Hey guys, TheDoctor1998 here with another chapter! Last time, Cinder faced off against the Vermilion City Gym Leader, Lt. Surge. And while she lost the first time, she'd managed to beat him during their rematch, earning the Thunder Badge.
Now, on with the show!
XXXXXXXX
Cinder and the gang, after the blind trainer had gotten a well earned rest with her Pikachu the previous day, were walking around the Vermilion City Harbor, searching for the ship that Bill had given them the tickets for.
"Beautiful." Misty breathed, seeing the large cruisers. "Did Bill really give us tickets for something like this huge thing?"
"Well, he did say it was a luxury liner." Cinder shrugged, guessing that the St. Anne was a lot bigger than they initially thought.
"Just think of all the oceanic Pokémon we'd be able to see along the way." Brock smiled, thinking of the various Kanto native and non-Kanto native Pokémon that swim across the oceans between regions.
"For sure!" Misty smiled, clapping her hands together as she got lost in a fantasy. "Just imagine, sunbathing on deck all day. Just a nice, long, and relaxing cruise." She sighed, imagining laying on deck in a pink two piece bikini, enjoying the sunshine.
"We could never afford a cruise like that on our own." Brock said. "Thank Bill for that generosity of his." He quickly glanced at a pamphlet he'd managed to get ahold of. "Looks like there's gonna be a lot of trainers on board as well. Something about a wealthy benefactor organizing a party for battlers."
Unbeknownst to them, various people across the harbor were conducting various lotteries, including a pair of disguised criminals far enough away from Cinder and her friends to not notice them. "Step right up, step right up for a once in a lifetime event!" Jessie yelled to the crowd.
"Our generous benefactor has decided that the party on board the St. Anne shouldn't be just for the affluent." James said, standing next to a spinning wheel. "Therefore, for a much lower fee than normally required for a ticket, we and our colleagues are giving you, the ordinary people, a chance to climb aboard."
"For the low, low fee of 100 dollars, you too can spin the wheel!" Jessie smirked. "You'll have a 10% chance of winning your ticket. But that's not all! Even if you don't win a ticket, you can still win various prices! Such as a limited edition St. Anne Pokéball, or plushies of some of the cutest Pokémon of the Kanto region! Even a full refund or respin if you're lucky!"
Immediately, just like with all the other stalls at the harbor, they were swarmed with people wanting to try their luck. And inside the stall, hidden from view, was Meowth, using a tablet to identify all the trainers around them to see if there were any Pokémon worth stealing among them. And whenever he identified such a trainer spinning the wheel, he pressed a button, activating a mechanism to force the trainer in question to win.
Yes, it was rather clever, allowing good Pokémon to fall into their net while simply allowing the trainers to believe they'd gotten in through luck. All according to plan.
"I wonder which one of these ships is the St. Anne." Cinder muttered, hearing various foghorns across the harbor as her friends searched for the ship.
"I think it's this one." Misty said, pointing to a large cruise ship that was being boarded by many trainers, the name St. Anne proudly displayed on its hull.
"Wow." Brock breathed at the sight. "It's incredible."
"It's huge!" Misty smiled, Pikachu nodding in agreement.
XXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, Team Rocket had gotten out of their disguises and into their proper uniforms, standing in front of a screen in the lighthouse.
"We got a call from da Boss." Meowth said, somewhat nervously. As much as they admired their leader, they knew just how ruthless he could be sometimes. One did not become the head of an international criminal organization without causing a few people to mysteriously disappear. Mostly enemies and traitors, but failures and incompetent subordinates weren't safe from the chopping block either.
Meowth quickly pressed a few buttons on the computer, opening communications with their Boss. On the screen was a man, clad in a fine orange suit, with his head obscured in shadows. Yet despite the fact his face wasn't being picked up on the recording, there was no doubt that the man was glaring at the trio, waiting for them to talk.
"Greetings, sir." Meowth said, more nervous than before.
"So everything is ready?" The man asked, his voice mechanically distorted. He wasn't willing to indulge in chit chat, getting down to business the moment he saw his subordinates.
