Sorry for the wait folks! Chapter 13 is here at last!

Chapter Thirteen: A Starmie is born!

After Crash has a run in with Daisy, an old friend of his from when he was younger, she invites him and his friends to the S.S. Anne as a way to celebrate his victory over Lt. Surge. Once on the boat, he and Daisy find out there was a tournament happening on the ship and invite Misty and Brock to join.

Though Crash, Daisy, and Misty were able to continue in the tournament, Brock wasn't as lucky as he was eliminated in his first fight. Now, the quarter finals are starting and Misty will face off the same trainer that eliminated Brock. And she's… Not taking it well.

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"I don't stand a chance against him!" Said Misty, her head in her arms.

"You'll do fine Misty." Daisy said, rubbing her back, attempting to reassure her.

"Yeah!" Crash said. "Besides you've seen what moves his Raticate has! You'll do great!"

"But can I win?" Misty asked, her tone dripping with despair. Crash and Daisy's eyes didn't meet Misty's. She gave an irritated huff. "That's what I thought…"

Crash frowned. "Come on Misty, you're selling yourself short." He attempted to reassure her again.

"Didn't you see what he did to his last opponent?" Misty asked "Brock put up a better fight, and even his battle was one sided. "

"You're a really skilled trainer. I'm sure you can find a way to beat him if you just-"

She cut him off. "Try hard enough?" She weakly laughed. "Sure like that'll work!"

"At least when the going gets tough, I'll just get going!" He shouted as he pointed at her. "By how you're acting, you'd just sit on your butt when things get too hard for you to handle!"

She shouted back at Crash, slamming her hands on the table, gaining the attention of passersby. "You don't know that! You don't know anything! You're just some kid that relied on luck to get here! You're no skill and all luck!"

Daisy, Crash, Brock and even Mark were taken aback by Misty's outburst. A shadow obscured Crash's face. Misty clasped her hands over her mouth.

"Crash… I didn't mean-" Misty gasped as tears began to stream down her face. Crash ran away, not waiting to hear anything else the water specialist had to say.

As Daisy made to chase Crash, the intercom called her name, telling her that she had a match coming up. Daisy cursed under her breath.

"Don't worry," Brock said, going into the direction Crash had run off into. "You go to your battle, I'll go and find Crash."

"Thanks Brock!" Daisy bowed as she ran to the battle areas from her match.

As Brock turned to follow Crash, Misty grabbed his hand, preventing him from leaving.

"What's wrong Misty?" He asked as he noticed her tears had stopped.

Misty gave Brock a regretful yet determined look. "I'm coming with you."

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Daisy prepared herself as she entered the battlefield. As the announcer once again explained the rules of the tournament, she couldn't help but worry about Crash.

As she continued to worry, the announcer snapped her out of her thoughts.

"Daisy Oak," The announcer said, "if you do not send out your Pokémon, you forfeit the match."

She stared at her opponent, who impatiently stamped the ground as their Pokémon, a Machoke, did the same.

"Ah right," Daisy gave an apologetic bow as she fumbled for a Pokéball. "Ok! Stripes, I choose you!"

The ball opened, revealing an Arcanine. The Legendary Pokémon gave a loud and powerful howl as it entered the field.

As the announcer called for the match to begin, Daisy's opponent wasted no time ordering their Machoke to attack.

"Machoke! Use Karate Chop!"

Machoke dashed at its opponent, attempting to lay a swift chop to the forehead of the canine Pokémon.

"Stripes, use Skull Bash!" Daisy commanded as her Arcanine tucked its head in, bracing for the impact of the Karate Chop.

Machoke's move made contact, but did seemingly little damage. Before the second stage Superpower Pokémon could react, Stripes rams into its stomach, knocking Machoke back.

"Machoke!" It's trainer cried. Machoke was on its knees, struggling to stand from the force of the blow to its core.

"Way to go Stripes!" Daisy cheered. "Keep up the pressure with a Flamethrower!"

