The ship's library occupied a quiet corner of the third deck, insulated from the main passenger areas by thick walls that dampened noise to a pleasant hush. Bookshelves lined the walls from floor to ceiling, filled with everything from technical Pokemon training manuals to popular fiction. Large windows provided natural light and ocean views for the dozen reading tables scattered throughout the space.
Sasuke had claimed a table near the back, away from the handful of other readers present. His light novel lay open in front of him, he'd made it through another chapter while Victini dozed on the table beside his book, using a folded napkin as a makeshift pillow.
The morning had been uneventful. Breakfast in his cabin using supplies from the kitchenette, a training session in one of the ship's battle practice rooms where Latios had worked on speed drills, and then retreat to the library for some quiet reading. The ship would dock at the eastern Johto port city in three hours. Miyuki would board then.
Sasuke tried to focus on the page in front of him, but his mind kept wandering to that fact. Miyuki Senju. Silver hair and golden eyes if he remembered correctly. Studied under Professor Oak, specialized in breeding and medicine. Granddaughter of Tsunade Senju, one of the most powerful trainers in Kanto.
He'd prepared a mental script for their first meeting. Polite greeting, acknowledgment of the time gap, basic questions about her studies and goals. Nothing too personal, nothing too distant. Just enough to establish comfortable rapport without forcing false familiarity.
The script felt mechanical even in his head. But at least it gave him something to work with instead of standing there awkwardly until someone spoke first.
Victini suddenly jerked awake. The little Pokemon's ears shot upright and its eyes went wide, head swiveling toward the library entrance. Then it launched itself from the table with an excited chirp that shattered the quiet atmosphere.
"Victini, wait!" But the Victory Pokemon was already gone, leaving the napkin-pillow fluttering to the floor.
The other library patrons looked up at the disturbance. Sasuke quickly marked his page and stood, following after his impulsive partner. Whatever had excited Victini enough to abandon its nap probably required investigation.
He caught up to Victini in the corridor outside the library. The small Psychic-type hovered in place, vibrating with barely contained energy, staring down the hallway toward the main deck stairs.
"What is it?" Sasuke asked.
Victini chirped something that translated roughly to "familiar! friends! come on!" and zoomed toward the stairs. Sasuke had no choice but to follow, his stomach doing an uncomfortable flip. Familiar presence. That could only mean one thing, one of his future companions had arrived early.
The stairs led up to the main deck's reception area. Sasuke took them two at a time, trying to keep Victini in sight as the little Pokemon weaved between other passengers. They emerged onto the main deck just as the ship was completing its docking procedure at the port city. The gangway was being secured into position, and crew members were preparing for the brief stop to load new passengers and cargo.
Victini shot toward the reception area entrance where new arrivals would come through. Sasuke followed, his heart rate picking up despite his best efforts to stay calm. This was fine. Just a reunion with someone he'd known as a child. Nothing to be nervous about.
He rounded the corner into the reception area and stopped dead.
Three young women stood near the entrance, clearly together based on how they'd arranged their luggage in a small cluster. All three turned simultaneously at Victini's excited chirping, and time seemed to stretch into something slow and surreal.
The first woman, tall and elegant, wore a flowing ankle-length beige trench coat over a sleek black turtleneck, paired with distressed light blue jeans and black combat boots. Her silver hair fell past her waist in a perfectly straight cascade that caught the light like mercury. Sharp golden eyes widened in recognition as she spotted Victini, then tracked upward to find Sasuke standing frozen a dozen feet away.
The second woman radiated vibrant energy. She'd dressed in a black crop top under a light blue denim jacket, paired with a black-and-white checkered mini skirt over black tights and white sneakers. Her crimson hair was styled in a high side ponytail that bounced as she gasped audibly, bright violet eyes going wide. Pearl earrings caught the light as she raised one hand to her mouth in surprise.
The third woman exuded cool confidence. Her outfit consisted of a fitted coral-red t-shirt beneath a black leather motorcycle jacket worn casually off her shoulders, paired with high-waisted light blue distressed jeans secured by a black belt and white sneakers. Long auburn hair cascaded past her hips in loose waves, and sharp golden eyes studied Sasuke with an appraising gaze that curved her lips into something between a smile and a smirk.
