Chapter 9

-Gloom-y Day Ahead-

I woke up the next morning expectedly groggy. I decided it was time to end the hiatus of staying indoors because of my incident with Gary.

'Everyone was on vacation,' I thought to myself. 'I doubt they even cared if I almost drowned in the ocean, they probably already forgot what happened in their drunken stupors.'

I got dressed and let Skogen out of his pokeball to do some calisthenics. "TREE-CKO! TREE-CKO" he exclaimed in joy as he swiftly scaled the walls of the room using his remarkable grip.

I decided that today was the day I would confront Misty and thank her for saving my life. And more importantly, hopefully I could get her to hang out with me.

The sun was shining bright and the crisp salty air filled my lungs as I stepped outside. The quiescent ocean sparkled an azure blue as the cruise ship slowly drifted along.

I made my way to the pool area in hopes that Misty was around. I searched the entire deck but could not seem to locate her. I went up to one of the lifeguards and asked if he knew of her whereabouts, to which he responded by telling me that he had seen her near the fishing station. Normally cruises don't allow you to fish on the boat, but this one had a facility dedicated to it.

Finally I spotted her alone in a shaded area with a fishing pole placed in a holder, and with a book in her hand.

"Hey Misty, what are you up to?"

She looked up at me invitingly with her big blue eyes and warm smile. "Oh Hi Darren! Nothing much, I'm actually here to see if there are any new Pokemon I can catch to add to my team."

'Wow, she must have learned my name sometime during the incident,' I deduced.

"After all," she continued, "the captain announced that there will be a huge tournament here held in the coming weeks. Winner gets the price of their ticket refunded!"

"The captain is holding it? What interest does he have in Pokemon?"

"Oh you didn't know? The captain is Drake, member of Hoenn's Elite Four."

"Damn, this thing is going to be legit then. I better start training harder haha." I quickly thought that this could be a way that I could get to know Misty better.

"Hey if you ever need a training partner let me know. I know you specialize in water types, and I'm a grass aficionado, so I'm sure we could help each other out." I added.

"Thanks for the offer Darren" she acknowledged, not indicating whether she was actually interested.

...

"Well nice seeing ya, good luck with the fishing."

I was starting to get really nervous speaking with her at this point so I ended it on that note and walked away.

I took about ten steps while pondering what I said, before I realized that I totally forgot to thank her for saving my life!

I turned around and jettisoned right back to her.

She looked up at me again this time a little bit confused and amused at my flustered state.

"I forgot to tell you the reason why I tracked you down in the first place, Misty," I mentioned rubbing my neck. "I really must thank you for what you did that night. I heard how you dove in after me and I'm eternally grateful. If there is anything I can do to repay you…I'm all ears."

In my ideal fantasy world, she would have responded by saying, "Well there is one thing I'd like from you…" or something of that nature. But all I received was cold harsh reality. Misty wasn't like other girls, she was independent and played hard to get.

"Thanks again Darren, but you don't have to repay me for anything. I was just doing my job and that is to protect the lives of the people on this cruise."

I exchanged goodbye's with her once again and put on a fake smile as I left the fishing station.

Deep down I was crushed. I hadn't made it anywhere with her. I offered to train with her, I offered anything to her, and I got nowhere. Tears swelled in my eyes as I returned to my room.

'Maybe everyone was right. Maybe it was impossible to get with Misty. Ash had told me what good friends they had become on their journey. What did he have that I didn't?'

I sulked in my room for the rest of the day. Eventually I decided that I wasn't going to let any girl or person for that matter ruin my trip. I still had the opportunity to meet others so I was just going to let fate guide me.

Later that night, I received Wingull mail from Cheryl and Gardenia.

"Meet us at our cabin at 9:30. We have something special to show you ;)."

I knocked on the door and was greeted by Gardenia and Cheryl. They had a look of excitement on their faces, and I wondered what scheme they were up to now.

Cheryl was wearing a purple loose-fitting blouse and tight booty shorts that said 'DAT' on what cheek and 'GRASS' on the other. Gardenia was dressed in only a black sports bra and forest green short shorts.

"How was your day Mr. Surge?" Gardenia inquired as they led me to an oak table, seating ourselves around it on pillows.

"It was ok" I meekly announced. She sensed my blatant lack of enthusiasm and questioned further.

"It's just…girl problems. It might sound odd, but there is this girl who I've loved for almost all of my life though I've never really had the chance to meet her…She's actually on this cruise and I talked to her today but it doesn't seem like she's interested.…" I told them that I refused to mention any names.

"Oh that's sucks… Well we're here for you Darr if you need anything. Right Cheryl?" "Right."

I decided to change the subject as it wasn't like me to put my personal problems on other people and ruin the mood.

"So I got yer mail. What is this great surprise in store for me?"

Cheryl pulled out of bag of burnt-orange leaves. She opened it slightly, and the bag omitted an incredibly sour pungent stench that almost knocked me over due to it's sheer intensity.

"What the…what in the world is that stuff?" My nose was scrunched in response to the smell.

"It's the flower petals of a Gloom, lathered in it's drool," Cheryl said chuckling. "You'll get used to the smell."

"Where did you get it? Did you just rip it off your own Gloom? That seems kind of cruel."

"No, we got it from one of our fellow grass gym leader comrades, Erika. She owns hundreds of Gloom and each season gathers the flower petals that they shed."

"And what are the effects of these petals? Is there any-

"Stop asking questions!" Gardenia interrupted. "All you have to do is ingest them orally, and then sit back and enjoy the trip" she declared coolly.

Normally I wouldn't do something like this without prior research, but what did I have to lose? I was still feeling down about Misty and would gladly relish the ability to divert my mind off things.

We each took a handful of the Gloom petals, chewed them in our mouths, then swallowed.