Pikachu felt drained and exhausted. The Electric-type's cheeks burned from exertion, the work of several hours. Yet, it was necessary. The ship ran off of electricity and guzzled it to keep moving. Team Rocket rigged up a charging station in the heart of the ship, wherein a Pokémon who could create electricity could funnel their power into the battery bank. And he had done so for the last two days.
It was some of the same technology that some power plants in Kanto, recreated by Team Rocket. They said they would have also added in some giant hamster wheels to add another way to generate power, but there was no time to add one. They might have used the sail from time to time, but electricity ran the majority of the ship's functions.
At least, Pikachu wasn't the only one powering the ship. Jessie and James had their own turns plugged into the machinery, because they had their own electrical powers. Every few hours, one of them would get strapped in and funnel their electrical charge into the ship and keep the motors powered. Pikachu felt that there was a certain irony to that.
The rodent sighed as he wandered through the cargo hold ship. His job was done and the only thing he wanted to do now was to take it easy and relax. Most of the others present busied themselves with chores or board games. Cyclizar bitterly forked over money to Goldeen as the fish won yet bet, whilst Vulpix and James were talking about…clothes for some reason. Togepi ran around on Arbok under Misty's supervision like the snake was a giant rug.
Pikachu shrugged, passing them by. He didn't want to disturb any of them and passed by without speaking to any of them.
He walked by one of the private rooms and caught a glimpse of Brock doing something strange within. Pikachu stopped in his tracks as he saw that the lycanroc was hunched over some stones. The canine stared intently at a pile of rocks, which rolled and shifted under his gaze. The stones swirled in a chaotic mess, one that grew more coherent, more defined as the wolf used his power on the stones. A shape started to emerge, forming from the amalgam. Yet, before it could truly manifest, the stones exploded in a burst of shrapnel.
Pikachu ducked out of the way, narrowly avoiding getting caught in the blast
"Not again!" Brock howled to himself. "Okay, let me try that again. Focus. focus…"
Pikachu decided not to stick around any longer, not interested in a hospital stay. He bounced up the stairs and went to the top deck. Cinder, Squirtle, and Charizard were present. The turtle held an ink brush and writing supplies on one hand, with the dragon looking over him. Cinder sat nearby, her nose buried deep in a book, muttering something the rodent couldn't understand.
"And that's how money works?" Charizard asked curiously, the dragon looking over the paper.
"Yup," Squirtle explained, his tone one of overwhelming confidence. "Nothing in society is free. There's always a cost associated with it."
"But still, I didn't know we used up that much money!" Charizard looked astonished. "Like, that's a lot of bags of Pokéchow!"
Pikachu tilted his ears as he walked up the stairs. He clearly got involved with the conversation too late to get the full context. "What's with all of the noise?" he asked.
"Oh, hey Pikachu! Nothing much, just telling Charizard about how much we actually spend every day." Squirtle waved a clawed hand and started to count on the digits. "Everyone's got to eat, creature comforts, any travel expenses, upkeep, training supplies, medicine, the list just goes on and on."
Charizard looked pained. "I never even thought about it before."
"Oh, is that it? Yeah, it's quite a lot." Pikachu shrugged. Admittedly, his own knowledge about money wasn't that deep. He knew enough to use it to buy food when he was hungry or if he needed to purchase something, but anything to do with ledgers was more than he was capable of. He knew its importance, but it was not something he really needed to learn.
"And that's not getting into the coinage, or what passes for coinage around here," Squirtle laughed. "Or taxation. "
"Money is so weird," Charizard groaned.
Pikachu smirked as he left the two of them. It was strange to see the dragon so interested in learning about such an inessential subject, but he guessed the dragon didn't exactly have many hobbies he could perform on the ship.
It was at the front of the ship Pikachu found who he was looking for.
Ash sat in a lotus position, his eyes closed looked at the horizon ahead. It was strange to see the excitable riolu sitting still like that instead of moving around, but it was part of his grandfather's training. Maybe he decided to keep at it?
Pikachu felt so tired, so fatigued upon being reminded. The private conversation he had with Mister Tajiri still weighed heavily on him, all of it relating to Ash… his now brother.
No. The rodent set his worries aside for later. No, he was here to relax and have fun with his closest friend. And he had a brilliant idea on how he wanted to start his break. He slowly crept forward, following directly behind his trainer whilst he still sat there and meditated. He needed to be very slow and patient about what he wanted to do next.
Abruptly, Ash's tail shook. "Hey, Pikachu!" he said before turning his head.
The sudden shout nearly caused the rodent to trip and fall over, but he caught himself at the last minute. "Ash?" he paused. "Wait, you knew it was me?"
"Yeah!" The riolu giggled. "I'm getting better at telling everyone apart from each other!"
Pikachu blinked, so much for that plan to surprise him. He shrugged and walked over. "Is this another weird riolu thing?"
"I think so!" Ash smirked. He pointed over his heart. "Like, I have to focus really hard at it, but I'm getting to the point now where I can sort… guess who's nearby."
Pikachu wondered how it must have felt, being able to sense people in that way. It reminded him a bit about how his kind had the ability to sense and read strong electrical or magnetic fields. "Huh, that's neat. How can you tell who's who?"
"Well, uh, it's kind of hard to explain." Ash frowned, touching his chin. "Like, everyone kind of has their own… feel, something that's unique to them. Think of it like, how you can touch something and kind of guess what it is. Wood is wood, stone is stone, water is wet, that sort of thing."
Pikachu nodded. He sort of understood the explanation, though granted, he had no idea what he "felt" like, in Ash's purview. Either way, it sounded impressive, especially given that Ash had no idea how to do any of this stuff two months ago. "So, you're training to get better at feeling things?"
"Uhuh!" The jackal pup gave a proud smirk. "I mean, I can't exactly train by punching things on the boat, especially not after last time. So, this is what I've been working on! Course, I still kind of wish I could just, you know, use my muscles more."
"If only we had oars or a treadmill we can use to power the ship off of you," Pikachu joked. "We could definitely use that near exhaustible supply of energy you always seemed to have!"
