Pokémon and all associated characters, locations and moves are the property of the Pokémon Company.

Treasure Island was published before the 1st of January 1925 and is in the public domain world wide because its author died at least 100 years ago.

Act I - The Map

Part I - The Admiral Benbow Inn

The Admiral Benbow Inn was in a rather odd place to the outside observer. It was about two dozen miles north of Hulbury, one of Galar's major port cities, which put it at a distance of any sailors arriving and staying for a day or more before returning to sea. Passersby often wondered how the Inn was able to turn a profit if most of the likely customers were probably uninterested in traveling twenty four miles out of their way to come here. Perhaps it had something to do with the building's simplicity. It was of an almost obnoxiously practical design, with four brick walls and a sloping tiled roof. It essentially looked like a box with the top flaps not pushed down all the way. Of course there was method to the practicality; from the outside the Inn looked quite pristine for being battered by coastal storms throughout the year. There was hardly any patchwork or worn areas to be seen except for, perhaps, the sign over the door that bore the inn's name. At the least this meant that the owners did not have to spend money on repairs and maintenance every year.

The Inn itself was never to specifically cater to sailors anyway, though they were as welcome to stay as any other guest if they arrived. Rather it was for humans and Pokémon traveling to or from Hulbury who needed a place to stay other than outside in the cold coastal night. Guests could arrive and request lodging, be treated to a nice dinner before bed, stay in their warm room at the inn and be treated to a fine breakfast upon waking up before resuming their travels. Most guests usually only stayed overnight at the most, though there was the rare exception who stayed for one or two whole days for whatever reason. Other times visitors could simply stop in for a quick meal before getting back on the road to wherever they were going.

The only permanent residents were the small family who owned and ran the Admiral Benbow Inn every day and night. Running the establishment of course required that they awaken right at dawn to prepare for the patrons who would soon be waking up themselves. One member of that family, a boy of roughly fourteen years, was still sound asleep in his personal room as the sun rose over another morning on the eastern Galar coast.

"Jim!"

At the call of his name the boy stirred in his bed. In his sleep he attempted to further bury his head of brown hair into his pillow and ignore the sound that threatened to pull him from slumber.

"Jim!"

The call was louder this time. The boy stirred once again and turned over to face away from the noise as he began to leave the realm of sleep.

"Jim!"

It was yet louder again. The boy was now starting to truly wake up and set about trying to find his way back to slumber before it was too late.

A new, quieter, sound came to his increasingly alert ears, the door to his room creaking open. It was followed by the soft sound of paws upon the wooden floor approaching the bed. There was then the feeling of something small jumping onto the bed and crawling on top of him.

And then there was the feeling of a damp and scratchy tongue slowly licking across his cheek.

The boy yelped. Now he was definitely awake as he suddenly sat up straight with wide and alert eyes. He turned to face the one who had licked him. It was a primarily slate grey Pokémon with red paws resembling a miniature fox and it was smiling with clear glee in its blue-green eyes.

"Morning, Jim," the Zorua said in a youthful female voice.

"Good morning, Zoey," Jim replied, most of the sleep having left him now. "Have I not asked you to stop licking my cheek to wake me?" he added.

"Well," Zoey started in a cheeky tone. "I wouldn't have to if you would rise when mom calls you."

"Jim!" the call from earlier came again.

"Speaking of mother," Zoey chirped. "I'd come downstairs before she starts waking up guests to get to you."

"Yes, yes," Jim said as he got out of bed. He moved over to his dresser and began to remove his nightshirt before a yawn from Zoey reminded him of the Zorua's presence. "I'm going to change, if you would be so kind as to give me some privacy," he remarked.

Zoey rolled her eyes, but did as she was asked and exited the room. "Why do you humans feel such shame over your own bodies?" she asked as she left.

"It is decency, not shame" Jim replied.

A few minutes later, Jim came down from his room to the central dining area of the inn that was most of the first floor. His nightshirt had been replaced by a white undershirt beneath a beige waistcoat, accompanied by similarly coloured breeches with white stockings and black buckled shoes. Waiting for him in the central room was Zoey and a dark grey rat-like Pokémon with a cream coloured underbelly. The Rattata's eyes turned to Jim as he entered.

"Hello, Jim!" the Rattata said in a chipper boyish voice.

