up the stairway onto the ship as a man bowed his head, "Thank you and enjoy your trip."
"Wow, it's pretty fancy," Selene said as she looked around. As they walked into the main ballroom they saw lots of trainers with their pokemon mingling about. There were lots of vendors that sold anything from jewelry, customizable pokeballs and even evolutionary stones.
"Looks like everyone is a trainer, maybe it's a Pokemon Convention?" Misty suggested as she marveled at one vendor.
Vera's pokeball started to move on Michelle's belt. She took notice and let her out. "Hi Vera, what is it?" She asked the Eevee. The Eevee smiled and pointed a paw in the direction of where the evolutionary stone vendor was at. Michelle gave a nod before looking back up to the group. "Hey guys, I'll be right back. Vera wants something," she said as her and Akiko started to head off in that direction. Luke followed after, he didn't like it when she goes off alone especially in such a large crowd.
"Ok! Be safe!" Selene called as she looked around the room. Her eyes spotted two boys talking about their charmanders.
At the evolutionary stone vendor stall, the owner smiled and asked, "Hello, how may I help you?"
"Vera, my Eevee saw something at your table, which one do you want, Vera?" Michelle said to the vendor before picking up the Eevee to see which one she wanted. Her small brown paw went to point at a simple black collar with an everstone attached to it. The vendor blinked.
"Are you sure you want that one?" He asked the small creature. "With that one, you'll never be able to evolve with it," he said in concern.
Vera nods and it makes her pointy ears flop a bit. "If that's what Vera wants, then it's the one I'm going to get," Michelle said to the vendor with a nod.
The vendor nodded in understanding, "Alright, then it'll be 20 Pokedollars," he said with a smile as he went and helped put the collar onto the Eevee's neck. "Look how pretty you are!" He beamed with a smile as Michelle paid the bill. "I hope you enjoy the cruise," he said as he went and started to talk to another customer who walked up.
Michelle gave a wave before nodding her head to Luke before making their way back to their small group. Misty smiled and cooed at Vera, "How cute!"
"An everstone? Interesting," Brock said with a smile.
"Vera doesn't want to evolve so why not?" Michelle explained as she nuzzled Vera. "Just like Pikachu,'' she said before smiling at Pikachu who was on Ash's shoulder.
"Yeah, there is no shame to that," Ash said with a smile.
Suddenly a voice was heard over the crowd and it drew the group towards it. The owner of the voice was a tall, lanky man wearing a fancy suit. It had a big red bow tie and a top hat to match. His round spectacles were blue-tinted and almost as unique as his strangely pointed moustache. He was in a battle with a young boy and his Starmie. "Raticate, High Jump Kick!" He ordered and the brown rat pokemon obliged.
The two pokemon collided in the air but with little to no harm done to either. Ash's eyes sparkled as he saw the battle, "Awesome! They're having a battle!" He exclaimed.
"Super fang attack!" The man said in a suave tone. The Raticate got ready to attack and lunged at the purple starfish. His fang hit the gem and it continued to apply pressure until it cracked. Thereby winning the battle. Seeing that he won, the rat went back to its trainer. The young boy who owned the Starmie quickly went to his side and was quite saddened by his loss and worry was in his eyes.
"Don't be that way son, that was just a practice match and I just happened to get lucky," he said gently to the boy.
Out from the crowd came a southern lady all dressed in red. Her brown hair was up in a bun and she wrapped her arms around the nicely dressed man. "My, how gracious~" she cooed.
"Not at all Ma'am. Keep building your Starmie's strength," he said to the boy before looking at the crowd. "Is there anyone who would like to challenge my Raticate?"
Seeing how he couldn't resist the challenge, Ash quickly came to the man's side and requested to battle. "I would like to battle you sir," Ash said with determination in his eyes. "I'll use my Butterfree."
The man tipped his hat, "As you wish~"
Misty sighed, "I hope he knows what he's doing."
Michelle shrugged, "He didn't do too badly the first few times."
"Yeah, I'm sure that this would be a good experience for him anyway, training is essential," Selene said with a nod as they watched.
"Raticate! High Jump Kick!" The man ordered.
"Tackle!" Ash said as the two pokemon started to collide various times to no success.
"It's a good match, really," Brock said as he admired both the Pokemon's strength.
"Super Fang Attack!" The Raticate's owner said as the Rat bounced off the ground to attack once more only for Butterfree to dodge.
"Stun Spore Butterfree!" Ash called with a smile. His Butterfree called out in acknowledgement as he started to flutter his wings. The Stun Spore had hit its mark and Ash was grinning. Before he could say his next attack, the man went and carefully picked up his stunned Raticate.
"That's enough, why don't we call that a draw," he said as he went to go get his Raticate healed with the young lady by his side.
"You have got to be kidding me," Michelle muttered.
"He just didn't want to lose," Selene huffed as she folded her arms.
"But I was winning," Ash muttered.
Michelle leaned over and whispered, "I think that's the reason why he did it," she snickered. Ash just rolled his eyes.
"Guys I'm Huuungry!" Charlotte complains as her stomach starts to rumble.
Selene chuckled and nodded, "I think that's a sign to say we should go find the buffet~" She beamed as the small group went and gathered up their meals before going to find a table. As they were eating their fill, the tall and nicely dressed man with the woman from earlier came up to the table.
"Are you guys having a good time?" He asked.
"Uh….yes?" Michelle said with a raised brow.
"We are having a great time," Ash said.