"Yeah, that'd be fun." The riolu stuck out his tongue and gently shoved the rodent in the side. "So, you holding up okay? I know being a living generator isn't exactly what you wanted it to do"
"It's not that bad," Pikachu replied. It wasn't particularly stressful, just a whole lot of work over a period of hours. "Really, I guess you can think of it as endurance or stamina training. Not as fun as moving though."
"Yeah, definitely not as fun," Ash agreed. "Sitting in one spot and doing the same thing over and over again is boring!"
"How's your sensing training work?" Pikachu asked. "What's it like?"
Ash smiled. "It's like… opening your eyes and seeing things that you couldn't before. Except, it isn't just with your eyes. Sometimes, it's like I could reach out and touch people, except without you know, using my hands."
Pikachu's ears twitched, curious. "Right. And these senses, you're improving them."
"Yeah, pretty much." Ash frowned, his face contorting as he mulled over his words. "I'm learning to do more than just use my eyes. It's hard to get in the mindset to really focus at it, but I'm getting better at finding stuff like that all around me. It's kind of cool, really." He gave a proud look, satisfied with the results.
Pikachu nodded, so, essentially, Ash was honing his sensory abilities by using them as much as he could. That made sense. Practice by doing. The rodent then frowned. When this was all over, would Ash be able to do that anymore?
Then, as the rodent thought about odd sensory abilities, a slight buzz ran through his fur, one that grew and grew. His kind, and nearly all Electric-types for that matter, had the ability to sense and read electricity in the air. Most of the time, the ability did not serve a purpose, but Pikachu could feel the air slowly getting electrified.
The rodent turned his attention from Ash towards the front of the ship. Ahead, he spotted a collection of dark, angry clouds that gathered overhead. Lightning crackled inside the tempest. They weren't heading towards it, but it was still concerning to think about.
"We gotta turn the ship, fast!" Pikachu exclaimed. "There's a storm ahead! Where's Meowth?
"I'm right here!" The cat announced his presence from atop the ship's rear most section. "What's da problem?"
"THAT!" Pikachu pointed.
Ash stared at the sea of clouds, perturbed. "That looks bad."
"What looks bad?" Cinder walked over, the fox setting her book aside. "What's with the ruckus, anyways?"
Pikachu pointed with a single digit, making it clear to the zorua about the apparent and obvious problem staring at them. "That big storm there! We have to turn the ship to avoid it!"
Cinder blinked at the two of them, a look of utter confusion on her face. "Uh, why does that look bad?"
"Well, for one, we're going to be caught in that brewing storm if we're going through. And I don't want to get soaked, no thanks!" Charizard walked behind her. The big dragon stuck out his tongue in apparent disgust.
"Or struck by lightning!" Pikachu pointed at those very angry clouds again.
Cinder tilted her head. "Both circumstances are very unlikely to happen there." She then frowned. "That's just the local weather station creating clouds for use later."
"Weather station?" Pikachu balked. "Creating clouds?"
"Yeah, what da rat said!" Meowth said.
"Don't Maiju from outside have the power to shape the weather?" Cinder looked concerned.
"I don't, but I don't think I've ever heard of anyone who can do… That!" Pikachu pointed. He had heard of a number of Pokémon who could alter the weather in a limited fashion, but to his knowledge, nothing came close to the scale he saw. Every sense in his body told him that he was looking at an incredibly nasty storm, one that could probably knock the ship over if it got loose. And yet, Cinder didn't even seem to be concerned at all!
"Hey, Cinder. Haven't you ever been in a nasty storm before?" Ash asked. "Like, storms can be very destructive if you're not ready for it. Like, they could destroy your house if it isn't designed to endure it or flood your streets or rivers until you're knee deep, uh shoulder deep in water."
"Uh, not really. I mean, sometimes the weather guild miscalculates and overloads their clouds, but they generally don't destroy people's houses with their work with heavy rains." Cinder frowned. "...I take it you don't have a weather guild, do you?"
"No, no, we don't. Why would we?" Pikachu took a seat as he mulled over the fox's words. As a wild raised Pokémon, even he learned to fear the fury of the storm.
"So, we're not getting rained on?" Charizard asked.
Ash asked. "Or struck by lightning?"
"No. It's perfectly safe, just as long as we stay away from the stormweavers and their work." Cinder answered simply. She frowned and then raised a paw.
"I'll do that," Meowth said as he turned the wheel of the ship, swinging the boat slightly away from the storm.
Pikachu stared as clouds from the sky descended and touched the surface of the sea. Though it was distant, he could see the spiral siphoning the water skyward, feeding the clouds that birthed it.
"Oh, wow, is that Dragon Rage?" Ash called out. "We got trapped in one of those before and let me tell you, that was quite the experience!"
"Unfortunately," Pikachu agreed. Ash was talking about that time with that freshly evolved Gyrados decided to take his revenge on everyone for nearly being dinner.
"I'm not sure, but it would be reasonable to assume that it is part of the whole work," Cinder said. "You see, the founder of the weather guild discovered a long time ago that at higher altitudes, water needed less heat to turn into clouds. So, he and his family started experimenting with creating whirlwinds to siphon water from the sea and to force it into the sky to rapidly create new clouds. As the technique became more complicated and refined, more joined his cause to form the weather guild as we know it today."
Pikachu could barely make out the faint silhouettes of dozens of bird Pokémon flying in and around the storm. Each moved their wings in strange directions, the clouds reshaping in the wake. One segment of the cloud mass was even broken off from the main section and forced away.
"How do you become that powerful?" Charizard stared. "Powerful enough to do that to the sky?"
Cinder shook her head. "It's not about raw power, it's about knowledge. Admittedly, I don't know too much about this, but I know that the modern method requires dozens if not hundreds of Maiju working together, each doing their part to either maintain or manage the siphon. If the storm is too weak and the siphon isn't powerful enough to carry water up to the sky, too strong and it can cause quite a few accidents."
"They must make a killing off of that stuff," Squirtle commented. "Like, if they're the weather guild, that must mean they don't have many rivals."
"Sort of. Each major island or chain of islands has its own weather guild branch servicing their local area." Cinder said.
