Chapter Fifty-Three: A Ferry Nice Vacation

The pier where the ferry to Cinnabar Island was docking was bustling with activity. People and Pokémon were milling about, some simply relaxing and enjoying the sea breeze, others queueing up and looking on their phones or in their bags for their ferry tickets.

Serena and Ash were among the people in the queue, and despite the trip likely not being very exciting, Serena was looking forward to it. Clearly her excitement was visible, because Ash said, "You look happy today."

"I am," Serena replied with a smile. "It's like we're going on a vacation, or something. I mean, we can't really train like we usually do or we might damage the ship. Though I'm sure you'll find someone who's willing to battle you," she added with a wink.

Ash briefly grinned at her and then said, "You know, I've never really been on a vacation. I've traveled a lot, sure, and I enjoyed every moment of it, but it was always mostly for the challenge. Although I guess that's true now, too, and it's not like we never had days off…" He cocked his head sheepishly and asked, "What's the difference between a regular day off and a vacation, anyway?"

Serena laughed. "Not that much, I guess," she said. "But it's more the idea, anyway. Truly being in the here and now, and all that. You know how you said that the same thing with different people can feel different? Vacations are like that. It's the same as a day off, but it's different, too."

Ash nodded thoughtfully. "That makes sense," he said. Then he grinned again and said, "Then let's make it a great vacation."

"Yeah!"

"This ferry is huge," Serena said when she and Ash had boarded.

"It has to be," Ash said. "It's a two-day trip to Cinnabar. Even though we'll have all afternoon tomorrow on the Seafoam Islands, most of the time we'll be on the boat, so there's a lot of things to do." He pointed at a map on the wall. "Let's see what they have."

They walked over to the map of the boat and studied it for a moment. "Three different restaurants?" Serena asked in amazement.

("No lack of variety, clearly,") Pikachu said.

"Here's a store, and an arcade…a battle court," Ash said greedily, and Serena saw his eyes beginning to sparkle.

She giggled at the sudden upswing in his excitement. "So much for the vacation, then?" she asked playfully.

Ash looked at her and quickly shook his head. "No, no! Definitely not! I'll take it easy," he said.

Serena raised an eyebrow at his vehemence. She really had just been joking, since she was pretty certain Ash would spend plenty of time relaxing, if only because the battle court was sure to be busy for much of the journey anyway, but maybe Ash had been worried she'd be disappointed if he'd chosen to head to the battle court right away.

"Let's drop our bags in our room and explore the ship a bit," he said. "Maybe we can go outside when the ferry leaves, too. Isn't that a vacation-y thing to do?"

Again, Serena giggled. "It is," she said. "You're really taking this seriously, aren't you?"

("Ash can make a challenge out of anything, and that includes having a vacation,") Pikachu said with a grin.

"As if you're any different," Ash said with mock indignation.

Pikachu's grin widened. ("Never said I was.")

Like Ash had suggested, they went over to their room to put away their bags. While it was much smaller than the rooms they usually had in Pokémon Centers, it still had its own small bathroom attached to it, which Serena hadn't expected, but did appreciate. Having private facilities certainly increased the feeling of being on a vacation, anyway.

With their things stored away, Serena and Ash headed outside, onto the deck. It was more a narrow, railed walkway than a wide-open deck, but on the front and back of the ship it was slightly wider, to allow people a bit more space to look out over the sea. They decided to check out the rear deck first, following Ash's suggestion to properly have the experience of leaving the pier.

Serena had to admit that, with the many Wingull flying overhead and the light breeze, there really was a lot of atmosphere to the ferry's fairly mundane departure. Sure, the ship rumbled and the noise of the engines became louder, but other than that, it wasn't exactly a spectacular occurrence. People around them waved at friends and family staying behind, but Serena and Ash didn't really need to, so they just leaned over the railing and quietly looked at the many people still on the pier, and at the many colorful dots on the beach some way in the distance.

Serena glanced at Ash, who was just staring at the pier, looking like he was thinking hard about something. Knowing him, it was probably about his strategy for his next Gym match.

