This is Chapter 25.

I am so, so sorry. It's been way too long, and this isn't even the full episode. But I wanted to get it up for you all. I've been under a lot of stress in rl, and my anxiety and depression really beat me down. I couldn't get much done outside of the necessary, and writer's block hit fierce every time I even thought about this story.

I can't thank you all enough for sticking with me. The reviews really mean a lot, and they are the main reason this story is still alive and starting to kick once again. So thank you all, so very much.

Now, you didn't come here to listen to me. This chapter isn't as long as I wanted, and I don't like it much, but it is a segue into the episode proper, so I hope it doesn't disappoint too much.

There are too many of you to thank, this time. But a huge thank you to everyone who reviewed, favorited, or are following this story and/or me. Seriously. You all are amazing.

So, here our heroes finally get to Vermilion City (finally!), a tentative truce is made, and Ash should really not be allowed to go off alone. Funny how people keep forgetting that. *whistles innocently*

Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon. *lovingly strokes a Pikachu plushie and puts him back with his plushie friends* *whispers sinisterly* Not many left, though *evil cackle*

Enjoy!

Brock folded up his map. "We're here." He said in disbelief. "We finally made it."

"Vermilion City." Misty was practically vibrating in place. "Come on! Let's go look at the boats. I hear they're beautiful."

Bemused, Ash and Brock trailed her through the city, maneuvering through the other tourists. They were surrounded by dozens of white-washed buildings. Everything was modern and shiny and human, and Ash shifted uncomfortably. Beside him, Bulbasaur grumbled irritably while Squirtle blatantly ignored the other Pokémon. Pikachu was dozing on top of Ash's head.

Ash was half-listening to Misty talk longingly about cruises when she froze in front of a huge, luxury ship. Ash stopped just in time. Brock didn't, bumping into Misty's back.

Misty whirled around and glared at Brock. "Hey. Watch where you're going!" she berated, hands on her hips. Ash ignored Brock's sputtered defense and studied the enormous ship. It was painted white, with a red bottom and grey top.

"Can you imagine crossing the ocean on a ship like that?" Misty sighed, her irritation at Brock forgotten as she followed Ash's gaze back to the huge boat in front of them.

"Can you imagine the number of Pokémon we'd see?" Brock added, eyes sparkling.

"Would any Pokémon come near a boat like that though?" Ash mused, eyeing the large, noisy contraption warily.

"Sunbathing on the deck all day…" Misty continued dreamily, lost in her daydream.

"It doesn't matter. We could never afford a cruise like that." Brock pointed out, bringing Misty crashing back to earth.

Misty slumped. "Thanks for bursting my bubble, Brock. You suck."

Brock gave a half-shrug. "Just being practical."

"Let's keep going." Ash broke in, trying to cheer his friend up. "Misty, didn't you want to show us around?"

Misty perked up. "Yeah. Let's go."

Suddenly, two people jumped in front of the trio from behind a tree. They were dressed in short blue skirts and white shirts.

"Congratulations! You guys are way lucky! You get to go on a super-deluxe sea cruise!"

Ash fumbled back a step. "Okay?" he asked, before narrowing his eyes. These two looked familiar….

"Well, it's like, you know, we have these incredible super cool tickets for you!" the red-headed one cooed, shoving a handful of tickets into Ash's face.

"Rude." Pikachu huffed, swatting the tickets away with his tail.

The scraps of paper flew into the air. The blonde began jumping around frantically, trying to catch them before they blew away in the wind.

"Pikachu!" Ash hissed.

"Well it was." Pikachu muttered, watching the blonde's floundering in amusement.

"I agree with Pikachu." Squirtle added, sniggering. "This is funny. Stupid trainers. Ought to learn some manners."

Bulbasaur huffed. It was amusing, but there was no way he was agreeing with Squirtle out loud.

"Um, sorry, but we don't have any money." Brock hastily stepped between the strangers and Ash (along with Ash's Pokémon) protectively.

"No, these tickets are totally free." The red-head snatched the tickets from her friend and thrust them at Misty. "To-ta-lly free. Cool, huh?"

"Coo-ool!" her friend echoed as Misty shoved the woman's arm away from her, scowling. Personal space, much?

"It'll be the most radical party!" the red-head continued. "Aboard the St. Anne. The coolest ship on the sea."

"Coo-ool!" her friend interjected.

