Chapter 2: Pirate Raid.

Sailing soundly within the liquid blues of the Pirate Sea lies a ship. The ship containing a Dragonite statue performing an attacking pose while being attached to the bowsprit and a long white pole being in the middle of the ship. The huge mast attached to the pole puffs out with the wind's push, bird Pokemon soaring through the air and the aquatic Pokemon diving and racing underwater. Being on the ship are two Pokemon: One controlling the wheel of the ship while the other is on the pole looking through the binoculars at the vast blue waters.

The Pokemon with the binoculars stands on his hind paws and has four medium-sized rings around his body: He's a Furret with a black eye patch. The other Pokemon at the wheel has a slender body with most of his fur being white but contain several brown stripes: He's a Linoone. The Linoone turns slightly toward the Furret, sighing due to boredom.

"Hey bro, are we there yet?" He asks.

"Hmm. Nope. Not even close, mate." The Furret answers while withdrawing his binoculars and looking at the blue skies.

The Linoone lets out another sigh and groans. "Man, how long is that village's location?"

"About a few miles I believe, mate."

"Oh wow, that's long!" The Linoone facepalms and continues driving, grumbling something underneath his breath.

Somewhere on the ship lies a door that leads to the ship's room. The room contains a cramped and dim space, with only a lamp to provide light. Two cots and a dresser are the only things to make up the decor of the room. Being on the cots themselves lies two Pokemon; A Dragonite being on the left cot, wearing an crystalline necklace around her neck. And sitting on the right cot is a fox-like creature with golden-white fur and a small mane around her neck: Ninetales. The Ninetales is also wearing yellow earrings on her ears as she chats with the Dragonite.

"Wow...Sorry to hear that, Iris..." The Ninetales says in a sorrow tone, staring at the ground while poking the bedsheets.

The Dragonite looks at the ceiling. Her eyes goes to slit as she sighs heavily, putting a hand over her face. "Stop saying that you're sorry. It's not your fault that my father is killed." She fusses.

The Ninetales shifts a bit then sighs. "I know how you feel, Iris. It hurts to see a family member being taken away from you..." The Ninetales looks at the wall.

"Then why would you say sorry when clearly it wasn't your fault, Anna?" Iris asks firmly.

"...It was nothing...Just me being silly, that's all..." Anna continues staring at the wall while Iris removes her hand from her face. I'm starting to wonder why I joined you in the first place... Anna thinks.

After a few minutes of silence, Anna proceeds to speak. "One question, Iris: How can Ho-Oh use Flare Blitz and Wild Charge together when he can learn neither of those moves?" Iris turns her attention towards Anna with a little smirk.

"Well, that's the magic of Marvel Mischief, Anna. You can think of any two moves you want and combine them into one ultimate move: Mixturing Move. Doesn't matter if you learn them or not." Iris answers proudly. Anna tilts her head slightly.

"Oh? Well, I'm impressed." Anna says.

"Yeah, but here's the catch: You can only have one 'Mixturing Move' and will stick with that move forever, once you've thought of it."

"Oh. That's a stinker."

"Yeah but the good thing is, at least you get to name it basing on two moves." Iris grins. "Although, it's weird that someone with a Marvel Mischief would ask me this. Assuming that someone would know already."

"Oh hush up, Iris!" Anna huffs, her earrings wiggling to the response of her slight movement. "You know that this Marvel Mischief I got from Wild Island is fresh and new to me!"

"Yeah yeah, I know. Just teasing ya for a little bit." Iris laughs quietly, looking at the ceiling with a determined expression spreading across her face.

Then suddenly, a loud 'THUD' is heard from the outside. The two instantly jump, being alerted by the noise. "The hell was that!?" Anna says while her head darts around.

"I don't know. But let's find out immediately." Iris suggests before opening the door and heads outside. Anna follows the Dragonite closely, being on guard of what's ahead. Outside of the ship lies another ship being close to theirs. The Linoone and Furret stare at the ship, both rear back and eyes widen. Iris looks at the two Pokemon and gets beside them. "Ashen, Lucas, what's going on here!?"

Lucas, the Furret, turns around to face Iris and adjust his eye patch. "I don't know, mate! We were--minding business--out of nowhere--ship!" Lucas stammers, his body quivering due to fright.

Ashen notices something on the ship and says, "Guys, look!". He points at the ship, causing the three to catch their attention toward it.

