Hey, we're back everybody! Sorry for the delay, but I was trying to stay off of websites that my antivirus programs don't like in the wake of that 'WannaCry' thing, and unfortunately that included FanFiction and my e-mail browser. :( But we're back! Good things.
Jakeroo123, thanks for the review! Yes, this is true, and I really struggled with Darkrai in this sequence before finally throwing my hands up and letting the characters do their thing (but it does get lampshaded later). The world may never know….The first several episodes of a new show tend to have their awkward moments, especially if the series runs a long time—maybe they were just tossing stuff at the wall to see what stuck. 'Keep that annoying cat out of HQ'—it's either that or 'keep those three as far away from me as possible.' :D
Dragonkeeper10, thanks for the review! Yes, Darkrai! Be the hero you were meant to be! :D
Ardtornismyname, thanks for the review! Shh—we don't want that getting around….
Dunkaccino, thanks for the review! And then I made up for it by not updating for two weeks! *bricked* Of course not—he's top billing. :)
XT3100, thanks for the review! Of course—without him, it's just a slightly modified retreading of the original series. Darkrai is extremely necessary (but don't tell him that).
Yami-chan and Unrealistic, thanks for the review! It is—classic Team Rocket has their own charm. :D Yes, we're not quite sure how that would have turned out….
IAmUmbreon11, thanks for the review! Oops. Don't worry about it. :) Maybe….
Luckenhaft, thanks for the review! Uh, yeah, that never even occurred to me (it would have been interesting and added a different sort of tension, but it's just not my speed). *shrugs*
IceDragonGirl36, thanks for the review! Good question…shh, Darkrai's wanting that to stay on the down-low.
Thor94, thanks for the review! Yes, this is true….
AveragePichu, thanks for the review! Aha, yes—or maybe 'if we die I'm going to kill you.' :D
Calzifer, thanks for the review! Yes….The characters mention that movie at one point, actually—Poseidon Adventure. Which I've never watched—all I know is that the ship flipped. *shrug*
Emeraldpichu, thanks for the review! Wow, thank you—I hope I continue to please! :D
POKÉMON GUEST, thanks for the review! I can guarantee that Ash will encounter the Gengar line in the future. :)
Marionette of Ancient Relics, thanks for the review! Thank you, I'm glad you liked it! I don't have plans to abandon this, or any fic that I post (any delays come from hitting a snag in storytelling and having to work around them, school-related delays, or another story grabbing me and holding me hostage). This particular fic will go all the way through the Indigo League, with subsequent regions in separate sequels (not sure about the Orange Islands yet, as I never really watched that season and there's no corresponding games). The Indigo League was the season I was most invested in, so that might be why—glad you liked the game mechanics put in, and the urban legend references. :) We can argue that Ash was distracted by Professor Oak mentioning how far ahead Gary is already (Ash seems to have a tendency to lose his focus when he hears he's behind his rival). As for Misty…hmm, if Ho-oh grants those who see it their fondest wish, I wonder what Misty would get….Darkrai thanks you for this astute observation. :D Good question—we may find out later….
Chandan, thanks for the review! I'm not sure—we get other odd references from the early seasons that indicate they have some similarities to our world (and I couldn't come up with a good Pokefied version, so…). Thank you. :D
Edboy4926, thanks for the review! Thank you, I shall! I do too…hopefully he won't waste so much time busting his butt on an ungrateful Charizard….I do too. Interesting…I'll have to consider that….
Pokémon © Game Freak; Nintendo
How To Train Your Dragon © 2010 DreamWorks (Misty quotes it at one point)
And now, for something completely different:
In other news, Pokémon researchers and rangers have finally deduced the source of the sentient cloud. Rangers today captured a Pokémon residing in the center of the cloud. Unovan researcher Professor Juniper has identified it as Thundurus, a genie-like Pokémon known for causing disruption. Professor Juniper admits that Unova tends to produce Pokémon known for causing disruption. She offers no theories as to why this is so at this time.
They had wandered through the upside-down ship, seeking a way out. For how long Ash wasn't certain.
"So should we be heading up or down?" Ash wondered.
"Up," Brock said. "Er…down. Well, up to the bottom of the ship."
"This is confusing."
"We want to go that way," Misty said, pointing up. "If we try to head for the deck and hit a dead end, we're done for."
Ash, Brock and Pikachu all shivered at that.
I am literally too young to die, Ash thought. I can't die—I've got a journey ahead of me! I need some help, up there! I don't want to show at the Pearly Gates at ten!
"Well," Brock said, recovering. "The good news is, with these air pockets, the ship can't have sunk too far down. It took the Titanic hours to sink, right?"
"Until it broke in half," Misty said matter-of-factly.
"I don't feel good," Ash moaned.
"That'll be carbon dioxide building up."
"Maybe we should try for positive," Brock suggested, noting Ash's expression.
"How about this then," Misty said, stopping. "Stairs."
Ash looked at the water slowly leaking onto their level before looking at the slick bottom to the upwards leading stairs. "Y'know, when I was little, I used to fantasize about walking on the ceiling."
"And now that you're doing it?" Brock asked.
"I'd like it better if I wasn't twenty thousand leagues under the sea."
"We'd be crushed like a tin can if we were," Misty said, tossing out a Pokéball. "Goldeen! Check the ship for us, will you? Bring back anything interesting, like air tanks or life preservers."
"Air tanks?" Ash asked.
"Life preservers?" Brock echoed.
