My Pokémon Journey

by Pokebrawler09

In this world of Pokémon, there have lived two Guardians that had served under Arceus to protect the world and teach humans and Pokémon how to live side by side together. Now in present time, the Guardians have been reincarnated and begin to learn of their destiny. Come along with our heroes as they discover their powers and meet many Pokémon that thrive in this world!

18. Chapter 17: Dhelmise at Sea

Chapter 17: Dhelmise At Sea

Taylor's Family Beach House

The sun rose calmly above the ocean on a partly cloudy morning. The colors of the sun touched the water peacefully as the waves gently rolled onto the sandy shore of the beach; giving off a majestic glow of red, orange, yellow, and pink colors on the blue water. The sounds of Pokémon that live in and around the ocean then began to make their first morning trips for food or new nesting locations. As the sounds of the beach echoed in the air, I was watching the sun rise from the patio; feeling the cool, salty breeze gently go by. To me, this is one of my personal favorite times when I come here every summer. Just to see the sun rise on peaceful mornings like this... it clears my mind and helps me be at ease with reality.

I sat down at the outdoor table, had my small breakfast, took my anxiety medication, and then kicked back and relaxed as the sun slowly rose higher in the sky. "Morning, Tay." said a voice. I turned around towards the door, and then saw Yuya walking upto me with his own breakfast. "Morning, Yuya." I said. "Mind if I join you?" he replied. "Sure." I replied. "Thanks." he replied. He walked over to the table, put his breakfast down next to mine, and then sat down next to me. He leaned back on his chair, smelled the air, and began to relax. "Ah. What a beautiful sun rise." he said. "Yeah. It sure is." I replied. "Is this the view that you get to see here every summer?" he replied. "Mhm." I replied as I nodded my head. "Really? Aw, man... I gotta admit. I'm jealous." he replied. "Huh? You? Jealous? How come?" I replied curiously. "Well... you get to come here to a place like this every summer, and have the time of your life here without us." he replied.

I was completely surprised by his response, but I fully understood on how he can feel this way. "...I see. You feel upset and jealous every time me and my family come here and have fun without you and the others around?" I asked. "Mhm." he replied with a nod of his head. "But there is something that you got wrong about this place." I replied. "Huh?" he replied curiously. "The truth is... every time I come here... I kept wishing to ask you guys to come with me. But... I was so afraid to speak up and ask." I replied. "You did? Then how come you didn't come talk to us about this place a few years ago?" he replied. "I didn't know that if I asked, that I would be ruining plans that you and your families made on the days we would be here." I replied. "Ah. I getcha. You were more concerned of our families feelings, and felt bad that if you asked us they would call you selfish and rude." he replied.

I sadly nodded my head yes to his response. "Aw, Tay... don't feel bad. I'm happy that you took our families thoughts and feelings into consideration, but please don't feel bad to ask us. We would all love to come here and hang out during the summer with you. We all would've had the best time of our lives together here. So... the next time the place is available for the summer, don't be afraid to come up to us and ask. Okay?" he replied. I blinked my eyes, showed a smile, and nodded my head to him; making him smile. We then did a pinky swear with each other. "You pinky swear from now on to not be afraid to ask us anything?" he said. "I pinky swear it. Cross my heart." I replied. We ended the pinky swear, and ate our breakfast together happily. "Hey. What are you two doing out here this early?" said a voice.

We turned to the door and saw my brother walk outside. "Oh? Hey, Red." said Yuya. "Morning, Yuya. Had a good sleep last night?" he replied as he walked over to us. "Yeah. I sure did. And hey, thank you and your family for letting me stay here for a while." Yuya replied. "You're welcome." he replied with a warm smile. He then sat down with us and watched the sun rise. "Hey, Red? Where's Leaf?" I asked him. "She's still sleeping in my room." he replied. "Ah. I guess she's not a morning person?" Yuya replied. "Mhm." he replied. "Hey, Tay? Aren't you a night person?" Yuya replied. "Mhm. But sometimes I do wake up early in the morning." I replied. "Only for certain events and appointments." Red replied as he stretched his arms. I nodded my head in agreement, and then saw Red take out something from his pocket. "Hey, Tay? When Mom was doing laundry last night... she found this in your jacket." he said.

"What is it?" Yuya replied curiously. "It's some kind of feather that is shining like a rainbow. I've never seen anything like it before. So when Mom told me that it was in her jacket, she must've found it somewhere on her journey?" he replied. I gently took the feather back from him and inspected it. As I looked at it, I began to remember the Pokémon I saw in Viridian City that dropped it from the sky. "That Pokémon..." I said in my thoughts. "Hello? Hello? Tay!" Red replied. I snapped back into reality, blinked my eyes a few times, and then looked at Red and Yuya. "H-Huh?" I said curiously. "You alright? You zoned out for a couple minutes. Did something cross your mind?" Yuya replied. "Uh... yeah... it did..." I replied. "Was it about this feather?" he replied. I nodded my head yes to his question. "Okay..? How did you get it? Did you see someone drop it or anything?" Red replied. I blinked my eyes, and laid the feather down on the table.

"It was after the Fearow incident in Viridian City. When I released from the hospital and walked back to the Pokémon Center with Mom and Blue... I saw a bird Pokémon flying in the sky. It flew so elegantly and made a rainbow trail behind it. When I watched it, the feather must've fell off its body and flew down to me. I picked it up, watched the Pokémon fly away, and then hid the feather in my jacket." I said. "Huh... a bird Pokémon that made a rainbow trail behind it? That's interesting." he replied. "Yeah." I replied. "So what else have you been doing with the feather ever since you had it?" Yuya replied. "I tried to find out about it in a couple libraries. But the books they had there had nothing on it. I even tried looking it up online, and it even showed nothing on it." I replied. "Huh? That's odd. Maybe Professor Oak might know about it?" he replied.

"He's right. Professor Oak might know about this feather and what Pokémon it came from. Tay. Take a picture of it and send it to me. I'll show it to the Professor when I see him again, and then I'll call you and give you the answer." Red replied. "Okay." I replied. I then took a picture of the feather on my Phone, and then sent it to Red. He looked at his Phone, saw the picture, and then put his Phone away. "Got it. And now... how to keep the feather with you at all times?" he said. "Ah ha! I got an idea!" Yuya replied. We turned to him, saw him take out a necklace string, picked up the feather, gently tied them together, and then handed the necklace to me. "Here you go, Tay. Now you don't have to hide it in your jacket anymore." he said. "Aww~ Thank you, Yuya." I replied. "You're welcome." he replied happily. I then put the necklace on, and then looked at the feather as it stayed strong in the middle.

"It looks good on you, Sis." said Red. "Thank you, Red." I replied. "But I suggest you hide it from the public eye for a while. If anyone creepy tries to lunge themselves at you and steal it... it won't be good for you." he replied. "Got it." I replied. "But you can show it off to us and the group. That way, we know that feather is very rare and special." Yuya replied. I nodded my head in agreement, and then we heard the door open. We turned around, and saw my Mom looking at us. "Morning, kids." she said. "Morning." we replied. "Watching the sun rise, I see?" she replied. "Mhm." Red replied as he nodded his head. She smiled at us warmly, and then we watched the sun rise together. After it ended, we went back inside the house. A couple hours later, everyone else woke up, had breakfast, and then got changed into their beach clothes and swimsuits. "Alright! Day number 2 at the beach!" said Pat happily. "Yep. And we got the perfect spot to relax, and watch Yuya and Zuzu prepare for the Contest!" Sora replied.

We nodded our heads in agreement, and then went off to the beach. As we walked on the sand, I noticed that the beach was mostly empty. "Nice! We've got plenty of space for the day." said Blue. "You said it. There's even enough space for our Pokémon to play and relax." Leaf replied. We nodded our heads in agreement, picked out our spot, let our Pokémon out to join us, set up our things, and then began to kick back and relax.

Vermilion Beach

I sat on the rocks nearby our spot with Red and our Pokémon; watching the waves hit the rocks around us. "So, Red? How's everyone at the League?" I asked him. "Everyone's been good. Lorelei told me that she met up with you to rescue Moltres." he replied. "She did? Did she tell you anything about the hidden Team Rocket base we found Moltres in?" I replied. "Mhm. Once she notified us about it, we instantly kept our guard up. We then told everything about it to the International Police, and then asked us to keep in touch with them in case we find out more about them." he replied. "I see? So... you've known they have returned for the past few months?" I replied. He sadly nodded his head yes to my question. "And you didn't want to tell me then because you feared for our family's safety?" I replied. "Yeah. I'm sorry that I didn't tell you a few months ago. I never wanted to ruin the start of your journey by telling you about the ones who hurt you have come back to the public eye." he replied in a sad tone.

"It's okay. I'm not mad at you. If you would've told me this months ago, I would've prepared myself a lot more to hide my powers and stay undercover." I replied. "Really? Even after you all went through so far?" he replied. I nodded my head yes to his response. He smiled happily at me, and then ruffled my hair; making me smile and laugh. He laughed happily too, and then we saw our Pokémon playing with each other for the first time. We smiled happily at them, and Red turned to me with a smirk on his face. He motioned Tetrax to take my hat, necklace, and Phone away, watched him wink his eye, and then look at me with a smirk. "Hm? Tet? What are you doing with those?" I asked him as I turned around and looked at him. "Pika-chu." he replied as he pointed to his right, made me turn around, and se our teams looking at me with smirks; scaring me a little bit. "Uh... guys..? Why are you looking at me like that?" I said nervously.

Red slowly stood up, walked behind me, and then picked me up in his arms. "Huh!? Hey! Red! Come on! Put me down!" I said in a shocked tone; making everyone else turn and look at us. "Oh, I'll put you down. Down in the water for a swim!" he replied with a smirk. He then threw me out of his arms and watched me land in the water. "Oh no! Tay!" said Zach worriedly. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa! Easy, Zach. Calm down." Blue replied as he grabbed his shoulder. "Blue! Let me go! I gotta help her!" he replied. "Relax. He's playing with her. They've done this here ever since they were little." Blue replied. Everyone looked down at the water, and saw me swim back up. After I gasped for air, I shook my head for a couple seconds, and then saw Red looking down at me; letting out a happy laugh. "Oh..? So that's how you're gonna play, huh?" I said.

