Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoy. If you REALLY like it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 5 chapters ahead.
And we're back at it in 2026 (Somehow. WTF happened to time?).
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"Watch it!"
"Excuse you!"
"Hey, buddy, there's a line!"
"Kids these days, I swear."
I paid the grumpy people no mind as I shoved my way through the crowd, as we all headed towards the pier. Aura training hadn't quite made me into the Dragon Ball-style powerhouse I wished – yet, anyway – but keeping a constant slow circulation of it through my body did make it a lot easier to body check people out of the way.
It also made my mood worse and increased my aggression, but I doubted anyone would be able to tell that morning.
"Watch where you're going, punk-AW FUCK!" Some wannabe tough guy screamed and hopped on one foot after he tried to block me and got his toes crushed for his trouble.
Okay, so maybe a tiny bit angrier than usual, but I was having a bad fucking day already, and it was clearly the rest of the world's fault for putting me in that situation, so they should be the ones to pay.
Made perfect sense.
Behind me, Eevee dodged and weaved between calves and feet, doing her best to keep up. Her fur stood on end, her ears flat against her skull, and her eyes were wide, yet she still did her best to stay with me.
It didn't take the research I'd been doing on Eevee behaviour and care to see that she wasn't having a good time.
I wasn't sure scooping her up unceremoniously, and without warning, to dump her on my shoulder was a better choice, but it was what it was. Several people were looking at her with a little too much interest for my comfort, though if I'd been in a better state of mind, I'd have asked first instead of risking the fairly solid foundation we'd been building.
She didn't jump down, though, which was good. Her standing completely still and tense wasn't, but whatever.
I needed all the mental fortitude I could get to not embarrass myself even further as the pier came into view and the monstrosity of a ship docked there with it.
My heart dropped, and a little bile rose in my throat as my eyes scanned the dozens of floors rocking gently in the calm waters of the Vermillion port.
Fuck me. Maybe it wasn't too late to turn around and just leave. Brock could shove his advice up his ass-
"PERI, OVER HERE!"
Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck.
Unfortunately, there was no getting around it when Ash was staring straight at me and screaming, waving his arms in the air furiously from where they were standing over to the side of the primary cue.
I could still leave. There was enough distance that I would be able to vanish into the crowd-
Both Misty and Gary's expressions changed as they glared at me, hands on PokéBalls and appearing entirely willing to chase me down and drag me on board.
I did my best not to slump too much as I moved over to them, bumping some more people on the way just to be a dick. I shouldn't have interfered and let them kill each other. I could handle them separately, but combined, I feared for the whole planet.
"Yo." I did my best to act nonchalant and avoid eye contact while Eevee jumped down now that she was safe to do so.
"'Yo', he says. Done changing your tampon, cry-baby bitch?"
"Fuck you!"
"You wish!" The smirk on Gary's face was real enough, yet there was a glint of hesitation in his eye that only partially dispersed when I gave him a slight nod.
Misty, on the other hand, was an unflinching mask that didn't have a single crack when I glanced at her.
"Uh, Misty, hey," Mew I wished we didn't need to talk with a whole ass audience, but there was no way I could justify putting it off, "listen, I-
"-save it. Let's just get on the Lugia-damned ship." I sighed in relief. I definitely wasn't forgiven, based on the coldness in her voice, but at least she didn't want to make it a spectacle either.
"I hate to agree, but she is right, we're about to start boarding," Gary remarked after consulting his wrist watch, which looked way fancier than I remembered. And then, he proceeded to stare at Ash, Misty, and Brock expectantly.
"What?" Ash looked down at his shirt for stains, but didn't find any. After checking over both his shoulders as well, he turned back to his rival, confused. "What!?"
"Don't you think you should get in the cue, dumbasses?" I'd almost forgotten how condescending Gary could sound. It was genuinely a talent.
"We are in the cue, Gary! Ha, who's the dumb one now!?" Ash grinned alongside Misty as he pointed at the red rope barring the way to a narrow staircase that led up to the S.S. Anne. Daring a quick peek, I looked away from the massive vessel again. Misty hadn't been kidding about it being fucking huge. The damn thing had to be almost a thousand feet long.
