I can't say how sorry I am to post this so late. School and mostly laziness is taking its toll on me. I won't take your time much longer. Read and Review if you please. Disclaimer: I don't own Pokemon or Nintendo.

"Well, guys, would you rather go through Mt. Moon or fly over?" Brock asked the tired group, consisting of the Sinnoh Champion Ash Ketchum, the Kanto Champion Leaf Green, and the Pokemon researcher Gary Oak. The latter two had just witnessed several hours of Ash running around bushes and trees searching for pokemon and the rare Jigglypuff.

"Let's go through Mt. Moon - I need more Pokemon," Ash responded almost immediately, excitement obvious in his tone. He then pulled out his Pokedex and looked up the Pokemon native to the cave. Scrolling down he scanned through the Pokemon present in Mt. Moon that he did not catch yet.

"Hmm.. I still need Zubat and its evolutions, Paras and its evolution, Geodude and its evolutions, Machop and its evolutions, and Clefairy and its evolution."
Gary smacked his head in disbelief at all the common Pokemon Ash had never captured.

"Seriously Ash, to think you've been on your journey for almost 7 years and yet you never captured a Pokemon as common as Zubat?"
"Well I've always prefered quality over quantity, Gary," Ash responded genuinely with a smile. "But now since we're making this journey why not capture a few more friends?"

"Point taken, Ash," Gary responded half-heartedly, having caught a glimpse up Leaf's skirt blowing in the wind. The brunette, however, took notice of Gary staring at her bottom.

"Pervert!" She cried as she smacked Gary square in the face, making the Professor cry out in pain. The rest of the group couldn't help but crack up at the immature scene, both young adults their faces blushing bright red. It was obvious, however, that Leaf wasn't blushing of embarrassment, but of anger that Gary couldn't keep his hormones down. Pikachu and Mew couldn't stop giggling at the scene that Mew had just caused with a slight whirlwind. Ash glanced at the pair but didn't question their antics, not because he didn't want to, but because he didn't understand what they were giggling at. A high voice suddenly proclaimed to the group,

"I challenge one of you to a one-on-one Pokemon Battle!"

The foursome turned around to see a confident brown-haired boy wearing a T-shirt and carrying a traditional beginner's backpack sold by the PokeMart. The boy held out a shiny new Pokeball, directly in the path of Ash Ketchum, who took it as a direct challenge and stepped forward.

"I'll battle you!" Ash yelled, then asked, "Brock, can you referee?"

Brock nodded and stepped in the middle between the two.

"This is a one-on-one Pokemon Battle between Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town and-"
The breeder looked at the young boy who finished,

"Zach Feta, from, uh, Viridian City!"

Gary and Leaf, who both took a seat on a few rocks near the rough battlefield, raised their eyebrows on the fact that the little boy did not recognize who he was facing. Looks like Ash's name hasn't reached all the way around Kanto yet... even though Viridian City is the closest town to the Pokemon League.

"Alright battlers, send out your first Pokemon!"
"Go Snivy!" The boy immediately threw his only Pokeball out.

Confused, Ash pulled out his Pokedex only to a screen showing the phrase "UPDATE NEEDED".

"Ash, that's a Unova Pokemon!" Gary exclaimed, "Your Pokedex probably hasn't been updated to include those."

"Unova, huh? Cool, let's have a Pokemon battle! Go Ekans!" Ash shouted, knowing that sending out of his best Pokemon would just be overkill as this kid had rookie written all over him.

"Begin!""Snivy use Tackle!"
The small green serpent's red eyes glinted as it rushed towards Ekans.

"Dodge, Ekans!"
The purple snake narrowly escaped the path of Snivy and snarled, making its opponent shiver a little.
"That's Ekan's Intimidation ability!" Gary exclaimed.

"Ekans, finish this with Poison Sting," Ash shouted. The poison snake shot several needles of poison at the Grass-Type Pokemon, knocking it out.

"Snivy has fainted!The winner is Ash Ketchum from Pallet Town!" Brock shouted, not surprised at all. Ash couldn't help but feel a sense of pity for the boy as Zach rushed to his Pokemon and returned Snivy back to its Pokeball with an aura of depression all around the trainer. Returning Ekans, the Sinnoh Champion hurried over to the young boy to shake his hand who smiled sadly as he hesitantly shaked Ash's hand.

"You're from Unova, aren't you?" Brock asked as he and the two spectators made their way to the pair of battlers. "Why did you say Viridian City?"

Zach looked oddly at the man, as if asking how he knew, then replied,

"My family just moved here so I guess you could say we're from Viridian."

