Chapter Text
You wake up to the flickering of a TV screen across from your bed. There is no light outside as the sound of heavy rain fills your head. The news hadn’t said there’d be rain this week. But as you look out the window there is no doubt that the roads would be flooded by morning.
A gentle tap at your door catches your attention. You look to see your father push open the door gently. He has a soft smile on, one you’ve grown fond of as it smoothed out the wrinkles on his face. But despite the soft features you knew there was something wrong. You’ve seen this all before, a sense of deja vu flitters through your mind, you sigh in acceptance and nod at your father.
He’s holding his book of notes, something he’s always kept hidden, something he never wanted you to see. He doesn’t speak to you when he hands it over. Not that he can speak anyways. You don’t even remember his voice clearly anymore. Twelve years since his death has gone by so quickly. Your mother followed him not long after you went on your first adventure.
Imagine that, you’ve completed your fourth gym, you’re so happy that you decide to call your mother. But instead of your mother answering, it’s a social worker who’s got to be the bearer of bad news. They said it was a heart attack but you know it wasn’t sugar she put into her tea that morning. The open box of rattata deterrent was a testament to that.
You put the book down gently on your bed and hug your father tightly. It didn’t matter that this wasn’t real. At least in your dreams you can finally say goodbye.
“Wake up” he says. Your head snaps up so fast you swear you’ve just popped a bone. The voice wasn’t his, you know that for sure, the only thing you ever recalled was that his voice was light and smooth. This voice was deep and gruff like it’d never been used.
“Wake up” he says again. His eyes are no longer the lavender you’ve commonly associated with your family. They’ve changed to red while the iris is a bright turquoise. This was not your father.
You stumble back into the window only to hear it creak and give way behind you. That “thing” reaches out to you and in your fear you reach out to it. Your fingers barely graze one another’s before the rest of your body falls out of the window and you feel the weightlessness of free fall.
Your eyes snap open as you gasp awake. Taking a look around your room you sigh in relief as all you see is your empty apartment. The television next to you is turned off and you startle as red eyes peer back at you. It blinks slowly and you let out a breath you hadn’t known you were holding.
“Giratina” you say hoarsely. Your throat was dry and eyes were filled with crud. You hear a gentle hum from the tv and roll your eyes. “You really shouldn’t be in my dreams buddy. Those are private, my eyes only, got it?”
“I did not enter your dream Sylvin. I am unable to do so as I have no control over such things.” The pokemon replies smugly. It’s strange how a few years living with a legendary pokemon can make your own quirks rub off on it. You’d think it’d rub off on you with all its infinite wisdom.
You huff out a laugh and itch your nose “then don’t tell other pokemon to do it for you. What did you need me to wake up for anyways?” You ask pulling on a shirt from your suitcase. Sylvin wasn’t your real name. Not that anyone knew what it actually was other than maybe Cynthia and your aunt. You threw that name away a long time ago as a way of moving on with your life. No need to keep yourself tied down with rotten roots.
The pokemon takes a moment to consider his words before bluntly replying “in about ten minutes you’re going to be late for your boat ride to Galar.” You hum nonchalantly as you pull your hair up into a short ponytail. You really needed a haircut and soon.
Then the words finally process in your brain. TEN MINUTES!? You scramble off the couch slipping on your jeans from the day before and shoving your boots on. Snatching your keys off the kitchen counter you separate the apartment key from the rest. Your suitcase is suddenly right next to the door and a portal slowly disappears but not before a familiar pokéball is placed gently on top.
Of course you’d be so frazzled to almost forget your stuff. You shake your head in exasperation before grabbing the case and clipping the pokéball to your belt. You lock the door as you leave and rush to the lobby. You place the key on the counter next to the desk clerk who waves at you and goes back to her call.
Thank god you did paperwork beforehand or else you’d be stuck there for a while. Once out of the building you run as quickly as you can to the docks. People are dodging you as you run straight through them without stopping. A few people yell at you to slow down and you reply with a quick “I can’t sorry!” And continue running.
The boat is in sight now and you wave at the captain. “Hey! Captain, wait up for me!” The captain startles before recognizing you and holds out his hand. You latch onto it and he guides you up onto the boat.
“I almost thought you wouldn’t make it.” The captain said with a boisterous laugh. You wheeze out your own laugh as he checks your ticket. “I’m glad to have you on board again, little speaker. You’re the best part of all these trips. You and your ability keep the crew excited and that makes traversing the waters easier.”
You smile softly at him and shrug sheepishly “what can I say? Talking to Pokémon is just what I do you know?” It wasn’t unknown to the crew that you can speak to Pokémon. It was an ability you grew up with and you flaunted it proudly during your journeys. Of course you kept it secret to most but the crew on the ship. There were many cases where people like that were used for fame and you weren’t planning on being some sideshow attraction.