"Sir!" The trio nodded.
The man started petting a large feline Pokémon, which Meowth easily recognized as an evolved member of his species. A Persian. "If you want to make me happy, you can make sure our latest plan succeeds. Have you handed out all the tickets for the St. Anne cruise?"
"Yes, sir." Jessie nodded. "All of the "winners" were delighted to take them."
"Was it really financially sound to give out all those tickets for such a low price?" James asked.
"A small price to pay for what I'll get in return." The Boss smirked. "Besides, all of the "losers" have collectively given us more than enough money to offset the loss."
"Ohhhh." Jessie and James both said, understanding their Boss a bit more.
"Most of our forces have already boarded the St. Anne." The Boss continued. "When I give the signal, they'll take all the Pokémon from the trainers on board."
"That's the Boss for you!" Meowth brown nosed. "A real genius!"
"This time, failure is out of the question." The Boss said, not so subtly threatening the trio.
"Yes, sir!" Jessie and James nodded.
"We can do it!" Meowth cheered, hyping himself and his teammates up as their Boss chuckled at their antics.
XXXXXXXX
"That's a big ship." Cinder stated, seeing the Auras of several people high above her as she and her friends climbed the steps to board the St. Anne.
"I'd like to travel the whole world in this." Misty said dreamily.
"Tickets, please." A man in a uniform said. Once the gang showed him their tickets, he gave them a bow and gestured to a large room accessed from the deck. "Welcome aboard the St. Anne. This way for the party."
The gang, following his instructions, walked into what Misty and Brock now recognized to be the ballroom. It was clearly decorated for the upper class, though strangely the room was filled with crowds of everyday people. In addition, there were stands set up all around as if it was a local fair.
One woman next to the entrance piped up when she saw the gang. "Good day, trainers. I'm your hostess, and I'm pleased to say that our generous benefactor has managed to pull some strings with the League, allowing trainers on this voyage to temporarily carry more than 6 Pokémon in your party during your stay. Are you interested?"
Cinder wasn't above admitting that she was tempted. To have all 9 of her Pokémon with her now? "Yes, please." She nodded.
"Can I have your Pokédexes, please." The gang quickly handed the devices over, with the hostess putting them inside a larger machine behind her. After a few seconds, the machine dinged. "All done. If you want to transfer some of your Pokémon here, please go to our on board Pokémon Center."
Cinder quickly went to the indicated location and called Professor Oak. "Cinder, my dear, what can I do for you?" The professor asked, seeing one of his favorite pupils.
"Hey Professor!" Cinder waved. "I'm on board the St. Anne right now, and it turns out that I can have all my Pokémon with me right now. Can you send Beedrill, Clefairy, and Krabby over?"
"The St. Anne, you say?" Professor Oak was surprised. "How did you manage to get on board?"
"Bill apparently had some tickets." Cinder shrugged. "He gave them to us after we helped him out a bit."
"Good old Bill." The Professor chuckled. "Anyway, I'm surprised they let you have all your Pokémon with you there. I assume there must be some kind of event I haven't heard about."
"There's some kind of party/bazaar going on over here." The heterochromatic girl shrugged. "Whoever organized this event apparently got the League's permission."
"A bit unusual, but not unheard of." The Professor mumbled. "Anyway, I'm going to send your Pokémon over now. Hang on a bit." A few minutes later, Professor Oak managed to gather Cinder's Pokémon and send them over. "Now, don't do anything stupid, Cinder. Events like this are as much of a test to see if you can handle the responsibility as anything else."
"I won't, Professor." Cinder chuckled. "Thank you!"
"You're welcome, Cinder. Have a nice cruise!" The elder chuckled, hanging up, prompting the gang to go back into the ballroom.
"Come one, come all!" They heard a vendor speak.
"It's so cute." Misty smiled, seeing merchandise of some particularly cute Pokémon.
"It's like a big convention." Cinder observed.
"Looks like it's full of trainers here." Misty said, smiling.
