| Strange New World Part 2-The Journey to Server |
| "How much further is it?" Ash complained. "Chill, Ash! We're almost there!" Tai retorted. The ten kids, along with the eight Digimon and Pikachu, have been walking through nothing but forest for the past half-hour. Suddenly, Tai and the other kids stopped walking. "What's going on?" Ash asked Violet. "We're at the beach, Ash," she explained as they followed the Digi-Destined kids and their Digimon onto the stretch of white sand. "Okay, everyone, we need to find a way to get to Server," Tai announced as he and Agumon sat down on the beach. Everyone else sat down on the beach soon after he and Agumon did. "Any ideas?" Tai asked. "What about building a raft?" Ash suggested. "That's a good idea, Ash," Violet admitted. "Actually, that's a bad idea," Joe muttered out loud. "Why is it a bad idea, Joe?" Violet asked. "We've tried that before, and everything didn't exactly work out as planned," Joe admitted. The ten kids thought quietly to themselves for a few minutes. "I got it!" Violet exclaimed. "What is it, Violet?" Sora asked. "Ash and I can use our water and flying Pok�mon to help us get to Server," she suggested. "I don't know about that, Violet," Ash muttered out loud. "The only Pok�mon I have that can either swim or fly are Squirtle, Lapras, and Charizard. What do you have?" "Well, I have Butterfree, Dragonite, and Tentacool," Violet announced. She thought about it for a moment. "Then again, maybe that won't work. I don't think that will be enough Pok�mon to get us all to Server." "What about you, Izzy? Any ideas?" Matt asked Izzy, who had been quiet for a while. He suddenly snapped his fingers. "I believe I have come up with a solution to our current predicament," Izzy announced as he stood up. "What is it, Izzy?" Tai asked. "If we can contact our old friend, Whamon, he can take us to Server in no time," Izzy explained. "That's a good idea, Izzy," Sora admitted. "Who's Whamon?" Ash asked curiously. "He's a huge whale-type Digimon that lives out in the oceans of the Digiworld," Izzy explained. "Whamon has helped us out before, so I'm positive that he'll have no problem taking all of us to Server."� "But, how are we going to find this Whamon if he lives in the ocean?" Violet asked. "No problem. I'll go look for Whamon," Gomamon volunteered. "I can ask all my friends if they've seen him. I should be back in no time." "Go for it, Gomamon," Joe encouraged his Digimon. Gomamon nodded as he headed to the water, jumped in, and dove underwater. "So, what do we do till Gomamon comes back?" Ash asked. "Well, I personally would like to learn more about these Pok�mon you have been telling us about," Izzy revealed. "Yeah. Me, too," Sora admitted. "I think we all want to know more about Pok�mon," Tai added. "Well, umm...you wanna start, Violet?" Ash asked. "Sure," Violet slowly replied. "Well, Pok�mon are kinda like pets. Anyone who owns a Pok�mon has the responsibility of taking care of it, like you would probably take care of your pet cat or dog. "As you probably noticed, Pok�mon are not like any pets you've seen before. Some people do keep them as pets, but most people train their Pok�mon to battle other Pok�mon. By training just one Pok�mon to battle, a trainer can use this to help capture wild Pok�mon and to increase their own Pok�mon's strength and level. All Pok�mon are captured in Pok�balls, and that's where they're normally kept until they're needed." "Well, what about Pikachu?" Kari asked. "How come he's not in his Pok�ball?" "You know, that is a good question," Violet muttered. She loked at Ash and Pikachu, who was sitting in Ash's lap. "Why is that, Ash?" she asked. "Well, umm...Pikachu doesn't like being confined in a Pok�ball," Ash explained. "Right, Pikachu?" "Pik-a-chu," Pikachu muttered. "Anyway, there are a lot of Pok�mon trainers back home," Violet continued. "For a Pok�mon trainer to show how skilled he is at training his Pok�mon, he would enter the local Pok�mon League Competition." "Pok�mon League? What's that?" Sora asked. "It's a competition for all Pok�mon trainers," Violet explained. "There are a lot of Pok�mon Leagues out there, and each one has their own set of rules and their own way of doing things." "Yeah, that's true," Ash admitted. "I was in the Pok�mon League at the Indigo Plateau, and they have four battles on four different fields. If you win all four battles, you get to battle inside the main battlefield." "The Pok�mon League at the Indigo Plateau is just one of many