PART I of III
    The very next morning, Chas wasted no time in heading for the southern docks of Fuchsia City. Nurse Joy had told him that that was where the ferry that ran to and from Cinnabar Island docked when in Fuchsia City, and that was where to buy a ticket. With Shelbert walking alongside him, Chas strolled through the city, heading for the docks. Chas looked to the sky, noticing large storm clouds approaching from the south. ‘Looks like a storm’s coming,’ he thought to himself.
    He had chosen to leave his bike behind on this trip. He was, after all, headed for an island; how much traveling would he have to do there?
    Around noon hour, Chas and Shelbert reached the docks. They were considerably less impressive than the docks in Vermilion City; only a few small ferry boats and dingies lined the piers. “Well, let’s go find this ferry.” Chas said, prompting Shelbert to follow him down the docks.
    Before long, he found it. The words “Gardner’s Pride” gleamed red on the hull of the white boat. Chas and Shelbert approached the boarding ramp, where a man was standing. “May I help you?” the man asked.
    “One ticket to Cinnabar Island please.” Chas said, holding out a bill to pay for the ticket. The man made a quick note on his clipboard, then accepted the money from Chas. He then ripped off a ticket from his roll and gave it to Chas.
    “We set sail in ten minutes.” the man said. “You got here just in time.”
    “I guess so.” Chas said. “Well, c’mon, Shel! We’re on our way to Cinnabar Island!”
    “Squir!” Shelbert happily said, racing up the ramp ahead of Chas. Chas followed his Squirtle up the ramp and onto the deck of the small ferry boat. He noticed a few others onboard, but there weren’t many people. Chas instantly thought back to the St. Anne, and its huge amount of passengers.
    ‘This sure is different,’ Chas thought to himself. He looked for a spot to sit on the ride, picking a chair by the railing at the edge of the boat. He wasn’t too happy about this seat, for it was very close to the water, but the others were just the same. So, this seat was good enough.
    Not long after, the boarding ramp was pulled up, and the ferry set sail. Shelbert looked over the edge of the railing at the rushing water below, while Chas looked up at the sky, to take his mind off the fact that he was stuck right in the middle of a large body of water.
    “Attention passengers.” the captain’s voice spoke over the loudspeaker on the front of the main cabin. “Our route today will take us down south, past the Seafoam Islands and on into Cinnabar Island.”
    ‘Sounds like a long trip,’ Chas thought to himself. He tried thinking of what he could do to pass the time more quickly, but nothing came to mind.
    Until he saw a person carrying a Horsea walk up. “Hey, mister!” Chas called, getting up off his chair and approaching the man. “Say, I see you have a Pokémon. Wanna match?”
    “A Pokémon match?” the man asked. “Sure! You’re on!”
    “Great!” Chas said. This should be an easy way to waste about ten minutes. “Shel, c’mere. We’re having a Pokémon match.”
    “Irt.” Shelbert said, hopping down from the railing and walking up to his trainer.
    “A Squirtle, huh?” the man asked. “Cool. I choose Tentacool!”
    The man dropped a Poké Ball to the deck, releasing a blue jellyfish. “Tentacool! Tentacool!” it chanted.
    “A Tentacool...” Chas said, eyeing the Pokémon. “Go get it, Shel!”
    “Squirt!” Shelbert called, leaping forward to Tackle the jellyfish.
    “Tentacool! Wrap attack!” the man ordered.
    “Tenta!” the Tentacool said, throwing forth its two long tentacles. Shelbert was startled, and being so, instinctively withdrew into his shell. The Tentacool Wrapped its tentacles around Shelbert’s shell and started applying pressure to him.
    “Good! Good!” the man said. “Now, Constrict it, too!”
    “Shel, don’t just hide there!” Chas said. “Tackle it, or something.”
    “Squirt!” Shelbert said, suddenly popping out of his shell. He planted his feet on the deck, then leapt forward, towards his enemy, lifting the still Wrapped Tentacool off the ground with him upon impact. Shelbert rammed the Tentacool into the railing at the edge of the deck, causing the jellyfish to lose its grip on his shell. “Tle!” Shelbert said, backing away.
    “Tentacool, Poison Sting!” the man ordered.
    “Tennnnnta!” the Tentacool said, throwing forth one of its tentacles. Chas then noticed a tiny stinger on the end of the tentacle, which the Pokémon jabbed into Shelbert’s arm.
    “Irrrt!” Shelbert shouted, slapping away the Tentacool’s tentacle. He held a hand over his injury, for it was stinging badly. Luckily, it didn’t poison him.
    “Now, go for another Wrap!” the man said.
    The Tentacool reached forward to grab Shelbert again. “Irt!” Shelbert declared, Tackling himself into the Pokémon’s body again. He sent it flying backwards so fast that it was knocked unconscious when its head hit the railing.
    “Coool...” it groaned.
    “Squir.” Shelbert said, folding his arms and looking up to the sky; he was taking pride in his victory.
    “All right then.” the man said, returning his Tentacool to its Poké Ball. “Tentacool #1 went down, but let’s see your Squirtle handle Tentacool #2!”
    With that, the man threw his next Ball, releasing a second Tentacool. “Shel, return. I’d better give some experience to the others.” Chas said. Shelbert backed away from the Tentacool while Chas fished a Poké Ball out of his pouch. “Jiggles, go!”
    “You’re using a Wigglytuff?” the man asked after seeing Jiggles emerge from the Ball. “What’s that thing gonna do?”
    “That ‘thing’ can Sing.” Chas rhymed.
    Right on cue, Jiggles began to sing his song. “Wiiiigglytufff... wigglytu-uUU-ufff... wiiii-“
    “Tenta!” the Tentacool yelled, firing out a gust of water. The water stream struck Jiggles, knocking him over backwards.
    “Good ol’ Water Gun.” the man said. “Get’s ‘em every time. Tentacool, do it again!”
    “Jiggles, Disable its Water Gun!” Chas ordered.
    “Wig!” Jiggles said, firing out an invisible surge of energy. Just as the Tentacool was about to fire its Water Gun a second time, the Disable took effect, rendering Water Gun useless. “Tuff tuff!” Jiggles laughed.
    “Now, Sing it to sleep!” Chas said.
    “Wiiiigglytufff... wigglytu-uUU-ufff... wiiiigglytufff... wigglytufff...” Jiggles’ song slowly but surely put the Tentacool to sleep.
    “Cool...” it snored peacefully.
    “Now, get ready for a Poundin’!” Chas said.
    “Tentacool, return.” the man said. “You’ve had enough.”
    The jellyfish zapped back into its Poké Ball. “Jiggles, you return too.” Chas said, causing his Wigglytuff to beam back into HIS Ball. “Who’s next?”
    “Staryu, I choose you!” he said, beaming out his five-armed orange starfish.
    “A Staryu, eh?” Chas asked, remembering this Pokémon from long ago, in his battle against Daisy in the Cerulean City Gym. “This should be a sinch for Chirp. Go!”
    Chas released his Pidgeot. “Pidgeooooo!” Chirp crowed.
    “Hmm...” the man said, slightly worried. “Get ready, Staryu! This could be tricky!”
    “Chirp, Gust attack!” Chas ordered.
    “Pidgeot!” Chirp said, flapping his wings. The Staryu fought against the torrential winds, but was soon unable to hold its position on the deck anymore. The Gust picked it up off the deck and slammed it against the railing.
    “Staryu, Recover.” the man ordered.
    The Staryu grunted, sounding like it shouted “Hi-yaa!”, just like a karate master. It glowed pink for a moment, and once the glow stopped, the Staryu took a fighting stance, seeming to be trying to flex its ‘arms’ (the two arms below the top one, or it’s ‘head’).
    “All right then. Quick Attack!” Chas ordered.
    “PidgeOOOoo!” Chirp shouted, ramming himself quickly into the Staryu, smashing his beak against the red jewel in the center of its body. The Staryu flew backwards a few feet, again smashing against the railing.
    “No, Staryu! Water Gun!” the man shouted.
    “H-ya!” the Staryu grunted again, blasting a long stream of water out of the tip of its upper arm. The gust of water slammed into Chirp hard, knocking the Pidgeot down onto the deck. After recovering from the topple, Chirp folded a wing out in front of himself, shielding himself against the Water Gun as best as he could.
    “Hit it with a Wing Attack!” Chas called.
    Chirp stood up, and keeping his wing folded in front of himself like a shield, began to approach the Staryu. The Staryu replied by adding more force to its still-firing Water Gun, but Chirp was just too strong for it to force back. Once Chirp was close enough, he dropped his ‘shield’ and struck with his ‘sword’ (i.e. his other wing). The Staryu flipped up into the air, falling over the railing and landing in the water.
    “Holy cow!” the man exclaimed. “Staryu, return! That was impressive!” he said as his Staryu beamed back into its Ball.
    “Thank you.” Chas said. “Chirp, return.” Once Chirp was back inside his Poké Ball, Chas placed it in his pouch, placed his hand on another, and said, “any more?”
    “But of course.” the man said, placing the Horsea in his arms onto the deck. “Horsea, go!”
    “Horsea!” the small, blue, seahorse Pokémon said in a high voice, sounding like it was whinnying like a real horse.
    Chas looked through his Poké Balls. ‘Better not send Rocky, ‘cause he’d devastate that thing. And Zapdos... well, there’d be nothing left of the Horsea after Zapdos got through with it. So, that leaves...’ “Snoozer, I choose you!”
    Chas threw his Ball, watching it land on the ground and pop open. A massive surge of white energy emitted from inside, materializing into his Snorlax. At first smirking, Chas’ expression changed when he felt the boat begin to tip right under his feet.
    “What’s going on out there?!” the captain demanded through the loudspeaker. “What’s that... a Snorlax?! Get rid of it! Our ferry can’t take that much weight!”
    “Sorry!” Chas called, extending his Poké Ball. “Snoozer, return!” With a confused look on his face, since he had no idea what was happening, Snoozer beamed back inside his Ball. The boat began to steady itself; Chas let out a sigh of relief. ‘The last thing I need is for this boat to sink,’ he thought to himself. Chas dropped Snoozer’s Ball into his pouch and pulled out Rocky’s. “Rocky, go!”
    “A Sandslash?” the man asked. He wasted no time in reaching out to his Horsea with its Poké Ball and commanding “Horsea, return!”. The man swapped the Horsea’s Poké Ball for his fifth and final one. “Tentacruel, GO!!”
    ‘TentaCRUEL?..’ Chas wondered.
    Out of the Ball popped an amazing creature. It was similar to the Tentacool the man had used earlier (indicating to Chas that this was their evolved form), but it was much larger, and it had dozens more stinger-tipped tentacles. “Cruel...” it growled, glaring at Rocky.
    “That thing looks tough, but Rocky can beat it!” Chas said. “Use your Cut attack!”
    “Sandslash!” Rocky called, leaping forward. He Cut his claws across the skin of the Tentacruel, causing it considerable damage. “Sand.” Rocky said smugly.
    The Tentacruel narrowed its eyes. “Tennnta!” it shouted, firing off a powerful Water Gun on the last syllable. The flood of water washed over the Ground-type Pokémon, causing him great pain. Once the Water Gun ended, there Rocky stood, with much softer (and soggier) skin. The Tentacruel simply breathed out, allowing the force of its exhale to collapse the Sandslash.
    “No way!” Chas said. “Rocky! You couldn’t’ve lost!”
    “...slashhhh...” Rocky moaned, struggling to get to his feet.
    “Good! You didn’t!” Chas said. “Give that thing another Cut attack!”
    Rocky, who was still not completely on his feet, turned his head to look at Chas. “San?” he demanded, gesturing a hand to point out his situation. “Slash and sandslash?!”
    “Oh. Sorry.” Chas said, backing away a few steps (Rocky’s stare was scaring him a bit). “Whenever you’re ready.”
    “Lash.” Rocky thanked, getting back to his feet. When he was standing again, he brushed himself off, ran his hands back across his spines to straighten then, then ran up to the Tentacruel. “Slash!” he yelled, Cutting again. The Tentacruel’s many tentacles curled up in pain for a moment, then it stared at him again.
    “Ta.” it uttered before firing off another Water Gun. This time, the blast of water was so powerful that it actually picked Rocky up off the ground and sent him across the deck, towards Chas. Chas didn’t have enough time to even blink, let alone dodge, so Rocky slammed into him, and the two of them collapsed to the deck.
    “Wow!” Chas said. “That thing’s powerful!” Chas then started to lift Rocky off of him, but once he touched Rocky’s skin, he felt how soft and siggy it felt. “You’re not doing too well!” Chas said. “Your skin’s normally really hard and... well, rocky. But now, it’s all soaked. I’m gonna return you to your Poké Ball.”
    “Slash!” Rocky protested, getting to his feet. He pointed a claw at the Tentacruel, then brandished the blades on his other hand. “Slash. Slash and Slash and Slash.”
    Chas was surprised at how close Rocky had just come to saying an actual human sentence. “Uh, all right then. Go Slash... and Slash and Slash.” he said, prompting the eager Sandslash to dart off to attack his enemy again. No sooner did Rocky get within Slashing distance of the Tentacruel did he run his blades across it, piercing its skin deeply.
    “CRUEL!!” the large jellyfish cried out, badly damaged from the attack. It ran around frantically, diving behind its trainer. “Ten! Tenta cruel! Cruel!” it pleaded.
    “Yeah, that DID look kinda bad,” the man said. “All right. Tentacruel, return.” The grateful Pokémon beamed back into its Ball at the same time as Chas returned Rocky to his Ball. The man dropped his Poké Ball onto his belt. “Not a bad fight, kid. Didn’t think your Sandslash would stand up against my water Pokémon.”
    “Well, I won’t let that ever happen again.” Chas said as the sound of an approaching speedboat could be heard. “Rocky took too much damage from that fight, because of those Water Guns.”
    “Squir.” Shelbert said.
    “I’m not gonna let Rocky stand up against another water Pokémon like that.” Chas said. “I think I’ve learned my lesson, Shel.”
    “Your lesson is just beginning!” someone shouted in a familiar voice.
    “What?” Chas demanded, looking around. At the bow of the boat, he saw four familiar figures leap up from below, presumably from the speedboat Chas heard earlier. All four of them landed on the railing of the boat and stood there with perfect balance. Then they started chanting their familiar yet superfluous motto.