"The most radical people will be there to throw the most radical party."

"Coo-ool!"

"They sure say radical a lot." Ash commented. "What's it mean?"

The strangers gaped at him. Misty ignored them and turned to answer Ash. "It means, like, big, different than normal. Sort of." She trailed off hesitantly. "Do people still say that?" she asked Brock in an undertone.

"Not that I've heard." He answered, scratching the back of his head in confusion.

Ash didn't really understand their answer, but brushed it aside. "If this is such a, um, cool party," he started awkwardly, "then why are you giving your tickets away for free, instead of going yourselves?"

"Like, we have to go out with our boyfriend and wanted to give these to cool Pokémon fans." The red-head answered quickly.

Too quickly. Ash's brown eyes narrowed. He'd almost pinned down where he'd seen them before…

"Coo-ool!" the blonde shrieked. Ash winced, fighting the urge to cover his ears.

"Can I shut them up?" Squirtle demanded, glaring at the noisy humans.

"If you don't, I will." Pikachu grumbled, rubbing his ears.

"And me." Bulbasaur growled as his last nerve snapped.

Misty was still watching Ash, so she saw his wince and the pinched expression that crossed his face.

"Um," she started, eyeing Ash and his Pokémon, all of whom looked ready to throttle the blonde, warily.

"And you all look really cool!" the red-head continued obliviously. "So here, just take these and have a really cool time!" The older woman practically threw the tickets at Misty and fled, dragging her blonde friend after her. The blonde threw a last, "Coo-ool!" over her shoulder as they ran away.

Ash blinked. "Okay." He turned to his friends, human and Pokémon alike, blankly. "What just happened?"

"We just got free tickets on board one of the most luxurious cruise ships here!" Misty squealed, holding the tickets to her chest. "We get to go on a cruise, and we don't even have to pay for it!" She stuck her tongue out at Brock.

"This feels off." Ash frowned. Something was weird about this, and those two seemed awfully familiar. Just thinking about them got his hackles rising.

"Seems all right to me." Brock shrugged. "I mean, those two were weird, sure, but they seemed legit."

"And besides," he gestured to Misty, who had gone back to staring starry-eyed at the boats, "you really think she'll let us not go? She just got one of her greatest fantasies handed to her on a platter."

"She didn't get anything on a platter." Ash puzzled out the statement. "I mean, the tickets were basically thrown at her. No platter involved."

Brock rolled his eyes indulgently. "It's just a saying, Ash. Not the point."

Ash shook his head. Human phrases were so weird. But… he looked at Misty, who was carefully tucking the tickets into her pocket as if they were a priceless treasure. He couldn't say no. She'd be so upset.

"Okay." Ash agreed reluctantly. "I guess we're going on a boat."

At his words, Misty snapped out of her daydreams and beamed at him. "You really mean it?" she asked, delighted. Ash and Brock nodded, and she laughed brightly. "Yay! Then let's get going! They leave soon, and I don't want us to miss it." She grabbed Ash and Brock's hands and began dragging them toward the dock they needed, weaving around chatting tourists.

Squirtle snarled, hurrying to keep up. "She shouldn't be dragging you around like that." He complained. "Make her let go, or I will."

"Lay off Misty." Bulbasaur snapped at the infuriating Pokémon. "She's not that bad."

"I like Misty." Pikachu backed Bulbasaur. "And so does Ash."

"Ash is a youngling, and has already proven he makes bad decisions." Squirtle dismissed.

"Yeah. Bringing you along was one of his stupider ones." Bulbasaur snarked. "After what you did."

"Misty's awesome, and not even the problem." Pikachu argued. "You both are ridiculous. Just because you don't like each other—"

"She is a trainer, and I will not allow her to manhandle Ash—"

"If I thought she'd hurt the hatchling, I'd get involved." Bulbasaur pointed out. "Since he can't actually take care of himself."

"True." Squirtle admitted.

"Hey!" Ash mumbled, offended and embarrassed. He could so look after himself. But… It wasn't like they was entirely wrong, per se. Just—

Misty gave an impatient tug, almost upsetting Ash's balance.

Squirtle readied his water gun.

Ash yanked his hand free from Misty's grasp. By the time she'd turned to protest, Ash had already dropped to his knees on the sidewalk in front of Bulbasaur and Squirtle. Pikachu yelped and tightened his grip on Ash's head at the sudden shift to keep from being thrown to the pavement.