Pok�mon Leagues," Violet added. "The Indigo one is on the mainland, near Pallet Town. That's where Ash is from. There's also a Pok�mon League in the Orange Islands, where I'm from. Everyone calls it the Orange League for short." "Very interesting," Izzy muttered thoughtfully. "Just one question, though. How would a Pok�mon trainer get into one of these Pok�mon Leagues? I doubt you can just walk in and sign up for it." "Well, we have to go around and earn badges from official Pok�mon gyms," Ash explained. "When you have enough badges, you can compete in the Pok�mon League. Like, for the Pok�mon League at the Indigo Plateau, I had to earn at least eight badges." "And for the Orange League, you need to battle members of the Orange Crew at their gyms, and get all four badges," Violet added. "So, what do these badges look like?" Matt asked. "Well, I can show you my badges from the Orange League," Ash announced as he opened his jacket, showing all four badges. "Ooo! They're pretty," Mimi admitted. "Hey, lookit! All those badges are made out of shells!" T.K. pointed out. Ash nodded in approval. "All the badges in the Orange League are made out of shells," Violet told them. "There must be many different classifications of Pok�mon out in your world," Izzy muttered out loud. "Uh-huh. There's fifteen different types of Pok�mon," Violet announced. "Really? Tell us about them," Izzy asked. "Let's see," Ash muttered out loud. "There's fire, water, grass, electric, bug, flying, umm...ice, uh...ghost, hmm..." Ash was obviously stumped. "I'll finish it up, Ash," Violet told him. "There's alos normal, poison, psychic, ground, rock, fighting, and dragon. It's pretty amazing how many Pok�mon are out there." "How many are there?" Tai asked curiously. "There's over a hundred and fifty different species of Pok�mon," Ash replied. The Digi-Destined kids and their Digimon gasped when they heard this. "That's just the ones that we know about," Violet added. "There could be hundreds of undiscovered Pok�mon out there...back at home, I mean." "If you don't mind me asking, how many Pok�mon do you each have?" Izzy asked. "Well, lemme think," Violet muttered. "I'd say I have about twenty Pok�mon, more or less. What about you, Ash?" "Umm...same with me," Ash added. "Can we see them?" Sora asked. "Well, not all of them," Violet told her. "Why not?" Tai asked. "We can only carry six Pok�mon at a time," Ash admitted. "Can we still see your Pok�mon?" T.K. asked with a hint of excitement in his voice. "I don't see why not, Ash," Violet admitted as she and Ash stood up. "Well, okay," Ash muttered out loud as he brought out his five Pok�balls. "Okay, everyone. Come on out!" he shouted, throwing all five Pok�balls in the air. Before hitting the ground, the five Pok�balls opened one by one, each one releasing a different Pok�mon. "Squirtle, squirtle," Squirtle shouted as he landed on the beach. "Bulb-a-saur," Bulbasaur growled. Lapras squealed happily as he landed in the nearby ocean. Charizard roared loudly as he emerged from his Pok�ball and landed on the beach with a massive thud. "Snor-lax," Snorlax grumbled in his sleep as he landed with a huge plop onto the beach. All of the Digi-Destined kids and their Digimon, except for Gomamon, gasped in awe at the sight of these strange new creatures. "Whoa!" Tai exclaimed as he and Agumon slowly stood up, staring in astonishment at Ash's Charizard. "So, what do you think of Charizard?" Ash asked. "He's wicked!" Tai admitted. "Aww! That one is so cute!" Mimi exclaimed, pointing at Ash's Lapras. "What is that one called?" "That's a Lapras," Violet explained. "Actually, this one is just a baby." "What's the matter with this one?" T.K. asked as he, Patamon, Matt, and Gabumon stared at the lounged out Snorlax. "He's just lying there," Patamon muttered out loud. "Well, Snorlax likes to sleep a lot," Ash replied. "I can see how it got a name like Snorlax," Matt admitted. "A Snorlax does sleep most of the time," Violet added. "When they're awake, pretty much all they do is eat. They'll eat anything and everything. From what I heard, a Snorlax can eat up to twice its own body weight!" "Snor-lax," Snorlax mumbled in his sleep. "Maybe I better call Snorlax back," Ash admitted nervously as he brought a Pok�ball up. "Return!" Snorlax was instantly transported to his Pok�ball. "That's so cute!" Kari exclaimed. She and Gatomon were watching Pikachu talk to Squirtle and Bulbasaur. "Squirtle, squirtle," Squirtle shouted. "Bulba, bulba, bulb-a-saur," Bulbasaur