Following their brief visit to the ship’s onboard Pokémon Centre, Mark and Randy were seated in the dining hall, enjoying some lunch after their earlier battle. Mark was in the process of explaining the reasons for his journey to Kanto to Randy, who listened attentively while simultaneously enjoying a bowl of ramen. He was greatly intrigued by Mark’s story, at one point even stating that it was an ‘ambitious idea’.

            When Mark concluded, Randy spoke his thoughts on the matter. “So, you’re out to challenge yourself by battling trainers from the other regions,” he said, nodding in approval. “Certainly an interesting idea, I’ll give you that.”

            Mark chuckled. “My mom at first thought I was biting off more than I could chew with it, so she demanded that I pass her test before leaving.”

            “What sort of test?”

            “A battle, of course,” Mark returned matter-of-factly. “My mom’s a frequent competitor at the Battle Resort; she goes to the Chateau there almost daily, challenging scores of trainers.”

            Randy raised his eyebrows. “She sounds strong.”

            “Oh, believe me, she is,” Mark replied. “She could be one of the Elite Four if she so wanted.”

            “So, this test,” Randy stated, earning a nod of confirmation from Mark. “Did you pass?”

            “Sure did,” Mark replied. “Ironically, I battled her with Coal as well.”

            “Really?” Randy asked. “Huh; that is ironic; beat me with the same Pokémon that got you started.” He let Mark take a bite of his own meal before voicing his next question. “Speaking of, where did you get a Charmeleon all the way out here? Have you been to Kanto before?”

            Mark shook his head. “No, never; this is my first time leaving Hoenn in my whole life,” Mark replied, taking a sip from the glass of water in front of him before he began to explain. “Not long before I first met you, I was wandering past the daycare over near Mauville –you know the one?” He waited for the nod from Randy before continuing. “While passing, I saw this trainer just losing his shit over something, screaming at the old couple that runs the place.

            “I stepped in, telling him to cool off; he responded in kind by screaming at me instead. From what I gathered, apparently a Pokémon he’d left there had hooked up with another in the day care yard, resulting in the female of the two –a Charizard- laying an egg. Now this guy, a wannabe ‘dragon master’ –y’know, like Lance or Drake? He didn’t want it, and he was acting like his Hydreigon had been tainted by the Charizard or something.”

            Randy arched an eyebrow. “That’s kind of stupid; why was he so upset? Lots of Dragon-type trainers have a Charizard; not only because it looks like one but it also Mega Evolves into one.”

            “I don’t know what his problem was,” Mark replied. “Naturally I ended up having to battle him just to shut him up. Vitesse made short work of his Hydreigon, and then he left. The couple then asked if I knew anyone who might be interested in the egg.”

            “Why wouldn’t they just give it to the Charizard’s trainer when they came back?”

            “Apparently that Charizard was abandoned,” Mark replied. “And the couple had grown rather fond of her because she helped chase away wild Pokémon that would wander into the area and upset any others they were taking care of, so they kept her, but they thought the egg deserved a better home than living in a daycare. Eventually, I offered to take it for them.”

            “So, you had Coal even when you and I battled?” Randy asked.

            “I did, but he had only just hatched; he was just a baby,” Mark replied. “I wasn’t about to throw an infant at a fully grown Lucario.”

            Randy nodded in understanding, satisfied with the answer.

            “That reminds me,” Mark began, eyeing Randy with a look of intrigue. “My turn to ask a question now; when you and I first battled, I noticed two common themes with all of your Pokémon choices, at least of the four I saw.”

            “Yeah?”

            “For starters, you have a heavy focus on speed,” Mark began. “Zoroark, Salamence, Sceptile, Lucario; all of those Pokémon are known for being swift. But you also were very deceptive with your methods, such as tricking me with your Zoroark’s Illusion power, and making your Salamence appear to be a Special Attacker with strike and retreat tactics, when it was in fact a master of Physical Attacks, as unfortunately Siren found out when I called her out after he beat Tanker.”

            “She,” Randy corrected. “Skyclaw’s female.”

            “Oh. Sorry,” Mark returned. “Anyway, you also had Thorn and Cairo, each with their own tricks that I just couldn’t predict no matter how many of both those Pokémon I’ve fought before. Like knowing Focus Blast; how the heck does a Sceptile learn Focus Blast?”

            “Just about all Pokémon can learn it,” Randy stated. “But it has to be through technical machine or tutoring; there aren’t any that learn it naturally. Least none I’m aware of.”

            “Right, but I’m getting side-tracked,” Mark carried on. “My point is, I saw that same reliance on speed with Velox during that battle we had earlier. Now, that wasn’t such a big issue as Coal was able to match Velox in speed just fine, but I didn’t see as much by way of unpredictable tactics from you there. Is Velox used with a different sort of strategy?”

            Randy chuckled at that. “Well, to tell you the truth, I didn’t use any of Velox’s tricky moves because, well, I couldn’t.”

            “Say wha?” Mark asked.

            “Well, let me put it this way,” Randy began. “If I had known you had another Fire-type, I would’ve picked my sixth Pokémon, which was a Starmie. But I didn’t know what Pokémon you had I hadn’t seen yet so I went with a normal type –the good-all-around type with only one weakness. That ended up being a mistake.”

            “How?”

            “Velox knows Dig, which he couldn’t use because the floor we battled on was made of wood,” Randy continued. “However, the rest of his attacks are meant for, as you described, my deceptive tactics. See my usual approach with Velox is to use Taunt, make his opponent come at him, then use Dig to get out of their way and ambush them while they’re frenzied.

“I couldn’t use dig –as I said, and you used Smokescreen before I could use Taunt, so Coal wouldn’t have seen the taunt and therefore wouldn’t have been affected by it. The last thing that worked against me is, unlike Thorn and Gemstar, Velox is a Physical Attacker only, because Zangoose have terrible Special Attack strength, but he couldn’t risk getting close without running right into that smoke, where the entire battle would be in your favour.”

            Mark sat there, speechless for a moment, before letting out a simple. “Wow,” and then said, “I legitimately had no idea.”

            Randy chuckled. “Part of a battle is luck; all trainers know that,” he stated. “Not saying that you were lucky to have won, just that you happened to make exactly the right moves to win.” He snickered. “And that Charmeleon of yours has got some promise.”

            Mark smiled. “That he does,” he said in agreement. “And he’s adored by the other Pokémon -I mean, Vitesse’s practically his mother, and he’s best friends with Fang. Even Siren and Palm Tree play with him sometimes –although, Tanker, not so much.”

            “Why not?”

            “Tanker’s a powerhouse but if there’s one thing he isn’t, it’s social,” Mark replied. “He doesn’t really interact with the others that much beyond what’s necessary as being part of the same team.”

            Randy grunted at that. “Well they do say it’s always the quiet ones you have to look out for,” he remarked.

            “Yeah that’s true,” Mark agreed.

            With that, the two of them finished their meals, splitting the bill on their way out and leaving a tip for the waitress that had served them. Once outside, Mark decided to let out Fang, producing the Mightyena’s Poké Ball and letting him get some fresh, sea air. Fang yipped as he felt sunlight upon his fur, looking at Mark and panting happily.