I then splashed up a good amount of water at Red, and watched him get completely soaked. Our teams laughed happily of what just happened, and the saw Red stand up. "Tay!" he said. He then jumped in the water, and then we playfully splashed and pushed each other. Some of our Pokémon then joined in a moment later. "See, Zach? She's fine." said Blue as everyone looked at us. Zach blinked his eyes, saw the smile on my face, and then smiled happily to himself; knowing this is the first time in quite a while that I'm having this much fun. After that, we got out of the water, went back to everyone, wrapped ourselves in towels, and then sat down on the chairs. "Had fun, you two?" my Mom asked us. "Mhm." I replied. "We sure did. It felt nostalgic, huh Tay?" Red replied. "Yeah. It sure did." I replied. "That's good to hear. Just remember that even though you are both Pokémon Trainers, you are still kids. So don't be afraid to have fun and be kids every once in a while, okay?" she replied.

We nodded our heads in agreement, and then relaxed under the sun and shade. As I looked at my team playing around with everyone, I noticed a Pokémon slashing the air with its arms; trying to get me and Zach's Beedrill's to fight it. "Huh? Who's that Pokémon?" I said. "That's Scyther." Yuya replied. "Scyther? Is it yours?" I replied as I took out my Phone and activated my PokéDex. "Yep. He is." he replied. "Scyther, the Mantis Pokémon. A Bug and Flying type. Scyther is blindingly fast. It's blazing speed and ninja-like agility enhance the effectiveness of the twin scythes on its forearms. This Pokémon's scythes are so effective, they can slice through thick logs in one wicked stroke." said my PokéDex. "Scy! Ther! Scyther!" Scyther replied. "Wow... where did you find him?" I asked. "I found him on Route 15. When I first saw him, I immediately thought of you. He then immediately challenged me and my Charizard to a fight." he replied. "Was he tough?" I replied. "Oh yeah. He was tough. And fast. He even almost sliced my hair off as he got very close to me. But after I caught him, I could tell that he was born to be a fighter. Not a performer." he replied. "Just like your Charizard?" I replied.

"Mhm. But he likes to do a mix of both. But battling is his main specialty." he replied. "Just like mine." I replied. We laughed happily for a moment, and then saw Scyther flying in the air. "Hey! Scyther! Come down here!" Yuya replied. "Scy! Scy? Scyther?" he replied as it turned to Yuya, and then flew down to him. "Hey. Take it easy. I know that you want to battle. I promise that it will happen soon... but right now you need to relax and preserve your energy. Okay?" Yuya replied. "Scy..? Scyther." he replied. "Good boy, Scyther. Tell you what? After relaxing here and practicing for the Contest, we can battle Taylor and her team. That way you can show her how strong you are." Yuya replied. "Scy? Scy! Scy-Scyther!" he replied happily. "Heh. I knew that you would like that idea. Hey, Tay? Do you want to have a battle against Scyther before the Contest dinner?" Yuya replied. "Sure! I'd love too." I replied. "Scyther!" Scyther replied happily. We smiled warmly at him, and then saw Zuzu practicing with her team.

"Milotic! Use Disarming Voice!" she said. Milotic made a sound, and then used the attack; creating an arch-like bridge above her and Zuzu. "Vulpix! Trap it with Fire Spin!" she said. "Vul! Vul-pix! Vul!" Vulpix replied as she used Fire Spin to hold the Disarming Voice in place. Milotic then went under the attack, and watched both Pikachu and Vulpix jump through the rings of the attacks. She then used her head and tail as spots for them to jump on and back through the rings. After the final jumps, Vulpix and Pikachu used Energy Ball and Thunderbolt on the arch, and made a beautiful explosion of fireworks. She smiled in awe of the performance, and then saw us watching her and her team working together beautifully. "Zuzu... that was amazing..." said Yuya in a surprised tone. "Hehe. Thank you, Yuya." she replied. "How did you come up with that?" he replied. "Oh? That? I can't tell you that. It's a little secret." she replied as she got up close to him. He then blushed wildly at her for a moment, and then his his eyes with his goggles.

"Aww~ I think you charmed him, Zuzu." I said. "Really?" she replied curiously. I nodded my head yes and winked my eye at her; confirming my answer. She blinked her eyes in shock, and then smiled warmly at me. After that, we went back to our beach chairs, sat down, and relaxed in the shade. As we were resting, Yuya looked down at his Phone and saw a text from Yuto. "Huh? A solo text? This is interesting?" he said to himself. He clicked on the message and read it for the first time.

Yuto: Hey, Yuya. Just checking in from Mom and Dad's hotel room to see on how you're doing since yesterday. How was the beach house? They told me, Yugo, and Yuri all about it. We're jealous.

He was surprised to see a solo message from him, but happy to see that he does care about his well-being. After reading it, he texted him back.

Yuya: Hi, Yuto! I'm doing good. The beach house is amazing! It felt like I was back home, but with a coastal feel to it.

After sending him the text, he responded back a couple minutes later. Once he got the text, they then started to talk more.

Yuto: That's great to hear. Hopefully next summer we can go there together as a group!

Yuya: Yeah! Next summer is looking highly possible to happen! I had a talk with Tay about inviting us this morning. And she promised to make sure to ask her family if we can come next year.

Yuto: That's good. I'm sure Mom and Dad will let us go with her and have fun for a week or so. Speaking of Tay... how is she doing? She exhausted from the battle yesterday?

Yuya: She's good. She's hanging out on the beach with us. I asked her yesterday after she told me how she got her powers if she was tired from the battle, and she told me she wasn't.

Yuto: Okay. You haven't told her about you knowing her powers yet, right?

Yuya blinked his eyes a couple times, turned to his left, and saw me talking and walking with Red, picking out seashells in the water. He then looked back down at his Phone, and texted Yuto.

Yuya: Nope. I haven't said anything yet. I'm waiting for her to find out herself. I think it would be easier if she finds out and gets an understanding from us.

Yuto: True. I wouldn't want you to force yourself to tell her the truth.

Yuya: Me either. But if I do tell her... that means I have to tell her about you and your powers too. She's going to know about it sooner or later.

Yuto: Yeah... that's true. To be honest, I almost thought she figured it out by recognizing my voice. But I guess she didn't know at all.

Yuya: Same here. I swear I thought she knew that we were watching her... but I guess it never crossed her mind. But she did talk about you last night.

Yuto: She did!? What did she say!?

Yuya: She thought that you were incredible. The way you kept her mind focused on stopping the Gyarados and Kakimoto, it made her feel at ease. It made her happy to see that she is not alone in the Guardian business ;)

Yuto: Really..? She really said that..?

Yuya: Yep! She meant every word. And she even said that she wants to see you again! When I asked her that, I could tell that she was blushing and tried to calm herself. Just like when I told you on how she got quiet when I talked about you the last time I spoke to her on the phone. I have a feeling that she has a crush on you!

Yuto didn't respond right away after that, Once Yuya noticed this, he couldn't help but smile. For almost 2 years now, Yuya has known two people that have feelings for me. And those two people were: Zach and Yuto. He figured this out when he noticed how they always acted different around me; mostly being shy and blushing whenever they see me or hear my name when I'm not around. On days when the groups asks them about it, the quickly deny it to them. But when he talked about it to them alone, they told him the truth and admitted their feelings about me to him. Once he heard them say it, he swore to them that he will keep it secret, and will encourage them to tell me their feelings when we all get older.

After about five minutes of silence, Yuya heard his Phone ring. Once he saw Yuto's ID on it, he knew that he must be anxious. "Hello?" he said as he answered the call. "Hey." Yuto replied. "Yuto? You okay? You sound a little choked up." he replied. "Don't worry. I'm fine. I'm just... overwhelmed about what you texted me." Yuto replied. "Ah... I getcha. It surprised me too. Once I noticed her reaction to when I asked her about you in your disguise, it clicked." he replied. "Yeah. And after you told me this... I felt my heart beating so freakin' fast. I haven't felt this happy in a long time. And all I can say to you about this is... thank you." Yuto replied. "Aww. You're welcome. But now I gotta figure out if she has a crush on Zach too." he replied softly. "And if she does... he and I are going to have a competition." Yuto replied.

"A friendly competition?" he replied. Yuto sighed on his side of the phone, and then got back his composure. "Yes. A friendly competition." he said. "That's good. Because no matter who wins... it will be Tay's decision to who she will want to be with." Yuya replied in a hushed tone; making sure that I don't hear him. Yuto was completely surprised of Yuya's words for a moment, and then nodded his head in agreement to it. "...You're right. It's her choice. And that's how it should be." he said. "Good. Okay, I gotta get to practicing for the Contest. Tell the fam I said hello." Yuya replied. "I will. Bye, Yuya." he replied. "Bye, Yuto." Yuya replied. He hung up the Phone, and then looked at me as I was handing my Mom some seashells with Red. "Aww~ Thank you, guys." she said. "You're welcome." we replied happily.

Yuya smiled happily for a moment, and then stood up, walked away with his team, and practiced his Contest routine. As he practiced, me and the group walked over to where he went, and we watched him silently. "Okay! Flygon! Use Draco Meteor! Charizard! Flamethrower!" he said. Flygon and Charizard roared to the sky, used their attacks, and then watched the combination set off fireworks in the sky. "And now! To combine both the air and the earth! Scyther! Air Slash! Flygon! Sand Tomb!" he said. Scyther and Flygon let out their cries, and combined their attacks. "Boltund! Jump on the pillars with Wild Charge to cover them with electricity! Charizard! Dragon Pulse on the pillars after Boltund is off of them!" he said. Boltund barked happily, covered himself with electricity, and used Wild Charge; jumping up on top of each pillar.

His Charizard roared, and then used Dragon Pulse on each pillar; making firework cannons launch up in the air and explode. "Whoa... he's good." said Sora. "Mhm. He sure is." Zuzu replied with a warm smile. Charizard and Flygon flew down to the ground, and then high-fived each other happily. After it ended, Charizard turned around, and saw Dragonfire standing on the rocks; looking down at him. Charizard stared at him with his red and green eyes, growled loudly, and then used Flamethrower at Dragonfire; shocking everyone. Dragonfire dodged the Flamethrower with ease, flew down to him, and stared him down. "Ah! Hey! Charizard! Calm down!" said Yuya. We all then ran over to them, and noticed how calm Dragonfire was towards him. He crossed his arms, blinked his blue eyes, and watched Charizard try to attack him again.

"Charizard! Stop it! Now!" said Yuya. Charizard stopped his attempt, backed off a couple steps, and stared down Dragonfire. "Charizard? What's gotten into you?" he said. "I think he's intimidated by Dragonfire." Pat replied. "Huh? Intimidated?" he replied curiously. "Yep. He could sense how powerful Dragonfire is compared to him. So he's aggressively trying to show off against him to prove that he's stronger." Pat replied. "Really? How do you know about that?" he replied. "I heard about from Charizard researchers at the Charicific Valley in the Johto region. It's on their website for Trainers that are interested in catching and raising their own Charizard one day." Pat replied. "Oh, wow... that's awesome." he replied. "Mhm." Pat replied. "Charicific Valley? That's where Dragonfire's from." I replied. "What!?" the group replied in shock. "Mhm. When I first got him as an Egg from Professor Oak, I saw that he was discovered in the Charicific Valley." I replied.

