Uprising

Chapter 7

The Ula'Ula Island ferry terminal was as crowded as it ever was. People hopping on and off the teeny water taxis swarmed around the station, making it seem as near impossible as walking through a bowl of maple syrup, except much, much less sticky. After what seems like an eternity of the usual hustle and bustle, Nanu, Acerola, and the Team Rocket threesome managed to get their tickets and walked out to the boarding station, awaiting for their ferries to arrive, all while looking for signs of Ash Ketchum or one of his classmates.

Any sign of the Twerp Troupe? James asked telepathically to his partners. No, thank Arceus. Jessie replied, But still, I'd keep your guard up- you'll never know if they'll show up. Roger...
"Now, when you get to Kukui's place, remember to give me a call. You have my cell number, right?" Nanu asked anxiously as he wheeled Acerola's suitcase to the boarding station for the ferry bound for Mele Mele Island.
"Mmhum!" Acerola chirped as she picked up her pace to make sure she was not late for her ride, "I've had it in my favorites since the day you bought me the phone."
"Good." The worn-out police officer panted as he handed the bag to the boat's captain, "Don't forget to call me. If you don't, I'm gonna assume something terrible happened to you, and I don't want to go through that period of anxiety."
"And don't take candy from strangers." Jessie replied nervously, tuning into the conversation with only having the slightest clue about what Nanu and Acerola were talking about.
"A-and don't give in to peer pressure. Just because your friends think it's okay to jump off a bridge, or join Team Skull, or eat random berries, or launch a Pokémon into outer space or something doesn't mean you should either." James added.
"And if ya get lost, always rememba ta..."
"Guys, please!" Acerola laughed, "Don't be so worried! Ash and his friends are a great group of kids; I highly doubt that any one of them are juvenile delinquents. Besides, it's not like I'm going to a place I don't know. I've been to Melemele Island tons of times! I know my way around."
Jessie grunted slightly and mumbled a brief inaudible complaining about someone being a "twerp" before being wrapped into Acerola's arms for another group hug.
"I love you guys." Acerola purred, "Have fun on your 'business trip', if you know what I mean". She winked with that last comment, making Jessie and James flinch slightly. She then released the group and boarded the ferry, turning back to wave at them before she disappeared into the sitting area of the boat.
"Bye, sweetheart!" Nanu called out, waving enthusiastically to his niece. As soon as the boat left the dock, Nanu turned to Jessie and James with an enraged expression, "WHAT WERE YOU THREE KNUCKLEHEADS THINKING?!" he raved, pinching the ears of the two humans and dragging Meowth along by his tail with his ring and pinky fingers.
"Hey! OUCH!" Jessie hissed, "Watch the hair! I pay good money to have it styled like this every month, you know!"
"S-she's not wrong, Nanu!" James replied, "You should see the bill that comes in the mail about a week after; it's not cheap to get your hair to defy the laws of gravity these days!"
The enraged Nanu stopped at the steps of the ferry, letting go of the agents' ears, but still continuing his rage even as he handed the bags to the captain, "SUPERHEROES?! REALLY?! What in the absolute HECK made you think that Acerola was going to believe that?!"
"Well, it did kinda woik in episode fworty-fwor of da Indigo League arc..." Meowth mumbled, rubbing his tail to soothe the pain, "We've kinda used it as our go-to excuse for wearin' ridiculous-lookin' costumes..."
"Put a sock in it, Meowth!" The feline's human companions fumed.
"For your information, Meowth, we worked weeks on designing these outfits!" Jessie barked, "I absolutely REFUSED to wear the same uniform as that good-for-nothing leech Cassidy!"
"Yeah! I personally feel like our personal rendition of the uniform is much classier!" James scoffed, crossing his arms over his chest.
"I feel like we're avoiding the obvious problem here." Nanu stated, "YOU THREE IDIOTS SOMEHOW CONVINCED MY ELEVEN-YEAR-OLD NEICE THAT WE WERE SUPERHEROES!"
"We know." James replied a little less heated than before, "And much to your, and quite frankly, our surprise, it worked!"
"I mean, did you really think she believed us?" Jessie grumbled, "She's eleven. She knows there's no such thing as superheroes."
"Jess, we tricked a sixteen-year-old into baleivin' we got supah powers bafore. I'm PRETTY sure she baleived us." Meowth mumbled.
"You're right, good point..."
"Once again, we're BEATING AROUND THE BUSH! YOU THREE ARE WALKING ON VERY THIN ICE RIGHT NOW AND IF YOU KEEP LYING TO MY LITTLE GIRL LIKE THAT SHE'S GONNA..."
