Ohirume: Yukiro, it's time.

Seishin: To duel? Alright, just let me get the lumenizers.

Ohirume: What? No.

Seishin: Oh, then what- OH! Uh, Rob, I'm flattered but I'm a figment of your-

Ohirume: Wha- NO! Why would you even think- ugh. It's time for your cameo!

Seishin: Oh, well I guess that's … Wait, what?! REALLY?!

Ohirume: YES!

Seishin: ALRIGHT! Gate Card Open! Iku Ze! *Jumps*

Omega: Are you sure about this?

Ohirume: Not in the slightest.

I don't own Pokémon or Ben 10.

.

.

Anne

.

"Hurry up!" Misty called out as she dragged Ash and Brock across a suspension bridge. Soot ran alongside them.

"Misty, will you please tell us where we're going?" Brock called out.

As they made their way across the bridge; a giant cruise ship came into view.

Misty smiled brightly, "There!"

She ran towards it at top speed with Ash and Brock in tow. Soot sighed before chasing after them.

.

*Vermillion Shipyard; barely a minute later

Soot looked up at the boat and blinked, "A cruise ship?"

"Not just any cruise ship!" Misty responded, "This is the St. Anne! One of the largest and most luxurious ships in all of Kanto. I actually built a scale-model of it."

Ash smiled, "You must really be a fan of it. Maybe we can get tickets."

Misty smiled sadly, "I wish, but they're crazy expensive. We'd never be able to afford it."

"Well then today's your lucky day!"

The group looked at the source of the voices and were immediately met with a pair of party poppers shooting confetti towards them.

A pair of 'tan' 'teen' girl's' stood in front of them and spoke in unison, "You guys are waylucky! You can go on a super deluxe Sea Cruuuuuise!"

Everyone stared in confusion.

Ash blinked, 'Team Rocket?' "what?"

The pair sprung forward. "Well, it's like, y'know, we have these incredible, super cool tickets for you!" The 'orange haired' one proclaimed.

The 'blond' followed, "Coo-ool!" They continued switching off like this.

"Cool, huh?!" she held out three tickets in front of them, "These are tickets for the biggest party ever! On board the St. Anne cruise liner!"

"Coo-ool!"

"The coolest ship on the Sea! Everyone's going to be together and have, like, the coolest party!"

"Coo-ool!"

"And the party's for Pokémon trainers, only!"

"Coo-ool!"

"Step this way!"

The 'blond' giggled at a frequency that made Ash and the Pokémon flinch.

"It'll be a radical party! All of the most radical Pokémon trainers will be there! So, here are your tickets, dudes!"

Soot sweat dropped, 'They can't be serious.' "We can't afford those."

"Oh, well, like, you don't understand!" the 'orange haired' one continued.

"Coo-ool!"

"They're totally free!" The only one that's actually said anything this whole time shoved the tickets into Ash's hands.

Ash looked down at the tickets and glared at the duo, "Why are you just giving them to us?"

Orange hair smiled sadly, "Oh, like, we have to go out with our boyfriends, but we wanted to give our tickets to cool Pokémon fans."

"Coo-ool!"

"We saw you and thought you looked really cool. Just take them and have a really cool time. Have a nice day!"

The pair ran off.

Misty took a ticket and smiled brightly, "I can't believe it! I finally get a chance to ride the famous St. Anne!"

Ash sweat dropped, "Uh…"

Brock took a ticket too, "What a lucky break! Come one, let's hurry!"

Misty nodded, "Follow me!"

The pair ran off towards the giant ship.

Soot sweat dropped, "They … do know that was Team Rocket, right?"

Clefairy looked at Soot, wide eyed, "Wait, what?!"

Ash sighed, "This can't end well."

.

**Time Skip**

The group stood at the base of the steps leading to the St. Anne. Their arguing was drawing attention to them.

Misty waved a hand, "Oh please, Ash. I'm sure you're just being paranoid."

Ash sighed, "I'm telling you; it was them. They had the same faces and hair-dos, and Jessie didn't even try to disguise her voice. Not to mention, their excuse hardly made sense."

"Well, maybe they just happened to look like Team Rocket." Misty argued, "And, how was it so unbelievable? They had to cancel to go on a date with their boyfriends."

Ash pointed, "Exactly! They bought three tickets for the most expensive ship in Kanto and decided to just give them to random strangers instead of trying to get a fourth to take their boyfriends on the cruise?! And even if they didn't have to cancel, why did they buy three tickets for the two of them?!"

