"Sato! Over here!"
The three turned toward the voice to see Archie waving at them from the front of a three-masted boat, calling out loudly.
"Come aboard, we were just waiting for you," Archie said, patting Sato on the shoulder and giving him a sly wink.
"Mm, thank you!"
"Thanks, Captain," Mark added jokingly as he brought up the rear.
"Hahaha, this kid's got some charm!"
Once the three of them were on board, they saw Maxie commanding the crew as they secured supplies on deck. When he noticed them, he personally escorted them to their cabins and assigned them rooms.
The boat wasn't very big, but each of the three got their own cabin. Which was pretty nice, considering most crew members shared rooms in pairs or trios.
Most of the group's supplies were with Joseph, so there wasn't much they needed to unpack.
Sato left his cabin and, pretending to be curious, began inspecting the ship's structure and layout, glancing this way and that.
Soon after, the boat gave a light jolt, it had set sail!
Having quickly finished scouting the ship, Sato wandered around and soon returned to the deck.
"Sato, over here!" Mark stood at the edge of the deck, waving enthusiastically. Beside him were Archie, Joseph, and Maxie.
"I just asked, turns out it'll take more than half a month to reach Mt. Pyre. We'll be passing a bunch of islands and port towns along the way!"
"Mm, then we're in your care, old Archie," Sato said with a nod as he turned to him.
"No problem! My Sharpedo has been itching to get going!" Archie laughed and pointed to his Shiny Sharpedo leaping joyfully through the waves.
"That's... way too eager..." Sato resisted the urge to roll his eyes and released his own Sharpedo.
Despite all the traveling Sato had done, this was his first time spending such a long stretch at sea. His Sharpedo, however, was in its element. After all, it was a Pokémon of the ocean.
"Sha sha!"
Sharpedo circled Sato twice and rubbed against him affectionately, a rare display for one so reserved.
"Go play."
"Sha sha!"
With a splash, Sharpedo dove into the sea and darted around the ship with wild joy, it was clearly having a great time.
But soon, Archie's Shiny Sharpedo shamelessly swam over.
It was obvious, though, that Sato's Sharpedo had zero interest in this clingy fish. Flicking its fins, it sped up and left it behind.
"Zia, don't give up!" Archie called from the deck, cheering with enthusiasm while Sato stared speechlessly.
'You think my girl's that easy to win over? This "marriage"? I reserve judgment.'
"First Mate what kind of dangers do you usually encounter at sea? I heard there are groups of Tentacruel that attack ships in this area, is that true?"
Mark wasn't interested in Sharpedo romance. He was into thrilling adventures… like getting attacked, for example.
"Haha, there are indeed many Tentacruel around here, but we have people who regularly drive them off. We don't usually run into them," Maxie replied with a smile. He seemed pleased that Mark had called him "First Mate."
"Aw man, I really want to see what it's like when Tentacruel attack a ship!" Mark leaned over the railing with his hands under his chin, full of eager anticipation.
Joseph and Sato suddenly exchanged a knowing glance…
Could it be… Maybe… Possibly…
Boom!
The ship suddenly lurched. Everyone on deck stumbled in surprise.
At the same time, Sato's and Archie's Sharpedo burst from the water and returned to their side.
Once the ship's rocking calmed down a bit, everyone rushed to the edge of the deck and looked down into the sea.
Blue, translucent umbrella-shaped heads… those were all Tentacruel!
Sato and Joseph stared at Mark in disbelief, and even Archie and Maxie couldn't help but glance at him.
'Your mouth must be cursed!'
"Huh? What's wrong?" Mark, the only one who had stumbled, had just gotten back up, only to find everyone staring at him, making his scalp tingle.
Boom! Boom boom boom!
The Tentacruel launched another fierce assault. Some of them used Water-type moves to strike the hull below, rocking the ship violently.
Others directly used Acid, spraying the ship's body, instantly corroding large patches on contact!
The two most troublesome things in the ocean: Tentacruel's acid and Sharpedo's biting!
They'd only been at sea for half an hour, and already they'd encountered one of them. There was something Archie wanted to say, but didn't know if it was appropriate...
"All hands on alert! Shake off the Tentacruel swarm!" Archie shouted, then released a Peak Elite level Lanturn, which immediately began discharging electricity like mad!
At the same time, all the crew rushed to the deck and filled the perimeter, releasing their Pokémon.
Chinchou, Manectric, Magneton, and Plusle among others -all Electric-types- came out one after another, unleashing Thunderbolt and Discharge without hesitation.
Several Plusle and Minun darted across the deck, using Helping Hand to provide support!
"Everyone inside the ship, hold on tight! Flying-types, use Tailwind!"
No one knew when Maxie had gotten up to the crow's nest, but now dozens of Flying-type Pokémon had gathered around him.
Pidgeot, Fearow, Noctowl, Swellow, Pelipper. The species were incredibly diverse; under Maxie's command, they all directed Tailwind at the sails in unison.
Tailwind summoned fierce winds, greatly increasing the team's overall speed. There couldn't be a better time to use it.
"Help me!"
Suddenly, a panicked cry for help came from the left side of the ship. Sato and the others turned to look.
A burly sailor was being tightly bound by two black Tentacruel tentacles. He clung to a wooden pillar with both arms, but was being violently dragged toward the sea, he looked like he couldn't hold on much longer.
"Sharpedo, Crunch!"
With the command, Sharpedo darted to the sailor's side and chomped down fiercely on the two tentacles.
"Shaaar!"
Water splashed everywhere, Tentacruel's body was mostly composed of water, so once the tentacles were bitten through, it deflated like a balloon.
"This sailor's been poisoned, and there's severe compression trauma. Joseph, I'm leaving him to you!"
With no ship doctor in sight, Sato had Sharpedo haul the sailor over and tossed him to Joseph without hesitation.
"Got it!" Joseph released Chansey and Wigglytuff and immediately began emergency treatment on the spot.
"Take this and be careful!" Sato fed Sharpedo a bottle of Antidote and warned. Tentacruel's tentacles were known for their venom!
"Mark, help out!"
Sato turned and snapped Mark out of his regretful daze, then without hesitation, released Ariados and Cacturne.
"Cotton Spore! Electroweb!"