"OH!" Gary truly could have taken up acting. If I didn't know better, I'd say the surprise was real, if not for the gleeful maliciousness pulling at his lips. "You thought-? Haha. Hahahaha. HAHAHAHAHA!" Throwing his head back, the young Oak cackled like he'd heard the funniest joke of all time, whipping a tear away from the corner of his eyes. "Oh, that's so adorable! No, this way is for actual important people. Your entrance is over there." He pointed to the much larger ramp that led to the lower levels, in front of which several hundred people were gathered, growing increasingly rowdy as time passed. Meanwhile, there were only a little over 30 with us to the side. "Alongside the other peasants. Soooo, good luck with that."
Brock rolled his eyes while Ash stared at Gary, a look of astonishment on his face. Meanwhile, Misty was looking at me expectantly. The polite thing was to join her at the standard boarding zone, but it was a minor miracle that I hadn't shanked someone on the way there. Putting me back in an agitated crowd was not a good idea.
Some part of my mental state must have leaked into my expression, as her own face softened a little and she refrained from saying anything before grabbing Ash by the collar and beginning to drag him away.
"DAMN YOU, GARY!"
"Smell you later!"
Gary's chuckles trailed off slightly awkwardly as we resumed our wait, me doing my best to ignore the fact that I could see both ship and stairs bob up and down. At the same time, he looked increasingly uncomfortable the longer no one said anything.
"Are you-uh… are you, like, uh, okay, or whatever?" He flushed at my raised eyebrow. "It's just that, uh… I-I didn't know it was that bad, and I know that I… came on strong, or you know, a little hot… look all I'm saying is that, uh, if-if you really don't want to, then… then fuck the money, right, and-" I raised my hand to cut of his rambling as it got faster and faster.
"Dude, it's fine, I-..." Taking a deep breath, I pushed on. If Gary could apologise unpromted by anyone other than his own guilty conscience, then I could admit my faults, at least somewhat. "... you were right, okay? I've been trying to just… shove it down, ignore and deny it whenever it becomes a problem, and it's not working. I shouldn't… I shouldn't lose my shit and hide like a child whenever someone even mentions the possibility of me going on a boat. This is probably one of the most controlled environments I can start in, so… thanks. I guess."
Gary looked stunned at my words, yet he couldn't hide the wide smile that took over his whole face, his expression lighting up and softening from his customary sneer of superiority. He patted me on the back in a way that was more of a slap than anything, and tried to change the subject.
"Of course I'm right, I'm Gary-motherfucking-Oak! How have you not realised that me being right is a fact of reality?"
"Bitch please," I had no issue going back to joking, feeling equally uncomfortable myself, "you can't even wipe your ass without five people helping you. Speaking of, where are your babysitters?"
"Oh, they're taking the car back to where we're getting off. Gramp's got cash, but not that kinda cash. Can't believe those losers just got handed tickets. Fucking nonsense. How lucky can you fucking get!" Gary whined, though he would probably protest me calling it that.
"Yeah, lucky…" It was definitely just my paranoia and overall fucked headspace, but something was off about that. Weirder shit happened daily in the PokéWorld, but something about Brock's story of how they got the tickets was bothering me.
The sharp clang! of footsteps on metal pulled me from my thoughts and directed my attention to the three people walking down the ramp towards us. The two men walking behind looked like they had been pulled straight from a fetish calendar, white and blue striped T-shirts straining to contain their humongous pecs, the seams visibly straining against the meat, while the white pants groaned audibly against the person-sized quads. Dark sunglasses hid their eyes as the over seven-foot-tall men stepped onto the dock, a little white hat crowning their bald heads.
My eyes widened a little at the sight of the 10 PokéBalls they were each carrying, though it also settled my nerves somewhat – definitely not standard security.
The front man, on the other hand, was dapper as fuck. Dressed in a well-tailored, three-piece light blue suit that complemented his slicked back silver hair and carefully groomed handlebar moustache, the man screamed 'sophisticated butler' as he took out an honest-to-Mew pocket watch and checked the time, before bowing deeply to us.
"Our honoured VIPs, welcome to the S.S. Anne." Even his baritone voice was smooth, with a faint British accent like Bill's. Guess they weren't kidding about the S.S. Anne sailing all around the world. There was a nine-out-of-ten chance that his name was either Walter or Jeeves. "We thank you for choosing us, and we promise an experience unlike any other, even if you have travelled with us before. On board the S.S. Anne, we pride ourselves on constantly innovating with knowledge from around the world to create a truly unique experience. Please, this way."