    “To protect the world from devastation...”
    “To unite all peoples within our nation...”
    “To defend mankind from bad temptation...”
    “To destroy all owners of Sony Playstation®...”
    “To denounce the evils of truth and love...”
    “To extend our reach to the stars above...”
    “To defeat our foes with a forceful shove...”
    “To control the Earth with a rubber glove...”
    “Jessie!” Jessie leapt down onto the deck.
    “James!” James leapt down next to her.
    “Joey!” Joey leapt down on the other side of Jessie.
    “Jade!” Jade leapt down beside James.
    “Team Rocket! Blast off at the speed of light!”
    “Surrender now or prepare to fight!”
    “You can’t stand up against our might!”
    “So give up now and say goodnight!”
    At that point, Meowth leapt up onto the boat as well. But, before he could finish off the motto with his usual “Meowth! That’s right!”, a different Pokémon leapt onto the boat, flopping around in front of Joey.
    “Karp! Karp! Magikarp!” the Magikarp spluttered, flopping uncontrollably.

    Jessie, James, Jade and Meowth all glared at Joey with an aggravated look. “You stupid Magikarp!” Joey shouted at the red fish. “I told you to stop following me!”
    With that, Joey booted the Magikarp hard, knocking it back into the water. “Yeeee!!” James screeched nervously. “I wouldn’t do that if I were you!”
    “Team Rocket.” Chas muttered, none too enthusiastic.
    “Meowth! That’s right!” Meowth finally said, ending the motto (with a whole lot of unnecessary filler dialogue this time). “We’re heah fer yer Zapdos, kid!”
    “Somehow, I’m not surprised.” Chas said. “But, you KNOW you’re not getting him. So, just leave, all right? Your Pokémon don’t stand a chance against mine, and you know it.”
    “Take that back!” Joey shouted defensively. When he saw the rest of his team staring at him, he stood up straight. “I mean, ‘Wrong again, kid.’”
    “Because today,” James said as Joey and Jade stepped back behind him and Jessie, “we have a special treat for you AND your Pokémon!”
    “A treat with a sensational and exciting new flavor!” Jessie said as Meowth placed two Poké Balls on the deck in front of her and James.
    “For da second time on TV...” Meowth started.
    “...we’re proud to present...” Jessie continued.
    “...our new Pokémon!” James finished.
    ‘New Pokémon?’ Chas asked.
    “Our Ekans has evolved into... Arbok!” Jessie announced.
    Jessie’s Poké Ball snapped open, and out surged a large collection of energy. The white energy formed into a shape, and out of the light emerged a new Pokémon. “Charrrrbok-a!” the large cobra Pokémon hissed, its hissing voice giving its statement a ‘ch’ sound at the beginning. Arbok glared at Chas with evil in his eyes.
    “And Koffing is now... Weezing!” James announced.
    James’ Poké Ball snapped open, and out surged another bundle of white light. Out of the energy materialized a large, purple, mine-like Pokémon. Chas remembered this Pokémon from his recent battle with the Fuchsia Gym Leader. “Weezi-i-ing!!” the large poison gas Pokémon stuttered, choking on his own words.
    “And Machop is still... Machop!” Joey said, stepping forward and throwing his Poké Ball to the ground. It popped open and released the bluish-gray skinned fighting Pokémon. “Machop!” Machop declared.
    “So’s Grimer.” Jade muttered, allowing her Ball to simply drop to the deck. It opened up and released her purple sludge Pokémon. “Grimer!” Grimer grumbled as he materialized.
    The latter two Pokémon didn’t worry Chas; his Pokémon had beaten them on several occasions. But, Jessie and James’ new Pokémon DID scare him. “Arbok and Weezing?!” he exclaimed. “When did this happen?”
    “Last night.” Jessie said. “Impressed?”
    “I don’t get impressed by the forces of evil!” Chas declared, wanting to sound as heroic as possible (so he could look big in front of the other passengers).
    “Arbok! Maximum power!” Jessie commanded, jabbing a finger at Chas.
    “Charrrrbok!” Arbok hissed, leaping forward to attack Chas.
    Chas hastily reached into his pouch, plucking out the three best Pokémon to use. ‘I can’t use Snoozer without tipping the boat, and I’d better keep Zapdos inside his Ball, in case Team Rocket has a cage or something nearby.’ Chas thought to himself in a split-second. “Chirp, Rocky, Jiggles, go! Shel, you too!”
    “Squirt!” Shelbert said, stepping forward. At the moment, he was facing off against Arbok, Weezing, Machop and Grimer all by himself. But a moment later, Chas’ other three Pokémon materialized next to him, ready to take on their opponents. “Slash!” “PidgeOOOOO!!” “Tuff tuff!” they shouted.
    “Chirp, go for Weezing! Rocky, take Arbok! Shel, get Grimer, and Jiggles, attack Machop!” Chas ordered.
    All four Pokémon leapt in at their targets, with one exception: Rocky headed for Machop instead of Arbok. “Rocky, no! Forget about Machop; Arbok’s the greater threat!”
    Rocky didn’t listen. He just got ready to attack the fighting Pokémon.
    “Fine. Jiggles, try to get Arbok.” Chas muttered.
    “Wig?” Jiggles asked, shocked. Had he just been ordered to attack Arbok?! Jiggles waited there to see if he had, indeed, been ordered to do so.
    “Arbok! Bind it now!” Jessie ordered.
    “Charrr!” Arbok hissed, racing in and quickly wrapping around Jiggles. Arbok crushed the Wigglytuff as hard as he could, causing Jiggles to cry out in pain.
    “Wig!” Jiggles grunted. The moment Arbok let up on his Bind attack, Jiggles took a deep breath and began inflating himself. But, before he inflated too large, Arbok crushed him again, forcing the wind to explode out through his mouth. “Tuff!” Jiggles wheezed, quickly becoming exhausted.
    “Hang in there, Jiggles!” Chas urged.
    “Wee-eezing!” Weezing choked, spitting out a slimy Sludge attack. The Sludge splattered all over Chirp’s left wing, weighing it down too much for him to stay aloft. Chirp spiraled out of control down to the deck, where he smashed down hard. “Weezi-ing!” Weezing coughed as he followed his target.
    Shelbert, on the other hand, was having a better (though not much better) time with Grimer. He had just dodged a Pound attack, and was now replying with Surf. “GRIMMMMME!!” Grimer grunted as the torrential blast of water forced him back against the railing. Shelbert finally had to end the attack, giving Grimer the opening he needed to use Disable and temporarily take that attack off-line.
    “Squirt!” Shelbert yelled in anger, powering up a Bubblebeam instead. He fired it, but just at the last second, Grimer slithered to the side, avoiding the attack. Shelbert gave up on long-range attacks and instead decided to give Grimer a Tackle.
    And as he did, Rocky Cut his claws across Machop’s belly. “Chop!” Machop yelled, returning the attack by smacking Rocky with a Karate Chop on the head. Rocky held a hand over his head, getting ready to stick Machop with a Poison Sting. He didn’t get the chance, though, for Machop connected with a Jump Kick, knocking Rocky across the deck.
    ‘Things aren’t looking too good,’ Chas thought.
    “Arbok! Acid attack NOW!” Jessie demanded, hollering over the sound of the howling wind, which was increasing in speed and force.
    “Charrrr...BOK!” Arbok hissed, spitting a large pool of bubbling black Acid at Jiggles.
    “WIIIIGGLY!” Jiggles cried out, leaping to the side. the Acid splattered across the wooden deck and immediately dissolved through, leaving a large hole behind. Not much long after, the Acid apparently ate through all the way to the bottom of the ship, for a sudden eruption of water shot up through, fountaining over in the air.
    “Eh heh heh... oops.” Jessie laughed.
    “Nice work, Jessie!” James said. “Your Arbok just put a hole in this boat!”
    “Not to worry, James.” Joey said, looking back to their speedboat at the front of the ferry. “We’ve still got our... WHAAA!!”
    Joey’s scream caused every member of Team Rocket (Meowth included) to look to the boat. There they saw the Magikarp from before, flopping around in the driver’s seat. “Karp karp!” it said, accidentally flipping the throttle to full with its tail. The speedboat then began to race off out to sea, getting tossed around by the rough waves (which were getting rougher by the moment).
    “You stupid fish!!!” Joey hollered at the top of his lungs.
    “Nice woik, Team Reject.” Meowth muttered sarcastically.
    “Shut your muzzle, you stupid cat!” Joey snapped.
    Meowth leapt up and raked his claws across Joey’s face. “Watch your tongue! I’M da top cat here!”
    Joey didn’t reply; he was still stunned from getting Scratched.
    “Whadda we gonna do?!” Jade cried out. “The ferry’s sinking!”
    “Attention everyone!” the captain called through the loud speaker. “Everyone should proceed to the life rafts! The coast guard has been alerted to our situation, but they won’t reach us for an hour at most. We must take refuge in the life boats and attempt to hold out until then!”
    “Great.” Chas said, not really thrilled at having to get off a big boat and into a smaller one, one that was closer to the water. “What else could go wrong?” he asked as the dozens of passengers and crew members aboard raced off to the life rafts.
    A lightning bolt striking down from the sky answered his question.
    “I see.” he said.
    “Arbok! Glare attack!” Jessie ordered.
    “Oh, give it up!” Chas shouted. “It’s over! We’re going down!”
    “It’s not over until the Snorlax sings!” James called back.
    “If you say so.” Chas said, pulling out Snoozer’s Poké Ball. “Snoozer, go!”
    Chas threw the Ball, sending forth his Snorlax. “Snor?” Snoozer asked.
    “They say sing, so sing.” Chas said.
    But before Snoozer could even say anything, the boat tipped forward again. “Oh yeah. I forgot.” Chas said. He held out Snoozer’s Poké Ball to return the Snorlax, but the ferry chose that time to completely submerge like a rock. Chas, Jessie, James, Joey, Jade, Meowth, Shelbert, Chirp, Rocky, Jiggles, Snoozer, Arbok, Weezing, Machop AND Grimer (lotta characters, huh?) all got picked up in the crashing waves and were being tossed around like rag dolls.
    Chas tried his best to keep calm. He had never gone swimming before in his life, and being suddenly thrown into cold water with no land around for miles wasn’t the best way to begin learning how to swim. More streaks of lightning flashed down from the dark storm clouds above, further adding to the dangerous situation.
    “Hang on!” Chas cried out as every one started getting washed all in separate directions. It wasn’t long before he lost sight of the rest of the group. Now he had no idea what to do.
    “Squirrr!” Shelbert cried out, using his Surf to the best of his ability. He swam amidst the slapping waves and small eddies that were being formed, searching for his trainer. All he found was Jiggles before being tossed high into the air by another wave.
    The entire group was soon out of sight of the other passengers and crew, safely aboard the life rafts.
PART II of III
    “Uhhhh...” Chas groaned, opening his eyes. The sunlight seemed to burn his eyes, so he blinked a couple of times to try to get them adjusted to the light. A few moments later, he got up off of his belly and sat down in a kneeling position.
    Where was he? He looked side to side, seeing nothing but beach, leading up to a large, wooded area directly ahead. He could see mountains off in the distance, far inside the trees. He sure didn’t remember coming here. Chas closed his eyes and held his hands to his ringing head, struggling to remember.
    And that he did. “The ferry sank,” he said to himself, “and the last thing I remember is getting swept up in the waves during the storm.” Chas looked around at the beach he was on again. “I guess I landed here, wherever HERE is.”
    Suddenly, Chas heard something move in the sand behind him. Quick as possible, Chas stood up and whipped around to see what it was. What he saw startled him.
    “Team Rocket!” he declared. No, wait. It was only half of Team Rocket; the green- and brown-haired ones, both unconscious. “Joey and Jade.” Chas muttered.
    Then, farther towards the water’s edge, Chas saw three Pokémon. A Pidgeot, a Sandslash, and a Snorlax, all passed out and lying unconscious, half-buried in the sand. “Oh no!” he said, running up to them. “Chirp, Rocky and Snoozer!”
    Chas soon reached them and slapped Snoozer’s face, trying to rouse the large sleepy Pokémon out of his slumber. It was no use, so he turned his attention to Rocky. The moment he touched the Sandslash’s skin, he knew Rocky was in serious trouble. “His skin’s so soft,” Chas said. “That CAN’T be good for a Sandslash.”
    “.....pid?....” Chirp asked quietly, lifting his head.
    “Chirp! You’re okay!” Chas shouted. Then, when Chirp held his wings to his ears, Chas whispered, “Sorry. I’m just glad you’re all right.”
    “Geot.” Chirp said, picking himself up off the ground. He looked around, spotting Rocky and Snoozer. “Pidgeo?” Chirp asked.
    “We washed up here on this beach after the ferry sank.” Chas said. “I guess it’s just a good thing we’re all right... well, at least as all right as we are.”
    Just then, Jade started to stir. “...mommy?..” she asked, peering around at her surroundings. “Hey... this isn’t Taco Bell...” she muttered, brushing sand out of her short hair.
    “Wakey wakey, sleepy-head.” Chas said.
    Jade turned to face him. “Oh, it’s you again!” she hissed, standing up. “Well, prepare for trouble! And make it double!”
    Jade waited for the motto to begin. She waited for a full ten seconds. “Uh, he’s passed out.” Chas said, pointing down to the other Team Rocket member, snoring at Jade’s feet.
    “Oh.” Jade said. She grabbed Joey’s head by the hair and picked him up off the ground. “Well, NOW prepare for trouble.” Then Jade used her free hand to open and close Joey’s mouth while saying “And make it double!”. And so the motto began, with Joey’s lines being said by Jade as she moved his mouth.

