Olivine City
Jackson, Leafeon, and Kris had just gotten through the entrance to the new city, which was a huge coastline city, looking into the sea beyond. They could see the lighthouse within the east side of the city, with a massive tower far off past the west side of the city. They saw ships along the port of the city, some waiting to ship off, while some were still in the process of loading.
"Wow! I never thought I would reach a place like this!" Kris exclaimed.
"It's been a long time since I've been at sea." Jackson noted, "It's pretty darn nice. Speaking of which, can you swim?"
"Of course. I've been at the pool back in New Bark Town since I was kid." Kris answered, "Why, can't you?"
"I'm average." Jackson replied, "I prefer to run than swimming, but I'm better than my buddy Sonic, who can't swim at all."
"Well, there is a beach near the Battle Tower that direction." Kris replied, pointing to the shoreline right in front of the tower to the west, "Do you wanna go there with me?"
"No, that's okay!" Jackson replied hastily, "I only asked if you were able to swim!" Jackson looked away, blushing horribly. Kris is still a young girl, but she was pretty cute. Having her in a swimsuit? He was worried about any chances of being called a pervert. Diverting the conversation, he asked, "A-Anyways, what about the gym? Where is that?"
"Actually, it should be down the street from here." Kris answered, seeing a prism-like building not too far off from where they stood, "It's just a short walk."
"Cool! Let's look at the place before we go to the Pokémon Center." Jackson suggested. Kris nodded in agreement, and they made their way over.
A few minutes later, they arrived at the path near the front entrance to the gym. Just as they reached it, the door slid open, and out came someone Jackson, Leafeon, and Kris stopped and frowned at. It was none other than Cypher, and he had also noticed the group.
"Cypher..." Jackson addressed.
"Oh, you're here?" he answered, staring at the trio.
(Insert 'Never Give Up' By Sonar Pocket)
Instrumental Opening
(Jackson stands at the top of a cliff, looking out into the vast landscape of the Johto region. He turns to the camera with surprise, grins, then draws his sword and swipes it across the screen, transitioning to white with the logo appearing.)
What tough heart! Once I decided that I'd keep up the fight
My road has never stopped unraveling
(Camera circles around Jackson as he runs along an open-plain path with his Leafeon, who after a couple seconds, leaps onto his shoulders as he activates his Extreme Gear and shoots even faster onto the path.)
Carrying a small bit of pride
With my fists clenched
(The screen shows a brief image of Professor Elm, dropping papers from his clipboard, and smiling as he rubbed the back of his head. It shifts to a visual of Kris, Ethan, and their starters, with Ethan punching his fist forward, while Kris spun around with her arms out wide.)
I aim for the goal again step by step
Racing towards it with all my might!
(The screen shifts to Sonic & Tails, the former giving a thumbs up, while the latter waved his hands above eagerly. The screen shifts to Cypher, who glared at the screen with a Pokéball held close to his face.)
Sometimes it'll be a bad day
Where nothing goes the way I want it to
But even if the sky blurs through my tears
(Jackson is sitting by a campfire, his expression full of emotional pain as shadows of his past with red eyes creeped all around him. He curled himself into a ball as the shadow of his father appeared over his head.)
I'm sure my smiles will come back tomorrow
So it's okay!
(Shadows started getting blown away one large piece at a time, until light broke out around Jackson, who looked up to see his Pokémon all standing there, protecting him from his trauma.)
There's nothing out there to fear
I'll keep believing that 'I'm strong'
And get going!
(Silhouettes of the Gym Leaders appeared as the screen scrolled upwards through a gold, silver, and crystal colors behind them. It shifts to the emblem of Team Rocket, with darkened faces of grunts, with the four admins in front, holding their Pokéballs. Jackson readies his blade, as he tosses a Pokéball forward, which opens up and blinds the screen in a white light.)
'With you around, there's nothing to worry about now'
I felt as if the sky was saying that to me with a laugh
(Leafeon leapt forward and swung her tail into a Razor Leaf, before her tail glowed as she charged up sunlight, before unleashing a Solarbeam. Dewott and Weavile shoot through the Solarbeam, unleashing double Night Slash, slicing the beam, before dismissing their blades, and Dewott angrily looking at the calm and collected Weavile.)
With the sweat and tears I build up
I'm sure I'll come out dazzling
(Quilava turns to face the Team Rocket logo, before unleashing his Flamethrower. He huffed in confidence as Scyther flew over him, before slashing with his mantis claws like a swordsman.)