The captain frowns a little and shakes his head sadly “I’m going to miss you. This is supposed to be your last journey right?” You nod solemnly. Galar was the last place you had to look. You’ve been everywhere from Kanto to Alola and yet you found nothing about what your father searched for. If Galar didn’t hold the answers then you’d just have to give up.
“I’m going to miss this too. It’s nice seeing the ocean from up here. It'll be a shame to not see it anymore. You’ve all treated me so well and I can’t thank you enough for taking me wherever I needed to go.” You turned back to the captain to find not only him but the crew members as well. Their eyes are watery and they look ready to cry. One person in the back is actually full on sobbing and you purse your lips awkwardly.
“Well then.” The captain begins “I guess we’ll just have to make this the best trip of your life.” You blink in confusion as the boat begins to move and the crew gather around you.
“Hey- what are you doing?” You ask slightly fearful. You yelp as the crew members lift you up and carry you to the suite on the top floor of the ship. “Guys wait I never paid for this room!” They don’t seem to care as they shove you in with your belongings and close the door. The key to the room is slid underneath the door as well as a little note card with the room service details.
Your shoulders slump and you scratch your head. Is this some kind of joke? Are they going to bust through the door at any minute just to say “we’re just kidding!”? You stand there awkwardly for a couple of minutes before realization sets in.
They just gave you the best room on the ship because they care. You didn’t even pay for the best room but they gave it to you. A feeling of giddiness fills you and you spin around to look at the room in all its glory. Marble flooring with a soft purple carpet, a large bed with comfortable sheets and pillows, a huge window overlooking the ship and the rest of the ocean. This room was amazing!
The bathroom off to the side was ginormous! The tub was big enough to fit four people and the shower had multiple places the water released from. Not to mention the shampoo smelled amazing. Hey just because you play in the dirt and fight monsters with other monsters doesn’t mean you aren’t allowed to smell good. Fuck society and their rules you don’t follow their guidelines.
You left the bathroom and lifted your suitcase onto the bed. If you were going to be staying in this room you’re staying in luxury. You yanked out a tightly fitted suit and some dress shoes. The suit was made for you by a close friend. It was meant for a party but said party was ruined by a Pokémon with an incurable negative attitude.
The suit was closer to a suit-dress mixture. Or at least you thought so, not that you knew anything about clothing, after all your daily set of clothes is a pair of sweatpants, a hoodie, and some joggers. But it was absolutely beautiful. It had a dark purple coat with a silver vest, a lilac blouse with a frilly collar and cuffs, the back was pleated with a detachable bow knot, the best part was the half birdcage petticoat with the cotton bustle. The perfect blend of both worlds. You’re just glad it covered up the scars littering your arms.
You laid the suit onto your bed and set about getting the bath running. A thought crossed your mind and you sighed at your stupidity. You grabbed the Pokéball from your belt and enlarged it. Then you release the Pokémon from inside and smiled as a Salandit stretched out on the floor.
“Good morning Mystic,” you said warmly. Mystic turned to you and smiled back “I’ll be taking a shower so go ahead and make your bed if you want.” The salandit chirruped and ran around the room excitedly. You smiled fondly at her before grabbing a towel and closing the blinds. No one needs to see you when you come back out.
The hot water was relaxing after you ran so far. The tension in your muscles melted away as you leaned back into the tub. It wasn’t until Mystic slapped you in the face that you realized you had fallen asleep. The water was still slightly warm and you flush in embarrassment. Had you really been that tired?
A knock from the door had you stumbling out of the tub and yanking your towel around yourself. The knock was insistent and you scrambled to get there “coming!” You yelled out. You reached the handle and yanked the door open to see one of the crew members dressed in a suit and a large smile on his face.
“Sorry to intrude Sylvin but we tried calling earlier.” You said a quick “sorry” in response but the crew member didn’t seem bothered. “It’s quite alright, happens all the time. We were wondering if you’d like to join us in the lounge for dinner later? Of course the meal is free provided it’s your celebration.” Was it really that late? You rubbed your eyes to get rid of some of the blurriness before nodding excitedly.
A free meal? Heck yeah you were taking that chance. “Absolutely, let me just finish getting ready, I’ll be down in maybe fifteen minutes?” The crew member laughed lightheartedly before nodding and waving goodbye.
Not wasting any time you rushed to finish washing your hair and blow drying it. Praise be to Mystic who kept handing you different items of clothing to put on. Without her you were sure you’d be stumbling around to find everything. Your mind was so frazzled today. This was your last week to be a normal Sinnoh trainer. As soon as you stepped into Galar would mean everything was set back to zero and you’d need to fight your way to the top again. You just hoped that the gyms there weren’t too awfully different.
You slipped on your coat at last and looked at Mystic who jumped onto your shoulder like a reptilian guardian. You grabbed the room key from the nightstand and hooked it to your key ring. You exited the room quietly and locked it behind you. The walk down to the lounge was pleasantly quiet. No one was around to bother you or ask questions. Guess that’s what it’s like to be able to afford expensive living.
