It was smooth sailing for the trio as their Pokémon conveyed them across Sea Route -19. The water was calm, and as the nurse in the Chufisa City Pokémon Center had stated, Surf really seemed to work wonders for Migraine, Q, and Snorlax's swimming skills. Despite the fact that Violet had nothing to hold onto as she stood on Migraine's back, the Golduck had yet to throw her off. Q was swimming equally smoothly, enough to stop Orange from clinging to the Deep Sea Pokémon as though fearful of falling off. Snorlax, despite the laziness its species was so well known for, wasn't even slowing down in its kicking.
"I gotta say, this is pretty nice," smiled Violet as she glanced around, taking in the scenic ocean view.
"I agree," nodded Orange. "This is good- ooh! It's a wild Tentacool!"
At his words, Snorlax, Q, and Golduck gently came to a halt. Red looked- bobbing in the waves before them was a small blue creature, with what looked to be large rubies embedded in it. Just above water level, its two small eyes looked up at the trio. A pair of brown tentacles could barely be seen beneath the waves. Red recognized it as the Pokémon Walter had used, back in Ruceelna Gym. "Tentacool," it said in a slightly nasally tone. Red took out his Pokédex and pointed it at the creature.
"Tentacool, the Jellyfish Pokémon," droned the device. "Drifts in shallow seas. Anglers who hook them by accident are often punished by its stinging acid."
"Cool," Red remarked. "So, what do you guys think? Should I try to catch it?"
"Might not be a bad idea," Violet replied. "Bincanar's Gym Leader is supposed to use Fire-types, so a Water-type would be a logical choice."
"Well, that sells it for me," decided Red as he reached for his belt. "Dodrio, I choose- oh, no, wait, I don't think it can swim... OK, Parasect- ooh, no, that's not much better... Aha! Raticate, let's go!" Red called as he finally chose a Poké Ball and threw it, his Raticate materializing in the water. Raticate kicked with its webbed hind feet, keeping afloat as it faced its Water/Poison-type adversary.
Tentacool made the first move, and fired off a stream of acidic fluid from the tip of its right tentacle. Raticate took a deep breath and sank beneath the water to evade it, then resurfaced.
"Raticate, use your Quick Attack!" Red ordered.
"Rrrrraticate!" screeched Raticate as it kicked furiously, zooming through the water and colliding with Tentacool. Though this knocked the Jellyfish Pokémon back a bit, it regained its composure and unleashed a Water Gun from the smallest ruby on its head. Raticate screeched its displeasure at the high-pressure Water move.
"OK, let me try this!" Red exclaimed as he took a Poké Ball out of his bag and tossed it. "Poké Ball, go!"
The ball struck Tentacool, and sucked it inside. It landed in the water and bobbed in the waves, shuddering back and forth... and then it exploded. Everyone present shielded their faces with their hands, but the shrapnel from the ball did not fly that far as Tentacool reappeared in a flash of light. Now looking wary of the trio, Tentacool sank beneath the waves and did not resurface.
"Raticate, return," sighed Red as he held out the Normal-type's Poké Ball. Once Raticate was withdrawn, Snorlax, Q, and Migraine started to move again.
"Well, that flopped," remarked Orange.
"Yeah, sorry about that, Red," added Violet.
"It's alright, I guess," sighed Red. "I should've weakened Tentacool a little more."
"Well, I hear the seas are filled with Tentacool," Orange said, in an attempt to cheer Red up. "You'll find another one in no time."
Two hours and exactly zero Tentacool later, the trio spotted a small pair of landmasses off to the starboard side. Violet pointed them out to the other two. "Alright, we're coming up on Afamose Islands," she said.
"And let me guess," Red said after a moment of thinking to himself. "Spelled A-F-A-M-O-S-E?"
"Yep," replied Orange. "And you rearrange the letters to get...?"
"Seafoam," stated Red. "Seafoam Islands in Kanto."
"OK, hard to starboard, guys!" Violet called to the Pokémon.
"Duck?" replied Migraine.
"Kyuu?" added Q.
"Snor?" rumbled Snorlax.
Violet facepalmed. "Turn right," she hissed.
At this, all three Pokémon slowly turned to the right, so they were all swimming to the west instead of the south.
"Still no Tentacool," Red reported after scanning the sea before them. "I saw a few Magikarp here and there, though, and... I think a few 7g?"
"Ooh, 7g," Orange remarked, his interest piqued.
