Hello everybody! Yes, it's been over three months since I last updated this story. There's a perfectly good reason for that; I've finally managed to walk the stage for my college graduation at the start of the summer! I still have to take a couple more classes to be considered an official graduate, but I've been studying the entirety of April through June to make that possible. I'm already so close to getting my degree; I can't wait for that moment.

Another reason why it's been a while is because I've finally gotten myself another job. It was also at the start of April, and it's drained a lot of my free time to the point that my summer vacation was hardly that. I've basically offered my life to my new job and have thus little to no time to write anything. After all, it's kind of hard to do so when you're so completely drained from the day's events and work. Still, the work is so worth it, mainly because my laptop of four years is on its last legs. The plastic connecters keeping the screen and keyboard together is about to break. That means this will most likely be the last chapter ever to be written on this particular computer. Oh, so many good memories from this laptop from homework to gaming.

But yes, I'm diverging from what I'm wanting to say. Because of that long absence, I feel like this chapter definitely isn't as good as it could be towards the end. I already had a bulk of this chapter written back in April; I just chose to temporarily abandon it in lieu of both school and my new job. Both required a lot of my concentration. As such, I can't help but feel like that the ending to this particular chapter felt rushed if not incomplete. But on the plus side, it allowed me to reread my entire chapter when I picked it back up last week and noticed a lot of strange sentences and redundancies. Isn't it strange how such a long leave of absence can sometimes be a blessing in disguise?

Alright, now I'm done running my mouth. I know the lot of you have been waiting ever so patiently for me to make an update to this story. Sorry again for that, and I hope that you'll be able to enjoy this new chapter as a way to alleviate the remnants of that impatience. But before I let you go, let me acknowledge the reviewers from the last chapter. Actually, I should just say reviewer since there was only one.

X59: Thanks for your review. It's good to know that you found this story to be confusing in a good way. That was exactly the effect I was aiming for, so it's good that you are feeling as such.

However, let me address a couple of things. You, as a reader, have got yourself the impression that I'm basing the characters I'm introducing based on popularity and time they actually spent with Ash. To be honest, none of that ever really crosses my mind when I choose who to introduce next. While it was true that Brock has been Ash's longest traveling partner, that fact was not the reason I had him introduced in the Ruins of Pallet Town or on the S.S. Anne. His name, along with Tracy, were the first names that appeared to me. At the time I made the Pallet Town chapters, I could've easily picked May and Max instead to be there. So in all honesty, the introductions of other characters are completely random, and I personally don't know until the moment I'm writing who I will have introduced next. That also applies to the Pokemon the trainers will be using; I don't know who they will have with them with the exception of one certain character.

And I also understand your concerns with the author's notes. Some authors fail to properly differentiate the story from the ending author's notes. However, I'm sure you will notice that at the moments when I end the introductory note and when I start the concluding note, there is that long line that stretches across the screen. That is how I show when the story starts and ends, and I always make it a point to have those installed. So while I understand your concerns, I also say that you have no need to worry about me with that. The notes will always have that long line showing when it ends and starts. There's nothing for me to be careful about as I've made the whole "long line" barrier a common practice for the past three years.

As a heads-up to readers who're new to my stories, I don't accept OC requests under any circumstances, nor do I accept ideas from reviewers for how it is believed my story should progress. It would cease to be my story at that point and will instead become the readers' story. That and some find it to be disrespectful and not a true review; I, personally, don't find it disrespectful but agree that it isn't a review. Regardless, I don't accept OC or story idea requests.

The thing there is that some people believe it insinuates you think the story is bad without actually saying it. It sends an indirect message that you think the story isn't running to your standards and that you want to take some control away from the writer. So unless the writer specifically asks for it, it's generally best and good courtesy to not make requests in order to "better the story" based on the reader's specifications. Again, I take no disrespect from those who ask me about it; it's merely an unspoken rule of writing courtesy and an idea I won't entertain.

But if you do feel that there is an idea you like to see implemented to my story, then feel free to make your own story based on it. I'm more than open to the idea of people borrowing my plot line to create scenarios they feel should be in there or how others should've taken place. That way, you won't be piggybacking ideas onto an already existing story and instead have created your own independent piece. And you won't have to ask me if I'll allow your OC or ideas to be put into my work since it'll then be your own work, or as much as own as it could be if you're borrowing my plot line to satisfy the usage of your ideas! All I ask if you do that is that you tell me about it. That way, I can get other readers the credit they deserve for their interpretation of an idea.

