Author's Note:

Here it is, the final part of the Orange Island arc and the long-awaited fate of Lapras. Expect dark things a head, I have had her fate decided from the very beginning. I hope you enjoy it, I am guess it will get a mixed response at best. Remember to vote in the poll, it changes when Johto starts and with that, let's begin...

Chapter 25: The Pirate Pokemon Poachers

It is a dark and stormy night; powerful winds are slicing through the rippling sea water as large bolts of lightning strike dangerously close to the large bodies of water. Accompanying this, an endless amount of rain is drizzling down at record breaking speeds. This is one of the worst storms to hit the Orange Archipelago this year, and it has turned the once peaceful oceans into hazardous death traps. All boats in the vicinity have been docked until further notice.

Unfortunately, that doesn't mean everyone is safe. Far out in the devastating storm is a herd of about thirteen Lapras. They are normally in tune with the weather and don't need to worry about running into these types of storms but not today. Earlier they found a large man-made ship in their planned route for this section of their journey. Being peaceful creatures, they made a detour rather than attempt to fight their way through.

But that is what put them into this situation before. By going off on their normal path to avoid the humans, they don't know the area they are travelling through. It is only made worst by the fact that they are led by the underwater currents, as a guidance but that can't even use them now.

While the head Lapras didn't mention this to anyone in his group, not even his partner or daughter, he is scared. He has seen a ship like that before, back when he was a young mon. While he can't be sure it is the same one, he knows it is looks similar and what that one is about. While it may seem weird that Lapras as a species attempts to avoid humans, it is because of years of hunting which humans have done against them.

He saw a boat like this back when he last saw his mother. She was the head of the group he first belongs to. They saw this as a normal human boat and just continued on their normal path. It wasn't long until the people on this boat opened fire on their squad but because Lapras are peaceful species, they weren't ready to fight back or defend themselves. He was the only one able to get away as his mother did her best to defend him.

After that horrific experience, he spent a countless amount of time out on the strange oceans where he trained himself, so he wouldn't have to go through a similar experience again. Eventually, he bumped into another herd of Lapras who welcomed him in. Despite being friendly, he couldn't open up to them about what happened. He also had a bit of an anger problem, trying multiple times to take over the group through a show of strength.

This was when the second herd he belonged to was attacked by a ship of similar design. The leader at the time planned to navigate the squad around it, to avoid all contact with the ship but he wanted his revenge. Trying to attack the ship by himself, the squad leader led the group to save him. Despite his best efforts, he was knocked out during the battle and sent to the bottom of the water. When he awoke, both the boat and squad were gone... and it was all his fault.

He continued to travel the oceans by himself. Avoiding all sorts of interaction with people and Pokemon alike. One has caused the suspected death of countless friends and his own mother while he might as well of taken the others' lives along with the people. He had truly reached the lowest point one could reach.

Many years of travelling alone sent him through a very tough journey of self-discovery. He no-longer wanted his revenge on those who attacked him and his squad, he didn't want anything. One day, he found another Lapras around his age, alone and surrounded by an angry looking Tentacruel. Seeing as he kept up his training over those years, as he had nothing else to do, he was able to fight the water poison type off and save this female Lapras.

She explained how she was separated from her herd and ended up where she met him. With nothing else to do, and not wanting to be responsible for ruining another life, he agreed to escort her back to her herd. Knowing that Lapras follow the currents under the water, he has become adapt to reading them, so he could avoid all interactions with those of his same kind after what happened to the last group that let him in.

It took a couple of days but the two Lapras found the herd which the female belonged to. Turns out, her father also leads their group and had been looking for his daughter, so he was obviously grateful to the new Lapras. Despite his many attempts to just go off on his own again, the group wouldn't let him leave and welcomed him as one of their own.

Over time, he fell in love with the female Lapras who he saved. She was a free spirit and his exact opposite in every way. He even got close enough to the point that he could reveal his past to her, but she still accepted him as that Lapras he told her about was not the one she has gotten to know and love.

As time went on, the leader of the squad became too old to properly lead the group and appointed his adoptive son as his replacement. While reluctant at first, his partner and the squad all welcomed him as their leader. Unfortunately, his partners parents both passed away of natural causes which was a tough time but soon he and his partner was blessed with a young daughter. Considering how bad his life started out, this was everything he could've asked for.

Although his past demons still haunted him. He made sure his daughter and the rest of his herd knew about the dangers of man-kind, never risking a populated island or any sort of man-made boat. Which is what lead them to being caught in this storm, and to him losing his daughter as a result.

Flashback end...

It has been two days since Ash's battle with Drake where he became the winner of the Orange league. The next day they set off on Lapras' back towards Tangelo Island where they would board a cruise boat back to Kanto.

They left Pummelo shortly after preparing their teams which will stick until they get back to Kanto. Ash brought: Pikachu, Pidgeot, Blastoise, Primeape, Sandslash and Lapras. Serena brought: Delphox, Beedrill, Kadabra, Kingdra, Eevee and Magneton. Misty brought: Starmie, Seaking, Tentacruel, Psyduck, Vaporeon and Poliwag. Drake brought: Charizard, Pinsir, Jolteon, Machamp, Marowak and Ponyta. Leaf brought: Venusaur, Clefable, Flareon, Dewgong, Fearow and Arbok.

Currently, it is night time with shining stars filling the sky as the group are on Lapras' back. They have been almost all day, simply because Lapras has been sure that she can sense her school somewhere close by. They have been searching for the best part of seven hours, even Pidgeot, Blastoise, Beedrill, Kingdra, Starmie, Seaking, Tentacruel, Vaporeon, Charizard, Dewgong and Fearow set out across the water or sky respectively to see if they could spot the other Lapras. Unfortunately, none of them had much luck while looking for not only the herd of transport Pokemon but any wild Pokemon in the area. It's a little unnerving.