With that, the fancy guy turned around and began leading the way back up to the ship, while the two sailors took up positions on either side of the entrance, with crossed arms and muscles bulging intimidatingly. Compared to the public ramp, the VIPs were like a well-oiled machine as they got into line, yet I still took a step to the side and let the others pass, Gary having to quickly step aside to avoid them when he saw me.
"Just, uh, being polite." His disbelief was palpable, but he didn't say anything, just tapping his foot impatiently as everyone else walked before us.
Eventually, there was no delay anymore, though.
My knuckles were white around the railing as I clutched it desperately, playing one foot after the other while taking deep breaths. There was no getting around being able to see water on both sides of the stairs, and I was forced to stop when a particularly strong breeze shook the rickety contraption.
Eventually, though, we made it to the top, where the others were waiting impatiently. However, they backed down at Gary's glare, allowing me a moment to recover as best I could while still breathing in the scent of seawater and my stomach flip-flopping with every minute shift of the giant vessel.
At least I hadn't had any full-blown panic attacks yet, or Nam flashbacks. I was a little bit proud of myself and my confidence in the whole endeavour grew marginally.
Step one was… okay.
"If you will follow me, I shall give you the tour and show you to your cabins. Here are your maps as we, of course, do not expect you to memorise the whole ship." The butler, or whatever he was, explained once we were all there and then led the way.
In all honesty, I didn't hear much of the tour, focused as I was on not losing my shit. What little I did pick up, though, told the tale of ridiculous opulence. Large, furry carpets covered the hallways, and artwork lined the wooden walls in gilded frames. The metal was bronze and brass, giving the whole thing an old-school hotel or mansion vibe. It was extremely silly to see on a ship, and I wondered how long it took to clean salt out of-
-Oh, shiny!
"And here we have the commercial area, or the shop, if you prefer. Here you can find everything from exclusive PokéBalls to exotic Pokémon the likes of which this region of the world has never seen. It is also where trading will be happening." That was all the spiffy tour guide said before he moved on, but it was significantly more difficult for me to drag myself away from the lit-up shelves holding all manner of goodies. My mouth started salivating slightly at the row after row of TM cases, not to mention the area to the left where I could just barely see the very top of what looked like a small Flying-Type, with a red, almost flame-like head.
If that was a Pikipek, like I thought, then they truly had explored further than most, as that was an Alolan Pokémon.
Reluctantly, I grabbed Gary by the arm and dragged him away as the group started rounding a corner, not wanting to be lost in a giant metal coffin.
Eventually, we arrived at the long corridor that held the VIP rooms and were left to our own devices after getting our keys. I raised an eyebrow at only Gary getting one, but he simply shrugged while unlocking the door.
"Getting two tickets was already a struggle; no way I could swing two rooms. Dips on the top bunk!"
I snorted, highly doubting that something that fancy would have bunk beds.
And I was very right.
Even Gary whistled as we stepped into the enormous rooms, dual king-sized beds on either side with enough room in between for four or five of me to lie down. Armchairs surrounded a low table, giant beanbags slung around. The back wall was dominated by a massive aquarium featuring various underwater plants, divided into two sections marked by a pair of plaques labelled 'fresh' and 'salt' respectively.
The entire room was more than 40 feet by 40 feet, with ample space for both our teams to stretch out. Even my oversized dumbasses would fit comfortably.
"Holy shit," I mumbled, looking around the apartment-sized area.
"Yeah, there's a reason for the price tag," Gary commented, flinging his bag carelessly on the floor and jumping into the left-most bed. Guess I was taking the right. "Also, a reason a ship this fuck-off huge only carries 1.000 people at a time. Gotta make room for Pokémon and rich pricks. By which I mean us. Here, catch."
Catching the object he flung at my head with way more force than necessary, I quirked a brow at the slim chequebook, all the notes already having the Professor's signature on it, but the space for the amount was left blank.
"We hitting the strip club?" I asked, getting a bark of laughter in return.
