POKEMON

Chapter Five:

A Ship of Dreams

To get from Cerulean City to Vermillion City, Danny and his Pikachu needed to travel via an Underground Path, as they had seen a sign saying the road through Saffron City was temporarily closed. Danny didn't mind that much, as he knew the third badge he needed to collect would be located in Vermillion City, not Saffron.

Along the way, Danny captured a Jigglypuff and an Abra. The latter was rather tricky, but Danny found the right strategy to do so…

"Butterfree, use sleep powder on it!" Danny ordered.

The Butterfree spread its sleep powder onto Abra, whom began to doze off.

"All right Pikachu," Danny said. "Quick attack!"

Pikachu struck Abra with the blow, but it wasn't enough to knock Abra out. It still looked capable of fighting once it would wake up. But it didn't have the chance to wake up right away…

"Pokéball, go!" Danny called out as he tossed the ball to capture Abra. It was pretty much in the bag. "All right!"

As the Pokéball vanished, automatically being transported to Professor Oak's lab, Danny checked out his Pokédex on his new capture…

"Abra," Dexter explained. "A psychic Pokémon. It sleeps 18 hours a day. If it senses danger, it will teleport itself to safety even as it sleeps."

"Abra sounds almost as sleepy as a Snorlax!" Danny chuckled.

…

After battling a couple more trainers along the route, Danny finally found himself in Vermillion City. The smell of seawater was strong. Everything seemed to have an orange kind of hue, probably due to how the sun was shining. Danny first stopped at the Pokémon Center to heal his Pokémon friends.

Danny noticed a youngster running into the center with a fainted and scorched Pidgey.

"Don't worry Pidgey," the boy cried out. "You'll be OK!"

The Nurse Joy at the desk sighed. "That's the seventeenth time this has happened this month!"

"What's going on?" Danny asked.

While his Pokémon were healing, Joy showed Danny through the emergency room window. He was stunned to see similarly-charred Pokémon all resting with trainers besides them. He noticed a Ratatta, a Mankey, a Spearow, a male Nidoran, and a few other weaker kinds.

"They all lost to Lt. Surge," Nurse Joy explained. "He's the gym leader in Vermillion City."

Danny gulped. This gym leader seemed pretty tough, compared to Brock and Misty!

A chime sounded. "Sounds like your Pokémon are healed!" Nurse Joy announced.

…

Danny was thinking about the impending battle with Lt. Surge. "Hmm… I know ground Pokémon are strong against electric Pokémon. I COULD use Geodude, but I think it might be easier to catch a Diglett, because it has the ability to use Dig, which can put it at an advantage, not to mention Diglett's Cave being right near here." He now knew what he would do right before battling Lt. Surge.

He then noticed a small shack next to the Pokémon Center, near the coastline. A sign said "FISHING GURU." Danny knocked, and the fisherman inside let him in.

"Ah, hello there," the fisherman said. "I'm the Fishing Guru! I simply LOVE fishing! Tell me young man, do you like to fish?"

"I've always wanted to give it a try," Danny said.

"Grand!" the fisherman said, rubbing his hands in delight. "I like your style! Take this and fish, young one!" He handed Danny an old-looking fishing rod: an Old Rod. "Fishing is a way of life! From the seas to the rivers, go out and land the big one, young one!"

"Thanks!" Danny said as he and Pikachu left.

Danny decided to test the Old Rod on the nearby waters, so he set up and began fishing there. Eventually, the line began being tugged…

"Oh! It's a bite!" Danny said, as he wound up reeling in a Magikarp!

"Karp, karp!" the Magikarp said, flailing around.

"Let's capture it!" Danny said. "Pikachu, Thunder Wave!"

Pikachu did as he was told, paralyzing the Magikarp.

That was it. Danny managed to easily catch the Magikarp, and soon it was on its way to Professor Oak's lab. Danny checked his Pokédex on his new capture…

"Magikarp. The fish Pokémon. Famous for being very unreliable. It can be found swimming in seas, lakes, rivers and shallow puddles."

"At least we managed to bag a Magikarp for free, right Pikachu?" Danny turned to see Pikachu wearing the fishing bucket over himself.

