"Hey, hey, careful with that," she said with a playful blink. "If the supervisor catches guests wandering around with the wrong drinks, I'll be the one getting scolded."
She swapped the glass in his hand for one from her tray and lightly tapped it against his. "This one's safe. Freshly squeezed."
As she spoke, she sneaked a bite of a pastry, then quickly wiped her fingers, looking slightly embarrassed. "Ah-right. I forgot to introduce myself earlier. My name's Miki. I'm sixteen."
"Kael. Fifteen."
"Oh?" Miki paused, then smiled in surprise. "You're younger than I thought."
"Is that so?" Kael replied, scratching his head.
"Yeah," she nodded. "You're tall, and you carry yourself pretty confidently. I honestly thought you were at least seventeen or eighteen."
"Daddy, Mommy, look! That big brother's Pokémon is so pretty! Just as pwetty as me!"
Just as Kael and Miki were chatting happily, a soft, childish voice rang out nearby.
They looked up to see a blonde little girl in a white princess dress, her hair tied into twin ponytails, pointing excitedly at Lulu with sparkling eyes.
"Now, now, sweetie. It's very impolite to point at someone else's Pokémon like that,"
said a refined woman with golden curls, dressed in an elegant red gown, as she lifted the excited girl into her arms.
"Remember, you're a young lady."
"I know…"
The little girl drooped her head, looking dejected after the scolding.
"But it really is a Pokémon we've never seen before,"
the mature man in a black suit beside them said calmly.
"She just got a little excited. Don't be too hard on her, dear. When I was young, I was far more excited than this whenever I saw an unfamiliar Pokémon."
"Mm! Mm!"
The little girl nodded enthusiastically upon receiving her father's support.
"You two, honestly…"
The woman shook her head with a wry smile.
...
"What a cute little girl,"
Miki said enviously as the family of three walked away.
"Let me introduce them to you,"
Kael said, gently taking Lulu's hand and bringing her over.
"Her name is Lulu. She's my family—a Psychic-type Pokémon from the Hoenn region. People there usually call her Kirlia."
"And this one is Weavile. She's also my family."
"Family…?"
Miki looked momentarily dazed, but quickly recovered. Smiling warmly, she crouched down and stretched out her hands.
"Hello, Lulu. Hello, Weavile. I'm really happy to meet you. My name is Miki."
"Wea~"
Weavile crossed her arms, took a step back, and turned her head away with an arrogant look.
Other than her trainer Kael, she didn't like interacting with anyone.
Lulu calmly extended a small hand and lightly tapped Miki's palm.
"Hello, Miki."
"H-Hello…"
Miki replied instinctively, then suddenly froze, her eyes widening.
"W-Wait… you can talk?!"
Lulu didn't respond. Instead, she returned quietly to Kael's side.
She didn't particularly enjoy interacting with strangers either—what she'd done earlier was merely out of ladylike courtesy.
"That was telepathy,"
Kael explained.
"Only a small number of Psychic-type Pokémon can learn it."
"That's amazing…"
Miki murmured, half-understanding, half-dazed.
"Miki! Where did you run off to?! We're swamped over here, and you're out flirting with a guy! If the supervisor sees this, you're definitely getting your pay docked again!"
A burst of playful shouting came through the walkie-talkie clipped to Miki's waist.
Miki's cheeks flushed red. She hurriedly picked it up and whispered,
"I'm coming, I'm coming! You jerks always mess with me—forget it, I'm done being friends with you guys…"
She glanced around awkwardly, then finally relaxed when she saw no one was paying attention.
"Sorry—I need to get back to work."
"Go ahead," Kael said. "I was planning to take a walk anyway and check out this so-called world-class luxury liner."
"Don't worry,"
Miki said as she straightened her hair and collar, lifting her tray.
"The S.S. Anne definitely won't disappoint you…"
She swayed gracefully as she walked away.
"Damn… that gave me goosebumps,"
a familiar lecherous voice suddenly sounded again.
The sharp-featured man had somehow reappeared beside Kael.
"Kid, you're only a bit better-looking than me- how long has it even been? And you've already struck up a conversation with another one? And a real catch, too. You've got some luck. If you put in a little more effort, who knows what might happen?"
Kael nearly burst out laughing at the rambling commentary, but the man's voice was loud enough to draw the attention of nearby passengers- especially the women, who cast the pair disapproving looks.
"Idiot,"
Kael muttered.
Too embarrassed to be associated with someone like this, he quickly headed for the exit.
"Hey! Don't leave! We're both men—talking about this stuff is totally normal!"
The lecherous man tried to follow, but suddenly felt his body grow heavy. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn't move his legs.
Up ahead, Lulu's eyes glowed faintly blue. She gently waved her hand.
Thud.
Behind them, the man crashed to the floor, landing hard on his backside.
"Interesting… a Kirlia from the Hoenn region,"
the man muttered, watching the disappearing figures with a twisted smile.
So that fall earlier must've been her doing.
"As for the other Pokémon—that should be Weavile, the evolved form of Sneasel. That kind is only found in small numbers in the Sinnoh region…"
"This kid… he's not simple at all."