Chapter 66: Gambling Games Part 1

Charcoal's POV

I let out a queasy moan as I sat slumped up against the wall, my claws clutching my stomach as I hunched over suddenly, feeling my insides shift as the ship swayed from the waves that smacked against it. It took everything I had to keep myself from hurling; and it wasn't even the first time that I felt the bile building up in the pit of my soul. My entire body was out of sorts like I was fixing to break into a cold sweat. I knew we had to sail across to continue our journey but all I wished at the current moment that it would end.

My trainer attempted to put me back inside my ball, but Laura strongly advised that he didn't for the sake of putting me out of commission permanently, not that I already was. The slightest jarring, slightest shift, even the slightest twitch of a muscle could very well set me off. That was the last thing I needed.

I breathed slowly, panting heavily as I slowly sat myself upright, my claws still clutching my stomach though a bit more loosely. Things seem to have settled down momentarily as I swallowed a gulp, shutting my eyes and hoping I could fall asleep.

"It's rather funny don't you think?" I heard someone ask. "Out of all the medicine that treat ailments, there's not a single one that cures Pokemon of sea sickness."

I laughed lightly, keeping my position completely unmoved. "That's certainly a pain, isn't it?" I asked, cracking my eyes open slightly as Ted sat down beside me.

"Think you can hold out?" he asked.

"I'm managing so far," I answered him. "Laura and my trainer went to go see about helping with the issue not too long ago. Glad she's with him otherwise he'd most definitely get lost."

"That's for sure," Ted said as I shut my eyes again. "How's the search for our escaped Drowzee friend going?"

"I'm not too worried," Ted answered. "There's nowhere on this ship he can really make his base. Even if he did, it wouldn't last long. With the amount of people and Pokemon on this boat he'd be discovered in no time."

"How did we wind up with someone who's constantly trying to make a break for it?" I asked. "Any normal trainer would have given up on him, but Laura she-" I stopped suddenly as my insides shifted again, causing me to hunch back over in hopes the feeling would pass quickly.

"I know you think Laura's crazy for trying to train him," Ted said once the sickness subsided. "I don't fault you on that. I'd probably think the same thing if I were you. She may not always seem like she knows what she's doing in the spur of the moment but she's got heart enough to give it her all when it comes down to it." He fell silent on that, prompting me to take a glance towards him. A small, warm smile plastered his face, his gaze unfocused of the world around him as he gave the appearance that he was lost in a memory he had of her. It begged a sudden question that had popped in my mind right then and there.

"How do you do it?" I asked, rousing him from his mindful memory. "How do you not fault others for how they think of the things they do?"

"We all make mistakes, Char-bro," was Ted's reply. "It doesn't matter whether we're human, Pokemon, or some kind of creature. We're all one in the same when it comes right down to it. That doesn't go without saying that even I can express disappointment at times, but I can forgive if there's earnesty in one. More times than I can count."

"Even if-"

"Even if one were to blindly attack another in a fit of rage," Ted said, reading my exact thoughts. "I'm one to pay attention to detail and I've taken notice of a repeating detail during the battles you've been in on the times I've had the chance to."

"And?" I asked, swallowing a lump in my throat. "What's your verdict on that?"

"My verdict," Ted began, "is that I believe you'll someday face what triggers you into that rage and come out stronger than you were before." I felt his head lightly tilt down upon where my arm met the rest of my body and couldn't stop myself from letting out a few loose tears. "I have faith in you, Charcoal. Zack and I will always be here for you when you need our help."

"Th-thanks," I said, wiping my tears away, sniffling. "I… that means a lot… to me." Though I couldn't see it, I could tell Ted was giving off that same usual calm smile of his.

"Anytime, my friend," Ted said.

"Guys my equilibrium is off!" Skitty suddenly said as she passed us by at random. "This ship is cursed!"

"Do I -"

"Just Skitty being Skitty," was Ted's response as he got up. "Looks like our trainers are coming back with a nurse. Think you'll be okay?"

I gave him a claws up. "Yeah. I think I will be," I replied, feeling happy inside, right before the sea sickness returned with a vengeance.

Zack's POV

"Are you alright?" the Graveler asked as he took notice of my discomfort as we ventured into this casino place. My ears were completely flattened back, overwhelming my hearing sensors as everything mixed together. On top of that, there were flashy lights all around upon hundreds of odd looking contraptions I couldn't even begin to name. I made the attempt to apply what Priscilla and I talked about and tried keeping my focus on making music out of it, but failed horribly as I anxiously slowed and fidgeted.

"Let's head back," the Graveler said with a sigh. "You're not looking too great."