            “Feel like going for a run, boy?” Mark asked, earning a bark in reply.

            “I guess we part ways from here, eh?” Randy asked.

            “Guess so,” Mark replied. “I’ll see you later.”

            “Take ‘er easy,” Randy replied, giving Mark a two-fingered salute.

With that, the blond trainer and his Mightyena broke into a gentle run, leaving him behind while they went for their jog along the deck. When they rounded the corner, and left his sight, Randy stuffed his hands into his pockets and began walking the other way, humming to himself as he wondered what to do with his time.

            Mark and Fang ran a full circuit around the ship, already panting for breath and sweaty by the time the time they slowed down, but kept going. Mark’s apparent fatigue was, to him, a sign that he wasn’t in as good a shape as he used to be, and so he decided to push himself further; going on this new journey would certainly help him get fit again, but it bothered him that he’d let himself get so complacent since he’d left the Hoenn League.

            By the time he couldn’t run anymore, he had already made another half-circuit around the ship, and that was when he knew he needed a shower. He walked the rest of the way back to his room, with Fang padding along at his side, licking his lips to catch the salivation flowing from his mouth as he panted for breath.

            Stepping through the door of his cabin, Mark looked for something to use as a bowl to give Fang some water, but he couldn’t find anything in the cabinets over his sink. Instead he resorted to taking the saucepan he’d brought with him from his bags, filling it up with water and laying it on the floor to let Fang have a drink.

            With that, Mark headed into the bathroom, turning on the shower and stepping into it after removing his clothes, keeping the water cool as he already felt overheated from the run. While inside, an announcement buzzed over the intercom, but he was lost in thought and the sound was muffled by the water running, preventing him from hearing it clearly.

When he finally heard the electronic voice ringing through the walls, he tried to shut off the water to listen, but it was already over before he could catch enough it to understand what it was about. “Shit; what was that?” Mark asked, getting out of the shower and grabbing a towel, hurriedly drying himself off before pulling his clothes back on and stepping out. He stared up at the intercom, waiting to see if they would give the announcement again.

When it didn’t come, he sighed. “Well if it was important, they’ll give it again,” he said, before sitting down on his bed and scooting up against the back wall, reaching into his knapsack for a book to read while he waited.

            Captain Raven set down the microphone transmitter in his hand as he finished the announcement, sighing shamefully before he turned to look back at the man standing behind him, twirling a gold coin through his fingers. “Alright, I did what you asked me to,” he said. “But you better not hurt anyone in that hall.”

            “You’re not in a position to be making demands, Captain,” Marvin returned with a confident smile as he continued playing with his coin. “But I promise you, as long as they cooperate, no one will be harmed. And the same goes for you and your crew, once we finish rounding them up.”

            “They’ll cooperate,” Raven returned, reluctantly. “Though not as much as my first mate did,” he remarked, glaring at a portly man standing in the corner. “Hope you’re proud of yourself, William. All these years sailing together, and you give in to bribery so that these men can rob the people that’re under our care?”

            “You wouldn’t get it, Captain; you’ve got a good pension waiting when you retire,” William returned. “Me, I’ve ten years left before I’m at the right age, and I’m not spending it all wasting my life on a creaky old boat. With what they’re paying me, I can live nice and cozy for the rest of my life.”

            “I always thought you were lazy but this takes it to another level,” Raven spat. “When we’re in port, I will make you regret this.”

            “You really think I’m going to be on this boat long enough for you to do that?” William asked, letting out a laugh, his portly belly shaking with every chuckle. “I’m leaving with these guys once they’re done, and my first stop is the Orange Islands, where I’m getting a seaside cabana, and a...”

            “Oh, do be quiet,” Marvin interrupted William with a scornful tone. “We paid you to get our men on board, not go on gallivanting about your early retirement plans.”

            His words silenced William, and with that, Marvin turned to the three men standing behind him, all three in matching attire –white suits and sunglasses to hide their eyes. “Send word to the other agents to do one last sweep of the cabins and the decks; make sure every passenger has relocated to the dining hall. If any haven’t, usher them there, and if they refuse, subdue them and take them by force. Furthermore, order them to start sweeping the cabins as well; not everyone will have their Pokémon and valuables on their person.”

            “Yes sir,” the three replied in unison before they turned and marched out of the bridge.

            “You two,” Marvin gestured to two more of his men standing by the door. “Remain here and make sure the Captain keeps this ship on course.” He then added in a low, smug tone. “And be gentle; he’s an old man.”

            The two enforcers grinned, and with that, Marvin left the bridge, thus leaving the Captain alone with William –who took the helm to keep the ship on course, and the two thugs, who held their batons at the ready in case Raven were to get any ideas. As it stood now, the Captain had no choice; they had already disabled the long-range radio, leaving him no means to call for help even if he could fight them off, and if he tried to warn the passengers, those two men would stop him as well. All he could do was cooperate, however sick it made him...

            As Mark continued reading the tales of an adventurous Pokémon Trainer from centuries ago, Fang was stirred by the sound of footsteps coming from down the corridor, standing up on all fours as he continued to listen. Mark remained oblivious to his Pokémon’s sudden alertness until he heard the growl, lowering his book to glance at the Mightyena seeing him with his head lowered and eyes fixed on the door.

            “Fang? What’s the matter?” Mark asked, setting his book aside and sitting up.

            No sooner did he ask that question did he hear a loud bang, like the sound of something hitting metal, causing him to jump slightly and making Fang bare his teeth as he continued to growl.

            “What in the hell?” Mark demanded, standing up and dashing over to the door, pulling it open and peering both ways along the exterior of the ship, until he saw someone, a woman in dark clothes he recognized all too well, standing outside of one of the cabin doors, which was now open. He stared for a moment until a second figure, this one a man but in an identical outfit, stepped out into view, carrying a bag of items in his hand.

            “Hey!” Mark bellowed as he and Fang stepped out into view.

            The two of them jumped at the sound of his voice, turning in his direction and peering at him. He saw the woman mouth a curse before she turned to her partner. “You said this side was cleared!” She yelled at him.

            “The boys who swept this way told me it was!” He returned.

            “Alright; we’ll have to subdue this one,” the woman replied as she brandished a weapon –a shock baton, like the ones Mark had seen employed by the thugs from a week ago. They started to rush at him, but Mark wasn’t about to let them have the chance.

            “Fang, Shadow Ball!” Mark commanded.

            Fang opened his maw as a sphere of violet energy formed between his jaws, and with a bark he fired the sphere at the two thugs; they jumped to the side, avoiding the sphere, letting it strike a flagpole behind them, breaking it in two. With that, they resumed their rush at Mark, weapons ready to use on him as they closed in.

            Mark steadied himself, waiting as the two got closer; the man reached him first, swinging at him with his weapon. Mark dodged by stepping backward, and struck back with a spin-kick towards the man’s face, sending him careening into the rail and his weapon over the side. He recovered quickly, lunging at Mark and swinging his fist at him, but Mark deflected the clumsy punch easily and slammed his own fist into the man’s nose, making him cry out and grab his face in pain.

