Ash stepped out of the ship's bathroom, the door swinging shut softly behind him. He put on a wetsuit to prepare to go down.
The wetsuit clung tightly to his frame, black neoprene stretched over his shoulders. It wasn't ideal, too tight, especially across his chest, but he'd endured worse discomfort before. More importantly, it hid the scar that crossed his chest. That was the important thing.
A moment later, Drake emerged from the adjacent bathroom, already dressed in his own wetsuit. It fit him like it had been custom-made, loose confidence, practiced ease. He carried a set of scuba gear under one arm and handed part of it to Ash without ceremony.
"Mask, regulator, and tank," Drake said, "Double-check the seals. We won't get a second chance once we're down there,"
Ash nodded, taking the equipment and moving automatically as he began checking straps and fittings.
"Alright, listen up," Drake called, "What we're looking for is an ancient submersible. Old tech, older than anything still in use. If the records are right, it's resting on the seabed directly below us,"
May leaned over the rail, gripping it tightly, "How deep?"
"Deep enough that you don't want to be guessing," Drake replied evenly, "Ash and I will head down first. Once we find it, we'll give the signal,"
He gestured toward the aft of the ship, where thick cables were coiled beside the crane.
"When you see it, the crew will lower the crane lines. We'll secure them to the hull of the submersible so we can bring it up slow and clean. No sudden pulls,"
"So, what do we do?" Brock asked.
Drake snapped his fingers as his first mate, Fitzwilliam, walked over and handed them a tablet and scanner system.
"You three monitor us and tell us if anything comes, any Pokémon, big waves, or anything similar,"
"Uh, so if we have this, then what is your crew doing?" Max asked, genuinely curious.
Drake glanced back at Max, a faint grin tugging at his beard, "My crew?" he said, "They'll be doing what they do best, keeping this ship steady and those lines ready. Once Ash and I give the signal, they'll already be in position,"
As if on cue, the deck came alive with motion.
Crew members moved with practiced efficiency, uncoiling cables, checking winches, and securing harness points along the crane arm. Fitzwilliam barked quiet orders while two sailors locked the crane's stabilizers into place.
"This isn't their first recovery," Drake added, "They just haven't had to pull something this old before,"
Brock nodded slowly, eyes flicking between the equipment and the open sea, "So we're basically mission control,"
"Exactly," Drake said, "Your job is to make sure nothing surprises us. They'll get everything ready so we don't spend all day out here,"
"Right…" Ash muttered as he looked over at Pikachu and Vee. He went and grabbed his eggs, bringing them over to May, "Please hold onto these,"
"A-Ah, right!" May said as she gently took the two eggs into her arms.
"Um… are you really sure about this, Ash?" Max asked.
Ash smiled softly and ruffled Max's hair, "It's fine. It's not my first time going scuba diving,"
"Yeahhhh…" Brock muttered, squinting at Ash. The last time Brock remembered Ash saying that was during the S.S. Anne incident, and… well… "Are you sure? Care to share where you learned?"
Ash raised his hands and waved them beside his head, "Brother, I went to Alola. You think I didn't go scuba diving?"
Brock raised a finger, lowered it, then tapped his chin, "Okay, fair point, but still, you'd better be careful. We don't need another incident," Brock said, leaving it at that and not explaining further.
"Well, that's not ominous at all…" Max muttered.
Drake clipped his tank into place and rolled his shoulders once, settling the weight like it was nothing.
"Alright," he said, stepping toward the stern, "Final checks,"
Ash finished tightening the last strap, then glanced once more at May. She cradled the eggs carefully, Pikachu perched on her shoulder, Vee pressed close as if guarding them both.
"Don't let Max shake them," Ash said flatly.
"I heard that!" Max protested.
"That was the point,"
A few quiet laughs cut the tension, but it faded quickly as Drake swung the ladder down into the sea. The water below was a dark, glassy blue, calm on the surface, hiding everything beneath.
Drake fitted his scuba helmet, then looked back at Ash, "Stick close. Visibility drops fast past the thermocline. If anything feels off, you signal. No heroics,"
Ash nodded as he put on his helmet, "Got it,"
They descended.
