Thanks for the reviews guys I really appreciate you taking the time to write one.

Here's chapter 14 I hope you enjoy.

In conversations:

'- Translation of Poké Speech – No human unless otherwise stated can understand it.

"- Human speech

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon.

As they got close to the centre of town Ash and Salem could hear several people shouting. Ash was about to investigate when he felt someone grab his shoulder. He turned around and saw Salem looking at the ground guiltily.

"Hey Salem what's wrong?" Ash asked.

"I-I-I'm sorry." Salem replied.

Ash looked at her wondering why she had blurted that out.

"What are you sorry about?"

"On the ship I made you cook for everyone. Then in the morning I forced you to get out of bed. I'm really sorry that I've been such a crappy friend over the past couple of days."

Salem continued to look down and then closed her eyes not wanting to see the look of anger Ash probably had on his face. She felt him remove her hand from his shoulder and was certain that he was now walking away from her. She let out a surprised gasp when she was pulled into a hug. Salem opened her eyes and looked up at Ash who was smiling down at her.

"I-I don't understand. Why are you being so nice to me?" Salem asked.

"Salem you're my friend. Yes I was annoyed that I had to cook for everyone and at being woken up early. But I can't stay mad at a friend."

Salem wrapped her arms around Ash. She felt tears come to her eyes and Ash's words.

"Hey don't cry. I hate to see my friends cry." Ash said.

Salem wiped her tears away with her glove and smiled at Ash.

"Thanks Ash."

"No problem. Now come on let's go see what all the commotion is about."

They broke the hug and walked towards where the shouting was coming from. They then saw a large crowd congregated outside of the police station. Ash and Salem pushed through the crowd and got to the front seeing Officer Jenny being the one who was getting yelled at.

"What's going on?" Ash asked.

One of the mob heard Ash and tapped on his shoulder. Ash looked at the woman.

"There is a thief that has been stealing jewellery. The thief has been at large for over eight months now and nothing has been done about it."

Ash and Salem stayed as people kept hurling a colourful barrage of insults at Officer Jenny. Both Ash and Salem were surprised that Officer Jenny was still able to keep her composure.

"I'm sorry everyone. Team Firestorm members were captured on a cruise ship yesterday. So that is my priority for now." Officer Jenny yelled.

The woman who had talked to Ash walked forward and pointed an accusatory finger at Officer Jenny.

"It's just another excuse from you. Just admit that you are too incompetent to catch this thief."

That one hurt Officer Jenny. She had always tried to do her best for the people of Dewford. To hear that felt like a dagger to the heart. She looked down unable to respond to the comment. Ash had had enough of this. He had far too much respect for what every Officer Jenny did to stand by and watch one of them be berated like this. He stood in front Officer Jenny surprising both her and the crowd.

"Hey she does a lot more than any of you. You should be respecting her for everything she does do for you. If you don't think she can catch this thief why don't any of you try find the thief." he growled.

His words seemed to affect some of the mob. The majority however were still raging. The woman from before stepped forward again.

"You talk about us catching the thief. Why don't you try to catch the thief." she said completely avoiding Ash's question.

Ash looked at the woman and smirked.

"Ok. I'll do it." he said.

"And I'll help you." Salem announced as she stood next to Ash.

"Thanks Salem." Ash said and gave her a smile "Will any of you help or are you all just going to be a bunch of whining assholes?"

Most of the mob glared at the two young trainers and then looked away. Most of them grumbled about them and then gradually dispersed until only Ash, Salem and Officer Jenny remained.

"Thank you for that Ash." Officer Jenny said.

"How do you know my name?" he asked.

"We Jenny's and Joy's talk to each other. During your adventures you became an increasingly well known person as each of us met you."

"Wow I'm not sure whether I should be proud or disturbed."

"Take it as you like. I'll be sure to tell everyone else about what you've done today. Anyway I'd better deal with the Team Firestorm members now."

"Okay see ya Officer Jenny."

Ash and Salem watched her walk away. Salem turned to Ash and saw that he appeared to be deep in thought.

"Ash what are you thinking about?" she asked.