"Ash?" Brock had noticed too, stopping in the middle of the busy boardwalk. Passing people snapped at him and swerved to avoid a collision, but Brock's eyes were fixed on Ash.

"You guys go on ahead." Ash replied, not looking away from the Pokémon.

Misty took a closer look at Squirtle. He was scowling at her, while Bulbasaur was glaring at him. Ash looked exasperated. Pikachu looked amused, but faintly alarmed.

"Okay. It's slip twenty-three." She said in lieu of asking about whatever argument was happening between Squirtle and Bulbasaur now. "We'll wait for you there."

"Don't be too long." Brock added, brows furrowed. He hated the idea of leaving Ash alone in a large, busy city, but obviously the younger boy needed to talk to his Pokémon, and he didn't want to do it in front of them. "Or we'll come find you."

"I approve." Bulbasaur said dryly. "Trying to look after you is hard enough when you're in view."

"Are you serious? They're trying to shackle him just like every trainer does to Pokémon!" Squirtle was outraged.

"Ash doesn't!" Pikachu was pissed at the accusation, yellow fur fluffing up.

"Ash isn't a trainer. He's one of us." Squirtle dismissed immediately.

"Fine." Ash responded hastily to Brock. He stood and started walking, aiming for an alley squished between two building not too far away. Squirtle and Bulbasaur rushed after him, calling, "Wait, Ash!" and "Don't go running off, hatchling!"

Once in the slightly-darker alley, Ash turned to glare at the two. "Do you seriously have to do that?" he demanded, irritation clear in his voice.

"Do what?" Squirtle snapped defensively, tail swishing back and forth.

"Not all humans are out to get us." Ash informed the small Pokémon. "Especially Misty and Brock. They're my friends, and I don't like it when you insult them or say bad things about them or attack them."

"I don't trust them." Squirtle argued. "And I don't like them. And I shouldn't have to."

"Nobody said you have to like them." Ash replied, squatting down in front of his friend. "I just don't want you attacking them. Or Bulbasaur."

Bulbasaur scowled at Squirtle. "It's fine, Ash. I don't like him either. He led an attack on Pikachu, he tied you up, he made you cry…. I can't figure out why you let him come with us in the first place."

"I like him." Ash sighed, scrubbing his face with the palm of his gloved hand. "Look, can you just…" He made a frustrated whistling-click. "You don't have to like each other, but I don't like it when you fight. And I don't like it when my friends attack each other, especially when there's no good reason for it."

"You guys are really high maintenance." Pikachu commented. "And you fighting gets annoying. Also, I'm with Ash. I like Brock and Misty. They're human, sure, but they're good humans. And really, I started out hating most too, but I like these ones."

Squirtle huffed. "Fine, I'll try not to attack them okay? Not unless they really do something to deserve it."

Ash raised an eyebrow. "That doesn't make me feel a whole lot better." He said dryly.

"I still don't like him here." Bulbasaur muttered sullenly.

"You don't have to." Ash reassured. "Neither of you have to like each other. You just have to accept that you're both my friends, my kin, and I love you both. And you're both staying with me until you want to leave. No bullying each other into leaving." Ash took a deep breath, fixing them with his best firm stare. "Can you do that?"

Bulbasaur glanced at Ash's large, pleading brown eyes, before sighing. "Fine, hatchling. As long as he behaves too." He agreed, reluctance in every inch of his body.

Squirtle fared no better when those eyes were turned on him. "Fine." He grumbled. "I won't attack. But I'm not promising anything else."

Ash let a rumbling, pleased croon escape. "That's all I ask. Thank you both." He pulled his two friends into a hug, eyes bright. Sure, this hadn't solved everything (pretty much nothing was resolved, really), but at least this way, Ash didn't have to worry about his friends attacking each other.

And, hopefully, Squirtle would learn to like Brock and Misty. And Bulbasaur would learn to like Squirtle, to forgive him.

Ash wasn't going to hold his breath though. He was hopeful, not stupid.

"Okay, then let get going." He breathed, letting go and getting up. "They're going to come looking for me soon, and I want to avoid that."

"Good for them." Bulbasaur bumped Ash's leg with his head. "You need looking after."

Ash felt affronted. "I can look after myself."