grunted, nodding his head. "Pika, pi! Pik-a-chu!" Pikachu exclaimed. "I wonder what they're saying," Gatomon muttered. "Yeah, me, too," Kari agreed. Just then, the three Pok�mon looked curiously at Kari and Gatomon. "Pika, pika. Pik-a-chu," Pikachu explained, pointing at Kari and Gatomon. Squirtle stepped closer to the young girl and her Digimon. "Squirtle, squirtle," he greeted with a smile, extending his paw to Kari. She giggled a bit as she shook Squirtle's paw. "Nice to meet you, Squirtle," Kari exclaimed with a smile. Suddenly, Kari felt something rubbing against her leg. She looked down and noticed that it was Bulbasaur. "Bulb-a-saur," he purred as he rubbed his head against Kari's leg like a pet cat would. She giggled as she patted Bulbasaur on the head. "Your Pok�mon are definitely getting along with Kari," Violet pointed out to Ash. He nodded in approval. "Hey, Violet! What about your Pok�mon?" Ash asked. "Aren't you gonna let them out?" "Oh, yeah. I almost forgot," Violet admitted as she removed six Pok�balls from her pocket, which were the size of Ping-Pong balls. The other kids watched curiously as she laid them all in a row on top of the white sand. "All right, everyone, come on out!" she shouted. The six Pok�balls immediately expanded to the size of softballs and opened up one by one. "Rai-rai!" Raichu growled as he emerged from his Pok�ball. "Free! Free!" Butterfree squeaked as she flew out of her Pok�ball. Dragonite squealed happily as she also flew out of her Pok�ball. "Tent-a-cool," Tentacool growled as he landed in the water next to Ash's Lapras. Rapidash neighed loudly as she landed on the beach next to Violet. "Gloom, gloom!" Gloom exclaimed as she also landed on the beach. "Oh, wow!" Sora exclaimed. "Okay, you all remember Raichu, and some of you already know Butterfree," Violet started. "This is Rapidash, a fire Pok�mon. Next to her is Gloom, a grass Pok�mon. Over there in the water is Tentacool. He's a water Pok�mon. And finally, this one is Dragonite. She's a dragon Pok�mon." "Oh, I just love this one!" Mimi exclaimed, bending down to take a closer look at Butterfree, who had landed on the beach next to Gloom. "She's such a pretty pink Pok�mon!" "Free!" Butterfree squeaked as her cheeks turned red. "Hey, Mimi! This one kinda looks like me!" Palmon exclaimed as she looked at Gloom. Mimi looked first at Palmon, then at Gloom, then back at Palmon. "Come to think of it, you're right," she admitted. "Yeah, they do look alike," Violet muttered thoughtfully. "Gloom?" Gloom muttered slowly as she looked at Palmon. "Huh?" Palmon exclaimed when Gloom unexpectedly hugged her. "Why is your Gloom hugging Palmon?" Mimi asked curiously. "Gloom probably thinks that Palmon is a Gloom, too," Violet explained. "Gloom, gloom!" Gloom squealed as she let go of Palmon. Violet suddenly looked up at the water. Small pockets of bubbles have suddenly appeared at the surface, as though something was about to come up to the surface. "Tent-a-cool," Tentacool growled suspiciously. Out of instinct, he reached into the water with his tentacles where the bubbles appeared. Everyone was watching Tentacool, who was still trying to grab the anonymous sea creature with his tentacles. "Tentacool," he grunted quickly. "Whatever it is, he must have caught it," Violet muttered thoughtfully. With a quick jerk, Tentacool pulled something out of the water, wrapped tightly in his tentacles. As Tentacool raised the entangled creature over his head, the ten kids heard a familiar voice shout, "Hey! Come on! Let me go!" "Gomamon?" Joe asked curiously. "Joe, help!" Gomamon yelled. "Let him go, Tentacool," Violet shouted. "Tenta," Tentacool grumbled as he let go of Gomamon, who dropped into the water with a big splash. "I'm so sorry about that, Gomamon," Violet apologized as Joe's Digimon quickly crawled onto the beach, completely out of breath. As Gomamon shook off the water on him, Tai asked, "Did you find him, Gomamon?" "Sure did," Gomamon replied. "Whamon's on his way here." "Since we'll be leaving soon, Ash, we should call back all of our Pok�mon," Violet suggested as she picked up he six Pok�balls from the beach. "Good idea," Ash admitted as he held up two Pok�balls. "Squirtle, Bulbasaur, return!" The two Pok�mon were instantly transported to their Pok�balls. Ash held up two more Pok�balls. "Lapras, Charizard, return!" The two remaining Pok�mon were also instantly transported to their Pok�balls. As Ash put away his Pok�balls, Violet started to call back her