Cashe found Emilia and Lindon as the non-trainer passengers of the cruise made their way onto the ship. Emilia had a disgruntled expression on her face and Lindon was still flushed with mild embarrassment. Emilia was staring at the retreating group of people as they made their way up the gangway and onto the ship. She had a flat affect, but Cashe could see the frustration in her eyes.
“I am so glad that’s over,” Emilia grumbled as Cashe approached.
“I don’t know, Lindon looked like he was enjoying himself,” Cashe teased. Lindon flushed a deeper shade of pink.
“I was not!” He stammered, scowling as Cashe and Emilia grinned at his response, “They were all treating me like a kid.”
“You are a kid,” Emilia said, falling in step with Cashe as they made their way onto the ship, “Take advantage of it while you still can. People will underestimate you.”
Lindon didn’t look any happier at her response, but he nodded, following closely behind Emilia and Cashe. They made their way up the gangway, nearly last in the long line of trainers boarding the SS Ambition. They crested the peak of the platform, finding themselves in the main atrium of the ship.
Cashe had never been on a cruise ship before and he did not know what to expect, but he felt this was not it. The first impression he had was not of a ship at all, but rather, a mall. The main floor of the atrium was mostly open space, with twin sets of stairs in the corners leading to the upper decks. They cut back in a zigzag pattern, allowing all decks of the ship to be reached from the main atrium. The decks overlooked each other, which is what reminded Cashe of a mall, and each floor had long corridors running out from it leading deeper into the ship.
There was a theme to the area, though Cashe wasn’t sure what it was supposed to be. The floor was wood, either dyed, or of a variety he was unfamiliar with, as it was steel-gray and glossy. Several sets of furniture sat around the edges of the open area, plush couches and voluminous chairs of dark blue leather going mostly unused by the arriving passengers. Two rows of staff lined the atrium, smiling and greeting guests. Their uniforms reflected similar design aesthetics as the atrium. They were clean cut, with charcoal gray suits for the men and steel-blue dresses for the women. Several staff attended to the new arrivals, while others manned long tables filled with desserts and other snacks.
Emilia whistled as they entered, “They’re really pushing the battling aspect of this.”
Cashe shot her a questioning look.
“Steel is the color of champions,” she said, “You’ll see in a couple of years when I am sitting at the top of the league.”
Cashe rolled his eyes at her and she grinned. Lindon was too distracted to pay them any attention, eyes wide as he stared up at the cavernous room.
“Wow,” Lindon gaped, eyes darting over everything all at once, trying to take in as much as possible. His gaze came to a stop on a table full of desserts and he looked up at Cashe, pleading.
“What are you giving me that look for?” Cashe said, amused, “You don’t need my permission. You’re on your pokemon journey. Your decisions are your own.”
“Oh yeah,” Lindon blinked, clearly not having come to that conclusion. An eager grin spread across his face and he darted towards the dessert table.
“Not so fast,” Cashe said, his hand clamping down on Lindon’s shoulder before he could get away. He squatted down to look Lindon right in the eye, “Your decisions are your own, but so are your responsibilities. Making your own choices means having to face the consequences yourself.” Cashe glanced at Emilia, “Emilia and I are happy to give our input if you ask, and I will let you know if I think you are making a huge mistake, but we aren’t going to tell you what to do every step of the way. You have to think your actions through and take responsibility on your own.”
Lindon’s grin fell from his face and he bowed his head, chagrinned. “I’ll be responsible.”
“Your parents wouldn’t have let you leave if they didn’t think you were up to the task,” Cashe said, “And I’ve known you for a month, so I know you are a very mature kid. You’re going to do fine.”
Lindon nodded, but much of his previous excitement had been lost. He stared over at the dessert tables, wistfully.
“Not going to get anything?” Emilia said, raising an eyebrow.
Lindon shook his head, but didn’t take his eyes off the tantalizing pile of desserts, “I’m going to be responsible. I’m not here to have fun.”
“Being responsible doesn’t mean not having fun, kid,” Emilia said, “It means knowing when to draw the line. Go grab some snacks, and bring us back anything you think looks good, Just don’t go overboard.”
Lindon looked up at Cashe for confirmation. Cashe just smiled and shrugged. A bit of the childish excitement returned to Lindon’s eyes and he quickly moved towards the dessert tables, obviously forcing himself not to run.
Emilia smiled as Lindon walked away and looked up at Cashe, “You’re good with kids.”
“We’ve been with Lindon for a month and you’re just figuring out that now?” Cashe said.
“I don’t mean you're good at getting along with them,” Emilia clarified, “I mean you’re patient. You took your time to get your point across in a way Lindon wouldn't resent, like a father.”
“Jen and I were about to start trying for children before…” Cashe cleared his throat, looking away from Emilia, “Obviously our plans didn’t go through.”
Emilia nodded, smiling as Lindon staggered back to them with a plate overloaded with way too many desserts, “Come on, let’s help him out. Then we can check out our fancy rooms.”