Misty looked ready to fall asleep as she cuddled her knees. Leaf yawned as she looked at how Serena was leaning against Ash, quickly glancing to her right, she spotted Drake next to her as held Marowak who was also asleep. With a smirk, she put her plan into action.

Leaf slowly began to lean her head in Drake's direction. Giving him a quick glance to see if he was giving off any sort of reaction. He wasn't, Drake hadn't even spotted her actions yet. He was too busy rubbing Marowak's head. Leaf kept creeping closer towards Drake's shoulder. She began to blush furiously as she was almost there! Until...

"Hey Ash, we aren't going to find anything now the sun is gone." Drake told his brother, moving even so slightly to face him.

Unfortunately for Leaf, she had already leaned too far by the time Drake had moved. She missed his shoulder and fell on her side, luckily not into the water but she missed her chance to cuddle with Drake. The others looked towards her with confused looks. Leaf sat up and blushed, as she lightly chuckled sheepishly. The others decided to leave the brunette alone as that could be quite embarrassing, so Ash turned towards the Transport Pokemon.

"Hey Lapras..." Ash spoke to the young water ice type. She turned around and looked at the raven-haired boy with a hopeful expression while patiently waiting for him to speak. He currently has Serena, leaning on his shoulder possibly asleep along with both Togepi and Pikachu asleep. "I am sorry, but I don't think we will have much chance of finding them with the sun down. I think we will be best getting sleep on that island we passed and searching again tomorrow.".

Lapras had her eyes become watery as she looked down, even since she first sensed the other Lapras nearby, she has been so excited at the chance of finding her family, but she can't deny that Ash has a good point. It is best to rest for the night and start searching with the sunlight tomorrow. While sad that she hasn't found them when being so close, she trusts Ash who promised to do everything he could to reunite them.

"Okay Ash..." Lapras sighed sadly before she turned her body towards the deserted island they passed not too long ago.

While a populated island is somewhere close by and it has a Pokemon Centre, it is just quicker and easier for them to reach this island where they have to camp out because it is closer, and they actually know where it is, meaning they don't need to go searching for a new place or explore for the Pokemon centre. Plus, they would be right in the same area where Lapras sensed them when they restart the search tomorrow.

It didn't take them long to find the small island and once they did, they set up three tents, Ash and Serena were sharing one, Drake had one to himself which leaves the last one for Misty and Leaf. Taking turns to change into their nightwear, it was rather quite as everyone was tired. Soon everyone was quite in their respective tents with Lapras asleep in her Pokeball.

In Ash's and Serena's tent, Eevee had let herself out to cuddle up with Pikachu as Togepi took up Ash's backpack for his own bed. Serena rested her head on Ash's chest as they wrapped their arms around each other, she turned to see Ash's face since he hasn't yet given her the normal goodnight kiss, only to find out he has a sad expression on his face. Something is clearly bothering him.

"What's wrong, Ash?" Serena asked.

"Huh?" Ash questioned as he turned towards her. "Nothing, just thinking.".

"About?" Serena urged him.

"Something Drake mentioned earlier." Ash replied. "Lapras is the only one to sense her family, which would normally make sense since they are the same species but even with all our other Pokemon looking, we didn't find any clue to their whereabouts. Drake thinks they might not even be close to where we are.".

"He thinks Lapras is lying?" Serena asked.

"Not lying, but more wishful thinking." Ash explained how his brother explained it to him. "She truly believes her family are close by but not because they are, because she knows this is our last chance to find them.".

"What do you think about it?" Serena asked.

"It's possible..." Ash sighed. "But I don't know how we would mention it to Lapras, especially if she is convinced they are close by. And I did promise we wouldn't give up on our search.".

"I know we will make through it, Ash. You just need to trust Lapras, whether its knowing her parents are nearby or accepting the truth." Serena reassured.

"Thanks Serena, you're the best." Ash smiled as he leaned down to give her a quick kiss, catching her off guard. As Ash withdrew, Serena registered what he did with a slight pink in her cheeks. "Sweet dreams, love you.".

"Love you too, Ash." Serena giggled happily as she nuzzled her head into his chest. It seems no-matter how often she hears Ash say it, it always gives Serena the same warm bubbly feeling in her stomach.

The next morning the group woke up a little bit late due to the late night. Serena, Leaf and Misty took charge of getting their breakfast ready as Ash and Drake took on the task of releasing everyone's Pokemon and feeding them. Soon everyone was sat eating breakfast and chatting.

"So, what are we gonna do today?" Misty asked.

"We still have Lapras' family to look for." Ash pointed out.

Drake gave his brother a serious look, as if to remind him about the thing he mentioned yesterday. Ash sighed at the look, while not easy he will need to speak with the young Pokemon today, as well. Lapras was looking out across the water with a longing expression, clearly still sensing her family nearby. Ash sighed and turned back to the others, he wanted to make sure Lapras wouldn't hear what he was going to say next.

"I also think we need to split up..." Ash whispered. "I'll go with Lapras, so we can speak alone.". The others could tell it was a serious matter and didn't try to argue.

"I'll fly around on Charizard's back." Drake informed.

"I'll go with Tentacruel." Misty added.

"Serena, do you want to fly with Pidgeot?" Ash suggested. "I know Kingdra isn't big enough for you to ride and stay out of the water.".

"I would, thank you Ash." Serena replied before quickly pecking his cheek.

"I'll fly on Fearow." Leaf informed. After the embarrassing fail last night, she isn't going to suggest she rides with Drake now. Besides, she tried that back when they were leaving Kanto for the first time and he got out of it because his Charizard apparently doesn't like anyone other than Drake riding him. Urg! Why can't Drake just confess his never end feelings for her?