Pok�mon. "Butterfree, Raichu, return!" she shouted as she lifted up their Pok�balls. Raichu and Butterfree were instantly transported to their Pok�balls. Violet placed the pair of Pok�balls in her pockets and held up a second pair of Pok�balls. "Gloom, Rapidash, return!" Rapidash and Gloom were instantly transported to their Pok�balls. She put away their Pok�balls and brought out the last pair of Pok�balls. "Dragonite, Tentacool, return!" The two remaining Pok�mon were transported to their Pok�balls. As Violet put her Pok�balls back in her pocket, a massive swell of water appeared in front of them. Violet, Ash, and Pikachu gasped as a huge dark brown whale rose out of the swell of water. "Hey, Whamon!" Tai shouted. "Hello, everyone," Whamon bellowed. "Gomamon told me that you need a lift to Server." "Yes, we do. Can you help us out, Whamon?" Sora asked. "No problem. Just climb on top of me, and we'll be on our way," Whamon replied as he lowered himself down in the water. One by one, the ten children, the eight Digimon, and Pikachu climbed on top of Whamon's back... "WAH!" Ash yelled as he tried once again to stand up on Whamon's back with some assistance from Pikachu. Unfortunately, he ended up falling on his back. "Are you okay, Ash?" Violet asked as she helped him up. "Don't worry about me," Ash tried to convince her. He almost fell again, but Violet caught him before he could. "Looks like you lost use of your sea legs," Violet pointed out. "Must have lost them in that hurricane," Ash joked. Both Ash and Violet laughed about it. "I think I'll just stick with sitting for now," Ash suggested as he sat back down. Pikachu willingly jumped into Ash's lap. "Good idea, Ash," Violet admitted. She walked over to the Digi-Destined children, who were all standing up on Whamon's back, along with their Digimon. "What's wrong with him?" Sora asked curiously. "Ash isn't used to traveling so fast on water," Violet explained. "He travels from island to island on his Lapras, and Lapras is just a baby, so he doesn't swim nearly as fast as we're going now." "You don't seem to have a problem with this," Matt pointed out. "Well, when you live in the Orange Islands, by boat is pretty much the only way to travel...unless you have a jet ski, like I do," Violet admitted. "You ride on a jet ski?" T.K. asked. "Sure do," Violet admitted. "I learned how to ride one when I was around your age." "Sounds like fun!" T.K. admitted. Violet smiled at the little boy. "Hey, guys!" Ash shouted. The eight Digi-Destined kids, their Digimon, and Violet turned around and noticed that Ash was slowly walking towards them, along with Pikachu. "How long is it gonna take us to get to Server?" Ash asked as he joined them. "Approximately two days, perhaps three, depending on the weather conditions," Izzy revealed. Ash and Violet gasped when they heard this. "What's wrong, you two?" Sora asked. "Ash doesn't travel alone," Violet explained. "If it's gonna take us days to get back home, Tracey and Misty are gonna be really worried," Ash muttered out loud. "And my dad's gonna be worried, too," Violet admitted. "I promised that I'd try to call him every other day." "Perhaps it won't seem like days to them," Izzy muttered thoughtfully. "What do you mean, Izzy?" Violet asked curiously. "Well, time in the Digiworld passes differently than time back on the world we're from," Izzy explained, indicating himself and his human friends. "A minute in our world is equivalent to one day here in the Digiworld. It's possible that the same rule could apply for your world as well." "Are you sure about that, Izzy?" Sora asked. "Well...no. It's just a theory, so I can't exactly be sure," Izzy reluctantly admitted. "I hope it's true," Ash muttered out loud. "Yeah, me, too," Violet added. "Hold on, everyone!" Whamon shouted. "We're about to hit some rough water!" Everyone quickly got down on their knees as Whamon started to bounce up and down from the incoming waves. "Pika!" Pikachu moaned fearfully. "Hang on, Pikachu!" Ash shouted as he held Pikachu in his arms. Just then, Whamon hit a massive swell in the ocean. Everyone held on as best as they could, but unfortunately, one of the kids lost his grip. "Matt, help!" T.K. shouted as he bounced into the air and went flying toward the edge of Whamon's back to the cold ocean water below. "T.K.!" Matt shouted. T.K. closed his eyes, fearful of falling into the water. To his surprise, T.K. felt a pair of hands grabbing his legs and he stopped falling. He opened his eyes and