I stood on top of Wigglytuff's head, the wind tousling my hair as we hovered above the chaos below. From this height, the entire ship was visible a jagged mess of battle cries, smoke, and Pokémon energy flashes.
"Shall we join them?" I asked, glancing down at the Pokéball in my hand, eyes focused.
Rotom hovered near my shoulder, its body flickering with static. "Can't we just finish this, Alex Carter?" it replied in a hurried tone.
I tilted my head. "Sometimes you're so annoying," I muttered. "But honestly… right now you're really boring. Are you that much scared of Cherry?"
My gaze dropped to the deck below with a sigh. Khan was fighting with everything he had, weaving between attacks, dodging blasts, and barely keeping his distance from the grunts surrounding him.
Among them, one figure stood out. A woman in a white wolfcut and a snow white mask, barking commands. She stood beside a Rapidash that didn't look like anything I'd seen before. Its body was transparent, its skeleton glowing beneath purple flames that whipped violently in the air.
"That Rapidash looks cool as hell," I muttered. "And probably strong as hell too…"
I stopped speaking, took a deep breath, and pulled my arm back.
"Let's send Khan a little help!" I shouted, hurling the Pokéball down toward the ship. "DASH RAGING FURY!"
The ball burst open mid air in a flash of light. Out came Dash, a glowing yellow Growlithe, now cloaked in wild flames that crackled with heat and power. He let out a fiery growl then immediately missed the ship entirely and fell straight into the water below with a loud
*splash*
There was a long pause.
I stared blankly over the edge of Wigglytuff. "Ahhh..."
Without a word, I recalled Dash back into his ball before anyone could notice the flop. Rotom floated beside me, snickering.
"Alex Carter…" it said, barely holding back its laught.
I clicked the Pokéball open again. A red beam shot out, materializing Dash's soaked body head to toe, his yellow fur drooping, and his face done with me.
"Sorry, Dash," I said sheepishly. "I just wanted to ask… can you jump?"
Dash snorted, then shook out the water from his fur, droplets spraying everywhere. He sighed through his nose, then padded toward the edge of Wigglytuff. For a moment, he looked down. Then flames ignited around his paws, wrapping around his body like armor.
With a fierce growl, Dash leapt.
The wind caught his body as he soared, the fire around him intensifying. The flames grew so hot they blinded him, covering his face as he descended like a meteor.
His paws slammed onto the deck and in that moment, the fire exploded outward in a blast of heat. Everything in his path was scorched. The blast tore through the ship, ripping through grunts and Pokémon alike. Dash crashed through the upper deck and plowed into the lower level, continuing his rampage with unstoppable fury.
I watched in silence as the ship rumbled beneath his paws.
"Hey, Rotom," I said casually, "Can you drop a Thunder in the middle of the ship? Try not to hit Khan."
Rotom nodded and started glowing. Its body sparked as it absorbed electricity from the sky.
The clouds above rumbled. One Thunder crashed into the sea near the ship. Then another. Then another. And another...
"…Did you do that on purpose, or did you actually miss all of them?" I asked flatly.
Down below, the grunts looked around, confused, then slowly turned their eyes up toward us.
"Alex Carter, I-I'm sorry—" Rotom stammered.
"Never mind," I interrupted, already exhausted. "I'll got used to it."
I pulled out another Pokéball and flung it toward the oncoming attackers three Pokémon flying straight at us. a Fearow, a Pidgeot, and a Kadabra.
"Oddy, use Brutal Swing!"
The Pokéball burst open midair. The red light shaped itself into a Gloom his petals replaced with vicious flytrap mouths that opened and closed hungrily. His body was dark, almost shadowlike.
Oddy started spinning wildly, the mouths atop his head swinging like flails. Kadabra was the first to get hit slammed midair and thrown down hard onto the deck. The next swing crashed into Fearow's wing, knocking it sideways into Pidgeot. The two birds tangled midair and spiraled down together with a loud *thud*
"Good job, Oddy!" I called out, already sending another Pokéball flying. "Aria, use Teleport and help Oddy land!"
The light burst into form a graceful Kirlia with deep violet skin and crimson, jewel like sharp horns. She blinked once, then vanished in a shimmer of purple sparkles. A second later, she reappeared beside Oddy and gently caught him before he could fall.
"Now go to the deck! Aria Teleport next to Khan and wait for me there,"
Wigglytuff lowered altitude as both Pokémon vanished again, blinking down to the deck beside Khan in showers of light.
"Khan!" I shouted.
He turned, holding Electabuzz's Pokéball tightly. His eyes met Aria's eyes just for a second.
"Aria? Oddy?" he said in surprise. "If you two are here, that means...Alex!"
Before I could answer.
A voice tore through the sky.
"RAAAGE!!"
From the sea, a massive shape burst upward waves exploding outward as a colossal blue serpent rose into the air. Gyarados. Its trainer landed neatly on its head, breathing hard.
I looked up at the sky behind the Serpentine and my eyes locked onto a face riding atop the massive Gyarados.
"Sammy?" I called out.
"Alex?" he said at the exact same moment.
Our smiles matched just as a frantic voice cut in.
"Guys! Please help! I'm getting JUMPED HERE!!!"
Khan's shout made me chuckle. I turned away from the sky, calling back to him. "Don't worry! I'm coming right away—"
But I didn't get far.
