Chapter 9

Ash sat on the sidelines awaiting the final battle to begin. He was going to be facing someone by the name of Corey Sorao. He was around Ash's age and seemed to be a nice enough guy, showing good sportsmanship with his opponents and never mistreating his pokemon. To this point he had used two pokemon, an Ivysaur named Bruteroot, and a Pidgeot. Both pokemon were well trained and responded to just about any situation that came against them. Ash knew that this would be a battle that he would enjoy.

The battles he had already fought in were nothing really to speak out about. All the trainers like he had expected, were rich kids that had their parents buy them pokemon and knew the very basics of pokemon battling. Hell, one kid even had a butler who threw the pokeballs for him. Ash had only used Charmeleon for his battles and was rather disappointed when he couldn't find a challenge in any of his opponents. Shaking his head, Ash looked up to see the referee gesturing for him to come to the field. Corey stood on the other side and tilted his head in greeting, "Nice to get the chance to battle you Ash. I have watched your matches and am very interested."

Ash nodded in agreement, "Same with you, shall we give them one to remember?"

Corey nodded and threw his pokeball to reveal his Ivysaur.

Ash smirked and chose Charmeleon who saw his opponent and let lose a stream of fire into the air. Corey was first, "Just because you have a fire type doesn't mean a thing. A good trainer prepares for weaknesses while a great trainer can overcome them."

Ash grinned, "Music to my ears, Charmeleon use flamethrower!"

Corey was quick to react, "Bruteroot counter with energy ball and then hit him with leech seed." The grass type quickly fired off a powerful orb of swirling green energy that collided with the flamethrower. A cloud of smoke flew up from the resulting explosion but quickly went away only to reveal a hail of small brown seeds rain down upon Charmeleon. The Kanto starter growled in annoyance as the seeds opened and he was wrapped in small vines that quickly dug into his skin and started to sap the energy from him.

Corey smiled and snapped his fingers, "Let's keep up the momentum, Bruteroot use SludgeBomb!"

Ash felt his eyes widen momentarily. Granted his own Ivysaur had the move but it wasn't very common to find an opponent who was had taken the time to train their pokemon with moves outside their normal move pool. The grass type grunted as he started to gather a brown orb of slug at his flower bud before firing it with perfect accuracy.

"Charmeleon, use metal claw to counter and break out of those vines!" The fire type roared in concentration as his claws flashed a silver color before growing three times their normal size. The claws slashed outward and easily cut through the vines before Charmeleon brought his arms up in an arc to quickly slice through the orb of toxic waste.

Corey nodded in approval, "Quick thinking there Ash. I'm glad we got a chance to battle." The teen nodded in agreement, "To true, but here is where it ends. Charmeleon let's see if your training has paid off, activate blaze!"

Corey and the assembled crowd gapped as the fire type roared out and was suddenly wrapped in a powerful red aura. "Your pokemon can use his ability at will?"

Ash smiled and gave the next command, "End this with Flare Blitz!" Charmeleon roared before his body was engulfed with powerful flames that crackled with lightning. The starter smirked as his power rushed over him before using his powerful legs to launch himself into his opponent. Corey could only watch as his pokemon was knocked out by the supercharged move.

The referee raised his flag towards Ash, "The winner of the competition is Ash Ketchum and his Charmeleon!"

Ash smiled as the crowd cheered for him before he walked over to Corey. Offering his hand he spoke up, "Great job Corey, I'm pretty sure that if not for Charmeleon's blaze ability I would have had a much harder battle."

The fellow teen returned his starter and nodded, "I have to ask…how did you get him to use his ability so easily? Bruteroot has used Overgrow before but never unless he was in danger of fainting."

Ash thought a moment, "Truthfully it was with a ton of training and determination. Charmeleon actually worked with two of my other pokemon to learn and harness their abilities by themselves as a…gift of sorts."

Corey sighed, "Well I guess that is acceptable. But next time we battle, it will be different." The two new friends shook hands and walked off to enjoy the festivities. As they walked off, a certain brunette was holding her hand to her chest with a slight blush upon her face, "Such a powerful trainer and so kind…oh Ash my darling why can't you see that we are made for each other?"