            The woman rushed him next, thrusting her baton at him; Mark stepped back, and Fang leapt into action, lunging in from the side and snatching the baton in his teeth, ripping out of the woman’s hand in the process before he flung it over the side of the ship with the other one. This time the woman lashed out at Mark with a kick of her own, successfully landing one on his stomach and making him stumble back into the wall, but when she attempted another, he caught her foot mid-kick, and with a twist of his arms, he spun her off her feet and sent her face-first into the deck.

            “Sorry,” Mark apologized to the woman, more out of instinct than actual regret for hurting a woman; she attacked him, and that meant the gloves were off.

            The man, with his nose pouring blood from the punch he’d suffered, was trying to get up when Fang snarled at him, making him back up against the rail, eyes wide in horror as he stared back at the Mightyena, those razor-sharp teeth mere inches from his face.

            “Alright,” Mark began, moving to stand by Fang and staring menacingly down at the man. “I remember seeing outfits like that from some time back; I still don’t know who you guys are but if you’re on this ship, I bet it’s not for the ocean breeze.” He knelt down, meeting the man’s gaze. “So, get talking or my friend here starts biting.”

            The man seemed intent on not replying, but a snap of Fang’s jaws quickly changed his mind. “We’ve hijacked the ship; we’re here on a heist!” He blurted out. “Typical snatch & grab; rare Pokémon and valuables! That’s it!”

            Mark noticed the bag the man had been carrying before lying at his side, having dropped it after Mark had bloodied his nose. He reached for it, watching the woman warily as she lay groaning on the deck before he picked up the bag and looked into it, seeing several glittering objects filling the bottom of the bag; gold, silver, diamonds and other gemstones inlaid into them, even a gold watch.

            He looked at the man with disgust. “Nothing but petty thieves,” he said, kicking the man in the leg and making him grunt with pain. “How many of you are there?”

            “Way too many for you to fight alone, pal,” the man retorted defiantly.

            “We’ll just see about that,” Mark returned before he produced a Poké Ball from his vest, tucking it behind his back and opening it to let the Pokémon inside materialize behind him.

            Siren materialized from the energy released, letting out a squeal as she rose up on her tail and looked at her trainer, who had his back to her until he looked over his shoulder at her, gesturing her forward. “Hypnosis,” he ordered, pointing at the man. “Put him to sleep.”

            She turned to face him, and her eyes glowed brightly as she cast the Hypnosis onto the man, his eyes reflecting the light as she stared into them until they fell shut and he slumped against the rail, and it was after Siren pulled her head back and ceased casting that the man let out a light snore.

            “Good job, girl,” Mark complimented, stroking the back of her neck. “That should keep him out until we figure out what’s going on.” He looked down at the woman, who was just starting to come around. “Better get her too or she might warn anyone else they have on board.”

            Siren hummed in reply, leaning down and levelling her face with that of the woman’s, waiting until she opened her eyes before casting Hypnosis on her, putting her to sleep as with the first one. When she was out, Mark was about to call Siren back into her ball when a shout caught his ear; he spun around, a pair of white-clothed figures running his way. As they didn’t have matching uniforms to the two thugs next to him, he couldn’t be sure these men were hostiles, so he let them approach, but was ready if they got too close.

            “You there,” one of them stated. “Shouldn’t you be in the dining hall? An announcement went out for everyone to gather in there.”

            “Sorry; I must’ve missed it,” Mark replied. “And it’s probably a good thing I did.” He gestured to the two thugs. “These two were breaking and entering into the cabins to steal valuables; I stopped them.”

            “Gathering in the hall is mandatory,” another one replied. “We can take it from here; leave the bag and get over there, now.”

            Mark noted their lack of surprise at the sight of the thugs and their urgency to make him leave, his eyes narrowing suspiciously. Sensing this, Siren and Fang both moved to stand in front of him, ready to protect their trainer from these men. “I get the sense you guys don’t work for the company that runs this ship.”

            “Of course we do,” one of them replied. “We’re... ship security.”

            “Oh yeah? What’s the Captain’s name?” Mark asked.

            One of them tried to answer, but the words died in his throat, and then they both knew that they had been had. “Screw it,” the other said, brandishing another of those shock batons the other thugs had been carrying, but no sooner did that weapon appear did Siren fire a Water Pulse at him, striking him square in the chest and knocking him backward and causing him to drop his weapon in the process.

            Coughing and sputtering, the man glared from behind his sunglasses. “Okay, you asked for it!” He growled as he produced a Poké Ball from inside of his shirt, followed suite by his companion.

            Mark only grinned at the two. “Alright; now we’re talking,” he said.

            The two of them cast their Poké Balls forward. From one emerged a Weezing- a purple Pokémon with two spherical heads, one large, one small –only a third the size of the first, fused together, and with a narrow tube jutting out from their bodies connecting them. The strange-looking creature was covered in countless vents spewing noxious smoke, and its two faces stared blankly off into space until its four eyes rolled to look in Mark’s direction.

            The second Pokémon was a Muk; a massive creature with a body made of sludge, gathered into an amorphous form. It rose up as it appeared, raising two arms made of sludge as it opened its mouth to growl, revealing a gray tongue within. Two visible eyes peered out from its slimy body above its mouth; white eyes with black pupils that glared intently at Fang and Siren.

            Mark scowled as he saw their Pokémon choices, narrowing his eyes as he studied them. ‘Seems like thug-types always use Poison-type Pokémon,’ he thought with disdain. ‘Tanker would mop the floor with these two but unfortunately I don’t have him, nor could I use him on this ship.’

In Mark’s experience, the main problem when battling Poison-types was that fighting them up close was often risky –Weezing and Muk being prime examples of this. One constantly exhumed poisonous gasses that were harmful to breath, and the other was made up of toxic sludge that could poison with a touch, not to mention reeking to the heavens and beyond. For a Pokémon like Fang that would especially be a problem, thanks to his sensitive nose.

            “This one’s up to you, Siren,” Mark bade his Milotic. “Fang, keep back and wait for my direction.” Fang barked in confirmation, while Siren let out a medium-pitched whine as she lowered her head in preparedness.

            “Muk, Sludge Bomb!” The first thug called, ordering his Pokémon into its first attack.

            Muk’s body shuddered as it seemingly gathered up a portion of its own sludge body into its mouth and then spat a wad of it wards Siren, sending the dripping wad arcing through the air towards her. But Mark was ready.

            “Intercept with Water Pulse!” Mark called.

            A swirling sphere of water formed in front of her open mouth, and Siren launched the sphere at the Sludge Bomb, sending it scattering all over the deck without reaching the Milotic. At Mark’s order, she launched another one at the Muk, dazing it slightly but not doing much damage; unfortunately, Muk’s body made it resistant to physical attacks –as there was nothing solid to hit- but it had a high Special Defense as well, making it equally resistant to Special Attacks. Still, the Water Pulse had slowed it down a little.

            But the Weezing was still in action. “Weezing, here!” Its trainer called, directing its attention back to him, where he threw a red berry towards it, which the Weezing opened its larger mouth to catch and ate it with a single chomp. “Now, use Belch!”