Even if I end up feeling anxious after it all
As long as I believe I can do it
(An Aeroblast and Sacred Fire came from the sky, shooting down at Jackson's team, but Jackson stepped in and unleashed several sword beams, countering the attacks and making them explode. He and his team endured the shockwaves and smoke from the explosion, before looking up into the distance, and saw the silhouettes of the Tower Duo flying over the two towers that represented each.)
These footsteps have taught me to
Always
Never Give Up!
(Jackson's Pokémon come to his side as he looked to them, before grinning eagerly, and the group leapt up into the air, taking on the new threat and the new adventure. The screen goes white before showing Jackson standing with his sword stabbed into the ground, his Pokémon companions surrounding him.)
"I didn't know you were doing gyms." Kris noticed.
"Please. I only care about them because they let me demonstrate my strength." Cypher explained, "Not like that matters here. The gym leader wasn't in."
"Of course not! She was busy taking care of a poor, sick Pokémon in the lighthouse!" Kris explained.
"Oh, is that so?" Cypher asked, "Hmph! Well excuse me if I don't cry a river. Let that sick Pokémon die, for all I care!"
The words that spewed from his mouth caused all three to glare harshly at him as Jackson asked, "How could you say that about a sick Pokémon?! Or for anyone, for that matter?!"
"A Pokémon that can't fight is useless." Cypher argued, "And if the gym leader has time to deal with weak Pokémon, she must be just as weak."
"So because someone was weak, their lives don't matter." Jackson summed up, "What a load of dull blades."
"Say what?" Cypher questioned.
"Remember that I wasn't strong the first time I met, but I have been getting stronger every day." he explained, "So what's to say that the Pokémon in the tower wouldn't also get stronger after it gets better?"
"You tell him, Jackson." Leafeon told him.
"Jackson..." Kris muttered. Remembering that Cypher was the one who caused him trouble in Ecruteak City, she assumed he was mainly speaking about how he was then and how he is now.
"I don't have time to deal with wimps like you." Cypher waved off his argument, walking towards them, "If you want to go and care for it, like that weak gym leader, then go bleed your hearts out for her." He passed right by Jackson, and time seemed to slow down as Cypher finished up by saying, "As for me, there is nothing more important to me than becoming the strongest trainer in the world. No matter who it is, or how many weaklings group up to fight, I will surpass them all." With that, he walked away from the group, going to the entrance of the city.
"What is wrong with that guy?" Kris asked, huffing as she watched him leave, "Why is he so apathetic towards others?"
"Let him go." Jackson told her, "Getting too hooked to what he says is not good for you."
"You would know." Leafeon stated, earning a glare from her trainer while she averted from his gaze.
Just then, the pair heard the sound of an explosion from the far off direction where the shoreline was at, and they looked towards that direction. They were able to see smoke from something burning rising up into the sky. "What's going on, now?!" Kris questioned.
"We'd better check it out!" Jackson replied, "Leafeon, get on my back!"
"Understood." Leafeon answered, hopping up and draping over his shoulders. Jackson activated his Air Shoes, and jetted off, creating a shockwave that nearly blew Kris off her feet had she not been aware of what they could do.
About one minute later, Jackson made it through the city to the harbor, where he saw people and Pokémon panicking. Making his way through, he saw one of the ships in the harbor had been damaged, while three large jellyfish-like Pokemon with black tentacles, blue bodies with red bulbs on top, and beak noses.
Standing before them was a young lady, with long, light brown hair, with styled wing tips on top, held by orange bubble hair ornaments. Her attire was a light blue, one-piece dress with a red-orange ribbon on her chest and white frills at the skirt bottom, a white jacket over the dress, and white-strapped flip flops with a blue gem on top. Next to her was something that looked like three metal balls attached to one another, each with a single eye and a pair of horseshoe magnets on each ball.
"Why did you attack our city, Tentacruel?!" the young lady asked. They didn't answer, but instead fired off a blast of water the from underneath their bodies at the pair. "Magneton, Discharge!" she called out, and her partner unleashed a bolt of lightning from its body to counter the attack. It was able to push back for a bit, but eventually got overpowered by the triple water strike, blasting it backwards.
"Magneton!" its trainer cried out, seeing it slowly rise back up. She glared at the three Tentacruel as she thought to herself, 'I don't have time for this! Ampharos needs me!'
"Need a hand?!" Jackson called out, drawing her attention as he came right beside her, deactivating his Air Shoes, and Leafeon bounded off, ready to fight. Jackson pulled out his Pokédex, examining the opponents. "Tentacruel. The Jellyfish Pokémon, and the evolved form of Tentacool. Tentacruel has large red orbs on its head. The orbs glow before lashing the vicinity with a harsh ultrasonic blast. This Pokémon's outburst creates rough waves around it."