Ash smiled as he handed over his pokedex to the Captain of the S.S. Anne who quickly added the winning sum of ten thousand dollars to Ash's account. Handing back the small device he looked at Ash, "I must congratulate your victory Mr. Ketchum. In addition to the prize money you will be given a day pass to the Safari Zone."

Ash looked at the Captain, "I was under the impression that the Safari Zone was closed down." The Captain nodded, "It was for the past three years because of a new program that they had been implementing. The Zones around regions have been sending pokemon from their area to other parks; in exchange they would get rare pokemon from other regions to help boost their local and regional economy. Not to mention research student wouldn't have to travel out of their home region to have a chance to study rare pokemon. The pass you have just received is a free weekend hunt with the only limitation being that you have to use the safari balls given to you by the warden and no pokemon are to be used in captures. Only one pass is given to each region a year so do not lose this."

Ash's eyes widened at the value of this item. He thanked the Captain before going internet café that the ship had. Corey was already there sitting at a table with a girl who looked around their age. She was pretty with well kept brunette hair and was wearing a purple and lavender blouse with yellow pants. Corey looked up and smiled, "Ash over here!"

The teen walked over and sat at the computer at the table. "So spill it Ash, what did you win?"

The girl giggled, "Leave him alone Corey, I'm sure if he wanted to tell us then he would have." Corey waved off the comment, "By the way Ash, this is my friend Neesha. We both participated in last years conference but only got past the first two battles."

The Pallet Town native nodded and greeted the older girl, "Nice to meet you. And to answer your question Corey it was a cash prize with a pass to the Safari Zone."

The two teens gaped at this, "Ash do you realize how lucky you are? The Safari Zone hasn't accepted visitors for three years because they have been introducing new pokemon to the park."

Ash nodded as he looked up the Safari Zone to see what pokemon were now available. When the Pokemon League reset the beginning age, they also made it mandatory that all databases available to trainers had accurate lists of pokemon in the area. This would avoid trainers who were beginners going into area that held very hostile pokemon. The biggest reason was because several years ago a new trainer had tried to take Mt. Silver to Blackthorn City in order to get a dragon type pokemon. The young man had stumbled onto a Tyranitar's nest and was killed by the rampaging mother.

Ash quickly pulled up the Safari Zone's page and selected the tab for pokemon listings. It listed the area that the pokemon would be likely found as well as the rarity of the ones in the Safari. Sure enough the file now listed pokemon from all six major regions. Ash felt himself go giddy with the prospect of forming a powerful team with pokemon from all the regions. With the addition of all the new pokemon, the Warden had increased the price from five hundred to ten thousand. The reason behind the massive increase was because of the rarity of many of the pokemon. This meant that trainers had to battle and train hard before being granted access to the Zone. This also kept the pokemon safe and away from harm until trainers were allowed access. The Warden also restricted the number of people to five a day.

Corey's eyes widened, "Damn, they really outdid themselves. Elekid, Magby, Axew, Mareep, Wooper, Ralts, Aron, Buizel, Gible, Timburr, Tynamo, and even Larvesta."

Neesha nodded, "They even have pokemon from the Kalos Region…Litleo, Flabebe, Clauncher, Skrelp…wow."

Ash's smile widened, "Can you imagine the possibilities?"

Corey slammed his fist into his open palm, "I have to sign up."

Neesha nodded in agreement, "Look, we can register on the home page…why don't we do it at the same time?"

Ash thought that would be fun, "Sounds good." The three teens quickly registered for a weekend that would work for them. Corey and Neesha had to place their pokedex's in the slot to deduct the mandatory prepay that was with the registration. This guaranteed them a spot on the day they registered. Ash had to enter the I.D. number of his pass into his account to make sure it was valid. When the computer announced it was his, he clicked the activate pass option and chose the weekend his friends did.

The teen sighed in relief as he saw that he was the final person for that weekend slot and that it also happened to be the final spot for the next foreseeable year.

Neesha started gushing as she looked at the pokemon she was going to try and capture, "I have to get a Flabebe, they are so cute and having a pure Fairy type on my team would be amazing!"