            Weezing turned back towards Siren and Fang, inhaling through its smaller mouth and causing some red-tinted fumes to exhume from its many vents, before it opened its large mouth again, eliciting a horrid, guttural burp that sent a red fog pouring over the deck along with a concussive wave that staggered Siren but outright bowled over Mark and Fang, sending them both flying off their feet and falling hard onto the deck. No sooner did they try to regain their lost wind did the red fog reach them and bath them in a spicy, foul-smelling mist.

            “Aw dude that is all kinds of wrong!” Mark managed to say between coughs, eyes watering and nose burning as he put his hands over his face, trying to block out the horrible smell.

            He heard Fang whining loudly, throwing his head side-to-side as if trying to get the smell out of his nostrils, even going so far as to drop onto his belly and cover his muzzle with his paws, clenching his eyes shut as he continued to whine in what could only have been a painful experience for him.

            “Siren!” Mark struggled to command his Milotic. “Use... Blizzard!”

            Seconds later, he felt a cold wind rushing over the deck, followed by some ice chips and snow flakes that showered him slightly, bringing a shiver from him, but he’d endure the old over that smell any day of the year. His idea worked as well; the wind successfully blew away the spicy fog while simultaneously striking both Pokémon with the Ice-type attack, giving them some relief from the noxious fumes.

            “Okay, combo!” Mark called to Siren. “Aqua Ring and Recover!”

            Siren let out a low whine in reply as she sprayed water from her mouth onto the deck around her, which began to form up over her body like a transparent shield, starting at the middle before making its way to her head and tail, giving a her a glistening second layer of skin made of water. No sooner did this complete that her body glowed with light as she used her bodily energy to rapidly heal the bruises left by the earlier concussive blast and the harmful fumes. When all was said and done, she looked as healthy as she had when Mark first called her out.

            “Let’s combine our attacks!” One of the thugs declared.

            “Good idea! Double-Sludge Bomb!”

            “Do it, Muk!”

            Both Muk and Weezing fired sludge bombs this time, sending two wads of gunk arcing towards Siren. She couldn’t possibly intercept both, even when Mark ordered her to use Water Pulse again; the attack stopped one Sludge Bomb but the other reached her, splattering her with toxic gunk that ran all over her water-coated body, seeping through and burning her skin. Mark suspected the poison would set in, but thanks to Aqua Ring its effects would be nullified –any damage Siren would take from the poison would be healed. But he still needed to end this quickly.

            “Siren, Water Pulse on the Muk! Fang, rush at Weezing and use Crunch!”

            The two Pokémon complied, and Siren fired one more Water Pulse at Muk, blasting it full-force this time and sending its slimy body splattering over the deck, while Fang ran as fast as he could at the hovering Weezing, which fired a Sludge Attack to intercept him, but Fang banked out of the way with a leap to the side, and then sprang at Weezing, successfully clamping his jaws around its smaller, spherical joint between its two heads. The searing pain of the bite finally caused the Pokémon to show emotion; surprise.

            Weezing, essentially being a sentient gas bag, was dragged down by Fang’s weight, and the spherical joint was the one place on Weezing’s body without gas vents, allowing Fang to bite and not risk breathing in any gas. He shook Weezing side-to-side, smacking it repeatedly against the wall before throwing it onto the deck, unconscious.

            “Ah crap!” One of the thugs cried as they both recalled their Pokémon.

            “Siren,” Mark spoke to his Milotic, who, understanding what he wanted her to do without it even being said, cast Hypnosis on the two men, her eyes glowing brightly as the hypnotic wave passed over them and they both fell limp to the deck, drifting off into sleep.

            With the battle over, Mark let out a breath he didn’t realize he’d been holding, easing some of his tension. With that, he turned to Siren, walking over to her and petting the back of her neck. “Good job girl,” Mark complimented, before looking at Fang as the Mightyena trotted back over to him, where he too received a congratulatory petting of his mane. “Now, both of you take a breather,” Mark said as he produced their Poké Balls. “While I go find out what’s happening around here.”

            The two nodded their head to him in understanding, an stood perfectly still as he recalled them into their Poké Balls, which he returned to his vest, securing them in their holsters before letting the flap fall closed again.

            With that, Mark’s brow creased and he turned his gaze forward, looking over the two thugs in front of him before he spoke in a low tone to himself. “Better start at the bridge,” he said. “If the Captain knows what’s going on then I’ll get answers from him.”

            Without a second thought, Mark turned and ran along the deck, making a beeline towards the nearest staircase he remembered seeing, up which he strode and ascended to the second level of the deck. Following the signs on the walls normally meant for sailors, he made his way to the bridge. The ship was so large it took him a while to get there, but when he stepped into the last hallway, he spotted two more thugs standing outside the access door.

            They saw him immediately. “Hey, you!” One called. “You’re supposed to be in the dining hall; what’re you doing up here?”

            “I’m here to see the Captain,” Mark replied plainly, continuing down the hall and cracking his knuckles as he approached the two.

            “This area is off limits; you’re not allowed up here!” The other called.

            “Excuse my intrusion,” Mark began as he suddenly broke into a sprint and charged at the two men. “But this!” He growled as he leapt up and punched the first man across the face, sending him reeling. “Can’t!” He continued as he spun on the other, punching them hard in the gut to double them over. “Wait!” He concluded with an uppercut to the man’s jaw that made his head snap back, only to collide with the steel wall behind him.

            The other, previously only dazed by Mark, scrambled back to his feet and tried to grab the trainer from behind, only for Mark to seize him by the arm, turning about and hurling the man over his shoulder towards the door, which he slammed into with bone-jarring impact before falling to the ground again.

            “Those Karate and Judo classes do come in handy,” Mark commented, shaking the aches out of his knuckles as he approached the door, stepping over the unconscious man lying in front of it as he reached for the handle and pulled it open...

            He let out a yell as something was thrust into his abdomen, delivering a jolt of electricity through his body and causing him to trip over the unconscious man on the floor under him, but barely managed to remain on his feet. ‘Another of those damn stun batons!’ He growled in his mind, clutching where he’d been hit.

            He turned, ready to face his attacker, and saw only a flash of yellow before a net was thrown over him. Losing his balance, he fell to the metal floor, and immediately began thrashing to escape the net, only to find his hands and arms sticking to the threads.

It wasn’t a net, it was a web.

“You have got to be kidding me,” Mark muttered as he looked down towards his feet, peering between them and seeing a familiar pair of arachnoid eyes staring back at him. Above the Galvantula stood an all-too familiar face, once more with a gold coin held in their left hand, flipping between their fingers.

Marvin Gold...

“It’s a small world after all, isn’t it Galvantula?” Marvin asked his Pokémon before turning his gaze back to Mark. “If I didn’t know better, boy, I’d say you were following me trying to interfere with my business.”

“Business my ass,” Mark retorted. “If you are here and all these thugs are here, there’s only one reason; you’re here to steal from the passengers.”

“Accurate, if ineloquent,” Marvin replied. “This is no mere –what’s the term? ‘Smash & Grab’?” He shrugged. “Anyway, it’s a very carefully planned heist. One I’m not letting you interfere with again. That web will keep you nice and quiet until we’re done. In the meantime...” Mark felt Galvantula pulling him, dragging him onto the bridge as Marvin stepped aside. “You may wait in here with the Captain.”

