Chapter 30: A Way to Leave

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

Brock stirred the seawater gently with his hand, saying worriedly, "But if we dive down and find out after swimming for a long time that it's a dead end, or that we encounter a gate that won't open, we'll be in real trouble."

"In that case, we'll have to rely on Pokémon, of course!" Misty said, taking out her Poké Ball and releasing her Goldeen into the water. "Goldeen, go down and check the situation. Find us an escape route!"

Goldeen nodded, sank into the water, and vanished from sight in an instant.

However, a long time passed, and it did not return.

"Is it really no use after all?"

Misty frowned. Just as she was about to dive down herself to check the situation, the surface of the water suddenly began to ripple.

After a moment, as the surface broke, the first thing that popped out was a head with disheveled hair, looking like a water ghost!

Because they were so focused, everyone was startled. Misty let out a scream and hid behind Xia You, clutching the hem of his shirt and trembling.

Compared to the girls, Xia You was braver. He forced himself to remain calm, and as the head continued to surface, he realized it was actually the Team Rocket trio, piled on top of each other, having been pushed up from the water by Goldeen.

"Don't be afraid, everyone. It's Team Rocket."

Xia You patted Misty's shoulder. Only after Misty saw clearly that it was indeed the Team Rocket trio did she breathe a sigh of relief.

"What the heck! Why are they in the water?"

Jessie, James, and Meowth were lying on the ground, spitting out mouthfuls of seawater. They had originally looked half-dead with their eyes rolling back, but upon hearing Misty's voice, they instantly regained their vitality and jumped up.

Jessie shouted, "Talk about a small world! It's you!?"

In an instant, tensions flared between the two sides. Everyone pulled out their Poké Balls. Jessie and James released Arbok and Koffing, while Ash and Brock released Squirtle and Geodude.

"Hey, hey!" Misty reached out to intervene, hurrying to prevent the situation from escalating. "You need to realize something—it was my Goldeen that just saved you! And look around, now is not the time for fighting! If we don't find a way to escape quickly, we're all going to die here!"

Despite her words, Ash, Brock, and the Team Rocket trio continued to glare at each other fiercely, neither side willing to back down.

At that moment, James suddenly spotted Xia You standing to the side and pointed at him in surprise. "Ah! It's you! Thank you so much for before, otherwise I would have been tricked by that guy selling Magikarp!"

"Idiot, we're villains! Why would we thank someone!" Jessie gave James a heavy smack on the head, then added doubtfully, "But speaking of which, who is he?"

James's face turned slightly red, and he didn't dare tell the truth. If Jessie found out he had almost pre-emptively spent both of their salaries on a Magikarp that could do nothing but flop around, she would surely kill him with her own hands.

Xia You interceded, "Everyone, let's just stop here. Misty is right; we really don't have much time left!"

With Xia You acting as a mediator, both sides finally recalled their Pokémon.

Through questioning, Xia You and the others learned that the two humans and one Meowth from Team Rocket had failed to leave the St. Anne in time. After the cruise ship capsized, in their haste to escape, they had directly broken through the hull, causing seawater to rush into the cabin and sweep them into the currents.

If Goldeen hadn't happened to pass by just now, these three would likely have already become underwater ghosts.

"Hmph, fine then," Jessie said, hands on her hips, acting haughty. "But don't get ahead of yourselves. This is just a temporary truce; it doesn't mean we'll let you off in the future!"

"I say..." Xia You asked tentatively, "You don't have any Water-type Pokémon, do you? We're going to be leaving through the sea in a moment. Is it really wise to be acting so high and mighty?"

"This..."

The expressions of the Team Rocket trio changed. They seemed to realize the problem instantly, and their attitude did a complete 180-degree turn as they bowed and apologized.

"Ah! We're sorry, we were wrong!"

Xia You shook his head with a smile. No matter how heavy the atmosphere, as long as they were around, things seemed to become quirky and joyful.

With Team Rocket dealt with, they could finally discuss their strategy in peace.

Brock rubbed his chin and asked, "Now, how exactly are we supposed to get out of here?"

"Leave that to me," Misty said, puffing out her chest. "I used to make models of the St. Anne, so I know the layout very well. Since the path below is blocked, we'll have to go from above. I remember the hull beneath the engine room is relatively thin. If we make a hole there, we can escape!"

Ash and the others nodded in agreement, but only Xia You voiced an objection.

"We can't make a hole in the bottom of the ship!"

"Eh?" Misty asked in confusion, "Why?"

Xia You explained, "If we break the bottom, the water will rush in from above. The water pressure will be immense, making it extremely difficult to swim upward against the current. Furthermore, once the cabin is breached, the air pressure will be lost, and seawater will quickly flood the entire cruise ship. If we fail to escape through the bottom smoothly, we won't have time to try any other methods."

Misty realized the truth. "I see. Do you have a better idea then?"

Xia You continued, "Since the bottom is already completely submerged, I think it's better to let the Water-type Pokémon break a section of the hull in the submerged area and lead us out through there! That way, the water pressure we face directly will definitely be much lower!"

"But if we do that..." Misty hesitated, "it will inevitably take more time than leaving from above. I'm afraid we won't be able to hold our breath for that long."

"Don't worry about that. I just took a look through the window. Although this ship has sunk, the seabed in this area is relatively high, so we aren't actually that far from the surface."

As he spoke, Xia You pointed to the seawater beneath their feet.

"And look, what's that!"

Everyone looked down and saw several plastic water bottles floating in the direction Xia You was pointing!

The drinks in these bottles had been finished, leaving them filled with air, and for some reason, they had drifted here!

Xia You said, "If we hold these bottles in our mouths, even if we can only take one extra breath, it will certainly allow us to last a few minutes longer than usual. Besides, the water isn't deep here, so we don't have to worry about the pressure crushing them!"

If anyone else had proposed such a suggestion, Misty might have insisted on her own opinion, but once Xia You spoke, she became his biggest supporter.

As for the others, they looked at each other, unsure, but since Misty supported Xia You, there was nothing left to argue about.

"Alright, let's do it!"