Into the Distance

Something about the salty air, never ending horizon and the slight breeze from the blue skies was mesmerising and relaxing. It was as if you could say or do anything without consequence, and all the troubles of the world had vanished into nothing. The sea remained a beautiful place for anyone travelling upon it, and the gentle cries of Pokemon that hitched a ride on the ship just added to the scenery. A small four legged Pokemon ran around the deck playfully as it dodged random passer-bys and cried happily in the perfect weather. Moving around corners, it released sparks naturally from its body, as many children began laugh and chase after it playfully. It's trainer stood nearby watching with his other Pokemon as he polished their Pokeballs whilst leaning on a deckchair, an umbrella perched above him to block the sunlight. He wore three-quarter track pants with matching dark coloured trainers, and he began to dust down his dark red top steadily. Smiling to himself, he held the shining Pokeball up in front and saw it glimmer in the reflected sunlight. Reaching for his black headband, Rod placed it around his head and adjusted it to perfection before yawning and stretching his arms out.

It had been two days since the events at Vermilion City, and the whole situation had been on the news constantly with apparently no clear witnesses as to what happened. Rod and Forrest had remained quiet along with the Captain Stern of the S.S. Tidal, who had found them running from the destruction. They wished to avoid media coverage and the inevitable interviews that followed after, but ever since leaving, all seemed well and Rod could finally enjoy some moments of being a trainer. Sitting up straight he gazed at Shinx playing with the children, their parents looking happily, as his three other Pokemon grazed on the wooden deck of the ship. Bulbasaur was snoring quietly with Starly whilst his most recent capture of Fletchling flew above the ship screeching loudly every time it released a portion of smoke. Forrest had gone to explore the ship's cafeteria as Rod decided to stay back and relax, however what they had witnessed would change everything.

They had discussed everything they saw, including the death of Steven Stone, but what worried Rod is that he couldn't even contact Professor Oak. Had he been doomed to the same fate? With Kanto now Team Rocket's, where would the renowned researcher go? Deep down, Rod knew he would be fine, and worrying about it wouldn't change the situation. He had no contact with Kanto for now, and with Hoenn only a day away he had to focus on the task at hand. Forrest had made sure his mindset was still on the Hoenn League in a years time and also the Hoenn Gym Leaders and challenges that came with it. Rod still wasn't ready to battle at a Gym, despite his Pokemon improving so quickly, but Forrest was not convinced he could defeat one yet. With his Pokemon team still growing stronger, and still so inexperienced, he had to take things slow. Smiling to himself, he stretched once more and stood up into the heated sunlight as his Pokemon began to stir and wake up. Shinx approached him and jumped into his shoulder as Rod smiled at the children in the background, looking slightly upset, and looked down at his Pokemon.

Fletchinder landed on his other shoulder as Rod called. "You guys fought so bravely back in Kanto, and I hope things get better from here."

They all cried happily as they jumped up at their trainer before comically colliding with each other and falling backwards. Rod laughed before returning them all to their recently cleaned Pokeballs and placing them into his pocket. He felt them vibrate slightly with his Pokemon so full of life and energy, before setting off to find Forrest somewhere on the cruise ship. It had been a few hours since they parted ways, but since lunch was in the near future, Rod decided to find his friend. It felt weird in how they had met randomly in Viridian Forest and suddenly their lives were plunged into inevitable danger. He admittedly didn't know much about Forrest apart from his background and experiences as a Gym Leader, but what happened before all of that? Was he a target when Team Rocket was around a few years ago? Rod hoped to find out more, but he seemed very loyal when it came to Pokemon training and had been giving Rod tips on his upcoming challenges. Continuing his way through the outer ship deck, whilst avoiding other passengers and couples, Rod's thoughts continued to multiply. How long would Forrest be around with him for, and what his true goal?

Rod continued to walk onwards, adjusting his headband slightly, as the wind increased around the ship. The waves crashed in its wake as Rod stood, looking at the endless horizon again, wondering where he would go first in Hoenn. This ship would arrive at Littleroot Town, where many trainers began their journey under the famous Professor Birch, but would he be as accommodating as Professor Oak? Nervousness began to click in steadily, but he fought it back with a chuckle, he would have to keep moving forward. His Pokemon were there for him, and he had to fight for them as best as he could.

