Shadows and Ash Chapter 30: Shore Thing, a pokémon fanfic

Chapter 30, everybody! Sorry for the delay, but life has been busy, what with school and gardening and outdoor work and GETTING MY DRIVER'S LICENSE. I got it 7/17/17, and now I never have to drive again (I probably will, but that's not the point). :D

So! Here's hoping we can entertain a more regular schedule now that one of the major time sinks is out of the way. Hopefully.

And whoever put this fic on the General FanFic Recommendations on TV Tropes—thank you, you made my day when I saw that. ;v;/

Crestilia, thanks for the review! Yes! It might be a little easier for me to write about eating something that's also kept as a pet, since I have chickens but also eat chicken—my logic is that I never eat anybody I knew personally. Glad you like it. :)

Yami-chan and Unrealistic, thanks for the review! Well, we couldn't exactly use him with Lt. Surge….Yes! Save us small fish! :D Haha…we'll see about James' Magikarp. ;)

ChangelingRin, thanks for the review! Yes! Fishy success! And yes—no one will ever suspect what Pokémon will appear when Ash yells 'Lenny' from now on. :D I shall!

Dragonkeeper10, thanks for the review! Yes…I wouldn't, but only because I don't like seafood (Tauros, on the other hand…).

Jakeroo123, thanks for the review! I think they handwave it for the most part, although let's be honest, when was the last time any of us thought about how the meat gets to the grocery store? They are bringing up Pokémon as food in the more recent games, though, so apparently Game Freak is questioning it too. I think it was Team Rocket doing it that made it wrong, but it's been a while since I played that gen (although Sun/Moon does make mention of a Slowpoke that lost its tail because someone cut it off, so…*shrug*). Haha, glad you liked that. :D

Thor94, thanks for the review! Yes, finally! And yes, poor Foodie….

IceDragonGirl36, thanks for the review! Ouch—glad you liked the chapter, though. :)

InfernalFox, thanks for the review! Yes—having aquarium fish, I can tell you that scale rot is a real thing, and among a number of things that can affect fish.

Luktopius, thanks for the review! Yes! Good for Ash. :D

InkyTheInk, thanks for the review! Nope. Well…people have to eat…this is true. And probably—and definitely, considering Ash's track record….

Garm88, thanks for the review! Haha, glad you like it. :D

Mowrotom314, thanks for the reviews! Glad you like it, and we're pretty sure Bill might have survived….As for Frenzy…we have no idea….

Thanks for the review, Guest! I have not, but that's interesting.

AveragePichu, thanks for the review! Fair point….

Thanks for the review, friend! Glad you liked it. :)

Scarlet Firesong, thanks for the reviews! Yes, Darkrai….Haha, glad you like those—I have a lot of fun typing those up. :D We don't know….My goodness, Bill—and no, Ash and Darkrai are not cool guys. :D I know! And yes! Success!

Boggie445, thanks for the review! Perchance….

Ardtornismyname, thanks for the review! I guarantee at least one more will be making an appearance….

Pokémon © Game Freak; Nintendo

And now, for something completely different:

The Regional Police Corps would like to remind you that, while acceptable slang when referring to the female officers, "Officer Jenny" should not be used as a blanket term for police officers. Please stop calling our male officers Jenny.

The issue over the Magikarp had relatively settled after a few hours, and Lenny had entertained himself with showing off how magnificent he looked now that he was a Gyarados.

Ash, meanwhile, had tried to make James feel better by scanning his Magikarp. It was female, level 5, and knew Splash. And with the end result of a Magikarp parading in front of them, James' mood was improving enough for him to consider naming it.

"Call it Expensive," Jessie shot over.

"We agreed," Misty said. "That we weren't going to discuss politics, economics, or that Magikarp while we were stuck together."

Silence.

"Did ya catch da game da other night?" Meowth asked the group at large.

"The one that went into overtime?" Brock asked.

"Yeah. Can you believe dat one ref?"

"Since we're stuck here," Ash said. "How is it that Meowth can talk?"

"Please don't get him started," Jessie sighed.

"I'll tell you how I can speak human!" Meowth declared, hopping up. "It's a tale of romance, of heartbreak, of sheer willpower!"

"He learned how to speak so he could impress a girl," James said.

"Not just any girl! The prettiest Meowth in all of Kanto! I struggled tooth and nail to learn the lingo and walk the walk, and when I finally present myself, what did she do?"

"She ran off with a Persian," Jessie and James said dully. Ash had the impression they had heard it before. Many times.

"A Persian!" Meowth ranted.

Ash looked up to see that Darkrai had returned. Ash waved at Lenny and pointed; Lenny nodded, dove beneath the flotsam, and resurfaced with it balanced on his head, carefully making his way after Darkrai.

"So what's with the accent?" Ash decided to ask.

"I learned from old detective movies," Meowth explained. "Here's lookin' at you, kid. Found out not all humans talk dat way, but it helps considerin' I don't have a human mowth."

Ash glanced at Pikachu. "So any Pokémon could learn to talk?"

"No idea, kid."

Ash considered this.