Corey puffed his chest out, "I'm going to try and get a starter from each region. I would love to be able to enter a league tournament with a team of nothing but starter pokemon."

Ash chuckled and answered when Neesha asked what he wanted, "Truthfully anything that I find worth my time. Any of these pokemon would be fun but I'm looking to become a Pokemon Master so I'm trying to be selective about my captures." Ash looked again at the list of over three hundred pokemon, "Then again….a Pokemon Master does have to capture them all." Corey and Neesha started laughing at their friend before the group decided to get some lunch.

Several hours later, the three teens entered the grand hall of the ship to find the swap meet in full swing. There were close to thirty trading machines set up and all of them were being used. Ash, Corey, and Neesha watched as several trainers continued to trade pokemon after pokemon. This caused Ash to shake his head which caught Neesha's attention, "Something wrong Ash?"

He shrugged, "I shouldn't be picky but I just don't understand the need to constantly trade pokemon. It takes away from the bonding aspect and really doesn't help the pokemon's growth."

His friends nodded in understanding, "There are people that are like that I guess, they want to fill their pokedex and trading is a fast and easy way for them to do it." Ash thought for a little bit about his own pokemon, currently the only ones he would trade were Scyther and Kadabra…the reason being was to evolve them. The only thing was that he needed a metal coat for Scyther, while Kadabra still was as ignorant as ever. The last thing Ash wanted to do was give the already disrespectful pokemon an ego boost. Ash continued his thoughts and decided that he really had nothing to gain by trading at this point. For sure after the Safari Zone but until then, Ash was happy with his current team. Although it could stand for improvements but he was only a few months into his journey. The young trainer and his friends watched the activates before returning to their rooms for the evening.

High above the luxury ship was a powerful looking bipedal feline like creature. The pokemon was wearing a sleek looking metal armor and the air around him seemed to ripple from his power. The pokemon was silent as he looked down upon the ship and waited for his signal. Shifting his gaze to the left, the pokemon known as Mewtwo watched as small boats raced towards the S.S. Anne. In the boats were members of the gang Team Rocket…or the remains of them. What once had been a powerful organization had been broken up by the legendary Pokemon Master Red and forced to scatter to the regions around the world to lick their wounds. Mewtwo was a product of the once great organization. The former boss, Giovanni, had ordered the creation of Mewtwo from the DNA of the legendary pokemon Mew. The psychic type clenched his three fingers together in anger as he was reminded about the fact that he was nothing more than a clone. When Team Rocket was disbanded, he should have been destroyed, but the scientists wanted him to be kept alive so they could finish their research. This eventually led to him being picked up by the new Team Rocket. The small gang was run by Giovanni's former generals, Proton, Petrel, Ariana, and the leader of the group, Archer. While no where near as powerful as their former boss, these four combined were a force to fear. Archer had quickly secured Mewtwo by putting this armor on him which limited his control and kept him in a constant state of obedience. The armor used his own power to fuel its systems as a way to prevent Mewtwo from becoming strong enough to destroy his restraints. The legendary growled as he watched the boats touch with the S.S. Anne. The group's goals were to capture the majority of the trainer's pokemon on the ship to jumpstart their accounts. This would also let the world know that Team Rocket was back. Mewtwo extended his senses to the ship to make sure that there wasn't any trouble. His eyes widened when he felt a powerful pulse of energy coming from on of the cabins. Upon inspection, Mewtwo found himself drawn to the teen that was sleeping in his room. The psychic type tried to figure out why he felt the draw but his instincts told him that this teen could help him. The clone of Mew sent a small burst of energy to the young man with a simple statement, "Help me."

Ash shot up out of bed as the words 'help me' rang through his mind. He looked around the room and felt like he was being watched. Charmeleon, Ivysaur, and Wartortle seemed to sense that something was amiss as they were wide awake and seemed to be on edge. Charmeleon jumped off the bed and walked over to the door while Ivysaur and Wartortle walked out onto the balcony. The two pokemon looked around at the stormy sky and found themselves becoming concerned. Ivysaur turned his red eyes down to the side of the ship to see a smaller boat running up alongside the S.S. Anne. "Ivy!" Ash looked up and ran over to see what his pokemon was talking about. Knowing that they weren't due to arrive in port until the following evening, Ash instantly went on alert. His instincts were well placed when moments later a massive explosion rocked the boat and sent him and his starters flying around the room.