"I'm just wondering how are we gonna lure this thief out?"

"Don't worry boss I have a plan." Meowth said deciding to speak up for the first time today.

"Really Meowth? A cunning and a subtle one?"

"Yeah."

"As cunning as a Vulpix who's just been appointed Professor of Cunning at Lumoise University?"

"Yeah."

"Well it's probably better than any plan I have. So let's hear it."

Meowth's plan involved getting a fake ruby ring and placing it somewhere the thief would try to snatch it. They sat in the shadow of a nearby building and waited. It wasn't until midnight that something happened. Ash saw a shadow sneaking from cover to cover gradually getting closer to the ring. When it got close it quickly shot its hand out and grabbed the ring. The thief then started sprinting away. Ash and Salem quickly got up and ran in pursuit but made sure they stayed far enough behind that they wouldn't be seen. They kept chasing until the creature ran into the darkness of Dewford Cave.

Ash and Salem walked cautiously into the cave. Even with Meowth, Raichu and Luxray by their side they didn't want to anger any wild Pokémon and risk a fight that could cause them to lose the thief. Ash took the flash light off his belt and led the way through the dark cavern. As they got deeper into Dewford cave they began to hear noises ahead of them. They followed the sounds and they gradually got louder. Ash and Salem stopped when they got to a corner. They stood behind a boulder and peeked around the corner. Their eyes widened when they saw a huge pile of rings, necklaces, brooches, earrings, bracelets and several other pieces of jewellery. In front of the horde of jewellery was a Sableye who was sat with his back turned to them. They continued looking at Sableye and could see him clawing at a ring.

"I think we've found our thief." Ash whispered.

"But why would he make all that effort just to steal a tiny little Ruby?" Salem whispered back.

"Remember when we arrived and I asked why Dewford was now so much bigger than in the past?"

"Yeah. That old sailor said it was because of their advancements in mining the gemstones from this cave."

"Well Sableye live on gemstones. So if they were unable to dig any out of the ground then they would have to do anything to get gemstones."

Suddenly Sableye stopped scratching at the ring and the ruby fell out of it. Sableye picked the tiny ruby off the ground and swallowed it whole. Sableye quickly spat it back out upon finding that it was a fake. After glaring at the ring Sableye threw it angrily at the wall and then sat back down. Both Ash and Salem looked sadly at Sableye feeling sorry for the Pokémon.

"Do they eat anything else?" Salem asked.

"It's not known. As so few people actually raise Sableye. But how about we find out?" Ash said.

"What do you mean?" Salem replied confusedly.

Salem didn't get an answer to her question. She watched as Ash took a bowl and a bag of food he had brought with him out of his bag. He filled the bowl up with about half of the food in the bag and got to his feet.

"All of you stay here and stay out of sight." Ash said.

They nodded and Ash slowly walked out from behind the boulder.

"Hey Sableye." Ash said clearly.

Hearing the voice Sableye got up and stood in combat stance ready to attack.

"Whoa calm down. I am not your enemy. I just thought you might want some food." Ash said as he presented the bowl of food.

Although he hated to admit it the human was right he hadn't eaten for several days now. Sableye not sensing any direct threat from the human relaxed his stance. But still made sure he was prepared for anything. Ash placed the bowl of food on the ground and slowly walked away keeping his hands in the air so Sableye knew he was no threat to him. Sableye gingerly walked towards the food and when he got close enough he snatched a piece of the food and quickly devoured it. Sableye was amazed at how good the humans food tasted. He picked the bowl up and scurried back to the corner he had been sat in. His back was once again facing Ash who stood still and waited for Sableye to finish. Ash had considered approaching Sableye but decided against it as that might startle him and make him attack.

When Sableye finished the food he rubbed his stomach happily. He wasn't full but it was the best meal he had eaten since stealing that diamond necklace six months ago. He turned around and saw the human still stood there waiting. Sableye stood up and walked to the human placing the bowl at his feet hoping he would understand what he wanted. The human smiled and walked back behind a boulder and moments later came back with some more of the food. He filled the bowl back up and Sableye sat on the ground this time not walking away. Something about this human was different to the others he had encountered before. That something made Sableye feel safe around this human.

