Now that Ash had received his Thunder Badge from Lt. Surge, the group had decided to relax in for a bit in Vermilion City, and were currently headed to one of Vermilion's beaches. However, while walking across a bridge, Misty spotted something in the distance, a huge luxury liner, docked in the harbor.
"Wow! I'd love to cross the ocean on a ship like that!" Ash exclaimed.
"Yeah!" Brock agreed, "Think of all the Pokémon we'd get to along the way!" 'And all the girls!' he thought to himself
"For sure! Just imagine sunbathing on the deck all day" Misty gushed, "Just a nice, long, relaxing cruise!"
Unfortunately, Brock interrupted the fantasies with reality, "We'd never be able to afford a cruise like that…"
"Aww…" Misty whimpered.
Ash sighed, "Man, reality can really bum you out…"
The trio sighed, and begun to walk away, heads down, but were quickly interrupted by the sound of party poppers in their faces. "Congratulations!" to voices exclaimed in unison, "You guys a super lucky! You can go on a super deluxe sea cruise!"
The trio looked up to see two girls, both wearing what appeared to be school uniforms. They both had dark tans, and one had long orange hair, while the other had shorter blonde hair. Misty recognised their appearances as the popular Kanto fashion, Ganguro, though she had never really seen the appeal, believing it just made people resemble Jynx.
"A sea cruise!?" the trio repeated in disbelief.
"Well, it's like we have these super cool tickets for you" The orange-haired girl stated, while the other just exclaimed "Cool!"
"Cool huh?" the orange-haired asked, "These are tickets for the biggest party ever aboard S.S. Anne cruise liner!" she explained.
"The famous S.S. Anne?" Ash questioned. The blonde just said "Cool!" once more.
"The coolest ship on the sea!" the orange haired girl stated, "Everyone's gonna be together, and have, like, the coolest party, and it's for Pokémon Trainers only!" she explained. "Cool!" the other girl explained, which Ash thought was starting to get annoying. The girl with longer hair started talking again, "It'll be a radical party, only the most radical trainers will be there!"
Ash leaned over to Misty, "Do you know anyone who has radical anymore?" he asked her in a quiet whisper, to which the girl shook her head no.
The girl with orange hair held out the tickets to the trio, "Okay dudes, here are your tickets!"
"We'd love to go on the cruise, but we really don't have the money to pay for it" Brock admitted.
The girl shook her head, "Like, you don't understand, they're totally free!" she exclaimed.
"Huh?"
"Totally free!" the girl repeated, "To-ta-ly free!"
"For free!?" Ash exclaimed excitedly, but quickly narrowed his eyes, "Wait, why are you giving them away?" he questioned.
"Well, like, we have to go out with our boyfriends, but we wanted to give our tickets to cool Pokémon fans!" the girl explained. "Cool!" the other girl added. "We saw you and thought you looked really cool, so take these and have a really cool time!"
Ash took the tickets from the girl, with a smile, "Well, thanks a lot!" the thanked.
"No sweat! Now have a nice day, for sure!" the orange haired girl exclaimed, before the other girl said "Cool!" once more. Then the two girls quickly skipped off without another word, leaving Ash, Brock, Misty, and Pikachu behind.
"Alright!" Ash exclaimed, "This really is cool, isn't it?"
"Pikachu!" the mouse said in agreement.
"The S.S. Anne, huh?" said Brock.
"Yeah, and that cool Pokémon party!" Ash added.
The trio, plus Pikachu, were now walking through the port, try to find the S.S. Anne. "I wonder which it is?" Ash questioned, scanning the many ships docked at the port.
"I think that's it!" said Misty, pointing at a huge white and red ship.
"Wow, it's huge!" Brock exclaimed.
"Pika…" Pikachu muttered in awe.
Meanwhile in some nearby bushes, the two ganguro girls were watching the group. "We got them!" the orange haired girl said.
The blonde turned to her, but what "she" said wasn't to do with the other girl's statement. "Like, wow! Don't I like make the coolest girl?"
The other girl just wacked "her" over the head. "Stop acting like an ignoramus" she yelled, and begun to pull "her" off.
"Oww…" they whined, in a definitely NOT female voice.
The duo made their way to an abandoned lighthouse, and when arrived at the basement, they were no longer wearing the ganguro make up or outfits, but were wearing white Team Rocket uniforms, their hair now the regular colours of blue and magenta.
