Episode 157: Lana of the Sea
Where we last left off, Sora, Kairi, Tracey, Pikachu, Angel, Togepi, and the Pichu are greeted by a mysterious girl, holding a fishing pole.
"Real impressive," the girl said. They turned to see her.
"I didn't know we had company," Sora said.
"Were you there for long?" Tracey asked.
"Not long. I was in the area and I was watching you. Were you training for the Whirl Cup?" The girl asked.
"Yeah, I was. I figured I get it done, and that was when that Mantyke showed up out of the blue," Sora said.
"That was a great catch. My name's Lana by the way," the girl introduced herself.
"Nice to meet you, Lana. I'm Sora, and this is my partner Pikachu, and these are his adoptive little brother and sister," Sora said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Pichu," the Shiny Pichu said.
"Pichu," the Spiky-eared Pichu said.
"My name's Kairi, and this is Angel, and this is Togepi," Kairi introduced.
"Eevee," Angel greeted.
"Toge, Toge," Togepi chirped.
"And my name's Tracey," Tracey finished. Lana gave a loud gasp. "You're Sora! And you're Kairi!" Sora laughed.
"Yeah, I literally just said it," Sora said, laughing.
"Riku told me about you two!" Lana said. Sora and Kairi blinked twice.
"You know Riku?" Kairi asked.
"Yes. I came from Konikoni City on Akala Island in the Alola region," Lana said.
"Wait, does that mean you're competing in the Whirl Cup, too?" Sora asked.
"I am," Lana said.
"Riku did say someone he knew was gonna be in it, too," Sora said.
"Chu," Pikachu said.
Everyone took a break from training and relaxed a bit just so they could talk.
"So, Lana, how do you know Riku?" Sora asked.
"Riku and I were classmates together when we were little. He was a real quiet kid when we met him. After a while, he started to come out of his shell, little-by-little. I've seen him with him mom lots of times whenever he came to Akala Island to do some shopping. In fact, I was the one who taught Riku how to fish," Lana said.
"Wow, I never knew that about Riku," Sora said.
"It was one thing for him to have an Eevee as his first, but none of us would have expected him to have a Keyblade," Lana said. Sora, Kairi, Tracey, and the Pokémon all looked at her quite shocked.
"You know about the Keyblade?" Sora asked.
"Yes. And I know you and Kairi have one, too. Until he told us about you, I thought Riku was the only one who had one," Lana said.
"Since you know about the Keyblade, do you know about the Heartless and the Nobodies?" Kairi asked.
"We do. I find it hard to believe that there are monsters that are born from the darkness in the hearts of people," Lana said.
"And I can bet Riku told you about Organization XIII, too, right?" Sora asked.
"He did. Me and the others have been keeping an eye out for them," Lana said.
"Chu," Pikachu said.
"Putting them aside, is Riku with you right now?" Lana asked.
"No. He's staying at the Pokémon Center in Olivine City," Sora said. "But we'll say hi to him when we see him." That made Lana smile.
"I would like that," Lana said.
Over in Olivine City, Sakura is sitting with the new Eevee that she recently caught. She figured since her sisters has an Umbreon, a Flareon, a Vaporeon, and a Jolteon, she should complete the Eevee evolution set with her own.
"If I remember right, Eevee can evolve into a Leafeon and a Glaceon when I take them to a Moss to make Eevee evolve into a Leafeon and an Icy Rock to have Eevee evolve into a Glaceon," Sakura said.
"You could, but you can also use a Leaf Stone and an Ice Stone. I happen to have one of each," Riku said, taking out the two stones.
"That's great, but are you sure?" Sakura asked.
"Yeah, I'm sure," Riku said.
"Say, I have been wondering about something for a while now, so you don't mind me asking, do you?" Sakura asked.
"No. If wanna ask, then ask," Riku said.
"Well, I wanted to ask how come you never evolved your Eevee. Kairi has her reasons, but what about you, Riku?" Sakura asked.
"It was really my Eevee's choice," Riku said. This surprised Sakura greatly.
