Chapter 16: Shipwreck
Hello and welcome back to chapter 16, being written moments after the previous upload. I needed this, in order to keep myself distracted by the nonsense of our neighbours. To say they're a joke would be a simplification of the truth.
Anyways, I've got a lot of material to work through here. I will leave a warning that some horrible scenes WILL HAPPEN this chapter. Nothing graphic but someone makes a decision that is horrible and should never be copied in real life. He is a villain and this is only a work of fiction.
That all being said, I did forget to mention, last chapter became the longest chapter of words even over the Squirtle Squad part two's enormous word count.
The S.S. Anne has sunk with Ash, his friends, Team Rocket and others trapped inside. Now the three sides need to work together if they want any chance of surviving their sunken tomb.
It was clear that Damian was willing to do just about anything for his own selfish gain. But the question was, how far was too far for him?
On the harbour in Vermilion City there is a major live broadcast being featured across not only Kanto and Johto but across the world.
An officer Jenny is explaining "At first, we believed that all of the passengers had gotten safely off of the ship. However, we have discovered several people who were trapped on board. Their names are: Ash Ketchum, Serena Yvonne, Lillie Yvonne, Misty Waterflower, Brock Harrison, Leaf, Giselle, Jessie, James, Damian, Jake and Raymond"
Another officer then adds on "Added to that list are two seven year olds Dawn Berlitz and Chloe Cerise have also been identified as victims too"
The broadcast is interrupted as a brown haired male charges over and says "I am Gary Oak. I tried to get them help but other passengers and staff forced us to leave them behind"
Officer Jenny then tells him "I will need you to keep that quiet until I can talk to you about the situation Mr. Oak"
The other officer then continues "It makes all of us sad to think that these young Pokemon trainers have had their promising careers cut tragically cut short. May these flowers honour their memory"
The officers on scene perform a salute as they stare out at the waters mourning the loss of life.
Gary gritted his teeth as he knew that more should have been done to try and help the others.
The broadcast had been seen by many notable people.
Delia and Grace had been having lunch as they heard the news report the sinking of the S.S. Anne.
They turned the volume up to listen to the broadcast. They then heard the names of the victims.
Delia dropped her glass as it smashes on the ground as she takes in the news of her son being presumed dead.
Grace starts crying as she hears that Lillie and Serena were classified as dead.
At the Pokemon lab, Professor Oak was also watching the news.
He stopped his busy work as he takes on board what he was hearing. He even saw Gary's interruption as he selfishly felt a small level of relief that his grandson was unharmed. But had a connection to Ash, Serena, Lillie, Brock and Misty.
His gaze drops to the floor as he takes a seat down as he feels dread over the situation. Twelve deaths and apparently avoidable at that.
Oak then moves over to his computer and inputs some numbers and presses ring. He hated what he had to do. The device rings for a dozen or so seconds before the other end answers him.
The light brown haired male looks with a smile as he says "Father! What do I owe the pleasure of this…" but the end of his sentence gets caught in his throat as he sees Oak's expression.
Professor Oak solemnly tells him "Blue, Red's son has been declared dead after an attack on the S.S. Anne caused it to sink"
Blue's eyes widened in shock as his mouth hangs open. He asks "What did you just say dad?"
They then hear a female voice come into the room too as she seems upset.
She asks "Granddad have you heard what happened at…" as she held tears in her eyes. It was Daisy, Gary's older sister. She was close to Ash's sister and the Ketchum family.
Blue lets out a long sigh as he tells them "I've got to go and talk to Red. Then we're heading to Pallet Town. Daisy dear, just hold yourself together"
Professor Oak raises his gaze and asks "What are you and Red planning to do son?" with a shaky voice.
Blue responds "Red is going to be on a revenge high. Especially over Giovanni. I'll make sure he doesn't go after those murderers"
They then say their goodbyes as they hang up.
Daisy stands there crying as Professor Oak gives her a hug as he resists the urge to cry too.
Despite Ash and Gary's rivalry, the Ketchum and Oak families were close and cared about one another as if they were one family. This news was heart breaking.
Daisy tells him "I think you should leave the lab for the day, we can go and visit Delia and Grace"
The older Oak agrees as he closes the lab up for most of the rest of the day. There was an automated system to handle the feeding of the different species of each of the Pokemon.
He tried not to consider what was to happen about Ash's and Serena's Pokemon. Or at least those that had been at the lab. Mankey, Nidoran Female and Poliwag.
Blue sighed with a broken heart as he resigned himself to heading to Red. He would need to make a short journey to the Ketchum's room.
He knocks softly on his friend's door and asks "Red, are you in there?"
Silence was held for a few moments as the door suddenly opens.
Blue's old rival asks "What's up? You here for a battle or something?"
Blue didn't return the banter as he shakily says "We're heading off to Pallet Town"
Red's joking nature disappeared as he asks "What happened? Are Ash and Delia alright?"
Blue places his hand on Red's shoulder as he says "Ash, Serena and Lillie were killed as the S.S. Anne sunk"
Red's eyes wobble as he takes this in. He then coldly asks "What happened?"
