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Chapter 7
Nicole May felt like crying as she turned away from Avegaille. The afternoon sun gave out a radiant shine as the wind blew through the eastside. Avegaille calmed down as she gazed at Nicole May and knew something was in Nicole's mind. Phil just wished that the two of them would get along so they could all continue with their journey. On the other hand, Linole had something in mind to get all the trainers going. He quickly jumped off Avegaille's head as he slowly approached Sandra, who was behind Nicole May.
"-Hey, Sandra, will you do something for me just for once?-" Linole whispered.
"-Sure, w-what Is it?-" Sandra asked slowly, with a bit of nervousness.
"-When I run, just follow me, okay?-" Linole whispered back.
"-Well, all right then,-" Sandra said in agreement as she gave a nod.
Linole started sniffing on the ground as Sandra watched him perplexedly. Then, Linole started running passing besides Nicole May. Sandra quickly followed him as Nicole quickly jerked up her head and watched the two Pokémon running together on one direction. Nicole felt a bit worried as she noticed that the two of them weren't coming back. She quickly ran after.
"Huh? What's going on?" Phil asked as he looked at Avegaille.
"Hey, where's Linole?" Avegaille asked worriedly as she placed her hands over her head.
"Come on, we need to catch up with Nicole May first," Phil quickly interrupted.
Avegaille and Phil started running together and tried to locate where Nicole May is. As Phil and Avegaille were getting near the seashore, they noticed a port and saw Nicole May near the ticket booth with Linole and Sandra lying on the ground, right in front of the booth.
"Look, there's Linole!" Phil exclaimed out as he pointed towards the ticket booth. "And with Nicole May and Sandra."
Avegaille and Phil quickly approached Nicole May, who was in front of the ticket booth. Avegaille noticed that Linole was all tired out as she quickly picked up the little Zigzagoon on the ground and carried him in her arms. Nicole May felt irritated as she realized that it was Linole's idea to get everyone here in the port. Nicole looked down at Sandra and bent down to pick her up and carried the Skitty in her arms. Phil tucked in his hands into his pockets as he shrugged. Avegaille approached the counter of the ticket booth as she saw the clerk in front, waiting for them.
"Is there a cruise ship ready to take the three of us along with our Pokémon to Kanto?" Avegaille asked to the clerk. Linole quickly climbed on Avegaille's shoulders and rested on top of his trainer's head.
"Sure, and the ship is about to leave in an hour," the clerk told them as the slit right in the counter dispensed out three tickets. The clerk took them and handed them over to Avegaille. "And don't worry, I don't think ferry rides are charged. They're all yours."
"Um, thanks," Avegaille said in return politely as she turned to everyone else.
Nicole May wondered why Avegaille knew that she wanted to go to the Kanto region. Phil took the ticket as Avegaille handed one over to him. Then, Avegaille gave the other ticket she had to Nicole May. Sandra wondered what the ticket was for as she stared at it.
"Hey, how did you know I wanted to go to the Kanto region?" Nicole May quickly asked to Avegaille as she looked at her irritably.
"Coincidence maybe or the fact that you always wanted to go to the Kanto region when we were younger," Avegaille explained out as she shrugged. "Come on, maybe we can do something fun while we're on the ship."
"I don't think she knows my other reason for wanting to go to the Kanto region," Nicole May thought to herself as she looked at Avegaille. "Or maybe she already knows about and she just didn't want anyone else to know."
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The ship gave out a loud hooting sound as it set sail from the port. Avegaille never felt so much excitement coming out of her as she held on the ship's rails and felt the breeze of the wind rushing towards her. Nicole May noticed the sun rising down as she sat down on one of the recliners set up at the bridge deck. She let out Terk from his Pokéball to get him to see everything going on. Phil was a few distances away from Nicole as he tried to observe the flow of the sea. Randy and Terra were on the floor, playing a few games together. Avegaille walked off from the rail of the ship as she went near Phil. Avegaille took out two Pokéballs from her bag but only realized now that her mom had given her the other Pokémon. She quickly tossed them up in the air to release them. Mandy popped out of the ball as she landed on the ground and an orange lizard Pokémon with a flaming tail came out as it landed on the ground.