Misty frowned, "Well- Even if it was Team Rocket, what could they have done?! The St. Anne is a famous cruise liner! How could they have done something to mess with it without anyone noticing?!" She glared and put her hands on her hips, "And don't try telling me it's a fake! I know the St. Anne when I see it!"

Brock looked at the boy, "She does have a point, Ash."

Ash frowned, "You guys really want to go through with this? Even if it might be a trap?"

Misty nodded, "Please, Ash. I've been dreaming of riding this ship for so long."

Ash sighed before smiling softly at them, "Alright."

"Yes!" Misty cheered. She hurried up the steps and was shortly followed by Brock.

Soot looked up at Ash, "Dad, are you sure about this? The odds of this not being a trap are slim."

Ash frowned, "I know. But you heard Misty; she's been dreaming of this for a long time. I don't want to be the one to ruin that." He started walking up the steps, "Let's just be careful." Soot followed.

Ash made it to the top of the steps and presented his ticket to the attendant, "The pikachu, clefairy, and mightyena are with me."

The attendant nodded and gestured in front of him, "Right this way."

Ash sweat dropped, 'he didn't even take the ticket' "Thank you." He pocketed the ticket and walked over to the entrance.

He found Brock and Misty standing there, looking into the large area in awe. They kind of had a right to.

Soot's eyes widened as she saw the two-story ballroom, "Woah."

Pikachu and Clefairy were speechless.

Ash blinked, "This is- I-I don't know what to call this."

Misty grinned, "Bet you're happy we accepted the tickets now, huh?"

Ash chuckled, "Alright, I'm sorry. So, what should-"

"Alright, bring 'em on!"

Ash looked over at a large crowd, "huh?" he noticed a starmie and raticate ram into each other in midair.

Soot noticed too, "Is there a battle going on over there?"

"Looks like it." Ash responded. He turned to his friends, "You guys wanna check it out?"

Brock scratched the side of his head, "I was actually hoping to check out some of the breeder stands."

Misty sweat dropped, "And, I wanted to look around. Y'know, finally see it all in person."

Ash smiled, "Alright. How about we split up and meet at a table in … 2 hours?"

Brock and Misty considered this and nodded.

Ash nodded too, "Alright, see you guys in a bit." Ash and Soot made their way over to the, apparent, battlefield.

They made it right as Raticate knocked out Starmie with a Hyper Fang. A glowing sign that read 'WIN' lit up above a man in a suit and top hat.

Soot pouted, "Aw man. We missed it."

A few nearby trainers looked at her in surprise.

"Well now, is anybody else brave enough to challenge my Raticate?!" the gentleman announced to the crowd.

Ash smiled and raised a hand, "I'll give it a shot."

The gentleman looked over at him and noticed Soot, Pikachu, and Clefairy.

He smirked, 'Now, one of them would make a fine trade.' "Very well, then."

Ash walked over, across from the gentleman. Pikachu and Clefairy jumped down from his shoulders and stood, with Soot, beside him.

Ash pulled out a pokéball and threw it, "Butterfree, take the field!"

Butterfree emerged and stared down his opponent.

The man blinked, "A Butterfree? What about all those Pokémon you have out with you?"

Ash shrugged, "They just don't like pokéballs."

Gentleman smiled, "No matter. Let's get started." He held out a hand, "Raticate, Jump Kick!"

Ash followed, "Butterfree, Whirlwind!"

Raticate jumped off the ground, towards Butterfree. Butterfree knocked back the rat before it even got close.

Ash didn't let up, "Sleep Powder!"

Blue dust spread over Raticate. The rodent struggled to stand up, but ultimately failed.

Ash pointed at Raticate, "Butterfree, use Tack-"

"That's quite enough." Gentleman interrupted as he returned Raticate, "Let's call this a draw."

Ash blinked in surprise, "Huh?"

"A draw." The gentleman replied shamelessly, "It's obvious our Pokémon are too evenly matched. So, it's only fair"

Ash frowned, 'great, one of those guys.' he pointed a pokéball to Butterfree, "Good job, Butterfree. Return."

The butterfly disappeared in the red beam.

"Boooo! What a rip-off!" said a voice from the crowd.

"I beg your pardon?!" The man responded with a frown.

A white-haired 13-year-old with brown eyes and light skin walked out of the crowd. He wore a black t-shirt, red jeans, and red and black sneakers.