The moment Ash's boots slipped beneath the surface, the world changed. Sound dulled. Light fractured into wavering bands. The ship's hull loomed above them for only a few seconds before it began to fade into shadow.
They kicked downward in slow, controlled motions.
Ten meters.
Twenty.
Then Ash heard Drake in his helmet.
[Hey there, can you hear me? Is this working?]
Ash responded, testing it, [Yeah, I can hear you. Do you have a radio or something in these things?]
[Something like that. It's just a way for you and me to talk to each other. We can hear them, but they can't hear what we say unless we open the communicators]
Ash adjusted his breathing, the steady hiss of oxygen syncing with the slow rise and fall of his chest.
[Got it,] he replied, [Private channel. Nice.]
Drake chuckled softly through the comm, [Glad you approve.]
They continued their descent.
Thirty meters.
The light thinned to a muted blue-gray, sunlight filtering down in long, broken shafts. Particles drifted past like underwater snow, stirred by their movement. Above them, the ship was gone now, just a vague shadow swallowed by depth.
[Here's where it starts getting interesting,] Drake said, [Thermocline's just below us.]
As if on cue, the water temperature shifted. A sudden, unmistakable cold crept through Ash's suit, tightening around his skin. The pressure followed, a heavy, constant presence pressing in from all sides.
Ash didn't flinch, [Are we supposed to feel like this?]
[Aye. Don't suppose you've got a Water-type on you?] Drake asked.
[Actually, yeah,] Ash replied. He pulled out the one Poké Ball he'd brought with him, he'd left the rest in his bag. He opened it, and Horsea popped out, already happily swimming around Ash.
[Ah, I see we had the same idea,] Drake said, smirking as he pulled a Poké Ball he'd smuggled onto his scuba suit and opened it, letting out his Kingdra.
Ash and Drake grabbed onto their respective seahorses as they let them pull them down faster, and then they saw the seabed.
Rock formations rose like broken ribs from the sand, patches of kelp swaying gently in the slow current. Something metallic glinted faintly in the distance, too symmetrical to be natural.
[Ash, I'm picking it up on sonar,] Brock's voice crackled faintly through the external channel, [Bearing three-two-zero. Roughly… uh, about forty meters out.]
[Copy that,] Drake replied calmly, [We see it.]
They swam closer.
The object emerged from the gloom piece by piece, first a curved hull, then fins, then a long, ridged spine running along its back. Time and salt had dulled its surface, but the design was unmistakable.
It looked like a Kingdra.
Not just inspired by it, more like modeled after one. The nose tapered like a snout, side fins folded tight against the hull, and along its spine ran old propulsion vents shaped like dorsal ridges. Barnacles clung to its sides, and sea grass had claimed parts of it as home.
Ash slowed, hovering in front of it.
[Huh. This is interesting,] he murmured.
[Ancient Hoenn engineering,] Drake said, [So the things I read in those books are true, a civilization that worshiped Kingdra.]
Kingdra circled the wreck once, then let out a low call. The sound vibrated through the water, echoing softly against the metal shell.
[It's intact,] Ash noted, [No major breaches]
[Good eye,] Drake replied, [That means we can lift it]
Above them, Brock's voice came through again, clearer now, [We're steady up here. Everything looks good… I think…]
[Understood,] Drake said, [Stand by for the signal]
Drake swam toward the forward section and attached the first line to a reinforced ring along the hull. Ash mirrored him on the opposite side, securing the second cable.
[First lines secured,] Ash reported.
[Copy,] Fitzwilliam called in this time, [Crane moving into position. We'll send down the next cables, stand by.]
Drake hovered there for a moment longer, studying the submersible as if committing it to memory. Then, without looking away, he spoke, his tone shifting, quieter.
[So…] he said, [I hear you saved Mr. Stone.]
Ash paused mid-kick, though he wasn't too surprised. Drake had mentioned speaking with Mr. Briney, and Briney was friends with both Drake and Joseph Stone. Putting two and two together wasn't far-fetched.
[News travels fast,] Ash replied evenly, [Let me guess, Mr. Briney told you?]