Chapter 8: Terrors of the Sea

"So Team Aqua's still around causing trouble," Professor Oak grumbled as panicked passengers continued to run about aimlessly. "I thought they'd disbanded after having been inactive for a while. That must've been a farce to catch the PWC off-guard!"

"Who's Team Aqua?" Ash asked. He had recovered from the initial shock and was just starting to realize what was happening.

"They're a criminal group who call the seas their home and 'hunting grounds', as they like to call it," the professor explained. The chaos seemed to have little effect on him. "They attack passing ships and take whatever cargo they can find, and that includes any Pokémon that the people are transporting or have on their persons."

"I don't think they're here for our Pokémon," Brock said. His Vulpix, who arrived not too long after the explosion, was huddled by his feet trying to avoid being trampled. "If so, then I think they would've been more discreet. All that explosion did was cause mass confusion and made it harder for them to rob everyone."

"Then maybe they're just here to steal everyone's luggage," the young teen suggested. "It should be easy now that it's probably unguarded."

"They would never have such low expectations. They've made it their mission to steal all they deem valuable. They view Pokémon as being nothing but property, so stealing them from trainers is always a part of their operations.

"But I admit that this is, by their standards, strange," Professor Oak said as he watched the passengers adding to the confusion. "They always have a reason behind their actions. That means they wanted this confusion. This must be a way for them to make their movements less suspicious. If that's true, then what're they planning? Wait a minute!" He suddenly turned around and looked towards the direction of the smoke. "They can't be…!"

"Wh-What is it, professor?"

"I have to get going, boys!" the professor stated abruptly. Both teens saw him reach into his jacket and pull out what looked like a pokéball that he held on tightly as he fought his way through the crowd. "I just realized that blast came in the direction of the cargo hold. If all this is so they can generate mass confusion, then that means they're trying to get everyone away from there. They must've figured out that this ship's transporting an important package for the PWC. I've got to stop them before they can get their hands on it! You both better find shelter before things get worse."

"What are you talking about? How can things get any worse than it already is?" Ash's question fell on deaf ears as the Pokémon professor disappeared into the crowd. "And there he goes. For a moment, I thought we'd be able to relax a bit after that crazy battle we went through yesterday."

"If that was only a taste of what we'll be going through, then I doubt there'd be any time to relax," Brock replied as he scooped Vulpix into his arms. "Let's just take Professor Oak's advice and find someplace safe to hide. The longer we stay out in the open, the worse our chances will be to try avoiding more trouble."

"But what about Tracy?" Ash was nearly knocked off his feet when a passenger collided with his shoulder but quickly recovered. Pikachu barely managed to grab ahold of the railing to keep himself from being knocked overboard. "We haven't found him yet!"

"Believe me, Ash; I've already looked everywhere I could. The only place that I haven't searched yet are the crew's quarters and employee-only sections of the ship. Still, I doubt he just spontaneously became a member of the crew. But he's the last thing we should be worrying about! Right now, we…!"

No sooner had he said that, another explosion rocked the ship. This one was much closer to, but it was less intense than the initial blast. The smoke was also different, looking more like a debris-cloud brown rather than the charcoal black from the first attack. It enveloped both teens and nearby passengers, most of them choking from the sudden mixture of smoke and dust that assaulted their lungs.

"Oh damn; we gotta get moving! Come on, Ash!"

Ash was still coughing from the smog-like smoke when he felt what he assumed to be Brock's hand on his wrist dragging him off somewhere. He barely managed to grab ahold of Pikachu in the chaos; the yellow mouse was coughing and mewling in protest at having been held by his tail. The three were constantly crashing into other people, most of which seemed to be running in scattered directions now that they were effectively blind. It was all the group could do to keep themselves from becoming separated.

"And just where do you think you're going?" a man's harsh voice suddenly asked. "It's not polite to leave without first greeting your new hosts."

In the next moment, a fast Bubble Beam shot through the smoke and struck the path in front of the teens, leaving behind a hole. Thankfully, neither was hit by the attack, although its main purpose was clearly meant to prevent their retreat.

