"Man... I really am one LUCKY passenger." I said while laying on my side, unabashedly admiring the naked figure of one captain Ann Bonrey.
"A pervy one too." Ann replied snarkily as she paused brushing her silver hair momentarily to look back at me, before she resumed.
"Too bad this'll probably be the last time." I said, recalling the numerous romps the captain and I enjoyed over the last few days, before I got an idea.
"Here..." I said while digging through my bag that sat beside the bed, prompting Ann to turn back towards me curiously as I pulled out a card. "If you ever decide that you want a bit more excitement in your life, try the number on this card."
Ann cocked a brow as she accepted the card, which was one of the few hundred or so that Giana gave me back at Grampa Canyon.
"Arceus Aegis?" She muttered while reading the information on the card.
"An organization dedicated to fighting against the various criminal organizations that have been rising up recently, as well as protecting people and pokemon from them. Currently Giana is running it for me, but I actually own the organization. I have a feeling that Giana will want to expand in the future, and possibly establish ships or submarines for our use that will need skilled captains."
Ann looked between the card and I a few times, before a frown marred her stern face.
"Is this supposed to be some kind of charity? You fuck me a few times then offer me some kind of job like I'm a beggar? Or is this just your own way of trying to 'own' me?" She asked irritably.
"None of the above." I told her seriously.
"As I said, we intend to go against the numerous criminal organizations that have formed around the world. Let alone being able to travel where we need to go, we also need people who can handle extreme situations with a cool head. Not only do you fit the bill, but I KNOW that we will need a decent captain for when we go against Team Aqua."
"The pirates?"
"Not just pirates. You said you were a devotee of Lugia, correct?" Ann nodded at my question. "Well, do you know who MADE Lugia?"
"..."
Though she frowned at my question, Ann didn't immediately try to bite my head off again, yet.
"Lugia was created by Kyogre, the primordial Legendary pokemon that created the SEA itself." I told her, and Ann went wide-eyed.
"Because of how dangerous it was, Kyogre was sent to sleep when it had finished creating the oceans, but not before it created the first Lugia to watch over them in it's absence. It has awoken a few times throughout history, and each time great disasters followed it, such as the last ice age. Team Aqua may indulge in pirating for funds, but their ultimate goal is to awaken Kyogre to flood the world and wipe out anything that dwells on land.
"So Ann, my offer is not one of merely being nearby in case I wanted a good fuck, though that would certainly be a perk. I was asking if you would like to test your skills and strength against the most dangerous band of criminals that have ever been known to sail the seas, as well as the gods who actually created them. You interested?"
Ann was silent after I gave her my pitch, which I used to get dressed since we were almost to Cinnabar Island. I could feel through my blessing from Lugia that we should be able to see it within the nest couple hours, at most.
"You don't have to answer right away." I told her as I finished pulling on a fresh shirt from my bag. "But the offer is there if you ever decide to accept it."
"I will...think about it." Ann replied, and her aura looked as if she were REALLY thinking about it too.
I left her there as she continued thinking, and went to find the girls so we could prepared to disembark the ferry for the last time. After staying in Cinnabar for a few days, it would turn around and return the way it had came.
This meant that the girls and I would have to travel over the ocean ourselves back to Pallet town once we were all finished with our respective business, or I could just have Gardevoir come and get us instead. I'm pretty sure the profesor also returned to the lab at some point in the last couple days too, so she would be relatively close.
"Hey Ace. Enjoy your night?" Misty asked as I returned to the room.
"Immensely." I answered while automatically helping them prepare to disembark.
"So, did you guys decide on a plan?" I asked as we worked, referring to what they were going to do after I left for One Island.
"Well, it depends on how long you'll be gone. I mean, who knows how long it'll take for your pokemon to learn Blast Burn, Frenzy Plant and Hydro Cannon?" May pointed out, which I had to agree with. After all they, these weren't your ordinary attack moves. They were amongst the strongest moves for their respective typings, and were so powerful that the pokemon that used them wouldn't even be able to move afterwards.
Speaking of...
"How about you?" I asked while looking at Lucario.
"How about me what?" He asked curiously.
"You finally want to learn Hyper Beam?" I asked him.
"Hmmm...." Lucario hummed in consideration while cocking his head to the side.
"Yeah." He finally said after some thought. "I guess I'll learn it."
"Nice. We'll work on it while the others are learning their moves." I told him, and Lucario nodded in affirmation.