"Really?" Zach replied. I nodded my head yes to his question. "Wait a second... that would explain his red markings all over him. There's a Charizard there that has the same markings as he does! See? That's the one right there!" Pat replied as he showed us the website and picture on his Phone. "Oh, wow... he's huge." said Sora. "That must make him the Alpha of the Valley?" Celina replied. "Mhm." Pat replied as he nodded his head. After looking at the picture, Dragonfire and Yuya's Charizard stared at each other again. Once their eyes locked, Charizard then stepped back from us, and bowed his head to Dragonfire in respect. Dragonfire was surprised at first, and then he walked over to him, patted his shoulder, and watched him lift his head up. "Man... you can really tell the height difference between them now..." said Celina.

"Mhm. Dragonfire looks like he's about the same height as his Dad." Zach replied. "But the real question now is... is he stronger than him?" Pat replied. We stayed silent for a moment, and then turned around; seeing Red, Leaf, Blue, and my Mom approach us. "Well... there's only one way to find out?" said Red. We blinked our eyes, and then both Yuya and I turned to each other. Once we realized what he meant, we smirked at each other. "Well, Tay? What do you say? You wanna battle?" he asked me. I nodded my head yes to his request. "Yeah. Let's do it." I said. We smiled happily and did an arm bump. "Now that's the spirit. Come on, we know the perfect spot that you two can battle on." Blue replied. "And where would that be?" Zach replied curiously. "You'll see. Follow us." he replied. After that, we packed up all of our stuff, went back to the beach house, changed into our normal clothes, and went into the Vermilion Battle Stadium.

Vermilion Battle Stadium

"Here it is. The Vermilion Battle Stadium." said Blue. "Whoa..." my group replied in awe as we walked inside. "Mhm. This closed dome stadium will be perfect for this battle. It has been the perfect training area in the city for many years. Many Gym Leaders from around the world come here to practice and hone their skills against each other." Blue replied. "Wow..." Pat and Sora replied in awe. After that, we walked down to the stadium floor, and then Yuya and I walked onto the field; taking our sides. "Hey, Yuya! How many Pokémon do you want to use for this battle?" I asked him. "Two's fine with me. How about you?" he replied. "Sure. That's fine by me." I replied. "Alright! Now let's get this underway! Go, Scyther!" he replied as he took out a PokéBall, threw it up in the air, watched it open, and then saw Scyther appear on the field.

"Scyther!" said Scyther. "Starting it off with Scyther, eh? Okay! Go, Beedrill!" I replied as I took out Beedrill's PokéBall, threw it up in the air, watched it open, and saw Beedrill appear on the battlefield. "Bee-drill!" said Beedrill. "Alright! Tay's using her Beedrill!" Pat replied happily. "Oh this is going to be good!" Celina replied. "Yeah! A Bug type match-up! This is going to be good!" Zach replied. "Taylor! Yuya! Good luck! Give it your all!" Zuzu cheered. Yuya and I smirked confidently at each other, and then saw Scyther and Beedrill prepare themselves to fight. "Alright! Battle, begin!" said Blue.

Battle! Taylor vs. Yuya!

"Scyther! Air Slash!" said Yuya. "Scy! Scy-ther!" Scyther replied as he used the attack. "Dodge it!" I replied. "Beedrill!" Beedrill replied as he dodged the attack. "Use Swords Dance!" I replied. "Drill! Bee-drill!" Beedrill replied as it used the attack; increasing his attack power. "Swords Dance, huh? So that's how she's going to start it off. Scyther! Use Slash!" Yuya replied. "Scy! Scy-ther! Scy! Ther! Scy! Ther! Scy! Ther!" Scyther replied as he used the attack, and watched Beedrill dodge the attack for a moment, and then get hit. "Beedrill! Poison Jab!" I replied. "Drill! Bee-drill!" Beedrill replied as his stingers glew purple and hit Scyther with attack. "Scy-ther!" cried Scyther. "Ah! Scyther!" Yuya replied in shock. "Now use Twineddle!" I replied. "Beedrill! Bee-drill!" Beedrill replied as he used the attack multiple times on Scyther; pushing him away.

"Whoa! That was fast!" said Sora. "Yeah! I haven't seen Beedrill act that fast before." Pat replied. "He retaliated from Scyther's Slash faster than anyone that I've known!" Celina replied. Scyther and Beedrill backed off from each other for a moment, flew up in mid air, and then clashed with each other; showing off their strength. "X-Scissor!" said me and Yuya. Our Pokémon let out their battle cries, and used the attack on each other. After they were hit, they fell down from the air and landed on the field. As everyone stayed silent, Scyther stood up slowly, walked over to Beedrill, and saw him still laying on the ground. He blinked his eyes, and tried to poke him to see if he was awake. As one of his scythes got close, one of Beedrill's stingers hit Scyther in his gut. "Scy!" said Scyther surprised. "What!?" Yuya replied in shock.

Scyther stepped back, looked at Beedrill, saw him slowly stand up, and then lift up his head; showing off his glowing red eyes. "Scy!" said Scyther in shock. "Ah! What is that!?" Yuya replied. "Outrage!" I replied. "Drill! Bee-drill! Bee! Drill! Bee! Drill! Bee-drill!" Beedrill replied as he used the attack; hitting Scyther multiple times. "Scyther!" cried Scyther. "Scyther!" Yuya replied worriedly. Beedrill stopped the attack, and then began to breathe heavily. "Scy..? Scyther?" said Scyther curiously. He got back up, looked back at Yuya, and then nodded his head to him. Yuya nodded his head too, and then looked at Beedrill. "Ready, Scyther?" he said. "Scy!" Scyther replied. "Alright! Finish him off with Air Slash!" he replied. "Scy! Scy-ther!" Scyther replied as he used the attack and watched it hit Beedrill. "Bee-drill!" cried Beedrill. "Beedrill!" I replied worriedly. Beedrill was pushed back from the attack, quickly fell to the ground, and stopped moving his wings.

Scyther gently landed back down on the ground, looked at Beedrill, saw that he had fainted, and then raised one of his scythes up in the air. "Scy-Scyther!" he said. "Alright! You did it, Scyther! You did it!" Yuya cheered happily. "Scyther! Scy-Scyther!" he replied happily. After they cheered, Scyther then helped Beedrill get back up on his feet, and walked him back over to me. "Whoa... check it out..." said Zuzu. "Yeah... whoever thought Scyther can be so noble?" Zach replied. Scyther helped Beedrill sit down by my side, and then looked at me. As we locked eyes, he saw a burning flame of battle burn and shine in my eyes. When he saw that flame, he felt his spirit of battle burn as well. He blinked his eyes, nodded his head to me, and then walked back to Yuya; seeing a look on his face. "Scyther? You okay?" he asked him. He nodded his head, showed off his battle pose, turned and pointed at me, turned back, and then touched his chest; pointing at his heart.

"Scyther..? Are you telling me that she has the same passion of fighting as you?" Yuya asked him. He nodded his head yes to him, and then turned back to me. As he did this, Yuya began to see and realize the similarities that Scyther and I have when it comes to Pokémon battles. After seeing that, he snapped back into reality, smiled warmly, and then motioned his hand to him. "Scyther! Return!" he said. "Scy? Scyther?" Scyther replied curiously. He walked over to him, and then saw him heal him with a Super Potion. "Thank you, Scyther. Your performance was incredible. You showed her what you can do. But now its time for you to watch and see what she can do. Now. Are you ready to see what she has up next?" he said. "Scy." Scyther replied as he nodded his head. He walked back onto the field, and saw me return Beedrill back to his PokéBall. "Thank you, Beedrill. You were great out there. Now take a good rest." I said. I put his Ball away and took out another PokéBall.

I blinked my eyes, took a deep breath, and then looked back at Scyther. "This is it. Time to show them your fiery power and blazing spirit! Dragonfire! I choose you!" I said as I threw the PokéBall up in the air, watched it open, and saw Dragonfire appear on the field. He let out a mighty roar, flapped his wings, and flew in mid air; ready to fight. "Oh! There he is!" Zach replied. "Mhm. And he's all fired up." Celina replied. Dragonfire blew out a little flame from his mouth, and then looked down at Scyther. "Scy-ther..." said Scyther. Dragonfire growled, and then watched Scyther fly up in the air; ready to fight. "So there he is. Alright, Scyther! Use Air Slash!" said Yuya. "Scy! Scy-ther!" Scyther replied as he used the attack. As it came close, Dragonfire dodged it without my command; leaving everyone in shock. I smirked at their reactions and then pointed at Scyther. "Dragonfire! Dual Wingbeat!" I said. He roared loudly and used Dual Wingbeat on Scyther; damaging him. "Ah!" said Yuya worriedly.

"Now use Flamethrower!" I replied. Dragonfire roared again, and used the attack; hitting Scyther with ease. "Scy-ther!" cried Scyther as he fell and landed on the ground. "Scyther!" Yuya replied worriedly. Dragon fire looked down at Scyther, watched him struggle to stand back up, and then saw him faint. He then roared loudly to the ceiling; showing off his victory cry. Yuya returned Scyther to his Ball, and then looked down at it. "Great work, Scyther. You were amazing. Now take a good rest." he said. He put Scyther's Ball away and took out a second PokéBall. He looked down on it, saw the fire stickers that he put on it, smiled, and then looked back at me. "I have to admit to you, Tay. Your Charizard is strong." he said. "Thanks." I replied. "Heh. No problem. But now... it's time for him to face the star of our show! A Pokémon that knows how to turn up the heat and blaze the stage with all its glory! Ladies and Gentlemen! I, Yuya Sakaki, proudly introduce to you: Charizard!" he replied as he threw the PokéBall, watched it open, and saw his Charizard appear in mid air after flying around the field; surrounded by fire. He roared loudly, and saw Dragonfire looking at him; waiting to see what he can do.