"I fucking wish! You think Gramps gave us the tickets so we could go on a vacation? You've been hanging out with Ash too much; I can see your brain leaking out of your ears. No, dumbass, obviously we're on the clock, how did you think I managed this? He's been banned for a decade for bothering the other guests. That's where we come in. We can't bother the guests, but we can buy scans of their Pokémon. A scrub like you doesn't have that kinda cash, hence the chequebook."
"You want me to work!? What the fuck, Gary, you sold this as a pleasure cruise with battling!" I felt bamboozled and betrayed.
"Stop being a bitch. It's the least we can do for him in return for covering the expenses. Besides, you can just lie and say they all said no; he can't fact-check it." I grumbled a little anyway, mostly because I'd feel bad if I didn't put in at least a little effort. "And yes, there is battling. Three tournaments, to be exact. 1-2 Badges, 2-3 Badges, and 3-4 Badges. Nothing beyond that, given, you know, the fact that we're on a sinkable platform and shit." I must have paled at the reminder since he hurriedly reassured me. "Not that it's going to sink, of course, because they take such good care! Fuck me, will you calm down? You're giving me anxiety. Anyway." He sat up before continuing.
"I've already signed us up for the one tomorrow. We're only allowed to compete once, some shit about 'fairness', and thought our chances were better. I'd still win the last one, obviously, but figured I'd throw a weakling like you a bone."
I frowned. "How the fuck did you do that? Don't I need to sign shit?" Seeing him attempt to whistle innocently, I narrowed my eyes. "Did you fake my signature? How the fuck did you even do that!? I thought it was connected to my PokéDex!?"
"Never mind that!" He swiftly deflected. "We're going to clean the fuck up. While they aren't as strict as Gyms, they're still going to check over our Pokémon beforehand and ban anything too strong. As rookie Trainers, we'll probably get a little more leeway than the older guys, which is great since I don't think any of our Pokémon are strong enough to get disqualified. Unless you've caught some other bullshit beyond your usual garbage?"
I shook my head. "Nah, I've only got another two, actually."
He stared at me for a moment. "Like… two good ones?"
"No, two at all. Well, three, but I gave that one away. Fuck, if you wanna be technical, I didn't even catch Eevee, Bill gave her to me."
"You've only caught one Pokémon in a month!?" Gary seemed genuinely shell-shocked. "What the fuck have you been doing!? Even the loser has done better than that!"
I shrugged, not really put off by it. I knew that the 'gotta catch them all' line of thinking was more common among Trainers who could afford the stabling, but I very much preferred having all my Pokémon with me, rather than back at the Reserve. Unless I encountered some that wanted to be relocated, or something especially rare, it would likely remain that way. "I'm picky, what can I say."
"There's picky, and then there's not even having a full team yet. And who the fuck is Bill?"
"Bill Masaki, you know, the inventor? The Professor talked about him occasionally." I threw the information out carelessly, but was forced to reevaluate my opinion of its significance when Gary scowled.
"You ran into that dickhead? Where? Why?"
Shrugging again, I saw no harm in telling the story. Bill had gotten some info that only Oak had, so it only seemed fair to return the favour.
Gary appeared very interested in the Colossal Dragonite and asked me to send the video from my camera to him so he could forward it to his grandfather himself. Still, he didn't seem pleased with me.
"What?" I asked, not really in the mood.
"It's just… Gramps and Masaki hate each other, dude. Or, hate is a strong word, but they really don't like each other after their last time working together. He won't be very happy with you selling him shit."
"Well, I'm not very happy with him either, so I guess we're even." I shot back, getting a scowl.
"Hey, Gramp's been nothing but good to you!"
"Yeah, like when he took all my money and let you train your starter behind everyone's back!"
That got a mildly conceding winch. "...okay, so he's made some mistakes, but still."
I threw my arms out, exasperated. "Why hasn't he released that video, anyway? It's been a month, the fuck is he waiting for?"
It was Gary's turn to shrug, refusing to meet my eyes while rifling through his bag. "How the fuck should I know. The old man doesn't tell me shit. He's been like that as long as I can remember, though. He likes squeezing everything out of something before he gives it over to others. Come to think of it, I think it was something similar that made Masaki and him pissed at each other."
Silence fell over the lavish room before I broke it with a sigh. Gary and I had barely made up, and we were already fighting.
"You said you wanted to check out the shop?" He nodded. "Okay, how about you head there and I'll go get the others before meeting up with you?"
