Ash did his best not to scowl as he watched Rook get pummeled by Paul's Turtwig. This was day five of their fourteen day cruise, and Ash was careful to get as many battles in with Rook as he could per day. This was the sixth beat down of the day, three against Gary, three against Paul, but it was working. He could see Rook lasting a little longer every single battle. Which was the point but it didn't make it any easier to go into a fight he knew he'd lose. Especially because every time he lost, Paul's Turtwig or Gary's Squirtle got a little more powerful, offsetting any power boost Rook got from losing.
It was annoying, no matter how good it was for all of them. He huffed quietly to himself, making sure Rook was done for the moment, before going over to the bird Pokémon and recalling her. Honestly, the things he did for his team, he thought with a roll of his eyes as he glanced towards the victor.
Paul, he hated to admit, was a damn good trainer for how inexperienced he was. There was a magnetism to the other boy that pushed his team to do better and better so as to not get left behind. Rook hadn't stood a chance against Turtwig, but, eventually, they would stand on more even ground.
Still, that didn't make the smug smirk the other boy was giving him any easier to ignore.
"Wanna try with another one?" Paul asked, clearly trying not to rub in yet another victory.
Ash paused at that. It wasn't that he couldn't try, but the rest of his team was a bit... busy. Rook may have been the only one battling, but that didn't mean the rest of them were slacking off. King and Bishop were playing a game of copycat, working on their mimicry skills, which would be useful once they were a little older. Queen, on the other hand, was working on her ability to switch between a solid form and a ghostly one. She wasn't great at it, yet, but once she mastered it, it would make her both almost unbeatable in battle, and able to hide perfectly when they were somewhere they shouldn't be.
Though none of them were working on their attacks, all of them were working on skills that could save their lives one day.
Still, he'd finally gotten the 'okay' from Professor Oak to try King in battle, which meant that, as long as Paul's team took it easy, all four of Ash's could battle. None of them would win, but they could try. He was being a bit paranoid, and he knew it. King, Rook, Queen, and Bishop would all be fine. Mostly.
He looked at the purple haired boy, considering if he thought they'd be ready for a mock battle or not. Not yet, he told himself firmly, he wanted to see what they could do against each other first, before he tried King, Queen, or Bishop against anyone else.He had an idea of where they would shine, but that would be in the future. For now, it was best to leave them working on what they were doing. After all, his Impidimp, at least, probably would go out of his way to disobey in a real battle. If only to annoy his trainer.
Bishop wasn't his biggest fan, but the Impidimp had decided to stick around for a while, at least. It wasn't great that his only connection to one of his Pokémon was his other Pokémon, but he'd take what he could get. Bishop was naturally very sneaky, cunning, and more than a little untrusted by King, but they would learn. That was most of why he'd paired them together for practice. Learning how to mimic others would be a useful skill for Bishop, especially considering what he could learn in the future.
It wasn't exactly Bishop's fault, as an Impidimp, he had to feed on negative emotions and energies. While he had plenty of access right now, eventually, he wouldn't. Ash knew that he'd need to keep a close eye on the Pokémon, causing mischief and chaos was fine, so long as he didn't overdo it.
He already dreaded the day that Bishop would realize King loved chaos and pranks as much as he did. The two would be a headache when they realized how similar they could be, and got over the distrust between them. Which would happen in time.
Eventually.
Ash slowly shook his head. "Not today, I've still got a few things I need to check before I'd be willing to let the others try." Besides that, he had made a few acquaintances that he wanted to battle with. As much as he hated it, he was trying to be more social, after all, connections meant a lot in the world of trainers, the more you knew, the more Pokémon you could get your hands on.
One in particular had been dragged in by Gary, a quiet, sickly looking, green haired, ice blue eyed, boy named Wally who had been gifted a Ralts by a professor in the Hoenn region. He only had two Pokémon, a Magnemite, and his Ralts, but Ash knew he'd eventually be a dangerous opponent. Wally already showed a frightening amount of control over his duo, even as young as they were. It didn't help that both of Wally's Pokémon seemed to worship the ground he walked on.
In his head, Ash referred to them as the purple trio, since Gary and Wally wore purple, Wally's was more pastel than Gary, and Paul's hair was purple. Well, when he thought about all three, they were the purple trio, if it was just Gary and Paul, he still referred to them as the turtle club.
Speaking of Gary, he'd been more than slightly surprised to see that the other Pallet Town trainer had managed to get not one, but two more Pokémon, a pair of Nidoran, a male and a female. Gary was cagey about it, and Ash suspected that there was more to the Pokémon than the brunette wanted to admit. All he knew for sure was that on their third night, Gary didn't have them, and on their fourth morning, at breakfast, he did.
Did Gary win them from someone? Were they a prize? A gift? Ash had no clue, and it annoyed him, since the only thing he knew for sure was that Gary hadn't caught them himself. Or, well, Ash assumed he hadn't, since they were on a boat. Most likely, they were, well, products either sold or given to him. He personally suspected the answer was something like a breeders trade, meaning someone who recently got their license decided to pass on Pokémon to someone in the hopes of becoming nationally recognized for their ability to breed possibly champion level Pokémon. Breeders used these trainers as a sort of advertisement to bring in more business, sometimes picking newbies, sometimes big named masters. Either way, the publicity was almost always good.
