It would be three more days until the SS Tidal docked in Slateport. The most interesting thing to occur in the passing was the sight of an abandoned ship that was floating in the water. It was barely afloat, and had numerous trainers and their pokemon exploring the interior. No doubt its valuables had already been cleared out long ago. It was probably a home for sea creatures at this point. It sent an eerie shiver down his spine though, the holes in the ship looked human sized. He didn't feel like thinking about what happened there. Stranded at sea didn't sound very nice.

Apart from that slightly chilling observation, the voyage was uneventful. He talked with other trainers but since they couldn't technically battle(having received a scolding from the captain), it was all strategy and badge comparisons. Elu would spite him from afar, glaring around corners and eyeing him in the cafeteria. The kid seemed fixated on beating him for some reason. Riven often took up his place near the ship's nose, feet dangling between the bars along with his pokemon. He talked with Ben quite a bit. White Queen seemed to enjoy being out here the most. She fell asleep listening to the waves more often than not. She didn't seem to like crowds, given most humans' apprehension towards her, Riven understood why.

Looking out towards the sea, he took out the small blue orb he found in that crystal cave in Dewford and held it out up to the sun. It sparkled blue and caught the attention of some girls nearby. The trainer had to glare at them before they left, they kept bothering him to see it, apparently it was like a sapphire or something. He held the orb back up to the sun, trying to see inside of it. It was no use, the orb was solid and not hollow in the slightest. He still didn't know what in the blazes it did, or what it was made to do. Everything was such a mystery, and it was frustrating.

He figured he should call Steven, but at the same time, didn't feel like it at all. He would surely be interested in the sphere and could probably have more insight into its purpose. But, he trusted the man about as far as he could throw him. The orb was probably centuries old, maybe more. And worth thousands at that. Maybe he could sell it off to one of those collectors that he'd heard about and earn a nice sum of money so he wouldn't have to work again. But he still wanted to know what the damn thing did.

The sun was starting to burn. His pants were especially starting to heat up. It wasn't as bad as it was with the black leather cuirass he would wear but it was still uncomfortable. Standing up, he went back to his cabin, taking his pokemon with him. He preferred the shade anyway.

On the bed once again, he began tossing the orb in the air up and down repeatedly. Relatively bored, he took out his pokedex and set it on the side of the bed. "Hello, Charles. It's been a while."

The pokedex lit up and a smooth voice replied. "Quite, Sir. It has been some time indeed. Are you bored?" Charles asked.

"Mostly." Riven felt a little bad for him, since he only opened him up when he was bored or had nothing to busy himself with. It wasn't fair to Charles but he couldn't have him open all the time. That would drain his battery. Charles said he didn't want to be left battery-less. To him, it was like death or a really long sleep. Riven respected that, so he made it a point to charge him whenever possible.

"Ah, well. Where are you headed now?" The A.I. was last opened in Rustboro. He completely missed Dewford town.

"Slateport City. I just finished getting off Dewford after two weeks of waiting for the ferry to come here."

"Slateport is a beautiful city, sir. I suggest you visit the oceanic museum. The exhibits are interesting and could inform you of some of the wonders of Hoenn's ocean. There is also a bazaar where plenty of useful items and supplies are sold."

"Wait. If you can't see, how do you know it's beautiful?" Could Charles even see? Riven was curious.

"Ah, internet, sir. They programmed that into many pokedexes lately, it allows for more accessible information from a larger pokemon database. I can see through a scanner of sorts, it functions like a human eye."

"So…can you scan this orb and tell me some facts about it? Like you do with pokemon?." He held up the orb, unaware of what his pokedex's capabilities were restricted to.

Charles would have buried his face in his hands, if he had a face and hands. "Do I look like a rock encyclopedia, sir?"

The trainer was surprised to hear his pokedex respond that way. He was developing a snarky streak within him, somewhere. However it is that 'AI's worked. "Was that a snarky comment?"

"Uh. I meant that with no disrespect, sir. But in all honesty, that was a stupid request."

"Aren't you a computer or something? They have a plethora of information in them, they can find anything."

"Sir, you asking me to analyze a rock would be like me asking you to hack a sophisticated government run system with firewalls and security protocols. I distinctly recall your amazement when you first opened me. And when you saw a vending machine. The vending machine in particular."

