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"I insist you go."
Tracey existed to please; particularly please the Professor. In his many years at the lab, he had never wondered if his hard work was worth it or questioned his idol's judgment. Maybe the Professor was annoyed with him, or unsatisfied with his performance. It didn't seem fair, and angered him a bit, but he wasn't about to show it.
"I'll head out in the morning.", he replied with a dreary sigh, and returned inside to pack.
Bulbasaur had been basking nearby in the warm sunshine. Concern was enough to tilt its head, on which the Professor gave a reassuring pat. "It's for the weekend. He'll be on a fishing trip.", "Saur??". It thought he was sending Tracey away for good after that exchange, and was relieved and baffled.
The salty, humid breeze of daybreak felt harsher to a sleep-deprived Tracey. Misty noticed his frequent yawning. "Thanks so much for coming along.. I know you're busy and all that.". At that moment, he realized he'd been ridiculous. "What? No.. No problem! This'll be fun!", "Hmm. Yeah. Great.". Very strange for Misty to not be completely enthralled by the idea of waiting patiently on a ledge for three days, though Tracey doubted his ability to sit still and do absolutely nothing for even several minutes. "I might have.. Never mind.. Just, thank you..".
As they approached the pier, the silhouette of an old, wooden fishing boat emerged from the fog. "It's beautiful, isn't it?". She had a familiar twinkle in her eye whenever the topic was anything remotely nautical. "Sure is.", Tracey agreed. "We rent it at this time every year. It's become a tradition. There used to be one in the family just like it. I remember-". "Wooo!! Barge-arita!!" interrupted Lily, as the three sisters approached. Misty groaned. "Don't crap on our traditions, Misty.". They all boarded the boat. "Why do you go fishing at this time?". Misty was silent. An ominous silence fell over the deck. The tension weighed heavy as a Snorlax. "Would you like a margarita, Tracey?", suggested Daisy, breaking the discomfort. "Nah, I'm good.". Misty took the one she offered him. "You're about to wish you had one.", Misty said, with a roll of her eyes. "I might.. have to drive the boat later, so I'd better not..", he insisted.
Truthfully, the only one capable of driving the boat was Misty. They didn't travel far before stopping near an island, where various other boats anchored.
It looked like some sort of festival or event was going on. "I think Marill would like it out here!", observed Tracey, calling it from its ball. It stayed close, watching the other boats and wiggling excitedly.
"You are like, completely stupid if you think you're beating me this time.", Violet muttered over Lily's shoulder, "Says the one who's lost three years in a row!", "I mean.. not to you.". "What just happened?", Tracey whispered to Misty, who had dropped in her line and was staring off at the horizon with complete disinterest, "It's a uh, tournament.. Surprise.. I guess..". She sighed, as if telling him this was a huge weight off her chest. "Oh. Uh. Ok. I guess that explains it.. You're participating, too, right?", "Not deliberately.". She rested her head on her hand. Tracey was shocked by Misty's apathy toward such a thing. "What are the rules?", "Pokemon are judged by, you know, size. Extra points for rare Pokemon and evolved Pokemon. You get to keep what you catch if you win. If you have the audacity to play, use those special balls in that bucket over there..", "Ok.. let's see..".
Moments after he dropped his line, Lily had pulled a very large Seaking onto the boat. "Ha! Right out of the gate!". Violet followed with a slightly larger Goldeen. "How about that??", Violet shouted confidently. Lily mumbled as she examined them both, "Mine's evolved..". "Now, now, you two! Don't argue. Have another margarita!", insisted Daisy, approaching with another round.
How did-? Nah, Tracey had learned his lesson about passing judgment and making assumptions about the three of them. Lily had graduated from university with a perfect GPA. After having taken a series of art classes, Violet was caught dumpster diving in a pair of overalls for a found object piece. He had heard that Daisy had, at one point in time, spent years studying multiple forms of martial arts. He was entirely convinced she could effortlessly kill a man.
Round two, two Magikarp; both impressive in size, but also indistinguishable. Violet and Lily stared each other down without saying a word. Marill gave an uncomfortable tug to Tracey's sock. He silently returned it to its ball.
"Why-?", Tracey was at a loss of words. Misty said nothing, but Violet interrupted, "Oh my god, the prize this year is a cake, from like, that one bakery in town.", "Just a cake?", "You have no idea what you're talking about, Tracey!!", insisted Lily, "It's like, the best cake in the whole universe!!", "I heard a guy ate one and died, literally died, from like, happiness.", added Daisy, from the other side of the boat, "Round three, anyone?". All partook but Tracey. Misty leaned over to Tracey. "Don't get the wrong idea. They'd act the same exact way if the prize was a used napkin."
Lily got another bite and reeled in the largest catch so far; a giant Tentacruel, which snapped her rod in half before she was able to pull it on deck. In frustration, she attempted to throw it into the ocean, but missed. Tracey barely evaded its path. He offered to replace it with the one he'd borrowed, since he wasn't having any luck anyway. "Thanks for putting up with them.", sighed Misty. Misty was Tracey's dearest friend. As mysterious and unlikely as it seemed, her sisters were what made her who she was, and they were just as much family to him as Misty. He'd known her long enough to know that, unfortunately, tipsy Misty was merely Misty amplified, and she would have teased him and called him a sentimental twit if he said something like that out loud. He just chuckled, "Well, you know..".
There was a violent tug on Misty's line. She pulled hard. At the end, an enormous Araquanid. She stood frozen in fear while the giant spider stood like a statue on the deck. "Woah!! Amazing!!", gasped Tracey, "An Araquanid here in Kanto, even!! It looks about average for size, but you could probably win with something like that, Misty!!". She could only move enough to glance away. Two normally perfect faces wrinkled in her direction, with murder in their eyes. She faced the spider once more. "No.. no. I want it. I want this one.". It must have taken a liking to Misty. To her complete dismay, it made no effort to evade or escape capture. She stared at the Pokeball as she held it in trembling hands.
The boat suddenly rocked. The others looked on with jealousy as Daisy reeled in the biggest Feebas any of them had ever seen. Only Tracey had noticed Daisy had maintained composure and focus all day, but didn't dare say anything. "Why don't we have lunch?", he suggested instead.
Lily stumbled toward the cooler, only to find her sandwich was missing. "Ok, who took it??". Violet only winked and pulled in her line, to reveal Lily's lunch impaled on the hook. Lily flung herself at Violet. The two wailed on each other with their rods and hurled insults at each other.
"Another round?", interrupted Daisy. No one refused this time.
Lily was almost too distracted to notice the violent tug on her rod. She dove over to grab it. Tracey jumped in just in time to save her from going overboard with it. Everyone was nearly thrown from the boat. She needed both Tracey and Misty's help pulling in the catch, and they couldn't believe their eyes when it emerged from the water. A Milotic; an actual Milotic, and a long one, at that.
Tracey returned home a couple days later. He sat with the Professor, enjoying what might possibly be the best cake in the world. "I'm surprised Lily didn't want to keep this. Everything about it is remarkable.", "Yeah.. she barely wanted to look at it. She must have been.. tired..", "You did, technically save her life.", "Yeah, but I don't think that had anything to do with it.". He paused for a moment. "Do you think someone could really die of happiness from eating a cake?", "I think that man died from eating an entire cake.", "Maybe, but maybe it was worth it.".