"Take a look at the smooth skin on my Charmander." A boy said to another, both of them holding their Charmander in their arms.
"Look at the flame on my Charmander." The other boy smiled, moving his Charmander's tail in front of the other trainer. "There's orange and red in it! Cool, huh? Check it out!"
Then, another boy came to the group, holding a Squirtle in his arms as he chuckled. "Wait, look how hard my Squirtle's shell is! Tough, huh?" He gave a small demonstration by knocking on the shell, not bothering his Pokémon at all with it.
Cinder simply smiled. 'Maybe people aren't that bad after all.'
"All right, bring it on!" Cinder heard a man yell. Glancing in the direction with her Aura, she saw a pair of trainers facing off against each other. On one end stood a boy with a Starmie, and on the other stood the gentleman who caught her attention with a large, brown, rat-like Pokémon, which triggered Cinder's Pokédex as she growled at her opponent.
"Raticate, the Mouse Pokémon and the evolved form of Rattata. A Normal Type.
Abilities: Run Away and Guts
Hidden Ability: Hustle
Gender Ratio: 50/50
Entry: This Pokémon stands on its hind legs while baring its fangs and shrieking in an intimidating manner when threatened, and is even willing to take on larger foes if provoked enough. Its teeth are strong enough to gnaw through steel, and their constant growth means it often needs to gnaw on something.
Evolves from: Rattata when strong enough"
"Raticate, a Jump Kick." The gentleman ordered.
"All right, Starmie, Rapid Spin!" The other trainer countered.
Both Pokémon rushed at one another, Raticate jumping in the air to land a kick, and Starmie spinning around into it to counter the attack.
"Super Fang, now!" The gentleman ordered.
Raticate then started biting Starmie, hitting it right into its central gemstone and doing tremendous damage.
"Starmie!" Its trainer yelled in worry.
"Slam it down and use Jump Kick again!"
Raticate did as told, and quickly slammed the poor Starmie into the floor before jumping in the air again. When she came down, she came down hard on Starmie, hitting it once again in its gemstone and knocking it out, much to its trainer's disappointment.
"Starmie is unable to battle, the match goes to Raticate." The referee said, pointing towards Raticate and her trainer.
"Are you okay Starmie?" The younger trainer asked, gently holding his Pokémon.
"Don't feel too bad, young man." The gentleman tried to console, walking up to the boy and giving his Starmie an Oran Berry. "It was only a practice match, and I simply got lucky."
"My, how gratuitous." A woman, presumably the gentleman's partner, walked up to him as she smiled.
"Just being honest, dear." The gentleman smiled before looking at his opponent again. "Keep on training and working, building on your Starmie's strength there. I know that one day, if you try hard enough, the two of you will be able to do so much more." He then looked around the ballroom, gesturing to the audience. "Well, now, is anybody else brave enough to challenge my Raticate?"
"I'll be your next opponent, if you want." Cinder smirked, walking up to the gentleman.
"As you wish, my dear." The gentleman bowed.
XXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, Jessie and James walked into the ballroom, disguised as a pair of waiters. They thought it best to stay away from that Cinder brat they'd been chasing for now, because no matter how good their disguises were, they were useless against the Aura powers they learned she has.
"Say, Jessie, this place is packed." James observed.
"Packed with trainers, and their Pokémon." Jessie smirked.
"Don't you mean Team Rocket's Pokémon?" James whispered, smirking.
"For the Boss, yes." Jessie nodded as the two started to serve the guests.
XXXXXXXX
"Butterfree, I need you my friend!" Cinder called, tossing her Luxury Ball into the air and releasing her butterfly.
"Is that a Luxury Ball I see?" The gentleman asked.
"Yeah." Cinder nodded. "I only use those and Heal Balls to catch Pokémon."
"You must really care about your Pokémon, then." The gentleman smiled. "Most trainers don't bother using either, finding them too expensive for what they do. They'd much rather get Hyper Balls or more specialized Pokéballs that are even better in some situations."
Cinder only shrugged. "I don't care about catching Pokémon against their will, and I'd rather make sure they've got a good life."