Jessie and James entered the basement, and went over to a large computer screen, where Meowth was sitting, waiting for them to return.
"We got a call from the boss" the cat stated, and pressed a button on the computer, turning on the screen, where the image of a man in an orange suit appeared. "Greetings, sir" Meowth greeted.
"So the team is all there?" the man questioned.
"Yes sir!" the trio answered.
A large cat Pokémon, a Persian, appeared next to the man, hugging up to him and purring.
"Make sure our latest plan succeeds" he told the trio, "Have all the tickets for the cruise been handed out? He asked.
"Yes sir" Jessie answered, "All the trainers were thrilled to take them."
"Was it really alright to hand out all those tickets for free?" James questioned.
"A small price to pay for what I'll get in return" the man answered. "The grunts have already boarded the S.S. Anne, and when I give them the signal, they will take all the Pokémon from the trainers, we have tricked into boarding the ship" he explained. "Do not fail me this time."
"Yes sir!" the trio replied.
"This ship is awesome!" Ash exclaimed, as the trio entered the ship. They entered into a huge ballroom, where hundreds of trainers and Pokémon standing around and talking to each other. There was also a section of the room full of many stalls, all selling different food and Pokémon related merchandise. There were also multiple battle fields where many battles were currently taking place.
"It's like a giant Pokémon convention!" Ash exclaimed. With all the Pokémon and trainers here, he was bound to see many he had never even seen before, and he couldn't wait to see them.
He noticed a pair of trainers comparing their Charmander, and another boy who joined them, showing off his Squirtle. "I bet my Charmander and Squirtle are way better than theirs are" Ash said, mostly to himself.
"Ash? Is that you?" a female voice questioned behind him. He turned around to see a brunette, wearing a green dress and hair band.
"Daisy?" Ash questioned in surprise, recognising the girl.
The girl ran over to him, "Ash! It's great to see you!" she exclaimed.
"Ash? You wanna introduce your friend?" Misty asked.
"Oh, right, Brock, Misty, this is Daisy Oak" Ash introduced.
Misty raised an eye brow, "Oak? As in Professor Oak?" she questioned.
"Yes" Daisy answered, "He's my grandpa."
"So, does that mean your Gary's sister?" the redhead asked.
Daisy nodded, "Yeah, he's here too" she stated. Ash's eyes went wide.
"Wait, Gary's here?!" he questioned.
"You bet I am Ashy-boy" a familiar voice called out. Sure enough, Ash turned to see his childhood rival, Gary Oak.
"Grandpa had tickets for the cruise" Daisy explained, "But, since he was too busy, he gave them to us."
"Cool" Ash replied.
"So Ashy-boy, how many badges have you got now?" Gary asked.
"Three!" Ash answered.
"Huh, we have the same amount then" Gary stated.
"You wanna battle, Gary?" Ash asked, he'd been wanting another chance to battle his rival, and too prove their first battle wasn't just a fluke, which was sure Gary believed.
"You bet I do, I want to get you back for our first battle!" Gary replied.
And with that they headed towards the closest empty battle field, with Brock, Misty, and Daisy following behind.
The two rivals stood on opposite sides of the battle field, Brock standing to side, acting as the referee.
"So, Gary, how many Pokémon?" Ash asked.
"Three" Gary replied.
Ash nodded, "Alright, then, Squirtle, I choose you!" Ash cried, releasing the Tiny Turtle Pokémon from his ball.
Gary smirked at the sight of the water type, "Wow Ash, you trying to copy my team?" he taunted.
"Yeah right!" Ash called back in response, "My Squirtle's way better than yours!"
"You sure about that?" Gary questioned, tossing his Poké Ball. The Pokémon that emerged from the capsule, was like a larger version of Squirtle. It had almost purple skin, with a fluffy tail and ears.
"Wartortle!" it cried. Ash pulled out his Pokédex to scan the creature.
"Wartortle, the Turtle Pokémon, and the evolved form of Squirtle. A Water type Pokémon. Its tail is large and covered with a rich, thick fur. The tail becomes increasingly deeper in colour as Wartortle ages. The scratches on its shell are evidence of this Pokémon's toughness as a battler" the Pokédex stated.
"So, it evolved…" Ash muttered, "It doesn't matter though, you've got this Squirtle!" he encouraged.
"Squirt!" Squirtle replied, holding a thumb up to his trainer.