He glared at the man, "I mean, come on! The Aporia crataegi was about to finish off your Ondatra zibethicus and you just return the thing and call a draw?! WEAK!"

Ash blinked, "Aporia what?"

The teen looked at him, "Y'know, the black-veined white butterfly." Everyone just looked at him in confusion. He sweat dropped, "The butterfly that- you know what? Forget it."

He turned to look at the gentleman again and smirked, "It still doesn't change the fact that you're too much of a wimp to accept a loss."

The gentleman glared at the teen, "I-I don't have to take this! Good day, sir!" He stormed away.

The white-haired boy chuckled, "Loser." He turned to look at Ash, "Sorry about that. That guy just got on my nerves." 'I mean, come on! He indirectly called Evenly Matched fair! That card might as well be the exact definition of one-sided!'

Ash chucked, "It's okay." he raised a brow, "Have we met before? You seem familiar."

"In your dreams!" the young teen called out with a smirk, "Up until this point, you have never met me in person!" He looked off to the side and put a hand next to his mouth, "You guys probably already know what that means." He chuckled, "Chapter 8, self-reference! Boom!" he sweat dropped, "I immediately regret saying 'Boom'."

Ash and his Pokémon stared at the guy in confusion. Ash followed his line of sight and saw a confused trainer looking around nervously. The trainer pointed to themself; looking kind of freaked out.

Ash looked back at the white-haired man, "Who are you talking to?"

"Not important!" The guy spun around to look at him, "What is important is that we haven't introduced ourselves! So, aloha, mon ami! Yukiro Seishin, at your service." He held out a hand and smiled brightly.

Ash chuckled nervously and shook his hand, "Uh, I'm Ash Ketchum." He gestured to his other Pokémon, "These guys are Pikachu, Clefairy and Soot. Also, I think you meant to say 'alola'."

"I did not." Yukiro continued smiling, "Anyway, on with the show!"

He jumped high above the floor and landed where gentleman was.

Yukiro pulled out a strangely colored pokéball. Instead of the normal red coloring, the upper half was divided into the three equal sections; light green on the left, pink in the middle, and light blue on the right.

Yukiro glanced to the side, 'Bonus points to whoever can figure out the significance of the design.'

He held the ball out in front of him, "Ash Ketchum, I challenge you to a battle!"

Ash blinked in surprise but shook it off and smirked, "Alright. What are the rules?"

"One-on-one." Seishin responded, "But, I've gotta warn ya, my Pokémon isn't like anything you've seen before."

Ash smirked, "Sounds like fun."

Yukiro chuckled, "Okay. But don't say I didn't warn you." He spun and threw the pokéball, "Go! Lamborguineapig!"

Ash blinked, "Wait, what?"

Yukiro's 'Pokémon' emerged on the field. It was a small, brown guinea pig with wheels instead of feet and pointed shades for eyes. It had a toothy grin on its face.

Ash, his Pokémon, and the crowd stared at the creature in shock.

"What the Yvel?!" Ash blurted out, "What is that?!"

Yukiro smirked, "I just told you, it's a lamborguineapig. They're Race-types from the Starbomb islands. More specifically, this one is the variant from Egoraptor island." He looked to the side again, "And obviously, that was the disclaimer. My advice; check out the Egoraptor version of "The New Pokérap" animation. It's undoubtably the best among them."

Soot's eye twitched.

Ash pinched the bridge of his nose and muttered, "Just gonna ignore that." He looked at the white-haired boy, "What the heck is Race-type?!"

Yukiro snapped and pointed at Ash, "More logical than a Stereo-type!"

An awkward silence overtook the crowd.

Yukiro looked around in disappointment, "Nothing?"

Someone's kricketune started chirping.

Yukiro looked at the Bug-type and deadpanned, "Thanks for that." He sighed, "Alright, who's battling my little freak?"

Ash looked down at the … thing and frowned, 'This is going to be tough. I don't even understand it's type.'

He looked to his sides, "Do one of you guys wanna try?"

Soot looked up at him, "I'll give it a shot."

Ash looked back at the wheeled rodent. It was currently doing donuts.

He looked back at Soot and nodded, "Okay, just be careful."

Soot nodded and jumped forward to face Lamborguineapig.

Yukiro smirked and put a hand to hand chin, "Ooo. The spoopy darcc doge. This'll be fun."

Soot sweat dropped, "Uh … okay?" She shook it off smirked, "Just, don't expect an easy win."

The crowd all stared at her. "Did that Pokémon just talk?!" "How is that possible?!" "Wait, is that Miss Ketchum?"