Serena, though, didn't really feel like thinking about her next Exposition just yet. There would be more than enough time for that yet, after all. Instead, she simply thought about the entirety of her travels thus far. She'd left home partially to find her own path — anything but Rhyhorn racing — but mostly because she'd wanted to meet up with Ash again. And now, a bit more than a year later, she was in a very different region to compete in Expositions, with Ash, who was now her boyfriend.

She wondered what would have happened if Ash hadn't gone to Kalos for his travels. If she'd never seen him on TV, when would she have left home? She was sure that she would have, at some point, but for what reason? Maybe she would have seen a Showcase on TV and gotten inspired, but even then she didn't have any Pokémon back then. And as much as Rhyhorn liked her — although that feeling wasn't always mutual — they weren't the most elegant or stylish, although they could probably still have some reasonably spectacular performances. Maybe it would be fun to catch one one day and try it.

She smiled at the thought as she watched the pier grow smaller and smaller in the distance, then nudged Ash and said, "Let's see what else we can find on the ship. I know, let's go the souvenir shop! Can't get much more in the vacation spirit than by looking at tacky keychains, after all."

Ash grinned at her, and she grabbed his hand to pull him along, which he didn't seem to mind in the slightest. In fact, he kept holding her hand until they'd reached the souvenir shop, and only let go so they could browse different sections of the store.

As expected, most of the things for sale were designed with tourists in mind. Novelty mugs and hats, keychains, small guidebooks like the one Serena had bought back in Viridian City… Most of the things, funny as it would be to buy them, simply weren't very practical to take along on their journey. Maybe if one of the hats had looked good, Serena would have considered buying one, but they all had prints on them which would make them fun to wear for just about two days before it would look far too out of place. Besides, none of them really matched with her outfit.

There was also a stand with some jewelry, but of course, it too was mostly meant for tourists. The most attractive things on the stand weren't even really jewelry at all, but just thin and simple, woven bracelets, with two small beads near the knot. There were several different colors, and Serena bent down a bit to inspect more closely, before moving on.

Ash, meanwhile, followed along at his own pace a bit behind her. She could occasionally hear him saying something to Pikachu, but the ship was too noisy to really make out what he was saying. Maybe he was looking for something for his mother. Serena considered doing the same, and in the end she found a horrendously ugly fridge magnet, which would probably give Mom a laugh when she received it. Ash also seemed to have found something, but Serena couldn't see what he'd bought.

After leaving the shop, they explored the rest of the ship, beginning with the battle court. Though Ash was clearly excited by the battles, he surprisingly managed to restrain himself, and after spectating just two fights they moved on.

The ship's three restaurants had cuisine from different regions, and one of them even specialized in dishes from Kalos. The sight of Prism Tower on the sign next to the restaurant's name made Serena smile.

"Let's take a picture to send to Bonnie and Clemont," she said.

Ash nodded enthusiastically. "Yeah! They'll love it, I'm sure," he said.

Serena quickly took a selfie of her and Ash next to the sign and then sent it to Clemont.

"Maybe we should call them once we're on Cinnabar Island," she said. "It's been a while since we talked to them and it'll be fun to catch up a bit."

Ash nodded. "Yeah, why not? I'd like to know how they're doing, too."

After checking out the other restaurants, one focusing on food from Kanto, the other specializing in Paldean cuisine, they checked out the arcade, where they had some fun playing air hockey and some kind of fighting game, which Ash naturally took as a challenge and got extremely caught up in, though since he had no more experience with it than Serena did, he didn't really win any more often than her, and Pikachu was the one who ended up having the most fun by teasing Ash every time he lost.

To his credit, Ash hid his mild frustration at not being able to consistently win quite well, most likely because Serena thought he looked adorable the way he took the game just a bit too seriously, which she repeatedly told him, and every time he lost she gave him a kiss on the cheek as a consolation prize. Seeing him torn between his competitive drive to win and his desire to get more kisses made it even more fun to Serena, and Pikachu clearly knew what she was doing, judging by his repeated grins in her direction.

Eventually, late in the afternoon, Serena said, "So where should we go for dinner? I know it's still early, but we haven't eaten since breakfast."

"Well, you're from Kalos and I'm from Kanto…so let's go to the Paldean one. That seems most like a vacation to us both, right?" Ash said.

Serena nodded. "Sounds good to me," she said with a smile.

