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From up in his perch Hurricane could see all that was going on onboard the ship. He noticed that there were a lot of people onboard this ship though it appeared that far fewer were being allowed aboard. He saw the pink haired girl from before grabbing another girl and running off inside. He also noticed the redheaded guy that was at the Pokémon center when his master had made his…less than graceful landing. But there was something strange about who the boy was with. The redhead seemed hesitant to go with these strangers and then suddenly he walked off with them towards the stairs. But Hurricane looked down noticing that his master was gone and suddenly was looking everywhere for him when the horn of the ship blared right next to him knocking the pidgey off his perch. He caught himself and fluttered above the decks looking for Eraku and the other boy. He found them walking towards the stairs the redhead had gone towards not long ago. He came down and landed on his master shoulder happy to have found him.

“Hmm what’s wrong boy? The horn startle you? Hehehe don’t worry it just means we’ll be getting underway soon. Well Roy let’s say we go upstairs for a bit and check out the view?” Eraku said motioning towards the stairs. Not really looking where he was going Eraku spacing out bumped into the back of a man carrying a video camera. “Oops I’m sorry wasn’t really paying attention to where I was going.” Eraku said his face turning a little red he looked up and noticed that it appeared to the news crew he had seen before. “Hey are you guys going to Sinnoh too?”

Keegan's eyes went wide when he saw the Vileplume take shape in front of him and he quickly stepped back, holding his hand up in a defensive manner while the other was reaching for Helios' Pokeball. "Whoa, wait a minute guys, can't we talk about this?" he asked, but to no avail. The Flower Pokemon was quicker than the human, however, and before he could even blink he was on the floor, unable to move. At first it felt as though his body was being jabbed by thousands of tiny, painful stingers and then there was numbness. He was well aware of how highly toxic a Vileplume's spores were and he knew that it would wear off eventually, though without an antidote he was in for a rough ride.

After a moment or so he could see that more people had arrived on the scene, particularly the blue-haired guy with the Pidgey from before, and he tried to cry out for help, but his vocal cords were paralyzed along with the rest of him. He would have given just about anything to be a psychic at that point, though the only thing he could manage was a pitiful-sounding whimper. When I get out of this I'm becoming a hermit, the redhead thought miserably as he closed his eyes. Right after I make Mai pay for this little incident.
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The two Pokemon continued to exchange attacks for a little while longer, but it quickly became apparent that the Starmie had the advantage. The evolution had granted it both speed and power and there wasn't really much Lily could do to counter it. Even after getting in a solid Giga Drain and healing herself for a substantial amount Starrie was able to counter with a super-effective Ice Beam which ended the training match. Miharu recalled everyone but Tingle and headed for the Pokemon Center. She'd spent longer out here than she realized and it was getting close to supper time.

Once she'd received treatment for her team she made sure they were all well-fed, and deciding that they'd done enough training for one day headed back out to the beach for some relaxation. The sun wouldn't set for a few hours so she let everyone out of their Pokeballs so that they could enjoy the beach while she set up a beach towel and took out her sketchbook. She hadn't drawn anything in quite a long time and she smiled as she flipped through the pages. The last sketch she'd done had been of Tingle and Lily, though Tingle was still a Beldum at that point. I really need to find the time to draw more, she thought as she flipped to a new page and began to sketch. Sparkle and Petunia were playing in the sand nearby and she made them the subjects of her drawing.

Nearby, Lily lounged in the sun, though the Bulbasaur's thoughts were far from relaxed. She was thinking about her workout with Starrie and how it hadn't gone so well. She glanced around at all her teammates, realizing that every one of them, save for the Pinsir, had evolved, and she couldn't help but wonder if that had something to do with it. The Bulbasaur sighed and closed her eyes. She was happy the way she was, but what if she wasn't strong enough?

Since she wasn't exactly fluent in French and she only really understood every other word being said, Kasiya could only squeak out in surprise as Sasha pounced her, and within moments she'd been stripped down out of her clothes (she could have sworn she heard the sound of the already tattered pieces of fabric ripping a bit more in the process) and practically stuffed into her green two-piece she'd worn at the beach party. She remained in the same spot as Sasha then ducked out of the stall, presumably to change into her own bathing suit and though she knew it probably would have been her best chance for escape she could only sit there on the floor, too stunned to move right away, though she did eventually regain enough motor function to stuff her clothes into her bag and slowly get to her feet.

