-The Legal Stuff:-

1) I am not affiliated at all to Game Freak nor to Nintendo, nor any other companies that write/produce Pokémon.

2) I do not own any part of Pokémon.

-A Waiver:-

1) I am not following any storyline already created, not a game, not the television show, my storyline is completely original as far as most characters go and as far as what is going on with the plot.

2) The only thing I borrowed from the game (I just started playing Crystal Version again) is the Gym Leader's names and their Pokémon, the city names, route names, and a couple of Team Rocket situations. I think I also mention well known people like Professor Elm and Professor Oak.

Basically…storyline and main characters are of my creation, the other stuff I borrowed from Crystal Version.

-And finally, the story. (: Enjoy!-

Chapter Thirty-Six:

The S.S. Aqua Arrives.

I sat up and glared out into the dark room. I let my breath out and flung my blankets off of me before I jumped out of the bed that was hooked to the wall. I had misjudged the height of the jump and thudded heavily against the floor. I leaned over the other small bed in the room and poked Doug on the shoulder.

"Doug," I hissed as my prodding got steadily harder. "Douglas Evergreen! Yet again, you are snoring!"

'Rowan?' Espeon called out sleepily. She and Umbreon occupied the bunk below my bed in the small cruise liner cabin. 'Is everything okay?'

"No," I muttered as I now switched to shoving Doug's arm. "For the sixth night in a row, this man is snoring unbelievably loud. And I cannot sleep!"

I glanced over my shoulder as Espeon yawned and snuggled closer to Umbreon, who was still sound asleep. 'It's not bothering me.'

"How is it not? He sounds like a foghorn!" I hissed as I straightened up, planted my hands on my hips, and glared down at Doug.

'Just go back to sleep Rowan,' Espeon muttered as she tucked her nose under her front paw and closed her eyes.

I pursed my lips as I looked from Doug to her and back to Doug. He was still snoring away, as if I hadn't bothered him at all. I leaned over him again and pressed both of my hands against his arm. "Doug! Roll over and stop snoring!"

It surprised me when Doug's arm finally moved. Instead of rolling over onto his stomach though, his arm simply wrapped around my waist and pulled me towards him. He sat up as I fell onto his lap. Even in the darkness I could still feel his death glare on my face. "What the hell is your problem?" He growled.

"You are!" I hissed.

"I'm not the one that begged me to come on this stupid trip," Doug retorted.

I glared at him for several moments before I realized there was a pain in my stomach. I glanced down and bit back a string of swear words. "You are squeezing me way too tight!" I shouted, slamming my fist against his chest.

"Can you end this lover's quarrel?" Doug's Umbreon suddenly spoke up. I glanced over across the room and the bed the Pokémon were occupying. Espeon was nodding furiously in agreement as she stared at me.

"If he would let go of me!" I squealed and Doug's arm moved off of me as he flopped back down against his bed.

"Go back to sleep," he muttered into his pillow.

I sighed and stood up to head across the room. As I stepped away from Doug's bed, his arm swung up again and slammed into my butt, pushing me slightly towards my bed. I whipped around to glare at him, but he was already snoring again.

"This is so stupid!" I hissed to myself as I pulled myself back onto the bed. As I tried to resituate, my head slammed into the roof of the room. "Ow," I whined as I pressed my hand on the top of my head. "This is the last night," I reminded myself as I threw my head against the pillow.

I closed my eyes as I took a deep breath to relax me. Doug's snoring suddenly reached a new, annoying level. My eyes snapped open and I groaned to myself as I squashed my pillow over my head. Regardless, his snoring still perforated through. "Thank Mew we reach Kanto tomorrow," I murmured against the pillow.

'You still cranky?' Espeon asked me as she tagged along behind as I selected breakfast food from the buffet.

"I never stopped being cranky," I informed her. "I haven't slept well in a week."

'Doug had a point last night,' she pointed out. 'You are the one that wanted Doug to come along with you.'

"I didn't think we'd be sharing a room!" I hissed. "A tiny little room where I barely have room to breathe!"

'Let alone sleep,' Espeon giggled.