The named Arcanine spews out a stream of flames from its mouth.

"Machoke, power through it with Mega Punch!"

Machoke barrels through the torrent of flames, winding its fist for a powerful punch.

"Stripes, watch out!" Daisy warned. Her Arcanine was met with a power-packed punch to the face, sending the Legendary Pokémon to the ground.

"Machoke, use Rock Slide!"

Machoke summons a ring of stones around itself and launches them at the downed fire type.

"Stripes! Dodge it with your Agility!"

The Legendary Pokémon, stands up and evades the attack, seemingly disappearing from view.

"Use Skull Bash!" Daisy said as her Arcanine appeared behind its opponent.

Before its trainer could give a command, Machoke was sent backward, unable to dodge the attack in time.

"Stripes, use Dragon Rage!"

The Arcanine spews purple colored flames at the downed Machoke.

"Machoke, dodge it with Low Kick and counter with Mega Punch!"

Machoke slides underneath the flames, and appears behind its opponent. The Superpower Pokémon attempts to strike its opponent, but due to its heightened agility it easily evades the attack, jumping away and staring down its opponent.

"Machoke, use Karate Chop!"

The Superpower Pokémon dashes at its opponent once again, trying to lay a swift chop to the forehead of the canine Pokémon, but the fire type easily evades the attack.

"Use Skull Bash!"

Stripes ducks it's head before charging at the fighting type.

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Brock and Misty split up, Brock checking the main floor and the deck, while Misty checked the lower floors.

They scanned the seemingly, still searching for their missing friend.

"Crash? Where are you?" They both repeated. This continued for a while until they met up back at the entrance.

"Any luck Misty?" Brock asked through panting breaths.

Misty shook her head. "Sorry, Brock. But I even asked around, and no one's seen him either."

Brock gave a defeated sigh. "We've searched everywhere and still found no sign of Crash."

"We can't give up!" Misty said with a determined tone. "There's still places we can look!"

"Let's take a break first." Brock suggested, still panting.

Misty turned her face up at the idea. "But Brock…"

"Misty, we've been searching for him for almost forty minutes…" Brock sighed. "We can't keep searching for him until we rest." a loud growl emerged from his stomach. "And something to eat as well."

Before Misty could retort, as if on cue, her stomach growled too. "F-fine…We'll take a short break. But once we're done, we'll get back to looking for Crash."

Brock nodded as he and the water specialist made their way to the cafeteria. After receiving their food, as soon as they took their seats, Misty began to tear into her food quickly, not sparing a morsel.

Brock looked at the way she ate, unnerving him, causing him to push his plate away.

As Misty continued to noisily tear at her meal, Brock turned his gaze elsewhere, noticing a familiar silhouette. A Pikachu and their trainer sat at a table, the former happily sucking on a ketchup packet. The trainer wore a depressed expression as they watched their Pokémon lap up the ketchup.

Brock narrowed his eyes as he got a better look at the trainer. He physically pushed himself up, startling Misty.

"What's wrong Brock?" Misty asked, looking up from her plate. Brock pointed at the table across from theirs, his view not having shifted.

Misty looked to where he was pointing at and audibly gasped. "Crash?" She gasped. She quickly finished her plate and rushed over to the table immediately.

"Crash!" She sighed in relief. "We've been looking for you for a while!" Crash shifted his eyes to look at Misty, who gazed back at him, somewhat tiredly, but genuinely happy to see him. Crash simply turned away, hiding his eyes from her view.

"I-We were so worried about you Crash. "Where were you?" Misty asked.

"I hid in our room and got hungry." Crash replied with a monotonous tone, still refusing to meet her gaze.

"We're glad to have finally found you." Brock said as he approached the pair. Crash turned his eyes to Brock.

"Crash," Misty said in a hesitant tone. "About what I said earlier…" Misty felt her clam up, her throat both dry and moist as she felt herself slightly choke on her own saliva.

