The sun was high and warm as N boarded the ship that would cruise around the islands off the banks of Castelia City. Being one of the first ones on he puttered around casually, relaxing while he could. Eventually people began to fill the deck and he slowly walked to a more secluded area, glad that no one was personally bugging him. Once the ship had all its passengers it let out a loud horn, starting to move.

His smoky blue eyes looked out across the rippling water while people talked all around him about various things. Finally having enough of the sights, he walked around and headed to the cabins of the ship were there was food and drinks. He ordered a snack and left back to the deck of the ship, coming across a battle.

Lines were marked on several places on the ship to signify battle arenas, everyone was handed a decently thick book upon boarding that listed moves that couldn't be used, and different Pokémon that couldn't be called out. As a general rule Pokémon weren't allowed out of their balls unless they were battling, heights and weights restricted for safety.

N stood and watched a battle between a Sandile and a Cottonee, both trainers shouting orders and boasting to the people standing around watching that they would win. His father's words of liberation whispered through his mind as he walked away annoyed, knowing that those trainers would get their karma. And soon.

x—x—x—x—x—x

Ah, this is so amazing!

Heather walked around the cruise ship checking things out, the thick book of rules stuffed in her bag. Right away she had wanted to battle but was discouraged with all the restrictions, not sure she could properly battle without breaking one of the move rules. Deciding that she'd try later, Heather spent a good time exploring and watching the waves splash against the ships sides.

The fresh ocean air blew in her face and tousled her hair, the salt smell already natural to her. If she were to settle down one day, she was almost positive it would be at Castelia, or another place that bordered the ocean. It sparkled in the sun and she watched the landscape slowly change, eventually sauntering along to watch a battle and look around for Vincent.

Sure enough she spotted him on a lawn chair with his book and pencils out, feverishly drawing the two battling Pokémon. She tried to wave to get his attention, assuming he was only watching the battle when he didn't notice her. When that didn't work she walked over, sitting down in a chair next to him.

"Oh, hello Heather! I'm glad you found me, I was going to walk around and look for you, but... I thought you'd do the same, plus there was a battle! I love drawing Pokémon in the heat of things. What do you think of my Leipard?"

He tilted his book for her to see, the Pokémon on the paper a fierce looking fighter. Once again she was amazed at how they seemed to pop out of the page, even a half drawn Zebstika looking amazing. Her eyes turned to the battle then back to his work, nodding wordlessly.

"I'd like to draw your Servine sometime, you had him do too many things for me to capture him very well last time. These two have been hard, too."

"Oh, sure! Maybe after the cruise we can have a bit of a relaxing evening, and you can draw him. Go sit at the fountain or someplace nice." She smiled and sat quietly while he finished his work, closing her eyes and enjoying the atmosphere. A while later the man nudged her, smiling when her eyes opened.

"You dozed off, thought I'd let you be for a while. It's relaxing, isn't it? Even with all the noise and people. The ocean air does that."

Heather yawned and nodded, enjoying the warm sun upon her face. "Yeah, it's amazing. But, I didn't come to sleep! I'm interested in finding a battle... Would you like to come watch?" She asked hopefully, not wanting to be completely alone in the crowd.

She breathed a sigh of relief when the man nodded and helped her stand, thanking him politely and smiling. The two walked around the deck until Heather found an opening in a battle, a woman boasting to be undefeatable. Several people talked about how strong she was and how she'd torn through their teams, making Heather nervous as she walked up.

"A-Are you battling again ma'am?"

Hazel eyes looked up from under dark shades, red curls of hair framing her face while the rest was up in a ponytail. Heather shuffled awkwardly as the young woman thought, her voice velvety when she spoke.

"Why yes, interested in facing me?"

"Y-yeah."

"How many Poké do you have on you?" She asked in a bored tone, shades covering her eyes again. Heather looked down at her belt, answering nervously. "Two."

The redhead nodded and picked two balls off her full belt of six, rolling them in her palm. She used her free hand to set her shades on her head, darkly lined eyes exposed. Heather took the other side of the field and pumped herself up, Vincent standing close by as silent support.

"You can do this Heather." He cheered softly, the rest of the crowd standing and watching the two women as they stared each other down. A blonde man in a Hawaiian shirt began to ref, both trainers sending out their Poké on go.

"Go Elgyem, Larvesta! Let's make this twenty wins."

"Lark, Claire, c'mon out!"