Mark grunted as his head bumped off the frame of the door as he was pulled onto the bridge, unable to get his hands free to even reach for one of his Pokémon. He surrendered, knowing there was nothing he could do –yet.

He looked up at Marvin, who was standing triumphantly over him, watching as he was dragged across the floor by Galvantula. “So, you weren’t just in Hoenn after the research of Professor Sycamore,” Mark began. “That was probably just a side job, right? This boat heist was your real objective.”

Marvin chuckled. “Oh no, there is far more going on than that,” he said. “My presence in Hoenn was for something else entirely, but I won’t be telling you what that is. I was assigned to this heist because it was on my way back to the north. You could say I was just passing through.”

“Wait, so you’re not in charge here?” Mark asked. “Someone else is on board?”

“No,” Marvin replied. “They got called away, so I was put in charge instead.” He flipped the coin again, catching it without looking and shaking his head with a sigh. “Truly, there is no rest for the weary. No sooner do I coordinate one mission I must be the brains of another.”

“Must be a short supply of brains in the Syndicate if they picked you,” Mark retorted smugly, flashing a grin up at the glaring thug boss when they reacted to his taunt.

“I’ll have you know, in the Syndicate, I am...!” He paused, pressing his lips together when he noticed Mark’s grin widening. “Oh dear...”

“Thanks for confirming who you work for,” Mark replied. “Former Team Rocket Executive, Marvin Gold; didn’t stray far from the crime business after Ethan smashed your organization to pieces, did you?”

Marvin arched an eyebrow at the Hoenn trainer. “Well-informed, aren’t you?”

“Some of us have to still watch TV,” Mark replied. “News identified you after I botched your last job. The rest I found on the internet.”

“Ah, the joys of modern technology,” Marvin stated sarcastically, rolling his eyes before he looked at Mark again. “Well knowing who I am and who I work for won’t help you. By the time you get out of that web, I’ll be long gone.” He turned his gaze towards the front of the bridge. “Mr. William; are we still on course?”

Mark could not see them, but he heard a scratchy voice reply to Marvin promptly. “We are, Mr. Gold; we’ll be entering international waters shortly.”

“Good. Let me know the instant the sub surfaces; I must get to the dining hall and start collecting our goods from the passengers,” bade Marvin, before he looked down at Mark once more, smiling confidently at him. “I bid you adieu, young man. Though I hope we don’t meet again,” he lowered himself down a little, finishing in a low tone. “For your sake.”

            With that, he stood up again, ordering his Galvantula to follow him, who compliantly walked over Mark, making him cringe, and followed his trainer out of the bridge. Marvin roused the two men Mark had attacked in the hall, telling them to stop sleeping on the job and get back to work, which left both men grumbling in annoyance as Marvin carried on down the hall. They peered inside, glaring angrily at Mark before shutting the door. Mark counted himself lucky that they didn’t come inside and start beating him while he was pinned.

            He felt a touch on the back of his leg. He turned over as much as he could to look behind him, and saw a man seated against the wall, hands bound behind his back. An elderly man, dressed in a sailor’s uniform but with the addition of a captain’s hat worn upon his head. Mark recognized this man; he had met him when he had boarded the ship earlier that day. Gray-haired with a slight, scruffy beard and a dense handlebar mustache, along with a stern pair of eyes. He reminded Mark a little of Drake of the Elite Four, though a little older than him, and didn’t wear a black coat like the old Dragon Trainer did.

            “Captain Raven?” Mark asked.

            The man gently shushed him, eyes rolling off to the side to remind him that they weren’t alone. “No time for chat; the passengers are in danger. Can you move your legs?” He whispered to Mark.

            At the question, the trainer tried to do so, finding that although gummed up slightly, his legs had been spared the worst of Galvantula’s web –he could still move them fairly well, but not to stand up. Still, he replied with a “Yes.”

            “They didn’t take my Pokémon,” Raven informed Mark. “Probably didn’t know I had one with me. I need your help.”

            “What can I do?” Mark asked.

            Raven shifted position, using his legs to pull himself away from the wall and slide around to turn his back to Mark, lifting his arms as much as he could to show a Poké Ball on the back of his belt. “See if you can pop it free from its holster; I can’t quite reach it with my hands.”

            Mark couldn’t slide around himself, not with the sticky web anchoring him to the floor, but he managed to bend his leg enough that he could bring the toe of his shoe to bear at Raven’s waist, bumping the Poké Ball with his foot lightly. It didn’t come loose until the second time, when Mark hit it just slightly harder, finally popping it free. Raven lowered his hands before the ball could roll away, catching it between his fingers, and tapped the button with his thumb, causing the ball to expand.

            “Durant, come on out!” He said. It didn’t matter if he used a hushed tone now; the moment that ball opened, their cover would be blown either way. They would have only precious seconds to act before they would be set upon by the guards.

            The ball opened, and an insect-like Pokémon emerged, materializing beside Raven. The ant-like Pokémon, a bug/steel-type known as Durant, was a small insect Pokémon with a steel body, maintaining the three bodily sections of a typical insect, with two long metal mandibles clicking together in front of its face. It had two red eyes, and six black legs each ending in a hooked claw, the front legs sporting two of them.

            The moment Durant formed, the man at the ship’s wheel, William, reacted quickly, calling out for the guards. “Durant, Metal Claw; free the boy! Hurry!”

            Durant turned quickly to Mark, raising its front legs as both shone with silvery light. Never mind his natural aversion to Bug-types, Mark tensed as he prayed Durant wouldn’t miss. Fortunately, its aim was good, and it hacked away much of the webbing coating Mark’s body just as the guards burst in, where the ant then jumped over Mark, throwing itself at the guards and startling them as it tackled one of them to the ground. The other jabbed at it with its stun baton, but Durant barely reacted to the jolt from the baton.

            Mark didn’t waste a second of his freedom, tearing the web from him as he scrambled back to his feet, rushing the man and seizing his weapon arm, yanking harshly to drill his knee into the man’s stomach, winding him before he then pushed the man back against the wall, punching him several times in the chest and then finishing it with one more across the face. The second thug finally managed to get Durant off him, kicking it away and pulling himself up, only to find himself face-to-face with Mark, one eye half-lidded from swelling and with a noticeable bruise on his face where Mark had punched him.

            “Unless you want the other eye to match,” Mark began to say, but did not need to finish; the gangster fled without a second thought, running out the door and sprinting down the hallway. “I thought not.” Mark finished, allowing himself a smug grin before he turned his attention to the only other man left in the room –the fat, bearded man with the sailor’s uniform, making sure he did not attempt anything.

Meanwhile Durant returned to his trainer and bit his bonds with its mandibles to cut the ropes, freeing his hands and allowing him to stand up, rubbing his wrists to ease the aches and get the blood flowing again as he fixed the fat man with a freezing glare.

            “C-Captain, I can explain...” William began when he noticed the look in the Captain’s eye, putting up his hands defensively as the old man approached him.