    “To defend mankind from bad temptation...”
    “To destroy all owners of Sony Playstation®...”
    “To defeat our foes with a forceful shove...”
    “To control the Earth with a rubber glove...”
    “.....Joey...” Joey muttered.
    “Jade?” Jade asked, looking down to her partner.
    “...you can’t stand up... ‘gainst our might...” Joey slurred.
    “So give up now and say goodnight!” Jade finished, releasing her grip on her partner’s hair. Joey fell face-first into the sand.

    “Huh? Whuzzat?” Joey asked, getting up. “What’s happening? This isn’t Taco Bell...”
    “I already said that.” Jade said. “What happened, kid?”
    “Don’t you remember?” Chas asked. “The ferry sank because Jessie’s Arbok burned a hole in the deck with Acid. Then we got washed away by the storm, and... then we woke up here.”
    “And where is here?” Joey demanded.
    “Beats me.” Chas said.
    Jade was eyeing the Snorlax behind Chas. “Well, at least we get this lovely parting gift.” she said evilly. “Grimer! Go get that Snorlax!”
    “Machop, you too!” Joey ordered.
    Nothing happened. “Machop? Grimer?” they both asked, looking around. They then looked down to their belts for their Poké Balls. Nothing was there.
    “WHAAA!!” Joey cried out. “The Poké Ball for the Machop I got last Chanukah is missing!”
    “And the Poké Ball for the Grimer I got for graduating last year is gone too!” Jade said.
    “You mean, you only graduated last year?” Chas asked.
    “Hey, have YOU ever gone to Pokémon Tech.?” Jade demanded. “It’s hard!”
    “Well then, I guess your Pokémon must’ve drowned.” Chas said. “Right, Shelbert?”
    No answer.
    “Shel!” Chas shouted, suddenly realizing that his Squirtle was nowhere in sight. He looked around, also noticing a severe lack of Wigglytuff in the area. “Jiggles! Shelbert! Where are you?”