"I don't know, what do you think?" Ash asked Pikachu. "Worth a shot?"

"Pika-bleh," Pikachu responded, sticking his tongue out before pointing at Ash. "Pika pi-chu."

Ash glanced at Meowth for clarification.

"He says if learning another language is so easy, why don't you do it?" Meowth translated.

"I tried once," Ash explained. "Apparently, I know a lot of insults in Pokémon."

"Oh really? Let's hear it."

"Um, let's see….Rattata tat rat tat."

Meowth and Pikachu exchanged glances.

"Yeah," Meowth said finally. "Don't do dat in polite company."

"Why? What'd I say?"

"You don't want to know, kid."

The silence they lapsed into was broken hours later.

"Look! Land ho!" Meowth yelped, hopping up and down and pointing.

It had been a long enough journey that the sun was beginning to set, making the wind on the water cold. It took a bit of squinting to see through the glare of the sunset, but it quickly became evident that Meowth was right—there was land. And lights on the land—civilization.

"We're gonna live!" Jessie and James sobbed, clinging to each other. Ash couldn't help but echo the sentiment—if he never saw the ocean again, it would be too soon.

"The minute we get on land I want a warm bed and a hot meal!" Misty declared. "And then I'm filing a negative review with the cruise company."

"I think that's an understatement," Brock said as they approached the shore and Lenny slowed down.

"Welp, toodles!"

Ash looked around, saw that Jessie, James, and Meowth were making a break for it, Magikarp tucked under James' arm as they slid off Lenny's back. "Where are you three going?"

"Use your brain, twerp!" Meowth snapped back. "We're members of Team Rocket! We have a reputation to uphold! We can't be seen with twerps, even if you did help us!"

"I can't go back to jail again," James said simply.

"So you see the predicament."

Ash looked at Brock, confused, as the trio hit the water and splashed away.

"Wet!" he heard Meowth moan. "Wet again!"

Lenny's appearance on the beach had caused quite the stir.

"Ash, you'd better return him," Misty counseled, prompting him to do so.

The rangers running for them slowed somewhat. "Was that Gyarados yours?" the lead one asked.

"Yeah!" Ash said, eagerly—he was fairly certain that most starting trainers didn't have one.

"We're going to have to confiscate it—"

"What?" Ash squawked, appalled.

The ranger winced a bit at his volume. "The Tentacool have been stirring up the local Pokémon—if you caught it here—"

"I didn't catch him here! I caught him on Route One as a Magikarp!"

"Can we see the documentation?"

"How?"

"Your Pokédex."

"Sure, fine, here," Ash groused, handing it over.

"Where are we?" Brock asked, looking around.

"Port Vista," the ranger said, hitting a few buttons on the Pokédex. "All right, your story checks out." He handed the Pokédex back to Ash. "But you're still in trouble for Surfing in a cordoned-off area—"

"What?" Ash, Misty and Brock chorused.

"We just escaped from a sunken ship!" Misty squawked. "I'm pretty sure our Surfing here was justified!"

"Even with Lenny not knowing Surf," Brock muttered.

"You hush!"

"Sunken ship?" one of the other rangers asked, confused. "You don't mean the S.S. Anne?"

"Yeah, that was the ship—" Ash began.

The rangers were already on their Pokénavs. "Survivors from the S.S. Anne!"

"What are your names?" one demanded.

"Uh, I'm Ash Ketchum," Ash said, startled.

"Misty Waterflower," Misty said.

"Brock T. Harrison," Brock said.

"We'll alert your families—they'll be glad you're all right," one ranger said. "In the meantime, let's get you indoors and fed."

"I'd love that," Ash said, mouth salivating at the sound of food.

"I'm sure news of my death went over well with my sisters," Misty mused as they followed.

"How morbid," Brock informed her.

"Yeah…why are the Tentacool stirring up local Pokémon, by the way?" Misty asked.

"Port Vista has grown over the years," one of the rangers said, escorting them into a hotel. "And the increased activity has agitated them. We're capturing some and relocating them, but it's going to be a long process."

Misty glanced at Ash. "I'm a water trainer," she said. "Maybe I can help."

"It'd be appreciated."

The next few hours were a blur of food, being escorted to their rooms, and cleaning up.

"Ugh," Ash moaned, pulling on clean hotel pajamas and toweling his hair as he left the bathroom. "I feel a whole lot better."

"That's what happens when you bathe on a regular basis."

"Darkrai!" Ash yelped, looking up sharply to see the legendary floating over his bed.

Darkrai deftly dodged the flying hug-tackle, leaving Ash to flop face-first onto the bed. "Don't get all worked up—this doesn't mean that I like you," Darkrai informed him.

"And yet you came to save my life."

"That's true….You know, in some cultures, that'd mean you'd have to do everything I said from now on."

"Not my culture."

"You could convert."

"Pika," Pikachu said, pausing in his grooming to address them.

"And what use would I have for a yellow rat?"

Ash didn't hear Pikachu's response—he drifted off on the soft bed, relief knocking him clean out.

"Thanks, Darkrai," he managed before the oblivion of sleep.