"Point taken," Riven admitted. He couldn't even turn on a computer without making a mess of his brain. He had tried it in the library. Didn't work out. He ended up in the control panel typing with his two index fingers at a Turtwig's pace. The librarian that was teaching him to use the computer got so frustrated she threw him into the book sections and told him not to touch a computer again. So much for his lessons.

Charles let out a small 'aha' with his digital voice. His tone changed and was all formality again. "Perhaps I suggest warning Mr. Stone of the object?" It wasn't an ill conceived idea, in fact, most of Charles' suggestions were very intellectually sound.

Riven made a sour face. "I don't trust him. Besides, he's already busy examining a stone my mother gave me. I don't want him to get even more distracted. The man is obsessed with rocks. I'm pretty sure it's useless but you never know with these things. It might hold some secret meaning. But I highly doubt it." Charles might say he was being paranoid about Devon's stand in CEO, but only someone with no sense of caution would trust someone immediately after they attacked them. Well, that's what Riven thought. People were different.

"Are you sure you are not just being overly paranoid?"

Riven groaned. What was with people being so trusting? Well technically, the AI wasn't a person. But that was besides the point.

"A healthy dose of paranoia never hurt anyone," he curtly replied, tossing the orb higher. Charles let out what sounded like a slight snort.

"Unless they're you, sir."

"Oh? You made a joke. That's new."

"Yes. I seem to be developing a sense of humor. I also know what went on in Dewford when you accidentally flipped me open and forgot to close me." Riven gave him a questioning look, even if Charles couldn't see it. "You, Zubats, panic. If I could have seen your countenance, I would have been dying of laughter. Figuratively, of course. And from the look of things, you seem to have taken Brawly's advice. Your speech sounds much less stiff."

His owner froze.

"Weren't you supposed to have been off this entire time? And yet you didn't say anything?"

"Why waste a good moment?"

"We don't speak about this ever again," Riven said. "Just forget it happened completely." It was an embarrassing moment, exposing himself like that, in front of Ben and Charles, even though his pokedex had only heard what was happening.

Gah.

Those fucking bats.

When he was four, he wandered out of the city and went cave exploring nearby. It felt great, being out of the palace and in a cave, he felt like a true explorer. Then, he tripped and woke up a bunch of Golbats. They had bit him badly and one of them managed to inject poison into him. He nearly died after his parents found him leaning on a tree stump with a face as white as milk, sweating up a storm. There was quite a long lecture about it afterwards.

"I won't tell a soul, sir."

"Good! Then I don't have to blackmail you into complying."

"Did you pick up that strategy from the human girl?"

"Amy?...No." Riven was still uneasy about her. He frightened her, somehow. That's why she left. He wanted to visit her in Mauville but he was still deciding whether or not to do so. And what would he tell her? She looked very disturbed with what she saw. First girl his age that he'd talked to for more than five minutes and he already scared her off. Wasn't looking good. "I'd prefer to avoid mentioning her at this point, I kind of made a mistake and scared her off, and now I don't know how to feel about myself. Or my confidence. Women are strange."

"Ah, I understand." Charles stopped talking for a while. The pokedex continued flashing blue, indicating that Charles was still there. Although he didn't possess a living body, he was a like a person of sorts? Just an artificial one without a body. "Sir, is something bothering you? Besides this girl and her fright?"

Better question would be what isn't bothering me. "No," He lied, having ten different issues and problems flying around his mind. This place wasn't anything like before. It was complicated. In the army, out there, all he did was follow orders and fight. Now, he was on his own. He didn't know what to do, or what to think, even. And regular people were…difficult, to say the least. Amy came to mind. Come to think of it, he'd never even spoken to regular people before, just other soldiers. At least trainers could talk mutually about training but after that… well, his social abilities were about as keen as an old, blind Rattatta.

Although, he never had to deal with unexpected assassination attempts either. Which brought up another point, one far darker. Enemies could be anywhere, could strike at any time, even in the safest of places. Petalburg had shown that. In some ways, the world was the same. It was all a delusion of safety. Still people out there that wanted you dead. It was slightly comforting, in a sick and twisted sort of way that there was still some semblance of familiarity left.

