Hey guys, TheDoctor1998 here with another chapter! Last time, Cinder and the gang had finally reached civilization once again after the disaster with the St. Anne, and getting subsequently stranded in an amusement park with giant mechanical Pokémon attractions, which were just realistic enough for them to believe them to be real. And after all that, they'd managed to reach Port Vista, and decided to have a well earned break.
Now, on with the show!
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Cinder and the gang, after a few minutes of running, had reached the beach Brock and Misty saw. With each member of the trio taking a moment of privacy in the changing booths, all of them were adequately dressed for such an activity. Brock simply wore a pair of blue swimming trunks while the girls each wore a two piece bikini, red for Misty and violet for Cinder.
"My friends, come on out!" Cinder smirked, grabbing all the Luxury Balls in her bag and releasing each of her Pokémon, all ready for battle. "Guys, you don't have to be like that." Cinder giggled. "Today's a day off, just enjoy yourselves."
Misty and Brock did much the same for their own Pokémon, causing all of them to simply relax on the beach. All the Water Types simply hit the water and started swimming around, while most of the others just laid down in the sand and enjoyed the sunshine. The sole exception was Zubat, who took refuge in the shade underneath an umbrella. He still enjoyed everything, but he was simply not fully used to and comfortable with the sun yet, so he decided to opt out this time.
After doing a bit of swimming, the trio decided to part ways for the time being, with Brock and Misty playing in the water with a beach ball painted like a Master Ball, while Cinder decided to simply get a tan with her Pokémon.
Unfortunately for her, her relaxation got interrupted by someone. "Hey, cutie." A boy said, walking up to Cinder, thinking he looked cool with his new sunglasses.
Too bad for him he decided to hit on the one girl on the beach that he had less than no chance with, for multiple reasons. "Not interested."
"Ouch." He said, keeping the smirk on his face as he reached for her shoulder. "Come on, baby, no need to play hard to-"
"Bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur interrupted, smacking his hand away with a well placed Vine Whip. "Saur!" The Grass Type snarled, almost daring him to continue as he displayed his vines.
"What the- You're crazy!" The boy screamed, dropping his glasses in the sand as he ran away.
"Thanks, Bulbasaur." Cinder smiled, gently patting his head, much to the Grass Type's delight.
Squirtle, meanwhile, grabbed the sunglasses and inspected them. "Squirtle." The Water Type scoffed, tossing them back in the sand. His own sunglasses were much cooler than those lame things.
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Meanwhile, further out into the ocean, there was something that looked like a Gyarados themed submarine. Inside it was a familiar trio of criminals, who had "liberated" the sub from the Land of Giant Pokémon.
"To protect the world from devastation." Jessie started, peeking through the stereoscope.
"To unite all people within our nation." James continued.
"To denounce the evils of truth and love."
"To extend our reach to the stars above."
"Jessie."
"James."
"Team Rocket, blast off at the speed of light!"
"Surrender now, or prepare to fight, fight, fight!"
"Meowth, that is right!" Meowth finished, pumping on the modified crankset alongside his partners to power the sub.
"Porta Vista is straight ahead, and positively packed with wealthy tourists!" Jessie laughed.
"Scaring those rich snobs off of the beach and taking whatever they left behind was a genius idea." James smirked.
"Champagne wishes and catnip dreams, here we come!" Meowth cheered.
Then, the submarine shook suddenly and violently. "What the- what in the world was that?!" James screamed.
Jessie quickly looked through the stereoscope again. "We've hit another boat!" She yelled, seeing a damaged ship quickly heading away from them. "Hang on everyone!" The woman yelled as their own sub went out of control.
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Cinder and the gang eventually decided to grab something to eat, and the blind girl's nose eventually lead them to a seafood restaurant named Beach House Moe. "Oh, customers! Come in, come in, have a seat!" The man behind the counter said, gesturing towards some of the many empty tables at the restaurant.
"Hmm, this is some good fish." Brock said, as he and his friends were happily munching down on their food. "Can we exchange some recipes? I know how to make a mean clam chowder."
"Well, it can't do any harm to add some new food to the menu." The old man, having introduced himself as the restaurant owner Moe, told the gang as he sat next to them. "Maybe it'd actually attract a few new customers." He sadly said, looking at his otherwise empty restaurant.
"Oh, I just thought we missed the rush hour." Misty said, feeling sorry for the man.