Being on the ship are four lizard-like creatures with oval eyes and a mohawk. Sickly smiles spread across their faces, eyeing at their provoked prey with pleasure. They're known as Scraftys, with one of them wearing a black pirate hat on her head. The pirate hat Scrafty looks at the four Pokemon on the Dragonite's ship and snickers.

"Captain Iris." The female Scrafty says, shifting her hat. "I have some unfinished business to take care of with you and your crewmates."

"Unfinished business? Like what?" Iris asks, looking at her solemnly.

"Oh, like stealing all the loot you got on that there ship."

The female Scrafty grins as her crew spew threat slurs to Iris and the others. Anna raises her brow while Lucas shakes in fear. The other two glare at them, frowns forming across their faces.

"Yeah. We don't have any 'loot' for you fellas." Iris snarls. "And even if we do, we wouldn't give it to you anyway."

"Y-Yeah!" Lucas yells out, quavering nonstop.

The female Scrafty laughs, leaning her arm against her knee. "Is that so? Heh. It won't matter cause we're trashing yer ship until we find something." The Scrafty looks at her crewmates. "Am I right, boys?"

The Scraftys cheer and agree with her, making random grunting and immature noises. Anna growls at the female Scrafty fiercely, preparing to pounce at any given time. "I suggest you sail away right now, Detonix."

"Hmm. I think not." Detonix laughs along with her crew. "Trash this dump, boys." The three Scraftys nod and jump on board the Dragonite's ship eagerly.

"Welp. Guess we gotta deal with these idiots again." Iris says firmly. She and the others embrace themselves in a match as the three Scraftys dash after them with hands glowing dark red: Brick Break. Anna notices the three Scraftys aiming for Lucas and rushes in front of him. Lucas shuts his eyes before the Ninetales uses Protect, forming a shield around her and him. The Scraftys hit the shield then jump back immediately, all gritting their teeth angrily.

Lucas opens his eyes and sees Anna, sighing in relief. "Thanks Anna! I could've been as gone as a weak Magikarp to those triple Brick Breaks if it weren't for you." Lucas says cheerfully.

"No problem. Anything for a friend." Anna responds before mumbling, "Even though that friend is a total idiot."

"Hey! I heard that, mate!"

"You two, look out!" Ashen yells.

Anna finds one of the Scraftys jumping in the air and crashing down with his foot-first: High Jump Kick. She tries to yield another Protect but the shield didn't appear. Because of this, she ends up getting kicked by the Scrafty. She yelps, being blown away as she slides to the side of the ship, nearly overboard. "Anna!" Lucas yells, scurrying over to her. He's then stopped by a jab to the head from another Scrafty, leading him to blackout.

"Lucas!" Ashen shouts, gritting his teeth. His claw glows white while he stares at Iris with intensity alerting his body. "We need to do something and fast."

"I know. Trying to think right now." Iris says, keeping calm while putting a hand against her chin.

"Trying to think? Anna is about to fall off the ship and Lucas is knocked out. Thinking isn't a good idea in this scenario."

Another Scrafty finds the two Pokemon and walks towards them with a devious grin. "Ashen, I know what I'm doing. Trust me." Iris gives the Linoone a small smirk, leading him to be stunned. She then looks at Detonix, seeing her remain on the other ship.

"Hey! Instead of having your boys fight us, why don't you join along!?" She yells out, causing the Scraftys to stop their progress.

"Hmm? Are you trying to pull a trick here? Because you don't want me coming up there. Trust me." Detonix says while tilting her hat up with a grin.

"No trick at all. Not unless you want me to beat your crewmates while you watch."

"Hmm...go ahead. I barely cared about them."

The three Scraftys look at Detonix with pebbles for eyes and say, "Whaaat!?"

"But Lady Detonix, I thought you loved us." The first Scrafty says, backing away from Anna.

"And now you know the truth. Hurts, doesn't it?" Detonix says. She thinks in her head, I hope these idiots don't actually take what I say to heart.

"But boss..." The second Scrafty cries out before the rest of the Scraftys start whining like babies, all hugging each other instantly.

Detonix sighs heavily and facepalms. "These numbskulls..." Detonix says to herself, looking back at the Scraftys. "Guys, I was kidding. I really don't mean those hurtful things towards ya."

This tale has been pilfered from Royal Road. If found on Amazon, kindly file a report.

The Scraftys look down at her, tears still falling. "You're lying to us!" The first yells.

"Yeah, why should we believe you after that stunt?" The second asks. Detonix groans, grumbling something underneath her breath. Iris notices Anna struggling to get back on the ship.

"Shit! Iris! Ashen! Can somebody help me up, please!?" Anna yells, striving to prevent her falling death.