The gentleman only nodded. "Ready?" Receiving a nod, he called out an attack. "Jump Kick!"
"String Shot." Cinder countered.
Raticate shot up again, once again intending to kick her target in the face. This time, however, his target was a lot more nimble, managing to dodge before shooting his legs with sticky webs. And, due to the effect of Jump Kick, Raticate hurt herself while landing due to the miss on top of getting stuck to the floor.
"Interesting." The gentleman nodded. "Super Fang, gnaw yourself out!"
"Stun Spore." Cinder calmly ordered.
Raticate started biting on the silk, quickly managing to get through. It was too late, however, as a cloud of yellow spores was scattered from Butterfree's wings, which quickly started locking up Raticate's muscles.
"Finish it up with Gust." Cinder said.
Butterfree quickly started flapping his wings, creating a gust of wind that started blowing Raticate away. She tried to dodge, but the paralysis had already slowed her down too much, and her muscles prevented her from moving at the key moment, allowing Butterfree to blow her away and knock her out.
"Raticate is unable to battle, the match goes to Butterfree." The referee called, gesturing to Butterfree and Cinder.
The gentleman quickly returned his Raticate into her Pokéball. "Congratulations on your victory, my dear. You've got quite the interesting Butterfree." He bowed before walking away, likely to get Raticate healed. "Interesting indeed." He mumbled.
XXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, James was walking through the fair, simply observing the guests when someone called out to him. "Hey, you with the blue hair, come here!"
James looked over, seeing a man with a slight mustache speaking to him. "Are you addressing me?" He couldn't help but ask.
"I want you to have a look at this Pokémon." The salesman said, pointing to the fishtank in his stand.
James looked down, seeing a somewhat dopey looking red fish Pokémon. "What is this thing?"
"The King of all Carp, a Magikarp." The vendor explained.
"What do I do, eat it?" James sarcastically asked.
"See how healthy it is?" The salesman asked, chuckling as he handed it over to James.
"It's certainly lively!" James shrieked as the Magikarp wiggled in his arms.
The salesman leaned over, whispering. "Just between you and me, this Magikarp is like a goldmine."
"A goldmine?" James asked.
"Right." The salesman nodded. "A Magikarp can lay a thousand eggs at a time, and each of those thousand baby Magikarp will eventually lay a thousand more, giving you a million Magikarp. Every one of those million lays another thousand, giving you a billion Pokémon!"
"A billion?!" James asked, shocked.
"You can easily sell a Magikarp for a hundred dollars." The salesman continued. "In just three generations, you can earn billions!"
"Billions?!" James was shocked again, imagining himself on a golden throne, surrounded by gold bars, coins, and nuggets while sipping wine.
"You'll be so rich, you can buy an entire fleet of St. Anne's with laughable ease!" He smirked, seeing that he almost got his sale. "I normally charge a hundred dollars. But for you, my friend, I'll also throw in an egg-laying set, childcare set, and an education set for only 300 dollars. How about it?"
"I'll take it!" James exclaimed.
"I can tell you're going to be a very rich man." The salesman chuckled, glad to get the con off as James was laughing like crazy.
XXXXXXXX
Sometime later, the St. Anne had left the harbor and was sailing on the open sea. Inside, Cinder and the gang were eating to their heart's content, partaking in various foodstuffs that would normally be a bit too luxurious for them to get on the road.
"So, are you having yourselves a good time?" The gentleman from before asked, walking up to the group.
"Yes, sir." Cinder nodded.
"You know, that Butterfree of yours is quite extraordinary." The gentleman commented.
"It's incredible." His wife said, impressed by the Bug Type's strength.
Brock, meanwhile, once again sported a dopey smile, blushing at the woman. "She's beautiful." He mumbled.
"Hello in there." Misty teased, waving her hand in front of Brock's eyes.
"Beautiful." He mumbled again, out of it.
"Here we go again." Misty sighed.
Cinder chuckled at the antics of her friends. "Well, both me and him have put a lot of work into getting to this point." She admitted.