"Girl, this is the rush hour. It's just that my competitors have an easier time getting customers." Moe explained, giving a humorless laugh. "Anyways, I'm going to prepare a little snack for you kids, on the house. Consider it a thank you for talking with this old man."
"Hey guys." Cinder piped up. "I kinda feel bad for this guy." She thought back to Pallet Town, and how her own mother struggled with her restaurant, Pallet House, when Cinder was a kid.
"Yeah." Brock nodded. "Same here."
"We could help around here for the day?" Misty suggested. "Maybe try to do something to attract more customers?"
"Good idea, Misty." Brock smiled.
"Guess we'll help the man, then." Cinder smirked.
"You mean it?" Moe asked, walking up to the trio with some small fried fish. "Oh, it brings joy to this old man's heart to see the younger generations being so generous." The man started crying, tears of joy dripping down his face.
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Meanwhile, Team Rocket had managed to get out of their sinking sub and washed up on the beach. "I wanted to hit the beach, but not like this." Meowth groaned.
"It's not fair." James moaned. "Every time we come up with a plan, someone gets in the way to mess it up."
"Now we'll have to figure out how to repair our sub!" Jessie groaned.
"Hey!" Someone yelled. When Team Rocket looked over, they saw a short and old woman wearing a pink dress, sandals with socks, and a pair of pigtails. Overall, she looked like an old lady trying to appear like a young girl. "This part of the beach is for my customers only, so either buy some of my food or leave! I don't need no squatters!"
"Erm, maybe you need some waiters?" James asked, slightly panicking.
"Surely you can't be serious James?!" Jessie asked, flabbergasted.
"But Jess!" Meowth intervened. "We'll need dough to fix our Gyarados sub."
A moment passed before Jessie relented. "Alright, fine."
"Working for me ain't no picnic." The lady glared. "I can be brutal, and won't pay a dime for any lazy workers."
"Ahahahah, we work with Jessie, so we know what it's like to have a brutal leader." James chuckled.
"Hey!" Jessie glared, giving James a good slap on the back of his head.
"We rest our case." Meowth piped up, only to get a slap of his own.
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Back with the gang, they'd immediately followed up on their offer to help Moe. Cinder even went as far as to ask her Pokémon to help around, much to the old man's delight.
Pikachu, Squirtle, and Krabby went around passing out fliers, peaking interest among the beach goers. Pidgeotto and Charmander worked in the kitchen, using their wings and flames respectively to make sure the food was cooked to perfection, while also allowing potential customers to view into the kitchen. Bulbasaur helped the gang out as a waiter alongside them, while also making sure that anyone that got too close to his trainer like that guy earlier got the same treatment. And to finish things up, Butterfree and Beedrill used their silk to create a beautiful display of art, centered around a singing Clefairy. Who also made sure not to put people to sleep with her display, just to be safe.
"I've got to hand it to you, kids." Moe chuckled, barely managing to keep up with the demands of the customers, much to his delight. "You've really managed to turn this place from a shack destined for demolition into one of the most popular places in the Acapulco District!"
"Everyone's eating at the twerpeteria." James glared from the terrace of Brutella's Ocean Chateau, him and his teammates having nothing to do now that all the customers had flocked to the restaurant next door.
"If all customers go there instead of here, we'll have nothing to do, and won't get paid." Jessie glared.
"This calls for some old-fashioned sabotage!" Meowth piped up, rushing away.
Pikachu, Squirtle, and Krabby were the first to befal some misfortune, as a strong gust of wind suddenly ripped all the fliers out of their grasps, forcing them to run after the pieces of paper.
"Ahahah, fliers." Meowth chuckled to himself, standing next to a flock of Pidgey. "Alright, deal's a deal. Enjoy your bag of bird seed." He said, handing the bag towards the Flying Types.
Pidgeotto and Charmander were the second to befal a bad fate, as suddenly, the flames that they so carefully managed flared up, nearly burning them and Moe and definitely ruining whatever meals they were working on.
Outside of the kitchen window, Meowth stood with a hose connected to a pump and a canister of gas. "Nothing wrong with adding a little fuel to the fire!"
Last of all, the Bug Types and Clefairy had to suddenly stop their performance, as the pieces of silk that Butterfree and Beedrill had so carefully crafted suddenly lit aflame, forcing Clefairy to stop singing and causing the customers to flee for their lives.
"Nothing wrong with a little arson." Meowth smirked, tossing the stolen lighter into the trash.