looked up, thinking that his older brother saved him just in time. He was a bit surprised to see that it was Violet who caught him. "Hang on, T.K.! I got you!" she shouted as she tried to pull him up. Unfortunately, Violet's feet slipped on Whamon's slick back and both she and T.K. plummeted down to the choppy water below and disappeared below the surface. "T.K.!" Matt shouted. "Violet!" Ash shouted. To their relief, Violet and T.K. both came back to the surface. Violet could see that T.K. was struggling in the water, so she quickly swam over to him and held him up. Unfortunately, with T.K. squirming around so much, Violet was accidentally pushed back underwater a few times. "Are you okay, Violet?" Ash asked with concern. "Don't worry about me, Ash," Violet shouted back up to him. An idea quickly came to her. "Ash, call out Squirtle!" Violet shouted. "We can use him as a Pok�mon life preserver for T.K.!" "You got it!" Ash shouted as he removed a Pok�ball from his belt. "Squirtle...I choose you!" he shouted as he threw the Pok�ball. "Squirtle, squirtle," Squirtle shouted as he emerged from his Pok�ball. "Squirtle, you gotta help them," Ash told his Pok�mon, pointing down at Violet and T.K. "Squirtle!" Squirtle shouted as he dove into the water. "You help out, too, Gomamon," Joe told his Digimon. "You betcha!" Gomamon agreed as he dove into the water after Squirtle. The Pokemon and Digimon hit the water at the same time and resurfaced next to T.K. and Violet. "Hold on to us, T.K.," Gomamon instructed T.K. as he held onto the Digimon with one arm. "Squirtle, squirt," Squirtle added as he let the boy wrap his other arm around his neck. "Now, let's see...How are we gonna get back on Whamon?" Violet asked herself. She looked at Whamon's massive body and focused on his tail. "That's it!" she exclaimed. "Whamon! Can you lower yourself in the water a little bit so T.K. and I can climb back on?" Violet asked. "Sure thing, Violet. Hang on, everyone," Whamon warned the remaining kids and Digimon on his back as he slowly lowered himself in the water. "That's good enough, Whamon," Violet shouted. As soon as Whamon stopped moving, Violet started to swim toward Whamon's tail, with Gomamon, Squirtle, and T.K. right behind her. When they reached Whamon's tail, Violet noticed that Matt, Gabumon, Joe, Ash, and Pikachu were waiting for them. "Get T.K. up there first, okay?" Violet asked Gomamon and Squirtle. "You got it!" Gomamon agreed. Squirtle nodded as he and Gomamon climbed on Whamon's tail and pulled T.K. up with them. "T.K.!" Matt exclaimed as he embraced his little brother. He looked over at Violet, who was still in the water. "Thanks a lot, Violet," Matt told her. "No problem, Matt," Violet admitted. As she swam closer to Whamon's tail, Ash asked, "Do you need some help, Violet?" "No thanks, Ash. I can pull myself out," Violet explained as she placed both her hands on Whamon's tail and prepared to jump out of the water. Before she could pull herself out of the water, however, Violet suddenly went undewater. "Violet?" Ash shouted as he climbed toward where Violet was. By the time he reached the tip of Whamon's tail, Violet had resurfaced at the same spot. "Violet, what happened?" Ash asked curiously. "I don't know, Ash," Violet explained. "I think something grabbed me--WHOA!" Before she could finish, Violet was pulled underwater again. Ash tried to grab her arm, but he couldn't hold on. "VIOLET!" he shouted. "Ash, what happened to Violet?" T.K. asked. "Something grabbed her from underwater," Ash explained as he slowly stood up, with his head hung down. "Did you see what grabbed her?" Matt asked. Ash slowly shook her head no. "I'll find her!" Gomamon shouted. "Be careful, Gomamon," Joe warned him as he jumped off of Whamon's back into the ocean. Ash quickly wiped away the tears forming in his eyes and turned to Squirtle. "Go help find Violet, Squirtle," he instructed the water Pok�mon. "Squirtle, squirtle," Squirtle agreed as he dove in after Gomamon. When Squirtle dove underneath the surface of the water, he easily found Gomamon a few yards below him. He quickly joined Joe's Digimon. "This way, Squirtle," Gomamon told him as he swam deeper into the water. "Squirtle, squirt," Squirtle agreed as he followed Gomamon. The Pok�mon and Digimon continued swimming deeper, looking for any signs of Violet. As they entered a large school of colorful fish, Gomamon asked, "Have any of you seen a human girl down here?" "Uh-huh, we sure did," a bright pink fish