They were all stunning. Objectively, undeniably beautiful in three completely different ways, elegant grace, vibrant charm, and sophisticated allure.
And they were all staring at him.
Sasuke's brain stuttered. Three. There were three of them. But they weren't supposed to board together, the schedule had them arriving on different days at different ports.
Victini broke the frozen moment by launching itself at all three women simultaneously. The Victory Pokemon zipped between them in excited loops, chirping greetings and performing aerial tricks that made the silver-haired woman smile, the crimson-haired woman laugh, and the auburn-haired woman's smirk widen into genuine amusement.
"Victini!" The crimson-haired woman crouched down as the little Pokemon hovered in front of her face. "I can't believe how energetic you still are! Do you remember me?"
Victini chirped enthusiastically and did a backflip.
"I think that's a yes," the auburn-haired woman observed. She reached out and scratched behind Victini's ears with practiced ease. "Still causing trouble everywhere you go?"
The Victory Pokemon looked offended at the suggestion but didn't stop leaning into the scratching.
The silver-haired woman's attention had shifted from Victini to Sasuke. Her golden eyes tracked over him with an intensity that felt clinical, cataloging changes, comparing current appearance to memory. Then her expression softened into something warmer.
"Sasuke," she said. Her voice was quieter than the others but carried easily across the distance. "It's been a long time."
That broke his paralysis. Sasuke managed to walk forward without tripping, though his mind still scrambled to understand the situation. "Miyuki. I wasn't expecting all three of you at once."
"We coordinated," the crimson-haired woman explained, standing up from her crouch. "When we found out we'd all be traveling together, we decided to board at the same port instead of separately. Made more sense than awkward staggered meetings over three days."
That was... actually more thoughtful than the original plan. Though it didn't help Sasuke's current state of being confronted with all three simultaneously instead of having time to adjust to each one individually.
"Hello, Kasumi," he said, falling back on basic identification to buy his brain time to catch up.
She beamed. "You remember! I wasn't sure if you would after three years. We all look different now."
"Different is an understatement," the auburn-haired woman said. She stepped closer to Sasuke, studying him with those sharp golden eyes. "Last time I saw you, you were a lanky teenager who barely said three words at family gatherings. Now you're..." She gestured vaguely at all of him. "This."
Heat crept up Sasuke's neck. "Training changes people. And you're Kiyomi?"
"Good memory." She extended her hand for a formal shake. "Or maybe we're just that memorable."
Her grip was firm and confident when Sasuke shook her hand. Miyuki stepped forward next, offering her own handshake with more reserved grace. Her hands were soft but strong, and she held eye contact in a way that suggested she was still evaluating him.
Kasumi didn't bother with handshakes, she just grabbed his arm with both hands and squeezed, testing the muscle. "Sasuke, you got so tall! And big! What did they feed you at the Crown Tundra?"
The casual physical contact caught him completely off-guard. "I... mostly wild game. And whatever I could forage."
"He's blushing," Kiyomi observed with obvious amusement.
"I'm not..."
"You definitely are," Miyuki said gently. A small smile played at her lips. "It's fine. We're all a little awkward right now."
"Speak for yourself," Kiyomi said. "I'm perfectly comfortable."
"You're also shameless," Kasumi retorted, though her tone held affection. She finally released Sasuke's arm. "Okay, we're being overwhelming. Let's start over. Hi, Sasuke. We're your travel companions who you haven't seen in three years. We're all nervous and trying to hide it in different ways. How are you?"
The blunt honesty made something in Sasuke's chest relax. "I'm good. Confused about the schedule change but good. How are all of you?"
"Excited," Kasumi said immediately.
"Curious," Miyuki added.
"Intrigued," Kiyomi finished.
Before Sasuke could ask what any of that meant, Miyuki's bag suddenly shifted. A small green and white Pokemon emerged from the partially open zipper, a Shaymin in its Land Forme, flower adorning its head. The Gratitude Pokemon stretched after being confined in the bag, then noticed Victini and made a happy sound.