Brock raised an eyebrow and asked,

"You moved? From Unova to Kanto? Why, Sinnoh is the closest to Unova, and Sinnoh's still several hundred miles away!"
The boy looked dumbfounded at Brock's comment and shrugged, wiping his Pokeball with a special cloth.

"That explains why he didn't know Ash and had a rare Unova Pokemon," Gary murmured.
"What is a Snivy?" Leaf asked when her Pokedex declared it unknown.

"Snivy is the grass starter for Unova," the Pokemon Professor replied while noticing the Pokedex error. "Its not something you would normally see here in Kanto."

"Yeah," the boy said with a prideful tone as he stared at Snivy's Pokeball. "And he's my best friend and loyal partner."

Ash stepped up to the young boy and offered his hand in courtesy, which Zach skeptically took.

"Good match."

"You too," Zach replied before attaching Snivy to his belt glumly. "But you were still better than me."

"Well, it's not like my Pokemon was better," Ash replied, trying to feel humble but blushed at the compliments. "I only had the type advantage."
"Yeah, but you were still better, you knew the type advantages." The boy looked even more glum.
"I was never the best at Pokemon battling. I thought by moving here with a foreign Pokemon would help me win at least one battle."
Ash looked down pitifully at the boy, wondering if he should help the boy. Sure, he had other countless stuff to do as Sinnoh's champion and could probably only spare a day if he were to train Zach.

"Wait a second, Zach," Brock interrupted with a curious yet thoughtful tone. "Why did your parents move here? Just because they wanted you to become better at battling at Viridian's Trainer School?"
Zach stared confused at the breeder who gazed back, waiting patiently for an answer.

"I'm not sure, they said they wanted to come here for a fresh start, I think."
Leaf, while glancing over at Brock's thinking face, and soon began to realize what the breeder was getting to.

"So, Zach," she began while crouching down face-to-face with the young trainer. "Do you mind if we come along with you to the Pokemon Center and call your parents?"
"What for? I didn't do anything wrong?" Zach exclaimed in confusion. Leaf realized that she could have phrased her words better and corrected herself.

"Oh, of course you didn't do anything wrong Zach, we just have a question we'd like to ask your parents if you don't mind."

The young boy nodded his head as if saying 'why not' and the group began to make their way to the Pokemon Center near the entrance of Mt. Moon. While Leaf and Zach quickly hit it off in conversation in the front as if they had been sister and brother from the start, the two puzzled teenagers slowly made their way to the back with Brock.

"So... why are we going to talk to this kid's parents?" Ash asked, sheepishly scratching his head. Pikachu and Mew snickered at Ash and Gary's stupidity; apparently the two had figured it out too.

Brock sighed with a slight smile as if he'd been expecting it, then answered:

"The parents definitely moved here for a big reason. Since Kanto is the furthest away from Unova, it's highly possible they were trying to get away from something."
Gary slowly began to catch on as well.
"So, there may be some information we can get about Team Gram?" Gary asked.

"Yes, it is likely. Anyone from Unova may have a clue as to the whereabouts of Team Gram," Brock answered as the group neared the entrance to the Pokemon Center. The group entered the building and walked towards the counter to be greeted by a pretty young woman dressed in a nurse uniform.

"Hi, my name is Nurse Joy and welcome to the Pokemon Center! Does your Pokemon need assistance?" she asked politely with a smile.

"Nurse Joy! My Pokemon are fine but I need assistance! In loveeee!" Brock cried out, leaping in front of the bewildered Zach and held the confused Nurse Joy's hand. Gary sighed and pulled the breeder back, and motioned for Zach to go heal his Pokemon.

Zach nodded his head and placed Snivy's Pokeball on Nurse Joy's Pokeball Tray. Nurse Joy smiled again and said she will be right back. With Chansey behind her, Nurse Joy took the tray and went into the medical room.

"Why do you guys need to talk to my parents?" Zach suddenly asked as the group approached the phones.

"We- need some information from them," Brock replied truthfully but broadly. Although the young boy was still suspicious, he shrugged and dialed his home number on the video phone. In a few seconds two figures appeared onto the screen. One was a stocky man around his mid 30s with messy brown hair and a well structured face and the other was a pretty woman around her late 20s with blonde hair falling beyond her waist. Gary put a hand on Brock before he could make his move and whispered,

"Careful Brock, she's married."

"Hi Mom and Dad!" Zach shouted out, as the first genuine smile since fighting Ash came over his face.

"Hi sweetie! How's your journey!" Zach's mom replied with a smile, and then appeared to look at the people behind her son while raising an eyebrow, "And who are those young people with you?"