"Orange, no," Violet said, shaking her head. "We want to get to Bincanar Island by nightfall, remember."
"Right, right," sighed Orange.
~~~~~~~~
The hours passed. The only change in the scenery to be reported were the blocky, pixellated sun slowly moving across the sky, and the occasional Swimmer treading water. Thankfully, none of them seemed to notice the trio, or else one of them might have been challenged to a battle. Finally, as the sun was starting to set, they could see a large island in the distance. A large mountain which, at a distance, looked to be made of roofing tiles, concrete, and various numbers, stood tall on the island, pointing up at the sky.
"There it is!" Orange exclaimed. "Bincanar Island! We're almost there!"
The island grew larger as they came closer. As the beach came into clearer view, however, Red frowned as he spotted a commotion on the sand. Three people were gathered around... something. Red couldn't tell what it was, or who those people were. As the trio's Pokémon finally swam up to the beach, and the trio climbed off, Red could now identify the group of people as Team Debug grunts, and... he still couldn't tell what they were gathered around. Whatever it was, it was large- a white body, covered in black, purple, and orange markings. And the Team Debug grunts were beating it with sticks.
"Whoa!" Orange exclaimed as they withdrew their Pokémon. "What are they doing to that 'M?"
"Orange, that's a bit larger than an 'M," Violet stated. "I think it's a Missingno." At this, Red opened up his Pokédex.
"Missingno., the Data Pokémon," droned the device, as an image of what appeared to be an 'M showed up on the screen. "In its Normal Form, Missingno. highly resembles 'M, though differs in size from one. In this form, Missingno. are known for their sheer attack power." Red shuddered slightly at the sight of the strange Pokémon, but at the same time, seeing the Debug grunts beating up on it made his blood boil.
"Hey!" Red yelled as he ran over to the grunts, plus the whimpering Missingno. they were attacking. "What did this Missingno. ever do to you?" he demanded.
"Hah!" sneered one of the grunts. "Looks like a twerp wants to interfere with us!"
"Listen, kid, this piece of crap isn't a real Pokémon," added another grunt. "We can do what we want with it."
"Who are you to decide what is and isn't a Pokémon?" demanded Red. "It registers in my Pokédex, so why wouldn't it be a Pokémon?"
"Ah, screw this, just drive him off!" exclaimed the third grunt. Each grunt pulled out a Poké Ball and enlarged it.
Red, however, was ready for action. "Dodrio!" he called as he threw a Poké Ball of his own, unleashing the Triple Bird Pokémon.
"Go get it, Scyther!" shouted one of the grunts.
"Arbok, go!" yelled another grunt.
"Get 'im, Vileplume!" bellowed the third grunt.
In three flashes of light, the aforementioned Pokémon appeared- a Scyther, which Red knew by sight, a large, purple snake with fierce looking markings on a wide hood just below its head, and what appeared to be a humongous walking flower.
At that moment, Orange and Violet came running over. "What the hell?!" Orange exclaimed.
"Team Debug," replied Red. "They're messing with this Missingno."
"Scyther! Slash it to ribbons!" roared a grunt.
"Arbok, Bite!" shouted the second grunt.
"Vileplume, Acid!" commanded the third grunt.
"Dodrio, use Tri Attack!" Red exclaimed.
"Scyyyyy!" screeched Scyther as it flew forward, scythes at the ready.
"Chaaaaa!" hissed Arbok as it lunged, mouth agape, fangs bared.
"Vilepluuuuume!" exclaimed Vileplume as it leaned forward and blasted a stream of acid from the center of its flower.
"Do!" "Dri!" "O!" cawed Dodrio, each syllable covered by a different head. They arranged their heads in a triangular formation, and a ball of light formed in each mouth. Then, a large glowing triangle formed between the three orbs, and was fired off. The Acid did nothing to stop it as it plowed into Scyther and Arbok, causing them to collapse.
"Now! Drill Peck!" Red called, pointing at the still-standing Vileplume.
"Drioooo!" cawed Dodrio as it dashed forward at Vileplume, all three beaks surrounded by rapidly swirling energy. It then struck Vileplume with all three beaks, and the Grass/Poison-type toppled over.
"Let's get out of here!" exclaimed the grunt who owned Arbok as he withdrew aforementioned snake and started running. The other two grunts seemed to be in no mood to argue with him, for they withdrew Scyther and Vileplume, then took off after their colleague.
