Third POV
The proceedings after the match happened quickly. The trainers' Pokémon were taken for healing, and after making sure everyone was alright, the participants were called out for the felicitation ceremony.
The Champions, along with some government officials who were onboard the ship, started the awards ceremony. First, the Top 4 trainers were called to the podium, and each Champion would present one of the starter Pokémon that had been offered as prizes.
Blue was called to the podium first.
He was given a small gold medal shaped like a ship, along with a cash prize of 100,000 Pokédollars. He was also given the first choice among the four Pokémon the Champions had brought.
Blue thought about it carefully before making his decision.
He lacked a Grass-type on his team, and he had heard quite a lot about the Treecko line. The other choice he had seriously considered was Pawniard, but he knew very little about that Pokémon and would have needed to ask his gramps and do some research before committing to it. He knew it was a rare Steel/Dark type, which was definitely appealing, but in the end he preferred Treecko for now.
"Treecko," Blue said confidently.
Steven stepped forward and handed over the Poké Ball containing the Hoenn starter.
"Good choice," Steven said with a smile.
He then spent a few moments informing Blue about the moves Treecko currently knew and some advice regarding its training.
After that, Grey was called to the podium.
He received a silver medal carrying the same ship symbol along with a prize of 75,000 Pokédollars. He was then given the opportunity to choose one of the remaining three Pokémon.
Grey had already spent a lot of time thinking about this decision.
While Pawniard was extremely tempting, training it would take a long time. More importantly, there was a good chance he would eventually have to travel all the way to Paldea to fully explore its evolution line, something that was far beyond his current plans.
Charmander, on the other hand, solved an immediate problem.
He lacked a Fire type.
It would complete the Fire-Water-Grass core he had wanted for a long time and fit naturally into the team he was building.
"I'll take Charmander," Grey said.
Lance stepped forward and handed him the Poké Ball.
"Your battle today was impressive," Lance said. "Keep working hard. I expect great things from you in the future."
Grey nodded.
"Thank you."
With the top two placements decided, attention shifted toward Red and Ash.
Before the ceremony had officially begun, the organizers had approached both trainers and asked them to decide between the two remaining Pokémon themselves.
Rather than turning it into another competition, the two had simply talked it out.
Red wanted Pawniard.
His team already had two Water types, and the Steel/Dark Pokémon offered something completely different for future battles.
Ash, meanwhile, had been perfectly fine with taking Froakie.
Mostly because Misty had spent the last several hours nagging him about it.
According to her, Froakie was one of the best Water-type Pokémon out there and would be a fantastic addition to his team.
Eventually Ash gave up arguing.
Not that he minded much.
A cool ninja frog Pokémon sounded pretty awesome.
Both trainers were called to the podium together.
They each received bronze medals along with prize money worth 50,000 Pokédollars.
Alder presented Pawniard to Red.
"You battled wonderfully today," he said. "I hope this Pokémon serves you well."
Red accepted the Poké Ball respectfully.
"Thank you."
Diantha then stepped forward and handed Froakie to Ash.
"Raise it well, kid! Froakie can become a real powerhouse."
Ash grinned.
"You can count on it!"
With that, all four trainers had received their prizes.
The crowd applauded once more as photographs were taken and the SS Anne Tournament officially came to an end.
It had been a tournament filled with surprises.
As evening approached, the organizers announced a massive buffet dinner to celebrate the conclusion of the event.
The atmosphere on the ship became far more relaxed now that the competition was over. Trainers, officials, and guests alike began making their way toward the dining halls.
According to the schedule, the SS Anne would return to Vermilion City the following morning.
For now, however, everyone intended to enjoy one final night aboard the famous luxury ship.
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Grey's POV
After getting my Pokémon healed, I called out Charmander and introduced him to the team in my room. My team was disappointed with the loss, but I told them it was alright. Victory and defeat came hand in hand. Besides, Blue had worked for it, and I would try hard to win next time for sure.
The ball was released, and an orange lizard showed up yelling, "Charmander! Char!"
I looked at the lizard, and one thought came to mind for some reason.
Kawaii.
The team introduced themselves and showed the kid Charmander around. I told him that I would help him grow into a strong Pokémon, with Charmander being happy about it and yelling, "Char!"
Again, another thought came to mind. This Charmander was cute and had a jolly personality. Axew started telling it about the team, it seemed, while Persian was avoiding it as it didn't like the happiness radiating from the little lizard.
Exeggcute was looking at me for some reason, and I asked what was up. I tried to tell it that the loss was fine. I realized it was tired from all the battles today. It happened.
But Exeggcute had a grave look on its face, and there was sudden fear in its eyes, as if it was scared of something. When I asked what was wrong, a voice suddenly echoed in my head.
"Friend Grey, run away. Dive into the ocean. Get away from this ship fast."
"What?" I thought. Where was that voice comi—
Then I looked at Exeggcute.
It could use telepathy now.
I was about to congratulate it, but I heard the voice again, this time filled with even more panic.
"Run now! Some terrible monster is in the ship!"