Oak tells him "Team Rocket attacked the boat and had attempted to steal the Pokemon aboard"
A loud bang sounded out. One that wasn't just from a regular punch. Red's fist, infused with aura, left a dent in the doorframe as he demands "Team Rocket? I should have killed Giovanni myself. I'm going after him"
Blue tells him "We're going to Pallet Town. Your wife, my family and Grace are heartbroken Red"
Red tells him "I should have dealt with that group after what happened to our friend Leaf in Pallet Town. I won't make that same mistake again"
Blue begs him "Please Red, we should go to Pallet Town. I miss our friend and her family too. I miss little Green running rampant. She was our son's good friend"
Red tells him "I'll head to Pallet Town and then I'm going to find their leader and finish this myself"
Back in Sinnoh, Battle Frontier Brain Palmer also hears about the S.S. Anne attack.
His heart breaks for his good friend Johanna's loss. However, he felt pain for the loss of another of those victims.
Over in Hoenn, May is listening to the news about Kanto's attack and starts crying as she hears that Dawn and Ash had been determined to be dead.
She had attended the Summer camp all of those years back. Though it did seem odd that her parents allowed her to attend a camp at her young age at the time.
Norman and Caroline had visited Kanto and decided to allow her to attend. She had been five at the time. Eight now.
However, back on the S.S. Anne, there was still life on the ship.
Ash was unconscious as he seems to ignore the cries for him to awaken.
In the build up to the explosion, Team Rocket had headed off to try and escape. Damian, Jake and Raymond were elsewhere, same for Gisele.
Brock taps on Ash's shoulder as he says "Hey, Ash. Answer me"
Misty begs "Wake up, Ash. Wake up"
Serena is by his side as she cries "Come on Ash, you've got to wake up. We need to find a way out of here"
Pikachu decides to try out something that could work. His cheeks crackle with electricity as he sends a concentrated zap of electricity at his trainer. The electric type yells "Pika-pi!"
The shock catches the others off guard but it seems to do the trick. Ash feels like hell as he asks "What is it? Where are we?"
Lillie gives him a smile as she asks "Hey, are you feeling okay, Ash?"
Leaf tells them "I think we should try and get going. We're in an underwater coffin here" as she looks around for potential ways to get out of their predicament.
With Ash now awake, Misty and Brock head over to Dawn and Chloe to see how they were holding up. Obviously, not so well.
Dawn and Chloe were crying as they took in their dire situation. They were trapped in a sunken ship that had likely already gone extremely far down. Meaning, they wouldn't make it on a breath hold, they probably couldn't wait for a rescue and there were still dangerous individuals aboard the ship.
Ash asks the others "What are we going to do here? We're trapped here"
Serena looks around and points out "Luckily, the ship seemed to have an automated safety system that sealed off areas that would have drowned us"
Looking around Ash notices something that he should have seen before. He asks "Why is everything upside down?"
Leaf sighs as she points out "Most of the furniture had to be drilled into place. So the chairs and tables above us aren't falling anytime soon"
Ash is still confused as he asks "The ship is upside down?"
Pikachu sighs as he shakes his head.
Elsewhere on the ship.
Jessie says "To protect the world from devastation"
James says "To unite all peoples within our nation"
They both say "To denounce the evils of truth and love and to extend our reach to the stars above"
The female says "Ah, Jessie" as he adds "James, with a perfect tan"
Jessie releases a sigh as she says "There's nothing like a tropical vacation. Like Alola"
James points out "The blue sea and the white sand"
Jessie stretches as she says "And the blazing sun above"
James seems almost uncomfortable as he adds "Ah! The sun"
Jessie then says "Yes, that blazing sun, fiery and burning, and burning, burning"
James feels even more uncomfortable as he says "Burning. Something's really burning!" as they both jump up in their shared conscience as they struggled with the intense feeling of burning.
They both awaken suddenly as they feel the blazing heat from a nearby fire on board the ship.
Meowth tells them "You picked a bad place for a nap" as he tries to make light of their life threatening situation.
They both let out a "Huh?" as the events from before come flooding back to them. They both start screaming as they feel small levels of flames on their uniforms.
They jump up as they run for some clean water and extinguish the flames. Their uniform had been made out of durable material. Or at least durable enough to survive some degree damage.
Jessie and James let out sighs of relief as they feel the flames leaving them. They still felt the sensation of the burning but it wouldn't worsen. Which, right now, they were grateful for.
James asks in confusion "Why is everything upside down?"
Meowth looks at him funny as he asks "Don't yous remember what happened?"
Jessie asks "I remember that we're aboard the S.S. Anne, we stole hundreds of Pokemon and we were holding the twerps off"
Meowth sadly tells them "You got most of it right. There was an explosion, it seems that caused the ship to capsize and sink"
Jessie tells them "Then we've got to abandon ship immediately!"
Letting out a pitiful laugh, Meowth clarifies "I'm afraid it won't be so easy to get off while the ship's underwater"
James freaks out as he yells "The ship's sunk! We're doomed!"
Jessie tries to keep a level head as she tells him "Calm down, James!" as he turns to her with tears in his eyes. Giving him a smile she tells him "I've already thought of a way to get us out of here" as she takes out a Pokeball and throws it.