But he wasn't the target, it was May.

The attack still didn't make any sense. The attempt was done by humans. The assailants could have easily used pokemon. Then his little seemingly 'heroic' actions would have been in vain. But why hadn't they? You could fight people, but fighting a flamethrower was fairly hard. Using a pokemon would be far more effective, as much as it frightened him to admit it. It could have left him a smoldering pile of ashes and they could have still finished the job.

With no one to stop them. But they chose the conventional method.

If it was up to him to carry it out, he definitely would have used a pokemon if he wanted her dead badly enough.

But why choose the old fashioned way? Attract less attention? Maybe. But it contradicted with the fact that they chose a public execution. Unless…he had ruined their plans in another way. How? He didn't know. Regardless, it was done with. As long as they stayed away from him, it mattered little. He just hoped he wouldn't get caught in more dangerous situations.

Sick of thinking about Petalburg, he stopped tossing the orb. Arm falling limply to the side, he placed the orb back into his bag. Staring back at the ceiling, he sighed heavily again. Charles was silent. He probably knew that the trainer was thinking about something, so he chose to stay quiet. The red device's artificial being was extremely observant. Then, Riven spoke, changing the course of thought to something more lighthearted and less annoying and dark.

"Charles, how can trainers bond with pokemon so well if they can't understand a single word they say? All I hear is them utter their names, and guess at what they are trying to say to me. White Queen at least bites me, but I know she's a pushy shit."

His pokedex flashed again. "That is a good question. And that is what it consists of, many guesses based on observations and body language. Pokemon convey messages to trainers like a person would to another if faced with a language barrier. Physical movements, facial expressions, and especially the eyes. But, you can always just buy a translator. It's far more practical than learning how to read body language."

The young man shot up from the bed. "Translator? Where can I get one? How much? Does it work for all pokemon?" If he got one of those, he could talk with his pokemon. Finally. Then maybe he could sass White Queen right back. And snap some sense into his lazy psychic. Aine was fine, she just needed to slow down sometimes.

"Slow down, sir. I believe most malls have them in stock. However, I heard they are quite expensive. Most trainers can't afford them."

That was disconcerting but manageable. All he had to do was work a couple of weeks right? Shouldn't be too difficult. "I'll have to look for it in Slateport. With lu- best not even say that- rephrase. Perhaps I might find some there. And not too expensive." He had only about forty thousand to his name, probably only enough for a TM. Given their prices, the translator could easily be twice that and then some.

"I wish you the best of luck."

"Thank you, Charles. You're very helpful." Pokedexes were really amazing pieces of work. Without it/him, he would be a lost Growlithe puppy. Well, more than usual. He would probably still be stuck in Petalburg, gawking at the buildings and losing battles due to a lack of knowledge about typings. Birch should have explained that before he tossed him out there. Lazy professor.

"My pleasure, sir."

Flipping him closed, Riven's stomach grumbled and he headed off to the cafeteria to get something to eat. Bland food was so commonplace in his time and in the wild due to a lack of spices and everything this world didn't suffer from-like not having fresh vegetables. As a result, everything tasted godly.

Fresh breaded Magikarp fillet today... wonder how that tastes.

Detective Williams sat in his desk, twirling a pin in between his fingers. It was blood stained, but the crimson liquid had already dried up. This little pin had given them no results. None of the databases on any of the teams matched a description. He was starting to think this was mob related. He didn't completely discard the fact that it could be a recently formed team though..

The fact of the matter was, he had no leads on which to go on. The motives behind the attack weeks ago were still unknown. His captain had grown tired of trying to answer to the press. They knew absolutely nothing. The guy that might have, despite his repugnantly apathetic nature, was gone. They had his prints and photo, although it looked more like a beating victim picture than a mug shot. His right eye was swollen shut and dried blood ran down his right side. They only had a 'Gray' to go by, nothing else. The man was incredibly generic. Black hair that came down to his eyes, average build, six feet tall, pale, brown eyes. That was nearly eighty percent of the older male trainer population. Finding him would be near fucking impossible.