Iris nods. "Sure, just give me a second." She then rushes towards the first Scrafty and punches him in the face, launching him far enough to land on Detonix's ship. She aids Anna onto the Dragonite's ship afterwards.

"Thanks." Anna says with a sigh.

"Save the thanking for later." Iris says, looking at the other Scraftys. "We've got them to take care of."

"Them? You mean just only him?" Anna points at the second Scrafty.

"No. There's another one on board."

"Well, where is he then?"

The third Scrafty suddenly gets behind Ashen, confining him in his hold. "Hey!" Ashen yells, struggling. The Scrafty looks at Iris and Anna before they snarl at him.

"Since Lady Detonix doesn't care about us anymore, we might as well take whatever loot you got for ourselves!" He says.

"You do realize that you can't escape without my ship, right?" Detonix says with her eyes being rolled.

"So? We can just swim away with the loots."

The second Scrafty nods his head in approval, agreeing with the third. Detonix tilts her hat down and puts her hand against her face, closing her eyes. I swear to Arceus, these crewmates have some serious issue of using their heads. She thinks.

"Let go of our friend." Iris demands.

"Or else what!?" The third Scrafty teases.

"Or else this." Iris flicks her nose with her tiny claw. "Now Anna!"

Anna suddenly appears behind the Scrafty and sinks her teeth into his shoulder. The Scrafty yelps in pain before being thrown in the air. Iris launches towards him and grabs him, spinning him around.

"Aaah! I'm afraid of heights!" The third Scrafty cries.

"Oh don't worry. Because here's your--" Iris fires him towards the second Scrafty. "Landing!"

The third Scrafty screams as he aims at the other. The second Scrafty looks at the third obliviously and says, "Huh?". The two then crash into each other and get sent to Detonix's ship. Detonix turns around, noticing the three Scraftys on top of each other. One lone bead of sweat falls down her face partially, forming an angry look on her face.

"Grrr...Idiots! All three of you!" She yells, rage circulating throughout her body. The three Scraftys groan in pain while Iris, Anna and Ashen laugh. The Dragonite flaps down onto her ship.

"Wow. Talk about being threatening." Ashen smugs.

"I agree. Plus, Detonix didn't even attempt to come help her 'comrades'. So much for the Captain of the Wild Island crew, am I right?" Iris shakes her head with a smirk, the other two nodding their heads in agreement.

Detonix becomes infuriated and jumps onto Iris' ship, slamming her weight without hesitation. "Alright then, I'm on the ship. Talk filthy to me now, matees." She says whilst tilting her hat. Iris grins and stares at her unintentionally.

"Alright then. You and your crew are hor--" She suddenly pauses. Her eyes widen a bit as she felt threatened for some reason.

Detonix smirks, "My team is what now, Iris? You didn't finish, mate.".

Ashen looks at Iris and says, "Is something wrong Ir--". He suddenly pauses as well, looking at Detonix slowly with wide eyes.

Anna shrugs at the two and says, "Okay, you two are acting wei--". She also freezes mid-sentence, her eyes widening in terror while staring at Detonix.

The Scrafty laughs deceitfully. "Hahaha! You lots! You fell for my ability!" She yells with pride.

"Intimidate..." Iris and Ashen say, trembling slightly. Anna's body shakes as well before being struck with an idea.

"Hey Iris and Ashen. She may have weakened our physical attacks but she didn't weaken our special ones." Anna says. Iris and Ashen look at her with brief confusions.

"Yeah. You're right, actually: Intimidate only lowers our physical moves, not our special." Iris catches on, smiling. "Thanks for the reminder, Anna."

Anna smiles back. "No problem. After all, I do have Flamethrower so I should be good, anyway."

"Um ladies? Would hate to break the analysis thing for ya but Detonix is heading right toward our--" Ashen gets interrupted by Detonix's Brick Break, gasping while the attack connects with his face. "...direction..." He's then blown away and crashes against the ship's wall, groaning in pain.

Detonix grins sinisterly while Iris slashes her unexpectedly with her glowing light blue wings: Aerial Ace. "Argh!" Detonix yelps from the attack and backs away. She then looks up with a smirk, gripping her fist. "Not so much of a smart move to go for after I'd weakened your attack, ay?"

"Grr." Iris' snarls while preparing another Aerial Ace.

Meanwhile, Lucas remains in his passed out state. "No no. I ordered some Fryin' Ready Berries! Not no Berry Steak!" Lucas yells, swiping at nothing in the air. Anna and Iris look at him and sweatdrop, both thinking of the same word 'Really?'.