"Here we go..." said Pat. "Battle of the Charizard..." Zach replied. Red looked at them silently, and then looked to his Charizard on his right; seeing him watching closely. He blinked his eyes, and then looked at his little brother; hoping to see what he has learned from him. "Ready, Charizard?" said Yuya. His Charizard nodded his head and roared; ready to fight. "Alright! Let's start it off with Flamethrower!" he said. He roared and used the attack. "Dodge it!" I said. Dragonfire roared and dodged with ease. "Whoa!" said Yuya surprised. "Dragon Claw!" I replied. Dragonfire roared, flew down towards Yuya's Charizard, and used the attack; pushing him back with brute force. He shook off the pain, and roared at Dragonfire. Dragonfire stared at him intensely, and prepared himself for the next attack. "Whoa! He's fast!" said Blue. "And really strong!" Leaf replied. "Yep. That's why he's the heavy hitter of the trio. Tetrax is fast and agile. Aurasoul is the mixed attacker. And Dragonfire is the powerhouse. When they fight together... they are unstoppable." Red replied.

Blue and Leaf nodded their heads in agreement, and then saw Yuya's Charizard start his next attack. "Charizard! Dragon Pulse!" said Yuya. He roared and used the attack; hitting Dragonfire. He roared excitedly, and then saw Dragonfire appear from the smoke with no injuries. He blinked his eyes, spat out a little flame, and smirked at him. I smirked as well, and pointed at Charizard. "Alright, Dragonfire! Let's bring the heat with this one! Ancient Power!" I said. Everyone's eyes widened in shock after I said that; wondering how did he learn this. Dragonfire roared loudly, summoned ancient rocks around him with glowing green energy, and launched them at Charizard. "Charizard! Dodge it, quick!" said Yuya. Charizard began to dodge the attack, but was hit a few seconds later. "Oh! What a hit!" said Sora. "It's super effective!" Celina replied.

Charizard fell back from the attack, growled, and then roared at Dragonfire. Dragonfire roared back, and was prepared to strike. "Dragon Pulse!" said Yuya. "Dragon Claw!" I replied. Both our Charizard's roared loudly, charged up their attacks, and began their attacks. Dragonfire spun around the Dragon Pulse, showed off his glowing green claws, and then slashed Charizard. As he came back to my side, he watched his opponent shake off the pain and clutch one of his fists. He blinked his eyes, and then saw electricity form around it. His eyes lightly widened to this, and then got into a defensive pose. "Alright, Charizard! Use Thunder Punch!" said Yuya. Charizard roared, dashed towards Dragonfire, and used the attack; hitting the back of one of his wings. After it ended, Charizard flew back a couple feet, and tried to get away. "Oh no you don't! Dragonfire! Grab him!" I said. He roared and grabbed Charizard by his tail; shocking him and Yuya. "Now! Spin him around and create a fiery tornado with your tail!" I replied.

He roared loudly, spun Charizard around, and used the fire on his tail to create a fiery tornado around them. "Whoa!" said Pat. "Look at that!" Sora replied. "Amazing... I never knew they could do that..." Zuzu replied. "Yeah. You might wanna write that down, Zuzu. Maybe Vulpix can do that too while spinning around, just like Milotic with Whirlpool." Celina replied. "Yeah. What do you think, Vulpix? You wanna try that out with your Fire Spin soon?" she replied. "Vul!" Vulpix replied happily. After that, the tornado disappeared, and Dragonfire threw Charizard down to the ground. "Charizard!" said Yuya worriedly. The dust settled, and revealed that Charizard had fainted. Dragonfire let out a victory cry for a moment, and then saw Charizard slowly wake up and try to stand back up. He flew down to him and extended his paw to him.

Charizard's eyes lightly widened to this, and then he took his paw. Dragonfire helped him back up on his feet, and stared at Charizard's red and green eyes. After a moment of silence, they lightly smiled at each other and did a fist bump; showing their respect to one another. They put their paws away, and then saw me and Yuya walking upto them. "Charizard... you alright?" said Yuya. Charizard made a little sound and nodded his head; confirming that he is okay. Yuya smiled warmly at him, and then turned to me; seeing me check on Dragonfire's condition. "Hey, Tay?" he said. "Hm?" I replied curiously. He walked over to me and extended his hand. "Congratulations. You beat me. Well done." he said. I blinked my eyes, shook his hand, and lightly smiled at him. "Thank you, Yuya. You were a great opponent." I said.

"Hehe. Thanks. You know? I have to admit it to you. You and Dragonfire looked like you were in complete sync with each other." he replied. "Thanks. So you were you and your Charizard. You two looked like you both have complete faith and trust in each other." I replied. "Really?" he replied curiously. I nodded my head yes to his question. He blinked his eyes and smiled happily to me. We ended the handshake, and saw everyone walk upto us. "Taylor. Yuya. Congratulations on a good battle." said Red. "Thank you, Red." Yuya replied. "Yeah! You two were incredible!" Sora replied happily. "Thank you, Sora." I replied happily. "You guys were awesome! The blazing power of both your Charizard's was a beautiful sight to see!" Zuzu replied happily. "Aww~ Thank you, Zuzu!" Yuya replied happily. She smiled happily at him and then hugged us; making us smile.

After celebrating, we got our Pokémon healed up and began to leave the stadium. As we almost left the area, Yuya saw a trading device nearby. "Huh? Hey guys! Look over there!" he said. We all turned to where he was looking and saw the device for the first time. "Whoa... what is that?" said Sora curiously. "It's a Trade Machine." Pat replied. "A Trade Machine?" he replied. "Yeah. It's a device that you would see in Pokémon Centers and Trade events. It allows you to trade Pokémon with your friends and Trainers alike. People mostly use it to trade for Pokémon that they have never caught before." Pat replied. "Really!? That's so cool!" he replied happily. Pat nodded his head happily, and we walked over to the device for the first time. "Yuya? How come you wanted us to walk over here?" Celina asked him. "Because something clicked in my mind during the battle with Tay." he replied. "Huh? What clicked?" she replied curiously.

"You see... when Scyther returned Beedrill back to Tay... he felt a connection with her somehow." he replied. "A connection?" Zuzu replied. "Mhm. A spiritual connection. He felt a burning passion of battling in her when he locked eyes with her; seeing that she has the same passion of battles just like he does." he replied. "Really? He told you from that?" Celina replied. He nodded his head yes to her question, showed a light smile, and then walked over to one side of the machine. He then took out Scyther's PokéBall, and made him appear in front of us. "Scyther." he said. He then looked at the Trade Machine, and then to me. "Scy. Scyther." he said. He then walked over to me, and stared at me again. We locked eyes silently, and felt the same fighting spirit that Yuya had mentioned again. "Scy-ther..." he said. I stared at him silently, and then smirked at him; making him do the same.

"Whoa... he's right. They literally feel the same energy deep inside of each other..." said Zach. "Amazing..." Pat replied. After a moment of silence, Scyther then walked back to Yuya and stood by the Trade Machine. "Yuya..? Are you sure about this? You really want Scyther to go with Tay?" Zuzu asked. "Yeah. I'm 100% sure about it. I know that because I trust him and his feelings. He knew that ever since I caught him that I really didn't have the same fighting spirit as he does. Then when I showed him videos of Tay's and Celina's battles... he was very interested in Tay's battling style. To see her and her team combine moves in a way that has never been done before, it filled him up with excitement. So I knew that when we would meet up again and battle her, I hoped that he saw the same fighting spirit he has in her and one day fight by her side." he replied.

"Scy-ther." Scyther replied as he nodded his head in agreement. "Whoa..." Sora and Pat replied. "That's amazing, Yuya..." Celina replied. "Yeah. It is. You understood Scyther's feelings and his passion for battle. That's one of the things of being a Pokémon Trainer. Once you fully understand your Pokémon's and wishes, you would do anything in the world to make them happy." Zuzu replied. Yuya smiled and nodded his head in agreement to her response. He then turned to me, and saw me looking at him. "So, Tay? What do you say? You wanna trade our Pokémon?" he asked me. I was surprised for a moment, then I calmed down, smiled, and nodded my head yes to him. "Sure." I said. He smiled at me happily, and then watched me walk to the other side of the device. "And I know just the Pokémon to trade you." I said.

I put the PokéBall on my side of the device, watched it scan it, and reveal the Pokémon on the screen. "What!? You're trading Clefairy!?" said Zuzu surprised. "Mhm. Remember when we were in Mt. Moon?" I replied. "Yeah..?" she replied curiously. "While we were walking around, I was searching for a Clefairy to catch for Yuya." I replied. "What!?" she replied. "It's true, Zuzu. I asked Tay to catch a Clefairy for me. When I talked to her privately, I asked her to find and catch Clefairy for me to perform in the Contest." Yuya replied. "Really?" she replied. We nodded our heads yes to her question. We then turned to Scyther and saw him looking at us. "Scyther. I promise you with all my heart that Tay will take very good care of you and help you unleash your true strength in battle. And I know that you will be a great Pokémon to her." said Yuya. "Scy. Scy-Scyther." Scyther replied as he nodded his head. They shared a hug, let go, and then Yuya returned him to his PokéBall. He put it on his side of the device, watched it scan it, and reveal Scyther on screen.

"Ready, Yuya?" I asked him. "Yeah. I'm ready." he replied. After that, we hit the trade buttons on our sides of the device, and watched the trade process go through and complete itself. We picked up the PokéBalls, smiled at them, and then at each other. "Scyther has been registered to your PokéDex." said my Phone. "Clefairy has been registered to your PokéDex." said Yuya's Phone. We threw the PokéBalls up in the air, watched them open, and saw both Scyther and Clefairy appear. "Cle-fairy!" said Clefairy happily. "Hi there, Clefairy. My name is Yuya, and I am your new Trainer." Yuya replied as he knelt down to her. "Clef? Clefairy!" she replied happily. She spun around with glee and gently flew in mid air; making Yuya smile. He gently hugged her as she landed in his arms, and then they turned to me and Scyther.

"Hey there, Scyther. I'm glad to have you on my team." I said. "Scy. Scy! Scyther!" he replied as he did poses. "Hehe. Looks like Scyther fits right into your team perfectly." Yuya replied. "He sure does. And same goes to your Clefairy. She looks like she fits in for your team and the Contest." I replied. "Clef!" Clefairy replied happily. I smiled happily at her, and then gently patted her head; making her happy. I stopped patting her, and then saw her look up at me. "Clefairy? I want you to give it your all in the Contest. I know with your charm and cuteness that you will swoon the audience, just like Zuzu's team. So do your best and show your opponents that your charm will overwhelm them." I said. She smiled widely and nodded her head happily; making me smile. After that, we left the building and went back to my beach house; preparing for the Contest dinner.