"Who are you?" the young lady asked.
"Just someone who had a bad habit of acting the hero." Jackson answered, putting his dex away.
"What are you doing?!" Leafeon asked the Tentacruel.
"What do you think?! Toying around here!" one of the Tentacruel answered.
"It's so much fun damaging human vessels!" another one followed up.
"And it's not like any Pokémon are complaining about it around here!" the third one finished, and the trio began to laugh.
"So basically, they are a bunch of rouge Pokémon looking to stir up trouble." Jackson understood, "Well, it's time we put them in their place! I'll get another out to join the battle! Scyther, go!" He threw out his Park Ball, and out came his Mantis Pokémon, ready to fight.
"Listen, young man..." the girl approached his side, "I appreciate you going out of your way to help, but this is dangerous!"
"Trust me. I'm use to this." Jackson responded, as he, Leafeon, and Scyther readied for battle.
The lady looked to him for a second, worried for him, before looking to the Tentacruel ahead of her. "Well, I can't stand idly by, either. As the gym leader of this city, I have a duty to protect it!"
Jackson looked to her, saying, "You're the gym leader?"
"Yep. I'm Jasmine, the gym leader of Olivine City." she introduced herself, with her Magneton right next to her.
"Nice to meet you!" Jackson greeted, turning to the opponents, "Now let's make these opponents get the hilt outta here!"
"I'd like to see you try!" one of the Tentacruel roared, before they thrust their tentacles forward, the tips encased in purple toxic energy.
"Poison Jab!" Leafeon cried before she and Scyther evaded the attacks. Magneton, meanwhile, did not move, and got struck by the attack. However, it took no damage to it.
"You okay?" Jackson asked.
"Of course. My Steel-types have no problem dealing with Poison-types." Jasmine confidently answered.
"Right. I remember that." Jackson recalled, "But Leafeon is a different story. Leafeon, strike the tentacles with Leaf Blade, and dance with blades! Scyther, do the same with Slash!"
"Right, (sensei)!" Leafeon and Scyther answered. They evaded the Poison Jabs coming at them and striking on the sides of the tentacles, causing the Tentacruel to retract them.
"Owowow!" one roared.
"You are gonna pay for that!" another barked.
"Take this! Acid Spray!" The trio then fired off a spew of acidic liquid towards the trio.
"Scyther, cut it up with Vacuum Wave!" Jackson ordered, "Leafeon, behind Jasmine's Pokémon!" Jasmine looked to the trainer, startled he would get her Magneton into his strategy. Scyther gathered up energy into his mantis claws, before unleashing a wave of energy. The attack caused an explosion that countered the Acid Spray and sent it spraying everywhere.
It didn't hit where Scyther was at, and Leafeon got cover from Magneton and its Steel-type body. However, Jackson saw he and Jasmine were in the line of fire, and shouted, "Look out!", racing towards her, and snatched her into a princess carry, surprising her as she was carried away from the line of fire. When the Acid Spray died down, Jackson put Jasmine down, who blushed at being pulled into a princess carry so hastily.
"Th-Thank you..." Jasmine stammered, before gathering herself up and saying, "But that was pretty brash of you!"
"I had a plan." Jackson assured her, "Speaking of which..." He looked to his Leafeon who came around Magneton, her tail glowing with solar energy, "Seems like Leafeon had everything all set up. Let's go for a long-ranged counterattack! Wanna join in, Ms. Jasmine?"
The gym leader was a little caught off guard with Jackson's attitude and leadership at work, including how his Leafeon had already charged up a move without his command, but answered, "Of course. Let's bring it about with a 'clang'!" The duo of trainers stood together as they gave out their orders.
"Leafeon, Solarbeam! Scyther, Vacuum Wave!"
"Magneton, Discharge!"
The trio of Pokemon fired off their ranged attacks together, combining as one to damage all three Tentacruel, causing them to crash into the water, where they stayed bobbing above the surface, spirals in their eyes.
"We did it!" Leafeon cheered.
"All thanks to our sensei..." Scyther responded, looking to his trainer, before looking to the Magneton next to them, "As well as our ally. We thank you."
"You are welcome." the Magneton responded in a triple monotonous voice.
Kris arrived on the scene as the city police were taking care of the rogue Pokemon, while Jackson and Jasmine were speaking to them, the police thanking them for their service. Once things were done, Jackson took the time to be introduced to Magneton with his Pokédex.