Moment later, Ash's door was kicked in by Corey who had Neesha standing next to him, "Ash you alright?"

Standing up the teen nodded, "What the hell is going on?"

Corey shook his head as he gripped a pokeball, "I'm not sure. The Captain has yet to make a statement to the ship, but I recommend we move to the deck." Ash returned his pokemon and quickly got his things together before following his friends to the deck. All around them people could be seen running around trying to figure out what was going on. More than once Ash got slammed into by someone or pushed to the floor. Corey was shielding Neesha from the crazy crowds as they walked through the slim halls.

Upon finally reaching the deck they found themselves gathered with a large group of people. The only thing was that there was a second group of people standing on the farthest sections of the crowd in white uniforms with large red letter R's upon their chest. Four people stood at the forefront of the new group and smiled coldly at the trainers.

Ash's glare hardened when he saw the group, "Team Rocket."

Corey gapped, "I thought they disbanded?"

One of the people heard this and chuckled, "A grave misunderstanding actually. You see, when Master Red defeated our leader, we simply went into the shadows to bide our time and I am very pleased to inform you ladies and gentlemen that you have the honor of being our first successful mission in years."

The man ran a hand through his light blue hair, "So if you would be so kind as to give us your pokeballs then we shall be on our way."

Ash's glare hardened as the Rocket's released many pokemon to try and force the people on board to comply with their orders. "No."

The man with blue hair glared at Ash, "What was that boy?"

Ash's hand gripped the pokeballs of his two most powerful at the moment. "I said no. We outnumber you and I'm sure that a few of use are stronger. I won't surrender to creepy pokemon thieves." Ash threw two pokeballs and revealed Nidoking and Gyarados. The two behemoths roared out before glaring at the wall of enemy pokemon. Archer smirked as he looked at the two pokemon, "Those will make nice additions." The next thing that Ash realized was the wall of rocket pokemon charging at him. Nidoking and Gyarados quickly went into action defending their trainer. This snapped the other trainers out of their shock and they too summoned their pokemon.

From Ash's team, his three starters and Luxio joined his two pokemon already out. The battle was brutal and quick. Pokemon fainted on both sides but because of the massive number standing against the Rockets, they were quickly pushed back.

The leader of the group of thieves snarled before calling to his fellow Rockets, "Fall back."

The men quickly turned and left the scene, some actually leaving their fallen pokemon. The man with blue hair turned and smiled at Ash as he raised a small remote, "We may not have gotten the pokemon we wanted, but your deaths will let the Pokemon World know we are back." The man clicked the remote and a massive explosion rocked the ship before it suddenly started to shift to its right. The Captain quickly started shouting for people to abandon ship and get to the lifeboats. Ash returned his pokemon and tried to make his way with the crowd but as he approached the nearest lifeboat he heard a woman screaming. "PLEASE MY DAUGHTER IS STILL IN THERE!"

Ash looked to see the woman pointing to the stairs leading to the lower levels of the ship. Without even thinking about the ships current state, the teen pushed his way through the crowd and rushed down the stairs. He just made out the sound of Neesha yelling his name but he wasn't worried about his safety. Within a few minutes, Ash found himself on the third level of the ship and something within him knew this was the right level. Ash quickly called out Luxio who started sniffing the area before rushing forward about a third of the length down the hall. He stopped at the door and pushed it open to reveal a little girl around five years old holding a stuffed bear. She was crouched in the corner obviously crying.

Ash took a deep breath and smiled, "Hey there. My name is Ash, your mommy asked me to come and get you."

The little girl shook her head, "Mommy said never to go with strangers." Luxio rolled his eyes before walked up to the girl and making a purring sound. Ash was forced to look away when the haul of the ship groaned under the pressure of the water it was obviously taking on. "Well you mom is a smart woman. But if it helps, I'm not a stranger…I'm a pokemon trainer and pokemon master. This is Luxio and he is here to help get you to your mom. What's your name?"

The little girl had blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes. She gently reached out to pet Luxio who nudged his head against her.