"What did you think of my Raticate?" The gentleman asked Cinder, interested.
"She did put up a good fight, I think." Cinder said honestly.
"In that case, I'll be direct." He nodded. "Why not go for a little trade?"
Cinder stiffened. "A trade?" She asked tensely.
"When two people meet and like the Pokémon of the other more than their own, they trade them using special machines to swap the trainer identifications of their Pokéballs." The gentleman explained. "It's quite a common practice in pretty much every region."
"Not interested." Cinder said bluntly.
"But dear, trading and forming a network of friends is one of the best things about having Pokémon." The gentleman said, somewhat shocked. "Would you really deny yourself getting a new Raticate?"
"If the price for said Raticate is one of my Pokémon? In a heartbeat." Cinder growled. "Honestly, I think the whole concept of trading with such ease is disgusting. If it's between friends and both Pokémon want it, fine I guess, but I'm not giving my Pokémon to a stranger."
The gentleman simply tipped his top hat. "I suppose you make a good point, dear. If you're really so attached to your Pokémon, I don't think it'd be right to trade with you." He then started walking away with his wife. "Well, that's all there is to it. I hope you'll have a good time aboard the St. Anne, dear!"
XXXXXXXX
"You idiot!" Jessie screamed at a cornered James. "Can't you see you were tricked?!"
"What a dope!" Meowth moaned.
"But you don't understand!" James defended himself. "This Magikarp is a goldmine! Even its Pokéball is made of solid gold!"
"It's just gold paint!" Meowth said, seeing the shoddy craftsmanship and scratching some of the paint off, revealing it to be just a regular Pokéball underneath, much to James's shock.
"Magikarp is one of the weakest Pokémon, and can't do anything but flop around." Jessie sighed, explaining things. "How could you possibly expect to sell it?"
"I was tricked." James cried, now seeing how he was conned.
"How did you even get the money for it?" Jessie asked, feeling sorry for James now that he's seen what happened.
"Well, the advance on my salary didn't quite cover it, so I…" James trailed off.
"So you did what?" Jessie prodded, not liking where this was going.
"I used the advance on your salary!" James blurted.
Jessie, in a fit of rage, threw James to the ground and started beating him. Not enough to cause any major injury, but definitely enough for him to feel it for a couple of days. "You go return that fish and get my money back, now!"
XXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, back in his own hideout, the Boss of Team Rocket was watching through the CCTV network aboard the St. Anne, petting his Persian as he chuckled to her. "It's time." He said through the ship's intercom, his voice still disguised as his Persian hissed next to him.
At that command, all the staff on the boat for this party immediately locked the doors to the ballroom and threw off their disguises, revealing themselves to be more members of Team Rocket, much to the shock of the guests. Some of them were wearing vacuum packs, while most were branding conventional weapons. Many of them also released various Pokémon, most of them being Ekans, Arbok, and Zubat.
"Hey, Magikarp man, I want my money back!" James yelled, having missed the command in his search for the conman.
"Are you crazy?!" Jessie hissed, dragging James back.
"But I-" James started.
"We've got work to do!" Jessie cut him off, stripping them both of their disguise and dragging them both on one of the tables. "To protect the world from devastation!"
"To unite all people within our nation." James gloomily said, sighing through the motto.
"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."
"Meowth, that's right!" Meowth finished.
"Now, I think it goes without saying, but hand over your Pokémon!" Jessie ordered, the lower grunts aiming their weapons and vacuum devices at the guests.
Cinder, panicking at the situation, quietly whispered in Pikachu's ear. "Pikachu, Thunderbolt on the lights."
"Pika!" He shouted, shooting electricity at the lights above, causing the system to short circuit and plunge the room in darkness.
"I'm not about to let you asswipes have my Pokémon!" Cinder snarled.
"She's right!" Another girl in the crowd yelled.
"Yeah, we can't just surrender!" A boy agreed.
"Everyone, fight back!" Another boy urged!
At that, pandemonium was unleashed across the ballroom as every single trainer unleashed their Pokémon.