"Good morning, Ralph," Jim replied. "Is breakfast ready?"

"I believe so," Ralph answered. "Come along, I hunger as well."

Jim, Ralph and Zoey headed for the large kitchen that was the other third of the first floor. To their right was the large washing stand with a window in the wall above it, flanked on each side by cupboards holding clean tableware. To their left as they entered were the cupboards and shelves that held the breads and plant food respectively. On the farthest end of the left wall was the door to the stairway into the cellars where all the "adult drinks" were kept. The wall on their side had the door to the dining area, and a large serving window which doubled as a bar. On the far wall was a decent sized cooking stove with a counter on each side for cutting ingredients for meals, both had a window in the wall behind them.

In the center of the large kitchen was an island where three plates of freshly made pancakes were sitting, and a very proud looking grey and red bipedal fox Pokémon was standing on the opposite side to them. The Zoroark wore a hairnet that somehow managed to cover all of the Illusion Fox's voluminous mane and an apron that read "Arceus Save the Chef."

"'Tis my best work," the Zoroark said. "So eat quickly before it cools."

The three pulled a trio of bar stools up to the island and quickly began eating while the Zoroark cleaned out the pan she had used to make the pancakes. Once they had finished Jim, Zoey and Ralph took their own dishes to the washing stand to clean them before placing them on a drying rack.

"Thanks, Mother," Zoey chirped to the Zoroark.

"Thank you, Ms. Zoroark," Jim and Ralph said.

"You're all quite welcome," Ms. Zoroark said. "Now I'd suggest getting your tasks for the morning started, the sooner you begin the sooner you shall finish."

"Okay, Mother," Zoey agreed.

"Yes, madam," Jim and Ralph followed suit.

"Ralph, you shall help me start cooking; Jim and Zoey, you see the tables readied for our guests," Ms. Zoroark assigned.

The kids hurried to do as they were instructed. The dining area had ten circular tables spread out around the room, each with four seats around them. In the centre was a smaller wood burning stove whose exhaust pipe extended to the ceiling and eventually outside through the west side wall. It was only ever used in the winter, so only the tables were of concern. Setting them up was not particularly complicated. All that was needed was to scrub away any stains and rubbish from the night before and place clean silverware and tankards upon them for the first customers, as well as fresh candles for when the sun began to set. As they carried out their task, Zoey was collecting the used candles instead of tossing them to the trash much to Jim's confusion.

"What do you want those candles for?" he asked.

"I shall try to sell them," was Zoey's reply. This only confused Jim more however.

"Who would want for a candle that is mostly burned out?" Jim inquired.

"I don't know, but until I try to sell them I shan't ever," Zoey answered.

All Jim could do was roll his eyes. This was not out of the ordinary for Zoey. She had a tendency to try her paw at get rich quick schemes in an attempt to fund her way out of working at the Inn; although the most she would get if they ever actually succeeded, which they almost never did, would be hardly enough for a week long vacation, much less moving out entirely. It was not that Zoey hated working at the Inn for her mother, she was simply bored with it by now and wanted to do something more exciting and with more variety.

Jim had to admit to himself that a deviation from the banality of the inn, at least once in a while, was tempting.

Once the tables were cleaned and ready for the guests who would soon be awake and descending for breakfast, Jim and Zoey returned to the kitchen where Ms. Zoroark and Ralph were preparing food.

"Mother, we're done with the tables," Zoey said as they entered.

"Thank you both," Ms. Zoroark replied. The sound of foot falls upstairs alerted the four that last night's arrivals were waking up and getting ready to come downstairs. Ms. Zoroark quickly assigned new roles in response.

"Zoey, assist me in serving the guests their breakfasts," she started.

"Okay, mother," Zoey replied.

"Jim, Ralph, I send you upstairs to clean the rooms," Ms. Zoroark ordered.

"Yes, Ms. Zoroark," Jim and Ralph responded before heading upstairs, passing a few of their guests as they came down for breakfast.

Once again, the task was easy; though it still took some time, not least of all because some guests awakened and left as they cleaned another room. All that needed to be done was replacing the now dirty sheets and blankets on the beds with clean ones. Once in a while, they would have to clean up a spill that a guest had left on the floor, courtesy of late night drinking before bed. One such spill was of some of the inn's fine rum all over the floor of the last room that had been occupied the previous night.

