An hour after Lorelei left Alex alone in the waiting room, Clarissa finally finished packing and joined him. She wore a red top that exposed her midriff, a sharp blue blazer, and a short blue pencil skirt that showed off her thighs. Alex had to admit that Clarissa was all grown up now, a sharp contrast to her adorable teenage self.
"What?" she asked, her cheeks reddening under his gaze.
"You look good," he said before adding, "Can we teleport out of here?"
"Yeah. It's the only place in the mansion you can teleport in and out of. Everywhere else is strictly blocked by Psychic Pokémon."
"Alright," Alex said as he released Gardevoir. "Take us to the yacht."
Her eyes shone briefly as the light of Teleport swallowed them, leaving the waiting room empty. A moment later, they found themselves on the yacht, docked at a public port near the island. The girls and their guests were already having dinner on deck.
"Alex!" Vera called out, then noticed the woman beside him and gasped. "Is that Clarissa?"
"Yes," he said as he introduced her. "This is Clarissa Blackthorn. Lance and Lorelei's daughter, and a friend of mine since childhood. She'll be accompanying us for the rest of our vacation. Make her feel comfortable."
"Hi!" Clarissa said brightly. "You don't have to be too polite with me. I just want to hang out with all of you."
The girls' eyes suddenly brightened. This was the famous Clarissa Alex always mentioned whenever they asked about his past. Of course, they knew her as the Champions' daughter, but more importantly, she was Alex's first and only girl friend, or more accurately, his first and only friend who happened to be a girl.
"Hello," Vera said as she stood and shook her hand. "I'm Vera, Alex's official wife. It's so nice to finally meet you, Clarissa. Alex has told us so much about you."
"Really?" Clarissa asked, giving Alex a side-eye. "Because he never told me about any of you. I didn't even know he had a daughter until I looked up his file this morning."
"Alex!" Vera scolded. "How could you?"
"I don't know," Alex said, raising his hands in surrender. "I'm pretty sure that's just how friendships work."
The girls all rolled their eyes before inviting Clarissa to sit with them and continue dinner. The atmosphere was never tense, not even for a moment, as they easily included Clarissa in the conversation. Their guests, however, were a bit starstruck, including Alvera, who became uncharacteristically quiet along with the twins.
The conversation at the dinner table quickly shifted to Alex's past, specifically what he had been like as a child. They had received firsthand accounts from Jenny and Alex whenever they asked, but it was rare to hear a friend's perspective from his school days.
"So, what was Alex like in school?" Nyx asked. "All we can imagine is a brooding, handsome young man who minded his own business and ignored everyone else."
"Pretty much that," Clarissa said with a sigh. "Among the girls, he was known as the mysterious, untouchable hottie who was already taken by me. That reputation kept most of them away, so sorry about that, Alex."
"Don't worry about it," Alex said. "I wouldn't have entertained a relationship at that age anyway."
"Among the boys, it was the opposite," Clarissa continued. "They envied him, but none of them ever approached. He had this natural glare when he walked around, that intimidated anyone who wanted to get to know him. It only got worse after one of the popular guys tried to start a fight by shoving him. The guy somehow ended up on the ground instead. Alex helped him up without even realizing it, which frightened everyone enough to avoid Alex like the plague."
She paused before adding, "Even later, at the Police Academy, Alex was still known as one of the stronger trainers. His Pokémon were on par with older trainees who had already spent years living in the wild."
"Why didn't you try to nab him?" Kaia asked. "It sounded like you were in the perfect position to seal the deal."
Clarissa blushed heavily, then quietly admitted, "I was too dense at the time, too focused on my own training to really think about it. Everything I'm saying now is all in hindsight. Back then, I just considered him a friend, even when we were at the Police Academy."
"That's a shame," Kaia said, then paused. "Or… not really, since we ended up with him. Thanks for that."
"How did you not notice it?" Lyra asked, genuinely confused. "Did he treat you like one of the boys?"
"No. He was a perfect gentleman," Clarissa said, reminiscing. "He would walk behind or in front of me on the stairs to cover my short skirt, take the road side of the sidewalk when we went to the Fighting Gym after school, help me reach books that were too high on the library shelves, open doors for me, and even intimidate the boys who made me uncomfortable. I was just too dense to notice."