She smiled, "I'm Abby."

Ash took a deep breath as the ship shuddered again, "Ok Abby, I really need to get you back to your mom…can you be a big girl and take my hand? Luxio will be with us the entire way." The little girl was silent for a moment before reaching up to Ash, "Ok." The pokemon trainer took her hand and gently picked her up. "What were you doing down here by yourself?"

They had entered the hallway and were making their way to the stairs. Abby sniffed against Ash's shoulder, "Mommy said when we got on the ship that if something bad happened or we got separated, I was to go to the room so that we could find each other. When those bad people started fighting with you then I ran to the room."

Ash nodded slowly as he walked up the stairs. A sudden shake of the ship caused Ash's eyes to widen and he looked over to see the window partially under water. He quickly rushed up the rest of the stairs and arrived at the level just under the main deck. He was about to move when the ship shook again and another blast rocked the haul. This time, several doors and walls blew out and sent Ash, Luxio, and Abby flying. Wrapping the girl in his arms, Ash braced himself and took the full force of their landing. He groaned as he felt his ankle twist and scream in pain. Abby looked at him with worried eyes.

Ash knew that he would be able to make it up the stairs carrying her with his injury. "Ok Abby, I need to stay here and look if anyone else is in the rooms. I need you to be a big girl and walk up the last flight of stairs ok? I will be up in a few minutes." The little girl got a look of determination on her face before nodding and started up the stairs. Ash smiled at her as she went above the ceiling before Luxio gently nudged him. Bracing himself against the pokemon, Ash slowly started to walk towards the stairs. His ankle screamed in protest but Ash kept moving. The ship kept shuddering and groaning as he rose to the deck only to find that as he did, his footing started to shift.

He looked up and found the he was at an awkward angle; meaning one thing…the ship was going to capsize. Ash turned to Luxio. "Ok bud I'm going to return you. I need you safe and sound to get out of here." Before his friend could respond, Ash returned the pokemon and brought out Wartortle. The water starter could sense something was wrong and looked at Ash, "I hope you are ready to swim bud." His pokemon nodded and the two quickly moved to a small platform that surrounded the stairs and waited. What seemed like an eternity later, the water started to rush in from every angle.

Windows buckled under the pressure, doors gave way and the opening from the deck let a massive tidal of water flow in. Ash paced himself and was breathing slowly as the water quickly started to rise and engulf him in its cold embrace. Wartortle kept his hand on his trainer's pants and was also breathing deeply. This was not going to be fun. Just as Ash was ready to go into the raging water, several more doors gave way to the pressure and send debris flying. Ash was caught in the back of the head by some stray wood and knocked out; his last sights were that of his faithful starter.

Ash's Team

Ivysaur: Tackle, Protect, Leech Seed, Sludge Bomb, Magical Leaf, Razor Leaf, Energy Ball

Charmeleon: Scratch, Shadow Claw, Flamethrower, Brick Break, Dragon Rage, Metal Claw, Protect, Flare Blitz

Wartortle: Tackle, Brick Break, Ice Beam, Water Gun, Aqua Jet, Protect, Water Pulse, Surf

Luxio: Tackle, Growl, Charge, Spark, Night Slash, Shock Wave, Protect, Iron Tail

Spearow: Peck, Leer, Aerial Ace, Agility, Fury Attack, Protect, Mirror Move

Gyarados: Dragon Rage, Tackle, Hyper Beam, Water Pulse, Bite, Flamethrower

Butterfree: Confusion, String Shot, Sleep Powder, Gust, Poison Powder, Psybeam, Silver Wind

Pidgeotto: Quick Attack, Twister, Gust, Tackle, Sand Attack, Steel Wing

Scyther: Quick Attack, Pursuit, Wing Attack, Bug Buzz, Slash

Kadabra: Psycho Cut, Confusion, Psybeam, Teleport, Disable

Nidoking: Horn Attack, Hyper Beam, Take Down, Earthquake, Mega Punch, Mega Kick

Eevee: Tackle, growl, tail whip, charm, quick attack, shadow ball, dig

Cranidos: Headbutt, Leer, Focus Energy, Pursuit, Take Down