"Shut up," I snapped at her.

'Grab some of that right there for me,' she set her front paws on the counter to look at the selection of Pokémon food available.

"Which one?" I asked her.

'The silver can with the green and brown label,' she said.

"Brock's Quality Eevee Kibble?" I asked as I read off the label.

'Yes.'

"You're not an Eevee," I said to her as I set the can on my tray and grabbed a bowl.

'I use to be,' she shrugged as she padded behind me over to a table. She jumped into a booth and sat down facing the table. 'Plus, this Brock guy makes the best food around! I wonder if he's a real person.'

"I'll take your word on its tastiness," I said as I scooped the Pokémon food into the bowl and set it in front of Espeon. I sat down and helped myself to the fresh fruit I had gotten for breakfast. Regardless of my awkward sleeping schedule and the hectic travels that were sure to follow once we harbored in Vermillion, breakfast was always a peaceful affair.

"I told you! I want that Ekans!" A boy at the table behind me started to shout and I dropped my fork before running my hands up into my hair.

"Well, I don't want your stupid Mankey!" The voice of another young boy retaliated.

"Boys, boys," a woman sighed. "Calm down, you both can use both Pokémon."

I glanced over my shoulder at the bickering boys to find that they were bickering twin brothers. I let my breath out as I turned back around.

"But Mankey is stupid Mom," the first boy spoke again. "And I'm twenty-three seconds older so I should have been allowed to pick the Pokémon I wanted first!"

"You did pick first," his brother retorted.

"And I should be allowed to change my choice whenever I want," the boy quickly added.

I sighed and cupped my hands over my ears. I was about to lose all self-control and start shouting at the two young kids. 'Let's go outside Rowan. I think we both need some fresh air,' Espeon said as she leapt out of the booth and headed towards the exit of the room.

I gratefully shot out of my seat and followed her up several floors to the deck of the ship. My anger was carried away with the cool wind. Espeon headed up towards the bow of the ship, I followed without thinking. As I turned a corner though and saw where she was going, I felt my anger instantly return.

"Espeon," I hissed. "Why do you lead me directly to the cause of my bad mood?"

'For funsies?' Espeon offered with a smile as she walked over to a bench on the deck. She jumped onto it and cuddled up next to Doug's Umbreon. I glared at her a moment before redirecting my attention to Doug.

If he said anything smart, I was prepared to rip him a new one.

As I walked to the banister and stood next to him, I was surprised when he greeted me with a quick smile. "Good morning," he said.

I arched my eyebrow. "Hi."

"That's all I get?" He asked.

"You're toying with me," I hissed.

Now his eyebrow rocketed onto his forehead. "I am?"

"Yes."

"How?"

"Because of last night, and every other night on this Mew forsaken cruise ship!" I retorted, throwing my hands up in the air in exasperation.

As I grasped the banister and glared over the side of the ship into the water, I could feel Doug calmly staring at my face. Finally, he cleared his throat. "You didn't sleep well?" He asked me.

My eyes narrowed as I whirled around to glare at Doug. I had to sweep a swathe of bangs out of my eyes to ensure he got the full intensity of my glare. "Are you really asking me that?" I muttered as my hands clenched into fists.

Doug looked around, he honestly seemed confused. "Yes?" He finally replied.

"Douglas, if I knew your middle name I'd use it right now, Evergreen!" I shouted. "You have kept me up every night this week!"

"People are looking at you Rowan," he sighed. "They're going to think you're some kind of nut."

I let my breath out. "Are you aware of how bad your snoring is?"

"I snore?" Doug asked in response, his eyebrow flicked upwards.

"Yes, you do," I muttered. "Very badly. You were shaking the entire room." Doug stared at me a moment before he started to laugh. I glared up at him as I slugged him in the chest. "I don't find this at all funny Doug!"

He continued to laugh as he rubbed the spot on his chest I had just hit. "I'm sorry," he said. "I really am."

I turned around from him, crossing my arms over my chest. "I don't believe you one bit."

"That's hilarious," I heard him say before walking past me and back into the ship's interior.

"Douglas Evergreen," I hissed to his back. He was out of earshot. "You are going to pay, just you wait."