"Huh? Since when did you got yourself a Charmander?" Phil asked as he looked at Avegaille puzzlingly.
"My mom gave it to me when I left with Nicole May for our Pokémon journey," Avegaille replied. "I remember that my dad always loved fire-types. He wanted me to have at least one fire-type on my team."
"Char?" The Charmander asked puzzlingly as it looked at Avegaille.
"Um, hiya there," Avegaille said nervously as she sat down on the floor and looked at the Charmander. "My name's Avegaille. Do you wish me to give you a nickname or do you already have one?"
"-Uh, well, your dad always calls me 'Charlie'-," the Charmander replied out as he looked at Avegaille. "-I thought you would never release me out of the ball so I could meet you.-"
"Nice to meet you then, Charlie. And these are my other Pokémon friends, Linole the Zigzagoon and Mandy the Mudkip," Avegaille said in return as she laughed nervously.
"Guyuh!" Linole exclaimed out as he jumped off from Avegaille's head and started to sniff Charlie.
"-Stop acting like a dog, Linole,-" Mandy told him as she started chuckling. "-You make me laugh just when you do it.-"
"-What? I can't help it… I like sniffing scents,-" Linole whined out as he pouted at Mandy.
"-You guys are funny,-" Charlie remarked as he started to laugh.
As the three Pokémon started to interact with each other, along with Randy and Terra, Avegaille looked at Nicole May, who was a few distances away from her. Avegaille observed Nicole May from there and noticed that something wasn't right. Avegaille saw Sandra and Terk coming towards her as Nicole May stood up from her seat and walked towards the ship's rail and rested her elbows on top of the rail as she bent down and rested her chin on her hands. Avegaille stood up from the floor and looked at Nicole May. Avegaille felt a bit nervous about approaching Nicole May and talking to her. She knew that Nicole May would mostly ignore her or make sarcastic replies. Avegaille turned to Phil and saw him lying down on the recliner and fast asleep. Then, Avegaille looked down at all the Pokémon playing together. Linole and Sandra were having fun together while chasing each other. Mandy and Charlie were talking about everything they see. Randy and Terra were playing together a sound game while Terk observed everyone else as he leaned his back on the wall. Avegaille quickly approached Terk and sat down on the floor.
"-You want something?-" Terk asked Avegaille as he closed his eyes.
"Yeah, it's about… Nicole May," Avegaille muttered out as she bit her lower lip.
"-Hmm, sorry, I don't think I can help you out on that one,-" Terk replied out. "-You know my trainer more than I do. I can sense it in you. You're just afraid to talk with her. Just let her cool down for a while. You don't want to go in another fight with her, now do you?-"
"Well, yeah, but, isn't there going to be a time when I'll be able to talk to her with her listening?" Avegaille asked out.
"-Yeah, might take some time, but there will be time,-" Terk replied as he opened his eyes and looked at Avegaille. "-Just not right now. And be patient with her. If you could just understand what she's thinking right now, it would help you to be better friends with her.-"
"Okay then, thanks," Avegaille said as she stood up from the floor. "And by the way, is it true that Treeckos like to dance?"
Terk looked at Avegaille surprisingly and sweat-dropped. He knew it had something to do with the Pokédex data that Avegaille read before.
"-They should update that Pokédex data, you know…-" Terk muttered out as he gave out an exasperated look and closed his eyes.
"If you say so," Avegaille said as she shrugged and walked off.
Avegaille took a glance at Nicole May once again. She sighed as she turned away from Nicole May and observed all of the Pokémon playing together and mingling with each other. Then, she sat down on one of the recliners near Mandy and Charlie and crouched her body. Mandy and Charlie looked up at Avegaille and both of them felt a bit upset.
"-Hey, why don't you join us?-" Mandy asked as she smiled at Avegaille.
"Huh? Um, no, it's okay, I need to have some thinking time for a while," Avegaille replied out as she sighed and rested her head on her knee and glanced at Nicole May.