"Its good; they're people I met while adventuring," he turned around and motioned to Brock, "And this man here wants to talk with you about something,"

"If you don't mind, I'd like to chat in privately in a private room. Do you mind if I make another phone call to a phone in a closed area?" Brock asked while stepping in front of Zack with a serious look on his face. The pair looked puzzled at the new face staring at them but nodded and said their goodbyes to Zach for the time being.
"I'll be right back you guys," Brock said and entered the room marked for authorized personnel only.

Gary, Ash, Leaf, and Zach made their way to a coffee table and sat down to wait for the ex gym leader. Leaf, using her Champion benefits, ordered free coffees for everyone and a large cappuccino for Zach, whose eyes went huge when the order was placed before him as Gary chuckled at his reaction.

"I still don't get it," Zach began after eagerly sipping down his cappuccino, "Why does Brock have to talk to my parents?"

"Well Zach," Ash said while clearing his throat and gently pushing the fighting Pikachu and Mew that were tussling over a ketchup bottle aside, "Brock is basically asking questions about your home country."

"Why?" The little boy asked, still confused, as Leaf helped him wipe his mouth with a napkin.

"Oh for Arceus's sake.. we're looking for a criminal organization kid. Stop asking questions," Gary snapped, making Leaf kick him.

"Gary! Why are you so mean!" She scolded and then kicked him again when Gary muttered a stream of curses while clutching his shin.

"A criminal organization? In Unova?" Zach looked very confused and thought the group was joking for a second before looking at their serious faces. Leaf was about to add something when Brock showed up, with a grim look on his face.

"I'm assuming the parents have good news?" Ash asked hopefully as he tried to take the ketchup away from the fighting Pikachu and Mew combo. The two, however, both stuck out their tongue and played tug-of-war out of Ash's reach.

"Hardly," Brock replied, "The parents left they feared the Rover Company-"

"As expected," Gary interrupted while nodding, "Team Rover is of course Team Gram."

"Hear me out Gary," Brock continued, "Zach's parents actually work for Rover Company.. before it was taken over by Team Gram."

"Seriously? So they must have some information about the company!" Ash asked excitedly before he stood up, "Let's go ask them!"

Leaf, however, had other thoughts as she put her hand on Ash's shoulder to calm him down.

"Ash let's hear the rest of Brock's story."

"Thank you Leaf. As I was saying, Zach's parents do indeed work for Rover Company but they resigned and moved here because..." Brock murmured quietly for a bit, so quiet that his companions could not hear the end of his sentence.

"What Brock?" Leaf asked.

"Because they heard Rover Company has taken in a prisoner and wanted no part in a corrupt company."
"A prisoner?" Ash questioned, but a look of realization quickly came on his horrified face, "Lance."

"We are beginning interrogation again. We hope you will be most cooperative," A monotone voice boomed. Lance had heard these two sentences at least seven times now, and had dreaded each and every one. His back ached from the bruises he got when the interrogator kicked him, his jaw ached from the bruises he got when the interrogator punched him, and his stomach ached from not receiving any food for 3 days straight. Silently however, he was thankful that they were not torturing him mercilessly, which he found quite odd from such an evil group. Lance's thoughts were interrupted when the door of his cell opened, releasing rare light that quickly illuminated his dark and depressing room. A masked figure with two other masked guards walked in, seemingly grinning even though his mask was stiff as a Graveler. The masks were Guy Fawkes Masks, making the interrogation all the more creepy. The guards took a sharp turn, as they always did when they came in a few steps, and left.

"Good evening Mr. Lance," The lead interrogator said, his dark voice a little muffled under the mask. Was it really evening? Lance had no idea what time in his cell; it was just all blackness.

"Good evening ugly," The Pokemon Committee executive replied. The masked man laughed as if Lance had just told a good joke and said,
"Good. Very good to see that you're still strong enough to have some nerve."

Whack! Lance made a painful cry as the masked man's fist collided against his cheek. Man, did it hurt like the Distortion World, especially since his face has been a main target.

"Is it just me, or are your punches getting weaker?" Lance replied, and was thanked by another punch to his stomach, making him double over on his chair, falling onto the cold floor.

"Now then, if you're quite done we can begin the interrogation," The masked man said without a hint of annoyance in his voice, "Let's start with where are the two escapees you aided?"

Lance remembered those two. They were a couple with a young kid, and were the first friends he genuinely made undercover, though he soon began to realize that his relationship with them also put their lives on jeopardy. Lance had lent them his Pokemon when he had gotten word people were coming for them, and therefore stalled the necessary time they needed to escape. He had told them to hide in Kanto for now since it was the safest region.

"I told you I don't know!" Lance exclaimed, followed by a kick to his back.

"Don't be a fool! One of our guards saw you give them a map before they took off on your pitiful Pokemon," The masked man said and then motioned to the outside, "And our Alakazam can prove that you are indeed, lying."
"I'll never give it out!" Lance cried, pulling himself slowly back onto his chair, though his handcuffed hands and feet made it extremely difficult.