Ash smiled as Sableye was obviously comfortable around him. He sat down opposite Sableye and watched the Darkness Pokémon eat a bit slower this time clearly taking time to savour the food. Ash reached out and placed his hand on Sableye's head and began rubbing. But feeling him stiffen Ash went to move his hand away not wanting to offend Sableye. Before Ash could remove his hand Sableye quickly relaxed and seemed to enjoy the attention.

At this point Ash was unsure what to do with Sableye. He didn't want to forcibly take Sableye away from his home but at the same time he also didn't want the people to keep having their valuables stolen. Maybe if he talked to the miners and asked if they could leave certain parts of the cave alone that would benefit everyone. Ash was broken out of his thoughts when he felt something climbing into his lap. He looked down and saw that Sableye had finished the food and was now sat in his lap. Ash continued petting Sableye for a little while earning contented sighs from Sableye. After giving Sableye a bit more attention Ash picked him up and placed him on the ground. Ash picked up the empty bowl and stood up.

"Listen I'm gonna talk to the miners and see if they can leave some of the cave alone. Hopefully you'll be able to find gemstones in the cave. That way you'll have easy access to food whenever you want it."

Sableye looked down sadly. He knew that the human was going to leave him here. Sableye didn't want to be left here. He had enjoyed the humans company tonight. He had been alone for so long that just a little bit of companionship had been nice. Sableye continued to look at the ground as the loneliness that he had felt over the past few months came back.

"Take care of yourself Sableye. Farewell."

With a small wave Ash turned around and walked back around the corner. He picked up Eevee and Ralts and started leading the way out of the cave. However after just a few steps Ash felt something grab on to his leg. He looked down and saw that it was Sableye. Ash knelt down and looked at Sableye.

"Do you want to come with me?" he asked.

Sableye nodded making Ash smile again.

"Ok sounds good to me."

Ash took a Pokéball out of his pocket and presented it to Sableye. The Darkness Pokémon tapped the capture button and was sucked inside. He didn't put up a fight making him be instantly captured. Ash smiled as he clipped the Pokéball on to his belt and continued leading everyone out of Dewford Cave.

After catching Sableye Ash and Salem went back to the ship and slept in their cabins. The next morning they went to the dining hall and were amazed to find that the captain managed to find a chef already. There was only one option other than cereal/ But both young trainers were more than happy with the option and dug into their breakfast of eggs, sausages, bacon, beans and fried bread.

"So Ash what are ya gonna do today?" Salem asked.

"Well I was gonna suggest that we do some training today and tomorrow we take on Brawly."

"Sounds good to me."

Ash and Salem finished their breakfast quickly and left the ship headed for the forest area to the west of Dewford. They looked through the forest until they found a suitable clearing to set up for the day. Ash and Salem then sent out all of their Pokémon apart from Crobat. Their Pokémon walked up to them and Ash turned to Salem.

"Listen I'm gonna spend some time working with Ralts. It will be her first bit of training so I will be focussing on her."

"Ok I'll be on the beach front so I can train Chinchou."

Ash nodded and watched Salem leave with her Pokémon. He then turned his attention to his own Pokémon thinking about what they could do. After a moments thought he knew what he wanted them to work on.

"Noctowl keep improving on your Psychic. Snorlax work on sustaining your Flamethrower. Wartortle keep trying to combine Ice Beam with Rapid Spin. Bayleaf keep working on Giga Drain."

All four nodded and walked off to separate areas and began training. Ash then looked at Treecko.

"Ok Treecko I think we need to give you a coverage move. Right now you only know normal and grass type moves which doesn't give you a lot of diversity."

Treecko nodded knowing that what Ash said was true.

"For now I think we'll just go for Hidden Power. When I next swap my Pokémon around I'll bring someone who can help you with Brick Break."

To Ash's surprise Treecko formed six orbs around him but they quickly flickered and then dissipated. Ash looked at Treecko astonished.

"That was incredible Treecko. Have you already been practising that move?"

Treecko nodded again and rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment.

"I really am impressed. Well I guess you already know what to do so I'll leave you to it."