announced. "She's about to be fish food," an orange fish admitted nervously. "Where is she?" Gomamon asked. "Down there," a blue fish announced, pointing at a long dark shadow with his flipper. "Thanks, guys," Gomamon replied as he continued swimming deeper, followed by Squirtle. As they got closer to the bottom, Gomamon realized that the shadow the fish were pointing at was actually a Digimon. Getting even closer, Gomamon recognized the Digimon. "It's Seadramon!" Gomamon gasped as the familiar Digimon hissed at them. "Squirtle, squirtle!" Squirtle shouted, tapping Gomamon on the shoulder. "What is it, Squirtle?" Gomamon asked. "Squirtle!" Squirtle exclaimed, pointing at Seadramon's red tail. Gomamon gasped when he saw Violet wrapped tightly in Seadramon's tail. "If we don't do something now, Violet's gonna be Seadramon's snack!" Gomamon exclaimed. "Squirtle, squirt," Squirtle muttered as he swam toward Seadramon. "Squirtle? Where are you going?" Gomamon asked as he swam after the water Pokemon. Squirtle gently landed on Seadramon's back, just a few yards behind the massive Digimon's head. "Squirtle, squirtle," the water Pok�mon muttered slowly as he took his paws and quickly brushed his fingertips up and down Seadramon's back. To Gomamon's surprise, Seadramon gave out a weird-sounding growl. Is Seadramon...laughing? Gomamon thought. He looked back at Squirtle, who was continuing to scratch Seadramon's back. Oh, I get it! Squirtle's tickling Seadramon! Guess it goes to show that even a Digimon as mean as Seadramon can have a sense of humor! Gomamon thought, chuckling to himself. He looked over at Seadramon's tail and noticed that Seadramon's grip on Violet was loosening up, due to the tickling from Squirtle. Gomamon quickly swam over to Seadramon's tail and gently unwrapped it from Violet. "Thanks, Gomamon," Violet replied, which caught Gomamon by surprise. He looked up and noticed that Violet was wearing a small white aqua-lung, shaped like a long tube, over her mouth. "We better get outta here," Gomamon suggested. Violet nodded in approval and looked over at Squirtle, who was still tickling Seadramon. "Come on, Squirtle! Let's go!" Violet shouted. "Squirtle, squirt," Squirtle agreed as he got off of Seadramon and joined Violet and Gomamon. Together, the threesome headed back up to the surface, leaving Seadramon behind, who was still chuckling hysterically... Meanwhile, back on the surface of the ocean, the eight Digi-Destined kids, the seven remaining Digimon, Ash, and Pikachu were waiting patiently on top of Whamon for Gomamon, Squirtle, and Violet. "Do you think she'll be okay, Matt?" T.K. asked worriedly. "Don't worry, T.K.," Matt assured his little brother. "Violet will be just fine, you'll see." "I really hope so," T.K. muttered as he returned his attention to the water. "Hey, guys, look!" Ash exclaimed. The other children and Digimon looked at the patch of water where Ash was pointing and noticed the several pockets of air bubbles that were coming up to the surface. They gasped out of relief as Violet, Gomamon, and Squirtle came to the surface at the exact spot where the bubbles appeared. "Violet! Are you okay?" Ash shouted. Violet took the aqua-lung out of her mouth before replying, "I'm okay, Ash. Just a little exhausted." "I'll help you out," Ash shouted as he started to head toward Whamon's tail. "Don't worry, Ash. I'll get her," Palmon announced. Ash turned around and watched as Palmon walked over to the edge and shouted, "Poison Ivy!" The green and purple vines on her hands extended down to the water. It reminded Ash of his Bulbasaur's Vine Whip attack. "You almost got her, Palmon," Gomamon shouted up to Mimi's Digimon. "Just a little lower...that's good!" Palmon then wrapped her vines around Violet's waist. "Hang on, Violet," Gomamon warned her. Violet held on to the vines dangling from either side of her as Palmon steadily lifted her out of the water. As Palmon pulled Violet up, Ash lifted up a Pok�ball and shouted, "Squirtle, return!" As Squirtle was transported back to his Pok�ball, Gomamon swam back toward Whamon's tail and climbed on the huge whale-type Digimon. He quickly rejoined the nine kids, the seven Digimon, and Pikachu just as Violet reached Whamon's back. Both Ash and Matt helped Violet get on Whamon's back as Palmon removed her vines from around the girl's waist. "Good job, Palmon," Mimi congratulated her Digimon. "Aww, thanks, Mimi," Palmon admitted. "Are you okay, Violet? What happened?" Ash asked his friend, who was