Out emerges her poisonous snake. The poison type hisses out an "Ekans" as he rattles his tail.
Jessie grins as she calls "Ekans use Acid. Open a hole in the floor and we'll use it to escape"
James yells "Wait! Don't do that!"
But it was already too late. Ekans had released some green liquid that melts some of the floor/ceiling they were standing on.
There is distant rumbling as the move seemed to have disrupted something in the ship. Then water starts filling the room they were in currently as the people screamed.
Meowth yells "Didn't I tell you numskulls that we're sinking?"
James asks "You think we need another hole on this ship?"
As the room fills with water, Meowth pulls them out of the room into the hall. Thankfully, as a safety precaution there was a button on the outside of the room. The only issue? It required a key. The button would allow them to cut off the room.
Meowth gets on James' shoulder and uses his claw to wiggle around the lock. He then hears a click as he sighs before slamming his paw on the button.
The room that they had been in sealed off.
James whimpers "What are we supposed to do? The ship's leaking everywhere"
Jessie frowns as she reminds him "We've got to stay calm. As long as there's air in here, it'll take time to fill up with water"
Another voice joins them adding "Sure, but it would be better not to waste any time escaping"
The trio look over and see Giselle as she takes the trio in.
Meowth asks her "What do you mean, you want to work with us?"
Giselle tells him "We're both down here together. I only have a few Pokemon. None of them would help here. Simply Cubone, Paras and Oddish"
Jessie responds "And you won't stop us from escaping if you saw an opportunity of your own?"
Giving them a smile, Giselle tells them "I could care less about the others on board. I only care about getting off this ship"
James then adds "Well, we can either go up or down"
Jessie points out "Well, if we're sinking, then up would definitely be better"
Giselle tells them "And if the ship is flipped upside down"
Meowth grins as he says "The deck is below us and the ship's bottom is up above our heads"
Jessie returns Ekans as she says "Then we have to dive down to the deck"
(A/N: At this point, I realised that a fair bit of the dialogue here, since they escaped the room wasn't Team Rocket at all. In the anime, that was all Ash, Brock and Misty. Either way, I feel like it suits the group)
Back with our gang, Ash has now gotten up off… the ceiling as he walks, with Serena over to Dawn and Chloe. Due to his past with Dawn, he figured she may respond better to him and Serena.
Leaf had left the room with Brock and Misty in order to scope out some of the hallways to judge which direction they should take. This left just Ash, Serena, Lillie and the younger girls in the hall.
Dawn, with tears in her eyes, asks "So are we just trapped down here, forever?"
Serena frowns as she places her hand on the blue-haired girl's shoulder as she answers "We'll figure a way out of here Dawn. In fact, I'm sure there are people preparing for a rescue mission right now"
Chloe, sniffles as she says "But what if they're not? What if they think we're… dead?" as she bursts out crying again.
Ash tells her "Hey, my father is a powerful trainer. Once he's heard of what happened, he'll be coming right for us. Gary knew we were down here too"
Chloe asks "Who's Gary?"
Ash lets out a small laugh as he says "He's my rival. Someone I've known for most of my life. We don't always get along but…"
Dawn interrupts as she questions "So how can you be sure he'll help us out? Maybe he'll be glad that you're out of the way"
Ash lets out a sigh as he tells her "I guess Gary could do that. But I know him better than most people do. He's a caring guy. If it came down to it, he would do the right thing" as he gives a small smile.
Serena then adds on "Besides, there are other people out there as well. Like both of your parents" as she gives them a smile.
Dawn then remarks "I don't even know who my daddy is, so I doubt he's looking for us" as she holds her gaze on the 'floor'.
Serena pulls her into a hug as she tells her "I don't know mine either. According to Mum, he's off somewhere in Sinnoh, with his other child"
Ash then says "I have a cousin but no siblings, but she's off elsewhere. She isn't in Kanto"
Lillie keeps quiet as she is painfully reminded of her lack of parents. Of course, she had Serena as her adoptive sister and Grace as her mother, but unfortunately that couldn't compare to what she could have had.
Ash puts his hand to his chin as he asks "Lillie, would Cos… Nebby be able to reasonably get us out of here?"
Everyone's attention snap to Ash as they have either a look of confusion or of uncertainty.
Serena snaps at him "Ash! Don't even dare suggest that" as she glares at him.
Lillie looks to her bag with a frown as she stays silent.
Chloe looks between the older children and asks "Who's Nebby?"
Lillie turns her gaze to the maroon-haired female as she explains "Nebby is my friend, a 'legendary Pokemon' Cosmog. When I was found in Pallet Town, I had Nebby with me but I cannot remember anything of my past"
Dawn then asks "So how could Nebby help us escape here?"
Unbeknownst to the group, a trio of males were listening into their conversation. One that our heroes didn't want to encounter.
Jake whispers to Raymond "So we could steal that freak's Pokemon and escape here?"
Raymond grins as he responds "It sounds like it. We should attack now" as he takes out his Pokeballs.