Crash stood up, a shadow over his face. He turned to face Misty, and approached her. Misty gulped, waiting for Crash to answer. Would he forgive her? Would he stay mad? Would he yell at her like how she yelled at him?

She wouldn't blame him if he wanted to, or if he did. She'd yelled at him and accused all of his accomplishments were all luck based. Although some of them were, he'd still showed promise and skill of a great trainer, like when he beat Giselle and her Cubone with Mark or Lt. Surge and his Raichu.

As she waited for Crash to shout at her, he put a hand on her shoulder. Misty looked up as she didn't see a look of contempt, but a smile on his face.

"It's OK Misty." Crash smiled. Misty's eyes began to fill with tears, as she immediately hugged him, startling him somewhat. Crash returned the hug back as he continued.

"I'm not mad Misty." Crash said. "I forgive you, so…" He paused as she continued to cry into him. "Please stop crying Misty…"

Misty wipes her tears away with her wrist, as she looks back at Crash. For a moment, she could've sworn that Crash's smile had cracked.

"C'mon, let's head to the arenas!" Crash said with enthusiasm. "Daisy's battling right now isn't she?" Crash ran towards a hallway. "Hurry up. If we're quick, we can catch the rest of it!"

Mark hopped back onto his trainer's shoulder. "Misty, Brock. You guys coming or what?"

Misty immediately followed Crash. "Yeah, I'm coming!" Brock silently stared at a waiter, getting the feeling that something was off about them.

Crash looked back at Brock. "Hey Brock, you coming too?" Brock quickly dismissed the feeling. "Sure, Crash. But I have something to do first, but I'll be back in time for you and Misty's battles." he replied back.

Crash nodded and with Misty's hand in his, dashed out of Brock's sight, not wanting to miss anymore of Daisy's battle, while Brock continued to stare in the direction of the waiter, even as he left his view.

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As Crash and Misty enter the stands of the battle areas, they see Daisy's match coming to a close.

"Machoke, use Rock Slide!"

Machoke summons a ring of stones around itself and launches them at the fire type.

"Stripes, use Dragon Rage!"

The Arcanine spews purple colored flames at the rock type move, causing a smokescreen.

"Machoke, end this with Mega Punch!"

Machoke barrels through the smoke, winding its fist for a powerful punch.

Daisy took the opportunity to call for a counterattack. "Come on Stripes! Flamethrower!"

The named Arcanine spews out a stream of flames from its mouth.

The Machoke barrels through the torrent of flames, but is pushed back, the flames being too much for the Superpower Pokémon to take.

Machoke is knocked onto its back, with spirals in its eyes.

"Machoke is unable to battle, which means that Arcanine is the winner. Daisy Oak will go onto the semi finals of the S.S Anne Cup!"

Daisy began to scratch her Arcanine lovingly.

"Good boy Stripes! You did great. Who's a good boy? Who's a good boy?" The Arcanine happily pounced on her and licked her face.

Once she was done, she returned her Pokémon back to its ball and curtsied for the crowd. She exits the battlefield and meets up with Crash and Misty.

"You were amazing Daisy!" Crash smiled.

"Even though we didn't see most of the fight, you did great!" Misty agreed.

Daisy nodded. "Thank you both. But where's Brock?"

"He said he had something to do," Misty said. "But he said he'd be back for our matches."

Daisy sighed in relief. "That's good to know…" She turns to Crash, sounding. "Are you Ok Crash?"

Crash smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine. Misty apologized and we made up!"

Daisy gives him a suspicious look. "Are you sure about that Crash?"

"May Crash Betchum come to the battle areas for the quarter final match?" Sounded the intercom. "I repeat, may Crash Betchum come to the battle areas for the quarter final match?"

"Looks like I'm up next!" Crash shifts his bag over his shoulder. "Ok Mark, let's do this!" Mark nods and gives an affirmative "Pi-Pikachu!"

As he and his opponent reach the arena, they wish each a good match and send out their Pokémon.

