Adrift on the vast, unforgiving sea, Ash's group bobbed helplessly on their crude wooden raft. The initial relief of having survived had given way to a gnawing anxiety.
"Don't worry, Ash. Your brother will be fine," Brock said, trying to comfort his friend.
Ash stared out at the endless blue horizon, his face etched with concern. He knew Brock was right—Red's strength was undeniable—but being separated under such dire circumstances had planted a seed of unease in his heart. "But where do we even go from here?" he asked, looking in every direction. There was nothing but water.
"In ancient tis, a man nad Noah found land after a dove returned with a branch!" Brock offered, ever the source of practical wisdom.
"That's a great idea! I'll do the sa!" Ash exclaid, his spirit montarily lifted. "Pidgeotto, I'm counting on you!"
He sent his partner into the air to search for any sign of land. As Pidgeotto soared through the sky, it caught sight of a strange scene below: a single, orange Magikarp, bouncing frantically on the surface of the water, dragging behind it the three waterlogged, unconscious mbers of Team Rocket. Pidgeotto broke out in a cold sweat, assuming the worst, and flew back to its trainer.
A short ti later, Ash and his friends had managed to fish the strange procession from the sea. Seeing the motionless trio, they too ca to the sa mistaken conclusion. "They're... gone," Misty whispered. Despite their constant antagonism, they had faced the sinking of the S.S. Anne together.
Just as Ash was about to suggest a solemn water burial, the three "corpses" suddenly sprang to life, glaring at them with furious, sputtering indignation. "Zombies!" Ash, Brock, and Misty scread in unison.
"We're not dead yet!" Jessie fud.
Her sudden movent caused owth, who had been draped limply over Jas's back, to slide off and plunge into the sea. "Water! Water! I'm afraid of water! Help!" he shrieked, flailing desperately. Pikachu watched with a look of detached curiosity as the desire to survive drove owth to overco his instincts and scramble back onto the raft.
Far away, on a small, sandy atoll Red had found, a different kind of drama was unfolding.
"A-choo!"
Leaf shivered, pulling her arms around herself. Although Red's psychic barrier had protected them from the crushing depths, she had still been soaked to the bone during their escape, and the shock and panic had left her with a small cold.
"Are you catching a cold?" Red asked, turning to rummage through his backpack. "I'll find you so dicine."
Leaf stood silently beside him, her head bowed, her mind racing. (What should I do... Not only was that my first kiss... but I kissed him with my tongue... It's so embarrassing!) The more she thought about it, the hotter her face beca, her ears turning a bright, burning red. Red, noticing her flushed cheeks, mistakenly assud her cold had worsened into a fever.
"Um... Red," she asked, her voice barely a whisper. "Was that... your first... first kiss?"
"No," he replied calmly.
The single word made Leaf's heart sink. She hadn't expected him to have already lost his first kiss. "Then who did you give it to?!" she asked, her voice suddenly full of strength as she tugged on his sleeve.
"It was taken by so foolish older woman," he said lightly, as if it were nothing. But Leaf noticed the faint hint of embarrassnt in his eyes, a sign that the mory wasn't as simple as he made it sound.
Feeling the damp chill of his gloves, Red took them off, wrung them dry, and carefully placed them in his pocket.
"Red, were those gloves... a gift from her?" Leaf asked tentatively.
"That's right," he said, a ghost of a smile touching his lips. "That fool thought my daily training was too damaging to my hands, so she gave them to . To keep them from wearing out, she sends a new pair every year. Over ti, I just got used to wearing them." He called her a fool, but his eyes held a hint of nostalgic warmth.
"Let test the water temperature for you," he said, changing the subject. He poured so warm water into a cup, took a small sip to ensure it wasn't too hot, and then handed it and the dicine to Leaf.
She took it, her back turned to him, her heart in turmoil. She was disappointed, but then, she saw the spot on the rim of the cup where his lips had been. (No, no! Leaf, how can you betray his concern for you like this!) But the rare opportunity was too much to resist.
"What's wrong? Is it still too hot?" Red asked, puzzled by her hesitation.
"No, it's fine!" she said quickly, clutching the cup as if it were a precious treasure. She swallowed the dicine with a solemn expression, then "carefully" twisted the cup, aligned her lips with the exact spot he had touched, and slowly drank, savoring the mont.
(Oh, Leaf, you are truly shaless!) she scolded herself, her face flushing crimson. The sudden blush made Red even more confused, but before he could ask if she needed help, she quickly refused, terrified he might notice her secret.
The next day, hunger finally drove Ash's group from their exhausted slumber. The raft now held not only them but Team Rocket and their useless Magikarp as well.
"I'm so hungry..." Ash moaned miserably.
"I wish I'd eaten more at the party!" Misty complained.
At that mont, the still-bouncing Magikarp on the wooden deck beca the focus of everyone's ravenous attention. It was a creature with only scales and bones, with no edible flesh to speak of, but desperation had clouded their judgnt.
owth, unable to bear it any longer, lunged. He hugged the Magikarp, bared his teeth, and bit down hard. There was a sickening CRACK as his fangs shattered against the fish's diamond-hard scales. He retreated to a corner, weeping in pain.
"This fish is useless!" Jas said, his voice full of annoyance. "Besides jumping around, it can't even be eaten!"
"That's why I said you got scamd!" Jessie retorted.
"I don't want you anymore! Get out of my sight!" The enraged Jas kicked the Magikarp off the raft and into the sea. "I hate you the most!" he scread after it.
"That's a little harsh..." Misty said, feeling a pang of pity.
Jas's every action, every word, was deeply etched in the Magikarp's heart. It didn't understand. It had tried so hard, flailing with all its might to keep them afloat, to bring them to safety. And for its efforts, it had been called useless, treated as food, and finally, brutally cast aside by the master it had tried to save.
The feeling of grievance suddenly curdled into a white-hot fury. The Magikarp's eyes turned vicious. Its body began to shake violently, and under the shocked gazes of everyone on the raft, it was consud by a brilliant white light. A fierce, monstrous Gyarados erupted from the waves, its murderous eyes locked on Jas.
"It... it evolved!" Brock exclaid.
"It must be because of its anger!" Misty explained.
"I-I'm your master! You have to obey !" Jas stamred, but a furious roar from the Gyarados sent him scrambling to the floor in terror.
"Goldeen! Starmie! Staryu! Run!" Misty yelled, sending out her three Pokémon. They tied themselves to the raft and began to pull with all their might, fleeing the enraged beast.
After a few minutes of pursuit, the Gyarados seed to give up. The exhausted group slowed, wondering what it was planning. Only Misty watched with a grim expression, as if anticipating sothing terrible.
The Gyarados's roar echoed across the empty ocean, a call of rage and betrayal. And the ocean answered. Four other wild Gyarados appeared, their eyes just as furious. The five sea dragons began to circle the small raft, their powerful bodies whipping the water into a churning vortex.
They roared in unison, and a violent, twisting waterspout erupted from the sea, a pillar of rage that obscured the sky. Before Ash and his friends could even scream, the terrifying funnel of water swallowed them whole.
***
(End of Chapter)
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