"Think Blastoise would be able to teach Empoleon Hydro Cannon when we meet back up?" Dawn asked curiously, while May also looked over hopefully. Probably for Blaziken.
"I don't see why not." I answered, as I already planned to have them teach my other starter pokemon once they reached their final evolutions as well.
We quickly finished cleaning up our room and made sure we had everything, right as the call went out that land was sighted and we were approaching Cinnabar Island. Moving out onto the deck, we were greeted by Joy as she brought us a late breakfast along with a couple lunchboxes.
"I packed us some lunches for the trip later." Joy explained as we all dug into our breakfast.
"'Us'?" I questioned.
"Yeah. I'm going with you of course!" Joy declared matter-of-factly.
"..."
"Really?" I asked with doubt.
"Yes! because every time I take my eyes off you, you go and pick a fight with a Legendary pokemon!" Joy declared irritably.
"Have not." I fired back.
"When you all left Pewter to go through Mt. Moon, and Mewtwo nearly killed you?" She countered.
"..."
"That was a tactical move by Team Rocket."
"When you and Lucario went off on your own in Thunder Ridge, and you broke your hand punching Zapdos in the face?"
"He was more understanding after that."
"I stayed in the infirmary during the battle on the SS. Anne, and when I saw you next it was while you were battling Articuno, and I had to help save Pidgeot's life. Then I had to help extract the bullets from your body immediately after."
"..."
"When you went with Brock while Chloe and I slept in, and both of you got attacked by Regirock?"
"I caught it in the end."
"And finally the other day, when Articuno sent you into the caverns by yourself and you fought Regice."
"I caught that one too."
"That's not the point Ace." Joy stated bluntly, and now I could also feel the other girls looking at me pointedly.
"You are going to One Island for Moltres, aren't you?"
"I have a strong suspicion that it lives there, yeah."
"So I'm not letting you out of my sight so you can get into another fight with a Legendary pokemon." Joy declared.
"..."
"You DO know that we're FLYING to get there?"
"I don't care."
I cocked a brow at that, because Joy HATED flying, yet she was still insistant on coming with me to visit Moltres.
"Alright then..." I eventually said in defeat, realizing there was no way to change her mind. Something that made Joy look VERY smug.
We continued eating in silence while also watching Cinnabar island steadily grow larger as we approached it.
The island appeared similar to that of Seafoam Island, in that there was a large mountain standing in the middle of the island. Unlike Seafoam Island though, this mountain was a fair bit shorter while smoke was billowing from the peak, and it had the League symbol carved onto the surface.
"That's where Blaine's Gym is." I told the girls.
"He's in a volcano?!" Dawn exclaimed in disbelief.
"What's so strange about that? Flannery in Lavaridge town does something similar." May stated pointedly, earning both of us strange looks from Dawn.
"Sinnoh has a volcano as well, doesn't it?" I asked her.
"Well yeah, but no one LIVES in it!" She shot back irritably.
I thought back to my younger days as I played the fourth gen games when I was kid, and recalled there was SOMETHING living in Stark mountain. Something Legendary if I recalled right. And if so, then no wonder no one used it as a base of operations.
Something to think of later, whenever I got around to going to Sinnoh.
The last little bit of time before we docked was filled with May reading us a whole list of things to do on Cinnabar Island, as well as several fun facts about the island, such as the fact that it was one of the largest sources of produce in the entire Kanto region, thanks to the rich volcanic soil. There was also the fact that the island was dotted all over with hot springs, most of which were FAR too hot for people to safely use.
Soon we arrived at the docks to Cinnabar Island, and it was time to disembark the ferry for the last time.
"ALL ASHORE WHO'S GOING ASHORE!" One of the crew shouted, and we did just that as we stepped onto the docks of the island.
"Wow.... its even warmer here than it was on Seafoam Island." Chloe said as she looked up at the mountain, which was an obvious source of the extreme heat.
"So when do you plan to leave Ace?" Misty asked as we made our way towards the Pokemon Center.
"As soon as possible. One Island isn't too far away from here, so if we hurry we should be able to get there before sundown." I answered, before adding as an afterthought, "Though perhaps I'll call professor Oak first, see how he's doing with Regice and Regirock at the lab."
The girls shared a look as we approached the Pokemon Center, and I could already guess what was going through their minds since I had yet to talk to the professor since catching Regice.
When we entered the Pokemon Center I made my way directly to the phones while the girls checked themselves into a room, as they were tentively going to be staying for a few days while I was gone. The phone only rang twice before it was picked up.