"Growlithe, attention!"

"Mark! I choose you!"

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The battle raged on as Mark dodged an Ember from the opposing Growlithe.

"Mark, use Double Kick!" Crash commanded.

Mark leapt into the air and launched two kicks in succession at his fire type opponent.

"Hold fast Growlithe!" Said its trainer. "Use Bite!"

The Growlithe charges at its opponent, teeth bared. It clamped down on Mark's arm and shook violently as if Mark was a chew toy, before throwing him away.

"Now use your Take Down attack!"

The Growlithe slams into Mark, knocking him away.

"Mark!" Crash called out. The electric mouse staggers to its feet.

"Growlithe! Finish this with one more Take Down!" The trainer ordered. The Puppy Pokémon charges at Mark once again.

"Mark, use Double Team!" Mark creates afterimages that surround the Puppy Pokémon, causing the fire type to stop in its tracks.

"Growlithe use Ember!" The fireballs strike Mark, but the attack only hits an afterimage.

"Mark, use Double Kick!"

Mark charges at the striped canine, delivering a backflip kick to its chin, then another to its left cheek, sending it flying.

"Mark knows Double Team?" Daisy asked.

"Yeah. It's how he beat Lt. Surge!" Misty affirmed.

"Growlithe, use Bite!" The Growlithe charges at its opponent, teeth bared. But it bites only air as it hits another afterimage.

"Mark's too fast for Growlithe to catch now." Daisy said. "This battle is Crash's, unless he messes up."

"Growlithe! Take Down!" The trainer ordered once more. The Puppy Pokémon charges at Mark once again. In time with Crash's shout, Mark evades, leaving the Puppy Pokémon open to a direct attack.

"Mark! Thunderbolt!"

The airborne Pikachu fires a strong electric blast at the fire type, causing it to cry in pain before fainting.

"Growlithe is unable to battle, so Pikachu wins! Crash Betchum is declared the winner and will move on to the semifinals in the tournament."

Crash wiped his brow. "That was closer than I wanted it to be."

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"You did an amazing job Crash." Misty congratulated. Crash nodded but frowned slightly. Daisy noticed the face he was making.

"What's wrong?" Daisy asked.

"I could've lost that… if Mark didn't have Double Team, then that Growlithe would've won't. And the only way I'd win is through luck."

Misty flinched at the word "luck". Daisy frowned at the accusation. "Crash, that win wasn't luck, it was skill."

"It was luck!" Crash clenches his fists, clearly frustrated. "If it was skill, Mark wouldn't have gotten hit with a Bite."

"A Pokémon Trainer can't predict every outcome of a battle." Daisy countered.

Crash sighed and nodded, not really having a counter for her.

Before Misty could say a word, the intercom sounded.

"May Misty Falls come to the battle areas for the quarter final match?" She was snapped out of her thoughts. "I repeat, may Misty Falls come to the battle areas for the quarter final match?"

"Oh, sorry, my match is up next." Misty rushes to the battle areas with Crash not far behind. Though he looks back to Daisy, who isn't following them.

"Aren't you coming Daisy?"

"I'm gonna go look for Brock. He hasn't come back yet." She replied.

"Fine, just don't miss her battle and hurry back, ok?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world!" She walks in the opposite direction. "I'll come back with Brock. Just cheer Misty on for us until we get back!

Crash reluctantly nods and follows Misty, as Daisy goes in search of Brock.

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Brock follows the waiter downstairs and sees them enter a staff only room.

"Where are you going?" He thought to himself. He sneaks behind them and opens the door to the room quietly.

He's shocked to see multiple members in black uniforms. Black tops, black skirts, black pants, and black caps. But the striking thing about them was the bright orange-red R in the center of their shirts.

"Team Rocket? What're they doing on the S.S Anne?" He wondered. These weren't the grunts they were used to dealing with on a consistent basis.

"How's everything going?" Asked a male with cyan colored hair.