Soot blinked and looked towards the source of the last voice. She found a boy and girl; the latter of which was accompanied by a sandshrew.

Soot smiled, "Wha- Hey, it's you guys! What are you doing here?"

The girl smiled, "We won some tickets! And look!" she held up a Thunder badge, "Your advice worked! I beat Surge!"

"Hah! Nice!" Soot cheered, "Congratulations!"

Yukiro raised a finger, "Um, sorry to interrupt, but we're about to start a battle."

Soot chuckled at him, "Right, sorry." She looked back at the pair, "You guys sit tight and watch."

The boy nodded, "Okay. Good luck, Miss Ketchum."

Soot smiled and stared down Lamborguineapig.

Ash smiled, "You can take the first move."

Yukiro smiled back, "Sweet!" He put a hand in front of his face and pointed forward, "Lamborguineapig, Den kō sekka!"

Ash blinked, "Denko what?!"

The rodent glowed white and shot forward. Soot's eyes widened, 'Quick Attack!' She jumped out of the way; just barely.

Yukiro tipped a bowler hat has was suddenly wearing, "Now, Πίδακας" he looked to the side again, "Another spelling for that is 'Pídakas'."

The rodent became engulfed in water and shot towards Soot. Her eyes narrowed, 'Aqua Jet this time!' She shot forward with a Sucker Punch.

Soot and Lamborguineapig met at the center of the field in a stalemate. Soot got the upper hand and batted the wheeled rodent back towards its trainer.

Yukrio's bowler hat disappeared and his eyes were shaded over, "Yareyare. Guess I'll have to step it up." He looked up and smirked wickedly, "Use Fast Track!"

Lamborguineapig's shades lit up and a short glowing road appeared in front of it.

Soot grimaced, 'That can't be good.' She fired a Shadow Ball.

Lamborguineapig sped away from the attack. The glowing track appeared in front of it as it raced. They shot directly at Soot.

Ash's eye widened, "Soot, dodge it!"

She complied and jumped up to dodge the rodent. What she didn't expect was the track to curve instantly and Lamborguineapig to nail her in the gut.

"Augh!" Soot was shot into the air like a missile.

Ash's eyes widened, "Soot!"

The Sandshrew girl and the boy stared in shock, "Miss Ketchum!"

Yukiro smirked, made a fist, and stuck his thumb up, "Finish her!" He pressed the thumb down into his index finger's phalanx.

Lamborguineapig's glowing track spiraled up towards the canine.

Soot opened one eye and looked down at the approaching opponent, 'What am I supposed to do?! This thing's moving too fast and I can't tell where it's going!' she looked down at the field and noticed something.

Soot's eyes widened, 'The track! The start is still there!' she grimaced, 'I don't know enough about this attack to know if this'll work.' She formed a Shadow Ball in her right paw, 'But I don't have a lot of options.' "Shadow Ball plus Sucker Punch!"

Soot volleyed the Shadow Ball at the start of the track. Lamborguineapig noticed and grimaced as its entire road shattered into nothing. The worst part was, it was right in front of Soot.

Soot grinned, "Gotcha."

She opened her mouth and bit the rodent with Fire Fang. Lamborguineapig screeched as the flames got it. Soot let go and Sucker Punched the rodent back towards the ground.

Lamborguineapig hit the ground and was implanted into the carpet. Soot landed on the other side of the field and stared at her opponent cautiously.

Yukiro crouched down and looked at his Pokémon. There were white spirals on its shades.

Yukiro stood back up and stared in horror, "OOOOOOH MYYYYYY AAAARRRRRC!" he started laughing, "I'm kidding! I'm kidding. I just wanted to throw in another JoJoke. That makes three!" He shot his hands into the air, "Trifecta!"

Yukiro looked at Ash with a smirk, "I lose."

Most of the crowd cheered at Soot's victory; the rest were still trying to process Yukiro's … everything. Although, a few of the younger ones did start laughing at the 'clown.'

Soot sighed in relief and sat down.

Ash immediately pulled her into a hug, "Soot, you were incredible!"

Soot chuckled, "Thanks, dad."

Yukiro smiled sadly at the display, 'We definitely made the right choice.' He shifted to a sly smirk, 'Arceus owes me twenty bucks.'

A small watch alarm went off. Yukiro pulled out a chainless pocket watch, and frowned, "Aw man." He turned towards a window and flung the watch out of it, "Yeet!" He returned Lamborguineapig and gave Ash a sad smile, "Sorry, but I gotta run. My cameo's over." He ran out the entrance to the ballroom.