"Zoey shall likely ask us to take her roles as she carries out her latest scheme," Jim said as he worked to clean the spill.

"Oh no, does she plan to try and sell those old candles I saw her collecting?" Ralph responded.

"Aye," Jim confirmed.

Ralph sighed in displeasure. "Why must she continually attempt these schemes?"

Jim did not really have an answer beyond what he had said to Ralph the last time they had this conversation. "Because she's bored," he said simply. "She wishes to do something with us other than keeping up an inn."

Ralph did not respond, but Jim knew what he was thinking. Ralph was much more cautious in his approach to life than Zoey. He was perfectly happy with the somewhat banal routine that came with living and working at the Admiral Benbow. It made sense though; before Ms. Zoroark picked him up, Ralph had found his way onto a ship looking for food and was on board when it left his home region of Alola. He had tried to get home several times by other ships without success and had to constantly hide from guards and their Pokémon to avoid being captured. It was a very unpredictable life, so Ralph welcomed the stability of the Inn with open paws and was generally averse to the idea of running off into something hectic.

For his part, Jim did enjoy the simplicity of life at the inn as well.

Once the rum stain on the floor was cleaned, Jim and Ralph came back down to the main dining area. Several of the guests were sitting at one of the newly cleaned tables and doing their best to undo all of Jim and Zoey's previous efforts. As they headed to the kitchen to help Ms. Zoroark and Zoey with the serving, a man sitting at one of the tables called out.

"Oy, sonny," he said.

Jim turned to face the man. "Are you in need of something, sir?" he asked.

"Aye, but only an answer to a question o' mine, boy," the man continued. He pointed to what appeared to be another Jim bussing food and dishes. "Is that lad there your twin?"

Jim looked to his "twin" before speaking up. "Zoey," he called.

"Jim?" the other Jim said in a distinct girl's voice, which caught the man so off guard he spit out his drink despite not having taken a sip from it.

"If you shall clean the dirty dishes, I shall take over waiting on customers" Jim continued.

"Okay, thank you!" the other Jim chirped before turning into a Zorua and prancing off into the kitchen. The man at the table relaxed a bit after seeing this.

"Ah ha," he calmly nodded in understanding. "She's your fine Pokémon partner, works here for your mother, does she?"

"Um… not exactly, sir," Jim replied. "It's I who does work for her mother, Ms. Zoroark."

The man seemed slightly surprised by this, but nodded nevertheless. Humans working for civilized Pokémon who had taken up human practices, like business owning for example, was not too out of the ordinary. Work was work.

"More than my employer, she's my caretaker of sorts as well after my mother was lost," Jim continued.

This time, the man gave Jim a somewhat askance look which was quickly noticed.

"Is something wrong, sir?" he asked.

The man quickly did away with his previous expression and hastily shook his head. "No, no, not at all," he somewhat sputtered before unsubtly looking at anything other than Jim. "It's simply rare to find human kids as wards to Pokémon guardians is all."

Jim ignored the man's newly found awkward position and got back to work. It was not the first time people had turned their heads when they learned that Ms. Zoroark was as much Jim's guardian as she was his employer. They never made much of a deal out of it when they learned, if anything they voiced happiness that Ms. Zoroark was doing a fine job raising him, but Jim could always tell they found it odd that he was being raised by a Pokémon instead of another human regardless of whether that human was one of his parents or not. They never voiced any true disapproval, but Jim could not help but wonder sometimes.

Other Pokémon never seemed to find it worth commenting on though. As an example, when Jim bussed the breakfast dishes of a wild blue and bipedal frog-like Pokémon that had stayed overnight, it tried to thank him.

"Frog, froga!" it said in its particular dialect of Pokémon speak. Unlike Ms. Zoroark, Zoey, Ralph or other civilized Pokémon, wild Pokémon usually could not speak human languages, though they were still able to understand it. Unfortunately, Jim, like most humans, could not understand back.

"Um, what?" was all the confused Jim could respond with.

The Frogadier picked up on this and turned to a large grey and white furred Pokémon resembling a bear sitting at a nearby table, speaking to it in its Pokémon speak.

The Pangoro turned to Jim and spoke in human language. "She says 'thank you,'" he said.

Jim nodded and turned back to the Frogadier with a smile. "You're very welcome, miss," he replied to her.