taking in several deep breaths of air. "I'm not exactly sure what happened, Ash," Violet admitted. "It all happened so fast. When it grabbed me the first time, it must have lost its grip or something. It got lucky the second time around, though. I didn't know how long it would take for me to get loose, so I managed to get my aqua-lung on before it completely wrapped its tail around me. Ash, this creature, it was huge! Bigger than a Gyarados, even!" Ash gasped loudly when he heard this. "What are you two talking about?" Matt asked, since he didn't know what a "Gyarados" was. "It was Seadramon," Gomamon announced. "That's really bad news," Joe admitted nervously. "We have got to get outta here, now!" Tai announced. Ash and Violet looked out at the ocean and gasped when they saw huge pockets of bubbles coming to the surface, as though something very big was about to come out. "Too late for that!" Ash shouted, pointing at the patch of bubbles. Everyone gasped loudly when they saw the massive green sea serpent jump out of the water and dive back in. "Was that the thing that grabbed you, Violet?" Ash asked. "Afraid so, Ash," Violet answered nervously as Seadramon came back up to the surface. "We have no choice. We're gonna have to fight him!" Tai admitted. The eight Digimon nodded in approval. "We'll help too, right, Pikachu?" Ash asked his Pokemon. "Pika, pi!" Pikachu growled in agreement. "Come on, you guys! Let's send him back to the fishes!" Agumon shouted. "Spiral Twister!" Biyomon shouted. "Super Shocker!" Tentomon shouted. "Boom Bubble!" Patamon shouted. "Blue Blaster!" Gabumon shouted. "Pepper Breath!" Agumon shouted. The five attacks struck Seadramon, but they just seem to irritate him even more. "Pikachu, Thunder Shock!" Ash instructed his Pok�mon. "Chu!" Pikachu agreed. "Pika..." he growled as electricity started to build up in his cheeks. "No, don't, Ash!" Violet shouted. "Why not?" Ash asked. "If Pikachu uses his Thunder Shock on Seadramon, the electricity would conduct with the water and electrocute Whamon and all of us!" Violet explained. "Okay," Ash agreed. They looked up and noticed that Gomamon had jumped back into the water. "Go, Marching Fishes!" he shouted. Instantly, several multi-colored fish jumped out of the water and struck Seadramon. He growled loudly out of pain and anger. "How can we help them, Violet?" Ash asked. "Okay, umm...if Seadramon was a water Pok�mon, what kind of Pok�mon would be strong against it, besides electric?" Violet asked. Ash thought hard about it for a moment before he snapped his fingers. "Grass Pok�mon!" he replied. "Good, idea, Ash," Violet agreed as they both took out a Pok�ball. "Bulbasaur...I choose you!" Ash shouted. "Go...Gloom!" Violet shouted. "Bulbasaur!" Bulbasaur shouted as he emerged from Ash's Pok�ball. "Gloom, gloom!" Gloom squealed as she emerged from Violet's Pok�ball. "Bulbasaur, use your Razor Leaf!" Ash shouted. "Bulba!" Bulbasaur growled as he released his Razor Leaf attack. "Gloom, use Stun Spore," Violet instructed. "Gloom, gloom!" Gloom squealed as she turned to face Seadramon. "GLOOM!" Gloom shouted as she released her Stun Spore from the flower on top of her head. Bulbasaur's Razor Leaf struck Seadramon in the snout, leaving several noticeable bruises. Gloom's Stun Spore also struck Seadramon and it became obvious that the Stun Spore was starting to take effect on the massive Digimon. He wriggled around the water in pain. "We did it!" Ash cheered. Suddenly, to the Pokemon trainers' surprise, Seadramon quickly dived underwater and came back up, no longer under the effects of the Stun Spore attack. "Oh, no! Seadramon washed away the Stun Spore!" Violet exclaimed. "Don't worry about it, guys. I'll get him," Gomamon explained. Suddenly, Ash and Violet heard a strange beeping noise, like an electronic device going off. They looked over and noticed that the noise came from a small white device attached to Joe's shorts, which was also vibrating like crazy. The two trainers looked back at Gomamon and gasped when they saw him bathed in a white light. "Gomamon digivolve to...Ikkakumon!" Ash and Violet were shocked beyond words when they saw the massive white walrus, with a black horn protruding out of his forehead, where Gomamon once was. "What happened to Gomamon?" Ash asked. "He digivolved to Ikkakumon," Joe explained. "Digivolved?" Violet repeated. "What's that?" "We'll explain later," Tai interrupted. "Right now, we had to take care of Seadramon." The ten kids watched as Ikkakumon