I expected him to complain about involving others, yet all I got was a nod before he headed out the door. Hopefully, that meant he was trying to avoid arguing with me, not that he was already angry.
Fucking interpersonal relationships. Way more complicated than terrorist groups, somehow.
Sending Misty a message, since I trusted her to check way more than Ash, I collapsed on the vast bed and stroked Eevee's fur absent-mindedly.
"Don't suppose you have some sage advice about humans?" Evidently, she didn't, but I would take her pressing into my side.
Hearing a ping! from my PokéDex, I reluctantly got up and consulted my map on the best way to get to the top deck, where the others apparently were.
A while later, plus several random detours and a near fist fight with some fucking snob that didn't believe that I belonged in the VIP area and thought I was a thief, I finally stepped foot on the top deck.
I'm not sure what I was expecting, yet somehow it was exactly that. A massive pool dominated the front portion of the deck, lined with chairs and tables for the bathers and a large bar and grill to the side. People and Pokémon were already splashing around in the water, and as advertised, there were plenty of foreign Pokémon to be found. A medium-sized penguin with yellow ridges on its head, a Prinplup, bounced on the diving board a couple of times before doing a perfect impression of a missile into the pool. The waves washed over a Poliwrath and a massive green bipedal toad with weird orange lumps on its body that I recognised as a Shiny Seismitoad as they swam laps, weaving around an orange otter with two tails and what looked like a floating device around its neck.
There were over a dozen others that sent my Pokémon fan senses into overdrive. It was sometimes easy to forget, but Pokémon were amazing creatures, and seeing so many new ones for the first time was incredible. Yet the back half of the ship swiftly grabbed my attention.
Compared to the pool, it was pretty barren, but that was clearly the point. Massive rows of cushioned benches stood in a square, and as I moved closer, I saw that in the middle, there was another square. It was an expansive platform raised over the deck, literally, I noticed, as it appeared to actually be floating. Likely to stop Ground-Type moves from fucking up the ship itself. It was made of large stone slabs, and podiums were placed on all four sides, which surprised me. Maybe they held group battles?
Much like the pool, people were also surrounding that part, though they were much more concentrated around the bottom of what was presumably the Captain's place, with the steering wheel and shit – I wasn't a boat guy, I didn't know the terminology. Regardless, the people were lined up in front of a desk, taking turns speaking to the four crew members in light blue suits sitting behind it.
And right at the front of the line were the three people I came to meet.
"Ey, you made it," I greeted, thankful for the stands cutting off the view of the ocean. I was starting to believe I'd be okay, but that didn't mean I wanted to stare at it.
"No thanks to you." I grimaced slightly at Misty's tone. Perhaps I was not as forgiven as I'd hoped.
"Right," I coughed. "So, signing up for one of the tournaments?"
"Yeah, I'm going to be in the first one!" Ash exclaimed, making the guy in an open tropical shirt and bathing shorts in front of him flinch a little, his pen jerking as he signed the waiver and moved on, giving me a mild glare, which I returned.
"Oh, guess we won't be fighting each other, then. Gary and I are in the one tomorrow, 2-3 Bagdes. You can only be in one." I explained, making the boy gape.
"WHAT! Then I'm gonna be on the second one too, and beat both you and Gary!" Ash slammed the desk as the bewildered woman switched forms at his words.
"Not joining? Well, I guess you don't have Badges." I asked the two former Gym Leaders as Ash was led through the process, seeing both of them shaking their heads.
"Nah, we're disqualified for being Gym Leaders in the first place, former or not," Brock answered. I noticed that he had taken off his vest. "Honestly, I'm more interested in the foreign Pokémon here than anything else. Not as many Rock-Types as I could have hoped, but then again, we are on water."
I nodded. "And you, Misty? Trying to pick anything up for the Clan?"
She shook her head noncommittally. "Well, if anything exciting catches my eye, sure, but the Clan already had someone here while in Hoenn. The S.S. Anne has agreements with different places around the world. We get first pick of anything special in return for helping out with security and some funding here and there." That kind of made sense. I was wondering who was running all of it, and it made some sense that it was a semi-shared project.
"Oh, so the security is all various Clan members?" I asked as another humongous dude in sailor clothes walked by.