"Oh, so like a utilities company then?" Squirtle said.
"I… what are utilities again?" Cinder asked.
Squirtle rambled off an explanation and Meowth said something about a Boss, but Pikachu stopped paying attention to them.
Instead, his attention was focused almost entirely on the gathering storm clouds. In his old life, before being Ash's Pokémon, the storm was something to fear. Though as an Electric-type, he wasn't going to suffer a fatal injury from being struck by lightning, the wind and rain were terrifying hazards that threatened to swallow up anyone caught in their way, burying them under debris. When a storm rolled by in his home forest, the entire place was turned over its head as every Pokémon and animal present ran to find shelter and flee the devastation.
In Citrine, the storm wasn't something to be feared, but rather something to be controlled and used for one's own benefit. While Pikachu at first thought it seemed unnatural to tame the weather, this really wasn't that weird the more he thought about it. Many Pokémon had the power to shape or control the weather, not to the scale of what the weather guild had, but they still had that power. The guild is basically doing what many other Pokémon did, except as a group.
As they moved away from the storm, a… mountain came into view. It was oddly flat compared to the tall spires that Pikachu had seen before, but it was so large that the whole island rose from it. A sprase forest covered the majority of the mountain, with what looked like tiny villages dotting the mountain's base, roads like spider webs. Pikachu had no idea of its scale, but the mountain looked pretty big at this distance
"Oh, hey is that Heliotrope Mountain!?" Ash exclaimed, jumping onto the ship's railing, his tail wagging. "We're going to get the next badge, I mean Emera!"
Pikachu frowned, the old jackal's words weighing on him. The next Emera was soon approaching and with it Ash came another step closer to not only leaving Citrine forever, but losing so much of himself in the process, both in his body and his mind.
"Say, does anyone know where Misty is?" Ash barked, breaking Pikachu away from his thoughts. "I have something I want to do!"
Pikachu blinked. "Uh, what do you mean by that?"
Brock shook the dust off of his coat and stared at the mess that he created.
He had yet another failure but he wasn't discouraged. He had been at this for days, but he was getting closer to learning what wanted. Inspiration had guided him this far and he wasn't keen on giving up just yet.
The lycanroc turned his gaze to the small collection of rubble on the floor and reached out with the power deep in his heart. The stones shifted and moved under his sight, rattling as well as forcing it into the desired shape. One, two, three, four. He was doing great. All he needed was the last digit and.
And then the construct burst into a shower of stones.
"Okay, I got too excited there, but that's progress," the lycanroc muttered under his breath.
And to think, he thought this would have been easy.
"Uh, Brock?" Vulpix's voice reached out to him. "What's going on, what's with all of the noise?"
Brock raised his head to the door and saw Vulpix along with Geodude standing in the doorway.
"Yeah, we've been getting a little worried once things started exploding," said Geodude as he hopped over.
"It's a new move I'm… inventing, I guess you can say," Brock admitted. He didn't really see a point in hiding his project and besides, maybe his friends had an insight he overlooked. "I've been working on this for the past few days."
"Oh, really? Inventing a new move?" Vulpix eyes raised in interest. "Is this because the next Gym… Dojo is going to have Flying-types?"
"No. This move isn't really meant for fighting, though I can guess you can try using it to fight with if you really wanted to," Brock explained. He gathered the collection of stones on the floor back into its pile. "No, what this move is meant for is… living. For use outside of battle."
"Hmph, now you're doing something really interesting there," Geodude chortled, amused. "You weren't even born a Rock-type and you're already thinking up new moves?"
"I don't know, but I think it's because I was born human, I'm probably the only one who really thought of doing this," the lycanroc answered. Using the technique he learned when practicing alchemy, he focused his mind on the collection of stones at his disposal, reaching deep into his heart, the source of his power. He manifested it into his rock collection once again, removing the shape he wanted, on digit at a time.
"A a hand?" Vulpix said, startled and amazed as the collection of stones took on the rough size and shape of a human hand, except missing a few digits.
"Hm, now I see what you mean, Brock." Geodude nodded. He hoped over to the manifested hand.
"More than anything else, I've always felt a little down because I couldn't hold things like I used to. I couldn't really cook or clean, and I just wasn't good at using my mouth to compensate like Cinder could; I hadn't grown up using my jaw to hold everything." Brock admitted, though everyone knew that already. In a way, it was sort of ironic that the wolf only really had the power and the skill to compensate for the thing he missed most about behind human only after he had come to know that more lupine side to himself. "I realized one day, I didn't have to use my body to hold things."
The hand construct collapsed abruptly, another failure. Brock wasn't deterred in the least. "It's actually much harder than you'd think it is, making every digit work properly or keeping the power low so it doesn't destroy objects it's holding," the lycanroc said. "My natural impulse has it crush anything it grabs onto."
"Wow, that's… that's incredible!" Vulpix exclaimed. "You can do so much with this!"
"Yeah… Hm, honestly kind of wonder why no one tried using their geokinesis like that," Geodude thought. "Like, it looks like the sort of thing others would try, right?"
"In my case, I already know what having a hand feels like, but I don't have them anymore," Brock said. "Like, you have hands already, Geodude. You don't need to make new ones, so maybe your species never bothered to think about it. But for Pokémon like Onix? They never had hands before and I think that's an important factor - this whole thing started when I noticed that my version of Rock Tomb was hand shaped."
"Right, I guess that makes sense," Geodude rubbed at his chin. "I wonder if I can try my hand at it. I mean, now that I know what you're doing, it can't hurt to try."
"If you figure it out, maybe you can help me out," Brock said. "Everything just falls apart when I try to make the fingers."
"Don't mind if I do," Geodude said as he looked at the pile of stones and gathered them up.
"I'm kind of wondering if I could make my own move like this," Vulpix wondered aloud and then frowned. "Oh wait, I'd set the ship on fire!"
"There's always seeing if you could learn conventional telekinesis," Brock suggested. "I heard some ninetales had powers like that."
"Hm, maybe." Vulpix looked considerate.