swam towards the sea dragon. Seadramon growled loudly before opening his mouth and releasing a cold blast of ice at Ikkakumon. "Look out!" Joe shouted in warning. Ikkakumon barely missed the attack, which hit the water instead, forming a large patch of ice on the surface of the ocean. "What was that?" Ash asked. "That was Seadramon's lethal Ice Blast!" Tentomon explained. "Harpoon Torpedo!" Ikkakumon shouted. He shot two of his black horns at Seadramon. Before they reached the Digimon, the black casings fell off, revealing two glass missiles filled with a green gelatin-like liquid. They both struck Seadramon head-on, and the massive Digmon howled in pain as he fell into the water and sank below the surface. "All right, Ikkakumon!" Joe cheered. The white walrus chuckled as he turned around and headed back to Whamon. To Ash and Violet's surprise, Ikkakumon was bathed in a white light and shrunk. When the light disappeared, the two Pok�mon trainers were surprised to see Gomamon. He quickly got back on Whamon's back and rejoined the group. "Good job, Gomamon," Joe congratulated his Digimon. "Aww, Joe, stop it!" Gomamon complained. "How come he could return to Gomamon?" Ash asked curioulsy. "That's just the way digivolving works," Tai explained. "What is digivolving?" Violet asked. "Digivolving is when the Digimon advances to the next level and becomes more powerful than before," Izzy explained. "How are they able to digivolve?" Violet asked curiously. "They can digivolve because of our digivices," Joe explained as he showed Ash and Violet his digivice. "We all have digivices," Tai admitted as he and the other Digi-Destined kids showed their digivices to the Pok�mon trainers. "That's kinda like how our Pok�mon evolve," Ash muttered out loud. "Wait a minute. Pok�mon can evolve?" Tai asked. "Uh-huh, but it's a bit different from how your Digimon digivolve," Violet admitted. "When our Pok�mon evolve, it occurs naturally, due to how much experience they've gained from battling. We don't need to induce, or force, evolution to get our Pok�mon to evolve, although some trainers choose to do so with Evolution Stones. I'm not saying that you guys force your Digimon to digivolve. They're obviously willing to digivolve." "Yeah, we understand what you mean," Matt admitted as the other kids and their Digimon nodded thier heads in approval. "Another main difference is that when Pok�mon evolve, it's permanent. They can't return to what they originally were. Do you guys understand what I'm saying?" Violet asked. The eight Digi-Destined kids were obviously confused. "I got an idea, Violet. Call out your Raichu," Ash requested. "What for?" Violet asked. "Just trust me on this," Ash told her. "All right," Violet muttered as she held up a Pok�ball. "Gloom, return!" she instructed. After Gloom was transported back to her Pok�ball, Violet put it away and held up another Pok�ball. "I choose you...Raichu!" "Rai-rai!" Raichu growled as he emerged from his Pokeball and landed on Whamon's back. "Pikachu, go stand next to Raichu," Ash instructed his Pok�mon. "Chu!" Pikachu agreed as he stood next to Violet's Raichu. "Okay. You guys notice that Pikachu and Raichu kinda look alike, right?" Ash asked. The eight kids and their Digimon nodded. "Oh, I get what you're trying to do!" Violet exclaimed. She turned toward the eight kids and their Digimon "The reason they look similar to each other is because Pikachu evolves into Raichu," Violet told them. "Oh!" the eight kids and their Digimon slowly exclaimed. "We get it now," Tai admitted. "I do care about my Raichu a lot, but sometimes, I miss having a Pikachu," Violet admitted. "Hey! It's getting dark out!" Ash announced, looking at the sun setting in the distance. "You should all get some rest," Whamon suggested as he started swimming again. "No problem, Whamon," Tai yawned loudly. "Time to get some rest, Bulbasaur," Ash admitted as he lifted up his Pok�ball. "Return!" "You, too, Raichu," Violet added as she held up Raichu's Pok�ball. Both Bulbasaur and Raichu were instantly transported back to their Pok�balls. After putting the Pok�balls away, Ash and Violet turned around and noticed that the Digi-Destined kids and their Digimon were already lying down, fast asleep. "We should do the same, Ash," Violet admitted as she let out a quick yawn. "Yeah, I'm kinda tired," Ash admitted as he yawned as well. The two trainers lied down on Whamon's back and closed their eyes, with Pikachu curled up between the two of them...TO BE CONTINUED |