"Shame," Lyra said, shaking her head. "Still, thanks, I guess."
Alex, meanwhile, found himself reminiscing as well. He had known even back then that Clarissa liked him. All it would have taken to get his first girlfriend was to break through her bubble by asking her out on a date. That would have made her aware of him as a man and allowed things to naturally progress from there. But she was so young and naive that he had never even considered doing it.
What surprised him now was realizing just how much of a reputation he had at school. At the time, everyone had acted normal around him, and he had simply minded his own business. He hadn't realized he was the center of attention. Looking back, he could recall the whispers, the stares, and even the glares directed at him, but since none of them posed any real threat, he had subconsciously ignored them.
Clarissa continued sharing stories of their childhood, feeling completely welcomed and without the slightest hint of awkwardness. Alex had been right. His girls were accommodating and unconcerned with her status, treating her more like a friend than the daughter of two regions' Champions.
After dinner, they continued their conversation at leisure before settling in for the night. At her insistence, Clarissa was given one of the common cabins. It wasn't as spacious as a VIP cabin, which the girls had wanted to give her, but it was more than enough for a single person. The girls, meanwhile, shared their beds, with most of them sleeping with Alex on rotation.
Early the next morning, they continued traveling northeast toward Three Island, spending the day leisurely on the yacht. The delay was due to the distance between Three and Four Island, which spanned the full length of the Sevii Islands archipelago from west to east. They were therefore scheduled to arrive by the following morning.
Their day was far from boring, as an unexpected piece of news quickly livened up the boat.
"We're pregnant," Kaia, Lyra, and Mika said all at once during breakfast.
Alex sat at the table, wide-eyed and shocked at the three girls.
"Why didn't you tell me?"
"We wanted it to be a surprise," Kaia said, her expression turning concerned. "Should we have told you?"
"Um… congratulations?" Clarissa added.
"No," Alex said with a smile, standing up and planting a quick, intimate kiss on each of them. "I'm just surprised. Is that why you've all been seasick and why Talia hasn't left your side this whole time?"
He remembered someone else who had been sick for most of the trip, although Talia's prescription had helped her, unlike the persistent issue affecting these three. He glanced at Sable, who was calmly stuffing pancakes into her mouth, completely unbothered by the surrounding drama.
"No, I'm not pregnant," she said, mouth full. "I'm actually seasick, while they had morning sickness."
"Does that mean I get to be a big sister?" Alvera asked.
"Yes," Vera said with a smile. "You'll need to be responsible for them now since you're the oldest."
"Yay!" Alvera cheered, running up to Kaia's toned belly and placing her ear against it. "I don't hear anything."
"It's too early," Kaia said, rubbing Alvera's head. "Give it a few months, and our bellies will get bigger."
Meanwhile, Leilani stared at her husband with a pleading look, while Marlo paled at the thought of another pregnancy. The birth of the twins had already been a challenge because it had come unexpectedly. They had been forced to cut their journey short and work locally to start saving for their children. When they learned they were expecting twins, Marlo had worked tirelessly, doubling his efforts to make sure they could cover the added expenses.
Now, having another child would mean returning to that same grind once they got back to Alola, especially since most of their savings had already gone toward this trip. His only relief was Alex, who had made it possible for them to avoid spending their own money on the return journey. There was no way Marlo could refuse his pleading wife under these circumstances.
With the news that Alex was expecting three babies, they celebrated on the yacht with a small party, enjoying Master ranked Snorlax meat. The meat had been purified back at the base outside the Distortion World in exchange for half its weight, along with all the Elite and Champion ranked meat they had managed to take down before the girls left.
Now, they could savor it for this special occasion, which even impressed Clarissa. Even in her family, Master ranked meat was a rare delicacy. Her parents rarely had time to hunt for it themselves, and when they needed meat, they usually had to purchase Champion ranked cuts instead of obtaining them through a hunt.
By evening, everyone was stuffed, including all their Pokémon. Master ranked meat was incredibly nutritious, and even a few bites were enough to fill them. The Champions themselves were satisfied from just a single plate, despite only being one rank below Master. There was something almost magical about the meat that came from Master ranked Pokémon.
Early the next morning, they finally arrived at Three Island to continue their vacation tour.
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