"Magneton. The Magnet Pokémon, and the evolved form of Magnemite. Magneton emits a powerful magnetic force that is fatal to mechanical devices. As a result, large cities sound sirens to warn citizens of large-scale outbreaks of this Pokémon."
"So basically it's a floating EMP disperser." Jackson understood, putting his dex away again, "Similar to the gloves I designed for fighting Eggman's robots."
"You really are a strange boy." Jasmine told Jackson, "Who are you?"
"I'm Jackson Alpphire. I was here to actually challenge you for a badge." Jackson answered.
"Jackson!" Kris called out, racing towards the group.
"Oh, hey, Kris." Jackson greeted.
"A friend of yours?" Jasmine asked.
"Yep. This is Kris." Jackson introduced, "She's a friend of mine who introduced me to becoming a trainer. Kris, this is Jasmine, the gym leader of Olivine City."
"Oh! It's nice to meet you." Kris greet the gym leader.
"Very nice to meet you." Jasmine answered, "Then I am to presume you two are here to challenge my gym?" They nodded in answer. She smiled innocently at the pair as she said, "Well, I would like to do that. However, I am unable to challenge you at my best, currently."
"Oh, right." Jackson recalled, "I heard you were taking care of a sick Pokémon at the lighthouse, right?"
Jasmine nodded, looking back at the said lighthouse, "It's Ampharos. She's been ill for a while. I am taking care of her any way I can, but still..." She looked sad as she looked up at it.
Kris and Jackson looked to each other, before nodding in confirmation. "Is there any way we can help?"
Jasmine looked to them in surprise. "You'd really want to help out, as well?" she asked, "But you
"Sure. We're always looking forward to help people and Pokemon out." Kris replied.
"So is this Ampharos at the top of the lighthouse?" Jackson asked, looking to the top.
"Yes. Do you want to see her?" she asked the two, who nodded in agreement.
Jasmine called back her Magneton as Jackson called back Scyther, as the gym leader guided him, Leafeon, and Kris towards the lighthouse. She looked back at the trio, thinking to herself, 'They were very quick to not only deal with the Tentacruel at the harbor, but even come to aid me with my Ampharos? Just who are these kids?'
"Jackson, do you think you are able to heal Ampharos?" Leafeon asked.
"Not sure, but I gotta at least see if I can do anything about it." Jackson replied, looking to Kris, "You want to do the same, right?"
"Of course!" She answered eagerly, "Besides, you constantly go and help people out, like you did with the farmer recently, and all you did in Azalea Town against Team Rocket. Helping Pokémon out will not only be a good thing, but also beneficial to research on all sorts of species."
"You seem to be very interested in researching Pokémon." Jackson noted as they went up the stairs.
"It's actually my dream to be a Pokémon professor in the future." she explained, "My dream is to learn and understand all sorts of Pokémon and be an inspiration to the future of Pokémon research."
"That actually sounds pretty nice." Jackson replied, "I hope you make that dream come true."
"And what about you?" Jasmine asked, hearing the conversation and looking back at Jackson, "Why did you go on your journey? What's your dream?"
"My dream, huh?" Jackson echoed, thinking on it. Kris knew the reason he was going on this journey; to reclaim who was before he ended up losing his title as hero in his home world. But that really wasn't a dream, was it? What was his actual dream?
After thinking about it, he replied, "Well, for the time being, I am trying to find that out. This journey, the battles I've had against gym leaders, trying to figure myself out... Maybe I'll find my dream at the end of it."
Jasmine looked at him for a moment as they walked, before smiling as she answered, "Okay then. I have no qualms with that. People do become trainers in order to search for where they want to be. I hope you find that dream." Jackson smiled and nodded, mentally thanking her for the comment.
They entered into the lighthouse, and instead of taking the stairs, Jasmine had access to the elevator, and they ascended up to the top. When they arrived at the top, they found the said Pokémon waiting for them. It was in a room surrounded by mirrors made to amplify light. The Pokémon was yellow with a white belly and black stripes, bipedal, almost sheep-like, with a long neck and a red orb on its tail.
"So this is Ampharos." Jackson understood, as Kris pulled out her Pokédex. "Ampharos. The Light Pokemon, and the final evolved form of Flaaffy. Ampharos gives off so much light that it can be seen even from space. People in the old days used the light of this Pokémon to send signals back and forth with others far away."
Jackson noticed it was on a pillow, and it looked very weak. It was definitely unable to move about like normal. "Do you know what is wrong with Ampharos?" Jackson asked.