"It's almost too easy," snorted Orange. "They can't even win with three against one. Of course, given that the 'one' in this case is a Dodrio..."
Red, meanwhile, was approaching the Missingno. He was doing so extremely slowly and warily, but he still looked somewhat concerned for the Pokémon's health. At that moment, he jumped somewhat as Missingno. slowly rose up, turning itself upright. Now Red could see, it definitely resembled the L-shaped Pokémon Jeff of Team Error had been using in battle lately, though this one looked somewhat taller than the 'M. It looked to be roughly ten feet tall. "Missing Missingno.," it said to Red, smiling.
"You... er... you feeling OK?" Red tentatively asked Missingno. In response, the Bird/Normal-type slowly rose into the air, and moved its body in a motion that resembled nodding. Red managed a brave smile. "Well, that's good," he said. In response, Missingno. began to slowly fly circles around Red.
"Missingno. Missingno., ingno. Missingno.!" Missingno. was saying.
"All right," said Red. "Well, you should probably get back to where you came from. And try not to go near Team Debug again, OK?"
"Missing?" replied Missingno., sounding a little confused.
"It'll be fine," Red reassured Missingno. At this, Missingno. slowly floated out over the sea. While Red, Violet, and Orange set off in search of the Pokémon Center, none of them saw Missingno. briefly turn to look at Red once more before continuing on its way.
The streets of Bincanar Island had a tropical feel to them- paved with chunks of palm trees and coconuts mainly, with several numbers thrown in. The nurse on duty at the Pokémon Center looked decidedly more tan than the other Pokémon Center nurses they had encountered- though otherwise identical to them all, of course.
"The lab?" said the nurse in response to Violet's question. "Well, once you leave the Center, just go right. It'll be on your right, you won't be able to miss it."
"Thanks," smiled Violet.
"Of course, the lab is closed for the night, and won't be open tomorrow..." the nurse continued.
"What?!" exclaimed Orange. "Why?"
"The lab's always closed on Sundays," explained the nurse. "It'll be open again on Monday. In the meantime, you three are Pokémon Trainers, aren't you?"
"Yeah," nodded Red. Violet and Orange nodded in agreement with him.
"Well, the Gym's not closed on Sundays," smiled the nurse. "When you leave here, turn left and follow the road. You'll know the Gym when you see it." Just then, a machine in the back dinged. "Ah, your Pokémon are healed!" she exclaimed as she made her way over to the healing machine.
Once the trio had retrieved their Poké Balls from the nurse, they turned in for the night. The next morning, right after breakfast, they exited the Pokémon Center. Orange had wanted to lead the way, but given that getting to the Gym involved following the nurse's directions, Red and Violet agreed that that wasn't such a good idea. Instead, Violet led the way. The road they took overlooked the beach- all Red had to do was look to the right to see the ocean.
Before long, they came to a massive structure made chiefly out of rocks and aluminum siding. Alarmingly, parts of it appeared to be on fire, though several passersby reassured the trio that that was intentional. Sure enough, carved into a particularly large rock above the giant palm leaves which functioned as doors were the words "Bincanar Island Pokémon Gym".
"Here we are," grinned Violet. "Anyone else ready for badge number seven?"
"Hell, yeah!" exclaimed Orange. "How about you, Red? ...Er, Red?"
For at that moment, something had caught Red's attention. Something floating over the beach, right in their direction. Something tall and blocky. It was a Missingno.
"Wait a second," breathed Violet as the Data Pokémon approached them. "Isn't that the Missingno. from yesterday?"
"I... I think it is," Red said as he nervously eyed the L-shaped creature, who had begun to fly circles around him again.
"Hey, you know what?" Orange said after a moment of observing Missingno. "Red, I think Missingno.'s taken a liking to you."
"Say what?" asked Red.
"Yeah," agreed Violet. "Missingno., are you saying you want to go with Red?"
"Missing! Missingno.!" exclaimed Missingno. happily, its smile very much pronounced as it looked expectantly at Red.
Red said nothing. Though he had been slowly and steadily getting more and more used to the Tanko region, the fact remained that he still wasn't completely comfortable with the native Pokémon. But then, he recalled his own words to Team Error... Missingno. might have been among the strangest of Pokémon he had ever seen, but it was still a Pokémon. And besides, what harm could it do? As Violet and Orange had pointed out, this Missingno. had obviously taken a liking to Red... As Red met Missingno.'s gaze, he was not sure what he should do...