Just then, Geodude focused his gaze over the collection of stones. Like Brock, he attempted to make a hand. "Yeah, I can see why this is a bit hard. Usually, when one of us is controlling rocks like this, we're making simple shapes. This is doing lots of shapes simultaneously, especially if you're including joints."
"Do you really have to do each digit?" Vulpix said. "Like, maybe you can simplify things if you reduce the complexity. Like, mom always said that past a certain point, you can make an outfit awful if you overdo it."
"I could try that, but doing it like this just, I don't know, feels more natural despite how hard it is." Brock said. Maybe it was his upbringing as a human that made him insist on such a complicated structure, but that was what felt right to him.
"I'm sure you'll get the hang of it, Brock," Geodude reassured him, a knowing chuckle on his face. "Like, I know you're capable of it."
"Yeah, thanks," Brock replied. He stared at the collection of stones, wondering just where exactly he went wrong. The hand shaped constructs he made unconsciously seemed like they were capable of such articulation, though trying to create one intentionally currently faced some roadblocks. What was the flaw in his current methodology?
But the lycanroc didn't have time to think long, as a violent shriek reached his ears. "HEY GUYS!" Zubat cried out, her voice reverberating in the cramped walls of the ship's cargo hold.
Brock winced, his ears ringing. Vulpix similarly braced herself.
"Uh, sorry…" Zubat lowered her head, her voice somewhat audible from the ringing in Brock's ears.
"Indoor voice next time." Vulpix made a face.
"What's the occasion?" Brock said.
Zubat looked sheepish for a moment before answering. "Uh, so anyways, we hit land and uh yeah… Team Rocket said something about not wanting to rent a harbor space, so we're landing at a beach."
"Right, our coffers are running dry," Brock said. Between Team Rocket's remodeling of the ship and the complete inability to sell edible goods in the Capital without a license, the collective purse wasn't in the healthiest of shape
"A beach?" Vulpix said, her tails shaking with interest.
Brock had an interest on the beach, too. Sure, there was water at a beach, but it was also land. And the lycanroc had kept his mind from thinking about being surrounded on water on all sides for the past day or so; he wanted dry land. Besides, his kind were beach dogs, apparently.
"I'm told it's not the good kind of beach," Zubat said apologetically. "Like, I can't see it, but I don't think the sky makes for a good beach experience."
Vulpix frowned.
"It's fine, we'll make due with what we have to work with," Brock said. Besides, if they weren't getting to a harbor, that meant there were probably not so many locals who would notice Onix coming out of his Pokéball. Which then reminded him; The lycanroc dug into his bags and retrieved his oldest friend's Pokéball from its hiding spot. "Come on, let's get off the boat."
"You don't have to tell me twice," Geodude said.
Brock and his team left the ship's hold and climbed onto the top deck, where some of the others were milling about. Unlike when they were loading the ship full of supplies, the others only took their personal belongings, usually enough to fit in a single sack or backpack.
But as soon as Brock looked up, he was greeted with a troubling sight. Instead of the sun's warm rays bathing his fur in its glow, the sky was full of grey clouds that smothered the sunlight. While they didn't seem like they could burst at any moment, it certainly dampened the mood.
"Huh, so that's what Zubat meant," Vulpix commented.
Undeterred, the lycanroc walked to the very edge of the ship, a path made of ice leading down to a rocky shore. Jessie, Squirtle, Goldeen, Staryu, and Misty all contributed, using ice moves and hydrokinesis to shape the ramp. Brock wondered why they did that, but then he realized that the ship's dimensions probably didn't really allow it to make a landing; most of it was just under the waterline. And that meant that it coudln't approach the shoreline without risking getting stranded.
As Brock thought about that, a riolu ran one to the ice, rocketing down slope as he made it to the shore. Ash slipped midway through and then abruptly lost his balance and fell into the water.
"ASH!" Misty called out. "We're not done yet!"
The riolu poked his head up out of the bay. He stuck his tongue out.
The ice bridge then gained curves at its side to keep people from slipping
"This isn't ideal," Vulpix frowned. She turned to Geodude. "You sure you can't do that but with rock?"
Geodude shook his head. "I mean, technically doable, but that's a lot of work, especially to make a structure that'll last long after we're gone."
"It'd have an effect. I recall a story about how somewhere in Europe, a general decided to invade an island by having his army move stones to create a land bridge to it. Over the ages, sand gathered and formed an actual land mass where people live on to this day," Brock said. "Ice melts, rocks don't."
"WE'RE DONE!" Squirtle called out. "You can slide now!"
Vulpix frowned, though her mood slightly. "Well, it does look like a little fun." She jumped down the ramp, sliding down the path.
Geodude hoped over and rolled down the hill, wrapping his arms around his body as he did so.
Brock, eager to release Onix, went immediately after his friends, taking his friend's Pokéball into his mouth. He ran onto the ramp, using all four of his paws to keep himself stable. Cold shot up his legs but he didn't care. He gained a surprising amount of momentum, enough that he was able to make it all the way to the shore without moving.
Vulpix and Geodude hopped off the frigid slide, small smirks on their faces.
"It was a little fun, could do without the chill, though," Vulpux muttered.
"Eh, it was too smooth if you ask me. Not enough trumbling around, but I don't think you fleshy folk like that," Geodude responded.
"Hm, wonder if I should try it," Zubat said, flapping next to them. She just flew over.
Brock joined them, hopping off the slide with an eagerness that he hadn't thought himself capable. He licked the dry ground beneath his feet, feeling its presence soothe him like it was water in the desert. But he didn't linger there long.
He heard others coming down the ramp, all similarly eager to get off the ship
"Excuse me, I have to do something," Brock told his team. The lycanroc quickly left the shore and went slightly further inland, to a rocky outcropping. From there, he found a small cave, one that seemed both unoccupied and large enough for his purposes. He wasn't very far away from everyone else, too.
The former human scanned the area one last time to make sure there were no onlookers. There didn't seem to be any birds in the sky, Pokémon or otherwise. The cave felt vacant, too.
Brock dropped Onix's pokéball where he stood. Then he nudged its button with its nose. Onix arose from the ball in a flash of light, extending his head upward as be made a large grinding yawn. He twisted and curled his body as he adjusted to his surroundings.
