Chapter 9: Set Sail for Dewford
The next morning, Ash and May were once again walking along the forest path. The sun was shining, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. Ash took a deep breath, enjoying the smell of fresh air.
"Ah, what a great day to be outside, huh buddy?"
"Pika!"
"I have to agree! I may never travel by carriage ever again if the weather continues like this."
"So this Mr. Briney is an expert sailor?"
"He was the best in the navy! Without him, we'd never have settled as much of Hoenn as we have."
"Awesome! Do you think he'll be okay with giving us a ride to Dewford Town?"
"Of course! He loves sailing, and Dewford is his favorite place to go. Ah, here's his house now!"
The house was a rather small cottage just nestled on the outskirts of the woods by the ocean. An old man was outside, tending to his garden. A White-and-Blue bird like Pokemon was flying above his head.
"Mr. Briney!"
The old man looked up, smiling when he saw the Princess approaching.
"Ah, Princess! I haven't seen you in ages, and look how big you are now! I remember when you were just small enough to sit on my knee."
May giggled, giving him a polite courtesy. Mr. Briney's Pokemon was just as happy to see her, and dived right into her chest. May smiled, and gave him a hug.
"I've missed you too, Peeko!"
"Ah, and I see you have a new knight in your service! Tell me lad, what's your name?"
"I'm Ash Ketchum! It's an honor to meet you, sir, the princess has told me so many great things about you."
"Pika Pikachu!"
Mr. Briney laughed, and shook his hand.
"A Pikachu, I see! Not that many of those around here, you must not be from around here."
"Heh heh, yeah, you could say that."
"Ah well, glad King Norman is still so welcoming of foreigners. So, what brings you to my humble home?"
"I wanted to show Ash around the kingdom, and we were hoping you could give us a lift to Dewford Town?"
"Are you kidding? I'd be happy to!"
"Great, thank you!"
"Of course, anything for you! Tell you what, how about you play with Peeko, and I'll get the boat ready? I'm sure he'd love to catch up with you, right Peeko?"
"Wingull!"
May giggled.
"Of course! I know my Pokemon would love to meet him."
"Ah, you have Pokemon of your own now? Splendid!"
As Mr. Briney left to get their vessel sea ready, May released her Pokemon.
"Guys, this is Peeko! His trainer is a good friend of my family, so be sure to make him feel right at home!"
"Torchic Tor!"
"Wurmple!"
"Yena!"
The four Pokemon began chasing each other around the yard. Pikachu jumped down and joined them, making Ash and May giggle. A few minutes later, Mr. Briney returned.
"She's all set to sail"
"Great, let's go!"
Mr. Briney led them down to the shore, where a small sailboat was docked.
"Here she is, my pride and joy! I call her The Peeko, after this little fellow."
"Wingull!"
But May was puzzled by something.
"She? I didn't know boats could have a gender."
Mr. Briney laughed.
"Oh ho, my apologies, Princess! Us sailors tend to call our ships girls. Just a little habit I picked up in your father's service."
May blushed and looked down, embarrassed.
"Sorry."
"Oh, don't worry about it! Now come on, Dewford awaits!"
"Yes, of course! Come on, Sir Ash!"
But Ash hesitated, staring nervously at the water.
"Ash?"
"Huh?"
"Is something wrong? You're not usually this quiet."
"Um, it's nothing. I just…had a really bad boat trip once. I kind of have a fear of them."
Pikachu shuddered, remembering the incident Ash was referring too.
"Pika."
"But you didn't object when I told you about our plans to sail there?"
"I thought the boat would be bigger. No offense, Mr. Briney."
"None taken."
Of course, Ash didn't mention that said boat trip involved a massive ship and sinking to the bottom of the ocean. Best not to scare them.
May smiled, and gently took his hand in hers.
"I promise, Mr. Briney is more than capable of keeping us afloat. I trust him with my life."
"Don't worry, Sir Ash! As long as I'm at the helm, you have nothing to fear."
Ash took a deep breath, before nodding.
"Alright, I trust you."
With that, he stepped into the small ship before helping May down herself, their Pokemon joining them. The boat rocked about for a minute, making Ash tense up, but soon the sailboat settled on the waves, allowing him to relax.
"Phew."
"Alright, away we go!"
After a while, Ash and Pikachu found themselves able to relax. The sea had remained calm, and the wind kept them at a nice pace as they sailed towards Dewford Town. Currently, Pikachu was at the helm of the ship, letting the sea mist splash his face.
"Enjoying yourself, bud?"
"Pi!"
Torchic was sitting beside him, though she was having a much less enjoyable time.
"Chic Tor Torchic!"