The detective groaned in annoyance and spun around on his chair for a bit, bored. There had been no calls or anything since the incident. Not a single damn robbery or murder. Crime was fairly low in Petalburg, compared to the larger cities. It wasn't very big, and easy to manage. They had done drug busts plenty of times before, and took down quite a bit of the mob's men with some help from Norman. The assassination attempt caused more of an uproar than anticipated.

The internet exploded. Coordinators and trainers posted on social media like mad, expressing their concerns and condolences, as well as an uneasiness about the Slateport Contest. Many of them were reluctant to participate in the Slateport Contest following the violent aftermath of the Petalburg Incident. The National Hoenn Contest Federation had postponed the contest due to a flooding of complaints and warnings of the people.

May had made a public statement that she was going to stay in Petalburg and not participate in any contests for some time. Williams could hear the shaking in her voice when she spoke, and figured the incident had created some trauma for her. It was unfortunate, she was a wonderful coordinator. Her home had been assigned extra police vigilance, in case the assassins came back to finish what they started.

Norman had recovered, but was still receiving physical therapy. The gym remained open, thankfully. That way, Nurse Joy wouldn't be tearing her hair out dealing with so many trainers. She was a kind soul, but when she was angry, she was a force to be reckoned with.

Williams began dozing off, when a phone rang and startled him. Rose picked up and asked what was the case. Her eyes widened. She hung up the phone slowly. She turned to the detective.

"Williams, we need to go. NOW."

"Why? What's going on?"

Rose gave him an ominous look. Whatever it was, it was grave. "The Office of Contests and Events was just attacked. Malcom Van is in critical condition."

Williams' eyes widened. Almost everyone on hand stood up and rushed out of the office. "Let's find them."

The building didn't look any different than normal. However, once inside, he saw several of the workers on the floor, severely beaten. The secretary at the front desk was dead, a bullet hole in her forehead. Williams swallowed and went in further. He kicked open the door to Van's office and found the man strapped to his chair, face bloody and purple from punches it seemed. "Call the paramedics. We have plenty of people here who are hurt. Who knows how many dead. Set up a perimeter and seal this place off, no one enters or leaves this area without us knowing about it." He told an officer, who ran off to go carry out his orders.

Another attack… You'd be stupid if you couldn't connect it with the assassination attempt. This time it's Van. He isn't dead. They didn't come for his life, they came for information.

He knew Van. He was a happy go lucky man that never hurt anyone. He wasn't made for torture. He probably gave in and told them whatever they needed. Then they beat the living shit out of him. Ruthless. Criminals of the worst kind, working for someone worse, most likely.

Van was taken to the hospital and some of his fellow detectives went with him to question him after he recovered. Williams and a few others stayed behind and examined the scene. They went through security tapes, the faces of the scum were all obscured by black masks. The footage didn't reveal anything significant. It only showed the brutality of the men. He turned it off after a few minutes, refusing to watch Van getting beat to a pulp.

An officer came up to him. "Detective Williams, there are fourteen wounded and three dead."

"Who died?"

"The secretary, the security manager, and an intern. Cause of death was blunt force trauma to the cranium. He looked like a dang mess. Manager was shot three times in the chest, secretary died from a single shot to the head."

Williams nodded grimly before slumping in a chair in the security room. He had to go through the audio tapes now. Maybe they would reveal something important. He turned them on.

The men burst into Van's office.

"DON'T FUCKING MOVE. MOVE AND WE'LL KILL YOU."

"Ok ok ok! Please, calm-"

"SHUT THE FUCK UP!"

"SIT DOWN AND SHUT UP UNLESS WE ASK YOU A QUESTION. GOT IT? OR WE KILL ONE OF YOUR PEOPLE."

There was a brief silence. One of the attackers asked Van a question, booming voice going low and soft.

"Director Van, who was that man?"

"What?"

"I won't repeat myself. Who was that man?"

"I d-d-d-don't understand!"

Two seconds of silence.

"Kill the secretary."

There was a shot over the recording.

"She's dead now. I suggest you start answering clearly. Now. Where were we?" Pause. "That's right. Who is the guy that you hired as the head security? We want to speak to him."

"Y-y-y-you m-mean for the contest?"

"Yes."

"He was a random trainer that came in! He just asked for a job and he was the first so I gave it to him. I don't know who he is!"

"I see. What was his name?"

"Why?"