            “You said enough when you told me about your ‘early retirement’ plans, William,” Raven replied. “If you don’t mind, I think we’ll skip the going away party,” he said as he wound his arm back and then delivered a swift, hard punch across the fat man’s jaw, sending him dropping to the floor like a beached Whailord. “And there is your present.” He concluded, rubbing the aches from his hand before turning his attention back to Mark.

            “Nice hit,” Mark complimented, smiling broadly. “Felt that all the way over here.”

            “Pretty good yourself,” he said. “That cretin never knew what hit him.”

            “Oh, I think he did, considering I beat him up before I was dragged in here,” Mark replied in jest, before his expression turned more serious. “Can you get this ship the rest of the way to Kanto on your own?”

            Raven grimaced. “It’ll be a lot harder without my crew but I can at least steer us back on course,” he replied. “But I can’t call for help from here –they disabled the radio, and we’re not close enough to any islands or stations for a distress flare.”

            Mark narrowed his eyes in thought, considering their options, before he looked at Raven again. “Do you know where your crewmen might be held?”

            “Probably somewhere below decks,” Raven replied. “But there’s no time; we have to help the passengers first. We can’t let them come to harm.”

            “I’ll take care of that,” Mark offered. “But I need to find your crew first; the best way we can help the passengers now is getting this ship close enough to land to contact the coast guard. Once I’ve found your crew, I’ll go help the passengers.”

            “But they...”

            “Don’t worry,” Mark began. “I know someone who’s with the passengers now. Another Pokémon Trainer –one even better than me. I highly doubt he’ll let them get away with this either. Now, we’re out of time; I have to go. Watch your back, Captain,” Mark bade as he turned and strode out the door, heading down the hallway as he expanded the Poké Ball in his hand, releasing the Pokémon within straight ahead of him.

            Vitesse emerged from the stream of white light, clucking curiously as she glanced over at Mark. “We’ve got an emergency girl; double-time!” He informed her as he ran around the Blaziken, prompting her to follow him. She complied, breaking into a run and keeping pace at his back, following him as he rushed through the corridors.

