Arriving at the port, Yozora presented his ship ticket and smoothly boarded the S.S. Anne.
As expected of a luxury cruise ship, most of the passengers here were gentlemen and noble ladies. The younger ones were mostly sons and daughters of wealthy families, dressed in extravagant clothes.
Among them, there were also many Trainers.
Rare Pokémon that were seldom seen outside could be found everywhere on this ship.
Charmanders, Squirtles, Bulbasaurs—Pokémon that should have been scarce and precious were practically everywhere.
After all, the three starters were considered rare Pokémon worth over a million each. From this, it was clear that the identities of the people here were undeniably distinguished.
Yozora had barely set foot on the ship when he was suddenly blocked by a boy.
The boy had long blue hair, wore elegant clothing, and had a Squirtle by his side.
The moment he saw Yozora's Charmander, his eyes lit up with excitement.
"Friend, your Charmander looks amazing. Would you be willing to trade it for my Squirtle?" the boy asked.
Here, trading Pokémon seemed to be taken for granted.
Everyone here was from so-called high society. They mingled with one another, treating Pokémon as if they were commodities for exchange.
"No. Charmander is my precious partner," Yozora refused calmly.
"…Alright, then. In that case, would you battle me instead?" The boy looked a little disappointed but quickly perked up again.
This time, Yozora accepted gladly—and in less than half a minute, crushed him completely.
After parting ways, Yozora continued walking down the halls, observing as he went. Along the way, he saw all sorts of rare Pokémon—even a Dratini.
Aside from Kanto Pokémon, he also spotted some from other regions, such as Treecko, Poochyena, and Kirlia.
This meant that not only were there Trainers from Kanto aboard, but also those who had traveled from faraway lands—or Kanto natives who had ventured abroad.
Before long, Yozora spotted a Pelipper in the ship's café.
His heart skipped a beat, and he immediately used the system to check its status panel:
[Pokémon]: Pelipper
[Type]: Water + Flying
[Ability]: Drizzle
[Level]: Mid-tier Senior Level
[Potential]: Gym Leader Level
"It actually has the Drizzle ability!" Yozora's heart raced.
Of course, most Pelipper did have Drizzle…
But this was Kanto. In the Kanto region, Pelipper weren't nonexistent, but they were extremely rare.
Now that he had finally come across one—and with the exact ability he had been waiting for—how could Yozora not be thrilled?
After all…
Psyduck's third Ability slot had long since been unlocked. But it had always remained empty.
Why?Because Yozora had been saving it, waiting for Drizzle.
And now—it was here. It had truly appeared before him!
Pelipper's Trainer was a quiet, scholarly-looking young woman, about eighteen years old, wearing glasses.
At the moment, she was sipping coffee while reading a newspaper, completely absorbed.
Pelipper rested peacefully atop her table, eyes closed in repose.
"Hello, your Pelipper looks really strong. May I battle it?" Yozora approached politely.
"No." The girl didn't even raise her head, answering while absorbed in her paper.
"…." Yozora was taken aback.
But since the other party had refused, he couldn't very well force her into a battle.
Just then, the girl suddenly said, "In about two hours, there will be a Pokémon Tournament aboard the ship. Many Trainers, including quite a few sailors, will participate. The top eight contestants will receive both honor and rewards."
She set down her newspaper and glanced briefly at Yozora. "In order to perform well in that tournament, both my Pelipper and I need to conserve our strength for now."
Yozora blinked.
So that was the reason. No wonder she refused.
"My name is Sherry. If you want to battle me, work hard in the tournament. If you can keep winning, you should meet me eventually," she said with quiet confidence.
Her tone implied that she fully expected herself to make it all the way through.
Clearly, she was a woman brimming with confidence.
"Alright. I'll do my best," Yozora nodded, excused himself, and walked away.
But inwardly, his mind was already made up.
If he met Sherry in the tournament, that would be ideal.
If not, then once they disembarked, no matter what, he had to battle her Pelipper at least once.
After all, this was Kanto. If he missed this Pelipper, Yozora truly didn't know when he would ever have another chance at obtaining Drizzle.
——
Yozora soon arrived at the tournament registration area and signed up.
There were thousands of passengers aboard the luxury liner, not to mention the crew and sailors, making the total population even greater.
Even if only a third of them joined the competition, that was still a staggering number of Trainers.
After registering, Yozora received contestant number 306, meaning he was the 306th person to sign up.
"With this many participants, the tournament could drag on for three whole days before it's finished," Yozora mused as he read over the rules.
The tournament was divided into preliminaries and the main event. All matches were singles, using a one-loss elimination format.
In the preliminaries, each Trainer could use up to two Pokémon.
In the main event—the Top 8—each Trainer could use three Pokémon.
Reaching the Top 8 guaranteed at least one subpar evolution stone as a reward.
As for the grand champion—they would be awarded a Pokémon Egg rumored to hold the potential of an Elite Four–level Pokémon.
The species of the egg, however, was deliberately left unannounced.
——
With over an hour remaining before the tournament began, Yozora and Charmander headed to the dining area to eat and restore their strength.
Given the large crowds, Yozora didn't release his other partners for the meal.
After all, Poké Balls contained internal spaces with natural food resources. His Pokémon could sustain themselves inside, though the diet was somewhat monotonous.
Besides, Yozora's Poké Balls were high-grade models, providing better comfort and nutrition than ordinary ones.
"?"
As Yozora ate, he suddenly felt a hand pat his shoulder. Turning, he was surprised to see Ritchie and Sparky.
"Yozora, it really is you!" Ritchie exclaimed in delight, clearly happy to run into a familiar face in such a place.
"Ritchie, Sparky—it's been a while," Yozora smiled, reaching out to ruffle the tuft of fur atop Sparky's head.
The little Pikachu leaned into it with clear enjoyment, just as cheerful and friendly as its Trainer.
"It really has been a while. Yozora, did you register for the tournament? This time, I'm not going to lose to you again!" Ritchie's eyes blazed with determination as he fixed his gaze on Yozora.
(End of Chapter)