Chapter 90, everybody! Yes we will be most likely breaking 100 chapters with this fic, don't judge me, the Indigo League was beefy and even with focusing more on the crucial stuff we're probably looking at 150 chapters before it's all over with.
Moving on…Ash is still sus of boats. Also yes the Seafoam Islands are the only place to find Ice types in Kanto that I know of, including the Legendary Articuno. As such, the Pokémon Rangers have concerns about preserving the environment. And of course Team Magma would want to raise awareness about volcanoes how else are they going to expand the land? Also which one is the tallest mountain in Kanto?
Yes quarantine is a dirty dirty word after 2020 but prior to that the trio's experience mirrors my own experience with visiting Hawaii—island ecosystems are very fragile compared to the mainland's, and while we had a couple of oranges we were planning on taking with us we ended up eating them in the airport because we weren't allowed to take them to Hawaii.
Also speaking of Magma propaganda I was drawing an ocean scene at night and wanted to look up image references and the first thing I got when I did a web search was "IT'S NOT SAFE." Look up the specific question of "are lava tubes dangerous" and I got "oh they're safe you're fine." Ignoring the fact that these are cave systems made from lava flows and that you need to be careful with caves on principle.
Moving on…of course we're going to reference Missing-No now that we're finally at Cinnabar. Also looking it up to find where and how you're supposed to encounter it…good grief Pokémon games have been buggy messes and learning that the games are basically spaghetti coding really explains a lot. The blue Pikachu was with Bill, if I recall. Ash is referencing a Calvin and Hobbes comic, by the way.
And now for reviews: thanks to BlastShooter87, Chryssal (I am!), Dragonkeeper10, LongNightDragon, Speed Reader, talesfanjmf, Reader, griffin blackwood, epantoja521, and Anonymous Person for the reviews! Good to be back and updating semi-regularly! :D
Pokémon © Game Freak; Nintendo
And now, for something completely different:
According to all known laws of Poké-science, Dragonite should not be able to Fly, as its wings are too tiny to lift its big fat body. Dragonite still Flies, as it doesn't really care what Poké-scientists think. In other news, ten-year-old field researchers do not in actuality provide impartial data.
It took a while after losing sight of the mainland before Ash was willing to accept that the ship wasn't going to sink. For now, at least.
"No I get it," Misty said, watching the water surge past the ship's sides as it sailed for Cinnabar. "This is the first time we've been on a ship since the S.S. Anne—that…sort of really shakes your faith in the security of ships and boats in general."
"It's a natural response," Brock said. "It'd be like if a dog Pokémon bit you as a kid—you'd be leery of all similar Pokémon after that. But you can't let that define you—there's a difference between healthy respect and downright crippling fear."
"Yeah," Ash said, head resting on his crossed arms. "Still feels weird."
"Pretty sure that's the knowledge of realizing you had a near-death-experience. You'll process it."
At least Brock was certain of that. Nod—perk as he realized the shape he had been seeing for a while was starting to define itself into an island. "Is that Cinnabar already?"
"Can't be, we haven't been sailing long enough," Misty said, peering at it.
"I bet that's the Seafoam Islands," Brock said. "They're a nature preserve, one of the few places you can find Ice types in Kanto."
"Awesome," Ash said, squinting in the sunlight and wishing he had a pair of binoculars. "Think we'll be able to visit?"
"Probably not, the rangers have started being real insistent on who's allowed there or not."
"But maybe we can Surf over."
"I'm starting to think you're just looking for an excuse to Surf on Lenny," Misty said.
"I mean yeah we can do it legally now," Ash pointed out.
"Wait until we get to Cinnabar," Brock counseled. "And speaking of."
"We're there?"
"No—come on, inside, I want to look at the map without it blowing everywhere."
"Okay," Brock said, smoothing out the map and tapping on Cinnabar. "Like Koga said, there's only so many places on the island. Saying that…the volcano feels too obvious."
"Volcanoes are dangerous though," Misty pointed out. "Most people wouldn't be allowed near it."
"Maybe Janine's right," Ash pointed out. "Maybe Blaine is on a different island. Maybe he's on the Seafoam Islands, and that's why the rangers are keeping everyone away."
"The Seafoam Islands are better suited to Ice types though," Misty said. "Blaine wouldn't risk harming his Pokémon like that."
"Maybe there's hot springs?"
"You just want to go to the Seafoam Islands, don't you."
"There's not that many Ice types in Kanto and they'd be really good against Dragon types!" Ash insisted. "I mean yeah trying to get a Dratini hasn't panned out so next best thing is an Ice type that'd be great against Dragons—maybe Lapras, Lapras are Water types too so they'd still be a good counter against Fire types—"
"And be weak against Electric, and Grass—"
"Fine then which one is your suggestion?"
