Two Paths, One Goal

Akio rested in the Pokemon Center near Rock Tunnel for the rest of the day, tending to his wounded Pokemon. After he'd told Zeiro what had happened, Zeiro went with Max to fix his machine. Akio was originally going to go back to Cerulean City to train himself, but the last battle proved to him that he didn't have that much time. The only way he would improve was to continue on his path. The next day, Akio went into Rock Tunnel to train and to continue his quest. His next stop was Lavender Town.

Back at Max's home. Max had spent the entire night working on his Transporter machine. With his small body, it wasn't easy but he didn't wish to bother Zeiro as he could tell the boy was already upset about the incident with Team Rocket. Max scampered to the machine and said, "Okay, I think it's done! Now, the Pokemon that I crossed with is in a Pokeball in the other machine. I just need you to flip the switch, Zeiro, and we'll be all set!"

After parting ways with Akio, Zeiro has been training around the Route where Max's house was while helping with his transporter. All three of his pokemon were resting near Max's desk as Zeiro walked up to the switch, flipping it. "Like this?" He said. Despite his attitude seemingly normal, his words held nothing.

The machine began to spark and then gave a bright flash. Before long, a full sized man exited the machine. The orange hair was clear proof that it was Max. "Thanks a million, Zeiro. You really helped me out a lot. I wish I could do something to return the favor..." He thought for a moment, then finally said, "Wait, there IS something I can do! I was given a ticket to go aboard the S.S. Anne. However, I really don't want to attend. My ticket is in the bag. You can have it, if you want."

"The S.S. Anne?" Zeiro repeated, thinking about it for a sec before nodding. "Taht sounds good. I'll take it." He walks over and digs into Max's bag, finding teh ticket. "So where is this S.S. Anne?"

"It's in Vermillion City,"Max responded. "The pathway through Saffron has been blocked for some reason, but you can still get there if you take the path south of Cerulean. Oh, but be careful. There are rumors that strong trainers gathered around the S.S. Anne. I'm not sure why, but that's what I heard."

"I see...Thank you very much, Max." Zeiro said, waving good bye as he left the small cottage.

Soon, he arrived at Vermillion City. Taking the underground route MAx said earlier and dodging his way out of a few pesky trainers (who don't know how to take a loss), he let out a huff as he juggled the ideas of S.S. Anne or Pokemon Center. After a bit, he shrugs and heads off to the port where his pokemon were waiting for him, seeing that they were in tip top shape anyways.

At the port, a large sailor man was looking down at the boy and his Pokemon. "Hey kid," he said with a glare. "You can't come on this ship without a ticket. Show it or get to walkin'" he said plainly yet gruffly.

Akio slowly made his way out of the Rock Tunnel. He panted as he had been within it for the entire night into the afternoon. He hadn't taken a moment's rest, but now he was in a different town completely. He looked around to see that not many of the people were exactly friendly or willing to talk. "I guess that means we should move on... right guys?" he looked down to his Pokeballs, realizing he had one more than usual. He saw a Gyrados within it, realizing he'd never returned Timmy to Brooke at the Cerulean Gym. He didn't want to go through Rock Tunnel again, but what could he do now?

Zeiro was a bit taken aback by the rough tone. "All right...all right...no need to be so stern about it." He muttered, flashing out the ticket. "There...does this satisfy you?"

One of the people walking around spots Akio and walks up to him, seemingly glaring at him. "You must be a traveler." he said, glancing around at Akio. "Take my advice: Leave. Nothing good comes out of a town of ghosts." With that, he turns around and walks away, disappearing in the fog that started to roll in.

The man gave a slight glare and said, "Alright, go on in. We won't be shipping off today. Its just a Trainer Party. All the top trainers that could be found are gathered." The man had a smirk to his face as he spoke, as if to say he knew more about the event.

Akio blinked lightly as he looked around. "Ghosts?" he said softly. "There's no such thing as ghosts. I'd check it out, but..." He turned his head and saw a pair of glowing eyes to the west. He pointed out and said, "Are you suppose to be some kind of ghost?!" With that, he took off after the eyes. (Akio is actually going to stay in the town. I just want him to get his 4th Pokemon before anything starts)

HE could tell there was more to the Party than the man let on, but Zeiro could only glare at him. "Gee...thank you kindly..." He said carefully, not taking his eyes off until he got on the boat itself. Taking another look around, the ship was a mighty fine one, in his opinion. His three pokemon started to run up ahead, exploring the ship as he walked behind them.

As they got on, the man looked at the list, checking something off before he said, "Alright that's everyone accounted for... We're ready to go, Volt, sir."

Inside the boat, there were trainers and battle areas all over. Even the rooms were big enough to hold battles in if one chose. One girl looked at Zeiro and giggled before she said, "I didn't know a guy like you would be here. You must be a pretty strong trainer."

"Hmm? Are you talking about me?" Zeiro said as he looked around, watching his pokemon explore around, seeing the many trainers and pokemon around them. "I guess...I'm just here because a friend gave me the ticket as a present for helping him."

The girl smiled and said, "Aw, so that must mean you're weak if you weren't invited. There's a mini-tournament that's gonna start soon. You probably shouldn't enter it if you're really weak." With that, she turned in a skipping fashion away from Zeiro.

As the girl skipped away, Bulbasaur turned back to Zeiro. Normally, he'd be angry or ignore the girl's comment, but he looked absolutely crushed by it. "Weak, huh...?" He muttered. Bulbasaur frowned and looked at Pidgey and Nidoran who were equally worried about their trainer.

The trainers on the boat began to move, exiting to the deck of the ship. One of the trainer's could be heard saying, "It looks like they're about to start! Let's hurry over there! I heard the first prize is an Evolution Stone!"

