The islands of Sinnoh emerged over the horizon. It felt so far away. Why couldn't it be closer? We should've arrived many days ago but an enormous storm encompassed fifty miles of the ocean to the west of Sinnoh, leaving only destruction in its wake. We were the last people to depart from Kanto – meaning it'd already be such a long trip.
Much of the trip insofar consisted of constant rocking from left to right, feeling so lost and afraid of dying at sea, that much of what I consumed hadn't the time to be digested. It was a messy trip. So messy. I'd rather die than get on another boat ever again. My mother, bless her sweet heart, had passed a month ago and her funeral had ended two days before I departed for S.S Oceania.
Lovely ship, though. Tragic that the service was absolutely horrendous. Never before have I seen a live Slugma battle for its life against an Octillery to see who didn't get consumed alive first. First is the keyword here. They both knew their destinies were to look better than one another on an entrée.
"They both tasted awful though," I laughed lowly, careful as to not rouse any sleeping person nearby.
Sure they both cost an arm, a leg and maybe even an eyeball if you're lucky, but it was all about prestige. I don't really know why I bothered with it, I'm about as broke as a Rattata. Actually no, I'm probably worse off. I spent almost all of the money I earned through inheritance on buying a small place in Canalave. The money from selling my mother's house was to come through in 7 days though, so I had some money to float on for the time being.
"70,000PD…" I said. It was so much money to spend in just two days, but what choice did I have? I wasn't staying in Kanto any longer than I needed to.
My lawyers nearly cost me this trip, too. 'You have to sign this – oh and then this…' they said over and over. I wouldn't be surprised if I didn't get carpel tunnel and papercuts from signing all those blasted papers. Who would have thought tax forms and inheritance forms could take up an entire desk?
It didn't help that I had little to no family left. My father left a long time ago to pursue his dreams of being the world's best Pokémon breeder. Stodgy twat.
"Fuck him," I gritted through my teeth. Even now, I still harboured a deep hate for him. He was the main reason I was actually coming to this region. I wanted to one-up him, if not for my sake then for my mother's.
Sinnoh had it all, it really did. Want large mountains to climb? Boom, Mount Coronet. Want to fight against impossible odds right at the beginning of the Circuit? Boom, Eterna forest. Need a good Fire-type Pokémon? Oh, right, that's why I was travelling here in the first place. I knew the market needed Fire-types more than a grandma needed to make a brisket for their grandchildren.
It was perfect.
If only my mother could see… she'd be proud. I fingered the Poké ball gifted to me through my mother's inheritance. I was 100% certain that I knew precisely what was inside of the Poké ball but I lacked the courage to actually press the release button. Oh, I wanted to, so damn badly, however I just lacked the strength to do it. My hands would go cold and then turn numb if I held the ball for too long.
An Ice type was a definitive 'no' because my mother was terrified of them. She knew of my love for Fire-types. I literally never stopped talking about them ever since I witnessed a Magmortar blast an Electivire in my favourite television show, 'Battles for Battle's Sake!' at the ripe old age of seven.
Now I was seventeen, nearing eighteen in four days.
Four days. The words bounced around my skull like some kind of Pokétch game. So much had happened in such a small amount of time. I needed a rest, I needed to sleep. Yet when I look out at the vast ocean and spot native Water-type Pokémon, my needed rest would never come. How could it?
I mentally counted the amount of Buizel and Finneon that surrounded the nearby waters and couldn't even believe my eyes. Fifteen, twenty? I stopped counting after thirty. I definitely didn't stop counting after I witnessed a Buizel devour one of the Finneon, definitely not.
Thankfully, there weren't any Lumineon nearby. That would have been a recipe for disaster. Despite the brief unfortunate entanglement, the other Pokémon surrounding the ship seemed rather placid. That was no surprise really, the League watches over shipping lanes carefully. Wouldn't want a stray vessel to get hounded by Gyarados. I had a love-hate relationship with those draconic, flying, stubborn fish. One thunderbolt with 4x weakness? Kiss your Gyarados and your Circuit run goodbye.