            “Be careful, kid,” Raven bade as he turned to the ship’s wheel, instructing Durant to watch out for trouble as he took up the wheel in his hands, breathing deeply. “Let’s hope my navigating’s not as rusty as my gears,” he muttered as he turned the wheel slightly to the left, hoping to keep the ship in national waters where they might encounter coast guard patrols. If he saw any, he could signal them with the flare gun and get a rescue. In the meantime, he had no choice but to leave the safety of the passengers in Mark’s hands...

~~~~~

            The instant Randy heard the doors closing, he knew something was wrong. He remained calm, but could not hide his creased brow as he began to survey the dining hall, eyes darting to each of the exits. Standing at each of them were the same white-clothed men he had seen earlier that day when he had boarded the S.S Julia back in Mossdeep –the same men who had shoved past him, seemingly anxious to board the ship first.

            Back then he hadn’t thought much of them, but now seeing them barring the only ways out of that room, he knew something far more sinister was afoot. Discreetly, he reached for his Poké Balls, plucking two from the back of his belt, and waited.

            ‘I wonder where Mark is?’ He wondered, having not seen the trainer yet, guessing perhaps he had missed the announcement. But surely by now he had to have noticed the ship’s sudden lack of passengers on the deck –unless he had gone back to sleep as he was doing when Randy met him on the deck earlier that day.

            The other passengers were murmuring to each other, asking what was going on, but nobody knew the answer. Randy could feel the increasing unease filling the room, tensions running high from both people and Pokémon alike, and he saw several were already approaching the men to demand answers, but the white-garbed strangers would give them nothing, only tell them that someone would be along to address them shortly.

            ‘Well that’s not ominous,’ Randy thought sarcastically.

            Finally, after what felt like an hour of waiting, the many passengers in the hall heard a door opening. Following its sound, they looked up towards a balcony overlooking the dining hall –a place where the Captain might normally go to address the passengers aboard the ship, granting a full view of the room and everyone within. Some of the tension eased as the passengers were now certain their questions would soon be answered.

            But their confusion returned when the man who appeared at the balcony was not the captain of the S.S Julia, but someone else entirely. The man was clearly not even a sailor, dressed more like a waiter or valet –or at least Randy thought so.

            “Your attention please, fair passengers of the S.S Julia,” the man chimed in an admittedly charismatic and alluring voice. “My name is Marvin; I will be your host on this fine day. This vessel is now under the control of the International Crime Syndicate, and for the moment you are all our hostages.”

            Naturally, his words, however smooth they were, still incited some panic; people were whispering to each other again, the room tension increasing tenfold. Some made beelines straight for the doors, only for the white-garbed men to brandish long, metal rods and jab them with them, followed by an electric crackle and the victim falling to the floor.

            “Please, please; everyone, you may rest easy,” Marvin called. “I assure you all, no harm will come to any one of you so long as you cooperate. I will spare you the details, and any sort of long speech I might have planned.” He cleared his throat, adjusting his tie and tucking his hands behind his back as he continued. “In a moment, some of our fine staff will come around with large bags in tow, and in these bags, you will all deposit your rarest Pokémon and most valuable possessions you are currently carrying on your person. Worry not; your rooms are already being searched for other items of value if you have nothing on you.”

            “You think we’re just going to take this lying down?!” A man bellowed from below. “If you weren’t up in that balcony I’d flatten you like a bug, you son of a bitch!”

            Seconds after that outburst, the man was struck from behind by one of those electric stun batons, sending him to the floor in pain, where he was then kicked into submission by the same man who had assailed him, beating him repeatedly until the trainer was begging for mercy.

            “If there will be no further uncivilized behavior,” Marvin carried on. “You will all prepare to surrender your belongings. And just in case any of you still think to refuse us, let me give you some incentive.” He snapped his fingers, and from behind him, a metallic form hovered into view.

            What appeared was a Pokémon with a wide, circular metal body, like a disk with an edged ring encircling its body, beneath a single large red eye and, at its ‘shoulders’ were two more smaller eyes, like a pair of Magnemite had fused to its body. Attached to these shoulders through the ring where a pair of rotating magnets, appearing to serve as hands to the strange metal Pokémon, and finally a rounded antenna rose from the top of its head, sparking with electricity as the Pokémon let out a hum that echoed through the room.

            ‘A Magnezone,’ Randy thought. ‘This could be trouble.’

            Almost as if on cue, the Magnezone’s humming intensified, and an electric bolt shot out from its antenna, striking a nearby row of lights and causing all of them to explode from the electric surge delivered to them. People below covered their heads with their hands to protect themselves from the following shower of glass, letting out shrieks of terror or pain if the glass cut into them.

            “The next one among you to show even the slightest hint of refusal will not only be electrified by my business partner here, but so will everyone else in this room. Make no mistake; we are in control here, in control of this ship. Your lives are in our hands, and you will cooperate.”

            ‘For a guy dressed like he serves drinks at a restaurant & lounge, this guy’s pretty menacing,’ Randy thought. ‘If I even twitch, he’s going to blast everyone in the room; I need a distraction or something.’

            The men with the bags had already appeared and began to walk around the room, demanding people surrender their rarest Pokémon and any items of value they carried –jewelry mostly. The ones who refused were struck with the stun batons and beaten until they complied –these thugs didn’t even care if that someone was a teenage girl who had told them off, only for her to suffer the same treatment as the man before. Randy felt himself starting to sweat a little, as those same two men drew closer to him, knowing that if this plan didn’t work, both he and the passengers would regret it.

            “Now or never,” he muttered as he chose the Poké Ball held between his thumb and index finger, tossing the other one to his opposite hand before opening the first.

            The men approaching him stopped in their tracks as a white light erupted behind Randy, and out of the light, a dark figure materialized. A tall, lithe bipedal vulpine with a body of mostly gray-brown fur with black fur around the chest, collar and back. Growing from its head was a mane of crimson hair with black tips close to the ends where the hair would become spiked. It had aqua-green eyes with crimson highlights, and red claws on the end of each arm.

            “Subdue him!” Marvin bellowed, prompting the two men to rush at Randy, one of them swinging at him with the baton on his hand, but his weapon struck nothing, whizzing through Randy as though he were only a projection...

            Which it turned out, he was. Very suddenly the young man seemed to dissipate into nothingness, leaving the thug gawking in confusion. He turned to look at the Zoroark, which elicited a childish giggle before it began to run backwards away from them. The thug cursed and began to run after the Pokémon, yelling for it to stop as it dashed between the crowds, dancing away from the man and only making him angrier when he eventually lost it in the crowd.

            “Where’d that damn fox go now?” He demanded.

            He heard a ‘psst’ and turned to his left, seeing his partner pointing in another direction. Following his finger, the man spotted Randy hidden in the crowds. The thug grinned, and made a beeline straight for the trainer, barking out a laugh as he closed the distance on him, ignoring the shocked look on his face before bludgeoning him in the head with his baton. “Got you!”

            But the man lying on the floor was not Randy at all. In fact, the face staring back up at him with crossed, dazed eyes, was none other than the partner who had pointed him to this same man. The thug’s expression went flat, and slowly he looked over his shoulder to find himself staring back at the Zoroark once more. He started to react, only to get a smack across the face from the fox- Pokémon’s paw, after which it giggled once more and disappeared in a veil of smoke.

            “You idiots! Find the trainer!” Marvin screamed at them.

            But at that very second, he felt a tap on his shoulder. “Ahem.”

            “What...?!” He spun around, but froze when he saw none other than Randy standing there, staring back at him with a big, smug grin at his confusion. “...How did you get up here?”

            “The same way you’re going down,” Randy replied before he suddenly jumped up, spun around in mid-air and kicked the man in the chest, sending him tumbling –and screaming, over the railing of the balcony.

            Fortunately for the gang boss, the balcony was only ten feet above the main floor, and directly below was a table to break his fall. He hit the table-clothed surface hard enough to knock the wind out of his lungs, and started to roll over to stand only to go over the edge of the table, resulting in him falling on his face.

            Randy exploded with laughter, guffawing loudly at Marvin’s predicament. “That couldn’t have gone better if I planned it!”

            He stopped laughing when Marvin’s Magnezone suddenly hovered in front of him, that single large eye glaring harshly at him. Randy realized his mistake too late, having overlooked the Magnezone after taking out Marvin, and before he could get away, the Magnetic Pokémon blasted him with a Thundershock, causing every muscle in his body to seize up and fail him. He fell painfully to the floor, landing with a grunt and losing the grip on the Poké Ball still clenched in his hand, which rolled out onto the balcony.

            On its initial landing, the ball landed upon the button on the front, causing it to expand from its compact form to its larger, unlocked mode. As Magnezone moved to punish Randy further, the ball suddenly burst open, and out of the light it released appeared Cairo. The Lucario growled ferally at the Magnezone as he launched himself towards it, striking it with a Force Palm that sent the metal Pokémon crashing against the wall. But it continued to float, unfazed despite taking the Fighting-type attack, which it retaliated against with a Flash Cannon, gathering light into a sphere and firing a beam of power that struck Cairo.