"Intern too. Don't ask me questions. Let's just say our boss is less than thrilled about that entire incident. And that little piece of shit ruined everything. So we're going to find him. And get rid of him."

Screaming was heard. Williams winced.

"His name was…Gray. I think…" Van was shaking and crying in fear.

"Gray? No last name?"

"No…"

"What did you say?"

"No!"

"And you just let him sign on like that without asking for information? Hah, Van, you're an idiot. The League is full of idiots." The guy questioning probably turned to the others. "We're done here. Make sure he gets the message."

"WHO ARE YOU!?" Van screamed.

"We're the next step. We're the singularity." Fingers snapped. Boots were heard. Then metal extending.

Van could then be heard getting beat by metal, with his screams promptly dying out a few seconds later.

"Oh and for the love of god, please get rid of the security manager. I can't stand the sight of him."

Bang. Bang. Bang.

The tape ended.

Williams froze. They were after that boy. That boy's head was on a hit-list now. Shit! As much as he hated the kid, he didn't want him dead. But how will they find him? That boy could be anywhere now. Finding a specific person with just a first name and an appearance as generic as his would be incredibly difficult. On the flip side, that kid was no pushover. He knew how to handle himself, he was also a trainer, meaning his pokemon could defend him. However, he was only one guy. Eventually, even the strongest could fall with sufficient numbers.

Stay alive, kid. Wherever you are.

Amy relaxed on the front porch, swinging from her porch swing with her Swablu. It had been quite some time since the Petalburg incident, but the footage still bothered her. Considering the person who was involved directly in that, she couldn't forget it. She shook her head to get out of her mind for a while. It was still the most talked about thing lately, considering the Slateport contest was supposed to be held in a week.

Obviously that wasn't going to happen.

Not with Petalburg still fresh in people's minds, even after more than a month of tranquility. The news had been questioning the National Contest Federation about the incident, which they declined to speak about. They only said they were trying to do the best they could to resolve the issue. It seemed problems were popping up fucking EVERYWHERE. First Sinnoh, and now this.

She looked up at the sky before she suddenly hopped off the bench, nearly knocking her Swablu off her head. It chirped angrily, scolding her for the sudden movement. "Mila, it's okay. I didn't mean to scare you." She tickled her beak, calming the flying pokemon. Amy was headed to Rydell's bicycles, he was getting a new shipment of bikes today and her dad gave her money to go buy one. He said that it would be far easier to get around on one. And it would save her from the infamous blister affliction that plagued trainers all the time.

The purchase didn't last too long. She bought a Mach bike in a dark red color. She liked speed over fancy tricks. Some of her friends could do those tricks on their bikes and hop onto those strange white rails on some of the routes, but she never bothered. She also didn't choose the color pink, despite her friends' insistence on it. Amy never really liked the color and she wasn't that feminine to begin with. She became a pokemon trainer after all. Boys often said that women weren't meant to be real trainers. She always answered back with a kick to the balls or a punch to the face. Some of the boys around were still scared of her.

Wattson saw her skill with battling and urged her to become a trainer. He said he saw the spark of adventure in her and wanted it to grow into a powerful bolt of lightning, like so many others before her. She felt energized and decided to enlist in the league. That was a year ago. Wattson had a way with trainers, just like many of the other gym leaders. They inspired them and kept them going, acting like mentors. She really liked the old man.

Walking back to her house, she passed by a tunnel. Overhead was the cyclist's road, where trainers and bikers zoomed by to get to and from Slateport in a hurry. She wanted to go up there tomorrow and race like crazy. Mach bikes were fast. Thinking of how good the wind would feel, she bumped into something small and green without realizing it.

-"TRIKE!"- It zapped her with a weak thundershock after she stepped on it.

"Sorry!" She said as she passed by the little pokemon. It growled in response, sparking lightly.

That was Grumpy. He was an Electrike that lived under the tunnel and was almost always unreasonably grumpy and defensive. That's why some of the residents gave him the name. No one really wanted him, since he was fairly temperamental and shocked anyone that came too close. There was also lots of Electrikes around too, but Grumpy was always under that bridge.

