"Ross Marco? Oh! The mega stone researcher! You're quite famous, you know. Professors being professors, they talk about other professors too and keep in touch with them. Well then, pleased to meet you," Arc answered. She looked back at her two pokemon, wondering which to use. Of course, the Mareep still needed to learn, and an Absol or maybe a mega one, isn't really a suitable opponent for its first battle. Apparently Arc hadn't used the Mareep in a battle yet. She thought that it did have enough training, but not experience in her battling style. So for now, it's resorted to watching battles to see how things go. "So Lecta, how about it?" She asked the Electabuzz. It let out a happy sound, nodding and pumping its fist in the air, then went over to her. The Jolteon, on the other hand, grunted disappointingly, slumping to the deck floor. "Oh come now Jolt, you defeated that trainer before, not giving Chinch or Lecta any room to battle. Let's give this one to Lecta now, okay?" She tried to comfort the pokemon, but it only answered with a low growl, turning its head away. Arc took that as the Jolteon giving in, so she turned back at the trainer. "Ready whenever you are. Shall we start?" Well, Ross looked prepared enough, seeing as he went to the other side of the deck for battling space. "Alright then. Lec, Substitute, then Focus Punch!" The Electabuzz wasted no time and created a Substitute, then charged for a Focus Punch.

Sam chuckled when the girl talked about his Riolu like it was nothing. "You are probably right, but I bet you can't beat me in a double battle," he said confidently. He was kinda famous for his double battles. He never lost one till now, and his fighting style surprised people when not prepared. He now looked at the deck again. It looked like a new battle was about to start. They were talking about mega stones. _Mega stones... I really want one myself._ he started to think. _Riolu would probably like it when he evolves, so does Metang._ Sam reminded himself to talk to the guy when he had the chance.

He turned and looked at the center of the deck, opening his arms to his Espeon as he did so. She ran at him without hesitation and jumped up into his arms, which held her tightly to him. "Thanks, man." He said to Cody, looking back over at him. Ryker did not understand why the other boy was being so considerate, then again he was acting pretty weird himself- saying things like 'thanks' when he'd usually say buzz off. He had to admit though, it was pretty stupid of him to just stay put and stare at the waves like he had been doing- because Cody was right, it probably was the source of his seasickness. Espeon mewed down to the Chansey as Ryker said "I'd stay and chat- but I think I should take your advice before I hurl." His pokemon bristled and nervously moved in his arms, but he calmed her with a reassuring pat. Another battle was starting up and, as he meekly waved a farewell to Cody and Chansey, he made sure to steer clear of the battling trainers on his way to a safe place on center deck. He found a spot just beside the cabin doors and nestled there, his Espeon stepped out of his lap and intently watched as the battle commenced. "Who do you see winning?" He asked her and she looked up at him as if to say 'hush, I can't concentrate with your babbling' before turning back around. The psychic trainer was aware that his pokemon had the ability to predict the movements of others and thus determine the outcome of battles after a certain point. Of course, unlike psychic pokemon like Kadabra, she could never communicate these things to him- so the question might as well have been rhetorical.

Kite quickly got away in case he had offended this trainer. He did not know who this pixie girl was but she could easily have a short temper and freak out that Win has violated her strange pokemon. Kite thought it was strange because it did not exactly fit ant type that he had seen before. May be it was a misfit pokemon who looked nothing like its typing group.That thought had little relevance to the topic at hand. Kite was clearly standing in this girls personal. "Sorry about that, Tinkerbell." He stated as he walked away. Kite then noticed a girl sitting on the railing commenting on his battle. Something to blow the other pokemon away. That would imply that a flying move would work on ghost types but if he knew his types then Yuki's Frost Breath would be more effective in a battle than any flying type attack that Swab could hope to learn. Kite pulled out Swab's pokeball and stared in deep thought. what will it be able to use? How can it win? Will he fight someone stronger than Orion and Yuki? With that Kite put his pokeball away and let his friend rest some more. Kite walked over to the girl who clearly wanted his attention on the railing. He leaned over right next to her clear in the perimeter set by her other pokemon. "Thanks, but I'm not sure that would help. I need something that can obliterate them, not just blow them away." He stated as he noticed that another pokemon battle was beginning to start up. "Hmm, did I start all of the excitement practically right before we hit the shore." He inquired out loud. Either way it was looking to be something fun he thought as Win crawled from his shoulder to sitting on his back.