"We gotta work together, everyone!" Brock yelled, keeping his Zubat in his Pokéball. He did not want another trainer to mistake him for one of Team Rocket's Zubat.
"Pikachu, Thunderbolt!" Cinder ordered, with various Pichu and Pikachu, and even a Raichu joining her Electric Type.
As expected, all the electricity flowed towards Cinder's Pikachu due to his Lightning Rod, but Pikachu immediately used that to fry every single Team Rocket grunt around them, forcing them to drop their weapons.
"Charmander, I need you my friend!" Cinder called, releasing her Fire Type. "Flamethrower!"
Once again, Cinder's Pokémon was joined with various other members of his species, the group of Charmander working together to burn all the Pokémon Team Rocket had.
"Geodude, go!" Brock yelled, releasing his Geodude.
"Oddish, help them!" Misty called, releasing her only non-Water Type.
Geodude quickly joined other members of his species, creating and throwing various rocks at the criminals. Oddish also helped, spraying every single Ekans, Koffing, and Zubat she saw with various Stun Spores and Sleep Powders.
"Bulbasaur, Vine Whip! Squirtle, Water Gun!" Cinder called, releasing her other two Starters.
Her Grass Type joined another group of Bulbasaur, each of them working together to slap and tie the criminals up. Squirtle also joined members of his species, the group working together to blast Team Rocket with one gigantic Water Gun.
"Help them out, Squirtle!" The gentleman from before said, releasing his own Squirtle to join the frey. "Raticate, give those ruffians a good Jump Kick!"
"Butterfree, Stun Spore!" Cinder called, releasing her Butterfree to join others of his species, the swarm quickly scattering their paralyzing powders from their wings. "Clefairy, use Minimize and jump on Beedrill with Krabby! Beedrill, Poison Sting! Clefairy and Krabby, support her with Sing and Bubble Beam!" She called, releasing the trio.
The three Pokémon did just as told, the now tiny Fairy Type and normally tiny Water Type climbing on the Bug Type's back and holding on as she flew into the air. Beedrill shot at the enemy Poison Types with her toxic needles with rapid fire as if her life depended on it, which it likely did. Meanwhile, the two Pokémon on her back were covering her blind spots, as Krabby fired bubbles at the Koffing and Zubat while Clefairy used her singing abilities to put her enemies to sleep.
"Hand over the Pokéballs!" One of the grunts growled, rushing at Cinder.
"In your dreams, scumbag! Pidgeotto, Gust!" Cinder commanded, releasing her final Pokémon to join the new flock of her species and their pre-evolved form. The birds quickly worked together to shoot enormous amounts of wind at their enemies, tossing around all of Team Rocket and their Pokémon.
"This isn't over!" One of the grunts yelled, frustration evident in his voice as he and the rest of his gang and their Pokémon were all stacked up in a corner. The only ones who were missing were Jessie, James, Meowth, and their Pokémon.
"It is." Cinder bluntly disagreed. "Pikachu, launch them away with Thunderbolt!"
All the members of the Pichu family in the room worked together, all firing their electricity into the air, only for everything to arc towards Cinder's Pikachu so he could absorb it all, thanks to his Hidden Ability. Once he was fully charged, he fired one of the biggest bolts of lightning he'd ever made, causing the remaining vacuum devices to violently explode, launching almost the entirety of Team Rocket from the St. Anne. Pikachu didn't know if any of them died in that blast, or if the fall would kill them, but frankly, he didn't care.
"We did it!" A trainer shouted, prompting all the trainers to cheer.
Slinking away from the battle, the Team Rocket trio that was stalking Cinder for all these months tried to hide away. "I can't wait to get off this lousy bucket." Jessie groaned.
Suddenly, a huge wave rocked the entire ship, causing James to drop his new Magikarp's Pokéball, which quickly rolled away. "Wait, there goes my salary advance!" He yelled, running after it.
"There goes my money too!" Jessie exclaimed, rushing after James along with Meowth.