Once the fires had died out, the gang and Moe sat down at the empty table, the mood not exactly high. "Sorry about all of this, Moe." Cinder apologised.
"You all did the best you could." Moe reassured them. "At least things went good before those accidents started happening."
"I'm not sure if those were accidents." Cinder suspected.
"Well, well, well." An old lady said, walking into the restaurant with a nasty attitude alongside Team Rocket, who were wearing restaurant uniforms.
"Brutella!" Moe exclaimed, a hint of fear lacing his voice.
"Team Rocket!" The gang exclaimed, Misty and Brock putting a hand on their Pokéballs as Cinder prepared to command her friends to battle.
"Don't need a reservation to get in here anymore." Brutella chuckled, looking around the empty restaurant. "If things keep up like this, you might have to go out of business, Moe."
"Why the hell do you care anyway, you old hag." Cinder glared, crossing her arms.
"Respect your elders, brat!" Brutella glared. "But to answer your question, I couldn't care less if this place went under. But you better figure out some way to pay me the dough you owe me, and fast!" She finished, glaring at Moe.
Moe grit his teeth. "I've said it a thousand times already, lady, you'll get your money."
"Yeah?" Brutella smirked. "Well, the deadline just went up, and now I want it by tomorrow. And if you don't pay me back every single penny, I'll take that boat of yours instead."
"No, please!" Moe pleaded, shocked. "Not my boat! Take anything you want, but don't take my boat!"
"See you tomorrow." Brutella scoffed, walking away.
"Fuck you, you old bitch!" Cinder screamed at the lady, Pikachu angrily releasing some sparks on her shoulder as the rest of her Pokémon glared at them.
"What did you say to me?!" Brutella snarled.
"You heard what I said, you dried up hag, unless your ears are as bad as my eyes." Cinder taunted, waving her cane around for emphasis. "Why don't you crawl back to wherever you came from and let Moe off the hook before I inform the nearest Officer Jenny about how you're hiring people with an arrest warrant." The girl finished, glaring at the old lady and scaring Team Rocket.
"Hmph." Brutella huffed, turning away before she could flinch from the girl's blind glare.
"We'll pick up that boat tomorrow. Tick tock." James glared before he and his teammates followed Brutella out.
"Thank you." Moe said, somewhat in shock after seeing the polite girl exploding with enough rage and cussing to make any sailor blush.
Cinder shrugged. "She was getting on my nerves, and she's with Team Rocket. I'd have said more about her looks or something, but I can't exactly see her."
"Trust me Cinder, this is the first time I'm jealous of you for that." Brock nodded. "She honestly looked like she was cosplaying as a little girl or something."
"Ew." Cinder cringed.
Moe sat down, the reality of the situation dawning on him. "There's no way I can earn that kind of money in less than a day. I guess I have to hand over my boat to Brutella." He cried.
"That's so sad." Misty muttered, seeing how much that boat meant to Moe.
"That boat's really important to you, isn't it?" Cinder asked empathically.
"For years, I've dreamt of taking it on a cruise around the world." Moe explained. "I wanted to travel and see the world before it was too late, but I guess it just isn't meant to be." The old man sighed, coming to terms about his broken dream.
"Don't say that." Cinder urged the old man. "Don't give up till it's over. You have to follow your dream, and fight for it with everything you've got." She glanced over at Pikachu and the rest of her Pokémon. "It's been my dream too to travel the world, and become one of the greatest Pokémon trainers in the world. Arceus knows it won't be easy, but I'll be damned if I ever give up. So please, don't give up, not when you're almost there."
"She's right, Moe." Brock nodded, a hint of pride swelling in him. "You can't let that nasty lady take your boat away."
"There's always a way to get out of even the worst situation." Cinder told Moe.
"There must be some way to get the money." Misty added.
"You think it's possible?" Moe asked the gang, hope lacing his voice.
"In a world as crazy as ours, anything is possible." Cinder reassured.
"But all that money in one day?" The old man asked, his fears bubbling up again.
"Mind if I make a suggestion?" A familiar voice said, walking into the restaurant.
"Professor Oak?" Cinder asked, instantly recognizing the voice and Aura of the man who was the closest thing she had to a father or grandfather figure. "What are you doing here?" She laughed, her mood already uplifted.
"Hey Cinder!" A woman greeted, walking into the restaurant after the Professor.
"Mom!" Cinder smiled, instantly running up to embrace the most important woman in her life.