***
“I thought you said you paid credits for better rooms,” Emilia said, “Fancy rooms.” She stared into the cramped quarters, indignant look on her face. Their rooms, adjacent to each other and on the third deck of the ship, were not much to behold.
They were longer than they were wide, which was not saying much, as the room was only just wide enough to fit the queen-sized bed that lay under a small window at the back of the room. There was a small couch at the foot of the bed, placed along the wall, and a door which led to a bathroom directly beside the entrance. Sparse was a good term for it, but ‘waste of credits’ was the one Emilia used.
“I said they are good rooms,” Cashe said, “not fancy.” He opened the door to his own room, tossing his bags inside and leaving with only his pokeballs, “I’ll show you. Come with me.”
Cashe brought them down further along the corridor. They were a ways into the ship, deep and far away from the atrium. It was quiet, with most people still mingling in the atrium or exploring other areas of the massive cruise liner. Passing a few more rooms, they came to a large set of doors. Cashe scanned his key card and the doors clicked open. He pulled them open with one hand, gesturing inside with the other. Emilia and Lindon stepped inside.
“It’s a gym!” Lindon exclaimed, his voice echoing through the empty room. The gym was large, taking up a significant portion of the third and fourth decks of the cruise ship. There were dozens of training areas. Some had moving targets for precision training, others large and solid training dummies for pokemon to go all out on. There were several battle arenas as well, each with Kadabra attending them, providing psychic barriers so pokemon could battle safely. There was even an indoor water arena for water type pokemon to practice in more comfortably.
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“You paid extra to get us rooms close to the training rooms?” Emilia said, giving Cashe a skeptical look, "How did you know they were here?"
“I asked when I was booking the rooms. And don’t overlook their value,” Cashe said, wagging a finger at Emilia, “This is a cruise, but it's also a tournament. Everyone is going to want to train at some point, and we are right beside the place to do that.”
“We’ll always get first pick!” Lindon shouted. He was running into the arena area, causing a few of the Kadabra to turn and watch him cautiously.
“I was looking forward to a private jacuzzi,” Emilia grumbled.
“If you were up on the twelfth deck, would you really make the journey all the way to the third just to train? Even if you did, how often would you make the trip? Probably not a lot.” Cashe said, “I heard that the top trainers were offered special accommodations. Fancy rooms. Nicer baths. Bigger beds. Private dining. How many of them are going to be motivated to come all the way down here and train? We have the advantage of barely needing to move to get here. They’re the best rooms on the ship. Look, Lindon can see the value.”
In the distance, Lindon had already moved on from the battle arenas and was now having Magnemite attack the large training dummies with reckless abandon.
“Still, jacuzzis,” Emilia said, though she wasn’t frowning any more. She was eying the water arena thoughtfully and stroking Omanyte’s pokeball subconsciously. She wanted to win more than either Cashe or Lindon. She nodded to herself, making a decision, “We can always find a jacuzzi after the party.”
“Party?” Cashe said.
Emilia grinned and ran after Lindon.
***
It turned out the alternate name, True Rookie Party, was not an exaggeration for the True Rookie Tournament. While they had only recently departed, and needed to make stops at both Olivine and Slateport before the tournament even started, no such time was lost when it came to parties.
The departure party was already in full swing, the spacious dining hall had a large dance floor and even a stage for live performances, though there was no such performance tonight. Music blasted instead from an enormous set of speakers placed around the stage, so loud Cashe could barely make out any of the music besides incessant thumping. Cashe was at a standing table against the far wall, as far from the stage as possible, and the music was still too loud for him.
The music changed to a thumping in a different rhythm. Apparently this was a popular song, because a cheer rose up from the crowd of young adults around him. Lights flared, temporarily brightening the dark, swelteringly hot room, and giving Cashe a glimpse of the partygoers. Most of the people were younger than Cashe, around Emilia’s age, and with the energy to match. Women in revealing dresses and short skirts danced on the stage and dance floor, young men in open shirts and swim shorts joining them. On closer inspection, it wasn’t dancing so much as it was gyrating. Even in a different universe, some things stayed the same.
A hand touched Cashe’s shoulder. Cashe looked over, accepting a drink from Emilia. He wasn’t much of a partier, but he would take advantage of an open bar when he had the chance. He took a sip of his drink and coughed when it hit.
“This is strong!” Cashe shouted over the music.
“Is Blood Money a lightweight?” Emilia laughed, placing a hand over her chest and taking a sip of her own drink. It was a much more colorful concoction than Cashe’s own dark brown glass. Cashe tried not to stare as she laughed. Emilia had not gone with the majority trend with a skimpy dress or short skirt. No, she had taken it a step further, choosing to wear a bikini with a nearly transparent, flowing skirt around her hips. She wore it confidently, and when she laughed, the effect was distracting.
“I think I might prefer yours!” Cashe said. Jen was more of the dark liquor type between the two of them. Cashe had always preferred the flavors of the more colorful drinks. Jen teased him about his girly tastes, but he didn’t care. Dark liquor tasted like leather to him.