-----

    “...irt...” Shelbert muttered, waving away at the person who was shoving him.
    “Wiggly! Tuff tuff tuff!” Jiggles urged, not stopping his shoving.
    Slowly, Shelbert came around. He pulled himself up to sit on the bottom of his shell and rubbed the back of his head. “Irt. Squir.” he thanked.
    “Wig.” Jiggles replied.
    Shelbert looked around at the beach he was sitting on. “Squirtle squirt?” he asked.
    Jiggles, too, looked around. “Tuff wiggly wig.” he answered with a shrug. But then, he held up his hand. “Iggly tufftuff.” he said, pointing to the left.
    Shelbert followed his pointing, spotting two more Pokémon in the area. “Irtle!” he growled, leaping up, for the two Pokémon were none other than Machop and Grimer of Team Rocket. Shelbert got himself ready to battle, but then found it to be unnecessary; Machop and Grimer were unconscious.
    “Wigglytuff.” Jiggles added, pointing to something right beside Shelbert. Shelbert looked at it, seeing a Poké Ball.
    “Squir!” Shelbert said happily. For this wasn’t just ANY Poké Ball; it was Zapdos’ Poké Ball. “Irrrr irtle tle squirt!” Shelbert said, spreading his wings wide and running around in circles.
    “Tuff tuff! Wiggly!” Jiggles insisted, pointing at the Poké Ball again.
    Shelbert nodded and picked up the Ball. “Squirtle, irrrr tle!” he commanded, pressing ‘open’. The Ball clicked open, and...
    Nothing.
    “Squir?” Shelbert asked, looking into the open Poké Ball. There was nothing inside. “Irt!” Shelbert cried, throwing the Ball into the air. “Squirtle!”
    Jiggles frantically flapped his arms. “Wiggly wiggly wig!” he yelled nervously. Where could Zapdos be?
    Just then... “Choooop...” Machop groaned, lifting himself up on his arms. He gave his head a shake, and when that failed to eliminate the ringing (actually, it added to it), he held a hand to his forehead. “Mach.” he muttered groggily.
    “Mmmmmer.” Grimer added, also coming around. He oozed up from being a mere pile of sludge to his usual form. Grimer blinked twice, then noticed Shelbert and Jiggles, who were both standing a few feet away. “Grimer!” he grunted, getting Machop’s attention.
    “Ma?” Machop asked, facing Grimer. Grimer pointed to their enemies, who Machop then noticed. “Machop!” he shouted, getting to his feet and preparing to attack. But, before making any move, Machop and Grimer both waited for their trainer’s first commands.
    Which never came. “Grime?” Grimer asked, looking behind him. Jade was nowhere back there. “Mer?” he asked sadly, looking all about.
    “Chop!” Machop called out when he noticed Joey wasn’t around, either. “MAAAAAAAAchop!”
    “Squirtle!” Shelbert shouted, starting to get a headache from Machop’s yelling. “Irtle squirt irtle irrrr irt. Squirt.” he explained.
    Machop was confused. “Maaaach?” he asked, disbelievingly.
    “Tuff! Wiggly!” Jiggles said, nodding. “Tuff tuff wigglytuff wig.”
    “Ime?” Grimer asked, looking about. He threw his arms up in confusion. “Grimer!”
    Shelbert looked around. “Irtle squirrr...” he admitted. Where WAS Chas? Or ANY human, for that matter?
    “Chop.” Machop said, pointing to a spot in the nearby woods. Shelbert, Jiggles and Grimer all looked to what he was pointing at. There they spotted a cave in the middle of a small forest clearing. “Mach chop.” Machop suggested.
    “Squir.” Shelbert agreed, nodding. With Shelbert and Machop leading (and with Jiggles carrying Zapdos’ Poké Ball), the group of four Pokémon proceeded to make their way towards the cave.

-----

    “Don’t make this any harder on yourself than it has to be!” Joey shouted.
    “That’s right! Just give us the Snorlax and we’ll leave you in peace!” Jade added.
    “Chirp, Wing Attack!” Chas ordered.
    “PidGEOOOOT!” Chirp crowed, flying forth and slapping his wings against both Joey and Jade’s faces.
    “You’re in no position to make demands.” Chas said. “In fact, NONE of us are in any position to do ANYTHING.”
    “What do you mean?” Jade asked.
    “What we have to do is find out where we are.” Chas said. “Could this be Cinnabar Island?”
    “I doubt it.” Joey said. “All of Cinnabar’s beaches are public beaches. If this WAS Cinnabar, this place would be packed with people.”
    “All right then.” Chas said. “This isn’t Cinnabar. But what else could it be?”
    All three of them thought for a while. “I’ve got it!” Jade said. “This must be one of the Seafoam Islands!”
    “Yeah! Good thinking, Jade!” Joey said.
    “Seafoam Islands?” Chas asked. “Whereabouts are they located?”
    “Right under your feet!” Joey snapped.
    “No, I mean in relation to the mainland.” Chas snapped back.
    “A good ways south, I’m afraid.” Jade said. “But, on the bright side, if these ARE the Seafoam Islands, we’re close to Cinnabar!”
    “All right.” Chas said. “So, now we know where we are, at least we probably do. If we’re going to get off this island, we need to first find our missing Pokémon.”
    “What for?” Jade asked. “How can THEY help us?”
    “It’s not a matter of them helping us,” Chas said, “it’s a matter of finding our friends.”
    “Friends?” Joey asked. “You consider your Pokémon to be your friends?”
    “You don’t?” Chas asked. He didn’t care to hear the answer, though, so he continued talking. “Now, c’mon. We’ve got to get moving.”
    “What about those two?” Jade asked, referring to the still out cold Rocky and Snoozer.
    “Uh... right.” Chas said. He pulled out the appropriate Poké Balls and zapped the Pokémon back inside them. “All right; let’s go. Chirp, follow me.”
    “Geot.” Chirp chirped, walking along the beach beside his trainer.
    “Where are we going?” Joey asked.
    Chas stopped. “I... I don’t know.” he said. “Jade, since you seem to know a bit about the Seafoam Islands, why don’t you lead?”
    “Um, all right.” she said. “I think we should try to scale that mountain in the distance. That way, we could get a look of the whole island.”
    “Good idea.” Chas said. “Lead the way.”
    Jade began to lead the group into the forest, headed for the large mountain that stretched up into the sky for what seemed like miles. Chas heard Joey shiver at the sight of it. Chas just shook his head and continued walking, with Chirp right behind him.

-----

    Jiggles peered inside. “Tuff?” he called. “Tuu-uufff!” No answer. He looked back to the other three and gave them an affirmative nod.
    “Grime.” Grimer said, slithering out from behind the bush he was hiding behind. He approached the cave and slithered in, leaving a thin trail of purple goo behind.
    “Chop.” Machop said, gesturing for Shelbert to go in first.
    “Ir?” Shelbert asked, confused. “Squirt?”
    Machop folded his arms and closed his eyes. “Chop chop machop.” he answered.
    “Squirt!” Shelbert shouted angrily. How dare Machop call him a backstabber?
    “Tuff tuff tuff.” Jiggles said, stepping in between the two. “Iggly, wiggly wig wig. Tuff, wig tuff.” he said.
    Shelbert, after giving Machop a mean look, did as he was told and entered the cave. Machop flicked his head back at Jiggles and entered the cave. Jiggles just shook his head and followed the fighting Pokémon inside.
    “Grimer.” Grimer said from up ahead. The other three quietly tip-toed up to his position, then looked at what he was looking at. Several large, blue bats were hanging from the ceiling, asleep. These were Golbat; evolved forms of Zubat.
    “Squirt.” Shelbert whispered, motioning for the others to follow him. He started creeping his way along the side of the tunnel, followed by Jiggles, Grimer, then Machop. They were as quiet as they could be... until Machop got fed up.
    “Chop!” he shouted, kicking a rock. “Mach mach machop!” He didn’t like all this creeping around.
    “Wigglytuff!” Jiggles warned.
    But it was too late. Machop’s outburst had done the damage; the Golbat were all now fully awake. “Golllllll!!” they Screeched, flapping their wings and taking to the air.
    “Squirtle!!” Shelbert cried, dashing off down the tunnel. Grimer and Jiggles were hot on his tail, but Machop wasn’t; he was looking forward to a little Pokémon battle. Shelbert stopped when he heard Machop start to battle the Golbat. “Squirt!” he called out to Machop, urging him to follow.
    “Chop!” Machop yelled back, not taking his eyes off the approaching Golbat. He leapt up and gave one a Low Kick, then delivered a Karate Chop to the back of another’s head. He then landed on the ground, rolled underneath a third and forth Golbat, then hit the fifth with his Rolling Kick.
    But then the Golbat returned fire. The first one came back with a Wing Attack, knocking Machop to the ground. Two more dove in and pierced their fangs into his arm, using Leech Life to drain his energy and replenish theirs. As Machop Chopped away to get them off of his arm, two more flew in and bit his other arm, causing him considerable pain.
    “Grimer!” Grimer called out, racing in to help his friend. Shelbert and Jiggles couldn’t bear to see a Pokémon take so much damage - not even a Team Rocket Pokémon. They joined in Grimer’s dash, soon reaching the Golbat. As Grimer and Jiggles leapt in to deliver a Pounding to the large bats, Shelbert opted to use his long-range Bubblebeam.
    It wasn’t long before all the Golbat decided to move on. Giving Machop one more Wing Attack before leaving, the last of the Golbat flew off, heading for another part of the cave. Grimer then dashed up to Machop, followed by Shelbert and Jiggles (who merely walked).
    “Mer?” Grimer asked.
    “Chop.” Machop grunted, trying to look strong. He was quite the opposite, though; the Leech Life attacks had really drained a lot of his energy.
    “Grimer.” Grimer said comfortingly to his friend. He then turned to face Shelbert and Jiggles. “Grimer grime grimer!” he pleaded frantically.
    Shelbert and Jiggles looked at each other. Sighing as they did so, they nodded. “Tuff!” Jiggles said, taking a deep breath and inflating himself twice over. Shelbert and Grimer then picked up Machop and put him on Jiggles’ now cushiony body. “Wiggly!” Jiggles said, holding in his breath as best he could.
    “Squirt.” Shelbert said, moving on down the tunnel again. Jiggles and Grimer followed, and they proceeded deep into the caves.