Damian holds a hand up as he tells them "They seemed hesitant to try the idea. So it isn't a guarantee to work. Besides, we're outnumbered, we'd need to wait for the right moment"
Jake points out "Well right now it's just those three trainers. We could overpower them"
Damian grits his teeth and tells him "My Pokemon could handle them. Besides, only two of them are trainers. Regardless, there are still those other trainers too. They're likely in ear shot"
Raymond then questions "So what is our plan here? Why even make a dangerous move here at all?"
Damian turns to them as he states "Because, this could be our last stand. My chance to rid myself of Ash, once and for all. But I also need a means of escape"
Just how far would Damian go for his selfish ambitions?
Misty asks Brock "How do you think we'll get out of this situation?"
Brock, filled with uncertainty, tells her "I don't know if we do Misty. Our best bet is to try and find and find equipment to escape this ship"
Misty asks him "How long do you think we have before it would be too late to escape this ship?"
Leaf tells them "We may have an hour at best. Considering we were all knocked out and how we've only heard minor creaking across the ship. Depending on the damage, it could take anywhere from a few minutes to a few days to sink fully"
Misty narrows her eyes as she questions "So based on this ship, the waters we're in and how we're not hearing constant creaking… that should be good news right?"
Leaf thinks for a moment as she responds "We're not in the ocean, nor are we directly connected to an open ocean. That should limit the depths of these waters. The ship is fairly large though that could be used to help here. See the minimum depth of water that a cruise ship this size needs is anywhere from twenty-five to fifty feet deep. Meaning based on the number of levels here, we could be very lucky"
Brock asks for clarity on what she meant.
Leaf sighs as she tells them "We're lucky that the ship is upside down. Mainly because, due to the amount of floors here, at least seven to ten, the underside of the ship will be 'close' to the surface. Or at least closer to the surface than if we were upright"
Hearing this, they were about to head back to the others until they come across another group.
Bumping into the others, both our group and theirs gasp then let out a small scream.
Ash and the others hear this and rush out in the direction Leaf and the others went to see what happened.
Misty questions "Team Rocket?"
Brock comments "They look terrible"
Jessie gets into position as she says "Prepare… prepare for trouble"
James adds on "Yes, make it double"
Giselle rolls her eyes as she says "Guys, it's unnecessary. We need to escape, and yous messing around isn't helping"
Just then, Ash and the girls rush into the corridor, a long one at that.
Ash growls "So you followed us all the way to the bottom of the sea? What could you want now?"
Without thinking, Jessie and James send out Ekans, Venonat, Koffing and Bellsprout from their Pokeballs.
Ash sends out his own Pokemon. Bulbasaur, Charmander and Squirtle, with Brock sending out Geodude.
The opposing sides rush at one another. Very stupidly.
Due to the sinking of the ship, the weight of the ship seems to shift very noticeably. This leads everyone to start screaming and causes Dawn and Chloe to start crying again.
Serena goes to them to comfort them as she tells the others "Everyone, just return your Pokemon. We need to escape this ship. A battle may very well be the end of us all"
Ash turns to her as he understands the situation. He takes his Pokeballs out and returns his trio of Pokemon. Brock does the same.
Meowth tells his partners "We ought to do the same thing. Our Pokemon aren't going to be useful, if we're dead"
Jessie and James are both hesitant to follow through however.
Lillie now speaks up as she tells them "Call your Pokemon back too. What's more important, a Pokemon battle or your life?" as she tries to hold a serious tone while her face holds a concerned look.
Jessie and James share a look as they both nods.
James tells her "She's right. Good point"
The two Rocket members return their respective Pokemon. Even if… Koffing should have made no difference as he's a gas ball.
As all of the Pokemon, aside from Pikachu, Meowth and Nebby, were now returned, everyone, minus Dawn and Chloe, let out sighs of relief.
By now, thanks to Serena and Misty, Chloe and Dawn had seemingly began to relax. If only slightly. They, along with the others, were all anxious and scared. The uncertainty of whether or not they may survive.
Brock asks "Okay, then, we all agree there won't be any battles for now"
James gives him a thumbs up as he answers "Let's work together then"
This leaves a sense of uneasiness in both groups.
Ash is hesitant but approaches James and offers his hand saying "A temporary truce at least until we get out of this mess"
James takes his hand in acceptance as he says "It's agreed, we work together to escape"
Leaf watches on in annoyance as she thinks to herself 'We don't need Team Rocket in order to get out of this mess. If anything, getting rid of them could be useful. But they're not my target, Archer and the others are. These three are nothing more than named grunts'
Giselle then states "Alright, so with that decided, we now need to think of a way to get out of here"
James turns to her and grins as he says "Leave it to me. I forgot to mention, I built my own S.S. Anne once"
Ash is taken aback as he lets out a "Huh?"
Jessie looks at him incredulously as she asks "Really?"
James decides to clarify "It was a model"
Everyone, minus James, lets out a "Ah"
James waves off their concern as he goes on "That's how I learned all about the structure of the S.S. Anne. Since the way to the deck is blocked, we'll have to climb to the bottom of the ship. We can then escape from the hole in the ship"
Leaf then speaks up as she asks "There's a hole in the ship? And how did that happen then?" as she glares them down.