I remember watching a Jolteon, which is owned by Volkner the Gym Leader of SunyShore City, destroy a powerful Mega Gyarados with two thunderbolts! It was an incredible display, truly brilliant. The speed, the power and the destructive capabilities of a powerful Pokémon were always something to gawk at. Both out of fear and admiration.
I admired Pokémon trainers, I always have. I didn't love them or hate them, I just liked battles in general. The more battles the better.
The other reason I wanted to live in Sinnoh was to see the annual conference take place in person. I wanted to witness the strongest trainers in the world go head-to-head with no slowing down. There was simply never a shortage of new things to enjoy at each conference. There was always Mega Evolution in higher levelled battles, which I loved. I mean the whole concept of changing forms purely out of love and respect – the bonds forged by trainers and Pokémon through the good and the bad – is just amazing!
Some day I'd not only get to see Mega Evolution but be an active participant in the bonds formed between myself and my Pokémon. But battles… I wasn't so enamoured by the idea of participating in battles as much as I was to watch them occur from the sidelines.
The question was how long was I willing to stay on the sidelines? I wanted to be known for having extremely powerful Fire-type Pokémon. It was my dream and soon it'll be reality. I just need to find a good Pokémon team. That's all. I mean, how hard can that be? All I really need to do is be patient and wait for my time to strike.
The morning sun rose above the massive mountains ahead, shining a warm glow across the surrounding world. It was so beautiful. It was no Pokémon, at least not a Volcarona, but still, the sun would always take my breath away. It wasn't just flames it was life, without it we'd be nothing. No Pokémon and no humans… just an empty, floating rock of nothingness.
Fire births life. Life breathes fire. Fire ends life, and the cycle continues. It reminded me of the good old story of Ho-Oh, the everlasting phoenix that, when tired of living in an old body, can burst into flame and be granted a younger body whenever it wished. Of course, it was only a myth as not one person has lived long enough to know just what an old form of an ancient and powerful legendary Pokémon would even look like.
Some day… I'd see it. Maybe even try to catch it.
I laughed. Catching a legendary? Now that was dreaming big. Or stupid. Perhaps a little bit of both.
"Can you please stop laughing!? It's freaking me the fuck out," I heard from beneath me.
Oops. I could kind of see why laughing at nothing might be a little freaky.
"Sorry man, It's just… look at it. Sinnoh is beautiful."
"I would like to hope so, that storm has really dampened my mood." As if your mood could get any worse you grouchy old man. Pathetic… well maybe not. I did feel a little bad about it. Just a little.
"Sorry for souring the mood gramps," I chuckled.
"What's your name? I'm reporting you to the Captain of this vessel!"
"Given how awful the journey here was, I'm all for never getting on a blasted boat again. My name is Elic Voldbee, spelt–"
"I know how to spell boy, now shut up… Voldsee!"
"Yeah sure thing, gramps."
"Kids these days," he murmured.
I didn't respond. Nothing would ruin my mood, not today and certainly not ever again.
I rolled out of bed a few minutes later after the old man beneath me had hobbled off somewhere. Whatever, let him complain! It'd be the last time I ever board a boat for such a long distance. I'm never doing this again. Ever. Fuck it, all I need is a flying license then I can go wherever I please… so long as my Pokémon doesn't pass out from the long distances that is.
I'd never fly so far that my Pokémon would suffer. I knew I wasn't nearly that driven nor cruel to do such a thing. I hoped I'd never be like that.
I carefully looked outside of my contemporary compartment with a frown on my face. Lots of people were already barging past one another to the buffet service, some more violent than others. I witnessed a child go flying after a particularly overweight gentleman launched himself out of his compartment still wearing his pyjamas, in some kind of frenzy.
"Hey, you!" I shouted at the man, "Where do you think you're going?"
"Sorry kid," he said huffing heavily. "I'm late for the buffet. I can't be late! They said there'd be some boiled Corphish and I will not miss out!"
Without another word, the man sprinted down the hallway with more gusto than should be possible. He was the largest man I'd ever seen and yet he moved quicker than I ever would.
"Why… why did he hurt me?" the young girl sobbed. "It's all my fault!"