"Always deep in thought, aren't you Rod?" The voice brought him back to reality as he shook his head, wiping his hands down his cheeks, before turning to see Forrest approaching with a slight smile. He seemed to be slightly concerned as he placed an arm round and continued. "You're Pokemon will know if you are afraid, you know. They need your strength and confidence to win in battle."

"I know that..." Even with those words coming from his mouth, the images of Vermilion City would remain with him forever. Forrest spoke the truth, and he had to be strong and confident as a trainer for his Pokemon to battle as well as they could. "You are right though, Forrest. I need to remain strong as a trainer!"

New found confidence seemed to flood his body as he gripped his hands together and smiled at his friend. They shook hands feeling the adrenaline between them, as Forrest called. "Hoenn is getting closer, and our true journey begins."

"Let's do this!"

They ran towards the open deck, footsteps echoing, as the beating sun from above shone down powerfully. The S.S. Tidal swiftly moved through the waves as tourists and Kanto civilians gazed onwards at a new life ahead of them. Everything seemed to be improving even though Team Rocket had returned, and the confidence instilled that the fight was not over. Giovanni may have something up his sleeve, but the involvement of Champion Trainers would lead to a better future, and Team Rocket truly destroyed...

…

Captain Stern knew what had happened back at Kanto, and how lucky he was to escape with a full ship completely untouched. The destruction he saw and the Pokemon battling was nothing he had ever seen before in his life. Team Rocket battled with brutality and purpose, and it was something he hadn't heard they could do in the past. They had a true motive, and not even the Pokemon Champions were ready for it. There was a single casualty in Vermilion City despite the numerous injured, the evacuation had been successful, but the rest of in-land Kanto would continue to fight against the Team Rocket forces. Stern had seen similar things before, many years ago now, when Team Magma and Aqua fought to take over Hoenn and led to the returns of Groudon and Kyogre. The stories from those times remained a mystery to many, but he had helped the trainer who fought against them both and remained successful. As he watched one of his crew guide the ship expertly, he couldn't help but feel lost without Steven Stone being around. Hoenn felt empty without him, and a true role model for young trainers especially had disappeared. Not even his Pokemon survived as he was taken out in Vermilion City, and even the news about that hadn't been disclosed.

There was something much larger coming ahead before the Hoenn Region would appear, and he had been given warnings a few hours after departing Kanto. The storm that had hit that night caused more damage in the sea than in the region, and Pokemon were struck and confused as a result. Gyarados were seen to be attacking without mercy along with other common Sea-based Pokemon, but could they avoid it all without a fight? Just as a new strategy entered his mind, a knock on the door appeared from behind.

Stern answered, turning around and calling. "It's open, please come on in!"

The door opened, as the ship lurched through the waves, and a thin middle-aged female entered with flowing dark brown hair. She greeted Captain Stern with a hand shake before replying. "Captain, you called upon me?"

"Thank you so much for coming up here. I know this your holiday, technically, but we may have a problem coming up."

"I'm on my way back to Hoenn now anyway, what's the issue?"

Stern gestured over to the radar on the wall that beeped steadily as it sensed upcoming obstacles. She wandered across and gazed at numerous red dots that began to appear in the far distance, her eyes narrowed in and understood the situation immediately. Stern continued, "We are trying to avoid the worst of it, but Littleroot have told me that numerous Pokemon have been rampaging in confusion. We can't avoid them all, and they may hit the ship, can you help us?"

"I can handle it, just let me know when we are getting close."

Stern breathed a sigh of relief, he was never a great Pokemon Trainer, but having a Gym Leader from Hoenn on board made it a lot easier. He responded again, "Thank you Roxanne, always knew we could trust you when the time came."

Roxanne smiled and responded as she turned to leave back to the deck, "You are doing a great thing sailing in such troubled times, Stern, and I will help. My Pokemon are ready!"

As the door closed behind her, Stern relayed instructions onto his crew through the transceivers they all held. Times would get rough in about an hours time, and he just hoped they could avoid another disaster for the people on the ship...

…

Many passengers had begun to see the dark objects in the water as the waves began to increase velocity. The ship began to rock heavier than normal with children running back to their parents, some crying and scared, whilst the older ones curiously looked over the railings at the deep blue sea. Most of the passengers had travelled the oceans many time, and they knew how unlikely it was for Pokemon to attack without being threatened. Captain Stern was always careful to avoid vulnerable areas, so what was going on now?