Vermilion Harbor- Sunset

"Whoa..." me and group said in awe. We walked along the harbor and made our way to the entrance of the S.S. Anne. "Wow... it's huge..." said Sora. "Yeah..." Pat replied. "It feel like we just warped into a movie and the ship is the set..." Zuzu replied. We nodded our heads in agreement, and then saw Yuya's parents by the entrance. "Mom! Dad!" said Yuya. They turned around and saw us run upto them. "Ah. There you kids are. We've been waiting for you." said Mr. Sakaki. "Really?" Yuya replied as he watched his Dad ruffle his hair a bit. "We sure have. Come on in. The dinner is about to begin." Mrs. Sakaki replied. "Alright! I'm starving!" Sora replied happily. After that, we went inside the ship, got our tickets checked, and then went to the big dining room.

S.S. Anne- Dining Room

We walked inside and saw many Trainers and Pokémon for the first time. "Whoa... that's a lot of people..." said Celina. "Not really. Most of the people here are guests of the Contestants for the show." Mr. Sakaki replied. "So, Dad? How many people are performing?" Yuya replied. "About 20 people are performing as far as I know." he replied. "Ah. Okay. Speaking of Contestants. Has that Aaron guy made it here safely?" Yuya replied. My eyes quickly widened in shock to hear Aaron's name from Yuya, and I very quickly began to panic. Mrs. Sakaki quickly noticed my face turning pale, and quietly dragged me away from the group. "Actually... he has. He just arrived a couple hours ago and is getting accustomed to the area." said Mr. Sakaki. "That's great! I can't wait to meet him!" Yuya replied. "Yeah! Me too!" Zuzu replied happily. "Haha. Don't you worry, you two. You both will get to meet him soon. I promise." Mr. Sakaki replied.

He looked out behind the group and saw me and Mrs. Sakaki return; wondering where we just went. After that, Yuya and Zuzu went to the Contestants table and sat down with their competitors; while me and the others sat down at one of the guest tables. As we watched them pick out their food and drinks from the buffet, we saw Aura, Gong, Reed, and Sylvio for the first time and watched them chat with Yuya and Zuzu. As this happened, Celina and Sora saw someone that they recognized over at the buffet for the first time. "Huh..? No way... is that..?" said Celina. "You see him too, Celina?" Sora replied. "Yeah." she replied. "Huh? That guy over there with the bright red curly hair and that beauty mark on his face?" Pat replied curiously. "Yeah. That's Dennis McField. He's one of our friends at the Academy." Sora replied. We stared at Dennis silently and watched him sit down with Yuya and Zuzu.

"But why is he here? Is he performing in the Contest too?" Celina replied. "Yeah. He has to be. But what Pokémon does he have makes him stand out from the others?" Zach replied. "Well..." she replied. "He has Mr. Mime. That's one of his best Pokémon." Sora replied. "Mr. Mime?" Pat replied curiously. "Mhm. Here. I'll show you its Dex entry." Sora replied as he took out his Phone and activated his PokéDex. "Mr. Mime, the Barrier Pokémon. A Psychic and Fairy type, and the evolved form of Mime Jr.. It is an expert at miming and loves to perform. It is said to slap around anyone who disturbs it with its broad hands." said Sora's PokéDex. "Huh? That's crazy. It can stop molecules in the air with its hands and create an invisible wall?" Zach replied curiously. "Mhm. It does that a lot. But when they battle... they are deadly together." Celina replied. "Great... now we know who not to mess with." Pat replied. We nodded our heads in agreement, and then we were handed our food and drinks from the waiters and waitresses. We thanked them kindly, and began to eat our dinner. As we ate, we looked at the stage and saw both Mr. Boyle and Mr. Sakaki up there in front of the microphone.

"Good evening, Coordinators and established guests. Welcome to the annual Vermilion Contest dinner on the beautiful S.S. Anne. On behalf of all the members of the Pokémon Contest organization, we hope that you enjoy the time you have here in Vermilion City. We know how long you and your Pokémon have been preparing for this event. Practicing every skill and technique that will awe the crowd and the judges. We can see and tell how much this Contest means to you. Whether this will be your first Ribbon, or one Ribbon close enough to the Masters contest. For some, this is the first time that you have traveled outside of your home region. Though it may be scary, but we promise you that you will feel right at home on the stage and show off the love and passion of your region and Pokémon that no one has ever seen before. But tonight, this is where you kick back, relax, and get to know your fellow Coordinators." said Mr. Sakaki. "And then when the Contest begins in the next five days... you will show them and the world your true power and potential! Not only as Coordinators, but as Pokémon Trainers!" Mr. Boyle replied.

The audience clapped after their speech, and continued their dinner. As everyone ate and talked, I looked around silently and saw a couple Sailors walk outside. I quietly stood up from my chair, and followed them to the bow of the ship.

S.S. Anne- Bow

I took a couple steps outside, felt the salty breeze pass by as the ship smoothly moved across the sea, and then saw the Sailors there again; talking to the Captain. I don't know why I decided to follow them, but something in my gut told me to follow them. I hid behind a wall and began to listen to their conversation. "Captain? Have you heard the news?" said one of the Sailors. "What news?" the Captain replied. "About the ship that went missing a few weeks back. The researchers found out what caused the ship to sink." the Sailor replied. "They did? What caused it?" the Captain replied. "It was a Pokémon called Dhelmise." another Sailor replied. "Dhelmise?" the Captain replied. "Yes, sir. It is a Pokémon that is known to knock out Wailord's in a single blow." the second Sailor replied. "What!? It can KO Wailord's in a single blow!? How is that possible?" the Captain replied.

"We don't know, sir. But we thought we should let you know before the sailing with the most elite and wealthy passengers tomorrow. We, the other Sailors, and the Coast Guard will be on the lookout for it in case it ever appears." the first Sailor replied. The Captain blinked his eyes, and nodded his head to them. "Alright. Thank you both for telling me about this news. I will let everyone on the ship know tomorrow before we set sail. Now return to your stations. It's time we return our guests back to the harbor." he said. "Yes, sir!" the Sailors replied. After that, they left the bow and went back inside the ship. I walked out of my hiding spot and went to the edge of the bow. I stared out to the sea and the starry sky above me; thinking about what the Captain and the Sailors were talking about. As I thought about it, a powerful force suddenly clicked in my head; causing a migraine. I screamed in pain for a moment and went down to my knee; holding my head in pain.

"Humans! Leave this place! This part of the sea is not meant for you! If you don't leave, I will bring you and your Ship down to the depths of the sea and watch you become part of us!" said a voice. I screamed in pain again, and then the voice disappeared. I sat down on the floor and began to breathe heavily. I let my head go from my hands, and slowly began to stand up, but I quickly stumbled and fell down. "Tay!" yelled a voice worriedly. I slowly blinked my eyes, saw a couple feet running towards me, and then I passed out.

Taylor's Family Beach House- The Next Morning

I slowly opened my eyes, rubbed them, and then looked around the room; seeing that I wasn't on the ship anymore. "H-Huh? What happened? How did I get here to my room?" I said to myself. I slowly sat up, and saw my Pokémon looking at me worriedly. "Hey, guys." I said. "Pika-Pi." Tetrax replied. He then walked over to me and nuzzled me; making sure that I am okay. I lightly smiled, hugged him, and then petted him. "Hey... I'm okay now. I promise." I said. "Pika-chu..." he replied. We ended the hug, and then was comforted by everyone else. After that, I got off my bed, and slowly walked out of my room, down the stairs, and went to the kitchen; seeing Mom and Red looking at me. "Hi." I said. "Hey, Sis." Red replied. He stood up, walked over to me, and gave me a hug. "How are you feeling?" Mom asked as we ended the hug. "Okay I guess. I don't remember how I got home though?" I replied. "Your friends brought you back here last night while you were passed out. They told us the found you at the bow of the ship laying down in pain." Red replied.

"I was?" I replied curiously as we sat down at the table. "Yeah. They said when you were on the floor, you weren't in good shape." Mom replied. "Really? How bad was I? Was I pale or anything?" I replied. "Mhm. You were pale all over your face." she replied as we picked out our breakfast. As we set our plates, we heard a couple doors open. We turned to the living room entrance and saw my friends walk into the kitchen and see us. "Hey. Look who's awake." said Pat. "Hey, guys." I replied. "Morning. How you feeling, bud?" Zach replied as he and the others sat with us. "I feel better than last night." I replied. "That's good. Speaking of which. What happened to you last night? We were searching for you after you took off and found you at the front of the ship. Did you get sick from the food or something?" he replied.

I blinked my eyes, and then I began to remember the Dhelmise conversation from last night and the voice I heard in my head. "...No... I wasn't sick. I... I heard a couple sailors and the captain talk about something." I replied. "Huh?" everyone replied curiously. "During the dinner last night, I saw a couple sailors walking around nervously and left the room. So, I followed them to the front of the ship, saw them talk to the captain, and heard them mention a Pokémon called Dhelmise." I replied. "Dhelmise? What is that?" Yuya replied curiously. "I'll check it out." Celina replied. She took out her Phone and activated her PokéDex. "Dhelmise, the Sea Creeper Pokémon. A Ghost and Grass type. This Pokémon came to be after a piece of seaweed merged with debris from a sunken ship. Swinging its massive anchor, it can KO Wailord in a single blow and drain their life force." said Celina's PokéDex. Our eyes widened in shock to the entry and we looked at each other in fear.

"So... that was the Pokémon they were talking about..?" Pat asked nervously. "Mhm. And they also said that one caused a ship that looked like the S.S. Anne to sink a few weeks ago." I replied. "What!?" my Mom and Red replied in shock; surprising us. "Taylor? Are you sure? Did they say that with their own mouths?" my Mom asked me. I nodded my head yes to her question, and then we watched her turn on the kitchen TV; seeing the news.

"And now an update on the sunken ship story that we broke here a few weeks ago. Today, the Coast Guard has informed the public that they have found the culprit that sunk the ship. They have confirmed this when investigating the pieces they have recovered that is was done by a Pokémon called Dhelmise. These Pokémon are known to be very territorial in areas where sunken ships lay in the depths of the ocean, and are known to attack ships that come across their homes; sinking them and making new homes for their species. As the S.S. Anne began its voyage earlier today, the Coast Guards of every region around the world will be on alert for any signs of Dhelmise and properly remove them from the ship if they do come close and attack." said a newsman reporting behind a desk. Mom then turned off the TV, and then looked at us.