"Rilax, granpa" Meowth shushed, "She nevah has ta find out we ain't supahheroes."
"Besides, she promised to keep our 'super-secret identities' a secret, so it's not like she's gonna scream all over town that Jessie, James, Meowth, and Nanu are superheroes straight out of a Marvel comic." Jessie shrugged.
"I guess you're right..." Nanu mumbled, "But at the same token, it feels wrong that we lied to her."
James nodded sympathetically, "I feel sick to my stomach just thinking about it..."
"Idn't dat just cos we're on a boat and youse got a weak stomach so ya get seasick easy?" Meowth griped.
"James, as much as I want to agree with you, we did the best we could at that given moment. And besides, remember what I said back at Bewear's Den?" Jessie asked, raising her eyebrow a bit.
"You're right, Jessie. We aren't good guys." James sighed
"...And we never will be." Jessie finished, "Good."
"Dontcha mean 'bad'?" Meowth joked.
"No, I meant good,"
"But didntcha say we weren't good gois?"
"Yes, but I was just saying that James response was good."
"But if we ain't good gois, den we don't have da capacity for 'good'. Derefore, James' comment was bad."
"Meowth! I just meant that James' comment was the correct thing to say, like if-"
"I'm with Meowth on this one, Jess. If we're bad guys then we don't have the capacity for good, so how could my last comment possibly be..."
"GRRR! FINE! IT WAS BAD, JAMES, YOUR COMMENT WAS THE WORST THING I'VE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE. THERE, ARE YOU HAPPY NOW?"
"Jessie! How could you say something so hurtful!" James whimpered, tears forming in his eyes, "I know I'm a total loser, but you didn't have to reaffirm that!"
"WHY YOU LITTLE-"
As the threesome began to bicker with one another, Nanu put his hands to his face and let out a deep sigh: How did I possible get stuck with there three morons? He thought before whispering, "This is going to be a VERY long mission..." He then proceeded to board their boat, dragging the griping threesome with him in tow. -
Acerola stepped gingerly into the seating area on the ferry, her legs still not completely stable on the floor beneath her. Although she had traveled in a boat a few times before, this was the first time when she had boarded one completely by herself and with no one to hold her hand or keep her steady, so, in reality, she didn't quite have her sea legs just yet. As she began to make her way around the room, looking for any sign of Ash, his classmates, or one of the professors, the boat began to violently bob up, causing her to fall forwards onto the floor, falling face-first into a puddle of sea water that splashed onto the ferry's floor. She then heard a small chuckle and a familiar voice ask if she was okay. She slowly picked up her head and grumbled about her favorite dress being wet. The figure handed her a fresh towel and allowed her to dry herself off with as bet as she could, and as she was doing so, she looked up and discovered that the person who had been so kind to her had been none other than Professor Kukui.
"Professor!" Acerola chirped, "Boy, am I glad to finally see you!"
"I can tell!" He said as he picked her up off the ground, took her by the hand, and lead her to where he had been sitting. "Sorry about getting your dress all wet. We can go ahead and launder it once we get back to the house."
"It's cool." Acerola said, shrugging slightly, "I'll just make sure to pack my sea legs next time so it doesn't have to get dirty again!"
The professor laughed and continued: "So, are you excited to start attending classes at the Pokémon School?"
"Oh yeah!" She responded, "I've always wanted to attend Pokémon School, but with being a Kahuna and an honorary member of Alola's Elite Four, I've never really found the time to attend. Plus, the only Pokémon School in Alola is all the way on Melemele, and since I like on Ula'Ula, it would be a bit of a hike to get to school ever morning!"
"Well hey, how you have the opportunity to!"
"Yeah! Thanks again for allowing for me to stay with you, Ash, and Professor Burnet for a couple of weeks while my uncle and his friends are out of town on business. I really appreciate it."
"It's no problem, Acerola!" Professor Kukui smiled, "Oh, by the way, do you know where your uncle is going?"
Acerola froze , I promised to keep their identities a secret. I can't have Kukui know! "O-oh, I'm actually not quite sure where they're going. I think to Kanto, but don't quote me on it,"
"Oh cool! I love Kanto! I've only ever been once, but it was still a wonderful time. Ash met up with some old friends while they were there, and I got to do some research with Professor Oak on Kanto's Pokémon. Regardless if they're on business or not, I hope they have a great time!"
"So do I." Acerola whispered, letting a small smile part from her lips, "By the way, where is Ash, exactly? Didn't he say that he'd meet with us at the Ula'Ula ferry terminal?"