Detonix stares at Lucas, shaking her head. "Ah. How air-headed that Furret is. I suppose that I don't mind hurting him some more." She says while dashing toward the Furret's direction.

"Oh no you don't!" Anna wails. She smacks Detonix in the face before getting in front of Lucas. Detonix shrugs off the slap, not being affected by it and roundhouse kick Anna into another wall. The Ninetales slams against the wall and gasps, groaning in pain. She then struggles to return back on her feet while Iris soars down at Detonix with another Aerial Ace. Detonix's fist becomes veiled in an icy presence and counters the Aerial Ace attack with Ice Punch. The two moves collide and send the Pokemon away from each other.

"Huh?" Iris says, looking at her wings. She notices that one of them is now in a frozen state, no longer able to move. "What the hell!?"

"Oh look, I've successfully frozen your wing. How delightful of the rarity, mate." Detonix laughs deviously, preparing another Ice Punch. "But the wing isn't the only thing I want frozen." She leaps out in the air and comet herself at Iris' direction. "It's your body!"

Anna whimpers and cries out, "Iris, no!!!".

The Dragonite notices the Ice Punch and grabs Detonix's fist, wincing at the freezing element of the attack. "Get...off...of...my...ship. You selfish lizard shit!" Iris yells as she throws Detonix menacingly. Detonix lands on the ground swiftly before being hit by a streaming loads of red-orange flames coming from Anna's muzzle: Flamethrower. The Scrafty winces at the attack, causes her body to turn red. She's under a burn status!

"Aargh..." Detonix growls in pain while she takes the burn damage. Iris runs towards her, screaming in furious rage as her eyes glow dark blue and light blue. Anna notices the Dragonite's necklace glimmering brightly and blinks with a gasp.

Oh snap! Is she...about to use her Mixturing Move!? Anna thinks with a surprised look on her face. Iris' fist has a blazing yet icy presence around it, staring at the Scrafty with rage. Detonix looks back with horror and trembles.

"Oh sweet mother of Davy Jones's Locker, I...I didn't expect the fight to go like this..." She says with a whimper. "Th-This is what I get for trying to steal loot from another's ship...Guess this might be the end for me..." Detonix closes her eyes, embracing the attack.

"Fire Ice Punch!" Iris shouts, her fist flaring with glaciering features while pursuing to strike Detonix but then...

She stops...

"Hmm?" Detonix opens her eyes slightly, noticing the Fire Ice Punch fading from Iris' fist. "Why did you stop?" Detonix asks, confusion flutter around her head.

Anna wonders the same thing before Iris speaks, "Because you're already defeated the moment you got the burn status. I've noticed the look on your face and how your team is unable to continue fighting. So there's no use for me to further increase your pain...unless you intend to catch me off guard by pretending to feel defeated." Detonix shifts uncomfortably. "Well, are you?" Iris questions the pirate-hat Scrafty with a glare, cracking her fist just in case.

Detonix blinks for a moment before letting out a heavy sigh and says, "No. You've won this fight, matey." She then winces and whines due to the burn damage still intact. "Wish I was born with Shed Skin like one of my crewmates right now. Hehehe..."

Iris thinks for a while then says, "Wait right here."

"Uhh, sure???" Detonix says confusedly. Iris goes inside of the ship's room for a moment then comes out with a blue-ish colored berry. "Hmm?" Detonix looks at the held berry, curiosity furthers her confusion.

"It's a Rawst Berry. It'll cure your burn status." Iris says while handing the berry to Detonix. Detonix takes the berry in her hand and stares at the Dragonite, blinking in disbelief.

"Um...thank you...Iris...You know, this isn't like the last time we've battled each other...I mean, our last fight wasn't all nice at the end like this one..." Detonix pauses for a moment to glance at the berry. "...Because this one is treated like a sportsmanship, mate..." Iris stares down at the Scrafty, starting to understand her point. "Although, I would like to ask you this..." Detonix says before taking a bite off from the berry, swallowing it in relief.

"And what's that question exactly?" Iris raises her brow.

Detonix's body slowly fades to its regular color as she replies, "Why did you give me this berry, mate? After all the trouble I've caused ya today, you could've easily left me under the status and threw me across the seas.". Detonix chuckles slightly from what she said.

"...It's because I'm not heartless. I may look insensitive, ruthless and malevolent but I'm not exactly that. To be honest, I would hate to see my opponent get themselves beaten to death or remain injured throughout their life." Iris says with courage, gripping her fist. "Unless again, they want to continue the fight and end up potentially dead, hmm?"