Victini chirped excitedly and flew over to greet the Shaymin. The two small Pokemon circled each other in the air, clearly already familiar despite the years of separation.
"Shaymin remembers Victini," Miyuki said. "They played together at the last family gathering before you left for training."
A flash of red light from Kasumi's Pokeball announced another arrival. Gardevoir materialized beside her trainer in a graceful motion, tall, elegant, with the distinctive white dress-like body and green hair of its species. The Psychic-Fairy type looked at Sasuke and bowed formally, a gesture of respect between Pokemon and trainer.
Sasuke returned the bow by instinct. "Your Gardevoir is well-trained."
"She's my partner for Contest performances," Kasumi said proudly. "We've been working together for six years. She's also incredibly protective, so fair warning, if she thinks someone is being rude to me, she will psychically relocate them."
"I'll keep that in mind."
Kiyomi's Pokeball opened last. An Alolan Ninetales appeared in a shimmer of frost and pale blue light, white fur pristine, nine tails fanning out in an impressive display, ice-blue eyes immediately fixing on Sasuke with disturbing intelligence. The Ice-Fairy type approached him directly, sniffing at his hand and then examining Victini with careful attention.
"She's evaluating you," Kiyomi explained. "Ninetales is particular about who I spend time with. If she decides she doesn't like you, this trip will be very awkward."
The Ninetales finished her examination and made a soft sound that seemed approving. She rubbed her head against Sasuke's hand once, a gesture of acceptance, then returned to Kiyomi's side.
"Looks like you passed," Kiyomi said. "Congratulations. She usually makes people work harder for approval."
"I'm honored?"
"You should be. She once froze a guy's shoes to the ground because he was boring." Kiyomi crouched down to scratch her Ninetales behind the ears. "Isn't that right, girl?"
The Pokemon looked entirely too pleased with that memory.
Victini and Shaymin had started playing some kind of aerial tag game, weaving between the four humans while Gardevoir watched with benevolent tolerance. The Ninetales observed with cool detachment, apparently content to let the others handle the energetic socializing.
"So," Miyuki said, drawing Sasuke's attention back to the humans. "Our mothers arranged this travel group, but I want to be clear, we all chose to participate. This isn't something we were forced into."
"Same," Sasuke admitted. "My mother was very insistent, but I agreed after thinking about it."
"Because you're hoping to avoid becoming a lonely trainer like your brother?" Kiyomi asked with blunt directness.
Sasuke blinked. "How did you-"
"Itachi mentioned it at a League function last year. Said he wished he'd built better bonds during his own journey." She shrugged. "I pay attention to useful information."
"I'm hoping to learn from actual Pokemon breeders and medical professionals," Miyuki added. "My studies under Professor Oak were valuable, but practical travel experience with someone who has multiple Legendary Pokemon? That's educational opportunity I couldn't pass up."
"And I want to prove Contests are legitimate competitions that require real skill," Kasumi said. "Having a traveling companion who's strong enough to reach the Championship means people can't dismiss our group as just casual trainers having fun. Your success makes my success look more credible by association."
The practicality of their reasons was somehow reassuring. They weren't here because of romanticized notions about friendship or because their mothers had pressured them. They had concrete goals that traveling together would help achieve.
"I'm collecting gym badges and working toward the Championship," Sasuke said. "But I'm also..." He hesitated, unsure how much to reveal. "Learning to connect with people better. The Crown Tundra made me very self-sufficient. Maybe too self-sufficient."
"So we're all using each other for mutual benefit while hopefully becoming actual friends in the process," Kiyomi summarized. "I can work with that level of honesty."
"It's refreshing," Miyuki agreed. "Better than pretending we're all best friends already when we barely remember each other."
Kasumi laughed. "Okay, but can we at least try to be friendly while we're using each other? Like, I'd prefer if this trip doesn't turn into four people silently tolerating each other's presence."
"Agreed," Sasuke said. "Functional cooperation with developing genuine rapport."
"You sound like you're writing a research paper," Kiyomi observed.