Breakfast moved by pretty quickly and soon everyone was finished. It didn't take long for them to pack everything up and return all the Pokemon except for those who could help in the search. Ash was about to approach Lapras, after clipping the last Pokeball to his belt but the transport Pokemon was staring off over the ocean once again. Out of no-where, she let out a delightful cry before zooming across the water.

"Lapras?!" Ash called out, but it was useless.

"Maybe she has actually found the herd." Drake suggested as he jumped onto his Charizard's back, along with his Marowak. Almost instantly, he signalled his starter and the three took off after the transport Pokemon.

Misty quickly jumped onto her Tentacruel and they took off after Lapras, leading the other Water Pokemon who were going to help with the search. Leaf also jumped onto her Fearow's back which quickly lead to them taking off and joining the chase. Ash wasted no time in running up to his Pidgeot, who already had Serena on her back. He jumped in front of his girlfriend, since he has more experience in flying with the female bird. To secure herself, Serena wrapped her arms around Ash's stomach, as the raven-haired boy signalled Pidgeot to take off.

Despite taking off last, Pidgeot is faster than the other flier and was able to easily take the lead. It was easy for them to find Lapras who stopped in the middle of the ocean. She also appeared to be talking to another Lapras, although it likely wasn't either of her parents. For starters, this Lapras was around the same size as Ash's suggesting they are the same age and the unnerving part is, Lapras are meant to travel in large groups but there isn't any other Pokemon, let alone another Lapras.

"Take us down, Pidgeot." Ash instructed before adding. "Carefully, we don't want to scare the other Lapras.".

Pidgeot nodded in understanding, she has been taking on more of a motherly role since evolving so she understands how a young Pokemon could be scared off by a much larger Pokemon even if she isn't going to hurt them and that isn't even getting onto what they would think of humans after how Lapras first reacted.

Being sure to move quietly with gentle movements, Pidgeot slowly descend towards the two Lapras. Unfortunately, seeing the large bird with two humans approach startled the wild Lapras to quickly turned around and swam off. Ash's Lapras attempted call out.

"Wait! What happened to my mama and papa?!" Lapras called out but the other Lapras didn't show a sign of hearing her. Seeing as she got no response, she turned towards Ash, Serena and Pidgeot with a saddened expression.

"Lapras, what did that other Lapras say?" Ash asked.

"She... She said they were attacked." Lapras sobbed. "By a human boat and that she escaped as the other Lapras thought them off.".

"I'm sorry, Lapras." Ash replied as he welcomed her with a comforting hug. He suddenly had a thought. "Didn't you say the reason your group changed your route the time you were split up by the storm was because of a human boat?". As the others moved closer seeing as the other Lapras was scared off.

"Huh?" Lapras questioned. "Yeah, why?".

"Well we both assumed it was a passenger boat which was at the wrong place at the wrong time." Ash replied. "But seeing as another boat has showed up, maybe it isn't so. Lapras, what did the boat you avoided look like?".

"Um, well it looked old. Made out of some sort of wood." Lapras explained as she thought back to that horrible time. "And it had big white sails.".

"Old, wooden with sails?" Ash repeated as his face turned grave.

"What is it?" Lapras questioned.

"That doesn't sound like any sort of cruiser ship used now-a-days." Drake answered the grim question. "That sounds like a pirate ship, and also the kind of ship poachers use when hunting sea based Pokemon.".

"What are you saying?" Lapras asked with a croaking voice as fresh tears appeared in her eyes.

"I think if we are going to have a chance of finding your family then we need to find that ship." Ash admitted. "But the good news is Lapras, most poachers sell what they hunt to trainers, so chances are your family is being held somewhere just waiting for us.".

Lapras seemed to smile at this, when she first heard them mention poachers, she was scared they would've hurt her family but knowing most of them sell the Pokemon for battle is a little reassuring.

Ash climbed onto the Transport Pokemon before the group set off in search of this new target. Everyone failed to notice Drake sigh after hearing what Ash said to Lapras. While most Pokemon are hunted by poachers for the sole purpose of being sold to battle, Lapras are different since their meat is known as a delicacy. If these are poachers they are dealing with, the chances the Lapras are alive just dropped considerably.

Nearly three hours later, the group had long since split up to cover a wild area in search of the ship but so far, no luck. With each passing moment, Lapras has worse fears about what could be happening to her parents. She has burst into tears on at least three occasions while searching, despite all the time Ash has put into helping her, the countless hours training, she is still just as useless now as she was back then.

"It's okay, Lapras. We are closer now than ever." Ash soothed the water ice type with a hug. "Before ya know it, you will be back where you belong.".

Lapras stopped crying but didn't attempted to break up the embrace. Where she belongs? She obviously misses her parents and wants nothing more than to see them again but is that where she belongs? She has only gotten stronger while with Ash, she has learnt to battle and new moves. If she goes back to her parents, will everything go back to how it was? Will everything she's learnt while with Ash and the growing she has done with him be for nothing?

"Seaking?" Ash questioned as he saw Misty's water type appear. Lapras left the embrace to turn towards the Goldfish Pokemon, she can continue this mental debate later, right now her first and only thought should be finding her parents. "What are you doing here?".

"Misty found the ship, and she sent a few of us out to find the others and lead you back." Seaking explained in kind of a rush, which Ash picked up on.

"She didn't try to take them on by herself, did she?" Ash asked with clear concern.

"No." Seaking replied. "But in case you failed to notice, there aren't too many good hiding places in the ocean. And I am pretty sure a group of poachers would notice a group of rare water types next to their boat sooner or later.".