"Suit yourself then," The interrogator then took out a new device that was shaped like a gun but with an odd glow to it. "This is called the Shocker-V100000."
He brought it closer to Lance's face, which was struck with fear.

"You know why its called the V100000?" The masked man asked with a playful ring in his voice. Then, when he realized Lance wasn't going to answer, he did.

"Cause it creates enough electricity to rival a Raichu."
The room was soon filled with Lance's painful screams.

"So Lance helped them to escape? And they have all of his Pokemon?" Gary asked incredulously, "That means he's definitely helpless!"

"And he's been there for almost four days, there's no telling what they're doing to him right now," Leaf murmured quietly, shuddering at the thoughts.

"That settles it then! We have to go to Unova to rescue Lance!" Ash exclaimed.

"Wait a second Ash, its too dangerous with just the three of you. Its better if an elite force of trainers goes along with you," Brock warned.

"I'll contact Cynthia immediately," Gary nodded, "Meanwhile, you guys figure out the fastest possible way to Unova."
"Can I come too?" Zach asked suddenly. The kid had been quiet for some time and had finally decided to speak up. However, his companions all shook their heads.

"It's too dangerous for you Zach," Ash replied sadly, "I'm afraid you're too young."
"But I can help! I can do whatever! I want to save the man that saved my parents!" He exclaimed desperately, while tugging the hearts of all four of them.

"I'm sorry Zach, but your life could be in jeopardy if you come with us, let's get you to your parents," Brock finally said, and lead a very disappointed boy to a police officer, who had offered to take the boy back to his parents. After Zach was gone, Gary immediately pulled out his Pokenav and dialed Cynthia's number. The remaining three gathered around a computer to estimate the distance from Kanto to Unova and transportation.

"Well, the Internet says here that if a ship from Vermillion City leaves to Castelia City, it would take 2 days and 12 hours to reach its destination," Brock said while scanning the computer screen.

"Can't we fly or teleport?" Leaf suggested.

"I don't think Unova security would appreciate people from foreign regions flying into their region without apprehending them first; that would take a lot of time from our hands if they catch us," Brock answered.

"Teleporting also won't work; Psychic Pokemon can only teleport so much, Unova is too far away. Even Mew can't do it by herself," Ash added.

"What about flying on an airplane?" Leaf questioned. "It'll be a lot faster."
"Too risky," Brock said while shaking his head, "Team Gram can easily take us down in a vulnerable position in the air if they find out we're coming; it's safer on the water. Plus, air travel is quite expensive and airport security is ever the more strict. Plus, all of the Pokemon League's planes are being used to transport people and supplies back and forth to aid Sinnoh."

"So we can't get to Lance any faster than by ship?" Ash asked.
"Correct..Wait.." Brock murmured with a grim face as he looked at the computer screen again, "Looks like Unova has blocked all transportation air and sea travel. No one is allowed in or out of the region."
"Must be Team Gram," Leaf muttered as she dialed some numbers, "I think the Pokemon League has a special stealth boat just for this."

"Cool a spy mission!" Ash exclaimed with Mew and Pikachu.

Brock sighed at the three's immaturity at such a serious matter but dismissed it otherwise. He also had a question about the stealth boat.
"What exactly does the stealth boat do?" Brock asked, dumbfounded. "How will it help us get through Unova without being detected?"
"Its-" Leaf paused when her Pokenav connected. "Hi, yes I would like to request that the KTO-Stealth be prepped with supplies for a 3 day journey, okay thank you."

Leaf put her Pokenav back into her bag then responded to Brock's question.

"I'll answer everything in the briefing, I already got a plan."
"Cool Leaf! We can always depend on you," Ash said with a wide grin.

Pikachu however, thought otherwise.

'Why does Ash never think of any brilliant plans," He asked with a grumble.

'He does; only in battles though,' Mew giggled. Ash had never been the brightest one to think strategically in anything but Pokemon battling.

"You know I can hear you guys talking about me," The respective trainer said while turning around with a frown, making Pikachu and Mew smile sweetly back at him.

'You can't deny the truth Ash,' Pikachu chirped.

"Love you too Pikachu," Ash muttered as he followed Leaf and Brock out of the Pokemon Center with two laughing Pikachus.