May gasped, and quickly scooped up into her arms and cradled her.
"Torchic, what's wrong?"
"Princess, I don't mean to tell you how to raise your Pokemon, but perhaps a boat isn't the best place for Torchic to be out."
May gasped, then slapped her forehead. Of course, how could she be so stupid?
"Oh Torchic, I'm so sorry! I should've returned you before we got on the boat, I didn't mean for you to get hurt."
Torchic smiled, and gently nuzzled May's cheek, making the Princess smile.
"Alright, time for you to get some rest. I promise we'll find a place for you to run around when we reach Dewford."
"Torchic!"
With that, May recalled her Torchic. Ash smiled, and walked over to her.
"You know, part of being a good Pokemon Trainer is listening to your Pokemon. I think you handled that great."
"Really? But I put Torchic in danger without thinking!"
"Maybe, but you were quick to rectify it. Sometimes we make mistakes, but what's important is that we learn from them. You'll make a fine Pokemon trainer someday."
May blushed, and turned her head away shyly.
"Oh my. Thank you for your kind words, Sir Ash."
"Of course, my Princess."
An hour later, the sky ahead turned dark, and rain began to pour. Ash tensed as the sea began to get rough, May squeezing his hand tightly as Mr. Briney fought for control.
"Not to worry, I've been through worse! Just need to -GAH!"
Suddenly, the old man slumped over, clutching his chest. May and Ash quickly ran to his side.
"Mr. Briney, what's wrong?"
"M-My heart, it's- AUGH!"
"I think he's having a heart attack!"
"We…We're just a half hour from port. If we can get though this storm…I should…be able to…get help…"
"But how? You can't even stand up, let alone pilot this ship!"
"You'll…have to do it…"
Ash blanched.
"Me? I've never even tried sailing a ship, I couldn't!"
"I can…guide you. There's no other choice."
"I'lll help too! We just need to get out of the storm."
Ash nodded. As scared as he was, he knew there wasn't much other choice.
"Alright, what do we do first?"
"The mainsail…get the mainsail…"
"This one?"
"Yes, now…"
With all the energy he could muster, instructed the two on how to sail the ship. It was tough going, but the two didn't give up. Ash's Ralts helped too, using as much Psychic Power as he could muster to keep the sail steady.
"Almost there, just a little bit further!"
Suddenly, a huge gust of wind blew across the ship, nearly tossing everyone overboard. Pikachu tried to cling to Ash's shoulder, but the wind was too strong, and he flew right off.
"Pikachu!"
"Pikapi!"
"I've got him!"
Suddenly, May leapt forward, grabbing Pikachu just before he fell into the unforgiving ocean. She nearly tripped, but with help from Ralts she was able to keep her footing.
"Gotcha!"
Pikachu smiled at her, glad to be alive. And just in time too, for no sooner had they reached port did the storm let up, allowing everyone to breathe a sigh of relief.
"Phew! That was a close one."
"Yeah, no kidding."
"Not bad…youngsters…"
Immediately, Mr. Briney was rushed to a healer's tent, where they quickly got to work. Fortunately, he got there just in time and would make a full recovery, much to Ash and May's immense relief.
"I'm glad he'll be alright."
"Me too. I don't fancy having to do that again."
Peeko was also immensely glad, and gave his trainer a big hug. Mr. Briney chuckled, and patted the little flying type on the head.
"Don't worry Peeko, it'll take more than that to keep me down! We'll be sailing again before you know it."
"Wingull!"
With that, May and Ash left Mr. Briney to rest.
"You know May, I still haven't thanked you yet."
"Thank me? For what?"
"For saving Pikachu's life, of course! If anything had happened to him, I…I'd never forgive myself."
Pikachu smiled, and rubbed Ash's cheek, making him feel better.
"Don't be so grateful, I almost fell overboard myself. If your Ralts hadn't stepped in…"
"Maybe so, but you knew how much Pikachu meant to me, and risked your life to save him. That means a lot to us, and we won't forget it."
Pikachu leapt from Ash's shoulder to May's, giving her a nuzzle to thank her. May smiled.
"Well, I guess that makes us even then. But don't think that'll give you an excuse to slack off, Mr. Knight! It's your duty to protect me, after all, and don't you forget it."
Ash chuckled, and bowed to her.
"Never."
A/N: In case anyone doesn't know what the incident I'm referring to is, watch episodes 15 and 16 of the original series and it'll make sense. And I know Ash has been on boats since those episodes, but in my headcanon he has trauma from that and is just really good at keeping it hidden. Poor guy suffers a lot of near death experiences, doesn't he? Not to mention all of the times he did die…Yeah, Ash has a messed up life.