"Pika pika… PIKA!" Pikachu leaped out from the bucket, obviously playing some kind of joke.

Danny laughed. "I don't know what that means, but it was rather funny!"

…

Danny also noticed the Pokémon Fan Club, and decided to check it out. But the moment he entered, his Pikachu scurried over to another trainer's Clefairy. "Pika pikaaaaa!" the lovestruck Pikachu said.

Danny chuckled. "Pikachu's in love!"

He went over to the front, where the club chairman and his female assistant stood. She told Danny, "Our chairman is very vocal about Pokémon. We are about to have a discussion. Care to join?"

Danny looked over and saw his Pikachu still trying to seduce the Clefairy. "Well sure," he said. "Looks like I'll be staying for a bit."

The club chairman came over to Danny and shook his hand. "I chair the Pokémon Fan Club! I have more than 100 Pokémon. I love them all! I'm very fussy when it comes to Pokémon! So… did you come to hear me brag about my Pokémon?" he asked.

"A hundred?" Danny said. "Well, OK!"

"Good!" the chairman said. "Then listen up! My favorite Rapidash… it… cute… lovely… smart… plus… amazing… you think so?"

Danny couldn't really hear that clearly over the crowd talking, though the only voice he could really make out was the chairman's…

"Oh yes… it… stunning… kindly… love it! Hug it when it's sleeping… warm and cuddly… spectacular… ravishing…" Then the chairman's watch beeped. "Oops! Look at the time!" he said to Danny. "I kept you too long! Thanks for hearing me out! I want you to have this!" He handed Danny a bicycle voucher of some sort. "It's a bike voucher, for the Cerulean City cycling shop. Exchange that for a bicycle! Don't worry, my Fearow will fly me anywhere! So, I don't need a bicycle! I hope you like cycling!"

"Thanks," Danny said. "OK Pikachu, let's go!"

But Pikachu was still too romantic with the Clefairy. "Pika pikaaaaa!" he said again.

"Come on Pikachu," Danny said, picking up his Pokémon. "There's plenty of fish in the sea!"

…

Then Danny and Pikachu stopped over at Diglett's Cave. An old man told them, "What a surprise! Digletts dug this long tunnel! It goes right to Viridian City!"

"Wow!" Danny couldn't believe it. However, he did not need to get to Viridian now, as all he needed to do was catch a Diglett. So they trekked around a bit, until a Diglett finally popped up from under the ground. "Diglett-dig!" the small mole Pokémon said.

"Perfect!" Danny said. He sent out his Ivysaur, as he knew sending his Pikachu against Diglett was not a good idea. "Ivysaur, leech seed!" Danny commanded, and Ivysaur seeded Diglett, so a little bit of energy would be drained and transferred to Ivysaur.

Ivysaur also tackled the Diglett a few times, but not enough to make it faint.

"Here goes nothing," Danny said as he pulled out a Pokéball. Then he tossed it while saying "Pokéball, go!" The ball sucked up the Diglett in a blaze of white light, and then it landed on the ground near the hole Diglett was in and wiggled a bit before it eventually stopped.

"All right, we got a Diglett!" Danny said as the Pokéball was automatically transported to Oak's lab. He pulled out his Pokédex again…

"Diglett, the mole Pokémon," Dexter explained in its robotic voice. "It prefers dark places. It spends most of its time underground, though it may pop up in caves."

"Well, let's go heal up," Danny told his Pikachu and Ivysaur, "and then I guess we'll be all set for the Vermillion gym leader!"

…

After healing at the Pokémon Center, on his way out, an old man asked Danny, "Did you see the St. Anne moored in the harbor? There is a Pokémon party going on before it leaves port."

Danny then remembered his ticket. He figured that he might as well check out the St. Anne!

As Danny approached the harbor, he saw another boy arriving, also holding a ticket. "Can you believe this?" the boy said. "I got this free ticket to the St. Anne cruise liner from two dopey teenage girls! And one of them kept saying 'Cool!' a lot."

"I just got mine from a certain Pokémaniac," Danny explained.

Danny was surprised when he saw the actual ship. "Wow… that's so huge!"