"No, no!" I said with a shake of my head. "I just…" I quickly scanned around the place, looking for some place I could go to for a moment of peace and quiet. "I just need a less noisier place to gather my thoughts!"

The Graveler raised what I believe may have been an eyebrow for a moment before he turned and said with a wave of his hand, "I may know a place. Follow me."

Complying, I followed him through the room, bypassing the noisy contraptions before entering a section with tables. It was a lot less noisy as we passed by them. I took notice that the majority of humans and pokemon sat at them, conversing with one another but without the added background noise. Others stood at them rolling something around in their hands and paws before throwing them onto the tables. What followed was a mixture of cheers and groans.

Regardless of all that, we continued moving past all that until we entered a dimly lit room that wasn't completely low but not as bright either, like it was somewhere in the middle. Though I could still hear all the noise behind me, it was quieter and less strainful on the ears. The downside of that was that all the noise was now stuck in my head and left my ears ringing. There was also the nasty smell of some kind of smoke lingering in my nostrils. The smell in itself didn't smell like it was a fire of any kind. It was a different smell, one I had never smelled before and one that would cause me to question about it at a later time.

"This should be better for you I hope," the Graveler said, snapping me from my thoughts. "Less noisier and plenty of thinking space to clear your mind."

"It's definitely helping," I said as I raised my ears slightly. "Though my head's swelling with all that noise."

"That can happen for those who are sensory sensitive," the Graveler explained. "Too much noise can overload the hearing in one and cause one of many reactions depending on how well they can handle it. In your case, you had the signs of stress and discomfort. It's not really something you can control, it's just something you have to live with and know what your limits are; know what to do in a situation like that."

"I do appreciate the help," I said as I took notice of a group of Pokemon sitting at one of the few empty tables that were grouped together. "I think I'll be able to hold out on the way back."

"That's good to hear," the Graveler said as he followed my gaze towards the group. "You did say though you were curious about this room, did you not?"

"Oh yeah! I said. "I just want to see how some of this stuff works!"

"Well you're in luck," the Graveler said. "That group of Pokemon right there happen to be some of the best game dealers that can explain better than I can."

"You talking about us?" one the Pokemon from the group called out, a familiar blue duck hearing us talking despite the distance we stood from them.

"Yeah I'm talking about you," the Graveler said. "Talking about them slick paws you got!" The group all burst out laughing as well as the Graveler for a few moments, obviously an inside joke they all had with one another.

"Better watch that these slick paws don't roll you around this ship!" the Golduck said, one of the four that sat there.

"All you're missing are the ears!" a bipedal plant like mushroom Pokemon jeered. "Would you prefer cat or dog ones?"

"Would you prefer to be scratched?" the Graveler said with a smirk.

"Dog it is then," the bipedal mushroom said before glancing in my direction. "Who's the Umbreon by the way? A new face?"

"Hardly," the Graveler answered him. "He's a tamed wild. He had interest about how some of the games here worked so I figured you guys could show him."

"Why not?" the Golduck said with a shrug. "You know anything about gambling?"

"Not by much," I told him, nodding my head towards the Graveler. "He was telling me how things worked, about how the berries are categorized by rarity and betting them to double or lose them all."

"That's about the gist of it," the Golduck said as he dragged his chair over to one of the empty tables. "Mind grabbing a chair for him, Bastion?"

The Graveler complied by grabbing a random chair from nearby and bringing it over to the table. "Hop on up. Beakbill here will show you how this one's done."

"Beakbill?" I questioned with a raised eyebrow.

"Eh, it's his nickname for me," the Golduck said dismissively. "I pay it no mind."

"You guys must have a close bond to mess around with each other like that," I noted. "I think that's pretty special."

"I guess you could say that," the bipedal mushroom said. "Cruising with the same staff of the ship for a long period of time, you tend to tolerate those you hang out with the most. So I guess in a way we form a kind of bond."

"I can definitely see it," I said, hopping up on the chair. "It may not be as strong as others, but it's there for certain. Otherwise you wouldn't be hanging out as much as you do."

"He's an interesting one," one of the two Pokemon who haven't spoken said. There wasn't much to describe about him since his fur was mostly brown aside from his chest and what looked to be a mask of sorts, both of which were of a beige color. His tail was colored black and was flat with a beige stripe going across it horizontally. "You must be someone who cherishes friendship a lot, don't you?"

"More than anything!" I said with a nod. "They're some of the best, not that I'm trying to boast or anything."

"Be careful not to let that get to your head," the Golduck said. "You don't want to become too condescending."