"Good point." Ash replied. "Lead the way, Seaking.".

The water type wasted no time in turning around and racing back the direction she travelled down. Likewise, Lapras was quick to follow the Goldfish Pokemon as she had a look of determination cross her face. She will save her parents.

As Ash and Lapras appeared where Seaking lead them, they gasped at what they saw. In the water was most of the groups Pokemon: Blastoise, Kingdra, Dewgong, Starmie, Tentacruel, Vaporeon and even Seaking had joined in their fight. They were attacking the boat that matched the description of what the other Lapras gave them.

In the air was the flying types like: Pidgeot, Charizard and Fearow, launching what attacks they could to support their water-based teammates as the ship fired at the different Pokemon, with the intent to kill. Using the old styled cannon balls, which were causing many explosions.

Looking onto the deck, Ash could make out his friends: Serena, Misty, Drake and Leaf, fighting of men and Tentacruel who appeared to be dressed like pirates, but the bad part is, they are clearly out numbered. They haven't been able to release many of their Pokemon, only: Kadabra, Psyduck, Marowak and Clefable, due to the sheer number of how they are being out numbered. Ash wasted no-time in placing Togepi in his backpack, the young fairy type doesn't need to see this.

"Lapras, think you can get us close enough to the boat?" Ash asked as he gestured to both himself and Pikachu. He would never ask her to do something she is uncomfortable with but right now she is his only hope of getting close enough, so he can help his friends. It is clear a peaceful solution isn't going to be accepted.

Looking at the chaos in front of her, Lapras was rightfully scared. Her fellow teammates are being thrown around as they struggle to avoid the dangerous cannonballs as they fight for their lives. They are clearly older and stronger than she is, how could she hope to handle it? Although, a strange feeling soon took her mind off the chaos, a feeling she has been longing for, the presence of her mother is nearby.

She seems to be emanating from the ship and also appears to be very weak. Knowing she is in a position to help her mother, she let out her best battle cry before zooming into the chaos. Yes, it is dangerous but Ash, Dragonair and the others have been so nice, helping her get stronger. How could she look at herself again if she just gave up in what could possibly be the biggest fight of her life?

Seeing as Lapras is rushing into the battlefield at her top speed, Ash had to get ready as the closer they got to the boat, the more dangerous it became. Standing up as he adjusted to her increased speed, it was like back at Cissy's gym all that time ago, when he partook in the Pokemon wave rider race with Gyarados. Difference is, this is a lot more dangerous.

Swerving side to side, Lapras dodged the first few cannonballs which came in their direction, but Ash had to hold on as he was almost thrown off because of the sudden change in momentum. Another cannonball came directly over the Transport Pokemon, hitting the water behind her. While the explosion was mostly caught by the water, it did send Lapras and her passengers flying, ending up at the base of the ship with no-way to climb up.

"Lapras, Pikachu, are you both alright?" Ash asked, he would've checked on Togepi as well, but this is no time or place to get the young fairy type out. Both Pokemon responded positively to the question despite being a little shook up.

Seeing as they are currently out of the firing range because of the positioning of the cannons, Ashe took the chance to look around for anyway to climb up. There wasn't any. Hearing his friends call out as they battled just above him, Ash's eyes had a hint of blue aura enter them. Closing them for a second, he clenched his fist and pushed the power back down. Opening them again, he knew he had only one way to make it aboard the ship.

"Lapras, think you can use your Psychic move and lift me & Pikachu up to the deck?" Ash asked. While not ideal as Lapras isn't close to mastering the move and she only just took the explosion, it's not like they have another choice. "Please Lapras, once we're up. You can stay her, away from the cannons but we can't do anything while stuck down here.".

Feeling her mother's presence stronger than ever made Lapras make up her mind. Ash promised he would help reunite them and he hasn't let her down yet. Taking a deep breath, she focused as hard as she could. Her eyes glew light blue with psychic type energy as the light blue waves surrounded Ash and Pikachu. Slowly, the raven-haired boy and electric mouse were lifted high towards the deck.

As they reached the side railing, Lapras lost her concentration. Psychic is one of the hardest moves to use, after all. The light blue psychic type energy surround Ash and Pikachu disappeared but the Kanto native had fast reactions. He grabbed hold of the railing, as Pikachu clutched to his shoulder. Grabbing it with his second hand shortly after, Ash pulled both himself and his partner up onto the deck.

Now they got a good look at the battlefield, despite several Tentacruel being scattered about the deck with swirls in their eyes, the sheer number of Jellyfish Pokemon clearly outnumbered his friends. It seemed for everyone on of his friends, there were at least six Tentacruel. Ash could also get a good look at who they were fighting against. Five middle-aged men dressed as pirates were on the deck. Two of them were handling the cannons while two more directed the Tentacruel. One, presumably the leader, stood at the back as he over saw the chaos with an evil smirk. No-doubt he thinks he has already won.

"About time you showed up." Drake joked as he spotted his brother finally making it to the battle. "If it's not too much to ask, a little help would be pretty useful right now.".

Ash's eyes glew blue with a light aura glint as he smirked in his brother's direction, despite trying to push it down previously it is still clearly trying to come out since its primary role is to protect the creatures on this planet. "Pikachu, use Thunderbolt!".

Jumping up into the air, Pikachu felt Ash's aura resonate within him, boosting his power high above what it has ever been before. With a mighty battle cry, the electric type unleashed a massive electrical bolt across the swarm of Tentacruel. Surprisingly, it seemed to magically avoid Ash's friend's Pokemon, almost like the aura had purposely protected them.