"And you two must be Cinder's friends." Delia smiled, looking at Misty and Brock. "It's a pleasure to meet you both."
"Same here, ma'am." Brock nodded, restraining himself for a change. While Delia was beautiful and definitely his type, he would not flirt with the mother of one of his best friends. She may be a girl, but the bro code transcends gender barriers in cases like this.
"What are you two doing here?" Cinder asked.
"We'll explain later." The Professor waved off. "But I think I've got a solution for any money problems." He continued, showing Moe and Cinder's friends a pamphlet. "It's the annual Porta Vista Beach Beauty and Pokémon Costume Contest."
"Huh, it's happening today." Misty remarked.
"A beach beauty contest sounds excellent." Brock said, starting to get a dopey smile, but still keeping himself restrained.
"Seeing as thousands of tourists head towards this town every year, tourists tend to get hungry." The Professor continued. "They'll be looking for a place to eat, so I'd suggest advertising this place. You should have the money you need by tomorrow."
"Hey, Cinder, we should enter the contest!" Misty smiled.
"There are cash prizes for both the beauty and costume contests." The Professor nodded. "Plus, entries are always allowed until the contests actually start."
"No way!" Cinder protested. "I am not entering a contest like that!"
"Come on, Cinder, it might be fun!" Misty said, trying to encourage her friend.
"Maybe for you, but I'd rather not get on stage to have a bunch of guys leer at me." The girl shuddered.
"Alright, I'm not gonna force you." The redhead shrugged.
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After Cinder sent her flying Pokémon out to spread new fliers about Moe's restaurant, Professor Oak walked up to her. "Cinder, can we have a moment to talk?"
"Sure, Professor." The heterochromatic girl nodded, sitting down next to the elder man.
"Well, there's no easy way to say this, so I'm just gonna come out and say it." The Professor sighed. "What happened at the St. Anne?" Seeing Cinder flinch, he decided to press further. "I saw your name on the list of the dead, including only you and your friends. Your mother doesn't know yet, so what happened?"
"There was an attack from Team Rocket, and-" Cinder started, only to get interrupted.
"Yes, I know that, it was all over the news." The Professor said. "I want to know why you ended up on that list."
Cinder sighed. "I dropped Butterfree's Luxury Ball with him inside. I didn't want to leave him, and we got left behind in the chaos."
"I see." The Professor nodded slowly. "Honestly, if I was in the same situation, I'd probably have done the same."
"...Are you going to tell mom?" Cinder asked, her voice quiet.
"No, I don't think so." The Professor shook his head. "Not right now, at least. Knowing her, she'd likely stop you from continuing your journey if she knew, and that wouldn't be fair to you. It's not your fault you were in the wrong place at the wrong time."
"Thanks, Professor." Cinder sighed in relief.
"Now, onto the next item on the agenda." The Professor said, glancing at Cinder's Pokémon "I believe you're still exempt from the six party limit most trainers have because of the St. Anne incident?"
"Yeah." Cinder nodded. "Are you going to reverse it?"
"I was considering it." He nodded. "You know the limit was put in place to make sure new trainers don't get overwhelmed, and that the only way to lift it is to convince a League official." The man gave her a smile. "Well, after everything you went through the last few days without that limit no less, I think it's safe to say you've convinced me."
"Thank you, Professor Oak!" Cinder grinned, giving the man a hug.
"Ladies and gentlemen, we're happy to announce that the Porta Vista Beach Beauty and Pokémon Costume Contests will soon begin!" Brock's voice was heard over the speakers. As it turns out, the guy who was originally going to do this came down with a case of the flu, and Brock volunteered to replace him.
'Same old Brock.' Cinder smiled to herself.
"There's a price of one thousand dollars in for the winners of both categories, and it's not too late to sign up!" Brock continued.
"You were right, Professor." Misty said, seeing how many people got into the restaurant. "This place is absolutely packed!"
"I'll be able to pay Brutella my debt!" Moe cried in relief.
Meanwhile, said hag was glaring at Moe from behind a corner, clearly unhappy. Sure, business was booming all across Porta Vista right now, including her own place, but the joy of getting her money from Moe without losing her own customers was overshadowed by something else. Spite. Spite at the fact that the old man would get off scot free.
Besides, she really wanted that boat of his. It was a nice boat, and she's allowed to have nice things damnit!
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Some time later, the group went over to the contest. Brock taking his new position as the announcer, Misty preparing backstage, and the rest simply sitting in the audience. "So why did you guys come here?" Cinder asked her mother.