Treecko walked off to a separate area of the clearing and started his training. Ash then looked at the Pokémon he caught yesterday.

"So Sableye lets see what you know."

Ash pointed his Pokédex at Sableye.

"This Sableye is male and has the ability Prankster. He knows the following moves Shadow Ball, Night Slash, Recover, Dig and Scratch."

"Wow that is a great set of moves Sableye. Could you do me a favour? If you don't mind could you show Meowth and Zangoose how to use Night Slash?"

Sableye nodded, happy that he was able to help Ash.

"Thanks." Ash said gratefully.

Sableye led Zangoose and Meowth away and started demonstrating the move to them. This left Raichu, Eevee and Ralts who had not been told to do anything. They all looked expectantly at Ash. He first looked at his starter.$

"Hey Raichu can you use Iron Tail on that boulder and bring me a smallish piece of it?" Ash asked.

'Why don't you just use a poke ball?' Raichu replied.

"Because Ralts doesn't know how to fully control her powers yet. So she might accidentally break a Pokéball which would make her feel bad."

'Fair enough.' Raichu said.

Raichu's tail turned metallic and he slammed it down on the boulder. The boulder was completely shattered by the force of the attack. Raichu walked over to the pile of rubble and picked up a rock about the size of a poke ball. He walked back to Ash and passed the stone to him.

"Thanks Raichu."

'No problem. That will be a bottle of ketchup as payment.'

"Nice try buddy. Go and practice your Hyper Beam."

Raichu walked away moping making Ash, Eevee and Ralts laugh at his rather childish behaviour. Once they'd stopped laughing Ash looked at Ralts.

"Ok Ralts we're gonna start your training. Now don't worry you aren't battling yet. We're gonna start small and then work up. So you see this small stone I'm holding? I want you to lift it up a couple of inches and hold it there. Do you think you can do that?" Ash said softly.

Ralts nodded and raised her right arm which was surrounded in a blue glow. After a few seconds the rock in Ash's hand was surrounded in the same blue glow and she moved it so it was hovering above the ground in front of her. Seeing that she had done this much Ralts lifted the stone up to eye level. She looked at her dad and Eevee and saw that both of them had smiles on their faces.

"Way to go Ralts." Ash said enthusiastically.

Ralts smiled happy that she had impressed her dad. She was now starting to feel more confident so she started moving the rock around. Suddenly images of what happened that day appeared in her mind. Ralts grabbed her head and the rock fell to the floor. She started sobbing remembering what Echye had done after she had failed to do as he had asked. Ash picked her up and hugged her trying to soothe her as she cried into his shirt.

"Hey calm down nobody is going to hurt you. You just thought of what Echye did when he tried to train you didn't you."

Ralts nodded keeping her head buried in his shirt.

"Listen Ralts. I will never be angry at you just because you can't do something. I'll just work with you so we can do it."

Ralts looked up at her dad through teary eyes and smiled. She hugged Ash again who happily returned the embrace.

Ash was paying so much attention to Ralts that he didn't notice Crobat had gotten out of his Pokéball The bat had broken away from Ash's Pokémon and was now sneaking off towards Salem. Crobat stealthily approached his target. When he got in range he screeched and charged at Salem. She turned to see what caused the noise and saw the bat coming straight at her. Salem froze, her fear of bat Pokémon made her unable to move. As Crobat got closer she screamed in fear. Ash and his Pokémon heard her screams and ran to the beach front as fast as they could.

Salem put her arms in front of her in some attempt to protect herself just like she had done when she was chased by the Woobat. There was no need for her to protect herself. As a small yellow mouse took the hit for her. She saw Pichu crash to the ground in front of her after taking the hit.

"PICHU!" she screamed.

She knelt down and picked up Pichu. She cradled the small mouse in her arms.

"Pichu are you okay?" she asked.

Pichu nodded and mumbled a weak Pi in returned. She looked up and saw Crobat coming in for another attack. This time she didn't give in to her fear. She had to be strong for Pichu. Salem watched Crobat coming towards her and instinctively shielded Pichu with her body. But Pichu wouldn't allow her trainer to be hurt. She shone bright white which blinded everyone and when the light died down a Pikachu was now where Pichu had been.