Rod and Forrest ran around the deck to the more open area as the scenes of panic began to increase. Children screamed, complaining about the rocking boat, as the two trainers pushed their ways to the railings. Something in the water seemed to be gradually coming closer from the depths beneath, and it had no intention on stopping at all. Forrest turned to his friend and exclaimed, "Something is wrong here. That Pokemon coming up is a Gyarados, I recognise the body shape, but it is preparing to attack."

A few of the passengers over heard his words and cried:, "Preparing to attack? What do we do?" As the crowd began to disperse back to their cabins to gather valuables with panic beginning to ensue around them all. Rod instinctively took out his Pokedex and aimed it towards the water as it flickered into life and explained Gyarados to be known as the Atrocious Pokemon due to its sheer power and vicious temperament. He had never heard of an attack from such a Pokemon randomly, but this seemed to be a different situation altogether. Rod took a Pokeball out of his pocket and took a few step backs as the silhouette began to appear faster.

Rod bellowed, throwing the Pokeball into the air, "Shinx, I choose you!"

The Pokedex had explained that Gyarados was a Water and Flying hybrid, and so Shinx could cause some serious damage to it based on type advantage. Forrest agreed with his decision and ran across the deck to the other side before screaming back in alarm, "Rod! There are more appearing, I think we've hit a school of them!"

"We'll have to battle them off, are there any other trainers on this ship?" Rod looked around but most of the crowd had dispersed and the few remaining were trying to push down the stairs to the cabins below. He assumed that from Vermilion City, the chances of trainers were low compared to tourists and those travelling through to Hoenn. They were on their own for this one, but where was Captain Stern and his orders? Surely the crew would be on board to help the situation, but there was nobody at all willing to help. A sickening cry from the oceans depths made Rod jump backwards in shock as he landed on his side, the waves rocketing over him and soaking his clothes, as something dark blue appeared in front of him. Jagged teeth and rock hard fins tattered its snake like body as Rod crawled back with Shinx doing the same, looking equally as frightened.

Forrest yelled, as his Geodude appeared in front of him as more Gyarados appeared, blocking the ships movement, "Rod you have to be confident! It's for your Pokemon!"

His body unfroze as Rod forced himself to stand up, ignoring the rippling screech from the atrocious Pokemon as he cried: "Shinx! We can do this! Use Discharge, aim for the face!"

Rod's words seemed to send an echoing battle cry throughout the ship as the disappearing crowd began to applaud and clap from a distance. The smaller Flash Pokemon roared loudly before sparking furiously and unleashing a sporadic burst of electricity towards the Gyarados. Rod faintly heard Forrest call a Rock Blast behind him as their attacks hit simultaneously and causing their opponents to back away spluttering in pain and agony. What would cause these Pokemon to attack? It seemed so bizarre that they were angry, and so Rod racked his brains trying to imagine the reason why before he gazed above into the sky and saw a single white cloud dotting the blue. It suddenly came to him, and injuring these Pokemon now was not the solution to the problem.

Forrest bellowed, "Rod, what are you waiting for? It's coming in close again!"

Rod replied, waving his hand in caution, "Forrest! These Gyarados are confused! The storm back in Kanto must have swept through here! The Pokemon must have been hit by the electrical energy produced!"

A few clues had led to this conclusion, and it came from just looking at Gyarados rise from the ocean. They were in their natural habitat, and for them to rise so slowly seemed strange. He had grown up listening to stories about the Gyarados and their powerful Rage and Thrash attacks, with the ability to devour ships with ease. These seemed a lot slower, and their movements sluggish, and combined with the electrical storm yesterday, it had to be the case. Rod gazed down at Shinx, and knew what to do instantly as he commanded, "Shinx, use Thunder Wave! Paralyse it, we need to help them!"

Shinx began to spark once again as it ran towards the railings to gain some range as Gyarados recovered from the Discharge attack previous. However, anger was now penetrating its bloodshot eyes and Shinx got nowhere close before they were pushed backwards against the hard deck. The Atrocious Pokemon released a consuming Hydro Pump attack, taking Rod by complete surprise as he back flipped through the air. Forrest fell back as well grabbing onto Rod as the two Gyarados screeched loudly around them, full of anger and confusion as they unleashed another Hydro Pump into the air. Rod returned his fainted Shinx, thanking it for its efforts, as they both dived away from the next attack with the crowd of people screaming and disappearing down below.

Forrest gasped, wiping water from his brow, "I think you may have figured out the problem slightly to late, these two want to fight now!"