I was about to ask what it was talking about when a massive rumbling shook the entire vessel, and I fell to the ground. Suddenly, the lights started to flicker.
I didn't know what was going on, but I withdrew most of my Pokémon. Excluding Persian, I decided to trust Exeggcute and told Persian to come with me.
When I stepped out of my room, I saw chaos everywhere.
People in Team Rocket outfits were targeting trainers.
The moment I saw that black uniform with the red R, a memory of that haunted incident at Lavender Tower came rushing back to me.
Only one thought filled my mind.
Why?
Why now?
Here at the S.S. Anne, there were four bloody Champions, a bunch of government officials, and probably several Ace-ranked trainers. So why did this bunch of stupid terrorist criminals decide to attack now?
This was supposed to be a happy occasion for me.
I came second.
I won a prize at the tournament.
So why had they come to ruin something for me once again?
Why?
I was frozen in panic for a moment, too stunned just seeing that R, until Persian bit my leg and snapped me back to reality, yelling at me to move ahead.
I didn't know what I could do here, but I decided I would fight them as much as I could.
Using Persian's quickness, I called for rapid Night Slashes against the Rockets' Pokémon. The cat Pokémon overwhelmed them with its speed, cutting through their ranks while also spamming Thunderbolts at most of the Zubat the Rockets had brought.
I moved toward the edge of the ship and saw Red in one corner fighting alongside his Ivysaur.
I was about to meet up with him when I saw a Rocket grunt ordering his Zubat to fire a Shadow Ball at Red.
Red was distracted by another grunt.
"Persian, block it!"
Right before it could hit Red, Persian intercepted it with a Night Slash, destroying the Shadow Ball.
Red noticed what had happened and thanked me.
The two of us quickly teamed up, helping save trainers from the Rockets and giving people the confidence to fight back.
Eventually, Red blurted out his issues with Team Rocket, mentioning how he had encountered them at Mt. Moon. I told him I had met them in Lavender Town as well.
Then, in the middle of all this chaos, Red suddenly handed me a Leaf Stone from his bag.
Blue had apparently told him I needed one.
I questioned how he got one and, more importantly, why he was giving it to me now.
Red explained that his Poliwrath had found four evolution stones in the sea near Vermilion City, all of extremely high quality. In fact, there was a possibility that even more were still lying beneath the ocean.
He had gotten very lucky with the find.
I briefly thought that after getting out of this mess, I could use Persian to search for a Water Stone somewhere in the sea as well.
For now, though, I accepted the Leaf Stone. I had no reason to refuse it.
I wanted to pay Red back for it, but he shook his head and said that I had just saved him.
This was his way of returning the favor.
I accepted it for now.
Slowly, the two of us fought our way through the corridors and toward the edge of the ship, gathering more trainers behind us as we rescued them along the way.
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After getting to a more open area near the edge of the ship, Grey released his four trained Pokémon. He kept Charmander in its Poké Ball, as releasing it at this point would be dangerous for the Pokémon that had just joined his team.
He quickly explained to everyone that they needed to help beat back the Rockets. Exeggcute still urged Grey to get out of here quickly, but Grey told it that he would clear the Rockets around this section of the ship first and then leave after saving some other trainers.
Even Grey knew this situation was out of his league and far worse than the one in Lavender Town, but he decided to stay a little longer.
He spotted Bill near the platform's edge. The famous researcher didn't have any Pokémon with him and looked terrified as Rockets surrounded him. Grey immediately moved toward him alongside his Pokémon, who were busy clearing out opponents. Red was also fighting well, having sent out Ninetales, Poliwrath, and Pikachu to battle.
The grunts aboard the ship were operating under a Commander Cobra, who used a Crobat and Machoke to fight. Red decided to engage this commander directly, whereas Grey focused on using moves that could hit multiple opponents at once and was steadily mowing through the Rockets' Pokémon.
At one point, however, all of Grey's Pokémon were already injured.
A Golbat belonging to Commander Jason another commander on the scene suddenly fired a Shadow Ball at Bill.
None of Grey's Pokémon were in any condition to help.
For Grey, time seemed to slow down.
He remembered the Marowak whose head had been shot because he had arrived too late.
In desperation, and overwhelmed by guilt from the past, he rushed toward Bill and tried to push him away.
The Shadow Ball struck Grey in the back.
The impact injured him badly, and the force of the blast sent both him and Bill over the ship's railing and into the ocean below.
All of Grey's Pokémon froze.
For a brief moment, there was silence.
Then Exeggcute's eyes filled with a massive amount of rage.
Despite its weakened psychic energy, it unleashed an incredibly powerful Confusion on the Golbat and the surrounding Pokémon at once.
A sickening sound echoed through the area, as if bones were being crushed and cracked under the force of the psychic attack.
Axew immediately yelled at Exeggcute to jump into the water.
Shellder and Persian had already leapt into the ocean the moment Grey fell.
Axew and Exeggcute quickly followed.
Shellder swam rapidly underwater and positioned itself beneath Bill and Grey, trying to lift them.
Grey was unconscious after taking the blast and was bleeding heavily from his back.