"We're not going to the Seafoam Islands, I don't see the rangers okaying a capture expedition there even if you had seven badges," Brock said. "Focus on Blaine."
Ash blew out an irritated Razzberry, finally relented. "So…since the volcano is dangerous and people aren't allowed near it, then maybe Blaine is definitely there."
"It'd be dangerous for Blaine too," Misty pointed out. "It's not like lava only affects you when you touch it, it's thousands of degrees Fahrenheit—you'd burst into flames just from being in the general area."
"So no awesome gym battles suspended over a lake of lava?"
"Not hardly."
"Okay I know how I know about volcanoes, one of my brothers is obsessed with them," Brock said, pointing at Misty. "You're the Water gym leader, how do you know?"
"Website sponsored by a group called Team Magma," Misty said simply.
"Okay fine, that checks out."
They did not sink and in fact arrived at Cinnabar with no incident, so while Ash wasn't going to totally forget the whole issue with boats and ships and such, he was willing to give them a little benefit.
In the meantime.
"Wow, that volcano is huge!" Ash exclaimed, staring at it as Brock dragged them to the Pokémon Center. "That's gotta be bigger than Mt. Moon! Isn't it?"
"Well to be fair to the Cinnabar volcano, it's still growing—Mt. Moon has been the same size for centuries," Brock pointed out. "Now come on, we can ask for information about Blaine while our Pokémon get checked up."
"We're not going to have to do quarantine stuff, are we?" Misty asked.
"That'll be part of the scan, you've got to be careful with island ecosystems."
"Is that why we had to eat the fruit before we got on the ferry?" Ash asked.
"Part of the reason, yeah."
In addition to asking about which Kantonese mountain was bigger (and if a volcano technically counted as a mountain—the answer was yes, Mt. Chimney in Hoenn, for example), they quizzed Nurse Joy about potential Blaine sightings as their Pokémon were checked.
"I think the last time anyone saw Blaine was over a year ago," Nurse Joy said. "Gym Leader Koga found him, but he's a ninja so I suppose he has training for that."
"So no one's seen Blaine? Or has any idea where he is?" Ash asked.
"No," Nurse Joy said, giving them their Pokémon back. "But you have to admire a man who decides to be the local cryptid and then commits to it."
Ash was undaunted, however, and the mention of cryptids reminded him of something else he wanted to find while at Cinnabar.
"So according to this tourist pamphlet there's lava tubes from the volcano," Brock said, reading as they headed for the eastern shore. "Several are okayed for tourist exploration, but the majority are closed off as Pokémon biomes and are considered dangerous."
"Sounds like a potential hiding place for Blaine," Ash said, perking.
"Did you miss the part where they're lava tubes and are dangerous?" Misty demanded.
"Actually lava tubes are formed when the lava flows out and leaves the tube empty," Brock said. "Once they cool down they're not nearly as dangerous."
"Nearly, he says."
"Well it's still a functioning cave system," Brock pointed out as they reached the beach.
"That could definitely hide a gym leader," Ash said.
"Theoretically. Still a needle in a haystack."
"Well, we can find the gym later. Go, Lenny!"
Lenny appeared in a flash of light and reared appreciatively, stretching his sinuous body before letting out a roar.
Ash quickly climbed up his side to sit on his head. "All right, nice view! Now, start surfing along the coast! Missing-No's got to be around here somewhere!"
"Wait, what?" Misty noised, watching them sail away, Pokédex in Ash's hand. "You're not seriously hunting an urban legend."
"I can cook lunch while they do," Brock decided.
"Uh-huh. Ash! You literally have better things to do!"
"Consider the fact that this keeps him out of your hair for a while," Brock pointed out as he started unpacking.
Misty considered this.
"All right, fair enough," she said, flapping her hands at Ash and Lenny and walking up the beach. "I'm off to train a little—be back in a bit."
"I'll be here."
About an hour later, lunch was ready, and Ash was collapsed on the beach looking disappointed. Lenny was in similar straights next to him, although it was more comical coming from a Gyarados than it was a kid.
"I thought we'd see it," Ash muttered. "Maybe…I don't know, find a truck and look under it, and then surf up and down the west side of Cinnabar? Or was it the east side?"
"You do know Missing-No doesn't exist, right?" Misty asked him.
"It exists! And there really is such a thing as a blue Pikachu. I saw one."
"I give up," Misty sighed, shaking her head.
"Maybe we can consider it reverse psychology," Brock offered, plating their meals. "You look for Missing-No, and in doing that you end up stumbling upon Blaine by accident."
"Exactly," Ash said, pointing at him excitedly.
"Seriously?" Misty demanded.
"The alternative is looking for Blaine and finding Missing-No," Brock pointed out.