"Squirtle versus Wartortle, battle begin!" Brock called out.
"Squirtle, use your Water Gun!" Ash ordered. Squirtle sucked in air, then fired a jet of water at his evolved form. Gary only smirked.
"Water Pulse!" An orb of water formed in Wartortle's mouth, and was fired, going straight through the Water Gun, and colliding with Squirtle, sending him backwards, and onto his shell.
"Ah, Squirtle!" Ash exclaimed.
"Wartortle, Brick Break!" Gary ordered. The larger turtle charged at the fallen Squirtle, who was struggling to get back up, with his hand glowing white.
"Squirtle, quick, Withdraw!" Ash instructed. Squirtle did as he was told, and withdrew his limbs and head into his shell, right before Wartortle karate chopped it.
"Now, use Rapid Spin!" Ash ordered. Still in his shell, Squirtle begun to spin, and launched himself at his evolved form, ramming into him. "Pull back, then do it again!"
Squirtle pushed himself back from Wartortle, bounced against the floor, then sent himself back towards the larger turtle.
"Aqua Tail!"
Ash's eyes widened, as water spiralled around Wartortle's tail, as it swung it around, colliding with Squirtle's shell like a baseball bat, sending the Tiny Turtle Pokémon flying backwards into the ground.
"Squirtle, you okay?!" Ash asked in concern. His question was soon answered. As Squirtle emerged from the shell, knocked out…
"Squirtle is unable to continue, Wartortle wins!" Brock announced.
Ash recalled Squirtle to his ball. "I'm sorry Squirtle, you were great" he whispered to the ball, before putting it back on his belt. He turned to Pikachu at his side. "You ready buddy?"
"Pika!" he answered, running onto the field, his cheeks sparking as he glared at the evolved starter Pokémon.
"Just because it won last time, doesn't mean he will this time!" Gary called out.
"We'll see about that, Gary!" Ash retorted, "Pikachu, Thunderbolt!"
"Piiiikaaa chuuu!" Pikachu cried, sending a powerful bolt of electricity at the water type.
"Wartortle, Protect!" Right before Pikachu's attack hit, a green shield appeared in front of Wartortle, completely blocking the Thunderbolt.
"Gah… use Quick Attack!" the electric type sped towards Wartortle, before it could even react, he slammed into the turtle, but Ash wasn't done there, "Now, use Thunder Wave!" A blue stream of electricity was released from Pikachu's body, covering Wartortle, paralysing it instantly.
"Ah, Wartortle!" Gary exclaimed, "Water Pulse!"
"Pikachu, dodge it!" Due to the paralysis, Wartortle was a lot slower than it normally was, so Pikachu was easily able to avoid the orb of water, "Now, hit with Electro Ball!" Ash ordered. Pikachu grinned, and quickly charged up an orb of electricity at the tip of his tail, before doing a mid-air flip, and flinging the orb at Wartortle, who couldn't dodge in time thanks to the Thunder Wave, which also made it do an increased amount of damage due to the large speed difference. The turtle swayed on the spot for a moment, before falling backwards, unconscious.
"Wartortle is unable to continue, Pikachu wins!"
Gary scowled, as he recalled Wartortle, and quickly threw another Poké Ball. As the Pokémon emerged from it's ball, the energy beam went straight into the ground, and 3 brown heads popped out of the ground, each with an oval shaped, pink nose. Ash quickly scanned it with his Pokédex.
"Dugtrio, the Mole Pokémon, and the evolved form of Diglett. A Ground type Pokémon. Extremely powerful, they can dig through even the hardest ground to a depth of over 60 miles"
"A ground type…" Ash muttered, before making a decision, "Pikachu, return!" Pikachu started to head back towards his trainer, but was stopped in his tracks, by a barrier made of earth which appeared in front of him. "What the?!" Ash cried out in confusion.
Gary smirked. "Dugtrio's ability is Arena Trap, Ashy-Boy. It prevents opponents from leaving battle, unless they're fainted" he explained, smirking the whole time.
"Damn it…" Ash cursed under his breath, "Alright then, Pikachu, use Quick Attack, then into Brick Break!" he ordered.
Pikachu sped towards Dugtrio, with his paw beginning to glow white, but before Pikachu reached the ground type, Gary gave his next order. "Dig!" Dugtrio quickly pulled all three heads underground and out of site, the hole filling back in where the Mole Pokémon had been.