Since it was still so early, there were plenty of empty tables, and soon they were sat next to the window, drinking water from wine glasses just because they could. With a soft, musical clink they touched the glasses together in a toast and then took a sip.

"Quality vintage, isn't it?" Serena asked in a slightly posh tone.

"Yes, quite. Earthy tone and a nice round flavor," Ash said in a similar voice.

They briefly looked in each other's eyes and then cracked up.

("Humans,") Pikachu said with a resigned shake of his head, but his smile told Serena he was enjoying himself just as much as she and Ash were.

"So what do you think of our vacation so far?" Ash asked while they were eating their starters.

"It's great," Serena said happily. "I'm really enjoying this day with you, Ash. It's fun to just…do nothing for a bit even while we're traveling. What about you? Enjoying the experience?"

Ash nodded. "Absolutely. And, y'know, I can't really think of anyone I'd rather be doing this with than you," he said, sheepishly looking out of the window and blushing a bit as he did so. Serena felt her own face heating up a bit in response.

"Me neither," she said softly.

Their eyes met again and somehow, it felt like time froze for a moment. Neither of them spoke, and Serena, at least, wasn't really thinking anything, either. It was probably just for a few seconds, but it might as well have been hours in how impactful it felt.

Then, though, both of them smiled, happily yet awkwardly, and continued eating. Serena had eaten at a Paldean restaurant before, and the food on the ferry was at least as good as that one had been, made even better by the fact that Ash, who was clearly enjoying the food as well, was trying to mind his manners as much as he could even while he was attempting to beat the speed-eating record.

They'd just finished dessert when Ash looked out of the window and said, "I'll go and pay, and then let's go outside again for a moment."

Without giving Serena a chance to reply, he got up.

Serena shot Pikachu a confused look and asked, "What's gotten into him?"

Pikachu, however, just smirked slyly and said, ("You'll see.")

Serena decided not to press the issue and to just go along with whatever Ash had planned next. When he returned to the table, Serena said, "How much was it?"

Ash waved her away. "Don't worry about it, I've got it." He smiled sheepishly. "I thought it'd be fun to treat you to dinner for a change. You know, since you always do the cooking and everything."

"Aw, that's really sweet, Ash, thank you," Serena said fondly, again feeling her cheeks heat up a bit. She got up and gave Ash a quick kiss, feeling giddy inside at the romantic gesture.

"C'mon, let's get on deck," Ash said, and this time he was the one to grab Serena's hand.

Unlike before, Ash led them to the front of the ship this time, and when they stepped onto the deck itself, Serena saw why.

Directly ahead of them, the sun was beginning to set. The sky was a brilliant, blinding orange, which was reflected off the calm waves as the sun sank closer and closer to the horizon. Even though there were plenty of other people on deck to watch the sunset, somehow Serena and Ash managed to end up at the railing, with nothing ahead of them but the endless ocean and the sun itself.

"It's beautiful," Serena said quietly.

"Not as much as you," Ash said, and Serena felt herself getting redder than the sky ahead of her and she quickly turned to look at Ash, completely at a loss for words. Had Ash really just said that?!

("That was Brock-levels of cheese, right there,") Pikachu said, completely killing the moment yet not even putting a dent in it anyway.

"I know," Ash said, looking horribly embarrassed but still looking at Serena.

"I…" he began, then took a deep breath and went on, "Look, I'm not…that good at romance. But I know people like sunsets, and we were on time to see this one, so…I wanted you to see it. To share that moment with you. And I'm really glad to be on this…vacation…with you, now, and it'll definitely be a memory I'll always treasure. And to make it a bit easier to remember, I, uh, got you — us — something. Earlier, y'know, from…well, anyway…"

He dug in his pocket and then held out his closed hand to Serena, who felt like she already had steam coming from her ears. Ash opened his hand, and to her surprise he was holding two of the woven bracelets from the souvenir shop. One was black with blue beads, while the other was blue with red beads. It was only now that Serena noticed it had the exact same shades of red and blue as her dress, and the ribbon Ash had given her back in Kalos.

Ash took the blue-and-red bracelet from his hand and gave it to Serena, while putting the black-and-blue one around his own wrist.