"What the– Gah!"

A strong gust of wind suddenly appeared and blew the smoke away, forcing Ash to choke on the air. It became clear in a matter of seconds, and he and Brock could now see the other passengers who were caught in the smoke. There were also two other people that neither had seen before, both dressed in a pair of black pants and blue-striped short-sleeved shirts; the woman's shirt was cut extremely low and left her stomach exposed. Both had a blue bandana on their heads which had a strange symbol on the front. In front of these newcomers were two Pokémon, one of them a blue seahorse looking rather fierce and the other a large white bird that had a large yellow beak.

"Great job, Seadra and Pelipper," the man complimented. The two Pokémon merely grunted, not once taking their eyes from the passengers. "That oughta be enough to finally calm all the passengers down for a while. Still, I didn't think nabbing everyone's Pokémon would be this easy."

Hearing this, Ash immediately looked at his hands to see if Pikachu was still there. After seeing him dangling in his hands by his tail, he, much to the yellow mouse's relief, protectively cradled him in his arms. He also saw in the corner of his eye Brock's Vulpix crying in distress but otherwise still in safe hands. He also quickly noticed that all the other Pokémon he saw during the panic had suddenly disappeared! The passengers soon broke out of their stupor, their attitudes changing from confusion to panic over the loss of their Pokémon. Their voices soon overlapped one another as they began searching the area.

"Wh-Where's my Ratatta? He was just here with me!"

"How could my Taillow just disappear like that?"

"Sealeo? Where are you, buddy?"

"Oh, no; my brother's gonna kill me when he figures out I lost his Charmander!

"Hey, get down from that lamp, Aipom!"

"How can you be worried about that right now? People's Pokémon are missing!"

"Which is exactly why I'm worried about her being up there, you stupid woman!"

"What did you just call me?"

"Mommy, that blue-head man took my Growlithe!"

Somehow, amidst all this chaos, everyone was able to hear the crying child's claim and turned their attention to the two similarly dressed people. Both were standing a fair distance away from the crowd with a large squirming bag sitting in-between them. The Seadra and Pelipper were standing guard, their ferocious Glares followed up with threatening Growls in an attempt to keep the people in line.

"And you all call yourselves trainers?" the man sneered. "I was expecting more of a challenge. You all lose yourselves to panic much too easily!"

"I'm amazed the lot of you were deemed competent enough to have a Pokémon be under your care," the woman obnoxiously laughed. "If this is all it takes for you to lose them, then you deserve having them taken away!"

"So you're Team Aqua. How dare you try and steal a lady's Pokémon!" a woman dressed in expensive clothing scolded as she pushed her way through the crowd. She ignored all sense of danger and marched past the two bodyguard Pokémon, a hand raised in preparation for a slap. However, the female thief stopped her advance by grabbing ahold of her wrist.

"Well, I'm surprised someone of your status would dare to take us on," the Team Aqua woman said as she tossed the arm aside. In turn, the rich woman was pushed away and nearly fell had she not been caught by other passengers. "I'd have thought a money-hungry snob such as yourself would rather let others do your dirty work.

"But either way, what do you think you can accomplish by yourself without your beloved Pokémon by your side?" she asked while letting out an obnoxious laugh. "Need I remind you that we only have two of our own out keeping watch over you all? They've already proven to be more superior after helping us capture all of yours!"

"Now, you know that's not how we're supposed to be treating our passengers," her male team member said. His sadistic smile was completely opposite to his faux chiding tone. "They may be our prisoners, but they still need to be treated with respect."

"If stealing our Pokémon is what you call respect, then I hate to see what your definition of hospitality is like!" Brock sarcastically bit back. He had decided to speak up after noticing that everybody else was too scared to stand against the thieves.

"What're you guys trying to do?" Ash asked, his senses regained thanks to the other's outburst. "You're not just taking people's Pokémon; you're also risking everyone's lives by attacking this ship!"

"Hmm? It looks like not everyone here are cowards," the female criminal mused when she noticed that the teens still had their Pokémon. "I'm amazed we managed to miss those two puny little things. Either that or we need more practice in covert operations."

"Regardless, it looks like their trainers have some bite," the man observed, a thoughtful hum reverberating from his throat. "Perhaps we could…persuade them into joining us. I mean, their talents are just going to waste bumbling around with the masses."