One of the grunts stepped forward, releasing a Primeape that landed right in front of me. Its fists glowed with a sharp blue aura. Cross Chop. It raised both hands, ready to strike.
I barely had time to lift my arms in defense.
Then the Wigglytuff beneath me trembled. In an instant, she created three floating orbs one frozen with ice, one burning with fire, and another crackling with electricity. They connected by a thin string of light and shot out in a blink.
Before I even registered what happened, the Primeape was launched across the sea like a ragdoll, crashing into a distant island at least a hundred meters away.
I stared in disbelief.
Lowering my arms, I looked down at the Wigglytuff. A laugh slipped from my lips.
"I guess level seventynine is something else, huh?"
Wigglytuff deflated a bit, letting out a breath as she dropped back down, her form softening. Her emerald eyes shone with pride.
I stepped onto the ship's wooden deck, now scattered with grunts in black suits and purple masks. Every one of them was backing away from the puffball standing beside me until their leader finally snapped.
"Where the hell did you people even come from?!" the woman barked.
"One brat was already annoying, now three?! Why are you like bacteria?! Every time I think it's over, another one just shows up!"
She was practically tearing her own hair out.
Khan ran up to me through the opening the panicked grunts had left behind. I gave him a side glance and let out an annoyed sigh.
"Why won't you just shut up?"
"Huh?" she snapped, eyes twitching. "What did you just say to me?"
I grinned, not even trying to hide my taunt. "You heard me. Every time I see you people, I feel bad for Team Rocket. Archie and Giovanni are probably crying themself to sleep knowing the new 'evil team' is just a bunch of crybabys that can't even handle with three random brats and moreover having a breakdown over it."
The woman's eyes flared with rage. She raised a hand. "Kill them..."
My muscles tensed.
"KILL THEM!!" she screamed.
The grunts flinched but listened.
"Y-yes maam. Arbok, use Crunch!"
"Parasect, Slash!"
"Venomoth, Air Slash!"
"Persian, Bite!"
"Kingler, Stomp!"
And then the woman herself stepped forward, her heel slamming into the deck.
"Rapidash! Use Shadow Claw and kill those fuckers!"
I crouched beside Wigglytuff.
"Miss Jiggly," I whispered, "Could you handle these guys while we deal with that Rapidash?"
She smiled wide. Another Tri-Attack began to spin above her head ice, fire, and lightning, all ready to fire.
*Good girl.*
I stood up, turning to Khan and giving him a nod.
"Aria, use Hex on Rapidash! Oddy, hit every enemy you see with Stun Spore!"
Both Pokémon rushed ahead. Aria was already cloaked in shadowy purple energy, gathering it into her hands before hurling a Hex straight at Rapidash. The fiery horse's hooves glowed with that same dark energy as it charged.
Behind me, Wigglytuff was knocking Pokémon off the ship like bowling pins with her Tri-Attacks.
"So, how's it going?" I asked, crouching beside Khan, who was trying to catch his breath.
"I've had better days,how about you?" he said, holding out his arm.
I grabbed his hand and pulled him up. "Same but I'll feel a whole lot better or far worse after this ends."
Khan looked around. "Where's the growhlithe?"
Then I spotted the large hole torn through the back of the ship.
"Did Dash make this?"
I walked closer, shielding my face from the heat pouring out. Inside, everything was scorched and turned to ash. In the center of the flames stood a single glowing figure.
A shiny yellow Growlithe who was throwing up.
I pulled out his Pokéball and returned him with a quiet click, then turned to Khan again.
"So… do we have a plan, or are we just fighting blind?"
As I asked, Oddy spun in place, spraying Rapidash with Stun Spore while Aria followed up with more shadowy strikes.
Khan pulled something from his jacket. something glowing faintly in rainbow hues. He held it out to me. I tilted my head, then took it into my hand.
The crystal felt strange, like it couldn't decide whether it was solid or liquid, hot or cold.
"What is this?"
Khan wiped sweat from his brow. "They called it a Terrain Crystal. Supposedly it can control weather and terrains. You remember how Wild's gym kept shifting terrain types? I think this was the reason. These people stole it and I don't think they plan to use it for anything good."
I stared at the crystal again.
"Then the plan is simple." I pressed it back to Khan's chest. "You take this and get out of here. Find help everyone you can. Sammy and I will hold the line."
I glanced back at Gyarados still circling in the sky.
"…If Sammy ever decides to come down from up there! What is he even doing?!"
Khan frowned, clearly worried. "Will you guys be okay?"
I gave him a light punch on the arm. "We'll do fine. Just go. Do what I said."
He nodded behind me. "I'll leave Gligar with you. Electabuzz isn't in great shape, so he's sticking with me."
Khan tucked the crystal back in his pocket and took off.
I looked up. Gligar was watching us from above.
"So this is why you guys dragged me here…" I muttered to air without knowing if I got heard or not.
Then I raised my voice. "Gligar! Use Sandattack to make sure Rapidash's attacks don't reach Oddy or Aria. Don't get into close combat!"
Gligar nodded and closed its wings before raining sand on the Rapidash's eyes as I changed my gaze once again.
Wigglytuff had run out of Tri-Attacks, but so had the grunts. Every single Pokémon they'd sent was knocked out, floating or sizzling on the deck.
"Nice job, girl," I said.
I turned to Oddy and Aria, still facing down the Rapidash, pushing it back step by step.