[Yeah, Briney told me. He pretty much dragged Joseph along to explain what happened. I know the basics.]
Ash exhaled slowly, bubbles rising past his visor, [You didn't bring me down here just to recover old metal, did you?]
Drake's mouth curved into a knowing smile.
[No,] he admitted, [I brought you down here because down here, no crowds, no association, we can speak plainly.]
[So… you have questions, right?] Ash said as they began exploring the inside of the submersible while they waited for the next lines to come down.
[In a way. So…how much do you know about what's going on?] Drake asked.
Ash sighed as he found what he'd been looking for, a certain chest inside the vessel.
[That depends,] he replied, [How much time do we have before we have to go back up?]
–
{A few hours later}
The ocean around Drake's ship churned as the crane finally did its work.
Thick cables groaned under tension, water cascading off ancient metal as the submersible broke the surface for the first time in centuries. Barnacles cracked free. Seaweed slid away in heavy clumps. The hull, still shaped unmistakably like a Kingdra, rose inch by inch, suspended beneath the crane like a relic pulled straight out of legend.
"Steady," Fitzwilliam called, "Easy…easy…"
The winches slowed. The submersible settled into its cradle with a deep, resonant thoom, metal meeting reinforced deck supports. Crew members immediately swarmed it, securing braces, checking stress points, padding contact areas.
"Careful with that section," Drake ordered calmly as he climbed the ladder out of the water, "That spine's structural, not decorative,"
"Aye, Captain,"
Ash surfaced moments later, climbing out just as easily, peeling his helmet off and shaking water from his hair like this had been nothing more than a casual swim. No heavy breathing. No wobble. Just business as usual.
May blinked, "You two were down there for hours,"
Ash shrugged, "Lost track of time,"
"That's not reassuring," Brock muttered.
Pikachu hopped onto Ash's shoulder, squeaking in relief, while Vee circled his feet, tail swishing. May carefully handed the eggs back, and Ash accepted them with a nod of thanks before setting them safely in his bag.
As the crew focused on stabilizing the submersible for transport, already talking about museum contacts and preservation teams, Ash quietly reached back over the rail.
Then he hauled something up: the chest he'd found.
It was heavy, waterlogged, and reinforced with old brass bands etched in unfamiliar Hoenn runes. Sea growth clung stubbornly to its edges, and the lock was old, very old, but intact.
The deck went silent.
Max leaned forward, "Wait… is that-"
"A real treasure chest?" May finished.
Ash set the chest down with a solid thud.
Drake nodded as he removed his heavy scuba gear, "Aye. We found it down there inside the submersible. Didn't think we'd find anything like this, but hey, we always find surprises, don't we?"
Max bounced on his heels, "OPEN IT OPEN IT OPEN IT—"
"Hold on," Brock snapped automatically, then paused, "…Actually, yeah. Open it,"
Ash knelt, brushing away the last bits of kelp. He studied the lock for a moment, then placed two fingers against the metal, "Well, it's locked, but whatever," He snapped the metal lock with his fingers and popped the top open.
Inside wasn't gold. No piles of coins. No glittering jewels.
It was… mud.
May deflated, lowering her arms, "Well, that's disappointing… I thought there'd be real treasure,"
"Me too. Well, I guess the chest itself looks cool," Max said, eyeing the wood.
"Well, maybe there is something," Ash said as he reached in and dug through the mud, moving his hand around like he was searching. His fingers brushed against something solid, and he pulled it out.
In his hand was a Dragon Scale. It was coated in mud, but unmistakable all the same.
Ash rinsed the scale in a nearby bucket, the mud sloughing away to reveal a deep, iridescent blue-green surface. Light caught along its ridges, and for a moment it almost looked like it was breathing, the color subtly shifting like the sea itself.
Drake stepped closer, eyes narrowing with interest. He didn't reach for it, he just studied it.
"Interesting," Drake said quietly, "That's a very special-looking Dragon Scale,"
May tilted her head, "Wait so why was there one scale in that big chest?"
"It's not what it is; it's what it represents," Drake corrected, "That vessel wasn't just shaped like a Kingdra. It was a shrine. Hoenn's old seafaring clans believed Kingdra were guardians of balance, calm seas, and safe passage,"
Max blinked, "So… like a blessing?"