"What makes you think me and Pikachu wanna be criminals like you guys?" Pikachu directed a Growl at the man from Ash's shoulders, but the thief was unfazed by it. "You're crazy if you think I'll just throw away my life like that!"

"Ha, I figured you'd give such an answer! You're just a naïve little boy acting like he's in the right, automatically thinking that people are criminals when they violate what society has dictated to be 'proper' behavior. Have you ever casted aside those teachings and thought about who the real criminals in this argument are? Have you ever thought that perhaps the reverse of your ideals is, in actuality, the real truth?"

"What're you talking about? That doesn't make any sense!"

"Then how about I explain it in a way so that your simple mind can understand it?" the woman suggested with a sneer. Ash clenched his fists at the comment but otherwise did nothing. "You say that we're stealing Pokémon, but how do you know that's the actual truth? What if I told you that what we're really doing is saving them from a lifetime of torture by the hands of their trainers?"

"And what is it we do that you say falls under your idea of torture?" Brock asked, his calm tone belying the anger he felt at the accusations. Vulpix was shivering slightly against her trainer's protective hold, clearly frightened over the whole ordeal.

Some of the passengers tried to use this conversation as a chance to sneak away, but the Seadra shot a Sludge Bomb at them. The Pelipper was also flying overhead, slamming people with a powerful Water Pulse if they managed to escape the impromptu corral. The screams of panic from other parts of the ship had also subsided considerably, suggesting that the passengers were rounded up and held hostage by other members of Team Aqua.

"For one, you tear them away from their homes without a second thought, thinking only of how you can create the ultimate fighting team," the woman explained. "You then force them to undergo a rigorous training regimen and require them to fight others in an attempt to prove your superiority."

"Talk about calling the kettle black!" one of the passengers shouted. "You're having your Pokémon keeping us from escaping. You say we force our Pokémon to fight, but that's exactly what you're doing! You're making them holding us as hostages!"

"Now that's where you're wrong. If we were forcing them, then that would mean they know how to respond to whatever commands we make. Let me give you an example as to how much free will they have. You two can relax now." The Seadra and Pelipper turned their heads slightly to show they heard the command, but made no move to relax. They still stood strong, watching for anyone daring to try and run. "You see now? These two don't truly follow our orders. They have their own freedom to act and do so of their own accord."

"Or you could've just trained them to respond only when you command them through certain vocal tones," Brock countered. "There's more than one way to control a Pokémon than forcing them to do whatever you say. Your 'example' proves nothing other than the fact that you're trying to justify the wrongs you're doing!"

"If you think you know so much, then perhaps you can tell exactly how our Pokémon are feeling," the male thief responded with a smug smile. "Can you say whether or not our Pokémon only respond to our commands based on our tones?" The gym leader was unable to counter back and could only provide an icy stare. "I thought not. You've got nothing to say that we are being hypocrites against our own words. If anything, it sounds like you're the one trying to justify why you're intent on seeing us as the villains.

"So you're saying that all trainers are power-hungry people who care little about their Pokémon's well-being and more about their own gains?" Ash asked, his hands balled into tight fists. "How can you believe that all trainers have no shred of respect for those they call their partners? How can you even be sure that the Pokémon themselves are doing what they're told simply because they trust and respect their trainers' friendship?"

"Contrary to popular belief, trust and respect hardly goes hand-in-hand with friendship," the man countered while letting loose a bored yawn. "Pokémon have no choice but to trust their trainers because they've become their only source for survival. They trust them to supply their next meal, that they will receive medicine whenever they become sick. They no longer have an independent mindset; the disconnection from the wild has stripped it away from them!

"And then there's the idea of respect. Respect is merely a term that, by definition, means the acknowledgement of someone better than you. In this case, Pokémon resign themselves to their trainers because they've learned to bow down to a human authoritative figure. The training brainwashes them into believing that their trainers are better than them, that they are important and should be regarded as such. It's just like in the world of politics; you can respect a person of high standing, but it doesn't mean you're friends or trust each other."

"You guys are crazy!" Ash exclaimed. "How can your way of thinking be so twisted? Pokémon are nowhere near as helpless as you're making them out to be!"