Back in the ballroom, the celebration had quickly stopped as the St. Anne was dangerously rocking back and forth.
"Oh no, the St. Anne has wandered into a huge storm!" Misty yelled, holding her Oddish tightly as she could while watching through the porthole.
"It'll be tough to get back with waves like these." Brock observed nervously, watching as people were heading to the lifeboats.
"Now calm down, these high seas have just pushed us a little of course." The captain reassured, walking next to all the people wanting to abandon ship.
"A little of course?!" Someone in the crowd yelled in disbelief, considering how much the cruise ship was moving.
"There's nothing to worry about!" The captain said once again. "We're heading for port now. And besides, this ship is unsinkable, so no need for alarm!"
"Didn't they say the same about the Titanic?" Cinder nervously asked, only to receive a nod from Brock.
Just then, the captain's words were proven false as Cinder's concerns were proven to be true, as a huge wave bigger than the last rocked the ship to such a degree that it was a miracle it didn't capsize.
"Maybe there is some need for alarm." The captain nervously admitted. "Alright everyone, evacuation procedures! No need to rush, there's more than enough lifeboats for all guests and crew!"
"Everyone, return!" Cinder said, taking her Luxury Balls one by one to put her Pokémon to safety. She was even tempted to do the same to Pikachu due to the situation, but she ultimately decided to only do so if things got really dire. Unfortunately, another giant wave hit the St. Anne just as she finished returning her friends, causing her to drop the Luxury Ball containing the last one she returned. "Butterfree!" She panicked, rushing towards the rolling Luxury Ball.
"Cinder!" Misty yelled, rushing behind her with Brock. They both knew she wouldn't get off the ship without all her Pokémon safe, and they wouldn't go themselves without her.
XXXXXXXX
Meanwhile, on another part of the ship, James and his team were still running after the gold painted Pokéball, not realizing the situation they were in. "Wait, there goes my next paycheck!" James cried.
"Who cares about your next paycheck?! What about mine?!" Jessie raged behind him as they went into the kitchen.
"We gotta get outta here!" Meowth urged, feeling that disaster was about to happen.
And just as he feared, it happened.
XXXXXXXX
From the outside, all of the passengers and crew that weren't rushing after a Pokéball watched in horror from their lifeboats as the ship they were just on finally capsized from the waves.
Inside, Cinder had just managed to grab Butterfree's Luxury Ball. "Don't worry, I got you!" Then, the world went sideways, throwing the trio into a door and subsequently through it.
"Got it!" James yelled at the same time, grabbing Magikarp's Pokéball, as the world went sideways for them too, throwing them into a wall.
"The ship's sinking!" One of the people in the lifeboats yelled in disbelief.
"May I have your attention please?!" The captain yelled over the crowd, silencing it. "Are there any wounded among us? Does anyone notice anyone missing?" While there were some exclamations about concussions or broken limbs at the worst, there was nobody in the lifeboats with a life threatening injury, nor did anyone pipe up about any missing people. "At least everyone's alive and safe, then." The captain said, relieved.
Unfortunately, not everyone was safe just yet. Cinder and her friends were rendered unconscious in a cabin of the upside down ship, with the same going for Team Rocket in the kitchen. And to make things worse, the St. Anne was rapidly sinking towards the bottom of the ocean.
It would take a miracle for them all to survive this ordeal.
XXXXXXXX
Pokémon Seen: 42
Pokémon Caught: 14
Cinder's Pokémon: Pikachu (M), Butterfree (M), Beedrill (F), Pidgeotto (F), Clefairy (F), Bulbasaur (M), Charmander (M), Squirtle (M), Krabby (M)
XXXXXXXX
And that's a wrap. While Cinder and the other trainers have managed to beat back Team Rocket, the girl and her friends are now trapped on the bottom of the ocean with their stalkers.
I also decided to change a few things around that made sense to me. The guns because Team Rocket is basically the maffia, the extra Pokémon because Team Rocket wants as many as possible, and the lack of trading Butterfree because Cinder would be very much against the practice herself.
TheDoctor1998 here, signing out!