"Not all of them," Brock picked up the thread, "but some. I know there's a couple of Pebbles around here somewhere."
I frowned; the information was not putting me at ease. Once more, something was poking at my brain, something that felt important.
"Where's Gary?" Ash interrupted my musing, making me blink.
"Oh, he's actually waiting for us down-"
HOOOOOOONK!
I flinched violently at the loud sound, the floorboard vibrating under my feet as a faint humming sound vibrated-
-Something was off. The perpetual hum of the engine that had been our constant companion to the degree it had become as much a part of the journey as the movement of the ocean had gone quiet.
Straining my hearing, I could barely pick up a faint noise like an engine, but definitely not ours. Indistinct talking sounded from the upper deck, though not as loud as I expected them to be without the engine burr, like the passengers were whispering-
-"ri! Peri!" Hands grabbed my cheeks tighter as I tried to jerk away, eyes darting around before being forced to focus on the bright blue orbs right in front of me. "Hey, hey, it's okay, I got you. You're fine."
I nodded shakily, removing Misty's hands apologetically, but I needed to breathe. Sucking oxygen in deeply and pushing it back out, I ignored the looks both Brock and Ash were giving me before I said something I'd regret.
I didn't need their fucking pity. I was fine.
"As-" the voice crack didn't help, "as I was saying, Gary's waiting down in the shop, so we should go there. Now." I stepped aside and held out my arm, gesturing for them to go forward. Thankfully, they did so – though Brock laid a hand on my shoulder briefly and nodded his head supportively – giving me a moment to calm down, a task made much more difficult when the whole ship lurched as the S.S. Anne left Vermillion.
Okay, so jumping off was no longer a possibility. Good. Excellent even. I didn't want to get off anyway, and I was shaking from excitement, not my fucked-up brain playing tricks on me.
I was fine.
I was startled once more as a light weight – relatively – landed on my upper back and pulled itself up to my shoulder. Looking over, I saw Eevee looking back as she curled her tail around her legs. Huffing, I scratched her lightly under the chin. I hurried after the others, letting Herc and Siren out of their balls as extra company, Siren staring up at Eevee accusingly, before I snatched her up in my arms. Herc, being a big boy, could walk on his own, apparently, as he rejected the offer.
They didn't say anything about my brief delay, though Misty did fall back to walk beside me. Matching her tempo, we ended up walking a little behind, as Ash had somehow been allowed to be the one with the map, and Brock was trying to prevent us from getting instantly lost.
"So-
"Misty, I-"
We went quiet to allow the other to continue. Refusing to end up in a rom-com, I took the chance to just keep going.
"Misty, I'm sorry about our date, that wasn't-"
"Don't," she cut me off before I could even begin, shaking her head and tickling Siren's scales to absolutely zero response. "Dude, you just had a panic attack because the engine started. Yeah, I don't appreciate the way you went about it, and you only get this one, but it's okay. Seriously, Peri," she leaned her head in and forced me to make eye contact with her uncharacteristically open expression, "it's okay. That type of shit makes us do stuff we're not proud of." It wasn't just sympathy in her voice. It was genuine empathy, with a haunted undertone of familiarity.
"A story for next time?" I asked jokingly, getting a snort. She opened her mouth to reply, only to pause and turn back to me with a scheming look on her face.
"Or, maybe the time after that. You're VIP thanks to that micro-dick asshole, right?" I nodded, needing no further information about who she was talking about. "That means you can get reservations at The Milotic for tonight. You're paying."
"Uh, sure," I agreed. It couldn't be that expensive, right?
Misty's grin reminded me of a shark's, and I suddenly had a terrible feeling about my wallet. I should do that before buying TMs.
"If you'll excuse me real quick." I made my escape, consulting the map to find my way to what was presumably a restaurant.
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Thanks in no small part to Ash's awful directions, I made it back to the group right as they arrived at the shopping area, or giant ass floating mall that took up a whole floor, as it might be more appropriately called. Throwing Misty a stinkeye in response to her big smile, I grumbled half-good-naturedly.
"Damn witch. All my precious money." Holy fuck, I knew that both Gary and Misty had said that shit was expensive, but my fucking god, I could've gotten several TMs for that price.
"You mean your ill-gotten money." She reminded me.