Kukui laughed, "He's at home with Burnet. He zonked out last night and has been sound asleep since."
Acerola chuckled, "Typical Ash!"
The twosome continued to laugh and talk away, forgetting that the boat had already left the dock, and was about to arrive in Melemele's port in seconds.
"Well, would you look at that." Kukui smiled, turning around and looking through the porthole window behind him, "We're here!"
"Already?!" Acerola asked in shock, "I guess we got so deep into our conversation that we lost track of time!"
"I guess so!" He looked out the window again and chucked, "Looks like somebody finally woke up!"
Acerola trades places with Kukui, looking out the window at the dock that was getting closer and closer into her line of sight. She spotted three figures, enthusiastically waving and calling out to the ship. It didn't take long for her to recognize them as being Ash, Pikachu, and Professor Burnet. "Hi guys!" She waved and called out to them. Even though she was about ninety-five percent certain they couldn't hear her, she continued to smile and wave and call back, just as they did to her. As soon as the ferry finally docked, she immediately ran outside, despite her wobbling around the deck due to the waves, grabbed her suitcase, jumped off the platform, and ran to them with open arms, wrapping them into one of her signature hugs.
"Hi Acerola!" Ash cheered, "so nice to see you again! Sorry I couldn't meet you and Kukui at the ferry terminal this morning. How was your trip?"
Pika-Pika!
"It was fine, thank you!" She giggled, "Kukui told me you were still asleep, and trust me, I totally understand!"
"Uh! Professor! Why did you have to do that?!" Ash whined.
Pi-ka-chu...
"Sorry, Ash," Kukui laughed, "But she asked where you were so I had to be honest with her!"
"Oh well... What's done is done..." Ash grumbled, "But enough just standing around here chatting! Let's get to the Pokémon School! Class is about to start any minute now!"
"Woah, Woah there, hold your Horseas, Ash." Professor Kukui sighed, "Acerola still has to unpack and change!"
"It's alright, love," Burnet giggled, "I could always drop Acerola's suitcase off in the loft. Besides, Principal Oak is dying to meet her; we can't keep the old man waiting too long, am I right? Plus, you, my friend, have a class to teach."
"Well, you're right about that..." Kukui pondered, "But Acerola still has to change into some other clothes- the ones she currently has on got splashed on the boat ride here."
"That's okay, Professor! My dress dried over the course of the boat ride, so there's no need to change anymore. Besides, I didn't get it all that wet anyway."
"Alright then, it's settled. Looks like we're going to the Pokémon School!"
"Yaaaay!" Ash And Acerola simultaneously cheered.
"Last one to the schoolyard is a rotten egg!" Ash shouted,
"Oh, it's ON!" - As the Pokémon School's students filed into homeroom and took their seats, they noticed that Ash's usual was still empty, prompting them to worry. "I hope Ash is doing okay." Lillie worried, putting her finger up to her lip in an anxious manner. "So do I..." Lana sighed, "What's taking him so long?" "I mean, Ash is always her a few minutes later than us, but this is the latest he's ever been." Kiawe replied. "Yeah, the bell's about to ring any second now!" Sophocles yipped. "Not only that, but Professor Kukui's not here either!" Mallow noticed, "Something must be going on..." But as the students began to talk amongst themselves, Ash, Professor Kukui, and Principal Oak filed into the room one by one, each smiling brightly. "Professor! Ash!" They all said. "Just in time!" Mallow chuckled. "Class, please do forgive me for being later than usual this morning, however, Ash, Principal Oak And I had some very important business to attend to." Professor Kukui replied. "Important business?" Lillie asked. "Yes, Yes!" Principal Oak smiled, "Kukui and I were in the process of admitting a new student to our class!" "New student?" "Yes! So, without further ado..." Kukui smiled, "Everybody give a warm Pokémon School welcome to Ula'Ula Trial Captain And Elite Four member, Acerola!" Acerola finally entered the room, smiling as happily as she could manage, bowing to her classmates slightly as a sign of respect and gratitude. "Acerola!" The students cheered. "I should have known! We were only arranging to have her attend yesterday! How could we all have possibly forgotten?" Mallow shrugged and laughed. "It's great to see you again!" Kiawe smiled. "Glad you could attend class with us for the next few weeks!" Lillie responded. "Thanks guys! I'm just happy my uncle said I could be here!" Acerola replied. "Now, Acerola, take your seat wherever you like. Because right now, we're about to discuss... legendary Pokémon!" "Yeah!" The class cheered. "This is gonna be AWESOME!" Ash clapped. Pi-Pikachu! Acerola smiled gleefully. Looks like her first day of school was off to a great start.