Trials of a Champion - Kanto [Pokemon x OC]

10 Battle Aboard the St. Anne

The next day, Pikachu, Luxio, and I wanted to explore Vermillion Pier. Paul won his Badge early that morning, but then he decided he'd rather continue his Pokémon training than go sightseeing. We parted ways, promising to meet again soon, and then he left town via the western gate.

Luxio, Pikachu, and I crossed a short bridge to get to Vermillion Pier. We knew we stood in the right place when we spotted several luxury cruise liners sitting in the harbor. "Let's go get a closer look," I suggested.

We took a look around at all the ships. "Wow! They're all beautiful!" I said. Luxio and Pikachu agreed. "I'd love to cross the ocean on a ship like these. Just think of all the Pokémon we'd be able to see along the way, and imagine sunbathing on the deck all day." Pikachu tapped my forehead, reminding me that I could never afford a cruise like that. I frowned. "Reality sure can bum you out."

Exploring more of the pier, a couple of ganguro girls stopped us, one with short, blonde hair and another with long, red hair. "Congratulations! You're way lucky! You get to go on a super deluxe sea cruise!" they hollered in my face.

Startled out of my skin, I stepped back and muttered, "A sea cruise?"

"Well, it's just like, you know, we have these super cool incredible tickets for you!"

"Tickets?"

"These are tickets for the biggest party ever aboard the St. Anne cruise liner."

I vaguely remember hearing that ship before. "The famous St. Anne?"

"The coolest ship in the sea! Everyone is going to get together and have the coolest party! And the party is for Pokémon Trainers only! Step this way! It'll be a radical party! All of the most radical Pokémon Trainers will be there!"

I whispered to my Pokémon. "Does anyone say radical anymore?" They both shrugged.

"Okay, dude, like, here you go." She handed me a ticket.

"Well, I'd love to go on a luxury cruise, but I really don't have the money to pay for it."

"Oh, wow! Like, you don't understand. This ticket is totally free!"

"For free? Why are you giving them away?" I couldn't help but be suspicious.

"Well, we'd love to go, but we already had plans to go on a trip with our boyfriends, so we wanted to give our tickets away to cool Pokémon Trainers. We saw you and thought you'd be really cool with taking one. We still have to find a second Trainer to take the other ticket. Just take this and have a really cool time!"

"Thanks a lot!" I took the ticket.

"No sweat. Now have a nice day!" The two girls skipped away.

I looked at the ticket in my hand. "This really is cool, isn't it?" My Pokémon agreed.

We searched around for the ship in question. They didn't have any signs, so our search proved to be as difficult as could be. "How are we supposed to know which ship it is?" I felt Pikachu tap my head. She pointed at the ship parked at the very end of the dock. Although not the biggest, it certainly looked the fanciest. "You think that's it?"

Luxio then barked at me. "What's wrong, Luxio?" He pointed left.

A group of kids walked into view, admiring the ship: a young redhead girl and two boys all about my age. One of the boys gasped and said, "Wow! It's huge!"

I recognized the Pikachu on his head, and the other boy's spiky brown hair. "It's Ash, and Brock too! Let's go say hi!" The three of us ran over to them. "Hey, Ash! Brock!"