"Aye," Drake said, "Something like that,"
Horsea poked its head out of the water beside Drake's Kingdra, tilting slightly as it noticed the scale. Its fins fluttered faster, and it let out a soft, curious trill.
The scale shimmered faintly in response.
Ash stilled, "…Huh,"
Drake chuckled under his breath, "Figures,"
He reached up, rubbing at his beard, then waved a hand dismissively, "Well, lad, that answers that,"
Ash looked up, "Answers what?"
Drake nodded toward the scale, "Who it's meant for,"
There was a brief pause before Brock caught on, "Wait, you're not keeping it?"
Drake shook his head, "Nope,"
Max's jaw dropped, "You're just, giving it to him?!"
Drake turned, fixing Max with an even look, "Ash nearly doubled our effective dive time, stabilized the lift, and he's the one who found the chest. Besides, I don't need it, I already have my Kingdra, hahahaha!" he laughed.
"Hm. Neat," Ash muttered as he held it. That did make things easier, but Ash knew full well Drake was bluffing. He would have given it to him even if he hadn't helped or found the chest. It had more to do with what they'd talked about underwater, in secret from everyone else.
"Alright, then," Drake clapped his hands, "How about we get back into our regular clothes, then celebrate? I hope you kids are hungry," Drake grinned.
"I am!" May raised her hand happily.
"Of course you are," Max muttered, only for May to swing at his head. This time Max dodged to the left, already celebrating, until May twisted and still managed to land a hit.
Brock sighed, pushing the siblings apart before May could murder Max, "I could eat too. I'm curious what sailors eat,"
As Ash went to his bag to grab his clothes and put the scale away, since he was in public and couldn't use his personal dimension, his eggs suddenly began to shake.
"Eh—right now?!" Ash blurted out as everyone finally noticed the movement. When Ash grabbed them and set them on his knees, they began glowing as they started to hatch.
The first egg cracked with a sharp tik.
A thin fracture raced across the shell like lightning, and then, a chunk broke free. Something small and blue shoved its way out, wriggling stubbornly until it tumbled forward into Ash's hands. A Bagon.
Its head was far too big for its body, its tiny legs kicking indignantly as it sneezed out bits of shell. It looked up at Ash with wide, determined eyes and immediately headbutted his chest with all the strength its hatchling body could muster.
"Oof—yep," Ash laughed despite himself, steadying it, "That tracks,"
The deck let out a collective "Aww,"
But no one had time to linger, because the second egg began to hum.
Not crack, a hum.
A low, resonant vibration spread through the air, making the metal beneath their feet faintly tremble. The shell glowed brighter and brighter until the seams seemed to melt apart, peeling away in clean, geometric sections rather than breaking.
The light flared, and then vanished.
From it emerged a Beldum. But not just any Beldum, this one was shiny.
Max's mouth opened. Closed. Opened again, "THAT'S A SHINY BELDUM,"
The Beldum emitted a soft clang as it drifted closer, lightly bumping Ash's forehead in what could only be described as a tentative greeting.
Ash chuckled, rubbing the Beldum gently, "Guess this is the gift Steven gave me. Didn't expect one of these," he lied as easily as he breathed.
The Beldum nudged into his palm, its magnetic field humming softly, and settled there as if it had always belonged.
Drake exhaled low, impressed, "Well, I'll be damned,"
The Bagon let out a tiny roar, more squeak than anything, and climbed up Ash's arm, planting itself proudly on his shoulder opposite Pikachu, who stared at it.
"Pika…?" Pikachu muttered.
Vee remained on the ground, looking up at the Bagon. They had a system, Ash's left shoulder was Pikachu's side, and his right was Vee's, and it definitely looked like another Pokémon was trying to steal his spot.
Of course, Ash didn't pay attention to that as he gently picked Bagon up by the back of its head, "Easy," he said with a laugh as the deck finally erupted into noise again, "One at a time,"
The Beldum hovered closer, syncing its movement to Ash's breathing, its hum stabilizing into a calm, steady rhythm.