As Jim turned to resume his work, the Pangoro spoke up again. "And Jim."

"Yes sir?" Jim replied.

"Relay to your mother for me that, should she seek a partner for future nights, I'm always available," the Pangoro finished, giving a somewhat lecherous grin through the serving window towards Ms. Zoroark as she worked in the kitchen.

Jim looked rather uncomfortable at the implication and the Frogadier gave the Pangoro a look that read either "keep that to yourself" or "you nauseate me," but otherwise made no comment about how the Pangoro had casually called Ms. Zoroark Jim's mother without a second thought.

And human patrons wondered why Jim seemed to prefer waiting on Pokémon customers. Even if all the humans did was a quick mental adjustment when they found out about Jim's relation to Ms. Zoroark, it still felt like they were judging him for it. It was also why he rarely left the inn; there was no need to put his guardian status on display for a whole town to see.

Once the customers who had stayed overnight had eaten and left it was rather quiet for the rest of the day. Occasionally, some human or some Pokémon would wander in and ask for either a meal or for directions to Hulbury, but otherwise it was a slow day and, when it arrived, an equally slow evening as a small coastal storm took form over the inn. Not that Jim, Zoey, Ralph or even Ms. Zoroark minded the slowness. It afforded them the opportunity to do other things for the time being. Ms. Zoroark began washing dirty bed sheets and blankets, while the kids played a game of Blackjack in the main dining area.

"Thirteen, you son of a-" Ralph stated under his breath in his Pokémon speak. He was rather displeased with his current hand. Jim had a three, and from his grin he was clearly happy with what the other card was. Zoey as the dealer was not faring too bad either with a five and whatever was face down; she had Galar's greatest poker face though so it was hard to tell what was going through her head.

"Hit me," Jim said. Zoey obeyed and gave Jim a ten.

"And me," Ralph asked. Zoey gave him a six.

Zoey then gave herself a card. "Dealer receives a three," she said as she displayed her card.

"Hit me again," Jim asked. He got a five.

"Stay," Ralph said, choosing caution.

"I'll stay as well," Zoey stated.

"Stay," Jim said.

Ralph thought for a minute. Jim wouldn't stay unless he was confident, he thought. It's only a game, risk it.

"Hit me," he requested. Zoey gave him a two.

"Twenty one!" Ralph proclaimed, flipping over his face down card to reveal a ten and a three to go with the six and two.

Zoey quickly gave herself a new card, a ten. "Damn it, I've busted," she somewhat griped.

"Then Ralph wins," Jim conceded, revealing the two that had been face down amongst his cards giving him twenty.

Ralph gave a very happy grin as Zoey collected the cards to shuffle them. As she did though, a peculiar sound came to her ears through the storm outside.

"Do you hear that?" she asked.

Jim and Ralph went silent as they listened. Yes they heard it too, though only just barely. There was loud shouting and the sound of Pokémon attacks being thrown around. Unfortunately, the wind and rain made it impossible to tell what was being said or even what moves were being used. Still, the kids listened intently to the faint sounds of battle.

At least until it all ended with the only thing that rang through clearly, a bloodcurdling scream.

The kids went very still and very silent at that. When Ms. Zoroark returned from washing things she took notice of her wards' sudden silence and the frightened expressions on their faces.

"Children, what worries you?" she asked.

"M… mother," Zoey began. "Did you hear that?"

"What did you hear?" Ms. Zoroark questioned.

"The sounds from outside," Jim answered. "There was shouting and the airs of a battle."

"A-and a h-h-horrible scream," Ralph added through his frightened shivering.

Ms. Zoroark looked out the window into the storm still continuing beyond the inn's walls. She hummed intently as she scanned the outside. "I see nothing," she said finally. "We should close up for the night nonetheless. Zoey, Ralph, douse the candles on the tables; Jim, collect the lantern from outside."

The kids did as they were told. Zoey and Ralph went to get the candle covers while Jim put on a poncho Ms. Zoroark had bought for him and went outside. Using a long stick with a hook at the end, Jim worked to bring the lantern down from its pole, though the rain and darkness made it somewhat difficult to see. As he tried, he heard the sound of heavy footsteps on the rain soaked roadway approaching and turned to look in their direction. A figure was slowly trudging towards the inn and Jim. It took a few moments, but as it entered the light of the lantern the figure became clearer.

