Tessa looked at the unconscious silver Tentacool she had found fighting a Sharpedo. The small Pokemon was very brave, and very strong by the look of him. He had been protecting a baby Mantine by what the Pokemon around the battle had told her; and he had defeated a Carvanha and one Sharpedo before Ruby had slain the third.
There was nothing she could do for the wounds on the Mantine, it would have a very lopsided gait; but she could help the Tentacool. She had scooped him up and put him in a basket full of water to bring to a nearby Pokemon Center for treatment. He had a few bad gashes, but would be okay.
She heard a chiming buzz, and looked over at the water beside Ruby. A Lanturn was swimming and buzzing to get her attention.
"Yes?" she asked, patting Ruby to get him to slow down a bit.
"I was wondering, do you have my friend with you? The Mantine sang that Silver would be on a red Gyarados."
"Ah, you mean the silver Tentacool?"
"Yes, his name is Silver."
"Yeah, we have him here. I'm going to bring him to a Pokemon Center to get him healed."
"Is he hurt badly?" asked the Lanturn anxiously.
"Not too bad, few gashes, raw tentacles and such. He's unconscious right now."
"Oh, good. I almost thought he was dead." sighed the Lanturn, relieved.
"Well, you can follow us to the Pokemon Center, and I'll tell you how he's doing in the morning."
"Okay, go as fast as you can, I'll catch up later."
"Alright, Ruby, high speed!"
Ruby shot off at full speed, and they were at the Pokemon center in a matter of minutes. Tessa called Ruby back, and walked into the building.
The Nurse Joy ran up to them and listened to Tessa's explanation, then called for a water tank and Chansey to take him to the back room. She gave Tessa a room key and hurried off. Tessa walked to her room and let out all her Pokemon but Ruby, who already knew the whole story.
When Tessa finished the story, she took her Pokemon out to eat. There was a nice restaurant in town that served Pokemon, and she walked into it. To her surprise, she saw Willow, Ivy, and Hiro at a table in the corner.
Tessa and her Pokemon walked over to the table. Willow looked up and squealed in delight.
"Tessa! I never thought I'd see you here!"
"Hey guys! Is there room enough for me and my Pokemon to sit down?"
"Just a second, I'll call over someone to put a few tables here." said Ivy as she walked off to the front desk.
"Hey, Tessa. I haven't seen you since that time we battled. You seemed to have gotten a few more Pokemon since then." said Hiro.
"Yeah, they're great friends, just like you guys!"
A few waiters came up carrying extra tables, which were added to the table Tessa's friends were sitting at. Ivy sat down in her previous spot, and Tessa and the Pokemon chose spots for themselves. They ordered their food and settled down to wait.
"So, how has everybody been?" asked Tessa.
"I've been great, I finally beat the Elite Four with Pokey." said Hiro proudly.
"How is your Squirtle?" asked Tessa.
"He's a Blastoise now. He's still the best in his game!"
"Great! I'll have to say hi to him later. Willow, how have you done?"
"Smoke learned Fire Blast yesterday! I'm so happy!"
"Geez, you've really raised her levels!"
"Yeah."
"Ivy, how are you?"
"Twilight's a lot happier since I let him hunt. Grey and Sienna have raised a few levels too!"
"Hmmm..."
"How about you, Tessa, how have you been since we saw you last?"
"Well, as you can see, I've found a lot more Shinys. I don't know how I'm finding them, but I am. I found a Shiny Tentacool today, I saved him from a Sharpedo."
"Oh, no! Is he okay?" asked Willow worriedly.
"He'll be fine. I met one of his friends while surfing here, a Lanturn. She says his name is Silver."
"Oh, wow."
The waiter came to the table pulling a cart that carried several trays full of food. He set down the food in front everybody, and wished them a good day. The group ate in relative silence, although a few trivial conversations were started. Soon, they finished and the bill was brought. Hiro looked at it and his face fell.
"Uh, guys?" he said nervously.
"Yeah?"
"I'm a bit short on money, because all mine's in the PC."
Tessa smiled and waved her hand dismissively.