Ash smiled, "Guess I've got my two new babies. Well… it has been an eventful day,"
—
{The next morning}
The sea was calm again. Golden morning light spilled across the deck as Drake's ship cut through the water toward Slateport City, the harbor already visible in the distance. The submersible, secured, tarped, and guarded like a priceless relic, sat quietly in its reinforced cradle.
Ash leaned against the railing, the salt wind tugging at his hair. He'd tied it back in a small bun, since wearing a hat wasn't the best idea after what he'd done yesterday.
Bagon slept against his neck, tiny claws gripping his collar like an anchor, snoring softly. Pikachu occupied its usual spot on Ash's left shoulder, arms crossed, pretending not to care while very obviously keeping an eye on the newcomer. Vee sat on the rail beside Ash, tail flicking slowly.
Floating just behind Ash's head, Beldum hovered in perfect silence, its magnetic field adjusting automatically whenever the ship rocked. Every now and then, it let out a soft, harmonic hum, almost content.
"You collect unusual Pokémon the way some people collect stamps," Drake said, stepping up beside him with a mug of warm milk and peppermint.
Ash smirked, "Wasn't exactly planned,"
"Best things never are," Drake took a sip, then glanced at the hovering Beldum.
Ash didn't rise to that. He never did.
Behind them, May paced the deck, arms folded tight, muttering under her breath.
"Routine, smile, appeal round first, don't trip, don't let Max distract—"
Max leaned over the rail, "You're gonna trip,"
"I am NOT going to-Max!"
Brock caught May by the shoulders before she could lunge, "Deep breaths. You've practiced this,"
"I know," May said, exhaling hard, "I just… it's my first contest, so I'm nervous,"
Drake glanced back at the city, its tall buildings and contest hall rising above the docks, "Aye. The crowd loves spectacle, but they love confidence more,"
May blinked, "You've watched contests?"
"With Wallace as our Champion, it's hard not to know about contests," Drake chuckled, "But now that I think about it, I feel like there was something I wanted to say… but I can't remember,"
"Hey, if you can't remember, then it's probably not important," Ash said.
"Eh, you're probably right," Drake shrugged, "But this is where we part ways. I've got to get back to the League after I drop off this submersible,"
"Right. Thanks for having us," Brock said, giving a polite bow. Drake waved his hand dismissively.
"Eh, there's no need for that. I had a blast myself. You all really know how to make things exciting,"
"Well, it's a gift," Ash said with a wink. Then he gave Drake a salute, "See you next time, and give Mr. Briney my regards,"
Drake returned the salute, "Sure. Now get off my ship," he said with a chuckle.
So that's where they split ways. As the group got back onto land, May spoke first, letting out a relieved sigh, "It's nice to be back on land,"
"I dunno, being on the water was kinda nice," Ash said with a smirk, "I mean, isn't that your thing? There's a bunch of water in Hoenn,"
Max rubbed his chin, nodding, "They do say Hoenn is 7.8 out of 10, too much water,"
"Those are lies and slander and you know it, Max!" May pointed accusingly at him.
Max ducked behind Ash, and Ash waved a hand, "Sure it is. Anyway, how about we head out? Wanna look around town and see if there's anything we can goof off with?"
"You're lucky I do like goofing off," May sighed as she calmed down and started following.
—
Meanwhile, back on the ship, Drake watched the group disappear into town. He closed his eyes as Fitzwilliam walked up beside him.
"So, sir," Fitzwilliam asked, "did you find out everything you wanted?"
"That I did," Drake muttered, "That boy, Ash… he's got heart. I think he's got what it takes,"
After the conversation he and Ash had underwater, Drake had learned quite a bit, yet still nothing that outright confirmed anything. Worse still, nothing that explained why the Association was hiding it all.
Drake sighed, "Well, we'll just have to see how the future goes. You know what they say, the future is in—"
He froze, then slapped his forehead, "Oh! Now I remember. I forgot to warn that May girl that Lisia is going to be in Slateport City to scout someone,"
Drake sighed again, staring out at the sea, "Oh well. I'm sure everything will work out in the end. And if it doesn't… so what? That's part of the journey, isn't it?"