"Hey, wait a second!" Soot shouted as she chased after him. Ash followed.

They found Yukiro leaning against the ship's railing and looking at them.

Yukiro smiled and waved at them, "See ya at the league, Trix!" he turned around and leapt the railing; going overboard.

"Woah!" Ash grimaced and ran over to the railing with Soot.

They found Seishin standing on a brown bass guitar; floating on the water.

He looked up at them and smiled, "I know what you're thinking and you're completely right! They never showed this function in any of the Fooly Cooly series, despite the fact that they can fly!" He paused and put a hand to his chin, "Wait, is that a valid argument?" he shrugged, "Eh."

The bass started revving and sped off into the sea. "Adiós, Xiǎo Zhi!" he shouted as he rode away.

He glared back, "And it's Za Warudo!" he turned back to face the sea and smirked, "Vier."

He rode off into the distance and disappeared.

"I-I don't- what was-" Pikachu stuttered. He looked at Ash, "Why did he call you Trix?"

Ash blinked, "I don't know and I'm not sure I want to know."

Soot blinked upon realizing something, "Did he say, 'see you at the league'?"

"Yeah." Ash said, still staring at the sea.

"Excuse me." The group flinched and turned around to see a boy holding a Squirtle.

He was looking at Soot, "I'm sorry, but, that girl said you gave her advice on beating someone named Surge?"

Soot blinked, "Uh, yeah. The Vermillion City gym leader. I actually helped a few other trainers work out a strategy."

The boy's eyes widened, "Do you think you could help me, then?! I've been trying to beat this really stuck up guy, but his Weepinbell keeps destroying me and Squirtle."

The turtle in his arms pouted.

"Weepinbell, huh?" Soot thought for a moment before remembering something, "What all moves does Squirtle know?"

.

**Time Skip**

The two hours had passed. Ash and his friends sat at a table for lunch. Except for Soot. She was at the table next to them.

Word spread pretty fast about the 'advisor Pokémon' -as people were starting to call her- and they just kept coming. Eventually, she started requiring payment for questions. In the form of buffet foods for her and the others.

Ash told the others about Yukiro. So, now, they were trying to figure that out.

"So, he surfed away … on a guitar." Misty said with a raised brow.

Ash was rubbing is temples, "Yeah. I'm just as confused as you are. And if that wasn't weird enough, he had this crazy Pokémon called lamborguineapig. He said it was a Race-type."

Brock scratched the side of his head, "I've never heard of either of those things."

Ash sighed, "Me neither."

Soot looked over from the table, "He also called dad these weird names like 'Trix' and 'Xiǎo Zhi,' spoke to the air, and called out most of his attacks in gibberish. He ran off saying his 'cameo' was over."

Ohirume: To clarify the 'gibberish' comment. Notice how everyone refers to 'English' as 'Human' in this story. This Pokémon world only has one human language with some minor deviations between regions.

"Cameo?" Brock asked, "Like in a TV series?"

Ash nodded, "Exactly. And, I already looked around the ship. I couldn't find any hidden cameras." He paused, "Well, other than security cameras."

The gentleman from earlier walked over, "I'm, ever so, sorry about earlier. That ruffian was completely out line."

"I wouldn't say 'completely'." Pikachu responded with a deadpanned expression. Clefairy giggled.

The gentleman looked over at Soot and smirked, "Y'know that Pokémon of yours is quite extraordinary!"

Ash looked over at her.

Soot looked up from her plate at trainer holding a Pidgey.

"Pidgeh vasus magamite, huh?" she swallowed and smiled, "I actually had someone else ask me something pretty similar a few days ago. The Electric-type attacks can be countered using Sand Attack, and you can dodge the others with Quick Attack and even Whirlwind if you can aim it well enough. The real issue here is attacking. Normal attacks won't do much and Flying-type attacks will do even less. So, unless you can find a tutor to help Pidgey learn Heat Wave, you'll need to rely on hit and run tactics. If You have to go with 'hit and run', focus on Normal-type moves." She bent down and took another bite out of a sandwich.

The girl blinked in surprise, "Pidgey can learn Heat Wave?!"

Pidgey mimicked their trainer, "I can learn Heat Wave?!" the bird tilted it's head, "What's Heat Wave?"

Ash chuckled and smiled softly, "Yeah, she really is." He felt a sense of pride in his daughter. The gentleman's next words tore that away.

