We are up to chapter 16 on the other site. Hopefully I can catch up on here soon. _

The next morning, the four of them, along with Pikachu, boarded the ferry bound for Chrysanthemum Island across the bay. Ash was still slightly upset by the entire encounter at the Battle Palace, but had managed to push it out of his mind, for the most part.

Also, true to her word, May ended up refusing the chance to visit the beach before they left the city. When asked why, she simply replied that the 'urge had passed', ignoring Max's snide comment that he never knew that she used the beach as a bathroom.

Truthfully, though, seeing Ash get so depressed over his brutal loss to Spenser had, for some reason, temporarily replaced her love of the beach with concern for her friend: She felt bad for him, and didn't think it was right for her to go off and have fun when she knew how bad he was feeling.

Fuchsia City had long since disappeared from the rear horizon. Brock had taken position on the tanning deck, flirting with any girl who would pay attention to him, while Max had taken to playing with Pikachu, the two chasing each other across the front deck and through the cabin halls.

Ash, however, was leaning over the edge of the railing on the sundeck, halfheartedly watching Swellow fly around above him. Part of him was still thinking about the battle with Spenser, but the other part just wanted to forget about the whole ordeal.

May, on the other hand, had released Squirtle and Combusken, and was watching them practice with each other across the deck from Ash. Every few minutes, she would glance over at him, trying to decide if she should go and talk to him again, fairly certain that he was still upset about what happened back in the city.

Eventually, her decision was made for her, as Combusken threw its head back and shot a Fire Spin skyward, initially planning to have Squirtle freeze it with Ice Beam. But Swellow flew into it by mistake, haphazardly catching the bird Pokemon on fire.

"Swelllll-ow!" Swellow screeched as it streaked through the sky, leaving a trail of smoke behind it. Many people turned and stared in shock, and Combusken and Squirtle's eyes widened in horror.

"Huh?" Ash muttered, turning when he heard Swellow's cry. When he saw it blazing across the sky, arcing toward the sea, he snapped to attention immediately. "Swellow - ?"

"Ash! I'm so sorry!" May said quickly as she rose from her seat, Ash running up beside her, his eyes locked on Swellow.

"Combusken!" Combusken added in apology, all of them running over to the opposite railing as Swellow plummeted into the water.

"Swellow!" Ash cried, putting one leg up on the railing, preparing to jump over it.

"Ash! No!" May urged, grabbing his shoulders in an attempt to hold him back.

"L-let go of me!" Ash shot back, struggling against her as a splashing sound echoed across the air. Steam began to rise from the splash a moment later. "SWELLOW!"

"Squirtle!" Squirtle said bravely, attempting to scurry up the railing itself. However, its small size proved this to be a fruitless endeavor. "Squirtle, squirtle!"

"Combusken..." Combusken chirped softly, staring at the steam rising from the water.

"Ash, stop!" May said desperately, still attempting to prevent him from jumping over into the water.

"May! Let me go!" Ash responded urgently. "Swellow's down there! I have to - "

Suddenly, a green Pokeball with black webbing embedded over it soared past Ash and May's heads, cracking open a second later and plunging a glowing white streak into the water before flying back to its owner.

"Craaaaw!" The Pokemon roared, emerging from the surface of the water: a large crustacean, with a golden star atop its elongated head, which also bore two blue stripes across it.

"Dive, Crawdaunt!" A male's voice rang out from behind them. "Find that Swellow!"

Ash slowly let himself down from the railing as the Crawdaunt quickly obliged, allowing May to loosen her grip on him as well. They both watched the surface of the water, along with Combusken and Squirtle.

Then, the Crawdaunt emerged from the water just as quickly as it had dove, clutching an unconscious Swellow in its claws.

"Swellow!" Ash cried happily, hastily grabbing its Pokeball and recalling it. "Rest up in there for a while...okay?"

"Good job, Crawdaunt! Return!" The voice echoed again, causing Ash and May to turn as the Crawdaunt was recalled into its Net Ball.

They were met with the sight of a young man, a little older than Ash, by the look of him. He wore a plain, dark brown T-shirt with a sleeveless black vest over it, and black sweatpants to match, three Pokeballs clipped on to each leg, and messy brown hair that completed the look. He replaced the Nest Ball on his pants and looked to Ash. "Hey, your Swellow alright?"

Ash nodded. "Yeah, I think so...thanks to you. Thanks a lot for helping us out."

"No problem." He shrugged, holding out a hand. "Name's Trey."

"I'm Ash." Ash replied, shaking the boy's hand.

"My name's May."