The lift to the lounge opened with a ding and you stepped in. The lift attendant looked at you before smiling brightly. You smiled back “good evening Whitley!” You said excitedly. “I see you got promoted, lounge by the way.” Whitley nodded sheepishly while pressing the button to the lounge area.
“Yeah it was hard work but the cap’n finally deemed me good ‘nough to man the lift. Still a bit hard to understand some people though. A couple of blokes with a thick accent came through here jus’ last weekend. I reckon they were from Kalos with the way they spoke. Don’t get many foreigners on this ship but it was nice either way.”
You nodded along to the conversation while the lift slowly descended. Mystic leveled the man with an annoyed stare but Whitley either didn’t notice or he didn’t care. He kept talking the entire way down, not that you minded, lift attendants don’t normally talk so this must be the only time he gets to.
The lift finally seems to slow to a stop just when your patience begins to wear thin. The door opens up and Whitley gives you his biggest grin and guides you out. “Have a nice evenin’ Sylvin don’t be out too late.” You give him a strained smile and wave him off before turning and walking into the lounge.
The lounge itself is rather large but the dark tones in the room make it feel smaller than it is. It’s comfortably warm as well and you can’t help but smile at the other patrons around you. They’re all well dressed too and they greet you kindly. There’s a Swana ice sculpture in the middle that catches your attention.
A sneasel is looking at it proudly as it wipes off stray powdered ice. From the look of its claws it was the one to carve the sculpture. They were covered in bits of shaved ice and the sneasel flicked the ice into a bucket next to the table. It was then that a set of events took place.
A woman tripped on the bucket sending her into the table and knocking over the sneasel who yelped in surprise. It bumped into the sculpture which tipped over slowly. In panic you said “mystic catch it!” And ran over to the lady on the floor. Mystic jumped off your shoulder and landed on the other side of the sculpture to hold it up.
You helped the lady stand up slowly and tisked as she obviously broke her heel during the fall. “Are you alright, miss?” she looked up and nodded. Her face was flushed and she looked over to watch as Mystic and the sneasel placed the sculpture back into place.
The ice steamed under the heat of Mystics hands and when the steam disappeared the sculpture was perfectly clear. Sneasel made a noise of appreciation and hugged Mystic who slumped awkwardly in its grasp. The lady who fell made a sound of astonishment.
“Is that a shiny Salandit?” She asked excitedly. You looked at her confused before your brain caught up. Living with Mystic had made you accustomed to the unnatural coloration of salandit’s. While they were normally a warm toned black color; mystic was a very light shade of gray. You nod hesitantly and she squeals excitedly. “Where do you get one!?”
“I raised her from an egg.” The lady nearly fainted right then and there but a man walked up behind her and grabbed her shoulders to keep her upright. “Um are you alright?”
“Excuse my wife, she’s wanted to get a Salandit for our son for ages. Though I believe he should go out and catch one for himself. Thank you for worrying about her but I’ll take it from here.” You nod slowly and look between the two of them. Was she going to ask to buy Mystic?
Ignoring the couple you look around to find the captains table. A waving hand from across the room catches your attention and you sigh in relief as you see the captain. “Mystic time to go.” The Salandit chirps back in confirmation and jumps back onto your shoulder.
There’s a seat right next to the captain and you sit down in it comfortably. There’s another smaller seat next to you and you eye it strangely until Mystic jumps onto it. They have a seat for your Pokémon. They have a SEAT for your POKÉMON. This is amazing, not only do you get to eat in luxury but so does your partner. Tears could come to your eyes with how happy you feel. Is this how rich people dine with their Pokémon? Are you missing out on this or is this just special?
“I saw what you and Mystic did over there. Thank you for helping them out. Sneasel would have been very sad if his sculpture was shattered right after he finished it.” The captain smiled at you and lifted his cup “to Sylvin!” He says loudly. The crew raise their cups and repeat the captain.
You stand up and raise your glass “to my hopefully last journey. I’ve come so far to be here and it’s thanks to all of you. Without you I’d still be stuck in Sinnoh in a worn down apartment and nothing to do. So thank you so much and I hope you all live long prosperous lives!” You sit down as the captain and crew clap at your short speech.
The food comes out to the table not long after and everyone digs in happily. Mystic was especially excited for her own meal and you smile fondly as she rubs her cheeks in delight. Someone across from you grabs your attention and you look at them.
They lean closer to you and whisper “so the guys tell me you can talk to Pokémon.” You look around at the rest of the crew who go quiet and stare back. You sigh in defeat before nodding.
“Alright, but can we wait after dinner?” The crew laugh and agree to let you eat. You smile back at them and dig back in. This cruise was definitely going to be something to remember.