The cruise ship sinks

"Damn it!" Looker slammed his fist against the gallery railing. "He still got away in the end!"

Before Xia You could speak, he explained, "That Lambda was the high-ranking Team Rocket executive I've been tracking all this time. I thought I'd arrest him today and cut off one of Team Rocket's sources of support, but in the end, all that effort still came to nothing!"

"You did a great job stopping this robbery," Xia You reassured him, then abruptly changed his tone. "But now isn't the time to beat yourself up. Our first priority should be dealing with the ordinary Team Rocket members down below!"

"You're right." Looker nodded solemnly. "Then let's get moving!"

A faint breeze swept past, sending ripples across the once-calm sea. Looking into the distance, they could see that the sky had already changed color. A vast bank of heavy, dark clouds was slowly approaching the S.S. Anne.

In the first-floor hall, everyone worked together and soon defeated Team Rocket.

The Team Rocket members scattered in every direction, vanishing without a trace in the blink of an eye.

Looker wanted to stop them, but there was little he could do. He could only watch as they escaped.

After all, he couldn't bring so many Team Rocket members to justice on his own. So, after saying goodbye to Xia You and leaving him his phone number, he, too, quietly departed.

Just then, a massive wave struck the ship. The vessel lurched violently, catching the passengers off guard and sending them stumbling backward.

Xia You reacted quickly, grabbing a nearby table to keep himself from falling. Before he could look up, a petite figure had already crashed into his arms.

It was Misty!

Xia You quickly wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her from falling and asked with concern, "Are you all right?"

Misty's face flushed slightly. She looked up at Xia You and gently shook her head.

Battered by the waves, the S.S. Anne rocked from side to side. Its stabilizers could do little in such dreadful weather. People hurried to the windows and peered outside. The entire sky was now as dark as night, and all they could see were flashes of lightning amid peals of thunder.

"It's a storm!"

Someone shouted, instantly sparking panic among the people nearby.

Xia You helped Misty steady herself and sighed. "In weather this bad, this ship definitely won't be able to return to port."

Meanwhile, on the other side of the hall, someone had dragged out the captain from wherever he had been hiding since the trouble began. Although he looked frightened, he forced himself to remain composed. "...By the time I noticed, the ship was already surrounded by the storm. But please rest assured, everyone. The S.S. Anne has weathered many trials and is an exceptionally large vessel. I guarantee that it absolutely will not sink!"

No sooner had he finished speaking than another huge wave struck the ship. Everyone was jolted off their feet and fell to the floor. When they got up, they saw that the captain had already run to the end of the emergency passage and climbed into a lifeboat!

"Everyone!" From inside the lifeboat, the captain repeated his earlier words to the stunned crowd. "I guarantee this ship absolutely will not sink! Please stay here with peace of mind!"

But with the captain himself already in a lifeboat, how could anyone believe him anymore? They scrambled toward the lifeboats.

Amid the panic, women screamed, men shouted, and children cried. For a moment, the scene descended into utter chaos.

"We should get going, too." Xia You beckoned to Misty and Brock. He was just about to take a step when he realized Ash was nowhere to be seen. "Huh? Where's Ash?"

Misty and Brock hurriedly searched as well, finally spotting Ash beside a machine in a corner.

"He's over there!"

When Xia You and the others reached Ash, they found him trading Pokémon with the man in the suit at the machine.

So he finally thought it through...

As the man in the suit operated the machine, he noticed Xia You and looked surprised. "Oh, it's you! Your Ralts evolved into Kirlia in such a short time? It must be even stronger than before!"

Xia You gave him a friendly nod without saying anything more.

Just then, Ash took the Poké Ball containing Butterfree back into his hand. Before he could get a firm grip on it, however, the S.S. Anne lurched again. His hand slipped, and the Poké Ball fell straight to the floor and rolled into a nearby corridor.

"Butterfree!"

Ash cried out and hurried after it. Worried about their companion, Misty and Brock also ran into the corridor.

Xia You glanced back at the lifeboats. If he wanted to leave safely, now was the best opportunity.

But with waves this huge, wouldn't even a lifeboat be incredibly dangerous?

Shaking his head, he chose not to leave alone and instead followed Misty and Brock into the corridor.

Only after running several dozen paces did he catch up with Ash. Ash had just picked up the Poké Ball and had yet to stand when an unprecedentedly powerful force swept over the S.S. Anne. A moment later, Xia You felt the world spin around him. His body flew into the air, and he slammed into the wall.

The impact hit him hard. A long while passed before Xia You stood with Kirlia's help, only to discover that the entire ship had turned upside down.

He could also clearly feel the ship continuing to sink. Amid the intermittent sounds of cracking, he could hear streams of water pouring inside.

It sank after all...

Beside him, Ash and the others had also been knocked senseless. Xia You woke them one by one, and once they understood their situation, their expressions changed.

With another shudder, the S.S. Anne seemed to have reached the seabed and came to a complete stop.

The corridor lights still illuminated the interior. Apparently, the ship's electrical system had not yet been affected.

"What do we do now?" Ash pressed himself against a window, his face filled with shock. "This ship has sunk all the way to the bottom of the sea!"

"Calm down." Xia You soothed him. "We need to find a way out right now. We have to escape before this place is completely flooded!"

Fortunately, the large amount of air trapped inside the ship, combined with the water pressure, would keep seawater from completely filling it for the time being, giving them plenty of time.

They hurried along the corridor. Unfortunately, with the ship overturned, the floor had become the ceiling and the ceiling had become the floor. Some passages were blocked, and the accumulating water made it extremely difficult to keep moving forward.

When they reached the stairwell and saw that the stairs were completely submerged, leaving them nowhere to go, they couldn't help stopping nervously.