"Pika…" his Pikachu agreed.

They went up on the steps to the ship, and met with a bouncer of sorts. "Welcome aboard the St. Anne. Excuse me, do you have a ticket?" Danny showed his ticket. "Great!" the bouncer said. "Welcome to the St. Anne party!"

Danny grinned. This was going to be a fun experience!

…

Once he stepped inside, Danny was amazed by how luxurious the interior of the St. Anne looked. There were trainers and Pokémon everywhere! A crew member told Danny and Pikachu, "The passengers are restless from this long voyage. You may be challenged by the more bored ones!"

Danny could see some trainers showing off their Pokémon to each other. He also saw some kiosks selling Pokémon merchandise. Lots of people were talking. "Come one, come all!" "Oh, it's so cute!"

"Wow," Danny said to his Pikachu, "this is almost like a big Pokémon convention!"

Some woman walked up to Danny and said to him, "Waiter, I would like a cherry pie, please?"

"You must be mistaken," Danny told her. "I'm no waiter!"

Another kid came up and battled Danny, but his Charmander was able to take down the youngster's male Nidoran anyways.

Then Danny and his Pikachu explored the ship some more. They saw a gentleman with a Raticate battling other trainers' Pokémon. They ate a bit from the buffet. Then they explored the ship's kitchen…

"Er-hem!" the largest chef of the group cleared his throat. "Indeed I am le Chef! Le main course is… Salade de Salmon! Les guests may gripe it's fish again, however!" he spoke in his heavy French accent.

Danny's Pikachu made a somewhat disgusted face.

Also in the kitchen, Danny managed to find a Great Ball! "I wonder who threw this away?" he asked himself. "This might come in handy!"

The party was also continuing on the second floor of the ship. Another crew member said to Danny, "This ship, she is a luxury liner for Pokémon trainers of the world! At every port, we hold parties with invited trainers!"

"Like me!" Danny beamed.

Another crew member spoke up. "Our captain is a sword master. He's awesome at using Cut. They say he even teaches Cut to Pokémon!"

"Hmm," Danny said to himself as he continued to walk on with his Pokémon. "I remember Misty telling me about the Cut ability. I think I can obtain it here!"

A man was telling others, "In all my travels, I've never seen a Pokémon sleep like this one! It was something like this!" He presented an image of a Snorlax. Danny knew what this was, due to him researching about Pokémon back in Pallet Town before going on his journey.

Danny overheard a conversation. "The captain said he's awfully sick," a woman told someone. "He was all pale."

But a little while later, Danny wound up coming across his rival once again!

"Bonjour, Danny!" Butt said. "Imagine seeing you here! Danny, were you really invited?"

"Yeah, I…" Danny began.

"So how's your Pokédex coming?" Butt interrupted. "I already caught 40 kinds, pal! Different kinds are everywhere." Danny couldn't help but feel a bit envious of his rival. "Crawl around in grassy areas and look for them. But enough chit-chat. Let's battle!"

So naturally, they had another battle. Danny's Pikachu was able to easily take down Butt's Spearow, while Ivysaur defeated Sandshrew, and Charmander beat Ratatta and Eevee!

"Humph!" Butt said. "At least you're raising your Pokémon." He recalled his fainted Eevee to his Pokéball. "I heard there was a Cut Master on board. But he was just a seasick old man!" Butt made a sour face. "But Cut itself is really useful! You should go see him. Smell ya!" He left with his usual sneer.

"Well, we managed to beat him again, guys!" Danny said to his Pikachu and Charmander.

"Chaaar…" Charmander sighed, but then he suddenly began to glow.

"What's wrong, Charmander?" Danny asked. "Oh boy, you're now evolving too!"

"Chaaaaaa-aaaaaa…" the Pokémon said as its voiced cracked and deepened, like a boy hitting puberty. Its body changed shape and grew a bit larger. As the light faded, Danny noticed the Charmeleon taking his place, with a more red skin, a larger tail, and a noticeable crest on top of its head.

"Chaaar!" Charmeleon said, breathing a bit of fire. But then he turned toward a mirror that just happened to be nearby, and flipped out at the sight of his reflection. "CHAAAR!" he panicked, and began running around in circles, blowing out a few white-hot flames. Luckily, nothing caught fire in this panic attack. "Char-char-char-char-char-char-char!"