It really wasn't any of Ash's business where Gary had gotten the adorable duo. Even if he was curious, he could admit that the Nidoran were great choices for Gary, since both could grow up strong. After all, everyone knew Giovanni's Nidoking and Nidoqueen were legends on their own. He was mildly curious as to if Gary would keep both or just one, but either way, he could keep his nose out of it.
Or, that's what he told himself.
He was a little surprised by the fact that they had just… appeared, but Gary seemed thrilled and had spent all day training with his new Pokémon. Professor Oak probably knew, seeing as the old man hadn't been surprised at all by the new additions, but Paul and Wally both seemed fairly impressed.
Sighing to himself, Ash rolled his shoulders a bit, before heading to the door. Rook needed to be healed before he went to bed, he needed to make sure King and Bishop hadn't killed each other, and Queen needed to be checked before he could finally spend an hour resting, and a few more studying the books he hid away. He needed to work more on planning the list of places to go, and items he'd probably need.
Mount Moon, for one, since his dad's lab was there, and he really wanted to check out Cinnabar Island as well. But that was for later.
He gave the tiny bird a small smile as he walked through the halls. Despite how much he didn't particularly enjoy the stress associated with being a trainer, he did appreciate the quiet moments.
By the morning of their fifth day, Ash knew he had found a pace that worked for him. Yes, he was still training daily, but he did allow himself some time in before bed to hang out with his friends.
He had friends now, three of them. Kinda. Gary was still Gary, so their relat depended on the hour. The other two, though, were interesting to hang out with. Wally was quiet, but had told the group about his previous sickness, and how he thought his team was the only reason he was still alive. Paul was snarky, but not cruel, unless you spoke to him in the mornings. His favorite conversation topic was his older brother, Reggie, who they had met a few times.
All in all, their Pokémon got along well, and they pushed each other out of their comfort zones. It was nice.
He had to admit, though, his favorite time of day was after everyone went to sleep. He'd get up around 3am, then pick one of his team to carry around while they slept. He'd go straight to the deck highest up, and spend some time curled up with whichever Pokémon he brought with him on a comfortable lawn chair. It was peaceful watching the ocean.
Tonight, Queen was joining him, and had curled around his left arm, staying close. He was starting to adore her shy nature,especially when she always squeaked every time he moved. He wasn't sitting, for once, instead, he was leaning against the railing, staring out at the abyss beneath them.
Almost as if in a dream, the door to the deck opened, showing an exhausted looking young man. He had spiked dark purple hair that was tied at the base of his neck, and kind black eyes.
Ash blinked in surprise, holding Queen closer to him. He'd seen the older boy, well, man, earlier when Gary, Paul, and Wally had dragged him to the man's room for a movie. This was Reggie, Paul's beloved older brother who was an ex trainer, turned Breeder.
He nodded at the older teen. While they had met a few times, Ash had never actually spoken to the young man alone. Paul and the others had always been nearby, so he'd never really wanted to.
It wasn't that he disliked Reggie, that wasn't true at all, but the man's eyes were too sharp. He looked at Ash as if he could read all of the things no one else saw. It was uncomfortable, to say the least. Add that to his blunt nature, the same one Paul had, and you had a recipe for disaster.
"So, you wanna tell me why those kids think you want to be a master?" The older teen asked quietly, leaning against the railing that Ash was using, black eyes peering at the younger trainer.
He blinked. "But... I do?" He hadn't been expecting Reggie to talk to him, his mistake, he supposed.
Reggie laughed, head thrown back in genuine amusement. "No, kiddo, you don't. All of the others? Absolutely, they want to become league champions, and masters of their crafts. But you?" The breeder shook his head. "No, you have less than zero interest in battling competitively. You don't have the spark that Paul does. And that's okay. You don't have to want what your friends do, kiddo."
Ash stared into the abyss, silent. That was the problem. It wasn't okay to want answers. It wasn't okay to want to fix the unfixable. His mom would never be the woman she had been before their family disappeared, he had no idea if his dad or his brother were alive or not, but that wouldn't stop him from trying to find out what happened. Nothing could stop him but death.
"Hm, let's put it like this: Have you ever heard of regional variation before?" Reggie asked quietly.
Ash blinked. "Yeah, King, my starter, is both Galarian and Kantonian."
"It's a Mime Jr right? So, does that mean that if it turns into a Galarian Mr Mime its not you starter anymore?" Reggie asked casually, still not looking away from the kid next to him.
"What? No, of course not! I don't care which way King evolves!" Ash defended, free hand squeezing the railing harder until it hurt. Queen nuzzle into his neck in an attempt to calm down her trainer, but he'd been on edge all night, and, even during the quiet moments, had been ready to explode if needed.