"Okay... at least the Coast Guard is getting involved. Right?" said Sora. "Yeah. But the question is do they have the right Pokémon to take down Dhelmise?" Celina replied. "Who knows..? But what will happen if Dhelmise does attack the ship? How will they rescue everyone?" Zach replied. "They better have a lot of water rafts and Pokémon that can fly and swim. Because if they don't... they will all be seafood to the Pokémon that live in the ocean." Red replied. Me and my friends looked at each other nervously after he said that. After that, we went outside and sat by the pool for about an hour. "So? Do we have any idea who's going to be on the ship?" said Zach. "Well... according to the news website, it's a lot of very rich and wealthy people." Zuzu replied. "Rich people? Like... the "elite" rich people?" he replied. She nodded her head yes to his question.

"Man... they must've paid a good amount of money to go on a year-long cruise." Pat replied. "Yeah. They do that in order to escape their big businesses and leave everyone who is not as wealthy as them to deal with the messes and damages at their companies until they return next year." Celina replied. "Really? That's very selfish of them." Sora replied. "Mhm." we replied as we nodded our heads in agreement. "Wait a minute... guys. Look at this. Isn't that the rich kid and her family that live in our town?" Yuya replied as he saw a photo and showed it to us. "Oh yeah! It is her! Rose, right?" Zuzu replied. "Yeah. The one with very light pink hair. Rose Donahue." he replied. "Who's she?" Sora replied. "Rose? She's the rich girl at our school who actually doesn't brag about her family lifestyle." Celina replied. "Yeah. She's a really nice person to talk too every once in a while, but she is always surrounded by her posse who only stay with her because of the money." Pat replied.

"Ah. So her "friends" try to make her do what they want instead of what she wants." Sora replied. We nodded our heads in agreement, and then looked at Rose's family in the picture. "And then there's her parents and siblings. Her Mom is the CEO of the Silph Company, and her Dad and two older brothers own the Safari Zone." said Zuzu as she showed them to Sora. "Whoa... are they nice people too?" he replied curiously. "Yeah... only in the papers." Pat replied as he crossed his arms. "Ah... I get it. They're the typical "I'm the boss, and I can say and do whatever I want" type, right?" he replied. "Yep. You got it right on the nose." Pat replied. "Ivy-saur." Pat's Ivysaur replied. "Kids! Come on upstairs! Lunch is ready!" said my Mom. After that, we went upstairs and ate some lunch together for a bit.

As we ate, we saw Red walk down to the kitchen with his bags; knowing now that he has to head back to the League. "Red? You're leaving?" my Mom asked. "Mhm. As much as I want to stay here... the Elite 4 need me to face any challengers that are coming soon." he replied. Mom sadly nodded her head in understanding, and then gave him a hug. "Bye, sweetheart. I love you." she said. "Bye, Mom. I love you too." he replied. They ended the hug, and then he walked over to me, and ruffled my hair a bit. I lightly laughed happily, stood up, and gave him a hug. "Bye, Red. I'll miss you." I said. "Bye, Sis. I'll miss you too. Make sure to keep me updated on your Gym Challenge and the Pokémon you catch." he replied. "I will." I replied. We ended the hug, and then looked at the group as they looked at us. "And as for you guys... make sure that she doesn't do anything crazy, okay?" he said. "We will." Zach replied. "Yeah. We'll keep her under control." Celina replied.

"Thank you. Alright. I'll see you all sometime soon. Yuya, Zuzu, I wish you the best of luck in the Contest." he replied. "Thank you, Red." Yuya and Zuzu replied. After that, Red left the house with his team, and began his travel back to the League. After that, we finished our lunch and sat down in the living room. "So... what do you guys want to do now?" said Pat. "We could go to the beach again and relax for the day?" Zuzu replied. "Yeah. That's a good idea. Plus, it will help Yuya and Zuzu relax for a couple days before the Contest starts." Zach replied. We nodded our heads in agreement, grabbed our beach stuff, and went off to the beach together. As we walked there, my head suddenly began to feel pain again; making me drop my stuff on the ground. "Huh!? Tay! What's going on!?" said Zuzu worriedly as she and the group turned around and saw me drop to my knees in pain. I held my head in my hands again and screamed in pain.

"Tay! Tay! What's going on with you!? Who's doing this to you?" said Zach as he and the group knelt down to me. I growled in pain, and then heard a voice in my head. "So..? You humans have not listened to my warning. Very well then. I have no choice but to make learn the same lesson that your ancestors had to learn so long ago..." said the voice. After that, the voice faded away, and then I returned to normal. I let go of my head and screamed in shock; scaring the group. "Ah! What! Tay! What happened!?" Celina replied worriedly. "That voice! It was Dhelmise!" I replied. "What!?" the group replied in shock. "That voice was the one that knocked me out last night. Dhelmise was speaking to me. It wanted me to be its messenger to everyone on the ship. But it knocked me out before I had the chance to warn anyone." I replied. "No way..." Zach replied worriedly. "Tay? Where did you here its voice?" Yuya replied. "At the beach. Far off under the sea." I replied as I pointed towards the beach.

We looked out to the beach in fear, and then we heard a sound in the distance. Pat quickly took out a pair of binoculars, and saw something out in the distance. "Oh no..." he said. "What!? What is it!?" Zach replied worriedly. "The ship... I see it in the distance!" he replied as he took the binoculars off his eyes and put them away. Our eyes widened in fear, and then a moment later... we heard a loud bang at the beach. "Oh no!" most of us said in fear. We then ran over to the beach as fast as we could.

Vermilion Beach

Screams of the people on the beach echoed in the air. Shocked and scared looks were on their faces as lifeguards and members of the Coast Guard blew their whistles; trying to maintain the crowd. "Everyone! Please! Get back!" said one lifeguard. "Everyone! Move back! This is a dangerous situation! Please! Move back for your own safety!" a member of the Coast Guard replied. As the crowd was being contained, me and the group went up on the rocks and looked out to sea. "Oh no... this ain't good... the ship is sinking!" said Zach. "Yeah. But... who or what would do this?" Yuya replied. "...Dhelmise. I bet that's who did this." Celina replied. "You think so, Celina?" Yuya replied. "Yeah. If the ship had indeed sailed over its territory... Dhelmise would swim up and destroy other ships and take pieces of them to make more of them..." she replied.

We looked out to sea in silence, heard the crowd talk about the ship in murmurs, and then heard screams far off in the distance. My eyes widened in shock to the screams, and then I quickly took out Tsunami's Dive Ball, threw it up in the air, watched it open, saw him appear in the water, and then jumped up on his back. "Huh!? Tay!? What are you doing!?" said Pat. "I'm going to do what a Guardian's supposed to do: save lives." I replied. Tsunami then roared loudly, and then we began our journey to the ship. "She's right. It's in her blood to go out and save people and Pokémon from disasters like this... but this time, she's not doing it alone! Go, Tentacruel!" Celina replied as she took out a PokéBall, threw it up in the air, watched it open, and saw Tentacruel appear. "Ten-ta-cruel." said Tentacruel. Celina jumped up on its head, and then looked out to the group. "Come on, guys! We gotta get moving!" she said. "Right! Milotic! Come on out!" Zuzu replied as she made her Milotic appear from her PokéBall, and saw her in the water.

"Mi-lo." she said. She then allowed Zuzu, Yuya, and Sora to climb on her back; while Tentacruel allowed Zach and Pat to join Celina with it. "Alright! Let's go!" said Zuzu. "Right!" the group replied. After that, they then began their journey to the ship; seeing me and Tsunami lead the frontline.

Vermilion Sea- S.S. Anne wreckage

The sounds of passengers, crew members, and Pokémon echoed in the air as the ship slowly began to sink. Members of the Coast Guard brought along their strongest Water-type Pokémon alongside life rafts to get them to safety. As they did this, Rose and her family were up next to get on their life raft. "Alright! Everyone, get on! You're all safe now!" said a member of the Coast Guard. She and her family got on safely, were lowered down to the water, and then looked around in fear. "See, dear? I told you that I had a bad feeling about taking our annual cruise this year." said Rose's mother. "Well it's not my fault that this is happening!" Rose's father replied. "Yes it is! The Captain warned you about this an hour ago, and you refused to listen to him!" she replied. "That's preposterous! I have never said such a thing!" he replied. "Yes you did, Father! We all heard you yell at the Captain and told him to ignore it in order to get to our vacation home faster!" Rose replied.

Her family was stunned to hear her say that out in the open. "What!? So all of this happening is your fault!?" said an elderly rich man. "Oh, how despicable!" his wife replied. "No! This wasn't my fault!" Rose's father replied. "Oh, really? Then who's is it? Who decided to impatiently tried to bribe the Captain of the ship after being warned many times of not listening of the Dhelmise situation?" another rich man replied. He was completely stunned and shocked to see all the elite rich people that he had known for years had put him in his place; realizing his impatience and arrogance have taken over him. Before he said a word, the raft hit from below and split in half; shocking and scaring everyone on board. As it broke, Rose screamed in fear and then felt something wrap around her ankle.

"Ah! Mother! Father! Help me! Something's got me!" she screamed. "Rose!" her mother replied in fear. "Hang on, Rose! I'm coming!" her father replied. She kept on screaming, and then was dragged to the water and pulled under. "Rose!" her family screamed in fear. As this happened, I saw her go underwater and I growled in anger. Tsunami saw this too, roared loudly, and then we dove underwater to go and catch upto her. "You guys saw that, right?" said Celina. "Yeah! Let's help her out! Milotic! Use Whirlpool on where Rose was taken!" Zuzu replied. "Milo! Mi-lo-tic!" she replied as she used the attack on where Rose was taken; opening up the pathway for her to breathe. When she began to struggle a bit, she saw the Whirlpool open up and revealed sunlight.

She coughed out some seawater, looked around, and then saw Dhelmise for the first time; staring at her with its glowing eye. She screamed in fear as it tried dragging her away from the Whirlpool, but then all of a sudden... Dhelmise was hit by Dragon Rage. It screamed in pain and let Rose go. She fell onto the sand, looked up, and saw a few Coast Guard members looking down to her. "Wh-What? How did this happen? Who saved me?" she said. She looked around nervously, and then saw Dhelmise appear from the water. She screamed in fear at the sight of it, and watched it begin to use its signature move, Anchor Shot. She closed her eyes in fear, and then it was stopped after Dhelmise was hit by a Flamethrower. She opened her eyes and heard Dhelmise scream in pain for a moment and fall back into the water.