"Whoa, take it easy!" Danny tried to calm his Pokémon down. But Charmeleon just jumped back into his Pokéball. "I wonder what that was all about?" Danny said, getting out his Pokédex.

"Charmeleon," Dexter began. "The flame Pokémon. The evolved form of Charmander. Tough fights could excite this Pokémon. When excited, it may blow out bluish-white flames."

"Well, that doesn't explain why it freaked out after evolving," Danny said.

But he didn't have much time to think about it. Danny went over to the captain's quarters, and found the sea captain there, lunging over a wastebasket.

"Ooargh…" the captain moaned. "I feel hideous!" He burped. "Seasick…"

"Hmm," Danny said. He remembered a technique his mother used when he and his brother would be sick. So he tried rubbing the captain's back a few times.

The captain let out an even bigger belch, and turned to Danny, his face not so green anymore. "Whew! Thank you! I feel much better! You want to see my Cut technique? I could show you if I wasn't ill… I know! You can have this! Teach it to your Pokémon and you can see it cut any time!" He handed Danny a hidden technical machine: HM01. "That is a hidden machine," he explained. "It's like a technical machine, but can be used over and over again, unlike conventional TMs." He got up from his seat and stretched out. "Whew! Well, now that I'm not sick anymore, I guess it's time. The St. Anne will set sail soon! Farewell, until our return to Vermillion City!"

Danny knew what that meant. But then he caught a glimpse of inside the wastebasket. "Yuck! Shouldn't have looked!" he said, visibly grossed out. Pikachu looked pretty disgusted from seeing all the vomit inside the wastebasket as well. So they both dashed out of the captain's quarters.

…

As he was heading for the exit, Danny noticed a couple of familiar people at a kiosk. One looked like the salesman from the Mount Moon Pokémon Center. The other was a guy, dressed like a waiter, with short purple hair, holding a flailing Magikarp.

"I think I saw that salesman at a Pokémon Center," Danny said to his Pikachu. "And that guy with him looks like one of the Team Rocket members from Mount Moon!"

"A billion?" James asked.

"You can sell one Magikarp for $100. In three generations, you'll have tons of money. Billions and billions!" The salesman was using the same pitch on James that he tried on Danny earlier.

"Billions?" James seemed shocked.

"You'll be so rich," the salesman explained, "you can go on a Pokémon shopping spree!"

"Rich, rich!" James said happily, bobbing his head back and forth.

"Should we warn him?" Danny asked his Pikachu.

"Pika-pi." Pikachu shook his head no.

"I normally charge $100," the salesman was saying to James, "but for you I'll throw in an egg-laying set, childcare set and an education set for only $300! How about it, kid?"

"I'LL TAKE IT!" James said, jumping up.

"I can tell!" the salesman grinned. "You're going to be a very rich man. A very rich man!"

James laughed dementedly some more as he held his Magikarp.

As they walked past, Danny said to his Pikachu, "Wait until he learns the truth…"

An announcement then came on over the ship's intercom. "Attention, please! The St. Anne will be departing the Vermillion harbor in five minutes. Any visitors that are not riding, please disembark the ship right now!"

"Well Pikachu," Danny said. "Let's go! We've got a gym badget waiting for us!"

Danny and his Pikachu eventually managed to get off the ship. They stood on the dock with a crowd of others as the St. Anne sounded its horn and began pulling away. A crowd of people on the deck of the ship were all waving goodbye and cheerng. But then Danny heard a familiar voice coming from the ship…

"AAAH! WAIT! I don't wanna ride on this cruise!" It was Butt. He ran over to the edge, held his nose, and jumped off screaming. Danny laughed as Butt splashed down into the water. After a few seconds, Butt came back up again. "That's not funny!" he said to the crowd.

Danny then walked off as the ship began to sail off into the horizon. A sailor near the dock entrance then told Danny, "The ship set sail."

Now Danny once again had that fluttering, nervous feel in his stomach. He was ready to go into his third gym battle!

TO BE CONTINUED