"Helloooo?" Droned a slow voice, as the monitor lit up to reveal who it was that answered.
"Hello Slowking. How do you like the lab?" I asked him with a wry smile.
"It is nicccccce." Slowking answered with a smile, which told me how much he enjoyed it.
"Indeed. Slowking has been proving himself an eager student and assistant around here. I appreciate you sending him to us Ace." The professor said as he appeared on the screen beside Slowking.
"I'm glad. He was even learning to speak just from a minor conversation with me, so I know he's eager to learn anything he can." I told the professor.
"Yes, he had already learned several words and was busy studying my notes when I returned from Grampa Canyon. Including some notes my assistants made about a certain Legendary....or TWO that we were now watching over."
"How'd you like THAT surprise?" I asked him with a smirk.
"I swear my boy... Every time I expect you can't surprise me anymore, you go and do something like this." Professor Oak said with a tired sigh while shaking his head.
"Its not like I CHOOSE to do so." I pointed out to him.
"That doesn't change the fact that nearly every other trainer would likely kill to have the same luck as you."
"BE killed more likely." I stated darkly, and the professor didn't refute me.
"Speaking of Legendary pokemon, how is Regice doing there?" I asked him curiously, somewhat changing the subject.
"Regice..... Truly a wonderful specimen of Legendary pokemon!" The professor declared with eyes that sparkled like a child's.
"Unlike Regirock, the freezing temperatures radiating from Regice's body influence the world around it! We had to give it it's own mountain cave to call home just to keep it from accidentally plunging the entire property into an endless winter! I can only imagine what this pokemon could do if it was actively TRYING!"
"And THAT is exactly why the idea of anyone actualy owning a Legendary pokemon is so frightening." I told him, imagining as I did so Regice firing a continuous Ice Beam into the sky to plunge an entire region into a potential ice age.
"Says the person who owns TWO." Professor Oak countered with a smirk.
"Three, I think actually." I shot back, recalling Koraidon as I did so. "And I'm not just 'anyone' considering how much involvement I have with the Legendary pokemon. I mean, can you imagine how things would have gone if I had Regirock with me on the SS. Anne?"
"True enough." The professor answered with a nod, his expression distant.
We talked a bit longer about the two Regi's, and how they were doing at his lab. As I had hoped, the professor confirmed that several of my pokemon were using them as training partners to grow stronger and gain experience fighting against Legendary pokemon. Dragonite was as well apparently, after getting his butt kicked by Mewtwo and Articuno.
When we ended the call I promised the professor that he should see us in a few days, when I finished my business on One and Two Islands, and he said he was looking forward to it. He also mentioned that it would be the first time I'd seen his lab since it was remodeled, which I was admittedly looking forward to.
"Ready to go?" I asked Joy as the girls approached me.
"As I'll ever be." She said, already looking a little green from the mere thought of flying. But her determination hadn't wavered in the slightest.
"Mind if I have you ride on Charizard?" I asked Lucario, as there was no way Aerodactyl will make it carrying THREE of us.
"Sure." He answered as we all stepped outside.
"Alright. Come on out you two!" I called, releasing Aerodactyl and Charizard from their respective pokeballs.
"DYAAAAAAAA!"
"CHAAAAAAAR!"
The two pokemon appeared while roaring, alerting everyone who happened to be nearby before they both glared at one another.
"Neither the time nor place you two." I told them sternly, and neither made a move against the other. Instead, they both just looked away while clicking their tongues.
I shook my head at their antics before approaching Aerodactyl and climbing up onto his back, and then helping Joy to climb up beside me. At the same time, Lucario climbed up onto Charizard's back as the two of them also prepared to take off.
"PLEASE, be careful. ALL of you." Chloe pleaded as we got ready to go.
"Don't worry. I doubt Joy will allow anything to happen to me." I joked, but only got stern looks in response.
"Ehem." I coughed lightly to ease the tense atmosphere.
"I marked on Misty's map where the Squirtle island can be found. If you guys want while we're gone, then you can probably head over there ahead of us." I told them, and Misty's eyes lit up excitedly.
"Really?!"
"Yeah. Just be careful, because I don't know how accepting they'll be of outsiders." I warned them, and the girls nodded seriously. If I didn't need him to come with me to learn Hydro Cannon, I would have sent Blastoise with them to act as a mediator.
Their moods fairly improved, the girls and I finished saying farewell before I prompted Aerodactyl to take flight. Soon we were flying up and away from Cinnabar Island.