The older breeder smiled. "Then why are you trying to force yourself to evolve into a Kantonian Mr Mime?"
That stopped the new trainer in his tracks. He wasn't trying to... was he? No, he just had to seem like he wanted to be a champion, his inner thoughts had never shifted, he was still loyal to his dream. "I'm not-"
"My little brother might not be the nicest guy in the world, but he's loyal. He supported me when I retired from battling, I know he wouldn't care if you didn't want the same journey as he did. I'm sure your other friends wouldn't either."
Ash squeezed the railing again. That wasn't the point! The League needed to think he was focused on becoming a master, they needed to think he was distracted so that he could finally search for his own answers.
If they realized he'd been... looking into his fathers old research, he wasn't sure what would happen. It could be nothing. But everything inside of his mind screamed at him to keep his real desire quiet.
Maybe, he could work around, and make Reggie understand what was safe.
"My dad... had a degree in variation mutations. He spent years traveling all over the world and catching different species so that he could try to understand what caused the changes. Not just in typing, but in evolutions as well. He always wondered how the Galarian Zigzagoon, which is supposedly older than the other forms, managed to keep its backwards typing, and an extra stage in Obstagoon, while the rest of them lost it. He always wondered why the version from Hoenn couldn't evolve further than Linoone." His voice was soft, just over a whisper, but loud enough for Reggie to heard over the wind. "I'm doing this because of him, because he loved Pokémon so much, loved battling so much, and its a way to be closer to him. Maybe I don't really like it, but I want to prove to myself that I can do what both of my parents did."
Reggie patted him on the head, messing up the green-black locks even more than the sea breeze already had. "That's completely fair, kiddo. You have every right to want to be close to your parents. But maybe you can try and honor them another way?" The older teen thought for a second, before lighting up. "Can I introduce you to someone?"
Ash shrugged, eyes drifting away from the water to focus on the breeder in front of him.
"I'm sure you've heard that I was a trainer, and I retired after I lost to Brandon. Thats true. Because, for me, I realized that my strengths were never in battling. Instead, they were in my team. What you might not know, is that I had two starters, from two different people. An Aron and a Poliwag. Man, those two couldn't stand each other for months. I was constantly breaking up fight after fight." The older teen rolled his eyes at the memories. "But thats not important, what is, I can honestly say, is that I built my team based on heart. Every single one of my Pokémon had a need to prove themselves, and, when I retired, I decided that heart could come from all sorts of places. My Politoad? He's the laziest, most ridiculous Pokémon on the planet. But, when you put him in front of a younger Pokémon, he'll spend hours teaching them how to use a new move. He and one of my friends Pokémon had eggs recently, and most of them are, well, exactly like him, lazy, sleepy extroverts. All of them, except one." Reggie nodded towards him, and started moving towards the door. "Come on, let's see if you can figure out which one I'm talking about."
Ash rolled his eyes, holding Queen a little tighter as she opened a single yellow eye. He shushed her, running a hand over the scales on her neck softly. "I... I think I'd rather stay here, if thats okay."
He didn't want to go inside, because once he did, his quiet time with Queen was over, and he would have to start thinking about the schedule for the day. He wanted to look out into the black depths, wondering what secrets it held. He wanted to watch the waves move across the waters surface like black satin in the wind.
As much as he knew Reggie was trying to be nice, and he appreciated it, he just wanted to sit in silence for a little bit and hold his ghostly Pokémon.
That suddenly became impossible as she jolted to awareness, eyes snapping open and head tilting, as if hearing something they didn't. He glanced at Reggie in confusion, hoping the older breeder would know what was happening. But he didn't, instead he wrapped an arm around the younger trainer and brought them inside, going straight for their rooms.
Something was happening on the ship, and neither one had all of their Pokémon with them.
Reggie leaned down, keeping his voice low as he whispered in Ash's ear. "Go get your team and the boys. I'll get Paul. Meet me here in ten minutes, okay? Its gonna be okay, kiddo."
There was not a single sound in the hallway, besides their breathing, yet both knew something was horribly wrong. Ash nodded and quickly returned Queen, so that he could keep his hands free. He bolted away towards his room, fumbling with the keys for a few moments. Once the doors were unlocked, he froze. His team wasn't asleep where he left them, and his things had been ransacked.
"King? Rook? Bishop?" He called softly, trying to get his thundering heart under control.
The sudden alarms blaring were not helping at all. The noise was loud enough to hurt, clearly designed as a way to get the attention of the passengers and warn then that something was going on. The halls filled with noise, as people were startled into awareness. It sounded like someone was being trampled outside his door, but he didnt care. Not yet.
He jumped into action, frantically searching for his missing team. He recalled them almost the second he found them. King had been under his bed, Rook was hiding on the bed itself, and Bishop had taken refuge in a drawer. It only took a few minutes, but each one passing seemed to make him feel worse and worse.
Once all four were safe, he shouldered his bag, glad he hadn't unpacked much and ran out the door. He had to find Gary and Wally. They had to be okay.