"Hey, Trey!" Max's voice rang across the deck as he emerged from the ship's interior, with Pikachu in tow. "Why'd you run off like that - "

"Max?" May said inquisitively. "You know this guy?"

"Huh? Oh, hey, sis." Max replied, looking up at her. "I just met him onboard the ship. Get this - he a specialized Dark trainer!"

"Really?" Ash said, looking him over. "I never really got how you can train just one type of Pokemon."

"Well, there's a lot of variety within the types." Trey reasoned, as Pikachu ran over and climbed onto Ash's shoulder. "Oh, so that's your Pikachu?"

"Yeah." Ash replied, nodding.

"At first I thought it belonged to him." Trey explained, jerking his head in Max's direction. "Then he told me he isn't even a trainer yet...then I heard your Swellow screaming, and I figured I should find out what's up."

"Combus-ken..." Combusken mumbled, still upset at itself for what it had done.

"Yeah, you really helped us out back there." Ash said gratefully. He thought for a moment before continuing. "So, you're a trainer, too? Why're you heading to Chrysanthemum Island?"

Trey shook his head. "I'm not. This ferry's bound for Cinnibar Island as well, and Pallet Town after that. I'm heading for the Battle Tower near Tohjo Falls, so I figured hiking from Pallet'd be the quickest way."

Ash recognized the Battle Facility's name. "Battle Tower? So, you're doing the Battle Frontier, too?"

"Yep. Spenser, the head of the Battle Palace, he's a friend of mine. He hooked me up with Scott and let me run it as a favor." He stared at Ash for a second. "You're running it, too?"

Ash frowned, a dark glint in his eye. "Yeah, but I think you should talk to your 'friend'. I challenged him yesterday, and he was way too tough on my Pokemon."

Trey frowned, furrowing his brow as he recalled his recent battle. "That can't be right. I actually got his symbol the other day, but after that he said he was closing down the Palace for a little while for a vacation..."

Ash's gaze darkened. "That's not what we saw. Are you sure Spenser's not there?"

"Of course he's sure." A frail, old voice drifted around the corner, as a familiar bald man stepped out, staff in hand. "I'm right here, aren't I?"

Ash, May, Max, and even Pikachu gasped audibly and did a double-take.

"What the - ?"

"Spenser?"

"Pika pika!"

"Yes, yes, it's me." Spenser replied jovially. "Now then, come and tell me what is happening back at my facility."

By the time they had finished explaining Ash's battle to him, Brock had returned from the tanning deck, and had quickly been brought up to speed by his companions. Trey remained there as well, listening intently to the entire story.

Spenser's normally cheery face had darkened considerably. "I see...it would seem that someone has taken it upon themselves to take advantage of me being away."

Trey crossed his arms and looked to his friend. "Sure sounds like something's going on back there."

Spenser looked to Ash. "I humbly apologize for the way you were treated. This is not right. The Battle Frontier is supposed to be for elite trainers only. I will be on the first boat back to Fuchsia City once we make port, and I will deal with this...situation."

"No, it's fine, it isn't your fault." Ash assured him. "But, would you mind if we came back with you, too? I've kind of got a score to settle with him, myself..."

"Of course." Spenser obliged at once. "Trey? Will you be accompanying us as well?"

Trey shrugged. "Sure, why not? And, who knows, having me around might actually come in handy."

May giggled as she recalled her Pokemon before they all made their way over to the edge of the deck. Leaning over the railing, Ash could see Chrysanthemum Island already coming into view.

"Man, is this what it's like being a Frontier Brain?" 'Spenser' moaned, stretching out on the bed in his personal quarters while his six Pokemon grouped up around him on the floor.

"Ditto?"

"Aaah, be quiet." He shot back. "I know I signed up for this and everything. Just didn't expect it to be so tough."

"Ditto!"

"Yeah, that's true. Even if we did only get one trainer today...boy, was she a trainer. And her Pokemon were something else, too."

He grunted softly to himself as he put a hand to his forehead, feeling the familiar tingle that told him his false identity was still intact.

"I've gotta say, it was pretty smart of us to transform you into a Staryu, then use Camouflage when I bumped into Spenser as he was leaving town a few days ago." Nate bragged, laying his duplicate staff down on the bed. "I wonder if we could've copied the stick, too..."

"Ditto?"

"Ah, doesn't matter now, anyway." Nate replied, shrugging as he rose from the bed. "Sure wish there was some way to get out of this disguise, it still feels pretty weird."

He knew, of course, that Camouflage was never meant to be used on a human in the first place, but it didn't much matter to him, either. Nate, along with his six Ditto, had successfully taken over the Battle Palace, and personally, he couldn't wait until Spenser came back and saw what he had done with the place.

R&R!