Despite Shellder's large size, it was still too small to properly support both humans.
Persian tried helping as well but struggled due to its lack of swimming ability to lift them up. After all, it was still a cat.
Axew and Exeggcute arrived moments later. Exeggcute attempted to lift the pair using Confusion, but it lacked the energy to do so effectively. The previous outburst and the battles throughout the entire day had left it exhausted.
Then Persian had a brilliant idea.
It remembered what Grey and Red had discussed earlier about evolution stones being hidden somewhere in the sea.
Using its Technician-enhanced senses as best as it could, Persian searched the depths and felt something far below.
It nodded toward Exeggcute.
The eggs immediately understood.
They focused on keeping the two humans stable while Persian and Axew headed downward.
Bill wondered what these Pokémon were doing.
Despite being injured and terrified, he could clearly see that they were desperately trying to save both him and the boy who had risked his life for him.
He watched as Persian and Axew disappeared deeper into the ocean.
The two Pokémon descended toward the sea floor.
Eventually, they found a Wailmer guarding something in the depths.
Persian didn't have time to negotiate.
It fired a powerful Thunderbolt that practically deep-fried the Pokémon.
Then, hidden within a cluster of rocks on the ocean floor, they found it.
A Water Stone.
Persian grabbed it, and together with Axew, rushed back toward the surface.
The two Pokémon returned roughly four minutes later.
Without hesitation, Persian struck Shellder with the Water Stone.
Shellder immediately began to glow.
Its body grew larger.
A giant horn formed.
Its shell expanded dramatically until it was large enough to carry the entire team.
Shellder had evolved into Cloyster.
Using its newly learned Surf move, Cloyster lifted everyone and carried them rapidly toward the surface.
After reaching open air, Bill finally managed to speak.
He immediately told the Pokémon to rush toward Vermilion City because their trainer desperately needed medical treatment.
Bill tore part of his shirt and fashioned a makeshift bandage, wrapping it around Grey's wound in an attempt to slow the bleeding.
Exeggcute had a rough idea of Vermilion City's location and gave directions to Cloyster.
At the same time, it communicated telepathically with Red.
Red suddenly heard a voice in his head telling him to evacuate as many trainers as possible and get out quickly.
A grey monster was on the roof of the ship battling the Champions.
Whatever that thing was, it was far too strong.
Cloyster then sped forward with all of the Pokémon aboard, carrying them swiftly toward the shores of Vermilion City.
The moment they arrived, Bill immediately called for help.
People on the coast received the message and quickly brought over a stretcher.
Exeggcute used Confusion to carefully place Grey onto it.
Everyone rushed toward the Pokémon Center.
After arriving there, Bill urgently informed Nurse Joy that this was an emergency.
The moment she saw Grey's condition, she called for Chansey and ordered it to take Grey straight to the emergency room.
There was no time to waste.
All of Grey's Pokémon could do was watch.
For the first time that day, the situation was completely out of their hands.
They had witnessed both rise and fall within a single day.
-------------------------------End of Volume 1------------------------------------------------------
Authors Note: Firstly I thank everyone for supporting this fic for a while , I have read comments the have encouraged me to continue , I decided this would be a good chapter to end the volume .
Now some parts of the chapter : Yes , there wasnt going to be much involvement in the attack from greys side , I will be explaining in vol2 what happened there , also before guys tell Grey could have warned etc he couldnt as poeple would think he is a lunatic and he himself thought it wouldnt happen as only an idiot would attack when there are 4 champions , an idiot or someone who has any means to beat the champions and yet in grey's mind it was farfetched at that point.
Next volume would return to gyms and the trainer life as usual i will try interlude chapters and would mix povs to see what works for what chapter .
To be frank this entire arc did take a lot of my thinking and I was also tired of writing figthing arcs for a succession.Hopefully now I can take the fic to a direction of normalcy back again.
I am open to suggestion as most readers know ,as I still am a budding writer despite hitting that 50 chapter mark for this fic . Go wild about this chapter in the comment section , as the volume has ended any encouragement is most welcome , critiscism as long as useful would be read , fanarts , random pokemon memes anything is welcome . There might be pokenet reaction chapter soon and I want u guys to comment here to tell if you want to feature , will actually try to write a good one this time around .
If you guys wanted a different ending i can understand , shoutout to a lot of guys in the comment section who were accurately getting some of the plot i didnt reply to thier comments on purpose to avoid not surprising , that said this was an ending I had thought for this volume even before I started this arc , but I can say this stay tuned as from the next volume Grey would have an increasing tragectory as a trainer. Also for the nth time charmander was the result of a poll for people asking any other pic , most readers were knowing what would happen , this was a choice i made instead of taking the one of ash or making cross canon all of a sudden as i found that option dull and very common.
Lastly how did u like the protagonist so far does he meet good expectations as well as my potrails of other characters be it Red , Blue , Ash or even OC characters i wrote like Aria, Brook or Ryu .
Finally collections , Power stones , reviews pls shower them and again if you have some criticism in the comment section also hope title was good and puzzled you guys before reading this chapter.