Rod nodded, and took out another Pokeball from his pocket knowing that this would be a real challenge for his inexperienced Pokemon. He had no idea what their weak points were, and his best Type match up had been defeated in a single powerful attack. Confidence entered his body again before he stood up and stretched to released his next Pokemon into the battle. However, another figure had appeared in front of them both as it held up a hand to stop them from moving. Rod blinked and realised it was a girl, only slightly taller than them as he looked her up and down and saw a crest on her jumper of some sort of academy.

She called, looking at them both and smiled, "You both really need to take care in landing your attacks. Let me show you how it's done!"

To Rod's shock she showed no fear at the two Gyarados screeching down and readying another attack to use. Raising her hands into the air, a Pokeball appeared from between them both as it exploded into life. A large Pokemon appeared, hovering in mid-air, as three metallic rocks appeared and followed its every movement. Rod had never seen this Pokemon before, but Forrest gasped in shock and excitement. He exclaimed, "It's a Probopass!"

"Probopass?" Rod replied confused as he opened his Pokedex, aiming it at the large Pokemon, and hearing its response as the Compass Pokemon that could used its three mini-noses to attack. A Rock and Steel hybrid and also very difficult to train and evolve from its previous form of a Nosepass, Rod looked on at the girl as she did a slight twirl and prepared an attack. The Gyarados approached once again, their bodies tensing up with the inevitable Hydro Pump approaching.

Roxanne cried: "Probopass, use Protect around the deck!"

The Compass Pokemon flashed white, its three mini-noses spinning around rapidly as a stream of translucent gold appeared. A symmetrical shield appeared around the deck as the Gyarados were pushed back, their Hydro Pump attacks misfiring against the attack. Rod punched in the air in utter joy as Probopass continued the attack, its trainer smiling with the crowd of people returning around and clapping loudly, cheering her on. She then reached her hands into her small brown satchel and drew two small pink berries from within. Twirling around once again she threw both of them past the Protect move as they landed perfectly into the gaping mouth of the falling Gyarados. Biting down simultaneously, the anger seemed to stop instantly as they slowly sank back into the ocean.

Rod walked forwards with Forrest just behind him as he gasped, "How did you manage to calm them so quickly?"

The crowd cheered, returning to the deck as many breathed a sigh of relief, Roxanne responded, "Well you said the answer yourself earlier. Those Gyarados were confused from the electrical storm, and so Persim Berries is what cures that ailment."

Rod smiled understanding what the pink berries were now, and to his surprise, Forrest walked in front and raised a hand of greeting as he spoke, "You are Roxanne aren't you? I've heard you are a Gym Leader in Hoenn."

She smiled, chuckling slightly, as she shook Forrest's hand firmly with Probopass nearby looking on as children approached it cautiously, wanting to touch its metallic body. "You two really know your stuff! I am Roxanne, indeed, and the Gym Leader of the Rustboro City Gym in Hoenn."

Probopass was returned to its shining Pokeball as the children walked away disappointed, with the crowd now glancing over the railings in case of any other imminent Pokemon attacking. Rod, out of a pure spurt of adrenaline, called: "Roxanne. My name is Rod, and I am from Kanto. I want to challenge your Gym one day once I am stronger!"

"You showed some nice skill back there, and decent thinking. I would welcome you to my Gym, and accept your challenge."

Forrest patted Rod on the back, "And I am Forrest, a Gym Leader from Kanto. Rod here has a lot of talent, and I can assure your battle will be worthwhile."

"I look forward to it. However, I must return to Captain Stern to let him know about the Gyarados. I am sure we will meet again soon!"

She shook both their hands again before turning away to the applause of the passengers on the deck, her brown hair flailing in the wind, before disappearing into one of the side hatches ahead. Rod coughed, his mind racing due to his meeting with a Gym Leader in Hoenn. Would Rustboro City be his first real challenge, and would he be able to win the badge? His Pokemon were getting stronger, but her Probopass seemed something completely different. His mind ran through different ideas for strategies, but couldn't pinpoint anything to use immediately.

Forrest looked at him and laughed, "You'll beat her, Rod. But as soon as we get to Hoenn, you have some serious training to do!"

Rod adjusted his headband and agreed, "Can't wait for it!"

The sun beat down above as the seas remained calm and quiet for the remainder of the afternoon. Everything returned to normal with the Gyarados incident now behind them completely, and with Hoenn only hours away, Rod couldn't stop shaking in excitement that his true adventure was about to begin.