-----

    “Are we there yet?” Joey whined. “My feet are sore!”
    “We’ve only been walking for five minutes.” Jade scolded. “Now be quiet; we ARE almost there.”
    Indeed, they were. A couple minutes later, Chas, Joey, Jade and Chirp emerged from the trees and found themselves at the base of a steep mountain. It was too steep to climb. “Great.” Joey said. “NOW what, Miss Wilderness?!”
    “Shut up.” Jade ordered.
    Chas looked around. “Hey, there’s a cave.” he said, spotting the opening a few dozen meters away.
    “So what?” Joey asked. “We wanna go up, not in!”
    “Sometimes in IS up.” Jade said. “Let’s check it out.”
    Jade led the group over to the cave opening and peered inside. It was very dark. ‘Where’s Pikachu when I need ‘im,’ Chas thought to himself, wishing he had Pikachu’s Flash ability right about now.
    “Let’s go.” Jade said, leading the way inside. Chas and Chirp followed her, and reluctantly, Joey crept in behind them. “Keep close; who knows what we’ll find in here?”
    “Yeah.” Chas said.
    “I wish Jessie and James were here!” Joey whined. “They have GOOD Pokémon! EVOLVED Pokémon!”
    Jade hadn’t even thought of that. “Where ARE Jessie and James, anyway?” she wondered aloud.

-----

    Out at sea, a wooden fishing boat trawled the waters. The sailors aboard the boat began to haul in their net, which was soon grabbed by a large lifting crane and carried over to the open cargo hold. The crane let go of the net, allowing it to fall into the hold with a loud “Oof!”.
    The sailors all looked at each other. Had the fish inside just gone “Oof!”? No, that was impossible. Wasn’t it?
    Suddenly, a black-gloved hand shot out of the fish pile. The sailors looked closer, intrigued to see what they had caught. The hand was followed by the entire body of a blue-haired man, which was then followed by a red-haired woman. Both of them were wearing soaking white uniforms with a large, red ‘R’ emblazoned on the chests of their coats.
    The people were then followed by three Pokémon; a Meowth, an Arbok and a Weezing. “Weeez...” the Weezing sighed, as the Arbok hissed in exhaustion.
    The Meowth, on the other hand, seemed to be doing just fine. “I died ‘n’ gone ta heaven!” he said happily, looking around at all the fish that surrounded him.
    The sailors just looked at each other. “Better throw ‘em back,” they said.
    “Eh?” Jessie and James asked.