"Brock…" the rock snake said.
"How you doing, buddy?" Brock said, glad his friend was awake.
"Sleepy," the rock snake said, his tone still weary. He didn't use as many words as he normally did either. "Will. Wake. Soon."
"Yeah, sometimes it's like that," Brock said, "We'll get something for you to eat real soon."
"Hmm… Good." Onix muttered as he twisted and writhed in what passed for his kind's version of a stretch.
"I'll give you some space," the lycanroc promised as he left the cave to let his friend have time to fully recover.
Brock felt that he didn't need to wait too long, so he decided to simply sit right outside the cave and just wait for Onix to be ready.
Idly, the lycanroc looked at his surroundings. The large shield volcano that made up the mountain and the island looked fairly interesting, if a little different from all of the cinder cone volcanoes he had seen all over the place. As his eyes moved over to the nearby shrublands, he noticed something odd. Namely, it was the fact he spotted some coconut trees.
Brock blinked, not expecting that. Didn't those only grow in the tropics? Then again, the island did feel warmer than the more temperate climate of the other islands now that he thought about it. Did that mean that the rest of the island was more tropical then?
He shook his head and decided that it probably wasn't worth thinking about at the moment; Citrine was a weird place after all. Instead, he looked down and saw a small collection of stones near his feet, all of a similar size and shape to the ones he used in the ship.
Maybe it was a sign to try making a hand again. And besides, Onix would definitely be interested in learning this new move.
"You're going down!" Ash shouted in Misty's face.
"I could fight you in my sleep!" Misty shouted back.
The two former humans stood on the shore, at least a dozen paces from the ice slide. Most everyone who wanted to get off the ship had done so already.
"Hah, that's the only place you can beat me!" Ash responded, twisting her words.
"You still haven't gotten my badge, Ash Ketchum!" Misty snapped.
They stared hard at each other and growled, waiting for the first sign of weakness from the other. Ash was determined to win the contest, regardless of the cost.
"So, uh may the best Pokémon win?" Pikachu muttered while standing beside Ash, his voice uncertain.
"Yeah, and uh… have fun?" Staryu said as well.
Ash and Misty broke their staring contest and turned to their Pokémon partners.
"Guys, come on!" Ash called out. "Make with the trash talk. This is a rival battle!"
"Right, sorry! Still kind of tired!" Pikachu apologized before turning to Staryu. He stretched his limbs out to every direction, putting his ears together to form a single triangle shape. If Ash squinted his eyes, he could see the Electric-type did his best Staryu impression "This is what you look like. You have a face only a mother could love!"
"Ah!" Staryu gasped, making exaggerated motions with his limbs like he was about to faint. "How dare you give me such an insult? Prepare to die!"
"Yeah, that's more like it! That's how rival fights are supposed to sound!" Ash said, his gaze turning to Misty. The two of them really weren't rivals, at least not the same way Ash and Gary were rivals. Though that may have had to do with the fact that ever since the riolu had been a trainer, Misty had been traveling beside him ever since his first day. Their rivalry, if it could even be called that, only really existed because the two of them had wanted to have a little fun.
"You ready to lose, Ash Ketchum?" The buizel's face contorted with a confident smirk. Behind that face, she bubbled with eager excitement; which was perfectly fine, because Ash felt the same way, too. After all, the two of them had been looking forward to this.
"No, because I'm not going to lose!" Ash stuck out his tongue.
Misty scowled. The buizel leapt backwards, moving into a fighting stance with her twirling into position. "Then prove it!"
Ash grunted. He tossed his hat towards Pikachu without even turning his head, trusting his partner had things in hand. It probably wasn't a good day for him to fight, given he acted as a living battery for most of today. The riolu extended one foot forward and raised both of his arms, paws open and ready to project energy.
As the two got ready to fight, others on the beach started to take notice. Most of the Pokémon present stopped what they were doing, their eyes focusing on the pair as they sized each other up.
"Oh, the Twerps are gonna have at it?" Meowth murmured.
"Please, try not to have yourselves injured too badly?" Cinder pleaded.
"GO BEAT HIM UP, MOMMY!" Togepi cheered as innocent as can be.
"I've got carats on Misty winning! Does anyone else want to make a wager?" Goldeen shouted.
"You sure? Boss won the first time!" Squirtle reached into his sack and pulled a single pearl. "Whatever. My pocket change for Ash!"
"Hey, hey! If there's gonna be a bet, run it by me!" Meowth said.
Others started to weigh in, giving their support or making bets. Ash found it a little funny that people were betting on this little fight, but maybe that was okay - most of them were friends after all. Some people had fun gambling and this whole fight was about having fun.
"Alright, looks like you and me are the trainers in this rival battle, Staryu," Pikachu said.
"It appears so," Staryu said calmly as he took his position behind Misty.
Ash took one last look at Misty, taking a deep breath as he did. The two of them felt eager to test themselves against another. Excitement, anticipation, and pride burned within the two of them, perfect mirrors to each other. For all of their differences, the two of them were so very alike in so many ways.
Pikachu then called the first move. "Ash, close in and punch her!"
With the order sent, Ash dashed forward, his feet kicking up dirt and sand as he ran. He balled his fist and threw it, aiming at the buizel's center mass as his grandfather showed him.
Staryu called his own order. "Spinning block and counter."
On Staryu's command, Misty's arms shifted into a spin. One arm deflected Ash's punch, whilst the other slammed a backhand over the riolu's cheek.
"Push forward and overpower!" Pikachu called
Ash recoiled backwards from the blow. In response, he dug his unstable foot and launched himself at the buizel, paws extended. "Hah!"
Misty raised both arms for a crossguard block, but the force of absorbing the blow sent her taking a few steps backwards.
"Water Gun!" Staryu shouted. "And close in!"
Misty dropped her guard and then spat a stream of water, aimed square against Ash's chest.
The riolu attempted to dodge out of the way, but Misty's aim hit true. Ash staggered backwards, his feet sliding backwards from the force of the water, barely able to move as Misty kept showering him. At the same time, the buizel hopped forward, keeping the pressure up as she advanced.