As the attack came to an end, Pikachu landed while sparking his cheeks as a sign that there is plenty more where that came from. Following his threat, the swarm of jellyfish Pokemon fell over with swirls in their eyes. Ash realised what happened and shook his aura away once again, he can't lose control again.

"All hands Abaft and protect the cargo!" The leader instructed before disappearing down the one door into the ship. Soon three more of pirates ran through the same door. The last one ran through the last door, slamming it shut but his shadow could be seen through the 'windows' to show he is standing guard.

While not a good situation, it at least meant their water types were safe but now that they are at the disadvantage, no-doubt they are going to try and finish the job meaning the group has to act fast. Luckily, Drake has a plan.

"First thing, we need someone to go and get Officer Jenny." Drake informed. "Pidgeot is the fastest, so you should ride on her.".

"I'll do it." Leaf volunteered. It makes sense she would simply because she has the least battle experience out of all of the group and that goes for her Pokemon as well. The two twins both partook in the Indigo League, Serena has earned the Grand Duchess rank at the battle chateau and Misty is a gym leader to be, after all.

Ash whistled loudly to signal Pidgeot to land, upon landing Leaf jumped onto her back as Ash explained what they were going to do. Pidgeot nodded in understanding as Leaf got ready. With her passenger secure, Pidgeot shot off towards the closest populated island, seeing as Leaf doesn't know how to properly guide her.

"Laaaaa!" Lapras cried out.

"What's up with Lapras, Ash?" Serena asked.

"She can sense her mother nearby." Ash explained.

"I guess we know what the cargo they were talking about was." Drake admitted in a dark tone. "We need to act fast.".

"What do you suggest?" Misty asked.

"Ash, Serena and I storm the door with one Pokemon each. I'm gonna say, Sandslash, Beedrill and Pinsir since special attacks would be contained in the corridor. As for you, Misty. Stay on deck to watch the other Pokemon who are already battle worn and to explain to Officer Jenny when they arrive." Drake explained.

While not the best plan, it is the only one they have and knowing what the pirates do to the Lapras, they can't afford to waste another moment. It might seem weird that Misty is being left out since she is a gym leader in training, but all her team is already battle worn since they were either in the water: Starmie, Seaking, Tentacruel and Vaporeon. Psyduck was battling the Tentacruel on deck and Poliwag doesn't have any battle experience so it makes sense she takes on this role.

The three trainers lined up with the door and released the three respective Pokemon. Upon appearing, Drake explained the situation to the three Pokemon who nodded in understanding. Knowing all charging at once would likely cause them to crash into each other, Drake stepped up again, having Pinsir use Submission on the door, knocking it and the guard on the other side down. With the others quickly following him inside.

As the group continued down the corridor quietly, they couldn't help but notice how silent the whole place seemed to be, it just gave the whole place an unsettling feel. Although that silence passed as they approached a corner where they could hear voices laughing. It sounded like two of the pirates at most.

"We can't waste any time, they could attack at a moment's notice, so we need to strike first." Drake whispered as he made as little sound as possible.

"Beedrill, you're the fastest here. How about a Poison Sting?" Serena whispered to her bug poison type.

The Poison Bee Pokemon nodded his head while being as quiet as possible, he has been itching for some battle action for a while. Turning towards the corner, his wings started to beet faster as that affects his speed. Unfortunately, that also causes him to make a buzzing sound which he can't stop.

"Huh, what's that?" One of the guards asked. Considering they are meant to be pirates, that wasn't very pirate-y. Maybe not all of them are into the role as originally thought. "Let's go and check it out.".

Knowing he had to act fast, Beedrill did a side sweep in the air so he would be facing the pirates as he appeared around the corner. As soon as he flew in front of the two pirates, Beedrill unleashed a barrage of purple stingers out of his bottom stinger. While not aiming at first as it took a second for him to registrar where the two guards were, it didn't take him long to slightly adjust his aim, so the majority of Poison Sting's struck the two guards.

After about ten seconds, Beedrill knew Poison Sting is his only ranged move but due to him being more a physical attack it would take ages for the build up to inflict enough poison for a result and time is one thing they don't have. As the poison sting kept the guards at bay, Beedrill's two arm stinger's glew purple as he powered up a Poison Jab, but not to his full power.

Quickly ending the Poison Sting attack, Beedrill zoomed forward before the guards had a chance to recover. As he flew between the two guards, he pricked them with his stinger's, in their shoulders before injecting them with some toxins. The guards didn't have time to react, only screaming in pain before passing out.

Seeing as everything went quiet, the trainers and other Pokemon walked around the corner to see Beedrill hovering over the two unconscious guards. Needless to say, Serena was concerned when she saw what Beedrill did considering the anger issues back when he first evolved, especially after seeing what Ash's Sandslash is like with anger issues. It is one thing which is cause for concern.

"Are they..." Serena tried to ask but her voice got stuck in her throat.

"Unlikely." Drake replied, as he kneeled down next to the bodies and checked for a pulse. "Beedrill's have great control over the amount of toxins they release with any poison attacks. He used just enough to knock them out, maybe make them ill, but it won't cause any serious damage.".

Serena sighed in relief, despite the horrible things they have seen on this boat so far, she wouldn't want to do something like that even indirectly since it is her Pokemon who would've done it. Besides, she wants them to be brought to justice, so they can pay for what they have done. With only two members of the crew left to take on, the group continued on. Little did they know; the worst is yet to come.

The group continued down the corridor but unfortunately, their luck had run out. They came across a long corridor with another guard protecting the door at the end and there was no place for them to hide.

"Arg!" The pirate shouted as he spotted those who caused them trouble.

Not having time to come up with a plan of attack, Sandslash leaped into action. If the bee was allowed to poison those last two, then he is going to have fun. As the guard started running down towards them, reaching for a sword. Sandslash entered a Rollout and charged towards the pirate, he needs something to hit.