"Of course not," I said a bit sheepishly, turning my attention towards the table. Examining it, all I could really see were a bunch of white lines with the colors of reds and blacks boxed in separately. Each color had a number in each box except for the ends of it as well as the side; of which it was mostly written in white save for a single red and single black color in what looked like a square but at an odd angle. Across from where I sat was a large circle with the same colors and a bunch of numbers that were embedded in the green table top which the Golduck sat in front of.

"So how does this game work exactly?" I asked him with a sheepish grin plastered upon my face.

"Here you go," the Golduck said as he placed down a black circular thing with small white squares in front of me. "When playing Roulette, the players bet their money and berries by placing that chip on one of the thirty-six numbers you see there. If you're feeling daring you can gander a chance and place it on any one of them, but the probability of this ball landing in the exact slot is thirty-six to one."

"What does the ball do?" I asked him as he held up a small round ball.

"It simply rolls in one direction while the wheel spins the opposite way," the Golduck explained. "It's a risk to take if you pick a single number. That's why the numbers are split into three groups of twelve to lower the chance of probability. So long as you place your chips in any one of the three boxes you have a three to one probability of winning."

"That makes a game changer for the players," I noted interestingly. "So they have a better chance from one to twelve and then another twelve numbers and the twelve after that."

"But even then there's no guarantee that it'll land in the group of twelve you're betting on," the Golduck explained. "If you want to better your odds, you have a much higher chance of winning depending on one of three two to one probability ratios. If you look at the ends of the last rectangular box, you'll see that you can bet the two groups of eighteen. So if the ball lands in numbers one to eighteen for example and you placed a bet in numbers nineteen to thirty-six…"

"Then I lose," I finished for him as he gestured for me to finish the thought on my own.

"Exactly!" he said.

"I think I'm starting to get it," I said. "But you also said it's one of three of this two to one chance. So what are the other two?"

"The two squares going inward are odds and evens," the Golduck explained. "If you bet for an odd number like one, three, five, etc. and the ball lands on an even number like two, four, and six you'll lose. The same goes for the colors in the middle."

"I get it!" I said. "I pick red and the ball lands in black I lose!"

"You got it!" the Golduck said. "You're a pretty fast learner."

"It takes a bit," I admitted. "I don't think I ever would have been able to understand without a simple explanation on how it works."

"It's the simplest I can make it for first timers," the Golduck explained. "Otherwise it can become quite complicated and confusing. That said, would you care for a demonstration?"

"Sure!" I said, remembering the chip piece in front of me. I slid said piece over to the red color, taking my paw off it. "I'll go red. It's the color I was as an Eevee before I evolved."

The Golduck raised an eyebrow, a look of confusion plastering his face as he fell completely silent. I took a look at the others nearby after a moment to see them looking at me strangely, making the entire moment awkward.

"What?" I asked.

"Eevee's… aren't usually red," the brown furred Pokemon answered with a slight hesitation. "They're normally albino."

"Then I'm a special kind!" I said.

"Oookayyy," the Golduck said slowly, stretching his webbed paw out to grab hold of the strange object in the middle of the wheel. "Anyway, let's see if you're lucky enough to win a red." With that said, he gave his paw a small twist as the wheel began spinning, a blur of reds and blacks mixed together. After a few seconds, the Golduck then lightly rolled the ball in the opposite direction the wheel was spinning and watched as it rolled around, recognizing the sound from earlier of what sounded like something rolling around on a surface of sorts.

I was mesmerized by the sound of the ball; the spinning of the colors as they blurred together, being snapped out of my sudden daze moments later as I heard the clunk of the ball as it landed in one of the thirty-six slots. I gave my head a quick shake to rid myself of the lingering daze before taking a look at where the ball stopped.

"Well I'll be," the bipedal mushroom said in awe. "You, my friend, are lucky."

"Cool!" I said happily. "It actually did land in a red spot. Red… er…" I paused slightly, looking up at the Golduck sheepishly. "I'm no good at reading written numbers."

"Red three," the Golduck said. "Got to hand it to you. Luck was surely on your side with this demonstration."

"It was a fifty-fifty shot that he would win or not," Bastion said with an air of indifference. "The next time could have the opposite outcome."

"The real problem is knowing when to stop," the brown furred Pokemon said. "Greed is the leading cause of losing everything, but you wouldn't really know if you truly have a shot unless you go all in."

"That's what makes it a gamble," the Golduck said as he looked back in my direction. "Of course, there's nothing wrong with doing all this for the fun of it to see if you get lucky or not. What do you say? Care for another go about?"

"Thanks but I'm good," I said. "This gamble stuff's not really my thing but it is interesting to learn how it's done."

"Wiser words could never be spoken," Bastion said.

"So what other of these table games are there?"