"Damn it!"
Handsome slammed his hand against the corridor railing.
"He still got away!"
Before Xia You could speak, Handsome had already explained,
"This Lambda is the Team Rocket Rocket Executive I've been tracking. I thought I could capture him today and cut off one of Team Rocket's support lines, but I didn't expect to fail at the very last moment!"
"You've already done great by stopping this robbery," Xia You comforted him.
Then his tone shifted.
"But now isn't the time for self-pity. The most urgent task is dealing with the remaining Team Rocket members below."
"You're right."
Handsome nodded solemnly.
"Then let's act quickly!"
A gentle breeze swept across the sea, stirring ripples on the once-calm surface. In the distance, the sky had already changed color. Thick, massive dark clouds were rolling in, slowly pressing toward the St. Anne.
In the first-floor hall, with everyone working together, Team Rocket was quickly defeated.
The Team Rocket members scattered and fled, vanishing in the blink of an eye.
Handsome was powerless to stop them and could only watch them escape.
After all, he was alone and couldn't possibly capture so many Team Rocket members by himself. After greeting Xia You and leaving his phone number, he also chose to depart quietly.
Just then—
A huge wave slammed into the ship.
The St. Anne shook violently. Passengers who weren't prepared lost their balance and fell heavily to the ground.
Xia You reacted quickly, grabbing onto a nearby table to steady himself. Before he could look up, a soft body crashed into his arms.
It was Misty.
Xia You instinctively wrapped his arms around her waist to keep her from falling.
"Are you alright?"
Misty's face flushed slightly. She looked up at Xia You and gently shook her head.
Under the relentless impact of the waves, the St. Anne swayed violently from side to side. Its stabilization system was nearly useless in such extreme weather.
People rushed to the windows and looked outside.
The sky had turned pitch black, as if night had fallen early. Lightning flashed again and again, thunder roaring without pause.
"It's a storm!"
Someone shouted, and panic spread instantly through the crowd.
Xia You helped Misty back to her feet and sighed.
"In weather like this, the ship definitely won't be able to return."
At that moment, the captain—who had been missing since the chaos began—was finally found. Though panic was written all over his face, he still forced himself to speak calmly.
"B-by the time I noticed, the ship was already surrounded by the storm. But please rest assured! The St. Anne has been thoroughly tested and has an extremely large tonnage. I guarantee it will absolutely not sink!"
As soon as he finished speaking, another massive wave crashed into the ship.
Everyone was thrown to the ground once again.
When they struggled back up, they discovered the captain had already fled to the emergency exit and boarded a lifeboat.
"Everyone!"
From the lifeboat, the captain shouted back to the stunned passengers, repeating his earlier words.
"I guarantee this ship will absolutely not sink! Please stay here with peace of mind!"
But seeing that the captain himself had already escaped, no one believed him anymore.
The crowd surged toward the lifeboats in a frenzy.
In an instant, screams, shouts, and cries filled the hall. The scene descended into utter chaos.
"Let's go too—quickly!"
Xia You waved to Misty and Brock. Just as he was about to move forward, he suddenly noticed something wrong.
"Huh? Where's Ash?"
Misty and Brock hurriedly looked around and finally spotted Ash in a corner near a machine.
"He's over there!"
When Xia You and the others reached Ash, they found him exchanging Pokémon with the man in the suit using the machine.
As expected…
He finally understood.
While operating the machine, the man in the suit noticed Xia You and looked surprised.
"It's you!? In such a short time, your Ralts has already evolved into Kirlia. I'm sure it must be much stronger now!"
Xia You simply nodded in response.
At that moment, Ash retrieved the Poké Ball containing Butterfree. But before he could grip it tightly—
The St. Anne shook again.
Ash's hand slipped.
The Poké Ball fell to the floor and rolled into a nearby corridor.
"Butterfree!"
Ash shouted and immediately chased after it.
Out of concern, Misty and Brock followed him into the corridor as well.
Xia You glanced back at the lifeboats.
If he wanted to escape safely, now was clearly the best chance.
But realistically speaking, with waves this violent, even a lifeboat wouldn't be safe.
Shaking his head, Xia You chose not to leave alone. Instead, he followed Misty and Brock into the corridor.
After running forward for dozens of steps, he finally caught up with Ash.
Just as Ash picked up the Poké Ball and was about to stand—
A terrifying force swept through the entire St. Anne.
The next second, Xia You felt the world spin. His body was lifted into the air before slamming violently against the wall.
It was a brutal impact.
After a long moment, with Kirlia's help, Xia You managed to stand back up.
Only then did he realize—
The entire ship had completely capsized.
He could clearly feel the St. Anne continuing to sink. From time to time, the sound of metal cracking echoed around them, accompanied by streams of seawater pouring inside.
It finally sank…
Nearby, Ash and the others were also badly shaken. Xia You woke them one by one. When they realized their situation, their expressions changed drastically.
Another tremor passed through the ship.
The St. Anne seemed to settle at the bottom of the sea, coming to a complete stop.
The corridor lights were still on. It seemed the ship's electrical system hadn't failed yet.
"What do we do now?"
Ash pressed his face against the window, his expression filled with shock.
"The ship has completely sunk to the bottom of the sea!"
"Calm down," Xia You said firmly.
"We need to find a way out as soon as possible. We must escape before this place is completely flooded!"
Fortunately, due to the large amount of air trapped inside the ship, seawater wouldn't fill it immediately. The pressure difference bought them some precious time.
The group hurried along the corridor.
However, because the ship had capsized, up had become down, and down had become up. Many passages were completely blocked. In addition, the accumulating water made movement increasingly difficult.
When they finally reached the stairwell, they froze.
The stairs were completely submerged.
With no path forward, they could only stop—nervous and uncertain.