"It's not your fault," I said trying to soothe her. I was never good at this kind of thing. I didn't have a sister or a brother to play with growing up. I was so out of my depth right now, that even the young girl fixed me with a strange look.
"I'm such a clumsy Magikarp sometimes!" she cried harder.
"No." I held her shoulder firmly, "you're not a clumsy Magikarp. That idiot was rude and very mean. Don't let someone like that ruin your day. If anyone here was a clumsy Magikarp then it was him."
She stared at me for a second, her tears subsiding, and then flung herself against my legs, making both of my legs buckle under her weight. Even though she looked small the girl had an incredible amount of strength. If asked, and I'd never admit to this, I swear she could've thrown me to the ground if she'd had a run-up to the embrace.
"Thanks, mister…" she looked at me expectedly.
"Oh, erm, Voldsee."
"Thanks, Voldsee," she smiled.
"No problem kiddo," I tried to smile back but her parents beckoned her to the buffet. "Go on."
"Ok! Thanks!"
I watched her retreating form until she joined the other stampeding Tauros heading for breakfast. It was true after all, even if we weren't Pokémon if pushed into hunger or dehydration, we can become exactly like them.
What a horrifying thought. Intriguing but horrifying.
Taking my leisurely time, I explored the rest of S.S Oceania. It was truly a beautiful ship. Crewmates dotted the hallways assisting me and explaining the history of the ship in great detail. Sure, I get the value of being good at your job, but damn they were good at talking forever. At times I swear I saw dancing Jirachi in my peripheral vision.
I wasn't bored though. I'd never be bored hearing about a Carvanha taking on Lugia… or was it a Jellicent attacking a Clawitzer? Ok maybe I wasn't listening now but I was in the beginning.
"…so cool seeing Sharpedo races every winter. The waves are amazing to surf on beside them but try not to annoy them too much. They get quite… snappy."
We stopped right outside of the main hall and Arceus did that roasted Corphish smell good. I licked my lips, nodding my head at whatever the man was saying until he eventually departed with a wide strut.
"Did I agree to do something?" I murmured.
"Why're you talking to yourself you weirdo?" a lady with blue hair commented, leaning against what I presumed was her compartment door.
"Huh? Oh, work." I said awkwardly.
"What work?"
Fuck. "Oh you know I was just worried about breeding my Charmander."
"That's impossible as Charmander are sexually immature, quite like yourself. Now, if you would please move." She barged past me with a wistful smirk. "Thank you."
If there is any Sharpedo in the world that was feeling pecky, please kill me now. Damn, she got me good. I wanted to specialise in Fire-type breeding and the first thing I do is make myself look like an absolute buffoon. The worse thing being I actually knew pretty much every single thing about the Charmander line. From breeding to even secret dietary needs… I knew it all.
"Damn her," I said before pushing open the doors.
The smell of food infiltrated my nostrils so quickly that I nearly passed out. That was when I realised how empty my stomach was, so I approached the counter with a slightly feral look in my eye.
"Food please," I quickly said, my eyes filled with roasted Corphish and Jellicent jelly.
The chef let out a booming laugh making me blush slightly, "Let me guess, roasted Corphish for you today good sir?"
"Roasted Corphish, roasted hands, I don't care just please give me something."
He held his hands up in mock surrender earning him a few chuckles from passengers and chefs alike. I blushed a deeper red when a young boy said that I was acting like a Snorlax. His mother quickly restrained him but not before I gave him a quick middle finger salute.
Even though I turned my back I could feel his mother burning a hole in the back of my head with a glare. Whatever, it's not like she hasn't wanted to do that at least five times in the past twenty minutes.
Eventually, after a million years of waiting, I was handed a paper plate with a small knife and fork. Small. That Corphish had better be the biggest on the ship or I'd eat the biggest one I could find raw out of the tank. On second thought, maybe not. I already felt motion sickness, I might as well not add food sickness to the equation.
"Here you go, Sir," the chef said handing me a filled plate of cooked fishery goods. "Enjoy."
I don't think I said anything back but I know for a fact I gave him a thankful hum. I retreated to the corner of the room and started eating as fast as my mouth would allow.