"And let me guess; you're the ones who'll guide fate down its normal path by 'liberating' Pokémon from their trainers," Brock surmised, his tone slowly getting angrier the more he heard. "That's some pretty righteous views for someone who's a part of a criminal organization!"

"But isn't it a historical fact that all groups in the right are initially seen as the ones in the wrong?" the woman countered back. "Think of it what you will, but what we're doing right now is for the good of all Pokémon. Given time, I'm sure you'll all come to understand the level of our ideals.

"However, I'm done educating you in the ways of our philosophy. Now give us your Pokémon so we can liberate them from your oppression! If you don't, then I can't guarantee your safety or that of the others." Both the Seadra and Pelipper moved into an offensive stance in order to look more "persuasive"; the bird, much to the teens' shock, actually shot a Water Gun at a nearby child that was weak enough to avoid injury but strong enough to knock him off his feet.

"Hey, you can't just go attacking people like that!" Ash shouted as he began moving towards the crying child. He was stopped, however, when the seahorse Pokémon shot a ball of Acid in his path. It missed him by inches, landing on the wood floor in front of him and melting a hole into it. The acrid scent reached his nose and forced him to recoil back.

"Consider that your only warning," the man said. "I guarantee you he won't miss next time. Now hand over your Pokémon lest you want to be responsible for whatever might befall your fellow passengers. Or do you perhaps want something to happen to them? If so, then I can easily arrange for that."

Something suddenly shot at the man, Tackling him square in the chest and thus shutting him up. He was pushed back a few feet but managed to keep his balance, his partner helping in the effort and looking just as shocked.

"Wh-What the hell was that?"

The one responsible for the attack quickly landed in front of Ash, its body defensive and ready for another attack. It was a Corsola.

Time to cue in the ending author's note that X59 isn't too keen on. Hopefully, he isn't going to be too put off by this. Lol, just kidding around with you, buddy! It's all in good fun.

But seriously, this chapter is definitely the shortest as of now for this story. However, I decided to offset that by showing a more philosophical side of Team Aqua. In the anime, most of the criminal organizations just wanted to do whatever they could for personal gain, although Team's Magma and Aqua were desperate enough to summon the legendary Pokemon so as to bend the world's natural law into their vision. This time, I thought I would try to have them explain a twisted explanation to explain their thievery.

That portion with the "we are high and mighty and in the right" portions were kind of hard to write. I wanted to make the point that Team Aqua was trying so hard to justify their actions that they convinced themselves that they are merely "saving" Pokemon from "unwilling captivity" and "slavery". I tried to think in the mindset of "Pokemon rights activists", if they actually existed, and what they might have to say with regards to trainers capturing Pokemon and training them to "follow their every command without question". In fact, I had to take in the mindset of colonial America when slavery was still legal and the people were convinced that they were in the right, to believe that whites were superior and that blacks were inferior. Obviously, that example has nothing to do with the ideals Team Aqua was trying to pass; I was simply talking about that arrogant attitude that they believe they are right despite clearly being in the wrong. I just hope that I managed to get that point across.

And yes, that's pretty much all I have to say at this moment. I just hope that you all enjoyed this chapter despite the long wait it took for this to come out. And hopefully, my no-longer-new job will start slowing down now that summer's almost over and give me more time to myself. That, in turn, will translate to faster updates. Of course, I can't guarantee anything now that I've signed over my life to them. Geez, what slave drivers. Lol. But yeah, don't forget to leave a review before moving onto the next story you want to read. So until the next update to this or any of my other stories on here!

P.S., it might be obvious to those who watched the Johto season of Pokemon as to who is going to be making an appearance in the next chapter. I'm still not exactly happy with the Pokemon choice, but there really is only one Pokemon they have that could probably be considered their signature Pokemon but is not exactly battle-ready in most occasions. For those of you who know, don't say anything on the off chance that a person reading this story might have never watched the earlier episodes of Pokemon and have no idea who owns a Corsola.

But geez, it was hard to figure out which Pokemon I'm going to have them use. The reason for that is because the Pokemon a trainer is introduced with is going to be the one they'll have for the entirety of the story. That's right; there's no such thing as capturing Pokemon in here. What you see with the trainers is what you get. Again, the reason for that is because it's necessary for the plot and will be explained sometime in the future.