Jumping up as he was less than a meter away from the pirate, bringing his Rollout to an end. The guard swung the sword around in an attempt to kill the ground type but Sandslash had quick reactions. Powering up his Metal Claw, the two blades struck before Sandslash sliced through the sword with ease. Growling threateningly, if that's how this punk wants it, on his head be it. Latching onto the pirate's face, the Metal Claw powered down as Sandslash unleashed a savage barrage of Fury Swipes on to the pirate's face. Soon blood could be seen splatting out, which caused all three trainers to cringe at the sight. Ash would've tried to stop him but that would likely only make Sandslash angrier.

The guard was thrashing about mindlessly, crying out in pain as he attempted to shake, pull or knock the ground type off him. Quite honestly, the guard was sure this ground type was trying to kill him. After about half a minute, the guard fell over as he too lost consciousness. Seeing as the punk wouldn't feel any more pain even if he continued to attack, Sandslash climbed off and stared at the group with an icy stare. Followed by spitting something out of his mouth.

"Is that... His nose?" Drake asked, completely terrified of the ground type in front of him. Note to self, never swing a sword at Sandslash. Speaking off, the ground type looked at his trainer's brother with a look which says, 'Make any comment and your nose will be next'.

Realising now is not a good time to stop and chat, both because Sandslash still looks he wants to hit something else, a least he only intended to hurt the guard which is evident because he didn't use the Metal Claw especially since it was active already and the leader is likely in that room again. Stepping forward to the plate, Pinsir used another Submission to break the second door down. With the rest of quickly following the bug inside.

Upon entering the new room, the gasped in horror. A smell of rotting meat filled the room, making everyone feel sick. Although that wasn't as bad as what they saw, several Lapras' shells we thrown into some sort of pile in a corner, there were three Lapras bodies hanging up like at some sort of butchers shop but two of them were missing their heads and dripping fresh blood into a smallish puddle underneath them, several barrels were nearby and looking in them showed they were filled with what was presumably Lapras meat but unlike the three hanging up, these have the meat ripped off the bodies, like its ready to be packaged for sale.

Although the worst is still to come. Turning around slightly showed a horrific sight. Another Lapras was lying on some sort of operating table with its shell removed and some sort of plastic bag over its head which would obviously be suffocating it. The Lapras also wasn't moving or making a sound.

"This is horrible." Serena stated gravely.

"We need to help her." Ash commanded as he ran over to the Lapras on the table, quickly pulling the bag off her head. Unfortunately, it appeared they were too late although Ash wasn't going to give up that easily. "Drake come and help. You know first aid.".

Drake walked over to the Lapras sadly and checked her pulse in her neck. "She has a weak pulse, but she is alive.".

"Well do something." Ash demanded.

"I can't, I know first aid for people, not Lapras." Drake answered honestly. "If I tried, I could make things worse.".

"Why did they take some of the Lapras' heads off?" Serena asked, although she wasn't too sure she wanted the answer.

"My guess, because they struggled." Drake answered honestly. "I think suffocating them is the preferred method as it doesn't damage the meat too much but if the Lapras' try to fight back then they...".

Drake didn't see a need to finish the statement. This whole thing is just sick. As Ash continued to look around, he could feel his aura building up once again. He tried once more to close his eyes and push the power away, but it wasn't going away so easily. Drake noticed this and was about to say something but...

"Ya scalawag is clever for a shrimp." The leader appeared from behind a dark corner behind Serena. The three Pokemon entered a battle stance ready to take this evil man down but he acted quickly and jumped behind Serena, holding a sword to her neck. "I wouldn't, unless you want her to end up those.".

Looking in the direction the leader gestured to showed he meant the Lapras' with the missing heads. With no other choice, they all stood back as the leader left through the entrance the group entered through. Drake noticed the aura had won the battle over his brother and smirked, he has a plan. With a secret weapon now in action, he bolted after the leader and Serena. After what happened at the Silph co back in Kanto, the poacher doesn't stand a chance.

Drake caught up to them on them on the deck. The water Pokemon were surrounding the boat to prevent him from escaping on one of the Tentacruel's assuming they still have one left. Leaf and Pidgeot were also circling around them, which suggests they are signalling to the cops where the ship is.

"Look, you've got no-where to go. You've lost." Drake called out to the leader. "I would let her go, if I was you.".

"My only bargaining tool?" The leader replied. "Why would I do that?".

"Because of what is coming. Have you ever heard of aura guardian's?" Drake answered as the pirate's reaction showed he hadn't. "Aura is the essence of all lives, and few people are given the ability to manipulate it. Guardians are those trained to full control it. My brother, who you saw down there is merely a user which means the aura is controlling him and acting of his will. It won't hold back or show mercy if he sees you threatening her.".

"Why would that be, Shrimp?" The leader asked.

"Because she is his girlfriend, and he is really peed off." Drake answered with a smirked.

The moment Drake finished his little speech, the corridor they just ran through exploded with aura. Out of the blue flames walked Ash without a single mark on him although both his eyes were clouded by aura. He looked at the leader who couldn't help but shrink under the gaze, it is almost un-human. Not giving him chance to move, Ash formed an aura ball in his hand and launched it at the leader's hand which is holding sword, with perfect accuracy.

The aura ball hit the hand and sent the sword flying before it landed in the water, where it sunk. This shocked the pirate, giving Serena the chance to escape where she ran over to Misty. Seeing as Serena is now safe, the aura no-long has to hold back.