When Sasha reappeared, now donning her own swimwear, and a tiny, blue and round Pokemon was perched on her shoulder. Kasiya didn't really get a chance to study it as she was suddenly being mauled hugged by Sasha, and she laughed somewhat nervously, deciding then that it was pointless to try and fight the pink-haired girl off. Once Sasha had let go of her she took a quick look in the mirror to straighten out the straps of her top and run her fingers through her now messy hair. Her shoulder was still decorated with black and purple bruises but it hardly hurt at all anymore. She glanced over at Sasha, and sighed. She didn't quite understand how anyone could look at her while she was next to Sasha - she was easily so much more curvaceous and gorgeous than she was! She filled out her swimsuit a lot nicer, too, and Kasiya quickly averted her gaze when she realized she'd been staring. "Oh, uh, I think the ship's moving," she said quietly, trying her best to keep her embarrassment to a minimum. "So, do we go back out there?" she asked somewhat timidly.

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Mai watched with a satisfied grin as the redhead succumbed to paralysis and hit the ground, but her celebration would be brief as yet another meddler had showed up. She glanced at the Pidgey perched on his shoulder and smiled to herself. This kid shouldn't be too much of a threat, but we don't need him sniffing around here either, unless he wants to end up like Red, here. The foghorn of the ship bellowed again and there was a slight jolt, signaling that the vessel had finally started moving.

The cameraman, meanwhile, had turned around to face the kid that had bumped into him and was currently giving him an annoyed look, but when Mai nudged him with her elbow he looked away. "Why yes, we are heading to Sinnoh, I trust you are, as well?" she asked, looking towards Jensen and Dana as she recalled her Vileplume. She gave the two of them a slight nod which they returned, and the two of them helped to get Keegan up off the ground. "Make sure our friend here is made comfortable," she told the two of them before looking back to the blue-haired young man. "You'll have to excuse him; he's got quite the weak constitution and a bad case of seasickness to go with it. We're making sure he's got a nice place to ride it out." Her bright smile was quite genuine and disarming despite what had just happened. "Oh, your Pidgey is quite the little darling! Say, you boys wouldn't want to be on TV, would you?" she asked, beaming back and forth at Eraku and Roy. "Sure you do! How about we get back down on deck and you two can answer a few questions for me, 'kay?" Without waiting for an answer she put an arm around the two boys and began to lead them back downstairs, chattering on excitedly about the trip.

Jensen and Dana were left with the somewhat amusing task of figuring out what to do with their captive, and after some debate between the two they dragged the limp redhead into one of the executive suites. "Now what do we do with him?" Dana asked, her tone bored. They'd dumped Keegan on the floor and were now going through his backpack.

Jensen shrugged, down at the paralyzed redhead. "Mai said whatever it takes," he said, a sinister grin spreading across his face, and he reared back and planted a kick into the boy's side. "This could be a lot of fun."

"Fun, yes, but necessary, no," Dana disagreed, having found nothing of interest in the boy's belongings. "There's really no point in hurting him. He can't feel it anyway," she said, kneeling down and flicking Keegan's forehead with a finger. "Not yet, anyway. Besides, thanks to Vileplume's toxin, soon his temperature will spike and then the fever dreams will set in, and with your influence his suffering will seemingly have no end."

"Yes, that is true," Jensen sighed, pulling up a chair and plopping down in it. "Just why is it that Mai wants him to suffer, anyway? Is he even one of those twerps that the boss seems to be obsessing about lately?"

"I don't know exactly, but he must have done something to piss her or the boss off," Dana shrugged, standing up as well. "Anyway, I'd better get back out there. I trust you can handle things in here?" she asked devilishly.

"And then some," he replied, and the female Rocket left the room. "Let the fun begin," Jensen smiled darkly.

=-=-=-=-=

Surge grinned over at Crenu and nodded. Win or lose, it was this kind of thing that made battles worthwhile. After executing his Iron Tail, Raichu had put a bit of distance between him and the Swinub, as now his tail felt as though he'd left it in the freezer and the mud was really stinging his eyes. He closed them and gave his body a shake, sending most of the goop flying off his body, and he continued to paw at his eyes, glaring at Swinub through one open eye. "Shake it off, Raichu," Surge barked. "Yer fine! Get in there and give the little piggy a Body Slam!"

With one last wipe of his face the mouse nodded. He was still feeling quite energetic as Swinub's attacks hadn't been very powerful. Even still, he was leery of more mud being tossed at him so he went in carefully, watching Swinub's every movement as he prepared to slam all his weight down onto the Swinub.

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"Well, there are many rooms, and each room has several sets of bunk beds in order to accommodate the large number of traveling trainers," Cynthia explained, already beginning to lead the way. "There are private rooms but as you've probably already been able to guess, those have all been reserved by some of the more wealthy and prestigious guests." She pointed to a staircase leading up into the cabins. "The rooms are up there, and the dining hall and arena are below deck. There is also a Pokemon Center facility, complete with a fully-trained nurse to take care of any injured or sick Pokemon. It's quite a vessel, isn't it?" she said, obviously quite impressed with it herself.