"Professor Oak and I are here on our tour group." Delia explained.
"That's great, mom. Glad to have run into you here." Cinder said, before thinking of something. "Wait, where's Daisy? Wouldn't she be here too?"
"My granddaughter is taking care of the lab in my absence." Professor Oak answered. "Also, your mother's been worried about you, Cinder." He continued, grinning. "She still thinks of you as her little pumpkin."
"That makes me sound like a baby." Cinder grumbled, blushing in embarrassment.
"You'll always be my baby." Delia smiled.
Cinder just gave her mother a smile.
"I hope you're not eating a lot of junk food and getting into any trouble."
"Erm- well." Cinder stammered, thinking back to the St. Anne. No way was she gonna tell her mother about that. She'd be dragged back to Pallet Town before she could get another word in!
"I'm the one who got into trouble, Mrs. Ketchum." Moe interrupted. "Cinder and her friends helped out at my restaurant when I really needed help, offering to do so after hearing my plight. And more importantly, your daughter has become an inspiration to me."
"Erm." Delia started getting a tad concerned.
"Honestly, if it wasn't for the help they gave, and your daughter's inspirational words, I'd have given up my dream of traveling the world by now." Moe continued, much to Delia's relief.
"That's wonderful, I'm so proud of her!"
"Thanks, Moe." Cinder smiled, to which the old man nodded.
"Welcome everybody." Brock called through the speakers, signalling that the event was about to begin. "The Porta Vista Beach Beauty and Pokémon Costume Contest is about to begin! Now, here's our first contestant!"
The first person on stage was Misty, smiling and waving at the cheering crowd. 'Yeah, Cinder was right, this is embarrassing. But Moe does need the money.'
"This is Misty Waterflower, one of the Gym Leaders of Cerulean City, and a specialist when it comes to Water Types." Brock read out, though he could tell Misty was a bit out of her element here, so he tried to get through it as fast as he could. "She's sure making a big splash here today, and now take a look at the costume she's created for her Pokémon."
Floating above the stage was Misty's Starmie, keeping itself in the air with its psychic powers, dressed as a corny UFO. And on top of it was Oddish, dressed in some equally corny 80's sci-fi armor, obviously meant to be an alien controlling the UFO.
"Well, this is a very imaginative costume." Brock complemented. "It's Oddish dressed as an extraterrestrial, and Starmie dressed as her flying saucer!"
Oddish released a few Stun Spores, Sleep Powders, and Poison Powders into the air, painting something that looked like a nebula in the air, much to the crowd's delight.
"Up next we've got a pair of trainers known as the Rocket Boosters and their Pokémon, which are supposed to represent a Legendary Pokémon." Brock frowned, already recognizing who it was going to be.
Walking on stage were Jessie and James, the former dressed in a dark blue two piece bikini, and the latter wearing nothing but a pair of orange swim trunks. Floating between them were Koffing with Ekans wrapped around his head like a turban, and a shoddy costume made out of seaweed that made it look like Koffing had a beard.
"Uhh, this is a very interesting costume." Brock said with as much diplomacy as possible, considering the state of cold war Moe and Brutella were in. The gang all agreed that it was very much possible that the nasty woman would bring up the deadline again before Moe could get the money if they were to rat out her new employees. "I believe it's supposed to be an Omastar, a Fossil Pokémon. And the Pokémon forming the body are an Ekans and a Koffing."
"Of course it's an Omastar!" Jessie exclaimed, angry.
"Are you blind?!" James asked, equally angry.
"Get lost!" An annoyingly familiar voice said, kicking Team Rocket and their Pokémon off the stage.
"Oh no." Cinder groaned. "Why the hell is Gary here?"
"Cinder, language." Delia sighed, mostly out of habit. She knew she couldn't break her daughter's habit of cursing when she was feeling strong negative emotions, but she wouldn't be doing her job as a mother if she didn't try.
"It seems we have a surprise visit by Gary Oak, a new Pokémon trainer who is also the son of Blue Oak, the Kanto Champion, and the grandson of Professor Samuel Oak, one of the most respected researchers on the planet and a member of the audience." Brock announced. "In addition, he is also accompanied by a squad of his fans."
"I may have forgotten to mention that my grandson came along with us." The Professor sheepishly said, not having thought of warning Cinder beforehand.
"Cinder, I know you're somewhere in that crowd!" The youngest Oak boasted, having grabbed a microphone.