"I'm glad you guys could make it!" Leaf greeted as eight other individuals sat down in the Kanto Pokemon League Conference Room. Around the room were the team Ash and Cynthia and Leaf had decided on, all of them their friends. The Elite Four of Kanto, Johto, Hoenn and Sinnoh had offered to help, but Cynthia assured them that their best way to help was to protect and maintain order of their respective regions. All of the elite squads of trainers were also sent to Sinnoh to take the place of police. The Pokemon Committee decided that the best team would be one that was closely knit anyways. Along with Ash, Cynthia and Leaf there were Paul, Misty, Brock, Gary, May, and Max. Dawn and Barry had also been called, along with an unlikely ally, Tobias. The three had been unable to make it to the briefing, but will be meeting the group at Vermillion City Harbor. Because Ash, the champion of Sinnoh, was going to be absent because of this journey, Steven Stone, the champion of Hoenn, volunteered to help the Sinnoh region in his place. Thus the team was assembled. With the initial greetings and welcoming done, Leaf began to brief the group on their mission.

"As you may know, Chairman Lance has been captured by Team Gram. We are here to discuss our strategy to bring him back," Leaf then nodded to Cynthia, who nodded back and brought up an image of a ship onto the projector, starting a round of gasps and excitement to ruffle through the board room.

"This is the ship we will be using, KTO Stealth. It is equipped with radar jamming to prevent our ship from being spotted by Unova systems, cruise control which helps it navigate safely and take the fastest water route, and sensors to help it detect enemy ships or Pokemon. However, this can only take us that far."
Leaf nodded to Cynthia again, who changed the picture to a map of Unova. Ash stood up and took charge from there with a digital pen. He circled what looked liked a massive city, with skyscrapers and bridges protruding from it.
"This is Castelia City, our destination. Word has it that Rover Company or Team Gram is stationed within it. We cannot take the ship all the way to its harbor due to obvious security reasons."
Mew suddenly floated up and used its tail to draw another circle around what seemed to be a bunch of rocks.
"Thank you Mew," Ash said as the Legendary Pokemon gave a friendly chirp and returned to its seat next to Pikachu, on the table. Ash then pointed at the circle. "This will be the point where the ship will drop us off. It is definitely off the grid from Unova's radar system so it will be a 3-4 mile journey towards Castelia City."
"So I assume we will be using Water Pokemon to get across?" Misty asked, getting excited already.

"No, Misty, we swim," Ash answered sarcastically.

"Oh even better!" Misty said smiling widely. No one had any idea if she was joking or not. It didn't seem like it.

"As I was saying, we will station our ship at these rocks here and then move on with our water Pokemon. The ship itself contains a few Water Pokemon for emergencies so feel free to use them."
"What kind of Water Pokemon!" Max asked excitedly. "A Kyogre?!"

"...Not quite.. More like Wailord and Lapras," Ash responded to Max's visible disappointment, "We will then disembark on a 20 minute ride to a cruise ship scheduled to be going to Castelia Harbor around the time we arrive. Then we will get off the cruise ship without any suspicions. Sound good?"
Gary raised a hand but didn't wait for Ash to call on him.

"Isn't it risky to board a cruise ship without being caught? They definitely would see us try to get on!"
"Which is why we won't try to board," Ash answered smoothly, to the bemused expressions of the people around him.

"We will teleport onto the ship."
"Great idea Ash! It will also be a good idea if each of us teleports one at a time to different locations to avoid being spotted," Brock pointed out to the nods of the rest.

"Good suggestion Brock," May commended and added, "But we'll need a lot of strong Psychic Pokemon to pull this off."
"No, we'll need one," Ash said with a smirk making everyone turn their eyes onto him, shocked and bewildered.
"How Ash? Even Mew herself won't be able to teleport all of us," Paul asked, dumbfounded to which the pink feline stuck her tongue out, even though she knew it was true.

"Yeah Ash, even if she could it'll be a shame if we wasted her energy early on," Cynthia added, earning a grateful smile from Mew. At least someone thought she could maybe do it.

"I'm not talking about Mew. I'm talking about him," Ash pointed to the hooded figure that had been standing in the back all along. "Mewtwo."

The team couldn't contain their excitement and awe as they entered the stealth boat. It didn't seem to be a boat used for reconnaissance, but rather pleasure. There was a luxurious meeting room straight in the middle with leather black chairs, marble floor and a fancy red table along with two comfortable bedrooms each equipped with four bunk beds, a desk, a bathroom and a television set. Along the hallways lined many Pokemon themed decoration, along with pictured frames of each Kanto championship winner since before Ash was born. There was of course, the engine room downstairs and the captain's deck upstairs, where Leaf, Ash and Cynthia would be spending most of their time.

"Please keep all your Pokemon inside their Pokeballs on the majority of the trip, we don't want to add unnecessary weight... we only have so much fuel," Leaf cautioned while everyone else nodded, understanding then added, "Though exceptions include Pikachu, Mew and Mewtwo." Pikachu and Mew breathed a sigh of relief at the possibility of returning to the much detested Pokeball while Mewtwo shrugged indefinitely. Once everyone was settled in, Leaf called them all to the meeting room to debrief.