I held Espeon tight against my chest as I walked across the gangway and onto the dock of Vermillion City. 'You are crushing me Rowan, just as a newsflash,' she said as she squirmed in my arms. 'And this is not at all comfortable.'

"Watch your step," a crewman of the ship was shouting as I dropped down onto the dock. "We hope you had a wonderful voyage and that you enjoy your stay in Kanto."

"Actually," I stopped in front of him, a look of surprise coming over his features. "They voyage was not good. You really need to get soundproof pillows."

He stared at me, a quizzical look across his face. "Ignore her," Doug said as his hand met the middle of my back. I stumbled a couple of steps forward before regaining my balance. I shot a perturbed glare over my shoulder at him. "She's a nut."

"Shut up Doug," I hissed as I walked down the dock. "I blame you for all of my crankiness and current issues."

"You had issues long before you even knew I existed," Doug muttered as he walked past me.

'I think he's got you there,' Espeon said, looking up at me from the tight grasp she was in.

"Whose side are you on?" I asked her.

'My own,' she flashed me a smile. 'Put me down now?'

I let my breath out before setting her onto the ground. She darted away from me to catch up to Doug's Umbreon, who was already at the end of the pier. I let my breath out as I neared the end of the pier. I stopped on the edge and looked around.

Vermillion City didn't remind me very much of Olivine, even though they were both port cities. Olivine had seemed very calm and tranquil, Vermillion City was the exact opposite. It was bustling with many different kinds of people. Children and their parents, trainers and their Pokémon, merchants and their wares.

Maybe this is the way all of Kanto was, everyone was just in a rush. I smiled slightly as I took in my new surroundings. I was in a new region about to continue my Pokémon adventure. From my perch, I could see a mart, the PokéCenter, and the gym. There were many other buildings, both large and small, lining the coast.

"Are you going to stand there and stare all day?" Doug suddenly interrupted my eager thoughts and I frowned down at him.

"For your information," I hissed as I planted my hands on my hips. As he was standing on the ground in front of the pier and I was still on the pier, I was taller than him for once. "I am trying to get use to the fact that I'm quite far from home."

"Is it going to take long?" He retorted.

"It'll take as long as it takes," I replied, looking away from him and back across Vermillion.

"You may want to wrap it up," Doug remarked.

"And if I don't?" I asked.

"I'm leaving you standing there," he said. I gave him a flippant stare. He pointed down at Espeon. "And I'm taking your Pokémon with me."

I arched my eyebrow at him. "You wouldn't dare."

"Is that a bet?" He retaliated.

I sighed and let out my breath before leaping off the dock and landing, quite ungracefully, next to Doug. Why had I wanted him to remain my companion through Kanto again? I took a deep breath and shook my hair out of my face. Douglas Evergreen wasn't going to ruin this momentous occasion for me! I was in Kanto! I was in Vermillion City! I was well on my way to becoming a Pokémon Master!

"Hey Rowan, let's move Slowpoke!"

Author's Notes: Chapter Thirty-Six: Good afternoon. I am sitting out on my back porch with Kitty. She's sleeping in a box right in front of me with her water in front of her. She's super spoiled. She has to have refrigerated bottled water with ice cubes in it. XD Or maybe I just spoiled her.

Thanks to Delu and PokemonLuver for reviewing chapter 35. (: This is the final chapter before Kanto. So I will be taking a week or a week and a half off after this. This is pretty good timing because I have to start getting ready to move up to my apartment. Haha.

This chapter was just for funsies, just because I wanted to put a small cruise scene in because cruises are fun and pains in the butt at the same time. I took a cruise once, the rooms really are tiny. It was Older Sister, Younger Brother and me in one room. O.o Not a pleasant experience. Oh! And I was seasick. Which made it like three hundred times worse.

And the showers in those cabins! They're smaller than a dorm room shower!

But, anyways give me a week and I'll be back with more updates that describe the adventures (and misadventures) of Kanto.

Review/comment and subscribe! (: (I forgot to say that last update! Oops! XD )

P.S. See you in a week! :D