"Gary, Gary, he's our man! He'll trash Cinder, we know he can!" His cheerleaders chanted.
"Oh Arceus damnit, what did I do to deserve this?" Cinder facepalmed in secondhand embarrassment before she walked up to the stage, intending to make sure Gary wouldn't continue humiliating himself and dragging her with him.
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"I knew all along that you three were from Team Rocket!" Brutella revealed to the trio, causing a hint of nervousness among them. They were hoping the lady didn't recognize their uniforms, but it seems that she did. "I got your Gyarados sub all fixed, but if you don't do exactly what I'll tell you you'll have to pay up for it, in addition to me ratting you out to the police."
"Okay." The trio nodded, starting to get scared of the woman.
Brutella led them to a semi natural pool in her backyard, where the Gyarados sub was in. "Now go wreck that beauty contest and destroy Moe's restaurant!" She ordered.
"You can count on us!" James happily said. "Destroying things is our specialty!"
"We're so good, we destroy things without even trying!" Jessie boasted, remembering the boat from earlier.
"We'll give it our worst shot!" Meowth said.
"Let's go!" The trio yelled as one, jumping into the sub.
"Alright, let's go!" Jessie grunted in a hoarse voice before catching herself. "She's rubbing off on me!"
Once the sub was active, it started diving further into the pool, going through an underground tunnel connecting it with the open sea, its occupants intending to cause some mayhem.
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"Gary, why in the world did you think it was a good idea to act like such an ass in front of so many people?" Cinder asked bluntly, pointedly ignoring the whistles she heard.
"Erm." Gary started to stammer a bit, not having expected the blind girl to be wearing something so revealing.
"Well, I'm waiting." She said, tapping her foot and crossing her arms.
Back in the ocean, the Gyarados sub's stereoscope peeked out of the water, Jessie watching through it. "Target sighted, fifteen degrees to the right." She smirked. "Now we'll teach those tourists!"
"We'll scare their tans off of them!" James exclaimed.
"I can't wait till we crash their beach bash!" Meowth gleefully agreed.
"For once, I really think we've got a foolproof plan, don't you?" Jessie smiled, looking at her teammates.
"There's no stopping us this time!" James agreed.
The sub then deployed its tank treads, allowing it to go out of the water and causing an enormous panic. "It's a Gyarados!" Someone started yelling at the sight of it.
"The plan's working!" Jessie yelled in glee.
"They're running scared!" Meowth laughed.
"It doesn't get better than this." James smirked.
Cinder, however, immediately knew what it really was, considering she saw three familiar Auras instead of the Aura of a Gyarados. She quickly grabbed the mic from Gary's hands. "Everyone, that thing's a fake Gyarados! It's being piloted by people inside!"
People immediately stopped panicking, everyone starting to take a closer look. Soon, it became obvious that it was what Cinder said it was, a fake.
"That blind twerpette is ruining everything again!" Jessie growled, seeing the crowd calming down again. "She's seeing right through our smokescreen!"
"Well, she does have Aura powers." James muttered. "But where there's smoke, there's fire!" He yelled, pressing a button to fire a missile from their sub's mouth, aimed right at the girl.
"That missile's heading this way!" Brock yelled. "Everyone, off the stage!"
"Gonna freak out, Cinder?" Gary teased, almost casually walking off the stage.
"I don't see you doing anything." Cinder snapped back.
"I left my Pokémon at the Pokémon Center." He shrugged. "Couldn't do anything if I wanted to."
"Well, I'm not gonna stand here and do nothing!" Cinder yelled.
"Cinder, I think it's a heat seeking missile." Brock said, worried. "It looks like it's locked onto you."
"Charmander, Pidgeotto, I need you my friends!" She yelled, releasing her Pokémon. "Pidgeotto, be Charmander's wings! Charmander, use Flamethrower and lure that missile back to that sub!"
Pidgeotto quickly grabbed Charmander with her claws, the two Pokémon quickly flying towards the missile. When they came close, Charmander fired upon it with a jet of flames, which quickly caused the missile to lock onto the Fire Type instead of its original target. Once the Pokémon made sure their trainer was safe, the duo quickly flew towards the sub, missile in tow, and moved to make sure the sub was between them and the missile, which was now locked onto the sub.
"Prepare for trouble." Jessie moaned, seeing where this was going.
"From the way things look, I think you can make that double." James agreed, also moaning.
