The white light of evolution gradually faded, revealing Dapple's brand-new form—
Dapple the Sirfetch'd.
Her body still bore the same blue-and-white coloring she had as a Farfetch'd. The three tufts of feathers atop her head had become one, and her emerald-green eyes were as beautiful as sapphires.
In one hand, she held a leek-stalk sword. It, too, looked different from before—longer now, with two lush green leek leaves forming a guard and faint golden patterns shimmering across the blade. In her other hand was a long, narrow green shield that seemed to be woven from interlaced leek leaves, its surface gleaming with a metallic sheen.
The cameraman trained his lens on this entirely new Pokémon, appearing in the Kanto region for the first time. The emergence of Sirfetch'd also offered Trainers who raised Farfetch'd another possible evolutionary path.
"What a beautiful Pokémon!" the host exclaimed.
Chairman Sorata coughed and volunteered an explanation. "Umm... leek pancake—no, wait! Sirfetch'd from the Galar region normally aren't this ornate either. Perhaps it's because this one is a rare Shiny specimen!"
"Sirfetch'd!"
After evolving, Dapple carried herself with an even more extraordinary air. There was a quiet composure about her, as though she could level that leek-stalk sword like a lance at any moment and meet an approaching enemy in honorable combat.
"Jiggly!" Lala happily reached out a little hand to touch Dapple. The transformation left her both delighted and uneasy, but Dapple's familiar response immediately brightened Lala's face again.
"Ray!"
Ash and Misty came over. The two had originally been heading to reinforce the bridge, but Team Rocket members had intercepted them along the way, delaying them yet again.
Thanks to Ray Chu's sudden intervention, however, Team Rocket had suffered a major setback. Once the initial chaos subsided, the Trainers at the scene had gradually organized a counterattack and successfully suppressed the Team Rocket members.
After a brief discussion, everyone rushed toward the bridge together.
But the moment they reached the deck, they discovered that the cruise ship had already veered off its original course and was sailing farther out to sea.
At the same time, cries of Pidgeot rang out overhead. More than a dozen Trainers in League uniforms leapt down from the sky. The moment they spotted Ash and the others, they hurriedly released their Pokémon and assumed guarded stances.
"You must be the reinforcements sent by the League police! I'm the host—I'm the one who called the police."
The host appeared seemingly out of nowhere and hurried forward to explain.
She was a local celebrity, and the group clearly recognized her. Their tense expressions immediately eased as they asked what was happening aboard the ship.
The host quickly brought them up to speed. The man in charge immediately ordered his subordinates to split into two groups: one would head to the banquet hall to suppress Team Rocket, while the other would rush to the bridge.
Only after making those arrangements did the leading League Trainer turn his attention to Ray Chu, Ash, and the others. Having already learned who they were from the host, he stepped forward to introduce himself.
"I'm Arang from the Vermilion City Pokémon League Defense Center. Thank you for what you did in the banquet hall. I'll report your contributions to the League exactly as they happened."
Ray Chu shook his hand, then looked toward the bridge.
"Don't you need our help?"
Captain Arang smiled confidently. "Please rest assured. My team consists of the League's finest Trainers. It won't be long before every Team Rocket member aboard this ship is under arrest."
The next second, an abrupt explosion thundered through the ship.
A huge ball of fire erupted behind Captain Arang.
If Ray Chu hadn't pulled him back, the shockwave would have nearly blown the Defense Center captain away. Even so, he was left looking thoroughly disheveled.
"What happened?!"
Several team members, covered from head to toe in black soot, rushed out through the flames.
"Captain, we've got trouble! Team Rocket planted a whole bunch of Electrode near the bottom of the ship. They detonated them, and now there's a huge hole in the hull. Seawater is pouring in!"
Arang's expression immediately darkened.
"Damn Team Rocket! I'll make them pay for this!"
But there was no point saying more right now.
The immediate priority was saving the ship and everyone aboard.
A round little man, nearly as wide as he was tall and dressed in a captain's uniform, came charging over. He threw himself around Captain Arang's leg and burst into tears.
"Captain, sir, you have to save my S.S. Anne! My entire retirement depends on this ship!"
Of course, Arang had no intention of standing by and doing nothing, especially with tens of thousands of passengers aboard. Cold sweat poured down his forehead as he roared at his subordinates.
"What are you standing around for?! Take me to the damaged section of the hull immediately!"
The group hurried down to the lower decks, only to find raging flames blocking their way.
Naturally, that was hardly enough to stop a group of Trainers. With several Pokémon working together to use Ice-type moves, the flames were soon extinguished.
"[GUST]!"
The Pidgeot beat their wings, quickly blowing away the thick smoke.
What awaited everyone beyond it, however, was an enormous breach in the bottom of the ship, with seawater flooding through it with terrifying force.
The S.S. Anne was equipped with top-grade watertight compartments, which was the only reason the cruise ship had not sunk immediately.
Even so, the power of the Electrode explosions had been astonishing. They had blown straight through the steel plating along the bottom of the massive vessel.
Vast amounts of seawater poured in. Soon, there was nowhere left for anyone to stand, and as time passed, the ship began listing at an increasingly steep angle. It could sink at any moment.
Captain Arang thought for only an instant before making his decision.
"Everyone, dive beneath the ship with me. We'll use Ice-type moves to patch the damaged sections of the hull. Captain, I need you to gather every crew member who can still move and find a way to get this ship back to Vermilion City's harbor as quickly as possible."
The ship's captain nodded frantically and dashed toward the bridge, his round body moving with surprising speed.
If he hurried, there might still be hope for his retirement fund.
If he was even a little too late, he had no idea whether the passengers aboard could be saved, but the S.S. Anne would definitely end up at the bottom of the sea.
"Let us help too!" Misty volunteered, releasing several Water-type Pokémon.
Ray Chu and Ash also released a Wartortle and five Squirtle, respectively.
The moment the turtles appeared, they looked at one another—then happily threw themselves into a group hug.
It turned out that the five Squirtle Ash had caught had originally been part of the sunglasses Wartortle's old gang. How Ash had somehow managed to con all five of them into joining him at once was anyone's guess.
But this was hardly the time for a reunion.
Once the turtles finished hugging, they immediately joined the urgent rescue effort.
Because the repairs had to be made underwater, everyone dove beneath the surface again and again while the Pokémon kept breathing out freezing air, sealing the damaged sections in ice to stop seawater from pouring inside.
But under the pressure of the surrounding seawater, the frozen patches repeatedly cracked and broke apart, forcing them to repeat the process over and over.
Still, as the ship finally began moving slowly once more, the worst of the crisis at last passed...
---
T/N: hello i am back from japan, and i am sick heres some chapters i remembered you guys exist
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