-----

    “Can’t get past this way.” Jade said, trying her hardest to move a large boulder that was blocking the tunnel. “This thing’s stuck tight.”
    “So, we can’t go forward.” Joey said. “And we can’t go back the way we came, either.”
    “What?” Chas asked. “Why not?”
    “’Cause something’s coming from that way!!” Joey cried out, pointing a shaking finger down the tunnel. Chas and Jade both turned to look, spotting a large flock of Golbat approaching. “Whadda we gonna do?!” he yelled in terror.
    “Stop yelling! Let me think!” Chas yelled. “Maybe Snoozer can move this thing!”
    “But what about them?” Jade asked, pointing to the approaching Golbat.
    “Chirp, go hold them off!” Chas said.
    “Pid!” Chirp said, flapping his wings and flying in at the several Golbat. While he proceeded to give and receive Wing Attacks, Chas whipped out another Poké Ball.
    “Stand back.” he said to Jade. Once she moved out of the way, he pressed ‘open’. “Snoozer, come out!” he ordered, and the Snorlax inside materialized on the ground before him. “Snoozer? You awake?” he asked.
    “...lax...” Snoozer grunted, only half-awake.
    “Good enough!” Chas said. “Try moving that boulder out of the way!”
    Snoozer looked at the boulder. “Snorrrrrr...” he groaned, pulling himself up off the ground. He planted his arms against the boulder, pressed his upper body up against it, and started to shove. It didn’t even budge. “Snorrrr!....” he growled, putting as much strength behind this next push, but again, the boulder didn’t move.
    “It hasn’t got enough strength!” Jade said.
    “And your bird’s getting beat up!” Joey added.
    Chirp had just taken two confusing attacks: Confuse Ray and Supersonic. He was now fighting a battle on two fronts; one against the Golbat, the other against the mind-muddling effects of the attacks. “Piiidgeot!” he chirped, trying to Wing Attack another Golbat. No good.
    Chas started racking his mind for an answer. ‘What can I do? We have to move this boulder, but Snoozer hasn’t got enough strength...’ Then it hit him. “Strength! That’s it!” he said, dropping his backpack off and rooting through it.
    “What is it?” Jade asked.
    “I got a Hidden Machine from somebody recently.” Chas said. “The Warden of the Safari Zone. He said it taught Pokémon Strength.”
    “Well, use it quick!” Joey said. “Your Pidgeot’s so confused, it’s slapping itself with its wings!”
    Chas dug around in his backpack a bit longer, finally hauling out the HM. Good; it wasn’t damaged when he went down with the ferry. He placed the HM on the ground before Snoozer, who just looked at it. “It’s an HM.” Chas explained. “It teaches you a certain attack.”
    “Could you please tell it this later?!” Jade demanded. “Time is of the essence!”
    “Right.” Chas said. “Snoozer, place your hands... er, fingers, in your case, on these little slabs while I turn on the machine.”
    “Lax.” Snoozer said, doing as he was told, knowing there was no time to question Chas’ orders. Once he was touching the machine, Chas pressed the green button on the back. Snoozer and the machine soon began to glow bright white, meaning the machine was working.
    “How long does it usually take?” Jade asked.
    “Not long.” Chas said. “A minute at most.”
    “Well we don’t HAVE a minute!” Joey said. Chas looked back to the battle, just in time to see Chirp collapse to the floor, several of the Golbat Biting him.
    “Chirp!” Chas called out. He pulled out his Poké Ball and held it forth. “Chirp, return!” Right out of their mouths, the Pidgeot re-energized and beamed back inside, out of harm’s way. Chas dropped the Ball back in his pouch, then turned back to Snoozer.
    “They’re coming!!” Joey cried out. “Hurry!”
    “It’s not done yet!” Chas shouted.
    “So this is how it finally ends...” Joey muttered, seeing his life flash by before his eyes. “I guess my high school class WAS right... I AM most likely to get killed on a deserted island by a flock of wild Golbat.”
    “You mean that’s what they voted you as?” Chas asked. “Something that specific?”
    “We had a big graduating class that year.” Joey explained.
    “Oh.” Chas said. Just then, the HM stopped glowing, as did Snoozer. “All right! Use your new Strength on that boulder, Snoozer!” Chas said, tossing the HM into his backpack.
    Snoozer planted himself against the boulder, then used Strength. As if it was nothing, Snoozer rolled the boulder away, pushing it forward. And no sooner had he moved it far enough for everyone to get through than it got away from him and started rolling down a hill. “Lax.” he apologized.
    “Don’t worry about it, Snoozer!” Chas said. “Return!” The Snorlax beamed back into his Ball. “Joey, let’s go! C’mon, Jade!”
    Jade grabbed Joey by the sleeve. Together, they leapt through the opening, right behind Chas. The three of them started tumbling down the hill the boulder had rolled down, unable to stop themselves. On the bright side, though, this tumbling was taking them away from the Golbat faster than running would have.
    Before long, the Golbat were out of earshot. “We did it!” Jade said, starting to slow to a stop. Chas and Joey did as well, and they were all soon standing on the hill. “We’ve escaped from untimely demises once again!”
    “Because we’re the invincible Team Rocket!” Joey said. “No one can defeat us!”
    “You guys only got away because of me and Snoozer!” Chas said.
    “That’s merely a small technicality.” Jade said.
    “That’s right!” Joey said. “Now, let’s get outta here; I don’t wanna be here in case those Golbat come looking for us.”
    “I agree.” Chas said.
    This time, Joey started leading the group, headed down the hill. No one was sure what they’d find down there... aside from the boulder, that is.
PART III of III
    “Irt.” Shelbert ordered, holding up a hand. He heard something coming. Something big. A loud rumbling was coming from further up the hallway, and it was getting louder.
    “Grime?” Grimer asked.
    He was soon answered when the group saw a large boulder hurtling down the tunnel at them. “TUFFFFF!!” Jiggles cried out, leaping into the air and letting all of his air out. He deflated so quickly that Machop fell right off of him and onto the ground.
    “Squirtle!” Shelbert called, spotting a small alcove. He made a dash for it, followed by Jiggles. Grimer started making his way for it, too, but stopped when he realized Machop wasn’t with him.
    “Mer?” he asked, turning around. He saw Machop sprawled out on the ground, still too weak to move. He was lying right in the path of the boulder.
    “Choppp...” Machop groaned, telling Grimer to continue on without him.
    Grimer saw the boulder approaching fast. Making a quick decision, he raced in at Machop. He grabbed the fighting Pokémon by the head and spun around fast, throwing Machop clear into the alcove with Shelbert and Jiggles. Grimer then tried to leap out of the boulder’s way, but he was too slow. The boulder ran right over him, crushing him flat before continuing on farther into the tunnel.
    “Squir?” Shelbert asked, peering out of the alcove.
    “Grimmmmmmmeee.......” the flat-as-a-pancake Grimer groaned. He curled up the edges of himself, then used them to pry himself off the ground.
    Machop staggered out of the alcove. “Chop,” he laughed at Grimer, even though the laugh caused a pain in his gut.
    “Mmmmerrrrr...” Grimer groaned again, oozing his way over to Jiggles, who (along with Shelbert) had just stepped out of the alcove. Grimer opened up a hole in his skin, which he extended out to Jiggles. “Grime...” he said.
    Jiggles took the slimy hole in his hands. Swallowing down his disgust, he took a deep breath, inflated himself large, then exhaled all his air into Grimer. Grimer popped back to his normal shape in an instant. “Tuff.” Jiggles said, shaking his hands to get the sludge off of them.
    “Grime!” Grimer thanked, reaching forward to grab Jiggles in a hug. Jiggles simply held up a hand, keeping Grimer at arm’s length. “Mer mer.” Grimer said instead, nodding gratefully to Jiggles.