"Eevee's choice?" Sakura asked.
"I thought of evolving my Eevee once, but my Eevee just said no way, because he wants to stay the way he is, and I respected his choice. The reason for it is because I battled a Trainer with an Umbreon and I lost. That was shortly before I met Sora and Kairi. Ever since then, my Eevee stayed an Eevee," Riku explained.
"I had no idea that a Pokémon can choose to evolve or not," Sakura said.
"Pokémon are like people. They have the ability to choose what they want," Riku said.
"You're right, Riku. They are like people," Sakura said. She bends down to of her new Eevee with a smile. "You can choose which ones you wanna evolve into. Choose which one of these two you like best." Each one of her Eevee placed their paws on each of the stones and started to evolve. One Eevee became a Leafeon and the other became a Glaceon. "Also, when an Eevee is treated with enough friendship and knows a Fairy-type move, it becomes a Sylveon." Riku took out his Pokédex and held it to her Eevee to check its moves.
"Your Eevee knows Baby-Doll Eyes. That's a Fairy-type move," Riku said.
Not too far, Naminé, Eevee, and Azurill were watching them from a corner.
Meanwhile, Ash and Leaf are in Ecruteak City, they were looking around for some clues to enter the realm of darkness in the burned tower.
"Anything?" Ash asked. Leaf sighed.
"No," Leaf answered regrettably.
"I figured it would be too easy. If only DiZ would have been more helpful," Ash said.
"He has been secretive, that we know so far. And I doubt he would tell us where and how we would get in the realm of darkness and rescue Cascade, and I doubt he would know anything about her," Leaf said.
"That's why we can't let him know what we're doing, because he would try to stop us," Ash said.
"You think she might help take out Organization XIII along with her two friends?" Leaf asked.
"I know they'll be really big help. The Organization will keep being a problem unless we take them out," Ash said.
"You're right. Just don't get too carried away with this, Ash. I don't want anything happening to you," Leaf said.
"I know you don't. We should keep looking," Ash said.
"Right," Leaf said. "But what about Xion? Weren't you supposed to keep an eye on her?"
"Kairi's dad is already doing that for me. I told him about her first meeting with one of them and he agreed on keeping an eye on things, and he's gonna let me know if something happens," Ash said.
"Well, she does looks a like Kairi," Leaf said.
Meanwhile, Yuta sits in his chair, reading his newspaper while Mirei is changing Seth's diaper. Once she finished, she blew a raspberry on his belly, making him laugh.
Xion is up in her room and thinks about Roxas. He's been on her mind ever since their first meeting.
"Roxas. Just who is he? And why does he make me smile so much when I think about him?" Xion asked in her thoughts.
In the World That Never Was, Roxas steps out of his room only to be greeted by Saïx.
"Lord Xemnas is summoning you. All members must attend," Saïx said.
Roxas said nothing and obliged.
Soon after, every member of Organization XIII have gathered to the Altar of Naught and Xemnas stood before them all.
"The time has arrived. And at long last, we see before us the great collection of Hearts. Hearts full of rage...hate...sadness...and bliss. There, in the sky, hangs the promise of a new world. Shining down upon us is the crystallization of hearts: Kingdom Hearts. There, in the sky, hangs the promise of a new world," Xemnas said as he turned to the rest of the Organization members. "My friends! Let us gain further power, to conquer the human heart, and claim it as our own. Let us remember why we are here and what we hope to achieve. Hearts shall be gathered, and made our own. Hearts shall never again have power over us." He sets his attention back to Kingdom Hearts. Roxas looked up to the sky and at Kingdom Hearts.
"So this is Kingdom Hearts," Roxas said in his thoughts.
Meanwhile, Teol is looking over a spellbook, recounting the spells he may have forgotten when he sensed something disturbing. He looked out his window.
"No, it cannot be. How could it be? It's impossible," Teol said.
Back in Johto, Lana has joined the group for a short time, so Lana decides to have a practice battle with Sora.
How about it, Sora? Let's make it a one-on-one battle," Lana said.
"I'm game whenever you are," Sora said.