"Huh? Who did that?" she said. "Rose!" replied a voice. She looked around, and then saw us appear for the first time; landing down beside her. "Huh!? Zuzu? Celina? Yuya? Patrick? Zachary? Taylor? What are you all doing here?" she said. "Saving your life. That's what we're doing. And don't worry about your family and the other guests in the ship... the Coast Guard has brought them all to safety." Celina replied. She breathed a sigh of relief, stood up, and bowed to us. "Thank you. Thank you all for coming to my rescue." she said. We nodded our heads to her, and then we let Tentacruel help her get on safely. "Just hang on tight, Rose. This is going to be a bumpy ride." said Pat as she sat down next to him. "Okay." she replied. We looked around us for a moment, and then saw Dhelmise appear. "What!? It withstood that!?" said Celina surprised. Dhelmise stared at us silently, and then looked at me; seeing my glowing green eyes.

"What!? A Guardian!? How is this possible!?" it said. "Because your voice lead me here. You wanted me to warn the people about you, but you knocked me out cold after giving me your warning." I replied. "So... you're the one I connected with? Very well then. Since you failed on heeding my warning to the humans... then I have no choice but to get rid of you and all of the humans and Pokémon that have trespassed my land." it replied. It then let out a cry, and summoned more Dhelmise by its side; ready to fight. "What? What's going on?" said Rose. "It's hard to explain... but they want to get rid of us for invading their home." Zach replied. "What!? They want to get rid of us!?" she replied. "Yeah. But we're not going to let that happen. Not without a fight! Go! Aipom! Pidgeotto!" Pat replied. After that, he sent out his Aipom and Pidgeotto from their PokéBalls; ready to fight. "Aipom!" said Aipom. "Geo!" Pidgeotto replied.

"Sending out your Pokémon, huh? Alright. Looks like I'm up next. Raticate! Zubat! Poliwhirl! Come on out!" said Celina as she took out three PokéBalls, watched them open, and saw her three chosen Pokémon appear. "Rati-cate!" said Raticate. "Poli-whirl!" Poliwhirl replied. "Zubat!" Zubat replied. "Growlithe! Pidgeotto! Wartortle! Let's go!" Zach replied as he took out three PokéBalls, watched them open, and saw his three chosen Pokémon on the field. "Geot-to!" said Zach's Pidgeotto. "War-tortle!" Wartortle replied. "You ready, Vulpix?" Zuzu replied. "Vul!" Vulpix replied. "Munchlax! Let's do this!" Sora replied. "Munch!" Munchlax replied. "Boltund! Battle time!" Yuya replied as he took a PokéBall, watched it open, and saw Boltund appear beside Zach's Growlithe. He barked, growled, and charged up his fur; ready to fight. "Hydro! Hurricane! Scyther! I choose you!" I replied as I took out Hydro's Hurricane's, and Scyther's PokéBalls, watched them open, and saw Hydro appear next to Wartortle, Scyther by Boltund, and Hurricane by me. "Squirtle!" said Hydro. "Geot-to!" Hurricane replied. "Scyther!" Scyther replied.

I nodded my head to them, and then looked at Zuzu and Celina. "Zuzu. Celina. Make sure Milotic and Tentacruel can help us out in anyway they can." I said. "Got it." Celina replied as she nodded her head. "Right. And you take care of the lead Dhelmise. We'll take care of the rest." Zuzu replied as she nodded her head. "Got it." I replied. I then looked at the lead Dhelmise as it began to glow. All the Dhelmise around us watched us carefully, and then looked towards their leader; waiting for its command. "Go. Ravage them." said the lead Dhelmise. The other Dhelmise then began to glow light green and began their attacks. We dodged them with ease, and then we began our attacks. As we did this, me and my team charged after the lead Dhelmise and pushed it up to the surface of the water. We swam and flew up the Whirlpool, and stared down the lead Dhelmise.

It let out a cry and used Anchor Shot. We dodged it with ease, and charged at it again. "Hurricane! Air Slash! Scyther! X-Scissor!" I said. "Pid-geo! Pidgeotto!" Hurricane replied as he used Air Slash above as he flew behind Dhelmise; hitting it from behind. "Scy! Scy-ther!" Scyther replied as he crossed his arms and used the attack on Dhelmise as it came towards him. It screamed in pain for a moment, flew up in the air, and used Phantom Force. "Phantom Force, huh? Keep your eyes open guys. It will strike from anywhere at any moment." I said. My team nodded their heads in understanding and looked around themselves. As they did this, Tsunami saw a small, shadowy wave behind Hydro. He roared to him to move, and then Hydro turned around, saw Dhelmise appear, and git hit by the attack. "Squirtle!" he said. "Hydro!" I replied worriedly.

Hydro shook off the pain, and looked at Dhelmise as it stared at him. "Hydro! You alright?" I asked him. "Squirtle!" he replied. "That's good. Now it's going to pay for that! Hydro! Ice Beam!" I replied. "Squirtle! Squir-tle!" he replied as he used Ice Beam on Dhelmise; freezing a big part of its body. "What!?" said Dhelmise. "Perfect! Great job, Hydro!" I replied. "Squirtle-Squirt!" he replied. "Now with it frozen in place, let's do an all out attack!" I replied. My team nodded their heads in agreement, and then we dashed towards Dhelmise; ready to attack. As we did this, the group held off the other Dhelmise and watched them panic. "Tentacruel! Poison Jab!" said Celina. "Tent! Ten-ta-cruel!" Tentacruel replied as it used the attack on two Dhelmise; taking them down. "Raticate! Shadow Ball! Poliwhirl! Bubble Beam! Zubat! Poison Fang!" she replied. "Raticate! Rat-i-cate!" Raticate replied as it used Shadow Ball on one Dhelmise that was coming close to Zuzu and her team; guarding her from Dhelmise's attack. "Poli! Poli-whirl!" Poliwhirl replied as it used the attack on one Dhelmise; hitting its compass eye."Zubat! Zu-bat!" Zubat replied as it used the attack on a Dhelmise that was about to strike down Pat's Aipom.

"Thanks for the assist, Celina." said Pat. "Yeah. Thank you for guarding me." Zuzu replied. "No problem." Celina replied. "Now it's our turn! Aipom! Fire Punch!" Pat replied. "Aipom! Ai-pom!" Aipom replied as it used the attack on two Dhelmise that were attacking Celina's team. "Thanks, Pat. I owe you one." she said. "No problem." he replied. He then looked at Zuzu's team as Vulpix used Fire Spin on three Dhelmise near Yuya and Sora; trapping them. "Nice work, Vulpix!" she said. "Vul-Vulpix!" Vulpix replied. "Nice one, Zuzu! That saved Yuya and Sora big time!" he replied. "Thanks. What can we say? We learned from the best." she replied. "You said it. Thanks to Tay, we're using the field to our advantage and tricking the Dhelmise with ease." he replied. She nodded her head in agreement, and then continued the group attack. As they did this, Zach and his team were guarding Rose from more Dhelmise behind them, and watched Tentacruel use Poison Jab again to push the Dhelmise back.

Rose breathed a sigh of relief from the save, and then gently patted Tentacruel's head. "Thank you, Tentacruel." she said. "Ten-ta." it replied. After that, they saw another group of Dhelmise appear. "Oh no you don't! Wartortle! Ice Beam! Growlithe! Flamethrower!" said Zach. "War! War-tor-tle!" Wartortle replied as he used the attack on the Dhelmise. Growlithe barked, and then used the attack on the Dhelmise; taking them down. "Alright! Great work, you two!" said Zach. They nodded their heads to their Trainer, and prepared themselves for the next fight. The Dhelmise let out their cries, and used Anchor Shot, Power Whip, and Phantom Force on the group; pushing them back a little. The Dhelmise stood by each other in silence for a moment, and then saw Boltund jump up with Munchlax on his back, and charge at them. "Boltund! Use Fire Fang!" said Yuya. "Munchlax! Ice Punch!" Sora replied.

"Munch! Munch-lax! Munch!" Munchlax replied as he used the attack on a few Dhelmise; freezing them solid. Boltund barked and used Fire Fang on one Dhelmise; burning it. As he bit it, he tossed it into the Fire Spin tornado. "Alright! Great job, Boltund!" said Yuya. Boltund barked happily, and then helped Munchlax get his balance back after he landed back down on the sand. They blinked their eyes once, and then saw two Dhelmise use Anchor Shot at them, but they dodged the attack right on time. When they stepped back, they looked up above their heads and saw Zach and Pat's Pidgeotto's flying above; ready to strike. "Aerial Ace!" said Zach and Pat. "Pid-ge! Pid-geot-to!" they replied as they used the attack together and hit the two Dhelmise; pushing them back. "Yes!" said Pat happily. "Nice one, Pidgeotto!" Zach replied. "Pidge-otto." his Pidgeotto replied. As we fought, the passengers, crew, and Coast Guard watched us and were amazed on how we kept them distracted as they all got off the ship safely and get to the big Coast Guard ship. As everyone got on that ship safely, Rose's family looked over at the group as they got to the top of the water; seeing Rose safely sitting on Tentacruel's head.

"Mother! Father! Look! There she is!" said one of Rose's brothers as he pointed at us. They smiled with glee to see her safe, and then saw us defending her from the Dhelmise. "Wait a minute... who are those people?" said her other brother. "I don't know... but they look like they are the same age as her... do you think they go to the same school together?" her first brother replied. Before the parents could say a word, the lead Dhelmise turned around and saw them and the ship for the first time. It screamed in anger, and then charged at the ship. Me and my team turned around, and chased after it; flying around and diving underwater. Once I saw it try to break the ship, I used Psychic to grab it and pull it away. "What!? No! Let me go!" it said. I threw it up in the air, watched it fly upto the sky, made Tsunami jump up after it, and then looked down at it. "Tsunami! Flamethrower!" I said. He roared and used the attack on Dhelmise; burning it. "Hydro! Use Aqua Jet!" I replied.

"Squirt! Squir-tle! Squirt!" he replied as he surrounded himself in water, dashed towards Dhelmise, and hit it in the center of its body. He jumped out of the attack, and watched it begin to fall down to the water. He then dived after it, and then watched it use Power Whip, Once he saw the angles and directions it was going, he dodged them all with ease; shocking Dhelmise. "Now use Ice Beam!" I said. "Squirtle! Squir-tle! Squirtle!" he replied as he used the attack; freezing it solid. "Yes!" said Celina proudly. "Alright!" Yuya cheered. "Way to go, Hydro!" Zuzu cheered. Dhelmise fell into the water and floated in silence. Hydro swam back upto me, and let Scyther carry him back up to me. "Thank you, Scyther." I said. "Scy-ther." he replied as he nodded his head. "And great job, Hydro. You were awesome out there." I replied as I petted his head. "Squirtle~" he replied happily. I smiled at him, and then all of a sudden Hydro's body began to glow light blue! The group swam over to me and saw what was happening; looking at me in shock. "Guys! Look! Hydro is evolving!" said Zuzu. "No way! He must've gained a ton of experience during the battle!" Celina replied.

