Chapter 4

Gyarados' painful cry seemed to linger outside the ship, it was the type of cry that marked the beginning of the end. I could feel the energy in the air, as the sailors pressed their pokemon to go harder and faster because they knew, a cornered pokemon is the most dangerous type. The white and yellow light cleared from the dawn sky and I could see the mangled and scorched body of Gyarados sticking out of the water. Sparks of electricity dancing on its scales as the pokemon shifted its body's weight as its tail exploded out of the water ramming into the side of the ship. The boat rocked and swayed as the force of the tail physically pushed the ship through the water. I could see the grimace on Gyarados' face as he let out a howl of pain, its body still under the effects caused by the electric attacks. The sailors gave no quarter as they ordered their pokemon to unleash their final attacks on the barely alive Gyarados. The sailors' pokemon began their final assault, flashes of color zeroed in on the sea serpent, as it raised its head and roared in defiance for the last time.

The corpse of Gyarados floated in the water next to the boat. The crowd in the cantina seemed unable to decide whether to cheer for their and the boat's survival or to give a silent prayer for the death of the pokemon. I didn't wait to see what the masses decided as I walked out of the cantina and over to the ship's railing. I stuck my head over the side of the boat as I saw the devastation that occurred on the body of the Gyarados. The skin was marred and still smoking from the last attack, deep gashes ran along the body as blood leaked into the surrounding water. I looked from the dead pokemon to the side of the ship that had a giant crack running parallel to the deck from the Gyarados' tail. I turned my head over my shoulder as I looked at the four sailors and their pokemon still grouped together after battling this beast. In front of the sailors, the deck of the ship was buckled and warped. "Hey," someone said as they tapped my shoulder from my current blind spot, causing my head to snap towards them. "We uh, sorta bumped into each other already, so I thought I would introduce myself, I'm Steven Miller." He said as he pointed his thumb to his chest.

So here I was, back in the cantina, sitting down after trying to shake off Steven Miller and his always moving mouth. "My dad runs a Ponyta farm for breeding excellent racing stock, hell I spent most of my early life at the farm or the racing circuit." I hear Steven say as I stare off into the distance waiting for breakfast to be served. I had a few more hours of blocking out Stevens mindless chatter until we docked at Pallet Town. According to my ticket, the estimated departer time was at 2 pm this afternoon but I doubted the ticket factored in the attack on the ship. A smell wafted into the room bringing me out of thoughts, I could see the line cooks bringing metal trays full of food, and judging from the smell it was going to be delicious.

I made my way over to the buffet with Steven in tow, as we stood in front mountains of food. Fluffy yellow scrambled Pidgey eggs, sausage links made from Grumpig, and mountains of French toast with a giant bowl of maple syrup. Forty hours ago, I was struggling to find food out of the dumpster to eat. Part of me felt like the Pokemon League is fatting me up like a Pignite for the world to slaughter, the other part of me didn't care, I was too hungry. "You uh, gonna pick something?" I could hear Steven say as he urged me to hurry up, I wasn't the only one that was hungry after all. I piled my plate high with food, all while trying to contain the drool that was attempting to escape from my lips, as I headed back to my seat at the picnic table. As I sat down and drove my fork into the fluffy eggs and brought them to my lips, my mind wandered to the attack that happened earlier today. I knew that choosing this life might cause me an early death but as the eggs entered my mouth and I tasted their flavor, I couldn't help but feel that I made the right choice.

My fork hit the empty plate as I couldn't ever remember being this full. "Please quiet as we have an announcement." I heard as the ship's PA system went off. "The attack on the ship has caused substantial damage. That means we will have to spend an additional three days in the port at Pallet Town for repairs, we will be arriving there by roughly four in the afternoon. Our next stop after Pallet Town will be Vermillion City, including the time for repairs we will arrive there in nine days. Thank you." A click from the speakers was heard signally the end of the PA announcement. Groans leaked from people's lips in the cantina as they heard how long their delay was. Steven's and my eyes accidentally locked, as Steven mistook that for me wanting to continue our one-sided conversation as he asks "Where are you headed?" I shrugged and respond "Pallet Town" the second Steven heard 'Pal' I could see his face stretch into a smile as my gut started to have a sinking feeling. "Me too," Steven said gleefully, "I'm an excellent traveling partner. I have a tent, a sleeping bag, maps, compass, food, water, first aid, and a Pokedex with long-range communication" Steven rattled off as he made me realize just how underprepared I was to travel.

The hum of the ship's engine purred as we docked in the port of Pallet Town. I could feel the light breeze against my face as I stood on the deck of the ship with the rest of the boat's travelers. I looked over the sunny, warm city as I could see people move about in the street with smiles on their faces, greeting fellow neighbors with a wave of their hands. Houses and family-owned neighborhood stores littered the disorganized and chaotic streets of this unplanned city. Even with all of that chaos, the city gave off a homey feeling, like nothing bad has or ever will happen here. I looked to my right and frowned as I saw my newest and temporary traveling partner Steven, standing next to me taking in the city sights. Steven smiled at me and for the first time since I've known him didn't speak but made the 'after you' gesture with his hands. We carefully made our way down the ship's ramp and onto our next adventure.