Cody's Ponyta had taking one of her occasional glances up from the deck, and noticed land. She got up, and made her way a little clumsily across the smooth deck to the rail. "Ponyta!" "Yes, Ponyta, we're almost there. I'm sure you can't wait to run around properly, and taste the fresh grass." Cody said with a smile. "Ponyta ta." She walked in place a little bit, as if urging the boat forward. She was happy to stare at something other than the deck, or the clouds. There were other pokemon, but she was almost never the first to say hello to a stranger. Not like Ditto, who often played practical jokes like trying to make a trainer think it was their real pokemon. Or like Chansey, who was always friendly. Smeargle joined Ponya, and took in the new site. As a painter pokemon, he always took in everything he could see, and committed it to memory. Speaking of Ditto, the little blob had wandered off a bit again. Cody noticed, and started looking around to see if there was one too many other pokemon on deck.

"Swablu is a gentle pokemon, obliteration isn't exactly in the cards for it yet. Until it evolves you should take a more careful approach, let it float on the air currents to conserve energy and only strike when an opening arises. It draws out the battle a little, but humans are known to grow impatient and make mistakes. Even the most outmatched pokemon has a chance of winning if you know how to direct it." Jade hugged the Trapinch closer to her chest, the shivering seeming to stop by the time she finished talking. She nodded her head in the direction of a second brewing battle. "People are just getting antsy. It's been a long trip, I'm surprised they didn't start up a few hours ago." Silv nudged the side of her trainer's head, cooing as she pointed her nose in Kite's direction. "Sorry, sorry. It must have slipped my mind." She patted the top of the Dratini's head before extending her hand out to the other trainer. "Seems I have forgotten to introduce myself. I'm Jadaria Brookes, Pokemon Ranger."

Kite stood there leaning as he pretty much got a lecture from from another trainer. It is true he had been a trainer for less than a year but He did not feel as if he was that terrible. Then it started to make sense as he heard that this girl was a ranger. Pokemon rangers had a tendency to look down on other trainers because they had to take some sort of wilderness survival course. This girl seemed nice but she did not seem to be the kind of crowd Kite could seem himself enjoying anything with a person like her around. "Jadaria? That is a strange name. I think will call you Dari." He stated to her. Then his eyes started to wander as he saw Skar had returned to the ship.His pokemon seemed to be looking for something else to do. Then his pokemon eyed a Riolu. Skarmory swiped its claw at the Riolu as if challenging it to a fight. "Freshly caught pokemon can be a handful." Kite muttered as he started to stand back up.

Ditto had copied a Riolu most recently, and was hanging out when suddenly a Skarmory came by and swiped at him! He took a step back, and eyed the Skarmory for a second, seeing the thing apparently wanted to fight. He figured that for now he might stay as he was, and took a fighting stance. "Riolu!" He cried, and used Force Palm at the bird.

Skarmory dived in close reading its Metal Claw attack as the Riolu began to get prepared for the attack. Skarmory's face grew fierce because it it knew at this point that it would have a foe who was willing to play with it. Skarmory's Metal claw collided straight with Riolu's Force Palm as the attacks repelled each other. Skarmory flew towards the air where it felt that it could not be struck by this Riolu. Now that it has a moment to breath and gain perspective it decided to attack again. Skarmory readied another Metal Claw and aimed it at the Riolu again. Meanwhile Kite stood at the other end of the boat. He gently petted the Dratini as an alternate form of shaking hands to say good bye to the pokemon who politely acknowledged he was there. Kite had seen a terrible situation. His newly caught pokemon who he let freely fly about had taken the liberty to hunt down another pokemon. He wouldn't be surprised if the crew asked Kite to fly the rest of the way to Sinnoh. Thinking of that the island had come into view. That may be good since his ravaging pokemon didn't have time to do much damage but he better get over there sooner or later before Skar ends up getting beat badly by a tiny Riolu.

As Ditto saw the Skarmory pull back, and come in with another Steel Wing, he took a defensive stance and braced for the attack. When it hit, he used Counter, which takes all the damage done and throws it back twice over. Since this time the Steel Wing wasn't met with an equal attack, it hurt a bit, but that was how Counter worked. If you don't take much damage, you can't dish much out, even at double strength. His trainer, Cody, had considered teaching Chansey the move, since she had high health, and low defense, but so far he hadn't.