"Don't worry, everyone's meal is on me!"
"What! That has to be at least a hundred dollars!"
"Only a hundred?"
"Only!?"
Tessa walked up to the front desk with the bill, she calmly paid the serviceman and waved for her friends. They ran over, and the group walked out of the restaurant.
"We have to go to the hotel, because we're staying there for the night." said Willow, waving as she and Ivy walked off, "Thank you for dinner!"
"You're welcome! Bye!" called Tessa, she turned to Hiro, "Well, it was great seeing you again, bye!"
"Bye! Thank you!" called Hiro as Tessa and her Pokemon walked to the Pokemon Center.
When she got to her room, she flopped tiredly on the bed.
"Well, this was an exciting day!"
"It sure was, you have a lot of friends." said Blue.
"Umm, hmm."
"'Night, Tessa."
"Goodnight, guys."
Soon, the room was filled with the sound of gentle snoring. Glowing eyes shone in the dim light, and a dark shape slipped out the open window to join a shining set of rings. They sped off to hunt together in the cool night air.
Silver awoke to a pounding pain in his head. The Tentacool groaned, and leveled his body in the small tank he was in. He could see a nurse walking about the room through the glass, so he tapped the side of the tank to get her attention. She spun around, and smiled warmly.
"Oh, you're finally awake! A girl brought you in last night after a Sharpedo attacked you. We put some waterproof ointment on your wounds."
"Thank you." said Silver, although he was sure the human would not be able to understand him.
The nurse patted his head, still smiling.
"The girl who brought you in will be here shortly; she was worried about you. I'll go tell her that you're awake now, okay?"
The nurse hurried out of the room, leaving Silver alone except for the few other Pokemon surrounding him. He saw a tank with a Horsea opposite him, and waved to get its attention.
"Hey, where am I?"
The Horsea bobbed to the surface of its tank. It had a long scar over its snout, and its fins were ragged.
"Yer in da Cianwood Pokemon Center, Squishy."
"My name's not squishy..." said Silver, confused, "Its Silver."
"Whatever, ting is, der's not much chance dat yer ever gonna see the sea 'gain, bub."
"Why?"
"Da 'umans ell take ya, and they'll make ya battle. It's 'ow I got my scar, see."
"Why do they do that?"
"They do it for money, and popularity wit they're own kind."
"Well, nice talking to you... umm, what's your name?"
"It's Dagmar. I'll see ya 'gain someday, probably when a 'uman owns ya."
Silver sank back into the cool water, wondering what would happen to him. He wondered what the human who saved him was like. All he remembered was that bright orange-yellow flash before he had blacked out.
Tessa hurried down the corridor, heading for the room where the Tentacool she had saved was kept. She had called back all her Pokemon but Lavender, because they would create a commotion in the Center if they were all together. Her popularity as the Shiny Assassin had grown immensely since the first battle against Hiro.
She came into the room where water Pokemon were kept. She recognized Silver immediately; his silvery skin was unmistakable. She walked over to his tank, and he watched her with mild curiosity.
"Hello," she said, "My name is Tessa."
"Hi, I'm Silver."
"I know, your Lanturn friend told me."
"What?"
"Your Lanturn friend told me what your name was; she should be waiting, to see how you're doing, at the coast. I'll have to go and tell her after I'm finished talking to you."
"So you can speak Pokemon?"
"My first Pokemon taught me. Oh, this is Lavender, my Nidoran." said Tessa as Lavender nipped her ear.
"Hi," said Silver, waving at Lavender "aren't female Nidoran blue?"
"She's a Shiny, just like you."
"I'm a what?"
"A Shiny, you have a different color from other Pokemon."
"That's all?"
"Yeah, but it makes humans want to collect you."
"Do you want to capture me?"
"Only if you want to come with me; I always ask, because I can talk to Pokemon and know what they feel."
"It's fun to be trained by Tessa!" squeaked Lavender enthusiastically.
"Really?" said Silver doubtfully.
"Yeah!" said Lavender.