They said together, four beams of light hitting the field. Heather took out her light blue dex, scanning both Pokémon as they came out.

Larvesta, The Torch Pokémon.

Type: Bug, Fire

Height: 3′7″ (1.09m)

Weight: 63.5 lbs. (28.8 kg)

Ability: Flame Body

The base of volcanoes is where they make their homes. They shoot fire from their five horns to repel attacking enemies.

Elgyem, The Cerebral Pokémon.

Type: Psychic

Height: 1′8″ (0.51m)

Weight: 19.8 lbs. (9.0 kg)

Ability: Telepathy

It uses its strong psychic power to squeeze its opponent's brain, causing unendurable headaches.

Alright, a double battle against two powerful Pokémon... Let's see how well we fare.

"Lark, start this off with a Leaf Tornado at Elgyem, Claire, Swift them both. Remember not to break the boat!" Heather started, ready to change her orders in case something went wrong. Her experience with double battles was still close to none and she had lacked time to practice, going off a whim in the battle. The redhead seemed to think otherwise though, nodding in approval.

"Larvesta, Flame Charge Servine. Elgyem, keep Minccino busy with a Psywave, avoid the attacks if you can." The woman spoke calmly, a plan already in her head. Heather struggled to command her Pokémon together, trying to calm herself.

The fire moves would wipe out Lark, whereas Claire was still getting used to battling, both of her friends having a disadvantage in the battle. Along with her not being used to watching both Pokémon, they seemed doomed.

Lark let loose a powerful tornado of sharp edged leaves and blades of wind toward the two opposing Pokémon, Larvesta breaking away to cloak itself in flames which tore through the leaves as it charged Lark, the wind blades doing little damage. Claire sent a barrage of stars at both Pokémon which nailed them both quite hard, not stopping either attacks though as Elgyem fired a ray of shimmering energy at the Normal-type.

Fire scorched the Grass-Type who retaliated with a Mega Drain, getting a small amount of energy back from the attack. Claire avoided the Psywave and shot back an Encore, the white ball hitting the Psychic type straight on while she gave another Swift. The sharp stars hit both the Pokémon and Heather smiled, glad that they could battle without her so well.

"Lark, Growth and Wrap Elgyem, watch out for Larvesta, Claire, DoubleSlap Larvesta and be careful."

"Larvesta, focus on Servine, keep up with Flame Charge, Elgyem, focus your Psybeam on Minccino until Encore wears out, then switch to Psychic!"

The woman grinned as her Pokémon charged Heather's Servine, the flames scorching him badly. Lark slipped away cringing as he used Growth, throwing a Leech Seed on Elgyem before wrapping him. The Psychic-type wobbled a bit before shooting off Psybeams at Claire, the Minccino dodged the blasts, being hit back by one. Claire wobbled around and was hit by another attack, making no move to avoid them.

Oh no! She's confused, and Lark isn't holding up very well... I don't think this is going to end well...

Heather looked on worriedly while Lark avoided an Ember Attack, being hit by another Flame Charge. The redhead grinned and pointed at Heather's Pokémon, her voice victorious.

"Larvesta, Elgyem, finish them off! Full strength Flame Charge and Psychic!"

Knowing her limits and not wanting her friends harmed any more, she returned them just in time, the attacks hitting thin air. The older woman returned her own Pokémon and walked over, sticking her hand out.

"Well fought, your Pokémon are well trained for their levels, they work well together as well. Double battles are popular among trainers, you should work on that when you have the time. My name is Ebony, I'm working on opening a gym in Kanto. I'd love to battle you again someday." She said with a smile, Heather sticking her hand out to shake the woman's.

"Kanto? Isn't that another region?" She asked in disbelief, the woman nodding confidently and taking her hand back. "I'm Heather, by the way."

"Yeah, it is. Their Pokémon are much different then here, you should come and see! Are you going for the badges here in Unova?"

"Yes, she is." Vincent butted in as he moved over to Heather's side, escorting the ladies off the battle field to let another couple of trainers try a battle. They moved off to stand by the railing of the ship, all three looking across the water.

"Well, you should try Kanto after you're done here. Maybe by then I'll have my own gym! I want to be an Ice-type gym, but it's hard to do... Anyway, I'm going to try and get some more battles in, I hope to see you again Heather!"

"It was nice to meet you." Heather replied before the woman let her shades drop back over her eyes and sauntered off, leaving Vincent and Heather to stand around.