"I fully disagree. Swindling a billionaire is common courtesy, comrade." Was Misty going to understand a communist joke? No, but I did, I thought both the joke and her semi-confused face were good.
"OH! There's Gary!" Ash pointed out, and sure enough, the spikey brown hair and purple shirt were unmistakable as he stood, frowning, by the TMs.
"Looking to get an advantage before tomorrow? While I agree that you need it, I don't think-HOLY SHIT!" I was brutally ripped from my mocking when I saw the price tags he was glaring at.
Guess I might only have been able to get one TM for the dinner reservation, after all.
If that.
"This is a fucking scam!" Gary spat, only making me feel slightly better. If even Oak's money thought it was too much, then I felt completely validated. "10 grand for fucking Rock Throw! I can get it for half that in Pewter!"
"That's because Rock Throw is a popular move in Pewter." Brock chimed in. "Thanks to the Clans and the type of Trainers that hang around there, some moves become more common and therefore, less valuable. That being said, these prices are crazy. I think I'll have a peek at the Pokémon on offer."
Misty nodded after the oldest of us as the teen moved over to the Pokémon area, where several stores and independent people were posted up, ready to peddle their wares. "I'll go with him. The Clan's got me covered if I need TMs, and I could use another team member. What time is the reservation?"
"7."
"Good, then I'll meet you there. I wanna get some sun and swim with my Pokémon, so I'll be upstairs. Put on some different clothes." I rolled my eyes as she moved away. She and her sisters were more alike than they realised. Turning back to my last two companions – not counting my Pokémon – I was met with Gary's wiggling eyebrows and giant, smug grin. At least he wasn't angry, I guess.
"Oh, grow up," I sneered at him. "Are we buying anything or what?"
"We can see if they have a human TM somewhere that can teach you some moves." He laughed at the middle finger I gave him. "I don't know, man, they've got some good stuff, but fuck me, those prices. I can only get a couple, and they have shit I didn't even know there were TMs of." He said, leaning closer to the glass to peer at a Superpower TM.
"Yeah," I paused, an idea striking. "What if we went halvesies?"
"How do you mean? We can't rip it in two."
"No, you idiot. I mean, what if we each pay half and then teach it to both our teams? That way we can get more."
He hummed for a moment, looking thoughtful. "I mean, they should have like, five or six charges. But then who would get the disk afterwards?"
That was a good point. "Get an even number, each takes half? What about you, Ash, you want in on this?"
"Uh," the Ketchum looked unusually hesitant, looking at his PokéDex dejectedly. Looking over his shoulder, I winced a little. It wasn't bad, in fact, I'd say he barely spent money at all, but being a low-level Trainer didn't pay that well. "I probably shouldn't."
"That's rough. You can borrow one of mine. Hell, maybe we'll find a hidden gem for cheap and we'll split it."
"REALLY!?" I nodded, getting an excited fist pump, and to my shock, he grabbed me around the midsection in a quick hug. "Thanks, Peri!"-
-I opened my mouth to apologise if they were the wrong size, yet I was cut off as the kid slammed into my midsection with a giant hug.
"Thank you so much, Peri! I love them!"-
He let go before I could cause a scene, and other than a slightly odd look from Gary, it seemed like I got away with it. That was… that was a new one. Still rough. Still emotionally devastating as I felt tears pricking at the edge of my eyes.
Fuck, I needed to be on guard while on the bitch-ass boat.
Over the next several hours, we poured over the displayed TMs and even moved a bit beyond them to the rest of the shop. We ended up buying several – one of which was the aforementioned Superpower TM – and left some others undecided until later, when we finally lost Ash after having to focus on the same thing for more than 10 minutes, which might be a record for him.
"I'm going to watch the tournament! I'm all fired up!" Ash screamed, speeding out of there. Looking at Gary, I shrugged as we made our way after him, done with the TMs for now. We had three days on the ship – plenty of time to think it over.
Might as well check out the competition. So far, the whole 'being on a ship again' wasn't terrible – barring that one time.
Yeah, it was going to be fine.
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Ah, the S.S. Anne. What a nice, relaxing trip. I think this will really help Peri conquer some of his demons.
Thank you for reading. Hopefully you enjoyed. If you REALLY liked it, I have a P-a-t-r-e-o-n, under the same name, where you can read 5 chapters ahead.