Giselle looks at her funny as she asks "Is that really important right now?"
Leaf doesn't even bother looking at her as she says "Why do you even know that there's a hole in the bottom of the ship?"
James answers back with concern "We were on our way to that spot. We had seen the damaged security room and saw a significant bit of damage at the bottom of this ship"
Leaf stares him down as she takes his words in. Nodding her head as if to suggest she believed him, she answers "Good. I just wanted to make sure that you didn't cause this"
Her words sounded like a veiled threat. One that held more weight that they could have realised.
Ash tells her "It's probably nothing Leaf. Come on, we need to get out of here. We're on limited time"
The joint group then continue onwards as they try and calm themselves.
Dawn then asks Serena "Do you really think we'll get out of here?"
Serena smiles at her as she answers "Of course, we've survived a lot of adventures so far"
Chloe asks "What type of adventures?"
Serena freezes temporarily as she thinks back to their journey. The Spearow assault, Team Rocket in Viridian City, Viridian Forest, Mt. Moon, Mt. Moon's monster and of course Damian…
She lets out a gasp as she realises something.
Everyone turns back to her as she stands there wide eyed.
Ash rushes back to her as he asks "Serena? What's up?"
Lillie stands by her side too. Chloe and Dawn are still by her. Brock, Misty, Jessie, James and Giselle are by the front. Pikachu stands by Meowth's side.
Shakily, Serena tells him "Weren't Damian and his friends on here too?"
Leaf's eye twitches as she takes in her words. She thinks to herself 'Why is she concerned about that lot? They're horrible people'
Lillie tells her "They probably escaped already Serena"
Ash then remarks "Or not, either way, it's not our business. If they're down here, then they're on their own" with no hint of sarcasm or joking.
Serena comes out of her state as she looks Ash in the eyes as she tells him "We're not like that Ash. We're good people. If someone needs help, we give them it. Otherwise, we're no different from Damian or Team Rocket"
The trio shout out a "Hey!" as they hear her words.
Ash responds "They were going to hurt you Serena. I can't let that happen again. They also were going to hurt Lillie. I won't let them do that. This would be divine intervention"
Lillie then tells him "Ash, we don't have to like the people we save. We're working with them" as she motions to the aforementioned trio, before continuing "So right now, we need to do what we need to, to survive"
Ash begrudgingly nods his head as he tells them "Fine but I'm not going out of my way to look for them. If they show themselves, then it's whatever, otherwise I'm not caring"
Serena gives him a smile as she says "That's better than nothing. Now can both of you help with Dawn and Chloe"
With that, the group continue onwards again. Serena, Lillie and Ash stayed towards the back with Dawn and Chloe.
Soon enough, they come across a downed stairway.
Brock grins as he calls out Onix as he says "Over there. Onix! Make a staircase!"
The rock snake then positions himself so that his rocky structure would act as a set of stairs.
Brock then says "Alright Ash, Serena and Lillie go first. Along with Dawn and Chloe"
Jessie then asks "And why not let us go first, to scout things out?"
Misty retorts "We don't trust you. Besides, it would be best to get the girls" as she motions to Dawn and Chloe "up first. They're the priority here"
Jessie looks to the youngest children as she sighs.
James then asks "Why do you have such young children with yous?"
Dawn glares at him as she says "It was because of your group! You meanies prevented us from getting back to our families"
To that, the trio look sheepish as they take in her words. Despite her age, she knew what she was talking about. They had been the cause for this fiasco.
Serena then steps forwards as she takes Chloe's hand as she says "Alright, Chloe, I'm going to walk you up Onix's back first. Is that okay?"
The young maroon haired girl looks at Onix before looking back at Serena. She then says "Are you going to make sure I don't fall Serena?"
Giving her a wide smile, the honey-blonde female says "Of course I'll keep you safe. Now come on" as she starts to walk over to the makeshift steps.
Due to the nature of Onix's body, the path was rough and uneven as they took careful steps. After some time, they get up and off of Onix.
Serena tells her "See? You were great there Chloe"
The young girl hugs Serena as she says thank you.
Next up is Ash.
He asks Dawn "Would you be okay coming up with me?"
Dawn gives him a grin as she tells him "Of course! No need to worry" as she takes his outstretched hand as they begin to ascend the rock type.
But obviously, that phrase often led to a worrying situation. And this was no exception. About half way, Dawn almost slips but Ash catches her.
He then laughs as he asks "Nothing to worry about eh?"
Dawn blushes in embarrassment as she tells him "Mum always tells me that when I say 'No need to worry' that it's when she worries the most"
They then both get up to the top with no more concerns.
Lillie was up next but was clearly hesitant.
At first Serena couldn't figure out why and then it hit her.
She tells Ash "Keep Chloe and Dawn safe, I'll go and help Lillie"
Ash nods his head as he keeps a hand on both of the girl's shoulders.
Serena then heads back down the rock snake as she pulls Lillie off to one side. Serena then tells Brock "Get the others up first. Me and Lillie will go up last"
Brock looks at her before nodding as he sent up Leaf and then Misty up next.