"The doctors did look at Ampharos, and were able to find the cure for her." Jasmine answered, "However, they don't have the supply available in the city."
"That's terrible!" Kris replied, worried about the Amp
"But, I do know that we can get the medicine from Cianwood City." Jasmine assured them, "But it might take a while for the order to be received, especially with the port in the state it's in."
Yep, thanks to the Tentacruel damaging the large cargo ship that was at the port, things have gotten pretty hectic. It would take a while to repair and move the ship out of the way in order to continue business. Not only that, but the lighthouse had also been out of commission for a while, too.
"So, question." Jackson asked her, "What importance does Ampharos have with this lighthouse?"
"The lighthouse, or as we know as the Glitter Lighthouse, is famous for being the first one of its kind to be powered by the light of a Pokémon." Jasmine answered, "As you can guess, Ampharos is the Pokémon who lights our lighthouse."
"Wow!" the two young trainers were amazed by this.
"So, wait. Does that mean Ampharos might also be suffering from over-exhaustion from lighting this lighthouse?" Kris asked.
"Lighting the lighthouse doesn't take too much effort from Ampharos." Jasmine replied, "However, the doctors think she ate something she shouldn't have, and thanks to that, Ampharos isn't able to light her tail like she would."
"Meaning she can't operate the lighthouse." Jackson understood.
"It's already troublesome at night when we are unable to light for airplanes crossing the region. This will be a bigger problem when fog season starts rolling in." Jasmine noted, "The city is doing its best, but we need to get that medicine soon."
"Is Ampharos in life-threatening condition?" Leafeon asked, which Jackson translated to Jasmine.
"No, fortunately. The doctors did say she could wait for it to pass, but it has been a long time already."
Kris and Jackson looked to each other, both worried for Ampharos. Jasmine summed up basically a troublesome situation Olivine City was experiencing. Without the lighthouse, nighttime and foggy travels would be very life-threatening. And that would affect imports, exports, travels, and all other things. Ampharos needed to be healed, but the medicine they needed was a ways off from where they were.
Jackson turned to Kris, asking, "Kris, you said Ethan was in Cianwood City, right? Is there any way of making contact with him?"
Kris looked to him, with her Pokégear on hand, saying, "I have been trying to make contact with him since Jasmine mentioned the medicine being there. However, he hasn't picked up."
Jackson closed his eyes, thinking on everything, before snapping them open, and making a decision on his own. "Then, I'll just have to make my way towards Cianwood City, and get the medicine."
Jasmine and Kris looked stunned at these words, as Jasmine asked, "You...you what?!"
"Are you insane? Cianwood City is a long distance away from here!" Kris noted, "Plus, as Jasmine said, the port is closed, so you couldn't ride a ship to there, even if you wanted to."
"Who said I would take a ship?" Jackson asked, "You must have a place where I can rent a speedboat or something."
"Yes, we do have ones." Jasmine answered, before realizing what he had planned, and gasped, "No, you aren't planning to drive yourself there?!"
"Can you even pilot a boat?" Kris asked.
"My license is foreign, but I am more than capable of doing it." Jackson replied, "Heck, I am able to even drive cars, motorcycles, planes, and of course, boats. One of my dear friends taught me how. I written out a manual for myself, in case I do forget." He dug into his bag, sorted through his books, and pulled out one which he showed to Jasmine and Kris. To the girls, his handwriting was pretty crude, but readable.
"That's amazing!" Jasmine gasped.
"At this point, once again, I've stopped being shocked and amazed at what you do, and just wonder what you CAN'T do." Kris muttered.
"Don't get into that subject." Leafeon stopped her, knowing what happened after the last time she asked that question.
"You don't have to go through all that trouble for Ampharos!" Jasmine told Jackson, "Why would you go through with it?"
"Well, a few reasons for that." Jackson replied, raising a closed hand, raising his pointer finger up, "First: the lighthouse is detrimental for the safety of this city, so the sooner Ampharos is healed, the quicker we are to prevent any danger that could cost lives. Second..." He raised his middle finger to join his pointer, "...while you were able to send out an order for the medicine, you will need to have every form of delivery in order to at least get one order over there. With the port out of commission for the time being, then you are limited to how you send it. And since I know a gym is in that city, it's just an excuse to also do that while making my first priority getting the medicine order sent in."
"That is true. Ethan went to that city for the gym, anyway." Kris agreed, "I wouldn't be surprised if the reason he was not picking up my calls is because he was training."