"I know I already gave you that ribbon before," he said, "but this way we both have something to remember our vacation, in case we end up going to different places at some point."

Serena could practically hear her heart thundering even over the sound of the engines and the waves. Every cell of her body seemed to have been shocked simultaneously, and when she said, "Thank you, Ash," she really had to struggle to keep her voice down.

She did, however, draw Ash into a crushing hug, kissing him without caring that the deck was still full of people. Apparently she'd been quite forceful, however, as the people nearest to them clapped and whistled when she pulled back. Serena didn't care, though. She kept her eyes on Ash, and he kept his eyes on her.

"I–" She hesitated briefly, but then she squashed her doubts. "I love you."

Now Ash was the one who seemed to have been struck by lightning.

"I…love you too…" he said quietly, almost as if he couldn't believe he'd ever say those words.

In all honesty, Serena hadn't even expected herself to say them, not so soon, anyway, but this time, the moment did seem perfect, and there was no sense in hesitating. The future would come no matter what, and hadn't Serena herself said that vacations were all about the here and now, earlier?

She pulled Ash in close again, much gentler than before. "This is the best vacation of my life," she whispered in his ear.

"Yeah. Mine too…"

Giovanni entered his office and strode up to his desk. When he'd just crossed half of the way, however, he felt his body lock up, and he saw a faint blue glow appearing around him.

"You do not know when to quit, do you?" a telepathic voice asked. It was unfamiliar, but that did not mean much when it came to telepathy.

"And who might you be?" Giovanni asked, unconcerned and not bothering to answer the intruder's question.

"One who has suffered greatly at your hands."

"I'm afraid that doesn't narrow it down much," Giovanni said. Then, however, he remembered the binders one of his grunts had brought him weeks ago. "Ah. Mewtwo, I presume?" he asked.

"You should not know that name," Mewtwo said, his tone threatening and yet failing to make any kind of impact on Giovanni whatsoever.

"What I should or should not do or know according to other people is of little concern to me. What a Pokémon thinks matters even less."

The psychic restraints around his body tightened in response.

"I seem to have struck a nerve," Giovanni commented. He smirked, though he knew Mewtwo could not see it. "So what is your reason for coming here, precisely? To lecture me? Threaten me? Kill me, perhaps?"

"I want to know what you're up to. Those Pokémon, those Golbat and who knows how many others…what have you done to them?" Mewtwo asked.

"They were merely assets, and I have used and discarded them as such," Giovanni said.

Again, the psychic restraints tightened. It was beginning to get a little bothersome.

"Did you really believe that I would cave so easily to such idle threats?" Giovanni asked. "Killing me will not give you the answers you seek, after all. Or do you consider such a thing beneath you, and did I discard you for that reason?"

"I can do far worse things to you than merely kill you," Mewtwo said, clearly seething with barely restrained anger.

Giovanni sighed. The conversation was beginning to bore him.

"No, my friend, I'm afraid you can't," he said.

He closed his eyes and concentrated briefly. A small spark of energy lit up inside him, touched every cell at once, and immediately the psychic restraints broke.

He turned around, but his office was empty. Mewtwo was gone, if he'd ever been present physically to begin with.

Once again, Giovanni smirked. Lucius would be thrilled to hear his invention worked.

Okay, so once again it's 03:10 in the morning when I finish this, but I really wanted to do it and I was having fun, so whatever. Also once again, I have no regrets about the puns, or Ash's cheesiness.

The ferry Serena and Ash were on is loosely based on one I've seen in an episode of Top Gear (the one where they race the ferry against a car, to Norway from England), not one I've ever been on. I'm pretty sure two days on a boat would kill me. The bracelets, as well as the 'pretending wine is water' thing is something my girlfriend and I do sometimes. We've had our bracelets for over a decade at this point. I figured they'd fall apart after a month or two, but apparently they're quite sturdy.

And, to juxtapose the vacation happiness, I figured it was a good time to catch up with Giovanni again. This scene was actually one I had in mind for a far older fic, which hasn't been updated since 2010 but which I want to finish one day, but it worked here as well, and I like somehow adding a homage to myself, despite the 'original' scene not being written yet. I'm sure I'll get to it one day.

In any case, the next one should be up in a week or so. See you then!