Chapter 29: Chapter 29: The Sinking Cruise Ship
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"Damn it!" Handsome slammed his hand against the railing of the promenade. "He still managed to get away!"
Before Ethan could speak, Handsome already began to explain, "That Lambda is the high-ranking Team Rocket executive I've been tracking. I thought I'd finally arrest him today to cut off a branch of Team Rocket's power, but unexpectedly, it still ended in failure!"
"You did very well to stop this heist," Ethan offered a word of comfort, then abruptly changed his tone. "But now's not the time for self-pity. The immediate priority is to deal with those regular Team Rocket Grunts below!"
"You're right," Handsome nodded solemnly. "Then let's act quickly!"
A gentle breeze swept by. The previously calm sea began to ripple, wave after wave. Looking into the distance, one could see the sky had changed color. A thick, massive dark cloud was slowly approaching the S.S. Anne.
In the main hall on the first floor, with everyone's combined effort, Team Rocket was quickly defeated. The Team Rocket Grunts scattered and fled, disappearing in the blink of an eye. Handsome, for his part, was powerless to stop them and could only watch them escape. After all, he alone couldn't bring so many Team Rocket members to justice. So, after greeting Ethan and leaving his phone number, he also quietly departed.
Just then, a giant wave struck the ship. The vessel lurched violently, catching the passengers off guard. They lost their footing and tumbled backward. Ethan, quick-witted, grabbed a nearby table, preventing himself from falling. Before he could even look up, a small body crashed into his arms.
It was Misty!
Ethan quickly wrapped his arm around her waist to keep her from falling, asking concernedly, "Are you alright?"
Misty's face was flushed. She looked up at Ethan and gently shook her head.
Under the onslaught of the waves, the S.S. Anne swayed back and forth. Its stabilization system was severely limited in such harsh weather. People frantically rushed to the ship's windows, peering outside. The entire sky was like night, and all they could see was lightning and thunder.
"It's a storm!"
Someone shouted, instantly causing widespread panic.
Ethan helped Misty up and sighed, "In such terrible weather, this ship definitely can't turn back."
Meanwhile, on the other side of the hall, the captain, who had been missing since the beginning, was now found by someone. Although his face showed panic, he still feigned composure and declared, "...By the time I noticed, the ship was already surrounded by the storm. But please rest assured, this S.S. Anne is battle-tested and has immense tonnage. I guarantee it will absolutely not sink!"
No sooner had he finished speaking than another giant wave struck the ship. Everyone's bodies jolted, and they tumbled to the ground. When they managed to get up, they saw that the captain had already fled to the end of the emergency exit, sitting in a lifeboat!
"Everyone!" the captain shouted from the lifeboat to the astonished crowd, repeating his earlier words, "I guarantee this ship will absolutely not sink! Please stay here and rest assured!"
However, seeing that the captain himself had boarded a lifeboat, how could these people still believe his words? They scrambled, rushing towards the lifeboats. Amidst the chaos, women's screams, men's shouts, and children's cries erupted, making the scene utterly pandemonium.
"Let's go quickly too," Ethan gestured to Misty and Brock. Just as he was about to take a step, he noticed Ash was missing. "Huh? Where's Ash?"
Misty and Brock also frantically searched and finally spotted Ash by a machine in a corner.
"He's over there!"
When Ethan and the others reached Ash, they saw him exchanging Pokémon on the machine with the man in the suit.
So he finally understood, did he…?
As the suited man operated the machine, he looked at Ethan, surprised. "It's you!? In such a short time, your Ralts has already evolved into Kirlia! It must have become much stronger than before, right!?"
Ethan nodded amicably, without further reply.
Just then, Ash retrieved the Poké Ball containing Butterfree. However, before he could grasp it firmly, the S.S. Anne lurched again. His hand slipped, and the Poké Ball fell to the floor, rolling into a nearby corridor.
"Butterfree!"
Ash cried out and quickly chased after it. As his companions, Misty and Brock, concerned, also ran into the corridor.
Ethan glanced back at the lifeboats. If he wanted to leave safely, now was the best time. But logically, with such massive waves, even boarding a lifeboat would be extremely dangerous, wouldn't it? Shaking his head, he chose not to leave alone. Instead, he followed Misty and Brock into the corridor.
After running several dozen steps forward, he finally caught up to Ash. As Ash picked up the Poké Ball, before he could even stand upright, a massive, unprecedented force swept through the S.S. Anne. The next second, Ethan felt the world spin, his body airborne, and he crashed into a wall.
He had taken a severe fall. After a long moment, when Ethan, aided by Kirlia, managed to stand, he realized that the entire ship had completely capsized. Furthermore, he could clearly feel the entire ship constantly sinking. From the intermittent cracking sounds, he could hear torrents of water surging into the ship's interior.
It finally sank…
Beside him, Ash and the others were also disoriented from their falls. Ethan woke them up one by one, and when they realized their predicament, their faces all changed. With another tremor, the S.S. Anne seemed to have settled at the bottom of the sea, completely still.
The corridor lights still illuminated the cabin. It seemed its electrical system was temporarily unaffected.
"What do we do now?" Ash crouched by a ship window, his face filled with shock. "This ship has completely sunk to the bottom of the sea!"
"Calm down," Ethan reassured him. "We need to find a way out quickly! We must escape before this place is completely submerged by the seawater!"
Fortunately, due to the large amount of air inside the ship, the water pressure meant the seawater wouldn't completely fill the ship for a while, giving them ample time.
The group rushed along the corridor. Unfortunately, because the ship had capsized, up became down and down became up. Some paths were blocked, and with the accumulated water, moving forward became very difficult. When they reached a stairwell, seeing the stairs completely submerged in water and nowhere else to go, they couldn't help but stop nervously.
The S.S. Anne has sunk, just as Ethan foresaw! They are now trapped inside the capsized ship at the bottom of the sea. Ethan's foresight and his preparations for diving gear will likely prove crucial.
How do you think Ethan and his companions will escape the sunken S.S. Anne? Will they encounter any unexpected challenges or Pokémon while underwater?
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