"Rock Throw!" Pikachu called out.
"Wait, what?" Staryu shouted in disbelief. "Riolu can't-"
Ash, however, saw what Pikachu meant. His eyes shifted to his left and saw a large boulder. The riolu, seeing what he needed, punched the boulder and tore off a chunk small enough for him to carry. He tossed it like a frisbee, just under the Water Gun's stream. Misty, perhaps too distracted by the Water Gun, failed to spot the stone disk as it hammered into her chest.
The buizel reeled back, winded from the sudden strike, her Water Gun sputtering as she coughed. "Hm, not bad," she coughed. "Not bad, Ash."
"You've got good moves yourself." Ash said with a smile. He could feel the mutual enjoyment in their fight, how the two of them felt eager to keep going further. "Alright, enough with the warm up!"
"Funny you say that." Misty laughed as she clenched as fist, cold gathering in her grasp.
"Ash!" Pikachu shouted.
The riolu gave his companion a nod and dove right in.
Misty ran forward to meet him, swinging a frigid punch in the riolu's vicinity.
Falling back on a blocking technique Gramps showed him, Ash slapped her fist away and then followed up by using his other paw to level a palm strike, one charged with blue fire.
Misty blinked in surprise, but she acted before thinking. The buizel rolled backwards and took the blow on one of her wrists. But a blow that would have ended the fight mere weeks ago only just slowed her down.
"Liquidate!" Staryu called out.
Ash squinted. "What? You mean that thing banks do when you're in debt and take what you have to pay it off? I didn't know that was a move!"
"How do you know that is?" Misty shouted in frustration. Her fins glowed with power as water gathered around them. A large blade formed on her forearms, one long enough that it hat Ash worried. She swung the blade and raked Ash's sides.
Ash felt a stinging sensation as the water cut into his chest. He leapt out of the way before the cut could grow deeper, but he knew he probably had some visible cuts across his body now. Not that it changed things; he still intended to fight with all he had. But right now, it seemed like he and his opponent were in a stalemate.
He turned towards his partner. "You have any ideas?"
"Just one," Pikachu said with a nod. "Now get back in there!"
"Now, what do you have in mind, Ash Ketchum?" Misty said coyly, her blades of water still up.
"I think I know what. Misty, charge in!" Staryu said.
Misty and Ash charged each other for a third and final time. But as they neared, their partners called out their orders, starting with their trainer's names.
"Ash-!
"Misty-!"
And then at the same time, they gave an order, the same order. "QUICK ATTACK!"
Ash took a deep breath and focused his mind. His perception changed as the world slowed down to a crawl as he continued to run at his opponent. The onlookers in the crowd were practically frozen, their words and shouts of joy now agonizing slow for his liking. The only thing in that world that moved at the same speed as the riolu was Misty.
The buizel blazed forward, moving so fast that the dirt she kicked up didn't even time to fall.
The two ran into each other. Misty slashed at him with her watery blades, but the riolu spun out of the way. He tackled Misty, breaking focus and shattering her blades.
"Now, Ash!"
The riolu threw two punches at Misty, scoring hits on her sides before aiming a burning Force Palm down her midsection.
Misty recoiled and twisted, water forming around her. She formed an Aqua Jet and rammed into Ash before he could land that decisive blow.
The riolu spun in place, barely managing to keep his footing. He felt his head spinning, the Aqua Jet might have hit him in the head
"Keep Quick Attacking!" someone said, but it was hard to tell who it was for.
Ash lunged forward, using the quick attack to get a momentary advantage as he landed a punch on Misty.
Misty, in turn, responded by using her own speed to knock Ash off and slam both of her tails into Ash's face in response.
Ash dove in and decided to chomp on one of her tails in reply.
Misty slapped him off. And then kept slapping him again and again, until the Fighting-type swept her leg off the ground and made her eat sand.
The two exchanged a volley of blows, one after the other, tit for tat.
Injured and feeling burning pain crawling all over his body, Ash's attacks grew sloppier and less precise, his blocks more rushed than before. Misty barely fared any better, her motions stilted and misjoined from her own mounting injuries. Bruised lips, bloodied cuts all across their fur, and bruise marks filled them. And yet it was strange, the two of them were having the time of their lives despite the injuries they were accumulating.
Ash sloppily pushed Misty away.
"Let's finish this!" Pikachu called out.
"Indeed!" Staryu shouted. "Misty, it's time for our newest technique!"
"Not… really a technique…" Misty stepped forward, barely able to stand. Yet despite that, she brought both of her paws together in excited glee. Water extended from her paws, forming a pole as the move began to take shape.
Ash braced himself, ready to take on whatever it was that Misty was doing. He turned towards Pikachu, awaiting one more order.
Pikachu looked hesitant, yet the rodent built the resolve. "Ash. I want you to use Hidden Power."
The riolu blinked, surprised by his partner's chosen move. It had been a while since he had used it last, though his control over his abilities had increased since then. "Why? Why that move?"
"It's your strongest move. If they're going to give it their all, might as well oblige them!" Pikachu smirked.
"Right!" Ash said, turning to face Misty again. Though, a part of him felt worried; he hadn't even practiced using the technique after the week he learned it, largely because he kept hurting himself using it. And now, Pikachu was asking him to use it, here and now.
The construct of water in Misty's paws took shape, forming a very large mass at its tip. The thing was even bigger than the buizel, yet she carried it so easily despite the size and weight difference.
"A hammer!?" Ash said, once he realized the shape it took.
Gasps rang from the crowd. Togepi was the only one who shouted in excitement.
"What can I say?" Misty breathed. "I like carrying one around!" She raised the hammer over her head like it weighed a feather. And then the hammer froze over, turning into solid ice in her grasp.
"Misty, use ICE HAMMER!" Staryu called out.
"Hidden Power!" Pikachu shouted.
Misty laughed like she had gone mad. The buizel leapt into the air and brought the hammer crashing down far faster than Ash expected.