She had given him food on occasion and once thought about catching him. But she already had Jak, who was now a Flaffy. A diverse team was always the best and ground types would have an advantage over her if she carried two electric types, even if Manectrics were awesome. It was sad to see Grumpy under the tunnel every day, grimy and sometimes struggling to find food, but he didn't seem to mind.

Amy carried on and went past the tunnel, heading back to her home. She heard an explosion and squinted ahead to see flashes of light into the distance. Running up to the source, she saw two trainers battling it out. A Lucario was fighting against a Swellow. The explosion that she'd heard was from a collision between an aura sphere and an air slash.

The blonde sat down and observed the battle, she could get home later on her bike. This was way more interesting. The Lucario and the Swellow traded hits before an aura sphere hit the bird in the face during a head on brave bird rush. The bird fell from the sky and crashed into the fighting type, carrying it into a nearby tree and almost felling it from the force of the impact. The two pokemon bounced off the trunk and fell limply to the floor, both out of commission. Amy could tell the Swellow broke a wing, while the Lucario had at worst suffered a minor concussion and a slash to the chest from an air cutter. Draws weren't too common, even against trainers of comparatively the same skill level.

Both trainers returned their pokemon and shook each others' hands, congratulating a battle well fought. The trainers split in opposite directions, with the Lucario trainer heading towards her. He probably hadn't seen her yet, being too focused on the floor. She stood up and called out to him as she ran over. "Hi! Nice battle!"

He looked up and spotted her. "Oh… yeah, thanks. It was tough but fortunately I didn't lose."

"You didn't win either."

"True, but my wallet is happy about that. I just need to go heal my pokemon now. You saw everything then?" He began walking, eyeing the setting sun in the sky while hoping to arrive before nightfall.

"No. Just the end of it. Double knockout isn't something you see every day." She fell into step with him.

"Oh…" He looked fairly nervous talking to her, avoiding eye contact. He started walking faster, but she matched him."Um… Do you live here?"

"Yep. Just over that hill." Amy got closer, prompting the boy to back away slightly. "Did you face the leader yet?"

"Ah…no. I thought I'd train a bit more. Wattson scares me."

"WHAT?" He was scared of Wattson? The guy was so friendly! "How come? He's one of the nicer leaders."

"Electric pokemon scare me. My sister has a Luxray that she let tease me for the longest time when I was younger. She'd zap me constantly, so I decided I'd come to Hoenn to challenge the league here instead. That way I don't have to see her around. Parents also said it was safer," The trainer explained. "Electric pokemon just don't sit well with me is all."

He was as tall as her and seemed to have a monochromatic blue theme going. Even his eyes matched the color of his hair, as well as the thick winter jacket he wore. She wouldn't be too surprised if his favorite color was blue.

Clearly from Sinnoh, he's pale as heck.

"Sinnoh, huh? I kinda figured you were from up north with that huge jacket you got there. You'd be crazy to be wearing a jacket like that here in Hoenn normally. It gets hot. What's your name?"

"I'm Seab. H-hi."

He waved shyly.

"Amy. Nice to meet you." She scooped up one of his hands and shook it forcefully. "How old are you, if you don't mind?"

"Fifteen." He replied. "You?"

"Eighteen." She gave him a look and beamed. "I'm also a trainer." Amy knew what she wanted from him the moment his shyness evaporated and something stronger took its place. "Let's battle, Seab of Sinnoh!"

He smiled, confidence brimming in his eyes. "Alright. I accept your challenge. Right after I get my pokemon healed!"

Amy grinned, looking forward to stomping him into dust. That loss to Gray made her push herself harder than usual during training sessions. It paid off since Jak had evolved recently in response to the extra training. "Okay, Seab. Come back here tomorrow at two and we'll battle. I guarantee you that it won't be a tie though! I've never battled a Sinnohan before, and I don't plan on losing to one anytime soon."

The younger boy nodded and went off in the direction of the Mauville city pokemon center. She got on her bike when she heard a loud, familiar cry. Electricity was heard, and Seab screamed like a girl.

Amy giggled, Grumpy strikes again.

Ben leaned on the ship's railing, reluctantly and unsuccessfully reassuring a pathetic, sulking Riven that life didn't just deliberately screw with you. Unfortunately, this particular instant was tragically self-inflicted.

