The docks of Vermillion were overrun with activity. People running back and forth with cargo, fisherman arguing over whose Magikarp was bigger, and guards preventing people from boarding the S.S. Anne without a ticket. In all this madness nobody noticed a lone Munchlax wandering the docks. Munchlax were known to wander anywhere they suspect might be food. People on the dock tend to drop their food a lot, so this Munchlax loved to hang out here. Today however, it noticed something it had never noticed before: the best tasting smell it had ever smelled. The little Munchlax followed its nose right to the source of the smell, which just happened to be the S.S. Anne.
"Now the ship stops in Canalave City last," Lynwood told Jasper as they boarded the massive ocean liner. "Me and my men have to leave at Slateport City. Will you be ok after we leave?"
"Of course sir," Jasper said. "I've been able to take care of myself so far. A few days on a luxury cruise ship by myself shouldn't be too difficult to manage."
Lynwood laughed. "Right you are my boy. Your cabin is B120. Enjoy yourself. And good luck getting home."
"Thanks, and good luck taking over the world." Jasper laughed as he entered his cabin. It was a cozy little room with a bedside table and lamp, a porthole where he could look out at the sea, and a really soft looking bed. On the wall by his door he noticed a schedule of when the ship will dock. It wouldn't be docking in Canalave till next week. All the better for him. Jasper jumped onto the bed and instantly sank into the soft matress.
Jasper looked at the table to the side of him and saw a book filled with activities and services that were available on the ship. He picked it up and flipped through it. The dining hall was free with the ticket, there was a swimming pool and hot tub, a battle arena for any trainers, and even a Pokémon grooming center.
Pokémon. Jasper had nearly forgotten about Vulpix. He should probably get acquainted with it if it would be traveling and possibly living with him. He took Vulpix's Pokéball out of his pocket and released the golden Pokémon.
Vulpix looked around the cabin. The setting seemed familiar to it. It wondered if it had all been a dream and it was still living with its family. But then it noticed Jasper and realized that everything had actually happened.
"Hello Vulpix," Jasper said kneeling down to get more level with it. "My name is Jasper. I saved you from those poachers remember? I couldn't think of anywhere to take you so I decided to take you along with me. I hope we can be friends." He reached out to stroke Vulpix's head. Vulpix, however, pouted and flicked its head singling that it didn't want him to do that. "Huh?" Jasper started to laugh. "Well you're just a little princess aren't you? Well you better get used to me because I'm not just going to abandon you." He pulled out Absol and Combee's Pokéballs. "You'd better also meet your new friends." He sent the two Pokémon out.
Vulpix took a look at Combee. It was just another bug-type Pokémon. It paid no attention to such a common species. Then its jaw dropped when it examined Absol. It was big, tall, heroic looking, everything of Vulpix's dreams. It did its best to make itself look decent and started nudging up against Absol's legs.
Jasper started laughing. "Look like you got yourself a lover there Absol." His stomach started to growl. "I guess I could do with some lunch. How about you guys?" Absol and Combee nodded. Vulpix tried not to take mind, as a proper Pokémon should when offered handouts, but the sound of its stomach made it difficult. It sighed and nodded.
The four of them made their way to the dining hall. There was a buffet laid out in the center that contained a wide variety of food for both humans and Pokémon. Jasper looked around. It didn't seem to be too crowded. But Jasper knew from his experiences in restaurants that they better claim a table while they still could. He turned to Absol and Vulpix.
"You two go get us a table," He told the two of them. "Combee and I will get our food." Absol nodded and started scouting for a table. Vulpix followed Absol wherever it went. Jasper and Combee got in line for the buffet. The line was short but Jasper saw it gradually getting longer. Jasper and Combee were thankful that they got the spot they did.
When the two of them got to the counter, they saw it was divided into two sections, one for humans and one for Pokémon. Jasper was amazed by all the choices of food there were. He just made himself a couple sandwiches though. When they got to the Pokémon section, there was food for Pokémon of each type. He grabbed three bowls. One full of dark-type food, one full of fire, and one full of bug.
Jasper found the table that Absol and Vulpix had chosen and sat down beside them. He gave the food to his Pokémon and started eating his own. Vulpix looked reluctantly at its food. It didn't look like anything it was used to eating. But after taking one bite of it, it dug right into its food. Combee started using honey it made in its mouth to sweeten its food.
The scent of Combee's honey carried through the air. It went straight into the nose of the Munchlax that had snuck aboard the ship. It was just wandering out of the kitchen when it smelled the honey. It ran over the Jasper's table and eyed his sandwiches. The Munchlax started pulling at Jasper's leg.
This got his attention. He looked at the Munchlax. "Sorry you can't have any." But it kept pulling at Jasper's leg. "I said no." It didn't stop. "Whose Munchlax is this?" He looked around the room and saw that nobody was coming to claim it. He was about to try and send it away when a bunch of angry chiefs came bursting from the kitchen.
"THERE IT IS!" One of them shouted. "THERE'S THE MUNCHLAX THAT STOLE TONIGHT'S DINNER! GET IT!" Munchlax gasped and ran as fast as it could out of the dining hall. The angry chiefs chased after it.
"Well that was weird." Jasper said as he finished one of his sandwiches. "Hey Combee can I have some of that honey?"
Later that night Lynwood stood on the bow of the ship and starred up at the full moon. It was the beauty of this world that he enjoyed. When he controlled the world he would make sure to preserve this beauty. One of his men came up to him.
"Sir," The Moon Force member said. "I just checked with the ship's captain, we're on schedule."
"There's no rush." Lynwood said while looking up at the moon. "We're on vacation after all. You need to enjoy yourself. We'll have plenty of time to take over the world once we get to Hoen. Relax, call your family, just have fun."
"Very well sir," The troop walked off.
Lynwood reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a small green orb. He held it up to the moonlight. "Soon, soon." He mumbled to himself. Suddenly the orb started to glow extremely bright. "No," Lynwood gasped. "You're not supposed to come till we reach Hoen!" He made a dash for the ship's main office. As he ran he heard the roar of a giant, green serpent bursting through the clouds.