Pikachu stayed behind to watch out for any inconveniences.
Next up Giselle heads up, followed by Team Rocket.
Serena tells her friend "It's okay Lillie"
Lillie shakes as she tells her "I'll be handling a Pokemon"
Serena gives her a hug as she tells her "Hey, you helped Ash back out in the woods and you were concerned enough to touch Pikachu at the Pokemon Center last week"
Lillie is still unconvinced.
Serena puts both of her hands on Lillie's shoulders as she tells her "You won't need to touch Onix. Just hold onto my back for support"
Lillie's eyes widen as she asks "Won't that be risky? For you as well?"
Serena laughs as she answers "Of yeah, of course. But anything for you Lillie. I'm not leaving you down here. So if you're not going up Onix, neither am I"
Lillie frowns as she remarks "Well… I can't let you drown down here too"
They hear Giselle, rather rudely, ask "What is taking them so long?!"
Pikachu yells back up at her, saying "Pika! Pikachu!" as he glares at her presumed position.
They also hear Ash tell her "They'll take as long as it needs to for Lillie to be okay with this. I'm not leaving them down here. In fact"
They then turn to see the raven-haired boy making the stupidest decision he could make. He's coming back down the rock snake.
The entire group then hear a shifting amongst the ship. And a rushing sound.
Meowth yells "What was that?"
James listens as his eyes widened as he tells the others "There's an inflow of water. And it sounds like it was coming from the way we came from. So potentially the large hall"
By now Ash had descended and made it to his closest friends.
He seems unfazed by a potential influx of water.
He holds his hand out to them both as he offers "Come on, we'll go together"
Serena thinks about this offer as she asks "And how would that work?"
It didn't take too long to find out actually. Ash was ahead of them both, Serena in the middle and Lillie at the back. Pikachu was leading them.
Now, what position were they in?
Serena is blushing excessively as she thinks to herself 'I've got my arms wrapped around Ash's waist while Lillie's arms are wrapped around my waist. Oh my, what is this feeling I'm having?'
Lillie thinks to herself 'I'm hugging Serena in a way I've never done before. But she feels warm and lovely. Despite our situation, this makes me feel odd inside. Grace always said that it was normal to feel like this. Moreso for a female to a male. But girls can like girls too… right?'
As they ascend, they resist the urge to look back or stop as they hear a crash of water coming from behind.
Ash does however start to speed up as to get out of their current predicament. Now, what was his feeling of Serena grabbing onto him? It felt nice but he figured he needed to focus on their survival right now.
Onix seems to shudder as the water enters their room, slowly.
Ash pulls himself up and then turns and grabs Serena too. Then they both pull Lillie up. However, that did mean she had to hold onto Onix for a moment or so.
As they stand up, Serena and Lillie are both bright red on their cheeks.
Brock returns Onix to his Pokeball as they start walking again. This time at a quicker pace.
Dawn and Chloe once again were walking alongside Lillie and Serena.
The hallway they were approaching was much darker than before. Due to this Ash brings out Charmander.
He tells the fire type to light the hallway up.
Charmander lets out "Char! Char!" to his command as he leads the joint group.
Little did they know that Damian's group had found a way to get around them and were parallel to them in another corridor. Luckily both would lead to their desired destinations.
Misty asks James "So where does this hall lead to?"
James turns his head to answer "This corridor leads straight to the engine room. And that's one of the thinnest sections of the hull. With a little luck, we should be able to cut our way through"
As they keep walking, they come across a horrifying sight. A chasm like room with fire spread across the roof below them.
Gritting his teeth, Brock tells them "This is no good. It's impossible to cross to the engine room.
James frowns as he says "Jessica?"
Jessie is taken aback by him mentioning that name as she responds "Yes, James?"
James gives her a sad smile as he remarks "Whoever said beauty doesn't last must have been thinking of us"
Jessie laughs as she says "I'll always remember what a wonderful crossdresser you were James"
James gives her a "So will I"
Meowth groans as he tells them "Will you two knock it off?"
Ash states "There's gotta be some way to get off this ship. There must be some angle we haven't thought of yet" hitting his head he says "Think, Ash… Pikachu, give my brain a jump start"
The others look on in shock as Pikachu… shocks him with a light wave of electricity. The electric type then adds "Pika"
Ash groans as he deals with the consequences.
The Pallet Town native then comes to a solution. He tells Serena "Let's send out your own Bulbasaur and use them to use their vines across"
Brock tells him "That wouldn't work without something solid to grip onto"
Ash and Serena send out their grass types regardless.
James also sends out Bellsprout to help out.
Misty comes to an idea that could work. She tells Brock "What if we had a heavy Pokemon positioned on the other side to use as an anchor for the vines?
Brock considers the size of the hallway up ahead. He then answers "I don't know if Onix would fit in the corridor on the other side"
Leaf tells Serena "Then we send out our Nidorina and Nidorino to the other side. Then we could use them as anchors"
Serena nods her head and sends her poison type across the hallway and they appear on the other side of the room.
Brock also sends out Geodude to help out.