"It's a bit of a stretch to hope any survived," Misty conceded. "But it's worth a shot."
Golden had already dived downstairs. Upstairs. Whatever.
"Do you guys feel cold?" Ash asked. "I feel cold."
"There's very little heat once you get past the surface of the water," Misty pointed out.
"Shock will do that too," Brock added.
"Pika," Pikachu said, pricking his ears.
Wait—if Pikachu sensed something….
"Is it anything good?" Ash asked.
Pikachu shook his head in the negative—
As a shadow just behind Brock disgorged a terrifying black blot—
"Darkrai!" Ash fairly shrieked, throwing his arms up and dislodging Pikachu—he'd rib him later for sounding like a girl but who cared he was back—
Darkrai stiff-armed his hug before bonking him on the head soundly. And repeatedly.
"You-absolute-moron," he said, punctuating each word with a wallop. "You-have-absolutely-no-sense-of-self-preservation—"
"It wasn't my fault!" Ash protested, trying to shield his head.
"Do I LOOK like I care?"
Anything else Darkrai was winding up to say was cut off by a multicolored beam hitting him in the side and dissipating off of him, prompting him to redirect his attention.
Ash looked to see that Brock and Misty had thrown out Zubat and Staryu respectively, and that all of them looked distinctly horrified. Ah.
"Uh," Ash noised. "I can explain—"
"What is that thing!?" Misty fairly hollered.
"Excuse me?" Darkrai asked, bristling.
Ash quickly positioned himself between him and them. "Uh, Misty, Brock—this is Darkrai. He's a friend of mine. Darkrai, you've seen Misty and Brock—"
"Excuse me?" Brock asked, drily.
"Uh—yeah, it's…involved, and…."
Misty was looking between him and Darkrai rapidly before finally settling on looking angrily at him.
"You," she hissed. "Are in so much trouble!"
The complete oddity of her statement floored him for a moment.
"We're in an upside-down ship under a ton of water with no conceivable way out," Ash said. "Gee, you THINK!?"
"Wow," Darkrai said, back to his dry self. "The kid snapped."
"I knew this day would come," Brock said sagely.
"You know, he wasn't like this until he met you people."
"You shut up!" Misty yelled, rounding on Darkrai. "You come in here and start attacking Ash—"
"I was beating him on the head," Darkrai observed. "There was no danger of injury."
"And—and then what? Just what were you planning on doing!?"
"He's going to help us escape," Ash said. "Right, Darkrai?"
Ash hoped that Darkrai's pensive position was just sarcasm—it wasn't doing much for an angry Misty in an enclosed space.
"How?" she asked, through gritted teeth.
"Shadow Sneak, right?" Ash asked. "Like how you got here—you could use it to get us out."
"I'm not going anywhere with that thing!"
"Yeah…no," Darkrai said. "There's a chance it could kill you, considering the distance needed. And besides, I've decided I don't like her."
"What!?"
"Any good news?" Ash asked, hoping to defuse the situation.
"You have company."
They looked to see that Goldeen had returned and shoved three soggy bundles onto the stairwell.
Ash blinked, recognizing the white uniforms. "Aren't they those Team Rocket guys?"
In response, those Team Rocket guys spat up water, coughing and spluttering and generally recovering from being half-drowned.
"Are we dead?" the Meowth asked.
"No, but that can be easily remedied," Darkrai said.
"You don't talk," Misty said, pointing.
"Maybe they are dead," Ash suggested. "And they're just waterlogged zombies. Like The Jellicent Victims."
"What are you doing watching a movie like that?" Brock asked, sounding appalled.
In response, Ash pointed at Darkrai, who started humming.
The other two Team Rocket members, meanwhile, had recovered enough to notice the company they were in.
"You!" Jessie said, pointing at Ash. "You…you…this is all your fault!"
"My fault?" Ash asked. "How is this my fault?"
"If you hadn't started all that battling, we would have been gone, the ship wouldn't be full of holes, and we wouldn't have sailed into a storm!"
"And if you were the one with the egg, we wouldn't be in this situation," Misty added.
"Help," Ash said, turning to Brock and Darkrai, both with their arms crossed.
"You're a magnet for disaster," Darkrai pointed out.
"I take some credit," Brock said. "I wouldn't have left the egg in the room if I thought the ship was going to sink."
"If you thought the ship was going to sink, you wouldn't have gotten on it to begin with."
"Touché."
"This is partially your fault, too," Meowth added, pointing at James. "For paying buku bucks for a stinkin' Magikarp."
"I got it back," James argued.
"Let me repeat: you paid money for a Magikarp."
Brock put two fingers into his mouth and whistled. "Now that I have your undivided attention," he said. "As charming as this blame game is—we're still stuck in a sunken ship. And oh by the way: the water's rising."
They looked down to see that the water had risen an inch during their argument. Ash's socks were getting wet.
"I vote we suspend all animosity until we're back to safety," Brock proposed.
"Seconded," Darkrai said, raising a claw.
"Hey, wait a minute," Meowth said, pointing at Darkrai, recognition flooding his face.
"Allow me to emphasize the not now portion of this truce," Brock said.
"Fine. But he's coming with us when this is all over."
"When Tepig fly," Darkrai spat.
A quickly and briefly summoned Onix helped them up the stairs and away from the water.
"What's the feasibility of flying Tepig?" Ash heard Jessie ask as they progressed.
"Well," James said. "First we'll need a Tepig…and then maybe a rocket or a cannon…."