A moment later, the evolution stopped, and Hydro evolved into a Wartortle! "War-tortle!" he said. "Alright! Hydro evolved into a Wartortle!" Zach replied happily. "War-tortle!" Zach's Wartortle replied happily. Hydro looked around, saw the change, and then showed off a confident pose. "Alright! Congratulations, Hydro!" I said happily as I hugged him. "War! War-Wartortle!" he replied happily, We ended the hug, and smiled happily at each other. Hydro blinked his eyes, and then suddenly saw the ice begin to crack! "War!?" he said. Our eyes widened in shock, and saw the ice begin to crack more. "What!? What's going on!?" said Sora. "The ice! Dhelmise is about to break free!" Pat replied. "Taylor! You've got to get out of there! Hurry!" Rose replied worriedly. "Right! Tsunami! Flamethrower on the water!" I replied. He roared and used Flamethrower on the water; creating a giant cloud of steam.

As we hid, Dhelmise broke free from the ice and levitated above the water. As it looked around, it felt the burn that it had received before getting frozen. It made a haunting growl as it looked around itself, saw its allies floating on the water passed out, and then used Power Whip and Anchor Shot around itself. After the attacks ended, it began to breathe heavily in exhaustion. Once it turned back to where we disappeared, Scyther and Hurricane broke through the steam and used X-Scissor and Brave Bird on Dhelmise; giving it serious damage. They flew upto the sky, and then saw Zach and Pat's Pidgeotto's use Aerial Ace and Wing Attack on Dhelmise; surprising it. After that, the rest of us then broke through the steam and unleashed our attacks on Dhelmise. It screamed in pain as the attacks went on, and then was hit by a combination of Flame Charge, Flamethrower, Electro Ball, Energy Ball, Shadow Ball, Water Gun, Bubble Beam, and Hydro Pump; sending it back to some giant rocks nearby the Coast Guard ship.

It fell down to the ground all soaken wet, looked up, and saw us appear from the steam as it disappeared. "Tay! Zuzu! Now!" said Celina. "Right! Thunderbolt!" me and Zuzu replied. "Pika! Pi-ka-chu!" our Pikachu's replied as they jumped off our shoulders and used the attack on Dhelmise; ending its assault. After it ended, Dhelmise fell back down to the ground and fainted. We breathed heavily and then celebrated the victory together. Everyone else then behind us began to celebrate as well; knowing now that Dhelmise has been defeated. After that, we all swam back to shore and helped everyone get off safely.

Vermilion Beach

"Children... thank you. Thank you for saving our daughter. If it weren't for you, our little Rose wouldn't even be here right now. You are forever in our debt." said Rose's mother. "No problem, Mrs. Donahue." I replied as I shook her and Mr. Donahue's hands. After that, Rose broke out of her family's embrace and hugged us. "Thank you all... for everything. You showed us with your bravery that you have saved everyone from the ship. You all are real life heroes." she said. "Aww~ Thanks, Rose. That means a lot." Pat replied. Zach nodded his head in agreement, and then we watched her turn to our Pokémon. "And as for all of you... thank you for protecting us. It was because of your bonds and trust with your Trainers that everyone is standing on land again. You all are real life heroes too." she said. Our Pokémon smiled and made happy noises; making us smile happily.

"And as for you kids... we want to repay you for saving our daughter." said Mr. Donahue. "Huh? Repay? How are you going to do that?" Sora replied. "I know just the thing. Father..? Is it okay if I give them free passes to the Safari Zone?" Rose replied. Our eyes widened in shock to her response, and then we saw a smile on her face. "Why of course, my dear." Mr. Donahue replied happily. He handed her the passes, and then she handed them to us. "Rose... thank you..." said Celina in a soft, surprised tone. "You're very welcome, Celina. You and everyone here had done so much to save and protect us... so with this gift to you, I think of it as my way of thanking you for saving my life. You also gave me a newfound appreciation for Pokémon and Pokémon Trainers. You guys and your Pokémon truly showed us on how we can coexist and work together in harmony. And after everything that has happened here today... I can see a bright and beautiful future. A future of where we all can live in peace together, with everyone inspired by all of you." she replied.

We were surprised of her words, and then smiled happily at her; making her do the same. After that, we said our goodbyes to her and her family, and went back to my beach house.

Taylor's Beach House- Nighttime

I sat outside on my bedroom patio and looked out to the ocean; seeing the work being done to remove the S.S. Anne from the water. As I watched, I began to think about many other ships that were impacted by the Dhelmise; wondering how many people and Pokémon survived from it, and the ones who did not. With those thoughts in my head, it made me see that the ocean is something that shouldn't be messed with. Whatever lurks under the depths of the ocean... they will show you that they do not want to be disturbed. And as for the souls that have been lost from accidents and tragedies at sea... we hope that no one will come to disturb you. But if they do, send them a message and tell them leave your resting place. Explorers should learn to leave your souls at rest, not make a profit from it.

After those thoughts faded, I stood up, walked into my room, sat down at my desk, and turned on my laptop. After a few minutes of looking for stuff online, I saw the website for the Silph Company. I clicked on it, browsed around, and then saw something that caught my eye. I clicked on the article, and read it silently to myself. As I read it, my door opened silently, and the group walked into my room; wondering what I was doing. "So... the project is back on after all..." I said. "Hey, Tay." said Celina. "Ah! Geez... did you have to scare me like that?" I replied as I jumped in shock. "No? We didn't mean to scare you. We were just wondering where you were, and your Mom told us you were in here." she replied as she and the others sat around the room. "Oh... okay." I replied as I breathed a sigh of relief. She smiled warmly and patted my shoulder; comforting my senses.

"Hey..? What'chu reading on your laptop?" Zach asked me. We turned to my laptop and saw the article I was reading. "The Master Ball Project? What is that?" said Sora curiously. "It was a project that was on hold five years ago. During Red, Blue, and Leaf's journeys... they've heard of the project by one of the members of the company. They were creating the ultimate PokéBall that could catch any Pokémon without fail. They called it: the Master Ball." I replied. "Wow... that sounds like a cool invention..." Pat replied. "Yeah... until it gets into the wrong hands." I replied. "Huh? What do you mean by that?" he replied. "While it was in its prototype stage, the company was ambushed and taken over by Team Rocket. Once they got word about it before the ambush... their leader knew that he wanted to have the most powerful PokéBall in the world. And his plan with it was to catch the Pokémon that his group and scientists had created many years ago." I replied.

After I said that, the group's eyes widened in shock to my response. As they looked at the picture of the Master Ball on screen... Zach, Pat, and Yuya then had flashbacks of seeing Mewtwo with the Legendary Birds as they brought me home. They blinked their eyes a few times, and then looked at each other worriedly. They then looked back at the screen with us and read the article in silence. As we read; Yuto, Yugo, Yuri, Rin, and Lulu were watching us from the trees; seeing the article too. "So... it is true... the Master Ball project is back on..." said Yuri. "Yeah... and that was the item that Giovanni wanted five years ago." Lulu replied. "Really?" Rin replied curiously. Yuri and Lulu nodded their heads yes to her question. "What Pokémon was he looking for?" she asked them. "The Pokémon that rescued Tay in Celadon City five years ago. According to the Scientists that we talked too... the Pokémon is called, Mewtwo." Yuto replied. "Mew...two?" she replied curiously.

"Yes. Mewtwo was created by Taylor's father when he was forced to work for Team Rocket. Once they discovered his skill of gene splicing, they forced him to create Mewtwo, a clone of the Mythical Pokémon, Mew." Yuri replied. "But after it was created... it destroyed the lab it was in many years ago, and Giovanni forced it into his collection and used it as a weapon. After it learned his true intentions... it escaped from his possession and ran away from him." Yugo replied. "And ever since it escaped... Giovanni has been trying to find a way to get it back. That's when he learned of the Master Ball." Yuto replied. "Yep. He tried to get it himself, but was stopped by Red at the Silph Company. After that, he retreated to his base and learned of Tay and Yuto's powers. So he hired his goons to kidnap them and use them to lure Mewtwo to him." Yugo replied. "So that would explain how Tay got kidnapped! When he heard about the Guardian's and their powers, he had to use them to draw Mewtwo out of hiding." she replied.

The group nodded their heads yes to her response. "Yeah... but how did Yuto avoid them? Did they try to kidnap him too?" said Lulu. "They did, but Yuto defeated them with ease and knocked them out cold." Yugo replied. "Ah... that makes sense. You knew how to defend yourself with your powers." she replied as she turned to Yuto. "Mhm. But for Tay... she never knew that she was being used as a pawn for Giovanni's scheme. But I think after what he learned from her on what we can do... it's pretty much easy to say that he's only after us now." he replied. "And it's because you two can use all the moves every Pokémon can do... making you both very lethal weapons in battle." she replied. He nodded his head yes to her response, and then they looked at my TV and saw footage of us fighting the Dhelmise for the first time.

"What the..?" said Yugo. "Is that them..? Fighting Dhelmise?" Rin replied. "Yeah! And they had Rose with them! Looks like they saved her from the sinking ship we heard on the news today." he replied. They watched the footage in silence, and then smiled warmly at us. After that, they retreated back to their base and began making their plans for tomorrow; hoping soon they will know more of Team Rocket's plans.

Thank you so much for reading Chapter 17 of the story! Man... this was a packed one. First some Contest practicing, then the friendly battle with Tay and Yuya, trading Scyther and Clefairy, S.S. Anne dinner, and then the big battle with Dhelmise. This was a lot of stuff to do because I didn't want this Chapter to be short. I guess you can say that this was a filler episode of some sort, but has some connections to some previous Chapters. But, I gotta say... the best part of this Chapter in my opinion is the battle between Tay and Yuya. I liked this one a lot because I wanted to show how Yuya can be as a Trainer when it comes to battles.

I know that in this story he is mostly a Coordinator, but sometimes he is willing to fight if necessary. Whether its to prove himself to others, or to protect the ones he cares about. This boy has a fiery spirit and determination that will overcome anyone that tries to get in his way. No matter what they do, he will blaze the stage and show the world how powerful he can be.

Anyways, thank you so much for reading Chapter 17, and have yourself an awesome day!

Next time, Chapter 18: A Promise Fulfilled. While practicing for the Contest, Taylor sneaks off to an enchanted forest and reunites with a rare Pokémon that she had befriended four years before her journey began. While there, she encounters poachers in the area that set the forest ablaze. How will she rescue the Pokémon in the forest and stop the fire before it reaches the city? Find out in Chapter 18!