Now, with the three 'anchors' on the other side, there was the issue of carrying people across. The three grass types extend each of their vines out and grip onto the trio across the chasm.
Ash then comes to a decently good idea.
He calls for Butterfree and Pidgeotto.
He tells them to work together to carry Brock across.
They grip onto the rock type specialist and firmly carry him across to the other side.
Ash tells them "Right now come back. I need you both to carry Dawn and Chloe here" as he points to the youngest people aboard "over to that side. And then stay there to keep them safe. Don't come back to us, just stay there with them"
The two flying types nod their heads as they grip onto the children tightly as they carry them across the fire pit. Due to the size of the girls, they were easily carried across.
As the girls are placed down, they move from the edge to behind Brock. Now with Brock, Nidorino, Nidorina, Geodude, Pidgeotto and Butterfree, the process of getting across should be considerably easier.
Ash decides to do something less smart now. He says "Jessie, James and Meowth, one by one go across"
The trio look at him in shock as Jessie asks "What? Why would you trust us to go across first?"
Ash truthfully tells her "I don't know but we're working together here. A truce is a truce. I'm just trying to get the others out of here safely"
James then asks "So why wouldn't you prioritise them then?"
By now, Meowth had been going across the pit to the other side, still shocked that he was going early on.
Ash shrugs his shoulders as he says "Because, I don't think you have what it takes to hurt young children. You came aboard the S.S. Anne to steal Pokemon. A crime, to be sure, but I doubt anyone aboard this ship is capable of killing someone"
Little did he know.
The duo understand his words as they both start their own journeys across the abyss. Ash hadn't though about how it was possible for two or three people to go across at a time.
After a short time, the Team Rocket trio have safely crossed.
He then tells Giselle, Misty and Leaf to go next.
Leaf takes herself along Serena's Bulbasaur's vines. Misty takes Ash's Bulbasaur's. Leaving Giselle to cross off of Bellsprout's vines.
Around thirty seconds later, they were with the others. This just leaves Ash, Lillie, Serena, Pikachu and Charmander.
Serena then looks down and notices a slight sheen under their feet.
Before she can inspect, Ash returns Charmander to his Pokeball.
Serena pushes the thought off to the side.
Ash then asks "Are you both going to be fine going across?"
Lillie then suggests "What if you go across first Ash, then between the three sets of vines, we could strengthen Serena and I's grips"
Ash blinks at this suggestion but smiles as he tells her "That's a great idea Lillie. Just keep each other safe"
They both nod as Pikachu goes across one of the vines as Ash crosses too.
See, now in the anime I'm pretty sure the people walked on the vines, a little unrealistic for a Bulbasaur to achieve. So I leave it to your interpretation as to how people got across the vines.
Now it only leaves Serena and Lillie.
Serena takes ahold of Ash's Bulbasaur's vines as Lillie uses Serena's Bulbasaur's vines.
Bellsprout had retracted his vines.
Just as they were about to start moving across the chasm, they both slipped due to the previous sheen on the floor. What Serena would have realised had she had a chance to check it out was that the water had risen. The water from the previous room had began to slowly encompass the hallway that they were in.
James yells "Bellsprout! Save them both now!"
Immediately the fly catcher Pokemon shoots off four vines to grip the girls to keep them safe. Despite the added help, they still seemed to struggle.
Leaf decides to play her last resort to help them out.
She sends out Drowzee as she tells him "Use Confusion to lift Serena and Lillie across to this side" as she knows that her decision would likely hold life changing consequences.
The two girls are engulfed by a purple light and levitated, with the trio of grass types over to the others.
As they're put down Ash, Dawn and Chloe run to them and check on the blonde females.
Meowth's eyes widen as he thinks to himself 'It's her! She's the one who was in Viridian City, Mt. Moon, the forest outside of Vermilion and now here!'
Giselle asks "Why didn't you just use Drowzee from the start then?"
Leaf brushes her question off by saying "I wasn't thinking straight. We are in a life or death situation"
Elsewhere on the ship.
Damian had found a safe way out of the ship. Well… technically 'safe'.
Damian tells them "We'll need to use water types to get out of here"
Jake points out "I haven't got any unfortunately"
Raymond adds "Same here"
Damian grits his teeth as he tells them "Well, pass me your Pokeballs. I'll keep them safe while we're traveling to the surface. I'm the only one with a bag or water types.
Raymond gives Jake a strange look as the latter shrugs.
They both hand over their Pokeballs.
Damian then calls "Poliwrath, come on out"
Poliwrath is a blue, bipedal amphibian Pokémon with a round body and muscular arms. It has bulbous eyes that protrude from the top of its head and its belly is covered by a white and black swirl. There appear to be white gloves on its hands, and it has rounded, digit-less feet.
Jake then asks "That's just one water type Damian. What about us?"
Damian laughs as he coldly tells them "You're not coming with me. I'm going on my own"
Raymond tells him "Nah dude, stop joking around. April 1st was a long while back"
Damian tells him "I'm not joking around. I don't need you two. You've both lost every fight you've been a part of alongside me. You couldn't even beat that coward back in the woods. You're both useless"
Jake shakily tells him "You're not just going to leave us here" as he feels genuine fear.