Like a meteor, it came at the riolu. And he didn't have time to get out of the way. No, he had to go forward, following his best friend's orders. The riolu reached into that part of himself, a place he had only really learned to tap into once, back when he barely understood what he was doing. It was a wild thing, something within him he couldn't control, couldn't understand; it burned him every time he touched it. Yet time and practice made it familiar, something he could recognize as his own.
Ash reached that energy… and brought it to the surface. Burning light filled him, like his body was set ablaze. The power came as it was called, now it awaited release. "Hidden Power!" he shouted at the top of his lungs. He charged the hammer and let the power within him loose.
Misty's hammer of ice met Ash's fiery spirit… and exploded.
Ash found himself knocked back as a sudden explosion of hot water and steam engulfed him.
For a brief moment, the riolu didn't know what happened exactly. Then, cold ocean water washed into him, waking the jackal pup from his stupor. He found himself lying in a small hole in the ground in the sandy beach, sore burns and tiny shards of ice all over his body. His muscles ached from strain, yet all told, it wasn't the worst he faced.
"ASH!" a voice called, one the riolu ha a hard time listening to, because his ears were still ringing from the explosion
But, he didn't need to use his powers to guess who it was. "Hey, Pikachu."
Pikachu leapt over to his trainer and looked over the riolu's bruised body. "Are you hurt?"
"It's not that bad," Ash said, giving his friend a smile. The riolu rose to his feet to prove his point, aches and pains spiking as moved. He took a step and nearly fell over, but managed to regain his balance. "Just bruising, no broken bones we need to patch over."
"Still…" Pikachu's ears fell.
"Hey, you're the one who said to use that move!" Ash snapped. "Besides, I think I'm getting the hang of using it!"
Pikachu crossed his arms. "I mean, we probably should practice it more."
"Maybe." Ash smirked. "But first!" The riolu brushed the sand off of his fur and walked towards where Misty fell.
The buizel pulled herself out of the water, Staryu right behind her. She hobbled along, leaning on one of her legs more than the other. She turned to face Ash with a stern expression on her face. "Draw?"
"Draw." Ash said, extending a hand.
Misty reached out and they shook.
Ash smiled, feeling an odd sense of contentment from the buizel. Then again, he felt satisfied as well, having had the opportunity to face a peer opponent with everything he had. The riolu hadn't had a chance to properly face Misty since the this whole journey began. In that time, the two of them had grown from two former humans who barely understood how to be Pokémon to… competent Pokémon
"Ash! Get over here!" Pikachu called out.
"Misty! We have medicine!" Staryu said.
The two unnamed Pokémon stood at the shore, potion bottles nearby them. The crowd of onlookers raised shouts of cheer, congratulating the two of them for their performance during the fight.
Togepi ran up to the two of them, calling for her adoptive mother to get to her
"Looks like they want us," Ash commented. "Probably want to fill us with that awful medicine."
"We did beat each other up. Come on." Misty let go of her hand and went to walk towards the crowd. She patted Togepi on the head as she went by her.
"So, Ice Hammer? I didn't think you could learn that," Ash said, reveling in the joy around him.
"Hey, you used Rock Throw! And it's just freezing water in the shape of a hammer. Any Water-type could probably learn it if they knew how to freeze things." Misty shrugged and then promptly she winced in pain. "Still, Fire-type Hidden Power? The ice was melting before it turned to steam."
"It might be?" Ash said back. He had heard Hidden Power was a move whose type was specific to a given Pokémon, sometimes being a type of energy that that Pokémon couldn't normally use; others said that it was purely typeless, but Ash hadn't really stopped to learn which was true or not. "I am named Ash, though," he proposed.
Misty gave the riolu a light smirk, amused by that response. Then, she walked over to Staryu and received treatment.
Ash walked over to Pikachu and did the same. His partner was being extra careful, making sure that he wasn't that injured.
As he was treated, the young jackal turned his gaze to the sky. Despite the dense thicket of grey clouds overhead, it felt as warm and soothing as a bright and sunny day.
Jessie patrolled the deck of her precious ship, surveying it for any damage or debris that needed to be corrected. The other members of Team Rocket were cleaning, too, but she paid them no mind. So much time and money had gone into getting the thing functional that she did not want the thing from breaking. It might have been an old decommissioned merchant vessel, but the ship had survived getting into fights where lesser vessels broke or capsized; the magikarp submarines couldn't boast of having such resilience.
But as Jessie did her patrol, she realized something odd. The ship felt so empty now. The twerps were still on the shore, getting ready to make their departure soon. Yet, already, the ship seemed oddly vacant without their constant chattering and back and forth activities. The only thing remaining of them was the faint decaying scents that lingered all over the place, but that wouldn't last a week, especially if Team Rocket cleaned up.
The eevee shunted those thoughts away, instead she found some fruit peelings left on a table. The twerps obviously forgot about it. With a flick of her tail, she sent the thing flying into a trashcan some feet away. Jessie smirked at her own skill and expertise, a fact that was already self evident to everyone with a brain.
As she continued walking, she noticed an oddity. It was James, sitting on the ship's railing, his legs dangling over the edge. He seemingly wasn't doing anything, but then again, he was doing battery duty not that long ago.
The eevee walked over to him, curious as to what his pikachu partner in crime was thinking. She hopped onto the railing."What are you doing here, James?"
"Hey, Jessie. I'm just… thinking…" James groaned, his voice weak. He didn't turn his head, his gaze looking ahead.
"Thinking?" Jessie turned to where the Electric-type was looking, spotting Riolu Twerp and Buizel Twerp about to face each other in a Pokémon battle. Team Rocket had seen the two of them do this before when they were stalking them back in Kanto, but this had been the first time Jessie could recall that it was the former humans who were the… Pokemon in this situation. "So? What's so special about that?"
Riolu and buizel began their clash and flew into each other.
"I'm just a little envious, I guess." James pointed at them. "They look like they're having fun."
Jessie squinted. She couldn't really agree with that, not when the twerps were busy trying to shove each other into the dirt. But James looked like he had a different opinion. "What's so fun about that?"
"Do you remember Growlie? You met him not that long ago," James said, talking about his pet growlithe from long ago. "I was just thinking what it'd be like if he was here, and we did something like… well, that!" At that, Riolu Twerp threw a rock at the buizel; it looked quite painful.