            Randy managed to recover from the earlier electric blast he’d taken, sitting up and seeing Cairo fighting the Magnezone. The Lucario had summoned his Bone Rush –a ground-type move that Lucario could learn where it would form a bone-like weapon made of pure Aura energy as solid as the real thing. Most Lucario formed theirs into a staff, but Cairo preferred to snap his at the middle and use the two ends like a pair of batons. However, his attack proved fruitless as Magnezone simply floated out of the way, dodging Cairo’s furious swings.

            “Cairo; forget about Bone Rush!” Randy called. “Use Aura Sphere!”

            Cairo compliantly nodded back to his trainer, dissipating the two bones in his hand and instead holding his paws at his side to form an Aura Sphere, which he proceeded to throw at Magnezone, the globe of energy homing in on the Electric/Steel-type like a heat-seeking missile.

            But Marvin was prepared. “Magnezone; Mirror Coat!” The gang boss called up to his Pokémon.

            Magnezone became coated in a layer of white energy, forcing a second skin across its metal body, which upon being stricken by the Aura Sphere, sent it flying back in Cairo’s direction. The Lucario’s eyes went wide with horror, and out of instinct he ducked to avoid it, but he would realize his mistake too late as the Aura Sphere veered back around and instead struck him in the back, sending him flying into the railing with such force, the wood shattered, and he would have fallen to the floor below had Randy not acted first.

            “Cairo!” He screamed, instinctively throwing himself after his Pokémon, managing to catch the railing with one hand and Cairo’s foot with the other, stopping him from falling onto his head. “I got’cha boy!”
            “Magnezone, use your Magnet Pull,” Marvin instructed.

            Magnezone hummed loudly in response, and the dazed Cairo suddenly began to float upward, with Randy still hanging onto his foot as he was carried aloft by an unknown force. It took Randy a moment to perceive what was happening; Cairo’s Steel Sub-type made him vulnerable to magnetic field emanated from Magnezone’s body. Cairo’s paws with their steel spikes were pulled up from his sides, drawn towards Magnezone and threatening to pull him away from Randy if the trainer were to let go.

            “Your Lucario is quite a rare and valuable Pokémon,” Marvin commented from down below. “For your interference, I think we’ll be taking him with us.”

            “Over my dead body!” Randy yelled defiantly back at Marvin. “Shadow!”

            At the call of his name, Randy’s Zoroark appeared once more from the crowd, making a beeline straight towards Marvin, who narrowly dodged a paw swipe from the Zoroark. Magnezone turned about in midair, though its pull on Cairo did not abate, and turned its attention towards Shadow. “Signal Beam!” Marvin called up to his Pokémon.

            Magnezone’s large, red eye turned green as it charged up the new attack, firing the Bug-type beam of energy right at Shadow from behind, striking him in the blind-spot and stunning him just long enough for Marvin to draw his own stun baton and thrust it into Shadow’s belly, delivering the paralyzing current of electricity. Shadow lost his footing, dropping onto his side and laying there, rendered unconscious by the double-attack from Magnezone and its trainer.

            “Hey! That’s fighting dirty!” Randy bellowed.

            “I’m a criminal, boy; I don’t play by the rules,” Marvin retorted. “Now, Magnezone, if you would be so kind...”

            Magnezone turned back to face Randy and the still-floating Cairo again, with the former still stubbornly holding onto his Pokémon’s foot to keep him from being carried off towards Magnezone. Electricity crackled from the antennae atop Magnezone’s head, charging a Thunderbolt. Randy knew what Marvin intended; he was going to blast both of them to take out Randy and Cairo at the same time, but if Randy let go of Cairo now to save himself, his poor Pokémon would be helplessly suspended in midair; with his arms stuck over his head he couldn’t even use Aura Sphere again.

            But the attack would never come, as a familiar voice suddenly barked from places unknown. “Blaze Kick!”

            Out of the corner of Randy’s eye, he saw a red and yellow blur race past him, eliciting a bird-like battle cry as it launched itself off of the railing and turning over to a flying sideways kick, which it delivered directly to Magnezone’s face, sending it spiralling across the room, eliciting a buzzing noise that sounded rather similar to a cry of pain as it flew until it struck the wall with a loud clamour, and again when it dropped to the floor.

            With the magnetic pull of Magnezone no longer in effect, Cairo was once more at the mercy of gravity, dropping out of midair and pulling Randy’s arm as he swung back towards the underside of the balcony, barely catching himself on his paws before his nose was smashed into the ornate wall.

At this point, Randy’s arm was already tired, and he was having a hard time keeping holding on Cairo, but the Lucario was recovered enough now that Randy could safely let go, and with that Cairo front-flipped and landed softly on the floor with his feet, and then turned his gaze on Marvin, growling ferally at him. In response, Marvin backed away from the stunned Zoroark lying at his feet, allowing Cairo to walk over and check on him. Almost immediately after which, the Blaziken leapt over to stand between him and the two Pokémon.

Randy fell back on the seat of his pants, panting for breath as he felt a wave of relief wash over him, a grin spreading across his face as he noticed the unmistakable harness worn around the shoulders of the Blaziken below. “What the hell took you so long?” He asked, without looking back.

“Maintenance on the bridge,” Mark replied as he walked over to stand next to Randy, offering him a hand to help him up to his feet. “And, doing a little search & rescue.”

“Rescue of who?” Randy asked as Mark hoisted him up.

“Them,” Mark replied as one of the dining hall doors suddenly flew open, startling the men that were still guarding them as a horde of angry sailors rushed in.

As the thugs were accosted by the angry sailors and a few Pokémon that accompanied them, Marvin spun around to see the commotion, eyes widening in shock as he saw the sailors pouring in, bludgeoning his men with improvised weapons or just their fists, yelling curses at them all the while. He turned and glared up at the two trainers above –especially Mark. “Again, you disrupt my business!” He called. “When the Syndicate is through with you boy, you’ll wish you’d never crossed us!”

“I’m not afraid of your shit-faced Syndicate,” Mark retorted. “Because if you and these goons are the toughest you have, I’ll happily take all of you down myself.”

“That makes two of us,” Randy chimed in.

“A Blaziken... a Lucario... Boss.” an enforcer standing near Marvin suddenly spoke up. “I-I think I know these two!”

“What’re you babbling about?” Marvin asked sharply.

“The blond; his name’s Mark Taylor,” the enforcer replied. “And the other’s Randy Calvin; they’re both former Champions!”

Marvin looked at the man with a surprised expression, and then back up at Mark and Randy. “Former Champions?!” He repeated, and then growled angrily. “Dammit!” He turned, calling out to all of his men who could hear him. “Enforcers; abort mission! Escape plan Beta!”

Those who had not already been subdued by angry sailors broke off and fled for the doors. Unfortunately, the crowds wouldn’t have it; equally upset passengers threw themselves at the fleeing thugs, grabbing them and dragging them from their feet. This turn of events left the thugs with only one available escape route; the last door out of the dining hall. With no obstructions to bar their way, Marvin recalled his Magnezone and led the remaining enforcers to the door, pushing them open and running into the corridors with several angry sailors in pursuit.

“They’ve got nowhere to run,” Randy said triumphantly. “Those sailors will get them.”

“Don’t be so sure,” Mark replied. “They wouldn’t launch a heist like this if they didn’t have some sort of escape plan, and a backup if the initial one failed.”

“You think so?” Randy asked.

“Definitely; come on! Let’s see if we can head them off!” Mark said. “Vitesse!”

“Cairo, come on!” Randy called as he produced Shadow’s Poké Ball and recalled the Zoroark, placing him safely back in the confines of the Poké Ball to recuperate.

With that the Blaziken and Lucario leapt back up to the balcony, joining their trainers as they ran back out the door from the balcony area and into the crowded hallways of the upper deck, running single-file as fast as their legs could carry them as they hurried to catch the criminals. Unfortunately, they second-guessed several of their turns as neither of them knew this part of the ship very well –a factor partly owing to why it took Mark so long to get to the dining hall even after escaping the bridge.

It took them far longer than it should have to eventually make it out to the deck, turning and running back in the direction of the hall hoping to intercept the thieves. But out of the corner of his eye, Cairo spotted something, and skidded to a halt on the deck –nearly causing Vitesse to trip over him in the process as he peered out towards the ocean. He elicited a series of calls to get Randy and Mark’s attention; they stopped, looking back, and saw him pointing out to the water with his paw.

The followed where Cairo was pointing, and their hearts sank. Floating out to sea away from the ship was a lifeboat, commandeered by Marvin and his enforcers and sailing off into the setting sun to make their escape.

“Slippery as a Goomy!” Randy cursed. “Come on; we’ve still got our Water or Flying Pokémon to catch them!”

“No,” Mark intervened. “Marvin’s still got another electric-type he could sick on them; we send them out he’ll just blast them. He gums up Palm Tree and your Salamence, they might drown out there, and our Water-types will get electrocuted.”

“So were just letting them go?” Randy asked, appalled.

“We’ve done all we can,” Mark replied, and turned his head as he heard a loud ‘pow’ echo through the air, spotting the distress flare rising from the bow of the ship into the sky. “They won’t get far in that little dingy anyway; the coast guard will find them.”

Randy let out an exasperated sigh. “Damn but I hope you’re right,” he said, looking at Cairo. “Well, at least we can’t say this boat trip’s been boring, huh boy?”

“Ark,” Cairo replied.

Mark looked over his shoulder as he felt Vitesse approaching him, finding the Blaziken standing at his side to stare out after the Syndicate enforcers with him, just as frustrated as her trainer that they had escaped. He patted he shoulder in a reassuring manner, giving her a warm smile as he said, “we’ll get ‘em next time... if there is one,” and turned back from the railing. “Let’s go check on the Captain, and then go get some rest. It’s been a long day...”

“I’m for that,” agreed Randy.

With that, both trainers turned away from the rail, accompanied by their Pokémon as they walked along the deck towards the bridge, with tired bodies and tired minds as they recounted the events they had experienced. They had been caught in the middle of a heist orchestrated by a strange new criminal faction, their minds now filled with questions, but overcome by the relief that things had turned out for the better.

They had thwarted the gangsters; they had protected the passengers and themselves, and now all that was left to do was wait until they reached their destination.