I spotted many different Pokémon come in and out of the hall, most incredible of all being that of a young female Flareon. She had next to no training and would spew embers on anyone that got too close to her master, a fourteen-year-old boy, who was doing everything he could to ignore the growing flames on the carpet near his feet.
I felt bad at first for both of them, but one Vaporeon was all it took to get the situation under control again.
"Excuse me," an elderly gentleman wearing a brown tuxedo and a brown top hat said, "Is that Vaporeon yours?"
"Hm?"
"That one – there." He pointed beneath the table. I hesitantly rolled my eyes and let out an exaggerated sigh. It wasn't like my Corphish was going to vanish when I quickly peered beneath the table.
I looked once, then again, and still, there was no Vaporeon.
"Sir, I'm not quite sure what you're–"
Damnit. The man was gone and with him, my plate of warm goods. For a second I swear I saw a bright blue tail fin slinking out of the hall. I knew it was going to happen. I just knew it, and yet here I sat, stomach half full, feeling ashamed at being outwitted by an ancient man and Water-type Pokémon. Ew.
That boy I had given the middle finger salute to earlier on was now blatantly pointing his fingers in my direction, laughing so hard that he nearly fell off his chair. In times like these drastic measures had to be taken. Thinking of how to save face, I quickly ran to the food counter when all the chefs were busy talking and grabbed another plate with a Corphish sitting on it. Before any passenger could say anything, I put the plate on the floor and beckoned any Pokémon to me.
What a terrible mistake that was. I was damn near swamped by Poliwag, Tympole, Wingull, and hell even a Vulpix had appeared from somewhere. I was astonished to see the Vulpix more so than I was to the other Pokémon. Not only did it fit into my niche but at the same time, it wasn't any normal Vulpix.
"Holy Ho-Oh," I gasped.
The Vulpix positively beamed at me rubbings its face against my ankles. My eyes wandered over the beautiful and rare specimen with trepidation. It didn't have the standard cream-coloured belly, instead, it had a completely golden layer of skin. Its tail wasn't the standard orange – it was near enough a perfect yellow!
"Vull," it purred. I just had to rub its head. How couldn't I!?
"Pix! Vulpix!"
"Hm, oh I don't have any more food. I'm sorry…"
"Vulpix where are you?" a girl groaned, pacing around the hall checking beneath every table she could, much to the chagrin of the passengers seated at said tables.
"Pix!"
"Oh, there you are! Don't go running off again, ok?" she kneeled in front of her Pokémon and scratched behind its ears. "You're usually so mellow… what happened?"
She looked up for the first time and her eyes widened. I had the same reaction. It was the same young girl that I had comforted an hour or so ago.
"Oh, it's you! Thanks again for helping me earlier!"
"No problem." I made an effort not to smile at the bratty child behind her, who seemed rather miffed I was no longer embarrassed. Her Vulpix seemed to notice and started to nibble on the edge of my trainer, bringing my attention back to the conversation.
"Vulpix stop it! I'm so sorry…"
I wasn't. If anything, it looked more like an affectionate nibble if I've ever seen one. I reached down and gently rubbed its cheeks with my thumbs. Vulpix started stomping on the spot demanding I rub her ears.
I chuckled and obliged the bratty little fox.
"Haha, she's never like this. It's good to see her happy."
"She's very special," I complimented.
"I know." She didn't sound happy about that at all. I couldn't place why at first, however, after looking at her Vulpix again my eyes widened. No wonder she felt so downcast, the amount of money this was worth on the open market… she probably thought I'd try to make some kind of offer.
"Don't worry," I smiled showing her my Poké ball. "I couldn't even afford to buy another one of these things, so you can relax. Poké balls that is..."
"Oh! I thought you were about to offer a trade or something. Everyone does that…" She frowned before recalling her Vulpix. "Please don't tell anyone about this."
I zipped my lips in front of her. She grinned and turned away, "Thanks again for earlier, mister Voldsee."
So she remembered after all.
Just before I could try and steal some food for myself, we heard the captain through the speakers of the ship. His monotone voice was as smooth as silk and as deep as the ocean before us.