"Great!" Lana said, taking out a Dive Ball and threw it. "Go for it, Poliwhirl!" Lana's Dive Ball opened and a Poliwhirl emerged from in it. Sora took out a Pokéball and threw it.
"Go! Remoraid!" Sora called out. Remoraid came right out to battle. "You want to make the first move or should I?"
"You can have the first move, Sora!" Lana said.
"Thanks! Remoraid! Use Psybeam!" Sora ordered. Remoraid fired a Psybeam from his mouth.
"Dodge and use Double Slap!" Lana ordered. Poliwhirl dodges Remoraid's Psybeam and gave the Jet Pokémon up to three slaps in the face.
"Use Ice Beam!" Sora ordered. Remoraid fired Ice Beam and it hits Poliwhirl on the mark.
"Poliwhirl! Use Ice Punch!" Lana ordered. Poliwhirl lands an Ice Punch onto Remoraid.
"Use Psybeam!" Sora ordered. Remoraid hits Poliwhirl hard. "Use Bubble Beam!" Remoraid fired Bubble Beam and it hits Poliwhirl, but it recovers from its previous injuries. "What the?!"
"Poliwhirl has recovered from her injuries!" Kairi said.
"That must be Water Absorb!" Tracey said.
"Doesn't that heal a Pokémon with a Water-type move?" Kairi asked.
"It does. It looks like Remoraid's Water-type moves won't do any good here," Tracey said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"Toge," Togepi chirped.
"Poliwhirl! Use Body Slam!" Lana ordered. Poliwhirl came at Remoraid and splashed him out of the water. "Ice Punch!" Poliwhirl jumped up and lands an icy punch onto Remoraid, freezing him. Remoraid fell into the water and the ice melts. Remoraid was beaten.
"Remoraid!" Sora gasped as he rushed to the Jet Pokémon. "You okay?"
"Remoraid," Remoraid answered sadly.
"Hey, don't be sorry. You did your best and that's more important than winning," Sora said. This made Remoraid feel better, so he smiled. Sora took out a Sitrus Berry. "Here, eat this Sitrus Berry." Remoraid ate the Sitrus Berry and was instantly healed of his injuries.
"Good job, Poliwhirl! I'm so proud of you!" Lana said.
"Poliwhirl!" Poliwhirl beamed. Lana walked up to Sora and shook his hand.
"Good battle, Sora," Lana said.
"Yeah, that was a good battle, Lana. You're a tough Trainer," Sora said.
"You too, Sora. Riku said you're pretty tough, too. I saw it the way you battled," Lana said. "So Sora, I was also wondering if you would like to join me for some deep-sea diving?"
"You sure, Lana?" Sora asked.
"I'm sure. It'll be loads of fun to do some deep-sea exploring with some friends, even if we didn't know each other for so long," Lana said.
"You know, she's right. I would like to see some Pokémon living in the sea," Tracey said.
"Great! I have a boat ready for us," Lana said.
Not too far from them, it's Team Rocket eavesdropping on them and they snicker.
"Deep-sea diving, huh? This could be interesting," Jessie said.
"And why would we wanna do that for?" Meowth asked.
"What do you think, Meowth? Pirate treasure. I'm talking gold doubloons, rubies, sapphires, amethysts, topazes, diamonds, pearls, emeralds, colbats, gold, silver, platinum, the works!" Jessie said as her eyes sparkled.
"I'm amazed you can name so much and not lose your breath," James said. He earns a smack from Jessie. "Ouch!"
"Keep your comments to yourself! Just imagine what we can do with all that treasure! We can be richer than a king!" Jessie said.
"That means we'll be living large!" Meowth said.
"And we can give some of the money to pay back the boss and our debts will go away!" James said.
"No, even better; we'll be so filthy, stinking rich, the boss will give us Team Rocket, so Cassidy, Butch, and that four-eyed bitch Matori will be taking orders from us from now on!" Jessie said.
"Hey, that is better!" James said.
"And what will make it even better than that is I can give that stuck up Persian the boot!" Meowth said.
