"Darn it!" Handsome exclaimed, forcefully hitting the gallery railing. "He got away in the end!"
Before Natsui could say anything, he explained himself, "This Lambda is the high-ranking Team Rocket member I've been tailing. I thought I could capture him today and cut off one of Team Rocket's branches, but I didn't expect all the effort to be in vain in the end!"
"You were able to stop this heist, that alone was a great job," Natsui consoled him, then abruptly changed the subject. "But now is not the time for regrets. The priority is to deal with the low-ranking Team Rocket members downstairs!"
"You're right," Handsome nodded solemnly. "Then, let's act immediately!"
A light breeze blew, and the once-calm sea surface began to ripple. Looking into the distance, you could see the sky had changed color; a huge, dense black cloud was slowly approaching the S.S. Anne.
In the first-floor hall, with everyone's joint effort, Team Rocket was quickly defeated.
The Team Rocket members fled in all directions and, in the blink of an eye, they completely disappeared.
Faced with this, Handsome felt helpless and could only watch them escape.
After all, he alone couldn't bring so many Team Rocket members to justice. Therefore, after saying goodbye to Natsui and leaving him his phone number, he also chose to depart quietly.
At that moment, a giant wave struck the ship. The hull shook violently, and the passengers, caught by surprise, lost their balance and fell backward.
Natsui, with quick reflexes, grabbed onto a nearby table, thus avoiding a fall. But before he could lift his head, a small body collided with his chest.
It was Misty!
Natsui quickly wrapped an arm around her to keep her from falling, and at the same time asked with concern, "Are you okay?"
Misty's face flushed slightly. She looked up at Natsui and gently shook her head.
Under the onslaught of the waves, the S.S. Anne swayed from side to side. Its stabilizers, in such adverse weather, were of very limited use. People ran in panic towards the ship's windows to look outside. At that moment, the entire sky looked like night, and all they could see was lightning and thunder.
"It's a storm!"
It's unknown who shouted it, but in an instant, panic broke out all around.
Brock helped Misty up and sighed, "With such terrible weather, it's impossible for this ship to turn back."
And on the other side of the hall, the captain, who had been missing since the beginning, was found by the people. Although his face showed panic, he forced a calm demeanor and said, "...By the time I realized it, the ship was already surrounded by the storm. But please, don't worry. This S.S. Anne has been tested in a thousand battles, it has a great tonnage, and I guarantee you it is absolutely unsinkable!"
Just as he finished speaking, another giant wave hit the ship. Everyone staggered and fell to the floor. When they got up, they saw that the captain had already run to the end of the emergency corridor and sat down in a lifeboat!
"Ladies and gentlemen!" the captain shouted from the lifeboat, repeating his words to the stunned crowd. "I guarantee you that this ship is absolutely unsinkable! Please, stay here with complete confidence!"
However, seeing that even the captain was in a lifeboat, who was going to believe him? People ran desperately towards the lifeboats.
In the midst of the chaos, the screams of women, the shouts of men, and the crying of children could be heard. For a moment, the scene was one of absolute disarray.
"Let's go too," Natsui said, signaling to Misty and Brock. He was about to move when he didn't see Ash anywhere. "Huh? Where's Ash?"
Misty and Brock searched hurriedly and finally found Ash next to a machine in a corner.
"He's over there!"
When Natsui and the others reached Ash, they saw him trading Pokémon on the machine with the man in the suit.
So he finally understood…
As the man in the suit operated the machine, he was surprised to see Natsui, "It's you?! In such a short time, your Ralts has already evolved into Kirlia. I'm sure it's become much stronger than before!"
Natsui nodded amicably, offering no further response.
At that moment, Ash once again held the Poké Ball containing Butterfree in his hand. However, before he could get a firm grip on it, the S.S. Anne shook again. His hand slipped, the Poké Ball fell to the floor and rolled into a nearby corridor.
"Butterfree!"
Ash shouted and ran after it. And as his companions, Misty and Brock, concerned, also ran into that corridor.
Natsui glanced at the lifeboats. If he wanted to get out of there safely, this was the best time.
But, logically, with such big waves, even in a lifeboat, wouldn't it be extremely dangerous?
He shook his head. He chose not to leave alone, but also followed Misty and Brock, heading into the corridor.
He ran several dozen steps before catching up to Ash. Just as Ash picked up the Poké Ball, and before he could get up, a massive and unprecedented force struck the S.S. Anne. The next second, Natsui felt everything spin, his body was lifted into the air and slammed against the wall.
The impact was truly powerful. It was a good while before Natsui, with Kirlia's help, could get to his feet. By then, he realized that the entire ship's hull had completely flipped over.
Furthermore, he could clearly feel the entire ship sinking. From the occasional sounds of breaking, he could also hear torrents of water pouring into the ship.
It finally sank…
Beside him, Ash and the others were also stunned from the fall. Natsui woke them up one by one, and when they understood the situation, their faces also turned pale.
With another jolt, the S.S. Anne seemed to have settled on the seabed, coming to a complete stop.
The hallway lights were still illuminating the interior; it seemed its electrical system, for the time being, had not been affected.
"What do we do now?" Ash asked, peering out a ship window with a face full of astonishment. "This ship has completely sunk to the bottom of the sea!"
"Calm down," Natsui said to reassure him. "Let's look for a way out right now. We have to escape from here before the water floods everything!"
But, luckily, due to the large amount of air trapped inside, the water pressure would prevent the ship from flooding completely right away, which gave them enough time.
The group moved quickly down the corridor. Unfortunately, since the hull was inverted, what was below was now above, and what was above, below. Some paths were blocked, and due to the accumulated water, moving forward had become extremely difficult.
And when they reached the staircase, seeing it completely flooded with nowhere else to go, they couldn't help but stop, tense.