"Finally..." Jackson finished, raising the ring finger to finish his count, "...I just want to help. After all, what's the point of being capable of doing something, and not acting on it?"
"Jackson, are you being hasty at all with these actions?" Leafeon asked.
"How am I hasty?" Jackson asked her.
"It's seems you are trying too hard to be a hero." Leafeon argued.
"I'm not. Honest!" Jackson defended, "I JUST said that what's the point of having the capability if you don't use it? Besides, it won't be too hard. Just a travel across the waters."
"It's not just a travel across water." Jasmine argued, "In order to get to Cianwood, you have to get around the Whirl Islands. The name says it all; they are known for the whirlpools around the islands. They are natural barriers and natural disasters!"
"I've heard of those!" Kris recalled, "Legend has it that one of the Tower Pokémon, Lugia, is said to reside in the depths underneath Whirl Islands."
"Lugia, huh?" Jackson echoed, "Well, I can deal with that."
Jasmine looked very worried about Jackson, as he was about to do something she considered reckless. However, Jackson did have a look in his eyes that said he wasn't joking about this. And even though she was a gym leader, she couldn't really stop him from acting on his choice to do this. And after seeing him in battle against the Tentacruel, she knew he was capable as a trainer.
Sighing, she smiled while she was worried as she said, "Well, I don't like to do this for someone as young as you, but I'll give you a duplicate of the order. It's at my gym." She went over to Ampharos, patting her gently as she looked up at her. "Just hang in there. We'll take care of you." With that, she guided the two trainers downstairs again, and descended down the lighthouse.
Moment's later, Jackson, Leafeon, and Kris left the gym, with Jackson taking a picture of the physical copy of the prescription on his tablet, making sure he had both versions.
"I dunno. You sure you're gonna be okay?" Kris asked.
"Guys, do you not trust me to pilot a boat?" Jackson asked the two girls.
"I'm just saying we've never seen you even pilot a boat before, let alone across dangerous waters!" Kris argued.
"Jackson, you're gonna have to prove to me you can do this." Leafeon told Jackson.
"Fine, fine. Tell you what; I'll as the guy I rent the speedboat from for a test run to prove my capability. Then, if you guys are still unsure of my boating skills, I'll back off."
Leafeon and Kris looked to each other, with the former saying, "I guess... that is reasonable. I mean, since you are so committed to this."
"I would like to at least watch you do it." Kris admitted.
"Good. Jasmine did give me a few speedboat rental places." Jackson noted, pulling up the list, "I'll just do a quick look at which one has the best ratings, and go from there." Jackson looked at the assortment of rental shops, finally choosing one with the best rating, which was on the east side of town, before leading both Leafeon and Kris down to the location near the shoreline.
When they arrived, they noticed that there were people gathered around the rental shop, while the shop owners, which looked like a pair a sailor men, were trying to help the group. From what they were able to gather from the mixed voices, they needed to leave the port in order order to reach different areas across the sea, and they needed a rental speedboat in order to reach them, now that the ships were stuck at port.
"This could be a difficult challenge to get a boat." Kris noted.
"Guess we'll wait for our opening." Jackson told them, standing back.
They watched as the owners were able to clear out the crowd by giving them boats to rent each. Once they cleared out the crowd, Jackson was able to find his opening, and approached one of the owners.
"Hello, excuse me." Jackson greeted the sailor.
The sailor looked worn out as he turned and saw the young man, and asked, "Oh, hello, young man. What can I do you for?"
"I'm here to rent out a speedboat to make my way towards Cianwood City." Jackson explained.
The sailor looked surprised, before looking serious as he stated, "Look, kid, I already had to deal with a lot of customers due to what those Tentacruel did at the port, but I'm not stupid enough to give a kid a speedboat. These aren't joyriding vehicles, you know. They are far more difficult than riding a bike."
"I'm qualified to pilot a boat." Jackson argued, pulling out his Pokédex, bringing up his identification on it. When he got it set up back in New Bark Town, he made sure to add his license to drive vehicles on it.
The man examined the information on it, before looking surprised as he replied, "Well, I'll be darn. Looks pretty legit to me."
'For a licensed that I basically remade to be the same as the ones in this world, at least...' Jackson mentally noted.
"But even so, we are short on available boats to use." the sailor continued, "I don't think there are any ones that could make you all the way to Cianwood City."
"Can I see the ones that are available?" Jackson asked. The shopkeeper nodded, and he guided Jackson to the choices. For the most part, they were all basically smaller speedboats, more designed for short-ranged travel to islands, and were unable to reach Cianwood. However, Jackson was able to discover a decent sized speedboat in the back of the shop, one very capable in making his way to his destination. There was just one problem...