Emilia laughed again and shouted in excitement as a trio of young women approached them. Emilia ran towards them, wrapping two of the women in a hug. The third stood to the side slightly awkwardly, offering a handshake when Emilia separated herself from the others.
“Cashe! This is Candy and Grace! We went to school together!” Emilia shouted, gesturing to her two friends, “And this is Holly!”
“Hollis!” The third woman corrected, offering her hand to Cashe as well. He took it. Hollis met his eye with a confident smile and a firm handshake.
That was all the interaction for Cashe, however, as the girls immediately began catching up. Cashe was able to hear perhaps every third word, thanks to the pounding music and their rapid conversation. Cashe was happy to be left out and nurse his drink and brood. That was what Blood Money would probably do anyway. That, and he was only at the party because Emilia insisted he come ‘to network’. With the music and the pulsing lights, he doubted that networking would be possible.
He finished his drink as the girls chatted and another appeared in his hand as if by magic. He looked around for a waitress to politely return the drink to, but it was Hollis who had handed it to him.
“I saw you were getting low so I got you another,” she said over the music.
Unable to find a way to politely decline, Cashe nodded in thanks. Hollis responded with a smile and a wink.
Cashe took another few sips as the girls continued to talk, watching the dancefloor and trying to think of an excuse to leave. How long was the polite amount of time to stay at a party like this? He doubted anyone would care but Emilia, but she was the one who asked him to come in the first place. He tried to find a clock somewhere in the room until Emilia turned and grabbed him by the wrist, directing his attention to her.
“We’re going dancing!” She shouted, laughing and waving away one of her friends who was trying to whisper something in her ear. The shout was probably unnecessary, the music had died down to something much slower and easier on the ears. However, Emilia was not nursing her drinks as Cashe had and there were several empty glasses now sitting on the table.
“Have fun!” Cashe said.
Emilia made a face but was dragged away by her friends before she could say anything.
“I think that was an invitation,” Hollis said, taking a step closer to Cashe in order to talk.
“I doubt it,” Cashe laughed, “Besides, I’m not one for dancing in a club.” He gestured to the packed dance floor, “Or whatever this is.”
“You strike me as the type that prefers something more intimate,” Hollis said, taking another step closer to Cashe and placing a hand on his biceps. Cashe glanced down. Hollis was looking right at him, meeting his gaze with wide dilated eyes. She smiled slowly and bit her bottom lip.
Cashe may have been new to the pokemon world, but some signals were universal. He took her hand in his and removed it from his arm, “Hollis-”
“Apollo?”
“Lindon?” Cashe turned to stare at the young boy. He was sweating, having just pushed himself through a horde of people, and holding a glass of something dark in his hand. His eyes were wide and he looked lost and scared, “What the hell are you doing here?”
“I wanted to see the party,” Lindon murmured, “And you weren’t back yet.” He took a sip of the drink in his hand and made a face.
“What is that?” Cashe turned away from Hollis completely, who was staring at Lindon with annoyance on her face. He snatched the drink from Lindon’s hand and gave it a sniff. There was definitely alcohol in it. “Who gave you this?”
Lindon looked like he was about to cry, “I don’t know. Someone just handed it to me.”
“I’m sorry Hollis,” Cashe said, giving her an apologetic smile, “I have to take care of this.”
Cashe didn’t wait for a reply, instead scooping up Lindon in his arms. At twelve, Lindon was probably too big to be picked up like this, but Cashe was in a hurry. Cashe ignored Lindon’s protests until he had made his way out of the dining hall completely.
“I can walk by myself,” Lindon complained as Cashe set him down.
“I know,” Cashe said, grabbing Lindon by the arm and dragging him back towards the stairs and up to the third deck, “It makes me wonder what you were doing at that party. I told you it wasn’t for kids.”
“I’m not a kid!” Lindon said, “And you said I needed to make decisions on my own.”
“And that I would stop you from making big mistakes. That was alcohol in your hand, Lindon. Drinking that at your age, especially that much, is dangerous. What were you thinking?”
“I just wanted to see the party,” Lindon said, hanging his head as Cashe dragged him along, “I didn’t want to ruin your fun.”
Cashe stopped and looked back at the boy. Lindon was staring at the ground, wiping his eyes with his one free arm. He sounded miserable and just like the kid he was.
“You didn’t ruin my fun,” Cashe sighed, “You actually saved me from a really awkward conversation.”
“I did?” Lindon sniffed.
“Yeah. That woman I was with wanted something from me, but I was going to say no. It would have made things weird.”
“What did she want?” Lindon said.
Cashe frowned. Goddam kids. Always with one too many questions.
“I’ll tell you when you’re older.”
“I know what that means! I’m not a kid!” Lindon made a disgusted face, “Did she really want that?”
Cashe sighed again, “You know what? Why don’t we go to the training room? I bet Magnemite has some extra energy after being in his ball all day.”
Lindon perked up immediately, “Okay!”
*****