Ash started walking up to the pirate in a threatening manner as the aura expanded behind him, getting bigger with each step. The pirate started backing away in fear but tripped up over his own feet as he couldn't look away from the creature in front of him. Ash stood over the man with an expressionless face. The aura cloud behind him had several tentacles shoot out and into the pirate's face, attacking the poachers, eyes, nose, mouth and ears.

As the aura directly attacked the man's mind, he began to thrash about on the floor, like a toddler having a tantrum. Screaming loudly, one might think the man was having every bone in his body broken in a slow and agonising way. It seemed the louder the man screamed and begged, the more aura seemed to pump through the tentacles which in turned made the torture for the pirate worse. Would this ever end? What was the aura even doing?

"Arg!" Ash shouted out as he grabbed his head. Although difficult to make out what was happening, what was happening was Ash fighting against his aura from the inside. He can clearly see what it is doing to the leader and feel it as well. Despite the man probably deserving it, it is just as evil in some regards and Ash doesn't want to be like that. Yes, the man should be punished for what he's done but there is a clear different between what is happening and justice.

What is happening? The aura is manipulating the man's mind. Attack all his major senses. In the simplest terms possible, it is using his memories of what he did to the Lapras but swapping the places around, so he believes he is in the position of the Lapras. Obviously, it isn't killing him as it is only making him thing this happened not actually doing it but going through an experience like this and surviving is enough to send a man mad.

Ash grabbed his head as the aura disappeared from around him, along with the tentacles which were attacking the poacher. Screaming out some more, showing clear signs of agonising pain. Ash began walked back as he mentally fought against his own aura. If someone didn't know any better, they might think that Ash had lost his mind with the wacky motions he was making. Although to be fair, by definition, he had technically lost his mind to the power of aura.

The Leader fell onto the floor, shivering like he had been stuck out in a blizzard. Curling up into a ball, it was he also started to slowly rock back and forth in a disturbed manner. With what was done, some might say he was punished with the 'eye for an eye' system.

"GO! AWAY!" Ash shouted as his four limbs stretched out.

A blue beam of aura shot out of his body before the glow he previously had fainted. Making a sort of grunting noise, he fell over as his body needed to recover. Despite being unconscious, Ash was able to win out over his aura. As his friends moved to check on him, a couple of police boats pulled up and boarded the remains of the ship. This would take a lot of explaining to do.

A bright light hit Ash's eyes as he stirred awake. Using his arm to block the light, he blinked himself awake before looking around at his surroundings. He appeared to be in some sort of hospital room and the light was the morning sun through the window. How long as he been out? Looking around some more, he sat up, grunting as his body was covered in achy-pains. It was clearly nothing serious as the pains felt quite weak, but they were still uncomfortable.

It didn't stop Ash from sitting up in his bed, only to look around a little more. He spotted Serena in one of the chairs, curled up with a blanket asleep, although she had started stirring awake. In the chair next to her was Pikachu and Togepi asleep, as couldn't but smile how Togepi has cuddled with his Uncle Pikachu, no-doubt the electric type will be embarrassed when he wakes up. Ash couldn't help but lightly chuckle to himself about the thought.

"Huh, Ash?" A familiar voice spoke in a groggy voice. Turning to the source showed Serena was awake, more or less.

"Yeah, its me." Ash chuckled lightly, as Serena arose from the chair and made her way over to him, greeting him with a hug.

"I am so glad your awake." Serena told her boyfriend. It's not surprising she was so worried considering he has been out for about eighteen hours, give or take.

"What happened?" Ash asked as he returned the hug. "Last thing I remember was entering that room, where we found the Lapras.".

"Well, your aura activated. And you saved me when that pirate took me hostage." Serena explained slowly. "Your aura seemed to attack his head, but it was difficult to make out what was happening.".

Ash's expression darkened as he remembered what happened. "My aura was attacking his memories. The ones of what he did to the Lapras. Manipulating them, it transformed them, so he thought that he was in the place of the Lapras. It wanted to send him mad.".

"Well it worked." Serena replied quietly. "He was declared criminally insane and unable to be held responsible on reasoning of insanity. Officer Jenny told us last night when she came for a check up on the female Lapras we found in the room. He was taken straight to mental asylum in another region.".

"At least he won't be able to do those things again." Ash thought to himself but remained silent as to not upset Serena any more. He decided to change the topic as he is curious about another topic. "What about the Lapras? How is she doing?".

"Nurse Joy was working on her last night before we left. Although I think she might be the mother to your Lapras." Serena explained. "With how your Lapras acted when she

"I need to find out how she's doing." Ash jumped out of bed. "If she is Lapras' mother than she deserves as much information as possible."

"Um, Ash?" Serena tried to get his attention.

Ash turned around to see his girlfriend was bright red. That was weird, while she had a habit to blush back before they got together. She hardly ever blushed now-a-days, so what was wrong? It didn't take Ash long to figure it out why Serena was blushing. Her blushing was because he was only in his boxers.

"I-I'll wait outside for you to change." Serena stuttered as she bolted out of the hospital room. The door slamming was enough to wake Pikachu and Togepi up. The fair type waddled over to his daddy and hugged his leg while Pikachu was snickering after guessing what happened between his trainer and Serena.

She leaned against the wall as she attempted to process what just happened. Of course, she has seen Ash in similar outfits when going swimming but each of those times had the water to blur out her view, so it was never a problem. Although she was surprised to see Ash was developing some sort of abs but considering all the travelling they do, along with him training with his Pokemon, it is only natural that he would start developing muscles which could be used to hold her...

"Stop thinking about them, this isn't the time for that!" Serena mentally screamed to herself. Now is not the time to be getting those sort thoughts, is it wrong for her to be thinking about Ash like that? He maybe her boyfriend but focusing on just this is making her feel indecent. Why does she want to see them again, anyway?