"Unfortunately, I have to agree with Bulbasaur this time." Squirtle replied, smirking at Ash. "You are a handful, Ash."

Ash pouted as Pikachu chortled on his head. He could totally take care of himself.

Despite himself, he was grinning by the time he reached the street. On either side of him, Squirtle and Bulbasaur were trading "Ash stories" and trying to figure out how best to keep Ash out of trouble. It was nice to see his friends getting along, even if it was at his expense.

"Okay." He said, rubbing his hands together and squinting in the bright sunlight. "Let's find that boat."

Ash was hopelessly lost. "All these stupid slips look the same." He whined, releasing a low breath. "How do we find the one we need? They aren't even labeled clearly."

"Well, we wouldn't be lost if it weren't for those two fighting." Pikachu groaned, glaring at Squirtle and Bulbasaur.

"I said I was sorry, okay?" Squirtle snapped.

Bulbasaur grumbled deep in his throat. "This is stupid. How are we going to get to that boat?"

"I don't even really want to go on the boat." Ash complained. "No Pokémon are coming near that thing."

"Then why go?" Pikachu asked curiously, curling around Ash's shoulders.

"It'll make Misty happy." Ash shrugged, careful not to dislodge his friend. "And hey, maybe it'll be fun?"

Squirtle scoffed. Bulbasaur decided to just let it go. This wasn't a battle worth picking.

"Ash?"

Ash whirled around. It was Brock.

Ash sagged with relief. "Oh thank you." He praised Brock. "I can't find the slip."

Brock looked amused. "I know. I've been looking for you for ten minutes. You're at the wrong end of the docks completely."

"Of course I am."

Of course. Put Ash in a forest or rocky terrain and he'd be fine. Put him in one of these ugly, stupid human cities, and he was absolutely, hopelessly out of his depth. And his comfort zone.

Brock clapped a hand on Ash's shoulder. "Come on. Misty's waiting by the ship."

Ash allowed his friend to steer him the right way, keeping his eyes peeled. "I don't even know where I got turned around." He griped.

Brock shook his head, chuckling. "I have no idea, Ash. Everything's pretty clearly marked."

Ash grumbled under his breath. Pikachu snickered. Bulbasaur head-butted his leg. "Honestly. The language on you, hatchling."

"Please, like you didn't know worse at his age." Squirtle pointed out playfully. "I certainly did."

Bulbasaur conceded his point with a tilt of his head, red eyes glinting.

Misty was frantically searching the crowds with her eyes. Even the huge ship behind her couldn't tear her attention away. Why, oh why, did they let Ash go off on his own? They should have known better.

Finally, a flash of yellow caught her eyes. Pikachu, on Ash's head, waved to her cheerfully.

"Where were you?" Misty demanded as soon as Ash and Brock came close enough, scanning them both over for injuries.

Ash fidgeted. "I got lost." He answered, trailing off to mumbling she couldn't make out. "This place is a maze." He said, raising his voice to be heard again.

Brock chuckled. "He was on the other side of the docks, trying to find us." He informed Misty.

Misty hugged Ash against her side. "Well, at least you're here now." She said, turning her attention to the St. Anne. "And we can catch the boat before it leaves." Her eyes sparkled. She couldn't wait.

"Okay." Ash replied. Squirtle was chuckling at his feet about something. Ash flicked a reproving look down at the water Pokémon, but it didn't faze him in the slightest.

"Are you okay?" Misty asked softly, stealing a glance at the Pokémon at his feet. They seemed settled, but she couldn't be sure.

Ash blinked at her, confused. "Okay? Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?"

Misty shook her head, guiding him up the stairs to the open hatch of the ship. "No reason." She said fondly, handing the ticket-taker their tickets.

The opening bobbed slightly as the ship moved, and Misty let go of Ash so they could all step through.

So, I hope this chapter didn't disappoint after the long wait I put you all through. I will try to get out the next chapter in a more timely manner, but I hesitate to promise anything. However, this story is not, and will not, be abandoned, so don't worry about that.

Suggestions and ideas are great, reviews are amazing. Even one-word reviews are appreciated. Constructive criticism is good. Flames will be sent to places getting snow this week and used to clear the streets (who needs snowplows anyway?)

Thanks for reading. See you next chapter. Feel free to leave suggestions about what you want to see in the story, or even just ideas to use flames for.