"Ladies and Gentlemen," he began, "as I am currently speaking we are passing the Iron Islands to your west–"
Everyone shifted to the windows in excitement, leaving the food counter unattended. Oh yes, now I could finally eat without any interruptions–
"Sir, you're about to miss the School Show."
I nearly jumped out of my skin when I realised how close this crewmate was to me. "Thanks," I muttered, putting some distance between us with my long stride. The School Show was apparently one of the most incredible displays of Pokémon migration in the world.
Thankfully because of my height, I was able to peer over people and witness the most bizarre yet beautiful thing that I'd ever seen. Remoraid, native to the Johto region, moved as one unifying force of nature bulldozing any predator out of the way with just their mass. I could see some Sharpedo every so often propel themselves into the shoal and feast on whatever they could.
Then came the Gyarados. Its dorsal fin breached the surface of the water and darted for the seaside buffet. Surprisingly, they didn't flee. It appeared that this Gyarados was quite young, not small, but young. Just because it was the biggest thing in the area didn't mean it'd actually be able to eat anything. Strategies were needed and this Gyarados lacked patience and initiative.
"Would you look at that, son!" a father from nearby clapped his child on the shoulder. "That's Ellie, she's recently migrated here from the west, like us!"
Ellie the Gyarados? Now I'd heard everything. Arceus, they really needed better names for Pokémon. Not that I was an expert in the slightest in that area, yet even I knew Ellie was a weird name for such a powerful and dangerous Pokémon. Maybe, um, Eliza? Adding a 'z' to anything does make it sound more snappy, more… visceral.
Ellie sunk into the darkness and for all but a moment everything went silent.
"There!" someone shouted.
I turned to see an enormous blob of blue mass fly out of the water trying to flee the rampaging Gyarados. It was a Wailord! I'd never actually seen one before – they were absolutely enormous. But this Gyarados was bigger if that were even possible. If I'd have to put a number to it I'd say around 90 feet long, something like that.
People backed away from the windows when random Hyper Beams started flying around after the Remoraid rammed the Gyarados to protect the Wailord. It worked but it came at a price. Three Wailmer were left astray and were soon consumed in their entirety. I couldn't help but stare in awe.
"Ellie doesn't attack any vessel," I turned to face what appeared to be the Captain's second in command talking the crowd down from unrest. "We feed her leftovers, so she won't attack this ship."
Huh, I thought it was interesting how he stressed that Ellie wouldn't attack this ship. Had she drowned other sailors that hadn't paid their fair dues in the past? He had to have been lying for the sake of keeping people calm.
"Anyway," he continued, "we're about to land in Canalave Port, I recommend–"
That was all it took to drive everyone into some kind of frenzy, rushing, jumping and sprinting in hopes of reaching their compartments first. I laughed when the large man from earlier literally had to stop moving in order to stop an entire Corphish from falling out of his mouth. The best part of that though was the fact that the kid who'd insulted me before got drenched in Corphish sauce.
"Aha!" I yelled.
I didn't even care if it looked immature, that little bastard had it coming! Ok maybe he's not a bastard but he was out of line earlier. Arceus, I can't even believe I'm turning 18 so soon and I'm acting like this. The kid saw me and turned bright red. He stormed away screaming obscenities I didn't think a child of his age would even know yet.
His mother shot me a murderous glare before storming off after him. His father, a pot-bellied clearly wealthy man, walked over to me with a calm expression.
I braced.
He handed me a couple of 100PD notes and winked. "That little brat is beyond spoiled, thanks for bringing him back down to Earth."
"You're most welcome, Sir," I managed to say. He smiled and tipped his hat in thanks. I nodded my head in gratitude, still unable to come to terms with what just happened.
When I was certain that he had left, and that I wasn't being observed by any potential pickpocket, I checked over the bills and my eyes nearly fell out of their sockets.
"700PD! What the…" I'd never actually seen this much money in paper form before. It was actually pretty rare to use paper currency nowadays, everything is handled through the PokéNetwork. Still, it's not something to complain about at all.
Now wasn't the time to dwell on it, I had a boat to depart!