Taking out a breathing apparatus, Damian remarks "Oh I'm leaving yous behind. This will be your tomb. Poliwrath smash a hole in the ship, and then take us to the surface"
He puts the breathing apparatus in his mouth as he watches the water type prepare a Mega Punch.
Jake and Raymond, realising the futility run away from their current positon in a vain attempt to try and avoid what was about to happen.
As the water type's fist smashed through the ship's hull, the water type grabs Damian and rockets out of the whole immediately.
Jake and Raymond never stood a chance. As the water smashed through the hole, they screamed but only briefly. Fairly quickly their screams turned to gurgles.
Unfortunately our heroes never heard their screams due to the briefness. Not only that but what they did hear was the massive influx of water pouring into the hull elsewhere.
They hear the creaking and grinding of metal.
Ash and the others had made it to a safe section of the corridor, where they felt like it was safe to escape.
Ash asks the others if they're ready.
Serena tells him to wait a moment.
She asks "Why did you save Lillie and I back there?"
James knew that the question was directed at him. He laughs as he answers "Consider it me returning the favour of your help"
Jessie also jokes "Plus, you still have that rare Pokemon with you. Can't let anything happen to them"
Ash rolls his eyes.
Leaf then tells the others "I have something that I'll let Dawn and Chloe use. A couple of breathing apparatuses. They're short term usages. They should be enough to get you both to the surface"
Gratefully they both accept the gifts as they hold onto them. They also thank the brunette as they give her a hug.
The hugs give Leaf an odd feeling, one she hadn't felt in a LONG time.
Ash then calls out Charmander. He tells him "Charmander, we need you to weld through the metal hull of the ship, with your flame"
The fire type nods his head and then yells "Char! Char!" as he starts spewing flames at the weakened hull.
Misty tells the others "Okay, listen up. Grab hold of a water Pokemon and swim to the surface"
Serena answers "Yeah, right. Got it Ash?"
Ash nods before answering "I'll be fine with Squirtle. What about you Lillie?"
Serena answers for her as she asks "Misty, could Lillie and I use your Starmie please?"
Misty tells her "Of course"
Leaf says "I have my own Squirtle"
Misty tells them "I'll use Goldeen. Brock you can use Staryu"
Giselle then asks "And what about me?"
Serena gives her a smile as she offers "My Poliwag is a great swimmer"
Giselle blushes at the smile as she says thank you.
Serena then says to the young girls "You'll be staying with Lillie and I. And thanks to Leaf's gift, yous should be good"
James then says "Hey, don't forget about us" before asking "What are we supposed to do?"
Leaf answers "Give Ash that Raticate back and I'll let yous use one of my other Pokemon"
Jessie grits her teeth as she approaches the boy and hands him the Pokeball.
Leaf then sends out a Pokémon that shares physical traits with both aquatic and land animals. Their body is light blue with a dark blue marking around its head and a spiky ridge down its spine. It has black eyes and a tiny black nose. There a white fin encircling its neck and three fins with cream-colored webbing on its head. Two of these fins are on either side of its head, similar to ears; and one is directly on top of its head, resembling a dorsal fin. They're is a quadruped with three small toes on each foot and dark blue paw pads on the hind feet. It has a split tail fin.
She tells the Pokemon "Vaporeon, get these three to the surface, on my signal"
Ash then tells the others "It's almost burned through. Get ready everyone"
By then Ash and Leaf had sent out their Squirtle, Misty sent out Goldeen, Staryu and Starmie. And Serena lets out Poliwag.
Everyone gets into position as they knew that this was a do or die situation.
Due to their situation, Lillie doesn't feel fear embracing Starmie.
Serena and Lillie held Dawn and Chloe in front of them pressed against Starmie as the two put on their breathing apparatuses.
Ash then returns Squirtle as everyone takes a deep breath.
Well, almost everyone.
Meowth remarks "I hate water. Especially wet water!"
James then has an idea as he lets out his Magikarp to help them out.
Jessie then says "I guess your little buy came in handy then"
James responds "Mr. Sak"
But is cut off as the hull breaks through as they wait for a more even water pressure level.
As it felt safer, they swam out of the hull to hopefully freedom.
The nine people and the number of Pokemon rocket towards the surface, to sanctity.
As they surfaced, they find that they're close to land. After doing a head count, they approach the land together. They hid their animosity as they had worked together to get to freedom.
All in all, despite the catastrophe of the S.S. Anne, only two lives had been lost.
Holy Christ! I have this chapter done ahead of time. I am taking a couple weeks off as mentioned before. So I should have the next chapter, and the aftermath of the S.S. Anne catastrophe by the 25th of April, a Tuesday.
The next two chapters will fix stuff with the story. Dawn and Chloe will be returned to their families, our heroes families will find out that they survived. Giselle and Damian will be brought together and find themselves within hands reach of Team Rocket.
Oh and clearly James hasn't lost Gyarados, nor does he have one yet. All in due time. Hope yous enjoyed this chapter. And see yous again soonish. Leave any questions yous may have in the reviews or through PMs.