"I'm sure I could," Andi responded, crossing her arms once again. Maybe not in her current condition, considering she was restless from being trapped on the ship for days and absolutely freezing from the low temperatures, but that didn't apply to permanent situations. "Maybe when we get to Sinnoh, I'll give it a go," she turned to face the battle about to happen at the far side of the deck. _Another one?_ Jesus, these people needed lives. This time it was an Absol fighting against an Electabuzz. She hadn't even noticed the battle between the Skarmory and Ditto as well until just now. "These people need lives," she repeated once more, her Lucario nodding his head in agreement. --- The girl certainly knew her current events, Ross was impressed. Not that he would announce that, considering it would likely come out condescending: he wasn't as good with words as he was with science. So instead, he remained silent during her comments and waited for her commands. Okay, Focus Punch. . that would take a chunk of Rivet's health, considering that she was a Dark type. He had to interrupt that somehow. . Raising the bracelet on his left hand, it suddenly reacted with the Absol, causing the Pokemon to become cloaked in crystallized light, a purple shade mixed with a pink hue. By the time the illusion had shattered, the Pokemon had taken a new form and let out a cry to flaunt this. "Rivet, use Quick Attack!" And the Pokemon took off in a blur, slamming its body against the Substitute, before leaping back in the air, "Good, now Razor Wind!" He commanded, as sharp edges cut through the otherwise calm setting heading for the deck and Pokemon below. Generally, Ross would start out with that attack, but he was worried about that Focus Punch. He had tension in his gut. He sucked at battling, but he wanted to win. _Oh, how he wanted to win._

Kite stood in pure astonishment. His Skarmory charged in with a Metal Claw and strut the other pokemon hard but it was all a trap.The blue thing seemed to use a counter attack and pretty much repelled Skarmory back into the air where it has come from. "Hey Skar you ready for some advice or do you want to keep getting beat like that!" Kite yelled to get his pokemon's attention. With he probably got everyone's attention again making him seem like a battle loving fool who tarts fights. But it would be lie if he said he didn't like win. Then a bright light covered Kite's shoulder opposite to Wingull. Swablu has come out of its pokeball wanting to see this battle between Skarmory and the Riolu across the boat. "So should I withdraw or keep going." Then both the birds on his shoulders gave him an angry look and swanked at him. "Fine I guess we can go for the win here." Kite defended to his pokemon. Swab still looked heated because Kite made him withdraw and most of his pokemon seemed to agree with whatever Swab wanted about all of the time. As Kite was closer to the ongoing battle he decided to take command of his pokemon. "Okay Skar, I don't condemn you picking on helpless weaklings but if they hit my pokemon they go down." Kite stated mainly to his opponent watching. "Now I want you to fight back with the same tactic as before." Kite commanded his pokemon as it readied its claw. With some hesitation it fires it Swift attack instead. Then a dozen tiny stars fired out of Skarmory's mouth at the Ditto.

Ditto watched his opponent in the air, and dodged to the side when he saw the attack, but the stars turned and hit him anyway. Swift didn't do a lot of damage, compared to other attacks, but it never misses. After recovering, he couldn't think of a way to get up to Skarmory. He looked towards Cody, hoping for trainer advice. "Riolu?" He said pitifully. Cody gave it a little thought. He couldn't think of any ranged attack a Riolu might know, off the top of his head, but he thought of something else. "Look behind you. Use Quick Attack. Understand?" He said. Skarmory was in the air, but behind Riolu was the cabin of the ship, which riolu could use to get some height. He could jump on the rail, leap to a perch, and launch from there at Skarmory. Using Quick Attack, he could do this fast enough that Skarmory wouldn't have much time to react. Ditto understood what Cody meant, and pulled it off, launching into the air just above Skarmory to try to grab its wing and slam it to the ground.

Kite was fully aware that Skarmory has not warmed up to being a tamed pokemon yet. That is why this thing will take some time before it can trust Kite to the level Wingull and Pidgeotto have reached. Until that point comes he knew that to battl with his pokemon he has to tell it what moves not to use and he might be able to win this fight. The Riolu had used a combination of Quick Attack and its surrounds to land on top of Skarmory's back. That could be used to his advantage if his pokemon made the right move. "Skar you got one move that can hit that thing. please use it." His pokemon not only did not follow his orders but it made the worst possible move. It dove straight into the water. "Not good." Kite said with fear.

The Absol went to its mega form, which Arc predicted it would, seeing as Ross was holding the ring and it had the stone. It struck the substitute with a Quick Attack, then a Razor Wind, breaking the substitute. It didn't matter, though. The Electabuzz had already charged its Focus Punch. "Run, Lecta. Thunderbolt next," she commanded the pokemon. In case the Absol didn't faint with the Focus Punch, Arc made sure her Electabuzz would hit it with a Thunderbolt to finish it, seeing as the Focus Punch would've done much damage. The Electabuzz did as told. It bolted to the Mega Absol, then landed its Focus Punch at the pokemon's rear, sending it tumbling. With a 100% accuracy, Focus Punch wouldn't miss, and the Mega Absol wasn't holding any Brightpowder or Lax Incense, so it hit. While the pokemon was down, the Electabuzz charged for a Thunderbolt.