It was a large turtle-like Pokémon with a blue body, though only its limbs and head poked through its brown shell, as well as two cannons over its shoulders. It wore a tricorn on its head, a spyglass around its neck, a large satchel slung over its shoulder, and it appeared to be pulling something behind it. Eventually, the Pokémon stopped in front of Jim and looked down at him. Jim was slightly taken aback by the large stranger staring down at him with a somewhat gruff look, and the rain water running down its face.

"Um… good evening?" Jim asked.

The Blastoise did not respond at first. Then it gained a friendlier look and lowered itself. "Might you be in need of a lift, matey?" it asked in a hearty but friendly male voice.

Jim hesitated at first but eventually relented. "My thanks, sir," Jim said.

Jim got on the Blastoise's back and was lifted up to the lantern. He very easily grabbed it with his hand and when he had taken it off its post, the Blastoise lowered himself again so Jim could disembark.

"My thanks to you again, sir," Jim said to the visitor.

The Blastoise chuckled. "You're quite welcome, lad," he replied before looking over to the inn. "Admiral Benbow," he read its name aloud. "Your cove there could give me a shield from this rain, could it not?" he asked.

"I should have to ask Ms. Zoroark first, sir," Jim replied.

"Then ask away lad, I shall wait here for your return."

Jim nodded and went back inside. As he did, he heard the Blastoise begin singing to himself.

"Fifteen men on the dead man's chest,

Yo, ho, ho and a bottle of rum!"

"Ms. Zoroark!" Jim called out once he was inside.

"Yes, Jim?" was the reply from the kitchen.

"There's a customer outside!"

Ms. Zoroark emerged at Jim's explanation. "Is there now?" she said as she followed Jim outside. She then came face to face with the Blastoise who was still out there, casually leaning on something next to him that the rain and night obscured from a clearer view.

"A good evening to you, miss," the Blastoise said with a polite tip of his hat.

"Good evening," Ms. Zoroark replied. "Jim here says you're looking for lodging?"

"Aye, that I am," the Blastoise confirmed. "Would you'd be willin' to give accommodation to a poor old sailor such as myself, madam?"

"Aye, we can. We have no other company at present so you have a free choice of which room to claim," Ms. Zoroark informed the visitor.

The Blastoise gained a pleased grin at the news that he was the only one staying. "Well then, a perfect berth for me, this is," he said. "If you would be so kind, some help moving my here sea chest would be appreciated," he continued, motioning to the dark object still somewhat obscured by the night and rainfall.

"I'll assist with that," Ms. Zoroark agreed. "Might you be in need of anything else?"

"Only a small bit o' vittles to calm the stomach for the night," the Blastoise answered. "Rum and bread will suffice."

Ms. Zoroark nodded. "Pray Jim, would you go fetch our guest his food while I help him with his chest?"

Jim nodded and went inside. Zoey and Ralph were waiting and followed him as he collected the food the visitor had requested.

"What's happening?" Ralph asked.

"We have a customer," Jim replied.

"At this late an hour?" Zoey questioned.

"So it seems," Jim answered.

The sound of grunting came to the kids' ears as Ms. Zoroark and the new guest hauled the sea chest into the building. It appeared to be a bit heavy given how Ms. Zoroark strained somewhat to bring it inside, though the Blastoise hardly seemed encumbered. After setting it down the Blastoise parked himself in a chair while Ms. Zoroark took in some relieved breaths.

"What all is in there?" Ms. Zoroark asked disbelievingly through her breathing.

"Why everything this sailor has ever cared to keep or should ever need," the Blastoise responded as Jim came over to give him the food he had requested. "Thank you, lad," the Blastoise said.

"So, how long might you stay, sir?" Ms. Zoroark asked.

"As long as I can," was the straightforward reply. "With the permission of my hosts, of course," the Blastoise hastily added.

"'Tis a bit rare, but not unheard of," Ms. Zoroark replied. "Though I would have your name first."

The Blastoise hesitated before responding. "I fear to tell my name to a wide audience, madam. I shall tell you in confidence another time, but here I shall have you and your wards address me as 'Captain.'"

Jim, Zoey and Ralph all looked at each other. It was true that guests had requested an indefinite stay before, even if they were very few and far between, but they still only stayed a few days at most. How long was this "Captain" planning to stay?