"Quite well Mister Executive Proton sir, we're almost done!" Replied a grunt to the man with cyan colored hair who Brock surmised was Proton. "Once the final round starts, we'll put the plan into action."

"What's th' plan again?" A grunt with a southern drawl asked. He was still wearing the waiter uniform. "I'm real sorry, I just keep furgetin' it…"

The man slaps the grunt, clearly furious. "You dimwit! This is the 9th time I've had to explain this to you!"

"I'm awful sorry Executive Proton sir." The grunt apologized, but was struck across the face again by Proton.

"That's Mister Executive Proton to you, hillbilly!" He berated. The grunt looked to the ground, ashamed.

"Well if you must know, the plan is simple." Proton started. "Once the final round ends, the Pokémon of the trainers will be too exhausted to fight back. We'll take over the boat and steal all of the trainer's Pokémon during the confusion."

Brock gasped, accidentally knocking over a crate. The grunts looked over and immediately went to check what the sound was, sending out their own Pokémon.

Brock sweated nervously and reached for a Pokéball, ready to fight for his life. "Here goes nothing…" Brock thought as he leapt from behind the corner and threw a Pokéball.

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"This will be a one-on-one battle between Misty Falls and Sir Reginald Silverton. This battle will have a time limit of five minutes." The announcer explained. "Are both trainers ready?"

The two trainers nodded.

"Then trainers," The announcer started. "Send out your Pokémon!"

"Raticate, time for a jolly good show!"

"Starmie, go!"

The two Pokémon enter the field, prepared for battle.

"Starmie, use a Tackle!"

Starmie spins towards the rodent Pokémon with a Tackle. The rat Pokémon attempts to nimbly leap over the water type, but Starmie is too fast and lands a hit, knocking Raticate back.

"Raticate, use Quick Attack!"

The normal type quickly dashes into Starmie, knocking it back before Misty could command it to dodge. Starmie quickly recovered, flipping back up.

Crash looked at the battle unfolding.

"Starmie's doing better than Geodude… is it because it has the speed advantage?" Crash wondered. "Either way Misty still has to be careful. That Raticate could use any move thanks to TMs, so it's unpredictable."

Mark nodded, understanding how powerful Raticate was.

"Misty has to end this quickly, before Raticate can use one of its tricks." Crash finished.

Misty grit her teeth as the two Pokémon clashed over and over with Tackles and Quick Attacks.

I have to end this fast, before he can pull out something unpredictable. "Starmie, use Bubblebeam."

"Raticate, use Quick Attack to dodge it!"

Starmie sprays bubbles at Raticate, as the normal type evades with its heightened speed, circling the Star-shaped Pokémon.

"Raticate, use Super Fang!"

Raticate lunges above the stream of bubbles, attempting to sink its fangs into Starmie.

But Misty smiled.

"Starmie, look up and use Flash!"

Starmie turns up and its gem flashes a bright red color, causing Raticate to clutch its eyes in pain.

Raticate lands on its back, it's Super Fang completely negated.

"Raticate!" Reginald cried out, as his Mouse Pokémon squinted its eyes, trying to find its opponent.

Crash pumped his fist, and cheered harder. "LET'S GO MISTY! YOU'VE GOT THIS!"

The spectators closest to him looked at him confused and somewhat put off as he continued to cheer.

Misty heard his cheer, blushing a bit.

That idiot… Well I can't let his cheering go to waste. She gives her friend a thumbs up.

"Starmie, use Bubblebeam!"

Starmie sprays bubbles at Raticate, knocking the normal type into a wall.

"Use Quick Attack, posthaste!" Reginald commanded.

Raticate ran towards Starmie at an incredible speed, only for the normal type to veer left and hit a wall, to Misty's relief and to Reginald's chagrin.

Starmie continues its assault on the rodent Pokémon with Bubblebeams and Tackles. The rat Pokémon then sent flying to its Trainer's feet.

"Nice one!" Crash cheered. "She's got this one in the bag!"