"Come on, you guys. No fighting." said Tessa, directed at Lavender. She looked at Silver, " I'm going to go tell your Lanturn friend that you're okay. Bye!"
As Tessa started to walk of, Silver shot to the surface, waving frantically.
"Wait, can I go with you? I want to see how Current's doing!"
Tessa hesitated, considering.
"Well, I'll ask the nurse. If she thinks you're up to it, you can come with me."
"Thanks!"
Tessa carried the heavy water basket to the coast, and then sent out Ruby. She climbed on his back, and they sped off to deeper water to meet with Current. The Lanturn was right where she said she'd be, and was overjoyed to see her friend in good health.
"Silver, you're okay! I was so worried!" she said, blinking the light on her head rapidly.
"Yeah, I'm fine." said Silver, "It's great to be in the ocean again."
Tessa looked sadly across the water, and sighed.
"Nurse Joy said that you would be able to go today, so you can go now if you want."
"Really?" said Current happily.
"Yeah, you're free to go." she said, "Bye, Silver."
"Wait." said Silver nervously, "Tessa, you saved my life. I owe you something for that."
"No, Silver, you don't. Its just part of the job."
"Well, if you're sure..."
"Yeah, you ca-"
Suddenly, a chorus of shrieks erupted from the water. People that were swimming ran as fast as they could to the shore.
"What's that all about?" mused Silver.
Tessa and Lavender, however, could hear what the screams were saying. A look of horror spread over both faces.
"Silver, swim fast! There's Sharpedo in the water!"
"What?"
"Go! I'll keep them from chasing you guys!"
The tall dorsal fins of the sharks were speeding toward the speakers. Current pulled Silver away as he struggled to help the rearing Gyarados. Ruby cried out as the Sharpedo ripped into his flesh, and he let loose a Hyper Beam that killed two of the sharks. The others continued to attack, trying to get past to the Tentacool and Lanturn.
"I have to help!" cried Silver as he tore away from Current's grasp.
He sped to the fight, using a Supersonic to confuse the sharks and make them attack each other. He then used Whirlpool to keep the Sharpedo in one spot while Ruby finished them off with another Hyper Beam.
While one shark sank to the bottom, still struggling feebly, it called out in rage at the battlers.
"You'll never get away! We'll keep hunting you to the ends of the Earth, and you'll never have a moment to yourself until you're dead!" It called with its dying breath.
Current swam up cautiously, skirting the place where the Sharpedo had fallen. Tessa was tending Ruby's gashes, spraying waterproof potion on them and calling him back into the Poke'ball. She rode Current to shore.
"Are you okay, Silver?" she asked.
"I'm fine, it seems that Ruby got the worst of it. I'm sorry I caused so much trouble."
"Why?"
"The Sharpedo won't stop hunting me, they want revenge. I'm afraid that I won't be able to return to the ocean."
"Oh, no!" wailed Current.
"You can come with me if you want." said Tessa tentatively.
"I'll have to. Besides, you saved my life twice in two days! I owe you this."
"Well, if you want to..."
"I do."
"Well, bye Silver. I understand that you have to leave for your own safety, and you do owe Tessa something for saving your life." murmured Current.
"Bye Current, you're still my best friend!" said Silver as he disappeared in a Poke'ball.
The Poke'ball twitched a few times, and then went still. Tessa said goodbye to Current, telling her that Silver was in good hands. She returned to the Pokemon Center, healed Ruby, and packed her things. She had a difficult choice ahead of her; She called out Ruby.
"Ruby, I have a dilemma. I now have seven Pokemon, and I'm only allowed to have six. Do you think you would like to stay at Professor Oak's lab for a few months?"
"Well, you do need to train the newbie, so I guess I'll go on vacation for a while." sighed Ruby sadly.
"Thank you so much, Ruby, you're really great! I promise, soon I'll get a huge reserve just for all my Pokemon. I just need to find the perfect place."
"Bye for now, Tessa."
"Bye, Ruby. Return." said Tessa as she called back the Gyarados.
She walked to the PC and sent the Poke'ball to the lab in Pallet Town, sighing as she did so.
"Good luck."