"Oh, that vessel is good, don't get me wrong." the sailor noted, "But the engine was busted by the last owner. Apparently, he got a bit too close to a pod of Gyarados, and they attacked him.
"Guess it's not use, then, huh?" Kris asked, "How long will it take to get it repaired?"
"With how things are currently, it will take a week, at the very least."
Kris looked to Jackson and Leafeon, who wandered over to the boat. Jackson examined the boat, before opening up the back where the engine was at, looking at it. "What're you doin', kid?"
Jackson didn't respond, as he was examining the engine like he was checking for moldy spots on a piece of fruit. When he backed off from it, and look to the shop owner, he asked, "I can get this fixed up in less than a half hour. Hilt, I can make it even better than it was."
"R-Really?" the owner stammered, amazed.
"Oh, he can." Kris assured him, knowing Jackson's potential.
Jackson dug into his bag, and pulled out his own personal toolkit, as well as his handwritten book on mechanics, pulled up his tablet, before getting to work. The sounds of cranking, hammering, grinding of metal on metal, and even welding noises could be heard as Jackson worked on the engine, with Leafeon watching from behind. True to his word, his maintenance took a little over twenty minutes, before he closed the back hood to the engine.
"Done!" Jackson called out, "Now, where are the keys to this speedboat?"
"R-Right here." the sailor answered, racing over to the back, before coming back with the keys. Jackson took the keys, got up to the driver's seat with Leafeon, and started it up. It immediately started off at the first turn of the keys, and roared with its potential. Kris and the sailor were startled at the sound, but not as much when Jackson pushed the lever forward to slowly pull it out of where it was dock, drive it carefully out of the shop, and out into the sea. Once he was out there, he cranked it up, and picked up speed along the water. He was able to get it to high speeds pretty quickly, and his ability to maneuver the speedboat was not too bad.
"Well I'll be Magikarp!" the sailor gasped as he and the other sailor raced out to watch him drive across the water.
"He really got it working!" Kris followed up, "And he is piloting it on the waters!"
Jackson guided the boat as he made sure all of the functions were working. As he kept going, he noticed Pokémon rising up here and there, like some manta ray-like Pokémon skipping over the water, to Tentacool and Tentacruel here and there that were just lazing along. He even noticed a large sea dragon-like Pokémon with an angry face on it.
"Rides like a dream." Jackson noted, driving it back to the shores, looking to Leafeon, "I hope you are satisfied."
"Okay, so I guess I feel a lot more secure than I did before." Leafeon answered, "Though I am still worried about our journey across the waters."
"Just have faith things will be okay." Jackson assured her, looking to the direction of where he was heading back to, "I want to do this. For Jasmine, and the rest of Olivine City."
Jackson made it back to the shop again, and docked the boat. "So, does it look good?" Jackson asked the sailor.
"Better than I imagined!" the owner answered, "You sold us. The boat's yours."
"Really?" Jackson asked, amazed at the offer, "You mean I can keep it?"
"Hey, you got the boat up and running, and made it even better than it was before." the other sailor answered, "I'd say the offer is legit. Don't go backing out of it."
Jackson smiled as he responded, "Thanks so much! I'll take good care of it."
Kris got up to Jackson as he asked, "You really never cease to surprise me, Jackson. I guess this means you'll be heading off."
"The sooner the better. Once I refuel, which I will pay for. No arguing that. What about you?"
Kris looked to the Glitter Lighthouse as she answered, "I'll stay behind and take care of Ampharos with Jasmine. I'll try to get in touch with Ethan as soon as possible to see if he can do anything at Cianwood City."
"Right. Then I'll see him there." Jackson understood, stepping out of the boat.
Kris looked to Leafeon while Jackson negotiated with the rental owners, getting the gas ready. "You'd better take care of your trainer." she told the Verdant Pokémon, "He might try to do something crazy."
"I'm always looking after him." she answered, "Trust me, I'll look out for him."
It was moments later when Jackson said his farewell to Kris, before he and Leafeon took off into the wild blue yonder. Kris watched them grow smaller and smaller until they vanished. "I really need to improve myself while he is gone." she told herself, "Jackson's far more skilled in so many things, and he's already surpassing me as a trainer. I can't slow down. I gotta be better!"
"Kris! Kris!" cried out Jasmine's voice, and she turned to see the said gym leader approach her, panting in exhaustion.
"Jasmine, what's going on?" Kris asked.