"-Must have something to do with that girl over there,-" Charlie whispered to Mandy as he noticed at where Avegaille's looking.
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That night, Avegaille, Nicole May and Phil arrived at a cabin of the ship in which they will all sleep at for the night. As they all got inside the cabin, they saw three beds, in which all of them were separated and placed by the side of the cabin. All of the trainers' Pokémon quickly approached the beds. Linole, Mandy and Charlie jumped on the bed besides a circular window. Sandy and Terk approached the bed by the right side of the cabin and Terra and Randy sat down on the floor besides the bed on the left. Phil quickly approached his Pokémon and placed them on the bed as he sat down. Avegaille quickly approached her Pokémon and sat down on the bed besides them. Nicole May on the other hand, approached her Pokémon for a while and patted them.
"I'm going out of a while," Nicole May told to her Pokémon. "Don't worry, I'll be right back…"
"-Okay then, we'll wait for you here,-" Terk told to Nicole as he sat down on the bed and leaned his back against the wall.
Sandra felt a bit anxious as Nicole May left the room. She looked around and observed that the other Pokémon were having fun getting to know their trainers better. Sandra wanted to be with Nicole May right now. She laid herself on the bed, feeling a bit depressed.
"-Come on Linole, tell us what's it like to be a Pokémon from another trainer,-" Mandy insisted as she looked at Linole hesitantly.
Linole looked around the cabin and noticed that Sandra was very upset about something. He knew that he should approach Sandra quickly.
"-Wait here for a while, okay guys?-" Linole told them as he quickly jumped off the bed and approached Sandra.
Avegaille looked towards the direction where Linole is. She observed the Zigzagoon interacting with the Skitty. Avegaille couldn't help but smile when she saw how much Linole could make Sandra so happy. Mandy and Charlie were a bit puzzled about this, but they decided to ignore it and went on to a better topic. Avegaille lifted up her legs and rested them on the bed as she crouched herself and leaned her beck on the wall, near the window. She sighed as she rested her head on her knees. Phil noticed Avegaille's sudden change of mood and he wanted to know why.
"Hmm, hey, Avegaille, something on your mind?" Phil asked as he stood up from the bed he was sitting on and went in front of Avegaille.
"Huh?" Avegaille lifted up her head as she looked up at Phil. "Oh, it's nothing. It just has something to do with Nicole May…"
"You never seem to stop worrying about her, don't you?" Phil asked as he folded his arms across his chest. He looked around the cabin and noticed that Nicole May wasn't around. "Where is she anyways?"
"I don't know, but it's impossible for her to be not on this ship unless she jumped off the ship," Avegaille murmured out. "She could be at the bridge deck at this time."
"Miyah…" Sandra sighed out as she jumped off from the bed. Then, she quickly ran out of the cabin through the open door.
"-Heh, don't worry about your girlfriend, she knows what's she doing,-" Terk told to Linole before Linole could even move form his spot.
"-She's not my girlfriend, we're just good friends,-" Linole protested as he turned away from Terk and blushed.
"-If you insist,-" Terk said as he sighed and shook his head slowly.
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At the bridge deck, Nicole saw the radiant glow of the moon as she walked towards the rail fence of the ship. She held on the bar as she took a glance at the view of the sea. She felt the cold breeze of the wind as she closed her eyes and sighed. Then, Nicole quickly opened her eyes as she heard footsteps getting closer to her and quickly turned around. She saw an old man wearing a blue sleeved shirt with a red vented jacket and dark green pants. He had a white beard on his chin and was almost bald. On his shoulders rested a winged Pokémon with a yellow and black bill. Nicole May felt nervous as the Pokémon looked at her curiously.
"What brings such a lad as yourself outside your room at this time of night?" the old man asked as he smiled at Nicole. "Forgot to introduce myself. I'm Mr. Briney, but a lot of people here call me Captain Briney. I retied once but the people at Slateport City wanted me to be the captain of this here ship. And of course, here with me is Peeko, my trustee Wingull."