    “Squir.” Shelbert said, wiping his brow. That was a real close one. He looked around, then pointed in the direction the boulder had come. “Irt squirtle.”
    “Chop.” Machop said, starting to make his way up the slightly inclining hill. But before he got very far, a big gust of water came out of nowhere and plastered Machop against the wall. “MAAAAA!!” Machop cried out until the attack ended, when he collapsed to the ground.
    Shelbert, Jiggles and Grimer all looked to where the attack had originated. There, by the wall, they saw a Staryu standing next to a hole in the wall. Out of the hole stepped another Staryu, and another, and another. Then, an even larger Staryu than the rest came out, and stood tall. “H-ya!” it grunted threateningly to the intruders.
    “Chop!” Machop yelled, leaping forward to attack. Jiggles stopped him, though. “Mach!” Machop shouted at Jiggles, struggling to break free and attack the Staryu that hit him.
    “Wigglytuff, wigglytu-U-uff, wigglytuff, wigglytuff!” Jiggles sang, at four times the normal tempo speed of his Sing attack. The song had the same effect, though, for Machop was soon snoring contently.
    “Ha! H-ya!” the large Staryu said, stepping forward.
    Shelbert looked at his team, then decided to speak for them. “Squirtle.” he apoligized. “Irt squirt irtle squir. Irrrr... Squirtle irt?” he asked.
    “Ha. H-ya ha.” the Staryu grunted. “H-ya! Hi-yaa!”
    Shelbert backed up a step. “Irt!” he said, holding his hands out in a sign of peace. “Squirt!”
    “Tuff wiggly wig wig!” Jiggles said, trying to help Shelbert out.
    “Grimer!” Grimer also added.
    The Staryu started thinking over what these three Pokémon had just told it. Perhaps they DID come here by accident. Still, its clan’s rules were very strict. The challenge had to commence. “Hi-ya! H-ya!” it said to Shelbert.
    “Irt?” Shelbert asked. If possible, he would rather not have to battle the Staryu. “Squir... irt?” he asked instead.
    The Staryu shook its ‘head’. “Haaa h-ya.” it said.
    Shelbert just gave up and shook his head. “Irtle.” he said, stepping forward. He got into a fighting stance and prepared to battle the large Staryu.
    “H-ya!” the Staryu said. “Ha h-ya hi-yaa ha. H-ya.”
    With that, all of the Staryu returned to their tunnel and went back the way they came. Shelbert and Jiggles followed them, as did Grimer (dragging the sleeping Machop behind him). They all followed the tunnel for a few minutes, taking the occasional turn when they came to an intersection, and soon, Shelbert and his friends emerged in a large cavern.
    The large Staryu stepped into the middle of the cavern. “Hi-yaaa!” it yelled at Shelbert. “Ha h-ya!”
    Shelbert looked to Jiggles. “Squirtle irt.” he said.
    Jiggles nodded. “Tuff!” he encouraged.
    Shelbert turned back to the Staryu. “Squirtle!!” he called, leaping in to battle it.
    As he landed before it, he noticed something. From a tunnel up high on the wall, Shelbert saw a Pokémon emerge. “Psy-y-y!” it called. Shelbert looked closer; it was a Psyduck, a yellow duck Pokémon. Actually, it was a group of four of them. They slowly began to enter the cavern to watch the match.
    “Seel! Seel!” something said. Turning to the side, Jiggles spotted three white sea lion Pokémon start crawling into the cavern. They were followed by several red river crabs, known as Krabby. And from yet another hole in the wall, on the other side of the cavern, emerged a collection of Shellder, an oyster-like bi-valve Pokémon.
    “Squir...” Shelbert nervously said, unused to such a large crowd when battling.
    The Staryu started by Hardening itself. Shelbert Tackled into it full force, but the damage he caused was quickly erased when the Staryu used a Recover move, restoring its whole health. “Hi-ya!” the Staryu said, leaping back and getting ready for its next attack.
    Shelbert wasn’t sure what would be coming, so he defensively withdrew into his shell. The Staryu Hardened itself even more, and the battle soon turned into a match of Defense increasing. It wasn’t very exciting. “Psy! Duck duck!” one of the Psyducks shouted, wanting to see some fighting.
    Finally, Shelbert took his turn. He popped out of his shell and Tackled himself into the Staryu. The Staryu immediately Recovered again, restoring its health. “Squirt!” Shelbert shouted, annoyed at the Pokémon. He Tackled it once again, but again, the Staryu Recovered its energy. Shelbert Tackled it again, knowing that his other two attacks (Bubblebeam and Surf) wouldn’t do a lot against a water Pokémon.
    “H-ya!” the Staryu shouted, leaping back and Hardening itself even more. Shelbert leapt at it, but it leapt over his Tackle, leaving the Squirtle to collapse to the ground. “Hiiii-ya!” The Staryu shouted, Tackling itself into Shelbert’s back. It hit his shell, though, so the damage was minimal.
    “Irrrrtle!” Shelbert bellowed, Tackling the Staryu. It Tackled back. Then Shelbert Tackled back. Then the Staryu Tackled back, causing Shelbert to step back a few steps. “Squirt.” Shelbert said, starting to get really bored with this Pokémon. He Tackled it once more, but as soon as the Staryu was at a safe distance, it Recovered once again, restoring almost all of the energy it had lost.
    “Hi-ya!” the Staryu shouted, victorious. It knew Shelbert couldn’t keep up his attacks forever.
    Shelbert was really urged to use his Bubblebeam. So, he began to charge up the attack. But before he could fire it, all the Pokémon in the cavern looked up to the roof. They could hear something, something that Shelbert, Jiggles, Machop (who had woken up not long ago) and Grimer couldn’t.
    “Psy-y-y-y-y!!” the Psyduck all cried, running away as the Shellder clamped shut their shells. The Krabby skittered away down another tunnel, soon followed by the Seel. And lastly, the Staryu all ran off down yet another tunnel.
    Machop looked around. “Chop?” he asked.
    Shelbert shrugged. “Wiggly.” Jiggles said, looking around as well.
    Then, suddenly, a large bird flew into the cavern. “ARRRRTIC!” it crowed out, looking around the cavern. It spotted Shelbert, Jiggles, Machop and Grimer all in plain sight. It had been quite a while since the Pokémon on this island were actually brave enough to stand up to it, the bird Pokémon recalled. So, it was about to have some fun.
    “Grimer!” Grimer shouted, running towards one of the tunnels.
    “Uno!” the Pokémon shouted, diving down and picking up Grimer in its talons. “Arrrrticuno!”
    “Squirtle!” Shelbert shouted at the Pokémon. He inhaled, then fired his Surf attack at the bird. He struck it right in the wing, but he seemed to cause it little damage. In fact, the end of his Surf attack seemed to freeze over the moment it touched the bird. “Irt?!” Shelbert demanded, confused.
    “Uno!” the bird shouted, breathing out a beam of freezing ice. Shelbert dove to the side, as did Jiggles. Machop wasn’t so fortunate. The beam covered him completely, and when the bird ceased its attack, Machop was completely encased in a block of ice. “Artic.” the bird said.
    Jiggles walked up to the block of ice. “Wiggly?” he asked. Of course, he got no response from Machop.
    Grimer looked up to his captor. “Grime!” he shouted, spitting a Sludge attack at it. When the slime struck its belly, the bird threw Grimer aside so it could concentrate on wiping the Sludge off with its wings. Grimer slammed against the wall and tumbled to the ground, weak from the impact.
    “Irr... squirt.” Shelbert said, stepping up to Jiggles. Jiggles nodded, and as fast as possible, he ran in and picked up Grimer. Shelbert tipped over Machop’s ice block, then hopped on. Jiggles ran up to the block, gave it a shove in the direction of a downhill tunnel nearby, then hopped on with Grimer.
    “Articuno!” the bird shouted as it watched its prey starting to escape. The frozen Machop was now being used as a sled, giving the Pokémon extra speed as they traveled down the hill. The bird gave chase, not through having fun terrorizing these Pokémon yet.
    Once the bird left, all the other Pokémon came out of their hiding places. “Seel!” a Seel exclaimed, relieved that the bird was gone. For now.