Mark cheered alongside his trainer.

Raticate managed to stand back up, despite receiving a lot of damage.

"What?" Crash gasped. "Those attacks were direct hits!"

"Your Raticate is tough!" Misty complimented.

"Why thank you!" Reginald bowed.

"My Raticate and I have been through many situations like this, and win or lose, we always put on a jolly good show." He tips his hat to Misty. "However, the curtain hasn't fallen yet, and until it does, the show MUST GO OOOOON!"

The crowd roared wildly. They felt pumped from hearing Reginald's speech, ready to see what would happen next.

"We'll wrap this up quickly! Starmie, use Bubblebeam, one more time!" Misty commanded.

"Raticate, use Thunder!"

Everyone's eyes widened as Reginald called out the move, with Crash, Misty and some members of the crowd crying out in bewilderment. "THUNDER!?"

Starmie once again fires a spray of bubbles at the rodent Pokémon. But just as the jet of suds hit, a wickedly powerful thunderbolt travels through them, courtesy of Raticate.

Both moves make contact with both Pokémon struggling to stand.

"They're both at their limits." Crash gasped. "One more move will decide it all."

"Raticate, use Quick Attack!"

"Starmie, use Tackle!"

The two Pokémon lunged at each other, but only one was fast enough. Raticate bounced off of Starmie's gem center, knocking it to the ground. Raticate panted for breath as it stood over its defeated opponent.

"Starmie is unable to battle, so Raticate wins! Sir Reginald Silverton is declared the winner and will continue onwards to the semifinals of the tournament."

The crowd roared in excitement, cheering for both trainers at their masterful display.

Misty stood silently, staring at her unconscious Starmie. She sadly smiles and pulls out its Pokéball.

"Starmie, you did amazing… come back and rest." She said, taking the center against one of its points.

Reginald approaches her, with a big smile.

"Well I dare say dear girl, we truly gave these folks a match to remember, wouldn't you say?"

Misty nodded. "Uh, yeah… I guess so…"

Reginald began to bow to the audience's applause. Misty looked confusedly at him and Reginald looked back at her.

"Come on now my dear, after a good performance, it's customary to bow." Reginald encouraged.

"Umm! OK!" She curtsied, trying to keep time with Reginald's bows. She felt herself smiling as she soaked up the praise.

Is this how my sisters feel after every performance? This feels… good! Even though I lost, I did my best. I could get used to this.

She looks up to Crash who was still cheering her on. She blushes more looking away from him.

But not too used to it!

Crash claps for Misty but looks around, not seeing Daisy or Brock. He frowns.

"Where are you Daisy?" He mumbled to himself.

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Brock retrieves his two rock Pokémon and congratulates them on a job well done as he stands surrounded by Rocket grunts.

"Hehehe… even stones erode given enough time." Proton shrugged as he stepped over defeated grunts and their Pokémon. "Hold the brat still."

Two grunts grab his arms, restraining him.

"Let me go!" The aspiring breeder commanded as he thrashed about, trying to free himself to no avail.

Proton lands a gut punch into Brock, stopping his escape attempts, and sending the rock specialist to the floor, clutching his stomach.

Proton puts his foot on Brock's cheek. "Now, you hardheaded punk. I don't like it when people mess with my plans…"

Proton squats down, his boot still on Brock. "And do you know what I do to people who interfere with my plans?

Brock's eyes widened with horror.

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With the semi finals decided, Brock's life hangs in the balance with Team Rocket. Will Daisy find Brock in time before her next battle, or will she be too late for her match and her friend? And why does this Team Rocket seem more terrifying than the terrible trio? You'll find out, as the journey continues…

I hope you all enjoyed the chapter and the changes in the story so far. If you did, make sure to check out the forum for this fanfic, where you can ask questions or make suggestions for the story going forward…

And be sure to read yonas813's Pokémon Neo Platinum! It's a good read! Catch ya later, Pokéfans!