"You did pretty good, those two work alone well. For double battles, you need them working together though. Gyms don't double battle though, so it's not a required skill..."

"When we have time, I'll train them for double battles. I want to make it through Route Four in the rain though. If it wasn't for the cruise today, I would be training for the gym. I'm going to run and get my Pokémon healed, alright? You can come if you want."

"I'm alright, I'll poke around here, watch some battles. See you in a few."

"Alright!" Heather turned and left the top deck to the middle, passing through the ships diner and deciding to grab a drink along the way.

*—*—*—*—*—*

Ah, she's here. He thought to himself as he watched Heather walk through the archway of the food hall, his smoky blues examining her curiously while he sat alone at a booth sipping on a frozen lemonade. He watched as she ordered a bottle of water and took a sip before putting it in her bag, her eyes coming to rest on his as she turned around.

Oh crap.

"You're N, right?" She asked in a polite tone as she walked up to him, arms crossed below her bust casually. He nodded hesitantly and watched her eyes, his own voice a bit rough.

"And you're Heather. We met in Accumula on rather bad terms if I recall correctly, you had a friend with you then though." He rose a brow curiously and she gave a slight frown, nodding her head.

"Yeah, Accumula. Right after that guys speech about liberation. You told me that my Snivy could talk..." She watched him skeptically as he sipped his drink, blinking as he scoffed.

"He isn't just 'some guy', and you act like you don't believe me. All Pokémon can talk, which is why they shouldn't be used by trainers or captured at all." He started, anger tinting his voice. Heather gave him an unamused look and rolled her eyes, sharpening her own voice.

"Of course Pokémon can talk, we just don't speak their language. That doesn't mean they should be wild. My Pokémon could leave if they wanted, but they choose to stay beside me!"

"Or you just don't know how to hear them begging you to free them!" He half yelled, drawing them some attention. Heather looked around uncomfortably, motioning for him to keep it down. N ground his teeth, glaring at her as she hushed him.

"Want to take this somewhere else?" She asked him as he finished his drink and stood up, shrugging his shoulders and brushing a bit of hair out of his face.

"Is there any point talking if you don't believe an ounce of what I say? All it will be is an argument." He huffed and she looked up to him, the green haired boy towering over her by a few inches.

"Show me then."

"W-What?" He blinked in confusion and surprise, not having expected that kind of answer from her. She gave him a determined look and repeated herself, N slowly nodding.

"What exactly do you want me to show you?" He asked cautiously, his expression questioning.

"Talk to my Pokémon, have them tell you something only they or I would know. I want to believe at least something that you claim." She pressed, trying to convince him with a less frustrated voice. N stared at her for a few heartbeats while thoughts ran through his head, finally giving in with a sigh.

"Fine."

After some discussion, Heather and N walked through the diner and down the hall of rooms, each guest having one due to the cruise being a little over ten hours. He watched her while she led the way, eyes lingering on the Pokéballs attached to the belt on her hip until they reached the closest of their rooms - hers. She slipped the key card in the slot and opened the door to the blinking green light, stepping inside.

They both examined the room, neither having been in one yet. N noticed first the colours, baby blues, pinks and purples that somehow managed to look nice together. Heather did a turn around, Pokéballs in her hand.

"The quicker the better, we aren't allowed to have Pokémon out unless they're battling, plus mine are injured still... I was on my way to the center on the ship before I ran into you." She explained, releasing her partners. She dug out a few potions and sprayed the worst of their wounds, both Pokémon watching N carefully.

"It's okay guys, he's not going to hurt us, you aren't battling again, I'm sorry it's taking so long to get you cared for. We'll get you guys looked at after this, okay?"

"They both don't mind. Your Minccino was abused by a male, she doesn't like them much. She'd give her life for you, you saved her. Your Servine says..."

Their eyes went to the door as cries were head in the hall, both Pokémon getting into defensive stances. N paled and turned to Heather, pointing to a closet.

"Get in there and do not come out. Recall your Pokémon and hide their balls, if you're found, act like you aren't a trainer, got it?"

"What..? Why? N, what's going on?" She demanded, confused and frightened. She recalled her Pokémon and hid the balls in her bag, looking worriedly at the man.

"Please, just hide, okay? I don't have time to explain. Just get in the closet and stay there until everything gets quiet, or until I come to get you."

Hesitantly she nodded and went to the shutter closet door, opening it and looking back to him. He nodded with his head and motioned for her to hurry, the blonde stepping in and closing the door behind her.

What a day.