Gentleman continued smirking, "Ever thought about tradin' it?"

Brock, Misty, Pikachu, and Clefairy all stopped eating and flinched at the man's question. They looked at Ash in alarm.

Ash looked up at the man with a deadpanned expression, "Not once."

The man's smile didn't falter, "Now don't be like that. Ya see, friends who trade then trade with their other friends, and so friendships grow deeper and continue to spread wider and wider. Trading and making friends is one of the best things about having Pokémon. That's how Pokémon friendships get to spread all around the world."

The gentleman held out a pokéball; still smiling, "Now, how about tradin' that, there, Pokémon for my Raticate?"

Ash clenched his fists and his arms started shaking. Brock and Misty flinched and started covering their eyes.

Ash took a deep breath to calm himself and glared at the man, "I don't know what kind of dreamland you live in, but that isn't how it works. I don't even know your name, and I can guarantee you that, if we trade, I will only remember you as the new number one regret of my life. That said, I will never trade, sell, or give away Soot, no matter the circumstance. Now get out of my face and leave us alone, unless you want me to do something that I might regret." Ash turned back around.

The gentleman stared at Ash in complete shock. Brock and Misty blinked and sighed in relief.

Soot overheard and laughed like a maniac, "Oh, man! That-that was just-" she went back to laughing and fell out of her chair, "Woah!" she continued laughing from the floor. The surrounding trainers gradually joined in the laughing.

The gentleman looked at her.

"Hey!"

He flinched and looked back Ash.

The boy glared, "What are looking at?"

The gentleman flinched and ran off as fast as he could.

Soot recovered and propped herself up against table right on time to see the man run away. She started laughing again and began hitting the table, "O-oh, Arceus!"

Misty looked at Ash with a soft smile, "You handled that a lot better than I expected."

Ash frowned, "Maybe but-" he picked up a bread roll and it immediately started smoking. He dropped it on to his plate when it was toasted.

Brock looked at the roll and back at Ash, "I thought your gloves where heat resistant."

Ash nodded, "They are."

Misty's eye widened, "Yikes."

The doors all started slamming themselves shut. All of the ship's attendants tore off their uniforms to reveal Black suit with red 'R's on them and vacuum packs strapped to their backs.

Everyone in the ballroom grew anxious. "Hey!" "What are they doing?!" "Who are they?!" "What is this?!"

The lights went out. A spotlight came on to reveal Jessie and James standing on a tall podium, wearing the same vacuums as the others. They started the motto, although James seemed pretty downtrodden.

"Prepare for trouble!"

"And make it double."

"To protect the world from devastation!"

"To unite all peoples within our nation."

"To denounce the evils of truth and love!"

"To extend our reach to the stars above."

"Jessie!"

"James."

"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"

James sighed, "Surrender now, or prepare to fight."

"Meowth! Dat's right!"

Jessie pointed towards the crowd, "Team Rocket will now take possession of your Pokémon!"

Ash looked at Misty with a deadpanned expression.

Misty grumbled, "Alright! I'm sorry for doubting you! Can we please just stop these guys?!"

Ash smirked and cracked his knuckles, "With pleasure. I need blow off some steam anyway." He looked around at the group, "Misty, watch after Pikachu and Clefairy. Brock, stay with Soot. If you want to use Marionetter, go for it." He started walking towards the podium.

Misty blinked, "Okay, then." She looked at Pikachu and Clefairy, "I guess you guys are with me."

Brock looked over at Soot, "So, Marionetter?"

She looked back and smirked, "Oh, yeah."

Soot ran across the table and jumped in front of Brock. She turned to face away from him, "Go for it!"

Brock smirked and opened the zipper on her back. He crossed his arms as the strings attached, "Soot, Marionetter!"

Soot smiled, "Alright, I'll walk you through- Woah!" She was interrupted when she suddenly stood on her hind legs with her pads pointing out in front of her.

She blinked, "Have you been practicing?"

Brock chuckled as he held his hands together, "Maybe a bit."

Soot smirked, "Sweet!" She formed a Shadow Ball in each paw.

Brock smirked and pointed his hands towards a grunt.

.

*Ash

One of the Team Rocket grunts noticed Ash approaching and got in his way. Big mistake.

The grunt held out his hand, "Hey, you! Hand over your-"

Ash interrupted by upper cutting the grunt in a jaw. The man landed on the ground about five seconds later.

A lot of the surrounding trainers looked at Ash in surprise.