"Have... have you seen Jackson?" she asked, "I don't know where he went off to."
"Oh, he already left." the teal-haired trainer answered, "Why, what's going on?"
"Jackson already left?!" Jasmine gasped, "Oh, no... I just got an alert from the weather forecast. Sever stormy weather is suppose to take place over the Whirl Islands."
"What?!" Kris exclaimed, looking from her to the direction where Jackson took off, "Oh, no. Why, of all times, did I have to get that info! I have to call Jackson!" She pulled out her Pokégear, trying to call up Jackson. However, she wasn't able to get a response to him. "Oh, come on! Not you, too!" she cried out, "Can I ever get in contact with anyone?! I really need to check to see if the signal on my Pokégear actually works!"
"This is bad timing..." Jasmine muttered, as she and Kris looked out to the horizon, "We'll just have to pray he'll be safe."
Leafeon's tail twitched as she looked up into the sky, and saw dark clouds ahead. "Jackson, I think there is a storm on the horizon." she told him.
"Yeah, that looks pretty bad." Jackson admitted. He pulled out his tablet, and looked at the map of the area between Olivine and Cianwood City, "We only just got out of Olivine. In order to get to Cianwood City, the quickest route is through the Whirl Islands area."
"Hold on. Shouldn't we go along the outer edges of Whirl Island?" Leafeon asked, "The storm looks like its focused over that very area."
"I don't know much about weather, but I bet that even if we go to the outer edges of the Whirl Islands, it might still go over us, and we'll get swept away, anyway. Best get through the islands and make our way there. We can still find landfall among those islands if it gets too much."
"I dunno..." Leafeon muttered.
"Leafeon, I know you are concerned, which is why I am assuring you that we will go ashore if things are to dangerous. I promise you."
"Okay..." Leafeon responded hesitantly. Jackson smiled and nodded that things would be okay, and they shot off towards the Whirl Islands.
Ten minutes after reaching the Whirl Islands, the storm formed up, and the waters started to get rougher and rougher. Within moments, they were now in raging waters. Jackson was now struggling to steer the boat over the waters, while Leafeon was just struggling to stay on her feet. This was proving to be difficult, and she fell to her side, barely able to stay up.
"I told you this was a bad idea!" Leafeon argued, "You should've gone the long way around!"
Jackson grimaced, acknowledging she was correct. However, he was able to see one of the islands ahead of him, and called out, "Hey, we're almost there, aren't we?! Still, these waters are a bit hard to get through. Maybe I should call Dewott to help us get through."
He was about to grab his Pokéball when one of the waves jerked him off his feet, spun him around, and he landed face-first on the ground. He sat up, rubbing his head as he asked, "Now what?"
Leafeon was able to stabalize her footing when she looked the side, seeing what was ahead of them, and she looked shocked. "Jackson, heads up!" she cried to her trainer, and Jackson, getting himself on his feet, saw what she saw, and looked scared. Their boat was about to approach a large whirlpool.
He immediately grabbed the steering wheel, and tried to pull the boat away from the whirlpool anyway he could. Despite his work on it before, the boat wasn't nearly fast enough to escape the force of the waves pulling them into the whirlpool. "Dammit, dammit, dammit!" Jackson cried, trying to get the motor to escape the currents.
"We're going in!" Leafeon cried as the back of the boat reached the edge of the whirlpool. They began spinning around with the current, unable to escape. Both trainer and Pokémon held on for dear life as they could do nothing but keep their footing on the boat. However, this was eventually pointless, as there was a massive jolt, and the entire boat capsized. They were flung into the air, before splashing into the water below.
They were in dire straits. The whirlpool was consuming them, their ears filled with the roars of the spinning vortex. They barely got any breath as they were flung over, so they lacked oxygen to hold onto. The force of the current was too powerful for them to even counter. It didn't take too long for the pair to lose consciousness, as bubbles seeped from their mouths, as they sunk deeper and deeper. It looked like the end was near for them.
In an unknown area, completely surrounded by a rainbow-hue light, a sparking light was falling from the sky above, as the image of a female-like character with a flowing dress was hovering right next to it, her arms wrapped around the light.
"Do not be afraid. You and your partner will not fall today." she assured him, "For you were purposely called to save our world, as a trial made by Arceus. If you pass the trial, then you shall return to your world. As for me... At the cost of my memories, I will be your guidance through your trial. Help this world... In the new form you will take..." She vanished as the light fell, downward into who knows where.
A side adventure is about to take place for Jackson and Leafeon. One filled with Mystery.