Soon Ash exited the room in his normal attire although there was an awkward tension between the two of them. Ash discharged himself from the hospital with taking some medication as a prescription before the two of them set off for the Pokemon centre.

Arriving at the Pokemon centre, the awkward tension had almost completely disappeared, mainly because of the seriousness of their current task. Upon entering the centre, Ash ran up to the desk where Nurse Joy was working. He failed to notice his other friends who seemed to be getting ready to leave to go and visit him in the hospital.

"Nurse Joy, the Lapras that was brought in here yesterday. How is she?" Ash asked in an urgent tone.

The nurse turned towards the boy who just ran up to her, normally she would scold such poor manners but considering the situation, she knew he probably didn't mean to sound rude and even then, this is not a time for such trivial things. With a tough decision to have with him, she looked at Ash sympathetically.

"I am so sorry, but she died on the operating table last night. We did all we could, but her health was too poor by the time she got here." Nurse Joy explained with a sad expression. No matter how many times it happens, death is never easy to deal with, even when not emotionally involved. "Was she your Pokemon?".

"No..." Ash replied in shock, he was so certain it would be good news. How wrong could he be? "But I think my Lapras was her daughter... We've been helping to try and reunite them... Um, do you have a pool or body of water where I can talk to my Lapras? I think she needs to know.".

"Of course." Nurse Joy replied.

She lead the raven-haired boy down to the swimming pool in the gym. Serena saw her upset boyfriend with confusion as she stood with her friends, Drake took the chance to explain what happened. On the way to the location, Nurse Joy explained to him how it was likely all the herd of Lapras were dead due to the evidence found on the boat by the police. Down in the swimming area, Nurse Joy ordered everyone out of the pool. The life guard wasn't happy at first but once he knew the situation, he complied. Soon it was only Ash in the pool with a Pokeball in his hand. Pikachu had taken Togepi away to give Lapras privacy.

"Come on out, Lapras." Ash called in a monotone voice. The transport Pokemon appeared in the pool before her eyes fell on Ash, where she looked at him expectantly. After seeing her mother yesterday, she has been anxious for seeing her again. "Hey Lapras, you know the Lapras you saw yesterday?".

"My mother." Lapras interjected, not catching onto Ash's sad undertone. "Can I see her? Please!".

"Yeah, Lapras. Well she was very ill which is why she was brought here where Nurse Joy worked very hard on her." Ash explained slowly to the young Pokemon. Part of him hopped she wasn't if only for Lapras' sake. "They all did everything they could for her.".

"... Ash?" Lapras questioned as she caught onto what Ash was saying, not wanting to believe it.

"I am so sorry, Lapras. There is no easy way to tell you this..." Ash chocked as tears finally escaped his eyes and rolled down his cheek. "... She, died on the operating table last night. She isn't with us anymore.".

For a moment, Lapras made no sound, no move. It was like she was frozen. Her mother, dead? That can't be right, can it? As the realisation dawned on her, Lapras burst into tears. She attempted to bury her head in Ash's stomach as he did his best to comfort her. This would be hard for anyone to take, let alone a young infant who has been searching for her family for literal months. Although, Ash still has more to tell her.

"I don't want to upset you more, Lapras, but you should know." Ash decided it was best to get all the bad news out together. "The police found evidence of about thirteen Lapras being on the ship. The typical size of a herd. It is presumed that one of them would be your father.".

It was hard to tell but Lapras seemed to cry even louder with this information. While some might think Ash shouldn't have told her while in distress, is it really any better for him to wait for her to accept her mother's death then drop a second bomb shell? Surely, it is best to get it all out in one go rather than drag it out.

Ash did the only thing he knew he had to, comfort the water ice type. She had just lost both her parents, the family she has been searching for since meeting Ash all that time ago. What has been an adventure of mostly fun, smiles and excitement, has ended in tragic loss and sadness. It may take a while, but Ash will be sure to help Lapras over this and to continue to grow as a Pokemon.

Lapras may have lost one family, but she will always be a part of Ash's. While it will be difficult, she will have all her new friends and family to help her. It may be painful right now but she will have help to over come this tradegy. One can only hope the next adventure to come will be lighter, as the journey continues...

Well, that is the end of the Orange Island arc. Let's start with the final chapter, Lapras is staying with Ash but at a cost. I wanted to keep Lapras on the team and I needed a realistic way for the parents to allow that since in the lore, Lapras aren't very trusting of people, death seemed like the best option since I also wanted to introduce the dark tone which will be sprinkled in the series from here on out. Also, I explored the reason behind Lapras not being trusting, due to them being hunted near to the point of extinction. I have also mentioned several hints at possible subplots to show up in Johto, if you missed them than you'll just need to wait and see.

As for this arc as whole, it has just flown by. Of course, there have been a few issues come up like not meeting my original deadline because I lost a lot of my writing time thanks to a promotion at work and there were a couple chapters I would like to redo but overall, I feel like my writing has improved loads since Kanto, which is what I wanted from this arc. As for one thing I have decided, I will no longer answer guest questions in the author's notes as I don't see the need but I will answer all PM questions, sorry for any problems this might cause.

I know I say this a lot, but I really mean it, thank you to each and every one of you. Every follow, favourite and review really does mean a lot and can really motivate me to start writing even on days when I wasn't planning on it. Like at the start of this arc, I will be starting Johto soon with no major gap between uploads. Maybe a couple of weeks at most, but no promises might be sooner, might be later. So, I hope to see you all when the new arc starts. See you there.

Thanks for reading... Please Favourite, Follow and Review. Also, feel free to ask any questions through PM, I will answer them all, although don't expect too big of spoilers. I really appreciate the support. Thank you and see ya next time... Goodbye for now...