"Careful, Pikachu, we don't know where its gonna pop back out!" Ash told his partner, Pikachu nodded in response.
"Heh" Gary chuckled, "Who said it was coming back up, Ashy-boy?"
"Huh?"
"Dugtrio, use Magnitude!" the brunette ordered. Ash's eyes widened, as the battlefield began to shake (though luckily it didn't shake the rest of the ship), Pikachu struggled to stay standing.
"Now, use Bulldoze!" Gary ordered. Dugtrio burst out of the floor, a brown aura surrounding it, as a shock wave came from the ground type, hitting Pikachu, before Dugtrio rammed itself into the mouse. Pikachu flew backwards, and landed on the ground with a thud, knocked out.
"Pikachu is unable to continue, Dugtrio wins!"
Ash ran onto the field and quickly scooped his fallen Pokémon up into his arms, "Pikachu, you okay buddy?"
"Pika…" Pikachu replied weakly, holding a fist up, saying he was okay. Ash smiled, quickly passed Pikachu to Misty, who was standing on the side lines, before returning to his place on the battlefield.
Dugtrio's can't leave the ground, so… Ash thought to himself, before taking another Poké Ball from his belt. "Pidgeotto, I choose you!"
The bird emerged from the ball with a cry. The bird glared down at the Mole Pokémon from the air. "Pidgeotto, use Gust!" Pidgeotto flapped her wings, creating gusts of wind which collided with the Mole, though it seemed to barely feel it.
"Dugtrio, Tri Attack!" Gary ordered. Three orbs of energy appeared in front of each head, each orb glowing a different colour, orange, blue, and yellow. All three were launched at Pidgeotto at a surprisingly fast speed, burning, shocking, and freezing the bird all at once, causing her to fall to the ground.
"Now, use Rock Tomb!" Dugtrio's six eyes all glowed white, as multiple glowing rocks formed above it, which Dugtrio launched at the fallen bird, burying her in rocks.
"Ah! Pidgeotto! Try to break free!" Ash called out. There was movement seen under the pile of rocks briefly, but quickly became still. Dugtrio's eyes ceased to glow, causing the rocks to disappear, revealing an unconscious Pidgeotto.
"No!" Ash cried.
"Pidgeotto is unable to continue, which means the winner of the match is Gary!" Brock announced. Ash recalled Pidgeotto, his head down, with his hat covering his eyes. He whispered his thanks to Pidgeotto's Poké Ball.
"Heh! Guess I'm stronger after all, hey Ashy-boy?" Gary taunted.
Ash couldn't believe it. They should have been at the same level. They had the same number of badges. Were Gary's Pokémon simply stronger than his? He didn't even beat two of Gary's Pokémon this time…
Before anyone could say anything, the lights suddenly went out, leaving the huge ballroom in darkness. When they came back on, there were suddenly many people wearing the familiar black uniforms, with red "R's" on their chests.
"Prepare for trouble!" a female voice exclaimed.
"and make it double!" a male voice added.
Ash growled. Team Rocket was here…
Yay! Cliff hanger! I wanted this chapter to mainly focus on Ash and Gary's battle, which I hope turned out well. I also introduced Gary's sister, Daisy, who I don't think is used enough (or at all) in a lot of the fanfics I've read. Daisy is about 5 years older than Ash, Gary, and Leaf, and has already been on her journey, and is now working in Professor Oak's lab as a lab assistant. I plan on having her and Ash battle at some point, probably while he's training for the league, so it'll be a long time before that happens. It should be pretty obvious what's coming next chapter, so look forward to that, and until next time, see ya! (Also I figure since I had Leaf's team in the "Current Teams" section, I may as well but Gary's team as well, but not Daisy, as I don't really want to spoil her team yet, though she'll probably use at least one Pokémon next chapter)
Current Teams:
Ash:
Pikachu (Male)
Charmander (Male)
Pidgeotto (Female)
Nidorino (Male)
Bulbasaur (Male)
Squirtle (Male)
At Oak's Lab:
Beedrill (Male)
Misty:
Poliwag (Male)
Staryu (Genderless)
Goldeen (Female)
Oddish (Female)
Brock:
Onix (Male)
Geodude (Male)
Zubat (Male)
Gary:
Wartortle (Male)
Spearow (Male)
Dugtrio (Male)
Geodude (Male)
Nidorino (Male)
Kadabra (Male)