Akio smiled as he looked down at a Pokeball he had recently filled.

Flashback:

Akio ran out of the town, seeing a red fox with a large amount of tails. It growled and glared at Akio, who glared back and reached for a Pokeball. "You look pretty scared," Akio said to the Pokemon. "I have a feeling you know what's happening in that town, and I can bet I'll need your help."

The Pokemon gave what appeared to be a smirk, moving its head as if to ask him to bring on a battle. Akio threw a Pokeball, releasing his Pikachu as he called out, "Let's do it, Light!"

End of Flashback:

Now, Akio was heading to the Pokemon Center, moving to the front table as he gave his Pokemon to the nurse, including Timmy and his new Vulpix. Afterwards, he sat down and took a sigh, thinking back to the man and girl from the Power Plant. "I need to get better to beat them..." he muttered.

Zeiro's ears perked up at the last statement. "Evolution stone? Wonder what kind of stone it'll be..." With that said, he started to walk over to where the trainers were gathering.

"You seem troubled." someone said as an older girl sat next to Akio. "Sorry, I just saw you and thought something was bothering you."

At the deck was a big portable stage with a man standing in the center. He was dressed in a white suit and had blond hair. "Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you all for gathering aboard the S.S. Anne. I want to invite all aboard to the S.S. Anne Moon Tournament! It may be daytime, but first prize if a Moon Stone, a special stone with properties that can evolve certain Pokemon! The tournament is a Round Robin Elimination! Any trainer can battle any other trainer, and the last one standing wins the Moon Stone!"

Akio turned to the person with a small smile and said, "Hah hah... sorry about that. I was just thinking about something that happened recently. My Pokemon were hurt because I wasn't a good enough trainer to them."

"A moon stone...?" Zeiro repeated under his breath. He didn't know much about stone evolution, but it wouldn't hurt to take that stone with him. Who knows? He might need it. After a bit of hesitation, he put on a bold face, waiting for the tournament to start.

"Is that so?" She said before chuckling to herself. "I hear that all the time...you must be a new trainer, aren't you?" She smiles and puts her hand on his shoulder. "Don't worry. You'll get the hang of it. If you want to become a better trainer, you just need to grasp the experience. You also need to understand your pokemon as well."

"Now, we ask that everyone participating go to the rooms marked on your tickets," the man said as he pointed out to the area where the cabins were. "When everyone is confirmed to be in their rooms, we can begin! Good luck, aspiring trainers!"

Akio looked over at the counter where his Pokemon were being treated, then turned back to her and said, "Maybe you're right... but I know something bad is gonna happen if I can't improve fast." He then closed his eyes for a moment as he remembered something from when he first arrived. "Oh yeah, someone said something about Ghosts here. Don you know anything about it?"

Zeiro quickly puleld out his ticket, reading the room number on it. "Room 3..." he muttered as he set out to find it. Soon, he arrived at the room and entered, awaiting for the start of the tournament.

The girl paused, then shook her head. "Not too much...they say the tower in this town that used to be the burial of pokemon is being haunted by ghosts. No one is able to go near it."

At the moment that he entered the room, the door closed. A voice on the speakers within the room echoed out and said, "Now that you've entered the room, I can explain the rules. As soon as the door opens, you can choose to remain in this room or exit to find other trainers. Your room number lit, and if you leave the ship, the light will instantly fade. There are no Pokemon Healing facilities within the ship, meaning the only way to heal a Pokemon is to leave and go to the town Center, but doing this means you concede defeat. s stated before, the last trainer standing, wins!" With that, the doors all opened.

"A tower, huh?" Akio said, thinking for a moment. "If there's a powerful Pokemon up there, those guys could try something. Or, they could even be there now scaring people..." He stood up and said, "I need to see what's in that tower! If there's really something there, I'll stop it."

"Good." One single word spoke over the ear piece inside the sailor's ear. It sapped away all the eagerness of a tournament and replaced it with a sinister aura. "Are the cameras in position?"

"Y-yes, sir!"

"Then make sure you take good care of our guests belongings. It'd be a shame if they went missing." The voices owner brought his wrist down. Slightly spiked blonde hair rested on his head, piercing blue eyes looking out from under black shades. He adjusted his long-sleeve blue jacket, sitting down in a beach chair by the tournament stage. He just blended into the crowd, not saying anything else.

Zeiro's door opened within a flash. The boy stood there, staring at the door and taking in all the information he was given. "Should I stay....or go....?" He muttered, thinking deeply. "Trainers are probably moving around...I'll have a better chance running into someone walking around." He returned Bulbasaur and Pidgey to their pokeballs, leaving Nidoran as his starter as he started to walk out of his room.

The girl chuckled again, seeing Akio's enthusiasum. "Most people wouldn't check it out...I like you. I was actually heading there myself. We can go together."

Outside the door, the girl from before was standing in wait, right outside his room with a light smile. "I knew this was your room," she said lightly. "I really need the Moon Stone, so I'll beat you so my Pokemon can level up. Since you're the weakest here, I should win no problem." She tossed a Pokeball, revealing a small pink balloon Pokemon, a Jigglypuff.

Akio nodded as he turned to see if his Pokemon were prepared. They were on the counter, waiting for him. He took the balls and called all four of them out. "Spearhead, Aqua, Light... This is Tails, a new fiery friend. Everyone do your best to get along. We've got a cave to explore."

Zeiro kept his ground as Nidoran stepped forward. To be honest, he was getting annoyed with this girl calling him weak. "You should be careful who you say is weak." He said. "Double kick!" Without a second to spare, Nidoran ran up and jumped, extending its legs out to kick Jigglypuff.

"It's a tower, not a cave." She corrected him. "By the way, my name is Siera. It's nice to meet you..."