"We'll be in the money! It'll be sweeter than honey!" Team Rocket chanted in a rhyme. Wobbuffet popped out of his Pokéball.
"Wobbuffet!" Wobbuffet said, doing a salute.
Over to Sora, Kairi, Tracey, Lana, and the Pokémon, they were sailing on a small ship, owned by a young woman with green hair, brown eyes. She wore a red tank top over an orange jacket with blue shoulders. She wore orange jeans and blue boots. She wore a black cap backwards.
"Thanks for agreeing to allow them to accompany me, Maren," Lana said.
"Sure thing, Lana. I was more than happy to do it. And any friends of yours are welcome on board anytime," Maren said.
"How much further are we until we get to the deep?" Kairi asked.
"We should already be there. You can dive whenever you're ready," Maron said.
With that said, Sora, Kairi, and Tracey got equipped with some scuba gear as Lana just simply pulled her clothing off, leaving only a one piece swimsuit underneath. Togepi and the Pichu are staying with Maron since they were too little to go under and Kairi didn't want anything to happen to the Spike Ball Pokémon while underwater. They equipped their oxygen masks and dove underneath.
It was an amazing thing to see. There were different kinds of Pokémon swimming around the sea. There were some Corsola, Tentacool, Tentacruel, Magikarp, Gyarados, Mantyke, Remoraid, Octillery, Chinchou, Shellder, Cloyster, Goldeen, Seaking, Krabby, Kingler, Staryu, Starmie, Horsea, Seadra, Kingdra, Qwilfish, Seel, Dewgong, and a couple of Pokémon they haven't seen yet.
One is a blue piscine Pokémon that resembles an anglerfish. It has big, red eyes with a yellow mask-like marking around them and small, light blue pectoral fins. The lower half of its tailfin is yellow and has jagged edges. On its back is a Y-shaped antenna with a spherical orb at each tip; this antenna is a modification of its dorsal fin. This Pokémon is known as a Lanturn.
The other is is a large, ray-like Pokémon. Its body is dark blue on the overside, and it has large wing-like fins, with a black ring-shaped mark on the top of either fin, and a jagged outline on the front rim at the bottom. Its head has two long protrusions resembling horns or antennae, and two more black ring-shaped marks on the back. Two pairs of gills are visible on its pinkish gray underside, as well as a pair of beady eyes and a small mouth. One or two of them has a Remoraid at the bottom. This Pokémon is known as Mantine.
Sora and Kairi were astounded by the sight of the scenery, marveling over how beautiful it looked. What they saw on TV couldn't compete with the real thing, not by a long shot.
Meanwhile, Team Rocket got equipped with their scuba gear, searching for a sunken ship, and their luck was starting to be good for a change, because they found a sunken ship. They started to swim right towards the ship, not thinking about anything else. But unfortunately for them, their good luck was short-lived because they came across a horde of Heartless.
These Heartless are based on ajellyfish, though they have a number of features that distinguish them from their jellyfish counterparts. While they have a number of small bluish-green tentacles dangling beneath them, they also have two massive pale blue ones in the front that allow them to deal large amounts of damage during their twist attacks. Within their light grayish-blue transparent heads and hidden behind the prominent Heartless emblem there are their sinister Heartless visages, complete with a crooked, toothy smile, bright yellow eyes, and a medium-length plume that ends in a spiral. These are known as Sea Neons.
There are also larger jellyfish Heartless, looking very identical to the smaller ones. They're known as the Sheltering Zones
Team Rocket gave a muffled scream when they saw the Heartless coming towards them. They started to swim for their lives. The Sea Neons and the Sheltering Zones started to pursue them. The jellyfish-like Heartless started to gain on them.
Over to Sora, Kairi, Tracey, Lana, Pikachu, and Angel, they were swimming along when they bumped into Team Rocket. They tried to do their motto, but they couldn't do it properly because they were underwater. Lana clearly had no idea who they were. Sora gestured them to get lost, but Team Rocket gestured that they were being chased, and their pursuers were in plain sight behind the Moron Trio. Sora and Kairi quickly summoned their Keyblades and engaged the Heartless. They struck the Sheltering Zones, figuring they were easy targets due to their size, but the ones they struck separated into three Sea Neons.