Maxi nodded at Portabello and looked at the pokeball in his hand. His grin was ever present at this point and names already began to flow through his head for his new friend. Lee took a seat and looked at the cavern ceiling. He felt a bit sore. but for the most part was content with his battle. It was actually his first pokemon battle in a long time and the young scuffle pokemon felt happy to battle someone like him. Lee began to ponder what will happen now, but was interupted by the bear hug of his master. The pokemon was liftedoff the ground and his back began to crack as his master held him tight and spun around. "LEE THAT WAS GREAT BUDDY! The training is showing buddy, but we must keeping getting better, okay?" At this point, Lee was turning purple and Maxi let go quickly. The fight pokemon stumbled around a bit then gave a thumbs up to his master.

Maxi was going to speak more to his dear friend, but heard movement behind him and turned. It was the now-calmed fire trainer and he didn't look happy that Maxi and Lee was here. Portabello reminded his master of their presence and in a instant the tainer whacked out. The fire trainer's eyes went wide with anger and the boy dropped down fom his perch growling at him. Maxi dropped into a stance ready to strike, but it seemed as if the trainer had mistakened him for someone else. The trainer quickly began to speak to himself about messing up then turned to the Breloom and stared a conversation with him. Maxi listened in and felt a bit guilty. It sounded as if the breloom was getting in trouble because of his presence and he could not allow that. Though he could not hear breloom's replies he could guess what was being said. Lee was listening as well and was wondering why the fire trainer was mad. The breloom was trying to help. Lee continued to listen.

Maxi saw the breloom kneel and was about to interject, but his trainer must of realized his tone, because it changed instantly. Maxi smiled a bit and was happy that the situation began to cool down until the trainer turned towards him. Maxi's spirit cringed as the fire trainer and his pokemon turned their gaze towards him and the trainer spoke of how he did not want to battle.[It wasn't like he wanted to anyway...] Maxi once again was about to speak, but the trainer spoke up and his gaze was lokced on something else. Maxi turned and noticed a Torkoal chillin in the immediate area. The young black belt knew what was coming... The boy was freaking out about a girl and then her Torkkoal and then about wanting the Torkoal in front of him. The information that was given to Maxi almost made him want to shoot himself, but the worse part was the smile. The young fire trainer was smiling at him and seemed to advance ever so closely. Until they were shoulder to shoulder. Maxi stared at the trainer's eyes then noticed that his shoulder was being squeezed. The black belt gave the fire trainer a questionable look and smiled as the grip loosened.

"I will give you two pokeballs, but please... your eyes were telling me you would have fought me otherwise. I dont like that. " Maxi continued his smile as he handed the pokeballs. "Also, I did not come here to fight. I am too in exile and never knew that someone was living here along with me. I came to see if I can help you for your breloom was stressed from what I got." Lee rose fom the ground, fixing his mantle as he rose from the ground, and stood by his master. "I am Maxi and this is Lee. You are?" Maxi waited for a response.

When the foghorn sounded Keegan slowly opened his eyes, as it was about the only thing he could force his body to do. He could hear his heart beating and it was good to know that the vital organ had not been frozen by the Vileplume's toxic Stun Spore. Even though paralyzed he could tell by the slight movement from around him that the ship was leaving port and he began to panic; the fact that he couldn't move a muscle only adding to the feeling of helplessness. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Mai talking to the blue-haired guy and the helpless feeling only escalated, especially as the two Rockets worked together to bring him to a semi-standing position. No, no! Don't listen to her, the evil hell-b***h is lying! he screamed in his mind as she started back down the stairs, but it only succeeded in making his head ache. Not only that, but even though his body was numb he was starting to feel cold.

It was probably a good thing that Keegan currently couldn't speak as he had no words to describe how odd it was to have no control over his body yet still be moving around (or dragged, really but). All he could do was blink now and then, though he was having difficulty keeping his eyes open, and he could feel the chills steadily growing worse as well. Before long he was on the floor again, and as he stared up blankly at the ceiling, he listened to the two Rockets talk, seeing as it was all he could do. He was pretty sure the one Rocket kicked him, and then the other flicked his forehead with a finger. When this is over, I'm so going to hurt you both, he thought, unable to even attempt to glare at his captor. Strangely enough the chills had subsided and he was suddenly sweltering. Oh no, fever's setting in, he thought miserably, closing his eyes. The sudden warmth made him feel quite sleepy and he very much hoped that he'd be able to sleep through most of this. On the bright side, being completely out of it means I won't even notice that I'm on a ship, out at sea, he chuckled mentally, and then just like that, he was out of it.