"It's okay man. It wasn't your fault…entirely. Okay… maybe it was." He was trying to convince the other trainer that it wasn't his fault he'd accidentally dropped his large case into the sea.

They were at the nose of the ship and Gray had left the case on the floor while he sat down and dangled his feet between the railings. Ben was talking to him about Sinnoh. He looked genuinely interested, especially with his epic description of his trek to Mt. Coronet. While it was fairly obvious he was exaggerating quite a bit, it made for entertaining story nonetheless. So many things happened on that expedition, he couldn't possibly contain his excitement. He was telling Riven about it all with recallings of Ursarings, avalanches, and deathly encounters with wild pokemon. Eventually the conversation got to Riven's plan about going to Forina and then… well, then he dropped his case like an idiot.

"So, you headed to Forina?"

"That's correct."

"You're gonna need some rope for those Dawn caves, you know."

"Why's that?"

"You don't know?"

Riven cocked an eyebrow.

"Those caves aren't any more caves than they are holes in the very top of some of the Forinan spires." A brown eye widened. "They go down for hundreds of feet and branch off into a bunch of caves inside the spires. Which also means you have to climb up hundreds of feet on an almost vertical surface, find your way inside, and climb back up." He grinned at the black haired trainer, who looked astounded, and slightly unsure of himself. He slapped him on the back. "Don't worry, it's not like people haven't fallen to their deaths there many times, right? An experienced climber like you can handle it, rigggghhhht? Mr. I-don't-need-a-flying pokemon?" Ben laughed, slightly teasing.

"Oh, ha-ha. I'll get up there, flying pokemon or not. If only I could prove it once I do, just for spite." Riven looked up at the bright blue sky, following some of the clouds with his eye. "Then you'd shut the fuck up."

"You can take a picture with your holo caster." Ben had the feeling Gray was a technophobe. By the absolute suckage with technology that he'd displayed these past few days around the ship, he was right. Ben remembered watching him open up his cabin door with a keycard. It opened with a swipe and he stood there pointing at the door like an idiot who'd seen his first pokemon.

IT OPENED! Whoa. It's like magic! How do they do this? No keys! Look!

He then proceeded to repeatedly open and close the door with the keycard.

Ben snickered. Fucking small town kid. Dangerous small town kid, but still an idiot with technology. The hiker waved a hand and just looked out at the shimmering blue water ahead. Then he saw Riven shift slightly, moving something large and black to his side. The motion jarred the object, and a watery plop could be heard seconds later.

Riven shot up to his feet and stared at what he'd just dropped, making a strange strangled noise as he reached out over the railing and sucked in a breath like a choking Charmander. It was the large case he carried around that hid his weapons and strangely enough, a fishing rod. Now it was in the water, below a gigantic cruise ship, just floating and bobbing in the waves. Only the top of the case was visible before it submerged completely. Ben looked back at the younger trainer, whose mouth was open and only uttered a strained wheeze.

Hence, Gray's somber attitude. He looked defeated, not broken, just…bummed out? The black haired trainer held out his hands while on his knees, then gripping the bridge of his nose so hard it turned red. Ben felt like snapping a picture. But he didn't. He didn't know how attached Gray was to those blades and whatever else he carried in there, but by his reaction, pretty significantly.

He mellowed out two days afterwards, now only moderately bothered by the loss of the case. He'd wanted to go dive back in for them, but they were in the Tentacruel fields. If he got caught in that, the guy was totally dead this far out at sea. Ben finally convinced him that it was not a good idea to go get the case, as it was probably under hundreds of feet of water at this point or captured by overgrown and venomous jellyfish. Death by paralysis followed by drowning sounded horrible. Not to mention the ship wouldn't stop for him. Swimming miles to shore was pure insanity too, and yet he still wanted to do it.

Then, Ben saw something that was sure to lift his mood. "Look!" Gray didn't move a muscle, Ben huffed and turned his head towards the front of the ship. "It's Slateport, you depressed fool! Cheer the hell up already! See that, you damn country bumpkin? Now that's a city! Welcome to Slateport, Hoenn's portside paradise."

Riven's depressed state seemed to vanish entirely, now replaced by one of sheer awe.

"Holy. Shit."

Edited: 5/17/21