"Now this mission is probably the most riskiest one ever... especially because no one has had any experience doing this sort of thing," Leaf started, looking at each individual who all nodded in agreement, though excitement shone through their eyes, "I trust that each and everyone of you however, is well equipped and ready nevertheless."
Ash couldn't help but suppress a chuckle at Leaf's professional tone. He just couldn't believe that the small, shy girl he had known had turned into such a charismatic leader.

Leaf nodded towards Cynthia who directed their attention to the red table, which had a built in screen inside. The screen suddenly lit up and depicted a map of the entire Pokemon world. Kanto and Unova were possibly the farthest apart in distance. Cynthia pointed to a red dot. "This is where we are, at Vermillion harbor," she then directed her finger to a blue dot a few feet away, "And this is our target area right here."

"Wow, this seems like a really long trip!" May exclaimed a little overwhelmed, "Hopefully I don't get sea sick.."
"Of course you will May, you always ruin the trips," Max murmured, earning a death glare from his sister.

"Well we do have some aspirin for you to take if you need it May," Leaf responded, "But yeah, this trip will be pretty long. Unova is 1200 nautical miles from here and the ship travels at 50 knots so it'll take approximately a day to get there, assuming that the weather cooperates."

"A day?" Barry exclaimed, "Why that's forever!"
"A day isn't long at all," Brock said, "It's perfect time for getting ourselves ready and rested for this operation."
"Brock couldn't have said it better, we probably should savor this time and relax, it might be the only time we'll get for a while," Cynthia said nodding in agreement, earning a small heart sign from the Pokemon breeder, which she ignored.

"The actual mission debrief will happen a few hours before we reach our destination so it's fresh in our minds," Leaf added, "But I think we should go over team assignments now as we are going to teleport in individual groups onto the cruise ship."

"First team will be led by me," Cynthia said while looking down at her paper, "With me will be May, Barry, and Brock. Second team will be led by Ash, with him will be Dawn, Max and Tobias. Third team will be led by Leaf, with her will be Paul, Gary and Misty. We will only be split up for a bit, then we will rendezvous at the restaurant inside the cruise ship. The cruise ship is a luxury, so be sure to at least dress appropriately." Cynthia finished the last sentence while looking at Ash who gave her an incredulous 'what' look while Pikachu snickered commenting, 'She's right. You always dress like a kid.'

Mew giggled at Pikachu's comment and Ash just rolled his eyes.

"I'm prepared Cynthia, don't worry."

Cynthia smiled lightly than said,

"Great, dismissed! Everyone get comfortable for a twenty-four hour trip!"

"Wow! This is such a nice breeze!" Barry exclaimed, delight expressed clearly on his face as he took a deep breath. The weather was perfect, the white clouds drifted softly in the distance, leaving a sky of blue. The sun shined brightly down onto the water, reflecting a pretty view.

"It is really nice," Misty agreed; she herself had decided to relax on a pool chair. "I don't mind being here for more than a day."

Dawn sat right beside her rubbing sunscreen on her arms while May helped herself to some herself. All three were in a swimsuit, though nothing really revealing, to the disappointment of Barry and Gary.

Gary leaned over the railings and lazily murmured,

"I wonder what sorts of Pokemon lay down under this ocean."

"I wonder what the other guys are doing... They should be out here enjoying this weather! I'm going to fine them for not doing so!" Barry exclaimed, very surprised that only four people were outside in such a pristine environment.

"Well, Cynthia, Leaf and Brock are busy piloting this thing and working out details for our operation.. I don't know about the rest," May said, breathing a sigh of happiness as she soaked in the sun's rays.

"Why isn't Ash helping? Isn't he one of the leaders of the group?" Gary asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No idea, but that's the only three I saw up in the captain's deck. He's probably doing something just as important though with the rest of them, besides Max of course."

"Awesome! I can't believe a Wii U was in here!" Ash cried excitedly, while hurriedly connected the console to the television system.

"I want to play!" Max exclaimed. Tobias smirked then added,

"I'll destroy you guys in Mario Kart."

"Bullcrap! I'm the champion at Mario Kart!" Paul boasted, pulling out a custom Wii controller, which Mewtwo eyed with curiosity.

"What a strange item! What is it?"

"A Wii controller! Limited edition Mario Kart themed! I got it at the release."

"I'm not sure if we should do this," Ash hesistated. "We need to think of a plan to save Lance, right now we don't have anything."

"We still have day left, plus we don't really know what to expect to think of a plan. I think Cynthia, Leaf and Brock can handle the minor details," Tobias concluded.