The man simply drops the conversation to start talking about Ash's Butterfree. "So about your Butterfree…" The man began. His tone got the attention of Michelle, Selene, Nero and Luke's attention. Clearly the man wanted something.
The young woman smiled," It's incredible!~" She said in a smooth tone that made Brock blush and drop his sandwich. Lottie seeing what was going to happen, she pulled on Brock's ear.
"She's beautiful," Brock murmured.
"Yean and she's clearly taken," Lottie said with a roll of her eyes.
"And she's too old for you," Misty grumbled. "Her and her nice dress, and her womanly features," She muttered to herself. No matter how low the whisper was, Selene and Michelle heard her, them being shifters after all.
"I worked hard raising him," Ash said with a smile.
"What did you think of my Raticate?" The man asked as he dodged the answer.
"Your Raticate was amazing too," Ash complimented with a nod.
"In that case, I'll be direct, how about we trade?" The smartly dressed man asked.
"Trade?" Ash asked, confused but he didn't like the sound of it. He had worked so hard with Butterfree and giving him up sounded like a betrayal.
"I'm sorry sir, but he won't be doing that. People who trade their Pokemon just because they lose is a great way to hurt the respect of your Pokemon," Selene said with a glare.
"Not to mention it's an underhanded and greedy tactic," Michelle added. "Plus Pokemon are living creatures and not just some tool to be used."
Ash nodded, "Yeah, and the answer is no."
The man was going to insist but when he saw how Luke and Nero looked at him, he backed down and walked away. "Good riddance" Misty said with a huff.
"This is why you have to be careful of who you trade with," Brock said with a sigh.
Suddenly the doors of the grand hall slammed shut and the workers of the ship started to throw off their disguises to reveal that they were part of Team Rocket all along. Some even had backpacks that had a vacuum attachment to them for sucking up pokeballs. Suddenly the lights turned black before a spotlight shone on two familiar figures standing on top of a table.
Michelle groaned as she saw the two, "Not those two again…"
Selene's eye twitched before she saw how depressed James looked beside his confident partner.
"To protect the world from devastation!" Jessie said with her hands on her hips.
"To unite all people within our nation…" James sighed out as he hunched over.
"To denounce the evils of truth and love!" Jessie continued.
"To extend our reach to the stars beyond…"
"Jessie!"
"...James…"
"Team Rocket blasts off at the speed of light!" She grins and keeps her end of the spiel going.
"...Surrender now or prepare to fight…" James sighed.
"Meowth! That's right!" Meowth said as he appeared out of nowhere as the table they were standing on began to rise like a podium.
"Team Rocket will now take possession of your pokemon!" Jessie said before giving commands to the Team Rocket grunts to start their work. Murmurs of confusion swept over the crowd before people started yelling as the men started to take their pokeballs.
Selene growled and started to run towards the men and tried to fight them with her fists. She had no patience for what they were doing. Subliminally she would hit the vacuum machine and it would short circuit from her electricity. Seeing what Selene was doing, Michelle decided to join in and whilst they did so, some pokeballs were returned to their owners. Nero and Luke were keeping an eye out for the others' safety. Akiko and Vera stayed near Ash.
"Give me your pokemon!" Shouted one grunt as he came up to their small group. Ash gave him a look of disdain before Pikachu and Akiko shocked him. The initial shock returned more pokeballs to their owners.
"If you think that we are just going to hand over our pokemon then you are sadly mistaken," Ash commented. Shouts and nods of agreement started to make a wave of impression on the others and they started to fight back. Various pokemon were released to fight on their trainer's behalf.
As the battles got more heated, the attacks had started to cause damage to the ship, showing how badly made it was. When the evil organization members fled the passengers cheered. Selene however spotted the dark clouds that had formed in the sky through one of the holes that a flamethrower had created in the roof. She had a bad feeling and her hair started to tingle. She looked over to see that Michelle was feeling the same electric energy. Ash started to realize how the ship was swaying a little more heavy than it was supposed to before giant waves began to rock the ship even more.
Misty and Brock headed over to the port windows to get a look. They saw how the storm was brewing. "It looks like we're in a storm," she said.
"It'll be tough to get back with waves like this," Brock said with a bit of his lip.
"What!?" Misty said with a worried expression.
Brock was going to say something before he spotted a small commotion by the doorway where the Captain of the ship was trying to subdue his nervous passengers. "It's ok, we're going to the port. Besides the ship is unsinkable-"
"Please tell me you didn't just say that!" Michelle growled as she stormed up to the heavier man. "Have you HEARD of the Titanic! They said they were unsinkable and look what happened to them! You better have some safety measures in effect unless you want the same thing to happen!"
The man gulped and rubbed the back of his neck before another giant wave hit the boat. The Captain tried to dart off towards the lifeboats but Luke grabbed him to make sure he stayed put.
"And where are YOU going?" Michelle asked darkly.
"...To test one of the lifeboats.." He gave a nervous chuckle.
Selene came up and glared into his eyes, "Haven't you heard that a Captain always goes down with his ship? No? Well you're going to learn." Luke then threw the captain to one of the passengers who grabbed him. "Take them to your emergency supplies and lifeboats," she ordered. The captain reluctantly nodded before showing all the passengers to safety.
Nero and Lottie came up to meet with the rest of the group that wandered over. "Let's go, we better head out as well. It's getting nasty out there," Brock said before a wave knocked the whole group into another room and knocked them out. The ship then turned over and began to sink.