Chapter 30: A Way Out

“Next, are we going to dive underwater?” Ash asked.

Brock stirred the seawater gently with his hand, worry creasing his brow. “But if we dive down and end up swimming for a long time only to find a dead end, or encounter a locked gate we can’t open, we’ll be in serious trouble.”

“That's why we have Pokémon!” Misty said, pulling out a Poké Ball and releasing a Corsola into the water. “Corsola, go check out what’s down there and find a way we can escape!”

Corsola nodded and sank beneath the waves, disappearing from sight in an instant.

But a long time passed without any sign of it returning.

“Still no luck, huh?” Misty frowned. Just as she was about to dive in herself, the surface of the water suddenly rippled.

After a moment, breaking through the waves came a disheveled, ghostly-looking human head!

Everyone was so focused that the sudden appearance startled them. Misty screamed and hid behind Sha You, clutching his sleeve, trembling.

Compared to the girls, Sha You was braver. He steadied himself and, as the head floated closer, he realized it was the three members of Team Rocket stacked one on top of the other, pushed up from underwater by Corsola.

“Don’t be afraid, it’s Team Rocket,” Sha You said, patting Misty’s shoulder. When she saw it was indeed them, she let out a relieved breath.

“What the heck! How are you guys underwater?” Jessie, James, and Meowth lay sprawled on the ground, coughing up seawater. They had looked near death moments ago, eyes rolling back, but upon hearing Misty’s voice, they instantly revived and jumped up.

Jessie shouted, “What a coincidence! It’s you guys!?”

Suddenly, tension flared on both sides as everyone drew their Poké Balls. Jessie and James released Ekans and Koffing, while Ash and Brock called out Squirtle and Geodude.

“Hey, hey!” Misty stepped between them, waving her hands urgently to stop the confrontation. “You need to understand—Corsola just saved you! And look around, this is no time to fight! If we don’t figure out how to escape soon, we’ll all die here!”

Despite her words, Ash, Brock, and Team Rocket glared fiercely at each other, none willing to back down.

At that moment, James suddenly noticed Sha You standing nearby and pointed, surprised. “Ah! It’s you! Thanks for earlier. Otherwise, I would’ve been tricked by that guy selling Magikarp!”

“You idiot, we’re bad guys! Why would we thank anyone?” Jessie knocked James on the head and then looked puzzled. “By the way, who is he?”

James blushed, unwilling to reveal the truth. If Jessie found out he had nearly spent two people’s salaries on a useless Magikarp, she’d be furious.

Sha You intervened. “Let’s all just call it a truce. Misty’s right—we don’t have much time!”

With Sha You mediating, both sides finally called back their Pokémon.

Through questioning, they learned that Jessie, James, and Meowth had also failed to leave the St. Anne ship in time. When the cruise ship capsized, they tried to escape urgently by breaking through the hull, letting seawater flood the cabin and sweeping them into the currents.

If Corsola hadn’t happened to pass by, the trio would have become underwater ghosts.

“Hmph, fine,” Jessie said arrogantly, hands on her hips. “But don’t get cocky. This is only a temporary truce, not a promise we’ll go easy on you later!”

“I say…” Sha You tentatively asked, “You don’t have any Water-type Pokémon, right? We’ll have to get out through the water. Do you really think it’s a good idea to act so high and mighty?”

The Team Rocket trio’s expressions changed instantly as they realized the problem. Their attitude shifted completely as they bowed and apologized.

“Ah! Sorry, we were wrong!”

Sha You smiled and shook his head. No matter how tense the atmosphere, with them around, things always turned playful and lighthearted.

With Team Rocket dealt with, they could finally focus on their escape plan.

Brock rubbed his chin thoughtfully. “So, how exactly do we get out of here?”

“I’ll handle it,” Misty said confidently. “I used to build models of the St. Anne, so I know the layout well. Since the lower routes are blocked, we’ll have to go above. I remember the hull under the engine room is thinner. If we make a hole there, we can escape!”

Everyone nodded in agreement except Sha You, who objected.

“We can’t make a hole in the hull!”

“Huh?” Misty asked, puzzled. “Why not?”

Sha You explained, “If we break the hull, water will rush in from above. The pressure will be immense, making it very difficult to swim upward. Also, breaking the cabin will disrupt the air pressure, and seawater will quickly flood the entire ship. If we don’t manage to escape through the hole, we won’t have time to try anything else.”

Misty’s eyes brightened. “I see. Do you have a better idea?”

“Since the lower part is already flooded,” Sha You continued, “why don’t we have Water-type Pokémon break through one spot in the hull underwater and swim us out? That way, the water pressure we face will be much less.”

“But…” Misty hesitated, “that’s going to take longer than leaving from above. I’m worried we can’t hold our breath that long.”

“No worries,” Sha You said, peering out a window. “Though the ship is sunk, this area is shallow. We’re not that far from the surface.”

He pointed down to the water beneath them.

“Look, what’s that?”

Everyone looked down and saw a few plastic bottles floating nearby.

The drinks had been finished, leaving air inside, and somehow these bottles had drifted here.

Sha You said, “If we hold these bottles in our mouths, even an extra breath will let us hold our breath several minutes longer. And the water isn’t deep enough to crush them.”

If anyone else had suggested this, Misty might have insisted on her plan. But with Sha You’s voice, she became the strongest supporter.

The others exchanged glances, unsure, but since Misty agreed with Sha You, they had no more arguments.

“Alright then, let’s do it your way!”