The next time Keegan opened his eyes the first thing he noticed was that he was looking at the same ceiling as before. The second thing he realized was that he was no longer paralyzed and he sat up slowly. His body felt like it weighed three times as much as normal and he was quite groggy, and it took some effort but he was able to get to his feet. Again he heard the ship's horn sound, but this time it sounded faraway. Wait a minute, am I still on the ship? Did it leave already? Frowning the redhead made his way over to a window and pushed aside the vertical blinds. "Oh, hell no," he grumbled, shielding his eyes from the blinding, white light. Sunlight was reflecting brightly off a seemingly endless blue ocean that spread out in every discernible direction, and it took a moment or two but he soon realized that the ship wasn't moving forward at all. He looked down towards the deck, feeling more and more confused by the minute as the deck had been swallowed by water, and as he watched, the ship appeared to be taking on even more every second. "The ship is sinking!" he shouted, nearly losing his footing as the whole vessel jerked forward, and he had to brace himself against the windowsill in order to keep himself upright.

"Thanks for that, Captain Obvious," a condescending and familiar voice spoke out from behind him. Keegan spun around to face the speaker, though the owner of the voice was busy studying one of the scenic paintings on the wall. He was wearing new-looking bluejeans and a brown leather jacket that went down past his knees, and his hair was a brilliant shade of red and just looking at it made Keegan reach up to make sure that his own was still there. "Smoke 'em if you've got 'em, Red," he said, his voice strangely calm considering the situation, and as he turned to face Keegan, he was grinning broadly and holding a lit cigarette. "'Cause we goin' down."

"Wait a minute," Keegan said, pointing at his doppelganger accusingly. "Why the hell do you look like me and why are you wearing my clothes?"

The Other Keegan rolled his eyes in annoyance and sighed. "Why do you think, you dumb s**t?" he asked, dropping the cigarette to the ground. When Keegan didn't answer him right away, he laughed loudly, crushing the still-smoldering smoke with his heel. "Because I am you, dumbass, that's why."

"Okay, this is a whole new level of weird," Keegan muttered, reaching into his pocket for his pack of cigarettes and lighter. "Never thought I'd see the day where I stood around getting insulted by myself." He wasn't really surprised to find that what he was looking for wasn't there, and he sighed heavily, looking back towards the other redhead.

"Looking for these, Sport?" The Other Keegan asked tauntingly, holding up the two coveted items. "You know, smoking is a bad, bad habit. You should really consider quitting before it kills you." he went on, carefully removing one from the pack before proceeding to light it.

"You know what else can kill you?" Keegan growled, clenching a fist as he took a step forward. "Violence."

"Such anger," Other Keegan sighed sadly, shaking his head. "All that rage is gonna end up killing you, Red. That, and these cancer sticks you seem to love so much." Other Keegan took a long drag and sighed happily, bluish smoke swirling around him like a misty cloak.

"What do you know?" Keegan hissed, once again fighting to keep his balance as the ship continued its journey to the bottom of the briny blue.

Other Keegan scoffed. "I know everything, Red," he said, nodding. "I'm you, remember?" His green eyes twinkled with amusement as he quickly finished his second smoke. "Mmm, it's kind of hot in here, isn't it?" he asked. That was one thing Keegan had to agree on, as it felt like someone had turned on the heat and cranked it up as high as it would go. "Wanna see something cool?" Other Keegan asked suddenly, and Keegan looked up in time to see his doppelganger holding up his silver lighter. Without saying a word he let it go, and as it plummeted towards the floor it began to transform into a small fireball that exploded at his feet. Within seconds his clothes went up in flames and he started to laugh, raising his arms high above his head as his laughter got wilder and louder. Keegan looked down at his own legs to see that they too had caught fire and it was quickly spreading over the rest of his body. Frantically he tried to put the flames out but it only seemed to make it worse. "C'mon, Keegan, laugh with me! It's funny, isn't it? ISN'T IT!?" The doppelganger had changed shape now and even through the flames Keegan could quite easily tell that it was Mike. He threw back his head and cackled maniacally as the fire engulfed him completely. Keegan fell to the ground as he too was consumed by the flames, and though he tried to scream his paralyzed vocal cords wouldn't allow it. Once more he opened his eyes to find the same ceiling looming above him, and though he was still unable to move he could still feel the scorching heat from the flames.

"Ooh, that was a good one, wasn't it?" Jensen laughed from across the room. He was sitting on a chair, one leg folded the other, smoking one of Keegan's cigarettes. "I bet we can do better than that though, couldn't we?" He chuckled and leaned back in his seat, getting himself comfortable. He'd only taken a peek inside the redhead's mind but he could see that there was oh so much to work with. "And to think it's only been a few moments since you first passed out. Good times ahead." The psychic exhaled a large cloud of smoke and continued to laugh. At least he was having fun!