"For now I think we should just relax before everything else. This shouldn't be too time-consuming, we should just play one race."

The group agreed, then turned on the television.

-4 hours of video games later-

"Wow! that was some race!" Max cried, "Why do I always finish last?"

"It's cause you use that weird green thing Max," Mewtwo answered why observing the screen.

"Nah its not Yoshi it's just that you're not as skilled as me!" Tobias said while laughing, "1st everytime!"
"You won this time Tobias... At least I'm not as bad as Ash or Max," Paul murmured, hanging his head in defeat. He had finished 2nd everytime, always several seconds behind Tobias, who apparently, had been ranked as a Mario Kart player.

"Hey.. I managed to get 8th before..." Ash muttered. Mew giggled and retorted:

'That's because Mewtwo helped you at the last second.'

"What? I didn't know!" Ash exclaimed, faking his innocence while Pikachu snickered. Everyone's laughter however, was cut off by a knock on the door.
"Hey Ash? You guys made any progress yet?" Cynthia's voice said. Panic quickly spread across the room. The group had previously told the former champion that they were going to work on planning the infiltration process into Gram once the group finally reaches Unova and find Lance by saying that working as two groups can come up with two good solutions.

Instead they had been playing video games. The group quickly shut off the television and shoved the controllers under the bed covers. Mewtwo, noting the awkward and dangerous situation, decided instead to teleport away with Mew and Pikachu giving Ash a very smug good luck nod.

"That bastard..." Ash murmured under his breath. Cynthia, noting that something was off, opened the door before Ash got to it.

"O-Oh hey there Cynthia! How are you! What are you doing here?" Ash greeted nervously, looking away from the blonde's suspicious stares.

"So why didn't you answer me? Did you guys think of something?" She questioned, quickly noticing the Wii U and outlines of controllers underneath the covers.

"Uh-yeah Paul why don't you explain the plan.."
Paul gave Ash a small death glare and replied,

"I don't know if I should... I mean Tobias really contributed a lot so.."
"Woah, don't put it all on me!" Tobias exclaimed, holding up his hands. Cynthia's keen analytical skills had quickly figured it all out. To double check, she placed her hand on the television screen noting the heat emulating from it.

"Uh-huh I see.. Well if you don't mind I'd like to talk to Ash, who was supposed to be in charge here," Cynthia asked as politely as she could.

"Sure, let's talk!" Ash said walking out awkwardly. Paul and Tobias gave him grim sorrowful faces. Once Cynthia and Ash were alone, she started shouting.
"Ash Ketchum! You said you were going to help plan for Lance's rescue but instead you decided to play video games! Arceus, I don't know why they even added a video game console in this boat! Think about it... the more efficient plan we can come up with the faster we can save Lance! Lance's life is on the line here don't you see! Of course I shouldn't have trusted you to take responsibility.. even though I expected much more than this from you!"

Suddenly Cynthia started to break down, sliding down onto her knees, tears pouring out of her eyes.

"I-I really needed help and yet you decided not to..." She sobbed, "And now Lance's whereabouts are unknown and it's all my fault that's he's lost!"

"Cynthia... I'm really sorry.. It was really stupid of me to do that.. I mean I guess my childish instincts took over there haha..." Ash started to put an arm over Cynthia trying his best to comfort and apologize, which was a very awkward combination. "Its not your fault. Lance was doing his duty and he did it because it was his own decision."

"Arceus, Ash, why do you have to have such a talent in sweet talking," Cynthia murmured sobbing slightly less and blushing slightly more. "You still have no excuse to be ignoring your duties.. Although I do have little right to be angry, a plan and no plan at all makes little difference, Unova is too unpredictable.. "

"No you have every right Cynthia.. A plan is still better than no plan. I really do apologize. My immaturity was definitely uncalled for and I'm really sorry I guess I let my procrastinating self get in front of me," Ash said quietly still pulling Cynthia into a hug, surprising Cynthia with his mature apologetic phrases. It's hard to believe that this was the same immature guy six years ago.

"No it's fine. I think I'm overreacting a bit, I mean we still have a while before we get to Unova and we don't really need a plan straight away.."

"It's still wrong of me to lie and avoid my responsibilities," Ash reaffirmed. Ash truly felt guilty. He realized that he had made the wrong decision and let a personal vendetta get the better of him on such an important mission. Lance was like a brother to him, and he had let him down. "And for what it's worth, Lance is a very important person to me. I'm going to do everything in my power to save him."

"Thank you.." Cynthia murmured fully hugging Ash now. A door creaked open.

"Uh... am I interrupting something?" Max asked, his face red as if he had seen something else.

"Not really we're done here right Ash?" Cynthia blushed and wiped her eyes with her handkerchief.

