With their Pokémon swimming with all their might, Ash, Misty, and Brock finally returned to the surface.
Sunlight fell over them, letting them feel a warmth they had not felt in what seemed like forever.
Ash wiped seawater from his face and took a deep breath.
Looking at the sparkling sea, his heart was filled with the relief of surviving a disaster.
“We finally made it out!” he shouted.
Misty and Brock also showed relieved smiles.
After that, the three began searching the area for anything they could use.
They found some floating driftwood, so they worked together and made a simple raft out of it.
Once the raft was finished, the three sat on it as it gently rocked with the waves.
Misty looked around and, seeing no sign of Team Rocket, could not help frowning.
“Team Rocket didn’t make it out.”
“Let’s not worry about them for now.
We don’t even know where we are,” Ash said.
Then he took out Pidgeotto’s Poké Ball.
“Pidgeotto, search for signs of land.”
With a flash of white light, Pidgeotto appeared before everyone.
It flapped its wings and quickly flew into the sky, heading toward the distance.
Pidgeotto flew through the air, its sharp eyes scanning the sea below.
While it was focused on flying, it suddenly spotted three figures struggling in the water not far below.
Looking closer, it realized they were Jessie, James, and Meowth of Team Rocket.
At this point, the Team Rocket trio no longer had any of their usual arrogance.
Their faces were pale, their lips were purple, and they were weakly flailing in the icy seawater.
Pidgeotto hesitated for a moment.
Thinking of Ash’s usual kindness and the lessons he gave his Pokémon, it decided to save the three people in trouble first and carried them toward the raft.
…
Before long, Pidgeotto brought them back to the raft.
Ash, Misty, and Brock were all a little surprised to see the Team Rocket trio rescued by Pidgeotto.
“You’re actually still alive,” Misty could not help saying.
“It’s all thanks to this Pidgeotto,” Jessie said, a complicated expression appearing on her face.
Ash looked at Pidgeotto, smiled in satisfaction, and stroked its head.
“Good job, Pidgeotto.”
Jessie, James, and Meowth climbed onto the raft and collapsed there, gasping heavily.
Meanwhile, that Magikarp was still flopping around nonstop.
…
The raft drifted unsteadily across the vast sea.
Time passed minute by minute, and after a long wait, everyone had gone a very long time without eating.
Grumble—
The sound was especially clear on the quiet sea.
Everyone looked at one another, helpless expressions appearing on their faces.
“Ah!
I can’t take it anymore!” Meowth was so hungry he could not stand it.
His eyes turned red, and he suddenly shouted before pouncing on James’s Magikarp.
He opened his mouth and bit down on Magikarp.
However, with a crisp crack, Magikarp’s scales proved incredibly hard.
Meowth’s teeth were actually knocked out directly.
“Meow!!!”
Meowth screamed, letting go as he jumped around the raft in pain, wailing nonstop.
“Give up.
Magikarp only has scales and bones,” Misty reminded him helplessly.
“This fish can’t do anything but flop around, and it can’t even be eaten!
I don’t want you anymore!
Get out of here!” James finally lost his patience.
Hunger and disappointment in Magikarp overwhelmed him, and as he spoke, he lifted his foot, ready to kick Magikarp away.
“I hate you!”
“Wait!” Ash hurriedly called out to stop him.
“What?” James stopped and asked impatiently.
“If you don’t want it, you can choose to release it gently,” Ash advised.
“It’s fine if you don’t like it, but please don’t hurt it.”
In truth, Ash was afraid that, just like in the original story, James would kick Magikarp and cause it to evolve.
If that happened, everyone here would suffer.
After all, an evolved Gyarados was extremely fierce.
It would be manageable on land, but the key point was that they were currently in the middle of the sea.
After hearing Ash’s words, James froze slightly.
His anger and irritation faded quite a bit.
He looked at the Magikarp flopping on the raft, and a trace of guilt rose in his heart.
After hesitating for a moment, he obediently chose to release it gently.
With both hands, he pushed Magikarp into the sea.
After falling into the water, Magikarp froze for a moment.
Then it swayed its tail and happily swam away, gradually disappearing from everyone’s sight.
With Pidgeotto and Butterfree searching hard, they finally found an island.
They quickly flew back above the raft and circled over everyone.
Seeing their movements, Ash’s heart leapt with joy.
“Looks like they found land!”
“Quick, let’s row toward the island!” Ash shouted, picking up a crude paddle on the raft and rowing.
The others quickly followed his example.
Everyone worked together, and the raft moved quickly toward the island.
As the raft drew closer and closer, they could clearly see the island’s dense vegetation and towering mountains.
“We can finally go ashore.
I can’t stand being stuck on this raft anymore,” Jessie said, stretching.
James nodded.
“Yeah.
I hope there’s something good to eat on the island.
I’m starving.”
Ash sat on the raft and looked at the approaching island.
He closed his eyes, focused his mind, and used his Aura to sense it.
As his Aura spread out, images gradually appeared in his mind.
He was certain now.
This was the island with the giant mechanical Pokémon.
They had come to the right place.
…
After everyone landed on the island, Team Rocket immediately bolted.
As Jessie ran, she turned back and shouted at Ash and the others, “Twerp, we’ll reluctantly thank you this once!”
James also shouted loudly, “Next time, we’ll definitely steal Pikachu!”
Meowth yelled along beside them, “That’s right, meow!”
Ash looked at their retreating backs and shook his head helplessly.
Misty planted her hands on her hips and curled her lips.
“Hmph, who needs their thanks?
If I run into them causing trouble again, I definitely won’t let them off.”
Brock said, “In any case, we should take care of ourselves first.
Right now, we need to find food and water.”
Ash nodded.
“Exactly.
Let’s go.”