"Meowth, that's right." Meowth said in fear.
Jessie quickly turned the sub around, driving it as fast as she could to get away from the missile. "Pedal harder, we can outrun it!" She screamed, pedalling for her life.
"Hurry up!" Meowth agreed, also pedalling as fast he could.
James was simply making general noises of fear while giving it his all.
Unfortunately, none of the trio were paying attention to where they were going, causing them to head straight for Brutella's restaurant, which was thankfully empty because of the competition. "Stay away, don't come any closer!" Brutella yelled at the sub in a panic, standing in front of her livelihood. "That bomb's right behind ya!"
Unfortunately for Brutella, Team Rocket didn't stop. Instead, they crashed right into the building, the missile hitting its new target a second later, causing the sub and the restaurant to explode.
"We're blasting off again!" Team Rocket yelled, an unconscious Brutella being hurled into the air with them as they were launched away once again.
"Young lady." Came the voice of an elderly man, one of the judges, while he came up to Cinder. "From the bottom of my heart, I must thank you for protecting the people in this event. While you haven't entered as a participant yourself, I think I can speak for all of us if I crown you the winner of this event."
"But I didn't even put my Pokémon in costume or something." Cinder tried to protest.
"They acted like heroes and saved lives, that's more than enough for me." The judge continued. "Besides, I think the people around here would think it a crime if I were to deny you the victory now."
Cinder couldn't help but blush at the cheering, giving the man a sheepish smile. "Well, okay then. But can you give the prize money to Moe over here? He needs it more than I do."
"Humble and generous?" The judge smiled. "If I didn't declare you the winner already, I would've done so by now. Very well."
"Thank you, Cinder." Moe smiled and laughed. "Thanks to you, I can finally live my dream!"
Gary, for his part, simply walked away, not seeing the point in sticking around. He'd heard enough of people praising Cinder for today.
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The next day, Moe walked towards his boat with the gang, who were back to wearing their usual attire. The boat had already been packed with everything the old man might need, Moe having only stayed to make sure everything went well. "What are you going to do with the restaurant?" Cinder asked.
"Already sold the damn thing to an investor." Moe said. "They didn't want to pay anything but pennies at first, but now that it became a hotspot, the demand suddenly went up. Especially with Brutella's place being blown up now." Once they reached the boat, Moe boarded it, finally getting to start this long awaited chapter of his life. "Well, looks like this is it. I can't thank you kids enough for your help."
"Have a good trip, Moe!" Cinder called, the boat starting to take off.
"Goodbye!" Misty bidded.
"Thanks for the new recipes!" Brock thanked.
"So long, kids!" Moe called back. "And thank you once again for making my dream come true! I swear on my life, I'll never forget any of you! Good luck on your own journeys!"
"Thanks Moe!" Cinder yelled back. "Good luck to you too!"
The gang kept yelling their goodbyes, watching as the boat floated away. Once the boat sailed over the horizon, Cinder turned toward her mother, who held Cinder's trophy to take it back home. "We gotta get going too, mom." Cinder told her mother.
"I know." Delia smiled, though somewhat sad to say goodbye to her baby again.
"I'm going to make you proud of me." Cinder continued.
"Oh honey, you already have." Delia said, wiping a tear as her daughter and her friends walked away.
"I can see why you're proud of your little pumpkin, Delia." Professor Oak smiled towards his friend.
"Don't act like you're not proud of her either." Delia smiled. "You basically taught her everything she knows."
"Well, how to take care of Pokémon and battling, maybe." The Professor said. "But all that heart and creativity is all her, something like that just can't be taught with books alone." He then looked over at the trophy. "By the way, what does that inscription say?"
Delia read the inscription out loud. "First place in our hearts, Cinder Ketchum."
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Pokémon Seen: 43
Pokémon Caught: 14
Cinder's Pokémon: Pikachu (M), Butterfree (M), Beedrill (F), Pidgeotto (F), Clefairy (F), Bulbasaur (M), Charmander (M), Squirtle (M), Krabby (M)
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And that's a wrap. The gang, after having some fun on the beach, decided to help an old man in need to let him follow his dream, whilst also ruining the livelihood of one of the nastiest people at Porta Vista.
I did make a few changes here and there, mostly at the beginning of the chapter, but also at a few other points. And yes, while Cinder can now legally have more than six Pokémon, she still can't use anymore than six Pokémon in a battle.
TheDoctor1998 here, signing out!