Another of the grunt's charged at Ash, "You'll pay for that!"

The grunt threw a punch at Ash. Before the grunt realized it, Ash's fist was in his gut. Ash pulled back and the grunt fell to the floor.

"If you idiots want our Pokémon-" Ash glared up at the trio, "THEN YOU'RE GONNA HAVE TO GO ME FIRST!"

The other trainers looked at Ash in surprise. They became determined.

"Yeah, we can't just surrender!" "Let's fight back!"

The trainers all cheered and pulled out their pokéballs. The grunts grimaced.

Jessie glared, "What are you waiting for?! Suck up there Pokéballs!"

The grunts turned on their vacuum and started gathering pokéballs.

A grunt smirked as the pokéballs approached. He blinked when a purple, translucent sphere approached and entered his vacuum, "Was that a-" His question was answered when his pack exploded.

"Bullseye!" Soot cheered, "Nice aiming Brock!"

Brock smiled, "Thanks!"

Misty raised an arm, "Pikachu, Thunderbolt! Clefairy, Disarming Voice! Staryu and Starmie, Water Gun!"

The four Pokémon, along with a good eighty-something others, fired away at the grunts.

.

*tRio

Jessie and Meowth watched in shock as the twerps rallied the trainers and destroyed their forces. James was still sulking about being tricked into buying a magikarp for 30,000₽ (Pokédollars or Poké).

Ash was knocking out grunts left and right with various punches and kicks; some too fast for them to really see.

Misty was talking up the trainers and leading them in the charge.

Brock was helping Soot fire at the grunts and destroy the vacuums. They even managed to hit some of the one's that were turned off.

Meowth grimaced, "Ah, Crag! We're gettin' slaughtad."

James pouted, "Another failure. Why did we have to invite the twerp, again?"

Jessie's eye twitched, "Even if we can't get the Pokémon, we can still try and get the Phantom."

Meowth flinched, "What?! Jess, we agreed that-"

Jessie shook her head, "That' not what I meant. Just watch." She looked out towards the crowd, "Listen up! All grunts target the twerp! The kid who keeps throwing punches! We can use him as leverage!"

.

*Ash

Ash grimaced and stared at the trio in shock. The remaining grunts all set their sights on him and smirked. Ash started sweating and took up a fighting stance. He glanced at his watch and grimaced at the thought of using it; especially in front of this crowd.

One of the grunts pointed at Ash, "Get him!"

The grunt took a step forward and was immediately hammered by six Shadow Balls and flung into a table. The other grunts stared in shock before they were all barraged with more attacks.

Ash stared in surprise as trainers and their Pokémon all stood around him; even Brock and Soot. Apparently, Soot instructed Brock on how to make her walk. Pikachu and Clefairy took back their places on Ash's shoulders and glared at the Rockets.

The girl from the Vermillion Pokémon Center -with Sandshrew- glared, "If you want him, then your gonna have to go through us!"

Soot glared, "No one threatens my father and gets away with it!"

Ash smiled; feeling touched at the act. He looked back at the grunts and smirked, "Pick your next move wisely!" he chuckled, "Ah, who am I kidding. You guys are toast."

The last few conscious grunts started backing up.

Ash shook his head, "Nuh-uh! That's too good for you guys!" He pulled out a pair of pokéballs, "Follow my lead!" He tossed them into the air.

Pidgeotto and Butterfree emerged.

Ash pointed at the Team, "Pidgeotto, use Gust! Butterfree, use Whirlwind!"

The trainers caught on and started calling out attacks.

"Pidgey, use Whirlwind!" "Golbat, use Whirlwind!" "Masquerain, Gust!" "Pidove, use Gust!"

"Now Spearow, Whirlwind!" "Noctowl, Ominous Wind!" "Drampa, Hurricane!"

There were more, but we don't have all day.

The grunts -unconscious included- were picked up by at collective wind moves. The resulting tornado tore through the ship's roof and flung the grunts into the night sky.

The trainers cheered as the attackers disappeared.

Ash returned his Pokémon and sweat dropped as he stared at the hole, "I'm sure they can fix this."

Misty frowned, "I sure hope so."

.

*tRio

Jessie, James, and Meowth were, ironically, the only members who weren't blasted off by the storm. They hid in the hallway and were panting.

Jessie sighed, "I can't wait to get off this lousy bucket."

A small alarm went off.

James blinked and pulled out a handheld radio.

The mission has failed. Came a distorted voice from the device.