Crobat had backed away after being stunned by the light from Pichu evolving but was now preparing another attack. Pikachu leapt out of Salem's arms and shot a bolt of electricity at Crobat which forced him to stop his attack but wasn't strong enough to finish Crobat off. As she was about to fire another bolt of electricity Salem and Pikachu then heard a familiar voice.

"Raichu Thunderbolt."

A far more powerful bolt of electricity shot at Crobat making the bat screech in pain. The attack knocked Crobat out and he crashed to the ground unconscious. Ash ran over to Salem and quickly pulled her into a hug which she returned. When Ash had seen Crobat lining up for another attack he had been worried for her and at the same time mortified that it was one of his own Pokémon that attacked her.

"Salem are you okay?" Ash asked.

"Yeah. I'm fine thanks to Pikachu." Salem replied.

"I'm so sorry about this. I should have kept a closer eye on Crobat's Pokéball" Ash said guiltily.

"Don't worry Ash. It's not your fault that Crobat attacked me."

As Ash and Salem talked Raichu went to Pikachu and pat her on the back.

'Hey way to go. I saw you just then and I was impressed with that Thunderbolt.' Raichu said.

Pikachu blushed at the praise and looked away hoping Raichu hadn't seen her blush.

'T-thanks Raichu.' she stuttered in response.

Ash and Salem broke their hug and looked at their Pokémon who were now just sitting around chatting.

"To be honest Ash I don't feel like training now." Salem said.

"Me neither. How about we go back to the ship and see if there are any battles we can watch?"

"That sounds like a good idea."

"Guys it's time to go." Ash yelled making all of their Pokémon gather around them.

Both trainers returned most of their Pokémon. Salem kept Luxray and Pikachu out and Ash kept the regular four out. Raichu and Meowth got on to Ash's shoulders and he picked up Ralts and Eevee. He shifted them into one arm and after returning Crobat he glared at the bats Pokéball,

"It looks like you need an attitude adjustment and I know just the Pokémon to help out." Ash muttered under his breath so that only Meowth and Raichu heard him.

Raichu and Meowth were stunned to hear Ash say that. Neither of them had ever heard him say anything like that before. But then he never had a Pokémon attack one of his friends with the intention of severely hurting them before. Raichu and Meowth shuddered as they thought about the Pokémon Ash was talking about. As they were pretty sure Ash was talking about a certain fire-breathing dragon.

Ash and Salem got back on to the ship and went to the battle deck. They weren't really paying much attention to the battles going on as they were spending the time with all of their Pokémon. The only exceptions being Snorlax who was too big and Crobat for obvious reasons. As they sat there two trainers had come on board doing tag battles against anyone who would take them on. They were easily beating the passengers who had no synergy so were unable to work as a team.

After defeating the last of the passengers the two trainers walked over to Ash and Salem. They paid no attention to the trainers and continued to play with Eevee and Ralts. The rest of Ash and Salem's Pokémon were either relaxing next to them or in Raichu's case chasing Wartortle after the turtle made a comment about him and Pikachu.

"Hey you two battle us now." one of the men said.

Ash and Salem shared a glance and shrugged their shoulders. Salem was now petting Pikachu who had jumped into her lap. Ash looked straight at the pair of trainers.

"No thanks we're not interested." Ash said casually.

The larger of the two men loomed over Ash.

"We weren't asking." he growled.

Ash smirked at them.

"Oh you're trying to be intimidating. It might have worked except for the fact that you are about as scary as a Caterpie." Ash taunted.

Both men looked pissed at Ash's comment. Ash sighed and then placed Eevee and Ralts on the ground.

"Well you're clearly not gonna leave us alone until I accept. So yeah I'll battle you and beat you both with just one of my Pokémon."

The men burst out laughing at Ash's comment. They then looked at him and saw that he was serious.

"Fine this won't take long." the larger man said.

"You're right it won't. Come on Bayleaf let's teach these idiots a lesson."