    “Squirtle!” Shelbert ordered, prompting Jiggles and Grimer to lean to the right along with him. This caused the ice block to arc to the right, narrowly avoiding a stalagmite in the cave. They all leaned to the left next, to avoid another stalagmite. The bird didn’t have to waste time avoiding objects though; it merely smashed through the stalactites hanging down from the ceiling.
    “Tuff tuff!” Jiggles warned, pointing ahead. Looking forward, Shelbert and Grimer saw that the tunnel branched off in two directions up ahead. The right tunnel looked to be merely the main tunnel, only headed in another direction; the left tunnel was much smaller, and didn’t look big enough for the bird to fit.
    Of course, there was only one way to go. “Squirt!” Shelbert said, leaning to the left. The other two did as well, and once at the fork in the road, the ice block shot through the small left tunnel. The bird stopped its chase, instead just looking down the small tunnel in anger.
    “UNOOO!” it crowed at them before flying away elsewhere.
    “Grime!” Grimer sighed, wiping how brow.
    “Wiggly!!” Jiggles cried, pointing ahead. The tunnel they were in soon opened up into a large cavern, with a very huge hole in the middle. “Tuff wig?” he asked.
    Shelbert thought of something. “Squirt irtle irtle squir squirt!” he said.
    Jiggles nodded. He took a deep breath of air, inflated himself, and clutched the ice block with his hands and feet as tightly as he could. The ice block raced out into the cavern and sailed clear off the edge of the hole. But, instead of falling down to the darkness below, thanks to Jiggles having inflated himself, the block glided through the air, landing safely on the other side.
    Jiggles let out a sigh of relief (which also deflated him). Then he took another deep breath when he saw the ice block was headed right for the wall. Nobody had a chance to cry out, for the ice block then smashed into the wall, sending everyone flying. The block broke apart into tiny ice cubes, allowing the very frozen Machop to land on the ground, shivering.
    And it was over. They had escaped the giant ice bird. Only now, they had no idea where they were. Shelbert looked around for anything that might help them. “Squirt.” he muttered.

-----

    “Hey, look at that.” Chas said, checking his water-proof watch. “It’s midnight.”
    “Midnight?” Joey asked.
    “Yeah. And, you’ll be glad to hear, at least we didn’t miss a day when the boat sank. It’s still the 31st.”
    “The 31st of what month?” Jade asked.
    “Oh, I can’t see us being passed out for a whole month.” Chas said.
    “Y’never know.” Jade said. “The way THIS guy sleeps...”
    “Hey!” Joey countered.
    “Well, anyway,” Chas said, stretching, “I think we should stop to get some sleep.”
    “Are you kidding?” Joey asked. “Did you forget about the Golbat in here?”
    “And I don’t doubt there’s all sorts of other dangerous Pokémon here, too!” Jade added.
    “Don’t worry; I got it covered.” Chas said, reaching into his backpack. He pulled out a small spray-bottle filled with a liquid.
    “What’s that?” Joey asked.
    “Repel.” Chas said. “You spray it in the air, and it’s supposed to keep wild Pokémon away.”
    “What do you mean, ‘supposed to’?” Jade asked.
    “Well, I’ve never tried it yet.” Chas said. “But it should work. Otherwise, we can sue the company for selling an inferior product.”
    “Gimme that!” Joey said, snatching the bottle out of Chas’ hand.
    “So where should we sleep?” Jade asked.
    Chas looked around. “How about in there?” he asked, pointing to a small cave not too far away.
    Joey looked into the cave. “Yeah, that looks good. Now c’mon; I’m tired.”
    Chas, Joey and Jade all walked over to and into the cave, which (luckily) wasn’t inhabited by anything. Not for the moment, anyway. While Chas and Jade made themselves comfortable on the cold, hard ground, Joey sprayed the air with the Repel. He used up over half of the bottle before Chas spoke.
    “You wanna save some of that?” he asked. “It’s not free, y’know!”
    “I just want to make sure no Golbat come back to get us.” Joey said. “Excuse me for trying to protect you.”
    “Yeah. Right.” Chas said. “You’re only doing that to protect yourself.”
    “And with good reason!” Joey said, putting the bottle on the ground. He layed down next to Jade, and the three of them uncomfortably started to go to sleep.

-----

    As were Shelbert, Jiggles, Machop and Grimer. Jiggles, being the biggest in the group, was being used as a pillow by the other three (which he didn’t like in Grimer’s case, for the sludge Pokémon was getting goo all over his belly). They were in a small alcove in the cavern they had sledded into, which looked to be the safest place.
    As they drifted off to sleep, all the Pokémon’s dreams were on finding or being found by their trainers.

To Be Continued…

[BACK]