To Cody's surprise, Skarmory landed in the water, instead of on the deck. It even seemed to have done it on purpose. He jumped up, and ran to the railing in the hopes of seeing them. "Hey. Can your Skarmory swim?" He asked Kite. Being a Steel type, Skarmory probably wasn't the most buoyant pokemon. Ditto would most likely be fine, but Cody was still concerned. If nothing else, spotting ditto would help Cody get him back into its pokeball. Ditto let go of Skarmory after they hit the water, and spent a few seconds under the waves trying to figure out what happened before making its way to the surface. The waves made it difficult to see much, though.

Kite stared on as his pokemon did one of the most thick headed moves in the book. "Well you got the blue fox thing off but neither one of you can swim!" Kite mocked at his pokemon's choice of tactic. Kite didn't think that Skarmory would be able to fly far with steel parts full of salty sea water. Considering how any plane has difficulty flying with a bit of water on its wings. No matter what was to be done the past could not be helped now. "Skar you need to get out of the water now!" Kite commanded. His pokemon listed for once because it was the only logical option. Skarmory using all the power in its decaying wings pulled itself out of the water and forced its way onto the boat. "Well no more flying until you dry off."Kite said as he put a hand of Skarmory's wings. "Hey does your pokemon need assistance." Kite said to the other trainer.

Silv chimed happily as Kite patted her head. "Dari, huh? That's a first." Jade mumbled to herself as the guy went to address his rowdy pokemon. She eyed the Skarmory carefully, wondering why such a pokemon was allowed out of sight with the cooperation of a wild pokemon. "Picking fights with whoever is around hmm? I should put you two away to keep you safe." Mia and Blake shot Jade saddened looks but they didn't protest as she returned them to their pokeballs, and tucked them away into her bag. Just as Jade decided to approach the battle as a bystander, the Skarmory took a dive into the water. With a look of concern she bolted to the railing, looking over trying to see through the waves. Much to her relief the Skarmory pushed its way out of the water and onto the boat, leaving the Riolu behind. "Silv, can you reach it?" Sensing the affirmation from her companion, Jade gripped the railing and hopped over, hanging down by one arm. Without need for instruction, Silv wound her way down Jade's body and slipped into the water. As gently as she could, without crushing the pokemon, Silv wrapped the back end of her body around the Riolu and pushed through the waves toward Jade. As her pokemon returned, Jade lowered her bag as close to the water as she could reach so that the Dratini could climb back up with her. Taking the hint, Silv used the bag as a starting point, climbing the bag before wrapping the other half of her body around Jade's waist. It had been a little while since she got involved in something like this, but the thought of a pokemon in danger scared her more than anything. With a quiet grunt, Jade latched onto the railing with her other hand, using both arms to heave herself back up to a sitting position on the railing. Switiching her gaze between the Skarmory and the "Riolu", Jade sighed with relief. "Are both of you alright?"

Ditto shivered, but much appreciated the rescue. It gave Silv and Jade a hug, shivered a bit, and ran over to Ponyta to get warm. Ponyta was a bit nonplussed by a wet Riolu trying to use her as a space heater, but after a few sniffs realized it was Ditto in disguise. Chansey produced a softboiled egg for Ditto to eat, and also went over to give Skarmory one. "Thanks for the help." Cody said. "I'm not sure if I could have used my pokeball to get him to return. My name is Cody, by the way." He wondered if he should spill the beans about Ditto, but would enjoy the surprise if Skarmory decided to continue picking a fight, and Ditto decided to turn into Ponyta.

"Rivet!" Ross called out, flinching when the Absol had stumbled back and nearly toppled over. Just as predicted, the Focus Punch had taken a large chunk of her health and now, she mingled between remaining in battle and fainting. Though, the white Pokemon barred its teeth in a determined way and stood still, jumping aside as the thunderbolt hit near her. "Quick Attack, once more!" He commanded as the Absol darted past the Thunderbolt and slammed its body weight against the Electabuzz. "Now, Night Slash!" It was a shame that she knew no Earth type moves, otherwise, this battle would've been over ages ago. Still, he should've just thrown in the towel. There was really no way that Rivet was going to win. _Or was there?_