"Um, nice to meet you then, sir," Nicole May said in returned with a bit of nervousness. Sweat came down from her face as Peeko continued to stare at her. "I… My name… is… Nicole May, sir."
"Ah, nice to meet a lad such as yourself," Mr. Briney remarked as he stretched his arm. Peeko walked on to his arm and flew down the ground to get closer to Nicole May.
"Uh, yeah… uh, nice to meet you also… but I got to go…" Nicole May said slowly as she backed away from Peeko. She gave out a weak smile as she was about to head to the door in which her cabin along with her companions are. "Uh, bye then!"
Nicole May quickly ran off as Peeko felt a bit disappointed and moaned. She flew back up to Mr. Briney's shoulder. Mr. Briney wondered why Nicole May made such a reaction when his Peeko came near her.
"Ah, don't worry, Peeko, maybe we can talk to her again, and see what's really bothering her," Mr. Briney told to Peeko as he smiled at her.
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"You know, the most funniest thing that I've learned about Nicole May while we were together for almost seven years is her phobia for bird Pokémon," Avegaille whispered out to Phil.
While all of the Pokémon were playing together in Nicole's bed, Avegaille and Phil decided to have a few chats of their own where their Pokémon will not know about it. Avegaille and Phil were sitting together on the left bed while all of the Pokémon inside the room were on the other bed at the right side. Avegaille just couldn't help talking about what she knew about Nicole May, since Phil was asking so many questions.
"Uh, do you know why she had this sudden trauma for bird Pokémon?" Phil asked as he looked at Avegaille in a weird way.
"Dunno, it happened a few years ago in Pokémon Academy while our class was having a outing at Route 104," Avegaille replied out as she gave a shrug. "We just saw a bunch of wild Taillows coming near us while we were having our picnic when Nicole May was panicking and trying to get away from them."
"Well, there must be a logical explanation for that," Phil interrupted as he looked at Avegaille in a serious manner. "Why not ask her about it instead of teasing her?"
"She won't tell, even if I don't annoy her," Avegaille replied back as she shrugged and rested her back on the bed. "Wonder where she ran off to this time?"
Avegaille sat up from the bed and looked at the opened door as she heard clanging of a metal floor, seeming like footsteps. Phil saw Nicole May as she came in through the door and quickly sat down on the bed where all of the Pokémon were playing at. All of the Pokémon quickly stopped giggling and jumping on the bed as they dashed off to their trainers' beds. Nicole May noticed that Sandra wasn't around the room at all.
"Hey, have you guys seen Sandra?" Nicole asked to Phil and Avegaille as she started to look a bit worried.
"Not really… I thought she was with you," Avegaille replied out as she pointed her finger in Nicole's face. "You know, you should learn how to handle your Pokémon and not let them always get away from your sight."
"Hey, I wasn't asking for a lecture on how I should handle my Pokémon," Nicole murmured out as she gave out an exasperated look. "If you're not going to help, I might as well find Sandra by myself."
Nicole quickly stormed out of the cabin as Avegaille put down her arm and kept quiet for a while. Phil held his forehead with his hand as he shook his head slowly and sighed.
"What? Was it something I said?" Avegaille asked out innocently.
Everyone inside the room, including all the Pokémon, stared at Avegaille as they sweat-dropped. They knew that the disagreements Avegaille had with Nicole May had gone too far. But not even Phil could do anything about it since he doesn't know the real source of their disagreements.
"Avegaille, let me ask you something," Phil told to Avegaille slowly as he stood up from his seat and went in front of Avegaille. "Do you wish to get along with Nicole May?"
"Depends on what you mean, after all, all I wish to be friends with her, but I don't think she wants to be friends with me," Avegaille replied out as she shrugged. She paused for a while as she sighed and looked down on the floor.
"How about this? Why don't you make the first move…" Phil suggested slowly. "I mean, after all, if you want her to be friends with you, you have to show that you are nice to her."
"Could work, but still…"
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End of Chapter 7
Last update, thank goodness…