"Certainly Cynthia, I'll walk with you back to the captain's deck. Max can you tell the others to come up too. We're done playing."

"Yes! I will definitely!" Max affirmed excitedly, finally glad that Mario Kart was over. Once Max was gone Cynthia returned to her normal self and gave a stern glare to Ash.
"You shall not speak of this incident to anyone are we clear?" She menaced.

"Yes, you have my word," Ash sheepishly replied, a little embarrassed himself as to what happened.

"Alright then, let's go back up to the captain's room," Cynthia said with a slight smile, "Don't think I've forgiven you just yet though. You better come up with some good ideas."

"I've got some already believe it or not."

"Great! Then lets go share it with Leaf and Brock!"

You just dodged a bullet there Ash, Mewtwo commended. Well done.

"Thanks no help to you..." Ash murmured sarcastically.

"What did you say something Ash?"
"N-nothing let's get going!"

"Ash you're here!" Leaf said smiling wide as Cynthia and Ash entered the room. Brock was, as of now, managing the radar system making sure that there were no nearby ships that could complicate their mission. The boat was on autopilot, so no one was actually on the controls. Ash and Cynthia sat down; Cynthia acting as if nothing had happened. Ash still couldn't believe that he had just seen the ex-Sinnoh Champion break down and cry in front of him.

"So did you come up with any ideas on how we're going to follow through with this plan? Leaf's idea is basically improvisation..." Brock asked, earning a glare from the Kanto Champion.

"A great idea!" Leaf protested.

"Let's hear it then," Ash said nodding as he folded his arms and sat down, shocking everyone in the room who all looked at him, dumbfounded.

"What?"
"Nothing Ash, its just, I've never seen you so serious before except during battling," Brock said, breaking the weird silence.

"When a friend's in trouble I'm always serious!" Ash proclaimed with a grins, earning a sarcastic cough from Cynthia.

"Great!" Leaf exclaimed while everyone settled into the meeting room, "then basically my plan is this: we regroup at the restaurant inside the cruise ship one group at a time. The first group that arrives will make a reservation. After that everyone else will trickle in. As soon as everyone is together, we'll one by one sneak into the kitchen and into the storage room where cargo boxes that the cruise ship deliver during its rounds."

"How do you know all of that?" Ash asked. Leaf tossed Ash a file.
"The information was compiled by Lance himself, who was the one who suggested the entire idea of stowing away on a cruise ship. I think he performed the same procedure himself."
"Smart man."
"Why can't we just use teleport?" Brock asked, knowing that there was indeed a countermeasure to that. Teleport would have just been too easy.

"Unova's security is very tight, they have hundreds of Psychic Pokemon working 24/7 on keeping a barrier on so that things such as Teleport cannot penetrate it. The only way we can get through that shield is on an authorized vehicle such as the cruise ship," Cynthia responded earning groans from the guys.

"They sure make it tough!" Brock exclaimed. "A cruise ship sounds fun."

"Well this mission isn't all fun and games either," Cynthia said, "Remember that we have to be extra careful if we are to succeed or else we might just end up like..."

"Anyways! How does all of that sound?" Leaf asked, looking back and forth from the three heads staring at her, her cheeks blushing slightly as her gaze met with her childhood friend.

"Sounds great Leaf! Let's do it!" Ash exclaimed excitedly getting out of his chair.

"Hold it Ash.. now what's the plan from getting out of those cargo crates, considering that we actually fit in them, and find a way to Lance?" Brock questioned skeptically.

"Since teleportation is out of the question, we could just brute force our way out with our Pokemon. After that I have no idea. Unova is unpredictable, even with Lance as a resource we still do not know as much about Unova ," Ash suggested.

"For all we know this could be a one-way trip," Cynthia murmured while Leaf nodded her head in agreement.

"Anything could happen."

"Sounds like just the thing for me!" Ash said with a grin, his reckless and naive nature earning chuckles among the group.

"What's just the thing for you?" A voice muffled from behind the door said. Out of the door came Tobias, Paul and Max with nervous looks on their face as they met their gazes with Cynthia as if thinking she was still mad. The three calmed however when Cynthia ignored them and sipped her tea as if nothing had happened. Brock and Leaf quickly briefed the trio of the mission to which they had no objections. Max was then sent to tell the ladies, Barry and Gary.

"Well then, best of luck to us all. Hopefully the plan will work out well. You guys are all free until tomorrow!" Leaf said to the delight of the group.

"Hey Ash, you up for some more gaming?" Paul said while nudging Ash forward.

"No thanks Paul, I'm a little tired I think I'm going to lie down a little in the lounge room."
"Aw, okay Ash suit yourself," Paul murmured, deep down understanding Ash's reasoning behind his tiredness.