Meowth blinked, "Da boss?"

All Team Rocket members still aboard are to abandon ship at once. Concrete evidence of our presence here must be erased.

Jessie's eyes widened, "What does he mean by that?"

An explosion shook the ship.

James's gold painted pokéball was knocked out his hands and rolled down a hallway.

He grimaced, "Wait, there goes my salary advance!" he chased after the ball.

Jessie followed, "There goes my money, too!"

Meowth chased after them.

.

*Passengers

Ash flinched, "What was that?!"

An alarm went off and a computerized voice sounded.

Attention all crew and passengers. A technical malfunction has damaged the St. Anne.

All of the doors unsealed and opened.

Please remain calm and make your way to the lifeboats. Attention all crew and passengers. A technical- You get the gist.

The crowd panicked and started running towards the exits.

Misty stared in shock, "This … can't be happening."

Ash ran over and shook her, "Misty, snap out of it! I'm sorry about the ship, but we need to move!"

Another explosion went off. This time, a few of the chandeliers were shaken loose and started falling.

Ash grimaced and pulled Misty out of the way of one of the them.

The other passengers screamed and jumped back as the light fixtures fell. One of them blocked a door.

Ash looked over at Brock, "We're gonna need more exits!"

Brock snapped out of it and nodded, "Right!" He went through the motions for aiming, again, and pointed at the wall, "Soot, go for it!"

She grinned, "On it!" She opened fire at the walls and blew giant holes in them.

When she stopped, Brock aimed again. She followed as such.

"Everyone, hurry!" Ash shouted, "Get to the lifeboats!"

No one hesitated. The room quickly emptied. Ash and his friends waited until everyone else made it.

Ash smiled and ran over to Soot, "Nice work, you two." He closed the zipper on Soot's back, "Let's get out of-"

Another explosion went off and the ship started tipping.

The group was thrown off their feet from the sudden movement. Ash hit his head on a table.

As he fell unconscious, he recognized a sense of weightlessness.

.

*Undisclosed location

Giovanni pinched the bridge of his nose. The mission he had planned for so long had failed. Granted, it wasn't that elaborate, but it was still expensive. Persian was trying to comfort him.

Multiple screens lit up in front of him, revealing the grunts he sent to the ship.

He sighed, "Status report."

One of the grunts frowned, "Sir, I'm sorry to say, but the mission-"

"I already know that. We hacked the security cameras." The boss interrupted, "What's the status on the operatives?"

Another grunt spoke up, "Two members are unaccounted for: Jessie and James as well as the talking Meowth that accompanies them. As for the rest of us; minor injuries, mostly."

"Minor injuries?! I've got second degree burns on my chin! I don't what that kid did, but it was NOT normal!"

Giovanni's eyes narrowed, 'That boy.' "You make a good point. Check the ship's records and find out who that trainer is."

"We already did, sir. His name is Ashton Satoshi Ketchum. He's a ten-year-old trainer from Pallet Town."

Giovanni's eye widened, 'Ketchum?! Pallet Town?!'

A grunt frowned, "Boss?"

Giovanni shook his head, "I-it's nothing. Where is he now?"

"We believe he's still aboard the ship with the unaccounted operatives. But, one thing was kind of strange."

"One thing?!"

"Shut it, Charles! Jessie and James seemed to recognize the Ketchum boy, and vice versa. It was like they'd met before."

"You don't think they're traitors, do you?" another grunt asked.

Giovanni shook his head, "No. Despite all of they're recent failures, they're loyalty knows little bounds. If they made it, they'll contact me. I'll figure out their connection to him, then."

"What?! You mean we're not gonna do anything about that freak?!"

Giovanni glared, "I will handle it. For now, all of you are to lay low. End transmission."

The screens all turned off.

Giovanni eyes narrowed. He opened a drawer and pulled out an old picture.

"Ketchum … it couldn't be."

.

.

Seishin: Hehe. So that's it. Now we know that-

Ohirume: Seishin, don't you dare!

Seishin: Why? The readers are bound to figure it out anyway. Why hide it?

Ohirume: Does the term 'spoiler alert' mean nothing to you?!

…

Mizuro: YOU TOOK MY BASS?!

Seishin: What? I needed a surfboard. Besides, it's not like I broke it.

Mizuro: IT'S FULL OF SEA WATER!

Seishin: Well, I'm sorry that Rob didn't make it waterproof.

Ohirume: Do not blame me for this!

...

Sorry about the delay. Non-stop wi-fi problems.