Misty processed this. "Okay so from what I know Missing-No is supposed to be on the east coast…oh come on, Ash, rare Pokémon don't just drop in on us—it just isn't done."
A big orange dragon landed, disturbing their lunch.
"Uh, hi," Ash noised, looking at it. "A…Dragonite?"
Everyone exchanged glances—Dragonite were considered pseudo-legendaries for a reason, and that reason was being so powerful they could kill a person by accident if they weren't paying attention. If they were paying attention….
Brock quickly held out a plate. "Hungry?"
The Dragonite accepted some of the food, ate it, and then reached into a saddlebag it was wearing and handed them a flat black disk.
"What's that?" Ash asked, accepting it.
A hologram flickered to life.
"Greetings," the lady it depicted said. "My master requests your presence at New Island; he wishes to gather the best trainers in the world for an exhibition like no other."
"Sounds promising," Misty noised. "And suspicious."
"Very," Brock agreed.
"Please inform Dragonite whether or not you will be coming," hologram-lady continued.
They looked at Dragonite, which had finished up the food while they were distracted.
"Ye-es?" Ash tried, hoping the Dragonite was full and content.
The Dragonite nodded before accepting the disk back, pressing a button, and holding it back out.
"Please make your way to the southernmost tip of Cinnabar Island," hologram-lady said. "The ferry will take you the rest of the way. Good day to you."
And with that, Dragonite pocketed the disk and was gone.
"Well, that was…different," Misty said. "It's not every day random invites to mystery islands come dropping in out of the sky."
"This is going on my list of more surreal days," Brock agreed. "So! Who wants dessert?"
"Me!" Ash said. "And then I want to head for the southern tip—my interest has been officially piqued."
"Pika pi," Pikachu agreed.
Before Misty or Brock could say anything, they were once again accosted by a Pokémon dropping out of the sky, although this one was black instead of orange.
"Hello," Darkrai noised, dropping behind Ash and waggling his claws. "This is your conscience speaking—we haven't talked for a while, how've you been?"
"I'm a little concerned that my conscience sounds like Darkrai," Ash opined. "But otherwise good."
"That's a good concern to have," Misty agreed.
"You hush," Darkrai ordered, waving a paw at her. "And you—while you're listening, it's not wise to be accepting invitations that just randomly drop out of the sky and don't give you names to go on. It's also a terrible idea to actually go to the location detailed. You get me?"
"Won't something bad happen if we don't, though?" Ash asked. "Like getting run over by a cement mixer or losing all our hair or something?"
"That's a chain letter, dingus."
"And bad things don't happen to you if you ignore a chain letter," Misty pointed out.
"Speak for yourself," Ash said.
"There's a reason he's so short," Darkrai agreed, nodding sagely.
"I've decided I need to hang around other people," Misty said to Brock.
"On the positive side, going to New Island might be just the place to meet said new people," Brock said, handing out dessert—and an Oran cake to Darkrai.
"Not you too."
"And here I thought he was the smart one," Darkrai sighed.
"You can't tell me you're at least curious about all this," Brock asked, gesturing about. "I mean, we're practically in the middle of nowhere. Why would an invitation randomly come to us?"
"Isolated, people won't be looking for you for a while—probably kidnapping and then horrible experimentation."
"Thank you for that thought," Misty groused.
"No problem—it's what I'm here for. Pleasant dreams tonight, by the way."
"All right then," Brock said to Darkrai. "So you're not going?"
"Oh, I'm going—if for nothing else, to rub it in your faces what a terrible idea this was."
"I'm surrounded by idiot men," Misty said to Togepi.
"I resent that remark, seeing as I'm male and decidedly not an idiot."
"Pika-chu," Pikachu added.
"I'm surrounded by idiot humans then," Misty corrected.
"Thank you, that's much better," Darkrai said airily.
Ash and company weren't the only ones who noticed the Dragonite.
"Okay," James wheezed after he and Jessie managed to stop it. "Meowth?"
"Dat's right!" Meowth yipped, popping up and slicing the saddlebag loose.
"What's it saying?" Jessie asked when the Dragonite rumbled.
"'I's gonna need dat back,'" Meowth translated, tugging the disk out and pressing a button.
Within a few minutes of listening to said disk, the Dragonite had it back and was flying on its way while Team Rocket schemed.
"A meeting of top-tier trainers!" James exclaimed. "That's just the sort of place we can find powerful Pokémon to steal for the boss!"
"On an island, preferably isolated—and with their Pokémon stolen it'd be weeks before they could pursue us!" Jessie rejoined.
"You guys know dis is how horror movies start," Meowth pointed out.
"Don't worry, I've watched Screech, I know the horror movie pitfalls to avoid," James assured him.
"And there's no way we're missing this!" Jessie exclaimed, pumping a fist. "To the southern ferry!"