"Oh." The eevee frowned. Suddenly, James's fascination made a whole lot more sense. Sometimes, in her private moments, Jessie looked back at a very particular chansey that she had met while in nursing school. James must have had the same idea. "You miss him, don't you?"
"There's others like him, too. Pokémon, friends, I've had to leave behind," The pikachu nodded his head. "Riolu twerp is lucky, getting to spend time with them, doing stuff like letting his friends play trainer while he's the Pokemon."
"It does look fun." Jessie squinted an eyebrow as she observed the two twerps Quick Attacking each other, barely visible. That was a move she had to try out one of these days. "We have Arbok and Weezing in the cargo hold. Well, if you want to lose to me, all you need to do is ask." She puffed out her chest and twirled her tail around, for emphasis.
"Maybe," James said, barely responding.
Jessie stared at her partner in crime, peeved that he wasn't even willing to throw out a verbal jab. That wasn't normal. There was something he was thinking about, something distracting him. "James," she snapped. "Tell me what's going on!"
The pikachu grimaced. "Can we… go back to the way things were? Can we even try?"
Jessie blinked.
"I mean, a few days ago, we talked about what we were going to do once we got back home, because Dewott wanted to know." James said. "We didn't tell him what we actually did, but what do we do with ourselves when we're back to being… ourselves?"
"Well, what I said stands. I want to go to a hair salon and treat my hair." Jessie looked down at herself, eying the fluffy mane that all eevees had from the corner of her eye. She missed her gorgeous long hair, though she had grown a little fond of how soft and warm her fur was. It did make her look cute, as a bonus.
"Yeah, that's in the short term," James said. "Do we really go back to stalking a ten year old to try and nab his pikachu… and failing at it only to try again tomorrow?"
"What are you talking about? What would Team Rocket be if we just stopped stealing Twerps onto Pokémon?" Jessie fumed, indigent at what James was implying. Honestly, the nerve.
"We haven't done that in over a month," James said pointedly. "In fact, ever since we've gone here, all we've really managed to accomplish is… work for the law and get paid for it."
"That's different!" Jessie growled. "And besides, Team Rocket isn't above jailing other crooks if it gets them out of our way! It's their fault for muscling in our territory!"
"Right," James answered in a dull tone.
"What's gotten into you, James?" the hissed, frustrated that her partner in crime looked like he was going through some sort of crisis of faith. "We're crooks. We steal Pokémon. And we're good at it!"
"If we're supposed to be good at it, then why is it that we've had nothing but failures for the past year?" James questioned as he got up and stood on the railing. "We had some success before the Twerp came along, sure, but after that, it's been nothing but non-stop failures."
"It's just a string of bad luck!" Jessie snarled, glaring harshly at her partner pikachu.
"A string of bad luck that's lasted a single year all in regards to the same rodent!" James glared back, standing over his partner.
The air hummed with an electrical crackle as the two of them built up electricity. Some of it visibly discharged between the two of them, though Jessie ignored it.
And that was when an explosion of light rocked the ship. Their survival instincts taking over, both Pokémon hit the deck of the ship and took cover behind boxes.
For a moment, Jessie thought she was under attack and rifled her mind for any useful moves that stopped whatever danger she was going to face. Yet, no attack came. There were no shouts of despair or even unhappiness. Instead, there was… cheering? What?
Jessie poked her head up and surveyed the beach. The beach was now a mess, with a small impact crater filling up with sea water. Riolu Twerp pulled himself out of the sand, whilst Buizel Twerp got out from the shallow water. Both seemed happy despite beating each other.
Reading the context clues, it didn't take Jessie long to figure out what happened. "Oh, it was just part of their fight." She scowled, turning back to James now that she knew there was no danger.
James was the one to break the silence first. "Jessie, we're going to have to go bounty hunting or something. We need the money. While the Twerps are away, we're going to need to get cash."
Jessie groaned. After all of the time and effort they spent on remodeling the ship, they were flat broke. They had maybe a week or two left of food left, without the Twerps around. Not to mention that they needed to money for repairs, and more important than that, beauty supplies. "So, what's the problem?"
"What if we're better bounty hunters than Pokémon thieves?" James said.
Jessie felt like she had been smacked across her jaw. The unsaid insinuation stung at her. "You can't be serious, James! We're Team Rocket! We're crooks! We supposed ot bag Pokémon and deposit them for a fence."
"We'll probably still end up doing that, just… working for a local governor or something." James shook his head. "We'll also probably be sticking to the ship for a while, too. We can't exactly leave it alone, especially not away from a major city."
Yeah, after all of the work they had put into this old thing, the last thing Jessie wanted was to see their investment being taken by some no good thief! "I suppose that means we're going pirate hunting," she grumbled. "Do we know where any pirates are?"
"No, but I think we might be able to ask around," James said. The pikachu leapt off the railing and hopped onto the floor. "You should probably finalize a meeting spot for us to reconnect with the Twerps once they get their Gym Badge."
"Sure." Jessie jumped down as well, though wasn't particularly happy about it.
James walked off into the Captain's cabin, presumably to do something. Meanwhile, Jessie made her way to the ice slid that connected the ship to the shore. As she walked over, her thoughts turned over to James's words and ran through their complete list of implications.
If they were successful in bagging a pirate and claiming the bounty, that would mean that it would be their third successful bounty, in contrast to their none successful thefts. If that was the case, that meant they were more successful working for the law than against it. And if that was true… did that mean that they weren't meant to be crooks at all?
No, no! She had to meant to climb higher! She was destined to be top dog within Team Rocket, one of the executive class! … Minus being an actual dog, though that wasn't necessarily a deal breaker.
The eevee sighed. At very least, being a bounty hunter mostly the same thing as stealing Pokémon, right? So then, why were they failing over and over again? Maybe it was just because that specific Pikachu had a very stubborn trainer! Yeah, that's it. That's why they were failing!
This chapter had a completely different trajectory and plot, but was culled half way through.
That story about a land bridge is a reference to the Siege of Tyre, a real world insane accomplishment of engineering.