"He's always been formal when he's nervous," Kasumi told her. "Even as kids. Remember when we asked him to play tag and he said 'I would be amenable to participating in that recreational activity'?"
Miyuki covered her mouth but couldn't quite hide her smile. "I'd forgotten about that. You were so serious."
"I was eight and trying to sound mature," Sasuke said defensively.
"You succeeded in sounding like a tiny business executive." Kiyomi's smirk had softened into something more genuine. "It was actually kind of endearing."
Heat returned to his face.
This was why he preferred Pokemon to people, Pokemon didn't gang up on you with embarrassing childhood memories.
Victini chose that moment to tackle him from behind, chirping excitedly and gesturing toward the three girls' Pokemon. Apparently the Victory Pokemon had decided all their Pokemon should be friends now and was insisting everyone participate.
Shaymin floated over and nuzzled Sasuke's hand gently. Gardevoir performed another graceful bow. Even the Ninetales padded closer and sat at his feet, regarding him with those unsettling intelligent eyes.
"Your Pokemon approve," Miyuki said. "That's actually more important than our approval in the long run."
"Pokemon are excellent judges of character," Kasumi agreed. "If Gardevoir didn't like you, she'd be standing between us right now instead of being friendly."
"And if Ninetales didn't trust you, you'd have frostbite on your shoes," Kiyomi added cheerfully.
Sasuke looked down at his feet, confirming they remained frost-free. "Good to know the bar for approval is not actively attacking me."
All three women laughed, Miyuki's quiet and controlled, Kasumi's bright and unrestrained, Kiyomi's low and genuinely amused. The sound broke the remaining awkwardness, and suddenly the situation felt less like a formal meeting and more like... people. Just four people who used to know each other and were figuring out how to know each other again.
"We should probably find our cabins," Miyuki said. "Get settled before the ship departs again."
"I can show you where the premium cabins are," Sasuke offered. "I'm in 3-A."
"We're in 3-B, C, and D," Kasumi said. "They're connected suites, apparently. Our mothers arranged it so we'd be close to each other and to you."
Of course they had. Subtle, his mother was not.
"Then I'll help with your luggage," Sasuke said, reaching for the nearest bag.
"We can manage," Kiyomi said. "But if you want to be helpful, you can give us a tour of the ship. Show us all the important locations, training facilities, dining halls, quiet spaces for studying."
"And maybe tell us about the Crown Tundra training," Kasumi added eagerly. "I want to hear about how you caught all those Legendary Pokemon. The stories must be incredible."
Sasuke glanced at Miyuki, who'd been quiet for the last minute. She met his eyes and smiled, not the polite social smile from earlier, but something more genuine.
"We have a week on this ship," she said. "Plenty of time to get reacquainted properly. Let's not rush it."
That seemed wise. Sasuke nodded. "Tour first, then. Stories can wait for dinner."
"Are you cooking?" Kasumi asked. "Because Aunt Mikoto mentioned you learned to cook during training, and I'm very curious if you inherited her talent for making amazing food."
"I can cook. But whether I inherited her talent is debatable."
"He's being modest," Victini chirped, or at least, that's what Sasuke interpreted from the meaningful tone. "He's actually really good."
The girls accepted that as fact, apparently trusting Victini's judgment. They gathered their luggage and prepared to follow Sasuke toward the cabin section.
As they walked through the ship's corridors, Sasuke leading the way while three women and four Pokemon trailed behind him, he felt the weight of the situation settling in properly. A week on this ship together. Then months traveling through Kanto and Johto, facing gym battles and Contests and whatever else the journey threw at them.
These three people would become more familiar to him than his own family by the journey's end. That thought was both exciting and terrifying in equal measure.
But as he glanced back and saw them talking among themselves, saw their Pokemon playing together happily, saw the easy way they'd already started forming a group dynamic...
Maybe this wouldn't be as difficult as he'd feared.
Maybe it might even be good.
Victini landed on his shoulder and chirped contentedly. The Victory Pokemon had known all along that this would work out. It always knew.
Sasuke found himself smiling despite his lingering nerves. "Okay," he said to no one in particular. "Let's do this."