"You gotta be kidding me!" Sora said in his thoughts. Kairi fired a thunder spell at one of the Sheltering Zones, destroying it. She saw they didn't split apart. Kairi then gestured to Sora that they can destroy them with their magic. Sora understood and attacked the Sheltering Zones with Magic and physically attacking the Sea Neons. Just then, a new Heartless appeared.
Colored in shades of soothing sea and dark green, with gold bands and highlights, the Heartless has taken on a form suitable for its underwater habitat. Sleek in form, they have finned feet to assist them in gliding through the water. Their elaborate helmets help them with both camouflage and mobility, though its use as the former is debatable. While the helmet is shaped like a fish to help it blend in further, the fish's gaping jagged mouth that serves as the helmet's eye slot, as well as the angular spiral black eyes of the helmet and the sinister glowing yellow eyes of the Heartless itself, The fins at the back of their helmets that serve as a three-bladed propeller. In their hands is a trident; medium blue and featuring three flared prongs ending in lethal barbs This Heartless is known as a Screwdiver.
The propellers turns as the Screwdivers charges at the couple. Sora and Kairi cast their thunder spells, but they absorbed the thunder.
"It absorbs the lightning?!" Sora and Kairi exclaimed their thoughts.
Lana was stunned. She thought for a moment, so she took out another Dive Ball and opened it. The Dive Ball has let out a Vaporeon. Lana makes a gesture for a move. Understanding, the Bubble Jet Pokémon smacked a Screwdiver with an Aqua Tail. Angel then finished the Screwdiver off with an Iron Tail. Sora and Kairi do the same thing with the other Heartless, taking them all out. Sora, Kairi, Tracey, Lana, Pikachu, and Angel all rush upwards to the surface.
"Thanks for the assist, Lana," Sora said.
"You're welcome. Were those monsters the Heartless Riku mentioned before?" Lana asked.
"They were. But it's the first time we dealt with Heartless that's capable of swimming underwater," Kairi said.
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
"Eevee," Angel said.
"We wouldn't have known about them if it weren't for Team Rocket though," Tracey said.
"You mean those three down there?" Lana asked.
"Yeah, but what happened to them? They were right with us," Tracey said.
"I'm just glad they're gone, because fighting those Heartless tired me out," Sora said.
"Same here," Kairi said.
"Well, it's a good thing they're not here, because they would use this opportunity to steal Pikachu from you," Tracey said.
Back underwater, Team Rocket swam back to the sunken ship and they grinned, but their bad luck continues to go bad when they found that the ship has been occupied by a horde of Qwilfish. They didn't realize that the Qwilfish have made their home in the ship. The blowfish-like Pokémon all attacked the Moron Trio as they're blasting off underwater.
After that, they made it back to Maren's boat and filled her in on what happened down there.
"Sounds like you had your hands full down there," Maren said.
"It's considered a workout when you get used to it," Sora said.
"The next island is Yellow Rock Isle, so how about we check it out?" Tracey suggested.
"Sure thing, Tracey. I can drop you off there. It's on the way to Red Rock Isle anyway," Maren said.
"It was a thrill meeting you, Sora, Kairi, Tracey," Lana said.
"You too, Lana. We'll tell Riku you said hi when we speak with him," Kairi said.
"I'd like that," Lana said.
"But we'll see you at Red Rock Isle for the Whirl Cup," Sora said.
"You too. I'm not gonna go easy on you just because you're Riku's friend," Lana said.
"He wouldn't want you to, and I wouldn't either," Sora said. "Our time on Yellow Rock Isle will be a good excuse to train for it anyway."
"Pikachu," Pikachu said.
Now that Sora has met another competitor for the Whirl Cup and an old friend of Riku's, Sora will have to work hard to make it to the top. Sora, Kairi, Tracey, Pikachu, Angel, Togepi, and the Pichu continued on with their adventures.