Anna looks at Iris shockingly. Detonix blinks before closing her eyes and revealing a smirk, saying, "I see then. I admit defeat and sorry about the mayhem I've caused...including your allies I've beaten." She looks at Ashen and Lucas, the two remaining in their unconscious state.

"It's fine. I'm used to random attacks from another Pokemon, especially the ones that are my rivals." Iris says with a grin. "And besides, I've gotten a goal to achieve. So it's best if you don't get in my way all that much, not unless you want to come along and help."

"Ha. I'll make sure to keep that in mind, Iris." Detonix says. "And by the way, does yer crew look alright, mate? They seemed quite beaten up...". The Scrafty laughs nervously with a sweat being on the side of her face. "Again, my apologies for that..."

Iris turns around and shrugs awkwardly while saying, "You don't say...". The two Pokemon then finally begins to wake up from their unconscious state.

"U-Ugh...what happened?" Lucas asks. "Are my Fryin' Ready Berries cooked?"

Iris shakes her head in disapproval while Anna smacks Lucas on the back of his head angrily. "No you idiot! We were attacked by pirates!" Anna says, glancing at the Furret.

Lucas looks around alertly after he was smacked, "Huh!? Where!?". Anna sighs heavily as she facepaws. Iris and Detonix look at each other then laugh afterwards.

"Silly crewmates?" Iris says with a smirk.

"Tell me about it." Detonix rolls her eyes sarcastically.

One of the Scraftys starts to wake up and says, "You're still a traitor, boss...". Detonix and Iris look at the Scrafty on the other ship.

"Oh hush up, boy. You'll forgive me like none of this never happens, anyway." Detonix grins.

Soon, the pirate-hat Scrafty ends up on her ship with her crewmates, waving goodbye to Iris and her crew. "Bye! Hope to see you again!" Lucas shouts cheerfully. He then blinks cutely, looking confused and turning toward the Ninetales. "Wait, who in the world was that lady again?" Anna rolls her eyes and blows flames onto the dragon's frozen wing.

"There." Anna says as she stops blowing. Iris tests out her wings and sees them functioning fine and dandy.

"Thanks for unfreezing them, Anna." Iris says, sighing in relief.

"No problem, Iris." Anna replies back with a smile forming across her face. She goes to stare at the Pirate Sea, the sun remaining up with its shining sunrays. "Iris...what you did back there...with the whole berry thing, was..."

"Hmm?" Iris looks at Anna with curiosity.

"...Was pretty mature of you to do, not gonna lie..."

"Oh. Well, she looked weak enough to get herself killed so that's why I stopped my attack." Iris shrugs. "I mean, despite putting all my rage and anger into the attack...something tells me to stop."

"I see. Well, that's understandable to do, I suppose." Anna shrugs as well, still looking at the ocean. After a couple of minutes of awkward silence, she turns to face Iris. "It's odd though...Knowing that you're more of a vengeful person but really kind hearted on the inside...". Iris doesn't say anything. She just remains quiet, glancing at her reflection from the aquatic water. Anna begins to feel concern about the Dragonite and continues speaking, "N-Not like it's a bad thing or anything! It's just that...well...". Iris still remains quiet. "I-I mean...c-come on Iris! You know what I mean, r-right?"

"Anna...I suggest you stop talking to me and wait for our destination to Noctis Village." Iris says with a vexed tone, glaring at the Ninetales slightly. Anna is about to open her mouth but decides not to and continues staring at the ship's sailing direction. Then later on, Ashen sees a seaport with some houses and Pokemon from a distance. He also notices a big sign saying 'Welcome to Noctis Village' next to the port.

"Hey guys! We've made it to Noctis Village." Ashen says excitedly. Anna looks at Iris with a smug expression.

"How about now?" The Ninetales says. Iris glares at her with a sweatdrop.

"Oh shut it, Anna!" The Dragonite sighs heavily while the Ninetales giggles. "And finally I can get down to business with a special friend of mine."

"Alright alright! I'm calling dibs on the hot shower, brother!" Lucas says to Ashen. Ashen looks at him with one eyebrow being raised.

"Uh, no. I call dibs for the shower." Ashen says in a demanding tone.

"No! I called dibs first, mate!"

"Oh yeah?"

As the two Pokemon fight over the use of the shower, Anna stares at Iris and thinks to herself, Iris, I know that vengeance doesn't make you proud...You want more than just that...I know you do...

End of Chapter 2.