Bayleaf nodded and walked on to the battlefield staring down the opposing Breloom and Kecleon.

"Kecleon Flamethrower."

"Breloom Spore."

"Push yourself into the air with your vines and use Body Slam

Kecleon fired a burst of flames and Breloom fired a cloud of sleep inducing spores. Bayleaf pushed her vines on the ground and she shot into the air dodging both attacks. She began descending and was about to slam into Breloom but he stepped to the left making her crush Kecleon instead who looked pissed at Breloom.

"Breloom Mach Punch."

"Quick Double Team." Ash said.

Breloom's fist glowed white and he threw it forward. But he didn't hit Bayleaf as he expected. Instead the attack went through one of the several copies of Bayleaf that were now on the deck. Breloom's fist then accidentally hit Kecleon who had just got up. The chameleon was now even more pissed than before. He got up and punched Breloom in the face and started yelling at him. Breloom and Kecleon kept yelling and exchanging punches until they heard laughing. They looked to where the laughter was coming from and saw Ash and Bayleaf almost in tears. Kecleon and Breloom regained their composure and stopped their argument. Their rage at each other replaced with rage at Ash and Bayleaf.

"Kecleon try another Flamethrower."

"Breloom Mach Punch."

"Pick Breloom up and use him as a shield then throw him at Kecleon."

Kecleon shot another burst of flames and Breloom's fist was glowing white as he charged. Bayleaf shot out her vines trapping Breloom and placing him between her and the intense flames headed her way. She quickly got her vines away from the flames so they wouldn't get burnt. Breloom had no time to get out of the way and he yelled out in pain as he was engulfed in the flames. When the flames died down Bayleaf picked Breloom up again and threw him at Kecleon who tried to dodge but wasn't quick enough and they both slammed on to the deck.

"Razor Leaf."

Bayleaf shot a barrage of leaves at Kecleon and Breloom who had pushed themselves to their feet. The razor sharp leaves hit them leaving cuts all over their bodies with blood dripping out of the worst wounds. When the attack ended both Pokémon were struggling to stand but where still up.

"Bayleaf finish them with Solarbeam."

The leaves around Bayleaf's neck glowed green and a green orb formed in her mouth. With the sun being out the power of the attack was enhanced dramatically and she shot the large beam of energy at the staggering Pokémon who were knocked out instantly.

Both men returned their Pokémon and were about to send out all their others. But when they saw the rest of Ash's Pokémon and Salem's glaring at them they quickly changed their minds and ran straight off the ship. Ash went and sat back down and picked up Ralts and Eevee. Several people came and thanked him for getting rid of the trainers which he just responded with a no problem. Ash and Salem spent the rest of the day with their Pokémon and after dinner went to bed both excited about their gym battle tomorrow.

Notes

This was originally going to have the battle with Brawly but the chapter would have been way too long so that will happen next chapter.

I hope this chapter remedied the problems with Salem. The reviewers seemed to see her as a bit of a bitch after how she treated him on the cruise – which was not my intention.

Within the next two chapters Ash will trade another Tauros – what Pokémon will he get in exchange?

I am going to put references to movies/games/songs/cartoons etc. in some chapters – there is one in this chapter. If any of you can guess what the reference is and where it came from then I'll either write a one shot for you, use an idea you have for the story or anything else you want. I will also mention whoever gets it right in the next chapter. If you want to guess send it in a PM so other people can't look at the reviews to get the answer.

Please give a review telling me what you liked/didn't like.

If you have any questions I am more than happy to answer them.

Ash:

Kanto – Raichu, Meowth, Ivysaur, Wartortle, Charizard, Pidgeot, Kingler, Muk, Tauros(x29), Snorlax & Eevee (Shiny)

Johto – Totodile, Bayleaf, Cyndaquil, Heracross, Noctowl (Shiny), Phanpy, Crobat & Sneasel

Hoenn – Marshtomp, Nincada, Treecko, Zangoose, Sableye & Ralts

Pokémon on hand – Raichu, Meowth, Snorlax, Bayleaf, Wartortle, Treecko, Zangoose, Noctowl, Crobat, Sableye, Ralts & Eevee